Made and begotten: Scripture's idiom for natural sons
Athanasius opens his Notes on Job by arguing against the Arians that Scripture's use of 'made' or 'became' for sons does not prove the Son of God is a creature, since the same language is used for natural children.
Now when Scripture says, “And there were born to him seven sons” (Job 1:2), this will also help us against the Arians. They cling to what the Apostle says about the Only-begotten—“being faithful to him who made him” (Hebrews 3:2)—as a great support for their heresy, and they insist that the Son of God is a creature. But this support of theirs is a bruised reed. For when a substance is a creature and a created thing, then “he made” and “he created” are properly said of it, and they signify a creature. But when a substance is an offspring and a son, then “he made,” “he became,” and “he created” are no longer properly applied to it, nor do they signify a creature; rather, a person uses “he made” without distinction in place of “he begot.” So the Arians will condemn themselves if they learn Scripture’s idiom. For even if parents speak of the children born from them as being made, becoming, and created, they do not thereby deny their nature. Hezekiah, for example, as it is written in Isaiah, prayed and said, “For from today I will make children” (Isaiah 38:19)—using “I will make” in place of “I will beget,” and speaking of the children born from him. And there is no difference. Here too it is said of Job, “And there were born to him seven sons” (Job 1:2), just as Moses also says in the law, “If they become” (Deuteronomy 25:5). One must first ask whether he is a son. For once this is demonstrated, the suspicion about creature and created thing ceases, and it becomes clear to all that the phrase “to him who made him” is of no benefit to their heresy, but rather leads to its condemnation. For it has been shown that the word “he made” is used in divine Scripture even of true and natural children. Therefore, since the Lord is demonstrated to be a true and natural Son, even if “he made” or “he became” is said of him, it is not said because he is a creature; rather, the saints use the word without distinction.
And God said to the devil, “Where have you come from?” (Job 1:7). At the same time, in these words it is shown that all created things are in divided places—the lights in the firmament, the clouds in the air. And for human beings he fixed the boundaries of the nations; the angels are sent out for ministries, and they ascend and descend on the ladder. And here it says, “They came to stand before the Lord” (Job 1:6). And a question is put to the devil: “Where have you come from?” (Job 1:7). So they are in a place, and wherever they are sent, there they are present. But God alone is unbounded. They seek the one who is present everywhere, in order to find the unbounded one shut up in some region. But “to stand before” means to be conformed to his will and to stretch oneself wholly toward him. For all creation is before God—even even that apostate and most wicked one—according to the unbounded nature of his being. But the angels are present to God in a special way, according to the insatiable longing of divine love.
So Job was contending, and the temptation was great; but the athlete appeared greater than the temptation.
Greek
ἈΘΑΝΑΣΙΟΥ. Τό γε μὴν λέγειν τὴν Γραφήν· Ἐγένοντο δὲ αὐτῷ ἑπτὰ υἱοὶ, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ἀρειομανίτας ἡμῖν συμβαλεῖται· οἳ ὡς μέγα βοήθημα τῆς αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν κατέχουσι τὸ περὶ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς παρὰ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου λεγόμενον· Πιστὸν ὄντα τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν· καὶ φιλονεικοῦσι ποίημα εἶναι τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱόν. Ἔστι δὲ αὐτοῖς κάλαμος τεθλασμένος τοῦτο τὸ ἔρεισμα. Ὅταν μὲν γὰρ ἡ οὐσία ποίημα ᾖ καὶ κτίσμα, τηνικαῦτα τὸ, ἐποίησε, καὶ τὸ, ἔκτισε, κυρίως ἐπὶ αὐτῶν λέγεται, καὶ σημαίνει τὸ ποίημα· ὅταν δὲ ἡ οὐσία γέννημα ᾖ καὶ υἱὸς, τό τε, ἐποίησε, καὶ τὸ, ἐγένετο, καὶ τὸ, ἔκτισεν, οὐκ ἔτι κυρίως ἐπ' αὐτοῦ κεῖται, οὐδὲ ποίημα σημαίνει, ἀλλ' ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐγέννησε τῷ ἐποίησεν ἀδιαφόρως τις κέ χρηται ῥήματι. Ὥστε καταγνώσονται ἑαυτῶν οἱ Ἀρειανοὶ, εἰ μάθοιεν τὸ τῆς Γραφῆς ἰδίωμα· καὶ γὰρ εἰ ποιουμένους, καὶ γινομένους, καὶ κτιζομένους τοὺς ἐξ αὐτῶν φυομένους λέγοιεν οἱ γονεῖς, οὐδὲν ἧττον οὐκ ἀρνοῦνται τὴν φύσιν. Ὁ γοῦν Ἐζεχίας, ὡς ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ γέγραπται, εὐχόμενος ἔλεγεν· Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς σήμερον παιδία ποιήσω, ἀντὶ τοῦ, γεννήσω, τὸ ποιήσω εἰρηκὼς, καὶ τοὺς ἐξ αὐτοῦ φυομένους εἰπών. Καὶ οὐ διαφέρεται. Κἀνταῦθα δὲ περὶ τοῦ Ἰὼβ εἴρηται· Ἐγένοντο δὲ αὐτῷ υἱοὶ ἑπτά· ὥσπερ καὶ Μωϋσῆς ἐν τῷ νόμῳ φησίν· Ἐὰν γένωνται. Χρὴ πρότερον ζητεῖν, εἰ υἱός ἐστιν. Τούτου γὰρ ἀποδεικνυμένου, παύεται ἡ περὶ τοῦ ποιήματος καὶ κτίσματος ὑπόνοια, καὶ φανερὰ πᾶσιν ἀπόδειξις, ὡς ἡ λέξις ἡ λέγουσα, τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτὸν, οὐκ εἰς ὄνησίν ἐστι τῇ αἱρέσει αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον εἰς κατά γνωσιν. Δέδεικται γὰρ, ὅτι ἡ τοῦ, ἐποίησε, λέξις καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν γνησίων καὶ τῶν φύσει τέκνων ἐν τῇ θείᾳ κεῖται Γραφῇ. Ὅθεν τοῦ Κυρίου ἀποδεικνυμένου φύσει καὶ γνησίου υἱοῦ, κἂν λέγηται ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τὸ, ἐποίησεν, ἢ ἐγένετο, οὐχ ὡς ποιήματος ὄντος αὐτοῦ λέγεται, ἀλλ' ἀδιαφόρως τῇ λέξει χρῶνται οἱ ἅγιοι. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς τῷ διαβόλῳ· Πόθεν παραγέγονας; Ἀθανασίου. Ἅμα δὲ ἐν τούτοις παρίσταται, εἰ καὶ τὰ γενητὰ πάντα ἐν μεμερισμένοις τόποις εἰσὶ, φωστῆρες μὲν ἐν τῷ στερεώματι, νέφη δὲ ἐν τῷ ἀέρι. Καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν· οἱ δὲ ἄγγελοι ἀποστέλλονται εἰς διακονίας, καὶ ἀναβαίνουσι καὶ καταβαίνουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς κλίμακος. Κἀνταῦθα, Ἦλθον, φησὶ, παραστῆναι ἐνώπιον Κυρίου. Καὶ πεῦσις γίνεται πρὸς τὸν διάβολον· Πόθεν παραγέγονας; Ὥστε ἐν τόπῳ εἰσὶ, καὶ ἔνθα ἀποστέλλονται, ἐκεῖ πάρεισι· μόνος δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπερίγραπτος· τὸν παντα χοῦ παρόντα ζητοῦσιν, ἵν' εὕροιεν ἐν χωρίῳ τινὶ συγκλειόμενον τὸν ἀόριστον. Ἀλλὰ τὸ παραστῆναι, τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ τοῖς θελήμασιν αὐτοῦ τυπωθῆναι, καὶ τὸ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁλικῶς ἀνατείνεσθαι. Θεοῦ μὲν γὰρ ἐνώπιόν ἐστι πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις, καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ ἀποστατικὴ καὶ πονηροτάτη, κατὰ τὸ ἀπερίγραπτον τῆς οὐσίας ἐκείνης· ἰδίως δὲ οἱ ἄγγελοι πάρεισι τῷ Θεῷ, κατὰ τὸν τῆς θείας ἀγάπης ἀκόρεστον ἔρωτα. Ἀθανάσιος. Ἠγωνίζετο μὲν οὖν ὁ Ἰὼβ, καὶ μέγας ἦν ὁ πειρασμός· μείζων δὲ ἐφαίνετο ὁ ἀθλητὴς τοῦ πειρασμοῦ.