Humanitext Reader

Origen · Annotations on Leviticus (fragments from Catenae) §12.2

Virginity of Mary and Prophetic Sense of Purification

Passage 2 of 5 · Greek

Summary

Regarding the phrase "if she should conceive seed, and bear a male" in Leviticus 12:2, the author suggests that the Scripture placed this wording prophetically to prevent Mary, who gave birth to the Savior through virgin conception, from being deemed "unclean."

§12.2Στίχ. β΄.
Verse 2.
Γυνὴ ἥτις ἐὰν σπερματισθῇ, καὶ τέκῃ ἄρσεν. Παρέλκειν δόξει τὸ, ἐὰν σπερματισθῇ, προτασσόμενον τοῦ· καὶ τέκῃ ἄρσεν.
"If a woman should conceive seed, and bear a male." The phrase "if she should conceive seed," being placed before "and bear a male," will seem to be redundant.
Ἀλλʼ ἐφίστημι μήποτε ἵνα προφητικῶς ἡ Μαρία, οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ ἐσπερματίσθαι (17) τεκοῦσα ἄρσεν, μὴ νομισθῇ ἀκάθαρτος εἶναι, γεγεννηκυῖα τὸν Σωτῆρα, εἴρηκεν ὅλον Ἐδύνατο δὲ καὶ μὴ προκειμένου τοῦ, Ἐὰν σπερματισθῇ, νοεῖσθαι μὴ οὖσα ἀκάθαρτος ἡ Μαρία· οὐ γὰρ ἀπλῶς γυνὴ, ἀλλὰ παρθένος.
But I suggest whether perhaps, in order that Mary—who bore a male child not from having conceived seed (17) and gave birth to the Savior—should not be deemed unclean, [the Scripture] has spoken the entire phrase prophetically. But it was also possible, even without the phrase "if she should conceive seed" being set before, to understand that Mary was not unclean; for she was not simply a woman, but a virgin.

Notes

  1. 12.2Ἀλλʼ ἐφίστημι — Used intransitively (often with the omission of an object like τὸν νοῦν "mind/attention") meaning "to direct attention," "to suggest," or "to raise a question." Here, followed by μήποτε, it introduces a tentative explanation or suggestion by the author.
  2. p.20ἐκ τοῦ ἐσπερματίσθαι — A combination of the preposition ἐκ and the articular infinitive in the genitive neuter singular (τοῦ), using the perfect passive infinitive ἐσπερματίσθαι of the verb σπερματίζω (to be sown, to conceive seed). It expresses origin or cause: "not from having conceived seed."
  3. p.20μὴ προκειμένου τοῦ, Ἐὰν σπερματισθῇ — A genitive absolute construction where the present participle προκειμένου (lying before) takes the substantivized quote τοῦ [Ἐὰν σπερματισθῇ] as its subject. With the negation μὴ, it conveys a concessive or hypothetical sense: "even if [the phrase] 'if she should conceive seed' were not set before."

Cite this passage

Origen, Annotations on Leviticus (fragments from Catenae) §12.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg2042.tlg068.humanitext-grc1:12.2

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.