Chapter 31
Righteousness comes through faith
| 1 Κολληθῶμεν οὖν τῇ εὐλογίᾳ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἴδωμεν, τίνες αἱ ὁδοὶ τῆς εὐλογίας. ἀνατυλίξωμεν τὰ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς γενόμενα. |
Therefore, let’s cling to His blessing, and let’s see the paths of blessing. Let’s study the records of things that happened from the beginning. |
| 2 τίνος χάριν ηὐλογήθη ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν Ἀβραάμ, οὐχὶ δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἀλήθειαν διὰ πίστεως ποιῆσας; |
Why was our father Abraham blessed? Wasn’t it because he obtained righteousness and truth through faith? |
| 3 Ἰσαὰκ μετὰ πεποιθήσεως γινώσκων τὸ μέλλον ἡδέως προσήγετο θυσία. | With confidence, Isaac, knowing the future, willingly became a sacrifice. |
| 4 Ἰακὼβ μετὰ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἐξεχώρησεν τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ δι' ἀδελφὸν καὶ ἐπορεύθη πρὸς Λαβὰν καὶ ἐδούλευσεν, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ τὸ δωδεκάσκηπτρον τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. |
With humility Jacob departed from his land because of his brother. He went to Laban and served him. The twelve tribes of Israel were given to him. |
Summary
In Chapter 31, Clement pivots directly from his discussion of divine blessing versus divine curse in Chapter 30 to an examination of how that blessing is obtained. He invites the assembly to unroll the ancient historical record (ἀνατυλίξωμεν τὰ ἀπ̓ ἀρχῆς γενόμενα) and examine the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—as exemplary paradigms of those who secured God’s blessing.
Clement demonstrates that each patriarch accessed the divine blessing through specific virtues:
Abraham achieved righteousness and truth through faith (διὰ πίστεως).
Isaac willingly offered himself as a sacrifice out of joyful confidence (μετὰ πεποιθήσεως) in God’s promises.
Jacob exercised profound humility (μετὰ ταπεινοφροσύνη), departing his homeland to avoid conflict with his brother, serving Laban, and ultimately receiving the twelve tribes (τὸ δωδεκάσκηπτρον) as his divine inheritance.
Through these patriarchal exemplars, Clement reinforces to the Corinthians that divine honor is not won through self-assertion or strife, but through faith, humble trust, and peaceful obedience.
Significant Greek Expressions
Κολληθῶμεν (Let us cleave / bind ourselves to): A hortatory subjunctive from kollaō (literally to glue together, join closely, or cleave to; cf. 1 Clement 30.3). Clement uses this strong bonding term to urge believers to align themselves intimately with God’s blessing rather than factional conflict.
ἀνατυλίξωμεν (Let us unroll): Hortatory subjunctive from anatylissō (to unroll or open a scroll). An evocative textual metaphor pointing to the physical act of unrolling the Old Testament manuscript scroll to investigate covenant history.
διὰ πίστεως (Through faith): Directly ties Abraham’s blessing to his faith. Clement echoes Genesis 15:6 / Romans 4 in attributing Abraham’s righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) to active faith, bridging Pauline soteriology with his own emphasis on ethical fruits.
μετὰ πεποιθήσεως... ἡδέως (With confidence... gladly / sweetly): Pepointhēsis denotes firm trust or conviction, while hēdeōs means with pleasure or gladness. Clement highlights Isaac’s willing and joyful submission at the Akedah (Genesis 22), framing his voluntary self-offering as a model of non-resistant trust.
μετὰ ταπεινοφροσύνης (With humility of mind): A central Clementine keyword (tapeinophrosynē). Applied here to Jacob’s retreat from Esau (Genesis 27–28). Rather than insisting on his rights or engaging in violent contention, Jacob chose humble withdrawal, which God ultimately rewarded with the covenantal blessing.
τὸ δωδεκάσκηπτρον τοῦ Ἰσραήλ (The twelve-sceptered nation of Israel): Combines dōdeka (twelve) with skēptron (scepter, staff of authority, tribe). A unique Greek compound used by Clement to describe the twelve tribes of Israel as a royal, covenantally structured entity bestowed upon Jacob.