The Character and Providence of Job
Job was a man of true integrity: blameless, righteous, and God-fearing, who actively shunned every evil practice. In contrast, wicked people are deceptive, much like those who attempt to paint God. To fear God and keep His commandments is the duty of every human being. He was blameless because of his righteousness; he was God-fearing because a virtuous life facilitates the knowledge of God, and that divine knowledge serves as a protective guard for one's life. Regarding the calamities, fire fell from heaven and consumed the sheep Raiders surrounded the camels and took them captive While camels were intended for riders, and donkeys and oxen for the plowmen and laborers, the sheep were uniquely hated by God, which is why fire was sent from heaven to destroy them.
As much time passed, his wife observed that a great calamity had arrived. She noted that evil often strikes after a long duration; it is precisely then that hope is most severely tested and strength is most greatly exhausted. Job suffered a double weakness: he grew physically more frail as time went on, and his hope grew increasingly dim. Is not human life on earth a mere trial, much like the daily wage of a laborer? Everyone toils for their own sustenance: the farmer gathers food, the craftsman pursues a lowly trade, and those in high positions live differently. Truly, no one fails to care for their basic necessities.
Your hands formed me and brought me into being. The body is fashioned from the earth, derived from a woman, but the soul is created without any pre-existing matter, being both incorporeal and indivisible. I implore you to remember the lowly and fleeting nature of our existence. There comes a set time when the breast must fall under the power of others. Some people glorify fate, claiming the Scriptures say it was predestined for him to suffer, but the Scriptures do not say this! We are not subject to necessity; rather, God governs all our affairs through the words of His providence, knowing exactly how much suffering is beneficial for us and leading us through temptations according to a specific measure. Job said this so that the judgment might be left to God, saying: let not the righteous who suffer be mocked, for they suffer only as much as God wills.
My eyes have seen these things and my ears have heard them; I know as much as you do, and I am not less wise than you. Though I may be younger in age, I lack nothing in understanding or in the knowledge of divine things; I am not inferior to any of you. What grows old becomes like a worn-out garment. Job does not say these things by his own will, but in response to the premise that all who are afflicted suffer because they have sinned. Like a flower that blooms only to fall, or a shadow that passes and leaves no memory for the living, human life is transient. Here, divine providence is made clear: life does not persist by mere chance, but by the Word of God, following an ordered course. This is not to be called fate, but rather the way God has ordered each thing within the limits and measures of His will. Rather than saying he was born before all men or lived through more trials than his peers, it is better to say that through his long life, he has gained more experience than those of a similar nature. —Theodotios: regarding the high and inaccessible place; —The Hebrew: 'You were captured'; —Thinas says...
Greek
Homiliae in Job 361 Κεφ. Αʹ, βʹ. Καὶ ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ἀλη θινὸς, ἄμεμπτος, δίκαιος, θεοσεβὴς, ἀπεχό μενος ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος. Οἱ γὰρ φαῦλοι ἄνθρωποι ψευδεῖς, ὥσπερ οἱ ζωγραφούμενοι τὸν Θεόν. Τὸν Θεὸν φοβοῦ, τὰς ἐντολὰς φύλαττε, ὅτι τοῦτο πᾶς ἄνθρω πος. Ἄμεμπτος, ἐπειδὴ δίκαιος. Θεοσεβὴς, 362 βίος γὰρ καλὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιγνῶναι ποιεῖ, καὶ ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις τοῦ βίου γίνεται φυλακή. ι ʹ, ιζʹ Πῦρ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ κατέκαυσε τὰ πρόβατα... Καὶ ἐκύκλωσαν τὰς καμήλους, καὶ ᾐχμαλώτευσαν αὐτάς ... Τὰς μὲν καμήλους πεποίηκε γενέσθαι ὑπὸ τοὺς ἱππεῖς· τὰς ὀνάδας καὶ τοὺς βόας, τοὺς ἀροτριῶντας καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐργαζομένους, πε ποίηκε γενέσθαι ὑπὸ τοὺς αἰχμαλωτίζοντας· τὰ πρόβατα δὲ ἐμίσησεν, διὰ τοῦτο πῦρ κα τήγαγεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἐπὶ τὰ πρόβατα ... Κεφ. Βʹ, θʹ. Χρόνου δὲ πολλοῦ προβεβη κότος, εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ. Ὅρα τὸ κακοῦργον, ὅτε πολὺς διῆλθε χρό νος, τότε ἐπιτίθεται· τότε γὰρ μάλιστα τὰ τῆς ἐλπίδος ἐλέγχεται, τότε μάλιστα τὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἐξασθενεῖ. ∆ιπλᾶ τε τῷ Ἰὼβ τὰ τῆς ἀσθενείας ἦν· αὐτός τε γὰρ ἀσθε νέστερος γέγονε τῷ μήκει τοῦ χρόνου, καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς μᾶλλον ἀπέγνωστο. Κεφ. Ζʹ, αʹ. Πότερον οὐχὶ πειρατήριον ὁ βίος ἀνθρώπου ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὥσπερ μισθίου αὐθημερινοῦ ἡ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ; ∆ίκην μισθωτοῦ, ἅπαντες περὶ τὴν ἑαυ τῶν πονοῦνται ζωήν· ἄλλως γὰρ γεωργὸς συλλέγει τροφὴν, καὶ ἄλλως ὁ τὴν βάναυσον μετιὼν τέχνην, καὶ οἱ ἐν ἀξιώματι ἑτέρως. 363 Ἔστι δὲ ὅλως οὐδεὶς, ὃς οὐ τῶν ἀναγκαίων φροντίζει. Κεφ. Ιʹ, ηʹ. Αἱ χεῖρές σου ἔπλασάν με, καὶ ἐποίησάν με. Πέπλασται μὲν τὸ σῶμα ἐξ ὑποκειμένου τῆς γῆς, ἤτοι τῆς γυναικός· πεποίηται δὲ ἡ ψυχὴ, μὴ προϋποκειμένου τινὸς, ὡς γὰρ ἀσώματος καὶ ἀμέριστος. Ἱκετεύω δὴ μνη σθῆναι καὶ τοῦ τῆς φύσεως εὐτελοῦς καὶ ὀλιγοχρονίου. Κεφ. ΙΒʹ, εʹ. Εἰς χρόνον γὰρ τακτὸν ἡτοί μαστο πεσεῖν ὑπὸ ἄλλων. Ἐνταῦθα οἱ τὴν εἱμαρμένην δοξάζοντες, φασὶν ὅτι ἰδοὺ ἡ γραφὴ λέγει ὅτι εἵμαρτο αὐτῷ παθεῖν. Ἀλλ' οὐ τοῦτο ἡ γραφὴ λέγει, μὴ γένοιτο! οὐ γὰρ ὑπὸ ἀνάγκην τὰ ἡμέ τερα· ἀλλ' ὅτι πάντα ἐν μέτρῳ διοικεῖ τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς τῆς αὐτοῦ προνοίας λόγοις, οἶδε καὶ μέχρι πόσου συμφερόντως δεῖ πάσχειν ἡμᾶς, καὶ κατὰ μέτρον ἐπάγει τοὺς πειρασμούς. Τοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰὼβ, ἵνα τὸ κρίμα τῷ Θεῷ παράσχῃ, μονονουχὶ λέ γων· Μὴ γελάσθωσαν οἱ δίκαιοι πάσχοντες· ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον γὰρ πάσχουσιν, ἐφ' ὅσον ὁ Θεὸς βούλεται. Κεφ. ΙΓʹ, αʹ. Ἰδοὺ ταῦτα ἑώρακέν μου ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς, καὶ ἀκήκοέν μου τὸ οὖς, καὶ οἶδα ὅσα καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐπίστασθε, καὶ οὐκ ἀσυνετώ τερός εἰμι ὑμῶν. Καὶ εἰ τῇ ἡλικίᾳ ἐλάττων ὑμῶν εἶναι δο κῶ, ἀλλὰ κατ' οὐδὲν εἰς σύνεσιν λείπομαι, 364 καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα εἰς τὴν τῶν θείων εἴδησιν, καὶ οὐδὲν ὑμῶν εἰμι καταδεέστερος. κηʹ. Ὃ παλαιοῦται ἴσα ἀσκῷ, ἢ ὥσπερ ἱμάτιον σητόβρωτον. Οὐ κατὰ βούλησιν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ταῦτα λέ γει, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ ὑποτιθέμενον, ὅτι πᾶς θλιβόμενος ἁμαρτὼν ταῦτα ὑφίσταται. Κεφ. Ι∆ʹ, αʹ. Ἢ ὥσπερ ἄνθος ἀνθῆσαν ἐξέπεσεν· ἀπέδρα δὲ ὥσπερ σκιὰ, καὶ οὐ μὴ στῇ. Καὶ σκιᾶς δίκην, παρελθὼν τὸν βίον, οὐδὲ μνημόσυνόν τι τοῖς ζῶσιν ἀφίησιν. Τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρόνοιαν ἐνταῦθα σαφηνίζει· οὐχ ὡς εἰκαίως καὶ ἔτυχεν ἐν τῷ βίῳ παραμένον τα, ἀλλ' ἐκ ῥήσεως Θεοῦ, οὐχ ὑπερβαίνοντος τὸν παρ' αὐτοῦ τεταγμένον βίον. Ταῦτα δὲ οὐχ ὡς εἱμαρμένης κρατούσης λεκτέον, ἀλλ' ὡς τοῦ θελήματος τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅροις καὶ μέ τροις ἕκαστα διαταξαμένου. Κεφ. ΙΕʹ, ζʹ, ηʹ. Τί γάρ; μὴ πρῶτος ἀν θρώπων ἐγεννήθης; ἢ πρὸ θινῶν ἐπάγης; ἢ σύνταγμα Κυρίου ἀκήκοας; Ἀντὶ τοῦ· μὴ πρὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ὑπέστης, καὶ ἄχρι τοῦ νῦν διατείνας τὸν βίον, πλειόνων πραγμάτων πεῖραν ἔσχηκας παρὰ τοὺς ὁμοφυεῖς. –Θεοδωτίων· Ἵνα ἐσ τὶν ὁ ὑψηλὸς τόπος καὶ δύσβατος, ἤτοι ψαμ μώδης. –Ὁ Ἑβραῖος· Συνελήφθης. –Θῖνας ἐκεῖ λέγει
About this text
Origen of Alexandria, Homiliae in Job (Greek).
Original English Translation of Origen’s Homiliae in Job — new OET from PG 12 Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 12 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.