Commentary on the Gospel of John 20.56–20.133

Origen · Commentary on the Gospel of John · ca. 230–248 · Alexandria and Caesarea · 78 passages

Greek text: Preuschen, GCS 10 (Greek text: E. Preuschen, Origenes Werke 4 (GCS 10, 1903), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 9 (1896).

Chapter 20

20.56Preuschen 4:336

εἰ μὴ ἄρα θλιβόμενοι ἑτέρῳ ἀτόπῳ ἑαυτοὺς περιβάλλουσιν λέγοντες παρὰ μὲν τοῦ πατρὸς ἀκηκοέναι τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους, μὴ ἀκούειν δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς τούτους παρὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος. εἰ δʼ οἰκεῖοι τοῦ σωτῆρος ἠσαν καὶ τῆς μακαρίας φύσεως, πῶς ἐζήτουν αὐτὸν ἀποκτεῖναι; καὶ πῶς ὁ τοῦ σωτῆρος λόγος οὐκ ἐχώρει ἐν αὐτοῖς; ᾿Απεκρίθησαν καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· ῾Ο Πατὴρ ἡμῶν Ἀβραάμ ἐστιν.

ei mē ara thlibomenoi heterǭ atopǭ heautous periballousin legontes para men tou patros akēkoenai tous allotrious, mē akouein de tous autous toutous para tou sōtēros. ei dʼ oikeioi tou sōtēros ēsan kai tēs makarias physeōs, pōs ezētoun auton apokteinai? kai pōs ho tou sōtēros logos ouk echōrei en autois? ᾿Apekrithēsan kai eipan autǭ; ῾O Patēr hēmōn Abraam estin.

Unless, being hard pressed, they involve themselves in another absurdity, saying that the strangers heard from the Father but that these same people do not hear from the Savior. But if they belonged to the Savior and to the blessed nature, how did they seek to kill him? And how did the Savior's word find no room in them? “They answered and said to him, ‘Our father is Abraham.’”

John 8:37 (allusion, high confidence) · John 8:39 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Either answer leads the Valentinians into absurdity.

The allusion is John 8:37; the closing quotation is John 8:39, the lemma of the next section.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (editor's apparatus leaked into the digital text): VIII, 39. ᾿Απεκρίθησαν → ᾿Απεκρίθησαν.

Topics: Heresy

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.56 (Preuschen 4:336; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-56).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-56) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Preuschen, GCS 10 (1903); made independently of existing English translations. ANF 9 covers Books 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 10 and was compared afterwards; the other books were reviewed against the Greek only.

20.57Preuschen 4:336

Δόξαιεν ἂν τὴν ἀπόκρισιν οὑτοι πεποιῆσθαι πολὺ ταπεινότερον ἐκδεξάμενοι περὶ τοῦ τίς αὐτῶν ἠν ὁ πατὴρ ἢ ὡς ὁ κύριος ἔλεγεν.

Doxaien an tēn apokrisin houtoi pepoiēsthai poly tapeinoteron ekdexamenoi peri tou tis autōn ēn ho patēr ē hōs ho kyrios elegen.

These might seem to have made their answer understanding who their father was in a much lower sense than the Lord meant.

John 8:39 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: They answered with a far lower notion of “father” than Jesus meant.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.57 (Preuschen 4:336; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-57).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-57) · Report an error

20.58Preuschen 4:336

ὁ μὲν γὰρ ᾿Ιησοῦς ἀναφέρων ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν ἔφασκεν τὸ »Καὶ »ὑμεῖς οὐν ἃ ἠκούσατε παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ποιεῖτε«· οἱ δὲ ταπεινότερον τὸν τοῦ ἔθνους παρομολογοῦσιν ἑαυτῶν πατέρα λέγοντες· »῾Ο »πατὴρ ἡμῶν Ἀβραάμ ἐστιν«.

ho men gar ᾿Iēsous anapherōn epi ton theon ephasken to »Kai »hymeis oun ha ēkousate para tou patros poieite«; hoi de tapeinoteron ton tou ethnous paromologousin heautōn patera legontes; »῾O »patēr hēmōn Abraam estin«.

For Jesus, referring to God, said, “And you, then, do what you have heard from the Father”; but they, in a lower sense, acknowledge the father of their nation as their own, saying, “Our father is Abraham.”

John 8:38–39 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Jesus meant God; they meant Abraham.

The quotations are John 8:38–39.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.58 (Preuschen 4:336; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-58).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-58) · Report an error

20.59Preuschen 4:336

βοηθῶν δʼ ἄν τις αὐτοῖς ὡς καλῶς ἀποκριναμένοις φήσειε ὅτι ὡς μέτριοι καὶ μὴ διδόντες ἑαυτοῖς τὸ εἶναι υἱοῖς θεοῦ, τοῦ Ἰησοῦ λέγοντος· »Ἅ ἠκούσατε παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς »ποιεῖτε« καὶ ἀναφέροντος ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν, φασίν· »῾Ο πατὴρ ἡμῶν ᾿Αβραάμ ἐστιν«.

boēthōn dʼ an tis autois hōs kalōs apokrinamenois phēseie hoti hōs metrioi kai mē didontes heautois to einai huiois theou, tou Iēsou legontos; »Ha ēkousate para tou patros »poieite« kai anapherontos epi ton theon, phasin; »῾O patēr hēmōn ᾿Abraam estin«.

Someone coming to their help as though they had answered well might say that, as modest people not granting themselves to be sons of God, when Jesus said, “Do what you have heard from the Father,” referring to God, they say, “Our father is Abraham.”

John 8:38–39 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: One might defend them as modestly declining to call themselves God's sons.

The quotations are John 8:38–39.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray period): ὅ. τι → ὅτι.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.59 (Preuschen 4:336; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-59).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-59) · Report an error

20.60Preuschen 4:336

δῆλον δὲ ὅτι καὶ τοῦτο εὐθύνει ὁ σωτὴρ ὡς ψευδῶς εἰρημένον διὰ τοῦ »Εἰ τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ ἐστε, τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ »ποιεῖτε«.

dēlon de hoti kai touto euthynei ho sōtēr hōs pseudōs eirēmenon dia tou »Ei tekna tou Abraam este, ta erga tou Abraam »poieite«.

But it is plain that the Savior corrects this too as falsely said, through “If you are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham.”

John 8:39 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Jesus corrects even their claim to Abraham.

The quotation is John 8:39.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.60 (Preuschen 4:336; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-60).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-60) · Report an error

20.61Preuschen 4:336

οὐκ ἀτόπως δὲ καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα ζητήσαι τις ἄν, ὅτι Πῶς κατὰ τὸν σωτῆρά ἐστιν, μὴ συγκατατιθέμενον εἶναι αὐτοὺς τέκνα τοῦ ᾿Αβραάμ, τὸ λέγειν αὐτοῖς· »Καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν ἃ ἠκούσατε παρὰ τοῦ »πατρὸς ποιεῖτε« ἀναφερομένου τοῦ »Παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς‘ ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν.

ouk atopōs de kai pros tauta zētēsai tis an, hoti Pōs kata ton sōtēra estin, mē synkatatithemenon einai autous tekna tou ᾿Abraam, to legein autois; »Kai hymeis oun ha ēkousate para tou »patros poieite« anapheromenou tou »Para tou patros‘ epi ton theon.

And not unreasonably might someone ask in response how it accords with the Savior, who does not agree that they are children of Abraham, to say to them, “And you, then, do what you have heard from the Father,” with “from the Father” referring to God.

John 8:38 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: How could Jesus deny they were Abraham's children yet say they heard from the Father?

The quotation is John 8:38.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.61 (Preuschen 4:336; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-61).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-61) · Report an error

20.62Preuschen 4:336

ὁ γὰρ μὴ ὢν τέκνον τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ * * * † αν οὖν τῶν μετὰ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ψεκτὸς ὡς οὗτοι πρὸς οὓς ὁ λόγος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον οὐκ ἔσται τέκνον τοῦ θεοῦ.

ho gar mē ōn teknon tou Abraam * * * † an oun tōn meta ton Abraam psektos hōs houtoi pros hous ho logos, pollǭ mallon ouk estai teknon tou theou.

For one who is not a child of Abraham … blameworthy, like these to whom the word is addressed, all the more will not be a child of God.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Notes and citation

Summary: One not even Abraham's child can hardly be God's child.

The text has a gap (marked * * *) and is corrupt at the dagger.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.62 (Preuschen 4:336; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-62).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-62) · Report an error

20.63Preuschen 4:336–337

ὅρα δὲ εἰ καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο δυνάμεθα λέγειν ὅτι οὐκ εἴρηται· καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν ἃ ὴκούσατε παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν <ἢ> παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν<, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῦ πατρός«, πατήρ, οὐ πάντως καὶ τῶν μὴ τέκνων τοῦ Ἀβραάμ ἐστιν πατὴρ καὶ μὴ μεμορφωμένων ἀπὸ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ ᾿Αβραάμ· ἢ ἀδιορίστως εἰρημένον τὸ »Ἅ ἠκούσατε παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς« δύναται λαμβάνεσθαι ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρός, καὶ τοῦτο σαφὲς ἐκ τοῦ »Ἅ ἐγὼ ἑώρακα παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ λαλῶ« ἴσον δυναμένου τῷ παρὰ τῷ πατρί μου«.

hora de ei kai pros touto dynametha legein hoti ouk eirētai; kai hymeis oun ha ēkousate para tou patros hymōn <ē> para tou patros hēmōn<, alla para tou patros«, patēr, ou pantōs kai tōn mē teknōn tou Abraam estin patēr kai mē memorphōmenōn apo spermatos Abraam epi ta tekna tou ᾿Abraam; ē adioristōs eirēmenon to »Ha ēkousate para tou patros« dynatai lambanesthai anti tou apo tou patros, kai touto saphes ek tou »Ha egō heōraka para tǭ patri lalō« ison dynamenou tǭ para tǭ patri mou«.

But see whether we can say to this that it is not said, “And you, then, do what you have heard from your father” or “from our Father,” but “from the Father”; the Father is not necessarily the Father also of those who are not children of Abraham and have not been formed from the seed of Abraham into children of Abraham. Or “what you have heard from the Father,” said without further definition, can be taken in the sense of “from the Father,” and this is clear from “I speak what I have seen with the Father,” which is equivalent to “with my Father.”

John 8:38 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Jesus says only “the Father,” not “your Father”; he is not necessarily their Father.

The quotations are John 8:38.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; repeated syllable): μὴ με μορφωμένων → μὴ μεμορφωμένων; δυναμένου νου → δυναμένου.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.63 (Preuschen 4:336–337; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-63).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-63) · Report an error

20.64Preuschen 4:337

καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐξῆς δὲ διδασκόμεθα τίνων ἐστὶν ὁ θεὸς πατήρ, διʼ ὧν καὶ ταῦτα λέγει ὁ σωτήρ· »Εἰ ὁ »θεὸς πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἦν ἠγαπᾶτε ἂν ἐμέ‘.

kai en tois exēs de didaskometha tinōn estin ho theos patēr, diʼ hōn kai tauta legei ho sōtēr; »Ei ho »theos patēr hymōn ēn ēgapate an eme‘.

And in what follows we are taught whose Father God is, through which the Savior also says this: “If God were your Father, you would love me.”

John 8:42 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God is Father only of those who love Christ.

The quotation is John 8:42.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.64 (Preuschen 4:337; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-64).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-64) · Report an error

20.65Preuschen 4:337

σαφὲς δὲ ὅτι οἱ ζητοῦντες ἀποκτεῖναι τὸν υἱὸν οὐκ ἠγάπων αὐτόν· μὴ ἀγαπῶντες δὲ αὐτὸν οὐκ ἂν ἐχρημάτιζον οἱ] υἱοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ. ὥστε δῆλον ὅτι τὸ »Καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν »ἃ ἠκούσατε παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ποιεῖτε« οὐκ ἴσον δύναται τῷ παρὰτοῦ> πατρὸς. Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὀ ᾿Ιησοῦς· Εἰ τέκνα τοῦ ᾿Αβραάμ ἐστε, τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε.

saphes de hoti hoi zētountes apokteinai ton huion ouk ēgapōn auton; mē agapōntes de auton ouk an echrēmatizon hoi] huioi tou theou. hōste dēlon hoti to »Kai hymeis oun »ha ēkousate para tou patros poieite« ouk ison dynatai tǭ paratou> patros. Legei autois o ᾿Iēsous; Ei tekna tou ᾿Abraam este, ta erga tou Abraam poieite.

And it is clear that those who sought to kill the Son did not love him; and not loving him, they would not be called sons of God. So it is plain that “And you, then, do what you have heard from the Father” does not have the same force as “from your Father.” “Jesus says to them, ‘If you are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham.’”

John 8:38 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:39 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Those who sought to kill the Son were not God's sons.

The quotation is John 8:38; the closing quotation is John 8:39, the lemma of the next section.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (editor's apparatus leaked into the digital text): VIII, 39. Λέγει → Λέγει.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.65 (Preuschen 4:337; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-65).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-65) · Report an error

20.66Preuschen 4:337

Οἱ ἔν τι ἐπιλεξάμενοι τῶν τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἔργων, τὸ «Ἑπίστευσεν »δὲ ᾿Αβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην«, καὶ τοῦτο νομίζοντες εἶναι ἐφʼ ὃ ἀναφέρεται τὸ »Τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε« ἴνα καὶ συγχωρηθῇ αὐτοῖς ὅτι ἔργον ἐστὶν ἡ πίστις, οὐ συγχωρηθὲν ἂν ὑπὸ τῶν παραδεχομένων τὸ »Πίστις χωρὶς ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν« οὐδʼ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκουόντων ὅτι διαφέρει τὸ δικαιοῦσθαι »ἐκ πίστεως« ἤπερ »ἐξ ἔργων νόμου«, ἀπολεγέτωσαν διὰ τί οὐκ εἴρηταί· »Εἰ τέκνα »τοῦ Ἀβραάμ ἐστε, τὸ ἔργον τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε« ἑνικῶς, ἀλλὰ πληθυντικῶς· »Τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε«, ἵσον, ὡς οἶμαι, τυγχάνον τῷ πάντα>< »τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε«.

Hoi en ti epilexamenoi tōn tou Abraam ergōn, to «Hepisteusen »de ᾿Abraam tǭ theǭ, kai elogisthē autǭ eis dikaiosynēn«, kai touto nomizontes einai ephʼ ho anapheretai to »Ta erga tou Abraam poieite« ina kai synchōrēthę̄ autois hoti ergon estin hē pistis, ou synchōrēthen an hypo tōn paradechomenōn to »Pistis chōris ergōn nekra estin« oudʼ hypo tōn akouontōn hoti diapherei to dikaiousthai »ek pisteōs« ēper »ex ergōn nomou«, apolegetōsan dia ti ouk eirētai; »Ei tekna »tou Abraam este, to ergon tou Abraam poieite« henikōs, alla plēthyntikōs; »Ta erga tou Abraam poieite«, hison, hōs oimai, tynchanon tǭ panta>< »ta erga tou Abraam poieite«.

Those who have picked out one of Abraham's works, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness,” and think that this is what “Do the works of Abraham” refers to (even granting them that faith is a work, which would not be granted by those who accept “Faith without works is dead,” nor by those who hear that being justified “by faith” differs from being justified “by works of the law”), let them explain why it is not said, “If you are children of Abraham, do the work of Abraham,” in the singular, but in the plural, “Do the works of Abraham,” which is equivalent, I think, to “Do all the works of Abraham.”

Gen 15:6 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:39 (quotation, high confidence) · Jas 2:26 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 2:16 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: “The works of Abraham” is plural: it means all his works, not faith alone.

The quotations are Gen 15:6, John 8:39, Jas 2:26, and Gal 2:16.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (editor's chapter number leaked into the digital text; repeated word in place of ἔργα): Χ. Οἱ → Οἱ; τὸ Τὰ »Τὰ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ → τὸ »Τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.66 (Preuschen 4:337; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-66).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-66) · Report an error

20.67Preuschen 4:337–338

εἰ δὲ ἵσον ἐστὶν πάντα>< »τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε« καὶ μήτε σωματικῶς δεῖ προσελθεῖν τὸν ἔχοντα γαμετὴν μήτε μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν τῆς γεγαμημένης ἐν γήρᾳ ἄλλην γυναῖκα λαβεῖν τὸν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ὑφήγησιν θέλοντα τέκνον ἀποδειχθῆναι τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἐκ τοῦ ποιεῖν τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, σαφῶς καὶ ἐντεῦθεν μανθάνομεν ὅτι δεῖ πᾶσαν τὴν κατὰ τὸν ᾿Αβραὰμ ἀλληγοροῦντα ἱστορίαν ἕκαστον πνευματικῶς ποιῆσαι τῶν πεπραγμένων ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, ἀρξάμενον ἀπὸ τοῦ »Ἔξελθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας σου καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου »τοῦ πατρός σου, εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν ἄν σοι δείξω«, εἰρημένου οὐ μόνῳ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ἀλλὰ καὶ παντὶ τῷ ἐσομένῳ τέκνῳ αὐτοῦ.

ei de hison estin panta>< »ta erga tou Abraam poieite« kai mēte sōmatikōs dei proselthein ton echonta gametēn mēte meta tēn teleutēn tēs gegamēmenēs en gērą allēn gynaika labein ton kata tēn tou sōtēros hyphēgēsin thelonta teknon apodeichthēnai tou Abraam ek tou poiein ta erga tou Abraam, saphōs kai enteuthen manthanomen hoti dei pasan tēn kata ton ᾿Abraam allēgorounta historian hekaston pneumatikōs poiēsai tōn pepragmenōn hypʼ autou, arxamenon apo tou »Exelthe ek tēs gēs sou kai ek tēs syngeneias sou kai ek tou oikou »tou patros sou, eis tēn gēn hēn an soi deixō«, eirēmenou ou monǭ tǭ Abraam alla kai panti tǭ esomenǭ teknǭ autou.

And if “Do all the works of Abraham” is equivalent, and one who has a wife need not go in to a maidservant bodily, nor, after the death of his wife in old age, take another wife, in order to be shown, according to the Savior's instruction, a child of Abraham by doing the works of Abraham, we clearly learn from this too that each person must do spiritually, by allegorizing it, the whole history of Abraham, each of the things he did, beginning from “Go out from your land and from your kindred and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you,” which was said not only to Abraham but also to everyone who will be his child.

Gen 16:1–4 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 25:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 12:1 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:39 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Since no one must literally copy Abraham's marriages, all his works must be done spiritually, beginning with leaving one's land.

The allusions are Gen 16:1–4 (Hagar) and Gen 25:1 (Keturah); the quotation is Gen 12:1.

Topics: Scripture and canon, Marriage

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.67 (Preuschen 4:337–338; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-67).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-67) · Report an error

20.68Preuschen 4:338

ἔστιν γάρ τις καὶ ἑκάστου ἡμῶν γῆ, καὶ ἡ πρὸ τοῦ θείου χρηματισμοῦ οὐκ ἀγαθὴ συγγένεια, καὶ ὁ πρὸ τοῦ φθάσαντος εἰς ἡμᾶς λόγου θεοῦ οἶκος τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν, † διʼ ἅτινα ἅπαντα κατὰ λόγον θεοῦ δεήσει ἡμᾶς ἐπεξελθεῖν, εἴπερ ἀκούομεν τοῦ σωτῆρος λέγοντος· »Εἰ τέκνα »τοῦ ᾿Αβραάμ ἐστε, τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε«· οὕτω γὰρ φθάσομεν, ὡς καταλιπόντες τὴν ἡμετέραν γῆν, ἐφʼ ἣν δείξει ἡμῖν γῆν ὁ θεός, τὴν ἀληθῶς ἀγαθὴν καὶ ὄντως πολλήν, ἣν ἀπὸ κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ πρέπει δίδοσθαι τοῖς ποιήσασι τὸ προστεταγμένον ἐν τῷ »Ἔξελθε »ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου«.

estin gar tis kai hekastou hēmōn gē, kai hē pro tou theiou chrēmatismou ouk agathē syngeneia, kai ho pro tou phthasantos eis hēmas logou theou oikos tou patros hēmōn, † diʼ hatina hapanta kata logon theou deēsei hēmas epexelthein, eiper akouomen tou sōtēros legontos; »Ei tekna »tou ᾿Abraam este, ta erga tou Abraam poieite«; houtō gar phthasomen, hōs katalipontes tēn hēmeteran gēn, ephʼ hēn deixei hēmin gēn ho theos, tēn alēthōs agathēn kai ontōs pollēn, hēn apo kyriou tou theou prepei didosthai tois poiēsasi to prostetagmenon en tǭ »Exelthe »ek tēs gēs sou«.

For each of us too has a land, and a kindred that is not good before the divine call, and a house of our father before the Word of God reached us, … all of which we must depart from according to the Word of God, if we listen to the Savior saying, “If you are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham.” For thus, having left our land, we shall reach the land God will show us, the land truly good and truly large, which it is fitting should be given by the Lord God to those who have done what is commanded in “Go out from your land.”

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

John 8:39 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 12:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 3:8 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Each of us must leave our own “land, kindred, and father's house” to reach the good land God shows.

The quotations are John 8:39 and Gen 12:1; the allusion is Exod 3:8. The text is corrupt at the dagger.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): εἶκος τοῦ πατρὸς → οἶκος τοῦ πατρὸς; Ἔλξεθε → Ἔξελθε.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.68 (Preuschen 4:338; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-68).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-68) · Report an error

20.69Preuschen 4:338

καὶ ὡς καταλιπόντες συγγένειαν οὐ καλὴν εἰς ἔθνος ἐσόμεθα μέγα καὶ μεῖζον ἢ κατὰ ἀνθρώπους· καὶ ὡς καταφρονήσαντες οἴκου πατρὸς οὐκ ἐπαινετοῦ, εὐλογηθησόμεθα μεγαλυνομένου τοῦ ὀνόματος ἡμῶν, γινόμενοι εὐλογητοὶ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον, ὡς τοὺς μὲν εὐλογοῦντας ἡμᾶς εὐλογεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, τοὺς δὲ καταρωμένους ὑπὸ κατάραν ἔσεσθαι, πᾶσάν τε γῆς φυλὴν ἐν ἡμῖν εὐλογεῖσθαι (ὅτε καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν εἴποι ἂν ὁ λόγος· »Ἐπορεύθη«, περὶ ᾿Αβραάμ· »Καὶ ἐπορεύθη ᾿Αβραάμ, καθάπερ ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ »κύριος«· οἶμαι δὲ ὅτι έν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ἐπὶ ποσὸν ὁ Λὼτ ἕψεται ἡμῖν, οὗ σύμβολον ἦν τὸ Καὶ ᾤχετο μετʼ αὐτοῦ Λώτ«), καὶ ἐπανελθόντες εἰς γῆν Χαναὰν διοδεύσομεν τὴν γῆν ἕως τοῦ τόπου Συχέμ οὕτω τῇ ἀναβάσει τῆς διανοίας προκόπτοντες ἕως ἔλθωμεν ἐπὶ τὴν δρῦν τὴν ὑψηλήν.

kai hōs katalipontes syngeneian ou kalēn eis ethnos esometha mega kai meizon ē kata anthrōpous; kai hōs kataphronēsantes oikou patros ouk epainetou, eulogēthēsometha megalynomenou tou onomatos hēmōn, ginomenoi eulogētoi epi tosouton, hōs tous men eulogountas hēmas eulogeisthai hypo tou theou, tous de katarōmenous hypo kataran esesthai, pasan te gēs phylēn en hēmin eulogeisthai (hote kai peri hēmōn eipoi an ho logos; »Eporeuthē«, peri ᾿Abraam; »Kai eporeuthē ᾿Abraam, kathaper elalēsen autǭ »kyrios«; oimai de hoti en tais archais kai epi poson ho Lōt hepsetai hēmin, hou symbolon ēn to Kai ǭcheto metʼ autou Lōt«), kai epanelthontes eis gēn Chanaan diodeusomen tēn gēn heōs tou topou Sychem houtō tę̄ anabasei tēs dianoias prokoptontes heōs elthōmen epi tēn dryn tēn hypsēlēn.

And having left a kindred that is not good, we shall become a great nation, greater than by human measure; and having despised a father's house that is not praiseworthy, we shall be blessed, our name being made great, becoming blessed to such a degree that those who bless us are blessed by God, while those who curse us will be under a curse, and every tribe of the earth will be blessed in us (when the word might also say of us, “He went,” as of Abraham: “And Abraham went, as the Lord had told him”; and I think that in the beginnings Lot will follow us for a while, of which “And Lot went with him” was a symbol); and having gone up to the land of Canaan, we shall pass through the land as far as the place Shechem, thus advancing by the ascent of the mind until we come to the high oak.

Gen 12:2–6 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Spiritually, we too become a great, blessed nation and journey through the land to the “high oak.”

The allusions and quotations are Gen 12:2–6 (LXX “high oak”).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἔψεται → ἕψεται; ὑφηλήν → ὑψηλήν.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.69 (Preuschen 4:338; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-69).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-69) · Report an error

20.70Preuschen 4:338

καὶ ὀφθήσεται ἡμῖν κύριος ὁ θεός, ὁ ὀφθεὶς τῷ Ἀβραάμ, καὶ ἐπαγγελεῖται τὴν περὶ τὴν ὑψηλὴν δρῦν τώ νοητῷ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν σπέρματι.

kai ophthēsetai hēmin kyrios ho theos, ho ophtheis tǭ Abraam, kai epangeleitai tēn peri tēn hypsēlēn dryn tō noētǭ tēs psychēs hēmōn spermati.

And the Lord God, who appeared to Abraham, will appear to us, and will promise the land around the high oak to the spiritual seed of our soul.

Gen 12:7 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God will appear to us too and promise the land to our spiritual seed.

The allusion is Gen 12:7.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.70 (Preuschen 4:338; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-70).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-70) · Report an error

20.71Preuschen 4:338

τοῦ δὲ νοήσαντός ἐστιν τὸ »Τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε« καὶ τὸ οἰκοδομῆσαι θυσιαστήριον κυρίῳ τῷ ὅπου ἡ ὑψηλὴ δρῦς ἐπιφαινομένῳ καὶ ἡμῖν, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου τῆς ὑψηλῆς δρυὸς ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος, καὶ τοῦ ὄρους κατὰ τὰς ἀνατολὰς τῆς Βαιθήλ, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Οἶκος, ἔνθα στήσει ἑαυτοῦ τὴν σκηνήν, τῆς μὲν Βαιθὴλ ὡς ἐπὶ κατὰ θάλασσαν, τῆς δὲ Ἀγγαὶ ὡς ἐπὶ κατʼ ἀνατολάς· ἑρμηνεύεται δὲ ᾿Αγγαὶ >Ἑορταί<.

tou de noēsantos estin to »Ta erga tou Abraam poieite« kai to oikodomēsai thysiastērion kyriǭ tǭ hopou hē hypsēlē drys epiphainomenǭ kai hēmin, kai meta tauta apostēnai apo tou topou tēs hypsēlēs dryos hōs epi to oros, kai tou orous kata tas anatolas tēs Baithēl, ho hermēneuetai Oikos, entha stēsei heautou tēn skēnēn, tēs men Baithēl hōs epi kata thalassan, tēs de Angai hōs epi katʼ anatolas; hermēneuetai de ᾿Angai >Heortai<.

And it belongs to one who has understood “Do the works of Abraham” also to build an altar to the Lord who appears to us too where the high oak is; and after this to depart from the place of the high oak toward the mountain, and the mountain east of Bethel, which is interpreted “House,” where he will pitch his tent, with Bethel toward the sea and Ai toward the east; and Ai is interpreted “Feasts.”

Gen 12:7–8 (allusion, high confidence) · John 8:39 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Doing Abraham's works includes building an altar and moving toward Bethel, “House,” and Ai, “Feasts.”

The allusions are Gen 12:7–8. The name interpretations are Origen's.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): κοὶ τὸ → καὶ τὸ.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.71 (Preuschen 4:338; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-71).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-71) · Report an error

20.72Preuschen 4:338–339

καὶ ὡς προκόπτων γε ὁ τοιοῦτος μετὰ οἰκοδομήσει τῷ κυρίῳ θυσιαστήριον, ἤδη καὶ ἐπικαλεῖσθαι δυνάμενος ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου. καὶ ἑξῆς ἀπαίρων κἀκεῖθεν ὁ ἐσόμενος τέκνον τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, γενόμενός πως στρατηγικώτερος καὶ συνιεὶς πρὸς ὅσους πολεμίους αὑτὸν παρασκευάσασθαι δεῖ, στρατοπεδεύσει ἐν τῇ

kai hōs prokoptōn ge ho toioutos meta oikodomēsei tǭ kyriǭ thysiastērion, ēdē kai epikaleisthai dynamenos epi tǭ onomati tou kyriou. kai hexēs apairōn kakeithen ho esomenos teknon tou Abraam, genomenos pōs stratēgikōteros kai synieis pros hosous polemious hauton paraskeuasasthai dei, stratopedeusei en tę̄

And as he progresses, such a one will build an altar to the Lord, now able also to call on the name of the Lord. And next, setting out from there too, the one who will be a child of Abraham, having become somewhat more of a general and understanding against how many enemies he must prepare himself, will encamp in the

Gen 12:8–9 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Progressing, he builds an altar, calls on the Lord, and prepares for spiritual warfare in the desert.

The allusions are Gen 12:8–9; the sentence continues in the next section.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.72 (Preuschen 4:338–339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-72).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-72) · Report an error

20.73Preuschen 4:339

ἐρήμῳ. μετὰ ταῦτα πεῖραν λιμοῦ λήψεται τοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον καταβήσεται παροικῆσαι ἐκεῖ, ἴνα μὴ καὶ αὐτοῦ κατισχύσῃ ὁ λιμὸς ὁ ἐνισχύσας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. καὶ καταβήσεται εἰς Αἴγυπτον μετὰ τῆς εὐπροσώπου ἑαυτοῦ γυναικός, συνθήκας τινὰς τιθέμενος πρὸς αὐτήν, ἴν εὐ ἑαυτῷ διʼ αὐτὴν οἱ καὶ γένωνται ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ »αὐτῷ πρόβατα καὶ μόσχοι καὶ ὄνοι καὶ »παῖδες καὶ παιδίσκαι καὶ ἡμίονοι καὶ κάμηλοι«.

erēmǭ. meta tauta peiran limou lēpsetai tou epi tēs gēs kai eis tēn Aigypton katabēsetai paroikēsai ekei, ina mē kai autou katischysę̄ ho limos ho enischysas epi tēs gēs. kai katabēsetai eis Aigypton meta tēs euprosōpou heautou gynaikos, synthēkas tinas tithemenos pros autēn, in eu heautǭ diʼ autēn hoi kai genōntai en Aigyptǭ »autǭ probata kai moschoi kai onoi kai »paides kai paidiskai kai hēmionoi kai kamēloi«.

desert. After this he will experience the famine on the land and will go down into Egypt to sojourn there, so that the famine that prevailed on the land may not overpower him too. And he will go down into Egypt with his beautiful wife, making certain agreements with her, so that it may go well with him because of her, and so that in Egypt there may come to him “sheep and calves and donkeys and male and female servants and mules and camels.”

Gen 12:10–16 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: He then faces famine, goes down to Egypt with his wife, and prospers there.

The allusions and quotation are Gen 12:10–16.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.73 (Preuschen 4:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-73).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-73) · Report an error

20.74Preuschen 4:339

περὶ ὡν ἑκάστου σοφοῦ τινος καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ βάθη τῆς γραφῆς ἐπισταμένως φθάνειν δυνα- μένου ἔργον ἂν εἴη λέγειν καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς γε πᾶσαν τὴν κατὰ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἱστορίαν βασανίζοντος καὶ ὅλα τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένα, ἅτινά ἐστιν ἀλληγορούμενα· <ἃ> ὡς πνευματικοὶ πειρασόμεθα.

peri hōn hekastou sophou tinos kai epi ta bathē tēs graphēs epistamenōs phthanein dyna- menou ergon an eiē legein kai hapaxaplōs ge pasan tēn kata ton Abraam historian basanizontos kai hola ta peri autou gegrammena, hatina estin allēgoroumena; <ha> hōs pneumatikoi peirasometha.

To speak about each of these would be the task of some wise man, able to reach the depths of Scripture with understanding, and one examining, in a word, the whole history of Abraham and everything written about him, which are allegorized; which we, as spiritual people, shall attempt.

Gal 4:24 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Explaining each detail spiritually needs a wise interpreter; Origen will attempt it.

The allusion is Gal 4:24.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἀλληγορύμενα → ἀλληγορούμενα.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.74 (Preuschen 4:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-74).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-74) · Report an error

20.75Preuschen 4:339

Ὀρα δὲ εἰ μὴ σαφῶς ἀπὸ τῆς ἐξετάσεως τῶν κατὰ τὸν τόπον παρίσταται ἡμῖν, ὅτι σοφοῦ τινός ἐστιν καὶ πάσῃ ἀρετῇ κεκοσμημένου τὸ γενέσθαι τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ τέκνον.

Ora de ei mē saphōs apo tēs exetaseōs tōn kata ton topon paristatai hēmin, hoti sophou tinos estin kai pasę̄ aretę̄ kekosmēmenou to genesthai tou Abraam teknon.

See whether it is not clearly shown to us from examining this passage that to become a child of Abraham belongs to one who is wise and adorned with every virtue.

Notes and citation

Summary: Becoming Abraham's child requires wisdom and every virtue.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.75 (Preuschen 4:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-75).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-75) · Report an error

20.76Preuschen 4:339

τί γὰρ δεῖ λέγειν ὅσης σοφίας χρῄζομεν εἰς τὸ νοῆσαι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ; καὶ ὅσης δυνάμεως εἰς τὸ ποιῆσαι αὐτά; ποίας δὲ σοφίας ἢ ποίας δυνάμεως δεόμεθα, ἢ Χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ θεοῦ σοφία;«

ti gar dei legein hosēs sophias chrę̄zomen eis to noēsai ta erga tou Abraam? kai hosēs dynameōs eis to poiēsai auta? poias de sophias ē poias dynameōs deometha, ē Christou, hos estin theou dynamis kai theou sophia?«

For why need we say how much wisdom we need to understand the works of Abraham, and how much power to do them? And what wisdom or what power do we need, if not Christ, who is “God's power and God's wisdom”?

1 Cor 1:24 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: We need Christ, God's power and wisdom, to understand and do Abraham's works.

The quotation is 1 Cor 1:24.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Μοῦ σοφία → θεοῦ σοφία.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.76 (Preuschen 4:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-76).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-76) · Report an error

20.77Preuschen 4:339

τὸ μὲν γεγραμμένον ἐστίν· »Εἰ τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ ἐστε, τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε«· ἀκολούθως δʼ ἂν παρὰ τοῦτο εἴποις· εἰ τέκνα τοῦ Ἰσαάκ ἐστε, τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ ποιεῖτε· τὰ δὲ ὅμοια καὶ περὶ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ καὶ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων.

to men gegrammenon estin; »Ei tekna tou Abraam este, ta erga tou Abraam poieite«; akolouthōs dʼ an para touto eipois; ei tekna tou Isaak este, ta erga tou Isaak poieite; ta de homoia kai peri tou Iakōb kai henos hekastou tōn hagiōn paterōn.

What is written is: “If you are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham”; and consistently with this you might say: if you are children of Isaac, do the works of Isaac; and likewise concerning Jacob and each one of the holy fathers.

John 8:39 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The same holds for Isaac, Jacob, and every holy father.

The quotation is John 8:39.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.77 (Preuschen 4:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-77).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-77) · Report an error

20.78Preuschen 4:339

καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων δὲ ἕκαστος τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων γενικῶς μὲν τέκνον ἐστὶν τοῦ διαβόλου, ἐπεὶ πᾶς »ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου γεγένηται«, ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἰδικώτερον ἤτοι τοῦ Κάϊν, ἥ τοῦ Χάμ, ἢ τοῦ Χαναάν, ἢ τοῦ Φαραώ, ἢ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ, ἤ τινος τῶν ἀσεβῶν.

kai ek tōn enantiōn de hekastos tōn hamartanontōn genikōs men teknon estin tou diabolou, epei pas »ho poiōn tēn hamartian ek tou diabolou gegenētai«, ēdē de kai idikōteron ētoi tou Kaïn, hē tou Cham, ē tou Chanaan, ē tou Pharaō, ē tou Nabouchodonosor, ē tinos tōn asebōn.

And, on the contrary, each sinner is generally a child of the devil, since “everyone who commits sin is of the devil,” and more specifically of Cain, or of Ham, or of Canaan, or of Pharaoh, or of Nebuchadnezzar, or of one of the ungodly.

1 John 3:8 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Sinners are children of the devil, and more specifically of some wicked figure.

The quotation is a free form of 1 John 3:8.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.78 (Preuschen 4:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-78).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-78) · Report an error

20.79Preuschen 4:339–340

τούτοις δὲ ἀκολούθως ἐρεῖς ὅτι ἕκαστος ἀπαλλαττόμενος τοῦ βίου τούτου ἀπελεύσεται πρὸς τοὺς ἰδίους πατέρας· νομιστέον γὰρ οὐ μόνῳ τῷ Ἀβραάμ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις λέγεσθαι πρὸς τῇ ἐξόδῳ τὸ »Σὺ δὲ ἀπελεύσῃ πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας σου«· οὐκέτι δὲ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ μόνοις τοῖς ἁγίοις τὸ »Μετὰ εἰρήνης«· τοῖς δὲ τετελειωμένοις καὶ πνευματικῶς μακροημέροις γενομένοις καὶ τὸ »Τραφεὶς ἐν γήρᾳ καλῷ«, ἐπείπερ »Πολιά »ἐστιν φρόνησις ἀνθρώποις« καὶ Στέφανος καυχήσεως γῆρας« καὶ δόξα τοῖς ἀληθινοῖς καὶ θείοις πρεσβυτέροις αἱ κοσμοῦσαι αὐτοὺς νοηταὶ πολιαί. Νῦν δέ ζητεῖτε ἀποκτεῖναι ἄνθρωπον ὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὑμῖν λελάληκα ὴν ἤκουσα Παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ.

toutois de akolouthōs ereis hoti hekastos apallattomenos tou biou toutou apeleusetai pros tous idious pateras; nomisteon gar ou monǭ tǭ Abraam, alla kai pasin anthrōpois legesthai pros tę̄ exodǭ to »Sy de apeleusę̄ pros tous pateras sou«; ouketi de pasin anthrōpois, alla monois tois hagiois to »Meta eirēnēs«; tois de teteleiōmenois kai pneumatikōs makroēmerois genomenois kai to »Trapheis en gērą kalǭ«, epeiper »Polia »estin phronēsis anthrōpois« kai Stephanos kauchēseōs gēras« kai doxa tois alēthinois kai theiois presbyterois hai kosmousai autous noētai poliai. Nyn de zēteite apokteinai anthrōpon os tēn alētheian hymin lelalēka ēn ēkousa Para tou theou.

Consistently with this you will say that each person, on departing this life, will go to his own fathers; for we must think that not to Abraham alone but to all people it is said at their departure, “But you will go to your fathers”; but not to all people any longer, but only to the saints, “in peace”; and to those made perfect and become long-lived in the spiritual sense also “nourished in a good old age,” since “understanding is gray hair for men,” and “old age is a crown of boasting,” and the glory of true and divine elders is the spiritual gray hairs that adorn them. “But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.”

Gen 15:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 16:31 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:40 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Everyone goes to his own spiritual fathers at death; only the saints go in peace, and the perfect in a good old age.

The quotations are Gen 15:15, Wis 4:9, and Prov 16:31; the closing quotation is John 8:40, the lemma of the next section.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (editor's apparatus leaked into the digital text): VIII, 40. → .

Extrabiblical texts: Wis 4:9 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)

Topics: Eschatology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.79 (Preuschen 4:339–340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-79).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-79) · Report an error

20.80Preuschen 4:340

Οἱ ζητοῦντες ἀποκτεῖναι, ἐπεὶ θεὸς οὐκ ἀποκτίννυται, κἂν ἀποκτιννύωσιν, ἄνθρωπον ἀποκτιννύουσιν. κἂν ζητῶσιν ἀποκτεῖναι, μήπω ἀποκτιννύντες, οὐχὶ θεὸν νομίζοντες εἶναι, ᾧ ἐπιβουλεύουσιν, ὡς ἀνθρώπῳ ἐπιβουλεύουσιν· οὐδεὶς γὰρ πειθόμενος εἶναι θεὸν τοῦτον ᾧ ἐπιβουλεύει, ἐπιβουλεύσαι ἂν αὐτῷ ἔτι.

Hoi zētountes apokteinai, epei theos ouk apoktinnytai, kan apoktinnyōsin, anthrōpon apoktinnyousin. kan zētōsin apokteinai, mēpō apoktinnyntes, ouchi theon nomizontes einai, hǭ epibouleuousin, hōs anthrōpǭ epibouleuousin; oudeis gar peithomenos einai theon touton hǭ epibouleuei, epibouleusai an autǭ eti.

Those who seek to kill, since God is not killed, even if they kill, kill a man. And even if they seek to kill, not yet killing, they plot not thinking that the one they plot against is God, but plot against him as a man; for no one persuaded that the one he plots against is God would still plot against him.

John 8:40 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God cannot be killed; those who plotted against Jesus treated him as a mere man.

The allusion is John 8:40.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (editor's chapter number leaked into the digital text): ΧΙ. Οἱ → Οἱ.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.80 (Preuschen 4:340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-80).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-80) · Report an error

20.81Preuschen 4:340

ἔστι δέ πως ἀεὶ θεωρῆσαι τοὺς τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπιβουλεύοντας, ὅτι ἀποκτεῖναι ζητοῦσιν καὶ ἐξαφανίσαι αὐτόν, ἄνθρωπον αὐτόν, τουτέστιν ἀνθρώπινον καὶ θνητόν, εἶναι ὑπολαμβάνοντες, ἢ καὶ τῷ ἀνθρωπινωτέρῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ βλεπομένῳ ἐπιτίθενται· ἵνα δὲ καὶ ἀποκτείνωσιν τὸ σῶμα τοῦ λόγου, σαφὲς ὅτι μετὰ ταῦτα οὐδὲν δύνανται ποιῆσαι περισσότερον.

esti de pōs aei theōrēsai tous tǭ logǭ tou theou epibouleuontas, hoti apokteinai zētousin kai exaphanisai auton, anthrōpon auton, toutestin anthrōpinon kai thnēton, einai hypolambanontes, ē kai tǭ anthrōpinōterǭ autou kai blepomenǭ epitithentai; hina de kai apokteinōsin to sōma tou logou, saphes hoti meta tauta ouden dynantai poiēsai perissoteron.

One can always, in a way, observe those who plot against the Word of God: they seek to kill and destroy him, supposing him to be a man, that is, human and mortal, or else they attack what is more human in him and visible. But even if they kill the body of the Word, it is clear that after this they can do nothing more.

Luke 12:4 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Those who attack the Word treat him as merely human; even if they kill his “body,” they can do no more.

The allusion is Luke 12:4.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.81 (Preuschen 4:340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-81).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-81) · Report an error

20.82Preuschen 4:340

διόπερ οὐ φοβητέον ἡμῖν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτιννύντων τὸ σῶμα, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα μὴ ἐχόντων περισσότερόν τι ποιῆσαι, οὐδὲ φοβητέον ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεινόντων τὸ σῶμα, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν τοῦ λόγου ἀποκτεῖναι μὴ δυναμένων.

dioper ou phobēteon hēmin apo tōn apoktinnyntōn to sōma, meta de tauta mē echontōn perissoteron ti poiēsai, oude phobēteon apo tōn apokteinontōn to sōma, tēn de psychēn tou logou apokteinai mē dynamenōn.

Therefore we must not fear those who kill the body and after that have nothing more they can do, nor fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul of the Word.

Luke 12:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 10:28 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: We need not fear those who can kill only the body of the Word.

The allusions are Luke 12:4 and Matt 10:28.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.82 (Preuschen 4:340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-82).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-82) · Report an error

20.83Preuschen 4:340

ἀλλʼ εἰ τοιοῦτός τίς ἐστιν ὁ λόγος ὥστε καὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ψυχήν, τῷ ἄξια εἶναι ἀπωλείας, ἀπόλλυσθαι δύνασθαι, φοβητέον τὸν δυνάμενον θεὸν λόγον καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα ἀπολέσαι καὶ ἐξαφανίσαι, εἴτε ἐν γεέννῃ εἴτε ὅπως βούλεται· ὁ κύριος γὰρ Ἰησοῦς ἀναλοῖ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ καὶ καταργεῖ τῇ ἐπιφανείᾳ τῆς παρουσίας ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ἀντικείμενον λόγον καὶ ἐπαιρόμενον ἐπὶ πάντα λεγόμενον θεὸν ἢ σέβασμα.

allʼ ei toioutos tis estin ho logos hōste kai autou kai tēn psychēn, tǭ axia einai apōleias, apollysthai dynasthai, phobēteon ton dynamenon theon logon kai psychēn kai sōma apolesai kai exaphanisai, eite en geennę̄ eite hopōs bouletai; ho kyrios gar Iēsous analoi tǭ pneumati tou stomatos autou kai katargei tę̄ epiphaneią tēs parousias heautou ton antikeimenon logon kai epairomenon epi panta legomenon theon ē sebasma.

But if some word is such that its soul too can be destroyed, because it is worthy of destruction, we must fear the God who is able to destroy and annihilate both soul and body of such a word, whether in Gehenna or however he wills; for the Lord Jesus consumes with the breath of his mouth, and abolishes by the manifestation of his coming, the opposing word that exalts itself above everything called god or object of worship.

Matt 10:28 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Thess 2:8 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Thess 2:4 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: A false word can be destroyed by God; Christ will consume the opposing word that exalts itself.

The allusions are Matt 10:28 and 2 Thess 2:4, 8. Origen applies them to “words,” that is, false teachings.

Topics: Heresy, Eschatology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.83 (Preuschen 4:340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-83).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-83) · Report an error

20.84Preuschen 4:340

καὶ ζητοῦσί γε οὑτοι πρὸς οὓς ὁ λόγος ἀποκτεῖναι ἄνθρωπον ὃς τὴν ἀλήθειαν λελάληκεν, ἣν ἤκουσεν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἴληφεν.

kai zētousi ge houtoi pros hous ho logos apokteinai anthrōpon hos tēn alētheian lelalēken, hēn ēkousen para tou theou kai eilēphen.

And those to whom the word is addressed seek to kill a man who has told the truth that he heard and received from God.

John 8:40 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: They sought to kill the one who told them God's truth.

The allusion is John 8:40.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.84 (Preuschen 4:340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-84).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-84) · Report an error

20.85Preuschen 4:340–341

κἂν ἁπλούστερον μέντοι γε κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἐκλαμβάνωμεν, σαφῶς ἐδίδαξεν ὁ σωτὴρ ὅτι τὸ ζητούμενον ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων ἐπὶ τῷ ἀναιρεθῆναι αὐτὸ θεὸς οὐκ ἠν ἀλλὰ ἄνθρωπος, ὅς καὶ ἀνῃρέθη· θεὸν γὰρ οὐ θεμιτὸν ἀποθνήσκειν λέγειν· διόπερ ὁ ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν λόγος, ὅστις καὶ θεὸς λόγος ἦν, οὐκ ἀπέθανεν. ζητήσεις δέ, ἐπεὶ γέγραπται ὅτι »Ὁ λόγος σὰρξ »ἐγένετο«, πότερόν ποτε ὁ γενόμενος σὰρξ λόγος τῷ γεγονέναι σὰρξ γέγονεν καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἢ οὐ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος.

kan haplousteron mentoi ge kata ton topon eklambanōmen, saphōs edidaxen ho sōtēr hoti to zētoumenon hypo Ioudaiōn epi tǭ anairethēnai auto theos ouk ēn alla anthrōpos, hos kai anę̄rethē; theon gar ou themiton apothnēskein legein; dioper ho en archę̄ pros ton theon logos, hostis kai theos logos ēn, ouk apethanen. zētēseis de, epei gegraptai hoti »Ho logos sarx »egeneto«, poteron pote ho genomenos sarx logos tǭ gegonenai sarx gegonen kai anthrōpos ē ou gegonen anthrōpos.

Even if we take the passage more simply, however, the Savior clearly taught that what was sought by the Jews to be done away with was not God but a man, who was indeed done away with; for it is not lawful to say that God dies. Therefore the Word who was in the beginning with God, who was also God the Word, did not die. But you will ask, since it is written that “the Word became flesh,” whether the Word who became flesh, by becoming flesh, became also a man, or did not become a man.

John 1:1 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:14 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:40 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: It was the man, not God the Word, who could be killed; Origen asks whether the Word, becoming flesh, became man.

The allusions are John 1:1 and 8:40; the quotation is John 1:14.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Ἰουδίων → Ἰουδαίων.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.85 (Preuschen 4:340–341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-85).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-85) · Report an error

20.86Preuschen 4:341

εἰ μὲν γὰρ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, δύναται αὐτὸς ἐζητῆσθαι ἀναιρεθῆναι· εἰ δὲ μὴ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ὁ γενόμενος σὰρξ λόγος οὐκ ἀναιρεθεὶς ἀποκατέστη, καὶ ἀποκαθίσταται ἕκαστος ἐπὶ τοῦτο ὅπερ ἠν πρὶν γένηται σάρξ. Τοῦτο Ἀβραὰμ οὐκ ἐΠοίησεν.

ei men gar gegonen anthrōpos, dynatai autos ezētēsthai anairethēnai; ei de mē gegonen anthrōpos, kai ho genomenos sarx logos ouk anairetheis apokatestē, kai apokathistatai hekastos epi touto hoper ēn prin genētai sarx. Touto Abraam ouk ePoiēsen.

For if he became a man, he himself could have been sought to be done away with; but if he did not become a man, the Word who became flesh, not having been done away with, was restored, and each is restored to what it was before it became flesh. “This Abraham did not do.”

John 1:14 (allusion, high confidence) · John 8:40 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: If the Word became man, he could be sought to be killed; if not, he returned unharmed to what he was before.

The closing quotation is John 8:40, the lemma of the next section. The Christological question is left open, as in Origen's text.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (editor's apparatus leaked into the digital text): VIII, 40. → .

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.86 (Preuschen 4:341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-86).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-86) · Report an error

20.87Preuschen 4:341

Τὸ μηδαμῶς δυνατὸν πραχθῆναι τῷ Ἀβραάμ, εἰ μὴ πεποίηκεν Ἀβραάμ, ὡς ἔτυχεν ἂν εἰρῆσθαι δόξει τὸ »Τοῦτο Ἀβραὰμ »οὐκ ἐποίησεν«. εἴποιεν γὰρ ἂν πρὸς τοῦτό τινες ὅτι μάτην λέγεται τὸ »Τοῦτο Ἀβραὰμ οὐκ ἐποίησεν«, εἴπερ οὐκ ἐποίησεν τὸ μηδαμῶς γενόμενον κατὰ τὸν χρόνον αὐτοῦ· οὐ γὰρ γεγόνει κατὰ τὸν χρόνον αὐτοῦ ὁ Ἰησοῦς.

To mēdamōs dynaton prachthēnai tǭ Abraam, ei mē pepoiēken Abraam, hōs etychen an eirēsthai doxei to »Touto Abraam »ouk epoiēsen«. eipoien gar an pros touto tines hoti matēn legetai to »Touto Abraam ouk epoiēsen«, eiper ouk epoiēsen to mēdamōs genomenon kata ton chronon autou; ou gar gegonei kata ton chronon autou ho Iēsous.

“This Abraham did not do” might seem to be said at random, since it was not at all possible for Abraham to do it, if Abraham did not do it. For some might say to this that “This Abraham did not do” is said pointlessly, if he did not do what never happened in his time; for Jesus did not live in his time.

John 8:40 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Objection: why say Abraham did not do this, when Jesus did not live in his time?

The quotation is John 8:40.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἀνειρῆσθαι → ἂν εἰρῆσθαι.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.87 (Preuschen 4:341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-87).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-87) · Report an error

20.88Preuschen 4:341

ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ τὸ »Τοῦτο Ἀβραὰμ οὐκ ἐποίησεν« οἱονεὶ ἐν ἐπαίνῳ ὑπολαμβάνω εἰρῆσθαι τῷ περὶ τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, εἴποιμʼ ἂν ὅτι κατὰ τὸν διδάξαντα λόγον τὸ »Ἀβραὰμ ὀ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἠγαλλιά- »σατο ἵνα ἴδῃ τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν ἐμήν, καὶ εἶδεν καὶ ἐχάρη« ἔστιν τὸ γεγονέναι μὲν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἄνθρωπον λαλοῦντα ἥν ἤκουσεν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀλήθειαν, οὐ μὴν ἐζητῆσθαι αὐτὸν ἀνῃρῆσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀβραάμ.

allʼ epei to »Touto Abraam ouk epoiēsen« hoionei en epainǭ hypolambanō eirēsthai tǭ peri tou Abraam, eipoimʼ an hoti kata ton didaxanta logon to »Abraam o patēr hymōn ēgallia- »sato hina idę̄ tēn hēmeran tēn emēn, kai eiden kai echarē« estin to gegonenai men kai epi tou Abraam anthrōpon lalounta hēn ēkousen para tou theou alētheian, ou mēn ezētēsthai auton anę̄rēsthai hypo tou Abraam.

But since I take “This Abraham did not do” to be said as praise of Abraham, I would say that, according to the Word who taught “Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day; and he saw it and was glad,” it is the case that in Abraham's time too there was a man speaking the truth he had heard from God, yet he was not sought to be done away with by Abraham.

John 8:40 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:56 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Abraham saw Christ's day; a man speaking God's truth existed in his time, and Abraham did not seek to kill him.

The quotations are John 8:40 and 8:56.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἐποίηβσεν → ἐποίησεν.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.88 (Preuschen 4:341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-88).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-88) · Report an error

20.89Preuschen 4:341

καὶ ἐπίστησον ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὅτε ὁ κατὰ τὸν Ἰησοῦν τροπικῶς νοούμενος ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἐπεδήμει τῷ βίῳ, καὶ μετὰ τοὺς τῆς περὶ αὐτοῦ ἱστορίας χρόνους καὶ πρότερον. κατὰ τοῦτο δὲ οἴομαι πάντα τὸν ἅπαξ φωτισθέντα καὶ γευσάμενον δωρεᾶς ἐπουρανίου μέτοχόν τε γενηθέντα πνεύματος ἁγίου, καὶ καλον γευσαμενον θεοῦ ῥῆμα δυνάμεις τε μέλλοντος αἰῶνος καὶ παραπεσόντα πάλιν, ἀνακαινίζειν ἑαυτὸν εἰς μετἀνοιαν, ητοι προσταυρουντα η ανασταυροῦντα τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ παραδειγματίζοντα, εἴτε πρὸ τῆς ἱστορουμένης σωματικῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπιδημίας εἴτε καὶ ὕστερον.

kai epistēson hoti ouk estin hote ho kata ton Iēsoun tropikōs nooumenos anthrōpos ouk epedēmei tǭ biǭ, kai meta tous tēs peri autou historias chronous kai proteron. kata touto de oiomai panta ton hapax phōtisthenta kai geusamenon dōreas epouraniou metochon te genēthenta pneumatos hagiou, kai kalon geusamenon theou rhēma dynameis te mellontos aiōnos kai parapesonta palin, anakainizein heauton eis metanoian, ētoi prostaurounta ē anastaurounta ton huion tou theou kai paradeigmatizonta, eite pro tēs historoumenēs sōmatikēs tou sōtēros hēmōn epidēmias eite kai hysteron.

And consider that there is no time when the man understood figuratively in Jesus was not present in life, both after the times of the history about him and before. In this sense I think that everyone who has once been enlightened and has tasted the heavenly gift and become a partaker of the Holy Spirit, and has tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and has fallen away, cannot again renew himself to repentance, whether crucifying beforehand or crucifying again the Son of God and putting him to open shame, whether before the recorded bodily coming of our Savior or afterward.

Heb 6:4–6 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The spiritual Christ was always present; so those who fell away after enlightenment crucified him afresh even before his bodily coming.

The allusion is Heb 6:4–6.
The printed Greek lacks the “impossible” (ἀδύνατον) of Heb 6:4; the translation supplies the sense of Hebrews that the words presuppose.
The printed Greek lacks the “impossible” (ἀδύνατον) of Heb 6:4; the translation supplies the sense of Hebrews that the words presuppose.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ὅπαξ → ἅπαξ.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.89 (Preuschen 4:341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-89).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-89) · Report an error

20.90Preuschen 4:341–342

οὐ γὰρ ὁ μὲν νῦν μετὰ τὸν φωτισμὸν καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς εἰς αὐτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εὐεργεσίας ἁμαρτάνων ἀνασταυροῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἁμαρτημάτων ἐφʼ ἅ ἐπαλινδρόμησεν, οὐδὲν τῆς κοινότερον λεγομένης σωματικῆς πρὸς τὸ σταυρῶσαι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνεργείας ἐπιτελῶν, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ πρότερον τοῦτο ἐγίνετο καὶ ὁ ἁμαρτάνων μετὰ τὸ ἀκοῦσαι θείων λόγων προεσταύρου τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ.

ou gar ho men nyn meta ton phōtismon kai tas loipas eis auton tou theou euergesias hamartanōn anastauroi ton huion tou theou dia tōn idiōn hamartēmatōn ephʼ ha epalindromēsen, ouden tēs koinoteron legomenēs sōmatikēs pros to staurōsai ton huion tou theou energeias epitelōn, ouchi de kai proteron touto egineto kai ho hamartanōn meta to akousai theiōn logōn proestaurou ton huion tou theou.

For it is not that the one who now sins after enlightenment and God's other benefits to him crucifies the Son of God again through the sins to which he has returned, without doing anything of the bodily action, in the more common sense, of crucifying the Son of God, while this did not happen earlier too, and the one who sinned after hearing divine words did not crucify the Son of God beforehand.

Heb 6:6 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Sinning after grace crucifies Christ afresh, and this was true before his coming as well as after.

The allusion is Heb 6:6.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Βείων → θείων.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.90 (Preuschen 4:341–342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-90).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-90) · Report an error

20.91Preuschen 4:342

εἴ τῳ δὲ φίλον παραδέξασθαι τὸ ἐν ταῖς Παύλου Πράξεσιν ἀναγεγραμμένον ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος εἰρημένον· »Ἄνωθεν μέλλω »σταυροῦσθαι«, οὗτος, ὡς μετὰ τὴν ἐπιδημίαν παραδέχεται τὸ »Ἄνω- »θεν μέλλω σταυροῦσθαι« γινόμενον, οὕτω καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐπιδημίας, ὅταν τὰ αὐτὰ αἴτια γίνηται τὸ λέγεσθαι ἄν· >ἤδη τί γὰρ οὐχὶ ὡς >ἄνωθεν< μέλλει σταυροῦσθαι,

ei tǭ de philon paradexasthai to en tais Paulou Praxesin anagegrammenon hōs hypo tou sōtēros eirēmenon; »Anōthen mellō »staurousthai«, houtos, hōs meta tēn epidēmian paradechetai to »Anō- »then mellō staurousthai« ginomenon, houtō kai pro tēs epidēmias, hotan ta auta aitia ginētai to legesthai an; >ēdē ti gar ouchi hōs >anōthen< mellei staurousthai,

And if anyone cares to accept what is recorded in the Acts of Paul as spoken by the Savior, “I am about to be crucified again,” this person, just as he accepts that “I am about to be crucified again” happens after the coming, so also before the coming, when the same causes occur, it might be said: for why is he not about to be crucified “again,”

Notes and citation

Summary: The Acts of Paul's saying “I am about to be crucified again” can apply before as well as after Christ's coming.

The quotation is from the Acts of Paul (the “Quo vadis” saying); Origen cites it with reserve (“if anyone cares to accept”). The sentence continues in the next section.

Extrabiblical texts: Acts Paul (Acts of Paul; quotation)

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.91 (Preuschen 4:342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-91).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-91) · Report an error

20.92Preuschen 4:342

καὶ ἐσταύρωτο; ὅρα δὲ εἰ μὴ μόνων τῶν μετὰ τὴν παρουσίαν ἐστὶν ἁγίων φωνὴ τὸ »Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι«, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν προτέρων, ἵνα μὴ διαφέρειν λέγωμεν τοὺς μετὰ τὴν παρουσίαν ἁγίους Μωσέως καὶ τῶν πατριαρχῶν.

kai estaurōto? hora de ei mē monōn tōn meta tēn parousian estin hagiōn phōnē to »Christǭ synestaurōmai«, alla kai tōn proterōn, hina mē diapherein legōmen tous meta tēn parousian hagious Mōseōs kai tōn patriarchōn.

and had been crucified? But see whether “I have been crucified with Christ” is not the voice of the saints after the coming only, but also of those before, so that we may not say that the saints after the coming are different from Moses and the patriarchs.

Gal 2:19 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: “I have been crucified with Christ” can be said by the saints before Christ as well.

The quotation is Gal 2:19 (2:20 in some editions).

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.92 (Preuschen 4:342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-92).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-92) · Report an error

20.93Preuschen 4:342

καὶ τὸ »Ζῶ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν »ἐμοὶ Χριστός« λεγέσθω μὴ μόνον ὑπὸ τῶν μετὰ τὴν παρουσίαν ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν προτέρων. ἐφίστημι δὲ καὶ τῷ Θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ »καὶ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ θεὸς Ἰακώβ· θεὸς δὲ οὐκ ἔστι νεκρῶν ἀλλὰ »ζώντων« εἰρημένῳ ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος, μήποτε διὰ τοῦτο ζῶντές εἰσιν Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακώβ, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτοὶ συνταφέντες τῷ χριστῷ συνανέστησαν αὐτῷ, οὐ πάντως κατὰ τὴν σωματικὴν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ταφὴν ἢ σωματικὴν ἀνάστασιν αὐτοῦ. ταῦτα πρὸς τὸ »Τοῦτο »Ἀβραὰμ οὐκ ἐποίησε«.

kai to »Zō ouketi egō, zę̄ de en »emoi Christos« legesthō mē monon hypo tōn meta tēn parousian alla kai hypo tōn proterōn. ephistēmi de kai tǭ Theos Abraam »kai theos Isaak kai theos Iakōb; theos de ouk esti nekrōn alla »zōntōn« eirēmenǭ hypo tou sōtēros, mēpote dia touto zōntes eisin Abraam kai Isaak kai Iakōb, epei kai autoi syntaphentes tǭ christǭ synanestēsan autǭ, ou pantōs kata tēn sōmatikēn tou Iēsou taphēn ē sōmatikēn anastasin autou. tauta pros to »Touto »Abraam ouk epoiēse«.

And let “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” be said not only by those after the coming but also by those before. And I also consider the saying of the Savior, “The God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob; but he is not the God of the dead but of the living,” whether Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are living for this reason, that they too were buried with Christ and rose with him, not necessarily in the bodily burial of Jesus or his bodily resurrection. So much for “This Abraham did not do.”

Gal 2:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 22:32 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 6:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:12 (allusion, high confidence) · John 8:40 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The patriarchs live because they too were buried and raised with Christ spiritually.

The quotations are Gal 2:20, Matt 22:32, and John 8:40; the allusions are Rom 6:4 and Col 2:12.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.93 (Preuschen 4:342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-93).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-93) · Report an error

20.94Preuschen 4:342

Τί δὲ »τοῦτο« ἢ τὸ ζητεῖν ἀποκτεῖναι ἄνθρωπον ὅς τὴν ἀλήθειαν λελάληκεν ἣν ἤκουσε παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ; ἀποδίδομεν γὰρ ὡς ἄρα ἡ κατὰ τὸν Ἰησοῦν πνευματικὴ οἰκονομία οὐκ ἔστιν ὅτε τοῖς ἁγίοις οὐκ ἦν.

Ti de »touto« ē to zētein apokteinai anthrōpon hos tēn alētheian lelalēken hēn ēkouse para tou theou? apodidomen gar hōs ara hē kata ton Iēsoun pneumatikē oikonomia ouk estin hote tois hagiois ouk ēn.

And what is “this” but seeking to kill a man who has told the truth that he heard from God? For we explain that the spiritual dispensation in Jesus was never absent from the saints.

John 8:40 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Abraham did not seek to kill the one who told God's truth; Christ's spiritual work was always with the saints.

The allusion is John 8:40.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.94 (Preuschen 4:342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-94).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-94) · Report an error

20.95Preuschen 4:342

ἐὰν δὲ ἀνάγαγῃς ταῦτα, ὥσπερ ὑπονενοήκαμεν ἐν ἄλλοις, ἑτέρως παρὰ τὸ κοινότερον ἐπὶ μυστικώτερον Ἀβραάμ, ὀμοίως πάντα τὰ κατὰ τὸν τόπον ἐξομαλίσαι πειράσει ζητῶν τὴν ἑκάστου τούτων ἀκολουθίαν. Ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν.

ean de anagagę̄s tauta, hōsper hyponenoēkamen en allois, heterōs para to koinoteron epi mystikōteron Abraam, omoiōs panta ta kata ton topon exomalisai peirasei zētōn tēn hekastou toutōn akolouthian. Hymeis poieite ta erga tou patros hymōn.

And if you refer these things, as we have suggested elsewhere, differently from the more common sense to a more mystical Abraham, you will try likewise to smooth out everything in the passage, seeking the sequence of each of these. “You do the works of your father.”

John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: A mystical reading of Abraham can also be applied throughout.

The closing quotation is John 8:41, the lemma of the next section.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (editor's apparatus leaked into the digital text): VIII, 41. → .

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.95 (Preuschen 4:342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-95).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-95) · Report an error

20.96Preuschen 4:342

Ὅσον ἐπὶ τῷ ῥητῷ τούτῳ οὐκ ἔστι σαφὲς τίνα θέλει εἰπεῖν πατέρα τῶν πεπιστευκότων αὐτῷ Ἰουδαίων καὶ μηδέπω ἐγνωκότων τὴν ἀλήθειαν· πρὸς αὐτοὺς γὰρ ταῦτα πάντα φησί.

Hoson epi tǭ rhētǭ toutǭ ouk esti saphes tina thelei eipein patera tōn pepisteukotōn autǭ Ioudaiōn kai mēdepō egnōkotōn tēn alētheian; pros autous gar tauta panta phēsi.

As far as this text goes, it is not clear whom he means as the father of the Jews who had believed in him and had not yet known the truth; for he says all these things to them.

John 8:31 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Taken alone, it is unclear whom Jesus means by “your father.”

The allusion is John 8:31.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (editor's chapter number leaked into the digital text): ΧΙΙΙ. → .

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.96 (Preuschen 4:342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-96).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-96) · Report an error

20.97Preuschen 4:342–343

καὶ εἰ μὴ ἐπε- φέρετο μετʼ ὀλίγα τὸ »Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστὲ καὶ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν θέλετε ποιεῖν«, κἂν σαφῶς οὐκ ἐγνώκειμεν τὸ βούλημα τοῦ εἰρημένου.

kai ei mē epe- phereto metʼ oliga to »Hymeis ek tou patros tou diabolou este kai tas epithymias tou patros hymōn thelete poiein«, kan saphōs ouk egnōkeimen to boulēma tou eirēmenou.

And had there not followed shortly “You are of your father the devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father,” we would not have known clearly the intention of what was said.

John 8:44 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: John 8:44 shows that the father meant is the devil.

The quotation is John 8:44.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.97 (Preuschen 4:342–343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-97).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-97) · Report an error

20.98Preuschen 4:343

οὐ θαυμαστὸν δὲ εἰ τοῖς πεπιστευκόσιν αὐτῷ Ἰουδαίοις, μηδέπω μείνασιν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ, ἴνα ἀληθῶς αὐτοῦ γένωνται μαθηταὶ καὶ γνῶσιν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπὶ τῷ ἐλευθερωθῆναι ὑπʼ αὐτῆς, ἔλεγεν τὸ »Ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε τὰ ἔργα τοῦ »πατρὸς ὑμῶν« καί, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς ἐπιφέρεται, τὸ »Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ »πατρὸς τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστέ«.

ou thaumaston de ei tois pepisteukosin autǭ Ioudaiois, mēdepō meinasin autou en tǭ logǭ, ina alēthōs autou genōntai mathētai kai gnōsin tēn alētheian epi tǭ eleutherōthēnai hypʼ autēs, elegen to »Hymeis poieite ta erga tou »patros hymōn« kai, hōs en tois hexēs epipheretai, to »Hymeis ek tou »patros tou diabolou este«.

And it is not surprising that to the Jews who had believed in him, not yet having remained in his word so as truly to become his disciples and know the truth in order to be set free by it, he said, “You do the works of your father,” and, as follows later, “You are of your father the devil.”

John 8:31–32 (allusion, high confidence) · John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:44 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: He could say this even to believers who had not yet remained in his word.

The allusion is John 8:31–32; the quotations are John 8:41 and 8:44.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray period): λόγῳ. ἴνα → λόγῳ, ἴνα.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.98 (Preuschen 4:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-98).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-98) · Report an error

20.99Preuschen 4:343

κἂν γὰρ ἀπηνὲς εἶναι δοκῇ τὸ τοιοῦτο λεγόμενον περὶ πεπιστευκότων μὲν αὐτῷ καὶ μαθητευθέντων πως, οὐ μὴν ἤδη ἀληθῶς χρηματισάντων μαθητῶν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ὅμως κατανοητέον καὶ τὸ έν τῇ καθολικῇ ἐπιστολῇ ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου εἰρημένον περὶ υἱῶν θεοῦ καὶ υἱῶν διαβόλου· »Ὁ ποιῶν, γὰρ φησι, τὴν ἁμαρ- »τίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν, ὅτι ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει.

kan gar apēnes einai dokę̄ to toiouto legomenon peri pepisteukotōn men autǭ kai mathēteuthentōn pōs, ou mēn ēdē alēthōs chrēmatisantōn mathētōn tou Iēsou, homōs katanoēteon kai to en tę̄ katholikę̄ epistolę̄ hypo Iōannou eirēmenon peri huiōn theou kai huiōn diabolou; »Ho poiōn, gar phēsi, tēn hamar- »tian ek tou diabolou estin, hoti apʼ archēs ho diabolos hamartanei.

For even if such a thing seems harsh when said of those who had believed in him and had become disciples in a way, but were not yet truly called disciples of Jesus, still we must consider what is said by John in the catholic epistle about sons of God and sons of the devil: “He who commits sin,” he says, “is of the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning.

1 John 3:8 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: 1 John 3 explains why sinners are called children of the devil.

The quotation is 1 John 3:8, continued in the next section.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.99 (Preuschen 4:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-99).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-99) · Report an error

20.100Preuschen 4:343

»εἰς τοῦτο ἐνεφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ »διαβόλου. πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι »σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτἀνειν, ὄτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται.

»eis touto enephanerōthē ho huios tou theou, hina lysę̄ ta erga tou »diabolou. pas ho gegennēmenos ek tou theou hamartian ou poiei, hoti »sperma autou en autǭ menei, kai ou dynatai hamartanein, oti ek tou theou gegennētai.

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, to destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who is born of God does not commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

1 John 3:8–9 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Continuation of 1 John 3.

The quotation is 1 John 3:8–9.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.100 (Preuschen 4:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-100).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-100) · Report an error

20.101Preuschen 4:343

έν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστιν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ »καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου· πᾶς ὁ μὴ ὢν δἰκαιος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ »θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ«.

en toutǭ phanera estin ta tekna tou theou »kai ta tekna tou diabolou; pas ho mē ōn dikaios ouk estin ek »theou, kai ho mē agapōn ton adelphon autou«.

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: everyone who is not righteous is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.”

1 John 3:10 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Conclusion of the quotation.

The quotation is 1 John 3:10.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.101 (Preuschen 4:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-101).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-101) · Report an error

20.102Preuschen 4:343

τῶν ῥητῶν τοίνυν τούτων οὕτως ἐχόντων κατανόησον εἰ μὴ σαφῶς εἴρηται ὅτι πᾶς »ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν«.

tōn rhētōn toinyn toutōn houtōs echontōn katanoēson ei mē saphōs eirētai hoti pas »ho poiōn tēn hamartian ek tou diabolou estin«.

These texts being so, consider whether it is not clearly said that everyone “who commits sin is of the devil.”

1 John 3:8 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: All who sin are of the devil.

The quotation is 1 John 3:8.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.102 (Preuschen 4:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-102).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-102) · Report an error

20.103Preuschen 4:343

ὅσον ποιοῦμεν ἁμαρτίας, οὐδέπω τὴν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου γένεσιν ἀπεδυσάμεθα, κἂν πιστεύειν εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν νομιζώμεθα· καὶ τούτῳ ἀκόλουθόν έστιν τὸ λέγεσθαι τοῖς πεπιστευκόσιν Ἰουδαίοις ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ· »Ὑμεῖς »ποιεῖτε τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν« ἀναφερομένου »τοῦ πατρὸς‘ ἐπὶ τὸν διάβολον διὰ τὸ »Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστέ«.

hoson poioumen hamartias, oudepō tēn ek tou diabolou genesin apedysametha, kan pisteuein eis ton Iēsoun nomizōmetha; kai toutǭ akolouthon estin to legesthai tois pepisteukosin Ioudaiois hypo tou Iēsou; »Hymeis »poieite ta erga tou patros hymōn« anapheromenou »tou patros‘ epi ton diabolon dia to »Hymeis ek tou patros tou diabolou este«.

As long as we commit sins, we have not yet put off our birth from the devil, even if we are thought to believe in Jesus; and consistent with this is what Jesus says to the Jews who had believed: “You do the works of your father,” “the father” referring to the devil because of “You are of your father the devil.”

John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:44 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: While we sin, we are still the devil's children, even if we are believers.

The quotations are John 8:41 and 8:44.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Ἰηθοῦ → Ἰησοῦ.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.103 (Preuschen 4:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-103).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-103) · Report an error

20.104Preuschen 4:343

εἰ δὲ πᾶς »ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν«, πᾶς ὁ μὴ ὢν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου οὐ ποιεῖ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν.

ei de pas »ho poiōn tēn hamartian ek tou diabolou estin«, pas ho mē ōn ek tou diabolou ou poiei tēn hamartian.

And if everyone “who commits sin is of the devil,” everyone who is not of the devil does not commit sin.

1 John 3:8 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Whoever is not of the devil does not sin.

The quotation is 1 John 3:8.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.104 (Preuschen 4:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-104).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-104) · Report an error

20.105Preuschen 4:343

ἀλλὰ καὶ εἴπερ »εἰς »τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ἕνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ δια- »βόλου«, ὅσον οὐδέπω τὰ έν ἡμῖν ἔλυσεν ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου, τῷ μὴ παρεστακέναι ἡμᾶς ἑαυτοὺς τῷ λύοντι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου, οὐδέπω ἀπεθέμεθα τὸ εἶναι τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου, ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν ἐπιγινωσκόμενοι τίνος ἐσμὲν υἱοί.

alla kai eiper »eis »touto ephanerōthē ho huios tou theou, hena lysę̄ ta erga tou dia- »bolou«, hoson oudepō ta en hēmin elysen erga tou diabolou, tǭ mē parestakenai hēmas heautous tǭ lyonti ta erga tou diabolou, oudepō apethemetha to einai tekna tou diabolou, apo tōn karpōn epiginōskomenoi tinos esmen huioi.

But also, if “for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, to destroy the works of the devil,” as long as he has not yet destroyed the works of the devil in us, because we have not presented ourselves to the one who destroys the works of the devil, we have not yet put off being children of the devil, being recognized by our fruits as to whose sons we are.

1 John 3:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 7:16 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Until we let Christ destroy the devil's works in us, we remain the devil's children, known by our fruits.

The quotation is 1 John 3:8; the allusion is Matt 7:16.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.105 (Preuschen 4:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-105).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-105) · Report an error

20.106Preuschen 4:343–344

καὶ ἐκ τούτων μέντοι γε δῆλόν ἐστιν ὅτι οὐ διὰ κατασκευὴν υἱός τίς ἐστιν διαβόλου, οὐδὲ διὰ τὸ οὕτως δεδημιουργῆσθαι υἱός τις έν ἀνθρώποις λέγεται τοῦ θεοῦ· καὶ δῆλον ὅτι δύναται ὁ ποτὲ υἱὸς τοῦ διαβόλου γενέσθαι υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὅπερ σαφὲς καὶ ὁ Ματθαῖος ποιεῖ ἀναγράφων τὸν σωτῆρα οὕτως εἰρηκέναι· »Ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη· Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον »σοῦ καὶ μισήσεις τὸν ἐχθρόν σου· ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀγαπήσατε »τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων ὑμᾶς·

kai ek toutōn mentoi ge dēlon estin hoti ou dia kataskeuēn huios tis estin diabolou, oude dia to houtōs dedēmiourgēsthai huios tis en anthrōpois legetai tou theou; kai dēlon hoti dynatai ho pote huios tou diabolou genesthai huios tou theou, hoper saphes kai ho Matthaios poiei anagraphōn ton sōtēra houtōs eirēkenai; »Ēkousate hoti errethē; Agapēseis ton plēsion »sou kai misēseis ton echthron sou; egō de legō hymin, agapēsate »tous echthrous hymōn kai proseuchesthe hyper tōn diōkontōn hymas;

And from this it is plain that no one is a son of the devil by constitution, nor is anyone among human beings called a son of God because he was created so; and it is plain that one who was once a son of the devil can become a son of God, as Matthew also makes clear, recording that the Savior said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’; but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Matt 5:43–44 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: No one is a child of God or of the devil by nature; one can change from the devil's child to God's.

The quotation is Matt 5:43–44, continued in the next section. Origen's point is directed against the Valentinian doctrine of fixed natures.

Topics: Heresy, Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.106 (Preuschen 4:343–344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-106).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-106) · Report an error

20.107Preuschen 4:344

»ὅπως γένησθε υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς«. προσέχετε γὰρ ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ »ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς« καὶ »προσεύχεσθε »ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων« ὁ μὴ πρότερον τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς πατρός, ὕστερον αὐτοῦ γίνεται υἱός· ἔτι δὲ διὰ τὸ »Ἐν τούτῳ φανερά »ἐστιν τὰ † ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ † ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου« προειρημένων περὶ μὲν τοῦ διαβόλου τέκνων ὅτι »Ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν »ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν«· περὶ δὲ τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι Πᾶς ὁ γεγεννη- »μένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ »μένει καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται«, σαφὲς ὅτι πᾶς ἄνθρωπος συμπεπληρωκὼς τὸν λόγον ἤτοι τέκνον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν ἢ τέκνον τοῦ διαβόλου· ἤτοι γὰρ ποιεῖ ἁμαρτίαν ἢ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, οὐδενὸς ὄντος μεταξὺ τοῦ ποιεῖν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τοῦ ἁμαρτίαν μὴ ποιεῖν· καὶ εἰ μὲν ποιεῖ ἁμαρτίαν, ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν· εἰ δὲ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται.

»hopōs genēsthe huioi tou patros hymōn tou en tois ouranois«. prosechete gar hoti ek tou »agapate tous echthrous« kai »proseuchesthe »hyper tōn diōkontōn« ho mē proteron tou en ouranois patros, hysteron autou ginetai huios; eti de dia to »En toutǭ phanera »estin ta † erga tou theou kai ta † erga tou diabolou« proeirēmenōn peri men tou diabolou teknōn hoti »Ho poiōn tēn hamartian »ek tou diabolou estin«; peri de tōn tou theou hoti Pas ho gegennē- »menos ek tou theou hamartian ou poiei, hoti sperma autou en autǭ »menei kai ou dynatai hamartanein, hoti ek tou theou gegennētai«, saphes hoti pas anthrōpos sympeplērōkōs ton logon ētoi teknon tou theou estin ē teknon tou diabolou; ētoi gar poiei hamartian ē hamartian ou poiei, oudenos ontos metaxy tou poiein hamartian kai tou hamartian mē poiein; kai ei men poiei hamartian, ek tou diabolou estin; ei de hamartian ou poiei, ek tou theou gegennētai.

so that you may become sons of your Father in heaven.” For note that by “love your enemies” and “pray for those who persecute you” one who was not previously a son of the Father in heaven afterward becomes his son. Further, because of “By this the works of God and the works of the devil are manifest,” said after the statements about the devil's children, “He who commits sin is of the devil,” and about God's, “Everyone who is born of God does not commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God,” it is clear that every human being who has reached full reason is either a child of God or a child of the devil; for either he commits sin or he does not commit sin, there being nothing between committing sin and not committing sin; and if he commits sin, he is of the devil; but if he does not commit sin, he is born of God.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Matt 5:44–45 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 John 3:8–10 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: One becomes a child of God by loving enemies; every person of mature reason is either God's child or the devil's, depending on whether he sins.

The quotations are Matt 5:45 and 1 John 3:8–10. Daggers in the digital text mark “works” where 1 John has “children.”

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.107 (Preuschen 4:344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-107).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-107) · Report an error

20.108Preuschen 4:344

Ἔχεται δὲ τῆς ἐν τούτοις περὶ τέκνων θεοῦ καὶ τέκνων διαβόλου ἀποφάσεως τὰ ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ ἐπιστολῇ λεγόμενα περὶ τῶν ὄντων έν τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τῶν μὴ ἑωρακότων αὐτόν· »Πᾶς, »γάρ φησιν, ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων »οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτόν«.

Echetai de tēs en toutois peri teknōn theou kai teknōn diabolou apophaseōs ta en tę̄ autę̄ epistolę̄ legomena peri tōn ontōn en tǭ huiǭ tou theou kai tōn mē heōrakotōn auton; »Pas, »gar phēsin, ho en autǭ menōn ouch hamartanei; pas ho hamartanōn »ouch heōraken auton«.

Connected with this pronouncement about the children of God and the children of the devil is what is said in the same epistle about those who are in the Son of God and those who have not seen him: “Everyone,” he says, “who remains in him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen him.”

1 John 3:6 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: 1 John also says those who remain in the Son do not sin, and those who sin have not seen him.

The quotation is 1 John 3:6.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray period): αὐτῷ. μένων → αὐτῷ μένων.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.108 (Preuschen 4:344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-108).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-108) · Report an error

20.109Preuschen 4:344

οὐκοῦν εἰ πᾶς ὁ έν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει, ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐ μένει ἐν τῷ υἱῷ· καὶ εἰ πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτόν, ὁ ἑωρακὼς αὐτὸν οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει.

oukoun ei pas ho en autǭ menōn ouch hamartanei, ho hamartanōn ou menei en tǭ huiǭ; kai ei pas ho hamartanōn ouch heōraken auton, ho heōrakōs auton ouch hamartanei.

Therefore, if everyone who remains in him does not sin, the one who sins does not remain in the Son; and if everyone who sins has not seen him, the one who has seen him does not sin.

1 John 3:6 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The sinner does not abide in the Son; one who has seen him does not sin.

The allusion is 1 John 3:6.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): σὐτῷ → αὐτῷ.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.109 (Preuschen 4:344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-109).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-109) · Report an error

20.110Preuschen 4:344

ἅμα δὲ καὶ σημείωσαι, τί νοῶν ὁ Ἰωάννης εἶπεν τὸ »Πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ »ἑώρακεν αὐτόν« δηλῶν διὰ τοῦ »Ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν« ὡς εἶναι τῶν ὁρώντων τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἑωρακέναι αὐτὸν μεταλαμβανόντων δυνάμεως πρὸς τὸ μηδαμῶς ἁμαρτάνειν.

hama de kai sēmeiōsai, ti noōn ho Iōannēs eipen to »Pas ho hamartanōn ouch »heōraken auton« dēlōn dia tou »Heōraken auton« hōs einai tōn horōntōn ton huion tou theou kai ek tou heōrakenai auton metalambanontōn dynameōs pros to mēdamōs hamartanein.

At the same time note also what John meant in saying “Everyone who sins has not seen him,” indicating by “has seen him” that there are those who see the Son of God and, from having seen him, receive power so as not to sin at all.

1 John 3:6 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Seeing the Son gives power not to sin.

The quotation is 1 John 3:6.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.110 (Preuschen 4:344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-110).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-110) · Report an error

20.111Preuschen 4:344–345

ἔτι φήσεις ὅτι τὸ »Ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν‘ ὁτὲ μὲν λέγοιτʼ ἂν πρὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ διαβόλου, ὁτὲ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ θεοῦ. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἁμαρτάνοντες ποιοῦσι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν διαβόλου, οἱ δὲ κατορθοῦντες ποιοῦσι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν θεοῦ.

eti phēseis hoti to »Hymeis poieite ta erga tou patros hymōn‘ hote men legoitʼ an pros tous huious tou diabolou, hote de pros tous huious tou theou. hoi men gar hamartanontes poiousi ta erga tou patros autōn diabolou, hoi de katorthountes poiousi ta erga tou patros autōn theou.

Further, you will say that “You do the works of your father” might be said sometimes to the sons of the devil and sometimes to the sons of God. For those who sin do the works of their father the devil, and those who act rightly do the works of their Father, God.

John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: “You do your father's works” fits both sinners and the righteous.

The quotation is John 8:41.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.111 (Preuschen 4:344–345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-111).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-111) · Report an error

20.112Preuschen 4:345

εἰκὸς δὲ ἐκ τούτων τινὰ κινηθήσεσθαι μὴ ἄρα δύνηται ὁ αὐτός, τῷ ποιεῖν ἀγαθὰ καὶ πονηρὰ ἔργα ἀνὰ μέρος, διὰ μὲν τὰ ἀγαθὰ τέκνον εἶναι θεοῦ, διὰ δὲ τὰ ἐναντία τέκνον τοῦ διαβόλου. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τῷ ἀλογώτατον εἶναι οὐ δηλοῦται ἀπὸ τῶν ῥητῶν.

eikos de ek toutōn tina kinēthēsesthai mē ara dynētai ho autos, tǭ poiein agatha kai ponēra erga ana meros, dia men ta agatha teknon einai theou, dia de ta enantia teknon tou diabolou. alla touto pros tǭ alogōtaton einai ou dēloutai apo tōn rhētōn.

But it is likely that someone will be moved by this to ask whether the same person, by doing good and evil works by turns, can be a child of God because of the good works and a child of the devil because of the opposite. But this, besides being most irrational, is not shown by the texts.

Notes and citation

Summary: Can one be God's child and the devil's by turns? That is irrational and not what Scripture says.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.112 (Preuschen 4:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-112).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-112) · Report an error

20.113Preuschen 4:345

ἀποφαίνεται γὰρ ὁ Ἰωάννης ὅτι »Πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται«.

apophainetai gar ho Iōannēs hoti »Pas ho gegennēmenos ek tou theou hamartian ou poiei, hoti sperma autou en autǭ menei, kai ou dynatai hamartanein, hoti ek tou theou gegennētai«.

For John declares, “Everyone who is born of God does not commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

1 John 3:9 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: One born of God does not sin.

The quotation is 1 John 3:9.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.113 (Preuschen 4:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-113).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-113) · Report an error

20.114Preuschen 4:345

πᾶς τοίνυν ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ· οὐ μὴν γέγραπται ὅτι πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου δικαιοσύνην οὐ ποιεῖ, ἀλλʼ »ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν«.

pas toinyn ho gegennēmenos ek tou theou hamartian ou poiei; ou mēn gegraptai hoti pas ho gegennēmenos ek tou diabolou dikaiosynēn ou poiei, allʼ »ho poiōn tēn hamartian ek tou diabolou estin«.

Everyone, then, who is born of God does not commit sin; but it is not written that everyone born of the devil does not do righteousness, but “he who commits sin is of the devil.”

1 John 3:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 John 3:8 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: John does not say those born of the devil never do right, only that sinners are of the devil.

The quotations are 1 John 3:9 and 3:8.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἁμαρίαν → ἁμαρτίαν.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.114 (Preuschen 4:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-114).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-114) · Report an error

20.115Preuschen 4:345

πάλιν οὐχὶ ὥσπερ εἰρηται· »Ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου »ἐστίν«, οὕτως ἀναγέγραπται· »ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν‘. καὶ πρόσχες ταῖς διαφοραῖς τῶν προτάσεων, τίνα τρόπον μετὰ πάσης ἀκριβείας τῷ Ἰωάννῃ εἴρηνται, ὥστʼ ἂν τινὰ πῶς ἀλήπτως καί, ὡς ἂν εἴποιέν τινες, διαλεκτικῶς ἐξήνεγκεν αὐτάς, μὴ τὰ ὅμοια προενεγκάμενος περὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ· ὁμοίως δʼ ἂν ἐξήνεγκεν εἰ πεποιήκει, ὥσπερ τὸ »Ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν«, οὕτως »ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν« ἢ ὥσπερ ἀνέγραψεν ὅτι »Πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ« πεποιήκει τὸ »πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου δικαιοσύνην οὐ ποιεῖ«.

palin ouchi hōsper eirētai; »Ho poiōn tēn hamartian ek tou diabolou »estin«, houtōs anagegraptai; »ho poiōn tēn dikaiosynēn ek tou theou estin‘. kai prosches tais diaphorais tōn protaseōn, tina tropon meta pasēs akribeias tǭ Iōannę̄ eirēntai, hōstʼ an tina pōs alēptōs kai, hōs an eipoien tines, dialektikōs exēnenken autas, mē ta homoia proenenkamenos peri tōn ek tou diabolou kai tōn ek tou theou; homoiōs dʼ an exēnenken ei pepoiēkei, hōsper to »Ho poiōn tēn hamartian ek tou diabolou estin«, houtōs »ho poiōn tēn dikaiosynēn ek tou theou estin« ē hōsper anegrapsen hoti »Pas ho gegennēmenos ek tou theou hamartian ou poiei« pepoiēkei to »pas ho gegennēmenos ek tou diabolou dikaiosynēn ou poiei«.

Again, as it is said, “He who commits sin is of the devil,” it is not written in the same way, “He who does righteousness is of God.” And pay attention to the differences in the propositions, how they were stated by John with all precision, so that he expressed them in a way hard to fault and, as some might say, dialectically, not putting forward similar statements about those of the devil and those of God. He would have expressed them alike if he had written, as “He who commits sin is of the devil,” so “He who does righteousness is of God”; or if, as he wrote “Everyone who is born of God does not commit sin,” he had written “Everyone who is born of the devil does not do righteousness.”

1 John 3:8–9 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: John's statements about God's children and the devil's are carefully not parallel.

The quotations are 1 John 3:8–9, with Origen's hypothetical parallels.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray period): πεποιήκει. ὥσπερ → πεποιήκει, ὥσπερ.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.115 (Preuschen 4:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-115).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-115) · Report an error

20.116Preuschen 4:345

Μήποτε δὲ καὶ τῷ »Ἐστίν«, εἰρημένῳ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου, μὴ χρησάμενος ἐπὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἢ τῷ »Γεγεννημένος«, ἀναγεγραμμένῳ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, μὴ συγχρησάμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου, πάνυ σοφώτατα ἐξέδωκεν.

Mēpote de kai tǭ »Estin«, eirēmenǭ epi tou ek tou diabolou, mē chrēsamenos epi tōn ek tou theou, ē tǭ »Gegennēmenos«, anagegrammenǭ epi tōn ek tou theou, mē synchrēsamenos epi tou ek tou diabolou, pany sophōtata exedōken.

Perhaps, too, in not using “is,” said of the one who is of the devil, for those of God, and in not using “born,” written of those of God, for the one of the devil, he expressed himself most wisely.

1 John 3:8–9 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: John's word choice, “is” for the devil's and “born” for God's, is deliberate.

The allusion is 1 John 3:8–9.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (word lost in the digital text): ἐπὶ ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου → ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.116 (Preuschen 4:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-116).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-116) · Report an error

20.117Preuschen 4:345

ἐπῆρεν γὰρ τὸν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ »Γεγεννημένον« τάξας ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ· ὅπερ εἰ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου εἴρητο, χεῖρον ἄν τι ἐνέφαινεν παρὰ τὸ »Ἐκ τοῦ »διαβόλου ἐστίν«.

epēren gar ton ek tou theou, to »Gegennēmenon« taxas epʼ autou; hoper ei kai epi tou ek tou diabolou eirēto, cheiron an ti enephainen para to »Ek tou »diabolou estin«.

For he exalted the one who is of God by applying “born” to him; whereas if this had been said also of the one who is of the devil, it would have shown something worse than “is of the devil.”

1 John 3:8–9 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: “Born of God” honors God's children; “born of the devil” would have been worse than “of the devil.”

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.117 (Preuschen 4:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-117).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-117) · Report an error

20.118Preuschen 4:345

ἀλλὰ καὶ εἴπερ, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἔταξεν τὸ »Ἐστίν«, πεποιήκει ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἔλαττον ἂν περὶ τὸν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ παρίστη, πολλῷ κρείττονος τυγχάνοντος τοῦ γεγεννῆσθαι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ παρὰ τὸ εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ. φήσει δέ τις ὅτι τινὰ τῶν κτισμάτων ἐστὶν μὲν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, οὐ μὴν γεγέννηται ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ πάντως ταῦτα ἐλάττονα ἔχει τάξιν έν τῷ παντὶ τῶν γεγεννῆσθαι λεγομένων ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.

alla kai eiper, hōs epi tou ek tou diabolou etaxen to »Estin«, pepoiēkei epi tou ek tou theou, elatton an peri ton ek tou theou paristē, pollǭ kreittonos tynchanontos tou gegennēsthai ek tou theou para to einai ek tou theou. phēsei de tis hoti tina tōn ktismatōn estin men ek tou theou, ou mēn gegennētai ek tou theou, kai pantōs tauta elattona echei taxin en tǭ panti tōn gegennēsthai legomenōn ek tou theou.

And also, if he had used “is” of the one who is of God, as he used it of the one who is of the devil, he would have presented something less about the one who is of God, since being born of God is far better than being of God. Someone will say that some created things are of God but are not born of God, and these certainly have a lower rank in the universe than those said to be born of God.

Notes and citation

Summary: Being “born of God” is higher than merely being “of God,” as creatures are.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.118 (Preuschen 4:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-118).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-118) · Report an error

20.119Preuschen 4:345–346

καὶ γενόμενός γε κατὰ τὴν διαφορὰν τοῦ τε Ἐστὶν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου< καὶ τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ<, ζητήσεις μήποτʼ ἐστίν τις ὁ καὶ γεγεννημένος διαβόλου, ὅστις πάντως καὶ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου, οὐ παντὸς τοῦ ὄντος ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου γεγεννημένου· καὶ πάλιν ἔστιν τις ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐ πάντως καὶ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, οὐκέτι δὴ παντὸς τοῦ ὄντος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγεννημένου ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.

kai genomenos ge kata tēn diaphoran tou te Estin ek tou diabolou< kai tou ek tou theou<, zētēseis mēpotʼ estin tis ho kai gegennēmenos diabolou, hostis pantōs kai estin ek tou diabolou, ou pantos tou ontos ek tou diabolou gegennēmenou; kai palin estin tis ek tou theou ou pantōs kai gegennēmenos ek tou theou, ouketi dē pantos tou ontos ek tou theou gegennēmenou ek tou theou.

And, dwelling on the difference between “is of the devil” and “of God,” you will ask whether there is someone who is also born of the devil, who certainly also is of the devil, though not everyone who is of the devil is born of him; and again there is someone who is of God but not necessarily born of God, since not everyone who is of God is born of God.

Notes and citation

Summary: Origen distinguishes “being of” from “being born of” both God and the devil.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.119 (Preuschen 4:345–346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-119).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-119) · Report an error

20.120Preuschen 4:346

χαρακτηρίζεται μέντοι ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ ἁμαρτίαν μὴ ποιεῖν, διὰ τὸ σπέρμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ μένειν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκείνου δυνάμεως ἐνυπαρχούσης αὐτῷ ἐγγινομένου τοῦ μηκέτι δύνασθαι ἁμαρτάνειν.

charaktērizetai mentoi ho gegennēmenos ek tou theou tǭ hamartian mē poiein, dia to sperma tou theou en autǭ menein, kai apo tēs ekeinou dynameōs enyparchousēs autǭ enginomenou tou mēketi dynasthai hamartanein.

The one born of God, however, is characterized by not committing sin, because God's seed remains in him, and from its power dwelling in him comes his being no longer able to sin.

1 John 3:9 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: One born of God cannot sin because God's seed remains in him.

The allusion is 1 John 3:9.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.120 (Preuschen 4:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-120).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-120) · Report an error

20.121Preuschen 4:346

καὶ ἐν τοῖς τελευταίοις δὲ λέγεται τῆς ἐπιστολῆς· »Ὅτι πᾶς ὁ γε- »γεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει, ἀλλὰ ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ »τοῦ θεοῦ τηρεῖ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς οὐχ

kai en tois teleutaiois de legetai tēs epistolēs; »Hoti pas ho ge- »gennēmenos ek tou theou ouch hamartanei, alla ho gegennēmenos ek »tou theou tērei heauton kai ho ponēros ouch

And at the end of the epistle it is said: “That everyone who is born of God does not sin, but he who is born of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not

1 John 5:18 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: 1 John 5:18: the one born of God keeps himself from the evil one.

The quotation is 1 John 5:18, continued in the next section.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.121 (Preuschen 4:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-121).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-121) · Report an error

20.122Preuschen 4:346

ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ« εἰ δὲ ὁ γεννηθεὶς »ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ τηρεῖ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς οὐχ ἅπτεται »αὐτοῦ«, ὁ μὴ τηρῶν ἑαυτόν, ἵνʼ ὁ πονηρὸς αὐτοῦ μὴ ἅπτηται, οὐ γεγέννηται ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ πᾶς οὗ ἅπτεται ὁ πονηρός, οὑτος οὐ γεγέννηται ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ· ἅπτεται δὲ ὁ πονηρὸς τῶν μὴ τηρούντων ἑαυτούς.

haptetai autou« ei de ho gennētheis »ek tou theou tērei heauton kai ho ponēros ouch haptetai »autou«, ho mē tērōn heauton, hinʼ ho ponēros autou mē haptētai, ou gegennētai ek tou theou, kai pas hou haptetai ho ponēros, houtos ou gegennētai ek tou theou; haptetai de ho ponēros tōn mē tērountōn heautous.

touch him.” And if the one born “of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him,” the one who does not keep himself, so that the evil one may not touch him, is not born of God; and everyone whom the evil one touches is not born of God; and the evil one touches those who do not keep themselves.

1 John 5:18 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Whoever does not keep himself from the evil one is not born of God.

The quotation is 1 John 5:18.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.122 (Preuschen 4:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-122).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-122) · Report an error

20.123Preuschen 4:346

ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῖς περὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ οὐδενὸς γενομένου μεταξὺ διαλείμματος ἐπιφέρεται τὸ »Ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρὸς »ὑμῶν«, ζητοῦμεν μήποτε διὰ τὴν τῷ Ἀβραὰμ πρώτην δεδομένην ἐντολὴν τοῦτο ἀναγέγραπται.

epei de tois peri tou Abraam oudenos genomenou metaxy dialeimmatos epipheretai to »Hymeis poieite ta erga tou patros »hymōn«, zētoumen mēpote dia tēn tǭ Abraam prōtēn dedomenēn entolēn touto anagegraptai.

And since “You do the works of your father” follows the words about Abraham with no interval between, we ask whether this was written because of the first command given to Abraham.

John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Origen links “you do your father's works” to God's first command to Abraham.

The quotation is John 8:41.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.123 (Preuschen 4:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-123).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-123) · Report an error

20.124Preuschen 4:346

ὁ πρῶτος δὲ χρηματισμὸς πρὸς αὐτὸν οὕτως ἔχει· »Ἔξελθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας σου καὶ »ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου. καὶ ἄπελθε εἰς τὴν γῆν ἥν σοι »δείξω«.

ho prōtos de chrēmatismos pros auton houtōs echei; »Exelthe ek tēs gēs sou kai ek tēs syngeneias sou kai »ek tou oikou tou patros sou. kai apelthe eis tēn gēn hēn soi »deixō«.

The first oracle to him runs thus: “Go out from your land and from your kindred and from your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you.”

Gen 12:1 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God's first word to Abraham was to leave his father's house.

The quotation is Gen 12:1.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.124 (Preuschen 4:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-124).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-124) · Report an error

20.125Preuschen 4:346

ἐξῆλθεν οὖν Ἀβραὰμ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, ὅπερ οὐ πεποιήκασιν οἱ ἐλεγχόμενοι ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ ὑγιῶς εἰρηκέναι·

exēlthen oun Abraam ek tou oikou tou patros autou, hoper ou pepoiēkasin hoi elenchomenoi epi tǭ mē hygiōs eirēkenai;

Abraham, then, went out of his father's house, which those did not do who are refuted for having said unsoundly,

Gen 12:4 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Abraham left his father's house; his claimed children had not.

The sentence continues in the next section.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.125 (Preuschen 4:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-125).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-125) · Report an error

20.126Preuschen 4:346

»Ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν Ἀβραάμ ἐστιν«. εἰ γὰρ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, πρῶτον δὲ τῶν ἔργων ἐστὶν τὸ ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρὸς ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἥν δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ ὁ θεός, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὑτοι, πρὸς οὓς ὁ λόγος, ἐλέγχονται ὡς οὐκ ὄντες τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, δῆλον ὅτι οὐκ ἐξεληλυθότες ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρὸς ἑαυτῶν ὀνειδίζονται ὡς ἔτι τοῦ πονηροῦ πατρὸς ὄντες καὶ ἔτι ποιοῦντες τὰ ἐκείνου τοῦ πατρὸς ἔργα.

»Ho patēr hēmōn Abraam estin«. ei gar ta tekna tou Abraam poiei ta erga tou Abraam, prōton de tōn ergōn estin to exelthein ek tēs gēs heautou kai ek tēs syngeneias heautou kai ek tou oikou tou patros heautou kai apelthein eis tēn gēn hēn deiknysin autǭ ho theos, kai dia touto houtoi, pros hous ho logos, elenchontai hōs ouk ontes tekna tou Abraam, dēlon hoti ouk exelēlythotes ek tou oikou tou patros heautōn oneidizontai hōs eti tou ponērou patros ontes kai eti poiountes ta ekeinou tou patros erga.

“Our father is Abraham.” For if the children of Abraham do the works of Abraham, and the first of the works is to go out from one's land and kindred and father's house and go to the land God shows him, and for this reason those addressed are refuted as not being children of Abraham, it is plain that, not having gone out of their father's house, they are reproached as still belonging to their wicked father and still doing that father's works.

John 8:39 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 12:1 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Not having left their “father's house,” they still belong to their wicked father.

The quotations are John 8:39 and Gen 12:1.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.126 (Preuschen 4:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-126).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-126) · Report an error

20.127Preuschen 4:346–347

τούτων ἡμῖν εἰς τὸ ῥητὸν εἰρημένων σαφῶς οἶμαι ἐλέγχεσθαι τοὺς νομίζοντας ἐντεῦθεν παρίστασθαι ὅτι εἰσίν τινες ἐκ κατασκευῆς υἱοὶ τοῦ διαβόλου. Εἶπον αὐτῷ· Ἡμεῖς ἐκ Πορνείας οὐ γεγεννήμεθα· ἕνα Πατέρα ἔχομεν, τὸν θεόν.

toutōn hēmin eis to rhēton eirēmenōn saphōs oimai elenchesthai tous nomizontas enteuthen paristasthai hoti eisin tines ek kataskeuēs huioi tou diabolou. Eipon autǭ; Hēmeis ek Porneias ou gegennēmetha; hena Patera echomen, ton theon.

With these things said on the text, I think those are clearly refuted who think it is shown from here that some are sons of the devil by constitution. “They said to him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, God.’”

John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: This refutes the idea that some are the devil's sons by nature.

The closing quotation is John 8:41, the lemma of the next section. Origen's target is the Valentinian doctrine of fixed natures.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (editor's apparatus leaked into the digital text): VIII, 41. → .

Topics: Heresy

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.127 (Preuschen 4:346–347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-127).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-127) · Report an error

20.128Preuschen 4:347

Ζητῶ μήποτε ἐλεγχθέντες ὡς οὐ τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ πικρότερον ἀποκρίνονται οἱ λεγόμενοι πεπιστευκέναι αὐτῷ Ἰουδαῖοι, παρακεκαλυμμένως αἰνισσόμενοι ἐκ πορνείας γεγεννῆσθαι τὸν σωτῆρα, ὡς εἰκὸς τοῦτο ὑπονοοῦντες τῷ μὴ παραδέχεσθαι τὴν διαβόητον καὶ τεθρυλλημένην αὐτοῦ γένεσιν ἐκ τῆς παρθένου.

Zētō mēpote elenchthentes hōs ou tekna tou Abraam pikroteron apokrinontai hoi legomenoi pepisteukenai autǭ Ioudaioi, parakekalymmenōs ainissomenoi ek porneias gegennēsthai ton sōtēra, hōs eikos touto hyponoountes tǭ mē paradechesthai tēn diaboēton kai tethryllēmenēn autou genesin ek tēs parthenou.

I ask whether, having been refuted as not children of Abraham, the Jews said to have believed in him answer more bitterly, hinting in a veiled way that the Savior was born of fornication, since, it is likely, they suspected this because they did not accept his famous and much-reported birth from the virgin.

Matt 1:18–25 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Their retort may be a veiled slur that Jesus was born of fornication, since they rejected the virgin birth.

The allusion is Matt 1:18–25. πορνεία is rendered “fornication” here, as the context concerns illegitimate birth.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.128 (Preuschen 4:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-128).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-128) · Report an error

20.129Preuschen 4:347

καὶ γὰρ πάνυ μοι φαίνεται ἄλογον ταῦτα αὐτοὺς ἀπορρῖψαι τὰ ῥήματα πρὸς ἔπος· οὔτε γὰρ πρὸς τὰ πρότερα οὔτε ἀκολούθως τοῖς ἑξῆς εἰρῆσθαι δύναται, εἰ ἁπλούστερον νοηθείη τὸ »Ἡμεῖς ἐκ πορνείας οὐ γεγεννήμεθα« τὸ εἰρημένον ὑπʼ αὐτῶν.

kai gar pany moi phainetai alogon tauta autous aporripsai ta rhēmata pros epos; oute gar pros ta protera oute akolouthōs tois hexēs eirēsthai dynatai, ei haplousteron noētheiē to »Hēmeis ek porneias ou gegennēmetha« to eirēmenon hypʼ autōn.

For it seems quite irrational to me that they would throw out these words just like that; for if “We were not born of fornication,” what they said, is understood more simply, it can be said neither in response to what went before nor in keeping with what follows.

John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Read simply, their words make no sense in context.

The quotation is John 8:41.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): νοηθεδίη → νοηθείη.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.129 (Preuschen 4:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-129).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-129) · Report an error

20.130Preuschen 4:347

ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπεὶ πατέρα ἴδιον ἔλεγεν τὸν θεὸν ὁ σωτήρ, οὐδένα ἄνθρωπον πατέρα εἶναι ἑαυτοῦ ὁμολογῶν, διὰ τὸ »Ἡμεῖς ἐκ πορνείας οὐ γεγεννήμεθα« εἰκὸς αὐτοὺς ἐπιφέρειν πάλιν προσκρούοντας τὸ »Ἕνα πατέρα ἔχομεν, τὸν θεόν«· ὡσεὶ ἔλεγον· ἡμεῖς μᾶλλον ἕνα πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν θεόν, ἤπερ σύ, ὁ φάσκων μὲν ἐκ παρθένου γεγεννῆσθαι, ἐκ πορνείας δὲ γεγεννημένος, καὶ διὰ τὸ αὐχεῖν τὸ ἐκ παρθένου γεγεννῆσθαι λέγων ἕνα πατέρα ἔχειν μόνον τὸν θεόν, τῶν ὁμολογούντων τὸν πατέρα θεὸν οὐκ ἀρνουμένων καὶ ἄνθρωπον πατέρα.

alla kai epei patera idion elegen ton theon ho sōtēr, oudena anthrōpon patera einai heautou homologōn, dia to »Hēmeis ek porneias ou gegennēmetha« eikos autous epipherein palin proskrouontas to »Hena patera echomen, ton theon«; hōsei elegon; hēmeis mallon hena patera echomen ton theon, ēper sy, ho phaskōn men ek parthenou gegennēsthai, ek porneias de gegennēmenos, kai dia to auchein to ek parthenou gegennēsthai legōn hena patera echein monon ton theon, tōn homologountōn ton patera theon ouk arnoumenōn kai anthrōpon patera.

But also, since the Savior called God his own Father, acknowledging no human being as his father, it is likely that because of “We were not born of fornication” they added, again taking offense, “We have one Father, God”; as if they were saying: we, rather than you, have one Father, God; you who claim to have been born of a virgin, but were born of fornication, and because you boast of being born of a virgin say that you have only one Father, God; whereas those who confess God as Father do not deny a human father too.

John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: They meant: we have God as Father more truly than you, who claim a virgin birth but were born of fornication.

The quotation is John 8:41. The word “God” is lost in the digital text and supplied.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word lost in the digital text): ἔδιον → ἴδιον; μόνον τὸν, τῶν → μόνον τὸν θεόν, τῶν.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.130 (Preuschen 4:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-130).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-130) · Report an error

20.131Preuschen 4:347

ἀλλʼ ἐρεῖ τις ὅτι ταῦτα οὕτω νοούμενα οὐ δύναται εἶναι ῥήματα τῶν πεπιστευκότων αὐτῷ Ἰουδαίων. καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο δὲ λεκτέον ὅτι εἰρημένου ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτοὺς λόγου τοῦ· »Ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μείνητε έν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ, ἀληθῶς μαθηταί μου ἐστὲ καὶ γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀλήθειαν«, ὡς καὶ δυναμένων αὐτῶν μένειν έν τῷ Ἰησοῦ λόγῳ καὶ μὴ μένειν, οὐκ ἀδύνατον ἦν τινὰς ἐκ τῶν ἐλεγχθέντων μὴ μεμενηκέναι αὐτοῦ έν τῷ λόγω̣, καὶ μὴ μείναντας πικρότερον καὶ προσκρουστικῶς εἰρηκέναι τὸ »Ἡμεῖς ἐκ πορνείας οὐ »γεγεννήμεθα· ἕνα πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν θεόν«·

allʼ erei tis hoti tauta houtō nooumena ou dynatai einai rhēmata tōn pepisteukotōn autǭ Ioudaiōn. kai pros touto de lekteon hoti eirēmenou en tę̄ archę̄ tou pros autous logou tou; »Ean hymeis meinēte en tǭ logǭ tǭ emǭ, alēthōs mathētai mou este kai gnōsesthe tēn alētheian«, hōs kai dynamenōn autōn menein en tǭ Iēsou logǭ kai mē menein, ouk adynaton ēn tinas ek tōn elenchthentōn mē memenēkenai autou en tǭ logō, kai mē meinantas pikroteron kai proskroustikōs eirēkenai to »Hēmeis ek porneias ou »gegennēmetha; hena patera echomen ton theon«;

But someone will say that, understood this way, these cannot be the words of the Jews who had believed in him. To this we must say that, since at the beginning of his speech to them it was said, “If you remain in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth,” as though they could remain in Jesus' word or not remain, it was not impossible that some of those refuted had not remained in his word, and, not having remained, said more bitterly and offensively, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, God.”

John 8:31–32 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Believers who did not remain in his word could have said this bitterly.

The quotations are John 8:31–32 and 8:41.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.131 (Preuschen 4:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-131).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-131) · Report an error

20.132Preuschen 4:347–348

δοκεῖ δέ μοι ὅτι καὶ φιλονεικότερον ἀπεκρίναντο· εἰπόντες γὰρ πρότερον τὸ »Σπέρμα »Ἀβραάμ ἐσμεν‘, καὶ οἷον τοῦτο τρανότερον ὁμολογήσαντες διὰ τοῦ »Ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν Ἀβραάμ ἐστιν«, ἀκούσαντες πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ »Εἰ »τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ ἐστε, τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ποιεῖτε«, μείζονα Ἀβραὰμ ὁμολογοῦσιν ἑαυτῶν εἶναι τὸν πατέρα λέγοντες· »Ἕνα πα- »τέρα ἔχομεν τὸν θεόν«·

dokei de moi hoti kai philoneikoteron apekrinanto; eipontes gar proteron to »Sperma »Abraam esmen‘, kai hoion touto tranoteron homologēsantes dia tou »Ho patēr hēmōn Abraam estin«, akousantes pros touto to »Ei »tekna tou Abraam este, ta erga tou Abraam poieite«, meizona Abraam homologousin heautōn einai ton patera legontes; »Hena pa- »tera echomen ton theon«;

And it seems to me that they also answered rather contentiously; for having first said, “We are Abraham's seed,” and having confessed this, as it were, more plainly through “Our father is Abraham,” and having heard in reply, “If you are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham,” they confess one greater than Abraham to be their father, saying, “We have one Father, God.”

John 8:33 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:39 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:41 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Rebuffed about Abraham, they claimed a greater father, God.

The quotations are John 8:33, 8:39, and 8:41.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.132 (Preuschen 4:347–348; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-132).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-132) · Report an error

20.133Preuschen 4:348

τάχα δὲ διὰ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τινὰς μὲν εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου, ἑτέρους δὲ γεγεννῆσθαι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, πάντας ἂν ὑγιῶς λέγοιμεν τοὺς μὴ γεγεννημένους ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκ πορνείας γεγεννῆσθαι.

tacha de dia to tōn anthrōpōn tinas men einai ek tou diabolou, heterous de gegennēsthai ek tou theou, pantas an hygiōs legoimen tous mē gegennēmenous ek tou theou ek porneias gegennēsthai.

But perhaps, since some human beings are of the devil and others are born of God, we would rightly say that all who are not born of God are born of fornication.

1 John 3:9–10 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: All not born of God may be said to be born of fornication.

Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Jo. 20.133 (Preuschen 4:348; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-ioannem/20-56/#p-20-133).

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-ioannem-20-133) · Report an error