Hausa

Cyril of Alexandria

Nicene & Post-Nicene · AD 325–500

2,177 passages across 38 books of the Bible · Who was this?

On Genesis

20 of 32
  1. Genesis 6:1-4
    That we rightly understand this passage is also very much confirmed by the interpretation of the other translators. Aquila says: 'When the sons of the gods saw the daughters of men'. On the other hand, instead of 'sons of the gods', Symmachus rendered the expression as 'sons of the rulers'. They called the descendants of Seth and of Enosh sons of the gods, or better, sons of the rulers, because of the piety and godliness which was in them, and because they could defeat all adversaries: while God, I suppose, in all likelihood came to their aid, and made known all around this pious and holy generation, which was not mixed with that other one, that is to say, with the descendants from Cain and, what is more, from Lamech.

    Glaphyra on the Penteteuch, page 84

  2. Genesis 16:9
    As in concrete image, we see here foreshadowed the fact that once the Emmanuel has appeared and his mystery has been shown to the world, the types of the Mosaic cult necessarily disappear, giving way to the evangelical teachings, the better and more perfect precepts. Of what image am I speaking? Because Sarah had not had children, Hagar, after having given birth to Ishmael, began to show arrogant contempt for her owner, the free woman. Sarah was unable to bear that arrogance and began also to mistreat the Egyptian woman. The latter fled from the house and lost her way in the desert. An angel from heaven asked her where she was going and where she had come from. She replied, “I am fleeing from my mistress, Sarah.” And the holy angel replied, “Return to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hands.” She was ordered then, by the voice of the angel, not to depart from the free woman—from instruction, that is, which summons to the dignity of free persons—and to humble herself instead under the free woman’s hands. The cult according to the law, in fact, which takes place through imag…
    As in concrete image, we see here foreshadowed the fact that once the Emmanuel has appeared and his mystery has been shown to the world, the types of the Mosaic cult necessarily disappear, giving way to the evangelical teachings, the better and more perfect precepts. Of what image am I speaking? Because Sarah had not had children, Hagar, after having given birth to Ishmael, began to show arrogant contempt for her owner, the free woman. Sarah was unable to bear that arrogance and began also to mistreat the Egyptian woman. The latter fled from the house and lost her way in the desert. An angel from heaven asked her where she was going and where she had come from. She replied, “I am fleeing from my mistress, Sarah.” And the holy angel replied, “Return to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hands.” She was ordered then, by the voice of the angel, not to depart from the free woman—from instruction, that is, which summons to the dignity of free persons—and to humble herself instead under the free woman’s hands. The cult according to the law, in fact, which takes place through images and types, is as it were the servant of evangelical teachings. In it, obscurely, the beauty of the truth is revealed. At this point in time, the law, which was once established by Moses through the ministry of angels, receives an order from the voice of an angel to bend the neck to the evangelical oracles and to bow and yield, even if unwillingly, to the free woman. This, I maintain, is the spiritual interpretation of Hagar’s imposed submission to the rule of Sarah. We should remember, moreover, that even the venerable Paul sees Hagar and Sarah as prefiguring the two Testaments: “One, who bears children for slavery, and corresponds to the present Jerusalem,” and the other—Sarah—who bears for the dignity of the free.

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 3.79.9

  3. Genesis 17:11
    In what sense is the covenant eternal? One interpretation is that it is eternal according to the One promising, for the things of God are not time conditioned. But relative to us eternal things become time conditioned. Another interpretation is that even when the covenant with Israel was abolished, it was maintained for us, and we are God’s [people] in place of them. Circumcision took over a second territory after the faith [came]. For just as the birth of the illegitimate child came first, after the promise of the legitimate one, because the birth of the latter was likewise belated, so now circumcision came first because the time for the spiritual [circumcision] was not yet; but when this new one appears, the other circumcision is thrown out. For “in Christ Jesus,” we say, “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail.” That circumcision was a sign of the covenant, which could be present even in transgressors. But the true circumcision is the perfect observance of the law, the cutting away and removing of everything alien to God and the ability to pass beyond worldly thin…
    In what sense is the covenant eternal? One interpretation is that it is eternal according to the One promising, for the things of God are not time conditioned. But relative to us eternal things become time conditioned. Another interpretation is that even when the covenant with Israel was abolished, it was maintained for us, and we are God’s [people] in place of them. Circumcision took over a second territory after the faith [came]. For just as the birth of the illegitimate child came first, after the promise of the legitimate one, because the birth of the latter was likewise belated, so now circumcision came first because the time for the spiritual [circumcision] was not yet; but when this new one appears, the other circumcision is thrown out. For “in Christ Jesus,” we say, “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail.” That circumcision was a sign of the covenant, which could be present even in transgressors. But the true circumcision is the perfect observance of the law, the cutting away and removing of everything alien to God and the ability to pass beyond worldly things to approach the transcendent realities through understanding. Of this the eighth day of circumcision is the symbol. For the eighth day is supernatural, even as the Savior, by accomplishing the resurrection on the eighth day, showed the mystery. Likewise appropriate is the text’s reference to extermination, whether of those uncircumcised in the flesh or those whose heart has not been circumcised, the uncircumcised of heart, as one would say using Old Testament terminology.

    CATENA ON GENESIS 3.1026

  4. Genesis 17:13
    God’s covenant is “in the flesh” of the person who “does not fight on the terms of the flesh” and who “always carries about in his body the death of Jesus.”

    CATENA ON GENESIS 3.1027

  5. Genesis 17:17
    He was not laughing because he did not believe, as some might imagine, but rejoicing because he did. “He laughed” is sometimes put in place of “he rejoiced,” as it is also in the Gospels. And for this reason, he also “fell on his face” and marveled in his heart.

    CATENA ON GENESIS 3.1038

  6. Genesis 19:18
    It seems that now, after the exodus from Sodom, the conversation is no longer with angels but with the Lord. For when one leaves the territory of evil he will find God conversing with him, and he will have the courage and confidence to ask for whatever he wishes.

    CATENA ON GENESIS 3.1139

  7. Genesis 19:22
    Great is the loving kindness of God. He who is all-powerful says, “I can do nothing until you arrive there.” He accommodates even the weakness of his servant and tolerates his delay.

    CATENA ON GENESIS 3.1144

  8. Genesis 21:19
    Abraham took it very hard when Hagar fled from him, though he had sent her off at God’s command. Similarly it was a great cause of sorrow to the holy apostles and evangelists when Israel fell. However, they were separated from them, not at all willingly but because of God’s will and out of love for Christ. For this reason the divine Paul writes, “My sorrow is great, and I have continuous pain in my heart, for I would wish that I myself could be separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, who are from the same race as I according to the flesh; they are Israelites.” So, when the mother of the Jews was sent away, she wandered for a long time in the wilderness, and there was some danger of her being wholly destroyed. But if she should begin to weep (like Hagar) in time and cry out to God, she will be shown mercy abundantly. For God will open the eyes of their understanding, and they too will see the fountain of living water, that is, Christ. And believing they too will rejoice, and having been washed they will be made clean, according to the saying of the prophet.

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS 3.10

  9. Genesis 22:10
    If someone of us desired to see the story of Abraham portrayed in a picture, how would the painter represent him? Would he do it in a single painting showing him doing all the things mentioned, or in successive pictures and distinctively, or in different images, but most often Abraham himself, for example, in one picture sitting on his donkey taking his son along and followed by his servants? In another one, again, with the donkey staying behind down below along with the servants, and Isaac being burdened with the wood while Abraham holds in his hands the knife and the fire? And, indeed, in a different painting, Abraham again in a different pose after he has bound the youth upon the wood and his right hand is armed with a sword in order that he might start the sacrifice? But this would not be a different Abraham each time, although he is seen most of the time in a different pose. It would be the same man in every instance with the skill of the artist continually disposing him according to the needs of the subject matter. For it would not be likely or at any rate probable that one wou…
    If someone of us desired to see the story of Abraham portrayed in a picture, how would the painter represent him? Would he do it in a single painting showing him doing all the things mentioned, or in successive pictures and distinctively, or in different images, but most often Abraham himself, for example, in one picture sitting on his donkey taking his son along and followed by his servants? In another one, again, with the donkey staying behind down below along with the servants, and Isaac being burdened with the wood while Abraham holds in his hands the knife and the fire? And, indeed, in a different painting, Abraham again in a different pose after he has bound the youth upon the wood and his right hand is armed with a sword in order that he might start the sacrifice? But this would not be a different Abraham each time, although he is seen most of the time in a different pose. It would be the same man in every instance with the skill of the artist continually disposing him according to the needs of the subject matter. For it would not be likely or at any rate probable that one would see him doing all the actions mentioned in a single painting.

    LETTER 41.22

  10. Genesis 27:27
    In fact, these things were not completely fulfilled in Jacob but in Christ and in those who were justified through faith, who were also made sons according to the promise in Isaac. Therefore the meaning of the prophecy will also suit the new people and Christ himself, who is beginning and leading. He is also considered to be a second Adam and was born as a second root of humanity. For that which is in Christ is a new creation, and we are renewed in him to sanctification, incorruption and life. The words of the blessing, I believe, signify the sweetness of the spiritual perfume in Christ, like that of a garden or a plentiful field spreading a sweet and beautiful perfume from its spring flowers. And so Christ described himself to us in the Song of Songs: “I am the flower of the field, the lily of the valleys.” He was actually a lily and a rose born of the earth for the sake of humanity. Since he did not know sin, he was the most divine of all those who inhabited the whole world and produced a perfume though his works. For this reason [Scripture] compares Christ with a field blessed by…
    In fact, these things were not completely fulfilled in Jacob but in Christ and in those who were justified through faith, who were also made sons according to the promise in Isaac. Therefore the meaning of the prophecy will also suit the new people and Christ himself, who is beginning and leading. He is also considered to be a second Adam and was born as a second root of humanity. For that which is in Christ is a new creation, and we are renewed in him to sanctification, incorruption and life. The words of the blessing, I believe, signify the sweetness of the spiritual perfume in Christ, like that of a garden or a plentiful field spreading a sweet and beautiful perfume from its spring flowers. And so Christ described himself to us in the Song of Songs: “I am the flower of the field, the lily of the valleys.” He was actually a lily and a rose born of the earth for the sake of humanity. Since he did not know sin, he was the most divine of all those who inhabited the whole world and produced a perfume though his works. For this reason [Scripture] compares Christ with a field blessed by God, and with very good reason, because he is the perfume of the knowledge of God the Father. So again the divine Paul says, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.” Our Lord Jesus Christ is revealed through the holy apostles like the perfume of the knowledge of God the Father. “If someone knows the Son, he also fully knows the Father,” because of the sameness of nature, as in everything he possesses the same things in the same degree.

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 3.5

  11. Genesis 27:28
    These things therefore fit with Christ and also fit quite reasonably with the new people: “May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.” The dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, that is, the Word, was given to us by the Father, together with the participation through the Spirit, and therefore we were made participants in the divine nature through him. And we also received plenty of grain and wine, that is, strength and happiness. In fact, it is said truly, “Bread strengthens the heart of man, and wine makes glad his heart.” Bread is the symbol of spiritual strength, wine of the physical. They are given to those who are in Christ through him. In which other way were we made stable and firm in piety and immovable and aware to think the right things? Certainly the power “to trample serpents and scorpions underfoot and the whole power of the enemy” was given to us. This, I believe, is the meaning of the abundance of grain. But we have also received wine. “We rejoice in hope,” and “we have become glad,” according to Scripture…
    These things therefore fit with Christ and also fit quite reasonably with the new people: “May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.” The dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, that is, the Word, was given to us by the Father, together with the participation through the Spirit, and therefore we were made participants in the divine nature through him. And we also received plenty of grain and wine, that is, strength and happiness. In fact, it is said truly, “Bread strengthens the heart of man, and wine makes glad his heart.” Bread is the symbol of spiritual strength, wine of the physical. They are given to those who are in Christ through him. In which other way were we made stable and firm in piety and immovable and aware to think the right things? Certainly the power “to trample serpents and scorpions underfoot and the whole power of the enemy” was given to us. This, I believe, is the meaning of the abundance of grain. But we have also received wine. “We rejoice in hope,” and “we have become glad,” according to Scripture. We expect heavenly dwellings, an eternal life in incorruption, and to reign together with Christ. Therefore these things may be said about us.

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 3.5

  12. Genesis 27:29
    Afterward the power of blessing is transferred again to the Immanuel himself. “And let nations serve you, and princes bow down to you, and be lord of your brother.” The Immanuel was called “the firstborn” when he became so with reference to us, “among many brothers.” But for this reason we must not forget that he is God and the Lord of the universe. We worship him as God, and he has reigned as God over those who are called from the brothers through grace. “Who in the heavens shall be compared to the Lord, and who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God?” Therefore the Immanuel has reigned as God over those who were received into the brotherhood, and to him “every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father.” And cursed is he who curses, “and blessed is he that blesses.” These words are quite clear. Those who curse are detestable and hateful to God; those who bless, that is, who announce his divine glory, are filled with heavenly and divine goods. This is the blessing…
    Afterward the power of blessing is transferred again to the Immanuel himself. “And let nations serve you, and princes bow down to you, and be lord of your brother.” The Immanuel was called “the firstborn” when he became so with reference to us, “among many brothers.” But for this reason we must not forget that he is God and the Lord of the universe. We worship him as God, and he has reigned as God over those who are called from the brothers through grace. “Who in the heavens shall be compared to the Lord, and who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God?” Therefore the Immanuel has reigned as God over those who were received into the brotherhood, and to him “every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father.” And cursed is he who curses, “and blessed is he that blesses.” These words are quite clear. Those who curse are detestable and hateful to God; those who bless, that is, who announce his divine glory, are filled with heavenly and divine goods. This is the blessing of Jacob, whose strength refers to the Immanuel himself and to those who are justified in the faith.

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 3.173B-C

  13. Genesis 28:12
    This is, I believe, the stairway, the running to and fro of the holy spirits, who “are sent forth to minister for those who shall be the heirs of salvation.” Christ is firmly placed on top of the stairway for those holy spirits who can reach him, who have him as their overseer, not as someone who exists among them but as God and Lord. In another passage David says to all people who want to live in the protection of the Most High: “He shall give his angels charge concerning you to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up on their hands, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread on the asp and the basilisk, and shall trample on the lion and the dragon.” We trod on serpents and scorpions and on every power of the enemy, thanks to the power given to us by Christ. Those who are in Christ are also worthy of the divine look, so that he may promise them that he will be by them and help them, and will save them everywhere and will declare them fruitful. “I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” The fact that the blessed disciples were enriched a…
    This is, I believe, the stairway, the running to and fro of the holy spirits, who “are sent forth to minister for those who shall be the heirs of salvation.” Christ is firmly placed on top of the stairway for those holy spirits who can reach him, who have him as their overseer, not as someone who exists among them but as God and Lord. In another passage David says to all people who want to live in the protection of the Most High: “He shall give his angels charge concerning you to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up on their hands, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread on the asp and the basilisk, and shall trample on the lion and the dragon.” We trod on serpents and scorpions and on every power of the enemy, thanks to the power given to us by Christ. Those who are in Christ are also worthy of the divine look, so that he may promise them that he will be by them and help them, and will save them everywhere and will declare them fruitful. “I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” The fact that the blessed disciples were enriched and made the fathers of innumerable nations by their faith in Christ, and as by a spiritual generation, is manifest to everybody. Paul himself said clearly to those who believed through him: “Though you have one thousand teachers in Christ, yet you have not many fathers: For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.” Therefore their seed was made as numerous as the grains of sand and was spread to the east and the west, to the left and the right, to the south and the north.

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 3.4

  14. Genesis 28:18
    On the other hand the stone also had been erected and honored as a symbol of Christ and had been sprinkled with oil. The Immanuel was anointed by God the Father “with the oil of gladness above his fellows.” Then he was raised from the dead, even though he had descended to death voluntarily. And that is, I believe, the meaning of erecting the stone.

    GLAPHYRA ON Genesis, 4.4

  15. Genesis 29:11
    In addition Rachel is interpreted as a “sheep of God.” And some consider her to be with good reason a symbol of the church among the nations. She is also the sheep of Christ, mixed in the ancient folds, and finally received in the fold of the Savior. Therefore he said, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” And the holy disciples acted as shepherds of the church of Christ, when they supported her as reasonable creatures and when they were her lovers and bridegrooms and presented her to God as a pure virgin without spots or wrinkles, or as something similar, “holy and immaculate.”

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 4.4

  16. Genesis 30:37
    The rod also enigmatically symbolizes for us the Immanuel, for he is actually called by this name in the divinely inspired Scriptures. “And there shall sprout a rod,” the divine Isaiah says, “out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall come up from his root.” David … proclaimed to the heavenly Father and God: “Your rod and your staff have comforted me.” We received consolation in Christ and made him our pillar. In fact, it was written, “The Lord shall support the righteous.” And Christ in a sense displays a sort of rod to us as to reasonable goats and herds spread all over the earth and in the whole world. But it is not a rod of any kind, but it is made out of storax wood and walnut and plane tree. The storax tree is placed as a witness of righteousness. This tree is the symbol of death. The body of the dead is treated with perfumes, and a very sweet perfume is the oil of the storax tree. Christ died for us and was buried, according to Scripture. The rod made of walnut wood is a symbol of watchfulness.

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 5.3-4

  17. Genesis 30:38
    But where did Jacob place his rods? In the troughs of water. And these troughs, in which the reasonable herd, that is we, go to water, must be interpreted as the writings of Moses and the prophetical predictions that nearly burst forth for us like a heavenly sermon from God. In fact, it was written, “You draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation.” And there we will find the Immanuel, the rod of power. And in his death for us he is also the firstborn from the dead, and is exalted in glory and increases the number of the believers, as I have just said. Every word of the holy prophets, including Moses, hints at the mystery of Christ. Therefore also the wise Paul says, “Christ is the end of the prophets and the law.” Jacob peeled in the rods white stripes alternated with green ones, and the sheep that were by them conceived a spotted and speckled progeny. Jesus somehow removed the shadow from the law and the veil from the prophetical writings. And he showed the pure and beautiful doctrine which was in them, and he transferred it to the spiritual song, in order that he might lead…
    But where did Jacob place his rods? In the troughs of water. And these troughs, in which the reasonable herd, that is we, go to water, must be interpreted as the writings of Moses and the prophetical predictions that nearly burst forth for us like a heavenly sermon from God. In fact, it was written, “You draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation.” And there we will find the Immanuel, the rod of power. And in his death for us he is also the firstborn from the dead, and is exalted in glory and increases the number of the believers, as I have just said. Every word of the holy prophets, including Moses, hints at the mystery of Christ. Therefore also the wise Paul says, “Christ is the end of the prophets and the law.” Jacob peeled in the rods white stripes alternated with green ones, and the sheep that were by them conceived a spotted and speckled progeny. Jesus somehow removed the shadow from the law and the veil from the prophetical writings. And he showed the pure and beautiful doctrine which was in them, and he transferred it to the spiritual song, in order that he might lead people to virtue since they wanted to be speckled, that is, they wanted to exercise a double virtue in words and actions. And therefore the divine prophets of those who were justified in the faith, by bringing the image before them, openly proclaim, “Because of the fear of you, we conceived, O Lord, and were in pain and brought forth the spirit of your salvation.” And the same blessed Isaiah, in another passage, says properly: “Strengthen your relaxed hands and palsied knees; comfort one another, you faint-hearted; be strong, fear not. Behold, our God renders judgment, and will render it.” And again: “Behold the Lord! The Lord is coming with strength, and his arm is with power. He shall tend his flock as a shepherd, and shall gather the lambs with his arm and shall soothe them who are with young.” That is, he will be a spiritual consolation for those who have already brought forth the divine sermon, for those who will be fruitful and for those who are about to bring forth the glories of evangelical life. This is the fruit of the holy and uncorrupted soul.

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 5.4

  18. Genesis 30:40
    There is no association between the holy and the profane, between the pure and the impure. Those who belong to Christ are separated and refuse to mix with those who are in the world; they are free from carnal desires. They are marked by their way of life or rather are distinguished by their virtue. “The unmarked ones were Laban’s, and the marked ones were Jacob’s.”

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 5.4

  19. Genesis 31:21
    The fact that the world should have been offended because of Christ, after the increase in the flocks of believers, and that it, excited by its anger, would have reacted, does not need to be confirmed with a long speech. Just see how Laban, together with his sons, pursued Jacob, who was running away, and recalled him. Christ himself, in a sense, departed from the world with his brides, that is, the churches, and moved out with the entire household by spiritually addressing his companions with these words: “Arise, let us go from here.” The action of departing and moving away certainly is not material; there is no concrete move from one place to another. In fact, it would be incongruous to think or say these things in a material sense. But the fullness of life is in the moving from worldly thoughts to the accomplishment of the things that God approves. This is confirmed by the blessed Paul, who writes, “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek one to come,” whose “maker and creator is God.” And another of the holy apostles writes thus: “I beseech you as pilgrims and strangers: abstain…
    The fact that the world should have been offended because of Christ, after the increase in the flocks of believers, and that it, excited by its anger, would have reacted, does not need to be confirmed with a long speech. Just see how Laban, together with his sons, pursued Jacob, who was running away, and recalled him. Christ himself, in a sense, departed from the world with his brides, that is, the churches, and moved out with the entire household by spiritually addressing his companions with these words: “Arise, let us go from here.” The action of departing and moving away certainly is not material; there is no concrete move from one place to another. In fact, it would be incongruous to think or say these things in a material sense. But the fullness of life is in the moving from worldly thoughts to the accomplishment of the things that God approves. This is confirmed by the blessed Paul, who writes, “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek one to come,” whose “maker and creator is God.” And another of the holy apostles writes thus: “I beseech you as pilgrims and strangers: abstain from sinful desires which war against the soul.” While we walk on earth, our way of life is in heaven, and certainly we do not want to live carnally anymore but rather in a holy and spiritual way. Paul encourages us to do that by writing, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” When we are not conformed anymore to the world and out of the worldly errors, we will be imitators of Christ. And perfectly understanding that this is the right way to think the Savior himself said, “If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

    GLAPHYRA ON Genesis, 5.5

  20. Genesis 32:26
    You see how he does not continue fighting at daybreak. In fact, there is no fight for those who already live in the light. It is fitting for those who have been brought to such magnificence to say, “God, my God, I watch you from the light.” And in addition, “In the morning you shall hear my voice, in the morning I shall wait on you, and you shall see me.” When the light of justice, that is, Christ, rises in our mind and introduces his brilliance into our hearts, then we also will be waited on as noble souls and will be made worthy of the divine attention. “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous.” At daybreak the fight ceases.

    GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 5.3

All writers