書信與論戰集（CSEL） 第 56 章

BOOK ONE. LOCUTIONS ON GENESIS. Locutions of the Scriptures which appear to be according to the properties—what are called in Greek «idioms»—of the Hebrew or Greek tongue. «And let them divide between the midst of the day and the midst of the night.» «Winged things flying over the earth according to the firmament of heaven»: it is asked how «according to the firmament» is to be taken. So too: «Let us make man according to the image and according to the likeness»: which many Latin manuscripts have as «to the image and likeness.» «Fill the earth and have dominion of it»: for the Latin expression is «have dominion over it.» «And there was no man to till the earth»: which the Latin manuscripts have as «who might till the earth.» «God planted paradise according to the east»:

—which the Latin manuscripts have as «to the east.» As to what many Latin manuscripts have: «and the tree of knowing good and evil,» or «the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,» or «the tree of knowing of good and of evil,» and whatever other varieties of the translators there are on this matter, the Greek has: «and the tree for knowing what is knowable of good and evil»—which I do not know whether it is a matter of idiom, and does not rather insinuate some definite meaning. As to what the Latin manuscripts have: «of every tree that is in paradise thou shalt eat for food,» it is not to be distinguished as «for paradise, of food,» but «thou shalt eat for food»; for the Latin expression admits of saying «thou shalt eat food,» since for the Greek dative case they are wont, in expressions of this kind, to put the ablative, or what they call the seventh case. Or else the order of the words is:

«of every tree, for food.» «The serpent was the most prudent of all the beasts,» which many Latin manuscripts have; for in the Greek is written phronimotatos, not asphaltatos. As to what is written of Adam and Eve, «their eyes were opened,» since it would be absurd to believe that in paradise they had wandered about before as blind or with closed eyes, this is a matter of idiom—by which it is also written of Hagar, «she opened her eyes and saw a well» (for neither did she sit before with her eyes closed)—and by which, in the breaking of bread, «the eyes were opened» of those who recognized the Lord after the resurrection (for neither did they walk along the way with him with closed eyes). As to what many manuscripts have: «and I will put enmity between thee and between the woman,» the Greek has:

«in the midst of thee and in the midst of the woman»—which is a matter of idiom; for it means just as much as when it is said, «between thee and between the woman.» This also in what follows: «in the midst of thy seed and in the midst of her seed.» As to what many Latin manuscripts have: «because thou hast heard the voice of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree, of which alone I had commanded thee not to eat,» the Greek has: «thou hast eaten of the tree of which I had commanded thee that alone thou shouldst not eat of it»; while other Greek translators have: «thou hast chewed» or «thou hast eaten,» so that the sense according to them is this: «because thou hast heard the voice of thy wife and hast eaten of the tree of which I had commanded thee that alone thou shouldst not eat, of it thou hast eaten.» «And she added to bear his brother Abel.» It is a frequent expression in the Scriptures:

«she added to say.» «And it came to pass, while they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel and slew him»: it is an idiom; for even if it did not have «and it came to pass,» the sense could be complete: «and while they were in the field.» As to what is written in certain Latin manuscripts, «and he repented, and God said: I will blot out the man whom I have made, from the face of the earth,» in the Greek is found «dienoêthê,» which is held to signify «he reconsidered» rather than «he repented»—which word also some Latin manuscripts have. As to what very many Latin manuscripts have: «thou shalt make nests in the ark,» whereas the Latin expression is not «in the ark» (in arcam) but «in the ark» (in arca), the Greek has neither «into the ark» nor «in the ark» but: «thou shalt make nests, the ark,» which is understood in the sense that the ark itself was the nests.

As to what most manuscripts have: «thou shalt make the door of the ark at the side,» some have: «from athwart»; for thus they wished to translate what is said in Greek ek plagiôn. As to what is written: «for yet seven days I will bring a flood of water upon the earth,» which some Latin manuscripts have, in the Greek is found: «I will bring rain upon the earth.» The Greek expression has the genitive case, not the accusative, so that, if we express this in Latin, it may be said thus: «for yet of seven days I will bring rain upon the earth.» As to what is written: «and Noah did all things whatsoever the Lord God commanded him, so he did,» it is an expression similar to that which, in the founding of creation, after it is said «and so it was made,» is added: «and God made.»

As to what is written: «I will blot out every raising-up,» it must be noted that it is called a raising-up, not a creation; for in the Greek is written anastasin. This noun is also constantly put for «resurrection» in the Greek Scriptures, although «exanastasis» could be said, so that «raising-up» would be anastasis and «resurrection» exanastasis. Which word the Apostle too used: «if by any means I may attain to the resurrection of the dead»; for there the Greek has not anastasin, but exanastasin. As to what is written:

«and all the beasts according to their kind, and all the cattle according to their kind, and every creeping thing that moves upon the earth according to its kind, and every winged thing according to its kind, entered in to Noah into the ark, two of every flesh, in which is the spirit of life»—the «in which» is not referred to anything unless you understand «kind,» that is, «in which kind»; for if we understood «flesh,» it should have been said «in which» (feminine)—which the translator Symmachus alone said. As to what is again «and every raising-up was blotted out,» it must be noted to be an idiom, as if he said: the condition or creature of flesh. When he had said, «and every raising-up was blotted out, which was upon the face of all the earth, from man even to beast and of creeping things and of the fowls of heaven,» he then added:

«and they were blotted out from the earth»—it must be noted to be that idiom of repetition which the Scripture familiarly uses. As to what is written: «he sent forth a raven to see if the water had ceased; and going out it did not return, until the water was dried up from the earth,» it is an expression usual in the Scriptures, which may even now begin to be noted: for it did not afterward return, for it is said not to have returned «until» the water was dried up. As to what is written: «and he stretched out his hand, took it, and brought it to himself into the ark,» it is an expression which I think for this reason to be Hebrew, because it is also most familiar to the Punic tongue, in which we find many things consonant with the Hebrew words; for surely it would have sufficed: «and he stretched out his hand,» even if he did not add «his.»

Such too is what he says a little after: «it had a leafy sprig of olive in its mouth.» «And it did not add to return to him any more»: it is an expression most familiar in the Scriptures. As to what is written: «and I will not add any more to curse the earth,» it is similar to the above: «and it did not add to return to him.» «And I will not add to smite every living flesh,» it is the same expression. «And indeed your blood of your souls,» whereas it would have sufficed either «your blood» or «the blood of your souls.» «This sign of the covenant, which I set between the midst of me and you,» which is «between me and you.» «This was a giant hunter against the Lord God.»

It is uncertain whether it can be taken as «before the Lord God,» since that is how what is said in Greek enantion is wont to be understood. «Whence Philistim came out thence,» whereas it would have sufficed: «whence Philistim came out.» «And the whole earth was one lip»: which we usually say «one tongue.» «And the whole earth was one lip»: it must be noted that «the whole earth» is used for all the men who then were, although not yet in all the earth. «And they had bricks for stone»: the Greek has «and they had bricks for stone (into stone).» Which, if it were said in Latin, the expression would be less understood. «Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower, whose top shall be even unto heaven»: it is said according to hyperbole, if a figure of speech is here to be taken;

but if «even unto heaven» is taken as said in the proper sense, let it be considered among the questions. As to what certain Latin manuscripts have: «Shem the son of Noah was a hundred years old when he begat Arphaxad,» the Greek has: «Shem the son of a hundred years when he begat Arphaxad»: where there is an ellipsis, because «was» is lacking. But that they have not «son of Noah,» but «son» only, is a novel expression. «And Sarah was barren and did not bear,» whereas it could have sufficed: «and Sarah was barren.» «It shall come to pass, therefore, when the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say, that this is his wife»: the «that» is joined by a kind of idiom; for it could have sufficed: «this is his wife.» As to what the Scripture says: «and it came to pass, as soon as Abram entered into Egypt,» it would suffice:

«but as soon as Abram entered into Egypt» would suffice. «Why hast thou done this to me, that thou didst not tell me that she is thy wife?» whereas it would have sufficed: «thou didst not tell.» And the very «tell» is said after the manner of the Scriptures; for most Latin manuscripts have: «thou didst not say.» «And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the desert»: «they went up» is understood. Nor yet is it properly said that what he had that was lifeless—such as gold and silver and all the furniture—went up with him; and by this an idiom is here understood, which is called in Greek «synekdochê.» «And there arose a strife between the midst of the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and (between the midst of the herdsmen) of Lot's cattle»:

Hence almost all the Latin manuscripts did not carry over this manner of speaking, but they speak as our usage requires; and we too have thereafter decided not to note it, since it is found throughout in the Greek Scripture wherever anything of the kind is said. 'Since we men are brethren,' Abram says to Lot: from which it is understood that it is the custom of Scripture to speak in such a way that men of one kinship are called brethren, even if they differ in the degree of blood, so that one is in the higher line and the other in the lower, as in this place; for Abram was his uncle. 'And it came to pass in the reign of Amraphel king of Shinar': according to the usage of our speech it would have sufficed to begin thus: 'And in the reign of Amraphel.' Therefore, as to what the Scripture says:

'And it came to pass' — it spoke after its own manner. 'And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him' — 'were' is understood; whence by some of the Latins it has even been added. 'And the Horites who were in the mountains of Seir' — 'were' is understood. 'And one of those who had escaped, coming, brought word to Abram the dweller-across-the-river — now he dwelt at the oak of Mamre — of Amoris the brother of Eshcol and the brother of Aunan, who were confederates of Abram': an obscure hyperbaton. For the order is this: 'one of those who had escaped, coming, brought word to Abram the dweller-across-the-river of Amoris the brother of Eshcol and the brother of Aunan, who were confederates; now he dwelt at the oak.' This hyperbaton is made still more obscure by an ellipsis; for when it had been said:

'one of Amoris the brother of Eshcol and the brother of Aunan' — it is not said whose 'brother's,' but 'son' is understood: just as one says 'James of Alphaeus,' and although 'son' is not said, nothing else is understood; and there are many such expressions of the Scriptures where 'son' is left unspoken yet understood. As to what certain Latin manuscripts have: 'And Abram said to the king of Sodom: I will stretch out my hand to God the Most High, who created heaven and earth, if from a cord to the latchet of a sandal' — what has deceived the translators is that the Greek has σπαρτίον, which in Latin is understood as 'thread,' and this is a manner of the Scriptures. 'I will stretch out my hand to God the Most High, who created heaven and earth, that I will take nothing of all that is thine' — for if he said this in place of:

'I will stretch out my hand to God the Most High,' as if he said 'I swear,' this is not a usual expression in Latin, unless it be put thus: 'I stretch out my hand to God the Most High that I will take nothing of all that is thine.' 'Knowing thou shalt know that thy seed shall be a sojourner in a land': this is indeed a most usual expression of the Scriptures; but the Greeks have 'knowing thou shalt know,' which is almost the same thing. 'And she gave her to Abram her husband, to him for a wife': it has an added 'to him.' 'But when she saw herself to be with child, I was despised in her sight': here the Greeks have a participle which the Latin tongue does not have, that is ἰδοῦσα; but it is as though it were said 'seeing herself to be with child, I was despised in her sight,' which sounds like a solecism.

So too by that participle which is said ἰδοῦσα, in place of which we said 'seeing.' As to what the Latins have: 'I will increase thee exceedingly greatly,' the Greeks have 'greatly greatly.' 'And I will give to thee and to thy seed after thee the land in which thou dwellest, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.' It must be considered whether it is a manner of speaking that he said 'everlasting' — the Greeks have αἰώνιον — and that he says 'and to thy seed after thee'; for there he wished to be understood what he had said, 'to thee.' 'But thou shalt keep my covenant, <thou> and thy seed after thee in their generations': 'thou shalt keep' in place of 'keep'; he put the promissive in place of the imperative mood. 'And a boy of eight days shall be circumcised, every male <of you>': in place of 'every male' — as though any but a male could be circumcised.

'And Abraham fell upon his face and said in his mind, saying: If a son shall be born to me who am a hundred years old, and if Sarah, ninety years old, shall bear!' This expression is that of one marvelling, not of one doubting; there is no doubt that we must not doubt. 'But Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised as to the flesh of his foreskin': he did not say 'in flesh' or 'in the flesh.' 'And Abraham ran into the oxen': he did not say 'to the oxen.' 'But Abraham and Sarah were elders, advanced in days': what the Greeks have as 'advanced of days.' 'And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is filled up, and their sins are very great': Scripture is wont to put 'cry' for such great shamelessness and licence of iniquity that it is hidden neither by modesty nor by fear.

'And he said that I will not destroy it, if I find there forty-five': the 'that' seems superfluous, and therefore in some Latin manuscripts it is not read. 'Perhaps, Lord, if I speak' — 'wilt thou be angry' or something of this kind is understood. 'When the Lord overthrew the cities in which he dwelt in them.' 'In every place where we shall enter thither.' 'And God opened his eyes, and he saw a well of living water': it is a manner of speaking; for his eyes were not closed. Concerning which we have already spoken at the beginning of the book, where it is written: 'And their eyes were opened.' 'And the land which thou hast inhabited in it.' 'And they both made a covenant,' or 'they both bore witness'; Scripture loves to call a pact by the name of covenant. 'Take thy beloved son':

by that expression 'take' it was said, the same by which also to Hagar concerning her son. 'And Abraham looking up with his eyes,' when 'looking up' would have sufficed. 'By myself have I sworn: unless blessing I will bless thee' — as if he said: 'By myself have I sworn that blessing I will bless thee,' or, with no word added, simply: 'By myself have I sworn: blessing I will bless thee.' 'And multiplying I will multiply thy seed,' when 'I will multiply' could have sufficed. 'And it was announced to Abraham, saying,' whereas the custom of speaking has: 'they announced to Abraham, saying'; or: 'it was announced by those saying.' 'And Abraham rose up from his dead one': he did not say 'from his dead woman.' And again concerning the same: 'and I will bury,' he says, 'my dead one':

which the Greek Scripture shows to have been said not in the neuter, as of a dead body, but in the masculine gender. 'And I will adjure thee by the Lord the God of heaven and the God of the earth.' The Greeks do not have 'by,' but: 'I will adjure thee, the Lord the God of heaven.' 'With whom I dwell among them.' 'Lest at any time the woman be unwilling to go with me': to call a woman a 'female' is proper to that tongue. 'Into the land from which thou camest out thence.' 'Take heed to thyself that thou bring not back my son thither': by these words a warning is wont to be declared. 'And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham and swore to him concerning this word.' Therefore it is the manner of speaking by which Abraham had said 'I adjure thee,' as if he had said 'swear to me'; but we are not accustomed to speak thus. Yet it must be observed whether there are other similar expressions in the Scriptures;

for also in that Abraham said: 'if the woman be unwilling to come with thee, thou shalt be clear from this oath,' he made manifest that he had spoken thus: 'I adjure thee,' as if he said 'swear to me.' As to what is written of Rebecca: 'now the virgin was very fair of face; a virgin she was, a man had not known her' — this repetition insinuates a commendation of virginity. But why it is added, 'a man had not known her,' unless it be a manner of speaking, is a wonder — unless it can be so taken that 'virgin' is a name of age, not of integrity. But the Greeks do not have 'had known,' but 'knew,' which seems inconsistent. 'He adored to the Lord': what is usual for us is to say 'he adored the Lord.'

'Since he has not forsaken justice and truth from my lord,' that is, the justice and truth which is from my lord, as if he said: 'which my lord has done.' 'And the girl running announced it in the house of her mother': as though it were not also her father's house. 'And to wash with water the feet of him and the feet of the men who were with him.' 'The Lord before whom I have been pleasing, he himself will send his angel with thee': as though 'before whom I have been pleasing' would not have sufficed. Or could she have pleased him except before him? 'If thou dost prosper my way which I now enter upon into it.' When the servant of Abraham was narrating his own words, which he spoke as he was about to approach the fountain, he narrated thus: 'And the virgin to whom I shall say: Give me a little water to drink from thy pitcher, and she shall say to me:

'and drink thou, and I will draw for thy camels' — this is the woman whom the Lord has prepared for his servant Isaac. By which words it is quite evidently expressed that women too, who were virgins, were called by the Hebrew idiom. 'And I blessed the Lord the God of my lord Abraham': it is an expression of honour, and most familiar to the Scriptures, as 'the God of Elijah.' 'Report to me, that I may turn to the right hand or the left': by the right hand he signified prosperity, by the left adversity; that is, the right hand if they should consent, the left if they should not consent; for assuredly he was going to return by the same way by which he had come.

Which manner of the Scriptures the other passages of them will also indicate, in that the right hand is named in all good things, the left in evil things — whether felicity and infelicity, or justice and injustice, and sometimes the right in things eternal, the left in things temporal. 'These are the names of the sons of Ishmael according to the names of their generations': as if he had said, according to which names their generations were called. 'He took Rebecca the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Mesopotamia, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to himself for a wife,' when it could have been said only 'for a wife,' or 'for himself a wife.' 'And there were twins in her womb,' when 'her' which was said could have not been added. 'But the young men grew.' There is such an expression also among secular authors, as is:

'and they build hidden shields,' that is, by building they make them hidden. So too here 'the young men grew,' when they were infants — it is understood: by growing they became young men. Jacob to Esau: 'sell me today thy birthright to me'; for so the Greek manuscripts have it. 'Seeing we have seen that the Lord is with thee.' 'And we will set with thee a covenant.' The Scriptures love to put 'covenant' for 'pact,' that is, διαθήκην, which the Latins have: 'and we will set with thee a covenant, that thou do us no evil,' as if it were said, that thou covenant to do us no evil. 'And he called his elder son Esau and said': in this place the name 'elder' does not signify grave age, but greater by comparison. 'Now therefore take thy vessel and quiver and bow':

he did not say 'vessels,' but 'vessel.' But what he wished to be understood does not appear, unless perhaps it is a manner of speaking, so that by 'vessel' he wished the quiver to be understood, and in explaining what he had said by 'vessel' he added 'and quiver and bow,' as if he had said: 'take thy vessel and quiver,' as though he said: 'take thy vessel, that is, the quiver,' then another thing 'and the bow,' which would not pertain to that vessel which is the quiver. Or certainly he wished to call the quiver and bow a 'vessel,' putting the singular number for the plural, as if he had said: 'take thy garment,' by which name we should understand several garments, just as we understand 'soldier' for 'soldiers,' and there are many other such. 'Go out into the field and hunt me a hunting.'

'And go to the sheep and take me <thence> two tender and good kids.' By the name 'sheep' he signified both kinds of small livestock, because they were together in the same pastures. 'And may he give thee the blessing of thy father Abraham': Isaac says to his son concerning his grandfather, his own father. 'And he went out into Mesopotamia of Syria': as if Mesopotamia were called anything but 'of Syria,' although the Septuagint is said not to have this 'of Syria,' but it is written with an asterisk. God to Jacob: 'I will not forsake thee, until I have done all things which I have spoken with thee,' as if he would leave him when he had done them — not at all, but it is a manner of speaking. 'And Jacob rose from his sleep and said, that the Lord is in this place, but I knew it not': the sense is complete, even though it has not the 'that.'

'The Lord is in this place,' as if he said: 'here is a manifestation of the Lord'; for the Lord is not in a place. Jacob asking, in that he says: 'Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?' — whereas he was the son of Bethuel — it must be understood that Nahor was more noble, and that by the merit of his dignity it came about that he asked concerning him. And that the one who is propagated from another is called the son both of a grandfather and of a great-grandfather and of any ancestor beyond, is a most usual expression. Hence it is that Isaac too called Abraham the father of his son, as I mentioned a little before. 'The day is yet long, it is not yet the hour of gathering the flocks together.' 'And he gave him Bilhah his handmaid, to him for a wife': it would be complete even if 'to him' were not added. 'If I have found favour before thee, I would have taken an augury;

for God has blessed me at thy coming in.' It does not seem consistent, because here it ought to have been said: 'if I had found favour before thee, I would have taken an augury'; but as it is, 'if I have found' is the order — that is: 'if I have found favour before thee, permit me to take an augury'; for he said thus 'I would have taken an augury,' as if he said 'O that I had taken an augury!' — that is, that I might have thee for a good augury in my house. 'My righteousness shall hear me on the morrow': that is, it shall cause me to be heard. 'And Jacob saw the face of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as yesterday and the day before': a most familiar expression in the Scriptures; he put 'yesterday and the day before' for past time. 'And I saw with my eyes in sleep,' when the eyes of the body are closed in sleep.

'I am the God who appeared to thee in the place of God' — it is a manner of speaking. Or is 'God in the place of God' to be taken in the same way as: 'the Lord rained from the Lord,' the Son from the Father? 'But Jacob answering said to Laban: for I said, lest perhaps thou take away thy daughters from me and all that is mine.' 'And Laban entered and searched in the house of Leah': it must be noted how the 'house' of the wife is spoken of, when they were overtaken by Laban on the journey; unless perhaps the custom of the Scriptures says 'house' for a chamber or a tent, in the way it also says the 'houses' of the handmaids. Jacob says to Laban: 'since thou hast searched all the vessels of my house':

now he says one 'house,' whose members were the houses of his wives and concubines, so that it may be understood that they were called 'houses,' although they were chambers or tents, which some also call 'pavilions.' 'Unless the God of my father Abraham and the fear of Isaac had been with me': he calls his grandfather his father, just as Isaac his father had said to him. 'And Jacob sent messengers before himself to Esau his brother into the land of Seir, into the region of Edom, and charged them, saying: Thus shall you say to my lord Esau: Thus says thy servant Jacob: With Laban I have dwelt and tarried until now; and there have become mine oxen and asses and sheep and menservants and maidservants; and I have sent to announce to my lord Esau.' He did not say: 'I have sent to announce to thee.' 'If Esau shall ask thee, saying: Whose art thou?

'and whither goest thou? and whose are these that go before thee? then thou shalt say: thy servant Jacob's': it would be full and complete even if it had not the 'and' either. 'Gifts he has sent to my lord Esau, and behold he himself is after us.' But it ought to have been said in the usual expression: 'gifts I have sent to my lord, to thee,' or: 'gifts he has sent to his lord, to thee.' 'And he rose up that same night and took his two wives and his two handmaids': here they are distinguished from the wives whom Scripture had earlier called wives. 'And he took his two wives and his two handmaids': it must be noted how 'he took' is said according to the custom of the Scriptures; for he did not then marry them or then receive them from his father-in-law. As to what the Latin manuscripts have: 'and the sheep and oxen bring forth young,' the Greeks have: 'they bring forth young upon me.'

This was said with such a meaning that 'upon my solicitude or care' is understood, in the way we are wont to speak when we say that something is 'upon our head' of which we bear the greatest care. 'And the sons of Jacob came from the field and, when they had heard, the men were stung, and it was very grievous to them, because he had done a shameful thing in Israel, in that he had lain with Jacob's daughter; and it shall not be so.' It is difficult to find such an expression in the Scriptures where the person of the speakers is not introduced but the writer has interposed their words; for he does not say: 'and they said'; but, this being unspoken, he uttered their words. For who else could say: 'and it shall not be so,' except those who, gravely indignant, were contriving vengeance?

It is to be noted that Hamor, speaking of Dinah to Jacob and his sons, says 'your daughter'; he does not say 'thy daughter, the sister of these.' 'In this we shall be like you and we shall dwell in you,' that is, among you. 'For he was attached to the daughter of Jacob,' that is, he loved her. 'And his son Shechem they slew with the edge of the sword': as if he said 'with the sword.' 'What the sons of Jacob carried off from the city of Shechem-Salem, when they had stormed it,' are thus enumerated: 'their sheep and their oxen and their asses, whatever were in the city and whatever were in the field they took. And all their bodies <and all their furniture and their wives> they took captive and plundered whatever were in the city and whatever were in the houses.'

Among all these it is not sufficiently understood what he meant by 'and their bodies'; for it must not be supposed that they carried off the bodies of the slain, but they are to be understood as of things which are corporeally possessed, so that the disposal of them belongs to them, as what follows: 'and the furniture' and the rest — just as in law it is called the 'delivery of bodies.' Although the Greeks call slaves σώματα by a most usual expression; but because it is not σώματα but σώματα that is said here, it must not be rashly affirmed that slaves are signified; yet it can be that this is rather the case. When Scripture mentions the nation of Edom, that is, of the Idumaeans, and those who had reigned in it, it afterwards says:

'these are the names of the princes of Esau according to their places in their regions and in their nations' — calling 'nations' the manifold generations of families of one nation, since Esau himself too was called Edom: whence also the nation which he propagated was surnamed, of which he was assuredly the father. 'But when Reuben had heard, he delivered him from their hands and said: let us not smite him in the soul.' He did not therefore first deliver him and then say this; but by saying this he delivered him. First then he said 'he delivered him,' and afterwards by a brief recapitulation he intimates how he delivered him. 'Let us not smite him in the soul.' In this place by the name 'soul' he signifies the life of the animated body, through the efficient cause for that which is effected.

According to this, what was said to the devil concerning Job can also seem to be understood: 'touch not his soul,' that is, do not kill him. For according to that signification by which the nature of the soul is mentioned, that is said by the Lord: 'fear not those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.' As to what Judah says: 'but let not our hands be upon him,' this is what is wont to be said by us: 'let us not lay hands upon him.' 'Since he is our brother and our flesh': not something else, but this same thing was said twice, as though by way of explaining what 'our brother' is, that is, 'our flesh,' because they had been procreated from the same flesh. 'They slew a kid of the goats.' So Scripture is wont to speak, as in the psalm: 'like the lambs of the sheep.'

As if a kid could be anything but of the goats, or lambs anything but of the sheep. 'And it was announced to Tamar his daughter-in-law, saying'; but it ought to have been said 'they announced, saying.' 'And having laid aside from herself the garments of her widowhood.' What less would there be if 'from herself' were not added? 'And he added no more to know her': in place of 'to be joined with her.' 'And Joseph found favour in the sight of his lord.' This expression is unknown to none in the Scriptures. 'And he knew not anything of the things which were about him.' This expression is commonly usual to the Greeks; among us it is not correct: but we say 'he knew not anything.' 'Except the bread which he himself ate.' By 'bread' assuredly he wished all things pertaining to his sustenance to be understood.

Whence in the Lord's Prayer 'bread' alone is understood, put for daily sustenance. 'And the wife of his lord cast her eyes upon Joseph': there is wont to be, among us too, a commonly usual expression in place of 'she loved him.' 'And she said: sleep with me.' And this too is a usual expression in place of 'lie with me.' 'And the keeper of the prison gave the prison by the hand of Joseph': in place of 'into the hands of Joseph,' by which he signifies 'into the power.' 'And they said: we have seen a dream, and there is none to interpret it.' Although each one had seen his own dream, they did not say 'we have seen dreams,' but 'we have seen a dream.' 'Three baskets are three days': he did not say 'three baskets signify three days.'

And this expression must be much noted, where certain things signifying are called by the name of those things which they signify: hence it is that the Apostle says: 'but the rock was Christ'; he does not say 'the rock signified Christ.' 'And thou shalt give the cup to Pharaoh in his hand,' when it would be full even if 'in his hand' were not added. 'And Pharaoh shall take away thy head from thee': it would be full even if it had not 'from thee.' 'And the birds of heaven shall eat thy flesh from thee': an expression similar to the above. 'And it came to pass after two years of days': what less would there be if it had not 'of days'? 'And Pharaoh arose, and it was a dream.'

The Scriptures love to speak thus about dreams, when one has awakened, as though, the truth of waking men being restored to the man, that then appears as a dream which, while it was seen, was as it were truth. 'I remember my sin today. Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put us in prison': he spoke to him as though of another. 'And we saw a dream both in one night, I and he': as if it did not suffice that he had said 'both.' Then here too he says 'we saw a dream,' not 'we saw dreams,' as though both had seen one. 'And it came to pass, as he compared it to us, so also it happened.' 'And it came to pass' — Scripture is wont to put it thus. For it would be full: 'for as he compared it to us, so also it happened.'

'Such as I never saw the like, uglier, in all the land of Egypt': but it could be said in our manner: 'than which I never saw uglier,' or 'the like of which I never saw,' or 'I never saw such.' 'And rising up, I slept': 'rising up' he says in place of 'awaking.' 'How great things God does, he has shown to Pharaoh': when speaking to him, he says it as though of another. 'And the famine shall consume the land': in place of 'the men who are in the land.' 'Now therefore provide a prudent and understanding man and set him over the land of Egypt; and let Pharaoh act and appoint chiefs of the districts over the land': as if the one to whom he said 'provide a prudent man' were one, and another the one of whom he says 'let Pharaoh appoint.' 'And let the wheat be gathered under the hand of Pharaoh': that is, 'under the power.'

'Yet the throne I will go before thee.' Thus the words stand in the Greek which Pharaoh spoke to Joseph. But 'I will go before thee' (with the genitive) is a usual expression among the Greeks, whereas with us one says 'I will go before thee' (with the accusative); but that 'I will go before thee the throne' is not reported to be usual even among the Greeks, but 'I will go before thee in the throne,' that is, in the honour of the seat, which is understood as 'I will go before thee in the kingdom'; for this too he says to him afterwards. 'I am Pharaoh, without thee no man shall lift up his hand over all the land of Egypt': as if he said: 'I am king, but thou art prince or governor of Egypt.' For 'Pharaoh' is not the name of a man, but of the royal power. 'But Jacob seeing that there was a selling in Egypt, said to his sons: why are you slothful?'

'Behold I have heard that there is a selling in Egypt': it must be noted that what he says he heard, Scripture had said that he saw. 'Buy us a little food, that we may live and not die': one of these would suffice — either 'that we may live' or 'that we may not die.' 'We are peaceable; thy servants are not spies': as if they said of others 'thy servants are not spies,' when they could say 'we are not'; but by way of honour they especially spoke thus. 'We are twelve, thy servants, brethren in the land of Canaan,' although they afterwards say that one of them is not, reckoning namely that Joseph himself is not, that is, has perished. By this expression that too was said:

'these are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Mesopotamia,' although Benjamin was not born there. But as to what they said: 'we are in the land of Canaan,' when at the time they were speaking they were in Egypt, 'we are' is said for 'we dwell'; for they had come from there, about to return there presently as men sojourning there. 'This is what I said to you, saying, that you are spies': what would be lacking even if it did not add 'saying'? 'But you yourselves, go and lead the purchase of your wheat.' 'Lead' in place of 'carry'; because pack-animals on which things are carried are led, this too is called 'to lead.' 'Did I not speak to you, saying: do not harm the boy, and you did not hearken to me?' It must be noted that 'hearing' is not called only that which God hears.

'But they themselves knew not that Joseph heard': 'heard' in place of 'understood'; for one who does not understand certainly hears the voices, even the tongue, with the ear. That expression is repeated when they narrate to their father what had happened to them in Egypt and what they had said to Joseph. 'We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is not, but the little one is with our father today in the land of Canaan.' In these few words there are many kinds of expressions: both that which I mentioned a little before, 'we are twelve,' when they themselves say 'one is not,' and 'we are sons of our father,' as though they could be sons not of their own father. 'But the little one is with our father today in the land of Canaan' — nor did they say 'is' or anything of this kind.

Then it must be noted — what seems especially necessary on account of the narrations of the Evangelists — how, when the things which were said are narrated to have been said, they are not repeated in altogether the same way, while yet in the diversity of words nothing of the truth of the meaning perishes. For what they said had been said to them by Joseph, 'and in the land you shall trade,' is not found to have been said by him. But they said it without a lie, because from the words which he had spoken they recognized it in his will; for words are not necessary except to express and to convey to the knowledge of the hearers, as far as we can, the will. 'And the bundle of silver of each one was in their sack': he did not say 'in his sack' or 'in their sacks,' but as though there were one sack of all.

'Upon me all these things have come,' that is: they burden me with misery. 'And Judah said to him, saying': it could be full even if it had not 'saying.' 'Asking, the man asked us': such an expression is frequent in the Scriptures: 'asking, the man asked us,' or 'by asking he asked,' and the like. 'For with me the men shall eat bread at midday': is it only bread? But from that which is most excellent, the rest also is included in the expression. 'For with me the men shall eat bread at midday': what he says 'at midday' signifies the noon meal, which is taken at mid-day; for this is 'midday.' 'That he may take us as slaves and our asses.' 'Slaves' is certainly not understood; for what the Latin manuscripts have as 'slaves,' in the Greek is read παῖδας:

which the asses can in no way be. Therefore only 'our asses' is understood as the object of 'that he may take.' 'We opened our sacks, and this silver of each one was in his sack': he did not add 'was found' or 'appeared' or 'was' or anything of this kind. 'Propitious to you, fear not.' In these words, in which it is said 'propitious to you,' there are two words that are understood, both 'be' and God, for it is full: 'may God be propitious to you,' which in Greek is altogether most usual. 'Thy servant our father is safe, he yet lives.' Here it is shown more expressly that by the name 'boy' a servant is wont to be signified; for in that old man this could not be a name of age. For the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews;

for it is an abomination to the Egyptians. That expression is frequent, that by 'breads' all foods are understood. 'But the portion of Benjamin was made great above the portions of all, fivefold in comparison with theirs': now since it had been said 'above the portions of all,' it could have not been said 'in comparison with theirs.' 'But finding them, he said <to them> according to these words': he could have said 'he said to them these words.' Or is it perhaps not a kind of expression, but does it also concern the meaning? For it is one thing to say the very words, another to speak according to them, so that, whatever other things may have been said, the same meaning is kept which was comprised in those words; this is 'according to them' even if not the same words. But because it follows, with them replying: 'why does my lord speak according to these words?'

who assuredly ought to have said in the usual manner: 'why does my lord speak these words'? — it is agreed to be a kind of expression. 'Far be it from thy servants to do according to this word.' They could have said 'far be it from us.' But that honorific manner is usual in the Scriptures, to speak thus as though of others; and 'servants' was said for 'slaves.' 'And we also will be slaves to our lord.' Here too the Greeks have παῖδας, that is 'boys,' which Scripture so constantly puts for 'slaves,' that it is hard to find it not calling slaves by this name. 'But how shall I go up to my father, when the boy is not with us? that I may not see the evils which shall find my father!' The custom of speaking rather required it to be said:

'that I may see the evils which shall find out my father' — that is, 'how shall I go up, that I may see?' By a novel manner of speaking, then, what he said with 'how' he said in place of 'not', as though he had said 'not'. For the usual order of these words is this: I will not go up to my father, since the boy is not with us, lest I see the evils which shall find out my father. When Joseph wept, on being recognized by his brethren, Scripture says: 'And all the Egyptians heard, and it was heard in the house of Pharaoh.' Then follows what it was recounting: 'And Joseph said to his brethren.' Scripture therefore stated first what came to pass afterward; for this happened by the spreading of the report, so that it became known to all the Egyptians;

and afterward the narrative returned by a brief recapitulation to what was being said. 'And the report was noised abroad in Pharaoh's house, saying: Joseph's brethren are come.' It put 'saying' (dicentes) for 'of those saying' (dicentium); for the report of those saying was noised abroad: 'Joseph's brethren are come.' 'But he answered — what is it? — saying': the order is: 'But he answered, saying: What is it?' God says to Jacob: 'And I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will bring thee up at the end.' So the Greeks have it, as the Latins have: 'and I will lead thee up at the end.' 'And Judah he sent before him to Joseph, that he might meet him near the city of Heroöpolis.' I do not know whether the name Heroöpolis is easily found in the Scriptures. In the words of Joseph, in which he says to his brethren:

'Going up I will tell Pharaoh and will say to him: My brethren and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, are come to me; now the men are shepherds — for they were feeders of cattle — and their beasts and sheep and all that they have they have brought.' The clause inserted, 'for they were feeders of cattle', the writer inserted in his own person, and he returns to the words of Joseph by adding: 'and their beasts and all that they have they have brought,' so that in Joseph's own words the order is: 'now the men are shepherds, and their beasts and sheep and all that they have they have brought.' 'And Pharaoh said to Jacob: How many are the years of the days of thy life?' — 'are' is understood. 'Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.' 'Little' (pusillos) is put for 'few' (paucis):

for the days of no one's life can be shorter, in the span of hours, than those of others. But Jacob said this by comparison with the life of his forefathers; for surely no one now lives the hundred and thirty years which he was then already reckoning. 'Wheat according to the body', that is, according to the number of bodies; for by 'body' it signifies the number of bodies, by the number of bodies the number of men. 'And the famine grew very strong, and the land of Egypt failed.' It put 'land' for the men who were in the land. 'And all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread.' By 'bread' it signifies wheat, by that manner of speech in which by that which is produced is meant that which produces it. 'And the land became to Pharaoh (Pharaoni)', it does not say 'of Pharaoh' (Pharaonis).

Scripture loves to speak thus, as is said in the Psalm: 'And I have kept thy law. This became mine, because I sought out thy justifications.' Of the Lord's law it said: 'This became mine', that is, unto my profit. 'Except the land of the priests only, Joseph did not possess it.' As though it had said: 'Except the land of the priests only, Joseph possessed all the land.' 'And Joseph appointed it for them as a statute until this present day in the land of Egypt, that they should render a fifth to Pharaoh.' From this it is understood that the name of Pharaoh was a name of royal power, because it said: 'until this present day.' For the Egyptians could not render to him who then was, up to that day on which these things were being written, since he was by then no longer living.

'And the days of Jacob were of the years of his life': Scripture often says 'the days of the years' when it could have said 'the years' at once. As to what is written, 'It was told to Joseph that thy father is troubled', some codices have 'is vexed', some 'is in turmoil', and one thing in one, another in another, according as the Latins were able to render what was written in Greek: enochleitai. Yet 'is troubled' (turbatur) seems more fitly said, because this is wont to be said of those who are tossed about by bodily affliction as death draws near. And from this too a 'crowd' (turba) is called ochlos; for a crowd is a disordered multitude, not like a 'people', which is called demos, nor like the 'commons', which is called laos, but like an ochlos, which is called a crowd (turba).

Jacob, blessing his grandsons the sons of Joseph, says among other things: 'And in them shall my name be invoked, and the name of my fathers.' Whence it is to be noted that not only a 'hearing' (exauditio) but also an 'invocation' (invocatio) is sometimes spoken of that is not of God but of men. For this 'firstborn' (primitivus): it lacks 'is' according to the Greek codices. In the blessing of Joseph Jacob says among other things: 'thence he who strengthened Israel.' It is remarkable if 'is' is not understood, so that it be complete: 'thence is he who strengthened Israel.' As to what is written, 'Joseph said to his servants the buriers, that they should bury his father', the Latin tongue did not find how to name the embalmers (entaphiastai);

for these do not themselves bury, that is, commit the bodies of the dead to the earth, which in Greek is not entaphiazein but thaptein. Those embalmers, then, do that which is done for bodies to be prepared for burial, whether by embalming or drying or wrapping and binding, in which work the diligence of the Egyptians especially excels. What it says, therefore — 'they also buried him' — we ought to understand as 'they prepared him'; and where it says 'forty days of burial', these are to be taken of the preparation itself. For he was not buried save where he had commanded himself to be buried. 'Speak in the ears of Pharaoh': the expression is customary in the Scriptures. 'And Pharaoh said to Joseph: Go down and bury thy father.'

Even if Pharaoh said, through those powerful men through whom Joseph had sent his message, what they were to carry to Joseph, still he said it to none other than Joseph himself. Hence there is that in the Gospel where one of the evangelists says that the centurion came to the Lord and said to him: 'My servant lies at home sick of the palsy'; while another, narrating the whole more carefully, records that he sent friends to the Lord to say this to him: in which friends surely he himself came, whose will was present in them. Hence it is: 'He who receiveth you receiveth me; and he who receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.' 'They mourned him with a great and mighty mourning.' They mourned a mourning (planctum, accusative), not mourned with a mourning (planctu, ablative). The expression is not unknown in the Latin tongue, as it is said:

'he served a servitude, he soldiered a soldiery' and the like. 'And with a requital he will requite us all the evils which we have shown to him.' From this expression the Apostle too says: 'Alexander the coppersmith has shown me many evils'; for 'we have shown' is said, or 'he has shown', for that which is 'we have done' or 'he has done'. 'Receive the iniquity of the servants of the God of thy father.' It is a novel expression, 'receive the iniquity' for 'pardon' or 'remit' or 'forget'. But I think 'receive' is said thence, as if it were said 'receive with an even mind', that is, 'do not take it ill'. 'And coming to him they said.' They did not come again, but what had been said was said again; Scripture is wont to do this. SECOND BOOK. LOCUTIONS ON EXODUS. And they grew very, very strong.

What is it that is said of the midwives: 'and they made themselves houses, because they feared God'? For it had been said before: 'God dealt well with the midwives.' And to this seems to pertain the fact that they made themselves houses by fearing God, as though God's benefits profited them to this end, that they should make themselves houses. Is it to be understood that before this they had no houses? Or does this word pertain to riches, or rather to some suitable means of household substance? For like to this seems to be what Jacob also says, after fourteen years of his servitude, to his father-in-law who wished to keep him yet longer with him: 'Now therefore when shall I too provide for my own house?'

For he had said that Laban's flocks had increased under him, just as Laban himself had confessed, saying: 'God has blessed me at thy coming in.' When therefore he says: 'When shall I too provide for my own house?', 'as thou also' is understood. For this seems to be the force of what he says 'I too', so that it may seem to pertain to the providing of the house itself, since consequently the very wages to be settled are proposed to Laban. 'And every female thing quicken it (illud)': for so the Greeks have it; the Latins do not have 'it'. 'Now there was a certain man of the tribe of Levi and took to himself of the daughters of Levi': a wife is understood, which some Latin translators thought should even be added; and there follows: 'and had her, and she conceived.'

What 'thibin' (an ark, basket) may be is on that account difficult to know, because neither the Greek translator rendered this word from the Hebrew, nor the Latin from the Greek; but each so rendered it as he found it. 'And Moses was afraid and said: If this word has been so noised abroad....' Two things are to be noted in this expression: first, that the sentence hangs and is left thus unfinished; then, that it put 'word' for 'deed'. 'And God looked upon the children of Israel and became known to them': it is put for 'and made himself known'; that is, he wrought in them those things by which they should perceive God's care toward them. 'Seeing I have seen the affliction of my people who is in Egypt.' 'And Moses said to God: Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt? And he said: Because I will be with thee.'

So the Greek has it; but the Latin said 'And who am I' and did not say 'that I should go and that I should bring forth', but 'that I may go and bring forth'. And as to what the Greek has, 'And he said: Because I will be with thee', it is understood, of course, that he said it to Moses; but the Latin added this whole and said: 'And God said to Moses.' God tells what Moses is to say to the children of Israel: 'Visiting I have visited you, and whatsoever has befallen you in Egypt'; the Greek has: 'With a visitation I have visited you.' God says to Moses concerning the children of Israel: 'And they will hear thy voice.' The Greek has: 'And they will hearken to thy voice' (exaudient), because a 'hearkening' is spoken also of a man. As to what the Latin has, 'The woman shall ask of her neighbour and of her lodger vessels of silver and of gold and raiment', the Greek has:

'of her fellow-dweller', that is, synoikou, which some Latins rendered 'of her fellow-cellmate' (concellaria). Moses says: 'What if they will not believe me nor hearken to my voice' — which the Latin rendered 'hear' (audierint). 'Stretch out thy hand and take hold of the tail', the Greek has; but the Latin rendered 'thy hand and its tail'. 'And stretching out his hand he took hold of the tail, and it became a rod in his hand.' 'And he said to him: That they may believe thee, because the Lord God of their fathers hath appeared to thee.' The Greek does not have 'And he said to him', but joined it straightway: 'that they may believe thee' — that is, the words of God after that miracle was done, as though he were still speaking and had just now completed the sense of the words. For the order of the words is:

'stretch out thy hand and take hold of the tail, that they may believe thee'; but the narration of the deed was inserted, and afterward it returned: 'that they may believe thee'. What the Latin has, 'And his hand became leprous like snow', the Greek does not have 'leprous', but only: 'it became like snow'. 'But if they will not hear the voice of the first sign': so the Greek has it; but the Latin: 'thy voice, of the first sign'. So too it follows: 'they will believe thee at the voice of the following sign'. 'And the water which thou shalt take from the river shall be blood upon the dry (land)', or rather 'upon the dry', that is, upon that which is dry; which the Latin rendered 'blood upon the ground'. Moses says: 'I pray thee, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before yesterday nor the day before.'

'And this rod thou shalt take in thy hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs in it (in ea)', when it could have said 'wherewith thou shalt do signs', or at least: 'this rod thou shalt take in thy hand and shalt do signs with it'. But now both were said, by the customary manner of speech of the Scriptures. 'Now after those many days the king of Egypt died. And the Lord said to Moses in Midian: Go, proceed into Egypt; for all are dead who sought thy life.' Many kinds of expression are to be noted in these words: first, 'go, proceed into Egypt', as though it were not enough to say only 'go' or only 'proceed'; then:

'for all are dead who sought thy life', although Scripture had said that the king of Egypt alone died, and it had before been said of him alone that he sought to kill Moses. Or was he himself the last to die after his other enemies? But if this is so, it is not a matter of expression but of sense. Likewise: 'who sought thy life' — this is wont to be said in the Scriptures not only in a bad sense but also in a good sense; for as here it is said in a bad sense, so also in the Psalms: 'Let them be confounded and put to shame who seek my life'; in a good sense: 'flight has perished from me, and there is none who seeks after my life' — unless perchance some difference is said to exist between 'seeking' (quaerentes) and 'seeking after' (requirentes), so that the former is to be understood in a bad, the latter in a good sense. 'And they spoke to the people, saying: Thus saith Pharaoh:'

which expression the Latin was loath to translate. 'Let God see you and judge, because you have made our smell execrable in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword into his hands, that he may slay us.' So the Greek has it; but the Latin, which we used to read as the best, says: 'that you should put a sword into his hands' — a solecism made by no necessity of translation, since it is not in the Greek. 'And I established my covenant with them, so that I would give them the land of the Canaanites and the land which they sojourned in, in which they also sojourned in it.' For so the Greek has it, which of course even in the Greek tongue seems to sound absurdly. And yet the authority of the Seventy translators is so great, who were not loath to speak thus. What then?

For what if here too a sense lies hidden? But if there is none, the expression itself is to be noted, lest, found elsewhere, it impede the sense, or compel one to seek something where there is nothing to be sought. What the Latin has, 'I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, in what manner the Egyptians afflict them', the Greek has katadoulountai autous, which might be rendered 'they reduce them to slavery'; for it cannot be done in one word. 'And Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel: and they did not hearken to Moses from faintness of spirit and from hard works': it says 'hearkened' (exaudierunt), not 'heard' (audierunt). 'For I am ineloquent', which Moses says to the Lord, the Greek said alogos ('without utterance'), not 'unskilled' as though amathes or apaideutos.

'These are Aaron and Moses, to whom God said, that they should bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt'; for so the Greek has it. 'Behold I am of feeble voice, and how will Pharaoh hearken to me?' It is to be noted that it said 'will hearken' (exaudiet), not 'will hear' (audiet). 'And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so they did.' What would be lacking, if it were not said: 'so they did'? 'If Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying: Give us a sign or a wonder, then thou shalt say to Aaron thy brother: Take the rod.' Did not the custom of our speech, and a certain integrity of it, demand that it be said thus: 'If Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying: Give us a sign or a wonder, thou shalt say to Aaron thy brother: Take the rod'?