Sophia Scriptura

On Prayer 3.2

Origen · On Prayer · ca. 233–234 · Caesarea · Read in context

Summary: The word euchē means a vow, but Scripture also uses it for ordinary prayer, as when Pharaoh asks Moses to pray against the frogs.

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

Greek text · Koetschau 2:304–305

ἔνθα καὶ σημειωτέον ἐστὶν ὅτι τὸ ὄνομα τῆς εὐχῆς παρελήφθη (πολλαχοῦ ἑτέρας οὔσης παρὰ τὴν προσευχὴν) ἐπὶ τοῦ μετὰ εὐχῆς ἐπαγγελλομένου τάδε τινὰ ποιήσειν, εἰ τύχοι ἀπὸ θεοῦ τῶνδε. τάσσεται μέντοι καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς κατὰ συνήθειαν ἡμῶν λεγομένοις ἡ ὀνομασία· ὥσπερ ἐν Ἐξόδῳ εὕρομεν οὕτως μετὰ τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς βατράχοις μάστιγα, τῇ τάξει τῶν δέκα οὖσαν δευτέραν,............, ἐκάλεσε Φαραὼ Μωϋσέα καὶ Ἀαρὼν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· εὔξασθε περὶ ἐμοῦ πρὸς κύριον. καὶ περιελέτω τοὺς βατράχους ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ μου· καὶ ἐξαποστελῶ τὸν λαὸν, καὶ θύσωσι κυρίῳ.“ ἐὰν δὲ δυσπειθῶς τις ἔχῃ διὰ τὸ τοῦ Φαραὼ εἶναι φωνὴν τὴν „εὔξασθε“ πρὸς τὸ σημαίνεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς εὐχῆς πρὸς τῷ προτέρῳ καὶ τὸ σύνηθες, παρατηρητέον καὶ τὸ ἑξῆς οὕτως ἔχον· „εἶπε δὲ Μωϋσῆς πρὸς Φαραώ· τάξαι πρός με. πότε εὔξομαι περὶ σοῦ καὶ περὶ τῶν θεραπόντων σου καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ σου. ἀφανίσαι τοὺς βατράχους ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ σου καὶ ἐκ τῶν οἰκιῶν ὑμῶν· πλὴν ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ ὑπολειφθήσονται.“

English · Claude translation

Here it must be noted that the word euchē (which in many places has a meaning different from proseuchē) was used of one who, with a vow, promises to do certain things if he obtains certain things from God. The word is, however, also applied to what we customarily call prayer; as we have found in Exodus after the plague of frogs, the second in the order of the ten … : “Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said to them: Pray for me to the Lord, and let him take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, and they shall sacrifice to the Lord.” And if anyone is reluctant to accept that the word euchē signifies, besides the former meaning, also the customary one, because “pray” is Pharaoh's word, let him note also what follows: “And Moses said to Pharaoh: Appoint me a time when I shall pray for you and for your servants and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and from your people and from your houses; only in the river shall they remain.”

About this passage

Source
Koetschau 2:304–305 · Paul Koetschau, ed., Origenes Werke 2: Buch V–VIII gegen Celsus, Die Schrift vom Gebet, GCS 3 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899), 297–403 · Greek text: P. Koetschau, Origenes Werke 2 (GCS 3, 1899), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Koetschau, GCS 3. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; the problem in this passage is discussed in the notes.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Koetschau, GCS 3; made independently of existing English translations. No public-domain English translation exists; reviewed against the Greek.
Scripture
Topics
Prayer

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations are Exod 8:8–9 (8:4–5 in the Greek and Hebrew numbering). There is a gap in the manuscript (marked “…”).

Cite this passage

Origen, Or. 3.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/3/2/).

Plain text
Origen, Or. 3.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/3/2/).

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