書信與論戰集（CSEL） 第 56 章 第 2/7 段

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?