The dream of Mardochai, which in the ancient Greek and Latin Bibles was into the beginning of the book, but was detached by St. Jerome, and put in this place.
An Appendix and conclusion of this historie. 2. The dreame of Mardocheus.
1In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said he was a priest, and of the Levitical race, and Ptolemy his son brought this epistle of Phurim, which they said Lysimachus the son of Ptolemy had interpreted in Jerusalem.L'anno quarto del regno di Tolomeo, e di Cleopatra, Dositheo, il quale si diceva sacerdote, e della stirpe di Levi, e Tolomeo suo figliuolo portarono questa lettera del Phurim, la quale dissero essere stata traslatata in Gerusalemme da Lisimaco figliuolo di Tolomeo.IN the fourth yeare when Ptolomee and Cleopatra reigned, Dositheus, which named himself a Priest, and of the Leuitical kinred, and Ptolomee his sonne brought this epistle of Phurim, which they sayd Lysimachus the sonne of Ptolomee did interprete in Ierusalem. This beginning was in the common edition, which is neither extant in Hebrew, nor with any of the interpreters.Anno quarto regnantibus Ptolemæo et Cleopatra, attulerunt Dosithæus, qui se sacerdotem et Levitici generis ferebat, et Ptolemæus filius ejus, hanc epistolam phurim, quam dixerunt interpretatum esse Lysimachum Ptolemæi filium in Jerusalem. 2In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the great, in the first day of the month Nisan, Mardochai the son of Jair, the son of Semei, the son of Cis, of the tribe of Benjamin:L'anno secondo del regno di Artaserse il massimo, il dì primo del mese di Nisan, Mardocheo figliuolo di Jair, figliuolo di Semei, figliuolo di Cis, della tribù di Beniamin vide un sogno:In the second yeare, when Artaxerxes the greatest reigned, in the first day of the moneth Nisan, Mardocheus the sonne of Iairi, the sonne of Semei, the sonne of Cis, of the tribe of Beniamin.Anno secundo, regnante Artaxerxe maximo, prima die mensis Nisan, vidit somnium Mardochæus filius Jairi, filii Semei, filii Cis, de tribu Benjamin: 3A Jew who dwelt in the city of Susan, a great man and among the first of the king’s court, had a dream.Egli fu Giudeo, e abitava in Susa, e l'i. uomo grande, e de' primi della corte del re.A Iew which dwelt in the citie of Susan, a great man and among the first of the kings court, saw a dreame.homo Judæus, qui habitabat in urbe Susis, vir magnus, et inter primos aulæ regiæ. 4Now he was of the number of the captives, whom Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried away from Jerusalem with Jechonias king of Juda:Ed era del numero de' prigionieri traportati in Gerusalemme con Jeconia re di Giuda da Nabuchodonosor re di Babilonia:And he was of that number of captiues, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon had transported from Ierusalem with Ieconias the king of Iuda:Erat autem de eo numero captivorum, quos transtulerat Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis de Jerusalem cum Jechonia rege Juda.
5And this was his dream: Behold there were voices, and tumults, and thunders, and earthquakes, and a disturbance upon the earth.E il suo sogno fu questo: Parvegli di sentire delle voci, de' tumulti, de' tuoni, e de' tremuoti, e sconvolgimenti sopra la terra:and this was his dreame: There appeared voices, and tumultes, and thunders and earth quakes, and pertuibation vpon the earth:Et hoc ejus somnium fuit: apparuerunt voces, et tumultus, et tonitrua, et terræmotus, et conturbatio super terram: 6And behold two great dragons came forth ready to fight one against another.Ed ecco due grandi dragoni in atto di venir tra loro a battaglia.and behold two great dragons, prepared one against an other into battel.et ecce duo dracones magni, paratique contra se in prælium. 7And at their cry all nations were stirred up to fight against the nation of the just.Alle strida de' quali tutte si mossero le nazioni per assalire la nazione dei giusti.At whose crie al nations were raysed vppe, to fight against the nation of the iust.Ad quorum clamorem cunctæ concitatæ sunt nationes, ut pugnarent contra gentem justorum. 8And that was a day of darkness and danger, of tribulation and distress, and great fear upon the earth.E quello fu giorno di tenebre, e di pericolo, di tribolazione, e di all'anno, e di timori grandi per la terra.And that was a day of darkenesse and danger, of tribulation and distresse, and great feare vpon the earth.Fuitque dies illa tenebrarum et discriminis, tribulationis et angustiæ, et ingens formido super terram. 9And the nation of the just was troubled fearing their own evils, and was prepared for death.E la nazione de' giusti fu in scompiglio pel timore dei mali suoi, e si preparava alla morte.And the nation of the iust fearing their euils, was trubled, and prepared to death.Conturbataque est gens justorum timentium mala sua, et præparata ad mortem. 10And they cried to God: and as they were crying, a little fountain grew into a very great river, and abounded into many waters.E alzaron le grida al Signore, e mentre gridavano un piccol fonte crebbe in grandissimo fiume ridondante di acque.And they cried to God: and they crying, a litle fountayne grew into a verie great riuer, and abounded into verie manie waters.Clamaveruntque ad Deum: et illis vociferantibus, fons parvus creavit in fluvium maximum, et in aquas plurimas redundavit. 11The light and the sun rose up, and the humble were exalted, and they devoured the glorious.Un lume, e un sole spuntò fuori, e i piccoli furono esaltati, e divorarono i grandi.Light and sunne arose, and the humble were exalted, and they deuoured the glorious.Lux et sol ortus est, et humiles exaltati sunt, et devoraverunt inclytos.
12And when Mardochai had seen this, and arose out of his bed, he was thinking what God would do: and he kept it fixed in his mind, desirous to know what the dream should signify.Veduto ciò Mardocheo, alzatosi dal letto andava pensando quel, che Dio far volesse: e portava ciò fisso nella mente, bramoso di saper quel, che volesse dire il sogno.Which when Mardocheus had seene, and risen out of his bed, he mused what God would doe: and he had it fixed in his mind, desirous to know what the dreame should signifie?Quod cum vidisset Mardochæus, et surrexisset de strato, cogitabat quid Deus facere vellet: et fixum habebat in animo, scire cupiens quid significaret somnium.
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Year of the World 3827, Year before Christ 177.
Tirinus
Cleopatra. So the kings and queens of Egypt were styled after Lagus; whence we can only gather, that this translation was brought after the reign of Alexander, and most probably under Philometer, the sixth of his successors. He was a great admirer of the Jews, and employed one Dositheus as his general, who might be the priest here mentioned; as such an office was not incompatible with his character. (Tirinus)
Calmet
Usher is of this opinion. See Josephus, contra Apion 2:But would he then be mentioned as if he had been a person almost unknown? (Calmet)
Haydock
We may say that he only raised himself by merit, after this time. (Haydock)
Hody
Philometer reigned 177 years, B.C.[before Christ]. The Septuagint (Calmet) who gave their version in the 7th year of Philadelphus, (St. Epiphanius) were not the authors of the Greek edition of Esther; (Calmet) or perhaps, they may have adopted this of Lysimachus, (Huet; Du Hamel) as far as it went; the letter of Purim being only the groundwork of this history. If they did, Lysimachus must have lived before the time of Philometer; or what seems as probable, (Haydock) that the celebrated version has been made by different authors, and at different times. (Hody.)
Worthington
Jerusalem. Here St. Jerome subjoins, "This beginning was also in the Vulgate edition, which does not occur in Hebrew or in any interpreter," (Haydock) except the Septuagint. (Worthington)
This must be referred to what follows.
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Year of the World 3484, Year before Christ 520.
Worthington
Second year, the same when Darius gave an edict for building the temple, (1 Esdras iv.; Tirinus) and the year before the great feast, (chap. 1:3.) when the Jews little thought of such danger hanging over them. (Calmet) (Worthington)
Tirinus
Benjamin. Esther 2:5., we read Jemini, which shews that they have the same import. (Tirinus)
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Calmet
Court, afterwards. (Calmet)
Houbigant
He had a dream in the second year. (Houbigant)
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Haydock
Juda. This has been noticed already, Esther 2:5. But we need not be surprized at such repetitions. We find the like in the books of Moses, and 1 Kings 16:10., and 17:12., etc. (Haydock)
Houbigant
St. Jerome says, "Librum Esther variis translatoribus constat esse vitiatum;" or, various historical documents may have been improperly inserted in the Greek, though they be true; and therefore St. Jerome has rightly removed them to the end. (Houbigant)
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Haydock
Cry. While Aman was full of indignation against Mardochai, and the latter would not submit to adore him, the various nations of the empire were instigated to fall upon the Jews. (Haydock)
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Worthington
Waters. Esther, by her tears, extinguished the rising flame. (Worthington)
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Grotius
Rose up. A bright sun (Tirinus) represented God, (Calmet) or the king. (Grotius)
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Calmet
Signify. He was convinced that it was from heaven. (Calmet)
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A
Except the 72.
11:2
The first part. The presage, and occasion of Esthers aduancement and Amans persecuting the Iewes.
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Mardocheus had this dreame before Amans aduancement or his owne and the peoples danger.
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Concordance 4. Reg. 24.
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Mardocheus was a good dragon, and Aman a bad one.
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Esther by her fountaine of teares and humble supplication, quenched a great flame of Gentiles against the Iewes. ch. 10.
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Concordance B chap. 1. v. 1.
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This chapter ought to be placed at the beginning of the book in historical order, as the Greek and Roman texts place it. 1. IN THE FOURTH YEAR, PTOLEMY AND CLEOPATRA REIGNING — in Egypt. For in that age from the first Ptolemy Lagus king of Egypt all the others were called Ptolemies; but the queens Cleopatra. This Ptolemy was he who was surnamed Philometor, the sixth from Alexander the Great, and he greatly favored the Jews, indeed he entrusted the governance of his whole kingdom to them, and appointed Onias and Dositheus Jews as commanders of his army, as Josephus testifies, lib. ii Contra Appionem. It is uncertain whether this Dosithaeus is the same as Dosithaeus the priest, who brought the letter of "phurim," that is of lots, written in Hebrew by Mordecai, and translated into Greek by Lysimachus, to Jerusalem, as is said here. Moreover this verse is not of Mordecai, nor was it added by the Septuagint; for they lived before Philometor under Ptolemy Philadelphus, but it was inserted by some later scribe hagiographer for the sake of history.
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In the second year. — Here begins the letter of Mordecai, which was written in the second year of Artaxerxes, that is of Darius Hystaspes ruling in Persia. For Artaxerxes was a common name of the kings of Persia, as Ahasuerus of the Medes, as I have said. For it was the same year in which Darius granted to the Jews the faculty of resuming the building of the temple which Cyrus had begun, but his son Cambyses had forbidden, as appears in I Esdras iv and vi.
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5. AND THIS WAS HIS DREAM: THERE APPEARED VOICES, AND TUMULT, AND THUNDERS, AND AN EARTHQUAKE, AND COMMOTION UPON THE EARTH. — All these things signified the tumults and commotions which Aman stirred up against the Jews by an edict commanding all to be slain. For there were many hundreds of thousands of Jews who were all to be killed together with their wives, daughters and handmaids. Consider how great was the consternation, tumult and lamentation among them.
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6. AND PREPARED AGAINST EACH OTHER FOR BATTLE. — In Greek: They came forth to fight, namely Mardochaeus against Aman.
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7. THAT THEY MIGHT FIGHT AGAINST THE NATION OF THE JUST, namely against the Jews who were a people faithful and devoted to the worship of God.
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10. A small fountain grew into a very great river, etc. 11. Light and sun arose; and the humble (Jews) WERE EXALTED, AND DEVOURED THE ILLUSTRIOUS, — namely Aman with his followers and others who were opposed to them. The small fountain was Esther with her Jews, who at first vile and lowly grew into a river, indeed was converted into light and sun, when, having become queen, she exalted Mardochaeus and the Jews, so that they might triumph over Aman and his enemies by slaying them. He alludes to small springs which in deep places, such as wells and caves, flow out modestly, and are therefore dark and gloomy: but when they grow by the influx of neighboring waters, they become clear and bright, according to that saying: There was a spring with clear silvery waters. Indeed they become bright as the sun, especially when struck by the rays of the sun in such a way that the sun is expressed in them either as a rainbow or as itself, as happens in a parhelion, when the sun shining through rarefied watery clouds exhibits another sun as it were to be seen in them. In a similar manner Esther after obtaining the kingdom shone forth with majesty and glory like the sun. See what is said in the preceding chapter, verse 7. HE CONSIDERED WHAT GOD WISHED TO DO, AND HAD IT FIXED IN HIS MIND (to investigate and scrutinize the meaning of the dream), DESIRING TO KNOW WHAT THE DREAM SIGNIFIED. — From this it is clear that Mardochaeus, when he first saw the dream, did not understand its meaning, but gradually came to know it from the outcome of events and from God's inspiration. Yet he felt in general that God was inspiring him that something great was being signified in favor of the Jews. Whence Josephus, son of Gorion, in book ii: "When Aman," he says to Mardochaeus, "was so hostile, he said to his Esther: The dream is fulfilled which I told you in the days of your youth."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
11:2
Nisān (From Babylonian Nisannu)
NISĀN (From Babylonian Nisannu). - First month of the year in Israel; in the oldest biblical literature, it is identified with ḥōdheṣ hā-'ābhībh "month of the ripening ears of grain" (v. 'ABIB): Neh. 2:1; Esth. 3:7 (Vulgate, also Esth. 3:12; 11:2). On the first of N. the construction of the tabernacle was completed (Ex. 40:17); from the 1st to the 12th, the inauguration of the altar took place through the offering of sacrifices …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.