3. "All St. The inspired Scriptures are not infinite, but rather definite books" (Synopsis of Athanasius). "For before the law they are Divine men, not enlightened by writings and books, but pure by meaning, enlightened by the radiance of the Most Holy Spirit, and thus knowing God's will, conversing with Him Himself lip to mouth. Such were Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Moses. But since men were weary and unworthy, they were enlightened and learned from the Holy Spirit. The God of the Scriptures, the lover of mankind, may not remember Him of His will" (Chrysostom, on Matthew, Bes.1, translated by Theophylact Bulgarian). Thus, St. Scripture has its own definite history, its own beginning and end, its own definite composition, to which nothing should be added or subtracted.

4. The entire composition of the Holy Synod. Scriptures, or, in the words of Bl. Jerome, the "sacred divinely inspired library" is divided into two large parts: 1) the books of the Old Testament, which appeared before Christ and prepared the world for the reception of the Saviour, written in the language of the people (the Hebrew) who were called to serve as the guardians of Revelation, and then, before the coming of Christ, by the special dispensation of God, translated, for the information of the entire human race, into the universal language of the time - Greek, and 2) the books of the New Testament, depicting the coming of the Son of God into the world, His teaching and the foundation of the Christian Church by Him, also set forth in Greek, known at that time to the Jews.

The books of both the Old and New Testaments are very diverse in their content, as are the spiritual gifts of people, which required the guidance of God. In particular, the books of the Old Testament, in addition to teaching, embrace the history of God's chosen people, the keeper of the Covenant. Nevertheless, the books of the Old and New Testaments have the closest connection and unity with each other. "By means of successive Testaments, Old and New, the human race was gradually to attain salvation, for salvation is one, just as God is one, but there are many steps leading to God" (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 4, Ch.9, 3). "In all the history of mankind there have been two famous changes of life, which are called the two Testaments, the two shaking of the earth: one change from idols to law, the other from law to gospel. In relation to theology, the Old Testament clearly preached the Father, less clearly the Son; The New Testament revealed the Son and showed the triumph of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit" (Gregory of Nazianzen, Five Homilies on Theology, Homily 5). "If anyone attentively reads the Scriptures of the Old Testament, he will find in them a speech about Christ and a foreshadowing of a new calling. For the Scriptures are a treasure hidden in the world, and the treasure hidden in the Scriptures is Christ, who was then depicted by means of images and parables, for what pertains to His humanity could not be understood before the fulfillment of prophecies. For this reason the prophet Jeremiah said, "In the last days ye shall understand his counsel" (Jeremiah 23:20)." One Testament without the other is incomprehensible. "When the unbelieving Jews read the law at the present time, it is like a fable, for they have no explanation of everything pertaining to the coming of the Son of God as a man"... "Against the heretics, especially against the followers of Marcion and the like, who say that the (Old Testament) prophets are from another God, not from Him Who was revealed in the new testament, I say: read more attentively the Gospel given to us by the Apostles, read more attentively the prophets, and you will find that all the activity, all the teaching, and all the suffering of our Lord are foretold by them" (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 4, 26, 1 and 34, 1). "Therefore let no one separate the Old Testament from the New, let no one say that there is one spirit there, and another here, for there is one God, the Lord of the Old and New Testaments" (Cyril Jerusalem, Catechure, 16:3-4). "In every book of the Old Farm. The Scriptures foretell about the Savior (Whose appearance is represented in the New Testament); this is a common object, one general agreement of the Spirit" (Athanasius, Epistle to Markelin, On the Psalms. "Against Julian". Book 8,9; "On Worship in Spirit and Truth"; "Glaphyrs or Higher Explanations of the Law"). In the rite of Orthodox worship, the prayers and hymns of Vespers and Matins depict the Old Testament canopy, with the stars shining among it, the preimages of Christ, while the rite of the Liturgy depicts the Sun of Righteousness that has already risen. And so, Orthodox reader, on the basis of the impression that you experience during the hours of the evening service, in preparation for the Liturgy, judge the religious feeling of an Old Testament believer.

5. In particular, both the books of the Old and New Testaments can be divided into three sections in terms of their content: 1) historical books depicting the history of human salvation in different periods; 2) teaching books containing the teaching of faith and piety for those who wish to inherit salvation; 3) prophetic books containing prophecies or predictions about the future, belonging to the Old Testament part of the Bible proper, but not alien to the New Testament (Orthodox Catechism). "However, these three types of content of the sacred books are not strictly separated from one another. For prophecy can be found in historical stories, and many historical stories can be heard from prophets, just as a moralizing and exhortatory form can be found in prophecies and in history. All this has in mind the conversion of man, and from the narration of the past, and from moralizing and exhortation, we are equally directed to the proper" (Chrysostom, Synopsis of the Books of the Old Testament).

6. Even more particularly, these sections of the Old and New Testaments are divided into groups of books and separate books bearing special names. Namely: 1) The historical books of the Old Testament are divided into three octopuses: the first historical octopus (according to the Synopsis of John Chrysostom) or the first group of historical books is this: the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), the book of Joshua, the book of Judges of Israel, the book of Ruth. The second historical octopus or the second historical group of the Old Testament books: the four books of Kings, the two books of Chronicles, the book of Ezra, the book of Nehemiah. The third historical octopus, or the third group of historical books: the second book of Ezra, the book of Tobit, Judith and Esther, the three books of Maccabees, and the third book of Ezra. 2) The teaching books of the Old Testament are these: the book of Job, the Psalms, the Proverbs of Solomon, the book of Ecclesiastes, the book of the Song of Songs, the book of the Wisdom of Solomon, the book of the Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach. 3) the prophetic books of the Old Testament: the book of the prophet Isaiah, the book of the prophet Jeremiah, the Book of Lamentations, the book of the prophet Baruch, the book of the prophet Ezekiel, the book of the prophet Daniel, the books of the Twelve prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. There are 49 books of the Old Testament in total. The books of the New Testament: 1) Historical: the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and the book of the Acts of the Apostles. 2) Didactic: seven conciliar epistles - one to Jude and fourteen epistles of the Apostle Paul: one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, one to Titus, one to Philemon, and one to the Hebrews. 3) The Prophetic Book of the New Testament: The Apocalypse of John the Theologian. All the books of the New Testament are 27. And all the books of the Old and New Testaments of our Bible are 76.

7. These books, which are part of our Slavonic Bible, have another division - into books "correct", "approved", "canonical" and "standing outside the correct books", books "unapproved" or "non-canonical". "Be diligent in testing from the Church which books are divinely inspired," taught St. Cyril of Jerusalem, meaning by divinely inspired books recognized in this meaning by the whole Church, or, in other words, canonical books (Cyril Jerusalem, Vocal Instruction 4:33). In relation to the Old Testament, the patristic canon teaches to recognize as canonical or "correct" those books which the Christian Church has received as divinely inspired from the God-chosen people of the Old Testament. "All the Divine books of the Old Testament were written in the Hebrew language in the beginning, in this, of course, everyone will agree with us" (Chrysostom, Discourses on the Book of Genesis, Bes. 4, 4). "And Ezra, a priest from the tribe of Levi, was inspired by God to determine all the sayings of the former prophets, and to restore to the people (forgotten during the captivity) the law of Moses" (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 3, Ch.21, 2). Thus, the canonical books of the Old Testament are those that were accepted by Ezra and which existed in the Jewish canon. In this connection we find the following testimony of St. Meliton, Bishop of Sardis (in Lydia), from the 2nd century A.D.: "Going to the East and being at the very place where everything was preached and done, I recognized the books of the Old Testament with certainty, and having made a list of them, I send it to you. Here are their names: the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), Joshua, the Judges, Ruth, the four books of Kings, the two Chronicles, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon or Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Job, the books of the prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, 12 prophets in one book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra" (Eusebius, Church History, Book 4, Ch.26). To this testimony it must be added that (1) the book of Ezra was one with the book of Nehemiah among the Jews; consequently, the latter is of course here; 2) the book of Esther is not mentioned here, although it is in the Jewish canon, and therefore should be called canonical. Meliton's silence in the latter case is explained by the fact that in the book of Esther, in addition to the canonical part, there are significant additions that do not exist in the Hebrew text, and therefore are non-canonical; In the Slavonic text, such parts of the book are distinguished by the fact that they do not show the counting of verses. The rest of the books that are part of our Bible, which are not named by Meliton among the Old Testament books, namely the entire third octopus of the historical books, the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, the Book of the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, and the Book of Baruch, are non-canonical books, i.e. "although they are used and useful, they are not included among the recognized by all, and were not in the ark" (Epiphanius, On Weights and Measures, Ch. 4). In the words of the Synopsis of Athanasius, they represent the reading as "catechumens," and therefore stand as it were at the transition from the pagan writings to the sacred divinely inspired books, and relate to the latter in the same way as the first introductory part of the Liturgy, at which the catechumens were also present, relates to the second part, or the Liturgy of the Faithful. This enumeration of the canonical books of the Old Testament is confirmed by Origen (Eusebius, Church History, Book 6, Ch.25), St. Athanasius the Great (Paschal Epistle), and St. Cyril of Jerusalem. (Ogl. Pouch. 4. 35), St. Gregory the Theologian (On the Books of the Divine Inspiration of the Scriptures), St. Epiphanius of Cyprus (On Measures Ch. 4), the Council of Laodicea in 360 (Rule 60), bl. As for the New Testament, all 27 books of its composition are canonical and recognized by the whole Church, although there were lengthy discussions and investigations about some of them regarding their canonical dignity (especially about the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Apocalypse), until finally their apostolic origin was explained with all clarity.

8. "Now the same books should be examined in detail, i.e. in the proposed order to take each separately under its special title, and in separate chapters to review by whom each book was written, where did it get its name, and what does it contain?" (Synopsis of Athanasius). In a similar way, St. John Chrysostom, in the particular question of each individual book of St. John Chrysostom. Scriptures, teaches to pay attention to the following points: by whom was the book written, through what fault and what does it contain? (Chrysostom, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, Discourse 8:4). It should be noted that none of the Church Fathers who wrote commentaries on the holy books embraces the entire composition of the canon, and therefore on various questions concerning the individual books of the Holy Scriptures. It is necessary to turn to the works of various fathers and teachers of the Church. The most frequent subject of patristic interpretations from the books of the Old Testament were the books of Moses, especially the first book, the book of Psalms, the book of Isaiah, from the books of the New Testament of the Gospel and the Epistle of St. Paul. Paul. There are few patristic interpretations of non-canonical books, and none at all for some of them, although individual testimonies from non-canonical books, as moral and useful books, are often found in the writings of the Fathers. But, in addition to extensive commentaries on the text of the Holy Books, in the works of the Fathers there are more general reviews of the Holy Scriptures. books (Synopses), among which the above-mentioned Synopsis of St. Athanasius of Alexander and St. John Chrysostom are especially important. The latter, unfortunately, has not come down to us in its full form and is partially supplemented from the synopsis of Athanasius, which, therefore, turns out to be the most complete, as embracing all the books of the Old and New Testaments, and in its exposition the most convenient to serve as a general introduction or preface to the edition of the Holy Scriptures. Hagiographa. That is why he was elected by the Holy Synod when publishing the printed Slavonic Bible from 1751 onwards.

Books of the Old Testament

9. The first book of Moses and together the first book in the entire composition of the Holy Scriptures. books is the book of Genesis. "It is called so because it contains the origin of everything - heaven, earth, people, and everything visible in general, and the very planting of paradise" (Synopsis of Athanasius). "The reason for Moses to write this book was the following: from the time of the migration to Egypt, the descendants of Abraham, like the rest of the world, began to lose knowledge of God, moved away from the good laws imprinted in nature, began to revere what was created out of nothing as eternal, and called the creatures that had recently received existence deities. For this reason God wanted through Moses to teach the truth to his erring contemporaries, so that the evil that passed on to them would not spread to all eternity. And Moses, after the miracles performed by him in Egypt, after the covenant made in the wilderness, writes about created natures brought into being out of nothing, giving them to understand that the pagans falsely understand them as gods, writes about God that He is one, writes about the mysteries of the Son foretold in creation itself" (Ephraim the Syrian, Commentary on Gen., at the beginning). "In particular, the Book of Genesis tells about the six days of creation, about the transgression of Adam and his expulsion from paradise, about the murder of Abel by his brother Cain, about the taking of Enoch into heaven, about the building of Noah's ark, about the flood that took place at Noah, about the construction of the Tower of Babel, about the division of languages and the dispersion of nations, about the exodus of Abraham from the land of the Chaldeans. Further, the Book of Genesis tells about the destruction of Sodom, about the law of circumcision, about the oath that sealed the promises of God given to Abraham, about the birth of Isaac, Jacob and the 12 patriarchs, about how Joseph was sold by his brothers to Egypt and there he was first thrown into prison, and then made ruler over all Egypt. Then it is said about the coming of Jacob to Egypt with his 75 sons, about his blessing of his son-patriarchs and his death" (Synopsis of Athanasius). Thus, the Book of Genesis embraces the history of 3799 years, that is, the whole half of the entire time of the world's standing, from its creation to the death of Jacob, and is divided into 50 chapters. "Of all the saints. the book of Genesis is written most clearly" (Jerome, Epistle to Paulinus, On the Study of Holy Scripture), since it depicts life before the law, which is not yet far removed from the period of childish simplicity. Nevertheless, in the Fathers of the Church one can find many explanations and interpretations of all the details of the content of the Book of Genesis. In particular, the following should be mentioned: the ten discourses on the Six Days of St. Basil the Great, explaining the narrative of the opening chapter of the Book of Genesis about the creation of the world and, in the words of Gregory the Theologian, "bringing the reader closer to the Creator and explaining the foundation of the universe"; a work on the Six Days by St. Gregory of Nyssa, which serves as a supplement to the Six Days of Basil; 12 Homilies on Paradise with an explanation of the second and third chapters of the Book of Genesis by St. Ephraim the Syrian; an extensive commentary on the entire Book of Genesis by St. John Chrysostom in 67 discourses, deducing lessons for the life of Christians from the history of the patriarchs; Commentary on the Book of Kings. Genesis bl. There are also many separate discourses of the Holy Fathers on various subjects of the Book of Genesis, for example, about Abraham and his calling, about circumcision (Gen. 17:10-11), which foreshadowed spiritual circumcision, not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of sinful flesh, in the circumcision of Christ and His burial by baptism (Col. 2:11-12). "The coming of the Son of God God was revealed to Moses, saying, 'The prince shall not fail of Judah, nor the ruler of his loins, until the expectation of the tongues laid aside for him shall come' (Gen. 49:10). Whoever determines the time in which the prince and leader in Judah was impoverished, will find that it is not another who is proclaimed here, but our Lord Jesus Christ. In order that the sin of Adam should not be immortal, and the evil should not become infinite and incurable, God removed Adam from the tree of life, and put enmity between the serpent and the woman and her seed, until the seed came predestined to trample down the head of the serpent, And Abraham, taught by revelation that the Son of God would be a man among men, desired to see that day, that he might embrace Christ himself, and he saw and rejoiced (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 3, Ch.23, Book 4, Chapters 7, 10).

10. "The second book of Exodus was written by the same Moses and is called so because it depicts the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, which took place 430 years after the promise given to Abraham and 215 years after the migration to Egypt, because the Israelites lived there for so long. The book tells about the 10 plagues sent against Pharaoh, the Egyptian ruler, about how the Egyptian magi, Jannes and Mamre, first resisted Moses, and then departed in shame. Further, it is said that Pharaoh pursued the departed people of Israel, that Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry land, and that the Egyptians who pursued it drowned in it along with Pharaoh. The law on Pascha is set forth, and the transformation of bitter water into sweet water; the giving of the sabbath and the sending of manna, and the bringing forth of water from the stone, to which Moses gave the name of temptation and blasphemy, here is the beginning of the keeping of the Sabbath and the divine legislation on Mount Sinai, given through Moses on two stone tablets, here is also the image of the structure of the tabernacle and the garments of the high priest and priests; and the tabernacle was set up, it is said, in the second year from the Exodus, in the first new moon" (Synopsis of Athanasius). Thus, the book of Exodus embraces the sacred history of 145 years from the death of Joseph to the construction of the tabernacle at Sinai. At St. Cyril's Alexander. there is a work: "Glaphyra, or Higher Explanations of Selected Passages of the Book of Exodus", in which "the mystery of Christ was manifested in the lawful shadow", and which he explains, "leaving to history that which is fully befitting it, and what apparently serves for spiritual interpretation, applying to the economy in Christ". St. Cyril considers such "selected" passages in the book of Exodus to be: the narration of the birth of Moses and the circumstances in contact (Exodus 2:1-22), the vision of the burning bush (3:1-6), the sacrifice of the Passover lamb (ch. 12), the dedication of the firstborn (13:11-13), the story of the tree that sweetened bitter water (15:22-27), the sending down of the bread of heaven in the form of manna (16:2-5), the story of the three signs that were in the time of Moses (4:1-9), the story of the stone that struck and drained the water (17:1-7), the descent of God into Mount Sinai and the coming of Israel (19:10-13), the ascent of Moses and Aaron, and also of Nabbad and Abihu and the seventy elders (24:1-8), and the veil over the face of Moses (34:27-35). "Moses doeth signs, and givesteth the law; so also Christ" (Chrysostom, on Acts, Discourse 17:1).

11. "The book of Leviticus is so called because it contains the outline of the entire Levitical ministry and the way in which Aaron and his sons are chosen from the tribe of Levi and anointed priests, as well as the differences of all the sacrifices and all the characteristics of the worship in the temple and the priestly ministry. Laws are also set forth for each sacrifice, the sacrifice of salvation, and the sacrifice for voluntary and involuntary transgression; it is also explained how each of the offerings is to be divided and offered. This book also describes the dedication of the high priest and the priests, the distinction and recognition of the signs of leprosy of people, garments, and walls of the house, and sets forth the law concerning their purification; a decree is given on marriages, legal and illegal; the distribution of clean and unclean animals, birds, fish, and reptiles, and which of them the Jews were commanded to eat and which to abstain from. The commandment about the day of the trumpet in the new moon of the seventh month is set forth, as well as the commandment about Great Lent, which is called the Sabbath of Sabbaths and the remission of sins, so that the Jews should celebrate it in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month. There is also an ordinance for the Feast of Tabernacles, to be on the fifteenth day of the same month, and for the other festivals and sacrifices proper to them, for the deliverance of the Jews who had been sold into slavery, for the forgiveness of debts, for the rest that was to be given to the land in every seventh year. In this way, the laws, commands and testimonies are again remembered, promises are given to those who fulfill the law and the most severe threats are given to those who violate the law" (Synopses of Athanasius and John Chrysostom). St. Kirill Alex. in the "Glaphyra" or higher explanations of the book, Leviticus singles out the following "most chosen" subjects of this book, as signifying the mystery of Christ closer: the law of bringing the firstfruits of life (2:14-16), the slaughter of the sacrifice (3:1-6; 6:24-29), the rite of cleansing leprosy (14:1-9), the law on leprosy of houses, which marks the fall of the people under the law (14:33-45), the law on the entry of the high priest into the Holy of Holies alone in the year (Leviticus 16:3-10). In even more detail, the same St. Cyril Alex. explains the laws of the book of Leviticus about the Old Testament sanctuary, priesthood and all kinds of sacrifice in another of his works, called "On Worship and Service in Spirit and Truth", as well as St. John Chrysostom in Commentaries. on Ep. to the Hebrews and other holy books. "Of the commandments of Moses," says Chrysostom, "some are given by themselves, and others are given for something else, for example, to know God, and not to kill, not to commit adultery, is commanded because of the benefit arising from this, and to offer sacrifices, to observe the Sabbath, etc., is commanded not simply so that it may be done only by itself. but it does not bear fruit, so also the sacrifices of the Jews, when they were offered in vain, God rejects in the prophet Isaiah" (Chrysostom, Discourse on Isaiah 1:5).

12. "The fourth book of Moses is called the Book of Numbers, because it shows the number of all the people according to their number. And the people from twenty years of age and above were numbered, every man capable of war, except the tribe of Levi, and the number of those numbered was found to be 603,550. The tribe of Levi was numbered separately from the other tribes, and their number was 22,000. Moses also numbered the firstborn males of all the other tribes, and found the number 22273, and instead of these firstborn, the Levites were consecrated to God, for there were also as many Levites. The Levites are commanded to be cleansed, and they set themselves apart to do the works of the Lord instead of the people, to serve Aaron and his sons. This book also tells about the renewal of the altar and how the tabernacle was anointed and consecrated, about the sacrifices at the dedication of the altar, and the time limit for the service of the Levites (from 20 to 50 years) is indicated. It also speaks of the sworn water of reproof, and the law of the Nazarites is set forth, it tells of the sending down of dyes to the murmuring people, of the outpouring of water from the stone, which is called the water of wrangling. Moses sent spies, one from each tribe, including Joshua and Caleb. Here the host of Korah rose up against Moses, swallowed up in the earth, Miriam, Aaron's sister, was stricken with leprosy, and the rod of Aron brought forth fruit. After these circumstances, Aaron dies on Mount Hor, and his son Eliazar takes his place. It also tells of Balaam and his donkey, who spoke with a human voice, and how Balak king of Moab was ashamed. When the people, at the instigation of Balaam, were defiled, Phinehas pierced the Midianite woman and the Israelite Zimri for fornication, and thereby tamed the wrath of God. When the people who cursed Moses were bitten by serpents, God, heeding his petition, commanded that a brazen serpent should be made and lifted up, so that those who were wounded, looking at him, would live. Here also God commanded Moses and Eliazar to make a new number of the people from 20 years old and above, and their number was found to be 601730; and the Levites are 23,000. This inspection was in Arabit of Moab, opposite Jericho, and among them there was none of those who were numbered before, because they were dead, except Caleb and Joshua. Moses in this book, by God's command, also described the walls of the Israelites, in which they, after the exodus from Egypt, stopped for some time, a total of 43 camps. After the Jews have defeated and killed Zion, king of the Amorite, and Og, king of Bashan, Moses is commanded to give the lands to Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Monasseh, to give cities for the Levites to live in, and the suburbs of the cities, and also to establish cities of refuge, three beyond the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan" (synopsis of Athanasius). "The purpose of the people described in the book was to show how the tribes of Israel multiplied by the blessing of God, and in the course of 220 years increased from 70 souls to 600,000 owning weapons" (Ephraim the Syrian, Commentary on Numbers, at the beginning). In historical order, the book of Numbers embraces the time of 38 years and 9 months of wandering in the wilderness.

St. Kirill Alex. in "Glaphyri on the book. Numerals" "considers the following to be selected passages in the book on which he writes his discourses: the narration of the defeat of Mariamne, who was indignant with Moses, by leprosy, who signified the entire Jewish community (Num. 12), about the 12 spies of the promised land, ten unbelievers and two believers (ch. 13), about the bringing of the firstfruits of bread (ch. 15:17), about the purifying ashes of the young woman (19), about the brazen serpent (21). Likewise, in all the wanderings of the people of God in the wilderness described in the Book of Numbers, the Holy Fathers see the image of a Christian man in his earthly pilgrimage to the heavenly promised homeland under the guidance of Christ. Read, for example, the work of Bl. Jerome, "The Book of Fabiole's Interpretation of the 42 Camps of the Israelites in the Wilderness."

13. "The fifth and last book of Moses, Deuteronomy, is so called for two reasons: first, because this book was repeated or reread to the people every seventh year, on the day of atonement, wherefore Moses commanded that this book should be placed beside the ark as a witness, while the first books of the law given at Horeb were laid in the ark itself; secondly, because in the book of Deuteronomy Moses repeats what was previously set forth in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers" (Synopsis of Athanasius). "This brief repetition of the laws and events set forth in the preceding books was made for the new generation of the people of God who had grown up in the wilderness. Moses also tells where and when he taught this teaching to the people themselves: in the land of the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the west, in the fourtieth year, in the first ten months, on the first day of the month, after "the slaying of Zion king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan" (Deuteronomy 1:1-4) (Theodorite, Commentary on Deuteronomy Question 1)." "Having expounded his repeated law with some new additions, however, Moses added to it sayings of curses and blessings, curses to the disobedient and blessings to the obedient, and pronounced a great speech about the calamities that would befall them, which was fulfilled at the invasion of the Assyrians and Babylonians. Christ Himself is also mentioned here. "Thy life shall be," says Moses, "hanging before thy eyes" (Deuteronomy 28:66). Here is also this saying: "The secret of the Lord is to God, which was manifested to you and to your children" (Deuteronomy 29:66); For His commandment, it is said, is not heavy: it is not in heaven, saying, Whosoever shall ascend into heaven; below it there is a land of the sea; but there is a word near thee, in thy mouth" (Deuteronomy 30:11-12). These words spoken about the commandments of the law, Ap. Paul refers to faith in Christ (Romans 10:8). At the end of the book, Moses calls Joshua and commands him to lead the people, not fearing enemies, but hoping for God's help, and on the Feast of Tabernacles to read the law to all the people. To Moses himself, God foretells that after death his people will serve idols and for this they will be punished. Let this song (ch. 32) be a witness against them, says He; for they will never forget it. Having received the command to go up to Mount Abarim, which was also called Nabab, and look from there at the promised land, and having blessed each tribe, Moses died" (Synopsis of John Chrysostom). And in his other interpretation (on 2 Corinthians Discourse 7) St. John Chrysostom returns to the book of Deuteronomy for the second time and points out in it another important prophetic testimony. "You ask, where in the books of the law did the Lord say that the law must have an end in Christ? He not only spoke about this, but also showed it by his very deeds, firstly, by the fact that he confined all the sacrifices and all consecration in one place, in the temple, and then destroyed this temple. If He did not want to abolish these sacrifices, He would have done one of two things: either without destroying it, He would not have forbidden those sacrifices to be offered in other places. But now He has made these sacrifices impossible, and thus by His very deed He has explained that the ordinances of the law have come to an end in Christ, for Christ has condemned the temple to destruction. But if you wish to know the very words of the law, which determine its end in Christ, then listen to the lawgiver himself, who says thus: The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brethren, as I am, hear him in all things, if he saith unto you, 'And every soul that heareth not the prophet shall be required of men' (Deuteronomy 18:15,18, Acts 3:22,23). Do you see how the law has shown itself to have an end in Christ" (Chrysostom on 2 Corinthians, Discourse 7). St. Kirill Alex. In his "Higher Explanations of the Book of Deuteronomy" he also singles out the following "selected" passages related to the mystery of Christ: about the young woman, whose sinews were cut off in the wilds (Deuteronomy 21:109), about the captive woman in good form (21:10-14), about the purity of the camp in time of war (23:9-14), about the stones with the writing of the law on the top of the mountain (27:1-8). According to the historical events mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy, it embraces the last two months of the last year of wandering in the wilderness.