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Commentarii in Octateuchum et Reges

Didymus the Blind · khazarzar

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machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 540 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Commentarii in Octateuchum et Reges, attributed to Didymus the Blind (ca. 313–398), survives only in fragments preserved in Byzantine catenae and later excerpts. No continuous manuscript tradition exists, and the attribution is traditional but uncertain; the work is not cited by name in ancient sources and may incorporate later material. If authentic, it dates to the late 4th century, during Didymus’s tenure as head of the catechetical school in Alexandria. The commentary was used in catena traditions on the Octateuch and Kings, indicating its authority in Byzantine exegetical circles. The khazarzar edition is a digital compilation lacking a critical apparatus and manuscript documentation.

The commentary is significant as a potential witness to late 4th-century Alexandrian exegesis, particularly Didymus's allegorical and numerological methods, as seen in his interpretation of the tetrad as a decad. Its use in Byzantine catenae demonstrates its lasting authority in Orthodox exegetical traditions. The work also illustrates the challenges of studying fragmentary patristic texts and the importance of careful source criticism.

Historical context

The work is traditionally placed in late 4th-century Alexandria, where Didymus the Blind led the catechetical school. Didymus was a prominent theologian and exegete, known for his allegorical and typological readings, often influenced by Origen. The commentary's fragmentary survival through catenae reflects Byzantine practices of excerpting patristic works for liturgical and scholarly use. The Octateuch and Kings were central to early Christian biblical interpretation, and Didymus's commentary would have engaged with contemporary exegetical traditions, such as those of Basil of Caesarea and Origen. The uncertain attribution and lack of direct ancient citations caution against firm conclusions. The digital edition by khazarzar, without critical apparatus, represents a modern compilation of these fragments, limiting its use for textual criticism.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

12 commentary units 5 scripture2 structure2 term1 transmission1 background1 parallel 0 derived notes 2 open questions 2 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo 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.
  • limitThe 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.
  • registerRegister: commentary in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 2 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
khazarzar-didymus-the-blind-commentarii-in-octateuchum-et-reges:1 · narrativehigh
Source
Σειρὰ ἑνὸς καὶ πεντήκοντα ὑπομνηματισμῶν εἰς τὴν Ὀκτάτευχον καὶ τὰ τῶν Βασιλειῶν, ἤδη πρῶτον τύποις ἐκδοθεῖσα ἀξιώσει μὲν τοῦ εὐσεβεστάτου καὶ γαληνοτάτου ἡγεμόνος πάσης Οὐγκροβλαχίας Κυρίου Κυρίου Γρηγορίου Ἀλεξάνδρου Γκίκα· ἐπιμελείᾳ δὲ Νικηφόρου ἱερομονάχου τοῦ Θεοτόκη. Ἐν Λειψίᾳ τῆς Σαξονίας, ἐν τῇ τυπογραφίᾳ τοῦ Βρειτκόπφ. Ἔτει αψοβʹ. ΚΕΦ. Αʹ, στ. ιδʹ. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Γενηθήτωσαν φωστῆρες ἐν τῷ στερεώματι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ εἰς φαῦσιν τῆς γῆς, τοῦ διαχωρίζειν ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς νυκτός. Διδύμου. Ὅθεν καὶ οἱ φωστῆρες τῇ τετάρτῃ ἡμέρᾳ γενόμενοι, διὰ τὸν περὶ αὐτοὺς λόγον, ἅτε μείζους ὄντες ἐν ταύτῃ λέγονται γεγενῆσθαι. Ἡ γὰρ τετρὰς, δυνάμει οὖσα δεκὰς, τιμία ὑπάρχει· μονὰς γὰρ, καὶ δυὰς, καὶ τριὰς, καὶ τετρὰς, ἀλλήλοις συντεθεῖσαι τὴν δεκάδα ποιοῦσι· διὰ πάσης γὰρ τῆς Γραφῆς ἡ δεκὰς ὑμνεῖται· καὶ γὰρ δέκα λόγους Μωσῆς δέδωκε, καὶ δεκάται παρέχονται. Ὥσπερ δὲ τὸ ὕδωρ, πρότερον διακεχυμένον κατὰ πρόσωπον πάσης τῆς γῆς, ὕστερον τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ συναγαγὼν ὁ Θεὸς εἰς συναγωγὴν μίαν, ἐποίησε τὰς θαλάσσας, καὶ τοὺς ποταμοὺς, καὶ τὰ φρέατα· οὕτω καὶ τὸ φῶς, τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ κτισθὲν, πρότερον διακεχυμένον, ἀθρόως ὕστερον τῇ τετάρτῃ ἡμέρᾳ συναγαγὼν ὁ Θεὸς, ἐποίησεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ τὴν σελήνην, καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀστέρας. Οὐχ ὅτι ἄλλο τι παρὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ὁ ἥλιος. ΚΕΦ. Γʹ, στ. ιθʹ. Ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι, καὶ φαγῇ τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ. Διδύμου. Τί γὰρ ἐκ τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἀκολουθίας οὐκ ἐπώδυνόν ἐστιν, ἡδονῶν τε καὶ μεριμνῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ φυομένων;
English
A series of fifty-one commentaries on the Octateuch and the books of Kings, now first published in print at the request of the most pious and most serene governor of all Ungro-Vlachia, Lord Lord Gregory Alexander Ghica, under the care of Nikephoros the hieromonk, known as Theotokis. In Leipzig of Saxony, at the printing press of Breitkopf. In the year 1772. Chapter 1, verse 14. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, to divide between the day and between the night. Didymus. Whence also the lights, having come into being on the fourth day, on account of the reason concerning them, since they are greater, are said to have been generated on this day. For the tetrad, being potentially a decad, is honorable; for monad, dyad, triad, and tetrad, when added together, make the decad; for throughout all Scripture the decad is praised; for Moses gave ten commandments, and tithes are offered. And just as water, previously diffused over the face of all the earth, later on the third day God, gathering it into one collection, made the seas, and the rivers, and the wells, so also the light, which was created in the beginning, previously diffused, later on the fourth day God, gathering it all together, made from it the sun, and the moon, and the remaining stars. Not that the sun is something other than the day. Chapter 3, verse 19. Thorns and thistles shall spring up for you, and you shall eat the grass of the field. Didymus. For what from the consequence of the body is not painful, with pleasures and cares growing from it?
khazarzar-didymus-the-blind-commentarii-in-octateuchum-et-reges:2 · narrativehigh
Source
Ταύτας γὰρ εἶναι τὰς ἀκάνθας ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐμήνυσεν, αἵτινες συμπνίγουσι τὸν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ καλούμενον σπόρον, ἐὰν ὁ δεξάμενος μὴ εἰς βάθος τοῦτον ὑποδέξηται. Στ. κεʹ. Καὶ ἔταξε τὰ χερουβὶμ, καὶ τὴν φλογίνην ῥομφαίαν τὴν στρεφομένην φυλάσσειν τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς. Διδύμου. Ῥομφαία εἴρηται στρεφομένη, ἵνα στραφέντος ἀπὸ κακίας εἰς ἀρετὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, καὶ αὐτὴ στραφῇ τὴν εἴσοδον παρέχουσα. Εἰ τοίνυν τῆς εἰσόδου τινὶ γένοιτο πόθος, διὰ τούτων χειραγωγεῖται· τῶν μὲν χερουβὶμ, αἰνιττομένων τὴν γνῶσιν τὴν ἡμετέραν δόξαν, τότε σὺ ἐπακολουθήσεις, οἷα θεράπων δεσπότῃ. Στ. κγʹ. Καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ τότε ὄψει τὰ ὀπίσω μου· τὸ δὲ πρόσωπόν μου οὐκ ὀφθήσεταί σοι. Διδύμου. Ἡ μὲν προκόσμιος ὕπαρξίς τε καὶ θειότης δηλοῦται διὰ τοῦ προσώπου· ἡ δὲ δημιουργία καὶ πρόνοια, διὰ τῶν ὀπίσω (1). ΚΕΦ. ΛΔʹ, στ. βʹ. Καὶ γίνου ἕτοιμος εἰς τὸ πρωῒ, καὶ ἀναβήσῃ τὸ πρωῒ εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ Σινᾶ, καὶ στήσῃ μοι ἐκεῖ ἐπ' ἄκρου τοῦ ὄρους. Διδύμου. Οὐ γὰρ ἑτέρῳ τινὶ ἵσταται, ἀλλ' ἢ Θεῷ, ᾧ τὴν δηλωθεῖσαν προκοπὴν διανύσει. Τί δέ ἐστι τὸ ἑστάναι Θεῷ, ἢ τὸ ἕτοιμον γενέσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἀκροᾶσθαι Θεοῦ διδασκαλίαν; Στ. γʹ. Καὶ μηδεὶς ἀναβήτω μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ μηδεὶς ὀφθήτω ἐν παντὶ τῷ ὄρει· καὶ τὰ πρόβατα καὶ οἱ βόες μὴ νεμέσθωσαν πλησίον τοῦ ὄρους. Διδύμου. Τοῖς ἀπολειπομένοις τῆς τοῦ Μωϋσέως τελειότητος μένειν κάτω τοῦ ὄρους προσέταξε.
English
For these are the thorns which the Saviour revealed, which choke the seed called by him, if the one who receives it does not receive it deeply. Verse 25. And he placed the cherubim and the flaming sword that turns to guard the way of the tree of life. Didymus. The sword is said to be turning, so that when a man turns from evil to virtue, it also turns, providing entrance. If, then, someone desires entrance, he is guided through these: the cherubim signifying our knowledge of glory, then you will follow, like a servant to a master. Verse 23. And I will remove my hand, and then you will see what is behind me; but my face will not be seen by you. Didymus. The pre-cosmic existence and divinity are revealed through the face; but the creation and providence, through what is behind. Chapter 34, verse 2. And be ready in the morning, and you shall go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and stand for me there on the top of the mountain. Didymus. For one stands for none other than God, for whom he will complete the indicated progress. And what is it to stand for God, but to be ready to hear God's teaching? Verse 3. And let no one go up with you, and let no one be seen on the whole mountain; and let the sheep and the cattle not graze near the mountain. Didymus. He commanded those who fall short of the perfection of Moses to remain below the mountain.
Citation. Tergwame, “Commentarii in Octateuchum et Reges”, khazarzar-didymus-the-blind-commentarii-in-octateuchum-et-reges:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/khazarzar-didymus-the-blind-commentarii-in-octateuchum-et-reges#s1
Colophon. Source: khazarzar · licence: Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0017 · generated 2026-11-15.