types of emphasis) that preachers and teachers can employ when addressing Christians at various stages of their discipleship: beginners in the faith, the intermediate, and the advanced.105 Origen more commonly speaks in terms of two types of meanings: of the letter and the spirit, the shadow and the reality, or the surface of a field that is in plain sight and the hidden treasures below that we seek to discover. “There are in Scripture,” writes Henri de Lubac, “fundamentally, only two senses: the literal and the spiritual, and these two senses themselves are in continuity, not in opposition. The spirit is in the letter like honey in its honeycomb.”106
In Homily XVII on Numbers, Origen plays the metaphorical role of beekeeper as he extracts the honey (the spiritual meaning) from the honeycomb (the literal meaning) in the summary account of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the borders of the Promised Land in Numbers 33. Even a passage as seemingly insignificant as one that simply lists the cities on each stage of the journey is important, for we “cannot say of the Holy Spirit’s writings that there is anything useless or unnecessary in them, however much they appear obscure to some.”107 As Origen asks rhetorically, “Who would dare to say that what is written ‘by the Word of God’ is of no use and makes no contribution to salvation, but is merely a narrative of what happened and was over and done a long time ago, but pertains in no way to us when it is told?”108 The Bible is a historical work, literary masterpiece, and for Christians, religious text. How an interpreter relates each of these aspects of the Bible to the other two determines how that person reads the Bible. For Origen, the religious dimension of the text dominates the other two. The various biblical texts have as their author the Holy Spirit. The historical details, in this case the story of Israel’s journey from Egypt to the border of the Promised Land, are the means by which the spiritual meaning is conveyed to the reader. The literary features, especially the etymologies of the various cities’ names, is given spiritual rather than cultural meaning.
In looking for the spiritual sense of Numbers 33, Origen sees two lines of interpretation emerging from the story that begins with an “exodus” from Egypt and concludes with the Israelites poised to enter the Promised Land. The “exodus” may refer to a person’s departure from his or her old life as he or she moves towards Christian perfection, or the “exodus” may refer to one’s departure from this life as he or she moves towards union with God in the next life. “Thus, employing a double line of interpretation, we must examine the entire order of stages as it is narrated, so that our soul may make progress by both interpretations, when we learn from them either how we ought to live the life that turns from error and follows the Law of God or how great an expectation that we have of the future hope that is promised on the basis of the resurrection.”109 Origen finds further evidence for this “double line of interpretation” in the fact that the name of each site at which the Israelites stop is mentioned twice. “The stages are repeated twice in order to show two journeys for the soul. One is the means of training the soul in virtues through the Law of God when it is placed in flesh; and by ascending through certain steps it makes progress, as we have said, from virtue to virtue, and uses these progressions as stages. And the other journey is the one by which the soul, in gradually ascending to the heavens after the resurrection, does not reach the highest point unseasonably, but is led through many stages.”110
The key to understanding the journey, according to Origen, is to be found in the biblical delineation of forty-two stages in both the exodus from Egypt (Num 33) and the genealogy of Christ (Matt 1).111 “Therefore, in descending to the Egypt of this world Christ passed those forty-two generations as stages; and those who ascend from Egypt pass by the same number, forty-two stages . . . And so, the person who ascends, ascends with Him who descended from there to us, so that he may arrive at the place from which He descended . . . .”112 The first and most obvious theme to arise from this is that Origen is giving a very christological form to his reading of a portion of Old Testament history. The classic descent–ascent Christology expressed, for example, in the Philippians hymn (Phil 2:6–11) is the context for a Christian reading of the Israelites’ journey. Second, the journey is an ascent. There is a movement from earthly to heavenly that requires the sojourner to pass through each of the stages in a certain sequence. Origen admonishes his hearers to leave behind the adoration of idols and fix their attention on Christ. “After this,” he continues, “let us strive to go forward and to ascend one by one each of the steps of faith and the virtues. If we persist in them until we come to perfection, we shall be said to have made a stage at each of the steps of the virtues until, when we attain the height of our instruction and the summit of our progress, the promised inheritance is fulfilled.”113 Third, the logic of the arduous journey will only be revealed when we reach our destination. Commenting on Origen’s Homily XXVII, the patristic scholar Rowan Greer notes, “The remarkable feature of his treatment is that the journey does not proceed in a straight line. As for the children of Israel, the Christian’s journey to the promised land is not by the easiest or the shortest route (cf. Exod 13:17). The long and convoluted journey has its own logic and is meant to train and prepare the soul for its destiny.”114 Origen assures his audience, “We understand these pilgrimages only dully and darkly so long as the pilgrimage still lasts. But when the soul has returned to its rest, that is, to the fatherland in paradise, it will be taught more truly and will understand more truly what the meaning of its pilgrimage was.”115
Origen offers a detailed analysis of each of the early stages of the journey, but then realizes that time does not permit him to offer commentary with that level of detail for each of the forty-two stages, so beginning with the staging site of Alush (Num 13:13) his comments on each stage are much briefer. We will first follow Origen’s more extended commentary. The Israelites start out from Ramesse [Rameses], which means “confused agitation” and travel to Sochoth [Succoth]. “Sochoth is interpreted ‘tents.’ Thus, the first progress of the soul is to be taken away from earthly agitation and to learn that it must dwell in tents like a wanderer, so that it can be, as it were, ready for battle and meet those who lie in wait for it unhindered and free.”116 The Israelites move on to Buthan [Etham] which means “valley.” A progress in the life of virtue requires testing and the valley provides that. “And a virtue is not acquired without training and hard work, nor is it tested as much as in prosperity as in adversity. So the soul comes to a valley. For in valleys and in low places the struggle against the devil and the opposing powers takes place.”117 From Buthan they travel to the border of the Iroth [Pi-hahiroth] which means “villages.” Symbolically the soul has not yet reached the city, “nor is the perfect already held, but first and for the moment some small places are taken. For progress consists in coming to great things from small ones. So the soul comes to Iroth, that is to the great entrance of a village, which is the beginning of conversion and of a moderate self-control.”118 In the distance to one side is Beelsephon [Baal-zephon] (“the ascent of the watchtower or citadel”) and to the other is Magdalum [Migdol] which means “grandeur.” Both sites represent the things to come in the journey. Passing through the Red Sea, the Israelites camp at Bitter Waters [Marah]. Here we are reminded that it is not “possible to attain the promised land unless we pass through bitterness.” After the temptations comes Helim [Elim], with its twelve springs of water and seventy (or seventy-two) palm trees. God “put some places of refreshment into the midst of toils so that the soul may be refreshed and restored by them,” but the soul must not tarry, but once again continue on the way.119 From Helim, the Israelites camp alongside the Red Sea and then move into the desert of Sin. While this again suggests temptation, the soul has become able to discern between spirits (1 Cor 12:10). After Sin, the Israelites camp at Raphia [Dophkah] which means “health.” “You see the order of the progresses, how when the soul is once made spiritual and begins to have the discernment of heavenly visions, it arrives at health.”120 At this point in his homily Origen breaks off his more detailed commentary and offers a brief observation about each of the succeeding stages on the journey.
We will confine our attention to a few more stages discussed by Origen. There are later stages which clearly mark progress, but temptations continue to appear. At Ressa [Rissah] Origen comments, “Here it becomes clear that temptations are brought to it as a kind of protection and defense. For just as meat, if it is nor sprinkled with salt, no matter how great and social it is, becomes rotten, so also the soul, unless it is somehow
