104. More Concerning the Ark and the Talk of the Wicked

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concerning which God hath not commanded us that we should take wives from it? And thy kin is her kin, for ye are all the children of Ham. And God, having destroyed of the seed of Ham seven kings, hath made us to inherit this city, that we and our seed after us may dwell therein for ever. And as concerning Zion, the will of God hath been performed, and He hath given her unto them so that they may worship her. And as for me, I will neither sacrifice to nor worship thine idols, and I will not perform thy wish.”

And though she spake in this wise unto him, and though she shewed herself gracious unto him evening and morning, and night and day, he continued to refuse her [request]. And one day she beautified and scented herself for him, and she behaved herself haughtily towards him, and treated him disdainfully. And he said unto her, “What shall I do? Thou hast made thy face evil towards me, and thy regard towards me is not as it was formerly, and thy beautiful form is not as enticing as usual. Ask me, and I will give thee whatsoever thou wishest, and I will perform it for thee, so that thou mayest make thy face (or, attitude) gracious towards me as formerly”; but she held her peace and answered him never a word. And he repeated to her the words that he would do whatsoever she wished, and she said unto him, “Swear to me by the God of Israel that thou wilt not play me false.” And he swore to her that he would give her whatsoever she asked for, and that he would do for her everything that she told him. And she tied a scarlet thread on the middle of the door of [the house of] her gods, and she brought three locusts and set them in the house of her gods. And she said unto Solomon, “Come to me without breaking the scarlet thread, bend thyself and kill these locusts before me and pull out their necks”; and he did so. And she said unto him, “I will henceforward do thy will, for thou hast sacrificed to my gods and hast worshipped them.” Now he had done thus because of his oath, so that he might not break his oath which she had made him to swear, even though he knew that it was an offence (or, sin) to enter into the house of her gods.

Now God had commanded the children of Israel, saying, “Ye shall not marry strange women that ye may not be corrupted by them through their gods, and through the wickedness of their works and the sweetness of their

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voices; for they make soft the hearts of simple young men by the sweetness of their gentle voices, and by the beauty of their forms they destroy the wisdom of the foolish man.” Who was wiser than Solomon? yet he was seduced by a woman. Who was more righteous than David? yet he was seduced by a woman. Who was stronger than Samson? yet he was seduced by a woman. Who was handsomer than ‘Amnôn? yet he was seduced by Tamar the daughter of David his father And Adam was the first creation of God, yet he was seduced by Eve his wife. And through that seduction death was created for every created thing. And this seduction of men by women was caused by Eve, for we are all the children of Eve.

65. Concerning the Sin of Solomon

Now Solomon sinned an exceedingly great sin through the worship of idols, and from being a wise man he became a fool, and his sin is written down in the Book of the Prophets. And the Archbishops who were there answered and said, “Hath God had mercy on Solomon for this error which is written down [as] his sin?” Yea, God hath had mercy upon him, and his name is numbered with [the names of] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and David his father in the Book of Life in heaven. For God is a forgiver of those who have sinned. Come now, and consider, which was the greater of the two, the sin of his father David or the sin of his son Solomon? David caused Uriah to be slain in battle by means of a plan of deceit so that he might take his wife Bêrsâbêh. (Bathsheba), the mother of Solomon; and he repented, and God had compassion on him, And when he was dying he advised his son Solomon, saying, “Kill Joab as he killed ‘Amêr (Abner), and kill Shimei because he cursed me”;58 and he performed the will of his father and slew them after the death of David his father. And Solomon killed no one except his brother when he wished to marry the Samênâwât,59 the wife of his father David whose name was ‘Abîs

58I Kings ii, 5 ff. 59I.e. the “Shunammite woman” (see 1 Kings i, 3).

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(Abishag). And as concerning the error of Solomon which is written down I will reveal it to you, even as God hath revealed it to me.

66. Concerning the Prophecy of Christ

Now, according to the interpretation of prophecy, the name Solomon signifieth in the secret speech “Christ.” And as Solomon built the house of God, so Christ raised up His Body and made it into the Church. And when He said unto the Jews, “Throw down this house, and in three days I will build it up [again],”60 He spake to them of the house of His Body. And as Solomon multiplied wives from alien peoples because of their beauty and winsomeness, and desires [arose] in him in his feigning love [for them], so Christ gathered together from alien peoples those who had not the Law, but who believed on Him. And there was no uncircumcised man to Him, and no pagan; and there was no slave, and no Jew, and no servant and no free man;61 but He gathered them all into His heavenly kingdom by His Flesh and Blood. And in the Song of Songs Solomon himself sang and said, “There are sixty mighty men round about the bed of Solomon, all of them trained in war and holding swords, each man with his sword upon his thigh.”62 The number sixty indicateth the number of the righteous Patriarchs, and the Prophets, and the Apostles, and the Martyrs, and the Believers, and the Saints, and the Monks who have resisted the evil thought and the war of Satan. And the word “sword” is, being interpreted, the word of the Scriptures. The word of the Lord cutteth like a straight sharp razor, and in like manner the Scriptures cut from men’s hearts the danger caused by lying dreams by night. And the words “bed of Solomon” are, being interpreted, the Church of Christ.

60John ii, 19. 61Galatians iii, 28. 62Song of Solomon iii, 7 ff.

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