On the Inscription of the Titles · §3 · Eustathius of Antioch

The oil and the stone as signs of Christ's anointing, burial, and cornerstone

Eustathius is explaining the prophetic meaning of the details of Jacob's pillar at Bethel, now turning to the oil poured on it and the stone itself.

So he did not pour the oil on the top of the pillar without purpose. Rather, it pointed to what Mary was doing earnestly when she poured ointment upon the extremities, the feet of Christ. And that oil, in turn, happened to be a sign of the burial, as the Lord himself made clear openly. This stone images that cornerstone which the builders rejected, but which became the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22; LXX 117:22). The divine Scriptures reveal two nations and two peoples. Moses is a witness to this. In Genesis, when he narrates the life of Rebecca, he says that she went to inquire of the Lord about what she had conceived.

Greek

Τοιγαροῦν οὐδὲ τὸ ἔλαιον ἀργῶς ἐπὶ τὸ ἄκρον ἐπέχεε τῆς στήλης· ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν ἐκείνου δηλωτικὸν ἦν οὗ διεπράττετο σπουδαίως ἡ Μαρία, μύρον ἐξ ἄκρων ἐπιχέουσα τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποσίν· αὐτὸ δὲ πάλιν ἐτύγχανεν ἐκεῖνο μήνυμα τῆς ταφῆς, ὡς αὐτὸς ἐσαφήνισεν ἀναφανδὸν ὁ Κύριος· ὁ δὲ λίθος οὗτος εἰκονίζει τὸν ἀκρογωνιαῖον ἐκεῖνον λίθον, ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν μὲν οἰ οἰκοδομοῦντες, εἰς γωνίας δὲ κεφαλὴν ἐγένετο. 8 ∆ύο ἔθνη καὶ δύο λαοὺς αἱ θεῖαι δηλοῦσι γραφαί. Καὶ τούτου μάρτυς Μωϋσῆς· ἐν τῇ κοσμοποιΐᾳ γοῦν τὸν τῆς Ῥεβέκκας διηγούμενος βίον, λέγει μὲν ὅπως ἐπορεύθη πυθέσθαι παρὰ Κυρίου περὶ ὧν εἶχε συλλαβοῦσα.

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About this text

Eustathius on the psalm titles / inscriptions.

Eustathius of Antioch (fl. c. 320–337) wrote this treatise for a Christian audience. He was bishop of Beroea before becoming patriarch of Antioch, and he was a prominent opponent of Arianism at the Council of Nicaea. The surviving fragments explain the meaning of the stone pillar that Jacob set up at Bethel, interpreting it as a prophecy of Christ, the cross, and the two peoples.

The work is a theological exposition of the biblical narrative. Eustathius argues that Jacob's pillar at Bethel was not an idolatrous stele but a divinely inspired prophecy. The stone and the ladder vision prefigure Christ's body, the cross, and the church as the house of God and gate of heaven. The oil poured on the stone points to the anointing of Christ's feet and to his burial, while the stone itself signifies Christ as the rejected cornerstone.

A reader will meet Jacob, whose vision and pillar at Bethel are the subject of the treatise, and Christ, whose body, cross, and burial are prefigured in Jacob's vision and pillar. Mary is mentioned as the woman who anointed Christ's feet with ointment. Moses is cited for the story of Rebecca and the two nations, and Rebecca is the mother of Jacob and Esau to whom the Lord announced the two nations in her womb. The two nations are interpreted as Jews and Christians, with the older people serving the younger.

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Translated from PG 18 (Greek)

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