III. (printed 'II 1.' with §1)
First, the name 'vow' — as far as my observation finds it placed — when Jacob, fleeing his brother Esau's wrath, [went] to Mesopotamia at Isaac and Rebekah's charges. The wording runs thus: And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: If the Lord God is with me, and keeps me in this way I go, and gives me bread to eat and clothing to put on, and brings me back safely to my father's house — then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone I set up as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all You give me I will tithe to You.
Next, note that the name εὐχή is taken — though in many places different from προσευχή — for one who promises with a vow to do certain things, if he obtains certain things from God. It is also classed among the terms of our customary speech, as we found in Exodus: after the frog plague, second in order of the ten: Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said to them: Pray for me to the Lord, and let him take the frogs from me and my people; and I will send the people, and they shall sacrifice to the Lord. If anyone distrusts because 'pray' is Pharaoh's voice, [noting] that by 'prayer' is signified besides the former also ... [here T has illegible letters, where Origen perhaps added another similar example].
We have observed that at the gnats, the third plague, neither does Pharaoh ask that prayer be made nor does Moses pray. And at the dog-fly, the fourth, he says: Pray therefore for me to the Lord — at which Moses said: I will go out from you and pray to God, and the dog-fly shall depart from Pharaoh and his servants and his people tomorrow. And a little later: And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to God. Again, at the fifth and sixth plagues, with neither Pharaoh asking that prayer be made nor Moses praying, at the seventh Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them: I have sinned now; the Lord is righteous, but I and my people are godless. Pray therefore to the Lord, and let there cease to be voices of God and hail and fire. And a little later: And Moses went out from Pharaoh, outside the city, and spread out his hands to the Lord, and the voices ceased. Why it is not said 'and he prayed,' as with the former, but 'he spread out his hands to the Lord,' must be examined more opportunely elsewhere. And at the eighth plague Pharaoh says: Pray then to the Lord your God, and let him take this death from me. And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to God.
In many places, we have said, the name εὐχή is placed not in the customary way as with Jacob. In Leviticus too: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them: A man or woman who vows a great vow to purify purity to the Lord shall purify himself from wine and strong drink — and what follows about the one who wishes to be a Nazirite; then a little later: And he shall sanctify his head in that day, on which he was sanctified to the Lord for the days of the vow. And again a little later: This is the law of the one who vowed: on whatever day he fulfills a day of his vow; and again a little on: And after this the vowed one shall drink wine. This is the law of the one who vowed, who vows to the Lord his gift concerning the vow, besides what his hand finds, according to the power of his vow, which he vowed according to the law of purity. And toward the end of Numbers: And Moses spoke to the rulers of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: This is the word the Lord commanded: A man who vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath with a definition, or defines concerning his soul, shall not profane his word; all that comes out of his mouth he shall do. But if a woman vows a vow to the Lord or defines a definition in her father's house in her youth, and her father hears her vows and her definitions which she defined against her soul, and her father keeps silence — all her vows shall stand, and all the definitions which she defined against her soul shall remain for her — and in sequence with these he lays down certain laws about such. According to this signification it is written in Proverbs: [here T has a gap of about 110 letters; 'a snare' is certain, two further sayings conjectured] A snare to a man to consecrate hastily anything of his own; for after vowing comes repenting. And in Ecclesiastes: It is good not to vow than to vow and not pay. And in the Acts of the Apostles: There are four men with us, having a vow of themselves.
Greek (GCS)
§1. Πρῶτον δὴ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς εὐχῆς ὅσον ἐπὶ παρατηρήσει τῇ ἐμῇ εὑρίσκω κείμενον, ἡνίχα ὁ Ἰακὼβ, φυγὰς γενόμενος τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἑαυτοῦ Ἠσαῦ, [ἀπελθὼν(?) illegible in scan] εἰς τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν κατὰ τὰς ὑποθήκας Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ῥεβέκκας. οὕτω δὲ ἔχει ἡ λέξις· καὶ ηὔξατο Ἰακὼβ εὐχήν, λέγων· ἐὰν ᾖ κύριος ὁ θεὸς μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ καὶ διαφυλάξῃ με ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ταύτῃ, ᾗ ἐγὼ πορεύομαι, καὶ δώῃ μοι ἄρτον φαγεῖν καὶ ἱμάτιον περιβαλέσθαι καὶ ἀποστρέψῃ με μετὰ σωτηρίας εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός μου· καὶ ἔσται κύριός μοι εἰς θεόν, καὶ ὁ λίθος οὗτος, ὃν ἔστησα στήλην, ἔσται μοι οἶκος θεοῦ, καὶ πάντων ὧν ἐάν μοι δῷς δεκάτην ἀποδεκατώσω αὐτά σοι. [printer's ornament] §2. Εἶτα καὶ σημειωτέον ἐστὶν ὅτι τὸ ὄνομα τῆς εὐχῆς παρελήφθη (πολλαχοῦ ἑτέρας οὔσης παρὰ τὴν προσευχὴν) ἐπὶ τοῦ μετὰ εὐχῆς ἐπαγγελλομένου τάδε τινὰ ποιήσειν, εἰ τύχοι ἀπὸ θεοῦ τῶνδε. τάσσεται μέντοι καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς κατὰ συνήθειαν ἡμῶν λεγομένοις [clause obscure; see note] ὀνομασία· ὥσπερ ἐν Ἐξόδῳ εὕρομεν οὕτως μετὰ τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς βατράχοις μάστιγα, τῇ τάξει τῶν δέκα οὖσαν δευτέραν· ἐκάλεσε Φαραὼ Μωυσέα καὶ Ἀαρὼν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· εὔξασθε περὶ ἐμοῦ πρὸς κύριον, καὶ περιελέτω τοὺς βατράχους ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ μου· καὶ ἐξαποστελῶ τὸν λαόν, καὶ θύσωσι κυρίῳ. ἐὰν δὲ δυσπειθῶς τις ἔχῃ διὰ τὸ τοῦ Φαραὼ εἶναι φωνὴν τὴν εὔξασθε πρὸς τὸ σημαίνεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς εὐχῆς πρὸς τῷ προτέρῳ καὶ τὸ σύν- [T-ILLEGIBLE letters here, where Origen perhaps added another similar example; Anglicanus conjecture not rendered]. §3. παρετηρήσαμεν δὲ ὅτι ἐπὶ ταῖς σκνῖψι, τῇ τρίτῃ μάστιγι, οὔτε Φαραὼ εὐχὴν γενέσθαι ἀξιοῖ οὔτε Μωυσῆς εὔχεται. καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ κυνομυίᾳ δὲ, οὔσῃ τετάρτῃ, λέγει· εὔξασθε οὖν περὶ ἐμοῦ πρὸς κύριον, ὅτε καὶ εἶπε Μωυσῆς ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐξελεύσομαι ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ εὔξομαι πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ ἀπελεύσεται ἡ κυνόμυια ἀπὸ Φαραὼ καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ αὔριον. καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγα· ἐξῆλθε δὲ Μωυσῆς ἀπὸ Φαραὼ καὶ ηὔξατο πρὸς τὸν θεόν. πάλιν δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς πέμπτης καὶ ἕκτης μάστιγος οὔτε Φαραὼ ἀξιοῦντος εὐχὴν γενέσθαι οὔτε Μωυσέως εὐξαμένου, ἐπὶ τῆς ἑβδόμης προσκαλεσάμενος(?) Φαραὼ ἐκάλεσε Μωυσέα καὶ Ἀαρὼν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ἡμάρτηκα τὸ νῦν· ὁ κύριος δίκαιος, ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ὁ λαός μου ἀσεβεῖς. εὔξασθε οὖν πρὸς κύριον, καὶ παυσάσθω τοῦ γενηθῆναι φωνὰς θεοῦ καὶ χάλαζαν καὶ πῦρ. καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγα· ἐξῆλθε Μωυσῆς ἀπὸ Φαραὼ ἐκτὸς τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἐξεπέτασε τὰς χεῖρας πρὸς κύριον, καὶ αἱ φωναὶ ἐπαύσαντο. διὰ τί δὲ οὐκ εἴρηται καὶ ηὔξατο ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν προτέρων ἀλλ᾽ ἐξεπέτασε τὰς χεῖρας πρὸς κύριον, εὐκαιρότερον ἐν ἄλλοις ἐξεταστέον. καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ὀγδόης δὲ μάστιγός φησι Φαραώ· καὶ προσεύξασθε πρὸς κύριον τὸν θεὸν ὑμῶν, καὶ περιελέτω ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ τὸν θάνατον τοῦτον. ἐξῆλθε δὲ Μωυσῆς ἀπὸ Φαραὼ καὶ ηὔξατο πρὸς τὸν θεόν. §4. πολλαχοῦ δὲ εἴπομεν τὸ ὄνομα τῆς εὐχῆς μὴ κατὰ τὸ σύνηθες τετάχθαι ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰαχώβ· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν Λευϊτικῷ· ἐλάλησε κύριος πρὸς Μωυσέα λέγων· λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς· ἀνὴρ ἢ γυνή, ὃς ἐὰν μεγάλως εὔξηται εὐχὴν ἀφαγνίσασθαι ἁγνείαν κυρίῳ, ἀπὸ οἴνου καὶ σίκερα ἁγνισθήσεται — καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς περὶ τοῦ βουλομένου ναζιραίου, εἶτα μετ᾽ ὀλίγα· καὶ ἁγιάσει τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, ᾗ ἡγιάσθη κυρίῳ τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς εὐχῆς. καὶ πάλιν μετ᾽ ὀλίγα· οὗτος ὁ νόμος τοῦ εὐξαμένου· ἢ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ πληρώσῃ ἡμέραν εὐχῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάλιν μετ᾽ ὀλίγον· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα πίεται ὁ ηὐγμένος οἶνον. οὗτος ὁ νόμος τοῦ εὐξαμένου, ὃς ἐὰν εὔξηται κυρίῳ δῶρον αὐτοῦ περὶ τῆς εὐχῆς, χωρὶς ὧν ἂν εὕρῃ ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ κατὰ δύναμιν τῆς εὐχῆς αὐτοῦ, ἧς ἂν εὔξηται κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἁγνείας. καὶ πρὸς τῷ τέλει τῶν Ἀριθμῶν· καὶ ἐλάλησε Μωυσῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἄρχοντας τῶν φυλῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ λέγων· τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμα, ὃ συνέταξε κύριος· ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἐὰν εὔξηται εὐχὴν κυρίῳ ἢ ὀμόσῃ ὅρκον ὁρισμῷ ἢ ὁρίσηται περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, οὐ βεβηλώσει τὸ ῥῆμα αὐτοῦ· πάντα ὅσα ἂν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ποιήσει. ἐὰν δὲ γυνὴ εὔξηται εὐχὴν κυρίῳ ἢ ὁρίσηται ὁρισμὸν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ νεότητι αὐτῆς, καὶ ἀκούσῃ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῆς τὰς εὐχὰς αὐτῆς καὶ τοὺς ὁρισμοὺς αὐτῆς, οὓς ὡρίσατο κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῆς, καὶ παρασιωπήσῃ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῆς, στήσονται πᾶσαι αἱ εὐχαὶ αὐτῆς, καὶ πάντες οἱ ὁρισμοί, οὓς ὡρίσατο κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῆς, μενοῦσιν αὐτῇ — καὶ ἑξῆς τούτοις τινὰ περὶ τῆς τοιαύτης νομοθετεῖ. κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ σημαινόμενον ἐν ταῖς Παροιμίαις γέγραπται· [T-LACUNA ~110 letters; παγὶς (Prov 20:25) certain, Prov 7:14/19:13 conjectured] παγὶς ἀνδρὶ ταχύ τι τῶν ἰδίων ἁγιάσαι· μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εὔξασθαι μετανοεῖν γίνεται. καὶ ἐν τῷ Ἐκκλησιαστῇ· ἀγαθὸν τὸ μὴ εὔξασθαί σε ἢ τὸ εὔξασθαι καὶ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι. καὶ ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων· εἰσὶν ἄνδρες παρ᾽ ἡμῖν τέσσαρες, εὐχὴν ἔχοντες ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν.