The leaders’ daily gifts as a figure of Christ’s offering
Cyril: …both full of fine flour mixed with oil for a sacrifice; one incense dish of ten gold shekels, full of incense; one calf from the herd, one ram, one yearling lamb for a whole burnt offering; and one male goat for sin; and for a sacrifice of salvation two heifers, five rams, five male goats, five yearling ewe lambs. This was the gift of Nahshon son of Amminadab’ (Numbers 7:13–17). And they brought their gifts in turn, one after another, up to the twelfth, in the same way and with unvarying generosity, each being assigned the day appointed for him in particular (Numbers 7:18–83); for this was how God ordained it.
Palladius: And what then is the meaning of so varied an offering?
Cyril: The thing is an offering of fruit, Palladius; but woven into it, I think, is also a mystical meaning, which refers the riddle to Emmanuel and to ourselves. I will explain it again as well as I can. Now that the holy and true tent (Hebrews 8:2), that is, the Church, has been revealed in this world, Christ, shining out in it in many ways, is offered, one might almost say, by us and on our behalf, as a sacred victim to God the Father, a ransom and exchange for the life of all, the One who is worth as much as all. For since the Only-begotten became man as one of us, he offered himself to God the Father (Ephesians 5:2), as a kind of first offering and firstfruits of human nature, fragrant with holiness: a holiness that is his by nature and in essence, inasmuch as he is understood to be God and is God, but that is his in turn as something received, because of his humanity. And though he is one, he was depicted in many ways, as in the offering of the leaders; and so too, even now, Christ is offered in sacrifice through those who serve as leaders in each age, being understood in many ways and honored with various names. The offering each day suggests, in a way, that the sacrifice of Christ never fails and never ceases on any day, and that those who have been justified by faith bear fruit in it. For worshippers will not fail, nor will there be any lack of gifts. Christ will be offered by us and on our behalf, mystically sacrificed in the holy tents. He himself is our first and choicest offering of fruit; for he offered himself as a sacrifice to the Father, not for himself, indeed, as irreproachable reasoning holds, but rather for us who were under the yoke and indictment of sin. And in likeness to him we too are sacred victims, dying to the world, since sin has been put to death in us, and living to God (Romans 6:11) the life of holiness and godliness. This, it seems, is what the leaders’ offering hints at for us. Would you like us to examine it part by part with fitting reasoning, as best suits us, and speak of it as far as we are able?
Palladius: By all means.
Cyril: Now a calf was brought by each leader, and the wagons, six in number, were assigned to the sacred work of the holy tent (Numbers 7:3–5). Then from…
Greek
ἀμφότερα πλήρη σεμιδάλεως ἀναπεποιημένης ἐν ἐλαίῳ εἰς θυσίαν, θυΐσκην μίαν δέκα χρυσῶν, πλήρη θυμιάματος, μόσχον ἕνα ἐκ βοῶν, κριὸν ἕνα, ἀμνὸν ἕνα ἐνιαύσιον εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα. Καὶ χίμαρον ἐξ αἰγῶν ἕνα περὶ ἁμαρτίας· καὶ εἰς θυσίαν σωτηρίου δαμάλεις δύο, κριοὺς πέντε, τράγους πέντε, ἀμνάδας ἐνιαυσίας πέντε. Τοῦτο δῶρον Ναασσὼν υἱοῦ Ἀμιναδάβ.» Προσεκόμιζον δὲ καὶ καθεξῆς ἄχρι τοῦ δυοκαιδεκάτου, κατά γε τὸν ἴσον τρόπον καὶ ἐν ἀπαραλλάκτοις φιλοτιμίαις, ἐκνεμηθείσης ἑκάστῳ τῆς αὐτῷ συντεταγμένης ἡμέρας ἰδικῶς· διετύπου γὰρ ὧδε Θεός.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Καὶ τίς δὴ ἄρα ἐστὶ τῆς οὕτω πολυειδοῦς προσαγωγῆς ὁ λόγος;
{ΚΥΡ.} Καρποφορία μὲν οὖν τὸ χρῆμά ἐστιν, ὦ Παλλάδιε, πέπλεκται δὲ, οἶμαι, καὶ λόγος αὐτῇ μυστικὸς εἰς τὸν Ἐμμανουὴλ, καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀνακομίζων τὸ αἴνιγμα· φράσω δὲ ὡς ἂν οἷός τε ὦ πάλιν. Ἀναδεδειγμένης γὰρ ἐν τῷδε τῷ κόσμῳ τῆς ἁγίας, καὶ ἀληθοῦς σκηνῆς, τοῦτ' ἔστι, τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, πολυειδῶς ἐν αὐτῇ διαπρέπων Χριστὸς καὶ μονονουχὶ παρ' ἡμῶν καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ὡς ἱερὸν προσάγεται θύμα τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ, λύτρον καὶ ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ἁπάντων ζωῆς, εἷς ὁ πάντων ἀντάξιος. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος ὁ Μονογενὴς ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν, ἑαυτὸν προσκεκόμικε τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ, πρωτόλειον ὥσπερ τι καὶ ἀπαρχὴ τῆς ἀνθρώπου φύσεως εὐωδιαζούσης ἐν ἁγιασμῷ, φυσικῶς μὲν καὶ οὐσιωδῶς ἐνυπάρχοντι, καθ' ὃ νοεῖται καὶ ἔστι Θεὸς, εἰσκεκριμένως δὲ αὖ διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον. Εἷς δὲ ὑπάρχων καὶ αὐτὸς, κατὰ πολλοὺς ἐγράφετο τρόπους, ὡς ἔν γε τῇ τῶν ἀρχόντων προσκομιδῇ, ἱερουργεῖται δὲ ὥσπερ καὶ νῦν ὁ Χριστὸς, διὰ τῶν κατὰ καιροὺς ἡγουμένων πολυτρόπως νοούμενος, καὶ διαφόροις ὀνόμασιν ἐκτετιμημένος· καὶ καθ' ἡμέραν προσφορὰ, τὸ ἀνεκλειπὲς οἱονεί πως καὶ ἀκατάληκτον τῆς Χριστοῦ θυσίας ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πάσῃ καὶ τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ καρποφόρον τῶν ἐν πίστει δεδικαιωμένων ὑποδηλοῦντος τοῦ πράγματος. Οὐ γὰρ ἐπιλείψουσιν οἱ προσκυνηταὶ, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ σπάνις ἔσται δωροφορίας· προσκομισθήσεται δὲ πρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ὁ Χριστὸς, μυστικῶς ἱερουργούμενος ἐν ταῖς ἁγίαις σκηναῖς. Αὐτὸς δὲ ἡμῶν καρποφορία πρώτη καὶ ἐξαίρετος· προσκεκόμικε γὰρ ἑαυτὸν εἰς θυσίαν τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ οὐχ ὑπέρ γε μᾶλλον ἑαυτοῦ, κατὰ τὸν ἀμωμήτως ἔχοντα λόγον, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τῶν ὑπὸ ζυγὸν καὶ γραφὴν ἁμαρτίας. Καθ' ὁμοιότητα δὲ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν, ἱερὰ θύματα καὶ ἡμεῖς, κόσμῳ μὲν ἀποθνήσκοντες, ὡς νενεκρωμένης τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐν ἡμῖν, ζῶντες δὲ τῷ Θεῷ, τὴν ἐν ἁγιασμῷ καὶ ὁσιότητι ζωήν. Ταυτὶ γὰρ ἡμῖν ὑπεμφαίνειν ἔοικεν ἡ τῶν ἀρχόντων προσαγωγὴ, ἣν καὶ ἀνὰ μέρος ἐκβασανίζοντες τοῖς καθήκουσι λογισμοῖς, ὅπως ἂν ἡμῖν εὖ ἔχοι, βούλει λέγωμεν κατὰ τὸ ἐγχωροῦν;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Καὶ μάλα.
{ΚΥΡ.} Προσκεκόμισται μὲν οὖν παρὰ ἑκάστου μόσχος· ἐκνενέμηνται δὲ τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἔργοις τῆς ἁγίας σκηνῆς, ἓξ οὖσαι τὸν ἀριθμὸν αἱ ἅμαξαι. Εἶτα παρ'