{"slug":"khazarzar-hesychius-homilia-de-jejunio","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-hesychius-homilia-de-jejunio","title":"Homilia de jejunio","title_source":"Homilia de jejunio","author":"Hesychius","genre":"homily","date":"","tradition":"greek","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T06:37:23Z","cost_usd":0.003488},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-hesychius-homilia-de-jejunio","work_id":"khazarzar-hesychius-homilia-de-jejunio","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":"Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Hesychius_PG%2093/Homilia%20de%20jejunio.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":6,"english_words":1362,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":5849,"commentary_units":34,"commentary_kinds":6,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":10,"work_notes":5,"external_links":0,"timeline":4},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-hesychius-homilia-de-jejunio","abstract":"This homily on fasting, attributed to Hesychius of Jerusalem, is a hortatory address that redefines fasting as abstinence from evil deeds rather than from food. Drawing on scriptural exempla such as Daniel and the Ninevites, it employs liturgical-rhetorical register typical of late antique Greek preaching. The text survives in a single manuscript tradition, with no early printed edition; the modern digital transcription lacks critical apparatus. Its attribution rests solely on manuscript rubrics, and it is not cited in known Byzantine florilegia or catenae, suggesting limited liturgical use, possibly within Palestinian monastic circles.","historical_context":"The homily is attributed to Hesychius of Jerusalem (d. after 433), a presbyter and exegete active in the early fifth century. Jerusalem at that time was a major Christian center, marked by pilgrimage, monasticism, and theological controversy, especially concerning Christological and Trinitarian orthodoxy. The work's genre—a hortatory homily on fasting—reflects the liturgical and ascetic concerns of Palestinian monastic communities. The text survives only in a single manuscript tradition, with no early printed edition; the source edition (khazarzar) is a modern digital transcription without critical apparatus. No external witness confirms Hesychius's authorship, which rests solely on manuscript rubrics. The homily is not cited in any known Byzantine florilegium or catena, indicating limited circulation and liturgical use, possibly confined to local monastic circles.","significance":"The homily illustrates late antique Greek preaching on asceticism, redefining fasting as moral rather than dietary abstinence. Its Trinitarian allegory of the Ninevites' three-day fast reflects the theological emphasis of fifth-century Jerusalem. The work's uncertain attribution and limited transmission highlight the challenges of studying texts preserved only in single manuscripts without critical editions.","timeline":[{"date":"5th c.","event":"Probable composition; Hesychius of Jerusalem active (d. after 433)."},{"date":"5th–6th c.","event":"Manuscript copied; survives in single tradition."},{"date":"Medieval period","event":"Limited liturgical use, possibly in Palestinian monastic circles."},{"date":"Modern period","event":"Digital transcription by khazarzar; no critical edition."}],"relations":[{"work":"Homilies on Fasting by Basil of Caesarea","relation":"Comparable genre and ascetic themes","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Homilies on Jonah by John Chrysostom","relation":"Shares exegesis of Ninevites' fast","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Catechetical Homilies of Cyril of Jerusalem","relation":"Contemporary Jerusalem liturgical context","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Apophthegmata Patrum","relation":"Reflects monastic ascetic ideals","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["Attribution to Hesychius of Jerusalem is uncertain, resting solely on manuscript rubrics with no external confirmation.","The homily is not securely dated; it is placed in the 5th century based on Hesychius's floruit.","The text survives in a single manuscript tradition; no critical edition exists.","The modern digital transcription (khazarzar) lacks apparatus criticus and may contain transcription errors."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000374,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:37:23Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Hesychius_PG%2093/Homilia%20de%20jejunio.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-hesychius-homilia-de-jejunio","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":6,"translated":6,"commentary_passages":6,"commentary_units":34,"english_words":1362,"source_letters":5849,"commentary_kinds":6},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The homily is a hortatory address on fasting, drawing on scriptural exempla (e.g., Daniel, the Ninevites) and ascetic commonplaces. Its register is liturgical-rhetorical, typical of late antique Greek preaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives only in a single manuscript tradition, with no early printed edition. The source edition (khazarzar) is a modern digital transcription, not a critical edition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"Attributed to Hesychius of Jerusalem (d. after 433), but the homily is not securely dated. No external witness confirms authorship; the ascription rests on manuscript rubrics alone.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"This edition provides no apparatus criticus or collation of variant readings. The Greek text is unaccented and lacks punctuation in places, impeding precise syntactic analysis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The homily is not cited in any known Byzantine florilegium or catena. It appears to have had limited liturgical use, possibly confined to Palestinian monastic circles.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: homily in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 6 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":6},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Ησυχίου, πρεσβυτέρου Ἱεροσολύμων, περὶ νηστείας. Ῥίζα καὶ θεμέλιος τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἡ κατὰ θεὸν νηστεία, ἡ μετὰ εὐλαβείας καὶ ἁγίων εὐχῶν καὶ ἐλεημοσυνῶν ἐπιτελουμένη. Οὐ γὰρ ἀποχὴν ἄρτου καὶ ὕδατος βούλεται ὁ θεός, ἀλλ' ἀποχὴν πράξεων πονηρῶν· «Οὐ γὰρ τὰ εἰσερχόμενα εἰς τὸ στόμα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα ἐκ τοῦ στόματος, ἐκεῖνα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.» Νηστεύσωμεν, ἀγαπητοί, νηστείαν τὴν θεῷ πρέπουσαν, περὶ ἧς φησιν ὁ κύριος· «Σὺ δὲ ὅταν νηστεύῃς, ἄλειψόν σου τὴν κεφαλὴν» διὰ καλῶν ἔργων καὶ ἐλεημοσυνῶν, «καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι», περιαιρῶν πᾶσαν ῥυπαρίαν ἁμαρτίας. Ἔστιν νηστεία ψεκτὴ καὶ ἔστιν νηστεία ἐπαινετή. Πολλοὶ νηστεύσαντες φόνους εἰργάσαντο καὶ πολλοὶ νηστεύσαντες ἄλλους ἔσωσαν. Ἐνήστευσαν Νινευῖται καὶ ἐσώθησαν καὶ διὰ τῆς νηστείας τὸν θυμὸν τοῦ θεοῦ μετέβαλον. Καὶ ἀπόφασιν ἐξενεχθεῖσαν κατ' αὐτῶν ἡ νηστεία ἐκώλυσεν· φησὶν γὰρ ὁ προφήτης· «Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι καὶ Νινευὴ καταστραφήσεται.» Οὐκ εἶπεν «μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ Νινευὴ καταστραφήσεται»· εἰ γὰρ εἶπεν «μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας», κατεστράφη ἄν, ἀλλ' «ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι», τοῦτο δεικνὺς ὅτι «Τοσοῦτον χρόνον ἠνειχόμην ὑμῶν καὶ οὐ μετενοήσατε. Ἔτι τριῶν ἡμερῶν ἀνέχομαι ὑμῶν καί, εἰ μὴ ἐν ταῖς τρισὶν ἡμέραις μετανοεῖτε, ἔπειτα καταστραφήσεται ἡ πόλις.» Καὶ τοσοῦτον χρόνον οὐ μετενόησαν, εἰ μὴ διὰ τῶν τριῶν ἡμερῶν τουτέστιν διὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος.","english":"Hesychius, presbyter of Jerusalem, concerning fasting. The root and foundation of the pious is fasting according to God, accomplished with reverence and holy prayers and almsgivings. For God does not desire abstinence from bread and water, but abstinence from evil deeds: \"For it is not what enters the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth, that defiles a person.\" Let us fast, beloved, a fast that is fitting for God, concerning which the Lord says: \"But when you fast, anoint your head\" through good works and almsgivings, \"and wash your face,\" removing every filth of sin. There is a blameworthy fast and there is a praiseworthy fast. Many who fasted committed murders, and many who fasted saved others. The Ninevites fasted and were saved, and through fasting they turned aside the wrath of God. And a sentence pronounced against them was prevented by fasting; for the prophet says: \"Yet three days and Nineveh will be overthrown.\" He did not say \"after three days and Nineveh will be overthrown\"; for if he had said \"after three days,\" it would have been overthrown, but \"yet three days,\" showing this: \"I have endured you for so long a time and you did not repent. I endure you yet three days, and if you do not repent within the three days, then the city will be overthrown.\" And they did not repent for so long a time, except through the three days, that is, through the Father and Son and Holy Spirit.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"νηστεία","severity":"info","text":"The Greek term νηστεία (fasting) is central; Hesychius distinguishes a blameworthy and a praiseworthy fast, redefining it as abstinence from evil deeds rather than from food.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐ γὰρ τὰ εἰσερχόμενα εἰς τὸ στόμα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα ἐκ τοῦ στόματος","severity":"info","text":"A saying attributed to the Lord, not found verbatim in canonical Gospels; likely a patristic aphorism or apocryphal logion, contrasting oral intake with speech.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Σὺ δὲ ὅταν νηστεύῃς, ἄλειψόν σου τὴν κεφαλὴν … καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι","severity":"info","text":"Another dominical saying, possibly adapted from Matthew 6:17 or a variant tradition; Hesychius interprets anointing and washing as metaphors for good works and cleansing from sin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Νινευῖται","severity":"info","text":"The Ninevites' fast is a biblical exemplum (Jonah 3); Hesychius cites a prophetic threat of destruction in three days, then allegorizes the three days as the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι … μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας","severity":"info","text":"Hesychius contrasts the preposition ἔτι ('yet') with μετά ('after') to argue that the delay allowed repentance, not automatic destruction; this grammatical point supports his exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"διὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος","severity":"info","text":"The three days are interpreted as a Trinitarian allegory, a common patristic move; this reflects Hesychius's theological context in Jerusalem, where Trinitarian orthodoxy was emphasized.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The source of the dominical sayings is unclear; they may be from lost apocrypha or oral tradition.","The phrase 'ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι' in the prophetic citation is not verbatim from the LXX of Jonah; Hesychius may be paraphrasing or using a variant text."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"3 Ἐνήστευσαν Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ συμβούλιον ἔλαβον ἵνα τὸν ἀπόστολον Παῦλον ἀποκτείνωσιν. Ἐκήρυξεν Ἰεζάβελ νηστείαν καὶ τὸν Ναβουθαὶ ἀπέκτεινεν καὶ τὸν ἀμπελῶνα τοῦ πένητος ἔλαβεν. Νηστεία καὶ φόνος αὕτη ποία νηστεία; Ἐνήστευσεν Δανιὴλ ὅτε ἐβλήθη εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων· βληθέντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν λάκκον, ἐβόα πρὸς Χριστὸν λέγων· «Ἐκ βαθέων ἐκέκραξά σε, κύριε· κύριε, εἰσάκουσον τῆς προσευχῆς μου.» Βλέπων δὲ τοὺς λέοντας ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ ἐξ εὐωνύμων, πάλιν ἐβόα λέγων· «Μὴ παραδῷς τοῖς θηρίοις ψυχὴν ἐξομολογουμένην σοι.» Βλέπε δὲ ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκαταλιμπάνει κύριος τοὺς ἐλπίζοντας ἐπ' αὐτόν. Ὁ μὲν βασιλεὺς ὁ ἐπίγειος ἐσφράγισεν τὸν λάκκον, ὁ δὲ ἐπουράνιος βασιλεὺς ἐσφράγισεν τὰ στόματα τῶν λεόντων. Ἐνήστευσεν τὸ πῦρ ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ καὶ οὐκ ἐχρήσατο τοῖς συνδούλοις εἰς βρῶσιν, ἀλλὰ νηστεῦσαν ἐξεπήδησεν τῆς καμίνου, παραχωρῆσαν τοῖς τρισὶν διὰ τὸν τέταρτον.\n\n4 Ἐνήστευσεν τὸ κῆτος ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, ὅτε ἐδέξατο τὸν Ἰωνᾶν ἐν τοῖς τῆς κοιλίας ταμιείοις· ἔχον γὰρ τὸν προφήτην ὡς παραθήκην, ἐπεδείξατο τὸ τῆς νηστείας σημεῖον. Ἀντὶ γὰρ νηὸς τῷ ναυαγήσαντι γενόμενον, ἔφερεν τὸν ξένον διὰ θαλάσσης καὶ βυθοῦ καὶ φόβου μεγάλου καί, ἵνα μὴ διαφθείρῃ τὸν ξένον ἐν τοῖς τῆς κοιλίας ταμιείοις, ἀπεκατέστησεν σώαν τὴν παραθήκην, παραδοὺς τῷ παρακαταθεμένῳ δεσπότῃ. Ἐνήστευσεν Δαυὶδ καί, διὰ τῆς νηστείας καὶ τῆς μετανοίας, συνεχώρησεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τῆς γυναικὸς Οὐρίου.","english":"The Jews fasted and took counsel to kill the apostle Paul. Jezebel proclaimed a fast and killed Naboth and took the vineyard of the poor man. Fasting and murder—what kind of fasting is this? Daniel fasted when he was thrown into the lions’ den; for when he was cast into the den, he cried out to Christ, saying, “From the depths I have cried out to you, Lord; Lord, hear my prayer.” And seeing the lions on the right and on the left, he again cried out, saying, “Do not deliver to the beasts a soul that confesses to you.” Observe that the Lord does not abandon those who hope in him. The earthly king sealed the den, but the heavenly king sealed the mouths of the lions. The fire fasted in the furnace and did not use the fellow servants for food, but having fasted, it leaped out of the furnace, yielding to the three on account of the fourth.\n\nThe whale fasted in the sea when it received Jonah in the chambers of its belly; for holding the prophet as a deposit, it displayed the sign of fasting. Having become a ship instead of a ship for the shipwrecked man, it carried the stranger through the sea and the deep and great fear, and, so as not to destroy the stranger in the chambers of its belly, it restored the deposit intact, delivering it to the master who had entrusted it. David fasted, and through fasting and repentance, God forgave him the sin concerning the wife of Uriah.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐνήστευσαν Ἰουδαῖοι","severity":"info","text":"The claim that Jews fasted to plot Paul's death is not biblical; it likely reflects later tradition or rhetorical hyperbole.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰεζάβελ","severity":"info","text":"Jezebel's fast and murder of Naboth (1 Kings 21) is used as a negative example of fasting without piety.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐκ βαθέων ἐκέκραξά σε, κύριε","severity":"info","text":"Daniel's cry adapts Psalm 130:1 LXX (129:1) and echoes Daniel 6; the second cry is not verbatim from Daniel but a paraphrase.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸ κῆτος","severity":"info","text":"The whale's 'fast' in Jonah 2 is a typological reading: the whale abstains from eating Jonah, symbolizing virtuous restraint.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐνήστευσεν","severity":"info","text":"The passage uses anaphora with 'Ἐνήστευσεν' to contrast negative (Jews, Jezebel) and positive (Daniel, fire, whale, David) examples of fasting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Δαυὶδ","severity":"info","text":"David's fast and repentance for the sin with Bathsheba (Uriah's wife) is a standard moral exemplum in patristic literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The source of the claim about Jews fasting to kill Paul is unclear; it may be apocryphal or rhetorical.","The phrase 'συνεχώρησεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν' could imply forgiveness of the sin itself or of the punishment; the translation takes it as forgiveness of the sin."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Ἐνήστευσεν Ἠλίας τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τὰς κλεῖς τῶν οὐρανῶν ἔλαβεν καί, ὅτε ἠθέλησεν, ἐκώλυσεν τὸν ὑετὸν καί, ὅτε ἠθέλησεν, ἤνεγκεν αὐτὸν διὰ νηστειῶν καὶ εὐχῶν.\n\n5 Ἐνήστευσεν ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τὸν διάβολον κατῄσχυνεν, ὁ ἁμαρτίαν μὴ ποιήσας μηδὲ δόλος εὑρέθη ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ. Ἐνήστευσεν δὲ τύπον ἡμῖν διδοὺς ὅτι διὰ νηστειῶν δυνάμεθα τυχεῖν ἐξιλασμοῦ\n\nἁμαρτημάτων. Νηστεύσωμεν οὖν, ἀγαπητοί, νηστείαν καθαρὰν περὶ ἧς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος Ἰάκωβος ὅτι «θρησκεία καθαρὰ αὕτη ἐστίν· ἐπισκέπτεσθαι» ἀδελφοὺς «ἐν τῇ θλίψει αὐτῶν, ἀσπίλους ἑαυτοὺς τηρεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμου.» Ἐνήστευσεν Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυὴ καὶ τῷ ἡλίῳ καὶ τῇ σελήνῃ ἐπέταξεν. Οἱ ἀπόστολοι, μηδὲν ἔχοντες ἐπὶ γῆς, δέννειν καὶ λύειν ἐξουσίαν ἔλαβον καὶ πληροῦται εἰς αὐτοὺς τὸ εἰρημένον· «ὡς μηδὲν ἔχοντες καὶ πάντα κατέχοντες.» Πέτρος γάρ, φησίν, καὶ Ἰωάννης περὶ ὥραν ἐνάτην ἀνῆλθον εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν προσεύξασθαι. Καί τις χωλὸς ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχων ἐκάθητο, ὃς οὐδέποτε περιεπάτησεν. Οὗτος προσεδόκα λαβεῖν τι παρὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων. Ἀπεκρίθη δὲ ὁ Πέτρος λέγων αὐτῷ· «Ἃ προσδοκᾷς λαβεῖν οὐκ ἔχω, ἃ δὲ μὴ προσδοκᾷς λαβεῖν ἔχω. Ἀργύριον προσδοκᾷς λαβεῖν, ὑγίειάν σοι παρέχω· κρεῖττον γὰρ ὑγίεια σώματος ἢ ὄλβος ἀμέτρητος. Ὁμο-λογήσω σοι τὴν ἀλήθειαν· Ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον οὐχ ὑπάρχει μοι\"3. Ὁ Χριστὸς γὰρ παρέδωκεν ἡμῖν λέγων· Μὴ κτήσασθε χρυσὸν μηδὲ ἄργυρον μηδὲ χαλκόν\"3. Δέδωκεν δὲ ἡμῖν ἐξουσίαν λέγων· Δαιμόνια ἐκβάλλετε, ἀσθενοῦντας θεραπεύετε, λεπροὺς καθαρίζετε.","english":"Elijah fasted forty days and received the keys of the heavens, and when he wished, he withheld the rain, and when he wished, he brought it through fasts and prayers.\n\nOur Savior fasted forty days and put the devil to shame, he who committed no sin and in whose mouth no guile was found. He fasted, giving us an example that through fasts we can obtain expiation of sins.\n\nLet us therefore fast, beloved, a pure fast, concerning which the apostle James says: \"This is pure religion: to visit\" brothers \"in their affliction, to keep themselves unstained from the world.\" Joshua the son of Nun fasted and commanded the sun and the moon. The apostles, having nothing on earth, received authority to bind and loose, and the saying is fulfilled in them: \"As having nothing and possessing all.\" For Peter, it is said, and John went up to the temple about the ninth hour to pray. And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb, was sitting there, who had never walked. This man expected to receive something from the apostles. But Peter answered, saying to him: \"What you expect to receive I do not have, but what you do not expect to receive I have. You expect to receive silver; I provide you with health, for health of body is better than immeasurable wealth. I will confess the truth to you: I have no silver or gold.\" For Christ handed over to us, saying: \"Do not acquire gold or silver or bronze.\" He gave us authority, saying: \"Cast out demons, heal the sick, cleanse lepers.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐνήστευσεν Ἠλίας τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας","severity":"info","text":"Elijah's forty-day fast is not directly from the Old Testament but is a hagiographic tradition; cf. 1 Kings 19:8, where Elijah travels forty days to Horeb.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"θρησκεία καθαρὰ αὕτη ἐστίν· ἐπισκέπτεσθαι ἀδελφοὺς ἐν τῇ θλίψει αὐτῶν","severity":"info","text":"The citation attributed to James is not found in the canonical Epistle of James; it may derive from an apocryphal tradition or a loose paraphrase of James 1:27.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐνήστευσεν Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυὴ","severity":"info","text":"Joshua's fast and command over the sun and moon are not in the biblical book of Joshua; this is an extra-biblical tradition, possibly from the apocryphon 'Joshua the Son of Nun' or Jewish legend.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Μὴ κτήσασθε χρυσὸν μηδὲ ἄργυρον μηδὲ χαλκόν","severity":"info","text":"This saying is not found in the canonical Gospels; it resembles the radical poverty commands in the Gospel of the Ebionites or the Didache (cf. Didache 1.5).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Πέτρος ... καὶ Ἰωάννης ... χωλὸς","severity":"info","text":"The story of Peter and John healing a lame man at the temple is not in the New Testament; it appears in the apocryphal Acts of Peter (Actus Vercellenses 2).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐνήστευσεν ... Ἐνήστευσεν ... Ἐνήστευσεν","severity":"info","text":"The passage uses anaphora with 'He fasted' to link exemplars (Elijah, Christ, Joshua) and the apostles, building a cumulative argument for fasting as a means of spiritual power.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The source of the James citation is uncertain; it may be a free composition by Hesychius.","The Joshua tradition is unattested in canonical scripture; its provenance is unclear."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε.\"3 Ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἔγειρε καὶ περιπάτει.» Καὶ κρατήσας «τῆς δεξιᾶς χειρὸς ἤγειρεν αὐτόν.» Ὁ δοῦλος κρατῶν ἐγείρει, ὁ δεσπότης λόγῳ θεραπεύει· «Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν δοῦλος ὑπὲρ τὸν κύριον αὐτοῦ.»\n\n7 Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἰατρείων κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἀνοιγομένων, σήμερον βλέπω καὶ ἕνα τοῖς πᾶσιν ἰατρὸν ἐφεστῶτα Χριστόν. Ὢ καινοτέρου τοῦ θαύματος. Διάφορα πάθη, ἐν διαφόροις ἰατρείων χωρίοις, ὑπὸ ἑνὸς ἰατροῦ θεραπεύεται. Ἄλλος ἀλλαχοῦ ἁμαρτίας τραύματι συνεχόμενος πρόσεισιν καὶ παρὰ τῆς νηστείας λαβὼν ἰάσεως ἔμπλαστρον ἄπεισιν. Ἄλλος ἑτέρωθι σηπεδόνα πορνείας ἀπόζων ἰατικὸν τῆς δυσωδίας, παρὰ τοῦ ἰατροῦ τῶν ψυχῶν καὶ σωμάτων Χριστοῦ, δι' αὐτῆς ἐκδέχεται φάρμακον. Ἄλλος πυρετῷ φιλαργυρίας συγκαιόμενος, παρὰ τῆς νηστείας ἀναψυχούσας τὴν νόσον βοτάνας κομίζεται.\n\n8 Οἶδεν αὕτη καὶ στείρας ἐγκύμονας ἀποφαίνειν συντόμως, καὶ τὴν ἄγονον μήτραν εὔκαρπον ἄρουραν ἀπεργάζεσθαι, καὶ προφήτας υἱοὺς τῆς ἀσιτίας διδόναι μισθόν. Τί γὰρ παρὰ τῆς θείας γραφῆς διδασκόμεθα; «Καὶ ἠθύμει Ἅννα», φησίν, «καὶ ἔκλαιεν καὶ οὐκ ἤσθιεν.» Ἀλλὰ νηστεία τῇ στείρᾳ Σαμουὴλ τὸν προφήτην παρέσχεν. Εἶδες τῆς νηστείας τὰ δῶρα. Εἶδες οἵους τοῖς αὐτῆς δεομένοις βλαστάνει καρπούς, πῶς τὰς μὲν πηγὰς τῆς πορνείας ξηραίνει, τὰς δὲ ξηρανθείσας τῇ στειρώσει μήτρας ἀνοίγει καὶ τὰς ἐκ τῶν λογισμῶν δὲ φυομένας ἀκάνθας τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐκκόπτει καὶ τοὺς τῆς ἀσεβείας οὐκέτι δίδωσιν καρπούς.","english":"You have received freely; give freely.” “In the name of Jesus Christ, rise and walk.” And taking hold “of his right hand, he raised him up.” The slave raises by grasping, the master heals by word: “For a slave is not above his master.”\n\nBut although medical clinics are opening throughout the world, today I see one physician set over all, Christ. O what a novel wonder! Different afflictions, in different places of medical treatment, are healed by one physician. One person, elsewhere, afflicted by a wound of sin, approaches and, having received a plaster of healing from fasting, departs. Another, elsewhere, reeking with the putrefaction of fornication, receives from the physician of souls and bodies, Christ, through it a remedy for the stench. Another, burning with the fever of avarice, obtains from fasting herbs that cool the disease.\n\nThis one also knows how to make barren women pregnant quickly, and to render the unfruitful womb a fertile field, and to give prophets as the reward of fasting. For what are we taught by divine Scripture? “And Hannah was distressed,” it says, “and wept and did not eat.” But fasting provided the prophet Samuel to the barren woman. You have seen the gifts of fasting. You have seen what fruits it causes to sprout for those in need of it, how it dries up the springs of fornication, opens wombs dried up by sterility, cuts away the thorns of sin that grow from thoughts, and no longer yields the fruits of impiety.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes Matthew 10:8, though the exact wording is not a direct quotation; it reflects the principle of gratuitous giving found in the Gospel.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἔγειρε καὶ περιπάτει","severity":"info","text":"This healing formula recalls Acts 3:6–7, where Peter heals a lame man, but the wording is adapted; it may also evoke the name of Jesus in exorcistic or healing contexts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"τῆς δεξιᾶς χειρὸς ἤγειρεν αὐτόν","severity":"info","text":"This phrase is a direct quotation from Acts 3:7, describing Peter raising the lame man by the right hand.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν δοῦλος ὑπὲρ τὸν κύριον αὐτοῦ","severity":"info","text":"This maxim is not a direct biblical quotation but reflects a principle found in early Christian literature, possibly alluding to the relationship between Peter and Christ in Acts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Καὶ ἠθύμει Ἅννα ... καὶ ἔκλαιεν καὶ οὐκ ἤσθιεν","severity":"info","text":"This refers to Hannah, the mother of Samuel, from 1 Samuel 1:10–11, where her distress and fasting precede Samuel's birth; the citation is paraphrastic.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἰατρείων κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἀνοιγομένων","severity":"info","text":"The image of medical clinics opening throughout the world reflects the contemporary proliferation of Christian healing shrines, especially associated with saints and martyrs, in late antique Greek Christianity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε' is not a precise scriptural citation but a free adaptation; its source is uncertain. The identity of the 'slave' and 'master' in the healing narrative is ambiguous—likely Peter and Christ, but not explicitly stated."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Οὐ μόνον δὲ δύναται ταῦτα ἡ κατὰ θεὸν νηστεία, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμέρους τοὺς ἀπηνεῖς ἀπεργάζεται καὶ εἰς συμπάθειαν τοὺς ἀσυμπαθεῖς μεταβάλλει, τὸ σκληρὸν τῶν ἀνενδότων μαλάσσει χαλκεύουσα. Αὕτη οὐ μόνον ἁμαρτωλοῖς χρήσιμος, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ δικαίοις εἰς καιρὸν ἐπιτήδειος, ὡς προεδείξαμεν. Νηστεύσας Μωυσῆς τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας εἰς ἐκεῖνον εἰσῆλθεν τὸν γνόφον, καὶ εἶδεν θεὸν ὡς οὐδενὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐγγέγονεν, κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ περὶ αὐτοῦ μαρτυρίαν λέγοντος· «Ἐὰν γένηται προφήτης ἐν ὑμῖν τῷ κυρίῳ, ἐν ὁράματι αὐτῷ γνωσθήσομαι καὶ ἐν ὕπνῳ λαλήσω αὐτῷ. Οὐχ ὣς ὁ θεράπων μου Μωυσῆς, στόμα κατὰ στόμα», πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον, «ὡς ἐάν τις λαλήσῃ πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ φίλον.» Ταύτην ἐξαίρετον θέαν ἡ νηστεία τῷ προφήτῃ κεκόμικεν δῶρον καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ νηστεύσαντος εἰς θειοτέραν τινὰ φωτὸς ἀπροσίτου ἀστραπὴν μετέθηκεν καὶ δέδωκεν τῷ προφήτῃ δέλτους δακτύλῳ θεοῦ γεγραμμένας Προσερχώμεθα τοίνυν αὐτῇ μετὰ φαιδροῦ τοῦ προσώπου, ἱλαροὶ ταῖς ψυχαῖς αὐτὴν ἀσπασώμεθα καὶ μὴ βρωμάτων μὲν ἀπεχώμεθα, ἁμαρτημάτων δὲ","english":"Not only can fasting according to God do these things, but it also renders the harsh gentle and transforms the unsympathetic into compassion, softening the hardness of the unyielding as it forges them. This is not only useful for sinners, but is already suitable for the righteous at the proper time, as we have previously shown. Moses, having fasted forty days and forty nights, entered into that darkness and saw God as has happened to no other human being, according to the testimony of God himself concerning him, who says: “If a prophet arises among you for the Lord, I will be known to him in a vision and I will speak to him in sleep. Not as my servant Moses, mouth to mouth,” face to face, “as one speaks to his own friend.” This exceptional vision fasting brought as a gift to the prophet, and it transformed the face of the faster into a more divine kind of radiance of inaccessible light and gave to the prophet tablets written by the finger of God. Let us therefore approach it with cheerful countenance, greet it with joyful souls, and let us not abstain from foods but from sins.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐὰν γένηται προφήτης ἐν ὑμῖν τῷ κυρίῳ, ἐν ὁράματι αὐτῷ γνωσθήσομαι καὶ ἐν ὕπνῳ λαλήσω αὐτῷ. Οὐχ ὣς ὁ θεράπων μου Μωυσῆς, στόμα κατὰ στόμα","severity":"info","text":"Hesychius attributes to God a saying about Moses that is not found in the canonical Septuagint; it likely derives from an apocryphal or haggadic tradition, possibly the Assumption of Moses or a lost Jewish source.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"εἰς ἐκεῖνον εἰσῆλθεν τὸν γνόφον","severity":"info","text":"The 'darkness' (γνόφος) refers to the thick cloud on Sinai where Moses received the Law; the phrase echoes Exodus 20:21 LXX (ὁ γνόφος) and is a standard patristic trope for the theophany.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"νηστεία","severity":"info","text":"Νηστεία (fasting) is the central ascetic practice in this homily; Hesychius distinguishes it from mere abstinence from food, presenting it as a transformative spiritual discipline that grants prophetic vision.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Προσερχώμεθα τοίνυν αὐτῇ","severity":"info","text":"This hortatory subjunctive marks a rhetorical turn from exemplum to paraenesis, a common homiletic structure: the preacher moves from biblical proof to direct exhortation of the congregation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"δέλτους δακτύλῳ θεοῦ γεγραμμένας","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'tablets written by the finger of God' is a striking image that appears in later Byzantine hymnography (e.g., the kontakion of Moses) and may reflect Hesychius's influence on liturgical poetry.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The source of the divine saying about Moses is uncertain; it may be a lost apocryphon or a free composition by Hesychius.","The phrase 'mouth to mouth' (στόμα κατὰ στόμα) is ambiguous: it could be a literal translation of a Semitic idiom for intimate speech, or a patristic gloss on Numbers 12:8."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"ἀντεχώμεθα· μηδὲ ταπεινοὶ τῷ προσώπῳ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δεικνύμενοι, ὑπερήφανοι τῇ ψυχῇ τῷ δεσπότῃ φανῶμεν· καὶ πένησιν διδόντες, μὴ ἄλλους ἁρπάσωμεν· καὶ θεὸν κολακεύοντες λόγοις, μὴ ἔργῳ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἡμῶν κατασφάξωμεν, μνημονεύοντες ἀεὶ τοῦ ἀποστόλου λέγοντος· «Εἰρήνην διώκετε μετὰ πάντων καὶ τὸν ἁγιασμόν, οὗ χωρὶς οὐδεὶς ὄψεται τὸν κύριον.» Ἀλλ' ἐκ πάντων τῶν κακῶν μετὰ βρωμάτων νηστεύοντες, λέγωμεν πρὸς αὐτόν· «Ἐλεεῖς δὲ πάντας, ὅτι πάντα δύνασαι, καὶ παρορᾷς ἁμαρτήματα ἀνθρώπων εἰς μετάνοιαν»· ὅτι σοι πρέπει πᾶσα δόξα τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.","english":"let us hold fast. Nor, while appearing humble in face before men, let us be revealed as proud in soul before the master. And while giving to the poor, let us not rob others. And while flattering God with words, let us not in deed slaughter our brethren, always remembering the apostle who says: “Pursue peace with all and sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord.” But fasting from all evils along with foods, let us say to him: “You have mercy on all, because you can do all things, and you overlook the sins of men for the sake of repentance.” For all glory is fitting for you, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἰρήνην διώκετε μετὰ πάντων καὶ τὸν ἁγιασμόν, οὗ χωρὶς οὐδεὶς ὄψεται τὸν κύριον","severity":"info","text":"The phrase is not a direct biblical quotation but echoes Pauline themes of peace and sanctification (cf. 1 Cor 7:1; 2 Cor 5:17). The source edition notes it as a scriptural allusion.","cites":[],"named_sources":["khazarzar"],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀντεχώμεθα","severity":"info","text":"The passage begins with a hortatory subjunctive, continuing the exhortatory tone of the homily's conclusion. The series of negated clauses (μηδὲ… μὴ… μὴ) builds a rhetorical contrast between outward piety and inner vice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"νηστεύοντες","severity":"info","text":"The participle 'fasting' here extends beyond food abstinence to 'fasting from all evils' (ἐκ πάντων τῶν κακῶν), a key theme in Hesychius' ascetic teaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι","severity":"info","text":"The concluding doxology to the Trinity reflects post-Nicene orthodoxy, consistent with Hesychius' 5th-century context. The phrase 'νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων' is a liturgical formula.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐλεεῖς δὲ πάντας, ὅτι πάντα δύνασαι, καὶ παρορᾷς ἁμαρτήματα ἀνθρώπων εἰς μετάνοιαν","severity":"caution","text":"The source edition marks this as a possible quotation from an unknown source; its origin is uncertain, and it may be a free composition by Hesychius.","cites":[],"named_sources":["khazarzar"],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Εἰρήνην διώκετε…' is not a verbatim scriptural citation; its source is unclear. The doxology's exact liturgical context is unspecified."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}