Aphrahat the Persian Sage — Commentary on Scripture

Deuteronomy 34:6

And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

Two godly benefits did his Lord accomplish for Moses in not making known his tomb to the children of Israel. He rejoiced that his adversaries should not know it and cast forth his bones from his tomb; and in the second place, that the children of his people should not know it and make his tomb a place of worship, for he was accounted as God in the eyes of the children of his people.

Ephesians 4:8-9

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

Now Christ was delivered from the sword, and ascended from out of Sheol, and revived and rose the third day, and so God abode for His help.

Esther 6:4-11

And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

Mordecai was also persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. Mordecai was persecuted by the wicked Haman; and Jesus was persecuted by the rebellious people. Mordecai by his prayer delivered his people from the hands of Haman; and Jesus by his prayer delivered his people from the hands of Satan. Mordecai was delivered from the hands of his persecutor; and Jesus was rescued from the hands of his persecutors. Because Mordecai sat and clothed himself with sackcloth, he saved Esther and his people from the sword; and because Jesus clothed himself with a body and was illuminated, he saved the church and its children from death. Because of Mordecai, Esther was well pleasing to the king and went in and sat instead of Vashti, who did not do his will; and because of Jesus, the church is well pleasing to God and has gone in to the king, instead of the congregation that did not his will. Mordecai admonished Esther that she should fast with her maidens, that she and her people might be delivered from the hands of Haman; and Jesus admonished the church and its children [to fast], that it and its children…

Mordecai was also persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. Mordecai was persecuted by the wicked Haman; and Jesus was persecuted by the rebellious people. Mordecai by his prayer delivered his people from the hands of Haman; and Jesus by his prayer delivered his people from the hands of Satan. Mordecai was delivered from the hands of his persecutor; and Jesus was rescued from the hands of his persecutors. Because Mordecai sat and clothed himself with sackcloth, he saved Esther and his people from the sword; and because Jesus clothed himself with a body and was illuminated, he saved the church and its children from death. Because of Mordecai, Esther was well pleasing to the king and went in and sat instead of Vashti, who did not do his will; and because of Jesus, the church is well pleasing to God and has gone in to the king, instead of the congregation that did not his will. Mordecai admonished Esther that she should fast with her maidens, that she and her people might be delivered from the hands of Haman; and Jesus admonished the church and its children [to fast], that it and its children might be delivered from the wrath. Mordecai received the honor of Haman, his persecutor; and Jesus received great glory from his Father, instead of his persecutors who were of the foolish people. Mordecai trod on the neck of Haman, his persecutor; and as for Jesus, his enemies shall be put under his feet. Before Mordecai, Haman proclaimed, “Thus shall it be done to the man, in honoring whom the king is pleased”; as for Jesus, his preachers came out of the people who persecuted him, and they said, “This is Jesus the Son of God.” The blood of Mordecai was required at the hand of Haman and his sons; and "the blood of Jesus,” his persecutors took “on themselves and on their children.”

Exodus 3:6 · 2 passages

Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

And when the holy One called Moses from the bush he said thus to him: “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob.” When Death heard this utterance, he trembled and feared and was terrified and perturbed and knew that he had not become king forever over the children of Adam. From the hour that he heard God saying to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob,” Death [struck] his hands together, for he learned that God is king of the dead and of the living and that it is appointed to the children of Adam to come forth from his darkness and arise with their bodies. And observe that our Redeemer Jesus also, when he repeated this utterance to the Sadducees, when they were disputing with him about the resurrection of the dead, thus said, “God is not [God] of the dead, for all are alive unto him.”

For the name of Divinity is given for the highest honor in the world, and with whomsoever God is well pleased, he applies it to him. But however, the names of God are many and are venerable, as he delivered his names to Moses, saying to him, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto generations.” And he called his name “Ahiyah ashar Ahiyah,” “El Shaddai” and “Adonai Sabaoth.” By these names God is called. The great and honorable name of Godhead he withheld not from his righteous ones; even as, though he is the great king, without grudging he applied the great and honorable name of kingship to men who are his creatures.

Ezekiel 16:54

That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

Consider and observe, my hearer, that if God had given a hope to Sodom and to its fellows, he would not have overthrown them with fire and brimstone, the sign of the last day of the world, but would have delivered them over to one of the kingdoms to be chastised.

Ezekiel 28:14

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

For the king who was anointed with the holy oil was called a cherub. And he was overshadowing all his people.… They were sitting in the shadow of the king, while he was standing at their head. And when the crown of their head fell, they were without shade. And if anyone should say that this word is spoken concerning Christ, let him accept what I write for him without dispute, and he will be persuaded that it was said with reference to the king.

Ezekiel 34:2

Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

But when the great pastor, the chief of pastors, comes, he will call and visit his sheep and will take knowledge of his flock. And he will bring forward those pastors, and will extract an account from them and will condemn them for their deeds. And those who fed the sheep well, them the chief of pastors will cause to rejoice and to inherit life and rest.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

But why, my beloved, was it that those dead did not rise because of the one word [spoken] through Ezekiel, and why was not their resurrection, both of bones and spirit, accomplished [through that one word]? For look! By one word the bones were fitted together, and by another the Spirit came. It was in order that full perfection might be left for our Lord Jesus Christ, who with one utterance and one word will raise up at the last day every human body. For it was not the word that was insufficient but its bearer was inferior.

Genesis 2:24

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

From the law we heard: “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” This is a great and sublime prophecy. Who actually leaves his father and mother when he takes a wife? This is the meaning of the words: man in his original condition loved and worshiped God, his father, and the Holy Spirit, his mother. He did not have any other love. In order to take a wife, man leaves his mother and father, those whom I mentioned above. His mind is thereby diverted by this world. His soul and mind are driven away from God and drawn into this world that he adores and loves “as a man loves the wife of his youth.” The love for this wife is different from the love for the father and the mother. Scripture adds, “They will become one flesh.” It is true that as some men make one flesh and soul with their wife, and their mind and thoughts are driven away from their father and mother, so those who never take a wife and stay alone may have a single spirit and mind with their father.

Genesis 25:21

And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Isaac too demonstrated the power of prayer when he prayed over Rebekah, and she gave birth.

Genesis 28:12

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

Our father Jacob too prayed at Bethel and saw the gate of heaven opened, with a ladder going up on high. This is a symbol of our Savior that Jacob saw; the gate of heaven is Christ, in accordance with what he said, “I am the gate of life; every one who enters by me shall live for ever.” David too said, “This is the gate of the Lord, by which the righteous enter.” Again, the ladder that Jacob saw is a symbol of our Savior, in that by means of him the just ascend from the lower to the upper realm. The ladder is also a symbol of our Savior’s cross, which was raised up like a ladder, with the Lord standing above it.

Genesis 28:18

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

Now Jacob called that place Bethel; and Jacob raised up there a pillar of stone as a testimony, and he poured oil over it. Our father Jacob did this too in symbol, anticipating that stones would receive anointing, for the peoples who have believed in Christ are the stones that are anointed, just as John says of them: “From these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham.” For in Jacob’s prayer the calling of the nations was symbolized.

Genesis 32:10

I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

“With only his staff he crossed the Jordan.” It was a wondrous symbol Jacob held in his hand in anticipation—the sign of the cross of the great prophet. He lifted up his feet on to the land of the people of the east, because it was from there that “a light shone out to the peoples.” He reclined by the well that had a stone on its mouth that many men had not been able to lift—for many shepherds had been unable to lift it and open up the well, until Jacob came and, through the power of the Shepherd who was hidden in his limbs, lifted up the stone and watered his sheep. Many prophets too had come without being able to unveil baptism, before the great Prophet came and opened it up by himself and was baptized in it, calling out and proclaiming in a gentle voice: “Let everyone who thirsts come to me and drink.”

Hosea 2:23

And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

And the holy people inherited an eternal kingdom; the holy people who were chosen instead of the people. For “he provoked them to jealousy with a people that was not a people. And with a foolish people he angered them.” For even if one has served the heathen, as soon as ever he draws near to the covenant of God, he is set free. The Gentiles are the new people chosen by God to replace the people of the old covenant as foretold by the prophet.

Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Furthermore, we must prove that this Jesus was beforehand promised from ancient times in the prophets and was called the Son of God. David said, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.” Again he said, “In the glories of holiness, from the womb, from of old, I have begotten you, a child.” And Isaiah said, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his government was upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, and Counselor, and mighty God of the ages, and Prince of peace. And to the increase of his government and to his peace there is no end.” Therefore tell me, O wise teacher of Israel, who is he that was born and whose name was called “child” and “son” and “Wonderful” and “Counselor,” the “mighty God of the ages,” and “Prince of peace,” “to the increase of” whose government and to whose “peace [he said], there is no end?” For if we call Christ the Son of God, David taught us [this]; and that we call him God, this we learned from Isaiah. “And his government was laid upon his shoulder”; for he bore his cross and went out from Jerusalem. And that he “was b…

Furthermore, we must prove that this Jesus was beforehand promised from ancient times in the prophets and was called the Son of God. David said, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.” Again he said, “In the glories of holiness, from the womb, from of old, I have begotten you, a child.” And Isaiah said, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his government was upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, and Counselor, and mighty God of the ages, and Prince of peace. And to the increase of his government and to his peace there is no end.” Therefore tell me, O wise teacher of Israel, who is he that was born and whose name was called “child” and “son” and “Wonderful” and “Counselor,” the “mighty God of the ages,” and “Prince of peace,” “to the increase of” whose government and to whose “peace [he said], there is no end?” For if we call Christ the Son of God, David taught us [this]; and that we call him God, this we learned from Isaiah. “And his government was laid upon his shoulder”; for he bore his cross and went out from Jerusalem. And that he “was born as a child,” Isaiah again said, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear; and his name shall be called Immanuel, which is, our God with us.”

Isaiah 10:15

Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

For you, Sennacherib, are the ax in the hands of him that cuts, and you are the saw in the hands of him that saws, and the rod in the hand of him that wields you for chastisement, and you are the staff for smiting. You are sent against the fickle people, and again you are ordained against the stubborn people, that you may carry away the captivity and take the spoil; and you have made them as the mire of the streets for all people and for all the Gentiles. And when you have done all these things, why are you exalted against him who holds you, and why do you boast against him who saws with you, and why have you reviled the holy city?

Isaiah 11:1

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Jacob also prayed when he returned back from Laban, and he was rescued from the hands of his brother, Esau. He prayed as follows, confessing and saying, “With my staff have I crossed this river Jordan, and now I have become two camps.” Wondrous symbol of our Savior! When our Lord first came, the staff left the stem of Jesse, just like Jacob’s staff; and when he returns from his Father’s house at his second coming, he goes back to him with two camps, one from the people [Israel], the other from the peoples [nations]—just like Jacob who returned to his father Isaac with two camps.

Isaiah 14:13-14

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

Now Nebuchadnezzar said, “I will ascend to heaven and exalt my throne above the stars of God and sit in the lofty mountains that are in the borders of the north.” Isaiah said concerning him: “Because your heart has thus exalted you, therefore you shall be brought down to Sheol, and all that look upon you shall be astonished at you.”

Isaiah 23:15

And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.

This Tyre also lay waste seventy years like Jerusalem, which sat in desolation seventy years.