Reuben, Simeon and Gad stand for Israel, which comes after the free
Cyril: …and Simeon and Gad, who was born of a slave woman. Through these Israel is signified. Come, let us set out what belongs to each, gathering it from the prophecy Jacob spoke over them. The inspired Jacob said: ‘Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the beginning of my children, hard to bear, hard and self-willed’ (Genesis 49:3). And again: ‘Simeon and Levi, brothers, carried out wrongdoing of their own choosing. Let my soul not enter into their counsel, and let my heart not lean upon their gathering; for in their anger they killed men, and in their passion they hamstrung a bull. Cursed be their anger, for it was self-willed, and their wrath, for it was hardened’ (Genesis 49:5–7). And of Gad he said this: ‘A band of raiders shall raid, and he himself shall raid him at his heels’ (Genesis 49:19). So in Reuben Israel may fittingly be signified: firstborn in time, but hard, self-willed and insolent. In Simeon, with whom Levi is joined, Israel is signified as ready for bloodshed, as one who killed the saints (for ‘Which of the prophets,’ it says, ‘did your fathers not kill?’ (Acts 7:52)), and as one who hamstrung, so to speak, the bull, who is Christ. For it is not the Jewish people alone that stands convicted of daring these outrages against the saints and against Christ; Levi too joined them, that is, the priestly race, those who attend the altar, the scribes and Pharisees. That is why, in the prophecies of the forefather Jacob, Levi is yoked with Simeon. In Gad, who was born of a slave woman and is a band of raiders, Israel is signified as base-born in disposition, as testing Jesus and laying snares to do him harm; for they came to him saying, ‘Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, or not?’ (Luke 20:22; Matthew 22:17). So, to bring my argument back to where it began: Israel, firstborn in time, hard, self-willed and insolent, quick to shed blood, whose wrath is cursed, who killed men and hamstrung the bull, base-born and bitter in deceit, who sets snares and is a band of raiders, has been ranked behind those who are in Christ and free; and even if it is free, it comes after us, so that it scarcely comes into the sight of God.
Palladius: You have put it well.
Cyril: You would understand what I mean more fully if you also turned your mind to what follows. For next, three in a row brought their offerings, descendants of Rachel the free woman: Ephraim and Manasseh [The text is damaged here.]. Then, after them, three more in a row, the sons of the maidservants: once again I mean Dan, Asher and Naphtali. Do you see, then, that the sons of the free woman go in first and are held in high honour, while the sons of the maidservants follow? Or is this not plainly what the inspired Paul himself writes to us? ‘When the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,’ he says, ‘then all Israel will be saved’ (Romans 11:25–26).
Greek
τότοκος, Συμεών τε καὶ Γὰδ, ὅς ἐστιν ἐκ δούλης. Σημαίνεται δὲ διὰ τούτων ὁ Ἰσραήλ. Καὶ φέρε τὰς ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ λέγωμεν, ἐκ τῆς ἐπ' αὐτοῖς γενομένης προφητείας ἐξ Ἰακὼβ συλλέγοντες. Ἔφη τοίνυν ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἰακώβ· «Ῥουβὴμ πρωτότοκός μου, σὺ ἰσχύς μου, καὶ ἀρχὴ τέκνων μου, σκληρὸς φέρεσθαι καὶ σκληρὸς αὐθάδης·» καὶ πάλιν· «Συμεὼν καὶ Λευὶ ἀδελφοὶ συνετέλεσαν ἀδικίαν ἐξ αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν. Εἰς βουλὴν αὐτῶν μὴ εἰσέλθῃ ἡ ψυχή μου, καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ συστάσει αὐτῶν μὴ ἐρεῖσαι τὰ ἥπατά μου· ὅτι ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτῶν ἀπέκτειναν ἀνθρώπους, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐνευροκόπησαν ταῦρον. Ἐπικατάρατος ὁ θυμὸς αὐτῶν, ὅτι αὐθάδης, καὶ ἡ μῆνις αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἐσκληρύνθη.» Περὶ δὲ τοῦ Γὰδ ἔφη πάλιν τάδε· «Πειρατήριον πειρατεύσει, καὶ αὐτὸς πειρατεύσει αὐτὸν κατὰ πόδας.» Οὐκοῦν ἐν μὲν τῷ Ῥουβὴμ σημαίνοιτο ἂν εἰκότως ὁ Ἰσραὴλ, ὁ πρωτότοκος μὲν κατὰ χρόνον, σκληρὸς δὲ δὴ καὶ αὐθάδης καὶ ὑβριστής· ἐν δέ γε τῷ Συμεὼν, ᾧ καὶ συνῆπται Λευῒ, ὡς ἕτοιμος εἰς μιαιφονίαν, καὶ ἀπεκτονὼς μὲν ἁγίους· «Τίνα» γὰρ, φησὶ, «τῶν προφητῶν οὐκ ἀπέκτειναν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν;» νευροκοπήσας δὲ ὥσπερ καὶ ταῦρον, ὅς ἐστι Χριστός. Οὐ γάρτοι μόνος ὁ τῶν Ἰουδαίων καταφωρᾶται τετολμηκὼς τὰ κατὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ κατὰ Χριστοῦ τολμήματα, συνέδραμε δὲ τούτοις καὶ ὁ Λευῒ, τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ ἱερὸν γένος, οἱ τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ προσεδρεύοντες, Γραμματεῖς τε καὶ Φαρισαῖοι. Διὰ τοῦτο, ἐν ταῖς τοῦ προπάτορος Ἰακὼβ προφητείαις, συνέζευκται τῷ Συμεὼν καὶ ὁ Λευΐ. Ἐν δέ γε τῷ Γὰδ, ὅς ἐστιν ἐκ δούλης καὶ πειρατήριον, ὡς δυσγενὴς κατὰ γνώμην, καὶ πειράζων τὸν Ἰησοῦν, καὶ παγίδας ἱστὰς, εἰς κακουργίας αὐτῷ· προσῄεσαν γὰρ λέγοντες, «Ἔξεστι δοῦναι φόρους Καίσαρι, ἢ οὔ;» Οὐκοῦν, ἀνοίσω γὰρ αὖθις εἰς τὸ ἐν ἀρχαῖς τὸν λόγον, ὁ ἐν χρόνῳ πρωτότοκος Ἰσραὴλ, ὁ σκληρὸς καὶ αὐθάδης καὶ ὑβριστὴς, ὁ πρόχειρος εἰς μιαιφονίαν, καὶ ἐπάρατον μὲν τὴν μῆνιν ἔχων, ἀπεκτονὼς δὲ ἀνθρώπους, καὶ νευροκοπήσας ταῦρον, ὁ δυσγενὴς καὶ πικρὸς εἰς δόλους, καὶ παγίδας ἱστὰς καὶ πειρατήριον, κατόπιν τέτακται τῶν ἐν Χριστῷ τε καὶ ἐλευθέρων, καὶ εἰ ἐλεύθερος μεθ' ἡμᾶς, ὡς ἐν ὄψει μόλις ἔρχεσθαι Θεοῦ.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Εὖ ἔφης.
{ΚΥΡ.} Ἀναμάθοις δ' ἂν ὅ φημι, καὶ τοῖς ἐφεξῆς τὸν νοῦν ἐφιστάς. Τρεῖς γὰρ ἀλλήλων ἐχόμενοι προσεκόμιζον ἐφεξῆς, ἐξ ἐλευθέρας τῆς Ῥαχὴλ, Ἐφραΐμ τε καὶ Μανασσῆς*. Εἶτα τρεῖς ἀλλήλων ἐχόμενοί τε καὶ μετ' ἐκείνους οἱ ἐκ θεραπαινῶν, φημὶ δὲ δὴ πάλιν, Δὰν, Ἀσήρ τε καὶ Νεφθαλείμ. Συνίης οὖν ὅτι προεισβάλλουσι μὲν καὶ ἐκτετίμηνται λίαν οἱ ἐξ ἐλευθέρας, ἕπονταί γε μὴν οἱ ἐκ θεραπαινῶν· ἢ οὐχὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἐναργὲς, ὃ καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμῖν ὁ θεσπέσιος γράφει Παῦλος; «Ὅταν» γὰρ, φησὶ, «τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσέλθῃ, τότε πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται.»