And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
Read Chapter 18
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
He says, “Mix three measures of fine flour and make cakes.” In Greek these are called enkryphia, that is, hidden things, to indicate that every mystery must remain hidden and as if covered by inviolable silence, so that it should not be divulged inconsiderately to profane ears. In this silence the divine majesty is nurtured. With this inner attitude the one who is sober in speech avoids divulging the sacred. In using three measures of flour, Sarah is in fact giving a brief teaching about the mystery of the faith, she who is herself a prefiguration of the church, to whom are addressed the words, “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in travail.” It is in fact the church that protects the faith in the intimacy of the Spirit when it professes the Trinity of one and the same nature, when it adores in equal measure and with equal veneration the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and celebrates them together in the same majesty,...
Measures, or one epha; that is, three pecks and three pints, English corn measure.
Flour, of the finest quality, similæ.
Hearth, as being soonest ready.
