八書卷問答（創世記至路得記） 第 1 章 第 11/17 段

'But if the man has no kinsman to whom the restitution for the wrong done him may be repaid, the restitution repaid to the Lord shall belong to the priest, besides the ram of atonement, by which atonement shall be made for him.'

He also commanded that the priests eat the firstfruits that are offered.

For the Levites were the firstfruits of the people, and the priests were the firstfruits of the Levites.

As firstfruits, then, they received the firstfruits.

'For it is,' he said, 'a sacrifice of jealousy, a sacrifice of memorial, a sacrifice that brings sin to remembrance.'

Hence he commanded that it have neither oil nor frankincense;

for it was deprived both of fragrance and of the light of righteousness.

The Lord God, however, legislated that this be done, knowing their murderous disposition.

For so that they would not kill their wives out of mere suspicion, he commanded that the suspected woman be brought to him, since he clearly knows all things, even what is done in secret.

'The priest,' he says, 'shall bring her near and set the woman before the Lord;'

'and the priest shall take clean, living water before the Lord in an earthen vessel, and some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle of testimony; and the priest, taking it, shall put it into the water;'

'and the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and shall uncover the woman's head, and shall put into her hands the sacrifice of memorial, the sacrifice of jealousy;'

'and in the priest's hand shall be the water of conviction that brings the curse.'

He commanded all this to be done in order to terrify the suspected woman, so that, if she had sinned, she might confess, and through repentance receive forgiveness.

For this reason he commands that she be brought before God unveiled, teaching that all things are naked and laid bare before him, and that nothing we do escapes his notice.

That he commanded these things to happen in order to terrify her, what follows makes plain.

'And the priest shall put her under oath and shall say to the woman:'

'If no man has lain with you, if you have not transgressed so as to be defiled while under your husband, be free from this water of conviction that brings the curse.'

'But if you, being under a husband, have transgressed, or you have been defiled, and someone other than your husband has lain with you—'

'may the Lord make you a curse and an object of cursing in the midst of your people, when the Lord makes your thigh waste away and your belly swell.'

He also commanded the woman to assent to the curse and to say:

'So be it, so be it'; and he commanded that the curse be written down, and be washed off with water, and that the woman drink the water;

but first the sacrifice was to be offered, that is, the barley flour.

Then he teaches that if she is innocent, she will be kept sound and healthy;

but if she is guilty and conceals it, she will learn by bitter experience the power of the curse, both her belly bursting and her thigh wasting away.

For through the very members by which the sin was committed, through these comes the punishment.

And 'the object of cursing' is to be understood thus:

whenever someone suffers terrible and irreparable things, some are accustomed to swear and say:

'May I not suffer what so-and-so has suffered.'

What is [meant by], 'whoever solemnly vows a vow, to consecrate himself in purity to the Lord'? There are many kinds of this promise.

Some, for a specified number of days, vow not to drink wine, and not to cut their hair.

Such were those concerning whom the divine James spoke to the divinely inspired Paul:

'There are some who have a vow upon themselves;'

'take these men and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses;'

that is, provide the sacrifices offered on their behalf according to the law, so that you may dispel the suspicion.

Concerning these the law here declares, and commands that those who make this promise abstain also from vinegar, and from grapes and grape-husks, for all the days of the vow;

He calls the promise a 'vow.'

'and not to cut his hair, until the days are fulfilled which he vowed to the Lord.'

He calls 'holy' the one who lets his hair grow, as having consecrated his hair to God.

'He shall be holy, letting the hair of his head grow long, all the days of his vow to the Lord' -- that is to say, the hair you have dedicated to God you shall not cut until you bring the promise to its completion.

He commands him not to go near a deceased father, nor a brother, nor anyone else.

For even if, he says, it should happen that this man is present when someone dies suddenly, it is necessary to remove all his hair;

and not only on the first day but also on the seventh.

so that even the hairs which escaped the razor, having grown during the seven days, might be removed as well;

then on the eighth day to bring two turtledoves;

the one for sin, the other for a whole burnt offering;

and one lamb for a trespass offering.

From this we learn more precisely that he calls the offering for involuntary sins a 'trespass offering';

for what happened to this man was also involuntary;

for when someone died suddenly, he incurred defilement.

He commands him to number again from the beginning the number of the promised days;

'for their former days,' he says, 'shall be counted as nothing for them, because the head of his vow was defiled.'

He also taught what sacrifices it is fitting for the one who has fulfilled the vow of purification to offer;

a male lamb for a whole burnt offering, and a ewe lamb for sin;

for the victims offered for sin are female, since it is when the rational faculty grows slack that sin is ventured.

and moreover he ordained that a ram without blemish be offered for a peace-offering, and a basket of unleavened bread;

then, when the sacrifice was being performed, to place the hair upon the sacrifice of the peace-offering.

The boiled shoulder, placed in the hands of the one who made the vow and received by the priest, signifies that the promised act has been accomplished;

for once an act has taken place, the boiled shoulder is indicative of it.

He legislated these things not in vain, but teaching us to be careful of precision, neither to make vows at random, and, having promised, to fulfill what was promised.

Through these things he also instructs us to keep our sanctification undefiled;

for the one who has received a stain needs the cleansing from above and the removal of defilements through repentance.

For this is also what the blessed Paul said when writing to the Galatians:

'My little children, for whom I am again in labor, until Christ be formed in you.'

After this he teaches how it is fitting for the priests to bless, and how the divine name confers blessing on those who draw near.

'They shall put my name upon the sons of Israel,' he says, 'and I the Lord will bless them.'

And he also gives the very words of the blessing:

'The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.'

By these words we are taught that one must first ask divine gifts for those who are blessed;

for this is what 'the Lord bless you' signifies;

then, that what is given should be kept safe;

for he added, 'and keep you.'

The second blessing foretells the manifestation of God our Savior; for it says, 'may he make his face shine upon you, and be merciful to you';

for the economy of God our Savior according to the flesh is full of mercy.

Therefore he also granted us reconciliation with God;

for this is what the next blessing teaches:

'the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.'

Having discoursed on these matters concerning the blessing, and having recounted how he also anointed the tabernacle, and what the tribal chiefs brought,

the prophet taught how he received into his ears the divine voice borne from the mercy-seat,

which lay upon the ark and was overshadowed by the wings of the cherubim.

He did not write these things out of vainglory, but to teach that from there the sovereign God would display his own glory to the high priests who entered once a year, in a manner that human nature was able to behold.

Why on earth, having commanded the Levites to be sanctified, did he order the whole body to be shorn of its hair? The hairs are a symbol of deadness;

for these are dead and do not receive any sensation of pain.

He therefore commands that those who minister to God possess true life, and have nothing dead or foul-smelling about them.

This the divinely-inspired Paul also teaches us:

'I have been crucified with Christ,' he says;

'yet I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.'

'For,' he says, 'I have dedicated myself to the divine energies.'

But the last stage of life has a weaker body.

He therefore excludes both youth and old age;

the one on account of the immaturity of the soul, the other on account of the weakness of the body.

Why were those who were unclean by reason of a dead body unable to keep the Passover? The reason is bound up with the exemption itself.

For since they were coming from a funeral, having committed some of their kinsfolk to burial, they were unclean according to the ordinance of the law;

fearing therefore that, in fulfilling the commandment of the Passover, they might transgress the law laid down concerning the unclean and fall into a conflict of laws, they explained the reason to the lawgiver;

but not even he dared to give an answer until he had inquired of the Master.

For it was into this very error that Joshua the son of Nun fell, when he received the Gibeonites before making inquiry.

The sovereign God therefore commanded that those who fell into this defilement, or who were dwelling far off, and who for this reason were unable to keep the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, should keep the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month;

He also commanded that the proselytes share in the same ordinances.

'For there shall be one law for you,' he says, 'both for the proselyte, and for the native of the land.'

Through these he foreshadows in advance the calling of the nations.

'With an alarm-blast you shall sound the trumpets at your setting out;'

'but when you gather the assembly, you shall sound the trumpets, and not with an alarm-blast' -- why is this? The all-wise Paul says:

'If the trumpet gives an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?' There were, then, differences of sound: the one signified a halt, the other signified the resuming of the march;

and one trumpet sounding called the rulers, while two trumpets sounding called the people together with the rulers.

The sounding of the trumpets, however, was assigned to the priests alone, since the trumpet signified the calling of God.

'If you go out to war in your land against the adversaries who oppose you, you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the Lord, and you shall be saved from your enemies.'

'And in the days of your gladness, and in your feasts, and at your new moons, you shall sound the trumpets over your whole burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, and it shall be to you a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God.'

For since God, when giving the Law on Mount Sinai, had thundered upon their ears with a very great sound of trumpets, he reminds them of that manifestation by means of the sound of the trumpets.

Sound the trumpet at the new moon, on the notable day of your feast.

And by these things we too are taught: when gathering the whole congregation of the people, to sound the trumpet, and not merely give a signal.

For on account of the uninitiated we speak without giving a clear sign concerning the divine mysteries;

but once these have been separated off, we plainly teach the initiated.

What was the murmuring of the people? They were vexed at the toil of the journey.

Why does he bring punishments upon them the moment they sin? Because the law was [just] beginning, and so it was necessary that the rest be brought to their senses by the punishment of the transgressors;

for fear is fitting for those who are [only] beginning.

Yet loving-kindness was joined together with the punishment;

for when they repented, they enjoyed his favor.

Thus, for instance, when the God-sent fire had consumed a part of the camp, and then all had run together to make supplication, the lawgiver asked for pardon, and the loving Lord granted it.

That the punishments were brought upon them out of necessity, what follows bears witness.

For immediately after the cessation of the punishment, they renewed the memory of Egypt, and of the onions and the garlic and the other things, for which the passion of gluttony kindled their desire.

Quite fittingly, then, the writer joined the divine munificence to their ingratitude when he narrated the things concerning the manna, [showing] that it supplied not only the need of bread, but also of relish;

for, it says, they ground it in the mill, and pounded it in the mortar, and boiled it in the pot, and made cakes baked in the ashes.

But when they lamented, the Master God was angered, and the prophet was distressed and cried out, saying:

'Why have you afflicted your servant, and why have I not found favor before you, that you have laid upon me the burden of this whole people? Did I conceive this people in the womb, or did I give birth to it, that you should say to me, Take it into your bosom, as a nurse takes up the suckling child, into the land which you swore to their fathers?' And by these words he has shown their imperfection and childishness;

for he likened them to a suckling infant, able to do nothing else, but wishing only to draw the milk by sucking.

But since these words were exceedingly those of a man in distress —

for what follows also has this same sense:

he is taught by the Master God that it is not by human power but by divine grace that he governs the people.

'Gather to me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you yourself know to be elders of the people and their scribes;

and you shall bring them to the tabernacle of testimony;

and they shall stand there with you, and I will come down, and speak with you there, and I will take from the Spirit that is upon you and put it upon them;

and they will help you bear the burden of this people, and you will not bear it alone.'

By these words the lawgiver learned that he had received grace sufficient for the ministry [entrusted to him].

'I will take from the Spirit that is upon you.'

For he said this not because he was in want of some other power or grace, but teaching him that he had received power sufficient for the need; and that in giving also to the seventy he did not diminish his grace, the facts themselves bear witness;

for he continued to administer and to work wonders, doing the very same things which he had performed before.

For just as one who kindles countless wicks from a single wick neither diminishes that one, and yet imparts its light to the others,

so also the God of all, in imparting a share of this grace to the seventy, did not lessen the grace given to Moses.

This we see happening even now.

For many tens of thousands of people, being baptized by a single priest and receiving the divine gift, do not diminish the priest's grace;

and very many, being ordained by the bishops and receiving the priestly dignity, do not lessen the gift of the one who ordains.

Yet the Master bore witness to the judgment of his servant;

for he said to him, 'Choose those whom you know.'

Why in the world did the prophet doubt when God promised to give meat? Because he was not only a prophet, but also a man.

But he was taught by the Master God not to hesitate when God makes a promise.

'Shall the hand of the Lord not be sufficient? Now you shall know whether my word will overtake you, or not.'

'until it comes out of your nostrils' — he added:

'and it shall become for you a sickness,' or, as Symmachus [renders it], 'indigestion.'

For gluttony brought on the disease, and for many the God-sent plague brought death.

'While the food was still in their mouths, the wrath of God rose up against them, and he killed a great number of them.'

Fittingly, then, the all-wise Paul exhorts:

'Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its desires.'

Why is it that the seventy, immediately upon being appointed, prophesied, but afterward no longer? Because he appointed them not for the sake of prophecy, but for the sake of administration;

and this too is one of the gifts of the Spirit.

Whence the blessed Paul, alongside apostles and prophets and teachers and gifts of healing, listed helps and governments; of this gift the seventy were deemed worthy;

and in order that they might be made manifest to the people as having indeed enjoyed the divine gift, they immediately foretold certain things.

Why did Eldad and Modad prophesy, though they were not numbered among the seventy? It is likely that they were equal in worth to the seventy, and for this reason enjoyed the gift.

And the account hints that often He who knows hidden things knows those considered rejected among men to be approved.

Thus in the case of Cornelius the divine munificence anticipated the ministry of men;

for before baptism he gave him the grace of the Spirit.

And here too the lawgiver's freedom from envy was shown.

For when Joshua had said, 'Lord Moses, forbid them,' he answered and said, 'Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, when the Lord gives his Spirit upon them!' And the all-praiseworthy Joshua did not act out of the passion of envy, but, considering the matter to be self-will and tyranny, used these words.

For that he was free of this passion, the praise [given him elsewhere] bears witness.

'And Joshua son of Nun, who stood by Moses, the chosen one, answered and said, Lord Moses, forbid them.'

Who ought we to understand the Ethiopian woman to be, whom Moses took as wife? Josephus says that when he was being raised in the royal household, he was appointed general for the war against the Ethiopians, and then, having been victorious, he took to wife the daughter of that king.

But Apollinaris fashioned a myth far more fabulous than this one;

for he said that after Zipporah, Moses married another woman, an Ethiopian, so that, he says, he might become a type of the Master Christ, who, after the Israelite [synagogue], betrothed the Church from among the Gentiles.

But Zipporah too was of another nation.

To fabricate myths, then, is [the work], not of the divine Spirit, but of the adversary.

For the lawgiver took such great care for chastity after his calling, that he even left Zipporah behind when he went into Egypt;

and after the exodus from there, his father-in-law came to him, bringing her along with the children, and [Scripture] has added that he brought her back after the sending-away.

He therefore called Zipporah an Ethiopian woman;

for the nation of Sheba is an Ethiopian nation.

For the evangelist says:

'The queen of the Ethiopians will rise up, and will condemn this generation.'

But the history of the Kingdoms calls her the queen of Sheba.

And Sheba is the name given to the nation of the Homerites;

the Midianites border upon these.

Since, then, Aaron had married an Israelite woman, but Moses a foreigner, when small-mindedness arose, they brought against him this reproach.

And the insolence of his siblings itself testifies to the most perfect virtue of the lawgiver;

for clearly, being at a loss for any other accusation, they brought against him the reproach concerning his wife.

And the verdict of the most just Judge also bears witness to my statement;

'If there is a prophet among you, I will make myself known to him in a vision, and I will speak to him in a dream.'

'Not so is my servant Moses;'

'he is faithful in all my house;'

'Mouth to mouth I will speak to him, openly, and not through riddles, and he has seen the glory of the Lord.'

'And why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?' True, then, is that saying which declares:

'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'

For through both the one and the other we are taught not to avenge ourselves against those who wrong us, but to await the divine verdict, which takes very great care for those who are wronged, just as indeed on that occasion, while Moses kept silent, He brought leprosy upon Miriam.

Why, of the two who had reviled him, did she alone pay the penalty? First, because the woman's offense was greater;

for both nature and the law subject the female to the male.

Next, Aaron had some measure of excuse, both as being older in years and as having been deemed worthy of the high priesthood.

Moreover, since according to the law the leper was considered unclean, and Aaron was the root and foundation of the priests, in order that the reproach might not extend to the whole line, He did not bring upon him an equal punishment, but through his sister He both frightened and instructed him at once.

For this affliction so grieved him that, even before she who had received it did, he himself entreated the one who had been wronged to release the calamity through his intercession;

And he did not neglect it, but immediately offered up his supplication.

Then the loving Lord taught that He had disciplined her not as a judge, but as a father.

For He said, 'If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be ashamed? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she shall come in.'

And honor was joined together with dishonor;

for the people did not set out until she was freed from the affliction.

For what reason did He command that spies be sent? So that, having learned beforehand of the fruitfulness of the land, they might desire to partake of its praised fruits;

and so that, should they hesitate and shrink back, they would have no excuse when punished.

Why, when he sent him as a spy, did he call Hoshea 'Joshua'? Because he was a type of the true Jesus, who imitated the guise of the spies, administering our salvation.

For just as spies adopt both the appearance and the speech of those nations which they are spying out, so also God the Word, having clothed Himself with human nature and having made use of its tongue, administered our salvation.

Whom does he mean by 'the offspring of Anak'? This man was, as is likely, most renowned and much talked-of because of the greatness of his body;

and his descendants, too, surely resembled their forefather in every way.

What is meant by, 'the glory of the Lord shall fill the whole earth'? He foretells the rejection of the Jews and the salvation of the world;

and He adds an oath to the prediction.

For He says, 'As I live, and as my name lives, the glory of the Lord shall fill the whole earth.'

But according to the other translators: 'the glory of the Lord shall fill the whole earth.'

Then He pronounces sentence against all who had been numbered, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun, who, in addition to the truthfulness of their report, brought godly exhortation to the people.

It is fitting, however, to compare with this sentence the one spoken in the Gospels:

'The kingdom shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation producing its fruits.'

For those who fell in the wilderness because of unbelief are a type of the Jews who did not believe;

while the uncircumcised children, who in their stead received through Joshua the land promised to their forefathers, are a type of the believing nations.

Why has He legislated at length concerning the same sacrifices? So that, through the continuity of the legislation, He might make the memory of the laws firm.

What is meant by, 'the soul that does anything with a high hand'? Having legislated concerning those who had sinned unintentionally, as to what sacrifice they must offer, He now legislates concerning those who had sinned intentionally.

Now, sins are of different kinds;

for some, on account of the soul's weakness, cannot withstand the uprising of the passions, and, yielding, are overcome;

while others fall into sins also because of some other circumstance.

And there are those who are disposed contemptuously toward the divine laws;

He said that these sin out of pride, as ones who willfully despise the laws.

He said that such a one shall be utterly destroyed, and He added the reason: because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandments;

'That soul shall be utterly cut off;'

'for his sin is upon him.'

One who is overcome by the passions, and then groans and laments, has at least some small measure of pardon;

but he who embraces wickedness and despises the divine commandments is deprived of all defense.

For this man's punishment instilled fear in everyone.

Why did God command them to put a thread of hyacinth-blue on the fringes of their garments? The hyacinth-blue thread imitates the color of the sky.

It reminded them, then, of the lawgiver, who fills all things, yet seems to dwell in heaven.

For He says, 'The heaven of heaven belongs to the Lord.'

And, 'He who dwells in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn.'

And the law teaches this as well;

for it says, 'You shall look upon the fringes and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, and you shall not go astray after your own thoughts and after your own eyes, by which you go whoring after them.'

However, the fact that Korah rebelled against the lawgiver has some explanation;

for he belonged to the tribe of Levi;

and they supposed that the priesthood rightly belonged to the firstborn;

and they did not consider that their own forefather had fallen from the rights of the firstborn because of his transgression.

What is meant by, 'Do not have regard for their offering'? A contest concerning the priesthood was taking place;

and both the one side and the other were about to offer incense, and they made the Master God their judge.

The prophet, then, being grieved because of the ringleaders of the sedition, besought the Judge not to accept what was being offered unlawfully by the rebels, and calls Him to witness his own fairness;

For he says, 'Do not have regard for their offering;'

'I have not taken anything desirable from any one of them, nor have I done wrong to any one of them.'

And the Judge confirmed this testimony by deed.

For He says, 'Separate yourselves from the midst of this congregation, and I will consume them at once.'

And again the all-praiseworthy Moses displayed his own meekness.

For, prostrating himself before the Judge, he cried out:

'O God of the spirits and of all flesh, if one man has sinned, shall the wrath of the Lord be upon the whole congregation?' And the loving Lord, having accepted the supplication of His servant, commands the rest to separate themselves from the rebels;

and, having signaled the earth to open, He made the tents, together with the men in them, sink beneath it.

And those who journeyed through the midst of the sea were swallowed up in the earth.

For it is easy for the Maker both to fashion a dry path in the sea, and again to make use of the earth instead of the sea for punishment.

These, then, he sent down alive to Hades, while he consumed the congregation of Korah with fire.

A memorial for the sons of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the seed of Aaron, should approach to offer incense before the Lord.

For this reason he also commanded that the rod that had budded be placed within the ark.

And again he legislated that the priests should perform the sacred ministrations, while the Levites should render service, without approaching either the altar or the sacred vessels.

Then he also teaches what things the priests ought to receive.

For he commanded that they themselves eat the firstfruits of wine and grain, and of oil and bread, that were offered to him.

And indeed he also decreed that they should likewise receive the votive offerings and the firstborn.

having set the redemption price for the unclean animals

"For its redemption," he says, "[shall be reckoned] from one month old."

The valuation is five shekels, according to the holy shekel, which amounts to twenty obols.

...at the base of the altar, while the fat is to be offered, and they themselves receive the flesh — just as, indeed, they also receive the breast and the shoulder from the other sacrificial victims.

And he called this fellowship a covenant of salt, since, according to the divine Apostle, those who attend continually at the altar share together with the altar.

But some say [it is called thus] because he commanded that salt be sprinkled upon the sacrifices; then he also teaches both the priests and the Levites that he does not wish them to receive an inheritance [of land], as the other tribes do.

but that the Levites should instead receive [their support] from the whole people

both the tithes of what grows from the earth, and of the gains accruing from flocks and herds, and of what comes from trade or any other occupation

and that the Levites should offer the tithe of the tithes to the priests

And he commands that they partake of these things in every place.

but what is set apart for them from the sacrifices they must eat within, in the temple.