P. Therefore Israel will sell her inheritance without knowing the year of redemption, but the Gentiles will have hope, and through Christ will be the return of the good things of nature.

K: I suppose so; and our word will be sealed in truth by the God of all, and in another way by the mouth of Ezekiel, in the distribution of property: "Thus saith the Lord God: If a prince gives any of his sons a gift, it shall also be inherited by his sons; this possession of them must be hereditary. But if he gives a gift of his inheritance to any of his servants, it shall belong to him only until the year of his deliverance, and then he shall return to the prince. Only to his sons should his inheritance pass. But the prince cannot take from the hereditary land of the people, driving them out of their possession; out of his own possession alone he may give to his children, lest any of My people be cast out of his possession" (Ezekiel 46:16-18). Is this saying clear to you, and does the meaning of what is said seem simple to you?

P. Nimalo; but I would very gladly learn this from you.

Palladius calls the High Priest the Elder, who received the lot to be the leader of the people subject to him. And so, since the holy priests were allotted the necessary and chosen inheritances, and since God decreed that they should be reserved for them forever and not be alienated, it was necessary for Him to make this clear. For if it should happen, he says, that one of the elders, that is, the priests, to divide something of his inheritance to his own children, then let it be confirmed, he says, and let the gift be inalienable from him who has received; for it is not from foreigners that this inheritance passes to anyone, but from priests to priests. And if he were to give it to any of the slaves, then he who received it would not possess permanently, but would be wholly restored to the elder in the "year of absolution" his inheritance. But to this is added the command that the priest should remove from himself the desire for the inheritance of others; for this, I think, means what is said: "Let not the elder take away from the inheritance of his people." Do you think this speech is sufficient to clarify the matter?

P. And very much.

K. Let it, then, proceed to the investigation of the spiritual meaning: for what is given in the law are images, and in the shadows is inscribed the image of truth.

P. Pravda.

K. Thus, unshakable and constant are the inheritances that pass from fathers to children; and on the contrary, those who pass from masters to slaves are alienated and return: for this is said in the Holy Scriptures.

P. I understand.

K. But among us who are justified by faith, there is one elder, Christ, who has for His inheritance the inheritance of God and the Father. That is why He said, when He addressed Him as if in the form of a prayer: "And all that is Mine is Yours, and Yours is Mine; and I was glorified in them (John 17:10). The divine Singer also sings that He "ascended on high, took captivity captive, received gifts for men" (Psalm 67:19; cf. Ephesians 4:8); for "God has appointed some in the Church, first, apostles, secondly, prophets, thirdly, teachers" (1 Corinthians 12:28), "To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge" and the likes (v. 8). And to put it simply, with His blessings He fattens the souls of those who love Him. So firm and constant is the possession of what is given to the priests and the free; but in those who have a slavish spirit, that is, in the Israelites who do not accept the free faith, but are still under the yoke of filthy and abominable sin, even the grace given through Moses, that is, the knowledge of the law, which leads to the truth, is alienated and taken away. And they have absolutely no inheritance with the saints, and no part with Christ: "For to everyone who has," it is said, "it will be given, and he will abound, but from him who does not have even that which he has will be taken away" (Matt. 25:29; cf. 13:12 and Lk. 8:18). And that Israel is deprived of its inheritance, not accepting the faith and not adorning itself with the dignity of freedom, the Saviour pointed out, exposing, as I think, the force of this law; For thus He said to those who decided not to obey: "Verily, verily, I say to you, Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. But the slave does not dwell in the house forever; The Son abides eternally. Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:34-36). See, then, that the right to share in the inheritance is due only to the free, and not to those who are under the yoke of slavery: for sons are those who dwell in the house, and not slaves, it is said.

P. Excellent.

K. And when the law adds, "Let not an elder take away from the inheritance of men" his own, that he may give an inheritance to "his son," the law points to something that Christ (because he is our elder) will never give to any of the sanctified an inheritance that is not proper to him. For is not another part and another portion befitting those who dedicate their lives wholly to God, but another and excellent portion befits those who are chosen and have attained the pinnacle of brightness in Christ?

P. How could it be otherwise?

K. Therefore it is unseemly for the saints to seek from Christ that which befits the worldly and those who do not lead a holy life in all things; on the contrary, they should not seek anything carnal, but everything divine and spiritual. In the same way, the Saviour Himself commanded the holy Apostles to make the words of prayer, composing a petition very befitting the saints: for "Pray thus," he says, "that Thy kingdom may come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matt. 6:9-13). Thus, to those who indecently ask what the Elder does not give, we will say: "Ask, and you do not receive, because you ask not for good" (James 4:3). And that it is true that he who says to God, "Thou shalt render to each one according to his works" (Jeremiah 25:14), the law again points us to this, saying that for this reason "let not the elder take up of the inheritance of his people," that "his inheritance may go to his sons," he says, "that no one of my people may be cast out of his possession" (Ezekiel 46:18); for it is as if God has prepared for each his own portion and a portion corresponding to his deeds. Or perhaps he says that it is very unseemly for those who are sanctified to come out of their position and desire what those who think of worldly things have, and this is temporal and carnal, and, like shadows, transitory.