Spoils halved; part’s brightness becomes the whole’s boast
the sum of the spoils of the captivity from human until beast, you and Eleazar the priest, and the rulers of the fatherhoods of the synagogue, and divide the spoils in the middle of the warriors who have gone out unto array, and in the middle of every synagogue, and take away the end for the Lord, from the humans of the warriors going out unto the array, one soul from five hundred. From the humans and from the beasts, and from the oxen and from the sheep, and from the donkeys and from the half of them you will take; and you will give to Eleazar the priest the firstfruits of the Lord, and from the half of that of the sons of Israel you will take one from the fifty, from the humans, and from the oxen, and from the sheep, and from the donkeys, and from all the beasts, and you will give them to the Levites who keep the watches in the Lord’s tent. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did, just as the Lord arranged for Moses.’ For the divine oracle was at once being finished, a fine and precise numbering of the spoils having come to be, and the distribution in half, and the takings-away—or rather the firstfruits—having been given back to the Lord, to the priest Eleazar, I mean, and to those from Levi’s tribe; is your mind better than forgetfulness, and strong to run up unto what we said at the beginnings?
Palladius: What sort?
Cyril: For has not the sacred word said that the thousand from each tribe have been brought together unto the war’s need?
Palladius: It has said so.
Cyril: And we were saying clearly and evidently that the part’s brightness and good reputation will come unto the whole fullness, this also being managed for us very well of God’s gentleness and love of humans, so that as of one and most fragrant incense, made from different forms, some one fragrance of all thereafter may be carried up to God, and what is not thus approved may somehow be made bright together with the very most approved.
Palladius: Truly. For the word wished to test these things out for us.
Cyril: Observe then these things unveiled, God legislating them for those from Israel; for the chosen thousand according to tribe were campaigning against the Midianites; and winning, I think somewhere, gaining by toil and sweat, they distributed the things gathered from the war toward every synagogue at once, and the other multitude was being solemnized by the successes of those playing the man; for ‘Divide,’ he says, ‘the spoils, you and Eleazar the priest, and the rulers of the fatherhoods of the synagogue; and divide the spoils in the middle of the warriors going out unto the array, and in the middle of the synagogue.’ For that what is a little deficient, and going behind those ones’ greatness of nature, will be approved together with the greatly chosen and more conspicuous, the divine Paul was also somehow signaling. For having numbered up of the more ancient saints those approved through faith and for whom the glory
Greek
τὸ κεφάλαιον τῶν σκύλων τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου ἕως κτήνους, σὺ καὶ Ἐλεάζαρ ὁ ἱερεὺς, καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες τῶν πατριῶν τῆς συναγωγῆς, καὶ διελεῖτε τὰ σκύλα ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν πολεμιστῶν τῶν ἐκπεπορευμένων εἰς παράταξιν, καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον πάσης τῆς συναγωγῆς, καὶ ἀφελεῖτε τὸ τέλος Κυρίῳ, παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῶν πολεμιστῶν τῶν ἐκπορευομένων εἰς τὴν παράταξιν, μίαν ψυχὴν ἀπὸ πεντακοσίων. Ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν κτηνῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν βοῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν προβάτων, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ὄνων καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡμίσους αὐτῶν λήψεσθε· καὶ δώσεις Ἐλεάζαρ τῷ ἱερεῖ τὰς ἀπαρχὰς Κυρίου, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡμίσους τοῦ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ λήψῃ ἕνα ἀπὸ τῶν πεντήκοντα, ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν βοῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν προβάτων, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ὄνων, καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν, καὶ δώσεις αὐτὰ τοῖς Λευΐταις τοῖς φυλάσσουσι τὰς φυλακὰς ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ Κυρίου. Καὶ ἐποίησε Μωσῆς καὶ Ἐλεάζαρ ὁ ἱερεὺς, καθὰ συνέταξε Κύριος τῷ Μωσῇ.» Διεπεραίνετο γὰρ εὐθὺς τὸ θεῖον χρησμῴδημα, λεπτῆς τε καὶ ἀκριβοῦς γενομένης τῆς ἀπαριθμήσεως τῶν σκύλων, καὶ τῆς ἐν ἡμίσει διανομῆς, καὶ ἀποδοθέντων τῶν ἀφαιρεμάτων, ἤτοι τῶν ἀπαρχῶν Κυρίῳ, τῷ ἱερεῖ τῷ Ἐλεάζαρ, φημὶ, καὶ τοῖς ἐκ φυλῆς Λευί· ἆρά σοι λήθης ἀμείνων ὁ νοῦς, καὶ εἰς ὅπερ ἔφαμεν ἐν ἀρχαῖς ἀναθεῖν εὐσθενής;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Τὸ ποῖον;
{ΚΥΡ.} Οὐ γὰρ δὴ χιλίους τοὺς ἀφ' ἑκάστης φυλῆς εἰς τὴν τοῦ πολέμου συγκεκομίσθαι χρείαν ὁ ἱερὸς ἔφη λόγος;
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Ἔφη γὰρ οὖν.
{ΚΥΡ.} Τὴν δέ γε τοῦ μέρους λαμπρότητα καὶ εὐδοκίμησιν εἰς ὅλον ἥξειν τὸ πλήρωμα, σαφῶς τε καὶ ἐναργῶς ἐλέγομεν, ἡμερότητός τε καὶ φιλανθρωπίας Θεοῦ καὶ τοῦτο ἐφ' ἡμῖν εὖ μάλα διοικουμένης, ἵν' ὥσπερ ἑνὸς καὶ εὐοσμοτάτου θυμιάματος, ἐκ διαφόρων εἰδῶν πεποιημένου, μία τις ἡ πάντων εὐωδία λοιπὸν ἀναφέρηται τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ τῷ λίαν εὐδοκιμωτάτῳ συγκαταλαμπρύνοιτό πως τὸ μὴ οὕτως εὐδοκιμοῦν.
{ΠΑΛΛ.} Ἀληθές. Ταυτὶ γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος ἐκβασανίζειν ἤθελε.
{ΚΥΡ.} Ἄθρει δὴ οὖν ἀπημφιεσμένως ταῦτα τοῖς ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ νομοθετοῦντα Θεόν· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀπόλεκτοι χίλιοι κατὰ φυλὴν κατεστρατεύοντο τῶν Μαδιηναίων· καὶ τὸ νικᾷν, οἶμαί που, πόνῳ καὶ ἱδρῶτι κερδαίνοντες, διενείμαντο τὰ ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου συνειλεγμένα πρὸς πᾶσαν εὐθὺς τὴν συναγωγὴν, καὶ τοῖς τῶν ἀνδριζομένων κατορθώμασιν ἡ ἑτέρα πληθὺς κατεσεμνύνετο· «Διελεῖτε γὰρ,» φησὶ, «τὰ σκῦλα, σὺ καὶ Ἐλεάζαρ ὁ ἱερεὺς, καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες τῶν πατριῶν τῆς συναγωγῆς· καὶ διελεῖτε τὰ σκῦλα ἀναμέσον τῶν πολεμιστῶν τῶν ἐκπορευομένων εἰς τὴν παράταξιν, καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς συναγωγῆς.» Ὅτι γὰρ συνευδοκιμήσει τοῖς ἄγαν ἐξειλεγμένοις καὶ περιφανεστέροις τὸ βραχύ τι καταδεὲς, καὶ κατόπιν ἰὸν τῆς ἐκείνων μεγαλοφυΐας, ὑπεσημαίνετό πως καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος. Ἀπαριθμησάμενος γὰρ τῶν ἀρχαιοτέρων ἁγίων τοὺς διὰ πίστεως εὐδοκιμηκότας καὶ οἷς ἡ δόξα
About this text
Cyril continues the dialogue with Palladius. Book 4 of a seventeen-book dialogue — not the whole work.
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 4 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 4 (Aubert reprint) (Greek · Book 4)
- Checked print PDF of PG 68 De adoratione (Greek · Book 4)
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.