ANNOTATIONS ON LEVITICUS
CHAPTER XXVIII
V. 30. For it is fitting that the high priest should carry protective care before and behind, like a shield, lest by any means the contrary will of wicked spirits should wound the rational portion of the soul, and disturb its commendable judgments, and cause the declaration and the truth A to depart through the admixture of malice.
CHAPTER XXXI
V. 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses. For forty full days the all-wise God detained Moses to give the Law, although He could have given the Law in only three days. But this was done so that the time of Moses' absence might expose the impiety hidden in the depths of the hearts of the Jews.
ORIGEN'S ANNOTATIONS ON LEVITICUS
(From the Gallandian Library)CHAPTER IV
V. 27. Anima si peccaverit non sponte, ait, et non fecerit de omnibus præceptis Domini, quæ oportet facere. Nature has provided for this. There are, in fact, certain commands of the Lord that we ought not to perform, according to the saying: "I gave them statutes that were not good." A soul, therefore, sins against its will when, under the pretext of piety, it preserves what it should not. Accordingly, it requires a sacrifice for B forgiveness, whereas he who does it deliberately does not require a sacrifice; for example, he who became a Jew so that he might gain the Jews, and circumcised Timothy.
V. 28. He indicates, therefore, that the sacrifice which is offered is also called "sin." Thus we must understand the saying: "They eat the sins of my people." If, therefore, he who sins appears to sacrifice the sin itself while he is repenting, he ought not to fall into the same things again, since the sin would come to life again. In this manner, it is permissible to call Christ "sin," in that He was sacrificed for the sins of all. C
CHAPTER XII
V. 2. Mulier quæcunque, si semen susceperit, et pepererit masculum. The phrase "if she has received seed," which precedes "and she shall bear a male," might appear redundant. But I am inclined to suspect that this is stated prophetically regarding Mary, who, not from the seed D [of man...]
brought forth a male, lest she be thought unclean for having brought forth the Savior. He said all this. And even if "If she shall have received seed" had not been set forth, it could still be understood that Mary was not unclean; for she was not simply a woman, but a virgin.
CHAPTER XIII
V. 45. And the leper, in whom is the plague, his garments shall be rent and his head uncovered.
Why does He command the leper's head to be uncovered and his garments to be rent? That it might be known, and that those who approach him might not participate in his uncleanness. So the Apostle said concerning sinners: "Withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which they received of us"; and: "If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner: with such an one no not to eat."
CHAPTER XXIII
V. 2. These are the feasts of the Lord.
Every joyous day, in which it is commanded that certain things be done as in a holy day, distinct from other days, B is called a feast. Yet not every feast is a solemnity; but finally, as the name by itself sounds, when they gather from all sides to the same place. Thus, a solemnity is also a feast; but a feast is not necessarily a solemnity. For example, the Sabbaths and the Calends are feasts; but the Unleavened Bread, and the days of Pentecost, and of Tabernacles, are not only feasts, but also solemnities.
V. 40. And branches of palm trees.
From this it is permitted to understand that God again bestows upon us in Christ the pleasures of paradise. Therefore, the branches of ever-living plants signify in themselves the eternity of His grace and an unfading hope.
CHAPTER XXVII
V. 15. And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, he shall add the fifth part of the money of the valuation unto it, and it shall be his.
If anyone does not sanctify the price of a house or field, but the things themselves to God, he shall pay the price with the fifth part when he redeems them, and he shall keep the C possessions for himself; but he shall not sell them to others. And if he should sell them, the buyer shall hold them until the Jubilee, and afterwards they shall pass to God.
V. 16. And if it be of the field.
He who buys a field by purchase shall not keep it for himself; but, having calculated, he shall render the fruit to God; and in the Jubilee he shall restore the field to the seller.
D And I also consider the laws concerning leprosy to be...