Tithes exchanged for silver; the priest as judge, a type of Christ
Cyril: …because the place which the Lord your God chooses for his name to be called upon there is far from you, because the Lord your God will bless you, then you shall sell them for silver, and take the silver in your hands, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses for his name to be called upon there. And you shall spend the silver on whatever your soul desires, on oxen or on sheep, on wine or on strong drink, or on whatever your soul desires; and you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household, and the Levite who is in your cities, because he has no portion or inheritance with you.’ (Deuteronomy 14:22–27) Do you see the skill of the law? It levels the steep climb, makes rough roads quite passable, and eases even what is very hard. And this, I think, is what was said through the voice of the prophet: ‘The way of the godly has become straight, and the way of the godly is made ready.’ (Isaiah 26:7) Notice too that the Levite is brought in everywhere and of necessity, since the law shows us plainly that the God of all would not accept a sacrifice offered by an unconsecrated hand, in a way that is at odds with the law.
Palladius: So the Levitical order has been held in the highest honor.
Cyril: Entirely so, Palladius. For the priest is a type and an imprint of Christ. Emmanuel has been named the Mediator between God and humans (1 Timothy 2:5), and the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, according to the Scriptures (Hebrews 3:1); he entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, not through the blood of goats and calves but through his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12). And by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified, according to the Scriptures (Hebrews 10:14). Now look, if you will, at another way as well in which the priest is crowned with the glory of Christ. Christ himself has cried out to us plainly, saying: ‘For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.’ (John 5:22–23) Again, this saying, spoken through the voice of a saint, stands in the sacred writings: ‘There is one Lawgiver and Judge.’ (James 4:12) And the inspired David also sings that ‘God is Judge.’ (Psalm 50:6; Psalm 75:7) Assigning this splendid dignity of judging to those of priestly blood, the lawgiver speaks in this way in Deuteronomy: ‘If a matter for judgment is too hard for you, between one kind of bloodshed and another, between one lawsuit and another, between one injury and another, between one dispute and another, matters for judgment in your cities, then you shall rise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses, and you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge who is in office in those days; and they shall search the matter out and declare the judgment to you. And you shall act according to the matter which they declare to you from the place which the Lord your God chooses, and you shall take care to do all that is laid down for you. You shall act according to the law and according to the judgment that they tell you. You shall not turn aside from the word that they declare to you, to the right or to the left. And the man who acts… (Deuteronomy 17:8–12)
Greek
ὅτι μακρὰν ἀπὸ σοῦ ὁ τόπος ὃν ἂν ἐκλέξηται Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, ἐπικληθῆναι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ, ὅτι εὐλογήσει σε Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, καὶ ἀποδώσῃ αὐτὰ ἀργυρίου, καὶ λήψῃ τὸ ἀργύριον ἐν ταῖς χερσί σου, καὶ πορεύσῃ εἰς τὸν τόπον ὃν ἂν ἐκλέξηται Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, αὐτὸν ἐπικληθῆναι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ, καὶ δώσεις ἀργύριον ἐπὶ παντὸς οὗ ἂν ἐπιθυμῇ ἡ ψυχή σου, ἐπὶ βουσὶν ἢ ἐπὶ προβάτοις, ἢ ἐπ' οἴνῳ ἢ ἐπὶ σίκερα, ἢ ἐπὶ παντὸς οὗ ἂν ἐπιθυμῇ ἡ ψυχή σου, καὶ φάγῃ ἐκεῖ ἐναντίον Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου, καὶ εὐφρανθήσῃ σὺ καὶ ὁ οἶκός σου, καὶ ὁ Λευίτης ὁ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσί σου, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ μερὶς οὐδὲ κλῆρος μετὰ σοῦ.» Ὁρᾷς τοῦ νόμου τὸ εὐτεχνὲς, καταψιλοῦντος τὸ ἄναντες, καὶ βάσιμα τὰ δυσπόρευτα τιθέντος εὖ μάλα, κατευμαρίζοντος δὲ καὶ τὰ λίαν δυσχερῆ; καὶ τοῦτο, οἶμαι, ἐστὶ, τὸ διὰ τῆς τοῦ προφήτου φωνῆς· «Ὁδὸς εὐσεβῶν εὐθεῖα ἐγένετο, καὶ παρεσκευασμένη ἡ ὁδὸς τῶν εὐσεβῶν.» Ἐπιτήρει δὲ ὅτι πανταχῆ τε καὶ ἀναγκαίως ὁ Λευίτης παραλαμβάνεται, καταδεικνύντος ἡμῖν ἐναργῶς τοῦ νόμου, ὡς οὐκ ἂν πρόσοιτο θυσίαν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς ἐξ ἀνιέρου χειρὸς, καὶ ἀπᾴδοντος τοῦ νόμου προσκεκομισμένην.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Ἐκτετίμηται δὴ οὖν εἰσάπαν τὸ Λευιτικόν.
{ΚΥΡ.} Παντάπασι μὲν οὖν, ὦ Παλλάδιε· Χριστοῦ γὰρ τύπος, καὶ ἐκμαγεῖον ὁ ἱερεύς· ὠνόμασται γὰρ μεσίτης Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ὁ Ἐμμανουὴλ, ἀπόστολός τε καὶ ἀρχιερεὺς τῆς ὁμολογίας ἡμῶν κατὰ τὰς Γραφὰς, ὃς οὐ δι' αἵματος τράγων καὶ μόσχων, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὰ Ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων ἐφάπαξ, αἰωνίαν λύτρωσιν εὑράμενος. Καὶ μιᾷ προσφορᾷ τετελείωκεν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς τοὺς ἁγιαζομένους, κατὰ τὰς Γραφάς. Ἄθρει δὲ, εἴ σοι δοκεῖ, καὶ καθ' ἕτερον τρόπον, τῇ δόξῃ Χριστοῦ στεφανούμενον τὸν ἱερουργόν· διαῤῥήδην γὰρ ἡμῖν ἀνακεκραγότος αὐτοῦ καὶ λέγοντος· «Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ Πατὴρ κρίνει οὐδένα, ἀλλὰ τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν δέδωκε τῷ Υἱῷ, ἵνα πάντες τιμῶσι τὸν Υἱὸν, καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν Πατέρα·» καὶ μὴν δι' ἁγίου φωνῆς· «Εἷς ἐστιν ὁ νομοθέτης καὶ κριτὴς,» παρά γε τοῖς ἱεροῖς κείμενον Γράμμασιν, ἀναμέλποντος δὲ καὶ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Δαβὶδ, ὅτι «Θεὸς κριτής ἐστι.» Τὸ ἐπὶ τῷδε λαμπρὸν ἀξίωμα, τοῖς ἐξ αἵματος ἱεροῦ προσνέμων ὁ νομοθέτης, ὧδέ πή φησιν ἐν τῷ Δευτερονομίῳ· «Ἐὰν δὲ ἀδυνατήσῃ ἀπὸ σοῦ ῥῆμα ἐν κρίσει ἀναμέσον αἷμα αἵματος, καὶ ἀναμέσον κρίσις κρίσεως, καὶ ἀναμέσον ἁφὴ ἁφῆς, καὶ ἀναμέσον ἀντιλογία ἀντιλογίας, ῥήματα κρίσεως ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀναστὰς ἀναβήσῃ εἰς τὸν τόπον, ὃν ἂν ἐκλέξηται Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου ἐκεῖ, καὶ ἐλεύσῃ πρὸς τοὺς ἱερεῖς τοὺς Λευίτας καὶ πρὸς τὸν κριτὴν ὃς ἂν γένηται ἐν ταῖς ἡ μέραις ἐκείναις, καὶ ἐκζητήσαντες ἀναγγελοῦσί σοι τὴν κρίσιν, καὶ ποιήσεις κατὰ τὸ πρᾶγμα ὃ ἂν ἀναγγείλωσί σοι ἐκ τοῦ τόπου οὗ ἐὰν ἐκλέξηται Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, καὶ φυλάξῃ ποιῆσαι πάντα ὅσα ἂν νομοθετηθῇ σοι. Κατὰ τὸν νόμον καὶ κατὰ τὴν κρίσιν ἢν ἂν εἴπωσί σοι, ποιήσεις. Οὐκ ἐκκλινεῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥήματος οὗ ἐὰν ἀναγγείλωσί σοι δεξιὰ οὐδὲ ἀριστερὰ, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἐὰν ποιήσῃ