(Written in the early V Century.)
Eucherius to his son in Christ, Veranus, greetings.
I believe that you should study diligently these formulae of spiritual
knowledge, which I have compiled and which I send you. The following knowledge is
meant to bring the teaching of the divine scriptures easily to mind. Because the
letter kills and the spirit gives life [
The entire worth of heavenly mysteries is not known indiscriminately and randomly,
nor is the sacred set before dogs nor pearls before swine [
Here, we find the interior of the Lord's temple, here the holy of holies. The
body, therefore, is the sacred scripture, as it has come down to us, as it is in
letters, with the soul of moral sense, which is uttered in figures of speech, with
the spirit of superior understanding, which names by analogy. How the pattern is
found in the three-fold nature of the scriptures! The sanctifying confession of
the Trinity preserves us through all things so that our spirit, our mind, and our
body are irreproachably one, in the coming and justice of our Lord and God, Jesus
Christ, whom we serve [
The wisdom of the world divides its philosophy into three parts: physics, ethics, and logic, that is, natural, moral, and rational. Natural pertains to the causes of nature, which the universe holds; moral pertains to truth, which it sees as custom; rational pertains to the disputes about elevated things that God, who is the Father of all, has proven. Indeed, this differentiation is not dissimilar to our three-fold method of teaching, by which the heavenly scriptures are taught as philosophy, according to history, according to rhetoric, according to analogy, to whose who think otherwise.
History, for this reason, instills in us the truth of deeds or faith in reporting.
Rhetoric takes the mind mysteriously back to the correction of life. Analogy leads
secretly to the heavenly figures. There are those who think that allegory is thrown
in the fourth place in the class of knowledge, and they would confirm this by foreshadowing
of future deeds in stories. Here, in truth, are many similar examples made manifest:
the heaven which we contemplate here is close to history; the life of the heavenly
is close to rhetoric; baptism of water is close to allegory; the angels are close
to analogy. It is everywhere: and the waters above the heavens praise the Lord [
Book I: The Members of the Lord
Book II: On Heavenly Objects
Book III: On Earthly Things
Book IV: On the Animals
Book V: On the Various Names and Titles
Book VI: On the Interior Man
Book VII: On the Useful or the Ordinary
Book VIII: On the Various Meanings of Words and Names
Book IX: On Jerusalem and her Enemies
Book X: On Numbers
And so, as he who will present a gift to the Lord, let us, therefore, explicate now these meanings of names and words, in accordance with those which are most justly called allegory.
The eyes of the Lord are understood by divine examination; in the psalm: the
eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous. [
The ears of the Lord are worthy when they hear; in the psalm: and his ears toward
their cries. [
The mouth of the Lord is conversation with man; in the prophet: the mouth of
the Lord has spoken. [
The word of the Lord is his son; in the psalm: my heart is inditing a good word.
[
The arm of the Lord is his son, through whom all was made; in the prophet: the
arm of the Lord is shown to him. [
The right hand of the Lord is like the arm of the Lord; in the psalm: the right
hand of the Lord made strength. [
The womb of the Lord, from which he brings forth his son, is hidden; in the psalm:
out of the womb before the morning star have I begotten you. [
The feet of the Lord are for ever stable; in the psalm: and darkness under his
feet. [
The footprints of the Lord are signs of his secret work; in the psalm: and they
do not know your footprints. [
The footsteps of the Lord are the coming or the path of the Lord; in the psalm:
they have seen your footsteps, O Lord. [
The arms of the Lord are a help to his saints; in the psalm: take up arms and
a shield. [
The protection of the Lord is a shield; in the psalm: O Lord, you have crowned
us with the shield of your goodwill. [
The vengeance of the Lord is a spear; in the psalm: hurl your spear and put an
end to the impious. [
The tension of divine threat is a bow; in the psalm: he has stretched his bow
and prepared it. [
The precepts of the Lord or of the Apostles are arrows; in the psalm: he has
sent his arrows and has scattered them. [
The discourse of the Lord is a vindicating sword; in the apostle: the discourse
of the Lord is living, and it is as efficacious and penetrating as a two-edged sword. [
The discourse of the Lord is also a javelin.
The trumpet of God is the voice of the Lord made manifest; in the apostle: in
te command and voice of the archangel and in the trumpet of God. [
The chariot of the Lord, the seat of the Lord, is the four-sided gospel; in the
psalm: the chariot of the Lord has 20,000 sides. [
The rod of the Lord is a sign of his rule or of the correction of discipline;
in the psalm: the rod of equity, the rod of your reign. [
The staff of the Lord is the sustaining consolation of God; in the psalm: your
rod and your staff, they comfort me. [
The embers of the fire are examples of charity or of repentance; in the psalm:
with the embers of the desolate. [
Smoke is the beginning of future contrition or of a threat from God; in the psalm:
smoke rises in his anger. The same in another part: like noxious smoke in the eyes,
it is vanity. [
Fire is the Holy Spirit; in the acts of the apostles: and fire appeared to them
in forked tongues and sat above each of them, and they were filled with the Holy
Spirit. [
The heavens are the apostles or the saints, the same where the Lord dwells; in
the psalm: The heavens tell the glory of the Lord. [
The clouds are the prophets and the saints, which rain the word of the Lord;
in Isaiah: I shall order the clouds above to rain. [
The thunder is the voice of the evangelists, which sound in the sky; in the psalm:
The voice of the thunder in the heaven. [
The lightning is the splendor of the evangelists; in the psalm: Your lightning
lights the globe of the earth. [
The lightning is the strength of the word of Jesus Christ; in the psalm: the
lightning multiplied and disturbed them. [
The angelic thrones, like the saints, are themselves the power of Your rule;
in the psalm: Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the same in another part
about the devil: I place my throne in the north wind. [
The angels and the saints are the seat of the One Who is Above, because the Lord
sits on them; in the psalm: The Lord sits above the seat of His saints. [
The sun is Lord Jesus Christ, who shines on the earth; in Solomon: therefore,
the sun of justice does not shine on us. [
The moon is the church, which is resplendent in the night of this world; in the
psalm: He made the moon for its time. [
The stars are the saints and the learned; in Daniel: the learned shall burn like
the stars, and the angels will shine as well. [
The clouds are truly the mysteries of God; in the prophet: and the rain the clouds
of his feet. [
The mist is the working of the divine mysteries; in the psalm: and the mist is
beneath His feet. [
The deep is the profundity of the Scriptures; in the psalm: deep calls to deep.
[
The dew is the word of God, which moistens the land of men; in the psalm: like
the dew of Hermon which falls on Mount Sion. [
The rain is the precepts and decrees of the Lord, which water the land, that
is, men; in the psalm: O Lord, You separated the plentiful rain from Your inheritance.
[
The snow is the great brightness of justice; in the psalm: You will wash me,
and I shall be whiter than snow. [
The hail is the threats of the Lord, which beat the stubborn; in the psalm: hail
and the coals of fire. The same in another part: and it fell into their vineyard
like hail. [
The hoarfrost is abstinence because through it, the passion of the body freezes;
in the psalm: I am made like a bottle in the frost. [
The storm is the force of trial and examination; in the psalm: He who saves me
made me from a weak soul and a storm. [
The ice is the hardness of sinners; in Solomon: your sin is dissolved like ice
in clear weather. [
The wind is the breath of the saints; in the psalm: He has flown upon the wings
of the wind. The same in a bad part in Matthew: And the winds blew. [
The north wind is the devil, or bad, faithless men; in the prophet: from the
north wind, evil broke out above the earth. [
The right wind is the same as the north wind; in Solomon: a hard wind is from
the north. Moreover, it is called by the name right because the devil himself
assumes that name of good, or because of the right would be the west, that is, sin,
from his point of view. [
The south wind is the ardor of faith; in the psalm: like a stream in the south.
[
The empty air is a messenger; in the apostle: thus, I fight, not beating the
air, that is, not pursuing emptiness. [
The correct time is the ordering of divine will; in the psalm: he made the moon
in due season. [
Spring is the renewal of life, as baptism is the renewal of life through the
resurrection; in the psalm: You have made summer and spring. [
Summer is the prefiguration of the joy to come; in the psalm: the same as above.
Winter is persecution and tribulation; in the gospel: let your flight be neither
in winter nor on the Sabbath. [
The years are sometimes taken for eternity, thus: your years do not run short, for the time being and for the brevity of life, and so: you shall meditate upon your years, as if they were like a spider's web.
Day and night are righteousness and iniquity, faith and infidelity, prosperity
and adversity; in the psalm: The Lord has shown His mercy by day and has declared
it in the night. [
Light and darkness are thus taken to be like day and night; in the epistle of
John: he who loves his brother remains in the light; however, he who hates his brother
is in darkness. [
The shade is divine protection; in the psalm: take me under the shadow of Your
wings. [
The five hundredth hour, which they take to mean years, is said to be the number
of days allotted to the world in this present age; in the letter of John: little
children, the last days are here. [
The east saves greatly; in Luke: the dayspring has come to us from on high; and
in Zechariah: behold the man, Orient is his name. [
The west is the lessening of a better life; in the prophet: our sun has set at
midday. [
The morning light is the doing of good, or baptism, or resurrection; in the psalm:
I shall stand before You in the morning, and I shall see You. [
Midday is the clarity of great teaching and great deeds; in Solomon: where do
you lie at noon? and in the bad part of the psalm: a demon at noon, that is, a demon
made manifest. [
The earth is man himself; in the gospel: another has fallen into the good earth.
The same in a bad part about the sinner: you devour the earth all the days of your
life. [
The dry lands are the flesh of a fruitless man; in Ecclesiastes, to work in a
dry land with evil and sorrow. [
The dust is a sinner or the vanity of the flesh; in the psalm: like the dust,
which the wind blows about. [
The mud is the gluttony of sinners; in the psalm: tear me from the mud that I
not take root; the same in another part of John: he made mud and daubed my eyes.
[
The mountains are the church of the lord and of the apostles, or of the saints,
a strength from on high; in the psalm: which descends from Mt. Sion. The same in
another part from the prophet: May your feet not stumble greatly on the misty mountains,
that is, heretics. [
The hills are the saints of lesser merit; in the psalm: mountains and all hills.
The same in a bad part of the Gospel: all the hills and mountains shall be humbled.
[
The valleys are the humility of a contrite heart; in the psalm: and the valley
abounds in fruit. and in a bad part of the prophet, the valley of the sons of Ennos.
[
The rock is Christ in strength; in the apostle, moreover, the rock was Christ. [
The stones likewise are Christ and all the saints; in the psalm, the stone which
the builders rejected. The same in another part: great is God who brought forth
the sons of Abraham from stones. [
The field is this world; in the gospel: the field is this world. [
The plains are the saints and the divine scriptures, on which they put out fodder
for the living; in the psalm: the plains are full of riches. The same in a bad part:
in the plain of Zoan. [
The pastures are a spiritual dining hall; in the psalm: he has called me to the
place of pasture. [
The cultivated fields are the saints, who have grown in God; in the apostle:
the growth is of God. [
God is the farmer: in the Gospel the Lord says: I am the true vine, and my Father
is the farmer. [
The furrows are the heart of the saints; in the psalm: the furrows are drenched.
[
The seed is the divine precept; in the Gospel: a sower went out to sow his seed. [
The harvest is the fertility and abundance of the faithful; in the Gospel, lift
your eyes and see the areas that are white and ready for harvest. And in another
place: the harvest is the closing of the age and angels are the harvesters. [
The bundles of hay are the fruit of righteousness; in the psalm: carrying their
bundles of hay. [
The stubble is the ones who are dry and empty of faith; in the apostle: bind
the hay stubble, and in the prophet: today I am made as if I were bound together
like hay in the harvest, that is, I have not found workers of good anywhere. [
The threshing floor is the church; in the Gospel: and he will clean your threshing
floor. [
The winnowing fork is the testing of the righteous by God; in the Gospel: whose
winnowing fork is in his hand. [
The wheat is the saints and the chosen of God; in the Gospel: and he will gather
his wheat in a storehouse. [
Barley is the letter of the law; in the Gospel: there is one boy, who has five
loaves of barley bread. [
The chaff is sinners; in the Gospel: moreover, he burns the chaff in unextinguishable
fire; and in Jerimiah: the Lord says what is the chaff to the wheat? [
The tares are the scandalous, who live badly; in the Gospel: an enemy came and
planted tares in the midst of the wheat. [
The vineyard is the church, the people of Israel; in the psalm; you have transported
your vineyard from Egypt. The same in a bad part: you will shun the vineyard of
the Sodomites. [
The vine is Christ; in the gospel: I am the true vine. The same in another part
as above in the song of Deuteronomy: you will shun the vineyard of the Sodomites.
[
The branches are the apostles and the saints; in the gospel: I am the vine, you
are the branches. In a bad part of the song of Deuteronomy: and their branches from
Gommorah. [
The fruit of the grape is righteousness; in the song of Isaiah: I have waited
for the grape to ripen. The same in a bad part of Deuteronomy: their grape is the
grape of hatred. [
The bunch of grapes is the church, the body of Christ; in Numbers: because the
sons of Israel carried a bunch of grapes from there. [
The grape harvest is the fulfillment of the age, vindication of the people; in
the psalm: they will then harvest all who went before them in the way. And in Joel:
send scythes and harvest your vineyard, for the grapes are ripe. [
The press is his altar, because there the fruit becomes oblation; in the canticle
of Isaiah: I dug the winepress in it. And the pressure of tribulation is another
winepress, in which the faithful are proven; in the title of a psalm: in the end
in place of winepresses. [
The hay is the flesh, empty glory; in the prophet: all flesh is hay, and all
its glory is like the flowering of the hay. [
The grass is joy which profits the soul; in Genesis: he brought forth green grass
on the earth. The same in a bad part: in the morning let the grass wither. [
The flowers are Christk the ideal of righteousness; in the psalm: he is just
that the palm may flourish. [
The lily is Christ, or the angels aflame with righteousness; in Solomon: I am
the blossom of the field and the lily of the valley. [
The roses are martyrs red with blood; in Solomon, as a rose flourishes above
a wet stream. [
The violets are the confessors in bluish likeness of body; in the Song of Songs,
the flowers are seen on the earth. [
The trees are the gentiles; in the psalm: we found it in a plain of trees. From
these trees two Roman emperors went forth as bears, according to the teaching in
the figure of Elisha and forty-two years after his Ascension into the heavens, they
ate the Jewish youths. [
The dense darkness is the hidden part of Divine Scripture; in the psalm: and
he has revealed the hidden things. [
The wood is sinners consigned to the fires; in Ecclesiastes: he who splits the
wood, tests it. The same in a good part: and he will be as the wood that is planted.
[
The root is the beginning; in the Apostle, because if the root is blessed, so
are the branches. And in a bad part of the Psalms: and [tear] your living root from
the earth. [
The tree is a man whose work is fruitful; in the gospel: or make a good tree
and its good fruit. The same in a bad part: or make a bad tree and its bad fruit.
The same in this parable, the tree is the will of man, rather than being what man
himself thinks he will receive. [
The branch is succession; in the Apostle: because if the root is blessed, the
branch is blessed. The same in a bad part of Daniel: cut off his branches. [
The leaves are the preaching of doctrine; in the psalm, and its leaves will not
fall off. And likewise, the leaves are the clothing and beauty with the protection
of divine grace. [
The apple is the fruit of the saints in virtue: in the Song of Songs, ans he
shall eat the fruit of his own apples. [
The palm is completion, victory; in the psalm, he is just so that the palm may
flourish. [
The cedars are men of the highest power; in the psalm: that they may grow as
the cedars of Lebanon. And in a bad part of the psalm: and the Lord breaks the cedars
of Lebanon. [
The olive is the saint abounding in the fruit of mercy; in the psalm, I am like
a flourishing olive. [
The wild olive is a man abounding in the fruit of gentleness; in the Apostle,
I am like the fruitful olive. [
The fig is the synagogue of this age; in the gospel, and the fig tree was barren
from then on, and in Habakkuk: the fig does not bear fruit. [
The pomegranate is the church of many people who give thanks in different ways;
in the Song of Songs, sending forth your garden of pomegranate with the fruit of
the apple. [
The twig is the sinner, the one weak in faith; in the gospel, he will not break
the shaken twig. Likewise, a twig is a weak help; in the prophet, how do you rely
on a staff, itself an Egyptian twig? If he will lean upon it, he will be severely
shaken, and it will pierce his hand. [
The bramble bush is, as is sometimes thought, a prefiguration of the Blessed
Theotokos, because it is as if he sent forth the salvation of human flesh like a
rose from a bramble bush, or because the strength of divine lightning went through
it without consuming it; in Exodus, the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire
from the middle of the bush and he saw that the bush burned and was not consumed.
[
The thorns of the bush are harmful things that keep the soul from divine healing;
in the gospel, another was killed with thorns. [
The sting of the thistle is wickness or temptation; in Genesis, it will grow
thorns and thistles for you. [
The springs are baptism; in the psalm: as the hart longs for the springs of water.
[
The water is the testing of people; in the psalm, perhaps the water would have
swallowed us. The same in a good part of Jeremiah: they have forsaken me, the font
of living water. And in the prophet: let him who thirsts, come to the water, that
is, to belief. [
The stream is the course of persecution; in the psalm: he drinks from the stream
in the way. The same in a good part: you will give them drink from the stream of
your will. [
The rivers are the unfaithful people; in the psalm: by the waters of Babylon.
The same in a good part: the living waters flow from your stomach, that is spiritual
grace. [
The lake is the inferno; in the psalm, they put in the lower lake, that is, the
place of the inferno, in which sinners alone are held in penal custody. [
The sea is the people of this age; in the psalm: here is the sea great and wide.
[
The fish are the saints; in the gospel: and they dragged a multitude of great
fishes in their net. The same in a bad part: however, the evil are sent out of doors.
[
The billows are temptations; in the psalm: all Your waves and billows have gone
over me. [
The wave is the same as above; in the song [of Moses]: the waves have frozen
in the middle of the sea. [
The islands are our souls in the church of God, which are pounded with many temptations
and floods; in the psalm: let the many islands rejoice. [
The shore is the end of the age; in the gospel: and otherwise they choose the
good ones sitting on the shore. [
The sands of the sea are the uncountable multitudes of people; in Genesis: and
I will multiply your seed as the stars in the sky and as the sand, which is at the
mouth of the sea. [
The birds are the saints, because they fly to the higher heart; in the gospel:
and he made great branches that the birds of the air might live in their shade.
[
Flying is the death of the saints in God or the knowledge of the Scriptures;
in the psalm: I shall fly and I shall be at rest. [
The wings are the two testaments; in Ezekiel: your body will fly with two wings
of its own. [
The feathers are the Scriptures; in the psalm: the wings of the silver dove.
[
The nest is the church, the high peace of the blessed; in the psalm: and the
turtledove is in its nest where it places its chicks. And likewise, a good conscience
is a nest, in which the the fetus of good thoughts is cherished and it is born in
good works, that they may be called children afterward; in the psalm: your children
are like a new olive around your table. [
The chicks are the saints; in the psalm as above, and in a bad part of Solomon:
and let the fledgelings of eagles devour him. [
The eagles are the saints; in the gospel: where a body will be, there shall the
eagles gather. And in a bad part: Let the fledgelings of eagles devour him. [
The ostrich is a heretic, or a philosopher, because they do not fly with the
wings of their wisdom; in Isaiah: and he will be a resting place for the dragon
and a pasture for the ostrich. [
The pelican is the Lord Jesus Christ in his passion or the holy man given to
solitude; in the psalm: I have become solitary like a pelican. [
The crow is the black of the sinner or of the demons; in Solomon: the crows tore
him from the valleys. The same in a good part of the Song of Songs about the spouse:
his hair is that is passing away is black like the crow. [
The partridge is the devil; in the prophet: the partridge has cried, it has gathered
that which it has not sown. [
The dove is the Holy Spirit; in the gospel: and I saw the spirit of God descending
like a dove. The same in another part: in Ephraim, a dove without feeling, without
a heart. [
The turtledove is the Holy Spirit or the blessed man or spiritual intelligence;
in the Song of Songs: the voice of the turtle was heard in our land. But then the
dove is said to be the Holy Spirit; the context of many holy scriptures asserts
it: then turtledove is understood to be the Holy Spirit in truth, when high scriptures
or hidden mysteries are brought up. [
The kite signifies, so I think, rapacity or pride; in the psalm, according to
the Hebrew: the kite, once away, is at home. [
The hawk, however, is a saint, so I think, seizing the Kingdom of God; in Job:
is not the hawk plumed in Your wisdom? [
The owl is Christ, or the saint who despices infidels; in the psalm: I am made
like an owl in its dwelling. [
The sparrow sometimes is the Lord or a holy man; in the psalm: indeed the sparrow
has found itself a home. And it is another sparrow that is like a holy man: flying
across the mountain like a sparrow. [
The cock is the Lord, so I think, or a saint: in Solomon: and the cock is glad
as it walks among the hens. And in Job: who gave the cock knowledge? And in another
part: and I shall cause you to be carried off as domestic poultry is carried away.
[
The hen is wisdom or the church or the soul; in the gospel: as a hen gathers
her chicks beneath her wings. [
Bats are considered portents of the idols of darkness; in the prophet: that you
may love moles and bats. [
The beetle in the prophet: and the beetle will cry from the wood, so I think,
this means from the wood of the Lord {the cross}. [
The locusts are the people; in the gospel: his food, moreover, was locusts. [
The bees are the stamp of virginity or of wisdom; in Solomon: go to the bee and
learn how to be a worker; and in a bad part of the prophet: and the bee which is
in Assyria. [
The fly is the devil; in Solomon: the flies of death have exterminated the oil
of sweetness. [
The wild animals are the devil or wild men; in the psalm: You do not take the
wild beasts into your trust. [
The lion is the Lord: the lion from the tribe of Judah conquers; again in another
part: let the lion seize my soul at any time. [
The leopard is the devil, or the untrustworthy sinner in death; in the prophet:
as an Ethiopian cannot change his skin nor a leopard his spots. [
The elephant is a great sinner; in Kings: and they led apes and elephants to
Solomon. [
The bear is the devil, or the barbarian leaders; in Kings: two bears were brought
forth and they ate them. [
The stag is Christ, or the saints; as a deer longs for the streams of water.
[
The wolf is the devil or heretics; in the gospel: the wolves are inherently rapacious.
The same in a good part: Benjamin, meaning the Apostle Paul, is a ravening wolf.
[
The boar is the devil; in the psalm: the boar has driven him from the forest.
[
The tiger is effeminate arrogance; in the book of Job, according to the Hebrews:
the tiger dies because it has no prey. [
The rhinoceros is strength, either in a good or bad part; in the book of Job,
according to the Hebrews: whether the rhinoceros wishes to serve you. [
The one-horned is the unicorn; in the psalm: and my beloved son is like a unicorn,
that is, of unique power, or unique among the saints, who wholly keep the word of
God. And in another part: and my humility is like the horn of a unicorn. The unicorns
having this magnificence or one testimony. [
The wild ass is a hermit; in Job: who sets the wild ass free? He can, and I have
said that the tribe of Judah is that wild ass, and as follows in the same book:
and who has loosed his bonds? The bonds likewise are the law. [
The fawn is Christ, or the saint because of the multiplicity of his graces; in
Solomon: my little brother, you are like a little antelope or like the fawn of a
deer. [
The antelope is the same as above.
The rabbit is one who fears God; in the psalm: the rocks are a refuges for the
hares and the hedgehogs. [
The hedgehog is as above; and the hedgehogs are a weak nation, who make their homes among the rocks.
The fox is a heretic or the devil or a shrewd sinner; in the gospel: go, tell
that fox. [
The beast is the man of flesh; in the apostle: the man of flesh does not see
those who are in the spirit of God. [
The beasts of burden lack understanding and intelligence; in the psalm: and I
have become the beasts of burden before you. [
The horse is a holy man; in Habakkuk: he who has risen above your horses; and
in a bad part: a deceitful horse into safety. [
The mule is an irrational man; in the psalm: do not wish to become like the horse
and the mule who do not understand. [
The ass is the human body or the people of the gentiles; in the gospel: and they
led an ass and its colt to Jesus and they made him sit on the colt. [
The female ass is a circle of bystanders, or a people who lack acquaintance with God; in the gospel: the same as above.
The camel is the wealth of a burdened age or the deformation of the dead; in
the gospel: it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for
the wealthy to enter into the kingdom of the heavens. [
The bulls are the leaders of the people; in the psalm: the fat bulls surrounded
me. [
The oxen are the apostles, who take on the yoke of Christ, the gospel, the ploughshare
with which they plow the world; in the psalm: I offer to you my oxen with my goats.
[
The cows are those full of fleshly faults; in the psalm: among the cows of the
people. [
The calf is Christ, or the saints; in the psalm: there they shall place calves
upon Your altar. And in another part: many calves surrounded me, here it is poetic
license. [
The pigs are unclean sinners; in the epistle of Peter: the pig is washed by rolling
in the mud. [
The rams are the apostles or the leaders of the church; in the psalm: bring the
sons of rams to the Lord. [
The sheep are the faithful people; in the gospel: my sheep hear my voice. [
The flocks are the simple ones who have been plundered less of rationality than
of keenness; in Solomon: feed the animals of your flock. [
The goats are the sinners or the gentiles; in Daniel: behold, a male goat among
the she-goats came from the west over the face of the whole land. The same in a
good part: I offer you cows with goats. [
The nanny-goats are the just who come from the gentiles; in Solomon: your long
hair is like a herd of she-goats, which have appeared in Gilead. [
The lambs are Christ, or the apostles, or the saints; in the gospel: feed my
lambs. [
The kids are sinners; in the gospel: the kids, however, are on the left. [
The moles are idols, or heretics, who do not see the truth; in Isaiah: that you
may worship moles and bats. [
The dog is the devil or Judas or a gentile; in the psalm: and my only life from
the hand of the dog. And in another part in Ecclesiastes: a living dog is better
than a dead lion. Here they think that the lion is the devil, the dog is a true
gentile or a man accepting a sinner because one can come to faith or repentance,
while the other cannot. [
The frogs are demons; in the Apocalypse: and I saw three unclean spirits in the
form of frogs come from the mouth of a dragon; they were the spirits of demons.
Frogs are also heretics, who do not cease to babble at a meal with vain talkativeness
as they dwell in the most vile bodily feelings. [
The ant is prudent and hard-working; in Solomon: go to the ant, o sluggard. [
The worm is Christ, who took human flesh in humility; in the psalm: I am a worm,
not a man. The same in another part of Isaiah: the worm will not kill them, that
is either the worm itself or the knowledge of sin. [
The spider is human frailty; in the psalm: you have made his soul to wither like
a spider. [
The snake is the devil or bad men; in the gospel: snakes are the equals of vipers.
The same in another part of the gospel: as Moses raised the snake in the wilderness.
[
The dragon is the devil, or the overt tormenter; in the psalm: You have broken
the head of the dragons, You have given him to the people of Ethiopia for food.
[
The scorpion is the devil or his ministers; in the gospel: I gave you power to
crush snakes and scorpions. [
The vipers are the same as above; in the gospel: snakes are the equals of vipers.
[
Man is the total human or the mind; in Genesis: God made man after His own image
and likeness. And in a bad part of the psalm: arise, o Lord, let not man prevail,
here is flesh or the devil. [
The man is the spirit, that is, the mind; in the apostle: man is the head of
woman. Man is the same in a bad part of Genesis: the virgin was fair of face and
not known to any man, that is, the devil, who corrupts the mind greatly with imagining.
[
The woman is the heart, or the human flesh; in the apostle: the man is the head
of the woman. [
The virgin is the church or the holy souls; in the apostle: for I have pledged
to show you to Christ, as a pure virgin to her intended. [
The king is the Lord; in the apostle: the king of kings and the lord of lords.
[
The queen is the church; in the psalm: the queen stood to your right. And again,
the queen is the soul commanding the body. [
The father is the lord; in the prophet: and I will be a father to you and you
will be my sons and daughters, said the Almighty Lord. [
The mother is the church, or the heavenly Jerusalem; in the apostle: she who
is on high is the free Jerusalem, and she is our mother. [
The brother is Christ, or the neighbor; in the psalm: I will tell Your name to
my brothers. [
The sister is the church, the temple, or the soul in Christ; in the song of songs:
my sister, my bride. [
Husband and wife are Christ and the church, knowledge of the spirit and history
of the Scriptures; in the apostle: men, love your wives as Christ has loved the
church. [
The bridegroom is Christ, the reason being that he was promised by the Father
from the beginning; in the psalm: and he himself is like a bridegroom proceeding
from the bridal chamber. [
The bride is the church, which is promised to the divine bridegroom; in the song
of songs: I came from Lebanon, my bride, I came from Lebanon. [
A son is the believing people; in the apostle: already it is not the servant
but the son; because he is the son, he is the heir of God. [
A daughter is the soul of the faith or the church; in the psalm: listen, daughter,
and see. [
The neighbors are those who are close in faith; in Solomon: come, eat, drink,
and be merry, neighbors. [
Friends are harmony in God; in the gospel: you are my friends. [
The old man is the fullfillment of righteousness; in Genesis: and Abraham, an
old man of many days, died. And in Solomon: I sing that the sense of man and the
time of old age are a clean life. And in another part about Solomon: when he was
yet an old man, his heart was perverted. [
Youths are cheerful before God; in the letter of John: I write to you, young
man, because you are strong and you remain in the word of God and you have conquered
evil. And in a bad part of the book of Kings about Raboham: the council place of
the elders is abandoned according to the plan of young men. [
The child is humble and simple of mind; in the gospel: You have hidden this from
the wise and prudent and have revealed it to the children. And in another part of
the apostle: when I was a child, I spoke like a child. [
The harlot is the heart of a sinner, who has left her heavenly husband, that
is, Christ, and brings forth adulterous fruit of iniquity from the devil; in Jeremiah:
you have the face of an adulterous woman. [
Workmen are the apostles, or those who proclaim the gospel; in the gospel: the
harvest is great, but the workers are few. [
The shepherd is the Lord; in the gospel: I am the good shepherd. The same shepherd
is the apostle; in the gospel, feed my sheep. [
The hired servants are those who serve the Lord not so much from divine love
as for temporal rewards; in the gospel: how many hired servants at my father's have
abundant bread! [
The fishermen are the apostles or the doctors; in the gospel: and I will make
you fishers of men. [
The doctor is Christ or a teacher; in Solomon: the doctor is a gentle man with
a heart. And again: the healthy do not need a physician, but the unhealthy do. [unknown;
The rich man is faithful, abounding in spiritual good; in the apostle: because
you have been made rich in all knowledge and in all words. And in a bad part of
the gospel: woe to you who are rich! [
The poor man is humble; in the gospel: and Lazarus was a beggar. The same: blessed
are the poor in spirit. And in a bad part of the psalm: because we have become very
much like beggars. [
The clothed have baptism or integrity of faith; in the gospel: and he saw there
was a man who was not wearing a wedding garment. [
The naked lack a baptismal garment or divine aid; in the apocalypse: you, however,
are naked and poor. And in a good part of the gospel: and having tossed aside his
garment, he said, the naked man fled from him, that is, naked by an earthly means.
[
The living are upright: in the psalm: I will please the Lord in the land of the
living. And in another part in Ecclesiastes: and I have praised the dead more than
the living. [
The dead are sinners or infidels; in the gospel: let the dead bury their dead.
And in a good part: blessed are those who have died in the Lord. And the same: you
are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [
Corpses are the bodies of the unfaithful; in the prophet: and let me fill the
valley of Josaphat with the corpses of the dead. The same in another part: they
have put the corpses of your servants {out for food}. [
The tomb is the body of a sinner who has a dead soul within while alive; in the
gospel; because you are like a whitened selpulchre, which on the outside they make
pleasing to men, but inside it is full of the bones of many dead. [
The interior man is the rational soul; in the apostle: have in your hearts, in
the interior man, Christ through faith. [
His head is Christ; in the apostle: the head of the man is Christ. [
The crown of the head is the height of righteousness; in Solomon: for the crown
of your head has received the crown of grace. The same in a bad part: the crown
of hairs having walked about in their own delights, that is, in the height of iniquity.
[
The hair is the ornament of righteousness or sense; in the gospel: moreover,
the hairs of your head are counted. [
The eyes are the understanding of faith and are simple; in the gospel: blessed
are your eyes because they have seen. And in a bad part of the gospel: if your eye
were worthless. [
The ears are obedience to the faith; in the gospel: and your ears because they
have heard. [
The nostrils are the breath of faith and of the strength of the good; in Job:
and the Holy Spirit is in my nostrils. And in a bad part of Job: smoke, that is,
the devil, came from his nostrils. [
The throat is discernment of understanding; in the book of Job: does not my throat
meditate on wisdom? And in a bad part: my throat has been made hoarse. [
The mouth is conversation itself; in the psalm: the mouth of the righteous meditates
on wisdom. [
The tongue is the same as above; in the psalm: and his tongue speaks righteousness.
[
The hand is work; in the psalm: and I have washed my hands among innocents. [
The right hand is good works; in the gospel: let your left hand not know what
your right has done. [
The left hand is works that are not good; in the gospel: the same as above.
The breast is the mystery of understanding; in the gospel: the disciple whom
Jesus loved the most reclined on the breast of the Lord. [
The stomach is the rational capacity; in Habakkuk: my stomach is disturbed within
me. [
The kidneys are the interior sense; in the psalm: my reins teach me at night,
at all times, and from above. [
The loins are strength of soul; in the apostle: gird the loins of your mind.
[
The navel is the center of desire; in Job: and his strength is above the navel
of the stomach, that is, because the female genitals here mean the same as the loins
of men. [
The fat marrow is divine grace; in the psalm: my soul is filled with marrow and
fat. The same in a bad part: the marrow is the thickness of evil; in the psalm:
they have enclosed their marrow. [
The bones are the firmness of the soul; in the psalm: my bones say, Lord, who
is like You? And in a bad part of the book of Job: my bones are like a tube in the
air. [
The innards are the effect of piety and mercy; in the apostle: anything in your
innards and compassion. And in another part in the acts of the apostles of Judea:
his innards were poured out. [
The skin is a sign of mortality; in Genesis: and He made them garments of skin.
[
The blood is the work of the flesh; in the psalm: free me from blood, O Lord,
Lord of my salvation. And in the same: Flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom
of God. [
The flesh is the exterior man; in the apostle: my flesh desires against my spirit,
and my spirit also against my flesh. [
The knees are a confession of humility; in the song: and now the knees of my
heart are bent. The knees are also the strength of faith; in the prophet: leave
me seven thousand men, who not bend their knees to Baal. [
The feet are the course of life and stability of mind, or of faith; in the psalm:
our feet were standing. And in a bad part in the prophet: why do you maim our feet
and our necks? and: their swift feet to the letting of blood.
[
The heel is the deceit of the shrewd; in Genesis: she will herself watch out
for your head, and you for his heel. And in a bad part: he has lifted his heel against
me. [
The footstep is the completion of work; in the psalm: direct my footsteps on
Your path. [
Footprints are signs of virtues; in the psalm: let my footprints not be moved.
And in another part of Solomon: and our life, that is, of impieties, has passed
like the footprint of a ship. [
The robe is the clothing of baptism or of faith; in the gospel: quickly bring
out the first robe. [
A garment of goat hair is a sign of repentance; in the gospel: at times they
repented in sackcloth and ashes. [
The belt is girding with spiritual works; in the psalm: and he has girded me
with joy. [
Shoes are a preparation for peace; in the apostle; I have shod my feet in preparation
for the gospel of peace. [
The arms are the interior man; in the apostle: put on the breastplate of righteousness
and the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,
which is the word of God. [
The bread is Christ or conversation of the Lord; in the gospel: I am the living
bread. [
The wine is the same as above; in Solomon: and drink this wine, which I have
blended for you. [
Olive oil is mercy or the Holy Spirit; in the psalm: I have anointed him with
my holy oil. The same in another part: Let not the oil of the sinner, that is, admiration,
touch my head. [
Pork is sin; in the psalm: they are sated with pork. [
Yeast that does not ferment is inquity; in the apostle: in the yeast of sincerity
and truth. [
The best flour is purity of mind and strength of love; in Leviticus: if the soul
offers a gift of sacrifice to God, let its gift be the finest flour. [
A small baked cake is an oblation of humility; in Genesis: make haste, sprinkle
three measures of the best flour, and make little cakes. [
Milk is sincerity of mind; in the letter of Peter: reasonably long for milk,
without pain. The same in another part: I gave you milk to drink, not food; yet
you will not drink it. Here milk is a small amount of understanding. [
Rennet is insensitivity to life; in the psalm: their heart is like milk gone
sour. [
Salt is the seasoning of wisdom; in the gospel: you are the salt of the earth.
[
Honey is the sweet teaching of God; in the psalm: how much sweeter your eloquence
is to my throat, O Lord, than honey is in my mouth. The same in Solomon: finding
honey, eat as much as is enough, lest you vomit in overabundance, that is, lest
you seek what is too great for you. [
Bile is the love of injustice; in the psalm: they gave me bile for food. [
Vinegar is the roughness of a corrupt mind; in the psalm: and in my thrist, they
gave me vinegar to drink. [
Pitch is inequity and blackness of offenses: in Solomon: he who touches pitch
is defiled from it. [
Strong drink is the completion of a specific inquity; in the gospel: he will
not drink wine or strong drink. [
The wine cup is the passion of the Lord; in the psalm: I will take up the cup
of salvation. [
New wine is the sincerity of the just or the truth or the fire of faith; in the
psalm: it is mixed fully with wine and new wine. [
The dregs are the last of the righteous; in the psalm: truly his dregs are not
emptied. [
Food is discourse or the will of God; in the gospel: my food is doing the will
of my Father who sent me. [
Drink is the same as above; in the psalm: You give them drink of the fountain
of Your will, that is, of the Holy Spirit. The same in another part: the kingdom
of God is not food and drink. [
The granary is the reservoir of the heart; in the canticle of Deuteronomy: in
fear in the granary. [
The knapsack is anxiety about the means of living; in the gospel: I will not
perish in the way. [
The purse is stored up treasure in God; in the gospel: make your purses which
shall not grow old. And in another part: let us have a common purse, that is, desire
{for the Lord}. [
Money is the divine word; in the gospel: therefore, you ought to have sent my
money out to the exchangers. [
A pelt of sheepskin is the people; in the psalm: and let him descend as rain
upon a pelt of sheepskin. [
Linen is spiritual strength or candor; in Exodus: next you will prepare tunics
of linen for the sons of Aaron. [
The bottle is the form of the human body; in the gospel: one ought to put new
wine in new bottles. [
Flour is good work or knowledge; in the gospel: the wife hid it in three measures
of flour. [
The millstone is conversion of life; in the gospel: two are milling in a millstone.
The stones of the millstone can mean the two testaments, through which with labor
the wheat sown with the old instrument is made into the flour of the gospel. [
Here, therefore, the names which occur in the text of the holy readings are translated, literally or broadly, with accepted keys, that we may articulate them; I allow that many meanings may come out in diversity of person, time, and place. Let them be brought out in metaphors congruent with places, in accordance with the rules of allegorical interpretation. Now then. . . .
The abyss is to be understood, as we have said above, as the profound depth of
the scriptures or an infinity of deep water; many springs burst forth from the abyss.
The righteousness of God is such an ineffable abyss: Your righteousness is a great
abyss. Hades is also an abyss: who, then, has descended into the abyss? That is
Christ who called forth the dead. The abyss is also the human heart in the darkness
of sins: the abyss has said: it, that is, wisdom, is not with me. [
Fire, as we have mentioned above, is taken as the Holy Spirit. And fire as His
all-encompassing love, the fire of His flames. Fire is tribulation: we have been
tried by fire as silver is tried by fire. Fire is anger: and I will consume them
in the fire of my anger, says the Lord. Fire is desire: all are adulterers, their
hearts are like an oven for baking bread. [
The shade, as we have indicated, means divine protection; the shade, in other
cases, means sins: sitting in darkness and shade like the dead. Shade, in yet another
case, means punishments; in Job: where the shadow of death is and no order exists.
And such shade is not far from its business, which is the shade, thus, death is
not far from punishment, which brings death. In another case, shade is the enjoyment
of sins; in Job about the devil: under the shade he sleeps in the secrecy of reeds
and in wet places and, once more, the outward appearance is a different matter,
where many in that form mean one thing. [
The two testaments, as we have mentioned, may signify two millstones because
two stones are in a mill. Likewise, the two testaments may signify the two Cherubim
in Exodus; two animals in Habakkuk; two rocks, in Exodus and in the Song of Songs,
which Moses and the bride cover with a veil; two bronze mountains in Zachariah,
from which came teams of four, with horses of red, black, white, and other colors,
out of the hidden shade of the myrtle thicket. [
But these, we think, have so many multiple meanings for each name that following them is not only a task of great difficulty but even an impossibility. Now, therefore, we return to the order and mode of interpretation we had interrupted necessarily for a short while.
Baskets are the apostles; in the gospel: and they put the plentiful leftovers
in twelve baskets. The same in another part: their hands were enslaved in a basket,
that is, in servitude and tribulation, which the Egyptians had wrought. [
The bishop's seat is instruction; in the psalm: let them in the bishop's seat
of the elders praise him. The same in a bad part: he shall not sit in the bishop's
seat of plague, that is, in the instruction of heretics. [
The stool is the subjection of the humiliated; in the psalm: until I place your
enemies beneath your feet as a stool. [
The scales are equity, or the power of divine government; in Isaiah: and he weighed
the mountains and the hills in his scales. [
Ashes are the emptiness of human frailty; in Solomon: what remains but earth
and ashes? [
The jar is lineage; in the psalm: Moab is the jar of my hope, that is, Christ
according to the flesh was descended from the lineage of Ruth, a Moabite. The same
in another part: the jar of tribulation has dried up; in the prophet: And I have
seen an inflamed jar with its face from the face of the north wind. [
Lamps are souls aflame with righteousness; in the gospel: and they prepared their
lamps. [
Light is the church or the soul; in the gospel: let your loins be girded and
your light bright. Several times lights are good works; therefore, let your light
shine, that they might see your good works. [
A bushel basket is the human body, or the letter of the law, or the people of
Judah; in the gospel; no man light a light and puts it under a bushel. [
The candlestick is the church, or the body of the Lord, or the sacred scripture;
in the prophet: and I saw on the right of the altar two burning candlesticks. [
The table is the altar or the refreshment of the spirit; in the psalm: You prepare
a table in my sight. [
The keys are the opening of scriptural knowledge; in Luke: woe to you, dying
in the law, which you take to be the key of knowledge; you will not enter by it,
and you will be kept from those who do enter. The same keys are the virtues of righteousness,
mercy, and piety; in the gospel: I give you the keys of the heavenly kingdom. [
The bolt is the bar of divine teaching against the impious; in the psalm: since
he has made the bolts of your door sound. [
The axe is the prosecution of the perverse; in the psalm: and with a two-edged
axe, they felled it. [
The two-edged sword is double affliction; in the psalm, the same as above.
The ship is the church; in the gospel: the small ship was tossed by waves in
the middle of the sea. As is the custom, I have said that man is a small ship, that
the thoughts which rule men may be termed sailors. [
Nets are public preaching; in the gospel: and send out your nets for a catch.
[
Beams are grave sins; in the gospel: first pull the beam from your own eye. [
The rod is a lighter sin; in the gospel: and then you will see to draw the rod
from your brother's eye. [
The noose is sorrow; in the psalm: they have prepared a noose for my feet. [
The ropes are fortune or heredity; in the psalm: they have beaten me with splendid
ropes. ropes are also sins; woe to you who bear sins or long ropes. Also, the ropes
of sinners have bound me. [
The {potter's} wheel is an orbit or human life; in the psalm: the voice of the
thunder in the wheel. And in the same: my God, place them on a wheel, that is, make
them unstable or fickle in their malice. [
The sponge is the den of inquity of the Jews; in the gospel: they put a sponge
filled with vinegar and surrounded by hyssop to his mouth. [
The ladder is the perfection of the saints; in Genesis: and he saw in his sleep
a ldder standing above the earth, and the top of the ladder touched heaven. The
angels of God ascended and descended on the ladder. [
The broom is the cure of superstition through one glory; in the gospel: and he,
entering, found it unoccupied, since it had been cleaned with a broom and made orderly.
[
The pearl is the gospel teaching or the hope of the kingdom of heaven; in the
gospel: having found the precious pearl, he went away and sold everything which
he had and bought the pearl. [
The ring is a sign of faith; in the gospel: and put a ring on his hand. The same
about this in the psalm: O Lord, the light of Your face is a sign above us. [
The cloak is the apparel of praise; in Solomon: she made cloaks for her man,
that is, vestments, because he would be clothed in the two testaments. [
Gold is the interior knowledge of the scriptures; in the psalm: and his {the
dove's} back side has an outline of gold. [
Silver is the divine declaration or knowledge of letters and history; in the
psalm: the declarations of the Lord, pure declarations, are silver tried by the
fire. [
Precious stones are the apostles, or the saints, or their works of virtue themselves;
in the Apocalypse: all the foundational walls of the city are decorated with precious
stones. [
Copper is vanity or empty faith; in the apostle: I am made as a gong. The same
in another part: you have placed my arms that I may bend copper. Here, copper is
firm and strong. [
Iron is tribulation or man himself; in the psalm: his soul has passed through
iron. [
Lead is the weight of sins; in the prophet: and I saw iniquity on lead coins.
[
Clay is the fragility of human flesh; in the apostle: here, we have a treasure
in earthen pots. [
To build is to do good works or to teach well; in the apostle: if anyone builds
precious stones on a foundation of silver and gold. [
To destroy is to commit bad deeds or to teach badly; in Solomon: one building
and one destruction. [
To clean is to erase vices; in the gospel: Jesus touched him, saying, I will
you to be clean, and immediately, the leper was cleansed. [
To stand is to persist in the faith; in the apostle: stand in faith. [
To walk is to reach out to the Lord; in the psalm: and I will walk in freedom.
[
To sit is to begin again humbly in God; in the gospel: remain {literally, sit
yourselves} in the city. [
To be ill is to succomb either to vice or to temptation; in the gospel: and he
found her lying ill on her bed. [
To run is to hasten into good works; in the apostle: run that you may understand.
[
To be vigilant is to guard your heart or to rise again into God; in the psalm:
a vigil all the way from morning until night. [
To sleep is to rest in the passover of Christ; in the psalm: Does he who sleeps
not turn that he may rise again? And otherwise, to sleep is to be trapped in the
sleep of sin; in the apostle: Ye who sleep, arise! [
To have ascended is perfection in God; in the psalm: his rising is in my heart.
[
To have fallen is defection from God; in the gospel; a certain man descended
from Jerusalem to Jericho. [
The way is Christ; in the gospel: I am the way and the truth and the life. Likewise,
the way is the life of man: in the psalm: I have made my ways known, and You have
heard me. [
Broad places are an expanse of seductive vices; in the gospel: the way that leads
to destruction has a wide, roomy door. [
Narrow places are the influence or pressure of tribulation; in the gospel: narrow
and strait is the door that leads to life. [
Orderly is the arrangement of the teachings of God; in Isaiah: make right his
path. [
Crooked is deviance from the teachings of God; in Isaiah: and they were crooked
in order and rough in the level ways. [
Obedience to the teachings of God is smooth; in Isaiah: the same as above.
Disobedience is, in contrast, harsh and bristly; in Isaiah: the same as above.
The part of righteousness is on the right; in the gospel: he placed the sheep
on his right, and the goats on his left. [
The part of unrighteousness is on the left; in the gospel: the same as above.
The pit is sorrow or a fall into death; in the psalm: they dug a pit before my
face. [
The well is the devil or hell; in the psalm: Do not let the well force its mouth
on me. And in a good part of Genesis: it was sworn at the well, that is, the water
of faith. [
Health is wholeness of mind; in the psalm: I have cried out to You, and You have
cured me. [
Fatigue is an illness of vices; in the psalm: who relieves all my fatigue. [
Leprosy is the contamination of sins; in the gospel: and immediately the leper
was cleansed. [
Jerusalem is the church or the soul; in the psalm: praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
And to be noted: because everyone generally comes together in the church, this can
also refer to the soul. [
Zion is the same as above; in the psalm: praise your God, Zion. [
The sons of Zion are the sons of the church; in the psalm: let the sons of Zion
rejoice in the king. [
The sons of Jerusalem are the same as above.
The tabernacle is the body of the Lord or the church; in the psalm: his tent
{tabernacle} is pitched in the sun. [
The ark is the flesh of the Lord or the hearts of the saints; in the psalm: you
are the ark of my sanctification. The same is the church in which those who will
be saved are hidden; in Genesis: only Noah and those with him in the ark remained.
[
The stone tablets are two, I think, because of the two testaments or because
of the two teachings about loving God and neighbor; in Exodus: and the Lord said
to Moses, “Carve two stone tablets.” [
The law is divine teaching; in the psalm: the law of the Lord is pure. [
Handwriting is the record of a sinful man and the devil by the hand of inquity;
in the apostle: the handwriting of a sinner which was against us. [
The agreement is a compact of divine grace with man; in the psalm: I did not
see them obeying the pact. [
The testament is a confirmation of divine will; in the prophet: and I will confirm
the testament with the house of Judah. [
The foreskin is the life of the gentile; in the apostle: another in the foreskin
was calledd, not to be circumcised, that is, even one from the gentiles who came
to faith in Christ will not be circumcised in the body. [
Circumcision is the finishing off of vices; in the apostle: you were circumcised
with a circumcision not done by hands in the finishing off of the flesh of the body.
[
The horn is strength or the kingdom; in Kings: and he raised high the horm of
His Christ. [
Purple is the type of those martyred through bloodshed; in Exodus: all, who saw
with the heart, in the beginning brought to God gold, silver, copper, hyacinth,
purple, scarlet, goats' hair, and linen. [
Scarlet is the same as above or the ardor of charity or the remembrance of the cross; in Exodus: the same as above.
Linen is the radiance of chastity or continence; in Exodus: the same as above.
Hyacinth is the blue color of the confessors; in Exodus: the same as above.
The ephod is a sign, on the shoulders, of miracles; in Exodus: and they made
an ephod of gold and hyacinth and purple and scarlet goats' hair and complicated
linen. [
The breastplate is a sinner's avowal of reason or is instruction; in Exodus:
and they made a breastplate wrought in fabrics according to the work of the ephod.
[
The priest's garment is a deeper and more perfect teaching; in Exodus: and they
made a long priestly garment; under the buckle the work was made entirely of hyacinth.
[
The girdle is the golden arrangement before the cross; in Exodus: and they made
a golden girdle and above it wrote, as he had said, in letters forming the sacred
sign of the Lord, that is, the tetragrammaton name of the Lord. [
The temple is the body of Christ or the saints; in the apostle: for you are the
temple of the living God. [
The altar is the height of faith; in the psalm: then they will place calves upon
the altar. [
Sacrifice is an offering of righteousness; in the psalm: make a sacrifice of
righteousness. [
The burnt offering is a complete kindling of faith; in the psalm: I will offer
to you a fatty burnt offering. [
The sacrificed is Christ or the soul blessed by God; in the apostle: an offering
and sacrifice to God in the aroma of sweetness. [
Myrhh is the sign of mortality; in the psalm: myrhh and aloe and cassia from
Your vestments. [
Salve is the spreading mercy of the name of Christ; in Solomon: your name is
like salve spread out. [
The holy of holies is the interior where abide the mysteries of God or the kingdom
of heaven; in the epistle to the Hebrews: for Jesus came, not as a copy of the truth
made by a holy hand, but from the heavens themselves that the face of God might
appear now for us. [
The sabbath is spiritual rest; in Genesis: and the Lord rested from his labors.
[
Lent is the form of this life and its labor; in the gospel: and when he had fasted
forty days and forty nights. [
Pascha is the announcement of the Lord's passover; in the gospel: before the
day of the feast of Passover Jesus, knowing that his hour had come and that he would
pass from this world to his Father. [
The fifty days {between Pascha and Pentecost} are signs of future blessedness
or release; in Leviticus: therefore, you will count seven full weeks from the time
of the day at the altar and after that is fifty days. [
The jubilee is a the sign of the peace to come; in Leviticus: it is the year
of release; it will be a sacred sign to us. [
The city is the church of God or the soul; in the psalm: in the city of our God.
[
The citizens are the faithful; in the apostle: but you are citizens of saints
and of the household of God. [
The walls are the protection of the divine scriptures or of the prophets or of
the saints; in the psalm: the walls of Jerusalem will be built. The same in another
part: in my God I shall step across the wall. [
The towers are the apostles or every perfect one; in the psalm: and fulness is
in Your towers. [
The gates are the sacred scriptures or righteousness or the apostles or the angels;
in the psalm: and be raised up, ancient gates. The same in another part: how wide
the gate and spacious the way that leads to night. [
The streets are the broad holiness of the saints; in the apocalypse: and the
streets of the city were gold so pure that they shone like glass. [
The foundation is Christ or faith; in the apostle: for no one can put another
foundation besides the one that Christ Jesus has already put in place. [
The walls are the law or the care of angels; in the song of Isaiah: and after
I had enclosed the walls and I had annexed the reeds, I planted a vineyard. [
The house is the soul in which Christ lives or the church; in the psalm: let
us go to the house of the Lord. [
The upper room is the height of the worthy or of knowledge; in the gospel: and
he himself will show you a large upper room. [
The door is the opening of faith; in the apostle: the large door was open to
me that I might see. [
The column is the mainstay or support of the spirit; in the apostle: James, John,
and Cephas (Peter), who are seen to be the columns. [
The wall [of a house] is the construction of good works; in the song of songs:
behold, here past our wall, seeing through the windows. [
The windows are the vision or perception of others; as above: seeing through
the windows; the same in a bad part: death enters through your windows. [
The step is the ascent of the spirit; in the title of the psalms: the songs of
degrees. [
The floor is humility or the affliction of the spirit as if in a dip in the ground;
in the psalm: my soul clings to the floor. [
The lute is good works; in the psalm: a glad lute with a zither. [
The zither is the breast of the devout, in which the nerves are virtues, in which
is spiritual good; in the psalm: arise, lute and zither, that is, the works of faith;
or it is about the resurrection of the Lord's body with divine strength. [
The ten strings of a ten-stringed lute are the ten precepts or the five senses
of the exterior man combined with the five of the interior; in the psalm: on a ten-stringed
lute and a zither with a song. [
A pipe is a man or the one who has gone up to God; in the psalm: praise Him with
strings and pipe. [
A drum is the body weakened in fasting; in the psalm: praise Him with drum and
strings. [
The strings are harmony; in the psalm: as above.
The trumpet is the joy of the voice in divine proclamation; in the prophet: your
voice like a glad trumpet. [
Cymbals are the lips that trust in the Lord or the love of God and the love of
neighbor; in the psalm: praise Him with loud clanging cymbals. [
Celebration is noise expressed with spiritual fervor; in the psalm: praise Him
with joyful cymbals. [
Egypt is this world or the gentiles; in the psalm: ambassadors will come from
Egypt. [
Ethiopia is the church of the gentiles; in the psalm: let Ethiopia come before
His hand; and the same in another part of the psalm: You gave food to the people
of Ethiopia. [
Babylon is the world or Rome; in the apocalypse: and Babylon, great in memory,
came before God, who gave her a cup of wine, the enormity of His anger. [
Enemies are the devil or faults; in the psalm: let him not be confused, when
he talks to his enemies at the gate. [
Thieves are heretics or pseudoprophets; in the gospel: all who come before me
will have been thieves or robbers. [
The gentiles are faults; in the Pentatuch: when the Lord, your God, led you into
the land which you were going to possess by degrees and he destroyed many people
in front of you. The same in another part: clap your hands, all you people. [
A battle is a contest between spiritual iniquity or a fight against faults; in
the apostle: thus I fight but not like one that beats the air. [
Peace is harmony between flesh and spirit; in the psalm: ask who in Jerusalem
are of peace. [
Victory is triumph over the devil or over adeversity; in the apostle: give thanks
to God who gives us victory through our lord Jesus Christ. [
Wages are the reward of perfect work; in the apostle: I follow to the end, to
the wages of the heavenly calling of God. [
The crown is the wage of eternal glory for righteousness; in the apostle: as
for the rest the crown of righteousness is laid on me. [
Because the fullness of spiritual perfection leads to the crown, rightly he perfects those to whom the crown is the spiritual names. We have led then to the difficulty of containing the spiritual names, such as these, that they may be drawn out whole, while they themselves sow the seeds of meaning in another part.
In truth, we interpret, however briefly, these numbers of perfect names. The mystical account of these examples makes them more honored among the blessed.
I. This number refers to the unity of the divinity; in the Pentatuch: hear, O
Israel, the Lord your God is one. [
II. [This number refers] to the two testaments; in Kings: and He made in Dabir
two cherubim in the measure of 10 cubits. [
III. [This number refers] to the Trinity; in the epistle of John: three are those
who bear witness: water, blood, and spirit. [
IV. [This number refers] to the four evangelists; in Ezekiel: and from the middle
of them the likeness of four animals. [
V. [This number refers] to the five books of Moses; in the apostle: I wish to
speak five words in the church with my mind. [
VI. [This number refers] to the sixth day on which the Lord made man along with
all the animals of the land; in Genesis: let us make man in our image and likeness;
the same a little later: and it was done, evening and morning, the sixth day. [
VII. [This number refers] to the seventh day on which God rested after all that
He had done; in Genesis: and he rested on the seventh day from the whole work that
he had accomplished. [
VIII. [This number refers] to the day of the Lord's resurrection, that is, the
eighth day; in the title of a psalm: into the end for the eighth [Shemi-nith,
the eighth part in Hebrew]. [
IX. [This number refers] to the sacrament because at the ninth hour the Lord
let loose his Spirit; in the Gospel: about the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud
voice. [
X. [This number refers] to the decalogue; in the psalm: I will sing to you with
a ten-stringed lute. [
XII. [This number refers] to the apostles; in the gospel: these are the names
of the twelve apostles. [
XIV. [This number refers] to the Lord's vow to the generations; in the gospel:
from Abraham to David were in all fourteen generations. [
XV. [This number refers] to the 15 steps of the temple.
XVI. [This number refers] to the number of the prophets.
XXII. [This number refers] to the promise of [the number of] divine books, according to the Hebrew alphabet.
XXIV. [This number refers] to the mystery of the number of elders; in the Apocalypse:
and on thrones twenty-four elders were sitting. [
XXX. [This number refers] to the fruit of faithful unions; in the gospel: and
they gave fruit, some a hundredfold and others sixty- and thirtyfold. [
XXXIII. [This number refers] to the mystery of the age to which the Lord lived
in the flesh; in the apostle, as can be seen from this: until we have become, in
the unity of faith and in the suffering of the Son of God, perfect men in the measure
of the age of the fullness of Christ. [
XL. [This number refers] to the promise of Lent; in the gospel: and he was led
by the spirit in the desert for forty days. [
XLII. [This number refers] to the number of stopovers in the desert or to the
number of generations from Abraham through the [birth of the] Lord Jesus Christ.
[cf.
L. [This number refers] to the Pentecost; in the acts of the apostles: and when
the days of Pentecost were completed. [
LX. [This number refers] to the fruit to widows or to the debt to those who restrain
passion; in the gospel: and another gave fruit sixtyfold. [
LXXII. [This number refers] to the number of elders of Moses or the number of
disciples whom the Lord chose; in the gospel: after that the Lord named 72 others
and sent them, before His own face, two by two into the whole world. [
C. [This number refers] to the fruit of the martyrs or of the virgins; in the
gospel: and others gave fruit a hundredfold. [
We have put forth, therefore, as examples those certain and holy numbers. Assuredly, more beyond these exist, and you will find that almost all, which are made by the very means of divine reading, are sacred.
Genesis
1:11 1:26 1:27 1:31 2:2 2:2 3:14 3:15 3:18 3:21 7:11 7:23 18:6 22:17 24:16-18 25:8 28:12 46:1 49:27
Exodus
3:2 15:8 17:6 25:18 28:40 34:1 35:5-6 39:2 39:8 39:20 39:29
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
6:4 7:1 32:32 32:32 32:32 32:32 33:16
1 Samuel
1 Kings
6:23 10:22 11:4 12 18:21 19:18
2 Kings
Job
4:11 12:11 27:3 28:14 38:36 39:5 39:9 39:26 40:11 40:16 41:11
Psalms
1:1 1:3 1:3 1:4 4:6 4:7 5:3 5:12 7:2 7:13 8:1 9:20 10:2 11:1 11:7 15:6 15:7 16:8 16:14 17:5 17:5 17:9 17:10 17:10 17:10 17:13 17:15 17:15 17:30 17:35 18:2 18:6 18:6 18:8 21:7 21:13 21:13 21:21 21:22 21:23 22:2 22:4 22:5 23:7 25:6 28:1 28:5 28:6 28:9 29:3 29:12 31:9 32:17 33:16 33:16 34:2 34:3 35:7 35:9 35:9 35:10 36:30 36:30 38:12 40:9 41:2 41:2 41:8 41:8 41:8 44:1 44:7 44:7 44:9 44:10 44:11 46:2 46:9 47:2 50:9 50:20 50:21 50:21 51:7 51:10 51:14 54:7 54:9 56:7 56:7 59:10 64:11 64:12 64:14 65:10 65:15 65:15 65:15 67:10 67:14 67:14 67:14 67:18 67:22 67:25 67:31 67:32 67:32 68:4 68:15 68:16 68:22 68:22 71:6 72:23 73:6 73:14 73:14 73:17 73:19 74:9 74:9 76:19 76:19 76:19 76:20 77:2 77:43 77:47 77:57 78:2 78:8 79:9 79:13 79:14 80:3 80:7 82:14 83:4 83:4 83:6 87:7 88:21 89 90:6 91:4 91:13 91:13 91:13 96:1 101:7 101:7 102:3 103:17 103:18 103:19 103:19 103:25 104:18 106:32 107:3 109:1 109:3 109:7 114:9 115:13 117:16 117:22 118:25 118:26 118:45 118:61 118:70 118:83 118:103 119:1 119:4 121:1 121:6 121:7 122:2 123:4 125:4 125:6 126:5 127:3 129:6 131:6 131:8 132:3 132:3 136:1 140:5 143:9 146:13 147:12 147:12 148:4 148:9 149:2 150:4 150:4 150:5 150:5
Proverbs
1:14 4:9 6:6 6:6 9:5 25:16 25:23 27:23 30:17 30:17 30:31 31:22
Ecclesiastes
3:17 3:22 4:2 9:4 9:10 10:1 10:9 13:1 34:28 37:3 39:17
Song of Solomon
1:2 1:6 2:1 2:9 2:9 2:9 2:12 2:12 2:14 4:8 4:9 4:13 5:1 5:1 5:11 6:4
Isaiah
1:20 2:20 2:20 5:2 5:2 5:4 5:6 5:18 7:18 14:13 22:17 34:13 36:6 40:3 40:4 40:6 40:12 53:1 55:1 58:1
Jeremiah
1:13 1:44 2:13 3:3 9:21 13:16 13:23 17:11 19:2 23:28 31:31 31:33
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zechariah
Matthew
1 1:17 3:4 3:9 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:12 4:2 4:19 5:3 5:13 5:15 5:16 6:3 6:23 7:5 7:5 7:6 7:13 7:13 7:14 7:15 7:25 8:3 8:3 8:22 9:37 10:2 10:10 10:30 11:21 11:25 12:20 12:33 13:8 13:8 13:8 13:16 13:16 13:25 13:34 13:38 13:39 13:46 13:48 13:48 14:20 14:24 16:19 19:24 21:7 21:19 22:11 23:27 23:33 23:33 23:37 24:20 24:28 24:41 25:7 25:7 25:27 25:33 25:33 27:46
Mark
Luke
1:15 1:78 3:5 3:7 4:1-2 5:4 5:31 5:38 6:24 8:5 8:7 10:1 10:19 10:30 11:25 11:52 12:33 12:35 13:21 13:32 15:17 15:22 15:22 16:20 22:12 24:49
John
1:32 3:14 4:34 4:35 6:9 6:41 7:38 9:11 10:8 10:11 10:27 13:1 13:18 14:6 15:1 15:1 15:5 15:14 19:29 21:11 21:15 21:17 21:20
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
1:5 2:14 3:2 3:9 3:11 3:12 3:12 5:8 7:18 9:24 9:26 9:26 10:4 11:2 11:3 11:3 11:3 13:1 13:11 14:19 15:57 16:9 16:13
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
2:14 2:19 3:14 3:16 4:13 5:2 5:14 5:25 6:14 6:15 6:16-17
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
Hebrews
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
Revelation
3:17 4:4 5:5 14:13 16:13-14 16:19 21:19 21:21
Wisdom of Solomon