Sophia Scriptura

Commentary on the Twelve Minor Prophets 2.1.1–2.1.19

Theodoret of Cyrus · Commentary on the Twelve Minor Prophets · probably 430s (before ca. 446) · Cyrrhus · 7 passages

Greek text: PG 81.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).

Preface 2, chapter 1

2.1.1PG 81

α'. « Λόγος Κυρίου, ὃς ἐγένετο πρὸς ᾿Ιωὴλ τὸν ποῦ Βαθουὴλ ᾽". »Διὰ τὸ πολλοὺς, ὡς εἰκὸς, καὶ αὐ- “ἣν ἔχειν προσηγορίαν, καὶ τὸ τοῦ πατρὸς προστέθεικεν ὄνομα. Διδάσκει δὲ, ὡς οὐ λογισμῶν ἀνθρωπίνων εἰσὶν ὠδῖνες οἱ παο᾽ αὐτοῦ γινόμενοι λέγοι " ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ Κυρίου τῶν ὅλων ἐμπνευσθεὶς, καὶ προορᾷ τὰ ἐσόμενα, καὶ προλέγει.

a'. « Logos Kyriou, hos egeneto pros ᾿Iōēl ton pou Bathouēl ᾽". »Dia to pollous, hōs eikos, kai au- “hēn echein prosēgorian, kai to tou patros prostetheiken onoma. Didaskei de, hōs ou logismōn anthrōpinōn eisin ōdines hoi pao᾽ autou ginomenoi legoi " hypo de tou Kyriou tōn holōn empneustheis, kai proorą ta esomena, kai prolegei.

1. "The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Bathuel." Since many, as is likely, also bore this name, he added his father's name as well. He teaches that what he says are not the birth pangs of human reasonings, but that, inspired by the Lord of all, he both foresees and foretells what is to come.

Joel 1:1 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Joel names his father to distinguish himself and presents his words as inspired by God, not human reasoning.

  • Lemma: Joel 1:1. No introduction (hypothesis) to Joel survives in the scan.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Comm. Proph. min. 2.1.1 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-1

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 81 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

2.1.2PG 81

β΄. ε᾿Αχούσατε ταῦτα, οἱ πρεσθύτεροι, καὶ ἑἐνωτίεσασθς, πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν γῆν " εἰ γέγονε τοιαῦτα ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ὑμῶν, ἣ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν;:» Ὑμεῖς, φησὶν, οἱ πολὺν βεδιωχότες χρόνον, οἱ πλείονα πεῖραν, ὡς εἰκὸς, πραγμάτων δεξάμενοι, πατέρων τε καὶ προγόνων διἡγουμένων πολλάκις ἀκηκοότες, τῶν τῆς προφητείας σχοπήσατε παρ᾽ ὑμῖν αὑτοῖς, εἴ τι τοιοῦτο γεγένηται πρότερον, ἣ ἐφ᾽ ὑμῶν, ἧ ἐπὶ τῶν ὑμετέρων πατέρων " καὶ ἅπαντες δὲ οἱ τὸς ἐπαγγελίας 3" τὴν γῆν οἰκοῦντες, ἀχριδῶς τοῖς λεχθησομένοις προσέχετε. Εἶτα ἐπάγει, ὅτι Τούτων πεῖραν λαμθάνοντες, μὴ παράδοτε λήθῃ τὴν μνήμην, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσιν τῶν παίδων τὰ περὶ τούτων προςφέρετε διηγήματα " κἀκείνοις δὲ ἐντείλασθε εἰς τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ταῦτα διαπορθμεῦσαι παῖδας, καὶ ἡ μετ᾽ ἐκείνους γενεὰ δεχέσθω παρὰ τῆς πρὸ αὐτῆς τὴν περὶ τούτων διήγησιν. Τοιαῦτα καὶ ὁ μακάριος λέγε: Δαβίδ· «Ὅπως ἂν γνῷ γενεὰ ἑτέρα, υἱοὶ οἱ τεχθησόμενοι, καὶ ἀναστήσονται, καὶ ἀπαγγελοῦσιν αὐτὰ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὑτῶν. » Καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν διδάσκων, «ε Ἵνα θῶνται ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν, φησὶ, τὴν ἐλπίδα αὑτῶν. ν Μία τοίνυν ἡ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος χάρις, ἡ τοῖς ἁγίοις προφήταις ἐμπνεύσασα, ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων δείκνυται. Οὕτως εἰς ἀκρόασιν τῶν ῥηθησομένων τούς τε πρεσδυτέρους, καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας διεγείρας, διηγεῖται λοιπὸν πᾶν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν συμφορῶν, καὶ λέγει, πρώτην μὲν κάμπην ἐπελεύσεσθαι, τὰ δὲ ὑπὸ τοαύτης μὴ διαφθαρέντα ὑπὸ ἀκρίδος ἀναλωυθήσεσθαι " ὅσα ξὲ «αύτην διαφεύξεται, δαπανήσειν τὸν βρυῦχον " ἐσχάτὴν δὲ τὴν ἐρυσίδην ἐπενεχθεῖσαν, μηδὲν παντελῶς χῶς εἴς τε τὸν ᾿Ασσύριον καὶ Βαδυλώνιον φασι" κάμπην μὰν τὸν Θεγλαφαλασὰρ ὀνομάσαντες" ἀκρίδα δὲ τὸν Σαλμανασάρ» τὸν δὲ Σενναχηρεὶμ ἅπασαν τὴν Ἰουδαίαν δῃώσαντα, καὶ τοὺς τὸν θάνατον διαφυγόντας αἰχμαλώτους ἀπαγαγόντα. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἀληθῆ μὲν ἡγοῦμαι καὶ ταῦτα " ὑπολαμδάνω δὲ καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν νοούμενα τῷ ὄντι γεγενῆσθαι. Μέμνηται γὰρ καὶ ὁ μακάριος ᾿Αμὼς, καὶ ἀχρίδο:, καὶ βρόχου, καὶ πυρώσεως, καὶ ἱχτέρου, καὶ συκῶν, καὶ ἐλαιῶν, καὶ ἀμπέλων ὑπὸ χαμπῶν νων, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις αὐχμοῦ καὶ ἀνομδρίας. ει Με. ρὶς γὰρ, φησὶ, μία βραχήσεται, καὶ μερὶς ἐφ᾽ ἦν οὐ βρέξω, ξηρανθήσεται, ν Ταύτης δὲ καὶ ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἱερεμίας σαφῶς ἐμνημόνευσεν. Οὐ δεῖ τοιγαροῦν τροπικῶς μόνον ἐχλαδεῖν ςὰ εἰρημένα, συμφώνω; ἡμᾶς τῶν ἱερῶν προφητῶν διδαξάντων, ὡς καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν τὰ προλεχθέντα συνέθη. Ἵνα γὰρ μανὡς τῆς παρανομίας καὶ δυσσεδείας ποινὴν τίνοντες τοῖς ἐπιοῦσιν αὐτοῖς ἐκδίδονται πολεμίοις, εἰκότως καὶ ταῖς οὐρανόθεν ἐπιφερομέναις παιδείαις ἐδάλλοντο, διδασκόμενοι διὰ τούτων, ὡς ὁ παρ᾽ αὑτῶν ἀμελούμενος Θεὸς, καὶ τούτοις αὐτοὺς πυμωρεῖται, κἀκείνοις. προειῥηδὸς τοίνυν τὰ σκυθρωπὰ, παραίνεσιν εἰσφέρει καὶ συμθουλήν.

b΄. e᾿Achousate tauta, hoi presthyteroi, kai heenōtiesasths, pantes hoi katoikountes tēn gēn " ei gegone toiauta en tais hēmerais hymōn, hē en tais hēmerais tōn paterōn hymōn?:» Hymeis, phēsin, hoi polyn bediōchotes chronon, hoi pleiona peiran, hōs eikos, pragmatōn dexamenoi, paterōn te kai progonōn diēgoumenōn pollakis akēkootes, tōn tēs prophēteias schopēsate par᾽ hymin hautois, ei ti toiouto gegenētai proteron, hē eph᾽ hymōn, hē epi tōn hymeterōn paterōn " kai hapantes de hoi tos epangelias 3" tēn gēn oikountes, achridōs tois lechthēsomenois prosechete. Eita epagei, hoti Toutōn peiran lamthanontes, mē paradote lēthę̄ tēn mnēmēn, alla tois agnoousin tōn paidōn ta peri toutōn prospherete diēgēmata " kakeinois de enteilasthe eis tous heautōn tauta diaporthmeusai paidas, kai hē met᾽ ekeinous genea dechesthō para tēs pro autēs tēn peri toutōn diēgēsin. Toiauta kai ho makarios lege: Dabid; «Hopōs an gnǭ genea hetera, huioi hoi techthēsomenoi, kai anastēsontai, kai apangelousin auta tois huiois hautōn. » Kai tēn aitian didaskōn, «e Hina thōntai epi ton Theon, phēsi, tēn elpida hautōn. n Mia toinyn hē tou theiou Pneumatos charis, hē tois hagiois prophētais empneusasa, ek tōn eirēmenōn deiknytai. Houtōs eis akroasin tōn rhēthēsomenōn tous te presdyterous, kai tous allous hapantas diegeiras, diēgeitai loipon pan to plēthos tōn symphorōn, kai legei, prōtēn men kampēn epeleusesthai, ta de hypo toautēs mē diaphtharenta hypo akridos analōythēsesthai " hosa xe «autēn diapheuxetai, dapanēsein ton bryychon " eschatēn de tēn erysidēn epenechtheisan, mēden pantelōs chōs eis te ton ᾿Assyrion kai Badylōnion phasi" kampēn man ton Theglaphalasar onomasantes" akrida de ton Salmanasar» ton de Sennachēreim hapasan tēn Ioudaian dę̄ōsanta, kai tous ton thanaton diaphygontas aichmalōtous apagagonta. Egō de alēthē men hēgoumai kai tauta " hypolamdanō de kai ta kata to rhēton nooumena tǭ onti gegenēsthai. Memnētai gar kai ho makarios ᾿Amōs, kai achrido:, kai brochou, kai pyrōseōs, kai hichterou, kai sykōn, kai elaiōn, kai ampelōn hypo champōn nōn, kai pros toutois auchmou kai anomdrias. ei Me. ris gar, phēsi, mia brachēsetai, kai meris eph᾽ ēn ou brexō, xēranthēsetai, n Tautēs de kai ho thespesios Hieremias saphōs emnēmoneusen. Ou dei toigaroun tropikōs monon echladein sa eirēmena, symphōnō? hēmas tōn hierōn prophētōn didaxantōn, hōs kai kata tēn historian ta prolechthenta synethē. Hina gar manōs tēs paranomias kai dyssedeias poinēn tinontes tois epiousin autois ekdidontai polemiois, eikotōs kai tais ouranothen epipheromenais paideiais edallonto, didaskomenoi dia toutōn, hōs ho par᾽ hautōn ameloumenos Theos, kai toutois autous pymōreitai, kakeinois. proeirhēdos toinyn ta skythrōpa, parainesin eispherei kai symthoulēn.

2. "Hear these things, you elders, and give ear, all you who inhabit the land: has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?" You, he says, who have lived a long time, who, as is likely, have had more experience of affairs, and have often heard your fathers and forebears telling their stories, … examine among yourselves whether any such thing has happened before, either in your own time or in the time of your fathers; and all you who inhabit the land of promise, attend carefully to what will be said. Then he adds: When you experience these things, do not consign the memory of them to oblivion, but tell the story of them to those of your children who do not know it; and command them to pass these things on to their own children, and let each generation receive the account of them from the one before it. Blessed David too says such things: "So that another generation may know, sons who will be born, and they will rise up and tell them to their sons." And teaching the reason, "That they may set their hope on God," he says. That the grace of the divine Spirit which inspired the holy prophets is one is thus shown from what has been said. Having thus roused the elders and all the others to listen to what will be said, he then narrates the whole multitude of the disasters, and says that first the caterpillar will come, and what is not destroyed by it will be consumed by the locust; whatever escapes the locust the grub will devour; and last the blight will come upon it, … nothing at all … they say of the Assyrian and the Babylonian, naming Tiglath-pileser the caterpillar and Shalmaneser the locust, and Sennacherib … who ravaged all Judea and carried off as captives those who escaped death. I think these things are true as well; but I suppose that what is understood according to the letter also really happened. For blessed Amos too mentions locust and grub, burning and mildew, and fig trees, olives and vines [destroyed] by caterpillars, and besides these drought and lack of rain: "For one portion," he says, "will be rained on, and the portion on which I do not rain will dry up." The inspired Jeremiah too clearly mentioned this drought. We must not, therefore, take what was said in a figurative sense only, since the holy prophets have taught us with one voice that what was foretold also happened according to the history. For since, paying the penalty for their lawlessness and impiety, they were handed over to the enemies who attacked them, they were rightly also struck by disciplines brought from heaven, being taught by these that the God whom they neglected punishes them both by these and by those. Having thus foretold the gloomy things, he brings in exhortation and counsel.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Joel 1:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Joel 1:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 78:6 (77:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 78:7 (77:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Amos 4:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Amos 7:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Amos 4:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 14:1 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Joel calls the elders to pass on to their children the memory of an unheard-of disaster; Theodoret holds that the plagues of caterpillar, locust, grub and blight really happened, as Amos and Jeremiah confirm, though some read them of the Assyrian and Babylonian kings.

  • Lemmas: Joel 1:2–4 (1:3–4 paraphrased). Migne's Latin column and apparatus break into the section and are removed by logged corrections; the apparatus included a short scholion on Joel's name, tribe and burial (from the Lives of the Prophets), which is not Theodoret's text. Lines lost in the scan are marked "…" (among them the beginning of the figurative interpretation, attributed to unnamed interpreters, and the name given to the grub and the blight). Ps 78:6–7 (LXX 77:6–7); Amos 4:7, 9; 7:1–4; Jer 14:1–6.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin column, marginal references and apparatus read as Greek letters; Migne's Latin column, marginal references and apparatus read as Greek letters (including a scholion on Joel from Migne's notes); Migne's Latin column, marginal references and apparatus read as Greek letters; name split by it): ᾳυᾷ δτιτυ}, υἱ αυὰ ποριθῃ δά ἀξ. ἰῃ θη πη) μοῦ" βρα δβὶ ἴῃ Ηθῦγαο οἱ ἴῃ οοά. γαιϊο. 19 Ε΄, δῖ : Ἰωὴλ ἑρμηνεύεται ἀγαπητὸς Κυρίου, ἣ ἀρχή. Οὗτος ἦν ἐκ πῇς φυλῆς Ῥουθὴν, ἀγροῦ μεθομόρων. Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἀπέθανεν, καὶ ἐτάφη ἐκεῖ. ῃ δἷῖ. νοὶ απ πη σἂ εκ 40 πᾶς οογγυρῖα πὸ {ποτὶ τ, ἃ ἰοεσβία σΟΓΓΙρὶ πὶ Ἰτὶ; αι νϑῦο ἴδης δι τίμα θα! υιὰ εἰ 608 αἱ διοἱ → ; Δα- Οἰδ' → Δαβίδ·; μας ροϑίδἵἔετί εἰ οοηϑὶ τ. → .

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Comm. Proph. min. 2.1.2 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-2

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 81 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

2.1.5PG 81

ε΄. « Ἐκνήψατε, οἱ μεθύοντες, ἐξ οἴνου αὐτῶν, καὶ χλαύσατε δ" θρηνήσανε, πάντες οἱ πίνοντες οἷνον εἰς μέθην. » Μεταδάλετε, φησὶ τὴν ἀκρασίαν, καὶ τὴν τῆς χλιδῆς ἀμετρίαν, εἰς θρηνῳδίαν " οὐ γὰρ τὸ πίνειν οἶνον, χαχὺν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀμέτρως πίνειν ἐπιβλαβές. Ἑϊρηκὼς δὲ ἐξ οἵγου αὐτῶν, καὶ ἑτέραν ἡνίξατο μέθην, τὴν παντελῇ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω ῥοπὴν, καὶ τὴν παντοδαπῇ παρανομίαν οὕτω προσαγορεύσα:. Προσήκει δὲ ὑμᾶς, φησὶ, θρηνεῖν καὶ ὀδύρεσθαι, ὅτι δ᾽ τοῦ τὴν εὐφροσύνην ὑμῖν προξενοῦντος στερηθήσεσθς πάντη. Εἶτα διηγεῖται τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἀκρίδα, εἴτουν τὸν ᾿Ασσύριον - ἀμφότερα γὰρ αἰνίττεται, καὶ λέγει, ε ἔθνος ἀναθήσεσθαι ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ, ἀριθμοῦ τε χρεῖττον, καὶ ῥώμῃ καὶ δυνάμει χοσμούμενον. » Γῆν» δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ὀνομάξει γῆν ᾿ ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴ1 ἴδιον ὀνομάζει λαόν. ε Οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτοῦ ὀδόντες λέοντος, καὶ αἱ μῦλαι αὐτοῦ, ὡς σχύμνου αὑτοῦ. » Διαφόρως δὲ τὰ αὑτὰ εἴρηκε, ταῖς πλείουτι προσηγορίαι: καταπλῆξαι βουλόμενος " «έογτα γὰρ καὶ σχύμγον τὸν αὑτὸν καλεὶ " εἰ δὲ καὶ διαφόρως τις ἐθέλει νοξῖν, οὐ λυμανεῖται τῇ διανοίᾳ ἣ τε γὰρ ἀκρὶς ἔχει τὰς βραχυτέρας οἷόν τινας σχύμνους ἑπομένας, καὶ οἱ πολάμιοι πρὸς τοῖς μαχίμοις καὶ ἀριότεῦσιν, ἐπάγονται καὶ τοὺς ἔλαττον δυναμένους. Διηγεῖται δὲ καὶ τὰ παρὰ τούτων ἐδόμενα, ἀμπέλους ὑποδεικνὺς διαφθειρομένας, καὶ τὰ τούτων κλήματα λευχαινόμενα, καὶ συχᾶς γυμνουμένας τῆς κόμης, ὅπερ εἴωθε συμβαίνειν ἐπισχηπτούσης ἀκρίδος. Καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ὡς γεγενημένα ταῦτα λέγει, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐσόμενα, ἡ ἐπαγωγὴ μαρτυρεῖ. τὴ. ε Θρηνήσει "δ γὰρ, φησὶ, πρός με ὑπὲρ νύμφὴν περιεζωσμένην σάκκον ἐπὶ τὸν ἄνδρα αὑτῆς τὸν παρθενικόν. » Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶπεν ἐθρήνησεν, ἀλλὰ θρηνήσει, διδάσκων, ὡς μετὰ τὴν πεῖραν ὀλοφυρό- 6 μένοι διατελέσουσι, πιχοὺν ποιούμενος πένθος, οἷον ἂν γένοιτο παρὰ νύμφης νέαν ἀγούσης τὴν ἡλιχέαν, καὶ τὸν οἰκεῖον νυμφίον τεθνεῶτα ὁρώσης. θ΄..« Ἐξῆρται "θυσία καὶ σπονδὴ ἐξ οἴχον Κυρίου.» Τὸ μέντοι τὰ ἐσόμενα ὡς γεγενημένα λέγειν, ἴδιόν ἔστι τῆς θείας Γραφῆς. Κέχρηται δὲ τούτῳ, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὴν ἀπὸ γλώττης εἰς γλῶτταν ἑτέραν τῶν λόγων μεταφορὰν, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ δ᾽ τὴν τῶν λεγομένων βε- Θαίωσιν. Οὕτω γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀληθῶς ἔσται ταῦτα, ὅτι ὡς γεγενημένα τε θεωροῦμεν, καὶ ᾿ὡς περὶ γεγενημένων διαλεγόμεθα. ᾿Αμέλει πάλιν ὡς; περὶ γενομένων τούτων, ἃ προξίρηχε μέλλειν ἔσεσθαι, πενθεῖν τοῖς ἱερεῦσι παρακελεύεται, ὡς καὶ θυσιῶν καὶ σπονδῶν ἐπιλειπουσῶν διὰ τὴν σπάνιν τῶν ἀναγ- Ὁ καίων, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὴν γῆν διὰ τὴν ἀχαρπίαν “ὧν ἐξ αὐτῆς. Ἐν αἰσχύνῃ δὲ καὶ οἱ γηπόνοι, φησὶ, χαθεστήχασι, πολλὰ μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν πεπονηχότες, οὐδένα δὲ καρπὸν χομισάμενοι. Τοῦτο δὲ χα! νῦν συμδαῖνον ὁρῶμεν. Ἐν γὰρ ταῖς τῆς γῆς ἀχαρπίαις ἐρυθριᾷν εἰώθασιν οἱ γηπόνοι, τάς τε συνήθεις προσὄδους τοῖς κεκτημένοις οὐ χορηγοῦντες, καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀναγκαίων σπάνιν ἐξ ἐράνου ζῇν βιαζόμενοι. Πλατύτερον δὲ τὴν συμφορὰν διηγούμενος, ὥστε καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ κτήματα κελεύει θρηνεῖν, ὡς τῶν τι χριθῶν καὶ τῶν πυρῶν ἐπιλειπόντων, καὶ τῆ; ἀμ. πέλου διανανθείσης " καὶ ἀπαξαπλῶς καὶ ἐλαιῶν, καὶ συκῶν, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀκροδρύων καρπὸν οὐδένα φερόντων, διὰ τὸ πάσης τῆς ἐν αὑτοῖς στερηθῆναι νοτίδος, Ἰστέον δὲ, ὅτι τῇ γῇ καὶ τοῖς χτήμασιν, οὐκ ὡς λογικοῖς θρηνεῖν παρακελεύεται, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν ἁψύχων τοὺς λόγῳ τετιμημένους διεγεῖραι πειρώμ:νος καὶ τοῦτο διδάσκων ἐπήγαγεν" « Ὅτι χατήσχυναν χαρὰν οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. » Ταύτης γὲρ, φησὶ, τῆς ἀχαρπίας αἰτία ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων παρανομία " δι᾽ ἐχείνην γὰρ πέπαυται τὰ τῆς εὐφροσύνης, τὰ δὲ τῆς ἀθυμίας εἰσενήνεκται. Διὸ, φησὶ, καὶ ὑμεῖς οἱ ἱερεῖς, τὸ πένθιμον ἀναλάδετε σχῆμα, καὶ μὴ, μόνον παρὰ τὸ θυσιαστήριον ὀλοφύρεσθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ καθεύὐδοντες σάκκον ἑαυτοῖς ὑποστρώσατε, ὅτι τοσαύτη σπάνις τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἐγένετο, ὡς [μηδὲ τὰς συν-

e΄. « Eknēpsate, hoi methyontes, ex oinou autōn, kai chlausate d" thrēnēsane, pantes hoi pinontes hoinon eis methēn. » Metadalete, phēsi tēn akrasian, kai tēn tēs chlidēs ametrian, eis thrēnǭdian " ou gar to pinein oinon, chachyn, alla to ametrōs pinein epiblabes. Heïrēkōs de ex hoigou autōn, kai heteran hēnixato methēn, tēn pantelę̄ tēs psychēs epi ta cheirō rhopēn, kai tēn pantodapę̄ paranomian houtō prosagoreusa:. Prosēkei de hymas, phēsi, thrēnein kai odyresthai, hoti d᾽ tou tēn euphrosynēn hymin proxenountos sterēthēsesths pantē. Eita diēgeitai ta kata tēn akrida, eitoun ton ᾿Assyrion - amphotera gar ainittetai, kai legei, e ethnos anathēsesthai epi tēn gēn autou, arithmou te chreitton, kai rhōmę̄ kai dynamei chosmoumenon. » Gēn» de autou tēn tou Israēl onomaxei gēn ᾿ epeidē kai ton Israē1 idion onomazei laon. e Hoi odontes autou odontes leontos, kai hai mylai autou, hōs schymnou hautou. » Diaphorōs de ta hauta eirēke, tais pleiouti prosēgoriai: kataplēxai boulomenos " «eogta gar kai schymgon ton hauton kalei " ei de kai diaphorōs tis ethelei noxin, ou lymaneitai tę̄ dianoią hē te gar akris echei tas brachyteras hoion tinas schymnous hepomenas, kai hoi polamioi pros tois machimois kai arioteusin, epagontai kai tous elatton dynamenous. Diēgeitai de kai ta para toutōn edomena, ampelous hypodeiknys diaphtheiromenas, kai ta toutōn klēmata leuchainomena, kai sychas gymnoumenas tēs komēs, hoper eiōthe symbainein epischēptousēs akridos. Kai hoti ouk hōs gegenēmena tauta legei, all᾽ hōs esomena, hē epagōgē martyrei. tē. e Thrēnēsei "d gar, phēsi, pros me hyper nymphēn periezōsmenēn sakkon epi ton andra hautēs ton parthenikon. » Oude gar eipen ethrēnēsen, alla thrēnēsei, didaskōn, hōs meta tēn peiran olophyro- 6 menoi diatelesousi, pichoun poioumenos penthos, hoion an genoito para nymphēs nean agousēs tēn hēlichean, kai ton oikeion nymphion tethneōta horōsēs. th΄..« Exērtai "thysia kai spondē ex oichon Kyriou.» To mentoi ta esomena hōs gegenēmena legein, idion esti tēs theias Graphēs. Kechrētai de toutǭ, ou monon dia tēn apo glōttēs eis glōttan heteran tōn logōn metaphoran, alla kai dia d᾽ tēn tōn legomenōn be- Thaiōsin. Houtō gar, phēsin, alēthōs estai tauta, hoti hōs gegenēmena te theōroumen, kai ᾿hōs peri gegenēmenōn dialegometha. ᾿Amelei palin hōs? peri genomenōn toutōn, ha proxirēche mellein esesthai, penthein tois hiereusi parakeleuetai, hōs kai thysiōn kai spondōn epileipousōn dia tēn spanin tōn anag- Ho kaiōn, kai mentoi kai tēn gēn dia tēn acharpian “hōn ex autēs. En aischynę̄ de kai hoi gēponoi, phēsi, chathestēchasi, polla men epi tēn gēn peponēchotes, oudena de karpon chomisamenoi. Touto de cha! nyn symdainon horōmen. En gar tais tēs gēs acharpiais erythriąn eiōthasin hoi gēponoi, tas te synētheis prosodous tois kektēmenois ou chorēgountes, kai dia tēn tōn anankaiōn spanin ex eranou zę̄n biazomenoi. Platyteron de tēn symphoran diēgoumenos, hōste kai auta ta ktēmata keleuei thrēnein, hōs tōn ti chrithōn kai tōn pyrōn epileipontōn, kai tē? am. pelou dianantheisēs " kai apaxaplōs kai elaiōn, kai sykōn, kai tōn allōn akrodryōn karpon oudena pherontōn, dia to pasēs tēs en hautois sterēthēnai notidos, Isteon de, hoti tę̄ gę̄ kai tois chtēmasin, ouk hōs logikois thrēnein parakeleuetai, alla dia tōn hapsychōn tous logǭ tetimēmenous diegeirai peirōm:nos kai touto didaskōn epēgagen" « Hoti chatēschynan charan hoi huioi tōn anthrōpōn. » Tautēs ger, phēsi, tēs acharpias aitia hē tōn anthrōpōn paranomia " di᾽ echeinēn gar pepautai ta tēs euphrosynēs, ta de tēs athymias eisenēnektai. Dio, phēsi, kai hymeis hoi hiereis, to penthimon analadete schēma, kai mē, monon para to thysiastērion olophyresthe, alla kai katheuydontes sakkon heautois hypostrōsate, hoti tosautē spanis tōn anankaiōn egeneto, hōs [mēde tas syn-

5. "Sober up, you drunkards, from your wine, and weep; lament, all you who drink wine to drunkenness." Change, he says, your intemperance and the immoderation of your luxury into lamentation; for drinking wine is not evil, but drinking it immoderately is harmful. By saying "from their wine" he also hinted at another drunkenness, so naming the soul's complete leaning toward the worse and every kind of lawlessness. You ought, he says, to lament and mourn, because you will be wholly deprived of what provided you gladness. Then he narrates what concerns the locust, or rather the Assyrian (for he hints at both), and says that "a nation will come up against his land," beyond number and adorned with strength and power. He calls the land of Israel his land, since he also calls Israel his own people. "Its teeth are lion's teeth, and its molars like those of its whelp." He said the same things in different ways, wishing to strike them with fear by using more names; for he calls the same one lion and whelp. But if anyone wishes to understand them differently, it will not harm the sense: for the locust has smaller ones following it like whelps, and enemies bring with them, besides the warriors and champions, those of less strength. He also narrates what they eat, showing vines destroyed and their branches whitened, and fig trees stripped of their foliage, which usually happens when locusts swoop down. And that he speaks of these not as things that have happened but as things that will happen, what follows bears witness: "8. For it will lament to me more than a bride girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth." For he did not say "lamented" but "will lament", teaching that after experiencing it they will continue to mourn, making a bitter mourning, such as would come from a bride of young age who sees her own bridegroom dead. "9. Sacrifice and libation have been taken away from the house of the Lord." To speak of future things as having happened is peculiar to the divine Scripture. It uses this not only because of the transfer of words from one language into another, but also for the confirmation of what is said. For so truly, he says, will these things come about, that we see them as having happened and speak of them as of things done. Indeed, again speaking as of things that have happened of what he foretold was to come, he bids the priests mourn, since both sacrifices and libations fail through the lack of necessities; and the land too, because of the barrenness of what comes from it. The farmers too, he says, are put to shame, having toiled much on the land but gathered no fruit. We see this happening now too: in barren years farmers usually blush, since they cannot supply the customary revenues to the owners and are forced by want of necessities to live on handouts. Narrating the disaster more broadly, so as … he bids even the possessions lament, since barley and wheat fail and the vine withers, and, in a word, olives and figs and the other fruit trees bear no fruit, because they have been deprived of all the moisture in them. It should be known that he bids the land and the possessions lament not as though they were rational, but tries through soulless things to rouse those honored with reason. And teaching this, he added: "For the sons of men have put joy to shame." For the cause of this barrenness, he says, is the lawlessness of men; because of it the things of gladness have ceased and those of despondency have been brought in. Therefore, he says, you priests too, put on the garb of mourning, and do not only lament beside the altar, but also spread sackcloth under you when you sleep; for so great a dearth of necessities has come that not even the customary

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Joel 1:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Joel 1:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Joel 1:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Joel 1:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:13 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Joel calls the drunkards and the priests to mourn as the locust, or the Assyrian, devours the land; Theodoret notes that Scripture speaks of the future as past to confirm its certainty, and that the barrenness is caused by human lawlessness.

  • Lemmas: Joel 1:5–13 (1:6–7, 10–12 partly paraphrased). Theodoret's text of 1:8 reads "it will lament" (Rahlfs: "lament"). Migne's Latin column breaks into the section (in the comment on 1:12) and is removed by a logged correction; the gap is marked "…". The section breaks off.
  • "Drinking wine is not evil, but drinking it immoderately is harmful": translated as written.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin column, marginal references and apparatus read as Greek letters; word split by a marginal letter; OCR slip): ἐπι- Α δλαθές → ἐπιβλαβές; διἐς νοὶ " δ΄οἱ δαί ι- ᾿ἃαι Βυ ἰπ ἐΐς οὶ “εἰ ποι ταν. εὐφροσύνη καὶ αρά ἼΣ Στ ἠοῖ. εἱ εκ τἰρὰ 10 ροιίτ4 6586 νάθθιιγ. ὃ ἐν οἱ ἴῃ ἱρεἰ υἱ ἰά ἰηπὸαπ ἷ, 564 οἰἶ Δ 5 αἱ πα δο 18 εἶδ. γεββ. 1δ. «δι πῃ, θυ πῃ], ἴῃ ἀΐδη !» δᾶ θεὶ ποδιγὶ ἰϑ 118 οἱ η}. » → .

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Comm. Proph. min. 2.1.5 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-5

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 81 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

2.1.14PG 81

ιδ΄, « ᾿Αγιάσατε τοίνυν νηστείαν, κηρύξατε θεραπείαν, συναγάγετε πρεσδυτέρους " » μᾶλλον δὲ μὴ τούτους μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ε πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν γῆν εἰς οἶκον Θεοῦ 5 ὑμῶν. » Συναθροισϑέντες δὲ χεχράξατε "5, λέγοντες"

id΄, « ᾿Agiasate toinyn nēsteian, kēryxate therapeian, synagagete presdyterous " » mallon de mē toutous monon, alla kai e pantas tous katoikountas tēn gēn eis oikon Theou 5 hymōn. » Synathroisϑentes de chechraxate "5, legontes"

14. "Sanctify, then, a fast, proclaim a service, gather the elders"; or rather not these only, but also "all who inhabit the land into the house of your God." And when you have assembled, cry out, saying:

Joel 1:14 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Joel summons the whole land to a sanctified fast in the house of God.

  • Lemma: Joel 1:14.

Topics: Fasting

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Comm. Proph. min. 2.1.14 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-14

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 81 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

2.1.15PG 81

ιε΄. « Οἴμοι, οἴμοι "', εἰς ἡμέραν! » Διδασκόμεθα δὲ σαφῶς ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων, ὡς ἡ νηστεία τῶν κακῶς τὰς ψυχὰς διακειμένων ἀλεξίκαχον γίνεται φάρμακον, θεραπεύειν τὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πάθη δυνάμένον" διὸ καὶ τῇ νηστείᾳ τὴν θεραπείαν πρυστέθεικεν. «ε ᾿Αγιάσατε γὰρ, φησὶ, νηστείαν, κηρύξατε θεραπείαν. ν» Τὸ δὲ, ἀγιάσατα, ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἀφορίσατε, τέθεικεν. Εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ, φησὶν, ἑαυτοὺς ἀφορίσατε, ἁγίως καὶ καθαρῶς τὴν νηστείαν μετέλθετε " νὴ" στεύοντες δὲ βοᾶτε" ε Οἴμοι, οἴμοι, εἰς ἡμέραν] » ἀντὶ τοῦ, διὰ τὴν προσδοκωμένην τῶν κακῶν ἡμέραν. ε Ὅτι ἐγγὺς ἡμέρα "" Κυρίου, καὶ ὡς ταλαιπωρία ἐκ ταλαιπωρίας ἥξει. (ις΄.) Ὅτι κατέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ὑμῶν βρώματα ἐξηράνθη, καὶ ἐξ οἶκου Θεοῦ ἡμῶν εὐφροσύνη καὶ χαρά. » ἘἘπάλληλα, φῆ" σὶν, ὄψεσθε τὰ κακὰ, καὶ τούτοις ἐκεῖνα προστιθέ" μενα᾽ τοῦτο γὰρ ἐκάλεσε ε ταλαιπωρίαν ἐπὶ ταλαι-

ie΄. « Oimoi, oimoi "', eis hēmeran! » Didaskometha de saphōs ek tōn eirēmenōn, hōs hē nēsteia tōn kakōs tas psychas diakeimenōn alexikachon ginetai pharmakon, therapeuein ta tēs hamartias pathē dynamenon" dio kai tę̄ nēsteią tēn therapeian prystetheiken. «e ᾿Agiasate gar, phēsi, nēsteian, kēryxate therapeian. n» To de, agiasata, anti tou, aphorisate, tetheiken. Eis touto gar, phēsin, heautous aphorisate, hagiōs kai katharōs tēn nēsteian metelthete " nē" steuontes de boate" e Oimoi, oimoi, eis hēmeran] » anti tou, dia tēn prosdokōmenēn tōn kakōn hēmeran. e Hoti engys hēmera "" Kyriou, kai hōs talaipōria ek talaipōrias hēxei. (is΄.) Hoti katenanti tōn ophthalmōn hymōn brōmata exēranthē, kai ex oikou Theou hēmōn euphrosynē kai chara. » EEpallēla, phē" sin, opsesthe ta kaka, kai toutois ekeina prostithe" mena᾽ touto gar ekalese e talaipōrian epi talai-

15. "Alas, alas, for the day!" We are clearly taught by what has been said that fasting becomes a protective medicine for those whose souls are in a bad state, able to heal the passions of sin; that is why he joined a service to the fast: "Sanctify a fast," he says, "proclaim a service." He put "sanctify" in place of "set apart": set yourselves apart for this, he says, and pursue the fast in holiness and purity; and while fasting, cry: "Alas, alas, for the day!", that is, because of the expected day of evils. "For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come like misery upon misery. 16. For before your eyes food has been cut off, and gladness and joy from the house of our God." You will see evils one after another, he says, and these added to those; this he called "misery upon misery"

Joel 1:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:14 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Fasting is a medicine for souls sick with sin; the people are to set themselves apart for a pure fast as the day of the Lord brings misery upon misery.

  • Lemmas: Joel 1:15–16. "Service" (θεραπεία) also means "healing"; Theodoret plays on both senses. The section breaks off.

Topics: Fasting

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Comm. Proph. min. 2.1.15 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-15

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 81 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

2.1.17PG 81

ιζ΄. ε« Ἐσχίρτησαν δαμάλεις ἐν ταῖς φάτναις αὖτῶν. » Σχιρτήσειν ἔφη τὰς δαμάλεις, οὐ διὰ κύρον τοῦτο ποιούσας, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπὸ λιμοῦ φθειρομένας, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐδάφους ἐῤῥιμμένας, καὶ τοὺς πόδας τῇ τ προσαρασσούσας. Τὰ δὲ τοῦ σίτου, φησὶ, δοχεῖᾶ εὑρῶτα ὑπέμεινεν, ὡς πλεῖστον χρόνον μὴ δεξάμεν αἴτον. ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ «1ηγοὶ, φησὶν, ὡς περιτταὶ κατ' ἐσκάφησαν, καὶ εἴ τι ἕτερον ἦν ταῖς τοιαύταις ἀπονενεμημένον χρείαις, οἷα δὴ περιττὸν, μεμένηχεν ἀτημέλητον, ὡς τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐμδαλλομένων οὐκ ὄντων. Μυχᾶται δὲ καὶ τὰ βουκόλια, τὴν τῶν ὀδυρομένων ἐπιδειχνύμενα φωνὴν, ἐπειδὴ τῆς συνήθους οὐκ ἀπολαύει τροφῆς ταὐτὰ δὲ ποιεῖ ταῖς βουσὶ καὶ τῶν προδάτων τὰ ποίμνια. ᾿Αλλὰ τούτων οὕτω δρωμένων, ᾿Εγὼ, φησὶν ὁ προφήτης,

iz΄. e« Eschirtēsan damaleis en tais phatnais autōn. » Schirtēsein ephē tas damaleis, ou dia kyron touto poiousas, all᾽ hypo limou phtheiromenas, kai epi tou edaphous errhimmenas, kai tous podas tę̄ t prosarassousas. Ta de tou sitou, phēsi, docheia heurōta hypemeinen, hōs pleiston chronon mē dexamen aiton. ᾿Alla kai «1ēgoi, phēsin, hōs perittai kat' eskaphēsan, kai ei ti heteron ēn tais toiautais aponenemēmenon chreiais, hoia dē peritton, memenēchen atēmelēton, hōs tōn en autois emdallomenōn ouk ontōn. Mychatai de kai ta boukolia, tēn tōn odyromenōn epideichnymena phōnēn, epeidē tēs synēthous ouk apolauei trophēs tauta de poiei tais bousi kai tōn prodatōn ta poimnia. ᾿Alla toutōn houtō drōmenōn, ᾿Egō, phēsin ho prophētēs,

17. "The heifers leapt at their mangers." He said the heifers would leap, not doing this from being well fed, but wasting away from hunger, thrown on the ground and beating the [ground] with their feet. The storehouses of grain, he says, suffered mold, since for a very long time they had received no grain. And the wine vats too, he says, were razed as superfluous, and anything else that had been assigned to such uses has been left neglected as superfluous, since what used to be put into them is not there. The herds too low, giving voice like mourners, since they do not have their usual food; and the flocks of sheep do the same as the cattle. But while these things are being done, I, says the prophet,

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Joel 1:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:18 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Famine makes the heifers thrash and the herds and flocks low, while granaries and wine vats stand empty.

  • Lemma: Joel 1:17; 1:18 paraphrased. A word is lost in the scan after "beating the"; supplied by sense.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin column, marginal references and apparatus read as Greek letters; word split by a marginal letter): δυΐϑ : [γα οἱ δὶ ἀυϊ ἃ ἰαα οὐ → ; συν- Αὶ ἤθους → συνήθους.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Comm. Proph. min. 2.1.17 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-17

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores-2-1-17) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 81 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

2.1.19PG 81

ιθ΄. ε Πρὸς σὲ, Κύριε, βοήσομαι, ὅτι πῦρ ἀνήλωσε τὰ ὡραῖα τῆς ἐρήμου, καὶ φλὸξ ἀνῆψε πάντα τὰ ξύλα τοῦ ἀγροῦ. ν Τῶν γὰρ ἐπικειμένων κακῶν τὴν λύσιν παρὰ σοῦ μόνου πορίσασθαι δυνατόν. Πῦρ δὲ καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους νοῆσαι δυνατὸν, πυρὸς δίδην πᾶσαν τὴν χώραν ἐχείνην δῃώσαντας " καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὴν ἀκρίδα, καὶ τὴν ἐρισύδην, καὶ τὰ τούτοις συνημμένα" οὐδὲν Ὑὰρ ἧττον οὐδὲ ταῦτα πέφυκε τοὺς ἀπὸ γῆς διαφθείρειν καρπούς. Ὡραῖα δὲ ἐρήμου καλεῖ τὰ πάλαι :βὲν ὡραῖα, νῦν δὲ ἔρημα γεγενημένα διὰ τὰ συμδεδηχότα κακά. Καὶ γὰρ᾽" μετὰ βραχέα λέγει, ὅτ: ε Τὰ ἔμαὶ ἔμοδεοίπροσθεν αὐτοῦ, ὡς παράδεισος τρυφῆς "", καὶ τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ, ὡς πεδίον ἀφανισμοῦ. ν Ἐπειδὴ δὲ, φησὶ, ἡμεῖς ἀνάξιοι τῆς παρὰ σοῦ φιλανθρωπίας τυχεῖν, φειδοῦς τινος ἀπολαυσάτω τὰ κτήνη μυχώμενα καὶ βληχώμενα, ε« Ὅτι ἐξηράνθησαν ἀφέσεις ὑδάτων. » Τὸ δὲ "5, ε ᾿Ανέδλεψαν πρὸ; σὲ, ν οὐκ ὡς περὶ λογικῶν εἴρηκεν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς ἔλεον ἐλκῦσαι τὸν Δεσπότην βουλόμενος, οὕτως ἐκάλεσε τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς ᾿Δλλὰ καὶ τοῦ προφήτου προσενηνοχότος τὴν δέησιν, πάλιν ὁ Δεσπότης παρακελεύεται τὰς κατὰ νόμὸν προστεταγμένας ἠχῆσαι σάλπιγγας ἐν τῇ Σιὼν, καὶ διὰ κηρύκων συναγαγεῖν ἅπαντας εἰς τὸ ἀφιερω- α μένον τῷ Θεῷ ὄρος " « Ὅτι πελάζει, φησὶν, ὁ τῆς τιμωρίας καιρός "δ. » Ὃν οὐκ ἄν τις ἁμάρτοι, γνόφου, καὶ σκότους, ὁμίχλης τε καὶ θυέλλης ἡμέραν προσαγορεύων τοιαῦτα γὰρ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ κακὰ, ὡς μηδένα αἴσθησιν λαμδάνειν φωτὸς "7, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν σκότῳ. καὶ γνόφῳ διάγειν ὑπολαμθάνειν. Εἶτα λέγει καὶ τῆς πιμωρίας τὸ εἶδος. « Ὡς ὄρθρος " χυθήσεται ἐπὶ τὰ ὅρη λαὺς πολὺς καὶ ἰσχυρός " ὅμοιος αὐτοῦ οὐ γέγονεν ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος, καὶ μετ᾽ αὐτὸν οὐ προστεθήσε- «αἵ, ἕως ἐτῶν εἰς γενεὰς τῶν 5 γενεῶν. ν Λἰνίττετα! δὲ διὰ τούτων ἀμφότερα, καὶ τὴν ἀκρίδα, καὶ τῶν πολεμίων τὸ νέφος. Καὶ αὐτὴ γὰρ κἀκεῖνοι τῷ πλήθει καὶ τὰ πεδία, καὶ τὰς τῶν ὁρῶν ἐχάλυψαν κορυφάς. Τὸ μὲν οὖν μὴ γεγενῆσθαι κατ᾽ ἐχείντν τὴν ἔφοδον ἑτέραν, ἀορίστως ἀπεφήνατο " τὸ δὲ μὴ ἕπεσθαι, μετὰ διορισμοῦ τινος “« Οὐ προστεθήσεται γὰρ, φησὶν, ἕως ἐτῶν. » Διδάσκει δὲ ὡς πυρὶ παρα- “λησίως ἐπελεύσεται, καὶ πάντα διαφθερεῖ, Τοσαύτὴν δὲ, φησὶν, ἐπάξει λώδην τῇ γῇ, ὡς τὸν θεώμενον ἀπεικάζειν τὰ μὲν μηδέπω πεῖραν τῶν κακῶν εἰληφότα τῷ τῆς τρυφῆς παραδείσῳ “ τὰ δὲ μετὰ τὴν ἔφοδον, δεδηωμένῳ πεδίῳ, καὶ παντελῶς δι- σονται, ὦ; μηδὲ τοὺς διαφυγόντας σωτηρίας τινὸς "' τυχεῖν. ε« ᾿Ανασωζόμενος γὰρ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἔσται ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν. » Ἡνίξατο δὲ διὰ τούτων, τῶν πολεμίων τὴν δ᾽, ε΄. «Ὡς ὅρασις ἵππων ἡ ὅρασις αὑτῶν, καὶ ὡ; ἱππεῖς, οὕτως καταδιώξονται. Ὡς δ' φωνὴ ἁρμάτων ἐπὶ τὰς κορυφὰς τῶν ὁρέων ἐξαλοῦνται, καὶ ὡς φωνὴ φλογὸς πυρὸς χατεσθιούσης καλάμην, καὶ ὡς λαὸς πολὺς καὶ ἰσχυρὸς παρατασσόμενος εἰς πόλεμον. » Ταῦτα ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν Ἀσσυρίων καὶ Βαθυκωνίων νοοῦντες, τὸ ὡς, οὐ παραθολιχῶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιτατιχῶς νοήσωμεν, ὡς τῶν παρὰ τῷ μακὰρίῳ Δαδὶ δ εἰρημένων" « Ὡς ἀγαθὸς ὁ Θεὸς τῷ "5 Ἰσραήλ! » ἀντὶ τοῦ, σφόδρα ἀγαθός. Καὶ τό " ε« Ὡς δ᾽ ἀγαπητὰ τὰ σκηνώματά σου, Κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων !» ἀντὶ τοῦ, Β λίαν ἀγαπητά. Καὶ τό" « Ὥς ἐμεγαλύνθης σφόδρα! » ἀντὶ τοῦ, Πάνυ ἐμεγαλύνθης. Οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἐνταῦθα περὶ τῶν πολεμίων τὰ εἰρημένα λαμθάνοντες νοήσομεν τὸ, ὅρασις δ" ἵππων, ὅτι ἵπποις πολλοῖς καὶ ἱππεῦσι χρήσονται, καὶ μετὰ πολλῶν δὲ ἥξουσιν ἀρμάτων, τοσαύτῃ τέχνῃ κεχρημένων τῶν ἡνιύχων, ὡς καὶ εἰς αὑτὰς ἰθύνειν τὰς ἀκρωρείας,, καὶ ταὶς δυσχωρίαις ὡς πεδίοις κεχρῇσθαι. Εἰς δὲ τὴν ἀκρίδα τὰ εἰρημένα λαμθάνοντες τὸ, « Ὡς ὄρασις ἵππων ἡ ὅρασις αὐτῶν, » νοήσομεν τῇ πείρᾳ πρὸς τούτῳ χρώμενοι διδασκάλῳ. Εἰ γάρ τις ἀχριδῶς κατίδοι τὴν κεφαλὴν τῆς ἀκρίδος, σφόδρα τῇ τοῦ ἵππου ἐοικυΐζαν εὑρήξει. Ἔστι δὲ ἰδεῖν καὶ πετομένην αὖτὴν, κατ᾽ οὐδὲν τῆς τῶν ἵππων ταχύτητος μένην, ὄρεσί τε καὶ πεδίοις ῥᾳδίως ἐφιπταμένην " καὶ μέντοι καὶ τοῖς ληῖΐοις δέχην φλογὸς ἐπιοῦσαν, χατεσθιούσης καλάμην. Καὶ πλήθει δὲ παρατεταγὙμένῳ ὅδ εἰς πόλεμον ἔοικε, καὶ πετόμεναι δ, καὶ ἕρπουσαι (συνημμέναι γὰρ ἀλλήλαις ποιοῦσιν ἃ ποιοῦσιν), οἷόν 57 τινα συνασπισμὸν καὶ τάξιν δει-

ith΄. e Pros se, Kyrie, boēsomai, hoti pyr anēlōse ta hōraia tēs erēmou, kai phlox anēpse panta ta xyla tou agrou. n Tōn gar epikeimenōn kakōn tēn lysin para sou monou porisasthai dynaton. Pyr de kai tous polemious noēsai dynaton, pyros didēn pasan tēn chōran echeinēn dę̄ōsantas " kai mentoi kai tēn akrida, kai tēn erisydēn, kai ta toutois synēmmena" ouden Hyar hētton oude tauta pephyke tous apo gēs diaphtheirein karpous. Hōraia de erēmou kalei ta palai :ben hōraia, nyn de erēma gegenēmena dia ta symdedēchota kaka. Kai gar᾽" meta brachea legei, hot: e Ta emai emodeoiprosthen autou, hōs paradeisos tryphēs "", kai ta opisō autou, hōs pedion aphanismou. n Epeidē de, phēsi, hēmeis anaxioi tēs para sou philanthrōpias tychein, pheidous tinos apolausatō ta ktēnē mychōmena kai blēchōmena, e« Hoti exēranthēsan apheseis hydatōn. » To de "5, e ᾿Anedlepsan pro? se, n ouk hōs peri logikōn eirēken, all᾽ eis eleon elkysai ton Despotēn boulomenos, houtōs ekalese ton apo tēs ᾿Dlla kai tou prophētou prosenēnochotos tēn deēsin, palin ho Despotēs parakeleuetai tas kata nomon prostetagmenas ēchēsai salpingas en tę̄ Siōn, kai dia kērykōn synagagein hapantas eis to aphierō- a menon tǭ Theǭ oros " « Hoti pelazei, phēsin, ho tēs timōrias kairos "d. » Hon ouk an tis hamartoi, gnophou, kai skotous, homichlēs te kai thyellēs hēmeran prosagoreuōn toiauta gar ta en autǭ kaka, hōs mēdena aisthēsin lamdanein phōtos "7, all᾽ en skotǭ. kai gnophǭ diagein hypolamthanein. Eita legei kai tēs pimōrias to eidos. « Hōs orthros " chythēsetai epi ta horē laus polys kai ischyros " homoios autou ou gegonen apo tou aiōnos, kai met᾽ auton ou prostethēse- «hai, heōs etōn eis geneas tōn 5 geneōn. n Linitteta! de dia toutōn amphotera, kai tēn akrida, kai tōn polemiōn to nephos. Kai autē gar kakeinoi tǭ plēthei kai ta pedia, kai tas tōn horōn echalypsan koryphas. To men oun mē gegenēsthai kat᾽ echeintn tēn ephodon heteran, aoristōs apephēnato " to de mē hepesthai, meta diorismou tinos “« Ou prostethēsetai gar, phēsin, heōs etōn. » Didaskei de hōs pyri para- “lēsiōs epeleusetai, kai panta diaphtherei, Tosautēn de, phēsin, epaxei lōdēn tę̄ gę̄, hōs ton theōmenon apeikazein ta men mēdepō peiran tōn kakōn eilēphota tǭ tēs tryphēs paradeisǭ “ ta de meta tēn ephodon, dedēōmenǭ pediǭ, kai pantelōs di- sontai, ō? mēde tous diaphygontas sōtērias tinos "' tychein. e« ᾿Anasōzomenos gar, phēsin, ouk estai ap᾽ autōn. » Hēnixato de dia toutōn, tōn polemiōn tēn d᾽, e΄. «Hōs horasis hippōn hē horasis hautōn, kai hō? hippeis, houtōs katadiōxontai. Hōs d' phōnē harmatōn epi tas koryphas tōn horeōn exalountai, kai hōs phōnē phlogos pyros chatesthiousēs kalamēn, kai hōs laos polys kai ischyros paratassomenos eis polemon. » Tauta epi men tōn Assyriōn kai Bathykōniōn noountes, to hōs, ou paratholichōs, all᾽ epitatichōs noēsōmen, hōs tōn para tǭ makariǭ Dadi d eirēmenōn" « Hōs agathos ho Theos tǭ "5 Israēl! » anti tou, sphodra agathos. Kai to " e« Hōs d᾽ agapēta ta skēnōmata sou, Kyrie tōn dynameōn !» anti tou, B lian agapēta. Kai to" « Hōs emegalynthēs sphodra! » anti tou, Pany emegalynthēs. Houtōs oun kai entautha peri tōn polemiōn ta eirēmena lamthanontes noēsomen to, horasis d" hippōn, hoti hippois pollois kai hippeusi chrēsontai, kai meta pollōn de hēxousin armatōn, tosautę̄ technę̄ kechrēmenōn tōn hēniychōn, hōs kai eis hautas ithynein tas akrōreias,, kai tais dyschōriais hōs pediois kechrę̄sthai. Eis de tēn akrida ta eirēmena lamthanontes to, « Hōs orasis hippōn hē horasis autōn, » noēsomen tę̄ peirą pros toutǭ chrōmenoi didaskalǭ. Ei gar tis achridōs katidoi tēn kephalēn tēs akridos, sphodra tę̄ tou hippou eoikyïzan heurēxei. Esti de idein kai petomenēn autēn, kat᾽ ouden tēs tōn hippōn tachytētos menēn, oresi te kai pediois rhądiōs ephiptamenēn " kai mentoi kai tois lēiïois dechēn phlogos epiousan, chatesthiousēs kalamēn. Kai plēthei de paratetagYmenǭ hod eis polemon eoike, kai petomenai d, kai herpousai (synēmmenai gar allēlais poiousin ha poiousin), hoion 57 tina synaspismon kai taxin dei-

19. "To you, Lord, I will cry, for fire has consumed the beautiful places of the desert, and a flame has kindled all the trees of the field." For release from the evils that press on us can be obtained from you alone. By fire one can also understand the enemies, who ravaged all that land like fire; and also the locust, the blight and what goes with them, for these too are no less apt to destroy the fruits of the earth. He calls "beautiful places of the desert" those that were once beautiful but have now become desert because of the evils that befell them. For a little later he says: "Before it [the land is] like a paradise of delight, and behind it like a plain of destruction." Since, he says, we are unworthy to obtain your loving-kindness, let the beasts that low and bleat enjoy some mercy, "for the outflows of waters have dried up." "They looked up to you" he did not say as of rational beings, but, wishing to draw the Master to mercy, he so called the … But after the prophet had offered his petition, the Master again commands that the trumpets prescribed by the law be sounded in Zion, and that all be gathered by heralds to the mountain dedicated to God: "For the time of punishment," he says, "is drawing near." One would not err in calling it a day of gloom and darkness, of mist and storm; for such are the evils in it that no one perceives light, but supposes he is living in darkness and gloom. Then he tells the form of the punishment: "Like dawn a great and strong people will be spread over the mountains; its like has not been from of old, and after it there will be none again, to the years of generations of generations." By this he hints at both, the locust and the cloud of enemies; for both it and they covered by their multitude the plains and the tops of the mountains. That there had been no other such invasion before he stated without limit; but that none would follow, with a certain limit: "For there will be none again," he says, "until the years …" He teaches that it will come like fire and destroy everything. It will bring such ruin on the land, he says, that whoever sees it will liken the parts that have not yet experienced the evils to the paradise of delight, and those after the invasion to a ravaged and utterly … plain … so that not even those who escape will obtain any safety: "For there will be none of them who is saved." By this he hinted at the … of the enemies. "4, 5. Like the appearance of horses is their appearance, and like horsemen, so they will pursue. Like the sound of chariots they will leap on the tops of the mountains, and like the sound of a flame of fire devouring stubble, and like a great and strong people arrayed for war." Understanding these of the Assyrians and Babylonians, let us take the "like" not as a comparison but as an intensive, like what was said by blessed David: "How good is God to Israel!", that is, very good; and "How lovely are your dwellings, Lord of hosts!", that is, very lovely; and "How greatly you were magnified!", that is, you were exceedingly magnified. So here too, taking what is said of the enemies, we will understand "the appearance of horses" to mean that they will use many horses and horsemen, and will come with many chariots, their drivers using such skill as to steer even to the very ridges and to treat rough ground as plains. But taking what is said of the locust, "Like the appearance of horses is their appearance," we will understand with experience as our teacher in this. For if anyone looks closely at the head of the locust, he will find it very like that of a horse. One can also see it flying, falling short in nothing of the swiftness of horses, and easily flying over mountains and plains; and attacking the crops like a flame devouring stubble. It also resembles a multitude arrayed for war: flying and crawling (for they do what they do joined to one another), they display a kind of locked shields and battle order

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Joel 1:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 1:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 2:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Joel 2:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 2:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 2:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Joel 2:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 73:1 (72:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 84:1 (83:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 104:1 (103:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The prophet cries to God as fire, whether enemies or locusts, devours the land; God sounds the alarm in Zion for the day of darkness, and the horse-like army of Joel 2 is read both of the Assyrians and Babylonians and, from observation of locusts' heads and swarms, of the locusts themselves.

  • Lemmas: Joel 1:19–20; 2:1–5 (2:1–3 partly paraphrased). The section runs on into Joel 2 without a break. Migne's Latin column breaks into the section in three places and is removed by logged corrections; lines lost are marked "…".
  • "Like" taken as intensive: Ps 73:1 (LXX 72:1); Ps 84:1 (LXX 83:2); Ps 104:1 (LXX 103:1).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (Migne's Latin column, marginal references and apparatus read as Greek letters): Β ἀογυμι. Ναηὶ οἱ Ρϑμὶο ροδὶ αἷϊ : ε δίοιι → ; Πὰπὶ δα μῖ, δοὺς οΑπιρα5 βοιμυάϊηϊς ἱν θυοἴῃ π,, 1389 ει ὀνυμΐ πὰ], αἱ ποι Ια, δδἱ ἐπ αἱ λιν δ ἀ η 6. Ροϑυϊὶ : ἀϊεἶ( δι ΐπ), ε Νοι δ] οἰθίυγ ὕδάιι8 δὰ διοἃ- [πὶ 4 γάρ. [)65. ἰπ Ὁ. ""ὡς παρ. τρ. πολύς. )65. ἰη (, “ τῶν. Α → ; « ιιΐ Γι πΊ, οἱ βίου! ουγγυῦπὶ ἴῃ γοριϊοἶθιι5 πο Πι πὶ νοχ ἤδιμπιϑ 518 ἀονονδϑηι15. δι μι! ᾽πὶ : δἱ βίοις δὶ 1390 ᾿ς ἀς Αεευτὶς οἱ Βαδμίοπὶϊδ μ18, ἴθ) ὡς Πα ἀ, μοη δὰ δἰ ὰἀϊπαπὶ, βοὰ δὰ υἱ ἴῃ νον ΐβ 1115 θανι ἀϊ5 : ε« Οὐυδιὴ ὕοηυβ αϑὶ Ιδγδοὶὶ 1} » Ἰος 68, νδ δ "οπυβ; οἱ ἴῃ 411}. υἱγιυϊιπι 1» ἰὰ οδί, νϑ]ἰς ἀἰ] θεῖα; οἱ {πὰ; « Θυδι εἰ γο πη], ἴῃ νοῦ- Εἰ γε] αι, ἰιος ἱροἱ οἱ φεῖ, αἱ δος ες. 7, 8. « → .

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Comm. Proph. min. 2.1.19 (PG 81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores/2-1-19

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-interpretatio-prophetas-minores-2-1-19) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 81 (archive.org OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.