Commentary on Zechariah · §23 · Didymus the Blind

The Sign and Wonder of Christ's Incarnation

Of the Lord, as to how to grasp what is made manifest through them. Of this knowledge, the great hierophant Moses and his brother Aaron the high priest are examples; for it has been written, 'God set among them the words of His signs and His wonders' (Psalm 105:27). How then is the divinely-inspired observer not merely looking at the sight of wonders and signs, but at their words, according to which these things are accomplished?

And it is to be testified by the theory of one and two things recorded in the Gospels: a sign and a wonder was the leading of the blind man from birth to sight (John 9:6-7), his eyes having been anointed with clay, having been brought from the ground and from the spittle of the benefactor. Because of this having happened paradoxically, the one observing the prototype made manifest through it is a wonder-observer.

For the people from the nations, who previously were not seeing at all, should be considered to be blind from birth by the subversion of atheism and ignorance of God, having looked up when they knew Christ according to the flesh, the eyes were anointed with the clay made from the spittle of Jesus, having gained experience of the incarnation which brought him to see Him. Alongside these is also the woman with the flow of blood for all twelve years (Luke 8:43-48), who had become outside the bearing of unclean blood through which she was prevented from giving birth, from touching the hem of Jesus. Paradoxically and wondrously it was accomplished; the one having gained knowledge of it is a wonder-observer, transferring that which happened wondrously to the woman into the purified Church from the nations.

Having shown all things observed in the existing words, 'I, says the Almighty Lord, lead my servant toward the East,' calling Him his servant, He who happens to be of the seed of David according to the flesh, 'the one having taken the form of a servant, having emptied himself while being in the form of God' (Philippians 2:7). This servant of God who was brought low is that East concerning which it is said in the Gospel: 'An East from on high, to shine upon those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death' (Luke 1:79), no other being 'of the true light.' Showing His own servant, the Father says: 'Behold, a man, East is his name' (Zechariah 6:12), calling him a man because of the incarnation, and East because of having been raised up, being a sun of righteousness; for indeed it has been written about him in the last of the Twelve Prophets, from the person of the Father who sent him: 'The sun of righteousness shall rise for you who fear my name, and healing in his wings' (Malachi 4:2). Rendering the reason for leading his servant as East, he says: 'Because the stone from before' the one who shone 'has seven eyes.' Who is this, if not the Savior who sojourned, having the seven-powered discerning nature? For it has been said in Isaiah concerning him: 'A rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise from the root, and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and he shall fill him with the spirit of the fear of God' (Isaiah 11:1-3). And see the seven eyes of the Lord upon one stone, of which one is the spirit of wisdom, another of understanding. For what eye is so luminous, beholding all good and great things, as the spirit of wisdom, and likewise the spirit of understanding? The spiritual stone thus eyed, being itself counsel and strength, beholds all things with counsel and strongly, having been filled knowingly and piously with the Spirit of God especially when he took the form of a servant. For at once he does not receive from without the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and strength, of knowledge and piety resting upon him; for it was said to rest upon him. For each of the things said is his own and fitting to him, only the spirit of fear coming upon him so as to fill him. This spirit of fear is called reverence by another name, belonging to the man from Mary; the Apostle writes concerning this verbatim thus: 'Who in the days of his flesh, having offered prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, to the one able to save him from death, and having been heard from his reverence' (Hebrews 5:7). And he has reverence not as God, but as he is man. That the one having the seven-powered vision is called stone is shown from the divine scriptures; the foremost of the apostles, Peter, using the saying from the Psalm thus: 'The stone which the builders rejected, this became the head of the corner' (Psalm 118:22; LXX 117:22), says most convincingly to the teachers of Israel: 'This […]'

Greek

Κυρίου, ὡς καταλαμβάνειν τὰ δι' αὐτῶν δηλούμενα. ‹1.248› Ταύτης τῆς ἐπιστήμης ὁ μέγας ἱεροφάντης Μωϋσῆς καὶ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἀρχιερεὺς Ἀαρών· γέγραπται γὰρ ὡς «Ἔθετο ὁ Θεὸς ἐν αὐτοῖς τοὺς λόγους τῶν σημείων καὶ τῶν τεράτων αὐτοῦ». Πῶς δὲ οὐ τερατοσκόπος ὁ θεόθεν σχὼν οὐχ ἁπλῶς τὴν θέαν τῶν τεράτων καὶ σημείων, ἀλλὰ τῶν λόγων αὐτῶν καθ' οὓς ταῦτ' ἐπιτελεῖται. ‹1.249› Ἔστι δὲ μαρτύρασθαι τῇ θεωρίᾳ ἐξ ἑνὸς καὶ δευτέρου ἀναγραφέντων ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις· σημεῖον καὶ τέρας ἦν τὸ εἰς ὄψιν ἀγαγεῖν τὸν ἀπὸ γενετῆς τυφλόν, πηλοῦ ἐπιχρισθέντων τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ, συνδευθέντος ἐκ γῆς καὶ τοῦ πτύσματος τοῦ εὐεργέτου. Τούτου τοῦ παραδόξως γεγενημένου, τερατοσκόπος ἐστὶν ὁ θεωρῶν τὸ δι' αὐτοῦ δηλούμενον πρωτότυπον. ‹1.250› Τὸν γὰρ ἀπὸ ἐθνῶν λαὸν μηδαμῶς ὁρῶντα πρότερον τῷ κατὰ ἀθεότητα καὶ ἄγνοιαν Θεοῦ ἀνατετράφθαι ἀπὸ γενετῆς τυφλὸν εἶναι ἡγητέον, ἀναβλέψαντα τότε ὅτε κατὰ σάρκα γνοὺς Χριστὸν ἐπεχρίσθη τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τὸν ἐκ τοῦ πτύσματος Ἰησοῦ γενάμενον πηλόν, πεῖραν λαβὼν τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ εἰς τὸ ὁρᾶν αὐτὸν ἀγαγόντος. ‹1.251› Πρὸς τούτοις καὶ ἡ αἱμορροοῦσα γυνὴ ὅλοις ἔτεσι δώδεκα, ἔξω γέγονεν τῆς φορᾶς τοῦ ἀκαθάρτου αἵματος δι' ἣν ἐκωλύετο τίκτειν, ἐκ τοῦ ἅψασθαι τοῦ κρασπέδου Ἰησοῦ. Παραδόξως καὶ τεραστίως ἐπετελεῖτο· ὁ γνῶσιν αὐτοῦ λαβὼν τερατοσκόπος ἐστίν, μετάγων τὸ εἰς τὴν γυναῖκα τεραστίως γεγονός, εἰς τὴν καθαρισθεῖσαν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίαν. ‹1.252› ∆είξας πάντα τὰ τεθεωρημένα ἐν τοῖς ἐκκειμένοις ῥητοῖς, «Ἐγώ, φησίν, ὁ παντοκράτωρ Κύριος, τὸν δοῦλόν μου ἄγω ἀνατολήν», δοῦλον ἑαυτοῦ λέγων τὸν ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα τυγχάνοντα, «τὸν ἀναλαβόντα μορφὴν δούλου, κενώσας ἑαυτὸν ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχων». Οὗτος ὁ ἀχθεὶς Θεοῦ δοῦλος ἡ ἀνατολή ἐστιν ἐκείνη περὶ ἧς ἐν Εὐαγγελίῳ εἴρηται· «Ἀνατολὴ ἐξ ὕψους, ἐπιλάμψαι τοῖς ἐκ σκότει καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου καθημένοις», οὐχ ἑτέρα ὑπάρχουσα «τοῦ φωτὸς τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ.» ‹1.253› ∆εικνὺς τὸν δοῦλον ἑαυτοῦ ὁ Πατήρ φησιν· «Ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ἀνατολὴ 25 ὄνομα αὐτῷ», ἄνδρα καλῶν αὐτὸν διὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν, ἀνατολὴν δὲ διὰ τὸ ἀνατεταλκέναι, δικαιοσύνης ἥλιον ὄντα· γέγραπται γοῦν περὶ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ τελευταίῳ τῶν ∆ώδεκα Προφητῶν, ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ ἀποστείλαντος αὐτὸν Πατρός· «Ἀνατελεῖ ὑμῖν τοῖς φοβουμένοις τὸ ὄνομά μου ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης, καὶ ἴασις ἐν ταῖς πτέρυξιν αὐτοῦ.» ‹1.254› Ἀποδιδοὺς δὲ τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ ἄγεσθαι τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ ἀνατολήν φησιν· «∆ιότι ὁ λίθος ἀπὸ προσώπου» τοῦ ἐπιλάμψαντος «ἑπτὰ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχει». Τίς δ' οὗτός ἐστιν, ἢ ὁ ἐπιδημήσας Σωτήρ, ἔχων τὴν ἑπταδύναμον διορατικὴν φύσιν; Εἴρηται γοῦν ἐν Ἠσαίᾳ περὶ αὐτοῦ· «Ἐξελεύσεται ῥάβδος ἐκτῆς ῥίζης Ἰεσσαί, καὶ ἄνθος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης ἀναβήσεται, καὶ ἐπαναπαύσεται ἐπ' αὐτὸν πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ, πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως, πνεῦμα βουλῆς καὶ ἰσχύος, πνεῦμα γνώσεως καὶ εὐσεβείας, καὶ ἐμπλήσει αὐτὸν πνεύματος φόβου Θεοῦ.» ‹1.255› Καὶ ὅρα γε τοὺς ἐπὶ ἕνα λίθον ἑπτὰ ὀφθαλμοὺς Κυρίου, ὧν ὃ μὲν πνεῦμα σοφίας, ὃ δὲ συνέσεώς ἐστιν. Τίς γὰρ οὕτω ὀφθαλμὸς φωτεινός ἐστιν, πάντα τὰ καλὰ καὶ μεγάλα κατοπτεύων, ἢ τὸ τῆς σοφίας πνεῦμα, παραπλησίως καὶ τὸ τῆς συνέσεως πνεῦμα; ‹1.256› Ὁ οὕτως ὀμματώμενος πνευματικὸς λίθος, αὐτὸ βουλὴ καὶ ἰσχὺς ὑπάρχων, πάντα βεβουλευμένως καὶ ἰσχυρῶς θεωρεῖ, γνωστικῶς τε καὶ εὐσεβῶς ἐμπλησθεὶς Πνεύματος Θεοῦ τότε μάλιστα ὅτε ἀνέλαβεν τὴν τοῦ δούλ̣ου μορφήν. Αὐτίκα γοῦν οὐκ ἔξοθεν λαμβάνει τὸ ἐπαναπαυόμενον ἐπ' αὐτὸν σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως, βουλῆς τε καὶ ἰσχύος, γνώσεώς τε καὶ εὐσεβείας πνεῦμα· ἐπαναπαύεσθαι γὰρ ἐπ' αὐτὸν εἴρηται. Οἰκεῖον γὰρ καὶ κατάλληλον αὐτῷ ὑπάρχει ἕκαστον τῶν εἰρημένων, μόνου τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ φόβου ἐπιγινομένου ὥστε ἐμπλῆσαι αὐτόν. ‹1.257› Τοῦτο τὸ τοῦ φόβου πνεῦμα εὐλάβεια ἑτέρῳ ὀνόματι καλεῖται, προσὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ ἐκ Μαρίας· γράφει περὶ τούτου ὁ Ἀπόστολος κατὰ λέξιν ὧδε· «Ὃς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ δεήσεις τε καὶ ἱκετηρίας προσενέγκας, μετὰ κραυγῆς ἰσχυρᾶς καὶ δακρύων, πρὸς τὸν δυνάμενον αὐτὸν σῴζειν ἐκ θανάτου, καὶ εἰσακουσθεὶς ἀπὸ τῆς εὐλαβείας.» Εὐλάβειαν δὲ ἔχει οὐ καθὸ Θεός, ἀλλὰ καθὸ ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν. ‹1.258› Ὅτι δὲ λίθος προσαγορεύεται ὁ τὴν ἑπταδύναμον ὅρασιν ἔχων, ἐκ τῶν θείων γραφῶν ἀποδείκνυται· χρησάμενος ὁ πρόκριτος τῶν ἀποστόλων Πέτρος τῷ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ψαλμοῦ ῥητῷ οὕτως ἔχοντι· «Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας», ἐλεγκτικώτατα πρὸς τοὺς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ διδασκάλους φησίν· «Οὗτός

Report a mistake in this passage

About this text

Didymus the Blind explains Zechariah verse by verse, from the measuring of Jerusalem and the high priest's filthy garments to the lampstand and flying sickle.

Didymus the Blind (c. 313–c. 398) was a Christian theologian in Alexandria who lost his sight at about age four and nevertheless became head of the city's catechetical school. He remained a layman and an ascetic scholar, deeply influenced by the work of Origen. He wrote this commentary for readers seeking a Christian understanding of the prophet Zechariah.

Jerome visited Alexandria in 386 and asked Didymus to write on Zechariah because Origen's own commentary had stopped at chapter five and Zechariah was considered the longest and most obscure of the Minor Prophets. Didymus composed the work shortly after that request and delivered it to Jerome by 393. The commentary survived in a single papyrus codex found in 1941 at Tura near Cairo, copied in the late sixth or early seventh century.

The commentary moves verse by verse through all fourteen chapters of Zechariah. Didymus reads the prophet's visions and oracles as prophecies of Christ's incarnation, the calling of the Gentiles, and the spiritual restoration of Jerusalem, understood as the Church or the purified soul. A reader will meet Zechariah himself, Joshua the high priest, Zerubbabel, the interpreting angel, and the devil, and will hear Didymus argue against heretics such as Tatian, Paul of Samosata, Photinus, Marcellus, Artemas, and Theodotus. To follow the work, know that Jerusalem and Zion are spiritual realities, the Dawn is a title for Christ, and the author quotes the Septuagint, so Psalms are numbered one lower than in many modern Bibles and books such as 1 Kingdoms are cited as 1 Samuel.

Printed text used

Translated from PG (Greek)

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

Report a mistake