Глава 2

Os.2:1. Shout to your brother: my people, and to your sister: she who has mercy. This must be added to what was said above. After saying that everyone would be under one authority, in the absence of any division and diversity of opinion, on the contrary, under the reign of unanimity and with the unification of all by faith in Christ, in spiritual unity, the Spirit finally had to give a command to those who had already been enriched by faith and submitted to Christ - not to move further away from the love of peace with those who are rightly called: “my people” and “she who has mercy.” As soon as Israel was once accepted (by God) and received baptism and submitted to Christ, was it characteristic of those called to brotherhood by the one spirit of sonhood to still have dissent, and not vice versa - to remain in unanimity? So, he says, you, enlightened by faith in Christ and having received the glory of true sonship (of God) to your brother, who was once rightly called: “not my people,” finally say: “my people,” and to your sister: “who has not had mercy,” say: “she has had mercy.” And indeed: the subject peoples need to be like-minded with the Master and called by grace to unity to have the same desire with the Father, - even more - to rejoice in the fact that the remnant of Israel is saved and that, due to their great disobedience, the ancient rejected have now become acceptable and, finally, sanctified in Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. Os.2:2. Judge your mother, judge: for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Having foretold that Israel will be legally rejected and, moreover, will be called “not men”, and that the crowd, killing the Lord, without a doubt and in all justice will “not have mercy” and then adding here that in the last times of the age there will be a conversion through faith in Christ, saying: “and the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, and will establish for themselves one authority” (Hos. 1:11) and depicting the entire economy from beginning to end, - finally, in the above words, he moves on to revealing the crimes of those who were rightly rejected and clearly indicates why they had to suffer this. That is why he says to those who have been pardoned, accepted by God and become the people of God, as if they were born of some harlot from the synagogue: “Judge your mother, judge.” If, he says, you want to know the reasons why you “were not my people” and “received no mercy” and were called before the time of conversion; you will find that I was not cruel towards you and did not neglect my love for you. “Sue your matter” because it did not preserve lawful love for Me, but rejected communication with Me, completely neglected the purity of spiritual communication with Me and did not want to give birth to the fruits of My desires. Finally, she became “not my wife” and “Because of this, I am not her husband.” “She did not give birth to you to Me, but to others; otherwise I would have recognized my own - a father is not slow to show mercy to his children, but he hesitates to be beneficent towards illegitimate children.” So fair, someone could say - as if on behalf of God. Let them judge and think carefully about how soon the synagogue retreated from God and decided to serve demons and, like a harlot, seemed to widen its legs for them; then from her could no longer be born those who love God purely and constantly, nor those who are distinguished by good morals. On the contrary, brought up in the morals of their parents, they recklessly rushed towards what was offensive to God - they either made sacrifices to Baal and the golden heifers, or recklessly fell into every kind of uncleanness. Therefore, with all justice, they will blame their mother, but not at all the One who loves virtue, but the truly All-Holy Master, Who does not deign to have a fornicator as his concubine. The image of fornication must certainly be understood in a spiritual sense, although it is spoken of in the physical sense. Hos.2:2–3. And I will put away her fornications from before me, and her fornication from the midst of her, so that I may strip her naked, and set her up as on her birthday. Those who do not turn out of self-will to God and do not have the disposition to do what is pleasing to Him, on the contrary, are stubbornly devoted to what is kind, I don’t know why, for them evil is assigned retribution and punishment. Which? Namely: what was better to strive for of their own free will, they finally turn to this very thing, as if out of necessity and out of fear. Like severe and intractable bodily wounds, if they are not inferior to the power of medicine and do not show any change for the better, or are cut out with iron when experienced doctors recommend this method of healing, or destroyed by cauterization; so the soul of a person, in whom a great inclination is discovered to move away from goodness, if it does not obey the words of conviction, is defeated by punishments and, caught in the nets of penalties, is of necessity converted. This is what Jeremiah says: “Jerusalem was punished with weakness and plagues” (Jer. 6:8). The divine David sings something similar about those who have a strong desire for sin: “with bridles and bridles you will bind their jaws, those who do not come near you” (Ps. 31:9). How animal tamers, with the help of a bit, subjugate to their will those dumb animals that turn out to be stubborn and unbridled; so God deals with people given over to sin for their benefit in the same way. Therefore, the prophets and the righteous exhorted the synagogue to abstain from serving idols and to abstain from error, I know not where it was invented. And not only these men, but God himself threatened to expose them to the most shameful disasters if they did not want to return to thoughts and deeds that were pleasing and dear to him. But they were stubborn, rude and adamant in their thoughts. For this reason, having become prisoners of war, they lived for a long time among the Assyrians and Medes, where, being and being burdened with the yoke of slavery, they no longer sacrificed to heifers (for how and where could those who were in the midst of inevitable disasters do this?) and did not even call on Baal himself, but only constantly mourned their disasters. The Lord of all speaks about this: “And I will put away her fornications from before me, and her fornication from among her.” She will go into captivity, he says, and I will no longer see her serving Baal and making burnt offerings to golden heifers and, out of her great arrogance, seeming to expose her breasts to her lovers. On the contrary, I will rejoice when she is stricken with sorrow, exposed to misfortunes, falls into grave disaster in a foreign land and is in the power of terrible and cruel rulers. I will bring all this upon her: depriving her of my help, and betraying her to shame, so that she will turn out to be the same as she was at the beginning, when she endured the yoke of Egyptian rule and was deprived of my mercy, love and legal wisdom. So the synagogue, having made a turn and, as it were, going back, found itself again in the state in which it was (before), and due to its folly, in the middle of the path, it lost honor and glory. The Savior Himself taught us this, saying: “When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it passes through a waterless place, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then he says: I will return to my house, from where I have expired: and when I come, I will find it empty, marked and adorned. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits that are fiercer than himself, and they who enter live; and the last of that man will be worse than the first: so shall it be also for this evil generation” (Matthew 12:43–45). The evil spirit dwelled in the Israelites, when they were still living in Egypt, as in idolaters. But then he was expelled, because they were called through Moses to the knowledge of God. When did they become murderers of the Lord and guilty of countless crimes; then for them the last became worse than the first, because not only one, but a whole horde of demons settled in them; a soul that has rejected the protection of heavenly grace will most likely and very easily be captured by Satan. Hos.2:3–5. And I will make it like a desert, and I will make it like a land without water, and I will kill it with thirst. And I will not have mercy on her children, for they are children of fornication. For their mother, who gave birth to them, was put to shame. He says that the one who has gone astray will be barren, dry and producing thorns, thirsty, without water, deprived of the waters of course not of the earth, but of the fatness from above, that is, the gifts of the Spirit, which He gives to every wise and good soul. So blessed David sings to God and says: “The sons of mankind have hope in the shelter of your wing. Your house will be drunk with fatness, and I will give you a stream of your sweetness to drink. For you have a fountain of life” (Ps. 35:8–10). Legitimate children who have led a virtuous life and put nothing above the love of God are rewarded with holy and abundant gifts; The harlot, he says, will become waterless and die of thirst. This, I think, also means what was said about her through the mouths of other prophets. So one said: “These days are coming, says the Lord: and I will send a famine on the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water: but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord, and from east to west 50 they will flow around, seeking the word of the Lord, and will not find it” (Amos 8:11-12). Again, Jeremiah speaks as if on behalf of God: “I have been punished with weakness and plagues in Jerusalem, let not my soul depart from you, lest I make you an impenetrable land uninhabited” (Jer. 6:8), for God, as I said, by His Spirit instills in each of us thoughts that can educate us into eternal life, or often makes us fat with the lips of the saints. Together with the prodigal mother, he says, children must also perish without mercy. For what reason? “Like the children of whoredom they are.” We do not say that the child is guilty of the sins of his mother, for we are reminded of what was said nowhere by the mouth of Ezekiel: fathers will not die for children and not children for fathers: everyone will die in his own sin (Ezek. 18:20) 51. On the contrary, you need to know that although the face of the adulterous mother is given as an image of the synagogue, nevertheless, those who came from her are the same. Saying: “as the children of fornication are,” he clearly showed that they were guilty of spiritual fornication and were wicked in this regard, as if from the very cradle and from the day of their birth, never thought about deeds of piety, completely neglected virtue and did not like to walk the path pleasing to God. So the Psalmist says: “The sinner has alienated herself from lies, gone astray from the womb, spoken lies” (Ps. 57:4), while everyone who is pious and educated in deeds of piety can loudly cry out to God: “I am committed to you from lies, from my mother’s womb, you are my God” (Ps. 21:11). How by sons of light and sons of day we can rightly understand those who, as it were, in light and day, lead a bright and beautiful life; so in the case when some are called children of fornication, understand those who are, as it were, given over to fornication and lead a very shameful life and whom He does not honor with mercy, “for their mother, who gave birth to them, had committed fornication.” She obviously disgraced herself and the children she gave birth to. For just as the righteous man is in glory for his virtue, so every wicked man is in shame and disgrace. Hos.2:5. I said: I will follow my hunters, who give me my bread, and my water, and my vestments, and my shrouds, and my oil, and all that is worthy of me. She calls her “lusters” unclean demons, with whom, one might say, fornication was committed. For to follow their desires and fulfill what pleases them, this, I think, means voluptuously indulging in sins, living shamefully and being filled with extreme evil and, as it were, giving rise to every kind of uncleanness. Therefore, as those who give birth to divine fear, exclaim to God: “For the sake of thy fear, O Lord, I received in the womb, and was sick, and gave birth to the spirit of thy salvation... on earth” (Is. 26:18); Likewise, those who submit to the lusts of demons, their souls are soon filled with all kinds of wickedness, they deviate from the divine laws and become stewards of all kinds of evil. So, the crafty and criminal apostates demons are the lusts of those who have sold themselves to wickedness. Whoever pleases them as gods will commit terrible wickedness: for he sacrifices to them what he has, often honors them with praise, brings them thanksgiving sacrifices, abandoning the one and true God. Who supplies us with what is necessary for life, clothes us with grace, as if with certain garments, overshadows our mind and heart with the highest help, makes us fat, as it were with oil, feeds us with spiritual bread for a glorious and endless life, and waters us with life-giving water for spiritual well-being. But whoever has fallen into wickedness, as no doubt happened with the prodigal synagogue, he, he says, must follow his lusts, offer them thanksgiving sacrifices and think that he receives food and clothing from them. This, I think, is what the words mean: “I said: I will go after my lusts, who give me my bread, and my water, and my vestments, and my shrouds, and my oil, and all that is worthy of me.” The wise and kind and known and close to God alone have learned alms and the communication of heavenly and earthly blessings. They will say very wisely: “Is there food in the sculptured pagans that rain? or can heaven give its moisture? Are you not, Lord our God? and we will wait for you, Lord, for you have created all this” (Jer. 14:22), and they will exclaim with the divine David himself: “thou hast visited the earth, and thou hast made it drunk, and thou hast multiplied and made it rich” (Ps. 64:10). Hos.2:6–7. For this reason I will block her path with thorns, and I will bridle her paths and paths, and she will not find it: and her lustful wife will marry her, and will not find her, and will seek her, and will not find her. Because she, he says, intended evil against herself and left nothing undone, which by its very nature is capable of harming her (for she said that it is necessary to follow the trail of her lusts, that is, to coordinate the direction of her mind with the godless thoughts of the seducers, as if this is the only thing that needs to be done) and because she, in addition, for what was given to her from Me, made thanksgiving sacrifices to the demons, who did nothing useful for her; then I will make her plan futile and will strongly oppose it; for “I will block her path with thorns and will reward” her path, so that she cannot follow in the footsteps of her lovers and find help from her seducers, even if she decides to even pursue them, that is, to zealously care about their honor and service to them. “Thorns” refers to all the misfortunes that happened to Israel, meaning wars, captivities, famines, dangers, and slavery. As soon as they fell under the rule of the Medes and Persians, they no longer turned in idleness to Baal and the golden heifers; but it was necessary that, having been deprived of their highest and dearest freedom, seeking what they had in their homeland and not finding it, and oppressed by the dominion of their overlords, they could no longer do what they were accustomed to; on the contrary, they cried and reveled in unbearable suffering, already condemning their seducers, since not one of their vain hopes was realized. And in fact, they could not receive any benefit for themselves, neither from Baal (for what could a silent tree do?), nor from heifers (because they were “gold, the work of human hands,” according to what is written (Ps. 113:12). And so the paths are blocked when God not only does not equalize the path to evil for those given over to sin, but also makes it difficult for their benefit and does not allow them to conveniently strive for what they unreasonably like, so that, contrary to their will, they encounter obstacles and fall for the better, making sure from their own experience that sin does not go unpunished for anyone. Hos.2:7. And he says: I will go and return to my first husband, for I was kinder then than now. And here the prophetic word continues to speak according to the allegory it accepted; for from beginning to end it is about a harlot wife. Therefore, he says that she will repent and “says: I will go and return to my first husband, for I was kinder then than now.” But pay attention to how the God of all, in His wrath, educates people and cares in every possible way for their benefit and, by sending misfortunes, turns the lost to the path of truth and disposes them to the better. When she, he says, sees her paths blocked by thorns, then she will change her thoughts and, although it is too late and after bitter experience, she will understand what she should have done before misfortunes befell her. Then she will love the commandments of God, and she who, among her crimes, neglected prudence, will finally return to the desire for what was in the beginning, and will be amazed at the works of God, and, as if having sobered up from intoxication, will hardly see what is distinguished by incomparable advantages. And thus to be punished (from God), although unpleasant in itself, is not useless. Knowing this, the prophets say: “Discipline us, Lord” (Jer. 10:24) and the divine Paul writes: “If you endure punishment, as God is found to you as a son: who is a son, who is not punished by his father?” (Heb.12:7). Then he shows the sweetness and benefit of punishment, saying this: “Every punishment at the present time does not seem to be joy, but sorrow: after all, the fruit of peace rewards those who are taught with righteousness” (Heb. 12:11). Hos.2:8. But she did not understand, for I had given her wheat and wine and oil, and multiplied her silver: and these silver and gold shalt thou create for Baal. That she no longer wants, she says, to follow in the footsteps of her lovers, let no one doubt that; for he will do this and, moreover, very easily, blocking her path and blocking her paths and in no way giving her success. since she not only thought that God Baal existed, but also brought him thanksgiving sacrifices for the blessings that I had given her, then for this I will deal with her in justice, so that she will know who is the Giver and the One who has power over everything. I gave everything necessary for life: “I will multiply it with wheat and wine and oil and silver.” But instead of thanking Me for my benefits, she gave glory to Baal, which serves as clear proof of both her extreme insensitivity and ingratitude. And this is a sufficient basis for the just wrath of God, although we recognize in God the source and beginning of all mercy. So, it is very criminal and worthy of punishment to try to attribute the greatness of God’s gifts to those who humiliate His glory, that is, to unclean demons. And this is what some in the world do, such as the Hellenes and heretics. The former give the power of eloquence to the glory of demons, while God gives man both wisdom and the gift of speech. And the God-hating and wicked hordes of heretics, by inventing evil thoughts, entice some and pervert the minds of ordinary people and “set snares to destroy men,” as it is written (Jer. 5:26). So both of them honored Baal. For his glory, they bring from spiritual wealth, as the best gift, what belongs to God. This, I think, is precisely what the following words mean, understood in a spiritual sense: “I gave her wheat, and wine, and oil, and I multiplied her with silver: and these silver and gold shalt thou make for Baal.” Therefore, one must dedicate to God what belongs to Him; for the Giver and Author of every good should be gilded (glorified) with what we have from Him, whether it be an excellent gift of speech, or a mind capable of understanding the true mysteries. Hos.2:9–10. For this cause I will turn, and will take away my wheat in its season, and my wine in its season, and will take away my garments, and my shrouds, that the cold may not cover it: and now will I reveal her uncleanness before her lusters, and no one shall take her out of my hand. You see how He threatened her with deprivation of what could give pleasure, and this had good consequences. The blocking of her path with thorns led her to the fact that she began to strive for the best, and as if involuntarily said: “I will return to my first husband, as I was kinder then than now”; for she learned by experience what is useful and what is best for her to remain in. So if I, he says, take away from her what belongs to Me, then she will certainly seek the Giver and will stop giving thanks to the demons and thinking that they are true gods, so that they can save those who submit to them. “And during it,” he says, “I will take wheat and wine and shrouds,” because one day they will not have fruits and there will be a shortage of ripe (fruits), so that agricultural labors will be in vain. If anyone wants to understand that at one time the Jews will be deprived of wheat and wine, having lost the mysterious blessing, he will understand well. Shrouds are the names of the clothing and the highest help, under which anyone will be handsome; and if he finds himself outside of it, he will no longer be beautiful, but very ugly, and among people he will be as if naked. So, by taking away her shrouds, you can mean that she will no longer “cover her cold.” She promises to reveal her uncleanness to her lusts - in the way that we recently talked about, because having been stung by thorns, that is, the disasters of war and the most terrible misfortunes, she will neglect even the most imaginary gods, not making sacrifices to them at her leisure and not being able to do the usual things for their glory. On the contrary, having mocked them as unable to bring any benefit and despising them as completely powerless, she will say: “I will return to my first husband, as I was kinder then than now.” Therefore, when I, he says, deprive her of My help, she will fall into terrible troubles and reject the veneration of demons and love for them; then, having neglected them with a contrite heart and remorse of conscience, in turn, she herself will turn out to be ugly for them, for what is pleasant and amiable for them should, on the contrary, turn out to be disastrous for her, so that even if she were not in the most extreme distress, then even then she should give up any thought of pleasing them. So, as far as their desire is concerned, Israel, who decided not to love them at all, turns out to be ugly even to them, whom he considered gods. Something similar, it seems to me, is said by blessed Elijah: “As long as you keep churches on both your hills, if the Lord God is, follow him; if Baal is, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). He also says in another place: either to Baal Baal, or to God God. And that no one will free those who once fell under the wrath of the divine and no one will restore the one who was overthrown by God, this was shown by saying: “and no one will take her out of my hand.” Os.2:11. And I will avert all her joys, and her festivals, and her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her festivals. How could those who were subjected to disasters so cruel and terrible that they even fell under the rule of the barbarians and, in the position of prisoners of war, were slaves of their enemies, could celebrate? Or what opportunity could there have for joy for those who were burdened with such heavy sorrows and were stricken with unbearable sorrows? On the contrary, is it not better to think that it was more fitting for those who were subjected to such a calamity to cry out beautifully proclaimed by the lyre of the Psalmist: “on the rivers of Babylon there was a sad man and a mourner, never to remember Zion for us” (Ps. 137:1). Having no readiness to celebrate the holidays, they nevertheless say: “How can we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land?” (Ps. 137:4) because, I think, the Babylonians did not allow them to perform the divine service established by the law and to do what was pleasant and usual for them in their homeland. But maybe someone will ask: if Israel was inclined to serve idols, then how did it not forget about the most established holidays, Saturdays and new moons? To this we answer that although they had lost the love of God and worshiped Baal and the golden heifers; however, they did not completely reject the institutions of Moses. On the contrary, they continued to limp “on both sides,” according to the word of the Prophet (1 Kings 18:21), so that they did not dare to serve either Baal or the God of all kinds completely and purely. So they were deprived of holidays, solemn assemblies, and joys and Sabbaths, not being able to perform the things prescribed by the law to God and not performing the usual celebrations in honor of Baal. This may be quite true under another explanation. Those who move away from God and neglect love for Him must be subjected to sadness and deprived of everything that brings joy; for “the wicked shall not rejoice, saith the Lord” (Is. 48:22); they are destined for a worm forever. And for those who are virtuous and strive for a pious and holy goal, in all fairness it is fitting, in addition to other benefits, to “rejoice”; for “eternal joy is upon their heads” (Is. 35:10) according to what is written: “sickness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Is. 35:10): to them the divine Paul writes in his epistle: “Rejoice always in the Lord: and again I say: Rejoice.” Let your meekness be reasonable throughout every man” (Phil.4:4-5). So, if punishment befalls criminal people, then those who strive to lead a pure life will be enriched with the highest blessings. Os.2:12. And I will destroy her grapes and her figs, of which I say: these are the bribes which my lusty women gave me: and I will make it a testimony, and the beasts of the village, and the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the earth, will eat them. Here, in other words, the same thing is expressed as in the saying: “I will take my wheat in its season, and my wine in its season” (Hos. 2:9). for Israel, attributing to the power and bounty of the demons the fertility of the seasons, in their extreme folly, gave thanks to them, and not to God; That’s what he says: I will destroy and destroy what she is involved in in a destructive error, claiming that she received it as a reward from her lovers. The speech is skillfully constructed as if about a depraved woman; because, in fact, Israel imagined that they received an abundance of ripe fruits and the fertility of the land as a reward and reward for the veneration of idols and for serving them. And that they really thought that they enjoyed all good things for this reason alone, this will very easily be seen by anyone who reads the words of Jeremiah. When Jerusalem was taken, then some, avoiding the horrors of war, went to Egypt and with them the Prophet, by divine command. There he urged them to leave the filth of idolatry and turn to God again. But then the despised women and the mad crowd began to resist the words of the prophet and shamelessly said: “The word that you spoke to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you, for we will create every word that comes out of our mouth, burn incense to the queen of heaven, and pour out drink offerings to her, just as we, and our fathers, and our kings, and our princes have done in our cities.” of Judah, and outside of Jerusalem: and we were filled with bread, and it was good for us, and we saw no evil. And when we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings, we all ran short of bread, and died with the sword and with famine” (Jer. 44:16-18). So you understand from here how they imagined that they had everything necessary for life and, moreover, necessary for prosperity, as a reward for their error. Therefore he says: “I will destroy, of whom it is said: these are the bribes which my lustresses gave me: and I will make it a testimony”; for the taking away of all this will testify to the corruption of Israel, will make their punishment obvious to everyone and will open the (divine) wrath to everyone. “I will devour the beasts of the village, and the birds of the air, and the creatures of the earth”: this expression can be understood not in one, but in a threefold sense. Here it is said either that everything in the fields will become food for animals, since there will no longer be inhabitants of the earth, most of whom, having been expelled from homes and cities, will involuntarily retire to Babylon and the Medes; many others will be destroyed by war, so that the land of the Samaritans will become the habitat of only beasts and reptiles. Or does it mean that the Babylonians, like some beasts, will devour the fertility of the country, when the inhabitants of the earth are confined within the walls of the cities and will not dare to go beyond the gates for a short time, although hunger will destroy them. But if anyone wants to understand this spiritually, he can also follow a different path, that is, education through the law, leading to Christ, can be very well compared to the grapevine and fig tree; for according to the word of blessed Paul, the law teaches this (Gal. 3:24). The vine can be a symbol of joy, and the fig tree a symbol of sweetness. And that to a God-loving soul the law of God is truly sweet and can bring joy; who can doubt this? So Israel had to be deprived of higher and spiritual blessings. They were given as prey to wild beasts and reptiles, I say, to those peoples who, before the coming of the Savior, due to the coarseness of their morals, were not much different from wild beasts and poisonous reptiles. However, those of them who decided to follow the words of Christ did not remain in this position: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). To what has been said, I would add the following: those who lead a cursed and God-hating life should be deprived of all good and be in the most extreme misfortunes. Os.2:13. And I will avenge on her the days of Baalim, who laid down their needs, and laid down their maidens, and their monists, and walked in the wake of their lusts, and forgot me, says the Lord. Again he adds an indication of the reason for such severe, but well-deserved indignation against them. because they were in error for a long time; then for the same long time, he says, they will be under divine wrath. This, I think, is what the words mean: “I will avenge the days of Baalim on her,” that is, idols. The days of error, he says, in which she made sacrifices to Baal, will be completely equal to the time of punishment and retribution; for she did not cease to decorate herself and please her lovers in various ways. The decoration of souls devoted to idolatry is the fulfillment of what the unclean demons like. For how attractive we call the soul of a person, in which the presence of the beauty of virtues is noticeable; So it must be assumed that the soul that is devoted to sins and loves to think and do what is pleasant and kind to them seems beautiful to the hordes of demons. Such a soul can be likened to a woman who is bad in life, who vainly puts on gold things and jewelry in her ears and neck, as if charming the hearts of her lovers, and thus pleases the evil ones with every kind of uncleanness. And that those who strive for this usually and inevitably lose the very memory of God, this was shown by saying: “But they forgot me,” says the Lord. After, he says, she fell ill with attachment to demons and a complete loss of desire and disposition for good, she lost the very memory of God. And this serves as clear proof of complete wickedness. Os.2:14. For this reason I will make you sad and make it like a desert. After she, he says, fell into various crimes, I, with all justice, laid down punishments for her apostasy (I avenged the days of Baalim on her and subjected her to wrath corresponding to her sins), - after this, I will finally turn to mercy, change her for the better, namely, to the fact that she will become capable of fulfilling that through which she can become dear to God. What, he says, will be the method of healing? “I will indulge you” - not from what is necessary and useful for life to what is not, but from what is shameful and unfair to what is beneficial. For just as the soul is tempted from virtue to vice, so, I think, it can be represented as if it were seduced if it moves away from corrupt morals, turns away from its own goal and no longer walks along its favorite path. And just as before her paths were usefully blocked by thorns so that she would not possess her lovers, so now, as if rushing headlong towards death and destruction, she is apparently seduced by the mercy of God, being directed towards virtue and perceiving in her mind and heart the light of true knowledge of God and no longer following, as I said, the former path. You need to know that the words: “I will tempt you” (πλανῶ αὐτὴν) are read differently by others, although in the end the same meaning is obtained. Some read: here I will lead her away (ἁποφέρω ἀυτήν), others: I will seduce her (ἀπατῶ ἀυτήν), in different expressions, as I said, pointing to the same thought. He promises to turn the passable and seemingly abounding land into a desert for hordes of demons, teaching that He will make it dry, waterless and impassable for their desires, so that finally not finding any peace for themselves in it, they will turn away and move away from it. So our Lord Jesus Christ says that “the unclean spirit comes out of a person and walks through dry places, looking for rest, and does not find it” (Matthew 12:43). For, as a waterless country, it is uninhabitable for people; so also under the earth, unpleasant and hateful for unclean demons, as if impassable and waterless, one can rightly understand a soul that loves God and is holy and does not allow anything pleasant for them either in thoughts or in deeds. Thus, in accordance with the words we have just said, the seduction mentioned here and the transformation into a desert land can be understood as a way of help and protection. Hos.2:14–15. And I will speak in her heart and give her attractions from there. Here the prophecy clearly promises salvation through Christ and points to the times of His coming, when, we affirm, the words will be fulfilled: “in those days” and in that time “I will give my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33). Likewise, the wise Paul writes to those who have truly been enriched by such glorious and acceptable grace, saying: “You have our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; for we who have believed have been taught by God. Therefore, the divine John proclaimed, saying: “And you have the anointing of the Holy One... and do not demand, but who teaches you, but because His Spirit teaches you in all things” (1 John 2:20, 27). And having in our hearts the living Christ himself, a teacher in everything necessary, we possess an example of every virtue and a generous and inalienable acquisition of spiritual gifts. Paul also assures us of this, saying: “Whose eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has the heart of man conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Therefore, He promises that He will “speak in her heart”; because the Synagogue of Judea, having received into its soul the divine laws inscribed by the Spirit, will be called to knowledge, just like the church of the pagans. There will be acquisitions from there instead: from here (from now on) or from this event. For from the time that God spoke to us and through the Spirit instilled in us everything necessary for life and the knowledge of God, which is understood in Christ, through whom and in whom we contemplate the Father, we received, as I said, unfading hope, glory, the praise of sonship, grace and co-kingship with Christ Himself. Such are the acquisitions of the saints, such are the heavenly riches; for they have no thought for anything earthly and have hated the world and what is in it. Os.2:15. And the clearing of Achor, reveal its meaning. This saying depends on the preceding verb: “I will give,” he says, “her attraction from there”; in the same way, “I will give a clearing to Achor, open its meaning.” And He himself wants to point out the following. We who believe, trying to find in what happened to the ancients some indication of what we should do, turn away from the anger of God as a harmful action, on the contrary, we strive and are imbued with concern to do what is pleasing to Him. And the Apostle Paul encourages us to do this, saying: “This whole image was received in silence: and it was written for our instruction, in them the ends of the age were reached” (1 Cor. 10:11). So, the way to be instructed in virtue is for us to consider it necessary to delve into what happened to the ancients. And that those who are disobedient, unbridled and who neglect the divine commandments will undergo, according to the judgment of Christ, terrible and inevitable punishment, this, as it were, shows in an image, and moreover, very clearly, what once happened to Achor. As someone who neglected the divine commandment and stole from something subject to a curse, he was punished with his entire household after Joshua, who served as the image of Christ, sentenced him to death. After Moses, Joshua was the leader; he led the children of Israel across the Jordan and divided the land of promise between them. And the following is written about Achor. When he was exposed as a kidnapper and confessed his sin, then “Jesus, it is said, took Ahar the son of Zaran,... and brought him into the wilds of Achor, and his sons, and his daughters, and his bullocks, and his donkeys, and all his sheep, and his tabernacle, and all his possessions, and all Israel according to him: and I brought Achor with all into Emek (wild). And Jesus said to Achar: Why have you consumed us? May the Lord consume you as he did today, and stone all Israel... And heap a great heap of stones on him” (Joshua 7:24–26). Achor means “confusion” 52. And in the compound “emek ahor” means: “valley of confusion” 53. There the children of Israel killed Achar, as a man hated by God and partial to wealth and with it everything that belonged to him; for it is written that “the wicked will perish from the ground” (Job 4 cf. Proverbs 2:22). So it will be in the last times of the age, when Christ comes down to us from heaven to reward “everyone according to his deeds” (Matthew 16:27). Those who did not want to obey the divine commandments and loved the world more, casting them into hell, as if into a deep abyss, “he will destroy the wicked with evil” (Matthew 21:41). So, he says, I will give “the clearing of Achor or “Emek Achor” to open its meaning: that is, what once happened in the valley of Emek Achor will serve her to great advantage, will sober her up and finally open her mental gaze from the primordial blindness. He called the place the valley of confusion, because there many of the Israelites fell at a time when the inhabitants of Ai were pursuing them and there was great confusion, and Jesus thought that Israel had lost divine care and help. So, what happened, he says, in the valley of confusion over those who dared to violate the divine commandment, “will open its meaning” to a clear understanding of what end will befall the undertakings of people who decide to neglect (the divine will). Pay attention to the fact that the valley of Achor was given to “open its meaning” not before He “spoke in its heart”; for the Jewish people cannot understand the divine commandments, even in images they are not able to discern the sacrament of Christ, unless, like us who have already believed, they receive the communion of the Holy Spirit and find themselves enlightened from above. Blessed Paul will also assure us of this, speaking about the descendants of Israel: “even to this day the veil does not remain openly in the reading of the Old Testament, but ceases to be present in Christ. But even to this day, whenever Moses is revered, a veil lies over their hearts. Whenever they turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. But the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:14-17). Therefore, he proclaims that he will first speak into her heart, inscribing divine laws on it and imparting higher education through the Holy Spirit; and after that she will already understand what happened both figuratively and historically in the valley of Emek Achor and is fully capable of “opening its meaning” and freeing it from long-standing blindness, “as blindness came from part of Israel,” as the wise Paul writes (Rom. 11:25). Os.2:15. And he will humble himself there according to the day of his childhood, and according to the day of his exile from the land of Egypt. When, he says, “I will speak into her mind and heart and let Achor’s clearing reveal its meaning, there, that is, then, she will humble herself,” she will not humiliate herself and will not come to anything capable of causing grief, but, rather, will finally abandon her rebellious and obstinate disposition devoted to pride. After all, the disobedient is proud and, as it were, stubborn and unbridled, and is not at all inclined to honor and fulfill the law. On the contrary, he who is disposed to obey is very humble and, as it were, compliant and very kind to God, and therefore He somewhere through one of the holy prophets said: “Whom will I look to? only against the meek and silent and trembling of my words” (Is. 66:2). So when “I speak,” he says, “in her heart”; Then she too will “humble herself,” as in the beginning, when Moses called her and the merciful God commanded her to leave the land of Egypt, and she with the greatest readiness hurried to do this and fled from the land of her oppressors. When He gave laws on Mount Horeb, those who had gathered with Moses at Mount Sinai 54 promised, saying: “We will do all that the Lord says, and we will listen” (Ex. 24:7). So she will be humble and submissive, as in the beginning, when she, having received rebirth through the law to the knowledge of God, willingly did what was pleasing to God. So he calls rebirth through the law of knowledge of God the days of childhood. Therefore, he said: “My son is the firstborn Israel” (Ex. 4:22). Hos.2:16–17. And it shall come to pass in that day, that my husband shall call me, saith the Lord, and no one shall call me Baalim: and I will put away the names of Baalim from her mouth, and their names shall not be remembered. In these words he calls the time of the coming of our Savior day; for day in its proper and true sense should be called that time of the incarnation of the Only Begotten, when darkness is destroyed in the world, darkness has disappeared, as if bright rays penetrate the minds of those who believe and the Sun of Truth has shone, sending the light of true knowledge of God to those who are able to open the mental eye. At this time, he says, called to the knowledge of the true God, she will leave her ancient and hated frivolity and will no longer be in any way willing to retreat; on the contrary, he will have a correctly and sensibly thinking mind that is unshakable in piety, so that the names of idols will completely fall out of use in speech. “He will call me,” he says, “my husband, and will not call me Baalim,” that is, he will cease to be lustful and reject fornication. She will highly value being a legal wife and will agree to communication, obviously spiritual. He will never name the Baals, considering as gods that which is made of stones and formed by the art of some in human form. Therefore, he says, “my husband will name me.” Like some chaste and most noble wife will turn to me, she will not love anyone else and will no longer pronounce the name Baalim. But if anyone wants, then what has been said can be understood in another sense. Baalim undoubtedly means idols, and it was the custom of Jewish women to call their husbands after false gods. This was an unholy way of showing respect to them. The original culprit of this, they say, was Ninus the Babylonian, who named his father Vilom, on behalf of the idol that existed among them, I say, Vila. So, that she would give up such a shameful habit, he showed in the words: “My husband will call me, and no one will call me Baalim.” For if she wants, she says, to call me husband, she will constantly add: my husband, and out of respect he will not call me by the names of idols. That is why he says that “I will put away the names of Baalim from her mouth, and their names will not be remembered.” Os.2:18. And I will make a covenant with them in that day with the beasts of the land, and with the birds of the air, and with the creatures that creep on the earth, and the bow, and the sword, and I will break the war from the earth. In the words previously read, He said: “I will destroy her grapes and her figs, as they say: these are the bribes that my harlots gave me,” and to them he added: “And I will eat the beasts of the village, and the birds of the air, and the vermin of the earth.” Explaining this saying, we said that the words: “beasts and birds” indirectly indicate the enemies who devastated the country of Judea, the Persians, Medes and Babylonians and many other enemies of all kinds, who were not much different from wild animals due to the bloodthirstiness of their disposition, and were similar to birds in the speed of attack; They are called reptiles because they are cruel and very depraved and sharp in evil. When Israel was imprisoned in the cities of Samaria, they destroyed everything that was in the fields, not failing to do everything terrible. But when, he says, I will destroy from the earth the names of the very idols; then I will arrange for them an alliance of peace with all savage and barbaric nations. Then the disasters caused by enemies and war will cease, and they will live without knowing any fears. “I will crush the weapon and the sword,” and we will find that this has actually come true. For when the most glorious Roman commanders achieved dominion over everyone and subjugated the heavenly world (since God providentially gave them this glory), then the Persians limited themselves to caring only about their own state, and the attacks of other barbarian peoples on countries and cities also ceased. Blessed Isaiah clearly mentions this, saying: “They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, and they will not take up the tongue of a sword, nor will they learn to fight” (Is. 2:4). Already under one yoke, they turned to useful occupations and replaced military armor with agricultural tools. So it will be, he says, that peace and the former terrible fears will cease, because God will establish silence and will delight those who love Him with the blessings of peace. To this, I think, it will be necessary to add the following. In ancient times, when we were in error and were called children of wrath, crafty and resistant forces, like some evil beasts, or carnivorous birds and very dangerous dragons, destroyed us. When in Christ we came to know the true God and through faith and original love were cleansed from crimes; then we received salvation and “the power to tread on the serpent and the scorpion and all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). Then we stepped on the asp and the basilisk, trampled the lion and the serpent, because Christ protects and protects his own with invincible power and sends his peace into our souls: “peace,” he says, “I give to you, my peace I leave with you” (John 14:27). Hos.2:18–19. And I will fill you with hope, and I will betroth you to myself forever. Not only, he says, will I free you from the horrors of war, but I will add to this the fact that you will finally enjoy the hope of good things and have strong, firm and unshakable joy; for “I will betroth you to myself, and forever.” What does this mean? Although He in some way betrothed ancient Israel or the Jewish Synagogue to Himself and called it to communion with Him, that is, through the law, through the ministry of Moses and with the assistance of angels; but this method of betrothal was not permanent, and not forever, far from forever, for the images were not supposed to have force forever and “were established only until the time of correction” (Heb. 9:10). After the time of correction, that is, after the coming of our Savior, another method of betrothal appeared, permanent and inviolable, incomparably more glorious than the first and more excellent than the canopy. The God of all, as if a kind of dowry, granted the bride the removal of carnal slavery and, through the canopy and images, called for spiritual cleansing. However, he determined the time for the betrothal; for the first (covenant), according to Paul, was not “blameless” and not growing old, and was not far from being destroyed (Heb. 8:7); therefore, “a place was sought for a second” (Heb. 8:7), that is, a new one, which, through the gift, I say, and the grace of Christ, gives us not temporary and not carnal freedom, but inscribes us among the children of God and imparts the guarantee of the Spirit and determines permanent laws. Therefore, the divine David said this to Him: “Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and your word is truth” (Ps. 119:142), clearly, I think, indicating that the decrees of the law do not endure forever, because the shadow had to be transformed into truth, and that no one can see the beauty of the truth in the writings of the law. For the law, as I said, was a shadow and an image. So, having canceled the ancient and first marriage, she now commits her betrothal to herself; for the law is not sufficient to completely and purely unite with God. We come to Him through the Son and His teaching, that is, the Gospel, which produces spiritual unity or combination. In the Spirit we are united to God and receive an abundance of His divine nature. Probably with the expression: “I will betroth you to myself” He subtly hints at something else. You can understand it this way. Or “to himself” he says instead: “through himself”, not as in ancient times through the mediation of Angels, and not with the participation of some servant, like Moses; for he is not an intercessor, nor an angel, but as it is written. The Lord Himself, from God the Father the Word, having become a man like us, presented to Himself the church, and two nations creating “in one new man, creating peace and reconciling both... in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph. 2:15-16, 18), according to the words of blessed Paul. Or, if you want, you can understand what has been said in another way. He betrothed, as I said, once in Egypt the synagogue of Judah, but as if more to another, and not to Himself, I say, to the divine Moses, to whom he said: “Go quickly, come down from here: for your people are wicked, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt” (Ex. 32:7). Do you not hear that He did not yet consider the betrothed Moses or the people worthy of communion with Him? For, as I said, the law, or Moses, was not able to unite with God purely or completely. This most excellent of all, and truly a work peculiar only to God, is preserved by the Mediator between God and people, that is, by Christ, through Whom and in Whom we are united with God. “For this is our peace,” according to Scripture (Eph. 2:14), and destroyed sin, which served as a barrier, and united us, pure and washed by the Spirit, with Himself and through Himself with God and the Father. Hos.2:19–20. And I will betroth thee to myself in righteousness, and in judgment, and in mercy, and in bounty: and I will betroth thee to myself in faith, and hang the Lord. It clearly shows what the union will be and by what means the mystery of the economy (salvation) will be realized: it will be, he says, “in righteousness, and in judgment, and in mercy, and in bounties.” So, what is truth, what is judgment and mercy, this, as it turns out, needs to be said now. We, the unfortunate ones, were in oppression when Satan, like a wild beast, plundered us, led us astray and, at his will, plunged us, completely powerless to help ourselves, into the abyss of sin; for he is a terrible and truly cruel and murderous beast. When the human race was brought to such a disastrous state, then the blessed prophets began to make frequent prayers to the One who is able to provide help and, as if on behalf of all mankind, cry out for the Helper and Protector - the Son - to come down from heaven. Therefore, the divine David said: “Rise up, O God, judge the earth” (Ps. 81:8) and again: “O God, in thy name save me, and in thy strength judge me” (Ps. 53:3). Thus, God judged in righteousness and saved those who suffered unrighteousness, and cast out the filthy murderer and criminal Satan and deprived him of his dominion over them and destroyed the arrogant power of the demons. He himself explained this secret to us when he intended to endure the cross for the lives of all and said: “Now is judgment for this world: now the prince of this world will be cast out. And even if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me” (John 12:31-32). We certainly do not claim that He said that judgment on this world would be carried out by Him during His coming to earth; because He himself says in another place: “God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved by him” (John 3:17). He calls a judgment a correct and impeccable sentence; for He, as I said, carried out the right judgment both on us and on that one: He saved us, drawing us to Himself, and drove out the one who oppressed us with his cruelty and destroyed us in various ways. Thus we are saved by the mercy and bounties of God; for we are justified “not by the works of righteousness which we have done, but by his own mercy,” according to what is written (Titus 3:5). We are called to spiritual fellowship through faith; and being thus called, we came to know the true God. That is why he says: “I will betroth you to myself in faith, and hang the Lord.” Therefore, faith preceded and thus we were enriched by the knowledge of Christ. This very thing, I think, was said to some: “If you do not believe, you will not understand” (Is. 7:9). And that a clear understanding of the sacrament of Christ brings participation in eternal life to those who are worthy of it, this is confirmed by the Son himself, who says to the heavenly Father and God: “This is the eternal life, that they may know the one true God, and whom you sent Jesus” (John 17:3). Hos.2:21–22. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will listen to heaven, and it will listen to the earth: and the earth will listen to the wheat, and the wine, and the oil, and these will listen to Israel. Day here again refers to the time corresponding to the calling 56. For this is usually the inspired Scripture. So, it secretly shows that one day Israel itself will have in abundance all the blessings and highest gifts from God and will be glorified by faith in Christ. By His wave, he says, there will be an abundance of rain: this is precisely the meaning, I think, of the words: “I will listen to heaven.” But even on earth below He will give us the most useful and necessary fruits. Truly, without God and the highest will, neither the sky ever sends rain to the earth, nor the earth gives birth to its fruit in a timely manner. Knowing this, the prophet Jeremiah prayed, saying: “Is there food in the sculptured pagans that will rain? Or can heaven give its moisture? Are you not, Lord our God? And let us wait for you, Lord, for you created all these things” (Jer. 14:22). When the Creator, as I said, deigns and stretches out His hand to those living on earth, then heaven will become the giver of rain and the earth of matter, and at the same time the nurse of necessary fruits. So, “I will listen to heaven” says instead: I will command that rains fall on those living on earth. And when this is done, and she “will yield wheat, and wine, and oil,” that is, she will give abundant fruit to those living on her, so that there will be no shortage of anything necessary and necessary for life. This is the historical meaning of these words. But from sensory objects, as from the most visual image, it is necessary to move on to spiritual ones. As long as Israel, “the vineyard of the Lord, the beloved new garden,” was unbridled, and disobedient and hostile to God, God commanded “a cloud, ... no rain could fall on it” (Is. 5:6-7). By clouds we must understand holy and intelligent, higher and heavenly powers, through which a word of encouragement can be communicated to us, clearly from God; for they are “ministering souls,” according to the word of blessed Paul, who are above and below, “we are sent to serve for those who want to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). After the time of punishment had passed, the former murderer of the Lord was saved through faith and finally accepted in “righteousness, and in judgment, and in mercy, and in generosity” and God, who gives everyone “richly” (1 Tim. 6 cf. James 1: 5), sent down to him the highest blessings; for he commanded the clouds to bring down rain, that is, consolation to the mind and heart. However, the angelic nature itself has nothing of its own, but receives everything in abundance from God, I taught this, saying: “he will listen to heaven,” that is, I will make heaven, or those in heaven, obviously intelligent and holy powers, dispensers of my gifts, so that they themselves can encourage those who have mercy. Then the earth “will listen to wheat, and wine, and oil,” instead: those living on the earth will bear fruit with the hope of life, joy and gladness. Wheat is a way of life, wine is joy, and oil is joy and prosperity; For those who believe have a good, constant and strong hope. Such a one moves away from evil and strives for every good and bows his neck under the yoke of the Savior, fueled by a good, undoubted and completely true hope for the future life, in order to rejoice with other saints and have joy in the heart. Thus, the Prophet Isaiah nowhere said about the saints: “eternal joy is upon their heads: ... praise and gladness, and joy will I receive; sickness and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Is. 35:10). So, the earth, that is, the people inhabiting the earth, will listen with hope for life, joy and joy, with the highest consolations, or with spiritual rains. And that the fruit of the life of the saints will be for the glory of Christ, for “one died for all,... and those who live live not for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:14-15), indicating this by saying: “and these will listen to Israel”; for we, as I said, who owe our lives to Him, will bear fruit to Him. It has already been said more than once that Israel means the seed of God, and this is the Son, from God the Father by nature and ineffably begotten, although this is denoted by a word related to carnal birth. Os.2:23. And with all this I will give myself to the earth and have no mercy: and the river is not for my people, you are my people. And they say: Lord our God art thou. The word “yourself” is again understood in a double sense. I will make it, he says, as if flourishing and fruitful (it is clear that the synagogue of the Jews), not one that only unwillingly fulfills My law, and not one that is stubbornly attached to images, but one that is imbued with complete readiness to do what is pleasing and dear to God, and what serves for its own well-being. So “with all herself,” and she will receive My seed, by which we must mean the teaching of the Gospel, and not the law given through Moses, as in the beginning, for in ancient times she was cultivated (prepared) by images. But the word “yourself” can be understood in another way. I myself, he says, will take care of it and, as it were, I will sow rich and well-cultivated land not through anyone else, but through Myself; for God the Father spoke to us in the Son, while He spoke to the ancients through the Holy Prophets “in many parts and in many ways” (Heb. 1:1). And the Savior Himself likens the countless multitudes of believers to sown fields. Therefore, He said to the holy apostles: “Do you not say that there are still four months, and the harvest will come? Behold, I say to you: lift up your eyes, and see the fields, as if they are already ready for harvest. And he accepts bribes. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may bring forth the laborers into his harvest” (John 4:35–36; Matt. 9:37–38). So, when our Savior sent down spiritual rain to us, we became “the desired land,” according to the word of the prophet (Mal. 3:12); for He sowed us to Himself, and Israel is called the agriculture of God. He will have mercy on the one who did not have mercy and will once call a people a people - and Israel itself, leaving behind the ancient delusion, will recognize the true God and say: “Thou art my God,” although of old, out of immeasurable foolishness, he cried out: “We are known, as the God of Moses said: but this is not known, whence he is” (John 9:29). Without knowing the Son, they did not know the Father; The Savior Himself will testify to this, saying: “If they knew me, they also knew my Father” (John 8:19). But after they were called to knowledge and confessed the Son, they saw the Father through Him and in Him; for John truly says: “Cast away the Son, neither to have the Father: but confess the Son and to have the Father” (1 John 2:23). In Slav. from north to east. The quote is not given verbatim, but in thought. διαστροὴ – actually: mutilation, dislocation, damage. Heb. עֵמֶק עָכור. According to Eusebius, the valley received its name from Achar, who was beaten here (Ἀχὰρ - according to Vatican, others: Achor - Ἀχὼρ). This place was shown back in the time of Eusebius near Jericho, next to Galgala. But Jerome interprets: vallis tumultus atque turbarum, like St. Kirill. Jerome does not agree with those who derive the name of the valley from the name of the person stoned here, for in Hebrew it is called Achan - עָׇכן, and not Achor or Ahar (See Onomasticon Evsebii cum interpretatione latina Hieronymi ed. Larsow et Parthey, Berol. 1862, pag. 186–187) Horeb and Sinai, according to Jerome, are the names (general and particular) of the same mountain (Onomast. pag. 375). Horeb as a place of legislation. called in Deut.1:6, 4:10, 15, 5:2, 18:16, - and Sinai in Ex.3:1, 17:6. Slav.: and I will inhabit, according to the Hebrew and all other translations. That is, the time of calling to faith in Christ, or the New Testament. You might be interested in: