JOANNIS CROII OBSERVATIONES AD ORIGENIS LIBRUM SEXTUM CONTRA CELSUM
Revocatur Lector ad numeros crassiores textui insertos.A Deinde he mentions those seven princes of the demons, who are nowhere called by that name by Christians, but whom, I think, they took from the Ophites.
OBSERVATIONS.
They are called "Rulers" by Celsus; but by the Magi, "Cosmocrators," as can be seen in the fictitious Testament of Solomon. The Manichaeans, positing two principles, called the devil—as Psellus speaks—and also the One whom they called Christ... Satan (John xiv, 30). Paul... Eph. ii, 2. Oecumenius says, in the Epistle of 1 John: The Apostle designates evil angels by many names, and calls them (Eph. vi, 11, 12). Hence Damascenus and Athanasius say: Arnobius book 1, "rectors and princes of the world." The Chaldeans, indeed, as the Scholiast of Synesius reports, say they are "beasts of the earth," because they are entangled in earthly and bodily pleasures.
He says there are seven of those demons. The Testament of Solomon and the Arbatel, fictitious and profane books, recount as many; Nicomachus Gerasinus, in his book of Arithmetic, makes mention of seven angels: B wherefore also... and demons, and likewise they are called angels and archangels; which are seven in number, so that the hebdomad is most aptly [called] an "angel," or perhaps also a certain "guard" from the same; for not only will there be seven leaders besides the number of the guardians, but also because they who guard the whole, and hold it together in consistency and eternal duration, are such stars. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God. Concerning the protection of angels over nations and cities: "The nations are placed under angels, as Moses, the saint and servant of God, bears witness to me, interpreting the word in sequence and saying: 'Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High divided the nations, as he scattered the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God; and the Lord’s portion became his people Jacob, the cord of his inheritance, Israel.'" C ...that Christians ought not to abandon the Church of God, to call upon angels, and to hold meetings. "It has seemed good also to us to set forth such things accurately, so that we may not seem ignorant of what Celsus promised to know; but rather that we may demonstrate more accurately than he that we Christians have known them, as being not the words of Christians, but entirely alien to salvation, and in no way inscribed with [the names of] Jesus, or Savior, or God, or teacher, or Son of God. But according to the ignorance of themselves (or Prunicus), Jaldabaoth, being cast forth, came down to the lowest places, and made..." D
A seven sons, that is to say, aeons, or gods, or angels (for they are called by various names among them), and in the likeness of their father Jaldabaoth, they fashioned man. In the same place, he posits certain names of rulers and authorities, and he calls them heavens; and according to each firmament and heaven, he describes certain powers, and he sets forth barbaric names for them. Celsus, then, was saying that the first was fashioned in the shape of a lion, not however stating by what name those who are truly most impious call him. But we have discovered that in the Holy Scriptures, he was calling that wicked diagram, praised as an angel of the Creator, Michael the lion-like. There are times when they are also likened to dogs, and lions, and other animals, in which a masculine nature exists. And the place was immediately filled with the vision of lions, bears, bulls, leopards, vipers, scorpions, and wolves. And each of these was moving according to its own shape. The lion was roaring, wishing to advance; the bull seemed to be goring; the snake was creeping, not pausing; the wolf was rushing, hastening. B Those knaves pilfered the names and figures of these angels, partly from the chariot of Ezekiel and the Apocalypse of John, chapter IV, and partly from the dreams and fables of the Magi. There is no one who does not know that notable and admirable vision of this prophet, when, by the river Chobar, the heavens were opened and clear visions were sent to him by God. He saw four living creatures: each had four faces, and as many wings and hands; individual living creatures had the faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. Ezekiel himself indicates that these animals were angels in chapter X, where, describing the same vision, he calls them cherubim. But since it is not the place here to relate everything the Hebrews have written concerning the work of the Merkabah, as they call it, we shall not linger for long in recounting those things. This much only we shall add: that R. Moses Maimonides, who was the first, as Scaliger says, to cease trifling among his own, in part 2 of the *More Nevochim*, chapter 49, renders the reason why the forms of animals are attributed to angels, namely, that by such figures they might demonstrate that the angelic essence of Scripture is as much inferior to the Divine essence as irrational animals are more imperfect C than human beings. For since, he says, as Buxtorf the younger translates, if they had stopped here, a man might have imagined to himself as if their truth and essence were equal to the essence of God, because many things are said about God which, according to the literal sense, seem to teach as if He were corporeal, living, mobile, and endowed with a human figure; therefore they progressed further, and showed that the degree of their essence is far inferior to the degree of the essence of God, in that among those forms which they attribute to them, they also place the forms of irrational animals, so that from this we may understand that the essence of God is as much more perfect than their essence as a man is more perfect than irrational animals. The author of the exposition which was edited on the tradition of the law by the same rabbi, in the tract *On the Fundamentals of the Law*, chapter 2, notes that these angels are called holy living creatures by all Hebrew doctors, and are therefore so called because they are inferior to God, because they infuse life into all things that have been created, and because there is nothing in these lower things that can be compared with their holiness. His words are these: [Hebrew text present] D Demons themselves sometimes assumed the figures of various animals, so that by such visions they might strike fear and terror into the minds of mortals. Psellus: It is the case that they are sometimes like dogs, and lions, and other animals, in which a masculine nature is found. Athanasius, in the *Life of Antony*, describes many forms of these demons. R. Abraham, in the preface to the *Book of Creation*, when he had cabalistically accommodated the names of the sons of Esau to these demons, the animals of the earth, and to their children, compares their prince to Erycius and introduces him confessing his crimes, and professing that he was afflicted with this punishment, so that he might be changed into Erycius, because he had introduced an alien thing into the house of God, which is the crown [Hebrew text present]. In this paradigm, Origen, after Celsus, describes Michael in the form of a lion. The Heliopolitans worshipped the God Gennæus in the form of a lion in the temple of Jupiter. Damascius, in Photius, in the *Life of Isidore*: "The Heliopolitans worship Gennæus, having set up in the temple of Zeus a certain form of a lion." However, because I have discussed that God and the figure of a lion in book 1, *Var. lect.*, chapter 3, I shall relate nothing further here. Observe the frauds of lost men, and the insane impudence of the devil, who dare to imitate those admirable works of God, and to attribute to the most wicked demons those things which belong to the angels and to Christ. Christ Himself is called the Lion from the tribe of Judah, Apoc. V, 5. For the words of the prophecy of Jacob in Genesis XLIX, 9 are to be referred to Christ. Michael, among the Fathers and the rabbis, is of the number of the angels; among the Magi, of the demons; but in Scripture, I think him to be Jesus Himself, our Lord; and this seems to me to be clear enough, both from the name itself and from those things which are related about him. For first, the word [Hebrew text] among the Hebrews signifies nothing other than, "Who is like God?" But it is not likely that this name should be attributed to another than to Him who is Himself God. Then, in Dan. XI, mention is made of this Michael, and he is called the great prince, who stands for the people of God against the lost and impious enemies of the Church. Levi ben Gershom believes him to be the prince of the angels, who, from the abundance and flowing of the power of the planets
A which preside over these kingdoms, pour forth celestial faculties upon men, and are rulers of the kingdoms; and that he stands with Gabriel for the sake of the people, so that he may procure for them providence and divine aid. But that this prince is Jesus Christ, there is no Christian who can deny. And this is indicated both by the time when he was to come—namely, under the rule of the Romans—and by those works which he was to perform for the sake of his people. That Michael, therefore, whom the Epistle of St. Jude and Apocalypse ch. XII say fought against the devil for the body of Moses and for the Church of God, was our Lord, who profligated the most bitter enemy of human salvation and his forces. To this are added those things which are reported by Zechariah ch. III, whence the words of Jude seem to have been taken; for there that angel who pleads the cause of Joshua the High Priest is said to be the One whose name, as everyone knows, is attributed to no angel or man, but is the sole property of God. To this should be referred those words which are read in Origen in the following folio, B for they were driven from their seats by unskilled scribes. According to the opinion of the Kabbalists and magicians, individual angels preside over individual planets. Michael, therefore, who is the prince of the remaining angels, is the prefect of the star of Saturn; for *Phainon* is Saturn, as Cicero teaches us in lib. *De natura deorum*. The star of Saturn, *Phainon* in Greek, completes its course in about thirty years. And from this it may be conjectured that Origen, along with the declaration of the names and figures of these angels, had also conjoined the relationship and conjunction of the nature of these demons with the planets over which they were believed to preside; but the former ages and the ignorance of certain ill-leisured men have begrudged us all these things.
TEXT
Pag. 654. Further, Celsus said the next, which is the second, to be a bull. But what regards the diagram we had, he asserts Suriel to be the one who is formed in the figure of a bull.OBSERVATIONS
*Suriel*, who is wrongly written *Ouriel* in certain manuscript copies, is said in Hebrew... In the vision of the animals of Ezekiel, ch. 1, 10, "and the face of an ox on the left of those four wheels"... some say the cherubim are depicted in the figure of youths... When the Israelites wished to bring up from the Nile the coffin in which the bones of Joseph had been enclosed, he who was engaged in this task, having taken a plate upon which had been inscribed by Moses these words, "Ascend, ox; ascend, ox," brought up nothing other than a calf: these are the dreams of the Rabbis, that they might render a reason why Aaron fashioned the golden calf.TEXT
Ibid. Then Celsus says the third is a certain being living at once in earth and waters, and *Borrison*. The diagram, however, says the third is Raphael, of the figure of a dragon. COBSERVATIONS
Raphael indeed is the angel of whom the book of Tobit makes mention, and about whom the Rabbis invent many things. The fictitious and supposititious book of Enoch says that a command was given to Raphael to bind Exael and cast him into darkness. This word signifies the physician of God, from the Hebrew verb to heal and to cure. I think, however, that it should be written *Seraphael*, from the root *seraph*, a fiery serpent, a prester, so that the word might correspond to the diagram; God sent fiery serpents into the Israelite people, that he might avenge his injuries and the crimes of the people by which he had been provoked. Num. XXI. Hence these angels are called from the splendor of their aspect. The Ophites, from whom Celsus borrowed these paradigms, worshipped the serpent as the supreme Deity. Epiphanius in his *Heresies*: "They attribute all knowledge to this serpent, and proclaimed him to the people as the author of the knowledge with which they are endowed." The same Epiphanius: "These also, who are called Ophites, assign all knowledge to this serpent, saying that he is the beginning of knowledge for men..." They also used serpents for magic in ancient times, the impious talent of certain people among the Babylonians; Iamblichus in Photius calls them "the magi of the serpent." By the figure of the serpent, the Rabbis sometimes signify that soul of the world which occupies all parts of the orb, and imparts vital faculties to all things.TEXT
Ibid. Celsus also said the fourth to be of the form of an eagle. D The diagram, however, writes that that demon of eagle form is Gabriel.OBSERVATIONS
Mention of Gabriel is made in Daniel, ch. VIII, 16, and IX, 21, and to him certain wings seem to be attributed; for he is said to be "commanded to fly" or compelled with such great contention that he was wearied, Ezech. 1, 10. "And the face of an eagle on the left of the four wheels"... God himself is compared to an eagle, and he alone is said to have led his people, just as...A when some bird flies around its young and pursues their flight with its wings, Deut. XXXII, 11, 12. "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him." It is well known to everyone that the eagle is called the messenger and winged attendant of Jupiter. That eagles were the standards of the Roman legions, both books and monuments demonstrate. Cicero, in his first and second books *De Divinatione*, indicates that the authority for affairs, whether managed well or ill, was contained in the augury of eagles; for he says Dejotarus returned from a set journey, having been warned by the flight of an eagle. Conversely, when a runner had reported to an interpreter that he had seen an eagle in his dream, he received this response from him: "You have conquered; for no bird flies more vehemently than this one." David, in the Psalm cited, asserts the youthfulness of the same, that the strength of the eagle is renewed. It would be a long task to recount those who have commented on this passage, whether Hebrew, Greek, or Latin interpreters; for all assert that the eagle, when worn out by old age, either flies up on high to the element of fire and is there consumed and falls downward, and then its life is renewed; or it lifts itself on high and throws itself upon a jagged rock, against which it strikes its beak, and when it has immersed itself in a spring, it grows youthful again by the rays and heat of the sun. R. Bechai, *Gen.* chap. 11, R. David Kimchi, Epiphanius in *Physiologus*, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Eustathius in the *Hexaemeron*, and the Cabalists through their Notarikon in the Hebrew word נשר, which signifies eagle, find these three: B *casum*, *ignem*, *aerem* (a fall, fire, air).
TEXT
Ibid. Then Celsus said the fifth has the face of a bear; but the diagram says it is called Thauthabaoth, the bear-like one.OBSERVATIONS
In how many ways the ignorance of scribes has interpolated and corrupted the texts of the best authors, the complaints and conjectures of learned men daily declare and attest. The word ϑαυϑαβαώϑ could not escape the hand and stylus of the unskilled. We think it should be rewritten as ϑαυϑαϑαώϑ: which signifies nothing other than "the sign of the bear." For ϑαυ is "sign," and ϑαώϑ is "bear." The termination in ϑ is either a mark of the plural number, of the feminine gender, or a particle which it pleased the first inventors of such words to add; or it is the Hebrew word which denotes the same thing as *tauth*, as is evident from the following names of these demons. We have already seen from Athanasius, in the *Life of Antony*, that demons have appeared in the form of bears, where he makes mention of them. Psellus also observed the same thing and taught us this, had not the hand of drowsy scribes inflicted a blemish upon that author, like a wound: which, since that sweetest ornament of the Muses and pillar of Oriental letters, Gaulminus, did not notice, we shall correct and remove. His words are: "And each of them, having transformed his body into the shape he might choose, and drawing forth a likeness of some color to the limit of his body, sometimes appears as a man, sometimes changes his form toward that of a woman; he rages as a lion, leaps as a leopard, and attacks like a wild boar, and if it ever pleases him, he falls back into the shape of a wineskin; and he is seen at times even whimpering like a little dog. He falls back into the shape of a bear." We believe it should be read, "he turns into the figure of a bear." For what can this *askō*, "wineskin," have in common here, along with the species of various animals, which demons sometimes assume? Since therefore Psellus in this place describes the shapes of many animals into which demons transform themselves, it seems most true to me that he also made mention of the figure of a bear, into which they turn themselves whenever they please. Origen himself makes mention of bears, and notes that Celsus wrote that some were changed into such animals: (it should be written C). It is not without cause, however, that these lost spirits sometimes become bears, on account of the similarity of nature and habits. Pliny, lib. VIII, cap. 36, writes that there is no cunning greater than that of the bear in wickedness. Eustathius in *Hexaemeron* and Basil, homily 9, calls the nature of the bear dull and its habit deceitful. "When it wrestles, it artfully tangles its feet, and trips, and seizing the middle strongly, it grapples." And who does not see that this struggle is an image of that contest into which we are most often brought with the devil and his assistants, as the Apostle asserts, *Eph.* VI, and that tripping, a counterfeit of art and craft, by which that most wicked spirit attacks us?TEXT
Page 654. Afterward he wrote that the sixth is said by them to have the face of a dog. But the diagram said it is called Erataoth.OBSERVATIONS
What this word *Erataoth* signifies, and whence it descends, is difficult for me to declare. For I confess that I have turned it in every way and tried to accommodate it to several languages, yet it has not yet satisfied me. The most likely of all conjectures to me seems to be that which I shall bring forward: that it should be read in Hebrew as ארי אות, *Leonis signum* (lion's sign), and that the Magi gave the name *Cani* (to the dog) of the Lion, because when the sun is in the Lion/Leo, the Nile holds Egypt submerged and flooded, and at that time the rising of the Dog (star) appears at the eleventh hour, which the Egyptians establish as the beginning of the year, and they say that the Dog and his rising is sacred to Isis, just as the Lion is to the sun; and therefore under his rising they sacrificed a quail, marking by the movements of this bird the time of the rising of the star. It can also be deduced from the word, which among the Hebrews signifies a sculptor's tool, a case, and a whetstone; but among the Syrians and Egyptians it seems to sound like some magic organ, or something of this sort; for thence arises, *Magus* Gen. XLI, 8. DA And he calls the devil the dog: "The enemy has many such wiles of the dogs." Proclus on Hesiod also makes mention of these: "Being naturally inclined to sink into the subterranean place, in which the disorder of the world is gathered, and the wild race of demons, which the oracles are wont to call dogs." That these demons are wont to possess, suffocate, and afflict men with the comitial disease and frenzy, Psellus writes: "And the subterranean and light-hating [spirit], if they are permitted, entering into the bowels, and whoever they find, they seize, strangle, and render epileptic and senseless." That dogs are numbered among unclean animals, and for the Jews to eat their flesh or touch their carcasses was forbidden of old, is clear from those things which are held in Levit. cap. 11, 27. [Hebrew: And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.]
B TEXT.
Then Celsus said that the seventh has the face of an ass, and is named Thaphabaoth, or Onoel. We, however, in the diagram, found that this is called Onoel or Thartharaoth, being of an asinine appearance.
Ibid. Furthermore, Celsus says that the seventh has the face of an ass, and is named Thaphabaoth or Onoel. We, however, in the diagram, found it called Onoel or Thartharaoth, of an asinine appearance.
OBSERVATIONS. C First, it must be written [Greek: Θαφαβαώθ], from the Hebrew [Hebrew: טפשות], a sign of fools and simpletons, from the root [Hebrew: טפש], to become fat; but among the Rabbis it is taken metaphorically, and signifies to become foolish, or to act foolishly: hence [Hebrew: טפש], or for easier reading, [Hebrew: טפש], foolish, and [Hebrew: טפשות], folly. There is, however, nothing more foolish or stupid than an ass. Second, it should also be written [Greek: Ἀθονιήλ], [Hebrew: אתוניאל], from the root [Hebrew: אתון], which signifies an ass. Third, the word [Greek: Θαρθαραώθ] is also Hebrew, from the verb [Hebrew: תור], to explore, to search, with two radical letters doubled, in the same manner as from the root [Hebrew: מר], to grieve, [Hebrew: טמטום], to obstruct; whence from [Hebrew: טמטם] is formed [Hebrew: טום], or as it is said [Hebrew: התחלה], one whose genitals are obstructed. The Kabbalists constitute two orders of angels: for some they call advocates and defenders of the good, others indeed explorers of our works and accusers. The devil himself is called the accuser of the faithful, Apocal. XII, 10: "For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." And the history of Job and Joshua the high priest clearly demonstrates this, as it is read Zach. III, which also Satan himself puts forward, and confesses, when, to God asking whence he came, he responded [Hebrew: משוט בארץ ומהתהלך בה] Job cap. 1, 7, by which words he sufficiently indicates that he is [Hebrew: שוט] or an explorer.
D That demons have sometimes put on the form of an ass, and sometimes only certain parts, can be proven by the testimony of many authors. The manuscript Testament of Solomon: "I asked the demon if there were female demons. Upon his saying to me that there were, I wished to see [them], and having gone away he brought before me one having a beautiful asinine form, and a fair-skinned human skin, but the leg of a mule." That spirits of this kind, who inhabit rough places, and for whom bodies are dry, can transform themselves into various figures, Celsus writes according to the opinion of the Magi: "But those who dwell in arid places, and have dry bodies, such as report say the *onocentaurs* are, these fashion themselves into men. And there are times when they resemble dogs, and lions, and other animals, in so far as their character is masculine." That asses also have something that is useful for divination is prattled by idle and profane men. *The Seals of Raphael*, a futile and inept book: "The image of an ass in a chrysolith gives the virtue of foretelling the future." The Egyptians, among those rising in the Monomeria, gave certain parts of an ass. In the second Decan, Sithacer, or Jupiter, these things are read: "A bridled ass. He who is born will be undisciplinable." In the first Decan, Sentacer, of Mars: "An ass or a bridled horse, harnessed with saddles. He who is born will bring few things to effect." The sons of the astrologers dream of and depict little asses in the figure of Cancer. Proclus: "Those in Cancer resembling a cloud-like cluster are called the manger. And the two stars lying near it are addressed as asses." Which they ought to refer as accepted by Bacchus, as Theon testifies in the *Phaenomena* of Aratus: "And some of their stars are called asses, which Dionysus raised to the stars." Manilius calls them *Jugulae*, lib. V: "Now I will sing of those near the Cancer, to whose left side the Jugulae rise." Let it suffice to have noted these things: for we give observations and conjectures, not fuller commentaries.
Origen then recounts the prayers by which those impious men, who attempted to persuade the ignorant and unwary that their certain secret discipline was contained within, venerated the angels, whom they believed to preside over the [Greek: πύλαις αἰῶνι δεδεμέναις], the gates bound to eternity (which Gelenius badly translates, "gates bound perpetually"): but it is not my intention now to pursue these and illustrate them with notes. Let those who abound in leisure and study do that. We shall briefly run through the names of those angels only, and if anything occurs among them that is worthy of notice, we shall note it and make it clear. The authors of these gates were the Kabbalists, who call them [Hebrew: שערי אלונים], or gates of eternity, as can be seen among the commentators of the *Book of Creation*. The manuscript book called *Soiga* also makes mention of them, which says that there are as many as there are virtues among the philosophers, and in a crude and unrefined style of verses describes their princes and faculties, asserting that through them the knowledge of all hidden and deeply abstruse things can finally be reached. The Rabbis also invented fifty gates of intelligence from the words of God, Job cap. XXXVIII, XXXIX, and XL, just as thirty-two paths of wisdom, from the name of God, which is repeated thirty-two times in Genesis, and we shall say more in the *Book of Creation*. Through gates of this kind, and their princes, the Gnostics said that souls departing from here pass through, nor yet to
reach the ultimate abode of blessedness unless they were most fully imbued with knowledge: whereas those who were destitute of it were absorbed by the prince of the world, who had the appearance of a dragon, and again descended through his tail to this world, as Epiphanius declares at length in their heresy, which is the twenty-sixth.
After Origen had reviewed those impious and profane prayers, with which that nation wearied its deities, he gathers into one place the names which the heretics abused, and demonstrates that they were taken partly from magic and partly from the Holy Scriptures. His words are these: *One must know, however, that those who composed these things, having understood neither the arts of magic nor having distinguished the contents of the divine Scriptures, confused everything. From magic, they took Ialdabaoth, Astaphaios, and Horaios; but from the Hebrew Scriptures, they took Iao (though it should be written Iao, as is written shortly after, and as it is read in the prayer itself) named among the Hebrews, and Sabaoth, and Adonaios, and Eloaios.* B *The names taken from the Scriptures are descriptive of the one God. Not understanding this, those enemies of God, as they themselves confess, thought that Iao was one, and Sabaoth another, and a third besides these, Adonaios, whom the Scriptures call Adonai, and another, Eloaios, whom the prophets name in Hebrew 'Eloi', or (as it is read in certain copies) 'Elwai'.* Now let us explain these briefly.
Ialdabaoth is a name composed of three elements: *Ialdabaoth*, "God, power of words." This word occurs only once in Scripture, namely, Deut. xxxII, 2: *And as thy days, so shall thy word be.* Others, indeed, interpret this otherwise; for some explain the word and say the meaning is: As long as you dwell on this earth, for so long shall you have happiness and riches, with which all nations shall increase and enrich you, provided you obey the precepts of your God. Others, however, believe it signifies strength and fortitude, as if Moses were saying: As long as you live, you shall excel in strength, and the power of your old age shall be the same as that of your youth. C Rabbi Solomon Jarchi brings forward both explanations. The Chaldean Paraphrast follows the latter, who translates these words thus: *And as the days of your youth, so shall your strength be.* But it does not matter much whether one adopts this explanation or that: for both can suit the notation of this word; yet the former seems to approach more closely to the mind of these scoundrels. For he was called, as Origen himself testifies, this demon, "prince, word of pure mind," *archōn logos hyp' archōn naos eilikrinous*. The Nicolaitans said that he was the eldest son of Barbelo, and they worshipped him particularly, as Epiphanius reports in their heresy, which is the twenty-fifth, number 3: *And others of the aforementioned people glorify Ialdabaoth, saying that he is the first son, as I said, of Barbelo. And for this reason, they say that honor must be given to him, because he revealed many things.* But I suspect that two words merged into one, and while Ialdabaoth is called by these heretics *yal-dabaoth*, "son of the mistress," Epiphanius joined them and believed it to be a single word. D Books were circulated under the name of this demon, which Epiphanius asserts in the same place were written by the Nicolaitans. As for the son of Prunicus, the Ophites dreamt that he was the son of her weakness and ignorance, and they reported that he had arisen: and therefore Epiphanius says that Ialdabaoth had descended to the lowest depths: *For they say that from the Aeon above, Aeons were projected, and Ialdabaoth was born lower down. And this one was projected through the inertia and ignorance of his own mother, that is, of the Prunicus above.* And a little later: *And projected through her own ignorance, Ialdabaoth came into the lowest depths.* These impious disciples of Satan also pretended that he was the God of the Jews: *And this one, they say, is the God of the Jews, Ialdabaoth.*
But as for the etymology of this word which the latter interpreters of Epiphanius bring forward, it will please no one who is imbued with any knowledge of the Hebrew, Chaldean, or Syriac language: they write that it is derived from *em*, and *ab*, as if you were to call it the matrix of fathers and a propagating power. But where have they read, or from whence have they learned that it signifies matrix? Let them show some place where this word is read with this meaning, and they will deserve very well of the lexicographers. Next, it is not called a propagating force, as those commentators seem to indicate, *the em*, but *em*. Many more reasons could be brought against this notation: but men who have a "hay in their horn" are not to be provoked, and who on every page seize the opportunity for contradicting, quarreling, and slandering.
The prince of the third gate is called Astaphios or Astaphaios, from the Hebrew word *sheteph*, an inundation or immersion, which fits perfectly with the name that was given to him: for they called him the "prince of the first principle of water." Gelenius seems to have read "prince of the first water," and translates, "the first water originates." But it does not matter much how it is read. The Magi and Platonists believed that the sea was full of demons, as were the other parts of the world. Psellus: *It fills the earth and sea and the innermost and abyssal places.* Olympiodorus, not yet published: *Of those within the world, some are celestial, some are ethereal, or fiery; others are aerial, others are aqueous; others are chthonicly earthly; and others are sub-Tartarean, as also the poet [says].* They call them sub-Tartarean. Alcinous, chapter 5, gives the reason for this opinion, so that indeed no part of the world should be without soul or life, which is better than mortal nature: *There are also other demons whom one might call generated gods, according to each of the elements. Some are visible; others are invisible, in the ether and fire, in air and in water, so that no part of the world is without soul and life superior to mortal nature.* Pindar believed there was a certain demon who presided over the inundations of the Nile, as we read in Philostratus, book VI *On the Life of Apollonius*: *They sing much about demons, just as it is celebrated by Pindar with wisdom concerning the demon who presides over these springs for the symmetry of the Nile.* But what the heretics attribute to Astaphios, Scripture gives to the Spirit of God, Gen. I, 2. Nay, God himself claims this glory for himself, Job XXXVIII, 8 and 9: *Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it?* I restrained it by my decree, and enclosed it with bars and doors. From the same root from which the name of this demon is derived, the African Nile was named Astapus by the Ethiopians, as Pliny observes, book V, chapter 9: which, as he adds, signifies in the language of those nations a water flowing from darkness. The "first principle of water," or the first beginning of the water, is nothing other than the *tehom*, the abyss of Moses. And *darkness was upon the face of the abyss.* Rasi interprets the waters: *tehom*. For whatever modern philosophers may say and assert, it is nevertheless very true what Moses here teaches, and what once occurred to Thales, that water is the first principle of all things, as we could demonstrate at greater length, if this were the place to discuss these matters. What the divine prophet calls here *tehom*, St. Paul, Hebrews XI, 3, says: *By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.* The last is called Horaios, *Or* in Hebrew, which
A signifies fire: and therefore they addressed him thus: "Having passed through the barrier of fire fearlessly, I, having first obtained a share of the beginning of the gate, O Horaios, allow me to pass, as I behold the sign of thy power, which was rendered void by the type of the tree of life, taken in the likeness of an innocent one." It is clear from these words that the heretics allude to those things mentioned in Genesis iii, 26, concerning the cherubim, whom God is said to have placed at the east of Eden, and concerning the flaming sword which turned every way, by which He closed the approach to the tree of life. Many things do the Rabbis here dream up and fabricate after their own fashion. It would be long and tedious to recount all their absurdities: whoever wishes to see them may consult the authors of the Cabalistic Art, by whom they are recounted one by one, even to the point of tedium. The parts of the works of Creation and of the Chariot which treat of God, of angels, of celestial spheres, and of the remaining mysteries of the Cabala, they call Paradise, and four teachers alone are written to have entered into it, who, although they were the most wise and learned of the Israelites, were not endowed with such virtue that they could perfectly attain and clearly understand everything that is contained therein. R. Moses Maimonides, in his treatise *Concerning the foundations of the law*, ch. 4: [Hebrew text] — "Four of them, who entered into paradise, their names are recorded by the Talmudists, in the tractate Hagigah, or *Concerning the feast*, ch. 2. Namely, the son of Azai, the son of Zoma, another, and R. Akiba. The first three of these, on account of their audacity, paid severe penalties, either by present death, or by bodily deformity; Akiba alone returned unscathed from the calamity of the rest, and caused no damage by his entry or B exit: [Hebrew text] — This demon, however, fearlessly and without damage broke through those flames, and by this exploit he seemed to the heretics to have merited veneration, and to have drawn, so to speak, from the fire such spoils that he had his name from it. See how vain are the minds of men. They worship this Horaios, because he forcefully permeated the midst of the fire and passed through it untouched; the Persians, however, worshipped the remains of Zoroaster, because he had been struck by fire from heaven and reduced to ashes by lightning, as Cedrenus teaches: "From the race of Belus, Zoroaster the celebrated, who became an astronomer among the Persians, prayed to be struck by celestial fire and to be consumed, having commanded the Persians to take up his bones after the burning, and to keep and honor them." Hence arose among the Persians and many other peoples the cult of fire, which Zoroaster and the other Magi were believed to bring down from heaven. We shall bring forward a single passage from Gregory of Tours, so that we may thereby open up a path for ourselves toward investigating the true meaning of the name Zoroaster. He, therefore, in Book 1 of *Hist. Franc.*, writes thus: "The firstborn of Ham was Chus. He was the father of the whole magic art, with the devil prompting him, and the first inventor of idolatry, and he was the first to set up a small statue to be adored, and he feigned by magic arts that both the stars and fire fell from heaven. He passed over to the Persians. The Persians called him Zoroaster, that is, the living star." The Alexandrian Chronicle, however, writes that Zoroaster was the second son of Ham and was first called Mesraim; but by the Greeks he was called Zoroaster, and that he introduced astrology, magic, and an impious cult into the world; his words are these: "The son of Ham the second son of Noah, CHUS, from whom came the Ethiopians, MESRAIM, from whom the Egyptians; this Mesraim the Egyptian later having dwelt in the eastern parts, becomes a dweller in Bactra, he calls the inner part of Persia Asia of the great Indians. From thence, matters concerning..." he became the minister of this evil, of astrology and magic, whom the Greeks also called Zoroaster. The same thing, as Gregory, the author of the *Recognitions* reports (book v). Diogenes Laertius, however, in book 1, warns that in the Chaldean language Zoroaster signifies *astrolutēn*, he who sacrifices to the stars. But trifles of this kind are mere nonsense, and monuments of the ignorance of these authors. For Zoroaster is nothing other than, in Hebrew, *tzor sōd*, prince of the secret, or arcane. How well this name suits him, they will very easily discover who know what the kinship of old was between the Persian and Hebrew languages, and whence magic drew its origin, and what names were bestowed upon it. This, however, which these authors, along with many others, attribute to Zoroaster, many others of no less name and fame report as accepted by Perseus, and write that he taught the Persians magic, consecrated a temple to Jove, and placed the Magi in charge of its cult. Georgius Monachus concerning Perseus: "He taught them also the abominable rite, and the magic of that which is called Medusa, upon which also fire from heaven descended in Persia, from which he, having kindled [it] and built a temple, placed it in it, having called the temple that of immortal fire. And having appointed pious men to minister to it, he ordered the Magi to guard it, which even now the Persians, holding it in great honor, worship as fire." The same is also asserted by Tzetzes, *Chil.* 1, ch. 67; but these things are not of such importance that they are worthy of fuller explanation. Concerning the tree of life, however, which was the symbol of this demon, let no one demand of us that we treat of it here at greater length, for elsewhere we discuss the opinions of the Rabbis, the Fathers, and the theologians concerning it, and we illustrate its true meaning from the fountains of nature and theology: it will suffice to have corrected the passage of Origen. For in his text, instead of *kataluthēn*, which is commonly read, and signifies nothing here, we judge that *katagluphēn* should be read: for the figure of the tree of life was inscribed on that symbol, and since it is not similar, that the mystics held the tree itself in their hands is [not credible]. Then, just as those who wished to offer sacrifice to Proserpina and make the approach to the underworld very easy for themselves were obliged to pluck a golden bough and offer it to that goddess; so these impious men believed that they would have Oræus propitious, if they brought with them the symbol of the tree of life, and as it were set it before the eyes of their deity. It may also be that they looked to that custom of the ancients, by which suppliants or ambassadors who sought peace carried a bough of flowering olive, and by this symbol indicated what they were seeking. And therefore they also offered a maternal symbol to Horæus, and when they addressed him with these words: "...from thy mother, bringing to thee the symbol, for the sake of the hidden powers of the authorities." But what that symbol truly was, neither their prayers nor Origen himself explain to us. The other demons also had their symbols; but we do not value them so highly that they can detain us. Whoever wishes to know more about them may consult, if he can, the *Arbatel*, Agrippa, Paracelsus, and the recent writer, Gaffarel, in his French work *on the stones*, or, as the writers of the latest age express it, *on the astrological [characters] of the engraving*. For they all describe all the figures and characters of the demons superstitiously and like old women. Finally, that the symbols by which the Magi were accustomed to make [their] approaches to the demons were inscribed on lead or wax, Psellus seems to indicate with these words: "And they work, with lead, and with wax, and with a thin thread by means of illicit exorcisms, tragic sufferings." The first prince of the gates, to whom they had not given any proper name, and whom they call the barrier of wickedness, the bond of blindness, the unthinking oblivion, and the first power kept by the spirit of providence and wisdom, the bond of the seven vices, the fetter of blindness, the unthinking oblivion, and the first power, preserved by the spirit of providence and wisdom, they say exists with such virtue, that in...
A its port, the Ogdoad, they assert the principles exist; "And they say," says Origenes, "that the principles of the Ogdoad are from there." Valentinus said that this was the perfect Aeon, and that it dwells in the heights, which could be perceived neither by sight nor encompassed by any name: he also called it the primeval father and Bythos, and asserted that it was contained by no place, nor could it be seen, and that as eternal and unbegotten it had persisted in quiet and rest for infinite ages. Epiphanius, *Heresy* 51: "They say indeed that there is a certain perfect Aeon existing in unseen and nameless heights. This they also call 'Propator' and 'Bythos.' And existing as incomprehensible and invisible, eternal and unbegotten, he has been in great quiet and rest for infinite ages of time." From this Aeon and Sige, who is his equal, they imagined that the Ogdoad finally emerged through various generations, which they sometimes called "first-born," and the root and foundation of all things, and sometimes adorned it with four other names, namely Bythos, Mind, Logos, and Man, as Epiphanius reports in the same place from Irenaeus: "And this is the primeval Ogdoad, the root and substance of all things, called among them by four names: Bythos, and Nous, and Logos, and Anthropos." For although there are only four names, they nevertheless constitute an Ogdoad: for each of those Aeons contains a male and a female. "For each of them is hermaphroditic." Which was the opinion of all the ancients concerning their gods. Orpheus calls Bacchus male and female, of dual nature. The Moon herself is said to be hermaphroditic. Venus is called a powerful God in Macrobius: because of the double virtue, namely, which was believed to be present in them, one acting as the agent, the other as if presenting itself B to this one. The Marcosians also told many things about the Ogdoad. For, recounting the generation of Jesus, they said that the second Tetrad had arisen from the first Tetrad, and that the Ogdoad had been formed, and that from thence the Decad had proceeded. Epiphanius, *Heresy* 34: "But Jesus, he says, has this unutterable birth. For from the Mother of all, the first Tetrad, the second Tetrad came forth in the manner of a daughter, and an Ogdoad was produced, from which the Decad proceeded." But whoever shall consider the summary and impiety of these heretics in this matter to be of such importance that he wishes to know them, let him consult Epiphanius himself; for we wish to spare paper that is destined to perish. Nicomachus Gerasinus calls the Ogdoad "first in action, a cube, all-harmonious, and Cadmean." Anatolius, however, calls it "security and seat." All of which things agree with those that Valentinus and other heretics dreamed concerning their Ogdoad.
Origen omitted, perhaps through the carelessness of copyists—not his own—the name of *Iadaeoth*, whom they worshiped after Jaldabaoth. The word is Hebrew, as are the others: for it sounds like nothing other than *Deus Judicii* (God of Judgment). The two-letter name is called by the Rabbis, and is said to be taken from the eternity of the existence of God: and therefore it is joined with the Tetragrammaton. Isa. xxvi, 4. "In the Lord God." He is the only God and judge of all, Ps. l, 6. "For God is judge." He is called the father of orphans and judge of widows, Ps. lxviii, 6. There are as many places in the holy Scriptures that mention the divine judgment as there are pages in them. Notable is the prophecy of Enoch concerning this matter, praised by St. Jude, which we will cite for this reason, that the error of some may be chastised. "Behold, the Lord has come with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." For there is no modern interpreter who, in these words, "the Lord has come," does not find that formula of excommunication used among the Jews, which is called *Shammatha*: for I surely confess that *Shammatha*, whatever Elias may say, who asserts it is so called as if C it were *Marana tha*, meaning the same thing, which is "that anathema," of which St. Paul makes mention, 1 Cor. xvi, 22: "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha," which is "The Lord comes": but it does not follow from that in the words of Enoch, in whose times that method of cursing someone was not common, that it is to be sought or understood. For if the moments of an argument were to be found in the same words, would it not follow from this that the same formula is alluded to, as often as mention of the advent of God occurs in the divine Scriptures? Would it not have to be said, when John, and after him the Church, earnestly desires and prays that the Lord may come, and adds these words in their prayers, Apocal. xxii, 20, "Yes, come, Lord Jesus," that both the apostle and the Church look to this same form of excommunication? Enoch intended to indicate nothing to us other than the final judgment of God and the eternal damnation of the wicked. So far, however, is it from being the case that demons are the judges of men, that they themselves have been judged by God and cast into prison, and bound with eternal chains, reserved for death and infinite punishments. St. Jude: "And the angels who kept not their own dignity, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." What the divine apostle mentions here—chains, darkness, and judgment—are also commemorated in the book of Enoch, so that it is evident from this that Jude borrowed these things, just as he did the prophecy which we have already cited. For there God thus addresses Raphael: "Go, Raphael, and bind Exael by his hands and feet, bind him fast, and cast him into the darkness, and open the desert that is in the desert of Dudaael, and going there, throw him, and put sharp and rough stones under him, and cover him with darkness, and let him dwell there for ever, and cover his face, and let him not see light, and on the day of judgment he shall be led D away to the burning (or conflagration) of fire." That believers also will eventually be judged at the last coming of our Lord, St. Paul asserts, 1 Cor. vi, 3: "Do you not know that we shall judge angels, much more things that pertain to this life?" The nations themselves, though they had no communion with the Israelite polity, and were destitute of the knowledge of the divine Word, were not ignorant of the punishments of the wicked and demons; for they were always imbued with this opinion in both fact and mind. Julian, *Oratio* 2, introduces many kinds of demons, some he calls the inexorable judges of crimes, others he calls avengers and executioners: "Of these," he says, "some are saviors and helpers of human nature, others are inexorable judges, bringing a swift and terrible penalty for injustices upon men who are living, and upon those who have been released from their bodies; while others are, as it were, public executioners, and fulfillers of those who have been sentenced; there is another race of base and foolish demons." The profane called the second leader of this, with immense and intolerable license, *Iao*. *Iao* is a name of four letters, *jod, he, vau, he*, which at one time some used to pronounce in this way, although among the Jews it was not allowed for anyone to utter it, except the high priest, and that in the sanctuary, and no one besides him knew the true pronunciation of this name. The same name is read in Diodorus Siculus, lib. ii, "And among the Jews, Moses is said to be the one who calls upon the God *Iao*." Whom the Judeans called *Iao*, the Samaritans said *Iabe*, as Theodoret reports in *Quaestiones in Exodum* 15. "The Samaritans call him *Iabe*; but the Jews call him *Iao*." In Porphyry, lib. v, *Against the Christians*, it is written *Ieuo*, and that name is said to have been received by Sanchuniathon of Berytus from the commentaries of Hierombalus, the high priest: "And Sanchuniathon of Berytus recounts the history of the Jews most truthfully, and most consistently with their names, having taken the records of Hierombalus, the priest of the god Ieuo." Gnostics believed this Jao resided in the highest sphere, and to him...
A in the impious oracle of the Clarian Apollo, which is brought forward by Macrobius in book 1 of his *Saturnalia*, chapter 18, Jao is said to be the last of the gods, Bacchus, and that he manages the autumn, just as Pluto manages winter, Jupiter spring, and the Sun summer:
"One must keep the orgies (or mysteries) hidden, not speaking of them. But if the understanding is small and the mind weak, Declare that the highest of all gods is Jao. In winter, Hades; Zeus at the beginning of spring; Helios in summer; and in autumn, the abundant Jao."
I believe this falsehood arose because there seems to be a certain kinship between this word *Jao* and *Iacchos*. We could say much about this name; but whoever desires to know more, let him see the book *Portae Lucis*, which Ricci translated into Latin; Drusius *On the Tetragrammaton*; Buxtorf in his *Hebrew Lexicon*; and the most erudite Capellus in the oration he published on the pronunciation of this name, edited by Erpenius. B To these we shall only add the observation of R. Solomon Jarchi in chapter 11 of Genesis, verse 5, that *ha-Shem* is the proper name of God; but the rest, which are attributed to Him in the Scriptures, are merely His attributes, and designate His power and dominion, and in that sense all the passages of Scripture where this name occurs are to be understood. The Septuagint, however, always interpreted it by the word *Kyrios*, either because they did not know its true pronunciation, or because they were unwilling to disclose such mysteries to the Gentiles and the profane common people. Christ Himself and His disciples followed their version. Only St. John seems to have indicated the true meaning of this name, when in the Apocalypse he describes God Himself with these words: "Who is, and who was, and who is to come." For it was certain and established among the Jews that those three tenses—present, past, and future—are contained in the appropriate name *ha-Shem*, as can be seen in R. Bechai in Exodus, fol. 65, col. 4, and in the book *Ikkarim*, fol. [...]. St. Paul, in Ephesians 5, 14, rendering not word for word, but changing the meaning and applying the words to his own purpose, interprets the passage of Isaiah 60, 1: "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee," as *Christ*. The words of the prophet are these, which the LXX interpreters render thus: "Shine, shine, Jerusalem. For thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." Where St. Jerome notes that the name *Jerusalem*, which is placed here by the LXX, is not in the Hebrew text, and should be marked with an obelus, against those who assert that everything said is said to Jerusalem. But the Apostle converts those things from Hebrew into Greek thus: "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee." We provide the reason for this interpretation in our treatise *On the Names of the Messiah*.
Now let us descend to the names themselves, which are taken from the Scriptures. The prince of the fifth power is said to be *Sabaoth*. Some of the Gnostics attributed the seventh seat to this demon. Others attributed it to *Jaldabaoth*. Epiphanius, *Haer.* 26, says (though it should be written "others") "they hypothesize a seventh heaven, in which they say Sabaoth is; but others say no, rather Jaldabaoth is in the seventh." Some formed him into the figure of a donkey; others into the habit of a pig: and for that reason it was once forbidden for the Jews to eat swine's flesh. Ibidem: "They say that some held Sabaoth to have the form of a donkey, others of a pig; because of this, they say, he commanded the Jews not to eat pork." And hence arose that slander which many formerly leveled against the Jews and Christians, that they venerated and worshipped pigs and donkeys, as can be seen C at Josephus *Against Apion*, Petronius in his *Fragmenta*; Tacitus, *Histories*, book 5; Plutarch, *Symposiacs*, book 4, chapter 5; Tertullian, *Apologeticus*, chapter 16, and in book 1 *Ad Nationes*, chapter 11, and Minutius Felix; there is no one who does not easily notice this. But the things they narrate in those places, Tacitus and Plutarch, about the donkey that showed the Jews their error and led them to a spring, can be referred to those things we have already said in the *Paradigm of the Onocel*. They also called him the "leader of the law," and believed that he acted and controlled everything by a *pentad*. Those who wrote on arithmetic theology call the pentad "marriage," as if it were constituted from male and female, because it restrains and contains the form of all numbers in its embrace. Nicomachus of Gerasa: "The five," he says, "is the first to grasp the form of all number, that is, the cause of the two, the first even, and the three, the first odd; therefore it is also called marriage, as [coming] from male and female." They asserted that the faculty of growing and vegetating belonged to this number, and they called it *Nemesis*, *Justice*, *Providence*, *Bubastis*, *Aphrodite*, *Marriage*, *Androgyny*, *Demigod*, *Twin*, *Pallas*, and *Cardiatis*. The reasons for these names you will find in Nicomachus, and there is no need for us to accumulate them here more diligently.
They called the prince of the second gate *Eloaeum*; but the Gnostics called him *Saclas*, whom they imagined to preside over debauchery and lusts. Epiphanius: "And in the second, they say, is Saclas, the ruler of lust." But because recent interpreters of Epiphanius have said nothing about this word, we shall reveal its origin and restore it. *Sacla*, therefore, or *Saclas*, is nothing other than the *god of things of Venus*; for *sakal* indeed in Hebrew signifies to spill, to liquefy, and to purge, but the Rabbis transferred it to matters of Venus. The Gnostics, however, placed *Eloaeum*, or *Adonaeum*, in the fifth sphere. Epiphanius, ibid.: "A fifth also, another heaven, in which they say is Eloaeum, who is also Adonaeum."
Truly, before we dismiss Origen, and the final hand is applied to these observations on him, let us hear Irenaeus interpreting these names taken from the divine Word in wondrous ways: for the exposition he offers is so insolent and unheard of that it is a wonder to me whence he borrowed it, and how he permitted himself to be so egregiously imposed upon. These are his words, book 2 *Adversus Haereses*, last chapter: "For what is called *Eloae*, according to the Judaic tongue, signifies God, and *Eloae* in truth, and *Elloeuht* according to the Hebrew language signifies that which contains all things. But what he says *Adonae*, sometimes signifies 'nomenable' and 'admirable': butときtimes it is the doubled letter *delta* with aspiration, such as *Addhonei*, [signifying] one who completes and separates the earth from water, and not rising against it afterwards. Similarly also *Sabawth* is written with the Greek *omega* in the last syllable, [it] signifies 'voluntary': but with the Greek *omicron*, as for instance *Sabaoth*, it manifests the first heaven. In the same way, *Jaoth* (write *Jaoh*), extended with the aspiration of the final syllable, manifests the measure of what is determined: but when it is shortened by the Greek *omicron*, as for instance *Jaoth* (write *Jao*), it signifies him who gives flight to evils, and all other things are of one and the same signification."
Although it is difficult to conjecture whom Irenaeus followed in the interpretation of these names, nor can the things he says square with the true and native meaning of the Hebrew words, we shall nevertheless attempt to extract something from his words, and to reconcile the notations which are in themselves discordant and disagreeing. *Eloe*, therefore, according to him, signifies both God and "true." The first signification has no difficulty, since *Eloah* is God. But the latter, it seems to me, Irenaeus borrowed from the opinion of those who derive this word from the root *ala*, which in the conjugation *kal* signifies to swear, and...
A *that it is the glorious and admirable name*.
Our author brings a greater difficulty, which he straightway adds concerning the same name: *Sometimes, however, with the letter delta doubled and with an aspiration, as for instance Addhonei, it signifies one who completes and separates the earth from the water and does not suffer it to rise up over it.* First, one must rewrite it, lest the water rise up over it again. Secondly, I judge that Irenaeus does not give us the true and simple meaning of this word, but refers to some place in Scripture where the separation of the earth from the water is treated. That is, I think, Job XXXVIII, 10 and 11, where God, speaking of the sea, testifies that He enclosed it with bars and doors, and commanded it not to proceed further, nor to break through those bars, when the Greek interpreters say: *“I established boundaries for it, placing bars and doors; and I said: Up to this you shall come, and you shall not go beyond, but in yourself your waves shall be broken.”* I also think this Father derived the name *Adonai* from the root *eden*, a stylobate or base: although that which he adds concerning the double delta, that is, the *daleth* marked with a *daghesh* point, is unknown to the Hebrews: for this word is used of the earth in the same chapter, Job XXXVIII, 6: *upon what are its foundations fastened?* The LXX interpret it as *mountains*, but Rabbi Levi ben Gershom as *columns*. Finally, we can conjecture that some smatterer imposed upon Irenaeus, and easily persuaded him that this word descends from the verb *dud*, which in the conjugation *Pihel*, in which the *daleth* is marked with a *daghesh* point, and *Hiphil*, signifies to move, transfer, and separate, as is evident from Prov. XXV, 20. The Bishop of Lyons adds: *“Similarly, also Sabaoth, when it is written with the Greek omega in the last syllable, signifies voluntary; but with the Greek omicron, as for example Sabaoth, it manifests the first heaven.”* Neither the LXX, nor the Greek Fathers who make mention of this name, write it otherwise than with an *omega*, namely *Sabaoth*. But Irenaeus indicates to us a double notation for this name: the one indeed from the Chaldean root *tsaba*, to will, to desire; whence *tsabon*, will, Dan. VI, 17; the other from the noun *tsaba*, which signifies militia and army. Nevertheless, this word does not signify simply the first heaven, but the ornaments of the heavens and earth, as in Gen. II, 1, or the stars themselves, or the angels. Indeed, the Fathers and the heretics used it for the name of God Himself. Some of the Rabbis were also involved in this error, but Aben Ezra rebukes them in chapter III of Exodus, and shows that the word is always joined with the name of God, and signifies either the heavens or the angels. We shall set forth his words for the sake of those who are attempting to recall the fleeting studies of the Hebrew language: *“And behold they have found the Lord of Hosts (Sabaoth), and many have felt the need to say that ‘Hosts’ (Sabaoth) is the proper name, or that it is a sign of His host, but this cannot be, for behold... thou wilt not find it except with the name ‘God’ or with the glorious name ‘Lord God’. It is because He dwells... and while He stands alone and by Him everything stands, therefore sometimes this name is an attribute in the way of... and because the name is established... the holy angels... and thus ‘Hosts’ (Sabaoth) are the hosts of those who dwell in the heavens.”* C
And *Elloeuth* according to the Hebrew tongue signifies *el eliun*, God most high, or supreme; and it seems that Irenaeus had reference to the words of Melchizedek blessing Abraham, Gen. XIV, 19: *Blessed be Abram by the most high God, who possesses heaven and earth.* Among the Rabbis it signifies divinity: whence *theology* is called by them divine wisdom.
It follows in Irenaeus: *But what he says, Adonae, sometimes indeed signifies that it is nameable and admirable.* *Adonai* is "Lord" among the Hebrews. But I judge that, when Irenaeus was writing these things, he had before his eyes the words of David, Psalm VIII, 1: *“O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is Your name in all the earth!”* The name also of four letters is very frequently called by the Rabbis D *the glorious and admirable name.*
Finally, concerning the name *Jaoh*, Irenaeus has this: *In the same way, also Jaoh, extended with an aspiration in the last syllable, manifests a pre-ordained measure: but when it is shortened by the Greek omicron, as for instance Jao, it signifies the putting to flight of evils.* We have said before that the tetragrammaton name encompasses three times: and this our author seems to me to call *the pre-ordained measure*, because God contains all ages by His eternity, without, however, the manner of times, and rules over the past, the present, and the future. [alt-version omitted]
A Indeed, Irenaens without doubt drew this signification from someone who sought to trace this word back to its root and remove it, although in truth no kinship or affinity intervenes.
Epiphanius had a better and more faithful teacher; for he exhibits for us the true and genuine interpretation of these names and of the others which exist in the Scriptures, in *Haereses* XL. It will not be burdensome to quote his words, so that we may remove from them the error which the astronomers and the guardians of times did not even observe. "The senseless say that He is Sabaoth, thinking that Sabaoth is some name of God, as has already been treated for us at length in the previous heresies regarding the interpretation of Sabaoth and other appellations, such as Hli, Eloi, Israel, Zaddai, Ellion, Rabboni, Ia, Adonai, and Iade; as all these are translated as honorific titles, and are not names attributed, so to speak, to the Godhead." These things also shall be studied here, established as translated. "Israel is God, Eloeim is eternal God, Hli is my God, Saddai is the All-Sufficient, Rabboni is the Lord, Ia is the Lord, Adonai is the existing Lord, Iobe is He who was and is and is always existing, as He interprets to Moses, 'The Existing One has sent me, you shall say to them,' and Ellion is Most High; and Sabaoth is interpreted as of hosts. Therefore, the Lord Sabaoth is the Lord of hosts. For 'Lord' is added everywhere where the Scripture speaks the name of Sabaoth, and it not only pronounces, saying, 'Tell me Sabaoth' or 'Sabaoth spoke,' but immediately it says, 'Lord Sabaoth.' For so the Hebrew language declares. 'Adonai Sabaoth,' which is interpreted 'Lord of hosts.'" Who has ever heard or said that Israel signifies God? This word sounds indeed the prince of God and [the] Lord, as the angel himself, who imposed this name on Jacob, indicated in these words, Gen. xxxii, 28: *Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for thou hast been a prince with God, and with men, and hast prevailed.* Jonathan the Chaldean translated the Lord as *rab* before the Lord and with Gabriel, and you prevailed. Yet the astronomers, following the error of the scribes in this place, wish for this word to signify God. Israel therefore, he says, is God. But where *Israel* is read, read and write *El*, and you will have the true reading and exposition of Epiphanius.
B There fell into my hands a scholium regarding these by men of letters and those studious of such matters: for it contains many suitable things, concerning which one might inquire: "God is named by the Hebrews with ten names, of which one is called Adonai, which is Lord. Another is Ia, which itself also was transferred into Greek as Lord. Another besides these is the Tetragrammaton, which is unpronounceable among the Hebrews, which is catachrestically called Adonai among them, but with us, Lord. And they say that this was written on the petal, the golden one, on the forehead of the high priest, according to what is said in the Law, by the types of a seal: 'Holiness to the Lord.' pi. pi. The remaining names are these: El, Eloi, Adonai Sabaoth, Saddai, Iaith, Eserie, and the three mentioned before, of which is the Tetragrammaton, written with these letters: ioth, he, ouau, he. pi. pi. The unpronounceable name placed over the Lord is written by four letters. By the ioth, by the he, by the ouau, and by the he. A *sen* was inserted in the middle after the first—which among the Hebrews is a letter called *sen*, which is 'teeth'; so that the series of five letters is as follows: it is a beginning, '[the] teeth,' in it the Living One is interpreted, the four letters: the ioth, a beginning, and by the he, *itself*; and by the ouau, *in it*; and by the he, *the Living One*." The author of this scholium had promised us ten names, and yet he exhibits to us only nine: therefore, I think that he, being in haste, omitted the name either *Eloim* or *Adonai*, when it is read without any respect to the Tetragrammaton or to the word *Sabaoth*; or rather, that both fell from his pen, because he had already mentioned *Eloi* and *Adonai Sabaoth*. Next, I confess that I do not know what the word *Iaith* signifies, unless perhaps you wish to rewrite it as *Ia*, 'only'; which, however, is not used of God in the Scriptures, but only *Ehed*, as in Deut. vi, 4. But to reveal my own opinion, I believe those two names, which I have already mentioned, are to be written into the text itself, *Eheie aser Eheie*, which is *I am who am*, which is the name that God imposed upon Himself when He sent Moses to the Israelites, Exod. iii, 14. Finally, he who wishes to know the arcana of those letters, which the author of this scholium interprets, let him read the divine Jerome in his interpretation of the Hebrew alphabet, and those things which the kabbalists dream of concerning the mysteries and signification of letters: for our observations would proceed further than is right, if we wished to pursue and illustrate all things that occur.