Questions on the Octateuch 1 part 8/17

that even through tiny creatures he both comes to the aid of his own people and brings destruction upon his adversaries.

'If Israel had walked in my ways, in no time at all I would have humbled their enemies';

that is, I would very easily and readily have utterly destroyed those making war upon them.

For, he says, at whatever moment I speak concerning a nation or a kingdom, to build it up and to plant it,

it shall be that, if that nation turns and does evil, I will by no means bring upon it all the good things that I have spoken — and so on.

God, then, brought them into the land that he had promised;

but since they were unwilling to keep the divine law, he did not hand over the whole of it to them, but left certain nations continually warring against them, so that, being warred upon, they might ask for divine help.

And this the history of the Judges teaches in a special way.

For the foreign nations used to pay tribute;

such was the dominion Israel possessed;

but once it turned aside into impiety, it fell from that authority.

And to these also he promised to give it, provided they kept the commandments and the law.

Why in the world did God command the tabernacle to be made? The Master God himself has made the reason plain:

'And you shall make me a sanctuary, and I will appear among you';

'And you shall make it according to all that I show you on the mountain — the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all its furnishings.'

For since he had given the law on Mount Sinai — and it was likely that some would suppose that the divine had thereby been confined to a place — he commanded a tabernacle to be made;

so that, making his own manifestation from there, he might instruct the people in piety. For just as, once they had received the promised land, he commanded a temple to be built and legislated that the divine services take place there — lest, performing this without restraint wherever they pleased, they should fall into the error of the accursed demons — so likewise, to a people journeying on the road and crossing the wilderness, he commanded that a tabernacle be made, one that could also be moved along with them,

so that they might offer both their prayers and their sacred ministrations in it.

And these things too came about for the sake of their need.

For when the great Moses had spent many days on the mountain, they said to Aaron:

'Make us gods who shall go before us';

and having fashioned the image of the calf, they cried out dancing:

'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.'

God commanded this tabernacle to be made, and legislated that it should go ahead of them when they set out, and stand in place when they encamped;

so that the priests too might perform the sacrifices in it;

and it itself bore the image of creation.

For just as the Master God, having made heaven and earth, then stretched out the firmament between them, and marked off the upper regions from the lower;

so he commanded that a single tabernacle be made, thirty cubits in length and ten in breadth;

and thus, outside the veil, it was accessible to the priests,

whereas the parts within were untouchable, unapproachable, a royal inner sanctuary.

For the law was that only the high priest should enter there, once a year.

And there were there the likenesses of the cherubim, bearing the type of the incorporeal powers;

and in the midst of these lay the ark, containing the tablets of the law, the jar of manna, and the rod of Aaron that had budded;

and upon it lay the mercy seat, overshadowed by the wings of the cherubim;

and it was there that the God of all made his own manifestation.

For since the divine nature is without form and without shape, invisible and incomprehensible, and it is altogether among things impossible to fashion an image of such an essence, he commanded that symbols of his greatest gifts be placed within.

For the tablets signified the giving of the law, the rod the priesthood, and the manna the food in the wilderness and the bread not made by hands;

and the mercy seat, indeed, was a symbol of prophecy,

for it was from there that the oracles came forth.

For just as the Maker of created things is perceived proportionately through their greatness and beauty, so through these things the great Giver of gifts was made known.

Now the things within the tabernacle held the pattern of the heavenly things, wherefore it was also called the Holy of Holies.

And that this is true, the divine Apostle bears witness, speaking thus:

'For Christ did not enter into holy places made with hands, antitypes of the true things;'

'but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.'

And again, discoursing concerning the divine hope, he added these words also:

'which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and entering into that which is within the veil, where Jesus, our forerunner, entered on our behalf, having become a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.'

Therefore the things within the veil held the image of the heavenly things;

while the things outside held the image of the earthly things.

And these included a lampstand with seven branches, set on the southern side, having an equal number of lamps placed upon it.

And these signified the number of the days of the week.

And on the north side, a golden table, upon which he commanded twelve loaves to be set out, together with golden bowls full of frankincense and salt.

And in the middle, between the lampstand and the table, stood a golden altar of incense.

And these things were riddles of the fruits given to men from the earth.

And before the tabernacle, outside, was the bronze altar, which received the sacrifices that were offered.

And this shows that these sacrifices were superfluous and not pleasing to the God of all.

Wherefore He permitted them to be carried out, on account of the weakness of the Jews;

but He commanded them to be performed outside the tabernacle, as not necessary to those within.

But we perform the ministry that has been assigned to those within.

For we offer to God incense and lamp-light, and the mystical priestly service of the holy table;

and that the length of the tabernacle was thirty cubits, and its breadth ten, is easy to learn; for the southern side had twenty boards, and the northern side as many.

For the other translators called the pillars 'boards.'

And since each board was a cubit and a half wide, the twenty boards made up thirty cubits.

So likewise, the side facing west had six boards of the same measure, and two at the corners.

Twelve cubits, then, being made up from these, ten of them filled the interior breadth, while the other two received the joints of the sides on either hand.

He commanded, moreover, that the door should be made on the eastern side, so that the sun itself, as it rose, might offer a kind of homage to the entrance-way, sending its rays there at once;

and that those who were commanded to worship God alone might have the sun behind them as they turned to face the tabernacle, and might worship not it, but its Maker.

The tabernacle, then, resembled a railed enclosure, having boards fitted together with one another on every side.

And these also had silver sockets, and likewise silver capitals;

and they themselves were overlaid with gold, both within and without;

and it had a roof-covering made of varied woven fabrics, fashioned in different colors.

For one was purple, another rose-colored or scarlet-dyed, and another resembling the color of hyacinth;

while the fine linen had a white color.

And these colors were riddles of the four elements;

for the hyacinth color resembles the air;

the rose-colored or scarlet-dyed resembles fire;

and the purple signifies the sea;

for it is the sea that nourishes the murex-shell from which such a color comes;

for it is said to be produced from this shellfish.

And it also had hair-cloth curtains laid over it, and moreover variegated skins as well, so as to keep off both the rain and the scorching heat.

And to the priests he also assigned adornment of every kind;

striking the people with awe by the distinctiveness of their vesture, while teaching the priests themselves how they must beautify the soul, and clothe it with the adornment of virtue.

He calls the inner tunic the 'undergarment' (hypodytēs);

and the outer tunic he calls the 'overgarment' (ependytēs);

he commanded this to be made of hyacinth color, and named it the 'foot-length robe' (podērēs), as reaching down to the very ends of the feet.

And he hung from it golden bells and pomegranates, so that, on entering into the innermost shrine and sanctuary of the tabernacle and hearing the sound produced by these, he might perform the ministry with awe, calling to mind the One who had commanded these things and who receives the priestly service offered.

For this very reason, too, the foot-length robe had the color of the air;

for it was of hyacinth color, so that one gazing upon it might also be lifted up on high.

And upon the head there rested a tiara imitating the heaven.

And a band also covered the forehead, which the Seventy called the 'miter' (mitra).

And this had in its middle a golden plate, having inscribed upon it the ineffable Name of God, which the Hebrews call the Tetragrammaton.

And the Master God, training the people in reverence, revealed this by means of a symbol:

'For you shall inscribe upon it,' He says, 'Holiness to the Lord.'

The Seventy called it the 'epōmis' (shoulder-piece).

But in the books of Kingdoms we find it named 'ephod' according to the Hebrew tongue.

This had, on each shoulder, two precious stones, having the names of the tribes inscribed upon them, and on the breast, that which is called the 'oracle' (logion), which covered the seat of reason, the heart.

And this too had twelve stones fitted onto it, having different colors;

and through these, when war was joined, either victory or defeat was made known;

and this the history of the Kingdoms teaches:

for when the Philistines made war upon Israel, Saul did not dare to array his troops beforehand, until he saw the signs of victory;

for he says, 'Bring near the ephod.'

Then, having learned of the victory, he led his army out;

and thus he armed the people for battle.

For this reason the God of all, having said the following, then added:

'And you shall place the oracle of judgment upon the breast of Aaron, and you shall join it to the ephod'—He then added:

'And you shall put upon it the Manifestation and the Truth.'

And He called the signs that came from it 'Manifestation' (dēlōsis);

and the unfailing reliability of those signs He called 'Truth' (alētheia).

One must know, however, that since the people of that time were coarser and unable to attain to intelligible realities, the all-wise Master brought about their benefit through bodily symbols.

But we understand, through the oracle, the contemplation of intelligible realities;

By the ephod we understand the labor of virtue, and in the harmony and conjunction of the oracle (breastpiece) with the ephod we perceive the concord of faith and good conduct.

And that the ephod is put on first,

and then the oracle is joined to it in this way—this signifies that good practice is the foundation of contemplation.

But for the other victims, those who offered them laid their own hands upon them.

This was a symbol that the victim filled the place of the one offering it, receiving the slaughter on his behalf.

It is fitting to note that a calf was offered on behalf of the high priest;

and again on behalf of all the people, a calf;

but on behalf of the ruler, a male goat;

and on behalf of each ordinary man, a female goat.

For the male is fitting for the ruler, and the female for the one who is ruled,

since God from the beginning also subjected the woman to Adam.

But the calf sacrificed for sin was burned up outside the camp.

For this reason also the Master Christ, as the divine apostle says, suffered outside the gate, and set the truth upon the type.

But the fatty covering was offered on the altar.

For by this he means the fat that is upon the belly, and the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them, and the lobe of the liver, which the other translators have called 'the redundant part.'

These are riddles of the passions within us;

for the fat covering the belly signifies the disease of gluttony;

and the kidneys, the pleasures of the lower belly;

and the lobe of the liver, the irascible part of the soul.

For the gall-bladder is joined to that organ.

He commands that these be consecrated, and that their evil workings be shown, as it were, to be dead.

He ordained that the right shoulder of the ram of consecration be offered, thereby commanding that active virtue—being the 'right-hand' virtue—be offered to God as the best portion.

The bread and the wafer, and the libation of wine, signify the fruits that grow from the earth, of which it is holy to offer the firstfruits to God.

For since we take delight in sweet fragrances, he called the sacrificial rite performed according to the Law 'a savor of sweetness';

for that one must not attend to the bare letter, the very nature of God teaches, since he is incorporeal;

so too does the foul stench of burning bones teach it—for what is more foul-smelling than that? The other translators, however, have put 'of good pleasure' instead of 'of fragrance.'

For the breast is the covering of the heart.

and by the right shoulder is signified right, that is, virtuous, action.

For faith alone is not sufficient for salvation, but it has need of works for its perfection.

What is the 'hin'? A Hebrew measure of wine and oil.

It holds, as Josephus says, two Attic choes.

One must trust him in these matters, since he knew the measures of his nation with precision.

Legislating concerning the sabbaths, he said:

'For it is a sign between me and the sons of Israel throughout your generations.'

How then shall we understand this? Just as, when giving circumcision to Abraham, he said:

'And it shall be a sign between me and you'—so also, legislating concerning the sabbath, he said:

'For it is a sign between me and the sons of Israel throughout your generations.'

For the novelty of this way of life continually kept the memory of the Lawgiver flourishing, and separated them from the other nations.

For just as brands mark out flocks and herds, so the distinctive features of the Hebrew way of life both separated them from the others and taught them to remain in close attendance upon the Lawgiver.

Why on earth did Aaron carve the calf for the people? One ought to inquire into the purpose behind what was done.

For if we examine it in this way, we will find that he is not altogether devoid of excuse.

For when his brother had spent forty days on the summit of the mountain, and the people had grown frenzied and were rushing to return to Egypt,

first he tried to bridle their impulse with words,

but when he saw them disobedient, he asked the women for their gold ornaments, arraying one passion against another—setting the love of adornment and love of money against the madness of superstition.

But not even this device quenched their frenzy.

Whence he was compelled to carve the calf; yet having employed such a purpose, he entreated the divine loving-kindness, so as to escape the punishment.

'For I entreated the Lord,' he says, 'concerning Aaron my brother, and he did not die.

And now let me be, and being enraged with wrath against them, I will blot them out and make of you a great nation'? Now the saying reveals both the impassibility and the loving-kindness of God; for one who acts out of wrath is also displeased with those who entreat him;

'Let me be, and being enraged with wrath against them, I will blot them out.'

But no one waits for those who entreat him in order to become angry, but in order to be appeased.

'Let me be' he has said in the sense of 'restrain me.'

For since the great Moses was unaware of the people's transgression, God both revealed it to him and roused him to intercession;

and 'I will make of you a great nation' foreshadows what pertains to us.

For what did not come to pass then came to pass after the appearing of our Savior.

The Lawgiver, however, even though God had said this—that he alone would suffice for the intercession on behalf of the people—did not suppose himself sufficient to stay the wrath of God;

whence he offered up the names of the patriarchs in place of supplication, reminded God of the oaths sworn to them, and besought that the covenants that had been made be confirmed.

For since the tablets bore the form of a marriage-dowry contract, and the bride had turned to adultery even before entering the bridal chamber, it was quite fitting that he tore up the dowry contract.

It is fitting to note that at that time the God of all, having received the supplication, deferred the punishment,

but he added, 'In the day when I visit, I will bring upon them all their sin.'

This resembles what has been said by the apostle:

'not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance;

but according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation and righteous judgment of God, who will render to each according to his works.'

He also entreated that God not give them a fellow-servant as leader, but that the Master himself lead them.

And since the good God promised to grant him this favor also, Moses, intoxicated with a praiseworthy love, was smitten with desire for what is beyond man, and longed to see the invisible nature;

but he learned that it is impossible to see that essence.

For 'no one has ever seen God,' according to the word of the Lord—but the divine dispensations and workings may be seen.

For in this way it is fitting to understand the 'back parts' of God;

it is possible for those perfect in virtue, like Moses, to behold them;

and not even for them as it happened to fall out, but for those set by God himself upon the rock.

This rock signifies the firmness and unshakeable steadfastness of faith;

and through the hole of the rock; and this signifies the eye of faith, which beholds the things unattainable and unseen by the eyes of sense.

What does the veil placed upon the face of the lawgiver signify? We have the Apostle's interpretation:

For until this very day, he says, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their heart, unlifted, because it is done away in Christ.

But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

For just as then the face of the lawgiver was filled with divine glory, and a radiance brighter than lightning shone forth from it, not permitting those who met him to look directly upon it, but compelling them either to turn their faces away or to close their eyes,

and for this reason he used a veil when speaking with the people:

but when he turned to God, he kept his face uncovered:

so also the Jews, attending to the letter of the law, do not see the glory, but see only the veil.

But those who draw near through the grace of the all-holy Spirit are freed from the veil, and behold the glory with which Moses was filled.

For this is also what the blessed Paul says:

'But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.'

For just as clear mirrors receive the impressions of those who look into them, so pure hearts receive the glory of God.

'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God'; and just as Judas, having received the devil, was stamped with his wickedness in himself, so he who draws near by divine grace is illumined by the radiance streaming from it; just as one who sits in darkness becomes darkened, and one who sits in the sun becomes sun-like and full of light, so one who attends upon God receives god-like characteristics.

Whence did they have the incorruptible wood? They were boards ten cubits long:

It is likely, then, that the more prosperous among them had these, having brought them from Egypt when they departed from there.

And the precious stones and the gold and the silver and the bronze, they took from the Egyptians and departed with them; for according to the divine commandment:

'Each woman asked of her neighbor, and of her who sojourned in her house, articles of silver and gold and clothing,' and they despoiled the Egyptians.

Therefore the God of all called the things offered 'firstfruits,' as the choicest spoils of war.

What gift did Bezalel and those with him receive? The wisdom of craftsmanship.

For there is a wisdom of weaving, and a wisdom of farming, and a wisdom of medicine.

And each of these is a gift of God, granted for the use of mankind.

'Let the earth,' he says, 'bring forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind and likeness, and fruit trees bearing fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its likeness, according to its kind, upon the earth.'

And when spring begins, the meadows also bloom, the crops wave, and the trees put forth fruit.

For this very reason he also freed Israel from the slavery of the Egyptians at this very season:

and it was in this season that the archangel Gabriel brought to the holy Virgin the good tidings of the wondrous birth-pangs.

At this same season also the Master Christ endured his saving passion.

Very fittingly, then, the Master God of all commanded that the tabernacle be set up on the first day of the first month:

both because it was an image of the whole world;

and so that it might be made ready in preparation for the feast of the Passover, which the Jews were required by law to celebrate first.

And at that time they were about to celebrate this feast for the first time in the wilderness.

For it was the second year after their deliverance from slavery.

For what reason did God command that sacrifices be offered? We have spoken of these matters in many places — both in the works composed against the Greeks and in those against the heresies, and indeed also in those against the Magi.

Besides these, also in the interpretations of the prophets, and in the commentaries on the apostles.

But I will nevertheless speak here too, in summary: that God is without need of anything — I do not think even the most extremely foolish would dispute this.

But that he does not accept such sacrifices, he taught through most of the prophets.

But since the people, having spent a long time in Egypt, had been taught to sacrifice to demons, he permitted sacrifices, in order to free them from that superstition.

For that they delighted in these sacrifices, the events concerning the calf bear witness:

This he also made clear through the prophet Ezekiel:

'I saw you,' he says, 'wallowing in your blood, and I said to you:'

'In your blood is life; increase.'

He means: having seen you rejoicing in the blood of sacrifices, I permitted you to indulge this desire.

And besides this, he also prepared for them, by means of this permission, another remedy against evil:

For he commanded that the very things deified by the Egyptians be sacrificed to him:

from the four-footed animals: a calf, a goat, and a sheep;

and from the birds: a turtledove and young pigeons.

We are not unaware, then, that the Egyptians also deified a great many other things; but of the things deified, he assigned the tamer ones to sacrifice:

and he called the others unclean, so that, abhorring the one kind as unclean, they might not deify them, and so that, in sacrificing the other kind, they might not suppose them to be gods:

but that they might worship only him to whom these things are offered.

And since some were in prosperity of wealth, while others lived together with poverty, he commanded the former to offer a calf, or a lamb, or a goat;

and the latter, two turtledoves or two young pigeons;

and for the very poorest, a little fine flour mixed with oil.

For he legislates in proportion to ability; of these he called some 'gifts,' as being offered not out of legal necessity but out of a God-loving disposition, and others 'sacrifices of salvation':

and this name signifies deliverance from illness or from certain other hardships.

And sacrificial rites were also offered on account of sin, and trespass, and ignorance.

'Sin' signifies a willful transgression of some law;

'trespass' signifies a transgression that arose from some circumstance.

For it would happen that someone, unintentionally, came near either to a leper, or to a corpse, or to one with a discharge; and 'ignorance' has a clear meaning:

for not everyone knew all the laws.

For the sins of the soul, even nature itself taught men to know;

but these things, which pertained only to the Jews, required teachers.

And of these victims, some were burned whole:

and of others, only certain small parts: the caul over the belly, and the kidneys, and the fat covering them, and the lobe of the liver.

And we have already stated what these signify.

But the sacrifice offered for sin was offered without oil and frankincense.

For those who sit in the darkness of sin do not have the nourishment of light;

nor do those who ought to groan have cheerfulness;

for according to the prophet, 'oil makes the face cheerful.'

nor do those who have not put away the stench of wickedness have the sweet fragrance.

The divine Apostle said that those under the law rendered service to a copy and shadow of heavenly things:

I think I am doing nothing improper in saying that those who offer themselves to God resemble the different kinds of irrational sacrificial victims. For some, embracing a life of possessionlessness and freedom from care, consecrate themselves wholly to the God of all, and render themselves a whole burnt offering and a whole fruit-offering:

leaving nothing behind for the present life, but transferring everything to the ageless life

But those who are lesser than these apportion some things to the altar, some to the priests, and the rest to the need of the body.

And some offer the gentleness of sheep;

but others, like obedient calves, gladly bear the good yoke of the Lord;

And certain others, imitating goats, supply the surplus of their need to those in want, like a kind of milk, according to the apostolic law which says:

'your abundance for their lack'

and others offer the chastity of turtledoves, and likewise flee the yoke of a second marriage;

and others adorn their disposition with simplicity and guilelessness, imitating the young of doves

for he did not legislate that these be sacrificed once full-grown;

since this creature is most ardent with regard to mating;

but rather their young, which practice guilelessness and have not tasted of intercourse

The birds, however, the patriarch did not divide, nor does the lawgiver command them to be divided; for those winged in mind, loving God with their whole heart, do not divide it between earthly and heavenly things, but send it all up above.

Understanding the matters of the sacrifices in this way, we shall find the law concerning them fitting also to the weakness of the Jews;

and that such legislation is not superfluous even for evangelical perfection.

The divine Paul also taught us to understand these things in this way;

for having set down the law concerning oxen, which forbids muzzling the oxen that tread out the grain, he added:

'Does God care for oxen? Or does he speak entirely for our sake?'

for it was written for our sake, that the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher ought to partake of his hope, in hope.

Therefore, of the law, the sensible and superficial part is suited to the Jews, but the spiritual part to those who embrace the evangelical way of life

One must also know this, that the whole burnt offerings were male;

but those offered for sin were female;

for when the ruling faculty within us is weak, the passions prevail

One must also note this, that for sin not lambs but goats were offered

This the Master Christ also shows in the holy Gospels, likening the righteous to lambs, but sinners to kids.

Whole burnt offerings were also offered from birds;

for the perfect and philosophic life lies open also to the poor

Just as, of the four-footed animals, neither the skin nor the dung was offered to God, so also of the birds, the crop and the feathers were cast far outside the camp;

and not even these were thrown away at random, but into a certain clean place, where they also cast the ashes of the altar;

Theodotion called the crop the 'physa' (craw);

for that, receiving the food, supplies it to the rest of the body;

hence the Seventy also called it 'prolobos' (crop), inasmuch as it takes in the food