Origen

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Ádám Gacsályi-Tóth

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Dec 19, 2025, 12:27:23 PM (5 days ago) Dec 19
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Dear All,

Apologies for cross-posting, I encountered a peculiar sentence in an Arabic text I'm reading that I cannot figure out. 
For context: the author is reflecting on the New Testament verse "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” (Matthew, 24:28). In the author's interpretation, the corpse is Jesus, and the vultures are the saints who will gather around Jesus on the Day of Judgement. What I cannot figure out is this addition: 

كما قال اوريجان ان ملك القديسين سماوي

I don’t see how this make any sense or how it is related to the words of Jesus. I did find out that Origen spoke of vultures, but in a different context: apparently he says the virgin birth is possible because vultures don't need males either. 
If anyone has any suggestion, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you,
Adam

St. Shenouda the Archimandrite Coptic Society

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Dec 19, 2025, 7:32:39 PM (5 days ago) Dec 19
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It translates as the wealth or the possession of the saints is heavenly. I hope that helps 


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Ádám Gacsályi-Tóth

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Dec 20, 2025, 8:49:52 AM (4 days ago) Dec 20
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The problem is not the translation of the sentence. It sounds too generic, and while its supposed to support the author’s understanding of the biblical verse, I don’t see how it does so.

Alexander Treiger

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Dec 20, 2025, 8:55:41 AM (4 days ago) Dec 20
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If the interpretation says "the corpse is Jesus, and the vultures are the saints who will gather around Jesus on the Day of Judgement", then Origen's supposed quote seems to fit in: the possession of the saints (milk al-qiddisin) is "He who is heavenly" (samawi), i.e., Jesus, perhaps an allusion to John 3:13 ("No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven").
Alexander

Ádám Gacsályi-Tóth

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Dec 21, 2025, 4:44:34 AM (3 days ago) Dec 21
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Dear Alexander,

You are right, now it does make sense and it does fit in, thank you so much!

Best regards,
Adam

Bishoy Habib

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Dec 21, 2025, 5:46:24 AM (3 days ago) Dec 21
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Hello! I was thinking that the word ملك could also read مَلِك: Thus rendering the phrase "The king of the saints is heavenly". But you know your text best. 

Ádám Gacsályi-Tóth

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Dec 22, 2025, 9:25:48 AM (2 days ago) Dec 22
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Thank you, I also read it as malik, but in any case, the general meaning is still the same I guess. What remains unclear is whether this is an actual quote from Origen, but I doubt we’ll find out!

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