Commentary on the Six Days of Creation (Spurious)

If they are inferior to these in years, we discover that they are far removed from the age of Moses. He, then, was shown to be the most divine teacher of truth among all the wise. For, having culled the so-called wisdom of the Egyptians, he discoursed most excellently upon the creation of this world, being inspired with the truth by Him who is in all respects God and the Maker of the universe. For he says: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And many of the Greeks, having dared to assert the opposite, were cast headlong into the deep of ignorance. For the dogmas brought forth from human reason are unclear and unstable. For among them, no argument stands unmoved, since each successive one always overthrows the one before it, so that there is no work needed for the faithful to refute them, as they are sufficient to overturn one another. What manner of shape and substance the heaven has, Isaiah teaches us, saying: "Who set up the heaven as a vault." By this he signifies that its nature is thin, and neither solid nor dense, just as he says elsewhere: "Who fixed the heaven as smoke." The Psalmist affirms that the earth was established upon the waters, saying: "He founded it upon the seas and prepared it upon the rivers." But we ought not to inquire curiously into how this is, but rather believe. For the simplicity of our faith is far stronger than dialectical proofs, since the judgments of God ^B cannot be comprehended, nor can the conjecture of the human mind grasp them.

On the first day, therefore, God created the heaven, and the earth, and the light; and He illuminated all things in a swift moment of time; for this is subject to corruption. For before this, a certain obscure shadow, cast by the stretched-out heaven, veiled all things and kept the light from those places. But outside the heaven, there is light which cannot be shadowed, and is incorruptible and eternal, in which the angels dwell, concerning which Solomon says: "Light for the righteous forevermore," in which those who have lived well also rest. You will understand the economy of this from a clear example, that an unquenchable light illuminates the space outside the heaven. The interior, however, mist surrounded before the light was created. For just as if one, in a stable midday, having set up a tent of dense material, creates an impromptu darkness, and the place contained within can in no way be illuminated unless the radiance of a light shines into it, so such an insubstantial darkness ^C surrounded the world, covered by the heaven, which God separated when He created the light, and named it day, and the darkness night. For when the light is poured forth, day is born; but when it is withdrawn, night ensues. Whence also, in the measuring of time, we count days, and not nights. ^D

^A On the second day God made the firmament. This is something different from the heaven that was created in the beginning. And it has been said to some that it is the same; for they say that this was the perfection of the second, because in the former passage the creation of earth and heaven was delivered in summary, but here the Scripture hands down the manner of how it came to be with more elaboration. We, however, say that it is one thing, and the other is another, seeing that a different name and a special purpose for the second heaven have been handed down. This one, therefore, is different from the one created in the beginning, existing with a more solid nature. And God divided between the water which was under the firmament. For He separated the infinite and immense power of the waters, so that they might abound both above and below the firmament. The ether is fiery and burning, and it would have consumed the whole orb of the earth had it not been restrained by the ^B commands and ordinances of its Creator. Therefore, water also rises into the air, carried through the clouds by the exhalation of vapors which rivers and springs and pools and seas send forth, so that the ether might not consume all things with its heat. And thus rain is generated: exhalations are carried upward through the air and condensed by the compression of the winds; and the vapors, concreted in the cloud and separated one from another, become drops, and from the weight of their gathering they fall downward. Snow thus forms from the waters: the moisture is torn apart by the force of the winds and reduced to foam, and, being broken up entirely through every part of itself, it is chilled and frozen, and the cloud being rent, the snow falls. Thunder happens for this reason... through an impediment, which, being driven in the hollows of the clouds and violently bursting forth, produces the sound ^C of the thunder.

On the third day, by the command of God, the waters were gathered into their congregations, and the dry land appeared; and He called the dry land earth, and the congregations of the waters He called seas. Therefore they were gathered into one place, lest the waters, receding from the places in which they remain, or being lifted up and overflowing, should inundate the earth. For this reason the sea, frequently agitated and churned by the force of the winds, raises itself as if raging with waves into an immense height; but when it reaches just to the shore, having dashed its impetus, it turns back, made into foam and whitened, restrained by the sand, the weakest of all things, as if by a bridle. For what repressed and bound the Red Sea, lest it should submerge ^D the whole of Egypt—since it is higher than it—and join itself to the neighboring sea, if not only the mandate of its Maker? Moreover, that this is true, Sesostris the king of Egypt and shortly after Darius the Mede left to us in a practical demonstration. For, having attempted to join the Egyptian and the Indian seas together, they could not. Thus, Egypt is lower than the Red Sea. He commanded, therefore, that they should come together into one congregation, and that from this another sea should not be made, but that they should remain in one collection. For many were the waters dispersed through various places, inasmuch as the cavities of the mountains and the valleys contained waters gathered within themselves. That, indeed, and the congregation...

^A of waters He called seas, signifies the gulfs which, according to their own shape, have been left behind by the surrounding land; such are the Northern Sea, the Southern Sea, the Eastern, the Western seas, and their proper names: Pontus, Aegean, Ionian, Sardinian, Sicilian, Tyrrhenian. Moreover, He did not end by gathering just any collections of waters into one sea, or assembly, but the greatest and most immense; for one should not understand here the marshy or stagnant waters. For just as fire is both broken down into small parts and also flows together, poured out by the air, so too in the case of water, even if there are some small separate collections, there is nonetheless one congregation, which separates this whole element from the rest. For the water of the sea is the spring and origin of all the moisture that is around the earth; and the entire earth is full of conduits, and it spreads through hidden pores, as certain hollow places of the mainland declare. For the flowing sea, running through narrow places, when it is left behind in crooked and upright outlets, being pushed by the violence of the wind of the earth, it breaks its surface, and having gone out to the outside, it becomes potable, having been changed through filtration into sweetness. Again, when it is left behind in hot places toward its exit, being drawn by the same cause by the wind, it becomes boiling. This also stands as the ^B source of the aerial waters; for the waters drawn up by the clouds from it, and warmed by the solar ray, and chilled by the shadow of the cloud, and clarified from that very height, become sweet, and shower upon the mainland. And on the same day, God also commanded the earth to sprout vegetation

of grass and the earth: Let there sprout seed according to its kind, and a fruit-bearing tree producing fruit, whose seed is in itself

^A Starlings feed on hemlock because of the constitution of their bodies; for since they have narrow pores around the heart, they are able to excrete the matter they have absorbed. Quails eat hellebore and suffer no harm, possessing a particular temperament of body. Physicians induce sleep by means of mandrake, and they soothe intense pains with opium. By hemlock they deaden frantic appetites, and by hellebore they soothe chronic diseases. And a fruit-bearing tree producing fruit. And all things sprang up from the earth in one moment of time, things which were not before, each with its own property, and each recognized by its own distinctive mark. ^B The olive, and the date palm, and the cypress grow to a great height. And of these, some are not full of knots or branches, such as the fir, and the cypress, and sometimes the date palm. And they are ever-green: the olive, the date palm, the laurel, the myrtle, the pine, the cypress, the fir, the juniper, the thuja, and that which the Arcadians call *phyllodryn*. To these add the wild olive, the cedar, the pine, the box, the holm-oak, the *arax*, and the chickling. The rose at that time grew without thorns; but later the thorn was joined to the beauty of the flower, so that by seeing the sorrow placed near the pleasant, we might not forget the sin, on account of which the earth was condemned to bring forth thorns and thistles for us. The almond blossoms first of all, but brings forth its fruit last. ^C But the bitter almond tree, if the stump near the root is bored through and a wedge of fatty pine marrow is driven into the middle, takes it in and changes the unpleasant juices into edible sweetness. The pomegranate also receives this same treatment and turns to sweetness. The female date palm bends toward the male, as if possessed by a desire for the embrace of the male; and the farmers insert the fruits of the male into its branches, and thus restore it to its original and upright shape. Mulberry trees germinate late, yet in bearing fruit they are not behind others. The olive, the linden, the poplar, and the elm turn their leaves upward after the summer solstice; and by this all know that the summer solstice has passed. ^D As for the fruit of the cultivated fig, the farmers ensure that it does not fall by this method: they take the young figs from the wild fig tree, tie them together, and place them on the fig tree. For the very small animal that is inside the wild fig, when it settles on the base of the cultivated fig, prevents the air that breathes round about from entering, so that the fig might not become unpleasant and fall. And since the fruit of the fig is soft, it is covered by the thickness of its leaves; but the walnut, since it is hard, is covered by a light layer of leaves. For this reason the leaf of the vine is also split, so that the grape cluster may both avoid the harm from the air and receive the sun's ray through its openness. Thus there is nothing useless in things, but God has adorned all things with a wisdom that we cannot describe. For truly one water, which is drawn up through the roots, feeds the trunk in one way, the marrow in another, the bark in another, the wood in another, and the roots themselves in another; and from the same moisture, wine is made in the vine, oil in the olive, and in another thing, something else;

And in these sweet fruits there is an unspeakable variety of richness; for that which is sweet in the vine is one thing, and that which is in the apple, and in the fig, and in the date palm is another. The tears of trees are also different; for the tear of the mastic tree is one thing, and the sap of the balsam is another, which is the most excellent of all ointments, and is produced in great abundance at Jericho. When the natives cut it from the shrubs with a sharp stone of the region, the sap flows out. Some also relate that amber is a sap of plants, which hardens into the nature of a stone.

4. On the fourth day God created two great lights, the sun and the moon, in the firmament of the heaven, to shine upon the earth, to divide between the day and between the night ^B. This solar light was prepared as a vehicle for that primal light. For as fire is one thing and a lamp another—the former having the power of giving light, the latter of offering the light to those in need—and as brightness is one thing and the brightened body another, so also these, though they are of a different nature, the Creator's faculty has joined into one. And let no one think that the day and the sun are the same. For, first, the Creator fashioned a simple light, which He also called day, and afterward He fashioned the sun from fire and light. For just as we see that the earth has fire created within its own bosom, so also the sun possesses light; for light gathered together with fire made the very bright sun. But perhaps someone will object: And whence is this manifest, when no division is seen? For neither is light seen apart from fire, nor do we perceive fire separated from light. But let such a one know how many things fire projects within itself: brightness, heat, yellowness, which the Artificer, distributing most wisely, manifests in their composition. For ^C when He wishes to warm an animal, He takes the heat of the fire, and it possesses the heat of this but does not possess the light. And the heat is separated from the radiance in the animal; again, it takes the yellowness. And we see the yellowness, but no longer the heat and the brightness. And again, He separates the heat, and gives only the brightness, as is to be seen in the lightning, which, when flashing, only illuminates, but does not heat. The same example is also set forth in the case of the moon. For this, being illuminated by the sun, becomes more manifest, just as the sun is by the day. For the appearance of the moon happens to be coal-like, as is to be seen in an eclipse; for when the sun has taken away its own proper radiance from it, it renders it dim; but by illuminating it, it makes it appear full. For, putting on in a certain way the solar light, it becomes more radiant; in the same way also the sun, putting on the light of the day, becomes more brilliant, that day ^D

^A nor yet warming, but only illuminating. That the sun is composed of fire is evident from the fact that it scorches and burns.

"To divide the day and the night." As if he said: he confined the sun to the boundaries of the day, and the moon to the night; nor is night anything other than the shadow of the earth, when the earth, by its interposition, takes away the sun's rays. For just as in the day, if someone cuts off the light, a shadow is cast and the light vanishes, so also night is established when the air around the earth is wrapped in darkness; and the sun, which from the beginning of its creation received light from the Creator, keeps it continuously hidden within itself—which is denied to the moon, which often loses it by waxing and waning.

"And let them be for signs and for times, and for days, and for years." 19 The sun and moon are the origin of time. For while their courses are carried on in an orderly manner, they produce the fixed endings of time; and it is called time when, as if in a certain circle, it revolves in alternate and well-ordered successions, from the first to the second, and from the second to the third, and to that which follows.

"And let them be for signs," because they always signify the coming of a storm; for a mist spread over the air, surrounding the sun's rays, leaves less light, just as a coal similar to one steeped in blood turns red, when it cannot dispel and dissolve the air condensed by the vapors of the earth. From this, a future storm is indicated; and when what they call "areas" (which are, in truth, certain circumscriptions of a round circuit, similar to threshing floors, and from this they have obtained the name) ^C encircle the sun, they signify to us fierce and violent winds; likewise, also those called "anthelia" (mock suns), if they run together with the course of the sun, announce to us that the air will be baleful; and again, if rods, colored like the rainbow, are seen among the clouds near dawn, they presage either showers, or storms, or, for the most part, a change of air.

If the moon on the third day shines with thin horns and pure brilliance, it promises stable and firm tranquility; but if the horns appear thicker and reddish, it portends a sudden rush of waters or a violent south wind. The sun and moon are therefore the instruments of times; time is of days, months, and years; the stars are of months, and sowings, and ^D harvests. We know that the rising of the Pleiades announces the time of harvest, and their setting, the time of sowing. To those navigating, the constellation of the Wain opens the way. For the stars signify and indicate places. For the Bear indicates the northern region. The pointed part of the Pleiades, looking toward the East, announces this same thing. Likewise, the bent horn of the Bear itself, and the part of the moon that is illuminated, forewarns of the East. Before these things were made, there was no time, but a period, and an age, an immense and timeless duration. And let this suffice concerning signs. We consider "times" to be the changes of

^A of winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Winter sets in when the sun lingers in the southern regions and makes the night’s shadow, which lasts long enough among us, altogether longer, so that the air around the earth grows cold and the humid vapors that are stirred up produce rains, ice, and snow. But when it again remigrates from the southern regions and reaches the center, the equinox occurs; and as it lingers in the places upon the earth, it brings back the temperate climate in proportion, and spring occurs, providing growth for plants and revival for trees. From there, as it now runs toward the summer solstice to the Bear itself, the sun renders the long days to us; and because it spends more time in the air, it scorches the air itself, parches the whole earth, and, being most fiery, produces all ripe fruit, and casts short shadows as it shines from on high. For in the shortest days, the shadows become the longest. And again, when it has moved from the northern regions to the southern ones, autumn occurs, as much of the heat gradually fades and winter approaches safely.

But the sun does not create the day; let no one assume so, for the day and night are older than it. Rather, it regulates the day only, just as the Psalmist declares to us, saying: "He set the sun for the dominion of the day, the moon and stars for the dominion of the night." ^B This body possesses sovereignty by carrying light within itself; whenever it rises above our horizon, it provides day by dispersing the darkness.

The moon, when it has completed its own course twelve times, constitutes a year, except that it requires an intercalary month for the precise tally of the hours. For the solar year is the restoration from the same sign to the same sign according to the sun’s own motion. As the moon wanes, the bodies of living creatures grow sparse and become void; as it waxes, they are filled and increase. For it secretly imparts moisture mixed with heat; hence it happens that those sleeping under the moon have their heads filled with excess moisture, and the meat of freshly slaughtered animals, and everything else ^C similar to these, is quickly altered by the approach of the moon. Likewise, the disturbances in the air also consist of such a cause. For when the new moon arrives, though there is steady calm, sudden disturbances of the winds occur as clouds are shaken and collide with one another; and tidal surges occur around the straits, and an ebb and flow of the sea in the Ocean. If, moreover, an eclipse of the sun occurs during the new moon, it happens more violently, for from below, the moon having moved under stops the rays of the sun.

This moon is also a great thing. But silly myths, ^D passed down to us from drunken old women everywhere, claim that by certain sorceries it is moved from its own seat and is brought down to the earth. And what place could have received it after it was brought down? Lest

^A one be deceived by what appears, thinking it to be something small. For our vision, being small, causes the objects seen to be thought small, transferring its own infirmity to the things seen. For just as if someone from a mountain peak were to look down upon plains and cattle grazing on the same, he would seem to see nothing but the appearance of ants; for vision, dissipated in the air and becoming faint, does not suffice for the precise understanding of things seen. And that the body of the moon is of vast size, it is possible to learn from proofs. For cities across the inhabited world, separated by a great distance from one another, all alike receive the lunar light with their faces turned toward the east, and likewise those inhabiting the west, and those in the southern and northern parts, behold it.

^B On the fifth day, God commanded the waters to bring forth reptiles of living souls according to their kind; and immediately the sea brought forth various and diverse genera of animals. For of marine creatures, some are amphibious, such as seals, and crocodiles, and river-horses, and also frogs, and crabs, though they do not have the power of swimming; for they are by nature creeping things, carried along by the flow of the waters; others are viviparous, such as seals, dolphins, torpedoes, and those similar to them. God only commanded, and all the fishes, whether they lived in the deep sea, or on the shore, or in the lowest parts, or lived in groups or scattered among the rocks, whether whales of immense magnitude or the most minute, came forth; joined by a certain natural affinity to the water. For if they are separated from the water for a little while, being destitute of the faculty of breathing, they perish; for by the dilation and contraction of the gills, they receive the water and send it forth, and possess this vital habit. None among them have half-developed teeth, but all are provided with sharp ones, so that they might not, by being hindered for a long time in chewing, lose their flowing food; for in that case, the food would be ill-lost. ^C The scarus alone among fish is said to ruminate, and they use different foods, each according to its own nature. For some feed on mud, others on algae, others on herbs that grow in the water; others are cannibals.

They also have their own particular characteristics. The saw-fish ^D has long wings, and having seen a ship running with a fair wind, it too, having raised its wings, imitates the movements and shapes of the ship, and vies with the sailors. And so, having made forty stades, and become fatigued, it lowers its wings and is carried by the waves to its own place. The whale, which some call the Aspidochelone, grows to such an immense magnitude that it very often presents to sailors the appearance of a great island. For when it emerges from the deep, its body appears like rough rocks, and those sailing by, fixing stakes into it, moor their ships, which are immediately plunged into the water when the whale, having been warmed by the sun, has submerged itself back into the deep.

^A It also has a deep, heavy voice, and when it is hungry, it opens its mouth and emits a most fragrant scent, so that little fish, drawn by its odor, are all gathered together in its mouth; and because of its immense size, it inhabits the Atlantic ocean.

Crabs feed on the flesh of oysters, and since they are unable to open their shells when they are firmly closed, they wait for them to open their folds in tranquil places while basking in the rays of the sun. They then secretly insert a pebble, and by preventing them from closing, they easily devour them.

Sea urchins foresee the onset of a storm and attach stones to themselves so that they are not carried hither and thither by the turbulence of the waves.

The octopus changes color to match the appearance of the place it touches, and it hunts the fish that swim near to the rock.

There is a very small fish called the echeneis, which attaches itself to huge ships under full sail and holds them back, so that they appear to be stuck fast in the sea.

The hydrus lives in the river; it has the head of a dog and is an enemy of the crocodile, whom it kills while he sleeps. For the crocodile sleeps with its mouth hanging open, and the hydrus, having rolled itself in mud and mire, leaps into its mouth and destroys it by devouring all its internal organs.

^B Furthermore, the crocodile is both a land beast and a fish, and it is large from head to tail, though its width does not correspond to its length. Its skin consists of wrinkly scales, and the color of its back resembles a black rock, while its belly is white. It has four feet, which curve gently to the side, like those of a land tortoise; its tail is long and thick, for it is the termination of a single spinal bone. It is notched above into spines, which are like the teeth of saws, and it strikes with this tail when it fights with anyone. It has a single head that is seamlessly joined to its back in a straight line; as long as it does not gape, it is simply the head of a beast, but when it does gape, it becomes all mouth, forming a gorge that extends back to the shoulders.

^C The so-called hippopotamus has the feet and belly of a horse, except that its hooves are cloven like those of an ox. Its tail is short and lacks hair, as does the rest of its body. Its head is round, small, and distinct from the jaws of a horse; it has wide-open nostrils, from which it breathes forth fiery smoke as if from a burning furnace. Its chin is broad, for it opens its mouth back to the temples. Inside, it is densely packed with a triple row of teeth, and in addition to these, there emerge two curved tusks like those of a boar. It is a most gluttonous creature, destroying whole fields of crops for its food. It is caught by the following trick: men observe its haunts and make a loud noise, then cover them with reeds and heap sand over them, and place a wooden structure underneath, having open doors into the... ^D

^A depth. And the beast, stepping upon it, easily falls in and is shut inside the structure, being carried downward. And the hunters immediately close it off. Secondly... the beast [is of] great size, having the strength of an ox.

Among fish, a great deal of heat ^B resides within, and it is keen; hence they digest what they devour very quickly, the food rotting in their stomachs in an instant.

The sea-fox, when it cannot avoid the snares of a fisherman, having swallowed the hook, leaps up and runs out, gnaws through the line, and escapes.

The crocodile is a creature that devours men; but when he intends to perform the act of mating, he emerges from the river and throws the female onto her back near the banks; for he alone is naturally formed to approach on his back, and after the intercourse, he again lifts her with his paws and turns her over. But when he senses that she has been with another, he pretends to be eager to mate with her, and in the same manner turning her over, he knows through scent (for he has a very keen sense for this) that she has been defiled by another; and tearing open her belly with his claws, he devours all her innards. For the creature is tender around the belly; but its back is clad in sturdy scales, so that even the sharpest iron brought against it is blunted and rebounds from the skin.

^C Let the waters bring forth the winged creatures of living souls, and suddenly the air is filled with birds of every kind. He gave them their origin from the waters, since they are allotted a certain kinship with the fish. For just as fish cleave the water in the movement of their fins and swim through, so birds swim through the air with their wings. Some of them are carnivorous, having obtained a bodily constitution suitable to the manner of their own way of life, with sharp claws, a hooked beak, and swift wings, so that they can easily seize and rend and tear apart; others are seed-eaters, and others feed on everything. And the structure of each of these differs; and some are without a ruler and independent, while others are arranged under a leader; and some are migratory, and others are native.

^D The cock is a proud bird, but the hawk is remarkably well-disposed toward man. For they relate that the hawks in Thrace join with bird-catchers in the hunt; for they spend their time in very dense forests, where kinds of birds dwell, and they align themselves with those who come to hunt, to receive an equal share of the catch. And when the hunters shake the trees, the birds, being stirred up, are frightened and fly out, and the hawks [descend] upon their heads

piercing the cranium with their beaks and casting them to the ground, thus providing the men with a happy and auspicious catch; the men then divide the captured birds and immediately share them equally with the hawks.

The pelican is most loving to its offspring; for while it nourishes its chicks, it is struck by them on the face with their wings, and he who is struck kills them, but then, moved by pity, he mourns for them for three days. The mother, coming upon them, tears her own side, and lets her blood drip onto the chicks, and they are brought to life. These pelicans eat shellfish in this manner: being unable to kill them because they are tightly shut, they first swallow them, so that by the heat of the gullet the glue holding them together may be dissolved, and the shells, being loosened, may open; then they vomit them out, and from those that are edible they choose and eat them without any difficulty. ^B

Wood pigeons do not hatch where they spawn, but instead, because of the multitude of hunters, they move to another place to raise their chicks. And whenever they perceive that some hunters have arrived to capture the chicks, they fly up and draw the hunters' attention and pursuit toward themselves, providing time for flight to their chicks; and when the chicks have escaped, they continue their journey with great boldness, having set off with their chicks, and traverse the air.

The peacock, which comes from the Indians, is a lover of beauty. This bird, having spread out its beauty and shown the theater of its feathers, attracts the female for mating, displaying this ornamentation to her as if it were a meadow; for the peacock is almost more lushly flowered than a meadow. For gold is sown into its feathers, and purple circles the gold all around; and beneath the gold there lies an equal circle, ^C and there is an "eye" in the feather.

The phoenix is, in size, like the peacock, but is second to the peacock in beauty and color. For its feathers are variegated with gold and purple, and its head is naturally adorned with a fitting circular crest. This circle is sky-blue and resembles roses. Being pleasant to behold, and shining with rays, it stands on high like the sun; so that others also have recorded the form of its body, just as they themselves describe it in these words: ^D

It is almost double the size of the eagle. With varied wings and colors, Its body is inscribed. Its breast indeed shines purple, Its legs are marked with vermilion, and around the neck, It is adorned with saffron-colored down. Its head is not unlike the day’s canopy, And it looked with yellow-orange pupils. And all around these, a scarlet color spread out. It had a voice more beautiful than all animals. It was seen as the king of all birds, As one could conjecture; for all flying things Ran together following it in a sustained course. But it itself, ahead of all, like a proud bull, Proceeded, making a swift gait with its foot.

They say this is a unique animal, which is not reproduced

^A but that it exists alone, and lives for five hundred years. And at the time when it is about to die (for it foresees its own passing), having set its aim upon some high place, toward the rising of the sun, it builds its nest from aromatic twigs; then it is burned up by the ray of the sun and is completely dissolved into dust. Then from the dust a worm is born, and from the worm it is transformed into the first phoenix.

The eagle is most unjust in the rearing of its young; for having produced two, one it claims for itself, but the other it drives away and expels with blows of its wings, because of the labor and weariness, as they say, of feeding it. But the osprey, receiving the one that was cast out and disowned, rears it along with its own. When the eagle has reared a chick, it takes it up, carrying it into the lofty air; and if it sees it looking with a steady gaze toward the brightness of the sun, and boldly cleaving the air, it keeps it as its own. But if it is weak toward these things, it casts it off as a bastard.

They say, furthermore, that when the eagle has grown old, its sight becomes dim and its wings grow heavy; from this, it seeks out springs, and having taken its wings up into the air, they are scorched by the sun, and [its sight] is recovered. Then, having suddenly sought out a spring, it plunges three times and is renewed; for which reason they say the Psalm declares: “Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle’s.” [Ps. CII, 5.]

The vulture ^C conceives by the wind, and does not commingle its body with a male, and lives for a hundred years. It roosts upon high and lofty crags, and no one knows where it makes its dwelling. And when it has conceived, it travels to India, and having taken the stone they call the *eutokion*, it sits upon it, being gripped by the pangs of labor, and gives birth. This stone is round like a nut, and when it is shaken, it gives off a sound like a bell, because of another stone moving within it. They say that the vulture is killed by the scent of rose ointments; yet it is not harmful to seed, nor to the living, but it shuns all dead winged creatures because of their kinship. When, they say, men draw up for battle, it follows them, and does not depart from them, being a voracious flesh-eater.

The storks ^D come and depart by a single consensus; quails accompany them, and, as is fitting, wage war together with them against certain hostile birds; for they return wounded. If the stork grows old, its feathers fall out, and its children, standing around it, cherish it with their own wings, and supply it with food abundantly and lavishly. In flight, too, they gently lift it up with their wings from beneath, and provide it support from either side.

The cranes all fly together in equal measure; one of them is the leader and commander of the flock, and when it has led for the prescribed time, it goes to the back of the troop and passes the leadership of the journey to the one after it. While they sleep, one keeps watch, turning itself around to the one after it

and when it has fulfilled the allotted measure of time, it cries out and takes its sleep, and another in turn takes over such a duty.

The goose kind is vigilant and sharp of hearing, quickly sensing those who approach or the arrival of plotters. Thus, when certain enemies entered through tunnels and were about to sack the great city of Rome, these birds, by the natural sharpness of their sense, kept it safe, revealing the plotters to the guards with a sudden cry.

The halcyon is a sea bird and nests along the shores of the sea in the middle of winter. When, therefore, it sits on eggs, the winds are hushed, and the sea has a steady calm for seven days, though before this it might have been swollen and agitated by very strong winds. When it has hatched the chicks, God provides a calm for another seven days, until it has reared the chicks.

The partridge is deceitful, jealous, and malicious, aiding hunters in their pursuit. It steals others' eggs and hatches them, but when the chicks have grown, each flies off according to its kind to its own parents, and they leave it naked and empty.

The dove is libidinous. There is a tree in the Indian region called the peridexion which bears sweet fruits; the doves delight in this and dwell upon it. The dragon, however, is an enemy of the dove, and fearing the tree, it does not approach; for to whatever part of the tree the shadow falls, the dragon flees in terror. But the doves stay within that area of shade; for if they are separated from the shadow, they are destroyed by the dragon. The nature of the dove is truly worthy of admiration; for when its neck is illuminated by the rays of the sun, it shows itself variegated with countless ideas of colors—crimson, blue, fiery, charcoal-like, yellow, red, and all other sorts of colors.

The crow is skilled and monogamous; for having reared its chicks, it does not cease to care for them by feeding them and always flying with them. The night-heron is more a friend of the night than of the day.

^B The hoopoe is very affectionate; for when its parents grow old, it first covers them with its wings, then soothes their eyes with its tongue, and then, by warming them, restores them.

The swallow gives birth once in the season; while building its nest, it carries the straw with its beak and the mud with its wing; for having wetted its tip with water, it rolls in the fine dust, and thus devises the use of mud; and little by little, binding the straw with the mud as if with glue, it constructs the nest and rears the chicks.

The turtle dove is monogamous; for whether the male dies or the female, it does not unite with another.

Domestic fowls during every season [crave]

union. But aquatic birds, such as ducks and swans and those like them, do not have divided feet, but broad ones joined by a membrane, so that they may swim in the waters more easily, propelling the moisture with the membranes of their feet as if they were oars. The swan extends its neck longer than its feet, so that it may snatch up many fish from the depths.

Many birds change both their color and their voice with the time of year. For the blackbird turns from black to yellowish, and from a songbird becomes a talkative one. The nightingale also changes its color and voice at the turnings of the seasons; and it is a wakeful bird, occupied with its melody.

Some birds do not suffer hunger during the winter, being nourished by the air alone and by the moisture inherent in the grasses, but they also master the pleasures of the belly. For some mate in spring and at the autumn equinox, while others mate once during the recurring times of the year. Female birds accept the male until they have conceived, but after they have conceived, they turn away from them. ^B

Beetles are killed immediately if they are smeared with oil of roses. Bees and wasps, if soaked with oil, perish as their passages are blocked; but if they are sprinkled with vinegar, they recover their life, and, having been deprived of the faculty of breathing, they are nourished by the air. Bees have a king, and they maintain a common flight and a common home; nor does any one attempt to go out before the king has started the flight; he is not chosen by them, but nature holds the principality over all, greater than the rest, and surpassing them in form and the gentleness of his manners; for he has a sting, yet he does not use it for revenge.

They fashion wax from the flowers of trees and plants, and, conveying with their mouth the water and drops spread upon the flowers like dew, they unload them into the waxen cells; hence it is liquid at first, but with time, having matured, it becomes sweet and effective for human use. With the greatest prudence and zeal, they also build receptacles for the honey, extending the wax into a very ^C subtle membrane; they craft dense and continuous structures of honeycombs, so that they cling firmly affixed to the sides.

Locusts, lifted up with one accord, infest the lands throughout their breadth; though they see other fields laden with fruit, they do not touch them destructively, but hasten with the utmost bond to the places prescribed for them, as if urged by divine commands, and they do not devour the harvests and fruits until the faculty is granted to them. A bird called the *seleucis* follows them with insatiable voracity, and consumes them all. ^D

They say that the owl’s vision is dimmed during the day, but that it is strong at night. When bats go to sleep, they are suspended by mutual embrace, and if it happens that one of them is pulled away from that order, the rest cry out; it is the only one among winged creatures that is quadrupedal and furnished with teeth.

Cicadas are generated in the rain, and they become silent, when

^A they congeal from the dew; they assert that the sound and clamor are produced by the wings of these insects.

On the sixth day, God ordered the earth to bring forth quadrupeds according to their kind, and reptiles, and the beasts of the earth, and cattle, and all things that creep upon the earth according to their kind; and all things were brought into being immediately, things which have a sense of nature common with man, although they do not possess a soul of the same kind, even though they are living and are moved by a motion which the primal nature of blood bestows when mixed with the spirit of the air from without. There are also among them diverse habits, which signify the Providence of God; for these things also establish it no small amount. For just as the wise and varied fruit-bearing of plants, and the good order of the stars, and the blameless course of the sun and moon, and the law of the boundaries of the sea, which does not transgress, testify incontrovertibly to Providence, so too the peculiarity of the animals, indicating the unchangeableness of the order, proclaims Providence very clearly, as if it were a soul moving the entire structure of the world. And ridiculous would be everyone who rejected it, while all the elements confess it; the earth indeed does not disobey the planting, and the sun and moon and the remaining stars have not abandoned their proper course, the sea does not overstep the rule of its command, and those that swim, and those that fly, and those that walk the earth are not found wanting in their owed service. How then is he not unjust and senseless who altogether sets aside Providence? Where is the reasoning that will say that an artificial work is not produced by intelligence, ^B but that wise works are accomplished by science? For immediately we understand the concept of a sculptor; having seen a beautifully painted image, we admire its painter; and seeing a ship constructed with art and science, we praise the shipbuilder. If, therefore, seeing artificial works ourselves, we arrive at the knowledge of a wise craftsman, why should we not rather have in our grasp the wise Providence of all things, through the eye of the mind, by means of the parts of the world constructed from the elements and professionally arranged? For the forms and shapes are sufficient to recognize the craftsman, even if the elements of the world maintain silence in their speech. For things formed by someone tend to confess the one who adorned them. Just as the constitution of the elements makes Providence clear, so also the diverse nature of animals provides the knowledge of it. For high-spiritedness is born with the lion, and his life is solitary, communicating with none of the animals, nor does he allow himself to eat food from yesterday, ^C but takes fresh food; he has a sharp sense, and he feels the presence of hunters more quickly than by smell, and runs in his course to his cave, brushing out his tracks with his tail, so that, covered by the dust, they might make him untraceable to the hunters. His cub is born blind, and it is guarded by the lioness for three days, and when he himself returns from the hunt, having breathed upon its face, he ^D makes it see.

stepping forward, breathing into its face, communicates the power of seeing to it. When, however, it attacks a man or another animal, it first lashes itself with its tail or some incitement, as the poet sang 17:

But it beats its tail and sides and loins on both sides And excites itself to fight. ^A

In old age, since its strength does not suffice for pursuing wild beasts, it besieges cities, gaping for men to preserve its life, and its mouth always renders the most heavy odor and breath of all; when it sleeps, it keeps its eyes open. The lioness bears the birth of one cub with difficulty; for in the very act of giving birth, she tears the womb of her offspring with the edge of her claws.

The leopard is vehement and headlong in sudden attack; it surpasses other animals with tremendous speed, ^B and before the eyes of hunters it is so powerful in the swiftness of its feet that anyone would say it was flying.

The nature of the bear is sluggish and peculiar, its manners clever in malice, its body heavy. Often, therefore, when finished by the most severe wounds, it prepares remedies for itself, having plugged its wounds with very dry mullein; while it engages and wrestles, it artfully folds its feet, and trips the one with whom it struggles, and attacks him having been strongly seized in the middle.

The bull is armed with horns, with which it avenges itself on enemies, and like athletes it scatters dust into the air with its feet, looking down with grim eyes, burning, with horns inclined, and with anger growing, it demands a fight with its whole body.

If the boar has scented hunters placed in ambushes, ^C with its strength excited, it enters into no contention before it has sharpened its teeth on nearby trees.

The antelope is a most vehement beast, difficult to hunt, with long horns, like saws, with which it cuts around high and huge trees. Thirsting, it seeks the Euphrates river, and from there, having drunk, it plays among the reeds which grow green around the banks of the river and is entangled by them. For since they are thin and flexible shoots, they are entangled among themselves by its horns, and it, groaning, emits a cry; which when the hunters have perceived, they immediately seize it and kill it.

There is also among the Scythians, whom they call Loos, a wild beast, by name the tarandus, whose size is that of an ox, its appearance that of a stag; and it becomes similar to whatever thing it comes near, and renders the color of all things, whether it be a tree, ^D or earth, or something else; hence it happens that it can be captured with difficulty, and escapes the notice of many.

For the same reason, the chameleon also changes its color and renders it like whatever it touches nearby, whether it creeps through the greenness of meadows or through the dryness of the ground.

In the stag there is its own timidity, although it is of very sharp sight and engages in battle with animals that creep on the ground. If ever a serpent, having entered into a crack in the rocks, has avoided it by fleeing, burning with thirst, it betakes itself to the springs, for it is heavily [burdened] by thirst...

in- ^A flammatur, ita ut exerta lingua æstuet, ut aeris frigiditate recreetur. Depulsa itaque potu, siti, ad serpentis latebras recessusque accedit; inde extractum pedibusque conculcatum interficit. Et si vel cornuum frustum vel pilorum in domo uratur, ejus nidore, animalia quæ latitant, fugantur. Cornibus amissis, solitudinem quærit, prærupta saxa inaccessaque convenit, desertissimasque incolit solitudines, quasi eo, quo se ab aliarum ferarum injuria arcere possit, deperdito; et cum in amissorum cornuum radicibus ulcera gignantur, locum multis arboribus consitum habitat, ne a muscis vulnera exsurgantur, noctuque pascitur pacatissima; at vero cum cornua eruperint, audacter et libere, meridieque ipso procedit ad pabula; experiens si enata cornua fixa firmiter sunt (dum enim mollia increscunt, a solis calore exusta franguntur); ad arbores collatum caput comprobat, adversumque affricat, repercutiendo, tentans periclitari si firmiter adhæreant. Phalangiorum morsibus cancro vorato medetur.

Capra silvestris in Creta, telis ^B icta, herba quam dictamum vocamus pasta, nullo labore excutit accepta tela.

Pardalis perfacile capit animalia. Etenim cum sat noverit cunctas quadrupedes ejus odore mire sollicitari, in profundis cavernis insudat, hæ vero quasi nidore quodam invitatæ, sagaciter persequuntur, ubi properato in loca vicina convenerint, subito correptas mandit.

Panthera cum cæteris animantibus, uno excepto dracone, amicitias et consuetudines jungit; minutis macularum oculis, quasi stellis superpicta, valdeque cicur, et quandiu cibo non eget, in latebris dormit; sed post tres dies, fame dominante, egreditur maximeque clamat, indeque ex ore suavitas quædam, odoris instar aromatum efflatur, quo animalia pellecta capiantur, et tum ^C vicina, tum longinquiora proxime accedunt, sequunturque, corporis varietate delectata. Verum panthera via non longa procedens revertitur, attenteque considerat, et ex animalibus quod illi collibitum est, impetu facto, comprehendit.

Diu gravescit utero elephas, decem enim annis gestat, semenque concoquit, et senescentem fetum parturit; cum in foveam deerrando ceciderit, si alius elephas inspexerit, via arrepta multos in unum elephantes cogit, qui eum qui ceciderit, leniter, et quiete sustollentes extrahunt.

Draco apud Indos in elephantis terga salit, totumque ventrem circumflexu facile ambit, et ex vena quam inciderit, avidissime absque satietate sanguinem ^D captat violento spiritu hauriens ingentique strepitu. At elephas exsilit, proboscideque latera verberat, quasi draconem prostraturus; sed sanguine deficiente, cum saltare non possit, toto corpore tremit, nec multo post ruit, cruribusque debilitatis, unaque secum obruit draconem, et draco vinculis

^A which he had bound about it being unable to loosen, and being pressed by the weight of the elephant, is strangled and dies. The horse is ardent in its desire for the female. The ass is slothful, though keen of hearing and possessing a good memory. The camel is mindful of injuries. The wolf is untamable. The ox is steady and constant. The dog is grateful and most friendly to its masters; for often, when its masters have been killed on a journey, it has perished with them; and others have even denounced the murderers, and caused them to undergo the just punishment for such a crime.

Some have assumed that the hyena changes its female nature to male, or its male to female, every year; but this is false; for this animal, being most exceedingly lewd, carries beneath the tail, before the passage, a protrusion not unlike the female genitals, which has no passage, or only a cavity having no utility for the womb, and serves only as a receptacle for empty lust. Therefore, because of an immense craving to suffer female functions, this property is said to be present in both the male and the female; for when the natural passages are occupied in the preservation of conception, they commit a most shameful act of intercourse against nature with one another. Whence it is very rare to find a female hyena, for pregnancies in this animal do not occur continuously.

The hare is most intemperate in mating; the female brings forth every month, and once she has given birth, she is again covered by whatever hare chance may provide, and she conceives while still suckling, nor is she content with one.

They say the gryphon is an animal of immense size, such that its shadow casts a gloom over a farm, and just as the eagle among us seizes a hare, so it captures a lion with the greatest of ease. ^C

The charadrius, of which Moses makes mention, shines with a most brilliant whiteness over its entire body, being nowhere sprinkled with spots of any other color; and they say its secretions heal those with dim sight. It is reported to remain in royal courts, a prophet of life and death to those among men who are suffering from sick and infirm health. For when a man is afflicted in strength, they place the charadrius so that he can behold it with his eyes; and if it looks toward the sick person, and the sick person toward it, the charadrius draws in the infirmity, flies through the air towards the sun, and there disperses and destroys the man’s disease; but if it does not look at him, they conjecture that the sufferer will die.

The unicorn is a small animal, similar to a kid, very fierce, and it has a single horn on the top of its head, and it is captured in this way: they place a pure virgin before it, into whose bosom it leaps, and she, cherishing it with her embrace, carries it away into the houses of kings.

The beaver is an animal of most gentle and mild habits, and it delights in quiet; the use of its testicles in medicines is marvelous; when it is pressed by the danger of pursuing hunters, it cuts off its own testicles and stops those who are pursuing it from advancing. If others seek the same thing, it shows that the testicles have been removed, and delays the progress of the hunters.

^A The ant-lion has a father with the face of a lion and a mother who is an ant. The father is carnivorous, while the mother is a consumer of grain, and they produce the hybrid ant-lion, which has the face of a lion and the hinder parts of an ant; because it cannot eat either flesh or grain, it ends its life in starvation. The wild ass is the leader of the herd, and it bites off the testicles of the males that are born, so that the power of procreation does not remain in them. The hedgehog is like a sphere in body, and it is covered in bristles over its entire surface, which are similar to the spines of sea urchins. It goes to the cluster of the vine, and pulls down the grapes, and by rolling over them, it impales the berries on its spines and carries them away. The fox is deceitful and uses the following stratagem to hunt birds. Having found mud, it rolls itself in it, and then it is sprinkled with fine dust or chaff, and lays itself down on the field with its eyes open, or else holding its breath, so that the birds believe it, already swollen, to be dead, and when they fly down upon it, it immediately catches and devours them. The lizard, when it has aged, becomes blind, and it enters into a crack in a wall, aiming towards the sunrise, and when the sun rises, it opens its eyes; receiving the solar ray and being illuminated by it, it is restored to health. In the same way, you too, O man, when you have aged in sins and have been blinded in your mind, seek the Sun of justice, so that you may be renewed in justice, looking toward Him and seeing with the eyes of your soul illuminated. ^B Among all beasts, the dragon is the most spiritual and fiery and produces types of various forms, being winding and tortuous; and when it makes its way, it reaches the goal it has proposed for itself most swiftly. It is also long-lived; for not only does it strip off its old age, but it also receives greater growth. When, therefore, it has completed the appointed time of its life, it is consumed into itself; for it does not die by a natural end before completing the boundary of its life, unless it be destroyed by violence by someone. The ichneumon fights against it, having anointed itself with mud and covering its nostrils with its tail. ^C But it also carries on a struggle against the Egyptian asp in the following way: the asp attacks it with a loud hissing, dragging its tail in winding circles, springing high and lofty from its breast to its head, swelling up with a broad chest and wide neck, full of rage, it attacks, brandishing its tongue with intense hissing; but the ichneumon, raising its tail, shakes it to deceive the asp, and drawing it away, it bends its front feet and throws itself down, extending only its face, watching out that it does not receive a fatal blow. ^D When, therefore, it sees the asp eagerly contending with its tail as if it were a beast, it suddenly leaps forward and presses its neck, and strangles it.

^A The lizard which we call a salamander, whether it enters a furnace or a bath, extinguishes the fire it touches in no other way than ice does.

They say that the viper receives the seed of the male through its mouth, and that the male, having had his member bitten off, is killed by it; and that the female, once pregnant, is destroyed by her offspring, for while they are still in her womb, they consume the uterus and, having broken through the stomach, burst forth through her ruptured sides.

A serpent becomes blinded as age advances, and after it has fasted for forty days with its body relaxed, it enters a narrow rock crevice, and by pulling itself with force, it sheds its old skin and is renewed. When it thirsts, it first deposits its venom and thus drinks from the fountain. When it catches dormice, it gouges out their eyes and nourishes them, and uses them as food when they are mature and fattened; if it sees a naked man, it does not approach him, but it attacks one who is clothed.

^B The basilisk darts poisonous venom from its eyes, so that it kills a man immediately by its very look. Its breath is fiery, scorching the earth, and grasses, and trees. And it is stated in histories that it is produced in this way: when many snakes have been shut up together and have been harassed by hunger (for it is a most wicked animal), they eat one another, and the stronger snake, having consumed the weaker, and being filled with the poisons of all the snakes it has eaten, becomes a basilisk, possessing a most pernicious venom, so that it kills even by its look alone.

The ^C beetle, from ox-dung, fashions a round shape and rolls these balls backwards; they say that it remains above the earth for six months, and deposits its seed into the dung-ball, and from it arises a male beetle, for there is never a female beetle to be found. Because of this nature of its, the Egyptians worship the beetle among the gods, asserting that it is like the sun, because it rolls a sphere, and they liken the stars to the forms of serpents, because their path is tortuous and oblique.

Ants, while they gather grain, cut the seeds in two so that they may not sprout into plants once they are moistened by the earth; and they do not go out in the winter, because they provided sufficient food for themselves during the summer.

The leech, an animal of the worm kind, ^D lives in fresh waters; if anyone, out of thirst, drinks greedily, he swallows it also, which, on account of its extreme smoothness, slips down with the water swallowed. Thence the greatest inconveniences and troubles come to the body, as it sucks the blood and grows, and it is held by an insatiable desire for drinking blood; and often, when it has attached itself, it is neither plucked off nor pulled away, even if physicians strive against it, until it is burst by the very weight of the blood.

There is persistent discord between the asp and the others whose bite causes ulcers, and the cat. The ibis is at variance with snakes, locusts, and grasshoppers. The hawk is destructive to cerastes, scorpions, and other small reptiles; this [bird] is moved by compassion for man; for if it should...

see a corpse unburied and lying there, it laments and casts earth upon it. ^A

After the making of the world, God subsequently created man, having broken the cold with heat, and bound the moisture with dryness, and again loosened the dryness with moisture, He constituted him, so that he possessed all the parts of the whole. For just as the earth, being firm and stable, possesses the cold air poured around it, and the fire arranged in an orderly fashion suspended above it, and again the water running in a circle around it; in this way also man, just as the earth, composed of the solid nature of bones and the flesh which enwraps him, has been allotted spiritual respiration through the nostrils, like air, which extinguishes and cools his innate heat. For the air which is poured out above our heads, cooling the fiery nature of the air, makes it temperate for the whole life of animals. The heat which exists in the human body dissolves the immoderate abundance of phlegm, just as a crystalline mass of water. And the veins and the blood within them preserve the likeness of rivers. Having fashioned man in such a way from the earth, and having given him a rational soul, God destined him to enjoy the paradise of delight. ^B Thereafter, because he disobeyed the commandment, he moved him to this same earth, declaring that he should have a toilsome life upon it.

Having known, therefore, his wife Eve, he begat two sons, Cain and Abel. And Cain was a farmer, but Abel was a shepherd, and he did not bring the first-fruits of the crops of the farmer. Abel offered [them] to God; and his sacrifice was accepted. But Cain, being the first of those born [to them] to be filled [with pride], offered in this way; and his sacrifice became unacceptable. And Cain, being angered at this, killed his brother out of envy; and God made him accursed, and cast him out from that land. But he, having traveled a long way, came to a certain place called Cainan, and practiced every unspeakable evil, lying in wait for passers-by, and slaying them, and gathering from the spoils of their money a boundless multitude. ^C And Cain was the first to invent measures, and weights, and boundaries of land, and the building of a city, for all those who at that time embraced a simple and uncomplicated life. But Adam, remaining in the place where he happened to be, begat many sons and daughters, among whom Seth was preeminent, who, having arrived at maturity, discovered many virtues, of which he left his descendants as imitators. For he was the first to discover astronomy and the entire arrangement of the heavens, which, so that it might remain until the last times, Adam preserved with such meditation and care. ^D For Adam, being near to death, prophesied to his children that God was about to [bring]

this, those who were with Seth built two pillars, one of stone and the other constructed of baked bricks, and upon them they inscribed the entire movement of the heavens, so that the astronomical observations they had discovered might not be obscured by oblivion. For if all things were to be consumed by water, the stone pillar would be preserved; if by fire, the baked one. Therefore, when the downpour occurred, the stone pillar remained, which until this day is seen standing in the land of Seiriad.

Furthermore, Cain begat Enoch, and Enoch begat Gaidad, and Gaidad begat Maleleel, and Maleleel begat Mathusala, and he begat Lamech. And Lamech took to himself two wives, Adan and Selan, and of them he had three sons: from Adan, Jobel, who became a herdsman, and Jubal, who invented the psaltery and the harp; and from Selan, Thobel, who was a hammerer of copper and iron. Adam, moreover, having lived nine hundred and twelve years, departed from life.

Enos, the son of Seth, hoped to call upon the name of the Lord; and having lived nine hundred and five years, he died. And his son Cainan, having lived nine hundred and ten years, passed away. And [his son] Maleleel, having lived seven hundred and ninety-five years, died. And his son Jared, having lived nine hundred and sixty years, passed away. ^B Jared’s son Enoch, having lived piously toward God, was translated. And his son Mathusala, having lived seven hundred and sixty-nine years, passed away. Lamech, the son of Mathusala, having lived seven hundred and fifty-three years, died.

To this Lamech was born a son, Noah, who delighted in the virtues of good deeds and who persuaded the human race to change from wickedness to virtue; for up until the seventh generation, men acknowledged God as the Lord of all and cared for justice. ^C But later, as time went on, they drifted into every sort of lawlessness. When Noah could not persuade them to turn away from their wickedness, he abhorred their company and withdrew to another place. And God commanded him to construct an ark of four stories, having a length of three hundred cubits, a width of fifty, and a depth of thirty, so that, having shut himself within it with all his kindred, he might escape the danger arising from the deluge. For ^D God wished to punish and destroy the wickedness of those living at that time with such a penalty. But when the waters flooded the land, the summits of the mountains were covered by the flood, and hidden and concealed by their flowing. For even in our own times, some who are cutting stones for building on the summit of Lebanon find various kinds of sea fish, which happened to be enclosed and solidified in the hollows of those mountains by the mud.

^A The ark, being lifted up by the water, stood upon a certain peak of a mountain in Armenia, and when the water had subsided, all who were in the ark went forth. And the inhabitants even now call that place Apobaterium (the place of stepping off), and they show the remains of the ark, and they use its bitumen for the averting of evils. ^B Now Noah departed this life after nine hundred and fifty years had passed. And his sons, because all the others were afraid to migrate from the mountain (for they suspected that they would again experience another flood), persuaded them to go down and inhabit the open plain. But in order that they might not, by increasing in number, stir up discord among themselves, God commanded them to make settlements. Yet they did not obey, as they were cultivating good land and possessing a great abundance of fruits. Therefore, God subjected them again to a grievous disaster in order to force them to prepare for a settlement. But not even then did they yield to the will of God, imagining that the abundance of the land did not come to them by the favor of God, but by their own strength and industry. ^C Nebroth the giant, who was a daring man and brave in hand, persuaded them to hold this opinion, and he, having turned them away from God, compelled them to pay homage to himself; and he directed them to construct a tower that would reach to the height of heaven, threatening to take vengeance upon God if He should again bring a flood upon the world. ^D Therefore, when the multitude was assisting him in this madness with great zeal, and building the tower more quickly than could be spoken, God suddenly confounded their language, and by reason of this diversity of tongues they were scattered. And from this the place received the name of Babylon, for the Hebrews call confusion "Babel."

Everyone, therefore, took possession of the land they chanced upon, and they filled all the coastline and the mainland, and furthermore the islands as well; for by crossing the sea in ships they anchored in them. Some of the nations even preserve the names of their founders, while others have changed them, after the Greeks subsequently gained power and adorned the nations with their own names, and gave them their own laws, so as to steal the glory of the founders for themselves, and to leave no suspicion of their predecessors to those who came after.

Noah, then, became the father of three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; beginning from the mountains of Taurus and Ammanus, they set out and proceeded in Asia as far as the river Tanais, and in Europe as far as Gadeira. These are they: Gomer, who established the Gomerites, whom we now call the Galatians; Magog, the Magogites, whom we now call the Scythians; Madai, the Madaeans, whom we now call the Medes; Javan, Ionia and the Greeks; Tubal, the Theobelians, whom we now call the Iberians; Meshech, the Meschenaeans, whom we now

^A call Cappadocians; and Theiras, the Theirenses, whom we now call the Thracians.

Gamer had three sons: Schanax, from whom are the Aschanaxaei, who are now the Rhegini; Riphath, from whom are the Riphathaei, who are now the Paphlagones; and Thygrammais, from whom are the Thygrammenses, who are now the Phrygians.

Javan had three sons: Elisasa, from whom are the Alisaei, now the Aeolians; Tharses, from whom are the Tharsenses, now the Cilicians—for thus was Cilicia called in antiquity, and to this day their metropolis, Tarsus, still preserves the name; Cethim, from whom is the island of Cethima, which they now call Cyprus, and for this reason the Hebrews call all islands and maritime lands *Eththo*.

The sons of Cham, which begins from Syria and the mountains of Ammon and Lebanon, occupied the land, seizing all those parts that face the sea, and extending their regions as far as the Ocean. ^B And of some of these, the names have been entirely changed, while others have been altered into more difficult ones; but the names of a few are still preserved intact to this day. These are the sons of Cham: Chus, from whom are the Chusaei, who are now the Ethiopians; Mestrem, from whom are the Mestraei, who are now the Egyptians; Phut, from whom are the Phuti, who are now the Libyans; and even to this day the river among the Moors and the neighboring region are called Phut. That nation, however, took the name of Libya from Liby, a son of Mestrem, who ruled over the province.

Chus had seven sons: Sabat, from whom are the Sabacii, who even at this time possess the name together with the region; Evilat, from whom are the Evilaei, who are now the Tuli; Sabath, from whom are the Sabatheni, who are now the Astabari; Regmara, from whom are the Allaei, who still to this day hold that name; Judadan, from whom are the Judadaei, ^C a nation of Ethiopians still of the same name as their founder; and Sebecatha, from whom are the Sabactheni, who still retain the name. This Nebrod, having remained in Babylon, first tyrannized over them.

Mestrem had eight sons, who possessed the land from Gaza as far as Egypt. And the land of the Philistines retained its name for some time, but was eventually called Palestine.

Chanan had eleven children: Sidon, the firstborn, who built a city of his own name in Phoenicia; Amathius, who built Amathine, which is now called Epiphania, ^D and that name was given to it by a certain famous and celebrated Macedonian who had reigned over it; Arucaeus, who built the land which is in Lebanon; Arodius, who inhabited the island of Aradus; Asenassus, from whom are the Asennaei; Samarius, who established Samaria; Chettaeus, who established the Chettaei; Jebusaeus, who established the Jebusaei; Amorrhaeus, who established the Amorrhaei, who inhabited Bethel; Gersaeus, who established the Gergesaei, who held the land across the Jordan as far as Philadelphia; and Evaeus, who established the Evaei. And the Kinaeans dwelt around Lebanon and Amarum; but the Eniacim giants held Chebron, and around it the Chettei and the Pherezaei, mixed with the Chananaei, occupied Palestine.

And others held Raphia, which is Philadelphia; likewise the Gergesaeans held Gadara and the city of Gergisa, and the lake of Tiberias; and the Jebusaeans held what is now Jerusalem. ^A Sem had five sons, who dwelt in Asia as far as the individual Ocean, or who took their beginning from the Euphrates. And they are these: Elam, from whom are the Elamites, who are now the Persians; Asur, from whom are the Assyrians; Arphaxad, from whom are the Arphaxaeans, who are now the Chaldaeans; Aram, from whom are the Aramaeans, who are now the Syrians. These occupied the land from Mesopotamia as far as the mountains of Ararat, which are towards Armenia; Lud, from whom are the Lydaeans, who are now the Lydians; Cainan, from whom are the Canatae. ^B And four sons were born to Aram: Uz, who built Damascus and Trachonitis, which is in the middle between Palestine and Coelesyria; Ul, from whom are the Lazonenses; Gather, from whom are the Stapheni; Mesoch, from whom are the Massenii. The sons of Arphaxad: Cainan, from whom are the Soggodiani; and from him astronomy and auguries were invented. And a son was born to Cainan, Sala, from whom are the Susiani. The son of Sala, Heber, from whom are the Hebrews, who retained the ancient propriety of their language, since Heber did not come together for the building of the tower, and therefore did not have his language altered. ^C And the sons of Heber: Phalec, from whom are the Adiabeni; Jectan, from whom are the Hedramaei. And Phalec was for this reason called Phalec, because he was born at the time of the apostle of the colonies. For in the Hebrew tongue, Phalec signifies a division, and in his time they were divided. And the number which is now conjectured to be the duration of this world has been divided into two equal parts; for three thousand years had elapsed since the origin of this world of his. For we calculate that the creation will remain until the sixth millennium, since God also composed the completion of this entire [universe] in six days. And I believe the divine nature calculates days as millennia; for, he says, our Lord’s day is as a thousand years. ^D There are therefore from Adam until the death of Phalec three thousand years. And until the coming and resurrection of the Lord, there are five thousand five hundred and thirty-one years, so that there are wanting four hundred and fifty-nine years of the sixth millennium. And the sign of the completion of the world is the Sabbath; and it is fitting that in the last days the Lord, coming into the world, suffered sorrows on Friday, which is the sixth day, and the hour of that day was about the sixth when he was crucified, the Word signifying through this the half of the sixth millennium; and for this reason he did not say specifically the sixth hour, the Word intimating to us that it deviates a little from that number. From Christ until the thirtieth year of Constantine

^A there are 269 years. And just as Jonas, having spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, was restored safe and sound, so also shall we all be resurrected, having spent the three intervals of time upon the earth. For there are three universal intervals of time: the present, the past, and the future, the symbols of which our Savior arranged in the three days and three nights spent in the earth, teaching clearly that, once the aforementioned intervals of time have been completed, our resurrection, being the beginning of the future age, shall take place.

Jectan had these children: Salmodad, from whom come the Indians; Saleph, from whom come the Bactrians; Asarmoth, from whom come the Arabs; Iarach, from whom come the Carmanians; Odorra, from whom come the Mardians; Iezil, from whom come the Arrians; Decla, from whom come the Cedrusians; Gebal, from whom come the Scythians; Abimeel, from whom come the Hyrcanians; Sabeu, from whom come the Happy Arabs; Uphir, from whom come the Armenians; Evilat, from whom come the Gymnosophists. All these are sons of Sem.

Sala begat Ragau; Ragau, Seruch; and Seruch, Nachor, to whom he handed down the Chaldæans' art of divination and the paths of the stars. In the days of Seruch, the sons of Noe began to worship idols and to engage in every kind of vice, to build cities, to create kings, to lay siege, to plunder, and to take captives.

Nachor begat Tharra; Tharra, Abraham, Nachor, and Aram. Aram [begat] Lot, Sarra, and Melcha. Aram lost his life in the city of the Chaldæans which was called Urel, where his tomb is shown even ^B to this day. He died in the fire with which Abram burned the idols of his father when he entered the house to rescue them. And they took sisters as wives: Melcha [was taken by] Nachor, and Sarra by Abraham. Nor do they act contrary to justice in doing this, since there was no law yet existing that forbade it. For if nature herself, enticing to procreation those born of the common parent of all, Adam, and of his wife—even though they were brothers and sisters—compelled brothers to be joined to sisters and placed in marriage, it is not unreasonable that those who followed them, while still living in that first succession, should appropriately and congruously embrace the customs of their ancestors.

Furthermore, Tharra, hating Chaldæa on account of the bitter sorrow for his son, betook himself to Mesopotamia, and there, having lived two hundred and five years, he died. ^C For from that time the life of man was contracted and circumscribed by narrower limits, up to the birth of Moses. For after Moses, the limit of human life was fixed at one hundred and twenty years, and when Moses himself had fulfilled these, he exchanged life for death.

But Abraham, thrice and four times blessed, was an excellent and singular master of the science of the stars, and possessing thoughts greater than those of others, he applied himself to virtue, [while] all the sons of Noe had fallen into superstition ^D

^A and the worship of demons, he alone defined God to be the Creator of all things, conjecturing this from the changes of the sun and moon and the remaining phenomena which occur on earth, in the air, and in the sea. For why, he says, if the power and order of their own nature reside within them, do they not provide for themselves, but rather fall short of this? From these things, therefore, it is possible to know that it is not by their own power that they achieve this, even if they seem to benefit mankind not a little, but rather by the will of the One who made them.

Against this opinion of his, the Chaldeans and the inhabitants of Mesopotamia disputed much, and differed from him. And having risen from there according to the command of God, he inhabited the land of the Canaanites. But when a severe famine took hold, he came into Egypt, and as the Egyptians held diverse opinions among themselves, and were casting aside and overturning their own laws, he ^B proved them all to be thinking nothing of consequence or value, nor prophesying anything. And being admired for his great intelligence and wisdom, he imparted to them arithmetic and astronomy; for before his arrival, the Egyptians were ignorant of these things, but having learned them later, they communicated them to the Greeks. And upon Abraham's return from Egypt, his son Ismael was born to him by the handmaid Agar, from whom the nation of the Agarenes and Saracens was constituted, and that of the Ismaelites from Ismael.

Lot, having separated from Abraham, made the Sodomite region his dwelling place, which, on account of unlawful transgression, was condemned to be burned by celestial fire, and even to this day the burned traces of it are visible. For it is possible to see the shadows of five cities, in which ^C grows a fruit that appears outwardly similar to edible things, but when taken in the hands, it dissolves into ash and smoke. Adjacent to this is the Asphaltite Lake; it was formerly a valley having wells of bitumen, but once the region was swallowed up, it became a lake, which is also called the Dead Sea. And it is indeed of a most bitter nature and barren; it possesses light water, so that if weights are thrown into it, such as stone or iron, they do not sink to the bottom, but are as it were blown back up by the wind, and float on the surface. For living men thrown into it float; but the dead sink. And lamps that are lit are carried upon it, but when extinguished, they sink to the bottom. It brings up bitter salt, and alum, and black lumps of bitumen, ^D which in size resemble headless bulls. And the sailors, grasping these lumps, fill their boats and haul them to the shore. But the bitumen sticks to the wood of the ship and hardens like wood, so that it cannot be torn off or broken, except when it is sprinkled with urine and women's menstrual fluid; for it is only by this power that it naturally yields. And they say that the water changes its colors three times a day, and sends forth a variety of appearances as it reflects the rays of the sun.

But Abraham, having become one hundred years old, legitimate

son Isaac he begot of Sarah, and after the eighth day he circumcised him; whence even now the Hebrews keep this custom, being circumcised on this day. For the Arabs and the Ishmaelites are circumcised in their thirteenth year, since their forefather Ishmael was so circumcised. Abraham, however, persuaded by Sarah, moved Ishmael elsewhere, lest after his own death, as firstborn, he might contend for the rights of primogeniture and cause harm to Isaac. And so, the successors of Ishmael occupied the land which stretches from the Euphrates to the Red Sea.

Not long after, ^B God commanded that Isaac be offered to Him for death; and Abraham, considering this to be the greatest token of piety, with the greatest efforts proceeded to a certain summit, and having suitably prepared all things for the sacrifice, he spoke thus to his son:

«Long and infinite were the prayers with which I entreated of God that you might be born to me, my son; and when you had entered this life, there was nothing that I did not zealously expend for your upbringing and discipline, nor did I think anything would make me happier than if, at the end of my life, I could leave you as the adult heir and successor to my affairs and state. But since, by God's bounty and gift, I am your father, I again offer you to Him who asks for you. Endure, therefore, generously and manfully this consecration: for I yield you to God, who wishes to be honored by us with this honor, because of the things He has shown me as a kind guardian. Go, therefore, not meeting death in the common manner of all, but sent in place of a sacrifice by your own father to God, the Father of all, who—such is His majesty—receives your soul not by sickness, or war, or any other [affliction] to which the human race is born to be consumed, but by prayers and sacrifice. Then you shall provide God ^C to me as my guardian and mentor of my old age, in place of yourself.»

Upon hearing these things, Isaac said to him: «I would not even have been worthy of being born, if I were not to approve of the judgment of God and my father, and were I not to commit myself most promptly to the will of both. But even if my father alone had attempted this, it would be impious not to obey.»

And saying these things, he pressed on to the altar and the slaughter. But God, having beheld the prompt and eager spirit of both, granted the son to the father, having shown a ram in place of the sacrifice of the son; and ^D immediately he sacrificed this in place of his son Isaac.

First of all, the Word of God, appearing to Abraham in human form, prophesied the calling of the nations, which, having arrived in the world in our times, He brought to completion through His evangelical teaching to all nations.

Isaac, in the fortieth year of his age, took Rebecca for himself

marriage, from whom he begot two children, Esau and Jacob. ^A And Abraham, after Sarah had died, married Keturah, and from her he produced six children: Zembran, Iazan, Maden, Madian, Lusubacum, and Su.

Children were also born from these: from Su, Sabacanes and Dadanes; and from the latter, Latusimus, Asurus, and Luobus. From Madam: Hetha, Thophores, Amochus, Ebidus, and Eldus. Abraham had provided for all of them before they were born, and they took possession of the Troglodyte [region], and parts of Arabia Felix, and as much as extends to the Red Sea. And from Asur, Assyria was named. Sophren, having led a campaign into Libya, occupied it, and his descendants—that is, his grandsons who inhabited it—called the region Africa after his name. These helped Hercules, the earth-born [hero], when he made war against Antaeus. Hercules married the daughter of Vaphre, from whom he received the child Bodorus, who begot a son, Sophonas, ^B from whom they say the barbarian Sophonians [derive their name].

Abraham, having lived for 175 years, died. Jacob, having snatched the blessing of Esau, arrived in Mesopotamia to Laban, the brother of his mother, and having served him for fourteen years, took his two daughters, Leah and Rachel, whom he pursued with a more ardent love. He was inflamed with desire for her, not succumbing to her beauty—although it is recorded in the scriptures that Rachel was beautiful in form and lovely in appearance—but because, seeing her for the first time, as if she had met him by divine providence, he greeted her kindly and loved her more intensely, knowing that this wonder had also happened to his mother, Rebecca, when, ^C as the servant of Abraham prayed, she met him according to his prayers, and matters preordained for him were fulfilled through [the course of] events.

There were born to him six sons from Leah: Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judas, Issachar, Zabulon; from Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin; from Rachel’s handmaid Balla, Dan and Nephthalim; from Leah’s handmaid named Selphas, Gad and Asher. The nation of the Syrians originated from Esau, who were also called Idumaeans, since at first Esau was named Idumaeus because he desired the yellow lentil; for the Jews call "yellow" *iduma*. Later they were renamed Syrians, from the name of a certain Syrus who ruled that nation. Now Esau took three wives for marriage from the Canaanites: Adda, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Elibeman, ^D the daughter of Enan the Hebrew; and Basemmath, the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nabeoth. And from Adda he begot Eliphas; from Basemmath, Rangel; and from Elibeman he begot Jeul, Jeglom, and Core. Having raised these in the land of the Canaanites, he migrated to Mount Seir, because he could not dwell together with his brother Jacob, who had returned from Mesopotamia, due to the multitude of possessions they both held.

^A Having then founded a child there, he named it Edom after himself. There were born also to his sons legitimate children: to Eliphaz five—Theman, Hymar, Sophar, Gomoth, and Cenex—among whom is also numbered a bastard, Amalek, born to him by a concubine named Thamna; and to Raguel also four sons were born: Namin, Zares, Some, and Rhoze. And of Edom there were eleven: Thamma, Gola, Iothom, Ailibaiman, Ielas, Phinon, Cenyx, Theman, Mazari, Maediel, and Zephonen. To Seir the Chorræan, who inhabited the region of Lotan, five sons were born: Sobal, Sebegon, Anadeson, Aser, and Resom; and to Lotan two: Chorri and Emam. And Thamna was the sister of Lotan, who bore Amalek to Eliphaz. Sobal the son of Seir produced five children: Odomnan, Nachath, Gebeel, Soph, and Omnan; and Osebegon two: Aidi and Anan, who in the desert found the mules of his father Sebegon grazing. Enan further begat Deson and the daughter Elibama; and Deson begat Amadan, Asban, Gethran, and Charran. And Aser, the fourth son of Seir, begat four children: Balam, Zoucan, Ioucan, and Oucan; the fifth son of Seir, Oreson, begat Ossaran. ^B Before kings were created in Israel, these were the kings who reigned in Edom: Balac son of Beor, and the name of his city was Denada, after whom followeth Iobab son of Zara from Bossyra, after whom Azim from the land of Themanon, after whom Adad son of Barad, who in the field of Moab cut down Madiam, and the name of his city was Getthem; after him Samalac from Masecca; after whom Saul from Roboth, which is near the river; after whom Balaennon son of Abochor, having a wife named Metebeel, daughter of Matrad, son of Mezoph, of all of whom the years are computed to the number of five hundred. But the sons of Jacob, envying the praise and glory of their brother Joseph, sold him to the Ishmaelites, and they into Egypt to Petephres, the chief cook of Pharaoh. ^C In that same time, Judas approached a certain Odollamite named Iras, and having seen there a Chanaanite woman named Saba, he took her for a wife, and from her he received four children: Her, Aunan, Selom, and Phares. And Judas united his firstborn son Her in marriage to a woman named Thamar, and because of the excessive wickedness of his ways, he died childless, God having put him to death. And Judas instructed his second child, Aunan, to sleep with Thamar, so as to raise up seed to his brother. But Aunan, knowing that it did not pertain to him that the sowing of children should be, when he was about to unite with the woman, poured out his seed upon the ground; and being held in indignation by God for this, he died immediately. And Judas commanded Thamar to sit as a widow in her father’s house until Selom should grow up. ^D When he was grown, he was afraid to unite him with Thamar, suspecting that he too might perish. She, being led by this to suffer painfully, repaid Judas in this manner. For when the report reached her that he had set out to shear his sheep,

^A she put off her mourning garments and covered herself in fine clothing; she sat at the gates of the city of Enaim. Judas, passing by and seeing her, fell in love with her as a harlot, for she had covered her face so that she might not be recognized. Promising to send her a kid, he asked to lie with her. She would not yield until she had received the ring, the cord, and the staff as a pledge from him. When he had lain with her, he departed to his flocks, while she, putting on her widow’s garments again, remained hidden in secret. But when Judas, having sent the kid, sought the cord and the rest of the pledges and did not find them, he was afflicted with various thoughts, yet he bore it, being entirely eager to uncover the deception. Therefore, after some time had passed, Thamar was found to be pregnant. When Judas heard that she had conceived through fornication, he ordered that she be burned alive. But as she was being led forth, she sent the cord, the ring, and the staff to Judas, saying, “I have conceived by the man to whom these belong. Recognize, therefore, whose the ring, the cord, and the staff are.” Judas, having grieved over the matter and being moved in spirit, accused himself of injustice, saying: “She is more just than I, ^B because I did not give her to my son Selom.”

She, having reached her time, brought forth twins during the birth. The elder, that is, the first, stretched forth his hand, and the midwife bound it with a crimson thread, saying, “This one will come out first.” But immediately the child drew his hand in, and his brother came out first, and his name was called Phares. After him, the brother came out on whose hand was the crimson thread, and he was named Zara. From them had origin Joseph, the spouse of the immaculate Virgin, from whom Christ took flesh.

For Phares, as the evangelist Matthew records, begat Esrom; Esrom begat Aram; Aram begat Aminadab; Aminadab begat Naasson; Naasson begat Salmon; Salmon begat Booz; Booz begat Obed of Ruth; Obed begat Jesse; Jesse begat David the king. David the king begat Solomon by her who was of Uriah. Solomon begat Roboam; ^C Roboam begat Abia; Abia begat Asa; Asa begat Josaphat; Josaphat begat Joram; Joram begat Ozias; Ozias begat Joatham; Joatham begat Ezechias; Ezechias begat Manasses; Manasses begat Ammon; Ammon begat Josias; Josias begat Jechonias and his brothers at the time of the transmigration of Babylon. And after the transmigration of Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; Salathiel begat Zorobabel; Zorobabel begat Abiud; Abiud begat Eliachim; Eliachim begat Azor; ^D Azor begat Sadoc; Sadoc begat Achim; Achim begat Eliud; Eliud begat Eleazar; Elea-

zar autem genuit Matthan, Matthan autem genuit Jacob, Jacob autem genuit Joseph virum Mariæ, ex qua natus est Jesus, qui dicitur Christus. Omnes itaque generationes ab Abraham usque ad David generationes quatuordecim, et a David usque ad transmigrationem Babylonis generationes quatuordecim, et a transmigratione Babylonis usque ad Christum, generationes quatuordecim. Πᾶσαι νῦν αἱ γενεαὶ ἀπὸ Ἀβραὰμ ἕως Δαυΐδ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ Δαυΐδ ἕως τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος ἕως τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες.

Inquirendum autem nobis est, quænam ratione Matthæus et Lucas in genealogia Joseph tradenda discrepant; hic quidem filium illum Jacob, filii Matthan perhibens, Lucas vero filium Ileli, filii Melchi, et quomodo Melchi, et Matthan, cum sint diversi generis, avi Josephi comperiuntur. ^B Ζητητέον δὲ ἡμῖν κατὰ ποῖον λόγον ὁ Ματθαῖος καὶ ὁ Λουκᾶς ἐν τῇ γενεαλογίᾳ διαφωνοῦσι τοῦ Ἰωσήφ· ὁ μὲν υἱὸν Ἰακὼβ γράφων αὐτὸν υἱοῦ Ματθάν, ὁ δὲ Λουκᾶς υἱὸν Ἡλεὶ τοῦ Μελχεί· καὶ πῶς οὗτοι, διαφόρων γενῶν ὑπάρχοντες, ὅ τε Μελχεὶ καὶ ὁ Ματθὰν, πάπποι τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ἀναφαίνονται.

Ἔστιν οὖν τοῦτο σαφηνιζόμενον. Πρῶτος γὰρ Ματθὰν, ὁ ἐκ γένους Σολομῶντος, ἄγεται γυναῖκα Αἴθαν ὀνόματι, καὶ ἐκ ταύτης γεννᾷ τὸν Ἰακώβ, καὶ ἀποθνήσκει. Καὶ ἄγεται αὐτὴν ὁ Μελχεὶ ὁ ἐκ γένους Ματθὰν, ἐκποιεῖ ἐξ αὐτῆς τὸν Ἡλεί. Καὶ δὴ οὖν ὅ τε Ματθὰν καὶ ὁ Μελχεὶ, τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγαγόμενοι γυναῖκα, δύο ὁμομητρίους ἐπαιδοποιήσαντο ἀδελφούς, διὸ καὶ ἐκ διαφόρων δύο γενῶν εὑρίσκομεν τὸν Ἰακὼβ καὶ τὸν Ἡλεί. Ἡλεὶ δὲ, λαβὼν γυναῖκα, ἄπαις ἐτελεύτησε, καὶ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ Ἰακὼβ ἔλαβε τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, ὅπως κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἐγείρῃ τέκνα τῷ ἀδελφῷ, καὶ γεννᾷ ἐξ αὐτῆς τὸν Ἰωσήφ. Ὥστε οὖν κατὰ φύσιν μὲν ἦν υἱὸς τοῦ Ἰακὼβ ὁ Ἰωσήφ, κατὰ νόμον δὲ τοῦ Ἡλεί. ^C Ita dubitatio hæc tollenda. Primus enim Matthan a Salomone oriundus, Æthan habuit in matrimonio, ex hac gignitur Jacob, et moritur, eamque ducit Melchi ex genere Matthan, suscipitque ex ea Heli. Itaque Matthan et Melchi, eadem uxore ducta, duos ex eadem matre, fratres filios habuerunt, quare duplici genere Jacob, et Heli oriundos comperimus. Heli porro uxore ducta, sine filiis obiit, et frater ejus Jacob eam sibi conjunxit, ut secundum legem filios fratri excitaret, nasciturque ex ea Josephus. Ita ut natura quidem Josephus filius sit Jacobi, lege Heli.

Ἅξιον δὲ καὶ τὴν ἱστορίαν, ἣν διέξεισι περὶ τῆς ἁγίας Μαρίας Ἰάκωβός τις, ἐπελθεῖν

Φάσκει γὰρ ἐν ταῖς φυλαῖς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἄνδρα πλούσιον γεγενῆσθαι ὀνόματι Ἰωακεὶμ, ὃς καθ᾿ ἑορτὴν διπλάσιον τῶν ἄλλων δῶρα τῷ Θεῷ προσεκόμιζεν, οὕτω λέγων· Τὸ τῆς περιουσίας ἐν παντὶ τῷ λαῷ, καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀφέσεως εἰς ἱλασμὸν ἐμοὶ Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ. Ἐνστάσης οὖν τῆς μεγίστης τοῦ Κυρίου ἑορτῆς, καὶ πάντων κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς τὰ δῶρα τῷ Θεῷ προσκομιζόντων, προσενεγκεῖν πρῶτος αὐτὸς ὥρμησεν. Καὶ Ῥουδὶν τις διεκώλυσεν αὐτὸν προσοῖσαι πρῶτον, λέγων, μὴ ἐξεῖναι αὐτῷ, καθότι ἄτεκνος ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ καθέστηκε. Καὶ λυπηθεὶς ἐπὶ τοῦτο, εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ἀφίκετο, κἀκεῖ πήξας σκηνὴν ἱκέτευε τὸν Θεὸν παρασχεῖν καὶ αὐτῷ, ὥσπερ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ γνησίου παιδὸς σποράν· μόνον γὰρ ἐγνώκει ἑαυτὸν ὑπάρχειν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ· ἄχρις ἡμερῶν νηστεύων τεσσαράκοντα ἱκέτευε τὸν Θεόν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἡ ὁμόζυγος αὐτοῦ, περιθεμένη ἐσθῆτα εὐτελῆ, ἐδεῖτο τοῦ Θεοῦ τυχεῖν γονῆς. Ἐπιστάσης δὲ τῆς μεγίστης ἡμέρας τοῦ Θεοῦ, λαμπρὰν στολὴν ἀμφιέννυται· οὐ γὰρ ἦν θεμιτὸν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἑορτῇ πένθιμον ἠμφιέσθαι στολήν. Περὶ γοῦν τὴν ἐννάτην ὥραν τῆς ἡμέρας ὑπό τι δένδρον ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ αὐτῆς καθεσθεῖσα, ἱκέτευε λέγουσα τῷ Θεῷ· «Ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν, εὐλόγησόν με, καὶ ἐπάκουσον τῆς δεήσεώς μου, καθὼς εὐλόγησας τὴν μήτραν Σάρρας, καὶ ἔδωκας αὐτῇ υἱὸν τὸν Ἰσαάκ.» Καὶ ταῦτα λέγουσα ἀφορᾷ εἰς τὸ δένδρον, καὶ θεασαμένη στρουθὸν τὰ νεοσσία ἑαυτοῦ πε-

^A ριέποντα, πικρῶς στενάξασα, καὶ κωκύσασα εἶπε· «Οἴμοι, Κύριε, ὅτι οὐδὲ τοῖς πετεινοῖς τούτοις ὡμοίωμαι γονίμοις ὑπάρχουσι!» Καὶ ταῦτα βοώσης αὐτῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐπιφανεὶς αὐτῇ εὐαγγελίζεται αὐτῇ παιδοποιίαν. Ἡ δὲ ἀκούσασα εὐθὺς τὸ γεννηθὲν ἀναθεῖναι τῷ Θεῷ ἐπηγγείλατο.

Τοιαῦτα δὲ καὶ τῷ Ἰωακεὶμ ὁ ἄγγελος ἐν τῷ ὄρει διεσήμανε. Καὶ καταβὰς Ἰωακεὶμ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους, δέκα ἀμνάδων θυσίαν τῷ Κυρίῳ προσήνεγκε, καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι μόσχους δεκαδύο, καὶ τῇ γερουσίᾳ καὶ παντὶ τῷ λαῷ ἑκατὸν χιμάρους. Καὶ ἐπιτελέσας τὰς θυσίας ταύτας ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀφικνεῖται εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ· καὶ γνοὺς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, ποιεῖ ἐξ αὐτῆς θυγατέρα, καὶ ὀνομάζει αὐτὴν Μαριάμ, ἥντινα τριετῆ γενομένην τῷ ναῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀφιέρωσαν.

Γενομένης δὲ αὐτῆς δωδεκαετούς, οἱ ἱερεῖς συμβούλιον ἐποιήσαντο, τίνι αὐτὴν πρὸς γάμον συνάγωσι. Καὶ ἐπιτρέπουσι τὸν ἀρχιερέα ^B Ζαχαρίαν, εἰς τὰ Ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων εἰσελθόντα, αἰτήσασθαι τὸν Θεὸν ἀποκαλύψαι αὐτῷ, τίνι προσήκει ζευχθῆναι αὐτήν. Καὶ τοῦ Ζαχαρίου εὐχομένου, ἄγγελος ἐπιφανεὶς σημαίνει πάντας συναγαγεῖν τοῦ λαοῦ τοὺς χηρεύοντας, καὶ κατέχειν ἕκαστον ῥάβδον· καὶ ᾧ ἂν ὁ Θεὸς ἐπιδείξῃ σημεῖον, τούτῳ συνάψαι τὴν παρθένον.

Ἐξελθὼν δὲ ὁ Ζαχαρίας ἐποίησεν οὕτως, καθὼς ὁ ἄγγελος αὐτῷ προσέταξε. Καὶ λαβὼν πάντων τὰς ῥάβδους αὐτῶν, ἀπῆλθεν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ προσηύξατο, καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἑκάστῳ τὴν ἰδίαν ῥάβδον ἀπένειμε. Τελευταῖον δὲ ἐπιδιδοὺς τὴν ῥάβδον τῷ Ἰωσήφ, σημεῖον μέγα ἐγένετο. Ἀθρόως γὰρ τὴν ῥάβδον αὐτοῦ παρὰ τοῦ ἱερέως λαμβάνοντος, περιστερὰ ἐξέπτη ἀπὸ τῆς ῥάβδου, καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐκαθέσθη τοῦ Ἰωσήφ· καὶ ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς καὶ πάντες οἱ συνόντες ἱερεῖς, ^C θαυμάσαντες τὸ γεγονός, αὐτὸν γενέσθαι μνηστῆρα τῆς κόρης ἔκριναν, ἣν λαβὼν ὁ Ἰωσὴφ ἐφύλασσε, καὶ καταλιπὼν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ ἀφικνεῖται τὰς οἰκοδομὰς ἐκτελέσων· ἦν γὰρ τέκτων τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ.

Κατ' ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἔδοξε τοῖς ἱερεῦσι κατασκευασθῆναι ὑπὸ ἁγνῶν παρθένων τῷ ναῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ καταπέτασμα, καὶ εὑρέθησαν ἐν τῇ φυλῇ Ἰούδα παρθένοι ἑπτά. Καὶ τῆς Μαρίας δὲ μνησθεὶς Ζαχαρίας, ἐκέλευσε καὶ αὐτὴν παρεῖναι εἰς τὸν κατάλογον· καὶ εἰσαγαγὼν αὐτὰς εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ, κλῆρον βαλεῖν προσέταξε, ποίαν οἵσαν τὸν χρυσὸν καὶ τὸ ἀμίαντον, καὶ τὴν βύσσον, καὶ τὸ σηρικὸν, καὶ τὴν ἀληθῆ πορφύραν, καὶ τὸν ὑάκινθον, καὶ τὸν κόκκον· καὶ ἐκληρώθη Μαρία τὴν πορφύραν καὶ τὸν κόκκον ἐργάζεσθαι. Καὶ δὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ οἴκου ἐργαζομένης αὐτῆς ἐπιφανεὶς ἄγγελος τὸν παράδοξον ^D τόκον εὐαγγελίζεται αὐτῇ, καθὼς ἱστορεῖ τὰ Εὐαγγέλια.

Τὸ γοῦν ὁρισθὲν αὐτῇ ἔργον ἐκτελέσασα, δίδωσι τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ, καὶ εὐλογηθεῖσα παρ' αὐτοῦ ἄπεισι· καὶ μετὰ χρόνον τίκτει τὸν Χριστὸν κατὰ σάρκα. Καὶ τῶν μάγων ἀπὸ Ἀνατολῆς ὡς βασιλεῖ προσκυνησάντων μετὰ δώρων αὐτῷ, ὁ Ἡρώδης ἐταράχθη, καὶ διενοεῖτο ἀνελεῖν παραχρῆμα αὐτόν. Ὁ δὲ ὑπὸ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τῆς Μαρίας εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπεκομίσθη, καὶ τὸν ἐξ

^A Ἡρώδου διέφυγε θάνατον. Αὐτὸς δὲ, ἀγνοήσας τὴν φυγὴν, πάντα τὰ ἐν τῇ Βηθλεὲμ παιδία ἀναιρεθῆναι προσέταξεν· ἐν οἷς καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην ἔτι νήπιον ὄντα ἀνελεῖν ἐσπούδαζεν. Ἡ δὲ Ἐλισάβετ, ἁρπάσασα αὐτὸν, εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ἔφυγε· καὶ εὐξαμένης αὐτῆς, διεσχίσθη τὸ ὄρος, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ παιδίου αὐτὴν ἐδέξατο, καὶ ἄγγελος τοῦ Θεοῦ διεφύλαττεν αὐτούς.

^B Πέμπει γοῦν πρὸς Ζαχαρίαν ὁ Ἡρώδης· Δὸς τὸν υἱόν σου· ποῦ ἔκρυψας αὐτόν, ἀπάγγειλόν μοι. Ὁ δὲ Ζαχαρίας ἀντεπιστέλλει φάσκων αὐτῷ· Ἐγὼ τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ προσεδρεύων ἀεὶ, τί ἐγένετο ὁ υἱός μου οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι. Καὶ ὀργισθεὶς ὁ Ἡρώδης πάλιν ἐπέστελλεν αὐτῷ. Δὸς ἔξω, λέγων, τὸν υἱόν σου. Οὐκ οἶδας, ὅτι τὸ αἷμά σου ὑπὸ τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐστιν; Καὶ ὁ Ζαχαρίας ἔφη· Μάρτυς εἰμὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Σὺ μὲν ἔχε μου τὸ αἷμα, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμά μου ὁ Θεός. Δέξαι δὲ καὶ γίνωσκε, ὅτι ἀθῶον αἷμα ἐκχέεις εἰς τὰ πρόθυρα τοῦ ναοῦ Κυρίου. Καὶ ὁ Ἡρώδης, ἐπὶ τούτοις ὀργισθεὶς, μεταξὺ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἀναιρεθῆναι αὐτὸν πρὸ τοῦ διαφαῦσαι προσέταξεν, πρὸς τὸ μὴ ὑπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ κωλυθῆναι αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀναίρεσιν.

Ὄρθρου δὲ οἱ ἱερεῖς παραγενόμενοι εἰς τὸν ναὸν, ἐξενίζοντο, κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς μὴ ὑπαντήσαντος αὐτοῖς τοῦ ἀρχιερέως, καὶ ἐπέμενον ἔξω. Ὥρας οὖν παρελκούσης, εἷς τις ἐξ αὐτῶν εἰσελθεῖν ἀπετόλμησεν. Ὁ δὲ θεωρεῖ αἷμα πεπηγὸς παρὰ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, καὶ ^C ἀκούει φωνῆς λεγούσης· Ζαχαρίας πεφόνευται, καὶ οὐκ ἐξαλειφθήσεται τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ ἔκδικος. Ἀκούων γοῦν ταῦτα ἔμφοβος ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐξελθὼν τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἀπήγγειλεν. Οἱ δὲ, εἰσελθόντες, τὸ μὲν σῶμα οὐκ εἶδον, εἰ μὴ τὸ αἷμα, καὶ τὰς στολὰς ἑαυτῶν διαῤῥήξαντες, ἐκόψαντο, καὶ τῷ λαῷ ἀνήγγειλαν, καὶ τρία νυχθήμερα ἐπ' αὐτῷ θρῆνον ἐποίησαν. Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα Συμεῶνα εἰς τὴν τάξιν αὐτοῦ κλήρῳ κατέστησαν, ὃς ὑπῆρχεν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος χρηματισθεὶς μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον, ἕως ἂν ἴδῃ τὸν Χριστὸν Κυρίου.

Ἄλλη δέ τις ἱστορία περὶ τοῦ Ζαχαρίου ἐμφέρεται· ὡς ἄρα ἦν τις περὶ τὸν ναὸν τόπος, ἔνθα μένειν τὰς παρθένους ἐξῆν εἰσιούσας προσκυνεῖν τῷ Θεῷ· τὰς δὲ γαμηθείσας μὴ εἶναι νόμιμον. Ἡ οὖν Μαρία, γεννήσασα τὸν Σωτῆρα, ἐλθοῦσα, ἔστη ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ. Κωλυόντων οὖν αὐτὴν τῶν εἰδότων γεγεννηκυῖαν αὐτὴν, ὁ Ζαχαρίας ἔλεγεν ἀξίαν αὐτὴν εἶναι τοῦ τόπου τῶν παρθένων. Ὡς οὖν παρανομοῦντα αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν τόπον τῶν παρθένων ^D μεταξὺ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἀπέκτειναν. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὡς ἐν παρόδῳ ἐλέχθη.

Ἰωσὴφ δὲ, ἀποδοθεὶς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, θείᾳ ἐπινοίᾳ τῷ Φαραὼ διακρίνας ὀνείρατα, ἡγεμὼν πάσης τῆς Αἰγύπτου καθίσταται. Καὶ λιμοῦ πᾶσαν πιέζοντος τὴν γῆν, οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ κατῆλθον εἰς Αἴγυπτον, σῖτον καὶ αὐτοὶ διὰ τὸν λιμὸν ὠνησόμενοι· καὶ ἀναγνωρισθεὶς αὐτοῖς Ἰωσὴφ, μεθιστᾷ

μεθιστᾷ ^A αὐτοὺς ἅμα τῷ πατρὶ Ἰακὼβ εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον παγγενῆ. Τῷ μὲν γὰρ Ῥουβὶν τέσσαρες παῖδες ἐγένοντο, Ἑνώχ, Φαλές, Ἀῤῥώμ, Χαρμεΐ· τῷ δὲ Συμεὼν ἕξ, Ἰεβουήλ, Ἰαβήν, Ἀώδ, Ἀχιήλ, Σαδὴ, Σαούλ· καὶ τῷ Λευὶ τρεῖς, Γεδσών, Βωὰδ, καὶ Μεναρεί· τῷ δὲ Ἰούδα πέντε, Ἤρ, Αὐνών, οἵτινες, καθὼς προεγράφη, ἀπέθανον, Σηλώμ, Φαρές, Ζαρά· τῷ δὲ Φαρὲς δύο, Ἀῤῥὼμ καὶ Ἰεμοήλ· τῷ δὲ Ἰσσάχαρ τέσσαρες, Θαλά, Φονά, Ἰασούφ, Ζαβράν· τῷ Σαβουλὼν τρεῖς, Σερδὲρ, Ἀλδών, Αἰήλ· οἱ πάντες τριάκοντα τρεῖς, ἐκ τῆς Λείας τὸ γένος ἔχοντες, καὶ θυγατέρα Δίνα. Ἐγένοντο δὲ καὶ τῷ Γὰδ υἱοὶ ἑπτὰ, Σαφών, Ἀγγεΐς, Σαΰνις, Θασοβάθ, Ἀήδις, Ἀνοήδης, Ἀρίλης· τῷ δὲ Ἀσὴρ τέσσαρες, Ἰεμνά, Ἰούλ, Μερία, καὶ Σερὰ θυγάτηρ· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Βερία ἐγεννήθησαν Χοβὼρ καὶ Μελχιήλ· οὗτοι πάντες ἓξ καὶ δέκα υἱοὶ Ζελφᾶς τῆς παιδίσκης Λείας, ἥτις εἰς ὄνομα τῆς Λείας τῷ Ἰακὼβ αὐτοὺς ἐγέννησεν. Ἐτέχθησαν δὲ καὶ τῷ Ἰωσὴφ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ παῖδες δύο, Μανασσῆς καὶ Ἐφραίμ, οὓς ἔτεκεν αὐτῷ Ἀσινὲθ θυγάτηρ Πετεφρῆ Ἡλιοῦ. Καὶ ἐκ μὲν τοῦ Μανασσῆ ἐγεννήθη Μαχεὶρ ἐκ παλακῆς Συρίας τῷ γένει· ὁ δὲ Μαχεὶρ ἐγέννησε τὸν Γαλαάδ· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Ἐφραὶμ ἐγεννήθησαν υἱοὶ Σουταλάμ, Βὰδ, Λάμ. Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Σουταλὰμ ἐγεννήθη Ἐδέν. Τῷ δὲ Βενιαμὶν καὶ αὐτῷ δύο παῖδες ἐγένοντο, Βαλλαχοδὼρ καὶ Ἀσσαέρ· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Βαλλαχοβὼρ Γηρὰν καὶ Νοεμὶν καὶ Λάχης καὶ Ἐσρὼμ καὶ Μαμφί. Μαμφὶ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Ἀράδ· οὗτοι υἱοὶ Ῥαχὴλ οἱ πάντες ὀκτωκαίδεκα. Υἱὸς δὲ ἐγένετο τῷ Δὰδ· τοῦ δὲ Νεφθαλείμ, Ἀσιήλ, καὶ Γουμὶν καὶ Ἰσαὰρ καὶ Συλήμ· οὗτοι υἱοὶ Βάλλας παιδίσκης Ῥαχὴλ οἱ πάντες ἑπτά. Ὁ δὲ μακάριος Ἰακὼβ ἔτη τὰ πάντα βιώσας ρμζ΄, ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἀπέθανε, πρότερον ἕκαστον τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ διαφόροις εὐλογίαις εὐλογήσας. Καὶ τὴν μὲν εὐλογίαν τῶν πρωτοτόκων Ἰωσὴφ παρέσχετο, καὶ οὐχὶ Ῥουβίν· διότι ὁ μὲν Ἰωσὴφ μὴ εἴξας ἡδονῇ τῆς Αἰγυπτίας ἐδικαιώθη, ὁ δὲ Ῥουβὶν ἡττηθεὶς ἥμαρτεν· ἄλλως τε ὅτι καὶ ἐκ τῆς Ῥαχὴλ πρωτότοκος ὑπῆρχε, καὶ τῇ Ἰούδα φυλῇ ἀπεκλήρωσε τὴν βασιλείαν, καὶ οὐ τῇ τοῦ Ῥουβίν· διότι ὁ μὲν Ἰούδας ἐν γυναικὶ ὠνειδίσθη, ὁ δὲ ἐδικαιώθη, ὁμολογήσας εὐγνωμόνως ἑαυτὸν τυγχάνειν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑπεύθυνον, καὶ οὐ τὴν γυναῖκα. Ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο βασιλεύειν ἐτάχθη, ἐπειδὴ μόνη τῶν ἄλλων φυλῶν ταμωτέρα πρὸς ζῆλον καὶ ἐκδίκησιν Θεοῦ ἐτύγχανεν· διὸ καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ φῦναι προφητεύει τὸν Χριστὸν κατὰ σάρκα, καὶ τὴν κλήσιν δι᾿ αὐτοῦ τῶν ἐθνῶν. Καὶ τῷ Λευὶ δὲ τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην μόνῳ ἀπένειμε, καθότι ὁ Ἀμρὰμ ἐξ αὐτοῦ φύς, τὸ δόγμα τοῦ Φαραὼ παρεκρούσατο, καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἑαυτοῦ τὸν Μωϋσῆν ἐζωοποίησε. Μόνον δὲ τὴν Ῥουβὶν πολὺν τῷ ἀριθμῷ ἐποίησε, διὰ τὸ μὴ συναινέσαι ἐπὶ τῇ Ἰωσὴφ ἐπιβουλῇ. Τελευτήσαντος γοῦν τοῦ Ἰακὼβ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, εἰς τὴν Χαναναίαν γῆν κηδεύουσιν ἀποκομίσαντες, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ πάντας. Ἐπὶ τέλει δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἰωσήφ, τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἀποχωρήσαντες, κηδεύουσιν ἔνθα ὁ προπάτωρ αὐτῶν Ἀβραὰμ προκε

προκε ^Aide by its inhabitants in the highest religious veneration; an altar is even now seen constructed from its trunk, upon which they offer burnt offerings and hecatombs. And they hand down the tradition that it was the staff of one of the angels who were received by Abraham as guests, which he planted while passing through that place. From this, a terebinth of great wonder springs forth; for when fire is brought near, it is all set aflame, and to everyone it appears to be dissolved into ash by the flames; but when extinguished, it is found entirely unharmed, and with all its parts intact.

After the death of Joseph, the Egyptians, being unmindful of past benefits and inflamed with envy and emulation, afflicted the Israelites with various kinds of calamities. For the Israelites, being physically robust and endowed with virtues, surpassed the Egyptians in prosperity—the latter being overcome by drunkenness and laziness, and forever fettered by sloth. But one of the sacred scribes of the Egyptians foretold to Pharaoh that there would arise among the Israelites one who would depress all of Egypt in a wondrous manner, and would add power to his own nation with the greatest strides, having achieved a fame that no oblivion shall erase. For this reason, Pharaoh, desiring to destroy the Hebrews in every way possible, and revolving plans in his mind, assigned them arduous labors: that they should surround all the cities of Egypt with massive walls, that they should restrain the force of the river by digging various channels, and that they should build up embankments so that, whenever the river began to overflow, they might prevent its inroads and inconveniences. ^B In addition to these things, he ordered them to build pyramids, and he issued a decree that the male children born to them should be cast into the river, thinking that the one whom the seer had said would be the destroyer of Egypt would be drowned in the river along with the others.

There was, therefore, a certain man from the tribe of Levi, Amram by name, who had taken Jochabed as his wife; of her he had begotten the divine Moses, and for a time he hid him with great care. But when he saw the royal law being enforced far too harshly and severely, fearing that he might be discovered, he placed the child in a chest and exposed him on the banks of the river. And the daughter of Pharaoh, coming there for the purpose of bathing, saw the chest, opened it, and was delighted by the beauty of the child; being herself barren, she adopted him. But though she summoned many Egyptian nurses to feed the child, she labored in vain, for he refused their breasts. ^C At length, however, the mother was secretly admitted, and by the queen's command she suckled him, for he would only suck her breasts; from his very cradle, as I suppose, he preferred his own race and turned away from the stranger. When he had grown to manhood, Thermuthis (for such was the queen's name) called him Moses, because he was saved from the waters; for the Egyptians call water *moy*, and being saved *se*. But his parents had previously called him Melchis. He was, moreover, exceedingly pleasing to look upon, so that whoever met him on the way would stop in wonder, and would greatly admire his beauty. Therefore, when he had reached an age of maturity, Thermuthis ^D

^A brought him to her father, asking him to make him the successor to his kingdom, and she placed him in his arms. He, having taken him and embraced him, kissed him tenderly and, playing with him, took the diadem from his own head and placed it upon the head of the child. But Moses, having cast the diadem onto the earth, trampled upon it. And the scribe, who had predicted his birth, seeing this and understanding that he was indeed the one foretold as the enemy of the Egyptian rule, rushed to kill him; but he could not, and crying out, he said to the king:

"This is the very one, O king, whom the divine power had foretold to us as being born of the Hebrews, a usurper of the Egyptian kingdom, who even now has given no small sign of future events, in that he has cast the very symbol of the kingdom to the earth and trampled upon it. If, therefore, you deliver this one to death, you will free the Egyptians from imminent dangers and deprive the Hebrews of the hope and confidence which they have placed in him."

When he had said these things, the king, by the providence of God, became reluctant to kill him; and Thermuthis, having snatched Moses from the king's hands, guarded him securely. ^B

Now the Ethiopians, being neighbors to the Egyptians, having made an unexpected attack, were besieging Egypt, and having put to flight the Egyptians who were drawn up against them, they advanced as far as Memphis and the sea, so that the Egyptians, in accordance with an oracle, took the race of the Hebrews as auxiliary forces and set out against them. And Pharaoh, thinking he had found a fitting opportunity for the destruction of Moses, requested that Thermuthis entrust Moses to him, so that he might make him the general of the Hebrews, swearing an oath that he would do him no harm, but would merely appoint him as a commander of the Hebrews, supposing that he would easily be destroyed by the enemies, as one who was inexperienced in war. ^C

She, having first greatly reproached her father and the scribes, because the one whom they had wanted to kill as an enemy they now sought as a helper, handed Moses over to them. He, having been promoted as general of his own nation, secretly led the army by another way, unknown to the Ethiopians, through a pathless and beast-infested region (for it nourishes every kind of beast, so that there are even some within it that fly). And as a precaution against anyone being struck by the beasts, he ordered every man to carry woven baskets filled with ibises; for this animal is the enemy of the asp. ^D When, therefore, they were journeying through that place, they released the ibises against the beasts, and they, being unable to withstand their attack, were destroyed. And in this way, having passed through, he fell upon the Ethiopians unexpectedly, and having slaughtered a great multitude of them, he put the rest to flight.

The Ethiopians, having barely escaped death by flight, reach the city of Saba. For this was their royal city, fortified with very strong walls and embankments, and inaccessible because of the Nile (since it encircles the entire city with its stream); wherefore it was also difficult to

^A besiege for the Egyptians. Moses, therefore, led his army toward the city, being in the greatest perplexity because it was impregnable. While the Egyptians were devising many things to no avail, the king’s daughter, named Tharmis, having seen Moses from the towers and being charmed by his beauty and having admired the genius of his maneuvers, fell in love; and having sent her most trusted servant, she conferred with him regarding marriage. Moses promised to do this if she would surrender the city to him. She immediately struck a covenant and delivered the city to him. The war thus being ended, and the Egyptians having returned to their own lands, he took her in marriage, and he built a city, which he called Hermopolis; for so is Moses called by the Egyptians, on account of his interpretation of the sacred writings.

^B He was also held in the highest honor among the Ethiopians, on account of his admirable wisdom. For he was the first of all to devise for them the use of ships, machines for stone-cutting, Egyptian armor, instruments for drawing water, and weapons of war. Furthermore, he divided all of Egypt into thirty districts, in order to stabilize the kingdom for Chenephres; for the Egyptians were being governed without order, according to the whims of the kings, who were appointing and deposing whomsoever they pleased. For this reason, he was honored by the priests as a god, and by the Ethiopians as a king; for they learned circumcision from him and have guarded it to this day. ^C For he was the first wise man, as Eupolemus records, and the first to transmit letters to the Hebrews, which the blessed Abraham had brought from the Chaldeans; for the Chaldeans were the first inventors of these, and the Phoenicians received them from the Hebrews, and Cadmus transported them to the Greeks. ^D After his campaign against the Ethiopians he arrived in Egypt; and Chenephres received him with complimentary words, but in deed he was plotting his death; for having isolated him from his own people, he took him with him to Memphis and questioned him as to what was most useful for human life. He replied: "The race of oxen, because the land is cultivated and plowed by them." Chenephres therefore commanded the crowds to construct a temple for the bull Apis, and he hid the monuments of Moses’ virtue (which were things cast in bronze, proclaiming his ingenious inventions and the history of his gallant deeds against the Ethiopians) beneath the floor of the temple, so that his deeds might be consigned to oblivion; and he divided the multitude of the Hebrews who were protecting him into two groups: some he sent to guard Ethiopia, and others he commanded to construct the temple in the city of Jove out of stone, having quarried it from the neighboring mountain (for long ago the temple had been constructed of baked brick); and having stripped him of his Egyptian friends, he ordered them to kill him, binding them by oath not to reveal these plots to Moses. And since all refused this plan, a certain Chanenothes agreed to serve the king's will, promising to put Moses to death by treachery; at that time also Meros (for so was Thermubis called) having died,

^A Pharaoh, deeming he had found an opportune moment, commanded Moses and Chanenothes to perform her funeral rites outside the borders of Egypt. When they arrived there, one of those who were privy to Pharaoh’s design communicated it to Moses. Moses, having guarded himself on every side, buried Meros and named both the place and the river Meroë after her. He himself crossed the Nile from Memphis, under the guise of his brother Aaron, and fled into Arabia. When Chanenothes perceived this, he drew his sword and rushed against him. But Moses caught his hand, snatched away his sword, and slew him with his own blade. He then arrived in Arabia to Raguel, the ruler of those parts, and having taken his daughter Sepphora in marriage, he begot two sons by her.

^B Pharaoh, when he heard of the whole performance of Moses, poured out his wrath upon the multitude of the Jews and commanded them to be utterly put to the sword; he ordered them to wear only linen garments, so that they might be more easily recognized, and thus he delivered them to the Egyptians to be slain. On account of this, God punished him with a most severe penalty; for Pharaoh was the first of all men to be afflicted with elephantiasis, and he ended his life with a most hideous death. His successor in the sovereignty was simultaneously an heir to his vices; for he subjected the Jews to the same evils.

And as great mourning encompassed them, God, taking pity on them, sent Moses into Egypt, commanding Pharaoh to release the nation of the Jews into the desert, so that they might serve Him.

^C Pharaoh, however, being sore displeased at this statement of Moses, ordered him to be cast immediately into prison. During the night, the whole earth was shaken by an earthquake, so that many of the guards, stricken with terror, gave up the ghost, and many others, seized by a heavy sleep, had their limbs paralyzed. The very doors of the prison were thrown open, and Moses went out and arrived at the palace by night. For even there the doors stood apart as the earth trembled. While all the bodyguards were asleep, he awakened Pharaoh, saying: “God hath sent me to command thee to release the people of the Jews.” Terrified, he asked who this was and what was the name of the God who had sent him. Moses, leaning toward his ear, revealed to him the name of God; and Pharaoh, unable to bear the hearing of so great a name, fell speechless to the ground. ^D And Moses, approaching, raised him up and, having inscribed the most holy name upon a tablet, he sealed it. One of the Egyptian priests, having dared to make light of this name, immediately ended his life in a spasm.

Pharaoh demanded a sign from Moses, and Moses, having cast the rod he held in his hands upon the earth, changed it into a serpent, and when he touched it again, he restored it to its former shape.

^A Furthermore, when this did not lead to letting the people go, Moses prayed to God, and a great earthquake occurred with hail, so that whoever fled from houses to avoid the earthquake was destroyed by the hail, and those, in turn, who made haste to avoid the hail were crushed by the earthquake. ^B And when he remained unyielding even to this, he struck the waters of the Nile with his rod, and the river, overflowing, all but submerged all of Egypt, so that from that time right up to the present it makes its descent. Pharaoh, then, having summoned the priests who dwelt above Memphis, threatened them and all the shrines of their idols with ruin if they did not perform signs similar to those of Moses. They, using their accustomed sorceries, made serpents appear to crawl forth and caused the color of the river to change, so that Pharaoh, puffed up by this, subjected the Jews to the greatest punishments. And Moses, having struck the earth with his rod, caused a winged creature to creep forth from it, which, settling upon the bodies of the Egyptians, afflicted them with grievous ulcers, so that no medicine could provide them any relief.

When Pharaoh hardened his heart even at this plague, finally, by death, he brought ruin upon all the firstborn of Egypt. And immense mourning having seized upon Egypt, Pharaoh sent all the Jews out of the land; and they, having traveled a long way and crossed the rivers of Arabia, arrived on the third day at the Red Sea. But God having hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the Egyptians, having again forgotten the past evils, pursued the Israelites along with Pharaoh.

^C Let no one imagine that Pharaoh was being forced by God into an insensibility regarding his actions; for such a person accuses God of injustice, saying: "If He himself is the one who hardens the heart, why does He blame the one being hardened?" But let him know that the intermission of the plagues was the cause of his callousness; for when He brought the plagues upon him, he promised to let the people go; but when He ceased from the punishments, he was hardened; for Scripture signifies this to us in these very words, when it says: "And Pharaoh seeing that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken; and, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show in you all my power."

^D When you hear this, take care not to perceive it in a bad sense, saying: "For what reasons does He punish them, preparing them to withstand Him? Why are they beaten, if God abhors injustice?" But know first that what seem to be contradictory in Scripture are not to be solved by reasoning, but by examples. For as the best of physicians, being eager to invent something useful for human nature, when they demand those who are subject to a sentence of death, they dissect them, so that through those liable to death they might discover some benefit for humanity: so God, [in the case of all human...]

Pharao, who had sinned beyond hope of any cure, shows great signs—chastising him who is worthy of punishment, while cherishing and healing those who come after, showing his punishment to be a token of salvation.

It carries therefore, Pharao having summoned his entire army, with two hundred chariots and thirty thousand horsemen, pursued the Israelites. But they, the Red Sea having been divided by Moses at the command of God, were traversing it; and the Egyptians, pursuing them from behind, were drowned when Moses struck with his rod and brought the waters together.

On the next day, the weapons of the Egyptians were brought by the water, driven by the wind, to the multitude of the Hebrews. ^B And Moses, thinking that this too had happened by the Providence of God, commanded them to gather them up, so that they might not be without arms. They arrive, then, in the desert.

And Raguel, or Iothor (for he happened to be called by two names), comes to Moses, bringing his wife and sons to him; and having learned from him the whole of the marvelous work of God against the Egyptians, he was astonished and gave glory to God. This man was, as they say, a descendant of Abraham, born from one of the sons he had by Keturah; for from Iezan were born Dadan, Raguel, Iothor, and Obab. Moses, therefore, having received him kindly as was fitting, sent him away to his own lands.

Moses himself, having laid down many laws for the benefit of the Hebrews, died at the age of one hundred and twenty years; and Jesus the son of Nave succeeds to his rule and leads the people out ^C into the desert, where they spent forty years, in which even now traces of the dwelling of the Jews are preserved. For those who have visited these places for the sake of history report that the models of the tents still stand, belonging to a vast multitude; and that Mount Sinai is to be seen, on which Moses received the laws, and all the things that are recorded in detail.

It must be asked, however: the Hebrews dwelt in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years, and not two hundred and fifteen; for the consecutive record of the times indicates two hundred and fifteen, but Scripture says four hundred and thirty. For it says: "The seed of Abraham shall be a stranger in a foreign land for four hundred and thirty years."

First, then, it must be observed that it did not say "in Egypt," but "in a foreign land shall the seed of Abraham be a stranger." Now a foreign land was also the land of Chanaan, which Isaac inhabited—who was himself the ^D preeminent seed of Abraham before all others; for he was his son. It is manifest, therefore, that before they became heirs of the lands of foreigners, they had wandered as strangers for four hundred and thirty years, just as the Apostle also says: "The covenant confirmed by God after four hundred and thirty years, in order to make the promise bear fruit," and he adds, "But to Abraham God gave it through a promise." It is likely, therefore, that they dwelt in Chanaan for two hundred and fifteen years, and in

Egypt likewise two hundred and fifteen, which together make four hundred and thirty. ^A Furthermore, when Jesus led the people and the Ark of the Covenant through the Jordan, the waters were divided and stood in a mass separated at a great distance; the other part, which pours into the Salt Sea, flowed down into the sea of the Arabah until it failed entirely, and they all crossed on dry ground and encamped near Jericho. ^B This city was fortified with very large walls. By God's command, they surrounded it with a siege for six days; and on the seventh, before the day dawned, they went around it seven times, and the priests, sounding with trumpets, stirred up all the people to shout with one accord; and when they shouted, the wall fell down immediately, and the city was captured, and the whole was devoted to the Lord. ^C After Jericho, they lay in wait for the city of Ai, and having taken it, they burned it, and having hanged its king upon wood, as Jesus had commanded, they crucified him. And at sunset they cast his body into a ravine and covered it with a heap of stones.

The Gabaonites, when the report of the Judean sieges reached them (for they were neighbors and kinsmen to them), craftily deceived the Israelites. For, lest they should encamp near their city when they drew near, they met them dressed in tattered clothing and footwear, and carrying dry and moldy bread, and wearing old sacks and skins, saying to them: "Our city is situated far from us; for we provided ourselves with these loaves fresh, and the clothing in which we are wrapped was new when we put it on, and the shoes were new when we fitted them to our feet; but the long and arduous journey has worn out and aged all these things. ^D Make peace, therefore, with us, and admit us into your friendship and alliance." And the blessed Jesus confirmed the peace with them by oath. Later, having learned of their craftiness, he spared them because of the oath, but he commanded them to carry wood and water for the people of Israel as a penalty for their deceit.

But Adonibezec, the king of Jerusalem, enraged at the Gabaonites for defecting to the Israelites, joined to himself all the neighboring kings—Elam king of Chebron, and Phidom king of Jerimuth, and Sipha king of Lachis, and furthermore Dad king of Sadollam—and encamped against them and besieged Gabaon. The Gabaonites, oppressed by evils, sent messengers to Jesus. And he, being in Galgala, drew up an army against them; and when a battle took place, the foreigners were routed; and some were destroyed by the sword, others by hail. For as they were fleeing, God rained hail upon them, which killed more of the enemy than the war did. But that Jesus might completely destroy them, he prayed to God to prolong the day beyond the order of nature for them, standing the sun over Gabaon and the moon over the valley of Arnon. And God caused the sun and the moon to stand still, until he had destroyed the enemies for the whole day. Five kings of the nations, Jesus Nave having found them hidden in