The Adversary's Strategy against Abraham

Having entered into his mind as a bird's nest

He did not accept the excuse according to the one saying, 'When the evil one turned from me, I did not know' (Job 2:9), which indicates that: many times, when the adversary approached, he did not flee, so as to know him being present through the sinning. For he did not fail to know the adversary being present to the extent that the holy man was warring, but thus he did not know it as receiving an experience of his evil memories. And he placed a final assault, the one of the request, thinking through this very blow that he might turn virtue aside, which also he did against the patriarch Abraham, if he would allow a friend to receive the book of the covenant.

Having attempted many and often against the holy man and having been defeated in all things, since he hoped to turn away Abraham, who was lying near and beloved, he brings forward the request for the child, which God performs by himself to shame the adversary, desiring to say: 'Take your beloved son whom you have loved' (Gen 22:2), through various words, stirring up the father's natural affection, so that he might make his courage manifest, which he maintained, neither bringing the coming thing to the wife nor to the children, so that it might not become an obstacle to the upright man. But also toward the words of the child he did not flee, the child saying: 'Father, behold the fire and the wood; where is the lamb for the offering?' Therefore, believing that even if the child becomes dead, God is able to raise him up, he did not give him according to the command, but he would have slaughtered the only-begotten, if God, having accepted the readiness, had not saved the son for him.

For such a scheming intention belongs to the devil, and we are instructed from the Gospel, the Savior saying to his own disciples: 'Behold, Satan has asked you to sift you like wheat' (Luke 22:31). And the book also has the inscription 'following,' since the whole book contains the history concerning him, without any other being brought alongside. And they add 'following' there, as if some were seeking whose the book might be. And some attribute it to the holy Ezra, and others say even when it is written at the end of the book 'following, following,' as if in the archives, since kings being friends of Job, being pleased with the upright man, they deposited the writing concerning him. Let the lover of beauty seek concerning...

Greek

φωλεὸν εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτοῦ εἰσελθών. οὕτω καὶ οἱ περὶ Ὑμέναιον καὶ Ἀλέξανδρον "περὶ τὴν πίστιν ἐναυάγησαν" διὰ τοῦτο παθόντες ὄργανόν τε διαβολικὸν διὰ τοῦ ἑκουσίου γεγενημένοι, οὕστινας καὶ "παρέδωκεν αὐτῶι τῷ σατανᾷ" ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος, "ἵνα παιδευθῶσιν μὴ βλασφημεῖν". καὶ ὅλως ποικίλη ἡ τοῦ διαβόλου κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἔνεδρα γίνεται "ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας ἐνεργοῦντος", οὐκ ἀπεχομένου δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐναρέτων, ἀλλὰ κἀκείνοις ἐπιτρέχοντος. τοῦτο γὰρ σημαίνει τὸ λόγιον παραινοῦν· "ἐὰν πνεῦμα τοῦ ἐξουσιάζοντος ἀναβῇ ἐπὶ σέ, τόπον σου μὴ ἀφῇς." ἐπιχειρεῖ μὲν καὶ ἀνῆκεν εἰς αὐτὸν καταβαίνων, ἀσφαλὴς δὲ ὁ ἐνάρετος γεγενημένος κωλύει τὴν ἐπιβουλήν. καὶ ὁ Ἰὼβ οὖν τέλειος ὑπάρχων ἀνὴρ καὶ πάντῃ ἀπεχόμενος κακίας καὶ ἀρετῆς μετέχων "οὐ παρεῖχεν τόπον τῷ διαβόλῳ"· εἴρηται γὰρ "δίκαιος, ἀ ληθινός, ἄμεμπτος, θεοσεβής, ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς πονη5 ροῦ πράγματος", ἅπερ τελειότατον αὐτὸν ἀποδείκνυσιν, οὐ μόνον κακίας ἀπεχόμενον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς ἄκρον ἀρετῆς φθάσαντα. τότε γὰρ κυρίως τις ἀρετὴν ἔχῃ, ὅταν τῶν ἐναντίων διαθέσεων προαιρέσει ἀπέχηται. τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ μακάριος ∆αυὶδ παιδεύει λέγων· "ἔκκλινον ἀπὸ κακοῦ καὶ ποίησον ἀγαθόν." ἀλλὰ καὶ τό· "παύσασθε ἀπὸ τῶν πονηριῶν ὑμῶν, μάθετε καλὸν ποιεῖν" τῆς αὐτῆς ἐστι διανοίας. ὁ Ἰὼβ οὖν ἀπεχόμενος κακίας οὐχ οὕτως ἀπείχετο ὡς τὰ βρέφη, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐνεργῶν τελείως τὴν ἀρετήν. ἀπὸ ἀνδρείας δὲ αὐτῶι ὁ ἔπαινος ἐγίνετο οὐχ ὡς τῶν ἄλλων ἀρετῶν ἀπολειπομένῳ –ἠκολούθουν γὰρ αὐτῷ ἅπασαι ἀλλήλων ἠρτημέναι–, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἐπικρατείας τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀνδρείαν, ὅπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν μακαρισμῶν ἔχει· ὁ γὰρ "πτωχὸς τῷ πνεύματι" ἔχει τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις κεκοσμημένος καὶ πρᾶος καὶ δίκαιος ὤν. εἶχεν οὖν καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρετὰς ὁ Ἰώβ, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς δηλοῦται· ὡς γὰρ πρὸς φιλοξενίαν ἦν ἕτοιμος, οὕτως καὶ πρὸς ἐλεημοσύνην, "πατὴρ μὲν ὀρφάνοις γιγνόμενος, τοῖς δὲ ἀδυνάτοις βοηθός, ὀφθαλμὸς τυφλοῖς, ποὺς δὲ χωλῶν" εὑρισκόμενος. τὸν οὕτως οὖν ἠσφαλισμέ νον πάντοθεν πρακτικῇ τε 6 καὶ διανοητικῇ ἀρετῇ–διὰ γὰρ ταύτην ἀληθινὸς εἴρηται ὡς καὶ ἄμεμπτον εἶναι–ἐπειρᾶτο διάβολος τῆς τοσαύτης ἀρετῆς μεθιστᾶν, πολλάκις ὡς εἰκὸς ὑποβάλλων λογισμούς, οὓς ὁ ἅγιος οὐκ ἐδέχετο κατὰ τὸν λέγοντα· "ἐκκλίνοντος ἀπ' ἐμοῦ τοῦ πονηροῦ οὐκ ἐγίγνωσκον", ὃ δηλοῖ ὅτι· πολλάκις προσελθόντος τοῦ ἀντικειμένου οὐκ ὤκλασα, ὥστε γνῶναι μὲν αὐτὸν παρόντα διὰ τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν. οὐ γὰρ ἠγνόει παρόντα ἐς ὅσον ἐπολέμει ὁ ἅγιος, ἀλλ' οὕτως οὐκ ἐγίγνωσκεν, ὡς πεῖραν δέχεσθαι τῶν φαύλων αὐτοῦ ἐνθυμήσεων. τελευταίαν δ' ἐπιβουλὴν τὴν τῆς ἐξαιτήσεως καθῆκεν, οἰόμενος διὰ ταύτης αὐτὸν τῆς προσβολῆς τῆς ἀρετῆς μεθιστᾶν, ὅπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ πατριάρχου Ἀβρὰμ πεποίηκεν, εἴ τῳ φίλον παραδέξασθαι τὴν βίβλον τῆς διαθήκης. πολλὰ κ̣αὶ πολλάκις ἐπιχειρήσας κατὰ τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ πρὸς ἅπαντα ἡττηθείς, ἐπεὶ ἅτε πρὸς ὀψίγονον καὶ ἀγαπητὸν διακείμενον τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἤλπιζεν διαστρέψειν, προφέρει τὴν ἐξαίτησιν τοῦ παιδός, ἣν ὁ θεὸς δι' ἑαυτοῦ ποιεῖται καταισχῦναι τὸν ἀντικείμενον βουλόμενος λέγων· "λαβὲ τὸν υἱόν σου τὸν ἀγαπητὸν ὃν ἠγάπησας", διὰ τῶν ποικίλων ῥημά7 των διεγείρων τοῦ πατρὸς τὸ φιλόστοργον, ἵνα τὸ ἀνδρεῖον αὐτοῦ φανερὸν ποιήσῃ, ὅπερ διετήρησεν μήτε τῆι γυναικὶ ἀνενεγκὼν τὸ ἐσόμενον μήτε τοῖς παισίν, ἵνα μή τι ἐμπόδιον τῶι κατορθώματι γίνηται. ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς λόγους τοῦ παιδὸς οὐκ ὤκλασεν εἰπόντος· "πάτερ, ἰδοὺ τὸ πῦρ καὶ τὰ ξύλα· ποῦ τὸ πρόβατον τὸ εἰς τὴν ὁλοκάρπωσιν;" διόπερ πιστεύων, ὅτι κἂν νεκρὸς ὁ παῖς γίνηται δυνατὸς ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸν ἀναστῆσαι, οὐκ ἐνδέδωκεν πρὸς τὸ πρόσταγμα, ἀλλὰ ἐσφαγίασεν ἂν τὸν μονογενῆ, εἰ μὴ θεὸς τὴν προθυμίαν ἀποδεξάμενος περιέσωσεν 2 αὐτῷ τὸν υἱόν. ὅτι δὲ τοιαύτης ἐπιβουλευτικῆς προθέσεώς ἐστιν διάβολος καὶ ἐκ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου παιδευόμεθα λέγοντος τοῦ ςωτῆρος πρὸς τοὺς ἰδίους μαθητάς· "ἰδοὺ ἐξῃτήσατο ὑμᾶς ὁ σατανᾶς τοῦ σινιάσαι ὡς τὸν σῖτον." ὁμώνυμον δὲ τῶι ἀνδρὶ καὶ τὸ βιβλίον ἔχει τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν ἀκολούθως, ἐπεὶ πᾶσα ἡ βίβλος τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ ἱστορίαν περιέχει, οὐδενὸς ἑτέρου παραβαλλομένου. κἀκεῖνο δὲ ἀκόλουθον προσθεῖναι, ὡς ἐζήτηταί τισιν, τίνος ἂν εἴη τὸ βιβλίον. καὶ οἱ μὲν 8 τῷ ἁγίῳ Ἔσδρᾳ αὐτὸ προσνέμουσιν, ῃαξατ οἱ δὲ καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐν τῶι τέλει τοῦ βιβλίου εἴρηται ῃαξατ ῃαξατ φασίν, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἀρχείοις ἅτε βασιλεῖς ὄντες οἱ φίλοι τοῦ Ἰὼβ ἀρεσθέντες τῶι κατορθώματι τὴν περὶ τούτου γραφὴν ἀπέθεντο. ζητείτω δὲ ὁ φιλόκαλος περὶ

About this text

Didymus the Blind on Job.

Catalogue & scope

Khazarzar scan

Witnesses

Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)

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