Fragments on 1 Samuel
Fragmenta in Regnorum
Eli, the ark, and God's 'repentance' without passion§1
1Divine Scripture was about to foretell the ruin of Eli's sons and the capture of God's ark by the foreigners, so it first tends the hearer's ear lest anyone think God harsh. It narrates that Eli's sons' wickedness was not lessened by threat and prophecy against them, but grew worse.
Eli was pious in himself: his first anxiety was not the children's salvation but the ark, lest it fall under the foreigners—and that is what happened. The foreigners were to learn that God was not defeated through Israel, nor conquered by their own strength; Israel's sins and impieties produced the defeat. Dagon fell before the ark not to worship—he was unworthy—but to be shattered; and so it was.
As among humans "hand," "foot," "eye," and "ear" name bodily members, upon God "hand" means creative power, "eye" oversight, "ear" hearing, and "foot" his presence when he acts. So "wrath of God" names discipline upon those who stumble, not a divine passion; and "repentance" names the transfer of God's economy from one deed to another. What we do when we repent—leaving what we regret and pursuing what is better—is called God's repentance in that transferred sense.
Why speak so? The prophets had to address hearers heavy in mind with more bodily speech about God, so the truth could be received. People who thought carved and cast images—and even irrational animals—to be gods could not have received spiritual words about God. If God foreknows all, he is not angered or "repentant" from what he knows; wrath's work is punishment, and repentance's work is standing away from a former deed and transferring into another economy.
So Scripture says of a sword, "Sword, be sharp and slaughter" (sense of commanded sharpness); so "hand" is named of iron and of a sword. Wrath is said to be angry; sin has a "face" in David; rivers "clap" with hands—yet rivers have no hands and sins no face. Do not, because of bodily speech the ancients could bear, invent a body for God or fill him with passions.
Do not attach human turnability of judgment to God. We ourselves work the turns of the divine economy that justly meet us, proving by our deeds that we are unworthy of the honor God gave. Having condemned Saul and wishing to hand rule to David—and to keep the kingdom for his seed because of the king of all creation to be born from him according to flesh—God used human words in dialogue with humans: "I have repented that I anointed Saul king," meaning he wills to give the kingdom's beginning to another and end Saul's power.
"I have repented" on Saul's account means: Saul made himself so unworthy that if God had a repenting nature he would have changed his mind about him. Why then was Saul anointed? Because then he was worthy; having turned, he became unworthy again. So what I said is shown: God's "repentance" names the transfer of his economy from one deed to another. The word shows that even a prophet and righteous…
Greek · §1
Fragmenta in librum primum Regnorum 1 Ἐπειδὴ ἔμελλεν ἡ θεία γραφὴ τὴν ἀπώλειαν τῶν υἱῶν Ἠλὶ προλέγειν, ὅτι τε ἡ κιβωτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ληφθήσεται ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλο φύλων, προλαβοῦσα θεραπεύει τὴν ἀκοήν, μήποτέ τις οἰηθῇ σκληρὸν εἶναι τὸν θεόν. διὰ τοῦτο, ὡς ἔφην, ἱστορεῖ ὡς οὐκ ἠλαττώθη τῶν υἱῶν Ἠλὶ ἡ κακία καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἀπειλῆς καὶ τῆς κατ' αὐ τῶν προρρήσεως, ἀλλ' ηὐξήθη μᾶλλον. 2 Εὐσεβὴς ὁ Ἠλὶ καθ' ἑαυτόν· οὐ γὰρ περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν τέκνων ἠγωνία προηγουμένως ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τῆς κιβωτοῦ , μήποτε γένοιτο ὑπὸ τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις· ὃ δὴ καὶ συνέβη. 3 Ἵνα γνῶσιν οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι ὅτι οὔτε ὁ θεὸς ἡττήθη διὰ τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν οὔτε αὐτὸν νενικήκασι τῇ οἰκείᾳ δυνάμει, ἀλλὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων αἱ ἁμαρτίαι καὶ ἀσέβειαι τὴν ἧτταν πεποιήκασιν. πέπτωκε δὲ πρὸ τῆς κιβωτοῦ ὁ ∆αγών , οὐχ ἵνα προσκυνήσῃ, οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἄξιος, ἀλλ' ἵνα συντριβῇ· ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονεν. 4 Ὥσπερ <ἐπ'> ἀνθρώπων μὲν χεὶρ καὶ ποὺς καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς καὶ οὖς καὶ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ὀνομάζεται σημαντικὰ τῶν μελῶν τοῦ ἡμε τέρου σώματός ἐστιν, ἐπὶ δὲ θεοῦ χεὶρ μὲν τὸ δημιουργικόν, ὀφθαλ μὸς δὲ τὸ ἐποπτικόν, καὶ οὖς μὲν τὸ ἀκουστικόν, ποὺς δὲ τὸ τῆς παρουσίας ὅταν ἐνεργῇ τι· οὕτω καὶ θυμὸς μὲν θεοῦ λέγεται παι δεία ἡ κατὰ τῶν πταιόντων, οὐ πάθος θεοῦ, μεταμέλεια δὲ ἡ ἀπὸ πράγματος εἰς πρᾶγμα μετάθεσις τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκονομίας. ὃ γὰρ ἡμεῖς μεταμελούμενοι ποιοῦμεν, τουτέστιν ἐκεῖνα μὲν φεύγομεν ἐφ' οἷς μετεμελήθημεν, ἕτερα δὲ διώκομεν τὰ κρείττω, τοῦτο μεταμέλεια θεοῦ λέγεται. διατί; ἐπειδὴ σωματικώτερον τοῖς βαρυτάτοις τὴν διάνοιαν ἔδει περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τοὺς προφήτας ὁμιλεῖν, ἵνα χωρηθῇ· οἱ γὰρ ἀγάλματα ἅπερ ἔγλυφον καὶ ἐχώνευον θεοὺς νομίζοντες, ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἄλογα, πῶς ἂν ἐχώρησαν διὰ πνευματικῶν νοημάτων τε καὶ ῥημάτων τὰ περὶ θεοῦ λεγόμενα; Καὶ πάλιν· Εἰ πάντα πρόοιδεν ὁ θεός, οὐκ ἀφ' ὧν δὲ οἶδε θυμοῦται ἢ μετα μελεῖται, οὐ πάθος ἄρα θεοῦ θυμὸς ἢ μεταμέλεια, ἀλλὰ τοῦ θυ μοῦ ἔργον ἡ κόλασις καὶ τὸ τῆς μεταμελείας ὁμοίως ἀπόστασις μὲν τοῦ προτέρου πράγματος, μετάθεσις δὲ εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν οἰκονομίαν. οὕτω καὶ περὶ ῥομφαίας λέγεται· «ῥομφαία ὀξύνου καὶ σφάζε», οὕτω καὶ χεὶρ ὠνόμασται σιδήρου († ὁ Σολομών· «ἵνα ῥύσηταί σε ἐκ χειρὸς σιδήρου») καὶ ῥομφαίας (ὡς ὁ ∆αβίδ φησιν· «εἰς χεῖρας ῥομφαίας»). οὕτω καὶ ὁ θυμὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὀργίζεσθαι λέγεται καὶ πρόσωπον ἔχειν ἁμαρτία κατὰ τὸν ∆αβίδ, καὶ πρόσωπον ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ θυμός, ὡς ἐν τῷ τριακοστῷ ἑβδόμῳ Ψαλμῷ, καὶ χερσὶν οἱ ποταμοὶ κροτεῖν. οὔτε δὲ ποταμοῖς χεῖρές εἰσιν οὔτε πρόσωπον ἁμαρτίαις. μὴ τοίνυν διὰ τὰ σωματικῶς περὶ θεοῦ λεγόμενα, ὡς ἐχώρουν οἱ παλαιοί, σῶμα τὸν θεὸν νομίζωμεν ἢ παθῶν αὐτὸν πεπληρῶσθαι. {Οὐ τὸ εὐπερίστρεπτον τῆς ἀνθρώπου γνώμης τῷ θεῷ προσα πτέον· ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν τὰς τροπὰς τῆς θείας οἰκονομίας τὰς ἐφ' ἡμῶν δικαίως συμβαινούσας ἀπεργαζόμεθα, ἀναξίους ἑαυτοὺς δει κνύντες διὰ τῶν πράξεων τῆς παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δωρηθείσης τιμῆς. καταγνοὺς οὖν τοῦ Σαοὺλ καὶ βουλόμενος τῷ ∆αβὶδ παραδοῦναι τὰ τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ φυλάξαι τὴν βασιλείαν διὰ τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τεχθησόμενον κατὰ σάρκα βασιλέα τῆς κτίσεως ἁπάσης, ἀνθρωπίνοις ἐχρήσατο ῥήμασιν ἀνθρώποις διαλεγόμενος, καὶ εἶπεν· μεταμεμέλημαι ὅτι ἔχρισα τὸν Σαοὺλ εἰς βασιλέα , ἀντὶ τοῦ ἑτέρῳ βούλομαι δοῦναι τῆς βασιλείας τὴν ἀρχήν, τοῦτον δὲ παῦσαι τῆς δυναστείας. Τὸ μεταμεμέλημαι διὰ τὸν Σαοὺλ τουτέστιν οὕτω ἀνάξιον ἑαυτὸν τῆς βασιλείας ἐποίησεν, ὥστε εἴ γε φύσιν εἶχον μετανοοῦσαν, μετέγνων ἂν ἐπ' αὐτῷ. διὰ τί οὖν ἐχρίσθη; ὅτι τότε ἄξιος ἦν. τραπεὶς δὲ πάλιν ἀνάξιος γέγονεν.} 5 Ἐκ τούτων δείκνυται ὃ προεῖπον, ὅτι μεταμέλεια θεοῦ λέγεται τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκονομίας ἀπὸ πράγματος εἰς πρᾶγμα μετάθεσις. {∆είκνυσιν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι κἂν προφήτης καὶ δίκαιος
Prayer with repentance; David, shewbread, Saul's type§2
2…person who petitions for others is not heard unless the one prayed for shows repentance in deed. The righteous person's plea has force when it is energized through the sinner. For the matter to reach its end, both must run together: the righteous one's prayer and the repenting one's work.
Esau was reddish like a hairy hide, carrying deadness from sin and murderous toward Jacob; David was reddish with beauty of eyes, to show his clear sight. How then is the still-shepherding lad called a man, understanding in speech, and a warrior? The speaker did not speak from himself, but foretold what would be as if present, witnessing what David was about to become—except "the Lord is with him" and "good in appearance," which were his from childhood, one by nature and one by grace.
Saul had strength and a crowd helping him wickedly against David, while only Samuel and David were hunted. God's grace makes Saul prophesy not only what cuts against himself but what favors David, and casts him down naked, foresignifying that he will be stripped of the kingdom.
"Profane" here means not the unclean but those who are not holy, set over against the holy loaves of the table. The table held six loaves continually changed for Israel's twelve tribes—called shewbread—so each loaf stood for two tribes and the six for twelve. The good of this was binding the tribes toward concord; the better foresign was the apostles sent two by two by the Savior to preach first among Israel's tribes, so that six pairs make twelve disciples. Lay bread is "profane" only by comparison with the holy, not because the non-holy are unclean as such.
"Today it will be sanctified through the vessels" is said less clearly, but means: my children have been sanctified and kept from a woman yesterday and the day before—that is his claim that the children also are purified. If not, he was sanctified through eating the bread of the Presence. Persuaded, the priest gives David loaves none else ought to eat but priests. This is prophecy through deeds: the royal tribe (Judah) and the priestly (Levi) were about to be joined into one dignity—priestly and royal—in our Savior from David, priest and king together "according to the order of Melchizedek."
Neessar shows either that through sin Doeg the Idumaean remained before the Lord being treated and confessing, or that he was demonized like Saul, whose mules he pastured. Saul bears the type of the evil spirit that once ruled Israel when they said they had no king: the ancient people, despising the Lord who reigned over them, asked that Saul be given as ruler.
No one stands and urinates even toward a wall unless he is at leisure; so he speaks also of the carefree person who expects nothing…
Greek · §2
ἄνθρωπος ὁ ὑπὲρ ἄλλων δεόμενος, οὐκ ἄλλως ἀκούεται, εἰ μὴ ἐκεῖνος ἔργῳ δείξῃ τὴν μετάνοιαν. οὕτω γὰρ ἡ δέησις ἰσχύει τοῦ δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη διὰ τοῦ 1 ἁμαρτήσαντος. ἵνα οὖν εἰς πέρας ἀχθῇ τὸ πρᾶγμα, δεῖ ἀμ φότερα συνδραμεῖν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ δικαίου εὐχὴν καὶ τὸ ἔργον τοῦ μετανοοῦντος.} 6 Ὁ μὲν Ἠσαῦ «πυρράκης ἦν ὡσεὶ δορὰ δασύς», τὴν ἐξ ἁμαρτίας ἔχων νεκρότητα καὶ φονῶν κατὰ τοῦ Ἰακώβ. ὁ δὲ ∆αβὶδ πυρράκης ἦν μετὰ κάλλους ὀφθαλμῶν , ἵνα τὸ διορατικὸν δηλώσῃ τοῦ ∆αβίδ. 7 Πῶς ἀνήρ , καὶ πῶς συνετὸς ἐν λόγῳ , πῶς δὲ καὶ πολε μιστὴς ὁ ἔτι πρόβατα ποιμαίνων; οὐκ ἄρα ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐλάλησεν εἰπών, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐσόμενα προειπὼν ὡς παρόντα, καὶ μαρτυρεῖ τῷ ∆αβὶδ ἅπερ ἔμελλεν εἶναι, πλὴν τοῦ κύριος μετ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ τε ἀγαθὸς τῷ εἴδει , ἅπερ ἐκ παιδικῆς ἡλικίας προσῆν αὐτῷ καὶ παρέμενε, τὸ μὲν φύσει, τὸ δὲ χάριτι. 8 Ἐπειδὴ δυνατὸς ἦν ὁ Σαοὺλ πλῆθος ἔχων βοηθοῦν αὐτῷ κακῶς κατὰ τοῦ ∆αβίδ, οἱ δὲ δύο μόνοι ἐδιώκοντο ὁ Σαμουὴλ καὶ ὁ ∆αβίδ, ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ χάρις ποιεῖ προφητεύειν τὸν Σαοὺλ οὐ μόνον ὅσα κατ' αὐτοῦ ἦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ∆αβίδ, καὶ ῥίπτει γυμνόν , προσημαίνουσα ὅτι γυμνωθήσεται τῆς βασιλείας. 9 Βεβήλους λέγει νῦν οὐ τοὺς ἀκαθάρτους, ἀλλὰ τοὺς οὐχ ἁγίους, πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν τῶν ἁγίων ἄρτων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης παρα τιθεμένων. ἓξ γὰρ εἶχεν ἄρτους ἡ τράπεζα διαπαντὸς ἀλλασσομένους ὑπὲρ τῶν δώδεκα φυλῶν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, οὓς ἐνωπίους ἐκάλουν, ὡς εἶναι ἕκαστον τῶν ἄρτων ὑπὲρ δύο φυλῶν προσφερόμενον, τοὺς δὲ ἓξ ὑπὲρ τῶν δώδεκα φυλῶν. τί οὖν ἐκ τούτου καλὸν ἐγίνετο; τὰς φυλὰς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς ὁμόνοιαν συνάπτεσθαι. τί δὲ κρεῖττον προε σημαίνετο; τοὺς μακαρίους ἀποστόλους ἀνὰ δύο δύο πέμπεσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος τὰ πρῶτα κηρύττειν ἐν ταῖς φυλαῖς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, ὡς εἶναι ἓξ ἅμα τῶν δώδεκα μαθητῶν τὸν ἀριθμόν. {Ἄρτος λαϊκὸς οὐχ ὅτι οἱ μὴ ἅγιοι βέβηλοι, ἀλλ' ὅτι πρὸς τὸ ἅγιον συγκρινόμενοι.} 10 Σήμερον ἁγιασθήσεται διὰ τὰ σκεύη ἀσαφέστερον μὲν εἶπε, σημαίνει δὲ τοῦτο. τὰ μὲν παιδία μου ἡγίασται καὶ ἀπέσχηται γυναικὸς καὶ χθὲς καὶ τρίτην ἡμέραν · τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ φάναι αὐ τὸν καὶ τὰ παιδία ἡγνισμένα . εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἦν, πάντως ἡγιάζετο διὰ τοῦ φαγεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῆς προθέσεως. πεισθεὶς ὁ ἱερεὺς τοῖς εἰρη μένοις δίδωσι τῷ ∆αβὶδ τῶν ἄρτων, οὓς οὐκ ἐχρῆν ἑτέρους φαγεῖν ἢ μόνους τοὺς ἱερέας. τοῦτο δὲ τῆς προφητείας ἐστὶ τῆς δι' ἔργων δηλούσης, ὅτι μήποτε ἄλλης οὔσης τῆς βασιλικῆς φυλῆς, τουτέστι τῆς Ἰούδα, καὶ ἄλλης τῆς ἱερατικῆς φυλῆς, λέγω δὴ <τῆς> Λευιτικῆς, ἔμελλον συνάπτεσθαι καὶ ἓν ἀποτελεῖσθαι τό τε ἱερατικὸν ἀξίωμα καὶ τὸ <βασιλικὸν> ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ ἐκ ∆αβὶδ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἱερέως τε ὁμοῦ καὶ βασιλέως, τοῦ «κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισεδέκ». 11 Τὸν Νεεσσάρ · δηλοῖ ἢ ὅτι δι' ἁμαρτίας παρέμενε ∆ωὴκ ὁ Ἰδουμαῖος ἐνώπιον κυρίου θεραπευόμενος καὶ ἐξομολογούμενος, ἢ δαιμονῶν ὡς ὁ Σαούλ , οὗ τὰς ἡμιόνους ἔβοσκεν. 12 Ὁ Σαοὺλ τοῦ πονηροῦ πνεύματος τύπον φέρει, ἄρξαντος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τότε εἰπόντος· οὐκ ἔχομεν βασιλέα. καὶ γὰρ ὁ πάλαι λαὸς ἐξουδενώσας τὸν κύριον βασιλεύοντα αὐτοῦ, ᾔτησε τὸν Σαοὺλ ἄρ χοντα αὐτῷ δοθῆναι. 13 Οὐκ οὐρεῖ τις ἑστὼς καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς τοῖχον , ἐὰν μὴ σχολάζῃ τοῦτο οὖν λέγει καὶ τὸν ἀμέριμνον καὶ μηδὲν προσδοκῶντα
Medium, Jebus, Nathan, and what God allows§3
3…to suffer, if he belongs to Nabal. The medium did not bring Samuel up—that is impossible—nor did the apparition speak truth once "up." Who this was, and by what power he rose, inquire.
David was besieging Jebus—Jerusalem's name when it lay under foreigners. The Jebusites, knowing David loved the poor, set blind and lame on the wall to insult him. Having taken Jerusalem he so refused to mistreat the maimed that he even set a death penalty on any soldier who tried to kill a blind or lame person: "everyone who strikes a Jebusite lame or blind, let him be touched with the dagger"—that is, let him be killed. Even those who hated David's soul obtained sparing. So he is honored when people say the lame and blind shall not enter the Lord's house—those who insulted David, whom he spared.
Note that Nathan son of David is born after David takes and inhabits Jerusalem. This is the Nathan Luke genealogizes, while Matthew genealogizes Solomon his brother. From David's named sons, then, one line runs through one genealogy and one through another.
From this it is also shown that what God does not do, yet allows to happen, he is said to have done. Absalom's rising, Shimei's insult, and the stones cast at David were not God's work. David makes this clearer: "Let him curse, for the Lord has told him to; perhaps the Lord will look on my humiliation and repay me good for his curse today." What happened did not please God; what does not please him he would not command.
If in zeal for Israel and Judah Saul tried to wipe out the Gibeonites—with whom Joshua son of Nun and all the people had made covenants—and seven born from Saul's daughters were killed for it, why are the tribes not blamed while those who did no wrong pay the penalty? That would be unjust—unless one says a king Saul could not resist Israel and Judah or break the fathers' covenants with the Gibeonites. I would add: it was God's economy that Saul's whole line be consumed, as many as were ever suspected of claiming royal dignity and thus of rising against David and his children.
"The Gibeonites exposed them before the Lord on the mountain" means they did not bury the killed but left them under the sun. "They were exhausted, and Dan son of Joa of the giants' descendants took them" means the giant took those laid in the sun and killed them already spent by the heat. The Gibeonite word is obscure unless we say that when Saul sat at Gibeah for war he routed the foreigners and destroyed the Gibeonites with them. The narrative is in the thirty-…
Greek · §3
παθεῖν, ἐὰν ᾖ τοῦ Νάβαλ . 14 Ἡ ἐγγαστρίμυθος τὸν Σαμουὴλ οὐκ ἀνήγαγεν, ἀμήχανον γάρ, οὐδὲ ἀναβὰς ἀλήθειαν εἴρηκεν. τίς δὲ οὗτος καὶ διὰ ποίας δυνάμεως ἀνέβη, ζήτει. 15 Ἐπολιόρκει τὴν Ἰεβοὺς ὁ ∆αβίδ. Ἰεβοὺς δὲ ἡ νῦν Ἱερουσαλὴἐλέγετο, ὅτε ὑπὸ ἀλλοφύλους ἦν. οἱ τοίνυν Ἰεβουσαῖοι, εἰδότες ὅτι φιλόπτωχος ἦν ὁ ∆αβίδ, ὑπεβάλοντο ἄνωθεν ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους τυφλοὺς καὶ χωλοὺς αὐτὸν ὑβρίζειν. ὁ δὲ κρατήσας τῆς Ἱερου σαλὴμ τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχε τοῦ διαθεῖναι κακῶς τοὺς λελωβημένους τὸ σῶμα, ὡς καὶ νόμον θέσθαι τοῖς αὐτοῦ στρατιώταις θανάτου, εἴ τις ἐπιχειρήσειεν ἀνελεῖν τυφλὸν ἢ χωλόν. πᾶς γὰρ ὁ τύπτων φησὶν Ἰεβουσαῖον χωλὸν ἢ τυφλὸν ἁπτέσθω ἐν παραξιφίδι , τουτ έστιν ἀναιρείσθω· εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἐμίσουν τὴν ψυχὴν ∆αβίδ, ἀλλὰ φει δοῦς τυγχάνουσι. διὸ ἀξιοῦται τῆς παρὰ πάντων τιμῆς λεγόντων· χωλὸς καὶ τυφλὸς οὐκ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς οἶκον κυρίου , οἱ τὸν ∆αβὶδ ὑβρίσαντες, ὧν ἐφείδετο. 16 Σημειωτέον ὅτι Νάθαν ὁ υἱὸς ∆αβὶδ τίκτεται αὐτῷ 2 ἑλόντι καὶ οἰκήσαντι τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ . οὗτος δέ ἐστι Νάθαν ὃν γενεαλογεῖ ὁ μακάριος Λουκᾶς, ὁ δὲ μακάριος Ματθαῖος Σολομῶνα τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ γενεαλογεῖ. καὶ ἐντεῦθεν, λέγω δὴ ἀπὸ τῶν μνημονευθέντων υἱῶν τοῦ ∆αβίδ, ὁ μὲν δι' ἑτέρας λέγεται γενεαλογίας, ὁ δὲ δι' ἄλλης. 17 Ὥστε καὶ ἐντεῦθεν δείκνυται ὅτι, ὅπερ ὁ θεὸς οὐ ποιεῖ μὲν συγχωρεῖ δὲ γενέσθαι, πεποιηκέναι λέγεται. ὡμολόγηται τοίνυν ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ἐπανάστασις τοῦ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ καὶ ἡ τοῦ Σεμεῒ λοιδορία καὶ τὸ βαλεῖν αὐτὸν λίθοις τὸν ∆αβίδ. τρανότερον δὲ δείκνυσιν ὅ φημι τὸ λέγειν τὸν ∆αβίδ· ἄφες αὐτὸν ἀρᾶσθαι, ὅτι κύριος εἴρηκεν αὐτῷ, ὅπως ἴδοι τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου, καὶ ἀνταποδώσει μοι κύριος ἀγαθὰ ἀντὶ τῆς κατάρας αὐ τοῦ τῆς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ . φανερὸν γὰρ ὅτι οὐκ ἤρεσκε τῷ θεῷ τὸ γινόμενον· ὃ δὲ οὐκ ἤρεσκεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐνετείλατο ποιεῖν. 18 Εἰ ἐν τῷ ζήλῳ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τοῦ Ἰούδα ὁ Σαοὺλ τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας ἀνελεῖν ἐπεχείρησεν, μεθ' ὧν συνθήκας ἐποιήσατο Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυὴ καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαός, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἑπτὰ τοῦ Σαοὺλ ἀνῃρέθησαν οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων αὐτοῦ γεγεννημένοι, τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐχ αἱ φυλαὶ ἐν αἰτίαις, ἀλλ' οἱ μηδὲν ἠδικηκότες δίκην δεδώκασι; τοῦτο γὰρ ἄδικον. πλὴν εἰ μή τις εἴποι Σαοὺλ βασιλέα ὄντα ἀδυνάτως ἔχειν ἀντιστῆναι τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις καὶ τῇ φυλῇ Ἰούδα, καὶ μὴ λῦσαι τὰς συνθήκας τῶν πατέρων τὰς πρὸς τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας. ἐγὼ δὲ προσθοίμην ἂν τούτοις τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκονομίαν εἶναι τὸ γένος τοῦ Σαοὺλ ἀναλωθῆναι πᾶν, ὅσον ὑπωπτεύετό ποτε ἀντι ποιεῖσθαι τοῦ βασιλικοῦ ἀξιώματος διά τε τοῦτο ἐπαναστήσεσθαι τῷ ∆αβὶδ καὶ τοῖς τούτου παισίν. τὸ δὲ ἐξηλίασαν αὐτοὺς οἱ Γαβαωνῖται ἐναντίον κυρίου ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀναιρεθέν τας οὐκ ἔθαψαν, ἀλλ' εἴασαν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον κεῖσθαι. καὶ ἐξελύ θησάν φησιν καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτοὺς ∆ὰν υἱὸς Ἰωὰ τῶν ἀπογό νων τῶν γιγάντων . πάντως που βούλεται λέγειν ὅτι τοὺς ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον τεθέντας λαβὼν ὁ γίγας ἀνείλετο ἐκλελυμένους ἤδη ὑπὸ τῆς ἡλιακῆς φλογός. {Ὁ λόγος ὁ κατὰ τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας ἄγνωστος καθέστηκεν, εἰ μή πού γε εἴπωμεν ὅτι, ἡνίκα ἐκάθητο ἐν Γαβεὲ τοῦ πολεμεῖν, καὶ ἐτρο πώσατο τοὺς ἀλλοφύλους ὁ Σαοὺλ καὶ ἀπώλεσεν μετ' αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας. καὶ ἔστι τὸ διήγημα ἐν τριακοστῷ
Saul's house, Solomon's charge, Elijah's food, Christ's sons§4
4…second and thirty-third of First Kingdoms, and the thirty-seventh, where it says he fought round about all his enemies, and what follows. The saying means: Saul wronged against him, and from Saul's house came the vengeance of that wrong upon Jesus. Yet those who share being with the one at the beginning are not wronged: from where they received being, they also receive non-being; and if through themselves they were worthy of any good, they receive it later.
How did David, having forgiven Shimei, command Solomon to kill him—David the unresentful and gentle—and Joab too, who had shared his labors? Being wise, David knew Solomon would not leave Shimei alive for fear of revolt, since Shimei would fight for the kingdom as from royal dignity; nor Joab, who had set David's son as king outside David's will and had killed Abner, though he had shared many wars and successes with the father. Foreseeing this, David first orders Solomon to do what Solomon would have done anyway, so that when those men die by Solomon's hand, Solomon may have pardon as fulfilling a father's wish rather than moving against them from himself alone.
"And returning, he slept. And the angel of the Lord returned a second time and touched him." Perhaps these were symbols of powers ministering food fit for a prophet—to one withdrawing from human things and worthy of such teaching—so that afterward he might hear "Rise and eat" and find at his head ineffable mysteries, of which the hidden barley cake was a type. A second time, by the angel's command, he partakes, hearing "Rise, eat, for the journey is too great for you."
"In the morning the ravens brought Elijah bread"—akin to the Lord's word to Moses, "In the morning you shall be filled with bread and know that I am the Lord your God"—and meats toward evening, as "toward evening you shall eat meat."
The power of Christ Jesus makes men into sons. Anyone who is a man of power is clearly a son of Christ. Sometimes the powers under Christ cannot make sons; and if they do, they make not men but infants.
"Eunuchs" are eunuchs; he says this of the three youths and Daniel, as from this Hezekiah. Through this ode he also teaches the one who approaches God to set hopes in him alone and boast in him—not to be arrogant but humble-minded. As God he knows all and renders to each according to his practices. He masters death and life. He exhorts us to know the Lord—clearly through good deeds—and so adds doing judgment and righteousness in the midst of the earth. As righteous judge of all the earth, he himself is strength, exaltation, and the horn of salvation for those who love him.
Greek · §4
δευτέρῳ καὶ τριακοστῷ τρίτῳ ἀριθμῷ τῆς πρώτης Βασιλείας καὶ τριακοστῷ ἑβδόμῳ, ἔνθα φησίν· «καὶ ἐπολέμει κύκλῳ πάντας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐ τοῦ» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. ὃ δὲ λέγει τὸ ῥητόν, τοῦτό ἐστι· Σαοὺλ ἠδίκησεν κατ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ γεγένηται ἡ ἐκδίκησις τῆς ἀδι κίας ἡ ἐπὶ Ἰησοῦν. Οὐκ ἀδικοῦνται δὲ συναιρούμενοι τῷ ἐν ἀρχῇ οἱ ἐξ ἐκείνου τὸ εἶναι λαχόντες. ὅθεν γὰρ ἔσχον τὸ εἶναι, ἐντεῦθεν τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἔχοντες, εἰ δέ τινος ἀγαθοῦ δι' ἑαυτοὺς ἦσαν ἄξιοι, ὕστερον τοῦτο κομιζόμενοι.} 19 Ζητεῖται πῶς ὁ ∆αβὶδ τῷ Σεμεῒ συγχωρήσας παρακελεύεται τῷ Σολομῶντι ἀνελεῖν αὐτὸν ὁ ἀμνησίκακος καὶ πρᾶος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Ἰωὰβ συγκαμόντα αὐτῷ. τί δήποτ' οὖν ταῦτα οὕτως ᾠκονομήθη; σοφὸς ὢν ὁ ∆αβὶδ ἠπίστατο ὅτι οὔτε τὸν Σεμεῒ Σολομῶν ἐάσει ζῆν δέει τῆς ἐπαναστάσεως, ὡς γὰρ ἀπὸ βασιλικοῦ ἀξιώματος μέλλει περὶ τῆς βασιλείας μάχεσθαι τῷ Σολομῶντι, οὔτε τὸν Ἰωάβ, ὡς ἐκτὸς τῆς τοῦ ∆αβὶδ γνώμης εἰς βασιλέα τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ∆αβὶδ καταστή σαντα, ὡς ἀνελόντα τοίνυν καὶ τὸν Ἀβεννήρ , συγκαμόντα δὲ τῷ πατρὶ ἐν πολλοῖς πολέμοις καὶ κατορθώσαντα. ταῦτα προϊδὼν ὁ ∆αβὶδ προλαβὼν διατάττει τῷ Σολομῶντι ποιῆσαι, ἃ καὶ ἀφ' ἑαυ τοῦ Σολομῶν πάντως ἐποίει, ἵν' ὅταν ἀναιρεθῶσιν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ (τουτ έστι τοῦ Σολομῶντος) οἱ προειρημένοι, συγγνώμην σχῇ ὁ Σολομῶν ὡς πατρικὸν βούλημα πληρώσας καὶ οὐκ αὐτὸς ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ κατ' αὐ τῶν κινηθείς. 20 Καὶ ἐπιστρέψας φησὶν ἐκοιμήθη. καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν ὁ ἄγ γελος κυρίου ἐκ δευτέρου καὶ ἥψατο αὐτοῦ . τάχα δυνάμεων σύμβολοι ἦσαν διακονουμένων προφήτῃ πρέπουσαν τροφήν, τῷ ἀνα χωροῦντι ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων καὶ ἀξίῳ τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν τοιούτων διδασκαλίας, ἵνα μετὰ ταῦτα ἀκοῦσαι δυνηθῇ· ἀνάστηθι καὶ φάγε , καὶ εὕρῃ πρὸς κεφαλῆς ἀπόρρητα μυστήρια, ὧν ὀλυρίτης ἐγκρυφίας τύπος ἦν. οὗ καὶ δεύτερον 3 κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀγγέλου πρόσταξιν μεταλαμβάνει εἰπόντος· ἀνάστα, φάγε· ὅτι πολλὴ ἀπὸ σοῦ ἡ ὁδός . «ἄρτους» μὲν οὖν «τὸ πρωῒ ἔφερον τῷ Ἠλίᾳ οἱ κόρακες» (ἀνὰ λόγον τοῖς λελαλημένοις ὑπὸ κυρίου πρὸς Μωσῆν, ἐν οἷς ἦν· «τὸ πρωῒ πλησθήσεσθε ἄρτων καὶ γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν»), «κρέα» δὲ «τὸ δείλης» (παραπλησίως· «τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέ ραν ἔδεσθε κρέα»). 21 Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ δύναμις ἄνδρας υἱοὺς ποιοῦσα. καὶ εἴ τίς ἐστιν ἀνὴρ δυνάμεως , ἐστὶν υἱὸς Χριστοῦ δηλαδή. ποτὲ δὲ υἱοὺς ποιεῖν αἱ ὑπὸ Χριστὸν δυνάμεις οὐ δύνανται· εἰ δὲ καὶ ποιοῦσιν, οὐκ ἄνδρας ποιοῦσιν ἀλλὰ νηπίους. 22 Σπάδοντες εὐνοῦχοί εἰσι· λέγει δὲ τοῦτο περὶ τῶν τριῶν παίδων καὶ ∆ανιήλ, ὡς ἐκ τούτου τοῦ Ἐζεκίου ἦσαν. ∆ιδάσκει καὶ διὰ ταύτης τῆς ᾠδῆς τὸν προσερχόμενον θεῷ εἰς αὐτὸν μόνον ἔχειν τὰς ἐλπίδας καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν καυχᾶσθαι, μὴ μεγαλαυχεῖν ἀλλὰ ταπεινοφρονεῖν. καθότι πάντων ὡς θεὸς ἔχει τὴν γνῶσιν , ἀποδίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα αὐτοῦ. αὐτὸς δὲ καὶ θανάτου καὶ ζωῆς δεσπόζει. παρακελεύεται δὲ γινώσκειν τὸν κύριον , δῆλον δὲ ὅτι διὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων, διὸ ἐπιφέρει τὸ ποιεῖν κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς . καθότι δίκαιός ἐστι κριτὴς πάσης τῆς γῆς , αὐτὸς ἰσχύς , αὐτὸς ὕψωσις , αὐτὸς κέρας σωτηρίας τῶν ἀγαπώντων αὐτόν. 4