Invitation to the handbook and the divisions of prophecy
The author opens the work by inviting the student of letters to use this handbook on measures and weights, then lists the divisions of the prophecies and the signs that accompany them.
If anyone wants to know the parts of the divine Scriptures that make for broad learning—I mean the parts about measures and weights—he should not hesitate to consult this handbook. The student of letters must first know how many parts there are in the prophecies. The prophecies have been divided into ten kinds of contemplation, and they contain these: teachings, contemplations, exhortations, threats, lamentations, dirges, prayers, histories, and predictions. Alongside these same prophecies lie the following signs: the rejection of the former people, the rejection of the law according to the flesh, the New Covenant, the calling of the Gentiles, and Christ.
Greek
Εἴ τις δὲ θέλει τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς εἰδέναι τὰ πρὸς πολυπειρίαν μέρη, λέγω δὴ περὶ μέτρων καὶ σταθμῶν, τούτῳ τῷ Ὑπομνηματικῷ ἐντυγχάνειν μὴ κατοκνείτω. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν δεῖ εἰδέναι τὸν φιλολόγον, πόσα τυγχάνει ἐν ταῖς προφητείαις μέρη. Εἰς δέκα γὰρ διῄρηνται θεωρίας αἱ προφητεῖαι, οὕτως περιέχουσαι· διδασκαλίας, θεωρίας, προτροπάς, ἀπειλάς, ὀλοφυρμούς, θρήνους, εὐχάς, ἱστορίας, προρρήσεις. Παράκεινται δὲ ταῖς αὐταῖς προφητείαις σημεῖα ταῦτα· περὶ τῆς ἀποβολῆς τοῦ προτέρου λαοῦ· περὶ τῆς ἀποβολῆς τοῦ κατὰ σάρκα νόμου· περὶ τῆς Καινῆς Διαθήκης· περὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν κλήσεως· περὶ Χριστοῦ.