書信與論戰集（CSEL） 第 56 章 第 1/7 段

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.'