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"Now, Cain left God's presence and settled in the land of Nod opposite Eden," and following verses.
(Geass) OME [166] Now, let us once more today take up the || thread of the reading and apply to you the teaching e=2) from this passage, and let us deliver the customary discourse to you from the book of blessed Moses—or, rather, from the sayings of the Spirit which the divine grace has taught us through the mouth of Moses.' But, so that the sermon may be clearer to you, it behooves your good selves to recall what has been said already and where we concluded our instruction so that today we may be able to resume it at that point and so touch on the opening words of the reading.
You know, of course, that we dealt with the subject of Abel, and showed from the events themselves and from the things which each brother brought as offerings to the Lord how the knowledge of what must be done and what must not be done is implanted in our nature, and the fact that the Creator of all made us independent, that in every case he rewards or condemns us on the basis of intention (on this account, after all, one brother's offering was rejected while the other's gifts were accepted), that thereupon Cain under the impulse of envy rushed headlong to the murder of his brother, that despite this unholy crime and God's wish to summon him to confession of his sins he did not accept this kind of healing remedy but added mendacity to this abominable crime and . Gen 4.16.
2. One of Chrysostom's frequent statements of his clear conviction of the fact of inspiration of the biblical authors. His thinking on the charism and process of biblical inspiration, however, as with other Fathers, is conspicuously missing. See my article, "terminology."
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thus drew upon himself that severe punishment, that he rendered himself stripped and robbed of grace from above and thus remains a salutary lesson for everyone in later times, and that through the sentence he received he addresses himself to the whole human race as if to cry out in loud tones, Let none of you ever attempt anything like this in case you incur these penalties. Do you see the love of the Lord, how by means of the punishment inflicted on Cain he intended not only to bring him to his senses [167] but also to teach everyone in future to avoid in every way this brazen exploit?
(2) Come, let us now press on to what follows and see what it is today as well this blessed author describes to us, inspired as he is by the force of the Spirit. When Cain received the sentence, remember, "He left God's presence," the text says.
What does that mean, "He left God's presence"? In other words, on account of that abominable crime he was stripped of the patronage God afforded. "And he settled in the land of Nod opposite Eden." He tells us also the place where he made his dwelling in the future, and teaches us how even
Cain did not live far from the garden, for the reason that by being opposite it he might have a constant reminder also of what had happened to his father because of the Fall and also of the magnitude of the crimes committed by him—though he had failed to come to his senses with the punishment inflicted on his father and had himself received terrible punishment. Now, the very place where he dwelt was an unremitting reminder, not only to him alone but to all future generations, of tossing and trembling. The word Nod, you see, is Hebrew, translated as "tossing".* So in order that he should find the accusation even in the very place as though recorded on a bronze monument, God settled him there.
(3) Then it says, "Cain had intercourse with his wife; she conceived and gave birth to Enoch." Since they were mortal, it was fitting that they should give all their attention to propagation of children. But perhaps someone may say: How is it
3. Speiser, Genesis, 31, suggests "wandering" would have been closer; but Chrysostom's lack of Hebrew did not allow him to question his LXX text.
4. Gen 4.17.
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Si that Cain had a wife when Sacred Scripture nowhere makes mention of another woman? Don't be surprised at this, dearly beloved: it has so far given no list of women anywhere in a precise manner; instead, Sacred Scripture while avoiding superfluous detail mentions the males in turn, though not even all of them, telling us about them in rather summary fashion when it says that so-and-so had sons and daughters and then he died. So it is likely in this case too that Eve gave birth to a daughter after Cain and Abel, and Cain took her for wife.
You see, since it was in the beginning and the human race had to increase from then on, it was permissible to marry their own sisters.
(4) This, of course, is the reason why Scripture leaves us to presuppose what was involved when it reports the event in these words only, "Cain had intercourse with his wife; she conceived and gave birth to Enoch, and (Cain) was the founder of a city named after his son Enoch."* See how they are now instructed little by little: having become mortal, they want their memory to be kept unfading both through their offspring and from the names of places which they call after their children. Someone may say quite rightly that all such were reminders of their sins and the loss of that glory which both Adam and Eve had the good fortune to enjoy and so had no need of reminders, being superior to them.
(5) "To Enoch was born Gaidad," the text says, "Gaidad begot Maleleel, Maleleel begot Mathusala, Mathusala begot
Lamech."® See how he skimmed through the genealogies, this blessed author mentioning only the males and making no mention of the females. Instead, just as he said in the case of Cain, that "he had intercourse with his wife" without teaching us anything about where he got his wife, so in just the same way here too he says again, "Lamech took to himself two
[168] wives: the name of one was Ada and the name of the other Sella. Ada gave birth to Jobel," the text says; "he was the father of those who dwell in tents and keep cattle. His
5. Ibid., where Chrysostom's variant of the LXX has been made to read less tautologically than the Hebrew and other LXX MSS.
6. Gen 4.18.
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brother's name was Joubal; he was the inventor of the harp and the lyre."" Note the precision of Scripture; it taught us the names of the children born of Lamech's wife and the occupations they had, as well as the fact that whereas one devoted himself to keeping cattle, the other invented the harp and the lyre. "Now, Sella in turn gave birth to Thobel," the text goes on; "he was a metalsmith, working in copper and iron."* Again it indicated to us the occupation of the child born of Sella, namely, that he took on the trade of coppersmith. See how stage by stage the things necessary for the well-being of the human race were provided for. First, Cain named the city founded by him after the son born to him.
Then, of the sons born of the wives of Lamech, one devoted himself to keeping cattle while another took on the work of coppersmith and the third invented the harp and the lyre.
"Thobel's sister was Noeman." What is the meaning of this strange and surprising statement? Well, now for the first time it refers to females, making mention of one by name. This was not done idly or to no purpose; instead, the blessed author has done this to draw our attention to something lying hidden.
(6) What it is we will keep in store for another occasion, and for the present press on to what follows. The sequel is, in fact, no casual addition, but rather calls for a great deal of effort and very precise interpretation for us to be in a position to discern everything with clarity and gain for ourselves considerable benefit from the text. '""Lamech said," the text in fact goes on, "to his wives Ada and Sella, 'Listen to my voice, wives of Lamech, hearken to my words: I killed a man for wounding me, and a young man for striking me. On Cain fell sevenfold vengeance, but on Lamech seventy times sevenfold.'"® Apply your attention to the utmost, I beseech you,
7. Gen 4.19-21, the LXX describing Jubal somewhat differently from the Hebrew.
8. Gen 4.22. g. Gen 4.23-24, where the LXX misinterprets the Hebrew: despite 4.15,
Cain is now seen as the one on whom—not for whom—vengeance is taken, ekdikein ... ek now being employed as elsewhere by the LXX (Num 31.2;
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put aside all worldly thoughts, and let us study these words with precision so that nothing may escape us but rather we should proceed to their deepest meaning and be able to light upon the treasure concealed in these brief phrases. "Lamech said to his wives Ada and Sella," the text says, "'Listen to my voice, wives of Lamech, hearken to my words.'" Consider at once, I ask you, from the outset how much benefit this man gained from the punishment inflicted on Cain; not only does he not await accusation from someone else to the effect that he has been guilty of this sin or some worse one, but, without anyone's accusing him or censuring him, he confesses his own guilt, admits his crimes, and outlines to his wives the magnitude of his sin, as if to fulfil the proverb of the inspired writer, "He who accuses himself at the beginning of the speech is in the right."!° (7) You see, confession is of the greatest efficacy for correction of faults. Thus, as proceeding to deny guilt after committing sin proves worse than the sins themselves—which was the condition of that man who killed his brother and who when questioned by the loving God did not merely decline to confess his crime but even dared to lie to God and thus caused his life to be lengthened—accordingly Lamech, [169] when he fell into the same sins, arrived at the conclusion that denial would only lead to his receiving a severer punishment, and so he summoned his wives, without anyone's accusing or charging him, made a personal confession of his sins to them in his own words, and by comparing what he had done to the crimes committed by Cain he limited the punishment coming to him.
(8) Do you see the Lord's care for us, how even punishments are the occasion of his love, and that his display of love does not stop short at the person receiving the punishment but results in an efficacious antidote for others, provided they are of a mind to take advantage of its salutary assistance? I 1 Sam 24.12). There is some logic in this: the Yahwist, by including "the Song of the Sword" here, has himself thus transformed Cain into an agent of vengeance—so perhaps the LXX compromises.
10. Prov 18.17.
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mean, how on earth, tell me, was Lamech otherwise brought to such confession except by having the constant reminder of Cain's fate to goad his thinking? "He said," the text reads,
"Listen to my voice, and hearken to my words.'" See how he institutes proceedings against himself and issues them with a summons in this fashion so that they won't idly accept what he has to say. You see, the sentence, "'Listen to my voice and hearken to my words,'" was meant by him to imply the following: Apply your attention to the utmost, he is saying, and heed with precision what I am about to say; I am not going to talk to you about incidental matters—instead, I will reveal to you hidden things which no one else knows about except myself alone and that unsleeping eye, fear of which makes me eager and anxious to lay plainly before you the crimes committed by me and the punishments I have made myself liable to by my unholy deeds. "'T killed a man for wounding me," he says, "'and a young man for striking me. On Cain fell sevenfold vengeance, but on Lamech seventy times seyenfold.'" A remarkable saying—very remarkable, in fact— and a highly commendable attitude on the man's part: not only does he confess the crime and bring the murders he has committed out into the open, but also by comparing Cain's crimes with his he imposes the punishment on himself. What sort of excuse, he is saying in other words, could the man be deserving of who failed to come to his senses at the sight of his predecessor's punishment and was even responsible for a double homicide despite having such a recent reminder? "'I killed a man for wounding me,'" he says, "'and a young man for striking me.'" The men I did away with, he is saying, I wronged not to the same extent as I wronged myself. After all, on myself I inflicted an ineluctable punishment by committing crimes with no possibility of excuse. I mean, if Cain became liable to sevenfold punishment for one murder, I would be justly served to receive seventy times sevenfold punishment.'! Why and on what account? Cain committed mur11. Chrysostom is clearly placing great importance on Lamech's song, as do modern literary critics, like G. Von Rad in his Genesis commentary (19729;
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4] der—fratricide, in fact—yet did so without previous experience of anyone doing so at any time previously or observing anyone else punished for such a crime or feeling the effects of such rage. All of this will be heaped on my head by way of punishment for my two crimes, because I had before my eyes
Cain's crime and I could see his punishment to be so implacable and his failure to take so little warning from it. Hence, even if I incur seventy times sevenfold the punishment he did, I will still not discharge my account adequately.
(g) Do you see, dearly beloved, how God created our will independent, and just as we lose our footing if we don't take care, so too we observe what we need to, provided we. have a mind to be on the watch? I mean, what was it, tell me, that coerced this man into making his confession? Nothing other than [170] conscience, that judge who is proof against influence. You see, when he fell into indifference and thus put into effect his evil endeavor, immediately conscience raised its voice in accusation of the magnitude of his sins and the extent of the punishment he thus rendered himself liable to. Sin, after all, is like this: before it comes into being and goes to work, it clouds the intellect and deceives the mind; but once it has run its course, it then makes its own stupidity patent to us, the brief and stupid pleasure being replaced in us by unremitting pain, robbing us of peace of mind, and covering the victim in confusion. The loving Lord, you see, appointed us a prosecutor of this kind who would never rest but would constantly be at hand to raise his voice and demand punishment for our sins. This you would see clearly in daily events themselves: the lecher, the adulterer or the person who comET London 1972, 111f )—but, partly by preference, partly because of the LXX's misreading of the Hebrew regarding the object of vengeance, Chrysostom's interest in the text is moral, not dogmatic in the way Von Rad sees it: "The Song of Lamech is the third section of the primeval history which the narrator emphasizes. It is a story of the increase in sin and the more and more profound disturbance of the original orders of life with which it goes hand in hand. First, the Fall, then fratricide, and now the execution of vengeance..." The mistranslation of the LXX, of course, robs it of this dogmatic significance; but Chrysostom still finds Lamech a figure of considerable moral significance, even if he is no longer the agent but the object of vengeance.
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mits any other such excesses, even if he succeeds in escaping everyone's notice, doesn't remain at peace in that condition, but has this savage prosecutor with him and so he is afraid of suspicions, he trembles at shadows, at people who know and people who don't know, and so he suffers perpetual turmoil of spirit and conflicting waves of emotion. Neither is sleep enjoyable for such a person but rather plagued by fear and terror; the table brings no delight, nor can conversation with friends bring such a person out of his depression or dispel his pressing concern. Instead, after that stupid behavior of his he goes about as if he had a public executioner at hand to flay and beat him incessantly, and even if no one is aware of his crime, he suffers those intolerable punishments, having become his own prosecutor and judge.
(10) On the other hand, should a person guilty of such faults have a mind to take advantage of the assistance of conscience, as behooves him, and hasten to make confession of his sins, reveal his ulcer to the physician who cures without reproaching, and in private communion with him without anyone else's knowing tell all in detail, he will achieve a rapid mending of his ways. Confession, you see, means the removal of sins. After all, if in fact the man in question, Lamech, did not shrink from confessing to his own wives the murders committed by him, what excuse would we have if we were not prepared to make a clean breast of our sins to the one who knows them all in detail? Surely it's not because of ignorance that he wants to hear about them! Because he is not ignorant of them, he looks for confession from us while knowing everything before it happens and yet wanting us to have a sense of our faults through confession and to demonstrate gratitude on our part. There won't be the need to outlay expense in this case, will there? there won't be the need to set out on a long journey, will there? this cure won't involve pain and suffering, will it? No, it involves no expense, no suffering, but offers an immediate cure. The Lord, you see, grants remedies for wounds in this way according to the disposition of the patient. Consequently, let the person who is minded to return to health more quickly and be cured of the ulcers of
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his spirit approach the physician soberly, and cutting himself off from all worldly concerns let him shed hot tears, give every evidence of insistence, demonstrate a resolute faith and have confidence in the physician's healing arts; he will thus straightway enjoy good health.
(11) Do you see the physician's prodigality which excels the loving concern of all human fathers? It is not something burdensome and demanding that he requires of us, is it? No, simply heartfelt contrition, a lull in our wild ideas, confession of sins, earnest recourse to him; [171] then he not merely rewards us with the curing of our wounds and renders us cleansed of our sins, but also puts to rights the person who beforehand had been weighed down with countless burdens of sin. O the greatness of his love! O the extent of his goodness! When the sinner confesses his sins and begs forgiveness and gives evidence of carefulness in the future, God immediately declares him law-abiding. For clear proof of this, listen to the prophet's words: "Take the initiative in declaring your transgressions so that you may be declared upright."!? He did not simply say, "Declare your transgressions," but added,
"Take the initiative," that is to say, don't wait for someone to accuse you, nor let the prosecutor anticipate you—beat him to the punch by having the first say, so as to deprive the prosecutor of a voice.
(12) Do you see the judge's loving kindness? In the case of human courts, whenever anyone admitted to doing this and anticipated proof of the charges by confessing his crimes, he would perhaps be in a position to escape torture and the torments accompanying it, and even if the case came before a lenient judge he would indubitably receive a sentence of death. In the case of the loving God, on the contrary, the physician of our souls, we meet with ineffable goodness and a liberality exceeding all description. What I mean is this: if we steal a march on our adversary—I mean the devil—who on that dread day will take his stand against us, and already in this present life before our entry into the court we confess
12. Isa 43.26.
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our crimes, take the initiative in speaking, and turn accusers against ourselves, we will encourage the Lord not only to reward us with freedom from our sins but also to reckon us among the number of the upright. You see, the man in question, Lamech, made a clean breast of his deeds and condemned himself without the advantage of any law passed to teach him, without having heard any inspired authors, and without any other encouragement except the conviction of his own crimes arising from the judgment rooted in his own nature. So how could we meet with any excuse for not having revealed our wounds to the Lord in all eagerness and received from him healing of them? If we haven't done it now when it is the time for fasting, when we have such serenity of thought, when all indulgence is put aside, at what time will we be able to take stock of our behavior? Hence I beseech you to be ever sober and alert, and spend all this present life with a view to being able by your diligence to avoid that intolerable punishment and keep out of the fire of hell. At this time in particular, however, ought we to do this with all eagerness when on account of the season for fasting we have the advantage of more abundant and insistent teaching.
(13) "Now, Adam had intercourse with his wife Eve; she conceived, bore a son and gave him the name Seth, saying,
'God has raised up for me another child in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.'"!' Sacred Scripture developed the genealogy as far as Lamech, and then went back to Adam and his wife, and said, "Now, Adam had intercourse with his wife; she conceived, bore a son and gave him the name Seth, Saying, 'God has raised up for me another child in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.'" "She bore a son," the text says, "and gave him the name Seth"; [172] the mother was not content with giving the name, but added, "'God has raised up for me another child in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.'" Notice also the mother, how through the name of the child she bore she ensures a constant reminder of that evil deed, and, so that future generations may be in a position to know of the crime
13. Gen 4.25.
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committed by Cain, she says, "'in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.'" The comment of a grieving spirit, upset at the memory of what had happened, and while thankful for her new child, yet by the name she gave it erecting a monument, as it were, to her other son. After all, it was no chance sorrow he brought to his parents in raising his hand against his brother and stretching him on the ground before their eyes, a lifeless corpse, whom they had bred and cherished. I mean, if Adam received the sentence, "'Dust you are, and to dust you are to return,'"'* and "'On the day you eat from it you will truly die,'"!° still the meaning of the sentence lay in the words alone for the time being and he had no awareness up to that point of what death looked like. Cain, on the contrary, took the initiative against his brother out of hatred, let loose against Abel the rancor that had been gnawing at his vitals, and thus provided his parents with a dreadful spectacle to contemplate. For this reason, assuredly, the mother, who had scarcely lifted her head and was able only at this late stage to find some consolation for that unbearable grief in the birth of a son, offered thanks to the Lord and immortalized the crime of fratricide, thus also inflicting on him the severest of punishments by ensuring the unfailing remembrance of what had been done by him.
(14) Do you see what a terrible evil sin is? how it brings those who commit it into shame and disgrace? do you see how through it he was rendered bereft of grace from above and became an object of mockery for all to see? do you see how even to his parents, committed though they were by nature itself to loving their children, he was transformed into an object of revulsion because of that evil deed? Let us accordingly,
I beseech you, shun the sin that brings such evils upon us, and let us choose virtue so that we may win favor from on high and avoid punishment.
(15) "A son was born to Seth," the text goes on; "he gave him the name Enosh. He it was who hoped. to invoke the name of the Lord God."!® See how people are now taught to 14. Gen 3.19.
15. Gen 2.17.
16. Gen 4.26, where the LXX departs from the Hebrew text in some
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incorporate an expression of their own gratitude in the names of their children: Seth, the text says, had a son and gave him the name Enosh; then, out of a wish to explain to us the significance of the name, Sacred Scripture adds, "He it was who hoped to invoke the name of the Lord God."""
You see, from this person onwards the blessed author is on the point of beginning the genealogy, having dismissed the memory of Cain and also of those who were descended from him up to Lamech; since he had by the evil of his course of action besmirched the prerogative granted to him by nature—I mean that of firstborn—he is expunged from the list along with his descendants. Now Seth, on the contrary, iS accorded this distinction—something he did not enjoy by nature—on account of the gratitude in his course of action, and for the future the position of firstborn is transferred to him, if not by nature, at least by the attitude revealed in his course of action, and those descended from him are accorded a place in the genealogy. Just as the son is called Enosh through invoking the name of the Lord God, so too those who continue the line from him in future are accorded the same name.
Hence this blessed author concludes the narrative at this stage and then begins another.
(16) [173] Lest, however, we launch into this narrative and prolong the instruction to great length, let us, like this blessed author, bring the sermon to a close at this point and hold over till next time (God willing) the explanation of what follows.
Just for the time being, however, I want to bring this point to the attention of your good selves so that you can reap some benefit from what has been said by us and examine yourselves daily as to what you have gained from this teaching, and what from that, and not simply take in our words with your ears respects—without solving its historical difficulty about the beginning of the worship of Yahweh, which the E and P narratives in Exodus attribute to the time of Moses.
17. Chrysostom seems anxious to find some etymological connection between the name "Enosh" (Hebrew for "mankind") and the worship of the Lord (Yahweh, in fact, though word-for-word rendering as Kyrios results in a loss of this point). His argument, however, suggests he is reading some other sense than the Hebrew into the proper name.
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but also rivet them in your mind and make the firm recollection of them your constant concern. In fact, I want you not simply to be content with them yourselves but also to become teachers of others so as to be able to exhort them as well, doing so not only with words but also through your actions instructing your neighbor in the practice of virtue. I mean, consider, I ask you, that if you want to gain some little advantage from coming along here each day and achieve the correction of the passions that handicap you, you will ascend little by little to the very pinnacle of virtue. You see, we will not cease addressing you each day and making your ears ring with talk of the noblest way of life so that you may eradicate those deadly passions—I mean anger, envy and jealousy.
After all, once these have been removed, it will be easier for the obsession with material goods to find a remedy; and once the obsession with material goods has in turn ceased, those improper thoughts and shameful desires will with greater security be suppressed. Avarice, you see, is the root of all evils;'* so if we chop out the root and pull it up from the very bottom, it will be easier for us to get the better of the branches.
(17) The very peak of evil, after all, and the summit (so to say) of sin is insatiable desire for possessions; if we were prepared to overcome it, there would be no obstacle to our escaping this obsession and, by so doing, eradicating and expelling all deadly passions. Don't think it is any great challenge to despise possessions. I mean, when I consider that many people, through an empty and mindless esteem for them, expend great amounts of money to no good effect but only to win the approval of common and often paltry people, an esteem which fades by evening but before the day is over brings countless troubles upon them; and that others, on the other hand, are among the number who are overcome by pagan deception, in their turn yearning after the good opinion of people and setting much store by it, letting all their possessions go, keeping for themselves only a bit of a cloak and 18, 1 Lim 6.10.
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a staff, passing their whole life in this fashion and choosing to endure all this trouble and distress for the sake of people's good opinion—when, then, I ponder all this, | know not what excuse or allowance will be accorded us for not bearing to give up the least of those things for the sake of the command given us by God or for the sake of that glory that does not die and has no end. Instead, we prove worse than those people and fail to understand the difference between such things, because while they give them up for the sake of the mindless esteem of their peers, [174] we for our part often choose not to share the slightest thing with the needy even for the sake of our Lord, the supplier of our possessions, who promises us those gifts beyond all telling.
(18) How will our eyes bear to look upon the Judge if we have so neglected this simple command? I mean, surely ''m not recommending you to throw all your possessions away.
Make the most of every time of prosperity, satisfy every need, and what is over and above put to good use by distributing to those who are hungry or frozen with the cold, and so send it ahead to your homeland by their hand so as to take advantage of it there before long. These people, you see, will be in a particular position to help you in transferring your goods there so that when you arrive you may find everything arranged to your advantage and you may enjoy greater credit there, seeing your riches multiplied by your agents—or, rather, by God's loving kindness. After all, the transaction involves no problems, does it? It causes no worry or concern, does it?
You have no need of carriers for the transfer, or of guards or anything else like that; no brigand or robber infests that route to prey upon the cargo you send. Instead, whatever you put into the hands of the poor, you put into safe custody, God's own hand. This hand, of course, is proof against harm and provides protection for your goods, and when you arrive in your homeland, in addition to the restoration of your goods he will commend and reward you, and establish you in complete comfort and enjoyment.
(19) Accordingly, let us, I beseech you, pour out savings to provide for the poor, and sow seed in good time for the pur-
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pose of reaping a harvest at the proper season and not having vain regrets later through putting off the present opportunity. I mean, surely the loving Lord has not blessed you with greater benefits for this reason, that you should squander what has been given you only on your own needs and secrete the rest in safes and chests? It was not for that purpose, but rather that in accordance with the apostolic exhortation your surplus should be used to meet the needs of others. Perhaps your enjoyment extends even beyond what is needful and you spend much money on delicacies, clothing and other sorts of luxurious living, and your generosity extends even to servants and animals, whereas the poor person asks you for none of these things except to assuage his hunger and provide him with his pressing needs and daily bread so as to survive and not perish. You should not desist from doing this, nor think that often you are suddenly robbed and on the point of losing all you have amassed and in some cases sharing it with enemies and rivals; in fact, all the sins, through which you have amassed these things, you take with you as you pass on. What will you then say on that dread day? What excuse will you give for having managed your salvation with such indifference?
(20) So take my advice, and while you still have the opportunity, distribute your superfluous possessions so as to make sure of your salvation there and guarantee a dividend by way of eternal bliss. May it be the good fortune of all of us to enjoy this, thanks to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus
Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power and honor, now and forever, for ages of ages. Amen.