Chapter 9
The good examples of Enoch and Noah
| 1 Διὸ ὑπακούσωμεν τῇ μεγαλοπρεπεῖ καί ἐνδόξῳ βουλήσει αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἱκέται γενόμενοι τοῦ ἐλέους καὶ τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ προσπέσωμεν καὶ ἐπιστρέψωμεν ἐπὶ τοὺς οἰκτιρμοὺς αὐτοῦ, ἀπολιπόντες τὴν ματαιοπονίαν τήν τε ἔριν καὶ τὸ εἰς θάνατον ἄγον ζῆλος. | Therefore let us be obedient unto His excellent and glorious will; and presenting ourselves as suppliants of His mercy and goodness, let us fall down before Him and return unto His compassions, forsaking the fruitless toil and the strife and the jealousy that leads to death. |
| 2 ἀτενίσωμεν εἰς τοὺς τελείως λειτουργήσαντας τῇ μεγαλοπρεπεῖ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ. | Let us fix our eyes on them who ministered perfectly unto His magnificent glory. |
| 3 λάβωμεν Ἐνώχ, ὃς ἐν ὑπακοῇ δίκαιος εὑρεθεὶς μετετέθη, καὶ οὐχ εὑρέθη αὐτοῦ θάνατος. | Let us set before us Enoch, who being found righteous in obedience was taken away, and his death was not found. |
| 4 Νῶε πιστὸς εὑρεθεὶς διὰ τῆς λειτουργίας αὐτοῦ παλιγγενεσίαν κόσμῳ ἐκήρυξεν, καὶ διέσωσεν δι' αὐτοῦ ὁ δεσπότης τὰ εἰσελθόντα ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ ζῶα εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν. | Noah, being found faithful, preached regeneration to the world by his ministry, and through him the Master saved the living creatures that entered into the ark in harmony. |
Summary
In Chapter 9, Clement draws his argument for repentance (μετάνοια) to an immediate practical application, pleading with the Corinthian church to abandon their fruitless factional strife (ἔρις) and envy (ζῆλος).
To motivate them, Clement introduces a new catalog of Old Testament exemplars who demonstrate "perfect service" (τελείως λειτουργήσαντας) to God’s glory: Enoch: Honored for his righteous obedience (ὑπακοή), through which he escaped physical death (μετετέθη).
Noah: Honored for his faithful priestly/sacred ministry (λειτουργία), through which he preached a cosmic rebirth (παλιγγενεσία) to the world and preserved the animals in peaceful harmony (ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ) inside the ark—a subtle image of ecclesial unity contrasted with Corinthian discord.
Significant Greek Expressions
τῇ μεγαλοπρεπεῖ καὶ ἐνδόξῳ βουλήσει (To His magnificent and glorious will): Uses megaloprepēs (majestic, magnificent, grand), a favorite epithet of Clement for God’s transcendent power and divine decrees.
ματαιοπονίαν (Vain labor / useless effort): From mataioponia (frustrating, empty, or wasted toil). Clement characterizes the internal political maneuvering and schism in Corinth as spiritually useless effort that yields no lasting fruit.
τὸ εἰς θάνατον ἄγον ζῆλος (The jealousy that leads to death): Reaffirms the core theme of Chapters 3–6: envy is not a harmless personal flaw, but a lethal vice that causes spiritual destruction and death.
τελείως λειτουργήσαντας (Who served in perfection): Uses the verb leitourgeō (to perform sacred service or public/priestly ministry). Clement frames Old Testament obedience as a liturgical service (leitourgia) rendered directly to God.
διὰ τῆς λειτουργίας αὐτοῦ παλιγγενεσίαν... ἐκήρυξεν (Through his service proclaimed a regeneration): Introduces palingenesia (rebirth, renewal, or regeneration; cf. Matthew 19:28; Titus 3:5). Clement views Noah’s ark ministry not merely as physical survival, but as a cosmic renewal or "new creation" of the world post-flood.
τὰ εἰσελθόντα ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ ζῶα (The living creatures that entered in harmony): Highlights homonoia (concord, oneness of mind, or harmony). By emphasizing that even wild animals entered the ark in peaceful order under Noah, Clement offers a sharp rhetorical rebuke to the rebellious Corinthian Christians who fail to live in harmony with their own leaders.