Miscellanies 5.6.34
Summary: The Son is the Father's face, made flesh; the inner veil with four pillars signifies the four covenants and the four-letter divine Name, pronounced “Iaoue”; Christ alone as high priest enters the unspeakable; the seven-branched lampstand represents the sun among the planets.
Greek text · Stählin 2:348–349
ἐντεῦθεν πρόσωπον εἴρηται τοῦ πατρὸς ὁ υἱός, αἰσθήσεων πεντάδι σαρκοφόρος γενόμενος, ὁ λόγος ὁ τοῦ πατρῴου μηνυτὴς ἰδιώματος. εἰ δὲ ζῶμεν πνεύματι, πνεύματι καὶ στοιχῶμεν. διὰ πίστεως περιπατοῦμεν, οὐ διὰ εἴδους, ὁ καλὸς ἀπόστολος λέγει. ἔνδον μὲν οὖν τοῦ καλύμματος ἱερατικὴ κέκρυπται διακονία καὶ τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ πονουμένους πολὺ τῶν ἔξω εἴργει. πάλιν τὸ παραπέτασμα τῆς εἰς τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων παρόδου, κίονες τέτταρες αὐτόθι, ἁγίας μήνυμα τετράδος διαθηκῶν παλαιῶν, ἀτὰρ καὶ τὸ τετράγραμμον ὄνομα τὸ μυστικόν, ὃ περιέκειντο οἷς μόνοις τὸ ἄδυτον βάσιμον ἦν· λέγεται δὲ Ἰαουε, ὃ μεθερμηνεύεται ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἐσόμενος. καὶ μὴν καὶ καθʼ Ἕλληνας θεὸς τὸ ὄνομα τετράδα περιέχει γραμμάτων. εἰς δὲ τὸν νοητὸν κόσμον μόνος ὁ κύριος ἀρχιερεὺς γενόμενος εἴσεισι, διὰ τῶν παθῶν εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἀρρήτου γνῶσιν παρεισδυόμενος, ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα ἐξαναχωρῶν, ὃ φωνῇ γνωρίζεται. ναὶ μὴν ἥ τε λυχνία ἐν τοῖς νοτίοις ἔκειτο τοῦ θυμιατηρίου, διʼ ἧς αἱ τῶν ἑπτὰ φωσφόρων κινήσεις δεδήλωνται νοτίους τὰς περιπολήσεις ποιουμένων. τρεῖς γὰρ ἑκατέρωθεν τῆς λυχνίας ἐμπεφύκασι κλάδοι καὶ ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς οἱ λύχνοι, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ὥσπερ ἡ λυχνία μέσος τῶν ἄλλων πλανητῶν τεταγμένος τοῖς τε ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν τοῖς τε ὑπʼ αὐτὸν κατά τινα θείαν μουσικὴν ἐνδίδωσι τοῦ φωτός.
English · Claude translation
Hence the Son is called the Face of the Father, having become flesh-bearing through the five senses, the Word who makes known the Father's character. “And if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” “We walk by faith, not by sight,” says the noble apostle. Inside the covering, then, the priestly ministry is hidden, and it keeps those laboring in it far from those outside. Again, the veil at the entrance into the holy of holies; four pillars there, a sign of the holy tetrad of the ancient covenants; and also the mystic four-lettered name, which those alone to whom the sanctuary was accessible wore; it is pronounced Iaoue, which is interpreted “he who is and will be.” And indeed among the Greeks too the name theos contains four letters. And into the intelligible world the Lord alone, having become high priest, enters, penetrating through his sufferings into the knowledge of the unspeakable, withdrawing above every name known by voice. Indeed the lampstand lay to the south of the altar of incense, by which the motions of the seven light-bearers are shown, which make their circuits to the south. For three branches grew on each side of the lampstand, with the lamps on them; since the sun too, like the lampstand, set in the middle of the other planets, gives light, by a kind of divine music, to those above it and those below it.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations and allusions are Gal 5:25, 2 Cor 5:7, Exod 26:31–33, 28:36–38 (the gold plate), Heb 9:11–12, Phil 2:9, and Exod 25:31–37. “Iaoue” is Clement's Greek transcription of the divine name YHWH, an important early witness to its pronunciation.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): οὐ διὰ εἴδους. ὁ καλὸς ἀπόστολος λέγει → οὐ διὰ εἴδους, ὁ καλὸς ἀπόστολος λέγει.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.6.34 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/5/6/34/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.6.34 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/5/6/34/).
Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)
Whole work:BibTeX ·RIS ·Markdown text