As for Odes Sol. 23:10-14, P.
Batiffol’s hypothesis must be considered. The text of the Ode reads, “But those
who saw the letter ran after it; / that they might know where it would land, /
and who should read it, / and who should hear it. / But a wheel received it, /
and it (the letter) came over it. / And with it was a sign, / of the Kingdom
and of providence. / And everything which was disturbing to the wheel, / it
mowed it and cut it down. / And restrained a multitude of adversaries; / and
bridged rivers.” P Battifol notes that the letter certainly represents a living
person, in this context it is Christ. The word τροχος may also mean a torture rack, and as such, it
could then mean the cross. The letter has been attached to the cross: Saint
Paul wrote that the decree of our condemnation has been nailed to the cross by
Jesus Christ (Col. 2:14). There might, therefore, be a reminiscence of Col. 2:14.
(Édouard Massaux, The Influence of the Gospel of Saint Matthew on Christian
literature Before Irenaeus, Book 2: The Later Christian Writings [trans.
Norman J. Belval and Suzanne Hecht; New Gospel Studies 5/2; Macon, Ga.: Mercer
University Press, 1990, 1992], 75)
