the words merely, but turn our attention to the sense, and learn the aim of the speaker, and the cause and the occasion, and by putting all these things together turn out the hidden meaning. The unspeakable Wisdom then, who knoweth the Father even as the Father 202 knoweth the Son, how should he have been ignorant of this? For this knowledge concerning His passion was not greater than the knowledge concerning His essential nature, which He alone accurately knew. “For as the Father knoweth me” He says “even so know I the Fath- er.”630 And why do I speak of the only begotten Son of God? For even the prophets appear not to have been ignorant of this fact, but to have known it clearly, and to have declared beforehand with much assurance that so it must come to pass, and would certainly be. Hear at least how variously all announce the cross. First of all the patriarch Jacob: for directing his discourse to Him he says “Out of a tender shoot didst thou spring up:”631 by the word shoot signifying the Virgin and the undefiled nature of Mary. Then indicating the cross he said “Thou didst lie down and slumber as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp; who shall raise him up?”632 Here he called death a slumbering and a sleep, and with death he combined the resurrection when he said “who shall raise him up?” No one indeed save he him- self—wherefore also Christ said “I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again,”633 and again “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”634 And what is meant by the words “thou didst lie down and slumber as a lion?” For as the lion is terrible not only when he is awake but even when he is sleeping, so Christ also not only before the cross but also on the cross itself and in the very moment of death was terrible, and wrought at that time great miracles, turning back the light of the sun, cleaving the rocks, shaking the earth, rending the veil, alarming the wife of Pilate, convicting Judas of sin, for then he said “I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood;”635 and the wife of Pilate declared “Have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things in a dream because of Him.”636 The darkness took possession of the earth, and night appeared at midday, then death was brought to nought, and his tyranny was destroyed: many bodies at least of the saints which slept arose. These things the patriarch declaring beforehand, and demonstrating that, even when crucified, Christ would be terrible, said “thou didst lie down and slumber as a lion.” He did not say thou shalt slumber but thou didst slumber, because it would cer- tainly come to pass. For it is the custom of the prophets in many places to predict things to 630 John x. 15. 631 Gen. xlix. 9. Septuagint rendering. 632 Ibid. 633 John x. 18. 634 John ii. 19. 635 Matt. xxvii. 4. 636 Matt. xxvii. 19. 277 Against Marcionists and Manichæans.