Two senses of εὐχή and προσευχή
It seemed to me not unreasonable first to distinguish what is signified in Scripture, since εὐχή signifies two things — and likewise προσευχή. For this name, besides its common and customary use in many places, is also placed for what we customarily mean by εὐχή, as in the Hannah passages in First Kingdoms: And Eli the priest sat on a throne at the doorposts of the temple of the Lord. And she, bitter in soul, prayed to the Lord and wept weeping. And she vowed a vow and said: O Lord of hosts, if in oversight You look upon Your servant's humiliation and remember me and do not forget Your servant, and give Your servant a male seed — I will give him to the Lord as a gift all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.
One might not unreasonably say here, attending to 'she prayed to the Lord' (Leviticus 27:1–8) and 'she vowed a vow': if she did both — that is, she prayed to the Lord and she vowed a vow — perhaps 'she prayed' is placed for what we customarily call prayer, while 'she vowed a vow' is placed for what is signified as ordered in Leviticus and Numbers. For 'I will give him to the Lord as a gift all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head' (1 Samuel 1:9–11) is not strictly prayer but that vow — like Jephthah's in these words: And Jephthah vowed a vow to the Lord and said: If You deliver the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of my house's doors to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer him as a burnt offering (Numbers 6:2–3) (Judges 11:30–31).
Greek
§1. Οὐχ ἄλογον δή μοι ἐφάνη τὸ κατὰ τὰς γραφὰς σημαινόμενον πρῶτον διαστείλασθαι τῆς εὐχῆς δύο σημαινούσης, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῆς προσευχῆς· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα πρὸς τῷ κοινῷ καὶ συνήθει πολλαχοῦ κειμένῳ τέτακται καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸ σύνηθες ἡμῖν σημαινόμενον [τῆς] εὐχῆς [text uncertain; see note] ἐν τοῖς περὶ τῆς Ἄννης λεγομένοις ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν Βασιλειῶν· καὶ Ἡλεὶ ὁ ἱερεὺς ἐκάθητο ἐπὶ θρόνου ἐπὶ φλιῶν ναοῦ κυρίου. καὶ αὐτὴ ψυχῇ πικρᾷ καὶ προσηύξατο πρὸς κύριον καὶ κλαυθμῷ ἔκλαυσε. καὶ ηὔξατο εὐχὴν καὶ εἶπε· κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων, ἐὰν ἐφοράσει ἐπίδῃς ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης σου καὶ μνησθῇς μου καὶ μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ τῆς δούλης σου καὶ δῷς τῇ δούλῃ σου σπέρμα ἀνδρός, καὶ δώσω αὐτὸν τῷ κυρίῳ δοτὸν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ σίδηρος οὐχ ἀναβήσεται ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ.
§2. δύναται μέντοι γε τὶς οὐχ ἀπιθάνως ἐνταῦθα, ἐπιστήσας τῷ προσηύξατο πρὸς κύριον καὶ ηὔξατο εὐχήν, εἰπεῖν ὅτι, εἰ τὰ δύο πεποίηκε, τουτέστι προσηύξατο πρὸς κύριον καὶ ηὔξατο εὐχήν, μή ποτε τὸ μὲν προσηύξατο ἐπὶ τῆς συνήθως ἡμῖν ὀνομαζομένης τέτακται εὐχῆς τὸ δὲ ηὔξατο εὐχὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐν Λευϊτικῷ καὶ Ἀριθμοῖς τεταγμένου σημαινομένου. τὸ γὰρ δώσω αὐτὸν κυρίῳ δοτὸν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ σίδηρος οὐκ ἀναβήσεται ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ κυρίως οὐκ ἔστι προσευχὴ ἀλλ᾽ ἐκείνη ἡ εὐχή, ἥντινα καὶ Ἰεφθάε ηὔξατο(?) ἐν τούτοις· καὶ ηὔξατο Ἰεφθάε εὐχὴν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ εἶπεν· ἐὰν παραδώσει(?) παραδῷς μοι τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἀμμὼν ἐν χειρί μου, καὶ ἔσται ὃς ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τῶν θυρῶν τοῦ οἴκου μου εἰς ἀπάντησίν μου ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέψαι με ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν Ἀμμών, καὶ ἔσται τῷ κυρίῳ, καὶ ἀνοίσω αὐτὸν ὁλοκαύτωμα.
About this text
Origen’s treatise on prayer. Open the Greek under each section.
English follows Paul Koetschau, Origenes Werke II (GCS, 1899). Where orat_* OET tip slices are present, those sections use that new English from the Greek (Pass A≠B). Archive OCR of GCS was checked elsewhere.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Koetschau, Origenes Werke II (GCS 3, 1899) (Greek · On Prayer)
- Checked print Archive.org OCR of GCS 3 (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.