§1Καὶ ἀνεκάλεσε Μωϋσῆν. Λευϊτικὸν ὠνόμασται, ἐπειδὴ τὸ τῆς ἱερωσύνης καὶ τὰ τῶν θυσιῶν καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα προσέταξεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἐν τούτῳ Λευϊτικῷ φέρεται.
"And he called Moses." It is named Leviticus because what concerns the priesthood and the sacrifices, and whatever such things God commanded, are contained in this Leviticus.
Ἔχει μὲν οὖν καὶ ἡ Ἔξοδος τοῦ Θεοῦ νομοθεσίας· ὅπως δὲ ἐτελέσθησαν οἱ ἱερεῖς χρισθέντες, καὶ ὅπως κατεσκευάσθη ἡ σκηνὴ καὶ σύμπηξιν ἔλαβεν ἀρμόνιον, καὶ ἄλλα πλείονα ἱστορεῖ τὸ Λευϊτικόν.
Indeed, Exodus also contains legislations of God; but how the priests were anointed and initiated, and how the tabernacle was prepared and received its harmonious assembly, and many other things, Leviticus narrates.
Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἕτερά τινα περιέχει, οὐ θαυμαστὸν, ἐπιγραφὴ γάρ ἐστι, Λευϊτικὸν, τοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ καιριωτέρου δηλωτικόν.
And if it also contains certain other things, it is not surprising, for the title, "Leviticus", is indicative of the most essential matter in it.
§2Τοῦ αὐτῦ.
By the same.
Τὸν περὶ θυσιῶν λόγον οἱ μὴ ὀρθῶς ἐνορῶντες καταφρονοῦσιν ἢ ὡς εὐτελοῦς νομοθεσίας, καὶ μηδὲν ἄξιον τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ ἐχούσης. ἢ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ ὡς εὐτελῆ νομοθετοῦντος ἀσεβῶς καταψηφίζονται.
Those who do not rightly look into the discourse on sacrifices despise it either as cheap legislation containing nothing worthy of the Creator, or impiously condemn the Creator Himself as legislating cheap things.
Ὁ δὲ νοήσας τὸ τοῦ Δαυῒδ καὶ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου, τοῦ μὲν λέγοντος· « Ἀποκάλυψον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου καὶ κατανοήσω τὰ θαυμάσια ἐκ τοῦ νόμου σου· » τοῦ δὲ βοῶντος· « Ὁ νόμος πνευματικός ἐστι, » δύναται διαβλέψαι ὡς ἅξια Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἀποκεκρυμμένα ἐν τούτοις μαθήματα.
But he who has understood the words of David and of the Apostle—the former saying, "Open my eyes, and I shall understand the wonders from your law," and the latter crying out, "The law is spiritual"—is able to discern that there are hidden teachings worthy of God in these things.
§3Ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ὐμῶν, ἐὰν προσαγάγῃ δῶρα τῷ Κυρίῳ. Τετηρήκαμεν δὲ πολλαχοῦ τῶν Γραφῶν τὰ μὲν δῶρα ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων λέγεσθαι, τὰς δὲ θυσίας ἐπὶ τῶν ἀψύχων κατὰ τὸ ἐν τῇ Γενέσει λεγόμενον· « Καὶ ἐπεῖδεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ Ἄβελ, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς δώροις αὐτοῦ, ἐπὶ δὲ Κάϊν καὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς θυσίαις αὐτοῦ οὐ προσέσχεν. » Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ῥητέον, ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἐμψύχων· « Ἄνθρωπος, φησὶν, ἐξ ὑμῶν, ἐὰν προσαγάγῃ δῶρα· » ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἀψύχων, « ἐὰν ψυχή. » Τὸ ἅψυχον ἡ ψυχή· ἴνα τοῦ μὲν ἀλόγου τὸ λογικὸν μόνον καταλείπηται, καὶ τοῦ ἀψύχου ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς νενικημένου ἀπομείνοι τὸ ἔμψυχον μόνον.
"A man from among you, if he brings gifts to the Lord." We have observed in many places of the Scriptures that "gifts" is used of animals, and "sacrifices" of inanimate things, according to what is said in Genesis: "And God looked upon Abel and upon his gifts, but to Cain and to his sacrifices He paid no attention." Furthermore, this also must be said: concerning the animate, it says, "A man from among you, if he brings gifts," but concerning the inanimate, "if a soul." The inanimate is called "soul"; so that of the irrational, only the rational is left behind, and when the inanimate is conquered by the fire, only the animate remains.
§4Προχεοῦσι τὸ αἷμα ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον. Θυσιαστήριον καρπώσεως ὁ βωμὸς λέγεται, ἐφʼ οὗ θυσίαι ὁλοκαυτώσεως· θυσιαστήριον δὲ θυμιάματος, τὸ ἔσω θυσιαστἡριον.
"They shall pour the blood upon the altar." The altar upon which the whole burnt offerings are made is called the altar of burnt offering, while the inner altar is called the altar of incense.
§5Τοῦ αὐτὸῦ.
By the same.
Ἐπειδὴ ἔχαιρον ταῖς θυσίαις οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ταύταις προσεθίσαντες, ὡς καὶ ἡ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ μοσχοποιία μαρτυρεῖ, ἐπέτρεψεν ὁ Θεὸς ταύτας αὐτῷ προσαγαγεῖν, ταύτῃ χαλινώσας τῆς πολυθείας τὰς ἀτάκτους ὁρμὰς καὶ τοῦ μὴ θύειν δαί. μοσι.
Since the Jews in Egypt delighted in these sacrifices, having become accustomed to them, as the calf-making in the desert testifies, God permitted them to bring these to Him, thereby bridling their disorderly impulses toward polytheism and preventing them from sacrificing to demons.
§6Ἐὰν δὲ ψυχὴ μία ἁμάρτῃ ἀκουσίως. Ἀκούσιόν ἐστιν ὅπερ ἄν τις ποιῇ κακόν.
"If a single soul should sin unintentionally." That which one does of evil is unintentional.
Σημειωτέον ὅτι τὸ ἀγνόημα τὸ ἀκούσιον, ἁμαρτίαν κολεἴ ἡ Γραφή.
It should be noted that the Scripture calls an unintentional oversight a sin.
Καὶ ἄλλων τινῶν μέμνηται ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος φάσκων· Σκιὰν γὰρ εἶχεν ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων. §7Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
And the blessed Paul recalls certain other things, saying: "For the law had a shadow of the good things to come." By the same.
« ψυχὴ ἐὰν ἁμάρτῃ ἀκουσίως, φησὶ, καὶ μὴ ποιήσῃ ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἐντολῶν Κυρίου, κατὰ φύσιν ἔχει.
"'If a soul sins unintentionally,' he says, 'and does not perform any of all the commandments of the Lord,' this is in accordance with nature.
Ἔστι γὰρ τάχα τινὰ καὶ προστάγματα Κορίου, ἃ οὐ δεῖ ποιεῖν κατὰ τό· « Ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς προστάγματα οὐ καλά. » Ψυχὴ οὗν ἁμαρτάνει ἀκουσίως, ὅτε προφάσει εὐσεβείας τὸ μὴ δέον τηρεῖ.
For there are perhaps certain commands of the Lord which one ought not to do, according to: 'I gave them statutes that were not good.' Therefore, a soul sins unintentionally when, under the pretext of piety, it keeps what is not proper.
Καὶ δεῖται θυσίας πρὸς ἄφεσιν· οὐ δεομένου θυσίας τοῦ δρῶντος ἐξεπίτηδες· ὡς ὁ γεγονὼς Ἰουδαῖος ἵνα Ἰουδαίους κερδήσῃ, καὶ περιτεμὼν τὸν Τιμόθεον. §8Ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκείνη ἥτις ἐὰν ἄψηται παντὸς πράγματος ἀκαθάρτου, ἢ θνησιμαίου. Θνησιμαῖον δέ φησι τὸν ἀποθανόντα τῷ Θεῷ ἄνθρωπον, ᾧ χρὴ μηδὲ συνεσθίειν·
And it requires a sacrifice for forgiveness, whereas the one acting deliberately does not need a sacrifice, as the one who became a Jew in order to win Jews, and circumcised Timothy." "The soul that touches any unclean thing, or a carcass." By "carcass" he means a person who has died to God, with whom one should not even eat; for the one who touches him is unclean.
ὁ γὰρ ἁπτόμενος αὐτοῦ ἀκάθαρτός ἐστι. Καὶ τοῦτο ἀκάθαρτόν ἐστι τὸ θηρευθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀντιδίκου ἡμῶν διαβόλου.
And this unclean thing is that which has been preyed upon by our adversary, the devil.
Κτήνη ἀκάθαρτα εἴη ἂν, οἱ προσελθόντες μὲν τῷ λόγῳ κτηνώδεις, πρὸς θάνατον δὲ ἁμαρτήσαντες, καὶ μὴ γενόμενοι ἄξιοι σωθῆναι κἂν μετὰ κτηνῶν, κατὰ τὸ λέγον ῥητόν « Ἀνθρώπους καὶ κτήνη σώσεις, Κύριε. »
Unclean beasts would be those who, though they approached the Word, are beastly, and having sinned unto death, have not become worthy to be saved even along with beasts, according to the saying: "O Lord, you will save both men and beasts."