Origen of Alexandria

In his own words on 1 Kings

• 1 Kings 4:29-34

  [Greek philosophers] took these ideas from Solomon, since it was long before them in age and time that he first gave these teachings through the Spirit of God. The Greeks have brought them forth as their own discoveries, and they have also included them in their books of instructions and left them to be handed down to their successors. But, as we have said, Solomon discovered them before all the rest and taught them through the wisdom he received from God, as it is written, "And God gave Solomon understanding and wisdom beyond measure, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. And his wisdom was made greater than that of all the ancient sons of humankind and all the wise men of Egypt." Thus, Solomon, since he wished to distinguish from one another and to separate what we have called earlier the three general disciplines, that is, moral, natural and contemplative, set them forth in three books, each one in its own logical order. Thus, he first taught in Proverbs the subject of morals, setting regulations for life together, as was fitting, in concise and brief maxims. And he included the second subject, which is called the natural discipline, in Ecclesiastes, in which he discusses many natural things. And by distinguishing them as empty and vain from what is useful and necessary, he warns that vanity must be abandoned and what is useful and right must be pursued. He also handed down the subject of contemplation in the book we have in hand, that is, Song of Songs, in which he urges on the soul the love of the heavenly and the divine under the figure of the bride and the bridegroom, teaching us that we must attain fellowship with God by the paths of loving affection and of love. Indeed, he was not unaware that he was laying the foundations of the true philosophy and founding the order of its disciplines and principles.

  COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS PROLOGUE 3

• 1 Kings 4:29-34

  But that the object of Christianity is that we should become wise can be proved from the ancient Jewish writings, which we also use, as well as from those that were composed after the time of Jesus and that are believed among the churches to be divine. Now, in the fiftieth psalm, David is described as saying in his prayer to God these words: "The unseen and secret things of your wisdom you have manifested to me." Solomon, too, because he asked for wisdom, received it; and if anyone were to peruse the Psalms, he would find the book filled with many maxims of wisdom; and the evidences of Solomon's wisdom may be seen in his treatises, which contain a great amount of wisdom expressed in few words, and in which you will find many praises of wisdom and encouragements towards obtaining it. So wise, moreover, was Solomon, that the queen of Sheba, having heard his name and the name of the Lord, came to try him with difficult questions and spoke to him all things, whatsoever were in her heart; and Solomon answered her all her questions. There was no question omitted by the king that he did not answer her. And the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the possessions that he had, and there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, "The report is true that I heard in my own land regarding you and your wisdom; and I did not believe them who told me, until I had come, and my eyes have seen it. And, lo, they did not tell me the half. You have added wisdom and possessions above all the report that I heard." It is also recorded of him that "God gave Solomon very great wisdom, discernment and breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol and Darda, children of Mahol; his fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. He composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He would speak of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall; he would speak of animals, and birds, and reptiles and fish. People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon; they came from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom."

  AGAINST CELSUS 3.45

• 1 Kings 6:7

  How, he says, "was the hammer of the whole earth broken and crushed? How was Babylon brought to destruction?" One needs to enquire here who is the "hammer of all the earth" or in what way its brokenness is prophesied, since it was "broken" before it was "crushed," so that after bringing together what has been written elsewhere about the "hammer," when we find its name, we will also investigate the meaning of the name from these examples that we have brought forth.At one time there was constructed a "house of God," according to the third book of Kings, and it was Solomon who built and erected it; and it was said here, as if in praise, about the "house of God," that "hammer and axe were not heard in the house of God." Therefore as the "hammer is not heard in the house of God," since the "house of God" is the church, so the "hammer is not heard" in the church. Who is this "hammer" who wants to obstruct, insofar as he can, the stones for building the temple, so that, "broken," they are not suited for its foundations? See with me if the devil is not the "hammer of the whole earth."

  HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 27(50).1-2

• 1 Kings 10:4

  The Scriptures express astonishment that the queen of Sheba came from "the end of the earth to hear Solomon's wisdom." When she saw his dinner, his furnishings and the attendants in his place, she was astounded and wholly in a state of wonder. If we do not embrace the great riches of our Lord, the great furnishings of his Word and the wealth of his teachings; if we do not eat the "bread of life"; if we are not fed with the flesh of Jesus and do not drink his blood; if we disdain the banquet of our Savior, we should realize that God has both "kindness and severity." Of these, we should pray more for his kindness on us, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 38.6

• 1 Kings 12:25

  The people were divided in those times into the kingdom of ten tribes under Jeroboam and the kingdom of two tribes under Rehoboam. And those under Jeroboam were called Israel, and those under Rehoboam Judah. And the division of the people persisted, according to the history, until today. For we know of nothing in the history that united Israel and Judah "into the same nation." Then Israel first, under Jeroboam and under his successors, sinned excessively, and Israel sinned so much beyond Judah that they were sentenced by Providence to become captives "to the Assyrians until the sign," as the Scripture says. After this, the sons of Judah also sinned, and as captives they were sentenced to Babylon, not until a sign, as Israel, but for "seventy years," which Jeremiah prophesied and Daniel also mentioned.

  HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 4.2

• 1 Kings 12:25

  The Scriptures tell us that God chose a certain nation on the earth, which they call by several names. For the whole of this nation is termed Israel and also Jacob. And when it was divided in the times of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the ten tribes subject to him were called Israel, while the remaining two, along with the tribe of Levi, being ruled over by the de¬scendants of David, were named Judah. And the whole of the territory which the people of this nation inhabited, being given to them by God, received the name of Judea, the metropolis of which is Jerusalem—a metropolis, namely, of numerous cities, the names of which lie scattered about in many other passages of Scripture but which are enumerated together in the book of Joshua the son of Nun. Such, then, being the case, the apostle, elevating our power of discernment above the letter, says some¬where, "Behold Israel according to the flesh," as if there were an Israel "according to the Spirit." And in another place he says, "For they who are the children of the flesh are not the children of God" nor are "they all Israel who are descended from Israel."

  ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 4.1.20-21

• 1 Kings 14:12

  There is therefore no absurdity in the prophets [of the Jews] having uttered predictions even about events of no importance, to soothe those who desire such things, as when Samuel prophesies regarding three donkeys that were lost, or when mention is made in the third book of Kings respecting the sickness of a king's son. And why should not those who desired to obtain auguries from idols be severely rebuked by the administrators of the law among the Jews, as Elijah is found rebuking Ahaziah and saying, "Is it because there is not a God in Israel that you go to inquire of Baalzebub, god of Ekron?"

  AGAINST CELSUS 1.36

• 1 Kings 14:21-22

  Our Lord Jesus Christ is genealogized, although being without genealogy according to deity, he entered into genealogy for you. And he is genealogized not similarly by the evangelists, which troubled many who encountered the writing. For Matthew, starting from Abraham, genealogizes him and continues until he says, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way." And Matthew does not genealogize the one baptized but the one coming into the world; while Luke, genealogizing, does not bring down the genealogy but brings it up to God, the one being baptized. And the descent and ascent of the genealogy are not through the same persons. For the one who brings him down with the word brings him down also through sinful women, mentioning only those with faults, but the one genealogizing the baptized does not mention women in his genealogy: Tamar, who unlawfully came together with her father-in-law; Ruth the Moabitess; Rahab, whom we do not even know; and the one of Uriah. For since he came to take the sins of men, and "he who knew no sin, for our sake was made sin" by God, thus descending he took on sinful persons and is born through Solomon, whose sins are recorded, and Rehoboam, whose failings are mentioned in the Kings, and the others of whom many "did evil in the sight of the Lord."

  HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 28.2

• 1 Kings 18:33-34

  And what is the source of your belief that Elijah who is to come will baptize? Did he not even baptize the wood on the altar in the times of Ahab, when it required a bath that it might be burned up when the Lord appeared in fire? He commanded the priests to do this, and not only once, for he says, "Do it a second time, when also they did it a second time," and "Do it a third time, when also they did it a third time." How, then, will he who did not himself baptize at that time, but gave the task to others, baptize when he has come in fulfillment of the things said by Malachi? Christ, therefore, does not baptize in water, but his disciples. He reserves for himself the act of baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire.

  COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6.125

• 1 Kings 19:18

  [The apostle Paul], treating of those who belong to the circumcision, says, "Those who serve to the example and shadow of heavenly things." Now perhaps, through these illustrations, no doubt will be entertained regarding the five books of Moses by those who hold the writings of the apostle as divinely inspired. And if they require, with respect to the rest of the history, that those events that are contained in it should be considered as having happened for an example to those of whom they are written, we have observed that this also has been stated in the epistle to the Romans, where the apostle adduces an instance from the third book of Kings, saying, "I have left me seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal"; which expression Paul understood as figuratively spoken of those who are called Israelites according to the election, in order to show that the advent of Christ had not only now been of advantage to the Gentiles but that very many even of the race of Israel had been called to salvation.

  ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 4.1.13

• 1 Kings 22:21-22

  I think every evil and deceitful spirit is a lie, and whenever anyone of these speaks, it speaks from its own resources and by no means from the resources of God. And the father of these [spirits] is the liar, the devil. We will now present what moved us to say that every inferior spirit is false. It is written in the third book of Kings that at the time Micaiah was called by Ahab to prophesy concerning whether he should go to Ramoth-gilead for war or stay, he said, "I saw the God of Israel sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven stood around him on his right and on his left. And he said, 'Who will deceive Ahab, king of Israel, and he will go up and fall in Ramoth-gilead?' " And he spoke in this manner. And a spirit came forth and stood before the Lord and said, "I will deceive him." And the Lord said to him, "By what means?" And he said, "I will go forth and will be a false spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours.' "And in the second book of Paralipomenon, the same Micaiah says to Ahab and Jehoshaphat, "Hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and every power of heaven stood at his right and at his left. And the Lord said, 'Who will deceive Ahab, king of Israel, and he will go up and fall in Ramoth-gilead?' " And he spoke in this manner. And a spirit came forth and stood before the Lord and said, "I will deceive him." And the Lord said, "By what means?" And he said, "I will go forth and be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets." These words show clearly, then, that if any spirit is the lying spirit, all similar spirits would be lying spirits, indebted to their lying father for being lying spirits in accordance with their falsehood and evil, not because this belongs to their essence.

  COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 20.257-62