Commentary on the First Book of Moses: Genesis. -St. Ephrem the Syrian

Introduction

I did not wish to write this commentary on the Book of Genesis, so as not to repeat here what has already been set forth in the hymns and homilies. But, compelled by the love of friends, I here offer briefly that which in hymns and homilies I presented more fully.

What moved Moses to write the Book of Genesis was the following. Into the minds of the first men, the Creator had placed a clear knowledge of Himself; creatures, before the building of the tower, were honored as creatures, but even after the building of the tower, the proclamation of the true doctrine did not cease among the sons of Shem until Moses. Nevertheless, the descendants of Abraham, from the time of their migration into Egypt, began—like the whole world—to lose the knowledge of God and to depart from the good laws imprinted in nature; they began to regard what was created out of nothing as eternal, and to name as God those creatures which had only lately come into being. Therefore God desired, through Moses, to teach the truth to his contemporaries, who were wandering in error, so that the evil that had come down to them by tradition would not be spread abroad to all ages.

God sends Moses to Egypt so that there, where error had arisen, it might be brought to nothing in the light of true knowledge. And, so that there would be no doubt concerning the truth of what Moses would write, God by his hand performed signs and wonders. For this reason He illumined, anointed, and enlightened him, so that the brightness of his countenance might bear witness to the Spirit who spoke through his lips.

And Moses, after the wonders which he performed in Egypt, and after the covenant established in the wilderness, writes concerning the created natures, that they were brought into being out of nothing, showing thereby that it is false to name them gods. Moses writes concerning the creatures, that they were made out of nothing, and that they are honored as gods out of error; he writes concerning God, that He is One, that thousands and ten-thousands stand before Him, he writes of the mysteries of the Son foretold even at the very creation of the world, he presents to men those prefigurations of the Son which were ordained by the righteous men of old, those foreshadowings which were indicated by the wonders accomplished with the rod of Moses, he writes the true laws from which men have departed, and to this he adds what pertains to the genealogy of the Hebrew people.

Thus, Moses in the very beginning describes the six days’ creation of the world, accomplished by the hand of the Mediator, Who is of one essence and equal in power with the Creator. And when he later says, “This is the book of the begetting of heaven and earth” (Gen. 2:4), he returns to that creation and supplements what was not written in the first account. After that, he tells of the creation of Adam and Eve, of their abiding in paradise, of the coming of the serpent, of his wiles, of the transgression of Adam and Eve, who ate of the forbidden fruit, and of their punishment by banishment from paradise.

He tells of the offerings of Cain and Abel, of the murder of Abel, of the curses pronounced upon Cain, and carries the account down to the seventh generation, to the conversation of Lamech, the descendant of Cain, with his wives.

He tells of the ten generations from Adam to Noah, of the impiety of the descendants of Cain and Seth, of the building of the ark, of the small remnant of all creation preserved in the ark. After that, he tells of the departure from the ark and the sacrifice of Noah, of the rainbow in the clouds given as a sign of the covenant of peace, tells of the vine which Noah planted, of how Noah became drunk, slept, and was uncovered, of the curse upon Canaan, and of the blessings upon his brothers.

Then he enumerates the seventy-two sons born of the sons of Noah, tells of the building of the tower and the confusion of tongues, of the scattering of men over all the earth, and enumerates ten more generations from Shem to Abraham.

Afterwards, he tells of the migration of Abraham from the land of Ur, of his dwelling in Haran, of his abiding in the land of Canaan, of how Sarah was taken into Pharaoh’s house and of her return after the punishments that befell Pharaoh’s house.

Next, he recounts the separation of Lot from Abraham, Lot’s capture together with the Sodomites, his deliverance by Abraham, and how Melchizedek blessed Abraham, who gave him a tithe from all the possessions that had been recovered from captivity.

He speaks of Abraham’s faith in the promised seed, of the question he put forth when he wished to know how his seed would inherit the land wherein so many dwell, and he tells of Abraham’s sacrifice, and of the covenant of peace which God established with him that very day.

Moses also tells how Abraham yielded to Sarah’s desire and went in to Hagar, who, having conceived, began to despise and reproach her mistress; how Hagar fled, how the Angel found her and brought her into submission to her mistress. He speaks of the covenant of circumcision given to Abraham, and of how Abraham circumcised Ishmael and all his household.

Afterwards, he tells of the revelation that came to Abraham as he sat at the door of his tent, of the coming to him of the Angels in the form of travelers, of how they promised Sarah a son, Isaac, and how she inwardly laughed at this. Then he tells of the Angels’ going toward Sodom, of Abraham’s intercession for the Sodomites, of the Angels entering Lot’s house, of the wicked gathering of the Sodomites, of Lot’s departure together with his daughters, and of the final destruction of the Sodomites for their abominations. He also tells how Lot’s daughters made their father drunk with wine, how he lay with them and knew it not. He tells of Sarah being taken by Abimelech, and of how God did not allow him to approach her. He relates the birth of Isaac, his circumcision and upbringing, and the expulsion of the bondwoman and her son, because he had mocked the son of the freewoman.

Then Moses tells of the covenant which Abimelech made with Abraham, of the testing of Abraham, of Isaac being brought to the altar, of his deliverance from above, and of the ram, found among the thickets and offered as a sacrifice in place of Isaac. He tells of the death of Sarah and of her burial in the “double” cave of the sons of Heth (Gen. 23:9).

Next, he tells of the oath with which Abraham adjured Eliezer (Gen. 15:2), of sending him to Mesopotamia, of the servant’s prayer at the well, of Rebekah being brought into Abraham’s house to be Isaac’s wife. He tells of Rebekah’s barrenness, of Isaac’s prayer, of her conception, of Rebekah inquiring of the Lord, and of how it was said to her that two nations were in her womb, and the greater would serve the lesser; he tells of Esau’s birthright, which he sold to Jacob, and of the covenant made with Isaac by the king of the Philistines, just as had been made with Abraham.

Then he tells how Jacob, at his mother’s urging, took the blessing from Esau, of Jacob’s journey to the house of Laban, and of his vision of the ladder in his dream. He recounts how Jacob betrothed one wife by his own will but was obliged to take three others against his will. He tells of Jacob’s return to his father’s house, of Laban’s anger, but that God did not allow him to harm Jacob, and how on Mount Gilead they made a covenant of peace.

He also tells of the host of Angels that met Jacob, of the messengers of peace, of the gifts Jacob sent to Esau, of Jacob’s wrestling with the Angel, of how the Angel touched his thigh and it was put out of joint, of how Esau, his brother, rejoiced at seeing Jacob and embraced him. He tells of Jacob’s settling in Shechem, of his father’s grief over this. He tells of the death of Rachel at the border of Ephrath, of Jacob’s return to his father, and of the death and burial of Isaac.

He then lists the descendants of Esau and the kings who reigned in Edom when Israel had no king. Afterwards, he tells of the dreams of Joseph and of the taking in marriage of Tamar, of how her husbands died suddenly, of how she cunningly drew Judah to herself, of how he first condemned her to be burned, but then justified and acknowledged her to be more righteous than himself.

Next, he recounts how Joseph was sent to his brothers, cast by them into a pit, and sold to the Ishmaelites. He tells of Joseph’s arrival in Egypt, his flight from his mistress, his imprisonment, how he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s servants and later for Pharaoh himself; of the honor Joseph received for this, of the grain gathered by him during the seven years of plenty, and the great wealth acquired during the years of famine. He also tells of the arrival of Joseph’s brothers, of how he did not reveal himself to them and tested them, and then revealed himself and kissed them. Again, he tells how Joseph’s brothers reported to Jacob about him, how Jacob moved to Egypt with seventy souls, how Joseph went out to meet his father, brought Jacob before Pharaoh, how Jacob blessed Pharaoh, how Joseph settled his brothers in the best parts of the land of Egypt, and how he acquired all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, except for the priests’ lands. Then he tells of Jacob’s sickness, of the blessing of Joseph’s sons, of how Jacob exalted the younger Ephraim above his elder brother Manasseh. He tells of the blessings which Jacob pronounced upon his sons, and then how he drew up his feet into the bed and was gathered to his people; how Joseph took him and buried him where Abraham and Isaac were buried. After that, he tells of the death of Joseph himself, of how he adjured his brothers to carry his bones with them into their inheritance. Such is what Moses wrote in the first book, Genesis. He begins it thus:

Chapter 1

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1)—that is, the essence of heaven and the essence of earth. No one should think that the six-day creation is an allegory. Nor is it permitted to say that what is described as having been created in six days was in fact created in a single instant, or that in that description there are merely names, either signifying nothing or something else entirely. On the contrary, one must know that, just as the heaven and earth, created in the beginning, are truly heaven and earth, and nothing else is meant by the name ‘heaven’ and ‘earth,’ so also everything else described as created and ordered after the creation of heaven and earth is not mere empty names, but to the meaning of each name there truly corresponds the very essence of the created natures.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” By this, the work of the original creation was defined, for nothing else was created along with the heaven and the earth. Even the natures that were created on the same day were not yet created then; for if God had made them together with the heaven and the earth, Moses would have said so. But he does not say so, so as not to suggest the thought that the name of the natures is older than their being. From this it is clearly revealed that the heaven and the earth were created out of nothing, for there was not yet any water, nor air; neither fire nor light nor darkness had come into being—these were brought forth later than the heaven and the earth, and therefore are created things, since they arose after the heaven and earth, and are not eternal, since they did not exist before heaven and earth.

Afterwards, Moses does not speak of that which is above the firmament, but of that which is between the firmament and the earth, as it were, in certain depths. He did not write for us about spirits, nor does he say on which day they were created. Of the earth, however, he writes that “the earth was without form and void” (Gen. 1:2)—that is, it bore nothing upon itself and was desolate. And he spoke thus, wishing to show that emptiness arose before the natures. Yet I do not say that emptiness is some real thing, but only wish to show that at that time there was the earth alone, and apart from it nothing else existed. Having spoken of the creation of heaven and earth and having mentioned the emptiness (since the time is more ancient than the natures that were brought forth later), Moses proceeds to the account of the natures themselves and says, “and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Gen. 1:2). This shows that the abyss of waters was created at the same time. But how was it created on the day on which it was created? Though it was made on that day and at that time, Moses does not tell here how it was made, and so we must accept that the abyss appeared at the time written, and await from Moses himself the explanation of how it was made. The darkness “upon the face of the deep” some regard as the shadow of heaven. If the firmament had been created on the first day, their opinion might have had a place. But if the higher heavens were like the firmament, then the thick darkness would have lain between heaven and heaven, for God had not yet created and set up the light whose rays would scatter the darkness there. But if the region of heaven is luminous, as testified by Ezekiel, Paul, and Stephen, and the heavens with their own light disperse the darkness, then how could they have spread darkness over the deep?

If everything that was made (whether it is written or not written about its creation) was made in six days, then the clouds appeared on the first day. Fire—with the air, although it is not written; thus, too, the clouds were created together with the abyss, even though it is not written that they were created with the abyss, just as it is not written about the creation of fire with the air. For it was necessary that all should be created in six days. The origin of clouds is known to us, and so we ought to suppose that the clouds were created together with the abyss, for they are always born from the abyss. “And Elijah saw a cloud… ascending out of the sea” (3 Kings 18:44), and Solomon says, “By His knowledge the deeps were broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew” (Prov. 3:20). Not only the very nature of the clouds, but also their action persuades us that the clouds were created at this very time, that is, on the first night; for we may suppose that by means of them the first night was produced. Just as clouds stretched over Egypt for three nights and three days and made it night, so also the clouds were stretched over the whole world on the first night and the first day of creation. If the clouds were translucent, then the first day had a certain brightness, for the radiance of the heavenly heights was enough to replace the light that was created after that, still on the first day.

After the passing of night and day, on the evening of the second, the firmament was created, and from that time onward its shadow produced the following nights. Thus, in the evening before the first night, God created the heaven and the earth, and with them He created the deep and the clouds, and these, spreading out over all, brought about the dark night. But after this shadow had covered everything for twelve hours, light was created, and it dispersed the darkness that was spread over the waters. Having said of the darkness that it was “upon the face of the deep,” Moses continues: “and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit of God the Father, proceeding from Him not temporarily, but by essence and creative power equal to the Father and His Only-begotten Son. This Spirit, distinctly and independently distinguished from the Father, is called in Divine Scripture the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit. Of Him it is said, “moved upon the face of the waters,” in order to impart a generative power into the waters, into the earth and into the air, so that they might be fertilized, bring forth, and produce plants, animals, and birds. To the Holy Spirit it was fitting to move, to show that He is by creative power equal to the Father and the Son. For the Father uttered, the Son made; it was fitting also for the Spirit to bring His work. And this He showed by “moving,” plainly demonstrating thereby that all was brought into being and perfected by the Trinity. Moreover, it must be understood that Scripture, when speaking of the creative power of the Godhead, does not present to us some other spirit, who, as something created and produced, was moving over the waters together with God, but speaks of the Holy Spirit. He warmed, fertilized, and made the waters productive, just as a bird, when it sits upon eggs with outstretched wings, during that sitting warms them with its heat and brings about in them conception. This Holy Spirit then presented to us a type of Holy Baptism, when by His “moving” over the waters He brings forth the children of God.

Having spoken of the creation of heaven, earth, darkness, the deep, and the waters at the beginning of the first night, Moses turns to the narrative of the creation of light in the morning of the first day. So, after the twelve hours of night had passed, light was created among the clouds and waters, and it scattered the shadow of the clouds that hovered above the waters and produced darkness. Then the first month Nisan began, in which days and nights have an equal number of hours. The light was to remain for twelve hours, so that the day might contain the same number of hours as the darkness had in time and duration. For though both light and clouds were created in the twinkling of an eye, yet both the day and the night of the first day continued for twelve hours each.

The light that appeared on earth was like either a shining cloud, or a rising sun, or a pillar that illuminated the Hebrew people in the wilderness. In any case, only this is certain: the light could not have scattered the darkness that embraced everything, unless it had spread everywhere either its essence or its rays, like the rising sun. The original light was poured out everywhere, not confined to any known place; it dispersed the darkness everywhere, being without movement; all its movement consisted in its appearance and disappearance. Upon its sudden disappearance, the dominion of night began, and with its appearance, that dominion ended. So that the light would not become nothing—as having come from nothing—God especially said of it: “that it was good” (Gen. 1:4). By this He testified that “very good” were all the creatures that came before the light, about which it was not said that they were good. For although God did not say of them at their very creation from nothing, yet afterwards, when He formed all creatures, He affirmed this also of them. Concerning all that was created in six days, the words spoken at the end of the sixth day apply: “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31).

That original light, called good after its creation, by its rising formed three days. It, as they say, assisted in the conception and bringing forth of everything that the earth was to produce on the third day; but it was for the sun, fixed in the firmament, to bring to maturity that which had already come into being with the help of the original light. It is said that from that light, which was everywhere, and from the fire created on the first day, the sun was made, which is in the firmament; that the moon and stars were made from the same original light. Thus, just as the sun, which rules the days, must illuminate the earth and also ripen its produce, so also the moon, which rules the nights, not only with its light tempers the heat of the night, but also helps the earth to produce the fruits and produce proper to it by its original nature. And Moses, in his blessings, says: “and for the precious fruits brought forth by the moon” (Deut. 33:14). As for the light, it is remarked that, among other things, it was created on the first day for the products of the earth. But the earth, through the mediation of the light, brought forth everything that was accomplished on the third day, though the light was in its original state; yet all the fruits of the earth, through the moon as well as through the light, received their beginning, and by the sun’s help came to ripeness.

Thus, the earth brought forth everything from itself with the help of the light and the waters. Although God could have brought forth everything from the earth without them, yet such was His will; thereby He wished to show that everything made on earth was made for the benefit of man and for his service.

The waters that covered the earth on the first day were not salty. Although the earth was covered by the deep of waters, the seas had not yet appeared. The waters became salty in the seas; before they were gathered into the seas, they were not salty. When the waters spread over the face of the earth for its watering, they were sweet; but when they were gathered on the third day into the seas, they became salty, so that, being collected in one place, they might not rot, and, taking into themselves the rivers that flow into them, they might not overflow. The waters of the rivers flowing into the sea are for it sufficient nourishment: so that the sea might not dry up from the heat of the sun, rivers flow into it; but so that the sea might not expand, go beyond its bounds, and flood the earth, when it receives the waters of the rivers, their waters are absorbed by the salinity of the sea.

If we suppose that at the creation of the waters, the seas also were created and filled with waters, and that the waters of the seas were bitter, yet we must say that the waters above the seas were not bitter. For although the seas that were created at that time were covered by waters during the flood, nevertheless they could not impart their bitterness to the sweet waters of the flood which were above the seas. And if the seas had been able to make the flood waters bitter, how would olives and all other plants of the earth have survived in them? Or how would Noah and those with him have drunk from them during the flood? Noah was commanded to bring food into the ark for himself and for all with him, because there would be nowhere to get food; but he was not commanded to bring water, for those in the ark could drink the water that surrounded the ark on every side. Thus, just as the flood waters were not salty, even though they covered the seas, so too the waters gathered on the third day were not bitter, even if the waters of the seas beneath them were already bitter.

But since the gathering of the waters did not occur before God said, “Let the waters be gathered together… and let the dry land appear” (Gen. 1:9), it is clear that the seas did not exist before God “called the gathering of the waters Seas” (Gen. 1:10). Therefore, the seas, having received their name and their place, were changed and took on their salinity, which they did not have before entering into their own domain. And the very place of the seas became deep at the very time when it was said, “Let the waters be gathered together into one place,”—that is, either the bottom of the seas became lower than the rest of the earth and, along with the waters upon it, received the waters that were over all the earth, or the waters absorbed one another, so that there would be enough room for them, or the sea bed split, and a great depth came to be, so that the waters in an instant rushed down the slope of the bottom. Although the waters gathered together at God’s command, yet even at the creation of the earth a door was opened for them, so that they could be gathered into one place.

Just as at the gathering of the first and second waters there was no closed place from which they could not escape, so also afterward they flow out by various streams and springs, and gather into their seas by the paths and ways appointed for them from the first day.

And the upper waters, separated on the second day from the other waters by the outstretched firmament between them, were just as sweet as the lower waters. They are not like the waters that became salty in the seas on the third day, but like those separated from them on the second day. They are not salty, for they are not subject to decay. They are not upon the earth, where they might rot, for on the earth the air does not serve for waters to breed and bring forth creeping things. Those waters have no need of rivers to flow into them; they cannot be dried up, for there is no sun there to dry them up with its heat; those waters remain there as dew of blessings, kept for a pouring out of wrath.

It is also impossible to suppose that the waters above the firmament are in motion, for what has been set in order does not revolve without order, and what exists is not moved by what does not exist. What is created within something else, at its very creation receives all for itself—both motion, and ascent, and descent—in that in which it was created. But the upper waters are not surrounded by anything, so they cannot flow downward or circle about, for there is nothing for them to flow down upon or around.

Thus, by the testimony of Scripture, heaven, earth, fire, air, and waters were created out of nothing, but the light created on the first day, and everything else that was made after it, was created from what existed before. For when Moses speaks of what is created out of nothing, he uses the word: “created”—“God created the heaven and the earth.” And although it is not written of fire, water, and air that they were created, neither is it said that they were produced from something that preexisted. Therefore, they also were created out of nothing, just as heaven and earth—from nothing. But when God begins to create from what already exists, then Scripture uses such an expression: “God said, Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3) and all the rest. If, however, it is written, “God created great whales” (Gen. 1:21), then before that the following is said: “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life” (Gen. 1:20). Therefore, only the five kinds of creatures named above were created out of nothing, while everything else came from that which had already been created from nothing.

Fire also was created on the first day, though this is not written, because it is enclosed in something else. As not existing by itself or for itself, it was created together with that in which it is enclosed. Not existing for itself, it could not have existed before that which constitutes the final cause of its being. Fire is present in the earth, as is evident by nature itself, but that fire was created together with the earth Scripture does not declare, simply saying: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Therefore, even though now fire may be in the earth, or in the waters, or in the wind and clouds, yet to earth and waters at all times it is commanded to bring it forth from their depths.

And darkness is not something eternal; indeed, it is not even a creature, for—as Scripture shows—darkness is a shadow. It was not created before heaven, nor after the clouds, but together with the clouds and brought forth by them. Its being depends on something else, for it has no substance of its own, and when that on which it depends ceases to be, then, along with it and in the same way, darkness ceases to be as well. But that which ceases together with another thing when that other ceases, is close to non-being, for its existence has another as its cause. Therefore, the darkness which was present with the clouds and the firmament and which ceased to be with the advent of the primordial light and the sun—could it possibly have its own being, when one thing by its spreading brings it forth, and another by its appearance scatters it? And if one produces darkness and gives it being, while another turns it into nothing, can it be reckoned eternal? For see: the clouds and the firmament, created in the beginning, brought forth darkness, but the light created on the first day scattered it. If one created thing produced it, and another dispersed it—one constantly, along with itself and at the same moment brings it into view, and another brings it to nothing at that very moment—then it is necessary to conclude that one gives it the beginning of its being, while another brings about its cessation. Therefore, if created things give darkness being and take it away, it follows that darkness is a product of creatures (for it is the shadow of the firmament) and that darkness ceases to be with another creature (for it disappears with the sun). And this darkness, which is utterly subject to created things, some teachers consider hostile to creation! They, who has no substance of its own, regard it as eternal and independent!

Moses, having spoken of what was created on the first day, proceeds to the account of creation on the following day and says: “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide… between the water which was under the firmament and the water which was above the firmament” (Gen. 1:6–7). The firmament, established between the waters and the waters, had the same extent as the waters spread over the face of the earth. For above the firmament there are waters as there are above the earth, and below the firmament are the earth, waters, and fire—the firmament is enclosed within these, as an infant in its mother’s womb.

Some, supposing that the firmament is in the middle of all creation, consider it the womb of the universe. But if the firmament had been made as the middle of the universe, then the light, darkness, and air which were above it when God was creating it, would have remained above the firmament. If the firmament was created at night, then along with the waters that remained there, darkness and air would have remained above the firmament. And if it was made by day, then along with the waters there would have remained light and air. If they remained there, then those which are here are different. So the question is: when were these created? But if they did not remain there, then how did the natures which were present at the creation of the firmament above it change their place and end up beneath the firmament?

The firmament was created on the evening of the second night, just as the heaven was made on the evening of the first night. With the arising of the firmament, the shadow of the clouds disappeared, which during the night and day had served in place of the firmament. Since the firmament was made between light and darkness, darkness took its place above the firmament as soon as, with the removal of the clouds, the shadow of the clouds was also removed. But the light did not remain there either, for its allotted hours were fulfilled, and it sank into the waters that were beneath the firmament. So, with the firmament, nothing moved upward, for nothing remained above it; it was appointed to separate water from water, but not to separate light from darkness.

Thus, there was no light on the first night of creation, but on the second and third nights, as we have said, the light descended into the waters below the firmament and passed through them. But on the fourth night, when the waters were gathered into one place and, as is said, the light was put in order (created), then from it and from fire came the sun, moon, and stars. And to all these heavenly luminaries their places were assigned: the moon was set at the western end of the firmament, the sun at the eastern, and the stars in that same hour were scattered and arranged across the whole firmament.

Of the light created on the first day, God said, “that it was good”; but of the firmament made on the second day, He did not say so, for it was not yet fully completed, nor had it yet received its full order and adornment. The Creator delayed uttering a word of approval until the luminaries came forth, so that when the firmament was adorned with the sun, moon, and stars, and these luminaries, shining upon the firmament, dispersed the deep darkness, then also of it He might declare what He said of the other creatures: that they were “very good.”

Having spoken of the firmament brought forth on the second day, Moses turns to the account of the gathering of the waters, and also of the grasses and trees which the earth brought forth on the third day, and says: “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear” (Gen. 1:9). The words “let the waters be gathered together into one place” mean that the earth supported the waters, and the depths were not under the earth, being held by nothing. Thus, in that very night, as soon as God spoke, the waters were gathered together, and the surface of the earth was dried in the twinkling of an eye.

When both these things were accomplished, God in the morning commanded the earth to bring forth every kind of herb and grass, as well as various fruit-bearing trees. The grasses, at the time of their creation, sprang forth in a single moment, yet in appearance seemed to be the product of months. Likewise, the trees, at their creation, appeared as the offspring of a single day, yet by their maturity and by the fruits weighing down their branches, seemed the produce of years. The grains needed for food were made ready for the animals, which were to be created in two days; the Lord also made ears of grain necessary for food for Adam and Eve, whom, four days later, God would cast out from paradise.

Having spoken of the gathering of the waters and the plants of the earth on the third day, Moses turns to the account of the luminaries created on the firmament, and says: “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven… to divide between the day and between the night” (Gen. 1:14), that is, let one of them rule the day, and the other rule the night. God said: “and let them be for signs (of the hours), and for seasons (to mark summer and winter), and for days (the rising and setting of the sun), and for years” (Gen. 1:14), because years are composed of solar days and lunar months.

It is said: “God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars” (Gen. 1:16). In the days before the fourth day, the creation of creatures is set in the evening, but the setting in order of the creatures of the fourth day took place in the morning. After the third day ended and it was said: “And there was evening, and there was morning, a third day” (Gen. 1:13), God did not create the two great lights in the evening, so as not to disturb the order of night and day, and so that morning should not come before evening.

Since the following days proceeded in the same order as the first day, so also the night of the fourth day, like the previous nights, preceded the day. If the evening of this day came before the morning, then it follows that the lights were created not in the evening, but in the morning. To say that one of the lights was created in the evening and the other in the morning is not permitted by what follows: “let there be lights” (Gen. 1:14), and: “God made two great lights” (Gen. 1:16). If the lights, at the time of their creation, were great, and created in the morning, it follows that the sun then stood in the east, and the moon opposite it, in the west. The sun appeared low and partly submerged, because it was created in the place of its rising over the earth, while the moon stood higher, because it was created as it appears on the fifteenth day. Therefore, at that time, when the sun became visible upon the earth, both lights saw one another, and then the moon, as it were, set. The very place where the moon was at its creation, its size and brightness, show that it was created in the form in which it appears on the fifteenth day.

Just as trees, grasses, animals, birds, and man appeared at once both old and young—old in the appearance of their members and their stature, but young by the time of their creation—so too the moon was at once both old and young: young, because it had just been created, old, because it was full, as on the fifteenth day. If God had created the moon as we see it on the first or second day, then, because of its nearness to the sun, it could neither shine nor even be seen. If the moon had appeared as it is on the fourth day, then, though it might have been visible, it would not have shone, and what was said would not have been true: “God made two great lights,” and also: “let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth” (Gen. 1:14). Just as the moon was created as we see it on the fifteenth day, so the sun, though it was its first day, at its creation appeared four days old, because all days are counted and are reckoned by the sun. The eleven days by which the moon is “older” than the sun, and which were added to the moon in the first year, are the same days added annually to the moon by those who use lunar reckoning. Adam’s year was not an incomplete year, for the number of days lacking for the moon was made up at its very creation. According to this year, Adam’s descendants learned to add eleven days to each year. From this it is clear that it was not the Chaldeans who established this way of reckoning times and years, but that it was established before Adam.

Having spoken of the lights created in the firmament, Moses turns to the account of the creeping things, birds, and whales that were created from the waters on the fifth day, and says: “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth… And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth after their kind” (Gen. 1:20–21). When, after the gathering of the waters on the second day, there appeared rivers, springs, lakes, and marshes, then the waters, scattered throughout the universe, at the word of God, brought forth from themselves creeping things and fish; in the depths whales were created, and among the waves, at that same time, birds soared into the air. The prophets also mention the creation of Leviathan (the whale) and Behemoth. Of the former they say he lives in the sea (Ps. 64:8), of Behemoth, Job says he lives on the land (Job 40:10). And David says of him that he feeds on the mountains (Ps. 49:11). It is likely that after their creation, their places of dwelling were also assigned to them, that Leviathan should live in the sea, and Behemoth on the land.

Having spoken of the creation of creeping things, birds, and whales on the fifth day, Moses proceeds to the account of the creation of those reptiles, wild beasts, and cattle that were made on the sixth day, and says: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth” (Gen. 1:24). The earth brought forth creeping things everywhere, but wild beasts and cattle were created near paradise, so that they might live near Adam. Thus, at God’s command, the earth immediately brought forth reptiles, wild animals of the field, predatory beasts, and cattle, as many as were needed for the service of the one who, on that same day, transgressed the commandment of his Lord!

Having spoken of the creation of reptiles, wild beasts, and cattle on the sixth day, Moses turns to the account of the creation of man, who was created on the same day, and says: “And God said.” To whom does God speak here, and in other cases during creation? Clearly, He speaks to His Son. Of the Son, the Evangelist said: “All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Paul also points to Him, saying: “By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible” (Col. 1:16).

“And God said, Let Us make man in Our image” (Gen. 1:26)—that is, so that he might have dominion, if he should wish to obey Us. Why, then, are we the image of God? Moses explains this with the following words: “and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth” (Gen. 1:26). Thus, the dominion that man received over the earth and all that is on it is the image of God, who has dominion over things above and things below.

By the words, “male and female created He them” (Gen. 1:27), Moses lets us know that Eve was already in Adam, in that rib which was taken from Adam. Although Eve was in him not by mind, but by body, yet not by body only, but also by soul and spirit, for God added nothing to the rib taken from Adam except beauty and outward form. Since in the rib itself was contained everything necessary for the forming of Eve from it, it is rightly said, “male and female created He them.”

“And God blessed them, saying: Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing… and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:28). God blessed the foreparents on the earth, because even before they sinned, He was preparing the earth as their dwelling—for before they sinned, God knew that they would sin.

“Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill”—it is not said “paradise,” but “the earth… and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over all cattle.” But how could the foreparents have dominion over the fish of the sea, when there was no sea nearby? How could they have dominion over the birds flying to all the ends of the universe, if the progeny of the foreparents were not later to fill the ends of the universe? And how could they have dominion over all the beasts of the earth, unless their race was destined later to live throughout the whole earth?

Although Adam was created and received the blessing to have dominion over the earth and all that is on it, yet God placed him in paradise. Thus, in uttering the blessing to the forefather, God showed His foreknowledge; and in placing him in paradise, He revealed His goodness. Lest anyone say, “Paradise was not created for man,” God placed him in paradise; and lest anyone say, “God did not know that man would sin,” He blessed man upon the earth. And furthermore, God blessed man before he transgressed the commandment, so that the transgression of the one receiving the blessing might not withhold the blessing of the Blesser, and so that the world might not be returned to nothingness by the folly of the one for whose sake all things were created. God did not bless man in paradise, for both paradise and all that is in it are blessed. Rather, He blessed before his entrance into paradise, upon the earth, so that by the blessing which His goodness had anticipated, He might weaken the force of the curse that would soon, by His justice, smite the earth. The blessing was only in promise, for it was fulfilled after man’s expulsion from paradise. But grace appeared in very deed, for on that same day, He settled man in paradise, adorned him with glory, and gave him authority over all the trees of paradise.

Chapter 2

After finishing the account of the creation, on the sixth day, of reptiles, cattle, beasts, and man, and of God’s blessing upon them, Moses writes that God rested on the seventh day, saying: “And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the adornment of them… And God rested on the seventh day from all His works which He had made” (Gen. 2:1–2).

After what labor did God rest? For, behold, what was created on the first day was brought forth by a single act of will—except for the one light, which was created by the word; and all other creatures in the following days were likewise created by a single word. Who, then, will say that God was wearied by uttering a single word in a day, when even for us to speak a single word in a day is no labor at all? If Moses was not wearied, when with word and rod he divided the sea; if Joshua was not wearied, when by his word he stayed the course of the heavenly bodies—could God then be wearied, who by a single word created the seas and the luminaries?

Therefore, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day not because He had need of repose (for He does not grow weary), nor only that He might give it to the Hebrew people as a day of rest from their labors (for, after their deliverance from bondage, they did not even distinguish between days). God gave the seventh day in order that slaves, even against the will of their masters, might have rest; and, moreover, by this temporal sabbath, given to a passing people, He desired to prefigure the image of the true Sabbath, which shall be in the unending world. Furthermore, since it was necessary to establish the cycle of weeks, God magnified with blessing that day which had not been glorified by the works of creation, that by the honor thus bestowed it might be made equal to the other days, and thus the sevenfold number of days, required for the world, might be completed.

Having spoken of the Sabbath rest, and of how God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, Moses again turns to the account of the primordial ordering of creation, where, briefly recalling what had already been said, he sets forth at length what was previously omitted.

And as he begins again to recount the story of creation, he says: “This is the book of the begetting of heaven and earth, when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the heaven and the earth, and every field herb before it was on the earth, and every grass of the field before it sprang up: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But a fountain went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” (Gen. 2:4–6).

Everyone who hears this ought to understand that although Scripture has already spoken of the days of creation, and of the sanctification and blessing of the Sabbath day, yet even after the conclusion of the days of creation, it again returns to the beginning of creation: “This is the book of the begetting of heaven and earth”—that is, an account of the creation of heaven and earth—“in the day that the Lord God made the heaven and the earth.” There was not yet any field herb, nor had any grass of the field yet sprung up. But though, in truth, they did not appear on the first day—for they came forth on the third—nevertheless, the mention of what was created on the third day is not needlessly introduced into the account of the first day’s creation. For it is then explained why the herbs and grasses had not sprung up, namely, because the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth. “But a fountain went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.”

Since everything is born, as it is even now, from the union of water and earth, Moses wished to show here that the herbs and grasses were not created together with the earth, for as yet no rain had descended. But when the great fountain of the great deep had gone forth and watered all the earth, then, after the gathering together of the waters on the third day, the earth on that same day brought forth every herb.

Thus, the waters over which, on the first day, darkness was spread, were the very same waters which came forth from this fountain and in a moment covered the whole earth. This same fountain was opened in the days of Noah, and covered with water all the mountains that are on the earth. This fountain did not issue forth from beneath the earth, but from the very earth itself; for it is not said that it came out from beneath the earth, but “went up from the earth.” That the waters which are upon the earth are not prior to the earth itself is attested by the earth itself, which bears them in its bosom. Thus, Scripture says, a fountain went up from the earth and watered “the whole face of the ground,” and then it brought forth herbs, grasses, and plants.

This was done not because God could not otherwise bring forth plants from the earth, but because it was His will that the earth should bring forth plants with the cooperation of water, and He established this as the pattern, that the same might continue to the end.

Having spoken of what was omitted and not explained in the account of creation on the first day, Moses passes on to the description of the creation of man and says: “and there was not a man to till the ground” (Gen. 2:5)—that is, before the sixth day there was no man, for he was created on the sixth day. “And God made man on the sixth day, taking dust from the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life: and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). The animals, cattle, and birds received both bodies and souls simultaneously at the very moment of their creation. But man, God honored in many ways: first, in that He created him, as it is said, with His own hand; He breathed into him a soul, gave him authority over Paradise and over all things outside Paradise, clothed him with glory, and granted him the gift of speech, reason, and knowledge of the Divinity.

Speaking of the glorious creation of man, Moses turns to the account of Paradise and of the entrance of man into it, saying: “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the beginning, and there He placed the man whom He had made” (Gen. 2:8). Eden is the place of Paradise. It is said, “in the beginning,” because God planted Paradise on the third day, as is made clear by the words: “And God caused to spring up from the earth every tree beautiful to the sight and good for food,”—and, to show that what is recounted here is indeed Paradise, it is added: “and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree to know knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:9).

Having spoken of Paradise, on which day it was planted, of the entrance of man into it, of the tree of life and of the other tree, Moses turns to the account of the river that went out of Paradise and divided “into four heads” outside Paradise, and says: “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden” (Gen. 2:10). Here again, Moses calls the blessed land of Paradise “Eden.” Had the river not watered Paradise, it would not have been divided “into four heads” outside Paradise. Yet the four streams that went forth from the river did not have the same taste in their waters as the original source. If, in our own lands, which all are under the curse, waters differ from one another, how much more should the blessed land of Eden differ in its properties from the land that was cursed by the Righteous One for Adam’s transgression of the commandment.

The four streams were these: Pishon—which is the Danube, Gihon—which is the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates, between which we dwell (St. Ephraim means the place of his own monastery). Although we know the places from which these rivers now issue, the source itself is unknown, for Paradise was situated at a great height. Near Paradise these rivers are swallowed up and descend into the sea, as from a great reservoir, and, traveling under the earth beneath the sea, they emerge: the first to the west, Gihon to the south, Euphrates and Tigris to the north.

Having spoken of Paradise and the rivers that proceed from it, Moses turns to the account of Adam’s entrance into Paradise and of the law given to him: “And the Lord God took the man… and led him and left him in the Paradise of delight, to till it and to keep it” (Gen. 2:15). But how could Adam till, when he had no tools? And why was there need to till, when in Paradise there were no thorns or thistles? How could he keep Paradise, when he had no means to guard it? From whom was he to keep it, when there was no thief who could enter it? The guarding of Paradise after the transgression of the commandment shows that, had the commandment been kept, there would have been no need for a guardian. Thus, what was required of Adam was not the guarding of Paradise in some other sense, but rather the keeping of the law given to him; not the doing of any other work, but the fulfilling of the commandment given to him. If one says that these two tasks were laid upon Adam together with the commandment, I do not dispute it.

Speaking of Adam’s entrance into Paradise and the reason for which he was placed there, Moses turns to the account of the law which was given to Adam: “And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying: Of every tree that is in the garden, thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:16–17). The commandment was light, for God gave Adam the whole of Paradise, and forbade him only the fruit of a single tree. If it were the case that only one tree provided food for man, while many others were forbidden him, then that tree would have served as a means of sustenance in time of need, as food in hunger. But since, instead of the one tree—which would have been enough for him—God gave him many, his transgression was not committed out of necessity, but out of neglect. God therefore forbade man only one tree and surrounded it with the threat of death, so that, if man did not keep the commandment out of love for Him who gave it, then the fear of death encircling the tree might hold him back from breaking the commandment.

Having spoken of Adam’s entry into Paradise and of the commandment given to him, Moses turns to the account of how Adam named the animals, and says: “And God made also from the earth all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them” (Gen. 2:19). From this it is evident that the animals were not made by the hand of the Creator—for the beasts were brought forth by the earth, and the birds by the waters. This is what Scripture intended to show, saying, “He made… from the earth,”—for from the union of earth and water all the beasts, reptiles, cattle, and birds were produced.

The words, “He brought them unto Adam,” show Adam’s wisdom and the peace that existed between animals and man, while man had not yet transgressed the commandment. They gathered around man as a shepherd full of love, without fear; by kinds and species they passed before him in herds, neither afraid of him nor trembling at one another. The herds of harmful beasts went first, followed without fear by the ranks of harmless animals. Thus, Adam, having received dominion over the earth, became lord of all on the very day he received the blessing. The creative Word was accomplished, and the blessing was truly fulfilled: man was, on that day, made lord of all things that are, though he himself would soon become disobedient to the Lord of all. God granted man not only the promised dominion over all, but also bestowed upon him the naming of creatures—a gift He had not promised. If God granted to man more than was promised, would He have withheld what was promised, if man had not sinned?

It is not impossible for a man to devise a few names and keep them in memory; but to invent thousands of names in a single hour exceeds the capacity of human nature and is difficult, and not to give to the last-named the name of the first is itself a divine work; and if this was done by man, it was given to him from God. If God granted man dominion, made him a participant in creation, clothed him with glory, gave him the Garden of Eden—what else remained to be done, or what was left undone, that man should diligently keep the commandment?

Having spoken of the creation of the animals and the names given to them by Adam, Moses turns to the account of his sleep, and of how a rib was taken from Adam and from it the woman was made, saying: “But for Adam there was not found a helper meet for him” (Gen. 2:20). By “helper” is meant Eve. Although beasts and cattle became helpers to man, it was more fitting that a helper should be of his own kind. And Eve, besides caring for the affairs of the home, besides tending to the sheep, oxen, and other flocks, could, as far as possible, be a helper to her husband in building, weaving, and other crafts. Although the animals were in subjection to man, yet they could not help him in these things. Therefore God made for him such a helper as would have care with him for all things and assist him in much.

“And God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs and filled up the flesh instead thereof. And the Lord God built the rib, which He had taken from Adam, into a woman, and brought her to Adam” (Gen. 2:21–22). The man, who until then had been wakeful, delighting in the radiance of the light and not knowing what repose was, now, made bare, lay stretched upon the ground and surrendered to sleep. It is likely that Adam, in his sleep, saw what was happening to him. When in a moment the rib was drawn out, and just as instantly its place was filled with flesh, and the naked bone was clothed with the full form and beauty of a woman, then God brings and presents her to Adam.

Recounting Adam’s sleep, how the rib was taken from him, the woman created from it, and brought to Adam, Moses writes: “And Adam said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her man” (Gen. 2:23). “This now”—that is, she who came to me after the animals, is not as they; they came from the earth, but she is “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” Thus spoke Adam either prophetically, or, as noted above, by a vision in his sleep. And as on that day all the animals received from Adam their names according to their kinds, so too did the bone, made into a woman, receive not her own name—Eve—but the name “woman,” proper to the whole kind. The words, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife” (Gen. 2:24), were said as a sign that those joined together form just such an indissoluble union as existed in the beginning.

Afterwards Moses says: “And they were both naked, Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Gen. 2:25). They were not ashamed—not as though ignorant of what shame is (for if they had been children, as some say, Scripture would not have said they were naked and were not ashamed). Nor would it have said, “Adam and his wife,” had they not been of mature age. The names given by Adam are enough to assure us of his wisdom. The words, “to till and to keep the garden,” let us know of his bodily strength. The commandment given to the forebears bears witness to their maturity; and their transgression of the commandment shows their pride. They were not ashamed, because they were clothed with glory. But when, after breaking the commandment, that glory was taken away, they were ashamed to find themselves naked, and both hastened to cover not so much their bodies, as their shame, with leaves.

Chapter 3

Having spoken of the nakedness of the forebears—which, under their heavenly garment, was honorable and gave no cause for shame—Moses turns to the account of the serpent’s cunning and says: “Now the serpent was more crafty than all the beasts that were on the earth, which the Lord God had made” (Gen. 3:1). The serpent was more cunning than the irrational animals, which man ruled over, but even if he surpassed them in cunning to the degree given to the beasts, it does not follow that he attained the level of man. God made the serpent craftier than the dumb cattle and more subtle than the irrational animals, but since he had no reason, it is clear he had no human wisdom. Adam surpassed the serpent both in the very manner of his creation, and in his soul, and mind, and the glory with which he was clothed, and by his place of dwelling. Thus, it is evident that he was immeasurably higher than the serpent even in subtlety. Adam excelled in wisdom above all the beasts, because God appointed him lord and governor over them; he was more subtle than all, because he gave names to all. Just as the Israelites could not gaze upon the face of Moses without a veil, so the animals could not look upon the bright countenance of Adam. Lowering their eyes, they passed before him as he named them, for their eyes could not bear the glory of his face. So, although the serpent was craftier than the beasts, he was nonetheless ignorant compared to Adam and Eve, the lords of the animals.

Having spoken of the serpent’s cunning, Moses turns to the account of his malicious approach to Eve and says: “And the serpent said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3:1). The serpent spoke, whether in the hissing natural to him, which Adam understood, or Satan spoke through the serpent, or the serpent by his own device begged for the gift of speech, or Satan begged God to grant this gift of speech to the serpent for a time. But no tempting word would have caused the tempted to sin unless their own desire had served as a guide to the tempter. Even if the tempter had not come, the tree itself, by its beauty, would have brought them into a struggle. Though the forebears sought an excuse in the counsel of the serpent, yet more than the serpent’s counsel, their own desire did them harm. For it is said: “And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes… and desirable to behold: and she took of its fruit, and ate” (Gen. 3:6). And if the woman was overcome by the beauty of the tree and the pleasantness of its fruit, then she was not conquered by the counsel that entered her ear, but was led into transgression by a desire that sprang up within her. Yet since the commandment was given for testing, it was a convenient occasion for the tempter to come.

All that was made in Paradise and outside Paradise, God gave to man out of goodness and required nothing from him for what He had created, but adorned and clothed him with glory. Whatever existed in Paradise, on the earth, in the air, and in the waters—all this was given to man by goodness, but the one tree alone was withheld from him by justice.

When God created man, He did not make him mortal, but neither did He make him immortal, so that Adam himself, by keeping or breaking the commandment, might gain for himself from one of the two trees that which he desired. And though God created the tree of life, He hid it from Adam: first, lest its beauty should bring the forebears into conflict and intensify their struggle; and second, so that they would not find, for keeping the commandment of the Unseen One, their motivation in a reward set before their eyes. Although God in His goodness gave the forebears everything, yet the immortal life which was gained by eating the fruit of the tree of life, He wished to grant them in justice. Therefore, He gave them only a commandment, which was not so great and could not equal the abundant reward prepared for them. And by forbidding them to eat the fruit of only one tree, so that they would be under the commandment, God gave them the whole garden, that they should not be compelled to break the law from lack of food.

Yet although, as I have said, testing was needed, nevertheless God did not permit Satan to send to Adam any Angel, or Seraph, or Cherub. Nor did He permit Satan himself to come to Adam in Eden in the form of a man or of a divine being, as he approached our Lord on the mountain. Nor did any greater or nobler beasts come to Adam, neither behemoth nor leviathan, nor any other large or clean animals, lest this should provide any excuse to those who broke the commandment. But it was allowed that the serpent come to them, who, though crafty, was greatly despised and repulsive. The serpent, when he approached the people, worked no actual wonder, nor did he even assume a false appearance, but came as he was—a creeping thing, with downcast eyes, for he could not look upon the brightness of her whom he wished to tempt. He did not come, out of fear, to Adam, but came to Eve, hoping to persuade her the more quickly to eat from that tree from which it was forbidden to eat, before she had yet tasted the permitted fruits from the thousands and myriads of other trees. She had not yet tasted—not because she was fasting, but because hunger had not yet taken hold of her, for she had only just been created. Indeed, the serpent was not forbidden to hasten so quickly to Eve, for this haste of the serpent did not serve him as an advantage. He came at a time when Eve, newly created, did not yet know what hunger was, and the beauty of the tree did not yet arouse in her a struggle of desires. So, since Eve felt no hunger and the tree did not bring her into struggle, the serpent was not forbidden to be her tempter. For had Eve conquered in that brief battle and in the short conflict, then both the serpent and he who was in the serpent would have suffered the same punishment they later did, while Eve and her husband would have eaten of the fruit of life and received eternal life, obtaining by justice that existence which had been promised them; they would have possessed by right all that before had been given them by grace.

Thus, the tempter hurried to approach and was not restrained. Even the very fact that the tempter arrived together with the commandment should have alerted those being tempted, making it plain that he was the tempter and warning them against his snares. The tempter comes and promises them something great, for he could not boast of anything small. And the one who was in the serpent thus spoke through him to the woman: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3:1). Here it should be noted that the commandment would have been great if it had forbidden them to eat the fruit of all the trees, as the serpent said; but since the opposite was commanded, the commandment was hardly counted as a commandment at all, for it was exceedingly light and given only for a time, until the tempter would depart from them.

Eve answered the serpent and said: of the fruit “of every tree of the garden we may eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Gen. 3:2–3). The serpent, and he who was in the serpent, hearing that the fruit of all the garden’s trees was given them for food, and only the fruit of one tree was forbidden, already thought that they should retreat in shame, for they saw they had nothing to offer. Therefore the tempter drew attention to the very commandment of the Giver, which forbade not only eating the tree’s fruit but even approaching it, and he realized that God had warned them against even looking at the tree, lest they be captivated by its beauty. And so he urges Eve to fix her gaze upon it and says: “Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4–5). Eve did not ponder the serpent’s words; she did not consider that, as a tempter, he spoke the opposite of what God had said; she did not answer the serpent with his own words, and say, “How will my eyes be opened, when they are not shut? And how, by eating the fruit of the tree, will I come to know good and evil, when even before tasting I already have such knowledge?” She overlooked what she ought to have said in reply to the serpent, and according to his wish turned her gaze away from the serpent before her, fixing her eyes on the tree she had been forbidden even to approach.

The serpent fell silent, for he had long noticed her guilt. It was not so much the promise heard by Eve that persuaded her to taste the fruit of that tree, as the gaze she fixed upon the tree enticed her to pluck and eat its fruit. Eve could have said to the serpent, “If I am deprived of sight, how is it that I see all that is visible? If I cannot distinguish between good and evil, why do I discern whether your promise is good or bad? Why do I know that it is good to be a god, and desirable to have opened eyes? How do I know that death is an evil if I lack such knowledge—and for what reason have you come to me? Your coming to us is evidence that we already possess these things, for your promise I am able to judge by the sight I already have, and by the ability to discern good and evil that I already possess. If I have within myself what you promise me, then where is all your cunning, since your deceit has not escaped my notice?” But Eve did not speak so to the serpent, for had she spoken, she would have overcome him; instead, she fixed her gaze on the tree, so as to be more quickly overcome.

Eve, giving herself over to the desire of her eyes and longing to become a god, as the serpent promised her, plucked the forbidden fruit and ate it secretly from her husband, and afterward gave it to her husband, who also ate. Since Eve believed the serpent, she was quick to eat before her husband, hoping that already having put on divinity she would return to him, from whom she had come as a human. She hurried to taste before her husband, to become the head of the one who was her head, to make herself ruler of the one from whom she ought to receive commands, to appear in divinity older than him before whom she was younger in humanity. But when she ate and did not become greater than she had been, though she was not diminished, she did not gain what she hoped—that her eyes should be opened—for she did not become a god as she expected, nor did she notice that her eyes were opened to see her nakedness. Then she brought the fruit to her husband, and with many pleadings persuaded him to eat, though it is not written that she begged him.

Thus Eve, having tasted, did not die as God had said, but neither did she become a god as the serpent had said. If her nakedness had been revealed, Adam would have been alarmed and would not have eaten, and although he would not have been guilty as one who did not eat, yet he would not have been victorious—as one not subjected to temptation. In that case, Adam would have refrained from eating because of his wife’s nakedness, not out of love for the Giver of the commandment or fear of God. But since it was necessary for Adam to be subjected for a short time to the temptation arising from Eve’s deceit, as she had been tempted by the serpent’s promise, Eve approached the tree, tasted its fruit, and her nakedness was not revealed. But when she deceived Adam and he also ate, then, Scripture says: “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Gen. 3:7). So their eyes were opened, but not to make them gods as the serpent had said, but to see their nakedness, which was the enemy’s true aim.

For this reason, the forebears’ eyes had formerly been opened, to see all things; yet they were shut, so that they would not see the tree of life and their own nakedness. The enemy envied the forebears, for they, by glory and the gift of speech, were shown to be above all that is on earth; to them alone was promised eternal life, which could be given by the tree of life. Thus, envying both what Adam already possessed and what he was destined to acquire, the enemy plotted his schemes and in a brief conflict deprived them of what they should not have lost even in a long contest. If the serpent had not enticed them into transgression, they would have eaten the fruit of the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would no longer have been forbidden to them, for from one of these trees they would have gained unerring knowledge, and from the other received eternal life and in humanity would have become like unto God.

The forebears would have obtained unerring knowledge and immortal life even while in the flesh, but the serpent’s promise deprived them of what they could have acquired; he assured them they would gain this by breaking the commandment—and all for the sole purpose that they should not gain what God had promised by keeping the commandment. By promising that they would “be as gods” (Gen. 3:5), he deprived them of this, and lest the promised tree of life should enlighten their eyes, he promised that the tree of knowledge would open their eyes.

If the forebears had wished, and after breaking the commandment had repented, then although they would not have regained what they possessed before the transgression, at least they would have escaped the curses pronounced upon the earth and upon themselves. Indeed, God delayed His coming to them precisely so that they might recognize their shared guilt, and when He, the Merciful Judge, came to them, they might begin to plead for mercy. The serpent’s coming was not delayed, lest the beautiful appearance of the tree increase their temptation. The Judge, however, delayed His coming to give the forebears time to prepare for supplication. But the hastiness of the tempter did them no good, though it might have served their benefit; nor did they take advantage of the Judge’s slowness, though it was for their good as well.

“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves… from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8). Not only by His long-suffering, shown to the forebears, did God wish to help them, but by the sound of His footsteps He sought to assist them; His gentle steps sounded forth so that they might prepare themselves to entreat the Sender of that voice. But when neither His slowness nor the voice that preceded Him brought them to come and stand before Him in silence, then God added to the voice of His steps the voice of His mouth, saying: “Adam, where art thou?” (Gen. 3:9). Yet Adam, instead of confessing his guilt and beseeching the Merciful One before He passed sentence, said: “I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” (Gen. 3:10). The sound of footsteps that preceded God and declared Adam’s judgment symbolized that voice of John which was to precede the Son of God: “Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor… the chaff He will burn with fire… but the wheat… He will gather into His garner” (Matt. 3:12).

“I heard Thy voice… and I was afraid.” When before did you hear His voice as you do now? For when He created you, brought you into Paradise, cast a sleep upon you, took your rib, made and brought you a wife, you did not hear His voice. If hearing His voice is something entirely new for you, then realize at least now that the voice of the Divine footsteps was so your lips might make supplication. Tell God, before He questions you, about the serpent’s coming, about your transgression and Eve’s. Perhaps the confession of your lips will cleanse you from the sin your hands committed in plucking the fruit. But the forebears did not confess what they themselves had done; instead, they told the All-knowing what had happened within them.

“Adam, where art thou?” Have you become a god, as the serpent promised you, or are you under the power of death, as I warned you if you ate of the tree? Consider, Adam: if instead of the serpent, this most contemptible of creatures, an Angel or some other higher being had come to you, would it have been just for you to disregard the commandment of Him who gave you everything, and to heed the promise of one who had never done you any good? Would it have been right to count as unkind Him who created you out of nothing, made you second god over the universe, and to think good the one who only made promises with words? If some higher being had come with displays of power and made promises, even then you should not have acted so. How much less should you have, when the one who came to you was a serpent, showing neither signs nor wonders. But at the mere utterance of his empty words, you lied to your God and believed a liar, counted as false Him who gave you every good and made you lord of all, while believing the liar, who did this cunningly to rob you of your authority.

If the serpent had been forbidden to come and tempt Adam, those who now complain that the serpent came would then have complained that the serpent was forbidden to come. They would have asserted that the serpent was kept from coming to Adam out of envy, lest after a brief test Adam should gain eternal life; and those who now say that if the serpent had not come, Adam would not have sinned, would have said that if the serpent had come, Adam would not have sinned. As confident as they are now in their assertion (that if the serpent had not come, Adam and Eve would not have sinned), even more would they have insisted that if the serpent had come (after God’s prohibition), they would not have sinned. But what would have been more likely, if the event itself had not shown that Adam obeyed the serpent, and Eve obeyed the creeping thing?

“I heard Thy voice… and I was afraid… and I hid myself,” because he kept silent about what he ought to have said and spoke instead of what was unnecessary. Instead of confessing what he had done—which would have been far more beneficial for him—Adam recounted what had happened within him, that is, he spoke of things useless to him. God says to him: “Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” (Gen. 3:11). You saw your nakedness with the sight the tree gave you, which promised you divine vision. But Adam does not confess his guilt, and instead accuses the woman like himself: “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Gen. 3:12)—not I went to the tree, but my hand was stretched out toward the forbidden fruit. For this reason the Apostle says that Adam did not sin, but Eve transgressed the commandment (1 Tim. 2:14). But if God gave you, Adam, a wife, He gave her so that she might help you, not harm you; to be under your authority, not to rule over you.

When Adam did not wish to confess his guilt, then God turned to Eve and said: “What is this that thou hast done?” (Gen. 3:13). And Eve, instead of pleading with tears and taking the blame upon herself, as if she had no desire to obtain forgiveness for herself and her husband, did not recount the promise the serpent had made to her or how he had persuaded her, but simply said: “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (Gen. 3:13). When both had been questioned and it was revealed that neither had repentance nor a true justification, then God turns to the serpent—not with a question, but with the pronouncement of punishment. For where there was room for repentance, there was a question; but for one who is a stranger to repentance, a sentence of judgment is delivered outright. And that the serpent could not offer repentance is clear from God’s words: “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle” (Gen. 3:14). Here the serpent does not say he did not do this (temptation), for he is afraid to lie, but he does not admit that he did it, for repentance is alien to him.

“Cursed art thou above all cattle,” for you led into deception those appointed to rule over all cattle. And since you are craftier than all the beasts, you shall be cursed “above all beasts of the earth… upon thy belly shalt thou go” (Gen. 3:14), for you brought the woman into the pains of childbirth. “Dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life,” for you deprived Adam and Eve of the fruits of the tree of life. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed” (Gen. 3:15), because you deceived the woman and those born of her and enslaved them to your death by cunning love. Explaining the enmity set between the serpent and the woman, between the serpent’s seed and the Seed of the woman, God says: “He shall bruise thy head” (Gen. 3:15)—that head which you wished to free from bondage to her Seed, but you shall bruise him not in the hearing, but in the heel.

Although it was just that the judgment should first be declared upon the serpent, since the beginning of the offense required the beginning of the punishment, God started with that contemptible creature, no doubt so that while the wrath of justice was directed at him alone, Adam and Eve might be struck with fear and repent, and so a way for His mercy might be opened to deliver them from the curses of justice. But when the serpent was cursed and Adam and Eve did not turn to supplication, God pronounced judgment upon them also. He addresses Eve first, for it was by her hand that sin was given to Adam, and pronounces judgment upon her, saying: “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children” (Gen. 3:16). Though Eve would have given birth by the blessing of fruitfulness, given to her along with all living creatures, yet she would have borne but few, for those born to her would have been immortal. Furthermore, she would have been free from the pains of birth, the cares of raising children, and the sorrows over their deaths. “And thy desire shall be to thy husband,”—so that you would be under his authority, and not rule yourself—“and he shall rule over thee” (Gen. 3:16), because you hoped, after eating of the fruit, to rule over him yourself.

When God pronounced judgment on Eve, and Adam showed no repentance, then punishment was also laid upon him, as God 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” (Gen. 3:17). Though the blameless earth is punished for guilty Adam, by the curse on the earth—which cannot suffer—Adam, who can suffer, is made to suffer. Since the earth is cursed, so too is the one who was not previously under the curse. But God did not say that man would be punished in the same way as the earth; He pronounced a separate judgment on him, saying: “In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life” (Gen. 3:17), because of the transgression. As by keeping the commandment you would have eaten its fruit without sorrow, so now, after sin, the earth “shall bring forth thorns and thistles to thee,” which it would not have produced if you had not sinned. “Thou shalt eat the herb of the field,” because, listening to your wife’s empty deception, you despised the desirable fruits of Paradise; “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,” because you did not wish to enjoy the comforts of Eden’s garden without labor. And thus it will continue for you “till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken,” because you despised the commandment which would soon have granted you eternal life, had you been allowed to eat of the fruit of the tree of life. And since you are of the earth, but forgot this, “thou shalt return unto the earth” (Gen. 3:18–19), and through this abasement you shall know what you are.

And Satan, created in the same six days when the serpent was created, into whom he entered, was, up to that sixth day, as beautiful as Adam and Eve were before their transgression. But Satan, who on that same day secretly became Satan, was also secretly condemned and judged at that time, because God did not wish to reveal His judgment against him to the forebears, lest they should know in advance his temptation. For this reason the woman said: “The serpent beguiled me” (Gen. 3:13), not “Satan.”

Thus, Satan was judged in secret, and all his hosts with him. The sin was great, but the punishment might seem small if it touched only one or a few. But now, as to Eve and all her daughters are appointed the pains of childbirth, as to Adam and all his sons are appointed sorrows and death, as to the serpent and all his seed is appointed humiliation, so also to the one who was in the serpent and all his hosts is appointed the fire. Yet this is hidden in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament by our Lord, Who says: “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:11)—that is, he was condemned at that time.

Having spoken of the punishment borne by the tempter and the tempted, Moses writes how “the Lord God made for Adam and his wife coats of skins, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). These garments were either made from the skins of animals or were newly created, for, as Moses says, the Lord made these garments and clothed Adam and Eve with them. It is possible to suppose that the forebears, touching their coverings with their hands, found themselves clothed in the skins of animals, which may have been slain before their eyes, so that they might eat their flesh, cover their nakedness with their skins, and in the very death of the animals see a sign of the coming death of their own bodies. After this, “God said, Behold, Adam is become as one of Us, to know good and evil” (Gen. 3:22). In the words, “he is become as one of Us,” God reveals the mystery of the Holy Trinity, but also mocks Adam, reminding him of what the serpent had said: “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

Indeed, Adam and Eve, after tasting of the tree, knew good and evil; but even before tasting they knew good by experience, and only heard of evil; but after tasting, the opposite occurred: of good they now only heard, but evil they experienced in reality. For God took from them the glory with which they had been clothed, and sorrows, which had never before touched them, now held sway over them. “And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” (Gen. 3:22). If Adam dared to eat of the tree from which it was forbidden to eat, how much more would he stretch forth his hand to the tree whose fruit was not forbidden? But since God had already ordained for the forebears a life of labor and sweat, of sorrow and pain, so that, if they were to eat of the fruit of the tree of life and gain eternal life, they should not be forever tormented in this life, He did not allow those who had fallen under the curse to eat of that tree which He had prepared for their immortality—intending to give it to them when they would be free from curses and clothed in glory. He acted so that the life-giving gift would not become their disaster, and what they would receive from the tree of life would not bring them a greater misfortune than that brought on them by the tree of knowledge. From one they received temporary afflictions, but the other would have made temporary afflictions eternal; from one they gained death, which frees them from the bonds of suffering, but the other would have made them buried alive, for it would have preserved their life for endless torment in suffering. Therefore, God removed from them the tree of life. Moreover, it would not have been fitting to possess a blessed life in a world of curses, nor to attain eternal life in a transitory world.

If the forebears had eaten of the tree of life, then one of two things would have happened: either the sentence of death would not have been fulfilled, or the tree of life would have ceased to be life-giving. Therefore, so as not to nullify the sentence of death, and that the tree of life not be found ineffective or devoid of life-giving power, God drove Adam out of Paradise, so that he should not suffer harm from the tree of life as he had suffered from the tree of knowledge; and He “sent him forth to till the ground from whence he was taken” (Gen. 3:23), that he who was harmed by the ease of Paradise might gain benefit from the labor of the earth. After the expulsion of the forebears from Paradise, God, as it is written, on the eastern side “of the garden of delight… set a Cherub and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24). The enclosure of Paradise had life, for it could turn of itself to guard the way to the tree of life from anyone who might desire its fruit and dare to pluck it. But the sword’s flame would have struck down any mortal who came to seize immortal life.

Chapter 4

Having spoken of the expulsion of Adam from the Garden of Eden, of the Cherub and of the flaming sword that guarded Paradise, Moses turns to the account of the birth of Cain and Abel, and of the offerings they brought, and says: “And Adam knew Eve… and she bore Cain, and said: I have gotten a man” (Gen. 4:1)—not to Adam who knew her, but to the Lord who formed the child in her womb. “And she continued to bear… Abel. And Abel was a shepherd of sheep; but Cain was a tiller of the ground” (Gen. 4:2)—that is, when they came of age, one became a shepherd, the other a farmer.

“And it came to pass… that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to God, and Abel brought… of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions” (Gen. 4:3–4). Abel brought his offering by choice, but Cain—without choice. Abel selected and brought the firstlings and their fat; but Cain brought either sheaves or, together with sheaves, whatever fruits were at hand at that time. Though his offering was poorer than that of his brother, yet if he had not brought it carelessly, his offering too would have been acceptable, as was his brother’s. But since, when both offered, one brought sheep from his flocks and the other brought fruits of the earth, Cain, even in the very act of sacrifice, showed negligence, and God refused his offering in order to teach him how a sacrifice ought to be brought. Cain had oxen and calves—he was not lacking in beasts or birds to offer; yet he did not bring them on that day, when the firstfruits of the earth were to be offered. And did he lack good sheaves to offer, or fine fruits from the trees to select the best among them? Yet he did not do so, though it was possible, and took no care to choose good sheaves or the choicest fruits. In the soul of the one bringing the offering there was no love for Him who receives the gifts. Because he brought his offering carelessly, God rejected it, lest Cain should think that God is unaware of his negligence, or that gifts are more pleasing to Him than those who bring them. God rejected Cain’s offering both for what he did and for what he was ready to do—for Cain was disobedient to his parents, cruel to his brother, and irreverent before God. Thus, Abel’s sacrifice was accepted for his zeal, and Cain’s was rejected for his negligence.

“Cain was very wroth,” not because his sacrifice was rejected—for he could have appeased the One angered by his careless offering with a choice one. “And his countenance fell” (Gen. 4:5)—but not because he was rejected, for he could have prayed to God. Whether or not his chosen sacrifice would have been pleasing if he had offered it, he had already shown what he wanted. Whether God would have been appeased by his prayers or not, Cain had already revealed his desire. If, instead of the careless offering which God rejected, he did not bring a chosen offering; if he did not erase by prayer the negligence with which he brought his sacrifice, it is clear that it was the acceptance of his brother’s offering that grieved him. He was troubled by the fire descending from heaven, by which one offering was distinguished from the other. “His countenance fell” because his rejected offering made him fear ridicule from his parents and sisters, who saw that fire touched his offering, yet it remained unconsumed.

“And the Lord God said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?” (Gen. 4:6). Instead of becoming angry, you ought to have been contrite; instead of your face falling, your eyes ought to have shed tears. “If you have done well, have you not offered?”—see, Cain’s offering was not rejected because it was small, but because it was brought with negligence and without reverence—“If you have done well, have you not offered?” Even if you had brought nothing, yet with your brother’s chosen offering yours would also have been accepted, even if it appeared less acceptable. “But if you have not done well, sin lies at the door.” “And Abel shall turn to you, listen to you, and go with you into the field.” “But you shall rule over sin” (Gen. 4:7–8)—that is, it is in your power to do so. Yet Cain, although God promised that if he did good He would accept his offering, as He did not accept his earlier careless offering, brought as a sacrifice now not reverence, but murder.

“And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go out into the field” (Gen. 4:8). He said, “let us go into the field,” either because they lived on the mountain near Paradise, and Cain led him down to the plain, or because Abel grazed his flock on the mountain, and Cain brought him down to the plain, where, because of the abundance of sheaves and the softness of the ground, it was easier to commit murder and hide the slain in the earth. For Scripture says: “And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him” (Gen. 4:8).

After killing his brother, Cain falsely assured his parents that Abel had been taken into Paradise because he was pleasing to God, and said that the proof of this was the acceptance of Abel’s offering—for keeping the commandment led into Paradise, as its transgression cast out. When Cain thought he had deceived his parents, and that there was no one to avenge Abel, then God appeared to Cain and said, “Where is Abel your brother?” (Gen. 4:9). God appeared to him without anger, so that, if Cain repented, a prayer uttered by his lips might wipe away the sin committed by his hand; but if he did not repent, a heavy punishment awaited him, such as the crime deserved. But instead of repentance, Cain was filled with indignation, and to the All-knowing, who questioned him about his brother in order to draw him to Himself, he answered angrily, saying: “I know not: am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9). God continues: “What hast thou done?” (Gen. 4:10). If you do not know where Abel is, because you are not his keeper, then to the One who asks about what you have done, tell what you have done, so He does not have to ask others about you. Say, “What hast thou done?” If the One questioning you did not know what you had done, He would not ask you about your deed. But when Cain would not even admit this—that is, what he had done—then God’s knowledge is revealed, and He distinguishes the crime, saying: “The voice of your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground” (Gen. 4:10). What do you say, Cain? Shall Justice avenge the blood that cries to Him, or not? Was it not delayed so that you might repent? Was it not hiding its knowledge and questioning you as if ignorant, so that you might confess your crime? But since you would not do good, as Justice suggested, and rushed toward the sin from which it warned you beforehand, “cursed are you from the earth,” because you caused sorrow to Adam and Eve, the ancestors of all the earth, “cursed are you from the earth” (Gen. 4:11), for you opened the doors of Sheol (hell) to the whole earth. “When you till the ground, it shall not yield its strength to you”—because you alone wanted to partake of its produce—“you shall groan and tremble upon the earth” (Gen. 4:12), for you walked upon it with pride and arrogance.

Since this curse was fulfilled at once in actual deed, he who had spoken earlier with pride, saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”—after the curse was pronounced, having been cast down from the height of his pride, straightway began to lament and to tremble. He says, “Greater is my iniquity, that it may be forgiven me” (Gen. 4:13). But this confession was not accepted, for Cain did not bring it forward when he was questioned, but only brought it forth unwillingly, after it had already been determined for him: “Thou shalt groan and tremble.” And Cain, as though not wishing to propitiate Justice by his prayers, instead of beseeching the longsuffering of God, once more (with defiance), whether from fear or from cunning intent, says, “Behold, Thou drivest me out from the face of the earth”—Thou hast cursed me from the face of the earth; and, “from Thy face I shall be hidden”—that is, I cannot stand before Thee, since I have shown myself reckless before Thy face by saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” “And I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth; and it shall be, that everyone finding me will slay me” (Gen. 4:14). Do you desire death for yourself, Cain, or do you fear death? But if you die, how shall God’s decree be fulfilled upon you? But if, even in these calamities, life is still dear to you, then was it not far more desirable to Abel, who was far removed from your misfortunes?

Some say that here Cain was beseeching deliverance from death, while others assert that he was asking for a hastening of death. That is why God said to him, “It shall not be so with thee as with the murderers after thee.” Murderers after Cain would be put to death as soon as they were discovered, but “whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold” (Gen. 4:15). Since he asked for death, so that men would not mock his humiliation, for seven generations they would see his disgrace, and only then would he die.

But one cannot accept what some say—that seven generations of Cain’s descendants perished together with Cain. If it is claimed that the line of Cain was wiped out by the Flood, the Flood only destroyed the seventh generation. But if one generation perished with Cain, why say that seven generations perished with him? Moreover, those who say this cannot prove that the Flood occurred in the seventh generation from Cain. For Scripture says that from Cain was born Enoch; from Enoch was born Irad (Gaidad); from Irad was born Mehujael (Maleleel); from Mehujael was born Methushael; from Methushael was born Lamech; and from Lamech was born Jabal, and “he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle” (Gen. 4:20). Surely these dwellers in tents, cattle-breeders, did not preserve chastity in their tents, especially when Scripture says, “for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth” (Gen. 6:12). And if from Cain to the sons of those who dwelt in tents and were cattle-breeders there passed nine generations and the Flood had not yet occurred, how can we accept the claim that seven generations perished with Cain—when, as we have just said, nine generations had passed and the Flood still had not begun? Thus it is justly said that Cain’s shame endured unto the seventh generation, even though Cain besought that death might deliver him from shame on the very first day. And that Cain lived until the seventh generation is seen, first, from the fact that such was the determination of God’s judgment, and, second, it is confirmed by the lifespan of men in the earliest generations. If Cain’s father, Adam, lived to the ninth generation, that is, to the sons of Lamech, and died in the fifty-sixth year of Lamech’s life, then it is no wonder that Cain also lived until the seventh generation.

Although Cain asked to be delivered from disgrace, not only was he not delivered as he wished, but even beyond his expectation, in addition to the punishment already determined for him, there was added also a sign. For it is said, “And the Lord God set a mark upon Cain, that no one finding him should slay him” (Gen. 4:15). By “those finding Cain” we should understand the descendants of Seth, who had a motive to avenge their uncle Abel’s blood, and who kept themselves apart from Cain both because of his disgrace and his groaning, and entered not into marriage unions with his tribe. Yet, since there was a sign upon Cain, they dared not slay him.

When Cain bore his punishment, and, beyond that, there was added a sign (of which we have spoken above, but we shall be silent about its nature, as it is unnecessary), then Scripture says of Cain: “And Cain went out from the face of God and dwelt in the land of Nod, over against Eden” (Gen. 4:16). Cain departed from his parents and brethren, for he saw that they would not enter into marriage unions with him. The land was called Nod (Naid, or Nod), because it also trembled and groaned. Likely, according to the word of God, it was also subjected to another curse: “when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength” (Gen. 4:12). After this, “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch” (Gen. 4:17). He did this so that the city would not be called Nod, that is, “the city of trembling.” “And to Enoch was born Irad (Gaidad); and Irad begot Mehujael (Maleleel); and Mehujael begot Methushael; and Methushael begot Lamech. And Lamech took to himself two wives… and Adah bore Jabal: he was the father of those who dwell in tents and keep cattle. And the name of his brother was Jubal: he was the father of all those who handle the harp and organ. And Zillah… she also bore Tubalcain (Fovel): he was a hammerer, a forger of brass and iron; and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. And Lamech said unto his wives… Hear my voice… for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. For sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for Cain, but for Lamech seventy times sevenfold” (Gen. 4:18–24). Some, explaining Lamech’s words to his wives, say that the wives were from the line of Seth and advised Lamech to become godly. But he says to them, “What do you see in me that is loathsome or similar to what was done by my father Cain? Have I slain a man to my wounding, as Cain did, or, just as Cain slew the youth Abel, smiting him in the face, so have I killed a young man to my hurt? If I have acted like Cain, then Cain was punished sevenfold; but I decree for myself that I should be punished seventy times sevenfold.”

Others, thinking that vengeance upon Cain should reach to the seventh generation, and basing this on the words, “all flesh had corrupted its way” (Gen. 6:12), say that Lamech was wicked. And since his wives saw that their lineage was ceasing, for their children were not male, but female, as it is written: “when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them” (Gen. 6:1)—such a decrease in offspring brought them fear, suggesting that the sentence pronounced upon Cain and his seven generations was overtaking them—Lamech reassures his wives with a cunning answer, saying: “I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt” (Gen. 4:23). If God prolonged Cain’s punishment so that with him seven generations perished, then for me, having slain two, He will prolong it even more, so that with me seventy times seven generations should perish; we shall die, and having drunk the cup of death, be delivered from the punishment that for my sake would be extended to the seventy times seventh generation.

Some say that Lamech, being cunning and crafty, seeing that his family was diminishing and that the descendants of Seth would not enter into unions with them because of the disgrace resting upon their forefather, Cain—then, lest the lands be left untilled for want of tillers and that their lineage not utterly perish, Lamech became zealous for the welfare of his tribe and killed Cain and one of his sons who most resembled his father, so that the likeness of the son to the father would not cast a disgraceful stain upon the entire tribe. Thus, having slain Cain and so, as it were, destroyed the barrier that divided the generations of Cain and Seth and hindered their intermarriage, Lamech, as if secretly, says to his wives: “A man and a youth are slain—adorn your daughters for the sons of Seth, for by my killings, and by the beauty and adornment of your daughters, it will come to pass that even those who for six generations refused to have such unions with us will now consent to enter into marriage with us.”

And Lamech’s wives adorned their daughters for the sons of Seth. Jabal delighted them at banquets with the meat of cattle. Jubal captivated them with the sweet sounds of his harp. And the sons of Seth were drawn to them, forgot the good covenant bequeathed to them by their father, left their dwellings—which before had been superior to the dwellings of the seed of Cain. By such cunning Lamech brought about the mingling of the two lines, reasoning thus: if God shall have mercy upon the line of Seth, which has united with us, and preserve it from destruction, then He will show mercy to us as well, and by this means we shall be delivered from the punishment for murder, for the sake of those who are innocent of murder and have joined us in marriage.

Chapter 5

Having recounted the generations of the race of Cain and finished the narrative concerning the discourse of Lamech with his wives, Moses turns to the reckoning of the generations among the race of Seth, and, beginning with Adam, says: “And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image” (Gen. 5:3). In Seth, who was in every way like Adam, we are shown the type of the Son of God, Who is the image of the Father Who begat Him, just as Seth is the image of Adam who begat him. When Seth begat Enos, then, as Scripture says, “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord” (Gen. 4:26)—that is, since Seth separated from the line of Cain, his race began to be called by the name of the Lord, or, the righteous people of the Lord.

Having said that Adam begat Seth, Seth begat Enos, Enos begat Cainan, Cainan begat Maleleel, Maleleel begat Jared, Jared begat Enoch, Scripture says: “And Enoch pleased God, and he was not found” (Gen. 5:24). Some interpret this as meaning that Enoch was translated into Paradise in the sight (in the presence) of Adam: both so that Adam might not suppose that Enoch had been slain like Abel and grieve for him, and so that he might be comforted concerning his righteous son Abel and understand that all who are like him shall either, before death, or after the resurrection, be taken up into Paradise.

Enoch begat Methuselah, Methuselah begat Lamech, Lamech begat Noah. And Lamech prophesied concerning his son, saying: “this one shall comfort us by his offering, by which he shall appease God for our deeds, and for the sorrow of our hands, and for the ground which the Lord God hath cursed” (Gen. 5:29), because God, for the sins of those dwelling upon the earth, will destroy in the waters of wrath the houses and gardens we have built and over which our hands have labored.

After counting ten generations from Adam to Noah, Moses says of Noah that “he was… five hundred years old, and he begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Gen. 5:32). Noah, who preserved virginity for so long a time, served as a model for his contemporaries, for he kept his virginity for five hundred years among men of whom it is said, “for all flesh had corrupted its way” (Gen. 6:12).

Chapter 6

Having spoken of Noah’s purity, Moses turns to the narrative of how, among Noah’s contemporaries, evil desire increased, and says: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply… and daughters were born unto them” (Gen. 6:1). By the “many men” Moses means here the race of Cain, and by adding “that daughters were born unto them,” he wishes to show, as we have already said, that the progeny of Cain was being diminished.

“But the sons of God, seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took them wives of all whom they chose” (Gen. 6:2). The “sons of God” are the sons of Seth; as children of the righteous Seth, they are called God’s people. “The daughters of men,” whom the sons of God saw were fair, are the daughters of Cain; their beauty and adornment became a snare for the sons of Seth. And the words, “took them wives of all whom they chose,” show that when they took them as wives, they boasted before them, making selections among them—one poor man exalting himself over the rich, the old man over the young, the ugliest over the most beautiful. The descendants of Cain, however, paid no heed to wealth or appearance, but only wished to have tillers for their lands, which had remained unsown. This mixing began with the intemperate and the poor: the intemperate were captivated by the beauty of the daughters of men, while the poor coveted their wealth. After them, the entire race of Seth followed in their footsteps. And since the sons of Seth were taking for themselves wives from among the daughters of Cain and neglecting their former wives, the latter ceased to keep the purity and modesty they had formerly maintained for the sake of their husbands. As this intemperance spread among both men and women, Scripture says, “all flesh had corrupted its way” (Gen. 6:12).

“And the Lord God said: My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years” (Gen. 6:3), that is, in this generation life will not be prolonged to nine hundred years, as it was in the earliest generations. “For that he also is flesh”—for their days are spent in fleshly pursuits. “Yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years”—if they repent during this time, they will be delivered from the wrath threatening them; if not, by their deeds they will bring wrath upon themselves. Thus, the goodness of God grants a hundred and twenty years for repentance to a generation which by justice did not deserve it.

Then Moses writes of the children born to the daughters of Cain from the sons of Seth, saying: “There were giants in the earth in those days: and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them: the same became giants, men of renown from of old” (Gen. 6:4). These were “giants” in comparison to the diminutive race of Cain, but not to the strong race of Seth. Among the descendants of Cain, men became small in stature, because the land cursed by God did not give them its strength, yielding only weak and strengthless produce (food)—as even now, the land, fruits, and grasses sometimes impart strength and sometimes do not. Since the descendants of Cain, being cursed, sons of the accursed, living on a cursed land, gathered and ate such produce of the earth as lacked strength, they themselves became as feeble as what they ate.

But the sons of Seth, being sons of blessing and living on land neighboring Paradise, ate the many and potent fruits of the earth and had robust bodies. These robust sons of Seth, going in to the daughters of lamenting Cain, begot for his lineage giants, men of renown. The phrase, “from of old,” means that for the race of Cain there were born such giants as were among the earliest and renowned men—Seth and Enos.

After the story of the giants born among the descendants of Cain—whose women were beautiful but, in comparison to the sons of Seth, very small in stature—Moses says: “And the Lord God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Thus, in the course of the years given for repentance, men added sin to sin. “The wickedness of man was great in the earth”—that is, evil had spread through both lineages. “Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” for it was not only from time to time, but always, at every hour, that they sinned, ceasing neither by day nor by night from fulfilling their wicked purposes.

Because of such universal impiety, “God said: I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and creeping thing, and the fowls of the air: for I repent that I have made them” (Gen. 6:7). God does not “repent” as one who had not foreseen that men would come to such depravity, but wishes to show later generations the great impiety of the human race, which reached such a degree of lawlessness as to bring the impassible God, as it were, to repentance. Moreover, the Holy Spirit vindicated the justice of God, making it clear that mankind was not destroyed by the Flood without reason. If even the Being incapable of any repentance has condescended to say “I repent,” He said this so that the arrogant generation, hearing these words, might tremble, and the seeds of repentance might take root in the hearts of the stubborn. If there had been any defect in God’s creatures, He would have made a new world and not preserved in the Ark the creatures of which He said He repented having made.

But see—God, in saying “I repent,” by this very thing shows that He does not repent! For if God repented of sinners, why should He regret the cattle, the creeping things, and the birds of the air, which had not sinned? If He did not grieve over them, why then did He say “I repent,” when He did not in fact repent? Therefore, His sorrow over creating not only the guilty but also the innocent assures us that God spoke of His “repentance” out of love for sinners, not to suggest any lack of foreknowledge in God. The Goodness which created men grieved that they must perish for their deeds, and if they did not perish, then through them the generations that followed would become ungodly.

But when the shortening of man’s life and the “repentance” of God did not bring men to fear, nor awaken them to regret for their sins, then God says to Noah: “the end of all flesh is come before Me… Make thee an ark of gopher wood… The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits… A window shalt thou make to the ark in a cubit shalt thou finish it above… rooms shalt thou make in the ark… and thou shalt pitch it within and without with pitch” (Gen. 6:13–16). Such a heavy labor did God lay upon the righteous man, not wishing to bring the Flood upon sinners. Where was Noah to find such trees? Where would he obtain pitch, iron, and flax? By whose hands could he accomplish this work? Whence could he obtain helpers for the task? Who would obey him, when in the human race “all flesh had corrupted its way” (Gen. 6:12)? If Noah and his household alone had set about building the ark, would not everyone who saw it have mocked him? Yet Noah began the construction of the ark in the first of those years granted to his contemporaries for repentance, and completed the building in the hundredth year.

Chapter 7

When men did not repent, even though Noah, by his holiness, served as a model for his contemporaries and by his righteousness preached to them for a hundred years about the coming flood, they even mocked Noah, who told them that all kinds of living creatures would come to him to seek refuge in the ark, and said, “How will beasts and birds, scattered over all the earth, come?” Then God again said to him: “Enter thou and all thy house into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female; and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female” (Gen. 7:1–2). Clean beasts are those that are gentle, and unclean are those that are harmful. Indeed, from the beginning, God created the clean animals in greater number.

And behold, those who would not be convinced by words were to be convinced by what they saw. “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy… every living thing that I have made” (Gen. 7:4). On that very day, elephants began to come from the east, apes and peacocks from the south; other animals gathered from the west, others hurried from the north. Lions left their forests, fierce beasts came out of their dens, deer and wild asses came from their deserts, animals dwelling on mountains gathered from there. The contemporaries of Noah flocked together to witness such a new sight—but not for repentance, but rather to enjoy the spectacle of seeing, before their eyes, lions entering the ark, oxen following without fear and seeking shelter with them, wolves and sheep entering together, hawks and sparrows, eagles and doves.

But when even this sudden gathering of beasts into the ark, and the peace that soon prevailed among them, did not move Noah’s contemporaries to repentance, then the Lord God said to Noah: “Yet seven days, and I will destroy every creature that I have made.” God had given men a hundred years to repent while the ark was being built, but they did not come to their senses. He gathered together animals they had never before seen—yet still men would not repent; He established peace among harmful and harmless beasts—and still they were not afraid. Even after Noah and all the animals entered the ark, God delayed another seven days, keeping the door of the ark open. It is remarkable both that the lions did not think of their forests, nor did the other beasts and all kinds of birds try to find their former dwellings, and also that the contemporaries of Noah, seeing all that happened inside and outside the ark, were not persuaded to abandon their wicked ways.

God wished to postpone the punishment of the wicked for a hundred and twenty years—first, so that they might repent; further, so that in that time, the righteous living among them might serve as their judges; finally, so that the righteous might fulfill the years of their lives, and there be no reason to say, “Why did God not spare from destruction those who had not sinned?” Testing the human race for a hundred years, God then subtracted twenty years, because those seven days in which He delayed after the animals entered the ark, by the signs that then took place, were more significant than the twenty years that were cut off. For if, during the signs performed in those seven days, men did not repent, it is evident that they would not have repented even in twenty years without such signs. Thus, the One who subtracted twenty years delivered men from a greater number of transgressions.

After the seven days had passed, “in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month… all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened… and the Lord God shut Noah in from without” (Gen. 7:11, 16), so that, when the waters overflowed, no one could break down the door of the ark and enter it. “And the flood came… and all flesh died… and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark” (Gen. 7:17, 21, 23). The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were opened for forty days and nights, and the ark floated upon the waves for a hundred and fifty days.

Chapter 8

“And the waters decreased after a hundred and fifty days. And the ark rested… upon the mountains of Ararat… and in the tenth month… the tops of the mountains were seen… And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year… in the first day of the first month, the waters were dried up from off the earth… And in the second month—which is Iyyar (Iyar)—on the twenty-seventh day of the month the earth was dried” (Gen. 8:3–5, 13–14). Thus, Noah and those with him were in the ark three hundred and sixty-five days. For from the twenty-seventh day of the second month, Iyyar, to the twenty-seventh day of the same month of the following year, according to the lunar reckoning of the months, three hundred and sixty-five days had passed. Notice, even in Noah’s time they reckoned the year as three hundred and sixty-five days; so can it be asserted that the Chaldeans and Egyptians invented and established such a reckoning?

“And the Lord God said unto Noah… Go forth from the ark, thou and thy wife, and thy sons and thy sons’ wives with thee” (Gen. 8:15–16). God had brought them into the ark separately, so that they would preserve chastity; but He brings them out in pairs, so that they may be fruitful and multiply on the earth. And the animals maintained chastity in the ark, as is evident from the words: “Every beast that is with thee, and all flesh… bring out with thee: and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth” (Gen. 8:17).

When Noah, with all those who were with him, had come forth from the ark, “he took of every clean beast… and offered burnt offerings on the altar” (Gen. 8:20). On the very day Noah went out from the ark, all clean birds and beasts were subject to Noah; he offered every clean creature as a sacrifice pleasing to God, and this sacrifice brought an end to the flood. “And the Lord smelled a sweet savor” (Gen. 8:21)—not the odor of animal flesh or the burning of wood, but He looked with favor and saw the purity of heart in him who brought a sacrifice to Him out of all and for all. And the Lord God spoke to Noah that which he most desired to hear: “for thy righteousness a remnant of creatures has been preserved and did not perish in the waves of the flood, and for thy sacrifice, offered of every flesh and for every flesh, I will not again bring a flood upon the earth.” God, as it were, binds Himself beforehand with a promise, that He will not again bring a flood upon mankind, even if they again follow evil thoughts, every day inclining toward wickedness.

And since by the flood, sowing and harvest were interrupted, and the order of the seasons was disturbed, God restores to the earth what had been taken from it in wrath, and says: “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring, day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22). For during the flood, for forty days on account of the rains, it was as night, and throughout the year, until the earth was dry, there was winter without summer.

Chapter 9

“And God blessed Noah and his sons” (Genesis 9:1), so that they might multiply and fill the earth, and so that the fear of them might fall upon all living creatures, both on land and in the sea. “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat” (Genesis 9:4)—that is, do not eat the flesh of an animal that has not been slaughtered, nor eat meat while its blood, in which is its life, remains in it. Thus, God established three covenants with Noah and his descendants: first, the prohibition against consuming the blood of animals; second, the promise of resurrection, in which even the bloodshed by animals will be accounted for; and third, the decree that every murderer must be put to death. “Surely your blood… will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man” (Genesis 9:5). God demands an accounting for bloodshed both in this world and in the age to come. In this world, He requires it by decreeing death for the murderer, as shown by His command to stone even an ox that kills a man (Exodus 21:28). In the age to come, He will require it at the resurrection, when beasts will restore the human flesh they consumed. “At the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man,” just as He decreed punishment for Cain for the blood of Abel. The words, “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed,” likewise underscore this. And by saying, “for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6), it is shown that man, like God, is endowed with authority to give life and to take it.

“And God blessed Noah and his sons” (Gen. 9:1), that they might be fruitful and multiply, and that their fear might be upon all flesh, both in the sea and on the land. “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat” (Gen. 9:4)—that is, you shall not eat the flesh of an animal that has not been slaughtered, nor meat before its blood, in which is the animal’s life, has been poured out. Thus, God leaves Noah and his sons three commandments: first, He commands them not to eat the blood of animals; second, He promises the resurrection, at which the blood will be required at the hand of every beast; third, He ordains that every murderer shall be put to death. “And surely your blood… of every beast will I require it… and at the hand of man” (Gen. 9:5). God requires blood both here and in the age to come. Here, He requires it by appointing death to the murderer; for this reason, He commanded that even an ox which gores a man should be stoned (Ex. 21:28). He will require it at the end, for on the day of resurrection, the beasts shall restore the human flesh they have devoured. “At the hand of man, at the hand of a man’s brother, will I require the life of man,” as He also appointed punishment for Cain for the blood of Abel. This is also the meaning of the words: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed” (Gen. 9:6). And in the words: “for in the image of God made I man” (Gen. 9:6), it is shown that man, like God, is invested with authority both to give life and to put to death.

Having concluded a covenant with Noah and all who came forth with him from the ark, God says: “neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood” (Gen. 9:11). And, “I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of the (everlasting) covenant between Me… and every living creature that is upon the earth” (Gen. 9:13, 17).

After this, Moses writes how Noah planted a vineyard: “and he drank of the wine, and was drunken, and was uncovered within his tent” (Gen. 9:21); how Ham “saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brethren without in the street” (Gen. 9:22). Noah’s drunkenness did not result from drinking much, but from not having drunk wine for a long time. He drank no wine in the ark, for on the day when all flesh perished he could not even think of bringing wine into the ark with him. Thus, Noah did not taste wine for a whole year while the flood lasted; nor did he plant a vineyard the year he left the ark, for he came out on the twenty-seventh day of the month of Iyyar, at such a time when not even unripe grapes could be found, and it was impossible to plant vines. Therefore, not before the third year did Noah plant a vineyard, using seeds from dried grapes he had taken into the ark, and not before the third or fourth year after that could he have obtained grapes from them. Thus, the righteous man did not drink wine for six years.

This lengthy abstinence, and the fact that it was the cause of his drunkenness, is attested also by what is said—that Ham went out and told his brethren in the street. How could there have been a street if they had not yet built a city? But if they already had a city, then certainly many years had passed. Thus, the building of the city and the street in the city testify that the elder had not tasted wine for many years, as we have said, and this was the cause of his drunkenness.

Ham’s brothers knew of their father’s purity, and that, like Jacob after him, he was protected by an Angel both awake and asleep; therefore, “they covered his nakedness,” and did so in such a way that “their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness” (Gen. 9:23).

“And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done unto him” (Gen. 9:24). Thus, Noah both slept and was awake: he slept, in that he was unaware of his nakedness; but he was awake, for he knew what his younger son had done to him. And Noah cursed him: “And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren” (Gen. 9:25). But how was Canaan guilty, if he was yet in the loins of his father, and it was not he, but his father, who saw Noah’s nakedness? Some say: Ham received the blessing along with all those who entered the ark, and again, after coming out of the ark, blessing was given to him along with the others; therefore, God does not curse him directly, but in the person of his son—though the curse of the son would certainly grieve the father.

Others, based on the words of Scripture, “and Noah knew what his younger son had done unto him,” and knowing that Ham was not the youngest but the middle son, conclude that “his younger son” here means Canaan, and that it was the young Canaan who mocked the old man’s nakedness; Ham, with a mocking face, went out and told his brethren in the street. Thus, it may be thought that, although Canaan was not entirely justly cursed—having done this as a child—yet it was not unjust either, for he was not cursed for another’s deed. Furthermore, Noah knew that if Canaan did not become worthy of a curse in his old age, he would not have done the thing deserving of a curse in his youth.

Justice required that Ham be deprived of blessing, not subjected to a curse. For if he had been cursed for mocking together with the boy, he would have been justly cursed, but all of Ham’s descendants, who had no part in the mocking, would then have been cursed together with Ham. Therefore, Canaan was cursed as the one who mocked, while Ham was only deprived of blessing for mocking along with the one who mocked.

Pronouncing the curse upon Ham in the person of his son, Noah blessed Shem and Japheth and said: “God enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant” (Gen. 9:27). The family of Japheth multiplied and became mighty in their inheritance in the north and west. God Himself dwelt in the tent of Abraham, descendant of Shem, while Canaan became servant to Shem and Japheth, for in the days of Joshua the descendants of Shem laid waste the habitations of the Canaanites, subdued, and enslaved their princes.

Chapter 10

Afterwards, Moses enumerates the generations that came from Noah: namely, fifteen generations from Japheth, counting him as the first; thirty generations from Ham, also counting him, but excluding the Philistines and Cappadocians who came from them later; and twenty-seven generations from Shem, again counting him. In all, there were seventy-two generations. Each became its own nation and language, and each dwelt in its own land.

Concerning Nimrod it is said, “he was a mighty hunter before the Lord God” (Gen. 10:9), for by God’s will he waged war against each tribe and compelled them to depart into the lands appointed for them by God. “Therefore it is said: Like Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord” (Gen. 10:9), meaning that from this came the custom, when wishing well to a prince or ruler, to say: “Be like Nimrod, the mighty hunter, renowned in the Lord’s battles.” Nimrod reigned in Arak—that is, Edessa; in Achar—that is, Nineveh; in Chalan—that is, Ctesiphon; in Rehoboth—that is, Adiabene; in Chala—that is, Hatra; in Resen, or Rish-Ain, which was then a great city.

Chapter 11

After this Moses says: “And the whole earth was of one lip, and one speech for all… And they said, Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:1, 4). Why do they build a fortified city when there was no one to fear? Why a tower reaching to heaven, when they had received an unbreakable covenant that there would be no more flood? They say, “lest we be scattered upon the face of the whole earth.” But who would scatter them, when there was no one else? Yet from their words, “let us make us a name,” it is clear that pride and arrogance moved them to build the city and the tower, and their work was halted by the division that arose among them.

“And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower”—that is, God beheld their act of folly. “And He said… This they begin to do: and now nothing will be withheld from them, which they have imagined to do” (Gen. 11:5–6)—that is, what they feared will not be withheld: they will not escape the punishment they dread. They said, “lest we be scattered,” and this is precisely what will happen to them. “Come, let Us go down, and there confound their language” (Gen. 11:7). These words are not spoken to a single person, for it would not be fitting for one to say, “let Us go down… let Us confound.” Thus speaks God the Father to the Son and the Spirit, for both at the beginning and at the end, the gift of tongues is bestowed not without the Son and the Spirit.

“Let Us confound their language there, that they may not understand one another’s speech” (Gen. 11:7). Likely, each tribe began to speak the particular language given to it. Had they not lost their original tongue, their work would not have ceased. But with the loss of the original language among all tribes except one, which retained it, the building was stopped. The new languages so separated the tribes from one another that they could not understand each other; and from the division caused by their languages arose quarrels among them. Such was the cause of strife among those who, for fear of attacks, had built a fortified city—therefore, those who feared being scattered are scattered over the whole earth. Nimrod also took part in this scattering, for he seized Babylon and was the first to reign there; for if he had not sought to scatter the tribes one by one, he could not have gained dominion over the common homeland of all.

Then Moses again begins to enumerate the generations from Noah to Abraham and says: Noah begat Shem and his brothers; Shem begat Arphaxad; Arphaxad begat Cainan; Cainan begat Salah; Salah begat Eber; Eber begat Peleg; Peleg begat Reu (Ragav); Reu (Ragav) begat Serug; Serug begat Nahor; Nahor begat Terah; Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; Haran begat Lot, Milcah, and Iscah—that is, Sarah, who was called thus for her beauty. Both of them later became wives to their uncles. Terah led his son Abram, his grandson Lot, and his daughter-in-law Sarah out of Ur of the Chaldees, came to Haran, and dwelt there (Gen. 11:31).

Chapter 12

God appeared to Abram, “and said unto him: Get thee out… from thy father’s house, and go to a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation” (Gen. 12:1–2). Abram left his parents, because they would not go with him, but took Lot with him, for Lot believed in the promise given to Abram. And though God did not make Lot a participant in the inheritance of Abram, yet He did not allow the sons of Abram to take possession of the inheritance of Lot’s descendants. Thus Abram took Lot and Sarah and went into the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:5).

“And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt… And Abram said to Sarah… When the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, but will spare thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee” (Gen. 12:10–13). Abram said this as a man, and Sarah was taken into the house of the king, so that her love for her husband might be revealed, in that even in captivity she did not exchange him for a king, and that the daughters of Sarah, in her person, might see an instructive example for themselves: just as she was not enticed by the Egyptian throne, so they should not cling to the idols of Egypt, to its garlic and onions; as Pharaoh’s whole household was stricken with plagues for Sarah’s deliverance, so, for the deliverance of her children, all Egypt would be smitten. Pharaoh’s household was punished for boasting of Sarah’s beauty and stirring up the king’s desire to take her; but Pharaoh himself was punished for having taken her by force and against her will. For if Sarah had not feared that both she and her husband would be killed, she would never have surrendered herself to Pharaoh.

Chapter 13

“And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle” (Gen. 13:7). Because of this, Lot’s quarrelsome servants were, by the righteous judgment of God, later sent to the Sodomites, who were also contentious, so that together with them they might also suffer punishment, and God might deliver Lot from their midst. Although God had promised that land to Abram, he allowed Lot to choose for himself the region near the Jordan—that is, all the land of Sodom, through which the Jordan flowed.

After Lot separated from Abram, God appeared to Abram and said to him: “Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it: for I will give it unto thee” (Gen. 13:17). By this, the Cross is clearly prefigured. Yet the land promised to the patriarchs in the mystery of the Cross, for the sake of the Cross cast out its own children, and those lands were given to other heirs.

Chapter 14

Then Chedorlaomer (Hodollogomor), king of Elam, with his three allies, made war against the king of Sodom and his four allies, put the king of Sodom and his confederates to flight, seized all the wealth of Sodom, as well as Lot and his possessions, and departed. Abram then took three hundred and eighteen of his servants and, together with Aner and his allies, pursued the king of Elam, struck him down, and recovered the captives with their goods, and also Lot, his nephew, with all his substance. But since the possessions of the Sodomites were mingled with the goods of the defeated kings, Abram refused to take any of the spoil seized from those kings whom he had defeated.

“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed Abram, and said: … Blessed be the Most High God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all” (Gen. 14:18–20). This Melchizedek was Shem; by his greatness he was a king, as patriarch of fourteen tribes, and also the high priest, for he had inherited the priesthood from his father Noah. Shem lived not only until the days of Abram, as Scripture states, but even until the time of Jacob and Esau, the sons of Abram’s son. Rebekah went to consult him, and Shem told her that two nations were in her womb, and the elder would serve the younger (Gen. 25:22–23). But Rebekah would not have gone to consult him, passing by her own husband, who had been so wondrously saved from sacrifice, and her father-in-law, to whom such frequent divine revelations were given, unless she had known of his greatness from Abram and his son.

And Abram would not have offered tithes to Melchizedek had he not known him to be far superior to himself. Nor is it possible to suppose that Rebekah would have consulted any of the Canaanites or Sodomites, or that Abram would have given a tithe of his recovered goods to any of them. Since the days of Melchizedek reached as far as the time of Jacob and Esau, it is likely, as has been said, that Shem was indeed this Melchizedek. His father Noah lived in the East, but Shem dwelt among two generations—among the sons of Ham and his own sons—serving as a barrier between the two peoples, being concerned that the descendants of Ham might lead his sons into idolatry.

Chapter 15

After this, God appeared to Abram in a vision and said: “Thy reward shall be very great” (Gen. 15:1) for thy advancement in righteousness and for delivering the captives. “And Abram said: … What wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless… and the steward of my house is this Eliezer?… And He brought him forth abroad and said: Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to number them. And He said unto him: So shall thy seed be. And Abram believed… and it was counted to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:2–3, 5–6)—and indeed, for a great righteousness. Since he believed in what was hardly possible, which not every man could believe, it was counted to him for righteousness. Praising Abram for his faith, God “said unto him: I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said: … Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Gen. 15:7–8). Some say that for Abram’s doubt concerning the promise, it was later said: “Know surely that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs” (Gen. 15:13). But let those who claim this recognize with what faith Abram at the same time received the promise that his seed would be as numerous as the sand of the sea. If Abram believed that which was much greater—namely, that from himself alone and from the barren and aged Sarah a seed as numerous as the sand would come forth—surely, not having doubted the greater, he would not have doubted the lesser, namely, that his seed would inherit the land. If he had doubted, why would God have said to him: “Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon” (Gen. 15:9)? This was told Abram by night, and during the day he performed it, and from morning until evening he stood, driving away the birds of prey from his sacrifice. And after fire came down upon his well-pleasing offering in the evening, God appeared to him and spoke of the sojourning of his seed. If God had spoken this as a punishment, his offering would not have been accepted, and God would not have made a covenant with him that day, nor promised him that day that his seed would possess the lands of ten nations, nor have said that he himself would go to his fathers in a good old age. All this God declared to Abram on the very day when “he believed… and it was counted to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). How then can it be said that on this day, for a lack of faith, a punishment was pronounced on the seed of the one who, for the faith he showed that day, was granted such great rewards?

Thus, Abram believed in what was impossible—that from Sarah’s aged and nearly dead womb a world of people would arise. As for the inheritance of the land, he was not asking if it would happen, but how it would happen. He saw that the land of Canaan had kings and armies, that it was full of inhabitants, and now he heard it would be given not to himself, but to his seed; and so he wanted to know how all this would come about, though not in his time—how his seed would enter this land and inherit it. Would the kings, Abram wondered, destroy each other? Or would other nations come and destroy the inhabitants, leaving the land empty for them? Or would his own seed become powerful, come and drive out the people and inherit the land? Or would the land consume its inhabitants for their deeds? Or would the people themselves depart for another country because of famine, being driven by some rumor or other cause? Thus, when Abram questioned God, he did not doubt the certainty of the promise, but only wished to know by what means his seed would inherit the land. But God, knowing what Abram desired, revealed to him both what he sought and what he did not ask. By the fact that Abram drove away the birds of prey from his prepared offering, God showed him that his seed, for their sins, would suffer affliction, but by the prayers of the righteous they would be saved. In the image of the burning furnace descending from heaven, God made him understand that deliverance would come from heaven when there were no righteous among them. The three-year-old heifer, three-year-old goat, and three-year-old ram signified either that Abram’s descendants would be delivered from bondage after three generations, or that from among them would arise kings, priests, and prophets. The division of the animals by sex foreshadowed the division of Abraham’s descendants into tribes, while the fact that the birds were not divided indicated their mutual concord.

After showing this to Abram, God said: “Know surely (as you wished to know), that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs.” Not as captives would your descendants go there, but as sojourners, with pack animals and heifers as they possessed. “And they shall serve them… four hundred years” (Gen. 15:13). They would not even beg to leave that land unless they were subjected to harsh slavery. “And that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers… in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again.” And the addition: “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Gen. 15:14–16), shows that the measure of sins for which the Amorites would justly be destroyed by the sword had not yet been completed.

“A deep sleep fell upon Abram” (Gen. 15:12). As a deep sleep fell upon Abimelech (Gen. 20:3), so did a deep sleep fall upon Abram when God appeared to him, made a covenant with him, declared that ten nations would be in bondage to his seed, and that all the land, from the river of Egypt unto the Euphrates, would be given to his descendants as an inheritance.

Chapter 16

That same year, Sarah, seeing her own barrenness, said to Abram: “Behold, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: go in, I pray thee, unto my maidservant” (Gen. 16:2), “that I may perhaps obtain consolation from her.” And since Sarah was not at peace—though Abram delayed to follow her advice—but as it is written, “Abram hearkened to the voice of” his wife (Gen. 16:2), Sarah gave him Hagar the Egyptian, who had been given to her with other maidservants by Pharaoh on the day he took her as his wife.

But when Hagar conceived, she began to despise her mistress, thinking that her offspring would enter the land of promise and inherit it. Sarah could have restrained Hagar’s arrogance, but since she saw that the former slave, from the time she was given to Abram, had shared his bed, she did not reproach the concubine, lest she bring shame upon Abram himself. Yet she said to him: “My wrong be upon thee” (Gen. 16:5)—meaning, I did not exchange you for a king, but now you have preferred a servant to me; Hagar should have thanked me that my prayer was heard, and she conceived, because I gave her to you that I might have consolation from her, but instead of repaying my kindness with gratitude, she returns evil for good and in the eyes of all the maidservants causes me great offense.

Hagar, who trusted in Abram, when she saw that he gave her into the hands of her mistress whom she had insulted, became afraid and fled. But the Angel met her and said: “Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hand… I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude… for the Lord hath heard thy affliction” (Gen. 16:9–11)—if you are willing to return and serve your mistress, “and thou shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael” (Gen. 16:11). “He will be a wild ass among men,” for he shall dwell in the wilderness and, like a wild ass, will not be at peace with men; “his hand will be against every man”—that is, to plunder all—“and every man’s hand against him” (Gen. 16:12). For as he will attack all nations, so also will he be attacked by all. “And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren”—that is, the sons of Sarah and Keturah—“for the sons of Shem have already been allotted their lands of inheritance” (Gen. 16:12).

Hagar understood that Abraham would have many children, but not by her. She was assured of this because he no longer went in to her, and, as soon as he saw she had conceived, he no longer approached her. Abraham went in to Hagar only at Sarah’s wish, that he might have from Hagar at least a little consolation until God should make Sarah joyful with fruit of her own womb. And Hagar said: “Thou God seest me”—Thou condescendest and revealest Thyself to those who honor Thee. And she added: “Have I also here seen Him that seeth me?” (Gen. 16:13), because at first the Angel, appearing, said nothing to her so as not to terrify her. But when He spoke to her, then there was vision within vision: that is, in the face of the Angel, God Himself was revealed; and so she called the well: “The well of the Living One who seeth me” (Gen. 16:14). Hagar returned to her mistress and asked forgiveness for herself. And when she told Abraham and Sarah of her vision, reporting what the Angel had said about her son—that he would dwell in the presence of his brethren—then this news, when Sarah heard it, softened the grief that Hagar had previously caused her. “And Hagar bore… and Abraham called his son’s name… Ishmael” (Gen. 16:15), as he had been instructed by Hagar.

Chapter 17

“Abram was ninety-nine years old, and the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him: … be thou blameless… in the covenant which I establish with thee” (Gen. 17:1–2). “And I will multiply thee exceedingly, and will make thee into nations…”—that is, into many tribes; clearly, this includes the descendants of Esau, Keturah, and Ishmael, who formed numerous peoples. “…and kings shall come forth from thee,”—which indicated the kings from the tribes of Judah and Ephraim, as well as the kings of Edom (Gen. 17:6). “And this is My covenant: every male among you shall be circumcised… the flesh of your foreskin” (Gen. 17:10–11).

“And God said to Abraham… I will give you a child by Sarah: and I will bless her, and she shall become nations…” “And Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart: Shall a son be born to him that is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And he said… O that Ishmael might live before Thee!” (Gen. 17:15–18). Abraham laughed, not because he doubted; but in saying, “O that Ishmael might live,” he only showed his love for Ishmael. For twenty-five years God kept him hoping for offspring, and Abraham, through all the revelations he received, continually showed his faith. As great as his struggle with barrenness was, so was his triumph of faith. But when old age was added to barrenness, Abraham laughed in his heart—meaning, he marveled that God would do this for him. Therefore God says to him, “Indeed, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son.” I do not speak to test you, nor to make you believe something I will not fulfill. “As for Ishmael, I have heard you: behold, I have blessed him… and will multiply him” (Gen. 17:19–20). Had Abraham doubted, God would not have reassured him with an oath concerning His promise, nor heeded Abraham’s prayer for Ishmael, nor announced that the following year a son would be born to Abraham, but would have rebuked and reproached him. That which was said about Ishmael—that he would beget twelve princes—means that twelve tribes would arise from Ishmael, just as twelve tribes descended from Jacob. On that very day, Abraham performed circumcision upon himself, upon Ishmael his son, and upon all his household.

Chapter 18

Since God the Giver had determined that the gift would be sent to Abraham in the coming year, Abraham wondered whether or not the time would be revealed to him—when he would receive the blessing and Sarah’s closed womb would be opened. As Abraham pondered this, “the Lord appeared to him… as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day” (Gen. 18:1). Abraham desired to satisfy the eyes of his soul with this revelation, but God became invisible to him. And as he wondered why God had appeared to him and, without saying anything, had hidden Himself, “he lifted up his eyes, and behold, three men stood over against him”; then, laying aside his thought, “he ran to meet them from the tent door” (Gen. 18:2).

When Abraham hurried from his tent to meet them as strangers, and by his haste showed his love for hospitality, God appeared to him and, at the tent door, clearly revealed Himself in one of the three travelers. And Abraham “bowed himself toward the ground” (Gen. 18:2), begging Him, in whom God’s majesty was manifest, to enter his house and bless his dwelling: “If now I have found favor in Thy sight, pass not away, I pray Thee, from Thy servant” (Gen. 18:3). Abraham’s plea was not refused, and the Lord answered: “So do, as thou hast said.” Then “Abraham hastened… to Sarah, and said… Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal” (Gen. 18:5–6), and himself hurried to the herd to select a fat calf. Abraham offered bread and meat so abundantly, not only for the Angels’ refreshment, but that all his household might share in the blessing.

When the travelers’ feet had been washed and they sat under the tree, Abraham brought and set before them all that he had prepared; he himself did not presume to sit, but stood before them, as is fitting for one who serves. When they tasted the meal set before them, they asked about Sarah, and Sarah—even in old age preserving modesty—came out of her private chamber to the tent door. For, by Abraham’s care and the silence kept at his sign by all in the house, the household understood these were not ordinary strangers who had stretched out their feet for the righteous man to wash. Then the Lord said to Abraham and Sarah: “Returning, I will come to you at this time, and Sarah shall have a son” (Gen. 18:10). But Sarah, though Abraham stood behind her encouraging her to hope, “laughed within herself, saying, Shall I indeed bear, when I am old? And my lord is old also” (Gen. 18:12).

If Sarah had asked for a sign, a sign would have been given to her: first, because she was barren and old; and second, because nothing like what was promised her had ever happened, so that, seeing or hearing of it, she might have believed. But although she did not ask for a sign, nevertheless, a sign was given her by herself and in herself. The Lord said: “Why did Sarah laugh within herself, saying, Shall I of a surety bear, when I am old?” (Gen. 18:13). But Sarah, instead of accepting the true sign given her, sought to cover it with a lie: “Then Sarah denied, saying, I did not laugh” (Gen. 18:15). But the Angel, letting her know that her denial was in vain, said: “No, but you did laugh” (Gen. 18:15)—in your heart; behold, your heart refutes the idle words of your tongue.

The Angels, who proclaimed the promise to Sarah of a son, “rose up… and looked toward the face of Sodom” (Gen. 18:16). Yet nothing was revealed to Sarah about their journey to Sodom, so that on the very day she was gladdened by the promise of a son, she might not be grieved for her brother by being told of the dread decree of judgment pronounced on the Sodomites and their neighbors. Therefore, they hid this from Sarah, that she might not shed tears continually. But it was revealed to Abraham, so that he might not cease to pray, and so that his prayer would make known to the world that in Sodom not even a single righteous man was found, for whose sake the city might have been spared. “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great before Me, and their sins are very grievous” (Gen. 18:20). What is meant by “cry” is explained by the words that follow about their sins. “I will go down now and see if they have done altogether according to the cry of it which has come unto Me; and if not, I will know” (Gen. 18:21). The Lord said this not because He did not know their sins. Earlier, He had said: “their sins are very grievous”; but He wished to set an example for judges, that they should not pronounce sentence until they have seen the deed fully. If the All-knowing represented Himself as if He did not know, so as not to issue the sentence before the judgment, then much more should judges confess their ignorance and not pass judgment before investigating the matter.

Chapter 19

Two Angels come to Sodom and draw near to the gates, where Lot sat to receive into his house those strangers who entered the city. “And Lot, seeing them, arose to meet them,” as he was accustomed to welcome strangers. But as he approached them, he perceived in one of the two something of that same presence which Abraham had seen in one of the three, “and he bowed himself with his face to the earth” (Gen. 19:1). It is likely that the Angels who came to the Sodomites bore a beautiful appearance, for the words: “I will go down now, and see” (Gen. 18:21), mean the same as, “Having gone down, I will test them.” Had the Sodomites, upon seeing their faces, not been driven to frenzy, then even if they did not obtain forgiveness for their previous sins, they would at least not have suffered the punishment which later overtook them.

Lot hastens to bring the strangers into his house, before the Sodomites gather and are tempted. But the strangers linger, giving the Sodomites time to come and be tried. With Abraham, they did not refuse to enter his house, because they came not to test him, but to reward one already tried. To Sodom, however, they came to test the Sodomites, and so to Lot, who urged them to enter his house, they replied: “Nay, but we will lodge in the street” (Gen. 19:2).

But when Lot “pressed upon them greatly… and they turned in unto him and entered into his house” (Gen. 19:3), and had eaten of the meal Lot had prepared, but before they had yet lain down, “the men of the city, the men of Sodom, compassed the house round about” (Gen. 19:4), and said unto Lot: “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them” (Gen. 19:5). Notice: the strangers came not by day, when the Sodomites could see their beauty and be tempted, but by night, when darkness hid their beauty from their eyes, that the temptation might not be so strong. Yet even this availed not for the Sodomites. Even at night, as by day, they prepared destruction for their own souls. Lot pleads with the Sodomites, but they are not persuaded; he offers them his two daughters, but they do not accept, and with threats say, “We will deal worse with thee, than with them… and they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door” (Gen. 19:9). Then the strangers “put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them,” and those Sodomites “that were at the door of the house they smote with blindness” (Gen. 19:10–11). Yet even this did not restrain the Sodomites in their frenzy, for afterward they still tried to find the door.

“And the men said unto Lot: Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters? and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place. For we will destroy this place” (Gen. 19:12–13). By “sons” they mean the sons-in-law, who wished to take his daughters as wives. “And Lot went out, and spoke unto his sons-in-law” (Gen. 19:14). The Sodomites did not notice how he went out of the house or how he returned. Even when Lot came back, mocked by his sons-in-law, “the Angels took him by the hand, and his wife by the hand, and his two daughters by the hand, and brought them forth, and set them outside the city” (Gen. 19:16), and even then the Sodomites did not see how they passed through their midst.

Since the wives in Sodom were not subjected to the trial, they were tested by the commandment given after leaving Sodom. When Lot began to plead that Zoar might be spared, so that he could enter it, because it was near at hand, the Angel said to him in reply: “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city” (Gen. 19:21). This is granted thee for the sake of both thy daughters. When Lot entered Zoar, “the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Gen. 19:24)—that is, the Angel in whom the Lord appeared called down brimstone and fire from the Lord who is in heaven. But Lot’s wife transgressed the commandment given her for her trial for a brief time, “and she became a pillar of salt” (Gen. 19:26), and thereby increased the trial for Lot and his two daughters, yet they did not thereafter incline to transgress the Angel’s commandment.

The daughters of Lot, fearing to dwell in a desolate city, urged their father to flee into the mountains. And since they thought that the fiery flood had destroyed the whole world, just as in the days of Noah the world had been destroyed by the flood of waters, “the elder said to the younger: Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us… let us make our father drink wine… and let us preserve seed of our father; and from us there shall arise a third world, as from the house of Noah arose a second, and from Adam and Eve—the first” (Gen. 19:31, 32). They had no lack of wine, for all that was in Zoar came into their possession. As for the inhabitants of Zoar, they were no more; for when the Angel said to Lot, “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city,”—Zoar swallowed up its inhabitants, leaving their possessions. The inhabitants it swallowed, to appease thereby the Righteous One whom they had angered by their deeds, but left their goods for righteous Lot, that he might be comforted for all he had lost in Sodom. The daughters of Lot invented excuses and said: “We are afraid to sleep, phantoms terrify us, our mother stands before us, turned into a pillar of salt, before our eyes appear the Sodomites being consumed, in our ears resound the cries of the women calling from the fire, we seem to see before us the children suffering in the flames; therefore, father, do not sleep, but for the comfort of thy daughters, refresh thyself with wine, that we may spend the night in wakefulness and be freed from our terrors.” But when they saw that Lot’s mind was overcome with wine and deep sleep had seized his limbs, the elder went in and took seed from the sleeping sower, “and he perceived not” (Gen. 19:33). Then the elder, seeing that her purpose was accomplished, urged her younger sister also, that for a time she might become a wife, and afterwards remain forever in virginity; and the younger, persuaded by her sister, went in and came out, “and he perceived not” (Gen. 19:35).

“And the elder bore a son, and called his name Moab” (Gen. 19:37), and he became the father of a great nation, as the son of Lot. “And the younger also bore a son, and called his name Benaammi” (Ammon or Ben-Ammi) (Gen. 19:38), that is, “son of my people,” for he is the son of my father. Thus, two sons were given—according to the number of two transgressions. Two sons were given for two nations, but for the sake of the two Angels, the two transgressions were forgiven. Lot’s daughters afterward did not live with Lot, because he was their father, nor with others, though there were suitors. But because they hastened to do what was not permitted, they abstained even from what was allowed. And by their later abstinence, it may be, they atoned for their earlier haste.

Chapter 20

After these things, Abraham went to the land of the Philistines, and, out of fear, said of Sarah that she was his sister. “And Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah” (Gen. 20:2). But since Sarah had already been tested in the house of Pharaoh, and moreover, she carried Isaac in her womb, and Abraham’s prayer was steadfast, as soon as Abimelech went up to his bed, suddenly—just as it had happened to Adam—sleep fell upon him. And God said to him in a dream: “Behold, thou shalt die for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.” Abimelech replied, “Wilt thou destroy also a righteous nation? In the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.” Then God said, “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against Me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her” (Gen. 20:3–6).

Abimelech, rising early in the morning, called Abraham to himself and reproached him for having nearly caused him to sin grievously. Abraham answered: “I was afraid, and therefore I called Sarah my sister; nor did I lie in this, for she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, a sister by my father, for she is the daughter of my father’s brother, but not by my mother, since Haran, the son of Terah, had to wife not his sister but a stranger; and she, loving her own kin, remained among her people and did not wish to depart to live with Lot and with the daughters Sarah and Milcah.” Then Abimelech said to Sarah: “Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver” (Gen. 20:16), and I return thee to him with gifts, because thou hast placed a covering before the eyes of all who are with me—thou hast openly reproved me before all. Abimelech says: “placed a covering before the eyes of all who are with me,” that is, thou hast put to shame all those with Abimelech, exposing him before everyone. For when sudden sleep fell upon Abimelech, which showed Sarah that God was her Helper, she then, with a loud voice before all, said to him: “It is not fitting for thee, having left thy own wife, to take another for adultery.” Yet if Sarah, after conceiving Isaac, had not regained the bloom of her youth, surely Abimelech would not have felt desire for her who was now ninety years old. “So Abraham prayed unto God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bore children” (Gen. 20:17). For from the time that Abimelech intended to take Sarah, until she was returned to Abraham, the pains of childbirth tormented the women in Abimelech’s house, and those to whom the time of bearing had come could not bring forth.

Chapter 21

The time drew near for Sarah to give birth; she bore Isaac and nursed him at the breasts of her old age. And after Isaac was circumcised and weaned, on the day of the “great feast” which “Abraham made… the day that Isaac was weaned” (Gen. 21:8), Sarah saw Ishmael mocking. Observing that Ishmael resembled his mother in all things, and considering that just as she (Hagar) had insulted Sarah, so Ishmael would mock Isaac, she thought to herself: “If, during my lifetime, Ishmael behaves thus toward my son, then when I die, will he not take a share of my son’s inheritance, or perhaps even claim two portions as the firstborn?” So Sarah was jealous for her son’s rights—the very Sarah who had not cared for her own rights, when without jealousy she gave Hagar to her husband. And that the son of the bondwoman might not seize the inheritance from the son of the free, Sarah “said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son” (Gen. 21:10). For it is not just that the son of a bondwoman should inherit with the son of the promise. Nor is it fitting for thee to act against the will of God in what thou hast received a promise from Him, and to make heir him whom God hath not made heir. Now Abraham truly wished to make Ishmael his heir, for he made no distinction between his sons. Therefore it is written: “And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son… And God said unto Abraham, In all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning… and gave Hagar bread, and a bottle of water, and the lad, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness… And the Angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her… for God hath heard the voice of the lad… arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water… and she went and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink” (Gen. 21:11–14, 17–19).

After this, Abimelech and his general Phicol said to Abraham: Since it is known to us that God is with thee, and He has helped thee in wars with kings, and has promised to give thee the land of Canaan, we are afraid that, having destroyed the Canaanites, thou mayest lay waste the land of Abimelech as well. Therefore, they hastened to make a covenant with Abraham. “And they made a covenant, both of them” (Gen. 21:27).

Chapter 22

And again, “God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him… Take now thy son… and go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Gen. 22:1–2). So that none might say Abraham was acting in a fit of frenzy, the fulfillment was delayed for three days. “And Abraham rose up early in the morning… and clave the wood… and took with him two young men and Isaac… and went” (Gen. 22:3). But he did not reveal to Sarah where he was going, for it was not commanded that he tell her. For surely she too would have resolved to go and to participate in the sacrifice, just as she took part in the promise of Isaac’s birth. Nor did Abraham reveal it lest those of his household hinder him and stir up strife in his tent, or lest the people of the land gather and take the lad away or force him to postpone the sacrifice for some days. If Abraham feared to tell even the two servants whom he took with him to the mountain, how much more should he fear to tell many others! And he, who out of fear would not reveal his purpose to the two youths, when at last they had ascended the mountain and Isaac asked him about the sacrifice,—he prophesied to him, just as he had prophesied to the servants left at the foot of the mountain.

“And having bound Isaac… he laid him on the altar… and… stretched forth his hand, and took the knife” (Gen. 22:9–10), but the Angel of the Lord held back his hand. And so that Abraham might not think his sacrifice was rejected for some deficiency, the Angel told him that he had shown his reverence before God, and through the one who was dearest to him his love for the Lord of all had been revealed. Thus Abraham became glorious, both because he had already offered up his son in his heart, even if he did not slay him in fact, and because he believed that even after death the son would rise again and return with him, for he did not doubt the truth of what was said to him: “for in Isaac shall thy seed be called” (Gen. 21:12).

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket, and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son” (Gen. 22:13). That there was no ram before is evident from Isaac’s question; and that there was no wood there is shown by the fact that the wood was laid upon Isaac’s shoulders. The mountain brought forth the wood, and the wood brought forth the ram, that the ram, hanging on the tree and then sacrificed instead of Abraham’s son, might be a figure of the day of Him who, as a lamb, was nailed to the tree and tasted death for the whole world. “And the Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time… By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord… in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed… and in thy Seed”—that is, in Christ—“shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 22:15–18).

Chapter 23

Then Sarah died in Hebron, being one hundred and twenty-seven years old, and she was buried in the cave, which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth.

Chapter 24

Three years after Sarah’s death, “Abraham said to his eldest servant… Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and I will make thee swear… that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites” (Gen. 24:2–3). The servant swore by the covenant of circumcision. For upon that which men had defiled at the beginning of their being, both before and after the flood, God placed the sign of His covenant; and upon that which was held in contempt in the human body, He bestowed special honor, placing there the sign of the covenant, so that by this men would swear their oaths and by this those demanding an oath would require it to be sworn. The servant swore to his master, “and he took of all the goods… and arose and went to Aram (Mesopotamia), to the city of Nahor” (Gen. 24:10). And he halted by a well, and prayed to God, seeking a sign for himself. And indeed he rejoiced at Rebekah’s coming to the well, but he still sought to know from which family she was. When he learned that she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, then he gave thanks to God and went into their house and stayed there. And as soon as he told them by what oath his master had bound him, and how it was fulfilled exactly as he had prayed at the well, Bethuel and Laban said to him: “The thing proceedeth from the Lord… behold, Rebekah is before thee: take her, and go” (Gen. 24:50–51). They called the maiden, to learn her consent. And since she had heard of the oath Abraham had laid on his servant, of the prayer at the well, and the sign which he asked for and was given to him, she was afraid to say she would not go, for she knew it was God’s will that she should go. And so Rebekah went, and became Isaac’s wife; and for the joy at Rebekah, who came to him three years after his mother’s death, “Isaac was comforted after his mother” (Gen. 24:67), for whom he had mourned three years.

Chapter 25

Since the law concerning virginity and chastity had not yet been given, so that desire should not be reckoned as a stain upon the soul of the righteous, and since it had been said to Abraham that kings and nations would spring from him—of which God Himself bore witness, saying that He knew Abraham would command his sons and his sons’ sons to keep His commandments—after Sarah’s death, Abraham took a concubine, intending that his many sons, scattered across many lands of the whole earth, might by their piety spread the knowledge and honor of the one God. Indeed, Abraham had children by Keturah; and after giving them gifts, he sent them toward the east, and he died at the age of one hundred seventy-five years and was buried with his wife Sarah.

“And God blessed Isaac” (Gen. 25:11). And “Isaac prayed to the Lord for Rebekah… because she was barren.” And after twenty years, “God heard him, and Rebekah conceived” (Gen. 25:21). “And the children struggled together within her… and she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in thy womb” (Gen. 25:22–23)—that is, the nation of Edom and the nation of Israel. As to whom she went to inquire, we have said above, for when speaking of Melchizedek, we noted that Rebekah went to inquire of him. But she soon returned home, for the pangs of birth drew near, and Rebekah bore Esau and Jacob.

Jacob, seeing that Esau despised his birthright, began to seek a way to obtain it for himself, trusting in God, who had said: “the elder shall serve the younger” (Gen. 25:23). And once, when Jacob had boiled lentils, Esau came back from hunting, weary, and said to Jacob: “Give me, I pray thee, some of that red pottage” (Gen. 25:30)—that is, give me a taste of the lentil stew. “And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright” (Gen. 25:31), and take all you desire. Esau swore and sold his birthright, and Jacob gave him the pottage, and he ate. And Scripture, to show that Esau sold his birthright not out of hunger, adds that after he had eaten, “he rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright” (Gen. 25:34). Thus, he did not sell his birthright out of necessity, but from contempt; he sold it as something worthless, giving it away for nothing.

Chapter 26

“There was a famine in the land… and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar… And Isaac sowed… and received in the same year an hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great” (Gen. 26:1, 12–13). Then Abimelech was afraid that the sojourner would surpass him in power. So with his commander Phicol, he came to Isaac and said: “We saw plainly that the Lord was with thee, as He was with thy father Abraham; we understood this from the hundredfold harvest and from many other things; and so we said, Let us make a covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no harm, now that thou hast become strong, just as we did thee no harm when thou wert weak. And… they sware one to another… and departed in peace” (Gen. 26:28–29, 31).

Chapter 27

“Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim… and he said to Esau: Take thy weapons, hunt me venison, and prepare me savory meat… that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die” (Gen. 27:1, 3–4). Esau went to the hunt. Hearing this, Rebekah advised Jacob to go to his father, lest Esau gain the blessing in opposition to the word of God: “the elder shall serve the younger.” But he did not obey her at first, fearing he might receive a curse instead of a blessing. But when Rebekah said: “Upon me be thy curse” (Gen. 27:13), then Jacob did as she instructed. He took the prepared food, brought it to his father, and said: Father. His father asked: “Who art thou, my son? And he said unto his father: I am Esau… I have done as thou badest me” (Gen. 27:18–19). Isaac was suspicious, hearing the voice of Jacob. And because he was afraid the blessing and birthright would be transferred from Esau to another, he said: “Come near to me, that I may feel thee” (Gen. 27:21). When the deceiving feel of his hands confirmed the false voice, Jacob received the blessing and went out. Then Esau came in, having prepared the food, and asked his father to eat. Isaac, realizing that under Esau’s name another had received the treasure of his blessings, was amazed and said: “Who then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me… and I have blessed him—yea, and he shall be blessed?” (Gen. 27:33). So Isaac could not take back his blessings. First, he knew that by this the will of the Lord Himself was fulfilled, as Rebekah had said. Second, when he blessed Jacob he had said: “Cursed be everyone that curseth thee” (Gen. 27:29), and so he feared, lest, if he cursed Jacob, the curse of his own lips, spoken against the one he had already blessed, might turn back upon himself. “Esau… cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry” (Gen. 27:38), but not because he had lost the spiritual blessings, but because he was deprived of the good things of the fertile land; not because he could not now be justified, but because he would not rule over his brothers; not because he would not inherit immortal life, but because the land of Canaan would not be his lot. And Esau hated Jacob, so that he plotted to kill him. Then Rebekah persuaded Jacob to go to the house of Laban, so that the brothers in their enmity would not kill one another, and so that she herself would not be deprived at once of both sons. She told Isaac of this, and he blessed Jacob and sent him to Haran to take a wife from there.

Chapter 28

Jacob traveled all day and spent the night along the way. And when evening came, instead of the pillow he used in his mother’s tent, “he took a stone and put it for his pillow and lay down… And he dreamed: and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and the Angels of God were ascending and descending on it; and the Lord stood above it” (Gen. 28:11–13). In the image of the ladder, Jacob was shown the ascent and descent of Angels over him as he slept, signifying that he was guarded not only while awake but also while sleeping, for at that time the Angels were commanded to go up and down over him for his protection.

Thus, by the vision of the ladder, God clearly revealed to Jacob His hidden providence for him. When he slept, it seemed to him that he was lying in a land far from God. But when he awoke and perceived the care that was shown to him even in the wilderness, he said: “How I have slept in the house of God, and how I have reposed before the gate of heaven.” And to show Jacob that the Angels were descending and ascending for his protection, God said to him: “And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land: for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”

“And Jacob said: Surely the Lord is in this place, and He is guarding me; but I knew it not” (Gen. 28:15–16). The oil, which Jacob poured on the top of the pillar, he either obtained in a nearby village or brought with him. And the oil poured by Jacob upon the stone signified the mystery of the Christ who was hidden within him. “And Jacob called the name of that place Bethel”—that is, “the house of God,” as he had previously called it. “And he made a vow upon the stone, saying: If God will be with me… and give me bread… and raiment… then this stone… shall be God’s house, and of all that Thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee” (Gen. 28:18–20, 22). In the stone was prefigured the mystery of the Church, to which the vows and offerings of all nations who enter into it are rendered.

Chapter 29

Jacob continued his journey, came to a well, and saw Rachel. She came with her flock, barefoot and poorly clad, and her face was tanned by the sun. Jacob understood that the One who sent beautiful Rebekah to the spring also sent humble Rachel to the well, and he demonstrated his strength to her: he rolled away the stone that covered the well, which many strong men could hardly move. Having won Rachel for God by this marvelous act, he betrothed himself to her with a kiss.

Jacob served for her seven years, but when the time was fulfilled, Laban deceived him and gave him Leah instead of Rachel. Laban resorted to such trickery not only because Leah was plain and, during the seven years that Rachel was a bride, no suitor had come for her, but also because he saw God’s blessing upon his possessions while Jacob was his shepherd. Therefore, he devised to make Jacob his shepherd for another seven years, so that in those years his wealth might increase just as it had in the first seven years, when Jacob labored for Leah who was given to him. For this reason Laban excused himself before Jacob with the custom of his country and said: “It must not be so done in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn” (Gen. 29:26). Afterwards, he openly revealed that he had done this deliberately, saying: “Fulfill the week of this one, and I will give thee the other also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years” (Gen. 29:27). Laban gathered the people of that country, and they became surety to Jacob for Laban. Jacob reasoned thus: if Leah remained in the house of the Gentile Laban, the seed of the righteous might turn to idolatry. He also feared to break his promise to Rachel, since the bride is already a wife. So Jacob took one, so as not to break his word to Rachel, and the other, so that through her his seed should not become sinful. But if Laban had not withheld Rachel from Jacob, but had told him to serve seven years for Leah, Jacob would not have agreed to serve for her even seven days. Not because Leah was unattractive, but because it seemed wrong to him to be the husband of two wives.

Chapter 30

Leah bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, and then ceased bearing; but Rachel remained barren. Hearing from Jacob how Abraham prayed for barren Sarah and was heard, and how Isaac prayed for Rebekah and was also heard, Rachel thought that her own closed womb remained unopened because Jacob did not pray for her. Therefore, with anger and tears, she said to her husband: “Give me children, or else I die” (Gen. 30:1). She was angry, so she said: “Give me children,” rather than: “Pray that children may be given to me.” For this reason Jacob instructs her, showing that his fathers were indeed heard by God, but not immediately: Abraham after a hundred years, and Isaac after twenty. But when Rachel heard that great patience was required, so as not to faint from long waiting, she began to plead with Jacob: “Go in unto my maid; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her” (Gen. 30:3). Rachel said to him: “Abraham took Hagar and fulfilled Sarah’s wish because he loved her, but you are not moved by my words because you do not love me.” Jacob, so she would not continually press him for children, agreed to take her maid—so that the sons of the bondwomen as well as the free would be made heirs together.

So Jacob took Bilhah; she conceived and bore Dan and Naphtali. Leah, seeing that she had ceased bearing, urged Jacob to take her maid as well. When Jacob said to Leah, “You have consolation, for you have children,” she replied: “It is not just that one bondwoman should be subjected to another. If you have made me the bondwoman of Rachel, then make her the bondwoman of mine as well.” Therefore, to avoid distressing Leah, to put an end to the strife between the sisters, and to establish peace in the house, Jacob took Zilpah. And she conceived and bore Gad and Asher.

Afterwards, Reuben “found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah” (Gen. 30:14). The mandrake, they say, is a fragrant and tasty fruit of the earth, resembling an apple. For the sake of these mandrakes, Leah, mixing her joy with faith, brought Jacob to herself that night. For it is written: “And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived and bore Issachar. And Leah said: God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maid to my husband” (Gen. 30:17–18). If it had not been God’s will for Jacob to take Zilpah, then God would not have given Leah any reward for Zilpah. So Leah conceived and bore Issachar, then Zebulun, and Dinah their sister. “And God remembered Rachel, and she bore Joseph, and said: Now I know that the Lord has added to me, not my husband” (Gen. 30:22–24). After Joseph was born, Jacob said to Laban: “Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart.” But Laban, who loved not Jacob but himself, replied: “I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it” (Gen. 30:26–28). Jacob agreed to the division, for he had not yet received permission from God to depart. But God, foreseeing that Laban would deprive him of the reward promised by God—“I will go with thee and bring thee out from there”—enriched Jacob from Laban’s flocks without any wrong to Laban. For, as Laban learned from experience, God multiplied in his herds the spotted and speckled sheep, so that he might understand that God was with Jacob, and would no longer wrong him.

Chapter 31

But when Laban’s sons began to oppress Jacob, as Laban himself had done, and complained that he had grown rich from their father’s wealth, and even Laban, who had once admitted, “I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me at thy coming” (Gen. 30:27), changed both inwardly and outwardly toward Jacob, then God appeared to Jacob and said to him: “Return unto the land of thy fathers” (Gen. 31:3). And Jacob called Rachel and Leah and said to them: “Your father, to whom I have served with all my strength…, has changed my wages ten times… but God did not allow him to hurt me, and all his schemes have turned back on himself” (Gen. 31:6–7). When he promised me as a reward the spotted sheep, thinking few would be born, then many were born; and when he promised me the speckled, thinking there would be few, then all were speckled. Then Rachel and Leah said to him: “Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?… All that was ours he has given to his sons, and sold us… and devoured also our money… He has exhausted your strength during the fourteen years you served him for us. Now therefore, whatever the Lord has said to you, do: we are ready to go with you in the day when God sends you” (Gen. 31:14–16).

Jacob stole Laban’s heart, and Rachel his gods (Gen. 31:19). They came to Mount Gilead; but Laban “pursued… and overtook them…. And God appeared to Laban… in a dream by night, and said to him: Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad” (Gen. 31:23–24). Nevertheless, Laban could not conceal his anger and said: “It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt, but the God of your father spoke to me yesterday” (Gen. 31:29). “Why hast thou stolen my gods” (Gen. 31:30) and my daughters, and fled away? Beautiful was Jacob’s love for Rachel, who loved his God. She despised her father’s idols, dishonoring them not only by taking them as something worthless and good for nothing, but also by sitting on them the day her father searched, claiming “the custom of women is upon me” (Gen. 31:35).

Laban was not satisfied. The next morning, after God had appeared to him in the night, he again demanded his gods. Contrary to what he had once said, “You have made me rich because the Lord blessed me at your coming,” he now said: “The cattle are mine, and all that you see is mine… come now, let us make a covenant… and let it be for a witness between me and thee” (Gen. 31:43–44).

At first they reproached one another, and Jacob said: “My humility and the labor of my hands, and all that was taken from me, God has seen, and He rebuked you last night” (Gen. 31:42). But Laban replied: “The cattle are mine… and all that you see is mine.” But then they agreed: “Let us leave behind all that was until now.” “And Jacob took a stone and set it up for a pillar…, and all brought a stone and made a great heap” (Gen. 31:45–46). This heap, raised by many, was to serve as the witness, as if by the mouths of many, that a covenant had been made in the presence of many witnesses. “And Jacob… called the heap Witness” (Gen. 31:47), that is, those who piled up the heap are witnesses that both Laban and Jacob promised not to break the covenant they made at this heap. And to make it clear that this heap was needed only as a witness to the covenant, to which from now on they would not be unfaithful, it is written: “Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac,” and Laban said: “The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge between us” (Gen. 31:53).

Chapter 32

After Jacob and Laban parted, “the Angels of God met Jacob” (Gen. 32:1). By this they made known to Jacob that if Laban had not obeyed God, who had appeared to him in the night, then in the morning both he and all who were with him would have been struck down by the hands of the Angels who guarded Jacob. For just as Angels were shown to him at his departure, so also upon his return God showed him Angels, confirming thereby what He had said: “I will go with thee, and I will bring thee out from there.” The host of Angels was also shown to Jacob so that he would not fear Esau, for those accompanying him were more numerous than those with Esau. Then Jacob “sent messengers to Esau his brother,” apologizing for his long delay. And when Jacob heard that Esau “comes to meet him with four hundred men” (Gen. 32:3–4, 6), although he resorted to prayer, asking God to remember the covenant made with him at the time of his departure, yet he also sent gifts to his brother, to soften him and that he might not remember the offense of the day when Jacob took the blessing.

That same night, an Angel “wrestled with Jacob” (Gen. 32:24). Jacob overcame the Angel, yet was himself overcome by the Angel, so that by this he might learn how weak and how strong he was—weak, because when the Angel “touched the hollow of his thigh” (Gen. 32:25), it was displaced; strong, because the Angel said to him: “Let me go.” And to show Jacob how long they wrestled, the Angel added: “for the day breaketh” (Gen. 32:26). Jacob asked him for a blessing, for they struggled with one another in love. And the Angel blessed Jacob, showing thereby that he was not angry with one who had wrestled against him, though he was a man formed from dust. Thus God fulfilled all that He had promised Jacob. For He enriched him, brought him out, and went with him as He had promised; He delivered him from Laban and saved him from his brother Esau. However, Jacob, who had vowed at his departure to give God a tithe, gathered it but in fear sent it to Esau. Therefore his thigh was changed, just as he changed his word. And he who “prevailed” (Gen. 32:28) with the Angel, who is fire, now stands before Esau lame, though he feels no pain.

Chapter 33

There is no commentary on this chapter

Chapter 34

After this, Jacob came and settled in Shechem. “And Shechem, the son of Hamor… saw Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and took her… and humbled her” (Gen. 34:2). When the Shechemites begged the sons of Jacob to give Dinah as a wife to Shechem, the sons of Jacob deceitfully (Gen. 34:13) said that if they would accept circumcision, they would give Dinah, but they did not inform their father of this. And on the day when the Shechemites “were in pain” (Gen. 34:25), they killed all the men in Shechem with the sword, captured the women, and plundered the possessions.

Chapter 35

After this, “God said to Jacob: Arise, go up to Bethel… and make there an altar to God who appeared to thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. And Jacob said to his sons: Put away the strange gods… which you took from the plunder at Shechem. And they gave him all the strange gods… and the earrings that were in their ears, and he hid them under the terebinth tree” (Gen. 35:1–2, 4), so that they would not become a snare for Jacob’s descendants. “And Jacob came to Isaac his father… in Hebron” (Gen. 35:27), after twenty-three years. “And Isaac died, being one hundred eighty years old, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him” (Gen. 35:29).

Chapter 36

There is no commentary on this chapter.

Chapter 37

Joseph shepherded the sheep with the sons of the concubines and brought to his father an evil report of them. And because he revealed their faults, his brothers hated him. And Joseph saw two dreams: the first—about the sheaves, and the second—about the sun, the moon, and twelve stars bowing down to him. For these dreams, his brothers hated him even more. And they mocked his dreams, saying, “Shall even Rachel, who is dead, come and bow down to him?” But they did not understand that husband and wife are one flesh. And when Jacob, depicted as the sun, bowed himself upon the top of Joseph’s staff, then in him Rachel also bowed down, represented under the figure of the moon, although in actuality she did not bow.

Jacob sent Joseph to the flocks to bring a report about his brothers. But instead of a report about Joseph, his brothers sent his garment to their father, dipped in blood, and cast Joseph without mercy into a pit in the wilderness. Yet they wept for him at home with tears. Naked, they sold him to the Ishmaelites, and they themselves cried out for him in the presence of the Canaanites. They bound Joseph’s hands and feet with fetters and sent him on his way, while they, sitting safely at home, performed mourning for him. Thus Joseph came to Egypt, was sold there, and in a short time changed two masters.

Chapter 38

Afterwards Judah took a wife for himself and had by her three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er, his firstborn, took Tamar as wife. “But Er… was evil in the sight of the Lord—that is, he behaved unrighteously before God—and God slew him” (Gen. 38:7). Er’s brother, Onan, loved Tamar and took her as wife. But because he hated his brother, he did not wish to raise up seed to him. When, therefore, for Onan’s deliberate deceit, “He slew him also” (Gen. 38:10), then Judah supposed that both husbands of Tamar had perished on account of her sins, and sent her back to her father’s house, hoping she would marry, “until Shelah my son be grown” (Gen. 38:11). But when Shelah grew up and Judah did not return Tamar to his house, Tamar began to reflect within herself: “How can I persuade the Hebrews that it is not marriage I desire, but that I long for the hidden blessing within them? If I refuse marriage with Shelah, I can demonstrate my continence. But if I enter into marriage with him, I will not be able to reveal my faith. Is it not better to have Judah himself as husband? Then the treasure I gain will enrich my poverty, and my maintained widowhood will prove that I have no desire for marriage.” But she feared that Judah, if he recognized her, would slay her in anger for his two sons, whose deaths he blamed on her; so, like Eliezer, she sought a sign for herself and said: “It is manifest unto Thy omniscience that there is no carnal desire in my deed. I am confident in myself that I desire only what is hidden in the Hebrews, but I know not whether this is pleasing to Thee. Grant me to appear another to Judah, that he not slay me when his lips utter judgment against me. This alone will teach me that it is Thy will for the treasure hidden in the circumcised to be given to the people by a daughter of the uncircumcised. Therefore, let Judah say to me: ‘I will come in unto thee’” (Gen. 38:16).

As Tamar prayed thus, Judah entered and saw her, and, contrary to custom, turned aside to her as to a harlot, for Tamar’s prayer drew him. But as soon as Tamar saw Judah, she covered her face out of fear. But when his lips spoke the words of the sign she had asked for, then she understood that her deed was pleasing to God. And so, no longer afraid, she uncovered her face, and even asked for a pledge from him who possessed the treasure. Judah gave her his staff, his ring, and his bracelet, and Tamar received three witnesses, who bore witness to the Intercessor, who was to be born in succession through her, and then returned to her father’s house.

“And it came to pass after three months, it was told Judah, saying… Tamar hath played the harlot… and behold, she is with child by whoredom” (Gen. 38:24). And Judah, seeing that it was difficult for her to defend herself, decreed that she be burned. The inhabitants of Hebron had already gathered to lead her to the burning. Then Tamar produced her witnesses and sent them to Judah, her kinsman, asking them to say to him, “By the man, whose these are, am I with child” (Gen. 38:25). And when Judah saw his pledges, he marveled at the woman’s faith. Already stretching forth his hand to take them, he recalled the time when he had given them to Tamar and said, “Tamar is more righteous than I” (Gen. 38:26)—that is, she is so much more righteous than I as my sons were more wicked, because I gave her not to Shelah, my son. She is righteous, whereas I, for a single cunning thought, refused her my son Shelah. So Judah, who had unjustly refused Tamar when she sought a lawful marriage, justified her when she had fallen into fornication. The one he had cast out for the death of his two former sons, he brought back and received into his house in place of his other two sons, but did not take her as wife, since she had been wife to his two first sons. Neither did he take another wife for himself, for she was now mother of his other two sons.

Chapter 39

“Now Joseph was brought down to Egypt by the Midianites. And Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, the chief cook, bought him” (Gen. 39:1). And Potiphar (Pentephrius) became wealthy through Joseph, just as Laban had been enriched through his father. But the wife of Potiphar came to love Joseph and said to him, “Abide with me” (Gen. 39:7). But when, having employed every cunning art, she was unable to persuade him, then, in order to overcome him, she deceitfully led him into her bedchamber. And when she “caught him by his garment,” and he, “leaving his garment in her hand, fled… and went out” (Gen. 39:12), then, fearing to become a laughingstock in the eyes of her servants, she cried out with a loud voice, and those living in the house gathered, to be witnesses not of what she had wished to do, but rather of what she intended to say.

Joseph could have fled and returned to his father’s house, but flight was hateful to one who had escaped from adultery. And he resolved to endure until he should see how his dreams would be fulfilled. The master of Joseph came, heard the words of his wife, and the witnesses confirmed her words. He also saw Joseph’s garment, which plainly testified against him. Therefore, he cast him, naked, into the prison, just as he had been cast naked into the pit in the wilderness.

Chapter 40

He who had brought comfort to the slaves in Potiphar’s house brought comfort also to the prisoners confined with him. And in the prison, he interpreted two dreams for two of Pharaoh’s servants. One was hanged on the very day Joseph had foretold to him, and to the other, according to Joseph’s interpretation, was restored the cup that he served to Pharaoh. Joseph asked that cupbearer to mention him to Pharaoh. But the only result of his request, “remember me” (Gen. 40:14), was that he was forgotten for two years.

Chapter 41

“And it came to pass at the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed a dream” (Gen. 41:1). Pharaoh beheld in his dream ears of grain of two kinds, and cattle of two kinds. The interpretation of this was not difficult for anyone, but so that Joseph might be the interpreter of the dream, the meaning was hidden from Pharaoh’s wise men. And when the cupbearer, after two years, reminded Pharaoh of Joseph, Pharaoh sent and brought him out of the prison. Thus the hair grown long in sorrow is shorn from Joseph by joy, and the filthy garment in which grief had clothed him is stripped away by gladness.

Joseph came before Pharaoh, listened to the dreams, and saw what disaster threatened the Egyptians. Then, having revealed the true meaning of the dreams, he also gave Pharaoh helpful advice: “Look out a man discreet and wise… and set him over the land of Egypt… and let them gather all the food… of the good years that come… and that food shall be for store… against the seven years of famine… that the land perish not through the famine” (Gen. 41:33, 35–36). In saying to Pharaoh, “Look out a man,” Joseph was referring to himself, but in humility he did not name himself. Nor did he point to anyone else, for he knew that none but himself could deliver the Egyptians from the great calamity that awaited them.

Joseph rose in Pharaoh’s sight through the interpretation of the dreams and especially by the wise counsel he had devised. And Pharaoh entrusted to Joseph authority over his whole kingdom, and gave him the ring with which the royal treasures were sealed. What had never been placed on the hand of any Egyptian, Pharaoh now, before the eyes of all the people, placed on Joseph’s finger. With the ring given to him, all authority was also delivered into his hands. “I, Pharaoh, command: without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt” (Gen. 41:44). And so, together with everything else that was subjected to Joseph, there were also placed under him the commanders of the army and the king’s nobles.

When Joseph was interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, his former master was present. And seeing that his former slave now fell short of Pharaoh only by the throne itself, he hurried home with the same haste with which he once went to meet his wife as she came to accuse Joseph. And he said to his wife, “Joseph, who was our slave, is now our master. He whom we cast into prison naked, Pharaoh has clothed with purple. He who was thrown among the prisoners now rides in Pharaoh’s chariot. And the one who was bound with iron fetters now wears a gold necklace upon his neck. How can I now look at the one on whom I dare not even lift my eyes?” But his wife said to him, “Do not be afraid of one to whom you have done no harm. He knows whether his disgrace was justly or unjustly suffered, when he was driven from our house, for it was at my hands he endured this. Go now without fear, with the other nobles and captains who accompany his chariot, lest Joseph think that his present greatness causes us sorrow. And to prove that Joseph bears no malice, contrary to my former falsehood, I will now tell the whole truth. I myself loved Joseph when I slandered him; it was I who held him by the garment, for I was overcome by his beauty. If he loves justice, let him avenge himself on me, not on you. But assuredly, in his love for justice, he will not even take vengeance on me. For had he not been slandered, he would not have been cast into prison. And had he not been in prison, he would not have interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, nor attained the greatness you now describe. Though it was not we who exalted him to this height, still we have, in a way, contributed, since the humiliation we brought upon him was the very cause of his being glorified and made second to the king.”

Potiphar went and, together with the nobles, accompanied Joseph’s chariot through the streets. Joseph did him no harm. For he knew that He Who had allowed his brothers to cast him into the pit in the wilderness, and from the pit in fetters to send him into Egypt, had also permitted Potiphar to cast him into prison, so that from such humiliation He might raise him to ride in Pharaoh’s chariot.

Joseph began to gather grain, and gathered every year in all the cities of Egypt. When the years of plenty had passed and the years of famine arrived, then he showed his care for orphans, widows, and all the poor in Egypt, leaving none without aid. Had the famine been only in Egypt, Egypt would have had nothing to fear, since much grain had been stored up by Joseph. But the famine was over all the earth, and all were in need of Egyptian grain. And thus, even the Egyptians had to buy grain at a high price. And Scripture, showing that the famine was universal, says: “And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy; for the famine was sore in all lands” (Gen. 41:57).

Chapter 42

But when famine seized also the house of Jacob, Jacob said to his sons: “Be not afraid, behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: go thither, and buy… that we may live, and not die” (Gen. 42:2). Jacob’s words, “Be not afraid,” show that his sons truly were greatly afraid. And the words, “I have heard that there is corn in Egypt,” show that they had no bread at all in their own land. And when he says, “buy for us… that we may live and not die,” this testifies to the dire need Jacob’s sons suffered from the famine along with all the land of Canaan.

“The brothers came to Joseph, and bowed themselves down before him with their faces to the earth” (Gen. 42:6). He recognized them, for knowing that they, with all the Canaanites, were wasting away from hunger as if being burned on a griddle, he had already begun to worry about them, saying to himself: “When will they come to take bread for themselves?” But when Joseph saw his brothers, he made as though he did not know them, “and spoke unto them roughly… Ye are spies” (Gen. 42:7, 9). The brothers replied, “We do not know the Egyptian language, so as to use it and gain the Egyptians’ trust or discover their intentions. We dwell in the land of Canaan, as you may judge from what we have brought. Besides, we are twelve brothers, and we cannot all have the same evil desire—to be spies. We have come to you of our own will, and this in itself proves that there is no deceit in us. Since we do not know the Egyptian tongue and our clothing is not Egyptian, it is clear that we are not spies. We are twelve brothers, both by birth and by number, and we are well known everywhere; and behold, one of us is with our father this day, and another is not” (Gen. 42:13).

But Joseph, reflecting that his dreams had not yet been fulfilled (for he had seen in a dream that eleven stars bowed down to him, and here there were only ten brothers), continued to conceal himself from them, lest he become the cause of his own dreams proving false. And so he said to his brothers: “Only then will you convince me that you are brothers, when you bring your youngest brother to me.” Then he cast them into prison for three days, that they might taste the sorrow Joseph himself had long endured in captivity.

After this, Joseph thought over his dreams and recalled that, in his vision, the brothers bowed to him twice—once as sheaves, and again as stars. From this he concluded that, when his brothers should bow down a second time, it would be the moment to reveal himself to them. Therefore, he took Simeon and, before his other brothers, bound him, so as to learn from him what they had told their father about the loss of Joseph. He also knew that Simeon’s children and wife would urge Jacob to send Benjamin more quickly. Or perhaps Simeon had shown the most cruelty to Joseph when the brothers bound and sold him.

Yet, there is no sign here of angry vengeance, for when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he kissed them with love. But because the one who had most desired to bind Joseph was now himself bound, they should see in this a just recompense. For this reason, they themselves said, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear” (Gen. 42:21). Joseph heard Reuben say this to his brothers and how he reminded them that he had urged them not to cast Joseph into the pit. Then Joseph remembered this and wept—not because of what his brothers had done to him, but because of how far and to what height God had raised him.

When Joseph’s brothers, supplied with provisions for the journey, returned home, they informed their father of the misfortune that had befallen them on their journey. They told him how they had been mocked by the Egyptians, suspected of being spies, humiliated, and that now they could only escape further trouble by taking Benjamin back with them. While some were relating this to Jacob, others began to open their sacks, and each found his money in his sack. Jacob grieved over all that had befallen them, and especially over Simeon, who was now in bonds. The sons pleaded with him daily to let Benjamin go with them. But Jacob feared lest Benjamin should meet the same fate as his brother and would not consent to their request.

Chapter 43

When their bread was spent and all the household began to suffer from hunger, then all the sons came to Jacob and said: “Have mercy on Simeon for the sake of his children, and consent for a few days to be parted from your youngest son for the sake of Simeon’s wife, who is now deprived of her husband.” Since Jacob himself was suffering from hunger, he reluctantly sent Benjamin with them and sent them off with his blessing: “As I have lost Rachel, so am I now bereft of Rachel’s sons.” Then Judah, to comfort his father, said: “If I bring not… Benjamin and set him before thee, I shall bear the blame to thee all my days” (Gen. 43:9).

They took “of the choice fruits of the land” (Gen. 43:11)—storax, balm, pistachios, and other things—and came to Egypt and appeared before Joseph. He commanded the steward of his house to bring his brothers into his house. But they, alarmed when Joseph’s servants unloaded their beasts and brought all they had into the house, said to one another: “Our father is now bereft of Benjamin because of us, and we shall never see our father’s face again. For the silver was purposely placed in our sacks. Even if we are freed from the suspicion of being spies, they will take us as thieves and make us slaves. Therefore, let us confess to the steward that we found the silver in our sacks, before they inspect what we brought and accuse us of theft. As by bringing Benjamin we are freed from suspicion of spying, so by confessing with our lips we may escape suspicion of theft.”

Approaching “the man that was over Joseph’s house” (Gen. 43:19), the brothers said to him: “When we bought food here and returned, we opened our sacks and, behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack (Gen. 43:21); lo, we have brought it back to you, for it is not right to take with the grain also the money by which the grain was bought.” The steward, seeing their fear, reassured them: “Peace be to you, fear not (Gen. 43:23). You are brought here not because of the silver I received from you, but because we desire to see you for the loyalty which has now been proved. You enter not to be judged for something you have not done. Rather, our master has called you to be his guests and eat his bread. Our master is just, and with the honor he will show you now, he wishes to erase from your memory the disgrace you suffered before.”

Then “Joseph came home, and they brought him the gifts… and bowed themselves before him with fear. And he asked them: Are ye well?” And they were encouraged. He asked also about their father: “Is your father yet alive?” And they were reassured. He also asked about their brother: “Is this your youngest brother?” And he blessed Benjamin and said: “God be gracious unto thee, my son” (Gen. 43:26–27, 29). And all their fear vanished. Joseph pronounced the blessing upon his brother in the Egyptian language, but to his brothers it was rendered by an interpreter.

“For Joseph’s heart yearned upon his brother; and… he entered into his chamber and wept,” while he was preparing a joyful feast for his brothers. At the banquet, Joseph reclined apart, the Egyptians also reclined apart, and Joseph’s brothers were given places by themselves (Gen. 43:30, 32). Joseph, as though divining by the cup, seated his brothers according to their birthright: the eldest at the highest place, and the youngest at the lowest.

It is remarkable that the brothers did not recognize Joseph, though he supplied all their needs for the journey, returned the silver for the bread they bought the first time, put Simeon in bonds, ordered them to bring Benjamin, inquired about their aged father, spoke harshly of them, brought them into his house, and blessed Benjamin; and finally, showed that he knew each of them by name. Even though Joseph’s appearance was altered and his greatness might have confused them, they could have remembered his dreams. If, then, the brothers did not recognize him on account of his dignity, his office, his language, and his severe manner, all this was from God, Who hid Joseph from them until his dreams were fulfilled upon those who sold him, hoping thereby to make those dreams false.

Chapter 44

Joseph’s brothers ate at the table, drank, rested, and set out on their journey. The cup was placed in Benjamin’s sack, and in the sack of each was his money. After them, Joseph’s steward set out in pursuit, overtook them, and startled them with threats, just as his master had instructed him.

Confident in their innocence, they said: “With whomsoever… the cup shall be found, let him die, and we also will be slaves” (Gen. 44:9). Then they quickly opened their sacks. The steward began the search with Reuben’s sack, and not finding the cup in the sacks of the elder brothers, lamented aloud that he could no longer return to his own land. Joseph’s brothers consoled him, saying: “Search also the sacks of the younger, and return quickly; perhaps you will find your master’s cup in your own house.” The steward, as if following their suggestion, put his hand into a sack where there was no cup, and was about to stop the search. But when he asked Benjamin’s leave to inspect his sack, then he, as though carelessly, put in his hand—and truly drew forth the cup.

Joseph’s brothers did not know what to say. They could not help blaming Benjamin, because the cup was drawn from his sack. Yet they could not blame him entirely, since the money had also, once again, been found in their sacks. Stricken with horror at what had happened, “they rent their garments… and returned” (Gen. 44:13), so that with tears they would enter again the house from which they had gone out with rejoicing. Joseph, with anger, imitating the Egyptians in this, reproached them: “What deed is this that ye have done? Ye called yourselves honest men, and at the great feast prepared for you, we declared before the Egyptians your honesty. But now you are made a laughingstock in the eyes of the Egyptians, for you have stolen the cup by which I divine for all the Egyptians. Do ye not know that such a man as I can certainly divine?” (Gen. 44:15). They might have known this from the fact that Joseph had struck this cup when assigning them their places at the feast.

“And Judah said: …God… hath found out the iniquity of thy servants…”—but not this one, rather another, for which they were now receiving just recompense. Therefore not only the one in whose sack the cup was found, but all said, “we are slaves to our lord” (Gen. 44:16). “And Joseph said: Far be it from us, honest Egyptians, to do this thing.” For Egyptians carry themselves so proudly that they will not even eat bread with Hebrews, lest they be defiled by them. How then should we do anything that is contrary to our uprightness? Justice does not allow us to sin against him who has not sinned against us. We must exact punishment from the one found guilty before us. “The man with whom the cup is found, he shall be my slave” (Gen. 44:17). Slavery will be better for him than freedom, for this final bondage will truly free him from the passion for stealing, and it will be more profitable to him than that freedom, which made him a slave to his own passion.

Chapter 45

Judah spoke movingly to Joseph, until Joseph was overcome by love for his brothers; and he not only returned Benjamin to them, as they hoped, but also revealed himself to them, which they did not expect. Joseph commanded all to depart from him, for in a fabricated accusation he had judged them before all, but now, about to reveal the truth of their deed, he wished to remove every witness. When all withdrew in astonishment, he changed both his language and his tone, and now without an interpreter, in Hebrew, he said: “I am Joseph, your brother.” And his brothers could not answer him; for “they were troubled at his presence” (Gen. 45:3). They feared that, their crime now exposed, he would deliver them to death. But Joseph was also afraid that if he said to his brothers, “I am he whom you sold as a slave,” the Egyptians standing outside the door would hear and despise his brothers. Therefore he said to them, “Draw near to me.” And when they drew near, he quietly continued: “I am Joseph… whom you sold into Egypt” (Gen. 45:4). And seeing that they were distressed and out of shame could not look at him, he comforted them with these words: “Now therefore be not grieved… that ye sold me hither… for God did send me before you to preserve life… yet there are five years of famine remaining, in which there shall neither be plowing nor harvest” (Gen. 45:5–6). And that my prediction is true is sufficiently shown by the seven good years that have now passed. “Make haste then, go up to my father, and say unto him: …God hath made me lord,” not only of my brothers, as my dreams foretold, “but also of all the land of Egypt,” which my dreams did not promise (Gen. 45:9). And tell him “all my glory in Egypt” (Gen. 45:13), that he may give thanks to God for all that has come to pass for me in Egypt.

After this, Joseph kissed Benjamin, and they both wept upon each other’s neck; Joseph also kissed his other brothers. And when Joseph’s brothers were assured that he bore them no anger, then they opened their mouths and began to converse with him.

And when their conversation ended behind the closed doors of the house, then the nobles and captains entered with joyful faces: “and the news pleased Pharaoh and his servants well” (Gen. 45:16). For now they truly knew that it was not a slave who had become a father to Pharaoh and lord over all the free and nobles in Egypt, but the son of freeborn parents, from the blessed race, from the house of Abraham.

Joseph, giving his brothers garments, chariots, and all kinds of Egyptian goods, sent them to bring their father into Egypt. “And he said to them: See that ye fall not out by the way” (Gen. 45:24). By this, Joseph forbade them to reproach one another, as if to say: “You advised casting Joseph into the pit,” or, “No, you insisted on selling Joseph, in fetters and naked, to the Ishmaelites.” “As I,” Joseph implied, “have forgiven you all, so do you also forgive one another, lest our present joy should be turned to sorrow for you because of quarrels and recriminations.”

Joseph’s brothers set out on their way, rejoicing that they had found Joseph, yet anxious as to how they might justify themselves before their father. When they came to Jacob, they recounted to him everything. And he, seeing the chariots and the gifts, readily believed them. And “his spirit revived” (Gen. 45:27) and he said: “It is enough… for us all, but even more for me, that Joseph my son is yet alive” (Gen. 45:28). When they told Jacob of Joseph’s glory, of his wisdom in governance, and of his final judgment upon the brothers—which for them was more grievous than the first—then their father said to them: “Why did you not ask Joseph how and for what reason he came to dwell in Egypt?” All of them, looking at one another, knew not what to answer. Only Judah opened his mouth and said to his father: “Let us now confess our guilt. From Joseph’s dreams the brothers, in their simplicity, concluded that you and we must become slaves to Joseph. In their lack of understanding, they reasoned that it would be better for him alone to be a slave, rather than all of us and our father. Thus the brothers acted, out of pity for you and Benjamin, not because you loved Joseph more. For you love Benjamin as well; but since Joseph did not say we would be his slaves, we all love him equally. Therefore, forgive us that we humbled Joseph, for this humiliation has raised him to the height of glory.” The father accepted their explanation and said: “For the glad tidings you have brought me about Joseph, your crime—which caused me so much grief—is forgiven you.”

Chapter 46

Jacob and all his household made ready to go down into Egypt. But since Jacob was afraid that the Egyptian sorceries might bring harm to his sons, God appeared to him and said: “Fear not to go down into Egypt” (Gen. 46:3). And since Jacob also thought that, through the abundance of Egypt’s good things, his sons might remain there forever and thus the promise would remain unfulfilled, God said further: “And I will go down with thee… and I will also surely bring thee up again.” Finally, because Jacob feared that Joseph might soon die, God said: “And Joseph thy son shall put his hands upon thine eyes” (Gen. 46:4). After this, Jacob arose and went with joy into Egypt with seventy souls, including Joseph and his two sons. Joseph went out to meet his father with chariots and a great company. And meeting Jacob, he bowed himself to him, and they wept on each other’s neck.

Chapter 47

Joseph instructed his brothers to say before Pharaoh: “Shepherds… both we and our fathers” (Gen. 47:3), so that Pharaoh might settle them in the land of Goshen and thus they would be separated from those who worshipped sheep and calves. And Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In the best of the land make thy father and brethren dwell… And Joseph brought in Jacob his father… to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh… and… went out from him” (Gen. 47:6–7, 10).

At first, Joseph sold bread to the Egyptians for silver. When the silver failed, he sold to them for cattle. And finally, to feed them, he sold for fields, “except only the land of the priests, for that bought he not” (Gen. 47:22); for the priests received their portion of bread freely from Pharaoh. In the seventh year of the famine, Joseph gave the Egyptians seed, “and made it a law… that the fifth part should be given unto Pharaoh” (Gen. 47:26).

“And the days drew nigh that Israel must die… and he said… unto Joseph, Put thy hand under my thigh” (Gen. 47:29). As Abraham made Eliezer swear by the covenant of circumcision, so Joseph swore to Jacob that he would bury him “with his fathers,” and Jacob “bowed himself… upon the bed’s head” (Gen. 47:30–31).

Chapter 48

“And it was told to Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons” (Gen. 48:1)—he brought them to Jacob to receive a blessing from him before his death. “And Jacob said… God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz… when I slept, having a stone for my pillow, and blessed me. And He said unto me, Behold… I will make thee a multitude of nations (that is, of tribes). Now… Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine. And the children which thou begettest after them, shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance” (Gen. 48:3–6). “And he said… Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them” (Gen. 48:9). And in blessing the firstborn Manasseh, Israel “crossed his hands, and placed his right hand upon Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger” (Gen. 48:14). By this he clearly traced the sign of the Cross, in type of that mystery by which the firstborn of Israel would be diminished like Manasseh, and the Gentile nations would be exalted like the younger Ephraim. In blessing the children, Jacob said: “God bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers” (Gen. 48:16)—that is, they shall be called sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph tried to move his father’s right hand to Manasseh’s head, but Jacob refused, saying: “He also shall be blessed, and Manasseh shall be great, but his younger brother shall be greater than he” (Gen. 48:19). And to show the preeminence of the younger over the elder, he added: “In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh” (Gen. 48:20).

“And he said… to Joseph: I have given thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow” (Gen. 48:21–22), that is, the portion which he bought for a hundred sheep (Gen. 33:19), gained by his shepherd’s labor. And in blessing the son born of Rachel, Jacob sorrowfully recalled Rachel’s death, which had come about through the birth of her son.

Chapter 49

The Blessing of Jacob

“And Jacob called his sons and said to them: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days” (Gen. 49:1). For the sake of Joseph, who had come to his father, and for their father, who was near to death, Jacob’s sons gathered that day and came to their father’s house, for they did not live in one house, but each in his own. Joseph sat, surrounded by his brothers, and they waited—not so much to receive a blessing or a curse, but to learn “what shall befall them in the last days.”

Then Jacob opened his mouth and said: “Reuben, my firstborn, thou art my might, and the beginning of my strength” (Gen. 49:3). From this, one can infer that Jacob remained chaste for eighty-four years, until he took Leah as his wife. “Thou art my might, and the beginning of my strength.” That is: you are the son of my youth, while your brothers were born from what remained of my strength and youthful power. Or else: if you were like me, the best portion would be yours by right of primogeniture. “Unstable as water,” which, leaving the ground it waters, goes to nourish another land (Gen. 49:4). From the words, “unstable as water,” we may reasonably conclude that Reuben had a wife, but left her and, not pressed by thirst, desired to drink stolen waters. “Thou art unstable as water; thou shalt not excel,” that is, not be counted among the tribes. And so, when Moses blesses the tribe of Reuben, he says: “Let Reuben live, and not die; and let his men be few” (Deut. 33:6). “For thou wentest up to thy father’s bed.” Likely, Reuben went in to Bilhah while she was sleeping, and so Bilhah was not cursed with him. “Thou didst defile my couch with a disgraceful deed, which thou didst upon my bed” (or, by “bed,” his wife is meant) (Gen. 49:4).

After Reuben, Jacob turns to his brothers and says: “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations” (Gen. 49:5), having in mind the secret plot they devised: to circumcise the Shechemites and then to slay them—a plot of which Jacob had not known. “In their assembly,” when they went into Shechem to smite the inhabitants with the sword, “my glory be not united,” because God sent fear upon the neighboring peoples, and when I expected destruction from them, He preserved me from the disgrace they had the power and the will to inflict. “In their anger they slew a man” (Gen. 49:6), but not justly, for only Shechem ought to have been slain for the outrage against their sister, not the people of the whole city. By their own “self-will they digged down a wall” (the wall being the city’s houses). “Cursed be their anger,” for it was fierce against the Shechemites. “And their wrath, for it was cruel” (Gen. 49:7), for from the time the Shechemites urged Jacob’s sons to give their sister to Shechem in marriage, until the day the Shechemites performed circumcision and suffered its pain, many days passed. Yet throughout all that time, Simeon and Levi’s anger did not abate. “I will divide them in Jacob,” that is, I will separate them from one another. After the curse, they shall not have the unity they had before. For they were united when, without telling their brothers, they set out to avenge Dinah’s dishonor. “I will divide them in Jacob,” that is, among the sons of Jacob, “and scatter them in Israel” (Gen. 49:7), that is, among the sons of Israel. The proof of their division is Zimri, of the tribe of Simeon, and Phinehas, of the tribe of Levi. Just as Levi and Simeon together plotted to slay many on account of a woman, so after the curse, Phinehas slew a descendant of Simeon along with his woman. And God not only divided Simeon and Levi in mind, so that their previous unity brought them no benefit, but He scattered both their tribes among the other tribes. He scattered the tribe of Levi, so that among all the tribes it received its inheritance. Levi was given no special allotment, as the other brothers were. And the descendants of Simeon, since their portion was small, had to move and dwell on the borders of the other brothers’ inheritance.

“Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise, because you restrained your brothers from shedding Joseph’s blood. Had you not advised to spare Joseph’s life, two tribes would not have come from him, and the other tribes would have perished in the famine. Thus, because you kept your brothers from the sin of murder and from death by hunger, ‘thee shall thy brethren praise’ for these two deeds. For by your hand they were saved from both. ‘Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies’” (Gen. 49:8). This promises victory to the kingdom of David, who came from Judah. It is promised that David shall subdue all nations from the sea to the river Euphrates. “Thou art gone up, my son, from the prey,” that is, either you refrained from slaying Tamar and her two sons, or did not consent to Joseph’s death. “He stooped down, he couched… in his inheritance, not as an old lion…, but as a lion’s whelp,” a young lion, fearing nothing. The phrase, “he couched as a lion,” may also be understood of the inheritance received by Judah—that is, none shall be able to take that inheritance from Judah (Gen. 49:9). But Jacob speaks of a kingdom, which none could take from the tribe of Judah, though it was oppressed and humbled, because this kingdom was preserved in that tribe for the Lord of the kingdom. And to show he speaks of the royal dignity, which from Judah should be transferred to the Lord, and not of the tribe of Judah itself, Jacob adds: “The sceptre shall not depart,” that is, the king, and “the lawgiver,” that is, the prophet foretelling things to come, “until He comes”—not David, who was magnified by the kingdom, but Jesus, Son of David, Who is Lord of the kingdom. Thus, neither king nor prophet shall depart from the house of Judah, “until He comes whose right it is” (Gen. 49:10). If not, let them show me that before David there were kings from Judah who preserved royal dignity for David. But if before David there was not a single king of Judah, it is plain that by David and his sons the kingdom was handed down and preserved for the Son and Lord of David, Who is Lord of the kingdom. And though, from “Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise” to “the sceptre shall not depart, nor a lawgiver,” the prophecy may apply to Judah and the kingdom of David and his sons, the descendants of Judah, yet from “until He comes whose right it is,” all the rest must indeed be applied to the Son of God, not to David and his sons, the descendants of Judah. The words, “until He comes whose right it is,” make clear that all previous kings were merely royal stewards, passing on the royal dignity, which was not their own possession. “And unto Him shall the gathering of the nations be”—that is, the Church from among the Gentiles (Gen. 49:10).

“Tying his foal to the vine, and his ass’s colt to the choice vine” (Gen. 49:11). By the vine he means the synagogue, as David also calls it so (Ps. 79:9–16). It is said, “Tying his foal to the vine,” because His kingdom was tied to the synagogue and was handed over to it. This is also said above: “the sceptre shall not depart from Judah… until He comes whose right it is.” And when our Lord came, He tied His foal to the true vine, so that, just as He fulfilled all prophecies concerning Himself, He might also in very deed fulfill what was given to the Jews in symbols—when the Lord entered the temple at Jerusalem, there was a vine outside the temple to which He tied His foal; or in the village from which He came, the foal was tied to a vine, as He Himself said to His disciples: “Ye shall find a colt tied… loose him, and bring him; and if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye, The Lord hath need of him” (Mark 11:2–3). “He washed his garments in wine”—that is, He cleansed His body with His own blood—“and his clothes in the blood of grapes” (Gen. 49:11), that is, with His own blood He cleansed the flesh which was the covering of His Divinity. “His eyes are red with wine,” for the truth of His mind is brighter than the purest wine. “And his teeth are whiter than milk,” because the teaching of His lips is beautiful and pure (Gen. 49:12).

“Issachar is a strong ass, lying down between the borders” (Gen. 49:14). This is Gideon, who by messengers called all to the defeat of the Midianites, was strengthened with three hundred men, and attacked a vast host of enemies, in which there were thousands and tens of thousands. “And he saw that rest”—that is, the place of his inheritance—“was good, and the land that it was pleasant,” for it flowed with milk and honey. And although his inheritance was no better than that of the other tribes, Issachar excelled the others in gratitude. “He bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute”—not to the nations, but to God; “and he became… a servant for the offering… of tribute,” that is, for giving tithes from his herds and crops to the sons of Levi (Gen. 49:15).

“Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea,” that is, by the seashores; “and he shall be for an haven of ships,” meaning he will be engaged in commerce, sending his goods in ships. “And his border shall be unto Sidon” (Gen. 49:13), which is also by the sea.

“Dan shall judge his people.” This is Samson, who judged Israel for twenty years. “As one of the tribes of Israel,” that is, as one of his brothers, free sons of Jacob. “Dan shall be a serpent by the way,” that is, in mountainous places, and he shall be like the serpents that dwell in the Sinai wilderness, who lift their heads from the dust. “An adder in the path,” just as those who travel by untrodden ways fear mountain snakes, and those who travel on the highway fear adders hiding by the road, so the Philistines will fear Samson, whether they go by the main road or through untraveled places. “Biting the horse’s heels, so that his rider shall fall backward” (Gen. 49:16–18)—from the famine the Philistines suffered, when Samson burned their fields with foxes. This famine will strike them down, as a horse fells its rider. Without bread, they will fall; having no hope, they will be like those fallen backward. “I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord” (Gen. 49:18). Either the Philistines hoped for deliverance from the Lord when they had the ark (the Ark of the Covenant) in captivity, or it is said of the sons of Dan, or Jacob means all Israel by this, teaching that all their deliverers were only types of that great deliverance which would be accomplished for all nations by the true Savior, Jesus.

“Gad, a troop shall overcome him;” by this are meant those forty thousand armed men who went before the six hundred thousand who followed after them with their children, wives, and flocks. “But he shall overcome at the last” (Gen. 49:19), that is, the whole host will follow after him, as a heel.

“Asher, his bread shall be fat” (Gen. 49:20). This is as Moses says: “Asher… shall dip his foot in oil” (Deut. 33:24), probably because his land was abundant. “And he shall yield royal dainties” (Gen. 49:20); meaning the pure oil and the best wines in Asher’s inheritance.

“Naphtali is a hind let loose,” not only passing on what is heard, but “giving goodly words” from himself (Gen. 49:21). This is Barak, who brought good tidings to all those fleeing from the power and might of Sisera.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough,” for from childhood he received a good upbringing. “A fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall,” for he was protected by God through his great hope in Him. He was also fenced about by his birthright, royal dignity, and his brothers; guarded, like a well, by his two sons, one on either side. “His branches run over the wall,” that is, he attained the heights of virtue. “The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him”—that is, the heads of the tribes. Some read: “the men of division” (Gen. 49:22–23). But the meaning is the same, for his brothers were sons of division; they opposed him and sold him to the Egyptians. “But his bow abode in strength,” because he became lord and master over his brothers. “And the arms of his hands were made strong.” Though the bow is mighty, if there is no strength in the arms, the might of the bow is useless. So Joseph had the power to put his brothers to death, but lacked the anger, which is here likened to strength in the arms; the arms of his hands were slackened by love. “By the hands of the mighty God of Jacob” (Gen. 49:24), that is, for the sake of God, who was with Jacob, and for the sake of the name of the coming Shepherd, who led them in the wilderness and gave bread from heaven and water from the rock to all Israel; the God of thy father will help thee in battle against thine enemies, because thou didst not avenge thyself on the sons of thy father. “And the Almighty shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above,” that is, with abundant and continual dew, and with showers from above to prosper yearly the fruits of the earth. “Blessings of the deep that lieth beneath.” Though all things were made from nothing, the clouds, as we said above, come from the deeps, and God’s wisdom, like the waters in the deeps (because of their great gathering), made them salty so that they would not rot, and made the waters in the clouds sweet, so that they might water mankind, animals, grass, and all vegetation. So, the blessings of heaven are rain and dew, and the blessings of the deep are rivers and springs that water Joseph’s inheritance. “Blessings… of the breasts and of the womb” (Gen. 49:25): loving blessings, such as a mother gives her child when he takes milk from her breast, and the blessings, full of love, which a father gives his beloved son from the fullness of his heart. “The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors,” that is, the blessings with which I bless you are greater than those with which I was blessed. For you are blessed by a father who blesses you with knowledge, whereas I received blessing by faith under another’s name. At the very time my father gave me lordship over my brother, he made me servant to my brother. Therefore my blessings surpass those of my father, if not in strength, then in love. Even “unto the desire of the everlasting hills,” that is, surpassing even those blessings with which Isaac blessed me, who himself received the blessing on the mount, on high, where he was offered as a sacrifice. “They shall be on the head of Joseph” (Gen. 49:26): as now among the Egyptians Joseph is the praise and glory of his brothers, so afterwards he shall be their crown, and shall rule over his brothers in their inheritance. “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf,” expecting his prey, lurking in his own inheritance: “in the morning he shall devour the prey,” at the time of that deliverance which shall come by him from the Arabians, from Sennacherib, and from the people of Gog. “And at night he shall divide the spoil” (Gen. 49:27), that is, in the time of peace at Jerusalem, he shall divide with the tribe of Judah, who dwell with him, the spoil which he took from the camp of the previously numbered nations.

Thus far we have spoken of Jacob’s blessings in their literal sense; now let us speak of them spiritually. In the literal sense we have not said as much as should be said, and in the spiritual sense, what we will say is even less. What is lacking in the literal explanation will be even more lacking in the spiritual.

“Reuben… my might and the beginning of my strength” (Gen. 49:3), “unstable as water, thou shalt not excel.” As this firstborn of Jacob was cursed for his sin by righteous Jacob, but the curse was lifted by Moses, Jacob’s descendant, so God decreed death to Adam for breaking the commandment, but the Son of God came and, by the promise of the resurrection, undid the sentence of judgment spoken against Adam when he was expelled from Paradise.

“Simeon and Levi are brethren” (Gen. 49:5), vessels of wrath. They are an image of Satan and of death. Simeon and Levi, in anger, destroyed a city, and out of covetousness plundered the possessions of the Shechemites. Satan, through envy, secretly brought death on the whole world, as those two openly slew the Shechemites. And death has dominated the bodies of all with the same wrath that Simeon and Levi had over the possessions of the slain. But now, those who were secretly slain by sin are raised by the Gospel of our Lord, and the dead, over whom bitter death ruled, are raised by the blessed promise of the Son of God.

Zebulun, dwelling by the sea shore, is a type of the Gentile nations living near the prophets. And as his border “was unto Sidon” (Gen. 49:13), so among these nations sin, represented by Sidon, is near at hand. Here apply the words of the prophet: “What have ye to do with Me, O Tyre, and Sidon?” (Joel 3:4).

“Issachar is a strong ass, lying down between the borders,” typifies Him who lays hold on those who have turned from truth but bring forth repentance, leading them into life. “And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant” (Gen. 49:14–15), that is, He sees that His Church is good and His dwelling place holy, and He bows His neck under the Cross and becomes the Redeemer from sins.

“Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes” (Gen. 49:16). If the descendants of Dan judged their own people, how much more shall He judge all nations, Who is from Judah and to Whom belongs the Kingdom? For our Lord became a serpent for the ancient serpent and the basilisk Satan, just as the bronze serpent was set against the serpents in the wilderness. And since the salvation of even one person, however great, is not of high worth, Jacob, in the Spirit, speaks of the salvation of all men: “I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord.”

“Gad, a troop shall overcome him” (Gen. 49:19): this refers to the forty thousand armed men who went before the sons of Israel. But in truth, these are the twelve apostles, who went before all the nations to attack the robber and seize from him the nations he had held in bondage.

“Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties” (Gen. 49:20). This is the Church, which gives remission of sins and healing of life not only to kings, but to all the army that accompanies kings.

“Naphtali is a swift messenger, uttering beautiful words” (Gen. 49:21). When the Lord taught in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, those who heard Him brought the news and repeated the good saying: “Behold, this is He whom we awaited.”

“Joseph is a son of nurture” (Gen. 49:22). Just as Jacob, instead of his firstborn Reuben, found his support in Joseph, so in place of the first-created Adam, who greatly grieved God, the Son of old age became the support of the world in its end, for upon Him, as upon a pillar, the whole world is founded and stands. “A fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall,” guarded by brothers and sons. And the world, by the strength of our Lord, is guarded by prophets and apostles. Joseph served as a wall for his brothers, nourishing them in time of famine. Our Lord became a spiritual wall for a world given over to error. Against Joseph, the heads of the tribes rose up; against our Lord, the princes of the nations. “His bow abode in strength,” for both Joseph and our Lord subdued their enemies. “The arms of his hands were made strong,” because neither the one nor the other stretched out or shot arrows at their brothers. “By the hands of the Mighty One” (Gen. 49:23–24), that is, for the sake of the very Son, who by the Apostle is called the Rock that followed Israel in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:4).

“Benjamin is a ravening wolf” (Gen. 49:27); this is Paul, who was a wolf to wolves and snatched souls from the dominion of the evil one. “In the evening he shall divide the spoil,” that is, at the end of the world he shall receive rest and abundant reward for his labors.

Chapter 50

Jacob, having blessed his sons, died at the age of one hundred forty-seven years. Joseph came with the elders of Egypt and all the household of his father, and they buried Jacob with his fathers. After this, Joseph and all who were with him returned to Egypt. The brothers feared Joseph and said, “Your father charged before his death, saying: I beg you, forgive the trespass and sin of your brothers, for they dealt wickedly with you…” And Joseph wept…: “Fear not” (Gen. 50:16–17, 19). Though your father has died, yet the God of your father lives. For His sake, I will not harm you, for the evil you planned, God turned to good and gave me a great people. Therefore, I will do no harm to those through whom the lives of many were saved. And just as I did not leave you without care in Egypt, so do not leave my bones in Egypt.” And he made them swear, saying: “God will surely visit you, and bring you… to the land which He swore… to Abraham… and ye shall carry up my bones… with you. If I do not inherit the promised land with you, yet with you I shall rise again. And Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old… and they laid him in a coffin in Egypt” (Gen. 50:24–26).

Conclusion

God, who created all things by His word from nothing, did not deliver this at first to writings, for the beginning of all things was revealed to Adam’s understanding. And the generations closest to him learned this from their ancestors. But when all turned away from God and fell into ignorance concerning all the works of God, then God, through Moses, delivered this to writing for the Hebrew people, for mankind had corrupted nature, which bears witness to the creation of all beings. Moses wrote in the wilderness what was revealed to Adam’s mind in Paradise.

From the earliest nations, who knew this without writings; from the people who received this in Scripture and believed; from the later nations, who accepted the Scriptures from God’s people; and from those who remain still with their sacrifices and do not believe—to God and to Christ and to the Holy Spirit be glory and honor, now and at all times, and unto ages of ages! Amen and Amen.

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