§9Πᾶς ὃς ἐὰν ἄψηται αὐτῶν ἀγιασθήσετα. Τινὲ, τὸ « ἁγιασθήσεται, » μολυνθήσεται, σεφασὶν, οὐ διὰ τὴν θυσίαν, οἶμαι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ τολμηρὸν αὐτοῦ ἁπτομένου.
"Whoever touches them shall be holy." Some, I think, say that "shall be holy" means "shall be defiled," not because of the sacrifice, but because of the audacity of the one who touches it.
Ἀγγαῖος γάρ φησιν· « Ὅς ἂν ἅψηται, μιανθήσεται. » §10Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
For Haggai says: "Whoever touches it shall be defiled." By the same.
Λέγομεν ὡς διατροφῆς ἀφορμὴ μᾶλλον τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἧσαν αἱ θυσίαι καὶ σκιὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας.
We say that the sacrifices were rather a means of sustenance for the priests, and a shadow of piety.
Διπλοῦν δέ ἐστι τὸ κέρδος τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ θύειν· καὶ ὅτι Θεῷ προσάγεται τιμὴ, καὶ ὅτι ἃ θύει τις οὐκ ἂν προσκυνήσειεν, οὔδὲ ἄν οἰηθείη Θεὸν εἶναι.
And the benefit from sacrificing is double: both because honor is brought to God, and because what one sacrifices, one would not worship, nor would one think it to be God.
§11Καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνητε. Θάνατον ὁ λόγος ἔοικεν ἀπειλεῖν ἱερεῦσιν, οἶνον καὶ σίκερα πίνουσιν, ἡνίκα ἂν εἰς τὴν σκηνὴν εἰσπορεύωνται.
"And you shall not die." The word seems to threaten death to priests who drink wine and strong drink when they enter the tabernacle.
Δεῖ γὰρ τοὺς ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ εὐχομένους ἐπισκόπους ἀποστρέφεσθαι ἀπὸ μέθης, οὐ μόνον τῆς ἀπὸ οἴνου, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων, καὶ διαλογισμῶν ἀνθρωπίνων.
For it is necessary for bishops who pray on behalf of the people to turn away from drunkenness, not only that from wine, but also that from affairs and human reasonings.
Οὐχ ὡς ἄτοπον δὲ ἀπαγορεύει τοῦτο, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ᾔδει τὸ ἀκρατὲς τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν, ὅτι ὁπόταν ἅψοιντο, εἰς ἀμετρίαν ἐχώρουν. Ἵν’ ὅτε εἰς τὰ ἅγια εἰσπορεύονται, νηφάλιον τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀκριβὲς ἔχωσι, καὶ λεπτὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ μνημόσυνον.
He does not forbid this as being absurd in itself, but because He knew the lack of self-control of the Israelites, that whenever they touched it, they proceeded to excess; so that when they enter the holy places, they may have a sober precision of the soul, and a delicate remembrance of God.
§12Διὰ τί οὐκ ἐφάγετε τὸ περὶ τῆς ἀμαρτίας ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ; Δείκνυσι δὲ ὅτι μὴ τῶν ἱερέων ἐσθιόντων, ἀτέλεστος ἡ θυσία, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία μένει· ἐχρῆν γὰρ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ αἴματος εἰσενεχθῆναι, καὶ αὐτοὺς φαγεῖν.
"Why did you not eat the sin offering in a holy place?" He shows that if the priests do not eat, the sacrifice is incomplete, and the sin remains; for it was necessary both that some of the blood be brought in, and that they themselves eat.
§13Εἰ σήμερον προσαγηόχασι τὰ περὶ τῆς ἀμαρτίας αὐτῶν. Ἐπεὶ συνέβη, φησὶ, τοῖς περὶ Ναδὰβ καὶ Ἀβιοὺδ προσκρούσασι τῷ Θεᾤ ἀποθανεῖν, ὄτε καιρὸς ἦν φαγεῖν αὐτοὺς τὸ περὶ ἁμαρτίας τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ἀφεθῆναι ἃ ἥμαρτε, πῶς οἱ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἡμεῖς σήμερον ἐλεγχθέντες διὰ τοῦ φαγεῖν τὴν ἄφεσιν προξενήσομεν;
"If they had offered their sin offering today..." Since it happened, he says, that those around Nadab and Abihu died having offended God, when it was time for them to eat the sin offering of the people so that the sins they committed might be forgiven, how shall we, who have been convicted in sins today, procure forgiveness through eating?
Χρὴ γὰρ τὸν ἱερέα πρότερον περὶ αὑτοῦ ἐξῶ άσασθαι.
For it is necessary for the priest to make atonement for himself first.
§14Ταῦτα τὰ κτήνη ἃ φάγεσθε. Θηρία μὲν οὗν οὐδαμῶς ἐστι καθαρά· πάντα γὰρ ἀκάθαρτα κατὰ τὸν εἰπόντα νόμον· « Πᾶν ὂ ἐὰν πορεύηται ἐπὶ χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς θηρίοις, ἀκάθαρτα ἔσται ὑμῖν. » Εἴη δʼ ἂν γενικῶς θηρία πάντες οἱ ὠμότατοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων, περὶ ὡν φησιν ὁ Προφήτης· « Ἐν τῷ ἐγγίζειν ἐπʼ ἐμὲ κακοῦντας τοῦ φαγεῖν τὰς σάρκας μου· » καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς.
"These are the beasts which you shall eat." Wild beasts, therefore, are in no way clean; for all are unclean according to the law which says: "Whatever goes upon its paws among all the wild beasts, shall be unclean to you." Metaphorically, wild beasts would be all the most cruel of men, concerning whom the Prophet says: "When evildoers drew near against me to eat up my flesh," and so on.
§15Ηᾶν κτῆνος δικηλοῦν ὁπλήν. Δικηλῆ τὸν εὐσεβῶς ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ πολιτευόμενον καὶ διὰ τὸν μέλλοντα αἰῶνα ἐπʼ ἐκεῖνον σπεύδοντα· πρὸς δὲ τὸ διχηλεῖν καὶ ὀνυχιστῆρας ὀνυχίζειν περιαιρούμενον τὰ περιττὰ καὶ νεκρὰ. ἀπὸ τῶν χειρῶν, τοῦτʼ ἔστι πράξεων· καὶ ποδῶν, τουτέστι τῆς πορείας.
"Every beast that parts the hoof." "Parting the hoof" refers to the one who lives piously in this present age and hastens toward the coming age for its sake; and in addition to parting the hoof, "having split hooves" refers to the one who removes what is superfluous and dead from his hands, that is, his deeds, and from his feet, that is, his conduct.
Πρὸς τοὐτοις καὶ ἀνὰ μηρυκισμὸν οὐκ ἀποτιθέμενον μόνον τὴν πνευματικὴν τροφὴν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀναμιμνησκόμενον καὶ συνεχῶς αὐτὴν μελετῶντα.
In addition to these, "ruminating" refers to the one who does not merely store away spiritual food, but also recalls it and constantly meditates upon it.
§16Οὖτος ὁ νόμος περὶ τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ τῶν πετεινῶν καὶ πάσης ψυχῆς. Πολὺν ποιεῖται λόγον περὶ καθαρολ καὶ ἀκαθάρτου· πρῶτον ἁγίαν εἶναι τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκπαιδεύει.
"This is the law concerning beasts and birds and every soul." He speaks at length about clean and unclean; first, He trains the soul to be holy.
Εἰ γὰρ τὸ φυσικὸν τοιοῦτον οἷον ἐκ προστάγματος Θεοῦ γέγονεν, ἀκάθαρτον, πόσῳ μᾶλλον τὸ ἀπὸ μοχθηρᾶς προαιρέσεως, καὶ οὐκ ἐκ προστάγμα τος Θεοῦ γεγονός;
For if that which is natural, having come into being by God's command, is considered unclean, how much more that which arises from a wicked choice and did not come into being by God's command?
Εἰ τὸ οὗ Θεὸς ποιητὴς ἀκάθαρτον εἶναι νομίζοι τις, πόσῳ μᾶλλον τὸ ἐναντίως ἔχον πρὸς τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ βούλημα, καὶ ποιοῦν ὅπερ ἀπηγόρευσεν;
If anyone should think that of which God is the creator is unclean, how much more that which is contrary to God's will and does what He forbade?
§17Ἀνδρὡπτῳ ἐάν τανι γένηται ἐν δέρματι χρωτὸς αὐτοῦ οὐλή. Ἀνάγεται ταῦτα ἐπί τινας μώμους τῆς ψυχῆς.
"If a scar should appear on the skin of anyone's flesh." These things are referred to certain blemishes of the soul.
Καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν τοῦ σώματος τραυμάτων μετὰ τὴν θεραπείαν ἔσθʼ ὅτε ἴχνος τοῦ πεπονθέναι τοὺς τόπους καταλείπεται ἐν τῇ καλουμένῃ οὐλῇ· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἡ λαβοῦσα τραῦμα ἁμαρτίας ψυχὴ, κἂν τύχῃ θεραπείας, οἱονεὶ οὐλὴν ἐνίοτε ἔχει καταλειπομένην.
And just as in the case of bodily wounds, after healing, sometimes a trace of the parts having suffered is left behind in what is called a scar; in the same way, the soul that has received a wound of sin, even if it obtains healing, sometimes has a scar, as it were, left behind.
Δεῖ δὲ καὶ τὸν τρόπον τοῦ ἀπʼ αὐτῆς καθαρισμεῦ ἢ οὐ καθαρισμοῦ ἐξεπίστασθαι.
And it is necessary also to understand thoroughly the manner of purification or non-purification from it.