Selections on Judges
Selecta in Iudices
The Spirit helped Jephthah but did not prompt his rash vow§1
Origen opens his commentary on Judges by asking how the Spirit of the Lord could be upon Jephthah when he made an unfitting vow.
1And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord (Judges 11:30). If the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, how could he vow what was not fitting? For a dog could have met Jephthah as he returned. Did the Spirit make a mistake, then? Not at all. The Spirit came to help, not to suggest the absurd vow. Jephthah himself made the mistake by promising rashly.
Greek · §1
The Greek is on each section page: §1
The pronunciation test exposes the Ephraimites§2
Origen is explaining how the Gileadites used the word στάχυς as a password to identify Ephraimites by their mispronunciation.
2And they said to him, “Say now ‘ear of grain.’” They would say “ear of grain”—that is, σέβηλα, which means an ear of grain. But the others would say σεβήλω, and they could not pronounce σέδηλα clearly. For even if they were Hebrews, they differed slightly in the brevity of their utterance in the dialect. So the password was σέβηλα, and when those who were questioned said σεδήλω, they were convicted of being not of the household of Jephthah, but of those who had risen up.
Greek · §2
The Greek is on each section page: §2
Barrenness as temporary, not natural§3
Origen is commenting on Judges 13:2, where Manoah's wife is introduced as barren.
3And his wife was barren and had not given birth. He calls her barren not from nature, but from her service for the present.
Greek · §3
The Greek is on each section page: §3
Samson's hair as the source of his strength§4
Origen is explaining why Samson says no iron has come upon his head: because he is a Nazirite of God, and throughout the story his hair is shown to secure all his strength.
4"No iron has come up upon my head, because I am a Nazirite of God" (Judges 16:17). Throughout the whole story of Samson, his hair appears to secure for him all his strength.
Greek · §4
The Greek is on each section page: §4
Nazirite as the guarded one and Samson's unshorn head§5
Origen is explaining the meaning of the term Nazirite and why God commanded Samson not to follow the Israelite custom of shaving the head.
5He calls the Nazirite “the guarded one” in the Syrian language. God commands Samson not to follow the order of the Israelites, who at that time shaved their heads so as to be conspicuous to everyone.
Greek · §5
The Greek is on each section page: §5
The ephod and the household idol§6
Origen is explaining the objects mentioned in the story of Micah, distinguishing the priestly ephod from the idolatrous theraphin.
6He made an ephod and a household idol. The ephod was a priestly woven garment, and when the priest wore it, the grace of the Holy Spirit came upon him. The household idol, however, was not divine but idolatrous, as is shown in the books of Kingdoms (Samuel and Kings).
Greek · §6
The Greek is on each section page: §6
Why the Benjamites were justly defeated before their victory§7
Origen is closing his selections on Judges by explaining the Benjamites' initial defeats as just punishment for a prior cause, with victory coming only after wrath fell on the wrongdoers.
7And the sons of Benjamin went out. Why are they justly defeated when they came? It is clear that it was because of a preceding cause. And the psalm says, “When I take the time, I will judge uprightnesses” (Psalm 7 LXX). Then, after they were defeated once and a second time, wrath came upon those who had done wrong, and they win a just victory.
Greek · §7
The Greek is on each section page: §7