Commentary on Genesis 1 part 14/15

And it came to pass, when Abram entered into Egypt, that the Egyptians, seeing the woman that she was very beautiful, and the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and they praised her before Pharaoh, and brought her into the house of Pharaoh;

and they dealt well with Abram for her sake, and he had sheep and oxen and asses and menservants and maidservants and mules and camels.

The prudent counsel of the patriarch did not miss its mark;

for neither was he plotted against, but there came about even a way for the marriage of the holy man not to be corrupted;

for the Egyptians did not fall upon her as upon one neglected;

but rather the princes, having beheld her, and rendering favor to the king, presented her to him as a gift, and so it came about that they also dealt well with Abram for her sake.

Abram, then, enters into Egypt, according to the allegorical manner, as one perfect adapting himself to the imperfect, that they may be benefited, possessing virtue, as was said before, not as belonging to him by exclusive lot, but showing her forth to all as a sister as he goes down together with them, that thus, having beheld her, they may be able to love her.

But observe that the princes saw her;

for there are also, in the rank of the allegorical Egyptians, certain purer ones who have much fitness for beholding virtue.

And these did not come merely to the point of beholding, but they also brought her to their own ruler—that is, to the reason that governs them—together with praising her;

for this was the aim of the holy Abram, to draw them gently.

And about sunset an ecstasy fell upon Abram, and behold, a great dark fear falls upon him. And Abram, beholding as it were divine visions, feared a fear befitting one who is perfect.

But observe that about sunset the ecstasy fell upon him, the text signifying an advance, in that the day of his present condition had passed away for him, so that another advancement might succeed it, a blessing coming upon him, according to which it is said:

With length of days will I fill him—not at all promising him longevity, but clearly progressive illuminations.

An ecstasy, then, falls upon him—but an ecstasy not like unto derangement, rather the wonder and the passing over from things visible to things invisible.

For 'whether we were beside ourselves, it is to God, or whether we are sober, it is for you'—not signifying that we went mad toward God, but that, even if we come to be outside human things through contemplation, we do this unto God, just as David also says:

I said in my ecstasy;

for having gone out of himself and become a god, he says concerning men that they are liars, he himself being no longer a man on account of the communion of the Holy Spirit, but being other than those concerning whom it is said.

It falls upon him, he partaking not of darkness but of obscurity, and not being readily comprehended;

this, being a great fear, does not befall the small.

And that darkness is often taken instead of obscurity, it is said:

And he made darkness his hiding-place;

and in truth the contemplation and apprehension of transcendent doctrines produces dizziness even in the great, and casts a divine fear with reverence upon such as apply themselves to these things.

Knowing you shall know that your seed shall be a sojourner in a land not its own, and they shall enslave them and afflict them four hundred years;

but the nation whom they shall serve, I will judge;

and after these things they shall come hither with much substance.

The oracle foretells the sojourning of the people in Egypt;

for they sojourned in a land not their own, serving Pharaoh and being greatly afflicted by him and by the Egyptians.

And the things written in Exodus do not conflict with those here;

'After four hundred and thirty years the host of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt'—here he says 'after four hundred.'

But we must observe that it was not said that they went out when the four hundred years had been fulfilled, but rather after four hundred years — which is what the thirty additional years make clear.

And the words 'but the nation to which they shall be enslaved I myself will judge' met with their fulfilment according to what is written in Exodus;

for he brought upon them the ten plagues, and at the last they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

But they also came out with much baggage, as the narrative makes plain; and from this we are taught that even when God afflicts someone for a time, he does not do so indifferently, but for a good end.

But if the passage also hints darkly at the sojourning of the saints, consider it together with what follows.

'But you shall depart to your fathers <in peace>, nourished in a good old age;'

'and in the fourth generation they shall return here;'

'for the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up until now.'

On the plain sense of the text he evidently foretells to him his departure from this life.

But with regard to the higher, anagogical sense, these things might be said.

The wise man departs from life in peace, but the sinner has confused reasonings and a troubled soul;

and as a man is taken up in death, so also is he judged.

He who has furnished peace for himself from here below departs also in peace, but he who has disturbances and confused reasonings shall likewise be judged accordingly.

This is made clear from the saying in Ecclesiastes:

'Wherever the tree falls, there it will remain.'

But this is not so on the level of the literal history;

for it is not at all the case that where a tree falls, there it will remain;

for often it is even carried away and moved elsewhere;

but it is clear that it is the man who is signified enigmatically by the tree, one who will be judged in the very state in which he is found.

Fittingly, then, Abraham will depart in peace to his fathers, being well-pleasing to God and a partaker of the same promise;

'for Christ is the firstfruits, then those who are Christ's.'

And even among the righteous themselves the promise and the abode differ;

'for in my Father's house are many mansions.'

To the fathers according to the spirit, then, the diligent man will depart, being their son by the likeness of his ways, even if according to the flesh he has base fathers.

Having said these things about Abram himself, he speaks concerning his descendants, saying that in the fourth generation they shall return here, indicating the return to the land of the inheritance.

And it is for this reason that he says the return will take place after four hundred years — because the Amorites had not yet filled up their own sins, on account of which they were finally to suffer destruction, so that, once they had been judged, the others might become the inhabitants of their land.

For God brings his punishments in measure and in due season, being long-suffering until the time of recompense is at hand.

Similar to this, and confirmatory of it, is what is said in the Gospel:

'Then Jesus began to reproach the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.'

How then were they not done, if indeed they would have repented, but rather were accomplished there where they did not repent? And we would say that the Son of God is Wisdom, who did these things also;

for since, knowing the hidden things, he knew that even if they had repented they would not have made a genuine repentance, on this account the mighty works were not done there.

And it is fitting to say concerning them:

'for it would have been better for them not to have known the truth than, having known it, to turn back to the things behind.'

Thus he did not do the wondrous works among Tyre and Sidon;

for their repentance was likely to be inconstant and quick to fall away.

But since these, among whom the works were done, did not have any movement of soul recognized by the Judge — which would have required the demonstration of the signs — for this reason he did it, so that these might be without excuse, while those others might not be harmed the more by being untimely deemed worthy of something.

But if this too was said hyperbolically by the Saviour, for the shaming of those who beheld the signs and yet did not repent — for this manner too belongs to a teacher — consider it together.

The long-suffering, then, and the goodness of the Judge is shown by his awaiting the filling-up of the sins of the Amorites, after reproving and exhorting them and doing all that conduces to a change of mind — God bringing on the chastisement only then — just as also happened with Pharaoh;

for though he was often rebuked and deemed worthy of pardon, he brought upon himself, through his own hardness of heart, even the final condemnation.

'And when the sun was toward its setting, there came a flame; and behold, a smoking furnace and torches of fire, which passed between these divided pieces.'

The plain meaning of the text might be set forth thus.

As the sun was already moving toward its setting, a flame appeared, and a smoking furnace was seen, and torches of fire, which passed between the divided pieces, both burning and illuminating the place, so that the patriarch might behold what was happening, and so that they might display symbols in a more divine manner — which it is necessary to search out thoroughly.

And this too is to be noted: that not only now, when a covenant was being made, did fire appear, but also through Moses the Law was given upon fire;

for they saw the fire, and without beholding the one who spoke they heard the things ordained by the Law.

And the things which were hinted at darkly through these might be of this sort.

Since the Law has both rewards and penalties, in being given in the midst of the fire it made clear that to some it brings burning, but to others illumination.

For fire has a twofold power, at once illuminating and burning;

the Law that was given, then, burns those who desert it, but illuminates those who keep it.

So here too torches and smoke appeared;

and the smoke is the result and, as it were, the accompaniment of fire that has been kindled, but the flame also came first.

We say, then, that in such a difficult situation the one who divides what is to be done has need both of the illumination that is from God and of fear — which is signified by the furnace — so that all things may be accomplished according to right reason.

'On that day the Lord God made a covenant with Abram, saying:'

'To your seed I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenites,' and what follows.

When the torches had passed through the divided pieces, the covenant was confirmed, God saying:

'To your seed I will give this land'; and he also marks out the extent of the land.

But we must, according to what was previously expounded, in the higher sense understand the land as given to the seed that is according to the spirit of the holy man.

This too the Saviour promises to those who have practised meekness aright.

This is the fitting promise for the true children, and not for all who come by succession;

'for it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as seed;'

'for he who does his works is his child.'

And it is well said, 'from the river to the river';

for the fitting promise for the seed of the holy man is virtue, which stands in the midst of fluctuating things, the fluctuating things not being parts of it, but its boundaries;

for if anyone should come to be within virtue, these things at once meet him beforehand.

But if this too was said on account of the temptations that press upon the virtuous man, you will grasp it, he being in the midst of those things which afflict him and yet overcoming them.

'Now Sarah, Abram's wife, was not bearing him children;'

'and she had an Egyptian handmaid, whose name was Hagar.'

'And Sarah said to Abram:'

'Behold now, the Lord has shut me up from bearing children;'

'go in, therefore, to my handmaid, that I may obtain children by her.'

'And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarah.'

The Apostle led these things up, by way of allegory according to law, to the two covenants.

But since the literal sense also has come about, this too is worthy of contemplation.

The saints lived together in such a way as not to hunt after pleasures, but for the sake of children.

For indeed such a tradition is handed down concerning them: that they came together with their wives only then, when they had the season for conception;

and neither with one who was nursing, nor with one rearing an infant, did they come together, nor with one who was pregnant;

for in none of these seasons did they consider the union fitting.

And Jacob too confirms the tradition;

for having, over a long time, put it to the test that Rachel did not conceive to bear children, he no longer approached her;

but when she supposed that, if he came to her, she would bear children, she said:

'Either give me children, or if not, kill me yourself.'

For did she not know that Jacob was no fashioner of children, but she was demanding union, since the holy man had ceased for the reason stated, that he might not labor in vain?

'Am I in the place of God for you, who has deprived you of the fruit of the womb?' And so Sarah too, being wise and holy, having long known that when she lay with him she did not conceive in her womb, kept herself from intercourse with him; and since she recognized it to be fitting that he should have children, she gave her own maidservant to him as a wife, a concubine.

Both the chastity and the ungrudging generosity of Sarah are shown, and the passionlessness of Abram toward his wife, who did not choose this of his own impulse but yielded for the sake of the begetting of children.

Useful, then, is the literal sense as well, according as we have expounded it.

But the account of the higher (anagogical) meaning would be smoothed out in this way, as by way of a figure the blessed Paul led up the two women to the two covenants;

and Philo too, employing this in other matters, led up Sarah to perfect virtue and philosophy, she being a wedded wife, both free and well-born and a lawful consort;

and virtue dwells with the wise man according to laws, that from her he may beget divine offspring;

for wisdom bears prudence to a man, and it is said to the devout and holy man:

'Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, your sons like newly-planted olive shoots around your table.'

'Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.'

To perfect and spiritual virtue, then, is Sarah led up; but Hagar the maidservant, the Egyptian, is said by Philo to signify the preliminary exercises, and by Paul the shadow.

For it is impossible to grasp any of the spiritual or lofty conceptions apart from the shadow according to the letter, or the introductory preparatory instruction;

for one must first beget from the lesser things.

At any rate, according to the shadow they offered sacrifices of oxen, they celebrated the Passover in a perceptible manner and were circumcised bodily, being led by the hand through these things toward offering to God a sacrifice of praise, which is proper to the free woman.

Since, then, it is the wise man's earnest concern to advance in order toward the greater things, virtue, with a divine aim, suggests that he first make use of the introductory things and beget from them.

For since he who is but newly approaching virtue is not able to lay hold of perfection so as to beget even from her, it is proposed to him first to exercise himself in the preparatory studies, that thus he may also, if he be able, receive her perfectly.

As has been said before, Sarah brings forth a most exact proof of chastity, having ungrudgingly offered to Abram her own maidservant, seeing that after ten years she had not conceived; and the wise man's passionlessness is shown, in that he begets children with a purpose, as one yielding to his wedded wife.

And the matters of the anagogical sense have already been stated before, namely that it is according to the aim of virtue to suggest first making use of the introductory things, that from them one may first beget children;

and none the less the children that come from the preparatory instruction are virtue's own, because they have been produced with the aim that is directed toward her.

Having made use of these things, then, he rather quickly brought about the conception;

for progress is most ready at hand for the wise man.

'And she saw that she was with child, and her mistress was dishonored before her.'

The aim, as has been said before, is that the wise man be trained beforehand in the preparatory instruction and in the shadow, so that, having been exercised in these, he may advance toward the greater things;

for as such an order is fitting, so it is not consistent to turn back to the small things after the knowledge of the perfect ones.

At any rate, the Apostle writes to the Galatians, who wished, after the gospel, to live together with the shadow of the law.

For they were not Jews, who have the shadow as their foster-companion, but Galatians, who after believing the gospel wished to Judaize, having been deceived by a certain Ebion who wished to Judaize together with Christianizing and thus persuaded the others as well; so that he obtained the surname of this name from the apostles because by it his poverty was made manifest;

for 'Ebion' is interpreted 'poor,' being called Ebion on account of his own rottenness and the poverty of his understanding;

and that the Galatians were Greeks, Paul writes:

'But then indeed, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods; but now, having known God, or rather having been known by God.'

He therefore blames them, as I said before;

for one must render the promise of the Scriptures;

'Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made complete in the flesh?'

for having once laid down a divine beginning, they were not fittingly seeking the figures, seeking them, at any rate, out of season.

For one must understand for what reason the perceptible circumcision was given, and up to what season it ought to be practiced;

for if one understands this, he has begotten from the concubine, and after this he is able to understand the circumcision in the heart that comes about by the Spirit.

And this holy man, at the direction of virtue, went in to the handmaid whom she put into his hands, as we have explained, who also conceived; with whom it is not fitting that he should thereafter remain, going beyond what is needful.

For many, for the sake of perfect education, having made use of the preliminary exercises and remained in them, beget slavish offspring and in a certain way dishonor virtue.

But these things must not be referred to the person of Abram, but to such a manner of life and to those who make use of this sort of thing.

But if, because we said that virtue ...

... the virtue that suggests the things of the introduction, one might say that in a certain way its offspring belong to it, and that such a man dwells with virtue first — for the one who is subject to her is set in motion according to her instructions — it must then be said that of the things that come to be in time, some are prior to something, others posterior, and sometimes contemporaneous; but of things that exist together, we apprehend by conception the one as pre-existing and the other as following, as in the case of natural causes;

virtue, at any rate, is the cause of all the things that come to be through her;

wherefore, even if in time these things precede, yet she herself is by nature prior, just as marriage exists prior to the begetting of children;

for on account of these things marriage ...

And in the case of the other sciences too, the ...

He therefore dishonors virtue who prefers other things to her;

for if anyone should choose her not for her own sake but for the sake of something else, such as praise or reputation, in a certain way he dishonors the good, which in itself does not admit of dishonor.

But take note that it is not even said that Abram dishonored her — for this would not be harmonious in his case —;

but since this can come about at the hands of some, the oracle, safeguarding the matter, gave this sign, hinting that it is not fitting for one who dishonors virtue to remain among the things that are prior to her.

'I gave my maidservant into your bosom;

but when she saw that she was with child, I was dishonored before her;

may God judge between me and you.'

The phrase 'from you' is twofold, meaning either 'by you' or 'from which,' so that in the case of 'by you' it is thus:

whenever someone, for the sake of virtue and of perfect wisdom, wishing to make use of the preparatory studies, remains in them, in a certain way he wrongs virtue, having used the things prior to her not for the proper end; and in the sense of 'from which' it will receive the same meaning, only the aforementioned difference obtaining, namely that in truth he dishonors virtue who is eager to beget from the introduction alone and sets this up as his end.

But take note also of the phrase 'before her';

for virtue was not dishonored simply, but before her;

for whenever someone who has made use of the preparatory studies, on account of perfect wisdom, comes to be beyond the need of them, he dishonors virtue within himself.

As for the phrase 'may God judge between me and you,' one might say, according to the literal sense, that it was spoken as from some human emotion that had arisen in her; but with a view to the deeper meaning, it may be said consistently with what precedes, addressed to the one who has remained in the introductory character: that it is not because of me that you did not beget the perfect things, but because of your still abiding among those things.

And Abram said to Sarah:

'Behold, your maidservant is in your hands;

deal with her as may be pleasing to you.'

As regards the letter, the account introduces a certain freedom from passion, since the patriarch, in receiving the maidservant from his wife, was not hunting after pleasure and now yielding to her and withdrawing whenever he so wishes.

But as regards the higher (anagogical) sense: the earnest man, even if he still remains at the introductory stage and has not become wholly estranged from virtue, gladly receives the reproof that comes from her; and, quickly passing on from lesser things, as though subordinating himself to her, he employs the preliminary exercises according to her directions, ascribing the authority to her.

For inasmuch as he is eager to say and do and think all things with a view to the goal of virtue, he most readily receives the corrections that come from her.

'And Sarah dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her presence.'

The harsh treatment of the maidservant, whom we referred to the preliminary exercises, is in fact a kind of nullification of those very exercises.

For the one who presses on toward perfection no longer has need of these things.

For this reason, then, she fittingly flees.

For once progress and perfection have come about, one no longer abides in the introductory matters.

'And an angel of the Lord God found her at the spring of water in the wilderness, at the spring on the way to Shur.'

'And the angel of the Lord said to her:'

'Hagar, maidservant of Sarah, whence do you come and where are you going?' And she said:

'I am fleeing from the presence of Sarah my mistress.'

From these words one may also perceive the virtue of Hagar and recognize that she is not to be despised, since an angel converses with her and takes up his care for her, and that not incidentally.

For it is clear that it was according to the will of God ...

And it is not unlikely that she was an earnest woman, seeing that she was chosen by holy Sarah for cohabitation with Abram.

And her good sense too is manifest from her saying, 'I am fleeing from the presence of Sarah my mistress,' with nothing base concerning her ...

... whence ... fleeing to do also the things ...

In what has been said above it was laid down that Sarah is virtue and the spiritual understanding of the Scriptures, while Hagar is the introductory and shadowy (understanding).

The one, then, who comes to the divine instruction ought so to apply himself to her as to understand her, proceeding according to letter and spirit, by way and in order.

One must therefore be a child of Sarah, of the introduction, in order thus to arrive at more perfect things, just as also the Israelites, concerning whom it is said that they were first entrusted with the oracles of God, which were given until the time of correction.

For no one who abides in the letter or in the introduction lays claim to her wisdom.

This lover of wisdom, then, if while making use of the introductory things he should remain in them, in a certain manner dishonors virtue.

When progress has come about, he passes beyond the former things, which belonged to the Egyptian Hagar.

For it is from earthly examples that the matters of the introduction are confirmed.

She flees, then, and as she flees an angel finds her.

For the angel does not become invisible ...

For this is what the addition of 'of the Lord' signifies.

A sending forth by wicked angels ...

The angel, then, finding her fleeing on account of the greatness of virtue, turns her back.

For the teaching word and the lessons of the introduction turn one back toward virtue.

It is also well said that she was found in the wilderness and at the spring, on the way to Shur, which is interpreted 'constriction' (or narrowness).

For she had not come outside the house in her flight, nor with speed ... send forth ... there ...

... at some point having also begun the introductions to virtue ...

She does not, then, come outside the enclosure, when ...

... he should remain in the introduction.

Wherefore the teaching word turns such a one back, pointing out to him the pointlessness of remaining, by saying:

'Whence do you come and where are you going?' For it befits the virtuous man to know both his beginnings and his goal.

But the one who makes use of the introduction often, taking the greatness of virtue as a pretext, remains in it, in a certain manner escaping the strenuousness of perfection.

For this is what is indicated by the words 'I am fleeing from the presence of Sarah my mistress.'

But also, when the beauty of the spiritual law is present, one flees the shadowy things, since luminous sacrifices are set alongside those delivered and introduced under the shadow.

In this way also 'that which is in part is done away' when the perfect has come.

He fled from the presence, the one who heard from the Savior:

'You must be born from above,' and who said:

'How can a man be born when he is old?' — for he was understanding the divine matter in a human way.

It is good, too, that she is found at the spring of water.

For the one being introduced is found occupied with purifications, which the water signifies; and such a one is in the wilderness of evils, being released from vice and holding fast to virtue.

'And the angel of the Lord said to her:'

'Return to your mistress and humble yourself under her hands.'

It is shown from the allegory that, even if each person be led by some pointless action which he supposed to belong to those who cling to the shadow of the law, and as it were flees from spiritual contemplation, the teaching word brings such a one back to the antecedent purpose of the [...].

For indeed the Lord gently prompted them to withdraw from the shadow contained in the letter, by saying:

'What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?' and 'Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay to the Most High your vows.'

It is a great thing, then, to be found under the hands of the spiritual teaching, which is named 'mistress,' and to be humbled under her, who is not lowly but is so in relation to the mistress.

For indeed 'that which was glorified has not been glorified in this respect, on account of the glory that surpasses.'

'And the angel of the Lord said to her:'

'Multiplying I will multiply your seed, and it shall not be numbered for multitude.'

Not improbably, the one who lives according to the introduction is also deemed worthy of a blessing.

For his progress, advancing according to the fitting goal, will arrive at perfection.

Observe, however, that in the case of virtue — for from her comes the genuine seed of Abraham — God brought him outside and said:

'Look up now to heaven and number the stars, if you are able to count them,' and it is said:

'So shall your seed be'; but in her case it was not said that your seed shall be as the stars, but only:

'it shall not be numbered for multitude' — that perhaps from this difference you might be able to grasp that the offspring of the perfect are luminous, whereas those of the introduction are not such.

'And the angel of the Lord said to her:'

In that time childbearing was reckoned something great ...

... of men, and this too because virginity and the teaching concerning virtue were not yet strong among men.

Wherefore they even made prayers over this and reckoned such things as belonging to the category of blessing.

And these things, indeed, have been said with regard to the plain meaning of the text.

But the things pertaining to the deeper sense would be as follows.

The one who is already making a beginning of the instruction that is according to God, and who exists among the introductory things, as though bearing in the womb the things that look to this ...

... being someone ... if at all ...

... nevertheless there comes to be a promise of the teaching word, thus, that she shall bear.

For by their sagacity teachers often know the aptitudes of their pupils and are not ignorant of their natural gifts.

That what is in the womb is uncertain, one may learn from the words of the Gospel, when the Saviour says:

But woe to those who are with child and to those who give suck in that day.