Eli, the ark, and God's 'repentance' without passion
Divine Scripture was about to foretell the ruin of Eli's sons and the capture of God's ark by the foreigners, so it first tends the hearer's ear lest anyone think God harsh. It narrates that Eli's sons' wickedness was not lessened by threat and prophecy against them, but grew worse.
Eli was pious in himself: his first anxiety was not the children's salvation but the ark, lest it fall under the foreigners—and that is what happened. The foreigners were to learn that God was not defeated through Israel, nor conquered by their own strength; Israel's sins and impieties produced the defeat. Dagon fell before the ark not to worship—he was unworthy—but to be shattered; and so it was.
As among humans "hand," "foot," "eye," and "ear" name bodily members, upon God "hand" means creative power, "eye" oversight, "ear" hearing, and "foot" his presence when he acts. So "wrath of God" names discipline upon those who stumble, not a divine passion; and "repentance" names the transfer of God's economy from one deed to another. What we do when we repent—leaving what we regret and pursuing what is better—is called God's repentance in that transferred sense.
Why speak so? The prophets had to address hearers heavy in mind with more bodily speech about God, so the truth could be received. People who thought carved and cast images—and even irrational animals—to be gods could not have received spiritual words about God. If God foreknows all, he is not angered or "repentant" from what he knows; wrath's work is punishment, and repentance's work is standing away from a former deed and transferring into another economy.
So Scripture says of a sword, "Sword, be sharp and slaughter" (sense of commanded sharpness); so "hand" is named of iron and of a sword. Wrath is said to be angry; sin has a "face" in David; rivers "clap" with hands—yet rivers have no hands and sins no face. Do not, because of bodily speech the ancients could bear, invent a body for God or fill him with passions.
Do not attach human turnability of judgment to God. We ourselves work the turns of the divine economy that justly meet us, proving by our deeds that we are unworthy of the honor God gave. Having condemned Saul and wishing to hand rule to David—and to keep the kingdom for his seed because of the king of all creation to be born from him according to flesh—God used human words in dialogue with humans: "I have repented that I anointed Saul king," meaning he wills to give the kingdom's beginning to another and end Saul's power.
"I have repented" on Saul's account means: Saul made himself so unworthy that if God had a repenting nature he would have changed his mind about him. Why then was Saul anointed? Because then he was worthy; having turned, he became unworthy again. So what I said is shown: God's "repentance" names the transfer of his economy from one deed to another. The word shows that even a prophet and righteous…
Greek
Fragmenta in librum primum Regnorum 1 Ἐπειδὴ ἔμελλεν ἡ θεία γραφὴ τὴν ἀπώλειαν τῶν υἱῶν Ἠλὶ προλέγειν, ὅτι τε ἡ κιβωτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ληφθήσεται ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλο φύλων, προλαβοῦσα θεραπεύει τὴν ἀκοήν, μήποτέ τις οἰηθῇ σκληρὸν εἶναι τὸν θεόν. διὰ τοῦτο, ὡς ἔφην, ἱστορεῖ ὡς οὐκ ἠλαττώθη τῶν υἱῶν Ἠλὶ ἡ κακία καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἀπειλῆς καὶ τῆς κατ' αὐ τῶν προρρήσεως, ἀλλ' ηὐξήθη μᾶλλον. 2 Εὐσεβὴς ὁ Ἠλὶ καθ' ἑαυτόν· οὐ γὰρ περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν τέκνων ἠγωνία προηγουμένως ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τῆς κιβωτοῦ , μήποτε γένοιτο ὑπὸ τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις· ὃ δὴ καὶ συνέβη. 3 Ἵνα γνῶσιν οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι ὅτι οὔτε ὁ θεὸς ἡττήθη διὰ τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν οὔτε αὐτὸν νενικήκασι τῇ οἰκείᾳ δυνάμει, ἀλλὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων αἱ ἁμαρτίαι καὶ ἀσέβειαι τὴν ἧτταν πεποιήκασιν. πέπτωκε δὲ πρὸ τῆς κιβωτοῦ ὁ ∆αγών , οὐχ ἵνα προσκυνήσῃ, οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἄξιος, ἀλλ' ἵνα συντριβῇ· ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονεν. 4 Ὥσπερ <ἐπ'> ἀνθρώπων μὲν χεὶρ καὶ ποὺς καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς καὶ οὖς καὶ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ὀνομάζεται σημαντικὰ τῶν μελῶν τοῦ ἡμε τέρου σώματός ἐστιν, ἐπὶ δὲ θεοῦ χεὶρ μὲν τὸ δημιουργικόν, ὀφθαλ μὸς δὲ τὸ ἐποπτικόν, καὶ οὖς μὲν τὸ ἀκουστικόν, ποὺς δὲ τὸ τῆς παρουσίας ὅταν ἐνεργῇ τι· οὕτω καὶ θυμὸς μὲν θεοῦ λέγεται παι δεία ἡ κατὰ τῶν πταιόντων, οὐ πάθος θεοῦ, μεταμέλεια δὲ ἡ ἀπὸ πράγματος εἰς πρᾶγμα μετάθεσις τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκονομίας. ὃ γὰρ ἡμεῖς μεταμελούμενοι ποιοῦμεν, τουτέστιν ἐκεῖνα μὲν φεύγομεν ἐφ' οἷς μετεμελήθημεν, ἕτερα δὲ διώκομεν τὰ κρείττω, τοῦτο μεταμέλεια θεοῦ λέγεται. διατί; ἐπειδὴ σωματικώτερον τοῖς βαρυτάτοις τὴν διάνοιαν ἔδει περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τοὺς προφήτας ὁμιλεῖν, ἵνα χωρηθῇ· οἱ γὰρ ἀγάλματα ἅπερ ἔγλυφον καὶ ἐχώνευον θεοὺς νομίζοντες, ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἄλογα, πῶς ἂν ἐχώρησαν διὰ πνευματικῶν νοημάτων τε καὶ ῥημάτων τὰ περὶ θεοῦ λεγόμενα; Καὶ πάλιν· Εἰ πάντα πρόοιδεν ὁ θεός, οὐκ ἀφ' ὧν δὲ οἶδε θυμοῦται ἢ μετα μελεῖται, οὐ πάθος ἄρα θεοῦ θυμὸς ἢ μεταμέλεια, ἀλλὰ τοῦ θυ μοῦ ἔργον ἡ κόλασις καὶ τὸ τῆς μεταμελείας ὁμοίως ἀπόστασις μὲν τοῦ προτέρου πράγματος, μετάθεσις δὲ εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν οἰκονομίαν. οὕτω καὶ περὶ ῥομφαίας λέγεται· «ῥομφαία ὀξύνου καὶ σφάζε», οὕτω καὶ χεὶρ ὠνόμασται σιδήρου († ὁ Σολομών· «ἵνα ῥύσηταί σε ἐκ χειρὸς σιδήρου») καὶ ῥομφαίας (ὡς ὁ ∆αβίδ φησιν· «εἰς χεῖρας ῥομφαίας»). οὕτω καὶ ὁ θυμὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὀργίζεσθαι λέγεται καὶ πρόσωπον ἔχειν ἁμαρτία κατὰ τὸν ∆αβίδ, καὶ πρόσωπον ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ θυμός, ὡς ἐν τῷ τριακοστῷ ἑβδόμῳ Ψαλμῷ, καὶ χερσὶν οἱ ποταμοὶ κροτεῖν. οὔτε δὲ ποταμοῖς χεῖρές εἰσιν οὔτε πρόσωπον ἁμαρτίαις. μὴ τοίνυν διὰ τὰ σωματικῶς περὶ θεοῦ λεγόμενα, ὡς ἐχώρουν οἱ παλαιοί, σῶμα τὸν θεὸν νομίζωμεν ἢ παθῶν αὐτὸν πεπληρῶσθαι. {Οὐ τὸ εὐπερίστρεπτον τῆς ἀνθρώπου γνώμης τῷ θεῷ προσα πτέον· ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν τὰς τροπὰς τῆς θείας οἰκονομίας τὰς ἐφ' ἡμῶν δικαίως συμβαινούσας ἀπεργαζόμεθα, ἀναξίους ἑαυτοὺς δει κνύντες διὰ τῶν πράξεων τῆς παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δωρηθείσης τιμῆς. καταγνοὺς οὖν τοῦ Σαοὺλ καὶ βουλόμενος τῷ ∆αβὶδ παραδοῦναι τὰ τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ φυλάξαι τὴν βασιλείαν διὰ τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τεχθησόμενον κατὰ σάρκα βασιλέα τῆς κτίσεως ἁπάσης, ἀνθρωπίνοις ἐχρήσατο ῥήμασιν ἀνθρώποις διαλεγόμενος, καὶ εἶπεν· μεταμεμέλημαι ὅτι ἔχρισα τὸν Σαοὺλ εἰς βασιλέα , ἀντὶ τοῦ ἑτέρῳ βούλομαι δοῦναι τῆς βασιλείας τὴν ἀρχήν, τοῦτον δὲ παῦσαι τῆς δυναστείας. Τὸ μεταμεμέλημαι διὰ τὸν Σαοὺλ τουτέστιν οὕτω ἀνάξιον ἑαυτὸν τῆς βασιλείας ἐποίησεν, ὥστε εἴ γε φύσιν εἶχον μετανοοῦσαν, μετέγνων ἂν ἐπ' αὐτῷ. διὰ τί οὖν ἐχρίσθη; ὅτι τότε ἄξιος ἦν. τραπεὶς δὲ πάλιν ἀνάξιος γέγονεν.} 5 Ἐκ τούτων δείκνυται ὃ προεῖπον, ὅτι μεταμέλεια θεοῦ λέγεται τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκονομίας ἀπὸ πράγματος εἰς πρᾶγμα μετάθεσις. {∆είκνυσιν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι κἂν προφήτης καὶ δίκαιος
About this text
Origen of Alexandria, Fragmenta in librum primum Regnorum (Greek).
Original English Translation of Origen’s Fragmenta in librum primum Regnorum — new OET from PG 12 Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 12 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.