The Three Days and the Horn
If the preaching is divine, listen to me. But listen also with me, for the three days interpret the passion of the Lord. For concerning Abraham, the Savior himself says: Abraham your father rejoiced in order to see my day; and he saw and rejoiced. What kind of day? The day of death. For the lamb delivered from the tree to Abraham had an icon of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. For to say 'he saw the day' does nothing other than to say 'he saw death.' Whence does this come? We too often say concerning men: his day has arrived, meaning his end. But the law of custom is not sufficient to establish what is said. What then? Let us come to the Scripture. The blessed David says: The sinner will observe the righteous and will gnash his teeth against him; but the Lord will laugh at him, because he sees that his day is coming. But these things were for Abraham; as for Jonah, I will return to him. For again the three days of Jonah interpret the salvation of the passion. The Savior himself cries out this again: Just as, he says, Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so it is necessary for the Son of Man to do in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
But let us say something stronger regarding the aforementioned of the others. For the former people there were three orders: priesthood, kingship, and prophecy; besides these three principles, no other order was to be seen among the Jews: kingship, priesthood, and prophecy. There was a horn of oil, of sanctification. There was one anointing, but three were the gifts: one the horn, three the graces; for priests, kings, and prophets were anointed. But since some are ignorant of the underlying meaning, lest the word, running itself to exhaustion in vain, should benefit the listener in nothing, listen briefly. A horn was held by the prophets, and kings, prophets, and priests were in need of the horn, not by a changing of the anointing, but by the grace being provided through the same horn; one was the anointing, three the gifts. Why then was the anointing in a horn? Because it had an icon of Christ. Could the vessel not be in silver? Could it not be in gold? Could it not be in some other of the more precious materials as such a gift? But it did not become so, but in a horn; because, as I have said, it had an icon of Christ. And I will reiterate the horn to David. May the Lord of priesthood, of kingship, and of prophecy be with all of you. For having taken the head of those suffering in the horn, he stilled them.
Greek
τὸν λόγον· εἰ δὲ θεῖον τὸ κήρυγμα, ἄκουε παρ' ἐμοῦ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄκουε μετ' ἐμοῦ, ὅτι αἱ τρεῖς ἡμέραι ἑρμηνεύουσι τὸ πάθος τοῦ κυρίου. Ἐπεὶ περὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ αὐτὸς ὁ σωτὴρ λέγει· Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἠγαλλιάσατο, ἵνα ἴδῃ τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν ἐμήν· καὶ εἶδε καὶ ἐχάρη. Ἡμέραν ποίαν; Τοῦ θανάτου. Ὁ γὰρ ἀμνὸς ὁ παραδοθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ δένδρου τῷ Ἀβραὰμ εἰκόνα εἶχε τοῦ ἀμνοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ αἴροντος τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου. Τὸ γὰρ εἰπεῖν· Εἶδε τὴν ἡμέραν, οὐδὲν ἄλλο ποιεῖ ἢ τὸ Εἶδε τὸν θάνατον. Πόθεν τοῦτο; Καὶ ἡμεῖς πολλάκις ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων λέγομεν· ἔφθασεν αὐτοῦ ἡ ἡμέρα, ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἡ τελευτή. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστιν ἱκανὸς συνηθείας νόμος βεβαιῶσαι τὸ λεγόμενον. Τί οὖν; Ἐπὶ τὴν γραφὴν ἔλθωμεν. Λέγει που ∆αυὶδ ὁ μακάριος· Παρατηρήσεται ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς τὸν δίκαιον καὶ βρύξει ἐπ' αὐτὸν τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ κύριος ἐκγελάσεται αὐτόν, ὅτι προβλέπει, ὅτι ἥξει ἡ ἡμέρα αὐτοῦ. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν εἰς τὸν Ἀβραάμ· ἐπὶ δὲ τὸν Ἰωνᾶν ἐπανήξω. Πάλιν γὰρ αἱ τρεῖς ἡμέραι τοῦ Ἰωνᾶ τὸ πάθος ἑρμηνεύουσι τὸ σωτήριον. Τοῦτο πάλιν αὐτὸς ὁ σωτὴρ βοᾷ· Ὥςπερ, φησίν, Ἰωνᾶς ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ τοῦ κήτους τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας, οὕτω δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ποιῆσαι ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς γῆς τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας. Ἀλλ' ἓν πρὸς τοῖς προειρημένοις τῶν ἄλλων εἴπωμεν ἰσχυρότερον. Τῷ λαῷ τῷ προτέρῳ τρία ἦν τάγματα, ἱερωσύνη, βασιλεία, 167 προφητεία· ἐκτὸς οὖν τούτων τῶν τριῶν ἀρχῶν οὐκ ἦν ἄλλην ἰδεῖν ἀρχὴν ἐν Ἰουδαίοις· βασιλείαν, ἱερωσύνην, προφητείαν. Κέρας ἦν ἐλαίου, ἁγιασμοῦ. Ἓν ἦν τὸ χρίσμα, τρία δὲ τὰ δῶρα· ἓν τὸ κέρας, τρία τὰ χαρίσματα· ἔχριον γὰρ ἱερεῖς, βασιλεῖς, προφήτας. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδή τινες ἀγνοοῦσι τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, ἵνα μὴ διὰ κενῆς ὁ λόγος τρέχων ἑαυτὸν μὲν ἀναλίσκῃ, τὸν δὲ ἀκροατὴν μηδὲν ὠφελῇ, ἄκουσον συντόμως. Κέρας ἦν ὑπὸ τῶν προφητῶν κατεχόμενον, ἐχρίοντο δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ κέρατος βασιλεῖς, προφῆται, ἱερεῖς, οὐ μεταβαλλομένου τοῦ χρίσματος, ἀλλὰ τῆς χάριτος διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ κέρατος παρεχομένης ἐχρίοντο βασιλεῖς, ἐχρίοντο ἱερεῖς, ἐχρίοντο προφῆται· ἓν τὸ χρίσμα, τρία δῶρα. ∆ιὰ τί δὲ ἐν κέρατι ἦν τὸ χρίσμα; Ἐπειδὴ εἰκόνα εἶχε Χριστοῦ. Ἆρα οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἐν ἀργυρέῳ εἶναι σκεύει; Οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἐν χρυσῷ; Οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἐν ἄλλῃ τινὶ τῶν τιμιωτέρων ὑλῶν εἶναι τοσοῦτον δῶρον; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐγένετο, ἀλλ' ἐν κέρατι· ἐπειδήπερ, ὡς ἔφθην εἰπών, εἰκόνα εἶχε Χριστοῦ. Καὶ γὰρ ἐξανατελῶ κέρας τῷ ∆αυίδ. Ὁ δὲ τῆς ἱερωσύνης καὶ τῆς βασιλείας καὶ τῆς προφητείας κύριος γένοιτο μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν. Ἀρχὴν γὰρ λαβόντος τοῦ κεφαλαίου τοῦ εἰς τὸ κέρας θλιβέντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατέπαυσεν.
About this text
When the Son hands the kingdom to the Father, is he lesser? Severian says no, from Scripture.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 65 (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.