Commentary on Genesis 1 part 11/15

Accordingly, then, he foretells these things also to the righteous man, and ordains beforehand that the ark be made, setting forth its construction as a call to repentance more vivid than any preaching; and he announces that he will destroy them and the earth, since they had need of this.

For there are many punishments given by God for the purpose that repentance for sins may come about.

For He wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, saying:

How often would I have gathered together thy children, even as a hen gathereth her chicks under her wings, and ye would not!

For necessity does not compel men to become good; nor indeed is such a thing even possible.

For such a thing is no longer good.

But when God, who knows all things, after many admonitions does not find the one admonished giving heed, then those of whom the word speaks He destroys, and this by His judgment which is for their profit.

And the earth also is destroyed together with them—that is, the things upon the earth, for this is what 'the earth' here signifies—and rightly so;

for as men were being destroyed, it was fitting that the things which had been established for their sake should perish along with them.

Since indeed a living seed was left behind through Noah and those with him, in like manner living seeds of the other animals also were left behind.

Make thee therefore an ark of squared timbers;

in compartments shalt thou make the ark;

and thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

And thus shalt thou make the ark:

three hundred cubits the length of the ark, and fifty cubits the breadth, and thirty cubits its height.

Drawing it together thou shalt make the ark, and thou shalt finish it to a cubit above;

and the door of the ark thou shalt make in the side.

Lower chambers, of two storeys and three storeys, shalt thou make for it.

And behold, I bring the flood, water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven;

and whatsoever is upon the earth shall die.

The saying carries very great logic, when it is commanded that Noah make the ark of squared timbers: first, that much time might not be consumed in splitting them; then—which is also the truer reason—that, being made of whole timbers, it might prove the more secure;

for it was destined both to draw near to mountains and to endure no small tempest, against which it would not have held out, had it not been constructed of whole timbers.

with itself, and for the sake of the fastening together of the structure;

for it would have been weaker, if, being fifty in breadth and three hundred in length and thirty cubits in height, it had remained unfastened.

It is pitched both without and within, so that no seepage of water might occur.

And it was well too that the length was greater than the breadth;

for thus it was easily moved, since ships too are of this proportion of shape.

But if one should say that it was made square below, this too is not unlikely;

for since it came into being not primarily for sailing but for preserving, on this account it was made thus;

and besides, it would quickly have sunk, had it not been square.

And it was suitably drawn together at the top, so that the onrush of the waters might have a way to slip off, and the waves might not dash against it from all sides as against a rock rising up on every side.

And that the door should be made in the side was fittingly commanded (a gap is left blank). And the lower chambers of two and three storeys were suitably constructed, so as to suffice for all the animals brought in and for their provisions.

As for the words, 'And behold, I bring the flood, water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is breath under heaven, and whatsoever is upon the earth shall die,' this is indeed both rousing, as was said before, and it makes clear that both the things on the earth and the creatures of the air shall be destroyed;

for perhaps the water-creatures were preserved.

And I will establish my covenant with thee.

It does not appear that the covenant made by God to Noah was the sworn pact, as Symmachus and Aquila rendered it.

Let no one be perplexed at the words: what was to come was revealed to Noah, that he might be of good hope concerning things to come, and that he might also instruct his own generation that God brought these things on account of sins;

and you are saved on account of righteousness, that the shamefulness of vice may be shown forth and the loveliness of virtue—not as though pleasures were the reward of virtue, but because the earnest man, not being subject to it, does not share in the manner of punishment.

And the 'I will establish' here signifies the firmness.

And thou shalt enter into the ark, thou and thy sons and thy wife and thy sons' wives with thee.

The Saviour in the Gospel said that men shall give account for every idle word in the day of judgment; and an idle word is...

...and having nothing profitable in it;

and if this is enjoined on men, that they should not utter it, much more do the divine oracles contain nothing of the kind, but everything in them is set forth usefully, and ... from the things set forth.

As Noah was entering into the ark, He ordered the sons to go in with him, and the wives of the sons with the wife;

but when at last it was time to go out onto the land, the flood having ceased, the oracle indicates it thus:

And God said to Noah:

Go forth out of the ark, thou and thy wife and thy sons and thy sons' wives with thee.

For it was fitting, since the destruction of men was about to come to pass, that the righteous should not be without sympathy, so as to make use of marital relations without concern.

He therefore separated the women from the men, saying:

Thou shalt enter, thou and thy sons and thy wife and thy sons' wives;

but when He received that the succession of offspring was again to be restored, He gave back—as we have set forth—the wife to Noah, saying:

Go forth, thou and thy wife, thy sons and thy sons' wives.

And that it was not said carelessly but with careful observation, according to custom, one can affirm, and the Gospel confirms it, since it was said by the Saviour:

No one can serve two masters;

for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cleave to the one and despise the other;

ye cannot serve God and mammon.

And clearly the service of mammon is the love of money, and in every kind of vice as well...

For it is in no way possible to serve vice and virtue;

he is a slave of sin, and every...

...to hate wicked things.

For either he will hate the one and love the other—for the virtuous man loves God while hating vice—or he will cleave to the one and despise the other, which...

for He said 'cleave to' with respect to vice, not 'love.'

For no one, by the love toward...

...works, but having slipped he cleaves to it; nor is he said to hate God, but to despise.

...the word: to God belongs being loved by the earnest man, to vice being hated; and again to vice belongs the cleaving to it by the base man held fast therein, and to God the being despised by such a one.

For no one would ever say that a man despises sin or hates God; even if, for reproof, the base are said to hate God because they have an inclination toward vice, according to the words 'Lord, have I not hated them that hate thee?' For he does not do this properly, but having slipped, as was said, he is said to hate.

But the 'despise' is most properly a matter of such precision and observation, according to what is again said by the Saviour Himself:

Every one who shall confess in me before men, I also will confess in him; and every one who shall deny—He did not say 'in me'—him I also will deny.

For he who confesses God in Christ does this, but he who denies does not do it in Christ.

The confession therefore must be in Him...

...toward those who are not such, but who confess only in words, it is said;

they confess that they know God, but by their works they deny Him; and 'This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.'

For in the one who confesses is the One confessed, and the one who confesses is in the One confessed.

But let no one suppose this to be the same as the saying, 'I am in the Father and the Father is in me.'

...it signifies [holiness], while the being in the One confessed [signifies something else]...

...which is made clear in the saying, 'Whosoever shall confess in me, him will I also confess in myself,' not partaking [of...]

...for God does not partake of man, but [renders] judgement...

...from God who confesses.

What has been said concerning the sons of Noah, and himself, and his wife, and the sons, has also been spoken; but as we have rightly observed...

...'Enter, you and your sons with you.'

For it was not he who was saved on their account, but they who were saved on his account and through the benefit that came from him.

And this is confirmed by what is brought in afterward, when God says to Noah:

'Because I have seen you righteous before me in this generation.'

For the greatness of his soul is made clear by the word 'righteous,' since it is not simply attested, but 'before God.'

'And of all cattle and of all flesh, two by two of all.'

If one looks into the natures of numbers, and knows how the number seven is remembered in the Scriptures as possessing many privileges, while two is proper to matter—as has also been said before—he will understand why, in what follows, He assigned the number seven to the clean, but here again the number two to the unclean.

Furthermore, one will also inquire how, when the law concerning clean and unclean had not yet been given, 'two' is spoken of—unless perhaps someone should reply that in the righteous man the scientific ordinance of the law was foreseen beforehand.

And as for the one who further raises the difficulty how a single man could master so many beasts as even to bring them into the ark—let him hear that by the co-working of God it was granted to the righteous man to fulfil the command, and that it is nothing incredible that even wild creatures should be tamed by God.

'You shall bring into the ark, that you may nourish them with yourself, male and female.'

'There shall be of the birds according to their kind, and of the cattle according to their kind, and of all the reptiles that are upon the earth according to their kind.'

'Two by two of all shall come in to you to be nourished with you, male and female.'

It must be said that here 'kind' (genos) stands for 'species' (eidos), since sometimes the species is also called a kind.

'But you shall take to yourself of all the foods that you eat, and you shall gather them to yourself, and it shall be food for you and for them.'

...to counsel the righteous man to take thought not only for himself and for those with him, but also for the irrational creatures.

For rightly does 'a righteous man have compassion on the souls of his cattle.'

As for the phrase 'you shall gather to yourself,' it might carry the observation that in those lodgings where you dwell, and where other animals do not draw near, gather the provisions.

For if they were stored in the places of those creatures, the animals treading unsparingly upon the provisions would bring about a scarcity of them. (Lines left blank here in the manuscript.)

'And Noah did all that the Lord God commanded him; thus he did.'

It is great praise when, after a skilled person has acted, someone trustworthy and able to judge correctly says that he did just as the one who gave the command directed him.

For this deed is an act of virtue.

...not, indeed, thus as He commanded...

...for the sake of the deed being seen...

...of the disposition, not having it in the manner one ought...

Every deed that is not done with fitting reasoning is incomplete, even if the result should turn out perfect; but the righteous man is attested as one who both acted [rightly]...

For this too the Saviour teaches, saying:

'Be merciful, and you shall obtain mercy'; and He wills that mercy be shown not with trumpets—that is, not to make a display and boast over the needs of the poor.

For 'Be perfect,' He says, 'as your heavenly Father is perfect.'

For God is one who imparts of what is His own, and does not receive from elsewhere.

So do you also emulate the imparting spirit, even as the blessed Paul exhorts:

'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

For the one who receives does not imitate God.

For God receives nothing from anyone, but is the provider of all good things.

The imitator of God, therefore, gives.

And the Lord God said to Noah:

'Enter, you and all your household, into the ark, because I have seen you righteous before me in this generation.'

In this way it is made evident that the whole household consisted of those eight only.

For they had brought no servant with them, either because men had not yet been reduced to slavery, or because they possessed none of such persons.

By 'household,' then, He here calls the kinship among the eight; for often this word, being homonymous, is used both of these and, properly, of that which has been built.

You would find the same to be so of a city as well.

In the Gospel, at any rate, it is said:

'And they led him'—that is, Jesus—'to the brow of the hill on which their city was built,' the name of the city here indicating that which was constructed and built; whereas in the passage 'and when Jesus came into Jerusalem, all the city was shaken,' the assembly of people encompassed by the city is signified.

And again, in the passage 'Jesus began to reproach the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent,' this very thing is made clear.

For repentance takes place neither in inanimate nor in material things; the name of the house signifying, on the one hand, the building, in the expression 'this house of so-and-so'...

...the congregation; and the assembly, whenever it is spoken of...

...the royal official and the jailer and the house...

And bringing forward the reason for his entering into the ark, He says:

He did not say simply 'because I have seen you'—for Abel too was righteous, and Enos, whose hope it was to call upon the name of the Lord God—but 'because I have seen you righteous before me in this generation,' that is, evidently, the present one.

It is not established that on account of this man's virtue his children too, by partaking of it, were saved; but 'generation,' as has been said before, signifies likeness of manner, just as we set forth also in what preceded.

Moreover, the saying 'all righteous blood shed upon the earth shall be required from this generation' shows that those of the same manner are called a 'generation.'

In the generation of the righteous—that we may understand the righteous who were with him—he himself was found righteous before Him, though not every righteous man is righteous before God who is righteous.

For it was only the sons and the women who happened to be righteous before Noah.

So great a thing is it to be righteous before God, that it is said:

'Even the stars are not clean in his sight,' and the other luminaries.

But also in the Psalms it is said:

'No living man shall be justified before you'; and again another oracle says:

'All our righteousness was as a filthy rag in the sight of all the righteous.'

'And of the clean cattle bring in to yourself seven by seven, male and female; and of the cattle that are not clean, two by two, male and female; and of the clean birds of heaven, seven by seven, male and female; and of the birds that are not clean, two by two, male and female, to nourish seed upon all the earth.'

Consistently, He commands that seven by seven of the clean be brought in.

For since men, and even those who were to remain in the ark themselves, would have need of them both for food and for sacrificial offerings, on this account more of them are taken, so that from them there might arise a greater succession suited to their needs.

But of those which involve so great a need, He commanded that two by two be brought in.

But if one must also introduce natural explanation into the discourse...

...it might be said, as also before this, that since the dyad is divisible, and this is proper to matter, the number two is proper to the unclean.

But moreover, when the number two has been done away with, the Saviour calls the two into one new man, bringing both the one from the circumcision and the one from the Gentiles into the unity of the way of life according to the Gospel — that very manner of life which the ancient saints possessed, when there was as yet no distinction between Hellenism and Judaism.

For from the time when the crafts arose out of which images are made, and after them idolatry, and from the time when the Law appeared, Judaism came into being.

The first manner of life of mankind, therefore, was in fact that of Christianity — even if this designation itself did not yet exist — inasmuch as it consisted in the common notions of the good; which the Saviour also [confirms] ...

All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner.

This lies within the common notion.

For whatever a person does not wish to suffer, this he ought not to do to his neighbour either.

And for this reason this precept lies within the common notion, so that man may be without excuse ...

... being led by God.

But later, when this notion had been perverted, the written Law was given — not in conflict with that [inner one], but ... [drawing] men toward it (Him);

He gave the Law as a help.

So too the Gospel has been proclaimed in all the world, so that no one may make the excuse that he was not reminded, [...]

These things, then, are said with regard to the literal sense [...]

But it must also be said that the clean animals ...

... [that they are] brought in seven by seven ...

For to say what accords with the narrative, namely that because men were going to use them both for sacred offerings and for food, and for this reason [more of them were brought in], and further, on account of the significance of the number — because it is much celebrated in Scripture ...

... on the seventh [day], I mean, God rested ...

For unto the ungenerated (uncreated), those who are concerned with ...

... that what is said may be of this sort:

All the numbers within the decad, when doubled or tripled — except for the seven — both generate and are generated: as the one generates the two, and the two generates the four (being thus generated by the one), and the four generates the eight (itself being generated by the two); the five generates the ten, while the six is at one time generated but does not generate; but the seven is neither generated by those that precede it nor does it generate any up to the decad.

But also the two, when tripled, generates the six, and the three, when tripled, generates the nine.

It has yet another prerogative:

for if you multiply the numbers from the monad up to seven in a doubling ratio, the result becomes at once equal and square;

for one, two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, when doubled, [give] sixty-four, which is a square — for eight times eight is sixty-four — and a cube — for four times four times four is sixty-four.

But also, when tripled up to seven again from the monad, it yields the seven hundred twenty-nine, this too being at once a square and a cube;

for one, three, nine, twenty-seven, eighty-one, two hundred forty-three, seven hundred twenty-nine — as has been said, it fully makes up at once a cube and a square: a square thus,

for twenty-seven times twenty-seven is seven hundred twenty-nine; a cube thus,

nine times nine times nine is seven hundred twenty-nine.

The square signifies firmness, and the cube... Not unreasonably, then, would the things said concerning the numbers stand, since it is a matter of established faith that nothing lies idle in the divine writings.

And to those things already said it is fitting to add that, appropriately, a living spark was left in the ark, lest — when another beginning was made — a heresy concerning two creators should be introduced.

For if, even when so great a safeguard has been made, the heretics devise their arguments, introducing diverse divinities, how much more [would they have done so] had they also found plausible reasons for their evil hypothesis.

'For yet seven days, and I will bring rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights;'

'and I will blot out all that I have raised up from off the face of the earth.'

And this too was foretold, out of the loving-kindness of God, for the purpose of amendment ...

... in that, by hearing that after seven days the flood would come — even as in what preceded we cited the proclamation concerning Jonah, which likewise came to pass unto the repentance of the Ninevites, just as indeed happened.

And for forty days and forty nights the downpour came from above and from below in such a way that it overtopped the mountains by fifteen cubits.

And if the number by which the flood came has a significance, consider also 'I will blot out all that I have raised up upon the earth.'

Some, [taking] the term 'that which was raised up' ...

having so understood it, supposed that, a former world having been consumed by fire according to the Stoics, this present one comes into being and subsists, the same elements being contained in the matter derived from that former world, which is in no way different from this present one.

But this they improvised in the demonstration of their doctrines;

for it is not possible that the movements of the souls of what has come to be and of what is to come should coincide without any difference, so as to differ in nothing.

'And Noah did all things whatsoever the Lord God commanded him.'

That this is a testimony to a man — to do all that the Lord God commanded — has also been said in what went before.

Of such approval the blessed David also was accounted worthy, concerning whom God said that He had found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.

'Now Noah was six hundred years old, and the flood of water came upon the earth.'

... [consider] the goodness of God, how He permitted the ark to be made over a whole hundred years;

for this is plain from the fact that [Noah] was five hundred years old when Noah began to make it ...

... of the [ark's] construction, so that men, both hearing and learning the cause, might also cease from their wickedness.

Had they heard and repented, the flood would not have been brought on.

That this came about for the sake of long-suffering and for the calling of men unto repentance, Peter, the foremost of the apostles, sets down in his own epistle concerning the Saviour:

'In which also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who once were disobedient, when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared.'

And from this let us consider that He said that many sins are committed upon the earth;

yet let not God bring [punishment] ... sin ...

... on account of a certain long-suffering He does this, giving place for repentance.

So too, after transgression He gave a prohibitive law, and after admonitions He brings forward reproofs together with threats.

Israel, being the Lord's portion and a son of God, kept transgressing His ordinances, and that although God did all things for them.

For what does He say in Isaiah? 'A vineyard came to be for My beloved, on a horn, in a fertile place' — by 'horn' meaning the kingdom, and by 'fertile place' signifying the instruction through the Law and the Prophets.

'And I planted a Sorek vine,' which means 'choice';

for because they were to be a royal priesthood and a choice vine, He planted the people.

'And I built a tower for the fleeing away from the enemies that come upon them';

and the tower is the instructive word thereof, at once guarding and repelling the assault of enemies.

'If the spirit of him that rules should come up against you, do not leave your place.'

'He also made a coping and set a fence round about,' which things signify the security afforded by the angels.

And nevertheless it remained in the same barrenness, though so many things had been done;

'What more shall I do to My vineyard that I have not done for it? I have done all things without fail; wherefore, since they themselves are unable to say what ought to be done, I will speak; I will declare to you what I will do to My vineyard:'

'I will take away the things I have given it; I will pull down its wall, and it shall be for a trampling; and I will remove the fence, and it shall be for a plundering.'

For it is fitting that from those who received this help from the angels in vain, this help too should be further taken away;

so that, seeing to what evils they have come, they may long to turn back; and for this reason He also reproves, saying:

'And I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it,' which clouds signify the prophets and the ministers of the spiritual rain, concerning whom it is said:

'Let the clouds rain down righteousness.'

For it made unfitting use of this rain, bringing forth thorns instead of grapes.

For this reason the destruction of Israel came about, since it would not receive so great a benefit.

In this way [...] the flood was brought on, when none of men were willing to be benefited by their own eagerness.

[...] the consummation of the whole will come to pass through a scarcity of virtue, even as the Saviour also says:

'When the Son of Man comes, shall He find the faith upon the earth?'

'And Noah entered, and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him, into the ark, because of the water of the flood.'

'And of the birds, and of the clean beasts, and of the beasts that are not clean, and of all the creeping things upon the earth, two by two they came in to Noah into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded him.'

It is clear that, since certain signs of the flood had already appeared and become visible to Noah — such as the moistening of the earth or things of like kind — Noah entered into the ark when not much time had elapsed.

As for the matters concerning the sons entering together with Noah and the wives of the sons together with the wife, what was noted earlier has already been said;

for it was not fitting, when so great a punishment was coming upon all, that they should be performing the acts of marriage;

he assigns to them their conjugal unions at the going forth from the ark.

He says that the animals also entered in common, having mentioned the clean ones first on account of their honour;

and the things spoken of before, namely when Noah was commanded by God to bring in of the animals into the ark, you will also compare here, so that we may not always be saying the same things.

'And it came to pass after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth, in the six-hundredth year in the life of Noah, in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month.'

Some have observed that, because the flood was brought on at such a number, saying that, since it was at the completion of the work [...]

[...] to blot out [...], for this reason he made mention of this, when the full inundation was taking place, which came about for the salvation of the world.

For both the taking away of sinners from the earth and the making of a beginning for the human race to live with virtue is a perfect thing;

and just as it belongs to the best physician not only to cut away corruption that has arisen in bodies, but also to grow up fresh flesh in place of that which underwent decay, so it is God's work to destroy sinners, that those who live according to righteousness may take their beginning.

Indeed, at any rate, after these things there came to be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.