Full text of "The Commentaries of Isho'dad of Merv, Bishop of Hadatha (c. 850 A.D.) in Syriac and English"

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THE COMMENTARIES

ISHO DAD OF MERV

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HORAE SEMITICAE No. V

THE COMMENTARIES

ISHO DAD OF MERV

BISHOP OF HADATHA

(C. 850 A.D.)

IN SYRIAC AND ENGLISH

EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY

MARGARET DUNLOP GIBSON,

HON. D.D. (HEIDELBERG); LL.D. (ST ANDREWS); M.R.A.S.

IN THREE VOLUMES
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

JAMES RENDEL HARRIS, M.A.

HON. D.LITT. (DUEL.) ; HON. LL.D. (HAVERFORD) ; HON. D.THEOL. (LEIDEN)
HON. LL.D. (BIRMINGHAM) ; HON. FELLOW OF CLARE COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

VOLUME I

TRANSLATION

CAMBRIDGE

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A.
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DEDICAT

PREFACE

A LL we know of Isho dad is that he was a native of Merv, and became
** Bishop of Hadatha in Assyria, being much admired for his erudition,
wisdom, and splendid personal appearance. We gather from Assemani and
Bar-Hebraeus that after several untoward experiences in the election of their
Patriarchs, who were speedily removed by death, all the Christians in A.D.
852 committed the choice to Abraham bin Noah, who nominated Isho dad.
But Bochtjeso , the physician of the Caliph Mutawakkil, persuaded his
master to appoint Theodosius, and the Christians rejoiced in the interest
which the prince condescended to shew in their affairs. Abraham tried in
vain to move him in Isho dad s favour. It was not long before certain
Arians gained the ear of the prince, and prejudiced him against both
Bochtjeso and the new Patriarch, saying that they were conspiring with
the Greeks. The latter was summoned to Baghdad, where he was kept
in chains for three years, and excommunicated Bochtjeso . A severe
persecution of the Christians followed. We may hope that Isho dad had
reason to consider himself more fortunate than his rival. He wrote
Commentaries on most of the books of both Testaments. Assemani
expressly mentions the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, David
(the Psalms), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, and Job, all of which books
were supposed by the Syrians to have been translated into their language
in the time of Solomon, at the request of his friend Hiram king of Tyre.

It is now nearly seven years since Dr Rendel Harris suggested that
I might edit Isho dad s Commentary on the Gospels ; and the printing has
gone on for six years and a half. I have had three manuscripts to work
from; one in the Cambridge University Library, which I have named
Codex C ; a still better one, kindly lent me by the Rev. Professor
D. Margoliouth of Oxford, which I have called Codex M ; and a transcript
of a MS. now at Ooroomiah, lent me by Dr Rendel Harris. This third one
I adopted as the text, for the great convenience of printing, though the
fact has come to light during the process of collation, that Codex M is the
G.I. b

VJii PREFACE

best of the three. It is also evident that Codex H, as I call the third,
resembles Codex M more than Codex C. Unfortunately, a quire of
Codex M is wanting at the beginning, equal to six folios of Codex H.
This must have included the Preface, so that we get no light on the
meaning of a troublesome passage at the foot of f. 5b about the omission
of three generations in Matthew s genealogy. The said passage is different,
but equally insoluble, in Codex C.

Codex C is numbered 1973 in the Catalogue of the Cambridge
University Library, in which Dr Wright thus describes it : Paper, about
8 inches by 6, 323 leaves, some of which are stained by water and slightly
mutilated, e.g. fit 64, 145, and 169. 33 quires, signed with letters, mostly of
10 leaves (^ had originally 12) ; leaves are now wanting at the beginning
and after ff. 4, 5, 25, 315, and 323 ; 18 or 19 lines in a page. The writing
is a good, regular Nestorian sarta. This MS. is dated A.Gr. 1998 = A.D.
1687 (water-mark, the three crescents).

The mutilation of f. 64 only affects the margin ; that of ff. 145 and l6 9
is probably due to iconoclasm, as it affects the ornamented colophons of
St Matthew and St Mark.

The first 12 extant leaves are occupied with part of Isho dad s
Commentary on the Pentateuch, the Gospel Commentary taking up the
remainder of the book.

Codex M is also paper, \2\ inches by 8f. There are 308 leaves, those
at the beginning and end being deeply stained whilst the middle is
comparatively clean. This suggests that the book has lain long in a spot
to which muddy water had access, and that it has been turned over on some
occasion. There are 10 leaves to a quire; the quires are signed with
letters, reaching up to -^. This makes 32 quires extant. Quire M has
only 8 leaves. There are usually 26 lines on a page, and occasionally one
more. As something is wanting at the end, we have no means of finding
the date. The book contains, in addition to the Gospel Commentaries,
those on the Acts and Catholic Epistles, excluding the Antilegomena, and
also the Commentaries on St Paul s Epistles.

Codex S is the one numbered 1998 in the Catalogue of the Cambridge
University Library. Dr Wright thus describes it : Paper, about 7^ in. by
5|. 225 leaves ; 16 to 18 lines in a page. The writing is a neat, regular
Nestorian sarta of the i6th century. It contains a Poem on the Divine
Government of the World, by Isaac Eshbodhnaya, whom Sachau calls
Presbyter Isaak Kardaha Shabhadnaya, in sections, accompanied by

PREFACE IX

extracts of Commentaries." Of these 18 are from Isho dad, and I have
been able to locate 16 of them. The remaining two are probably from some
other commentary.

I have to apologize for the irregularity of G. B. for Gannat Busame"
appearing for a short time on the margin. Dr Rendel Harris wished me
to give references to this work, of which he possesses a MS., but my attempt
to do so proved troublesome, and caused so much delay in the printing,
that I soon abandoned it.

There are three of Mar Isho dad s many knots which I think modern
research has at least loosened. The first is in the Preface, pages 8 9 (f. 5 b),
about the dropping of three names, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah, from the
genealogy of our Lord : Dr J. M. Heer, in Biblische Studien, vol. XV.
parts i, 2, suggests, on the authority of Hilary and Jerome, that these
names had not been entered in the Temple records, because of the curse
pronounced on the idolatrous house of Ahab in I Kings xxi. 21 and
II Kings iv. 8, which, like the curse attached to the second commandment,
extended to the fourth generation. Jehoram king of Judah did not himself
come under it, but his wife Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, and the three
kings in question were included in it.

The second is in f. 148 b (p. 276 of the Translation). John says that
[it was in] the house of Annas that Peter denied;... but the other Evangelists
said the house of Caipha. In the Sinai Palimpsest this apparent discrepancy
is removed ; as in John xviii. verse 24, Now Annas had sent Him
bound unto Caiaphas the High Priest comes after verse 13; and thus makes
the trial take place in the house of Caiaphas as the Synoptists say. This
is confirmed by the Vatican Codex of the Palestinian Syriac, which has
verse 24 in both positions, as if the scribes had been in doubt as to its
rightful place.

The third is about the day on which the Passover was observed. The
Synoptists undoubtedly represent that it was the evening of Thursday,
when our Lord ate it with his Disciples ; whereas John distinctly implies
that it was not to be observed till Friday evening after the Crucifixion was
over. I came on what appears to me to be a satisfactory solution of this
problem, and that in the most unlikely of all places, when I was looking for
something quite different. It was in the Jewish Cyclopaedia (New York
and London, 1904), under the article Jesus of Nazareth, signed by
Dr Samuel Krauss, of Buda-Pest.

Chwolson (Das letzte Passahmahl Christi, St Petersburg, 1893) has
ingeniously suggested that the priests were guided by the older Halakah,

X PREFACE

according to which the law of the Passover was regarded as superior to
that of the Sabbath, so that the lamb could be sacrificed even on Friday
night ; whereas Jesus and his disciples would seem to have adopted the
more rigorous view of the Pharisees, by which the paschal lamb ought to
be sacrificed on the eve of the I4th of Nisan, when the isth coincided with
the Sabbath (see Bacher in /. Q. R. v. 683686). As Dr Rendel Harris
has found out that Isho dad borrows largely from Theodore of Mopsuestia,
I have made a List of Coincidences, which will, I hope, be found instructive.
I have used the fine edition of Theodore s Commentary lately published by
Dr Chabot (Leroux, Paris), in which a little more care would have detected
several misprints. I have also made a list of passages quoted by Isho dad
which agree with the Old Syriac instead of with the Peshitta.

In conclusion, I have to express my warm thanks to Dr Eberhard Nestle,
of Maulbronn, for his careful and able revision of my Translation ; and to
Dr Rendel Harris for many very acute suggestions. For the Syriac text
I am alone responsible, and here I have had the kind help of my dear
twin-sister, Mrs Agnes S. Lewis. Isho dad s sentences are often very much
involved ; and the uncertainties of Syriac punctuation make it sometimes
doubtful to which sentence a particular expression belongs.

I have also to thank the readers and printers of the University Press
for the skilful and patient manner in which they have executed a long and
sometimes troublesome task.

MARGARET D. GIBSON.

INTRODUCTION

IN publishing the commentaries of the famous Nestorian father Isho dad,
and in accompanying the Syriac text with a translation into English,
Mrs Gibson has added greatly to the obligations under which the learned
world has been laid by the devotion to sacred literature and the zealous
pursuit of fresh material for its study shewn by herself and her twin-sister,
Mrs Lewis.

I believe this is Mrs Gibson s second excursion into the field of Syriac
literature (the first being the publication of the Syriac Didascalid), and
I am surprised at the courage (I had almost said daring) which she has
displayed in attacking a work so extended, and beset by so many internal
difficulties : and if there should be found some places in which Mrs Gibson
has failed to grasp Isho dad s meaning, or has rendered the Syriac wrongly,
a tolerant judgment will no doubt be given by scholars in view of the
fact that so much has been added to Syriac literature at a single stroke.

I had for a long time contemplated, with a view to publication, a MS.
of Isho dad which had come into my possession, but had shrunk from the
task, as being beyond the limits of the time and powers at my disposal ;
and it was a matter of great satisfaction to me when Mrs Gibson
volunteered to take my text from me, and to reinforce it from other
existing copies, and play the part of editor and translator to a too long
neglected Father of the Eastern Church 1 . When this step was decided
upon, Mrs Gibson invited me to write such prefatory matter as might
serve to bring Isho dad before the learned world and indicate his import
ance for the textual critic and the theologian. To this request I have

1 In my book Fragments of the Commentary of Ephrem Syrus upon the Dialessaron (p. 1 1 )
I had noted the rich mine of Patristic quotations (both Greek and Syriac) in Isho dad and expressed
myself as follows : So valuable is the work that it deserves to be published in full, for it contains
almost all that is important in later writers like Bar Salibi and Bar Hebraeus, in an earlier form.

xii INTRODUCTION

gladly acceded : it is my form of appreciation of Mrs Gibson s devoted
labours, as well as a slight token of a valued and abiding friendship.

Of Isho dad, the compiler of the present commentary, we know but
little: ten lines only are devoted to him in Wright s Syriac Literature,
for which the chief authority is Assemani in his Bibliotheca Orient alis.
Dr Wright refers to two MSS. of the commentaries upon the New
Testament, one of which it is possible that he may have examined ; but
there is nothing to indicate that he attached any importance to the writer
or his works.

We are still insufficiently equipped for a study of Syriac literature on
the Nestorian side.

To introduce the matter, we will first transcribe Dr Wright s paragraph :

Syriac Literature, pp. 220, 221.

Isho dadh of Maru or Merv, bishop of Hedhatta or al-Hadithah, was
a competitor with Theodosius for the patriarchate in 85 2 *. According to
Abhd-Isho , his principal work was a commentary on the New Testament, of
which there are MSS. in Berlin, Sachau 311, and in the collection of the
S.P.C.K. 2 It extended, however, to the Old Testament as well, for in
Cod. Vat. cccclvii, we find the portions relating to Genesis and Exodus 3 .

To this last piece of information from Mai, Wright adds the note :

The name of the author is there given as Jesciuaad, doubtless a misprint
for dad. We are therefore surprised to find Martin writing " Ichou-had e veque
d Hadeth, " Introd. a la Critique Textuelle du Nouveau Testament, p. 99.

Taking this entry of Wright s as our starting-point, we see that
Isho dad was a native of Merv, that he became bishop of Hedatha, and
that he flourished in the middle of the ninth century. His name is
a peculiar one, but not unknown elsewhere. It is especially interesting to
notice that it occurs on the famous inscription which the Nestorian
Christians set up in Western China to commemorate their successful
missionary work in that country. It is well known that this splendid
Chinese monument is bordered by a contemporary Syriac inscription,
containing the names of the leaders of the Syrian Church in China. It
was set up in 781 A.D. in honour of the original mission in 635 A.D.
Amongst the Syriac names inscribed on the sides of the monument is
that of Isho dad. As far as I know, this is the earliest occurrence of the
name in Syriac. The Hsian-Fu inscription is seventy years older than

1 Assemani, B. 0. in. i. 210 212.

2 The collection of MSS. formerly belonging to the Society for the Promotion of Christian
Knowledge, now in the University Library, Cambridge.

3 Mai, Scriptt. Vett. Nova Coll. v.

INTRODUCTION Xlll

the floruit of our commentator, and there is, therefore, no possibility of
identifying the Chinese missionary with the bishop from Merv.

The name itself is, I suppose, an analogical formation of a type to
which Nestorian Christianity was much addicted, and which prevails even
at the present day amongst Persian mystics and orthodox Arabs. The
name Abd-isho for example, is formed on the model of the Assyrian
Abed-nebo or the Hebrew Obadiah or the Arabic Abdullah. In all these
cases one type persists or is imitated. In the case before us, we have one
out of a group, like Hanan-isho , Sabr-isho , and the only difficulty lies in
determining whether the suffix dad is a verb-formation, of which we have
not, in Syriac, the exact equivalent, or whether it is an abbreviation from
some older form of a Divine name. If it is the latter, an assumption
which I believe to be untenable, we should not be surprised at the
existence of the relic of a pagan name : the early Christian Church had its
Bar-nebo, known to us as Bar-nabas, with an artificial translation as Son
of Consolation, and the early Syrian Church preserved the form Abed-
nebo, more nearly than the Book of Daniel did with its Abed-nego. If
the name Isho dad contains a Pagan element, it should be an abbreviation
of the Thunder-god Hadad 1 , who is equated with the Babylonian Thunder-
god in the form Hadad-Rimmon.

It is, however, unlikely that this can be the real meaning of the name,
when a simple verb-formation, with Biblical parallels, will suffice. The
form dad is known to us, in the Hebrew Eldad, which must mean God
has loved ; we have also very nearly the equivalent of Isho dad in the
Hebrew name Jedidiah, given to Solomon, a name commonly interpreted
as Beloved of God, but more probably meant to express that love in the
fact of birth ; and as the root appears in Syriac in a noun-formation, with
the sense of friend, we may properly interpret it as meaning Jesus has
loved or Jesus is [our] friend or Jesus has befriended, i.e. in the
bestowal of a son. Payne Smith, s.v. suggests a Persian origin for the
word in question, and says, cf. voc. Pers. jb donnm. Under the other
form of the name Dad-jesu, he quotes Bar Bahlul that Dad-jesu means
the gift of Jesus, ^OJE...I K^XTJOOSJ ^.or.i.i, and Bar Ali for the equiva
lent .2*-OA *=3oxo. Apparently he had not thought of a Persian parallel,
when cataloguing Dad-jesu, for he there suggests that .1.1 is a misreading
for is, and i.i (dor) a translation of the Greek Svpov. On this hypothesis
Jesu-dad would have to be corrected on the model of Theodore. It is,

1 Originally the Amorite Thunder-god Adad. It is surprising how long Hadad continues in
Syrian nomenclature. A bishop of Telia, in the sixth century, was named Bar-hadad, which is a
striking case of survival, for which we might be tempted to suggest a reason.

XIV INTRODUCTION

however, impossible that the names of Isho dad and Dad Isho can be
subject to a scribal blunder ; and Payne Smith goes on to give the true
solution in a note from Bar Hebraeus 1 , who says that Isho dad is a
Chaldean name and means friend of the Redeemer. By Chaldean he
means Nestorian : and the explanation of Bar Hebraeus only needs to be
modified to Jesus is friend or has befriended. So much for the peculiar
name. As to his place of origin, that is given in the prologue to Matthew
as Maru or Merv. The scribe of one of our MSS. does not understand
the place referred to, and, to avoid misunderstanding, adds on the margin
the note that Maruzaya is the name of a place.

Dr Wright 2 catalogues another Isho Maruzaya as the compiler of a
Syriac Lexicon, which was one of the principal authorities made use of
by Bar Ali the lexicographer : and he assigns him to the latter part of
the ninth century. On the other hand Bar Bahlul, in the preface to his
lexicon, speaks of the lexicon of Zekharya Maruzaya, so perhaps there has
been some confusion of names. In any case Maruzaya (in Arabic al-
Marwazi) appears to indicate the city of Merv 3 .

The other place-name associated with our author is the town Hedatha,
or Hedhatta. According to Assemani 4 this is a place near Mosul ; so that
Isho dad must have travelled far before he found his episcopate. The
Nestorians were great travellers, and the distance between Merv and
Mosul need not trouble us. It is not comparable with the distance
between Balkh and China, which we find noted for one of the missionaries
on the Hsian-fu inscription. The name (which I cannot find identified
by any modern traveller) appears to be only a modification of Newtown,
and is explained in this sense by Bar Hebraeus ( Hadeth, the city which
has been newly, ^ure^.tjj, built by the Arabs) 5 . I should have suggested
that it was a suburb of Mosul, if Abulfeda had not said that it was on the
Tigris, fourteen parasangs distant from that city. The Ooroomiah MS.
Cod. 9 describes the commentary as the work of Isho dad, bishop of
Hedhatta in the district of Mosul, which gives a similar conclusion. The
name is ambiguous enough, for, as amongst ourselves, there must have
been many Newtowns, but there seems to be no reason against locating
Isho dad in a city on the Tigris, which must have been a Nestorian colony,
since it is the seat of one of their bishops.

1 Assemani, B. O. in. i. 214. 2 Syr ^ Lit p 2 , 5

3 One would like to know whether there are any Syriac MSS. still remaining in Merv, which
seems to have had a cultured Syrian population.

4 B. O. in. i. 210.

5 Bar Hebraeus, Chron, 134.

INTRODUCTION XV

Another eminent Syrian writer, Moses bar Kepha, is said to have had
as his natural parent Simeon Kepha, who was from the village of Mashhad
al-Kohail, which is situated on the Tigris opposite al-Hadithah 1 . This
reference may perhaps help us to identify the exact position of Newtown.

It has already been pointed out that Isho dad interpreted both the
Old and New Testaments. With the former we are not concerned here ;
indeed I have never come across any copy of his comments on the
Pentateuch 2 . But with regard to the New Testament, there is no doubt
that besides the volumes which illustrated the Gospel and are here re
produced, he wrote a series of annotations upon the Acts and the Pauline
Epistles. A copy of these latter commentaries was, until recently, in my
possession (Cod. Syr. Harris 60), having been transcribed for me in the
East in the year 1893. It is now in the Library of the Semitic Museum
at Harvard University. It was copied, I believe, in Ooroomiah 3 .

Another copy, perhaps from the same archetype, is found at the end
of the MS. in my possession which Mrs Gibson has used for her text
(Cod. Syr. Harris 130). This MS. is also now transferred to the Harvard
Library. Besides Prof. Margoliouth s copy and the one in the Sachau
collection, I have come across traces of a copy amongst the Syrians of
Southern India, but have not succeeded in obtaining a copy of it.

In view of the loans which Isho dad makes from earlier writers, especially
Ephrem and Theodore, it would be well to have the commentaries upon
the Acts and Pauline epistles published. They would not be as interesting
or important as Ephrem s commentaries on the Pauline Epistles (preserved
in Armenian), but they would be sure to furnish valuable matter to the
student of the Syriac literary tradition.

We come now to the authors quoted by Isho dad in the Gospel
commentaries ; for it is in this direction that his great value lies. It was
the observation made by Prof. Gottheil 4 and Dr Isaac H. Hall 5 , of New
York, as to the existence of quotations from the Diatessaron of Tatian
in the pages of Isho dad, which first brought this commentary into public
notice ; and this observation of one of the oldest forms of Syriac Gospel
as an outcrop in the pages of Isho dad led to the further observation that

1 Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 190.

2 I think there is one amongst the recent acquisitions at the British Museum.

3 Probably its archetype may be found in Cod. 9 of the Ooroomiah Library (American Mission),
which is described in their catalogue as i^o\nu Aik. n ^noJOJ, the author being identified as
Isho dad.

4 Journal of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, Vol. XII. 1892, Pt i. pp. 6871.

5 Ibid., Vol. XI. 1891, Pt ii. pp. 153 155.

G. I. C

xvi INTRODUCTION

he also draws largely upon Syriac Gospels which antedate the Peshitta
version, and are, therefore, known comprehensively by the title of Old
Syriac. Not only was Tatian quoted in several places, but the Com
mentary of Ephrem upon the Diatessaron could be found lurking under
the name of Ephrem, so that the pages of Isho dad became a gold-mine
for the recovery of the original Syriac of Ephrem s Commentary, known
until then only from an Armenian translation ; and I was able in 1895 to
publish a whole volume of these imbedded fragments, under the title of
Fragments of the Commentary of Ephrem Syrus upon the Diatessaron : the
process of extraction was not exhaustive, there was some more still to
be identified ; and in Mrs Gibson s pages, it will sometimes happen that
an unidentified fragment of the Diatessaron commentary may be, here
and there, lurking. Scholars will be on the look out for such, in view of
the importance of Ephrem s work for the restoration of the text of Tatian ;
indeed all Ephrem s genuine commentaries have acquired fresh importance,
since Prof. Burkitt showed that the supposed dependence of Ephrem upon
the Peshitta was a fiction.

Next in importance to the Ephrem quotations, we should place those
which are said to come from the Mephassekana or Interpreter, a title which
covers the proscribed name of the glorious Father Theodore of Mopsuestia,
and protects his quoted fragments from the destruction which has attended
his complete works. We shall be able to collect a great deal of Theodore
in this way, and occasionally also a fragment of his great disciple Nestorius.
As the commentary of Isho dad belongs to the Nestorian Church we are
surprised at not finding more references to their leader : but the destruction
of heretical books was very complete in the case of Nestorius : Abdisho
knew of only three which had escaped ecclesiastical malice and vindictive-
ness. In connexion with Nestorianism we shall find extracts from a number
of leading writers of that school, such as Hannana (of Hedhaiyabh), Babai
the Great, Babai the Persian, Bar Hadbashaba and Honain. The con
ventional Greek fathers are also well represented.

It will be convenient to make a rough tabulation of the authorities
involved :

Africanus,

Ambrose of Milan,

Ananisho ,

Andrew, brother of Magnes the Great,

Anonymous inspired writers, quoted as Theophori,

Apocryphal Acts of Peter,

INTRODUCTION XVll

Aphraates,
Babhai the Great,
Babhai the Persian,
Bar Bahriz,

Bar Daisan (Bardesanes),

Bar Hadbeshabba,

Basil,

Cave of Treasures (commonly ascribed to Ephrem),

Chrysostom,

Clement of Alexandria,

Daniel Bar Maryam,

Diatessaron,

Dionysius the Areopagite,

Ephrem,

Epiphanius,

Eusebius,

Gregory of Nazianzus,

Hannan of Hedhaiyabh,

Hippolytus,

Irenaeus,

John of Beth Rabban,

Josephus,

Julian,

Manes,

Marcus the Abbot,

Methodius,

Nestorius,

Nisibis (school of),

Origen,

Porphyry,

Qahtaraya (?),

Severus,

Tatian (see Diatessaron),

Theodore,

Timotheus.

Of these writers, those quoted most frequently are Ephrem, Josephus
and Theodore ; other references are scanty and occasional ; indeed we
might say that as far as actual quotation goes, the material of Isho dad
was found in Ephrem and Theodore; Ephrem owes his prominence to

xviii INTRODUCTION

the use of the Commentary on the Diatessaron, quotations from which
we are able to identify, by means of Mosinger s edition of the Armenian
translation, in many places where no acknowledgement of the source is
made ; and this renders it reasonably certain that there is much more
borrowed from Theodore also than is actually confessed. The Nestorian
commentaries naturally rely upon their great exegete, either thinly dis
guising his name or omitting it altogether.

The mention of Nestorian commentaries suggests to me that this is the
proper place to refer to the Gannat Busame (or Garden of Delights), an
enormous commentary upon the Lectionary as read in Nestorian Churches
throughout the year, of which I am happy in possessing a copy. Here,
too, there is a constant reference to the Interpreter, and there are also
many passages which coincide with the comments of Isho dad 1 ; as in a
number of these the reference to Isho dad is directly made, we are sure
that Isho dad is one of the principal sources of the Gannat Busamd, and
I have indicated the fact on the earlier pages of Mrs Gibson s text, either
by the full reference, or by the letters G.B. The question will arise whether
Gannat Busame quotes Theodore, for instance, elsewhere than from the
pages of Isho dad; this is certainly the case even in passages which co
incide with Isho dad. The Gannat is a mine for recovering Theodore.
Indeed one of the richest Theodorian nuggets which I have found was the
passage referring Acts xvii. 28 to Epimenides, which I took from the pages
of the Gannat Busame*. So I have no doubt that Theodore is everywhere
in both commentaries, if we had only a secure means of identification. The
difficulty will arise in cases where our author has used Theodore freely ; in
that case his reference to him may sometimes be more misleading than his
silence. This case will occur in the commentary on John, where we have the
text of Theodore preserved in a Syriac translation (ed. by Chabot) ; a com
parison with Isho dad will show constant contact with Theodore, but also
an occasional difficulty in reasoning from the later writer to the earlier.

As an illustration of the way in which the hand of Theodore may be
recognised, we may refer to the long discourse on our Lord s prayer from
the Cross on pp. 202 204, in the course of which the writer affirms that
David says, my prayer shall be about the calamity of the Babylonians.
The reference is to Psalm cxli. 5, and it is clear that the writer has
identified this Psalm as being a Psalm of the captivity and spoken
prophetically by the mouth of David. It is natural to conclude that this

i A number of comments from Isho dad are also to be found in the Cambridge MS. Add. 1998.
- See my article The Cretans alway liars, in Expositor for Oct. 1906.

INTRODUCTION XIX

is one of Theodore s identifications. It is a common method of Theodore s
to interpret the Psalms in a manner consonant with historical criticism, and
to explain that in these identifications David was speaking prophetically.
Theodoret, who follows him closely, often removes these interpretations,
but sometimes he leaves them, explaining that it doesn t matter 1 .

Over and above these writers, whom Isho dad definitely refers to, there
are other books and sources of information that are more difficult to trace.
For example, there are references to a Succinct Exposition of Matthew
which seems to have good patristic affinities, though I do not know how to
identify it. Then there is no doubt that the writer has access to a mass
of Jewish and Christian traditions, explanatory of the Old and New
Testaments. To take a single interesting case, he tells us that Salome,
the daughter of Herodias, met with a just retribution for the part she
took in the Decollation of John the Baptist, by having her own head cut
off as she was dancing one day upon the ice : the passage is as follows :

p. 61. Now the damsel, after she had taken the head of John in a
charger and brought it to her mother, returned to the guests, that with new
kinds of her dancing she might pay the wages of her request. There was a
lake at the side of which the dining hall was fixed ; and she went upon the
ice in order to dance and to show the excellence of her performance, and
amaze the beholders, when suddenly that place was opened from below her,
and she was swallowed up as far as her neck, and a great fish was commissioned
by God for the revenge of her death : it swallowed up her body, and when by
every means they strove to rescue her, they could not : and as soon as they
cut off her head with the very sword with which John was murdered, the earth
threw it up without any man lifting it, and so on.

The legend is in an advanced form of growth 2 , and it seems to be made
up of two separate Nemesis stories, one that Salome s head was cut off by
the ice (changed after to the statement that she went through the ice up
to her neck, and a great fish swallowed her submerged part), and the
other that her head was cut off with the very sword that had been used
for decapitating the Baptist. But whence did Isho dad get all this ? It is
a northern legend, as the ice shows ; the idea of the frozen Dead Sea in
front of Herod s palace at Machaerus is pretty, but impossible. The legend
interested me because I had already come across it in the seventeenth
century poem on Salome by Henry Vaughan. The poem is as follows :

1 For example in Ps. Ixxii. Theodoret has to deal with an exactly similar case of location of the
Psalm in the exile. He explains that David really wrote the Psalm, but that it doesn t make much
difference which explanation we take. The people were carried away to Babylon and under the
stress of many calamities they saw the impious Babylonians in prosperity, etc.

2 It can be found in an even more extended form in the Gannat Busame.

X3i INTRODUCTION

The Daughter of Herodias.
St Matt. chap. xiv. ver. 6, &c.

Vain, sinful Art ! who first did fit

Thy lewd, loath d Motions unto sounds,

And made grave Musique, like wilde wit,

Erre in loose airs beyond her bounds ;

What fires hath he brought on his head !

Since to his sins, as needs it must,

His Art adds still, though he be dead,

New, fresh accounts of blood and lust.

Leave then , young Sorceress ; the Ice

Will those coy spirits cast asleep,

Which teach thee now to please 2 his eyes

Who doth thy lothsome mother keep.

But thou hast pleas d so well, he swears,

And gratifies thy sin with vows,

His shameless lust in publick wears,

And to thy soft arts fondly bows.

Skilful enchantress, and true bred !

Who out of evil can bring good?

Thy mother s nets in thee were spread,

She tempts to incest, thou to blood.

\Silex Scintillans, p. 163.]

Here is the legend of Isho dad, in a somewhat modified form, and I can
believe the reader to be as much puzzled as myself to determine the origin
of the tradition. Let us see if we can do anything to elucidate the matter.
Henry Vaughan can hardly have been reading Isho dad ; and indeed his
version of the decollation of Salome is simpler than that of the Syrian
father. Vaughan is, however, a man of some Oriental erudition. In his
verses on St Mary Magdalen we have the following lines :
This dusky state of sighs and tears

Durst not look on those smiling years,

When Jbfog%z/-castle was thy seat,

Where all was sumptuous, rare and neat.

Why lies this hair despised now

Which once thy care and art did show?

Who then did dress the much lov d toy

In spires, globes, angry curls and coy?

1 Her name -was Salome ; in passing over a frozen river, the ice broke under her, and chopt
off her head.

2 Herod Antipas.

INTRODUCTION XXI

Here we have not only the conventional explanation of Magdalene
from the town of Magdala, but we can see under the versification a
reference to another etymology, according to which she was called Magda
lene because of the plaiting of her hair (from the Hebrew root gadal to
plait or twine). Thus John Lightfoot says in his Hebrew and Talmudic
Exercitations on Matthew xxvii. 56 You may with good reason doubt
whether she was called Magdalene from the town Magdala or from that

word of the Talmudists tfSlJJb, a plaiter of hair. So it seems that
Vaughan has had access to some tradition coinciding with what we find
in the Talmud. On turning to the Talmudic traditions we find that the
Jews have identified Mary Magdalene with Mary the mother of Jesus, and
accordingly present Jesus as the son of Miriam, the woman s hair-dresser.
(See T.B. Shabbath 104 b, and Streane, Jesus Christ in the Talmud^)

Vaughan knows then the Talmudic tradition ; but he also knows that
Magdala can be explained by the Hebrew word migdol, a tower ; this is

clear from the line

When Magdal-castle was thy seat.

So we have in his tradition

Mary of Magdala = Mary of the Castle = Mary the hair-dresser.
Now let us turn to Syrian soil. Bar Salibi tells us, in his comments
on Matt, (see Loftus translation p. 34), She was called Magdalen,
because she inhabited the tower of Astrat, or the tower of Shiloah ; or
from pleated, because her hair was pleated Here we have two explana
tions of the involved tower, one Turris Stratonis, the other the tower of
Siloam ; and we have also the woman s hair-dresser. This brings us very
near to Isho dad and his comments on Matt, xxviii. I who says that Mary
Magdalene was called Magdaletha, according to some, because she had
lived in Turris Stratonis (Caesarea) ; according to others, from the tower
of Siloah : others say, that Mary the sister of Lazarus was a harlot, who
was called Magdaletha from the tower which she built for herself from
the wages of harlotry, etc. Here we touch the traditions of Bar Salibi
at an earlier point : and I begin to suspect that Vaughan may have had
access to the Syriac tradition at some such point. His erudition is now
evident, though it may at first have been unsuspected. And if this is the
direction in which to look for the explanation of the references to Mary
Magdalene, may not a similar quarter contain the material for the story
of Salome and the ice? That is as far as I can take the matter with
material as yet known to me. It will be conceded that Isho dad, at all
events, is not an ordinary commentator.

XX11 INTRODUCTION

Not less interesting are the Midrashic comments upon Old Testament
passages, some of which are taken from Ephrem and some, apparently,
from an independent source. For example, there is the story of an idol
with four faces made by Manasseh, King of Israel. This is taken from
Ephrem (Mos. p. 122); it occurs again, apparently from an independent
source in Bar-Hebraeus Hist. Dyn. 1 in the form

Idolum quatuor habens facies conficiens coli jussit :...quum primum ergo

reversus esset Hierosolymam, idolo isto quatuor facierum e templo sublato

ipsum purgavit.

Here we are in touch with a line of Jewish traditions corresponding
to what supplies the writers of Midrash. The Syrian Church was from
its origin (if we may accept the tradition that the apostle Addai began
work in the Jewish quarter of Edessa) in close contact with the Jews:
and in this way their writings often conserve peculiar interpretations that
they have borrowed from local Rabbis or from their Jewish neighbours
generally, with whom they seem to have been in a friendly relation not
known in the West.

We come now to the most important part of the work of Isho dad,
his value namely for critical purposes, and, in particular, for textual
criticism.

In this respect, Isho dad is a mine of information. He supplies us with
(i) acute criticisms as to the causes of various readings, including Synoptic
variations ; (2) he brings us evidence for the existence of Syriac variants,
in the case of readings whose attestation has been hitherto limited to
Greek, or to Greek and Latin ; (3) he recovers for us a number of actual
quotations from the lost Syriac of Tatian s Diatessaron, which are re
inforced by the secondary evidence of a number of passages in which
Ephrem comments upon the Diatessaron ; (4) he supplies us with a mass
of readings from the Old Syriac Gospels, which are anterior to the
Diatessaron, or, if we follow Dr Burkitt s criticism, somewhat later than
that Harmony. In all these respects the commentary before us demands
a careful study. First of all, then, with regard to the acuteness of Isho dad s
general criticisms. Some of the cases that might be brought forward
may be referred to his use of Theodore of Mopsuestia ; but that this
is not a sufficient explanation may be seen from cases in which Isho dad s
criticisms turn upon the knowledge of the Syriac language.

Let us take as an example the way in which Isho dad discusses the
variation between the two passages Matt. x. 10 and Mark vi. 8 in reference

1 Ed. Pocock, p. 43.

INTRODUCTION xxiii

to the carrying of a staff by the apostles on their first mission : we will
quote the passage at length :

p. 132. Matthew says Nor even a staff, * \,~&gt;r. ^^As^n, but Mark
here, Save a staff only, * \,~&gt;r. * ^: our Lord signifies this, that
from others to whom they should go they should take nothing ; that these
might not suppose that they were sent for trade : that He might show that
He is supplying all that they require ; therefore this of Mark is not contrary
to that of Matthew ; because both of them admonish not to borrow from
others, lest they should appear covetous ; for they are not prevented from
taking from their houses, because they need these things on the way :
viz. a stick *T^CU&gt; for leaning on, and sandals *$i\ for the hardness of
the road, and the thorns.

Others say that because Matthew had formerly been a publican, and
had experienced the hardness of the passion of covetousness, he fitly removed
them from this passion. Others say that in both of them they are forbidden
a stick, and they read that Ella Alia which is interpreted not even :

CVcrA

Here Isho dad does not seem to be explaining the Old Syriac. He
has before him the same difficulty in the Peshitta text as we have in the
Greek; viz. that Matt, says the disciple is not to take a staff, and Mark
says he is to take nothing except a staff: the same Syriac word K^rxr.
in either case for pajB^ov.

The first explanation which he gives is a piece of exegetical subtlety :
one is not to take a staff, in the sense of taking one from someone else
(Matthew s doctrine) ; but you may take one from your own house, and in
fact it is necessary (Mark s doctrine) : similarly for the sandals. To which is
added a perversely ingenious remark that Matthew was the proper person
to preach against covetousness.

Then comes the remark that perhaps the difficulty has arisen from
a misunderstanding of an unpointed Syriac text, which could be read

either

and not a staff

except a staff.

It is not quite clear whether the MS. of Isho dad has the correct
pointing : should it not be

And they read Alia Ello which is translated /ti/Se ?
In this explanation Isho dad really appears to be on the right track :
it is one of the commonest confusions in Syriac, to have the two senses
G. i. d

INTRODUCTION

of rK conflicting with one another; and the confusion has led to an

artificial refinement by which Elld has been assimilated, by pointing, to
the Greek dX\a. where it means but. It is not, however, necessary to vary
the pointing, for the Semitic dialects have evolved the sense except out of
the collocation and not; so that, as the Lexicon will show, the Syriac

v^\r^ can be rendered either nisi or sed&gt; etiam, tamen : and this will

furnish the explanation of the divergence in Matt, and Mark : it lies in
a variant translation of an original Aramaic.

So far we are dealing with Matt, and Mark, and their Peshitta
renderings of et /u,?) pd/38ov f^ovov, and /u^Se pd/38ov. On looking closer
at Isho dad s commentary, we see traces, however, of an Old Syriac
rendering : we are told that one may take from one s own house things
that are necessary for a journey, viz. staff and shoes. And we notice that
a new word is given for both : we have rc i^cu* for the staff, and r^H-lX.
for the shoes. K T-JL^ is the Peshitta word in Mark, where the Matthean
translation is rf.ifla.aq. The suggestion arises that the divergence between
Matthew and Mark had been got over in the Old Syriac by a variety
of translation, according to which Matthew would say

No shoes (viz. fashionable shoes) nor stick (viz. club),
and Mark would allow

Only a staff and coarse shoes.

When we turn to the Old Syriac, we find for the staff, in Matt, in
the Lewis text r^i^cuj and in Mark in the same text ^\^" ; while
the sandals are represented in Matt, by the word .vrq and in Mark
by the direct transliteration rd\:w0. It seems clear that the translations
in Matt, and Mark in the Old Syriac were diverse. If they were in
tentionally diverse, the variation is made in the interests of a subsequent
harmony ; if unintentionally, then the first great Harmonist will have to
combine them. So we see the importance of this passage in the Synoptic
tradition and in the question of its first harmonisation. If the first
harmony is made in Greek, there is not much chance that pdpSo? will
be varied ; on the other hand both v-n-oS^fiara and a-avSaXta are likely to
be found in the resultant text Let us see what we actually find in the
fragments and traditions of Tatian s harmony that have come down
to us.

INTRODUCTION XXV

In Ephrem s commentary (Mos. 91) we have as follows :

Et quod dixit : Virgam in signum nimirum regiminis et humilitatis. Non
baculum quia non ad gregem furientem pascendum exierunt, sicut quondam
Moyses.

The Arabic Diatessaron has the following sequence :

Mark vi. 8 b nisi virgam tantum, non peram, neque panem,
Luc. ix. 3 b neque duas tunicas habeatis,
Matt. x. io b neque calceamenta neque baculum,
Mark vi. g sed calceati eritis sandaliis.

Now let us see what Syriac words underlie virgam and baculum,
The commentary of Bar Salibi on the Gospel has evidently made use
of Ephrem, for we have

pc*attl

^A.i V\ ^q .rf%\_a.

i.e. and no wallet, a token of their simple life and a sign of their lowliness ;
and no club, for they were not going to feed flocks, like Moses.

In one respect this is better than the present text of Ephrem, in that
it makes the want of a wallet the sign of poverty, rather than the carrying
of a stick. Probably Ephrem s text should run

And as to what he said no wallet, etc.

And a stick but no club, etc.

Bar Salibi tells us that re i^cu* is the word for club, and it follows
that Tatian has harmonized the two renderings of pdftSos which are extant
in the Old Syriac.

Did he also harmonize two words for shoes. We notice that the text
of Ephrem continues :

Porro non dixit caligas quas si portarent, ab omnibus rejicerentur, sed
sandalia ut ita forsitan praemium mandatorum suorum acciperent. Sed licet
plebeii essent, tamen eos exaltavit, &c.
For the opening words, we should correct

Porro dixit, neque caligas.

The comment shows that the sandals are taken to be plebeian compared
to the caligae : and it is probable, therefore, that Tatian s text ran

non caligas, sed sandalia.

In this way the apparent conflict between Matthew and Mark is again
resolved. This harmonization might have been made either in Greek or
in Syriac. Taking the two cases together, the evidence is slightly in
favour of a harmonization of previous existing Syriac gospels.

INTRODUCTION

Returning to Isho dad s value to the Synoptic and textual critic, we
may take as an interesting example his comment on the story of Herodias
and her daughter :

The Interpreter says that during the life time of his brother Herod
debauched Herodias and her daughter : for she too was called Herodias.
Here we have support for the reading in Mk. vi. 22

ela\6ov(rr)&lt;; TT}? Ovyarpo^ avrov HpwSidSos

so far, that is, as the name of the girl is concerned. The reading is edited
by W. H. under the authority of the MSS. NBDLA. We must not,
however, treat Isho dad as a Syriac witness, for the extract shows that
it is Theodore who is responsible for the name.

Here is a curious case in which a remark of Isho dad s may throw light on
the variant icofytvov tcoTrpicov in Luke xiii. 8 : this peculiar reading of Codex
Bezae has much to commend it in the nature of the case, and the omission
of the first word can easily be explained by reference to the like beginnings
of the two words. But it would be much more easily explained in Syriac,
for as Isho dad says in commenting upon the difference between a
and a KO^IVOS

(TTrvptSes are big rtlllrji
and Koffrivoi are little r&lt;llx=3\.

So if we imagine that the gardener was going to employ r^lat ,

we can easily see how one of two such closely related words would
disappear. (Cf. the Old Syriac cnAatK a crLMjlaK:)

Another case in which it has been suspected that a Syriac retranslation,
or a variant treatment of an Aramaic source would explain curious varia
tions in the Greek tradition is Luke xxiv. 32 where the ordinary text
ovxl r) Kap&ta rjp&v Kaio/juevrj fy finds such variations as Ke/caXv^evrj in D,
excecatum in c, extermination in e and apparently gravatum in the Old
Syriac. Upon this Isho dad remarks acutely that, for "was not our
heart burning W within us?" the Greek has "was not our heart heavy
.ua* ? " The observation would explain some of the variants at all events.
It is clear, then, that there is much to be learned from Isho dad by the
student of textual variations.

Equally striking are some of his exegetical comments, in which, how
ever, we must always remember that he may be retailing Theodore. I give
a single instance. In the eleventh chapter of John, Martha says Yea!
Lord, I have believed that thou art the Christ, the Son of God who should
come into the world. I imagine that the fulness of this confession,

INTRODUCTION xxvii

rivalling the great inspiration of Simon Peter at Caesarea Philippi, must
have struck many a reader with surprise. Isho dad has noticed the
difficulty, and says :

It must not be supposed that she was in possession of that perfect
knowledge which we have to-day : she calls him the Son of God as being
a man virtuous and righteous and superior to all other men : because in the
Scripture they used to call virtuous men Christs and sons of God.

If this is Isho dad s own comment, it shows the impression which the
language made upon an Oriental mind. But then again it may be
Theodore.

Occasionally we shall find an ethical variant for which it will be
difficult to obtain a sponsor amongst the N.T. editors. In Luke xxii. 36
(where the suggestion is made that the sale of a garment might secure the
purchase of a sword) we are told that

In many copies there stands in place of the words Sell his garment, etc.
the sentence Pray for your enemies.

Whoever the people were who had made this correction in the Gospel
of Luke, they had certainly not lost sight of the spirit of the Gospel in
their study of the letter 1 .

In dealing with the Old Syriac readings preserved in Isho dad, it will
be convenient, first of all, to repeat his allusions to the Diatessaron.

Prologue to Mark.

Titianos, the disciple of Justin the philosopher and martyr selected
[passages] from the Four Gospels and combined them and composed a
Gospel, and called it Diatessaron, i.e. of the Combined ; and on the
Divinity of Christ he did not write ; and upon this Gospel Mar Ephrem
commented.

To the well-known passages in which Bar Salibi and Bar Hebraeus
repeat these statements, we may now add the Nestorian Chronicle of
Saert, p. 85, as follows:

Among the celebrated works of S. Ephrem one remarks : A Commentary
on the Old Testament ; A Commentary on the Psalms of David; A Commentary
on the Gospel called Diatessaron, which is formed by the combination of the
four Gospels and had been composed by Tatian the Greek. Diatessaron is
a Greek word, signifying four-fold, i.e. formed out of the four Gospels. In
explaining this book, S. Ephrem wished to avoid the repetition of chapters and
that was also the project of the one that composed it.

1 I suppose the statement that many ancient MSS. have the passage indicated would hardly
secure it a position on the margin of the Revised Version !

XXVlli INTRODUCTION

The next reference distinguishes the reading of the Diatessaron of
Tatian in Mark i. i from that of Ammonius as follows :

Others say 1 : that the book of the Diatessaron which was composed in
Alexandria says instead of the passage of the Diatessaron it is written in
Isaiah [it is written] in the prophets.

I have suggested (Frag. Eph. pp. 15 sqq.) that this does not refer to
a use of Mk. i. i by Tatian, but to Matt. iii. 3. There is still some obscurity
about the passage, for why should Ammonius have any other reading?
And the confusion becomes worse confounded in Bar Salibi s note, which
copies Isho dad in part :

Others [say] that in the book of Diatessaron which is preserved [or was

composed] in Alexandria and was written by Tatianus the Bishop, as also

in the Greek Gospel and in the Harkalian, it is written In the prophet,

without explaining what prophet.

The latter part of this extract looks like a reference to Mark, but in
that case why the singular?

On Matt. i. 20 there will be found a discussion as to whether we ought
to read that which is begotten in her or that which is born from her.
The passage runs thus :

Others say : that the one who translated from Hebrew into Syriac changed
the word, and instead of that which is begotten in her used the words that
which is born ; but the Diatessaron says that which is born in her, is from
the Holy Ghost, the ineffable and infinite Word : the birth that is in her,
he calls the assumption and formation of the man, who within the womb was
separated from her, even though He was not yet born.

Isho dad is sensible of the theological importance of the reading : he
discusses it at length: Why does Matthew say, that which is born in her
is of the Holy Ghost, when He was not yet bom, and he did not say, that
which is conceived in her? and again, that which is born in her, but not
from her? etc. If we may take Isho dad s testimony, Tatian read :
r&lt;Lx.iooi GOO rtLuoi ^sa .00=3 .OuAtrc i OCD

The Old Syriac has avoided all misunderstanding by reading, that
which is born from her is conceived from the Holy Spirit.

On Matt. iii. 5, we are told that

The Diatessaron says, His meat was honey and milk of the mountains.

Apparently we should correct this to milk and honey of the moun
tains : the passage is quoted as follows by Bar Salibi :

1 Zahn remarks contemptuously nur iiber die Ansicht anderen ; but it is a common method of
citation with Isho dad and need not invalidate the quotation.

INTRODUCTION XXIX

Others say : that in the Diatessaron, i.e. the Gospel of Four, it is written
that his meat was milk and honey of the wild : since milk was proper to his
youth and honey to his manly age.
For a discussion of this Encratite attempt to get rid of the animal food

of S. John see Fragm. Ephr. p. 18. We have, then, for the original reading

of Tatian

IIJSI.D

where the only doubtful word is the last, which Bar Salibi (and Syr. Cur.)
give as rc irj.i, but Isho dad (and Syr. Lew.) as rc icx^.r Probably the
latter is the right form. The Palestine Syriac Lectionary has

On Matt. iii. 16 we have in Isho dad many legendary accretions to the
account of the Baptism of our Lord, some part of which must be assigned
to the Diatessaron, viz. the statement that a great light shined in the
Jordan.

Straightway, as the Diatessaron testifies, a great light shone, and the
Jordan was surrounded by white clouds, and many troops of spiritual beings
were seen singing praises in the air, etc.

I suspect that it is the clause and a great light shone with perhaps
the addition in the Jordan that represents the part contributed by
Tatian. We may compare Justin Martyr, a fire was kindled in the
Jordan, etc.

In Matt. xxi. i there is again a reference, somewhat obscure in
character, to the Diatessaron, as follows:

Bethphage: some explain it as the partition of the ways, others as the
crossing of the roads ; others say, Bethphage, that is to say, the house of the
insipid fig-tree: and they bring evidence from the Diatessaron, and from
Greek transcripts ; in the affair of Zakeouna, him who was short in body,
as also in spiritual stature, and it is said that to see Jesus, he went up into
sycamores, which are in Syriac insipid fig-trees.

Apparently this means that in Luke xix. 4, where the Old Syriac reads
^, Tatian had n^-2i Bar Bahlul says expressly that
is the reading of the Combined Gospel.

These are the passages in which Isho dad definitely quotes the Dia
tessaron : we come now to a mass of readings which are either from the
Diatessaron or from the Old Syriac ; the major part of the Diatessaron
readings will arise from his use of Ephrem s commentary on the same.

Mrs Lewis has collected a great number of these Old Syriac readings
in an Appendix to her edition of the Gospel of the Mepharreshe. A

XXX INTRODUCTION

number of them will also be found in the footnotes to Prof. Burkitt s
edition of the same Gospel. We need only to repeat the caution that
one must not always infer Syriac authority for a reading in Isho dad, in
view of the fact that he makes such extended loans from Theodore of
Mopsuestia, and, by inference, from the Greek text of Theodore. We may
be in danger of obscuring the landmarks of the textual critic, if we do not
pay attention to this caution.

While these sheets have been passing through the press, the first
instalment has appeared of the great commentary of Bar Salibi on the
four Gospels, under the editorial care of Sedlac,ek and Chabot. As we
have been making reference in the foregoing pages to the common matter
in Isho dad and Bar Salibi, and have occasionally quoted the quaint
seventeenth-century translation of Bar Salibi, made by Dudley Loftus
(a part of which was printed, and a part of which is extant in MS. in the
Bodleian Library), it becomes interesting to set the two commentaries side
by side. When we do this, we shall be astonished to find that Bar Salibi
has copied page after page direct from the commentary of Isho dad. Yet,
as far as I can see, he never specifies, in these loans, the author whom he
is employing. In his preface he tells us that he quotes from Ephrem,
from Chrysostom, from Cyril, from Moses bar Kepha, from John of Dara
and many other doctors. Amongst these doctors both Isho dad and
Theodore of Mopsuestia must be held to lurk. Bar Salibi does sometimes
quote an opinion or a sentence as from Theodore the Nestorian (which
is a pretty case of va-repov Trporepov), or from Theodore the heretic (which
is an interesting case of petitio principii), but no one would suspect that
Theodore had much influence on Syrian theology, from the treatment he
appears to receive in Bar Salibi. But the fact is that the commentary
of Bar Salibi is altogether deceptive in regard to the authors quoted.
When you see a reference to Philoxenus, Cyril, George of the Gentiles,
John Chrysostom and the like, I think it can be shown that these titles
do not, as a rule, represent anything more than transcriptions from previous
writers ; they do not mean that Bar Salibi had either read or verified the
extracts ; we can see this in a very interesting way.

Bar Salibi has referred in his preface to Moses Bar Kepha as one of
his authorities. As I happen to have an interesting MS. of Bar Kepha
in my possession, I have taken the pains to compare the passages in which
Bar Kepha comments on the early chapters of Matthew, with the same
portion of commented scripture, in Bar Salibi. The result was startling.
Page after page of Bar Salibi, precisely as in the case of Isho dad, was

INTRODUCTION xxxi

taken bodily from Bar Kepha. More than this, there was hardly any
point of contact between what was borrowed from Isho dad and what came
from Bar Kepha. The Nestorian and the Monophysite were clearly
working independently, and between them they accounted for nearly the
whole of Bar Salibi s commentary, including a number of passages in
corporated by Bar Kepha and Isho dad from earlier fathers, which at first
sight seemed to be due to Bar Salibi s own reading. So that it was for
parts at least of the greatest Jacobite commentary, possible to make an
equation of the form

Bar Salibi = Isho dad + Bar Kepha.
Now the importance of this is evident.

Scholars have, for a long while, used Bar Salibi s work as a magazine
of early traditions. It was so used by Lightfoot in the controversy with
Mr Cassels over the Diatessaron of Tatian, and later, by myself on the
same war-path. Well, now we see why this Syrian father of the twelfth
century was so important ; and we can replace him, by his sources, to
which he appears to have added next to nothing. We must go to work
directly on Isho dad and Moses Bar Kepha and leave Bar Salibi alone.
Behind these two writers there loom up large the forms of Ephrem and
Theodore ; these are the men we want to know, the one for what he said
in commenting on the Diatessaron, the other for what he said on anything,
and as being, from a modern point of view, the greatest of New Testament
commentators.

I have read through much of Bar Kepha on the early chapters of
Matthew. The MS. is a modern transcript from a text in the Tur Abdin.
It must certainly be published, at least in a translation, and probably in
the original Syriac. There appears to be a good MS. of the same book in
the British Museum, where it is described as The Festal Homilies of Moses
Bar Klpha, or Mar Severus, with some other discourses by the same writer.
(See Wright, Catalogue vol. II. p. 877. Cod. Mus. Britt. Add. DCCCXLI.)
From this text, with my own transcript, I hope to be able to deduce
a correct representation of what Bar Kepha wrote. I can then do for
Bar Kepha, in the representation of the text of Ephrem on the Diatessaron,
what I was able to do some years since, for Isho dad, in the collection of
passages which I published under the title of Ephrem and the Gospel.

When we have extracted, as far as possible, the fragments of Ephrem

from our two leading authors, we can try our hand at Theodore. Here

the easiest place to begin will be the Gospel of John, the Syriac translation

of which commentary of Theodore has been published by Chabot. At

G. i.

xxxii INTRODUCTION

this point, however, it will be necessary to pay special attention to the
Gannat Busame which is full of quotations from Theodore. The Gannat
is a big book : my copy of it runs to about 1 300 folio pages, and it quotes
both Isho dad directly and the sources from which Isho dad works. As it
is the standard commentary of the Nestorians upon their Lectionary, it can
not be neglected by any one who is in search of the favourite author of the
Nestorians. This part of the work will seem much more difficult than the
detection of passages from Ephrem on the Diatessaron, where we have
the advantage of an Armenian text to assist our investigations. It is,
however, quite possible that in the course of the work we may be able
to define, from one quarter or another, the Theodorean quotations. It is
too soon to say what can be done in this way.

Other directions of useful work will also open out before us, especially
in connexion with the lost work of Ephrem on the Pauline Epistles, much
of which is probably latent in the two fathers to whom we have referred
above. But commentaries on the Epistles by Isho dad and Moses Bar
Kepha are hard to obtain, and some further search after them might well
be made. Bar Salibi will be available here also, in the first stages of
the enquiry.

The foregoing considerations will be sufficient to emphasise the im
portance of the work which Mrs Gibson has done in translating Isho dad.
Those who follow her path-finding studies will know how to be grateful
for the devoted labour, the quick intelligence, and the penetrating insight
which are involved in the translation.

J. RENDEL HARRIS.

COINCIDENCES IN ST JOHN BETWEEN

ISHO DAD AND THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA

(ED. CHABOT]

ISHO DAD (vol. n) THEODORE

ISHO DAD (vol. n)

THEODORE

Page Lines Page Lines

Page Lines

101 14, 15 ... ... 4 15, 16

121 15, 16 ...

44 2545 2

101 17, 18 ... ... 5 7-9

121 17, 1 8 ...

46 3,4

101 18-22 ... ... 5 10-15

122 4-6

45 2546 2

(5 2I ~ 2 3

122 I I-I2

52 20-24

102 1-3 J6 22,23

122 14-16 ...

55 16-18

(7 12-14

122 17

... 56 16

102 1-3 ... ... 6 9, 10

123 22124 3

59 22 60 2

102 3-5 6 2-6

124 10, 14 ...

60 17-25

6 13, *4

124 20-22 125 2

... 63 2464 4

102 10, ii ... ... 8 8, 9

12/4 22

64 19, 20

51 19,20

125 7-9

67 2-4

102 7-14 ... ... 7 12-21

125 14-16

70 8-12

102 I5-l8 7 238 2

125 17, 18 ...

69 20 70 I

102 l6, 17 ... ... 65 19, 20

125 21 126 10

73 10-21

102 16-18 ... ... 8 14

(86 io,n

126 4,5

... \

103 13,14 12 24,25

( 19.20

104 13, 14 21 25

127 15-17 ...

75 I2 - r 5

108 8-n ... ... 27 15-18

127 19

75 l6 &gt; T 7

(26 II, 12

108 9-11

131 17-19

128 6-8 ...
128 9, 10 ...

75 3,4
76 25

108 11-14 29 21-24

130 21 131 4

79 2-8

108 13-15 30 5-7

131 8

79 2 3

109 6, 7 ... ... 31 20, 21

132 5

... 83 7,8

114 1,2 35 10,11

132 6-n ...

83 12-18

117 12, 14 36 16, 19

133 16,17 ...

93 i7, 18

(36 19,20

133 18, 19 ...

94 6,7

117 19,20 ... 1 . ,
(negatively

134 6-12 ...

98 13-21

119 I2 , 13 4 5~7

134 I I, 12

98 9, 10

119 1 6 ... ... 40 9

134 19-21 ...

99 18-21

1 20 2 ... ... 40 14, 15

*35 J -3

... 100 4-7

120 1014 4 1 I 3~ I 8

135 16,17 ...

103 I, 2

COINCIDENCES

ISHO

DAD (vol. Il)

THEODORE

ISHO

DAD (vol. n)

THEODORE

Page

Lines

Page

Lines

Page

Lines

Page

Lines

135

1 8, 19 ...

... 103

12, 13

15-18 ...

2OI

5-8

135

19 136 2

... 103

16-19

157

20-22 ...

201

10-12

I 3 6

3-6 ...

104

1-4

158

201

136

... 104

158

6,7 ...

... 205

23, 2 4

136

... 104

J204

18-20

I 3 6

8-n ...

... 104

13-17

7-9 ...

(206

4,5

I 3 6

15, 16 ...

... 108

7,8

158

10-13 ...

... 206

22-25

J 37

14, 15 ...

... 108

14, 15

158

J 9 r 59 5

... 208

18-25

i37

19, 20 ...

109

3,4

159

IO, II

2IO

8-10

140

8,9 ...

... 118

I, 2

159

12-14 ...

210

IO 12

140

1 6, 17

120

19-21

159

14, 15 ...

210

15-17

142

4-6 ...

... 119

21-25

J 59

17 160 2

2IO 24 211 9

142

7,8 -.

121

6,7

1 60

13-18 ...

... 2l8

l6-2 I

142

8,9 ...

120

IO, I I

160

20 161 4

... 219

1-8

142

8-n ...

120

12-15

161

6-8 ...

219

20-23

142

17-19 ...

122

20-22

161

11-15 ...

220

1-8

e f\

JI2 3

19, 20

161

17-19 ...

221

12-14

143

5, o

... *&lt;

(124

9, 10

161

221

15, 16

... 125

20-22

162

1-4

222

6-10

144

6,7 ...

... 128

I, 2

163

9, 10 ...

... 224

18-20

144

14-16

137 25138 2

163

... 225

... 141

164

... 229

8,17

J 45

3,4

*53

24, 25

165

... 226

21, 22

J 45

... 154

3,4

166

... 230

3,4

I4S

7-16 ...

155 22156 8

166

7-n ...

237

5-10

X 45

16, 17 ...

... 165

15, 16

1 66

13-16 ...

... 241

2-6

146

7-9

... 170

1-4

1 66

... 241

21, 22

146

18 147 2

... 170

8-1 1

167

10-13

... 2 4 8

6-1

10-12 ...

... 172

IT, 12

167

... 2 4 8

14, 15

149

... 177

167

17, 18 ...

... 248

20, 21

149

3-15

... 177

9-12

167

20, 21 ...

250 24 251 I

151

17152 5

... 180

9-16

1 68

1-4

... 249

13-17

J 53

2,3

... 181

4-6

1 68

8-14 ...

... 250

3-10

J 53

7-9

... 182

15-17

169

4,5 -

250

12-14

*53

13-20 ...

... 183

16-24

169

19, 20 ...

... 2 5 I

24,25

r 55

15-18 ...

190

11-15

170

2-4

2 53

7-9

iSS

T 9

... 191

1 8, 19

170

8-12 ...

254

17-19

J 55

20156 4

... 192

2-6

170

8,9 ...

... 254

21-23

156

6-9 ...

... 193

2-6

170

12-14 ...

... 2 5 6

7-10

156

15, 16

196 23197 4

170

19171 i

.- 2 5 6

12-15

COINCIDENCES

XXXV

ISHO DAD (vol.

n) THEODORE ISHO DAD (vol. n)

THEODORE

Page

Lines

Page Lines Page

Lines

Page

Lines

171

!-3

256 16, 17 193

21 194 6

... 319

4-12

171

4-6 .

256 17-19

197

1-13 ...

... 321

11-22

172

12-14

258 18-20 199

5-n ...

33i

8-18

i73

4, 5

260 2, 3

199

13-17 ...

S3 2

J -5

"75

II, 12

266 19-22

199

17-19 ...

333

19-21

175

I4-I8 .

269 22 270 I

199

19, 20 ...

334

S-i?

175

20 176

7 ... 270 4-15

200

337

21, 22

176

7-9

270 16-19

200

17-20

... 340

!5-i9

176

270 21, 22

200

... 340

176

13-15

271 1-3

200

2O 2OI 2

340 24341 i

176

17177

5 271 7-18

201

2-6

... 34I

3-7

177

20178

2 ... 273 15-17

201

6-8

... 341

10-13

178

4-8 .

273 22274 3

2OI

9, 10 ...

... 341

16, 17

178

11-13 .

... 274 16, 17

2OI

19-21

... 348

6-9

178

14-17 .

... 274 22-25

201

22 2O2 I

... 348

3.4

178

17179

i ... 275 3-8

202

347

179

... 275 9, 10 203

179

14-17 .

276 14-16

203

1-6

35 24351 4

180

. 280 25 281 i

204

17-19 ...

357

22-24

1 80

20 l8l

i ... 281 12-14

2O4

21, 22 ...

359

17-20

181

2-5

281 17-20

205

2,3

359

21, 22

181

12 16

282 21 283 2

205

4-7 ...

360

I 8-2 I

181

16-18 .

... 283 16-18

205

7,8 ...

... 361

8-1 I

181

20 182

3 -. I 283 3 4

205

... 361

182

5-7

( 20-24
... 289 5-8

207

2-4

(367

2,3

8-10

183

1-6

290 24 291 6

207

7-9 ...

... 372

l8-27

183

... 291 8,9

20 7

373

r 9

184

7-9 ..

... 294 21-24

20 7

373

r 3, M

1 86

15-18 ..

296 25297 4

208

20, 21

... 380

21, 22

1 86

... 297 6-7

20 9

1-3

... 381

12-14

1 86

19187

2 ... 297 11-14

2IO

2-6 ...

- 383

10-18

187

2, 3

... 297 I 4 -l6

211

9-11 ...

- 385

6-8

187

4-6 ..

... 298 5-7

214

13-16 ...

... 392

*5-i7

187

9, 10 ..

300 18-20

2l8 23 219 2

394 21-24395 3

1 88

4, 5 -

... 307 22-24

222

1-6 ...

... 403

18-25

190

12 191 6

311 18312 13

8-1 1

1-4

193

2-7

... 317 2-8

(402

18, 19

10, II

... 318 6,7

222

15-17 ...

... 405

21, 22

i93

11-21

... 318 8-21

222

19223 13

... 404

5-2i

COINCIDENCES

ISHO DAD (vol. Il)

THEODORE

ISHO DAD (vol. n)

THEODORE

Page Lines

Page

Lines

Page Lines

223 13-16 ...

... 405

14, 15

226 17, 18

... 410 5,6

223 17-21

... 405

17-20

226 18 227 2

410 8-15

225 3-5 ...

... 405

21, 22

227 3-12 ...

... 410 15-25

225 6

... 408

1 6, 17

227 16 228 i

411 25 412 6

225 13-17 ...

... 407

11-16

229 14-17 ...

412 10-12

226 ii

... 409

LIST OF AGREEMENTS WITH OLD SYRIAC

(Sinai Palimpsest and Cureton)

MATTHEW

. 4
iii. 4 (Sinai text)

v. 5 (Sinai text)

v. 19 (Cureton)
vi. 6

vi. 15 (Cureton)
vi. 21 (Cureton)
viii. 22

x. 5

X. 14

xi. 9 (Cureton) Thau
xi. 19 &lt;rui= ^=p

xi. 25 (om.

xii. 4
xii. 32

xii. 40 (Sinai text)

y&gt; \

xiv. I I (7KTJti-A

xix. 23 (Sinai text)

xxii. 21 AnnnN T^oon* (om.

also Mark xii. 17 ; Luke xx. 25
xxvi. 38
xxvi. 55
xxvii. 1 6
xxvii. 17
xxvii. 28
xxviii. 3

,, p. 66, 1.15

p. 68, 1. 7 ^_cv

p. 72, 1. 8
Vol. n. p. 176, 1. 4

p. 76, 1. 6 ^j*
p. 121, 1. 5
p. 88, 1. i
p. 9, 1. 2
p. 211, 1. 13
p. 211, 1. 14

,, p. 89, 11. 19, 20

Vol. II. p. Q5, 11. IO-I2

Vol. i.
Vol. ii,
Vol. i.

Tf Ol \O

Vol. i. p. 103, 1. 6

p. 128, 1. 23

p. 8, 1. i

p. 178, 1. 9 O-IJL

,, p. 181, 11. 19, 20

,, p. 185, 1. 12

p. 186, 1. ii

Vol. II. p. 212, 11. 17, l8

XXXV111

LIST OF AGREEMENTS WITH OLD SYRIAC

MARK

LUKE

i. 80 ^TL=ani3a=aO ...

ii. 4 TUG** 0003 roovx=3

ii. 35

ool*T^ai.a\

xv. 14 (Sinai) (cm.

xviii. 13 (Cureton)

xix. 8
xxii. 42

JOHN

i. 25

iii. 5 (Sinai)

iii. 8

v. 14 (Cureton)

ix. 3

x. 9

xi. 1 8

xv. 5 -

XX. I

xxi. 17

ISHO DAD

Vol. i. p. 105, 1. ii
Vol. ii. p. 170, 1. 12 muoTca

Vol. II. p. 14, 1. 2

,, p. 6, 11. 2, 3 &lt;no\A=s

p. 21, 11. 3, 4
Vol. i. p. 49, 1. 9
Vol. ii. p. 30, 1. 6

p. 48, 1. 13
Vol. i. p. 127, 1. 13
Vol. ii. p. 50, 1. 10

P- 5, I- J 3

,, p. 56, 1. 12

p. 58, 11. 14, 15
p. 71,11. I5,l6

^003
003

,, p. 73, 1. 7
Vol. i. p. 179, 11. 9, 10

Vol. ii. p. 121, 1. 6

p. 125, 1.21

p. 127, 11. 8, 17, 21
P- 139, I- 9
,, p. 158, 1. 18

,, p. l62, 1. 20

r p. 169, 1. 20
iVol. i. p. 135, 1. 6
Vol. ii. p. 195, 1. 5

,, p. 212, I 2 T^AA Asw

,, p. 225, 1. 18

ISHO DAD ON THE GOSPELS.

ST MATTHEW.

IN the strength of our Lord Jesus the Christ we begin to write the
Commentary of the books of the New Testament, which was laboriously
collected from many writings of expositors and teachers of the Holy
Church, by the holy and doctrine-loving Mar Isho dad of Maru 1 Bishop
of Hadatha in Assyria. Lord, help me and strengthen me, and make
me wise, and lead me to the completion by Thy grace.

In the very name of I AM THAT I AM and the Leader of the Two
Covenants, we are moving from the Elysian fields, the Old Testament,
to the meadows of asphodel , the New Testament, and we interpret
the meanings thereof concisely in some kind of expansion 3 , that is, in
a sort of little supplement in the middle of the lines of the body of the
Scripture. Lord Christ, lead Thy servant to the completion by grace
from Thyself, Amen.

The Preface to the Book.

Evangel is a Greek word. It is interpreted in Syriac, good Hope, our Gannat
life and motion and breath. It is called the Evangel, that is to say, p^g 6
the good tidings, because it announced a myriad of good things to the A ctsi7.28
world. For even Expectation is different from Hope, inasmuch as Expec
tation indicates good and evil things at the same time, whereas Hope
is about good things only. And it is very aptly called the Good Hope, p&lt; ^^
a word which is not even read in any place in the Old Testament;
so therefore the New Testament possesses an immense difference from the
Old Testament ; inasmuch as that served as the shadow, but this carries
the true body ; and that one instructed babes in carnal knowledge,
but this speaks spiritual wisdom among them that are of full age. i cor. 2. 6
I speak of the Kingdom of Heaven, and of the blessings and the delights
incomprehensible and unspeakable that are there, as also Basil, the basis

1 In margin. That is a place.

2 In margin. That is a white root or sandalwood.

3 wp6&lt;r0fffis for irpoy6a&lt;f&gt;alpTjff^ of the MS.

2 PREFACE

of excellence, testifies about this. "The doctrine, to be sure, outside of the

doctrine of the Christ, had already opened a door to us that we might look

below into corporeal natures, but the doctrine of the Christ makes a

believing mind wander among heavenly things every hour, and does not

Col. 3. i allow it to dwell on earthly things, as truly the Apostle also philosophized,

Seek the things that are above, and not those which are on the earth,

f. i b and we compare, it is said, spiritual things with spiritual people,

Cor. 2. is etc&gt; , ^^^ - t . g r j^ ht that we ^0,^ k noW) even jf the Testaments

differ from one another, according to what I said, inasmuch as the one
gives milk to babes to drink, and herbs for the sick to eat, but the other is
meat and wine for adults, that yet there is one Governor of both, and one
governance according to the stature of the growth of the disciples ;
therefore they follow one another, and are bound and joined together,
and send the hearers to one after the other, that they may suck from both
of them the things that make sustenance and life, as even our Saviour did
not hesitate to send the sons of this one to that former one, that they
might learn sufficiently from their mother about Him and about the truth.

John 5. 39 Search the Scriptures, namely, for in them ye think, etc., and Go, learn,
P- -^s. that is, from your Scriptures, what is ( I will have mercy ; and truly

John 5.46 Moses wrote about me, etc. And it is asked, Why after all should a
New Testament be given ? we say it was on account of abundant reasons ;
first, because our nature now arrived at perfection ; and second, that He
might show His love towards us, and on account of this, and by this, not
by means of servants He visited us as formerly, but by means of His
beloved Son ; and third, that the power of His guidance should be
preached, (which is) full of excellencies ; and fourth, because men did

Rom. 8. 3 not find out how to know Him from His creation ; and fifth, because
the Law was weak by reason of the infirmity of the body, etc., God sent
His Son in the likeness of flesh of sin, etc. ; sixth, that the full knowledge
about the Unity of the Godhead might be revealed, which in three Persons
is confessed, and how our Lord God the Word took from our race a complete
Man, and joined it with Him in the Unity of the Person of the Sonship and
the Lordship, and of power and of energy, a secret which was hidden from
former ages ; and seventh, that the door might be opened to the hearers
for the pardon of debts and sins, and for the resurrection and renewal of all,
and for punishment and reward, and for the kingdom and Hell, and for
other things which were put in eclipse for the ancients because of their
not being full-grown. And if any one asks, Why did not the Messiah
come from the beginning ? why did He delay the help of our nature ?

MATTHEW II. 2 19

to other kings and satraps, He might make known about the peace and

quietness which our Lord was destined to give in the whole world ;

and to destroy .sin and Satan and death, and give us new life, etc.;

sixthly, that the prophecy might be fulfilled, the kings of SJieba and Seba, PS. 72. 10

etc. that He might shew that He is Lord and Saviour of all, both of the

Jews and of the Gentiles ; and therefore He gave light to all, to the

Jews by means of the Shepherds, and to the Gentiles by the Magians.

And it is asked, Whence did the Magians receive, that when the star was

shewn to them, the King of Kings was born, and that they ought to bring

Him threefold gifts ? Some say it was from Daniel ; to wit, that Magian

men came from Sheba to Babylon, to the palace, during the time

when Nebuchadnezzar reigned, to offer gifts to the king, and to learn p. =^

Chaldaism ; and it was said to them by Daniel, that when the Messiah

should be born, the kings of Sheba and Seba ought to bring Him gifts; f. 12 a

but these wrote in a library, that is to say, in their own archives and

records, that is to say, in a book of remembrances ; others say, from

Balaam they received it. But to tell the truth, it was announced by

Zerdusht, chief of their dogma, that is, he was constrained by Divine

power, like Balaam and Caiaphas ; or because he was of the nation of

Israel, and cognisant of the Scriptures ; and some say that he was Baruch,

the pupil of Jcremia, and for the reason that the gift of prophecy was

not given to him as he coveted, and also by reason of that bitter captivity

and the devastation of Jerusalem and of the Temple, etc., he was offended

and went out to the heathen, and learned twelve languages, and wrote

in them that vomit of Satan, that is to say, that book of theirs that is

called the Avesta ; for it is written there, that as Zerdusht was sitting at

a fountain of water, a place that had been established as a bathing-place

for the ancient kings, he opened his mouth and said to his disciples,

" Hear, O my beloved, and sons whom I have educated in my doctrine ;

for in the latter days a virgin, a daughter of the Hebrews, shall without

conjugal intercourse bring forth a son in whom somewhat of the Divine

nature shall dwell, and He shall do wonderful miracles and signs, and

at His birth a star shall be shewn to you. Go, bring Him offerings, three p. ^

gifts, gold, myrrh, and frankincense ; as He is the King of Kings," etc. ;

that he spoke to them at length about His passion and death and

resurrection and ascension, etc. But the Magians had no reward for

their labour, as it was not by their will that they came, and not

even afterwards did they believe in the truth ; because there was also

no reward to Balaam for that prophecy about our Lord. But by

2O MATTHEW II. II, 12

Ephraim means of the gold which they brought Him they signified, first, on the

Zto/.p.si Qne i ian( j ) about His kingdom, for gold is the gift of kings; for because

gold is the king of all material substances, it is justly offered to the King

of all that is sensible and insensible; secondly, on the other hand, gold,

just as it alone of minerals does not rust, and of heatable things does not

f. 12 b diminish when it is heated, thus also the kingdom of Jesus alone does not

diminish nor become corrupted, as it is written ; then thirdly, by means of

1 Peter 2. gold, they hint at the purity of His flesh. He did no sin, it is said, and

His throat did not meditate guile. Then by means of myrrh they hint at the
passion of His humanity, for with myrrh also weighing a hundred pounds

PS. 45. s His body was embalmed by Nicodemus. David again says ; the king s
garments are made fragrant with myrrh and cassia, and stacte. Again, by
means of myrrh they signified, that He is the Physician who heals the

Is. 53. 6 wounds of Adam; by His stripes, it is said, we are healed. Again, by
means of myrrh they hinted at the preciseness and difficulty of His

Matt. 7. 14 commandments ; strait, it is said, is the gate, and narrow is the way, etc.
p. :A Then by the frankincense they signify, first, about His Godhead ; for the
vapour of frankincense is accustomed to fumigate our world in the temples
to God. Again, by frankincense, a mixed substance, they signified about
the Godhead and Manhood, that they were a wonderful mixture of unity :
and that it is used in the temple as incense ; for it is useful for the
temple and for Him that dwelleth in it. Again, by the frankincense they

2 cor. 2. 15 hinted, that in the Christ we are a sweet savour to God, in them that are

saved, and in them that perish, etc. Again, they signified about the

pleasures and delights which the righteous receive from the Person of

our Lord, and from the splendour of His glory. Again, by means of gold

they offered to Him as it were the firstfruits of all material substances ;

and by myrrh, of all sweet odours ; and by frankincense, of all trees ; and

they brought only three substances, for the mystery of the Trinity. But

See what is said by the ancients, that the gifts which the Magians offered to

sinaitica our Lord, had been put by Adam in the Cave of Treasures, and he

N is^i? commanded Seth to hand them on, that when the Messiah should appear,

the Magians might come and deliver them to Him, is not received at all in

the schools.

And it is asked, how many Herods there were, as they deceive by the

f. i 3 a similarity of the name. Truly there were four. The first Herod was

See Africa- a priest of the idol-temple at Ashkalon, a city of the Philistines, and

Arist. IV* this one begat Antipatros, him whom the Idumaeans made captive, and he

was brought up in their customs ; then he begat Herod the king, him who

MATTHEW II. 1823 21

killed the children; and this one begat Herod the tetrarch, who killed p. oiX
John ; and in his days our Lord suffered ; and he begat Herod who
was called Agrippa, him who arrayed himself in royal apparel, as Luke
mentions in the Acts.

Rachel weeping for her children, and would not, etc. And why Rachel
alone, and not also Lea the mother of Judah the inheritor of Bethlehem
and of Jerusalem ? Jeremia spoke this on behalf of his people that Jer . si is
were taken captive to Babylon, and by Rachel he signifies the tribes
of Benjamin and Judah; but the Evangelist used this testimony about
the death of the children ; and not as if the fact were spoken of in
prophecy, but as it was fitting that it should be told because the children
were led in embryo to slaughter by their parents ; he mentioned Rachel
only, first, because he uses the testimony of the prophet, he puts it barely
without addition of his own ; second, because she had been buried in
Bethlehem, and because it was in the neighbourhood of her grave; and
third, because she was the mother of tribes, and perhaps they who were
:illed were buried near her grave ; fourth, because Rachel died in giving
b.rth, and those were killed when they had just been born. But angry
Herod even from hence received an earnest of future punishment ; for
Josephus says that he fell into an illness of gangrene and of worms, and Joseph,
shortness of breath, and his secret parts putrefied, and in his despair he \i
killed his wife and his children ; and when they made him sit in heat 8
and in oil, his eyes turned round and he went miserably out of the world p. c^

This phrase, He shall be called a Nazarene, is not in the Scriptures
verbatim, but it is clear that in every way it is said, else how could the
Evangelist use it? as also other similar testimonies from the Scriptures-
nevertheless writings perished in the various captivities ; and it happens
that this also was lost along with them ; but the Evangelist from grace of
spirit knew it and put it down. Again, a branch is called in Hebrew f. ,, b
nasor, and the village was called Nazareth, that is to say, a branch This
then of Isaia, that a Branch shall grow up out of his root, is written in T n ,

rew Nasor, which is interpreted new; and Nazareth is new- and
Nazantism newness-, not because the teaching of the Christ is new
therefore prophecy called it by this name, but because God was
about to be incarnated anew; and the man to be deified who was born
without conjugal intercourse. A Nasarenc is in Hebrew, a branch And
the Prophet called our Lord a child, as a branch is the child of a
tree, etc. In the Commentary of Bar Bahriz, A branch is noser Nazareth
is a sprouting, for thus the Hebrew says, the word of Isaia to* there shall

22 MATTHEW II. 23 III. 4

sprout, and shall sprout from his roots. If then a Jew wishes to make the
Gospe l false by the non-existence of any quotation, he is reproved by the
book that he boasts of; for Moses said to Aaron about the death of his
p ^ sons, This is what the Lord said, I will be sanctified in them that come
Lev. 10. 3 nig j t mgt an d before all the people will I be glorified. This is nowhere
Num.2i.i4 said. And therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
"A flame in the storm, and in the valley of Arnon" ; and I do not know
a Book of the Wars, and clearly there is no sign of the word ; and to
sBun.i.18 teach the bow to the children of Jndah. Behold, it is written in the
Book of Jasher, and it does not tell what is the Book of Jasher nor
how the teaching of the bow took place. And about Jeroboam the son
2 Kings 14. of Jehu it is said that he restored the coast of Israel from the entering of
25 Hamath to the river of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord which

He spake by the hand of His servant Jona the son of Mittai, the prophet, who
was from Gath-Hepher. And nowhere is it said. [Nor is this said anywhere :]
And thou hast said that the world shall be built up by grace." Therefore
let [the Jew] be persuaded from his own Scriptures and also about ours.

And in those days came John the Baptist. Not immediately after our

Lord returned from Egypt and lived in Nazareth did John the Baptist

come. He came after thirty years more or less, during which he paid

the penalty of our nature, that is to say, a kind of contract which is in

decrees, as Honain says in his " Definition of names " ; and he fulfilled

f. I4a the Law, and made it cease from its course, for it is also the custom

of the Scriptures, not only to include in "days" a long period of time, like

Gen. 14. i this, that in the days of Amraphel, and in the days of Uzzia, etc. ; but also

is. 1. 1 in the dav&gt; hke this, t h a t all the day the warrior oppressed me, and all the

PS . 44.15 day my shame is before me, which means a space of time. But how

LXX was John removed ? Mar Ephraim and others say that Elisabeth withdrew

p. jA him from before the sword of Herod ; she had received in a revelation,

that she should make him flee to the wilderness; when, by gracious

Of. Matt, dexterity she had made him a garment of hair of the wool of camels ; Mar

om syriac Ephraim alone calls it Bawa. Ba wa is the hair which is on the belly of

camels which is not very rough. Some figure by the camels hair the Law

and the Gospel ; that just as the camel is half unclean and half clean, for it

chews the cud like the clean animals, and does not divide the hoof like the

unclean ones; thus also John in his dress and his preaching. And the

m 4. girdle of his loins was a band of leather, and with him they had grown for

thirty years, like the clothes of Israel for forty years, and with him they

returned when he returned to a settled habitation. Others say that an

MATTHEW I. I 6 7

Samuel, although it shows about many things that took place after the

death of Samuel ; so also the book of the Birth is called the Evangel ; and

this also it is right to know, that the beginning of the Gospel is the Baptism G. B. p. 56

of the Christ, but those things that happened from His conception until

His baptism are added as adjuncts with it of the Gospel ; for the Gospel

is also explained as the good news, and the good news begins with the

Baptism, so therefore also Mark begins with it ; and also Matthew and

Luke, after they have taught briefly the things relating to the Birth, then

approach the Baptism. And even John also, after he has taught about the p. *^

Divinity of the only begotten in the commencement of his book, begins

from the Baptism of John. John, it is said, bare witness of Him, etc. John i. is

And it is asked, Whether it is assumed about Jesus the Christ,
or about David, that He is the Son of Abraham? John Chrysostomos
said that he calls Jesus the Christ the Son of Abraham, as he calls
Him the Son of David. Jesus, it is said, is the Son of David, and
of Abraham. But the Interpreter 1 says that he calls David the son of
Abraham ; as if the word were to stand so ; Jesus the Christ was the
Son of David, but David of Abraham, although behold, He was the
Son of both of them.

And it is asked, why he names these two persons specially ?
Because the promises about the Messiah were to Abraham first, that in thy Gen. is. is
seed, it is said, all nations shall be blessed. Abraham, however, first, after
the inclination to evil, turned from the idea of heathenism to know
God, etc. But afterwards they were renewed to David ; His seed, it is said, p s . 89. 36
shall endure for ever, and his throne shall be established as the sun. The
Evangelist therefore, wishing to shew that the promises and assurances
to the righteous are already fulfilled and completed, put the names of
the Fathers as a preface at the beginning of his writing, for the reproof
of the wicked and the encouragement of believers.

The Book of the generation of Jesus the Christ. Jesus is a name,
by adoption from human nature, but according to the meaning, the f. 5 a
translation of His name is, the Saviour God ; but the Christ is a name
of honour; that is to say, of unity; God the Anointer, and Man the
Anointed. His assumption is by grace, and His Sonship is natural.
The things of Abraham were types of the conversion of the erring p. . -^.
Gentiles, etc. ; and the things of David were types of those of the Son
of David. David was persecuted by Saul, as also the Son was by Herod. Ephraim,
Priests were killed because of David, and children because of our Lord. on p! ^
Abiathar escaped from among the priests, and John from among the (Mo^gw)

1 Theodore Mops.

8 MATTHEW I. I II

children. David fled to the Gentiles and the Son of David to Egypt.

In Abiathar the priesthood of the house of Eli ceased; and in John

the prophethood of the house of Jacob was cut off.

Ephraim, And it is asked, Why did the Evangelist leave out eminent women, like

Diatess- g afa ^ Rebecca, and mention Tamar and Rahab, and Ruth, and the wife

aron, p. 05

(M6s.) o f Uriah ? We say it was because the Jews were forbidden admixture with
the Gentiles, and for this reason they were haughty to the Gentiles, and
they also reproached the Apostles, because they received Gentiles ; at the
same time they prated that, forsooth, these were opposed to their Law,
which required separation from the Gentiles ; and at the same time the
Jews boasted that the promises of the Messiah have been made to us, and
not to the Gentiles. Matthew wished to reprove their vaunting, because
bodily affinity did not help nor vitiate ; and not race does he honour, but
a mind which fears God ; and at the same time to shew, that even the
p. ^^ heathen when they draw near in sincerity of heart, are received ; and there
fore he strives from the beginning to shew about the blessed David, him
who was accounted great and honourable among them, that he derived his
race from a descent not according to the Law, inasmuch as Tamar was of
a foreign people, and the sons from her were not lawfully born, as she was
the daughter-in-law of Judah, and it was not permitted for a father-in-law
to cohabit with his daughter-in-law. Ruth too was a Moabitess, and
it was decreed about the Ammonites and Moabites, that they should not
come into the congregation of the Lord for ever. Rahab also was of the
Gentiles, and as they say she was the harlot who received the spies, she

f. 5 b whom David also mentions in the 8;th Psalm. Bathsheba, too, although
she was a Hittite, nor was even lawfully married to David, yet Solomon
the wise was born of her. By means, then, of the mention of these
women, he puts to shame the Jews, so proud of the stock of the house
of Abraham. But again, because the Apostles were commanded to go
forth and preach to all nations, they wished to teach us by the mention
of these women, that even the Gentiles had partnership in the descent of
the tribe from which the Messiah arose, and that if they repent, there is
nothing to prevent them from the full remission of sins, that they may also
become the Israel of God. But the contentious allegorists imagine here,
and they expound Tamar as one who called our Lord to her, Come,
my Lord ( Ta mart), abide with me ; and Rahab as the fellowship of
the nation with the Gentiles ; and Ruth as reconciliation.

p ^ And it is asked, why did Matthew omit three generations in the middle,
Ahazia, and Joash, and Amazia ? Some say, that on account of this he
left Ahazia out, because he was the son of Athalia, daughter of the

MATTHEW I. 7 II 9

wicked Jezebel ; and Joash, because he, too, was her son s son ; Amazia,

again, because his race was also descended from thence. And we say

against them, that if he left these out on account of their wickedness,

then why does he mention those wicked people, Ahaz, and Manasseh,

etc. ? and if it were thus, it would have been right first not to mention .

Joram, because he took the wicked wife ; it was in his power not to take

[her] ; whereas those people had no means of not being born of such.

However the Interpreter says that it was an error of a careless scribe,

and it was not the Evangelist who left it out, because the similarity and G. B. p. 59

proximity of the name caused him to put instead of Ahazia, Uzzia,

because there is no ain nor any heth in Greek, but instead of both of them

he wrote alif .^u&gt;.. ^..X.-V-^- for they are both equal in the number of

letters and in form. Nor did he do this in order to measure the number

of fourteen generations from David until the carrying away to Babylon, f. 6 a

for behold while from the carrying away to Babylon until the Christ there

were thirteen generations, it does not prevent him from saying that there

were fourteen, as it was not about the sum of the numbers that it mattered

to him in the division of the generations into three parts, but they say it

was an error of the scribe ; whilst others say that the Evangelist, forsooth,

wished to leave them out, and it is clear that unless the Evangelist left them p. ou

out, he would not say at the conclusion that from David to the carrying

away to Babylon were fourteen generations, but rather eighteen; for

behold also in the last part, between Salathiel and Zorobabel he leaves out

one, that is to say, Nedabia, that he may fix the number of fourteen with icnron.3.

Mary and the Christ, because that Mary has come into the generations "B^P. MI

instead of her father. And it is clear also that the Evangelist left them

out, from this, that his book was in existence in Caesarea of Palestine,

and everyone acknowledges that he wrote it with his hands in Hebrew 1 ; and

these names are not in it; and we say also, that Athalia was not the

daughter of Jezebel, but the daughter of Omri. And because the Evangelist

knew what a wrong idea there was among the people about these names,

because of that he left them out. Nevertheless that idea of the Interpreter

the whole school receives. Let us say now, why Matthew said that

Josia begat Jeconia and his brethren. But Josia did not beget Jeconia, G. B. p. 59

but Jehoahaz, him that was called Shaleem, and Eliakim, him that was

called Jehoiakim, and Mathia, who was called by Nebuchadnezzar Zedekia.

And Jeconia was the son of Eliakim, and he called his uncles his

brethren as is the custom of the Scriptures, and son s sons [he called]

1 C Greek.
G. I.

10 MATTHEW I. II I/

Gen. is. 8 sons, as Abraham did to Lot, for we are brethren ; and Laban, who said

Gen. si. 43 to Jacob, the sons are my sons, and the daughters are my daughters ;

for it is a wicked thing that has been said, that on account of this they

p. cu called Jeconia the son of Josia, because Eliakim his father killed the

Jer. 26. prophets, to wit, Uria the son of Shemaia, and he polluted the sanctuary;

and they did not understand that Manasseh was worse than he, and he

(Matthew) does not excuse himself from mentioning him ; although it is

written in the Book of Chronicles, that when Manasseh was taken captive to

Babylon he repented and prayed, and God heard his request, and restored

him to Jerusalem to the kingdom, and so Manasseh took away the images

and strange gods, etc. But Hannan of Hedhaiyabh was astonished that he

f . 6 b put our Lord into the number of the generations evidently in order that He

G. B. p. 62 should be reckoned in the number of the fourteen generations from the

f lh?dad Captivity to the Christ. It is right that we should know that the Evangelist

did not make the division of the generations into three parts at random,

nor even that he might reckon the number of fourteen generations ; for

behold, we see that some of them are more and some of them are less. But

because the Jews were blaming the Apostles, as those who were bringing

in a new doctrine to the world ; Matthew wishing to convince them, that the

government of God does not remain the same, but operates in sundry

and divers manners so as to help men, desired to establish his

doctrine from the government that had been amongst them. From

Abraham, indeed to David, they were without kings, but were submis-

G. B. p. 12 sive to those who were called judges 1 ; the priests also were related to

EX. 6. 23 the tribe of Juda, as the Scripture also teaches, that Aaron, it is said,
Epnr. p. 17

p- u took to wife Elisheba, daughter of Aminadab, of the tribe of Juda ; and

2 cnron. Josheba, daughter of Joram the king, Jehoiada the priest took ; and
according to the change of things, so is also the change of the facts.
And therefore the Evangelist wished to teach, that it was not even now
a new thing which God wished to perform by means of the Christ, in
that He was truly the King; therefore very suitably Matthew divided
the fourteen generations. Fourteen generations, not like one who did
not know that some of them were more and some of them were less ;
but what we are accustomed also to say about imperfect numbers,
so and so is more or less. Hannan also divides the generations
by the fourteen, because this number was famous amongst the

1 C + from David to the Captivity they were under kings who were from David ; after David
they were under High Priests.

MATTHEW I. 6 16 II

Hebrews ; in it the full moon was created ; in it they kept the
passover, and were liberated from Egypt, etc.

And it is asked, why Matthew comes from David to Solomon, and from
thence makes the race of the Messiah descend, whereas Luke puts Nathan
son of David instead of Solomon, and thus he comes out to other
generations until Joseph; but Africanns the historian explains this, which f. 7 a
he also received from ancient histories, as he says, The names of the Africanus,
generations were counted in Israel, either according to nature or to law ; Jristides
according to nature, what was the descent of the accurate seed; but * L
legally, of a person who begets in the name of his brother who had
died childless ; inasmuch as they had not yet any hope of immortal p. j^
resurrection, but of that mortal one, and in order that the name of him that
was dead might not perish. Therefore both Evangelists are true, in that
Matthew counts the natural descent, and Luke the legal one ; for the
generations of Solomon and Nathan are mingled together by the raising
of the seed of one who had died childless, as by right Hhose very sons were
of others and were called of others 1 ; so that both of the generations by means
of Joseph end with Joseph, according as thus ; for where thou countest
the generations from David as by means of Solomon, the third from the Ep. to
end is Mathan, he that begat Jacob, the father of Joseph ; and [if]
from Nathan who was from David according to the word of Luke, again
the third from the end is 2 the son of 2 Melchi ; but Joseph is the son
of Heli, son of Melchi ; and because Mathan and Melchi took the very
same wife, they had two sons, the children of one mother, her who was
called Estha, of which the masculine is Asa; inasmuch as the Law did
not forbid a widow or a deserted wife to belong to another. Mathan who
was from Solomon, therefore took her first, and begat Jacob; and after
the death of Mathan, Melchi, who was from Nathan, took her, and from
her begat Heli. But Heli died childless : but his brother Jacob took
his wife, and begat Joseph ; therefore it is written, that Jacob begat p. \
Joseph, who was his son by nature, but by law the son of Heli ; hence
Matthew shews by means of the descent of the natural generations, that f. 7 b
the Messiah was born according to the voices of the prophets. But
people disputed against his book, vitiating the legal descent, that they
might shew about Joseph, that he was not descended from David ; and
they said that Joseph was the son of Heli, and not of Jacob; for even if
Jacob begat him, yet he was born to Heli ; so therefore Luke wished

1-1 i.e. the identical sons were ascribed to different fathers.
2 ~ 2 C and M om. probably rightly, as it is not in Africanus.

12 MATTHEW I. 15 1 6

to reprove the stupidity of this question ; for even if Joseph came to
Heli, he who was legally his son, also thus the race of the Messiah was
found from David; the father of Heli, for Luke calls him the father of
Joseph, was Melchi. But Luke ought to have said, that Joseph was the
son of Heli the son of Melchi. This he did not do, but the son of Joseph
the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, and so the son of
Melchi, that he might make known that the sons of Melchi were these
three, Heli, Matthat, and Levi, so that, to be sure, in whichever way they
wished to come from Joseph to Melchi, also thus the Messiah was found
necessarily to be the son of David.

But what is the reason why Luke counts forty-three generations
from David 1 until the Messiah, whereas Matthew (counts) twenty-eight,
besides those which the writer subtracted ? They were thirty-two according
p. vv=&gt; to the truth. We say that of all the families there is not an equal course
of the generations, for we have seen many, although equal in years, some
of them now taking wives, and some of them having sons, so that those
are three generations more, and these are one ; therefore it is no wonder,
if one generation exceeds its fellow or is smaller in its descent.

But Jiiliamis the Apostate, that is to say, the liar in his promise, and
Porphyry, the reprobates, contradict the Evangelists, that Luke, forsooth, is
not speaking of a legal descent : and if he were, why does he not mention the
legal father of Obed, whom Boaz raised as seed to one of the sons of Naomi,
but recalls his natural one? and the erring ones do not understand that
f. 8 a there was a contention only from Joseph to David; but from David
to Abraham there was no doubt, because all the Jews were descended
from Abraham.

/Sw P 63 ^ nd ^ iS as k ed wll y do tne Evangelists make the generations of the

hho^dad Messiah rest on Joseph, and not on Mary? We say, because it was

not the custom of Scripture to make a descent rest on a woman ; only

by the mention of Joseph that he was her betrothed, the Virgin

is known along with him, that she had come down from David in

a Ephraim descent in that {t was commanded that every tribe should marry in its

in G. B. p. own tribe, even if opportunities occurred from tribe to tribe. But Joseph

*Ish&lt;td(!d and Mar 7 were mutually children s children of brothers, inasmuch as

P- 63 Eliezer begat two sons, Mathan and Jotham, and Mathan begat Jacob,

p. *=&gt; and Jacob Joseph ; and Jotham Zadok, and Zadok Mary ; and the

name of her mother was Dinah, and this was the sister of Elisheba, as

Luke 1.36 also the Angel said, "Behold Elizabeth thy cousin." The thing was

1 M. Adam.

MATTHEW I. 1520 13

arranged in this way by a divine intimation that the kingdom of the
house of David, and the priesthood of the house of Aaron, should have
the fulfilment of their types in the Christ.

What is this that Joseph Jier husband was a just man, and was not
willing, but zvas minded to... privily ? For in what was Joseph seen to be
just ? for either he knew the Virgin to be holy, or to be corrupted ; and if
she were holy, she was not deserving to be sent away, but kept and cherished ;
and if she were corrupted, it was right to expose her and to reprove her.
Nevertheless Joseph was just and merciful, his justice antagonised his mercy,
and his mercy his justice : for his justice oppressed him, that he should not
allow an adulteress within his house ; and his mercy counselled him, that he
should send her away privily ; because he knew that he would deliver her
to death, if he exposed her; therefore he thought of merely sending
her away, and that privily, that is, on the one hand, because he would not
transgress the Law by living with a guilty woman ; and on the other hand,
as he had compassion on her, he knew that if she were exposed she would
be liable to death.

It is asked, why does Matthew say, that that which is born in her is
of the Holy Ghost, when He was not yet born, and he did not say, that
which is conceived in her? and again, that which is born in her, but f. 8 b
not from her ? Here the heretics are foolish, because by this they p. =^=
attach God the Word to the birth; as if God was born in her; but
let them know, that that very Evangelist said above, that from her was
born Jesus who is called the Christ ; for that confounds them, that it is of
the Holy Ghost ; for if God the Word is by the Holy Ghost, then He is
made and not the Maker; and the heresy of the Arians will rejoice.
Again, that which is born in her, makes vain this, that she shall bring forth
a son, which is put afterwards. For if He were born in her, how can she
again bring forth ? then two births are left to one conception. Therefore
this, that which is born in her, is put instead of that which is con
ceived. Others say, that birth is as it were, thought about in Scripture in
a double fashion ; in some places from creation, as who hath begotten the Job 38.
drops of rain ? etc., and in some places nativity; but here, it is put instead of
that which is created, that which is born in her, that is to say, by the Holy
Ghost is formed in her. Others say that conception, forsooth, is accom
plished by two, by the male and by the female ; and because when the
Virgin conceived, she did not suffer womanly pains, he said rightly that
which is in her, and not that which is from her, that is from her and in her
only He was formed, and not also from a man. Others say that it is put

14 MATTHEW I. 2O 25

according to a Hebrew custom, which does not separate the tenses from
one another, but speaks of that which is past as being to come, and of what
is to come as being past, and of both of them as of that which is present ;
and of the present as the past and future ; and because of this, instead of
saying that which is being born from her, he put that which is born in her.
p. X^ Others say that he who interpreted from Hebrew to Syriac changed [the
expression] ; he put instead of that which is conceived in her, that which
is born. But the Diatessaron says that that which is born in her is of
the Holy Ghost, the ineffable and infinite Word ; the birth that is in her,
he calls the assumption and formation of the man, who within the womb
was separated from her, even though He was not yet born.

And it is asked, why the Angel said He shall be called Emmanuel, yet
f. 9 a we do not always call Him that. We say, that it is a custom of Scripture

is. 8. 3 to tell names instead of facts, like this passage, Hasten the spoils, and hurry
the booty ; for the boy was not called so ; but in order to say, that in his

is. i. 26 birth there was captivity and spoil ; and Thou shalt be called the city of
Righteousness, and the city of Faith, for it was not called thus, but it con
tinued to be called Jerusalem ; since he indicates that deeds were done in it
beyond its human name ; or he calls it so that it may rest in that deed, in
the truth of the thing instead of the name. Thus also this of Emmanuel ;
for Emmanuel signifies God and Man ; that God is with us ; all is in this,
because He is like us in nature, and because He is the Mediator and High
Priest of our profession with God, and because by means of Him we are
made familiar with God, who is incarnated. And if anyone doubts about
how he is called Jesus above, but here Emmanuel, let him know this, that
p. n=* our Lord is called by fifty-two names, some of them being about His
Divinity, and some of them about His Manhood ; some of them are appro
priate to the Person of the Unity; thus Jesus signifies by adoption about
His Manhood, by energy about His Godhead ; but Emmanuel signifies
about the Person of the Unity which is from Godhead and Manhood.
And he took his wife and knew her not, until. This word, until,

Num.i2.i5 sometimes fixes a limit, like this, that the people did not take up

Gen. 49. 10 their tents until Miriam entered; and it is understood that after she
entered they took them up ; and like this, that the sceptre shall not
cease from Judah, etc., and it is understood that after He came it

i Kings 19. ceased. And he went, it is said, in the strength of that food, until [he
came] to the mount of God ; and it is clear that after he came to the
mount, he rested, etc. Sometimes it is put indefinitely. A raven went

Gen. 8. 7 out, it is said, and returned not until the waters abated ; for if it did not

MATTHEW I. 25, II. I 15

return during the Deluge, how much less afterwards? And to Jacob, I will

not forsake thee, until I have performed that which I said unto thee ; not Gen. 28. is

that He would desert him afterwards ; and of Michal it is said, she had no 2Sam.6.23

child until she died. If she had no child while she lived, how would

she have one after her death ? And, behold, it is said, I am with you, until. Matt.28.20

Would He then desert them afterwards ? And the Christ shall reign, until f. 9 b

His enemies shall be put [under His feet]. And the heavens, it is said, ^ t s r 3 15 2 J 5

must receive Him, until the fulfilment of the times ; then afterwards will

He be estranged from His kingdom or removed from the heavens?

Therefore these expressions are used instead of without end; and this,

until she brought forth her first born son ; for it was not decorous, that p. m^

anything human should touch the womb in which He had consecrated

a temple of the Trinity ; and the fears of Joseph were not allayed so that

he should allow anything carnal, but it was rather due to the remembrance

of that word, It is from the Holy Ghost, and on account of the glorious

things that had been administered.

Now when Jesus zvas born in Bethlehem of Judcea, in the days of
Herod \ for he recalls the place and the time, in order to shew that all
things took their fulfilment according to the voices of the Prophets.
Bethlehem, on the one hand, according to what Mica had prophesied,
And tJwu also Bethlehem of Judah, art not little, etc. He mentioned
Herod, on the other hand, on account of the promise which the prophecy
of Jacob delivered. The sceptre, it said, shall not depart from Judah, etc.; Gen. 49. 10
and the kingdom remained to Herod a native of Ascalon ; for he See
destroyed the genealogical books of the Jews, so as to make it appear
that he came of the good stock of the Jews ; and the robe of the priesthood * ti
was put beneath his seal.

A calculation concerning what year of Alexander and at what time [of year]
our Lord the Christ was born. In the year 307 of Alexander, son of Philip,
which was the 43rd year of Augustus Caesar, in the 35th year of Herod
the king of the Jews, in the month of the first Kanon, on the 25th of it, on
a Wednesday, in the night before cockcrow, our Lord was born of the
Virgin, she being 13 years of age ; and she died at 51 years of age ; and at
that time Quirinus was sent as governor ; and in the month of Nisan
the Magians came. But Babhai the Persian said that in the day and the p. &lt;x=*
night that our Lord was born the Magians came ; and not after two years,
as those who have not investigated say ; and this, he says, is quite evident
from the Scriptures, that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah, there
came Magians ; now they were three sons of kings, and nine from among the f. ioa

l6 MATTHEW II. I 2

notables of their lands ; and the king of the Persians who sent the Magians
was called Pirshabour ; and these came by the guidance of the likeness
of a star. Lo, we saw his star in the east, because in the midst of
the star was shewn the likeness of a Virgin embracing her son ; and it is
evident from many things that it was not a real star, nor an imagina
tion, nor a fantasy, nor an automaton 1 , but an Angel who shone like a
star from Persia to Bethlehem ; first, because it shone equally by night
and by day; second, that it was seen only by the Magians and not
by others ; third, that it shone alone, without burning, although it came
down so low from the region of the ether, to shew the way to the
Magians, as by a finger, even the house ; fourth, it shone so much
at midday that it surpassed the rays of the sun in their eyes ; fifth,
because all the lights of the zodiac move, as fixed, from east to west,

p. \^ but according to Astronomers 2 and Astrologers, seven of them which are
called planets move from west to east; but of the rest all the signs
of the zodiac, fixed in the body of the firmament, move from east to west
with the revolution of the heavens. This moved in the opposite way, that
is to say, from south-east to north and from this to west; for thus is the
road from Persia to Palestine ; sixth, because it did not shine continuously,
but when they had gone into each of the cities and villages by the way,
until they came out, it was hid, in order that by question and answer the
birth of King Messiah should be made known to everyone ; as it was hid
from them in their entering Jerusalem ; and when that cunning fox Herod
sent spies after them many times, the star was not seen until they knew that
it was the finger of God ; and Herod planned to destroy the child in another
way. So it is clear from all these things, that it was not a natural star,
but a starry likeness. Astronomers may not raise a wing here, as if it were
evident that the teaching of Chaldaism is true, from this, that the birth

f. xob of our Lord also was disclosed by means of a star; but they must know
from this that it was not a natural star, as we have shewn at length. Also

. ^-v^ this [is clear], the art of Chaldaism does not establish a nativity from one star,
but from seven, these which they call Planets, because they are not adherent
to the body of the heavens, that is to say, the Sun, and the Moon; Ares;
Hermes ; Bel, who is Zeus ; Beltis, Aphrodite, and they also call her
Ao-r^/j, and Ashteroth, and Dosti ; and Kronos, who is Saturn. And of
the twelve signs of the zodiac that are adherent in the heavens, that is to

1 That is, from its own volition.

2 Astronomy is the law of the stars and their motions.

MATTHEW II. 2

say, the Ram, the Bull, the Twins, the Crab, the Lion, the Virgin 1 , the

Balance, the Scorpion, the Archer-, the Goat, the Water-bearer, and the

Fish ; and of those seven they say that they go from west to east, but that

these twelve go round from east to west, that is to say, they revolve with

the body of the heavens which revolves like a wheel and an axis round

the earth; and the earth stands in the middle as a centre, and like

a grain of sesame standing in the middle 3 of an inflated bladder 3 .

And to the days of the week they assign Planets. The first day of

the week, it is said, is the day of the Sun; the second day of the

Moon; the third of Ares (Mars); the fourth of Hermes (Mercury); the

fifth of Bel; Friday of Aphrodite; and the Sabbath of Kronos (Saturn).

And also the parts of the human body, it is said, these created ; the Sun

the Brain; the Moon the Skin; Ares the Blood; Hermes the Nerves and

the Veins; Bel the Bones; Venus the Flesh; Saturn the Hair. And also

those twelve signs of the zodiac they call types of the twelve months of

the year, some of them male, and some of them female. They say

of every one of these that it regulates one of the parts of a man. The p.

Ram is male, and it establishes the Head; the Bull is female, and it made

the Neck; the Twins are male, and they made the Hands; the Crab is

female, and it establishes the Breast; the Lion is male, and it establishes

the Sides; the Virgin is female, and it created the Lumbar-bone; the

Balance is male, and it created the Belly; the Scorpion is female, and it

establishes around the Bladder; the Archer is male, and he fixed the Thighs;

the Goat is female, and it formed the Knees; the Water-bearer is male

and he stretched out the Legs. The Fish is female, and it establishes

theFeet - f. IIa

By means of a Star, then, He announced to them the birth of the
Messiah ; for many reasons ; first, because it was His custom many times
to shew His guidance by means of strangers, and by what was true
amongst them ; as was done with Balaam, and with that woman who
evoked spirits, the Endorite, and with Paul s Pythoness, etc. ; second, that
even our Lord was called by Balaam a Star, and by Isaia a Light and Num.24.i7
by Malachi a Sun, and by Jeremia a Branch of Righteousness ; and * *\l. 6
our Lord calls Himself the Light of the World; third, that so they might JS sYw
: led to the Sun by means of a star: in order therefore that in Jolm 8 12
proportion as the Magians approached the Sun the star hid the properties
f the Sun and of the stars, and was never again seen by them hence-

1 Literally, the [Earjbearer. 2 Literally, the Great sign.

J Literally, of a bladder in which wind is blown.
G. I.

r g MATTHEW II. 2

forth ; fourth, that it might destroy Chaldaism ; for a god was worshipped
by the Persians by means of a star which was called by them Nanaea,
and by others differently ; and by what was true amongst them, by that
p. A he draws them to our Lord ; and fifth, in order that we should acknow
ledge the Divinity and Lordship of the Christ; for must not this one
be all great, whose birth is now preached, inasmuch as that becomes
His servant and courier who is confessed amongst them as a god ?
and sixth, in order to shew that He who is born is supreme and heavenly,
for the forerunners of heavenly beings are heavenly, and of earthly beings
earthly. But the birth of our Lord was revealed first to the heathen
Magians, because the testimony of enemies is credible about the good
things of their enemies; and because they do not proclaim it with
flattery, like compatriots, God moved them to this ; and that the Jews
also might be reproved, if heathens thus believed in the Son of David,
but they rejected Him ; secondly, that if even a sign were shewn to the
Magians, yet that sign was shewn to the whole world by means of the
Magians, and that they might perceive the birth of the Autocrat, that
Ephraim, is to say, the Almighty, who is over all nations through whom they were
passing. And just as not only on account of Hezekia a sign was given,
but also that it might be announced to the whole world by means of
f. nb the sun that turned back, that they might make known the Creator
of all, and Him who turned Hezekia from death to life, and His excellency,
etc.; and just as our Lord was fled with to Egypt, that in going and
returning the fame of His birth might be made known, that is to say,
that He might proclaim it to the inhabited world, and at the same time also
is. 19.1 the prophecy should be fulfilled, Behold, the Lord rideth on the swift
HOS. 11. i clouds, and cometh into Egypt, and From Egypt have I called My Son ;
p. +\ thus the fact was also furnished to the Magians ; thirdly, because Persia
and Egypt, more than all the earth, were inflamed with the ardour of
idolatry, He shews from the beginning that He will be the Healer of
them both, and that the rest also of those who are held in error may have
a good hope ; therefore, from Persia He sends the Magians, but to Egypt
He and His mother go down; and fourthly, to the Magians the birth
was announced, and not to the Jews, because their kingdom was
destroyed at that time, and impostors and speculators were announced,
who should bring comfort and encouragement to their souls, but in
reality would dare to raise a rebellion against Czesar ; and those
heralds perished by the malice of Herod ; fifthly, that by the coming
of the Magians and by the decrees from their kings which they carried

PREFACE

let him know this. First, that not from malice or envy He delayed His f- 2 a
coming, for He is merciful and the curator and provider of all; but our p. *
insufficiency prevented ; and, just as we, immediately with the birth of the
babe, do not give him nourishment of flesh, nor clothe him with manly
garments, nor introduce him to the labour of handicrafts ; thus also
He the wise and glorious Provider, did not make the coming of His
Messiah, before leading us by steps and educating us in the things of
the Law; else these spiritual things would have been found unprofitable;
and just as if He had, immediately with our coming into existence,
made us impeccable and incorruptible, the kingdom of Heaven would
have been of no use, so also the coming of our Lord would have
been of no advantage beforehand. But secondly, just as the great
distinguished Physicians, if some bit of corruptible stuff has crept into
the flesh, they do not cure it at once, but they wait till all the noxious
matter shall come out, and thus they bring healing to the expelled pain ;
thus also He, the Healer of our nature, did not immediately, when
He had blessed, heal the disease of evil in our race ; but He waited
till nothing of the form of evil should linger hidden in nature;
therefore not immediately alone after the envy and fratricide of Cain,
did He bring healing to Man; for the wickedness of those who did
corruptly in the days of Noah had not yet arisen, nor had the evil and
lawless infirmity of the Sodomites been revealed, nor the contest of the
Egyptians with God, nor the haughtiness of the Assyrians, nor the
fierceness of the Jews against God, and other such like things. But after
the measure of sins was filled, and there was no more any kind of evil
among men that had not been dared, then He completely healed all our p. 03
disease. And if any one contradict our word, [saying] that behold since
healing was offered human life is still shipwrecked by means of sins, let
him know this, that like as a serpent whose head is trampled on, does
not die straightway, but it is his head that is dead, yet his tail still revives
in life ; thus it is also to be seen with evil, that it is vigorously rooted out f . 2 b
on account of our Lord, but in the residuum it is still hurtful to the world.
After these things we will tell in how many kinds and orders the writings
of the Old and New Testaments speak ; about this therefore we explained
in paragraphs, in the preface to Genesis, and in that about the Psalms.
But here let us say thus briefly, that the Scriptures speak chiefly under
three heads; first, when they call men just as they are, that is to say,
living, rational, mortal; but secondly, above what they are, when they
call us gods ; and thirdly, below what they are, when they call us reptiles

4 PREFACE

and worms and dust, and wolves, and foxes; but God is only named in

two ways, either as He is, as I AM THAT I AM, or as Father and Son and

Spirit, or below that which He is, as fire, or as being angry or in a rage,

Gen. 1. 1 or that He repented, or that He was a lion, etc. But afterwards in other

Matt i i ways they speak openly, as this, that in the beginning God created, and the

book of the generation of Jesus the Christ, etc.; and mystically, like this,

Amos 3. 6 that they speak a word which is contrary to its own sense ; for the Lord

p. o created all, it is said, good and evil, and Shall there be evil in the city, and

Deut.28.23 the Lord hath not done it ? and the heavens that are over thee shall

Micah4.is be brass, and I will make thy horns of iron, and thy hoofs of brass, etc.;

is 55*12 or allegorically, doors, it is said, speak, and mountains skip, and trees clap

is. i*. 9 their hands, and Sheol is troubled ; but in the reverse order, as Thou

is 64 5 truly wert angry, and we have sinned in these things ; and they sinned

PS. 58. 3 j n Sheol, and they have gone astray from the womb ; but according to

the sense, without a distinct word, although it is mostly in facts, like this,

that the fathers say about the Son, that He is the natural Son of the

Father, and the Christ, it is said, is in two natures and substances, one

Person ; and God, it is said, is without beginning and unbegotten, etc.

And sometimes the Scriptures speak those things that are not facts, as

f. 3 a thus about God, that He repented, and ate and laughed; and about

the Christ, that He was sin and a curse, and a stone, and a servant, etc.;

Gen. 21. 14 and sometimes they mix ideas, as this, that he put it on her shoulder and

Rev. 4. 5 the child, and they see voices and lamps, and they gave him water to

1 Sam. so. drink and two cheeses ; and sometimes they omit letters, like this, that

he made a circuit, and he departed a spirit, that is to say, in the spirit ;

and threw it prison, that is to say, inside the prison; and the well of
PS. 33. 7 Bethlehem, that is to say, which was at Bethlehem ; and he put, it is said,

the abysses in storehouses, that is to say, as if in storehouses, etc.; and

Gen. 34. sometimes they speak inclusively, as the priests annihilated Shechem,

p. i and behold, Simeon was not a priest ; and sometimes for the sake of

John 3. is unity, for no man, it is said, hath ascended to heaven, etc. And sometimes

for the sake of inversion, He shall be called, it is said, a Nazarene ; and

2 cor. 5. 21 sometimes in the sense of acceptance, He became, it is said, sin and a curse,
Joan 1. 14 and the Word became flesh, etc. And sometimes they speak according to
Matt. 14. 9 the supposition of others, as Behold, it is said, Adam has become like one of
MatSiis us and Herod was sorr y forsooth, and Jesus, it is said, looked on him and
John 4. 6 loved him, and in the morning, it is said, He hungered; and Jesus was

wearied with the toil of the journey, etc. In short, it is necessary that with
every word of Scripture we should observe these four things : the occasion,

PREFACE 5

the plan, the time, the persons who are involved in it, that is, in the word,

for if we do not do this, we stand in danger; or else how is this, that Luke 14.26

whosoever hateth not his father, etc, like this, Children obey your parents, f cor 6 !^

etc.? and this, That no flesh should glory in His presence, like this, He

that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord? and this, that all things are

delivered to Me of my Father, like this, that the Son of Man hath not San.. 20

where to lay His head? and this, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you,

like this, Lord, Lord, open to us, and they were not answered ? And this,

He that confesseth Me before men, like this, that a devil confessed Luke 12 - 8

Him, that Thou art the Son of God, and He shut his mouth? and this,

Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be 12. 10

forgiven him, like this, He that denieth Me before men, I will deny him Matt. 10.33

before My Father, etc.? and this, If I yet pleased men, I should not be the Gal. 1. 10

servant of the Christ, etc, like this, as I please all men in all things? and icor.io.33

this, that no servant can serve two masters, like this, Render that which P- *

is Caesar s to Caesar, and that which is God s to God ? and this, that God Matt. 6. 24

His Father raised Him from the dead, like this, that I will raise it up in

three days ? and this, that for their sakes I sanctify myself, like this, that

the Father hath sanctified Him, and sent Him into the world ? and this, that Johnio.36

yet now I come unto Thee, and But Me ye have not always with you, J 7 ^ 3

like this, that I am with you all days, until... and Where two or three are 28. 20"

gathered together in My name, there am I amongst them ? and this, that

the Christ is God over all, like this, that God was in Christ, and because
God was with him ? and this, that the body profiteth nothing, like this, that *
except ye eat the body of the Son of Man, ye have no life in yourselves, Jo hn 6. 63
for My body is meat indeed ? and this, that I judge no man, like this, that JjJ
the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto John 8. 15
the Son ? and this, that the Father sent not His Son to judge the John 3. 17
world, like this, that for the judgment of the world am I come? and this, 9.39
If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true, for there is another 5. 31
that beareth witness of Me, like this, that if I also bear witness of Myself, 32
My witness is true? and I am the light of the world, and the way, etc.? 12 18
and this, that in My Father s house are many mansions, and if not, I 4 6 2
would have told you, because I go, etc., like this, that if I go to prepare 3
a place for you, I will come again, and take you unto Myself? and this, Matt.n.27
that no one knovveth the Son, but the Father, is not at all like this, that p. -\
Thou hast hid these things from the wise, and hast revealed them unto 25
babes. Then the Apostles knew Him, and those like them. This, that Markis.32
the Son knoweth not that hour, and that there is none good, and that it Matt. 19.17
is not mine to give, and that I came not to send peace on earth, and that

6 PREFACE

Mark 6. 5 He could do no mighty work there. And of John, that he said, I am
Matt.23.io not Elias nor a prophet, and Be ye not called Master, and how were they
- m asters? an d who is My mother? and who are My brethren? and ye

12.42 shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel, and the queen of the south
shall arise in the judgment with, etc., and a myriad such like. It is
necessary for the reader to know arid distinguish between the ideas of the

f. 4 a Scripture, lest instead of profit he should get more damage from them,
but especially with the adorable Gospel, this which even if according to
the outward man it has spoken in a simple way, yet according to the
inward man, hidden mysteries are crowded into it ; and about this Bar
Tholmai 1 bears witness; "Small and yet great is Theology, and also the
Gospel is great, and broad, yet small and mean"; and he who understands
it enters into the midst of the incomprehensible darkness.

First then let us approach to the plan that it imposes on us and let us
say, what cause called Saint Matthew, that in a book he should deliver the
G. B. p. 55 Gospel. After, then, the ascension of our Lord, and the descent of the
Spirit, the Apostles preached the Gospel in all Judaea, but on account of
this, many persecutions were roused against the preachers, so that Stephen
was stoned, whilst James the son of Zebedee was killed with the sword,
and all who preached the fear of God were driven from Jerusalem ; and
therefore the believers in Judaea seeing that they were about to be separated

p. - from the Apostles, persuaded the Blessed Matthew that in a book he should
deliver to them all the things that had been spoken and done by our Lord;
so he made his composition, not in that plan in which it was spoken
and done by our Lord, but in another plan, which he thought would be
in agreement with the doctrine ; not saying first the things that came
first, and afterwards those that came afterwards : but he prepared another
arrangement for them, so that they are one beautiful texture of doctrine
(C.+ the reason is completed).

The question is asked, Why he calls it " the book of the birth of Jesus
the Christ," and not "of His conduct"? Very appropriately he called it,
because the birth is the beginning of all these things that relate to our
Lord s conduct, and the highest part of them, and things are named
after the more prominent part, as wise men say. Thus again as the first

f. 4 b Book of the Law is called the Book of Genesis, though it declares about
all those things that were done in the world in two thousand two hundred
and sixteen years ; and the first Book of the Kingdoms is called of

1 See Resch, Apokryphon, 64 (Eph. 3. 18) Dionysius Areopagita, Lib. de mystica Theologia, c. I.
OVTU yow 6 Mos BapfloXojtteuos fayl, /cat TroXX^ r^v OeoXoyiav efrcu /cat eXaxtVr^, /ecu rb evayytXiov
TrXctTU /cat fj.4ya /cat av6is avvreTfjiTrj^vov.

MATTHEW III. 4 23

angel seized him from his mother s side, and neither she nor his father nor

anyone else knew the place of his abode. Others say, that at one time, our

Lord fled before the sword of Herod, and so did His messenger, the one to

Egypt, but the other to the wilderness, and the one rode on an ass, but the

other on the rush of the wind, like Habakkuk. But the Interpreter says Bel and

that he retired after the reception of the word. Others say, that when JJ^ on 36

Zacharia his father felt the sword of Herod, perhaps the boy was sought ;

for he was from the border of Bethlehem, although he dwelt in Jerusalem

on account of the high priesthood ; and he took the child and put him on

the altar of propitiation, where he had received the conception by means

of the angel ; while he was blessing about this in prayer, the angel seized

him and took him away to the inner wilderness. But afterwards the Jews p. \A

inquired of Zacharia about his son, Where is the prophet that was born to

save Israel from the oppression of the Romans ? and he truthfully replied,

" I do not know." They answered him cruelly. " Because thou art envious

about the liberation of the people, thou hast killed thy son, in order that we

may not be freed from bondage"; for they expected a Messiah from the f. 14 b

wonders that were performed at his conception and at his birth. When

Zacharia saw that they would not listen to argument, nor fulfil their vows,

and that their madness increased, he ran to take refuge at the altar, as was

the custom of the Law, but they came on him between the vestibule and

the altar, and there they slaughtered him ; that blood remained crying out

and bubbling fifty-eight years, until Titus the son of Vespasianus Casar ;

but when they rebelled against Caesar, and he came with a strong army

and subdued the city, he entered the Temple and saw the blood which

bubbled, and heard the cry; and when he asked and learned about

this, he slaughtered all the priests upon that spot, and thereupon the

blood was quieted. But John removed to the wilderness, from the time

he was weaned, first, for the shutting of the mouth of the Jews, because

he was about to witness lofty things about our Lord, for their mothers

were related to one another, that is to say, the sister of the mother of the

Virgin was Elisabeth ; lest men should suppose that from affinity or from

acquaintance in education with one another, he was, humanly speaking,

friendly; for this reason he went away from the time he was weaned;

second, for a sign of the strangeness of the new rule of the Gospel, and

of the necessity and difficulty of its commandments. And his meat was in. 4.

locusts and wild honey. But the Diatcssaron says his eating was honey and

milk of the mountains. Others say that the locusts are tender roots like

parsnips, that is to say, cuttings, and not very sweet, which some call p. 7&gt;

24 MATTHEW III. 4 7

Kamsees, but others Kamaseen, in Persian Meneg. Others say that
they are roots that are called Qauche, that in shape resemble locusts,
but in taste are sweet like honey ; others, that they are the sprouts of
plants ; and even this honey, they say, is not this which is sweet, but
that which is bitter and hateful, which the bees of the wilderness make.
According to the Interpreter, the locusts were flying, and the honey natural,
that from the heat of the place and the admixture of the air are constantly
f. 15 a found there. Therefore in all these things of John mysteries are hidden ; in
the annunciation of his conception on the one hand, which was in the day of
propitiation, a mystery of propitiation which was given to all men in the
Christ ; in the tying of the tongue of his father, on the other hand, the
tying of the nation and the Gentiles by error, etc.; but in the loosening
of his tongue, their loosening from error and inclination and the renovation
which they receive in the Christ. But his translation to the wilderness
typifies our translation from earth to Heaven. But by the knowledge of
the Scriptures which he received in the wilderness, he signified the complete
knowledge which we shall receive in the next world ; and by the desolation
of Judsea which he announced, the destruction of mortality which was
about to be dissolved ; and by the garment of hair, repentance ; by the
girding of the loins, the fortitude and strenuousness in wars material and
intellectual ; but also the continence from lascivious desire, which is
p. t*^, in the midriff, is made perfect ; by the flight of locusts, the spirituality
and flight of the saints who fly in the clouds to meet the Lord ; and by
the sweetness of honey the sweetness and beatitudes higher than all
trials that the saints receive from our Lord. Again, honey is that which
polishes the world from the rust of sin, for honey is a polisher by its
nature.

Generation of vipers I who \hath warned, &c.]? and it is asked, why does
he call them offspring of vipers, and not vipers ? Very fittingly, because this
reptile has none like it in its bitterness, and the offspring of this possess
two properties, for in the day of their conception their father dies, and in the
Gannat day of their birth their mother is broken up by them in like manner ; for
p U ie e because there is no exit from the bosom of the female, except only like a
needle-hole ; when the male has intercourse with the female, he pours the
seed by her mouth. Then the female, when she has conceived, cuts off his
organ, and he immediately dies with it. But when her young are grown,
and the time for her production has come, her young devour the organs
within her, and slit open her womb, and come out. This also prevailed
amongst the Jews, for they had destroyed the spiritual fathers, I mean

MATTHEW III. 7 II 25

the prophets and righteous men by murder, but at last they attacked
the Lord of the prophets and also the Apostles. Also our Lord called f. 15 b
them serpents, the offspring of vipers, to make known that they were the
instrument of him who in the beginning in the serpent whispered and caused
human nature to sin, him who was a murderer from the beginning, etc.
That from these stones He can change the substances, as He changed
the water to blood, and from a stone He caused rivers to flow ; again, from
these stones, etc. : or from such persons as are fabricators of stones,
or from those who worship stones and wood. I have made thee, it is said ,
a father of many nations. For this is the first illustration.

Behold, it is said, the axe is laid at the root of the trees, etc., that He Gen. 17. 5
would divide and define unbelievers from believers by means of the strong
command which he calls a sharp axe, which extirpates and destroys the
roots of their trees by means of slaughters and bitter captivities which they
were about to suffer by means of Titus and Hadrian as an earnest here,
but at last endlessly in Gehenna, as he named these things to them as the
wrath to come, and in another illustration, that is to say, whose fan is in
His hand, and He will purge, etc. False believers from true believers He
divides and removes. But by these two illustrations of the axe and the fan
he signifies His lordship and dominion. And by means of the fan on
the one hand, he shews His justice and righteousness, and by means of the
threshing-floor on the other hand, His lordship over all. The good, then,
he calls w/ieat, but false believers chaff, for as the Lord, it is said , shall
purge His floor, and as a judge by means of the fan of righteousness, He
separates and removes the wicked from among the good, those who were
gathered to one threshing-floor of faith in baptism, but they have no
identity, even in appearance.

He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. The Ghost,
because of His Divinity and Creatorship and Power: for the Spirit is
God and the Creator of the creatures from the beginning, and He does
all that He wills ; and He bestows the adoption of sons ; and fire,
because of the descent of tongues of flame which He brought down upon p. &gt;^
the Apostles in the upper room, which was the first baptism ; and all
those who came afterwards received from it in succession. Again, f. i6a
fire, because of the sublimity of the gift ; for just as from one lamp
or from a little fire a myriad lamps are kindled, and yet that one
is not diminished : thus also the grace of the Spirit at every moment
and in every place enriches every one by its gifts, while itself remaining
undiminished in its fulness, and in short, He calls the gift of the

G. I,

2 6 MATTHEW III. 15

Spirit a fire, for twelve reasons, which we have told in another place,
that is to say, in the beginning of the Acts about the descent of the
Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the upper room.

For thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness. He calls spiritual
Baptism all righteousness, and [says] of the adoption of sons which He
was about to give to all men, that it is a type of the world to come.
This, that He was first baptized to form a pattern to us, as He did also in
all His acts. Again, He calls Baptism the end *n& fulfilment of all legal
righteousness, which was completed by the mediation of servants; and
by this He shewed humility, which is the foundation and door of all
virtues, because I have fulfilled all the laws of Nature and of
Scripture as no other man has; and one only excellency remained
to Me, that I, who am Lord, should humble Myself, and be baptized
of thee, who art My servant. This that is required of all believers that
p. nm they receive baptism from the priests, was typified, for that I now fulfil
this also. Again, as I have fulfilled everything old, and paid the debts of
human nature, and destroyed and dissolved sin and Satan and death and
punishment, it is also right that I give henceforth new things to men.
Death first I will suffer for your sakes, for with it is joined the Resurrec
tion, but I typify Baptism as the type of Death and Resurrection ; for
to it I attach all spiritual and new things, and I make it the beginning
of the Gospel. Suffer us then, O John, to fulfil the righteousness of the
old Law, and then we will begin in the mercy of the Gospel. And
one ought to know that by this baptism two baptisms were completed ;
on the one hand that of the Jews and that of John were destroyed,
on the other hand, this of the New Testament was begun ; and just as
f. i6b in the Passover and at one table, our Lord performed two Passovers,
giving completion to the one, and beginning to the other; thus also
here in one river he puts an end to the baptism of the Law and of
John, and opens the door to His baptism for His Church. But in the
Gannat Jordan alone He was baptized and not in any other place, because its
p!*!?* 16 beginning is from the region of the Gentiles, but its course in the
(as from i an( j o f Israel ; and it issues from two fountains, one of which is called

Isno dad )

lor, and the other Danan, which David calls the rivers of Etham. Thou,

PS. 74. 15 he says, hast dried the rivers of Etham, which is, in Syriac, strong ;

and afterwards they are gathered into one river, that He might shew

by these things, on the one hand, the intercourse of the nation with the

Gentiles, which is for unity of adoption and of worship ; by this, on the

p. ram other hand, the equality in the giving of grace, which was shed out before

MATTHEW III. 1517 27

all that were unlike ; second, because that even in the Old Testament a

type of this was signified, in Joshua the son of Nun, and in Elia, and in

Elisha, for in the place where these three divided the Jordan our Lord was

baptized ; in order that in it types and archetype should be ministered to in G.B.p.m

the very same place ; third, in order that prophecy might be fulfilled ; our

Lord, Jeremia said, went up like a lion from the Jordan. With water then Jer. 49.19

alone He was baptized, and not with wine or oil or any other substance, for 50.44

twenty-two reasons, which we have told in another place. As John was

baptizing the crowds, he said, " This is the baptism of repentance for the Mark i. 4

remission of sins": but about our Lord, according to some, he said this, G.B.p.m

" Thou art a priest for ever, in the likeness of Melchisedek "; but according PS. no. 4

to others, "In the name of God, the Lord of all, Him who hath chosen Thee

for a wonderful administration, I baptize Thee"; according to others, that

trembling he put his hand upon His head, saying nothing, excepting, Cf. Ephr.

"Exaltation and glory to Him who humbled Himself so far as to be ^^43

baptized by His servant." And straightway, as the Diatessaron testifies,

a great light shone, and the Jordan was surrounded by white clouds, and G.B.p.m

many troops of spiritual beings were seen singing praises in the air; and the

Jordan stood still quietly from its course, its waters not being troubled, and a G.B.p.m

scent of perfumes was wafted from thence; for the Heavens were opened, for f. 17 a

a sign that He who was being baptized was from thence, and would again p. o=r&gt;

return there ; also, to shew that God was reconciled to the creatures. And

the firmament was opened, which till then had been shut fast on account of

the transgression of commandments ; and from the Heavens came down

the Spirit ; first, as a sign that He was of the Divine nature, second, that

not henceforth from the temple of the Jews should flow the propitiation, but

from Heaven. Again, the Spirit came down to shew that He was of the G.B.p.ns

same nature as He who was baptized ; not of His humanity but of His

Divinity, for He who is like comes down to Him to whom He is like, not by

a transmutation on the one hand, but it rests by a dispensation of fulness ;

or that now by means of baptism He is perfected in the grace of the

Spirit, as if He were defective ; for from the womb and from the beginning

the voice of the spiritual being to the Virgin, " The Holy Ghost shall come,

and the power of the Highest," etc., the Word was united to His flesh : and it

was filled with the Spirit that was received: from His fulness, it is said, John i. ie

have we all received. Again, the Spirit was manifested as a sign that with

the Spirit He baptizes believers. Again, to demonstrate that also to thee in

thy baptism is the Spirit attached; and just as from Heaven He was called

the Son, and that [God] was well pleased in Him, not that now He merited

28 MATTHEW III. I/ IV. I

the Sonship, or that now He was well pleased in Him ; but that it might

be known that in thy baptism thou also partakest of the adoption, and the

Rom. 8. 15 Spirit now comes down to signify to thee that in thy baptism thou hast

G. B.p.i75 received the Spirit of adoption. One of the theologians says 1 that our

Lord also as the Archetype was thrice baptized in the water, according

as He delivered at last, and in the name of the Trinity, the Spirit that

p. v=*&gt; descends, the Son who is baptized, and the Father who cries, " This

is My Son." Three names, it is said, baptized the second Adam, etc.

Again, the Spirit comes down that the prophecy may be confirmed,

is. 11. i There shall come a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall sprout

from his root, and the Spirit of God shall rest and dwell upon him,

G.B.p.i75 and the rest of the section 1 ; but the Interpreter says that to John alone was

John i. 34 revealed the vision of the Spirit, as he says, that I saw and bear witness,

f. 17 b etc., yet all of them heard the voice ; but John Chrysostom says that both

were seen by both. And if not, it would have been supposed that the

voice, This is My beloved Son, came concerning John, for the Spirit was

seen in the form of a dove, first, because of His gentleness, and for a sign

of the goodness of the Spirit. Harmless is this species among birds, the

tamed, and the untamed ; and when her young are robbed, she produces

new ones after the former ones, that is, that like her, the baptized person

must be spiritual, quiet, good, and simple, without guile and without

envy; secondly, just as a dove first announced about the termination of

the material Flood ; thus even now she announced the termination of the

intellectual destroying Flood ; thirdly, because she is commanded along with

turtle-doves for the legal sacrifices, because of the gentleness, and because

of the purity of the turtle-doves ; fourthly, for a sign of the reconciliation

and mercy of God, and His abolition of the winter of griefs, etc.; fifthly,

p. &lt;!= in the likeness of the body of a dove, that He might indicate by the per-

John^ A* 5 fection of the body. the perfection of grace, that God giveth not the Spirit

John i.ie by measure unto His Son, but in all its fulness; of His fulness have we

all received, but in part nevertheless, as much as the tongue is less than

the body, as also on account of this the Spirit came down upon the

Apostles in tongues, as a sign of their being less than our Lord.

Then was Jesus led by the Holy Ghost into the wilderness, to be tempted
of the Devil. That He was led, he says, because He went not in the
usual manner, but was suddenly transported, like Philip; and thus also
He went to Galilee, and He came to the Jordan ; for not immediately

M "* "^

is reat " NarSal ^ thC Sermon on the E PiP han y (beginning) " The wonder

MATTHEW IV. I IO 29

after His Baptism He was led into the wilderness, as Matthew declares,
but after many days ; and John testifies about this, that after three John 2. i
days from His Baptism, He turned the water into wine, in Cana of
Galilee. For this, that Satan led Him to the mountain and to the
pinnacle of the Temple ; not because of the weakness of our Lord, nor
from the violence of cursed Satan ; nor in us is Satan able violently
to create sin ; but from natural motives he offers us the incitements
of his temptations ; and it is he who throws the nets and the baits ;
for of our will we take them or not. But from the testimony of John f. i8a
and from the voice of the Father, that This is My Son, and from the
mighty works that were done, Satan was weakened and irritated ; and
he studied to tempt our Lord and to make Him sin, as he had also
tempted Adam and others. But our Lord, because He knew his intention, p. \p*
went out to the contest with him, now upon the mountain, and now upon
the pinnacle of the Temple. And we ought to know that Satan did not
venture to approach Him and to tempt Him with a desire of the stomach,
until he saw in Him a sign of hunger; that our Lord shewed in His will
about Himself, that He might give Satan room to tempt Him, that is
to say, eyes that were deep, a gait that was weary, limbs that were weak,
and flesh that was emaciated ; while with each one of the contests Satan
changed the form of his appearance ; in that of the bread to the likeness
of a stranger and a beggar, and in that of the worship upon the mountain,
to the likeness of a king ; and in that upon the tower of the Temple,
to the likeness of the High Priest. Our Lord was then allowed to be
tempted, not like one whose fortitude is to be known by the probation,
but for the shame of the tyrants. For this, that lie shewed Him all the
kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, etc., not substantially, but
in imagination and fantasy, as also magicians shew many things that
are not near and are not actual, as if they were near and actual ; for it is
not even possible to find a mountain altogether so high, that from it one
could see the whole world, etc. And even if these were imaginary things
that were shewn, yet Satan was justly convicted, and our Lord was com
mended, as if he had even really put them before Him, He would easily
have conquered them, as He conquered in the two other contests. Some
say that in one day, which was the end of the forty days of our Lord s fast,
Satan tempted our Lord, and brought Him to the three contests ; but if not, p. ^
then He fasted not forty spaces of one night and day but more 1 , and after the

1 Our Lord fasted in the second Kanun, but the Apostles in Haziran, and also Moses in
Haziran, Daniel in Nisan ; [the fast of] Elia, however, is not known.

30 MATTHEW IV. 3 2O

probation He came to the dwellings of men ; and the mystery of this
conflict He did not reveal to His disciples nor to anyone else ; until
the reception of the Spirit in the upper room no one knew ; and three
f. i8b or four (days) after He had returned, He made the wine, and chose the
disciples. But the Interpreter and others say that three days after He
was baptized He made the wine. And it is asked, which was the first
contest, and which the last? and if, as some 1 say, that Matthew according
to his publican s office put that of covetousness last, in that he was per
suaded of the severity of this passion; but because Luke was a physician,
the art to which he was addicted was ambition, and therefore he put
the passion of ambition last, reversing these things, whatever therefore
was the order of the contests in their realization ; but we say that these
two contests of greed and of covetousness took place in the wilderness,
and in the mountain ; but this of ambition was the last, and when He
returned to peace it was offered to Him.

As He walked on the shore of the sea of Galilee, He saw two brethren,

Simeon who was called Cepha, and Andrew his brother, and He said to them,

p. *& Follow me, and I will cause you to become fishers of men. But John says,

John 1.40, that first Andrew went after Him, and afterwards Peter, who was called by
Andrew. Some say that the words of the Evangelists do not agree with
one another, and they do not know that this call is a different one from
that ; that of John on the one hand, after our Lord had been baptized, but
this of Matthew on the other hand, after that John fell into prison ; for
formerly, not thus did they follow Him, so as never to be separated from

Johni. 39 Him ; as John also signifies about this, that they were with Him that day,
is to indicate that afterwards they went away ; but now, He called
them to be with Him, constantly removing completely from their friends.

Gannat Bar Eggara is a demon who throws down and casts from above and

Buscinie

p. 317 from the roof; he who in the Greek tongue is called Na^Or/p. Again

Theodore ^ e ls ca ^ e d the son of a roof when he is walking on it ; that he may

Mops.) declare, that there is nothing for the demons on high, except only as far

as the roof; and even as from thence they are seen to come down to

men ; in Greek, they say, the son of little moons, because they are

agitated from moon to moon.

1 Cod. M in marg., Babhai the Persian.

MATTHEW V. I 5 31

BOOK III.

And Jesus, seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain, etc. To
a mountain He went up constantly to teach and to pray at the same time ;
first, because it typifies Heaven, to which the righteous enter, and there p. =xi
shine in light ; second, because it is exempt from human noise, and a
free mind is able to meditate in spiritual things ; third, as we ascend
by actions, and He comes down by subjection, inasmuch as if we do not rise
to Him by actions, neither does He come down to us providentially ; fourth,
that He might resemble His Father, who made His revelation in
mountains, and there established the Law.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. He calls poor in spirit those who are not G.B.p.320
uplifted in their thoughts because of their righteousness, or because Theodore

of their riches, or because of their wisdom, but are gentle and humble ; for
because with the passion of pride Satan began at the first ; by it he raised
his heel against the Creator; and by it he exacted homage from his
associates ; and because of this he fell like lightning from Heaven. Our
Redeemer justly cleanses this passion first, by means of contempt of one s
self, and humility of mind.

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. He calls here a. B. p. 321
mourners those who mourn over their own sins and over the sins of the
world. Others say that he calls mourners those who do not covet the good
things of this world, but are sad because they fear about their virtues
lest they should be lost, and they meditate also about future things.
Others say that He names as mourners not those who are afflicted about
improper things ; but those who are sad because of the danger in regard to
the possession of future things ; for they shall be comforted when they are p. ^J.
revealed, and the danger will be lifted off them about the proper things
that they possessed in their minds. And it is asked, Why did our Lord
call mourners blessed ? but Paul says, Rejoice in the Lord always ; and we
say, that he spoke about the joy that comes from tears ; but just as to the
joy that is because of transitory things sadness is attached, thus also the
sadness that is because of God is accompanied by continual joy ; and just
as by water and by the Spirit, so by tears also we are cleansed, if we do
this not on account of men, for repentance with tears is itself baptism.

Second, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth ; and,
it is asked, if the "poor in spirit" and the meek" are one, why did

32 MATTHEW V. 57

He repeat the word? Because that first one is mental, that of the
perfect in mind, who completely throw away everything of this world, and
already belong to Heaven in their souls, that therefore He has laid all
f. 19 b the service of righteousness as a foundation ; but this second is a corporeal
thing of those who are great in race and riches and power ; but they pos
sess humility in the Christ; but the depth of humility is, as those say who
are clothed with God, the sum of perfection. But that humility of heart
comes from two things, either from complete knowledge, which silences the
mouth and the heart ; or that a man knows he is a sinner, that he does not
p. ni even dare to lift up the eyes of his thought above, out of shame at the
greatness of his sin. But otherwise, He doth not promise earthly riches,
He who commanded us to spurn all that is in the earth and choose these
that are above : but as to those former things that He said ; whether
the race of the poor in spirit or that of mourners, there was not even a
hint of them in the Old Testament ; but about humility David said, that
PS. 37. 11 the meek shall inherit the earth ; so therefore when He wished also in
something to honour the Law, He simply put this testimony here,
that humility is worthy of praise. Let it be heard by you also from the
Old Testament, that inheritance is promised to those who possess it. But
again, even if the earth is promised, that we should cure the infirmity
of that; but in that beatitude it is clear that something above the
earth is promised. He did not call those blessed who are on the earth ;
therefore He called the Heavens Earth, which is destined to become a path
for the feet of the saints, as also this earth which is here; and likewise
as Jerusalem that is in the Heavens is called by the name of a city ;
and the kingdom that is above by the name of the kingdom that is on the
earth ; thus also that place by the name Earth, because there is the abode
of the righteous at last.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall

be filled. Hunger is spoken of in two ways, corporeal and spiritual,

but here our Lord declares the spiritual worthy of blessedness, that

is to say, the voluntary motions of those who long to be filled with

good things; that is to say, with knowledge and with the works of

holiness. This is the last and highest desire, that is, of the soul and the

P- * mind, that they may be filled; that the gifts of the Holy Spirit may

imparted to them in return for their cupidity and hunger on account

of righteousness. But righteousness is the boundary which regulates all

:ue, which satisfies and is sweet to the mind.

Blessed are the merciful; for mercy shall be upon them, for Mercy is the

MATTHEW V. 7 8 33

radiance of Faith and the light of works ; and just as a lamp without oil
does not shine, thus the works of virtue do not shine without Mercy.
For strangers and the poor, says one TJieophorus, He puts as eyes from
God, and he who receives them, the eyes of his understanding are quickly
enlightened. But Mercy is named in three ways, carnally, and intellectually,
and spiritually. Carnal mercy is as when one gives alms, helps the weak,
fills the hungry, clothes the naked, eases the oppressed, etc. Intellectual
mercy is to pity those who have injured him, to forgive his enemies, to
do good to those who persecute him, etc. Spiritual mercy is to have
compassion on the erring, to teach the weak-minded, to bring the foolish
and strangers near to the household of God ; to have pity on animals,
reptiles, etc. This is a manifestation of the mercy of God which is
towards all. Nevertheless He ascribes the beatitude to such as have
mercy on those who are strangers to goodness ; that a man should have
mercy on the good fulfils natural and legal righteousness, and not the
grace of the Father in heaven which the Gospel of our Lord commands ;
thus He meditates in a threefold way, also on poverty, and mourning, P- **
and purity, and fasting, and prayer, and other virtues.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. He calls pure
in heart those who are candid in mind, and not perverse in thoughts,
free from inquisitiveness and from evil intent ; as also David asked in
prayer, A clean heart, etc. Sight also, although it is said to be of seven PS. 51. 10
kinds, may be summed up under three kinds, in the senses, and in the
mind, and in faith ; but God is seen only by faith. Faith, it is said, is Heb. 11. i
the persuasion about those things that are in hope ; as if they were really
possessed, and the revelation of things not seen ; He (i.e. God) is seen also
in His works ; let them be enquiring about God, and they will find Him
from His creatures ; but the organ of this vision is a pure heart that is not
attached to earthly things. Again, He calls sight here the light and reve- f. 20 b
lation which the soul receives inwardly by knowledge about Him, and
about these spiritual things : like this, Uncover my eyes, that I may behold PS. 119. is
wondrous things. I leave then three kinds of virtue to which a beatitude is
attached, because they are not very obscure, and also that the discourse
may not be too long, and we merely say this, that our Lord ascribes, in an
eightfold manner, both beatitudes to the blessed, and woes to the wicked,
first, because the number 8 is famous in nature and in Scripture, and
among the wise within and without ; but second, because there are eight P- w
left-handed passions and eight right-handed ones. The left-handed ones,
on the one hand, are pride, fornication, vainglory, spendthrift, covetous-

34 MATTHEW V. 12 13

ness, anger, envy, negligence ; the right-handed ones, on the other hand, are
self-contempt, mourning, humility, desire for righteousness, mercy, purity
of thoughts, peace, fortitude ; but He places each one for the cure of the
other, and by these He humbles, and directs, and purifies those ; and
cleanses body and soul at the same time. For pride, a demon which leads
the way, [the cure is] by miserable self-contempt ; for fornication, a sow
which comes next, [the cure is] by the passion of the heart and constant
grief; for vainglory, a thorn that pricks from all sides, and a tree without
fruit, by humility, the ground and salt of all virtues ; for intemperance, a
burning and insatiable fire, by the desire for righteousness and justice ; for
Mammon, the spoiler and hater of all, by pity that is upon all ; for dejection,
the beclouder of the mind and disturber of the temper, by sincerity of
the thoughts, and love which is from the heart ; for envy, the source of all
quarrels and disputes, by peace, the conciliator and binder of divided
people ; for negligence, the father of faintheartedness and indifference, by
fortitude, the father and the anvil of all excellences. And He incites and
instigates the hearers to the keeping of each one of them, by their beauty
and by their perfection at the same time ; for in the beatitude which He
put at the head of each commandment there is a sweet and merciful voice,
which converts not penitents alone, but also sinners ; but at the same
p. oii time also by the reward which He attaches to the doers, binds every
man in the desire for them and exhorts him to their accomplishment, as
praise also rouses a man the more to add to the former things ; for blessed
Matt. 20.13 is the complete penny which will be given by the Lord of the vineyard to
f. 21 a those who have borne the burden and heat of the day ; and the penny is
the sum of the beatitudes that are promised to the diligent; and in the
eight beatitudes it typifies the eightsomeness of the new world 1 ; and in
the variation of the beatitudes He offers consolation to everyone ; so that
although a man be insufficient for all good works, yet he may not be
deprived of them all ; and that from whatever distance and by whatever
way every man goes to Him, the door of the kingdom of Heaven is
opened before him, and He does not cut off hope.

Ye are the salt of tJie earth ; for salt possesses many powers ; it gives
a taste to the insipid ; it constricts and dries up dampness, the parent of
slackness and putridity; and preserves perishable things from all corruption
and hurt. It contracts the water of the seas; and by the sun it is further
purified, and shines and glitters, and when it is hidden from the splendour
of the sun, it becomes black in its colour, and its taste is spoiled, and it
is useless for the condiment of victuals, and that which is so is thrown
1 The number 8 signifies the life of the world to come. (See Payne Smith, col. 446 a.)

MATTHEW V. 1422 35

away, etc.; thus also those who have been instructed in the Gospel,
according as they are fortified by the Divine election, are worthy of all
honour ; but if they revert to the worldliness of the world, they will both be
rejected by everyone, and will be food for fire and for Satan.

Ye are the light of the world; for He does not say light, but the light of p. V
the world ; to show that all of them together are one light ; in order that by
the equality of all, there should be brightness to all the world. By means
of salt, on the one hand, He taught about essential corrections, by light, on
the other hand, about the theoretical ones. This [Amen] is a sign of pros
perity, in that it is a gracious gift; for Amen is Hebrew; but in Syriac it is
Truth; and for this reason He begins with Amen; until the heavens and
the earth pass away, one jot or one point. He promises two things in this ;
one, that all the previous voices of the Law, those that were spoken about
Me have been fulfilled, in that the Law has taught about My coming ;
second, that until, I say, these things happen, the Law remaineth Mine,
and from now henceforth all things are made new, and with them also the
Heavens and the Earth in a type and a mystery. Everyone, it is said, who 2Cor.5.i7
is in the Christ is a new creature ; and everything is made new in the Christ,
etc. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these little commandments etc.
He calls these His own commandments little, according to the opinion
of men, for it is thought even now by many, that it is nothing that one f. 21 b
should sin in thought, but one must avoid only the sin that is in act. But
it is not so. He is the Curator and Director of the conscience, for He
seeks to take away from the conscience the desire of sin ; that thus even
actual sin may not be wrought; so therefore because He knows that many
find fault with His commandments as not being necessary nor moderate ; p. w
just as Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause; and this that he
that contemplates a woman licentiously, and this Swear not at all, and this,
that If a man say to his fellow, Raca, or that he call him a fool, etc. ; for
He calls these little according to their opinions; therefore He attaches to
the decrees threats, and shews that His own commandments are the per-
fectors of those of the Law of Moses; inasmuch as the Law quiets the
passions, but the Gospel roots them out ; for this expression he shall be
called least, is to be understood as condemnation ; and we ought to know
that the laws of our Lord should be investigated not by the position of
their words, but from their purpose ; for He commands that we should
examine the conscience and direct the thoughts: for not even when He Matt. 6. IT
says, When thou fastest, wash thy face, and anoint thy head, does He com
mand us to anoint, or that when we pray, we should go into a closet and

36 MATTHEW V. 22 28

shut the door, etc. Thus also this, that he that is angry with his brother
without a cause, He calls angered, not simply him who is enraged, but him
that perseveres and remains in his wrath against someone. He calls the
vile Raca, and those who are stupid and foolish fools. He puts Raca, on
the one hand, for corporeal things, and fools, on the other hand, for in
tellectual things. This, that he shall be in danger of the synagogue, that
is to say, that in that day when there will be an inquisition of all rational
beings, he will be found guilty before that great assembly of angels and
men; and he will be confounded as one whose conscience and will are
p. *oo revealed before all. If your righteousness doth not exceed, etc., that is to
say, not only do you limit the sin to acts, as the ancient Law, but beware
lest ye incline to evil things in the will of the soul. This, Agree with
thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him, that is to
f. 22 a say, study whilst thou art in this world that thou mayest be reconciled
with him who hath been injured by thee, and do everything to reconcile
him to thyself ; but this, that he will deliver thee to the officer, that is to say,
to the Angel ; but He calls the punishment prison ; the full vengeance the
uttermost farthing. That of until does not fix a limit, but measures
eternal things; the last farthing, that is to say, to the smallest fault.

This, that if thy right eye offend thee, He calls the right eye him who
is considered more valuable than the rest, and is engaged in good works;
let him be rejected, namely, from the whole body, even if it be more
loved by you than an eye. And if thy right hand offend thee ; for He
said that of the eye about adultery which happens by sight; and that
of the hand about murder ; but as to what He said about him who
swears falsely, is, whatsoever is more than these is of the Evil One, the
Interpreter says that He calls Satan the Evil One, because he is the
inventor of falsehood ; from the beginning it was necessary that everyone
who tells lies should be a partaker with Satan. John 1 says that what is
more than these is of the Evil One means oatlis, and not falsehood ; for
falsehood is evident, arid no one needs to learn that it is [not] 2 from Satan ;
and that it is not the excess, but the contrary, that which is outside the
measure, which means oaths.

He that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath straightway committed

adultery with her in his heart. Some have taken it about the natural

motions and simple look. They very much err; for our Lord commanded

1 Chrysostom.

On margin. The names of the kingdoms of Heaven and of Gehenna are new both in the
;ound and in sense ; they are derived from John and from our Lord.

MATTHEW VI. I 7 37

what was possible to happen, and not anything that was natural and
necessary; for not even what He says, Thou shalt not covet anything
that is thy fellow s, does He find fault, that anything of thy fellow s
should appear to thee beautiful, but only with impure and envious desire.
Thus also this, that everyone who looks on a woman, that is to say, he
who considers her lasciviously, so as to awaken his desire, and delivers
all his soul to impurity, that by his look he may fulfil his desire ; he who
is thus, is put by Me in the place of an adulterer, even if he have not
completed the act, because time and place and person did not give him
the chance for that.

BOOK IV.

This, Do it not before men, so as to be seen of them, shews, that it is
possible that when one acts before men, it is done in order not to be seen of
them ; and when one does not act before them, again it is that one may be
seen of them ; He therefore condemns or crowns not the deed, but the in
tention ; for if it were not so, many would refrain from doing alms, because f. 22 b
it is not always possible to be in secret, and about this it is said, Thou
shalt not blow a trumpet before thee; not that there is a trumpet there, etc. ;
but in every place He seeks the purpose and investigates the intention of
acts; so that even if thou goest inside the house, and shuttest the door, but
doest this for the sake of praise, the shut doors are of no advantage to
thee; and not even if thou prayest without is it a loss to thee; therefore
require from thyself, that thou close first the doors of thy intentions ; and
beware of the love of praise; or he calls the heart a chamber, and the
lips doors.

This, Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doetJi ; by the left p. 2^9
and the right, He signifies about exactness and secrecy; that if it be
possible, not even the flesh should perceive the will of its soul; it neglects,
as it were, strange things, and does not take up anyone in its intention,
excepting him on whose account it is acting.

This, Be not garrulous, like the heathen, does not reprove the multitude
of prayers, as some erroneously suppose, but vain requests: for He does not
call a multitude of words garrulousmss , if the things that are spoken are
well; but that anyone should ask for things that are outside of the will of
God, like those who ask that punishment may come upon their enemies, etc.
Our Saviour commands us to pray, not that He needs our prayers, but to
bind us in His love; for He did not even need altars, nor offerings, etc.

3 g MATTHEW VI. 9 IO

But prayer is spoken of in a threefold way; first of the words, as this, that

isam. i. Hanna prayed with the mouth; but second, by deeds, as this, that

PS. ice. so Phinehas prayed by the act of zeal ; third, of the mind, as this, that I will

icor.14.15 p ray with the understanding; and every one of them is threefold, bodily,

mental, and spiritual; but our Lord delivered to us this last kind, Our

Father who art in Heaven, Halloived be Thy Name. There is in this

request a humiliation of God and an elevation of Man; for He calls

Himself and is the Father of beings of dust, that by which He is lowered

and exalted. Again, by means of this of Father, He signifies, that He

p. tu*&gt; keeps the qualities of fathers, that He cares for His children as Himself, if

f. 23 a not even more; and teaches us that if we are children, we ought to keep

the qualities of children by the keeping of His commandments and by

love to Him. Again, by means of this of Our Father there comes in

necessarily that of brethren ; for those who call God our Father, confess of

necessity that they are brethren, and ought to possess natural love to their

Father and to one another. This, who art in Heaven ; first to distinguish

from the fathers who are on earth; second, because He is glorified by the

Scriptures, that His dwelling and throne are in Heaven, although He is in

every place ; third, to shew where the treasure that we long for is laid up.

For this of Thy Name is put instead of God, as is the peculiarity

Pa. 83. is of the Scriptures, like this, that men may know that Thy name alone

145.21 is the Lord; and this, His Holy name for ever and ever. This then,

Hallowed be Thy Name, not that He may receive an addition of holiness,

which belongs to Him naturally and alone, but in us who are His;

Matt. 5. 16 while we live honestly His name is hallowed and glorified; like this,

that when they see your good works, they may glorify your Father which

is in Heaven ; and if it is the contrary, His name will be blasphemed and

reproached. We ought to know that " Holy" and " Holiness " are Hebrew,

and signify separation ; for everything that is separate from anything, either

by riches or by beauty or by anything else, the Hebrew calls " holy" like this,

PS. 16. 3 that the holy ones in the earth and the glorious, in whom is all My will, etc.

Thy kingdom come; for the word kingdom is an equivalent; for

p. ow accurately called, the kingdom of Heaven is a future structure, above

i Cor. 15. 5 variation and mortality, etc. We are directed by it again to the times

Matt.26.29 after the Resurrection ; as that, I will drink no more of this fruit of the vine

Matt. 10. 7 until the day when I drink it with you anew, etc. Again, of the Gospel,

as this, When ye go, preach, and say the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Matt. 3. 2 Again, of baptism, like this of the Baptist, Repent, for the kingdom of

Heaven is at hand. Again, according to some, to the theories of spiritual

MATTHEW vi. 1013 39

things, like this, that the kingdom of Heaven is like so and so. Again, to Matt. 13.24
the doctrine of the Trinity, like this, that the kingdom of God cometh not Lukei7.20,
with observation, and the kingdom of God is within you, that is to say,
it is not outside of the mind and the intelligent impulses of the soul; but f. 2$b
here the kingdom, according to the Interpreter, is the grace of the Holy
Spirit which we have received as a pledge, and secretly in baptism. Now
He commands us to ask that we may openly seize its fruits in ourselves,
and that it may be given to us completely in the new world, etc.

Thy will be done, as in Heaven, namely, as in Heaven there is no
opposition in all rational beings, because all rule and power are brought 2 *
to nought, etc. ; thus also among these mortal lives, as much as is possible,
may Thy will be fulfilled and perfected in us.

Give us this day the bread that we need; for in one form, bread, He
includes all kinds that nourish the body. And in this day He includes
all the time of our life, and this is according to the custom of the Scrip- p. cvoo
tures, which from a part assumes the whole.

And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. He binds
pardon wisely with pardon ; for because he who now misses it from
others, injures himself first either with others or with God. But any J b * 17
formed by nature pure from pollution, according to Job, there is not
even one ; by the chain of ordered necessity He brings debtors towards
this, that they must pay their debts either to one another or to Him. Thou
sayest to Me, Forgive my debts, I also say to thee, Forgive thy brother
his debt to thee ; and if thou sayest, It is forgiven by me, behold, thou
art also forgiven by Me. But if it is otherwise, and if anyone says, God
alone forgives all sins ; who is able to forgive sins, but God alone ? why Luke 5. 21
now does He send malefactors to those who are sinned against to be
pardoned? By this the Advocate of our peace seeks our tranquillity,
by this He negotiates our concord; as He says somewhere that if ye
forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father which is in
Heaven forgive you your trespasses.

And lead us not into temptation, and how is it said somewhere,
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried, he James 1.12
shall receive, etc. ; and Fear not them which kill the body ; and Whoso- Matt.io.28
ever taketh not up his cross, etc. ; and in general in all His teaching, the 38
entrance to temptations is spread ; and He says, that without temptations p. v
the kingdom is not found. Nevertheless He commands us not to enter into A
spiritual and Satanic temptations, that is to say, into carelessness, and into
blasphemy, and pride, and vainglory, etc.; but for those of the body, f. 24.1

4 MATTHEW VI. 925

with all strength He commands us to immerse ourselves in them, for
without them we are not able to approach God ; for the Divine rest is
put in the midst of them. In the face of temptations, like strangers, a
man prays to God ; for when he enters into afflictions, on account of his
love, and does not receive a change, thus like one who casts obligations
upon God, he is considered one of His household and His friend. Again,
He commands that we should liberate ourselves from temptations,
because of the weakness of our nature, that perhaps we are not able to
resist in temptations, but that we should at the same time have mercy
on those who bring temptations. Let us see how He includes prayer
in ten sentences. The first five are about the soul, and the last five are
about the body; and this in order that by these we should purify all
passions.

The Liglit of the body is the Eye. If thine eye, etc., that is to say, just

as the Eye leads all the body, thus also the Reason of the soul, by which

we choose whatever we wish, is to us in the place of an eye ; the actions

also of our life of necessity follow its wish. But this, that if the light that

is in thee be darkness, how great is tJiy darkness! that is to say, if thy

discernment and thy reason are as if hid in darkness, and do not lead

thy soul as they ought, how much greater is that darkness of the

full punishment which thou wilt suffer in the world to come? Mar

p. jii EpJiraim says if the light that is in thee, etc. If thou sinnest in alms,

Ephraim, which are the windows, that is to say, the justifiers, how much more in

Diat.

(M6s.) the sin that darkens ; for adultery and blasphemy possess one side of those

t) 72

who sin them, but alms, two sides ; if they are given in the praise of men
they cause to err, but if the hand of the giver be stretched out to the
needy, yet his thought is extended to God the rewarder.

This of where your treasure is, there is also your heart. Some say that
if the light of knowledge of discernment which is given to thee become
darkness by means of thy injustice and dissimulation with evil things ;
how great will be the darkness reserved for thee in Hell !

Luke 16. is No servant can serve two masters, that is to say, those who are contrary;
but those who possess a uniform mind and agree in will, he can.

This, have no care for your soul, what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink,
f. 24 b nor for your body. About the body He mentions dress, because it alone
covers it, and is of no use at all to the soul. But about the soul He put
eating and drinking ; not that it (the soul) takes up the food, but because
from these things is the sustenance of the body ; also the soul is able
to remain by it ; and He says these things, shewing that one ought

MATTHEW VI. 34 VII. 21 4 1

not to be anxious and to care about these things. Behold, is not the life
more tlian meat, and the body more than raiment? that is to say, it is
evident that soul and body are greater than what were created on account
of them ; and is it not therefore absurd, that we having received higher P- V
things, doubt about those that were created by God for our use ?

This that sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, that is to say, its
labour ; to say that even the very care of useful things is hard work ;
for He does not say to-morro\v and to-day about one day, but about the
ages to come ; therefore seek thou the things that are necessary, and
sufficient for thy use, and take no care of future ages, those to which
perchance thou shalt not come, perhaps undergoing labour that is of
no advantage.

BOOK V.

And after He had finished the words about virtue, of which some are
suitable to the just and some to the perfect, and some of them to the
disciples, but some of them to the whole people, He admonishes them
not to be partakers with those who are strangers to sound faith, and
resemble the household in form only.

Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, etc., for He speaks of those
that in the form of His doctrine, should in future do signs by the craft
of magic ; just as Simon, and Menandrus, etc., or like the sons of Sceva
and others, who in the beginning wrought miracles in the name of Jesus,
etc., or like Balaam and Caiaphas. One ought not to be led astray after
thern by miracles, nor by vulgar promises ; but one should investigate the
truth of their words from the mode of their actions. Others say, that
this Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied in
Thy name, etc., was said of heretics ; that even if they receive power in
the name of Christianity to do signs on account of the instruction of the
heathen, and they have also honest behaviour, and however often in the
time of persecutions they suffer stripes and deaths for the sake of the
Christ ; nevertheless on account of the corruption of their confession p. ^
they are deprived of the kingdom of Heaven. Thus a Christian who f. 25 a
takes power from Baptism for fulfilling the commands of our Lord, if
he keep some of them, and others not, doth not enter into the kingdom
of Heaven, even if he be precise in works, and even do miracles ; for
behold our Lord deprived the foolish women of entrance to the kingdom
G.I. 6

42 MATTHEW VII. 2Q VIII. 2O

of Heaven, although they were perfect in all maidenly conduct like
their companions, and only the oil of mercy was wanting to them ; the
Pharisee, also, although he had fasted and prayed and given alms, yet
because he was wanting in humility, lost all his righteousness. Others
say that these [words] were spoken of believers, who possessed good
works, and at the end changed to the practice of iniquity; therefore He
calls them from the beginning workers of iniquity.

This, that He taught them as one having authority, and not as then-
scribes and the Pharisees, therefore that those, when they taught the people,
so taught as men who expounded a strange Law; bringing in Moses
and hit Law into the midst everywhere; but our Lord was a Law
giver in His own right ; so and so was said ; but I say so and so,
and ye shall do so and so, and ye shall not do so and so. This that our
Lord commanded that leper to Go to the priests and offer a gift as the
Law commanded, to shew, that He did not think contrary to the Law
in any way, according as they maligned Him.

Three virtues are certainly known from the answer of this Centurion ;
p. ^^ modesty, and faith, and wisdom ; for this that / am not worthy that Thou
shouldst come under my roof, manifests much modesty ; and this, Speak by
a word, and my servant shall be healed, proves his faith ; and this, / also
am a man under authority, and have soldiers under my hand, etc., manifests
his wisdom ; for just as I have received authority, and what I will is done
by my servants ; it is no wonder that Thou also, because Thou hast
received this power from God, by a word only that Thou commandest
pains are chased away.

This, that foxes have holes, and the fowls of heaven have dwellings, but

the Son, etc., which He said to that scribe who said unto Him, 7 will follow

Thee, etc. It was a custom with our Saviour in many places, to return

f . 25 b an answer not against the words, but against the suppositions and the

Ephraim. thoughts. But this scribe did not approach our Lord with a good

(M^.) conscience ; but he was sick with covetousness, like Juda ; for he was

p- 74 hoping this, that he should receive power from our Lord to do signs ;

and from that time he would gather much riches ; but our Lord, contrary

to his supposition, returns the answer, Foxes have holes, etc. In vain

dost thou meditate this, because thou canst not gather riches, but on the

contrary as thou seest, I am more in poverty than the beasts and the

birds, inasmuch as they have certain places, in which they are sheltered ;

but I have not even a certain place into which to go and rest. Therefore

p. -^ if thou seekest to become My disciple, remove from covetousness. The

MATTHEW VIII. 22 2Q 43

Allegorists, however, refer the foxes to covetous thoughts; they have
holes within thee; and the fowls of heaven, that is to say, the devils,
have dwellings, that is to say, shelter, within thee ; but the Son of Man,
that is to say, I, have no place in thee. To this one then He returned
answer thus, reproving his disease of covetousness ; but another of His
disciples, because his father was dead, and he besought Him that he
might go and fulfil what was necessary on account of his father, He did
not allow, but said unto him, Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead.
When He said this, which is about all those great things that are accounted
to be necessary, we must consider how they can be compared with the
teaching of the fear of God, since He calls those dead who are dead in
their sins.

When He was come to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two
demoniacs met Hint coming out from among the tombs, and cried saying,
What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God ? art tJiou come here
before the time to torment us ? But the demons, though they were harassed
from doing their own will, yet know that in every way punishment is reserved
for them at the last, on account of their wickednesses. And because they
have time in the interval to do something for man, they cried to our
Lord, as one who before the time of torments was forcing them uselessly
and delivering them over to punishment, inasmuch as their torment in p. ^o
this world is this, when they are prevented from accomplishing their will,
and are cast out of man, the image of God ; but He allowed them to enter f. 26,1
the swine, not because their will should be accomplished in these, but to
shew every one the enmity they possess to the human race 1 , and that
they do little out of much that they long to do, because they are
prevented by Divine power; so therefore He allowed them to enter
into the swine ; first, that no man should be hurt by them ; second, that
from these things might be known at the same time the wrath of the
demons and their power, for those sought also to kill the swine. Granted
that they could hurt men, how much more would they cause those to
perish if there was no one to restrain them ? This, that Matthew says
there were two demoniacs, but Mark one ; they did not care about the
number, but only to relate the signs, for the manifestation of their Author
Himself; perhaps one of them was worse than his fellow, or rather, our
Lord s power was equal either with one or with two.

1 In niarg. This that they are the enemies of man, is written in Joel the Prophet

44 MATTHEW VIII. 34 X. 9

BOOK VI.

This that the men of the country persuaded Him to depart out of their
coasts ; not that they did this from audacity, because by His means the
swine had died ; but for a good purpose, as that they were not worthy, lest
also some other harsh thing should happen to them because of their sins,
by reason of His greatness ; to their wickedness, in fact, they attributed also
the loss of the swine. And in order to shew the difference between [the
Pharisees] and His disciples, that they also should not fast like them
afterwards of necessity, but voluntarily, He says, No man putteth a new
piece of cloth on a worn-out garment, that it draw not, etc. ; and no man
putteth new wine into worn-out bottles, lest the bottles be split, etc. He
called His own laws new cloth and new wine, but the old laws He called
worn-out ; therefore it was not becoming that the preachers of the New
Testament should serve the Old one; for at a fitting time they keep a
fast that is greater than yours. That of Simeon the Canaanite, not as one
who was of the Kanaanite nation, as some have erroneously supposed, but
Canania was the name of his village. Also Juda Scariot was called from
the name of his village, Scariot.

BOOK VII.

This, that our Lord commanded, Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor

f. 26 b brass, that is to say, money, etc. It is evident that He did not command

them thus for the conduct of their whole lives; but if not, we see Paul, that

he took from the Philippians, and possessed books and a cloak 1 . And

Peter, and our Lord, possessed sandals and a bag; so our Lord does not

forbid us to possess things that are useful to us, but to run after superfluous

i Tim. 6. 8 things; this is evident, and if not, how did Paul say, if we have food and

raiment, they are sufficient for us? and he did not say raiment, but raiments,

signifying about useful things. But because the Apostles were preaching

p. m^ a new law to those that were accustomed to the Law, when Moses brought

[them] out of Egypt they had no provision for the way, and he provided

for them miraculously for forty years in the wilderness, that is to say, this

also our Lord commanded them, to go out naked ; when they had nothing,

1 In /narg., i.e. a beronia without a hood ; cf. 2 Tim. iv. 13.

MATTHEW X. IO 1 6 45

not even taking anything from other men, the greatness of Him who took
care of them would be known ; that therefore when the Passion was near
He said to them, When I sent you without purses, or bags, or shoes, Luke22. 35
lacked ye anything? reminding them how copiously He had supplied their
needs ; and this is the purpose of the command of our Lord ; for He did
not command us to get rid of our needs, for this would not have
been ourselves, that is to say, our will ; but nature itself is lord. He has
done well to add this, that the labourer is ivortJiy of his food, to say, that
wherever ye enter ye shall receive like workmen the food that is due to
you, but I pay a wage in the time of judgment. For this, Go not into the
zvay of the Gentiles, and into the cities of the Samaritans enter ye not, was
very useful at that time ; for because the Jews did not mix with the
heathen, so that they might not have any defence to offer for their
want of faith, that they preached equally to those who were without
the Law and to us, therefore we are justly excused from it. He com
manded about this but for an hour, that they should not go among p. cv^
the heathen; whilst after His resurrection He commanded them to go to Matt.28.i9
all nations. Those who were baptized by our Lord before His Passion,
the disciples did not baptize before the Passion. Nevertheless those who
had been baptized by John and [his] disciples they baptized afresh after the
Resurrection. But He commanded them about those who would not
receive them, to shake off upon them the dust of their feet, a sign, therefore,
of the labour of the way which they had borne because of them ; for it is
clear that with the Gospel of the kingdom of Heaven they also preached
Him by means of whom it was revealed, who He is; that He is the {.27 a
Messiah and the Son of God ; and it is evident that they also baptized
in His name those who believed, and they also baptized those who had
been baptized by John. But it is not said that our Lord baptized, because
there was no other except Himself in whom He should baptize ; it was not
becoming that He should mention Himself about baptism, and it was out
side of the custom.

Be ye therefore wise like serpents, and innocent like doves \ for the serpent
possesses four qualities, according to the Physiologists ; one, that when
its skin oppresses it, and when it gets old and its eyes are blinded,
it fasts for forty days, until its body is relaxed ; then it seeks a cleft
or fissure, straight and narrow, and presses in a penetrating way into that
cleft, and casts off that old skin of its, and is made young, and acquires
strength and health ; so therefore our Lord also signified by this illustration
to the preachers of His Gospel, that they should go in by the narrow door

4.6 MATTHEW X. 1 6 23

of trials ; that thus they should cast off the old man, aged in sins, but that
P- ^" they should put on the new which is renewed in knowledge in the likeness

Col. 3. 10 of its Creator; as also He says somewhere, Enter ye in by the strait gate,
Matt. 7. 13

etc. Second, that when the serpent goes to drink water from a river, it does

not carry its fang with it, but leaves it in its hole. The signification in
this is that preachers also should not keep anger and rage against perse
cutors ; nor should those who believe in His name, when they are about to
drink the water of everlasting life, enter with their fangs, that is to say,
fleshly lusts and pollutions. Third, that when a serpent sees a man who is
naked, it is afraid and flees from him ; but if it sees him clothed and
dressed, it ventures and springs upon him. The signification in this is,
that one ought to put off the garments of culpable passion, that the Devil
may not spring upon us, our enemy that is to say, he who hates us. Fourth,
that the serpent delivers all its body to blows and strokes, but covers only
its head that it may not be beaten, as the sustainer of life in the body ;
for our Lord shews by this and teaches that they also must bear all
torments and ills until death, and keep spotless the fear of God which is
f. 27 b the head of the life of earthly beings, in this that just as a reptile whose
head is crushed is not saved, neither is a Christian who corrupts his right
faith, which is the chief of all good things. For by wolves He indicates the
lasciviousness of noxious things ; for the wolf is shameless and impudent
by his nature. But by the sheep and the doves He signifies innocence
P- -^ and humility, for they are the properties of doves, and even when their
little ones are taken away, they do not keep a grudge and spite, but remain
in the same nest, innocently giving birth to others. And sheep too do not
know to repay evil to the wolves who tear and strangle them. Truly He
shews them by these things, that even if persecutors cause you to suffer
a myriad evils, you should not repay them evil things; but stay with
them and teach them, until by your teaching they become accustomed to
virtue ; because even if they are wolves in evil things, yet they can be con
verted to lamblikeness, inasmuch as they are not wolfish by nature, but of
free will ; even Paul was a wolf at first, and at the end was a lamb. Thus
also there are thousands and myriads of the Jews and Gentiles who became
instead of rebellious persecutors martyrs and fighters for righteousness.

Beware of men, that is to say, of unbelievers and haters of the Gospel ;
but when they persecute you in this city, flee ye to another. Truly in this, He
shews compassion and care for those who are persecuted and for the
persecutors ; for the persecuted, on the one hand, as perhaps they will
not be able to be strong in trials, because of the weakness of nature, and

MATTHEW x. 23 25 47

the easiness of wavering; for the persecutors, on the other hand,
diminishing their evil deeds, because as much as they increase doing evil
so much will their torment increase ; so therefore He commanded, that
when persecutions are near, they should stand risk for the sake of
Truth, and not betray the fear of God by cowardice. As much as possible p- V*"
they should not invite the danger in advance, for the reasons that arc told ;
for even our Lord, on account of envy, removed to the town of Ephraim, John 11.54
and sometimes He went out of the Temple secretly, and sometimes He
departed to a mountain, softening the vehemence of the storms, and giving
occasion for the Gospel at the same time to restrain the persecutors from
future punishment. But again in their circuits and their changes from one
place to another, this preaching would also be accomplished, and all f. 28 a
nations should hear.

This, that ye shall not finish all the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man
shall come. Twice our Lord sent the Twelve and the Seventy to evangelize
first among the Jews especially, but afterwards, to all the world. Go and Matt.28.i9
make disciples of all the nations, inasmuch as He came for the salvation of
all and not of a part, so that therefore this, that ye shall not finish all the
cities of Israel, is suitable only for confirmation to the Jews, a thing
that happened quickly, when our Lord shewed on Mount Tabor a type
of His last coming ; for He called this sight the coming, naming the type
by the name of the prototype ; again this that the Son of Man shall come,
instead of this, that I explain to you a sign, that is to say, I make
you understand at once, that before ye have gone round all the cities
of Judah. But this I say, comforting them, before they should suffer
any evil, He should rise recognized as the Redeemer, which also
happened ; for those who were sent returned with joy and without hurt,
relating the mighty deeds that were done by their means. Again this, p. 21
that He slwuld come, is like that which God said to Israel, that in every EX. 20. 2*
place where thou recordest My name I will come to thee and bless thee ;
it being evident that He calls His help a coming. Again, when He
advised them not to be grieved nor offended by the curses of strangers,
inasmuch as He also bore bitter curses, He said, There is no disciple
that is greater than his lord, and no servant than his master. It is enough
for the disciple that he be as his master ; and the servant as his lord ;
for if they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more
them of his household? that is to say, that if I, who am Master and Lord, John is. is
according as ye call Me our Master and our Lord, and ye say well,
for so I am, I have borne curses and afflictions, and I am going to

48 MATTHEW X. 25 27

bear them again ; how much more ought ye who are My servants and

My disciples to be strong in afflictions? for there is no disciple who is

greater, etc., because He did not decree this, that no disciple should be

greater than his lord, but there is none such ; because if he were greater, he

would not then be called a disciple, but a lord. Thus also there are many

f. 28 b servants who attain to wealth, and very much excel their masters; like Eli,

who was surpassed by Samuel, and Paul, who outran Gamaliel, etc. But

Beelzebub is interpreted as the chief of the devils, for because they

associated with devils, they revealed to them who is their head and what

is his name. He calls the Holy Spirit the lord of the house, for He is the

lord of the house ; whether of the world as its Creator with the Father and

p. *^ the Son; or whether of His temple because He formed it. He who is born

Matt. i. 20 in her is of the Holy Ghost ; but that they blaspheme the Holy Ghost,

12. 28 He there shews also in another place, saying, If I by the Holy Spirit cast out

12. 31 devils ; and All sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven unto men, but the

32 blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, etc. ; and Whosoever shall speak a word

against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven unto him ; but he that blasphemes

against the Holy Ghost, etc. ; now He signifies by these things, how much

greater His ignominy was than theirs; in order to lighten their sufferings

by the comparison ; and after this He clothed Himself with their persons

and answered instead of them. If it be ours to despise their calumnies,

a stumblingblock which has happened to many people from their word ;

it hurts us, so to speak, and oppresses us that not we only, but the doctrine

which is preached by our means, are thus estimated that some abhor us, by

the reproaches which are sent out against us, so that therefore this brings

in fear, and He removes it saying, Fear iJiem not, for there is nothing

covered that shall not be revealed, and hidden, that shall not be known. What

I tell you in darkness, speak ye it in light ; and ^vhat ye have heard with

your cars, preach it upon the roofs ; and tremble not that lies are forged

against you by enemies, because no calumnies remain as they are, but the

nature of the deeds in time reproves the fictions of their calumnies,

when truth shall be revealed, and the illustration from these things

is Mine ; for it has been revealed that I am not the prince of the

p. =^ devils, but the Son of God. But nevertheless those things that ye hear

from Me in darkness, that is to say, secretly between Me and you,

these that because of harsh 1 and tempestuous people I have signified

Luke 8. 10 and shewn in parables, because to you it is given to know the mysteries

f. 29 a and idea of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them that are without it is

1 Marg. harsh, that is to say, stiff-necked.

MATTHEW X. 2934 49

expressed in parables, by noon-day speech and with great boldness as upon
the housetops, they shall be preached by you before all, before kings and
tyrants ; and in order to shew them the care that is over you, and to
encourage them that nothing shall come upon them except the mandate
of God, He says :

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not
fall to the ground without your Father. Do not suppose that it is by the
negligence of God that ye are delivered to trials, but be persuaded that not
even little and contemptible birds whose price is a farthing, that is, ten
obols, can fall into the snare, unless they were also created from the first
for human uses ; how much more does He shew [His] care about you
who are His image and likeness, and of the household of His love,
and His worshippers, and were created with free will? But some
destroyers of freedom imagine here, that it is evidently not in our
hands, but everything is in the hands of God, from this assertion of our
Lord, that not even a contemptible sparrow falls into the snare without
the Father; and we say that everything is not in our hands, but some of
them are in our hands, some of them in His ; it is of our will to choose
and to study good things, but the end and the direction are from above.

therefore by Divine energy only the sparrows fall, why is the art of p. ^
hunters with its instruments required ? What man ever saw a sparrow fall
upon the ground without the trap and art of the hunter ? What is then
the force of the word, unless these things were established for the use of
men, either as sustenance, or as exercise, or as other things ? They shall
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of Heaven, etc
Never have the birds fallen to the earth, nor the fishes gone up from the
sea to the dry land. Nevertheless reason is from God, and by reason
reasonable beings have devised such inventions and contrivances.

This, / came not to cast peace, but a sword. And how about this
passage, that He came to reconcile all that is in Heaven and all that is in col i 20

2 earth? or those words of the prophets, that He shall speak peace with Ephr
the heathen ? and the Prince of peace? and to His peace there shall be no St)
end ? and He is our peace ? and My peace I give unto you ? Nevertheless ec 9. 10
e spoke the word for a purpose, and not exhaustively; because it is He JL 9 , 6 ^
that has preached peace; and to those who received Him there was peace f - 2 b
but because believers were divided from unbelievers, therefore indicating
what would come to pass, that fathers would be divided against their sons
because they believed not in the Christ, and sons should contend with their
fathers, because they have left the religion of their fathers; that when these

50 MATTHEW X. 34 XI. 3

things come to pass, His disciples and others should not suppose that

because He did not know the things that would happen, therefore He did

not reveal them to us, He shewed them future things suitably, to shew that

p. na. He is acquainted with things secret and things far off, that is to say, that a

Micah 7. 6 mans foes shall be they of his household. It is written in Joel the prophet.

This, that whosoever taketh not up Ids cross, and followeth after Me, is
not worthy to be My disciple, that is to say, he who counts not himself to
this world as one who is already crucified to it by means of his love, is of
no use to My discipleship. The Cross is spoken of in three ways ; one
that if there happen reproaches and afflictions and torments and murders
for His sake he bears them ; second, it is used of labours and sufferings
and sweat and tears, etc., of righteous and virtuous men ; third, it is
said of those spoliations and deprivations of the world, as a man already
crucified cannot carry away anything under his arm.

This, he that findeth his soul shall lose it, and he that loseth liis soul, for
My sake, shall find it, that is to say, that he who is careful of his life here
rejects his true life, but he who strengthens himself and gives his life
readily to these [foes], that they may do to him all they wish, he shall
receive a great reward on account of this, for He calls the life that is here
the soul.

This, that he that rcceiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet , etc. ; that is to
say, he that shares with them openly what is prepared for them, not
because of human glory nor for worldly advantages, for many because
of these things divide even their goods, but because he is a prophet or
righteous, and not for any other reason, but because of the honour of the
Christ alone. Others say that it is because many shrink lest he be an
p. oj2. impostor, but he will receive the reward of the righteous.

This, that John sent two of his disciples, who were Andrew and John, to
f. 30 a ask Him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Some
say that because the time had come that John should be released
through death, he wished to know from our Lord if it was He that should
make a resurrection, that he might preach about Him to the dead, as he
had preached to the living. They err greatly from the truth, for if he had
not known, how could he use the testimony of the Lamb, etc., about Him ?
nevertheless this was the custom, not only of the Saints, but also of our
Lord, when He acted otherwise to speak otherwise, as He did with the fig-
tree, and the issue of blood, and the Kanaanite woman. Thus John also
did, because he feared lest after his death his disciples should raise heresies
in his name, as with Plato and Aristotle, etc., he wished in his life to send

MATTHEW XI. 5 II S 1

them to our Lord, that they might consider Him Master and Lord ; that
therefore also our Lord, because He knew the purpose of him who sent
them, did many signs before them for their confirmation.

This, that to the poor the Gospel is preacJud\ for He spoke about those
that are involved in evil things, and were deprived of good things ;
for to those is announced the forgiveness of sins and resurrection from the
dead, and the destruction of Death. And because the crowds who heard
had fallen into doubt, as to how he who had preached Him turned and
asked if He were superior to the works of John, our Lord healed
their sick minds by this : What ivent ye out into the wilderness to see ? p. &lt;x^
a reed shaken with the ^v^)ld ? what was your opinion at first about the man
on whose account ye left the cities and went out into the wilderness ?
was it to see a weak man, like a reed shaken by the wind, and bending to
all sides, and easily changed in his opinion by those who met him, and
at one time he called Him a Lamb, etc., and at another sent to Him, Art Ephr.

jJiat.

thou he that should come? for he is not thus ; for our Lord was silent from (M6s.)
revealing the reason of their embassy, as it was not the time to relate it. p
But this of more than a prophet ; he did not investigate about Me from
afar, like those, but near at hand and in public. And He confirmed
the word which was about him in the witness of Malachi the prophet: This f. 30 b
is what is written about him, Behold, I send my Messenger before thy face, Mai. 3. i
etc. Again in this that he was worthy that our Lord should be baptized
by him.

BOOK VIII.

This, that there hatJi not arisen among those that are born of women
a greater than John the Baptist, but lie that is a little one in the Kingdom of
Heaven is greater than he. Some say that the little one was John the son
of Zebedee ; others that it was Matthia who was instead of the Iscariot.
Others say that it was Adam, who was less than the angels. Severus says
that the Christ was that little one that was greater in the kingdom than John ;
and he brings a testimony from Chrysostom. But all of them err from the
truth. The Scriptures rather teach us of two births, one this from
a woman, and the other that from the grave, and after it we walk p. \a&gt;
in new life, this, of which Baptism is a type, for Baptism is even called
the New Birth; and our Lord also testifies about this, Whosoever is not born John 3. 5
of water, etc. ; but now He says, that if John be compared to those born of
women, it is seen that he is greater and higher than everyone ; he only

52 MATTHEW XL II XII. 20

from his mother s womb was filled with the Holy Ghost ; and he exulted
within the womb, and filled his mother also with grace, and by it she
prophesied these many things that were higher than herself; but if in this
also he be compared with believers, those who have already attained to
that citizenship of the Kingdom of Heaven, it will be found that John is
much humbler than the little ones among them, inasmuch as he is yet in
this world of mortality, and had not yet received all this grace, that he
should not taste death ; and generally He compares world with world,
and grace with grace; and He shews that John in this world received
grace above every one ; but he did not attain to the perfection of the world
to come ; inasmuch as the grace which one little one receives there is higher
than what John received here ; and if the degree of a little one is thus
great, there is therefore no comparison to the degree that John will receive
there. Therefore He does not make John less than others, but magnifies the
excellence of the world to come above this world. But He calls those who
f- 31 a because of the longing for the things that are to come receive wars and

labours about visible things the violent who seize tJie kingdom.
p. ^ This, that Wisdom is justified of her children, He calls this dispensation,
which is on our account, Wisdom, and [He calls] children those who turn
to virtue ; but this, that she is justified, that is to say, it is recognized, that
she does everything righteously and helps men, and not in vain or uselessly.
This, Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, etc. ; that is
to say, turn to Me, and I will set you free from the bondage of the Law, in
which ye have borne many burdens, and which ye have not been able to
fulfil easily ; for ye have been acquiring for yourselves burdens of sins, for
which ye have been paying a heavy penalty.

For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. For My yoke is easy
because of pardon ; and My burden is light, because it does not ask for a
multitude of commandments and varied observances, but for the will of the
soul, and for this that before the evil you should choose the good.

This, that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath, that is to say, that we

must not blame those who are constrained by poverty or hunger to reap,

Mark 2. 27 that is to say, to pluck the ears; because the Sabbath was on account of

Man ; how much more therefore is it not right that he should be destroyed

by hunger, he in whose honour also the Sabbath was created ?

This, that a bruised reed shall He not break, and flickering fiax shall
He not quench, just as by longsuffering He bears with the weak, those
who are weak like bruised reeds, and like the light of flickering flax ;
that He also did not allow the signs that were wrought by His hand

MATTHEW XII. 27 33 53

to be proclaimed openly, that they might not be more powerfully seized p. \2
by anger and wrath, and might not completely bring destruction upon
themselves.

This, By whom do your children cast them out? He calls His disciples
their children because some of them were of the race ; and shewing that
it was not possible that a devil should cast himself out, he says, How can
one enter into a strong man s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind
him, etc. Here He calls Satan a strong man, and [He calls] man his goods
and possession ; He says that just as no man can enter into the house of
one who is strong, unless he first bind the strong man ; thus also no man
can drive away devils from men, those who on account of their wickedness f- 3 lb
are subjected to their power, except our Lord, who contended with him,
and bound him, so that he cannot again contend for his possession.
This then would never have happened of the devils, that they should have
bound themselves, and liberated men from their power ; and shewing what
a difference there is between Himself and the devils, He says, He that is
not with Me is against Me, and he that gathcreth not with Me scattereth
abroad. How, he says, can this be ? that we should agree with one another,
I and the devils? since I openly work against them, and they study to
work the contrary.

BOOK IX.

Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven
him ; but he that blasphemetli against the Holy Ghost, etc. This He says,
not as if blasphemy against Him were to be completely forgiven, nor as if
to those who blaspheme against the Holy Ghost the door were shut in p
face of their repentance ; but He speaks this to lessen the blasphemy
against Himself, when it is compared with the blasphemy against the
Spirit ; because they had been thinking of Him as of a simple Man ;
others say, that He here calls the Ghost, not merely, the Holy Spirit, but
all the nature of the Godhead, that which is acknowledged in the Father,
and in the Son, and in the Spirit, according as He said somewhere, verily
God is a Spirit.

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or make the tree bad, and
his fruit bad. The good Tree is the Holy Ghost, and His good fruits are

54 MATTHEW XII. 33 40

the casting out of devils from men, but the bad Tree is Satan, and the
bad fruits are his dwelling within them ; saying this, either allow that the
indwelling of the devils is good, and their being sent away from men is
evil; it is an error that ye have attributed to Satan; but if the
casting out of the devils be good, how is it possible that this good
work can be attributed to Satan, of whose wickedness everyone is
persuaded ?

About this, that our Lord was three days and three nights in the heart
of the earth, old Teachers and Hannan say thus : a day is part of the
day of Friday ; and a night the darkness which [was] in the midst ;
and a day the three hours that were after the darkness ; and a night and
a day of the Sabbath ; and the night of the first day of the week ; which
altogether were six ; three of light and three of darkness.

f. -2 a This of in the heart of the Earth, is fulfilled about Himself, like that

p. ^- of Peter, who says that He went down to Sheol, and preached to the

i Pet. 3. 19 spirits that were imprisoned in it. Others say, that it was from the time

that He broke His body and mixed His blood, because from that time our

Lord was considered dead ; for one who is not dead is not eaten ; but this

that as a whole day is reckoned from a part of a day, according to the

custom of the world and the Scriptures it is not accurate, because He did

not say three days, but three days and three nights ; against the Jews on

the other hand, who contend, saying that he is lying; let them be

muzzled by many things ; first by that about Adam, that in tlie day that

Gen. 2. 17 thou eatest of the tree, thou shalt surely die, and afterwards he lived nine

Gen. 6. 3 hundred and thirty years ; and by this, that the days of Man shall be

a hundred and twenty years and afterwards they lived double that ; and

is. 7. 8 by this, that after five and sixty years shall Ephraim be cut off, etc., and

Gen. 8. 21 after fifteen years he was led into captivity ; and by this, I will not again

is. 24. e curse the ground, and afterwards it is said that the curse will devour

PS. 107. 34 the Earth ; and it is said that the Earth hath given fruits to saltness ; and

2 Kings 20. to Hezekiah [it is said,] Thou shalt die, and not live; and afterwards,

1(6 Behold, I will add to thy days fifteen years, etc., and such like. But the

Interpreter and all who follow in his steps say that it is according to

the custom of the Scriptures and of the world to take all from a part ;

Gen. i. 5. like this, that it was evening and it was morning, one day ; calling all the

Gen. 45. 26 night from the evening, and all the day from the morning; and like as

PS. 65. 2 the soul of Israel died in the way ; and to Thee shall all flesh come, etc.

p- = And we also, when any one dies in whatever hour of the day, not only do

we leave one day to intervene, and in the morning do we go to the grave

MATTHEW XII. 4348 55

in his honour, and we call that day the third. Physicians also, when
a fever leaves only one day in the middle, call that fever tertiary.

When t/ie unclean spirit is gone out of a man, Jie goeth round about, etc. ;
but allegorists and others say that the unclean spirit is the error that has
received from Satan [power] to be within men, but that came out of a man,
out of the people of the Jews, in which it had dwelt ; and the places
without water are the lands of the heathen, that were deprived of the
voice of the prophets, and also of the Gospel which was compared to water ; f. 32 b
but because by our Lord and by His disciples devils were driven out
from men who were in the land of Judaea, they were obliged to depart to
the Gentiles, where our Lord and the disciples who drove them out were
not present, in the hope of finding rest ; but it did not find rest, not even
there, because the preachers were appointed to go after the ascension of
our Lord ; and when the voices of the Apostles drove it out from amongst
the Gentiles, then it took counsel with itself, 7 will return to my first
house from whence I was driven out before ; and then it goeth and findeth
the nation of the Crucifiers, whose mind was swept in regard to earthly
things, and empty of all faith and of the fear of God, and garnished with all
vile things, and even [empty] of its preachers, because our Lord had ascended
to His Father, and the Apostles had been driven thence; and it served
afterwards as a dwelling, not to one devil only, but to all devils ; and the p. X.
last state of the nation, which is compared to a man, is worse than its first. Ephr.
But the Interpreter says that just as if a man is possessed by a devil, and it ( MQs ^
afterwards escapes from him ; if he continue in his wickedness of necessity P- J ^
in every way, when the devil sees that that man is a useful house to
it, it brings also others with it, and it enters and dwells in him ; thus also
your own evil things frequently receive absolution from God ; because
ye remain in the hardness of your minds, evils still more bitter than the
former ones will come to you, and they will not receive any absolution.
He was speaking then of those who were suffering from the Romans, as
places without water, Gentiles deprived of the teaching of Truth ; but it
did not find rest because they had sources of erroneous doctrine. But that
it was empty, that is to say, of good things, and brushed bare of virtues ;
this is what is swept.

This, Who is My mot her? and who are My brethren? now He says these
things, not as one who rejects mother and brethren ; but to shew that
spiritual affinity is preferred by Him to bodily relationship ; and because
of this He also loves those if they have that.

After these things, He begins with parables ; and first we will say

56 MATTHEW XIII. 3

wherein Illustrations, and Parables, and Proverbs, and Enigmas are

different from one another. An Illustration is a testimony from inward

consent which persuades about it, as if by some likeness, when there

f- 33 a is contention and doubt in the midst, although it is not like the fact in

P- n everything ; which is of four kinds ; first, from those that are clear and known,

about those that are not known, and there are doubts about them ; like

Heb. i. s this, that He was the splendour of His glory, and the image of His

John i. i substance ; and John, who calls Him the Word ; and of the fig-tree learn

is^s 2 ? 32 a parable ; second, from those that are known, about those that are known ;

like this, He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and Thou fool, the seed

i cor. 15.36 that thou sowest, etc. ; third, from those that are not known, about those

Matt. 10.15 that are not known ; like this, that it will be more tolerable for Sodom and

Markis.si Gomorra, etc. ; and the heavens and the earth shall pass away, but My words

shall not pass away ; fourth, from those that are not known, about those that

Phil. 2. 5 are known ; like this, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Jesus

i S cor. 2 9 ^e Christ, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, etc. A Parable is conveyed

from rational things about rational things ; like this, that the kingdom of

Matt. 25. i Heaven is like to ten virgins. A Proverb is a narrative which is composed

from irrational about rational things ; like this, that the kingdom of

Matt.i3.si Heaven is like a grain of mustard-seed, or like a rich man, whose ground

brought him forth, etc. An Enigma is a knotty word, like this, Out of

Judges 14. the eater came forth meat ; but the Scriptures do not keep the order of

these things in everything. Then we will say why our Lord spoke in

parables with the crowds and with His disciples ; first, because the

philosophers that were in the world did not know what was their doctrine ;

p. &lt;73^ therefore they mixed their teaching with fables and parables ; but He, as

one who knew, although He spake His teaching in parables, yet in His

parables He shewed what was His doctrine ; second, because He was

is. 5. i saying hard things against the Jews, like this, My beloved had a vineyard ;

Matt.2i.38 and this, This is the heir, come let us kill him, etc., therefore He hid His

words in parables ; third, because He wished to incite the disciples about

the investigation of words, and accustom them to this ; fourth, because He

was constantly speaking about the going out of the Gospel to the Gentiles ;

He spoke about this in parables, that he might not arouse many tumults of

f. 33 b the Jews against Himself; fifth, He teaches us in parables about many

Matt. 7. 15 people who split off from faith and cause heresies ; like this, Beware of

false prophets, etc.; sixth, because He was speaking about invisible things,

in order that by parables He might enlighten them as much as it was

possible ; seventh, because all the hearers were not equal to the things that

MATTHEW XIII. 328 57

were spoken by Him, for they were not sufficient for them ; eighth,
on account of the propagation of the Gospel, like that of the grain
of mustard seed ; ninth, because tribulations and persecutions wait on the
Gospel and its preachers ; although they are hard and innumerable, yet it
grows and triumphs and branches out, and surmounts all fears.

Behold, a Sower went forth to soiv, etc. Now He spake this parable about
the various minds of those who were about to receive its preaching.
By that which was by the wayside He signifies about such as do not receive p. o c
the words of the Gospel with right reasoning ; and like as seed by the
wayside is trodden down by the passers-by, thus also those trample down
the divine words in their insolence ; but by that upon the rocks, [He
signifies] about such as receive the words for a while, and when
persecution meets them, they forsake it and go away; but by those among
thorns, such as are strangled by desires like thorns, and reject from them
selves the preaching ; but by that on the good ground, [He signifies] about
such as receive the doctrine, and remain firmly in it, and bring forth fruit
that is equal to their promises. Now this about thirty/old and sixty/old
and a hundredfold, He signifies about the variety of virtues, because all
men are not found in one order of conduct. But Origen takes this
of sixtyfold about those who practise widowhood, from that which is said
by the Apostle, " Let a widow be chosen who is not less than threescore 1 Tim. 5. 9
years old " ; and this of thirty about married people, as fingers fit
into one another ; and this of a hundred about virgins, as a crown is
grasped with the fingers. For he errs greatly, as the number of sixty is
more appropriate to married people than that of thirty, as these fingers
are more pressed upon one another.

BOOK X.

Then in this discourse about the Man w/to sowed good seed, He
interprets about the heresies which spring up from the preaching; but f 34 a
He calls tares the heresies that exist under the name of Christianity, but are p. \ &lt;.
far from the doctrine of the truth ; like this is the tare because it sprang
from the wheat by means of the corruption of Nature ; as in its appearance
it exhibits some form of real wheat, as those also bear the appellation
of Christianity.

This that his servants said, Let us go and gather them up, makes known
the love of spiritual men, as of those who wish to destroy the inventors
of error.

G. I. Q

5 8 MATTHEW XIII. 31 33

But the parable of the mustard seed signifies the plenitude that springs
from the littleness of preaching, even the preaching which is believed to be
more valueless than all the doctrines on the earth ; for the Cross is weak,
while Suffering and Death appear to be feeble ; but to this all the plenitude
came, that all these may be confuted by its majesty ; as also a grain of
mustard seed, being little in its germination, sprouts and grows higher than
all herbs ; for mustard seed possesses many qualities ; first, as our Lord
explained, that as it is the least of all seeds, thus also the Gospel when it
began by means of the Apostles, was less than Heathendom, or Judaism
(or Samaritanism, which consisted in a mixture of them both); but
it conquered and subdued them all, and it flew in every direction ; second,
that as a grain of mustard seed is round, and more equal than all grains,
thus preaching is equal and not schismatic ; third, it is not split into two,
like other grains, so that preaching is not divided by faith in the Trinity
which is in one nature ; again, that no distinction is made between love to

P- &gt;" * God and love to one another ; fourth, it is much warmer and more pungent
than all the seeds ; thus also believers are warm in zeal of love towards God
and towards one another, and are stimulated and brightened from the gift
of the Spirit which they receive ; fifth, that every one who bruises this seed,
shall surely weep, for a symbol that all who oppose the Gospel and hurt
the preachers shall weep in the last Judgment; sixth, because of its
pungency it expels the corruptness of the flesh, which is a type of the sin
which is in souls ; seventh, that where mustard is sown it destroys other
seeds; thus also believers, wherever they are, destroy little by little the

f. 34 b seed which the Wicked One sows among them, by the power of the Spirit
who makes them wise ; eighth, that mustard is ruddy and smooth ; that its
ruddiness signifies that Christianity is acquired by blood and by persecu
tions, but by its smoothness that the hand of the enemies slips away from
it ; ninth, that when it is mixed with things and eaten, it enters and creeps
as far as the veins ; tenth, that it possesses refining power and things
that purify the humours, and the expectorations ; eleventh, because it
preserves bodies, so that they do not putrefy, like fire and salt; twelfth,
because it does not put forth its bitterness and its sweetness, unless it is
rubbed and bruised ; as also Virtue is sweet and is bitter.

Now by the parable of the leaven, He signifies about the abundance of
the preaching, and that it annuls all [other] doctrines ; for such is also
the nature of leaven, that it causes all substances in which it is kneaded to

p- V.$ ferment ; He calls Judaism, Heathenism, and Samaritanism three measures ;
for it is really an interpretation of that which is above. But Hannan and

MATTHEW XIII. 33 XIV. I 59

others say that the three measures are the three sons of Noah, from whom
the nations and tribes have sprung. Others say that they are the
three parts of the soul, just as in that of thirtyfold and sixtyfold and
a hundredfold. Others say that the Mind takes up Grace, and hides it in
the Body and the Soul and the Spirit.

Now by the parable of the field He teaches about Himself, because
His Godhead was hid by His Manhood as by a veil; for He calls
His Godhead a treasure, but His humanity a field. He calls it a treasure,
because of its riches, but because of its invisibility, [He speaks of] its
hiddenness ; for this, that a man found it, and hid it, and for joy thereof sold
all that he had, and bought it ; that is to say, that many are destined to
understand the unexpected power of truth, so that they despise all the old
things ; that is to say, their idols, and their religions, and to run after Him
alone, as after the Truth, which is able to prepare redemption for them.
But this, that he hid it, because they keep the Faith carefully in the bosom
of -their souls.

And by the parable of the merchantman who sought goodly pearls,
He teaches about such of the Jews as relax the ancient Law, and
are taught the Gospel, as Paul was. But this, that when he found it, f. 35 a
he sold all that he had, and bought it ; as Paul himself said, that " what P-
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." For He calls PMI. 3. i
them merchantmen, as those who by means of the discipline of the Law
confessed to being diligent in the matter of religion.

By the fifth parable of the net He teaches about the magnitude of the
Gospel, that thus it is stretched through all creation ; calling preaching a
net, and the world a sea ; and that it gathered of every kind, He signifies
about men different in mind and in doctrine, that preaching netted them.
He calls the Resurrection the shores of the sea ; the righteous He calls the
good, but evil persons the bad, who are falling into Hell.

This, that Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus. Some people
have thought that the Evangelist speaks contrary to himself, as he wrote Matt. 2.19,
above, that after Herod was dead, Joseph came into Galilee ; for now that
Herod heard of the miracles that were done by Jesus ; because they have
not understood that Herod the king was one person and Herod the
Tetrarch another, the latter being the son of the former. Now Herod, who
killed the infants, had six sons, Aristobulus and Hyrcanus by Miriam
daughter of Hyrcanus, when he killed their mother Miriam ; and they
wished to kill him ; he sent them away to Caesar and killed them ; and had
Archelaus and Herod and Philip and Lysanias by other wives. Therefore

60 MATTHEW XIV. 19

when Herod died, the Romans made Archelaus his son king over Judaea
instead of him, but when the latter had kept the power for nine years,
and had done wrong in many things ; the Jews accused him before Caesar,
p. *n and the Romans divided his kingdom into four parts ; one to Archelaus 1 ,
and three to his three brothers, of whom therefore each one was called a
tetrarch, that is to say, a fourth, namely, a ruler of one of the fourth parts.
Afterwards they took away Archelaus part and added it to Philip.
Herod then threw John into prison, having found a pretext that he
gathered many multitudes, and led them astray by his baptism and by his
conduct, and hence he feared a danger from him, that he should be a
f. 35 b cause of rebellion for the nation of the Jews.

And it is asked, if during the lifetime of Philip Herod debauched
Herodia, or after his death? and how, seeing that Herod was not a Jew,
but from the heathen, John reproved him ? But Mar Ephraim and others
say, that he took her after Philip was dead. Philip was not equal in
power, whose bed he despoiled during his life and reduced him to silence ;
but his power was double that of his brother, in this, that the portion of
Archelaus was also given to him. They say that John reproved him
although he was of the heathen, whether he was a Philistine by his father,
who was a priest, or an Edomite by his education, as we said above ;
because his father and he and his brothers pretended to be considered
and reckoned as Jews, and to obey the Law of God. Again, they say that
John reproved him, that although he was obeying the law, that a brother
p. -n-i should take his brother s wife, and raise up seed to him, yet because Philip
had a daughter, she could have continued his seed after him. But the
Interpreter says that it was during the lifetime of his brother that he was
committing adultery with Herodia and with her daughter, who was also
called Herodia. The writer Josephus also testifies, that during the lifetime
Josephus, of his brother he debauched his wife, and that he separated her from her
xviii v * husband whilst he was alive ; and he wronged his first [wife], who had been
a daughter of Aretas king of the Parthians, and the latter made war with
Herod because he despised his daughter ; and on account of Herodia he
fell from his kingdom ; and with her he was cast into exile in Vienna, a
city of Gaul.

This, that the king was sorry, not truly, but in pretence, he shews
because of them that sat at meat that even he was constrained. But the

1 In marg. Aads in Greek is the people, and this is interpreted as " the ruler of the people," and
thus it must be read Arshlaus, that is to say, Apx^aos * ^^ C as is right.

MATTHEW XIV. 9 13 6l

Evangelist says that he was sorry because it is a custom of the Evangelists
to speak of everything as it happened, and as it was supposed ; for it was
their care to relate facts, and not to interpret their causes; for John
was killed two years after the baptism of our Lord.

BOOK XL

This, that they went and told Jesus ; and when He had heard it,
He departed thence by ship into a desert place apart. He does not say this,
that they told Him of the murder of John, as if it were done beforehand ;
for the history of the murder of John is put in the middle ; but the
order is thus, that Herod heard about Jesus, that he thought that it f. 36 a
was John who was risen from the dead; that he wished, if it were p. 5w=
possible, to see Him ; and when this was told Jesus, that Herod was seek
ing to see Him, He departed and went into a desert place ; but they made
known to Him, not the murder of John, but that Herod sought to see
Him. Now the damsel, after she had taken the head of John in a charger,
and brought it to her mother, returned to the guests, that with new
kinds of her dancing she might pay the wages of her request. There was
a lake at the side of which the dining hall was fixed ; and she went
upon the ice in order to dance and to shew the excellence of her
performance, and amaze the beholders, when suddenly that place was
opened from below her, and she was swallowed up as far as her neck, and
a great fish was commissioned from God for the revenge of his death ; it
swallowed up her body, and when by every means they strove to rescue her,
they could not ; and as soon as they cut off her head with the very sword
with which John was murdered, the Earth threw it up without any man
lifting it ; and while the head of John had been put before her mother, and
she was striking it on the earth and mocking it, as " Where is thy mouth
that embittered our lives?" there was put also before her the head of her
daughter ; and immediately from much weeping by one angelic operation her
two eyes dropped and they fell upon the head of her daughter and [on that]
of John. But when Pilate heard of the evil that was done to John, he sent p. aa
to kill all the guests that were there ; and from that day there was enmity ^^ ( ^ m
between them. And on the day of the passion of the Pacificator of all, (Mos.)
there was friendship between them, Herod and Pilate, according to the Luke23.i2
Evangelist. And because Pilate could not hurt Herod, for he was
an autocrat like himself, Justice avenged him sharply in punishment, as
also his father who slew the infants.

62 MATTHEW XIV. IQ XV. 5

This, that He looked up to Heaven, and blessed, and brake, etc., because in
the wilderness when God gave manna, they were insolent, and blasphemed,
etc., He shewed in His looks that He gave to the Father, what happened,
and that He was not in opposition to God, according to their calumnies.

That they took up of the fragments that remained, twelve baskets. This
was furnished by Providence, first, so that the Disciples might carry these
things, that they might the better perceive the miracle that was wrought ;
f. 36 b second, that it might not be supposed that He employed a hallucination of
wizards, but when the remnants were kept for a day or two, it might be
Epbraim, believed that He really wrought [it] ; third, that the abundance of His gift
(Mo.) might be known, and that they might confess His greatness which was not
p 13 like others, who had received power to work for the benefit of their fellow-

creatures ; such as Moses, and Elia with that widow ; and fourth, in order
that others also who were far off might eat, and the miracle might appear.
It is handed down by the doctors of the schools, that it was not equal and
p. om perfect bread that was added, but crumbs that were multiplied, for accord
ing as our Lord brake and gave to His disciples, it was added, and much
in every place, before our Lord, and also in the hands of the Disciples, and
before those who ate. Others [say] that those fragments that they took up
from our Lord, became equal bread before the multitudes, but this is not
likely ; because if they were fragments, they were changed to equal bread.
Perhaps it was supposed, that it was not what our Lord brake and gave,
but that it was brought from some other quarter. As to the expression
" the fourth watch" the Scriptures say that there were four watches of the
night ; each one of them being divided into three hours.

This, that wJiosoever shall say to his father or to his mother, It is my
Josephus, gift, whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me. According to the history
xii T i f Josephus, after the Return, Greek kings made war upon the Jews,
iMacc.i.i4 and molested them in many ways, so as even to build a theatre
in Jerusalem, which was called a Gymnasium, either being pleased with
them or afraid of them ; and because of their intercourse with them,
Acts 24. i that many even accepted the culture of the Greeks, like Tertullus and
others, and they did not confess the resurrection of the body, but only of
souls, like the belief of the followers of Plato, that they said the body is like
the membrane to the foetus, and the shell to the chicken, etc., and that
it exists not for its own being, but for the sake of others, and that it is
p, on therefore superfluous ; hence they not only despised the body as super
fluous, but also its progenitor, for they honour only those who instruct
souls in the education of religion. In this mind they abolished the first

MATTHEW XV. 522 63

and chief commandment, which says, " Honour thy father and thy mother,"
etc., and on account of their avarice and covetousness they made children f. 37 a
rebel against their parents ; saying that if a man said or did anything worthy
of his father and his mother, it was thus lost what he was doing ; like this,
that the gift of my hands is like the gift of the evening and of the morning; PS. i. 2
for at both times something was brought in the order of the offerings; or let
this be accounted by thee as a gift, and not as a necessary obligation, as
ye have supposed, when ye expect to receive from me compensations for
birth and education ; and honours from me are not due to you, not
even one, if I do not wish to honour you ; and ye do not suffer him to do
aught for his father or his mother. See above, words, and here, deeds ;
and about this I said that the answer was wanting : and here he has com
pleted it. One must wonder how they did not fear that the very same
things would be repaid to them by their children. Others say, that because
the priests and doctors of Israel taught the people, that the priests and
Levites were more honourable and higher than natural fathers, and that
because of this children ought not to honour nor to help their parents by
words or deeds, even if they were poor, or were asked by their parents for
anything as was proper, they replied, We have no duty towards you, but
we have a right to take from you, because we are greater than you in p. VQ
honouring the priests and the House of God. And if it should happen
that any of them gives anything to his father or to his mother, he says
that it is as a gift, and I am acting graciously towards thee, because I
have no duty towards thee.

Again, they say that it is a man s duty to honour his parents as long
as he does not take a wife, nor children are born to him; and after he
has children, his father has no power over him, nor duty at all, because he
also is himself a father, and as for him, whatever is given to him by his
son is of grace and as a gift, and not as a duty. Thus it is written in their
own annals, which Philo wrote, what our Lord called traditions.

Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted
up ; but He spoke about those traditions which were imagined by the
doctors of the Pharisees, for He does not reject the ten commandments,
that He should say that they were surely abolished and dissolved by
necessity, even if they contend a myriad times against the truth. Others f. 37 b
say whether or not it is to be understood about the laws of uncleanness,
an idea arose, as in the prophet He testified about them, that I gave Ezek.ao.25
them statutes that were not good, and judgments, etc.

Our Lord delays the cure of the daughter of the Kanaanite, because He

64 MATTHEW XV. 22 XVI. 13

knew the faith of the woman, and because she belonged to a foreign
p. ow=&gt; nation, so therefore by her delay He raised the supposition to those who
were near, as if He wished to be excused from the healing of her daughter ;
and this for three reasons, one that her faith might be made manifest ;
second, that the unbelief of the Jews might appear ; third, that the mouth
of these people might be shut, who said that He was giving help equally
to them and to strangers.

It is not meet to take the children s bread, and to cast it to dogs. He calls
bread the helps of healing which spring up from Him, which are due only
to those of the household. What then, O woman ? Yea, Lord, yet the dogs,
etc. For three virtues are shewn by the return of the answer of the
Kanaanite, discretion, faith, and wisdom. That she chose to be considered
by our Lord even as a dog was a sign of her discretion ; for what she
thought was, that even a little of His power, (for she calls this crumbs^)
was sufficient to give healing to her daughter ; it was a great proof of her
faith ; that she took to herself domesticity from the dogs, was a witness
to her wonderful wisdom. Do you call me a dogl give me crumbs; thou
art an advocate for me, and I fulfil thy words.

BOOK XII.

Now this, that ye know how to discern the face of the sky, but the signs,
etc., that is to say, ye know that the air is regularly disturbed, as also ye
discern signs and anticipate them, and when it will be fair weather and
when wintry. Ye reason about the signs, when there is not even one

p. ^n order, and no times when it is proper to work or not, which are vain and
of no advantage.

When Jesus was come into the region of Ccesarea Philippi, etc. This
Caesarea was sometimes called Turris Stratonis ; then after seven years of
the reign of Tiberius Csesar, Philip the Tetrarch built it and enlarged it,

f. 38 a and called it Ccesarea ; as also his brother Herod built a city, and called
it Tiberia from the name of Tiberius ; but he added to that of Ccesarea
that of Philippi, which is distinguished from Ccesarea of Cappadocia and
from New Ccesarea which is in Middle Armenia. This is the very place
of the throne of Gregory Thaumaturgus, not the Theologian, nor him of
Nyssa, but another; because there were three Gregories, and Bar Hadbe-
shaba says this.

This then, that He calls Himself t/ie Son of Man, and not a Man, although
He was a man according to the flesh, and God according to the spirit,

MATTHEW XVI. 13, 14 65

and [He] does not [say] "whom do they think /am?"; first, to bridle the
chained mouths of Marcion and Manes, who brought upon our Lord an
imagination and a hallucination and a flash and a figure ; second, because
the name of man was spoken of one who was born of seed like other men ;
but He says the Son of Man, to indicate that He had in truth no personal
father in His manhood, like the rest, but was Son of the first Man, that is
to say, of Adam the father of the whole community. He does not even
call Himself the Son of David, because David was included in the community;
so then our Lord was the Son of the community, and from the community,
and for the community, He was deified, etc. P- &gt;- D

And it is asked, why they mention these three persons only, that is to
say, John, and Elia, and Jeremia, although others were high and famous?
Moses, and Samuel, etc. The common reason of the three is that they were
virgins, and lived a virginal and angelic life. Our Saviour was in truth a
virgin, and was born of a virgin in a virgin manner, and He is the father of
a virgin world ; therefore they supposed that He was one of these. Again,
they mentioned John, because of the wonderful things that were wrought
in the day of his conception and his birth ; and his angelic figure ; and his
dispute with the Pharisees, without human teaching ; and his asceticism,
and the admirable manner of his martyrdom. Then Elia, because he
raised the son of the widow of Zarepthah. This was Jona, according to
the testimony of the Hebrews and of Mar Ephraim ; for no less than three
times he tasted the cup of death, twice figuratively, but once naturally ;
moreover, they saw that our Lord also raised the son of the widow of Nain,
and others. But again, about Elia it is said in the Prophets (that is to
say, at the end of Malachi the Prophet), Behold I will send you Elia, Mai. 4. 5
before that great and dreadful day of the Lord come, etc... They thought /j^ aim
that He [our Lord] was Elia. But they mentioned Jeremia, because ( M )S
about him it was said, Before thou hadst come out of the womb I sanctified jer. i. 5

thee, and gave thee for a prophet unto the nations. They saw then that

these things were found in our Lord Himself, for He was sanctified from the f - 3 8 k

womb by the Holy Ghost, and He taught the Nation and the Nations at

the same time. But again, because He was treated despitefully among the

Jews, as while Jeremia was still alive, and kneeling on his knees, he was fed

on dust and mire, making the latter with the tears which his eyes distilled,

and composing wails and hymns and laments over Jerusalem, which was

prostrate and down-trodden, and broken in pieces, so that even in the times

of Vologeses it was supposed by the Jews that Jeremia was seen ; therefore cf. 2 Mace.

they conjectured about our Lord that He was Jeremia.

G.I. 9

55 MATTHEW XVI. 1422

This that they mentioned one of the Prophets ; not that they thought

of Moses as some have erroneously supposed, but him about whom Moses

Deut.i8.i5 spake, that the Lord will raise up unto you a Prophet, etc., which although

it was said about Joshua the son of Nun, and about the line of

of the prophets, yet they thought specially of a certain prophet who was

destined to come.

He calls Cepha [= a rock} , not the person of Simon, but the confessic
and the right faith that were in him, which the Father had caused to flow
into his mouth, which [confession] is incorruptible and immoveable for ever.
Some say that Adta, the name [of the Church] is taken, according to the
Syrian usage, from Aada (a feast) ; and it is clear from this, that there is in
the ancient Scriptures the name of Adta, written with two Alifs, as also the
name of Aada, the difference being only that it is called Adta in the feminine,
and Aada in the masculine; like Mar and Martha, and King and Queen ;
and Elder and Elderess ; and this name of Aada signifies a " congregation,
p. run full of rejoicings" ; it is not the case that every Aada was known as a con
gregation, and every congregation is understood as an Aada ; because there
are occasions when people congregate for a work, whatever it be, whether
good or bad, and that congregation of theirs is not called an Aada ; never
theless He calls congregations of believers equal in faith and in works Adta
[= churches] ; types of the congregation and church that are in Heaven.
Others say that the word Adta is Hebrew, which is translated synagogue in
Syriac, that is to say, Assemble, come; but in Greek, e/c/cX^trta, which is
Rev. 5. 9 translated into Syriac, vocation, as those who are called " from all people and
tribes " and are gathered together, and it is likely the church and the syna
gogue are called thus from the fact ; and every one of them is composed
of two, Adta from Aada and assembly, and Synagogue from bringing and
t. 39 a assembling. We do not call the Church, nor the Synagogue, the houses of
stone and wood, but the congregation of people who are gathered to it.
He calls the gates of Sheol the persecutions that lead people to death.
This, that / will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. By
means of the person of Simon He promised [this] also to all congrega
tions of believers, those that share in his confession; for his power is
one with that of all priests and orthodox persons.

This, that Cepha took Him, and began to rebuke Him, like as if he took
Him to himself from the midst of the disciples, as one who feared lest the
disciples should hear that He was about to die, and also the rebuke
pointing to the offence. He rebuked Jesus then because He was about
to say that He would die; but our Lord called him Satan, as one that
p. iw*Q doth not cogitate divine things, but human ones. He put him above

7. 9

MATTHEW XVI. 22 XVII. 3 67

blessings and praises, so as to shew the greatness of his confession ; but

now in His rebuke He calls him Satan, to shew how much more great an

evil it is that a man should be offended at suffering. Peter then rebuked

Him, saying, If Thou diest, the promises about Thee are falsified, that the John 12. 34

Christ abideth for ever ; moreover the revelation of the Father about Thee

is falsified, that Thou livest, and art the Son of the living God ; the promises

and blessings which Thou hast given me are also falsified. For Simon was

not able to know, that He should die and be raised again ; otherwise, he

would not have opposed the promises of our Lord, which when He rose

He would the more confirm 1 .

This, that there be some standing here, who shall not taste of death, until
they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom, alludes to Simon and
James and John, as after six days He took them up to Mount Tabor, and
shewed them figuratively the things that were about to happen. But this
of Matthew, who says after six days, but Luke, after eight days, are not
contradictory of one another, but Matthew, on the one hand, left out the
day in which it was said, and the day in which the revelation was made ;
and he only put them that were in the middle according to the custom of
the multitude ; Luke, on the other hand, put both the day on which it was
spoken and the day on which it was done ; and this is according to the
custom of physicians, who call quartan a fever that leaves only one inter
vening day and they call tertian one that leaves two days to intervene ; p. n^n
for on Sunday it was spoken, and on another Sunday the revelation was
made. Our Lord used three methods on the mountain ; the transfiguration f. 39 b
of His whole body, both by the illumination of His face and by the snow-
whiteness of His raiment, deeds that were never administered to any other
man ; but He shewed these things about Himself; not that it was necessary,
for how could it be when from the womb and from the beginning of the
Angel s voice God was united to the Word and the Light, and the invisible
and ineffable glory ? except for a sign that all the righteous also shall share
in this light and glory ; according to the promise of our Lord, that then Matt.i3.43
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, etc. ; for Moses and Elia were
seen, not bodily, but rather in a vision, according as the Holy Spirit
shewed to the prophets the things that were hidden and far off, like that
which was pictured before their eyes. For He did not raise Moses, and
afterwards cause him to die, according to the fancy of Hannan of
Hedhaiyabh and his colleagues ; nor even that of others, who say that Elia
came himself in person, but instead of Moses his Angel. But it would be

1 In marg. That is to say, He rose I

68 MATTHEW XVII. 34

absurd to imagine, that by means of an immortal angel, the resurrection of
Ephraim, mortals from the dead is typified. Therefore both of them were represented
(Mos.) in the Transfiguration, Moses was manifested from the dead, and Elia
from the living ; because in the Parousia of our Lord, the dead are
p. OHQ raised by His voice, and the living who are left are renewed to im
mortality. Again, Moses the married man, and Elia the virgin were
represented, a complete type of the Resurrection from the dead, which will
be of the righteous married and of chaste virgins ; and both of these parties
shall inherit the kingdom of Heaven and its blessings. Again, Moses was
shewn as the Lawgiver, and Elia as one who made a great destruction
of the prophets of Baal, and bore many persecutions from the wicked,
and because he was destined to come before the last revelation of our Lord
from Heaven. Again, He chose one from the Dead, and another from the
Living, to teach that the Living and the Dead are brought to Him as to
the judge of the quick and the dead. It was signified then to these
disciples from their colloquy with our Lord, as a kind of consolation, and
even for the instruction of the disciples ; each of them related his own
things making use of the [events] of his own time ; and how much the Jews
wrought them evil things in God, and to each one of them, and also
towards Thee ; it is nothing wonderful, they say, that they repay to
Thee the death of the Cross in exchange for a myriad good things
f. 40 a that Thou didst to them, for it is written, that they were talking with
1 Him before the disciples about His exodus which He was about to
accomplish at Jerusalem. Others say, that the Disciples knew them, and
also their words, although they were immersed in sleep, by the operation of
the Spirit; a type of what will be at the last ; Knowledge shall fly through
p. c^n all rational beings by which they shall clearly recognize one another, as well
Luke 9. 32 as words and deeds, and they shall shine like Him. This, that the Disciples
were sunk in sleep, is a type of the death of all ; again, for a clear signifi
cation that we do not feel nor know anything until the Resurrection.
The Evangelists did not make known the time at which this Transfiguration
was ministered to them, not whether it was day, nor whether it was night ;
it is probable from the fact that they were sunk in sleep, and because our
Lord often in the nights went up for prayer, and because in the night the
universe was created ; in the night He was born, and in the night He rose,
and in the night He will appear at the last day and make the Resurrection
and the restitution of all things ; this revelation was administered in the
night, in order that type and antitype might be administered at one and
the very same time.

MATTHEW XVII. 5 2O 69

Then the bright cloud that overshadowed them [was] the sign of the
clouds in which the righteous shall be caught up to Heaven. The entrance 2 Theaa. 4.
of Moses and Elia into the cloud was a demonstration of the entrance of
the righteous into the heavenly place ; that the Saviour might be separated
from them, and that they might know that He is much higher than Moses
and Elia and all rational beings, a voice was heard, the Father from
above saying, This is My beloved Son. Again, this voice was a type of
the voice of our Saviour, Ye dead, come forth. But again, it typified the
judgment of our Lord, who shall judge the quick and the dead.

BOOK XIII.

This, that they lifted up their eyes, and saw no man, save fesus only, was
in order that the weakness of Peter and his followers might be reproved, p. un
that they reckoned our Lord with Moses and Elia, in dwelling in tabernacles.

This, that the father of the lunatic said, that / brought him to Thy
disciples, and they could not, etc. He is speaking of the time that they were
sent by Him to Judaea. But this, that the demon ventured before our Mark 9. 20
Lord to struggle with him, was a permission from Him for a rebuke to
the man s unbelief; but it is likely that this one demon was allowed by
our Lord to be strong against the Apostles, for the knowledge of the
things that would be said because of Him ; for if others cast out devils in f. 40 b
His name, we saw, they say, one casting out devils in Thy name, as if he Mark 9. 38
were rebelling against them ; and how did these disciples say, that even
the demons are subject to us in Thy name ? and a witness is the addition of
the word, that if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto
this mountain, Remove, etc. And just as it is said that the grain of
mustard seed is not divided into two like other seeds, thus also ye shall not
be doubtful about what is in your hands ; for He shews, that faith is
wanted by the patient and by the physicians.

This, that the devil threw him in the midst, when he was brought Luke 9. 42
near to Christ, because he supposed that, like the Disciples, neither could
He cure him ; but our Lord permitted his wickedness to be seen before
the multitudes, in order that the unbelief of his father might be reproved ; p. JA^Q
otherwise, how was it that Legion cried out from afar from fear, and one
demon was bold though near?

This, that this kind goeth not out but by fasting and prayer. He
imposed fasting for the body, and prayer for the soul. Again, \sy fasting

7O MATTHEW XVII. 21 25

He alludes to the perseverance in good works which it is necessary to acquire,
but by prayer, [He implies] love towards God, by which we are moved to
virtuous conduct. To the Heathen who reproach us, that every one who is
not able to remove mountains according to the command of Jesus, ought
not to be called a Christian, we say that Jesus commanded signs to be
wrought, in order that by their accomplishment the Nation and the
Nations might turn from error to the true faith ; and the results of the
deeds bear witness to the truth of the words. Then which is greater ?
that they should convert the whole inhabited world from wickedness to
truth, which came to pass through deeds, and that they should raise
the dead and cast out devils, etc., or that they should remove mountains ?
for it is clear that he who was able to do these wonderful things,
Markie.is was able to remove mountains, if the thing were necessary. And just
as it is said that they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any
deadly poison, it shall not hurt them ; not that we should bring them
upon ourselves, tempting our Lord by them ; but when the enemies of
p. y.t-i religion let snakes loose upon us and give us deadly poison to drink ;
thus also a mountain shall be removed when the thing is necessary, just
as it was removed by one of the seventy Disciples, and by Paul chief of the
f. 41 a Anchorites, when he demanded it for some time. Once our Lord calls the
zech. *. i hosts of Satan allegorically a mountain, like this in Zecharia the prophet,
Jer. 51. 25 Who art thou, O great mountain ? but before Zerubbabel like a plain. And
in Ezekiel (sic), Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith
the Lord ; and just as they are compared to serpents and scorpions because
of their bitterness, thus also to mountains because of their pride.

This, that those who received tJie two zuzims apiece of the poll-tax drew
near to Simon, etc. It was a custom among the Jews from of old, to give,
each of them, four drachmas for the honour of God and of the Temple,
but after they were subjugated by the Romans, and impoverished, they
gave one didrachma only to the chiefs of the synagogue. Now they were
asking Cepha, doth your Master also pay ? But Cepha, as if for the sake
of a God-fearing man who was subjected to this obligation like other men,
for he was not yet persuaded of His divinity, made answer, yea, He payeth ;
and when Cepha was come into the house, Jestis prevented him, as He knew
things that were hidden and far off, and said to him, Of whom do the kings
of the earth take custom or tribute f etc., that is to say, that God never
takes tribute from His Son, Him who is His partner in His kingdom ;
but that there may be no cause of offence to their weakness, since they
were not convinced of the nature of Him who was hidden, and that

MATTHEW XVII. 28 XVIII. 6 71

it might not be supposed that He was laying down a law that they
should despise anything that is set apart for the honour of God ; and
because we have nothing just now, go to the sea, and throw an hook, etc.

And it is asked, of the &lt;narr)p, that is to say, four drachmas, which
Peter found in the mouth of the fish, from whence did it come ? from
the treasure of the kingdom ? as some think, or from the sea ? or was
it created from the mouth of the fish ? Some people say, that many ships
are submerged in the sea, in which are drachmas and denarii and all things,
and the fishes that are in the sea feed on them ; and they feed not only on
drachmas and denarii, but even on stones, because the nature of fishes
is warm, as the martyr Methodius said, in that book about the Resurrection

* torn. 18,

against Origen, and it eats everything and digests everything. That col. 130,

. S.Methodii
araTrjp then that was stamped with a royal image, but was submerged dejonat

in the sea, when it was so, and a fish took it in its mouth as its usual jjj^j,.
nourishment, our Lord commanded him to bring and give. But Babhai t" l
the Great, in his book about the Unity, and also Hannan of Hedhaiyabh f. 41 b
say that these drachmas in fishes mouths were created out of nothing ; in
that same hour it went up suddenly to the dry land.

Now the child whom our Lord called, and set him in the midst of them,
and said, Except ye be converted, and become, etc. is said to have been
Ignatius, him who was afterwards Patriarch of Antioch : now he saw
angels singing in two choirs ; and he taught that they should serve thus
in all churches. When then they were asking our Lord, Who is the greatest
in the kingdom of Heaven ? our Lord did not wish to return an answer
about this, because it was thought of Him, that He would now say some
thing absurd, Who will be great before that probation ? But He directed
His word to what is useful and helpful, that by means of all these things
He might admonish the disciples about the things that are asked, for the
advantage of all ; therefore He took a child, and set him in the midst of
them, etc. If you really covet the kingdom of Heaven, and that each of
you there should excel his comrade, let him take care never to have a
quarrel with him about the greatness of honour ; but become like this
child, who does not care about the greatness of honour. He is worthy of
the kingdom of Heaven who is like him in the simplicity and purity of
a child loving the things that are right ; but he does not care for any rank.

This then, whoso shall receive such a child in My name, receiveth Me, that
is to say, thus will I honour those who are innocent like children : just as
the honour which they had from men, I consider My own.

This, that whoso shall offend any of these little ones which believe

72 MATTHEW XVIII. 6 9

in Me, it were good for him that a millstone were hung, etc., according
as I say that the honour which was done to these humble ones shall
be considered Mine, thus also I will bring a severe punishment on those
who offend them. Having uttered this word to them all, He says, Woe
unto the world because of offences. It is known that there are many mistakes
of diverse and various things that come from men to those who are in the
fear of God, that not only do they disturb them from the contemplation
f. 42 a of their minds by contempt and railing, but how often do they bring out
p. -&gt;*tn the strange religion to men by means of evil doctrine ? and chiefly He
justly applied a woe to those who are also a cause of error to others.

When he goes on, If thy right eye offend thee, etc., that is to say, if thou
hast in the church a man who is a cause of offence and injury to many
others, spare him not, but cut him off, and cast him out of the church,
considering that it is better that he should be removed from the kingdom
of Heaven, on account of his contentiousness, than that he should bring
others to Hell along with himself. Some say, that this is not applicable
to the community, nor about all offences, that it must needs be that offences
come, for it does not mean that if any one in the church gives offence,
this offence was altogether necessary ; therefore the word " needs be " bears
upon the Passion and death of our Lord, for it was His death ; let us
Joimi2. 24 hear from His mouth, that "except a grain of wheat fall into the ~ound
Acts 4. as and die there," etc. ; and Peter said, " for to do whatsoever Thy hand and
Heb. 2. 14 Thy will determined before to be done," and Paul said, " that through
death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, Satan,"
Acts 17. 3 and that in the killing of Death there is necessity, and also the death of
Acts 3. 21 our Lord, and the restitution of all things by His means is of necessity ;
therefore we ought to know, that these three words of admonition come
in in order into the midst of the narration : (i) Woe unto the world because
of offences, (2) for it must needs be that offences come ; (3) woe to that
man by whose means the offences come ; the texture of the word is thus,
whoso shall offend one of these little ones who believe in Me ; it were better
for him that the millstone of an ass were hung about his neck, and he
were drowned in the depths of the sea. And thus He connects : if thy
right hand, etc. ; for by affinity of offensiveness our Lord is brought to
allude to the offence of His cross ; for He says, if such a punishment is
fitting to one who offends one of these little ones who believe in Me, what
punishment can be found fitting for him who ventures not on an offence,
but on My murder? We must know that although the Passion of our
Lord was of necessity, yet its perpetrators were not also of necessity, and

MATTHEW XVIII. IO XIX. 3 73

that not of their own will did they venture upon this, according to the
ascriptions of some ; otherwise, the woe would not have been applicable to
him by whom offences come, and although His betrayal by Judas was of
necessity according to their folly, for what reason was his disruption ?

This, See that ye despise not one of these little ones, etc., that is to say, do not f. 42 b
despise altogether one of those who are thrown out of the Church. He calls
these here little, because not from hatred or from provocations do I wish that
such should go out, but that if it be possible, these also should be converted
and should come to virtue. Therefore ye also care chiefly for this, that if
it be possible, they also may repent and be saved ; considering that the p. n=n
Angels also, who are with them as with the rest of mankind, do not desist
from the attention that would be due to them ; and although they possess
much boldness with God because of their excellence, they do not overlook
and despise these; for about the boldness that they have with God, He
said this, that they behold the face of my Father ; also because of the
revelation which they learn from Him constantly.

BOOK XIV.

He calls the debt which we owe to God ten thousand talents, but the
debt which we owe to one another a hundred pence. A talent was a
hundred and fifty pounds which makes three thousand staters. A pound
then was twenty staters.

This, that he commanded him to be sold, and all that he had; and
wherefore was it just that his sons and his daughters and his wife should be
sold ? He made known by this the greatness of the debt, and its un
payable nature ; and that it is impossible to be balanced against any works,
that He may free us from this debt, so that when it is forgiven by means
of repentance, at the last it may be shewn how great was that kindness of
the Pardoner.

This, that he also forgave him his debt, makes known the greatness
of God s goodness; that if only a sinner really wishes to repent, He
immediately offers us the pardon of our former sins.

This, that he delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay, that just
as he could not pay, thus also his torments could not cease.

This, that the Pharisees tempted Him, [saying} Is it lawful for a man to
put away his wife for every cause? in order that from His answer they
might shew that He was teaching contrary to the Law. But what said

74 MATTHEW XIX. 4 II

our Lord ? Have ye not read, He said, that He who made [them}
at the beginning, made them male and female ? and He said, For this
cause shall a man leave his father, and his mother, etc. Our Lord then
assigns this word as spoken by God ; but Moses by Adam ; and it
is evident that though Adam said it, yet it was not his own, that
he should foreknow what should be in the future, but God Himself
taught it. Again it is evident that God said it, from this that our Lord
f- 43 a said, Have ye not read that He that made [them] at the beginning, [made
them} male and female ? and He said also, For this cause shall a man
leave, etc. What therefore God hath joined, let not man put asunder. Clearly
God is not opposed to Himself who spoke and created one with
the other, and is now destroying His laws ; but that what He had
joined together, and had been dissolved by means of slackness of will,
His only Son now restored by the revelation that is in Me. Moses
suffered you to put away your wives, that by means of a little evil
a great one might be reproved ; and it was suitable that she should be
put away, and not put to death ; for if they had created themselves, and
had joined themselves to one another, they could have separated. But if
God made and arranged them, they are adulterers whe i they destroy
and dissolve His Law.

What is this, that all men are not capable for this saying, save he to

whom it is givenl This is characteristic of our Lord, like that which was

said above, that He says some things and prepares other things, and

relaxes the lips, and responds to the heart ; and is like a man who makes

hidden things manifest, that is to say, the soul in the body ; thus also here,

because the disciples had been thinking, that if to live with a wicked wife be

p. oaj3 a bitter evil, and a rottenness of the bones, and if to send [her] away be repre-

12 I TOV hensible with God, it is good for a man not to take a wife at all. But our

Lord, looking at the difficulty of the command, and that [it worked] harshly

in both its parts, in this that if He had said, yes, it is not right to take

a wife, not only would He have contradicted God, but also Himself now ;

for He said before, What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder ;

and if He should say that in every way one ought to take [her], He would

have destroyed beforehand the law of holiness and of virginity which

He Himself was about to bring into the world, and to establish by means

of His disciples. He cautiously avoided both, making the reason depend

Matt.24.36 upon God alone ; and this was habitual, like this, that that day and that

Matt.20.23 hour knoweth no man ; and this, it is not Mine to give ; but to those

for whom it is prepared of My Father ; but He did not thus know this

MATTHEW XIX. 12 I J 75

accurately. And He immediately connects, and by means of three classes
explains the word, saying, tJiere are eunuchs wJdch were so born from their
mothers womb, for this is an accidental thing and a mutilation of Nature ;
and there are those who have been made eunuchs of men, for this is a violent
thing ; and there are those who have made themselves eunuchs, for this is f. 43 b
a fruit of the will of free men ; for He shews by these things, that it is
not altogether the abstention from marriage that is worthy of praise, but
choosing of our own will from the fear of God the excellence of not
marrying ; and for this reason He rejects that first class of those from the p. v=^a
womb, and the second one, who on account of vain and human glory have
cut off their members and made themselves eunuchs ; and He praises
this [third class], that on account of God they preserve sanctity.

Again, in this, that not every man is capable of this saying, He distributes
honour to continence from marriage ; for it was more useful henceforth to
the disciples of the New Testament ; and like this, that unto you it is given Matt.is.n
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven.

But again, He yet more honours virginity, in this, Let a man leave
his wife, etc. and follow Me. But I say, that unless holiness and purity
are graciously established in the saints, they have not acquired every
work ; but now, though they also cry out with the importunity of the
motions within them, asking for a refuge and for help, they respond with
difficulty to what breaks their plans and incites them to put them straight.
Again, if it is given to him alone who is able for the saying, where is the
place for this, Strive to enter in at the strait gate, and for this, In your Luke is. 24
patience possess ye your souls, and the parable of the unjust judge and the Luke 18 2
widow? The Interpreter says, those who have chosen continence from
marriage ; this is a grace from God and not of will, that we have chosen
for ourselves that through a work perfecting the thing He may complete
things which are higher than Nature ; that is not our own ; and He shews
by means of the parable of the idle man, that not in every way is not
marrying worthy of praise, but this, that we should choose of our own
will for the sake of the fear of God.

This, that our Lord said to the scribe who flatteringly called Him Good p. JA=U=&gt;
Master, Why callest thou Me good? He did not deny His own goodness,
for behold, He called the tree good and the seed good, and [He said] of
Himself " I am the good shepherd "; and He said, He that soweth the good Johnio.ii
seed is the Son of Man; and how can the seed be good, and its Sower evil?

but first, in order to reprove him, because he had praised Him flatteringly ; ^[^
second, in order to shew that He did not need to be testified to and be P- "*

76 MATTHEW XIX. I? 30

praised by man ; third, because He answered him against his mind ; for
f. 44 a this man was oppressed by the love of glory, and he wished to be praised
by our Lord, as by a man whose excellence was acknowledged by every
one ; and therefore he began with praise, that is to say, to incite Him that
He also should consent to praise him ; but our Lord, because He knew his
mind, that he had not inclined to virtue, and that if He shewed him
the way of virtue, he would murmur because of his lassitude and
because of his attachment to earthly things, answered well, Why callest thou
Me good? for behold, after a little while thou shalt change to murmuring,
and instead of good thou shalt call [Me] evil and envious, because I have
advised thee to dispense thy riches, etc., taking the Law as a help to thy
thought ; which not only does not command us to disperse our possessions;
but on the contrary, even the reward of virtue which it promises to the
righteous is opulence and affluence in earthly things, and because of this,
thou sayest that God alone is good, He who promises things here to those
who obey Him.

This, that it is difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of
Heaven ; He does not here call rich him who has possessions, but He calls
p. \=ua him who is very diligent for the collection of money, and who limits his
hope to visible things, that is to say, a man unjustly rich ; but He calls
a camel here the camel of the flesh, and not anything else, according to
the opinions of fools.

This, that ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, etc., that is to say, ye shall be
with Me in the association of the kingdom and in honour, all the Jews
being judged by comparison with you ; and ye, because of the greatness
in which ye shall be, shall be known, that ye have duly left everything
for My sake ; but these shall justly receive punishment, because they did
not obey My words.

This, that he shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting
life, that is to say, an hundredfold here for what he has left, and shall
inherit everlasting life beyond. Again, this of an hundredfold, that is to
say, that on account of the fear of God a man finds many men, some
of them in place of brothers, others in place of fathers, others in place
of children; they shew a genuine love towards him, and they make up
his deficiency.

This, But many that are first shall be last, arid the last first ; that is to

f. 44 b say, that there shall be many who have come at the last day into the fear

of God ; who have practised virtue with warm love, more than those who

are now thought to be believers ; and if from their love they are compared

MATTHEW XX. I 12 77

with these, they will be found to be the first; as priority in honour is given
to every one not according to time, but according to will.

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man, a householder, who went out in p.
the morning to hire labourers, etc. He calls God a man, and labourers those
that live virtuously in the Church, and the vineyard believers, and the
morning the beginning of the Gospel preaching, and the agreement with the
labourers the measure of their lives ; and their being sent into the vineyard
their separation to works of service, and a day the time from His coming
until the end ; for [He calls] those who vvere hired in the morning those who
believed then when He walked on the earth. [He calls] those who
were in the third hour those who believed after His ascension ; those who
were in the sixth and the ninth hour those who believed throughout the ages,
and when they came into existence He brought them into His service. But
He said they were idle, that is to say, far away from teaching as not
being come into the world. [He calls] those of the eleventh hour those
that believed at the end of the world, those about whom He said truly, that
no man hath hired US] that He might announce that the thing is not their
fault, but because they had not yet been born; yet after they had come
into the world, then they also had received the knowledge of good things;
but He said well about those first ones, that they had borne the burden of the
day and the heat, because there had also been many labours in that time, as
those who believed from that time endured many persecutions and evils
from the heathen and from the Jews. But by means of this our Lord
shews, that although no affliction befalls a man, but his will is prepared to
endure afflictions because of his love to God, this diminishes nothing from p.
him, because the time of persecutions had not arrived. He calls the end the
evening. Some have thought that our Lord calls those of the eleventh hour
those who have passed all their lives in follies, but in face of the end of
their lives have inclined to virtue; others say that He calls thus those who
received baptism at the last, and then immediately died. But both these
[ideas] are very foolish ; otherwise, what place would there be for that f. 45 a
[word] of Paul, that He will render to every man according to his works ? Rom. 2. 6
But Hannan and others say that no man hath hired us, is not that they had
not yet come into the world, as some have said, but that none of the
doctrines of the Gospel had been revealed, for that reward is kept for him
who works in it, for it is to the vineyard they are sent, not to the world,
and it is for the Gospel they are hired, and not for birth; for coming into
the world is not voluntary, nor is there a reward for it, because it is not
their own to choose when to be born, and when to believe.

78 MATTHEW XX. 823

BOOK XV.

This, beginning from the last, first, because of the difficulty of the time,

2 Tim. 3. i as it is said that hard times shall come, second, that those who are called last

and whom He conceives to be in life, are not dead, but while they are alive

i Thess. 4. they are changed ; third, that also at that time no miracles were wrought

ico^is 51 as * n f rmer times. An /tour therefore ought to be understood about the

shortness of the time, which is either the last hour of life, or in a month or

in a week of years and of days, like a robbery and a sin, which is but for

an hour; but the equality of the recompense he does not understand as

p. -An about the whole of the reward, but about the entrance to the kingdom, for

not all those who have cultivated righteousness shall sit with the Apostles

upon thrones ; thus the first shall be last, and the last first. He says that

this is My design by this parable, that not priority and posteriority help

and hurt those who labour in My Gospel, but a strict conscience and

perfect faith.

He calls death the cup, but baptism the entrance to the grave. Hannan
says that he calls the Passion and death tJte cup and baptism ; the cup
because although for a time it intoxicates and stupefies, yet at the last it
gladdens and delights ; but baptism, because for a time death is held in it.
Mar Ananjesus says that the cup is death ; but baptism alienation from the
world and worldly things.

This, that it was not Mine to give, but to those for whom it is prepared of
My Father, that is to say, these things are not given by request, and not
simply as a gift, but they are the compensations for the labours and
vexations of here. This, that it is not Mine, is not a sign that there is no
power, but that it is not justice.

This, that He says it is prepared of My Father, is not without Him,
because there is one Will and Power, etc., His own and that of the Father;
John 5. 19 He says that the things which the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son
f. 45 b like Him, and all things are in His hand, and without Him nothing was.
He possesses equal power about His own work as the Father, and He
p. i*4n certainly judges and recompenses all, to those on the one hand thrones and
crowns, to those on the other hand torments ; to those on the one hand, He
Matt.25.4i says, "Depart, ye cursed, to everlasting fire," and to these on the other
Matt.25.34 hand, He says, " Come, ye blessed of My Father," etc. ; therefore He gives
to whom He wills.

MATTHEW XX. 2132 ^

This, that they may sit on the right hand and on the left, yet nevertheless

He says that it is prepared of the Father only, because of the Incarnation

ecause of the visible flesh; because the Man alone was comprehended as

yet, because of the weakness at that time of the household and of strangers

together. Our Lord does not grant the request of the sons of Zebedee

because it was anticipating Him, and He promised thrones to Peter- and

He had promised at other times, He would have cancelled that first

[promise] etc. Look in Mark.

And as f ems went out from Jericho, He went out to Jerusalem, because

] bears the type of this world ; but Jerusalem of the world that

to come; while by means of His going out of Jericho, He expelled human

nature from this world; and by means of His entrance into Jerusalem He

typified our entrance into the world to come; for with the head of the

ody, the members also necessarily went out and went in ; and it is evident

that Jericho is compared to this earth, first because just as the inhabitants

)f Jericho opposed Joshua the son of Nun, thus also our nature by

means of Adam opposed God; second, that as it [Jericho] received two

ses, one that Joshua the son of Nun said, "Cursed be the man that Josh. 6. 26
riscth up and buildeth this city Jericho," etc.; and one that God [said] to
the household of Adam, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake" etc ; third P- ^
m the seven circuits about Jericho, and in the seven days and the seven "

iests and in the seven trumpets are typified those things that are to 6 *
happen in the world at the last day; and the seven thousand years in
which the Great Bear is going round the course of our nature; although
others [say] that this world exists for six thousand years.

This, that our Lord asked the blind men, What seek ye? and the
sciples, Whom do men say that I am? etc.; not that that Knower of all
dden things, and things that were far off, the Searcher of the hearts and
the reins did not know; but first, that He might be like His Father
m this, as also in all things; and just like His Father, who asked, "Where G en 3 9
art thou, Adam?" and of Cain, saying, "Where is thy brother?" and of
Moses, "What is that in thy hand?" etc., thus also the Son asks, etc.; f. &lt;6 a
:ond, that He might make room for teaching him and for giving an ** * 2
answer at the same time, to the disciples and the blind men together-
third, that He might not be accused as an impostor and a self-glorifier
e was testifying about Himself that He was the Son of God
then the blind men seek the usual alms, but He gives them healing
wh,ch they did not seek; therefore He asks that they should speak and
pray for the opening of the eyes; fourth, that the faith of the blind men

8o MATTHEW XXI. I 5

should be manifested in a public form, but the want of faith of the Jews
should appear like the Sun.

But Bethphage ? Some explain it as the partition of the ways, others as

_\ the crossing of the roads, others [say] Bethphage, that is to say, the house of

Ephraim, the insipid fig-tree; and they bring evidence from the Diatessaron, and

from Greek transcripts ; in the affair of Zakeouna, him who was short in

(Mos.)

p. 180 bodily, as also in spiritual stature, and it is said that to see Jesus he
went up into sycamores, which are in Syriac insipid fig-trees.

But our Lord here uses a beast of burden, which was not His custom ;
not on account of the fatigue of the way ; and it is evident from this, that
He went on foot seventeen miles from Jericho to the House of Olives, but
He used the beast of burden from the House of Olives to Jerusalem,
a little less than two miles; in order that even so He might image
types in this, first, because He went on foot from Jericho to Bethphage,
that He might typify the labours and vexations of human nature which
our nature bears in this cursed earth from transgression of the command
ments and to this point ; but from Bethphage the beast of burden and
what preceded it typify sufficiently the abrogation of the fatigue of our
nature, and its liberation from tribulations to the repose that is in Heaven ;
but second, with the beast of burden, that it typifies the riding on the
flaming clouds, His own at once and ours, with which He will go up at the
last day to Heaven, and we also, according as Paul says, shall be caught

i Thess. 4. up with them in the clouds to meet our Lord, etc. But an ass, and not
another animal ; that is to say, Balasta, a white ass ; first, that He might
destroy Pride, the offspring of Satan, and typify humility, the fountain
and cause of all our good things; but second, a Balasta, which signifies
His lordship and His kingdom ; for it was the custom of satraps and kings
of that time to parade about in honour upon such animals, and an evidence
of this is Debora the prophetess and wise woman, saying, " Ye that are
f. 46 b distinguished among the peoples, bless the Lord, and ye that ride on

Judges 5. white asses"; third, that He might establish a law for the shepherds

J 1 ^ j=i and rulers of the Church, that as much as possible they may bear labours
and hardships for the sake of the deposits with which they are entrusted,
and that if there happen to be a necessary reason, they may use repose and
a vehicle ; but only what is of little value, and such like ; and leaving
what might puff up, they may strengthen themselves in humility of
mind; fourth, by the ass He signifies how asinine and brutish our

is. i. 3 nature is of all that is Divine, as Isaiah testifies, " The ox knoweth his
owner, and the ass his master s crib," etc.; fifth, but two were brought,

MATTHEW XXI. 5 12 8l

an ass, I say, and her colt, and He rode upon them both, as the.

Interpreter and others testify, sometimes on one, and sometimes on the other,

to shew that He subjugated both beneath His sway, the Nation and the

Nations together; and by the she-ass He signifies the conversion of the

Nation, which before was toiling and labouring in the burden of the legal

things; by the impetuous colt [He signifies] the Nations as not subjugated

and not learned in the Law; sixth, that He might signify by them both,

that the first and the last, and the fathers and the children, and the

obedient and the disobedient, and brute bodies, and peaceful souls, would

be brought under obedience to Him; seventh, by the colt He signifies

about His power, that though it was a colt not broken in, " whereon never Mark 11. 2

man sat," as Mark testifies, without a saddle or a pack-saddle, with nothing

on its neck, no rope nor halter nor bridle, and He went up and down those

difficult and rugged lanes, and by those tangles of branches and clothes,

that were in the way, and leapings of snares, the colt was not made wild and

did not kick, but it was very nearly humanized, and reproved the pride p. A"

of the scribes and Pharisees, who completed the beasts and animals and

resembled them ; and just as the Sea bore Him and did not drown Him,

thus also the colt bore Him and did not get fractious, for the creatures felt

that He was their Lord ; the Sea submitted to Him and became calm, the

Wind ceased, Legion went away, the Fish gave up the money, the Fig-tree

dried up, and the Colt became quiet.

But the crowds were divided into four parts, before Him, and behind Him,
and on His right hand, and on His left, for the mystery of the splendour
of the last day; for just as in the last day the wicked shall remain in the
caves below, their eyes darkened, and shall weep and wail, but the good
shall be arranged in four orders, His Angels before Him, the Righteous who f. 47 a
have not sinned at His right, the Repentant at His left ; and the children
behind Him ; and they shall sing praise, and go in with Him to the
banquets above ; thus also congregations here are arranged with the prayer
of Hosanna; their cry signified about the victory which they possessed by
His means over Satan and Sin and Death, etc.

But when He entered the Temple, He cast out all the moneychangers, that
is to say, bankers, and the buyers and sellers and altars and sacrifices
together; first, that He might fulfil the prophecy, which said, " The zeal of PS. 69. 9
Thy house hath eaten Me up," and " My house shall be called a house of is. 56. 7
prayer," but not a house of merchandise; second, that they were accustomed
to sell in the courts of the Temple materials useful for the sacrifices, on
pretence of relieving the buyers from labour and toil, and that there might

G. I.

g 2 MATTHEW XXI. 12 19

p. An be no impediment to the Divine sacrifices; but in reality it was a sign of

cupidity and of audacity, because these sheep and oxen, etc. that were sold

S! aim there were those that had been offered to God, and the priests sold them

(M5s 1 ) anew, as Mar Ephraim also testifies, so therefore, because our Lord knew,

He justly drove them out; and third, by the driving out of these people,

He typified the cessation of sacrifices and ending of the Laws which were to

Heb. 9. 28 take place to some extent in the person of our Lord, who was offered for the

sins of many, but completely and perfectly in the new world ; but fourth,

it signifies His lordship and dominion, that before all His enemies He

forbade and coerced, and drove out, and there was no one to open his mouth

and murmur, for they were restrained by His many miracles, and by His

strength He conquered all; fifth, because like a true Teacher, He first

figured in Himself all the ecclesiastical degrees which He instituted by

means of His Apostles; He fulfilled the Readership then, when He entered

like 4. 16, the Temple, and the book was given to Him and He read, "The Spirit of

18 the Lord is upon Me," etc., and the Diaconate, when He caused the

multitudes to lie down in the wilderness, and when He washed the feet of

the Disciples ; the Eldership, on the other hand, when He broke His body

and mixed His blood; and the Episcopacy, when He breathed on them,

Jofan20.22 and said, " Receive ye the Holy Ghost"; and the Patriarchate, when He

ascended into Heaven, and lifted up His hands and blessed them ; and the

p Un Subdiaconate here when He made a scourge, and purified the Temple ; but

He made the scourge, not to strike the image of God, or He would have

f. 47 b struck His own image with it; but He drove out the beasts with it.

Now Hosanna is a Hebrew substantive, according to some on the one
hand it is translated into Syriac as " Salvation " ; according to others
on the other hand and in reality it is " Praise." But not thus had the
High Priests and Pharisees been enraged and tormented, had not Hosanna
signified " Salvation " ; for many Saviours had risen up in Israel, not only
true ones, but also evil ones. Now the babes and children who were crying
out were not yet able to speak according to some, but were forty days
old, who had come up with their mothers from all the regions of Palestine
to the House of the Lord, that they might offer sacrifices for them, as the
Law commands, and there is a tradition that from the day when they
cried Hosanna they did not again speak, until the usual time of speech ; and
this in order that the thing might be more wondered at, and that it should
not be supposed by calumniators that it was something usual that was
occurring.

Now this, that in the morning, as He returned to the city, He hungered;
and He saw a fig-tree in the way, etc. ; not from hunger was this Satisfier

MATTHEW XXI. 1 9 2O 83

of thousands and myriads troubled, according to His outward man,
the Word ; this is evident from many things ; first, that it was the
morning hour as yet, which removes even gluttons from hunger ; second,
because it was not the time of fruit, as Mark says, for it was Nisan, when P- "T" 3
the trees are still sprouting, but not in fruit ; third, because if it had been
the time of fruits, and [the tree] had been deprived of them, it would not
have been worthy of punishment, inasmuch as it suffered thus not by its
own will, but by nature and by necessity and by chance ; fourth, that
if He hungered, why was He hindered from eating and afterwards going
out ? for He had even dwelt in the house of His friend Lazarus. For He
who for three days had passed the night out of doors, staying in the
Temple, and no one knew Him ; and then He remained without food for
forty nights and days, how was He troubled by hunger in the morning?
He who brought out the stater from the fish, and from a little bread fed
many thousands ; He could have either made His hunger pass away from
Him, or prepared Himself food from something or from nothing. Did
not that Knower of all then know, He who knows His Father, as His John 10.15
Father also knows Him; He who saw Satan fall from Heaven, and Lukeio.is
Nathanael sitting under the fig-tree, etc., that the time of fruits had not
yet come? and if it had been the time of fruits, did He not then know .483
whether there were fruits on it or not before coming near it ? or when He
came near it, could He not have commanded, and it would have given
fruits, as also He dried it up straightway ? but it is evident, that it was not
natural hunger, but providential and from a special cause ; for it was also
a custom of our Lord, as I said above, to act one way, and shew another,
like as He used with the Canaanite woman, and the Magdalene and p. *&=na
others ; therefore here also. For at this time His Passion was drawing near,
lest weakness should pursue Him, which he received of necessity and un
willingly, and [because] it was needful to shew His power to His disciples
and the crucifiers together ; He does not shew this upon men, for he was a
lover of men and merciful ; for again, if He had done this with a man,
[and] shewed His power, it would have been supposed that he suffered for
his sins, and not by the power of the factor ; but He is shewing the
possession of these things, and from the possession not of beasts and
animals of great value and easy to hurt. But He destroyed a tree, and Ephraim,
of trees the one that above all is moist and juicy; which even if it be cut (M6s.)
hardly dries up for a long time. And He dried this up by the outgoing of p 18
His word, and by this He shewed to the crucifiers that He suffered of His Ephraim,
own will ; and that if they repented not, behold ! the sharp axe with which ffiai)

p. 186

84 MATTHEW XXI. 19 31

this tree was cut down was laid at the root of their tree, which should be
cut down, and fall into the fire. But some say that the fig-tree was for
Luke is. 6 a parable, that of the Israelite Synagogue ; for " A certain man had a
fig-tree planted in his vineyard" ; that it was spared for a time from cutting
at ^6 P ersuas i n f spiritual persons and prophet workmen, in the hope
that it would cultivate fruits, that is to say, by agriculture ; and after it
yielded no fruits and also killed His Son, it was condemned to a curse and
everlasting eradication; others say, that it was in order that our Lord might
be crucified upon it, that as by it Sin entered, for the tree that Adam s family
ate of was a fig-tree, by it should come in righteousness and redemption
from guilt ; which also happened when its masters brought it into the city,
the crucifiers took it and upon it they crucified our Lord. That I may seek
from it an etymology, they say it was called a fig-tree, because it incited and
called out to the household of Adam the offence that was in it, saying,
" Come, thou, Eve, to me." Others say that when the crowds were cutting
[branches] from the trees, and throwing them in the way, the master of the
f. 48 b fig-tree did not allow them to cut from it, and for that reason He [Jesus]
Ephraim, caused it to wither. Others say that just as the Gadarenes put a barrier that
(Mos.) they should not go out to our Lord, and for that reason He strangled their
swine so that they might go out when they did not wish, thus also the
master of the fig-tree fixed in his mind that he would not go out to Him ;
and for that reason He caused his fig-tree to wither that he might go out
when he did not wish ; for by all reasons He wished the salvation of men.
Others [say] that because our Lord said of the Temple of His body,
John 2. 19 that " in three days I will raise it " ; and of the Temple of stones, that
Mark is. 2 " there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be
Ephraim, thrown down," which word was a puzzle ; He confirmed His saying by
(Mus.) means of the sign of the withering of the fig-tree. Others speak otherwise
pp. 182,183 a b out t h e fig_t r ee ; nevertheless the correct notion is the first one.

BOOK XVI.

A certain man had two sons, etc. He calls God a man, and the Nation
and the Nations, two sons. He calls the Nations him who did not obey to go
into the vineyard ; those who of old were not subject to His authority, but
at the last obeyed and received the Gospel from the Apostles. And the
Jews He calls the other son, those who received the Law by means of Moses,
but at the last trampled on and despised His commandments.

This, that the publicans and the harlots shall go before yon into the

MATTHEW XXI. 32 XXII. 3 85

kingdom of Heaven, this of go before, instead of inherit, He said, in the
same way as also [He said] "there shall be last" instead of "they shall be
cut off."

This, that a certain man planted a vineyard, etc. He calls God a man ;
the Nation which was fashioned in the fear of God He calls a vineyard; and
the protection which was given them in the Divine help, a hedge, by which
they were kept in their land. The Temple [He calls] a tower, and the Ephraim,
altar of incense a wine-press, and the altar on which was poured out the .)
blood of the sacrifices ; the order of the priests, [He calls] Jiusbandmen ; and p - 192
others, on whom it devolved to take hold of the Nation, that by the
teaching of the Law they might present the fruits to God. [He calls] the
prophets who came to them from time to time, servants, who were sent, and
they bore many tribulations from the Nation. He calls His own coming
the sending at the last of His Son, whom they also slew.

This, that the stone which the builders rejected. He calls Himself the stone,
and the Jews the builders, saying this, that the word that is written in the f. 49 a
Psalms is fulfilled, in that you, like builders, suppose, by means of that
which you have brought near to all men by means of the teaching of the
Law, ye are delivering Me to death and rejecting Me; but at the last
ye shall see Me, that I was the cause of the greatest good things to men,
to Gentiles as well as to Jews. I am in the place of a stone that is useful p. ^m
for the binding of the corner, because I bring among them by means of
faith in Me, one conjunction and completion, although [they are] here
very far removed from one another.

This, that whosoever shall fall on the stone shall be broken, and on whom
soever, etc., the leaders of the Nation shall fall on this adamantine 1 stone ;
but objects of worship and idols shall be scattered by it. Others say, those Ephraim,
who fell upon it and were broken, were the crucifiers, and kings of the ^ }
Heathen, who persecuted it, and it crushed them, itself remaining unmoved, P- 193
that is to say, they are endeavouring to destroy the Faith, and not
succeeding, yet hurting themselves still more ; but those that fall upon it,
are all heresies of corrupting doctrines, on whom it has fallen, and has
scattered them to every wind as with a fan and with a winnower.

The kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man, a king, who made a
marriage-feast for his son. He calls God the man ; and the conjunction of
the Church of believers in love to Him [He calls] the marriage-feast of his
son ; but the Jews the guests ; those who formerly through the discipline of
the Law had been bidden to this faith by means of prophets.

1 Note in margin, of adamant, that is to say, diamond.

86 MATTHEW XXII. 4 1 8

But this, that he sent forth others after the first, signifies the sending
forth of the Apostles before His Passion, sending them two and two ; but
they were sent again also after the Passion ; not they alone, but also many
others ; and He said well, sending them the second time, that all things are
ready, Come to the feast ; the dispensation of the Passion was at that time
complete; and from the time that He rose from the dead and ascended
to Heaven, the gift of the Holy Spirit was ready for those who were
assembling.

But they were hindered by a farm and by merchandise, that is to say,
those who on account of fleshly desires were not willing to come to the
fear of God.

This, that tliey beat and killed some of his servants. He spoke about what
was done by the Jews to prophets and Apostles ; and from henceforth also
their city was rooted up by means of the Romans, but also because the
wedding was furnished with guests from among the Gentiles.

Again, the king saw a man who had not on a wedding-garment, that is
f. 49 b to say, he had not done deeds that corresponded with Faith, nor had he
fulfilled the service that was due to God, and he justly commanded about
him that he should receive punishment. Qahtardyd says that He calls
dwelling in the earth outer darkness, because he is dark who is shut up in it,
that is to say, after the Resurrection. Hannan says that My oxen and
failings are killed is a prediction of the things that should happen. After
His death many should be sent by the blood of their necks to the true
and reserved and everlasting feast.

This, How earnest thou in thither? is understood about the Church ; for
it cannot be that the Lord of the feast should be pilfered from by a form
of error, and that there should be no scrutiny till after the entry to the
kingdom.

Afterwards the Pharisees plotted against our Lord, if haply tJiey might
entangle Him in giving an answer incautiously. Therefore tliey sent unto
Him Herod s soldiers with their disciples to ask Him, Is it right to give
tribute to the Romans, because they hoped that He would be ready to say
" It is not right," and thereupon the Herodians would seize Him as a rebel,
who was inciting all men to make insurrection against the Romans.
Because of this they also used many praises to Him, that He regarded not
the person of men, because they thought that by these words they would
incite Him to say something like this. But Why ? our Lord [said], Why
tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites? to let it be known that it was not hidden
from Him that their praises were in cunning.

MATTIIKW XXII. 2132 87

This of Render unto Ccesar the things that are Ccesars, and unto God the
thtngs that arc God s, etc., that is to say, if you say that this image on the
penny is Casar, whatever is Cesar s give to Caesar; but fulfil towards God
the things that are still more due from you to Him. It is possible for you
to give tribute to Caesar in money, and pay likewise to God in purity of
soul the service that is due to Him. The rule of subjection to kings and
rulers our Lord established with this, Render to Casar, etc.

BOOK XVII.

Now Josephus says that after the Return from Babylon, the Jews Of.
were divided into seven sects, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes,
that the Essenes were Maccabees, Josephus says ; the Ananites, the
Herodians, the Zealots, and the Nazarenes. The Sadducees were named

from Zadok, chief of their dogma, and they raised up many persecutors ch. i
against the Gospel ; and also James, the brother of our Lord, they Hegesip-
made a tumult against, and took him, and he was killed. They were S.^"
f. 50 a the cause of the race of David being investigated by the Romans. They, C R ?" th ?

i . . . Reliquiae.

hke the Samaritans, held only the five Books of the Law, but they did not
assent to the Prophets 1 ; and they disbelieved in the Resurrection
and in angels, etc. that are invisible. But the Pharisees acknowledged
the Resurrection ; but they said nevertheless that after the Resurrection,
they would do the very same, eating, and drinking, and marrying, etc. ;
therefore the Sadducees brought in well the history of the woman
married to seven, who died without children ; deriding the Pharisees by
the asking of this question. Therefore, they said, /// the Resurrection,
whose [wife] shall she be of these seven, of all of them promiscuously, or of
one of them unjustly? And if there be a man who has consorted with
many women, to which of them shall he be in the Resurrection ? to all of
them together? or from hatred of jealous women, to one of them ? or from
the number of writings of divorcement ? But our Lord disappointed the
hope of both sides ; of the Pharisees on the one hand, by saying this, that
in the Resurrection from the dead they do not eat, nor are given in marriage;
and of the Sadducees on the other hand, by saying this, that / am the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, etc., that is to say, you
ought to teach about the Resurrection, and also from this that God said by
means of Moses, about those that had died long ago, that He called
Himself their God ; for God would not have called Himself the God of

1 Note in margin. Scribes and Hemero-baptists, that is to say, those that were baptized every
clay. See Hegesippus (Routh, Reliquiae, vol. I., pp. 207, 223 4).

88 MATTHEW XXII. 32 XXIII. 5

these people, if He had not known that their souls were alive, and was also
intending to raise their bodies again and give them to their souls.

When our Lord asked the Jews, What say ye about the Christ?
whose Son is He ? and they replied, The Son of David. And our Lord
answered them, How can He be his Son, for the Lord said unto my
Lord, etc. Why was their mouth shut? They ought to have answered,
that he is called Lord, as Eleazar calls Abraham "My Lord," and
Elisha Elia, etc. Those who talked impiously that our Lord did not
take manhood, were henceforth armed, saying, Behold ! He also said to
the Jews that He is not the son of David ; and the erring ones did not
understand, that our Lord did not say according to the abrogation of
His Humanity, How is He his Son ? but to shew, that He was not only
a man, according to their supposition, but also God, and He was not
concealing that He was a man ; but was teaching, that in His humanity
He was the son of David, but in His divinity [He was] David s Lord ; but
f. 50 b their tongue was shut, because both names, that is to say, the Lord, and my
Lord, were written as ineffable names, that is to say, by the name of
Jehovah ; but the ineffable name was established by Moses as a law, that
it should be written with special characters, and that they should not roll
it about with their tongue, according to the honour of God ; and it was
written in the middle of the lines, nYT, that is to say, Jehovah,
whose name is secret, they wrote above in honour, Adonai, that is
to say, My Lord; and when they came to that ineffable name, that is to
say, the name of the Hidden One, they did not roll about these four signs
at all with their mouth ; and they did not write anything else with them,
except the name of God ; but they read Adonai or some other name which
was written in honour above ; but after Symmachus, the changer of both
these names that had been written in an ineffable name, interchanged
p. Vt3 them, and put the Lord and my Lord to be read, that is to say, Sware
is. 7. 14 Adonai to Adoni, sit at the right hand, also this, "Behold, a -virgin shall
conceive, and bring forth" he changed to "a young girl," and [he changed]
IB. 9. 6 "God" to "the Strong One of the Ages"; and instead of "the Messiah
Dan. 9. 26 shall be put to death" " the oil shall be cut off" etc. Such things he established.
This, that the Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat ; that is to
say, in succession to Moses they teach the Law to others. He calls heavy
burdens the difficult commandments that are in the Law, or their own
vain observances ; but He calls phylacteries the ten Words that were spoken
by God, those which they hung on their neck, as also the faithful now hang

1 in Codd. ~p\ "Til sic.

MATTHEW XXIII. 835 89

the Gospel on their neck. He calls borders the plaited fringes which they
bound on the edges of their cloaks.

This, Be ye not called Rabbis, nor Fathers nor Masters ; I Ic does not
warn from the name, but from the feeling and the thought, and [says]
that like brethren they should endeavour after concord with one another,
not striving to be in the position of leaders to their brethren ; but consider
that all virtues arc prepared for in common by gift from God, who uses
equal honour to all men, proselytes, strangers.

This, that ye shut up the kingdom of Heaven against men, that is to say,
that if these had believed in Him, all the common people would have
believed also, because they hung on them and looked to them.

This, ye blind guides, that is to say, not knowing duty, ye do not
confess it to others, perhaps not even to any. p.

f. 51 a

For whether is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifietli the gift ?
that is to say, how is it that ye do not even know this, that the altar is
greater than the gift ? for as long as what is offered is put upon the altar, then
we know that it is sanctified ; for He here calls the gift the vessels of the
service, which were wrought of gold and silver, and were afterwards offered ;
when they were put upon the altar, they were then considered holy by us;
for the sacrament that is performed by us is something apart from the
vessels into which it is put ; for when this is completed, and it has
become an emblem of the body of the Christ, it is exalted to a much
higher honour than the altar.

This, Fill ye up also the measure of your fathers, that is to say,
My death is wanting to the completion of the wickedness of your
fathers, and is being filled up by you ; in that they killed the servants,
and you the Master.

BOOK XVIII.

This, Behold I send unto you prophets, etc. He calls prophets those that
have received this gift, like Agabus and the daughters of the Evangelist, etc. ; Acts 21. 9
wise men, those about whom Paul also said that to some is given the word 1
of wisdom by the Spirit ; but scribes, those who have received grace
to teach and interpret the voices of the Divine Scriptures, those whom Paul
also calls Teachers ; and he mentions many righteous persons whom they
had killed, Abel, and Zacharia, those whom there was no just cause for p. *m
killing. Some [think] that this Zacharia son of Barachia was the father of
the Baptist, whom they slew between the Temple and the Altar, by the

9 MATTHEW XXI. 44, XXIIT. 32, XXIV. 1 3

command of angry Herod ; in this that Abel begins the first righteous men,
and Zacharia finishes among the last ; but Hannan says that this Zacharia
was one of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, who was killed along with
his brothers by King Joash, who recompensed things like these to his sons
instead of many good things that he had seen from him.

In this, that His disciples came near to shew Him the buildings of the
Temple ; the disciples, then, because they were agitated by these words that
He was speaking about the destruction of the city and the Temple, Behold,
your house is left unto you desolate, etc., were shewing Him the beauties of
the buildings ; not that He had not seen it, but that they might turn Him
away to pity, that He might not threaten such a thing against the Temple;
f. 51 b but He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here
one stone upon another, etc. Now this was fulfilled first by means of Aelius
Hadrianus Caesar, who plucked up Jerusalem by its roots, carried away the
stones of its wall and cast them into the lake of Sodom ; then hewed other
stones from the mountain, and with them re-built it, and called it by his
name Aelia and Aeliapolis ; but it was afterwards destroyed again by
Julian the Apostate; and he, in order to falsify the word of our
Lord, that there shall not be left here, etc., induced the Jews to build
D. =nn it, and its Temple also, which had been destroyed after Hadrianus.
But after the Jews had destroyed the Temple from its foundations
in order that they might make its building firm, all that they had
dug in the day was filled up in the night without human hands ;
until fire was kindled from its foundations, and burned many of them with
many idols that were there. But the disciples, because they believed that all
these things should take place at one and the same time, the destruction of
the Temple and of the city and His own Advent, and the end of all, were
asking Him, When shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of Thy
coming, and of the end of the world? so therefore our Lord also mixed
together the things that were going to happen in the last destruction of
Jerusalem, with those that should happen at the end of times.

This, that whosoever shall fall upon the stone, etc. Those \v\\ofell upon
the stone were the rulers of the people ; but those that should be winnowed
by it were the images and other idols, that is, while they were seeking to
destroy the faith of Christ they were hurting themselves, and were kicking
against the pricks, and they were winnowed to every wind by the fan of the
Romans, etc.

This of Fill ye up the measure of your fathers, that is to say, your
deficiency in perfect wickedness, which is putting Me to death. Then this,

MATTHEW XXIV. 15 9!

cu yc skull sec the sign of the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, stand, etc. ; for because the Jews called out at the
Passover, "We have no king but Caesar!" therefore Pilate in the night John 19. is
introduced into the Temple the image of Caesar, that is to say, of Gaius, who
reigned after Tiberius, and required of them, that if that word of yours be p. ^a
true, worship his image like the rest of the nations of his Empire. Because
of this an insurrection began, and commotions, and never ceased, until the
burning and complete destruction. Some say it was the likeness of an f. 52 a
eagle ; but Mar Ephraim says it was an ensign, that is to say, he put upon y ; p ^ aim
a spear banners on which an eagle was painted ; and brought [them] into (MosO
the Temple. Others say that Pilate brought in heads of swine. As to the p. 2"
great affliction that came upon them, according as our Lord had said, one
may learn accurately from Josephus, who saw with his own eyes all these
things that happened to them ; he says that while all the Jews of Palestine
were assembled and shut up inside Jerusalem, to keep the Passover together
and to rebel against Caesar, Titus began to afflict the city with tribulations Josephus,
by means of the Roman army, and all this pestilence and famine pressed &gt;/VL
upon them, so that they should eat old skins that were putrid, and the UL 3
shoes of their feet, and the covers of the sheaths of their swords and their
shields, and the corpses of men and animals ; women too with their hands vi. m. 4
slaughtered their children and ate them ; yet with these things, they were Josephus,
divided into three parties, and fought with one another, and those who ^/^x 3
were victorious closed up with vetches the interior exit-passages of the con
demned ; and those who were found to have been nourished they strangled
by the throat, that they might press out the nutriment. They hung up v . x. 5
children, and dashed them upon the ground, that they might restore the
food they had swallowed. For those with whom riches were found v.x. i
swallowed balls of gold and fled to the Romans in secret, and when p. nm
they went out, they searched their evacuations and took the grains
which they had swallowed. But the Romans, when they learnt this
trick, cut open the stomachs of the fugitives, and took the gold that
was in their bowels. So the Romans captured the city with weapons of
war ; the Temple on the one hand they burned, and the walls on the other
hand they broke down ; the number of those who died by the sword and
by famine was a hundred and twenty myriads ; and those who were taken
alive, such as were of youthful age, of seventeen years and under, and were
sold into slavery, were nine myriads ; but the rest were sent in chains to
Egypt to bitter labour. The sum then of all those captured by Titus
was 300 myriads ; but a myriad is 10,000.

92 MATTHEW XXIV. 22 40

This, that except these days should be shortened, inasmuch as from the
1 5th of Nisan until the Qth of Ab they were besieged ; this, that for the
f. 52 b elect s sake tJie days shall be shortened; He calls then the days that are
to be shortened the fixed [days], and by the elect He does not mean the
Apostles, because they had already gone out of Judaea, but He speaks
of the believers who are found at that time.

This, that [He is~\ in the chamber, that is to say, in peace.
This, that as the lightning that lighteneth out of the east, etc. He does
not say that all lightning shineth out of the east even unto the west, inasmuch
as it happens and lightens in one place, and in another not ; but He takes
an illustration from the lightning about the suddenness of His last
Apocalypse, and that He will be seen equally by all, no one having need
to learn of His coming from another, etc.

For in this, that wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
p. oiita together, He signifies two things, both that He will not come clown to the
earth, and that not even the righteous will have need of this, because they
also will possess wings, and will meet Him in the clouds, and will feed on
Him constantly as on the nutritious body of a bird ; He not being
insufficient, nor they starving ; and as by means of what He said above,
Mark9.44, that their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched, He shews
the immortal pain, which is immortality; inasmuch as when the flesh
vanishes the worm dies, and when the wood is finished the fire is
quenched ; but there eater and eaten will equally remain ; thus He shews
by this illustration that the carcase and the eagles are rejoicing for ever.

The Son of God shall send His angels, to separate the good from the
bad ; and it is asked, whence shall they know them from one another ?
We say, from the darkness and the brightness of the persons of the wicked
and the good.

This, that two shall be in the field ; one shall be taken, and the other left,
He alludes to the suddenness of the things that will come to pass, saying
that wherever men are, whether in the field or at work, whenever the time
comes, in an instant the coming of our Lord will be known to them ; they
will be separated from thence ; the righteous shall be taken, and the wicked
shall remain on the earth and be judged.

But about what our Lord said, that the Sun shall be darkened, and the

Moon shall not shew her light, etc. ; it is handed down in the schools of

Nisibis, saying that in the end of the world, after all these things that

p. con happen after the coming of Antichrist, at the time when the Messiah

appears from Heaven, the Sun and the Moon and the Stars shall fall from

MATTMKAV XXIV. 29 35 93

the present firmament ; and there shall be one equal and diffused light,
and it shall stand in one region, and shine only to the righteous ; and
likewise also darkness shall be on one side, nor shall they again be shaken f. 53^
by it from their tranquillity. And then, in that twinkling of an eye
when the lights fall from this firmament, shall be seen the sign of the Sou
of Man, that is to say, a cross of light, by the Divine energy, yet not from
this visible light, nor even from that proceeding from the body of our
Lord ; but it will be shewn wonderfully by the power of God without
our comprehension. The angels who are sent at that time to gather
together the righteous for their honour, will form clouds and will cause
[the righteous] to fly in them to meet our Lord ; and also the cloud on
which our Lord will descend from Heaven, not in His want but in His
glory ; for these angels will not form it, but as soon as the door of the
firmament is opened, the cloud will be ready on which [our Lord] will
descend to the place to which the Apostles have been caught up, that is to
say, two thirds [of the space] from above to below ; He even in this shewing
the greatness of His love for His creatures, for the Apostle was taken up
one third of the way that stretches as far as from earth to Heaven ; but the
righteous will mount up with the angels to Heaven ; and that very cloud
on which our Lord ascended, will remain below this firmament ; and as
soon as that wonderful habitation of our Lord arrives with Him, that
palace will be sharply dissolved without the mediation of angels, just as if
they ceased from their work and service ; the air will be relaxed and p. tm
rarefied, and will remain in endless silence. There are some who say that
the Heaven will be cleft because bodies cannot pass bodies ; others say
that as water passes through clay and sweat through the skin, etc., thus also
those who are not hindered will enter in, because of their subtilty, and
because it is easy for the power of God : but the error of Antichrist shall
reign for a period of three years, according to the time from [our Lord s]
Baptism to his Passion. When Elia will come for the revelation of our
Lord, it is not known how long it will be ; some say it will be forty days ;
the words being mixed with each other, the words that were spoken about the
desolation and about the end ; for from this, that there shall not be left here
one stone upon another, etc., until this, that this My Gospel shall be preached,
He speaks of the end of the world ; but other things that He brought in
between, were about the destruction of Jerusalem. He said Heaven and
Earth, it is clear that they shall pass aivay if I wish it, but J\fy words cannot f. 53 b
be falsified. Again this, that till the Heavens pass away, He docs not say
that in every way they will pass away, but of that which may be if the

94 MATTHEW XXIV. 29 36

Lord wills, but He does not will, inasmuch as also in the world to come

they will be required ; but nevertheless they will be renewed and changed,

and will rest and cease from the accomplishment of their service. And

PS. 102. 26 it is like this, that all of them shall wax old as doth a garment, and like a

icor.i5.5i vesture and like this, that we shall be changed, etc. For if He knoweth

p. Jiia not the day nor the hour, how is it said that I and my Father are one ? for

John 10. 30 jf He ig not one in knowledge, in what is He one? and if He knoweth

John 16. 15 not the day like the Father, how did He say that all things that the Father

hath are Mine ? and if the Father hath anything that the Son knoweth not,

the Son hath something that the Father knoweth not, and how is it said,

Matt.n.27 that no man knoweth the Father but the Son, nor the Son, etc. ; and how

are they one, when the Father knows something that the Son does not know?

and this not among things that are remote and precious, but things that

are less in comparison with others ? Again, if He knows the Father as the

Father also knows Him, and knows not the day, then the day is of

John 13.3 more importance than the Father; and again, if all is in His hands, and by

col. 1. 16 Him everything was created that is in the Heavens and in the earth, as

is said, and He knows not the day, how did He create anything, of which

cf. He does not know when it will end ? can it be that the day is not one of

yjS/ aim His creatures? and if the Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things of

(M JJ7 God, but the Spirit is the Spirit of the Christ, how does He not know the

i cor. 2. 10 things that are in His hand, etc., and how does He know that the end will
Luke 12. 38

come in the night ?

He says, Two shall be in a bed ; the one shall be taken and the other left;
and yet He does not know the day ! and how does He know the things
that are before and after that day?

Immediately after the tribulation of these days, the Sim shall be darkened,

etc., but yet He does not know the day that comes into the middle of these

things ; like a man who knows the things that are outside the walls of a city,

p. VQ and the things that are within it, but should say of the wall that is between

them, " I know it not." And which of these is it ? is it either that the Son

Epnraim, does not wish to ask and learn the day ? or that the Father is not persuaded

(Mas .) to reveal it? Therefore He spake the word providentially and suitably ; for

p- 216 because there was a long period in the interval, but they were supposing that

the time of the end of the world was near, and that His manifestation

f. 54 a should be in their days, as Paul also wrote to those who were of this

iThess.2.2 opinion, saying, that ye be not shaken in mind, neither by word, nor by

spirit, as if behold ! the day of Christ is at hand ; He cherishes them like

children, inasmuch as they would have reaped no advantage from a

MATTIIKAV XXIV. 42 95

knowledge of the clay, either they or the ages afterwards, but rather
no little loss: just as God also has not revealed to us the hour of our
death, because of the great losses we would reap from a knowledge of
it ; for even in this our Lord gives us an illustration, that there are times
when we should abstain from an unsuitable question, and that we should
take refuge providentially in ignorance, that He does not give a serpent
to the children instead of a fish. Therefore as it was useless that the
day should be known, He forbade them to ask, and hid it from them,
in order that they might be assiduous and not idle; and this is evident (M,,S.)
from what He said afterwards, Watch, for ye know not when your Lord shall p
come; for it was also a custom with our Lord, to speak with a purpose like
this, such as, Do ye not yet understand ? and like this which He said to the Matt.is.i7
foolish virgins, Verily I say unto you, I know you not; and like this, It is not Matt.25.i2
Mine to give, but to those for whom it is prepared, etc. ; and like this, Jjjjj-j -^
I judge no man ; and like this, that now I have known all things come from j im 17. 7
Thee, etc., and other such sayings. And we must know that Mark alone said, M arkl3-32
nor the Son knoweth, while Matthew does not say it ; for because Matthew C f. Sinai
on the one hand preached his Gospel to the Hebrews, but Mark on the other P s * mp
hand to the Romans ; the Hebrews on the one hand were doubting about Matt.24.36
the Divinity of our Lord, and the Romans on the other hand about His
humanity, because of the bad seed that Simon had sown among them, that
is to say, imaginations and fancies about the manhood of our Lord ; there
fore Mark added this of neither the Son, but the Father, teaching them that
He was not only God, but also true Man; for the Jews on the one
hand needed to be taught that our Lord was God ; and the Romans on the
other hand needed to be taught that He was Man. Timotheus says that our
Lord does not here call Himself the Son, but believers, who are many times
called sons, and by means of baptism are made worthy of the Spirit of
adoption; and He calls Himself the Father; He says he is the Father of the
world to come, and Him hath God as Father sealed ; and Children, yet a John 6. 27
little while I am with you ; and Behold I and the children whom the Lord Jotais.w
hath given Me. Therefore because the name of the Father falls on both the f ^b
Father and the Son ; on the Father, on the one hand, by nature, on the Son,
on the other hand, by Providence; because of this, our Lord here used the
equality of the name with His disciples; for many times also, as in the
parables, He uses the equality of the names, sometimes, on the one hand,
with Mary and Joseph, saying, Wist yc not that I must be in my Father s Luke 2.^9
house ? and they ceased from asking, for they thought that His word alluded ^psest"
to them, while He spoke about His Father; and what He said once, Destroy
this temple, and in three days I [will build it], etc., and He was alluding J0 hn2.i9

9 6

MATTHEW XXIV. 42 49

to the temple of His body; but the Jews thought that He was speaking
Mark 8. is of that temple of stone ; and once He said, Beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and of Herod, and other such sayings ; thus also the disciples,
when they heard neither the Son, but the Father, thought that He spoke of
the Father as God, and that He was calling Himself the Son ; and they
ceased from asking, as it was of no use at all to them or to others that it
should be known ; for if He did speak of the Father, that He knew the
day and the hour, what marvel would it be if He who possessed by nature
the knowledge of all, should know the day ? but this would be worthy
of marvel, that the Manhood of our Lord should possess the foreknowledge
of all things, because of His unity with God the Word. Again, He
distinguishes and removes the soul from the spirit, just as He being Life and
Power, etc., used all in humility, in that He slept, and was tired, and
hungry, etc.; so here He professed not to know the day, because the
disciples wished to learn things that were too high for them. Again, He
says, nor the Angels, that they might not be distressed that the secret
was not revealed to them.

Ephraim,
Diat.
(Mos.)
p. 215

BOOK XIX.

Who then is a faithful servant ? etc. This parable refers to the rulers

and priests of the Church ; by that word WIio ? and by the particle then, He

refers to the difficulty and indigence and littleness and doubt which were

common to those who ought to be perfect in faith and wisdom ; like this, that

Gen. 21. 7 who would have said unto Abraham, that Sara should have given children

Matt. 8. 27 suck? or like this, What manner of man is this, that the winds and the sea

obey him ? One is called faithful, on the one hand, because of his conscience

towards God, that he will not bend from the things that are right; and wise,

on the other hand, because of the variety of the wills and dispositions of men ;

He hints that like a living creature, they are composed of many substances,

f- 55 a having known how to deal with each of them all according to its qualities.

This, that he will put him over all that he hath, that is to say, he will

give him all the enjoyment of the kingdom.

But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart; He calls him evil
because of his will.

This of My Lord delayeth his coming, that we may learn, that men do
not sin for any other reason, except that the judgment is not near.

But the smitings of his fellow-servants, because that like among ascetics,
he smote his fellow-servants with foolish works, and as the Apostle also
Gal. 3. 3 says, Are ye so foolish ? etc.

MATTHEW XXIV. 49 XXV. 5 97

To eat and drink with the drunken, that he causes his life and his p.
days to fly away in acts of dissipation and voluptuousness.

This, that he shall ait him asunder, that is to say, from the assembly
of the righteous, that is to say, he shall deliver him to judgment ; then
He says He shall separate him from [God], and shall take from him the
grace of the Spirit, which accompanied him in the stewardship ; also He
will separate the soul and make it a stranger from the Holy Spirit which
he received in the anointing of the priesthood.

Now the parable of the ten virgins signifies about teachers and rulers ;
ten relating not to number, but according to perfection, inasmuch as ten is
completion and the sum of numbers, and they all move around it ; again,
because there are ten passions and motions ; but He made five foolish,
because \he. five bodily passions are stronger and incline more to aberration
than the five motions of the soul. Now He calls them virgins, because of Ephraim,
the incorruption of their conduct, and because of the purity of body, (M , S .)
also because of the purity of soul, which is in the orthodox faith. Now He p 21
compares the virtues to women, first, on the one hand, because in the
Christ there is neither male nor female ; second, on the other hand, because aal. 3. 28
these are more assiduous to keep chastity. He calls their persons vessels,
and the works of virtue lamps ; the mercy oil, and the deficiency of
clemency want of oil.

This, that they went out to meet the Bridegroom and the Bride, is a saying j*^^"
that is composed and woven, like that of " He put it on her shoulder, and Peswtta,
the child"; and like that of "They saw voices and lamps"; and that of in i oco
" They gave him water to drink and two cheeses." JJ- J 1 ^ 14

He calls Himself tJie Bridegroom, and His Church the Bride ; He calls 1 Sam. so.

11, 12

wise, those who with their works have also Mercy ; but foolish, those who

have works, but are wanting in Mercy.

He calls the tarrying of the Bridegroom the time from His Ascension
to His last manifestation.

This, that they all slumbered and slept. He calls sleep, according to f. 55 b
some, the sicknesses which are the messengers of Death, but Death itself
[He calls] slumber, and He adds slumber to sleep, to shew that there is
no consciousness and knowledge in Death, as in Sleep thou art able to feel
a little, but Death cannot feel at all. Again, He calls Death both Sleep and
Slumber, first, on the one hand, because the similitude of Slumber that
comes from over-watching is about to be dissolved; second, on the
other hand, that it was not reckoned as Death, because of the hope of
Resurrection which they received, but as temporary Sleep ; third, because
G. i. 13

9 g MATTHEW XXV. 6 12

of deliverance from the tribulation of the world, as in it they repose as

if in sleep.

He calls midnight the time in which our Lord will make His revelation

from Heaven and will raise the dead and renew the living ; and a cry the

voices of the trumpets which are sounded by the Angels, as the Apostle

icor.16.52 said. Certain Theophori hold the tradition, that three times the voice of

iThess.4. the trumpet shall be heard, first, to proclaim about His advent; second,

16 for the condemnation of Antichrist; and third, for the resurrection of

the dead and restoration of all.

This, that they all arose, He signifies about the general resurrection.

The trimming of the lamps is the common hope that they all have,
because of faith in the Christ ; and that the lamps of the wise were not
extinguished during the sleep, because faith and the grace of the Spirit are
with the soul, even when the body dies; but those of the foolish ones
went out because they did not do anything that increases and remains to
the last, that is to say, mercy and favour ; but hatred and envy, etc., which
will there be stripped and abolished ; but Love shall endure for ever.

This, that the foolish ask oil from the wise, is said about the cupidity
with which sinners long to share in the good things of the Righteous.

Again, the rising and the trimming of the lamps, refers to the resurrec
tion of the body and its union with the soul ; and the going out of the
lamps, to the fact that they have no courage.

This, Lest there be not enough for us and for you, because each man
enjoys what is his own, and does not ask anything from his neighbour as
in the present life. Again, it indicates the fear that the Righteous and the
rulers have, as they are persuaded that they cannot repay the debt of the
love that the Bridegroom has shewn them, not even in the smallest things,
Eom. 8. is according to Paul, who says that the sufferings of the present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory, etc.

[He calls] Them that sell those who are able to light their lamps by the
f. 56 a mercy that is in them.

This, While they went to buy, the Bridegroom came, alludes also to those
who in all their lives have worked evil ; and afterwards when grace
came, they repented of their wickedness, but had not yet repaid
their evil deeds by good ones to the needy ; they died, and were void of
righteousness.

Now the shutting of the door is the separation between the righteous
and sinners, who will never mingle for ever.

This, / know you not ; if He knows them not, how does He shut the

MATTHEW XXV. 14 29 99

door in their faces ? and how do they know Him ? while He, the Knower of
all, does not know them ! But He says, I do not know you as being Mine
in reality, save in name only, amongst those whom by warning He casts
into curses.

He calls Himself the Man who travelled, for His own travelling is His
departure from earth to Heaven ; [He calls] his goods the riches of the
grace of the Spirit which he distributed in talents as degrees ; but in Luke Lukei9. is
He does not distribute them ; and the reason is that the grace of the Spirit
is one in all the degrees; for Grace is not distributed and divided in
measured quantity ; butfive talents are the gift of Episcopacy ; tivo of the
Presbytery ; and one of the Diaconate ; but some assign five to the
Patriarch, two to the Presbyter, and one to the Deacon ; four and three
being due to the Metropolitan and the Bishop, even if they are not
mentioned ; but others include the Metropolitan and the Bishop in five like
the Patriarch, because they acknowledge one to the Deacon, and three to the
Presbyter, one each for his Deaconship and two for his Eldership; and five
to the Bishop, one for his Deaconship, and a second for his Eldership, and
three for his Bishopric. Others say that the Presbyter possesses two ; one
for the consecration of Baptism, and another for the consecration of the
Mysteries ; and the Bishop possesses five ; one for the consecration of
Baptism, and another for the consecration of the Mysteries, a third for the p- v* 00
ordination of Deacons, a fourth for the ordination of Presbyters, and a fifth
for the ordination of Metropolitans and Bishops, for the Bishop is a sharer
with Patriarchs and Metropolitans in the ordination of Metropolitans
and of Bishops.

This, To every man according to his ability, and took his journey ; as
Paul says, "To every man is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit i Cor. 12. 7
him." [He calls] those who doubled their talents those who by the work
of their teaching furthered the others ; for this, that he hid his money refers
to those who are lazy and idle. Now He attributes laziness and idleness to
him who had one talent; not as if those who have five and two do not f- 5 6 b
despise [them], but because contempt is attached, according to the multi
tude, to those who are supposed to have received something little ; on
account of this He attributed laziness to this one.

This, that he went and digged in the earth, and hid the money, that is to
say, because he did nothing of the things that are right, but wronged
and hid the grace that had been given him, the mercy, that which had
been added to him, that is to say, to the grace that he received, whether
in Baptism or otherwise.

Even that which he hath shall be taken away from him, that is to say,

100 MATTHEW XXV. 2741

the grace which he received in Baptism. For the earth in which he
hid the money is his soul, which because of the love of ease, fled from
toil. Now He calls him wicked because he envied the gain of others ;
and slothful, because he is lazy. He calls a table [of exchanges} the obedience
and intelligence of believers, and money, the doctrine.

This, Lo ! thou hast thine own ; but if he who kept completely what
he had received does not escape from discipline because he did not double
and increase it, how great will be the judgment of him who did not even
keep according as he received ?

Luke 19.22 This, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, that is to say, if thou hast
murmured that I reap where I sowed not, how much more also from where
I have sowed? for he who was low in his degree, if he sought, could
[not] have surpassed in works him that had five ; for it was not
possible for him who received one, that is to say, the Deacon, to do the
works of him that had two, that is, the Presbyter, without ordination and
reception of grace. This is clear ; otherwise the voice of our Lord
could be falsified, in employing a number, for an illustration of increase
and diminution ; but if this gift of Episcopacy and the Diaconate
be one, as some have thought, and only a license without initiation is
sufficient to complete them in the degree of Episcopacy, this will happen
also to the laity.

Now this, Unto every one that hath shall be given, etc., that is to say, to
him who in truth and in the readiness of his mind holds the service that has
been committed to him, will be given a greater gift, much doubled in the
world to come ; but from him who by means of his wickedness now

Luke 8. 18 despises it, even that which he now thinketh he hath shall be taken from him.
For every one, even of those that are very wicked, has also a share in
grace, but because he now uses the form, thinking himself a teacher, even
that, evidently, will be taken from him.

p. \cara This of All His angels with Him. Some [think] that some of them are
f- 57 a angels in Heaven, those who serve in the Tabernacle, that is to say, the
Cherubim and Seraphim and Thrones, who are also called Brides, because
like brides they surround the Bridegroom ; and the rest of them below,
those who serve mankind. But the Interpreter says that all of them are
below the firmament, because they are messengers, according to Paul, and

Heb. i. 14 surround those to whom they are sent.

He calls here the Angels of Satan the flock of Devils and Demons who
transgress His will, and not men also. He shews by this that the
kingdom is prepared for us, but Gehenna for the Devil. And as we have
the power of leaving our own, and not leaving our own we shall be

MATTHEW XXV. 46 XXVI. 6

101

tormented with him; thus he also by his own will inherits Gehenna, and
not without his will.

This, that These shall go away into everlasting punishment but the
R ig hte OU sinto life eternal, for the life is common to both parties but on
t of the torment it is not counted as life to these ; as it is said in the
prophet about the Jews, that there is no life in their life

TIu, i assembled the chief priests unto the palace of Caiapha, the day that

our Lord entered Jerusalem in pomp ; it was the first day of the week and

* four days they assembled and took counsel about His murder- so

efore the Apostles appointed, that on Wednesday and on Friday and

st day of the week there should be a fast and the Holy Mysteries-

on Wednesday on the one hand, because on it they took counsel about

H,s murder and because our Lord was, as it were, killed by them ; on

Friday on the other hand, because on it He suffered and was crucified and

according to some Theophori, even the serpents and birds who eat flesh

proclaim a fast on that Friday. Also on Sunday, because on it He rose

Jow this Caiapha, after he had warred severely with the Romans, and

:erwards was taken prisoner by them, was taught preaching, and made

many books about what happened in the time of the Maccabees, and also

about the destruction of Jerusalem ; and on account of his wisdom, he was

by the Romans Josef Aus, that is to say, the second Joseph

BOOK XX.

Now when Jesus u,as in the house of Simon, etc., for in the affair of this
Oman, the words of the Evangelists are thought to be contrary to
: another; inasmuch as Luke says, that she was a sinner, and that it
was m the house of Simon the Pharisee, and in the city of Nain ; but
Matthew, that ,t was at Bethany, and in the house of Simon the leo^ not
telling her name, who she was; though John said distinctly, that it was
Mary. Some say that there were two, because of the change of places -
others say that it was the very same, and that she twice anointed ou Joto 12 ,
Lord and that she was the sister of Lazarus, she who was also ca.led the " b

ofsfm th ^ that the firSt dme SHe an inted [Hil "J Was he "
S.mon the Phansee, and that when the Passion was near she again anointed

m for the mystery of His burial. But John mentions the anointing of

t" " , oi t tTT " "" eft Ut ^ Ma " heW ; f r !t W3S 3 "***
o anomt the feet on account of the labour and toil. Others say that

I02 MATTHEW XXVI. 6 1 8

Simon the Pharisee was Simon the leper, the father of Lazarus and Martha
and Mary, and he was called the leper, either because all his body had
been leprous, and it was allowed by the Law to touch him ; or because he
had been leprous in his mind, and he was offended with our Lord, because
He had brought a sinful woman beside him ; or because after our Lord
had cured his leprosy, this name remained to him.

Now the alabaster box was a vessel of crystal, which was made in the
form of a bottle ; and the ointment was made of spikenard. Spikenard
was the ointment which amongst us is called Greek, and may be found in
that land for one drachma, which is sufficient to anoint the whole body ;
from which is here evident, that that pleasant odour comes, not from the
nature of the ointment, but from that Holy of Holies, the flesh of our
Lord. But the Magdalene, instead of a towel, dried [His feet] with the
hair of her head, in order that the scent of the flesh of our Lord might be
with her even after His departure. The Theophori say that from that day
until the day of her death she never used the washing of her head nor any
ointment, and her flesh had more fragrance than all aromas. This deed was
also a type, that is to say, the house, on the one hand, [was a type] of
the mystery of the world, the woman, on the other hand, was a type of
sinners who repent, and the odour of tlie ointment was the mystery of
the Gospel, which sweetens our corruption.

This, that they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver, not thirty
drachmas, as some say, but thirty pieces of silver, with the addition and
sign of dolath\ that is to say, thirty pieces of silver weighed, a weighed
piece of silver was twenty drachmas, so that the prices of all of them were
[not] thirty drachmas, but rather six hundred drachmas.

Opportunity, that is to say, a time and a place that was exempt from the
noise of many people.

Now He says to them, Go to such a man, not naming the master of the

p. -^ house, first, in order that it might be hid from the Betrayer, and that he

f. 5 8 a might not disturb the Passover and His Mysteries before the time ; second,

that He might make known His intuitive knowledge of hidden and far-off

things; so therefore by the sign of a man carrying a water-skin, He shewed

Markii.is the dwelling and its master together. Some say it was Joseph the

Senator ; others that it was Nicodemus ; ottiers that it was Lazarus ; otJters

who have looked well into it, say that it was Simon the Cyrenian, he who

was requisitioned to bear the Cross, when they were deriding him and his

Lord together, according to some of them, and as the Passover had been

1 Dolath is the Syriac letter ^-

MATTHEW XXVI. I/ 26 103

enjoyed with him the previous day, had his share this day with Him in
His Passion ; but in truth by this saying they honour him abundantly, by
means of the bearing of the Cross ; for it is folly what Hannan and others
said, that after our Lord s Baptism He ate no Passover excepting this ; and
we say that therefore as the Disciples said to Him, Where shall we prepare
for Thee? they surely ought first to have asked Him, Dost Thou wish to eat
the Passover? And if they say from this that our Lord commanded Cepha
and John ; why did not Peter ask first ? but it is evident, that He went up
to Jerusalem every year and ate the Passover.

About this, He that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, etc. Some say,
that it was because of the humility of our Lord that all of them should dip
together in the dish ; but not with the hand of the Lord, for their own hands
had come down, but each of them when our Saviour dipped in the dish, had
lifted his hand, and held back, for he hesitated to dip with Him ; but
Judas with his impudence, brought down his hand with Him, and even
pressed His hand several times. Others say that it was not like this ; and
if the Betrayer was not at once made known, that behold ! the Disciples see
that he wished to dip along with Him, and was not required to be detected
by our Lord because the Betrayer was detected by that morsel of bread which
our Lord dipped and gave to him. Nevertheless in the schools it is the
tradition of the doctors, that two dishes were placed before them, and six
dipped into one dish, and six into a dish with our Lord ; but Judas was of
the party that dipped with our Lord in the dish ; and on that account He
said, Pie that dippeth with Me, etc. Some say that until He washed their
feet, and gave them the Mysteries, He then revealed the person of him who
was betraying Him ; but this is not very likely ; and it may be asked, why
they dipped, when it was commanded in the Law, that anything that was f. 58 b
[not] cooked with fire should not be eaten ? for they dipped in one of the
sauces of which it is recorded that roast meat was eaten with them ;
for they also ate a roast lamb according to the ancient canon.

In this then that He said, With desire I have desired to eat this Luke 22. 15
passover, etc., He shews that not only did He eat a Passover, but that He
fulfils a Passover ; the legal Passover on the one hand, this His own
Passover on the other hand ; for at one time, on one table, He removed
the one and began the other : for He makes the one void.

This, And while they were eating, He took bread, and blessed, and brake.
This that after they had supped, He also gave the cup, etc.; and just as in one
river, and at one time, He performed two Baptisms; He putting an end to
that of the Jews, and completing that of John, and opening the door to this,

104 MATTHEW XXVI. 26, 2?

His own for His Church ; thus also here on one table and at one time He
observed two Passovers, the end of one and the beginning of another. This
then is the order of the proceedings ; thus He gives us to consider, that first
He completed the legal Passover, and then the Feet-washing, and then at
the last the celebration of the Mysteries. It may be asked, Why was
it not with expensive things that our Lord celebrated the mystery of His
body and of His blood ? We say, first, because of the facility of the
presence of these substances ; second, lest the preciousness of these things
should be considered to be the preciousness of our salvation ; third, that
salvation might be accomplished, because He was looking to the human race,
that therefore He might complete it in the nourishment proper to men; for
irrational beings also use drinks and a variety of foods ; but only the race
of men uses bread and wine ; fourth, in order that we might reverence
that emblem, to what power and honour was it raised ! for if the lifeless
and senseless thing, by the strength which was given to its nature
by the Creator of its nature, is sufficient to keep life in the eaters ; how
p. m^n much more does this which belongs to the life-giving Spirit, give
everlasting life with immortality ? and if in its simplicity it keeps bodily
life in us, how much more, when one has received the grace of the Spirit,
can one live for ever ? fifth, just as by His body He purifies and vivifies our
bodies, and by His blood He sanctifies souls from sins ; and through
the one we abolish Death, but through the other we blot out Sin; for He says,
f. 59 a This is My body and My blood; not This is the emblem of My body and
My blood ; although it was naturally unbecoming, that through flour and
wine Mysteries should be celebrated on the earth, of Him who is heavenly
and is seated on the right hand of the Father ; first, on the one hand, that
we might not look on the Mysteries as simple things, but that when we
approach them we should thus believe, like this, that we do touch
our Lord, and that we mix our bodies with His body, and we form
the Mystery of that Sacrifice of the Cross ; second, on the other hand, to
shew that there are not two bodies according to the wickedness of
men, but rather one ; and He Himself is this Mystery which is fulfilled
at last with the Body that is in Heaven, with power, I say, and holiness,
nevertheless not naturally. And just as the image of a king signifies the
king himself, and as a king and his image are not called two kings, thus
also that sacred Body which is in Heaven with this Mystery in the
Church, constitute one Body of the Christ. Meditate thus; one Son
and Lord from the dwelling and the Dweller, etc.

And also about the cup, He gave thanks and said, This is My

MATTHEW XXVI. 2/ 29 IO5

blood of the covenant, etc. The blessing upon the bread is sufficient, p.

and it is carried over to the cup. Nevertheless He blesses over the bread,

in His own name and those of His Father and of the Spirit ; and hence

He began with those reverent names ; and over the cup He pronounced a

thanksgiving, for the sake of these high and wonderful things that

were done by His hands ; like that which He said before, I thank Matt.ii.2B

thee, O My Father, Lord of Heaven and of earth ; and let us also praise

and thank when we partake of these Mysteries.

Now He calls His blood the New Covenant to shew that the Covenant
which was written in the blood of sheep and of calves had ceased, and that
one had come in, the pen of whose writer has been dipped in the blood
of the Giver, and He was bringing as heirs into it instead of the 12 tribes
the countless families of the Gentiles. We ought to know that our Lord
Himself was Priest and Sacrifice and Eater ; for He sacrificed Himself
before He was slaughtered by the Crucifiers ; and He presses out His
Blood and teaches how He is to be eaten, He Himself eating first as the
Gospel indicates, / will not drink henceforth, etc. ; and it is evident that He
said this after He had eaten and drunk. Mar Ephraim also testifies about
this, in a sermon about the Epiphany, saying that Angels did not eat
the Living Bread that was given to the world, but the Lord of Angels did.
For from this bread that He ate with His Disciples He broke and gave to
them. Mar Nestorius also in his Dedication testifies about this, and from f. 59 b
thence it has been transmitted in the Church, that first He who consecrates P p
takes, and then distributes to the receivers ; again, the consecrator takes
first, as a token that he also is in need of cleansing and sanctifying, which
is given to all by means of the adorable Sacrifice ; for although he con
secrates, yet the Spirit accomplishes ; for the Priest is in the place of an
instrument by the grace of the Spirit ; for in this, / will not drink henceforth
of this fruit of the vine, etc., He signifies two things, both that there is no op
portunity for festive intercourse with them, because of the swiftness of the
Passion and its consequence ; and that He was going to partake with them
of food supernaturally after His resurrection (for He calls it new because of
the Resurrection) and because of a nature that had no need ; for it was new
and very wonderful that the body which had risen to new life should partake
of food and drink ; but it was so for the confirming of the Disciples about
His Resurrection; according as He knew, as He was also touched by them.

Now the kingdom of God is as we explained above ; it is spoken of ^^ aim&gt;
in seven ways; but here He means the forty days that were after His (Mos.)
Resurrection.

G. i 14

I0 6 MATTHEW XXVI. 2738

He says the fruit of the vine, and not wine for the reproof of the
Messaliani, who put water instead of wine, and of others, who devise
many things on account of drink, and bring them to the celebration of the
Mysteries ; but wine alone, which is also called in the Scriptures the fruit
of the vine and the blood of grapes.

Why does He say here, / will not drink, etc., but after His Resurrection
it is said that He ate with them, and not that He drank? We say,
because food and drink are things that have a certain association, and are
understood by means of each other ; therefore He shews both by means of
both, and it is also evident that He used both, from what Peter said, We
Acts 10. 41 did eat and drink with Him after His Resurrection.

This, All ye shall be offended because of Me, although ye have seen many
signs that I have done, and now that I am betrayed, ye suppose that I am
powerless ; but Simon, although in the fervour of love he answered, / will
never be offended in Thee, yet went out of his order, in wishing to make our
Lord untrue.

This, Be wakeful, and watch with Me, that nothing might escape them

that they should not see it nor hear it ; and that they might learn to ask

i Thess. 5. prayers humbly from their disciples, as Paul wrote ; and that He was really

2 5 Thess 3 a man an&lt; ^ not an imagination, as some erroneously suppose ; or that He

! 2 was God only without flesh and blood ; that when suffering came to them

f. 60 a they should not run to it as much as possible, both because of the weakness

of nature, and from clemency towards those who have brought the

suffering ; therefore while He was doing signs of power, it was not needful

for Him to pray ; but at the time of His death He used this.

Then He went from them a little way, and prayed, so that they could
hear what was spoken, and learn also themselves how they ought to be in
affairs like these.

My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ; for just as God repents,
and is grieved in His heart, not at the creation of men, but at their ruin,
when no occasion of their salvation had been found for them ; thus also now,
He was not grieved about the Passion, but about the Jews who were guilty
of His blood, that while from them He arose and to them He came ; not
only these things were nothing to them, but that they were even prepared to
kill Him, and were ready to become the cause of their rejection, and of the
rooting up of their city and of their Temple. And if it were otherwise, how
would He have been grieved, knowing for what He died, and for the sake
of what, and that after three days He would rise ? and in every way if He
did not suffer, another Messiah would be needed to suffer, that the Scriptures

MATTHEW XXVI. 3841 IO ;

might be fulfilled. He was sorrowful, and it is thus evident from what He

prayed, If it be possible, forgive them, but not My -will, but Thine, be done. Luke22.42

If He was of the same will with the Father, and it was one will, how did He Luke23 - 34

say, Not My will, but Thine, be done ? Therefore He had taken the person of

mortal nature, and interceded instead of Adam to repay his debt ; for this

was the will of Adam, that being Man, he should become God ; and for this

our Lord came ; being God and the Son of God, He humbled Himself, put

on the body of Adam, and paid his debt. And He said from his [Adam s]

person, Not My will, but Thine, be done ; and as Thy will desires, forgive

the guilt of Adam. Ephraim,

This, If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me. If He feared Death, (M

then He was less than thyself. He said, Fear not them which kill the
body, etc. ; for behold ! the Apostles, sufferers by their nature, rejoiced
also at the same time under stripes for His sake ; and the Apostle says, Rom. 5. 3
We glory in our tribulations ; and elsewhere, That I myself were accursed R 0m . 9. a
for my brethren and kinsmen, etc., and Neither fire nor sword, etc. can p . .. ^
separate me from the love of the Christ. Was He then terrified for Rom - 8 - 35
suffering, and shrank from it, as if He were not in His will ready to die f. 6ob
for the life of all men ? and how did He say, I have power to lay it down, John 10. is
and I have power to take it again ? how did He reprove Peter, who was Matt.ie.23
offended on hearing of the Passion, and called him Satan and an offence ? ^ aim
and he fell among those who rejected Him, etc. Nevertheless because the ( M5s -)
rejection of the Jews took place at the Crucifixion, and was also the cause P
of the Gentiles entering into life, this was done, and was also the reason
of the Gentiles entering by the fall of the Jews ; but He desired the
contrary, and shrank from the Passion, but would have prevented
great things by the abrogation of the Passion ; teaching us openly, that
His own Passion was the cause of the life of all ; and especially He makes
us understand by these things that we should not go forward to death
carelessly and wrongly ; but when it comes, we should receive it and love
it ; loving the will of God more than life and the pleasure of the world, etc.
And in short the Saviour prays, first, to teach us that, as much as possible,
we should not run to suffering, because of the weakness of nature, and out
of clemency to those who bring the suffering ; second, that in time of
distress prayer is useful; third, how very hard Death was then; fourth, that
the Jews might not repudiate the affinity.

This, The spirit is willing, but the flesh is -weak. Some have handed
down from the ancients, that the spirit which was willing and ready was
the soul of our Lord, which was ready to suffer, and in His flesh He was p.

io8 MATTHEW xxvi. 41 64

afraid of death ; and they said it simply and innocently ; in truth
His word is applied to the person of the Apostles, so that when He said,
A II ye shall be offended in Me, and Simon and his friends answered Him,
Though zve should die zvith Thee, we will not be offended because of Thee ;
then our Saviour, as He knew all, answered them, Pray ye that ye enter not
into temptation ; because although your spirit, that is, your soul, is willing
and ready, as ye promise, first, because its nature is higher than Death,
and second, because of the hope which is laid up for it ; yet remember that
the flesh is weak, and is afraid of Death, because of the love of life, for
this is itself weak; and therefore when ye enter into our strife, ye will
deny from fear of Death, as happened after a little while to Simon ;
offer prayer to God, and He will deliver you from entering into temptation.

This, Rise, let us go hence ; that is to say, rise, let us go bravely with
the Crucifiers, and let the will of the Father be fulfilled.

f. 6 1 a Comrade, wherefore art thou come? that is to say, it is not right for
thee to take a false shape, but do openly that for which thou art come,
because I am a knower of hidden things, and I of My own will have
delivered Myself up to suffering.

This, He shall raise up to Me more than tivelve legions of angels,
against the twelve tribes of Israel.

This, Are ye come out against Me, as against a thief 1 ? that is to say,
thieves steal in the night, and robbers rob in the mountain and in the
p. ^-t Nn desert, / was daily with you [teaching ] in the Temple.

BOOK XXI.

This, Now shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of

power, and coming on the clouds of Heaven, refers to two things ; first,

to the things that should be done in His name after His resurrection,

by which it should be confirmed that He is the Son of God ; second,

to [the fact] that at last they too along with all mankind shall see Him

coming from Heaven, and from that it shall be acknowledged also that

Luke is. 35 He is from the Father; as He said to them a little before, that ye shall

not see Me until ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name

of the Lord, that is to say, at that time ye shall understand that I am in

John u. 20 My Father, and My Father in Me, and that He moved the children who cried

Mark ii. 9 what they cried to me, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.

And it is asked, why those were called false witnesses who related what

was said by our Lord, Destroy the Temple, etc. We say it was because

MATTHEW XXVI. 6175 IO 9

those spoke about the visible Temple, but He about the temple of His

body ; and if anyone should say, that they were not persuaded of this, as

it would even have escaped the Disciples, if He had not risen from the

dead ; let him know, that even if it were true that they knew not ;

also thus they did not bear witness in truth ; for one thing He

promised to do, and not two ; for this, that He advised these people

to destroy the Temple, for that He would raise it up He said about

Himself; therefore they were false, as instead of Destroy, they said, I will

destroy. It is asked also, why Matthew said, Before the cock crow, thou shalt p.

deny Me thrice ? but Mark says, " twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice." But Marku.ao

tlie Interpreter says, that while Simon was denying the first time, Divine

energy moved the cock, that it should crow not according to its custom,

so that Simon should be reminded of his promise and be ashamed ; and

when he was constrained, and denied two other times, the cock crew

according to its custom ; but other Evangelists who said that his denial

was done thrice, before the cock crew, spoke about that natural [habit].

leaving out the one that was not natural ; but Mark (who wrote by the

command of Simon ; for he told him to write the Gospel to the Romans f. 61 b

when they required it from Simon) put the occurrence according as

it happened ; because Simon wished to make known his weakness, and

that he did not fulfil his promise ; also that the cock was not crowing as it

was accustomed. Others say that Simon denied, and the cock did not

crow ; and he denied a second time, and it crew not as it was accustomed ;

and he denied a third time, and it crew as it was wont. But Mar

Ephraim refers twice to the duplication of the cock s crowing, saying

that it crew, and immediately began another [crow], so that there

should be crow upon crow, for the sake of greater testimony to

Simon. Hannan says that the first voice of the cock was after the first

denial, and the second voice after the third denial, according as He said,

" Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice," that it may be

evident that [the cock] did not begin the crow at the middle denial, but at

the first and the third one ; therefore the cock crew twice according to his p. naj=

custom, and was not coerced by our Lord for the confirmation of His word,

as some have said, according to Mark, who says that the cock crew after

a denial either according to its custom, or not according to its custom ;

and at the middle one it did not crow. Our Lord could have given power

to the Disciples that those should not flee, nor their Chief deny, had it not

been useful to them that their weakness should be reproved, and there

should be room for the work of grace ; for they were left in the weakness

1 10 MATTHEW XXVII. 3 19

of their nature, that from it they might recognize two things ; that they
(the Apostles) ought to have pity on those who were called by their means,
and also that they should not be puffed up by the events that were about
to happen at the last by their means. Juda, seeing that Jesus was
condemned, repented. This, that He was condemned, that is to say, by
the Jews, and not in reality ; but the repentance of Juda was not
true, but from fear, lest he should perish, because he had betrayed
the Just One to death ; for if he had suffered like Simon, he would
have forsaken everything, and turned to our Lord ; but this, that tie
verily tianged himself, so that he might die without being sensible,
lest, remaining in life, he should suffer the death of being pointed out
by every one as with a finger, like the Sodomites and like Lot s wife;
and for this reason his stratagem did not succeed, that his rebellion
f. 62 a might not be hidden ; but at the same time, that it might not be
supposed by many that the Disciples had killed him, but he escaped,
either the rope being cut by the act of God, or else some one perceived
p. rosm him, and saved him from strangulation ; and in the midst of the
Acts i. is streets of* the city he burst asunder, as Luke wrote in the Acts, and
cf. Papias, his bowels gushed out. But the priests took the silver as an impure
thing, and bought with it the field of a person which was called by the
name of his craft, that it might be a graveyard for strangers, and that
the wickedness of murder might be hidden in care about strangers ;
and when they devised that their stratagem might be hidden, God
had prepared beforehand for their reproof, that that field of his should
be called by everyone the field of blood, but at the same time also that
Zech.n.i3 the prophecy might be fulfilled, which says that I took the thirty [pieces] of
silver, and gave them for the potter s field, etc. Now they released one
prisoner at the feast, under pretext of clemency, and that by this they
might adorn this feast, in which they had been released from the bonds of
Egypt- But Bar Abba s name was Jesus ; and it is asked, Why, when
Pilate was with his wife at night, did she not tell him about the suffering
in her dream because of our Lordl but sent to him to the judgment seat.
Some say that Pilate was in another place on that night, a thing that was
arranged by the Divine power ; so that when she should send to him at
the judgment seat in the day time, amazement should fall on him and on those
who heard. But Mar Ephraim says that by Divine Providence she forgot
her dream, and did not relate it to him while he was in the house, in order
that sending to the judgment seat, after it came to her memory, everyone
should fall into wonder.

MATTHEW XXVII. 2429 III

This, that he washed his hands, because it was a custom with the
ancients to give a sign of evasion from anything by washing the hands, p.

This, His blood be on us, and on our children, that is to say, let us be
answerable for this, if we have unjustly delivered Him to thee. But
others say, that this curse has also stuck to them by a sensation
of the matter, in this, that the smell of blood constantly exhales from
them, and mystically it carries the fact of the continual hatred they bear
to the Christ.

This, that they scourged Jesus with whips ; because the Romans had
a law, that everyone who was crucified should be scourged beforehand,
they scourged Him also, and then delivered Him to be crucified, and
gathered against Him the whole band, that is to say, the troop of Roman f. 62 b
soldiers, and they clothed Him with the form of a king s dress as in
mockery ; for this he calls a scarlet robe, because the colour of purple
was that which a king only was empowered to wear; also the mystery of Gen. 38. so
this was marked in the sprinkling and purification of the people, and in the
thread on the hands of Zarah, and in the thread that was in the window ;
instead of the robe, John says purple; for the purple [things] which were John 19. 2
used in the consecration of Egyptian and Greek kings they gave to the
Maccabees in honour ; the priests took them and presented them before
Pilate, saying, Here are the purple things that He prepared for Himself
[Jesus], pretending to the kingdom, and plotting to raise rebellion against
Caesar. They put upon His head a tliorny crozvn instead of a diadem ;
and a reed instead of a golden sceptre, which kings are wont to hold in
their hands ; yet while those [men] were acting in derision and scorn, but
nevertheless without willing it, they typified the truth of future facts, by
means of the purple, that He is truly king of the worlds ; by the crown, p. \ana
as they crown a conquering athlete with victory, and as a king who is
crowned ; by the thorns, the eradication of the curse of Adam. " Cursed
is the ground for thy sake, thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee " ; Gen. 3. 17
by the reed in His right hand, first, as an evidence of His eternal power; /% ai
second, a symbol that by Him was erased the writing that was written ^ ^
against us by means of Adam ; third, an indication of His striking col. 2. u
and killing the hidden serpent who bewitched Eve ; for a reed is naturally
fearsome to a serpent, and with it we are accustomed to torment and kill
snakes ; the bowing the knee and worshipping, is a sign of the conversion of
the Nations to our Saviour, etc. ; but to those things the priests and elders
did not come near, but assembled afar off and looked on, because they had John is. 28
not yet eaten the Passover ; keeping themselves, that they might not be

112 MATTHEW XXVII. 34 45

defiled by mixing with the Gentiles, for it was only in the evening that
it was right for them to eat it ; they abstained from it until they had killed
Him, and then they would eat the Passover without danger. There being
a law, that they should give wine to one who was crucified, that by the
wine they might make him forget and chase away his suffering, they offered
Him vinegar and gall; and it is plain that our Lord requested [it], as
if for the fulfilment of prophecy.

BOOK XXII.

The Thief who was on His right hand was named Titus ; and the one
on His left hand Dumachus.

Was not the darkness that was at the Cross the contrary of what was
f. 63 a sometimes in the Sun ? but that it was from the power of our Lord is

p. J42LQ evident from two things ; first, that it was over all the land; second, that it
remained for three hours. But when the Sun is darkened, it is darkened
at these two times, from the 2Qth of the Moon till the 3Oth. Others
say that on the 3Oth of the Moon it is dark on the day when the Sun
and the Moon happen to be in conjunction, that is to say, when they
are moving in the same sign [of the Zodiac] ; and this does not even
happen every year, but once in seven years ; and also not from the Moon
only, but with it also obscurations occur in the same way underneath
the Sun ; but when an eclipse, that is to say, an obscuration, darkens the
Moon, it can do so of itself, and the eclipse (e/cXet^t?) is explained as a
covering (*a\u\Jrt?), on account of the reflexion of the light of the Moon ;
but neither of them can darken the Sun, except when they happen to be
below it. Here, then, the fact was the opposite of this, because that not only
was the Moon not [in conjunction] with the Sun, but was even far from it,
the measure of half a sphere, that is to say, 1 5 degrees, that is, days ;
and again, when the Sun is darkened by the Moon and an eclipse, it is
darkened only at one place, and not on the whole earth. But this dark
ness possessed three peculiarities, first, that it was at the full moon ;
second, that it remained for three hours ; third, that it prevailed over the
whole land] and all the wise men of Greece, and Chaldaeans of Babylon

siiisAreop. and magicians of Egypt wrote, that one of the gods suffered to-day ;
for this that was said by David, " The kings of the earth have risen up,
and the rulers," that is to say, from their thrones, and marvelled at
the sign that happened ; for it was in its darkness like as it was in the
beginning of the creation before the light was created ; and we should

MATTHEW XXVII. 48 5 I

know that here Matthew says, that one ran and filled a sponge with vinegar,

and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink ; but John says that they filled John 19.29

the sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and brought it to His

mouth ; for these two are not opposed to one another, as some suppose,

but hyssop is like a gourd, something that is placed upon the end of

a reed, with which they carry water from place to place ; and it is called

thus in the tongue of that place ; but this is not what is like to marjoram.

They put therefore the sponge filled with vinegar and gall on this hyssop

which was like a gourd, and they raised it with the reed, and brought it

to His mouth. The sponge in Persian is Spong.

This of Eloi, Eloi, lemana shabachtani, not that He was forsaken of the

Godhead not even in suffering; and death, which entered because of the f. 63 b

Rom. 5. 12
transgression of the commandment, as it is written ; but when He was weary

and was strengthened by an angel, etc., the Godhead was with Him. Again,
He said this, as if for our instruction, and it is fitting again to say something
like this to those who are in such like [circumstances] ; and we ought
to know, that there were attached to these contemptible things also
these glorious things; lest the Godhead should be silenced, because of
the things of humiliation and suffering ; and therefore the whole creation
was like a maidservant weaving a lamentation for her Lord, when the Sun,
the lantern of the world, wore the colour of pitch ; and the Moon reddened
and became like blood ; and when it was not the time of its nativity,
suddenly it was seen in the east and ran with an impetus towards the P _j=
west, and it adhered to the Sun, and they both sat in mourning like good
servants, who suffer in the sufferings of their lord. The darkness, however,
was dissolved after the ninth hour, as an indication, that the former
afflictions were ended, which had entered by means of sin.

But the earthquake also was like the darkness, not partial, but in
the whole body of the earth, which shook and trembled like a dish
of water ; first the overturning being suitable for insolent people ;
second, for a sign that it was He who had established it upon its
foundations.

And the rocks that cried out and were rent, first, reproving the audacious
hearts for all this aggression ; second, because rational beings were silent
from intelligence and from praise.

The door-veil which was a type which was rent, first, because it could ^ aim
not bear the suffering of its Archetype; second, for a sign that the Divine (M6s.)
Shekinah had departed from it, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, and that p
the legal types had completely ceased from it, the priesthood and the
G. i. 5

114 MATTHEW XXVII. 52, 53

sacrifices, etc., and that it was being prepared for destruction and for burning,
and for a troop who should do a myriad evil things, who, with one word,
should capture the kingdom, for a sign that He was the expiation of debts
and of sins, He, the Lord of the kingdom.

And the graves were opened, and five hundred dead were raised, for a
sign that He is the Raiser of the dead, and the Renewer of the living.
The name of the Preparation was not known either in the Scriptures nor
in use, until the time of the Passion of our Lord, for of old it was called
the sixth day, or the bringing in of the SabbatJi ; but it was called the
^^ Preparation [or Eve]; first, on the one hand, because the Sun went down in
f. 64 a the middle of the day; second, because the Divine care went down from the
Nation, and dawned amongst the Nations ; third, because a cherub and
a sword etc. went down ; fourth, because evil things went down, and good
things dawned ; fifth, because old things went down in new things through
the Renewer of all.

And we ought to know, that the dead who arose out of their graves at
the time when the soul of our Lord departed from His body, as if for
confirmation of the resurrection of all the community, were these Prophets
who are known in the Scriptures, and also the Saints who came before and
believed, and died before He suffered, those who were known to the dwellers
in Jerusalem ; as Ignatius testifies, and it is evident that they had fallen
asleep recently ; from its being said that they appeared unto many only, so
they appeared unto many, and not to the whole city ; as it was not proper
that that great crowd of Saints should be seen by all [in] the city, who
were wicked and unbelievers, as not even our Saviour shewed Himself to all
men who were in the city; nevertheless they appeared to these, to venerable
and godly men, in whose eyes the fact was sacred, and they brought them
the good news of the Lord s resurrection and their own ; and they were
afterwards caught away by Divine energy, [not] by means of death, as it was
not proper for those Saints to wait and be plagued by the miseries and
sufferings of mortality a second time. And I consider, that they did not
even take food at all ; but were kept by the Divine energy, as Moses and
Elia were kept in their fasts; but they went about through Friday and
the Sabbath, according as some say, they each stood near his grave and
- ^^ gave glory; others say, they assembled on the Mount of Olives where our
Lord prayed ; and others, that they departed to Paradise at the entrance of
the soul of our Lord and that of the Thief; but those who say, that they
remained for a long time in life, and that a few of them lived till the
kingdom of Titus, are not much inclined to truth.

It is asked, why His body was put in a garden, and in a new tomb ?

MATTHEW XXVII. 60 66 I l 5

We say, not simply, but according as it was proper, that Death, which got
the dominion in Paradise (a garden), should be brought to an end again in
Paradise (a garden); and that where Sin entered, there Righteousness
should enter; but in a new tomb, and where no man had yet been laid, 1
fact was providentially provided, lest when the Resurrection should take
place it should be imputed to another who had been laid there. Again,
in order that the birth might be like birth. In the first birth, He was f.6 4 b
conceived in a virgin womb, to which an external force had not ap
proached ; and in His last birth, He was laid in a new tomb, which no
other dead man had entered ; and in that former one, He was born and
came out, the virginity not being destroyed, so in this second case, that F
came out from the grave, the stones and the seals being kept at the same

time.

About this that they sealed that stone, with guards, some have said, that
they fastened the guards to the stone, and sealed them ; either their necks, p.
or their loins ; others say, that they sealed the stone together with the grave
with the signet ring of the custodians themselves ; like this, that the King
sealed the den with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; but Dan . e.i?
providentially the grave was sealed, in order that the Resurrection should
be the further verified ; and it should be a reproof to those. They call
guards, those who are set apart to keep prisoners, or those who are
appointed to kill them, that is to say, executioners.

This, that on the next day, that followed the Preparation, we ought to know,

that of the seven days of the week, two received literal names ; the Sabbath,

which indicates rest, and the Preparation. And the name of the Preparation

is not in the Scriptures ; nor was it even known in common use, until the

time of our Lord s Passion ; for of old it was called the sixth day, or the

entrance to the Sabbath ; but it was called the Preparation [or Eve} ; first,

because the Sun set in the middle of the day of the Crucifixion; second,

because in it the Divine care set from the Nation, and dawned amongst

the Nations; third, because old things set among new things, amidst

the renewal of all at the time of our Lord s Passion ; fourth, because

evil things set, and good things dawned in His Passion ; fifth, because

the Cherub and the sword went down from Paradise, as the soul of our

Lord entered it, and that of the Thief and all the souls of the Righteous ;

sixth, because on it they went down, and were mingled with each

other, the Nation and the Nations together; seventh, because that day

was the sixth, which points to the six thousandth, on which the Sun of p. *^

this world will go down completely, and no other day will again be

Il6 MATTHEW XXVII. 62 XXVIII. I

defined to go down at sunset, as He predicted ; the darkness of the world
which was after the sixth hour [was] for the mystery of the six thousand
years, as I have said ; eighth, because in it the sun of Adam s life went
down, as he sinned on this day, and on it our Lord suffered, that He
f. 65 a might pay the penalties of [Adam] and of his posterity ; and on account
of this He kept the order of the times and of the manners ; some of these
things, on the one hand, are mentioned by way of illustration about Him
above ; here, on the other hand, they are all inserted completely. At vesper
time [Preparation] Adam transgressed the commandment, and at vesper
time [Preparation] our Lord shewed His obedience; at the ninth hour
Adam went out of Paradise, and at the ninth hour the soul of our Lord
entered Paradise, and that of the Thief. By means of wood [came] the
Fall, and by means of wood came the rising again ; Error by means of
a woman, and Salvation by means of a virgin ; Condemnation by means
of Death, and Victory by means of Death ; Judgment by means of the
Curse, and complete Blessing by means of the Curse ; for on this account

Deut.2i.23 He suffered the death of the cursed, "Cursed," it is said, "is everyone
who is hanged upon a tree," that He may bless us with all spiritual

is. 53. 5 blessings ; according as it is written, " and for the death of the wicked
did He suffer"; to shew that only for the sake of the wicked He dies.
But in the evening of the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was
dawning, came Mary Magdaletha, and another Mary, etc. This, that in the
evening of the Sabbath, etc. ought to be read thus, according to science, in
the Sabbath then when it was evening, vvJien the first day of the week was
dawning. Now the other Mary was the wife of Joseph, the betrothed of
p. &lt;73^.n t h e Virgin, by whom he begat James and Jose, and Simon and Judah and
their sisters ; for there is a mention of Mary often in the Gospel, Mary the
Virgin, Mary the other wife of Joseph, Mary the mother of Cleopha and of
Joseph, Mary the mother of Mark, who was the wife of Peter, according as
the doctors of the schools hand down. Mary Magdaletha was the daughter
of Simon the leper and the sister of Lazarus; but she was called Magdaletha,
according to some, because she had lived in Turris (i.e. Magdala), Stratonis
(i.e. Caesarea); according as others say, from the tower of Siloah ; others, that
Mary the sister of Lazarus was a harlot, who was called Magdaletha from
the tower which she built for herself with the wages of harlotry, according
to this shameful deed ; but they called her seven devils the consummation
of vile passions ; this of her conversion introduces the mystery which is in
the conversion of the Nations ; and in the cleansing of Simon her father s
leprosy is the cleansing of the Nations from sin ; and in the raising of

MATTHEW XXVIII. I

her brother Lazarus is their resurrection. Others say, that the "woman

who was a sinner " in the Gospel is another [woman], and it does not reveal

her name ; but Mary the sister of Lazarus was not a harlot, but chaste and

holy, and a keeper of the commandments of God ; that there may not be Deut.23.i7

among thee man or woman that committeth fornication ; nevertheless she

had been tempted by demons, and not by the passions of fornication ; but

they are called seven, either because they were so in number, or because of f. 65 b

the stubbornness of the fact and of the temptation ; and when our Lord

cured her, thus she was increased in virtuous works, until she was called p . n

Mary Magdaletha, from the tower of righteousness which she had built for

herself, which raised her up to Heaven, that is, made her ascend (marg.

lifted her). But here some people are stupid ; they do not hesitate to falsify

the sayings of the Evangelists, by the changing of words only that are

about the subject of the Resurrection ; saying that Matthew said, in the

evening of the Sabbath, as the first day of the week dawned, came Mary

Magdaletha, and another Mary, and He was seen of them before the

Disciples ; but Mark says that in the early morning of the first day of the Mar k 16 i

week, at the rising of the sun, He was seen of many women ; but Luke says Luke 24 \

that upon the first day of the week, in the morning, while it was yet dark,

there came many women, and saw our Lord ; and John says that on the John 20 1

first day of the week, when it was yet dark, He was seen by Magdaletha ;

and we say that Matthew said "the evening," instead of all the night

when the first day of the week dawned ; and this according to a Scripture

custom, which names the whole from a part ; as this, that the evening and Gen * 5

the morning were [the first day] ; and like this, Let all flesh bless the name Ps- U5&gt; 21

of the Lord ; and the soul of Israel fainted in the way, etc., which we eluci- Gen- 45 26

dated above. But about this, that Matthew said two women, but Mark

and Luke many [women] and John one only; we say thus, that our Lord Luke23.55

was not seen once only on the day that He arose, but often ; six times are

known ; first, to Magdaletha and the other Mary, as Matthew said ; second,

to many women, as Mark and Luke said ; third, to Magdaletha, according

to John; fourth, to Cepha, as Paul said, that He rose, and was seen of 1Cor 16 - 6

Cepha ; fifth, to those who were going to Emmaus, as Luke said ; sixth, to ^ U 1 k 6 e24 13

the Eleven, as they were gathered together ; and after these things, many 24 - 33 36

times to the Disciples for forty days, as it is written in Acts. Therefore all

these comings were true of which the Evangelists have spoken, although

each of them mentioned them one by one, which they did even in the story of

the blind men [whose eyes] our Lord opened at His entrance, etc.; because

about the Resurrection, they were solicitous only that it happened accu

rately ; and not that they should observe the comings and the times and the

H8 MATTHEW XXVIII. 7 IQ

moments of the hours ; but that together by signs and mighty deeds they
should authenticate the Resurrection, and not by words, like the sages of
f. 66 a the world.

And it is asked, Why, when our Lord appeared unto the women, did
He admonish them to go and tell the Disciples, to go to Galilee, and there
they should see Him, when on the very day that He arose He appeared six
times ? We say it was because there were in Galilee many righteous
believers, who believed on Him, those to whom it was fitting that He
should appear, and encourage them, and put them in possession of know
ledge about His Resurrection. About these Galilean believers, whom
the Disciples gathered at the mountain, and our Lord was seen of them,
i cor. 15. 6 the Apostle said, "Afterwards He was seen of more than five hundred
together, of whom the greater part remain, and some of them sleep " ;
and not about those who rose at the time of His Passion, those who did
not even come amongst many [people] and made no use of worldly
things, as some have said. Hannan says This, that He goeth before you into
Galilee, etc., [he said] because of the stretch of time and the multitude of words
and deeds with which He confirmed them about His Resurrection, and not
p. ii ~Q that He did not appear to them before Galilee ; for He was seen of them
twice before they were yet in Galilee, and from thence, and until [they were]
at the Mount of Olives. Others say that Galilee is a place in the Mount of
Olives, belonging to Bethany, which is called thus ; this is not accepted by
everyone.

Joannes says that tins word went out among the Jews, that is to say, it
was confirmed, and it persuaded many, that His disciples stole Him away
by night, etc., for He says, All power is given unto Me in Heaven and earth,
and not that it is Mine; (although from the beginning of His formation
in the womb He was deified, etc.,) because of the weakness of the hearers ;
for not yet did they know Him to be God, who from Himself possessed
John 20. 21 the power of all ; for this, that as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I
you [was] not [said] that He would shew equality with Him ; but He was
sent as a Son ; and they as servants ; else why is this as, which shews a
comparison, that the sign of His coming should be made known to us,
which is somewhat equal to the sending of the Disciples, for as He
Himself, the Son, came in order to save, thus these, being servants, are sent
in order that [men] might repent ; for this as shews the kind of salvation
and repentance, how it is ; and not that there is equality of honour.

Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, and baptize them in

the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, etc. The word

f. 66 b of Religion is divided into two parts, Faith and Morals, but our Lord

MATTHEW XXVIII. 19 I 19

prepares for the perfection of both ; but, on the one hand, He perfected
first the species of the genus, not cutting the branches of Sin, but its root ;
and He cleanses not the action only, but the conscience ; and from it
He orders the correction of the passions that are in us ; that is to say,
of desire, and anger, and covetousness and vainglory, etc. So therefore
after He had filled up the deficiency of the Law which is on account of
works, then He perfects the teaching of the true Faith ; being about to
ascend into Heaven ; for those things were not sufficient, that were taught
to anyone, that they should understand the Trinity itself; also the Trinity
of Persons was made known figuratively by the making of an image, and Gen. i. 26
by the division of tongues, and by the three "Holies" of the Seraphim, etc.; Gen. 11. 7
but after the confession that [He is] in one nature took substance in the l &gt;. 6. 3
times before it was thus ; so what was lacking that we should learn also
about the Persons He now fills up. What was lacking, He now says, One
and Three. One on the one hand, in nature, and in power, and in energy,
etc. ; but Three on the other hand in Persons ; and if it appears good to some
to say " in Persons " then [Persons] in one essence ; this on the one hand is
the Father ; this on the other hand is the Son ; and this the Holy Ghost ;
and that on the one hand is the Begetter ; this on the other hand is the
Begotten, and this one the Proceeding. That one on the one hand is the
Cause, these on the other hand are the Effects which [come] from Him ; but
how it is, is incomprehensible ; but nevertheless darkly, that is to say,
enigmatically, like Word and Mind from Soul ; and Light and Heat from
the Sun ; and just as on the Word and Light together there is a natural and
constant generation attributed to the Soul and to the Sun ; but on the
Mind and on Heat there is a procession which is uninterrupted and
impassive, without time and without place, etc., thus, and more than
thus, the Son is begotten, and the Spirit proceeds eternally without p. "
beginning nor end, uninterruptedly, impassively, without place, etc. ; for He
did not command that we be baptized in the name of God or of the Lord
or of the Creator, etc., because these names are attributes, and are taken
from existences ; God, because He judges or burns, or hastens or sees every
thing, or is the Cause of all, according to some ; but the Lord, because
He is Lord of all, or Creator and Maker ; because He made and
created all [things]. Therefore they are temporal, and the correct names f. 67 a
employed by created beings for the Divine nature are two; one in the
Old Testament, that of I AM THAT I AM; and another in the New,
this of THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY GHOST; for these
two names are proper ones, and correspond to one another ; like the

120 MATTHEW XXVIII. 19

definition to the definer, and the definer to the definition ; according as
philosophers say ; just as every Man is living, rational and mortal, and
every living rational and mortal being is a Man ; thus also here, that if
He is God, [He] is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; and if the
Father, the Son, and the [Holy] Ghost, He is of necessity God. Thus
I am that I am is not used of a non-existence, and to both of them there
is no end. Again, the names which about God are related accurately and
authoritatively, are told of us derivatively and metaphorically ; and those
which are [related] about us accurately, are [related] about God meta
phorically; so therefore the Fatherhood and the Sonship and the Procession,
are spoken about God on the one hand naturally ; about us, on the other
hand, metaphorically and derivatively, inasmuch as a man is sometimes
p. ^T on the one hand son, sometimes on the other hand father, and sometimes
both of them ; he is the father of what is below, and the son of what is
above ; but sometimes [he is] not even either of them ; moreover, he is
only called a man, and sometimes not even a man, that is to say, after
death; but with the Tri[une] Persons there is no change; but constantly
the Father alone and separately; and constantly the Son alone and
separately; and constantly the Spirit proceeding alone and separately.

And it is asked, Why do we say about the Son, that He was begotten
and born ? but about the Spirit we do not say that He proceeded or was
sent out ? We say that the Son being said to be begotten and born, are
expressions that signify that the fact is fulfilled; first, according to the
equality of the substances and the affinity which they possess with one
another ; and second, that no one may make the mistake that the Son is not
a perfect Person, but some power that is constantly generated, like light
from the sphere ; but it is said only that the Spirit proceeds and is sent
out, although eternally He proceeded completely; for a sign that He
proceeded and is not separate from the Father. Again, the gifts that are
attributed to the Person of the Spirit, that He is constantly sending out,
He gives by means of power and will, etc., which He possesses with the
Father and the Son. Again, it is asked, Why does He hand down faith
in the name of the Father and the Son, and not in the name of the
f-6?b Begotten and the Begetter? and why when the name of the Spirit refers
to the nature of the Three Persons (for He says God is a Spirit), does
John 4. 24 our Lord name one of the Persons Spirit ? And why does He not say
in the name of the Father and in the name of the Son and in the name
of the Holy Ghost ; but He [mentions] one name about three Persons? and
why to each one of the Persons does He attach the conjunction and sign

MATTHEW XXVIII. 19 121

of Kai, and not without conjunction ? but about this first He admonishes,
that they baptize in the name of the Father and the Son, and not in the p. =n
name of the Begetter and the Begotten ? We say that the name of the
Father and of the Son brings in that of the Begetter and the Begotten ;
Father and Son, moreover, apply only to animated beings, either in the
Scriptures or in popular custom ; although in Syriac one says that unto us is. 9. 6
a child is born, etc., instead of a boy, as is said in Hebrew and Greek ; but
generation is [spoken of] about both animate and inanimate things, like
this, "the fruit (generation} of the vine" ; and "these are the generations of the Matt.26.29
heavens and of the earth " ; and " who hath begotten the drops of rain, Gen. 2. 4
etc.?" Generation, on the one hand, is said about him who before he is formed, c
comes out as an abortion, but not also a son ; and every son is also a
generation, but [there is] not also in every generation a son, etc. But
consider why this name Spirit, which signifies about all, is used of one
of the Persons. We say that that name of Spirit is homonymous, and
there are many applications about God, and about the Angels, and
about the nature of the air, and about the soul, and about Providence
and about Demons, without addition ; it is used about each one of the
natures of these ; but with the addition, about the variations of these
things thus ; and inasmuch as our Lord added to the name of the Spirit
that of Holy, He distinguished the Person proceeding from the general
nature of the Godhead which is in each one of the Persons. But about
this of why He applied one name to the three Persons, we say that it was to
shew that there is one nature and substance in each one of the Persons,
and also in all of them equally ; and it is like the three " Holies " of the
Seraphim, which are to one Lord; for if a name were applied to each
one of the Persons, it would have been thought that they were three
natures distinguished from one another ; according to the three Persons, p. -2O
Again, He took a name instead of a designation, like this of the Prophet,
that we shall call thy name, that is to say, we shall call thee the Lord. And is. 26. is
also this, that to each one of the Persons He added the conjunctions and, / ar )
and, as an indication of the Persons; for if He had not spoken the con- f. 68 a
junction besides, we should not have known about which Father or Son He
spoke to us ; but we should have understood also about each Person that
He is called thus. Therefore our Lord handed down one substance which is
in the Father and the Son and the Spirit, that He might define the praises
of the rest on account of the Godhead ; that is to say, of Gentiledom and of
Judaism ; that we should not introduce an assembly of gods like the heathen;
and that one Person should not be distinguished in the Jewish manner,
G. i. 16

122 MATTHEW XXVIII. 2O

but One in Three, and Three in One, One threefold; Three that are
gathered together in One ; one Trinity which is in one substance.

This, that He added, Lo, I am with you tmto the end of the world.
It is evident that He did not say this to the Apostles only ; because after
a little while they departed ; but also to all those who throughout the ages
preached and are preaching this Faith, and accomplishing works suitable
to the fear of God, until the end of the world.

The Commentaries of the blessed Matthew the Evangelist are finished,
by means of God, which have been done by Mar Isho dad of Maru
Bishop of Hadatha [in] Assyria. May his prayers be for all believers.
Help me, our Lord, by Thy mercies.

MARK 123

AGAIN, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF THE
BLESSED MARK THE EVANGELIST.

Again, by the Divine help, I write the Commentary by the very
same on the difficult meanings that are in the Gospel of Blessed Mark the
Evangelist ; first, the reason of his writing the Gospel. Help me, our Lord, p. :n
by Thy mercies, to the completion of the whole Book, Amen.

Matthew and John were of the Twelve, but Mark and Luke of
the Seventy. Now Tatian, a disciple of Justin the Philosopher and
Martyr, made selections from the four Evangelists, mixed them, and
composed a Gospel ; and called it the Diatessaron, that is to say, of the
mixed; he did not write about the Divinity of the Christ; and Mar
Ephraim commented upon this. Mark, however, as Clement testifies, was
the son of Peter ; for he, Clement, says in that great letter of his against
those who reject Marriage, enumerating the Apostles who were married in
the world, and after they became disciples of our Lord they kept purity
and preserved sanctity ; as Moses also and others, who, after they were JJ JJJJJ*
thought worthy of the Divine Revelation, removed themselves from wed- andria,
lock, and preserved sanctity ; for this one [Clement] says " Oh do they also lanies,
reject the Apostles ? for Peter and Philip even begat children ; and Paul *^ i m
did not neglect to salute his spouse in his Epistle, but he did not lead her f. 68 b
about with him on account of the decorum of the service." Some people,
however, have handed down, about what is written in Acts, saying that Acts 12. 12
after Peter was delivered from the prison by means of the Angel, and
came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was
Mark, that this Mary was the wife of Simon, and Mark was his son, and
Rhoda his daughter; and they say that Peter mentions him in his first i Pet. 5. is
Epistle, which he wrote from the city of Rome, which he describes as in a p. ran

124 MARK

parable, and calls it Babylon, because of its greatness and its opulence:
iPet. 5. is "The elect church, which is at Babylon," he says, "saluteth you, and
Marcus my son." But Simon Magus was a Samaritan by race ; from a
village whose name was Gentnin ; and Simeon was his name from of old,
but afterwards he was called by Peter Simon. Now when this [man] was
exposed by Peter in Samaria, he fled to the country of the Romans ; and
there he returned to his vomit in the days of Claudius Caesar ; and by means
. of signs of his sorcery he became very famous ; and it was thought that he
was a god, and he set up a statue to himself as to a god at the side of a
river called the Tiber, between two bridges ; both to him and to a certain
woman whose name was Selena, who travelled about with him wherever he
went, who of old had practised fornication in Tyre of Phoenicia ; but Peter,
after he had escaped from that prison, went to Antioch, and in that very
year laid the foundations of the church of Antioch, and made there an
altar, and commanded that they should worship towards the East ; and
[told] that on the first day of the week our Lord dwelt in the Virgin,
and on it shall be the Resurrection on the last day. And after two years,
on hearing what Simon did at Rome, he appointed Evodios bishop at
Antioch instead of him[self], and he ruled for twenty-five years. He
pursued and flew to Rome after Simon, and found a dog at the door of
Simon s palace ; and said to it, " Go in and tell Simon that behold ! Simeon
p. on is at the door." And Simon spoke into the ear of an ox and it split, but
Peter made it whole; and afterwards his [Simon s] followers requested him to
do some sign before this Galilean ; and there happened to be a dead man,
the son of Cyphrinus, one of the prefects of the city; and Simon came near
to his bed, and said many things aloud and in secret, and the dead man
f. 69 a did not rise ; and in the same hour Peter came, and cried with a loud voice,
" In the name of Jesus the Christ who was crucified at Jerusalem, rise from
the bed " ; and with his word the dead man lived ; and the Romans rose up
to stone Simon ; and he was angry and said to them, " Because ye have
rejected me, I go to my Father who is in Heaven," and he shewed before
Peter and the assembly something like a car that came and caught him
away and raised him gradually ; and after the amazement of the spectators,
Peter was troubled, and rebuked the demons by the sign of the Cross ; and
immediately they left him, and let him go ; so he fell upon the earth, and
was broken in pieces and died. Then that crowd praised God, and heaped
up many stones over his corpse. Then Peter at once planted a church in
Rome, and ruled it for twenty-five years. But at the time that the wicked

MARK I. I 125

Nero Caesar commanded him to be crucified head downwards, he appointed
instead of him a deacon whose name was Linus, him whom the Apostle
mentions in his Second Epistle to Timothy; and after him Clemens for 2Tim.4.2i
nine years. But at the time that Peter ruled the church of Rome, he had
a thought of going to the heavenly places ; and the believers, being excited
about this, begged him to make for them the teaching of the Gospel in a
Book ; and after they had entreated him further, he yielded to their per
suasion ; and because the Gospel of Matthew was previous, lest it should
be supposed that he had done this because he was not pleased with that,
he commanded Mark to describe to them in a Book the habits of our Lord, p. n
and His deeds and words, leaving many things out from it, and only
endeavouring to write with great research the affairs of Peter s denial and
such like. He incited him to do this ; and because Simon had preached
there that our Lord had not been incarnated, because of this, he en
deavoured to write about what concerned His humanity. After this he
went first to Egypt, and preached there, and founded the church at
Alexandria.

BOOK I.

We ought to know that the beginning of the Gospel is the Baptism of
our Lord, for these things from His conception and until His baptism are
not considered to be of the Gospel, although they are additions with it to
the Gospel, in order that we may learn in what way His conception and
birth happened. It was not even possible for us to receive the teaching
about the Gospel, if we had not learnt beforehand from whence He was f. 69 b
born and how. And during these years from His birth and until thirty
years, He paid the due of the natural and scriptural law ; then He came
to form for us a type of the new world in His baptism, and to preach the
Gospel of the kingdom of God. And because of this the Blessed Mark also,
because he knew that the beginning of tJie Gospel was that Baptism, and
from it our Lord began new deeds, wrote at the beginning of his Book,
saying that this is the beginning of tJte Gospel. Matthew and Luke also,
after they had taught briefly about the things of the Birth, approached
quickly to the Baptism ; for John also, after he had taught about the
Divinity at the beginning of his book, began with the baptism of John.
"John," he says, "bare witness of Him, and cried," etc.; therefore very ^
suitably Mark also began from the Baptism of our Lord, by which we
first enter into the fear of God. And thus he gradually relates until His

126 MARK I. 2 24

ascension to Heaven. And so he made an end to his Book. And
we ought to know, that the Church did not hold simply to these four
Evangelists ; although there were seventy-two Apocalypses, according to
the seventy-two Disciples, and twelve, like the twelve Apostles ; but after
the Apostles died the Fathers took care, and examined all of them, and
among all of them they found these four only to be genuine, two then
of the Twelve and two of the Seventy.

And it is asked, Why did Mark say, as it is written in Isaia the
al. 3. i prophet, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, etc., when it is written
in Malachi ? Some say, that it was in Isaia and was lost ; others say that
he put to the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way, etc.,
this sign as an answer; others, that because it was translated from
Roman to Greek, and from that to Syriac, the interpreters made a mistake,
and put Isaia instead of Malachi. Others say that it does not matter to
him [Mark] about the accuracy of the reference as is the custom of the
Scriptures. Others say that in the book Diatessaron which was composed
in Alexandria, instead of this, as it is written by Isaia the prophet, it is
said by the PropJiets.

And it is asked, Why was John called a voice, and not a word ? for
f. 70 a because the Christ in His divinity was called the Word; and a word is not
P- Ap known, without a voice, that is, written things, John was suitably called
the voice, that he might preach with his voice about the Word, the Only-
begotten One, who dwelt in a Man. He calls, moreover, the coming
of the Christ, the way and the paths, saying, Prepare your minds and your
thoughts to receive the coming of the Christ the Lord of Lords.

This, that he was clothed with raiment of camels hair. He shews
in this about his coarse raiment, not saying of wool, but of the rough hair
of camels.

The story of the Baptism is expounded in Matthew. This, that he
said, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, that is to say,
the time of the shadow of the Law is ended, and the Fulfiller of the
Mysteries and the Types has come ; but he here calls the Gospel and
grace the kingdom. He calls the Devil an unclean spirit from the foul deeds
that he is wont to do in him in whom he dwells.

In this, / know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One, etc., he spoke it as
to a holy man, and not as one who believed in God the Word who dwells
in Him.

This, Art thou come to destroy us? refers to two things; one, about
the fear that fell upon them from our Lord from the time of their

MARK I. 37 II. 25 127

defeat in the contest ; second, about their wickedness towards Man, for
their destruction implies the salvation of Man and their banishment from
him.

This of all men seek for Thee, like this, that Jesus saw all the world, Matt - 4 - 8
and all nations compassed me about, but in the name of the Lord, etc., Ps . 118 . 10
and All who came were thieves and robbers, etc. Jobn 10. 8

This, that our Lord rebuked those who were healed, saying, Reveal
\it\ not, was that He might not be accused by the Jews of being
a boaster and vainglorious ; for He was persuaded that the signs which
he had wrought were not at all hidden, but were still more celebrated ; p. ^
for He ordered the leper to make an offering, as Moses commanded; first,
to signify the fulfilment of both Covenants ; second, to shew that the Giver
of both was One, though that was a discipline of childhood, but this, the
completion of adulthood ; third, that He was not contrary to God and the
Law, as they did not hesitate to accuse Him of this.

This, that they took off the roof of the place in which Jesus was, and let
down the bed in which the palsied man was laid. We must know that they
invented this artifice of taking off the roof of the house, and letting down the f. 70 b
bed easily without stones and dust falling upon them, as even to-day many
people contrive to do like this.

BOOK II.

Now He calls the teaching of the Gospel a piece of new cloth, and new
wine, and those who receive the Gospel new garments and new bottles; and
He calls the teaching of the Law and their traditions old wine and an
old garment ; and the Scribes and Pharisees vvorn out garments and worn
out bottles, as if to say, that because they were preachers of a new Gospel,
they ought not to serve legal things. The Pharisees rebuked our Lord for
two reasons, when the Disciples were rubbing, that is grinding and eating
the ears of corn ; first, because the day was the Sabbath ; second, because
the Law did not allow [people] to eat any new thing, until it had been Ephraim,
offered at the altar, but they had taken before the harvest the portion of the (M;JS.)
High Priest ; the Pharisees reproved fitly. pp 61 62

This, that our Lord said to them, Have ye never read what David did
when he had need, etc. ? for because there was a great testimony about p. ^^
David, that he was righteous, our Lord reproved them from it, shewing, that
as he [David] was not blamed, My disciples also are blameless, because they

128 MARK II. 25111. I/

rub the ears of corn, when they have been oppressed by hunger ; for he
who took the bread was righteous, and the priest who gave was not blamed,
although it was not lawful to eat it, excepting for the priests ; therefore this
was evident from of old, that the precepts of the Law must be measured
according to nature ; and the force that is against them must be quietly
investigated ; therefore neither do I blame My disciples, if being oppressed
by nature they have done this.

Matt. 12. 5 This, that the priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath, and are blame
less^ that is to say, of the sacrifices and libations and incense and lights,
etc. ; again, in this that every day, one lamb was offered in the morning
and one in the evening ; and on the Sabbath two in the morning and two
in the evening ; and again, on the Sabbath day the shewbread was cooked
and put out on the table of shewbread ; for this, that on the sixth day
^ aron arran g e d them, is said in Hebrew on the Sabbath day.
f. yia And it is asked, Why, when it is written in Samuel, that Ahimelech

isam.2i.6 bread to David, our Lord said about Abiathar that he gave [it]?

Ahimelech, as the elder, commanded that the bread should be given, but

Abiathar gave the bread with his hands ; again, because the High Priest

of. 2 Sam. himself did not go in and bring out the bread, for that would have been

i cimm. an indecorum, but Abiathar his son. Some say that both of them were

. high priests, as in succession like Nadab and Abihu, and Eleazar and
p. ^^o

Ithamar, and Hophni and Phinehas, and Abia and Zacharia ; or that

[it was] because Abiathar was about to become High Priest.

This, that the name of Sons of noise, was given to James and to John
his brother ; in Hebrew Son of thunder, that is to say, givers of the noise
of Divine knowledge to men by means of their preaching, like thunder
which is heard openly by all ; or sons of the Gospel, because our Lord
Himself calls His last manifestation lightning; and lightnings and thunders
are related to one another; as indeed, by the expansion and contraction
of the clouds full of waters that [come] from the winds, which are
bound together in them ; and sounds of thunders and rumblings are
heard ; and fire is flashed from them, like a rubbed flint ; thus also here ;
because He was called lightning, His Gospel was called thunder, which
lightens up the good things that are to be ; and those were called Sons of
Thunder, that is to say, Sons of the Gospel, because of the perfection of the
love of its sons who are led and kept by it, like sons by their mother ;
and it is honoured and loved by them like a mother by her sons. Some say
that noise indicates the noise and tumult that is heard by many. Sons of
thunder, then, that is to say, Sons of the Gospel. Others [say] that Sons of

MARK III. 17 IV. 27 129

iioise, that is to say, Sons of My mystery, since they are all sensible of
His mysteries. This of Sons of Thunder, that is to say, that those
things of which you only are sensible now, when I have risen from the
dead, the time will come when they shall be preached as if by thunder
throughout the whole world.

This, that His relatives heard, and went out to lay hold on Him, they
supposed, etc. ; he means, however, His relatives by Joseph ; for because
they saw that He was doing great things, and that crowds were tumultuous
about Him ; His relatives had a weak opinion about Him ; saying that
perhaps He was possessed by a spirit, or they were contriving some
method by which they could appease the anger of those who were enraged f. 71
against Him, and could prohibit Him amongst them; for from whence
the Jews found the name of Beelzebub, who was the Chief of the Devils,
as it is not known in the Scriptures, nor does the Law teach [it] ; but it is
likely that they found this by association with Devils ; for because at one
time [the devils] were subjected to them by means of sorcery, the name
of the devils whom they worshipped was disclosed, and also who was
their Chief; for it was also a tradition, that a devil does not go out,
unless he has prepared another to live in [the man], or many come and
silence him.

BOOK III.

This, that a Sower went out to sow\ He calls Himself, a Sower, and
His Gospel the seed; but the hard soul, that is not held completely by
the fear of God, [He calls] the wayside and demons and devils [He calls]
the fowls.

This, that Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of
God; He calls the Resurrection and Immortality the Kingdom; but the
Gospel about it the Mystery. Now He calls the Gospel the Mystery,
because of old it was hidden, and by His means it was revealed to the
household.

And then He tells a parable which is not told by one of the
Evangelists, saying that so is the Kingdom of God, like a man who casts seed
into the ground, and sleeps and rises, etc. He calls Himself a man that casts
seed into the ground, and His Gospel the seed; but the souls of believers He
calls the ground.

This, that He sleeps, [refers] to the time from His ascension until His
last manifestation ; but the seed that grows and springs up he knoweth not

G. 1. 17

130 MARK IV. 23 V. 9

p. n*T how ; He speaks in the likeness of husbandmen ; just as these [men],
once they have cast the seed into the ground, do not labour at it any more;
for He shews by means of this parable that the grace that has been given
to us does not work in us of necessity, but every one is allowed to grow
in virtue according to his will; as if He would say. "I have sowed and have
ascended, and have sat down in Heaven ; but the seed by means of the
ground takes care of itself, so that when it has been shewn by means of
conduct as by fruits, some day its harvests rise up to heaven, that there it
may be kept in everlasting life for the use of My kingdom. Ye therefore
sow and teach all, and take no thought about the growth, as neither does
a husbandman; for it is God who completes the seed."

This that He said, first the seed, and after it the ear, and last of all the
full corn, from something that was naturally with the seed ; He wished
to indicate about these [who are] His own, because not in one order do
f. 72 a they all stand in perfection ; but first they are few who obey the Gospel,
and then they gradually multiply and come all to perfection, that they
may bring forth fruits that are worthy of the fear of God. But this,
that he knoweth not how, that is to say, that the seed comes to perfection
without the work of him that sowed, by Divine power and energy.

The grain of mustard seed which makes great branches alludes to the
abundance and greatness which comes from preaching ; but some say
that He calls demons and devils, the fowls of the air which lodge in its
p. oan branches, who, to be sure, need also to be covered by its shadow ; not
understanding, that all the demons are kept in outer darkness from
it, and not that they should be covered by its shadow. Others, again, have
thought of the holy Angels ; and others, of Kings and Judges.

This, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear, that is to say, pure thoughts
which distinguish and care about these things ; and not of the traditions of
the Pharisees.

This, that there was a great storm on the ship; just as if their ship alone
were shaken by the waves ; for this, that in all that tempest He should
not be wakened, was the work of Divine Providence ; because natural
things do not act against [their] nature.

This, that Our name is Legion ; Legion, according as it is said

24 a great crowd, like that of legions going out of the land of Kittim,

(Peshitta) a n u( ji n g to the great swarms of the Greeks ; others say that in the tongue

of the Greeks a legion is 10,000; others that it is ten myriads; others say

that it is thousands; and apparently that first one inclines to the truth;

but He shewed that they were many ; for that substance is small, and

MARK V. 917 131

is not hindered by a small body ; as also heat does not take any [extra]

room in bodies; for those who are tempted by devils have very little strength;

and this is arranged by Divine Providence ; and if not, one devil would have

destroyed all men ; and it is handed down and believed, that all the Devils

are shut up in the desert, and only a few of them are left amongst men, that

their freedom might be tried, and the power of God might be made known

in them ; and also the fortitude of the righteous be shewn ; otherwise all p CUT

of them that do evil would be chained up in the desert by Divine power.

All the Devils since the Flood were restrained in the desert ; except a

few of them, that came to peace, in order that the freedom of men might

be put to the test, and the power of God might be made known ; it is

said that there is evidently no care over visible things, from this, that

10,000 [devils] dominated one man ; but let them know that all diligence is

visible here, if one is kept from the tyranny of ten tyrants and potentates,

one of whom is able to destroy thousands and myriads, if it is allowed by f. 72 b

Providence, etc. Now those demons asked from our Lord, to allow them

to enter into the swine ; not groundlessly, but because they saw that He

began to drive them from the whole habitation ; they contrived, that by

depriving the natives [of their swine], they should drive out our Lord

for this cause, and then they should return to their places ; but our Lord,

who knew their thoughts, allowed them, in order that they might be Matt. 8. 32

known that they did not possess foreknowledge like Him ; but the rest is

written in Matthew.

This, that they persuaded our Lord, to give them leave to enter into the
swine ; it is evident that not even contemptible swine are left without care ;
how much more the image of God ? etc.

BOOK IV.

This, that they besought our Lord to depart out of their coasts. Some
have thought here, that the will of the devils was fulfilled ; that is to say,
that the landlords did not allow Him to enter their city; and they thought
this, because they did not understand the cause of their request ; but great p. u^
fear fell upon these men, being astonished at the things that had taken
place ; but they thought that the destruction of the swine was [under] the
pretext of their sins ; and because that demoniac was of the Gentiles, they
thought that they, who were of the Gentiles, would receive judgment from
Him, if He remained with them ; and for this reason they petitioned Him as
a virtuous man, that they were unworthy that He should dwell with them ;

132 MARK V. I/ VI. 8

for the swine were a type of the Jews, according as our Lord also
Matt. i. 6 commands the Disciples, Do not throw your pearls before swine.

Now Decapolis was so called, as some say, because its inhabitants were
collected from ten cities, and others say it was because this city was ruler
* over ten cities, like Kirjath Arba, that is to say, Hebron, that is to say,
that it was ruler and governor over four cities.

This, that He could not do even one miracle, does not indicate weakness

of His power, but wickedness of their mind ; and it is like this that is in

Jer. 5. 7 Jeremia, who says that the Lord could not again pardon you because of

Hob. 6. is the wickedness of your deeds ; and like this, that by two immutable

John c. 19 things, in which it is impossible for God to lie ; and like this, that the Son

can do nothing, etc. ; and others like these.

f. 73 a This, Is not this the Carpenter, tJie Son of Mary? and our Lord [says],
There is no prophet that is despised, save in his own city, etc., like Moses,
who was reviled by the people of his tribe and nation, and Jeremia by the
p. -u-^ people of his village, etc. ; thus also the people of Nazareth in the memory
of ancient things belittled new things ; and called Him the Son of Mary,
as if Joseph were dead ; the Carpenter, from the handicraft of Joseph.

This, that the fountain of her blood was dried up ; Berenice, the afflicted,

whose blood had flowed for twelve years, and whose disease was haemor-

Eusebius rhoids, when our Lord had ascended to Heaven, from the great love that

18 she had to Him, made for Him a bronze image, and put it up at the door

of her house, and another of herself beside it, in the attitude of asking

healing from Him ; and by Divine energy there sprouted in the leg of the

image of our Lord a branch of wood, and formed leaves, and wrought

miracles like that of our Lord, in every place to which they carried some

of its leaves during a long time ; and afterwards the Jews were envious

and cut it, and it did not again sprout.

This of Matthew, that our Lord said, Take not even a staff;
Matt.io.io but Mark here, save a staff only; our Lord signifies this, that from
others to whom they should go they should take nothing ; that these
might not suppose that they were sent for trade ; that He might
shew that He is supplying all that they require ; therefore this of Mark s
is not against that of Matthew s ; because both of them admonish not
to borrow from others, lest they should appear covetous ; for they are
not prevented from taking from their houses, because they need these
things on the way. A stick is for leaning upon, and sandals for the
hardness of the road, and the thorns. Others say that because Matthew
had formerly been a publican, and had experienced the hardness of the

MARK VI. 827 133

passion of covetousness, he fitly removed them from this passion. Others p. -V
say, that in both of them they are forbidden a stick, and they read that
Ella, Ella, which is translated not even ; so that the word should be a
stick only.

This of Shake off the dust, etc. The dust is an evidence of the labour
of the Apostles; as since the Jews did not consent to receive profit
by the labour of others, they prepared themselves for a severe punish
ment. Others [say] that this shake off the dust, that is to say, [was] for a
demonstration of the earthliness of their minds, and that they were ready
to perish completely, like dust before the wind ; as it is written, Because f. 73 b
the wicked shall be destroyed in the whirlwind of their wickedness ; and
the evil ones in the earthliness of their evil qualities. Others [say] that this
of shake off the dust is for a sign of fatigue on their account ; and this of
for a testimony to them, that is to say, for a sign of their condemnation.

This of // shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha, etc., not as if
on the one hand, He frees the Sodomites from judgment, but by a compari
son He seeks to make known about their condemnation ; for God did not
shew a revelation to the Sodomites, nor were Apostles sent to them ; but
all these miracles had happened amongst these people, and because they
would not be persuaded, they would have a harder punishment than those.

This, that they anointed the sick with oil, and they were healed, that is
to say, everywhere that they went about in Judaea and healed, they
carried oil that had been blessed by our Lord. But Babhai the Persian
says that that oil had not been blessed by our Lord, nor did they carry it
round with themselves to every place that they went ; but whatever place p. vo
they came to, they asked oil from the house ; they blessed it in the
name of the Christ, and then they gave it.

This, that Herod had kept John, either because he did not give him to
be killed, or because he kept his counsel.

BOOK V.

A ChiliarcJi is captain of a thousand ; a Centurion is captain of a
hundred. Spiculatores in the Roman language, and qucstionarii in the
Greek ; the two of them are one ; and they are like Praetorian Guards.
Now the name of the prison-house into which John was thrown, as Josephus
testifies, was Macherounta, that is to say, a frying-pan. The ice of the lake
was actually broken, on which the daughter of Herodia danced, and she
was swallowed up in its midst ; and only her head remained above the ice,

134 MARK VI. 40 VII. 31

as on a dish. And Herod, after he was driven away from his kingdom,
and cast into exile, was seized by a dropsy, and bred worms ; and her
mother was blinded by weeping.

This, that they sat down by hundreds and by fifties, that is to say, in one
rank a hundred, and in another fifty.

BOOK VI.

From within, He says, from the heart, proceed evil thoughts, and not from
the washing of hands and of cups, and of brazen vessels, etc. For from the
heart refers to the soul, because the heart is the dwelling-place of the soul ;
PS. 84. 2 and it there forms all the thoughts ; like this, My heart and my flesh
Lam. 3. 41 praise the living God ; and Let us lift up our hearts with our hands ; and
f. 74 a He devises evil, to sin in his heart, etc. He calls unnatural fornication
lasciviousness, that which is in vicious and lustful things. He speaks of an
evil eye, about envious and wicked persons.

This, that He entered into an house, and would have no man know it; He
did not conceal Himself from fear ; but first, that it might not be thought
by the Jews, that He loved the Gentiles more than them, and second,
because of the miracle that He was about to work on the daughter of the
Canaanitess ; lest it should be supposed that He was a lover of praise ; for
it says that the Canaanitess was one of the Syro-Phcenicians. He calls
Syrian the districts from Antioch as far as Edessa, which reaches to the
border of Paneas, which he calls Decapolis ; for it was called Decapolis
because its inhabitants were collected from ten cities at that time of wars ;
or because ten cities surrounded it, etc. ; which we have explained above. For
the delay in the healing of that deaf and dumb [man], and of that blind
[man] after this, that He did not heal them at once by a word; but
[cured] that deaf man by the spittle of His mouth, and by the fingers of
His hands; and that blind man He took out from the village, and put spittle
upon his eyes, and made him see little by little; He shews by means of this;
first, that He is the Maker of Man, from the beginning, who formed Adam
from the dust, etc. ; second, that these signs which He wrought were not
phantasms, but the truth of facts ; third, to display the riches of His power;
fourth, He partakes openly and sufficiently of His human nature by the
work of His power ; fifth, that the Jews might not say, that because He with
drew Himself from the needy and afflicted, He did not touch these; sixth,
that He might shew the truth of His Incarnation; and for this reason, Mark

MARK VIII. 24 IX. i; 135

is more concerned than others about such things, to root up from Rome p.
the tares of Simon, who said that the Incarnation of the Christ was in a
phantasy and a hallucination.

This, that / see men as trees ivalking ; this of walking, applies to the
men and not to the trees ; like this, that all the people saw the voices and EX. 20. is
the lightnings ; and the priests associated themselves in the way, and killed HOB. 6. 9
[Shechem] ; and like this, that Moses wrote about Him, etc. But this, John i. 46
that he did not immediately see, refers to his unbelief.

This, that He looked up to heaven, and sighed, on account of the captivity f. 74 b
of our nature to devils. Now our Lord looked up to the Father, at every
place and time He gave healings, first, on the one hand, because for this
He came, as it is written, He hath sent me to heal the sick, etc. ; second, Luke 4. is
that He may establish an entrance into faith by means of the signs which slc
He wrought; third, that He might prefigure the manumission of our nature
from sin and from all afflictions, and that matter was about to be completely
freed from accidents in the world of light ; fourth, by means of the sick
nesses of the body He figures the sicknesses of sin, and by the healing of
the former He typifies the healing of the unclean soul. He calls baskets the
large wicker things that contain each about four measures, tc6(f&gt;ivoi are little
wicker things, or those that have lids, into which bread and things are put.

This, that Cephas took Him, and began to rebuke Him, not angrily, but
lovingly, and supplicating, etc. ; but Jesus looked at His disciples as a
man who says, See what Simeon says, something that it is not fit for a
God-fearing man to imagine. He calls him Satan, as if to warn them p.
that no man should again venture to forbid the things that please God,
as if they were asking the will of Satan.

Manes and Bar Deisan feign, that the Christ calls Himself the Son of
Man, the Son of Man who existed before Adam was created, because he
[Adam] was swallowed up and his five sons, there came the Intellectual
Lamb to purify them.

BOOK VII.

Now the Light of our Lord was not created as the Light of the
Righteous; for because of His unity with the Word, by the light of the
Word He shines as with a vesture; for Humanity received all these
possessions of the Word except [its] nature.

This of a dumb spirit ; not that the spirit was dumb ; but he says that
the man was sick, that is to say, his speech was silent at the time that
it tare him.

136 MARK IX. I/ 49

This that he was foaming, because foam went up out of his mouth,
and he became like dry wood.

This, that he was wallowing, that is to say, he was kicking with his
feet ; but the Disciples were not able to cast him out ; as it was not fitting
that they should work signs in the neighbourhood of our Lord ; for
behold ! when they were sent to Judaea, not they alone wrought miracles,
etc.; they said, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us through Thy
Lukeio.n name; but others also did [miracles] in His name ; as they also said, We
p n=^ saw a man casting out demons in Thy name, and we forbade him. Now the
other reasons of this we have explained in Matthew. This, that we
f. 75 a saw a man casting out demons in Thy name, and we forbade him. It is
likely, that this man was among those who came to our Lord from time
to time, even though they did not follow Him as His disciples; and because
he was worthy, our Lord gave him this power; but when the Disciples saw
[it], they forbade him this work, that is to say, they excommunicated him,
because they said, Thou followest not our Lord, it is not permissible to thee
to cast out demons in His name ; but our Lord said unto them, Forbid him
not ; for there is no one who doeth miracles in My name, who can quickly
speak evil of Me.

This, If thy right eye, or thy foot make thee offend, cut it off, etc. Now
by the Eye He speaks of and refers to the Rulers that are in the Church ;
and by the Foot He speaks of the inferior and common people ; that is to
say, cut off and cast out of the Church every insolent and greedy and
offensive person, lest he should corrupt the whole body by the offence, and
thus the whole of it should fall into Gehenna.

BOOK VIII.

This of For every one shall be salted with fire, that is to say, just as by
fire every food is tried and purified, that it may be adapted for use and
for eating, thus every one who believes the Gospel, is tried and purified by
the grace of the Spirit as if by fire, and becomes useful to the Kingdom of
Heaven ; and He said well that he is salted with fire; because just as salt
keeps moist bodies from putrefaction, thus also Grace is able to purify the
mind from all humour of sin. And every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.
By these two illustrations, our Lord has one purpose, that is to say, that if
you do not season your actions with love and with mercy, as if with salt
and fire, you will not be brought to the table of the Kingdom of Heaven ;
calling sacrifices the minds of men which are brought before God like

MARK IX. 50 X. 30 137

sacrifices ; and salt the grace of the Spirit, which is given to us in place
of an earnest, as a pledge to us of the things that are to come.

This, Have salt in yourselves, that is to say, make your actions correspond
with what you have once received. Some say that while He is admonishing
them about faith, they should also be solicitous about works. He says that
every one is salted with fire, and every sacrifice, etc. ; moreover, just as
fire spues out and makes lustrous every impurity that is in the vessel; and
just as every victim, for this He calls a sacrifice, possesses flavour and is
preserved by means of salt, that it may not putrefy, so will your works f. 75 b
also be in the whole world in the likeness of fire which purifies uncleanness,
and in the likeness of salt, which seasons insipidity, by the testing fire
of your works removing [others] from vile habits and old deeds, and
acquiring an agreeable flavour of spiritual works. Others say that just as
salt is good when it remains in its nature ; thus also the Priesthood, being
kept in faith and works ; but if it become insipid by the cutting off of
hope, everything comes to an end ; for there is no one to salt [it] or to give
savour to the salt.

Have salt in yourselves ; remain, He says, in the pleasantness of the
flavour which ye have received, and let not the world take it away; and
have peace one with another, ye shepherds and flocks, because inasmuch as
quarrels diminish the flock of the Christ, so peace preserves and increases P- cv=^
at once doctors and disciples ; again, by fire lie teaches on the one hand
about theories, by salt, on the other hand, [about] essential rectitude ; and
look at the qualities of fire and salt.

This, they twain shall be one flesh, that is to say, in the attachment of
marriage, and by means of that which is born of them.

This, that Jesus looked on him and loved him, he does not speak of his
mind, but of the outer form which he shewed Him ; to make known by
this, that every one who keeps these things is considered by Him as a true
friend ; and like this that " Herod was sorry" at the request of the girl, etc.
This of lands, with persecutions, that is to say, He says that not only in
the world to come shall they receive the reward of the labour of preaching,
but also here; according as a man leaves a carnal father, he finds many
spiritual fathers ; likewise also brethren, etc. ; but lands with persecutions ;
cloisters with hostelries 1 in which the rulers of the Church are set, by

1 C M + And know this, O Reader, that the Greeks harden every Kaf followed by a semkath,
like QoooUiocxOQ^ = Xystus, and like v&gt; o S-t\fvi^\ T ^ = AX&lt;?&gt;ni/^nc and

and t *ao:iifloai&lt; = a o5oxoi , and ouoi^ = rd^t j, and others like them.

G. I. ,g

138 MARK X. 21 XIII. 32

means of which they are brought to persecutions, and to worldly necessities,
and to labours.

This of Take up thy cross, and follow Me, that is to say, Crucify thyself
to the world and its desires. And we must know that here Mark
speaks of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who, he says, came and
asked from our Lord, Grant unto us that ^ve may sit, one on Thy right hand,
p. V=&gt;T and one on Thy left hand, in Thy glory ; but Matthew [says] that their
Matt. 20. Mother asked this. For because the Jews supposed that when the Messiah
should come, all the nations of the earth should be subdued to Him, and
f. 76 a these should become captains and chiliarchs, etc. over them, this artful
old lady entertained also this idea, and besought from our Lord that her
sons should become princes, etc., and should sit beside His throne, etc. ;
but our Lord did not grant the request of the sons of Zebedee, because
they sought it in vain glory, [for themselves] privately, and not generally
like Peter ; for if they had asked in humility and on behalf of all the
community like Peter, when he said, Lo, we have left all, etc., they would
have heard the same as Peter that there were thrones and crowns, etc. ;
and also, that the Disciples might not envy, etc., and murmur against these
two, which in fact happened.

BOOK IX.

This of Timai bar Timai, the blind man ; as if in name also he were in
blindness ; for like his father Timai, on account of uselessness (dripia) of
the eyes he was perhaps called Timai.

This, that they spread their garments in tJie way, either as for honour ;
or that they might acquire the benediction and healing, even by means of
the walking of the foal on which He was riding.

BOOK X.

This, that our Lord said to that scribe, Thou art not far from the

kingdom of God, that is to say, if he was willing and believed in His

preaching, that increases also the fulfilment of the Law which he

p. JA^I possessed ; otherwise, he [the scribe] was far from it, even further than

the distance was [before].

This, that they go in stoles, that is to say, in splendid embroidered garments.

BOOK XI.

About this, that of that day and that hour knoweth no man, etc., we will

say this first, that we must not understand the Holy Scriptures according

Hb.i2.29 to their outward sound; but when it says -that our God is a consuming

MARK XIII. 32 I39

fire ; is He therefore a consumer, and a destroyer, and not a preserver and Deut i. 37
a vivifier? and is He corporeal, and composed of various substances? Tsam . il
and is He subject to innumerable passions, and is angry, and sleeps, and 96 10
awakes, and repents, and is grieved, and errs, and does not know, and
searches with a candle, etc. ? and like this, whosoever is not born, etc. Behold, Pr v. 20.27
many have conquered in the strife of the passions, and have not been J
baptized ; and even the Thief entered Paradise, when he had not a portion Luke 23.43
in the grace of Baptism ; and no one can say that Jesus is Lord, except, i Cor.i2.3
etc.; and behold, Manichaeans and Marcionites and others use this ex
pression, and even Heathens and Jews, if they wish to, can use this ex
pression, without the grace of the Spirit; and like they have all gone aside Rom. 3. 12
together; and all of them who came are thieves and robbers, and other f - 76 b
such like; thus also this, that of that day and that hour He knoweth not: *^ *
which heretics apply as an expression about God ; and otherwise, how
did the Apostle say that in Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and col. 2. 3.
knowledge? and how did our Lord Himself say, that no man knoweth the Matt.ii.27
Father but the Son, nor the Son, but the Father? and if He knoweth the
Father, it is evident that [He knoweth] also all His knowledge. Now the p. ^
Father knoweth of that day and of that hour, and of necessity the Son
knoweth like Him ; and if it is not so, the Father also is seen not to know
the day; or how is His knowledge of that day in any way greater than
the knowledge about the Father and about His knowledge? and if He is
the Maker of all as it is said, how does He not know His work? or is
that day not reckoned among His works? or is it not even reckoned in
the number of the days of the year, and if they tell us thus, of what does Job 3. e
it consist or its place? for every day consists of a night and a day, and the
hours are couriers of its variations ; but an hour, according to wise men,
does not exist at all, inasmuch as the one that is past, does not exist, and
the one that is to come is not yet. Again, if this, that He knows not the
day, and this, that "He said to the foolish ones, I know you not," and Mat t25i2
this, that " I never knew you," which He said to the Heretics, is to be Ma tt. 7. 23
understood as an outward occurrence, therefore also many things like
these which are said about the Father ; like this, that " God remembered Gen. 8. i
Noah," as if He really had forgotten him; and like this, "I will go down and Gen. is. 21
see whether they have done according to the cry which is come unto Me,
and if not, I will know " ; and like this, that they have done something Jer. 7. 31
which I commanded them not, neither came it upon My heart; and like
this, "Where art thou, Adam?" and "Where is Abel thy brother?" etc.; Gen. 3. 9
and if these voices of weakness pursue after the Father, who has not been Gen. 4. 9

140 MARK XIII. 32 XIV. 2O

p. A*i clothed with weak flesh, how much more may we speak weakly of Him
who did wear the weak flesh? and just as a tree which is far away
and hidden and distant, is known by its fruits which are manifest and near,
thus also our Lord is known by His signs and deeds, and the prophecies
about Him; and not from weak voices, even though He clothed Himself
in weak flesh. There are people who deny His birth from a woman,
and [say] that He is not the Son of the Creator; but the son of strangers,
and that He was a hallucination and a phantasy, etc. ; how much more if
weak voices had not been heard about Him, either in the Old Testament
f. 77 a or in the New? therefore this, that He knows not the day is not that He
does not know, but that He does not wish to reveal [it], because it would
have been no profit that it should be known to them or to others, because
many were slack in cultivating virtue, until that time ; but now, because the
coming of the Judge is hidden from us, we stand in fear every hour.

Again, for it was fitting for God, that knowing, He should be silent, and
not reveal ; but [it was fitting] to man that He should do this, which was
mercy ; therefore, because He was still believed to be Man only, it
was not hateful that He should hide from them the day; but if He
had confessed to them that He knew, but that He had not revealed [it],
He would have been thought evil and invidious ; and if He had revealed
it, slackness would have come in.

Matt.24.42 The more powerful therefore was what He added after this ; Watch there
fore, for ye know not the day, nor the time when your Lord cometh. We have
expounded this matter at length in Matthew. From this, He that dippeth
his hand with Me in the dish, it is evident that Judah was not one of the
inferior [Disciples], but one of the well-known of the Twelve; and according
p. *\n to some, he was the third, that is to say, after Simeon and James ; but the
Evangelists, because they wrote the Gospel after the treason, put him as the
last of the Disciples. This, that he dippeth his hand with Me in the dish
[has] two meanings, either that there were two boards, and Judas reclined at
that of our Lord ; or that there was one, as there is now. Both the Jews
and the Romans acted in this way, that twelve reclined at one board, that
is to say, round table. There were two dishes ; and Judah dipped into that
Matt.26.23 of our Lord, etc. Look in Matthew. But this of some, that Jesus dipped
cf. Eph- bread, and gave it to him, and that He washed it from the sanctity and

(M6s .) from the blessing that He had blessed, has no probability.
p. 221

MARK XIV. 35 52 I4 1

BOOK XII.

Now the affair of the cock s crowing and of the denials have been
expounded in Matthew. He took Cepha and James and John with Him
when He went up into the mountain, and when He raised the dead, and
here when He prayed ; not that He rejected the others ; but first, because
of their great love to Him ; and second, for a witness to the things that John 8. IT
He did; for the testimony of three men is true.

This of He went forward a little, and fell on the ground ; Luke relates
accurately, that He was withdrawn from them about a stone s cast. Luke 22.41

Now He did not pray in their presence, that He might not be thought f. 77 b
a boaster and a vainglorious person ; and that He might teach them also,
that they ought to pray in this manner; and He did not go far away, in
order that they might hear what the words of His prayer were ; and that
they might teach for the future ; but Judah, because it was the time of p. =.V
night, lest those people, when they went, should arrest others, and let our
Lord go, gave them a sign, Whomsoever he should kiss, they should take ;
and as probably this was a custom with our Lord, that when one of the
Disciples came from a distant place, he should kiss our Lord.

This, Not My will, but Thine, be done does not shew that His will was
contrary to the will of His Father; but He was proving His humanity; and
He did it also on account of the instruction of others, that one should not
be afflicted about the things that happen from enemies, which come often
not by our own will, but by the weakness of Nature ; therefore He wished
that in His own Person He should teach this to every one, that [if] we
should suffer from the things that happen to us, this is not to be blamed, on
account of the weakness of Nature ; but we ought to take care that not
being overcome by them in the love of God, we may be able to get away
from natural passions.

About that young man, who left his linen cloth, and fled naked, Bar
Hadbeshaba says that it was John, who had followed our Lord out of his
great love ; but Quatraya [says] that this one was not of the Twelve, but
some other man ; and the Jews also, as if from wickedness, saw him too
with our Lord, and laid hold on him ; if he were indeed one of the Disciples,
how did he go with our Lord naked ?

142 MARK XIV. 58 XV. 23

Of the Passion. Of the Soldiers, or Executioners. This, that the High
Priests sought for witness, to put Him to death. On what account are
ye setting up witnesses? because He said, Destroy the Temple, etc. If it
were because He said it, and it was false, Destroy the Temple (and if He
did not build it, it was false); this was not greater than that He raised from
p. ^Vi the dead one [who had been dead] four days.
Seditions, that is to say, wars and quarrels.

BOOK XIII.

This of the soldiers. A road in Greek is called (arparov} a street;

^TpaTiwrai are people sent ; the Prcetorium is the judgment hall ; and

Simeon the Cyrenian was one of the Gentiles, the father of Alexander and

Rom. i.28 of Rufus, him whom the Apostle calls "chosen in the Lord" ; on account

of his love to him, he considers his mother as his own mother.

When our Lord went out of the Praetorium He was carrying His cross ;
f. 78 a and when they saw this Simeon coming from his village, they impressed
him, and put the cross upon him.

Golgotha, because of its roundness ; Calvary, because of its form, which
was raised a little above the ground. Some [say] that because Jerusalem is
the middle of the world, like this, that I have put Jerusalem in the midst of
ExeideiB.s the nations, etc.; and Isaac also who both when sacrificed and not sacrificed
was a type of our Lord, was offered up there. A certain Theophoros hands
down, saying that the Doctors of the Hebrews, those who believed, tell
from an ancient tradition that Adam also is buried there ; because of this
the place was called Calvary, because when Noah took the body of Adam
within the Ark, after he came out of it, he handed over the body to Shem
his son, who lived first in that place ; and because of this our Lord was
crucified in that place, namely, in Jerusalem and at Calvary ; thus it was
proper also to our Lord, the second Adam, that when He wished to pay
p. a^n the debt of the old Adam, and renew him, He should be crucified in this
place.

Now they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh, on account of
their wickedness ; for they usually gave pure wine to drink to such people,
that they might have no feeling in suffering ; but they once gave Him
vinegar, and once wine mingled with myrrh, that is to say, that they
might add bitterness to the pain, for a sign of their great hatred to Him.
Matt.27.46 This, that it was the third hour, when they crucified Him. Some think

MARK XV. 2527 143

that there is a disagreement about Mark ; as Matthew and Luke had said Luke 33.44
that He was crucified at the sixth hour, but John says that at the sixth hour Johni9. 14
Pilate sat on his own judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement
of stones, and said unto the Jews, " Behold your King ! " but only Mark says
that He was crucified at the third hour, so therefore they apologize for Mark
thus, that behold, they say, there are two expressions that are bound into
one; this that it was the third hour, applies to these things, [mentioned]
above, not to that of they crucified Him, but to that, that our Lord went into
the Prcetorium, and all these questions were asked by Pilate, with the
mocking of the soldiers until He was crucified, the time of the third hour
applied ; but this, that they crucified Him, applies to what follows below ; that
of the third hour is said as if of the time that Crucifixion was decreed against
Him by the Judge. Others [say] because the third hour is said according f- 78 b
to the custom of the Scriptures, which is often not careful about accuracy ; EX. 20. is
like this, that all the people saw voices and lightnings; and He of whom Moses John i. 45
wrote in the Law and in the Prophets, etc. ; others say that it is an error of p. oiln
the scribe ; but I say that this of Mark inclines to the truth better than that
of John ; and Eusebius also testifies to this in his letter about our Lord s
Passion, which he wrote to Marinus, saying that John s sixth hour is an error johnw. 14
of the scribe, who did not give heed in his heart when he was writing the
Gospel; for the customary sign of the third hour, that which is called in Greek
eTri&rjfj.ov, is like that of the sixth liour; and the scribe, wishing hastily to c f. Card.
write third (I 1 ), made a mistake, and curved the sign a little behind it, and JJjJjjJ*^"
it was found to be sixth (r) ; therefore the three Evangelists, as with one Veterum ,
mouth, said that from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, tJiere was darkness pp. 91-93,
over all the land; it is evident that our Lord was crucified from before the ^&B

time of the sixth hour, at which there was darkness, that is to say, from the Vol

third hour, and it is not possible that when darkness was spread over IV. i . PP-
all the land, the soldiers should divide the garments by lot, and that the
Crucifiers and other passers-by should revile Him ; and that they should
give Him to drink ^vine mingled ivith myrrh, etc.

This of what every man should take, that is to say, to which of them
should each part come? For the reason of His death, that is to say, they
said He is crucified, because He wished to grasp His kingdom.

Now they crucified two thieves with Him ; first, because He was said
like them to be found in rebellion against God and against the king ; second,
that they might hide His glory by numbering Him with the guilty ; and at
the same time conceal their envy and their audacity. p. oAn

This of //, //, lamana shabacJitliani, not that the Godhead had com-

I4 4 MARK XV. 34 XVI. I

pletely forsaken Him, etc., as in Matthew ; but to shew His immeasurable

John 10. 18 love to God, that if it were possible, forsake Me not, O God! that I lay

down My life and take it again, but that eternally I bear suffering on

Rom. 9. 3 account of Thy truth, this would be very dear to Me ; and like this, that I

myself were accursed from Christ, etc.; and how was it possible to

remove Him from His kingdom, Him who had borne all these things for

f. 79 a its sake? therefore He spoke, not because He was forsaken, no; but that

He wished to suffer continually, and not to die, and His sufferings to

cease, if it were possible so to be. Again, it shews the severity of the

suffering, in this, that there was a suffering of the human nature, to

Heb. 4. 18 shew also, that He was like human nature in all these sufferings, except

sin, and He is said to be tried in everything, like ourselves ; again, that He

might make us wise, telling us, that in the time of trial and sufferings, we

should ask deliverance from God, and pray ; again, to loosen fear from our

nature, and that we might acquire courage and strength.

This, that after He cried II, II, one ran to give Him on a sponge
vinegar instead of wine, in order to dry His tongue that He might not
again cry out.

The Preparation ( Aroubta), as that day was called ; i.e. Come, give a
pledge ( aroub), thou Christ, of the good things that are to come.

He calls Joseph honourable, because he was not a Counsellor by his race,
p. ^ but he had acquired the Counsellorship by a gift and by gold ; this was a
certain class in the land of the Romans, and was much honoured ; and if it
happened that there was no one in the succession of the kings they made
kings from it ; and if it happened that one of them did wrong, they flogged
his horses instead of him in white woollen saddles ; as also amongst the
Persians there was a certain band which was called Gondi Nemiran; that is
to say, a band of Immortals, and they were not allowed to punish [them]
as malefactors.

This, that he went in boldly unto Pilate, because he dared to ask for
Him who had been crucified as a rebel against the king, and was
considered as one contrary to God ; because he knew that he was making
himself an enemy to the Jews, in honouring the body of our Lord ; again,
as it was the feast; and otherwise, it would not have been allowed him.

This, that the women bought spices, and came to anoint Him, as is the
custom amongst the Romans and in other places, that on the third day, or
the seventh, or on the Preparations, and on the feasts, they go to the
grave for the honour of the dead, with spices and scents and waters,
purified with ointments and pe-rfumes, and put the scents, etc.

MARK XVI. 519 145

The young man whom the women saw, who sat on the right of the grave,
was an Angel, that is to say, Gabriel, but he appeared in the form of a
young man, shewing about the renewal that happened to our nature, because
the Angels also are partakers with us in that renewal. Everything, it is f. 79 b
said, was renovated from the beginning in the Christ, etc. 2 Cor - B - 17

This, that very early He rose, and appeared first to Mary Magdalene ;
this In the morning, belongs to He appeared to Mary, and not to He is risen, p- J*^
but that He rose is put in the middle, preceding that of in the morning,
but because he spoke in abbreviations of the Resurrection, and in what
way He appeared to Mary, he mixed them in the sentence.

This, that they shall take up serpents ; by serpents He alludes to two
things ; first, to all deadly creeping things ; and second, to all the troop of
Devils.

This, that if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them ; for it
is said, that the Heathen gave to one of the Seventy deadly poison to
drink, in order that he might die, and he died not ; and for one of the
Saints they put it in the Sacramental cup, and it was not hurtful to him.

This, that He sat on the right hand of God, for the right hand shews
honour; this, that He will put the sheep on His right hand, that is to say, Matt.25.33
He will cause them to partake of honour along with Himself.

By the strength of God also the Expositions of the Blessed Mark the
Evangelist are finished, which have been made by the Saint of God, Mar
Isho dad Bishop of Hadatha in Assyria. To God be the glory, and on us
be His mercies poured out abundantly at all times. Amen, constantly,
and Amen.

G. I. 19

146 LUKE I. I, 2

ST LUKE

Again, the Commentaries on the Gospel of Blessed Luke the Evangelist.

Again, by the help of God, we write the Commentaries on Blessed Luke
the Evangelist. Lord, help me by Thy mercies ; that I may bring it to
completion by grace from Thyself, Amen.

Luke was from Antioch ; having been of old a disciple of Galenus ;
after he heard about our Lord ; that it was said that a certain man
had appeared in the land of Judaea who was working many cures and
miracles without roots and drugs ; he and his Master doubted whether
this were not true, or if it were an imagination or a fancy ; a fact, or
if somewhat of the divine nature were in it. Therefore, in order to make
sure of the report by means of experience, they directed their journey
to Judaea; and his Master died in the way, and he came to our Lord,
became His disciple, and was counted in the band of the Seventy
Apostles ; and after a long time of his wonderful struggles, he died in
peace in the great city of the Thebais.

BOOK I.

This of Forasmuch as many have wished to -write, etc. He is not

speaking about Matthew and Mark ; as he does not call two many ; but

about those who were in the habit of writing of the Gospel without

f. Boa investigation; inasmuch as not only the Twelve and the Seventy wrote

Apocalypses ; but many others also.

P- --^ Those who from the beginning were [eye ] witnesses and ministers of
the very Word.

He calls the Apostles those who of old and from the beginning of the
dispensation had followed our Lord ; and TJieopJiilus, to whom he wrote
the Gospel, was his Disciple at the beginning ; and was commander of a
faithful squadron in the city of Alexandria.

LUKE I. 5 17 147

This, of the service of the house of Abia ; the Greek calls the course of
his days [of] Abia; for because from the course of descent they came
lawfully to the priesthood, when it happened that the service of the
priesthood came also in the course to two brothers, they fulfilled their
service, like Nadab and Abihu, and Eleazar and Ithamar, and Hophni
and Phinehas ; that is to say, in the course this ministry also came to
these: as because the two of them were brothers, they fulfilled the
service ; sometimes it was Abia, and sometimes it was Zacharia.

This, that there appeared unto Zacharia an Angel of the Lord, standing
on the right side, etc. He calls what is opposite the priest s entrance the
right side of the altar; for there was not a right and a left side to the
altar, so he calls the right hand of the priest the right side of the altar.
He was standing at the right side, and was not in front of it, keeping
order and honour to the priesthood, for that was his place, as he [the Angel] Acts 10. 5
did with Cornelius, that he did not snatch the rank of the Apostolate, by
bringing him to discipleship and baptism ; but he said, " Send to Joppa and
fetch Simeon," and like that which is in Ezekiel, that the Angel Michael Ezek. 10.2
did not venture to take fire and scatter it on the city, as was commanded ; e p. ^
but he came and stood at the side of a cherub, and the cherub stretched out 1
his hand below the Cherubim to the fire which was amongst the Cherubim ;
and took [it] up and threw [it] into the palms of Michael s hands ; because
the order of the Cherubim was higher than the rest of the orders ; and like is. 6. 6
the Seraph who did not dare to take the coal into his hands without tongs,
a type of the Body of our Lord ; and we ought to know, that Zacharia did
not see the vision, according to the customs that the priests had received.
For all the former priests had received revelations from the order and
from among the Cherubim ; but now [it was] from the altar of incense
which was within the outer curtain.

And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even in Jus mothers womb.
This was really done with him alone.

And he shall go before Him, that is to say, before the Lord their God, f. Sob
that is to say, the Messiah.

This of He shall drink neither wine nor strong drink ; he calls strong
drink all that is not pressed from the vine; such as from barley, and dates,
and figs, etc.

This of in the spirit and power of Elia, the Prophet. He does not say
this, that he would take the spirit of Elia ; as the spirit of Elia was less
than that which John would take ; for on the one hand the justice of that
[man] was observed by the punishment of sinners ; through this [man], on

148 LUKE I. I/ 22

the other hand, it absolved sins by the baptism of repentance. Through
that [man], on the one hand, fire came down from Heaven, and burned up
the wicked ; through this [man], on the other hand, He brought down absolu
tion and the pardon of sins from above to sinners. Nevertheless he calls
the spirit of Elia the zealous will which resembles that of Elia ; that by
which he was strengthened before the iniquity of Herod and Herodia, just
as Elia reproved Ahab and Jezebel. For in many things also John
p. * resembles Elia. He, on the one hand, was said to be a hairy man, and
[to have] a belt of skins about his loins ; this [man], on the other hand,
2Kingsi.8 instead of the natural hair of Elia, introduces ascetic hair ; and instead

of a belt of skins, a leathern girdle.

Mai. 4. 5 And this, Behold I send you Elia the prophet, that is to say, in the

last revelation of the Messiah from Heaven ; this [man], moreover, is he
who shall go before Him in His first revelation in the flesh ; the dwelling
of both of them was in the wilderness. Both of them were sons of priests ;
both of them were sons of barren women ; both of them were virgins ;
both of them were sons of just and righteous people ; both of them were
zealots ; the one was tormented by wicked Ahab and Jezebel ; the other
by Herod and Herodia, that fountain of corruption.

This, He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children. He calls
fathers those who were foremost in doctrine, and children those who are in
Matt.i2.27 the rank of disciples ; as our Lord said, By whom do your children cast
them out ? that is to say, the Apostles.

And he shall make ready a people prepared for the Lord ; as the con
gregation of Christians who took substance in the New Testament is like
this.

This of Henceforth thou sJialt be dumb ; not as if he thought him

worthy of this punishment, because he doubted on account of sterility and

old age and weakness, did he cause him to be speechless ; but this was

Matt. 9. 20 intentionally established, and as in a figure, like that with the afflicted one

Matt.i5.22 [Berenice] and the woman of Canaan, etc. ; for because he [Zacharia] was

as the tongue of the body of the people ; and he knew that when these

f. 8 1 a glorious words about himself were repeated from his mouth, he would be

p. 03 thought to be a boaster and an egotist ; and the words would be considered

false by those who did not believe, by reason, they would say, of the doubt

in his mind, that is to say, before he was silent ; so that by means of his

dumbness, the mouth of blasphemers should be bridled about the Divine

words.

This of They perceived that he had seen a vision in the Temple, both

LUKE I. 2228 149

from his silence and from the radiance of his face, he beckoned, for
both the [power] of hearing and that of speaking were taken from him.

This of slie Jiid herself five months ; first, being amazed at the novelty of
what was done ; second, because of the affliction of Zacharia ; and third,
because of the modesty of her old age ; and fourth, because perhaps she was
not certain that she would give birth ; fifth, it was more appropriate when
the babe should be perfect in his limbs, for him to leap before his Lord ; Ephraim,
because Mary also was about to receive an annunciation. (M6s.)

This of to take away my reproach among men ; because a woman who pp&gt; 15&gt; 19
was sterile and bereft of an heir was despised among men.

The annunciation to Zacharia was on the loth of October ; but the cf.

Ep
annunciation to Mary was on the roth of Nisan. mat.

Now this of /;/ the sixth month Gabriel was sent; he means [six months] p j|
from the loth of October to the loth of the month Nisan ; The Angel
Gabriel was sent from [God] etc. Now Gabriel, according to some, is the
chief of all the ranks of spiritual beings, and they say that Michael is the
chief of the lower order, that which is specially called [the legion] of
Angels. Others say, that the chief of the legion of Angels is Gabriel.
Now this one was sent; first because his name was known in the Old
Testament with Daniel ; to shut the mouths of the calumniating Jews, who
perhaps would say that his name and his adventure were fictitious ; second, p. o
that he might sufficiently decree rest to the old covenant, and prepare
an introduction to that which was new and spiritual.

Now this, of the house of David, is common both to Joseph, and
to the Virgin ; because it was commanded that each tribe should only
marry within its tribe. The Angel went to her in a venerable and aged
form, in order that the venerable woman might not be frightened ; for the
time of his entrance was day, because the Gospel (the Annunciation)
was Light ; and because He, who was announced is called most suitably
at once by the Prophets and by our Lord Himself, Light and the Sun,
and the Splendour. If then the annunciation of the conception of the
Servant was made in the day-time, and on the day of Atonement, and
before the Altar, how much more the annunciation of the conception of
the Lord? Now the Angel found her, according to Theologians, occupied f. Si b
in prayer, and seeking mercy both for herself and her nation, which were
subjugated under the sceptre of the Romans.

This of Hail to thee ! Not from himself did he offer her greeting, but
from Him that sent him ; according to the rule of the ambassadors of the
Kingdom, he begins first with greeting, to quiet the fear that entered that
enclosed garden and sealed fountain at the sudden sight of a man ; second, Cant. 4. 12

150 LUKE I. 2834

that by means of a greeting he might sow expectation of good things
among men, and that Sin and the Curse should cease, and that the wrath
of God which is upon our nature should be repealed, etc.; third, to shew
that the greeting which was announced [was], according as Prophets and
Apostles preached about Him, and He also [preached] about Himself; for
with that voice of Hail to thee ! the Lord of the greeting also dwelt in the
p. \ Virgin ; for was not the greeting sufficient, and did not Heaven give
greeting to the Earth ? Some say, that with that voice that said, the
Lord is with thee, some material was taken up, that is to say, one drop
of blood was formed from the Virgin, and was deified, and was made
a Son, and was united with God the Word, and became a temple to the
adorable Trinity. Others say, that when Mary said, Behold me the hand
maid of the Lord ! the Word dwelt in the Virgin, and was united with the
material which He took. Ambrose of Milan and Ephraim the Great tell
this last explanation.

Now this which he added, Filled ivith grace, first, shews the novelty of
the present operation, for the operation of conception was not administered,
on the one hand, in the order of nature, but on the other hand, by the
power of grace ; second, that this second creation was built up by grace,

PS. 89. 2 like the first one also, as it is said, I have said that the world was built up

John 1.17 by grace, etc. ; third, that Truth and Grace were by means of Jesus Christ
according to the Gospel ; and this spiritual dispensation is also called
Grace, a deed which was wrought with Man of which he was not worthy.
Nestorius says that The Lord is zvith thee, and the Lord is from thee; with
thee on the one hand in Godhead, from thee on the other hand in manhood.
Now he added this Blessed art thou among women, first, for a sign that
by the birth that shall be from thee the Curses are loosed from human
nature, those that have reigned by the first Curse to Eve ; second, that in

Gen. 12. 3 thee shall all nations be blessed, according to the promise to Abraham ; as

f. 82 a Paul also testifies; third, that in thee they shall be delivered from female

p. -u nature; as in a mystery, [from] the pains and pangs which sprung from

sin, by the Child which in a virginal manner thou hast brought forth without

labour; and justly, for there are no pangs to a virgin, who knoweth not a man;

IB. 9. e for the name of a virgin and the name of pangs cannot be true together ;
yet just as a Child is born to us without a father, thus also a Son is given to
us without pangs ; and where there was no desire at the beginning, neither
are there any pangs at the end. And just as the Virgin did not know how
that holy body was formed within the womb, thus neither in His birth did
she feel pains. And Prophecy bears witness about this, saying, Before the

Is. 66. 7 pains of labour came, she was delivered, and brought forth a man child ;

LUKE I. 2932 151

and just as that woman, who was the mother of Sin, and of this dying world,
brought forth in sorrows and pains, it was right that this [woman] also, who
was the Mother of Life, and of the Virgin Son, who was Father of the future,
that is, of a virgin world, should begin with joy in conception, and finish
with joy in birth ; for there is nothing that pollutes, where God is.

Now this, She was troubled at his saying ; for although she was troubled,
because of the newness of the event, yet she was not agitated like Zacharia.

And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.
Now David was called on the one hand the Father of our Lord, as in the
nature of His manhood ; the Servant, on the other hand, as from His
Divinity. Now which throne ? not that in Palestine ; that the Babylonian
confounded; and he humbled the seed of David; but that throne which PS. 89. 36
was by the promise, that his seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as p ^
the Sun before Me ; and like the Moon it shall be established for ever ; 37
and again he says, His throne [shall be] as the days of Heaven, etc. ; for 29
the promise of the kingdom is not about a throne that David took on earth,
but about that which is in Heaven ; and it is evident from this that He IB. 9. 7
added that to His kingdom there shall be no end; but to this one there
happened a consummation in a short time; as it is written, and He
added many sorrows, by means of Absalom, and by means of Jeroboam,
and by means of Nebuchadnezzar. Again, the throne of David was
changed by Solomon, and he put one of ivory with six steps instead iKingsio.
of it; and this too the Babylonians removed. Again, it is written, " 9%
He shall reign on the throne of David, that there shall be no end in
Jerusalem and in the earth. God, it is said, is the Strong One of the Is 9 6
ages, and His kingdom, it is said, is an everlasting kingdom, that passeth Dan. 7. 27
not away, Daniel says. And if He is the Son of God, as is said, f 82
but God, whose throne is in Heaven ; again, the Heaven, He saith, is My Pa n 4
throne, etc. ; therefore also the Son rules in that world over angels and Is - 66 - x
believers ; but in the new world over Demons and unbelievers. He says,
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at My right hand, etc. Again, Pfl 110 x
a throne indicates authority here and everywhere; but the authority is
naturally of God the Word, and by Him originally it was promised to
David, and in his Son at the last it received fulfilment, saying, Thy
throne hath no end, O God, for ever and ever, calling our Lord God-, as is
evident from the series of all the Psalms. Now Daniel says that His Dan 4 3
power is an everlasting power, and never passes away. Therefore it was
not the kingdom of David that our Lord possessed, like wicked Ahaz
and Manasseh, but of God the Word, which is united to Him.

152 LUKE i. 3335

And why, being King of all, is it said only that He shall rule over the house
of Jacob ? We say, first, because from thence the kingdom began, and these
were the first to be made Disciples, and at the same time Disciple-makers
and Preachers in the world ; Thou seest, our brother, it is said, how many
Acts 21. 20 myriads there are in Judaea, etc.; second, because of the promises to David,
that from him our Lord should descend ; third, because of the weakness of
the hearers, for it would not have been credible, if it had been said at
Phil. 2. 10 once, that in His name every knee should bow that are in Heaven and
on earth, etc. ; fourth, it is said, over the liouse of Jacob, as from a part
about the whole, according to the custom of the world and of the Scriptures;
fifth, because here of the ancients ; they did not think of the Messiah as
God over all, but as a man, and as one of the Prophets, and as a king who
should reign over the earth. For this reason he says, that He shall reign
over the house of Jacob.

This of How shall this be, seeing I know not a man ? is like what the
Angel declared to her, that at the completion of nine months thou shalt
bring forth ; and therefore she answered, / know not a man. By this, that
if the time were not sufficient for her, and it came to an end, she would
have abstained from being united to her betrothed, and would give birth
after a time.

This of The Holy Ghost, and the power of the Highest, etc. He says

the Ghost, about His power, and that He does all that He wills ; and Holy,

p. + because of His unchangeableness ; for the name of Holy is Hebrew, and is

explained in Syriac as one who changes not ; and everything that is

f. 83 a separated from anything either by riches or by poverty, either by good

PS. 16. s things or by evil things, etc., is called holy in Hebrew ; like this, Even to

the holy ones that are in the earth, and to the excellent, of all my pleasure,

etc.

He says the power of tJie Highest about the invincible Energy which is
sufficient for all perfection. And we must know that here at the beginning
of the Incarnation he declares about the Trinity, saying The Holy Ghost shall
come ; behold the Person of the Spirit ; and The Power of the Highest shall
overshadow \thee] ; behold the Person of the Father from Whom is the
Son. Now the Highest is the Father ; and His power is the Word of God ;
and it is evident that he calls the Son the Power, from this, My power, and
Gen. 49. 3 the beginning of my strength, that is to say, my son, etc. See how even
the Patriarchs also very often call God the Word natural and personal
power from the Father.

LUKE I. 3656 153

And as if for the confirmation of these things, the Angel added, Behold,
thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age ; therefore
thou also must not doubt about the newness of those things that have
been spoken. Behold, thy cousin, that is to say, the sister of thy mother.

This, And Mary arose, and ^vent carefully, that is to say, in order that
she might get a verification of these things that had been spoken about her (Mos.)
by the Angel ; and it is likely that she went to Elizabeth by the command
of Joseph ; and that he gave her a mule, and a servant, and sent her.
And she would perceive the report of many things that were rumoured
about the conception of Elizabeth. Nevertheless Joseph was not yet aware
of aught of these things that had been spoken to Mary by the Angel ; nor
did she reveal them to him ; but after she had returned from Elizabeth,
from the raising of her womb he knew that she had conceived. p. =*

This, The Babe leaped in my womb ; that babes should be moved in the
womb is a habit of Nature ; but that they should leap, and for joy, was
only by the Holy Ghost ; but here there came to fulfilment that which
the Angel had spoken to Zacharia, that he shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost, ivhilst in his mother s womb. He was conscious, that is to say, that
the Lord came J to him 1 , and he began from the womb to return worship and
praise ; and like the messenger and ambassador of a king, he begins from
now to fulfil the work of his service.

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost; for immediately the
Lord bestowed on His servant, as payment of a reward for his love, the
Spirit which He shewed him, from the womb ; and was designating the
Mother of the Servant by a communication ; and giving her a Revelation
of secret things.

This, He hath put down the mighty from \their~\ seats, that is to say, the
Demons, and the Heathen, and the Jews.

A nd Mary abode with Elizabeth about three months, and returned to her
[own ] house. And why did she return ? It would have been fitting f- 8 3 b
according to the custom, that she should now remain longer, and see the
new things that were in the birth-giving of her aunt, as not only relatives,
but strangers from afar congregated to her. Nevertheless she went,

because it was not fitting that the Mother of our Lord should serve the cf -

Ephraim,
Mother of the Servant. When the time is come for a Star to be born, the Diat.

Sun goes away, that there may be room for the splendour of its light; the p ig
Lord gave room for the Servant to be born.

1-1 Lit. " to his house."

G. I.

154 LUKE I. 5980

BOOK II.

This, // was the eighth day, and they came, etc., for this was a custom of
the Hebrews, that on the eighth day they should circumcise and also fix
the name ; as we also, when we are circumcised with the circumcision that
is not with hands, in the New Birth, receive a name. They called him by
the name of his father, Zacharia, first, because this was 1 proper amongst
them, that fathers and sons should have the same name ; second, because
they thought that perhaps he was one who was born, like Isaac and like
Samson ; and it was necessary that he should also carry on the name of his
father. But his Mother said, Not so, but he shall be called John. The
Angel had taught Zacharia on the one hand, that he should be called John;
Elizabeth, on the other hand, had received it by revelation, that he should
be called thus. Now John is explained as the favour of God ; because he
was about to preach atonement by repentance ; but he should rather
preach about that atonement for all, and Atoner, Jesus the Christ, like the
Rom. 3. 25 Apostle, saying, Him hath God foreordained to be a propitiation by faith,
etc. For also in all the affairs of John there are hidden theories ; in the
annunciation of his conception which was on the day of Atonement, before
the altar of propitiation, a theory of atonement which was given to every
man in the Christ ; for also in the day of the annunciation of his con
ception, the scarlet cloth that hung at the door of the Temple, according
to the yearly custom for a probation, whether God was reconciled to the
is. i. is world or not, was changed from redness, as Isaiah says, Though your sins
be as scarlet, etc., for a solar sign, that by means of Him who was an
nounced by him [John], atonement is bestowed on all rational beings ;
for it was announced at the time of incense, which signifies about the
graciousness that befell the world, and about the reconciliation of the
Lord to His servants.

Now by the binding of the tongue of his father [is signified] the
f. 84 a binding of the Nation and the Nations in Error ; and by the loosening of
p. ^ his tongue their loosening from Error and Apostasy which they receive in
the Christ.

Now his departure to the wilderness typifies our departure from Earth
to Heaven ; and by the knowledge of the Scriptures which he received in
the desert is typified the complete knowledge which we shall receive in
the New World. Now by the desert of Judaea, where he preached, he

1 Codd. add "not."

LUKE I. 7611. I 155

refers to the destruction of mortality, which was about to be dissolved ; by
the garment of hair [was typified] Repentance ; and by the girding of
the loins, about the girding and strenuousness towards sensual and
intellectual wars ; again, about abstinence from lascivious desire which
is completed in the navel ; in the flying of locusts, about the flying
and spiritual state of the Righteous, who [go] in the clouds to meet our
Lord ; and in the sweetness of honey, the sweetness of the beatitudes
higher than all our tribulations which we receive from our Lord ; again,
honey [typifies] that He is said to purify the world from the rust of Sin ;
for honey is a purifier by its nature.

It is written in the book of the Genealogies that this Simeon who carried
our Lord was the son of Onia Bar-Onia the High Priest, and father of Jesus
bar Sira ; for he was a prisoner in spirit, until that time, which was two
hundred and sixteen years.

This, He hatk raised itp an horn of salvation for us, etc. He put a horn
from the likeness of animals, who fight and defend themselves with
horns.

And thou, Child, shall be called the Prophet of the Highest. Now
he speaks of the Highest, not of the Word, and not of man, but
rather of the Messiah, God who was incarnated, and Man who was
deified, for the internal union wrought both words and deeds.

There ^vent out a decree from Augustus ; for he mentions Augustus p. 00*
Caesar, to shew that the prophecy of Jacob was fulfilled, who said that the Gen. 49. 10
sceptre shall not be wanting, etc. ; but this one [Augustus] caused Herod
to reign over Judaea, who was by his race a Philistine, and by his
education an Edomite, who confused altogether the kingdom and the
priesthood of Israel. That census happened providentially ; first, for the
reason that Joseph also and his betrothed might go up of necessity to their
city of Bethlehem ; and the birth should take place within it, according to
the prophecy, which said, And thou, Bethlehem of Judaea, art not the Micah 5. 2
least, etc. ; second, by this general census, every one should be aware of the
birth of the Messiah. For this was also a custom with that Ruler of all f. 846
that he should establish the universality of all his admirable administrations,
a concourse of many people, either in the Old Testament or in the New.
Now Augustus, according to some, is translated splendour ; according to
some, chief of kings ; and C&lt;zsar, according to some, Almighty ; others, that
it leads up to splendour and to the true Almighty, and to eternal things ;
and from the census of Earth to the one that is in Heaven ; and from
material taxes to those that are spiritual.

156 LUKE II. 5

Now this, with his espoused, being great with child, yet he called her

Matt. 1.20 above on the one hand his wife to Joseph, saying, Fear not to take Mary

thy wife ; here, on the other hand, espoused ; for the two are not at random ;

but there to Joseph, who was doubting about conception without union,

he put wife for her sanctity ; but I am persuaded that he [would

not have] called her by this appellation, unless she had been pure ; but

p. cu here he narrates the fact as it was, that the nuncio called her his espoused.

And it is asked, Why was a betrothed woman a dweller in a house with

her betrothed, and a traveller in the way ? And we say, that Mary was

the daughter of parents deprived of sons ; for they had vowed a vow, If

we should have a son, we will give him to the Lord all the days of his

life. The Blessed One was born to them, and after she was weaned, she

was led to the House of the Lord ; both because of the promise, that is

to say, and because her parents were dead ; and there she associated with

chaste women who served continually in the Temple of the Lord, being

cared for by Zacharia the High Priest, and by her aunt Elizabeth ; but

when she came to the age of twelve years, and it was commanded in the

Law that a girl in her courses should not stand in the Temple of the

Lord, Zacharia gathered the heads of the families of Judah, to see to

whom Mary should belong, and when with the lots that they threw, they

also took their staves, and brought them into the Ark, it happened that the

staff of Joseph came out ; and when Joseph was seen, and excused himself

on account of poverty, so to speak, and the burdens of another wife and

sons, the likeness of a dove flew from beside the Blessed One, and rested

f. 85 a in the bosom of Joseph ; and knowing that it was the finger of God, he

espoused her and took her to his house, and delivered her to his wife, who

was also called Mary, to be cared for by her ; not like a rival wife, but like

a beloved daughter. Now in that year, and a little while after that, the

Annunciation was made by Gabriel about that adorable conception.

p. u Again, because it was an old custom that betrothed spouses should live

with one another. About Jacob, it came to my mind, that he resided

for fourteen years with his betrothed ; and about the sons-in-law of Lot,

that they dwelt with him in his house, and about others also ; because

it was a custom of many just men, according to the Law, that when they

took betrothed girls, they were kept in their houses three years, more or

less, and then they associated with them, so that they might shew by this

means, that it was not being overcome by desire that they came to

association, but for the procreation of children ; as this was thought by

them to be the reward of the fruits of righteousness, according to the

LUKE II. 6 13 157

symbolic Law ; and they were called Encratites, of whom Joseph the
Just was one ; again, because a new event, that was not at all expected,
was about to happen, the Virgin should withdraw from vile suspicions ;
again, because it was revealed to them by the Angel, that she had
conceived by the Holy Ghost, therefore he took her with him everywhere
that he went.

Her days were accomplished that she sliould be delivered] and that birth
corresponded to the conception that was above Nature. Nevertheless
there were two things, that which was natural, and that which was above
Nature ; according to Nature, on the one hand, the gradual growth, and
accomplishment of nine months ; above Nature, on the other hand, the con
ception without seed, and the birth without pangs, to shew by that which
was natural, that he is not different from human nature ; and [lest] from this
the error of a phantasy should enter, by what also now here happened
to some; and by this that was above Nature; first, for a sign that He
is the Dissolver of Death, on whose account marriage was instituted ;
second, to shew that He is the Father of the world to come ; and they p. JA*
are born to a new mode [of life], in which there is nothing that defileth.

And she brought forth her first-born son ; he calls Him her son, and not
a son ; in order that He should be known to be the Son of the Virgin only,
but not also of Joseph ; second, in order that the Nativity should be
considered naturally as of Humanity, and not as of God the Word ; as IB. 53. 8
no one shall declare His generation; as it is written; this of first-born,
first, as opening the womb of His Mother ; second, as from Baptism ;
third, as from the Resurrection ; fourth, as head of many brethren, in Rom. 8. 29
the adoption of immortal and steadfast sons, etc. f. 85 b

This, Because there was no room for them, etc., because of the crowd
of all the families of Judah, who congregated there on account of the
census.

Now the Shepherds, who were feeding fiocks in the neighbourhood,
according to the custom of then and now, were keeping watch and tending
fiocks with reed-pipes and whistles ; and the Angel Gabriel, who appeared
to them in the form of the shepherds, caused glory to shine about them, for
a sign that He also whose birth was now announced, is Light, and a Sun,
and Splendour, and a Star, as it is written ; and because the Shepherds Num.24.i7
doubted about these things that were spoken, suddenly there appeared
many of the hosts of Heaven ; for many appeared, for a sign of their service
and subjection to the Child ; second, for the confirmation of what had
been preached by the Angel, saying that He that is born is the Lord,
and the Christ, and the Saviour : for if at the mouth of two or three p. -V

158 LUKE II. 1334

Deut.i9.i5 witnesses every word shall be established, as it is written, how much more,
that which is witnessed by thousands and myriads ? Now they appeared
from Heaven, for a sign that He who had been born is heavenly ; and
that He calls and invites His friends to Heaven ; and on account of a
myriad good things that were done by the birth of our Lord, the spiritual
beings fittingly call out and give praise, Glory to God, etc. Now Glory
is a theory of the adoration of one God, and rejection of demons, and
idols, and of their sacrifices.

Now Peace is a theory of the gift of Immortality, and is bestowed on
all the human race, and is the overthrowing of tyrants, Satan, and Death,
and Sin ; and peace of angry people who make peace with one
another ; God with men, the Highest with the lowest ; the Nation with the
Nations ; and the Soul with the Body. No\v goodwill, in that these good
things have not yet been realized, except as an earnest and a temporary
hope. Now Mar Ephraim says that the Shepherds came with gifts
of three kinds ; flesh, and milk, and praise ; flesh, as for Joseph ; milk, as
for the Mother ; praise, as for the Child ; and he says also that the coming
of the Magi was accomplished also in that day by the Divine mandate
working marvels. Now the Birth was revealed to the Shepherds ; in His
Resurrection to a woman, His Gospel was entrusted to publicans and
fishermen, and tent-makers.

f. 86 a This, Mary kept all these words, etc., that is to say, the leaping of the

cf. Eph- babe in the womb, the revelation to Joseph, the prophecies to Zacharia

(MSs.f" and Elizabeth, the Annunciation of the Angel to herself, the conception

P- 22 without union ; the birth without pangs, and without destruction of

p. v^ virginity ; the coming of the Shepherds and of the Magi, etc., which she

compared with one another, and marvelled at, and considered how a great

and new dispensation was being administered.

This, Behold, he is set for the fall and rising again of many, and for a

sign of controversy. For the fall and controversies were from the event,

John 9. 39 and not from intention ; and like this, For the judgment of this world

Luke 12. si am I come ; and this, I came not to cast peace on earth, but swords,

and divisions ; thus also here ; the intention was to repair the fall ;

and to raise that which was cast upon the earth ; and because

some dispute about rising again, they remain prostrate ; and the

John 7. 12 Gospel teaches that there were both. There were some who said

that He was good ; but some of them said, Nay, but He deceiveth

the people ; and some of them said, This is truly the Christ ; but some

John 7. 41 of them said, Shall the Christ come out of Galilee ? so therefore that

first thing, that is to say, the Fall, and Controversies, were wrought

LUKE ii. 3435 159

amongst the Scribes and Pharisees, etc. ; but that other thing, that is
to say, the rising again, and Peace, amongst the publicans and harlots, and
other such like. And wishing to shew that He who was born was
immeasurably greater than His Mother, he answers this word to Mary,
And a spear shall pass through thine own soul also, that the tlioughts of the
hearts of many may be revealed, that is to say, Thou shalt know accurately
also thyself that thou art much too weak to know exactly the great
ness of this [man], and to understand truly who He is, and how great is His
glory, for if that should be the probation and examination of thy soul, and p. *=&gt;
of the supposition about Him which is in thy mind, thou, even thou, canst
not believe in Him at all along with many ; nor understand the Divine
nature that is in Him. Mar Ephraim says that Thou shalt make a spear
pass through thy soul, that many thoughts of hearts may be revealed, those who
have doubted, that is to say, thou also shalt doubt Him, because He shall be
wonderful in His miracles, and thou shalt relate to others, and they shall
be relieved from doubts about Him by her word ; again, but because the
Blessed One supposed about her Son, on account of the wonderful things
that were said and done about Him, that He was the Messiah the King, f. 86 b
who was about to come, and she had hoped about the Messiah, as also all
the Jews, that when He came, He would abide for ever, and subdue all Johni2.34
the nations, etc., and they would be the princes of the world ; and she also
expected great honour as the mother of a great King ; afterwards the time
was ready, that she should hear and see the calling of the Gentiles, and
the union with them; and His being humiliated and despised, and what Luke22.37
was enacted in His Passion, etc., was outside her expectation ; therefore
Simeon says, A spear shall pierce thy soul, a