completion

All hail, ye sons and daughters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us in peace. Seeing that the divine fruits of righteousness abound among you, I rejoice exceedingly and above measure in your happy and honoured spirits, because ye have with such effect received the engrafted spiritual gift. Wherefore also I inwardly rejoice the more, hoping to be saved, because I truly perceive in you the Spirit poured forth from the rich Lord of love. Your greatly desired appearance has thus filled me with astonishment over you. I am therefore persuaded of this, and fully convinced in my own mind, that since I began to speak among you I understand many things, because the Lord hath accompanied me in the way of righteousness. I am also on this account bound by the strictest obligation to love you above my own soul, because great are the faith and love dwelling in you, while you hope for the life which He has promised. Considering this, therefore, that if I should take the trouble to communicate to you some portion of what I have myself received, it will prove to me a sufficient reward that I minister to such spirits, I have hastened briefly to write unto you, in order that, along with your faith, ye might have perfect knowledge. The doctrines of the Lord, then, are three: the hope of life, the beginning and the completion of it. For the Lord hath made known to us by the prophets both the things which are past and present, giving us also the first-fruits of the knowledge of things to come, which things as we see accomplished, one by one, we ought with the greater richness of faith and elevation of spirit to draw near to Him with reverence. I then, not as your teacher, but as one of yourselves, will set forth a few things by which in present circumstances ye may be rendered the more joyful.

And after the completion of the seven years, which he had completed there, seven years exactly, and in the second month, on the seventeenth day (of the month), the serpent came and approached the woman, and the serpent said to the woman, 'Hath God commanded you, saying, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden'

Then Matthias therefore sat down in the prison, and sang. And it came to pass that, when the executioners came into the prison to bring forth the men to eat them, Matthias also shut his eyes, that they might not behold that he saw. And the executioners having come to him, read the ticket in his hand, and said among themselves: Yet three days, and we shall bring out this one also from the prison, and slay him. Because in the case of every man whom they laid hold of, they noted that day on which they laid hold of him, and tied a ticket to his right hand, that they might know the completion of the thirty days.

'I say these things, then, unto you, O my brethren, because I hasten to embark on a certain matter which hath been laid upon me, and of which the completion shall be unto me by the help of God. For of what kind is the other matter which I shall say unto you, there being for you the pledge of your God? There is for you the pledge of His kingdom, there is for you His presence, which cannot be entreated. If ye cease from the habit of sinning from this time [onwards], then the deeds which ye have committed through want of understanding He will remit to you; [but] if even after ye have had knowledge of Him ye continue and persist in the doing of these same works, they shall first of all try you in the judgement, and [then] they shall deliver you over to the fire.'

As for the uncontainable, inconceivable one – the Father, the complete one who made all – all are within him, and all need him. Although he kept their completion within himself which he didn’t give to all, the Father wasn’t jealous. Indeed, what jealousy is there between him and his members? For if, like this, the generation [received the completion,] they couldn’t have come […] the Father. He keeps their completion within himself, giving it to them to return to him with a unitary knowledge in completion. He’s the one who made all, and all are within him, and all need him.

As for the uncontainable, inconceivable one – the Father, the complete one who made all – all are within him, and all need him. Although he kept their completion within himself which he didn’t give to all, the Father wasn’t jealous. Indeed, what jealousy is there between him and his members? For if, like this, the generation [received the completion,] they couldn’t have come […] the Father. He keeps their completion within himself, giving it to them to return to him with a unitary knowledge in completion. He’s the one who made all, and all are within him, and all need him.

As for the uncontainable, inconceivable one – the Father, the complete one who made all – all are within him, and all need him. Although he kept their completion within himself which he didn’t give to all, the Father wasn’t jealous. Indeed, what jealousy is there between him and his members? For if, like this, the generation [received the completion,] they couldn’t have come […] the Father. He keeps their completion within himself, giving it to them to return to him with a unitary knowledge in completion. He’s the one who made all, and all are within him, and all need him.

As for the uncontainable, inconceivable one – the Father, the complete one who made all – all are within him, and all need him. Although he kept their completion within himself which he didn’t give to all, the Father wasn’t jealous. Indeed, what jealousy is there between him and his members? For if, like this, the generation [received the completion,] they couldn’t have come […] the Father. He keeps their completion within himself, giving it to them to return to him with a unitary knowledge in completion. He’s the one who made all, and all are within him, and all need him.

When he entered the empty realms of terror, he passed through those who were stripped by forgetfulness, being knowledge and completion, proclaiming the things that are in the heart […] teach those who will [receive teaching].

Since the completion of all is in the Father, it’s necessary for all to go up to him. Then, if someone has knowledge, they receive what are their own, and he draws them to himself, because the one who’s ignorant is in need. And it’s a great need, since they need what will complete them. Since the completion of all is in the Father, it’s necessary for all to go up to him, and for each one to receive what are their own. He inscribed these things beforehand, having prepared them to give to those who came out from him.

Since the completion of all is in the Father, it’s necessary for all to go up to him. Then, if someone has knowledge, they receive what are their own, and he draws them to himself, because the one who’s ignorant is in need. And it’s a great need, since they need what will complete them. Since the completion of all is in the Father, it’s necessary for all to go up to him, and for each one to receive what are their own. He inscribed these things beforehand, having prepared them to give to those who came out from him.

The Father reveals his bosom, and his bosom is the Holy Spirit. He reveals what’s hidden of himself; what’s hidden of himself is his Son – so that through the mercies of the Father, the generations may know him and cease their work in searching for the Father, resting in him and knowing that this is the rest. He’s filled the need and dissolved its appearance – its appearance is the world in which it served, because where there’s envy and strife there’s need, but where there’s Unity there’s completion. Since need came into being because the Father wasn’t known, when the Father is known, from then on, need will no longer exist. As someone’s ignorance dissolves when they gain knowledge, and as darkness dissolves when the light appears, so also need dissolves in completion. So the appearance is revealed from then on, but it’ll dissolve in the harmony of Unity.

The Father reveals his bosom, and his bosom is the Holy Spirit. He reveals what’s hidden of himself; what’s hidden of himself is his Son – so that through the mercies of the Father, the generations may know him and cease their work in searching for the Father, resting in him and knowing that this is the rest. He’s filled the need and dissolved its appearance – its appearance is the world in which it served, because where there’s envy and strife there’s need, but where there’s Unity there’s completion. Since need came into being because the Father wasn’t known, when the Father is known, from then on, need will no longer exist. As someone’s ignorance dissolves when they gain knowledge, and as darkness dissolves when the light appears, so also need dissolves in completion. So the appearance is revealed from then on, but it’ll dissolve in the harmony of Unity.

Do then the Father’s will, because you’re from him. For the Father is sweet, and goodness is in his will. He knows what’s yours, that you may find rest in them. For by the fruits they know what’s yours, because the children of the Father are his fragrance, since they’re from the grace of his expression. Because of this, the Father loves his fragrance, and reveals it in every place. And when it mixes with matter, it gives his fragrance to the light, and in tranquility he causes it to rise above every form and every sound. For it’s not the ears that smell the fragrance, but it’s the Spirit that smells, and draws the fragrance to itself, and sinks down into the Father’s fragrance. He shelters it, then, and takes it to the place from which it came, from the first fragrance which has grown cold. It’s something in a soul-endowed delusion, like cold water sunk into loose earth. Those who see it think that it’s just earth. Afterwards, it dissolves again. If a breath draws it, it becomes warm. So the fragrances which are cold are from the division. Because of this, faith came. It dissolved the division, and it brought the fullness that’s warm with love, so that the cold may not return, but rather the unitary thought of completion.

He’s good. He knows his plants, because he planted them in his paradise. Now his paradise is a place of rest. This is the completion in the Father’s thought, and these are the words of his meditation. Each of his words is the work of his one will in the revelation of his Word. When they were still in the depths of his thought, the Word – which was the first to come out – revealed them along with a mind that speaks the one Word in a silent grace. He was called “the Thought,” since they were in it before being revealed. It happened, then, that he was the first to come out at the time when it pleased the one who wanted it. Now the Father rests in his will, and is pleased with it.

Therefore they are taken outside of heaven for three years and are not added to the number of days, because they change the time of the years to two new months towards completion, to two others towards diminution.

And now Hezekiah and Jôsâb my son, these are the days of the completion of the world.

By him unto completion but deceit,

And I Solomon read this epistle; and I folded it up and gave it to my people, and said to them: "After seven days shalt thou remind me of this epistle. And Jerusalem was built, and the Temple was being completed. And there was a stone, the end stone of the corner lying there, great, chosen out, one which I desired lay in the head of the corner of the completion of the Temple. And all the workmen, and all the demons helping them came to the same place to bring up the stone and lay it on the pinnacle of the holy Temple, and were not strong enough to stir it, and lay it upon the corner allotted to it. For that stone was exceedingly great and useful for the corner of the Temple."

And no more henceforth shalt thou be called Asenath, but thy name shall be 'City of Refuge,' for that in thee many nations shall seek refuge and they shall lodge under thy wings, and many nations shall find shelter by thy means, and upon thy walls they who cleave unto God Most High through penitence shall be kept secure; for that Penitence is daughter of the Most High, and she herself entreateth God Most High for thee every hour and for all that repent, since he is father of Penitence, and she herself is the completion and overseer of all virgins, loving you exceedingly and beseeching the Most High for you every hour, and for all who repent she will provide a place of rest in the heavens, and she reneweth everyone who hath repented.

The time of our life is this. If one quits the body in his youth, the days of his life here are three hundred and sixty years, and he that quits the body in old age, the days of his life here are six hundred and eighty-eight years. And the day of our completion is made known to us by the angels, and when the angels of God come to take us, we go with them, and the elders, seeing the angels, gather together all the people and we depart together with the angels, singing psalms, until the angels arrive at the place of our abode. And because we have no tools, the angels of God themselves make the grave for our body, and thus he that is called by God goes down, and all salute him from small to great, sending him on his way and bidding him farewell. Then the soul quits the body and the angels receive it, but we see the shape of the soul as a shape of light, perfect in all the body apart from the distinction of male and female.

After this I lived thirty-six years, and communicated the way of life of the blessed to the fathers in the desert. But the Devil wept because of the tables of the life of the blessed, saying, If this get abroad in the world, I shall be mocked, and these will remain without sin and I alone in folly. And after the completion of the thirty-six years, the angels of God came to me as to the blessed.

Concerning the memorial of those who have fallen asleep. The third day shall be observed with psalms and prayers, because of the resurrection of our Lord the third day. Further, they shall observe seven days for a memorial of the living and the dead. And further, they shall observe the completion of a month in likeness of the old ordinance, even as the people mourned for Moses thirty days. And further, they shall observe the completion of forty days; and they shall observe half a year. And further, they shall observe the completion of a year in likeness of their memorial. And they shall give to the poor of the goods of those who die as propitiation for their soul, for their memorial. This we say only concerning the servants of God. As for the wicked indeed, if they gave the riches of all the world to the poor there would be no profit to them: for if being alive he was an enemy of God, the thing (lit. his word) is clear that he was his enemy when he went out of the world. He finds no mercy, because there is no respect of persons with him (sc. God), for God is righteous and loves righteousness, and lo ! the man (is judged) from his work, and lo ! the man who is good — they say his work is also (good). And if ye are invited, eat moderately and in the fear of God, because it is seemly to pray for those who departed from this world. And ye presbyters and deacons who are in our Lord Christ, it is seemly that ye should be temperate at all times, ye and others also, that ye may be able to do what the Scripture says: The strong and angry shall not drink wine, lest they should be drunken and should forget wisdom, and not be able to judge rightly. Because as administrators under God the almighty and the only Son our Lord Jesus Christ are the presbyters and the deacons, and the powers of the church. And we say this, not forbidding them to drink wine, because we cannot despise what God has created for the joy of man, but that they should not drink for drunkenness. And the Scriptures do not say; They shall not drink wine, but they say: They shall not drink wine for drunkenness. And again he says: Drunkenness causeth thorns to spring up in the hand of a man. This which we say is not for the priests alone, but for all Christian people, who are named with the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who spoke concerning them and said: To whom (shall be) sorrow and indignation and blackness of eyes and fighting and breaking of bones — to whom shall they be except to those who exceed in drinking wine, and to those who ask and go where there is drinking.

Concerning the memorial of those who have fallen asleep. The third day shall be observed with psalms and prayers, because of the resurrection of our Lord the third day. Further, they shall observe seven days for a memorial of the living and the dead. And further, they shall observe the completion of a month in likeness of the old ordinance, even as the people mourned for Moses thirty days. And further, they shall observe the completion of forty days; and they shall observe half a year. And further, they shall observe the completion of a year in likeness of their memorial. And they shall give to the poor of the goods of those who die as propitiation for their soul, for their memorial. This we say only concerning the servants of God. As for the wicked indeed, if they gave the riches of all the world to the poor there would be no profit to them: for if being alive he was an enemy of God, the thing (lit. his word) is clear that he was his enemy when he went out of the world. He finds no mercy, because there is no respect of persons with him (sc. God), for God is righteous and loves righteousness, and lo ! the man (is judged) from his work, and lo ! the man who is good — they say his work is also (good). And if ye are invited, eat moderately and in the fear of God, because it is seemly to pray for those who departed from this world. And ye presbyters and deacons who are in our Lord Christ, it is seemly that ye should be temperate at all times, ye and others also, that ye may be able to do what the Scripture says: The strong and angry shall not drink wine, lest they should be drunken and should forget wisdom, and not be able to judge rightly. Because as administrators under God the almighty and the only Son our Lord Jesus Christ are the presbyters and the deacons, and the powers of the church. And we say this, not forbidding them to drink wine, because we cannot despise what God has created for the joy of man, but that they should not drink for drunkenness. And the Scriptures do not say; They shall not drink wine, but they say: They shall not drink wine for drunkenness. And again he says: Drunkenness causeth thorns to spring up in the hand of a man. This which we say is not for the priests alone, but for all Christian people, who are named with the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who spoke concerning them and said: To whom (shall be) sorrow and indignation and blackness of eyes and fighting and breaking of bones — to whom shall they be except to those who exceed in drinking wine, and to those who ask and go where there is drinking.

Concerning the memorial of those who have fallen asleep. The third day shall be observed with psalms and prayers, because of the resurrection of our Lord the third day. Further, they shall observe seven days for a memorial of the living and the dead. And further, they shall observe the completion of a month in likeness of the old ordinance, even as the people mourned for Moses thirty days. And further, they shall observe the completion of forty days; and they shall observe half a year. And further, they shall observe the completion of a year in likeness of their memorial. And they shall give to the poor of the goods of those who die as propitiation for their soul, for their memorial. This we say only concerning the servants of God. As for the wicked indeed, if they gave the riches of all the world to the poor there would be no profit to them: for if being alive he was an enemy of God, the thing (lit. his word) is clear that he was his enemy when he went out of the world. He finds no mercy, because there is no respect of persons with him (sc. God), for God is righteous and loves righteousness, and lo ! the man (is judged) from his work, and lo ! the man who is good — they say his work is also (good). And if ye are invited, eat moderately and in the fear of God, because it is seemly to pray for those who departed from this world. And ye presbyters and deacons who are in our Lord Christ, it is seemly that ye should be temperate at all times, ye and others also, that ye may be able to do what the Scripture says: The strong and angry shall not drink wine, lest they should be drunken and should forget wisdom, and not be able to judge rightly. Because as administrators under God the almighty and the only Son our Lord Jesus Christ are the presbyters and the deacons, and the powers of the church. And we say this, not forbidding them to drink wine, because we cannot despise what God has created for the joy of man, but that they should not drink for drunkenness. And the Scriptures do not say; They shall not drink wine, but they say: They shall not drink wine for drunkenness. And again he says: Drunkenness causeth thorns to spring up in the hand of a man. This which we say is not for the priests alone, but for all Christian people, who are named with the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who spoke concerning them and said: To whom (shall be) sorrow and indignation and blackness of eyes and fighting and breaking of bones — to whom shall they be except to those who exceed in drinking wine, and to those who ask and go where there is drinking.

Or if you stay at home, read the books of the Law, of the Kings, with the Prophets; sing the hymns of David; and peruse diligently the Gospel, which is the completion of the other.

He therefore charged us Himself to fast these six days on account of the impiety and transgression of the Jews, commanding us withal to bewail over them, and lament for their perdition. For even He Himself wept over them, because they knew not the time of their visitation. But He commanded us to fast on the fourth and sixth days of the week; the former on account of His being betrayed, and the latter on account of His passion. But He appointed us to break our fast on the seventh day at the cock-crowing, but to fast on the Sabbath day. Not that the Sabbath day is a day of fasting, being the rest from the creation, but because we ought to fast on this one Sabbath only, while on this day the Creator was under the earth. For on their very feast-day they apprehended the Lord, that oracle might be fulfilled which says: They placed their signs in the middle of their feast, and knew them not. You ought therefore to bewail over them, because when the Lord came they did not believe in Him, but rejected His doctrine, judging themselves unworthy of salvation. You therefore are happy who once were not a people, but are now an holy nation, delivered from the deceit of idols, from ignorance, from impiety, who once had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy through your hearty obedience: for to you, the converted Gentiles, is opened the gate of life, who formerly were not beloved, but are now beloved; a people ordained for the possession of God, to show forth His virtues, concerning whom our Saviour said, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest to them that asked not after me. I said, Behold me, to a nation which did not call upon my name. For when you did not seek after Him, then were you sought for by Him; and you who have believed in Him have hearkened to His call, and have left the madness of polytheism, and have fled to the true monarchy, to Almighty God, through Christ Jesus, and have become the completion of the number of the saved — ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; as it is written in David, A thousand shall fall beside you, and ten thousand at your right hand; and again, The chariots of God are by tens of thousands, and thousands of the prosperous. But unto unbelieving Israel He says: All the day long have I stretched out mine hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people, which go in a way that is not good, but after their own sins, a people provoking me before my face.

O Lord Almighty You have created the world by Christ, and hast appointed the Sabbath in memory thereof, because that on that day You have made us rest from our works, for the meditation upon Your laws. You have also appointed festivals for the rejoicing of our souls, that we might come into the remembrance of that wisdom which was created by You; how He submitted to be made of a woman on our account; He appeared in life, and demonstrated Himself in His baptism; how He that appeared is both God and man; He suffered for us by Your permission, and died, and rose again by Your power: on which account we solemnly assemble to celebrate the feast of the resurrection on the Lord's day, and rejoice on account of Him who has conquered death, and has brought life and immortality to light. For by Him You have brought home the Gentiles to Yourself for a peculiar people, the true Israel beloved of God, and seeing God. For You O Lord, brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and delivered them out of the iron furnace, from clay and brick-making, and redeemed them out of the hands of Pharaoh, and of those under him, and led them through the sea as through dry land, and bore their manners in the wilderness, and bestowed on them all sorts of good things. You gave them the law or decalogue, which was pronounced by Your voice and written with Your hand. You enjoined the observation of the Sabbath, not affording them an occasion of idleness, but an opportunity of piety, for their knowledge of Your power, and the prohibition of evils; having limited them as within an holy circuit for the sake of doctrine, for the rejoicing upon the seventh period. On this account was there appointed one week, and seven weeks, and the seventh month, and the seventh year, and the revolution of these, the jubilee, which is the fiftieth year for remission, that men might have no occasion to pretend ignorance. On this account He permitted men every Sabbath to rest, that so no one might be willing to send one word out of his mouth in anger on the day of the Sabbath. For the Sabbath is the ceasing of the creation, the completion of the world, the inquiry after laws, and the grateful praise to God for the blessings He has bestowed upon men. All which the Lord's day excels, and shows the Mediator Himself, the Provider, the Lawgiver, the Cause of the resurrection, the First-born of the whole creation, God the Word, and man, who was born of Mary alone, without a man, who lived holily, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose again from the dead. So that the Lord's day commands us to offer unto You, O Lord, thanksgiving for all. For this is the grace afforded by You, which on account of its greatness has obscured all other blessings.

And all thine enemies and foes shall be overthrown before thee, and completion and finish shall be unto thee and unto thy seed after thee; thou shalt judge many nations and none shall judge thee."

He therefore said, that in his sleep he saw three clusters of grapes hanging upon three branches of a vine, large already, and ripe for gathering; and that he squeezed them into a cup which the king held in his hand; and when he had strained the wine, he gave it to the king to drink, and that he received it from him with a pleasant countenance. This, he said, was what he saw; and he desired Joseph, that if he had any portion of understanding in such matters, he would tell him what this vision foretold. Who bid him be of good cheer, and expect to be loosed from his bonds in three days' time, because the king desired his service, and was about to restore him to it again; for he let him know that God bestows the fruit of the vine upon men for good; which wine is poured out to him, and is the pledge of fidelity and mutual confidence among men; and puts an end to their quarrels, takes away passion and grief out of the minds of them that use it, and makes them cheerful. "Thou sayest that thou didst squeeze this wine from three clusters of grapes with thine hands, and that the king received it: know, therefore, that this vision is for thy good, and foretells a release from thy present distress within the same number of days as the branches had whence thou gatheredst thy grapes in thy sleep. However, remember what prosperity I have foretold thee when thou hast found it true by experience; and when thou art in authority, do not overlook us in this prison, wherein thou wilt leave us when thou art gone to the place we have foretold; for we are not in prison for any crime; but for the sake of our virtue and sobriety are we condemned to suffer the penalty of malefactors, and because we are not willing to injure him that has thus distressed us, though it were for our own pleasure." The cupbearer, therefore, as was natural to do, rejoiced to hear such an interpretation of his dream, and waited the completion of what had been thus shown him beforehand.

Thus did Balaam speak by inspiration, as not being in his own power, but moved to say what he did by the Divine Spirit. But then Balak was displeased, and said he had broken the contract he had made, whereby he was to come, as he and his confederates had invited him, by the promise of great presents: for whereas he came to curse their enemies, he had made an encomium upon them, and had declared that they were the happiest of men. To which Balaam replied, "O Balak, if thou rightly considerest this whole matter, canst thou suppose that it is in our power to be silent, or to say any thing, when the Spirit of God seizes upon us?—for he puts such words as he pleases in our mouths, and such discourses as we are not ourselves conscious of. I well remember by what entreaties both you and the Midianites so joyfully brought me hither, and on that account I took this journey. It was my prayer, that I might not put any affront upon you, as to what you desired of me; but God is more powerful than the purposes I had made to serve you; for those that take upon them to foretell the affairs of mankind, as from their own abilities, are entirely unable to do it, or to forbear to utter what God suggests to them, or to offer violence to his will; for when he prevents us and enters into us, nothing that we say is our own. I then did not intend to praise this army, nor to go over the several good things which God intended to do to their race; but since he was so favorable to them, and so ready to bestow upon them a happy life and eternal glory, he suggested the declaration of those things to me: but now, because it is my desire to oblige thee thyself, as well as the Midianites, whose entreaties it is not decent for me to reject, go to, let us again rear other altars, and offer the like sacrifices that we did before, that I may see whether I can persuade God to permit me to bind these men with curses." Which, when Balak had agreed to, God would not, even upon second sacrifices, consent to his cursing the Israelites. Then fell Balaam upon his face, and foretold what calamities would befall the several kings of the nations, and the most eminent cities, some of which of old were not so much as inhabited; which events have come to pass among the several people concerned, both in the foregoing ages, and in this, till my own memory, both by sea and by land. From which completion of all these predictions that he made, one may easily guess that the rest will have their completion in time to come.

Thus did Balaam speak by inspiration, as not being in his own power, but moved to say what he did by the Divine Spirit. But then Balak was displeased, and said he had broken the contract he had made, whereby he was to come, as he and his confederates had invited him, by the promise of great presents: for whereas he came to curse their enemies, he had made an encomium upon them, and had declared that they were the happiest of men. To which Balaam replied, "O Balak, if thou rightly considerest this whole matter, canst thou suppose that it is in our power to be silent, or to say any thing, when the Spirit of God seizes upon us?—for he puts such words as he pleases in our mouths, and such discourses as we are not ourselves conscious of. I well remember by what entreaties both you and the Midianites so joyfully brought me hither, and on that account I took this journey. It was my prayer, that I might not put any affront upon you, as to what you desired of me; but God is more powerful than the purposes I had made to serve you; for those that take upon them to foretell the affairs of mankind, as from their own abilities, are entirely unable to do it, or to forbear to utter what God suggests to them, or to offer violence to his will; for when he prevents us and enters into us, nothing that we say is our own. I then did not intend to praise this army, nor to go over the several good things which God intended to do to their race; but since he was so favorable to them, and so ready to bestow upon them a happy life and eternal glory, he suggested the declaration of those things to me: but now, because it is my desire to oblige thee thyself, as well as the Midianites, whose entreaties it is not decent for me to reject, go to, let us again rear other altars, and offer the like sacrifices that we did before, that I may see whether I can persuade God to permit me to bind these men with curses." Which, when Balak had agreed to, God would not, even upon second sacrifices, consent to his cursing the Israelites. Then fell Balaam upon his face, and foretold what calamities would befall the several kings of the nations, and the most eminent cities, some of which of old were not so much as inhabited; which events have come to pass among the several people concerned, both in the foregoing ages, and in this, till my own memory, both by sea and by land. From which completion of all these predictions that he made, one may easily guess that the rest will have their completion in time to come.

How Sosius and Herod took Jerusalem by force; and besides that, how they took Antigonus captive, has been related by us in the foregoing book. We will now proceed in the narration. And since Herod had now the government of all Judea put into his hands, he promoted such of the private men in the city as had been of his party, but never left off avenging and punishing every day those that had chosen to be of the party of his enemies. But Pollio the Pharisee, and Sameas, a disciple of his, were honored by him above all the rest; for when Jerusalem was besieged, they advised the citizens to receive Herod, for which advice they were well requited. But this Pollio, at the time when Herod was once upon his trial of life and death, foretold, in way of reproach, to Hyrcanus and the other judges, how this Herod, whom they suffered now to escape, would afterward inflict punishment on them all; which had its completion in time, while God fulfilled the words he had spoken.

An end or consummation would seem to be an indication of the perfection and completion of things. And this reminds us here, that if there be any one imbued with a desire of reading and understanding subjects of such difficulty and importance, he ought to bring to the effort a perfect and instructed understanding, lest perhaps, if he has had no experience in questions of this kind, they may appear to him as vain and superfluous; or if his mind be full of preconceptions and prejudices on other points, he may judge these to be heretical and opposed to the faith of the church, yielding in so doing not so much to the convictions of reason as to the dogmatism of prejudice. These subjects, indeed, are treated by us with great solicitude and caution, in the manner rather of an investigation and discussion, than in that of fixed and certain decision. For we have pointed out in the preceding pages those questions which must be set forth in clear dogmatic propositions, as I think has been done to the best of my ability when speaking of the Trinity. But on the present occasion our exercise is to be conducted, as we best may, in the style of a disputation rather than of strict definition. The end of the world, then, and the final consummation, will take place when every one shall be subjected to punishment for his sins; a time which God alone knows, when He will bestow on each one what he deserves. We think, indeed, that the goodness of God, through His Christ, may recall all His creatures to one end, even His enemies being conquered and subdued. For thus says holy Scripture, “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit Thou at my right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.” And if the meaning of the prophet’s language here be less clear, we may ascertain it from the Apostle Paul, who speaks more openly, thus: “For Christ must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet.” But if even that unreserved declaration of the apostle do not sufficiently inform us what is meant by “enemies being placed under His feet,” listen to what he says in the following words, “For all things must be put under Him.” What, then, is this “putting under” by which all things must be made subject to Christ? I am of opinion that it is this very subjection by which we also wish to be subject to Him, by which the apostles also were subject, and all the saints who have been followers of Christ. For the name “subjection,” by which we are subject to Christ, indicates that the salvation which proceeds from Him belongs to His subjects, agreeably to the declaration of David, “Shall not my soul be subject unto God? From Him cometh my salvation.”

But since the words of the apostle, in what he says regarding vessels of honour or dishonour, that “if a man therefore purge himself, he will be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for the Master’s service, and prepared unto every good work,” appear to place nothing in the power of God, but all in ourselves; while in those in which he declares that “the potter hath power over the clay, to make of the same lump one vessel to honour, another to dishonour,” he seems to refer the whole to God,—it is not to be understood that those statements are contradictory, but the two meanings are to be reduced to agreement, and one signification must be drawn from both, viz. that we are not to suppose either that those things which are in our own power can be done without the help of God, or that those which are in God’s hand can be brought to completion without the intervention of our acts, and desires, and intention; because we have it not in our own power so to will or do anything, as not to know that this very faculty, by which we are able to will or to do, was bestowed on us by God, according to the distinction which we indicated above. Or again, when God forms vessels, some to honour and others to dishonour, we are to suppose that He does not regard either our wills, or our purposes, or our deserts, to be the causes of the honour or dishonour, as if they were a sort of matter from which He may form the vessel of each one of us either to honour or to dishonour; whereas the very movement of the soul itself, or the purpose of the understanding, may of itself suggest to him, who is not unaware of his heart and the thoughts of his mind, whether his vessel ought to be formed to honour or to dishonour. But let these points suffice, which we have discussed as we best could, regarding the questions connected with the freedom of the will.

Again, not understanding the meaning of the words, “And God ended on the sixth day His works which He had made, and ceased on the seventh day from all His works which He had made: and God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it, because on it He had ceased from all His works which He had begun to make;” and imagining the expression, “He ceased on the seventh day,” to be the same as this, “He rested on the seventh day,” he makes the remark: “After this, indeed, he is weary, like a very bad workman, who stands in need of rest to refresh himself!” For he knows nothing of the day of the Sabbath and rest of God, which follows the completion of the world’s creation, and which lasts during the duration of the world, and in which all those will keep festival with God who have done all their works in their six days, and who, because they have omitted none of their duties, will ascend to the contemplation [of celestial things], and to the assembly of righteous and blessed beings. In the next place, as if either the Scriptures made such a statement, or as if we ourselves so spoke of God as having rested from fatigue, he continues: “It is not in keeping with the fitness of things that the first God should feel fatigue, or work with His hands, or give forth commands.” Celsus says, that “it is not in keeping with the fitness of things that the first God should feel fatigue.” Now we would say that neither does God the Word feel fatigue, nor any of those beings who belong to a better and diviner order of things, because the sensation of fatigue is peculiar to those who are in the body. You can examine whether this is true of those who possess a body of any kind, or of those who have an earthly body, or one a little better than this. But “neither is it consistent with the fitness of things that the first God should work with His own hands.” If you understand the words “work with His own hands” literally, then neither are they applicable to the second God, nor to any other being partaking of divinity. But suppose that they are spoken in an improper and figurative sense, so that we may translate the following expressions, “And the firmament showeth forth His handywork,” and “the heavens are the work of Thy hands,” and any other similar phrases, in a figurative manner, so far as respects the “hands” and “limbs” of Deity, where is the absurdity in the words, “God thus working with His own hands?” And as there is no absurdity in God thus working, so neither is there in His issuing “commands;” so that what is done at His bidding should be beautiful and praiseworthy, because it was God who commanded it to be performed.

Retire thou then unto a secret place, where no one may be able to see thee or to hinder thee, before the completion of the experiment, whether thou shouldest wish to work by day or by night. But if thou shouldest wish to work by night, perfect thy work on the succeeding night; if by day, seeing that the day beginneth with the rising of the Sun (perfect thy work on) the succeeding day. But the hour of inception is the hour of Mercury.

“VIHI HADM LNPSh ChIH, Va-Yehi Ha-Adam Le-Nephesch Chiah, and the Adam was formed into a living Nephesch,” so that it (the physical Nephesch form) might be attached to himself (otherwise, so that it might be developed in him), and that he might form himself into similar conformations; and that he might project himself in that Neschamah from path into path, even unto the end and completion of all the paths.

ThBVNH, Thebunah, is the whole completion of the children, since it containeth the letters BN, Ben, BTh, Bath, and VH, Vau He, by which are denoted the Son and Daughter.

Observe, O our brother Nemesius, how the generations and families have succeeded each other; from Adam to the Jews, and the Jews also from one [generation] to another until the Cross of Christ. From that time and onwards the festivals of the Jews have ceased, even as the blessed David saith concerning them: ‘‘ Bind our festivals with chains even to the horns of the altar” (Ps. cxviii. 27). The chains are the families which are linked each to the other, and the altar is the Cross of Christ. The festivals of the Jews succeeded each other until the Cross of Christ, in priesthood, and royalty, and prophecy, and Passover; but from the Cross of Christ up to the present they all have ceased, even as I have said. The Jews have no longer among them a king, or a priest, or a prophet, or a Passover, even as Daniel prophesied concerning them, saying, “‘ After two and sixty weeks Christ shall be slain, and the city of holiness shall be laid waste until the completion of things (Dan. ix. 26)—that is to say—for ever and ever.

Some men have a tradition that when our Lord broke His body for His disciples in the upper chamber, John the son of Zebedee hid a part of his portion until our Lord rose from the dead. And when our Lord appeared to His disciples and to Thomas with them, He said to Thomas, ‘ Hither with thy finger and lay it on My side, and be not unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas put his finger near to our Lord’s side, and it rested upon the mark of the spear, and the disciples saw the blood from the marks of the spear and nails. And John took that piece of consecrated bread, and wiped up that blood with it; and the Easterns, Mar Addai and Mar Mari, took that piece, and with it they sanctified this unleavened bread which has been handed down among us. The other disciples did not take any of it, because they said,! We will consecrate for ourselves whenever we wish.’ As for the oil of baptism, some say that it was part of the oil with which they anointed the kings; others say that it was part of the unguent wherewith they embalmed our Lord; and many agree with this (statement). Others again say that when John took that piece of consecrated bread of the Passover in his hand, it burst into flame and burnt in the palm of his hand, and the palm of his hand sweated, and he took that sweat and hid it for the sign of the cross of baptism. This account we have heard by ear from the mouth of a recluse and visitor (περιοδευτής), and we have not received it from Scripture The word Pentecost is interpreted ‘the completion of fifty days.’

All classes and conditions of men will rise from the dead in the state of the perfect form of Christ, about thirty-three years of age, even as our Redeemer rose from the grave. We shall rise with all our limbs perfect, and with the same constitutions, without addition or diminution. Some say that the hair and nails and prepuce will rise, and some say they will not; as if they were superfluous for the completion of the nature of man. Some say concerning the resurrection that a likeness only will rise, without parts and without the ■composition of the limbs of man; a mere similitude of hands and feet and hardness of bones. Others say that the whole man will be cast into one crystalline substance, and that all his parts will be mingled together; and they do not grant him an ordered arrangement of composition. Others say that the vessels which are inside the belly, such as the bowels, liver, etc., will not rise; but they err and stray from the truth, and do not understand that if one of the parts of the body perish, it is not perfect. For Paul shewed plainly and laid down an example of the resurrection in the grain of wheat: just as that grows up entire with its glory, without any portion of it having perished, even so we; for the whole man shall rise with all his limbs and parts, and ordered in his composition as now, only having acquired purification from the humours. And this is not surprising, that if an earthen vessel acquires firmness and lightness when it goes into the fiery furnace, without any change taking place in its shape or form, but is lightened of its heaviness and density, whilst it preserves its shape uninjured; so also should the Holy Spirit burn us in the furnace of the resurrection and drive, forth from us all the foul material of the present (life), and clothe us with incorruptibility. ‘ It is sown an animal body; it rises a spiritual We shall neither see nor hear with all our bodily members, although some men have thought that the whole man will be sight and hearing; but we shall carry out action with these same usual limbs, if it happen to be necessary; although we shall not there need speech and conversation with one another, because each other’s secrets will be revealed to us.

And Jesus said to his disciples: "I am come forth out of that First Mystery, which is the last mystery, that is the four-and-twentieth mystery." And his disciples have not known nor understood that anything existeth within that mystery; but they thought of that mystery, that it is the head of the universe and the head of all existence; and they thought it is the completion of all completions, because Jesus had said to them concerning that mystery, that it surroundeth the First Commandment and the five Impressions and the great Light and the five Helpers and the whole Treasury of the Light.

And he had not told his disciples: "I have gone forth out of such and such regions until I entered into that mystery, and until I went forth out of it"; but, in teaching them, he said to them: "I am come forth from that mystery." For this cause then they thought of that mystery, that it is the completion of completions, and that it is the head of the universe and that it is the total Fulness. For Jesus had said to his disciples: "That mystery surroundeth that universe of which I have spoken unto you from the day when I met with you even unto this day." For this cause then the disciples thought there is nothing within that mystery.

It came to pass then, when the disciples were sitting together on the Mount of Olives, speaking of these words and rejoicing in great joy, and exulting exceedingly and saying one to another: "Blessed are we before all men who are on the earth, because the Saviour hath revealed this unto us, and we have received the Fulness and the total completion,"--they said this to one another, while Jesus sat a little removed from them.

Then Jesus, the compassionate, said unto them: "Rejoice and exult from this hour on, for I have gone to the regions out of which I had come forth. From this day on then will I discourse with you in openness, from the beginning of the Truth unto its completion; and I will discourse with you face to face without similitude. From this hour on will I not hide anything from you of the [mystery] of the height and of that of the region of Truth. For authority hath been given me through the Ineffable and through the First Mystery of all mysteries to speak with you, from the Beginning right up to the Fulness,. both from within without and from without within. Hearken, therefore, that I may tell you all things.

"It came to pass, when the sun rose in the east, thereafter then through the First Mystery, which existed from the beginning, on account of which the universe hath arisen, out of which also I am myself now come, not in the time before my crucifixion, but now,--it came to pass, through the command of that mystery, that there should be sent me my Light-vesture, which it had given me from the beginning, and which I had left behind in the last mystery, that is the four-and-twentieth mystery from within without,--those which are in the orders of the second space of the First Mystery. That Vesture then I left behind in the last mystery, until the time should be completed to put it on, and I should begin to discourse with the race of men and reveal unto them all from the beginning of the Truth to its completion, and discourse with them from the interiors of the interiors to the exteriors of the exteriors and from the exteriors of the exteriors to the interiors of the interiors. Rejoice then and exult and rejoice more and more greatly, for to you it is given that I speak first with you from the beginning of the Truth to its completion.

"It came to pass, when the sun rose in the east, thereafter then through the First Mystery, which existed from the beginning, on account of which the universe hath arisen, out of which also I am myself now come, not in the time before my crucifixion, but now,--it came to pass, through the command of that mystery, that there should be sent me my Light-vesture, which it had given me from the beginning, and which I had left behind in the last mystery, that is the four-and-twentieth mystery from within without,--those which are in the orders of the second space of the First Mystery. That Vesture then I left behind in the last mystery, until the time should be completed to put it on, and I should begin to discourse with the race of men and reveal unto them all from the beginning of the Truth to its completion, and discourse with them from the interiors of the interiors to the exteriors of the exteriors and from the exteriors of the exteriors to the interiors of the interiors. Rejoice then and exult and rejoice more and more greatly, for to you it is given that I speak first with you from the beginning of the Truth to its completion.

This then Jesus said to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. Jesus continued again in the discourse with his disciples [and said]: "Rejoice and exult and add joy to your joy, for the times are completed for me to put on my Vesture, which hath been prepared for me from the beginning, which I left behind in the last mystery until the time of its completion. Now the time of its completion is the time when I shall be commanded through the First Mystery to discourse with you from the beginning of the Truth to the completion thereof, and from the interiors of the interiors [to the exteriors of the exteriors], for the world will be saved through you. Rejoice then and exult, for ye are blessed before all men who are on the earth. It is ye who will save the whole world."

This then Jesus said to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. Jesus continued again in the discourse with his disciples [and said]: "Rejoice and exult and add joy to your joy, for the times are completed for me to put on my Vesture, which hath been prepared for me from the beginning, which I left behind in the last mystery until the time of its completion. Now the time of its completion is the time when I shall be commanded through the First Mystery to discourse with you from the beginning of the Truth to the completion thereof, and from the interiors of the interiors [to the exteriors of the exteriors], for the world will be saved through you. Rejoice then and exult, for ye are blessed before all men who are on the earth. It is ye who will save the whole world."

This then Jesus said to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. Jesus continued again in the discourse with his disciples [and said]: "Rejoice and exult and add joy to your joy, for the times are completed for me to put on my Vesture, which hath been prepared for me from the beginning, which I left behind in the last mystery until the time of its completion. Now the time of its completion is the time when I shall be commanded through the First Mystery to discourse with you from the beginning of the Truth to the completion thereof, and from the interiors of the interiors [to the exteriors of the exteriors], for the world will be saved through you. Rejoice then and exult, for ye are blessed before all men who are on the earth. It is ye who will save the whole world."

And Jesus answered and said unto Philip and to all the disciples together: "I have changed their path for the salvation of all souls. Amēn, amēn, I say unto you If I had not changed their path, a host of souls would have been destroyed, and they would have spent a long time, if the rulers of the æons and the rulers of the Fate and of the sphere and of all their regions and all their heavens and all their æons had not been brought to naught; and the souls would have continued a long time here outside, and the completion of the number of perfect souls would have been delayed, which [souls] shall be counted in the Inheritance of the Height through the mysteries and shall be in the Treasury of the Light. For this cause then I have changed their path, that they might be deluded and fall into agitation and yield up the power which is in the matter of their world and which they fashion into souls, in order that those who shall be saved, might be quickly purified and raised on high, they and the whole power, and that those who shall not be saved, might be quickly destroyed."

"And Melchisedec, the Receiver of the Light, purifieth them, as he doth continually; he carrieth their light into the Treasury of the Light. And all the rulers of the æons and the rulers of the Fate and those of the sphere turn to the matter of their refuse; they devour it and do not let it go and become souls in the world. They devour then their matter, so that they may not become powerless and exhausted and their power cease in them and their kingdom become destroyed, but in order that they may delay and linger a long time until the completion of the number of the perfect souls who shall be in the Treasury of the Light.

"'9. Now, therefore, O Light, leave me not in the chaos for the completion of my whole time; forsake me not, O Light.

"And I will tell you the expansion of all mysteries and the types of every one of them and the manner of their completion in all their figures. And I will tell you the mystery of the One and Only, the Ineffable, and all its types, all its figures and its whole economy, wherefor it hath come forth from the last Limb of the Ineffable. For that mystery is the setting-up of them all.

"And from this hour onwards no one will be able to enter into the Light and no one be able to go forth. For at the completion of the time of the number of the perfect souls, before I have set fire to the world, in order that it may purify the æons and the veils and the firmaments and the whole earth and also all the matters which are on it, mankind will be still existing.

"At that time then the faith will reveal itself still more and the mysteries in those days. And many souls will come by means of the circuits of the changes of the body, and coming back into the world are some of those in this present time who have hearkened unto me, how I taught, who at the completion of the number of the perfect souls will find the mysteries of the Light and receive them and come to the gates of the Light and find that the number of the perfect souls is complete, which is the completion of the First Mystery and the gnosis of the universe. And they will find that I have shut the gates of the Light and that it is impossible that any one should enter in or that any one should go forth from this hour.

"At that time then the faith will reveal itself still more and the mysteries in those days. And many souls will come by means of the circuits of the changes of the body, and coming back into the world are some of those in this present time who have hearkened unto me, how I taught, who at the completion of the number of the perfect souls will find the mysteries of the Light and receive them and come to the gates of the Light and find that the number of the perfect souls is complete, which is the completion of the First Mystery and the gnosis of the universe. And they will find that I have shut the gates of the Light and that it is impossible that any one should enter in or that any one should go forth from this hour.

And Mary continued and said unto the Saviour: "My Lord, if a man hath received the mysteries of the Light which [are] in the first space from without, and when the time of the mysteries up to which they reach, is completed, and if that man continueth anew to receive mysteries of the mysteries which [are] within the mysteries which he hath already received, and moreover that man hath become negligent, not having prayed in the prayer which taketh away the evil of the victuals which he eateth and drinketh, and through the evil of the victuals he is bound to the axle of the Fate of the rulers and through the necessity of the elements he hath sinned anew after the completion of the time up to which the mystery reacheth,--because he hath become negligent and hath not prayed in the prayer which taketh away the evil of the souls and purifieth them,--and that man is come out of the body before he hath repented anew and anew received the mysteries of the mysteries which [are] within the mysteries which he hath already received,--those which accept repentance from him and forgive his sins,--and when he I came forth out of the body and we knew with certainty that they have carried him into the midst of the dragon of the outer darkness because of the sins which he committed, and that that man hath no helper in the world nor any one compassionate, that he should perform the mystery of the Ineffable until he should be removed out of the midst of the dragon of the outer darkness and led into the Light-kingdom,--now, therefore, my Lord, what will befall him until he save himself from the chastisements of the dragon of the outer darkness? By no means, O Lord, abandon him, because he hath endured sufferings in the persecutions and in the whole godhood in which he is.

And Jesus made invocation, turning himself towards the four corners of the world with his disciples, who were all clad in linen garments, and saying: "iaō iaō iaō." This is its interpretation: iōta, because the universe hath gone forth; alpha, because it will turn itself back again; ōmega, because the completion of all the completeness will take place.

One who builds: how much must he build to be liable? He who builds any amount, and he who chisels, and he who strikes with a hammer or with an axe, and he who bores [a hole] of any size, is liable. This is the general principle: whoever does work and his work endures on Shabbat, he is liable. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: even one who strikes with a hammer on the anvil at the completion of his work is liable, because he is as one who improves his work.

An earthenware vessel that has three rims: If the innermost one projects above the others, all outside it is not susceptible to impurity. If the outermost one projects above the others all within it is susceptible to impurity; And if the middle one projects above the others, that which is within it is susceptible to impurity, while that which is without it is not susceptible to impurity. If they were equal in height: Rabbi Judah says: the middle one is deemed to be divided. But the sages ruled: all are not susceptible to impurity. When do earthenware vessels become susceptible to impurity? As soon as they are baked in the furnace, that being the completion of their manufacture.

A baking oven originally must be no less than four handbreadths [high] and what is left of it four handbreadths, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: this applies only to a large oven but in the case of a small one it originally can be [any height] and what is left is the greater part of it. [Its susceptibility to impurity begins] as soon as its manufacture is completed. What is regarded as the completion of its manufacture? When it is heated to a degree that suffices for the baking of spongy cakes. Rabbi Judah says: when a new oven has been heated to a degree that sufficed for the baking of spongy cakes in an old one.

A double stove: its original height must be no less than three fingerbreadths and what is left of it three fingerbreadths. [Its susceptibility to impurity begins] as soon as its manufacture is completed. What is regarded as the completion of its manufacture? When it is heated to a degree that suffices for the cooking of the lightest of eggs when scrambled and put in a saucepan. A single stove: if it was made for baking its prescribed size is the same as that for a baking-oven, and if it was made for cooking its prescribed size is the same as that for a double stove. A stone that projects one handbreadth from a baking-oven or three fingerbreadths from a double stove is considered a connection. One that projects from a single stove, if it was made for baking, the prescribed size is the same as that for a baking-oven, and if it was made for cooking the prescribed size is the same as that for a double stove. Rabbi Judah said: they spoke of a ‘handbreadth’ only where the projection was between the oven and a wall. If two ovens were adjacent to one another, they allot one handbreadth to this one and one to the other and the remainder is clean.

A mat whose reeds stretched lengthwise is insusceptible to uncleanness; But the sages rule: only if they lay in the shape of [the Greek letter] chi. If they were laid along its width and there was a distance of less than four handbreadths between the two reeds, it is insusceptible to uncleanness. If it was divided along its width, Rabbi Judah rules that is clean. So also, where the end-knots are untied, it is clean. If it was divided along its length but three end-knots remained intact across a stretch of six handbreadths, it is susceptible to uncleanness. When does a mat become susceptible to uncleanness? When its rough ends are trimmed, this being the completion of its manufacture.

Rebbi Ḥanina said: Also one who has his water on his shoulder may recite Shema‘ and pray. Rav Ḥuna said: So the reciting of Shema‘ and praying do not require concentration? Rebbi Mana said: I pointed out the difficulty before Rebbi Phineas that even if you say that the recitation of Shema‘ does not need concentration, does prayer not need concentration? Rebbi Yose said: I confirmed it following what Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa said in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: You got it, the completion of the works of water that are not clear from the words of the Torah.

There exists a baraita which says, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like a menstruating woman. Also there exists a baraita which says, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like crawling animals. The one who says, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like a menstruating woman, is understandable. But concerning the one who says, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like crawling animals, is it not called “unwell” only for its appurtenances? You will defile the coating of your silver gods and the clothing of your molten gold. Explain it if they were engraved on its body. Rebbi Jacob of Kefar Ḥanan said, explain it if one worships the ephod itself, similar to what is written, Gideon turned it into an ephod. Our Mishnah follows him who said, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like a menstruating woman. But did we not state: “its stones, its wood, and its dust make impure like a crawling animal”? Explain it if he worshipped the house itself and then built it up. But did we not state “there are three houses”? Explain it if he worshipped the house itself and then renovated it, as Rebbi Abba, Rab Huna said in the name of Rav: One who worships a house makes it forbidden. Rebbi Zeˋira, Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If somebody dedicates a house one does commit larceny with it. Rebbi Zeˋira said, about this the rabbis disagree. For him who says that he forbade it one may commit larceny with it, but for him who says that he does not forbid it, one does not commit larceny with it? Rebbi Ḥaggai objected before Rebbi Yose, does not a Mishnah disagree with Rav? “A trough in a rock: one does not fill from it.” Because he excavated it and after that combined it. Then not if he fixed it and after that excavated it. Is this house not as if he excavated it and after that combined it? What does Rav do with it? He explains that the hewing of stones is the completion of work on them. Does this not disagree with Rebbi Joḥanan, since Rebbi Joḥanan said, an idol which was broken is forbidden. And so we are thinking to say if in the future he cannot restore it in its entirety it is permitted according to everybody. But did we not state, “there are three kinds of stones”? Explain it that he worshipped every single stone and then builds with them. Even with Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish this does not disagree, as Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, an idol which was broken is permitted. And so we are thinking to say if in the future he can restore it in its entirety it is forbidden according to everybody, and Rebbi Yudan, the father of Rebbi Mattaniah, said, if they remain in their place is this not as if in the future he can restore it in its entirety? And these remain at their place. Rebbi Abba in the name of Rav, one who worships a house makes it forbidden, a tree he does not make forbidden. But did we not state, “there are three kinds of Ashera”? Explain it that he worshipped a vine and then planted it.

Everybody agrees that if he writes a word only at the moment when he finishes. “One who wrote one letter to complete a word or one letter to complete a scroll is liable.” One who wrote one letter on a weekday and one letter on the Sabbath, Rebbi Eliezer makes him liable for a purification sacrifice but Rebbi Joshua declares him not liable. Why? Either because of completion of the work or because it is not appropriate to be joined to it. Come and see, is he not free from liability if he wove one thread on a weekday and one thread on the Sabbath, is it not appropriate to be joined to it? But because of completion of the work, as Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa said, Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: If he wrote one letter in Tiberias and one letter in Sepphoris he is liable. For if it were not so following Rebbi Eliezer. If he wrote one letter on this Sabbath and one letter on the next Sabbath, Rebbi Eliezer makes him liable for a purification sacrifice but Rebbi Joshua declares him not liable. Come and see, if he wrote one letter on a weekday and one letter on the Sabbath, Rebbi Eliezer makes him liable for a purification sacrifice; not so much more if one letter on this Sabbath and one on the next! Because of the Sages who declare not liable.

Everybody agrees that if he writes a word only at the moment when he finishes. “One who wrote one letter to complete a word or one letter to complete a scroll is liable.” One who wrote one letter on a weekday and one letter on the Sabbath, Rebbi Eliezer makes him liable for a purification sacrifice but Rebbi Joshua declares him not liable. Why? Either because of completion of the work or because it is not appropriate to be joined to it. Come and see, is he not free from liability if he wove one thread on a weekday and one thread on the Sabbath, is it not appropriate to be joined to it? But because of completion of the work, as Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa said, Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: If he wrote one letter in Tiberias and one letter in Sepphoris he is liable. For if it were not so following Rebbi Eliezer. If he wrote one letter on this Sabbath and one letter on the next Sabbath, Rebbi Eliezer makes him liable for a purification sacrifice but Rebbi Joshua declares him not liable. Come and see, if he wrote one letter on a weekday and one letter on the Sabbath, Rebbi Eliezer makes him liable for a purification sacrifice; not so much more if one letter on this Sabbath and one on the next! Because of the Sages who declare not liable.

One may make honeywine on the Sabbath. Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: wine, honey, and pepper. Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: one is permitted to mix but forbidden to grind. Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: Anything for mixing is permitted, for grinding is forbidden. But do we not deal here with mixing? Rebbi Jehudah ben Titus, Rebbi Jehudah ben Pazi, Simeon bar Abba in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: there is a difference here since it is completion of production. Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: one is permitted to break but forbidden to assemble. Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: ground garlic. If it needed grinding it is forbidden, but if to mix into fat it is permitted. There, we have stated: “About garlic, unripe grapes, and grain kernels which he squashed when it was still daylight, Rebbi Ismael used to say, he should finish after nightfall, Rebbi Aqiba said, he may not finish.” Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa, Rebbi Simeon bar Abba in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: they disagreed only about profane food. “The Cohanim for heave used to follow Rebbi Ismael.”

May one add superstructure to superstructure? The word of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish implies that one adds superstructure to superstructure, since Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish said, I can cause that Bet Maˋon be in the completion of Tiberias. You consider the stadium as if it were full of houses, and the castra are within 70 and remainder of the stadium, and Bet Maˋon is within 70 and remainder of the castra. If one considers the superstructure, the mausoleum of Siricon is not within 70 and remainder, but if one considers the pottery, the mausoleum of Siricon is within 70 and remainder.

May one add completion to completion? The word of Rebbi Simeon implies that one adds completion to completion, since “Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai said, I can cause that one may walk from Tyre to Sidon, from Tiberias to Sepphoris, by caves and by barns.” Here for walking, there for completion.

May one add completion to completion? The word of Rebbi Simeon implies that one adds completion to completion, since “Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai said, I can cause that one may walk from Tyre to Sidon, from Tiberias to Sepphoris, by caves and by barns.” Here for walking, there for completion.

May one add completion to completion? The word of Rebbi Simeon implies that one adds completion to completion, since “Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai said, I can cause that one may walk from Tyre to Sidon, from Tiberias to Sepphoris, by caves and by barns.” Here for walking, there for completion.

May one add completion to completion? The word of Rebbi Simeon implies that one adds completion to completion, since “Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai said, I can cause that one may walk from Tyre to Sidon, from Tiberias to Sepphoris, by caves and by barns.” Here for walking, there for completion.

May one add completion to completion? The word of Rebbi Simeon implies that one adds completion to completion, since “Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai said, I can cause that one may walk from Tyre to Sidon, from Tiberias to Sepphoris, by caves and by barns.” Here for walking, there for completion.

What is touching? Rav Jehudah in the name of Samuel: That the finger should be seen between the lips. Rebbi Joḥanan said, until the gland enters. Rebbi Abba bar Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: When the gland has entered that is completion of intercourse. What are we dealing with? If about incest prohibitions, He made the one who touches equal to him who finishes. If for a bound slave girl, until he ejaculates, since Rebbi Jeremiah, Rebbi Abba bar Mamal, said in the name of Rav: “Flow of semen”, until he ejaculates. But we must deal with a widow for the High Priest. When he touched her, he became guilty for desecrating her. When the gland entered, he became guilty for having intercourse. When he ejaculated, he became guilty because “he shall not desecrate his semen in his people.”

MISHNAH: The following eat by Torah law: He who works on produce connected to the ground at the completion of work, or separated from the ground before the completion of work, only things grown from the earth. But the following may not eat: He who works on produce connected to the ground before the completion of work, or separated from the ground after the completion of work, or things not grown from the earth. If he was working with his hand but not with his feet, with his feet but not with his hands, even with his shoulder, he may eat. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah says, only if he works with hands and feet.

MISHNAH: The following eat by Torah law: He who works on produce connected to the ground at the completion of work, or separated from the ground before the completion of work, only things grown from the earth. But the following may not eat: He who works on produce connected to the ground before the completion of work, or separated from the ground after the completion of work, or things not grown from the earth. If he was working with his hand but not with his feet, with his feet but not with his hands, even with his shoulder, he may eat. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah says, only if he works with hands and feet.

MISHNAH: The following eat by Torah law: He who works on produce connected to the ground at the completion of work, or separated from the ground before the completion of work, only things grown from the earth. But the following may not eat: He who works on produce connected to the ground before the completion of work, or separated from the ground after the completion of work, or things not grown from the earth. If he was working with his hand but not with his feet, with his feet but not with his hands, even with his shoulder, he may eat. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah says, only if he works with hands and feet.

MISHNAH: The following eat by Torah law: He who works on produce connected to the ground at the completion of work, or separated from the ground before the completion of work, only things grown from the earth. But the following may not eat: He who works on produce connected to the ground before the completion of work, or separated from the ground after the completion of work, or things not grown from the earth. If he was working with his hand but not with his feet, with his feet but not with his hands, even with his shoulder, he may eat. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah says, only if he works with hands and feet.

There exists a baraita which says, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like a menstruating woman. Also there exists a baraita which says, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like crawling animals. The one who says, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like a menstruating woman, is understandable. But the one who says, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like crawling animals, is it not called “unwell” only for its appurtenances? Explain it if they were engraved on its body. As Rebbi Jacob of Kefar Ḥanan said, explain it if one worships the ephod itself, similar to what is written, Gideon made an ephod. Our Mishnah follows him who said, idols are like a menstruating woman and its appurtenances are like a menstruating woman, and we have stated: “its stones, its wood, and its dust make impure like a crawling animal.” Explain it if he worshipped the house itself, as Rebbi Abba, Rab Huna said in the name of Rav: One who worships a house makes it forbidden. Rebbi Zeˋira, Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: If somebody dedicates a house one does not commit larceny with it. And he who says, one does not commit larceny with it, can he make it forbidden? Rebbi Ḥaggai objected before Rebbi Yose, does not a Mishnah disagree with Rav? “A trough in a rock: one does not fill from it, and one does not sanctify with it, and one does not sprinkle with it, it does not have to be fastened with a tightened cover, and it does not invalidate a miqweh. If it was a vessel and he fixed it with lime, etc., up to it invalidates a miqweh.” Because he excavated it and after that combined it. Then if he fixed it and after that excavated it, what do you do with it? Explain it following Rebbi Joḥanan that the hewing of stones is the completion of work on them. Does this not disagree with Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish who said, an idol which was broken is permitted? And so we are thinking to say if in the future he can restore it to its vessel it is forbidden according to everybody. Explain it if he worships every single stone and then builds with them. Does this not disagree with Rebbi Joḥanan, as Rebbi Joḥanan said, an idol which was broken is forbidden? And so we are thinking to say if in the future he cannot restore it to its vessel it is permitted according to everybody. Explain it if he worshipped a vine and afterwards planted it.

Rav Jehudah asked Samuel: Since I am learned, can I judge the signs of an amnion? He said to him, your head’s head can be scalded by boiling water, you should not be scalded even by lukewarm water. Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan, we do not rely on women who say, its completion would have been male, its completion would have been female. Rebbi Jacon bar Zavdi, Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: A woman is trustworthy if she said, I gave birth or I did not give birth. But she is not trustworthy if she says, it was male or it was female.

Rav Jehudah asked Samuel: Since I am learned, can I judge the signs of an amnion? He said to him, your head’s head can be scalded by boiling water, you should not be scalded even by lukewarm water. Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan, we do not rely on women who say, its completion would have been male, its completion would have been female. Rebbi Jacon bar Zavdi, Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: A woman is trustworthy if she said, I gave birth or I did not give birth. But she is not trustworthy if she says, it was male or it was female.

Further did R. Judah begin with the honour of the Torah and expound : "Attend and hear; this day thou art become a people unto the Lord thy God" (Deut. xxvii. 9). But was it on that day that the Torah had been given to Israel? Was that not the completion of forty years! But it is intended to teach thee that every day is the Torah endeared to them who study it as on the day that it was given on Mount Sinai.

May we return to you chapter “The people of the city” and this is the completion of Tractate Megillah.