§1« Καὶ δώσω χάριν τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ ἐνώπιον τῶν Αἰγυπτίων.
«And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians.
Ὅταν δὲ ἀποτρέχοιτε, οὐκ ἀπελεύσεσθε κενοί. » Αὕτη ἡ ἐπαγγελία τῷ Ἀβραὰμ προεδέδοτο Μετὰ ταῦτα, λέγοντος τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐξελεύσονται ὧδε μετὰ ἀποσκευῆς. » §2« Καὶ κατίσχυσεν ἡ καρδία Φαραὼ, καὶ οὐκ εἰσήκουσεν αὐτῶν, καθάπερ ἐνετείλατο αὐτοῖς Κύριος.
But when you depart, you shall not go empty-handed.» This promise had been given beforehand to Abraham, since God said, "After these things they shall come out from here with possessions." «And Pharaoh's heart prevailed, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had commanded them.
Εἶπε δὲ Κύριος πρὸς Μωϋσῆν· Bεβάρυται ἡ καρδία Φαραὼ, τοῦ μὴ ἐξαποστεῖλαι τὸν λαόν. » Τὸ, « Bεβάρυται ἡ καρδία Φαραὼ, » λεγόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου, μετὰ τὴν μεταβαλοῦσαν εἰς δράκοντα ῥάβδον τοῦ Ἀαρὼν, καὶ καταπιοῦσαν τὰς τῶν Μάγων ῥάβδους, ἄξιον ἰδεῖν, εἰ ἕτερόν ἐστι τοῦ, ιἐσκληρύνθαι τὴν καρδίαν Φαραώ, » λεγομένου πολλάκις,καὶτοῦ,«κατισχυκέναι. » Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο οὕτως εἴρηται, « Καὶ κατίσχυσεν ἡ καρδία Φαραὼ, καὶ οὐκ εἰσήκουσεν αὐτῶν καθὼς ἐλάλησε Κύριος. » Δοκεῖ δέ μοι ἡ μὲν ἐνδιδοῦσα καρδία πρὸς τὰ θεῖα, ἁπαλύνεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἰσχύειν ἀνθίστασθαι τῇ θειότητι, καὶ μὴ βαρύνεσθαι, μηδὲ ἕλκε σθαι κάτω εἰς γῆν καὶ ὕλην· ἡ δὲ ἀντιτείνουσα καὶ ἐναντισυμένη τῷ θείῳ βουλήματι, σκληρύνεσθαι καὶ ἀντιτυπεῖν δίκην λίθου, καὶ ἀποκρούεσθαι τὸν λόγον, καὶ κατʼ ἀπόνοιαν ἀνθίστασθαι μετά τινος ψευδωνύμου ἰσχύος.
And the Lord said to Moses: Pharaoh's heart has become heavy, so as not to let the people go.» The saying, «Pharaoh's heart has become heavy,» spoken by the Lord after Aaron's rod was turned into a serpent and swallowed the rods of the magicians, is worthy of consideration, to see whether it is different from «Pharaoh's heart was hardened,» which is often said, and from «prevailed.» For indeed this also is said in this way: «And Pharaoh's heart prevailed, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord spoke.» And it seems to me that the heart that yields to divine things is softened and has no strength to resist divinity, and is not weighed down, nor dragged down to the earth and matter; but the heart that resists and opposes the divine will is hardened and rebounds like a stone, and rejects the word, and in madness resists with some falsely named strength.
Ἀνάγκη δὲ τὴν τοιαύτην καρδίαν καθελκομένην ὑπὸ τῆς κακίας οὕσης κατωφεροῦς, βαρύνεσθαι.
And it is necessary for such a heart, being dragged down by wickedness which tends downward, to be weighed down.
Οὐ μὴν κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν διάνοιαν ταῦτα τῇ καρδίᾳ συμβαίνει, εἰ καὶ μιᾷ καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ συμβέβηκε φαύλῃ οὔσῃ τὸ κατισχύειν καὶ τὸ βαρύνεσθαι.
Yet these things do not happen to the heart in the same sense, even if prevailing and being weighed down happen to one and the same bad heart.
Ἡ μὲν γὰρ, ὡς εἴρηταί που, λιθίνη γίνεται ἡ καρδία καὶ σκληρύνεται· ἡ δὲ οὐ παραχωρεῖ ὡς κρείττονι τῇ θείᾳ φύσει· ἀλλὰ θεομαχεῖν ἱσταμένη κατʼ αὐτῆς καὶ ἰσχύειν λέγεται. §3« Εἶπε δὲ αὐτῷ Μωυσῆς, Ὡς ἂν ἐξέλθω τὴν πόλιν, ἐκπετάσω τὰς χεῖράς μου πρὸς Κύριον, καὶ αἱ φωναὶ παύσονται, καὶ ἡ χάλαζα, καὶ ὁ ὑετὸς οὐκέτι ἔσται. » Ὁ γὰρ πάντων δημιουργὸς πρὸς τὴν κέλευσιν τὴν φύσιν εἴκουσαν ἔχει.
For, as it is said somewhere, on the one hand the heart becomes stony and is hardened; on the other hand, it does not yield to the divine nature as to something superior, but standing up to fight against God, it is said to "prevail." «And Moses said to him, As soon as I go out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord, and the voices will cease, and the hail, and the rain will be no more.» For the Creator of all things has nature yielding to His command.
§4Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
By the same author.
Σημειωτέον ὅτι οὐ πάντα τῇ ῥάβδῳ τερατουργεῖ Μωϋσῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ χερσὶ καὶ λόγῳ, ἴνα μὴ τὴν ῥάβδον μαγικαῖς ἀπάταις τελεῖσθαι υἱ πολλοὶ νομίσωσι.
It should be noted that Moses does not perform all miracles with his rod, but also with his hands and word, so that many may not think that the rod is operated by magical deceits.
§5« Ααβέτωσαν ἕκαστος πρόβατον κατʼ οἵκους πατριῶν· » καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.
«Let them take each man a sheep according to the houses of their fathers;» and so on.
Ἀπὸ τῆς δεκάτης φησὶ λαμβάνειν πρόβατον καὶ τρέφειν ἕως ιδ΄· καὶ ἐπονομάσαι λέγοντας, Τοῦτο τὸ πρόβατον θύεται ὑπὲρ τοῦδε καὶ τοῦδε· οὐχ ὑπερβαινόντων αὐτῶν ι΄ ὀνομάτων· καὶ τῇ ιδ΄ θύεται ἀνάμεσον τῶν ἑσπερινῶν, ἀρχομένης τῆς ιε΄· ὡς γίνεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς λήψεως μέχρι τῆς θύσεως ἡμέρας ε΄, ὅτε πλῆρές ἐστι τῆς σελήνης τὸ φῶς.
He says that they take a sheep from the tenth day and keep it until the fourteenth; and they designate it, saying, "This sheep is sacrificed for so-and-so and so-and-so," with their names not exceeding ten; and on the fourteenth it is sacrificed between the evenings, as the fifteenth begins; so that from the taking to the sacrifice there are five days, when the light of the moon is full.
§6« Πρόβατον τέλειον, ἄρσεν, ἐνιαύσιον ἔσται ὑμῖν. ‚ Ἐνιαύσιον πρόβατον ὁ Χριστός ἐστι.
«A perfect, male, year-old sheep shall be yours.» The year-old sheep is Christ.
Τὸ γὰρ ἐν μηδενὶ ὑστερεῖσθαι μηδὲ ἐλλιπές τι ἔχειν διὰ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ δηλοῦται.
For to fall short in nothing nor to have any deficiency is indicated by the year.
§7« Καὶ σφάξουσιν αὐτὸ πᾶν τὸ πλῆθος συναγωγῆς υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς ἐσπέραν. » Πρὸς ἐσπέραν δὲ κελευόμεθα σφάξαι τὸ πρόβατον, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἐσχάτῃ ὥρᾳ τὸ ἀληθινὸν ἡμῶν πρόβατον εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἦλθεν ὁ Σωτήρ.
«And the whole assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel shall slaughter it toward evening.» And we are commanded to slaughter the sheep toward evening, since at the last hour our true sheep, the Savior, came into the world.
§8« Καὶ λήψονται ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος, καὶ θήσουσιν ἐπὶ τῶν δύο σταθμῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν φλιὰν, ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις· » καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς.
«And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts, and on the lintel, in the houses;» and so on.
Θύομεν δὲ, καὶ χρίομεν τοὺς οἴκους ἡμῶν τῷ αἵματι· λέγω δὲ τὸ σῶμα, εἴπερ χρίσις πίστις ἐστὶν ἡ εἰς αὐτὸν, διʼ ἧς πιστεύω τὴν τοῦ ὀλοθρευτοῦ δύναμιν καταργουμένην.
We sacrifice, and we anoint our houses with the blood; and by "house" I mean the body, if indeed the anointing is the faith in Him, through which I believe that the power of the destroyer is destroyed.
Μετὰ δὲ τὸ χρισθῆναι ἡμᾶς, τουτέστι πιστεῦσαι εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν, τότε καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν βρῶσιν ἔρχεσθαι κελευόμεθα· μήτε δὲ ὠμὰ, μήτε ἑψημένα ἐν ὕδατι, ἀλλʼ ὀπτὰ πυρί.
And after we are anointed, that is, have believed in Christ, then we are commanded to come to the eating; neither raw, nor boiled in water, but roasted with fire.