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Origen · Annotations on Deuteronomy (fragments from Catenae) §3.18-3.27

Moses' Exclusion from the Land and Typology of Joshua

Passage 2 of 10 · Greek

Summary

The instructions to the tribes before Jordan are recalled, followed by a discussion on why Moses was denied entry to the Promised Land, and the typological succession of authority to Jesus (Joshua).

§3.18Στίχ. ιη΄.
Verse 18.
Καὶ ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν. (28) Ταῦτα λέγει τῇ φυλῇ Ῥουβεὶμ, καὶ τῇ φυλῇ Γὰδ, καὶ τῷ ἡμίσει (29) φυλῆς Μανασσῆ.
'And I commanded you.' (28) This He says to the tribe of Reuben, and to the tribe of Gad, and to the half (29) of the tribe of Manasseh.
§3.27Στίχ. κζ΄, κη΄.
Verses 27, 28.
Πλέον τῷ Μωϋσεῖ παρὰ τῷ Ἀαρὼν δίδωσι, τὸ θεάσασθαι τὴν γῆν ἐξ αὐτόπτου.
He gives more to Moses than to Aaron, namely, to behold the land with his own eyes.
Τὴν δὲ εἴσοδον οὐ δίδωσι, τῇ τῆς πίστεως ἐνδείᾳ ταύτην δίκην ἐπιθεὶς, καθʼ ἣν ἀμφοτέρους ἐκτὸς τῆς γῆς τῆς ἐπηγγελμένης μεθίστησιν ἀπὸ τοῦ βἱου, καὶ (30) δυναμένους ἀφικέσθαι, τοῦ τέλους ἅτε διὰ πίστεως διδομένου.
But He does not give him entry, having imposed this punishment for their lack of faith, by which He removes both of them from life outside the promised land, even though they were able (30) to reach it, since the end is given through faith.
Ὃ δὴ καὶ σύμβολον εἰς τὸν νόμον, οὐ δυνάμενον τελειῶσαι οὐδὲ τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ἀποκαταστῆσαι, ὅτι ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται. Τιμὴ δὲ αὕτη, τὸ γνῶναι κρίσιν Θεοῦ, καὶ προγνῶναι τὴν οἰκείαν τελευτήν.
This indeed is a symbol of the law, which is unable to perfect or restore the promise, because 'the righteous shall live by faith.' But this is an honor: to know the judgment of God, and to foreknow one's own end.
Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
By the same author.
Προάγει τὸν Ἰησοῦν, καὶ ἤδη μὲν ἡγιασμένον ἐκ τῆς ἀκολουθήσεως, καὶ παρὰ μονῆς (51) |Μωῦσέως, τὸ δὲ ἀρχικὸν πνεῦμα διὰ Μωῦσέως μέλλοντα κομίζεσθαι πρὸς τὸ καὶ οἰκείους ἀντʼ αὑτοῦ καταστῆσαι.
He brings forward Jesus, already sanctified by his following and by his remaining (51) with Moses, and about to receive through Moses the governing spirit in order to establish them as his own in his stead.
Ὥσπερ καὶ Ἐλισσαῖος ἐν πνεύματι Ἠλίου παρῆν τὸ Ἠλίου πράξων ἔργον· ἐν γὰρ τῷ αὐτῷ πνεύματι τὰ αὐτὰ κατεργάζεσθαι δεῖ.
Just as Elisha also was present in the spirit of Elijah to do the work of Elijah; for in the same spirit one must accomplish the same things.
Λάθε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν, ὥς φησιν ἐν τοῖς Ἀριθμοῖς, τὸν Ἰησοῦν υἱόν Ναυῆ, ἄνθρωπον ὃς ἔχει πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἐν αὑτῷ, καὶ ἐπιθήσεις τὰς χεῖράς σου ἐπʼ αὐτῷ.
Take to yourself, as He says in Numbers, Jesus the son of Nun, a man who has the spirit of God in him, and you shall lay your hands upon him.
Οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι Πνεῦμα ζωοποιὸν ἔχοντες ἀπὸ τῆς ἐμφυσήσεως τοῦ Κυρίου, πνεῦμα κομίζονται τὸ ἀρχικὸν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταπεμπόμενον· οὐ πνεῦμα ἐν πνεύματι, ἔτερον ἐφʼ ἑτέρου· ἀλλʼ ἐνέργειαν ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ πνεύματι, καθάπερὁ Παῦλος διδάσκει.
Thus also the apostles, having the life-giving Spirit from the breathing of the Lord, receive the governing spirit sent down from heaven; not a spirit within a spirit, one upon another, but an activity in the same spirit, just as Paul teaches.

Notes

  1. 3.27δυναμένους — Accusative plural masculine participle agreeing with ἀμφοτέρους (Moses and Aaron). It is used concessively ('although they were able'), indicating that they had the capacity to enter the land, yet were prevented due to the punishment for their lack of faith.
  2. 3.27οὐ δυνάμενον — Neuter singular accusative participle. It agrees not with the immediate masculine noun τὸν νόμον, but with the neuter relative pronoun Ὃ at the beginning of the clause (or with σύμβολον), explaining that the law itself is 'unable to make perfect or restore the promise.'
  3. 3.27Λάθε — A scribal error in the text. It must be read and translated as λάβε (aorist imperative 'take'), following the Septuagint (LXX) text of Numbers 27:18, which is being quoted here.

Cite this passage

Origen, Annotations on Deuteronomy (fragments from Catenae) §3.18-3.27. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg2042.tlg070.humanitext-grc1:3.18-3.27

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