Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 2
Augustine — City of God & Christian Doctrine
SECTION 241
Chapter 31.--Of Isaac, Who Was Born According to the Promise, Whose Name Was Given on Account of the Laughter of Both Parents.
Chapter 31.--Of Isaac, Who Was Born According to the Promise, Whose Name Was Given on Account of the Laughter of Both Parents. After these things a son was born to Abraham, according to God's promise, of Sarah, and was called Isaac, which means laughter. For his father had laughed when he was promised to him, in wondering delig…
1,289 wordsSECTION 242Chapter 33.--Of Rebecca, the Grand-Daughter of Nahor, Whom Isaac Took to Wife.
Chapter 33.--Of Rebecca, the Grand-Daughter of Nahor, Whom Isaac Took to Wife. Isaac married Rebecca, the grand-daughter of Nahor, his father's brother, when he was forty years old, that is, in the 140th year of his father's life, three years after his mother's death. Now when a servant was sent to Mesopotamia by his father to …
1,012 wordsSECTION 243Chapter 36.--Of the Oracle and Blessing Which Isaac Received, Just as His Father Did, Being Beloved for His Sake.
Chapter 36.--Of the Oracle and Blessing Which Isaac Received, Just as His Father Did, Being Beloved for His Sake. Isaac also received such an oracle as his father had often received. Of this oracle it is thus written: "And there was a famine over the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went …
1,315 wordsSECTION 244Chapter 38.--Of Jacob's Mission to Mesopotamia to Get a Wife, and of the Vision Which He Saw in a Dream by the Way, and of His Getting Four Women When He Sought One Wife.
Chapter 38.--Of Jacob's Mission to Mesopotamia to Get a Wife, and of the Vision Which He Saw in a Dream by the Way, and of His Getting Four Women When He Sought One Wife. Jacob was sent by his parents to Mesopotamia that he might take a wife there. These were his father's words on sending him: "Thou shall not take a wife of the…
982 wordsSECTION 245Chapter 39.--The Reason Why Jacob Was Also Called Israel.
Chapter 39.--The Reason Why Jacob Was Also Called Israel. As I said a little ago, Jacob was also called Israel, the name which was most prevalent among the people descended from him. Now this name was given him by the angel who wrestled with him on the way back from Mesopotamia, and who was most evidently a type of Christ. For …
848 wordsSECTION 246Chapter 41.--Of the Blessing Which Jacob Promised in Judah His Son.
Chapter 41.--Of the Blessing Which Jacob Promised in Judah His Son. If, on account of the Christian people in whom the city of God sojourns in the earth, we look for the flesh of Christ in the seed of Abraham, setting aside the sons of the concubines, we have Isaac; if in the seed of Isaac, setting aside Esau, who is also Edom,…
2,037 wordsSECTION 247Book XVII.
Book XVII. ------------------------ Argument--In this book the history of the city of God is traced during the period of the kings and prophets from Samuel to David, even to Christ; and the prophecies which are recorded in the books of Kings, Psalms, and those of Solomon, are interpreted of Christ and the church. Chapter 1.--…
1,129 wordsSECTION 248Chapter 3.--Of the Three-Fold Meaning of the Prophecies, Which are to Be Referred Now to the Earthly, Now to the Heavenly Jerusalem, and Now Again to Both.
Chapter 3.--Of the Three-Fold Meaning of the Prophecies, Which are to Be Referred Now to the Earthly, Now to the Heavenly Jerusalem, and Now Again to Both. Wherefore just as that divine oracle to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the other prophetic signs or sayings which are given in the earlier sacred writings, so also the o…
914 wordsSECTION 249Chapter 4.--About the Prefigured Change of the Israelitic Kingdom and Priesthood, and About the Things Hannah the Mother of Samuel Prophesied, Personating the Church.
Chapter 4.--About the Prefigured Change of the Israelitic Kingdom and Priesthood, and About the Things Hannah the Mother of Samuel Prophesied, Personating the Church. Therefore the advance of the city of God, where it reached the times of the kings, yielded a figure, when, on the rejection of Saul, David first obtained the king…
2,292 wordsSECTION 250But whence do they receive this, except from Him of whom it is here immediately said, "Giving the vow to him that voweth?" Otherwise they wo
But whence do they receive this, except from Him of whom it is here immediately said, "Giving the vow to him that voweth?" Otherwise they would be of those mighty ones whose bow is weakened. "Giving," she saith, "the vow to him that voweth." For no one could vow anything acceptable to God, unless he received from Him that which …
2,544 wordsSECTION 251But what follows belongs properly to the house of Eli, to whom these things were said: "And every one of thine house that is left shall fall
But what follows belongs properly to the house of Eli, to whom these things were said: "And every one of thine house that is left shall fall by the sword of men. And this shall be a sign unto thee that shall come upon these thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them." This, therefore, is made a sig…
2,102 wordsSECTION 252Chapter 7.--Of the Disruption of the Kingdom of Israel, by Which the Perpetual Division of the Spiritual from the Carnal Israel Was Prefigured.
Chapter 7.--Of the Disruption of the Kingdom of Israel, by Which the Perpetual Division of the Spiritual from the Carnal Israel Was Prefigured. Again Saul sinned through disobedience, and again Samuel says to him in the word of the Lord, "Because thou hast despised the word of the Lord, the Lord hath despised thee, that thou ma…
1,237 wordsSECTION 253Chapter 8.--Of the Promises Made to David in His Son, Which are in No Wise Fulfilled in Solomon, But Most Fully in Christ.
Chapter 8.--Of the Promises Made to David in His Son, Which are in No Wise Fulfilled in Solomon, But Most Fully in Christ. And now I see I must show what, pertaining to the matter I treat of, God promised to David himself, who succeeded Saul in the kingdom, whose change prefigured that final change on account of which all thing…
1,182 wordsSECTION 254Chapter 9.--How Like the Prophecy About Christ in the 89th Psalm is to the Things Promised in Nathan's Prophecy in the Books of Samuel.
Chapter 9.--How Like the Prophecy About Christ in the 89th Psalm is to the Things Promised in Nathan's Prophecy in the Books of Samuel. Wherefore also in the 89th Psalm, of which the title is, "An instruction for himself by Ethan the Israelite," mention is made of the promises God made to king David, and some things are there a…
1,272 wordsSECTION 255Chapter 11.--Of the Substance of the People of God, Which Through His Assumption of Flesh is in Christ, Who Alone Had Power to Deliver His Own Soul from Hell.
Chapter 11.--Of the Substance of the People of God, Which Through His Assumption of Flesh is in Christ, Who Alone Had Power to Deliver His Own Soul from Hell. But after having prophesied these things, the prophet betakes him to praying to God; yet even the very prayer is prophecy: "How long, Lord, dost Thou turn away in the end…
1,706 wordsSECTION 256Chapter 13.--Whether the Truth of This Promised Peace Can Be Ascribed to Those Times Passed Away Under Solomon.
Chapter 13.--Whether the Truth of This Promised Peace Can Be Ascribed to Those Times Passed Away Under Solomon. Whoever hopes for this so great good in this world, and in this earth, his wisdom is but folly. Can any one think it was fulfilled in the peace of Solomon's reign? Scripture certainly commends that peace with excellen…
829 wordsSECTION 257Chapter 15.--Whether All the Things Prophesied in the Psalms Concerning Christ and His Church Should Be Taken Up in the Text of This Work.
Chapter 15.--Whether All the Things Prophesied in the Psalms Concerning Christ and His Church Should Be Taken Up in the Text of This Work. And now I see it may be expected of me that I shall open up in this part of this book what David may have prophesied in the Psalms concerning the Lord Jesus Christ or His Church. But althoug…
1,581 wordsSECTION 258Chapter 17.--Of Those Things in the 110th Psalm Which Relate to the Priesthood of Christ, and in the 22d to His Passion.
Chapter 17.--Of Those Things in the 110th Psalm Which Relate to the Priesthood of Christ, and in the 22d to His Passion. Just as in that psalm also where Christ is most openly proclaimed as Priest, even as He is here as King, "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at my right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." [109…
1,708 wordsSECTION 259Chapter 19.--Of the 69th Psalm, in Which the Obstinate Unbelief of the Jews is Declared.
Chapter 19.--Of the 69th Psalm, in Which the Obstinate Unbelief of the Jews is Declared. But when the Jews will not in the least yield to the testimonies of this prophecy, which are so manifest, and are also brought by events to so clear and certain a completion, certainly that is fulfilled in them which is written in that psal…
2,008 wordsSECTION 260Chapter 21.--Of the Kings After Solomon, Both in Judah and Israel.
Chapter 21.--Of the Kings After Solomon, Both in Judah and Israel. The other kings of the Hebrews after Solomon are scarcely found to have prophesied, through certain enigmatic words or actions of theirs, what may pertain to Christ and the Church, either in Judah or Israel; for so were the parts of that people styled, when, on …
978 wordsSECTION 261Chapter 24.--Of the Prophets, Who Either Were the Last Among the Jews, or Whom the Gospel History Reports About the Time of Christ's Nativity.
Chapter 24.--Of the Prophets, Who Either Were the Last Among the Jews, or Whom the Gospel History Reports About the Time of Christ's Nativity. But in that whole time after they returned from Babylon, after Malachi, Haggai, and Zechariah, who then prophesied, and Ezra, they had no prophets down to the time of the Saviour's adven…
760 wordsSECTION 262Chapter 2.--Of the Kings and Times of the Earthly City Which Were Synchronous with the Times of the Saints, Reckoning from the Rise of Abraham.
Chapter 2.--Of the Kings and Times of the Earthly City Which Were Synchronous with the Times of the Saints, Reckoning from the Rise of Abraham. The society of mortals spread abroad through the earth everywhere, and in the most diverse places, although bound together by a certain fellowship of our common nature, is yet for the m…
1,541 wordsSECTION 263Chapter 4.--Of the Times of Jacob and His Son Joseph.
Chapter 4.--Of the Times of Jacob and His Son Joseph. In the reign of Balæus, the ninth king of Assyria, and Mesappus, the eighth of Sicyon, who is said by some to have been also called Cephisos (if indeed the same man had both names, and those who put the other name in their writings have not rather confounded him with another…
904 wordsSECTION 264Chapter 7.--Who Were Kings When Joseph Died in Egypt.
Chapter 7.--Who Were Kings When Joseph Died in Egypt. In the reign of Mamitus, the twelfth king of Assyria, and Plemnæus, the eleventh of Sicyon, while Argus still reigned over the Argives, Joseph died in Egypt a hundred and ten years old. After his death, the people of God, increasing wonderfully, remained in Egypt a hundred a…
785 wordsSECTION 265Chapter 9.--When the City of Athens Was Founded, and What Reason Varro Assigns for Its Name.
Chapter 9.--When the City of Athens Was Founded, and What Reason Varro Assigns for Its Name. Athens certainly derived its name from Minerva, who in Greek is called 'Athene, and Varro points out the following reason why it was so called. When an olive-tree suddenly appeared there, and water burst forth in another place, these pr…
907 wordsSECTION 266Chapter 11.--When Moses Led the People Out of Egypt; And Who Were Kings When His Successor Joshua the Son of Nun Died.
Chapter 11.--When Moses Led the People Out of Egypt; And Who Were Kings When His Successor Joshua the Son of Nun Died. Moses led the people out of Egypt in the last time of Cecrops king of Athens, when Ascatades reigned in Assyria, Marathus in Sicyon, Triopas in Argos; and having led forth the people, he gave them at Mount Sina…
1,144 wordsSECTION 267Chapter 13.--What Fables Were Invented at the Time When Judges Began to Rule the Hebrews.
Chapter 13.--What Fables Were Invented at the Time When Judges Began to Rule the Hebrews. After the death of Joshua the son of Nun, the people of God had judges, in whose times they were alternately humbled by afflictions on account of their sins, and consoled by prosperity through the compassion of God. In those times were inv…
916 wordsSECTION 268Chapter 15.--Of the Fall of the Kingdom of Argos, When Picus the Son of Saturn First Received His Father's Kingdom of Laurentum.
Chapter 15.--Of the Fall of the Kingdom of Argos, When Picus the Son of Saturn First Received His Father's Kingdom of Laurentum. During those times the kingdom of Argos came to an end; being transferred to Mycene, from which Agamemnon came, and the kingdom of Laurentum arose, of which Picus son of Saturn was the first king, whe…
903 wordsSECTION 269Chapter 18.--What We Should Believe Concerning the Transformations Which Seem to Happen to Men Through the Art of Demons.
Chapter 18.--What We Should Believe Concerning the Transformations Which Seem to Happen to Men Through the Art of Demons. Perhaps our readers expect us to say something about this so great delusion wrought by the demons; and what shall we say but that men must fly out of the midst of Babylon? [1141] For this prophetic precept i…
1,186 wordsSECTION 270Chapter 19.--That Æneas Came into Italy When Abdon the Judge Ruled Over the Hebrews.
Chapter 19.--That Æneas Came into Italy When Abdon the Judge Ruled Over the Hebrews. After the capture and destruction of Troy, Æneas, with twenty ships laden with the Trojan relics, came into Italy, when Latinus reigned there, Menestheus in Athens, Polyphidos in Sicyon, and Tautanos in Assyria, and Abdon was judge of the Hebre…
1,011 wordsSECTION 271Chapter 22.--That Rome Was Founded When the Assyrian Kingdom Perished, at Which Time Hezekiah Reigned in Judah.
Chapter 22.--That Rome Was Founded When the Assyrian Kingdom Perished, at Which Time Hezekiah Reigned in Judah. To be brief, the city of Rome was founded, like another Babylon, and as it were the daughter of the former Babylon, by which God was pleased to conquer the whole world, and subdue it far and wide by bringing it into o…
2,004 wordsSECTION 272Chapter 25.--What Philosophers Were Famous When Tarquinius Priscus Reigned Over the Romans, and Zedekiah Over the Hebrews, When Jerusalem Was Taken and the Temple Overthrown.
Chapter 25.--What Philosophers Were Famous When Tarquinius Priscus Reigned Over the Romans, and Zedekiah Over the Hebrews, When Jerusalem Was Taken and the Temple Overthrown. When Zedekiah reigned over the Hebrews, and Tarquinius Priscus, the successor of Ancus Martius, over the Romans, the Jewish people was led captive into Ba…
1,012 wordsSECTION 273Chapter 28.--Of the Things Pertaining to the Gospel of Christ Which Hosea and Amos Prohesied.
Chapter 28.--Of the Things Pertaining to the Gospel of Christ Which Hosea and Amos Prohesied. The prophet Hosea speaks so very profoundly that it is laborious work to penetrate his meaning. But, according to promise, we must insert something from his book. He says, "And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said …
877 wordsSECTION 274Chapter 30.--What Micah, Jonah, and Joel Prophesied in Accordance with the New Testament.
Chapter 30.--What Micah, Jonah, and Joel Prophesied in Accordance with the New Testament. The prophet Micah, representing Christ under the figure of a great mountain, speaks thus: "It shall come to pass in the last days, that the manifested mountain of the Lord shall be prepared on the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exa…
1,159 wordsSECTION 275Chapter 32.--Of the Prophecy that is Contained in the Prayer and Song of Habakkuk.
Chapter 32.--Of the Prophecy that is Contained in the Prayer and Song of Habakkuk. In his prayer, with a song, to whom but the Lord Christ does he say, "O Lord, I have heard Thy hearing, and was afraid: O Lord, I have considered Thy works, and was greatly afraid?" [1173] What is this but the inexpressible admiration of the fore…
1,648 wordsSECTION 276Chapter 33.--What Jeremiah and Zephaniah Have, by the Prophetic Spirit, Spoken Before Concerning Christ and the Calling of the Nations.
Chapter 33.--What Jeremiah and Zephaniah Have, by the Prophetic Spirit, Spoken Before Concerning Christ and the Calling of the Nations. Jeremiah, like Isaiah, is one of the greater prophets, not of the minor, like the others from whose writings I have just given extracts. He prophesied when Josiah reigned in Jerusalem, and Ancu…
793 wordsSECTION 277Chapter 34.--Of the Prophecy of Daniel and Ezekiel, Other Two of the Greater Prophets.
Chapter 34.--Of the Prophecy of Daniel and Ezekiel, Other Two of the Greater Prophets. Daniel and Ezekiel, other two of the greater prophets, also first prophesied in the very captivity of Babylon. Daniel even defined the time when Christ was to come and suffer by the exact date. It would take too long to show this by computati…
1,867 wordsSECTION 278Chapter 36.--About Esdras and the Books of the Maccabees.
Chapter 36.--About Esdras and the Books of the Maccabees. After these three prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, during the same period of the liberation of the people from the Babylonian servitude Esdras also wrote, who is historical rather than prophetical, as is also the book called Esther, which is found to relate, for…
1,217 wordsSECTION 279Chapter 39.--About the Hebrew Written Characters Which that Language Always Possessed.
Chapter 39.--About the Hebrew Written Characters Which that Language Always Possessed. Now we must not believe that Heber, from whose name the word Hebrew is derived, preserved and transmitted the Hebrew language to Abraham only as a spoken language, and that the Hebrew letters began with the giving of the law through Moses; bu…
2,282 wordsSECTION 280Chapter 43.--Of the Authority of the Septuagint Translation, Which, Saving the Honor of the Hebrew Original, is to Be Preferred to All Translations.
Chapter 43.--Of the Authority of the Septuagint Translation, Which, Saving the Honor of the Hebrew Original, is to Be Preferred to All Translations. For while there were other interpreters who translated these sacred oracles out of the Hebrew tongue into Greek, as Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, and also that translation whi…
869 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.