1. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 32.6, 32.21 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 32.6. הֲ־לַיְהוָה תִּגְמְלוּ־זֹאת עַם נָבָל וְלֹא חָכָם הֲלוֹא־הוּא אָבִיךָ קָּנֶךָ הוּא עָשְׂךָ וַיְכֹנְנֶךָ׃ 32.21. הֵם קִנְאוּנִי בְלֹא־אֵל כִּעֲסוּנִי בְּהַבְלֵיהֶם וַאֲנִי אַקְנִיאֵם בְּלֹא־עָם בְּגוֹי נָבָל אַכְעִיסֵם׃ | 32.6. Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? Is not He thy father that hath gotten thee? Hath He not made thee, and established thee?" 32.21. They have roused Me to jealousy with a no-god; They have provoked Me with their vanities; And I will rouse them to jealousy with a no-people; I will provoke them with a vile nation." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 12.36 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 12.36. וַיהוָה נָתַן אֶת־חֵן הָעָם בְּעֵינֵי מִצְרַיִם וַיַּשְׁאִלוּם וַיְנַצְּלוּ אֶת־מִצְרָיִם׃ | 12.36. And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And they despoiled the Egyptians." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Hosea, 4.13-4.14 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 4.13. עַל־רָאשֵׁי הֶהָרִים יְזַבֵּחוּ וְעַל־הַגְּבָעוֹת יְקַטֵּרוּ תַּחַת אַלּוֹן וְלִבְנֶה וְאֵלָה כִּי טוֹב צִלָּהּ עַל־כֵּן תִּזְנֶינָה בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם וְכַלּוֹתֵיכֶם תְּנָאַפְנָה׃ 4.14. לֹא־אֶפְקוֹד עַל־בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם כִּי תִזְנֶינָה וְעַל־כַּלּוֹתֵיכֶם כִּי תְנָאַפְנָה כִּי־הֵם עִם־הַזֹּנוֹת יְפָרֵדוּ וְעִם־הַקְּדֵשׁוֹת יְזַבֵּחוּ וְעָם לֹא־יָבִין יִלָּבֵט׃ | 4.13. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, And offer upon the hills, Under oaks and poplars and terebinths, Because the shadow thereof is good; Therefore your daughters commit harlotry, And your daughters-in-law commit adultery. ." 4.14. I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, Nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; For they themselves consort with lewd women, And they sacrifice with harlots; And the people that is without understanding is distraught." |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 44.17-44.18 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 44.17. וּשְׁאֵרִיתוֹ לְאֵל עָשָׂה לְפִסְלוֹ יסגוד־[יִסְגָּד־] לוֹ וְיִשְׁתַּחוּ וְיִתְפַּלֵּל אֵלָיו וְיֹאמַר הַצִּילֵנִי כִּי אֵלִי אָתָּה׃ 44.18. לֹא יָדְעוּ וְלֹא יָבִינוּ כִּי טַח מֵרְאוֹת עֵינֵיהֶם מֵהַשְׂכִּיל לִבֹּתָם׃ | 44.17. And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image; He falleth down unto it and worshippeth, and prayeth unto it, And saith: ‘Deliver me, for thou art my god.’" 44.18. They know not, neither do they understand; For their eyes are bedaubed, that they cannot see, And their hearts, that they cannot understand." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 5.21 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 5.21. שִׁמְעוּ־נָא זֹאת עַם סָכָל וְאֵין לֵב עֵינַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יִרְאוּ אָזְנַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יִשְׁמָעוּ׃ | 5.21. Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding, That have eyes, and see not, That have ears, and hear not:" |
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6. Plato, Symposium, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 203d. rather is he hard and parched, shoeless and homeless; on the bare ground always he lies with no bedding, and takes his rest on doorsteps and waysides in the open air; true to his mother’s nature, he ever dwells with want. But he takes after his father in scheming for all that is beautiful and good; for he is brave, strenuous and high-strung, a famous hunter, always weaving some stratagem; desirous and competent of wisdom, throughout life ensuing the truth; a master of jugglery, witchcraft |
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7. Anon., 1 Enoch, 99.8-99.9 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 99.8. And they shall become godless by reason of the folly of their hearts, And their eyes shall be blinded through the fear of their hearts And through visions in their dreams. 99.9. Through these they shall become godless and fearful; For they shall have wrought all their work in a lie, And shall have worshiped a stone: Therefore in an instant shall they perish. |
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8. Anon., Jubilees, 22.17-22.18 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 22.17. Be strong in the presence of men, And exercise authority over all the seed of Seth. Then thy ways and the ways of thy sons will be justified, So that they shall become a holy nation. 22.18. May the Most High God give thee all the blessings Wherewith he hath blessed me And wherewith He blessed Noah and Adam; May they rest on the sacred head of thy seed from generation to generation for ever. |
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9. Dead Sea Scrolls, Epistle of Jeremiah, 23, 29, 65, 69, 16 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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10. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 2.23, 7.26, 10.15-10.21, 11.5, 11.15, 12.23, 12.25, 12.27, 13.1-13.2, 13.4, 13.8, 13.10, 13.14, 14.11, 15.18-15.19, 18.9, 19.1, 19.13-19.16 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 2.23. for God created man for incorruption,and made him in the image of his own eternity 7.26. For she is a reflection of eternal light,a spotless mirror of the working of God,and an image of his goodness. 10.15. A holy people and blameless race wisdom delivered from a nation of oppressors. 10.16. She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord,and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs. 10.17. She gave holy men the reward of their labors;she guided them along a marvelous way,and became a shelter to them by day,and a starry flame through the night. 10.18. She brought them over the Red Sea,and led them through deep waters; 10.19. but she drowned their enemies,and cast them up from the depth of the sea. 10.20. Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly;they sang hymns, O Lord, to thy holy name,and praised with one accord thy defending hand 10.21. because wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb,and made the tongues of babes speak clearly. 11.5. For through the very things by which their enemies were punished,they themselves received benefit in their need. 11.15. In return for their foolish and wicked thoughts,which led them astray to worship irrational serpents and worthless animals,thou didst send upon them a multitude of irrational creatures to punish them 12.23. Therefore those who in folly of life lived unrighteously thou didst torment through their own abominations. 12.25. Therefore, as to thoughtless children,thou didst send thy judgment to mock them. 12.27. For when in their suffering they became incensed at those creatures which they had thought to be gods, being punished by means of them,they saw and recognized as the true God him whom they had before refused to know. Therefore the utmost condemnation came upon them. 13.1. For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature;and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists,nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works; 13.2. but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air,or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water,or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world. 13.4. And if men were amazed at their power and working,let them perceive from them how much more powerful is he who formed them. 13.8. Yet again, not even they are to be excused; 13.10. But miserable, with their hopes set on dead things, are the men who give the name "gods" to the works of mens hands,gold and silver fashioned with skill,and likenesses of animals,or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand. 13.14. or makes it like some worthless animal,giving it a coat of red paint and coloring its surface red and covering every blemish in it with paint; 14.11. Therefore there will be a visitation also upon the heathen idols,because, though part of what God created, they became an abomination,and became traps for the souls of men and a snare to the feet of the foolish. 15.18. The enemies of thy people worship even the most hateful animals,which are worse than all others, when judged by their lack of intelligence; 15.19. and even as animals they are not so beautiful in appearance that one would desire them,but they have escaped both the praise of God and his blessing. 18.9. For in secret the holy children of good men offered sacrifices,and with one accord agreed to the divine law,that the saints would share alike the same things,both blessings and dangers;and already they were singing the praises of the fathers. 19.1. But the ungodly were assailed to the end by pitiless anger,for God knew in advance even their future actions 19.13. The punishments did not come upon the sinners without prior signs in the violence of thunder,for they justly suffered because of their wicked acts;for they practiced a more bitter hatred of strangers. 19.14. Others had refused to receive strangers when they came to them,but these made slaves of guests who were their benefactors. 19.15. And not only so, but punishment of some sort will come upon the former for their hostile reception of the aliens; 19.16. but the latter, after receiving them with festal celebrations,afflicted with terrible sufferings those who had already shared the same rights. |
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11. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 3.29-3.34, 3.36-3.38 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE)
| 3.29. Imperishable fire, and days and nights. 3.29. O For these are all deceptive, in so far 3.30. 30 This is the God who formed four-lettered Adam 3.30. As foolish men go seeking day by day 3.31. The first one formed, and filling with his name 3.31. Training their souls unto no useful work; 3.32. East, west, and south, and north. The same is he 3.32. And then did they teach miserable men 3.33. Who fixed the pattern of the human form 3.33. Deceptions, whence to mortals on the earth 3.34. And made wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls. 3.36. But vainly go astray and bow the knee 3.37. To serpents, and make offering to cats 3.38. And idols, and stone images of men |
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12. Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library, 1.12.9 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 1.12.9. These five deities, they say, visit all the inhabited world, revealing themselves to men in the form of sacred animals, and at times even appearing in the guise of men or in other shapes; nor is this a fabulous thing, but possible, if these are in very truth the gods who give life to all things. |
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13. Philo of Alexandria, On The Decalogue, 77-80, 76 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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14. Philo of Alexandria, On The Posterity of Cain, 165 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 165. But bulls, and rams, and goats, which Egypt holds in honour, and all other images of corruptible matter which, in report alone, are accounted God's, have no real existence, but are all fictitious and false; for those who look upon life as only a tragedy full of acts of arrogance and stories of love, impressing false ideas on the tender minds of young men, and using the ears as their ministers, into which they pour fabulous trifles, waste away and corrupt their minds, compelling them to look upon persons who were never even men in their minds, but always effeminate creatures as God's; |
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15. Philo of Alexandria, On The Special Laws, 1.3, 2.146 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.3. In consequence of which it would be most fitting for men to discard childish ridicule, and to investigate the real causes of the ordice with more prudence and dignity, considering the reasons why the custom has prevailed, and not being precipitate, so as without examination to condemn the folly of mighty nations, recollecting that it is not probable that so many myriads should be circumcised in every generation, mutilating the bodies of themselves and of their nearest relations, in a manner which is accompanied with severe pain, without adequate cause; but that there are many reasons which might encourage men to persevere and continue a custom which has been introduced by previous generations, and that these are from reasons of the greatest weight and importance. 2.146. And this festival is instituted in remembrance of, and as giving thanks for, their great migration which they made from Egypt, with many myriads of people, in accordance with the commands of God given to them; leaving then, as it seems, a country full of all inhumanity and practising every kind of inhospitality, and (what was worst of all |
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16. Philo of Alexandria, On The Contemplative Life, 9, 8 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 8. for as for the customs of the Egyptians, it is not creditable even to mention them, for they have introduced irrational beasts, and those not merely such as are domestic and tame, but even the most ferocious of wild beasts to share the honours of the gods, taking some out of each of the elements beneath the moon, as the lion from among the animals which live on the earth, the crocodile from among those which live in the water, the kite from such as traverse the air, and the Egyptian iris. |
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17. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 1.36, 2.12 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.36. The men, therefore, who had left their homes and come into Egypt, as if they were to dwell in that land as in a second country in perfect security, the king of the country reduced to slavery, and, as if he had taken them prisoners by the laws of war, or had bought them from masters in whose house they had been bred, he oppressed them and treated them as slaves, though they were not only free men, but also strangers, and suppliants, and sojourners, having no respect for nor any awe of God, who presides over the rights of free men, and of strangers, and of suppliants, and of hospitality, and who beholds all such actions as his. 2.12. But that he himself is the most admirable of all the lawgivers who have ever lived in any country either among the Greeks or among the barbarians, and that his are the most admirable of all laws, and truly divine, omitting no one particular which they ought to comprehend, there is the clearest proof possible in this fact, the laws of other lawgivers |
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18. Philo of Alexandria, Against Flaccus, 53 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 53. Since, therefore, the attempt which was being made to violate the law appeared to him to be prospering, while he was destroying the synagogues, and not leaving even their name, he proceeded onwards to another exploit, namely, the utter destruction of our constitution, that when all those things to which alone our life was anchored were cut away, namely, our national customs and our lawful political rights and social privileges, we might be exposed to the very extremity of calamity, without having any stay left to which we could cling for safety |
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19. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 2.565 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.565. However, the want they were in of Eleazar’s money, and the subtle tricks used by him, brought all so about, that the people were circumvented, and submitted themselves to his authority in all public affairs. |
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20. Josephus Flavius, Against Apion, 2.145, 2.161, 2.236 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.145. 15. But now, since Apollonius Molo, and Lysimachus, and some others, write treatises about our lawgiver Moses, and about our laws, which are neither just nor true, and this partly out of ignorance, but chiefly out of ill will to us, while they calumniate Moses as an impostor and deceiver, and pretend that our laws teach us wickedness, but nothing that is virtuous, I have a mind to discourse briefly, according to my ability, about our whole constitution of government, and about the particular branches of it; 2.161. and this is the character of our legislator; he was no impostor, no deceiver, as his revilers say, though unjustly, but such a one as they brag Minos to have been among the Greeks, and other legislators after him; 2.236. 34. Yet do the Lysimachi and the Molones, and some other writers (unskilful sophists as they are, and the deceivers of young men) reproach us as the vilest of all mankind. |
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21. Josephus Flavius, Life, 40 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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22. New Testament, Apocalypse, 9.20-9.21 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 9.20. The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn't repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn't worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. 9.21. They didn't repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts. |
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23. New Testament, Romans, 1.7, 1.19-1.23, 2.1 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.7. to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1.19. because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. 1.20. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse. 1.21. Because, knowing God, they didn't glorify him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened. 1.22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools 1.23. and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things. 2.1. Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things. |
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24. Anon., Letter of Aristeas, 132
| 132. punishments inflicted by God upon the guilty. For he proved first of all that there is only one God and that his power is manifested throughout the universe, since every place is filled with his sovereignty and none of the things which are wrought in secret by men upon the earth escapes His knowledge. For all that a man does and all that is to come to pass in the future are manifest to |
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