Demonstrations 15.1–15.9

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

The thoughts of unlearned and ignorant people are greatly troubled about the things that enter through the mouth, which cannot defile a person. For those who are troubled about these things speak thus: "God distinguished and showed to Moses his servant unclean and clean foods; he indicated to him that some are fit to be eaten and others defile; he also marked out to him animals, birds, and fish of the sea according to their kinds." About these, my beloved, as far as I am able, I will teach you in a few words that foods are of no profit to those who observe them, and likewise do no harm to those who use them. For the holy mouth testifies: "Not what enters into a man defiles him; but what goes out of a man, this defiles him." Our Savior said this to beat back the pretexts of the Pharisees and Sadducees, when they boasted of baptism, of cleanness and washing of hands, and of the choice of foods. So he rebuked them and said to them: "Blind Pharisees, why do you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, while inside it is full of iniquity and plunder? You are like tombs, which are whitewashed outside and look beautiful, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness." And he opened and declared that their baptisms and purifications profited them nothing, and said: "In the heart are evil thoughts; and these evil thoughts in the heart defile a person," not foods. For food goes into the belly, from where it is sent out by purging into the drain, and a person is not defiled by it. If a person eats foods of any kind that delight or please the palate, smell, sight, or taste, only the palate is affected by their pleasant flavour; from there the stomach receives them and distributes their strength through all the arteries and members of the body. But when the foods have gone down, they are changed, and instead of a pleasant smell there is stench; instead of sweet taste and pleasing appearance they are turned into an ugly form, which is excreted outside in a flux. And if a person eats cheap bread, which has no fine appearance, no sweet flavour, no pleasant taste, it goes straight into the person and brings strength to all the passages and limbs, from where it is expelled outside … than those that are neither delicate nor … [in them] there is neither sin nor justification.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

The glorious Apostle too rebuked those who glory in foods. For he says to those who are lifted up by such a thought: ["Foods do not commend us to God; neither if we eat] shall we abound, nor if we do not eat [shall we lack."] … The foods and victuals a person eats, if he uses God's creatures by a just rule and without gluttony, and receives his gift with faith, he has no sin or offence. But if, like the serpent, … ["For every] creature of God is good; nothing in it is to be rejected; and it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." … What he said of his people, when he saw them [eating with the] nations … the children of Israel do not indiscriminately use every food that the nations prepare, nor drink every wine that the nations tread, because the heathen nations sacrifice at every winepress and on every threshing floor, invoking the names of their idols; therefore the children of Israel do not use their foods. But this is a weak conscience; and the Apostle rebukes those who hold such a thought, and says: "All foods are sanctified by the word of God and prayer." So when a person wishes to use God's creatures, before he is refreshed by them let him remember and praise, bless and sanctify the name of the Maker of these creatures; then let him pray, and they will be sanctified, and the power of the evil one will flee from them. The Apostle says again: "If one of the unbelievers invites you to a feast and you wish to go, eat whatever he sets before you, for conscience' sake."

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

About these things, my beloved, as far as I can, I will show you that the Most Holy, our God, did indeed distinguish foods for the children of Israel, not because there was any righteousness in them; but because of their greed and lust he found this means of keeping them from the religion and crimes they had practised in the land of Egypt. For first, when he made man, God commanded this to Adam and his descendants, and to Noah and his offspring: "See, I have given you the beasts and the birds and all flesh. Pour the blood on the ground and eat, and let it be counted to you as green herbs. Only you shall not eat the blood, but you shall pour it out on the ground like water; for the blood is the life." God commanded these things to those early generations, but he did not distinguish foods for them. If there were any sin or transgression of the law in those foods, he would surely have first separated the unclean from the clean for Adam and Noah, as he had warned them, saying: "You shall not eat the blood, but kill all flesh …"; and he would have commanded Abraham and his sons not to make use of the unclean. But we know that all the upright and righteous who lived in the early ages, until Moses, who defined foods for Israel, all [I say] those generations used whatever foods the soul does not loathe, and did not sin in this. But to the children of Israel he gave these commands and distinguished foods because they were turning aside to the superstition of the Egyptians and forsaking the God of their fathers. For the Egyptians worshipped oxen and calves. This I will show you. When Joseph's brothers came to him and he ordered the steward of his house to prepare bread, when the time came to recline, it is written that they served him by himself, his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians cannot eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to them. Before that, until they went into Egypt, the children of Israel ate any kind of meat; but the Egyptians did not eat the meat of sheep and oxen, since these were their gods. Moreover, when Jacob went down into Egypt, Joseph brought five men of his brothers, set them before Pharaoh, and instructed them: "When Pharaoh asks you and says, What is your work?, say to him: Your servants are shepherds of sheep; we are keepers of cattle, we and our fathers"; so that when you have spoken so to him he may hold you in honour (for they tended the very gods of the Egyptians); he will give you the best pasture, the land of Goshen, and will despise you, so that he will not take any of you and set you over his works; as it is written: "For the Egyptians despise all shepherds of sheep." Again it is written, when Moses said before Pharaoh, "Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord our God in the wilderness," that Pharaoh answered him: "Sacrifice to the Lord your God in the land of Egypt"; but Moses said: "We cannot do this thing, for if we slaughter the animals of the Egyptians before their eyes, they will stone us." It is also written: "On the gods of the Egyptians too the Lord executed judgment," when he consumed the flocks of sheep and herds of oxen with hail and plague. For the Egyptians possessed flocks of sheep and oxen for their usefulness, but did not eat them at all, because they worshipped them. But the food of the Egyptians, even today, is pork, with fish, which are very plentiful in their country, as the children of Israel said when they craved food: "We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, with the smell of onions, garlic, leeks, cucumbers, and melons." So the children of Israel behaved according to the custom of the Egyptians; they ate their food and also worshipped their gods.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

Know that in the land of Egypt they worshipped idols and adored their gods. For Joshua the son of Nun, when the time of his death drew near, called the children of Israel and said to them: "Choose for yourselves today whom you wish to serve: whether the gods whom your fathers served beyond the River, Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, or the gods you served in the land of Egypt? But I and the sons of my house will serve the Lord God." And he warned them further: "Choose for yourselves today whom you wish to serve"; and they answered him: "We will worship the Lord and serve him, for he is our God." And he said to them: "See that you may perhaps not be able to serve the Lord"; but they answered: "We will be able." And he said to them: "You yourselves are witnesses that you have chosen to serve the Lord"; and they answered: "We are witnesses." And so that it may be clear to you again that they worshipped calves and oxen in Egypt, notice that when Moses stayed on the mountain they turned away from the Lord and served idols; and they made for themselves no likeness to worship except a calf, which they had been accustomed to worship in the land of Egypt. And they rioted and held a feast before the calf they had made. Likewise Jeroboam the son of Nebat, when he led them astray, made them a calf to worship as they had worshipped it in Egypt. And the Most Holy, seeing that they were not yet cleansed of the leaven of the Egyptians and persisted in the same purpose of idolatry, ordered Moses to distinguish foods for them; and he declared polluted those they had eaten as clean in the land of Egypt; and he allowed them to eat those that they had not eaten in the land of Egypt, because they worshipped them. Moreover, because of their stubbornness he commanded that in the sacrifices to be offered before him the very things they had once worshipped must be brought, so that, even if they refused to eat them, they would still eat the meat of sheep and bulls because of their sacrifices. Consider too that, though he designated many animals as clean for them, he did not command any of them to be offered to him in sacrifices except only sheep and bulls. Be persuaded, then, my beloved, that Israel's [boast] about the distinction of foods is empty …

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

So tell me, O scribe, wise debater of the people: if the Israelites are defiled when they touch or handle what the law declares unclean, why did Samson, the Nazirite, the strongest man of Israel, gather and eat honey from an unclean animal, from the carcass of a lion, which dripped into his hands? Yet he incurred no guilt or reproach for that act, nor is it written that he was defiled. Likewise, when he won the victory with a donkey's jawbone and piled the bodies of the Philistines in heaps, he was thirsty and prayed before his God, saying: "Lord, you gave this very great victory into the hand of your servant; and now see, I am dying of thirst." And he heard Samson's prayer and made water spring from the donkey's jawbone, and when he drank, his thirst was quenched. If there were any impurity or harm in the jawbone of the donkey, which was called unclean in the law, why did [God] bring water for his Nazirite to drink from that very jawbone? If uncleanness lay in it, he should rather have drawn water from a rock, as he brought water from the rock for the children of Israel in the wilderness, or from the earth, as he made it flow for Hagar's sake, and Ishmael drank. Moreover, if uncleanness is found in foods, surely among all birds none are more impure and foul than ravens, which brought bread and meat to Elijah, the holy prophet, when he sat by the brook Cherith. And where did the ravens bring Elijah's food from, if not from Jerusalem? The priests set aside a suitable portion for him and faithfully entrusted it to the ravens, who carried and brought it to Elijah at the command of the Most High, his God. And that was clean food for Elijah, though he received it from the mouths of ravens, birds the law declared unclean.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

You should know, my beloved, that, to refute their pretexts and keep them from worshipping calves and bulls, the gods of the Egyptians, [God] distinguished foods for them and ordered them to offer him sacrifices of the very things they had revered in the land of Egypt. God had no need at all of sacrifices and offerings, but by those sacrifices they were to be hindered from worshipping the gods of the nations when they came among them and mixed with them, as they had worshipped the gods of Egypt when they came to them and mixed with them. Therefore he bound and restrained them, [commanding] that they bring offerings and sacrifice victims before his altar. But after he had taught them abundantly, they turned away from him, worshipped and served the gods of the Gentiles, and corrupted their way, as Moses said to them: "I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn aside from the way I commanded you, and many evils will befall you in the last days."

[7] Be persuaded, then, that God never needed sacrifices or offerings, savour or smoke, except to restrain them. Therefore, when they turned aside and began to sacrifice to idols the very sacrifices he had given them, he said to them through the prophet: "The multitude of your victims is no use to me, says the Lord." And he said: "That savour is an abomination to me; my soul hates your new moons and your feasts." And David says again: "I do not eat the flesh of bullocks, nor drink the blood of goats; but instead sacrifice praise to God and pay your vows to the Most High; and when you have done these things, call on me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you and you will praise me." Again it is written through the prophet: "I have hated and cast off your feasts, and I will not smell your sacrifices." Again it is written: "Even if you bring me sacrifices, I will not look at the multitude of your fatlings." He also said: "Did you offer me victims and offerings in the wilderness forty years, children of Israel? And when you eat and drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? says the Lord." Isaiah also says: "Whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who kills a dog; and whoever sacrifices a bull, like one who slays a man; and whoever offers incense, like one who [offers] pig's blood; and whoever prays before me, like one who blesses an idol." And Samuel said to Saul, when he heard the sound of the sheep and bulls that had come from the Amalekites: "What is this sound I hear?" Saul said to him: "The people spared the best of the sheep, to sacrifice to the Lord your God." And Samuel said to him: "See, obedience is better than victims, and listening than the fat of fatlings." And again he says: "The sacrifices of the wicked do not please the Lord." It is also written: "The iniquity of the house of Eli will not be atoned for by victims and gifts for ever." And again: "The Lord does not delight in rams, nor in myriads of [the herd's] bullocks; [he has shown you, O] man, what profits, what the Lord requires of you: to do judgment, to seek faith, and to be ready to walk after your God." Also, when he rejected sacrifices and offerings in the days of Isaiah, he said: "I will show you what I require: cease from evil and learn to do good, seek judgment, do good to the oppressed, judge for the orphans, and judge for the widows; and when you have done these things, come, and let us talk together, says the Lord. And if your sins are like scarlet, they will be made white as snow; and if they are red like crimson, they will be like wool." Malachi also says: "Do not bring to my altar in vain; for I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord." Daniel too said to Nebuchadnezzar: "Redeem your sins by almsgiving and your iniquities by mercy to the poor", not by sacrifices and gifts. For he rejected Israel and repudiated its sacrifices, as Jeremiah said: "Call them rejected silver, for the Lord [has rejected them]." … "[those destined] for the sword to the sword, and those for famine to famine, and those for captivity to captivity." It is also written: "He will not again look on them." Isaiah said again: … "[I have forsaken my house], I have left my inheritance; I have given …" … it is written: "I gave the daughter of my people a bill of divorce." And again: "The Lord has blotted out from Zion the feast and the sabbath." Moreover through Ezekiel the prophet he clearly shows … perhaps they might be restrained from their sins. … "[I gave them my statutes and] showed them judgments, which if a man does he will live by them"; but afterwards: "I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they will not live; and I defiled them in their gifts"; since the most holy mouth [of God] testifies that the commandments and judgments given to you are void and not good. What is this shameless face? Why do you babble in disputing? See, because of your sins he gave you foods. Of which commandments and judgments, then, did Ezekiel say, "Whoever does them will live by them"? And of which did he say, "I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they will not live"? The life-giving commandments and judgments are those written above; the just and right judgments he set before them are the ten holy commandments, which he wrote with his hand and handed to Moses to teach them. But when they had made themselves a calf and turned away from God, then he gave them statutes and judgments that were not good: sacrifice and the purification of leprosy, of discharge, of menstruation, and of childbirth; and that no one should go near a dead body, a grave, bones, or the slain; that for every offence and every kind of human uncleanness [a person] should offer a sacrifice; and of each it is said: "He will be unclean until evening," even though he has washed with water. Without doubt, according to what is written, Israel has not even one day on which it is clean from sins; but they spend all their days in sins and uncleanness; and they cannot be justified by the law, as the Apostle says: "No one is justified by the law; but whoever does what is written in it will live by it." But it is known that a person cannot do these things, nor is able to keep them. The Lord also spoke, seeing that they were heavy, and called us, saying to us: "Come to me, you who labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you; and take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is light and pleasant." We confess the mercy that has taken from us the harsh yoke and the heavy yoke, and has given us his own, which is gentle and pleasant.

Translated by Claude from Jean Parisot's Latin translation (1894) of the Syriac; neither is shown

I have written you these brief reminders, my beloved, because the people of the Jews lift themselves up, are proud, and boast in calling foods polluted and choosing among them. For they boast in three things: circumcision, the keeping of the sabbath, and the distinction of foods, but also in other things. Of those three I have written you a little, as far as I have understood, and taught you. About the rest, as God grants me, I will write and teach you from time to time.

Here ends the Demonstration on the Distinction of Foods.