A defense of spiritual interpretation
And the witness from them does not lie in a prophetic voice only. Knowledge has been written in the things that were done, which the great prophet arranges with knowledge for the race of the Hebrews, looking to the taking and the keeping, and further also the sacrificing and the eating by fire, and the posture of clothing, and the haste toward using up what has been sacredly offered, and the reducing to ash of what was left, and the lawful commandment being completed for their generations until the age as a memorial for them and for their sons. For he confesses that it holds not only of history but also of lacuna anagogy, as it is written: "Comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (Exodus 12:14) (1 Corinthians 2:13) (Exodus 12:24–27)
Greek
Ἔστι δὲ ἡ ὑπ' α[ὐτ]ῶν μαρτυρία μὴ ἐν προ[φ]ητικῇ φωνῇ μόνῃ {ω} κει[μέν]ῃ, ἐν τοῖς πεπραγμένοις [δὲ γέγ]ραπται ἐπιστήμη, ἣν ἐ[πισ]τημονικῶς ὁ μέγας προφήτης διατάσσεται τῷ [γ]ένει τῶν Ἑβραίων, τήν τε λῆψιν κ[αὶ] τήρησιν {καὶ θυσίαν} ἐνορῶν ἔτι τε καὶ θύσιν καὶ βρῶσιν ἔμπυρον καὶ σχῆμα στολισμοῦ καὶ σπουδὴν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἱερουργηθέντος ἀνάλωσιν καὶ τὴν τῶν περιλειφθέντων τέφρωσιν καὶ τὴν ἔννομον ἐντολὴν εἰς γε[νεὰ]ς αὐτῶν μέχρις αἰῶνος [ἐκτε]λουμένην εἰς μνημ[όσυ]νον αὐτοῖς τε καὶ [το]ῖς υ[ἱοῖς] αὐτῶν· ὁμολογε[ῖ γὰ]ρ [οὐ μό]νον ἱστορία<ς> ἀλλὰ καὶ {π ...} ἀναγωγῆς ἔχεσθαι, κ[αθ]ὼς γέγραπται· "Πν(ευματ)ικὰ πν(ευματ)ικοῖς συγκρίνοντες".
About this text
Origen on the Passover: what the feast means, and how Christians should keep it.
English follows the Greek as printed in Witte (1993), from the page images. OCR of those pages was checked. Damaged lines are marked as gaps, not filled from another edition. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Witte, Die Schrift des Origenes „Über das Passa“ (1993) (Greek · On Pascha, from the page images)
- Checked print OCR of the Witte page images (Greek · Same print)
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.