Selected Notes on the Pentateuch and Other Books (Selecta on Exodus – Fragments on 1 Samuel)

Selected Notes on the Pentateuch and Other Books

continued

Note 22

1a “For I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, who repays the sins of fathers upon children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, and who shows mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Whom has this saying not troubled? If the father sinned, and the son, and the third and fourth generation receive back the sin, then some people accuse even the God who gave the laws. Others do not accuse him, but sincerely hope for something of this kind, and expect that the sons will receive back their fathers’ sins. The Jews think this, and they do not set up any other god. The Samaritans suppose it, since they too believe they share in the one God. Those from the heresies are not pleased that a God who repays the sins of fathers into the lap of their children could be good or just. They say that the God of the law is neither just nor good, since he repays the sins of the fathers on the sons, and that there is some god greater than he. But the man of the Church neither hears these words in a bodily way, as a Jew does, nor invents another god, as a heretic does. He stands between the two and says: “These things are rightly written, but I do not know the meaning of what is written.” So let all of you lift up your minds and ask that he reveal to you how it is that the one who repays the sins of fathers upon children is good. Who are the fathers? Bring the Scriptures as witnesses; let the sacred words be examined. The Savior and Lord Jesus Christ says to those who sin: “You are from your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth.” So then, if anyone sins, he is from the father, the devil, and for this reason the devil’s sin is repaid upon the son.

1b But that one is the first sinner, the one who suggested the sin to me. I am the second sinner, since I did not throw out his purpose but accepted his working. I ought to stand armed with the full armor of God and hold the shield of faith, so that all the burning arrows of the evil one are put out on the shield of my faith. So if I sin, I am doing the devil’s work. He has cast into my heart the thought that I should commit this sin or that one. First I accept his arrow, and when I have accepted it, then I accept him as well. For it is written this way about Judas: Satan did not enter into him first. First the devil cast into the heart of Judas Simon Iscariot the thought of betraying him, and then, after the morsel, Satan entered into him. So I have a father: if I am holy, God; but if I am a sinner, I have the devil as my father. And also, let us say, the one who immediately worked in me, Antichrist, or some angel of the devil, or a demon, whose working I accepted. In short, I have countless fathers if I become a sinner. Likewise, if I become righteous, God is my father, as the Savior says: “Little children, I am with you a little while longer.” And again: “Daughter, your faith has saved you.” And again: “Child, your sins are forgiven.” In this way I know of other fathers too, according to what is written to Abraham: “You will go away to your fathers.” This does not mean his fathers according to the flesh, for they were not faithful and not holy, as is clear from the history written about them. For if his father had been holy, it would not have been said to him, “Go out from your land, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house.”

1c For the word has a bodily sense and it has a spiritual sense. If you have understood who the fathers are, then see what follows: because you have sinned, you receive your repayment from the devil, or from one of the spirits under him, since you accepted his working. So having become a son of those, you receive what is due to you from the good God who is visiting you. For he is not visiting your father; he is visiting you, and he says to you, “Listen, daughter, and see, and incline your ear,” and so on. And he gives to you as one who is good. For he visits you, the son of the wicked father, and repays the sins. “So I will visit your lawless deeds with a rod,” says he to you who are holy; “and I will visit their injustices with whips.” Why? So that “I may not scatter my mercy away from them.” For when God abandons someone, he no longer punishes him or whips him. For he does not “whip” everyone, but “every son whom the Lord receives.” And it is said in the prophet about those who are completely sinful: “I will not visit your daughters when they commit fornication, nor your brides when they commit adultery.” For all this time, from the creation and the foundation of the world, the devil has been sinning, and there is neither fire nor whip for him. For he is not worthy of the punishments that come from God. For the devil cannot say, “Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,” and so on. So let each one who is aware of his own sins pray to be punished. For it is good to have done nothing worthy of punishment. But if we have done something worthy of punishment, let us be punished in such a way that we receive our due here, and after this find rest in the bosom of Abraham.

Note 23

“And these are my ordinances, which you shall set before them. If you acquire a Hebrew servant,” and so on. It is necessary to examine what a law is, and what a command, and what ordinances, and judgments, and testimonies, and commandments. An ordinance, then, is what is said here: “If you acquire a Hebrew servant,” and the rest that is said about him. A judgment is, for example, that if a priest’s daughter commits adultery, she is burned with fire. Commandments are such as, “You shall have no other gods.” A command is, “Go down and testify to the people, and let them wash their garments.” Testimonies are such as, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today.”

Note 24

“Six years he shall serve you; but in the seventh year he shall go out free, without payment.” The release in the seventh year, and also the rest from works on the sabbath, signify the freedom we have by grace through Christ.

Note 25

“His master shall bring him to the court of God.” Aquila and Symmachus said, “to the gods.” They call the judges gods, and the “court of God” is the verdict of these judges.

Note 26

“Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. Keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time of the month of the new [grain]. For in it you came out of Egypt. You shall not appear before me empty. And you shall keep a feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of your works.” So the feasts of God, since they have spirit in them, are spiritual. No one who is earthly keeps the spiritual feasts in a spiritual way. “For what harmony is there between righteousness and lawlessness?” (I will not go on to the rest.) An earthly person cannot keep spiritual feasts, just as a spiritual person cannot keep an earthly feast. And after a little: What is the month of the new? You will say it means the fruits we can see. But the month of the new has not yet arrived, since the year, let us say, is still late. And if there should ever be a year in which the land does not bear its fruits, can we then keep the feast in the month of the new, as God commanded those who keep the feast to do? So the feast would have to be kept year by year. I am also puzzled again about the second law, the one about the second feast. For it says, “the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits.” If someone sows, and the fruits do not come first but last, he could not keep the feast of the beginning of the harvest of the firstfruits. For you must have produce in order to be able to keep the feast. And what if I have no land? How could I keep this feast, when the text says, “And you shall keep a feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of your works, of whatever you sow in your field”? I did not sow; I am a builder. I did not sow; I am a weaver. I have no field. How can I keep the second feast? And the same holds for the third: “And the feast of completion at the going out of the year.”

Note 27

And after other things: What does the word want to tell us when it commands us to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the month of the new? Put off the old man with his practices. And so that you may keep the feast in the month of the new, become new yourself, so that the month of the feast of the new may also be your month. For this month belongs to the new, and not to the old. How, then, must you too become new? The apostle Paul, understanding the feasts, and the feast of the new, says, “Having put off the old man with his practices, and having put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created him.” So in order to keep the feast in the month of the new, you must become new and put away all oldness. Then what feast do you keep first? That it is the feast of unleavened bread, learn from the Apostle: “For our Passover, he says, Christ has been sacrificed for us. So let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” And gather together at the same time what has been laid down about the feast of unleavened bread, and you will see the senselessness of those who cling to the letter as though it were the spiritual meaning, and who despise the spiritual interpreters as though they were of no use.

Note 28

“You shall not appear before me empty.” Know that every person is either empty or full. If someone does not have the Holy Spirit, has no knowledge of the Creator, has not received Jesus Christ as life, does not know the Father in heaven, does not live according to the Word and the heavenly law, is not self-controlled and does not act justly, such a person is empty. But if he has made room for God who said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God,” he is not empty but full.

Note 29

“Three times in the year every male of yours shall appear before the Lord your God.” I would say this is what the text means. What we do is either female or male. If what we do is female, it is bodily or fleshly. For when we sow to the flesh, we make the offspring of the soul female, not male: limp, soft and material. But if we look at the things that are eternal and set our mind on the better things, and bear the fruits of the Spirit, then all our offspring are male. So what is brought before God, what will be seen by the eye of the Creator, is male and not female. For God does not think it worthy to look at what is female and bodily.

Notes on Exodus

Note 15

Verse 25. “There God set down for him statutes and judgments, and there he tested him.” God tests for our benefit. For he cannot be tested by evils himself. He tests so that, if they obey him, they may obtain good things and be set free from evils.

Note 20

Verse 4. “You shall not make for yourself an idol.” An idol is one thing, and a likeness is another. It is a likeness if you make the likeness of a fish, a four-footed animal or a wild beast, whether by craftsmanship or by painting. An idol is whatever the soul forms in its imagination and makes out of things that do not exist, as an original invention. For example, a creature mixed together from a man and a horse. Verse 4 (continued). “Whatever is in heaven above, and whatever is on the earth below, and whatever is in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them.” To bow down is one thing, and to serve is another. The one who gives himself to these things with his whole soul does not only bow down but also serves them. But the one who pretends, and acts out of custom, does not serve them, yet he bows down. You will find such people in the book of Numbers, who were gratifying women and bowing down to idols.

Note 28

Verse 30. Since it is fitting for the high priest to carry around, both in front and behind, like a shield, a watchful and protective care, lest some opposing counsel from the spirits of wickedness wound his reason, throw into confusion the trustworthiness of his judgments, and, by mixing in evil, make the disclosure and the truth fall away.

Note 31

Verse 1. “And the Lord spoke to Moses.” The all-wise God kept Moses for a full forty days to give the law, though he was able to give the law in three days. But he did so in order that the time of Moses’ absence might expose the ungodliness hidden in the depth of the Jews’ hearts.

Selecta on Leviticus

Note 1

“And he called Moses back.” It is named Leviticus because what concerns the priesthood and the sacrifices, and whatever commands of that kind God gave, are set out in this book of Leviticus. Exodus also contains laws from God. But how the priests were consecrated by anointing, how the tent was constructed and received its fitted assembly, and many other things, Leviticus records. If it also contains some other matters, that is no surprise, for the title “Leviticus” indicates what is most important in it.

Note 2

By the same author. Those who do not look rightly at the teaching on sacrifices either despise it as a cheap legislation that contains nothing worthy of the Creator, or else they ungodly condemn the Creator himself for legislating cheap things. But the one who has understood what David said and what the Apostle said can see that teachings worthy of God lie hidden in these things. David says, “Uncover my eyes, and I will contemplate the wonders out of your law.” The Apostle cries out, “The law is spiritual.”

Note 3

“A man from among you, if he brings gifts to the Lord.” We have observed in many places in the Scriptures that “gifts” is said of living animals, while “sacrifices” is said of things without life, as in what is said in Genesis: “And God looked at Abel and at his gifts, but he did not pay attention to Cain and his sacrifices.” This also needs to be said: of living things it says, “A man from among you, if he brings gifts”; but of lifeless things, “if a soul.” The soul stands for the lifeless thing. The result is that, of the irrational animal, only the rational part is left, and, with the lifeless thing overcome by the fire, only the living part remains.

Note 4

“They pour out the blood at the altar.” The altar on which the whole burnt offerings are sacrificed is called the altar of burnt offering. The inner altar is the altar of incense.

Note 5

By the same author. Because the Jews, who had grown used to sacrifices in Egypt, delighted in them, as the making of the calf in the wilderness also testifies, God allowed them to offer these to himself. In this way he bridled their unruly impulses toward many gods and toward sacrificing to demons.

Note 6

“But if one soul sins unwillingly.” Whatever evil someone does is unwilling. It should be noted that Scripture calls the unwilling act of ignorance a sin. The blessed Paul also recalls certain other things when he says, “For the law had a shadow of the things to come.”

Note 7

From the same. “If a soul sins unintentionally,” it says, “and does not do some of all the commands of the Lord,” this is in keeping with nature. For perhaps there are even some commands of the Lord that one ought not to do, according to the saying, “I gave them statutes that were not good.” So a soul sins unintentionally when, under the pretext of piety, it keeps what it should not keep. Such a soul needs a sacrifice for forgiveness. The one who acts on purpose does not need a sacrifice. An example is the man who became a Jew in order to win Jews, and who circumcised Timothy.

Note 8

“The soul that touches anything unclean, or anything that has died of itself.” By “that which has died of itself” he means the person who has died to God, with whom one must not even eat, for whoever touches him is unclean. This also is unclean: what has been hunted down by our adversary the devil. The unclean beasts could be those who have come to the word but remain beast-like, and who have sinned unto death, and have not become worthy to be saved even along with the beasts, according to the saying, “You will save men and beasts, O Lord.”

Note 9

“Everyone who touches them will be made holy.” Some say that “will be made holy” means “will be defiled.” I think this is not because of the sacrifice but because of the boldness of the one who touches. For Haggai says, “Whoever touches will be defiled.”

Note 10

From the same. We say that the sacrifices were rather a source of food for the priests, and a shadow of true piety. The gain from sacrificing is twofold: honor is offered to God, and a person would not worship what he himself sacrifices, nor think it to be God.

Note 11

“And you shall not die.” The word seems to threaten death to priests who drink wine and strong drink when they go into the tent. For bishops who pray on behalf of the people must turn away from drunkenness, not only that of wine but also that of worldly affairs and human reasonings. He does not forbid this as though wine were improper in itself. He forbids it because he knew the lack of self-control in the Israelites: whenever they started drinking, they went on to excess. So when they enter the holy things, they should keep the soul sober and exact, and the remembrance of God fine and clear.

Note 12

“Why did you not eat the sin offering in the holy place?” He shows that if the priests do not eat, the sacrifice is left incomplete and the sin remains. For some of the blood should have been brought in, and they themselves should have eaten.

Note 13

“If today they have offered their sin offerings.” Since it happened, he says, that Nadab and Abihu died for offending God, at the very time when they should have eaten the people’s sin offering so that what the people had sinned might be forgiven, how shall we, who today are convicted in our sins, win forgiveness by eating? For the priest must first make atonement for himself.

Note 14

“These are the animals you shall eat.” Wild beasts are in no way clean, for all are unclean according to the law which says, “Everything that goes on its paws among all the wild beasts shall be unclean to you.” In a general sense, all the cruelest of men could be called wild beasts, about whom the prophet says, “When evildoers draw near against me to eat my flesh,” and so on.

Note 15

“Every animal that has a divided hoof.” The divided hoof stands for the person who lives devoutly in this present age and hastens toward the age to come. As for the dividing of the hoof and the cleaving of the claws, it stands for the person who cuts away what is superfluous and dead from his hands, that is, his actions, and from his feet, that is, his manner of life. In addition, as for chewing the cud, it means not only taking in spiritual food but also recalling it and meditating on it continually.

Note 16

“This is the law concerning the animals and the birds and every living creature.” He gives much attention to clean and unclean. First he teaches that the soul is to be holy. For if what is natural, made as it is by God’s command, can be unclean, how much more can what comes from a wicked choice and has not come about by God’s command? If someone considers unclean what God made, how much more what stands opposed to God’s will and does the very thing he forbade?

Note 17

“If a scar appears on a person, in the skin of his flesh.” This is applied to certain blemishes of the soul. When bodily wounds have been healed, a mark of what the place suffered sometimes remains, which we call a scar. In the same way a soul that has taken the wound of sin, even if it receives healing, sometimes keeps what is left behind like a scar. We must also understand how it is cleansed from this, or how it is not cleansed.

Note 18

“For a man or woman on whom there is a stroke of leprosy.” We should observe the difference in wording. In some cases the text says, “If it appears on anyone, in the skin of his flesh,” or “For a man or woman on whom there is a stroke of leprosy among them.” In others it says, “If flesh has a sore in its skin,” or “If flesh has a burn of fire in its skin.” These are wounds.

Note 19

“His garments shall be loosened.” By this the text hints that the one whose soul has been made leprous must not hide his sins or cover them up. Just as the garments of a man who is loosened do not cover his shame, so the law wants him to be exposed to all, and not to become a whitewashed tomb. To have the mouth covered means to have no boldness to open the mouth. To go outside the camp means no longer to dwell together with the choirs of the saints.

Note 20

“And they shall slay the one bird in an earthen vessel.” The little bird is sacrificed in an earthen vessel, with living water put into it beforehand, so that the cleansing may come by water and blood, which came out from the side of the Savior. By “cedar wood” he means the wood of our salvation. The scarlet thread spun was a type of the precious blood, by which the whole world is cleansed. I take the hyssop to be the warmth that comes through the Spirit, and the scarlet cord to show the Word’s union with flesh.

Note 21

“He shall shave his head and his beard.” He shaves the head with respect to the principal and chief points of doctrine. With respect to the beard, which is the symbol of the man, he puts away the sins of the man. With respect to the eyebrows, he puts away all conceit, and, if I may coin a word, all “eyebrow-raising” pride. He says these things are symbols: having grown on and sprouted from the soul, they are called hairs of deadness.

Note 22

“He shall take two lambs without blemish, a year old.” The text divides what is offered into three. One is the release from sins previously committed. Another is that the whole is offered to God. The other is what is offered on behalf of the one being cleansed, concerning what has been done by him. Perhaps the three tenths of fine flour are also taken so that one tenth goes with the lamb that is slain, the second with the other, and the third with the sheep. So at the fifth cleansing he has not meal but fine flour, which is a symbol of the material for pure bread, and it is mixed with oil. This oil is taken as nourishing light, serving the need for light and not for fire. He also has, apart from the oil taken for mixing the fine flour, oil by itself, which is offered through the priest, being the measure of a cotyle. And it seems to me that the words “The priest who cleanses the man shall set the man who is being cleansed” very much require a priest, and that this happens before the Lord.

Note 23

“And the one whose house it is shall come and tell the priest.” We say that the lawgiver did not mean that someone must go to the priest to accuse his own house. He meant rather that he goes to ask a physician for a remedy for what has happened. So we say that the synagogue of the Jews has been made leprous. The person who reports stands for the choir of the holy prophets. They report to the great High Priest, that is, before his indignation, the sufferings of the Jews’ folly. They do this not from hatred or enmity but out of reverence for the benefactor. They acknowledge the Jews’ offenses, and yet they call upon him to have mercy.

Notes on Leviticus

Note 4

27 Verse 27. “If a soul sins unintentionally,” he says, “and does not do some of all the commandments of the Lord which it ought to do.” (12) But if it is according to nature. Perhaps there are some commandments of the Lord which one ought not to do, as in the saying, “They gave them commandments that were not good.” So a soul sins unintentionally when, under pretext of piety, it keeps what it should not keep. And it needs a sacrifice for forgiveness, though the one who acts on purpose does not need a sacrifice. An example is the man who became a Jew in order to win Jews, and who circumcised Timothy. 28 Verse 28. This shows that even the thing that is offered is itself called “sin.” That is how we should understand the saying, “They will eat the sins of my people.” So if the one who sins seems to sacrifice the sin itself by repenting, he ought not to fall into the same things again, since the sin comes to life again. In this way it is possible to call Christ “sin,” because he was slain for the sin of all.

Note 12

Verse 2. “A woman who, if she is seeded, and bears a male child.” The words “if she is seeded,” placed before “and bears a male,” will seem superfluous. But I wonder whether he said the whole thing prophetically. Mary bore a male child without having been seeded. He may have said it so that she would not be thought unclean for having borne the Savior. Yet even if the words “if she is seeded” had not been put first, Mary could still be understood as not unclean. For she is not simply a woman but a virgin.

Note 13

Verse 45. “And the leper, in whom is the plague, his garments shall be loosened, and his head uncovered.” Why does he command that the leper’s head be uncovered and his garments loosened? So that he may be recognized, and so that those who come near do not share in the uncleanness. In the same way the Apostle said about those who sin: “Keep yourselves away from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which you received from us.” And again: “If anyone who is called a brother is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or a drunkard, or abusive, or a robber, do not eat with such a person.”

Note 23

2 Verse 2. “These are the feasts of the Lord.” Every joyful day on which certain things are prescribed to be done, as on a holy day, distinct from the other days, is called a feast. But not every one is a festal assembly. A festal assembly is so called, according to the name, when people gather in one place from every direction. So a festal assembly is also a feast, but a feast is not necessarily also a festal assembly. For example, Sabbaths and New Moons are feasts. But Unleavened Bread, the days of Weeks, and Tabernacles are not only feasts but also festal assemblies. 40 Verse 40. “And branches of palms.” Through these we can understand that God again, in Christ, gives us the delights of paradise. The boughs of evergreen plants signify in themselves the continuance of grace and the unfading nature of hope.

Note 27

15 Verse 15. “But if the one who sanctified it redeems his house, he shall add to it a fifth of the silver of the valuation, and it shall be his.” Suppose someone sanctions to God not the value of a house or a field but the things themselves. He shall pay the value with the fifth when he redeems them, and he shall keep the possessions. But he shall not sell them to others. And even if he sells them, the buyer will hold them only until the Jubilee, and after that they shall belong to God. 16 Verse 16. “But if from the field.” The one who has bought a field by purchase will not take it back for himself. Instead, having paid the fruit of it to God in due proportion, he will give the field back in the Jubilee to the one who sold it.

Selecta on Numbers

Note 1

“Our eyes see nothing but the manna.” It was named “Man” because the Hebrews, seeing a strange sight for the first time, said to one another in their native language, “Man,” that is, “What is this?” They would not have said that if it had been customary, as some of the Gentiles say, for the nature of those places to produce such things from ancient times. And even now, if a little comes down, it is for the sake of remembrance.

Note 2

“And they did not add.” The words “to prophesy” are missing. He means that they no longer prophesied. They prophesy only once, so that they would not be made equal to Moses. But so that it might be known that they had received a share, they all prophesy together. For in Christ the Spirit is one, and there is one working through all.

Note 3

“And the people did not move on until Miriam was [shut away / cleansed].” The tent stayed seven days in the place in honor of Mary, so that she, being in such a condition, would not have to follow along. “Send men for yourself,” and so on. He commands that some be sent, showing that they were now drawing near to Palestine, [having made clear that the way out of Egypt had been easier for the Hebrews]. And having exposed their unbelief, he assigns the wilderness as a tomb to those whose minds remained hard. For the death of the ungodly is preferable to wandering in life.

Note 4

“And Moses named Ause the son of Nave, Jesus.” It should be noted that the son of Nave became a type of Christ. Christ freed the most pitiable people from their wandering and led them up into heaven, not into a land that devours its inhabitants.

Note 5

“Surely they will not see the land which I swore to their fathers.” Notice that some of those who came out of the land of Egypt did enter the land of promise, for God did not forbid this. He destroyed in the wilderness only those who were twenty years old and above, of those who came out of Egypt and made the calf. He spared the young, who were related to them, whose time of life had not yet reached twenty years. Much more did he spare the infants and small children, up to the age of adolescence.

Note 6

From the same. This is a type of the truth: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom.”

Note 7

“Take up the bronze fire-pans.” Just as the bronze serpent was a sign of their unbelief, so also were the fire-pans of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, which were put around the altar as a covering.

Note 8

“And to the sons of Levi, see, I have given every tithe in Israel.” It was reasonable that the firstfruits be assigned to the priests, since the tribe of Levi does not inherit and does not receive an allotment as the others do. This allotment, a share with the altar, is what brings about the priests’ lack of possessions. The people gave tithes to the Levites, and the Levites gave to the priests. “Shall we not bring water out of this rock for you?” Moses did not give glory to God before the people, and so he was prevented from crossing over with them. And lest they honor him in death with the worship that belongs to God, when they had honored him while he lived, God made the place [of his] tomb unseen.

Note 9

“Now this assembly will lick up all who are around us.” This took its illustration from the calf. As the calf has the green grass in its mouth, so the holy people, fighting with their lips, have their weapons in their mouths, through their prayers. Balak knew that this had plainly happened in the earlier wars, and he wanted to fight with weapons of the lips too. So he calls Balaam, who had as his weapons curses on his lips, the weapons of the opposing power. For the holy angels work together with the righteous toward saving and good deeds. The evil demons work together with impious, sinful people toward wicked deeds that harm people’s salvation. The holy fight with the words of prayers, but the impious and sinful with the words of magic.

Note 10

From the same. The history, taken in terms of the events as they appear to the senses, is also full of great benefit. From the history before us we learn many things. We learn that it is possible to fight with words, and that great matters are managed and set right through words. The holy fight with the words of prayers; the impious fight with the words of magic.

Note 11

From the same. The opposing power never does a good work, but works only the worst things. And the evil that it works, it cannot restore to something better, for it does not have the standing of the better. But for the better power all things are possible. For our God causes pain and then restores again, but he has no evil to work. He is good not only by disposition but also by his very being.

Note 12

From the same. Among human practices there are also oracles that are carried out, and sacrifices, and certain gifts offered to demons, so that those who wish may divine by means of these offerings. Each such practice is an oracle, for it is not a true prediction.

Note 13

“And [the Lord] came to him.” In truth a divine power came to Balaam, though he had not called it. It came, then, to turn away the demons that Balaam was calling, and to arrange the divine predictions.

Note 14

“And the angel of God stood up to oppose him on the road.” The angel who opposes Balaam on the road: could this be the one of whom God said to Moses, “My angel goes before you, guarding you on the way”?

Note 15

“Go with these men.” God had not allowed Balaam to go to Balak. But since Balaam wanted to go, God permits it. He commands him to say only what is revealed to him, and the angel, appearing and frightening him, confirms this. “Build me seven altars.” Works are also done through another body, both on the better side and on the worse. Examples are what happened in Egypt through Moses and Aaron and the enchanters. But when the divine power is measured against the opposing power face to face, in the sight of those who were in doubt, the divine power wins. So Moses’ rod swallowed up the rods of the enchanters.

Note 16

Of the same. Balaam used to serve with these same sacrifices and call up the demons. For sacrifices of this kind were being offered to the demons throughout the world. This is why God demanded sacrifices of the first people. Offering to God would put an end to offering to demons, even though the sacrifices were chiefly symbols.

Note 17

Of the same. When the Savior became man, he sent his disciples to untie the donkey. That is, to free it from the bonds with which the opposing power, the spiritual Balaam, had bound it. They untied it and led it to Jesus. They laid their garments on the donkey, that is, the virtues of the Gospel. The Savior sat on it and entered the holy city.

Note 18

“And Balak took Balaam to the top of Phogor.” Balak supposed that Balaam’s craft was limited by place. So he took him to the top of Phogor, thinking that Balaam the magician had power from there to curse the people of God. Phogor is interpreted “seasoning,” or “skin of the mouth.” That is, the peak of the love of pleasure and the deadness of speech. From these Balaam tried to curse the people of God.

Note 19

Of the same. There are two peaks, that is, the peak of the highest virtue and the peak of evil. Moses went up to the top of virtue, and Balaam to the top of evil.

Note 20

“He did not go, as he was accustomed, to meet the omens.” This Balaam is a symbol of the people from the nations. They used to follow omens, but they learned that it is [insatiable] to the Lord, and did not do it again. Balaam is also interpreted “vain people,” and “son of Beor” is interpreted “made of leather.” “Vain” describes the nations as they were before. “Beor” describes the one who was in vanity and in deadness, clearly as he was before.

Note 21

“The man who truly sees.” I who was once Balaam, the vain people, have opened the inner eyes of my mind. I have seen the spiritual Israel of old and the plan of God concerning him, and I am counted worthy of [the gift] of the Holy Spirit. The words “The man who truly sees says,” and what follows, do not suit the Balaam of former times. They suit the Balaam of now. “How fair are your houses, Jacob, your tents, Israel.” The name Jacob does not belong to the one who dwells there but to the house. The name Israel belongs to the one who dwells there. For “Jacob” belongs to the bodily thing.

Note 22

“Like shady groves.” The groves are spiritual. They give shade to the place where rational beings are fruitful and thick with leaves of active virtue. The gardens beside a river are spiritual. They are a place where rational beings are planted, watered either by the contemplation of created things or by the contemplation of the holy Trinity.

Note 23

Of the same. Those who live in tents are among those who travel on the road. Outside this world there is a great road and many tents. Those who settle in a place are not among the travelers but among those who stand still.

Note 24

“Like cedars beside waters.” The spiritual cedars, planted beside the waters, are rational souls, watered by the knowledge of the truth.

Note 25

“And he will rule over many nations.” A lord is one who gives orders with authority, and a slave is one who obeys like a slave. A lord is one who acquires by his own labors, and by his lordship has become free of passion. A slave is one who is ruled by passion, in need of what is better, and requires the oversight of his own lord. There are many lords, but blessed are those who have our Lord Jesus Christ as Lord.

Note 26

“And his kingdom of Gog will be exalted.” “Kingdom of Gog” is interpreted “gifts.” On one understanding, the gifts are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. On another, it refers to “Let the one on the housetop not come down into his house.” So it is a kingdom of such a state of soul.

Note 27

“God led him out of Egypt.” This applies both to the Savior, according to “Out of Egypt I called my son,” and to Israel. The one he casts out, the other he calls.

Note 28

Of the same. The oracle that the Lord would come into Egypt pointed to the carrying away of our Savior Jesus Christ, which was to take place together with his parents. This world too is compared to Egypt.

Note 29

“His glory is like that of a one-horned beast.” Christ is the one-horned one in a spiritual sense, by attribute, and from him come many one-horned ones. For from the one Jesus Christ many have come to share in being christs. Some also say that the deer is one-horned.

Note 30

“He will eat the nations of his enemies.” This is about Christ. We ourselves were once nations of his enemies. So Christ eats us, as the essential virtue feeding on us, just as he says, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me.”

Note 31

“And he will crush their fat to the marrow.” He says this refers to the time when he changes the fleshly condition into a spiritual one through actual deeds.

Note 32

“Those who bless you have been blessed.” Here he indicates two kinds of people: believers and unbelievers in relation to Christ. And after a few lines: In these words, then, both the attempt of those who opposed Israel and the evil craft of sorcery are overthrown.

Note 33

“And the people were defiled by committing fornication.” The plan that the Hebrews should commit fornication and worship Baal-peor came from the diviner. This is why Moses says: “These things happened to the sons of Israel by the word of Balaam, to turn them away and make them disregard the word of the Lord on account of Baal-peor.”

Note 34

“And the border toward Libya will be yours.” He promised Abraham the land from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates. Why, then, did he not give it to them? For the numbers show that a smaller amount was given. I think he would have given it, if they had been faithful like the man who received the promises. This is only reasonable. For often he threatened evils and did not bring them, because people repented, as in the case of the Ninevites.

Note 35

“Except that wives shall be taken from the people of their father.” God therefore commands that, apart from the tribes of Judah and Levi, marriage is not permitted from one tribe to another. The purpose is that the Savior should not be shown to be a stranger, coming from above: “a king and priest after the order of Melchizedek.”

Notes on Numbers

Note 11

Verse 7. “Now the manna was like coriander seed.” As for “like coriander seed,” the others read “bdellium.” Another says “from honey.” Aquila and Symmachus read “oil of mastic,” or “of mastic into fat.”

Note 12

Verses 1, 2, 10, 15. Miriam spoke abusively against Moses and was made leprous. She was put outside the camp and sat there seven days. This happened to put fear into the people. For if he did not spare his own sister, he would not spare anyone else.

Note 14

Verse 36. “And the men...” Those who find fault with the land have, by their own reasoning, shown God to be a liar (in a pious sense), since he praises Palestine.

Note 22

2 Verse 2. “And Balak saw...” “Nations heard and were angry.” Among these words is also this: “The rulers of the Moabites—trembling seized them.” 4 Verse 4. For they brought the fee for this, as for a diviner, to bring him.

Note 23

Verse 7. “And taking up his parable...” In some places the divine Scripture prefers and puts first what is symbolic over the historical narrative, in its own subject matter.

Note 24

7 Verse 7. “And he will rule over many nations.” There are many lords and many gods. But blessed are those who have our Lord Jesus Christ as Lord, for they will rule over many lords. 17 Verse 17. “And a man will rise from Israel.” They say that Balaam had pupils in his craft, who had studied magic under him. They say that, because of the reputation he had, they wrote down his prophecies and left them behind, among which is this: “A star will rise.” Or perhaps the Magi received this from their fathers’ tradition and succession, and so came to Bethlehem.

Selecta on Deuteronomy

Note 1

“Moses spoke to all the sons of Israel according to everything the Lord commanded him.” God was revealing the power, and the prophet used his own tongue to set forth what had been made known. So the prophetic voice is called a “movement,” since it presents what God has said.

Note 2

“And I said to you at that time.” Moses does not say “I told you” without reason. Since Joshua son of Nun was going to succeed him after he departed, Moses says the matter is not out of place but fitting. For he says he first encouraged them, and, as you agreed, appointed judges. So you should also obey Joshua son of Nun, who succeeds me by prophetic grace and as a guide.

Note 3

“I will not be able to carry you alone.” And of those who go ahead.

Note 4

“I gave to Reuben and to Gad.” The lesser ones reach the promise sooner, while the more upright receive it later. The former received their inheritance first, under Moses; the latter later, under Joshua. But this is said of all the righteous, not of ordinary people. For as the Apostle says: “All these, though they were commended through faith, did not receive the promise, since God had foreseen something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect apart from us.”

Note 5

“The sound of words which you heard,” and so on. He does not mean that the voice was visible, or that God has a voice by nature, for that would belong to a composite nature. The trumpets and the voices, in the way God himself knows, were produced from the continuous working of visible elements, I mean the fire and the darkness. So a voice is heard and not seen. Yet in the case of God’s wonders the voice is in fact seen.

Note 6

“And he swore that I should not cross this Jordan.” Moses did not give glory to God before the people, and he was prevented from crossing over with them. This was so that they would not honor him in death, with the kind of worship given to gods, when they had honored him while he lived. For this reason, when he died, God made his tomb unseen.

Note 7

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today.” God does not permit those who worship him to be joined to demons. He commands those who have once come to know him to keep clear of any attachment to them. He provokes the peoples to jealousy over their falling away, and he announces beforehand the punishments that are coming on them because of the wickedness of their practices.

Note 8

“Out of the house of slavery.” For in truth bodily and material things are a house of slavery, just as, by contrast, their opposite is a house of freedom.

Note 9

“For you are the fewest of all the nations.” This was well said to those who belong to the portion of God: “You are the fewest of all the nations.” It is closely related to the saying, “Few are those who are saved,” and to the saying, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.”

Note 10

“That man will not live on bread alone, but on every word,” and so on. Again, the manna was the Word, even though Exodus calls it bread. For it says, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is the word which the Lord has commanded.” This is also why the manna “was fine, like white coriander seed, like frost on the ground.” The Word, of whom that manna was a symbol, is fine in his own nature. He passes through all spirits that are intelligent, pure and most subtle. Wisdom too is “an intelligent spirit, holy, only-begotten, manifold, subtle,” and so on. It was also like coriander seed in being white. They say that the whole nature of coriander, all the way through, has the character of seed. Even when the coriander seed is chopped up, its power does not vanish, as though it could no longer be sown. The Word is like this all the way through. Every part of him is by nature fit to be cultivated in good and fair ground, that is, in the soul. The manna is white, for the Word is light and bright. In that respect he is white to the one who understands him and is nourished by him. It is also like frost. For he is compacted, nowhere soggy or flowing away, but firm. He is indeed the Word of heaven, and he reports to us the things of heaven.

Note 11

“For the Lord your God will bring you into a good and spacious land.” Christ did not promise to give us these things, but the kingdom of the heavens, and a good and everlasting land. Christ is the torrent of that land, watering it with the streams of wisdom. The torrents flow through the plains, through humble and fruitful people, and through the high mountains, which stretch up to the heavens by the height of their contemplation. There is the grain, which steadies the heart of a man, and the barley, which feeds those of lesser strength. There is the true vine, Christ. There is the oil that makes the heads of the holy shine. Likewise there are pomegranates, which carry sweetness within and put on the severity of a disciplined life outside. There is the fig tree, not the fruitless one that is full of leaves, but the one rich in the sweetness of the Spirit. There is the desirable sweetness of the Savior’s throat, and the lips of the bride in the Song, dripping honeycomb. There are the holy stones, which have been rolled over the earth and yield nothing under trials, taking on the nature of iron. There are the mines of bronze, from which they made the spiritual armor. And the sum of all these things is to bless God without ceasing.

Note 12

By the same author. He says that in the promised land one will not have to toil and suffer over clay and brickmaking, but will have stones, and very hard ones, not easily broken down, enough for building and lasting a long time. He says this because he wants their thinking to turn away from Egypt. By calling the land “good” he showed that it is fruitful; by calling it “large” he showed its size and breadth. “Where there are torrents of water” (this is not so in Egypt) “and springs of the deeps”; this is a special mark of the land of promise. He added also “through the mountains.” Egypt has none of this. It is not adorned with vines either, and has no abundance of oil. But the land of promise has everything in rich supply.

Note 13

“Take heed to yourself, lest you forget the Lord your God.” After promising good things, he rouses them to sober watchfulness: they must remember their benefactor, and not grow insolent from being full, nor look down on the one who gave them these gifts, and who brought them out of slavery in Egypt into freedom.

Note 14

“You shall not do so to the Lord your God.” He blames people for sacrificing their own children to the gods of the nations, as cruel and inhuman, and as abominable. Those who urge us to sacrifice to the gods of the nations we must not only turn away from, but also refuse to lend our ear to their words.

Note 15

“You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.” When people sin, speaking generally, they sin in two ways: either by going beyond the commandments or by emptying them out. When we do not conduct our lives with knowledge, and do not know the measures of righteousness, we stumble. And sometimes we go beyond the rule, under the illusion of doing something better, and fall away from what was set before us.

Note 16

By the same author. So those who do not do everything commanded, and those who do something more, are lawbreakers.

Note 17

“Every animal that divides the hoof and brings up the cud.” The dividing of the hoof shows the path by which we go toward every one of the good pursuits. The chewing of the cud is turning the words of the God-inspired Scripture up and down, and, as it were, chewing them over and breaking down the hidden insights by close investigation.

Note 18

“All that have fins and scales among them, you shall eat.” Of the winged creatures, I think, he wants those that have spurs above the feet, lower than the knees, to be clean; those that do not, unclean. “You shall keep a feast of tabernacles for yourself seven days.”

Note 19

We find in the Scriptures both the name “feast” and the name “festal assembly,” as in the prophet who says, “What will you do on the day of the festal assembly and on the day of the feast of the Lord?” We must ask what the difference is between a feast and a festal assembly. Every joyful day, so to speak, on which certain special things are commanded to be done as on a holy day, differently from the other days, is called a feast. But not every one is a festal assembly. That name belongs to the time when the Hebrews gather from every quarter to one place. So by this reckoning a festal assembly is a feast, but a feast is not necessarily a festal assembly. For example, sabbaths and new moons are feasts. But the days of Unleavened Bread, the days of Weeks, and Tabernacles are not only feasts but also festal assemblies, since then every male is commanded to appear before the Lord your God in the place he will choose.

Note 20

“You shall not move your neighbor’s boundaries.” In many places “neighbor” is used of every human being.

Note 21

By the same author. For one must neither take more than one’s share from those nearby, nor stir up trouble over the boundaries of the fathers, as if they were not well set. This would be the cause of all confusion: the neighbors would feel wronged, and those who set the boundaries would be despised. Some say that “neighbor” means every person.

Note 22

“But if an unjust witness rises up against a person.” This was the law for the weak Israelites. But the Lord, who gave this law, says to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye,’” and so on, “but I say to you, do not resist the evil one.”

Note 23

By the same author. These things apply to what is perceptible and to the affairs of this world. But as for the sins we have committed, God needs no one. For he himself is overseer of all, and judge.

Note 24

“Who is the man who is afraid?” The person who is bent on earthly things, who builds a house and plants vineyards, and is overcome by fleshly pleasures, will certainly be fearful and without strength.

Note 25

“If anyone has a disobedient son.” He does not intend that such children be put to death simply for embittering their parents. It is only when both parents agree against the child. For if the father is angry and rushes to kill the son, the mother holds him back. And if she herself is provoked, the father will not allow it. So it will rarely happen that parents agree against their own child. God commands that when both agree against the child, then he is to be stoned. The ones who stone him are not those who begot him, but the rest.

Note 26

“You shall not sow your vineyard with a different kind of seed.” This is so that the ground does not become too weak, and so fail to yield a full return either of the seed or of the fruit of the vine, but each crop is grown by itself.

Note 27

“You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.” Do not yoke together the proud and hard-working part of the soul with the part that loves pleasure and is subject to passions.

Note 28

By the same author. Isaiah writes again: “Blessed are those who sow beside every water.” What water is it, beside which one must sow the good seed? It would be the baptism of salvation, the washing of rebirth. Sow upon the mystery of the washing, and you become blessed. There the ox and the donkey tread: the ox is the clean one, the Israelite, and the donkey is the unclean one by birth, the one from the nations. Both animals are a symbol of the word proclaimed to the nations. So, he says, the ox and the donkey tread this water, where we wish to sow.

Note 29

“But if there is a girl, a virgin, betrothed to a man.” He calls a woman who is already betrothed by this name. The same was said of Joseph and the Mother of God.

Note 30

“And even to eternity.” These people also are born of fornication, from the daughters of Lot. They are not only barred from the assembly of Israel until the tenth generation, but even forever. In this way he wants the hostility toward them to be everlasting. According to the meaning and the true cause given in the divine Scripture, it was because they hired Balaam to curse the Hebrews. They also put forward their own women and daughters, all who were fair to look at and beautiful in appearance, from their race, so as to give them to the Israelites for fornication. In this way they brought on the Hebrews a most grievous fornication, which was to fall away from God and be initiated into Baal-peor. And that is what happened.

Note 31

“You shall not take a millstone or an upper millstone as a pledge.” He says that a single stone cannot crush the grain, for a mill is made as a pair, male and female. Now the Jews have only one covenant. In the same way every heresy that seems to hold to this new covenant alone does not grind in this mill, so as to taste the heavenly bread. For, he says, unless the grain is crushed and ground, they remain without food. Starting from this, I myself explain the law before us: “You shall not take a millstone as a pledge.” That is, you shall not profane the old covenant, and you shall not push it out of your house. “Nor an upper millstone.” That is, the new one. “For this man takes a life as a pledge.” That is, the soul is fed by these, enjoying food for the mind.

Note 32

“They shall flog him by number, forty.” We have always observed that the number forty is a number of affliction. So the great Moses fasted forty days, and Elijah after him. Our Savior also, when he was tempted by the devil, did not eat for forty days and forty nights. And the great flood came upon the earth when God sent rain for forty days and forty nights. “You shall not put iron to them.” We must ask why he does not allow iron to touch the stones that were used to build the altar. Yet afterward, for the building of the temple, he commands that uncut stones be gathered and built up. If it is improper for iron to touch a stone fitted for building, how then were the pillars made? How were the planks and their capitals worked? Or how were the things made of bronze, gold or silver produced without iron? How could that be? From this it is clear that he does not forbid iron to touch stones in an absolute sense. What then is the reason? We offer an answer without insisting on it. Iron is hard. So it is forbidden to put something hard against something hard and to strike them together, for great evils are usually born from the meeting and clashing of hard things. Or else the law drives murder as far as possible from the human heart, and very rightly. For if iron must not be put to the stone that is being built into the altar or the temple, how much more must we forbid seizing iron and murdering one’s neighbor?

Note 33

“These shall stand to bless the people.” We should observe that those appointed to bless were born of the free wives, relatives of Jacob. Those set apart to curse from Mount Gebal were from the maidservants, except Reuben and Zebulun. Reuben is placed with those who curse, since he was cursed by his father. As for Levi, though he too was cursed, he was ransomed by the priestly dignity, for blessing the people is above all the priest’s task. Simeon, too, since he lived in the midst of the tribe of Judah and had become as it were a part of it, is therefore counted wherever Judah is.

Note 34

“And this is the blessing with which Moses blessed.” The prophecies from Jacob were neither all blessings nor all curses, but those from Moses are all blessings.

Note 35

“And he hastened down from Mount Paran.” That is, he no longer gave oracles to Israel but to those from the nations, and he established the law. For this is the meaning of “he hastened down from Mount Paran,” or “he ceased,” as another text has it: he will eagerly leave the shadow behind and reveal the truth to us.

Note 36

“With tens of thousands of Kades.” Here “Kades” does not mean the place but the holy ones, for in the Hebrew language Kades means “the holy.”

Note 37

“And he spared his people.” That is, by his coming he saved those who were once not a people but are now God’s people, those who had not received mercy but have now received mercy. The apostle Peter says, “In this the love of God was revealed among us.” And holy John says in his catholic epistle that “God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” And the blessed Paul says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for all of us.” So he spared the people.

Note 38

“And all the sanctified ones are under your hands.” For he rules over all, as king of heaven and earth. They stand before him as before a king, serve him as God, and worship him as Maker, and they are under him, for “he himself has put all things under his feet.”

Note 39

“The rulers of the peoples gathered together.” These are the divinely inspired disciples, as David also says in their person: “He subjected peoples to us, and nations under our feet.” And again: “The rulers of the peoples were gathered together with the God of Abraham.” So this shows the calling of the nations, since God was going to rule over Israel and the nations together. The Son is called “beloved,” for “This,” he says, “is my beloved Son.” And for this reason the Father rules over us and reigns.

Notes on Deuteronomy

Note 1

Verse 31. “As a man [carries or feeds a child].” Aquila translated it: “As a nurse lifts up her son, he carried him.” Origen, in his homilies on Jeremiah, says: “He went about with you and came down with you, making our weakness his own. He was like a teacher who lisps along with little children, like a father tenderly nursing his own sons and daughters. He took on their ways and led them little by little to more perfect and higher things.”

Note 3

18 Verse 18. “And I commanded you.” He says this to the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 27 Verses 27 and 28. He gives Moses more than Aaron: to see the land with his own eyes. But he does not give him entry. He lays this penalty on him for his lack of faith. By it he removes both men from life outside the promised land, though they were able to reach it, since the end is given through faith. This is also a symbol for the law, which could not bring anyone to perfection or restore the promise, because “the righteous shall live by faith.” Yet this is also an honor: to know God’s judgment and to know one’s own death beforehand. By the same author. He sets Jesus forward. Jesus was already made holy by following Moses and by [constant attendance] on him. But he was about to receive through Moses the ruling spirit, so that he might also [establish people as his own in Moses’ place]. In the same way Elisha was present in the spirit of Elijah to do Elijah’s work, for those who work in the same spirit must accomplish the same things. As he says in Numbers: “Take to yourself Jesus, son of Nave, a man who has the Spirit of God in himself, and you shall lay your hands on him.” So too the apostles had the life-giving Spirit from the Lord’s breathing on them, and they receive the ruling spirit sent down from heaven. This is not one spirit inside another, one upon the other, but an activity within the same Spirit, just as Paul teaches.

Note 4

Verse 12. “And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words.” By the same author, on the same verse. Another says: It is clear that a person sees and hears thoughts with the eyes of the mind. “The sound of words”: here he has stated what belongs to nature, that the ear receives the voice. As far as the strict letter goes, only the Decalogue was written on the tablets, and the rest Moses taught by God’s command.

Note 14

Verse 19. “All the creeping things of the birds shall be unclean.” Of the birds, I think, he wants those that have spurs below the knees, above the feet, to be clean, and those that do not to be unclean. So the law rules out the eagle, the griffon, the sea eagle, and also the vulture. Such birds fly high. They love to exult in the highest places and hate what is below. “The young of the vulture,” it says, “fly on high.” Such, in a way, is the person who has raised his brow too high and carries a mind lifted up within himself. He is accustomed to look down on a gentle and moderate way of thinking, and he is least willing to be carried along with the lowly. Along with these the law also condemns the kite and its like. By these it clearly indicates the kind of people who know how to seize and are skilled in doing harm. The kite is the original type of these, [but not of the other kind, the very black and deep one]. Those who run toward wickedness are somehow dark, not plain to everyone, and [unprofitable] to the many, though they bring misery on themselves. Those who are sick with accursed boastfulness always have a desire to get more than others. [Whatever comes by chance cannot satisfy them, nor can their many-sided schemes of wrongdoing and inventions.] So they snatch even this insatiably. For this reason he joins to it immediately: “And the sparrow, and the gull.” These are insatiable, I think, always gathering whatever falls in their way. Then he says: “the hawk and its like, and the night raven, and the [diving bird], and the ibis, and the [προσφορίων], and the pelican, and the swan.” He would also register against themselves these: the cruel, who plot savagely against others and fasten without restraint on whatever they happen to be able to get.

Note 20

5 ...one who is broken, and who has given his mind over to the desires of the flesh, could be pictured by betrothal to a woman. For when they come near the voice of the army’s herald, they withdraw from the holy and most warlike multitude. The herald speaks out ahead of time what such trapped men would likely be thinking and saying. Is it not true to suppose this of them? Loving [ease], they are accustomed in persecutions to cherish freedom from toil, and [to hold back from] following the zeal that comes from love for God. They reason that if they should suffer anything while contending, they will lose their houses, their possessions, and the things they honor and desire. 8 Verse 8. “Who is the man who is afraid and fainthearted?” By the same author. The man who is devoted to earthly things, who builds houses and plants vineyards, and who is overcome by the pleasures of loving the flesh, will surely be cowardly and without strength.

10 Verse 10. “But if you approach a city to make war on it.” This is like the saying, “And into whatever city you enter, inquire who in it is worthy.” The words “with peace” are like the apostle’s saying: “The servant of the Lord must not quarrel.” 13 Verse 13. “And you shall strike every male of it with the slaughter of the sword.” By the same author. The sword of the Spirit would be the word of God. It is the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God, with which the inspired disciples killed every male of the opposing power, as with Simon and Elymas the magicians, and they overthrew the strong teachings of such men. But they spared the women, who are souls able to say: “Because of fear of you, Lord, we conceived in the womb until [we came] upon the earth.” They spared the little children in the same way, to whom Paul also writes: “Little children, do not be children in your minds, but be children in malice.” The text says also: “Spare the cattle.” For “the righteous man pities the lives of his [cattle].” By cattle he hints at those who are less reasoning. Cornelius also was cattle, according to the vision of the four-footed creatures that appeared to Peter.

Note 22

Verse 6. “You shall not take the mother with the children.” The reason is that the young cannot feed themselves if the mother is taken.

Note 23

1 Verse 3. “No Ammonite shall enter.” Why does the law forbid mixing with the Moabites and Ammonites, not for a set time but forever? First, because of their unlawful root, for they were born of an unlawful union. Second, because of the ungodliness they led the Israelites to share in, when they made their women attractive and through them caught the Israelites in the worship of idols. But the law commands that the Edomite and the Egyptian be received after the third generation: the one as a brother, the other as a benefactor who helped at the right time. For when famine struck, their fathers went into Egypt and were fed. So the law teaches us not to forget even an old kindness. 2 Verse 14. What does it mean, “Because the Lord your God walks about in your camp”? He knows that the air, when filled with foul smells, often breeds plague. So he commanded them, while encamped, to bury the waste they passed. And so that they would not disobey and suffer harm, he added, out of necessity: “Because the Lord your God walks about in your camp.” He also teaches the reason: “to [rescue] you, and to hand your enemy over before your face.” Through this he teaches them to do nothing unlawful. For he adds: “And your camp shall be holy, and nothing shameful shall be found in you.”

3 Verse 12. “And let there be a place for you,” he says, “outside the camp, and you shall go out there.” 4 Verse 13. “And you shall have a peg on your belt. And when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it, and turning back you shall cover your shame.” 5 Verse 14. “Because the Lord your God walks about in the camp to rescue you and to hand your enemy over into your hands. And your camp shall be holy, and no shameful thing will be seen in you.” Those who want to act like men against their spiritual enemies ought to refuse every kind of uncleanness. But we all stumble in many ways. Human nature is sick, and prone to slip into error. As the Psalmist says, no one understands his transgressions. [The sense of the next words is uncertain:] “Suppose one of the impurities born in us were almost to break out among you, and we, being sick, were caught in something outside the law and outside a life fitting for the holy.” For the law of sin dwells in the members of the flesh. First, then, let the faults that come from our weakness not be committed openly and in plain view, nor before the eyes of many. Let them be done, as it were, outside, unnoticed, as far from the camp as possible. Then let them be covered over by corrections. As it is written, “The wise will cover their own shame.” When we stop our offenses, and by leanings toward better things in a way set the mind in order to choose what is profitable, we remove our stumblings from the midst. We overcome the ugly sin with the sweet fragrance of what follows, and we shall enter again into the camp of the saints, that is, into the church of the firstborn. This is fulfilled in Christ, if we take up his cross with a keen and well-girded mind. For the statement that we are to have a peg on our belt, that is, the wood, hints at this indirectly. So we make the bodily things a pattern of the spiritual. For we are not [to remain] in impurities, [and to ... ] before the eyes of God who made us, when we go to the latrines [the Greek of this sentence is corrupt]. We must therefore bury impurities, “because the Lord walks about in the camp.” For Christ dwells in us and walks about in us.

Note 24

Verse 6. “You shall not take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for in that way he is pledging a soul.” Another comment on the same verse: a mill or an upper millstone is not a soul. But it helps in making bread, by which people above all live. Note this, because of the blood. For it was said about the blood, “The blood of the body is its soul.” So these words must be understood in a loose sense. For neither the blood nor the mill is the soul. They are things that contribute to living.

Note 27

15 Verse 15. “And he shall set it in a hidden place.” It was likely that some, out of fear of punishment, would take pains to go unnoticed and practice ungodliness in a corner and in secret. So, to bring greater fear and threat on those who do this, he puts under curses those who commit sin without a witness. Such are those who put on a false show of reverence but bury their passions inside, and in the movement of the mind rave wildly after every kind of absurdity. These are the ones who set up their idols in a hidden place. 17 Verse 17. “Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s boundaries.” The one who shakes a person found within the true knowledge of God and a godly way of life, and unsettles him from it, also moves his neighbor’s boundaries. And what follows makes this clear. 18 Verse 18. “Cursed is the one who leads a blind man astray on the road.” From the same author. Such also are those who draw people from idol worship, and those from the circumcision, into abominable heresies. These people are blind and have not yet had the light of truth and the knowledge of God. The heretics deceive and mislead them by showing them another road in place of the apostolic one.

19 Verse 19. “Cursed is whoever turns aside the judgment of a stranger, an orphan and a widow.” He puts under the same curse those who likewise turn aside the judgment of a stranger, an orphan and a widow, saying the same thing again in another way. For if the plain wording has its benefit, the spiritual insight has something higher still. The “strangers” are those who come from the nations into the holy Church of God. The “orphans,” properly speaking, are those who have renounced their own father, Satan, but have not yet put on Jesus. They are still counted among the catechumens. In the same way these are also “widows.” They have turned away from the one who sowed in them the seeds of destruction, but they are not yet joined to Christ as a pure virgin, in the words of the divine Apostle. So those who turn aside the judgment of these people, and do not hand over to them the mystery of godliness unadulterated, are under a curse. And anyone who goes through the other points diligently will be able to see them spiritually, while the plain interpretation is kept safe.

26 Verse 26. “Cursed is every man who does not abide in all the words of the law.” The words “in all,” found in the Septuagint, are confirmed by the Samaritan copy, in which we found the word “chol,” which means “to all” or “all things.” The Apostle agrees with this when he says, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse.” So those of the circumcision are shown to be under a curse, because they do not do all things.

Note 33

Verse 6. “Let Reuben live, and not die.” Jacob, when he was dying, cursed Reuben, saying, “Do not boil over like water.” Moses, in blessing, says, “Let Reuben live, and not die.” Both are right. The father cursed him because he had gone in to his concubine, and by this he was instructing and warning what followed. And Moses blesses him justly afterward, because Reuben alone spared Joseph when his brothers wanted to kill him. It would have been out of place for a curse to go forward against one who had sinned, and yet for no blessing to be given to one who had done right.

Selecta on Joshua

Note 1

“You, and all this people.” He promised to give what he had foretold to those who keep the law. It was not given to Joshua son of Nun for himself. For the Israelites did not keep it, and so did not receive it, as what follows shows.

Note 2

“Every place on which you set foot.” The men of Ai stood against them because of the lawlessness of Achar. And in another way: God handed the nations over into their hands, but they did not destroy them utterly, and these nations became a stake for them.

Note 3

“And they entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, whose name was Rahab.” The spies entrust their own safety to a prostitute, and quite reasonably. For it is shown from what the prostitute says that she alone was faithful and feared God. For this reason her family too is saved through her.

Note 4

By the same author. Rahab is interpreted “breadth.” She is a symbol of the Church from the nations, who says, “The place is too narrow for me; make room for me, that I may live.”

Note 5

By the same author. She is saved not by her hospitality alone, but first of all by her faith and her disposition toward God.

Note 6

“And she hid them in the flax stalks.” She hid them in the stalks of flax which she had on the roof, preparing them to make linen, as though the men were worthy of a high priest’s garment. For flax stalks produce the linen from which the priestly garment is made.

Note 7

“And she let them down through the window.” It should be known that her house was in the wall. The new things are sisters of the old: for it is like what happened with Paul, when they let him down in a basket through the wall.

Note 8

By the same author. The Apostle was saved a second time from enemies in the same way, as he says in his second Letter to the Corinthians: “And through a window I was let down in a basket through the wall, and escaped.” Again in the Acts: “They were also watching the gates day and night, so that they might kill him; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket.”

Note 9

“And they stayed there three days.” It was not that the journey took three days, for the Jordan is very near Jericho, but because of the spies’ careful investigation. For it says, “Those who pursued them searched all the roads and did not find them.”

Note 10

“Forty thousand men, lightly armed.” It should be noted that the number four, whether of units, or hundreds, or any larger number, is associated with affliction.

Note 11

“Make yourself knives of stone from a sharp-cut rock.” We must ask why those born in the wilderness were not circumcised. We must also ask why a man who gathered wood on the Sabbath in Moses’ time was stoned by God’s command. A very great multitude stayed uncircumcised in the wilderness and was not even blamed for it. Yet God had declared that the soul not circumcised on the eighth day should be destroyed, [and no longer had he laid down this same penalty for those who break the Sabbath]. Already from this it is clear that circumcision and the Sabbath are not good in themselves. They were useful for a time. We should also know that God wanted them to be recognized by circumcision, as a sign. [Since they would not bear to be made visible by faith], he marked them as a sheep without reason is marked with a brand. Even if it wanders off, its owner finds it easily. In the same way he wanted the Jews, when they mixed with the nations, to be recognized by circumcision. The proof is this: they were circumcised in Egypt. But in the wilderness they were alone, separated from the Egyptians and from the other nations around Palestine, and they stayed uncircumcised. When they crossed the Jordan and were about to be in the midst of the nations, they were commanded again to be circumcised. That is why Scripture says “a second time” that they were circumcised, not at eight days old but already grown men, and some of them leaning toward old age. The stone knife shows us the Lord, who gave us the circumcision of the understanding, the circumcision of mind and heart. This is why the Apostle also spoke to us of the circumcision of Christ, not consisting in the stripping off of our flesh.

Note 12

“I am the commander-in-chief of the power of the Lord; I have come now.” We should remember what happened when they made the calf. God said to Moses, “Lead this people up, for I will not go up with them, because the people are stiff-necked. And see, I will send my angel before your face. So take heed to yourself, and do not disobey.” Moses said to him, “If you do not go up with us, do not lead me up from here.” By saying this he persuaded him, and God was with the people until Moses’ death. After Moses died, he appears and speaks with Jesus son of Nave. After this oversight of the people [was committed] to Moses’ disciple, he then hands [the people] over to the commander-in-chief Michael. This Michael was ruler of the people, as another angel is shown saying in Daniel.

Note 13

“Going and sounding trumpets.” These trumpets are a symbol of what happens on the last day. For he says, “The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” The priests circling the city for six days would be a sign of this: through the six days of the present age, all the saints sound the trumpet and proclaim forgiveness of sins to those who are willing to repent.

Note 14

“And Jesus said to the sons of Israel, ‘Shout.’” The shout is probably the giving of glory in words, a voice of praise to God. It fights against the error of the people of Jericho, and it wins a victory that no one expected, one full of wonder.

Note 15

“Thus did Ozan.” This shows that it was not Jesus son of Nave who wrote these things, but someone else, many generations later. Rightly understood, this is true, and it does not contradict what we said earlier. Jesus wrote what happened in his own time, or what was revealed to him, just as Moses wrote what belonged to his own times. After this, Solomon the wise built the temple. Then the people sank into great impiety, and God left the temple desolate, so that Deuteronomy was scarcely found, thrown aside wherever it happened to land. For this reason the people went into the Babylonian captivity. Ezra, who was most skilled in the law and spoke the whole Old Testament from memory, wrote down the law and some other things that had happened or been revealed. These things were foretold long ago, and afterward they came to pass. What we have just mentioned is surely of this kind.

Note 16

“I am still strong today, as when Moses sent me.” So the holy man is strong in both kinds of words. He is strong in the old mysteries and in the new. This is what it means to be strong under Moses and under Jesus.

Notes on Joshua

Note 3

Verse 14. “And all the people set out from their tents.” That is, [like the filling of a threshing floor]. For [the water] was not only made firm, as in the Red Sea, but was heaped up like a pile of wheat. This is evidently a type of the apostles.

Note 6

Verses 15–16. “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city.” Why did he command that Jericho be put under the ban? It was the first city they captured after crossing the river. So just as he commanded them to offer the firstfruits of the crops, he ordered them to offer the choicest of the spoils as first offerings. Besides this, through these laws he trains them to keep the laws that are necessary. He also showed them his own power by arranging for them to take the first city without weapons or siege engines, and he brought it down by the sound of the trumpets alone. So when they are defeated in battle, they would know that they themselves gave the occasion for the defeat, by despising the divine laws.

Note 8

2 Verse 2. “And you shall plunder the livestock for yourself.” This is because it was not necessary, as at Jericho, for everything to be devoted to destruction. 26 Verse 26. “And Joshua stretched out the spear, and his hand.” Joshua kept his hand stretched out so that the men in the ambush, when they saw it, would take the city first.

Notes on Judges

Note 15

Verse 19. “And God split open the wound in the jaw, and water came out of it.” That is: by the blow of the jawbone he split the ground, and waters came out.

Note 20

Verse 21. “And the sons of Benjamin came out.” Why were they defeated, even though they went out against them justly? Evidently because of earlier causes. The psalm also says: “When I take the appointed time, I will judge uprightly.” Then he says that after they were defeated once and a second time, the anger passed over to the wrongdoers, and the Israelites won a just judgment. It is worth marveling at the multitude of the Israelites. They attacked the Benjaminites justly and were defeated, yet they thought nothing evil against God. Rather, they did not stop weeping beforehand until they had exacted justice on the wrongdoers. They did not blame God, but said, “But this is enough.” They begged to learn the way [to proceed]. The saying “Benjamin is a ravening wolf; in the morning he will eat, and in the [evening] he will distribute food” is fulfilled here. For though he had won earlier, he became the final meal of the people.

Fragments on 1 Samuel

Note 1

1 Sam. 3:11–21. The divine Scripture was about to foretell the destruction of the sons of Eli, and that the ark of God would be taken by the Philistines. So it first soothes the hearing, lest anyone think God is harsh. For this reason, as I said, it records that the wickedness and sin of Eli’s sons were not lessened by the threat and by the prediction [made against them], but rather increased.

Note 2

1 Sam. 4:13. Eli was devout in himself. His great anxiety was not first of all for the safety of his children but for the ark, that it might never fall into the hands of the Philistines. And that is exactly what happened.

Note 3

1 Sam. 5:3. This was so that the Philistines would know that God had not been defeated by the Israelites, and that they had not conquered him by their own power. It was the sins and ungodliness of the Jews that brought about the defeat. And Dagon fell before the ark, not in order to worship, for he was not worthy, but in order to be shattered. And so it happened.

Note 4

1a 1 Sam. 15:9–11. In human beings, “hand,” “foot,” “eye,” “ear” and whatever else is so named are signs of the parts of our body. In God, “hand” means the power to create, “eye” the power to oversee, “ear” the power to hear, and “foot” his presence when he is doing something. In the same way, God’s “anger” is the name for discipline against those who offend, and is not a passion in God. And “repentance” is the shift of God’s arrangement from one matter to another. What we do when we repent is flee the things we repented of and pursue others that are better. This is what is called God’s repentance. Why is it put this way? Because the prophets had to speak about God in a rather bodily manner to people of very dull mind, so that it could be received. For those who thought the images they carved and cast were gods, and who were indeed irrational, how could they have taken in what is said about God through spiritual thoughts and words? And again: if God foresees all things, he does not become angry because of what he knows. So anger or repentance is not a passion of God. The work of anger is punishment, and likewise the work of repentance is a departure from the former matter and a shift to another arrangement. The same is said about the sword: [a sword is “sharpened”], and Solomon speaks of a “hand” of iron: “to rescue you from the hand of iron,” and, as David says, of a sword: “into the hands of the sword.”

1b In the same way God’s anger is said to be “angry,” and sin is said, in David, to have a “face.” God’s wrath too is said to have a “face,” as in the thirty-seventh Psalm, and the rivers are said to clap with their hands. But rivers have no hands, and sins have no face. So, because things are said about God in bodily terms (as the ancients could take them in), let us not suppose that God has a body or that he is filled with passions. {It is the easy turning of the human mind that explains this. For it is we ourselves who bring about, in our own case, the changes in God’s dealings that rightly come upon us, showing by our deeds that we are unworthy of the honor God gave us. So God condemned Saul. He wished to hand the rule to David and to keep the kingdom for his offspring, because of the one who would be born of him according to the flesh, the King of all creation. He used human words, speaking to human beings, and said, “I have repented that I anointed Saul king.” That means: “I wish to give the rule of the kingdom to another, and to take from this man his power.” The words “I have repented,” said on account of Saul, mean this: he made himself so unworthy of the kingdom that, if I had a nature that repents, I would have changed my mind about him. Why then was he anointed? Because at that time he was worthy. But he turned, and became unworthy again.

Note 5

From this is shown what I said before: God’s “repentance” means a change in God’s plan of dealing, from one course of action to another. {The passage shows that even when a prophet, a righteous man, pleads on behalf of others, he is heard only if the one he pleads for shows his repentance by action. For the prayer of the righteous man is effective in this way, as it is worked out through the one who sinned. So for the matter to be brought to its end, both must come together: the prayer of the righteous man and the work of the one who repents.

Note 6

Esau was red, like a skin [text corrupt], having deadness from it and raging murderously against Jacob. But David was red with beautiful eyes, so that the [text corrupt: the keen-sightedness] of David might [be shown].

Note 7

How could he be a man of valor, how could he be shrewd in speech, how could he be a warrior, when he was still tending sheep? So the speaker did not speak from himself. He foretold what was to come as though it were already present, and he testified of David what he was going to be. But as for “the Lord is with him” and “good in appearance,” these were true from childhood and remained: the one by nature, the other by grace.