Miscellanies 2.15.67
Summary: Following Barnabas, Clement reads Psalm 1 with the food laws: scaleless fish, the pig, and birds of prey stand for kinds of sinners; a wise teacher read the three phrases as Gentiles, Jewish belief, and the heresies.
Greek text · Stählin 2:148–149
καὶ ἔστιν ἁμαρτία μὴ πρὸς θάνατον. ἀλλὰ καὶ Δαβὶδ καὶ πρὸ Δαβὶδ ὁ Μωυσῆς τῶν τριῶν δογμάτων τὴν γνῶσιν ἐμφαίνουσιν διὰ τούτων· μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὃς οὐκ ἐπορεύθη ἐν βουλῇ ἀσεβῶν, καθὼς οἱ ἰχθύες πορεύονται ἐν σκότει εἰς τὰ βάθη· οἱ γὰρ λεπίδα μὴ ἔχοντες· ὧν ἀπαγορεύει Μωυσῆς ἐφάπτεσθαι, κάτω τῆς θαλάσσης νέμονται· οὐδὲ ἐν ὁδῷ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἔστη, καθὼς οἱ δοκοῦντες φοβεῖσθαι τὸν κύριον ἁμαρτάνουσιν ὡς ὁ χοῖρος· πεινῶν γὰρ κραυγάζει, πληρωθεὶς δὲ τὸν δεσπότην οὐ γνωρίζει· οὐδὲ ἐπὶ καθέδραν λοιμῶν ἐκάθισεν, καθὼς τὰ πτηνὰ εἰς ἁρπαγὴν ἕτοιμα. παρῄνεσε δὲ Μωυσῆς· οὐ φάγεσθε χοῖρον οὐδὲ ἀετὸν οὐδὲ ὀξύπτερον οὐδὲ κόρακα οὐδὲ πάντʼ ἰχθὺν ὃς οὐκ ἔχει λεπίδα ἐν αὑτῷ. ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Βαρνάβας. ἀκήκοα δʼ ἔγωγε σοφοῦ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἀνδρὸς βουλὴν μὲν ἀσεβῶν τὰ ἔθνη λέγοντος, ὁδὸν δὲ ἁμαρτωλῶν τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν ὑπόληψιν καὶ καθέδραν λοιμῶν τὰς αἱρέσεις ἐκλαμβάνοντος.
English · Claude translation
and there is sin not unto death.” But David too, and before David Moses, show knowledge of the three doctrines in these words: “Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly,” as the fish go in darkness into the depths; for those that do not have scales, which Moses forbids us to touch, feed at the bottom of the sea; “nor stood in the way of sinners,” as those who seem to fear the Lord sin like the pig, for when hungry it squeals, but when full it does not know its master; “nor sat in the seat of the pestilent,” as the birds ready for plunder. And Moses exhorted: “You shall not eat the pig, nor the eagle, nor the hawk, nor the raven, nor any fish that has no scales on it.” So says Barnabas. But I myself have heard a wise man explaining such things, taking “the counsel of the ungodly” to be the Gentiles, “the way of sinners” the Jewish belief, and “the seat of the pestilent” the heresies.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotation is Barn. 10.10, which combines Ps 1:1 with the food laws (Lev 11; Deut 14). The final interpretation is directed at Jewish belief and heresies alike, as Clement's teacher gave it; it is translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent: grave on οὐδὲ; misreading in the digital text (ἔχοντες); syllables repeated in the digital text): οἱ γὰρ λεπίδα μὴ ἔχονται → οἱ γὰρ λεπίδα μὴ ἔχοντες; οἱ δοκοῦντες κοῦντες φοβεῖσθαι → οἱ δοκοῦντες φοβεῖσθαι; οὐδέ ἀετὸν → οὐδὲ ἀετὸν.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.15.67 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/15/67/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.15.67 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/15/67/).
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