1. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 2.10-2.11, 3.11, 30.14 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 2.11. רְפָאִים יֵחָשְׁבוּ אַף־הֵם כָּעֲנָקִים וְהַמֹּאָבִים יִקְרְאוּ לָהֶם אֵמִים׃ 3.11. כִּי רַק־עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים הִנֵּה עַרְשׂוֹ עֶרֶשׂ בַּרְזֶל הֲלֹה הִוא בְּרַבַּת בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן תֵּשַׁע אַמּוֹת אָרְכָּהּ וְאַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת רָחְבָּהּ בְּאַמַּת־אִישׁ׃ 30.14. כִּי־קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאֹד בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ׃ | 2.10. The Emim dwelt therein aforetime, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim;" 2.11. these also are accounted Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim." 3.11. For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remt of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.—" 30.14. But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 16.10, 22.7, 23.13, 24.16, 33.19 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 22.7. אִם־לֹא יִמָּצֵא הַגַּנָּב וְנִקְרַב בַּעַל־הַבַּיִת אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים אִם־לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ בִּמְלֶאכֶת רֵעֵהוּ׃ 23.13. וּבְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־אָמַרְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם תִּשָּׁמֵרוּ וְשֵׁם אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים לֹא תַזְכִּירוּ לֹא יִשָּׁמַע עַל־פִּיךָ׃ 24.16. וַיִּשְׁכֹּן כְּבוֹד־יְהוָה עַל־הַר סִינַי וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים וַיִּקְרָא אֶל־מֹשֶׁה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִתּוֹךְ הֶעָנָן׃ 33.19. וַיֹּאמֶר אֲנִי אַעֲבִיר כָּל־טוּבִי עַל־פָּנֶיךָ וְקָרָאתִי בְשֵׁם יְהוָה לְפָנֶיךָ וְחַנֹּתִי אֶת־אֲשֶׁר אָחֹן וְרִחַמְתִּי אֶת־אֲשֶׁר אֲרַחֵם׃ | 16.10. And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud." 22.7. If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall come near unto God, to see whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods." 23.13. And in all things that I have said unto you take ye heed; and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. ." 24.16. And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud." 33.19. And He said: ‘I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.’" |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 1.26, 2.17-2.18, 3.4-3.5, 3.8, 3.22, 4.1-4.16, 6.3, 6.5-6.7, 6.12, 6.22, 7.5, 10.8-10.11, 11.1-11.4, 11.6-11.11, 13.12-13.13, 14.13-14.14, 14.18-14.20, 15.14-15.16, 18.21, 21.10, 22.21, 25.29, 47.26, 48.13-48.14 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 1.26. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל־הָאָרֶץ וּבְכָל־הָרֶמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל־הָאָרֶץ׃ 2.17. וּמֵעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹת תָּמוּת׃ 2.18. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים לֹא־טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ אֶעֱשֶׂהּ־לּוֹ עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדּוֹ׃ 3.4. וַיֹּאמֶר הַנָּחָשׁ אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה לֹא־מוֹת תְּמֻתוּן׃ 3.5. כִּי יֹדֵעַ אֱלֹהִים כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְכֶם מִמֶּנּוּ וְנִפְקְחוּ עֵינֵיכֶם וִהְיִיתֶם כֵּאלֹהִים יֹדְעֵי טוֹב וָרָע׃ 3.8. וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת־קוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן לְרוּחַ הַיּוֹם וַיִּתְחַבֵּא הָאָדָם וְאִשְׁתּוֹ מִפְּנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים בְּתוֹךְ עֵץ הַגָּן׃ 3.22. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה כְּאַחַד מִמֶּנּוּ לָדַעַת טוֹב וָרָע וְעַתָּה פֶּן־יִשְׁלַח יָדוֹ וְלָקַח גַּם מֵעֵץ הַחַיִּים וְאָכַל וָחַי לְעֹלָם׃ 4.1. וַיֹּאמֶר מֶה עָשִׂיתָ קוֹל דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ צֹעֲקִים אֵלַי מִן־הָאֲדָמָה׃ 4.1. וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת־חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת־קַיִן וַתֹּאמֶר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת־יְהוָה׃ 4.2. וַתֹּסֶף לָלֶדֶת אֶת־אָחִיו אֶת־הָבֶל וַיְהִי־הֶבֶל רֹעֵה צֹאן וְקַיִן הָיָה עֹבֵד אֲדָמָה׃ 4.2. וַתֵּלֶד עָדָה אֶת־יָבָל הוּא הָיָה אֲבִי יֹשֵׁב אֹהֶל וּמִקְנֶה׃ 4.3. וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ יָמִים וַיָּבֵא קַיִן מִפְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה מִנְחָה לַיהוָה׃ 4.4. וְהֶבֶל הֵבִיא גַם־הוּא מִבְּכֹרוֹת צֹאנוֹ וּמֵחֶלְבֵהֶן וַיִּשַׁע יְהוָה אֶל־הֶבֶל וְאֶל־מִנְחָתוֹ׃ 4.5. וְאֶל־קַיִן וְאֶל־מִנְחָתוֹ לֹא שָׁעָה וַיִּחַר לְקַיִן מְאֹד וַיִּפְּלוּ פָּנָיו׃ 4.6. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־קָיִן לָמָּה חָרָה לָךְ וְלָמָּה נָפְלוּ פָנֶיךָ׃ 4.7. הֲלוֹא אִם־תֵּיטִיב שְׂאֵת וְאִם לֹא תֵיטִיב לַפֶּתַח חַטָּאת רֹבֵץ וְאֵלֶיךָ תְּשׁוּקָתוֹ וְאַתָּה תִּמְשָׁל־בּוֹ׃ 4.8. וַיֹּאמֶר קַיִן אֶל־הֶבֶל אָחִיו וַיְהִי בִּהְיוֹתָם בַּשָּׂדֶה וַיָּקָם קַיִן אֶל־הֶבֶל אָחִיו וַיַּהַרְגֵהוּ׃ 4.9. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־קַיִן אֵי הֶבֶל אָחִיךָ וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא יָדַעְתִּי הֲשֹׁמֵר אָחִי אָנֹכִי׃ 4.11. וְעַתָּה אָרוּר אָתָּה מִן־הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר פָּצְתָה אֶת־פִּיהָ לָקַחַת אֶת־דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ מִיָּדֶךָ׃ 4.12. כִּי תַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה לֹא־תֹסֵף תֵּת־כֹּחָהּ לָךְ נָע וָנָד תִּהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ׃ 4.13. וַיֹּאמֶר קַיִן אֶל־יְהוָה גָּדוֹל עֲוֺנִי מִנְּשֹׂא׃ 4.14. הֵן גֵּרַשְׁתָּ אֹתִי הַיּוֹם מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה וּמִפָּנֶיךָ אֶסָּתֵר וְהָיִיתִי נָע וָנָד בָּאָרֶץ וְהָיָה כָל־מֹצְאִי יַהַרְגֵנִי׃ 4.15. וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ יְהוָה לָכֵן כָּל־הֹרֵג קַיִן שִׁבְעָתַיִם יֻקָּם וַיָּשֶׂם יְהוָה לְקַיִן אוֹת לְבִלְתִּי הַכּוֹת־אֹתוֹ כָּל־מֹצְאוֹ׃ 4.16. וַיֵּצֵא קַיִן מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּאֶרֶץ־נוֹד קִדְמַת־עֵדֶן׃ 6.3. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה לֹא־יָדוֹן רוּחִי בָאָדָם לְעֹלָם בְּשַׁגַּם הוּא בָשָׂר וְהָיוּ יָמָיו מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה׃ 6.5. וַיַּרְא יְהוָה כִּי רַבָּה רָעַת הָאָדָם בָּאָרֶץ וְכָל־יֵצֶר מַחְשְׁבֹת לִבּוֹ רַק רַע כָּל־הַיּוֹם׃ 6.6. וַיִּנָּחֶם יְהוָה כִּי־עָשָׂה אֶת־הָאָדָם בָּאָרֶץ וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל־לִבּוֹ׃ 6.7. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶמְחֶה אֶת־הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָאתִי מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה מֵאָדָם עַד־בְּהֵמָה עַד־רֶמֶשׂ וְעַד־עוֹף הַשָּׁמָיִם כִּי נִחַמְתִּי כִּי עֲשִׂיתִם׃ 6.12. וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה נִשְׁחָתָה כִּי־הִשְׁחִית כָּל־בָּשָׂר אֶת־דַּרְכּוֹ עַל־הָאָרֶץ׃ 6.22. וַיַּעַשׂ נֹחַ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים כֵּן עָשָׂה׃ 7.5. וַיַּעַשׂ נֹחַ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּהוּ יְהוָה׃ 10.8. וְכוּשׁ יָלַד אֶת־נִמְרֹד הוּא הֵחֵל לִהְיוֹת גִּבֹּר בָּאָרֶץ׃ 10.9. הוּא־הָיָה גִבֹּר־צַיִד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה עַל־כֵּן יֵאָמַר כְּנִמְרֹד גִּבּוֹר צַיִד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה׃ 10.11. מִן־הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא יָצָא אַשּׁוּר וַיִּבֶן אֶת־נִינְוֵה וְאֶת־רְחֹבֹת עִיר וְאֶת־כָּלַח׃ 11.1. וַיְהִי כָל־הָאָרֶץ שָׂפָה אֶחָת וּדְבָרִים אֲחָדִים׃ 11.1. אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת שֵׁם שֵׁם בֶּן־מְאַת שָׁנָה וַיּוֹלֶד אֶת־אַרְפַּכְשָׁד שְׁנָתַיִם אַחַר הַמַּבּוּל׃ 11.2. וַיְחִי רְעוּ שְׁתַּיִם וּשְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וַיּוֹלֶד אֶת־שְׂרוּג׃ 11.2. וַיְהִי בְּנָסְעָם מִקֶּדֶם וַיִּמְצְאוּ בִקְעָה בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם׃ 11.3. וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ הָבָה נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים וְנִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה וַתְּהִי לָהֶם הַלְּבֵנָה לְאָבֶן וְהַחֵמָר הָיָה לָהֶם לַחֹמֶר׃ 11.3. וַתְּהִי שָׂרַי עֲקָרָה אֵין לָהּ וָלָד׃ 11.4. וַיֹּאמְרוּ הָבָה נִבְנֶה־לָּנוּ עִיר וּמִגְדָּל וְרֹאשׁוֹ בַשָּׁמַיִם וְנַעֲשֶׂה־לָּנוּ שֵׁם פֶּן־נָפוּץ עַל־פְּנֵי כָל־הָאָרֶץ׃ 11.6. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה הֵן עַם אֶחָד וְשָׂפָה אַחַת לְכֻלָּם וְזֶה הַחִלָּם לַעֲשׂוֹת וְעַתָּה לֹא־יִבָּצֵר מֵהֶם כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יָזְמוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת׃ 11.7. הָבָה נֵרְדָה וְנָבְלָה שָׁם שְׂפָתָם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִשְׁמְעוּ אִישׁ שְׂפַת רֵעֵהוּ׃ 11.8. וַיָּפֶץ יְהוָה אֹתָם מִשָּׁם עַל־פְּנֵי כָל־הָאָרֶץ וַיַּחְדְּלוּ לִבְנֹת הָעִיר׃ 11.9. עַל־כֵּן קָרָא שְׁמָהּ בָּבֶל כִּי־שָׁם בָּלַל יְהוָה שְׂפַת כָּל־הָאָרֶץ וּמִשָּׁם הֱפִיצָם יְהוָה עַל־פְּנֵי כָּל־הָאָרֶץ׃ 11.11. וַיְחִי־שֵׁם אַחֲרֵי הוֹלִידוֹ אֶת־אַרְפַּכְשָׁד חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה וַיּוֹלֶד בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת׃ 13.12. אַבְרָם יָשַׁב בְּאֶרֶץ־כְּנָעַן וְלוֹט יָשַׁב בְּעָרֵי הַכִּכָּר וַיֶּאֱהַל עַד־סְדֹם׃ 13.13. וְאַנְשֵׁי סְדֹם רָעִים וְחַטָּאִים לַיהוָה מְאֹד׃ 14.13. וַיָּבֹא הַפָּלִיט וַיַּגֵּד לְאַבְרָם הָעִבְרִי וְהוּא שֹׁכֵן בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא הָאֱמֹרִי אֲחִי אֶשְׁכֹּל וַאֲחִי עָנֵר וְהֵם בַּעֲלֵי בְרִית־אַבְרָם׃ 14.14. וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם כִּי נִשְׁבָּה אָחִיו וַיָּרֶק אֶת־חֲנִיכָיו יְלִידֵי בֵיתוֹ שְׁמֹנָה עָשָׂר וּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת וַיִּרְדֹּף עַד־דָּן׃ 14.18. וּמַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם הוֹצִיא לֶחֶם וָיָיִן וְהוּא כֹהֵן לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן׃ 14.19. וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ וַיֹּאמַר בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ׃ 15.14. וְגַם אֶת־הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר יַעֲבֹדוּ דָּן אָנֹכִי וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵן יֵצְאוּ בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל׃ 15.15. וְאַתָּה תָּבוֹא אֶל־אֲבֹתֶיךָ בְּשָׁלוֹם תִּקָּבֵר בְּשֵׂיבָה טוֹבָה׃ 15.16. וְדוֹר רְבִיעִי יָשׁוּבוּ הֵנָּה כִּי לֹא־שָׁלֵם עֲוֺן הָאֱמֹרִי עַד־הֵנָּה׃ 18.21. אֵרֲדָה־נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה הַכְּצַעֲקָתָהּ הַבָּאָה אֵלַי עָשׂוּ כָּלָה וְאִם־לֹא אֵדָעָה׃ 22.21. אֶת־עוּץ בְּכֹרוֹ וְאֶת־בּוּז אָחִיו וְאֶת־קְמוּאֵל אֲבִי אֲרָם׃ 25.29. וַיָּזֶד יַעֲקֹב נָזִיד וַיָּבֹא עֵשָׂו מִן־הַשָּׂדֶה וְהוּא עָיֵף׃ 47.26. וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתָהּ יוֹסֵף לְחֹק עַד־הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה עַל־אַדְמַת מִצְרַיִם לְפַרְעֹה לַחֹמֶשׁ רַק אַדְמַת הַכֹּהֲנִים לְבַדָּם לֹא הָיְתָה לְפַרְעֹה׃ 48.13. וַיִּקַּח יוֹסֵף אֶת־שְׁנֵיהֶם אֶת־אֶפְרַיִם בִּימִינוֹ מִשְּׂמֹאל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת־מְנַשֶּׁה בִשְׂמֹאלוֹ מִימִין יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּגֵּשׁ אֵלָיו׃ 48.14. וַיִּשְׁלַח יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־יְמִינוֹ וַיָּשֶׁת עַל־רֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם וְהוּא הַצָּעִיר וְאֶת־שְׂמֹאלוֹ עַל־רֹאשׁ מְנַשֶּׁה שִׂכֵּל אֶת־יָדָיו כִּי מְנַשֶּׁה הַבְּכוֹר׃ | 1.26. And God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’" 2.17. but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’" 2.18. And the LORD God said: ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.’" 3.4. And the serpent said unto the woman: ‘Ye shall not surely die;" 3.5. for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.’" 3.8. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." 3.22. And the LORD God said: ‘Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.’" 4.1. And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: ‘I have agotten a man with the help of the LORD.’" 4.2. And again she bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground." 4.3. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD." 4.4. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering;" 4.5. but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countece fell." 4.6. And the LORD said unto Cain: ‘Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countece fallen?" 4.7. If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee is its desire, but thou mayest rule over it.’" 4.8. And Cain spoke unto Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." 4.9. And the LORD said unto Cain: ‘Where is Abel thy brother?’ And he said: ‘I know not; am I my brother’s keeper?’" 4.10. And He said: ‘What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground." 4.11. And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand." 4.12. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth.’" 4.13. And Cain said unto the LORD: ‘My punishment is greater than I can bear." 4.14. Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the land; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me.’" 4.15. And the LORD said unto him: ‘Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.’ And the LORD set a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him." 4.16. And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden." 6.3. And the LORD said: ‘My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.’" 6.5. And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." 6.6. And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart." 6.7. And the LORD said: ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.’" 6.12. And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. ." 6.22. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he." 7.5. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him." 10.8. And Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth." 10.9. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; wherefore it is said: ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.’" 10.10. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." 10.11. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-ir, and Calah," 11.1. And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech." 11.2. And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there." 11.3. And they said one to another: ‘Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar." 11.4. And they said: ‘Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, with its top in heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.’" 11.6. And the LORD said: ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do." 11.7. Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’" 11.8. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off to build the city." 11.9. Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there aconfound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." 11.10. These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arpachshad two years after the flood." 11.11. And Shem lived after he begot Arpachshad five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters." 13.12. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom." 13.13. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the LORD exceedingly." 14.13. And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew—now he dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with Abram." 14.14. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan." 14.18. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest of God the Most High." 14.19. And he blessed him, and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth;" 14.20. and blessed be God the Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.’ And he gave him a tenth of all." 15.14. and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance." 15.15. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age." 15.16. And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.’" 18.21. I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know.’" 21.10. Wherefore she said unto Abraham: ‘Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.’" 22.21. Uz his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram;" 25.29. And Jacob sod pottage; and Esau came in from the field, and he was faint." 47.26. And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests alone became not Pharaoh’s." 48.13. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him." 48.14. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the first-born." |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 13.33 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 13.33. וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ אֶת־הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק מִן־הַנְּפִלִים וַנְּהִי בְעֵינֵינוּ כַּחֲגָבִים וְכֵן הָיִינוּ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם׃ | 13.33. And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.’" |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 6.3, 25.1, 28.11, 42.6, 42.21, 45.8, 49.7 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 6.3. וְקָרָא זֶה אֶל־זֶה וְאָמַר קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת מְלֹא כָל־הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ׃ 25.1. כִּי־תָנוּחַ יַד־יְהוָה בָּהָר הַזֶּה וְנָדוֹשׁ מוֹאָב תַּחְתָּיו כְּהִדּוּשׁ מַתְבֵּן במי [בְּמוֹ] מַדְמֵנָה׃ 25.1. יְהוָה אֱלֹהַי אַתָּה אֲרוֹמִמְךָ אוֹדֶה שִׁמְךָ כִּי עָשִׂיתָ פֶּלֶא עֵצוֹת מֵרָחוֹק אֱמוּנָה אֹמֶן׃ 28.11. כִּי בְּלַעֲגֵי שָׂפָה וּבְלָשׁוֹן אַחֶרֶת יְדַבֵּר אֶל־הָעָם הַזֶּה׃ 42.6. אֲנִי יְהוָה קְרָאתִיךָ בְצֶדֶק וְאַחְזֵק בְּיָדֶךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לִבְרִית עָם לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם׃ 42.21. יְהוָה חָפֵץ לְמַעַן צִדְקוֹ יַגְדִּיל תּוֹרָה וְיַאְדִּיר׃ 45.8. הַרְעִיפוּ שָׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וּשְׁחָקִים יִזְּלוּ־צֶדֶק תִּפְתַּח־אֶרֶץ וְיִפְרוּ־יֶשַׁע וּצְדָקָה תַצְמִיחַ יַחַד אֲנִי יְהוָה בְּרָאתִיו׃ 49.7. כֹּה אָמַר־יְהוָה גֹּאֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל קְדוֹשׁוֹ לִבְזֹה־נֶפֶשׁ לִמְתָעֵב גּוֹי לְעֶבֶד מֹשְׁלִים מְלָכִים יִרְאוּ וָקָמוּ שָׂרִים וְיִשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ לְמַעַן יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר נֶאֱמָן קְדֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּבְחָרֶךָּ׃ | 6.3. And one called unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory." 25.1. O LORD, Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name, For Thou hast done wonderful things; Even counsels of old, in faithfulness and truth." 28.11. For with stammering lips and with a strange tongue Shall it be spoken to this people;" 42.6. I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, And have taken hold of thy hand, And kept thee, and set thee for a covet of the people, For a light of the nations;" 42.21. The LORD was pleased, for His righteousness’sake, To make the teaching great and glorious." 45.8. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, that they may bring forth salvation, and let her cause righteousness to spring up together; I the LORD have created it." 49.7. Thus saith the LORD, The Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, To him who is despised of men, To him who is abhorred of nations, To a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, Princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; Because of the LORD that is faithful, Even the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee." |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 31.31-31.33 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 31.31. הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם־יְהוָה וְכָרַתִּי אֶת־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת־בֵּית יְהוּדָה בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה׃ 31.32. לֹא כַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר כָּרַתִּי אֶת־אֲבוֹתָם בְּיוֹם הֶחֱזִיקִי בְיָדָם לְהוֹצִיאָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם אֲשֶׁר־הֵמָּה הֵפֵרוּ אֶת־בְּרִיתִי וְאָנֹכִי בָּעַלְתִּי בָם נְאֻם־יְהוָה׃ 31.33. כִּי זֹאת הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר אֶכְרֹת אֶת־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֲרֵי הַיָּמִים הָהֵם נְאֻם־יְהוָה נָתַתִּי אֶת־תּוֹרָתִי בְּקִרְבָּם וְעַל־לִבָּם אֶכְתֲּבֶנָּה וְהָיִיתִי לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים וְהֵמָּה יִהְיוּ־לִי לְעָם׃ | 31.31. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covet with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah;" 31.32. not according to the covet that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; forasmuch as they broke My covet, although I was a lord over them, saith the LORD." 31.33. But this is the covet that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the LORD, I will put My law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people;" |
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7. Hebrew Bible, 1 Chronicles, 22, 25, 28-29, 21 (5th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
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8. Hebrew Bible, 2 Chronicles, 6, 2 (5th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
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9. Hebrew Bible, Ezra, 7.26 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 7.26. וְכָל־דִּי־לָא לֶהֱוֵא עָבֵד דָּתָא דִי־אֱלָהָךְ וְדָתָא דִּי מַלְכָּא אָסְפַּרְנָא דִּינָה לֶהֱוֵא מִתְעֲבֵד מִנֵּהּ הֵן לְמוֹת הֵן לשרשו [לִשְׁרֹשִׁי] הֵן־לַעֲנָשׁ נִכְסִין וְלֶאֱסוּרִין׃ | 7.26. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him with all diligence, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.’ ." |
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10. Plato, Gorgias, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 527a. and he grips you and drags you up, you will gape and feel dizzy there no less than I do here, and some one perhaps will give you, yes, a degrading box on the ear, and will treat you with every kind of contumely. |
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11. Plato, Phaedrus, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 247a. He is followed by an army of gods and spirits, arrayed in eleven squadrons; Hestia alone remains in the house of the gods. of the rest, those who are included among the twelve great gods and are accounted leaders, are assigned each to his place in the army. There are many blessed sights and many ways hither and thither within the heaven, along which the blessed gods go to and fro attending each to his own duties; and whoever wishes, and is able, follows, for jealousy is excluded from the celestial band. But when they go to a feast and a banquet |
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12. Plato, Theaetetus, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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13. Plato, Timaeus, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 29e. constructed Becoming and the All. He was good, and in him that is good no envy ariseth ever concerning anything; and being devoid of envy He desired that all should be, so far as possible, like unto Himself. Tim. This principle, then, we shall be wholly right in accepting from men of wisdom as being above all the supreme originating principle of Becoming and the Cosmos. |
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14. Hebrew Bible, Daniel, 7.5 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 7.5. וַאֲרוּ חֵיוָה אָחֳרִי תִנְיָנָה דָּמְיָה לְדֹב וְלִשְׂטַר־חַד הֳקִמַת וּתְלָת עִלְעִין בְּפֻמַּהּ בֵּין שניה [שִׁנַּהּ] וְכֵן אָמְרִין לַהּ קוּמִי אֲכֻלִי בְּשַׂר שַׂגִּיא׃ | 7.5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was said thus unto it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’" |
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15. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), 2.6, 2.10 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 2.6. Trust in him, and he will help you;make your ways straight, and hope in him. |
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16. Dionysius of Halycarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 2.11.3 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 2.11.3. but by persuading and informing one another, by yielding in some things and gaining other things from their opponents, who yielded in turn, they settled their disputes in a manner befitting fellow citizens. But from the time that Gaius Gracchus, while holding the tribunician power, destroyed the harmony of the government they have been perpetually slaying and banishing one another from the city and refraining from no irreparable acts in order to gain the upper hand. However, for the narration of these events another occasion will be more suitable. |
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17. Philo of Alexandria, On The Confusion of Tongues, 2-5, 142 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 142. We say that this is the reason why it is said that God went down to see the city and the tower; and the addition, "Which the sons of men had built," is not a mere superfluity. For perhaps some profanely disposed person may mock and say, "The lawgiver is here teaching us a very novel kind of lesson, when he says that no one else but the sons of men build cities and towers; for who, even of the most crazy people is ignorant of what is so evident and notorious as that? |
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18. Philo of Alexandria, On Giants, 6 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 6. And when the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, they took unto themselves wives of all of them whom they Chose." Those beings, whom other philosophers call demons, Moses usually calls angels; and they are souls hovering in the air. |
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19. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 1.73, 1.113-1.118, 1.143-1.148 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.73. For many angels of God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants. 1.113. 2. Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. 1.114. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power. He also said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach! and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers! 1.115. 3. Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination of Nimrod, and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God; and they built a tower, neither sparing any pains, nor being in any degree negligent about the work: and, by reason of the multitude of hands employed in it, it grew very high, sooner than any one could expect; 1.116. but the thickness of it was so great, and it was so strongly built, that thereby its great height seemed, upon the view, to be less than it really was. It was built of burnt brick, cemented together with mortar, made of bitumen, that it might not be liable to admit water. When God saw that they acted so madly, he did not resolve to destroy them utterly, since they were not grown wiser by the destruction of the former sinners; 1.117. but he caused a tumult among them, by producing in them divers languages, and causing that, through the multitude of those languages, they should not be able to understand one another. The place wherein they built the tower is now called Babylon, because of the confusion of that language which they readily understood before; for the Hebrews mean by the word Babel, confusion. 1.118. The Sibyl also makes mention of this tower, and of the confusion of the language, when she says thus: “When all men were of one language, some of them built a high tower, as if they would thereby ascend up to heaven, but the gods sent storms of wind and overthrew the tower, and gave every one his peculiar language; and for this reason it was that the city was called Babylon.” 1.143. 4. Shem, the third son of Noah, had five sons, who inhabited the land that began at Euphrates, and reached to the Indian Ocean. For Elam left behind him the Elamites, the ancestors of the Persians. Ashur lived at the city Nineve; and named his subjects Assyrians, who became the most fortunate nation, beyond others. 1.144. Arphaxad named the Arphaxadites, who are now called Chaldeans. Aram had the Aramites, which the Greeks called Syrians; as Laud founded the Laudites, which are now called Lydians. 1.145. of the four sons of Aram, Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus: this country lies between Palestine and Celesyria. Ul founded Armenia; and Gather the Bactrians; and Mesa the Mesaneans; it is now called Charax Spasini. 1.146. Sala was the son of Arphaxad; and his son was Heber, from whom they originally called the Jews Hebrews. Heber begat Joetan and Phaleg: he was called Phaleg, because he was born at the dispersion of the nations to their several countries; for Phaleg among the Hebrews signifies division. 1.147. Now Joctan, one of the sons of Heber, had these sons, Elmodad, Saleph, Asermoth, Jera, Adoram, Aizel, Decla, Ebal, Abimael, Sabeus, Ophir, Euilat, and Jobab. These inhabited from Cophen, an Indian river, and in part of Asia adjoining to it. And this shall suffice concerning the sons of Shem. 1.148. 5. I will now treat of the Hebrews. The son of Phaleg, whose father Was Heber, was Ragau; whose son was Serug, to whom was born Nahor; his son was Terah, who was the father of Abraham, who accordingly was the tenth from Noah, and was born in the two hundred and ninety-second year after the deluge; |
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20. New Testament, 1 John, 3.23, 5.13 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.23. This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded. 5.13. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. |
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21. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 14 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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22. New Testament, 1 Timothy, 4.7 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 4.7. But refuse profane and old wives' fables. Exercise yourself toward godliness. |
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23. New Testament, Acts, 2.4 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 2.4. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. |
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24. New Testament, Galatians, 1.13-1.14, 2.2-2.10 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.13. For you have heard of my way ofliving in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure Ipersecuted the assembly of God, and ravaged it. 1.14. I advanced inthe Jews' religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, beingmore exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 2.2. I went up byrevelation, and I laid before them the gospel which I preach among theGentiles, but privately before those who were respected, for fear thatI might be running, or had run, in vain. 2.3. But not even Titus, whowas with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 2.4. Thiswas because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who stole in tospy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they mightbring us into bondage; 2.5. to whom we gave no place in the way ofsubjection, not for an hour, that the truth of the gospel mightcontinue with you. 2.6. But from those who were reputed to beimportant (whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; Goddoesn't show partiality to man) -- they, I say, who were respectedimparted nothing to me 2.7. but to the contrary, when they saw that Ihad been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcision, even asPeter with the gospel for the circumcision 2.8. (for he who appointedPeter to the apostleship of the circumcision appointed me also to theGentiles); 2.9. and when they perceived the grace that was given tome, James and Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars,gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should goto the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision. 2.10. They only askedus to remember the poor -- which very thing I was also zealous to do. |
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25. New Testament, Philippians, 3.6 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.6. concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless. |
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26. New Testament, Romans, 3.2-3.4, 3.9-3.10, 3.20, 3.24, 3.31, 5.20, 9.4-9.8, 9.11, 9.14-9.18, 9.22-9.23, 9.30-9.33, 10.1-10.4, 10.6-10.12, 10.17, 11.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.2. Much in every way! Because first of all, they were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3.3. For what if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God? 3.4. May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, "That you might be justified in your words, And might prevail when you come into judgment. 3.9. What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously charged both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin. 3.10. As it is written, "There is no one righteous. No, not one. 3.20. Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 3.24. being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; 3.31. Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be! No, we establish the law. 5.20. The law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly; 9.4. who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covets, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises; 9.5. of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen. 9.6. But it is not as though the word of God has come to nothing. For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel. 9.7. Neither, because they are Abraham's seed, are they all children. But, "In Isaac will your seed be called. 9.8. That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as a seed. 9.11. For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls 9.14. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? May it never be! 9.15. For he said to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. 9.16. So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy. 9.17. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth. 9.18. So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires. 9.22. What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath made for destruction 9.23. and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory 9.30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who didn't follow after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; 9.31. but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn't arrive at the law of righteousness. 9.32. Why? Because they didn't seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone; 9.33. even as it is written, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense; And no one who believes in him will be put to shame. 10.1. Brothers, my heart's desire and my prayer to God is for Israel, that they may be saved. 10.2. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 10.3. For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they didn't subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 10.4. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. 10.6. But the righteousness which is of faith says this, "Don't say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down); 10.7. or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.) 10.8. But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart;" that is, the word of faith, which we preach: 10.9. that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10.10. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 10.11. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. 10.12. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him. 10.17. So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 11.11. I ask then, did they stumble that they might fall? May it never be! But by their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy. |
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27. New Testament, Matthew, 5.17 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 5.17. Don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill. |
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28. Anon., Genesis Rabba, 19.11, 22.9, 27.4, 56.1 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
| 19.11. וַיֹּאמֶר הָאָדָם וגו' (בראשית ג, יב), אַרְבָּעָה הֵן שֶׁהֵקִישׁ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל קַנְקַנָּן וּמְצָאָן קַנְקַנִּין שֶׁל מֵימֵי רַגְלַיִם, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, אָדָם, וְקַיִן, וּבִלְעָם, וְחִזְקִיָּהוּ. אָדָם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹּאמֶר הָאָדָם הָאִשָּׁה. קַיִן (בראשית ד, ט): וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל קַיִן אֵי הֶבֶל וגו' וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא יָדַעְתִּי. בִּלְעָם הָרָשָׁע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר כב, ט י): מִי הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה עִמָּךְ, וַיֹּאמֶר בִּלְעָם אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים וגו'. חִזְקִיָּהוּ (מלכים ב כ, יד) (ישעיה לט, ג): מָה אָמְרוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה וגו'. אֲבָל יְחֶזְקֵאל מְצָאוֹ בָּקִי מִכֻּלָּם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל לז, ג): בֶּן אָדָם הֲתִחְיֶינָה הָעֲצָמוֹת הָאֵלֶּה וָאֹמַר ה' אֱלֹהִים אַתָּה יָדָעְתָּ, אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר פָּפָּא לְצִפּוֹר שֶׁהָיְתָה נְתוּנָה בְּיַד צַיָּד, פָּגַע בְּאֶחָד אָמַר לוֹ זוֹ שֶׁבְּיָדִי מָה הִיא חַיָּה אוֹ מֵתָה, אָמַר לוֹ אִי בָּעִית חַיָּה, אִי בָּעִית מֵתָה, כָּךְ בֶּן אָדָם הֲתִחְיֶינָה הָעֲצָמוֹת הָאֵלֶּה וָאֹמַר ה' אֱלֹהִים אַתָּה יָדָעְתָּ. 22.9. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ דְּסִכְנִין בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר, כְּתִיב (תהלים לז, יד): חֶרֶב פָּתְחוּ רְשָׁעִים וגו', חֶרֶב פָּתְחוּ רְשָׁעִים וְדָרְכוּ קַשְׁתָּם, זֶה קַיִן. (תהלים לז, יד): לְהַפִּיל עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן לִטְבוֹחַ יִשְׁרֵי דָרֶךְ זֶה הֶבֶל. (תהלים לז, טו): חַרְבָּם תָּבוֹא בְלִבָּם וגו', (בראשית ד, יב): נָע וְנָד תִּהְיֶה בָּאָרֶץ. (בראשית ד, ט): וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל קַיִן אֵי הֶבֶל אָחִיךָ וגו', מָשָׁל לְאִיפַּרְכוֹס שֶׁהָיָה מְהַלֵּךְ בְּאֶמְצַע פְּלַטְיָא, מָצָא הָרוּג וְאֶחָד עוֹמֵד עַל גַּבָּיו, אָמַר לוֹ מִי הֲרָגוֹ, וַאֲמַר לֵיהּ אֲנָא בָּעֵי לֵיהּ גַּבָּךְ, וְאַתְּ בָּעֵי לֵיהּ גַּבִּי, אֲמַר לֵיהּ לֹא אָמַרְתָּ כְּלוּם, מָשָׁל לְאֶחָד שֶׁנִּכְנַס לְגִנָּה וְלִקֵּט תּוּתִין וְאָכַל, וְהָיָה בַּעַל הַגִּנָּה רָץ אַחֲרָיו אָמַר לוֹ מַה בְּיָדְךָ, אָמַר לוֹ אֵין בְּיָדִי כְּלוּם, אָמַר לוֹ וַהֲרֵי יָדֶיךָ מְלֻכְלָכוֹת. כָּךְ אָמַר לוֹ קַיִן לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא (בראשית ד, ט): הֲשֹׁמֵר אָחִי אָנֹכִי, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הָא רָשָׁע (בראשית ד, י): קוֹל דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ צֹעֲקִים וגו', מָשָׁל לְאֶחָד שֶׁנִכְנַס לְמִרְעֶה וְחָטַף גְּדִי אֶחָד וְהִפְשִׁילוֹ לַאֲחוֹרָיו, וְהָיָה בַּעַל הַמִּרְעֶה רָץ אַחֲרָיו אָמַר לוֹ מַה בְּיָדְךָ, אָמַר לוֹ אֵין בְּיָדִי כְּלוּם, אָמַר לוֹ וַהֲרֵי הוּא מַפְעֶה אַחֲרֶיךָ. כָּךְ אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְקַיִן: קוֹל דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ וגו'. רַבִּי יוּדָן וְרַבִּי הוּנָא וְרַבָּנָן. רַבִּי יוּדָן אוֹמֵר דַּם אָחִיךָ אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ, דָּמוֹ וְדַם זַרְעִיּוֹתָיו. רַבִּי הוּנָא אָמַר (מלכים ב ט, כו): אֶת דְּמֵי נָבוֹת, דַּם נָבוֹת וְדַם בָּנָיו אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא אֶת דְּמֵי נָבוֹת וְאֶת דְּמֵי בָנָיו, דָּמוֹ וְדַם זַרְעִיּוֹתָיו. רַבָּנָן אָמְרִין (דברי הימים ב כד, כה): וַיָּמָת בְּדַם יְהוֹיָדָע, אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא בִּדְמֵי יְהוֹיָדָע, דָּמוֹ וְדַם זַרְעִיּוֹתָיו. אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחָאי קָשֶׁה הַדָּבָר לְאָמְרוֹ וְאִי אֶפְשָׁר לַפֶּה לְפָרְשׁוֹ, לִשְׁנֵי אַתְּלִיטִין שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹמְדִין וּמִתְגּוֹשְׁשִׁים לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ, אִלּוּ רָצָה הַמֶּלֶךְ פֵּרְשָׁן, וְלֹא רָצָה הַמֶּלֶךְ לְפָרְשָׁן, נִתְחַזֵּק אֶחָד עַל חֲבֵרוֹ וַהֲרָגוֹ, וְהָיָה מְצַוֵּחַ וְאָמַר מַאן יִבְעֵי דִּינִי קֳדָם מַלְכָּא, כָּךְ קוֹל דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ צוֹעֲקִים אֵלַי מִן הָאֲדָמָה, לַעֲלוֹת לְמַעְלָה לֹא הָיְתָה יְכוֹלָה שֶׁעֲדַיִן לֹא עָלְתָה לְשָׁם נְשָׁמָה, וּלְמַטָּה לֹא הָיְתָה יְכוֹלָה לַעֲמֹד שֶׁעֲדַיִן לֹא נִקְבַּר שָׁם אָדָם, וְהָיָה דָּמוֹ מֻשְׁלָךְ עַל הָעֵצִים וְעַל הָאֲבָנִים. 27.4. וַיִּנָּחֶם ה' כִּי עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם בָּאָרֶץ (בראשית ו, ו), רַבִּי יְהוּדָה וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אָמַר תַּוְהוּת הָיְתָה לְפָנַי שֶׁבָּרָאתִי אוֹתוֹ מִלְּמַטָּה, שֶׁאִלּוּ בָּרָאתִי אוֹתוֹ מִלְּמַעְלָה לֹא הָיָה מוֹרֵד בִּי. רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אָמַר מִתְנַחֵם אֲנִי שֶׁבָּרָאתִי אוֹתוֹ מִלְּמַטָּה שֶׁאִלּוּ בָּרָאתִי אוֹתוֹ מִלְּמַעְלָה כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהִמְרִיד בִּי אֶת הַתַּחְתּוֹנִים, כָּךְ הָיָה מַמְרִיד בִּי אֶת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים. אָמַר רַבִּי אַיְבוּ תְּוָהוּת הָיְתָה לְפָנַי שֶׁבָּרָאתִי בּוֹ יֵצֶר הָרָע, שֶׁאִלּוּלֵי לֹא בָּרָאתִי בּוֹ יֵצֶר הָרָע לֹא הָיָה מוֹרֵד בִּי. אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי מִתְנַחֵם אֲנִי שֶׁעָשִׂיתִי אוֹתוֹ וְנִתַּן בָּאָרֶץ. (בראשית ו, ו): וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל לִבּוֹ, אָמַר רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה, מָשָׁל לְשַׂר שֶׁבָּנָה פָּלָטִין עַל יְדֵי אַדְרִיכַל, רָאָה אוֹתָהּ וְלֹא עָרְבָה לוֹ, עַל מִי יֵשׁ לוֹ לְהִתְכָּעֵס לֹא עַל אַדְרִיכַל, כָּךְ וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל לִבּוֹ. אָמַר רַבִּי אָסֵי מָשָׁל לְשַׂר שֶׁעָשָׂה סְחוֹרָה עַל יְדֵי סַרְסוּר וְהִפְסִיד, עַל מִי יֵשׁ לוֹ לְהִתְרָעֵם לֹא עַל הַסַּרְסוּר, כָּךְ וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל לִבּוֹ. אֶפִּיקוֹרֶס אֶחָד שָׁאַל אֶת רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה, אָמַר לוֹ אֵין אַתֶּם אוֹמְרִים שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא רוֹאֶה אֶת הַנּוֹלָד, אָמַר לוֹ הֵן. וְהָא כְתִיב וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל לִבּוֹ. אָמַר לוֹ נוֹלַד לְךָ בֶּן זָכָר מִיָּמֶיךָ, אָמַר לוֹ הֵן, אָמַר לוֹ מֶה עָשִׂיתָ, אָמַר לוֹ שָׂמַחְתִּי וְשִׂמַּחְתִּי אֶת הַכֹּל, אָמַר לוֹ וְלֹא הָיִיתָ יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁסּוֹפוֹ לָמוּת, אָמַר לוֹ בִּשְׁעַת חֶדְוָתָא חֶדְוָתָא, בִּשְׁעַת אֶבְלָה אֶבְלָה. אָמַר לוֹ כָּךְ מַעֲשֶׂה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, דְּאָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי שִׁבְעָה יָמִים נִתְאַבֵּל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל עוֹלָמוֹ קֹדֶם שֶׁלֹא יָבוֹא מַבּוּל לָעוֹלָם, מַאי טַעְמֵיהּ וַיִּתְעַצֵּב אֶל לִבּוֹ, וְאֵין עֲצִיבָה אֶלָא אֲבֵלוּת, הֵיךְ מָה דְאַתְּ אָמַר (שמואל ב יט, ג): נֶעֱצַב הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל בְּנוֹ. 56.1. בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וַיִּשָֹּׂא אַבְרָהָם אֶת עֵינָיו (בראשית כב, ד), כְּתִיב (הושע ו, ב): יְחַיֵּנוּ מִיֹּמָיִם בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי יְקִמֵנוּ וְנִחְיֶה לְפָנָיו, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי שֶׁל שְׁבָטִים, כְּתִיב (בראשית מב, יח): וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם יוֹסֵף בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי שֶׁל מְרַגְלִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יהושע ב, טז): וְנַחְבֵּתֶם שָׁמָּה שְׁלשֶׁת יָמִים, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי שֶׁל מַתַּן תּוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יט, טז): וַיְהִי בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי שֶׁל יוֹנָה, דִּכְתִיב (יונה ב, א): וַיְהִי יוֹנָה בִּמְעֵי הַדָּגָה שְׁלשָׁה יָמִים וּשְׁלשָׁה לֵילוֹת, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי שֶׁל עוֹלֵי גוֹלָה, דִּכְתִיב (עזרא ח, לב): וַנֵּשֶׁב שָׁם יָמִים שְׁלשָׁה, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי שֶׁל תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים, דִּכְתִיב: יְחַיֵּנוּ מִיֹּמָיִם בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי יְקִמֵנוּ, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי שֶׁל אֶסְתֵּר, (אסתר ה, א): וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וַתִּלְבַּשׁ אֶסְתֵּר מַלְכוּת, לָבְשָׁה מַלְכוּת בֵּית אָבִיהָ. בְּאֵיזֶה זְכוּת, רַבָּנָן וְרַבִּי לֵוִי, רַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי בִּזְכוּת יוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי שֶׁל מַתַּן תּוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיְהִי בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בִּהְיֹת הַבֹּקֶר. וְרַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר בִּזְכוּת שֶׁל יוֹם שְׁלִישִׁי שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי. וַיַּרְא אֶת הַמָּקוֹם מֵרָחֹק, מָה רָאָה רָאָה עָנָן קָשׁוּר בָּהָר, אָמַר דּוֹמֶה שֶׁאוֹתוֹ מָקוֹם שֶׁאָמַר לִי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְהַקְרִיב אֶת בְּנִי שָׁם. 56.1. וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא ה' יִרְאֶה (בראשית כב, יד), רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר, אָמַר לְפָנָיו רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַרְתָּ לִי (בראשית כב, ב): קַח נָא אֶת בִּנְךָ אֶת יְחִידְךָ, הָיָה לִי מַה לְּהָשִׁיב, אֶתְמוֹל אָמַרְתָּ (בראשית כא, כב): כִּי בְיִצְחָק וגו', וְעַכְשָׁו קַח נָא אֶת בִּנְךָ וגו' וְחַס וְשָׁלוֹם לֹא עָשִׂיתִי כֵן אֶלָּא כָּבַשְׁתִּי רַחֲמַי לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ, יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיִּהְיוּ בָּנָיו שֶׁל יִצְחָק בָּאִים לִידֵי עֲבֵרוֹת וּמַעֲשִׂים רָעִים תְּהֵא נִזְכַּר לָהֶם אוֹתָהּ הָעֲקֵדָה וְתִתְמַלֵּא עֲלֵיהֶם רַחֲמִים. אַבְרָהָם קָרָא אוֹתוֹ יִרְאֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא ה' יִרְאֶה. שֵׁם קָרָא אוֹתוֹ שָׁלֵם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית יד, יח): וּמַלְכִּי צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אִם קוֹרֵא אֲנִי אוֹתוֹ יִרְאֶה כְּשֵׁם שֶׁקָּרָא אוֹתוֹ אַבְרָהָם, שֵׁם אָדָם צַדִּיק מִתְרָעֵם, וְאִם קוֹרֵא אֲנִי אוֹתוֹ שָׁלֵם, אַבְרָהָם אָדָם צַדִּיק מִתְרָעֵם, אֶלָּא הֲרֵינִי קוֹרֵא אוֹתוֹ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם כְּמוֹ שֶׁקָּרְאוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם, יִרְאֶה שָׁלֵם, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם. רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי חֶלְבּוֹ אָמַר עַד שֶׁהוּא שָׁלֵם עָשָׂה לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא סֻכָּה וְהָיָה מִתְפַּלֵּל בְּתוֹכָהּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים עו, ג): וַיְהִי בְשָׁלֵם סֻכּוֹ וּמְעוֹנָתוֹ בְּצִיּוֹן, וּמָה הָיָה אוֹמֵר יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁאֶרְאֶה בְּבִנְיַן בֵּיתִי. דָּבָר אַחֵר, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהֶרְאָה לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ חָרֵב וּבָנוּי חָרֵב וּבָנוּי, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא ה' יִרְאֶה, הֲרֵי בָּנוּי, הֵיךְ מָה דְאַתְּ אָמַר (דברים טז, טז): שָׁלוֹשׁ פְּעָמִים בַּשָּׁנָה יֵרָאֶה. אֲשֶׁר יֵאָמֵר הַיּוֹם בְּהַר ה', הֲרֵי חָרֵב, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (איכה ה, יח): עַל הַר צִיּוֹן שֶׁשָּׁמֵם. ה' יֵרָאֶה, בָּנוּי וּמְשֻׁכְלָל לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא, כָּעִנְיָן שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קב, יז): כִּי בָנָה ה' צִיּוֹן נִרְאָה בִּכְבוֹדוֹ. | 22.9. ... The voice of your brother’s bloods [are] screaming to me from [the surface of] the ground” [Gn 4:10]—[this means that] she (the voice of Hevel’s blood) could not go up above/l’ma`lah, for as yet no soul/n’shamah had gone up to there; and below/l’matah she could not stand (i.e., stay or sink into the ground), for as yet no adam had been buried there, and [so] “his blood was cast upon the trees and the stones." 56.1. “On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes…” (Genesis 22:4) It is written “He will revive us from the two days, on the third day He will set us up, and we will live before Him.” (Hoshea 6:2) On the third day of the tribes it is written “On the third day, Joseph said to them…” (Genesis 42:18) On the third day of the spies, as it says “…and hide yourselves there three days…” (Joshua 2:16) On the third day of the giving of the Torah, as it says “It came to pass on the third day…” (Exodus 19:16) On the third day of Jonah, as it is written “…and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.” (Jonah 2:1) On the third day of those who came up from exile, as it is written “…and stayed there three days.” (Ezra 8:32) On the third day of the resurrection of the dead, as it is written “He will revive us from the two days, on the third day He will set us up, and we will live before Him.” (Hoshea 6:2) On Esther’s third day “Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther clothed herself regally…” (Esther 5:1) The royalty of her father’s house. In what merit? This is an argument of the Rabbis and Rabbi Levi. The Rabbis say: in the merit of the third day of the giving of the Torah, as it says “It came to pass on the third day when it was morning…” (Exodus 19:16) Rabbi Levi said: in the merit of the third day of our father Avraham, as it says \"On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.” (Genesis 22:4) What did he see? He saw a cloud attached to the mountain. He said: it appears that this is the place where the Holy One told me to offer up my son." |
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29. Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation To The Greeks, 12.120.2 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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30. Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies, (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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31. Eusebius of Caesarea, Preparation For The Gospel, 9.17.1-9.17.9, 9.18.2 (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
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32. Augustine, The City of God, 16.4, 18.41 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
| 16.4. But though these nations are said to have been dispersed according to their languages, yet the narrator recurs to that time when all had but one language, and explains how it came to pass that a diversity of languages was introduced. The whole earth, he says, was of one lip, and all had one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and dwelt there. And they said one to another, Come, and let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly. And they had bricks for stone, and slime for mortar. And they said, Come, and let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top shall reach the sky; and let us make us a name, before we be scattered abroad on the face of all the earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. And the Lord God said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Come, and let us go down, and confound there their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. And God scattered them thence on the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city and the tower. Therefore the name of it is called Confusion; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and the Lord God scattered them thence on the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:1-9 This city, which was called Confusion, is the same as Babylon, whose wonderful construction Gentile history also notices. For Babylon means Confusion. Whence we conclude that the giant Nimrod was its founder, as had been hinted a little before, where Scripture, in speaking of him, says that the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, that is, Babylon had a supremacy over the other cities as the metropolis and royal residence; although it did not rise to the grand dimensions designed by its proud and impious founder. The plan was to make it so high that it should reach the sky, whether this was meant of one tower which they intended to build higher than the others, or of all the towers, which might be signified by the singular number, as we speak of the soldier, meaning the army, and of the frog or the locust, when we refer to the whole multitude of frogs and locusts in the plagues with which Moses smote the Egyptians. Exodus x But what did these vain and presumptuous men intend? How did they expect to raise this lofty mass against God, when they had built it above all the mountains and the clouds of the earth's atmosphere? What injury could any spiritual or material elevation do to God? The safe and true way to heaven is made by humility, which lifts up the heart to the Lord, not against Him; as this giant is said to have been a hunter against the Lord. This has been misunderstood by some through the ambiguity of the Greek word, and they have translated it, not against the Lord, but before the Lord; for ἐναντίον means both before and against. In the Psalm this word is rendered, Let us weep before the Lord our Maker. The same word occurs in the book of Job, where it is written, You have broken into fury against the Lord. Job 15:13 And so this giant is to be recognized as a hunter against the Lord. And what is meant by the term hunter but deceiver, oppressor, and destroyer of the animals of the earth? He and his people therefore, erected this tower against the Lord, and so gave expression to their impious pride; and justly was their wicked intention punished by God, even though it was unsuccessful. But what was the nature of the punishment? As the tongue is the instrument of domination, in it pride was punished; so that man, who would not understand God when He issued His commands, should be misunderstood when he himself gave orders. Thus was that conspiracy disbanded, for each man retired from those he could not understand, and associated with those whose speech was intelligible; and the nations were divided according to their languages, and scattered over the earth as seemed good to God, who accomplished this in ways hidden from and incomprehensible to us. 18.41. But let us omit further examination of history, and return to the philosophers from whom we digressed to these things. They seem to have labored in their studies for no other end than to find out how to live in a way proper for laying hold of blessedness. Why, then, have the disciples dissented from their masters, and the fellow disciples from one another, except because as men they have sought after these things by human sense and human reasonings? Now, although there might be among them a desire of glory, so that each wished to be thought wiser and more acute than another, and in no way addicted to the judgment of others, but the inventor of his own dogma and opinion, yet I may grant that there were some, or even very many of them, whose love of truth severed them from their teachers or fellow disciples, that they might strive for what they thought was the truth, whether it was so or not. But what can human misery do, or how or where can it reach forth, so as to attain blessedness, if divine authority does not lead it? Finally, let our authors, among whom the canon of the sacred books is fixed and bounded, be far from disagreeing in any respect. It is not without good reason, then, that not merely a few people prating in the schools and gymnasia in captious disputations, but so many and great people, both learned and unlearned, in countries and cities, have believed that God spoke to them or by them, i.e. the canonical writers, when they wrote these books. There ought, indeed, to be but few of them, lest on account of their multitude what ought to be religiously esteemed should grow cheap; and yet not so few that their agreement should not be wonderful. For among the multitude of philosophers, who in their works have left behind them the monuments of their dogmas, no one will easily find any who agree in all their opinions. But to show this is too long a task for this work. But what author of any sect is so approved in this demon-worshipping city, that the rest who have differed from or opposed him in opinion have been disapproved? The Epicureans asserted that human affairs were not under the providence of the gods; and the Stoics, holding the opposite opinion, agreed that they were ruled and defended by favorable and tutelary gods. Yet were not both sects famous among the Athenians? I wonder, then, why Anaxagoras was accused of a crime for saying that the sun was a burning stone, and denying that it was a god at all; while in the same city Epicurus flourished gloriously and lived securely, although he not only did not believe that the sun or any star was a god, but contended that neither Jupiter nor any of the gods dwelt in the world at all, so that the prayers and supplications of men might reach them! Were not both Aristippus and Antisthenes there, two noble philosophers and both Socratic? Yet they placed the chief end of life within bounds so diverse and contradictory, that the first made the delight of the body the chief good, while the other asserted that man was made happy mainly by the virtue of the mind. The one also said that the wise man should flee from the republic; the other, that he should administer its affairs. Yet did not each gather disciples to follow his own sect? Indeed, in the conspicuous and well-known porch, in gymnasia, in gardens, in places public and private, they openly strove in bands each for his own opinion, some asserting there was one world, others innumerable worlds; some that this world had a beginning, others that it had not; some that it would perish, others that it would exist always; some that it was governed by the divine mind, others by chance and accident; some that souls are immortal, others that they are mortal - and of those who asserted their immortality, some said they transmigrated through beasts, others that it was by no means so; while of those who asserted their mortality, some said they perished immediately after the body, others that they survived either a little while or a longer time, but not always; some fixing supreme good in the body, some in the mind, some in both; others adding to the mind and body external good things; some thinking that the bodily senses ought to be trusted always, some not always, others never. Now what people, senate, power, or public dignity of the impious city has ever taken care to judge between all these and other nearly innumerable dissensions of the philosophers, approving and accepting some, and disapproving and rejecting others? Has it not held in its bosom at random, without any judgment, and confusedly, so many controversies of men at variance, not about fields, houses, or anything of a pecuniary nature, but about those things which make life either miserable or happy? Even if some true things were said in it, yet falsehoods were uttered with the same licence; so that such a city has not amiss received the title of the mystic Babylon. For Babylon means confusion, as we remember we have already explained. Nor does it matter to the devil, its king, how they wrangle among themselves in contradictory errors, since all alike deservedly belong to him on account of their great and varied impiety. But that nation, that people, that city, that republic, these Israelites, to whom the oracles of God were entrusted, by no means confounded with similar licence false prophets with the true prophets; but, agreeing together, and differing in nothing, acknowledged and upheld the authentic authors of their sacred books. These were their philosophers, these were their sages, divines, prophets, and teachers of probity and piety. Whoever was wise and lived according to them was wise and lived not according to men, but according to God who has spoken by them. If sacrilege is forbidden there, God has forbidden it. If it is said, Honor your father and your mother, Exodus 20:12 God has commanded it. If it is said, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, and other similar commandments, not human lips but the divine oracles have enounced them. Whatever truth certain philosophers, amid their false opinions, were able to see, and strove by laborious discussions to persuade men of - such as that God had made this world, and Himself most providently governs it, or of the nobility of the virtues, of the love of country, of fidelity in friendship, of good works and everything pertaining to virtuous manners, although they knew not to what end and what rule all these things were to be referred - all these, by words prophetic, that is, divine, although spoken by men, were commended to the people in that city, and not inculcated by contention in arguments, so that he who should know them might be afraid of contemning, not the wit of men, but the oracle of God. |
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