{"slug":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-meretricem-et-in-pharisaeum","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-meretricem-et-in-pharisaeum","title":"In meretricem et in pharisaeum","title_source":"In meretricem et in pharisaeum","author":"John Chrysostom","genre":"other","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":"2026-11-15T06:31:32Z","cost_usd":0.002205},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-meretricem-et-in-pharisaeum","work_id":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-meretricem-et-in-pharisaeum","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/John%20Chrysostom_PG%2047-64/In%20meretricem%20et%20in%20pharisaeum.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":3,"english_words":797,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":3391,"commentary_units":18,"commentary_kinds":7,"derived_notes":1,"ambiguities":5,"work_notes":4,"external_links":0,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-meretricem-et-in-pharisaeum","abstract":"This homily by John Chrysostom, titled Εἰς πορνὴν καὶ εἰς Φαρισαῖον (In meretricem et in pharisaeum), is a double address blending vivid moral invective with scriptural paraphrase. It reframes the Gospel story of Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman (Luke 7:36–50) to contrast the Pharisee's insulting hospitality with the prostitute's faithful offering. The text employs paradoxical metaphors like 'ironless dart' for spiritual seduction and structures its denunciation through repeated exclamations. The conversion narrative transforms the sinner from a 'thicket to paradise' and 'lioness to lamb,' culminating in epithets such as 'sister of Christ, bride of the Word,' which anticipate later ascetic and mystical traditions. The edition lacks critical apparatus, manuscript details, and commentary.","historical_context":"The homily is attributed to John Chrysostom (c. 347–407 CE), a prominent Antiochene preacher and later Archbishop of Constantinople. Its dating is uncertain; it is not securely placed within his known preaching cycles in Antioch (386–397) or Constantinople (398–404). Internal references offer no clear historical anchor. The work survives in multiple Greek manuscripts, with variant readings in the title and incipit. The source edition (khazarzar) does not specify its manuscript base, and readers must consult critical editions (e.g., PG 56) for full scholarly apparatus. The genre is a homily, typical of Chrysostom's rhetorical training, mixing moral exhortation with scriptural exegesis. The text's transmission reflects its popularity in Byzantine monastic and liturgical contexts, though its precise community of origin remains unclear.","significance":"This homily is significant for its rhetorical and theological reframing of the Gospel narrative, contrasting the Pharisee's hypocrisy with the prostitute's redemption. Its imagery and epithets influenced later Byzantine hymnography and ascetic literature, spiritualizing the prostitute as a type of the redeemed soul. The work also exemplifies Chrysostom's Antiochene exegetical method and his use of vivid metaphor to convey moral and spiritual transformation.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 347–407 CE","event":"Life of John Chrysostom"},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"Probable composition of the homily, though exact date unknown"},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"Transmission in Greek manuscripts, with variant readings"},{"date":"19th c.","event":"Publication in Patrologia Graeca (PG 56) as part of Chrysostom's corpus"},{"date":"20th–21st c.","event":"Digital edition by khazarzar without critical apparatus"}],"relations":[{"work":"Gospel of Luke","relation":"Source text for the homily's scriptural paraphrase (Luke 7:36–50)","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Patrologia Graeca 56","relation":"Critical edition containing the homily","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew","relation":"Another work by Chrysostom with similar rhetorical style","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Byzantine hymnography","relation":"Influenced by the homily's spiritualization of the prostitute","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The dating of the homily is uncertain; it is not securely placed within Chrysostom's known preaching cycles.","The source edition (khazarzar) does not specify its manuscript base or provide critical apparatus.","Variant readings in the title and incipit are known from the manuscript tradition.","The phrase 'the treaders of the winepress danced, exposing their own nakedness' is textually uncertain."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000426,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:31:32Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/John%20Chrysostom_PG%2047-64/In%20meretricem%20et%20in%20pharisaeum.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-meretricem-et-in-pharisaeum","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":3,"translated":3,"commentary_passages":3,"commentary_units":18,"english_words":797,"source_letters":3391,"commentary_kinds":7},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work's Greek title, Εἰς πορνὴν καὶ εἰς Φαρισαῖον, signals a double homiletic address. The register mixes vivid moral invective with scriptural paraphrase, typical of Chrysostom's Antiochene rhetorical training.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The dating of this homily is uncertain. It is not securely placed within Chrysostom's known preaching cycles (e.g., Antioch or Constantinople). Internal references offer no clear historical anchor.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives in multiple Greek manuscripts, but the source edition (khazarzar) does not specify its manuscript base. Variant readings in the homily's title and incipit are known from the manuscript tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This edition provides no apparatus for textual variants, no translation, and no commentary on the homily's exegetical method. Readers must consult critical editions (e.g., PG 56) for full scholarly apparatus.","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: other in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 3 narrative."},{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","text":"1 scriptural phrase match(es) noted: John 1:29."},{"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":3},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Εἰς τὴν πόρνην καὶ εἰς τὸν Φαρισαῖον.\n\nΣήμερον ὁ Φαρισαῖος εἰς ἄριστον τὸν Δεσπότην ἐκάλεσε, τιμὴν ὕβρει κεράσας· ἡ δὲ πόρνη αὐτὸν τῇ πίστει εἱστίασεν. Ὄντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ Σίμωνος, ἰδοὺ γυνὴ πόρνη. Μανικὸν σχῆμα, γυνὴ πόρνη ἐν τῇ πόλει, ὁ ἐντοίχιος πόλεμος, τὸ ἀσιδήρωτον βέλος, ὁ τῶν νέων ἰξὸς, ἡ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἀκόνη, ὁ τῶν παθῶν ἐξυπνιασμὸς, ἡ καπηλεία τοῦ σώματος, ἡ ἀνωφελὴς ἐμπορία, ἡ ἐπιζήμιος πραγματεία, ἡ καὶ τῇ πωλούσῃ καὶ τῷ ἀγοράζοντι θάνατον προξενοῦσα, τὸ τῆς νεότητος δίκτυον, ἡ ἀσκέπαστος παγίς.\n\nὈφθαλμὸς γὰρ πόρνης παγὶς ἁμαρτωλῶν· ἡ τῆς ἀκολασίας ἐνθήκη, ἡ ἑαυτὴν πωλοῦσα, καὶ τοὺς ἀγοράζοντας δουλαγωγοῦσα, ἡ πολυκέφαλος λέαινα, ἡ δυσωδία τῆς πόλεως, ὁ λοιμὸς ὁ κατὰ πάσης ἕρπων αἰσθήσεως, τὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἄγκιστρον, ὁ περιφερόμενος θάνατος, ἡ ἀγορὰ τῆς ζημίας, ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς ἀπωλείας, ἡ τοῦ θανάτου ὀσμὴ, ἡ πολύσηπτος γάγγραινα. Ἰδοὺ γυνὴ ἐν τῇ πόλει, ὁ λοιμὸς τῶν οἰκητόρων, ἡ τυραννὶς τῶν γάμων, ἡ ἀνατροπὴ τῆς σεμνότητος, ἡ τῶν ἀνδρογύνων μάχη, ἡ κακοδάπανος τράπεζα, ἡ τῶν βαλαντίων κένωσις, ἡ τῶν χρημάτων ἐκροὴ, ἡ τῶν καμάτων ἀπώλεια, ἡ τῶν κληρονόμων ληνὸς, ἣν ληνοβάται πατοῦντες τὴν ἑαυτῶν γύμνωσιν ὠρχήσαντο. Ἰδοὺ γυνὴ ἐν τῇ πόλει, ἥτις ἦν ἁμαρτωλός. Ἀλλ' ἡ ἁμαρτωλὸς ἐκείνη τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ προσέδραμε, καὶ ὡς ἐν πυρὶ ἀκάνθας τὰς ἁμαρ τίας ἀνήλωσεν. Ὁ δρυμὸς παράδεισος γέγονεν, ἡ λέαινα ἀρνίον, ἡ δυσωδία μύρον, ἡ ἀπώλεια θησαυρὸς, ἡ κορώνη περιστερὰ, ἡ πόρνη παρθένος, ἀδελφὴ Χριστοῦ, νύμφη τοῦ Λόγου.","english":"On the Prostitute and the Pharisee.\n\nToday the Pharisee invited the Lord to dinner, mixing honor with insult; but the prostitute feasted him with faith. For while he was in the house of Simon, behold, a prostitute woman. A mad spectacle, a prostitute woman in the city, the war within the walls, the ironless dart, the birdlime for the young, the whetstone of desire, the rouser of passions, the huckstering of the body, the useless commerce, the ruinous trade, which brings death to both the seller and the buyer, the net of youth, the uncovered trap.\n\nFor the eye of a prostitute is a trap for sinners; the repository of licentiousness, she who sells herself and enslaves her buyers, the many-headed lioness, the stench of the city, the plague creeping over every sense, the hook of the eyes, the walking death, the marketplace of loss, the desire for destruction, the odor of death, the much-rotting gangrene. Behold, a woman in the city, the plague of the inhabitants, the tyrant of marriages, the overthrow of modesty, the battle of married couples, the costly table, the emptying of purses, the outflow of money, the waste of labors, the winepress of heirs, which the treaders of the winepress danced, exposing their own nakedness. Behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner. But that sinner ran to righteousness, and consumed her sins like thorns in fire. The thicket has become a paradise, the lioness a lamb, the stench myrrh, the ruin a treasure, the crow a dove, the prostitute a virgin, a sister of Christ, a bride of the Word.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Σήμερον ὁ Φαρισαῖος εἰς ἄριστον τὸν Δεσπότην ἐκάλεσε","severity":"info","text":"The opening alludes to the Gospel story of Simon the Pharisee hosting Jesus (Luke 7:36–50), but Chrysostom reframes it to contrast the Pharisee's insulting hospitality with the prostitute's faithful offering.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀσιδήρωτον βέλος","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'ironless dart' is a paradoxical metaphor for the prostitute's allure, suggesting a weapon that wounds without physical metal, common in patristic rhetoric for spiritual seduction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰδοὺ γυνὴ ἐν τῇ πόλει","severity":"info","text":"The repeated exclamation 'Behold, a woman in the city' structures the passage as a series of rhetorical denunciations, each piling up metaphors before the climactic conversion narrative.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡμαρτωλὸς ἐκείνη τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ προσέδραμε","severity":"info","text":"The conversion of the sinner echoes the Gospel account of the sinful woman who anoints Jesus (Luke 7:37–38), but Chrysostom amplifies it with transformative imagery (thicket to paradise, lioness to lamb).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"ἡ πόρνη παρθένος, ἀδελφὴ Χριστοῦ, νύμφη τοῦ Λόγου","severity":"info","text":"The final epithets 'sister of Christ, bride of the Word' anticipate later ascetic and mystical traditions that spiritualize the prostitute as a type of the redeemed soul, influential in Byzantine hymnography.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡ ληνοβάται πατοῦντες τὴν ἑαυτῶν γύμνωσιν ὠρχήσαντο","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'the treaders of the winepress danced, exposing their own nakedness' is textually uncertain; the verb 'danced' may be a scribal corruption or a deliberate metaphor for reckless spending, and the sense of 'nakedness' is ambiguous.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the prostitute is not specified; Chrysostom may conflate the Gospel's sinful woman with Mary Magdalene, but the text does not name her.","The phrase 'the treaders of the winepress danced' is obscure: it may refer to heirs squandering inheritance or to a literal dance, but the Coptic Vorlage is lost."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Στᾶσα γὰρ ὄπισθεν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἡ τῆς αἱμοῤῥοούσης μαθήτρια, δάκρυσι τοὺς πόδας ἔβρεξε, καὶ ταῖς θριξὶν ἐξέμαξε, καὶ τοῖς χείλεσι κατεφίλει τὰ ἴχνη, καὶ μύρῳ πολυτίμῳ ἤλειφεν. Ὅλα τὰ ὅπλα τῆς ἁμαρτίας τῷ βασιλεῖ προσήνεγκεν, εἰρήνην αἰτῶν· καὶ τὴν πανοπλίαν τῶν κακῶν τοῖς ποσὶ τοῦ Δεσπότου προσήγαγε. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ πάλαι ἠναγκασμένοις δάκρυσι πολλοὺς εἰς πάθος ἐξέλυσεν, ἀληθινοῖς νῦν δάκρυσι τὸν Δεσπότην δυσωπήσασα, ἑαυτὴν ἀπέλυσε· καὶ ἡ τὰς τρίχας κακομηχάνως πλέξασα, καὶ ἀσέμνως πυργώσασα ταῖς θριξὶν ὡς ὀθόνῃ, τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοὺς πόδας ἐξέμασσεν οὐ τὸν Δεσπότην λευκαίνουσα, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὴν ἁγιάζουσα. Ἐξωμολογεῖτο γὰρ διὰ τῶν τριχῶν, ὅσους δι' αὐτῶν ἀγκιστρεύσασα εἰς θάνατον ἡλίευσε. Καὶ μύρῳ ἤλειφε πολυτίμῳ. Διὰ τί; Ἐπειδὴ πάλαι μυριζομένη πολλοὺς ἐβορβόρωσεν· ὁμοίως καὶ τοῖς ἀρώμασι κακῶς χρησαμένη, εἰς κύνας ῥινηλάτας τοὺς ἐραστὰς μετεσκεύαζε. Νῦν δὲ τῷ μύρῳ καλῶς χρησαμένη, καὶ τῷ ἀληθινῷ τὸ μύρον προσκομίσασα, τὰ σατανικὰ μυρίσματα ἀπενίψατο. Εἶτα ὡς ὁ Κύριος αὐτὴν προσεδέξατο ταῦτα πράττουσαν, ὁ Σίμων ἐψιθύριζε, Δεσποτικῆς ἀγαθότητος λογοθέτης γινόμενος. Λέγει αὐτῷ Δεσπότης· Σίμων, ὁ ἐπὶ τιμῇ καλέσας με, καὶ ἀτιμάσας με, ὡς οὐ προσεδόκησα· Δύο χρεωφειλέται ἦσαν δανειστῇ τινι, σὺ καὶ αὐτὴ, ἐμοῦ οὐ χρεῶσται οὔτε ὀφειλέται, ἀλλὰ χρεωφειλέται, διπλοῖ ὑπεύθυνοι τυγχάνοντες, ὅτι καὶ τὸ φυσικὸν δάνειον, καὶ τοῦ νόμου τὸ κεφάλαιον λαβόντες, εἰς ἀμφότερα τῷ εὐεργέτῃ παρεπέσατε. Ὁ εἷς ὤφειλε δηνάρια πεντακόσια, –σὺ ὁ Φαρισαῖος, ὁ βαρύτερα, καὶ πλείονα ἔχων τὰ ψυχικὰ ἁμαρτήματα·","english":"Standing behind Jesus, the disciple of the woman with the issue of blood bathed his feet with tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed the prints with her lips, and anointed them with costly ointment. She brought all the weapons of sin to the King, asking for peace; and she presented the full armor of evils at the feet of the Master. And since long ago she had dissolved many into passion with forced tears, now with genuine tears she entreated the Master and released herself; and she who had cunningly braided her hair and indecently piled it up like a cloth, wiped the feet of Christ with her hair, not whitening the Master but sanctifying herself. For she confessed through her hair how many she had hooked and fished to death through it. And she anointed with costly ointment. Why? Because long ago, perfuming herself, she had befouled many; similarly, using aromatics evilly, she had transformed her lovers into tracking dogs. But now, using the ointment well and presenting the ointment to the true one, she washed off the satanic perfumes. Then, as the Lord received her doing these things, Simon whispered, becoming a auditor of the Lord’s goodness. The Master says to him: Simon, you who invited me in honor and dishonored me, as I did not expect: Two debtors were to a certain lender, you and she, not my debtors or borrowers, but debtors, being doubly liable because, having received both the natural loan and the capital of the law, you defaulted to the benefactor in both. One owed five hundred denarii—you the Pharisee, who have heavier and more numerous spiritual sins.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"τῆς αἱμοῤῥοούσης μαθήτρια","severity":"info","text":"The 'disciple of the woman with the issue of blood' likely refers to the unnamed woman healed by Jesus (Matt 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34). Chrysostom creatively links her to the prostitute figure, though the Gospels do not identify her as such.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"χρεωφειλέται","severity":"info","text":"The Greek term χρεωφειλέται means 'debtors' but carries a legal nuance of being bound by obligation. Chrysostom uses it to frame the Pharisee and prostitute as morally indebted to Christ, a metaphor for sin and repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"δηνάρια πεντακόσια","severity":"info","text":"The mention of 'five hundred denarii' echoes the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matt 18:23-35) or the debt motif in Luke 7:41-42, though not a direct quote. Chrysostom adapts it to quantify spiritual sin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Στᾶσα γὰρ ὄπισθεν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ","severity":"info","text":"This passage shifts from narrative description to direct dialogue, marked by 'Εἶτα' and 'Λέγει'. The structure contrasts the prostitute's humble actions with Simon's whispered criticism, highlighting moral reversal.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"μύρῳ πολυτίμῳ","severity":"info","text":"Costly ointment (μύρῳ πολυτίμῳ) was associated with luxury and seduction in late antique moral discourse. Chrysostom inverts this: the prostitute uses it to anoint Christ's feet, symbolizing purification from past sin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡ τῆς αἱμοῤῥοούσης μαθήτρια","severity":"caution","text":"The identification of the prostitute as the 'disciple of the woman with the issue of blood' is not scriptural. Chrysostom may conflate figures or invent a connection; the text's coherence depends on this non-canonical link.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'disciple of the woman with the issue of blood' is unclear; Chrysostom may be conflating the prostitute with the healed woman or inventing a disciple. The phrase 'two debtors' and the sum of 500 denarii are not directly from a known parable, leaving the scriptural reference ambiguous."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Ἐπειδὴ οἱ τελῶναι καὶ αἱ πόρναι προάγουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν· –ὁ δὲ ἕτερος πεντήκοντα, ὁ ὑπεύθυνος τῆς πόρνης τρόπος.\n\nΜὴ ἐχόντων καὶ αὐτῶν ἀποδοῦναι διὰ κατορθωμάτων καλῶν πράξεων, ἀμφοτέροις ἐχαρίσατο πίστιν λαβὼν, καὶ σχίσας τὸ χειρόγραφον. Εἰπὲ, τίς αὐτὸν πλεῖον ἀγαπήσει; Εἶτα ὁ Φαρισαῖος, Ὑπολαμβάνω, ὅτι ᾧ τὸ πλεῖον ἐχαρίσατο, Καὶ δικαστὴς ἑαυτοῦ ὁ ὑπεύθυνος ἐγίνετο, καὶ τὸν Δεσπότην ἐπαινέτην εὕρισκε λέγοντα· Ὀρθῶς ἔκρινας. Ἄκουε λοιπόν· Βλέπεις ταύτην τὴν γυναῖκα τὴν ὀλιγότερά σου χρεωστήσασαν, καὶ πλείονα ξένια καὶ δῶρα προσκομίσασαν; βλέπεις ταύτην τὴν γυναῖκα τὴν πολλῶν ἀπώλειαν γενομένην; τὸν ἔμψυχον τάφον· τὸν περιφερόμενον θάνατον; Εἰσῆλθόν σου εἰς τὸν οἶκον· ὕδωρ, τὸ εὔωνον καὶ πᾶσι προκείμενον, ἐπὶ τοὺς πόδας μου οὐκ ἤνεγκας· αὕτη δὲ πηγὰς δακρύων ἐξ ὀμμάτων τοῖς ποσί μου προσήνεγκε.\n\nΦίλημά μοι οὐκ ἔδωκας· αὕτη δὲ τὰ χείλη αὐτῆς τοῖς ἐμοῖς ποσὶν ὑπέστρωσεν. Ἐλαίῳ τὴν κεφαλήν μου, ὡς ἐλεηθεὶς παρ' ἐμοῦ, οὐκ ἤλειψας· αὕτη δὲ μύρῳ τὸ σῶμα, τῇ δὲ πίστει τὴν θεότητά μου ἐμύρισεν. Οὗ χάριν λέγω σοι, ἀφέωνται αὐτῆς αἱ ἁμαρτίαι αἱ πολλαί· ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ἐν ψαλμοῖς εἰρημένον, Ἀφῆκας τὰς ἀνομίας τοῦ λαοῦ σου, καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου κηρυχθὲν, Ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου. Αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.","english":"Since the tax collectors and the prostitutes lead you into the kingdom of heaven—but the other, the fifty, the manner of the one liable to the prostitute.\n\nWhen they too were unable to repay through good deeds and righteous actions, he granted faith to both, taking it, and tore up the promissory note. Tell me, who will love him more? Then the Pharisee: \"I suppose that to whom he granted more.\" And the one liable became his own judge, and found the Master as his praiser, saying, \"You have judged rightly.\" Listen then: Do you see this woman who owed less than you, and brought more gifts and presents? Do you see this woman who became the ruin of many? The living tomb; the death that goes about? I entered your house; you did not bring water, cheap and available to all, to my feet; but she brought fountains of tears from her eyes to my feet.\n\nYou gave me no kiss; but she spread her lips under my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, as one pitied by me; but she anointed my body with myrrh, and with faith she anointed my divinity. For this reason I say to you, her many sins are forgiven; so that what is said in the Psalms might be fulfilled, \"You have forgiven the lawlessness of your people,\" and what was proclaimed by John, \"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.\" Glory to him for the ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"πεντήκοντα","severity":"info","text":"The number 'fifty' is obscure; it may refer to a monetary sum or a group, but the context suggests a debt or penalty associated with the Pharisee.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"χειρόγραφον","severity":"info","text":"χειρόγραφον means 'promissory note' or 'bond'; here it metaphorically represents the debt of sin that Christ cancels through faith.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀφῆκας τὰς ἀνομίας τοῦ λαοῦ σου","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes Psalm 84:9 LXX (Psalm 85:8 MT), 'You have forgiven the lawlessness of your people,' applied to Christ's forgiveness of the woman.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου","severity":"info","text":"This alludes to John 1:29, where John the Baptist proclaims Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τελῶναι","severity":"info","text":"Tax collectors (τελῶναι) were despised in first-century Judea for collaborating with Roman authorities; their inclusion here underscores the theme of unlikely penitents.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage shifts from a narrative of the woman's actions to a direct address by Christ to the Pharisee, contrasting their responses and culminating in a scriptural citation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ὁ ἕτερος πεντήκοντα' is ambiguous; it may refer to a specific debt or penalty of fifty (units unspecified), or to a group of fifty people. The reading taken treats it as a debt or obligation of the Pharisee.","The identity of 'the disciple of the woman with the issue of blood' in the previous passage is unclear; it may be a conflation with the woman in this passage, but the text does not explicitly connect them."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","ref":"John 1:29","text":"The English carries the scriptural phrase “the lamb of god”, which matches John 1:29. The match is on the English draft; check the Coptic before quoting the verse."}]}]}