Church History 6.25.2

Summary: Origen lists the twenty-two Hebrew books with their Hebrew names, placing Maccabees outside them.

Textual problem in this passage: the printed text is uncertain or disputed here. See the notes.

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Greek text · Dindorf 4:269–270

εἶτα μετά τινα ἐπιφέρει λέγων “εἰσὶ δὲ “αἱ εἴκοσι δύο βίβλοι καθʼ Ἑβραίους αἵδε· ἡ ἡμῖν Γένεσις ἐπιγεγραμμένη, παρʼ Ἑβραίοις δὲ ἀπὸ “τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς βίβλου Βρησὶδ, ὅπερ ἐστὶν, ἐν “Ἔξοδος, Οὐελεσμὼθ, ὅπερ ἐστὶ, ταῦτα τὰ ‘Λευιτικὸν, Οὐϊκρὰ, καὶ ἐκάλεσεν· Ἀριθμοὶ, Ἀμμε- “ σφεκωδείμ· Δευτερονόμιον, Ἐλεαδδεβαρεὶμ, οὗτοι “οἱ λόγοι· Ἰησοῦς υἱὸς Ναυῆ, Ἰωσοῦε βὲν “ Κριταὶ, Ῥοὺθ, παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐν ἐνὶ, Σαφατείμ Βασι- ῾ λειῶν πρώτη, δευτέρα, παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἓν, Σαμουὴλ, “ὁ θεόκλητος· Βασιλειῶν τρίτη, τετάρτη, ἐν ἐνὶ “Οὐαμὲλχ Δαβὶδ, ὅπερ ἐστὶ βασιλεία Δαβίδ· Παρα- “λειπομένων πρώτη, δευτέρα, ἐν ἐνὶ Δαβρηϊαμεὶν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ λόγοι ἡμερῶν· Ἔσδρας πρῶτος, δεύτερος, “ἐν ἑνὶ Ἔζρᾶ, ὅ ἐστι βοηθός· βίβλος Ψαλμῶν, “ θελλείμ· Σολομῶνος παροιμίαι, Μελώθ· Ἐκκλη- “σιαστὴς, Κωέλθ· Ἀισμα Ἀισμάτων, Σὶρ Ἀσσιρίμ· “Ἡσαΐας, Ἰεσσία· Ἱερεμίας σὺν Θρήνοις καὶ τῇ ἐπι- “στολῇ ἐν ἐνὶ, Ἱερεμία· Δανιὴλ, Δανιήλ· “ Ἰεζεκιήλ· Ἰὼβ, Ἰὼβ· Ἐσθὴρ, Ἐσθήρ. ἔξω δὲ τού- “των ἐστὶ τὰ Μακκαβαϊκὰ, ἅπερ ἐπιγέγραπται Σαρ- “βὴθ Σαβαναιέλ.”

English · Claude translation

Then after a little he continues: “The twenty-two books according to the Hebrews are these: the one entitled Genesis by us, but by the Hebrews, from the beginning of the book, Bresith, that is, ‘In the beginning’; Exodus, Ouelesmoth, that is, ‘These are the names’; Leviticus, Ouikra, ‘And he called’; Numbers, Ammesphekodeim; Deuteronomy, Elleaddebareim, ‘These are the words’; Jesus son of Nave, Iosoue ben Noun; Judges and Ruth, with them in one, Saphateim; the first and second of Kingdoms, with them one, Samuel, ‘the one called by God’; the third and fourth of Kingdoms in one, Ouammelch David, that is, ‘the kingdom of David’; the first and second of Chronicles in one, Dabreiamein, that is, ‘words of days’; Ezra first and second in one, Ezra, that is, ‘helper’; the book of Psalms, Sphertelleim; the Proverbs of Solomon, Meloth; Ecclesiastes, Koelth; the Song of Songs, Sir Hassirim; Isaiah, Iessia; Jeremiah with Lamentations and the Letter in one, Jeremia; Daniel, Daniel; Ezekiel, Ezekiel; Job, Job; Esther, Esther. Outside these are the Maccabees, which are entitled Sarbeth Sabanaiel.”

About this passage

Source
Dindorf 4:269–270 · Wilhelm Dindorf, ed., Eusebii Caesariensis Opera, vol. 4: Historiae ecclesiasticae libri I–X (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871) · Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 4. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; the problem in this passage is discussed in the notes.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1 (1890) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)
Extrabiblical texts
  • Ep Jer (Letter of Jeremiah) · allusion, medium confidence
  • 1 Macc (1 Maccabees) · allusion, medium confidence
Topics
Scripture and canon

Notes

Translation notes

  • Quotation from Origen, Commentary on Psalm 1. Several Hebrew names are garbled or partly lost in the digital text (e.g. Ἐλεαδδεβαρεὶμ, “…θελλείμ”) and are given in the forms usually printed; the Twelve Prophets are missing from the list, probably by an early scribal omission. The “Letter” is the Letter of Jeremiah.

Cite this passage

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.25.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/6/25/2/).

Plain text
Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.25.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/6/25/2/).

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