An old man persevered in fasting for seventy weeks, eating only once a week. He asked of God about [the meaning of] a certain passage in holy Scripture and God did not reveal it to him. He said to himself, “See how much labor I have undertaken and it has been of no profit to me. I will go, therefore, to my brother and ask him about it.” He went outside and closed the door to go out and an angel of the Lord was sent to him, saying, “The seventy weeks you fasted did not make you any closer to God. Now, because you have been humbled and are going off to your brother, I have been sent to explain the passage to you.” He opened to him what he sought and then went away.
