The upper room and the fall-pit
It followed upon the prophet having been struck to narrate those struck—for example the apostle and if anyone else has been struck—and to set beside them also the things about Jesus himself. So 'Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet and threw him into the fall-pit which was in the Benjamin gate of the upper room.' The fall-pit of Benjamin was of the upper room. Benjamin’s allotment is Jerusalem, in which is the temple of God, as the one able to hear the divine readings will find from the allotment written in Joshua. Since then the temple was in Benjamin’s allotment, which is interpreted Son of the right hand (for there is nothing leftward about the temple of God), for this reason this one throws 'into the fall-pit which was in the Benjamin gate of the upper room of the Lord’s house.' While there is an 'upper room in the Lord’s house' he 'threw' the prophet 'into the fall-pit.'
And we beg that taking Jeremiah now we may bring him up into the upper room 'in the Lord’s house.' And I will show from Scripture that the upper room is the high and lifted mind, when it bears witness to the holy ones that they received the prophets into upper rooms. In the third of Kingdoms a widow receiving Elijah the prophet in Zarephath of Sidon lodged the prophet 'into her upper room.' And in the fourth the one receiving Elisha prepared a house for him into the upper room. But sinful Ahaziah fell from the upper room. And Jesus also commands you not to come down from the housetop. For he says: when these and these things happen, 'then let the one on the housetop not come down to take the things from his house.' The one fleeing in persecutions is not told not to go up onto a housetop, but from the housetop 'not to come down to take the things from his house.'
It is good then to be in upper rooms, good to be on housetops and somehow to be above. And the wonderful apostles also, as is written of them in Acts, when being together they were free for prayers and the word of God, were in an upper room. And since they were in an upper room, they were not below. For this reason 'tongues as of fire distributed appeared to them.' But Peter also, when he was sending up the prayer to God, 'went up onto the housetop'; and if he had not gone up onto the housetop, he would not have seen 'a vessel as a sheet coming down from heaven, let down by four corners from heaven.' And Tabitha also who did the alms...
Greek
(18,) Ἠκολούθει τῷ πεπατάχθαι τὸν προφήτην διηγήσασθαι τοὺς παταχθέντας, ὡς φέρ᾿ εἰπεῖν τὸν ἀπόστολον καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλος πεπάτακται, παραστῆσαι καὶ τὰ περὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Ἰησοῦν. «ἐπάταξεν« οὖν «Πασχὼρ τὸν Ἱερεμίαν τὸν προφήτην, καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν καταρράκτην ὃς ἦν ἐν τῇ πύλῃ Βενιαμίν τοῦ ὑπερῴου. τοῦ Βενιαμὶν ὁ καταρράκτης ἦν τοῦ ὑπερῴου. τοῦ Βενιαμὶν κληροδοσία ἐστὶν Ἱερουσαλήμ, ἐν ᾗ ὁ ναὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς ὁ ἀκοῦσαι δυνάμενος τῶν θείων ἀναγνωσμάτων εὑρήσει ἐκ τῆς ἀναγεγραμμένης κληροδοσίας ἐν τῇ τοῦ Ναυῆ.
ἐπεὶ οὖν ὁ ναὸς ἦν ἐν τῇ κληροδοσίᾳ τοῦ Βενιαμίν, ὃς ἑρμηνεύεται Υἱὸς δεξιᾶς (οὐδὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἀριστερὸν περὶ τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ), διὰ τοῦτο οὗτος βάλλει «εἰς τὸν καταρράκτην ὃς ἦν ἐν πύλῃ Βενιαμὶν τοῦ ὑπερῴου οἴκου κυρίου. παρόντος «ὑπερῴου ἐν οἴκῳ κυρίου« «ἔβαλε« τὸν προφήτην «εἰς τὸν καταρράκτην. καὶ ἡμεῖς παρακαλῶμεν, ἵνα λαβόντες νῦν τὸν Ἱερεμίαν εἰς τὸ ὑπερῷον ἀναβιβάσωμεν «ἐν οἴκῳ κυρίου. ὑπερῷον δὲ τὸν νοῦν τὸν ὑψηλὸν καὶ ἐπηρμένον δείξω ἐκ τῆς γραφῆς, ὅτε μαρτυρεῖ τοῖς ἁγίοις ὅτι εἰς τὰ ὑπερῷα τοὺς προφήτας ὑπεδέξαντο.
ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ τῶν Βασιλειῶν ἀναγέγραπται χήρα ὑποδεξαμένη τὸν Ἠλίαν τὸν προφήτην ἐν Σαρέφθοις τῆς Σιδωνίας, ἥτις «εἰς τὸ ὑπερῷον« αὐτῆς ἐξένισε τὸν προφήτην. καὶ ἐν τῇ τετάρτῃ ἡ τὸν Ἐλισσαῖον ὑποδεξαμένη εὐτρέπισεν αὐτῷ οἶκον εἰς τὸ ὑπερῷον. ὁ δὲ ἁμαρτωλὸς Ὀχοζίας ἔπεσεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπερῴου. καὶ σοὶ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἐντέλλεται μὴ καταβαίνειν ἐκ τοῦ δώματος. «ὅταν«, γάρ φησι, τάδε καὶ τάδε γένηται, «τότε« «ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ δώματος μὴ καταβάτω ἆραι τὰ ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας αὐτοῦ. ὁ ἐν τοῖς διωγμοῖς φεύγων οὐχὶ μὴ εἰς δῶμα μὴ ἀναβαινέτω, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τοῦ δώματος «μὴ καταβαινέτω ἆραι τὰ ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας αὐτοῦ.
Καλὸν οὖν ἐν ὑπερῴοις εἶναι, καλὸν ἐν δώμασιν εἶναι καὶ ἄνω που τυγχάνειν. καὶ οἱ θαυμάσιοι δὲ ἀπόστολοι, ὡς ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσιν ἀναγέγραπται αὐτῶν, ἡνίκα ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ὄντων αὐτῶν ἐσχόλαζον ταῖς εὐχαῖς καὶ τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν ὑπερῴῳ ἦσαν. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἦσαν ἐν ὑπερῴῳ, οὐκ ἦσαν κάτω. διὰ τοῦτο «ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός. ἀλλὰ καὶ Πέτρος, ἡνίκα ἀνέπεμπε τὴν εὐχὴν τῷ θεῷ, >ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ δῶμα<· καὶ εἰ μὴ ἀνεβεβήκει εἰς τὸ δῶμα, οὐκ ἂν εἶδεν >ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταβαῖνον σκεῦος ὡς ὀθόνην τέσσαρσιν ἀρχαῖς καθιέμενον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ<. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ τὰς ἐλεημοσύνας ποιήσασα «Ταβιθά, ἥτις ἑρμηνευμένη λέγεται Δορκάς«, κάτω οὐκ ἦν, ἀλλ᾿ «ἐν τῷ ὑπερῴῳ«, ὅπου ἀναβὰς Πέτρος ἀνέστησεν αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν. ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἰησοῦς ταύτην τὴν ἑορτὴν ἧς τὸ σύμβολον ποιοῦμεν τὸ πάσχα μέλλων ἑορτάζειν μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν, πυνθανομένων αὐτῶν· «ποῦ θέλεις ἑτοιμάσομέν σοι τὸ πάσχα«, εἶπε· «πορευομένοων ἀπαντήσει ὑμῖν ἄνθρωπος κεράμιον ὕδατος βαστάζων, ἐκείνῳ ἀκολουθήσατε.
ἐκεῖνος ὑμῖν δείξει ἀνάγαιον μέγα, ἐστρωμένον, σεσαρωμένον, ἕτοιμον· ἐκεῖ ἑτοιμάσατε τὸ πάσχα. οὐδεὶς οὖν πάσχα | ποιῶν ὡς Ἰησοῦς Ἰησοῦ, ἄνω ἐστὶν ἐν ἀναγαίῳ μεγάλῳ, ἐν ἐναγαίῳ σεσαρωμένῳ, ἐν ἀναγαίῳ κεκοσμημένῳ καὶ ἑτοίμῳ. ἐὰν δὲ ἀναβῇς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα ἑορτάσῃς τὸ πάσχα, δίδωσί σοι τὸ ποτήριον τῆς διαθήκης τῆς καινῆς, δίδωσί σοι καὶ τὸν ἄρτον τῆς εὐλογίας, τὸ σῶμα ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὸ αἷμα ἑαυτοῦ χαρίζεται. διὰ τοῦτο παρακαλοῦμεν ὑμᾶς· >ἀναβαίνετε εἰς ὕψος, αἴρετε εἰς ὕψος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν<. κἀμοὶ 26 ἐστρωμμενον S | 27 σεσαρωμένον] + κεκοσμημένον? nach Z. 30 u.
S. 87, 27. δέ, ἐὰν διδάσκω τὸν θεῖον λόγον, φησὶν ὁ λόγος· «ἐπ᾿ ὄρος ὑψηλὸν ἀνάβηθι, ὁ εὐαγγελιζόμενος Σιών· ὕψωσον τῇ ἰσχύϊ τὴν φωνήν σου, ὁ εὐαγγελιζόμενος Ἱερουσαλήμ· ὑψώσατε, μὴ φοβεῖσθε. ταῦτα διὰ τὸν Πασχώρ, ὅτι παρακειμένου «ὑπερῴου ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ κυρίου ἐν πύλῃ Βενιαμίν«, οὐκ εἰς τὸ ὑπερῷον ἀνεβίβασε τὸν προφήτην, ἀλλὰ «ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν καταρράκτην« κάτω.
About this text
Origen on Jeremiah. Twenty Greek homilies survive. This page publishes the Pass B English for Homilies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Homily 8 remains a machine draft and is not shipped yet. The rest of the volume is still being translated.
English follows Erich Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901). A second transcription of that same edition (First1KGreek TEI) was checked; where the TEI drops or garbles a line, the page image wins. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek. Homilies that survive only in Jerome’s Latin are not on this page yet. When they are, they will be marked at those homilies.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901) (Greek · Homilies 1–20 Greek (this page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20))
- Checked print Archive.org page image and DjVu of GCS III (Greek · Same print as the copy-text)
- Checked print First1KGreek TEI of GCS III (Greek · Same print; encoding errors deferred to the page image)
Where the prints differ
- Homily 1.1 — The TEI omits Ἑβραῖον. English follows the GCS page image: Jonah is “a Hebrew prophet.”
- Homily 1.5 — The TEI dropped Ἰσαάκ. English follows the GCS page image: Isaac born of promise.
- Homily 1.11 — The TEI/OCR of this line is garbled. English follows the GCS page image and the quoted verse: “I have sanctified you.”
- Homily 3.2 — The TEI gaps Matthew 5:45 (sun on the evil and [gap]; rain on [gap] and the unjust). English follows the Gospel wording.
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.