Increase and multiply. This signifies A growth, the advancement toward greatness; while multiplying signifies the progression from a few to a multitude.
And God said: *Let us make man according to our image and likeness*. We must first discuss where this "according to the image" consists—whether in the body or in the soul. Let us first see what is used by those who say it is in the body. Among them is Melito, who left behind writings on the idea that God is corporeal. For, finding parts of God spoken of—finding "the eyes of God looking upon the inhabited world," and "His ears inclined to the prayer of the just," and "The Lord smelled a sweet savor," and "The mouth of the Lord has spoken these things," and "the arm of God," and "hands," and "feet," and "fingers"—they say outright that these things teach nothing other than the form of God. "And how," they say, "was God seen by Abraham, and Moses, and the saints, if He were not formed? And if formed, according to what character if not the human?" And they gather countless passages naming the members of God. Against these people, one must struggle first from the literal word; we shall set against those who know nothing beyond the letter of the text those passages that contradict their assumption: from Zechariah, for instance, that "The seven eyes of the Lord are those that look upon the whole earth." For if God has seven eyes, and we have two, we were not made according to His image. But further: we are not winged, yet in the ninetieth B Psalm it says of God that "under His wings you shall hope." If He has wings, and we are animals without wings at all, then man was not made according to the image of God. And how is the spherical heaven, which is always moving, able to be a throne, as they suppose, for God? Or how is the earth his footstool? Let them tell us. Shall we then say that a body C extending from the knees to the soles of the feet, situated between the heaven and the earth and containing the world in the middle—a body held and contained by it, as is shown by geometric proofs—has its feet upon the earth, or with the antipodes? And have they filled our whole inhabited world, or perhaps taken up more than that, or less? Are the feet separated by the seas and rivers, pressing upon the waters? And how is it that such a heaven is a throne, and the earth a footstool, D if God’s such vastness…
A is found walking in the paradise itself, or appears to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai? And how is it that one who thinks such things about God would not be called a fool?
26. Then, after much said for the overthrow of such an opinion, he adds:
He who asserts that the "according to the image" does not consist in the body, but in the rational soul, will present a dogma not to be despised, having understood what its powers are. For the cognitive power which is in man, both critical and beneficent, righteous and mighty, and, in a word, the performer of every good, has been brought into being in him by God "according to the image." That it is the actions that characterize the "according to the image," and not the shape of the body, the Apostle clearly says in the Epistle to the Corinthians: "As we have borne the image of the earthy, so let us also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Cor. xv, 49). For he who lives according to the flesh, and does the works of the flesh, bears an earthy image; but he who B by the Spirit puts to death the deeds of the flesh bears the image of the heavenly. And in another epistle, teaching how one ought to live, he adds to the commandments the words, "That you may become according to the image of him who created you" (Coloss. iii, 10). The Lord is long-suffering, and the long-suffering man has the "according to the image" of God. The Lord is righteous and holy, and the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Therefore, he who loves righteousness and holiness, and practices the commandment of the Savior, "Be merciful, as your Father is merciful" (Luc. vi, 36); and "Be perfect, C as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matth. v, 48), becomes, in all respects, an image of God.
"And have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heaven, and over all the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creeping things that creep upon the earth" (Gen. i, 28). It must be observed that in the catalog of the creation of animals, some are whales, and others are reptiles of living souls; and further, that while he is said to have power here over the fish of the sea, the race of whales and of wild beasts is passed over in silence. For it must not be thought that these were added rashly, since it could easily have been written: "And have dominion over the fish, and the creatures of the sea, and the beasts of the earth, and the birds D of the heaven, and the cattle." And I ask you to observe whether it follows from this that all these animals were created for the sake of man; for these, over which he is said to have dominion—the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, the cattle of the earth, and the creeping things of the earth—are perhaps, as the most necessary of medicines, those that come to human use from among them; yet it does not follow that all the large whales and the beasts of the earth were created for man's sake. For otherwise it would have been added to the naming of the power given to man. We do not find in Scripture the serpent named among the creeping things, but among the beasts. For the serpent, he says, is "the most prudent of all beasts" (Gen. iii, 2). And in the Acts...
A the viper which had bitten Paul was hanging from his hand; and he adds: "And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging." But in Leviticus, observe upon what things he sets the term "creeping thing," as it is by no means used for what are now commonly called such. For these, he says, "you shall eat of the creeping things of the flying creatures which go upon four, which have legs above their feet, to leap with them upon the earth" (Lev. xi, 21).
A And consider, if it be possible, because they are passed over in silence, that not all animals were created for the sake of man, but rather those over which he is said to rule: the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle of the earth—and perhaps also the creeping things of the earth, for the sake of the most necessary needs of medicines obtained from them; yet those great whales and the beasts of the earth were not created for the sake of man. For if they had been, their names would have been added to the authority given to men. Truly, we do not find in Scripture the species of serpents ordered among the creeping things, but rather among the beasts. For the serpent, he says, was the most prudent of all the beasts. And in the Acts, a viper that had bitten Paul was hanging from his hand; and he adds: "And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging." But in Leviticus, observe upon what things he places the term "creeping thing," as it is by no means [applied] to those which are now commonly called such. For these, he says, "you shall eat of the creeping things of the flying creatures which walk on four, which have legs above their feet, B to leap with them upon the earth."
A For the sake of order, they think the list of the days and of the things that happened during them has been spoken. A person intending to establish this might plausibly use the scripture: "He spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created." "This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth, when it was made; in the day that the Lord God made the heaven and the earth." The word "book" in this place is not found in the Hebrew at all, but it is an error of a Hebrew scribe who was led astray by the error of another, whereas in Aquila it stands: "This is the book of the generations of Adam," while according to the Seventy: "This is the book of the generation of men." For it was thought that "book" had been omitted in this place as well, and so he added it. "And God planted a paradise in Eden toward the east, and He placed there the man whom He had formed. And God caused to sprout yet again from the earth every tree beautiful to the sight and good for food." When we read and ascend from the myths and the interpretation according to the letter, we ask what those trees are which God cultivates; we say that there are no sensible trees in that place. By the same. It is set down in the interpretation, "a garden in Eden," using the Hebrew word itself.
And they receive a commandment to love all their brothers, and to eat the fruit that comes through patience, according to what is said: "From every tree in the garden you shall eat." But one transgresses the commandment of Him who regenerated him by using the reasonings of the serpent, and loving some as good, while hating others as evil; which is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, from which he who tastes dies, not because God caused the death, but because the man hated his neighbor. For God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living; nor is He stirred by the passion of anger, nor does He devise a thing for vengeance, nor is He changed according to the condition of each person's merit, but He made all things in wisdom, having predestined them to be judged under a spiritual law. For this reason, then, He says to Adam: "In whichever day you eat, you shall die the death." And thus He assigned the due [result] to follow each matter of good and evil naturally, and not by mere invention, as some think, who are ignorant of the spiritual law.
A And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife tunics of skin and clothed them. What must we understand by the "tunics of skin"? It is very foolish and old-wives' talk, and unworthy of God, to think that God, having stripped off the skins of certain animals—killed or dead in some other way—made the shapes of tunics, having sewn the skins together like a leather-worker. Again, to avoid such an absurdity, to say that the tunics of skin are nothing else but the bodies is perhaps persuasive and able to win assent, but it is not clear that it is true. For if the tunics of skin are flesh and bone, how does Adam say before this: "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh"? Therefore, some, avoiding these difficulties, have declared the tunics of skin to be the mortality with which Adam and Eve are clothed, having been put to death by sin. Not that even they are easily able to demonstrate how God, and not sin, produces mortality in the transgressor. B Furthermore, they are under a necessity to say that flesh and bones, in their own account, are not corruptible, if indeed our fathers received mortality later on account of sin.
He killed besides this one also a just man; he lied; he asked for death in the rejection of life and repentance.
And he begat according to his idea and according to his image. To those who suppose that the image of God is one thing, and the one who is according to the image is another, it must be said, if Adam is one thing and his image is another; and if a third is Adam, according to him who is according to the image. They will use the verse: "O Lord, in thy city thou shalt bring to nothing their image"; and: "Surely man walks in an image." It must be inquired in what the idea of Adam differs from his image.
And Enoch pleased God after he begat Methuselah. If he pleased Him after he begat Methuselah, before this, according to the Scripture, he was not pleasing. It is clear that he pleased Him from repentance, when he begat the sending away of death, which they had before he begat him.
And God said: "I will blot out man, whom I have made, from the face of the earth." Not simply "I will blot out," but "from the earth." For he who has been created is not by nature to be utterly blotted out, since he who has been created was made according to the image of God.
These are the generations of Noah, and what follows. A If these things were written in a more general sense, they ought to have been prefaced thus: "These are the generations of Noah, Noah begat three sons." But now because his generation was righteous, it was said first: "These are the generations," and it is added: "being a righteous man."
Noah pleased God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Above it is read: "Lamech lived a hundred and eighty-eight years, and begat Noah. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred and fifty-three years, and died." 31 And Noah was five hundred years old, and he begat three sons. Here also we perceive a discrepancy of sixty-five years regarding Noah. B But in this place, the Scripture says that Noah pleased God, just as it is written also concerning Enoch. For he too, when he pleased God, was then translated by Him. Similarly, therefore, for Noah, the sixty-five years which elapsed before he pleased Him are not reckoned to him by the divine Scripture. Just as for Abraham, sixty years of his life are not reckoned before he knew God, and for Enoch thirty, and for Saul twenty, and for Solomon forty, and for Hezekiah seventeen; but regarding Methuselah also, a discrepancy of fifteen years is found. C D
A “And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with iniquity.” And God our Lord looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. Iniquity indeed corrupts the earth, but justice saves it; and he who sins, as far as it lies within his power, corrupts the earth. The earth did not become corrupt in the flood (for then it washed away the corruption), but in iniquity. And that which corrupted the way of God is not spirit, but flesh; for “the mind of the flesh is emnity against God”; and, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
“Two by two you shall bring into the ark, that you may keep them with you. They shall be male and female.” Since He wished the men who entered into the ark to remain clean from sexual union, He thus introduces them, commanding them upon their entry to B maintain their mode of life within the ark. For it was not fitting that, while their peers were perishing, these should be occupied with beds and procreation. But when the terrible events had passed, and necessity called for men to repopulate the earth, He brings them out, according to the matrimonial union, saying: “Go out, you and your wife, and your sons, and your wives of your sons.”
“And you shall bring into the ark of all the clean cattle seven by seven, male and female; but of the cattle which are not clean, two by two,” and so on. One might inquire how these things are said, and how Moses, who had not yet distinguished between clean and unclean, speaks to Noah as if he were someone who knew the difference between clean and unclean. C Hence, it is worth noting that it is not in accordance with what is said: “for Gentiles who do not have the law do by nature the things of the law,” but rather that Noah learned these things by nature.
“Noah was six hundred years old, and the flood of water occurred upon the earth.” Perhaps the word “water” is added here to distinguish it from the flood of fire that is to come.
“And there entered into the ark with Noah two by two of all flesh.” Someone might inquire why the text is silent regarding the clean, and mentions only "two by two" for all flesh, and why D it does not add “and of the clean, seven by seven.” See whether there is an apology in the phrase “of all flesh,” implying that the unclean alone are signified therein.
“And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: Increase and multiply, and replenish the earth.” How did Noah increase and multiply after the flood? Therefore, it is not to be received corporally; for if it were to be taken physically, it is manifest that it contradicts the sense of the spiritual law, just as it was in the beginning.
And the dread and fear of you shall be upon all the beasts of the earth, and so forth. Some force the meaning by interpreting the literal text to say that every animal, even the beasts in the wilderness, fears when it sees a man. But perhaps it is better to understand the wild beasts of the earth and the other remaining kinds as the wicked powers, which suffer fear from the righteous man, and the dread to be upon such as these. For the wicked powers fear the righteous man.
But you shall not eat flesh with the blood of the soul; for I will demand your blood of your lives. Out of the hand of all the beasts I will demand it. Since the literal text is absurd, it must be stated that the beasts are the opposing powers, by which the soul that sins dies, from whose hand the death of the sinner shall be demanded.»
As, then, Canaan was the first to see the nakedness of his grandfather, and reported it to his father, mocking the old man as one might do. But Ham, when he ought to have done as his brothers did and not approached his father impiously, but rather to have rebuked the one who first saw and slandered him, he himself was persuaded and went in and saw, and reported it to his brothers. And these things also seem to be a myth, were it not that the proof was strong: “And Noe awoke,” it says, “from his sleep, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.” For indeed, Ham was not his youngest son, but the second. For it says: “Sem, and Cham, and Japheth”; and if he had wished to indicate the youngest, he would have mentioned Japheth. Since, however, grandfathers always call their descendants sons, and those who are distant offspring, Scripture has called the youngest of his descendants, Canaan, as one who was known by Noe, because he himself did these things. And that this is so, the divine oracle immediately adds, and said: “Cursed be Chanaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” A B
And this the Scripture also attests, saying: "He began, and was uncovered." By the same. Earthly wine strips the mind of the knowledge of intelligible things. By the same. Such was the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, such as the wine which stripped Noah naked. By the same. Even if Noah was made drunk and uncovered, it was in his house; for it is the mark of a saint not to be uncovered outside his own house.
"This was a giant hunter before the Lord God." Hunter is not applied to the righteous in this present text; and see to it that it is not applied elsewhere either.
"And all the earth was of one lip, and one voice for all." To those who do not understand [the words], "I and the Father are one," and who on this account deny the distinct hypostasis of the Son, we shall address the passage: "And all the earth was of one lip, and one voice for all." A Seeking, however, the distinction between lip and voice, we shall say that "voice" is assigned to language, while perhaps "lip" is assigned to the faculty of thought, or vice versa.
"Come, and descending let us confound there their language, that they may not hear each one the voice of his neighbor." Confounding the languages is a mark of wickedness; a mark of virtue is when "all of them that believed were of one heart and one soul."
It should be observed that one who chooses does not enjoy his own choice, while one who concedes keeps the remainder blessed. A And God said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you now are, toward the north and the south, and the east and the sea; for all the land which you see, I will give to you." Consolation from God follows those who accomplish virtue. And after he conceded the choice to his brother, and the latter chose the most beautiful and fertile region, God appeared to Abram, encouraging him with words of comfort and gracious promises, saying as it were: "You have despised this small and sensible earth; I shall give to you the land of the meek, which is in the land of the living." For "look" with the eyes of the mind, "and see from the place where you now are." The place of the righteous man is virtue, from which he awaits the things in hope, and expects the things laid up in the heavens. For if this were not the case, how much land was it likely he could behold with sensible eyes? Or how far could he gaze B by turning and circling his vision around to see the land? or could he possibly have beheld the land? or how far was he able to gaze while circling and turning his vision around?
"And they took all the cavalry of the Sodomites." B "Cavalry" is mentioned here for the first time by those said to have evil things.
Someone who had escaped came and told Abram the traveler. He is called "the traveler" (transitor) because, having passed from the land of the Chaldeans, he came through Mesopotamia into the parts of the Canaanites. And by those around Aquila it is interpreted as "Hebrew."
And He said to him: "Look up to heaven, and count the stars, if you shall be able to number them; so shall your seed be." B For the fruit, He says, of the holy soul, and the multitude and brightness, God cooperating, are said to become so great and of such a kind. This represents the divine blessing.
He said then: "Master Lord, by what shall I know, that I shall inherit it?" and so forth. B Was it not, according to him who believed, that faith was reckoned to him for righteousness, that he should doubt, as one who is suspicious? But perhaps, having believed before, he now also seeks knowledge concerning what he has believed. God does not command Abram to sacrifice, but because the ancients used to confirm their covenants by these.
"And in the fourth generation they shall return hither." For not yet C have the sins of the Amorites been filled up until now. The giving of the 400 years is for the seed of Abraham to be multiplied, and for the signs to come to pass. What then? "Not yet have the sins of the Amorites been filled up," to show that they are justly expelled on account of sins. And indeed when He says [that they are] suffering, He is not saying that He suffers, nor does He suffer what He says, but He is pointing out the unseemliness of the deed. And after a little: "For there were once upon a time in Palestine righteous men, Melchizedek and many others." For there was not simply a priest when there were no believers. Not yet, therefore, have they been filled up for this reason: "Not yet as the holy one failed," they have not yet been perfected and consumed in their sins. For ten righteous men deliver the city; then, however, they were not few. D
"They shall humble them for four hundred years." Why does the Apostle add thirty years more? And concerning the covenant which He made with Abraham, and concerning the journey from Egypt into the wilderness, and the giving of the Law? It does not conflict here with those things written in Exodus. For there it is said: "After 430 years the host of the Lord went out of Egypt"; here, however, it is said after 400 years: but it must be observed that it is not said...
that they went out after 400 years, but that 400 years pass, which 30 years also manifest.
*And her mistress was despised in her sight.* A It is not stated by whom, so that if we seek, we might find that virtue is wont to be despised, not at all by Abraham, but by the handmaid, or by those who take pleasure in her, before the better and superior things are born.
*And thy name shall no longer be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham.* B Interpretations of names are not without cause. For they are imposed by the Holy Spirit. But it is necessary to know this, that in names are indicated habits, affections, and qualities, whence it is possible to see the suitability of him to whom the names are given, and [their] dispositions.
*Abraham said to God: Let Ishmael live before thee.* C He was asking for something excellent for Ishmael, O Abraham, not being content merely to pray; but he added: *before thee*. For to live before the Lord is the lot of the blessed and the holy alone.
*Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days.* D Perhaps it is said only of the just: *advanced in days*. If this is the case, no evil person has advanced.
*And drawing near, Abraham said: Will you destroy the just with the impious?* [E] This is an encomium of Abraham. For the firmness of his piety is indicated; therefore he was able to draw near. But drawing near here is not to be understood corporally.
*Lot was sitting at the gate of the Sodomites.* [F] Lot was not inside Sodom, but at the gate. I would say that, just as Abraham used to sit outside his tent, out of hospitality even in the heat of the day (for it was noon), watching for passers-by, so also his kinsman and imitator of his character used to sit at the gate, inviting passers-by, and already in the evening. For he knew the impiety of the Sodomites, and that there was no rest for strangers there.
*And he compelled them, and they entered into his house.* [G] For Lot was of such a character as was Abraham; because those who were reluctant to enter to him needed to be compelled.
*The men who were at the door of the house, they struck with blindness.* [H] They are struck with blindness for good, those who used their sight badly, and the blindness prevents them from sinning.
*And he overturned all these cities, and the whole region round about, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and all the fruits of the land.* [I] The Lord does not only destroy the impious.
but also their crops, which were Sodomitic and harmful, among which is the vine, about which it is written: “For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their vine-branch of Gomorrah.”
And his wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. It profited the wife of Lot nothing that she was restrained by the angels, and she went out of Sodom, since she turned back.
Abimelech did not touch her. It carries an implication: he did not touch her, just as it is good for a man not to touch a woman, which is entirely without carnal intercourse or any other affection regarding the woman. Yet God did not permit Abimelech to touch her; perhaps he also possessed a sense of what is perfectly expedient, for such a thing is a gift from God.
And Abraham said to his servants: “Sit here with the ass, and I and the lad will go up yonder, and having worshipped we will return to you.” Reasoning that God is able to raise even from the dead.
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son. For he was indeed bearing his own cross outside the gate, even as Christ suffered, not forced into the passion, but out of his own will, and the will of God and the Father.
And Melcha bore sons to Nachor your brother, Oz the firstborn, etc. Melcha is interpreted as “reign”; Oz as “deliberating”; Nachor as “rest of light”; Bauz as “held for nothing”; Chamuel as “the resurrection of God”; Syron as “exalted”; Chasah as “a lie”; Azau as “seeing”; Phaldac as “the fall of the poor” or “of poverty”; Jedlaph as “hand of abundance” or “take the hand”; Bathuel as “domestic of God” or “daughter of God”; Rebecca as “patience”; Reema as “seen vision”; Taam as “ruminating”; Tochos as “silence”; Mochan as “empty intestine.”
And behold, I stand at the source of the water. For this reason he was ambitious to stand at the source, so that the text “They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water” might not apply to us.
And it shall be that the maiden, to whom I say, “Incline your pitcher.” If this is so, no wicked person has progressed. And Abraham drew near and said: “Will you destroy the just together with the impious?” This is a commendation of Abraham. For the firmness of his piety is made clear, on account of which he was able to draw near. But the "drawing near" is not to be understood physically. And Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. Lot was not inside Sodom, but at the gate. And I would say that, in the way Abraham sat outside his tent, keeping watch for the sake of hospitality and beyond the proper time for those passing by—for it was midday—in the same way his kinsman and imitator of his ways sat at the gate, exhorting those passing by, and evening had already overtaken them, having known well the impiety of those in Sodom, and that there was no rest for strangers there. And he pressed them, and they entered into his house. Since Lot was not such as Abraham was, because of this, hesitating to go to him, they have need of violence. And the men who were at the door of the house they struck with blindness. For good those men are struck with blindness who have used their sight for evil, and are hindered from sinning by the blindness.
A The man, however, was observing her and kept silent, to know if the Lord had made his way prosperous or not. From this we are to learn that it is good for one who prays not to do so with an audible voice that is perceived by the senses, but in the heart to Him who searches the hearts and kidneys.
Isaac was walking through the desert to the well of the vision. It is a fitting journey for the holy man, who walks through the desert because of his great withdrawal, and who walks to the well of the vision because of his contemplation of things pertaining to God. B And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. He who intends to converse about divine things must go out from earthly things, which he here terms "meditating." It is not added to whom; reasonably so, since such conversation does not take place with men, but either with God or by a man with himself.
By the same. The phrase "toward evening" is a symbol of someone who, having with difficulty reached old age, is able to converse with an understanding of more divine things. C And Abraham took another wife whose name was Keturah. And she bore him Zembran, and so forth. And from the children of Keturah many nations were born, who inhabited the Troglodyte desert, and Arabia Felix, and that which is beyond, and also the Midianite region, the city of Midian being adjacent to the desert which is beyond Arabia, and the region of Pharan, on the east of the Red Sea; whence the tribe of the Midianites is from Midian, the son of Abraham and Keturah; so that it is evident from this, that Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, was a descendant of Abraham and a kinsman of Moses. D By the same. Keturah is interpreted as "smaller" or "inferior."
Jesboc, "dismissal" or "he will dismiss," Soue, "good people"; Saban, "aversion"; Thaeman, "the failing of their strength"; Daedan, "sufficient judgment" or "solitary"; Raguel, "strong friend" or "pastor of God"; Nabdeel, "serving God"; Assouriim, "firm" or "men of the nations"; Latussiim, "hammerers"; Gephar, "needy" or "failing"; Apher, "dust" or "terrestrial" or "ash"; Enoch, "your grace"; Abida, "the height of my father"; Ephron, "dust" or "terrestrial" or "ash"; Iduma, "silence"; Mamre, "from a vision"; Masse, "elevation"; Ismael, "the hearing of God"; Choddad, "empty measure"; Nabaoth, "prophecy"; Thaeman, "perfection"; Cedar, "obscurity"; Jetur, "an exile"; Nabdeel, "serving God"; Naphes, "refrigeration"; Masman, "attention" or "hearing"; Cedma, "anterior"; Massan, "from sweet odors"; Eulat, "travailing"; Sur, "a wall."
B "Dwell, however, in the land which I shall tell you; and sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and I will bless you." If anyone sojourns where it is commanded by God to dwell, God is with him and blesses him; but if anyone dwells where he ought not to sojourn, God is not with him, nor will He bless him.
"For the reason that Abraham heard my voice, and kept my commandments, and my justifications, and my laws." If the law according to Moses was not yet written, yet Abraham kept the things spoken of, he kept them in the same way as those nations who do not have the law, and who do by nature the things of the law; C showing the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, as the Apostle says.
"And the servants of Isaac dug in the valley of Gerara; and they found there a well of living water." Every one who prays to be a child of Isaac must show zeal to understand these wells, and to dig them within himself. Being removed from there, he dug another well, and they did not contend about it.
now, therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Mesopotamia. We learn from these things that one must flee from those who plot against us and avoid persecutions, even if we are deemed worthy of visions as Jacob was. Let one take courage by looking at the things that followed Jacob as he fled from Esau; for he was deemed worthy of visions, and he became the father of twelve tribes; and returning from the flight caused by persecution, he becomes Israel instead of Jacob. "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan." The daughters of Canaan are wicked, not in the sight of Esau, but in the sight of Isaac his father. C And when the Lord God saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb. He opens the womb for the birth of saints; but according to the spiritual law of the soul, He opens the womb so that she who is to be His mother might give birth to the Word of God. D By the same. For the one who was older in time was the first to bear to God the synagogue of the Jews and the multitude. And Laban said to him: "If I have found favor in your sight, I would have used divination; for the Lord has blessed me with your entry." There is no divination in Jacob; but Laban says "I would have used divination," as an alien to the purpose of Jacob, which was not altogether alien, adding to "I would have used divination," the words, "For the Lord has blessed me with your entry."
A And Jacob took for himself a rod of styrax, fresh, and of nut, and of plane tree. The three rods symbolize the three faculties of the soul, namely the rational, the spirited, and the appetitive; or they are the three contemplations, of bodies, of incorporeal beings, and of the holy Trinity. Generally, the action is through the nut, the contemplation of the styrax, and this world and its contemplation are represented under the plane tree. That the fresh part of them is shredded signifies abandonment of the world, and for the active life, the fresh is softness; for contemplation, the fresh is about being occupied with bodies. As for the fresh, inquire of other interpretations.
The Lord said to Jacob: "Return to the land of your father, and to your kindred, and I will be with you." B When Jacob had borne fruit and become rich outside of his kindred, then the Lord said to him: "Return to the land of your father." Something like this must be understood as being said by the Lord when we reach the point of departure to go to our fathers. And He gives a reward to him who returns to the land of his father and to his kindred. I believe that the Lord was present to him in dreams.
"But your father has deceived me, and has changed my wages ten times." Aquila says "ten numbers"; Symmachus says "ten times in number." He was saying, therefore, as the Hebrew says, that Laban broke the agreements with Jacob ten times, because the things born in the name of Jacob were very many, and he envied him; which the two editions declare: "And you have perverted my wages for ten ewe-lambs." Of rams, there is no mention at all, which he had agreed to give me; it nowhere appears that he promised them, but it is clear from what he himself says. For just as Scripture does not introduce Lamech killing, but it is sought out, so that the event is clear from the interpretation, so too here. C Often, therefore, Scripture, things which it did not explain when they were happening, it has revealed through someone interpreting them.
"Your sheep and your goats have not been barren; I have not eaten the rams of your sheep." D The confidence of the good shepherd is shown by these words, which are to be imitated. Let there be produced, therefore, spiritual fruits among those in the flocks, and not those who devour the sheep and the rich of the flock. Since his gods are not found, he makes agreements with the blessed Jacob; and since he has cast off the false-named gods, he has become a friend of Christ.
Jacob said to his brethren: "Gather stones," and they gathered stones. And in the 15
Ecclesiastes it is written: "A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones." A They are gathered at the command of Jacob, who is a type of Christ, that the building may be completed on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, of living stones, when it becomes a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.
And Laban turned and went to his own place. The place of the wicked is near on account of wickedness. But his is through progress, for the place is far off, since the labor is not small.
And there met him the angels of God. The Lord saith: "I am the way." Who, therefore, follows this way, to him the angels of God meet.
And he commanded them, saying: Thus shall you say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob: "I have sojourned with Laban." B By way of honor he calls his elder brother his lord without hypocrisy. But also a submissive answer averts wrath. And as a man he was indeed afraid, but, trusting in God, he did not flee, but kept coming.
And he passed over the ford of Jabbok. Jabbok is a river of Arabia, which is now called Jambices.
And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him, and so forth. Who else could the one called "man" and "God" together be, wrestling and contending along with Jacob, if not the holy Word of God, who spoke in many parts and in many ways to the fathers, C being named Lord and God, who also, having blessed Jacob, named him Israel, saying, "You have been strong with God"? In such a way did the men of that time see the Word of God, as also those who said, the apostles of our Lord: "That which was from the beginning, which we have seen with our eyes, and we beheld, and our hands have handled of the Word of life." 1 John i, 1. And having beheld that Word and Life, Jacob adds, saying: "For I have seen God face to face."
And Jacob loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him D a coat of many colors. The coat is an excellent habit adorned with virtues.
And his brethren seeing that his father loved him more than all his sons, they hated him, and could not speak any peaceable thing to him. For he who hates cannot speak peaceably to him whom he holds in hatred. Put away, therefore, the hatred, that we may be able to speak peaceable things.
A The Midianites sold Joseph into Egypt to Potiphar, the eunuch, the chief cook of Pharaoh. Potiphar is spoken of in this place as Aquila and Symmachus have it, whereas elsewhere he is called Phutiphar. And the interpretation of the present name lies alongside, while the exposition of the other will appear in the following sections.
Onan knew that the seed would not be his; when he entered to his brother's wife, he spilled it upon the ground. Whoever sows upon the flesh, and treasures up the works of the flesh in the earth, is like Onan; therefore, he is put to death by God.
The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, as if aiming at a target, he directed his governing principle, and always attained his goal. Scripture uses this expression in many places. B And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph's sake. For the sake of the holy man who was in the house of the Egyptian, the house is blessed, and the possessions, and the field of the Egyptian. But this is not a spiritual blessing.
And it came to pass after these words, the chief cupbearer of the king of Egypt, and the chief baker, sinned against their lord, the king of Egypt. I think that the analogy to "I have sinned against the king of Egypt" might be spoken concerning the martyrs, that they sin against the intelligible king of Egypt, but not against God. For they seem to fall short of the law of the world, which is contrary to the law of God.
"For by theft was I stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here I have done nothing." The fact of doing nothing of the practices of the Egyptians is hinted at by the words, "Here I have done nothing." And the work of the Egyptians was also that of approaching the master's wife. C
And Joseph answered and said to him: "This is the interpretation of it: the three baskets are three days." And it was said above, that the three shoots are three days. Therefore, the "three days" is represented both through the shoots and through the baskets, because Providence utilizes the proper examples of each life. You might find the same thing indicated in other Scriptures, where the same truth is declared by means of diverse examples.
D And it came to pass on the third day, the day of Pharaoh's birth, and he made a feast for all his servants. One who lived before us observed that it is evil that he celebrates it, as one who welcomes the day of his own birth; we...
A confirm that narrative, and, having found something similar in the case of Herod—that his daughter danced, and John’s head was cut off—we see that it is nowhere righteous to keep a birthday.
Two years later, Pharaoh saw a dream: he thought he was standing over the river, etc. He who trusted in flowing and fleeting things B thought he was standing over the river, as if what is fleeting were something blessed—since his cows are fat, but they are all consumed by the worse ones. Pharaoh thought he was binding sheaves. And in the second dream, “Just as,” he says, “the sun and the moon and the stars worshipped me.” And again, the chief cupbearer: “In my sleep, I say, there was a vine,” and the rest; and the chief baker: “I thought I was carrying three wicker baskets of flour on my head,” and the rest. By the same. The narrative part of the Scripture says: “He thought he was standing over the river,” not beside the bank of the river; but Pharaoh says: “I thought I was standing beside the bank of the river,” not over the river. However, the affairs in Egypt represent those in worldly matters: starting from better things, of which prosperity is the symbol, they end in something more bitter, of which prosperity and famine are the types. Such too is it to consider the argument regarding the rich man. For the seven years of prosperity were, as it were, his, while he received his good things in his life, wearing purple and fine linen, and feasting sumptuously every day; but it ends for him in the opposite things, as he receives the evil things after his departure from here. Such things too you might see in the case of those who walk the C broad and wide road, whose end is destruction; but for those whose beginning is the narrow and the afflicted way, the end is life. Therefore, woe to those who are filled, for they shall hunger; and to those who laugh, for they shall weep. Blessed are those who mourn and weep, for they shall be comforted.
And behold, as if from the river there were ascending seven cows, etc. Pharaoh’s dreams were also about grain. For those by which the earth is cultivated, and by which it brings forth fruit, were given to the king as signs of prosperity and famine.
Having woken up, Pharaoh dreamed again, and behold, seven ears were rising on one stalk, chosen and beautiful. Joseph, however, did not see sheaves, but ears; and the Egyptian, he did not see sheaves, but ears. And again, the chief cupbearer sees three small shoots, which mean three days; but the king sees D seven ears in one stalk, by which seven years are connected, and thus the interpretation of the one name "stalk" becomes diverse. Whenever anyone interprets the Scripture otherwise, let him not be thought to be forcing it. And it should further be noted that, in the case of
A the seven stalks coming up in one culm, it is a precursor of the famine; these stalks, however, were not in one culm; another interprets it as "in one culm" (53).
And it happened in the morning, and his soul was troubled, and he sent and called all the interpreters of Egypt and all its wise men (34). We must look into the expression "all Egypt" both literally, and as to whether Pharaoh stood in need of Egyptian interpreters as if they were wiser for the purpose of instruction. We say "all Egypt" as following after the words, "all the interpreters of Egypt and all its wise men."
And Pharaoh told them his dream, and there was no one to declare it to Pharaoh. I do not think that they were entirely silent, but rather that they mentioned everything except the actual recounting of the dream. But someone will say: How did Pharaoh know whether or not the interpreters and wise men of Egypt were succeeding in telling the dreams? The Hebrew said to this effect, that Pharaoh, upon seeing the dream, also saw its account, which then fell out of his memory. Therefore, as he heard each one speak, he did not recognize what he knew he had seen. For this reason he was astonished at Joseph, B and suddenly promoted him to entrust the whole of Egypt, its grain, and the salvation of the Egyptians to him, since as soon as he recounted the dreams, he was reminded that these were the same things that had previously been shown to him.
And Joseph answering Pharaoh, said: "Without God there shall be no answer regarding the salvation of Pharaoh." Joseph is logical (36) in that he begins from God. Observe, moreover, that he spoke to the woman: "And I shall do this wicked thing, and I shall sin against God" (37). And to the eunuchs in prison he says: "Is not the interpretation of these things from God?" (38).
And Pharaoh said to all his servants: "Shall we find a man such as this, who has the Spirit of God in him?" (39). Seeing that the solution C to the dream was beyond human capacity, and being enlightened by Joseph, he said he had the Spirit of God in him.
The same one. Pharaoh was compelled to speak of God; and to this the interpretation of the dream previously declared is connected.
And he cried out before him as a herald. The Hebrew text (38) has "Abrech," which properly signifies "tender father." Rightly did he call Joseph a tender father. For when D he cried out in his presence, "Adgeniculatio" (that is, knee-bending), Symmachus himself interprets the Hebrew term: *and he cried out before him Abrech*. For it does not seem to me to be so much a herald, or something that can be taken for saluting and adoring Joseph, but rather what the Hebrews translate as "tender father," and it is transferred to this, since it is said "rech," which means delicate, or tender, signifying that the Scripture meant that he was indeed a father to all, but according to age, a tender youth and boy.
A And he showed him to the Egyptians as a savior, just as a father shows his beginning. But this word, "abrech," signifies nothing other than "to bend the knee." For the voice of the herald is clear.
And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Psontomphanech, which translates to "He to whom what is to come has been revealed." Aquila renders it "Saphamphane," while Symmachus renders it "Saphtphane," meaning "revealing hidden things."
And he gave him Aseneth, the daughter of Petephres, priest of Heliopolis, as his wife. The name Poti-Phar belongs to the father of the woman who married Joseph. Someone might think this was a different man than the one who bought Joseph. However, the Hebrews do not think so; rather, they say, based on an apocryphal writing, that it is the same man, who became both his master and his father-in-law. And they say that this Aseneth had accused her mother to her father of having plotted against Joseph, when in fact she had not been plotted against. He was eager to show those whom he had given to Joseph, as well as the Egyptians, that he had committed no such sin against his household. B
And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, "For God has made me forget all my labors, and all those of my father." Now, that God caused him to forget all his labors is clearly good; but whether Joseph also forgot all the labors of his father Jacob, and whether even this was brought about by God for him, is a matter to be examined. For God does not cause Joseph to forget the words of Jacob and his sons; unless, perhaps, it refers to his labors, so that the word "labors" is taken in common, thus: "all my labors and all the labors of my father." C
And he named the second Ephraim, "For God has caused me to increase in the land of my humiliation." Spiritually, Egypt is the land of the humiliation of the righteous man. And therefore it is said by the Apostle: "The body of our humiliation," and in the Psalms: "Our life is brought down to the dust," and again: "Thou hast humbled us in the place of affliction."
Joseph was the prince of Egypt. He sold to all the people of the land. But Joseph’s brothers, coming, worshipped him, falling to the ground. Because they were the sons of Jacob and of the people of the land, he did not sell to them, but returned the money to them. For it was fitting that the sons of Israel should receive grain free of charge. D
By the same: Beautifully concerning the same, when they buy, he says: "sons of Israel"; but when they worship: "brothers of Joseph." Benjamin, however, neither serves Esau nor Joseph. And therefore, in his portion, the temple is built.
A For we are indeed in sins concerning our brother, because we disregarded the anguish of his soul, when he was begging. According to what is written in silence, he begged; for it is not written how he begged.
Ruben, answering, said to them: Did I not tell you, saying, Do not act unjustly toward the boy; and you did not listen to me? And behold, his blood is sought. In the previous section it is said that the Ishmaelites were selling Joseph, and after his being sold, Ruben returned to the pit, and does not see Joseph in the pit, and tore his garments. And he turned to his brothers, and said: The boy is not; and where shall I go henceforth? And it appears that, having learned from the brothers about Joseph, that he was sold—perhaps, therefore, thinking he had been killed—he now says, "Behold, his blood is sought."
Judas said to Israel his father: Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go that we may live. B Perhaps he is prophesying that he was to be with the tribe of Judah.
I will receive him; seek him from my hand, if I do not bring him back to you, etc. Nothing of the things that could happen to Benjamin does Judas consider, prophetically, I suppose, promising to the father.
Take of the fruits of the land in your vessels, and bring down to the man gifts of resin, and of honey, and incense, and stacte, and terebinth, and nuts. C From the fruits of the land gifts are brought to Joseph, which Egypt does not have: these are resin, honey, incense, stacte, terebinth, nuts. And further above, the camels were also full of incense, resin, stacte, but not also of honey, and terebinth, and nuts. Of the same. Three kinds the Midianites bring down with them to Egypt, to which the sons of Jacob, adding another three, bring to Joseph. Yet the seed of Abraham bring both the former and the latter. And it was necessary that the inferior things should be brought by the spurious children of Abraham, but the greater things by the legitimate ones, as Egypt had need of these.
They said: Because of the money that returned in our bags at the beginning, we are being brought in, to slander us and to attack us, to take us as slaves, and our donkeys. D It is implausible that those who think they are in such a plight would be concerned about their donkeys, unless it is allegorized.
He said to them: Peace to you, do not fear. It seems the man in charge of Joseph’s house said these things, having been helped toward piety by Joseph.
And the portion of Benjamin was magnified beyond the portions of all, five times more than theirs.
A It was magnified also on account of Jerusalem, as a type of the apostle Paul. And Joshua, of the tribe of Ephraim, distributed the land to the other tribes.
For God sent me before you, that there might be a remnant for you. Since God sent Joseph before his brothers into Egypt for the sake of the life of many, obviously God used the zeal and intention of his brothers for the great economy concerning the life of Joseph. Therefore, it is permitted to suggest the sins of others; for God devises for the salvation of others.
B Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God, and He has made me as a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler of all the land of Egypt. The ruler of bodily matters, being in no way like them, could say, "God has made me lord of all the land of Egypt."
And do not let your eyes spare your vessels for all the good things of Egypt are yours. If there is anything in what is called Egypt figuratively, it does not belong to the Egyptians, but to Israel. For this reason, in the Exodus, the Hebrews prepare for the Egyptians and take gold and silver vessels, and whatever good there was in Egypt.
And I will bring you up to the end. A promise fitting for God, not only to bring up, but also to bring the one being brought up to the end.
Of the same. To those who seek from the Pentateuch the life after this, we shall say: Since He who said, "I will bring you up," is not a liar, He brought him up in this life later, and after the exodus He brought him up, when after this Joseph placed his own hands upon the eyes of the body of Jacob. And God brought him up, leading Israel after the end of life to the end that is with Himself.
C And Jacob rose up from the Well of the Oath, and the sons of Israel took up Jacob their father. He who came to the Well of the Oath is Israel, bringing with1 all his own, I think, Jacob; but he who is rising up from the Well of the Oath is Jacob; for it was not Israel that needed resurrection, but Jacob. Then after this, the sons having taken up Jacob the father, who needed being taken up, D [took him up] not as Jacob, but as Israel.
Of the same. Pharaoh sent wagons to carry not Israel, but Jacob.
A His sons and the daughters of his daughters. That is, having his daughters with him, he also brought his sons-in-law. For he could not have borne leading his daughters outside his house, lest they be turned toward the worship of idols.
Of the same. If Jacob has no daughters, how do his daughters descend into Egypt? See, therefore, that this is said by way of allegory. In what follows he says they are from Leah, and that his daughter mentioned as thirty-three is Dinah.
These are the names of the sons of Israel who entered into Egypt. Sons, not Jacob, but Israel, having entered, not those who had descended into Egypt, these are the names.
The firstborn of Jacob, Reuben. Having said above that these names were those of the sons of Israel, now he says that Jacob’s firstborn is Reuben. B
Of the same. It should be noted that along with those sons born in the land of Canaan, Jacob also counts those sons of Joseph who were in Egypt. For this contributes to the subsequent passage toward the end, where he says: "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon."
And Israel said to Joseph: "I shall die from now on, since I have seen your face. For you are still living." It is a marvelous thing that he who was in Egypt was not harmed by the Egyptians, and remained in the life according to God. Wherefore, wondering, Jacob said to Joseph: "For you are still living."
"Your servants are shepherds of sheep from childhood even until now..." And they said to Pharaoh: "We have come to settle as sojourners in the land." They boldly speak of being shepherds before Pharaoh. Then, so that Pharaoh might not be disturbed, they say: "We have come to settle as sojourners in the land."
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, saying: "Let them dwell in the land of Goshen." Since in the Tetrapla, from which the copy was also taken to align with the sequence in the Hebrew and other editions, it is shown that the Seventy have in some places been transposed, so that what was first became last, and what was last became first—which is also found to have happened here—for this reason we have provided the proper sequence. And it is this: C
"Let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen," and it is joined to, "And Pharaoh said to Joseph: Let them dwell in the land of Goshen." And if you know that there are among them capable men, appoint them rulers over my cattle. He wishes to appoint rulers over the Egyptian cattle [from among them]. If anyone among Israel is capable, let him flee this design.
And when Jacob had blessed Pharaoh, he went out from him. One would not rightly say that having blessed him, he departed from him. But ask, when does a holy person, having blessed, [then] depart? D
A And he went out from him. And he blesses here, but above, having received blessings, Jacob enters.
And Joseph brought all the money into the house of Pharaoh. And where was all the money of Egypt and Canaan to be, if not in the house of Pharaoh?
And they brought their cattle to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in return for horses, and in return for sheep, and in return for cattle, and in return for donkeys. Joseph does not do this cruelly, but so that the cattle might not perish from starvation, and that afterwards they might receive them back freely from Pharaoh.
And nothing remainder is left for us before our Lord except our own body and our land. Since it is said concerning sinners: B "Because they are flesh," for this reason, even now the Egyptians, as flesh, are said to have left to themselves not a soul, but their own body and their land. This, however, ought to be considered as said by all who are alien to God. "That we may not die before you, and the land be left desolate, acquire us and our land." The Egyptians wish to live before Pharaoh, not before God. Of the same. The Egyptians wish to become the possession of Pharaoh, as the saints of God.
For the famine prevailed over them. Clearly, over the Egyptians; for it would not have been said concerning Israel, that the famine prevailed over them.
And Jacob, having strengthened himself, sat upon the bed. C Having strengthened himself, he sat, so that he might speak the divinely inspired words. For I suppose that the one, Jacob, was troubled, but the other, Israel, had strengthened himself, who also "blessed the sons of Joseph," and the following, in which Jacob is not named over the children.
And he said to me: "Behold, I will make you grow, and I will multiply you." Either the ungodly one does not increase, or he does not increase from God. You will say the same concerning the [phrase], "I will multiply." For God, blessing, says these things. D Mine are Ephraim and Manasseh; as Reuben and Simeon shall they be to me. As Reuben and Ephraim. For both are firstborn, as Manasseh and Simeon, each second to his mother.
The remaining offspring, if you beget these, shall be in the name of their brothers; they shall be called in their lots. Others, he says, the children whom you beget, shall be reckoned in the division of the parts of their brothers.
And Israel, seeing the sons of Joseph, said: Who are these? By these words: "Israel seeing the sons of Joseph," there will appear to be a contradiction to this, "The eyes of Jacob were dimmed from old age," unless perhaps the same thing is that he was not able to see, and to see the seed of Joseph, God showing to him the things that will be.
"May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh"; and he placed Ephraim before Manasseh. You may appropriately use this text regarding standing the more honorable person before one in prayer. "Having bowed, he lay down as a lion, and as a cub." By the words "he lay down," he signifies the death which happened by way of dispensation. Christ is a lion to those who have been perfectly "beast-like" [in strength/courage], but to those who are still beginners, he is a cub.
It is inquired, furthermore, what manner of shape one must conceive the ark to have. I think, he says, that it is pyramidal, beginning from a length of 300 cubits and a width of 50 cubits, and narrowing toward the height of 30 cubits, so that the top comes to be one cubit in length and width. Let its lower parts, which have been called "lower chambers," be two stories, and those above the two stories, toward the higher part, be three stories. Symmachus also set this forth clearly by saying: "You shall make it with two-storied and three-storied chambers." Let it be understood that on each story, places are marked off so that the unlike animals may be separated—which he calls "nests," while Symmachus calls them "cells." Let the timbers be square, first so that much time is not consumed in their division, and then, which is truer, so that being made from whole timbers it might happen to be more secure; for it was about to approach mountains and undergo no small storm, against which it would not have held out unless it had been constructed of whole timbers. The nests both separated the animals and provided a bond for the structure. And so that it might not have an incursion of water, let it be smeared with pitch both outside and inside. A B C D
ORIGEN ON GENESIS: HOMILIES
HOMILY ONE
On the origin of the world and the things that are in the world.
"In the beginning God created heaven and earth." What is the beginning of all things, if not our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the first-born of all creation? In this beginning, therefore, that is, in his own Word, God made heaven and earth: just as the evangelist John points out in the beginning of his Gospel, saying: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made." He does not, therefore, speak of any temporal beginning: but says that in the beginning, that is, in the Savior, heaven and earth and all things were made. The earth was "invisible and unformed, and darkness was upon the abyss, and the Spirit of God was borne upon the waters." How can the earth be "invisible and unformed" before God said, "Let there be light," and before he divided between light and darkness, according to the order of the discourse? But since in the things which follow he commands, and this he calls "heaven," when we arrive at that place, the reason for the difference between the heaven and the firmament will be stated, why the firmament also is called heaven. But now he asks: "And darkness was upon the abyss"? What is this abyss in which the devil and his angels will be? Indeed, this is most clearly designated in the Gospel, when it is said of the Savior that the demons, whom he was casting out, begged him not to order them to go into the abyss. Therefore, the Savior dissolves the darkness, Scripture saying: "And God said: Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it is good, and God divided between the middle of the light and the middle of the darkness. And God called the light day; and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was morning, one day." According to the letter, God calls the light day, and the darkness night. But according to the spiritual understanding, we see what it is, that God in that beginning, as we said above, made heaven and earth, said also that light should be, and divided between the middle of the light and the middle of the darkness, and called the light day. And…