,,Paremia of January, the sixth day,

at the feast of the Lord's Baptism in the service of Vespers.

IV REGI 2, 6-14

General Introduction

Paremia is a scriptural text often used in Orthodox worship, especially at the service
of Vespers. It reiterates the idea of the coming holiday, in our case of the Baptism of the
Lord.

Our text is found in Book IV of Kings Chapter 2, verses 6-14, as follows:

"SayZielijah to Elisel: Sit here, that the Lord has sent meto Jordan; and zis Elisel: Alive is the
Lord, and alive is your soul to leave you; and went procrastinating, and fifty men of the
virgins of the prophets came and stood near,as a depate; and they both stood nearJordan.
And Elijah took his cogame and turned it around and struck with the water, and the water
was divided from one side and the other, and they both passed as land inthe pustiu. : Hard
thing you asked for; but if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be so; And if you
don't see me, it won't be. And it was when they went and spoke, here was a c ar of fire and
horses of fireoftenparted with each other; and Elijah went up like a storm to heaven, and
Elisei looked and cried: Father! Parent! The chariot of Israel and his horse! And more than
that, he didn't see him again, and he took his coat and broke it in half. And he tookthe game
ofElijah, who fellse above Elisei, andhe turned toElisei and stood on the shores of Jordan;
and he took the cogame of Elijah, who had fallen upon him, and struck the water, and he
said, Where is the God of Elijah still? And he hit the water a second time and the water broke
up on one side and the other, and he passed Elise i.e.
(January Mine, Justinian, Bucharest EIBMBOR, 1975)

Meaning of text from the old-testament perspective

It speaks of the continuity of prophetism, so Elijah has An Apprentice on Elisha.
Walking towards the Jordan River, Elijah resembling Moses divides the Jordan water with the
help of the cogame, walking on land. Knowing that he will be the one who continues the
workof a prophet in the Holy Land, he also feels that his end is near, he allows Elisha: "ask
what you want me to do to you, before it is taken from you." To this offer, Elisei responds
pragmatically, asking "the spirit that is in you to be doubted in me". This confirms the
assertion of the continuity of prophetism in Judaism through Elisha. Elijah knowing the godly
pronunciation knows that what he asked for is not so easy to achieve, because the mission
of the new prophet is not easy: "hard thing you asked for; but if you see me when I'm taken
from you, it will be like this; and if you don't see me, it won't be." After the conversation,
Elijah was suddenly taken in a chariot of fire to heaven. Elijah remains in the consciousness
of the Jewish people as the closest prophet to God, for he is the only one who has alikewith
the body to heaven, the only one who commands God. She is one of the most marked
personalities of the Old Testament.

Elisei remains stunned by what happened, making the following statement shouting:
"Father! Parent! The chariot of Israel and his horsemen!" With this exclamation, it reaffirms
that Israel is god's chosen people. In ancient times the city of Israel was considered the
center of the world, and the edges of the earth at that time was present-day Rome. The
ridecan be likened to Christ, the one who has fallen for our salvation, for the chosen people.
He is the one who accompanied Elijah to heaven. For the world of the Old Testament, of
course, the chariot is likened to the people of Israel who expect salvation from the High, and
the horseman is a messenger of the Lord. (own exegesis). As a sign of sadness, he broke his
coat in half after not seeing Elijah, and taking Elijah's shell, which had fallen from him, he
returned to the land of Jordan where he tried to restore what Elijah did with the water, but
failed. Elijah's cogame can be likened to the staff Moses with whom he separated the
waters, both of which were pre-imaginations of the cross, from the element of torture came
to the existential element of salvation. Unable to separate the water, question marks arise
over Elise's "Where is the God of Elijah still?" On the second attempt,the water broke up
and passed like on land.

Textual comparison
For the textual comparison I used three sources: january's Mine printed with the
blessing of Patriarch Justinian Marina, Bucharest, 1975; Bible or Holy Scripture, the
diortosite and annotated version of Septuaginta, written by IPS Bartolomeu Anania,
Bucharest 2018 and Septuaginta de la Polirom

The first major comparison is found at the term cojoc (found in the Bible and mine)
and in The Septuaginta is found the term "zabun"(men's coat worn by peasants, made of
wool or cotton, usually long, with or without sleeves, adorned with seams - according to
dex). We encounter another distinction of the term to spin (context: to spin the cogame). In
the mine we have the term spin, in The Bible of Anania "made him a veil" and in Septuaginta
"made him the scroll". All three terms are synonymous. In The Bible of Anania is used
oftenthe term of lifting andinSeptuaginta we have the term kidnapping. Both have the same
term of upheaint to God. Kidnapping is a more brutal term, but it has the same meaning, of
ending Elijah's earthly mission. A very nice explanation is found in verse 9 of the Septuaginta:
AndI expresia fac e aluzie la dreptul de moștenire would: asthey passed, Elijah said to
Elisei,"Ask what you want me to do for you, before, and i be kidnapped from you in the
heights!" and Elisei replied, "Let it be upon me, bent, the spirit that is in you!,, "Do it be..."
exprhyme personally the passage of the spirit from Elijah to Elisei. The transfer is not due
tothe person of theana of llie, but to God. Elisei wants, in other words, to becomeElijah's
spirilual offspring.

Meaning of the text in the New Testament and in the context of the Lord's Baptism
The text does not have many references in the New Testament, but given that it is
framed in the service of Vespers near the feast of the Lord's Baptism, we find certain
similarities such as: "And fifty men of the virgins of the prophets came and stood near
you,beyondyou; and they bothstood besideJordan." ndoi au stat lângă Iordan The fifty sons
of prophets follow the scene of ascension from afar, for the Lord allows them to be
eyewitnesses of the miracle,1in a word the likeness of the fifty prophets to the witnesses of
the Lord's Ascension.

Baptism is the first of the 7 Holy Mysteries of the Church, and the meaning of
baptism has remained the same since ancient times, through bothesis each believer
becomes a member of the mysterious body of Christ.

Water and Christelnite have two meanings: the water of Jordan, in which Jesus
Christwas baptized, and thetomb where the Savior was buried and the place from which he
rose. The immersion in the water and the priest's utterance of the words: "The servant/robe
of God is baptized (...) in the name of the Father—Amen, and of the Son—Amen, and of the
Holy Spirit—Amen" shows that the basis of our faith is the Holy Trinity, and in addition, that
through Baptism we die with Christ and rise with Him.

Epiphany or Epiphany is celebrated every year on the 6th of January by theOrthodox

Church. Epiphany ends the cycle of 12 days of winter holidays that begin on Christmas Eve.
In Greek, the word Bobots is called Theophany or Epiphany which translates as "Showing
the Lord", that is, of the Holy Trinity

1
Septuaginta, pg. 544, footnote 2.7
 Western Christians commemorate first (but not only) the visit of the Magi at the birth
of the Child Jesus and thus the physical manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles. Orthodox
Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as a manifestation to
the world of the Son of God (Showing the Lord).2

The meaning of paremia in the context of the service in Mine

The purpose of TheVespers is to remember the time of the Old Testament, beginning
with the creation of the world, the fall into sin of the first people, Adam and Eve, and their
banishment from Heaven, and continuing with their repentance and the prayer of all men
for salvation and the hope of the coming of a Savior, promised by God, and the fulfillment of
this promise through the Savior's Incarnation, at the fulfillment of time. Thus, Vespers
update the first part of the history of salvation, from the Creation of the world to the coming
into the world of the Lord Jesus Christ and the rise of sin, of the ancestral curse.

From the trope after the first parems: "Show yourself in the world, the One who
made the world, to enlighten those who sat in darkness, Lover of men, Thank You!" we can
liken the Savior's theophany to the wonderful look seen by Elise. That where would your

2
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boboteaza
light shine, if not cekir who sat in darkness? The similarity leads us directly to the Jewish
people, who, as we well know in the Old Testament, often worship idols, not knowing God.

Bibliography:
1. Diortosite and annotated Bible by IPS Bartolomeu Anania, Bucharest, EIBMOR 2018
2. January Mine, printed with the blessing of Patriarch Justinian Marina, Bucharest,
1975
3. Septuaginta Polirom, online version file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/Septuaginta_II.pdf

Computer sites:

1. https://www.google.com/search?
q=botezul+domnului&safe=active&rlz=1C1GCEA_enRO868RO868&sxsrf=ACYBGNRT
W5LG52p9Eg_qEyud-
MJhfVgCkw:1575879186693&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=8cCYkHe7RMNbKM
%253A%252C55v_PjAm7pzHHM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-
kTinA3meFOouKUXjefkkmy_8QBq1w&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwit1Ya5j6jmAhUNiYsKHdQ
TCKwQ_h0wFXoECAoQBw#imgrc=8cCYkHe7RMNbKM: (pentru poză)
2. https://basilica.ro/%E2%80%A0-botezul-domnului-boboteaza-dumnezeiasca-aratare/
3. https://dexonline.ro/definitie/z%C4%83bun
4. https://ioanuscateol.wordpress.com/category/iv-regi/
5. https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boboteaza
6. https://doxologia.ro/liturgica/taine-ierurgii-slujbele-bisericii/semnificatia-teologica-
vecerniei