Homilies on Jeremiah · §8.6 · Origen of Alexandria

Many treasuries; resurrection orders; pearl of pearls

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“He led up,” then, “clouds from the farthest part of the earth, and made lightnings for rain, and brought forth winds from his treasuries.” And we, through God, hope to arrive at these treasuries. And since there are some many treasuries, perhaps according to those being raised there will be rests in God’s treasuries. What I say is of this sort.

The resurrection of the dead comes to be in certain orders; for the apostle says: “each in his own order.” Since the orders are not mixed together by chance, one order will be in one of God’s treasuries, another in another, and a third in yet another. Yet all these treasuries have one treasury in which they dwell.

Therefore it is said by Paul: “in whom are the treasuries of wisdom and knowledge hidden.” Just as I seek the one precious pearl through many pearls, so I come to the treasury of treasuries, the Lord of lords, the King of kings, when I shall be worthy of the spirits from God’s treasuries—for he brought forth winds from his treasuries.

Greek

«Ἀνήγαγεν« οὐν «νεφέλας ἐξ ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς, καὶ άστραπὰς εἰς ὑετὸν ἐποίησεν, καὶ ἐξήγαγεν ἀνέμους ἐκ θησαυρῶν αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἡμεῖς διὰ τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς θησαυροὺς τούτους ἐλπίζομεν καταντή- σεσθαι. καὶ ἐπεὶ εἰσίν τινες πολλοὶ θησαυροί, τάχα κατὰ τῶν ἀνισταμένων ἔσονται ἀναπαύσεις ἐν τοῖς θησαυροῖς τοῦ θεοῦ. ὅ δὲ λέγω τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν.

ἡ ἀνάστασις τῶν νεκρῶν ἐν τάγμασίν τισιν γίνεται· φησὶ γὰρ ὁ ἀπόστολος «ἕκαστος δὲ ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τάματι. καὶ ἐπεὶ μὴ ὡς ἔτυχεν συμφύρεται τὰ τάγματα, τόδε τὸ τάγμα ἔσται ἔν τινι θησαυρῷ θεοῦ καὶ τόδε τὸ τάγμα ἐν ἑτέρῳ θησαυρῷ θεοῦ καὶ τρίτον ἕτερον τάγμα ἔσται ἐν ἄλλῳ θησαυρῷ. οὗτοι μέντοιγε πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ ἕνα ἔχουσιν θησαυρόν, ἐν ᾦ κατοικοῦσιν. διὸ παρὰ τῷ Παύλῳ λέλεκται· «ἐν ᾠ εἰσιν οἱ θησαυροὶ καὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι. καὶ ὥσπερ κτῶμαι τὸν «ἕνα πολύτι- μον μαργαρίτην(( διὰ τῶν πολλῶν μαργαριτῶν, οὕτως ἔρχομαι ἐπὶ τὸν θησαυρὸν τῶν θησαυρῶν, τὸν κύριον τῶν κυρίων, τὸν βασιλέα τῶν βασιλέων, ἐπὰν γένωμαι ἄξιος τῶν πνευμάτων τῶν ἀπὸ θησαυρῶν τοῦ θεοῦ· «ἐξήγαγεν« γὰρ «ἀνέμους ἐκ θησαυρῶν αὐτοῦ.

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About this text

Origen on Jeremiah: all twenty homilies that survive in Greek. Two more survive only in Jerome's Latin and are not included here.

Origen of Alexandria (c. 185–c. 254) preached daily at Caesarea in the 230s and 240s, his sermons taken down by shorthand writers as he spoke. No early Christian preacher survives in such bulk.

The Homilies on Jeremiah press judgment and repentance on a comfortable church, while the Homily on 1 Samuel 28 tackles the darkest text in Samuel — the medium of Endor and the apparition of the prophet.

English follows Erich Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901). A second transcription of that same edition (First1KGreek digital text) was checked; where the digital text 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.

Printed text used

Translated from 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))
Also checked Archive.org page image and DjVu of GCS III (Greek · Same print as the base text)
Also checked First1KGreek digital text of GCS III (Greek · Same print; encoding errors deferred to the page image)

Where the prints differ

Homily 1.1 — The digital text omits Ἑβραῖον. English follows the printed edition: Jonah is “a Hebrew prophet.”
Homily 1.5 — The digital text dropped Ἰσαάκ. English follows the printed edition: Isaac born of promise.
Homily 1.11 — The digital text of this line is garbled. English follows the printed edition and the quoted verse: “I have sanctified you.”
Homily 3.2 — The digital text gaps Matthew 5:45 (sun on the evil and [gap]; rain on [gap] and the unjust). English follows the Gospel wording.

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.

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