Commentary on Genesis 1 part 10/15

for there are six degrees of this same number. But also the saying 'give a portion to the seven,' which signifies the things of the Old Testament, and indeed 'to the eight,' which is a symbol of the resurrectional and new covenant, joins together the fifteen.

The Jews, at any rate, receiving only the old (covenant), give a portion to the seven, not hearkening to (the command) to give it also to the eight;

but the heterodox too, rejecting the old (covenant) and giving a portion to the eight, refuse to grant it to the seven;

whereas the man of the Church, receiving both covenants, gives a portion to both.

Since, then, the number one hundred and twenty is also doubled, it is a symbol of teaching that rouses one to the true life, honored in both practice and contemplation, so that those who double their manner of living may possess this life which is signified through the number—so that the saying may hold, that whoever does not live both in practice and in contemplation does not truly live, but, like the woman who lives in luxury, is dead.

'Now the giants were upon the earth in those days, and after that, when the sons of God went in to the daughters of men and begot children for themselves;'

'those were the giants that were of old, the men of renown.'

Those outside the faith, who bring in giants from myths, introduce this notion; but in the divine Scripture they are named in place of strong men.

In Isaiah, at any rate, when God threatens to take away from these people their useful things—since they had become worthy of this—he numbers among the things to be taken away both a 'giant' and one who is 'strong.'

And Goliath too Scripture so called, testifying that he was strong and a warrior.

But also, when Moses sent out the spies into the enemy's land to bring back report, they said concerning the country:

'And we were in their sight as grasshoppers.'

In this way Scripture testifies that they were of great bodily stature.

And if it has been fittingly said that demons used passionate men as their instruments, one might say that, to their conviction concerning their most bodily condition, offspring of such great size were begotten to them—those who were also called 'renowned from of old'—the phrase 'from of old' making clear that the account of them, as being of great bodily stature, has been reported over a long time.

But if you should also call them giants because they are named such on account of the baseness of their condition, the saying would not be beside the point—those who according to wickedness begot those under them, anointing them unto a magnitude of depravity.

But if the phrase 'and after that' in the text before us, besides (referring to) time, also indicates what happened after the Spirit had departed from them—concerning whom God said:

'My Spirit shall not abide in these men, because they are flesh'—consider this together.

For then, being estranged from participation in him—whether men or others—they had offspring rising up against the mind of God, not only thoughts but also men.

'And the Lord God, seeing that the wickednesses of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that everyone deliberated diligently in his heart upon evil things all the days, God also reflected that he had made man upon the earth, and he pondered and God said:'

'I will blot out man whom I made from the face of the earth, from man even to cattle, and from creeping things even to the birds of heaven, because I was angered that I made them.'

Consistently, even though the irrational animals did nothing by deliberate choice, they perish together with man, for whose service they also came into being; yet a living remnant is left behind together with Noah, some even from among them.

And consistently men too are destroyed, when wickedness had multiplied upon the earth; for together with the evil they were also sinning in their thinking, employing their sins not carelessly but deliberately.

Let us examine carefully what has been said, beginning from the very start.

The Lord God, it says, seeing that the wickednesses of men had been multiplied upon the earth. Did He then not see their wickednesses before? But it is clear that now He has beheld them with a view to retribution.

For when He does not wish to send punishment upon those who sin, He is said not to see them; and there are times when He is said to sleep, and towards others to keep watch.

At any rate, it is said by a certain one:

He kept watch over my impieties; and having experienced the long-suffering of God amid many impieties, when the toils had passed, he says:

He kept watch over my impieties.

And another holy man said:

The Lord awoke as one that sleeps, as a mighty man made heavy with wine.

For having shown much long-suffering, He brings on the punishments to those who so need them exceedingly and all at once; and this, because of its suddenness and abundance, is called an awakening and a heaviness from wine.

For it belongs to a good physician to apply remedies to the maladies at the fitting moment, which is indicated by the words, And the Lord God, seeing.

And if there is added the phrase, everyone ponders in his heart upon evil things, even though Noah was not so disposed, one need not be surprised;

for it was said in the sense of 'for the most part,' just as also the saying, every brother will utterly supplant, and every friend will walk deceitfully.

But it is indeed possible—since Noah was not altogether a man (for he had ascended above the human condition)—that this was said inasmuch as he was not subject to the general category of men, being in fact a god according to that which is said:

He called those gods to whom the word of God came.

Similar to this is also the saying, I said in my ecstasy;

for he who said these things was a god, as we have explained.

For if it were not so, and man were a liar . . .

then the saying, every man is a liar, would no longer be true;

For where there is strife and jealousy, are you not men, and do you not walk as these also do? For the wickedness was not done by them at random, but deliberately and with premeditation;

for this is what the phrase in the heart makes clear.

Likewise the phrase from youth might be understood in two ways: either as being anointed toward wickedness from a tender age, or that none of those conforming to the man here described is an elder, even if by nature he be such, since he sets in front of himself youthful and superficial pursuits;

for honourable old age is not that which is of long duration, nor is it measured by number of years;

for grey hairs are wisdom to men, and old age is an unspotted life.

And not inappropriately will you also interpret the phrase, remember not the sins of my youth and my ignorances, saying that it means: whatever I did with a wicked disposition, do not remember.

These things having been thus stated, it is worth considering what is indicated by the words, God took thought that He had made man upon the earth, and He pondered, and I was angry that I made them—which is equivalent to, I repented that I anointed Saul as king.

But it must be said that these things are spoken of God in a human manner, and not in the way that the words and their literal sense imply.

For if hands and feet and eyes and ears are transferred to Him in Scripture, one must not suppose that God is fashioned in human form; rather it is clear that we shall understand the hands as His active powers, the eyes as His inescapability, and each thing likewise as pertaining to a power of God.

Even if, according to another meaning, we understand the discerning ones in the Church to be His eyes, the practical ones His hands, and the rest likewise.

And indeed, in truth, in the case of sensible things each of the things named, such as wood, signifies only some one thing; but in the case of God, since many names are spoken of Him, which by reason set forth for our understanding the diverse attributes concerning Him;

for thus God is called both spirit and fountain, and again He is referred to as having hands and feet;

yet surely, if He happened to be something sensible, His names would not be so many;

for the light, or the spirit, or the fountain do not have hands.

And concerning the phrase He pondered and He repented, we shall understand it as of One who is unchangeable.

For just as men also, wishing to impress upon those taught by them the gravity of a sin—that they have greatly erred and are unworthy of instruction—say:

I repent that I handed over to you such great matters, thereby leading him to a recognition of his fault—in the same way God too, without undergoing any passion of repenting, is said to repent, but this is for the sake of impressing the magnitude of the sin.

For He was not ignorant that they would be such; but in His goodness He was observing whether by any means, through the laws inscribed according to the understanding . . .

And we shall use an image to show that the passion belongs not to God Himself, but to those who are changed in such a manner.

Let there be a certain wise man . . . again . . . setting forth, if it should happen that certain ones . . .

. . . and on this account disinherited; it was not he himself who changed with regard to those who were changed in disposition, since the inheritance came only to the righteous;

for this was the purpose he held from the beginning.

And well is it said, I will blot out the man whom I made from the face of the earth;

for He does not bring him into non-existence, nor does He blot him out with respect to his soul, but from the earth.

And this is not the only work of God—to destroy men when wickedness has abounded—but also, by way of a symbol, He destroys the one dwelling in the earth who is base;

for the base man is a dweller of earth, whereas the holy one is not a dweller but a sojourner.

Thus at any rate it is also said in Jeremiah:

Evils shall be kindled against those dwelling upon the earth, those who have taken root in the earth—which the holy one, not suffering it, says as he gives thanks:

They had almost made an end of me in the earth. And in the Apocalypse too it is said:

Woe to those dwelling upon the earth—not to those sojourning;

and the aim of God is to draw man away from earthly things, even if he himself clings to earthly things.

But Noah found grace before the Lord God.

Great and heavenly it is to find grace before God; and this is accomplished through one's being pleasing to Him, upon which there also follows the being pleasing to men—though he who pleases men does not by all means please God.

For consider what the blessed Paul says:

If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ; and the psalmist:

The Lord has scattered the bones of the men-pleasers;

but those who have grace from God say:

He graced us in the Beloved. And at the same time Mary too hears from the angel:

Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee.

For this is grace: to have the Lord with oneself;

and he has the Lord with himself who, on account of virtue and virtuous deeds, says:

If you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me.

For He Himself gives grace and peace;

for this is what the holy one prays for, saying:

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

And God gives this gift, while we furnish the occasion for receiving it.

At any rate, it is said in Proverbs:

Grace and friendship set free; keep these for yourself, that you may not become reproached;

for it lies within the authority of the free will † . . . † to keep them and to accomplish them.

So then in this way Noah too, out of his own prior preparation, found grace before the Lord God, having by the works of virtue graced himself, and from this having received grace from God.

For to the achievements and accomplishments that proceed from us the God of all things adds His own cooperation, adorning them and raising them to the greatness of a good.

Knowing this very thing, the disciples of the Saviour, having already for their own part first attained faith in Him, said to Him — for they knew that faith is also God's gift:

For just as a word of wisdom is given through the Spirit, and a word of knowledge according to the Spirit, so too is faith in the same Spirit.

For it is impossible to receive the faith that is given by God according to grace unless one has that faith which is constituted from what lies within our own power.

For this very thing is made clear by the words, 'Increase our faith.'

But indeed Isaiah too, speaking in the person of the Lord's manhood — though let it be also in his own person — says:

'He has added to me an ear to hear, and the discipline of the Lord opens my ears.'

For the hearing and discipline given by God opens even these ears, so that the understanding may hear in a more divine manner.

In the same way we shall understand also the phrase 'grace in place of grace,' taking it to mean the grace from God that comes in addition to that which lies within our power.

And it is well said too that 'he found,' so that it might be shown that having sought as he ought, he found; for those who do not seek in the manner they should do not find.

'For the wicked shall seek me,' it says, 'and shall not find me.'

From this it becomes known that he sought rightly, on the basis of God's judgement and gift, whenever He as it were sets His seal upon it by granting the grace.

'For it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy'; and, 'Unless the Lord build the house, in vain have those who build it laboured.'

'Now these are the generations of Noah.'

'Noah was a righteous man, being perfect in his generation; Noah was well-pleasing to God.'

The genealogy of the righteous man is not so much from human beings as from virtues;

for these are his pre-eminent offspring.

This is what the Spirit that authored the Scripture teaches;

for when it was proposed to tell of the generations of Noah, it added:

'Noah was a righteous man, being perfect in his generation; he was well-pleasing to God.'

But let us see what is signified by 'perfect in his generation.'

According to the first interpretation one might say that, since the people of his own time had given themselves over to measureless wickedness, he was perfect by comparison with them — which is no great thing, if he is compared with those who are past all hope; and perhaps it might be said that he was called perfect as surpassing those who entered the ark with him.

For it is likely that they too were of such a kind, on account of their close association with the holy man.

There is a likeness of character, and this too is signified by the words, 'This is the generation of those who seek Him.'

For having said, 'Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? He that is innocent in his hands and pure in his heart,' and what follows, he added:

'This is the generation of those who seek Him' — calling those adorned with the same virtue a single generation.

Analogous to this, but in the opposite sense, is what is said:

'The sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of light in their own generation';

for the 'generation' of such people is the similar condition and manner of life.

But one must understand 'perfect' in the way that applies among human beings — the kind of perfection which Paul said we know in part, when he says concerning that which is perfect:

'When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.'

All the perfection accomplished among human beings is, in comparison with the perfect state in the age to come, partial.

And let what is said be made clear by an example:

he who is perfect in the first rudiments of letters is, in relation to one who hears the discourses of grammarians, imperfect.

And the Apostle himself, when he says, 'We know in part and we prophesy in part,' speaks concerning himself and those like him.

'As many of us therefore as are perfect,' let us be thus minded; and, 'We speak wisdom among the perfect.'

For in relation to the knowledge in the age to come, which, as we said, is 'face to face,' the manner of life here is imperfect, even if it should have reached the very summit.

But the righteousness, the perfection, and the being well-pleasing to God that are said of Noah must be taken together, even if the words have a certain order;

for being righteous and perfect, he had his being well-pleasing to God.

And the perfect and the righteous are conceived as prior to the being well-pleasing;

for it is not that because he was well-pleasing he became righteous and perfect, but that because he was shown to be righteous and perfect he was proved to be well-pleasing to God.

And if Noah, being of so great a state, is called a 'man,' one need not be surprised, since we have often observed that the name 'man' signifies more than one thing;

for it is not used only of one who is blameworthy, as has been said:

'For where there is strife and jealousy among you, are you not carnal men, and do you not walk according to man?' And it is said also of the devil who sows evil thoughts:

'An enemy, a man, has done this.'

But here, besides indicating the nature, it further signifies the man in the proper sense — the one who preserves that which is according to the image.

And it is well said too, 'being perfect, he was well-pleasing to God';

for having already laid hold of perfection, he was well-pleasing to God — not that everyone who is well-pleasing is well-pleasing to God, but sometimes to righteous men and otherwise to human beings;

for even if he who pleases a righteous man is praised, yet it is after pleasing God.

'And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.'

Three sons Noah begot, and became the father of just so many;

for before this it is not said that he had any other child.

And the literal sense is plain;

but if one looks toward the higher, anagogical meaning, one might say that whoever begets two things would be begetting the symbols of a material disposition;

for the number two is proper to matter;

but the number that generates by three is called perfect, being the first odd number, bearing the image of the Creator, for it is effective; and further, the subtraction of one number from it produces a dyad, so that plainly the three came into being by addition;

and to human things — which are signified by the two — if reason be added, they no longer remain material or human, since they now partake of rectitude;

for one must not act simply, but with right reason, in order that one may have praise.

But one may also, interpreting figuratively, take these things as referring to the perfecting of the soul;

for there must first arise in the soul a certain affection, then a disposition come to be, and thus one set out toward the action;

and by 'affection' we mean not the blameworthy kind, but as it were the impression stamped upon the soul for an impulse toward virtue;

and these come to be from the opposite quarter as well.

These three, then, are the offspring of the earnest man;

for let the pre-affection be left aside for now, as having an inclination toward things indifferent.

But if one, applying oneself to the interpretations of the names, should find something useful, this must be considered.

'Shem' means perfect, 'Japheth' breadth or beauty, and 'Ham' bold, or rash, or heat, or extension.

And what other offspring befitted the righteous man than perfection, breadth, and beauty — all of which are marks of virtue? For beauty, joined together with breadth, sets one outside the broad way which leads to destruction.

But if 'Ham' is interpreted as bold, or rash, or heat, or extension, these would, in reference to the worthless son, be taken in a censorious sense as proper to his character; yet in reference to the perfect man they have been taken in a serious and good usage;

for the virtuous man is most free from all constraint, since even 'the violent seize the kingdom';

but such a one is also bold against the opposing powers, according to the blessed Paul, who says:

Our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, and what follows.

This man is impetuous, indeed even daring, yet he acquires his impetuosity not for evil; rather, having attained to virtue, he is fervent and boiling in the Spirit, whereby he even stands outside of human concerns.

But the earth was corrupted before the Lord, and the earth was filled with unrighteousness.

And the Lord God saw the earth, and it was corrupted, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.

The 'corruption of the earth' signifies not the destruction of so good an element into non-existence, but rather the excess of the sins of men; for by a metonymic manner he calls men 'earth,' just as the psalmist also says:

Let all the earth worship you and sing praises to you; and again: Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

For when it is said, 'The heaven and the earth were completed,' this element is signified; and 'Let the earth put forth vegetation.'

So great had the wickedness of men become — men who are called 'earth' — that God, who out of his great goodness overlooks even the great faults, beheld it.

If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? He does not, then, bring wrath each and every day, but only when the measure of sins is filled up, so that it may be said, just as in the prophet Jonah:

The cry of wickedness went up to God; and concerning Sodom:

The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied, and their sins are very great — as here too the like is found:

And the earth was filled with unrighteousness, and the rest.

He sees, not as one previously ignorant, but as one making manifest the overseeing power that acts for vengeance, as in the passage: And God saw the earth, and it was corrupted.

By 'corruption' he calls both the wickedness and the punishment that follows upon it, since Scripture often indicates this, as in the saying of Paul:

If anyone corrupts the temple of God, God will corrupt him.

For he who sins through licentiousness, working corruption of the temple of God, being found deserving of punishment, is corrupted — the punishment now being indicated by the word 'corruption.'

And it is also a corruption to be handed over to a reprobate mind.

One ought not, however, to suppose with the Manichaeans that unqualified matter, left over in its wandering about, works the corruption of the earth.

For this would render men blameless, if that which was unable to be set in order by God wrought the ruin.

Rather, the depravity of manners is indicated through the corruption of the earth, as has been said before, since men corrupted the way of God himself, which they had received in order to journey well toward blessedness.

Such are those who have heard the words of Jesus and have not done them.

But if by 'flesh' it also signifies man, as has been said in many places, one must consider whether 'All flesh corrupted its way' signifies that each man was turned aside from his own proper judgment.

That 'flesh' is used in place of 'man' is clear from the passage: I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and: He himself is judged with respect to all flesh.

All those, then, in the generation of Noah, having become earthly and fleshly, each perverted his way which he had received.

For thus the way is spoken of, on the one hand as received by him, and on the other as given by God.

They corrupted, therefore, either their own way or that of God.

The time of every man has come before me, for the earth is filled with unrighteousness from them.

Many of the things that have been written have a narrative more beneficial to the multitude.

For these people, living by sense-perception and opinion, do not attain to the things that are truly great and beneficial.

And let what is said be by way of example.

Jesus healed a man blind from birth, and brought forth Lazarus, who had been four days in the tomb, by a command alone; and again he raised up the man who had remained thirty-eight years in great paralysis.

These things, besides being fulfilled in a perceptible manner, were also symbolic: the man blind from birth signifying the recovery of sight of a soul that had never seen, because from tender infancy it had been reared in sin and ignorance; and again, he who already stank and had a hope given up for lost, having fallen away from the blessed life, was symbolically shown coming to it through Jesus; and he who had been seized by paralysis and then saved indicated the conversion of a soul that had fallen into insensibility.

And these things are more wonderful and greater than the healing of bodies, in the degree that the substance of the soul is more honourable than the body — but this the multitude do not know.

He, then, who relates the marvellous things to them in this way does the more beneficial thing; and in the passages now set forth together, the elements of the narrative have a benefit for the multitude that is great and more readily surveyed.

For what does it say? The time of every man has come upon the earth. Peter also says that the flood was brought on by the longsuffering of God, in order that repentance might be granted.

For it has been shown beforehand that the building of the ark took place over a hundred years, so that men, seeing and inquiring the cause, might take an opportunity for repentance.

One must not here suppose the 'time' to be what is called by some the horoscope.

For neither does fate rule over affairs, but all things come to pass by the decree of God.

Wherefore one must hold that 'The time of every man has come upon the earth' signifies, as it were, the filling-up of the sins committed by men, according to which the infliction of vengeance ought to be brought on, as it is said:

For the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up until now — that is, they have not yet sinned so greatly that their repentance should be despaired of.

For indeed God does not bring wrath each and every day, even though sins are being committed; but this he does in order to afford a place for repentance and to give time for sinners to condemn themselves.

But when their affairs have been so completed that they no longer have time for repentance, then the time has come for them to suffer.

Now, once mention has been made of sins being filled up, this must be noted: that it is not the same thing for one man to be filled with sins and for a whole people.

For among the many it is possible for all the sins to be found — as, for instance, one being prodigal, another stingy; one rash, another cowardly; and again one licentious, another foolish.

But for these contrary vices, being excesses and deficiencies, to be found in one man is impossible.

For it is possible for all the virtues to be in one man, since they follow upon one another; but the vices are not so, for the reasons stated before.

And let these things stand as a digression; but let us return to the matter from the beginning:

The time of every man has come.

No one has such sins that he should be granted pardon.

And just as the best physician appoints the time for the sick man to take nourishment — even if it should be at night — according to such-and-such a condition of the disease, so also is that which is now being said.

For, men being in such a state as to have come to the utmost of sin, on account of which the flood is brought on, this comes upon them as they act in a wholly unpardonable manner.

One must not suppose it to be false that 'the time of every man has come,' even if eight were saved in the ark.

For here the universal term is taken in the sense of 'for the most part.'

But if, according to the passage 'For where there is strife and envy among you, are you not men?', 'of every man' is meant, Noah is not subject to this, since he transcends the human condition.

'The time of man has come' — of him who is so called with reference to sinning.

Nor is the phrase 'before me' added in vain.

For it belongs to no created being to know the time at which someone has done things worthy of being henceforth despaired of.

And this indeed, as is fitting, no created being knows.

For if they knew hearts, they would not even give help, quickly turning away from those who had come to be in sin.

For it belongs to goodness alone — the unsurpassable goodness, the goodness that is such by essence and is not diminished — both to see what is hidden and to know the time.

And if some created being also partakes of goodness from God according to disposition, yet it is ignorant of the designs of sins and their causes, which God, knowing all of them, knows also the time of retribution; wherefore it is said 'before me,' and 'because the earth is filled with unrighteousness from them.'

And this too is fittingly said.

For the punishment does not come upon them because others have sinned.

And it is clear from this too that it was not fate that brought upon them such a death.

For since, it says, the earth was filled with unrighteousness from them, the time has come — a time which would not have arrived, had they not sinned.

And behold, I destroy them and the earth.

The love of mankind and the goodness of God are indicated even through these words, as he foretells what is to be, in order that by the fear of the things expected he may restrain their wickedness — which also happened in the case of the Ninevites, when they heard the prophet Jonah:

Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.