Notes on Judges · §15 · Origen of Alexandria

The alternative reading of Judges 15:19

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Origen opens his Notes on Judges by quoting Judges 15:19 and then giving an alternative reading of the same verse.

Judges 15:19: “And God broke the wound in the jawbone, and water came out of it.” Instead of this, it means: He split the earth by the blow of the jawbone, and waters came out.

Greek

(73) Στίχ. ιθ΄. Καὶ ἔῤῥηξεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ τραῦμα τὸ ἐν σιαγόνι, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ ὕδωρ.

Ἀντὶ τοῦ· Ἔῤῥηξε τῇ πληγῇ τῆς σιαγόνος τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὕδατα.

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About this text

Origen's short notes on hard phrases in Judges, such as Samson's jawbone and Israel's defeats by Benjamin.

Origen of Alexandria (c. 185–c. 254) wrote these notes on Judges. They are not his homilies on Judges, and they are not his selections on Judges.

One note reads the jawbone another way. Instead of God breaking a wound in the jawbone, he split the earth by the blow, and waters came out. The other note asks why Israel was defeated by Benjamin after going out justly. He says it was because of earlier causes.

After two defeats, wrath came on the wrongdoers and Israel won a just judgment. The note quotes the psalm about judging in due time, and the line that Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. The citations use the old names of the biblical books.

Fresh English from the Greek base text; no published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from de La Rue, Origen's Works, vol. 7 (Migne PG 17, Paris 1857) (Greek)

This work has passed our source check. 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.

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