BOOKS NOT INCLUDED IN BIBLE 6b

ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. BOOK V.

CHAP. I.
IT is not, my reverend Ambrosius, because we seek after many words--a thing which is forbidden, and in the indulgence of which it is impossible to avoid sin(1)--that we now begin the fifth book of our reply to the treatise of Celsus, but with the endeavour, so far as may be within our power, to leave none of his statements without examination, and especially those in which it might appear to some that he had skilfully assailed us and the Jews. If it were possible, indeed, for me to enter along with my words into the conscience of every one without exception who perUses this work, and to extract each dart which wounds him who is not completely protected with the "whole armour" of God, and apply a rational medicine to cure the wound inflicted by Celsus, which prevents those who listen to his words from remaining "sound in the faith," I would do so. But since it is the work of God alone, in conformity with His own Spirit, and along with that of Christ, to take up His abode invisibly in those persons whom He judges worthy of being visited; so, on the other hand, is our object to try, by means of arguments and treatises, to confirm men in their faith, and to earn the name of "workmen needing not to be ashamed, tightly dividing the word of truth."(2) And there is one thing above all which it appears to us we ought to do, if we would discharge faithfully the task enjoined upon us by you, and that is to overturn to the best of our ability the confident assertions of Celsus. Let us then quote such assertions of his as follow those which we have already refuted (the reader: must decide whether we have done so successfully or not), and let us reply to them. And may God grant that we approach not our subject with our understanding and reason empty and devoid of divine inspiration, that the faith of those whom we wish to aid may not depend upon human wisdom, but that, receiving the "mind" of Christ from His Father, who alone can bestow it, and being strengthened by participating in the word of God, we may pull down "every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,"(3) and the imagination of Celsus, who exalts himself against us, and against Jesus, and also against Moses and the prophets, in order that He who "gave the word to those who published it with great power"(4) may supply us also, and bestow upon us "great power," so that faith in the word and power of God may be implanted in the minds of all who will peruse our work.
CHAP. II. We have now, then, to refute that statement of his which runs as follows: "O Jews and Christians, no God or son of a God either came or will come down (to earth). But if you mean that certain angels did so, then what do you call them? Are they gods, or some other race of beings? Some other race of beings (doubtless), and in all probability demons." Now as Celsus here is guilty of repeating himself (for in the preceding pages such assertions have been frequently advanced by him), it is unnecessary to discuss the matter at greater length, seeing what we have already said upon this point may suffice. We shall mention, however, a few considerations out of a greater number, such as we deem in harmony with our former arguments, but which have not altogether the same bearing as they, and by which we shall show that in asserting generally that no God, or son of God, ever descended (among men), he overturns not only the opinions entertained by the majority of mankind regarding the manifestation of Deity, but also what was formerly admitted by himself. For if the general statement, that "no God or son of God has come down or will come down," be truly maintained by Celsus, it is manifest that we have here overthrown the belief in the existence of gods upon the earth who had descended from heaven either to predict the future to mankind or to heal them by means of divine responses; and neither the Pythian Apollo, nor AEsculapius, nor any other among those supposed to have done so, would be a god descended from heaven. He might, indeed, either be a god who had obtained as his lot (the obligation) to dwell on earth for ever, and be thus a fugitive, as it were, from the abode of the gods, or he might be one who had no power to share in the society of the gods in heaven;(1) or else Apollo, and AEsculapius, and those others who are believed to perform acts on earth, would not be gods, but only certain demons, much inferior to those wise men among mankind, who on account of their virtue ascend to the vault(2) of heaven.
CHAP. III. But observe how, in his desire to subvert our opinions, he who never acknowledged himself throughout his whole treatise to be an Epicurean, is convicted of being a deserter to that sect. And now is the time for you, (reader), who peruse the works of Celsus, and give your assent to what has been advanced, either to overturn the belief in a God who visits the human race, and exercises a providence over each individual man, or to grant this, and prove the falsity of the assertions of Celsus. If you, then, wholly annihilate providence, you will falsify those assertions of his in which he grants the existence of "God and a providence," in order that you may maintain the truth of your own position; but if, on the other hand, you still admit the existence of providence, because you do not assent to the dictum of Celsus, that "neither has a God nor the son of a God come down nor is to come down(3) to mankind," why not rather carefully ascertain from the statements made regarding Jesus, and the prophecies uttered concerning Him, who it is that we are to consider as having come down to the human race as God, and the Son of God?-- whether that Jesus who said and ministered so much, or those who under pretence of oracles and divinations, do not reform the morals of their worshippers, but who have besides apostatized from the pure and holy worship and honour due to the Maker of all things, and who tear away the souls of those who give heed to them from the one only visible and true God, under a pretence of paying honour to a multitude of deities?
CHAP. IV. But since he says, in the next place, as if the Jews or Christians had answered regarding those who come down to visit the human race, that they were angels: "But if ye say that they are angels, what do you call them?" he continues, "Are they gods, or some other race of beings?" and then again introduces us as if answering, "Some other race of beings, and probably demons,"--let us proceed to notice these remarks. For we indeed acknowledge that angels are "ministering spirits," and we say that "they are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation;"(4) and that they ascend, bearing the supplications of men, to the purest of the heavenly places in the universe, or even to supercelestial regions purer still;(5) and that they come down from these, conveying to each one, according to his deserts, something enjoined by God to be conferred by them upon those who are to be the recipients of His benefits. Having thus learned to call these beings "angels" from their employments, we find that because they are divine they are sometimes termed "god" in the sacred Scriptures,(6) but not so that we are commanded to honour and worship in place of God those who minister to us, and bear to us His blessings. For every prayer, and supplication, and intercession, and thanksgiving, is to be sent up to the Supreme God through the High Priest, who is above all the angels, the living Word and God. And to the Word Himself shall we also pray and make intercessions, and offer thanksgivings and supplications to Him, if we have the capacity of distinguishing between the proper use and abuse of prayer.(7)
CHAP. V. For to invoke angels without having obtained a knowledge of their nature greater than is possessed by men, would be contrary to reason. But, conformably to our hypothesis, let this knowledge of them, which is something wonderful and mysterious, be obtained. Then this knowledge, making known to us their nature, and the offices to which they are severally appointed, will not permit us to pray with confidence to any other than to the Supreme God, who is sufficient for all things, and that through our Saviour the Son of God, who is the Word, and Wisdom, and Truth, and everything else which the writings of God's prophets and the apostles of Jesus entitle Him. And it is enough to secure that the holy angels of God be propitious to us,(1) and that they do all things on our behalf, that our disposition of mind towards God should imitate as far as it is within the power of human nature the example of these holy angels, who again follow the example of their God; and that the conceptions which we entertain of His Son, the Word, so far as attainable by us, should not be opposed to the clearer conceptions of Him which the holy angels possess, but should daily approach these in clearness and distinctness. But because Celsus has not read our holy Scriptures, he gives himself an answer as if it came from us, saying that we "assert that the angels who come down from heaven to confer benefits on mankind are a different race from the gods," and adds that "in all probability they would be called demons by us:" not observing that the name "demons" is not a term of indifferent meaning like that of "men," among whom some are good and some bad, nor yet a term of excellence like that of "the gods," which is applied not to wicked demons, or to statues, or to animals, but (by those who know divine things) to what is truly divine and blessed; whereas the term "demons" is always applied to those wicked powers, freed from the encumbrance of a grosser body, who lead men astray, and fill them with distractions and drag them down from God and supercelestial thoughts to things here below.
CHAP. VI. He next proceeds to make the following statement about the Jews:--"The first point relating to the Jews which is fitted to excite wonder, is that they should worship the heaven and the angels who dwell therein, and yet pass by and neglect its most venerable and powerful parts, as the sun, the moon, and the other heavenly bodies, both fixed stars and planets, as if it were possible that 'the whole' could be God, and yet its parts not divine; or (as if it were reasonable) to treat with the greatest respect those who are said to appear to such as are in darkness somewhere, blinded by some crooked sorcery, or dreaming dreams through the influence of shadowy spectres,(2) while those who prophesy so clearly and strikingly to all men, by means of whom rain, and heat, and clouds, and thunder (to which they offer worship), and lightnings, and fruits, and all kinds of productiveness, are brought about,--by means of whom God is revealed to them,--the most prominent heralds among those beings that are above,--those that are truly heavenly angels,--are to be regarded as of no account!" In making these statements, Celsus appears to have fallen into confusion, and to have penned them from false ideas of things which he did not understand; for it is patent to all who investigate the practices of the Jews, and compare them with those of the Christians, that the Jews who follow the law, which, speaking in the person of God, says, "Thou shall have no other gods before Me: thou shalt not make unto thee an image, nor a likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth; thou shall not bow down to them, nor serve them,"(3) worship nothing else than the Supreme God, who made the heavens, and all things besides. Now it is evident that those who live according to the law, and worship the Maker of heaven, will not worship the heaven at the same time with God. Moreover, no one who obeys the law of Moses will bow down to the angels who are in heaven; and, in like manner, as they do not bow down to sun, moon, and stars, the host of heaven, they refrain from doing obeisance to heaven and its angels, obeying the law which declares: "Lest thou lift up thine eyes to heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldst be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations."(4)
CHAP. VII. Having, moreover, assumed that the Jews consider the heaven to be God, he adds that this is absurd; finding fault with those who bow down to the heaven, but not also to the sun, and moon, and stars, saying that the Jews do this, as if it were possible that "the whole" should be God, and its several parts not divine. And he seems to call the heaven "a whole," and sun, moon, and stars its several parts. Now, certainly neither Jews nor Christians call the "heaven" God. Let it be granted, however, that, as he alleges, the heaven is called God by the Jews, and suppose that sun, moon, and stars are parts of "heaven,"--which is by no means true, for neither are the animals and plants upon the earth any portion of it,--how is it true, even according to the opinions of the Greeks, that if God be a whole, His parts also are divine? Certainly they say that the Cosmos taken as the whole(5) is God, the Stoics calling it the First God, the followers of Plato the Second, and some of them the Third. According to these philosophers, then, seeing the whole Cosmos is God, its parts also are divine; so that not only are human beings divine, but the whole of the irrational creation, as being "portions" of the Cosmos; and besides these, the plants also are divine. And if the rivers, and mountains, and seas are portions of the Cosmos, then, since the whole Cosmos is God, are the riven and seas also gods? But even this the Greeks will not assert. Those, however, who preside over rivers and seas (either demons or gods, as they call them), they would term gods. Now from this it follows that the general statement of Celsus, even according to the Greeks, who hold the doctrine of Providence, is false, that if any "whole" be a god, its parts necessarily are divine. But it follows from the doctrine of Celsus, that if the Cosmos be God, all that is in it is divine, being parts of the Cosmos. Now, according to this view, animals, as flies, and gnats, and worms, and every species of serpent, as well as of birds and fishes, will be divine,- -an assertion which would not be made even by those who maintain that the Cosmos is God. But the Jews, who live according to the law of Moses, although they may not know how to receive the secret meaning of the law, which is conveyed in obscure language, will not maintain that either the heaven or the angels are God.
CHAP. VIII. As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. You will find at least in the book of Jeremiah the words of God censuring by the mouth of the prophet the Jewish people for doing obeisance to such objects, and for sacrificing to the queen of heaven, and to all the host of heaven.(1) The writings of the Christians, moreover, show, in censuring the sins committed among the Jews, that when God abandoned that people on account of certain sins, these sins (of idol-worship) also were committed by them. For it is related in the Acts of the Apostles regarding the Jews, that "God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to Me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which you made to worship them."(2) And in the writings of Paul, who was carefully trained in Jewish customs, and converted afterwards to Christianity by a miraculous appearance of Jesus, the following words may be read in the Epistle to the Colossians: "Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind; and not holding the Head, from which all the body by joint and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God."(3) But Celsus, having neither read these verses, nor having learned their contents from any other source, has represented, I know not how, the Jews as not transgressing their law in bowing down to the heavens, and to the angels therein.
CHAP. IX. And still continuing a little confused, and not taking care to see what was relevant to the matter, he expressed his opinion that the Jews were induced by the incantations employed in jugglery and sorcery (in consequence of which certain phantoms appear, in obedience to the spells employed by the magicians) to bow down to the angels in heaven, not observing that this was contrary to their law, which said to them who practised such observances: "Regard not them which have familiar spirits,(4) neither seek after wizards,(5) to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."(6) He ought, therefore, either not to have at all attributed this practice to the Jews, seeing he has observed that they keep their law, and has called them "those who live according to their law;" or if he did attribute it, he ought to have shown that the Jews did this in violation of their code. But again, as they transgress their law who offer worship to those who are said to appear to them who are involved in darkness and blinded by sorcery, and who dream dreams, owing to obscure phantoms presenting themselves; so also do they transgress the law who offer sacrifice to sun, moon, and stars.(7) And there is thus great inconsistency in the same individual saying that the Jews are careful to keep their law by not bowing down to sun, and moon, and stars, while they are not so careful to keep it in the matter of heaven and the angels.
CHAP. X. And if it be necessary for us to offer a defence of our refusal to recognise as gods, equally with angels, and sun, and moon, and stars, those who are called by the Greeks "manifest and visible" divinities, we shall answer that the law of Moses knows that these latter have been apportioned by God among all the nations under the heaven, but not amongst those who were selected by God as His chosen people above all the nations of the earth. For it is written in the book of Deuteronomy: "And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldst be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations unto the whole heaven. But the LORD hath taken us, and brought as forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto Him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day."(1) The Hebrew people, then, being called by God a "chosen generation, and a royal priesthood, and a holy nation, and a purchased people,"(2) regarding whom it was foretold to Abraham by the voice of the Lord addressed to him, "Look now towards heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be;"(3) and having thus a hope that they would become as the stars of heaven, were not likely to bow down to those objects which they were to resemble as a result of their understanding and observing the law of God. For it was said to them: "The LORD our God hath multiplied us; and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude."(4) In the book of Daniel, also, the following prophecies are found relating to those who are to share in the resurrection: "And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that has been written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust(5) of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and (those) of the many righteous(6) as the stars for ever and ever,"(7) etc. And hence Paul, too, when speaking of the resurrection, says: "And there are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead."(8) It was not therefore consonant to reason that those who had been taught sublimely(9) to ascend above all created things, and to hope for the enjoyment of the most glorious rewards with God on account of their virtuous lives, and who had heard the words, "Ye are the light of I the world,"(10) and, "Let your light so shine before men, that they, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father who is in heaven,"(11) and who possessed through practice this brilliant and unfading wisdom, or who had secured even the "very reflection of everlasting light,"(12) should be so impressed with the (mere) visible light of sun, and moon, and stars, that, on account of that sensible light of theirs, they should deem themselves (although possessed of so great a rational light of knowledge, and of the true light, and the light of the world, and the light of men) to be somehow inferior to them, and to bow down to them; seeing they ought to be worshipped, if they are to receive worship at all, not for the sake of the sensible light which is admired by the multitude, but because of the rational and true light, if indeed the stars in heaven are rational and virtuous beings, and have been illuminated with the light of knowledge by that wisdom which is the "reflection of everlasting light." For that sensible light of theirs is the work of the Creator of all things, while that rational light is derived perhaps from the principle of free-will within them. (13)
CHAP. XI. But even this rational light itself ought not to be worshipped by him who beholds and understands the true light, by sharing in which these also are enlightened; nor by him who beholds God, the Father of the true light,--of whom it has been said, "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."(14) Those, indeed, who worship sun, moon, and stars because their light is visible and celestial, would not bow down to a spark of fire or a lamp upon earth, because they see the incomparable superiority of those objects which are deemed worthy of homage to the light of sparks and lamps. So those who understand that God is light, and who have apprehended that the Son of God is "the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," and who comprehend also how He says, "I am the light of the world," would not rationally offer worship to that which is, as it were, a spark in sun, moon, and stars, in comparison with God, who is light of the true light. Nor is it with a view to depreciate these great works of God's creative power, or to call them, after the fashion of Anaxagoras, "fiery masses,"(15) that we thus speak of sun, and moon, and stars; but because we perceive the inexpressible superiority of the divinity of God, and that of His only-begotten Son, which surpasses all other things. And being persuaded that the sun himself, and moon, and stars pray to the Supreme God through His only- begotten Son, we judge it improper to pray to those beings who themselves offer up prayers (to God), seeing even they themselves would prefer that we should send up our requests to the God to whom they pray, rather than send them downwards to themselves, or apportion our power of prayer(1) between God and them.(2) And here I may employ this illustration, as beating upon this point: Our Lord and Saviour, heating Himself on one occasion addressed as "Good Master,"(3) referring him who used it to His own Father, said, "Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God the Father."(4) And since it was in accordance with sound reason that this should be said by the Son of His Father's love, as being the image of the goodness of God, why should not the sun say with greater reason to those that bow down to him, Why do you worship me? "for thou wilt worship the LORD thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve;"(5) for it is He whom I and all who are with me serve and worship. And although one may not be so exalted (as the sun), nevertheless let such an one pray to the Word of God (who is able to heal him), and still more to His Father, who also to the righteous of former times "sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."(6)
CHAP. XII. God accordingly, in His kindness, condescends to mankind, not in any local sense, but through His providence;(7) while the Son of God, not only (when on earth), but at all times, is with His own disciples, fulfilling the promise, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world."(8) And if a branch cannot bear fruit except it abide in the vine, it is evident that the disciples also of the Word, who are the rational branches of the Word's true vine, cannot produce the fruits of virtue unless they abide in the true vine, the Christ of God, who is with us locally here below upon the earth, and who is with those who cleave to Him in all parts of the world, and is also in all places with those who do not know Him. Another is made manifest by that John who wrote the Gospel, when, speaking in the person of John the Baptist, he said, "There standeth one among you whom ye know not; He it is who cometh after me."(9) And it is absurd, when He who fills heaven and earth, and who said, "Do I not fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD,"(10) is with us, and near us (for I believe Him when He says, "I am a God nigh at hand, and not afar off, saith the LORD"(11) to seek to pray to sun or moon, or one of the stars, whose influence does not reach the whole of the world.(12) But, to use the very words of Celsus, let it be granted that "the sun, moon, and stars do foretell rain, and heat, and clouds, and thunders," why, then, if they really do foretell such great things, ought we not rather to do homage to God, whose servant they are in uttering these predictions, and show reverence to Him rather than His prophets? Let them predict, then, the approach of lightnings, and fruits, and all manner of productions, and let all such things be under their administration; yet we shall not on that account worship those who themselves offer worship, as we do not worship even Moses, and those prophets who came from God after him, and who predicted better things than rain, and heat, and clouds, and thunders, and lightnings, and fruits, and all sorts of productions visible to the senses. Nay, even if sun, and moon, and stars were able to prophesy better things than rain, not even then shall we worship them, but the Father of the prophecies which are in them, and the Word of God, their minister. But grant that they are His heralds, and truly messengers of heaven, why, even then ought we not to worship the God whom they only proclaim and announce, rather than those who are the heralds and messengers?
CHAP. XIII. Celsus, moreover, assumes that sun, and moon, and stars are regarded by us as of no account. Now, with regard to these, we acknowledge that they too are "waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God," being for the present subjected to the "vanity" of their material bodies, "by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope."(13) But if Celsus had read the innumerable other passages where we speak of sun, moon, and stars, and especially these,--"Praise Him, all ye stars, and thou, O light," and, "Praise Him, ye heaven of heavens,"(14)--he would not have said of us that we regard such mighty beings, which "greatly praise" the Lord God, as of no account. Nor did Celsus know the passage: "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope; because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."(1) And with these words let us terminate our defence against the charge of not worshipping sun, moon, and stars. And let us now bring forward those statements of his which follow, that we may, God willing, address to him in reply such arguments as shall be suggested by the light of truth.
CHAP. XIV. The following, then, are his words: "It is folly on their part to suppose that when God, as if He were a cook,(2) introduces the fire (which is to consume the world), all the rest of the human race will be burnt up, while they alone will remain, not only such of them as are then alive, but also those who are long since dead, which latter will arise from the earth clothed with the self-same flesh (as during life); for such a hope is simply one which might be cherished by worms. For what sort of human soul is that which would still long for a body that had been subject to corruption? Whence, also, this opinion of yours is not shared by some of the Christians, and they pronounce it to be exceedingly vile, and loathsome, and impossible; for what kind of body is that which, after being completely corrupted, can return to its original nature, and to that self-same first condition out of which it fell into dissolution? Being unable to return any answer, they betake themselves to a most absurd refuge, viz., that all things are possible to God. And yet God cannot do things that are disgraceful, nor does He wish to do things that are contrary to His nature; nor, if (in accordance with the wickedness of your own heart) you desired anything that was evil, would God accomplish it; nor must you believe at once that it will be done. For God does not rule the world in order to satisfy inordinate desires, or to allow disorder and confusion, but to govern a nature that is upright and just.(3) For the soul, indeed, He might be able to provide an everlasting life; while dead bodies, on the contrary, are, as Heraclitus observes, more worthless than dung. God, however, neither can nor will declare, contrary to all reason, that the flesh, which is full of those things which it is not even honourable to mention, is to exist for ever. For He is the reason of all things that exist, and therefore can do nothing either contrary to reason or contrary to Himself."
CHAP. XV. Observe, now, here at the very beginning, how, in ridiculing the doctrine of a conflagration of the world, held by certain of the Greeks who have treated the subject in a philosophic spirit not to be depreciated, he would make us, "representing God, as it were, as a cook, hold the belief in a general conflagration;" not perceiving that, as certain Greeks were of opinion (perhaps having received their information from the ancient nation of the Hebrews), it is a purificatory fire which is brought upon the world, and probably also on each one of those who stand in need of chastisement by the fire and healing at the same time, seeing it burns indeed, but does not consume, those who are without a material body,(4) which needs to be consumed by that fire, and which burns and consumes those who by their actions, words, and thoughts have built up wood, or hay, or stubble, in that which is figuratively termed a "building."(5) And the holy Scriptures say that the Lord will, like a refiner's fire and fullers' soap,(6) visit each one of those who require purification, because of the intermingling in them of a flood of wicked matter proceeding from their evil nature; who need fire, I mean, to refine, as it were, (the dross of) those who are intermingled with copper, and tin, and lead. And he who likes may learn this from the prophet Ezekiel.(7) But that we say that God brings fire upon the world, not like a cook, but like a God, who is the benefactor of them who stand in need of the discipline of fire,(8) will be testified by the prophet Isaiah, in whose writings it is related that a sinful nation was thus addressed: "Because thou hast coals of fire, sit upon them: they shall be to thee a help."(9) Now the Scripture is appropriately adapted to the multitudes of those who are to peruse it, because it speaks obscurely of things that are sad and gloomy,(10) in order to terrify those who cannot by any other means be saved from the flood of their sins, although even then the attentive reader will dearly discover the end that is to be accomplished by these sad and painful punishments upon those who endure them. It is sufficient, however, for the present to quote the words of Isaiah: "For My name's sake will I show Mine anger, and My glory I will bring upon thee, that I may not destroy thee."(11) We have thus been under the necessity of referring in obscure terms to questions not fitted to the capacity of simple believers,(12) who require a simpler instruction in words, that we might not appear to leave unrefuted the accusation of Celsus, that "God introduces the fire (which is to destroy the world), as if He were a cook."
CHAP. XVI. From what has been said, it will be manifest to intelligent hearers how we have to answer the following: "All the rest of the race will be completely burnt up, and they alone will remain." It is not to be wondered at, indeed, if such thoughts have been entertained by those amongst us who are called in Scripture the "foolish things" of the world, and "base things," and "things which are despised," and "things which are not," because "by the foolishness of preaching it pleased God to save them that believe on Him, after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God,"(1)--because such individuals are unable to see distinctly the sense of each particular passage,(2) or unwilling to devote the necessary leisure to the investigation of Scripture, notwithstanding the injunction of Jesus, "Search the Scriptures."(3) The following, moreover, are his ideas regarding the fire which is to be brought upon the world by God, and the punishments which are to befall sinners. And perhaps, as it is appropriate to Children that some things should be addressed to them in a manner befitting their infantile condition, to convert them, as being of very tender age, to a better course of life; so, to those whom the word terms "the foolish things of the world," and "the base," and "the despised," the just and obvious meaning of the passages relating to punishments is suitable, inasmuch as they cannot receive any other mode of conversion than that which is by fear and the presentation of punishment, and thus be saved from the many evils (which would befall them).(4) The Scripture accordingly declares that only those who are unscathed by the fire and the punishments are to remain,--those, viz., whose opinions, and morals, and mind have been purified to the highest degree; while, on the other hand, those of a different nature--those, viz., who, according to their deserts, require the administration of punishment by fire--will be involved in these sufferings with a view to an end which it is suitable for God to bring upon those who have been created in His image, but who have lived in opposition to the will of that nature which is according to His image. And this is our answer to the statement, "All the rest of the race will be completely burnt up, but they alone are to remain."
CHAP. XVII. Then, in the next place, having either himself misunderstood the sacred Scriptures, or those (interpreters) by whom they were not understood, he proceeds to assert that "it is said by us that there will remain at the time of the visitation which is to come upon the world by the fire of purification, not only those who are then alive, but also those who are long ago dead;" not observing that it is with a secret kind of wisdom that it was said by the apostle of Jesus: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."(5) Now he ought to have noticed what was the meaning of him who uttered these words, as being one who was by no means dead, who made a distinction between himself and those like him and the dead, and who said afterwards, "The dead shall be raised incorruptible," and "we shall be changed." And as a proof that such was the apostle's meaning in writing those words which I have quoted from the first Epistle to the Corinthians, I will quote also from the first to the Thessalonians, in which Paul, as one who is alive and awake, and different from those who are asleep, speaks as follows: "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them who are asleep; for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God."(6) Then, again, after this, knowing that there were others dead in Christ besides himself and such as he, he subjoins the words, "The dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air."(7)
CHAP. XVIII. But since he has ridiculed at great length the doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh, which has been preached in the Churches, and which is more clearly understood by the more intelligent believer; and as it is unnecessary again to quote his words, which have been already adduced, let us, with regard to the problem(8) (as in an apologetic work directed against an alien from the faith, and for the sake of those who are still "children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive"(1)), state and establish to the best of our ability a few points expressly intended for our readers. Neither we, then, nor the holy Scriptures, assert that with the same bodies, without a change to a higher condition, "shall those who were long dead arise from the earth and live again;" for in so speaking, Celsus makes a false charge against us. For we may listen to many passages of Scripture treating of the resurrection in a manner worthy of God, although it may, suffice for the present to quote the language of Paul from the first Epistle to the Corinthians, where he says: "But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain; but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body."(2) Now, observe how in these words he says that there is sown, "not that body that shall be;" but that of the body which is sown and cast naked into the earth (God giving to each seed its own body), there takes place as it were a resurrection: from the seed that was east into the ground there arising a stalk, e.g., among such plants as the following, viz., the mustard plant, or of a larger tree, as in the olive,(3) or one of the fruit-trees.
CHAP. XIX. God, then, gives to each thing its own body as He pleases: as in the case of plants that are sown, so also in the case of those beings who are, as it were, sown in dying, and who in due time receive, out of what has been "sown," the body assigned by God to each one according to his deserts. And we may hear, moreover, the Scripture teaching us at great length the difference between that which is, as it were, "sown," and that which is, as it were, "raised" from it in these words: "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body."(4) And let him who has the capacity understand the meaning of the words: "As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."(5) And although the apostle wished to conceal the secret meaning of the passage, which was not adapted to the simpler class of believers, and to the understanding of the common people, who are led by their faith to enter on a better course of life, he was nevertheless obliged afterwards to say (in order that we might not misapprehend his meaning), after "Let us bear the image of the heavenly," these words also: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption."(6) Then, knowing that there was a secret and mystical meaning in the passage, as was becoming in one who was leaving, in his Epistles, to those who were to come after him words full of significance, he subjoins the following, "Behold, I show you a mystery;"(7) which is his usual style in introducing matters of a profounder and more mystical nature, and such as are fittingly concealed from the multitude, as is written in the book of Tobit: "It is good to keep close the secret of a king, but honourable to reveal the works of God,"(8)--in a way consistent with truth and God's glory, and so as to be to the advantage of the multitude. Our hope, then, is not" the hope of worms, nor does our soul long for a body that has seen corruption;" for although it may require a body, for the sake of moving from place to place,(9) yet it understands--as having meditated on the wisdom (that is from above), agreeably to the declaration, "The mouth of the righteous will speak wisdom"(10)-- the difference between the "earthly house," in which is the tabernacle of the building that is to be dissolved, and that in which the righteous do groan, being burdened,--not wishing to "put off" the tabernacle, but to be "clothed therewith," that by being clothed upon, mortality might be swallowed up of life. For, in virtue of the whole nature of the body being corruptible, the corruptible tabernacle must put on incorruption; and its other part, being mortal, and becoming liable to the death which follows sin, must put on immortality, in order that, when the corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and the mortal immortality, then shall come to pass what was predicted of old by the prophets,--the annihilation of the "victory" of death (because it had conquered and subjected us to his sway), and of its "sting," with which it stings the imperfectly defended soul, and inflicts upon it the wounds which result from sin.
CHAP. XX. But since our views regarding the resurrection have, as far as time would permit, been stated in part on the present occasion (for we have systematically examined the subject in greater detail in other parts of our writings); and as now we must by means of sound reasoning refute the fallacies of Celsus, who neither understands the meaning of our Scripture, nor has the capacity of judging that the meaning of our wise men is not to be determined by those individuals who make no profession of anything more than of a (simple) faith in the Christian system, let us show that men, not to be lightly esteemed on account of their reasoning powers and dialectic subtleties, have given expression to very absurd(1) opinions. And if we must sneer(2) at them as contemptible old wives' fables, it is at them rather than at our narrative that we must sneer. The disciples of the Porch assert, that after a period of years there will be a conflagration of the world, and after that an arrangement of things in which everything will be unchanged, as compared with the former arrangement of the world. Those of them, however, who evinced their respect for this doctrine have said that there will be a change, although exceedingly slight, at the end of the cycle, from what prevailed during the preceding.(3) And these men maintain, that in the succeeding cycle the same things will occur, and Socrates will be again the son of Sophroniscus, and a native of Athens; and Phaenarete, being married to Sophroniscus, will again become his mother. And although they do not mention the word "resurrection," they show in reality that Socrates, who derived his origin from seed, will spring from that of Sophroniscus, and will be fashioned in the womb of Phaenarete; and being brought up at Athens, will practise the study of philosophy, as if his former philosophy had arisen again, and were to be in no respect different from what it was before. Anytus and Melitus, too, will arise again as accusers of Socrates, and the Council of Areopagus will condemn him to death! But what is more ridiculous still, is that Socrates will clothe himself with garments not at all different from those which he wore during the former cycle, and will live in the same unchanged state of poverty, and in the same unchanged city of Athens! And Phalaris will again play the tyrant, and his brazen bull will pour forth its bellowings from the voices of victims within, unchanged from those who were condemned in the former cycle! And Alexander of Pherae, too, will again act the tyrant with a cruelty unaltered from the former time, and will condemn to death the same "unchanged" individuals as before. But what need is there to go into detail upon the doctrine held by the Stoic philosophers on such things, and which escapes the ridicule of Celsus, and is perhaps even venerated by him, since he regards Zeno as a wiser man than Jesus?
CHAP. XXI. The disciples of Pythagoras, too, and of Plato, although they appear to hold the incorruptibility of the world, yet fall into similar errors. For as the planets, after certain definite cycles, assume the same positions, and hold the same relations to one another, all things on earth will, they assert, be like what they were at the time when the same state of planetary relations existed in the world. From this view it necessarily follows, that when, after the lapse of a lengthened cycle, the planets come to occupy towards each other the same relations which they occupied in the time of Socrates, Socrates will again be born of the same parents, and suffer the same treatment, being accused by Anytus and Melitus, and condemned by the Council of Areopagus! The learned among the Egyptians, moreover, hold similar views, and yet they are treated with respect, and do not incur the ridicule of Celsus and such as he; while we, who maintain that all things are administered by God in proportion to the relation of the free-will of each individual, and are ever being brought into a better condition, so far as they admit of being so,(4) and who know that the nature of our free-will admits of the occurrence of contingent events(5) (for it is incapable of receiving the wholly unchangeable character of God), yet do not appear to say anything worthy of a testing examination.
CHAP. XXII. Let no one, however, suspect that, in speaking as we do, we belong to those who are indeed called Christians, but who set aside the doctrine of the resurrection as it is taught in Scripture. For these persons cannot, so far as their principles apply, at all establish that the stalk or tree which springs up comes from the grain of wheat, or anything else (which was cast into the ground); whereas we, who believe that that which is "sown" is not "quickened" unless it die, and that there is sown not that body that shall be (for God gives it a body as it pleases Him, raising it in incorruption after it is sown in corruption; and after it is sown in dishonour, raising it in glory; and after it is sown in weakness, raising it in power; and after it is sown a natural body, raising it a spiritual),--we preserve both the doctrine(6) of the Church of Christ and the grandeur of the divine promise, proving also the possibility of its accomplishment not by mere assertion, but by arguments; knowing that although heaven and earth, and the things that are in them, may pass away, yet His words regarding each individual thing, being, as parts of a whole, or species of a genus, the utterances of Him who was God the Word, who was in the beginning with God, shall by no means pass away. For we desire to listen to Him who said: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away."(1)
CHAP. XXIII. We, therefore, do not maintain that the body which has undergone corruption resumes its original nature, any more than the gain of wheat which has decayed returns to its former condition. But we do maintain, that as above the gain of wheat there arises a stalk, so a certain power(2) is implanted in the body, which is not destroyed, and from which the body is raised up in incorruption. The philosophers of the Porch, however, in consequence of the opinions which they hold regarding the unchangeableness of things after a certain cycle, assert that the body, after undergoing complete corruption, will return to its original condition, and will again assume that first nature from which it passed into a state of dissolution, establishing these points, as they think, by irresistible arguments.(3) We, however, do not betake ourselves to a most absurd refuge, saying that with God all things are possible; for we know how to understand this word "all" as not referring either to things that are "non-existent" or that are inconceivable. But we maintain, at the same time, that God cannot do what is disgraceful, since then He would be capable of ceasing to be God; for if He do anything that is disgraceful, He is not God. Since, however, he lays it down as a principle, that "God does not desire what is contrary to nature," we have to make a distinction, and say that if any one asserts that wickedness is contrary to nature, while we maintain that "God does not desire what is contrary to nature,"--either what springs from wickedness or from an irrational principle,--yet, if such things happen according to the word and will of God, we must at once necessarily hold that they are not contrary to nature. Therefore things which are done by God, although they may be, or may appear to some to be incredible, are not contrary to nature. And if we must press the force of words,(4) we would say that, in comparison with what is generally understood as "nature," there are certain things which are beyond its power, which God could at any time do; as, e.g., in raising man above the level of human nature, and causing him to pass into a better and more divine condition, and preserving him in the same, so long as he who is the object of His care shows by his actions that he desires (the continuance of His help).
CHAP. XXIV. Moreover, as we have already said that for God to desire anything unbecoming Himself would be destructive of His existence as Deity, we will add that if man, agreeably to the wickedness of his nature, should desire anything that is abominable,(5) God cannot grant it. And now it is from no spirit of contention that we answer the assertions of Celsus; but it is in the spirit of truth that we investigate them, as assenting to his view that "He is the God, not of inordinate desires, nor of error and disorder, but of a nature just and upright," because He is the source of all that is good. And that He is able to provide an eternal life for the soul we acknowledge; and that He possesses not only the "power," but the "will." In view, therefore, of these considerations, we are not at all distressed by the assertion of Heraclitus, adopted by Celsus, that "dead bodies are to be cast out as more worthless than dung;" and yet, with reference even to this, one might say that dung, indeed, ought to be cast out, while the dead bodies of men, on account of the soul by which they were inhabited, especially if it had been virtuous, ought not to be cast out. For, in harmony with those laws which are based upon the principles of equity, bodies are deemed worthy of sepulture, with the honours accorded on such occasions, that no insult, so far as can be helped, may be offered to the soul which dwelt within, by casting forth the body (after the soul has departed) like that of the animals. Let it not then be held, contrary to reason, that it is the will of God to declare that the grain of wheat is not immortal, but the stalk which springs from it, while the body which is sown in corruption is not, but that which is raised by Him in incorruption. But according to Celsus, God Himself is the reason of all things, while according to our view it is His Son, of whom we say in philosophic language, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God;"(6) while in our judgment also, God cannot do anything which is contrary to reason, or contrary to Himself.(7)
CHAP. XXV. Let us next notice the statements of Celsus, which follow the preceding, and which are as follow: "As the Jews, then, became a peculiar people, and enacted laws in keeping with the customs of their country,(1) and maintain them up to the present time, and observe a mode of worship which, whatever be its nature, is yet derived from their fathers, they act in these respects like other men, because each nation retains its ancestral customs, whatever they are, if they happen to be established among them. And such an arrangement appears to be advantageous, not only because it has occurred to the mind of other nations to decide some things differently, but also because it is a duty to protect what has been established for the public advantage; and also because, in all probability, the various quarters of the earth were from the beginning allotted to different superintending spirits,(2) and were thus distributed among certain governing powers,(3) and in this manner the administration of the world is carried on. And whatever is done among each nation in this way would be rightly done, wherever it was agreeable to the wishes (of the superintending powers), while it would be an act of impiety to get rid of(4) the institutions established from the beginning in the various places." By these words Celsus shows that the Jews, who were formerly Egyptians, subsequently became a "peculiar people," and enacted laws which they carefully preserve. And not to repeat his statements, which have been already before us, he says that it is advantageous to the Jews to observe their ancestral worship, as other nations carefully attend to theirs. And he further states a deeper reason why it is of advantage to the Jews to cultivate their ancestral customs, in hinting dimly that those to whom was allotted the office of superintending the country which was being legislated for, enacted the laws of each land in co- operation with its legislators. He appears, then, to indicate that both the country of the Jews, and the nation which inhabits it, are superintended by one or more beings, who, whether they were one or more, co-operated with Moses, and enacted the laws of the Jews.
CHAP. XXVI. "We must," he says, "observe the laws, not only because it has occurred to the mind of others to decide some things differently, but because it is a duty to protect what has been enacted for the public advantage, and aim because, in all probability, the various quarters of the earth were from the beginning allotted to different superintending spirits, and were distributed among certain governing powers, and in this manner the administration of the world is carried on." Thus Celsus, as if he had forgotten what he had said against the Jews, now includes them in the general eulogy which he passes upon all who observe their ancestral customs, remarking: "And whatever is done among each nation in this way, would be rightly done whenever agreeable to the wishes (of the superintendents) ." And observe here, whether he does not openly, so far as he can, express a wish that the Jew should live in the observance of his own laws, and not depart from them, because he would commit an act of impiety if he apostatized; for his words are: "It would be an act of impiety to get rid of the institutions established from the beginning in the various places." Now I should like to ask him, and those who entertain his views, who it was that distributed the various quarters of the earth from the beginning among the different superintending spirits; and especially, who gave the country of the Jews, and the Jewish people themselves, to the one or more superintendents to whom it was allotted? Was it, as Celsus would say, Jupiter who assigned the Jewish people and their country to a certain spirit or spirits? And was it his wish, to whom they were thus assigned, to enact among them the laws which prevail, or was it against his will that it was done? You will observe that, whatever be his answer, he is in a strait. But if the various quarters of the earth were not allotted by some one being to the various superintending spirits, then each one at random, and without the superintendence of a higher power, divided the earth according to chance; and yet such a view is absurd, and destructive in no small degree of the providence of the God who presides over all things.
CHAP. XXVII. Any one, indeed, who chooses, may relate how the various quarters of the earth, being distributed among certain governing powers, are administered by those who superintend them; but let him tell us also how what is done among each nation is done rightly when agreeable to the wishes of the superintendents. Let him, for example, tell us whether the laws of the Scythians, which permit the murder of parents, are right laws; or those of the Persians, which do not forbid the marriages of sons with their mothers, or of daughters with their own fathers. But what need is there for me to make selections from those who have been engaged in the business of enacting laws among the different nations, and to inquire how the laws are rightly enacted among each, according as they please the superintending powers? Let Celsus, however, tell us how it would be an act of impiety to get rid of those ancestral laws which permit the marriages of mothers and daughters; or which pronounce a man happy who puts an end to his life by hanging, or declare that they undergo entire purification who deliver themselves over to the fire, and who terminate their existence by fire; and how it is an act of impiety to do away with those laws which, for example, prevail in the Tauric Chersonese, regarding the offering up of strangers in sacrifice to Diana, or among certain of the Libyan tribes regarding the sacrifice of children to Saturn. Moreover, this inference follows from the dictum of Celsus, that it is an act of impiety on the part of the Jews to do away with those ancestral laws which forbid the worship of any other deity than the Creator of all things. And it will follow, according to his view, that piety is not divine by its own nature, but by a certain (external) arrangement and appointment. For it is an act of piety among certain tribes to worship a crocodile, and to eat what is an object of adoration among other tribes; while, again, with others it is a pious act to worship a calf, and among others, again, to regard the goat as a god. And, in this way, the same individual will be regarded as acting piously according to one set of laws, and impiously according to another; and this is the most absurd result that can be conceived!
CHAP. XXVIII. It is probable, however, that to such remarks as the above, the answer returned would be, that he was pious who kept the laws of his own country, and not at all chargeable with impiety for the non-observance of those of other lands; and that, again, he who was deemed guilty of impiety among certain nations was not really so, when he worshipped his own gods, agreeably to his country's laws, although he made war against, and even feasted on,(1) those who were regarded as divinities among those nations which possessed laws of an opposite kind. Now, observe here whether these statements do not exhibit the greatest confusion of mind regarding the nature of what is just, and holy, and religious; since there is no accurate definition laid down of these things, nor are they described as having a peculiar character of their own, and stamping as religious those who act according to their injunctions. If, then, religion, and piety, and righteousness belong to those things which are so only by comparison, so that the same act may be both pious and impious, according to different relations and different laws, see whether it will not follow that temperance(2) also is a thing of comparison, and courage as well, and prudence, and the other virtues, than which nothing could be more absurd! What we have said, however, is sufficient for the more general and simple class of answers to the allegations of Celsus. But as we think it likely that some of those who are accustomed to deeper investigation will fall in with this treatise, let us venture to lay down some considerations of a profounder kind, conveying a mystical and secret view respecting the original distribution of the various quarters of the earth among different superintending spirits; and let us prove to the best of our ability, that our doctrine is free from the absurd consequences enumerated above.
CHAP. XXIX. It appears to me, indeed, that Celsus has misunderstood some of the deeper reasons relating to the arrangement of terrestrial affairs, some of which are touched upon(3) even in Grecian history, when certain of those who are considered to be gods are introduced as having contended with each other about the possession of Attica; while in the writings of the Greek poets also, some who are called gods are represented as acknowledging that certain places here are preferred by them(4) before others. The history of barbarian nations, moreover, and especially that of Egypt, contains some such allusions to the division of the so-called Egyptian homes, when it states that Athena, who obtained Sais by lot, is the same who also has possession of Attica. And the learned among the Egyptians can enumerate innumerable instances of this kind, although I do not know whether they include the Jews and their country in this division. And now, so far as testimonies outside the word God bearing on this point are concerned, enough have been adduced for the present. We say, moreover, that our prophet of God and His genuine servant Moses, in his song in the book of Deuteronomy, makes a statement regarding the portioning out of the earth in the following terms: "When the Most High divided the nations, when He dispersed the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the angels of God; and the portion was His people Jacob, and Israel the cord of His inheritance."(5) And regarding the distribution of the nations, the same Moses, in his work entitled Genesis, thus expresses himself in the style of a historical narrative: "And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech; and it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there."(6) A little further on he continues: "And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men had built. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they have begun to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Go to, let Us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. And the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city and the tower. Therefore is the name of it called Confusion;(1) because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."(2) In the treatise of Solomon, moreover, on "Wisdom," and on the events at the time of the confusion of languages, when the division of the earth took place, we find the following regarding Wisdom: "Moreover, the nations in their wicked conspiracy being confounded, she found out the righteous, and preserved him blameless unto God, and kept him strong in his tender compassion towards his son."(3) But on these subjects much, and that of a mystical kind, might be said; in keeping with which is the following: "It is good to keep close the secret of a king,"(4)--in order that the doctrine of the entrance of souls into bodies (not, however, that of the transmigration from one body into another) may not be thrown before the common understanding, nor what is holy given to the dogs, nor pearls be cast before swine. For such a procedure would be impious, being equivalent to a betrayal of the mysterious declarations of God's wisdom. of which it has been well said: "Into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter, nor dwell in a body subject to sin."(5) It is sufficient, however, to represent in the style of a historic narrative what is intended to convey a secret meaning in the garb of history, that those who have the capacity may work out for themselves all that relates to the subject. (The narrative, then, may be understood as follows.)
CHAP. XXX. All the people upon the earth are to be regarded as having used one divine language, and so long as they lived harmoniously together were preserved in the use of this divine language, and they remained without moving from the east so long as they were imbued with the sentiments of the "light," and of the "reflection" of the eternal light.(6) But when they departed from the east, and began to entertain sentiments alien to those of the east,(7) they found a place in the land of Shinar (which, when interpreted, means "gnashing of teeth," by way of indicating symbolically that they had lost the means of their support), and in it they took up their abode. Then, desiring to gather together material things,(8) and to join to heaven what had no natural affinity for it, that by means of material things they might conspire against such as were immaterial, they said, "Come, let us made bricks, and burn them with fire." Accordingly, when they had hardened and compacted these materials of clay and matter, and had shown their desire to make brick into stone, and clay into bitumen, and by these means to build a city and a tower, the head of which was, at least in their conception, to reach up to the heavens, after the manner of the "high things which exalt themselves against the I knowledge of God," each one was handed over (in proportion to the greater or less departure from the east which had taken place among them, and in proportion to the extent in which bricks had been converted into stones, and clay into bitumen, and building carried on out of these materials) to angels of character more or less severe, and of a nature more or less stern, until they had paid the penalty of their daring deeds; and they were conducted by those angels, who imprinted on each his native language, to the different parts of the earth according to their deserts: some, for example, to a region of burning heat, others to a country which chastises its inhabitants by its cold; others, again, to a land exceedingly difficult of cultivation, others to one less so in degree; while a fifth were brought into a land filled with wild beasts, and a sixth to a country comparatively free of these.
CHAP. XXXI. Now, in the next place, if any one has the capacity, let him understand that in what assumes the form of history, and which contains some things that are literally true, while yet it conveys a deeper meaning, those who preserved their original language continued, by reason of their not having migrated from the east, in possession of the east, and of their eastern language. And let him notice, that these alone became the portion of the Lord, and His people who were called Jacob, and Israel the cord of His inheritance; and these alone were governed by a ruler who did not receive those who were placed under him for the purpose of punishment, as was the case with the others. Let him also, who has the capacity to perceive as far as mortals may, observe that in the body politic(9) of those who were assigned to the Lord as His pre-eminent portion, sins were committed, first of all, such as might be forgiven, and of such a nature as not to make the sinner worthy of entire desertion while subsequently they became more numerous though still of a nature to be pardoned. And while remarking that this state of matters continued for a considerable time, and that a remedy was always applied, and that after certain intervals these persons returned to their duty, let him notice that they were given over, in proportion to their transgressions, to those to whom had been assigned the other quarters of the earth; and that, after being at first slightly punished, and having made atonement,(1) they returned, as if they had undergone discipline,(2) to their proper habitations. Let him notice also that afterwards they were delivered over to rulers of a severer character--to Assyrians and Babylonians, as the Scriptures would call them. In the next place, notwithstanding that means of healing were being applied, let him observe that they were still multiplying their transgressions, and that they were on that account dispersed into other regions by the rulers of the nations that oppressed them. And their own ruler intentionally overlooked their oppression at the hands of the rulers of the other nations, in order that he also with good reason, as avenging himself, having obtained power to tear away from the other nations as many as he can, may do so, and enact for them laws, and point out a manner of life agreeably to which they ought to live, that so he may conduct them to the end to which those of the former people were conducted who did not commit sin.
CHAP. XXXII. And by this means let those who have the capacity of comprehending truths so profound, learn that he to whom were allotted those who had not formerly sinned is far more powerful than the others, since he has been able to make a selection of individuals from the portion of the whole,(3) and to separate them from those who received them for the purpose of punishment, and to bring them under the influence of laws, and of a mode of life which helps to produce an oblivion of their former transgressions. But, as we have previously observed, these remarks are to be understood as being made by us with a concealed meaning, by way of pointing out the mistakes of those who asserted that "the various quarters of the earth were from the beginning distributed among different superintending spirits, and being allotted among certain governing powers, were administered in this way;" from which statement Celsus took occasion to make the remarks referred to. But since those who wandered away from the east were delivered over, on account of their sins, to "a reprobate mind," and to "vile affections," and to "uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts,"(4) in order that, being sated with sin, they might hate it, we shall refuse our assent to the assertion of Celsus, that "because of the superintending spirits distributed among the different parts of the earth, what is done among each nation is rightly done;" for our desire iS to do what is not agreeable to these spirits.(5) For we see that it is a religious act to do away with the customs originally established in the various places by means of laws of a better and more divine character, which were enacted by Jesus, as one possessed of the greatest power, who has rescued us "from the present evil world," and "from the princes of the world that come to nought;" and that it is a mark of irreligion not to throw ourselves at the feet of Him who has manifested Himself to be holier and more powerful than all other rulers, and to whom God said, as the prophets many generations before predicted: "Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession."(6) For He, too, has become the "expectation" of us who from among the heathen have believed upon Him, and upon His Father, who is God over all things.
CHAP. XXXIII. The remarks which we have made not only answer the statements of Celsus regarding the superintending spirits, but anticipate in some measure what he afterwards brings forward, when he says: "Let the second party come forward; and I shall ask them whence they come, and whom they regard as the originator of their ancestral customs. They will reply, No one, because they spring from the same source as the Jews themselves, and derive their instruction and superintendence(7) from no other quarter, and notwithstanding they have revolted from the Jews." Each one of us, then, is come "in the last days," when one Jesus has visited us, to the "visible mountain of the Lord," the Word that is above every word, and to the "house of God," which is "the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."(8) And we notice how it is built upon "the tops of the mountains," i.e., the predictions of all the prophets, which are its foundations. And this house is exalted above the hills, i.e., those individuals among men who make a profession of superior attainments in wisdom and truth; and all the nations come to it, and the "many nations" go forth, and say to one another, turning to the religion which in the last days has shone forth through Jesus Christ: "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in them."(1) For the law came forth from the dwellers in Sion, and settled among us as a spiritual law. Moreover, the word of the Lord came forth from that very Jerusalem, that it might be disseminated through all places, and might judge in the midst of the heathen selecting those whom it sees to be submissive and rejecting(2) the disobedient, who are many in number. And to those who inquire of us whence we come, or who is our founder,(3) we reply that we are come, agreeably to the counsels of Jesus, to "cut down our hostile and insolent 'wordy'(4) swords into ploughshares, and to convert into pruning-hooks the spears formerly employed in war."(5) For we no longer take up "sword against nation," nor do we "learn war any more," having become children of peace, for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader, instead of those whom our fathers followed, among whom we were "strangers to the covenant," and having received a law, for which we give thanks to Him that rescued us from the error (of our ways), saying, "Our fathers honoured lying idols, and there is not among them one that causeth it to rain."(6) Our Superintendent, then, and Teacher, having come forth from the Jews, regulates the whole world by the word of His teaching. And having made these remarks by way of anticipation, we have refuted as well as we could the untrue statements of Celsus, by subjoining the appropriate answer.
CHAP. XXXIV. But, that we may not pass without notice what Celsus has said between these and the preceding paragraphs, let us quote his words: "We might adduce Herodotus as a witness on this point, for he expresses himself as follows: 'For the people of the cities Mares and Apis, who inhabit those parts of Egypt that are adjacent to Libya, and who look upon themselves as Libyans, and not as Egyptians, finding their sacrificial worship oppressive, and wishing not to be excluded from the use of cows' flesh, sent to the oracle of Jupiter Ammon, saying that there was no relationship between them and the Egyptians, that they dwelt outside the Delta, that there was no community of sentiment between them and the Egyptians, and that they wished to be allowed to partake of all kinds of food. But the god would not allow them to do as they desired, saying that that country was a part of Egypt, which was watered by the inundation of the Nile, and that those were Egyptians who dwell to the south of the city of Elephantine, and drink of the river Nile.'(7) Such is the narrative of Herodotus. But," continues Celsus, "Ammon in divine things would not make a worse ambassador than the angels of the Jews,(8) so that there is nothing wrong in each nation observing its established method of worship. Of a truth, we shall find very great differences prevailing among the nations, and yet each seems to deem its own by far the best. Those inhabitants of Ethiopia who dwell in Meroe worship Jupiter and Bacchus alone; the Arabians, Urania and Bacchus only; all the Egyptians, Osiris and Isis; the Saites, Minerva; while the Naucratites have recently classed Serapis among their deities, and the rest according to their respective laws. And some abstain from the flesh of sheep, and others from that of crocodiles; others, again, from that of cows, while they regard swine's flesh with loathing. The Scythians, indeed, regard it as a noble act to banquet upon human beings. Among the Indians, too, there are some who deem themselves discharging a holy duty in eating their fathers, and this is mentioned in a certain passage by Herodotus. For the sake of credibility, I shall again quote his very words, for he writes as follows: 'For if any one were to make this proposal to all men, viz., to bid him select out of all existing laws the best, each would choose, after examination, those of his own country. Men each consider their own laws much the best, and therefore it is not likely than any other than a madman would make these things a subject of ridicule. But that such are the conclusions of all men regarding the laws, may be determined by many other evidences, and especially by the following illustration. Darius, during his reign, having summoned before him those Greeks who happened to be present at the time, inquired of them for how much they would be willing to eat their deceased fathers? their answer was, that for no consideration would they do such a thing. After this, Darius summoned those Indians who are called Callatians. who are in the habit of eating their parents, and asked of them in the presence of these Greeks, who learned what passed through an interpreter, for what amount of money they would undertake to burn their deceased fathers with fire? on which they raised a loud shout, and bade the king say no more.'(9) Such is the way, then, in which these matters are regarded. And Pindar appears to me to be right in saying that 'law' is the king of all things."(1)
CHAP. XXXV. The argument of Celsus appears to point by these illustrations to this conclusion: that it is "an obligation incumbent on all men to live according to their country's customs, in which case they will escape censure; whereas the Christians, who have abandoned their native usages, and who are not one nation like the Jews, are to be blamed for giving their adherence to the teaching of Jesus." Let him then tell us whether it is a becoming thing for philosophers, and those who have been taught not to yield to superstition, to abandon their country's customs, so as to eat of those articles of food which are prohibited in their respective cities? or whether this proceeding of theirs is opposed to what is becoming? For if, on account of their philosophy, and the instructions which they have received against superstition, they should eat, in disregard of their native laws, what was interdicted by their fathers, why should the Christians (since the Gospel requires them not to busy themselves about statues and images, or even about any of the created works of God but to ascend on high, and present the soul to the Creator); when acting in a similar manner to the philosophers, be censured for so doing? But if, for the sake of defending the thesis which he has proposed to himself, Celsus, or those who think with him, should say, that even one who had studied philosophy would keep his country's laws, then philosophers in Egypt, for example, would act most ridiculously in avoiding the eating of onions, in order to observe their country's laws, or certain parts of the body, as the head and shoulders, in order not to transgress the traditions of their fathers. And I do not speak of those Egyptians who shudder with fear at the discharge of wind from the body, because if any one of these were to become a philosopher, and still observe the laws of his country, he would be a ridiculous philosopher, acting very unphilosophically.(2) In the same way, then, he who has been led by the Gospel to worship the God of all things, and, from regard to his country's laws, lingers here below among images and statues of men, and does not desire to ascend to the Creator, will resemble those who have indeed learned philosophy, but who are afraid of things which ought to inspire no terrors, and who regard it as an act of impiety to eat of those things which have been enumerated.
CHAP. XXXVI. But what sort of being is this Ammon of Herodotus, whose words Celsus has quoted, as if by way of demonstrating how each one ought to keep his country's laws? For this Ammon would not allow the people of the cities of Marea and Apis, who inhabit the districts adjacent to Libya, to treat as a matter of indifference the use of cows' flesh, which is a thing not only indifferent in its own nature, but which does not prevent a man from being noble and virtuous. If Ammon, then, forbade the use of cows' flesh, because of the advantage which results from the use of the animal in the cultivation of the ground, and in addition to this, because it is by the female that the breed is increased, the account would possess more plausibility. But now he simply requires that those who drink of the Nile should observe the laws of the Egyptians regarding kine. And hereupon Celsus, taking occasion to pass a jest upon the employment of the angels among the Jews as the ambassadors of God, says that "Ammon did not make a worse ambassador of divine things than did the angels of the Jews," into the meaning of whose words and manifestations he instituted no investigation; otherwise he would have seen, that it is not for oxen that God is concerned, even where He may appear to legislate for them, or for irrational animals, but that what is written for the sake of men, under the appearance of relating to irrational animals, contains certain truths of nature.(3) Celsus, moreover, says that no wrong is committed by any one who wishes to observe the religious worship sanctioned by the laws of his country; and it follows, according to his view, that the Scythians commit no wrong, when, in conformity with their country's laws, they eat human beings. And those Indians who eat their own fathers are considered, according to Celsus, to do a religious, or at least not a wicked act. He adduces, indeed, a statement of Herodotus which favours the principle that each one ought, from a sense of what is becoming, to obey his country's laws; and he appears to approve of the custom of those Indians called Callatians, who in the time of Darius devoured their parents, since, on Darius inquiring for how great a sum of money they would be willing to lay aside this usage, they raised a loud shout, and bade the king say no more.
CHAP. XXXVII. As there are, then, generally two laws presented to us, the one being the law of nature, of which God would be the legislator, and the other being the written law of cities, it is a proper thing, when the written law is not opposed to that of God, for the citizens not to abandon it under pretext of foreign customs; but when the law of nature, that is, the law of God, commands what is opposed to the written law, observe whether reason will not tell us to bid a long farewell to the written code, and to the desire of its legislators, and to give ourselves up to the legislator God, and to choose a life agreeable to His word, although in doing so it may be necessary to encounter dangers, and countless labours, and even death and dishonour. For when there are some laws in harmony with the will of God, which are opposed to others which are in force in cities, and when it is impracticable to please God (and those who administer laws of the kind referred to), it would be absurd to contemn those acts by means of which we may please the Creator of all things, and to select those by which we shall become displeasing to God, though we may satisfy unholy laws, and those who love them. But since it is reasonable in other matters to prefer the law of nature, which is the law of God, before the written law, which has been enacted by men in a spirit of opposition to the law of God, why should we not do this still more in the case of those laws which relate to God? Neither shall we, like the Ethiopians who inhabit the parts about Meroe, worship, as is their pleasure, Jupiter and Bacchus only; nor shall we at all reverence Ethiopian gods in the Ethiopian manner; nor, like the Arabians, shall we regard Urania and Bacchus alone as divinities; nor in any degree at all deities in which the difference of sex has been a ground of distinction (as among the Arabians, who worship Urania as a female, and Bacchus as a male deity); nor shall we, like all the Egyptians, regard Osiris and Isis as gods; nor shall we enumerate Athena among these, as the Saites are pleased to do. And if to the ancient inhabitants of Naucratis it seemed good to worship other divinities, while their modern descendants have begun quite recently to pay reverence to Scrapis, who never was a god at all, we shall not on that account assert that a new being who was not formerly a god, nor at all known to men, is a deity. For the Son of God, "the First-born of all creation," although He seemed recently to have become incarnate, is not by any means on that account recent. For the holy Scriptures know Him to be the most ancient of all the works of creation;(1) for it was to Him that God said regarding the creation of man, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness."(2)
CHAP. XXXVIII. I wish, however, to show how Celsus asserts without any good reason, that each one reveres his domestic and native institutions. For he declares that "those Ethiopians who inhabit Meroe know only of two gods, Jupiter and Bacchus, and worship these alone; and that the Arabians also know only of two, viz., Bacchus, who is also an Ethiopian deity, and Urania, whose worship is confined to them." According to his account, neither do the Ethiopians worship Urania, nor the Arabians Jupiter. If, then, an Ethiopian were from any accident to fall into the hands of the Arabians, and were to be judged guilty of impiety because he did not worship Urania, and for this reason should incur the danger of death, would it be proper for the Ethiopian to die, or to act contrary to his country's laws, and do obeisance to Urania? Now, if it would be proper for him to act contrary to the laws of his country, he will do what is not right, so far as the language of Celsus is any standard; while, if he should be led away to death, let him show the reasonableness of selecting such a fate. I know not whether, if the Ethiopian doctrine taught men to philosophize on the immortality of the soul, and the honour which is paid to religion, they would reverence those as deities who are deemed to be such by the laws of the country.(3) A similar illustration may be employed in the case of the Arabians, if from any accident they happened to visit the Ethiopians about Meroe. For, having been taught to worship Urania and Bacchus alone, they will not worship Jupiter along with the Ethiopians; and if, adjudged guilty of impiety, they should be led away to death, let Celsus tell us what it would be reasonable on their part to do. And with regard to the fables which relate to Osiris and Isis, it is superfluous and out of place at present to enumerate them. For although an allegorical meaning may be given to the fables, they will nevertheless teach us to offer divine worship to cold water, and to the earth, which is subject to men, and all the animal creation. For in this way, I presume, they refer Osiris to water, and Isis to earth; while with regard to Serapis the accounts are numerous and conflicting, to the effect that very recently he appeared in public, agreeably to certain juggling tricks performed at the desire of Ptolemy, who wished to show to the people of Alexandria as it were a visible god. And we have read in the writings of Numenius the Pythagorean regarding his formation, that he partakes of the essence of all the animals and plants that are under the control of nature, that he may appear to have been fashioned into a god, not by the makers of images alone, with the aid of profane mysteries, and juggling tricks employed to invoke demons, but also by magicians and sorcerers, and those demons who are bewitched by their incantations.(1)
CHAP. XXXIX. We must therefore inquire what may be fittingly eaten or not by the rational and gentle(2) animal, which acts always in conformity with reason; and not worship at random, sheep, or goats, or kine; to abstain from which is an act of moderation,(3) for much advantage is derived by men from these animals. Whereas, is it not the most foolish of all things to spare crocodiles, and to treat them as sacred to some fabulous divinity or other? For it is a mark of exceeding stupidity to spare those animals which do not spare us, and to bestow care on those which make a prey of human beings. But Celsus approves of those who, in keeping with the laws of their country, worship and tend crocodiles, and not a word does he say against them, while the Christians appear deserving of censure, who have been taught to loath evil, and to turn away from wicked works, and to reverence and honour virtue as being generated by God, and as being His Son. For we must not, on account of their feminine name and nature, regard wisdom and righteousness as females;(4) for these things are in our view the Son of God, as His genuine disciple has shown, when he said of Him, "Who of God is made to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."(5) And although we may call Him a "second" God, let men know that by the term "second God" we mean nothing else than a virtue capable of including all other virtues, and a reason capable of containing all reason whatsoever which exists in all things, which have arisen naturally, directly, and for the general advantage, and which "reason," we say, dwelt in the soul of Jesus, and was united to Him in a degree far above all other souls, seeing He alone was enabled completely to receive the highest share in the absolute reason, and the absolute wisdom, and the absolute righteousness.
CHAP. XL. But since, after Celsus had spoken to the above effect of the different kinds of laws, he adds the following remark, "Pindar appears to me to be correct in saying that law is king of all things," let us proceed to discuss this assertion. What law do you mean to say, good sir, is "king of all things?" If you mean those which exist in the various cities, then such an assertion is not true. For all men are not governed by the same law. You ought to have said that "laws are kings of all men," for in every nation some law is king of all. But if you mean that which is law in the proper sense, then it is this which is by nature "king of all things;" although there are some individuals who, having like robbers abandoned the law, deny its validity, and live lives of violence and injustice. We Christians, then, who have come to the knowledge of the law which is by nature "king of all things," and which is the same with the law of God, endeavour to regulate our lives by its prescriptions, having bidden a long farewell to those of an unholy kind.
CHAP. XLI. Let us notice the charges which are next advanced by Celsus, in which there is exceedingly little that has reference to the Christians, as most of them refer to the Jews. His words are: "If, then, in these respects the Jews were carefully to preserve their own law, they are not to be blamed for so doing, but those persons rather who have forsaken their own usages, and adopted those of the Jews. And if they pride themselves on it, as being possessed of superior wisdom, and keep aloof from intercourse with others, as not being equally pure with themselves, they have already heard that their doctrine concerning heaven is not peculiar to them, but, to pass by all others, is one which has long ago been received by the Persians, as Herodotus somewhere mentions. 'For they have a custom,' he says, 'of going up to the tops of the mountains, and of offering sacrifices to Jupiter, giving the name of Jupiter to the whole circle of the heavens.'(6) And I think," continues Celsus, "that it makes no difference whether you call the highest being Zeus, or Zen, or Adonai, or Sabaoth, or Ammoun like the Egyptians, or Pappaeus like the Scythians. Nor would they be deemed at all holier than others in this respect, that they observe the rite of circumcision, for this was done by the Egyptians and Colchians before them; nor because they abstain from swine's flesh, for the Egyptians practised abstinence not only from it, but from the flesh of goats, and sheep, and oxen, and fishes as well; while Pythagoras and his disciples do not eat beans, nor anything that contains life. It is not probable, however, that they enjoy God's favour, or are loved by Him differently from others, or that angels were sent from heaven to them alone, as if they had had allotted to them 'some region of the blessed,'(1) for we see both themselves and the country of which they were deemed worthy. Let this band,(2) then, take its departure, after paying the penalty of its vaunting, not having a knowledge of the great God, but being led away and deceived by the artifices of Moses, having become his pupil to no good end."
CHAP. XLII. It is evident that, by the preceding remarks, Celsus charges the Jews with falsely giving themselves out as the chosen portion of the Supreme God above all other nations. And he accuses them of boasting, because they gave out that they knew the great God, although they did not really know Him, but were led away by the artifices of Moses, and were deceived by him, and became his disciples to no good end. Now we have in the preceding pages already spoken in part of the venerable and distinguished polity of the Jews, when it existed amongst them as a symbol of the city of God, and of His temple, and of the sacrificial worship offered in it and at the altar of sacrifice. But if any one were to turn his attention to the meaning of the legislator, and to the constitution which he established, and were to examine the various points relating to him, and compare them with the present method of worship among other nations, there are none which he would admire to a greater degree; because, so far as can be accomplished among mortals, everything that was not of advantage to the human race was withheld from them, and only those things which are useful bestowed.(3) And for this reason they had neither gymnastic contests, nor scenic representations, nor horse-races; nor were there among them women who sold their beauty to any one who wished to have sexual intercourse without offspring, and to cast contempt upon the nature of human generation. And what an advantage was it to be taught from their tender years to ascend above all visible nature, and to hold the belief that God was not fixed anywhere within its limits, but to look for Him on high, and beyond the sphere of all bodily substance!(4) And how great was the advantage which they enjoyed in being instructed almost from their birth, and as soon as they could speak,(5) in the immortality of the soul, and in the existence of courts of justice under the earth, and in the rewards provided for those who have lived righteous lives! These truths, indeed, were proclaimed in the veil of fable to children, and to those whose views of things were childish; while to those who were already occupied in investigating the truth, and desirous of making progress therein, these fables, so to speak, were transfigured into the truths which were concealed within them. And I consider that it was in a manner worthy of their name as the "portion of God" that they despised all kinds of divination, as that which bewitches men to no purpose, and which proceeds rather from wicked demons than from anything of a better nature; and sought the knowledge of future events in the souls of those who, owing to their high degree of purity, received the spirit of the Supreme God.
CHAP. XLIII. But what need is there to point out how agreeable to sound reason, and unattended with injury either to master or slave, was the law that one of the same faith(6) should not be allowed to continue in slavery more than six years?(7) The Jews, then, cannot be said to preserve their own law in the same points with the other nations. For it would be censurable in them, and would involve a charge of insensibility to the superiority of their law, if they were to believe that they had been legislated for in the same way as the other nations among the heathen. And although Celsus will not admit it, the Jews nevertheless are possessed of a wisdom superior not only to that of the multitude, but also of those who have the appearance of philosophers; because those who engage in philosophical pursuits, after the utterance of the most venerable philosophical sentiments, fall away into the worship of idols and demons, whereas the very lowest Jew directs his look to the Supreme God alone; and they do well, indeed, so far as this point is concerned, to pride themselves thereon, and to keep aloof from the society of others as accursed and impious. And would that they had not sinned, and transgressed the law, and slain the prophets in former times, and in these latter days conspired against Jesus, that we might be in possession of a pattern of a heavenly city which even Plato would have sought to describe; although I doubt whether he could have accomplished as much as was done by Moses and those who followed him, who nourished a "chosen generation," and "a holy nation," dedicated to God, with words free from all superstition.
CHAP. XLIV. But as Celsus would compare the venerable customs of the Jews with the laws of certain nations, let us proceed to look at them. He is of opinion, accordingly, that there is no difference between the doctrine regarding "heaven" and that regarding "God;" and he says that "the Persians, like the Jews, offer sacrifices to Jupiter upon the tops of the mountains,"--not observing that, as the Jews were acquainted with one God, so they had only one holy house of prayer, and one altar of whole burnt-offerings, and one censer for incense, and one high priest of God. The Jews, then, had nothing in common with the Persians, who ascend the summits of their mountains, which are many in number, and offer up sacrifices which have nothing in common with those which are regulated by the Mosaic code,--in conformity to which the Jewish priests "served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things," explaining enigmatically the object of the law regarding the sacrifices, and the things of which these sacrifices were the symbols. The Persians therefore may call the "whole circle of heaven" Jupiter; but we maintain that "the heaven" is neither Jupiter nor God, as we indeed know that certain beings of a class inferior to God have ascended above the heavens and all visible nature: and in this sense we understand the words, "Praise God, ye heaven of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens: let them praise the name of the LORD."(1)
CHAP. XLV. As Celsus, however, is of opinion that it matters nothing whether the highest being be called Jupiter, or Zen, or Adonai, or Sabaoth, or Ammoun (as the Egyptians term him), or Pappaeus (as the Scythians entitle him), let us discuss the point for a little, reminding the reader at the same time of what has been said above upon this question, when the language of Celsus led us to consider the subject. And now we maintain that the nature of names is not, as Aristotle supposes, an enactment of those who impose them.(2) For the languages which are prevalent among men do not derive their origin from men, as is evident to those who are able to ascertain the nature of the charms which are appropriated by the inventors of the languages differently, according to the various tongues, and to the varying pronunciations of the names, on which we have spoken briefly in the preceding pages, remarking that when those names which in a certain language were possessed of a natural power were translated into another, they were no longer able to accomplish what they did before when uttered in their native tongues. And the same peculiarity is found to apply to men; for if we were to translate the name of one who was called from his birth by a certain appellation in the Greek language into the Egyptian or Roman, or any other tongue, we could not make him do or suffer the same things which he would have done or suffered under the appellation first bestowed upon him. Nay, even if we translated into the Greek language the name of an individual who had been originally invoked in the Roman tongue, we could not produce the result which the incantation professed itself capable of accomplishing had it preserved the name first conferred upon him. And if these statements are true when spoken of the names of men, what are we to think of those which are transferred, for any cause whatever, to the Deity? For example, something is transferred(3) from the name Abraham when translated into Greek, and something is signified by that of Isaac, and also by that of Jacob; and accordingly, if any one, either in an invocation or in swearing an oath, were to use the expression, "the God of Abraham," and "the God of Isaac," and "the God of Jacob," he would produce certain effects, either owing to the nature of these names or to their powers, since even demons are vanquiShed and become submissive to him who pronounces these names; whereas if we say, "the god of the chosen father of the echo, and the god of laughter, and the god of him who strikes with the heel,"(4) the mention of the name is attended with no result, as is the case with other names possessed of no power. And in the same way, if we translate the word "Israel" into Greek or any other language, we shall produce no result; but if we retain it as it is, and join it to those expressions to which such as are skilled in these matters think it ought to be united, there would then follow some result from the pronunciation of the word which would accord with the professions of those who employ such invocations. And we may say the same also of the pronunciation of "Sabaoth," a word which is frequently employed in incantations; for if we translate the term into "Lord of hosts," or "Lord of armies," or "Almighty" (different acceptation of it having been proposed by the interpreters), we shall accomplish nothing; whereas if we retain the original pronunciation, we shall, as those who are skilled in such matters maintain, produce some effect. And the same observation holds good of Adonai. If, then, neither "Sabaoth" nor "Adonai," when rendered into what appears to be their meaning in the Greek tongue, can accomplish anything, how much less would be the result among those who regard it as a matter of indifference whether the highest being be called Jupiter, or Zen, or Adonai, or Sabaoth!
CHAP. XLVI. It was for these and similar mysterious reasons, with which Moses and the prophets were acquainted, that they forbade the name of other gods to be pronounced by him who bethought himself of praying to the one Supreme God alone, or to be remembered by a heart which had been taught to be pure from all foolish thoughts and words. And for these reasons we should prefer to endure all manner of suffering rather than acknowledge Jupiter to be God. For we do not consider Jupiter and Sabaoth to be the same, nor Jupiter to be at all divine, but that some demon, unfriendly to men and to the true God, rejoices under this title.(1) And although the Egyptians were to hold Ammon before us under threat of death, we would rather die than address him as God, it being a name used in all probability in certain Egyptian incantations in which this demon is invoked. And although the Scythians may call Pappaeus the supreme God, vet we will not yield our assent to this; granting, indeed, that there is a Supreme Deity, although we do not give the name Pappaeus to Him as His proper title, but regard it as one which is agreeable to the demon to whom was allotted the desert of Scythia, with its people and its language. He, however, who gives God His title in the Scythian tongue, or in the Egyptian or in any language in which he has been brought up, will not be guilty of sin.(2)
CHAP. XLVII. Now the reason why circumcision is practised among the Jews is not the same as that which explains its existence among the Egyptians and Colchians, and therefore it is not to be considered the same circumcision. And as he who sacrifices does not sacrifice to the same god, although he appears to perform the rite of sacrifice in a similar manner, and he who offers up prayer does not pray to the same divinity, although he asks the same things in his supplication; so, in the same way, if one performs the rite of circumcision, it by no means follows that it is not a different act from the circumcision performed upon another. For the purpose, and the law, and the wish of him who performs the rite, place the act in a different category. But that the whole subject may be still better understood, we have to remark that the term for "righteousness"(3) is the same among all the Greeks; but righteousness is shown to be one thing according to the view of Epicurus; and another according to the Stoics, who deny the threefold division of the soul; and a different thing again according to the followers of Plato, who hold that righteousness is the proper business of the parts of the soul.(4) And so also the "courage"(5) of Epicures is one thing, who would undergo some labours in order to escape from a greater number; and a different thing that of the philosopher of the Porch, who would choose all virtue for its own sake; and a different thing still that of Plato, who maintains that virtue itself is the act of the irascible part of the soul, and who assigns to it a place about the breast.(6) And so circumcision will be a different thing according to the varying opinions of those who undergo it. But on such a subject it is unnecessary to speak on this occasion in a treatise like the present; for whoever desires to see what led us to the subject, can read what we have said upon it in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans.
CHAP. XLVIII. Although the Jews, then, pride themselves on circumcision, they will separate it not only from that of the Colchians and Egyptians, but also from that of the Arabian Ishmaelites; and yet the latter was derived from their ancestor Abraham, the father of Ishmael, who underwent the rite of circumcision along with his father. The Jews say that the circumcision performed on the eighth day is the principal circumcision, and that which is performed according to circumstances is different; and probably it was performed on account of the hostility of some angel towards the Jewish nation, who had the power to injure such of them as were not circumcised, but was powerless against those who had undergone the rite. This may be said to appear from what is written in the book of Exodus, where the angel before the circumcision of Eliezer(7) was able to work against(8) Moses, but could do nothing after his son was circumcised. And when Zipporah had learned this, she took a pebble and circumcised her child, and is recorded, according to the reading of the common copies, to have said, "The blood of my child's circumcision is stayed," but according to the Hebrew text, "A bloody husband art thou to me."(9) For she had known the story about a certain angel having power before the shedding of the blood, but who became powerless through the blood of circumcision. For which reason the words were addressed to Moses, "A bloody husband art thou to me." But these things, which appear rather of a curious nature, and not level to the comprehension of the multitude, I have ventured to treat at such length; and now I shall only add, as becomes a Christian, one thing more, and shall then pass on to what follows. I For this angel might have had power, I think, over those of the people who were not circumcised, and generally over all who worshipped only the Creator; and this power lasted so long as Jesus had not assumed a human body. But when He had done this, and had undergone the rite of circumcision in His own person, all the power of the angel over those who practise the same worship, but are not circumcised,(1) was abolished; for Jesus reduced it to nought by (the power of) His unspeakable divinity. And therefore His disciples are forbidden to circumcise themselves, and are reminded (by the apostle): "If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing."(2)
CHAP. XLIX. But neither do the Jews pride themselves upon abstaining from swine's flesh, as if it were some great thing; but upon their having ascertained the nature of clean and unclean animals, and the cause of the distinction, and of swine being classed among the unclean. And these distinctions were signs of certain things until the advent of Jesus; after whose coming it was said to His disciple, who did not yet comprehend the doctrine concerning these matters, but who said, "Nothing that is common or unclean hath entered into my mouth,"(3) "What God hath cleansed, call not thou common." It therefore in no way affects either the Jews or us that the Egyptian priests abstain not only from the flesh of swine, but also from that of goats, and sheep, and oxen, and fish. But since it is not that "which entereth into the mouth that defiles a man," and since "meat does not commend us to God," we do not set great store on refraining from eating, nor yet are we induced to eat from a gluttonous appetite. And therefore, so far as we are concerned, the followers of Pythagoras, who abstain from all things that contain life may do as they please; only observe the different reason for abstaining from things that have life on the part of the Pythagoreans and our ascetics. For the former abstain on account of the fable about the transmigration of souls, as the poet says: -- "And some one, lifting up his beloved son, Will slay him after prayer; O how foolish he!"(4) We, however, when we do abstain, do so because "we keep under our body, and bring it into subjection,"(5) and desire "to mortify our members that are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence;"(6) and we use every effort to "mortify the deeds of the flesh."(7)
CHAP. L. Celsus, still expressing his opinion regarding the Jews, says: "It is not probable that they are in great favour with God, or are regarded by Him with more affection than others, or that angels are sent by Him to them alone, as if to them had been allotted some region of the blessed. For we may see both the people themselves, and the country of which they were deemed worthy." We shall refute this, by remarking that it is evident that this nation was in great favour with God, from the fact that the God who presides over all things was called the God of the Hebrews, even by those who were aliens to our faith. And because they were in favour with God, they were not abandoned by Him;(8) but although few in number, they continued to enjoy the protection of the divine power, so that in the reign of Alexander of Macedon they sustained no injury from him, although they refused, on account of certain covenants and oaths, to take up arms against Darius. They say that on that occasion the Jewish high priest, clothed in his sacred robe, received obeisance from Alexander, who declared that he had beheld an individual arrayed in this fashion, who announced to him in his sleep that he was to be the subjugator of the whole of Asia.(9) Accordingly, we Christians maintain that "it was the fortune of that people in a remarkable degree to enjoy God's favour, and to be loved by Him in a way different from others;" but that this economy of things and this divine favour were transferred to us, after Jesus had conveyed the power which had been manifested among the Jews to those who had become converts to Him from among the heathen. And for this reason, although the Romans desired to perpetrate many atrocities against the Christians, in order to ensure their extermination, they were unsuccessful; for there was a divine hand which fought on their behalf, and whose desire it was that the word of God should spread from one comer of the land of Judea throughout the whole human race.
CHAP. LI. But seeing that we have answered to the best of our ability the charges brought by Celsus against the Jews and their doctrine, let us proceed to consider what follows, and to prove that it is no empty boast on our part when we make. a profession of knowing the great God, and that we have not been led away by any juggling tricks(1) of Moses (as Celsus imagines), or even of our own Saviour Jesus; but that for a good end we listen to the God who speaks in Moses, and have accepted Jesus, whom he testifies to be God, as the Son of God, in hope of receiving the best rewards if we regulate our lives according to His word. And we shall willingly pass over what we have already stated by way of anticipation on the points, "whence we came and who is our leader, and what law proceeded from Him." And if Celsus would maintain that there is no difference between us and the Egyptians, who worship the goat, or the ram, or the crocodile, or the ox, or the river-horse, or the dog-faced baboon,(2) or the cat, he can ascertain if it be so, and so may any other who thinks alike on the subject. We, however, have to the best of our ability defended ourselves at great length in the preceding pages on the subject of the honour which we render to our Jesus, pointing out that we have found the better part;(3) and that in showing that the truth which is contained in the teaching of Jesus Christ is pure and unmixed with error, we are not commending ourselves, but our Teacher, to whom testimony was borne through many witnesses by the Supreme God and the prophetic writings among the Jews, and by the very clearness of the case itself, for it is demonstrated that He could not have accomplished such mighty works without the divine help.
CHAP. LII. But the statement of Celsus which we wish to examine at present is the following: "Let us then pass over the refutations which might be adduced against the claims of their teacher, and let him be regarded as really an angel. But is he the first and only one who came (to men), or were there others before him? If they should say that he is the only one, they would be convicted of telling lies against themselves. For they assert that on many occasions others came, and sixty or seventy of them together, and that these became wicked, and were cast under the earth and punished with chains, and that from this source originate the warm springs, which are their tears; and, moreover, that there came an angel to the tomb of this said being--according to some, indeed, one, but according to others, two--who answered the women that he had arisen. For the Son of God could not himself, as it seems, open the tomb, but needed the help of another to roll away the stone. And again, on account of the pregnancy of Mary, there came an angel to the carpenter, and once more another angel, in order that they might take up the young Child and flee away (into Egypt). But what need is there to particularize everything, or to count up the number of angels said to have been sent to Moses, and others amongst them? If, then, others were sent, it is manifest that he also came from the same God. But he may be supposed to have the appearance of announcing something of greater importance (than those who preceded him), as if the Jews had been committing sin, or corrupting their religion, or doing deeds of impiety; for these things are obscurely hinted at."
CHAP. LIII. The preceding remarks might suffice as an answer to the charges of Celsus, so far as regards those points in which our Saviour Jesus Christ is made the subject of special investigation. But that we may avoid the appearance of intentionally passing over any portion of his work, as if we were unable to meet him, let us, even at the risk of being tautological (since we are challenged to this by Celsus), endeavour as far as we can with all due brevity to continue our discourse, since perhaps something either more precise or more novel may occur to us upon the several topics. He says, indeed, that "he has omitted the refutations which have been adduced against the claims which Christians advance on behalf of their teacher," although he has not omitted anything which he was able to bring forward, as is manifest from his previous language, but makes this statement only as an empty rhetorical device. That we are not refuted, however, on the subject of our great Saviour, although the accuser may appear to refute us, will be manifest to those who peruse in a spirit of truth-loving investigation all that is predicted and recorded of Him. And, in the next place, since he considers that he makes a concession in saying of the Saviour, "Let him appear to be really an angel," we reply that we do not accept of such a concession from Celsus; but we look to the work of Him who came to visit the whole human race in His word and teaching, as each one of His adherents was capable of receiving Him. And this was the work of one who, as the prophecy regarding Him said, was not simply an angel, but the "Angel of the great counsel:"(4) for He announced to men the great counsel of the God and Father of all things regarding them, (saying) of those who yield themselves up to a life of pure religion, that they ascend by means of their great deeds to God; but of those who do not adhere to Him, that they place themselves at a distance from God, and journey on to destruction through their unbelief of Him. He then continues: "If even the angel came to men, is he the first and only one who came, or did others come on former occasions?" And he thinks he can meet either of these dilemmas at great length, although there is not a single real Christian who asserts that Christ was the only being that visited the human race. For, as Celsus says, "If they should say the only one," there are others who appeared to different individuals.
CHAP. LIV. In the next place, he proceeds to answer himself as he thinks fit in the following terms: "And so he is not the only one who is recorded to have visited the human race, as even those who, under pretext of teaching in the name of Jesus, have apostatized from the Creator as an inferior being, and have given in their adherence to one who is a superior God and father of him who visited (the world), assert that before him certain beings came from the Creator to visit the human race." Now, as it is in the spirit of truth that we investigate all that relates to the subject, we shall remark that it is asserted by Apelles, the celebrated disciple of Marcion, who became the founder of a certain sect, and who treated the writings of the Jews as fabulous, that Jesus is the only one that came to visit the human race. Even against him, then, who maintained that Jesus was the only one that came from God to men, it would be in vain for Celsus to quote the statements regarding the descent of other angels, seeing Apelles discredits, as we have already mentioned, the miraculous narratives of the Jewish Scriptures; and much more will he decline to admit what Celsus has adduced, from not understanding the contents of the book of Enoch. No one, then, convicts us of falsehood, or of making contradictory assertions, as if we maintained both that our Saviour was the only being that ever came to men, and yet that many others came on different occasions. And in a most confused manner, moreover, does be adduce, when examining the subject of the visits of angels to men, what he has derived, without seeing its meaning, from the contents of the book of Enoch; for he does not appear to have read the passages in question, nor to have been aware that the books which bear the name Enoch(1) do not at all circulate in the Churches as divine, although it is from this source that he might be supposed to have obtained the statement, that "sixty or seventy angels descended at the same time, who fell into a state of wickedness."
CHAP. LV. But, that we may grant to him in a spirit of candour what he has not discovered in the contents of the book of Genesis, that "the sons of God, seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to them wives of all whom they chose,"(2) we shall nevertheless even on this point persuade those who are capable of understanding the meaning of the prophet, that even before us there was one who referred this narrative to the doctrine regarding souls, which became possessed with a desire for the corporeal life of men, and this in metaphorical language, he said, was termed "daughters of men." But whatever may be the meaning of the "sons of God desiring to possess the daughters of men," it will not at all contribute to prove that Jesus was not the only one who visited mankind as an angel, and who manifestly became the Saviour and benefactor of all those who depart from the flood of wickedness. Then, mixing up and confusing whatever he had at any time heard, or had anywhere found written--whether held to be of divine origin among Christians or not--he adds: "The sixty or seventy who descended together were cast under the earth, and were punished with chains." And he quotes (as from the book of Enoch, but without naming it) the following: "And hence it is that the tears of these angels are warm springs,"--a thing neither mentioned nor heard of in the Churches of God! For no one was ever so foolish as to materialize into human tears those which were shed by the angels who had come down from heaven. And if it were right to pass a jest upon what is advanced against us in a serious spirit by Celsus, we might observe that no one would ever have said that hot springs, the greater part of which are fresh water, were the tears of the angels, since tears are saltish in their nature, unless indeed the angels, in the opinion of Celsus, shed tears which are fresh.
CHAP. LVI. Proceeding immediately after to mix up and compare with one another things that are dissimilar, and incapable of being united, he subjoins to his statement regarding the sixty or seventy angels who came down from heaven, and who, according to him, shed fountains of warm water for tears, the following: "It is related also that there came to the tomb of Jesus himself, according to some, two angels, according to others, one;" having failed to notice, I think, that Matthew and Mark speak of one, and Luke and John of two, which statements are not contradictory. For they who mention "one," say that it was he who rolled away the stone from the sepulchre; while they who mention "two," refer to those who appeared in shining raiment to the women that repaired to the sepulchre, or who were seen within sitting in white garments. Each of these occurrences might now be demonstrated to have actually taken place, and to be indicative of a figurative meaning existing in these "phenomena," (and intelligible) to those who were prepared to behold the resurrection of the Word. Such a task, however, does not belong to our present purpose, but rather to an exposition of the Gospel.(1)
CHAP. LVII. Now, that miraculous appearances have sometimes been witnessed by human beings, is related by the Greeks; and not only by those of them who might be suspected of composing fabulous narratives, but also by those who have given every evidence of being genuine philosophers, and of having related with perfect truth what had happened to them. Accounts of this kind we have read in the writings of Chrysippus of Soli, and also some things of the same kind relating to Pythagoras; as well as in some of the more recent writers who lived a very short time ago, as in the treatise of Plutarch of Chaeronea "on the Soul," and in the second book of the work of Numenius the Pythagorean on the "Incorruptibility of the Soul." Now, when such accounts are related by the Greeks, and especially by the philosophers among them, they are not to be received with mockery and ridicule, nor to be regarded as fictions and fables; but when those who are devoted to the God of all things, and who endure all kinds of injury, even to death itself, rather than allow a falsehood to escape their lips regarding God, announce the appearances of angels which they have themselves witnessed, they are to be deemed unworthy of belief, and their words are not to be regarded as true! Now it is opposed to sound reason to judge in this way whether individuals are speaking truth or falsehood. For those who act honestly, only after a long and careful examination into the details of a subject, slowly and cautiously express their opinion of the veracity or falsehood of this or that person with regard to the marvels which they may relate; since it is the case that neither do all men show themselves worthy of belief, nor do all make it distinctly evident that they are relating to men only fictions and fables. Moreover, regarding the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we have this remark to make, that it is not at all wonderful if, on such an occasion, either one or two angels should have appeared to announce that Jesus had risen from the dead, and to provide for the safety of those who believed in such an event to the advantage of their souls. Nor does it appear to me at all unreasonable, that those who believe in the resurrection of Jesus, and who manifest, as a fruit of their faith not to be lightly esteemed, their possession of a virtuous(2) life, and their withdrawal from the flood of evils, should not be unattended by angels who lend their help in accomplishing their conversion to God.
CHAP. LVIII. But Celsus challenges the account also that an angel rolled away the stone from the sepulchre where the body of Jesus lay, acting like a lad at school, who should bring a charge against any one by help of a string of commonplaces. And, as if he had discovered some clever objection to the narrative, he remarks: "The Son of God, then, it appears, could not open his tomb, but required the aid of another to roll away the stone." Now, not to overdo the discussion. of this matter, or to have the appearance of unreasonably introducing philosophical remarks, by explaining the figurative meaning at present, I shall simply say of the narrative alone, that it does appear in itself a more respectful proceeding, that the servant and inferior should have rolled away the stone, than that such an act should have been performed by Him whose resurrection was to be for the advantage of mankind. I do not speak of the desire of those who conspired against the Word, and who wished to put Him to death, and to show to all men that He was dead and non-existent,(3) that His tomb should not be opened, in order that no one might behold the Word alive after their conspiracy; but the "Angel of God" who came into the world for the salvation of men, with the help of another angel, proved more powerful than the conspirators, and rolled away the weighty stone, that those who deemed the Word to be dead might be convinced that He is not with the "departed," but is alive, and precedes those who are willing to follow Him, that He may manifest to them those truths which come after those which He formerly showed them at the time of their first entrance (into the school of Christianity), when they were as yet incapable of receiving deeper instruction. In the next place, I do not understand what advantage he thinks will accrue to his purpose when he ridicules the account of "the angel's visit to Joseph regarding the pregnancy of Mary;" and again, that of the angel to warn the parents "to take up the new-born Child, whose life was in danger, and to flee with it into Egypt." Concerning these matters, however, we have in the preceding pages answered his statements. But what does Celsus mean by saying, that "according to the Scriptures, angels are recorded to have been sent to Moses, and others as well?" For it appears to me to contribute nothing to his purpose, and especially because none of them made any effort to accomplish, as far as in his power, the conversion of the human race from their sins. Let it be granted, however, that other angels were sent from God, but that he came to announce something of greater importance (than any others who preceded him); and when the Jews had fallen into sin, and corrupted their religion, and had done unholy deeds, transferred the kingdom of God to other husbandmen, who in all the Churches take special care of themselves,(1) and use every endeavour by means of a holy life, and by a doctrine conformable thereto, to win over to the God of all things those who would rush away from the teaching of Jesus.(2)
CHAP. LIX. Celsus then continues: "The Jews accordingly, and these (clearly meaning the Christians), have the same God;" and as if advancing a proposition which would not be conceded, he proceeds to make the following assertion: "It is certain, indeed, that the members of the great Church(3) admit this, and adopt as true the accounts regarding the creation of the world which are current among the Jews, viz., concerning the six days and the seventh;" on which day, as the Scripture says, God "ceased"(4) from His works, retiring into the contemplation of Himself, but on which, as Celsus says (who does not abide by the letter of the history, and who does not understand its meaning), God "rested,"(5)--a term which is not found in the record. With respect, however, to the creation of the world, and the "rest(6) which is reserved after it for the people of God," the subject is extensive, and mystical, and profound, and difficult of explanation. In the next place, as it appears to me, from a desire to fill up his book, and to give it an appearance of importance, he recklessly adds certain statements, such as the following, relating to the first man, of whom he says: "We give the same account. as do the Jews, and deduce the same genealogy from him as they do." However, as regards "the conspiracies of brothers against one another," we know of none such, save that Cain conspired against Abel, and Esau against Jacob; but not Abel against Cain, nor Jacob against Esau: for if this had been the case, Celsus would have been correct in saying that we give the same accounts as do the Jews of "the conspiracies of brothers against one another." Let it be granted, however, that we speak of the same descent into Egypt as they, and of their return(7) thence, which was not a "flight,"(8) as Celsus considers it to have been, what does that avail towards founding an accusation against us or against the Jews? Here, indeed, he thought to cast ridicule upon us, when, in speaking of the Hebrew people, he termed their exodus a "flight;" but when it was his business to investigate the account of the punishments inflicted by God upon Egypt, that topic he purposely passed by in silence.
CHAP. LX. If, however, it be necessary to express ourselves with precision in our answer to Celsus, who thinks that we hold the same opinions on the matters in question as do the Jews, we would say that we both agree that the books (of Scripture) were written by the Spirit of God, but that we do not agree about the meaning of their contents; for we do not regulate our lives like the Jews, because we are of opinion that the literal acceptation of the laws is not that which conveys the meaning of the legislation. And we maintain, that "when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart,"(9) because the meaning of the law of Moses has been concealed from those who have not welcomed(10) the way which is by Jesus Christ. But we know that if one turn to the Lord (for "the Lord is that Spirit"), the veil being taken away, "he beholds, as in a mirror with unveiled face, the glory of the Lord" in those thoughts which are concealed in their literal expression, and to his own glory becomes a participator of the divine glory; the term "face" being used figuratively for the "understanding," as one would call it without a figure, in which is the face of the "inner man," filled with light and glory, flowing from the true comprehension of the contents of the law.
CHAP. LXI. After the above remarks he proceeds as follows: "Let no one suppose that I am ignorant that some of them will concede that their God is the same as that of the Jews, while others will maintain that he is a different one, to whom the latter is in opposition, and that it was from the former that the Son came," Now, if he imagine that the existence of numerous heresies among the Christians is a ground of accusation against Christianity, why, in a similar way, should it not be a ground of accusation against philosophy, that the various sects of philosophers differ from each other, not on small and indifferent points, but upon those of the highest importance? Nay, medicine also ought to be a subject of attack, on account of its many conflicting schools. Let it be admitted, then, that there are amongst us some who deny that our God is the same as that of the Jews: nevertheless, on that account those are not to be blamed who prove from the same Scriptures that one and the same Deity is the God of the Jews and of the Gentiles alike, as Paul, too, distinctly says, who was a convert from Judaism to Christianity, "I thank my God, whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience."(1) And let it be admitted also, that there is a third class who call certain persons "carnal," and others "spiritual,"--I think he here means the followers of Valentinus,--yet what does this avail against us, who belong to the Church, and who make it an accusation against such as hold that certain natures are saved, and that others perish in consequence of their natural constitution?(2) And let it be admitted further, that there are some who give themselves out as Gnostics, in the same way as those Epicureans who call themselves philosophers: yet neither will they who annihilate the doctrine of providence be deemed true philosophers, nor those true Christians who introduce monstrous inventions, which are disapproved of by those who are the disciples of Jesus. Let it be admitted, moreover, that there are some who accept Jesus, and who boast on that account of being Christians, and yet would regulate their lives, like the Jewish multitude, in accordance with the Jewish law,--and these are the twofold sect of Ebionites, who either acknowledge with us that Jesus was born of a virgin, or deny this, and maintain that He was begotten like other human beings,--what does that avail by way of charge against such as belong to the Church, and whom Celsus has styled "those of the multitude?"(3) He adds, also, that certain of the Christians are believers in the Sibyl,(4) having probably misunderstood some who blamed such as believed in the existence of a prophetic Sibyl, and termed those who held this belief Sibyllists. He next pours down Upon us a heap of names, saying that he knows of the existence of certain Simonians who worship Helene, or Helenus, as their teacher, and are called Helenians. But it has escaped the notice of Celsus that the Simonians do not at all acknowledge Jesus to be the Son of God, but term Simon the "power" of God, regarding whom they relate certain marvellous stories, saying that he imagined that if he could become possessed of similar powers to those with which be believed Jesus to be endowed, he too would become as powerful among men as Jesus was amongst the multitude. But neither Celsus nor Simon could comprehend how Jesus, like a good husbandman of the word of God, was able to sow the greater part of Greece, and of barbarian lands, with His doctrine, and to fill these countries with words which transform the soul from all that is evil, and bring it back to the Creator of all things. Celsus knows, moreover, certain Marcellians, so called from Marcellina, and Harpocratians from Salome, and others who derive their name from Mariamme, and others again from Martha. We, however, who from a love of learning examine to the utmost of our ability not only the contents of Scripture, and the differences to which they give rise, but have also, from love to the truth, investigated as far as we could the opinions of philosophers, have never at any time met with these sects. He makes mention also of the Marcionites, whose leader was Marcion.
CHAP. LXIII. In the next place, that he may have the appearance of knowing still more than he has yet mentioned, he says, agreeably to his usual custom, that "there are others who have wickedly invented some being as their teacher and demon, and who wallow about in a great darkness, more unholy and accursed than that of the companions of the Egyptian Antinous." And he seems to me, indeed, in touching on these matters, to say with a certain degree of truth, that there are certain others who have wickedly invented another demon, and who have found him to be their lord, as they wallow about in the great darkness of their ignorance. With respect, however, to Antinous, who is compared with our Jesus, we shall not repeat what we have already said in the preceding pages. "Moreover," he continues, "these persons utter against one another dreadful blasphemies, saying all manner of things shameful to be spoken; nor will they yield in the slightest point for the sake of harmony, hating each other with a perfect hatred." Now, in answer to this, we have already said that in philosophy and medicine sects are to be found warring against sects. We, however, who are followers of the word of Jesus, and have exercised ourselves in thinking, and saying, and doing what is in harmony with His words, "when reviled, bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat;"(1) and we would not utter "all manner of things shameful to be spoken" against those who have adopted different opinions from ours, but, if possible, use every exertion to raise them to a better condition through adherence to the Creator alone, and lead them to perform every act as those who will (one day) be judged. And if those who hold different opinions will not be convinced, we observe the injunction laid down for the treatment of such: "A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject, knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself."(2) Moreover, we who know the maxim, "Blessed are the peacemakers," and this also, "Blessed are the meek," would not regard with hatred the corrupters of Christianity, nor term those who had fallen into error Circes and flattering deceivers.(3)
CHAP. LXIV. Celsus appears to me to have misunderstood the statement of the apostle, which declares that "in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them who believe;"(4) and to have misunderstood also those who employed these declarations of the apostle against such as had corrupted the doctrines of Christianity. And it is owing to this cause that Celsus has said that "certain among the Christians are called 'cauterized in the ears;' "(5) and also that some are termed "enigmas,"(6)--a term which we have never met. The expression "stumbling-block"(7) is, indeed, of frequent occurrence in these writings,--an appellation which we are accustomed to apply to those who turn away simple persons, and those who are easily deceived, from sound doctrine. But neither we, nor, I imagine, any other, whether Christian or heretic, know of any who are styled Sirens, who betray and deceive,(8) and stop their ears, and change into swine those whom they delude. And yet this man, who affects to know everything, uses such language as the following: "You may hear," he says, "all those who differ so widely, and who assail each other in their disputes with the most shameless language, uttering the words, 'The world is crucified to me, and I unto the world.'" And this is the only phrase which, it appears, Celsus could remember out of Paul's writings; and yet why should we not also employ innumerable other quotations from the Scriptures, such as, "For though we do walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds,) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God?"(9)
CHAP. LXV. But since he asserts that "you may hear all those who differ so widely saying, 'The world is crucified to me, and I unto the world,'" we shall show the falsity of such a statement. For there are certain heretical sects which do not receive the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, as the two sects of Ebionites, and those who are termed Encratites.(10) Those, then, who do not regard the apostle as a holy and wise man, will not adopt his language, and say, "The world is crucified to me, and I unto the world." And consequently in this point, too, Celsus is guilty of falsehood. He continues, moreover, to linger over the accusations which he brings against the diversity of sects which exist, but does not appear to me to be accurate in the language which he employs, nor to have carefully observed or understood how it is that those Christians who have made progress in their studies say that they are possessed of greater knowledge than the Jews; and also, whether they acknowledge the same Scriptures, but interpret them differently, or whether they do not recognise these books as divine. For we find both of these views prevailing among the sects. He then continues: "Although they have no foundation for the doctrine, let us examine the system itself; and, in the first place, let us mention the corruptions which they have made through ignorance and misunderstanding, when in the discussion of elementary principles they express their opinions in the most absurd manner on things which they do not understand, such as the following." And then, to certain expressions which are continually in the mouths of the believers in Christianity, he opposes certain others from the writings of the philosophers, with the object of making it appear that the noble sentiments which Celsus supposes to be used by Christians have been expressed in better and clearer language by the philosophers, in order that he might drag away to the study of philosophy those who are caught by opinions which at once evidence their noble and religious character. We shall, however, here terminate the fifth book, and begin the sixth with what follows.
ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. BOOK VIII.

CHAP. I. Having completed seven books, I now propose to begin the eighth. And may God and His Only-begotten Son the Word be with us, to enable us effectively to refute the falsehoods which Celsus has published under the delusive title of A True Discourse, and at the same time to unfold the truths of Christianity with such fulness as our purpose requires. And as Paul said, "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us,"' so would we in the same spirit and language earnestly desire to be ambassadors for Christ to men, even as the Word of God beseeches them to the love of Himself, seeking to win over to righteousness truth, and the other virtues, those who, until they receive the doctrines of Jesus Christ, live in darkness about God and in ignorance of their Creator. Again, then, I would say, may God bestow upon us His pure and true Word, even "the Lord strong and mighty in battle"(2) against sin. We must now proceed to state the next objection of Celsus, and afterwards to answer it.
CHAP. II. In a passage previously quoted Celsus asks us why we do not worship demons, and to his remarks on demons we gave such an answer as seemed to us in accordance with the divine word. After having put this question for the purpose of leading us to the worship of demons, he represents us as answering that it is impossible to serve many masters. "This," he goes on to say, "is the language of sedition, and is only used by those who separate themselves and stand aloof from all human society. Those who speak in this way ascribe," as he supposes, "their own feelings and passions to God. It does hold true among men, that he who is in the service of one master cannot well serve another, because the service which he renders to the one interferes with that which he owes to the other; and no one, therefore, who has already engaged himself to the service of one, must accept that of another. And, in like manner, it is impossible to serve at the same time heroes or demons of different natures. But in regard to God, who is subject to no suffering or loss, it is," he thinks, "absurd to be on our guard against serving more gods, as though we had to do with demi-gods, or other spirits of that sort." He says also, "He who serves many gods does that which is pleasing to the Most High, because he honours that which belongs to Him." And he adds, "It is indeed wrong to give honour to any to whom God has not given honour." "Wherefore," he says, "in honouring and worshipping all belonging to God, we will not displease Him to whom they all belong."
CHAP. III. Before proceeding to the next point, it may be well for us to see whether we do not accept with approval the saying, "No man can serve two masters," with the addition, "for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other," and further, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon."(3) The defence of this passage will lead us to a deeper and more searching inquiry into the meaning and application of the words "gods" and "lords." Divine Scripture teaches us that there is "a great Lord above all gods."(4) And by this name "gods" we are not to understand the objects of heathen worship (for we know that "all the gods of the heathen are demons"(5)), but the gods mentioned by the prophets as forming an assembly, whom God "judges," and to each of whom He assigns his proper work. For "God standeth in the assembly of the gods: He judgeth among the gods."(6) For "God is Lord of gods," who by His Son "hath called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof."(1) We are also commanded to "give thanks to the God of gods."(2) Moreover, we are taught that "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."(3) Nor are these the only passages to this effect; but there are very many others.
CHAP. IV. The sacred Scriptures teach us to think, in like manner, of the Lord of lords. For they say in one place, "Give thanks to the God of gods, for His mercy endureth for ever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy endureth for ever;" and in another, "God is King of kings, and Lord of lords." For Scripture distinguishes between those gods which are such only in name and those which are truly gods, whether they are called by that name or not; and the same is true in regard to the use of the word "lords." To this effect Paul says, "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there are gods many, and lords many."(4) But as the God of gods calls whom He pleases through Jesus to his inheritance, "from the east and from the west," and the Christ of God thus shows His superiority to all rulers by entering into their several provinces, and summoning men out of them to be subject to Himself, Paul therefore, with this in view, goes on to say, "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him;" adding, as if with a deep sense of the marvellous and mysterious nature of the doctrine, "Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge." When he says, "To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things," by "us" he means himself and all those who have risen up to the supreme God of gods and to the supreme Lord of lords. Now he has risen to the supreme God who gives Him an entire and undivided worship through His Son--the word and wisdom of God made manifest in Jesus. For it is the Son alone who leads to God those who are striving, by the purity of their thoughts, words, and deeds, to come near to God the Creator of the universe. I think, therefore, that the prince of this world, who "transforms himself into an angel of light," s was referring to this and such like statements in the words, "Him follows a host of gods and demons, arranged in eleven bands."(6) Speaking of himself and the philosophers, he says, "We are of the party of Jupiter; others belong to other demons."
CHAP. V. Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. That man rises above all demon-worship who does nothing that is pleasing to demons; and he rises to a blessedness beyond that of those whom Paul calls "gods," if he is enabled, like them, or in any way he may, "to look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen." And he who considers that" the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God, not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected the same in hope," whilst he praises the creature, and sees how "it shall be freed altogether from the bondage of corruption, and restored to the glorious liberty of the children of God,"(7)--such a one cannot be induced to combine with the service of God the service of any other, or to serve two masters. There is therefore nothing seditious or factious in the language of those who hold these views, and who refuse to serve more masters than one. To them Jesus Christ is an all-sufficient Lord, who Himself instructs them, in order that when fully instructed He may form them into a kingdom worthy of God, and present them to God the Father. But indeed they do in a sense separate themselves and stand aloof from those who are aliens from the commonwealth of God and strangers to His covenants, in order that they may live as citizens of heaven, "coming to the living God, and to the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the first-born, which are written in heaven."(8)
CHAP. VI. But when we refuse to serve any other than God through His word and wisdom, we do so, not as though we would thereby be doing any harm or injury to God, in the same way as injury would be done to a man by his servant entering into the service of another, but we fear that we ourselves should suffer harm by depriving ourselves of our portion in God, through which we live in the participation of the divine blessedness, and are imbued with that excellent spirit of adoption which in the sons of the heavenly Father cries, not with words, but with deep effect in the inmost heart, "Abba, Father." The Lacedaemonian ambassadors, when brought before the king of Persia, refused to prostrate themselves before him, when the attendants endeavoured to compel them to do so, out of respect for that which alone had authority and lordship over them, namely, the law of Lycurgus.(1) But they who have a much greater and diviner embassy in "being ambassadors for Christ" should not worship any ruler among Persians, or Greeks or Egyptians, or of any nation whatever, even although their officers and ministers, demons and angels of the devil, should seek to compel them to do so, and should urge them to set at nought a law which is mightier than all the laws upon earth. For the Lord of those who are "ambassadors for Christ" is Christ Himself, whose ambassadors they are, and who is "the Word, who was in the beginning, was with God, and was God."(2)
CHAP. VII. But when Celsus speaks of heroes and demons, he starts a deeper question than he is aware of. For after the statement which he made in regard to service among men, that" the first master is injured when any of his servants wishes at the same time to serve another," he adds, that "the same holds true of heroes, and other demons of that kind." Now we must inquire of him what nature he thinks those heroes and demons possess of whom he affirms that he who serves one hero may not serve another, and he who serves one demon may not serve another, as though the former hero or demon would be injured in the same way as men are injured when they who serve them first afterwards give themselves to the service of others. Let him also state what loss he supposes those heroes or demons will suffer. For he will be driven either to plunge into endless absurdities, and first repeat, then retract his previous statements; or else to abandon his frivolous conjectures, and confess that he understands nothing of the nature of heroes and demons. And in regard to his statement, that men suffer injury when the servant of one man enters the service of a second master, the question arises: "What is the nature of the injury which is done to the former master by a servant who, while serving him, wishes at the same time to serve another?"
CHAP. VIII. For if he answers, as one who is unlearned and ignorant of philosophy, that the injury sustained is one which regards things that are outside of us, it will be plainly manifest that he knows nothing of that famous saying of Socrates, "Anytus and Melitus may kill me, but they cannot injure me; for it is impossible that the better should ever be injured by the worse." But if by injury he means a wicked impulse or an evil habit, it is plain that no injury of this kind would befall the wise, by one man serving two wise men in different places. If this sense does not suit his purpose, it is evident that his endeavours are vain to weaken the authority of the passage, "No man can serve two masters;" for these words can be perfectly true only when they refer to the service which we render to the Most High through His Son, who leadeth us to God. And we will not serve God as though He stood in need of our service, or as though He would be made unhappy if we ceased to serve Him; but we do it because we are ourselves benefited by the service of God, and because we are freed from griefs and troubles by serving the Most High God through His only-begotten Son, the Word and Wisdom.
CHAP. IX. And observe the recklessness of that expression, "For if thou worship any other of the things in the universe," as though he would have us believe that we are led by our service of God to the worship of any other things which belong to God, without any injury to ourselves. But, as if feeling his error, he corrects the words, "If thou worship any other of the things in the universe," by adding, "We may honour none, however, except those to whom that right has been given by God." And we would put to Celsus this question in regard to those who are honoured as gods, as demons, or as heroes: "Now, sir, can you prove that the right to be honoured has been given to these by God, and that it has not arisen from the ignorance and folly of men who in their wanderings have fallen away from Him to whom alone worship and service are properly due? You said a little ago, O Celsus, that Antinous, the favourite of Adrian, is honoured; but surely you will not say that the right to be worshipped as a god was given to him by the God of the universe? And so of the others, we ask proof that the right to be worshipped was given to them by the Most High God." But if the same question is put to us in regard to the worship of Jesus, we will show that the right to be honoured was given to Him by God, "that all may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father."(3) For all the prophecies which preceded His birth were preparations for His worship. And the wonders which He wrought--through no magical art, as Celsus supposes, but by a divine power, which was foretold by the prophets--have served as a testimony from God in behalf of the worship of Christ. He who honours the Son, who is the Word and Reason, acts in nowise contrary to reason, and gains for himself great good; he who honours Him, who is the Truth, becomes better by honouring truth: and this we may say of honouring wisdom, righteousness, and all the other names by which the sacred Scriptures are wont to designate the Son of God.
CHAP. X. But that the honour which we pay to the Son of God, as well as that which we render to God the Father, consists of an upright course of life, is plainly taught us by the passage, "Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?"(1) and also, "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"(2) For if he who transgresses the law dishonours God by his transgression, and he who treads under foot the word treads under foot the Son of God, it is evident that he who keeps the law honours God, and that the worshipper of God is he whose life is regulated by the principles and precepts of the divine word. Had Celsus known who they are who are God's people, and that they alone are wise,--and who they are who are strangers to God, and that these are all the wicked who have no desire to give themselves to virtue,he would have considered before he gave expression to the words, "How can he who honours any of those whom God acknowledges as His own be displeasing to God, to whom they all belong?"
CHAP. XI. He adds, "And indeed he who, when speaking of God, asserts that there is only one who may be called Lord, speaks impiously, for he divides the kingdom of God, and raises a sedition therein, implying that there are separate factions in the divine kingdom, and that there exists one who is His enemy." He might speak after this fashion, if he could prove by conclusive arguments that those who are worshipped as gods by the heathens are truly gods, and not merely evil spirits, which are supposed to haunt statues and temples and altars. But we desire not only to understand the nature of that divine kingdom of which we are continually speaking and writing, but also ourselves to be of those who are under the rule of God alone, so that the kingdom of God may be ours. Celsus, however, who teaches us to worship many gods, ought in consistency not to speak of "the kingdom of God," but of "the kingdom of the gods." There are therefore no factions in the kingdom of God, nor is there any god who is an adversary to Him, although there are some who, like the Giants and Titans, in their wickedness wish to contend with God in company with Celsus, and those who declare war against Him who has by innumerable proofs established the claims of Jesus, and against Him who, as the Word, did, for the salvation of our race, show Himself before all the world in such a form as each was able to receive Him.
CHAP. XII. In what follows. some may imagine that he says something plausible against us. "If," says he, "these people worshipped one God alone, and no other, they would perhaps have some valid argument against the worship of others. But they pay excessive reverence to one who has but lately appeared among men, and they think it no offence against God if they worship also His servant." To this we reply, that if Celsus had known that saying," I and My Father are one,"(3) and the words used in prayer by the Son of God, "As Thou and I are one,(4) he would not have supposed that we worship any other besides Him who is the Supreme God. "For," says He, "My Father is in Me, and I in Him."(5) And if any should from these words be afraid of our going over to the side of those who deny that the Father and the Son are two persons, let him weigh that passage, "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul,"(6) that he may understand the meaning of the saying, "I and My Father are one." We worship one God, the Father and the Son, therefore, as we have explained; and our argument against the worship of other gods still continues valid. And we do not "reverence beyond measure one who has but lately appeared," as though He did not exist before;(7) for we believe Himself when He says, "Before Abraham was, I am."(8) Again He says, "I am the truth;"(9) and surely none of us is so simple as to suppose that truth did not exist before the time when Christ appeared.(10) We worship, therefore, the Father of truth, and the Son, who is the truth; and these, while they are two, considered as persons or subsistences, are one in unity of thought, in harmony and in identity of will. So entirely are they one, that he who has seen the Son, "who is the brightness of God's glory, and the express image of His person,"' has seen in Him who is the image, of God, God Himself.
CHAP. XIII. He further supposes, that "because we join along with the worship of God the worship of His Son, it follows that, in our view, not only God, but also the servants of God, are to be worshipped." If he had meant this to apply to those who are truly the servants of God, after His only-begotten Son,--to Gabriel and Michael, and the other angels and archangels,and if he had said of these that they ought to be worshipped,--if also he had clearly defined the meaning of the word "worship," and the duties of the worshippers,--we might perhaps have brought forward such thoughts as have occurred to us on so important a subject. But as he reckons among the servants of God the demons which are worshipped by the heathen, he cannot induce us, on the plea of consistency, to worship such as are declared by the word to be servants of the evil one, the prince of this world, who leads astray from God as many as he can. We decline, therefore, altogether to worship and serve those whom other men worship, for the reason that they are not servants of God. For if we had been taught to regard them as servants of the Most High, we would not have called them demons. Accordingly, we worship with all our power the one God, and His only Son, the Word and the Image of God, by prayers and supplications; and we offer our petitions to the God of the universe through His only-begotten Son. To the Son we first present them, and beseech Him, as "the propitiation for our sins,"(2) and our High Priest, to offer our desires, and sacrifices, and prayers, to the Most High. Our faith, therefore, is directed to God through His Son, who strengthens it in us; anti Celsus can never show that the Son of God is the cause of any sedition or disloyalty in the kingdom of God. We honour the Father when we admire His Son, the Word, and Wisdom, and Truth, and Righteousness, and all that He who is the Son of so great a Father is said in Scripture to be. So much on this point.
CHAP. XIV. Again Celsus proceeds: "If you should tell them that Jesus is not the Son of God, but that, God is the Father of all, and that He alone: ought to be truly worshipped, they would not consent to discontinue their worship of him who is their leader in the sedition. And they call him Son of God, not out of any extreme reverence for God, but from an extreme desire to extol Jesus Christ." We, however, have learned who the Son of God is, and know that He is "the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person," and "the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty;" moreover, "the brightness of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of His goodness."(3) We know, therefore, that He is the Son of God, and that God is His father. And there is nothing extravagant or unbecoming the character of God in the doctrine that He should have begotten such an only Son; and no one will persuade us that such a one is not a Son of the unbegotten God and Father. If Celsus has heard something of certain persons holding that the Son of God is not the Son of the Creator of the universe, that is a matter which lies between him and the supporters of such an opinion. Jesus is, then, not the leader of any seditious movement, but the promoter of peace. For He said to His disciples, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you;" and as He knew that it would be men of the world, and not men of God, who would wage war against us, he added, "Not as the world giveth peace, do I give peace unto you."(4) And even although we are oppressed in the world, we have confidence in Him who said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." And it is He whom we call Son of God--Son of that God, namely, whom, to quote the words of Celsus, "we most highly reverence;" and He is the Son who has been most highly exalted by the Father. Grant that there may be some individuals among the multitudes of believers who are not in entire agreement with us, and who incautiously assert that the Saviour is the Most High God; however, we do not hold with them, but rather believe Him when He says, "The Father who sent Me is greater than I."(5) We would not therefore make Him whom we call Father inferior--as Celsus accuses us of doing--to the Son of God.
CHAP. XV. Celsus goes on to say: "That I may give a true representation of their faith, I will use their own words, as given in what is called A Heavenly Dialogue: 'If the Son is mightier than God, and the Son of man is Lord over Him, who else than the Son can be Lord over that God who is the ruler over all things? How comes it, that while so many go about the well, no one goes down into it? Why art thou afraid when thou hast gone so far on the way? Answer: Thou art mistaken, for I lack neither courage nor weapons.' Is it not evident, then, that their views are precisely such as I have described them to be? They suppose that another God, who is above the heavens, is the Father of him whom with one accord they honour, that they may honour this Son of man alone, whom they exalt under the form and name of the great God, and whom they assert to be stronger than God, who rules the world, and that he rules over Him. And hence that maxim of theirs, 'It is impossible to serve two masters,' is maintained for the purpose of keeping up the party who are on the side of this Lord." Here, again, Celsus quotes opinions from some most obscure sect of heretics, and ascribes them to all Christians. I call it "a most obscure sect;" for although we have often contended with heretics, yet we are unable to discover from what set of opinions he has taken this passage, if indeed he has quoted it from any author, and has not rather concocted it himself, or added it as an inference of his own. For we who say that the visible world is under the government to Him who created all things, do thereby declare that the Son is not mightier than the Father, but inferior to Him. And this belief we ground on the saying of Jesus Himself, "The Father who sent Me is greater than I." And none of us is so insane as to affirm that the Son of man is Lord over God. But when we regard the Saviour as God the Word, and Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Truth, we certainly do say that He has dominion over all things which have been subjected to Him in this capacity, but not that His dominion extends over the God and Father who is Ruler over all.(1) Besides, as the Word rules over none against their will, there are still wicked beings--not only men, but also angels, and all demons--over whom we say that in a sense He does not rule, since they do not yield Him a willing obedience; but, in another sense of the word, He rules even over them, in the same way as we say that man rules over the irrational animals,--not by persuasion, but as one who tames and subdues lions and beasts of burden. Nevertheless, he leaves no means untried to persuade even those who are still disobedient to submit to His authority. So far as we are concerned, therefore, we deny the truth of that which Celsus quotes as one of our sayings, "Who else than He can be Lord over Him who is God over all?"
CHAP. XVI The remaining part of the extract given by Celsus seems to have been taken from some other form of heresy, and the whole jumbled together in strange confusion: "How is it, that while so many go about the well, no one goes down into it? Why dost thou shrink with fear when thou hast gone so far on the way? Answer: Thou art mistaken, for I lack neither courage nor weapons." We who belong to the Church which takes its name from Christ, assert that none of these statements are true. For he seems to have made them simply that they might harmonize 'with what he had said before; but they have no reference to us. For it is a principle with us, not to worship any god whom we merely "suppose" to exist, but Him alone who is the Creator of this universe, and of all things besides which are unseen by the eye of sense. These remarks of Celsus may apply to those who go on another road and tread other paths from us,--men who deny the Creator, and make to themselves another god under a new form, having nothing but the name of God, whom they esteem higher than the Creator; and with these may be joined any that there may be who say that the Son is greater than the God who rules all things. In reference to the precept that we ought not to serve two masters, we have already shown what appears to us the principle contained in it, when we proved that no sedition or disloyalty could be charged against the followers of Jesus their Lord, who confess that they reject every other lord, and serve Him alone who is the Son and Word of God.
CHAP. XVII. Celsus then proceeds to say that "we shrink from raising altars, statues, and temples; and this," he thinks, "has been agreed upon among us as the badge or distinctive mark of a secret and forbidden society." He does not perceive that we regard the spirit of every good man as an altar from which arises an incense which is truly and spiritually sweet-smelling, namely, the prayers ascending from a pure conscience. Therefore it is said by John in the Revelation, "The odours are the prayers of saints;"(2) and by the Psalmist, "Let my prayer come up before Thee as incense."(3) And the statues and gifts which are fit offerings to God are the work of no common mechanics, but are wrought and fashioned in us by the Word of God, to wit, the virtues in which we imitate "the First-born of all creation," who has set us an example of justice, of temperance, of courage, of wisdom, of piety, and of the other virtues. In all those, then, who plant and cultivate within their souls, according to the divine word, temperance, justice, wisdom, piety, and other virtues, these excellences are their statues they raise, in which we are persuaded that it is becoming for us to honour the model and prototype of all statues: "the image of the invisible God," God the Only- begotten. And again, they who "put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that hath created him," in taking upon them the image of Him who hath created them, do raise within themselves a statue like to what the Most High God Himself desires. And as among statuaries there are some who are marvellously perfect in their art, as for example Pheidias and Polycleitus, and among painters, Zeuxis and Apelles, whilst others make inferior statues, and others, again, are inferior to the second-rate artists,--so that, taking all together, there is a wide difference in the execution of statues and pictures,--in the same way there are some who form images of the Most High in a better manner and with a more perfect skill; so that there is no comparison even between the Olympian Jupiter of Pheidias and the man who has been fashioned according to the image of God the Creator. But by far the most excellent of all these throughout the whole creation is that image in our Saviour who said, "My Father is in Me."
CHAP. XVIII. And every one who imitates Him according to his ability, does by this very endeavour raise a statue according to the image of the Creator for in the contemplation of God with a pure heart they become imitators of Him. And, in general, we see that all Christians strive to raise altars and statues as we have described them and these not of a lifeless and senseless kind and not to receive greedy spirits intent upon lifeless things, but to be filled with the Spirit of God who dwells in the images of virtue of which we have spoken, and takes His abode in the soul which is conformed to the image of the Creator. Thus the Spirit of Christ dwells in those who bear, so to say, a resemblance in form and feature to Himself. And the Word of God, wishing to set this clearly before us, represents God as promising to the righteous, "I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."(1) And the Saviour says, "If any man hear My words, and do them, I and My Father will come to him, and make Our abode with him."(2) Let any one, therefore, who chooses compare the altars which I have described with those spoken of by Celsus, and the images in the souls of those who worship the Most High God with the statues of Pheidias, Polycleitus, and such like, and he will clearly perceive, that while the latter are lifeless things, and subject to the ravages of time, the former abide in the immortal spirit as long as the reasonable soul wishes to preserve them.
CHAP. XIX. And if, further, temples are to be compared with temples, that we may prove to those who accept the opinions of Celsus that we do not object to the erection of temples suited to the images and altars of which we have spoken, but that we do refuse to build lifeless temples to the Giver of all life, let any one who chooses learn how we are taught, that our bodies are the temple of God, and that if any one by lust or sin defiles the temple of God, he will himself be destroyed, as acting impiously towards the true temple. Of all the temples spoken of in this sense, the best and most excellent was the pure and holy body of our Saviour Jesus Christ. When He knew that wicked men might aim at the destruction of the temple of God in Him, but that their purposes of destruction would not prevail against the divine power which had built that temple, He says to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it again. ... This He said of the temple of His body."(3) And in other parts of holy Scripture where it speaks of the mystery of the resurrection to those whose ears are divinely opened, it says that the temple which has been destroyed shall be built up again of living and most precious stones, thereby giving us to understand that each of those who are led by the word of God to strive together in the duties of piety, will be a precious stone in the one great temple of God. Accordingly, Peter says, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ;"(4) and Paul also says, "Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ our Lord being the chief cornerstone."(5) And there is a similar hidden allusion in this passage in Isaiah, which is addressed to Jerusalem: "Behold, I will lay thy stones with carbuncles, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy battlements of jasper, and thy gates of crystal, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shall thou be established."(6)
CHAP. XX. There are, then, among the righteous some who are carbuncles, others sapphires, others jaspers, and others crystals, and thus there is among the righteous every kind of choice and precious stone. As to the spiritual meaning of the different stones,--what is their nature, and to what kind of soul the name of each precious stone especially applies,--we cannot at present stay, to examine. We have only felt it necessary to show thus briefly what we understand by temples, and what the one Temple of God built of precious stones truly means. For as if in some cities a dispute should arise as to which had the finest temples, those who thought their own were the best would do their utmost to show the excellence of their own temples and the inferiority of the others,--in like manner, when they reproach us for not deeming it necessary to worship the Divine Being by raising lifeless temples, we set before them our temples, and show to such at least as are not blind and senseless, like their senseless gods, that there is no comparison between our statues and the statues of the heathen, nor between our altars, with what we may call the incense ascending from them, and the heathen altars, with the fat and blood of the victims; nor, finally, between the temples of senseless gods, admired by senseless men, who have no divine faculty for perceiving God, and the temples, statues, and altars which are worthy of God. It is not therefore true that we object to building altars, statues, and temples, because we have agreed to make this the badge of a secret and forbidden society; but we do so, because we have learnt from Jesus Christ the true way of serving God, and we shrink from whatever, under a pretence of piety, leads to utter impiety those who abandon the way marked out for us by Jesus Christ. For it is He who alone is the way of piety, as He truly said, "I am the way, the truth, the life."
CHAP. XXI. Let us see what Celsus further says of God, and how he urges us to the use of those things which are properly called idol offerings, or, still better, offerings to demons, although, in his ignorance of what true sanctity is, and what sacrifices are well-pleasing to God, he call them "holy sacrifices." His words are, "God is the God of all alike; He is good, He stands in need of nothing, and He is without jealousy. What, then, is there to hinder those who are most devoted to His service from taking part in public feasts. I cannot see the connection which he fancies between God's being good, and independent, and free from jealousy, and His devoted servants taking part in public feasts. I confess, indeed, that from the fact that God is good, and without want of anything, and free from jealousy, it would follow as a consequence that we might take part in public feasts, if it were proved that the public feasts had nothing wrong in them, and were grounded upon true views of the character of God, so that they resulted naturally from a devout service of God. If, however, the so-called public festivals can in no way be shown to accord with the service of God, but may on the contrary be proved to have been devised by men when occasion offered to commemorate some human events, or to set forth certain qualities of water or earth, or the fruits of the earth,--in that case, it is clear that those who wish to offer an enlightened worship to the Divine Being will act according to sound reason, and not take part in the public feasts. For "to keep a feast," as one of the wise men of Greece has well said, "is nothing else than to do one's duty;"(1) and that man truly celebrates a feast who does his duty and prays always, offering up continually bloodless sacrifices in prayer to God. That therefore seems to me a most noble saying of Paul, "Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain."(2)
CHAP. XXII. If it be objected to us on this subject that we ourselves are accustomed to observe certain days, as for example the Lord's day, the Preparation, the Passover, or Pentecost, I have to answer, that to the perfect Christian, who is ever in his thoughts, words, and deeds serving his natural Lord, God the Word, all his days are the Lord's, and he is always keeping the Lord's day. He also who is unceasingly preparing himself for the true life, and abstaining from the pleasures of this life which lead astray so many,--who is not indulging the lust of the flesh, but "keeping under his body, and bringing it into subjection,"--such a one is always keeping Preparation-day. Again, he who considers that "Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us," and that it is his duty to keep the feast by eating of the flesh of the Word, never ceases to keep the paschal feast; for the pascha means a "passover," and he is ever striving in all his thoughts, words, and deeds, to pass over from the things of this life to God, and is hastening towards the city of God. And, finally, he who can truly say, "We are risen with Christ," and "He hath exalted us, and made us to sit with Him in heavenly places in Christ," is always living in the season of Pentecost; and most of all, when going up to the upper chamber, like the apostles of Jesus, he gives himself to supplication and prayer, that he may become worthy of receiving "the mighty wind rushing from heaven," which is powerful to destroy sin and its fruits among men, and worthy of having some share of the tongue of fire which God sends.
CHAP. XXIII. But the majority of those who are accounted believers are not of this advanced class; but from being either unable or unwilling to keep every day in this manner, they require some sensible memorials to prevent spiritual things from passing altogether away from their minds. It is to this practice of setting apart some days distinct from others, that Paul seems to me to refer in the expression, "part of the feast;"(1) and by these words he indicates that a life in accordance with the divine word consists not "in a part of the feast," but in one entire and never ceasing festival? Again, compare the festivals, observed among us as these have been described above, with the public feasts of Celsus and the heathen, and say if the former are not much more sacred observances than those feasts in which the lust of the flesh runs riot, and leads to drunkenness and debauchery. It would be too long for us at present to show why we are required by the law of God to keep its festivals by eating "the bread of affliction,"(3) or "unleavened with bitter herbs,"(4) or why it says, "Humble your souls,"(5) and such like. For it is impossible for man, who is a compound being, in which "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh,"(6) to keep the feast with his whole nature; for either he keeps the feast with his spirit and afflicts the body, which through the lust of the flesh is unfit to keep it along with the spirit, or else he keeps it with the body, and the spirit is unable to share in it. But we have for the present said enough on the subject of feasts.
CHAP. XXIV. Let us now see on what grounds Celsus urges us to make use of the idol offerings and the public sacrifices in the public feasts. His words are, "If these idols are nothing, what harm will there be in taking part in the feast? On the other hand, if they are demons, it is certain that they too are God's creatures, and that we must believe in them, sacrifice to them according to the laws, and pray to them that they may be propitious." In reference to this statement, it would be profitable for us to take up and clearly explain the whole passage of the first Epistle to the Corinthians, in which Paul treats of offerings to idols.(7) The apostle draws from the fact that "an idol is nothing in the world," the consequence that it is injurious to use things offered to idols; and he shows to those who have ears to hear on such subjects, that he who partakes of things offered to idols is worse than a murderer, for he destroys his own brethren, for whom Christ died. And further, he maintains that the sacrifices are made to demons; and from that he proceeds to show that those who join the table of demons become associated with the demons; and he concludes that a man cannot both be a partaker of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. But since it would require a whole treatise to set forth fully all that is contained on this subject in the Epistle to the Corinthians, we shall content ourselves with this brief statement of the argument; for it will be evident to any one who carefully considers what has been said, that even if idols are nothing, nevertheless it is an awful thing to join in idol festivals. And even supposing that there are such beings as demons to whom the sacrifices are offered, it it has been clearly shown that we are forbidden to take part in these festivals, when we know the difference between the table of the Lord and the table of demons. And knowing this, we endeavour as much as we can to be always partakers of the Lord's table, and beware to the utmost of joining at any time the table of demons.
CHAP. XXV. Celsus says that "the demons belong to God, and are therefore to be believed, to be sacrificed to according to laws, and to be prayed to that they may be propitious." Those who are disposed to learn, must know that the word of God nowhere says of evil things that they belong to God, for it judges them unworthy of such a Lord. Accordingly, it is not all men who bear the name of "men of God," but only those who are worthy of God,--such as Moses and Elias, and any others who are so called, or such as resemble those who are so called in Scripture. In the same way, all angels are not said to be angels of God, but only those that are blessed: those that have fallen away into sin are called "angels of the devil," just as bad men are called "men of sin," "sons of perdition," or "sons of iniquity." Since, then, among men some are good and others bad, and the former are said to be God's and the latter the devil's, so among angels some are angels of God, and others angels of the devil. But among demons there is no such distinction, for all are said to be wicked. We do not therefore hesitate to say that Celsus is false when he says, "If they are demons, it is evident that they must also belong to God." He must either show that this distinction of good and bad among angels and men has no foundation, or else that a similar distinction may be shown to hold among demons. If that is impossible, it is plain that demons do not belong to God; for their prince is not God, but, as holy Scripture says, "Beelzebub."
CHAP. XXVI. And we are not to believe in demons, although Celsus urges us to do so; but if we are to obey God, we must die, or endure anything, sooner than obey demons. In the same way, we are not to propitiate demons; for it is impossible to propitiate beings that are wicked and that seek the injury of men. Besides, what are the laws in accordance with which Celsus would have us propitiate the demons? For if he means laws enacted in states, he must show that they are in agreement with the divine laws. But if that cannot be done, as the laws of many states are quite inconsistent with each other, these laws, therefore, must of necessity either be no laws at all in the proper sense of the word, or else the enactments of wicked men; and these we must not obey, for "we must obey God rather than men." Away, then, with this counsel, which Celsus gives us, to offer prayer to demons: it is not to be listened to for a moment; for our duty is to pray to the Most High God alone, and to the Only-begotten, the First-born of the whole creation, and to ask Him as our High Priest to present the prayers which ascend to Him from us, to His God and our God, to His Father and the Father of those who direct their lives according to His word.(1) And as we would have no desire to enjoy the favour of those men who wish us to follow their wicked lives, and who give us their favour only on condition that we choose nothing opposed to their wishes, because their favour would make us enemies of God, who cannot be pleased with those who have such men for their friends,--in the same way those who are acquainted with the nature, the purposes, and the wickedness of demons, can never wish to obtain their favour.
CHAP. XXVII. And Christians have nothing to fear, even if demons should not be well-disposed to them; for they are protected by the Supreme God, who is well pleased with their piety, and who sets His divine angels to watch over those who are worthy of such guardianship, so that they can suffer nothing from demons. He who by his piety possesses the favour of the Most High, who has accepted the guidance of Jesus, the "Angel of the great counsel,''(2) being well contented with the favour of God through Christ Jesus, may say with confidence that he has nothing to suffer from the whole host of demons. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear."(3) So much, then, in reply to those statements of Celsus: "If they are demons, they too evidently belong to God, and they are to be believed, to be sacrificed to according to the laws, and prayers are to be offered to them that they may he propitious."
CHAP. XXVIII. We shall now proceed to the next statement of Celsus, and examine it with care: "If in obedience to the traditions of their fathers they abstain from such victims, they must also abstain from all animal food, in accordance with the opinions of Pythagoras, who thus showed his respect for the soul and its bodily organs. But if, as they say, they abstain that they may not eat along with demons, I admire their wisdom, in having at length discovered, that whenever they eat they eat with demons, although they only refuse to do so when they are looking upon a slain victim; for when they eat bread, or drink wine, or taste fruits, do they not receive these things, as well as the water they drink and the air they breathe, from certain demons, to whom have been assigned these different provinces of nature?" Here I would observe that I cannot see how those whom he speaks of as abstaining from certain victims, in accordance with the traditions of their fathers, are consequently bound to abstain from the flesh of all animals. We do not indeed deny that the divine word does seem to command something similar to this, when to raise us to a higher and purer life it says, "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak;"(4) and again, "Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died;"(5) and again, "If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."(6)
CHAP. XXIX. But it is to be observed that the Jews, who claim for themselves a correct understanding of the law of Moses, carefully restrict their food to such things as are accounted clean, and abstain from those that are unclean. They also do not use in their food the blood of an animal nor the flesh of an animal torn by wild beasts, and some other things which it would take too long for us at present to detail. But Jesus, wishing to lead all men by His teaching to the pure worship and service of God, and anxious not to throw any hindrance in the way of many who might be benefited by Christianity, through the imposition of a burdensome code of rules in regard to food, has laid it down, that "not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth; for whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught. But those things which proceed out of the mouth are evil thoughts when spoken, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."(1) Paul also says, "Meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse."(2) Wherefore, as there is some obscurity about this matter, without some explanation is given, it seemed good to the apostles of Jesus and the elders assembled together at Antioch,(3) and also, as they themselves say, to the Holy Spirit, to write a letter to the Gentile believers, forbidding them to partake of those things from which alone they say it is necessary to abstain, namely, "things offered to idols, things strangled, and blood."(3)
CHAP. XXX. For that which is offered to idols is sacrificed to demons, and a man of God must not join the table of demons. As to things strangled, we are forbidden by Scripture to partake of them, because the blood is still in them; and blood, especially the odour arising from blood, is said to be the food of demons. Perhaps, then, if we were to eat of strangled animals, we might have such spirits feeding along with us. And the reason which forbids the use of strangled animals for food is also applicable to the use of blood. And it may not be amiss, as bearing on this point, to recall a beautiful saying in the writings of Sextus,(4) which is known to most Christians: "The eating of animals," says he, "is a matter of indifference; but to abstain from them is more agreeable to reason." It is not, therefore, simply on account of some traditions of our fathers that we refrain from eating victims offered to those called gods or heroes or demons, but for other reasons, some of which I have here mentioned. it is not to be supposed, however, that we are to abstain from the flesh of animals in the same way as we are bound to abstain from all race and wickedness: we are indeed to abstain not only from the flesh of animals, but from all other kinds of food, if we cannot partake of them without incurring evil, and the consequences of evil. For we are to avoid eating for gluttony, or for the mere gratification of the appetite, without regard to the health and sustenance of the body. We do not believe that souls pass from one body to another, and that they may descend so low as to enter the bodies of the brutes. If we abstain at times from eating the flesh of animals, it is evidently, therefore, not for the same reason as Pythagoras; for it is the reasonable soul alone that we honour, and we commit its bodily organs with due honours to the grave. For it is not right that the dwelling-place of the rational soul should be cast aside anywhere without honour, like the carcases of brute beasts; and so much the more when we believe that the respect paid to the body redounds to the honour of the person who received from God a soul which has nobly employed the organs of the body in which it resided. In regard to the question, "How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come?"(5) we have already answered it briefly, as our purpose required.
CHAP. XXXI. Celsus afterwards states what is adduced by Jews and Christians alike in defence of abstinence from idol sacrifices, namely, that it is wrong for those who have dedicated themselves to the Most High God to eat with demons. What he brings forward against this view, we have already seen. In our opinion, a man can only be said to eat and drink with demons when he eats the flesh of what are called sacred victims, and when he drinks the wine poured out to the honour of the demons. But Celsus thinks that we cannot eat bread or drink wine in any way whatever, or taste fruits, or even take a draught of water, without eating and drinking with demons. He adds also, that the air which we breathe is received from demons, and that not an animal can breathe without receiving the air from the demons who are set over the air. If any one wishes to defend this statement of Celsus, let him show that it is not the divine angels of god, but demons, the whole race of whom are bad, that have been appointed to communicate all those blessings which have been mentioned. We indeed also maintain with regard not only to the fruits of the earth, but to every flowing stream and every breath of air that the ground brings forth those things which are said to grow up naturally,--that the water springs in fountains, and refreshes the earth with running streams,--that the air is kept pure, and supports the life of those who breathe it, only in consequence of the agency and control of certain beings whom we may call invisible husbandmen and guardians; but we deny that those invisible agents are demons. And if we might speak boldly, we would say that if demons have any share at all in these things, to them belong famine, blasting of the vine and fruit trees, pestilence among men and beasts: all these are the proper occupations of demons, who in the capacity of public executioners receive power at certain times to carry out the divine judgments, for the restoration of those who have plunged headlong into wickedness, or for the trial and discipline of the souls of the wise. For those who through all their afflictions preserve their piety pure and unimpaired, show their true character to all spectators, whether visible or invisible, who behold them; while those who are otherwise minded, yet conceal their wickedness, when they have their true character exposed by misfortunes, become manifest to themselves as well as to those whom we may also call spectators.
CHAP. XXXII. The Psalmist bears witness that divine justice employs certain evil angels to inflict calamities upon men: "He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, sent by evil angels."(1) Whether demons ever go beyond this when they are suffered to do what they are ever ready, though through the restraint put upon them they are not always able to do, is a question to be solved by that man who can conceive, in so far as human nature will allow, how it accords with the divine justice, that such multitudes of human souls are separated from the body while walking in the paths which lead to certain death. "For the judgments of God are so great," that a soul which is still clothed with a mortal body cannot comprehend them; "and they cannot be expressed: therefore by unnurtured souls"(2) they are not in any measure to be understood. And hence, too, rash spirits, by their ignorance in these matters, and by recklessly setting themselves against the Divine Being, multiply impious objections against providence. It is not from demons, then, that men receive any of those things which meet the necessities of life, and least of all ourselves, who have been taught to make a proper use of these things. And they who partake of corn and wine, and the fruits of trees, of water and of air, do not feed with demons, but rather do they feast with divine angels, who are appointed for this purpose, and who are as it were invited to the table of the pious man, who hearkens to the precept of the word, which says, "Whether ye eat or drink, or whatever y.e do, do all to the glory of God."(3) And again, in another place it is written, "Do all things in the name of God."(4) When, therefore, we eat and drink and breathe to the glory of God, and act in all things according to what is right, we feast with no demons, but with divine angels: "For every creature is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."(5) But it could not be good, and it could not be sanctified, if these things were, as Celsus supposes, entrusted to the charge of demons.
CHAP. XXXIII. From this it is evident that we have already met the next statement of Celsus, which is as follows: "We must either not live, and indeed not come into this life at all, or we must do so on condition that we give thanks and first-fruits and prayers to demons, who have been set over the things of this world: and that we must do as long as we live, that they may prove good and kind." We must surely live, and we must live according to the word of God, as far as we are enabled to do so. And we are thus enabled to live, when, "whether we eat or drink, we do all to the glory of God;" and we are not to refuse to enjoy those things which have been created for our use, but must receive them with thanksgiving to the Creator. And it is under these conditions, and not such as have been imagined by Celsus, that we have been brought into life by God; and we are not placed under demons, but we are under the government of the Most High God, through Him who hath brought us to God--Jesus Christ. It is not according to the law of God that any demon has had a share in worldly affairs, but it was by their own lawlessness that they perhaps sought out for themselves places destitute of the knowledge of God and of the divine life, or places where there are many enemies of God. Perhaps also, as being fit to rule over and punish them, they have been set by the Word, who governs all things, to rule over those who subjected themselves to evil and not to God. For this reason, then, let Celsus, as one who knows not God, give thank-offerings to demons. But we give thanks to the Creator of all, and, along with thanksgiving and prayer for the blessings we have received, we also eat the bread presented to us; and this bread becomes by prayer a sacred body, which sanctifies those who sincerely partake of it.
CHAP. XXXIV. Celsus would also have us to offer first-fruits to demons. But we would offer them to Him who said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth."(1) And to Him to whom we offer first-fruits we also send up our prayers, "having a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God," and "we hold fast this profession"(2) as long as we live; for we find God and His only-begotten Son, manifested to us in Jesus; to be gracious and kind to us. And if we would wish to have besides a great number of beings who shall ever prove friendly to us, we are taught that "thousand thousands stood before Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand ministered unto Him."(3) And these, regarding all as their relations and friends who imitate their piety towards God, and in prayer call upon Him with sincerity, work along with them for their salvation, appear unto them, deem it their office and duty to attend to them, and as if by common agreement they visit with all manner of kindness and deliverance those who pray to God, to whom they themselves also pray: "For they are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation."(4) Let the learned Greeks say that the human soul at its birth is placed under the charge of demons: Jesus has taught us not to despise even the little ones in His Church, saying, "Their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven."(5) And the prophet says, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them."(6) We do not, then, deny that there are many demons upon earth, but we maintain that they exist and exercise power among the wicked, as a punishment of their wickedness. But they have no power over those who "have put on the whole armour of God," who have received strength to "withstand the wiles of the devil,"(7) and who are ever engaged in contests with them, knowing that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."(8)
CHAP. XXV. Now let us consider another saying of Celsus, which is as follows: "The satrap of a Persian or Roman monarch, or ruler or general or governor, yea, even those who fill lower offices of trust or service in the state, would be able to do great injury to those who despised them; and will the satraps and ministers of earth and air be insulted with impunity?" Observe now how he introduces servants of the Most High--rulers, generals, governors, and those filling lower offices of trust and service--as, after the manner of men, inflicting injury upon those who insult them. For he does not consider that a wise man would not wish to do harm to any, but would strive to the utmost of his power to change and amend them; unless, indeed, it be that those whom Celsus makes servants and rulers appointed by the Most High are behind Lycurgus, the lawgiver of the Lacedaemonians, or Zeno of Citium. For when Lycurgus had had his eye put out by a man, he got the offender into his power; but instead of taking revenge upon him, he ceased not to use all his arts of persuasion until he induced him to become a philosopher. And Zeno, on the occasion of some one saying, "Let me perish rather than not have my revenge on thee," answered him, "But rather let me perish if I do not make a friend of thee." And I am not yet speaking of those whose characters have been formed by the teaching of Jesus, and who have heard the words, "Love your enemies, and pray for them which despitefully use you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."(9) And in the prophetical writings the righteous man says, "O Lord my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands; if I have returned evil to those who have done evil to me, let me fall helpless under mine enemies: let my enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth."(10)
CHAP. XXXVI. But the angels, who are the true rulers and generals and ministers of God, do not, as Celsus supposes, "injure those who offend them;" and if certain demons, whom Celsus had in mind, do inflict evils, they show that they are wicked, and that they have received no office of the kind from God. And they even do injury to those who are under them, and who have acknowledged them as their masters; and accordingly, as it would seem that those who break through the regulations which prevail in any country in regard to matters of food, suffer for it if they are under the demons of that place, while those who are not under them, and have not submitted to their power, are free from all harm, and bid defiance to such spirits; although if, in ignorance of certain things, they have come under the power of other demons, they may suffer punishment from them. But the Christian--the true Christian, I mean--who has submitted to God alone and His Word, will suffer nothing from demons, for He is mightier than demons. And the Christian will suffer nothing, for "the angel of the Lord will encamp about them that fear Him, and will deliver them,"(1) and his "angel," who "always beholds the face of his Father in heaven,"(2) offers up his prayers through the one High Priest to the God of all, and also joins his own prayers with those of the man who is committed to his keeping. Let not, then, Celsus try to scare us with threats of mischief from demons, for we despise them. And the demons, when despised, can do no harm to those who are under the protection of Him who can alone help all who deserve His aid; and He does no less than set His own angels over His devout servants, so that none of the hostile angels, nor even he who is called "the prince of this world,"(3) can effect anything against those who have given themselves to God.
CHAP. XXXVII. In the next place, Celsus forgets that he is addressing Christians, who pray to God alone through Jesus; and mixing up other notions with theirs, he absurdly attributes them all to Christians. "If," says he, "they who are addressed are called upon by barbarous names, they will have power, but no longer will they have any if they are addressed in Greek or Latin." Let him, then, state plainly whom we call upon for help by barbarous names. Any one will be convinced that this is a false charge which Celsus brings against us, when he considers that Christians in prayer do not even use the precise names which divine Scripture applies to God; but the Greeks use Greek names, the Romans Latin names, and every one prays and sings praises to God as he best can, in his mother tongue. For the Lord of all the languages of the earth hears those who pray to Him in each different tongue, hearing, if I may so say, but one voice, expressing itself in different dialects.(4) For the Most High is not as one of those who select one language, Barbarian or Greek, knowing nothing of any other, and caring nothing for those who speak in other tongues.
CHAP. XXXVIII. He next represents Christians as saying what he never heard from any Christian; or if he did, it must have been from one of the most ignorant and lawless of the people. "Behold," they are made to say, "I go up to a statue of Jupiter or Apollo, or some other god: I revile it, and beat it, yet it takes no vengeance on me." He is not aware that among the prohibitions of the divine law is this, "Thou shalt not revile the gods,"(5) and this is intended to prevent the formation of the habit of reviling any one whatever; for we have been taught, "Bless, and curse not,"(6) and it is said that "revilers shall not inherit the kingdom of God."(7) And who amongst us is so foolish as to speak in the way Celsus describes, and to fail to see that such contemptuous language can be of no avail for removing prevailing notions about the gods? For it is matter of observation that there are men who utterly deny the existence of a God or of an overruling providence, and who by their impious and destructive teaching have founded sects among those who are called philosophers, and yet neither they themselves, nor those who have embraced their opinions, have suffered any of those things which mankind generally account evils: they are both strong in body and rich in possessions. And yet if we ask what loss they have sustained, we shall find that they have suffered the most certain injury. For what greater injury can befall a man than that he should be unable amidst the order of the world to see Him who has made it? and what sorer affliction can come to any one than that blindness of mind which prevents him from seeing the Creator and Father of every soul?
CHAP. XXXIX, After putting such words into our mouth, and maliciously charging Christians with sentiments which they never held, he then proceeds to give to this supposed expression of Christian feeling an answer, which is indeed more a mockery than an answer, when he says, "Do you not see, good sir, that even your own demon is not only reviled, but banished from every land and sea, and you yourself, who are as it were an image dedicated to him, are bound and led to punishment, and fastened to the stake, whilst your demon--or, as you call him, 'the Son of God'--takes no vengeance on the evil-doer?" This answer would be admissible if we employed such language as he ascribes to us; although even then he would have no right to call the Son of God a demon. For as we hold that all demons are evil, He who turns so many men to God is in our view no demon, but God the Word, and the Son of God. And I know not how Celsus has so far forgotten himself as to call Jesus Christ a demon, when he nowhere alludes to the existence of any evil demons. And finally, as to the punishments threatened against the ungodly, these will come upon them after they have refused all remedies, and have been, as we may say, visited with an incurable malady of sinfulness.
CHAP. XL. Such is our doctrine of punishment; and the inculcation of this doctrine turns many from their sins. But let us see, on the other hand, what is the response given on this subject by the priest of Jupiter or Apollo of whom Celsus speaks. It is this: "The mills of the gods grind slowly."(1) Another describes punishment as reaching "to children's children, and to those who came after them."(2) How much better are those words of Scripture: "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin."(3) And again, "Every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge."(4) And, "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."(5) If any shall say that the response, "To children's children, and to those who come after them," corresponds with that passage, "Who visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me,"(6) let him learn from Ezekiel that this language is not to be taken literally; for he reproves those who say, "Our fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge,"(7) and then he adds, "As I live, saith the Lord, every one shall die for his own sin." As to the proper meaning of the figurative language about sins being visited unto the third and fourth generation, we cannot at present stay to explain.
CHAP. XLI. He then goes on to rail against us after the manner of old wives. "You," says he, "mock and revile the statues of our gods; but if you had reviled Bacchus or Hercules in person, you would not perhaps have done so with impunity. But those who crucified your God when present among men, suffered nothing for it, either at the time or during the whole of their lives. And what new thing has there happened since then to make us believe that he was not an impostor, but the Son of God? And forsooth, he who sent his Son with certain instructions for mankind, allowed him to be thus cruelly treated, and his instructions to perish with him, without ever during all this long time showing the slightest concern. What father was ever so inhuman? Perhaps, indeed, you may say that he suffered so much, because it was his wish to bear what came to him. But it is open to those whom you maliciously revile, to adopt the same language, and say that they wish to be reviled, and therefore they bear it with patience; for it is best to deal equally with both sides,-- although these (gods) severely punish the scorner, so that he must either flee and hide himself, or be taken and perish." Now to these statements I would answer that we revile no one, for we believe that "revilers will not inherit the kingdom of God."(8) And we read, "Bless them that curse you; bless, and curse not;" also, "Being reviled, we bless." And even although the abuse which we pour upon another may seem to have some excuse in the wrong which we have received from him, yet such abuse is not allowed by the word of God. And how much more ought we to abstain from reviling others, when we consider what a great folly it is ! And it is equally foolish to apply abusive language to stone or gold or silver, turned into what is supposed to be the form of God by those who have no knowledge of God. Accordingly, we throw ridicule not upon lifeless images, but upon those only who worship them. Moreover, if certain demons reside in certain images, and one of them passes for Bacchus, another for Hercules, we do not vilify them: for, on the one hand, it would be useless; and, on the other, it does not become one who is meek, and peaceful, and gentle in spirit, and who has learnt that no one among men or demons is to be reviled, however wicked he may be.
CHAP. XLII. There is an inconsistency into which, strangely enough, Celsus has fallen unawares. Those demons or gods whom he extolled a little before, he now shows to be in fact the vilest of creatures, punishing more for their own revenge than for the improvement of those who revile them. His words are, "If you had reviled Bacchus or Hercules when present in person, you would not have escaped with impunity." How any one can hear without being present in person, I leave any one who will to explain; as also those other questions, "Why he is sometimes present, and sometimes absent?" and, "What is the business which takes demons away from place to place?" Again, when he says, "Those who crucified your God himself, suffered no harm for doing so," he supposes that it is the body of Jesus extended on the cross and slain, and not His divine nature, that we call God; and that it was as God that Jesus was crucified and slain. As we have already dwelt at length on the sufferings which Jesus suffered as a man, we shall. purposely say no more here, that we may not repeat what we have said already. But when he goes on to say that "those who inflicted death upon Jesus suffered nothing afterwards through so long a time," we must inform him, as well as all who are disposed to learn the truth, that the city in which the Jewish people called for the crucifixion of Jesus with shouts of" Crucify him, crucify him," preferring to have the robber set free, who had been cast into prison for sedition and murder and Jesus, who had been delivered through envy, to be crucified,--that this city not long afterwards was attacked, and, after a long siege, was utterly overthrown and laid waste; for God judged the inhabitants of that place unworthy of living together the life of citizens. And yet, though it may seem an incredible thing to say, God spared this people in delivering them to their enemies; for He saw that they were incurably averse to any amendment, and were daily sinking deeper and deeper into evil. And all this befell them, because the blood of Jesus was shed at their instigation and on their land; and the land was no longer able to bear those who were guilty of so fearful a crime against Jesus.
CHAP. XLIII. Some new thing, then, has come to pass since the time that Jesus suffered,--that, I mean, which has happened to the city, to the whole nation, and in the sudden and general rise of a Christian community. And that, too, is a new thing, that those who were strangers to the covenants of God, with no part in His promises, and far from the truth, have by a divine power been enabled to embrace the truth. These things were not the work of an impostor, but were the work of God, who sent His Word, Jesus Christ, to make known His purposes.(2) The sufferings and death which Jesus endured with such fortitude and meekness, show the cruelty and injustice of those who inflicted them, but they did not destroy the announcement of the purposes of God; indeed, if we may so say, they served rather to make them known. For Jesus Himself taught us this when He said, "Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth by itself alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."(3) Jesus, then, who is this grain of wheat, died, and brought forth much fruit. And the Father is ever looking forward for the results of the death of the grain of wheat, both those which are arising now, and those which shall arise hereafter. The Father of Jesus is therefore a tender and loving Father, though "He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up" as His lamb "for us all,"(4) that so "the Lamb of God," by dying for all men, might "take away the sin of the world." It was not by compulsion, therefore, but willingly, that He bore the reproaches of those who reviled Him. Then Celsus, returning to those who apply abusive language to images, says: "Of those whom you load with insults, you may in like manner say that they voluntarily submit to such treatment, and therefore they bear insults with patience; for it is best to deal equally with both sides. Yet these severely punish the scorner, so that he must either flee and hide himself, or be taken and perish." It is not, then, because Christians cast insults upon demons that they incur their revenge, but because they drive them away out of the images, and from the bodies and souls of men. And here, although Celsus perceives it not, he has on this subject spoken something like the truth; for it is true that the souls of those who condemn Christians, and betray them, and rejoice in persecuting them, are filled with wicked demons.
CHAP, XLIV. But when the souls of those who die for the Christian faith depart from the body with great glory, they destroy the power of the demons, and frustrate their designs against men. Wherefore I imagine, that as the demons have learnt from experience that they are defeated and overpowered by the martyrs for the truth, they are afraid to have recourse again to violence. And thus, until they forget the defeats they have sustained, it is probable that the world will be at peace with the. Christians. But when they recover their power, and, with eyes blinded by sin, wish again to take their revenge on Christians, and persecute them, then again they will be defeated, and then again the souls of the godly, who lay down their lives for the cause of godliness, shall utterly destroy the army of the wicked one. And as the demons perceive that those who meet death victoriously for the sake of religion destroy their authority, while those who give way under their sufferings, and deny the faith, come under their power, I imagine that at times they feel a deep interest in Christians when on their trial, and keenly strive to gain them over to their side, feeling as they do that their confession is torture to them, and their denial is a relief and encouragement to them. And traces of the same feeling may be seen in the demeanour of the judges; for they are greatly distressed at seeing those who bear outrage and torture with patience, but are greatly elated when a Christian gives way under it. Yet it is from no feeling of humanity that this arises. They see well, that, while "the tongues" of those who are overpowered by the tortures "may take the oath, the mind has not sworn.", And this may serve as an answer to the remark of Celsus: "But they severely punish one who reviles them, so that he must either flee and hide himself, or be taken and perish." If a Christian ever flees away, it is not from fear, but in obedience to the command of his Master, that so he may preserve himself, and employ his strength for the benefit of others.
CHAP. XLV. Let us see what Celsus next goes on to say. It is as follows: "What need is there to collect all the oracular responses, which have been delivered with a divine voice by priests and priestesses, as wall as by others, whether men or women, who were under a divine influence?--all the wonderful things that have been heard issuing from the inner sanctuary?--all the revelations that have been made to those who consulted the sacrificial victims?--and all the knowledge that has been conveyed to men by other signs and prodigies? To some the gods have appeared in visible forms. The world is full of such instances. How many cities have been built in obedience to commands received from oracles; how often, in the same way, delivered from disease and famine! Or again, how many cities, from disregard or forgetfulness of these oracles, have perished miserably! How many colonies have been established and made to flourish by following their orders! How many princes and private persons have, from this cause, had prosperity or adversity! How many who mourned over their childlessness, have obtained the blessing they asked for! How many have turned away from themselves. the anger of demons! How many who were maimed in their limbs, have had them restored! And again, how many have met with summary punishment for showing want of reverence to the temples--some being instantly seized with madness, others openly confessing their crimes, others having put an end to their lives, and others having become the victims of incurable maladies! Yea, some have been slain by a terrible voice issuing from the inner sanctuary." I know not how it comes that Celsus brings forward these as undoubted facts, whilst at the same time he treats as mere fables the wonders which are recorded and handed down to us as having happened among the Jews, or as having been performed by Jesus and His disciples. For why may not our accounts be true, and those of Celsus fables and fictions? At least, these latter were not believed by the followers of Democritus, Epicurus, and Aristotle, although perhaps these Grecian sects would have been convinced by the evidence in support of our miracles, if Moses or any of the prophets who wrought these wonders, or Jesus Christ Himself, had come in their way.
CHAP. XLVI. It is related of the priestess of Apollo, that she at times allowed herself to be influenced in her answers by bribes; but our prophets were admired for their plain truthfulness, not only by their contemporaries, but also by those who lived in later times. For through the commands pronounced by the prophets cities were founded, men were cured, and plagues were stayed. Indeed, the whole Jewish race went out as a colony from Egypt to Palestine, in accordance with the divine oracles. They also, when they followed the commands of God, were prosperous; when they departed from them, they suffered reverses. What need is there to quote all the princes and private persons in Scripture history who fared well or ill according as they obeyed or despised the words of the prophets? If we refer to those who were unhappy because they were childless, but who, after offering prayers to the Creator of all, became fathers and mothers, let any one read the accounts of Abraham and Sarah, to whom at an advanced age was born Isaac, the father of the whole Jewish nation: and there are other instances of the same thing. Let him also read the account of Hezekiah, who not only recovered from his sickness, according to the prediction of Isaiah, but was also bold enough to say, "Afterwards I shall beget children, who shall declare Thy righteousness."(2) And in the fourth book of Kings we read that the prophet Elisha made known to a woman who had received him hospitably, that by the grace of God she should have a son; and through the prayers of Elisha she became a mother.(8) The maimed were cured by Jesus in great numbers. And the books of the Maccabees relate what punishments were inflicted upon those who dared to profane the Jewish service in the temple at Jerusalem.
CHAP. XLVII. But the Greeks Will say that these accounts are fabulous, although two whole nations are witnesses to their truth. But why may we not consider the accounts of fife Greeks as fabulous rather than those? Perhaps some one, however, wishing not to appear blindly to accept his own statements and reject those of others, would conclude, after a close examination of the matter, that the wonders mentioned by the Greeks were performed by certain demons; those among the Jews by prophets or by angels, or by God through the means of angels; and those recorded by Christians by Jesus Himself, or by His power working in His apostles. Let us, then, compare all these accounts together; let us examine into the aim and purpose of those who performed them; and let us inquire what effect was produced upon the persons on whose account these acts of kindness were performed, whether beneficial or hurtful, or neither the one nor the other. The ancient Jewish people, before they sinned against God, and were for their great wickedness cast off by Him, must evidently have been a people of great wisdom.(1) But Christians, who have in so wonderful a manner formed themselves into a community, appear at first to have been more induced by miracles than by exhortations to forsake the institutions of their fathers, and to adopt others which were quite strange to them. And indeed, if we were to reason from what is probable as to the first formation of the Christian society, we should say that it is incredible that the apostles of Jesus Christ, who were unlettered men of humble life, could have been emboldened to preach Christian truth to men by anything else than the power which was conferred upon them, and the grace which accompanied their words and rendered them effective; and those who heard them would not have renounced the old-established usages of their fathers, and been induced to adopt notions so different from those in which they had been brought up, unless they had been moved by some extraordinary power, and by the force of miraculous events.
CHAP. XLVIII. In the next place, Celsus, after referring to the enthusiasm with which men will contend unto death rather than abjure Christianity, adds strangely enough some remarks, in which he wishes to show that our doctrines are similar to those delivered by the priests at the celebration of the heathen mysteries. He says, "Just as you, good sir, believe in eternal punishments, so also do the priests who interpret and initiate into the sacred mysteries. The same punishments with which you threaten others, they threaten you. Now it is worthy of examination, which of the two is more firmly established as true; for both parties contend with equal assurance that the truth is on their side. But if we require proofs, the priests of the heathen gods produce many that are clear and convincing, partly from wonders performed by demons, and partly from the answers given by oracles, and various other modes of divination." He would, then, have us believe that we and the interpreters of the mysteries equally teach the doctrine of eternal punishment, and that it is a matter for inquiry on which side of the two the truth lies. Now I should say that the truth lies with those who are able to induce their hearers to live as men who are convinced of the truth of what they have heard. But Jews and Christians have been thus affected by the doctrines they hold about what we speak of as the world to come, and the rewards of the righteous, and the punishments of the wicked. Let Celsus then, or any one who will, show us who have been moved in this way in regard to eternal punishments by the teaching of heathen priests and mystagogues. For surely the purpose of him who brought to light this doctrine was not only to reason upon the subject of punishments, and to strike men with terror of them, but to induce those who heard the truth to strive with all their might against those sins which are the causes of punishment. And those who study the prophecies with care, and are not content with a cursory perusal of the predictions contained in them, will find them such as to convince the intelligent and sincere reader that the Spirit of God was in those men, and that with their writings there is nothing in all the works of demons, responses of oracles, or sayings of soothsayers, for one moment to be compared.
CHAP. XLIX. Let us see in what terms Celsus next addresses us: "Besides, is it not most absurd and inconsistent in you, on the one hand, to make so much of the body as you do--to expect that the same body will rise again, as though it were the best and most precious part of us; and yet, on the other, to expose it to such tortures as though it were worthless? But men who hold such notions, and are so attached to the body, are not worthy of being reasoned with; for in this and in other respects they show themselves to be gross, impure, and bent upon revolting without any reason from the common belief. But I shall direct my discourse to those who hope for the enjoyment of eternal life with God by means of the soul or mind, whether they choose to call it a spiritual substance, an intelligent spirit, holy and blessed, or a living soul, or the heavenly and indestructible offspring of a divine and incorporeal nature, or by whatever name they designate the spiritual nature of man. And they are rightly persuaded that those who live well shall be blessed, and the unrighteous shall all suffer everlasting punishments. And from this doctrine neither they nor any other should ever swerve." Now, as he has often already reproached us for our opinions on the resurrection, and as we have on these occasions defended our opinions in what seemed to us a reasonable way, we do not intend, at each repetition of the one objection, to go into a repetition of our defence. Celsus makes an unfounded charge against us when he ascribes to us the opinion that "there is nothing in our complex nature better or more precious than the body;" for we hold that far beyond all bodies is the soul, and especially the reasonable soul; for it is the soul, and not the body, which bears the likeness of the Creator. For, according to us, God is not corporeal, unless we fall into the absurd errors of the followers of Zeno and Chrysippus.
CHAP. L. But since he reproaches us with too great an anxiety about the body, let him know that when that feeling is a wrong one we do not share in it, and when it is indifferent we only long for that which God has promised to the righteous. But Celsus considers that we are inconsistent with ourselves when we count the body worthy of honour from God, and therefore hope for its resurrection, and yet at the same time expose it to tortures as though it were not worthy of honour. But surely it is not without honour for the body to suffer for the sake of godliness, and to choose afflictions on account of virtue: the dishonourable thing would be for it to waste its powers in vicious indulgence. For the divine word says: "What is an honourable seed? The seed of man. What is a dishonourable seed? The seed of man."(1) Moreover, Celsus thinks that he ought not to reason with those who hope for the good of the body, as they are unreasonably intent upon an object which can never satisfy their expectations. He also calls them gross and impure men, bent upon creating needless dissensions. But surely he ought, as one of superior humanity, to assist even the rude and depraved. For society does not exclude from its pale the coarse and uncultivated, as it does the irrational animals, but our Creator made us on the same common level with all mankind. It is not an undignified thing, therefore, to reason even with the coarse and unrefined, and to try to bring them as far as possible to a higher state of refinement--to bring the impure to the highest practicable degree of purity--to bring the unreasoning multitude to reason, and the diseased in mind to spiritual health.
CHAP. LI In the next place, he expresses his approval of those who "hope that eternal life shall be enjoyed with God by the soul or mind, or, as it is variously called, the spiritual nature, the reasonable soul, intelligent, holy, and blessed;" and he allows the soundness of the doctrine, "that those who had a good life shall be happy, and the unrighteous shall suffer eternal punishments." And yet I wonder at what follows, more than at anything that Celsus has ever said; for he adds, "And from this doctrine let not them or any one ever swerve." For certainly in writing against Christians, the very essence of whose faith is God, and the promises made by Christ to the righteous, and His warnings of punishment awaiting the wicked, he must see that, if a Christian were brought to renounce Christianity by his arguments against it, it is beyond doubt that, along with his Christian faith, he would cast off the very doctrine from which he says that no Christian and no man should ever swerve. But I think Celsus has been far surpassed in consideration for his fellow-men by Chrysippus in his treatise, On the Subjugation of the Passions. For when he sought to apply remedies to the affections and passions which oppress and distract the human spirit, after employing such arguments as seemed to himself to be strong, he did not shrink from using in the second and third place others which he did not himself approve of. "For," says he, "if it were held by any one that there are three kinds of good, we must seek to regulate the passions in accordance with that supposition; and we must not too curiously inquire into the opinions held by a person at the time that he is under the influence of passion, lest, if we delay too long for the purpose of overthrowing the opinions by which the mind is possessed, the opportunity for curing the passion may pass away." And he adds, "Thus, supposing that pleasure were the highest good, or that he was of that opinion whose mind was under the dominion of passion, we should not the less give him help, and show that, even on the principle that pleasure is the highest and final good of man, all passion is disallowed." And Celsus, in like manner, after having embraced the doctrine, "that the righteous shall be blessed, and the wicked shall suffer eternal punishments," should have followed out his subject; and, after having advanced what seemed to him the chief argument, he should have proceeded to prove and enforce by further reasons the truth that the unjust shall surely suffer eternal punishment, and those who lead a good life shall be blessed.
CHAP. LII. For we who have been persuaded by many, yea by innumerable, arguments to lead a Christian life, are especially anxious to bring all men as far as possible to receive the whole system of Christian truth; but when we meet with persons who are prejudiced by the calumnies thrown out against Christians, and who, from a notion that Christians are an impious people, will not listen to any who offer to instruct them in the principles of the divine word, then, on the common principles of humanity, we endeavour to the best of our ability to convince them of the doctrine of the punishment of the wicked, and to induce even those who are unwilling to become Christians to accept that truth. And we are thus anxious to persuade them of the rewards of right living, when we see that many things which we teach about a healthy moral life are also taught by the enemies of our faith. For you will find that they have not entirely lost the common notions of right and wrong, of good and evil. Let all men, therefore, when they look upon the universe, observe the constant revolution of the unerring stars, the converse motion of the planets, the constitution of the atmosphere, and its adaptation to the necessities of the animals, and especially of man, with all the innumerable contrivances for the well-being of mankind; and then, after thus considering the order of the universe, let them beware of doing ought which is displeasing to the Creator of this universe, of the soul and its intelligent principle; and let them rest assured that punishment shall be inflicted on the wicked, and rewards shall be bestowed upon the righteous, by Him who deals with every one as he deserves, and who will proportion His rewards to the good that each has done, and to the account of himself that he is able to give.(1) And let all men know that the good shall be advanced to a higher state, and that the wicked shall be delivered over to sufferings and torments, in punishment of their licentiousness and depravity, their cowardice, timidity, and all their follies.
CHAP. LIII. Having said so much on this subject, let us proceed to another statement of Celsus: "Since men are born united to a body, whether to suit the order of the universe, or that they may in that way suffer the punishment of sin; or because the soul is oppressed by certain passions until it is purged from these at the appointed period of time,--for, according to Empedocles, all mankind must be banished from the abodes of the blessed for 30,000 periods of time,--we must therefore believe that they are entrusted to certain beings as keepers of this prison-house." You will observe that Celsus, in these remarks, speaks of such weighty matters in the language of doubtful human conjecture. He adds also various opinions as to the origin of man, and shows considerable reluctance to set down any of these opinions as false. When he had once come to the conclusion neither indiscriminately to accept nor recklessly to reject the opinions held by the ancients, would it not have been in accordance with that same rule of judging, if, when he found himself not disposed to believe the doctrines taught by the Jewish prophets and by Jesus, at any rate to have held them as matters open to inquiry? And should he not have considered whether it is very probable that a people who faithfully served the Most High God, and who ofttimes encountered numberless dangers, and even death, rather than sacrifice the honour of God, and what they believed to be the revelations of His will, should have been wholly overlooked by God? Should it not rather be thought probable that people who despised the efforts of human art to represent the Divine Being, but strove rather to rise in thought to the knowledge of the Most High, should have been favoured with some revelation from Himself? Besides, he ought to have considered that the common Father and Creator of all, who sees and hears all things, and who duly esteems the intention of every man who seeks Him and desires to serve Him, will grant unto these also some of the benefits of His rule, and will give them an enlargement of that knowledge of Himself which He has once bestowed upon them. If this had been remembered by Celsus and the others who hate Moses and the Jewish prophets, and Jesus, and His faithful disciples, who endured so much for the sake of His word, they would not thus have reviled Moses, and the prophets, and Jesus, and His apostles; and they would not have singled out for their contempt the Jews beyond all the nations of the earth, and said they were worse even than the Egyptians,--a people who, either from superstition or some other form of delusion, went as far as they could in degrading the Divine Being to the level of brute beasts. And we invite inquiry, not as though we wished to lead any to doubt regarding the truths of Christianity, but in order to show that it would be better for those who in every way revile the doctrines of Christianity, at any rate to suspend their judgment, and not so rashly to state about Jesus and His apostles such things as they do not know, and as they cannot prove, either by what the Stoics call" apprehensive perception,"(1) or by any other methods used by different sects of philosophers as criteria of truth.
CHAP. LIV. When Celsus adds, "We must therefore believe that men are entrusted to certain beings who are the keepers of this prison-house," our answer is, that the souls of those who are called by Jeremiah "prisoners of the earth,"(2) when eager in the pursuit of virtue, are even in this life delivered from the bondage of evil; for Jesus declared this, as was foretold long before His advent by the prophet Isaiah, when he said that "the prisoners would go forth, and they that were in darkness would show themselves."(3) And Jesus Himself, as Isaiah also foretold of Him, arose as "a light to them that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,"(4) so that we may therefore say, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast their cords from us."(5) If Celsus, and those who like him are opposed to us, had been able to sound the depths of the Gospel narratives, they would not have counselled us to put our confidence in those beings whom they call "the keepers of the prison-house." It is written in the Gospel that a woman was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus beheld her, and perceived from what cause she was bowed together, he said, "Ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"(6) And how many others are still bowed down and bound by Satan, who hinders them from looking up at all, and who would have us to look down also! And no one can raise them up, except the Word, that came by Jesus Christ, and that aforetime inspired the prophets: And Jesus came to release those who were under the dominion of the devil; and, speaking of him, He said with that depth of meaning which characterized His words, "Now is the prince of this world judged." We are, then, indulging in no baseless calumnies against demons, but are condemning their agency upon earth as destructive to mankind, and show that, under cover of oracles and bodily cures, and such other means, they are seeking to separate from God the soul which has descended to this "body of humiliation;" and those who feel this humiliation exclaim, "0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"(7) It is not in vain, therefore, that we expose our bodies to be beaten and tortured; for surely it is not in vain for a man to submit to such sufferings, if by that means he may avoid bestowing the name of gods on those earthly spirits that unite with their worshippers to bring him to destruction. Indeed, we think it both reasonable in itself and well-pleasing to God, to suffer pain for the sake of virtue, to undergo torture for the sake of piety, and even to suffer death for the sake of holiness; for "precious in the sight of God is the death of His saints;"(8) and we maintain that to overcome the love of life is to enjoy a great good. But when Celsus compares us to notorious criminals, who justly suffer punishment for their crimes, and does not shrink from placing so laudable a purpose as that which we set before us upon the same level with the obstinacy of criminals, he makes himself the brother and companion of those who accounted Jesus among criminals, fulfilling the Scripture, which saith, "He was numbered with transgressors."(9)
CHAP. LV. Celsus goes on to say: "They must make their choice between two alternatives. If they refuse to render due service to the gods, and to respect those who are set over this service, let them not come to manhood, or marry wives, or have children, or indeed take any share in the affairs of life; but let them depart hence with all speed, and leave no posterity behind them, that such a race may become extinct from the face of the earth. Or, on the other hand, if they will take wives, and bring up children, and taste of the fruits of the earth, and partake of all the blessings of life, and bear its appointed sorrows (for nature herself hath allotted sorrows to all men; for sorrows must exist, and earth is the only place for them), then must they discharge the duties of life until they are released from its bonds, and render due honour to those beings who control the affairs of this life, if they would not show themselves ungrateful to them. For it would be unjust in them, after receiving the good things which they dispense, to pay them no tribute in return." To this we reply, that there appears to us to be no good reason for our leaving this world, except when piety and virtue require it; as when, for example, those who are set as judges, and think that they have power over our lives, place before us the alternative either to live in violation of the commands of Jesus, or to die if we continue obedient to them. But God has allowed us to marry, because all are not fit for the higher, that is, the perfectly pure life; and God would have us to bring up all our children, and not to destroy any of the offspring given us by His providence. And this does not conflict with our purpose not to obey the demons that are on the earth; for, "being armed with the whole armour of God, we stand"(1) as athletes of piety against the race of demons that plot against us.
CHAP. LVI. Although, therefore, Celsus would, in his own words, "drive us with all haste out of life," so that "such a race may become extinct from the earth;" yet we, along with those who worship the Creator, will live according to the laws of God, never consenting to obey the laws of sin. We will marry if we wish, and bring up the children given to us in marriage; and if need be, we will not only partake of the blessings of life, but bear its appointed sorrows as a trial to our souls. For in this way is divine Scripture accustomed to speak of human afflictions, by which, as gold is tried in the fire, so the spirit of man is tried, and is found to be worthy either of condemnation or of praise. For those things which Celsus calls evils we are therefore prepared, and are ready to say, "Try me, O Lord, and prove me; purge my reins and my heart."(2) For "no one will be crowned," unless here upon earth, with this body of humiliation, "he strive lawfully."(3) Further, we do not pay honours supposed to be due to those whom Celsus speaks of as being set over the affairs of the world. For we worship the Lord our God, and Him only do we serve, and desire to be followers of Christ, who, when the devil said to Him, "All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me," answered him by the words, "Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou serve."(4) Wherefore we do not render the honour supposed to be due to those who. according to Celsus, are set over the affairs of this world; for "no man can serve two masters," and we "cannot serve God and mammon," whether this name be applied to one or more. Moreover, if any one "by transgressing the law dishonours the lawgiver," it seems clear to us that if the two laws, the law of God and the law of mammon, are completely opposed to each other, it is better for us by transgressing the law of mammon to dishonour mammon, that we may honour God by keeping His law, than by transgressing the law of God to dishonour God, that by obeying the law of mammon we may honour mammon,
CHAP. LVII. Celsus supposes that men "discharge the duties of life until they are loosened from its bonds," when, in accordance with commonly received customs, they offer sacrifices to each of the gods recognised in the state; and he fails to perceive the true duty which is fulfilled by an earnest piety. For we say that he truly discharges the duties of life who is ever mindful who is his Creator, and what things are agreeable to Him, and who acts in all things so that he may please God. Again, Celsus wishes us to be thankful to these demons, imagining that we owe them thank-offerings. But we, while recognising the duty of thankfulness, maintain that we show no ingratitude by refusing to give thanks to beings who do us no good, but who rather set themselves against us when we neither sacrifice to them nor worship them. We are much more concerned lest we should be ungrateful to God, who has loaded us with His benefits, whose workmanship we are, who cares for us in whatever condition we may be, and who has given us hopes of things beyond this present life. And we have a symbol of gratitude to God in the bread which we call the Eucharist. Besides, as we have shown before, the demons have not the control of those things which have been created for our use; we commit no wrong, therefore, when we partake of created things, and yet refuse to offer sacrifices to beings who have no concern with them. Moreover, as we know that it is not demons, but angels, who have been set over the fruits of the earth, and over the birth of animals, it is the latter that we praise and bless, as having been appointed by God over the things needful for our race; yet even to them we will not give the honour which is due to God. For this would not be pleasing to God, nor would it be any pleasure to the angels themselves to whom these things have been committed. Indeed, they are much more pleased if we refrain from offering sacrifices to them than if we offer them; for they have no desire for the sacrificial odours which rise from the earth.
CHAP. LVIII. Celsus goes on to say: "Let any one inquire of the Egyptians, and he will find that everything, even to the most insignificant, is committed to the care of a certain demon. The body of man is divided into thirty-six parts, and as many demons of the air are appointed to the care of it, each having charge of a different part, although others make the number much larger. All these demons have in the language of that country distinct names; as Chnoumen, Chnachoumen, Cnat, Sicat, Biou, Erou, Erebiou, Ramanor, Reianoor, and other such Egyptian names. Moreover, they call upon them, and are cured of diseases of particular parts of the body. What, then, is there to prevent a man from giving honour to these or to others, if he would rather be in health than be sick, rather have prosperity than adversity, and be freed as much as possible from all plagues and troubles?" In this way, Celsus seeks to degrade our souls to the worship of demons, under the assumption that they have possession of our bodies, and that each one has power over a separate member. And he wishes us on this ground to put confidence in these demons of which he speaks, and to serve them, in order that we may be in health rather than be sick, have prosperity rather than adversity, and may as far as possible escape all plagues and troubles. The honour of the Most High God, which cannot be divided or shared with another, is so lightly esteemed by him, that he cannot believe in the ability of God, if called upon and highly honoured, to give to those who serve Him a power by which they may be defended from the assaults directed by demons against the righteous. For he has never beheld the efficacy of those words, "in the name of Jesus," when uttered by the truly faithful, to deliver not a few from demons and demoniacal possessions and other plagues.
CHAP. LIX. Probably those who embrace the views of Celsus will smile at us when we say, "At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, of things on earth, and of things under the earth, and every tongue" is brought to "confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.''(1) But although they may ridicule such a statement. yet they will receive much more convincing arguments in support of it than Celsus brings in behalf of Chnoumen, Chnachoumen, Cnat, Sicat, and the rest of the Egyptian catalogue, whom he mentions as being called upon, and as healing the diseases of different pans of the human body. And observe how, while seeking to turn us away from our faith in the God of all through Jesus Christ, he exhorts us for the welfare of our bodies to faith in six-and-thirty barbarous demons, whom the Egyptian magi alone call upon in some unknown way, and promise us in return great benefits. According to Celsus, then, it would be better for us now to give ourselves up to magic and sorcery than to embrace Christianity, and to put our faith in an innumerable multitude of demons than in the almighty, living, self-revealing God, who has manifested Himself by Him who by His great power has spread the true principles of holiness among all men throughout the world; yea, I may add without exaggeration, He has given this knowledge to all beings everywhere possessed of reason, and needing deliverance from the plague and corruption of sin.
CHAP. LX. Celsus, however, suspecting that the tendency of such teaching as he here gives is to lead to magic, and dreading that harm may arise from these statements, adds: "Care, however, must be taken lest any one, by familiarizing his mind with these matters, should become too much engrossed with them, and lest, through an excessive regard for the body, he should have his mind turned away from higher things, and allow them to pass into oblivion. For perhaps we ought not to despise the opinion of those wise men who say that most of the earth-demons are taken up with carnal indulgence, blood, odours, sweet sounds, and other such sensual things; and therefore they are unable to do more than heal the body, or foretell the fortunes of men and cities, and do other such things as relate to this mortal life." If there is, then, such a dangerous tendency in this direction, as even the enemy of the truth of God confesses, how much better is it to avoid all danger of giving ourselves too much up to the power of such demons, and of becoming turned aside from higher things, and suffering them to pass into oblivion through an excessive attention to the body; by entrusting ourselves to the Supreme God through Jesus Christ, who has given us such instruction, and asking of Him all help, and the guardianship of holy and good angels, to defend us from the earth-spirits intent on lust, and blood, and sacrificial odours,(2) and strange sounds, and other sensual things! For even, by the confession of Celsus, they can do nothing more than cure the body. But, indeed, I would say that it is not clear that these demons, however much they are reverenced, can even cure the body. But in seeking recovery from disease, a man must either follow the inure ordinary and simple method, and have recourse to medical art; or if he would go beyond the common methods adopted by men, he must rise to the higher and better way of seeking the blessing of Him who is God over all, through piety and prayers.
CHAP. LXI. For consider with yourself which disposition of mind will be more acceptable to the Most High, whose power is supreme and universal, and who directs all for the welfare of mankind in body, and in mind, and in outward things,--whether that of the man who gives himself up to God in all things, or that of the man who is curiously inquisitive about the names of demons, their powers and agency, the incantations, the herbs proper to them, and the stones with the inscriptions graven on them, corresponding symbolically or otherwise to their traditional shapes? It is plain even to the least intelligent, that the disposition of the man who is simpleminded and not given to curious inquiries, but in all things devoted to the divine will, will be most pleasing to God, and to all those who are like God; but that of the man who, for the sake of bodily health, of bodily enjoyment, and outward prosperity, busies himself about the names of demons, and inquires by what incantations he shall appease them, will be condemned by God as bad and impious, and more agreeable to the nature of demons than of men, and will be given over to be torn and otherwise tormented by demons. For it is probable that they, as being wicked creatures, and, as Celsus confesses, addicted to blood, sacrificial odours, sweet sounds, and such like, will not keep their most solemn promises to those who supply them with these things. For if others invoke their aid against the persons who have already called upon them, and purchase their favour with a larger supply of blood, and odours, and such offerings as they require, they will take part against those who yesterday sacrificed and presented pleasant offerings to them.
CHAP. LXII. In a former passage, Celsus had spoken at length on the subject of oracles, and had referred us to their answers as being the voice of the gods; but now he makes amends, and confesses that "those who foretell the fortunes of men and cities, and concern themselves about mortal affairs, are earth-spirits, who are given up to fleshly lust, blood, odours, sweet sounds, and other such things, and who are unable to rise above these sensual objects." Perhaps, when we opposed the theological teaching of Celsus in regard to oracles, and the honour done to those called gods, some one might suspect us of impiety when we alleged that these were stratagems of demoniacal powers, to draw men away to carnal indulgence. But any who entertained this suspicion against us, may now believe that the statements put forth by Christians were well-founded, when they see the above passage from the writings of one who is a professed adversary of Christianity, but who now at length writes as one who has been overcome by the spirit of truth. Although, therefore, Celsus says that "we must offer sacrifices to them, in so far as they are profitable to us, for to offer them indiscriminately is not allowed by reason," yet we are not to offer sacrifices to demons addicted to blood and odours; nor is the Divine Being to be profaned in our minds, by being brought down to the level of wicked demons. If Celsus had carefully weighed the meaning of the word "profitable," and had considered that the tritest profit lies in virtue and in virtuous action, he would not have applied the phrase "as far as it is profitable" to the service of such demons, as he has acknowledged them to be. If, then, health of body and success in life were to come to us on condition of our serving such demons, we should prefer sickness and misfortune accompanied with the consciousness of our being truly devoted to the will of God. For this is preferable to being mortally diseased in mind, and wretched through being separate and outcasts from God, though healthy in body and abounding in earthly prosperity. And we would rather go for help to one who seeks nothing whatever but the well-being of men and of all rational creatures, than to those who delight in blood and sacrificial odours.
CHAP. LXIII. After having said so much of the demons, and of their fondness for blood and the odour of sacrifices, Celsus adds, as though wishing to retract the charge he had made: "The more just opinion is, that demons desire nothing and need nothing, but that they take pleasure in those who discharge towards them offices of piety." If Celsus believed this to be true, he should have said so, instead of making his previous statements. But, indeed, human nature is never utterly forsaken by God and His only-begotten Son, the Truth. Wherefore even Celsus spoke the truth when he made the demons take pleasure in the blood and smoke of victims; although, by the force of his own evil nature, he falls back into his errors, and compares demons with men who rigorously discharge every duty, even to those who show no gratitude; while to those who are grateful they abound in acts of kindness. Here Celsus appears to me to get into confusion. At one time his judgment is darkened by the influence of demons, and at another he recovers from their deluding power, and gets some glimpses of the truth. For again he adds: "We must never m any way lose our hold of God, whether by day or by night, whether in public or in secret, whether in word or in deed, but in whatever we do, or abstain from doing." That is, as I understand it, whatever we do in public, in all our actions, in all our words, "let the soul be constantly fixed upon God." And yet again, as though, after struggling in argument against the insane inspirations of demons, he were completely overcome by them, he adds: "If this is the case, what harm is there in gaining the favour of the rulers of the earth, whether of a nature different from ours, or human princes and kings? For these have gained their dignity through the instrumentality of demons." In a former part, Celsus did his utmost to debase our souls to the worship of demons; and now he wishes us to seek the favour of kings and princes, of whom, as the world and all history are full of them. I do not consider it necessary to quote examples.
CHAP. LXIV. There is therefore One whose favour we should seek, and to whom we ought to pray that He would be gracious to us--the Most High God, whose favour is gained by piety and the practice of every virtue. And if he would have us to seek the favour of others after the Most High God, let him consider that, as the motion of the shadow follows that of the body which casts it, so in like manner it follows, that when we have the favour of God, we have also the good-will of all angels and spirits who are friends of God. For they know who are worthy of the divine approval, and they are not only well disposed to them, but they co-operate with them in their endeavours to please God: they seek His favour on their behalf; with their prayers they join their own prayers and intercessions for them. We may indeed boldly say, that men who aspire after better things have, when they pray to God, tens of thousands of sacred powers upon their side. These, even when not asked, pray with them, they bring succour to our mortal race, and if I may so say, take up arms alongside of it: for they see demons warring and fighting most keenly against the salvation of those who devote themselves to God, and despise the hostility of demons; they see them savage in their hatred of the man who refuses to serve them with the blood and fumes of sacrifices, but rather strives in every way, by word and deed, to be in peace and union with the Most High through Jesus, who put to flight multitudes of demons when He went about "heating,'' and delivering "all who were oppressed by the devil."(1)
CHAP. LXV. Moreover, we are to despise ingratiating ourselves with kings or any other men, not only if their favour is to be won by murders, licentiousness, or deeds of cruelty, but even if it involves impiety towards God, or any servile expressions of flattery and obsequiousness, which things are unworthy of brave and high-principled men, who aim at joining with their other virtues that highest of virtues, patience and fortitude. But whilst we do nothing which is contrary to the law and word of God, we are not so mad as to 'stir up against us the wrath of kings and princes, which will bring upon us sufferings and tortures, or even death. For we read: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God."(2) These words we have in our exposition of the Epistle to the Romans, to the best of our ability, explained at length, and with various applications; but for the present we have taken them in their more obvious and generally received acceptation, to meet the saying of Celsus, that "it is not without the power of demons that kings have been raised to their regal dignity." Here much might be said on the constitution of kings and rulers, for the subject is a wide one, embracing such rulers as reign cruelly and tyrannically, and such as make the kingly office the means of indulging in luxury and sinful pleasures. We shall therefore, for the present, pass over the full consideration of this subject. We will, however, never swear by "the fortune of the king," nor by ought else that is considered equivalent to God. For if the word "fortune" is nothing but an expression for the uncertain course of events, as some say, although they seem not to be agreed, we do not swear by that as God which has no existence, as though it did really exist and was able to do something, lest we should bind ourselves by an oath to things which have no existence. If, on the other hand (as is thought by others, who say that to swear by the fortune of the king of the Romans is to swear by his demon), what is called the fortune of the king is in the power of demons, then in that case we must die sooner than swear by a wicked and treacherous demon, that ofttimes sins along with the man of whom it gains possession, and sins even more than he.
CHAP. LXVI. Then Celsus, following the example of those who are under the influence of demons--at one time recovering, at another relapsing, as though he were again becoming sensible--says: "If, however, any worshipper of God should be ordered to do anything impious, or to say anything base, such a command should in no wise be regarded; but we must encounter all kinds of torment, or submit to any kind of death, rather than say or even think anything unworthy of God." Again, however, from ignorance of our principles, and in entire confusion of thought, he says: "But if any one commands you to celebrate the sun, or to sing a joyful triumphal song in praise of Minerva, you will by celebrating their praises seem to render the higher praise to God; for piety, in extending to all things, becomes more perfect." To this our answer is, that we do not wait for any command to celebrate the praises of the sun; for we have been taught to speak well not only of those creatures that are obedient to the will of God, but even of our enemies. We therefore praise the sun as the glorious workmanship of God, which obeys His laws and hearkens to the call, "Praise the Lord, sun and moon,"(1) and with all your powers show forth the praises of the Father and Creator of all. Minerva, however, whom Celsus classes with the sun, is the subject of various Grecian myths, whether these contain any hidden meaning or not. They say that Minerva sprang fully armed from the brain of Jupiter; that when she was pursued by Vulcan, she fled from him to preserve her honour; and that from the seed which fell to the ground in the heat of Vulcan's passion, there grew a child whom Minerva brought up and called Erichthonius, "That owed his nurture to the blue-eyed maid, But from the teeming furrow took his birth, The mighty offspring of the foodful earth."(2) It is therefore evident, that if we admit Minerva the daughter of Jupiter, we must also admit many fables and fictions which can be allowed by no one who discards fables and seeks after truth.
CHAP. LXVII. And to regard these myths in a figurative sense, and consider Minerva as representing prudence, let any one show what were the actual facts of her history, upon which this allegory is based. For, supposing honour was given to Minerva as having been a woman of ancient times, by those who instituted mysteries and ceremonies for their followers, and who wished her name to be celebrated as that of a goddess, much more are we forbidden to pay divine honours to Minerva, if we are not permitted to worship so glorious an object as the sun, although we may celebrate its glory. Celsus, indeed, says that "we seem to do the greater honour to the great God when we sing hymns in honour of the sun and Minerva;" but we know it to be the opposite of that. For we sing hymns to the Most High alone, and His Only-begotten, who is the Word and God; and we praise God and His Only-begotten, as do also the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the host of heaven.(3) For these all form a divine chorus, and unite with the just among men in celebrating the praises of the Most High God and His Only-begotten. We have already said that we must not swear by a human king, or by what is called "the fortune of the king." It is therefore unnecessary for us again to refute these statements: "If you are commanded to swear by a human king, there is nothing wrong in that. For to him has been given whatever there is upon earth; and whatever you receive in this life, you receive from him." We deny, however, that all things which are on the earth have been given to the king, or that whatever we receive in this life we receive from him. For whatever we receive rightly and honourably we receive from God, and by His providence, as ripe fruits, and "corn which strengtheneth man's heart, and the pleasant vine, and wine which rejoiceth the heart of man."(4) And moreover, the fruit of the olive-tree, to make his face to shine, we have from the providence of God.
CHAP. LXVIII. Celsus goes on to say: "We must not disobey the ancient writer, who said long ago, 'Let one be king, whom the son of crafty Saturn appointed ;'"(5) and adds: "If you set aside this maxim, you will deservedly suffer for it at the hands of the king. For if all were to do the same as you, there would be nothing to prevent his being left in utter solitude and desertion, and the affairs of the earth would fall into the hands of the wildest and most lawless barbarians; and then there would no longer remain among men any of the glory of your religion or of the true wisdom." If, then, "there shall be one lord, one king," he must be, not the man "whom the son of crafty Saturn appointed," but the man to whom He gave the power, who "removeth kings and setteth up kings,"(6) and who "raiseth up the useful man in time of need upon earth."(7) For kings are not appointed by that son of Saturn, who, according to Grecian fable, hurled his father from his throne, and sent him down to Tartarus (whatever interpretation may be given to this allegory), but by God, who governs all things, and who wisely arranges whatever belongs to the appointment of kings. We therefore do set aside the maxim contained in the line, "Whom the son of crafty Saturn appointed;" for we know that no god or father of a god ever devises anything crooked or crafty. But we are far from setting aside the notion of a providence, and of things happening directly or indirectly through the agency of providence. And the king will not "inflict deserved punishment" upon us, if we say that not the son of crafty Saturn gave him his kingdom, but He who "removeth and setteth up kings." And would that all were to follow my example in rejecting the maxim of Homer, maintaining the divine origin of the kingdom, and observing the precept to honour the king! In these circumstances the king will not "be left in utter solitude and desertion," neither will "the affairs of the world fall into the hands of the most impious and wild barbarians." For if, in the words of Celsus," they do as I do," then it is evident that even the barbarians, when they yield obedience to the word of God, will become most obedient to the law, and most humane; and every form of worship will be destroyed except the religion of Christ, which will alone prevail. And indeed it will one day triumph, as its principles take possession of the minds of men more and more every day.
CHAP. LXIX. Celsus, then, as if not observing that he was saying anything inconsistent with the words he had just used, "if all were to do the same as you," adds: "You surely do not say that if the Romans were, in compliance with your wish, to neglect their customary duties to gods and men, and were to worship the Most High, or whatever you please to call him, that he will come down and fight for them, so that they shall need no other help than his. For this same God, as yourselves say, promised of old this and much more to those who served him, and see in what way he has helped them and you! They, in place of being masters of the whole world, are left with not so much as a patch of ground or a home; and as for you, if any of you transgresses even in secret, he is sought out and punished with death." As the question started is, "What would happen if the Romans were persuaded to adopt the principles of the Christians, to despise the duties paid to the recognised gods and to men, and to worship the Most High?" this is my answer to the question. We say that "if two" of us "shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of the Father" of the just, "which is in heaven;"(1) for God rejoices in the agreement of rational beings, and turns away from discord. And what are we to expect, if not only a very few agree, as at present, but the whole of the empire of Rome? For they will pray to the Word, who of old said to the Hebrews, when they were pursued by the Egyptians, "The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace;"(2) and if they all unite in prayer with one accord, they will be able to put to flight far more enemies than those who were discomfited by the prayer of Moses when he cried to the Lord, and of those who prayed with him. Now, if what God promised to those who keep His law has not come to pass, the reason of its nonfulfilment is not to be ascribed to the unfaithfulness of God. But He had made the fulfilment of His promises to depend on certain conditions,--namely, that they should observe and live according to His law; and if the Jews bare not a plot of ground nor a habitation left to them, although they had received these conditional promises, the entire blame is to be laid upon their crimes, and especially upon their guilt in the treatment of Jesus.
CHAP. LXX. But if all the Romans, according to the supposition of Celsus, embrace the Christian faith, they will, when they pray, overcome their enemies; or rather, they will not war at all, being guarded by that divine power which promised to save five entire cities for the sake of fifty just persons. For men of God are assuredly the salt of the earth: they preserve the order of the world;(3) and society is held together as long as the salt is uncorrupted: for "if the salt have lost its savour, it is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill; but it shall be cast out, and trodden under foot of men. He that hath ears, let him hear"(4) the meaning of these words, When God gives to the tempter permission to persecute us, then we suffer persecution; and when God wishes us to be free from suffering, even in the midst of a world that hates us, we enjoy a wonderful peace, trusting in the protection of Him who said, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."(5) And truly He has overcome the world. Wherefore the world prevails only so long as it is the pleasure of Him who received from the Father power to overcome the world; and from His victory we take courage. Should He even wish us again to contend and struggle for our religion, let the enemy come against us, and we will say to them, "I can do all things, through Christ Jesus our Lord, which strengtheneth me."(6) For of "two sparrows which are sold for a farthing," as the Scripture says, "not one of them falls on the ground without our Father in heaven."(7) And so completely does the Divine Providence embrace all things, that not even the hairs of our head fail to be numbered by Him.
CHAP. LXXI. Celsus again, as is usual with him, gets confused, and attributes to us things which none of us have ever written. His words are: "Surely it is intolerable for you to say, that if our present rulers, on embracing your opinions, are taken by the enemy, you will still be able to persuade those who rule after them; and after these have been taken you will persuade their successors and so on, until at length, when all who have yielded to your persuasion have been taken some prudent ruler shall arise, with a foresight of what is impending, and he will destroy you all utterly before he himself perishes." There is no need of any answer to these allegations: for none of us says of our present rulers, that if they embrace our opinions, and are taken by the enemy, we shall be able to persuade their successors; and when these are taken, those who come after them, and so on in succession. But on what does he ground the assertion, that when a succession of those who have yielded to our persuasion have been taken because they did not drive back the enemy, some prudent ruler shall arise, with a foresight of what is impending, who shall utterly destroy us? But here he seems to me to delight in inventing and uttering the wildest nonsense.
CHAP. LXXII. Afterwards he says: "If it were possible," implying at the same time that he thought it most desirable, "that all the inhabitants of Asia, Europe, and Libya, Greeks and Barbarians, all to the uttermost ends of the earth, were to come under one law;" but judging this quite impossible, he adds, "Any one who thinks this possible, knows nothing." It would require careful consideration and lengthened argument to prove that it is not only possible, but that it will surely come to pass, that all who are endowed with reason shall come under one law. However, if we must refer to this subject, it will be with great brevity. The Stoics, indeed, hold that, when the strongest of the elements prevails, all things shall be turned into fire. But our belief is, that the Word shall prevail over the entire rational creation, and change every soul into His own perfection; in which state every one, by the mere exercise of his power, will choose what he desires, and obtain what he chooses. For although, in the diseases and wounds of the body, there are some which no medical skill can cure, yet we hold that in the mind there is no evil so strong that it may not be overcome by the Supreme Word and God. For stronger than all the evils in the soul is the Word, and the healing power that dwells in Him; and this healing He applies, according to the will of God, to every man. The consummation of all things is the destruction of evil, although as to the question whether it shall be so destroyed that it can never anywhere arise again, it is beyond our present purpose to say. Many things are said obscurely in the prophecies on the total destruction of evil, and the restoration to righteousness of every soul; but it will be enough for our present purpose to quote the following passage from Zephaniah: "Prepare and rise early; all the gleanings of their vineyards are destroyed. Therefore wait ye upon Me, saith the LORD, on the day that I rise up for a testimony; for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kings, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My suppliants, even the daughter of My dispersed, shall bring My offering. In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against Me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride; and thou shalt no more be haughty because of My holy mountain. I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid."(1) I leave it to those who are able, after a careful study of the whole subject, to unfold the meaning of this prophecy, and especially to inquire into the signification of the words, "When the whole earth is destroyed, there will be turned upon the peoples a language according to their race,"(2) as things were before the confusion of tongues. Let them also carefully consider the promise, that all shall call upon the name of the Lord, and serve Him with one consent; also that all contemptuous reproach shall be taken away, and there shall be no longer any injustice, or vain speech, or a deceitful tongue. And thus much it seemed needful for me to say briefly, and without entering into elaborate details, in answer to the remark of Celsus, that he considered any agreement between the inhabitants of Asia, Europe, and Libya, as well Greeks as Barbarians, was impossible. And perhaps such a result would indeed be impossible to those who are still in the body, but not to those who are released from it.
CHAP. LXXIII. In the next place, Celsus urges us "to help the king with all our might, and to labour with him in the maintenance of justice, to fight for him; and if he requires it, to fight under him, or lead an army along with him." To this our answer is, that we do, when occasion requires, give help to kings, and that, so to say, a divine help, "putting on the whole armour of God."(1) And this we do in obedience to the injunction of the apostle, "I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority;"(2) and the more any one excels in piety, the more effective help does he render to kings, even more than is given by soldiers, who go forth to fight and slay as many of the enemy as they can. And to those enemies of our faith who require us to bear arms for the commonwealth, and to slay men, we can reply: "Do not those who are priests at certain shrines, and those who attend on certain gods, as you account them, keep their hands free from blood, that they may with hands unstained and free from human blood offer the appointed sacrifices to your gods; and even when war is upon you, you never enlist the priests in the army. If that, then, is a laudable custom, how much more so, that while others are engaged in battle, these too should engage as the priests and ministers of God, keeping their hands pure, and wrestling in prayers to God on behalf of those who are fighting in a righteous cause, and for the king who reigns righteously, that whatever is opposed to those who act righteously may be destroyed!" And as we by our prayers vanquish all demons who stir up war, and lead to the violation of oaths, and disturb the peace, we in this way are much more helpful to the kings than those who go into the field to fight for them. And we do take our part in public affairs, when along with righteous prayers we join self-denying exercises and meditations, which teach us to despise pleasures, and not to be led away by them. And none fight better for the king than we do. We do not indeed fight under him, although he require it; but we fight on his behalf, forming a special army--an army of piety--by offering our prayers to God.
CHAP. LXXIV. And if Celsus would have us to lead armies in defence of our country, let him know that we do this too, and that not for the purpose of being seen by men, or of vainglory. For "in secret," and in our own hearts, there are prayers which ascend as from priests in behalf of our fellow-citizens. And Christians are benefactors of their country more than others. For they train up citizens, and inculcate piety to the Supreme Being; and they promote those whose lives in the smallest cities have been good and worthy, to a divine and heavenly city, to whom it may be said, "Thou hast been faithful in the smallest city, come into a great one,"(3) where "God standeth in the assembly of the gods, and judgeth the gods in the midst;" and He reckons thee among them, if thou no more "die as a man, or fall as one of the princes."(4)
CHAP. LXXV. Celsus also urges us to "take office in the government of the country, if that is required for the maintenance of the laws and the support of religion." But we recognise in each state the existence of another national organization(5) founded by the Word of God, and we exhort those who are mighty in word and of blameless life to rule over Churches. Those who are ambitious of ruling we reject; but we constrain those who, through excess of modesty, are not easily induced to take a public charge in the Church of God. And those who rule over us well are under the constraining influence of the great King, whom we believe to be the Son of God, God the Word. And if those who govern in the Church, and are called rulers of the divine nation--that is, the Church--rule well, they rule in accordance with the divine commands, and never suffer themselves to be led astray by worldly policy. And it is not for the purpose of escaping public duties that Christians decline public offices, but that they may reserve themselves for a diviner and more necessary service in the Church of God--for the salvation of men. And this service is at once necessary and right. They take charge of all--of those that are within, that they may day by day lead better lives, and of those that are without, that they may come to abound in holy words and in deeds of piety; and that, while thus worshipping God truly, and training up as many as they can in the same way, they may be filled with the word of God and the law of God, and thus be united with the Supreme God through His Son the Word, Wisdom, Truth, and Righteousness, who unites to God all who are resolved to conform their lives in all things to the law of God.
CHAP. LXXVI. You have here, reverend Ambrosius, the conclusion of what we have been enabled to accomplish by the power given to us in obedience to your command. In eight books we have embraced all that we considered it proper to say in reply to that book of Celsus which he entitles A True Discourse. And now it remains for the readers of his discourse and of my reply to judge which of the two breathes most of the Spirit of the true God, of piety towards Him, and of that truth which leads men by sound doctrines to the noblest life. You must know, however, that Celsus had promised another treatise as a sequel to this one, in which he engaged to supply practical rules of living to those who felt disposed to embrace his opinions. If, then, he has not fulfilled his promise of writing a second book, we may well be contented with these eight books which we have written in answer to his discourse. But if he has begun and finished that second book, pray obtain it and send it to us, that we may answer it as the Father of truth may give us ability, and either overthrow the false teaching that may be in it, or, laying aside all jealousy, we may testify our approval of whatever truth it may contain. GLORY BE TO THEE, OUR GOD; GLORY BE TO THEE.
The Temple as Described in the Temple Scroll

The Temple Proper
=================
The description in the scroll is very short and fragmentary. It mentions, but does not describe in detail, the objects which stood inside, including: The Golden Veil (in front of the Holy Ark); the Table for the Bread of Presence (Showbread); the Menorah (Seven-branched Lampstand), and the cherubim (above the Ark).
The Courtyards
==============
The courtyards are described in detail: Inner (with several structures), Middle, Outer courtyards. They are arranged in a concentric manner, each provided with gates. the gates are not just openings in the wall but are complex buildings whose plan is based on Ezekial's description of the Temple.
The Structures
==============
Most of all details concerning this Temple are devoted to the structures (other than the Temple itself) which are located in the Inner courtyard. The Alter of Sacrifice (Great Altar of Burnt Offerings) was crowned with four horns, one on each corner. No information survived as to the means of accessing it's top.
The House of Utensils
=====================
The House of Utensils was planned to contain cupboards along its walls to house the utensils used in the daily cult ceremonies. The priests could cleanse themselves in the big laver (or basin) contained in another small building. As the ritual rites of purifications were carried out in the nude, special niches in the upper side of the House of Laver were planned.
The Slaughterhouse
==================
Facing the Altar, a construction made of 12 columns carrying a flat roof was planned. It was provided with som ekind of rings which were attached to the pillars. It seems that this device whould be used to chain animals for sacrifice and that the structure was to serve as a slaughterhouse.
A similar construction, for another specific group of sacrificial animals, was built just to the west of the Temple.
The Stairhouse
==============
A stairhouse (in the shape of a stairwell) was planned to sit at the northwest corner of the Temple. Its purpose was to let the priests reach the upper and inner parts of the Temple indirectly (that is, not through the main gate) for the Temple's maintenance.
The Collanades
==============
In the surrounding collanades there were plans for the priests to eat from the sacrifices without mixing (or mingling) with the rest of the people. the kitchens were arranged in the corners near the gates.
The Gates
=========
The middle and outer gates were named after the 12 children of Israel (the tribes, sons of Jacob). The northern three gates were named Dan, Naphtali, and Asher; the eastern three gates were named Simeon, Levi, and Judah; the southern three gates were named Reuben, Joseph and Benjamin; and the western three gates were named Issachar, Zebulum and Gad.
The Outer Courtyard
===================
The dimensions of the outer courtyard were vast, 1590 x 1590 cubits (one cubit equals 800 square meters). For the sake of comparison the measurements of the Herodian Temple Mount was 280 x 480 meters and was, in its day, one of the largest holy precincts in the world.
On top of the Temple's roof was a scarecrow in the shape of rows of spikes all over. These were designed to prevent birds of prey from landing on the roof and defiling it.
Translation by Y. Yadin
Part of COL 15 (XV)
13 an offering by fire, a pleasing odour before the Lord. [And they shall burn everything on the alter over]
14 the burnt offering, to complete their own ordination, (throughout) the seven days of [ordination. {
15 And if the high priest will be about [to serve the Lord, (the priest) who] has been or-
16 dained to w[ea]r the garments in place of his father, he shall offer [one bull]
17 [fo]r all the peo[ple] and one for the priests; he shall offer the one of the
18 [prie]sts first. And the elders of the priest[s] shall lay [their hands]
COL 41 (XLI)
04 [of Reuben to the gate of Joseph, the same measure, sixty and three]
05 [hundred cubits; and from the gate of Joseph to the gate of Benjamin, three
1 [hundred and sixty cubits; and from the gate of benjamin to the we]st[ern(?) corner,]
2 [three hundred and sixty cubits; and thus from] this (?) [corner] 3 to the ga[te of Issachar, three hundred and sixty] cubits; and from the gate of
4 Issachar [to the gate of Zebulun, sixty and three] hundred cubits; 5 and from the gate of Ze'bulun to the gate of Gad, six[ty and] three hundred
6 cubits; and from th ega[te of] "Gad" [to the north corner,] three hundred
7 and sixty cubits{[}and] from (?) this corner to 8 the gate of Dan, three hundred and sixty cubits, and thus from the gate of Dan to
9 the gate of Naphtali, sixty and three hundred cubits; and from the gate of Naphtali
10 to the gate of Asher, three hundred and sixty cubits; and from the gate of
11 Asher to the east {of (?)} corner, three hundred and sixty cubits. 12 And the gates (shall) protude from the wall of the court outwards seven cubits
13 and (shall) penetrate from the wall of the court inwards six and thirty cubits
14 And the width of the gates' entrances (shall be) fourteen cubits; and their height
15 eight and twenty cubits up to the lintel. And they shall be roofed
16 by beams of cedar wood and overlaid with gold. And their doors (shall be) overlaid with gold. And their doors (shall be) overlaid
17 with pure gold. And between one {x} gate and another, inward you shall make chambers
Laws

This work is a collection of legal dicta, including among other things laws about the proper observance of the Sabbath, the tithing of agricultural produce, what portions of produce priests were to receive from the laity, proper sacrifice, and marriage. 'These laws are extremely revealing for anyone interested in the late Second-Temple period and Palestine in the time of Jesus, for they are a window into certain segments of society, revealing how people of the time actually lived their lives.
Whereas portions of the Commentary on the Law of Moses do little more than quote relevant biblical texts, others legislate for situations not explicitly recognized by the authors of the Bible. We learn here for example, that if a priest had a daughter who turned to prostitution, she could no longer eat at his table. We learn that in the author's system, priests were to receive the fourth-year fruit from newly planted fruit trees, a requirement that contrasts with rabbinic law, wherein the grower took the fruit to Jerusalem and ate it there before God. The commentary agrees with the stipulation on the same topic in the Sectarian Manfesto (text 84); further, the Temple Scroll (text 131 colt 60), the Damascus Covenant (text 1), and the book of Jubilees (7:36) all agree with the position of the commentary.
So this law serves well to illustrate two general principles that apply to the legal materials among the scrolls: (1) the laws tend to be stricter than those of he rabbis where the same topics are addressed and, as the rabbinic laws go back in some cases to the Pharisees, the laws here are presumably part of a system stricter than that of the contemporary Pharisees; and (2) the legal materials of the 3 scrolls seem to represent a single school of thought. That is to say, whenever different Dead Sea Scrolls address the same or similar topics, they take the identical general approach, one particularly favorable to the interests of the priesthood. While the different scroll writers sometimes disagree among themselves, their disagreement is incidental, not systematic. The Dead Sea Scrolls therefore represent a school of legal thought different from and competing with the Pharisaic approach. That such should be the case is hardly surprising given the attitude toward the Pharisees manifested in nonlegal, historical writings among the scrolls. As discussed in the Introduction, for the movement behind the scrolls, the Pharisees were public enemy number one.
The Words of Moses

The authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls found the Bible a limitless source of wisdom ancl instruction, but on occasion they found it necessary to rewrite portions of it to enhance the message they found in it or wanted to find in it. Sometimes biblical stories were rewritten such as text 2, Tales of the Patriarchs probably to increase their entertainment value. Other portions, such as text 131, the Temple Scroll, represent rewritten and expanded legal material with controversal or new laws added, highlighted, or explained.
The text here translated, The Words of Moses, follows a similar plan. Although fragmentary (and reconstructed with remarkable acumen bye. T. Milik', the scroll apparently was a rewriting of parts of Moses last farewell as given in the book of Deuteronomy. Since most of the composition has perished we can only guess what purpose lay behind its writing. The parts that remain emphasize the dangers of apostasy and the judgment that inevitably followsa theme quuite in keeping with the original book.
The introductory passage recalls Deuteronomy 1:3.
Col. 1 I[God called] to Moses [on the fortieth] year after the [chil"dren of] Israe1 left [the land Of 1 Egypt, in the eleventh month, 20n the first day of the month, saying, [Convene] the entire nation and go up to [ . . . ] and stand there, you 3and Eleazar [son of 1 Aaron. Ex[plain to the family] heads, t.o the Levites, and all the [priests] and command the children of 4Israel the words of the L:aw that I have commanded [you] on Mount Sinai to command them in their hearing.
This passage recalls Deuteronomy 4:25-28 except that the author adds to the prediction of idolatry a further one concerning breaking the laws of the festival calendar a topic much on the minds of the Yahad and earlier groups such as the circles that produced Jubilees.
Explain thoroughly everything that I [demand] of them and [call ars witnesses against] them Heaven an'd [Earth, for] 6what I command [them I will not be to their liking, or to their descendants' liking, tall] the days that tlhey "ive on the] land. Indeed 7I declare to you that they will abandon Me [and choose to follow the idols of the] Gentiles [and their] abominations and [their filthy] deeds, [and they will worship] the 8false gods, which will become a trap [and] snare, and they will violate [every sacred assembly] and cove nant JSabbath [and the festivals!] the very ones I am commanding them today to observe.
A paraphrase of Deuteronomy 28:15.
[They will suffer a] great [defeat] within the very land [that they] are about to cross l¡the Jordan to possess. And so it will be, that all the curses wiLI come upon them and catch them until they perish and until llthey are [destroyed]and they will know [that] a just judgment has been [passed] on them.
In Deuteronomy 31:7 it is stated only that Moses summonedJoshua. The addition here of Eleazar the priest as a co-ruler of Israel is characteristic of the Dead Sea sect.
So Moses called Eleazar son of 12[Aaron] end Joshua [son of Nun and said to] them, Repeat [all the words of the Law up to] the very end [ . . . ]
Here the author combines the gist of Deuteronomy 27:9-19 with Deuteronomy 6:10-11.
Col. 2
Israel and hear! [This very] day [you become a] people belonging to the Lord [your God], so you should [observe my regulations] and my testimonies [and] my [commandments that] 2[I am] commanding you [to]day, [doing them just] as [you] are about to cross the [Jordan], and [I shall give] you 31arge and [beautiful] cities and houses full of every [good thing, vineyards and olive trees] that [you did not plant and cis]terns [that you] did not 4dig; and you will eat and be satisfied. [Be careful] lest your heart grow proud and you [forget what] I [command you] today; 5[for] It is [your] life and length of your days.
Here the author combines themes and expressionsfrom Deuteronomy 1:9-18 and 11:17.
[So] Moses [called] and [said to the children ofl Israel, It is now forty 6[years] since we [came out ofl the land of [Egypt. This very] day [the Lord] our God [has expressed these words] from his mouth: 7[all his] statutes and all his (MS: statutes). How [shall I bear alone] your trouble [and your burdens and your quarreling]? So it shall be, 8[when I finish giving] the covenant and commanding " [thej wav [that you]" should walk in, [appoirlt for yourself wise men who] shouId explain 9[to you and"to your children] all [these] words of the [Law]. Be [very careful] of yourselves [to do them 1esq his a.nger burn and his wrath ignite against you, and He closes the heavens above from raining [upon you], and the [waters below the earth] from giving you [produce].
The joining of the last few fragments is too conjectural for translation.
Moses [spoke again] to the children of Israel, These are [the commandments that God commanded] to obey . . . "
Commentaries on Genesis 4Q252-254a

The Commentaries on Genesis share characteristics of the sectarian commetaries on Habakkuk, Hosea, and Psalms (texts 4, 20, and 22, respectively), on the one hand, and with An Annotated Law of Moses (text 71) and similar writings, on the other; yet they have a character distinctly their own.
The commentaries on Genesis have in common with the other commentaries certain techniques of interpreting the Bible, notably the use of peskier method (for an explanation of this method see the introduction to the Commentary on HabakFuk). But unlike the other commentaries, the purpose here is not to discover current furfillments of biblical prophecies, but to give selected passages a particular "spin," to show how they support the authors' ideas. Indeed, unlike the other commentaries. here the authors recognize that only some of the chosen passages are prophetic.
Like the Annotated Law, the present works excerpt and amplify Scripture, but they do not do so verse by verse. Rather, these writing skip from passage to passage, having no discernable overarching purpose or thematic link.
Whether the Commentaries on Genesis are all one work or several is unclear. Of the four manuscripts, 4Q252 is the best preserved; its six columns cover Genesis 5:32-49:21. The tiny fragments of 4Q253 are here taken as the remains of a commentary on Genesis, but the matter is tenuous. (The word "ark" found in frag. l is only suggestive.) 4Q254a appears to be an intentional alteration of 4Q252 frag. 1, cols. 1-2.
Col. 1. and the first lines of col. 2 is a retelling of the Flood story (Gen. 6:3-8:18J that becomes a clear polemic for the 364-day sectarian calendar. After charting the major events of the year-long flood by month and day of the week, the writer concludes that Noah went out of the ark at the end of . . . three hundred and sixty four days."
4Q252 Frag. 1 Col. 1
[In the] four hundred and eighheth year of Noah's life, he came to the end of them, and God said, "My spirit shall not dwell with man forever, their days shal1 be determined to be one hundred and twenty 3 years until the waters of the flood come." And the waters of the flood came upon the earth, in the six hundredth year of 4 Noah's life; in the second month, on Sunday, the seventeenth. On that day 5 all the fountains of the great deep broke open and the windows of the heavens were opened. And the rain fell upon 6 the earth forty days and forty nights until the twenty-sixth day of the third month, 70n Thursday. The waters prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days 8until the fourteenth day of the seventh month, on Tuesday.
And at the end of one hundred~and fifty 9 days, the waters decreased for two days Wednesday and Thursday and on Friday, the ark came to rest upon Mount Ararat. T[his was] the seventeenth day of the seventh month. And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month. On the first; of the month, on Wednesday, the tops of the mountains appeared. At the end of forty days, at the appearance of the tops of the mountain[s], Noah [op]ened the window of the ark. It was Monday, the tenth of the ele[venth] month. He sent out the dove to see if the waters had subsided, but ~5it found no roosting place and came beck to him to the ark. He waited a[nother] seven days and again sent it out, and it came to him and in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf. [This was the twenty] fourth [day] of the eleventh month, on Sunday. [So Noah knew that the waters had subsided] l5from the earth. At the end of anoth[er] seven days he sent out] the [dove and it did not1 19 return to him again. This was the ftirst day [of the twelfth] month, [on Sunday]. 20 And at the end of thirt[y one days from the sending of the dov]e which had not returned again, the wat[ers] were dried up [from the earth, and] Noah removed the covering of the ark 22 and looked, and saw they had dried up. [It was Wednesday,] the first day of the first month.
Col. 2 In the hundred and first year ot Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, 2the earth was dry, on Sunday. On that day Noah went out from the ark, at the end of an exact year, 3three hundred and sixty four days, on a Sunday. On the seventh, 4one and six (a scribal error has confused the text here), Noah went out from the ark, to the day, 5after a complete year.
The curse on Canuan, the grandson of Noah (Gen. 9:2~27).
And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what 6his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan, the lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers. "And he did not curse Ham, but rather his son, because God had already blessed the sons of Noah. "And let him live in the tents of Shem.":
The chronology of Genesis 11:31-12:4. The age of Terah agrees with the Masoretic Text (205 years) rather than the Samaritan Pentateuch (145 years).
He gave the land to Abraham His beloved.~Terah was~one hundred~and forty years old when he left 9Ur of the Chaldees and went to Haran and Ab[ram was s]eventy. And he dwet five years in Haran. Then [Terah died] six[ty years after Abram] went out [to] the land of Ganaan. "The heifer, the ram, and the go[at . . . ] Abram~to God [ . . . ] the fire when he crossed [ . . . ] he took for himself [ . . . ] '3for Ab[ram] to go out [to the land ~of Canaan to [ . . . ]
Sodom (Gen. 18:1~33).
Col. 3 just as it is written [ . . . ] twelve 2men [ . . . Gomor]rah, and also 3this city [ . . . ] righteous 4I [will] not [destroy . . . ] these only shall be put to death sand if [ten (?)] are not found there [ . . . and everything] which is found in it, its spoil, 6its children, and the rest of [ . . . ] forever.
The binding of Isaac (Gen. 22:10-12).
And Abraham reached out 7his hand [and took the knife to kill his son But the angel of the LORD called to him from heav]en 8and said to him, "Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheldyour son, 9your only son, fr[om me." . . . ]
This portion may parallel the biblical blessing on Joseph (Gen. 49:25-26).
El Shaddai will b[less you with the blessings of heaven above . . . ] the blessing of your father [is stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains . . .- ] 4[ . . . ] shall be [ . . . ]
An account of the descendants of Esau, which ends with the curse on Amalek (Gen. 36:12; Exod. 17:14; Deut. 25:19).
Col. 4 Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore: Amalek to him, he whom Sau1 defteated].
2 Just as he said to Moses, "In the Last Days, the remembrance of Amalek shall be blotted out from 3 under heaven."
Israel's prophecy concerning Reuben (Gen. 49:2-4).
The Blessings of Jacob: Reubep, you are my firstborn, and the first fruits of my vigor, 4excelling in rank and excelling in ~power. You are unstable as ~ water, so you shall no longer excel. You went up Sonto your father's bed; then you defiled ithe went up onto his couch!
Its interpretation is: He rebuked him because he 61ay with Bilhah, his concubine, so he [s]aid, "Reuben, you are my firstborn," [ . . . ] Reuben was 7the first of his order . . . [ . . . ]
The prophecy concerning Judah is interpreted as fullfilled in the messiah of David (Gen. 49:10).
Col. 5 A ruler shall [no]t depart from the tribe ofJudah when Israel has dominion. 2[And] the one who sits on the throne of David [shall never] be cut off, because the "rulers staff" is the covenant of the kingdom, 3[and the thous]ands of Israel are "the feet," until the Righteous Messiah, the Branch of David, has come. 4For to him and to his seed the covenant of the kingdom of His people has been given for the eternal generations, because She has kept [ . . . ] the Law with the men of the Yahad. For 6[ . . . the "obedience of the people]s" is the assembly of the men of [ . . . ] he gave
The prophecies concerning Asher and Naphtali (Gen. 49:2~21).
Col. 6 [Asher's food shall be rich] he shall provide [royal] delicacies< [ . . . Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears] lovely [fawns . . . ] 3the [ . . . ]~
The curse on Canaan, the grandson of Noah (Gen. 9:2~25).
4Q254 Frag. 1 who said [ . . . ] 2upon the doorways and the [ . . . When Noah awoke from his wine] 3and knew wha[t his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan;] 4lowest of slaves [shall he be to his brothers"]
Joseph with his father, Jacob (Gen. 48:11?).
Frag. 2 3and for his bread and for [his . . . Israel said to Joseph, "I did] not [expect to see] 4your face; [and here God has let me see your children (?) . . . ] 5[ . . . ] 6who took [ . . . ] 7[and] he separated [ . . . ] 8[ . . . ]
This portion is a commentary on the two anointed ones of Zecharlah 4:14; it may be part of the blessing on Judah (Gen. 49:8-12).
Frag. 4 1[ . . . ] to them [ . . . ] 2[ . . . "These are] the tvo anointed sons who [stand by the Lord of the whole earth." . . . ] 3[ . . . ] those who keep the commandments of God [ . . . ] 4[ . . . ] for the men of the Yahad [ :. . . ]
Israel's prophecy concerning Issachar and Dan (Gen. 49:15-17).
Frag. 5 So he bowed [his shoulder to the: burden and became a] slave [at forced labor.]
[ . . . ] 2which [ . . . ] the great ones [ . . . ] 3servant [ . . . Dan shall judge] his [peo]ple as on[e] of the t[ribes of-Israel.] 4And Dan shall be as a sna[ke by the roadside, a vi]per along the w[ay . . . that bitesl 5the horse's heel[s . . . ] 6[ . . . ]
Israel's prophecy concerning Joseph (Gen. 49:24-25).
Frag. 6 [ . . Yet his] bow [remai]ned taut, [and his arms were made~agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,] 2[by the name of the Shepher]d, the Rock of Israe1 [by the God of your father, who will help you by the Almighty who will bless you] 3[with blessings of heaven] ab[o]ve [ . . . ]
As in 4Q252 cols. 1-2, the Flood is reckoned at exactly one year (l. 2). Ths fragment of 4Q252a begins with the sending of the birds (Gen. 8: 7-8), then records the dimensions ofthe ark (Gen. 6:1~5).
4Q254a 1[ . . . In the SiX hundredth year of Noah's life, on the] seventeenth day of the [second] month 2[ . . . ] Noah went out from the ark exactly one year later. 3[ . . . ]
4[And he sent out ~the ra]ven; and it went to and fro and returned in order to make known to the l[ast] generations 5[ . . . ] before him, for the ra[ven] went to and fro and re[turned.] 6[Then he sent out] the dove [ . . . ] 7And this is the account of the construction of the [ark: three hundred cubits shall be the leng]th of the ark, and fifLty cubits3 8the width, and thirty [cubits its height . . . ] 9and the measurement of the ark [ . . . ]
Tales of The Patriarchs lQapGen

This charming collection of stories is one of a fair number of Dead Sea Scrolls that scholars assign to the category "rewritten Bible." The category is a broad one embracing many different methods of "rewriting the Bible"; some examples do little more than select and rearrange portions of Scripture, apparently intending by such juxtapositioning to clarify the relationship and proper interpretation of the portions involved. The present text is more adventurous. Although at points the: author simply presents the text of Genesis more or less as he knew it, more often he adds details and even whole sections drawn from extrabiblical sources or oral traditions.
The author attempts to give the ~proper spin to the biblical text at crucial points where, in his view, dangerous misinterpretation is possible.
A clear example of this concern is the case of Abraham's wife, Sarah, and an unnamed Egyptian pharaoh. (Throughout the surviving portions of Tales, however, Abraham is referred to as "Abram," and Sarah as "Sara)"; the reason is that these portions of the tales correspond to chapters of Genesis that precede Genesis 17, the chapter in which Abraham and Sarah receive their new, but to us more familiar, names.) According to Genesis 12, this pharaoh took Sarai from Abram when the patriarch had gone down to the pharaoh's territory in search of food. Our author had a definite view of the chronology of Genesis, even where the Bible says nothing of such matters directly, and believed that Sarai must have been with the pharaoh for some two years. Had she then been violated repeatedly?
If so, this was a sordid tale indeed, bringing shame upon the Jewish people. Io obviate this implication of the biblical text, our author decided that the pharaoh must be shown to have been impotent the entire time. Then, of course, Sarai's purity would have been preserved. So he introduced a long addition to the biblical text at the proper point, explaining that God smote the pharaoh with "a baneful spirit." Because of this spirit's effect a disgusting discharge, perhaps gonorrheaÑ not just the pharaoh, but all his men were rendered impotent. Only with the help of the righteous Abram's prayer on his behalf was the Egyptian monarch cured, and then only on condition of Sarai's restoration to her husband.
Abram's description of his prayer is noteworthy: "So I prayed for him, that blasphemer, and laid my hands upon his head. Thereupon the plague was removed from him, the evil spirit exorcised from him, and he was healed." This is a description of an exorcism, one roughly contemporary with the New Testament passages that record the frequent exorcisms performed by Jesus of Nazareth. The scroll's description is particularly reminiscent of an exorcism described in Mark 9. Jesus accupies tried and failed to exorcise a spirit that continually threw a young boy into convulsions. Jesus had to perform the exorcism himself. Later, when asked by his disciples why they had failed, Jesus replied, "This kind can come out only through prayer" (Mark 9:29).
Another example of the author's concern with the purity of Abram's line appears in what may first seem but an insignificant detail added to the biblical text. After the Flood, Noah's family was essentially'in the same situation as Adam, Eve, and their children. With no other people around, whom could the young people marry? The Bible is silent on this problem, though it does provide genealogical information about Noah's sons and grandsons. The scroll adds details about Noah's granddaughters. The author claims the following: Shem, Noah's oldest son, had five sons and fve daughters; Ham had four sons and seven daughters; and Japheth had the reverse, seven sons and four daughters. The point: for the chosen meage of Shem, intermarriage with the lines of his brothers might introduce corruption; thus, his sons married his daughters. For the other two sons, intermarriage of their lines was not dangerous, so they had congruent numbers of sons and daughters who could then marry their cousins.
In such ways the author of this "rewritten Bible" text dealt with the patriarchs Enoch' Lamech, Noah and his sons, and Abraham.
Lamech, Noah's fathefi suspects that his newborn son may infact not be his own, but rather the product of an illicit union between his wfe, Bitenosh, and lusfulfallen angels known as Watchers or Nephilim.
Col. 3 Then I decided that the conception was at the hands of Watchers, that the~seed had been planted by Holy Ones or Nephil[im . . . ] 2I was in a turmoil because of this infant. 3Then I, Lamech, hurriedly went in to [my] wi[fe], Bitenosh, [and I said to her,] 4["I adjure you by . . . ] and by the Most Hi~h. bv the Lord. the Great One, by the King of all Et[ernity . . . have you conceived] 5[by one of I the Sons of Heaven? Tell me every detail truthfully [ . . . ] 6[in truth] make it known to me, without lies.Was this [ . . . ?] 7by the King of Eternity. You are to speak with me in utter truth, without lies [- - ¥]
Bitenosh allays Lamech's suspicions by recalling the time when Noah would have been conceived.
sThen Bitenosh, my wife, replied to me very passionately, we[eping . 9She said,"O, my brother, my lord, remember my voluptuousness ~ . . . ] '¡before the time of lovemaking, and my ardent response. I [am telling you] the whol[e] truth [ . . . ]" 1land my mind was then changed. l2Now when my wife Bitenosh saw that my disposition had changed, [ . . . ] l3Then she restrained her anger, speaking with me and saying,"O, my lord, my:[brother, remember . . . ] l4my pleasure. I swear to you by the Great Holy One, by the King of He[aven . . . ] l5that this seed comes from you, this conception was by you, the planting of [this] fruit is yours [ . . . It was] l6not by any stranger, neither by any of the Watchers, nor yet by any of the Sons of Heav[en.Wl: has] your expression been so altered, your mood so depressed? [ . . . ] Surely isI am speaking with you truthfully."
Still confused by the baby's glorious appearance, Lamech sends inquiry to EnochJ his grandfather. Enoch was thought to understand many hidden matters.
l9Thereupon I, Lamech, ran to Methuselah my father, and [told] him everything, [so that he would go ask Enoch,] 20his father, and come to understand the whole matter with certainty. For he, Enoch, is beloved and [ . . . with the Holy Ones] 2Ihis lot has been cast. They reveal everything to him.When Methusel[ah] heard [of these matters] 22he set out for his father Enoch, in order to learn from him the truth of the whole affair [ . . . ] 23his will. Then he went to the highest heaven, to Parvain, and there he found
The columns are renumbered following recent research that proves that the lQ20 fragments, which belong to this work, comprise (together with the so-called Trever Eagment) cols. 1 and 2. The analysis supporting these conclusions is forthcoming. Also, the lines of colt 20 (formerly 19) are renumbered to start with line 6, not 7, correcting a minor error in the text's original publication by Nahman Avigad and Yigael Yadin.
Enoch with [the Holy Ones]. 24He [sa]id to Enoch, his father,"O, my father, my lord, I [have come] to you [ . . . ] [hear] 25what I say to you. Do not be angry with me that I have come here [ . . . ]',
Col. 4 apparently contained the beginning of Enoch's reply to Methuselah. Enoch began by referring to the descent of angels to take human wives, which occurred in Jared's day. Compare Genesis 6:1-2.
Col. 4 3for in the days ofJared, my father . . .
Enoch's reply continues.
Col. 6 3T, Enoch, [ . . . ] 4not by the Sons of Heaven, but by Lamech, your son [ . . . ] 9And now, I say to you [ . . . ] and reveal to you [that . . . ] 't'Go, say to Lamech your son [ . . . ] 24Now when Methuselah heard [these things . . . ] 2sAnd spoke [ . . . ] with Lamech his son [ . . . ] 26Now when I, Lamech, [heard these things . . . ] 27th; at he brought forth from me [ . . . ]
The setting has shifted, and now the adult Noah speaks in his own words.
Col. 7 2And all my days I have practiced righteousness [ . . . ] 6I, Nc)ah, a man [. ] ~
God speaks to Noah.
Col. 8 [You sha-ll have domini~n over] the earth and all that is upon it, over the seas [and all that is within them . . . ] 7Then I rejoiced at the ~vvords o f the Lord of Heaven [ . . . ]
The end of the Flood and some of the immediate aftermath.
Col. 11 12t . . . ] the ark came to rest upon one of the mountains oi- Ararat [ . . . ] t3I atoned for all of the land [ . . . ] '5upon the altar I burned incense [ . . . ]
God again speaks to Noah and makes a covenant with him. Compare Genesis 9:4.
Col. 12 7You shall eat no blood [ . . . ]
Noah describes his family and their activities in the period after the Flood.
Col. 13 [ . . . ] "Behold, I have placed My bow [in the cloud]." And it became a sign for me in the cloud, to be [ . . . ] 2the [ea]rth [ . . . ] 3many [ . ~t was revealed to me [ . . . ] 7in the mountains of [Ararat . . . ] 8[ . . . ] a vineyard in the mountains of Ararat. Afterward, I descended to the base of this mountain, I and my sons and grandsons [ . . . ] 9[ . . . ] the devastation of the ' earth was large-scale.
[Son]s [and da]ughters were born to m[e] after the Flood. [To Shem,] my oldest son, a son was born firstÑnamely Arpachshad, two years after the flood. AlL the children of Shem were 1l[E]lam, Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram, and five daughters. In addition, [the children of Ham were: Cush, Mizrai]n, Put, Canaan, and seven 12daughters; the childr[en] ofJapheth were: Gomer, Magog, Madai,Javan, Tubal, Moshok, Tiras, and four daughters.
13Then I began to cultivate the earth together with aIL my sons. I planted a large vineyard at Mt. Lubar, and in the fourth year it produced wine for me. 14[ . . . ] When the first festival came, on the first day of that first festivalÑthat of the [seventh] monthÑ[ . . . ] [I began to enjoy the fruig lsof my vineyard; I opened this vessel and began to drink from it on the first day of the fifth year 16[since planting the vineyard] [ . . . ] On this day I invited my sons and grandsons and all our wives-and;daughters, and we aIL gathered together and went 17[to the place of the altar] [ . . . ] and I blessed the Lord of Heaven, the Most High God, the Great Holy C)ne who had saved us from destruction [ . . . ] 18[ . . . ] and for aIL [ . . . ] of his father. They drank and [ . . . ] 19[ . . . ] and I poured on [the altar] [ . . . ] and the wine [ . . . ]
Cols. 17 and l 8 apparently detailed the division he~earth~among Noah's descendants.
Col. 17 11. . . all the land of the north as far as [ . . boundary the waters ofthe~Mediterranean [ . . . 1 ]
Col. 18 8. . . to the west, to Asshur, as far as the Tigris. . . 9For Aram, the land of . . . as far as the source of [ . . . ] [ . . . ] this Mount of the Ox, and he crossed this portion westward as far as [ . . . ] ll[ . . . ] and upon the conjunction of the three portions [ . . . ] For Arpachshad, [ . . . ] 16 [ . . . ] To Gomer, he gave the northeastern portion as~far as the Tina:River and its circuit. To [Mag]og, [he gave] [ . . . ]
The hero of the story is now Abraham. This portion apparently concerns the 6uilding of the altar at Bethel. Compare Genesis 12:1-7.
Col. 20 6[ . . . And there I built] the ~[altar, and called] ther[e upon the name of G]o[d . . . 3 And I said,"You are indeed 7[the Eterojal [G]od for m[e], [ . . . ]" Previously, I had not reached the holy mountain; so I journeyed 8to [ . . . ] and I continued traveling to the south [ . . . ] until I reached HebronÑthough Hebron had yet to be builtÑand I lived 9[there for two year]s [ . . . ]
Suffering from a famine, Abraham and his family go to Egypt.
Now, tnere was a famlne m all that land, but I heard that in Egypt there w[as] g[ra]in. So I journeyed to [enter] the land of Egypt . . . [and] I [reached] the Carmon River, one of the llbranches of the NiLe [ . . . ] Until this point we were stilL within our own land, [bug now I [cr]ossed the seven branches of this river that [ . . . ] 12[ . . . ] Now we had crossed our land and entered the land of the children of Ham, the land of Egypt.
Abraham has an ominous dream.
13I, Abram, had a dream the night of my entry into the land of Egypt. In my dream, I saw a cedar tree and a l4date-palm gro[wing] from [a single] roo[t]. Then people came intending to cut down and uproot the [c]eda.r, thereby to leave the date-palm by itself. l5-The date-palm, however, objected, and said,"Do not cut the [c]edar down, for the two of us grow fr[om] but a [sin]gle root." So the cedar was spared because of the date-palm, l6and v~as not cut down.
Abraham relates the dream to his wife, Sarai, and interprets its meaning.
Then I started from my sleep while it was stilL night, and said to Salai, my wife,"I have had a l7dream and no[w] am fearful [because of] it." She replied, "TelL me your dream so I may understand." So I began to explain~it to-liner, ~ l8and I also [explained its sign)ficance.] T said,"[ . . . ] [men wiIL come] i:ntending to kilt me while sparing you. Notwithstanding, this is the kindness l9[that you can do for me.] In every ~lace] where [we shalL go, say] concerning me, ' He Is my brother.' Thus I may live because of you and my life be spared owing to you. 20[ . . . they~ wilL attempt] to sepa[ra]te us and to kilt me." Then Sarai wept at my words that night. 21[. . . ] and the Pharaoh ofZo[an . . . ] Sarai n[o longer warlted] to go to Zoan 22[with me, for she ~vvas] exceedingly [afraid] lest any man attached to the E'haraoh of Zoan should see her.:
Nevertheless, after five years had passed 23[there came] three men, councilors from the Egyptian court [and advisers] of the Pharaoh of Zoan. T:hey came having~heard of [my] words and my wife, and kept plying me 24[w:ith many gifts3. They as[ked] me [for knowledge] of goodness, wisdom and righteousness, so I read to them the [Book] of the Words of Enoch. 25[. . .:] in the famine that . . . the Book of the words of Enoch [ . . . ] 26t . . . ] with much eating and drinking [ . . . ] wine [ . . . ]
Pharaoh's advisors return to him, including one named Hyrcanos, who describes Sarai's wondrous beauty in a poem.
Col. 21 2 [. . . ] how splen[did] and beautiful is the aspect of her face, and how [ . . . ] 3[And] h[ow] supple is the hair of her head. How lovely are her eyes; how pleasant her nose and all the radiance of 4her face [ . . . ] How shapely is her ~reast, how gorgeous all her fairness! Her arms, how comely! Her hands, Show perfectÑHow Jovely] is every~spect of her hands! How exquisite are her palms, how long and delicate all her fingers!
Her feet, 6how attractive! How perfect are her thighs! Neither virgins nor brides entering the bridal chamber exceed her charms. Over all 7women is her beauty supreme, her loveliness far above them allL. Yet with allL this comeliness, she possesses great wisdom, and allL that she has 8is beautiful.
Pharaoh takes Sarai for himself? Abraham grieves and prays for God to judge Pharaoh and protect Sarai.
When the king heard Hyrcanos's words and those of his companionsÑfor the three of them spoke of one accordÑhe desired her very much. So he sent 9immediately and had her brought to him. He saw her and was amazed at her beauty. Thereupon, he took her as his wife and sought to kill me, but Sarai said 10to the king,"He is my brother." Thus she benefited me and I was sparedÑI, AbramÑby her good graces, and not killed. Then I wept copiouslyÑI, iiAbramÑboth I and Lot, my nephew, that night when Sarai was taken from me by force.
12That night I prayed, entreating and seeking mercy. In anguish, tears running down my cheeks, I said,"Blessed are You, O God Most High, Eterna]L 13Lord, for You are Lord and Master over allL. Over aLL the kings of the earth You are Lord, to work justice among them. And now, '4I seek redress, O Lord, against the Pharaoh of Zoan, king of Egypt, for my wife has been taken from me by force. Render me a verdict against him, and display Your mighty hand 15against him and allL his house. May he not be empowered this night to defile my wife! Thus they may know YOU? O my Lord, that You are Lord over allL the kings 160f the earth." So I wept and spoke to none.
God answers Abraham's prayer, sending an afflicting spirit against Pharaoh.
That night God Most High sent a baneful spirit to smite him and every man of his household, an evil 17spirit that continued to affflict him and every man of his household. Consequently, he was unable to have sexual relations with her; indeed, he did not have intercourse with her even though she was with him ~8two full years. At the end of two years the plagues and affflictions grew yet more severe against him and every man of his household, so he sent messengers 19calling for allL [the wise men] of Egypt, along with all the magicians and healers of Egypt, thinking that perhaps they could cure him and his household of this pesti]Lence. 20Yet none of the healers, magicians, and wise men were able to cure him; on the contrary, the spirit affflicted all of them, too, 2iso that they fled.
Abraham agrees to exorcise Pharaoh's evil spirit in return for Sarai's being restored to him. Pharaoh rewards them and has them escorted out of Egypt.
Then Hyrcanos came to me, asking me to come pray for the 22king, and to lay hands upon him and cure himÑfor [he had seen me] in a dream. But Lot replied,"My uncle, Abram, is unable to pray for 23the king while Sarai, his wife, remains with him. Now, go tell the king to send his wife to her husband. Then he willL pray for him and he wi]L1 be cured." 24When Hyrcanos heard Lot's words, he went and told the king,"ALL these smitings and plagues 25by which my lord the king has been smitten and afflicted are because of Sarai, the wife- of~Abram! Let him return Sarai to Abram, her husband, 26and this plague willL depart from you,-that is, the spirit causing the discharges of pus."
So he callLed me to himself and asked me,"What have you done to ~ne because of your wife [Sar]ai? You told 27me,'She is my sister,' yet she was actuallLy your wife! I took her as my own wife! Here she is; take her, go, depart from 28allL the provinces of Egypt! But first, pray for me and my house that this evi]L spirit may be exorcised from~us." So I prayed for him, that blasphemer, 29and laid my hands upon his [he]ad. Thereupon the plague was removed from him, the evil [spirit] exorcised [from him,1 and he was hea]Led. The king rose and [in]formed 30me . . . and the king swore to me with an oath that [he had not touched] her. Then [they brought] m[e] 31S[ar]ai. The king gave her much [silver and g]old, and great quantities of linen and purple-dyed garments [ . . . ] [he put them] 32before her, and before Hagar as wellL. He restored her to me and assigned men to escort [me out of Egypt . .
Abraham returns to Canuan.
33So I, Abram, left, with many, many flocks, together with silver and gold, and went up from [Egyp]t. [Lot,] 34my nephew, accompanied me, and he also had acquired many flocks for him~elf, and had taken a wife from among the daughters [ofEgypq. I [cam]ped [with him] Col. 22 1[in] each of my i-^ormer encampments unti]L I reached Bethel, where I had once erected an altar. Now T rebuilt it 2and offered up burnt o:fferings and a cereal offering to GodL Most High. There I called upon the name of the Eternal Lord and praised the name of God. I blessed 3God and gave thanks to Him there for aLL the i9Locks and goods He had given me, and for the good that He had done me, and because He had returned me 4to this land safely.
Lot separates from Abraham and goes to live in Sodom. Genesis 13:6~7 explains that the land could not support both of them, for their f ocks were too numerous; also, their herders werefighting one another. The Tales downplays these diffculties. God appears to Abraham in a vision.
After this day Lot separated from me because of the actions of our shepherds. He went to live in the vaLLey of the Jordan, taking allL his flocks 6 with him. I a]Lso added greatly to what he had. He pastured his flocks and kept on the move until he- reached Sodom, where he bought himself a house 7and settled down to live. I myself cont~inued living on the mountain of Bethel, and thought it unwise that my nephew Lot had separated from me.
Thereafter God appeared to me in a vision of the night and told me,"Go up to Ramath-Hazor, which is on the north of 9Bethel where you now live, and lift up your eyes. Look to the east, west, south, and north. Survey aLL l¡this land that I am about to give to you and your descendants forever.' So I went up the next day to Ramath-Hazor and surveyed the land from ~'that heightj from the River of Egypt to Lebanon and Senir, and from the Mediterranean to the Hauran, and all the land of Gebal as far as Kadesh, and all the 12Great Desert to the east of the Hauran and Senir as far as the Euphrates. And He said to me,"I will give all this land to your descendants; they will inherit it forever. i3Moreover, I will multiply your descendants like the dust of the earth that none can count. Your descendants shall be numberless. Arise, walk about, go 14see how long and how wide it is, for I wilI give it to you and to your descendants after you, forever."
Abraham surveys the promised land.
Then I went -- I, Abraham traveling in a circuit to survey the land. I began the circuit at the Gihon River, traveling along the Mediterranean until 16I reached the Mount of the Ox. I circled from the coast of this great saltwater sea, skirting the Mount of the Ox, and continued eastward through the breadth of the land '7until I came to the Euphrates River.4I journeyed along the Euphrates until I reached the Red Sea in the east, whence I followed the coast of 18the Red Sea until I came to the tongue of the Reed Sea, jutting out from the Red Sea. From there I completed the circuit, moving southward to arrive at the Gihon 19River. Afterwards I returned home safely and found all my men well.
Shortly thereafter I went to dwell at the (3aks of Mamre that are in Hebron, 20actually somewhat to the northeast of Hebron. There I built an altar and offered up a burnt offering and a cereal offering to God~Most High. I ate and drank there, 2lI and all the men of my household, and invited Mamre, Arnem, and Eshkol, three Amorite brothers and my friends. They ate and drank together 22with me.
Abraham battles the four kings of the east. Compare Genesis 14, whose narrative this portion of the Tales elaborates considerably. The author of the Tales is also concerr~ed to update or identify the names of biblical peoples and places.
23Prior to those days Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam, Amraphel, the king: of Babylon, Arioch, the king of (:appadocia, and Tidal, the king of Goiim, which 241ies between the two rivers had come. They had waged war on Bera, the king of Sodom, Birsha, the king of Gomorrah, Shinab, the king of Admah, 25Shemiabad, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela. All these gathered themselves together to battle in theValley of Siddim. Now, the king of 26Elam and the kings with him proved stronger than the king of Sodom and all his allies. Thus they imposed tribute upon them.
For twelve years they continued 27to pay their tribute to the king of Elam, but in the thirteenth they rebelled against him. Consequently, in the fourteenth year,,he king of Elam sallied forth with all 25his allies, and they ascended by way of the desert. They smote and plundered beginning from the Euphrates. They kept smitingÑsmiting the Rephaim who were irr Asteroth-29Kernaim, the Zumzammim who were in Amman, the Emi.m [who were in] Shaveh-Hakerioth, and the Horites who were in the mountains of GebalÑuntil they reached E1- 30Paran, in the desert. Then they turned back and struck [En-mishpat and the people] who were in Hazazon-Tamar 3iThereupon the king of Sodom went out to confront themj along with the king of [Gomorrah, the k]ing of Admah, the king of Zeboiim and the king of 13ela. [They wa]ged war 32in the valley of [Siddim] with £hedorla[omer, the king of Elam, and the kings] who were his allies. The king of Sodom was put to flight, while the king of Gomorrah 33fell into- pits [of tar . . . ] The king of Elam plundered all the flocks of Sodom and 34[Gomorrah . .: . ]
And Lot, Abrams nephew who had been living in Sodom, was taken captive Col. 23 'along with them, he and all his flocks. One of the herdsmen of the 2flock that Abram had given Lot escaped from the captives and came to AbramÑat the time Abram 3dwelled in Hebron. The herdsman inforrmed him that his nephew Lot and all his flocks had been taken into captivity, but that Lot had not been killed. He also told him that 4the kings were ~marching along the trail of the GreatValley toward their own territory, taking captives and plunder, smiting and killing, heading 5for the city of Damascus.
Abram wept over his nephew Lot, but then gathered his strength and arose 6to select from among his servants elite warriors, three hundred and eighteen of them. Arnem, 7Eshcol, and Mamreh set out with him. He pursued the kings as far as Dan, where he found them 8encamped in theValley of Dan. He attacked by night from four directions, killing 9some of them that night. Some he slaughtered, others he pursued; they fled before him '¡until they reached Helbon, located to the north of Damascus. Thus Abram recovered from them everyone they had taken captive lland everything they had taken as spoils, and despoiled their own property as well. He further saved his nephew Lot and all his flocks. All 12those who had been captured he brought back.
The king of Sodom heard that Abram had recovered all the captives 13and plunder, so he went up to meet him. He came to Salem, that is,Jerusalem, whereas Abram~was encamped in theValley 140f Shaveh, that is, theVallcy of the King, the~Valley of Beth Hakerem. Now Melchizedek, the king of S,alem, provided 15food and drink for Abram and all the men with him. He himself was a priest o-f God Most High, and he blessed i6Abram, saying,"Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the Lord of heaven and earth. Blessed be God Most High l7who has closed your grasp about your enemies." Then Abram gave him a tithe of all the flocks that had belonged to the king of Elam and his allies.
18At that point the king of Sodom drew near and said to Abram,"My lord Abram, ~9give me my men, the captives with you, whom you have rescued from the king of Elam; as for the plunder, 701et it all pass to you." Abram replied to the king of Sodom, "I lift my 2ihand and swear this day by God Most High, the Lord of heaven and earth: I shall not take even a thread or sandal strap 22from all that is yours, lest you go on to say 'All Abram's wealth derives from plunder of what 230nce was mine.' I exempt from this oath what my men have already eaten, and the portion belonging to the three men who 24marched with me. They are sovereign over their own portion, and can restore it to you or not." So Abram returned all the plunder and 25captives, giving them to the king of Sodom. As for all the captives accompanying him who were natives of this land, these he freed 26and sent on their way.
God appears to Abraham in a vision, and promises that Eliezer shall not be his heir. Compare Genesis 15:1-4; the Tales manfests a clear concern with chronology here, for Genesis says nothing about how long Abraham had been in vanous places. The dialogue between God and Abraham is also markedly dfferent, here emphasizing ilbraham's wealth much more than the biblical narrative does.
27After these events God appeared to Abram in a vision and said to him, "Consider, ten full years 28have passed since the day that you left Haran. Two you spent here, seven in Egypt, and one 29has passed since you returned from Egypt. Now, take an accounting of all that you possess; note how your pos~sessions have doubled and more, compared to 30what you took with you the day you left Haran. So fear not, I am with you. I shall be your 3isupport, your strength. I myself shall be your shield and bucmer aga~nsl any IUt: Il~~ than you. Your wealth and flocks 32shall multiply exceedingly"
Abram replied,"My Lord God, my wealth and flocks are already vast. But what good are 33all [th]ese things to me, inasmuch as when I die, I go childless, having no sons? In fact, one of my household staff will inherit what I have. 34Eliezer, a member of [my household staf], that [ . . . ] young man is set to be my heir." God said to him,"No, this man shall not be your heir,~but rather one who shall be [your own] issue [ . . . ]
A Vision of The Son of God
4Q246

This small text ignited a controversy when a portion of it was published in 1974. It speaks of a powerful figure who shall appear in a time of tribulation and be called "the son of God" and "son of the Most High" and whom all nations obey. The expressions irresistibly recall the language that the Gospels use of Jesus especially in the episode describing the angel's message to Mary that she would bear a son: "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High . . . and of his kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:32-33)
At the time, some scholars argued that the published p: tion proved an important idea: that an earthly king destined to come and bring peace (i.e., the Messiah) would also be called by Second-Temple Jews "the Son of God." Certain biblical texts could be taken to support this idea (e.g., 2 Sam. 7:14), and if true, it would shed substantial light on the New Testament's portrayal of Jesus. Other scholars, however, understood the text's "Son of God" as a villain, one who usurps the place of God but is subsequently overthrown by the "people of God," who have God on their side. Now that the entire work has finally become available, a careful reading confirms this second,"Antichrist'' option.
The historical background ofthis text may well be the persecution oftheJews under the Syrian tyrant Antiochus IV in the period 170-164 B.C.E. This rulerÍs chosen second name, "Epiphanes" (Greek for "appearance"), encapsulated the notion of a human king as God manifest. Such human pretensions to deity have never been welcome in Judaism and were condemned out of hand in the prophecies of Isanah (14:12-21) and Ezekiel (28:1-10). Jesus' claims to morethan-human status were likewise rejected by his Gontemporaries:"We would stone you for blasphemy, because you, though you are a man, are making yourself God" John 10:33). A similar distaste for claims to divinity seems to animate this fragmentary prophecy.
The seer receives the power to interpret the king's vision.
Col. 1 [. . . a spirit from God] rested upon him, he fell before the throne.
(The beginning of the interpretation: war and slaughter is imminent. This tribulation will culminate in the accession to power of a cruel tyrant.)
2[ . . . O ki]ng, wrath is coming to the world, and your years 3[shall be shortened . . . such] is your vision, and al1 of it is about to come unto the world. 4[ . . Amid] great [signs], tribulation is coming upon the land.
5[ . . . After much killing] and slaughter, a prince of nations 6[will arise . . . ] the king of Assyria and Egypt 7[ . . . ] he will be ruler over the land 8[ , ] ~ W1] be subject to him and all wid obey 9[him].
(The tyrant's son will succeed him :and begin to accrue to himself the honor due only to God. Yet the reign o father and son will be brief.)
[Also his son] will be called The Great and be designated by his name. CoL 2 'He will be called the Son of God, they will call him the son of the Most High. But like the meteors 2that you saw in your vision, so will be their kingdom. They will reign only a few years over the land while pewoples tramples people and nation tramples nation.
Deliverance from distress finally comes when the people of God arise, bringing peace and prosperity. God is working through them and in them and his rule shall finally prevail.
4until the people of God arise; then all will have rest from warfare. Their kingdom will be an eternal kingdom, and all their paths will be righteous. They will judge 6the land justly, and al1 nations will make peace.
Warfare wil1 cease from the land, 7and all the nations shall do obeisance to them. The great Cod will be their help, 8He Himself will fight for them, putting peoples into their power, 90verthrowing them all before them. God's rule will be an eternal rule and all the depths of iÁ[the earth are His].
The ArchAngel Michael And King Zedekiah
4Q470

Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.E.) was the last king of Judah, the monarch at the time Jerusalem fell to the forces of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia. He was himself taken captive when the city fell and, after his sons had been killed before his eyes, Zedekiah was blinded and taken into exile in Babylon. There he died some years later. On several occasions the Bible records that Zedekiah "did evil in the eyes of the LORD" (2 Kings 24:19), and on the whole the Bible portrays him as a weak-willed ruler whom his nobles were able to manipulate.
In later Jewish literature, the negative portrait of Zedekiah begins to take on more positive overtones. The Talmud says at one point, ÒThe Holy One, blessed be He, planned to turn the world back to chaos and formlessness because of the generation of Zedekiah. Taking a closer look at Zedekiah, however, His anger calmed" (Arakin 17a). Josephus also calls Zedekiah "by nature kind and just" (Ant. 6.213).
The present scroll fragment appears to be another witness to the notion of a good king Zedekiah. Here he is seen entering a covenant instituted by the archangel Michael, in which he agrees himself to live uprightly and to use his power as king to see that others also obey God. The idea that angels mediate covenants also appears in the New Testament (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2). Thus the assignment of this role to angels was probably a commonplace in the Judaism of this period.
For further adventures of Michael, note especially The Words of the Archangel Michael (text 111).
Frag. 1 2[ . . . ] Michael [ . . . ] 30n [th]at day, Zedekiah [shall en]ter a co[ven]ant 4[ . . . ] to live by the whole Law, and to cause others to do so 5[ . . . At] that time, M[ich]ael shall say to Zedekiah 6[ . . . ] "I will make a [cove]na[nt] with you witnessed by the entire congregation." 7[ . . . to d]o and [ . . . ]
The Last Days:
A Commentary on Selected Verses 4Q174

Many people today are agitated about the dawning of a new millennium. Thoughts are turning with new urgency to what that change may portend. Similarly, the author of this text thought that events on earth were moving toward a climax, and he wanted to know what was going to happen. He was concerned not just for himself, but also for the group that he belonged to (apparently the Yahad mentioned in various texts above), which he called the "House of Judah." To find out what the future would bring, he turned to various passages in the Scriptures. For the most part, he considered portions of the Prophets, for among Second-Temple Jewry it was everywhere and by everyone ~agreed that prophecy meant predicting the future. Where better to find the answers, then?
Yet some of his selections might seem surprising. Why consult Psalms, and why certain parts of the book of Genesis? The answer is that our author thought the men he believed wrote those parts of the Bible were prophets. David, to whom he doubtless attributed Psalms, was acknowledged to have been among the prophets (cf. text 127). Moses. also. author of Genesis had been a phrophet -- indeed, the preeminent prophet in the history of Israel. Therefore, when David or Moses wrote in the future tense, it was not some indefinite expression of hope or vague musing; it was prophecy, and fair game for the interpretive methods that could crack open a verse and reveal its hidden meaning.
One verse led our author to another, mostly on the basis of analogy. Finding a given word used in one biblical portion, he would then turn to another verse where the; same word was used. (How well he knew the Bible!) Comparing the verses, he could then extract more information than just one verse would give him, for he would assume that because of their similar usage the verses were describing the same future person, institution, or situation. This approach is essentially the classical technique of Protestant Christianity, "Scripture interprets scripture." The: type of rabbinic biblical interpretation known as midrash operated by ;~ similar methods. The rabbis employed one principle they called gezerah shawah, literally "similar category." This type of inference by analogy meant that when words of similar or identical meaning occurred in any two given parts of the Law, then bothÑno matter how different they might seemÑwould be of identical application.
Applying this sort of analysis, our author grouped verses that he believed spoke of the Last Days. He extracted predictions about his community's enem~es. He also discovered that two future heroes should arise from his group's ranks: an inspired interpreter of the Bible he called "the Interp~reter of the Law," and a messianic deliverer, scion of Israel's greatest king, "the Shoot of Dav~d." He further teased out information about a future temple, the "Temple of Adam:' The name derived from a pattern commonly seen in Israel's Prophets: the end shall be like the beginning. (Cf. Isaiah, for example: "The lion will lie down with the lamb.") Some scholars have seen in this temple a reference to the notton of community as temple.
This is the idea that the author's group would somehow come to form, as it were, a temple; the apostle Paul speaks of Christians ~n JUSt such terms in the book of Ephesians. But that notion does not seem to be intended here, though it is found in the scrolls (text 5). ~ The present text is clearly sectarian in language and concept and aligns with a number of the other biblical commentaries found among the scrolls. Note especially texts 4, 19, and 22 (peshers on Habakkuk, Isaiah, and Psalms). Its method is different, of course. Rather than commenting on a single biblical book from beginning to end, this text comments on the Bible thematically. For another sectarian work taking the same tack, compare text 130, The Coming of Melchizedek.
Quotation and interpretation of bouteronomy 33, Moses'final blessing upon the Israelites. What remains concerns the blessings of Levi, Benjamin, Zebulun, and Gad.
Col. 1 9["Of Levi he said: Give to Levi Your Thummim, and Your Urim to Your loyal one, whom You tested at Mass]ah, with whom You con[tesited at the waters of Meribah; who s[aid] '¡[of his father and mother, "I regard them not"; he ignored his kin, and :did not] acknow[ledge his children]. For [they observed Your wo]rd, [an] kept your] covenant. [They teach Jacob Your ordLinances, and Israel Your lawi they place incense! before You, and whole burnt offerings on Your altar. Bless his substance, O LORD, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, of those that hate him, so that they never] rise again"' (Deut. 33:8-11).
[ . . . The] Urim and the Thummim belong to the man who [ . . . ] For he sai[d] '5[ . . . the] land, because [ . . . ]
[ . . . And of Benjamin he sa]id: "The beloved of the LO[RD] [rests ~n safetyÑthe High God surrounds him all day long the beloved rests between his shoulders" . . . ] (Deut. 33:12).
Col. 2 'And the g;lory [ . . . i]t refers to the righte[ous] sacrif~ce [ . . . ] 2the goodness of the la[nd . . . ]
And of Gad he sa[id: 'Blessed be the enlargement of Gad! Gad lives like a lion; he tears at arm and scalp. He chose the best for himself, for there the al1otmen] 4Of a commander [was reserved; he came at the head of the ]people he executed the justice of the LORD, and His ordinances for Israel' . . . ] (Deut. 33:20-21).
concerning the captives, [ . . . ] the hidden [ . . . ] 6to rescue [ . . . ] everything that He commanded us. They carried out the entire [ . . . ]
The author describes a time of trial for his community, the House of Judah, to be followed by a glorious era. This time offuture glory shall witness heightened purity, triumph over the community's enemies, a new temple, an inspired interpreter of Scripture, and a messiah descended from David.
[ . . . ] who swallow up the offspring of 13[ . . . en]raged against them in his zeal i4[ . . . ] This is the time when Belial shall open his mouth '5[ . . . to bringl trials [a]gainst the House ofJudah, cultivating animosity against them 16[ . . . ] and he shall seek with all his might to disperse them "[ . . . th]at he brought them to be.
[ . . . the House of Ju]dah, but the God of I[sra]el sh[all] '9[be with them as He said through the prophet: "And I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place,tandl be disturbe\d no more; and] Col. 3 [no] enemy [shall overtake them ag]ain, [nor] evildoer [afflict] them any [mo]re, as formerly, from the time that 2[I appointed judges] over My people Israel" (2 Sam. 7:10-1 la). This "place" is the house that [they shall build for Him] in the Last Days, as it is written in the book of 3[Moses: "A temple of the LORD are you to prepare with your hands the LORD will reign forever and ever" (Exod. 15:17-18). This passage descrlbes the temple that no [man with a] permanent [fleshly defect] shall enter 4nor Ammonite, Moabite, bastard, foreigner, or alien, forevermore. Surely His holiness Sshall be rev[eal]ed there; eternal glory shall ever be apparent; there. Strangers shall not again defile it, as they formerly defiled 6the Templle of I]srael through their sins. To that end He has commanded that they build Him a Temple of Adam (or Temple of Humankind), and that in it th~ey sacrifice to Him 7proper sacrifices.
As for what He said to David,"I [will give] you [res] from all your enemies" (2 Sam. 7:1 lb), this passage means that He will give them rest ~from [al]1 8the children of Belial, who cause~them to stumble, seeking to destroy the[m by means-o] their [wickedness]. They became party to the plan of Belial in order to cause the S[ons] of 9Li[gh] to stumble. They plotted wickecl schemes aga~nst them, [so that they might fall pr]ey to Belial through guilty error.
Moreover the LORD decl[ares] to you that He will make you a house," and that "I will raise up your offspring after you, and establish the thi one of his kingdom [fore]ver. I will be a father to him, and he will be My son"
(2 Sam. 7:1 lc, 12b, 13b-14a). This passage refers to the Shoot of David, who is to arise with 12the Interpreter of the Law, and who will [arise] in Zi[on in the La]st Days, as it is written, "And I shall raise up the booth of David that is fallen" (Amos 9:11). This passage describes the fallen Branch of David, [w]hom He shall raise up to deliver Israel.
The author finds scriptural mention of his community, then turns his mind to thefinal war against the Gentiles and the time of persecution awaiting the House ofJudah.
The interpretation of "Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked" (Ps. l:la): The meaning is, [th]ey are those who turn aside from: the path of [the wicked], as it is written in the book of Isaiah the prophet in reference to the Last Days,"And it came to pass, while His hand was strong upon me, [that He warned me not to walk in the way o] '6this people" (Isa. 8:11). These are they about whorn it is written in the book~ofEzehel the ~ prophet, namely, "They shall ne[ver again defile themselves with] ~7the* idols" (Ezek. 37:23). They are the Sons of Zadok, and the m[e]n of the[i]r council who pu[rsue righ]teousness and follow them to join the Yahad.
["Why] do the nations [con]spire, and the peoples plo[t in vain? The kings of the earth s]et themselves, [and the ru]lers take counsel together against the LORD and His '9[anointed" (Ps. 2:1).
The m]eaning [is that the ~ na]tions~ [shall set ~themselves] and con[spire vainly against] the chosen of Israel in the Last Days. Col. 4 That will be the time of persecution that is to co[me upon the House of J]udah, to the end of sealing~up [the wicked in consuming fire and destroying all the children og 2Belial. Then shall be left behind a remnant of [chosen on]es, the pre[des]tined. They shall perform the whole of the Law, [as God commanded through] 3Moses. This is the [time of whic]h it is written in the book of Daniel the prophet, ["The wicked] will act ever more wicked[ly and shall not understand.] 4aBut the righteous will [be purlfied, dea]nsed, and refined" (Dan. 12:10).
So, the people who know God shall be steadfast. These are [the men o 1 4truth, [who shall instruct many] following the persecution that is to desc[end] upon them [in that time . . . ] s . . . in its descent :[: . . . ] ~~6[ev]il, just as [ . . . ] to the wicked [ . . . ] 7[I]srael and Aaron [ . . . ] Col. 5 2"Listen to the soun[d of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I lift m~y prayer. O LoRD, in the morning
You hear my voice" (Ps. 5:2-3a). The] 3meaning concerns the Last D[ays . . . ] Col. 6 ,[written in the book of Isa]iah the prop[het,"They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not pIant and another eat;] 2[for like the days of a tree] shall the days ~of Nly people be, [and] My ch[osen shall long enjoy~ the work of their hands. They shall] no[t labor in vain,] 3[or bear children for calam]ity; for [they shall be] offspring [blessed by the LORD" (Isa. 65:2~23). For] they are [ . . . ] ~~
Manual of Discipline.

Of the Commitment.
Everyone who wishes to join the community must pledge himself to respect God and man; to live according to the communal rule: to seek God [ ]; to do what is good and upright in His sight, in accordance with what He has commanded through Moses and through His servants the prophets; to love all that He has chosen and hate all that He has rejected; to keep far from evil and to cling to all good works; to act truthfully and righteously and justly on earth and to walk no more in the stubbornness of a guilty heart and of lustful eyes, doing all manner of evil; to bring into a bond of mutual love all who have declared their willingness to carry out the statutes of God; to join the formal community of God; to walk blamelessly before Him in conformity with all that has been revealed as relevant to the several periods during which they are to bear witness (to Him) ; to love all the children of light, each according to the measure of his guilt, which God will ultimately requite.
All who declare their willingness to serve God's truth must bring all of their mind, all of their strength, and all of their wealth into the community of God, so that their minds may be purified by the truth of His precepts, their strength controlled by His perfect ways, and their wealth disposed in accordance with His just design. They must not deviate by a single step from carrying out the orders of God at the times appointed for them; they must neither advance the statutory times nor postpone the prescribed seasons. They must not turn aside from the ordinances of God's truth either to the right or to the left.
Of Initiation.
Moreover, all who would join the ranks of the community must enter into a covenant in the presence of God to do according to all that He has commanded and not to turn away from Him through any fear or terror or through any trial to which they may be subjected through the domination of Belial.
When they enter into that covenant, the priests and the Levites are to pronounce a blessing upon the God of salvation and upon all that He does to make known His truth; and all that enter the covenant are to say after them, Amen, amen.
Then the priests are to rehearse the bounteous acts of God as revealed in all His deeds of power, and they are to recite all His tender mercies towards Israel; while the Levites are to rehearse the iniquities of the children of Israel and all the guilty transgression and sins that they have committed through the domination of Belial. And all who enter the covenant are to make confession after them, saying, We have acted perversely, we have transgressed, we have sinned, we have done wickedly, ourselves and our fathers before us, in that we have gone counter to the truth. God has been right to bring His judgment upon us and upon our fathers. Howbeit, always from ancient times He has also bestowed His mercies upon us all, and so will He do for all time to come.
Then the priests are to invoke a blessing on all that have cast their low with God, that walk blamelessly in all their ways; and they are to say: MAY HE BLESS THEE with all good and KEEP THEE from all evil. And ILLUMINE thy heart with insight into the things of life, and GRACE THEE with knowledge of things eternal, and LIFT UP HIS gracious COUNTENANCE TOWARDS THEE to grant thee peace everlasting.
The Levites, on the other hand, are to invoke a curse on all that have cast their lot with Belial, and to say in response: Cursed are thou for all thy wicked guilty works, May God make thee a thing of abhorrence at the hands of all who would wreak vengeance, and visit thine offspring with destruction at the hands of all who would mete out retribution. Cursed art thou, beyond hope of mercy. Even as they works are wrought in darkness, so mayest thou be damned in the gloom of the fire eternal. May God show thee no favor when thou callest, neither pardon to forgive thine iniquities. May He lift up an angry countenance towards thee, to wreak vengeance upon thee. May no man wish thee peace of all that truly claim their patrimony.
And all that enter the covenant shall say alike after them that bless and after them that curse, Amen, amen.
Thereupon the priests and the Levites shall continue and say: Cursed be every one that hath come to enter this covenant with the taint of idolatry in his heart and who hath set his iniquity as a stumblingblock before him so that thereby he may defect, and who, when he hears the terms of this covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, May it go well with me, for I shall go on walking in the stubbornness of my heart! Whether he satisfy his passions or whether he still thirsts for their fulfillment, may his spirit be swept away and receive no pardon. May the anger of God and the fury of His judgments consume him as by fire unto his eternal extinction, and may there cleave unto him all the curses threatened in this covenant. May God set him apart for misfortune, and may he be cut off from the midst of all the children of light in that through the taint of his idolatry and through the stumblingblock of his iniquity he has defected from God. May God set his lot among those that are accursed for ever! And all who have been admitted to the covenant shall say them in response, Amen, amen.
Of the annual Review.
The following procedure is to be followed year by year so long as Belial continues to hold sway.
The priests are first to be reviewed in due order, one after another, in respect of the state of their spirits. After them, the Levites shall be similarly reviewed, and in the third place all the laity one after another, in their thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. The object is that every man in Israel may be made aware of his status in the community of God in the sense of the ideal, eternal society, and that none may be abased below his status nor exalted above his allotted place. All of them will thus be members of a community founded at once upon true values and upon a becoming sense of humility, upon charity and mutual fairness-members of a society truly hallowed, partners in an everlasting communion.
Of those who are to be excluded.
Anyone who refuses to enter the (ideal) society of God and persists in walking in the stubbornness of his heart shall not be admitted to this community of God's truth. For inasmuch as his soul has revolted at the discipline entailed in a knowledge of God's righteous judgments, he has shown no real strength in amending his way of life, and therefore cannot be reckoned with the upright. The mental, physical and material resources of such a man are not to be introduced into the stock of the community, for such a man 'plows in the slime of wickedness' and 'there are stains on his repentance'. He is not honest in resolving the stubbornness of his heat. On paths of light he sees but darkness/ Such a man cannot be reckoned as among those essentially blameless. He cannot be cleared by mere ceremonies of atonement, nor cleansed by any waters of ablution, nor sanctified by immersion in lakes of rivers, nor purified by any bath. Unclean, unclean he remains so long as he rejects the government of God and refuses the discipline of communion with Him. For it is only through the spiritual apprehension of God's truth that man's ways can be properly directed. Only thus can all his iniquities be shriven so that he can gaze upon the true light of life. Only through the holy spirit can he achieve union with God's truth and be purged of all his iniquities. Only by a spirit of uprightness and humility can his sin be atoned. Only by the submission of his soul to all the ordinances of God can his flesh be made clean. Only thus can it really be sprinkled with waters of ablution. Only thus can it really be sanctified by waters of purification. And only thus can he really direct his steps to walk blamelessly through all the vicissitudes of his destiny in all the way of God in the manner which He has commanded, without turning either to the right or to the left and without overstepping any of God's words. Then indeed will he be acceptable before God like an atonement-offering which meets with His pleasure, and then indeed will he be admitted to the covenant of the community for ever.
Of the two spirits in man.
This is for the man who would bring other to the inner vision, so that he may understand and teach to all the children of light the real nature of men, touching the different varieties of their temperaments with the distinguishing traits thereof, touching their actions throughout their generations, and touching the reason why they are now visited with afflictions and now enjoy periods of well-being.
All that is and ever was comes from a God of knowledge. Before things came into existence He determined the plan of them; and when they fill their appointed roles, it is in accordance with His glorious design that they discharge their functions. Nothing can be changed. In His hand lies the government of all things. God it is that sustains them in their needs.
Now, this God created man to rule the world, and appointed for him two spirits after whose direction he was to walk until the final Inquisition. They are the spirits of truth and perversity.
The origin of truth lies in the Fountain of Light, and that of perversity in the Wellspring of Darkness. All who practice righteousness are under the domination of the Prince of Lights, and walk in ways of light; whereas all who practice perversity are under the domination of the Angel of Darkness, however, even those who practice righteousness are made liable to error. All their sin and their iniquities, all their guilt and their deeds of transgression are the result of his domination; and this, by God's inscrutable design, will continue until the time appointed by Him. Moreover, all men's afflictions and all their moments of tribulation are due to this being's malevolent sway. All of the spirits that attend upon him are bent on causing the sons of light to stumble. Howbeit, the God of Israel and the Angel of His truth are always there to help the sons of light. It is God that created these spirits of light and darkness and made them the basis of every act, the [instigators] of every deed and the direction and the directors of every thought. The one He loves for to all eternity, and is ever pleased with its deeds; but any association with the other He abhors, and He hates all its ways to the end of time.
This is the way those spirits operate in the world. The enlightenment of man's heart, the making straight before him all the ways of righteousness and truth, the implanting in his heart of fear for the judgments of God, of a spirit of humility, of patience, of abundant compassion, of perpetual goodness, of insight, of perception, of that sense of the Divine Power that is based at once on an apprehension of God's works and a reliance on His plenteous mercy, of a spirit of knowledge informing every plan of action, of a zeal for righteous government, of a hallowed mind in a controlled nature, of abounding love for all who follow the truth, of self-respecting purity which abhors all the taint of filth, of a modesty of behaviour coupled with a general prudence and an ability to hide within oneself the secrets of what one knows - these are the things that come to men in this world through communion with the spirit of truth. And the guerdon of all that walk in its ways is health and abundant well-being, with long life and fruition of seed along with eternal blessings and everlasting joy in the life everlasting, and a crown of glory and a robe of honor, amid light perpetual.

But to the spirit of perversity belong greed, remissness in right doing, wickedness and falsehood, pride and presumption, ruthless deception and guile, abundant insolence, shortness of temper and profusion of folly, arrogant passion, abominable acts in a spirit of lewdness, filthy ways in the thralldom of unchastity, a blasphemous tongue, blindness of eyes, dullness of ears, stiffness of neck and hardness of heart, to the end that a man walks entirely in ways of darkness and of evil cunning. The guerdon of all who walk in such ways is multitude of afflictions at the hands of all the angels of destruction, everlasting perdition through the angry wrath of an avenging God, eternal horror and perpetual reproach, the disgrace of final annihilation in the Fire, darkness throughout the vicissitudes of life in every generation, doleful sorrow, bitter misfortune and darkling ruin-ending in extinction without remnant of survival.
It is to these things that all men are born, and it is to these that all the host of them are heirs throughout their generations. It is in these ways that men needs must walk and it is in these two divisions, according as a man inherits something of each, that all human acts are divided throughout all the ages of eternity. For God has appointed these two things to obtain in equal measure until the final age.
Between the two categories He has set an eternal enmity. Deeds of perversity are an abomination to Truth, while all the ways of Truth are an abomination to perversity; and there is a constant jealous rivalry between their two regimes, for they do not march in accord. Howbeit, God in His inscrutable wisdom has appointed a term for existence of perversity, and when the time of Inquisition comes, He will destroy it for ever. Then truth will emerge triumphant for the world, albeit now until the time of the final judgment it go sullying itself in the ways of wickedness owing to the domination of perversity. Then, too, God will purge all the acts of man in the crucible of His Truth, and refine for Himself all the fabric of man, destroying every spirit of perversity from within his flesh and cleansing him by the holy spirit from all the effects of wickedness. Like waters of purification He will sprinkle upon the spirit of truth, to cleanse him of all the abominations of falsehood and of all pollution through the spirit of filth; to the end that, being made upright, men may have understanding of transcendental knowledge and of the lore of the sons of heaven, and that, being made blameless in their ways, they may be endowed with inner vision. For them has God chosen to be the partners of His eternal covenant, and theirs shall be all mortal glory. Perversity shall be no more, and all works of deceit shall be put to shame.
Thus far, the spirits of truth and perversity have been struggling in the heart of man. Men have walked both in wisdom and folly. If a man casts his portion with the truth, he does righteously and hates perversity; if he casts it with perversity, he does wickedly and abominates truth. For God has appointed them in equal measure until the final age, until 'He makes all things new'. He foreknows the effect of their works in every epoch of the world, and He has made men heirs to them that they might know good and evil. But [when the time] of Inquisition [comes], He will determine the fate of every living being in accordance with which of the [two spirits he has chosen to follow].
Of social relations.
This is the rule for all members of the community - that is, for such as have declared their readiness to turn away from all evil and to adhere to all that God in His good pleasure has commanded.
They are to keep apart from the company of the froward.
They are to belong to the community in both doctrinal and an economic sense.
They are to abide by the decisions of the sons of Zadok, the same being priests that still keep the Covenant, and of the majority of the community that stand firm in it. It is by the vote of such that all matters doctrinal, economic and judicial are to be determined.
They are concertedly and in all their pursuits to practice truth, humility, righteousness, justice, chastity and decency, with no one walking in the stubbornness of his own heart or going astray after his heart or his eyes or his fallible human mind.
Furthermore, they are concertedly to remove the impurity of their human mold, and likewise all stiffneckedness.
They are to establish in Israel a solid basis of truth.
They are to unite in a bond indissoluble for ever.
They are to extend forgiveness to all among the priesthood that have freely enlisted in the cause of holiness, and to all among the laity that have done so in the cause of truth, and likewise to all that have associated themselves with them.
They are to make common cause both in the struggle and in the upshot of it.
They are to regard as felons all that transgress the law.
Of the obligation of holiness.
And this is the way in which all those ordinances are to be applied on a collective basis.
Everyone who is admitted to the formal organization (Council) of the community is to enter into a covenant of God in the presence of all fellow-volunteers in the cause and to commit himself by a binding oath to return with all his heart and soul to the commandments of the Law of Moses, as that Law is revealed to the sons of Zadok-that is, to the priests who still keep the Covenant and seek God's will -and to a majority of their co-covenanters who have volunteered together to adhere to the truth of God and to walk according to His pleasure.
He that so commits himself is to keep apart from all froward men that walk in the path of wickedness; for such men are not to be reckoned in the Covenant inasmuch as they have never sought nor studied God's ordinances in order to find out on what more arcane points they may guiltily have gone astray, while in regard to the things which stand patently revealed they have acted high-handedly. They have thus incurred God's angry judgment and caused Him to take vengeance upon them with all the curses threatened in the Covenant and to wreak great judgments upon them that they be finally destroyed without remnant.
No one is to go into water in order to attain the purity of holy men. For men cannot be purified except they repent their evil. God regards as impure all that transgress His word. No one is to have any association with such a man either in work or in goods, lest he incur the penalty of prosecution. Rather is he to keep away from such a man in every respect, for the Scriptures says: 'Keep away from every false thing' [Exodus 23:7]. No member of the community is to abide by the decision of such men in any matter of doctrine or law. He is not to eat or drink of anything that belongs to them nor receive anything from them except for cash, even as sit is written: 'desist from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for as what is he reckoned:' [Isaiah 2:22]. All that are not reckoned in the Covenant must be put aside, and likewise all that they posses. A holy man must not rely on works of vanity, and vanity is what all of them are that have not recognized God's Covenant. All that spurn His word will God blast out of the world. All their actions are as filth before Him, and He regards all their possessions as unclean.
Of the examination of initiants.
When a man enters the covenant, minded to act in accordance with all the foregoing ordinances and formally to ally himself to the holy congregation, inquiry is to be made concerning his temper in human relations and his understanding and performance in matters of doctrine. This inquiry is to be conducted jointly by the priests who have undertaken concertedly to uphold God's Covenant and to supervise the execution of all the ordinances which He has commanded, and by a majority of the laity who have likewise undertaken concertedly to return to that Covenant. Every many is then to be registered in a particular rank, one after the other, by the standard of his attitudes and their performance are to be reviewed, however, year by year, some being then promoted by virtue of their (improved) understanding and the integrity of their conduct, and others demoted for their waywardness.
Of accusations and grudges.
When anyone has a charge against his neighbour, he is to prosecute it truthfully, humbly and humanely. He is not to speak to him angrily or querulously or arrogantly or in any wicked mood. He is not to bear hatred [towards him in the inner recesses] of his heart. When he has a charge against him, he is to proffer it then and there [on the selfsame day] and not render himself liable to penalty by nursing a grudge. Furthermore, no man is to bring a charge publicly against his neighbour except he prove it by witness.
Of Communal Duties.
This is the procedure which all members of the community are to follow in all dealings with one another, wherever they dwell.
Everyone is to obey his superior in rank in all matters of work and money. But all are to dine together, worship together and take counsel together.
Wherever there be ten men who have formally enrolled in the community, one who is a priest is not to depart from them. When they sit in his presence, they are to take their places according to their respective ranks; and the same order is to obtain when they meet for common counsel.
When they set the table for a meal or prepare wine to drink, the priest is first to put forth his hand to invoke a blessing on the first portion of the bread and wine.
In any place where there happen to be ten such men, there is not to be absent from them one who will be available at all times, day and night, to interpret the Law (Torah), each of them doing so in turn.
The general members of the community are to keep awake for a third of all the nights of the year reading book(s), [or the book of Law] studying the Law and worshipping together.
Of the General Council.
This is the rule covering public sessions.
The priests are to occupy the first place. The elders are to come second; and the rest of the people are to take their places according to their respective ranks. This order is to obtain alike when they seek a judicial ruling, when they meet for common counsel, or when any matter arises of general concern.
Everyone is to have an opportunity of rendering his opinion in the common council. No one, however, is to interrupt while his neighbour is speaking, or to speak until the latter has finished. Furthermore, no one is to speak in advance of his prescribed rank. Everyone is to speak in turn, as he is called upon.
In public sessions, no one is to speak on any subject that is not of concern to (or to the liking of) the company as a whole. If the superintendent of the general membership or anyone who is not of the same rank as the person who happens to be raising a question for the consideration of the community, has something to say to the company, he is to stand up and declare: I have said something to the company; and only if they so bid him, is he to speak.
Of Postulants and Novices.
If any man in Israel wish to be affiliated to the formal congregation of the community, the superintendent of the general membership is to examine him as to his intelligence and his actions and, if he then embark on a course of training, he is to have him enter into a covenant to return to the truth and turn away from all perversity. Then he is to appraise him of all the rules of the community.
Subsequently, when that man comes to present himself to the general membership, everyone is to be asked his opinion about him. and his admission to or rejection from the formal congregation of the community is to be determined by general vote.
No candidate, however, is to be admitted to the formal state of purity enjoyed by the general membership of the community until, at the completion of a full year, his spiritual attitude and his performance have been duly reviewed. Meanwhile he is to have no stake in the common funds.
After he has spent a full year in the midst of the community, the members are jointly to review his case, as to his understanding and performance in matters of doctrine. If it then be voted by the opinion of the priests and of a majority of their co-covenanters to admit him to the sodality, they are to have him bring with him all his property and the tools of his profession. These are to be committed to the custody of the community's 'minister of works'. They are to entered by that officer into an account, but he is not to disburse them for the general benefit.
Not until the completion of a second year among the members of the community is the candidate to be admitted to the common board. [Drink] When however, that second year has been completed, he is to be subjected to a further review by the general membership, and if it then be voted to admit him to the community, he is to be registered in due order of rank which he is to occupy among his brethren in all matters pertaining to doctrine, judicial procedure, degree of purity and share in the common funds. Thenceforth his counsel and his judgment are to be at the disposal of the community.
Of false, impudent and blasphemous speech.
And these are the rules to be followed in the interpretation of the law regarding forms of speech.
If there be found in the community a man who consciously lies in the matter of (his) wealth, he is to be regarded as outside the state of purity entailed by membership, and he is to be mulcted of one fourth of his food ration.
If a man answer his neighbour defiantly or speak brusquely so as to undermine the composure (shake -or disturb- the foundation) of his fellow, and in so doing flout the orders of one who is registered as his superior [ ], he is to be mulcted for one year.
If a man, in speaking about anything, mention that Name which is honored above all [names], or if, in a moment of sudden stress or for some other personal reason, he curses the --------- (i.e., the man who reads the Book of the Law or leads worship), he is to be put out and never to return to formal membership in the community.
If a man speaks in anger against one of the registered priests, he is to be mulcted for one year, placed in isolation, and regarded as outside the state of purity entailed in membership of the community. If, however, he spoke unintentionally, he is to be mulcted only for six months.
If a man defames his neighbour unjustly, and does so deliberately, he is to mulcted for one year and regarded as 'outside'.
Of Fraud.
If a man speaks with his neighbour in guile or consciously practice deceit upon him, he is to be mulcted for six months. If however, he practices the deceit [unintentionally], he is to be mulcted only for three months.
If a man defraud the community, causing a deficit in its funds, he is to make good that deficit, if he lack means to do so, he is to be mulcted for sixty days.
Of Vindictiveness.
If he harbor a grudge against his neighbor without legitimate cause, he is to be mulcted for six months [supra-linear correction: 'one year']. The same is to apply also to anyone who takes personal revenge on his neighbor in any respect.
Of improper speech.
Anyone who indulges in indecent talk is to be mulcted for three months.
Of misconduct at public sessions.
Anyone who interrupts his neighbor in a public session is to be mulcted for ten days.
Anyone who lies down and goes to sleep at a public session is to be mulcted for thirty days.
Anyone who leaves a public session gratuitously and without reason for as many as three times during one sitting is to be mulcted for ten days. If he leaves while everyone else is standing (?), he is to be mulcted for thirty days.
Of indecorous acts.
If, except he be under duress (?), a man walk naked before his neighbor, he shall be mulcted for six months.
If a man spit into the midst of a public session, he shall be mulcted for thirty days.
If a man bring out his hand from under his cloak, so expose himself that his private parts become visible, he shall be mulcted for thirty days.
If a man indulge in raucous, inane laughter, he shall be mulcted for thirty days.
If a man put forth his left hand to gesticulate with it in conversation, he shall be mulcted for ten days.
Of slander and incrimination.
If a man slander his neighbor, he shall be regarded as outside the communal state of purity for one year, and he shall be mulcted. But if he slander the entire group, he is to be expelled and never return.
If a man complain against the whole basis of the community, he is to be expelled irrevocably.
If he complains against his neighbor without legitimate cause, he is to be mulcted for six months.
Of defection.
If a man's spirit waver so far from the basis of the community that he betrays the truth and walk in stubbornness of his own heart, but if he subsequently repent, he shall be mulcted for two years. During the first, he shall be regarded as outside the communal state of purity altogether. During the second he shall be excluded from the communal board (drink) and occupy a place behind all the other members. At the completion of the two years, the membership in general shall hold an inquiry about him. If it then be decided to readmit him, he shall again be registered with duly assigned rank and thereafter he too shall be called upon to render his opinion in deliberations concerning the rules.
If a man has been a formal member of the community for a full ten years, but then, through spiritual relapse, betray the principles of the community and quit the general body in order to walk in the stubbornness of his own heart, he is never to return to formal membership in the community. No member of the community is to associate with him either by recognizing him as of the same state of purity or by sharing property with him. Any of the members who does so shall be liable to the same sentence: he too shall be expelled.
Of the appointment of 'presbyters'.
In the deliberative council of the community there shall be twelve laymen and three priests schooled to perfection in all that has been revealed of the entire Law. their duty shall be to set the standard for the practice of truth, righteousness and justice, and for the exercise of charity and humility in human relations; and to show how, by control of impulse and contrition of spirit, faithfulness may be maintained on earth; how, by active performance of justice and passive submission to the trials of chastisement, iniquity may be cleared, and how one can walk with all men with the quality of truth and in conduct appropriate to every occasion.
So long as these men exist in Israel, the deliberative council of the community will rest securely on a basis of truth. It will become a plant evergreen. Insofar as the laymen are concerned, it will be indeed a sanctuary; and insofar as the priesthood is concerned, it will indeed constitute the basis for a true 'holy of holies'. The members of community will be in all justice the witnesses of God's truth and the elect of His favor, effecting atonement for the earth and ensuring the requital of the wicked. They will be, indeed, a 'tested bulwark' and 'precious cornerstone' (Isaiah 28:16], which shall never be shaken or moved from their place. As for the priesthood, they shall be a seat for the holy of holies, inasmuch as all of them will then have knowledge of the Covenant of justice and all of them be qualified to offer what will be indeed 'a pleasant savor' to the Lord. And as for the laity, they will constitute a household of integrity and truth, qualified to maintain the Covenant as an everlasting pact. they shall prove acceptable to God, so that He will shrive the earth of its guilt, bring final judgment upon wickedness, and perversity shall be no more.
When these men have undergone, with blamelessness of conduct, a two year preparation in the fundamentals of the community, they shall be segregated as especially sacred among the formal members of the community. Any knowledge which the expositor of the law may posses but which may have to remain arcane to the ordinary layman, he shall not keep hidden from them; for in their case there need be no fear that it might induce apostasy.
When these men exist in Israel, these are the provision whereby they are to be kept apart from any consort with froward men, to the end that they may indeed 'go into the wilderness to prepare the way' i.e., do what Scripture enjoins when it says, 'Prepare in the wilderness the …make it straight in the desert a highway for our God' [Isaiah 40:3]. (The reference is to the study of the Law which God commanded through Moses to the end that, an occasion arises, all things may be done in accordance with what is revealed therein and with what the prophets also have revealed through God's holy spirit.)
No member of the community - that is, no duly covenanted member - who blatantly deviates in any particular from the body of commandments is to be permitted to come into contact with the purity enjoyed by these specially holy men or to benefit by (know) their counsel until his actions be free of all perversity and he has been readmitted to the common council by decision of the general membership and thereupon reinstated in his rank.
The same rule is to apply also to novices.

Of the conduct of 'presbyters'.
These are the rules of conduct for the 'men of perfect holiness' in their dealings with one another.
If any of those that have been admitted to the degree of special sanctity - that is, to the degree of 'those that walk blamelessly in the way as God has commanded' -transgress a single word of the Law of Moses either blatantly or deviously, he is to be excommunicated and never to return. No other person in the degree of the specially holy is to have anything to do with him in the sharing either of property or of counsel.
If, however, he erred unintentionally, he is to be debarred only from that particular degree of purity and from participation in the common council. this is to be interpreted to mean that he is not to render any judgment nor is his counsel to be invited in any matter for a full two years. This hold good, however, only if, after the expiration of the full two years, his conduct be considered, in the judgment of the general membership, to be perfect alike in attendance at general assemblies, in study and in frame of mind, and if he has not meanwhile committed any further act of inadvertence. In other words, this two-year penalty is to apply only in the cases of a single inadvertent error, whereas if a man acts blatantly, he is nevermore to be readmitted. In sum, it is only the man who acts by inadvertence that is to be placed on probation for two years to see whether, in the opinion of the general membership, his conduct and frame of mind have meanwhile again become blameless. If so, he may be reinstalled in the body of the especially holy.
When these things obtain in Israel, as defined by these provisions, the Holy Spirit will indeed rest on a sound foundation; truth will be evinced perpetually; the guilt of transgression and the perfidy of sin will be shriven; and atonement will be made for the earth more effectively than by any flesh of burn-offerings or fat sacrifices. The 'oblation of the lips' will be in all justice like the erstwhile 'pleasant savor' on the altar; righteousness and integrity like the free-will offering which god designs to accept. At that time, the men of the community will constitute a true distinctive temple-a veritable holy of holies-wherein the priesthood may fitly foregather, and a true distinctive synagogue made up of laymen who walk in integrity.
Of the authority of the priests.
The priests alone are to have authority in all judicial and economic matters, and it is by their vote that the ranks of the various members of the community are to be determined.
Of the property of 'presbyters'.
The property of the 'specially holy men' - that is, of 'the men that walk 'blamelessly' - is not to be put into a common pool with that of men who may still be addicted to deceit and may not yet have achieved that purity of conduct which leads them to keep apart from perversity and to walk in integrity.
Until the coming of the prophet and of both the priestly and the lay Messiah, these men are not to depart from the clear intent of the Law to walk in any way in the stubbornness of their own hearts. They shall judge by the original laws in which the members of the community were schooled from the beginning.
Of the daily conduct of the faithful.
These are the ordinances for the conduct of any man that seeks after inner vision, in regard alike to human relations, the regulation of affairs on specific occasions, and the balanced appraisal of his fellow men, to the end that he may perform at all time the will of God which has been revealed as pertinent to this or that occasion; that he may at all times accommodate theory to circumstance; and that he may come to make the proper distinctions and evaluate the sons of Zadok (i.e. the priests) and the elect of any particular epoch by the standard of their spiritual attitudes, and appraise them by that criterion, thus conforming to the will of God, as He has commanded.
Everyone is to be judged by the standard of his spirituality. Intercourse with him is to be determined by the purity of his deeds, and consort with him by the degree of his intelligence. This alone is to determine the degree to which a man is to be loved or hated.
Of religious discussion.
No one is to engage in discussion or disputation with men of ill repute; and in the company of froward men everyone is to abstain from talk about (keep hidden) the meaning of the Law [Torah].
With those, however, that have chosen the right path everyone is indeed to discuss matters pertaining to the apprehension (knowledge) of God's truth and of His righteous judgments. The purpose of such discussions is to guide the minds of the members of the community, to give them insight into God's inscrutable wonders and truth, and to bring them to walk blamelessly each with his neighbor in harmony with all that has been revealed to them. For this is the time when 'the way is being prepared in the wilderness', and it behooves them to understand all that is happening. It is also the time when they must needs keep apart from all other men and not turn aside from the way through any form of perversity.
Of loving and hating fellow men; and of duty to God.
And these are the regulations of conduct for every man that would seek the inner vision in these times, touching what he is to love and what he is to hate.
He is to bear unremitting hatred toward all men of ill repute, and to be minded to keep […] from them. He is to leave it to them to pursue wealth and mercenary gain, like servants at the mercy of their masters or wretches truckling to a despot.
He is to be zealous to carry out every ordinance punctiliously, against the Day of Requital.
In all his emprises and in all things over which he has control he is to act in a manner acceptable to God, in accordance with what God has commanded.
He is to accept willingly whatever befalls him and to take pleasure in nothing but the will of God.
He is to make [all] the words of his mouth acceptable, and not to lust after anything that God has not commanded.
He is to watch ever for the judgment of God, and [in every vicissitude of his existence] he is to bless his Maker. Whatever befalls, he is to [recount God's glory] and to bless him [with 'the oblation of] the lips'.

The 'ZADOKITE' DOCUMENT

[I]
* * *
I [II]
0f God's vengeance and providence
Now listen, all right-minded men, and take note how God acts: He has a case against all flesh and exacts satisfaction from all who spurn Him.
Whenever Israel broke faith and renounced Him, He hid His face both from it and from His sanctuary and con-signed them to the sword. But whenever He called to mind the covenant which He had made with their forbears, He spared them a remnant and did not consign them to utter extinction.
So, in the Era of Anger, that era of the three hundred and ninety years,1 when He delivered them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, He took care of them and brought to blossom alike out of the priesthood and out of the laity that root which had been planted of old, allowing it once more to possess the land and to grow fat in the richness of its soil. Then they realized their iniquity
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* From earlier copies found at Qumran it is now known that when this document was first published, in 1910, from medieval copies discovered in the Cairo Genaaah, the pages were arranged in the wrong order. The correct sequence is here added in square brackets after the numeration of each major part. Parts I, III and V of the original text are missing from the Cairo manuscripts, but are preserved in fragments from Qumran These, however, have not yet been fully published.
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and knew that they had been at fault. For twenty years, however, they remained like blind men groping their way,2 until at last God took note of their deeds, how that they were seeking Him sincerely, and He raised up for them one who would teach the Law correctly,8 to guide them in the way of His heart and to demonstrate to future ages what He does to a generation that incurs His anger, that is, to the congregation of those that betray Him and turn aside from His way.
The period in question was that whereof it is written, like a stubborn heifer, Israel was stubborn' [Hos. 4.16J. It was the time when a certain scoffer arose to distil upon Israel the waters deceptive4 and to lead them astray in a trackless waste, bringing low whatsoever had once been high, diverting them from the proper paths and removing the landmarks which their forbears had set up, to the end that through his efforts those curses cleaved to them which had been prescribed when the Covenant was concluded, and they were delivered to the sword. Thus was avenged that breach of the Covenant which they had committed in seeking smooth things and in preferring delusion and in being constantly on the watch to breach the faith and in choosing to walk proudly and in justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous, and in abrogating the Covenant and annulling the pact, and in assailing the life of the righteous and abhorring all whose conduct was blameless, and in pursuing them with the sword, and in raising a general clamor against them. God then grew angry with their horde and utterly destroyed all their throng and treated all their works as an abominable thing unclean.
0f God's judgment on the wicked and His clemency to the righteous (ii, 2-13)

And now, listen to me, all who have entered the Covenant, and I will open your ears to the fate which attends the wicked.
God loves knowledge. Wisdom and sound sense has He posted before Him. Prudence and knowledge minister to Him.5 Patience attends on him and abundant forgiveness, so that He may shrive the repentant But also with Him are might and power and great wrath, along with flames of fire and all the angels of destruction8-appointed for them that turn aside from His way and treat His ordinance as a thing to be shunned, to the end that they shall be left without remnant or survival.
Never, from the very beginning of the world, has God approved such men. He has always known what their actions would be, even before the foundations of them were laid. He has anathematized whole generations on account of bloodshed, hiding His face from the land. Their end has always been pre-determined. He has always foreknown how long they would endure and the exact and precise extent of their continuance; yea, all that has happened in their several epochs throughout history, and likewise all that was to befall them.
Nevertheless, in all of their generations He has ever raised up for Himself duly designated men, so that He might provide survival for the earth and fill the face of the world with their seed. And to these has He ever revealed His holy spirit at the hands of His anointed7 and has ever disclosed the truth; and He has clearly specified who they were. But those whom He hated He has always left to wander astray.
0f ancient sinners (ii, l4-iii, 12)
And now, children, listen to me, and I will open your eyes to see and understand how God acts, so that you may choose what He has desired and reject what He has hated, walking blamelessly in all His ways and not straying after thoughts of guilty lust or after whoring eyes. For many there be that have strayed thereby from olden times until now, and even strong heroes have stumbled thereby.
Because they walked in the stubbornness of their hearts, the Watchers of heaven fell;8 yea, they were caught thereby because they kept not the commandments of God.
So too their sons, whose height was like the lofty cedars and whose bodies were as mountains.9 They also fell.
So too 'all flesh that was upon the dry land'.10 They also perished These became as though they had never been, because they did their own pleasure and kept not the commandments of their Maker. In the end His anger was kindled against them In the same way, too, the sons of Noah went astray,11 and thereby they and their families were cut off.
Abraham, however, did not walk in this way. Therefore, because he kept the commandments of God and did not prefer the desires of his own spirit, he was accounted the Friend of God12 and transmitted this status in turn to Isaac and Jacob. They too kept the commandments, and they too were recorded as Friends of God and as partners in His everlasting Covenant
But the sons of Jacob strayed in that way and they were punished for their aberration.
Their sons, too, when they were in Egypt, walked in the stubbornness of their hearts, plotting against the commandments of God and doing each what was right in his own eyes. Because they ate blood all their males were cut off in the wilderness. God said to them at Kadesh: 'Go up and possess the land' [Deut. 9.23), (but they followed the desire of] their own spirits and hearkened not to the voice of their Maker neither to the orders of their leader, but kept murmuring in their tents. So the anger of God was kindled against their horde.13
Their sons too perished by such conduct. Their kings were cut off through it, and their heroes perished through it, and their land was laid waste through it.
Thus, whenever in ancient times those who had entered the Covenant became guilty on this account, forsaking that Covenant of God, preferring their own pleasure and going astray after the stubbornness of their hearts, doing each man as he pleased, they were invariably delivered to the sword.
0f the righteous remnant (iii, 12-iv, 6)
Howbeit, with the rest of them-that is, with those that held fast to His commandments-God ever made good His everlasting Covenant with Israel, revealing to them the hidden things concerning which Israel in general had gone astray-even His holy sabbaths and His glorious festivals, His righteous ordinances, the ways of His truth and the purposes of His will, 'the which, if a man do, he shall live' [Lev. 18.5]. He opened for them a well with water abounding,14 which they might dig. But them that spurned those waters He did not permit to live. And though they kept sullying themselves with human transgression and with filthy ways, and kept saying, "Tis our own concern', yet did God with His mysterious power shrive their iniquity and forgive their transgression and build for them in Israel a firmly established House the like of which has not existed from ancient times until this day.
They that hold fast unto Him are destined for life eternal, and theirs is all mortal glory, even as God has sworn unto them by the hand of the prophet Ezekiel, saying: vibe priests and the levites and the sons of Zadok that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, these it is that shall offer unto Me the fat and the blood' [Ezek. 44.15]. By 'priests' is meant those in Israel that repented and departed from the land of Judah. [By 'levites'] is meant those that associated themselves15 with them. By 'sons of Zadok' is meant those elect of Israel that have been designated by name and that shall go on functioning in the last days. Behold, their names have been specified, the families into which they are to be born, the epochs in which they are to function, the full tale of their tribulations, the length of their sojourn in exile, and the precise nature of their deeds.
0f the reward of the faithful (iv, 612)
These were the 'holy men'16 of former times-the men whose sins God pardoned, who knew right for right and wrong for wrong. But all who up to the present time have succeeded them in carrying out explicitly the Law from which those ancients drew their lessons, them too will God forgive, in accordance with the Covenant which He made with those ancients to forgive their iniquities. And when the present era is completed, there will be no more express affiliation with the house of Judah; every man will 'mount guard' for himself. 'The fence will be rebuilt, and the bounds be far-flung' [cf. Mic. 7.11]17 .
0f the works of Belial (iv, 12-v, 17)
Meanwhile, however, Belial will be rampant in Israel, even as God has said through the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz: 'Terror and the pit and the trap shall be upon thee, 0 inhabitant of the land!' [Isa. 24.17]. The reference is to those three snares, viz. (a) whoredom, (b) lucre, and (c) desecration, concerning which Levi the son of Jacob sald18 that by making them look like three kinds of righteousness Belial ensnares Israel in them. He who escapes the one gets caught in the other, and he who escapes the other gets caught in the third.
Such men may be described as 'builders of a rickety wall' [Ezek. 13.10], or as persons that have 'walked after filth' [Hos. 5.11]. The 'filth' in question is the babbling preacher of whom God said, 'Babble-babble shall they preach' [Mic. 2.6]; while the fact that two words [viz. 'pit' and 'trap'] are used to describe the net in which they will be caught alludes to the whorish practice of taking two wives at the same time, the true basis of nature being the pairing of one male with one female, even as it is said (of Adam and Eve), 'A male and a female created He them' [Gen. 1.27], and of those that went into the ark, 'In pairs they entered' [Gen. 7.9]. Similarly, too, it is said concerning a prince: 'He shall not take more than one wife' [Deut 17.17].* 19.
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* David, however, had never read the Book of Law, for it was sealed up in the ark and remained unopened in Israel from the day when Eleazar and Joshua and the Elders were gathered to their rest. The people worshiped Ashtoreth, while the ark remained hidden and unopened until indeed a Zadokite entered into office [in the person of Hilkiah the priest]. Accordingly, David's actions were not punished, save the spilling of the blood of Urian, but God remitted the penalty for them.
This is part of the original text, but is here relegated to a footnote, as it would have been in a modern work, in order not to interrupt the sequence of thought.
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Such persons commit [desecration] inasmuch as they lie with women in their periods and do not put them aside, as enjoined in the Law.20 Moreover, they marry the daughters of their brothers and sisters, whereas Moses has said:
'Thou shalt not enter into intimate relations with the sister of thy mother; she is thy mother's kin' [cf. Lev. 18.13]. (The laws of forbidden degrees are written, to be sure, with reference to males, but they hold good equally for females. A niece, for instance, who indulges in carnal intercourse with her paternal uncle is equally to be regarded as his kin.)
Furthermore, such men have desecrated the holy spirit within them, and with mocking tongue have opened their mouths against the statutes of God's Covenant, declaring, 'They have no foundation'. They have spoken disgracefully about them.
All such men may be described as persons that 'kindle a fire and set firebrands alight' [Isa. 50.11]. Of them it may be said that 'their webs are spiders' webs and their eggs basilisks' eggs' [Isa. 59.5]. None that have contact with them shall go unscathed; the more one does so, the more guilty he becomes-unless, of course, he does so under compulsion.
Throughout antiquity, however, God has always taken note of the deeds of such men, and His anger has always been kindled against their acts. Always, in fact, they have proved to be 'a witless folk' [Isa. 27.11), 'a nation void of sense' [Deut. 32.28] in that they lacked discernment.
Of the Remnant (v, 17-vi, 11)
When, in antiquity, Israel was first delivered, Moses and Aaron still continued in their charge, through the help of the Angel of Lights *, even though Belial in his cunning had set up Jannes and his brother in opposition to them.21
Similarly, at the time when the land was destroyed, men arose who removed the ancient landmarks and led Israel
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* Heb. Urim. See Manual of Discipline, iii.20.
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astray; and it was, indeed, because they uttered sedition against the commandments of God which He had given through Moses and through His holy anointed priest Aaron, and because they gave forth false prophecies in order to subvert Israel from God, that the land was laid utterly waste. Nevertheless, God still remembered the Covenant which He had made with their forbears and raised from the priesthood men of discernment and from the laity men of wisdom, and He made them hearken to Him. And these men 'dug the well'-that well whereof it is written, 'Princes digged it, nobles of the people delved it, with the aid of a mehoqeq' [Num. 21.18]. The 'well' in question is the Law. They that 'digged' are those of Israel who repented and departed from the land of Judah to sojourn in the land of Damascus'. * God called them all 'princes' because they went in search of Him, and their glory was never gainsaid (?) by any man's mouth.22 The term mehoqeq [which can mean 'lawgiver' as well as 'stave') refers to the man who expounds the Law. Isaiah has employed an analogous piece of imagery when in allusion to the Law he has spoken of God's 'producing a tool for His work' [cf. ISL 54.16). As for the 'nobles of the people', these are the men that come, throughout the Era of Wickedness, to delve the well, using as their staves [Heb. mehoqeq) the statutes [Heb. huq4m) which the Law-giver prescribed [Heb. haqaq ha-mehoqeq) for them to walk in. Without such 'implements', they would, indeed, never achieve their goal until such time as the true Expositor arises at the end of days.
Of the obligation of the Covenant (vi, 1 1-vii, 6a)
All that enter the covenant with no intention of going into the sanctuary to keep the flame alive on the altar do so in vain. They have as good as shut the door. Of them God has said: 'Who is there among you that would shut
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* Scarcely to be taken literally. See above, pp.5, 27.
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the door, and who of you would not keep alive the flame upon Mine altar?' In vain [Mal. 1.10] [are all their deeds] if, in an era of wickedness, they do not take heed to act in accordance with the explicit injunctions of tile Law;
to keep away from men of rn-repute; to hold themselves aloof from rn-gotten gain;
not to defile themselves by laying hands on that which has been vowed or devoted to God or on the property of the sanctuary;
not to rob the poor of God's people;
not to make widows their prey or murder the fatherless; to distinguish between unclean and clean and to recognize holy from profane;
to keep the sabbath in its every detail, and the festivals and fasts in accordance with the practice laid down originally by the men who entered the new covenant in 'the land of Damascus';23
to pay their required dues in conformity with the detailed rules thereof;
to love each man his neighbor like himself; to grasp the hand of the poor, the needy and the stranger; to seek each man the welfare of his fellow; to cheat not his own kin;
to abstain from whoredom, as is meet;
to bring no charge against his neighbor except by due process, and not to nurse grudges from day to day; to keep away from all unclean things, in accordance with what has been prescribed in each case and with the distinctions which God Himself has drawn for them; not to sully any man the holy spirit within him. 24
Howbeit, for all that perform these rules in holiness unimpaired, according to all the instruction that has been given them-for them will God's Covenant be made good, that they shall be preserved for a thousand generations, even as it is written: 'He keepeth Covenant and loyalty with them that love Him and keep His commandments, even unto a thousand generations' [Deut. 7.9].
0f family life (vii, 6a-9)
if members of the community happen to be living in encampments,25 in accordance with a usage which obtains in this country, and if they marry and beget children,26 they are [in such matters] to follow the precepts of the Law [Torah] and the disciplinary regulations therein prescribed for the relationship of husband to wife and of father to child.*
0f the future requital of the disobedient (vil, 9-vili, 21)
All that reject these things shall be doomed to extinction when God visits the world to requite the wicked-that is, when that ensues which is described by the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz in the words: 'He will bring upon thee and upon thy kindred and upon thy father's house days the like of which have not come since the time that Ephraim departed from Judah' [Isa. 7.17]. In other words, the same situation will then obtain as obtained at the time of the great schism between the two houses of Israel, when Ephraim departed from Judah. At that time all who turned back were delivered to the sword, whereas all who stood fast were vouchsafed escape to 'the land of the north'.27 .
It is to this that allusion is also made in the statement: 'I will exile Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun your image, the star of your God. . . beyond Damascus' [cf. Amos 5.26).
The expression 'Sikkuth your king' refers to the Books of the Law, [for the word 'Sikkuth' is to be explained from the like-sounding sukkah, 'tabernacle')** as in the passage of Scripture which says: 'I will raise up the fallen sukkah [tabernacle] of David' [Amos 9.11].
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* Heb. even as God has said: 'Between a man and his wife and between a father and his son'-a loose quotation from Num. 30.17.
** These words have here been inserted in order to bring out the word-play in the Hebrew original.
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The expression 'king' denotes the congregation;28 and the expression 'Kiyyun your image' refers to the books of the prophets29 whose words the House of Israel has de-spised.80
As for the 'star', that refers to every such interpreter of the Law as indeed repairs to 'Damascus',31 even as it is written: 'There shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel' [Num. 24.17].82 The 'sceptre', it may be added, is the leader of the community, for in the exercise of his office he shall 'batter all the sons of pride',88 as the Scripture says.
In the former visitation, these faithful men escaped, while those that turned back were delivered to the sword. Such will be the fate also of those who in the latter days will have entered God's Covenant but not held fast to these things. Them will God punish unto extinction by the hand of Belial.
The day on which God will carry out the punishment will be that to which the prophet alluded when he said: 'The princes of Judah have become like them that remove landmarks; I will pour out My wrath upon them like water' [Hos. 5.10]. They shall hope for healing, but the blem<ish> shall cl<i>ng to them. They are all of them apostates in that they have not turned from the way of the treacherous but have sullied themselves with wantonness and with wicked lucre and with the nursing of grudges against their fellows and with hatred of their neighbors. They have cheated their own kin and have had contact with lewdness and have been overbearing by virtue of wealth and possession and have done every man of them what was right in his own eyes, and have preferred the stubbornness of their own hearts, and have not kept aloof from the rabble, but have behaved lawlessly and highhandedly, walking in the way of the wicked.
Concerning them has God said: 'Their wine shall prove the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps' [Deut 32.33]. The wine' in question is their conduct; the 'serpents' are the kings of the nations; and the 'venom [Heb. ro'sh] of asps' is the chief [Heb. ro'sh] of the Grecian kings who will come to wreak vengeance upon them.
Those that have been 'builders of the rickety wall' and 'daubers of veneer upon it'34 have never considered all this, because the man who walks in wind, who raises whirl-winds, who spouts lies-the kind of man against all of whose ilk God's wrath has always been kindled-has kept spouting at them.
Howbeit, what Moses said of old, 'Not for thy righteousness nor for the uprightness of thy heart art thou going in to possess these nations but because of His love wherewith He loved thy forefathers and because He would keep the oath' [cf. Deut. 9.5],85 applies equally to those in Israel who in those latter days show repentance and eschew the way of the rabble. The same love which God showed to the men of old who pledged themselves to follow Him will He show also to their successors. The ancestral Covenant shall stand good for them.
But inasmuch as He hates and abominates all that 'build a rickety wall', His anger has been kindled against them; and all who reject His commandments and forsake them and go on walking in the stubbornness of their own hearts will be visited with such judgment as has been described. It is to this that Jeremiah was referring when he spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah,36 and Elisha when he spoke to his servant Gehazi.87
All those that entered into the new covenant in 'the land of Damascus' but subsequently relapsed and played false and turned away from the well of living waters shall not be reckoned as of the communion of the people nor inscribed in the roster of it throughout the period from the time the teacher of the community is gathered to his rest until that in which the lay and the priestly messiah [anointed] assume their office.88
The same applies also to all that entered the company of the 'specially holy and blameless'39 but were loath to carry out the rules imposed upon the upright Every such man is, as it were, like 'one molten in the furnace' [Ezek. 22.22]. When his deeds come clearly to light, he shall be cast out of that company as being one who has no share
among the disciples of God. Men of knowledge shall reprove him according to his perfidy until he repent and thereby resume his place among the specially holy and blameless-that is, until it become clear that his actions are again in accordance with the interpretation of the Law adopted by the specially holy and blameless. Meanwhile, no man shall have commerce with him in matters either of property or of employment, for he has been cursed by all the holy ones of God on high.
The same applies again-in the future as it did in the past-to all who commit their hearts to idolatry and walk in the stubbornness of their hearts. All such have no portion in the household of the Law [Torah].
The same applies, once again, to all of their fellows that relapse in the company of scoffers. These too shall be judged; for they will have spoken error against the righteous ordinances and have rejected the Covenant of God and the pledge which they swore in 'the land of Damascus'
-that is, the new covenant.40 Neither they nor their families shall have a portion in the household of the Law [Torah].
About forty years will elapse from the death of the teacher of the community until all the men who take up arms and relapse in the company of the Man of Falsehood are brought to an end.41 At that time, the wrath of God will be kindled against Israel, and that will ensue which is described by the prophet when he says: 'No king shall there be nor priest nor judge nor any that reproves aright' [cf. Hos. 3.4].
But they of Jacob that have repented, that have kept the Covenant of God, shall then speak each to his neighbor to bring him to righteousness, to direct his steps upon the way. And God will pay heed to their words and hearken, and He will draw up a record of those that fear Him and esteem His name,42 to the end that salvation shall be revealed for all God-fearing men. Then ye shall again distinguish the righteous from the wicked, him that serves God from him that serves Him not. And God will 'show mercy unto thousands, unto them that love Him and keep His commandments'-yea, even unto a thousand generations.
As for those schismatics43 who, during the era when Israel was behaving perfidiously and defiling the sanctuary, indeed departed from the Holy City, relying (solely) on God, but who subsequently, without much [ad]o,* reverted to the popular [tre]nd-all of those shall be subjected to judgment by the sacred council,44 each according to his character.
Those too who indeed entered the Covenant but subsequently broke through the bounds of the Law-all of those shall be 'cut off from the midst of the camp' at the time when God's glory is made manifest to Israel. And along with them shall go those that sought to turn Judah to wickedness in the days when it was being put to the test.
0f the future reward of the faithful (B. xx, 27-34)
Howbeit, all that hold fast to these enactment's, going and coming in accordance with the Law; that hearken to the voice of the Teacher; that make confession before God, saying: Just and truthful are Thy judgments against us, for we have done wickedly, both we and our fathers, in that we have gone contrary to the statutes of the Covenant; all who raise not their hands against His holy statutes or His righteous judgments or His truthful ordinances; all who learn the lessons of the former judgments wherewith the men of the community were adjudged in time past; all who give ear to him who imparts the true interpretation of the Law and who do not controvert the right ordinances when they hear them-all of these shall rejoice and their hearts shall be strong, and they shall prevail over all that dwell in the world. And God will accept their atonement, and because they took refuge in His holy name they shall indeed see salvation at His hand.
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* Literally, with fe[w] words.
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[III]
* * *
II [IV cont.]
A. CODE FOR URBAN COMMUNITIES
0f laying capital charges (ix, 1)
The law which says that no person under doom from men shall be bought off, but must be put to death [cf. Lev. 27.29], is to be understood in the sense that any man who, as the result of a private vow, gets a fellow human being doomed to death under the laws of the Gentiles is himself to be put to death.45
0f grudges (ix, 2-8)
And as to the law which says, Thou shalt not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people' [Lev. 19.18]-if any of those that have entered the Covenant bring charges against his neighbor without proving them by witnesses, or if he bring such charges merely through temper, or if he tell tales to his superiors simply to bring his neighbor into contempt, he ranks as one who takes vengeance and bears a grudge. Scripture says of God Himself that it is only upon His adversaries that He takes vengeance, and only against His enemies that He bears a grudge [Nah. 1.2]. Accordingly, if a man keep silent from day to day and then bring a charge against his neighbor in the heat of anger, it is as if he were laying capital charges against him, for he has not carried out the commandment of God Who said to him, 'Thou shalt surely reprove thy neighbor lest thou incur sin on his account' [Lev. 19.17].
0f involuntary oaths (ix, 810)
Now regarding oaths. The principle that 'thou art not to take the law into thine own hands'46 implies that a man
who compels another to take an oath in the open field and not in the presence of judges or at their order has taken the law into his own hands.
0f lost property (ix, 1~15)
In the case of a loss, if it is not known who stole the particular article from the property of the camp in which the theft occurs, the owner is to be required to make a solemn deposition on oath. Anyone who hears it, knows the culprit and does not tell, is then to be considered culpable.
If a man makes restitution for expropriated property and brings the required guilt~ffering, but there are no claimants to that property, he is to make his confession to the priest, and everything except the actual ram of the sin-offering is to go to the latter.
Lost property that is found but unclaimed is to be en-trusted to the priests, because the man who retrieved it may not know the law about it. If the owners cannot be discovered [at the time], the priests are to take it into custody.
0f testimony (ix, 16x, 3)
In the case of offenses against the Torah, if a man sees such an offense committed but is alone at the time, and if the matter be one of a capital nature, he is to disclose it to the overseer by bringing a charge in the presence of the alleged culprit. The overseer is then to make a record of it If the man repeat the offense, this time also in the presence of one man only, and if the latter come in turn and inform the overseer-in that case, i.e., if the offender do it again and be again caught by only one person-the case against him is to be regarded as complete.
However, if there be two witnesses, and they concur in their statements, the culprit is to be excluded from his customary degree of purity only if those witnesses are trust-
worthy and if they lay information before the overseer on the very day when they saw the man [committing the offense].
In cases involving property, two trustworthy witnesses are required.47 In those, however, that involve [no question of restitution but simply of] exclusion from the degree of purity, one alone is sufficient.
No man who has not yet completed his probationary period with the community and has not yet passed the statutory examination as a truly God-fearing person48 is to be permitted as a witness before its judges in a capita' case.
No man who has flagrantly transgressed the commandment is to be deemed a trustworthy witness against his neighbor until he has succeeded in winning re-acceptance into the community.
0f judges (x, 4-1O)
This is the rule concerning the judges of the community.
Periodically, a complement of ten men shall be selected from the community. Four of them shall belong to the tribe of Levi and Aaron, and six shall be laymen.49 They shall be men versed in the Book of Study50 and in the fundamentals of the Covenant. Their minimum age shall be twenty-five, and their maximum sixty. No man over sixty shall occupy judicial office in the community; for through the perfidy of man the potential span of human life has been reduced, and in the heat of His anger against the inhabitants of the earth, God decreed of old that their mental powers should recede before they complete their days.
0f ritual ablutions (x, 10-13)
Now concerning purification by water. No one is to bathe in dirty water or in water which is too scant to fill a pail (?).51
No man is to purify himself with water drawn in a vessel or in a rock-pool where there is insufficient to fill a pail (?). If an unclean person come in contact with such water, he merely renders it unclean; and the same is true of water drawn in a vessel.
0f the Sabbath (x, 1~xi, 18)
Now concerning the proper observance of the Sabbath.
No one is to do any work on Friday from the moment that the sun's disk stands distant from the gate by the length of its own diameter; for this is what Scripture implies when it says explicitly, Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy.52
On the Sabbath day, no one is to indulge in ribald or empty talk. No one is to claim repayment of debts. No one is to engage in lawsuits concerning property and gain. No one is to talk about labor or work to be done the next day. No one is to go out into the field while it is still Sabbath with the intention of resuming his work immediately the Sabbath ends. No one is to walk more than a thousand cubits outside his city.58 No one is to eat on the Sabbath day anything that has not been prepared in advance. He is not to eat anything that happens to be lying about in the field, neither is he to drink of anything that was not [previously) in the camp. If, however, he is travelling, he may go down to bathe and may drink wherever he happens to be.
No one is to commission a Gentile to transact business for him on the Sabbath day. No one is to wear soiled clothes or clothes that have been put in storage unless they first be laundered and rubbed with frankincense. No one is to observe a voluntary fast on the Sabbath. No one is to follow his beast to pasture for a distance of more than two thousand cubits from his city. No one is to raise his hand to strike it with his fist. If the beast be stubborn, he is not to take it outdoors. No one is to take anything out of his house, or bring anything in from outside. If he is [lodging] in a booth, he is likewise to take nothing out nor bring anything in. No one is to break open a pitch-sealed vessel on the Sabbath. No one is to carry ointments upon his person or walk around with them* on the Sabbath. No one is to pick up rock or dust in a dwelling place. Nurses are not to carry babies around on the Sabbath. No one is to put pressure on his male or female servant or on his hired help on the Sabbath. No one is to foal a beast on the Sabbath day. Even if it drop its young into a cistern or a pit, he is not to lift it out on the Sabbath.
No one is to stop for the Sabbath in a place near the heathen. No one is to desecrate the Sabbath for the sake of wealth or gain.
If a human being falls into a place where there is water or fire,54 one may bring him up by means of a ladder or a rope or some other instrument. No one is to present any offering upon the altar on the Sabbath except the statutory Sabbath burnt offering-as the Scripture puts it, your Sabbath-offerings exclusively' [Lev. 23.38].55
0f the defilement of holy places (xi, 1~xii, 2)
No one is to send to the altar either burnt~ffering or meal-offering or frankincense or wood by the hand of one suffering from any of the proscribed impurities, thus permitting him to render the altar impure; for Scripture says, 'The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, but the mere prayer of the righteous is like an acceptable offering' [Prov. 15.8].
As for those who come to the house of worship, no one is to come in a state of uncleanness requiring ablution Such a man is either to anticipate the sounding of the trumpets of assembly or else to stay behind, so that [the rest] will not have to stop the entire service.
[ ]; it is holy.
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* Literally, 'go or come'.
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No one is to lie with a woman in the city of the sanctuary, thereby defiling the city of the sanctuary with their impurity'
0f demoniacal possession (xii, 2-6)
Any man who is dominated by demonic spirits to the extent that he gives voice to apostasy is to be subject to the judgment upon sorcerers and wizards. If, however, a man desecrate the Sabbath or the festivals through (mental) aberration, he is not to be put to death. In that case, it is the duty of men to keep him under observation. If he recovers, they are to watch him for seven years, and only thereafter may he be readmitted to public assemblies.
0f relations with the heathen (xii, 6-11)
No one is to put forth his hand to shed the blood of a heathen for the sake of wealth or gain. Moreover, to prevent the levelling of defamatory charges, no one is to expropriate any of their goods except by the decision of an Israelite court.
No one is to sell clean beasts or fowl to the heathen, lest they use them for sacrifices. No one is to sell them any of the produce of his threshing-floor or winepress or any of his possessions. Nor is he to sell to them any of his male or female servants that may have joined him in the Covenant of Abraham.56
0f food (xii, 11-15)
No one is to defile his person by eating any unclean animal or reptile. This rule includes the larvae of bees and any living entity that creeps in water.
Fish are not to be eaten unless they are ripped open while still alive and their blood poured out.57
As for the various kinds of locust, these are to be put in fire or water while they are still alive; for that is what their nature demands.
Of contagious impurity (xii, 15-18)
When wood, stone or dust is contaminated by human uncleanness, the degree of the contamination is to be determined by the rules governing that particular form of uncleanness; and it is by this standard that all contact with them is to be gauged.
When a dead body lies in a house, every utensil-even a nail or a peg in the wall-is to be regarded as deified, just as much as implements of work.
Epilogue (xii, 19-22)
The foregoing is the rule concerning the various regulations for distinguishing clean from unclean and for recognizing holy from profane, such as it is to obtain in the urban communities of IsraeL It is by these ordinances that the enlightened man may correctly determine his human relations on this or that particular occasion; and it is in this manner that the progeny of Israel is to conduct itself in order to avoid damnation.58
B. CODE FOR CAMP-COMMUNITIES
Prologue (xii, 22-xiii, 7)
Here, however, is the rule for such camp-communities as may come into existence throughout the Era of Wickedness-that is, until the priestly and the lay 'messiah' again assume office.59 The people who follow these rules must consist in any given instance of a minimum of ten,60 and beyond that must be grouped by thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
In any place where there are ten, a priest versed in the Book of Study is not to be absent; 'by his word shall they all be ruled' [Gen. 41.40]. If, however, he is not experienced in all these matters, the members of the camp may elect by vote one of the levites, 'by whose orders they may come and go'.61 Nevertheless, whenever a decision has to
be rendered involving the law of bodily blemishes, the priest is to come and officiate in the camp, the overseer instructing him in the detailed interpretation of the Law. Moreover, if the priest be feeble-minded, that official must simply keep him under lock and key at all other times; or it is nonetheless by the priests that the decision in such maUers must be rendered.62
0f the overseer (xiii, 7-19)
This is the rule for the overseer of the camp.
It is his duty to enlighten the masses about the works of God, and to make them understand His wondrous powers. He is to tell them in detail the story of things that happened in the past He is to show them the same compassion as a father shows for his children. He is to bring back all of them that stray, as does a shepherd his flock.64 He is to loose all the bonds that constrain them, so that there be no one in his community who is oppressed or crushed.
He is also to examine every new adherent to his community regarding his conduct, intelligence, strength, valor and wealth, and to register him in his due status, according to his stake in the portion of Truth. No member of the camp is to have authority to introduce anyone into the community in defiance of the camp's overseer.
No one who has entered the Covenant is to have any traffic with the 'men of corruption' [i.e., outsiders] except in spot cash transactions. No one is to enter into any sort of commercial partnership without informing the camp's overseer. Moreover, if he has made an agreement, but does not . . . [Four fragmentary lines.]
Epilogue (xiii, 20xiv, 2)
Such, then, is to be the disposition of the camps throughout the Era of Wickedness. Those who do not adhere to these things shall not succeed in reoccupying their native soil [ ]. These, in fact, are the regulations for the social conduct of the 'enlightened' until God eventually
visits the earth, even as He has said: 'There shall come upon thee and upon thy people and upon thy kinsfolk days the like of which have not been since Ephraim departed from Judah' [Isa. 7.17]. With those that follow them God's covenant will be confirmed; they will be delivered from all the snares of corruption. The foolish, however, will [ ] and be punished.
0f rank and precedence (xiv, 3-12)
This is the rule for the disposition of all camp settlements.
Everyone is to be registered by name in a census; first, the priests; second, the levites; third, the laymen; and fourth, the proselytes. Each individual is to be registered by name, one after another; first, the priests; second, the levites; third, the laymen; and fourth, the proselytes. It is in this order that they are to be seated at public sessions, and in this order that their opinions are to be invited on all matters.
The priest who holds office over the masses is to be from thirty to sixty years old, versed in the Book of Study and in all the regulations of the Torah, so as to be able to declare them on each appropriate occasion.
As for the overseer of all the camps, he is to be from thirty to fifty years old, adept in human relations and in all the varied languages of men.65 It is as he determines that those who enter the community are to be admitted, each in his assigned order. Anything that any one has to say in a matter of dispute or litigation, he is to say to the overseer.
0f the communal economy (xiv, 12-18)
This is the rule for regulating public needs.
Their wages for at least two days per month are to be handed over to the overseer. The judges are then to take thereof and give it away for the benefit of orphans. They are also to support therefrom the poor and needy, the
aged who are dying, the [ ] persons captured by foreign peoples, unprotected girls, unmarriageable virgins, general communal officials [ ].
This, in specific form, is the way [ ] is to be disposed [ ] [com]munally.
0f personal morality (xiv, 18-22)
And these, in specific form, are the regulations which they are to follow throughout the Era of Wickedness, until the priestly and lay 'messiahs' enter upon their office and expiate their iniquities.
No one is to practice conscious falsehood in matters of money [ ]; he is to be mulcted [of his rations] for six days.
If a man utter [ ], [or harbor an] unjustified [grudge against his neighbor, he is to be mulcted for one] year [ ].
III [IV, init.]
0f oaths (xv, 1-xvi, 20)
No one is to take the oath by EL-* or by AD-,** but only by a formula of assent which invokes the curses prescribed in the Covenant [cf. Lev. 26.14-45].66 Nor is he to make mention in this connection of the Law of Moses, for (the name of God is spelled out in that Law); so that if he swears by it and then transgresses, he commits profanation of the Holy Name; whereas if he swears before the judges by the curses of the Covenant-then, if he transgresses, he becomes liable only for a guilt-offering, confession and restitution, but does not have to pay the penalty of death.60a
It is to be a perpetual ordinance for the whole of Israel that whoever enters into the Covenant is to impose the
_____________________________
* The initial letters of Elohim, the Hebrew word for 'God'.
** The initial letters of Adonai, the Hebrew word for 'Lord'.
_____________________________
oath of the Covenant also upon his sons when they reach the age for the preliminary examination.
Similarly, it is to be the rule throughout the Epoch of Wickedness that anyone who repents his corrupt conduct is to be enrolled, on the day when he speaks of it to the general overseer, with an oath binding him to the Covenant which Moses made with Israel-that is, with a covenanted obligation that [in all] the varied activities of his life he will return to the Law of Moses with all his heart and soul. No one, however, is to acquaint him with the regulations of the community prior to his actually standing in the presence of the overseer, lest, when the latter examines him, he turn out to be a dolt. But once the overseer has sworn him by oath to return to the Law of Moses with all his heart and soul, he is to be liable to punishment for any breach of faith. If he fail to understand anything in the Law which is patently revealed to the normal mind, the overseer is to […..] and then issue an order concerning him that he be kept in confinement for a full year on the grounds of its having been ascertained that he is feeble-minded and deranged.
In the case of one who is a chronic imbecile or is in-sane, the judge is to come and [ ]. Such a man is not to appear in public. . . . [The next two lines are fragmentary, and four more have been lost.]
There is an ancient text which says: 'It was by the Law of Moses that God made the covenant with you and with all Israel'.67 It is for this reason that the man [who enters the Covenant] must pledge himself 'to return to the Law of Moses'. Therein is everything explicitly spelled out, while an exact specification of the time when Israel will be blind to all these things is spelled out with equal exactness in the Book of the Divisions of the Times into their Jubilees and Weeks.68
On the day that a man pledges himself to return to the Law of Moses, the Angel of Obstruction69 will start receding from him-that is, if he keep his word. It is in line with this that Abraham underwent circumcision on the day that he attained true knowledge.
In all cases where a man pledges himself by a binding oath to perform any precept of the Law, he is not to free himself therefrom even at the price of death. For this is what Scripture means when it says, 'That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe', ie., 'to make good' (Deut 23.23). On the other hand, in all cases where a man pledges himself by a binding oath to depart from the Law, he is not to confirm it even at the price of death.
Now, concerning a woman's oath. Scripture says that it is her husband's duty in certain cases to void her oath [cf. Num. 30.14]. He is not to do so, however, if he does not know whether it is one that ought to be made good or voided. If it involves transgression of the Covenant, he is to void it and not make it good. The same rule applies also to her father.
Now, concerning the rules for free-will offerings. No one is to vow for the altar anything acquired by violence; nor, indeed, are the priests to accept from a layman anything so acquired No one is to offer polluted food for sacred purposes. That is what Scripture means when it says, 'They trap each man his neighbor in respect to the consecrated thing' [Mic. 7.2].... [Five fragmentary lines.]
.
The Letter of the Law : Ordinances.

Cp. Deuteronomy 23.25-26
If any man thereof construct a threshing floor or a wine press, anyone belonging to the community of Israel who comes upon it and himself has nothing may feed himself from it and gather for himself and [his] hou[sehold]. Within the field he may eat to his satisfaction, but he may not bring anything to deposit it (there).
Cp. Exodus 30:11-16
Regarding the assessment of half a shekel which everyone is to furnish to coverage for his own person, (for this) there is to be a single [scale of value] throughout his life: the shekel is to be estimated as twenty gerahs, in accordance with the standard used for sacred purposes. (Thus) the 600,000 men (with Moses in the Wilderness) would have had to pay (a total of) one hundred talents each of the three (customary divisions of the armed forces), half a talent; and a contingent of fifty men, half a mina, i.e. 25 shekels …
(There follows a specification of equivalencies, but the text is too fragmentary for translation.)
Ephah and bath are equivalent.
…………………………………………………………………………………… 15
Cp. Leviticus. 25.42
They may not serve as slaves to Gentiles, (living) among foreigners, [for when the LORD brought them out of the land of] He enjoined upon them the commandment that they should not be sold as a slave is sold
[For the settlement of legal disputes there shall be a council of te[en] laymen and two priests, and it is to these twelve that recourse must be had …
If within (the community of) Israel, a capital charge be preferred, these men's opinion must be sought.
Cp. Joshua 1.18
Anyone who offers defiance and takes the law into his own hands, is to be put to death.
Cp. Deuteronomy 22.5
A woman is not to put on the accoutrements of a man; and a man is not to clothe himself in the cloak of a woman, nor wear a woman's shift; for that is an abomination.
Cp. Deuteronomy 22.14-21
If a man impugn the virtue of an Israelite virgin, alleging that he married her [under false pretenses], she shall be reliably examined, and if he has not lied about her, she shall be put to death. But if (it be shown that) he has borne [false] witness against her, he shall be fined two minas, and he may not divorce her for the rest of his life …
(The rest is fragmentary)
A formulary of Blessing

For Blessing laymen.
Form of blessing (greeting) to be used by the 'enlightened' in blessing (greeting) those who fear {God, do] His will, keep His commandments, hold fast to His holy Covenant and walk blamelessly [in all the ways of] His truth -that is, such men as He has chosen to be partners in an eternal Covenant [which shall] stand for ever.
THE LORD BLESS YOU [from His holy habitation] and open for you from heaven the perpetual spring un[failing].
[………………….] in/at your hand, and FAVOR YOU with all manner of blessing, and make you [privy] to that knowledge which is possessed by the Holy Beings.
[Verily, with Him is] a perpetual spring, and He [ withholds] no [living waters from] such a thirst (for them). So that you may too [drink from there].
[THE LORD KEEP YOU from all evil and] deliver you from all [domination by Belial], and may the frenzy thereof be (destroyed) without re[mnant].
[THE LORD KEEP YOU and deliver you] from every satanic (*Hebrew 'satan' i.e. adversary) spirit [and from every corrupting spirit].
{There follow three broken lines, in two of which there is a specific mention of 'holiness' (or something holy) and the third of which refers to 'holy teaching.' This is followed in turn by three more broken lines, the first and the last of which contain specific reference to 'eternity' or to something eternal), and the second of which alludes to 'all appointed times'.}
THE LORD KEEP [unto you the covenant sworn to] your fathers.
{There follow five broken lines containing various elaboration's of the formula,
THE LORD LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE UNTO YOU.}
THE LORD FAVOR YOU WITH [His salvation] [………] and cause you to delight in peace [abounding].
THE LORD FAVOR YOU also with [……].
THE LORD FAVOR YOU with the holy spirit, with loving kindness [……….].
THE LORD FAVOR YOU also with [His] eternal covenant and [……..] you [……..].
THE LORD FAVOR YOU by visiting upon you just judgment, [that] your [foot may not] stumble [upon your way].
THE LORD FAVOR YOU also in all your works [and in all that] your [hand undertakes] and in all the [……….].
[THE LORD GIVE PEACE to you and] unto all your offspring [……..].

For blessing the high priest.

[Introductory words missing]
THE LORD LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE TO YOU and [accept] the sweet savor of [your sacrifices] and choose as His own all them that abide in [your] priestly care, and take note of all your sacred acts and be pleased with all your seas[onal offices, and increase] your seed.
THE LORD LIFT UP HIS COUNTENANCE to all your congregation.
THE LORD LIFT UP upon your head [a crown of honor], and may your [….] [abide] in glory [eternal], and may He hallow your seed with glory everlasting.
THE LORD LIFT UP [HIS COUNTENANCE UNTO YOU] and grant you grace [and peace everlast]ing, and [an inheritance in] the kingdom of [heaven].
[THE LORD LIFT UP your soul and raise your spirit] out of the flesh and [set it] amid the holy angels.
[THE LORD LIFT UP HIS banner and] do battle for you [at the head of] your thousands [against this] iniquitous generation.
[Three fragmentary lines.]
[THE LORD LIFT UP HIS sword for you] to humble many peoples before you [….], and may you not [rely] upon worldly wealth, to become estranged from the perpetual spring, [but find it when] you seek it. [So may He stay your steps.]
[Verily, He establishes the world upon its basis. So] may He establish your wellbeing for ever.

For blessing the priests.

Formula of blessing to be used by the 'enlightened' in blessing the sons of Zadok-that is, the priests whom God has chosen to keep His covenant firm for ever, to act as the testers of all matters involving the performance of His rules among His people and to teach then according to that which He has commanded, to the end that they may confirm His covenant in truth and supervise correctly [the performance] of all His ordinances and walk in the way which He has chosen:
THE LORD BLESS YOU from His holy habitation and set you crowned in majesty in the midst of the Holy Beings, and renew unto you the covenant of priesthood everlasting and give you place in the holy habitation.
By your offices may all princes be judged, and all the [lords] of the peoples by your unstained lips.
May He give you as your inheritance the first-fruits of all delights, and at your hand may He bless all mortal designs.
May He be pleased with [all] the steps of your feet, and make you acceptable in the eyes of men and of the Holy Beings.
May He apportion to you [……..] an may you immerse yourself therein. And all mortal […] and delights […].
May He set eternal blessings as a crown upon your head, and fill your hands with holiness and [……].
[Line missing]
May He cause you to do rightly in all your ministrations. For you has He chosen [to perform the office] and to carry out the charge at the head of them that be sacred, and to give His blessing unto your people, and you [has He appointed] that the men of the company of God may be [rendered pure?] at your hand and not at the hand of any monarch or [potentate; and with you He speaks] as a man unto his neighbour; and you are as a ministering angel in the holy habitation. {May you serve ever] unto the glory of the God of Hosts, and may you be about Him as one that ministers in a royal palace. And may you share the lot of the ministering angels {Note: Hebrew 'angel(s) of the Presence'} and be one in the company of [the Holy Beings] for all time and for all the epochs of eternity. [For He hath entrusted you with] His judgments, and has made you an holy thing among His people, to be as light […] to [illumine] the world with knowledge and to enlighten the faces of men far and wide.
May He set upon your head a diadem to proclaim you holy of holies, for [it is you that evinces His] holiness and shows forth the glory of His name.
And may His Holy Beings [wait upon you].

For blessing the king.

You have been set apart from [all other men] […..] them that see you [….].
May He renew unto you [……..].
[Line missing.]
[…..] who has commissioned you [……] for all time and for all the seasons of eternity. And may He not gi[ve] your glory [to another].
May God [set] the fear of you upon all that hear and tell of you, and be your majesty [upon all that] […].

For blessing the prefect of the community.

Formula of blessing to be used by the 'enlightened' in blessing (greeting) the prefect of the community-that is, the man whom God has chosen to represent His power and through whom He renews the covenant contracted with the community, to the end that he may maintain the sovereignty of His people for ever, and [whom He has appointed to judge the needy in righteousness] and to reprove in equi[ty the me]ek of the earth, and to walk blamelessly in all the ways of [His truth], and to confirm His holy covenant when distress befalls them that seek Him:
THE LORD LIFT you up unto the summit of the world, like a strong tower on a lofty wall.
May you [smite nations] with the vehemence of your mouth. With your rod may you dry up the [fountainheads] of the earth, and with the breath of your lips may you slay the wicked.
[THE LORD FAVOR YOU with a spirit of sound counsel] and with perpetual strength and with a spirit of knowledge and with the fear of God.
May righteousness be the girding [of the loins and faithfulness] that of your thighs.
May God make your horns of iron and your hoofs of brass; and may you gore the [iniquitous] like a steer [and trample nations] like mire in the streets.
For God has appointed you to be the scourge of rulers. They shall [come] before you [and make obeisance unto you, and all peoples] shall serve you. By His holy Name may He give you power that you be as a lion [which raventh and as a wolf which smi]tes the prey, with none to retrieve it. And may your charges ride abroad over [all the broad places of the earth].
THE HYMN OF THE INITIANTS
[Manual 0f Discipline, cols. x-xi]

1[Day and night will I offer my praise] and at all the appointed times which God has prescribed. When daylight begins its rule, when it reaches its turning-point,1 and when it again withdraws to its appointed abode; When the watches of darkness begin, when God opens the storehouse thereof,2 when He sets that darkness against the light,8 when it reaches its turning-point,4 and when it again withdraws in face of the light; When sun and moon shine forth from the holy Height, and when they again withdraw to the glorious Abode;5 When the formal seasons come on the days of new moon,6 when they reach their turning points,7 and when they yield place to one another, as each comes round anew;*
5 When the natural seasons come, at whatever time may be;
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*The text here incorporates a series of esoteric glosses which have been omitted from the translation.
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when, too, the months begin; on their feasts and on holy days, as they come in order due, each as a memorial in its season8-I shall hold it as one of the laws engraven of old on the tablets9 to render to God as my tribute the blessings of my lips.1O When the [natural] years begin; at the turning-points of their seasons, and when each completes its term on its natural day, yielding each to each-reaping-time to summer, sowing4ime to verdure;
In the [formal] years of weeks, in the several seasons thereof, and when, at the jubilee, the series of weeks begins11-yea, throughout my life, I shall hold it as one of the laws engraven of old on the tablets to offer to God as my fruits-the praises of my tongue, and to cull for him as my tithe the skilled melody of my lips. 12 All my music shall be for the glory of God; my lyre and my harp shall be devoted to tell of His holy dispensation; I shall put the flute to my lips to rehearse the due poise of His judgments.
10 With the coming of day and night I shall come ever anew into God’s covenant; and when evening and morning depart, shall ob<ser>ve how He sets their bounds.13 Only where God sets bounds. the unchangeable bounds of His Law-will I too set my domain.14 I shall hold it as one of the laws engraven of old on the tablets to face my sin and transgression and avouch the justice of God. I shall say unto God: ‘You, for me, art the Right!’ and unto the Most High: ‘For me You art cause of all good!’ Fountain of all knowledge, Spring of holiness, Zenith of all glory, Might omnipotent, Beauty that never fades, I will choose the path He shows me, and be content with His judgments.
Whenever I first put forth my hand or foot, I will bless His name;15 when first I go or come, when I sit and when I rise,16 when I lie down on my couch, I will sing unto Him. At the common board, or ever I raise my hand to enjoy the rich yield of the earth, with the fruit of my own lips I will bless Him as with an oblation.17
At the onset of fear and alarm, or when trouble and stress are at hand, I will bless him with special thanksgiving and muse upon His power, and rely on His mercies always, and come thereby to know that in His hand lies the judgment of all living, and that all His works are truth.18 Whenever distress breaks out, I still will praise Him; and when His salvation comes, join the chorus of praise.19 I will heap no evil on any, but pursue all men with good,20 knowing that only with God lies the judgment of all living, and He it is will award each man his deserts. I will not be envious of the profit of wickedness; for wealth unrighteously gotten my soul shall not 1ust21 I will not engage in strife with reprobate men,22 forestalling the Day of Requital.23 I will not turn back my wrath from froward men, nor rest content until justice be affirmed.
I will harbor no angry grudge against those that indeed repent,24 but neither will I show compassion to any that turn from the way. I will not console the smitten until they amend their course. I will cherish no baseness in my heart, nor shall there be heard in my mouth coarseness25 or wanton deceit; neither shall there be found upon my lips deception and lies.28
The fruit of holiness shall be on my tongue, and no heathen filth be found thereon. I will open my mouth with thanksgiving, and my tongue shall ever relate the righteousness of God and the perfidy of men until men’s transgressions be ended. Empty words will I banish from my lips; filth and perverseness from my mind. I will hedge in knowledge with sound counsel,
25 and protect [it] with shrewdness of mind. I will [set] a sober limit to all defending of faith and exacting of justice by force. I will bound God’s righteousness by the measuring-line of occasion. [I will temper] justice [with mercy], will show kindness to men downtrodden,
xi,1 bring firmness to fearful hearts, discernment to spirits that stray, enlighten the bowed with sound doctrine, reply to the proud with meekness, with humility answer the base -men rich in worldly goods, who point the finger of scorn and utter iniquitous thoughts.
To God I commit my cause. It is His to perfect my way, His to make straight my heart. He, in His charity, will wipe away my transgression. For He from the Wellspring of Knowledge has made His light to burst forth, and mine eye has gazed on His wonders; and the light that is in my heart has pierced the deep things of existence. He is ever the stay of my right hand.27 The path beneath my feet is set on a mighty rock28 unshaken before all things. For that rock beneath my feet 5 is the truth of God, and His power is the stay of my right hand; from the fount of His charity my vindication goes forth. Through His mysterious wonder light is come into my heart; mine eye has set its gaze on everlasting things. A virtue hidden from man, a knowledge and subtle lore concealed from human kind; a fount of righteousness, a reservoir of strength, a wellspring of all glory wherewith no flesh has converse-these has God bestowed on them that He has chosen, to possess them for ever. He has given them an inheritance in the lot of the Holy Beings, and joined them in communion with the Sons of Heaven,29 to form one congregation, one single communion, a fabric of holiness, a plant evergreen,30 for all time to come. But I—I belong to wicked mankind, to the communion of sinful flesh. My transgressions, my iniquities and sins, and the waywardness of my heart
10 condemn me to communion with the worm and with all that walk in darkness. For a mortal’s way is [not] of himself, neither can a man direct his own steps. The judgment lies with God, and ‘it is His to perfect man’s way. Only through His knowledge have all things come to be, and all that is, is ordained by His thought; and apart from Him is nothing wrought.31 Behold, if I should totter, God’s mercies will be my salvation. If I stumble in the waywardness of flesh, I shall be set aright through God’s righteousness ever-enduring. If distress break out, He will snatch my soul from perdition, and set my foot on the path. For He, in His compassion, has drawn me near unto Him,32 and His judgment upon me shall be rendered in His mercy. In his righteous truth He has judged me, and in His abundant goodness will shrive my iniquities, and in His righteousness cleanse me from all the pollution of man
15 and the sin of human kind, that I may acknowledge unto God His righteousness, and unto the Most High His majestic splendor. Blessed art You, 0 my God, Who have opened the heart of Thy servant unto knowledge. Direct all his works in righteousness, and vouchsafe unto the son of Your handmaid the favor which You have assured to all the mortal elect, to stand in Thy presence for ever. For apart from Thee no man’s way can be perfect, and without Thy will is nothing wrought. You it is that have taught all knowledge, and all things exist by Thy will; and there is none beside Thee to controvert Thy plan; none to understand all Thy holy thought, none to gaze into the depths of Thy secrets, none to perceive all Thy wonders and the might of Thy power.
20 Who can compass the sum of Thy glory? And what is mere mortal man amid Thy wondrous works? And what the child of woman to sit in Thy presence? For, behold, he is kneaded of dust, and his [ ] is the food of worms. He is but a molded heap,83 a thing nipped out of clay,34 whose attachment is but to the dust. What can such clay reply, or that which is molded by hand? What thought can it comprehend?
THE BOOK OF HYMNS OR PSALMS OF THANKSGIVING

11: 1, 5-39
5 [You are the source of all might] and the wellspring of all power; [yet are You also rich in wisdom] [and] great in counsel2 Your fury [is vented] in the presence of [ [yet are Your mercies] beyond number. [You are a God that visits wrongdoing;] [yet also a God] longsuffering in judgment5 In whatsoever You do, You have ever done justly.
In Your wisdom did [You call into being] [spirits] immortal, and ere You did create them, did foreknow their works for all time. [Apart from You] can naught be done, and naught apprehended save by Your will.4 You it is formed every spirit, [and set due rule] and role for all their works.
10 When You did stretch out the heavens for Your glory, and [command] all [their host] to do Your will, You did also make potent spirits to keep them in bounds. Or ever spirits immortal took on the form of ho[ly] angels, You did assign them to bear rule over divers domains: over the sun and moon, to govern their hidden powers; over the stars, to hold them to their courses; over [rain and snow,] to make them fulfill their functions; over meteors and lightning's, to make them discharge their tasks;7 [and You did set them in] promptuaries8 [whence You did cause them to issue] for their several purposes, to govern the mysteries of these things.9 When, too, in Your power You did create earth and seas and deeps, in Your wisdom10 did You set [with]in them [spirits immortal],
15 thereby to dispose to Your will all that therein is. [So have You made [his] flesh a promptuary] in [this] world for that spirit of man which You did create11 to last throughout all time and for ages infinite, that it might gov[ern his deeds]. You have assigned the tasks of men's spirits duly, moment by moment,12 throughout their generations; and You have determined the mode in which they shall wield their sway, season by season; yea, [You have prescribed] their [works,] age after age alike when they shall be visited with peace and when they shall suffer affliction.13 You have [ man's spirit] and duly assigned its role for all his offspring throughout the generations of time; and [You have ] it for all years of eternity. And in Your knowing wisdom You have ordained its fate, or ever it came into being.
20 By [Your will all things exi]st, and without You is nothing wrought.14 Shapen of clay and kneaded with water, a bedrock of shame and a source of pollution, a cauldron of iniquity and a fabric of sin, a spirit errant and wayward,1~ distraught by every just judgment-what can I say that hath not been foreknown, or what disclose that hath not been foretold? All things are inscribed before You in a recording script,16 for every moment of time, for the infinite cycles of years, in their several appointed times.
25 No single thing is hidden, naught missing from Your presence.
How can man say aught to account for his sins? How argue in excuse of his misdeeds? How can he enter reply to any just sentence upon him? Thine, 0 God of all knowledge,1~ are all works of righteousness and the secret of truth; while man's is but thralldom to wrongdoing, and works of deceit. The spirit that lies in man's speech, You did create.
You have known all the words of man's tongue and determined the frult of his lips,18 ere those lips themselves had being. It is You that disposeth all words in due sequence19 and giveth to the spirit of the lips ordered mode of expression;20 that bringeth forth their secrets in measured utterances,21 and granteth unto spirits means to express their Youghts, that Your glory may be made known,
30 and Your wonders told forth in all Thine unerring works, and that Your righteousness [may be proclaimed,] and Your name be praised in the mouth of all things, and that all creatures may know You, each to the meed of his insight, and bless You alway. Moreover, in Your mercy and great loving kindness You have given man's spirit the strength to endure afflictions, and the power to come forth clean, Yough never so great its transgressions; showing thereby unto all Your works what wonders You canst perfor~ [So, for my own pare, what I tell is, to sim]ple minds, but a tale of my sufferings and how just they are; but to the world at large 'tis a tale of miracles which You have evinced through me in the sight of all mankind.
Hear, then, ye that are wise, and sanely reflect; Ye that are simple-minded,22 learn to think with more depth!23 Ye that are righteous put an end to perversity! Ye that are blameless of conduct keep a firm stance! Be patient and spurn not correction! Yough men that are foolish at heare cannot understand these things, God's ways are ever just; while men who behave unbridled will [be left to] gnash their teeth.24
2: II, 2-19
[I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord,] for You are my strength and [my stronghold,1] and You have delivered my soul from all works of unrighteousness. [For You have] put [truth in my heare] and righteousness [in my spirit,] along with all gifts of Your wisd[om;]
5 and have crushed the loins [of them] [that have risen up against me.2]
You bringest me cheer, 0 Lord,8 amid the sorrow of mourning, words of peace amid havoc, stoutness of heare when I faint, fortitude in the face of affliction.
You have given free flow of speech to my stammering lips; stayed my drooping spirit with vigor and strength; made my feet to stand firm when they stood where wickedness reigns.4
To transgressors I am a snare, but healing to them that repent, prudence to the unwary, temperance to the rash.
10 You have made me a reproach and a derision to them that live by deceit, but a symbol of truth and understanding to all whose way is straight.
I am become an eyesore unto the wicked, a slander on the lips of the unbridled;5 scoffers gnash their teeth. A song am I unto transgressors,6 and the hordes of the wicked rage against me;7 like ocean gales they storm which, when their billows rage, cast up mire and dirt.8
Yet, You have set me as a banner in the vanguard9 of Righteousness, as one who interprets with knowledge deep, mysterious things; as a touchstone for them that seek the truth, a standard for them that love correction.10 To them that preach misguidance I am but a man of strife;11
15 but to them that see straight,12 [a very symbol of pe]ace. To them that pursue del[usion] I am but a gust of zeal;13 men that live by deceit roar against me like the roar of many waters.
Naught is there in their Youghts save mischievous designs. When, opening the fount of knowledge to all that have understanding, You have set a man's life to rights by the words of my mouth, and have taught unto him Your lesson and put understanding in his heare -they thrust him back into the piL In place of these Your gifts they offer a witless folk~14 stammering lips and barbarous tongue,15 that, wandering astray, they rush headlong to their doom.18
3: II, 20-30
20 I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord, for You have put my soul in the bundle of life1 and hedged me2 against all the snares of corruption.
Because I clung to Your covenant, fierce men sought after my life.3 But they-a league of Falsehood, a congregation of Belial-they knew not that through You I would stan~ For You in Your mercy dost save my life; for by You are my footsteps guided.
Of Your doing it was that they assailed me, to the end that by Your judgment on the wicked Your glory might stand revealed, and that You mightest show forth through me
25 Your power over mankind; for by Your mercy I have stood.
Mighty men, I said, have pitched their camp against me; their weapons have compassed me, their shafts have been loosed unceasing; the flash of their spears is like fire devouring timber, and the roar of their voices like the roar of many waters. Like a flood burst bringing ruin far and wide,4 all weak things and frail they crush in a pounding cascade.5
Yet, while my heare was dissolving like water, my soul held firm to Your covenant, and they-their own foot was caught in the net they had spread for me; in the traps they had hidden for my soul themselves they fell.8
'Now that my foot on level ground doth rest, 30 Far from the madding crowd, I call You blest'.7
4: II 31-36
I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord, for Thine eye is ever awake, watching over my soul. You have delivered me from envy of them that preach falsehood, and have freed this hapless soul1 from the congregation of them that seek smooth things men who sought to destroy me and spill my blood in Your service.
Little did they know that my steps were ordered of You, when they made me a mock and a reproach in the mouths of all men of deceit. But ever, 0 my God, have You holpen the soul of the needy and weak and snatched him from the grasp
35 of him that was stronger than he.2 So have You freed my soul from the grasp of mighty men, nor suffered me so to be crushed by their taunts that for fear of the mischief which the wicked might wreak I should forsake Your service, or change for wild delusion the sound spirit which You have vouchsafed me.
5: II, 3-18

[I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord,] for You have illumined [my face] [with the vision of Your truth;] [wherefore I yet shall wa]lk in glory everlasting along with all [the holy that hear the words of] Your mouth;
5 and You wilt deliver me from [the pit and the slough.]
Howbeit, at this hour my soul is [sore dism]ayed. Men deem me a [worthless shard] and render my life like a ship stormtossed on the deep, or like a bastion city1 beleaguered by the [foe.] Yea, I am in distress as a woman in travail bringing forth her firstborn,2 when, as her time draws near, the pangs come swiftly upon he~ and all the racking pains4 in the crucible of conception.
For now, amid throes of death, new life is coming to birth,5 and the pangs of travail set in, as at last there enters the world the man-child long conceived. Now, amid throes of death, that man-child long foretold is about to be brought forth.6
10 Now, 'mid the pangs of hell,7 there will burst forth from the womb that marvel of mind and might,8 and that man child will spring from the throes!9
From the moment that he was conceived pangs have been sweeping apace over the whole wide world;10 new things have been coming to birth amid racking pains, and tremors have beset the wombs in which they lie.
And when he comes to birth, all those pangs of travail that rack the world's great womb11
-that crucible of conception- will take a sudden turn;12 what has been conceived with all the bale of a viper18 will end, at the moment of birth, in mere racking pain, and all the tremors be but labor lost,14 For lo, the wall shall rock unto its prime foundation, even as rocks a ship storm tossed on the waters. The heavens shall thunder loud, and they that now do dwell on the crumbling dust of the earth be as sailors on the seas, aghave at the roaring of the waters; and all the wise men thereof be as mariners on the deep
15 when all their skill is confounded15 by the surging of the seas, the seething of the depths,16 as high o'er the swirling tides17 the billows [surge], the breakers roar, while the gates of Hell18 burst open, and at every step they take, they face Perdition's shafts,19 and only the raging deep hears their cries.20 Yet anon shall the gates of [salvation]21 be opened; all baleful deeds [will cease],22 while the doors of Perdition shall close on all that Perverseness has conceived, and everlasting bars28 shut in all baleful spirits.
6: II, 19-36
I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord, for You have freed my soul from the pit1 and drawn me up from the slough of hell2
20 to the crest of the world. So walk I on uplands unbounded and know that there is hope8 for that which You did mold out of dust to have consort with things eternal. For lo, You have taken a spirit distorted by sin,4 and purged it of the taint of much transgression,5 and given it a place in the host of the holy beings, and brought it into communion with the sons of heaven. You have made a mere man to share the lot of the Spirits of Knowledge,6 to praise Your name in their chorus7 and rehearse Your wondrous deeds before all Your works.8
I, that am molded of clay, what am I? I, that am kneaded with water, what is my worth? I, that have taken my stand where wickedness reigns,9
25 that have cast my lot with the froward; whose soul has lodged like a beggar in a place of wild unrest;10 I, whose every step has been amid ruin and rout11-on what strength of mine own may I count when Corruption's snares are laid, and the nets of Wickedness spread, when far and wide on the waters Frowardness sets her drags,12 when the shafts of Corruption fly18 with none to turn them back, when they are hurled apace with no hope of escape; when the hour of judgment strikes,* when the lot of God's anger is cast upon the abandoned, when His fury is poured forth14 upon dissemblers,15 when the final doom of His rage falls on all worthless things; when the torrents of Death do swirl,18 and there is none escape; when the rivers of Belial17 burst their high banks rivers that are like fire devouring all. . rivers whose runnels destroy
30 green tree and dry tree alike,18 rivers that are like fire which sweeps with flaming sparks devouring all that drink their waters -a fire which consumes all foundations of clay, every solid bedrock; when the foundations of the mountains become a raging blaze,19
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* Heb. 'When the line falls upon judgment'; cf. Isa. 28.27.
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when granite roots are turned to streams of pitch,20 when the flame devours down to the great abyss,21 when the floods of Belial burst forth unto hell itself; when the depths of the abyss are in turmoil, cast up mire in abundance,22 when the earth cries out in anguish for the havoc wrought in the world, when all its depths are aquake, and all that is on it quails and quivers in [mighty] havoc; when with His mighty roar God thunders forth,23 and His holy welkin24 trembles as His glorious truth is revealed,
35 and the hosts of heaven give forth their voice, and the world's foundations rock and reel; when warfare waged by the soldiers of heaven sweeps through the world25 and turns not back until final doom26 warfare the like of which has never been?
7: III, 37-IV, 4
[Fragment]
I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord, for You have been unto me a strong wall1 against all that would destroy me and all that would [traduce me.] You dost shelter me from the dlsasters of a turbulent time, [ ] that it come not [ ]
IV,3 [You have set] my foot upon a rock2
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[I will walk] the age-old way and the paths which You have chosen.
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8: IV, 5-V, 5

5 I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord, for You have illumined my face with the light of Your covenant. [Day by day] I seek You, and ever You shinest upon me bright as the perfect dawn.1
But as for them-they have [dealt treacherously] with You, have made smooth their words.2 Garblers of truth are [they all,] witlessly stumbling along8 They [have turned] all their deeds to folly; they have become abhorrent unto themselves. Yough You show Your power through me, they regard me not, but thrust me forth from my land like a sparrow from its nest; all my friends and familiars are thrust away from me, and deem me a broken pot.4 Preachers of lies are they,
10 prophets of deceit. They have plotted mischief against me, to make Your people exchange for smooth words Your teaching which You have engraven on my heare. They have kept the draught of knowledge from them that are athirst, and given them in their thirst vinegar to drink,5 to feast their eyes upon them as they wander astray,6 make sport of them as they falter and are caught in their snares.
But You, 0 God, wilt spurn all the schemes of Belial. Your plan it is will prevail,7 and the Yought of Your heare endure for ever.
Crafty men are they;8 they think base Youghts, seek You with heare divided, stand not firm in Your truth. In their every Yought is a root which blossoms to wormwood and gall.9
15 In the stubbornness of their heares they wander astray and go seeking You through idols. They make their iniquity a stumbling-block before them,10 and come to inquire of You from the mouths of lying prophets, men by error seduced. Then, with stammering tongue and with alien lipsil they speak unto Your people, seeking guilefully to turn their deeds to delusion. They have [paid no heed to] Your teaching, nor given ear to Your word, but have said of the vision of knowledge, 'It is not sure', and of the way You desirest, 'There is no such thing'.
But You, 0 God, wilt give them their answer, judging them in Your power for all their idolatrous acts and their manifold transgressions, to the end that they shall be caught in their own designs12 who have turned away from Your covenant
20 You wilt sentence all men of deceit to be cut off,18 and all the prophets of error will be found no more. For in all You do there is no delusion, and in all You thinkest no deceit And they that are pleasing to You shall stand in Your presence for ever, and they that walk in the way You desirest rest firm for all time.
So, for mine own pare, because I have clung unto You, I shall yet arise and stand upright14 against them that revile me; and my hand shall yet be upon all that hold me in contempt. Though You show Your power through me, they regard me not Howbeit, You in Your might have shed upon me the Perfect Light, and bedaubed not their faces with shame15 that have let themselves be found when that I sought them out; who, in a common accord, have pledged themselves to You. They that walked in the way You desirest have hearkened unto me and rallied to Your cause
25 in the legion of the saints.16 And You wilt vindicate them and plainly show forth the truth;17 and suffer them not to stray at the hand of froward men, what time these plot against them.
You wilt yet cause Your people to stand in awe of them. But for them that transgress Your word You shalt ordain dispersal among all the peoples on earth, passing sentence on them that they be cut off.
Through me have You illumined the faces of full many, and countless be the times You have shown Your power through m~ For You have made known unto me Your deep, mysterious things, have shared Your secret with me and so shown forth Your power; and before the eyes of full many this token stands revealed, that Your glory may be shown forth, and all living know of Your power. Yet, never could flesh alone attain unto this, nor that which is molded of clay do wonders so great
30 -steeped in sin from the womb and in guilt of perfidy unto old age.
Verily I know that righteousness lies not with man, nor perfection of conduct with mortals. Only with God On High are all works of righteousness; and ne'er can the way of man be stablished save by the spirit which God has fashioned for him, to bring unto perfection the life of mortal man; that all His works may know how mighty is His power, how plenteous His love to all who do His will. When I called to mind all my guilty deeds and the perfidy of my sires -when wicked men opposed Your covenant,
35 and froward men Your word-trembling seized hold on me and quaking, all my bones were a-quiver; my heare became like wax melting before a fire, my knees were like to water18 pouring over a steep;19 and I said: 'Because of my transgressions I have been abandoned, that Your covenant holds not with me'.
But then, when I remembered the strength of Your hand and Your multitudinous mercies, I rose again and stood upright, and my spirit was fortified to stand against affliction; for I was stayed by Your grace. You in Your plenteous compassion dost wipe out 5in,20 and with Your righteousness purge away man's guil~ Man alone cannot do as You have done; for You it is did create both the righteous and the wicked. And I said: through Your covenant I shall go strengthened for ever,
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[and on Your gralce [be stayed.]
40 For You Yourself are truth, and all Your works are righteousness'.
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9: V, 5-19
5 I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord, for You have not forsaken me Yough I dwell as a sojourner among an alien people,1 [nor cast me forth from Your sight,] [nor] judged me according to my guilt, nor abandoned me to my lusts; but have rescued my life from the pit
Yough You have set [my soul] amid lions2 prompt to spring on the guilty -fearful lions that break men's bones, mighty lions that drink their blood-and Yough You have placed me full oft in ready reach of their haul who spread their nets for the froward like fishers upon the waters, or seek, like hunters, to trap them,8 yet, when You have placed me there, You have dealt justly with me.4
For You have set firm in my heare Your deep, deep truth; and to them that seek after that truth You bindest Yourself in pledge. So have You put a lock upon the mouths of those lions,
10 whose teeth are like a sword,5 whose fangs like a sharp spear,8 <whose breath> is the venom of serpents.7 Yough ever they seek to raven, and Yough ever they lie in wait,
they have oped not their jaws against me. You have sheltered me, 0 my God, in the face of all mankind, and hidden Your teaching [within me], until it be shown unto me that the hour of Your triumph is come.8
In all the distress of my soul You have not abandoned me. In the bitterness of my spirit You have heard my cry, and in my sighing discerned the song of my pain.
When I have found myself in a very den of lions,9 whetting their tongues like a sword,10 You have rescued me in my plight Yea, 0 my God, You have locked their teeth lest they rend a hapless man apare; and You have drawn back their tongue
15 like a sword into its sheath,11 lest it [do hurt] to Your servant.
Moreover, to show forth Your power in the sight of all men, You have singled me out, a hapless wretch and worked a wonder in me, passing me [like gold] through a furn[ace,] even through the action of fire, and like silver that is refined in the crucible of the smith, to come forth sevenfold pure.12
The wicked rush wildly upon me to [grasp] me in their vice, and they crush my spirit all day, but You, 0 my God, dost turn the storm to a calm.15 From the jaws of very lions You have snatched a poor lost soul, [when it was nigh] to be rent
10: V, 20-VI, 35
20 Blessed are You, 0 Lord, for You have never abandoned the orphan neither despised the poor. [Unbounded is] Your power, and Your glory hath no measure.
Angels of wondrous strength minister unto You, and [they walk] at the side of the meek and of them that are eager for right-doing,1 and of all the lost and lorn that stand in need of mercy, lifting them out of the slough2 when that their feet are mired.8
So, for mine own pare, to them that were once my [familiars] I am become [a reproach], an object of strife and discord4 unto my friends; an occasion of fury and anger unto my fellows; of murmuring and complaint to all mine acquaintances. [All] that ate of my bread5 have lifted their heels against me;6 all that shared my board have mouthed distortions about me;7 and they with whom I [consorted] have turned their backs upon me and defamed me up and down
25 By reason of the secret which You have hidden within me they have spread slander against me to men that were bent on mischief.
Because they have he[mmed in my w]ay8 and because they are laden with guilt, You have [perforce] kept hidden [from them] the fount of understanding and the secret of truth, while they-they go on contriving the mischief of their heares, opening their shameless [mouths,] unleashing their lying tongues which are like the venom of adders9 fitfully spurting forth;lO like reptiles they shoot forth their his[sing] -vipers that cannot be charmed.11 It becomes like a constant pain, a fretting wound18 in the body of Your servant, causing his spirit to droop, wearing down his strength,14 until he cannot withstand. They have o'ertaken me between the straits,15 and I have no escape.
30 They have thundered abuse of me to the tune of the harp, and in jingles chorused their jeers. Confusion and panic beset me,18 horrendous anguish17 and pain, like to the throes of travail. My heare is distraught within me; I clothe me in mourning garb;18 my tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth.19 [In] their heares they rev[ile me,] and openly vented their spleen. The light of my face is turned to darkness, my radiance to gl[oom].
You, 0 my God, have enlarged my heare, but ever they seek to constrict it They have hedged me about with thick darkness I eat my bread amid sighs, and my drink is mingled with tears20 which have none end. Mine eyes are dimmed with anguish,21 and with all that beclouds the daylight22 my soul is over[cast] Sorrow and sighing are all about me,
35 and the pall of shame o'er my face. The very bre[ad] that I eat seems to be quarreling with me, the very driak that I drink to be at odds with me. They purpose to trammel my spirit, to wear down all my strength with blasphemous mystic lore, converting the works of God into that which they guiltily imagine. I am bound with unbreakable cords, with fetters that cannot be sundered. A strong wail [is upreared against me;] bars of iron [restrain me] and doors of brass.23
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Over my soul swirl the torrents of hell.24
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vi,2 My heare [is sore distraught] because of their obloquy which they have heaped upon me.
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[Ruin encompasses me,] disaster which knows no bound, destruction which hath no [end.]
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[Howbeit, 0 my God,] You have opened mine ear withal to the lessons which they impare who reprove with justice,25 [and have thereby delivered me]
5 from company with the vain from fellowship with crime and have brought me into communion [with Your holy truth], [purging my soul of] guilt So am I come to know that in [Your] loving[kindness] lies hope for them that repent and for them that abandon sin, [and confidence for him] who walks in the way of Your heare wiYout perversity. Therefore, Yough peoples roar, Yough kingdoms rage,28 when that they gather together, I shall go comforted. I shall [not] be dismayed, knowing that in a space You wilt raise a reviving for Your people and grant to Thine inheritance a remnant,27 and refine them, to purge them of guilt Whenas in all their deeds they have done as Your truth* enjoined, You wilt judge them with lovingkindness, with plenteous compassion and abundance of forgiveness, guiding them according to Your word,
10 stablishing them by Your counsel,** by Thine unswerving truth'
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* i.e., the scriptures.
** Or, 'in Your council'.
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You have acted for Yourself and for Your glory, that the Law may come to [fruition,] and have [sent] among mankind men that be schooled in Your counsel to tell forth Your wonders through the ages, world wiYout end, to [rehea]rse Your deeds of power wiYout surcease, that all nations may know Your truth, and all peoples Your glory. All them that follow Your counsel have You brought into [com]munion with You, and have given them common estate with the Angels of Your Presence28 There stands no intermediary among them to appr[oach You in their behalf and] bring them back Your word29 filtered through his mind [?];80 for they themselves are answered from out of Your glorious mouth' They are Your courtiers,* sharing the high estate of [all the heavenly beings.]
15 [For these have You planted a tree] which blooms with flowers unfading, whose boughs put forth thick leaves, which stands firm-planted for ever, and gives shade to all [ [whose branches tower] to hea[ven], whose roots sink down to the abyss.81 All the rivers of Eden [water] its boughs;32 it thrives beyond [all bounds], [burgeons beyond all] measure. [Its branches stretch] endless across the world, [and its roots go down] to the nethermost depths.
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* Heb. 'princes'. The word is commonly used in post-Biblical Hebrew to denote angels.
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Moreover, there shall well forth for them a fountain of light a perpetual spring unfailing. Howbeit, in its [fiery] sparks all [infamous] men shall be burned; it shall be as a flame devouring the guilty, until they are destroyed. These men who were once my comrades, pledged to the selfsame task of bearing witness to You, have let themselves be seduced by garbl[ers of truth], [that they are concerned no more] with working for righteousness.
20 You hadst given them commandments, 0 God, that they might have profit of their lives by wailing Your ho[ly way,] whereon the uncircumcised and unclean and profane may not pass.88 But they veered from the way of Your heare and ensnared themselves in their lusts. Belial has been counseling their heares84 and, through their wicked devisings, they have been wallowing in guilt.
Wherefore on their account I was as a sailor in a ship when the seas do froth and foam. All the breakers thereof kept pounding against me, and the whirlwind35 blew about me, [and there was no] moment of calm wherein to catch my breath, neither could I steer a course upon the waters. The deeps echoed my groaning, and I [came near] to the gates of death.30 But now I am as one.
25 that hath reached a fortified city, found refuge behind a high wall until deliverance come. For I have stayed myself on Your truth, 0 my God, knowing full well that You foundest Your structure on a rock, that Righteousness is the line by which You layest its bricks, that Justice is the gauge You usest to set its footing, that of solid stone87 is its wall, unshakeable; that all who repair unto it shall never be moved, for there shall no stranger invade it. Its doors are a sheet of protection which none may force, and its bars are strong bars which cannot be broken. No armed band can storm it, neither all the war hosts of wickedness together.
But anon, in the Moment of Judgment, the sword of God will be swift and all who acknowledge His truth will rouse themselves to [do battle]
30 [against the forces of] wickedness, and all the sons of guilt will be no more. The Warrior38 will bend his bow, and lift the siege for ever, and open the gates everlasting to bring forth His weapons of war; and His legions shall go marching from end to [end of the earth,] [and there shall be no es]cape for the guilty impulse of men They shall trample it to destruction, that naught re[main thereof.] [There shall be no] hope for it in [weapons] never so many, neither any escape for all that fight in its cause.
For the [victory] shall belong unto God on High,
…………………………………
and Yough they that lie in the dust will have raised their flag,39 and Yough this worm which is man40 will have lifted up his banner to do [battle against the truth,] [yet shall they be] cut off
35 when battle is joined with the presumptuous; and he that sought to bring the scourge of a flood overflowing41 will never reach that stronghold.
…………………………….
lOa: VII, 1-5
Lo, I am stricken dumb, [for naught comes out of men's mouths but] swearing [and lying]. My arm is wrenched from its socket;1 my foot is sunken in mire; mine eyes are dimmed2 from looking on evil; mine ears are deafened from hearing of bloodshed; my heare is numbed with thinking on evil; for where-so-ever men show the temper of their being, there is the spirit of baseness. The structure of my being is rocked to its very foundation; my bones are out of joint;3 mine inwards heave like a ship
5 when the searing east wind soughs;4 my heare is sore distraught. In the havoc of their transgression a whirlwind swallows me up.
11:VII, 6-25
I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord, for by Thine own strength have You stayed me, and have wafted o'er me Your holy spirit that I cannot be moved. You have braced me for all the battles that Wickedness wages against me, and have let not the havoc dlsmay me to break faith with You. You have made me like a strong tower upon a lofty wall,1 founded upon a rock,2 reared on eternal foundations, whose walls are a proven bulwark that cannot be shaken
10 -a tower which You have provided, 0 my God, for [this] holy community -these men that rise as on wings.8
[You have brought me into] Your covenant Words flow free on my tongue, as it were trained by You,4 while the Spirit of Havoc stays speechless, and the reprobate open not their mouth.
Through me You have kept Your pledge: 'False lips shall be stricken dumb'.* * All them that challenge me You makest to stand condemned, distinguisbin~ through me the right from the wrong. You knowest the impulse of every act, and discernest the purport of every speech,
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**ps 31.18.
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yet, by Your guidance* and truth You have directed my heare, to set my steps straight forward on paths of righteousness, and walk where Your Presence is,
15 within bounds of [holiness], on roads of infinite glory and peace, ending all [waywardness] for ever. You knowest also the nature of this Your servant, how that I have not relied [upon the things of the world,] lifting [my heare] in pride, vaunting my strength. No refuge have I in flesh, nor righteousness [in my soul,] that I may be saved from the snare except by Your pardon.
On [Your mercy alone] I rely, and for Your grace I hope, to bring [what I have plan]ted to flower, to make the shoot to grow, to find cause for vaunting strength, for [lifting heare.] And You, 0 God of mercy, have in Your bounty given me place
20 among those to whom You are pledged;5 and unto Your truth will I cling. You have [shown me Your grace] and set me as a father to them You holdest dear,6 and as a nurse unto them whom You have made exemplars of men.7 They open their mouths for my words, like sucklings [at the breast,] and like as a babe that plays on the bosom of its nurse.
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* Heb. Torah.
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You have raised high my horn8 over all that revile me, and all who wage battle against me are rou[ted wiYout remnant,] and all that contend with me are as chaff before the wind;9 and all impiety bows to my sway. For You, O my God, have holpen my soul and raised high my horn. I am lit with a light sevenfold, with that same [lustre] of glory which You did create for Yourself.10
25 For You are unto me as a light eternal11 guiding my feet upon [the way.]
12: VII, 26-33

I give [thanks unto You, 0 Lord,] for You have given me insight into Your truth and knowledge of Your wondrous secrets.
In loving kindness to [lowly] man, in abundance of mercy to wayward heares, who is like You among the gods, 0 Lord,1 and what truth is like Thine? Who can prove righteous in Your sight when You bringest him unto judgment? Not even a spirit can answer Your charge, and none can withstand Your wrath. Yet, all that are children of Your truth
30 You bringest before You with forgiveness, [clean]sing them of their transgressions through Thine abundant goodness, and, through Your plenteous mercies, causing them to stand in Your presence for ever. For You are a God everlasting, and all Your ways hold firm for all time;2 and there is none else beside You. But what is man-vain, empty man, that he should understand Your great wondrous works?
13: VII, 34-VHI, 3
[I give thanks] unto You, 0 Lord, for You have cast not my lot in the congregation of the false, nor set my portion in the company of dissemblers.
35 Behold, in Your mercy [I trust], in Your pardon [confide], and on Thine abundant mercies [I lean], when all [just] judgments are passed upon me. [For You dost tend me as a mother tendeth] her babe, and [like a child] on the bosom of [its nurse dost You sustain me].
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Your justice holdeth firm for ever, for [You dost] not [abandon them that seek You].1
----------------------------

14: VII, 4-36

I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord, because, in a dry place, You have set me beside a fountain; in an arid land, beside a spring;1
5 in a de[sert], beside an oasis; like one of those evergreen trees-fir or pine or cypress-planted together to Your glory,2 which, hidden 'mid other trees-trees that stand beside water-are fed from a secret spring, and which put forth blossom unfading upon an eternal trunk, striking firm root ere they burgeon, spreading their roots to the stream;3 a tree whose stem is exposed to living waters, and whose stock lies beside a perpetual fount; a tree on whose flowering leaves all the beasts of the woodland can feed; whose roots are so widespread that all wayfarers cannot but tread them;4 upon whose dangling boughs there is room for every bird.5 All those other trees-those trees that stand beside water-keep railing against it,6 because they grow entangled in their plantations,1
10 and can send not their roots to the stream, while this one, which puts forth the shoot of Holiness upon the stock of Truth, keeps its secret hidden, unknown, sealed and unsuspected. Moreover, O God, You has hedged in its fruit by the mystic power of stalware angels,8 by holy spirits, and by a flaming sword turning this way and that;9 that [the wicked] may not [drink] from the Fountain of Life nor, like those evergreens, imbibe the waters of Holiness;10 that he never may bring his fruit to blossom through the [sho]wers of heaven,11 because, Yough indeed he has seen it, he has never sensed what it was,12 nor, Yough he has had notion thereof,18 has he ever believed in the Fountain of Life, but, instead, keeps la[ying violent hands] on what is really a flower unfading. Behold, I was [aforetime] like lands which torrents have ravaged,14
15 casting their silt upon me,15 but You, O my God, have, as it were, put in my mouth early and latter rain [failing] all [the year round], an outpouring of living waters, which never fail, opening the heavens wiYout surcease,16 so that [those waters] are become like a river in flood,17 spilling over its banks,18 and like seas un[fathomable] which, long hidden in secret, suddenly burst forth [ ]19 and quicken [every tree], green and dry alike,20 and serve as a pool for wild beasts.
The tr[ees of the wicked shall fall] like lead in mighty waters,21
20 and a fire [shall break out], and they shall wither, and the planting of that fruit [prove in vain]. [But the trees of the righteous] shall [bloom fa]ir for ever, a glorious richness, a flower of beauty. At my hands have You opened a wellspring for them, yielding runnels of water, that their roots may be firmly set and their trees planted in line of the sun,22 in light [unfailing;] that their [boughs] may yield glorious foliage.
When I apply my hand to dig the furrows thereof,23 its roots strike even on granite, its stocks are firm-grounded in the eareh,24 and in the time of heat it secures protection But if I relax my hand, it becomes like a [heath in the desert,]25 and its stocks like nettles in a salt-marsh,
25 and out of its furrows grow thorns and thistles;26 [it turns] to briars and brambles,27 and its [ ] change to stinking weeds,28 its leaves fade before the heat; it is not exposed to water. It suffers mishap and disease and becomes a [target] for all manner of blight.
Then I become like a man abandoned in [a desert]; no refuge have I, for then whatever I planted blossoms but into wormwood. Constant is my pain,29 and cannot be stayed. [My soul is disqui]eted,30 like them that go down to Sheol; my spirit sinks 1ow81 among the dead. My life has as good as reached the Pit,82 and my soul waxes faint83 day and night wiYout rest.
30 There bursts forth, as it were a blazing fire held in my [bones,]34 the flame whereof devours unto the nethermost seas, exhausting my strength every moment, consuming my flesh every minute. Disasters hover about me, and my soul is utterly bowed down.85 For all my strength has ceased from my body, and my heare is poured out like water, and my flesh melts like wax, and the strength of my loins is turned to confusion, and my arm is wrenched from the shoulder.86 I [cannot] move my hand, and my [foot] is caught in a shackle, and my knees dissolve like water. I can take neither pace nor step; [heaviness] replaces my fleetness of foot;
35 [my steps] are trammeled. Once You did put into my mouth a powerful tongue, but now it is taken away. I cannot lift my voice in any areiculate [speech] to revive the spirit of the stumbling or encourage the faint with a word.87 Lips which were once so fluent38 are now stricken dumb.
15: IX, 2-X, 12
Yough [mine eye] sleep [not] at night, [Yough Belial assail me] wiYout mercy, Yough in anger He stir up His fury1 [and pursue me] unto destruction; Yough the breakers of death swirl around me,2 Yough Sheol* be upon my couch; Yough my bed take up a lament,8 and [my couch] a cry of anguish;
5 Yough mine eye smare as through the smoke of an oven,4 Yough my tears flow like rivers;5 Yough mine eyes fail,6 and I have no rest; Yough [my strength] stand afar off, and my life be put aside; Yough I go from rout to ruin,~ from pain to plague, from pangs to throes.
Yet will I muse on Your wonders; for You, in Your lovingkindness, have at no time cast me off.
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* i.e., the netherworld.
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My soul will delight every moment in the abundance of Your mercies, and I shall have wherewith to reply to him that would confound me, and to gainsay him that would abase me. I shall refute his case, and vindicate Your judgment.
10 For I have come to know Your truth; I accept Your judgments upon me, and am content with my afflictions.
I have learned to put hope in Your mercy; for You have placed in the mouth of Your servant the power to win Your grace,8 and have not mortally rebuked him, neither renounced his wellbeing, neither frustrated his hope. Rather have You braced his spirit to withstand affliction.
You it is emplanted* my spirit, and You knowest its every intent; and so in my straitness You have given me reassurance. I delight in the promise of pardon, and repent my former transgression; for I know that in Your mercy lies hope, and confidence in Thine abundant power.
15 For none can prove himself righteous when You bringest him unto judgment, neither can [any prevail] when You enterest suit against him. Yough man may prove more righteous than man, Yough a human may prove wiser than [a beast,] Yough flesh may rank higher than dumb [clay,]**
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* Heb. 'founded'.
** Literally, 'than that which is molded out of clay'.
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Though one spirit may prove mightier than another, yet naught can match [Your power] in strength. Your glory hath no equal, Your wisdom no measure, Your tr[uth no bound;] and all that have forfeited them [are doomed to perdition]
Behold, for my own pare, through You have I pr[ospered my way,] [through You maintained] my stand; for You have not [abandoned me] [unto them that selek my hurt.
20 Whenever they plot against me, You [savest me from their grasp,] and if they are bent to disgrace me, You in Your mer[cy dost confound] them. If mine enemy vaunt himself against me, it proves to his own undoing;* and they that battle against me [are overwhelmed] with disgrace, and shame overtakes them that revile me.
For at [every] time, 0 my God, You dost fight my fight.9 Yough now, in Thine inscrutable wisdom, You rebuke me, yet are You but hiding the truth until [its time] and [Your glory] until its season. Then will Your rebuking of me be turned into gladness and joy;
25 my plague shall be turned to perpetual health, the scorn of my foes to a diadem of glory,10 my halting steps to enduring strength. Lo, through Your Name and through Your glory light has shone forth upon me. You have brought me light out of darkness, have given me [health] in place of plague,11
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* Literally, 'stumbling'.
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wondrous strength in place of stumbling, and abiding enlargement for the straitness of my soul.
[You are] my refuge and my tower, my rock of retreat and my stronghold; in You do I take refuge from all that [pursue me,] [and You are] mine escape evermore. Or ever my father begat me,
30 You did know me; from the womb of my mother You did shower me with Your grace* and from the breasts of her that conceived me Your mercies have been shed upon me. On the bosom of my nurse [You did sustain me,] and from my youth up You have enlightened me with understanding of Your judgments, held me firm by Your truth, and caused me to delight in Your holy spirit: and even unto this day You dost stay my goings.
Though Your just rebuke be with my body, yet will my soul be saved by Your watch over my wellbeing. With every step I take Thine abundant forgiveness enfolds me, and when You arraignest me, Your mercies overwhelm me. Even unto old age You wilt yet sustain me.
35 For my father hath renounced me, and my mother hath abandoned me to You;12 yet You are a father to all that [know] Your truth, and You wilt rejoice over them like a mother who pitieth her babe,
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* The Hebrew word can also mean 'You did wean me. There is thus a double-entendre.
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and You wilt feed all Your works as a nurse feeds her charge at the bosom.13
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Who can fathom the des]igns of Your heare? Apare from You hath nothing existed, and wiYout Your will will nothing be; yet can none understand Your wis[dom] nor gaze upon Your [sec]rets. What is man, mere earth, kneaded out of [clay,] destined to return unto the dust,14 that You shouldst give him insight into such wonders and make him privy to things divine?
x,5 As for me, I am but dust and ashes. What can I devise except You have desired it? And what can I think apare from Your will? And how be strong except You have stayed me, or use my mind,15 except You have created it? How speak except You have opened my mouth? How reply except You have given me sense? Lo, You are the Prince of the angels, and the King of all that are in glory, and the Lord of every spirit, and the Ruler of every deed. WiYout you nothing is wrought, and wiYout Your will can nothing be known.16 None there is beside You,
10 and none to share Your might, and none to match Your glory, and Your power is beyond price. Which among all Your great wondrous works has power to stand before Your glory? How much less, then, can he who returns to his dust attain to [such power.] Only for Thine own glory have You done all these things.
.
16: X, 14-XI, 2
Blessed are You, 0 Lord, You God of compassion and mercy, for giving me knowledge [of Your truth]
15 and [insight] to [tell forth]. Your wonders, unhushed day and night
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Because I have come to rely on that truth of Thine, [I will put my trust] in Your mercy, [my hope] in Your great goodness [and in Thine abundant] compassion.
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Except You [keep hold,] there is no standing; and except [You let go, no falling]; except You rebuke, no stumbling; no affliction, but You have foreknown it; [no healing but] by Your [will].
20 Now that I know [Your tru]th, that I clearly behold Your glory, now that I understand [the mysteries of Your ways], [I now will put my trust] in the moving* of Your compassion, [my hope] in Thine acts of forgiveness. The high and mighty draw their strength from abundance of [worldly] delights; in profusion of corn and wine and oil [they find their joy],
25 and pride themselves in goods and possessions.1 Cho[osing] mortal delights and thliiking to glut themselves
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* Or, abundance.
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on earehiy things, [they picture themselves] as trees green beside nirniing streams,2 which cannot but put forth leaves and branches full many.8 But the joy and the bliss which You have given to these lowly servants of Thine4 is a joy and a bliss unending, and only by the measure of his knowledge does one outrank another.5 So, in [this] knowledge of Your truth have You bestowed on me, a lowly servant of Thine, a rich inheritance; and by virtue of that knowledge he now is come to ho[nor].6
30 The soul of [this] Your servant abhors all wealth and gain; in abundance of [worldly] delights his heare has no pleasure.7 Nay, in Your covenant does my heare rejoice, and Your truth it is that regales my soul. Wherefore, with heare exposed to a spring unfailing, drawing my strength from on high,8 I shall blossom like a lily,9 [while all the fruit of the wicked shall be but travail] and woe; they shall wither like a flower before [the heat].
35 Howbeit, when I hear tell how You wilt yet come to judgment along with Your stalware angeis,10 how You wilt yet enter suit in company with Your host of Holy Beings,11 my heare is sorely racked, my loins are all a-quake, my groans reach down to the nethermost depths and penetrate withal into the chambers of Hell;12 and I am full stricken with terror. For [judgment You surely wilt wr]eak [over the whole wide earth], justice on all that You have made; and [Your] right[eousness] wilt You evince over the hordes of Belial.13
[My soul is com]moved with ter[ror]; [tr]ouble [is not hidden] from mine eyes;14 Gri[ef and sorrow o'erwhelm] the musing of my heare.
17: XI, 3-14
I give thanks unto You, 0 my God, for You have wrought a wonder with dust and have shown forth Your power in that which is molded of clay. For You have made me to know Your deep, deep truth, and to divine Your wondrous works, and have put in my mouth the power to praise, and psalmody on my tongue,
5 and have given me lips unmarred1 and readiness of song, that I may sing of Your loving kindness and rehearse Your might all the day and continually bless Your name. I will show forth Your glory in the midst of the sons of men, and in Thine abundant goodness my soul will delight. For I know that Your mouth is truth, and in Your hand is bounty, and in Your Yought all knowledge, and in Your power all might, and that all glory is with You.
In Thine anger come all judgments of affliction, but in Your goodness pardon abounding; and Your mercies are shed upon all who do Your will For You have made them to know Your deep, deep truth
10 and divine Thine inscrutable wonders; and, for Your glory's sake, You have granted it unto man to be purged of transgression, that he may hallow himself unto You and be free from all taint of filth and all guilt of perfidy, to be one with them that possess Your truth and to share the lot of Your Holy Beings, to the end that this worm which is man2 may be lifted out of the dust to the height of eternal things, and rise from a spirit perverse to an holy understanding, and stand in one company before You with the host everlasting and the spirits of knowledge and the choir invisible,3 to be for ever renewed with all things that are.4
.
18: XI, 15-27
15 I give thanks unto You, 0 my God, I extol You, 0 my Rock,1 and because You have wrought wonders with me [I bless Your name.] For You have made me to know Your deep, deep truth; Your wonders have You revealed unto me, and I have beholden [Your truth] [and witnessed Your] deeds of loving kindness. So am I come to know that Yough You are ever just, yet in Your loving kindness lies sal[vatlon for men], and that wiYout Your mercy [theirs is but doo]m and perdition.
20 Lo, for mine own pare, when I mark the nature of man, how he ever reverts [to perversity and' wrong doing], to sin and anguish of guilt, a fountain of bitter mourning wells up within me; [my tears flow like rivers],2 and sorrow is not hidden from mine eyes.8 These things go to my heare and touch me to the bone, that I raise a bitter lament and make doleful moan and groan, and keep plying my harp in mournful dirge and bitter lamentation, till wrongdoing be brought to an end, and men have no more to suffer punishing plague and stroke. But when that time shall come, then shall I ply my harp with music of salvation, and my lyre to tune of joy; I shall ply the pipe and flute in praise wiYout cease. Yough none there be among all Your works can rehearse the full tale of Your [wonders], yet then, in the mouths of them all shall Your name be praised;
25 then with mouth of [ ] they shall go blessing You for ever, and along with the [Holy Being]s chorus their song of joy.4 For sorrow and sighing shall be no more;5 wrongdoing shall be [at an end], and Your truth shall burst forth as the dayspring in never-ending glory and peace perpetual.
19: XI, 27-Xil, 35
Blessed are You, [0 Lord,] Who have given unto man the insight of knowledge, to understand Your wonders, [discern Your truth,] tell forth Thine abundant mercies. Blessed are You, 0 God of compassion and grace, for the greatness of [Your] power, the abundance of Your truth, the profusion of Your mercies
30 over all Your works. Rejoice the soul of Your servant in Your truth, and in Your righteousness make me clean, even as when [aforetime] I waited on Your bounty and hoped on Your mercies, and You did bring release to my travail,1 and even as when I leaned on Your compassion, and You did comfort me in my sorrow. Blessed are You, 0 Lord, for You it is have wrought these things, and placed in the mouth of Your servant [power to pray] and to win Your grace, and all readiness of tongue; and have prepared for me the guerdon of [righteousness] [and the reward of devotion],
35 that I may attain to [stand in Your presence].
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[ ] my soul will exult2 [because it hath come to abide in Your presence] [and to dwell] secure in [Your] ho[ly] abode, in calm and quietude. [In] my tent [I will chant] [songs of joy] and salvation,5 and in the midst of them that fear You tell forth the praise of Your name to all ages to come, pouring forth prayer and supplication4 always, at all times and seasons;5 when daylight comes forth from [its abode];
xii,5 when, in its ordered course, day reaches its turning-point, in accordance with the rules of the sun; and again at the turn of the evening, when daylight depares, as the rule of darkness begins; and again in the season of night, when it reaches its turning-point, and when the morning breaks; and when, in the presence of the daylight, night withdraws to its abode; when night depares and day comes in, aiway, at all the birthdays of time, at the moments when seasons begin;6 when they reach their turning-points; when they come in order due according to their several signs,? as these have dominion in due order assured, [decreed] by the mouth of God and by the law of existence -that law which shall ever be
10 and beside which is none else, for the God of Knowledge it is that hath determined it, and along with Him there never hath been nor ever shall be another. Behold, for mine own pare, I have reached the inner vision, and through the spirit You have placed within me, come to know You, my God. I have heard Your wondrous secret, nor heard it arniss.~ Through Your holy spIrit, through Your mystic insight, You have caused a spring of knowledge to well up within me, a fountain of strength, pouring forth waters unstinted, a floodtide of loving kindness and of all-consuming zeal You have put an end to [my darkness],
15 and the splendor of Your glory has become unto me as a light ev[erlasting]. Wickedness hath been [consumed] altogether, and deceit [existeth] no more. [Perverseness is gone down] to perdition, for[ ] existeth no more [ ] Bluster is at an end, for it [cannot withstand] Thine anger. [The sins which I committed aforetime] [I committed in] overhavee; for [now am I come to know that] no man is righteous with You.
20 For there is none can understand all Your hidden things, nor answer Your charge against him; but all must needs wait upon Your goodness, for You, in [Your] loving kindness [wilt reveal to them Your truth,] that they may come to know You; and when Your glory bursts upon them, they shall rejoice. Only to the measure of each man's knowledge and to the meed of his understanding have You given men access [to You], to serve You in their several domains, even as You have assigned their roles, [but] never to overstep Your word. And I-I was taken from dust, nipped out of clay; I was but a source of filth
25 and of shameful nakedness, a heap of dust, a thing kneaded with water, a dwelling place of darkness, a shape moulded of clay, which must needs revert to dust in due season [and lie once more] in the dust whence it was taken. And how can [such] dust and [clay] give answer to [Him who shapes] it; or how understand what He doeth, or how stand before its Accuser? Even the holy [angels,] the everlasting [spirits,] the reservoirs of glory, the wellsprings of knowledge and power,
30 -even they [cannot] tell forth all Your glory, nor stand against Thine anger, nor answer Your charge. For You are ever righteous, and none can gainsay You. How much less, then, he who returns to his dust?
Lo, I am stricken dumb. What can I say against this? I have spoken but according to my knowledge and only with such sense of right as a creature of clay may possess. But how can I speak except You open my mouth, and how understand, if You give me not insight; or how contend, save You open my heare; or how walk straight save You gu[ide my feet?]
35 How can [my] fo[ot] stand, how can I be strong in power, how can I endure [save by Your grace?]
.
[From this point it becomes impossible to distinguish the separate hymns.]
XIII, 1-21

When first the world began [You did shed an] holy [sp]~t [on all You dldst bring into being,] and make them all to attest Your wondrous mysteries.1
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[You did show Your] handiwork in all that [You] did mak~ [You dldst reveal Your glory in all their varied shapes,] [Your] truth [in all] their works.
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On all that [keep Your charge] [You bestowest grace abounding]
5 and mercies never falling; but upon all things that defy You You bringest perdition eternal. [So, if mortal men keep faith with You, behold, You crownest their he]ads with glory everlasting2 and [compassest their] works with perennial joy; but [the face of] the wicked [You coverest with shame.]
On those whom You have set [in] glory8 [to show forth] the full measure of Your works, yea, on the hosts of Your spirits, the congregation of [Your Holy Beings,] [the heavens] with all their array, the earth with all its produce, all things in lakes and seas on those, ere You did create them, You did impose a task
10 and a perpetual charge. For when first the world began You did so order them and appoint the work of each that they would spell out Your glory throughout Your dominion, making known thereby what none would else have seen, how ancient things pass over, and new things are ever created,4 how You do away with outworn forms, yet [main]tainest eternal nature,5 for You are a God everlasting, and You wilt endure for all time. In Thine inscrutable wisdom You have assigned to all these natures diverse and varied wherein to show forth Your glory. But how can a spirit of flesh understand of these things? How can it conceive Your so great mystery? Yea, how can one born of woman attest Your tremendous plan?
15 Creature of dust that he is, moulded of sodden clay, [a heap of filth], whose foundation is naked shame, and who is ruled by a spirit perverse, through his constant misdeeds* does he not [rather] serve as a thing of unending [revulsion], a portent for all generations,6 an object of abhorrence to all flesh?7 Nay, it is only through Your goodness and through Your mercies abundant that Man can ever do right. For it is with Thine own beauty that You dost beautify him, and only of Your free bounty dost You shower him with delights and grant him peace unending and length of days. And [Lord,] when once You have spoken ne'er is Your word revoked.8 So, for mine own pare, through the spirit You have planted within me, I, Your servant, am come to know that [all Your judgments are truth,] and righteousness all Your works, and ne'er is Your word revoked.
20 None of the terms and times which You have foreordained [hath failed to come to pass] -all of them duly chosen for their appointed ends.9 Therefore I know full surely [that yet the time will come] [when You wilt reward the righteous,] and the wicked be utterly [doomed.]
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* Heb. 'If he do wrong'.
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xlv, 1-27
[I give thanks unto You, 0 Lord, for You have granted a remnant] unto Your people and a re[vival] [unto Thine iliheritance.]1 [You have raised up among them] men of truth and sons [of light,]2
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men of abundant compassion, men of stalware spirit, men of tempered [soul,] men steeled to [sustain] Your judgment [Through them have You kept Your covenant] S and fulfilled Your pledge, to render us unto You [a kingdom of priests and] an holy [natlon]3 for all generations of time and for all the [ages to come.] [Verily, O Lord, You dost sustain] them that have vision of You. Blessed are You, 0 Lord, Who puttest the sense of discernment into the heare of Your servants,4 [that they may walk blamelessly before You,] and be steeled against all the dev[ices] of wickedness, and that they may bless [Your name,]
10 [loving] all that You lovest and abhorring all that [You hatest,]5 [and stray not in the waywar]dness of men, but, through the spirit of [discern]ment which is theirs, [distinguish] the good from the wicked [and keep] their deeds undefiled. Behold, for mine own pare, through that discernment which You have bestowed, I have indeed attained to such knowledge; for by virtue of Your good pleasure I have been granted a share in Your holy spirit, and You have brought me close to an understanding of You. The nearer I draw to You,6 the more am I filled with zeal against all that do wickedness and against all men of deceit. For none that draws near to You can see Your commandments defied,
15 and none that hath knowledge of You can brook change of Your words, seeing that You are the essence of right, and in all Thine elect Your truth is engrained. You wilt bring eternal doom on all frowardness and transgression, and Your righteousness will stand revealed in the sight of all You have made.
Lo, through Your great goodness I have come to know these things, and committed myself by oath never to sin against You nor do aught that is evil in Your sight; and I have been granted admittance to [this] community. So, for mine own pare, I will admit no comrade into fellowship with me save by the measure of his understanding, and only to the degree of his share in this common lot will I show friendship to him. I will not countenance evil, neither recognize fraud.
20 I Will not bareer Your truth for wealth, nor all Your judgments for a bribe. Only as You drawest a man unto You will I draw him unto myself, and as You keepest him afar, so too will I abhor him; and I will enter not into commumon with them that turn their back upon Your covenant7
Blessed are You, 0 Lord, Who, in the greatness of Your power, in Your manifold, infinite wonders and in the greatness of Your forbearance forgivest them that repent their transgression, but visitest the iniquity of the wicked. Verily, [on the righteous] You bestowest freely [Your love,]
25 but perversity You hatest for ever.8 So have You graced me, Your servant, with the spifit of knowledge and truth,~ that I should cherish the paths of righteousness and abhor all froward ways. So, for mine own pare, I in turn will love You freely10 and with all my heare will I [choose] [to walk in] Your paths. For by Your hand has this thing been wrought, and wiYout [Your will can naught be done].
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XV, 9-26
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[ ] they love You alway. So, for mine own pare, [Iwill] [ ]
10 and love You right freely with all my heare and soul.1 Yea, I have cleansed [my heare] [to adhere to Your] ho[ly Law] [and never to] turn aside from aught that You have commanded; and I have made Your commandments to take firm hold upon many that they abandon not any of Your statutes.
Moreover, through the discernment which You have bestowed upon me I am come to know that not by means of the flesh can a mortal order his way neither can any man direct his own steps.2 I know that in Your hand is the shaping of each man's spirit, and ere You did create him You did ordain his works.8 And how can any man change what You have decreed?
15 You alone it is that have created the righteous, conditioning him from the womb to rank among the favored at the end of days,4 to be safeguarded ever by covenant with You, to walk always [undaunted] through the moving of Your compassion, to open all the straitness of his soul to everlasting salvation5 and perpetual peace unfailing. You have raised his inner glory out of the flesh.
But the wicked have You created for the time of Your [wr]ath,6 reserving them from the womb for the day of slaughter, because they walk in the way of the bad and spurn Your covenant, and their soul abhors Your [statutes], and they take no pleasure in all You have commanded, but choose that which You hatest All [them that hate You] have You destined to the wreaking of great judgments upon them
20 in the sight of all You have made, to serve as a sign [and a token] for ever, that all may have knowledge how great is Your glory and strength.
How can flesh have reason, or the earth-bound direct his steps, except that You have created spirit* and ordained the working thereof? By You is the way of all the living ordained. So am I come to know that no wealth can equal Your truth, and Your holiness hath no match; and I know that You preferest these things to all else, and that They attend on You always. You wilt accept no bribe [for wrongdoing], and You wilt accept no ransom for deeds of wickedness.
25 For You are a God of truth and [hatest]** all perverseness; [and no iniquity] shall endure in Your presence. And I am come also to know
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* Heb. You it is that createdest spirit', etc.
** Or, 'wilt destroy'.
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that [righteousness] is Thine, [and a]ll [Your works are truth.]
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XVI, 1-19
[You have shed] Your holy spirit righteous and [wicked alike,] [and You wilt judge all men] [according to their deeds.] Your holy spirit can [pass] not [away.] The fulness of heaven and earth [attests it,] and the sum of all things [stands witness to] Your glory.1 I know that through [Your] good wi[ll] towards man You have bestowed upon him a rich heri[tage in Your Law] [that he may walk] in all [his ways] as Your truth [inst]ructs; and [You have vouchsafed unto him]
5 to maintain a proper stance through Your [truth] which You have entrusted to him, lest he go as[tr]ay [ ], and You [have lain hold on him] that he stumble not in any of [his steps].2 Because that all these things are present in my mind, I would put into words my prayer and confession of sin, my constant search for Your spirit, the inner strength which is mine through the holy spirit, my devotion to the truth of Your covenant, the truth and sincerity in which I walk, my love of Your name:
Blessed are You, 0 Lord, creator of all things, mighty in deed,3 by Whom all things are wrought. Behold, You have granted mercy to Your servant and shed upon him in Your grace Thine ever-compassionate spirit and the splendor of Your glory. rhine, Thine alone, is righteousness, for You it is have done all these things.
10 Moreover, because I know that You dost keep a record of every righteous spirit,4 therefore have I chosen to keep my hands unstained, according to Your will; and the soul of Your servant has abhorred all unrighteous deeds. Nevertheless I know that no man can be righteous wiYout Your help. Wherefore I entreat You, through the spirit which You have put [within me,] to bring unto completion the mercies You have shown unto Your servant, cleansing him with Your holy spirit, drawing him to You in Your good pleasure, [ ] him in Thine abundant lovingkindness, granting to him that place of favor which You have chosen for them that love You and observe Your commandments, that they may stand in Your presence for ever. [Suffer not Beli]al [to ari]se and immerse himself in Your servant's spirit,
15 neither let [a spirit] perverse [rule over] any of his deeds.5 Let not affliction confront him to make him to falter from the statutes of Your covenant, but [crown him] with glory and truth. [For You are a God gracious] and merciful, longsuffering and abounding in loving kindness and truth, forgiving transgression [ ] and relenting of [evil] [unto them that love Him] and keep His command[ments]6 -even unto them that return unto You in falthfness and wholeness of heare to serve You [and do what is] good in Your sight. So turn not away the face of Your servant neither [reject] the son of [Thine] handmaid; [for to You, 0 Lord, belongeth forgiven]ess, and by Thine own words have I call[ed upon You.]7
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XVII, 1-XVIII, 30
[Eleven lines too Fragmentary to translate seem to describe the doom which awaits the wicked.]
[For divine forgiveness]
In Thine [abundant] mercy You have said by the hand of Moses that You wouldst [forgive all] iniquity and sin and shrive all [guilt] and treason.1 And verily, Yough the roots of the mountains [have blazed] and Yough the fire [has devoured] to nethermost hell,2 yet, whensoever You have wrought Your judgments them have You ever [redeemed] that were fa[ithful to You], that they might serve You in constancy and that their seed might be ever in Your presence;3 and You have ever confirmed unto them Thine o[ath]
15 [to pass over all transg]ression4 and to cast away all their iniquities,5 and to give them for their inheritance every mortal glory and abundance of days.
So, for mine own pare, by virtue of the spirits6 which You have set within me, I will give free rein to my tongue to tell forth Your bounteous acts and Your forbearance towards me and the deeds of Your strong right hand, and to [confess] my former transgressions and to make prayer and supplication7 before You concerning mine [evil] deeds and the waywardness of [my heare.] For I have been wallowing in filth, and [turned] from communion with You, and I have not att[ach]ed myself [unto Your congregation.]
20 You-with You lies bounty, and of Your nature it is ever to dower blessing.8 [Proffer,] then, Your bounty and redeem [my soul,] and let the wicked be brought to an end!
[For spiritual strength]
Moreover, I have come to understand that You have ever directed the course of such as You have chosen, bestowing insight upon him to spare him from sliming against You, repaying unto him all his affliction of heare in Your chaveisements and Your [trials].
You have delivered Your servant from sinning against You and from stumbling in doing Your will. Strengthen, then, the stand of this Your servant against all spirits of perverseness, that he walk in all the ways which You lovest, reject all that You hatest, and do what is good in Your sight. Yea, [ ] within me, for of flesh is the spirit of Your servant.
.
[For inner enlightenment]
[I am come also to know]
25 You have ever wafted Your holy spirit on him who is Your servant, i[llumi]ning for him the [dark places] of his heare [with light like the sun.] But I-behold, I look to all covenants made by man, [and all are nothing worth;]9 [while they that seek after Your truth] do surely find it, [for on them Your light] shineth; and they that love it [are illumined] [and walk in the glow of] Your light for ever,10 and You raisest [their heares] out of the dark[ness]. Let, then, Your light [shine ever on Your servant] for with You is light everlasting.
[For divine protection]
[I am come also to know] that once You did [ ] and open the ear of one who was but dust [that He might hear Your teaching] [and deliver Your chosen people] [from folly] and delusion
xviii,5 and from the uncleanness which [ And You did [ ] Your [], and [the hands] of Your servant were steadied by Your tr[uth,] and have remained so for ever, that he might announce Your wondrous tidings and reveal them to all who would hear. [You did strengthen him] by Your strong right hand to lead [ ] and You did [ ] [him] by Your mighty strength, [that he might achieve renown] for Your name and triumph in giory.11 Withdraw not now Your hand [from Your people,] that now too there might be among* them men** that hold firm to Your covenant,
10 that stand [blameless] before You!
[For power of speech]
Moreover, in the mouth of Your servant You did open, as it were, a fount and duly set*** on his tongue [the words of Your Law,] that through the understanding which You givest to him he might proclaim them to human mold, and serve as the interpreter of these things to dust like myself. That fount did You open also that he might reprove what is molded of clay concerning its way
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*Heb. "1nto'.
** Heb. sg., viz. 'a man' that holds firm, etc.
*** Or, 'engrave' [despite the mixed metaphor!].
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and that which is born of woman concerning its guiltiness, every man according to his deeds.
[Thanksgiving for divine grace]
But lo, that fount serves also as a wellspring of Your truth for every man whose spirit You have stayed by Thine own strength, that he [may walk] in Your truth, a herald of Your good tidings,12 bringing cheer to the humble through Thine abundant compassion,
15 sat[ing] from that fount them that are [wounded] in spirit, bringing to them that mourn everlasting joy.18
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[Were it not for Your grace,] I could not have seen this thing. [For how can] I look on [Your glory] except You open mine eyes? How hear [the words of Your truth] [except You unstop mine ears?]
20 Behold, my heare was amazed that thus the Word was revealed to one with ears unattuned, and that a [wayward] heare [was suffered to grasp these things.] But now have I come to know that for Yourself, 0 my God, have You done these things. For what is mortal flesh [that You shouldst so exalt it] and work such wonders with it?
Howbeit, You wast minded* to consummate all things and ordain them unto Your glory, [and have therefore called into being] a host endowed with knowledge to tell forth Your mighty acts unto mortal flesh, and Your sure ordinances to that which is born [of woman.] And You have brought [Thine elect] into covenant with You and opened their heare of dust that, through Your compassionate Presence, they may be guarded from [ ]
25 [and escape] the traps of judgment.
So, for mine own pare, molded [of clay] that I am, with an heare of stone,14 lo, of what worth am I, that I should attain unto this? Yet, behold, You have set [Your word] in this ear of dust, and graven upon this heare eternal verities;* * and You have brought to an end [all of my frowardness,] to bring me into covenant with You, that I may stand [before You] evermore unshaken*** in the glow of the Perfect Light,15 till the end of time, where [no] darkness is for ever,
30 and where all is peace unbounded until the end of time.
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* Heb. 'it was in Your Yought'.
** Heb. 'realities'.
***Heb. 'in an eternal station'.
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FRAGMENTS
1
[The ho]ly [angels]1 which are in heaven---[even they do not know Your gr]eat name, for it is a mystery;2 neither can they ever [recount all] Your [wonders]8 nor Claim knowledge4 of all [Your secrets]. [How much less, then, can one who is destined to re]vert to the dust whence he came?5
5 Rebellious that I was, wallowing [in filth],6 [tainited with the guilt of wickedness,7 I had been [living, as it were], through more than one Day of Wrath,8 [fearful how I could with]stand the blows that were raining upon me,9 how I might be protected [from the punishing stroke]. Yet, [through that inner discernment which You have vouchsafed to us, we of this brotherhood] have been [made awa]re of these things: that there [always] is hope for a man10 [who turns back from sin that You wilt cleanse him] of taint. Wherefore, 0 my God, mere creature of clay Yough I be,11 now have I placed my reliance [on Your mercy and faithfulness],
10 knowing full well that [what comes from Your mouth] is truth,12 [that Your word is never re]voked.13 So, throughout the time that is yet allotted to me14 I shall hold firm [to Your judgments], and I shall maintain my stance in the station wherein You dost set me; for [You, a God of mercy, dealest mercifully with all] men and You dost provide for them a way of return.
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* * *
2
* * *
[None is there in Your heavens neither upon] Thine earth, none among angels or m[en can] render You [fitting] praise or tell forth all of Your glory. How much less, then, can I who was taken from dust?
5 Howbeit, 0 my God, 'tis but to attest Your glory that You have made all of these. Wherefore, in accordance with Thine abundant mercy,1 grant that the sense for right doing which issues from You may serve ever as a safeguard [to Your servant] to deliver him from doom,2 and that, at his every step, there may be men about him to interpret to him what he should know8 and, [in all of his ways,] men to impress upon him the lessons of truth.~ For, [do whatever he may,] how else can man achieve aught, who is but dust, in whose ineffectual hands lies nothing but ashes? Yet lo, [on such a creature of] clay [have You shed Your grace, giving him Your] command[ments in] Your good will. You have shaped that clay on the wheel5 and passed it through Your test, that it may find its way into Your lot;8 and when cracks appear in it, You mendest them.7
10 Yea, over mere dust have You wafted Your [holy] spirit, [and have so molded that] clay that [it can have converse with] angels and be in communion with beings celestial. [Mere flesh have You lit with a light] perpetual, that there be no reversion to darkness, for [ ], and a light have You revealed that it never can be turned back.
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You have wafted Your hofly spirit o'er these humble servants of Thine],8 clearing away all guilt9 [and purifying them], that, along with Thine [heavenly] host, they too [may minis]ter to You, and, stayed upon Your truth,
15 walk [upon level ground and str]ay [not] from Your presence. These men have You singled out, [0 my God,] [to bear witness] to Your glory, and through that sense for rightdoing [which You have vouchsafed to them You have delivered them from sin and purged away from them alll the frowardness of their tainted mold.
.
* * *
3
* * *
[Unto the children of light] a way has indeed been opened [that they may walk upon] peaceful paths1 and show how miraculously2 [God rescues human] flesh [from thralldom to sin]. My own feet had been [falling] into all manner of hidden traps3 which Sin~ had been laying, and into all manner of nets which it had been spreading.5
5 [How, Yought I,] will I [ever] preserve [this] fabric of dust from crumbling, this waxen mold [from dissolving]? Mere heap of ash that I am, how will I [ever] withstand the stormy blast?6 Howbeit, God has been keeping it for His mysterious ends; because He has been aware [of how frail it is, He has not suffered it [?]] to be wholly destroyed.7 Yough men keep laying [for it] traps never so many, and [tightening all about it] the toils of frowardness,8 yet win all guileful bent be brought to an end,
10 [and all wickedness] come to naught and every deceitful intent9 and all the works of guile cease to exist.
I am but a creature [of clay, a fabric of dust;] and what strength does such possess? Thine, 0 God of [all knowledge]10 is [the power and the might];11 You it is did make all things, and but for You [can naught exist]. [Yet, creature] of dust Yough I be, by virtue of the spirit which You have set within me, I have now come to know that [You wilt yet call to account all guil]ty [men]12 that flock unto18 frowardness and guile, and the wellspring of sin will be dammed.14 [For] that which is wrought in uncleanness can bring naught else but disease,15 condign plague10 and decay. Thine, [0 my God,] is a blazing wrath and a ven[geful] passion.17
* * *
4
* * *
[The sons of Your covenant are come to know that always, at every moment, continually, ev]ening and morning, [You dost vouchsafe unto them the blessing of salvation] and [healjing [from all the afflic]tions of men and pa[ins of humankind].
5 Wherefore they stand as sentinels, [posted] upon their watch,1 [knowing that] You wilt exorcize every noisome devil2 and [every evil spirit]. Moreover, You have unstopped mine ear [and made me aware] that through such spirits as these* [men who have bound themselves to] [human] [pledge] and pact have [ofttirnes] been seduced and will [someday] come before You to face Your charge. Wherefore, I for my pare have been living in terror of Your judgment
10 [for who can prove innocent be]fore You, and who can gain acquittal when Your sentence is passed?3 To what will man amount when You arraignest him, and to what he that turns back to his dust [ ] ?
Howbeit, 0 my God, You have opened mine heare to the insight which comes from You, and unstopped mine ear [to Your teaching], that, alYough my mind be unquiet4 [on account of hidden wrongdoings], and alYough my heare has been melting like wax5 because of transgression and sin which I have kept [concealed],6 I am come to rely upon Your goodness.
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* Heb. 'through them'.
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15 Blessed be You, You God of [all] knowledge,7 Who have [so] ordained, and vouchsafed, for Thine own sake, that this fortune should fall upon Your servant. For now that I am come to [this] knowledge, so long as I have being I will put my hopes in Your [mercy]. Confirm, then, [Your word] unto Your [ser]vant Forsake us not in [these] times [of triai,8 that so we may bear witness always to Your grace] and Your glory and [Your] go[odness].
.
* * *
5
* * *
With a wondrous shew of [Your power You wilt visit upon them Your] righteous [judg]ment,1 [sundering and] severing them for ever from standing among [Your] sa[ints]2 [and from all] communion with Your Holy Beings.8 The spirits of wickedness4 wilt You ba<ni>sh from the ear[th],5
5 [and they that incite to] evil shall exist no more. You wilt appoint a place of un[rest6 he which shall be brought to their ruin, f;r all] spirits of frowardness,7 doomed] to [perpetual] mourning nd everlasting grief.8 When wickedness reaches its height in a climax of mighty uphea[val],9 t here shall come upon them anguish absolute.10 Howbeit, that all may take knowledge of Your glory and s[ee] how soothfast is Your judgment,11 [You wilt also shew forth] in the sight of all You have made how wondrous Your mercies can be.12 You have opened human ears13 [and impareed unto them the designs of] Your heare,14 and have given to [mortal] minds the means to understand that a time is yet to come when 'witness will be borne'.15 [Here] on earth wilt You enter suit16 with them that dwell thereon,17 and [You wilt] also [wreak vengeance on the children of] darkness,18 vindica[ting the ri]ghteous and cond[emning the wicked],19 and suffering not [the children of light]20 to be sundered [from bl]essing [evermore].
POEMS FROM A QUMRAN HYMNAL
Sing unto the Lord a new song
I

DAVID (PSALM 151)
A Hallelujah; ascribed to David, the son of Jesse
v.1 Smaller was I than my brothers and the youngest of my father's sons. So he set me as herdsman of his sheep and ruler over his kids.
v.2 My hands fashioned a Panpipe, and my fingers a lyre that I might pay honor to the Lord.*
v.3 I kept saying within myself: 'The mountains cannot tell Him what indeed they witness, neither can the hills. The leaves of the trees have no speech for my words,5 nor the sheep for my acts.
v.4 Nay, who is there that can tell, who is there that hath speech and can relate what it is that I am doing?" Yet, He Who is the Lord of All Things saw it indeed; He Who is the God of All Things-He heard and Himself gave ear.
v.5 So He sent His prophet to anoint me, even Samuel to bring me to greatness. My brothers went out to meet him, handsome and comely withal,
v.6 tall of stature, with splendid locks; but them the LORD* God did not choose.
v.7 I it was He sent for and fetched from behind the sheep, and He had me anointed with holy oil, and made me the leader12 of His people and the ruler of the Children of His covenant.
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* Written in archaic script (Possibly YHWH).
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It may be of interest here to reprint a curious and for-gotten version of Psalm 151 quoted in Holland's Psalmista (1848) as the work of a certain 'R.B.', said to be Richard Braithwait, whose versified rendering of I Samuel, ch. 17, in no less than sixty four-line stanzas, appeared in London in 1628. Holland says that the Psalm is included in Arabi; Anglc-Saxon, and Greek liturgies and was recognized as canonical by Athanasius. Actually, what is presented is, at best, an abbreviation of 'R.B.'s' version, and it has been suggested that it may in fact have been composed by William Tennant, who held the Chair of Hebrew at St. Andrew's University, Scotland, in the middle of the nineteenth century; see Notes and Queries, VI, v (1882), p.357.
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1. Among my brethren I was least, And of my father's stock I was the youngest in his house-The shepherd of his flock.
2. Rare instruments of music oft My hands, well-practiced, made; And on the sacred psaltery My skilful fingers played.
3. But who of me shall speak to God, and tell him of my care? The Lord himself, lo, even now, Doth hearken to my prayer.
4. He sent his messenger and took Me from the shepherd's toil; And on my head-sweet unction!-pour'd His own anointing oil.
5. My brethren, beautiful and tall, Held theirs a happy lot; But in them and their comeliness The Lord delighted not.
6. To meet the boasting alien chief I went forth on their part; He cursed me by his idols and Despised me from his heart.
7. But having slain, I with his sword Cut off his head at once. And took away the foul reproach Of Israel's daunted sons.
II
INVITATION TO GRACE AFTER MEALS

1 [Loudly acclaim the majesty of God; where many are foregathered Let His majesty resound!
2 Amid the throng1 of the upright proclaim how majestic He is,2 and along with the faithful tell stories of His greatness!3
3 [Join company]4 with the good and the blameless in confessing the majesty transcendent;5
4 unite8 in making known His saving power, nor be laggard in showing to the mindless His might and majesty!
5 For it is that the glory of the LORD* may be made known that wisdom has been given,
6 and that the richness7 of His works may be told has it been imparted to man,
7 to the end that the witless may have knowledge of His power, and the mindless a sense of His greatness-
8 men who keep far from her doors, remote from all access to her.
9Although the Most High, forsooth, is Jacob's special Lord,8 yet does His majesty reach out over all that He has made,
10 and a mortal who avows it9 is no less pleasing to Him than one who brings offerings of grain,
11 or presents to Him he-goats and bullocks, or fills the altar with ashes of burnt-offerings never so many10-yea, than fragrant incense proffered by righteous men.
12 Wisdom's voice rings out from behind the doors of the righteous; wherever the godly foregather (is heard) her song.
13 Whenso they eat and are filled,11 the word is of her; when they drink in fellowship together,
14 their talk is of the Torah of the Most High; the aim of their discourse is to further the knowledge of His power.
15 (But oh, how far from the wicked is any word of her; how far from all the proud any wish to have knowledge of her!)
16 Behold, the eye12 of the LORD looks with compassion on the good,
17 and great is His tenderness to them that avow His majesty; He will save them from the time of trouble.18
18 [Bless ye] the LORD* Who redeems the humble from the grasp of the proud, [and deli]vers [the blameless] [from the hand of the wicked;]
19 [Who will yet raise Ja]cob [to honor],14 and [from Israel] govern [the world];15
20 [Who will spread His tent in Zion and be present in Jerusalem for ever!]18
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* Written in Archaic script (possibly the sacred name YHWH).
III
PLEA FOR GRACE*

LORD** I have called on Thee; pay heed unto me.1 I have (duly) spread forth my palms toward Thy holy abode.2 Bend Thou, (then,) Thine ear and grant me what I ask,4 nor withhold from me what I seek.
5 Build up my soul, and cast it not down, neither be it left naked5 in face of the wicked Let the evil that I have earned6 be turned away7 from me, 0 Thou Who judgest right truly.8 Sentence me not, 0 LORD** according to my sin, for there is no man living can be justified in Thy presence.9
Cause me, 0 LORD** to understand what Thou teachest;***10 school me in Thy rules,11 that men far and wide may hear tell of how Thou actest, and peoples acknowledge how illustrious is Thy glory.12
10 Remember me; do not forget me, neither involve me in things too hard for me. The sins of my youth put far from me, and let not my transgressions be remembered against me.18
Cleanse me, 0 LORD** of noisome plague,14 and let it never return15 unto me. Let its root wither from me,18 and its l[ea]ves blossom not upon me.
15 Mighty17 art Thou, 0 LORD** wherefore by Thine own power fulfill what I ask; (for) unto whom (else) can I cry that He might grant it to me, and what pow[er] more (than Thine) do mere mortals possess?19
From Thee comes my confidence, 0 LORD** Whenso I have called upon the LORD** He (alway) has answered me20 [and mended] my broken heart; whenso I have slumbered or [sliept or dreamed, [(alway) Have I awoken;§21 whenso my heart has been smitten,22 ~ Thou hast (ever) upheld me,23 and I have had cause to cry out!] "'Tis Thou, LORD** [hast rescued me!]"24
20 [So, at this present time, I shall yet behold the hopes of the wicked confounded;****25 but no such confounding will be mine because it is in Thee that I have taken refuge.]20 [Ransom Israel, 0 LORD** to whom Thou art pledged,28 even the house of Jacob whom Thou hast chosen.]
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* In the Hebrew, this poem is an alphabetical acrostic.
** Written in archaic script (YHWH?)
*** Heb. 'Thy Torah'.
§ Passages in smaller type are supplied from the Syriac version.
**** Heb., simply, 'I shall yet behold their disappointment'.
IV
SUPPLICATION

<Poor am I and weak,>* for the worm cannot confess Thee, nor the maggot rehearse Thy loving kindness; the living alone can do so, the living alone.1 Whenever Thou showest men Thy kindness, what time their foot has slipped, they needs must confess Thee (and own) that in Thy hand it is that the souls of all living lie, and that Thou it is hast given breath to all flesh.2
5 Deal with us, then, 0 LORD** after the manner of Thy goodness, Thine abundant compassion and Thy justice.8 The LORD** hath (alway) heard the voice of them that love His name,4 and ne'er hath He abandoned His lovingkindness5 toward them.
'Blessed is the LORD** Who dealeth bountifuily.6 Who crowneth with loyal love and compassion them that are loyal to Him."7 (So) hath mine own soul come to acclaim Thy name in a roar of praise,
.
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* Supplied from another fragmentary copy.
** Written in archaic script (YHWH)
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.
confessing Thy loyal love in joyous song, telling forth the tale of Thy constancy.8 (Endless, indeed, is the praise that is due unto Thee!)
10 1 too had been marked for death on account of my sins, my wrongdoings had sold me to Sheol;*9 but Thou, in accord with Thine abundant compassion, Thou, in accord with Thy bounteous ways, didst rescue me, 0 LORD.
I too have loved Thy name, sought shelter in Thy shade;10 in calling to mind Thy power my heart finds strength,11 and upon Thy loyal love have I come to lean. Wherefore forgive Thou my sin, 0 LORD and purge me of my wrongdoing.13 Vouchsafe Thou unto me a spirit of constancy and knowledge (of Thy truth)14Let me not stumble in waywardness.15
15 Suffer no devil16 nor spirit unclean17 to bear sway over me; let not pain or evil bent gain mastery over my body. For Thou, 0 LORD it is from Whom comes (all) my worth,18 and on Thee have I alway pinned my hopes.19 Let my brethren and father's house who now are desolate
.
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* That is, the netherworld.
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.
rejoice along with me in the dowering of Thy grace. Let me find in Thee an [everl]asting joy.
V
THE CITY OF GOD

I will call down a blessing, 0 Zion, on the memory of thee;1 with all my might have I loved thee:2 'Blessed for evermore be the memory of thee!'8
Great has been thy hope, 0 Zion, thy quiet, longing hope4 that salvation would come to thee;5 that men would be dwelling in thee till the end of time;6 that successions7 of godly men would be there for thine ornament; that men who now are yearning for the day of thy salvation, who find joy in thy manifold glory, would yet drink in that glory of thine like mother's milk,8 and stroll through thy beautiful squares to the jingling of bells;9 that thou wouldst yet conjure up the godly devotion of thy prophets and find thy pride in the things wrought by thy saints-in the purging of all violence from within thee, with (all) falsehood and frowardness cut off; that thy children would make merry in thy midst, and thy friends who have allied themselves with thee.10
(How have they been hoping for thy salvation,11 and mourning over thee!)12
This hope of thine, 0 Zion, shall prove not a hope forlorn,13 nor shall this yearning of thine become a forgotten thing. Who ever perished, being righteous,14 or whom in his frowardness has God ever allowed to go free? Nay, there is never a man that is not brought to trial for the way he has trod, and none but receives his deserts for the deeds he has done. Nevertheless, 0 Zion, no foe ever compassed thee15 but was (in the end) cut down, and none has nursed hate for thee but was put to rout!16
A scent17 unto the nostrils is the fame of thee, 0 Zion, (diffused)18 over all the world! Over and over again will I call down a blessing upon the memory of thee: with all my heart19 invoke (this) benediction upon thee:
'Mayest thou yet attain the triumph of righteousness world without end,20 and receive the blessings shed on men marked out for honor!21 Reap thou the harvest22 of that vision23 that once was spoken of thee, and may there ensue for thee what the prophets dreamed!'24
Grow high and wide, 0 Zion! Praise the Most High, thy Redeemer! When thou art brought to honor my soul will rejoice.25
VI
MORNING HYMN

Great and holy is the LORD the holiest of the holy for all time.2 Before Him goes a splendor;3 behind Him a surge of many waters.'
Loving kindness and Truth are round about His presence;5 Justice and Right are the mainstay of His throne;6 Who has parted light from darkness7 and, through His discerning wisdom,8 turned the glimmer of dawn into bright day.9 (When first all His angels saw it, they sang for joy,10 for what He was showing them was a thing they had known not erst);11 Who crowns the hillsides with produce12 choice food for all the living.
Blessed be He13 Who by His power made the earth, by His wisdom founded the world, by His understanding spread out the skies; Who (first) brought forth [the wind] out of His promptu[aries],14 made [lightning's for the ralin,15 and lifted the mist[s from the] hori[zon].16
LAMENT FOR ZION

I,i
[God warned us that He would pu]nish all our iniquities, but because [we] did not listen to [the war]ningl that all these things would befall us, now is there naught we can do.2 By the evil of [our deeds3 we have cancelled) His covenant (with us) .4
Woe unto us!
5 [Our temple] has gone up in flames;5 the [shrine] which was our pride8 has been turned into [rubble]; no more is there within it the sweet savor of sacrifices.
[Men have come trampling] in [their sandals]7 the courts of our sanctuary.
[All the sacred] ve[ssels] have been [carried away] (?).8
Jerusalem, which was once a [joyous] city, is made over to wild beasts,9 with no one to [rescue her].10 [Deserted] are her squares,
10 her mansions all [abandoned], [her highways] desolate, with never a pilgrim upon them.11
All the cities of [Judah have been laid waste;12 the land of) our heritage has become like a wilderness, an un[inhabited] tract.18 No sound of merriment is heard anymore within it, [No one] seeks [our welfare,14 nor is there] any man [who has carried the lo]ad of our pain;15 and (all the while) our foes [have been lolling at ease].16
15 Our transgressions [are past all counting], and our sins [have denounced us).17
I,ii
Woe unto us!
God's anger flared [against us],18 and we shared the defilement of the dead,19 Is[rael became) like a wife grown loathsome, [Our mothers showed no pity] for their babes; Our womenfolk were turned into harpies,20
5 [shorn of all the charm of] their youth.21 Our sons were undone;22 [numbed] by winter's cold, our daughters, instead of dwelling [secure] in [their fathers'] homes, [hugged] the dunghills23 with wizened hands; when they begged for water, no one pou[red it for them]. They that were worth their weight in gold
10 [were deemed but] worthiess [shards],24 reared though they were in purple,25 decked in fine gold, garbed in [linen] and lawn, man[tied] in blue and brocade.26 The (once) tender maidens of Zion [became ….. ].
* * *
II
[Ah, how she sits] alone, [the city once full of people!]27
5 Once the princess of all nati[ons],28 now is she desolate, like a woman abandoned! all her daughters too like a woman abandoned, like a woman cast down and cast off.29
Her mansions all and [her] wal[ls], (empty of all life,) are become like a barren wife,80 and all [her] roads like one left destitute.31
Her…….are like a woman in bitter grief,82 and all her daughters like those who mourn their mates; …...her [matrons] are like (mothers) bereaved of an only child.33
Bitterly Jeru[salem] weeps, [and her tears run] down her cheeks;84 on account of her sons [ ]
10 she [has been wa]il[ing] and moaning.85
HYMNS OF TRIUMPH

I
Let the [righteous] hail the LORD in wild acclalm,1 for He is (even now) on His way to pass judgment on all deeds, to wipe out the wicked from the earth,2 that the froward exist no more.
The skies will [drop] their dew,3 and blight shall come no more within their borders,4
The soil will yield its tilth in due season,5 and its produce shall not be lacking. Fruit trees will [burgeon and blossom], and springs will not fail.
5 The poor will have to eat,8 and they that fear the LORD will be sated.
II
Let heaven and earth unite in a chorus of pralse!1 Let all the stars of evening break out in hymns!2 Be right joyful, 0 Judah, right merry and gay! Make thy pilgrimages; pay (in a purified Temple) the offerings thou hast vowed, for Belial shall no more be in thy midst!3
Victory and triumph shall be thine; for lo, thine enemies shall perish, and all evildoers be scattered;4
5 but Thou, 0 LORD, art eternal and Thine is a glory which endureth world without end.5
Hallelujah.
PRAYER FOR INTERCESSION

II
LORD, we beseech Thee, do as Thou art, in accordance with the greatness of Thy power,2 Thou Who (of old) didst forgive our fathers, what time they rebelled against Thy word.3 Though Thou wast angry with them, to destroy them,4 yet, through Thy love of them and for Thy Covenant's sake, Thou didst spare them, in that Moses won clearance of their sin.
So now, we beseech Thee, to the end that Thy great power may be known, and the abundance of Thy mercies also, unto all generations for ever, let Thine anger and Thy wrath be turned away from Thy people Israel, and, besides their sins, remind Thyself also of Thy peculiar favors8 which Thou hast (alway) wrought for us in the sight of the nations, because Thou hast claimed us as Thine own.7
[Vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, to tu]rn us again unto Thee with all our heart and soul,8 and so to plant Thy teaching* in our hearts9 that we depart not from it to right or left, Thou having cured us of madness and blindness and bewilderment of heart.10
.
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*Heb. Torah.
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.
Behold, when (of old) we were sold by our wrong doings,11 even amid our transgressions didst Thou call us12 and didst rescue us from (further) sinning against Thee. (Moreover, Thou didst vouchsafe unto us to know the mysteries of Thy Tru]th13 and to understand the evidences (of Thee), in that Thou didst [gre]at………………………………………….....................
.
III
Behold, all the nations were deemed as naught before Thee, as emptiness and nothingness in Thy presence,14 but us-since we owned ourselves Thine alone,15 and since Thou hadst created us unto Thy glory16-us didst Thou treat as Thy children17 in the sight of the nations, calling Israel, 'My son, My firstborn'.18 And though Thou didst chastise us, as a man might chastise his son,19 yet didst Thou grant us increase throughout the years of our generations. Thou didst not [abandon us neither suffer] hunger or thirst, plague or sword (to consume us] but didst ever fulfill Thy Covenant (with us).
(So too,) because Thou hadst chosen us for Thine own2O [out of all the peoples of] the earth, therefore although, when Thine anger was kindled, Thou didst pour on us Thy wrath and Thy fiery rage, and cause to cleave unto us21 [all] Thy [plagues and str]okes which Moses had prescribed22 and (likewise) Thy servants the prophets whom Thou didst send to (procla]im unto us the evil which was to befall us in latter times23
--when [our priests (?)] and kings [brake faith with Thee] by taking to wife the daughters of [the heathen],24 thereby [ ] and acting corrupfly25-[yet didst Thou not abjure] Thy Covenant, neither [reject us, to wipe out] the seed of Israel
(Nay,) Thou dost ever deal justly with them that cl[ing unto Thee],26 and dost[ ]
(So too,) because Thou didst love Israel above all peoples, and didst choose the tribe of Judali, [Thou didst set] Thy dwelling [in Zion], [and] a resting-place [for Thy glory] in Jerusa[lem],27 [the city which Thou hadst chos]en out of all the earth, that Thy [name] 'night abide§ there for ever; and Thou didst also fulfill Thy covenant with David that he should be shepherd, leader o'er Thy people,28 and that (his offspring) should sit alway in Thy presence on the throne of Israel.29 And all the nations beheld Thy glory, ensconced as Thou wast in holiness amid Thy people Israel, <and they made obeisance to Thee> and to Thy great name, and brought their tribute of silver and gold and precious stones
together with all the choice things of their lands, to do honor unto Thy people, and unto Zion, Thy holy city, and unto Thy glorious House.80 Nor was adversary there nor misfortune,31
.
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§ Heb. 'be'.
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but only peace and blessing; men ate and filled themselves and waxed fat82 [ ]
V
(So too,) though they had forsaken that fount of living waters83 [which Thou hadst opened for them for] their [hall]owing, and though they practiced idolatry84 in their land, and their soil was destroyed by their foemen, when, in Thy fiery passion, Thy fury and hot anger [were poured] out, so that it was turned to a wasteland, where no man came nor went,85 yet, despite all of this, Thou didst not reject the seed of Jacob, neither contemn Israel, to make an end of them,86 and abjure Thy Covenant with them. Nay, Thou alone art a living God; and there is none beside Thee. Therefore, remembering the Covenant
by which Thou hadst brought us forth in the sight of the nations,37 Thou didst not then abandon us among those nations, but in all [the] lands whither Thou didst thrust them38 Thou didst still show kindness to Thy people Israel, that they might be minded to return unto Thee and to hearken to Thy voice,39 even to all which Thou hadst commanded through Thy servant Moses, For Thou didst shed Thy holy spirit40 upon us, (so) bringing to us Thy blessings, that we might take thought on Thee when trouble befell us, and murmur our prayers (to Thee) whenso Thy chastisement pressed sore.41 (And troubles indeed have we encountered, [pla]gued and tortured by the fury of oppressors!)42
Moreover, although we, for our part, 'drove God hard with our wrongdoings, and, with our sins, laid hard service on our Rock',45 yet, when Thou didst lay service upon us, Thou didst so for our advantage, guiding <us> in the way we should walk.44 [And] though we paid no heed to [Thy word],
[yet didst Thou ]
VI
and, ever true to Thyself, * * [Thou didst ca]st away from us all our transgressions,45 and purge us of our sin.
It is Thou, 0 LORD, (not us), that hast dealt rightly,46 for all these things hast Thou done.47
[Howbeit, now, this day, when our hearts are bowed down,48 have we not paid the price of our own and our fathers' wrongdoing -the price of our perfidy and of our contrariness?49 For we have not spurned Thy trials, neither have our souls demurred # 50 against Thy strokes, abjuring our Covenant with Thee through all the distress of our souls. (Thou Who hast sent our enemies against us hast Thyself also given us courage!)
Therefore, we beseech Thee, 0 LORD, to the end that we may bear the tale of Thy power to all generations for ever, even as throughout all time Thou hast wrought peculiar favors, so now let Thine anger and Thy wrath be turned away from us,
.
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** Heb. 'for Thy sake'.
# Heb. 'felt revulsion'.
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and look Thou on our woe and our trouble and our stress,51 and grant unto Thy people Isra[el in all] the lands, near and far,52 whither [Thou hast thrust them],
yea, unto everyone that is inscribed in the Book of Life, 53 that they may succeed in serving Thee and giving thanks # to [Thy holy name]. [Deliver them also] from all their needs54 [ ]. [But bring Thou Thy retribution on dissemblers(?)] who are causing [Thy people(?)] to stumble55 [ ]
[Blessed be He who ], Who hath delivered us from all distress.
AMEN, [AMEN]
# Or, 'praise'.
THE LITANY OF THE ANGELS

A
…. the angels that minister to the Presence of God1s Glory1 in that compartment of heaven2 where abide [the beings who possess (true)] knowledge.3 They fall4 before the [cherubim and intone their blessings.5 While they are soaring aloft,6 there sounds a murmur of angel voices [ ],7 and the lifting of their wings is accompanied by a clamor of joyous song. It is the murmur of angels blessing the Chariot-like Throne8 above the firmament of the cherubim,9 while they themselves, from be-low the place where the Glory dwells, go acclaiming in joyous song the [splendor of that radiant expanse (Whenever the wheels (of that Chariot) are in motion,10 angels of sanctificafion11 dart to and fro12 all around it, between its glorious wheels. Like fiery apparitions are they,18 spirits most holy, looking like streams of fire, in the likeness of burnished metal14 or of lustrous ware; clothed in garments opalescent, a riot of wondrous hues, a diffusion(?)15 of brightness; live angelic spirits,16constantly coming and going beside the glorious wonderful Chariot.17 Amid all the noise of their progress sounds also that murmured intonation of blessings, and whenever they come round, they shout their holy hallelujahs.) When (the angels) soar aloft, they soar in wondrous wise; and when they alight,18 they stay standing.19

Then the sound of the paean is hushed, and the murmur of angelic benedictions pervades all the camps20 of those godly beings. Anon, from the midst of their every contingent,21 they [give forth] a sound of praise, as, in [holy] wor(ship), each of their several ranks22 breaks forth into joyous song, one after another, in their several stations.23

B

4
Next, with seven words1 of nobility2 the fourth of the arch-princes3 blesses4 in the name of His5 kingly nobility all who have walked uprightly; and with seven words of [ ] he blesses all who have laid foundations for [nobility]; and with seven words of vindication6 he blesses all those godly beings who have upreared the structure of true knowledge;7 that they may be blessed with His glorious mercy.
.
5
Next, with seven words of sublime truth the fifth of the arch-princes blesses in the name of His mystical powers8 all who have [led lives of] purity; and with seven words of [ ] he blesses all who have been eager to do His will; and with seven words of majesty he blesses all who have acknowledged His majesty;9 that they may be blessed with [ ] majesty.
.
6
Next, with seven words of His mystical prowess the sixth of the arch-princes blesses in the name of angelic prowess10 all who have shown prowess of mind;11 and with seven mystical words he blesses all whose way has been blameless;12 that they may take their stand beside the beings eternal;13 and (again) with seven mystical words he blesses all who have waited on Him;14 that they may obtain in return15 the mercy of His tender love.
7
(Finally,) with seven words of His mystical holiness the seventh of the arch-princes blesses in the name of His holiness all the saintly beings among those who have laid foundations for (true) knowledge; and with seven mystical words he blesses all who have avouched the sublimity of His judgments;16 that they may be blessed with stout shields; and with seven words of [ ]17 he blesses all who have enlisted in the cause of righteousness,18 who have sung continually the praises of His glorious kingdom;19 that they may be blessed with peace.20
THEREUPON all the arch-princes (in concert) [acclaim the praise of] the God of the angels, and all the [
Celebration of God 1 Great is the chief Power who abides forever!
Let us put on fear [dahaltah = "worship"] of him before we speak of him!
The secret is not hidden from him and everything is within his power.
He knows what was and what (is) now and what will take place.
He stands to strengthen himself, he who is not in need of anything.
He learns all secrets without learning;
and he is not discovered, but he does what he requires.
(There is) no king and no ruler who can withstand him.
YHWH, he (is) God and there is none beside him!
Great is he who is not large and all greatness belongs to him!
He taught Moses the secrets in the bush (Exod 3:2f),
which revealed his greatness and his glory!
And the angel first confronted him and spoke with him
about what was and what will take place. --- Marqah, Memar 1.1
Exaltation of Moses 9 And should we search for the Truth and learn Wisdom no apostasy will be found in us; except any time we run to the guidance of the wicked.
Let's attend to the Truth and trust in YHWH, our Lord and our Maker;
and also in Moses, our Prophet and Redeemer!
Except for Moses the world would not have been created and none of these wonders would have been revealed. 12 Lifted up is Moses, the great Prophet,
whom his Lord clothed with his name [cf. Exod 7:1]!
He dwelt in hidden things and was surrounded with Light.
The Truth was revealed to him and he gave him the writing of his own hand.
He gave him to drink from ten precious springs, seven above and three below.
Deity drew for him the waters of Life [mayah chayyah]
which watered his heart, until it produced that which gives life.
Prophecy drew for him the waters of Life which purified his soul,
until it made every soul great.
Truth drew for him the waters of Life which made his spirit great,
until it was able to illumine.
And the four Names [of God]* drew for him the waters of life,
so that he might be lifted up and glorified in every place. --- Marqah, Memar 2.9, 12 * The four Names: Elah [God] (Exod 7:1); Ehyeh asher ehyeh [I am who I am] (Exod 3:14), Anaki [I am] (Exod 3:15), and YHWH (Exod 6:3).
Waters of Life 1 In the depths of an abundant spring is the life of the world.
Let us rise with understanding to drink from its waters!
We thirst for the waters of life.
There are great rivers here before us.
Blessed be God who brought into being (all) kinds of creatures
for the sake of Adam.
Worthy is the form which is in the Image of God!
The form of the heart is not the form of the appearance! --- Marqah, Memar 2.1
Well of Living Water 3 There is a Well of living water
dug by a Prophet whose like has not arisen since Adam
and the water which is in it is from the mouth of God.
Let us eat from the fruit that is in this garden
and let us drink from the waters that are in this well.
There is no need for us to see it in a place we cannot get to.
"It is not in heaven" and it is not in crossing the sea (Deut 30:12-13).
"In the mouth and in the heart" it is done (Deut 30:14).
And woe to us! For we do not do it; it is far from us.
We do not learn it though we came down from heaven!
It was given to us and we believed in it.
It was with them; it was within the Light.
And the glory was around, for it was the word of God.
His hand wrote and the Prophet received it with signs from on high.
And YHWH came down and dwelt with him. --- Marqah, Memar 6.3
The Prophet & the Restorer 7 Let us stand where we are and listen to the Truth,
for our Lord and Master is merciful to us...
Let us follow after the great Prophet Moses, who leads us well,
for he was sent to us by our Lord.
Where is there a prophet life Moses?
He was a good father to all Israel, bringing them up and looking after them,
appeasing God with his fast and healing them with his prayer...
He was a good physician, healing and giving compensation...
His words are from the words of his Lord:
Believe in him! You will be safe from all wrath;
on the day of vengeance you will be at rest...
He who believes in him believes in his Lord!
Woe to us if we do not remember that!
Let us believe in YHWH and in Moses his servant!... 12 A Restorer [Taheb] will come in peace;
he will rule the places of the perfect and reveal the Truth.
Heed and hear! Stand in Truth! Clear your arguments!
"For YHWH will judge his people" (Deut 32:36a):
The "people" of YHWH is Jacob, the branches and the chief root,
and the branches from fathers to sons;
from Noah, the root, even to the Restorer, the branch...
The word of Truth will penetrate and illumine the world,
in which he will come to dwell.
How great is the hour when one comes to hear the voice of God
walking throughout the world;
and all creatures shall be in order and bow their heads;
their hearts will shiver and their eyes droop
and their limbs shake from fear on the day of Judgment.
And the mouth of Deity will speak:
-- "Now see that I, I am he [ani ani hu]!" (Deut 32:39a)
Those who rest and know this will then be saved.
-- "See, I have taught you rules and judgments" (Deut 4:5).
-- "Only be on your guard" (Deut 4:9)!
I, I (am) he who stands above creation and above Mount Sinai!
I, I (am) he who is and there is none beside me!
I, I (am) he who is without time and without place!
I, I (am) he who who is the life of the world [chayyei 'olam]!
I, I (am) he who suspended and split by my power!
I, I (am) he who planted the Garden and uprooted Sodom!
I, I (am) he who uprooted and stripped away!
I, I (am) he to whom all belongs and to whom (all) return!
I, I (am) he who puts all the living to death and makes all the dead live!
I, I (am) he who encircles my foes with vengeance!
And now it is good for us to rely on the Truth
and to tremble because of his might!
Perhaps we will find the way of prosperity! --- Marqah, Memar 4.7, 12
Jacob's Ladder 3 Wisdom is a light burning in the heart;
and any heart that does not have Wisdom as its comrade is like the blind groping in the dark.
For Wisdom is the Ladder [sollam] erected from the heart to heaven;
if the heart is guarded it sees every wonder for what it is.
The heart of Jacob was full of the Spirit of Wisdom [ruach hakamah].
There was revealed to him every good;
for the wisdom which was in it was the Wisdom of Truth [qashat]. --- Marqah, Memar 6.3