Tractates on the Gospel of John (continued)
TRACTATE 10 223
1 he Father, to whom he said in the Psalms, "Raise me up, and I shall requite them."^^ Therefore the Father raised him up again. Did he not [raise] himself [up]? But what does the Father do without the Word? What does the Father do without his only one? For hear that he also was God: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Did he say, "Destroy the temple which the Father will raise up in three days"? But just as when the Father raises up, the Son, too, raises up; so also when the Son raises up, the Father, too, raises up, because the Son said, "I and the Father are one." '^ 12. What then does the number forty-six mean? Meanwhile, you already heard yesterday that in the four Greek letters of the four Greek words Adam himself extends throughout the whole world. For if you were to write those four words one under the other, that is, the names of the four parts of the world, east, west, north, south, which is the whole world (wherefore the Lord said that he would gather his elect from the four winds when he came to judgment),^^ for if you were to use the four Greek names, anato le \^hich is east, dysis which is west, drktos which is north, mesembna which is south, anatole, dysis, drktos, mesembna, the first letters of the words make Adam.
(2) How then do we find there the number forty-six also? Because the flesh of Christ is from Adam. The Greeks reckon
[numbers] from letters. What we make the letter A, they in their language call "alpha", and alpha is number one. When they write "beta", which is their B, in numbers, it is called, in numbers, two. When they write "gamma", it is called, in their numbers, three. When they write "delta", it is called, in their numbers, four; and so they express numbers by all the letters
[of the alphabet]. What we call M and they call "my" signifies forty; for they call "my" tessarakonta. Now see what number those letters make and you will find that the temple was built in forty-six years. For Adam has an alpha which is one; it has a delta which is four. You have five. It has an alpha again which is one; you have six. It also has a my which is forty; you have
53. Cf. Ps 40.1 1. 55. Cf. Tractate 14. 54. Jn 10.30. 56. Cf. Mk 13.27.