Destroyer on firstborns; Christ pretyped; Exod 12 lamb command
Cyril: When Pharaoh practiced madness against God, the One who has authority over all sent the destroyer upon the firstborn of the Egyptians and sentenced them to death in a single night. (Ex 12:29) He also took care that the flocks of the Jews should not be swept into that evil, and should stand as far as possible from the destroying hand — that is, from wrath.
But no one could do this otherwise than through Christ, who is life and life-giving, inasmuch as he has sprung from the life of the Father according to nature. (Jn 1:4; Jn 5:26) So the law sketched beforehand the mystery concerning him, saying: ‘The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it is the first for you among the months of the year. Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying: On the tenth of this month let each take a sheep according to their fathers’ houses, a sheep for each house. And if the household be too few for a sheep, he shall take with him his neighbor who is near…’ (Ex 12:1-4)
Greek
ἐμελέτα κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἀπόνοιαν, τοῖς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων πρωτοτόκοις ἐφίει τὸν ὀλοθρευτὴν, καὶ τὸν ἐν μιᾷ νυκτὶ κατεψηφίζετο θάνατον, ὁ πάντων ἔχων τὴν ἐξουσίαν. Προενόει δὲ ὅπως αἱ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀγέλαι μὴ ὑπενεχθεῖεν τῷ κακῷ, καὶ ὡς ἀπωτάτω γένοιντο τῆς τοῦ διαφθείροντος χειρὸς, εἴτ' οὖν ὀργῆς. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἦν ἑτέρως τοῦτο πρᾶξαί τισι, πλὴν ὅτι διὰ Χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστι ζωὴ καὶ ζωοποιὸς, ἅτε δὴ ζωῆς τῆς κατὰ φύσιν ἐκπεφυκὼς, τοῦ Πατρός. Προανετύπου τοίνυν ὁ νόμος τὸ ἐπ' αὐτῷ μυστήριον, ὧδέ τε φησίν· «Εἶπε δὲ Κύριος πρὸς Μωσῆν καὶ Ἀαρὼν ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτου, λέγων· Ὁ μὴν οὗτος ὑμῖν ἀρχὴ μηνῶν, πρῶτός ἐστιν ὑμῖν ἐν τοῖς μησὶ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ. Λάλησον πρὸς πᾶσαν συναγωγὴν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ, λέγων· Τῇ δεκάτῃ τοῦ μηνὸς τούτου λαβέτωσαν ἕκαστος πρόβατον κατ' οἴκους πατριῶν, ἕκαστος πρόβατον κατ' οἰκίαν. Ἐὰν δὲ ὀλιγοστοὶ ὦσιν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, ὥστε μὴ εἶναι ἱκανοὺς εἰς πρόβατον, συλλήψεται μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ τὸν γείτονα τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ, κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ψυχῶν, ἕκαστος τὸ ἀρκοῦν αὐτῷ συναριθμήσεται εἰς πρόβατον. Πρόβατον τέλειον, ἄρσεν, ἐνιαύσιον ἔσται ὑμῖν. Ἀπὸ τῶν ἀμνῶν καὶ τῶν ἐρίφων λήψεσθε, καὶ ἔσται ὑμῖν διατετηρημένον ἕως τῆς τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτης τοῦ μηνὸς τούτου, καὶ σφάξουσιν αὐτὸ πᾶν τὸ πλῆθος συναγωγῆς υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς ἐσπέραν. Καὶ λήψονται ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος, καὶ θήσουσιν ἐπὶ τῶν δύο σταθμῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν φλιὰν, ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις ἐν οἷς ἐὰν φάγωσιν αὐτὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς. Καὶ φάγονται τὰ κρέα τῇ νυκτὶ ταύτῃ ὀπτὰ πυρὶ, καὶ ἄζυμα ἐπὶ πικρίδων ἔδονται. Οὐκ ἔδεσθε ἀπ' αὐτῶν ὠμὸν, οὐδὲ ἑψημένον ἐν ὕδατι, ἀλλ' ἢ ὀπτὰ πυρί· κεφαλὴν σὺν τοῖς ποσὶ καὶ τοῖς ἐνδοσθίοις. Οὐκ ἀπολείψεται ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἕως πρωΐ· καὶ ὀστοῦν οὐ συντρίψετε ἀπ' αὐτοῦ. Τὰ δὲ καταλειπόμενα ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἕως πρωῒ, ἐν πυρὶ κατακαύσετε. Οὕτω δὲ φάγεσθε αὐτό· αἱ ὀσφύες ὑμῶν περιεζωσμέναι, καὶ τὰ ὑποδήματα ὑμῶν ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν ὑμῶν, καὶ αἱ βακτηρίαι ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ὑμῶν, καὶ ἔδεσθε αὐτὸ μετὰ σπουδῆς, Πάσχα ἐστὶ Κυρίῳ. Καὶ διελεύσομαι ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ταύτῃ, καὶ πατάξω πᾶν πρωτότοκον ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου ἕως κτήνους, καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς θεοῖς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ποιήσω τὴν ἐκδίκησιν, ἐγὼ Κύριος. Καὶ ἔσται τὸ αἷμα ὑμῖν ἐν σημείῳ ἐπὶ τῶν οἰκιῶν ὑμῶν, ἐν αἷς ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐκεῖ, καὶ ὄψομαι τὸ αἷμα, καὶ σκεπάσω ὑμᾶς, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἐν ὑμῖν πληγὴ τοῦ ἐκτριβῆναι, ὅταν παίω ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ ἔσται ἡμέρα ὑμῖν αὕτη μνημόσυνον, καὶ ἑορτάσετε αὐτὴν ἑορτὴν Κυρίῳ εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς ὑμῶν, νόμιμον αἰώνιον ἑορτάσετε αὐτήν. Ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας ἄζυμα ἔδεσθε, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας τῆς πρώτης, ἀφανιεῖτε ζύμην ἐκ τῶν οἰκιῶν ὑμῶν. Πᾶς ὃς ἂν φάγῃ ζύμην, ἐξολοθρευθήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκείνη ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ, ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας τῆς πρώτης, ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας τῆς ἑβδόμης. Καὶ ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ πρώτη, κληθήσεται ἁγία, καὶ ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ ἑβδόμη, κλητὴ ἁγία ἔσται ὑμῖν· πᾶν ἔργον λατρευτὸν οὐ ποιήσετε ἐν αὐταῖς, πλὴν ὅσα ποιηθήσεται πάσῃ ψυχῇ, τοῦτο μόνον ποιηθήσεται ὑμῖν.» Βούλει δὴ οὖν λεπτῶς καὶ ἐπιδρομάδην
About this text
Cyril continues the dialogue with Palladius. Book 17 of a seventeen-book dialogue — the final book of the series.
English follows Migne PG 68 (Aubert reprint). The PDF and a cleaned text of the same print were checked against each other. This page is Book 17 of seventeen. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Migne PG 68 De adoratione Book 17 (Aubert reprint) (Greek · Book 17)
- Checked print PDF of PG 68 De adoratione (Greek · Book 17)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.