Humanitext Reader

Origen · Fragment on 1 Kingdoms (in the Catena on the Song of Songs) §1

Humility and God's Sovereignty in Hannah's Song

Passage 1 of 1 · Greek

Summary

Hannah teaches humility to those who approach God through her song, explaining God's righteous recompense and absolute sovereignty as the all-knowing one.

§1## I Sam. 2, 3. 6. 10. 2. 10.
## I Sam. 2, 3. 6. 10. 2. 10.
Διδάσκει καὶ διὰ ταύτης τῆς ᾠδῆς τὸν προσερχόμενον θεῷ εἰς αὐτὸν μόνον ἔχειν τὰς ἐλπίδας καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν καυχᾶσθαι, μὴ μεγαλαυχεῖν ἀλλὰ ταπεινοφρονεῖν.
She teaches also through this song that the one who approaches God should have hopes in Him alone and boast in Him, not to talk big but to be humble.
καθότι πάντων ὡς θεὸς ἔχει τὴν γνῶσιν, ἀποδίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα αὐτοῦ.
Inasmuch as He has knowledge of all things as God, He renders to each according to his practices.
αὐτὸς δὲ καὶ θανάτου καὶ ζωῆς δεσπόζει.
And He Himself rules over both death and life.
παρακελεύεται δὲ γινώσκειν τὸν κύριον, δῆλον δὲ ὄτι διὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων, διὸ ἐπιφέρει τὸ ποιεῖν κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς. καθότι δίκαιό ἐστι κριτὴς πάσης τῆς γῆς, αὐτὸς ἰσχύς, αὐτὸς ὔψωσις, αὐτὸς κέρας σωτηρίας τῶν ἀγαπώντων αὐτόν.
She exhorts to know the Lord, and it is clear that this is through good deeds, wherefore she adds "doing judgment and justice in the midst of the earth." Inasmuch as He is the righteous judge of all the earth, He Himself is the strength, He Himself is the exaltation, He Himself is the horn of salvation for those who love Him.

Notes

  1. ¦5¦τὸν προσερχόμενον — The present participle with the article is substantivized as a generic term ('the one who approaches'), serving as the subject accusative of the subsequent infinitives (such as ἔχειν).
  2. ¦5¦ἔχειν — The series of infinitives (ἔχειν, καυχᾶσθαι, μεγαλαυχεῖν, ταπεινοφρονεῖν) functions as complementary infinitives depending on the main verb Διδάσκει, expressing the content of the instruction.
  3. ¦5¦πάντων — This is an objective genitive qualifying the following noun γνῶσιν, meaning 'knowledge of all things'.
  4. ¦10¦τὸ ποιεῖν — An articular infinitive in the accusative case, functioning as the direct object of the transitive verb ἐπιφέρει ('she adds' or 'brings in').

Cite this passage

Origen, Fragment on 1 Kingdoms (in the Catena on the Song of Songs) §1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg2042.tlg015.humanitext-grc1:1

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