1. Septuagint, Tobit, 6.9 (10th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 6.9. When they approached Ecbatana |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 6.8, 11.18 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 6.8. וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל־יָדֶךָ וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ׃ 11.18. וְשַׂמְתֶּם אֶת־דְּבָרַי אֵלֶּה עַל־לְבַבְכֶם וְעַל־נַפְשְׁכֶם וּקְשַׁרְתֶּם אֹתָם לְאוֹת עַל־יֶדְכֶם וְהָיוּ לְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֵיכֶם׃ | 6.8. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes." 11.18. Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 2.7, 3.17-3.19, 49.9 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 2.7. וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה׃ 3.17. וּלְאָדָם אָמַר כִּי־שָׁמַעְתָּ לְקוֹל אִשְׁתֶּךָ וַתֹּאכַל מִן־הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ לֵאמֹר לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ אֲרוּרָה הָאֲדָמָה בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ בְּעִצָּבוֹן תֹּאכֲלֶנָּה כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ׃ 3.18. וְקוֹץ וְדַרְדַּר תַּצְמִיחַ לָךְ וְאָכַלְתָּ אֶת־עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה׃ 3.19. בְּזֵעַת אַפֶּיךָ תֹּאכַל לֶחֶם עַד שׁוּבְךָ אֶל־הָאֲדָמָה כִּי מִמֶּנָּה לֻקָּחְתָּ כִּי־עָפָר אַתָּה וְאֶל־עָפָר תָּשׁוּב׃ 49.9. גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה מִטֶּרֶף בְּנִי עָלִיתָ כָּרַע רָבַץ כְּאַרְיֵה וּכְלָבִיא מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ׃ | 2.7. Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." 3.17. And unto Adam He said: ‘Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." 3.18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field." 3.19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’" 49.9. Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?" |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Job, 31.39, 38.31, 40.29 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 31.39. אִם־כֹּחָהּ אָכַלְתִּי בְלִי־כָסֶף וְנֶפֶשׁ בְּעָלֶיהָ הִפָּחְתִּי׃ 38.31. הַתְקַשֵּׁר מַעֲדַנּוֹת כִּימָה אוֹ־מֹשְׁכוֹת כְּסִיל תְּפַתֵּחַ׃ 40.29. הַתְשַׂחֶק־בּוֹ כַּצִּפּוֹר וְתִקְשְׁרֶנּוּ לְנַעֲרוֹתֶיךָ׃ | 31.39. If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, Or have caused the tillers thereof to be disappointed—" 38.31. Canst thou bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?" 40.29. Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? ." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Malachi, 1.13 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 1.13. וַאֲמַרְתֶּם הִנֵּה מַתְּלָאָה וְהִפַּחְתֶּם אוֹתוֹ אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת וַהֲבֵאתֶם גָּזוּל וְאֶת־הַפִּסֵּחַ וְאֶת־הַחוֹלֶה וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת־הַמִּנְחָה הַאֶרְצֶה אוֹתָהּ מִיֶּדְכֶם אָמַר יְהוָה׃ | 1.13. Ye say also: ‘Behold, what a weariness is it!’ And ye have snuffed at it, Saith the LORD of hosts; And ye have brought that which was taken by violence, And the lame, and the sick; Thus ye bring the offering; Should I accept this of your hand? Saith the LORD." |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Proverbs, 3.3, 6.21 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 3.3. אַל־תרוב [תָּרִיב] עִם־אָדָם חִנָּם אִם־לֹא גְמָלְךָ רָעָה׃ 3.3. חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת אַל־יַעַזְבֻךָ קָשְׁרֵם עַל־גַּרְגְּרוֹתֶיךָ כָּתְבֵם עַל־לוּחַ לִבֶּךָ׃ 6.21. קָשְׁרֵם עַל־לִבְּךָ תָמִיד עָנְדֵם עַל־גַּרְגְּרֹתֶךָ׃ | 3.3. Let not kindness and truth forsake thee; Bind them about thy neck, write them upon the table of thy heart;" 6.21. Bind them continually upon thy heart, Tie them about thy neck." |
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7. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, a b c d\n0 "50.9" "50.9" "50 9"\n1 145.16 145.16 145 16\n2 147.9 147.9 147 9\n3 22.1 22.1 22 1\n4 31.5 31.5 31 5\n5 36.6 36.6 36 6\n6 51.10 51.10 51 10\n7 51.11 51.11 51 11\n8 51.12 51.12 51 12\n9 51.13 51.13 51 13\n10 51.14 51.14 51 14\n11 51.3 51.3 51 3\n12 51.4 51.4 51 4\n13 51.5 51.5 51 5\n14 51.6 51.6 51 6\n15 51.7 51.7 51 7\n16 51.8 51.8 51 8\n17 51.9 51.9 51 9\n18 69.22 69.22 69 22 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
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8. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 2.2, 54.16 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 2.2. וְהָיָה בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים נָכוֹן יִהְיֶה הַר בֵּית־יְהוָה בְּרֹאשׁ הֶהָרִים וְנִשָּׂא מִגְּבָעוֹת וְנָהֲרוּ אֵלָיו כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם׃ 2.2. בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יַשְׁלִיךְ הָאָדָם אֵת אֱלִילֵי כַסְפּוֹ וְאֵת אֱלִילֵי זְהָבוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ־לוֹ לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺת לַחְפֹּר פֵּרוֹת וְלָעֲטַלֵּפִים׃ 54.16. הן [הִנֵּה] אָנֹכִי בָּרָאתִי חָרָשׁ נֹפֵחַ בְּאֵשׁ פֶּחָם וּמוֹצִיא כְלִי לְמַעֲשֵׂהוּ וְאָנֹכִי בָּרָאתִי מַשְׁחִית לְחַבֵּל׃ | 2.2. And it shall come to pass in the end of days, That the mountain of the LORD’S house Shall be established as the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow unto it." 54.16. Behold, I have created the smith That bloweth the fire of coals, And bringeth forth a weapon for his work; And I have created the waster to destroy." |
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9. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 1.13, 15.9, 31.31-31.33 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 1.13. וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהוָה אֵלַי שֵׁנִית לֵאמֹר מָה אַתָּה רֹאֶה וָאֹמַר סִיר נָפוּחַ אֲנִי רֹאֶה וּפָנָיו מִפְּנֵי צָפוֹנָה׃ 15.9. אֻמְלְלָה יֹלֶדֶת הַשִּׁבְעָה נָפְחָה נַפְשָׁהּ באה [בָּא] שִׁמְשָׁהּ בְּעֹד יוֹמָם בּוֹשָׁה וְחָפֵרָה וּשְׁאֵרִיתָם לַחֶרֶב אֶתֵּן לִפְנֵי אֹיְבֵיהֶם נְאֻם־יְהוָה׃ 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׃ | 1.13. And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying: ‘What seest thou?’ And I said: ‘I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is from the north.’" 15.9. She that hath borne seven languisheth; Her spirit droopeth; Her sun is gone down while it was yet day, She is ashamed and confounded; And the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, Saith the LORD.’" 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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10. Hebrew Bible, Joshua, 2.19 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 2.19. וְהָיָה כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־יֵצֵא מִדַּלְתֵי בֵיתֵךְ הַחוּצָה דָּמוֹ בְרֹאשׁוֹ וַאֲנַחְנוּ נְקִיִּם וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה אִתָּךְ בַּבַּיִת דָּמוֹ בְרֹאשֵׁנוּ אִם־יָד תִּהְיֶה־בּוֹ׃ | 2.19. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless; and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him." |
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11. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 22.20-22.21, 36.25-36.27, 37.9 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 22.21. וְכִנַּסְתִּי אֶתְכֶם וְנָפַחְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם בְּאֵשׁ עֶבְרָתִי וְנִתַּכְתֶּם בְּתוֹכָהּ׃ 36.25. וְזָרַקְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם מַיִם טְהוֹרִים וּטְהַרְתֶּם מִכֹּל טֻמְאוֹתֵיכֶם וּמִכָּל־גִּלּוּלֵיכֶם אֲטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם׃ 36.26. וְנָתַתִּי לָכֶם לֵב חָדָשׁ וְרוּחַ חֲדָשָׁה אֶתֵּן בְּקִרְבְּכֶם וַהֲסִרֹתִי אֶת־לֵב הָאֶבֶן מִבְּשַׂרְכֶם וְנָתַתִּי לָכֶם לֵב בָּשָׂר׃ 36.27. וְאֶת־רוּחִי אֶתֵּן בְּקִרְבְּכֶם וְעָשִׂיתִי אֵת אֲשֶׁר־בְּחֻקַּי תֵּלֵכוּ וּמִשְׁפָּטַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם׃ 37.9. וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי הִנָּבֵא אֶל־הָרוּחַ הִנָּבֵא בֶן־אָדָם וְאָמַרְתָּ אֶל־הָרוּחַ כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה מֵאַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת בֹּאִי הָרוּחַ וּפְחִי בַּהֲרוּגִים הָאֵלֶּה וְיִחְיוּ׃ | 22.20. As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in Mine anger and in My fury, and I will cast you in, and melt you." 22.21. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you with the fire of My wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof." 36.25. And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you." 36.26. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." 36.27. And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep Mine ordices, and do them." 37.9. Then said He unto me: ‘Prophesy unto the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’" |
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12. Hebrew Bible, Haggai, 1.9 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 1.9. פָּנֹה אֶל־הַרְבֵּה וְהִנֵּה לִמְעָט וַהֲבֵאתֶם הַבַּיִת וְנָפַחְתִּי בוֹ יַעַן מֶה נְאֻם יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת יַעַן בֵּיתִי אֲשֶׁר־הוּא חָרֵב וְאַתֶּם רָצִים אִישׁ לְבֵיתוֹ׃ | 1.9. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of My house that lieth waste, while ye run every man for his own house." |
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13. Plato, Apology of Socrates, 40c (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 40c. must be mistaken. A convincing proof of this been given me; for the accustomed sign would surely have opposed me if I had not been going to meet with something good.Let us consider in another way also how good reason there is to hope that it is a good thing. For the state of death is one of two things: either it is virtually nothingness, so that the dead has no consciousness of anything, or it is, as people say, a change and migration of the soul from this to another place. And if it is unconsciousness |
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14. Plato, Phaedo, 116b, 117b, 117c, 118a, 60b, 67a, 67b, 67c, 69c, 69d, 116a (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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15. Septuagint, Tobit, 6.9 (4th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 6.9. When they approached Ecbatana |
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16. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 7.7-7.10 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 7.7. After the first brother had died in this way, they brought forward the second for their sport. They tore off the skin of his head with the hair, and asked him, 'Will you eat rather than have your body punished limb by limb?' 7.8. He replied in the language of his fathers, and said to them, 'No.'Therefore he in turn underwent tortures as the first brother had done.' 7.9. And when he was at his last breath, he said, 'You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.' 7.10. After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands,' |
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17. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 15.11 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 15.11. because he failed to know the one who formed him and inspired him with an active soul and breathed into him a living spirit. |
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18. Philo of Alexandria, On The Creation of The World, 144 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 144. And who could these have been but rational divine natures, some of them incorporeal and perceptible only by intellect, and others not destitute of bodily substance, such in fact as the stars? And he who associated with and lived among them was naturally living in a state of unmixed happiness. And being akin and nearly related to the ruler of all, inasmuch as a great deal of the divine spirit had flowed into him, he was eager both to say and to do everything which might please his father and his king, following him step by step in the paths which the virtues prepare and make plain, as those in which those souls alone are permitted to proceed who consider the attaining a likeness to God who made them as the proper end of their existence. LI. |
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19. Vergil, Eclogues, 4.8-4.9, 4.24-4.25 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 4.8. justice returns, returns old Saturn's reign 4.9. with a new breed of men sent down from heaven. 4.24. her childish gifts, the gadding ivy-spray 4.25. with foxglove and Egyptian bean-flower mixed |
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20. Anon., The Life of Adam And Eve, 40.2 (1st cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
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21. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 17.149-17.164 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 17.149. 2. There was one Judas, the son of Saripheus, and Matthias, the son of Margalothus, two of the most eloquent men among the Jews, and the most celebrated interpreters of the Jewish laws, and men wellbeloved by the people, because of their education of their youth; for all those that were studious of virtue frequented their lectures every day. 17.151. for Herod had caused such things to be made which were contrary to the law, of which he was accused by Judas and Matthias; for the king had erected over the great gate of the temple a large golden eagle, of great value, and had dedicated it to the temple. Now the law forbids those that propose to live according to it, to erect images or representations of any living creature. 17.152. So these wise men persuaded [their scholars] to pull down the golden eagle; alleging, that although they should incur any danger, which might bring them to their deaths, the virtue of the action now proposed to them would appear much more advantageous to them than the pleasures of life; since they would die for the preservation and observation of the law of their fathers; since they would also acquire an everlasting fame and commendation; since they would be both commended by the present generation, and leave an example of life that would never be forgotten to posterity; 17.153. ince that common calamity of dying cannot be avoided by our living so as to escape any such dangers; that therefore it is a right thing for those who are in love with a virtuous conduct, to wait for that fatal hour by such behavior as may carry them out of the world with praise and honor; 17.154. and that this will alleviate death to a great degree, thus to come at it by the performance of brave actions, which bring us into danger of it; and at the same time to leave that reputation behind them to their children, and to all their relations, whether they be men or women, which will be of great advantage to them afterward. 17.155. 3. And with such discourses as this did these men excite the young men to this action; and a report being come to them that the king was dead, this was an addition to the wise men’s persuasions; so, in the very middle of the day, they got upon the place, they pulled down the eagle, and cut it into pieces with axes, while a great number of the people were in the temple. 17.156. And now the king’s captain, upon hearing what the undertaking was, and supposing it was a thing of a higher nature than it proved to be, came up thither, having a great band of soldiers with him, such as was sufficient to put a stop to the multitude of those who pulled down what was dedicated to God; so he fell upon them unexpectedly, and as they were upon this bold attempt, in a foolish presumption rather than a cautious circumspection, as is usual with the multitude, and while they were in disorder, and incautious of what was for their advantage; 17.157. o he caught no fewer than forty of the young men, who had the courage to stay behind when the rest ran away, together with the authors of this bold attempt, Judas and Matthias, who thought it an ignominious thing to retire upon his approach, and led them to the king. 17.158. And when they were come to the king, and he asked them if they had been so bold as to pull down what he had dedicated to God, “Yes, (said they,) what was contrived we contrived, and what hath been performed we performed it, and that with such a virtuous courage as becomes men; for we have given our assistance to those things which were dedicated to the majesty of God 17.159. and we have provided for what we have learned by hearing the law; and it ought not to be wondered at, if we esteem those laws which Moses had suggested to him, and were taught him by God, and which he wrote and left behind him, more worthy of observation than thy commands. Accordingly we will undergo death, and all sorts of punishments which thou canst inflict upon us, with pleasure, since we are conscious to ourselves that we shall die, not for any unrighteous actions, but for our love to religion.” 17.161. and when they were come, he made them assemble in the theater, and because he could not himself stand, he lay upon a couch, and enumerated the many labors that he had long endured on their account 17.162. and his building of the temple, and what a vast charge that was to him; while the Asamoneans, during the hundred and twenty-five years of their government, had not been able to perform any so great a work for the honor of God as that was; 17.163. that he had also adorned it with very valuable donations, on which account he hoped that he had left himself a memorial, and procured himself a reputation after his death. He then cried out, that these men had not abstained from affronting him, even in his lifetime, but that in the very day time, and in the sight of the multitude, they had abused him to that degree, as to fall upon what he had dedicated, and in that way of abuse had pulled it down to the ground. They pretended, indeed, that they did it to affront him; but if any one consider the thing truly, they will find that they were guilty of sacrilege against God therein. 17.164. 4. But the people, on account of Herod’s barbarous temper, and for fear he should be so cruel and to inflict punishment on them, said what was done was done without their approbation, and that it seemed to them that the actors might well be punished for what they had done. But as for Herod, he dealt more mildly with others [of the assembly] but he deprived Matthias of the high priesthood, as in part an occasion of this action, and made Joazar, who was Matthias’s wife’s brother, high priest in his stead. |
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22. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 1.648-1.655, 2.5-2.7 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.648. 2. There also now happened to him, among his other calamities, a certain popular sedition. There were two men of learning in the city [Jerusalem], who were thought the most skillful in the laws of their country, and were on that account held in very great esteem all over the nation; they were, the one Judas, the son of Sepphoris, and the other Matthias, the son of Margalus. 1.649. There was a great concourse of the young men to these men when they expounded the laws, and there got together every day a kind of an army of such as were growing up to be men. Now when these men were informed that the king was wearing away with melancholy, and with a distemper, they dropped words to their acquaintance, how it was now a very proper time to defend the cause of God, and to pull down what had been erected contrary to the laws of their country; 1.651. 3. At the same time that these men made this speech to their disciples, a rumor was spread abroad that the king was dying, which made the young men set about the work with greater boldness; they therefore let themselves down from the top of the temple with thick cords, and this at midday, and while a great number of people were in the temple, and cut down that golden eagle with axes. 1.652. This was presently told to the king’s captain of the temple, who came running with a great body of soldiers, and caught about forty of the young men, and brought them to the king. 1.653. And when he asked them, first of all, whether they had been so hardy as to cut down the golden eagle, they confessed they had done so; and when he asked them by whose command they had done it, they replied, at the command of the law of their country; and when he further asked them how they could be so joyful when they were to be put to death, they replied, because they should enjoy greater happiness after they were dead. 1.654. 4. At this the king was in such an extravagant passion, that he overcame his disease [for the time], and went out and spake to the people; wherein he made a terrible accusation against those men, as being guilty of sacrilege, and as making greater attempts under pretense of their law, and he thought they deserved to be punished as impious persons. 1.655. Whereupon the people were afraid lest a great number should be found guilty and desired that when he had first punished those that put them upon this work, and then those that were caught in it, he would leave off his anger as to the rest. With this the king complied, though not without difficulty, and ordered those that had let themselves down, together with their Rabbins, to be burnt alive, but delivered the rest that were caught to the proper officers to be put to death by them. 2.5. And here it was that a great many of those that desired innovations came in crowds towards the evening, and began then to mourn on their own account, when the public mourning for the king was over. These lamented those that were put to death by Herod, because they had cut down the golden eagle that had been over the gate of the temple. 2.5. but so many of them as crept out from the walls, and came upon the Romans, were easily mastered by them, by reason of the astonishment they were under; until at last some of the Jews being destroyed, and others dispersed by the terror they were in, the soldiers fell upon the treasure of God, which was now deserted, and plundered about four hundred talents, of which sum Sabinus got together all that was not carried away by the soldiers. 2.5. o he took out of Antioch the twelfth legion entire, and out of each of the rest he selected two thousand, with six cohorts of footmen, and four troops of horsemen, besides those auxiliaries which were sent by the kings; of which Antiochus sent two thousand horsemen, and three thousand footmen, with as many archers; and Agrippa sent the same number of footmen, and one thousand of horsemen; 2.6. Nor was this mourning of a private nature, but the lamentations were very great, the mourning solemn, and the weeping such as was loudly heard all over the city, as being for those men who had perished for the laws of their country, and for the temple. 2.6. 3. At this time it was that a certain shepherd ventured to set himself up for a king; he was called Athrongeus. It was his strength of body that made him expect such a dignity, as well as his soul, which despised death; and besides these qualifications, he had four brethren like himself. 2.6. Then it was that Josephus’s friends, and the guards of his body, were so affrighted at this violent assault of the multitude, that they all fled away but four; and as he was asleep, they awakened him, as the people were going to set fire to the house. 2.7. They cried out that a punishment ought to be inflicted for these men upon those that were honored by Herod; and that, in the first place, the man whom he had made high priest should be deprived; and that it was fit to choose a person of greater piety and purity than he was. 2.7. He thence marched on to the village Sampho, another fortified place, which they plundered, as they had done the other. As they carried off all the money they lighted upon belonging to the public revenues, all was now full of fire and bloodshed, and nothing could resist the plunders of the Arabians. |
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23. New Testament, 1 John, 1.8-1.9, 2.8, 3.9, 5.16-5.18 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1.9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 2.8. Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines. 3.9. Whoever is born of God doesn't commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he can't sin, because he is born of God. 5.16. If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don't say that he should make a request concerning this. 5.17. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. 5.18. We know that whoever is born of God doesn't sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn't touch him. |
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24. New Testament, 1 Peter, 3.19, 5.13 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.19. in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison 5.13. She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark, my son. |
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25. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, a b c d\n0 "15.49" "15.49" "15 49"\n1 1.27 1.27 1 27 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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26. New Testament, Acts, 1.15-1.26, 2.1-2.13, 5.6, 6.3, 6.5, 7.55, 9.4, 12.12 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 1.15. In these days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (and the number of names was about one hundred twenty), and said 1.16. Brothers, it was necessary that this Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus. 1.17. For he was numbered with us, and received his portion in this ministry. 1.18. Now this man obtained a field with the reward for his wickedness, and falling headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines gushed out. 1.19. It became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem that in their language that field was called 'Akeldama,' that is, 'The field of blood.' 1.20. For it is written in the book of Psalms, 'Let his habitation be made desolate, Let no one dwell therein,' and, 'Let another take his office.' 1.21. of the men therefore who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us 1.22. beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his resurrection. 1.23. They put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 1.24. They prayed, and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen 1.25. to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place. 1.26. They drew lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. 2.1. Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2.2. Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 2.3. Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and it sat on each one of them. 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. 2.5. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. 2.6. When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. 2.7. They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Behold, aren't all these who speak Galileans? 2.8. How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? 2.9. Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia 2.10. Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes 2.11. Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God! 2.12. They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, "What does this mean? 2.13. Others, mocking, said, "They are filled with new wine. 5.6. The young men arose and wrapped him up, and they carried him out and buried him. 6.3. Therefore select from among you, brothers, seven men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 6.5. These words pleased the whole multitude. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch; 7.55. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God 9.4. He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 12.12. Thinking about that, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. |
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27. New Testament, Colossians, 2.14-2.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.14. having wiped out the handwriting in ordices that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; 2.15. having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. |
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28. New Testament, Ephesians, 1.20-1.21, 2.2, 2.14-2.16, 2.20, 3.4, 4.3, 4.8-4.10, 6.12, 6.14, 6.16-6.17 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.20. which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places 1.21. far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. 2.2. in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience; 2.14. For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition 2.15. having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordices, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; 2.16. and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. 2.20. being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; 3.4. by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; 4.3. being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4.8. Therefore he says, "When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. 4.9. Now this, "He ascended," what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 4.10. He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. 6.12. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 6.14. Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness 6.16. above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 6.17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; |
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29. New Testament, Hebrews, 5.8 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 5.8. though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered. |
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30. New Testament, Philippians, 2.6-2.10 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.6. who, existing in the form of God, didn't consider it robbery to be equal with God 2.7. but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 2.8. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. 2.9. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name; 2.10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth |
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31. New Testament, John, 1.9, 1.32, 1.33, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 2.22, 3.4, 3.5, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, 4, 4.8, 4.14, 4.19, 4.29, 4.34, 4.42, 5, 5.5, 5.21, 5.30, 5.46, 6, 6.32, 6.33, 6.34, 6.35, 6.38, 6.39, 6.40, 6.41, 6.51, 6.52, 6.55, 7.36, 7.37, 7.53-8.11, 8.6, 8.8, 8.48, 8.49, 10.17, 10.18, 10.20, 10.21, 11, 11.25, 11.26, 11.33, 11.44, 12.12, 12.13, 12.14, 12.15, 12.27, 12.35, 12.36, 13.10, 13.11, 13.21, 13.37, 14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.18, 14.27, 15.3, 15.13, 17, 17.4, 17.5, 17.22, 17.23, 17.24, 17.25, 17.26, 17.29, 18, 18.19, 18.20, 18.21, 18.22, 18.23, 18.24, 18.28, 18.29, 18.30, 18.31, 18.32, 18.33, 18.34, 18.35, 18.36, 18.37, 18.38, 19, 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 19.5, 19.7, 19.8, 19.9, 19.10, 19.11, 19.12, 19.13, 19.14, 19.15, 19.16, 19.18, 19.19, 19.20, 19.21, 19.22, 19.23, 19.24, 19.25, 19.26, 19.27, 19.28, 19.29, 19.31, 19.32, 19.33, 19.34, 19.35, 19.36, 19.40, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5, 20.6, 20.7, 20.8, 20.9, 20.11, 20.12, 20.13, 20.14, 20.15, 20.16, 20.17, 20.18, 20.19, 20.20, 20.21, 20.22, 20.23, 20.24, 20.25, 20.26, 20.27, 20.28, 20.29, 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 21.5, 21.6, 21.7, 21.8, 21.9, 21.10, 21.11, 21.12, 21.13, 21.14, 21.15, 21.16, 21.17, 21.18, 21.19, 21.25 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.32. John testified, saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. |
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32. New Testament, Luke, 3.21-3.22, 9.58, 13.16, 21.38, 22.63-22.70, 23.36, 23.43, 23.46, 23.53, 24.12 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.21. Now it happened, when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened 3.22. and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying "You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased. 9.58. Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. 13.16. Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day? 21.38. All the people came early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him. 22.63. The men who held Jesus mocked him and beat him. 22.64. Having blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck you? 22.65. They spoke many other things against him, insulting him. 22.66. As soon as it was day, the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away into their council, saying 22.67. If you are the Christ, tell us."But he said to them, "If I tell you, you won't believe 22.68. and if I ask, you will in no way answer me or let me go. 22.69. From now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. 22.70. They all said, "Are you then the Son of God?"He said to them, "You say it, because I AM. 23.36. The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar 23.43. Jesus said to him, "Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise. 23.46. Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" Having said this, he breathed his last. 23.53. He took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid. 24.12. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping and looking in, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he departed to his home, wondering what had happened. |
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33. New Testament, Mark, 1.10-1.11, 3.27, 4.37-4.38, 5.3, 6.7-6.13, 11.4, 15.23, 15.33-15.34, 15.37, 15.46 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.10. Immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens parting, and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 1.11. A voice came out of the sky, "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 3.27. But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder, unless he first binds the strong man; and then he will plunder his house. 4.37. There arose a great wind storm, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled. 4.38. He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, "Teacher, don't you care that we are dying? 5.3. who had his dwelling in the tombs. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains 6.7. He called to himself the twelve, and began to send them out two by two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 6.8. He charged them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse 6.9. but to wear sandals, and not put on two tunics. 6.10. He said to them, "Wherever you enter into a house, stay there until you depart from there. 6.11. Whoever will not receive you nor hear you, as you depart from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony against them. Assuredly, I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! 6.12. They went out and preached that people should repent. 6.13. They cast out many demons, and anointed many with oil who were sick, and healed them. 11.4. They went away, and found a colt tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him. 15.23. They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he didn't take it. 15.33. When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 15.34. At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is, being interpreted, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 15.37. Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit. 15.46. He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. |
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34. New Testament, Matthew, 3.16-3.17, 4.10, 6.11-6.13, 6.25-6.34, 7.29, 8.11-8.12, 8.20, 12.29, 14.3, 16.19, 17.20, 18.18, 19.28, 20.23, 21.2, 21.32, 22.13, 23.23, 23.28, 24.51, 26.67, 27.27-27.31, 27.45-27.46, 27.50-27.52, 27.59, 28.19-28.20 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.16. Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. 3.17. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. 4.10. Then Jesus said to him, "Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.' 6.11. Give us today our daily bread. 6.12. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 6.13. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.' 6.25. Therefore, I tell you, don't be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 6.26. See the birds of the sky, that they don't sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you of much more value than they? 6.27. Which of you, by being anxious, can add one cubit to the measure of his life? 6.28. Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don't toil, neither do they spin 6.29. yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. 6.30. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won't he much more clothe you, you of little faith? 6.31. Therefore don't be anxious, saying, 'What will we eat?', 'What will we drink?' or, 'With what will we be clothed?' 6.32. For the Gentiles seek after all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 6.33. But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. 6.34. Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day's own evil is sufficient. 7.29. for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes. 8.11. I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven 8.12. but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 8.20. Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. 12.29. Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man, and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house. 14.3. For Herod had laid hold of John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. 16.19. I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 17.20. He said to them, "Because of your unbelief. For most assuredly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 18.18. Most assuredly I tell you, whatever things you will bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever things you will loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19.28. Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 20.23. He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it is for whom it has been prepared by my Father. 21.2. saying to them, "Go into the village that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them, and bring them to me. 21.32. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn't believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. When you saw it, you didn't even repent afterward, that you might believe him. 22.13. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness; there is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.' 23.23. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 23.28. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 24.51. and will cut him in pieces, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites; there is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be. 26.67. Then they spit in his face and beat him with their fists, and some slapped him 27.27. Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered the whole garrison together against him. 27.28. They stripped him, and put a scarlet robe on him. 27.29. They braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews! 27.30. They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. 27.31. When they had mocked him, they took the robe off of him, and put his clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him. 27.45. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 27.46. About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 27.50. Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. 27.51. Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. 27.52. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 27.59. Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 28.19. Go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit 28.20. teaching them to observe all things which I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. |
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35. Anon., Marytrdom of Polycarp, 18.2 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 18.2. 2 Thus we, at last, took up his bones, more precious than precious stones, and finer than gold, and put them where it was meet. |
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36. Irenaeus, Refutation of All Heresies, 1.2.2-1.2.5, 1.4.1, 1.5.4, 1.21.3, 4.2.3, 6.32.5 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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37. Irenaeus, Demonstration of The Apostolic Teaching, 41, 89, 12 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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38. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, 61b (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 61b. ריאה שואבת כל מיני משקין כבד כועס מרה זורקת בו טפה ומניחתו טחול שוחק קרקבן טוחן קיבה ישנה אף נעור נעור הישן ישן הנעור נמוק והולך לו תנא אם שניהם ישנים או שניהם נעורים מיד מת,תניא רבי יוסי הגלילי אומר צדיקים יצר טוב שופטן שנאמר (תהלים קט, כב) ולבי חלל בקרבי רשעים יצר רע שופטן שנאמר (תהלים לו, ב) נאם פשע לרשע בקרב לבי אין פחד אלהים לנגד עיניו בינונים זה וזה שופטן שנאמר (תהלים קט, לא) יעמוד לימין אביון להושיע משופטי נפשו,אמר רבא כגון אנו בינונים אמר ליה אביי לא שביק מר חיי לכל בריה,ואמר רבא לא איברי עלמא אלא לרשיעי גמורי או לצדיקי גמורי אמר רבא לידע אינש בנפשיה אם צדיק גמור הוא אם לאו אמר רב לא איברי עלמא אלא לאחאב בן עמרי ולר' חנינא בן דוסא לאחאב בן עמרי העולם הזה ולרבי חנינא בן דוסא העולם הבא:,ואהבת את י"י אלהיך: תניא ר' אליעזר אומר אם נאמר בכל נפשך למה נאמר בכל מאדך ואם נאמר בכל מאדך למה נאמר בכל נפשך אלא אם יש לך אדם שגופו חביב עליו מממונו לכך נאמר בכל נפשך ואם יש לך אדם שממונו חביב עליו מגופו לכך נאמר בכל מאדך רבי עקיבא אומר בכל נפשך אפילו נוטל את נפשך,תנו רבנן פעם אחת גזרה מלכות הרשעה שלא יעסקו ישראל בתורה בא פפוס בן יהודה ומצאו לרבי עקיבא שהיה מקהיל קהלות ברבים ועוסק בתורה אמר ליה עקיבא אי אתה מתירא מפני מלכות,אמר לו אמשול לך משל למה הדבר דומה לשועל שהיה מהלך על גב הנהר וראה דגים שהיו מתקבצים ממקום למקום אמר להם מפני מה אתם בורחים אמרו לו מפני רשתות שמביאין עלינו בני אדם אמר להם רצונכם שתעלו ליבשה ונדור אני ואתם כשם שדרו אבותי עם אבותיכם אמרו לו אתה הוא שאומרים עליך פקח שבחיות לא פקח אתה אלא טפש אתה ומה במקום חיותנו אנו מתיראין במקום מיתתנו על אחת כמה וכמה אף אנחנו עכשיו שאנו יושבים ועוסקים בתורה שכתוב בה (דברים ל, כ) כי הוא חייך ואורך ימיך כך אם אנו הולכים ומבטלים ממנה עאכ"ו,אמרו לא היו ימים מועטים עד שתפסוהו לר"ע וחבשוהו בבית האסורים ותפסו לפפוס בן יהודה וחבשוהו אצלו אמר לו פפוס מי הביאך לכאן אמר ליה אשריך רבי עקיבא שנתפסת על דברי תורה אוי לו לפפוס שנתפס על דברים בטלים,בשעה שהוציאו את ר' עקיבא להריגה זמן ק"ש היה והיו סורקים את בשרו במסרקות של ברזל והיה מקבל עליו עול מלכות שמים אמרו לו תלמידיו רבינו עד כאן אמר להם כל ימי הייתי מצטער על פסוק זה בכל נפשך אפילו נוטל את נשמתך אמרתי מתי יבא לידי ואקיימנו ועכשיו שבא לידי לא אקיימנו היה מאריך באחד עד שיצתה נשמתו באחד יצתה ב"ק ואמרה אשריך ר"ע שיצאה נשמתך באחד,אמרו מלאכי השרת לפני הקב"ה זו תורה וזו שכרה (תהלים יז, יד) ממתים ידך י"י ממתים וגו' אמר להם חלקם בחיים יצתה בת קול ואמרה אשריך ר"ע שאתה מזומן לחיי העוה"ב:,לא יקל אדם את ראשו כנגד שער המזרח שהוא מכוון כנגד בית קדשי הקדשים וכו': אמר רב יהודה אמר רב לא אמרו אלא מן הצופים ולפנים וברואה איתמר נמי א"ר אבא בריה דרבי חייא בר אבא הכי אמר רבי יוחנן לא אמרו אלא מן הצופים ולפנים וברואה ובשאין גדר ובזמן שהשכינה שורה,ת"ר הנפנה ביהודה לא יפנה מזרח ומערב אלא צפון ודרום ובגליל לא יפנה אלא מזרח ומערב ורבי יוסי מתיר שהיה ר' יוסי אומר לא אסרו אלא ברואה ובמקום שאין שם גדר ובזמן שהשכינה שורה וחכמים אוסרים,חכמים היינו ת"ק איכא בינייהו צדדין,תניא אידך הנפנה ביהודה לא יפנה מזרח ומערב אלא צפון ודרום ובגליל צפון ודרום אסור מזרח ומערב מותר ורבי יוסי מתיר שהיה רבי יוסי אומר לא אסרו אלא ברואה רבי יהודה אומר בזמן שבית המקדש קיים אסור בזמן שאין בית המקדש קיים מותר רבי עקיבא אוסר בכל מקום,רבי עקיבא היינו ת"ק איכא בינייהו חוץ לארץ,רבה הוו שדיין ליה לבני מזרח ומערב אזל אביי שדנהו צפון ודרום על רבה תרצנהו אמר מאן האי דקמצער לי אנא כר' עקיבא סבירא לי דאמר בכל מקום אסור: | 61b. and the blungs draw all kinds of liquids,the bliver becomes angry,the bgallbladder binjects a dropof gall bintothe liver and ballaysanger, the bspleen laughs,the bmaw grindsthe food, and the bstomachbrings bsleep,the bnose awakens.If they reversed roles such that btheorgan which brings on bsleepwere to bawaken,or btheorgan which bawakenswere to bring on bsleep,the individual bwould gradually deteriorate. It was taught: If bothbring on bsleep or both awaken,the person bimmediately dies. /b,With regard to one’s inclinations, bit was taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Yosei HaGelili says: The good inclination rules the righteous, as it is stated: “And my heart is dead within me”(Psalms 109:22); the evil inclination has been completely banished from his heart. The bevil inclination rules the wicked, as it is stated: “Transgression speaks to the wicked, there is no fear of God before his eyes”(Psalms 36:2). bMiddling people are ruled by boththe good and evil inclinations, bas it is stated: “Because He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save him from them that rule his soul”(Psalms 109:31)., bRabba said:People blike usare bmiddling. Abaye,his student and nephew, bsaid to him:If bthe Masterclaims that he is merely middling, he bdoes not leaveroom for bany creature to live.If a person like you is middling, what of the rest of us?, bAnd Rava said: The world was created only forthe sake of bthe full-fledged wicked or the full-fledged righteous;others do not live complete lives in either world. bRava said: One should know of himself whether or not he is completely righteous,as if he is not completely righteous, he knows that his life will be a life of suffering. bRav said: The world was only created forthe wicked bAhab ben Omri and for Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa.The Gemara explains: For bAhab ben Omri, this worldwas created, as he has no place in the World-to-Come, bandfor bRabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa, the World-to-Comewas created.,We learned in our mishna the explanation of the verse: b“And you shall love the Lord your Godwith all your heart and all your soul and all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). This was elaborated upon when bit was taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRabbi Eliezer says: If it is stated: “With all your soul,” why does it state: “With all your might”?Conversely, bif it stated: “With all your might,” why does it state: “With all your soul”? Rather,this means that bif one’s body is dearer to him than his property, therefore it is stated: “With all your soul”;one must give his soul in sanctification of God. bAnd if one’s money is dearer to him than his body, therefore it is stated: “With all your might”;with all your assets. bRabbi Akiva says: “With all your soul”means: bEven ifGod btakes your soul. /b,The Gemara relates at length how Rabbi Akiva fulfilled these directives. bThe Sages taught: One time,after the bar Kokheva rebellion, bthe evil empireof Rome bdecreed that Israel may not engage inthe study and practice of bTorah. Pappos ben Yehuda came and found Rabbi Akiva, who was convening assemblies in public and engaging in Torahstudy. Pappos bsaid to him: Akiva, are you not afraid of the empire? /b,Rabbi Akiva banswered him: I will relate a parable. To what can this be compared?It is like ba fox walking along a riverbank when he sees fish gatheringand fleeing bfrom place to place. brThe fox bsaid to them: From what are you fleeing? br bThey said to him:We are fleeing bfrom the nets that people cast upon us. br bHe said to them: Do you wish to come up onto dry land, and we will reside together just as my ancestors resided with your ancestors? brThe fish bsaid to him: You are the one of whom they say, he is the cleverest of animals? You are not clever; you are a fool. If we are afraid inthe water, bournatural bhabitatwhich gives us blife,then bin a habitatthat causes our bdeath, all the more so. brThe moral is: bSo too, weJews, bnow that we sit and engage in Torahstudy, babout which it is written: “For that is your life, and the length of your days”(Deuteronomy 30:20), we fear the empire bto this extent; if we proceed tosit bidle from itsstudy, as its abandonment is the habitat that causes our death, ball the more sowill we fear the empire.,The Sages bsaid: Not a few days passed until they seized Rabbi Akiva and incarcerated him in prison, and seized Pappos ben Yehuda and incarcerated him alongside him.Rabbi Akiva bsaid to him: Pappos, who brought you here?Pappos breplied: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, for you were arrested onthe charge of engaging in bTorahstudy. bWoe unto Pappos who was seized onthe charge of engaging in bidle matters. /b,The Gemara relates: bWhen they took Rabbi Akiva out to be executed, it was time for the recitation of iShema /i. And they were raking his flesh with iron combs, and he wasreciting iShema /i, thereby baccepting upon himself the yoke of Heaven. His students said to him: Our teacher, even now,as you suffer, you recite iShema /i? bHe said to them: All my days I have been troubled by the verse: With all your soul,meaning: bEven if God takes your soul. I saidto myself: bWhen will theopportunity bbe afforded me to fulfill thisverse? bNow that it has been afforded me, shall I not fulfill it? He prolongedhis uttering of the word: bOne, until his soul lefthis body as he uttered his final word: bOne. A voice descendedfrom heaven band said: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, that your soul leftyour body basyou uttered: bOne. /b, bThe ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: This is Torah and this its reward?As it is stated: b“From death, by Your hand, O Lord, from deathof the world” (Psalms 17:14); Your hand, God, kills and does not save. God bsaidthe end of the verse btothe ministering angels: b“Whose portion is in this life.”And then ba Divine Voice emerged and said: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, as you are destined for life in the World-to-Come,as your portion is already in eternal life.,We learned in the mishna that bone may not act irreverently opposite the Eastern Gate, which is aligned with the Holy of Holies.Limiting this ihalakha /i, bRav Yehuda saidthat bRav said: They only saidthis ihalakhawith regard to irreverent behavior bfromMount bScopus [ iTzofim /i] and within, andspecifically areas from where bone can seethe Temple. bIt is also stated: Rabbi Abba, son of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, said: Rabbi Yoḥa said the following: They only saidthis ihalakhawith regard to Mount bScopus and within,when bone can see, and when there is no fenceobstructing his view, band when the Divine Presence is restingthere, i.e., when the Temple is standing.,In this context, bthe Sages taught: One who defecates in Judea should not defecatewhen facing beast and west,for then he is facing Jerusalem; bratherhe should do so bfacing north and south. But in the Galileewhich is north of Jerusalem, bone should only defecatefacing beast and west. Rabbi Yosei permitsdoing so, bas Rabbi Yosei was wont to say: They only prohibiteddoing so when bone can seethe Temple, bwhere there is no fence, and when the Divine Presence is restingthere. bAnd the Rabbis prohibitdoing so.,The Gemara argues: But the opinion of the bRabbis,who prohibit this, bisidentical to that of the bfirstanonymous itanna, /iwho also prohibits doing so. The Gemara replies: The practical difference bbetween them iswith regard to bthe sides,i.e., a place in Judea that is not directly east or west of Jerusalem, or a place in the Galilee that is not directly north of Jerusalem. According to the first itanna /i, it is prohibited; according to the Rabbis, it is permitted., bIt was taughtin banother ibaraita /i: bOne who defecates in Judea should not defecatewhen facing beast and west; rather,he should only do so facing bnorth and south. And in the Galilee,defecating while facing bnorth and south is prohibited,while beast and west is permitted. And Rabbi Yosei permitteddoing so, bas Rabbi Yosei was wont to say: They only prohibiteddoing so when bone can seethe Temple. bRabbi Yehuda says: When the Temple is standing, it is prohibited,but bwhen the Temple is not standing, it is permitted.The Gemara adds that bRabbi Akiva prohibitsdefecating banywherewhile facing east and west.,The Gemara challenges this: bRabbi Akiva’sposition bis identical tothat of bthe first,anonymous itanna /i,who also prohibits doing so. The Gemara responds: The practical difference bbetween themis with regard to places boutside of EretzYisrael b,as according to Rabbi Akiva, even outside of Eretz Yisrael, defecating while facing east and west is prohibited.,The Gemara relates that in bRabba’sbathroom, bthe bricks were placed east and westin order to ensure that he would defecate facing north and south. bAbaye wentand bplaced them north and south,to test if Rabba was particular about their direction or if they had simply been placed east and west incidentally. bRabba enteredand bfixed them. He said: Who is the one that is upsetting me? I hold in accordance withthe opinion of bRabbi Akiva,who bsaid: It is prohibited everywhere. /b |
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39. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, 2.15.1 (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
| 2.15.1. And thus when the divine word had made its home among them, the power of Simon was quenched and immediately destroyed, together with the man himself. And so greatly did the splendor of piety illumine the minds of Peter's hearers that they were not satisfied with hearing once only, and were not content with the unwritten teaching of the divine Gospel, but with all sorts of entreaties they besought Mark, a follower of Peter, and the one whose Gospel is extant, that he would leave them a written monument of the doctrine which had been orally communicated to them. Nor did they cease until they had prevailed with the man, and had thus become the occasion of the written Gospel which bears the name of Mark. |
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40. Nag Hammadi, The Tripartite Tractate, 128.27-128.28, 128.30 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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41. Augustine, The City of God, 18.13-18.16, 18.18, 18.21-18.23 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
| 18.14. During the same period of time arose the poets, who were also called theologues, because they made hymns about the gods; yet about such gods as, although great men, were yet but men, or the elements of this world which the true God made, or creatures who were ordained as principalities and powers according to the will of the Creator and their own merit. And if, among much that was vain and false, they sang anything of the one true God, yet, by worshipping Him along with others who are not gods, and showing them the service that is due to Him alone, they did not serve Him at all rightly; and even such poets as Orpheus, Mus us, and Linus, were unable to abstain from dishonoring their gods by fables. But yet these theologues worshipped the gods, and were not worshipped as gods, although the city of the ungodly is wont, I know not how, to set Orpheus over the sacred, or rather sacrilegious, rites of hell. The wife of king Athamas, who was called Ino, and her son Melicertes, perished by throwing themselves into the sea, and were, according to popular belief, reckoned among the gods, like other men of the same times, [among whom were] Castor and Pollux. The Greeks, indeed, called her who was the mother of Melicertes, Leucothea, the Latins, Matuta; but both thought her a goddess. 18.15. During those times the kingdom of Argos came to an end; being transferred to Mycene, from which Agamemnon came, and the kingdom of Laurentum arose, of which Picus son of Saturn was the first king, when the woman Deborah judged the Hebrews; but it was the Spirit of God who used her as His agent, for she was also a prophetess, although her prophecy is so obscure that we could not demonstrate, without a long discussion, that it was uttered concerning Christ. Now the Laurentes already reigned in Italy, from whom the origin of the Roman people is quite evidently derived after the Greeks; yet the kingdom of Assyria still lasted, in which Lampares was the twenty-third king when Picus first began to reign at Laurentum. The worshippers of such gods may see what they are to think of Saturn the father of Picus, who deny that he was a man; of whom some also have written that he himself reigned in Italy before Picus his son; and Virgil in his well-known book says, That race indocile, and through mountains high Dispersed, he settled, and endowed with laws, And named their country Latium, because Latent within their coasts he dwelt secure. Tradition says the golden ages pure Began when he was king. But they regard these as poetic fancies, and assert that the father of Picus was Sterces rather, and relate that, being a most skillful husbandman, he discovered that the fields could be fertilized by the dung of animals, which is called stercus from his name. Some say he was called Stercutius. But for whatever reason they chose to call him Saturn, it is yet certain they made this Sterces or Stercutius a god for his merit in agriculture; and they likewise received into the number of these gods Picus his son, whom they affirm to have been a famous augur and warrior. Picus begot Faunus, the second king of Laurentum; and he too is, or was, a god with them. These divine honors they gave to dead men before the Trojan War. 18.16. Troy was overthrown, and its destruction was everywhere sung and made well known even to boys; for it was signally published and spread abroad, both by its own greatness and by writers of excellent style. And this was done in the reign of Latinus the son of Faunus, from whom the kingdom began to be called Latium instead of Laurentum. The victorious Greeks, on leaving Troy destroyed and returning to their own countries, were torn and crushed by various and horrible calamities. Yet even from among them they increased the number of their gods for they made Diomede a god. They allege that his return home was prevented by a divinely imposed punishment, and they prove, not by fabulous and poetic falsehood, but by historic attestation, that his companions were turned into birds. Yet they think that, even although he was made a god, he could neither restore them to the human form by his own power, nor yet obtain it from Jupiter his king, as a favor granted to a new inhabitant of heaven. They also say that his temple is in the island of Diomed a, not far from Mount Garganus in Apulia, and that these birds fly round about this temple, and worship in it with such wonderful obedience, that they fill their beaks with water and sprinkle it; and if Greeks, or those born of the Greek race, come there, they are not only still, but fly to meet them; but if they are foreigners, they fly up at their heads, and wound them with such severe strokes as even to kill them. For they are said to be well enough armed for these combats with their hard and large beaks. 18.18. Perhaps our readers expect us to say something about this so great delusion wrought by the demons; and what shall we say but that men must fly out of the midst of Babylon? Isaiah 48:20 For this prophetic precept is to be understood spiritually in this sense, that by going forward in the living God, by the steps of faith, which works by love, we must flee out of the city of this world, which is altogether a society of ungodly angels and men. Yea, the greater we see the power of the demons to be in these depths, so much the more tenaciously must we cleave to the Mediator through whom we ascend from these lowest to the highest places. For if we should say these things are not to be credited, there are not wanting even now some who would affirm that they had either heard on the best authority, or even themselves experienced, something of that kind. Indeed we ourselves, when in Italy, heard such things about a certain region there where landladies of inns, imbued with these wicked arts, were said to be in the habit of giving to such travellers as they chose, or could manage, something in a piece of cheese by which they were changed on the spot into beasts of burden, and carried whatever was necessary, and were restored to their own form when the work was done. Yet their mind did not become bestial, but remained rational and human, just as Apuleius, in the books he wrote with the title of The Golden Ass, has told, or feigned, that it happened to his own self that, on taking poison, he became an ass, while retaining his human mind. These things are either false, or so extraordinary as to be with good reason disbelieved. But it is to be most firmly believed that Almighty God can do whatever He pleases, whether in punishing or favoring, and that the demons can accomplish nothing by their natural power (for their created being is itself angelic, although made malign by their own fault), except what He may permit, whose judgments are often hidden, but never unrighteous. And indeed the demons, if they really do such things as these on which this discussion turns, do not create real substances, but only change the appearance of things created by the true God so as to make them seem to be what they are not. I cannot therefore believe that even the body, much less the mind, can really be changed into bestial forms and lineaments by any reason, art, or power of the demons; but the phantasm of a man which even in thought or dreams goes through innumerable changes may, when the man's senses are laid asleep or overpowered, be presented to the senses of others in a corporeal form, in some indescribable way unknown to me, so that men's bodies themselves may lie somewhere, alive, indeed, yet with their senses locked up much more heavily and firmly than by sleep, while that phantasm, as it were embodied in the shape of some animal, may appear to the senses of others, and may even seem to the man himself to be changed, just as he may seem to himself in sleep to be so changed, and to bear burdens; and these burdens, if they are real substances, are borne by the demons, that men may be deceived by beholding at the same time the real substance of the burdens and the simulated bodies of the beasts of burden. For a certain man called Pr stantius used to tell that it had happened to his father in his own house, that he took that poison in a piece of cheese, and lay in his bed as if sleeping, yet could by no means be aroused. But he said that after a few days he as it were woke up and related the things he had suffered as if they had been dreams, namely, that he had been made a sumpter horse, and, along with other beasts of burden, had carried provisions for the soldiers of what is called the Rhœtian Legion, because it was sent to Rhœtia. And all this was found to have taken place just as he told, yet it had seemed to him to be his own dream. And another man declared that in his own house at night, before he slept, he saw a certain philosopher, whom he knew very well, come to him and explain to him some things in the Platonic philosophy which he had previously declined to explain when asked. And when he had asked this philosopher why he did in his house what he had refused to do at home, he said, I did not do it, but I dreamed I had done it. And thus what the one saw when sleeping was shown to the other when awake by a phantasmal image. These things have not come to us from persons we might deem unworthy of credit, but from informants we could not suppose to be deceiving us. Therefore what men say and have committed to writing about the Arcadians being often changed into wolves by the Arcadian gods, or demons rather, and what is told in song about Circe transforming the companions of Ulysses, if they were really done, may, in my opinion, have been done in the way I have said. As for Diomede's birds, since their race is alleged to have been perpetuated by constant propagation, I believe they were not made through the metamorphosis of men, but were slyly substituted for them on their removal, just as the hind was for Iphigenia, the daughter of king Agamemnon. For juggleries of this kind could not be difficult for the demons if permitted by the judgment of God; and since that virgin was afterwards, found alive it is easy to see that a hind had been slyly substituted for her. But because the companions of Diomede were of a sudden nowhere to be seen, and afterwards could nowhere be found, being destroyed by bad avenging angels, they were believed to have been changed into those birds, which were secretly brought there from other places where such birds were, and suddenly substituted for them by fraud. But that they bring water in their beaks and sprinkle it on the temple of Diomede, and that they fawn on men of Greek race and persecute aliens, is no wonderful thing to be done by the inward influence of the demons, whose interest it is to persuade men that Diomede was made a god, and thus to beguile them into worshipping many false gods, to the great dishonor of the true God; and to serve dead men, who even in their lifetime did not truly live, with temples, altars, sacrifices, and priests, all which, when of the right kind, are due only to the one living and true God. 18.21. After Æneas, whom they deified, Latium had eleven kings, none of whom was deified. But Aventinus, who was the twelfth after Æneas, having been laid low in war, and buried in that hill still called by his name, was added to the number of such gods as they made for themselves. Some, indeed, were unwilling to write that he was slain in battle, but said he was nowhere to be found, and that it was not from his name, but from the alighting of birds, that hill was called Aventinus. After this no god was made in Latium except Romulus the founder of Rome. But two kings are found between these two, the first of whom I shall describe in the Virgilian verse: Next came that Procas, glory of the Trojan race. That greatest of all kingdoms, the Assyrian, had its long duration brought to a close in his time, the time of Rome's birth drawing near. For the Assyrian empire was transferred to the Medes after nearly thirteen hundred and five years, if we include the reign of Belus, who begot Ninus, and, content with a small kingdom, was the first king there. Now Procas reigned before Amulius. And Amulius had made his brother Numitor's daughter, Rhea by name, who was also called Ilia, a vestal virgin, who conceived twin sons by Mars, as they will have it, in that way honoring or excusing her adultery, adding as a proof that a she-wolf nursed the infants when exposed. For they think this kind of beast belongs to Mars so that the she-wolf is believed to have given her teats to the infants, because she knew they were the sons of Mars her lord; although there are not wanting persons who say that when the crying babes lay exposed, they were first of all picked up by I know not what harlot, and sucked her breasts first (now harlots were called lup, she-wolves, from which their vile abodes are even yet called lupanaria), and that afterwards they came into the hands of the shepherd Faustulus, and were nursed by Acca his wife. Yet what wonder is it, if, to rebuke the king who had cruelly ordered them to be thrown into the water, God was pleased, after divinely delivering them from the water, to succor, by means of a wild beast giving milk, these infants by whom so great a city was to be founded? Amulius was succeeded in the Latian kingdom by his brother Numitor, the grandfather of Romulus; and Rome was founded in the first year of this Numitor, who from that time reigned along with his grandson Romulus. 18.22. To be brief, the city of Rome was founded, like another Babylon, and as it were the daughter of the former Babylon, by which God was pleased to conquer the whole world, and subdue it far and wide by bringing it into one fellowship of government and laws. For there were already powerful and brave peoples and nations trained to arms, who did not easily yield, and whose subjugation necessarily involved great danger and destruction as well as great and horrible labor. For when the Assyrian kingdom subdued almost all Asia, although this was done by fighting, yet the wars could not be very fierce or difficult, because the nations were as yet untrained to resist, and neither so many nor so great as afterward; forasmuch as, after that greatest and indeed universal flood, when only eight men escaped in Noah's ark, not much more than a thousand years had passed when Ninus subdued all Asia with the exception of India. But Rome did not with the same quickness and facility wholly subdue all those nations of the east and west which we see brought under the Roman empire, because, in its gradual increase, in whatever direction it was extended, it found them strong and warlike. At the time when Rome was founded, then, the people of Israel had been in the land of promise seven hundred and eighteen years. of these years twenty-seven belong to Joshua the Son of Nun, and after that three hundred and twenty-nine to the period of the judges. But from the time when the kings began to reign there, three hundred and sixty-two years had passed. And at that time there was a king in Judah called Ahaz, or, as others compute, Hezekiah his successor, the best and most pious king, who it is admitted reigned in the times of Romulus. And in that part of the Hebrew nation called Israel, Hoshea had begun to reign. 18.23. Some say the Erythr an sibyl prophesied at this time. Now Varro declares there were many sibyls, and not merely one. This sibyl of Erythr certainly wrote some things concerning Christ which are quite manifest, and we first read them in the Latin tongue in verses of bad Latin, and unrhythmical, through the unskillfulness, as we afterwards learned, of some interpreter unknown to me. For Flaccianus, a very famous man, who was also a proconsul, a man of most ready eloquence and much learning, when we were speaking about Christ, produced a Greek manuscript, saying that it was the prophecies of the Erythr an sibyl, in which he pointed out a certain passage which had the initial letters of the lines so arranged that these words could be read in them: ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστος Θεοῦ υιὸς σωτηρ, which means, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Saviour. And these verses, of which the initial letters yield that meaning, contain what follows as translated by some one into Latin in good rhythm: Ι Judgment shall moisten the earth with the sweat of its standard, Η Ever enduring, behold the King shall come through the ages, Σ Sent to be here in the flesh, and Judge at the last of the world. Ο O God, the believing and faithless alike shall behold You Υ Uplifted with saints, when at last the ages are ended. Σ Seated before Him are souls in the flesh for His judgment. Χ Hid in thick vapors, the while desolate lies the earth. Ρ Rejected by men are the idols and long hidden treasures; Ε Earth is consumed by the fire, and it searches the ocean and heaven; Ι Issuing forth, it destroys the terrible portals of hell. Σ Saints in their body and soul freedom and light shall inherit; Τ Those who are guilty shall burn in fire and brimstone forever. Ο Occult actions revealing, each one shall publish his secrets; Σ Secrets of every man's heart God shall reveal in the light. Θ Then shall be weeping and wailing, yea, and gnashing of teeth; Ε Eclipsed is the sun, and silenced the stars in their chorus. Ο Over and gone is the splendor of moonlight, melted the heaven, Υ Uplifted by Him are the valleys, and cast down the mountains. Υ Utterly gone among men are distinctions of lofty and lowly. Ι Into the plains rush the hills, the skies and oceans are mingled. Ο Oh, what an end of all things! earth broken in pieces shall perish; Σ . . . . Swelling together at once shall the waters and flames flow in rivers. Σ Sounding the archangel's trumpet shall peal down from heaven, Ω Over the wicked who groan in their guilt and their manifold sorrows. Τ Trembling, the earth shall be opened, revealing chaos and hell. Η Every king before God shall stand in that day to be judged. Ρ Rivers of fire and brimstone shall fall from the heavens. In these Latin verses the meaning of the Greek is correctly given, although not in the exact order of the lines as connected with the initial letters; for in three of them, the fifth, eighteenth, and nineteenth, where the Greek letter Υ occurs, Latin words could not be found beginning with the corresponding letter, and yielding a suitable meaning. So that, if we note down together the initial letters of all the lines in our Latin translation except those three in which we retain the letter Υ in the proper place, they will express in five Greek words this meaning, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Saviour. And the verses are twenty-seven, which is the cube of three. For three times three are nine; and nine itself, if tripled, so as to rise from the superficial square to the cube, comes to twenty-seven. But if you join the initial letters of these five Greek words, ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστος Θεοῦ υἰὸς σωτήρ, which mean, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Saviour, they will make the word ἰχδὺς, that is, fish, in which word Christ is mystically understood, because He was able to live, that is, to exist, without sin in the abyss of this mortality as in the depth of waters. But this sibyl, whether she is the Erythr an, or, as some rather believe, the Cum an, in her whole poem, of which this is a very small portion, not only has nothing that can relate to the worship of the false or feigned gods, but rather speaks against them and their worshippers in such a way that we might even think she ought to be reckoned among those who belong to the city of God. Lactantius also inserted in his work the prophecies about Christ of a certain sibyl, he does not say which. But I have thought fit to combine in a single extract, which may seem long, what he has set down in many short quotations. She says, Afterward He shall come into the injurious hands of the unbelieving, and they will give God buffets with profane hands, and with impure mouth will spit out envenomed spittle; but He will with simplicity yield His holy back to stripes. And He will hold His peace when struck with the fist, that no one may find out what word, or whence, He comes to speak to hell; and He shall be crowned with a crown of thorns. And they gave Him gall for meat, and vinegar for His thirst: they will spread this table of inhospitality. For you yourself, being foolish, have not understood your God, deluding the minds of mortals, but have both crowned Him with thorns and mingled for Him bitter gall. But the veil of the temple shall be rent; and at midday it shall be darker than night for three hours. And He shall die the death, taking sleep for three days; and then returning from hell, He first shall come to the light, the beginning of the resurrection being shown to the recalled. Lactantius made use of these sibylline testimonies, introducing them bit by bit in the course of his discussion as the things he intended to prove seemed to require, and we have set them down in one connected series, uninterrupted by comment, only taking care to mark them by capitals, if only the transcribers do not neglect to preserve them hereafter. Some writers, indeed, say that the Erythr an sibyl was not in the time of Romulus, but of the Trojan War. |
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42. Gregory of Nazianzus, Orations, 41.11 (4th cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
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