The people murmur again for want of drink; the Lord giveth them water out of a rock. Moses lifting up his hand in prayer, Amalec is overcome.
The people murmuring againe in Raphidim for want of drinck, our Lord giueth them water out of arock. 8. Amalech fighteth with them And Moyseslifting vp his hand in prayer, Israel ouercometh, otherwise Amalech pr••a•leth.
1Then all the multitude of the children of Israel setting forward from the desert of Sin, by their mansions, according to the word of the Lord, encamped in Raphidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.Partì di poi tutta la moltitudine de' figliuoli d'Israele dal deserto di Sin, e fatte le loro fermate secondo gli ordini del Signore, posero gli alloggiamenti a Raphidim, dove non ebbe il popolo acqua da bere.THERFORE al the multitude of the children of Israel setting forward from the desert Sin, by their mansions, according to the word of our Lord, camped in Raphidim, where there was no water for the people to drinke.Igitur profecta omnis multitudo filiorum Israël de deserto Sin per mansiones suas, juxta sermonem Domini, castrametati sunt in Raphidim, ubi non erat aqua ad bibendum populo. 2And they chode with Moses, and said: Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses answered them: Why chide you with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?E levatosi a romore contro Mosè, disse: Dacci acqua da bere. Rispose loro Mosè: Perché mormorate contro di me? Perché tentate voi il Signore?Who chiding against Moyses, said: Geue vs water, that we may drinke To whom Moyses answered: Why chide you against me? Wherfore doe you tempt our Lord?Qui jurgatus contra Moysen, ait: Da nobis aquam, ut bibamus. Quibus respondit Moyses: Quid jurgamini contra me ? cur tentatis Dominum ? 3So the people were thirsty there for want of water, and murmured against Moses, saying: Why didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt, to kill us and our children, and our beasts with thirst?Pativa adunque in quel luogo il popolo per la sete mancando l'acqua, e mormorò contro Mosè, dicendo: Perché ci hai tu fatti uscire dall'Egitto a far perire di sete noi, e i nostri figliuoli, e i giumenti?The people therfore was thirstie there for lacke of water, and murmured against Moyses, saying: Why didst thou make vs goe forth out of Aegypt, to kil vs, and our children, and our beastes with thirst.Sitivit ergo ibi populus præ aquæ penuria, et murmuravit contra Moysen, dicens: Cur fecisti nos exire de Ægypto, ut occideres nos, et liberos nostros, ac jumenta siti ? 4And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: What shall I do to this people? Yet a little more and they will stone me.Ma Mosè alzò la voce al Signore, dicendo: Che farò io di questo popolo? non andrà molto, che ei mi lapiderà.And Moyses cried to our Lord, saying: What shal I doe to this people? Yet a litle while, and they wil stone me.Clamavit autem Moyses ad Dominum, dicens: Quid faciam populo huic ? adhuc paululum, et lapidabit me.
5And the Lord said to Moses: Go before the people, and take with thee of the ancients of Israel: and take in thy hand the rod wherewith thou didst strike the river, and go.E il Signore disse a Mosè: Fatti incontro al popolo, e prendi teco de' seniori d'Israele: e prendi nella tua mano la verga, con cui percuotesti il fiume, e va'.And our Lord said to Moyses: Goe before the people, and take with thee of the ancients of Israel: and the rodde wherwith thou didst strike the riuer, take in thy hand, and goe.Et ait Dominus ad Moysen: Antecede populum, et sume tecum de senioribus Israël: et virgam qua percussisti fluvium, tolle in manu tua, et vade. 6Behold I will stand there before thee, upon the rock Horeb, and thou shalt strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink. Moses did so before the ancients of Israel:Ecco che starò ivi dinanzi a te sopra la pietra di Horeb: e tu percuoterai la pietra, e ne scaturirà l'acqua, affinché il popolo beva. Così fece Mosè in presenza de' seniori d'Israele:Behold I wil stand there before thee, vpon the rocke Horeb: and thou shalt strike the rocke, and water shal goe out therof, that the people may drinke. Moyses did so before the ancientes of Israel:En ego stabo ibi coram te, supra petram Horeb: percutiesque petram, et exibit ex ea aqua, ut bibat populus. Fecit Moyses ita coram senioribus Israël: 7And he called the name of that place Temptation, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and for that they tempted the Lord, saying: Is the Lord amongst us or not?E pose a quel luogo il nome di Tentazione a causa della mormorazione de' figliuoli d'Israele, e perché eglino tentaron il Signore, dicendo: È egli con noi il Signore, o non è?and he called the name of that place, Temptation, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and for that they tempted our Lord, saying: Is the Lord amongst vs or not?et vocavit nomen loci illius, Tentatio, propter jurgium filiorum Israël, et quia tentaverunt Dominum, dicentes: Estne Dominus in nobis, an non ? 8And Amalec came, and fought against Israel in Raphidim.Ma gli Amaleciti vennero a dar battaglia ad Israele in Raphidim.And Amalec came, and fought against Israel in Raphidim.Venit autem Amalec, et pugnabat contra Israël in Raphidim. 9And Moses said to Josue: Choose out men; and go out and fight against Amalec: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, having the rod of God in my hand.E disse Mosè a Giosuè: Fa' una scelta di uomini, e va' a combattere contro gli Amaleciti: domane io starò sulla cima del monte, tenendo la verga di Dio nella mia mano.And Moyses sayd to Iosue: Choose out men: and goe forth and fight against Amalec: to morow I wil stand in the toppe of the hil, hauing the rodde of God in my hand.Dixitque Moyses ad Josue: Elige viros: et egressus, pugna contra Amalec: cras ego stabo in vertice collis, habens virgam Dei in manu mea.
10Josue did as Moses had spoken, and he fought against Amalec; but Moses, and Aaron, and Hur, went up upon the top of the hill.Fece Giosuè quello che Mosè avea detto, e attaccò la zuffa con Amalec: e Mosè, ed Aronne, ed Hur salirono sulla vetta del monte.Iosue did as Moyses had spoken, and he fought against Amalec: but Moyses and Aaron and Hur went vp vpon the toppe of the hil.Fecit Josue ut locutus erat Moyses, et pugnavit contra Amalec: Moyses autem et Aaron et Hur ascenderunt super verticem collis. 11And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame; but if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame.E quando Mosè alzava le mani, Israele vinceva: ma se egli alcun poco abbassava le mani, Amalec era vincente.And when Moyses lifted vp his hands, Israel ouercame: but if he did lette them downe a little, Amalec ouercame.Cumque levaret Moyses manus, vincebat Israël: sin autem paululum remisisset, superabat Amalec. 12And Moses’s hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides. And it came to pass, that his hands were not weary until sunset.E Mosè avea stanche le braccia: presa adunque una pietra gliela poser sotto, ed ei vi si mise a sedere: e Aronne e Hur sostenevano a lui le braccia dall'una e dall'altra parte. Donde avvenne, che le sue braccia ressero immote fino al tramontar del sole.And the handes of Moyses were heauie: therfore they tooke a stone, and putte vnder him, wherupon he sate: and Aaron and Hur staied vp his handes on both sides. And it came to passe that his handes were not wearie vntil sunne sette.Manus autem Moysi erant graves: sumentes igitur lapidem, posuerunt subter eum, in quo sedit: Aaron autem et Hur sustentabant manus ejus ex utraque parte. Et factum est ut manus illius non lassarentur usque ad occasum solis. 13And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight, by the edge of the sword.E Giosuè sbaragliò Amalec, e mise a fil di spada il suo esercito.And Iosue put Amalec to flight, & his people by the edge of the sword.Fugavitque Josue Amalec, et populum ejus in ore gladii. 14And the Lord said to Moses: Write this for a memorial in a book, and deliver it to the ears of Josue; for I will destroy the memory of Amalec from under heaven.E il Signore disse a Mosè: Scrivi questa cosa per memoria in un libro, e falla sapere a Giosuè; perocché io cancellerò sotto del cielo la memoria di Amalec.And our Lord said to Moyses: Write this for a monument in a booke, & deliuer it to the eares of Iosue: for I wil destroy the memorie of Amalec from vnder heauen.Dixit autem Dominus ad Moysen: Scribe hoc ob monimentum in libro, et trade auribus Josue: delebo enim memoriam Amalec sub cælo.
15And Moses built an altar; and called the name thereof, The Lord, my exaltation, saying:E Mosè edificò un altare, a cui impose questo nome: Il Signore mia esaltazione, e disse:And Moyses builded an Altar: and called the name therof, Our Lord my exaltation, saying:Ædificavitque Moyses altare: et vocavit nomen ejus, Dominus exaltatio mea, dicens: 16Because the hand of the throne of the Lord, and the war of the Lord shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation.La mano del Signore dal soglio di lui sarà stesa, e farà guerra contro Amalec per tutte le generazioni.Because the hand of our Lords throne, and the warre of our Lord shal be against Amalec, from generation vnto generation.Quia manus solii Domini, et bellum Domini erit contra Amalec, a generatione in generationem.
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Year of the World 2513.
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Haydock
Chode, quarrelled and murmured. (Haydock)
Tempt, requiring a miracle, ver. 7.
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Usher
Before thee, ready to grant thy request at Horeb, a rock to the west of Sinai, and a figure of Jesus Christ, according to St. Paul; who says, (1 Corinthians 10:4,) that the spiritual rock followed the Hebrews. Some say a part of the real rock was carried in a chariot. (St. Chrysostom) Others, that the rivulet of waters accompanied them till it fell into the sea near Asiengaber. (Usher.)
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Temptation. Massa and Meriba "quarrel," as the Hebrew reads.
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Josue, who was before called Osee, or Ausem, was the son of Nun. From the victory obtained over the Amalecites, he was ever after called Josue, Jehosuah, or Jesus, "Saviour." He attached himself to Moses, and is styled his servant, as Patroclus and Merione are called servants of Achilles and of Idomen, by Homer; though they were men of high birth.
Hand, to defend the cause of the Hebrews by a miracle, if it be requisite.
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Hur, grandfather of Beseleel, (1 Paralipomenon 2:19,) grandson of Esron by Caleb.
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Challoner
And when Moses lifted up his hands. Here Moses was a figure of Christ on the cross, by whose power and mediation we overcome our spiritual enemies. (Challoner)
Calmet
Hands, forming the sign of the cross, as the fathers observe, in the posture of a suppliant. St. Jerome says, the people fasted also till the evening. (contra Jos. ii.) (Calmet)
Worthington
If heretics deride the priests of God, standing with their hands extended at the altar, let them reflect on Moses, and on Jesus Christ, who, lifting up his hands, blessed his disciples; and hence learn, that such ceremonies are not vain. (Worthington)
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Haydock
Of Josue, and of all who shall govern after him, that they may remember to execute my decree of extermination, against these cruel Amalecites, who have first dared to oppose the progress of my dejected people. (Haydock)
Calmet
Moses mentions, that they particularly attacked the feeble and stragglers, (Deuteronomy 25:18,) though their army was very formidable, Judith 4:13. Saul received an express order to destroy this nation; and he made such havoc among them, that they never rose again to any importance, and were confounded with the Idumeans, 1 Kings 15:3. (Calmet)
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Haydock
Exaltation. He has given me the victory. He has supported my hands on high, holding the rod as a standard. (Haydock)
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Le Clerc
Hand of the throne. The Lord hath lifted up his hand, and sworn on his throne, that war, etc., (Chaldean) or the hand of Amalec hath attacked the throne (Israel, the inheritance) of the Lord; therefore shall he pursue them for ever. The Septuagint have followed a different reading, "because with a secret hand the Lord will fight; and some suggest, that instead of ces, throne, we should read nos, signal, or standard." Since the hand has attacked the standard of the Lord, the war of the Lord is against Amalec. (Le Clerc.)
Calmet
Or "the Lord has taken his standard into his hand to destroy the Amalecites for ever." (Chateillon.) (Calmet)
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If this ceremonie of holding vp his handes was of such importance in the law of nature, why do Heretikes deride the same, and the like in the Catholique Church? VVheras also our Sauiour lifting vp his hands blessed his disciples. Luc. 24 S Damascen also teacheth (li 4. c. 12 Oxthox.) that this exten•ion of his handes prefigured the Crosse of Christ. And now it representeth the same.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 10
… Call upon Him as Stephen did; “Lord,” he said, “lay not this sin to their charge.” ( ch. vii. 59 .) Call upon Him as did the wife of Elkanah, with tears and sobs, and prayers. ( 1 Sam. i. 10 .) I prevent you not, rather I earnestly exhort you to it. Call upon him as Moses called upon Him, yea, cried, interceding for those
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 1
… For by none of these things can it be dissolved; seeing it is not composed out of them. Neither time, nor length of journey, nor ill usage, nor being evil spoken of, nor anger, nor insult, nor any other thing, make inroads upon it, nor have the power of dissolving it. And that thou mayest know this Moses was stoned, and yet he made entreaty for them. (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 82.3
… sky, earth, and sea alike obeyed his commands: yet he is spoken of as “very meek above all the men which were” at that time “upon the face of the earth.” He maintained his forty-years’ supremacy because he tempered the insolence of office with gentleness and meekness. When he was being stoned by the people he made intercession for them;
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St Methodius † AD 311 Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna On the Day that They Met in the Temple 1
… That bush which could not be touched, which beforehand shadowed forth thy figure endowed with divine majesty, bare God without being consumed, who manifested Himself to the prophet just so far as He willed to be seen. Then, again, that hard and rugged rock,
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 7.21.5
5. And the river which flows by the city has sometimes seemed drier than the waterless desert, and more parched than that in which Israel, as they passed through it, so suffered for thirst, that they cried out against Moses, and the water flowed for them from the steep rock,
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 18.14
… Moses, I say, for whom the sea was divided, and manna rained down, and the rock poured out a fountain,
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 45
… If thou doest this, and comest out of Egypt thus, I know well that thou shalt be guided by the pillar of fire and cloud by night and day. The wilderness shall be tamed for thee, and the Sea divided; Pharaoh shall be drowned; bread shall be rained down: the rock shall become a fountain;
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Mysteries 9
… Jordan being turned back, returned, contrary to nature, to the source of its stream. Is it not clear that the nature of the waves of the sea and of the river stream was changed? The people of the fathers thirsted, Moses touched the rock, and water flowed out of the rock.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.24
28. Lastly, Elijah, whom the Lord was training to the perfection of virtue, found at his head a cake and a cruse of water; and then fasted in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights. Our fathers, when they passed across the sea on foot,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 91.2
… But we are answered, that others also have done works which even He did not, and which no other man has done. For who else save Moses smote the Egyptians with so many and mighty plagues, as when He led the people through the parted waters of the sea, when he obtained manna for them from heaven in their hunger, and water from the rock in their thirst?
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 81.21
21. …“And He fed them of the fat of wheat, and from the rock with honey He satisfied them” ( ver. 16 ). In the wilderness from the rock He brought forth water,
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.15
The Master Christ made the remains of the saints to be fountains of salvation to us, pouring forth manifold blessings and abounding in oil of sweet fragrance: and let no one disbelieve this . For if water burst in the desert from the steep and solid rock at God’s will
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Tertullian † AD 220 An Answer to the Jews 10
… except it was that there, where the name of the Lord Jesus was the theme of speech—destined as He was to enter the lists one day singly against the devil—the figure of the cross was also necessary, (that figure) through which Jesus was to win the victory?
Tertullian † AD 220 On Fasting 10
In Exodus, was not that position of Moses, battling against Amalek by prayers, maintained as it was perseveringly even till “sunset,” a “late Station?”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 91
… For know, my beloved son, that Amalek has been destroyed root and branch and that the trophy of the cross has been set up on the hill of Rephidim.
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 2.10
… But the second writing of the tables could not be effected without fasting. What was lost by drunkenness was regained by abstinence, a proof that by fasting we can return to paradise, whence, though fulness, we have been expelled. In
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 4.15
… unless either his secret snares be avoided by going another way, or if he rage openly by means of a sinful people (which Amalek, being interpreted, means), and forbid by fighting the passage to the land of promise, he be overcome by the cross of the Lord, which is prefigured by the holding out of the hands of Moses.
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.22
… and the hands of Moses were made steady even to the setting of the sun. And Jesus routed Amalek and all his people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this, that it may be a memorial in a book, and tell it unto the ears of Jesus, that I may utterly destroy the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 22.5
… or how the first prophet Hosea got children from a prostitute, and, what is worse, it is said that this disgraceful conduct was enjoined by God; or how Moses committed murder, and plundered Egypt, and waged wars, and commanded, or himself perpetrated, many cruelties.
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 45
… The wilderness shall be tamed for thee, and the Sea divided; Pharaoh shall be drowned; bread shall be rained down: the rock shall become a fountain; Amalek shall be conquered, not with arms alone, but with the hostile hand of the righteous forming both prayers and the invincible trophy of the Cross;
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.33.1
… the one, indeed, in which He became a man subject to stripes, and knowing what it is to bear infirmity, and sat upon the foal of an ass, and was a stone rejected by the builders, and was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and by the stretching forth of His hands destroyed Amalek;
Tertullian † AD 220 On Prayer 14
Albeit Israel washed daily all his limbs over, yet is he never clean. His hands , at all events, are ever unclean, eternally dyed with the blood of the prophets, and of the Lord Himself; and on that account, as being hereditary culprits from their privity to their fathers’ crimes, they do not dare even to raise them unto the Lord,
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Exhortation to Martyrdom, Addressed to Fortunatus 8
… And Jesus routed Amalek and all his people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this, and let it be a memorial in a book, and tell it in the ears of Jesus; because in destroying I will destroy the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.88
88. For my own warfare, however, I am at a loss what course to pursue, what alliance, what word of wisdom, what grace to devise, with what panoply to arm myself, against the wiles of the wicked one. What Moses is to conquer him by stretching out his hands upon the mount,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 3.1.2
… who, when he stood at ease, was fighting, nay, not merely fighting but triumphing over enemies whom he had not come near. So much was he at ease, that others held up his hands; yet he was no less active than others, for he with his hands at ease was overcoming the enemy, whom they that were in the battle could not conquer.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 60.17
… Still when Hezekiah repented, one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians were destroyed in one night by a single angel. When Jehosaphat sang the praises of the Lord, the Lord gave His worshipper the victory. Again when Moses fought against Amalek, it was not with the sword but with prayer that he prevailed.
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Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 1.14
… By faith he cast the wood into the bitter waters and they became sweet. By faith he brought down manna and satisfied his people. By faith he spread out his hands and conquered Amalek, as is written:— His hands continued in faith till the setting of the sun.
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 12.2
… For I pass over Nadab and Abihu, lest the allusion be ill-omened: and Moses during his lifetime appoints Joshua in his stead, as lawgiver and general over those who were pressing on to the land of promise? The office of Aaron and Hur, supporting the hands of Moses on the mount where Amalek was warred down
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 14
[4.] See how the type was “given by Moses,” but the “Truth came by Jesus Christ.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 44.8
… We see them: they are very strong, and we are without strength. Where is that might of Thine? Where Thy “right hand,” and Thy power? Where the sea dried up, and the Egyptian pursuers overwhelmed with the waves? Where Amalek’s resistance subdued by the sign of the Cross?
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Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 128
The patriarch Abraham won a victory in his old age. The great Moses was now an old man when, so long as he stretched out his hands in prayer, he vanquished Amalek.
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St Barnabas † AD 61 The Epistle of Barnabas 12
… This name then being given him when he sent him to spy out the land, he said, “Take a book into thy hands, and write what the Lord declares, that the Son of God will in the last days cut off from the roots all the house of Amalek.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.16.4
… “For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, Father or mother, He shall receive the power of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria, against the king of the Assyrians;” declaring, in a mysterious manner indeed, but emphatically, that the Lord did fight with a hidden hand against Amalek.
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1. BY THEIR MANSIONS. — Hebrew: by their journeys or marches, that is, the stages of the journeys, that is, mansions or stations, which in the desert were in all forty-two, and all of them are enumerated in order in Numbers XXXIII; for otherwise throughout Exodus, Numbers (except chapter XXXV) and Deuteronomy only fifteen mansions are numbered: for it was not Moses' intention in his history to enumerate them all, but only those which were memorable for some accident or deed. Thus he omits here two mansions, namely the ninth, which was at Daphca, and the tenth, which was at Alus: for the eleventh was at Raphidim, of which follows here; that these two therefore were interposed, and are omitted here, Moses insinuates, when he says they came by their mansions to Raphidim. ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD. — In Hebrew it is, according to the mouth of the Lord, indicating namely not by a sounding voice, but by the movement of the pillar of cloud, when and where the camps were to be moved. This is evident from Exodus, the last chapter, at the end, and Numbers IX, 18, where the Hebrews are said to have set out "at the command of the Lord," or, as it is in Hebrew, at the mouth of the Lord, because they set out at the movement of the pillar, as is explained there. AND THEY ENCAMPED IN RAPHIDIM. — This eleventh mansion was near Mount Sinai, in which the rock gave forth waters, and Amalec was overcome: this place was also called Massa, that is temptation, from the temptation and murmuring of the Hebrews, verse 7.
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2. Why do you tempt the Lord? — Why do you distrust God's protection and aid, which you have so often experienced, and again by a miracle do you wish to learn whether God is with you? as is evident verse 7, as if to say: Not by murmuring, but by praying, and by firmly hoping in God, ask from him with humility waters; nor doubt that he will as usual come to the aid of your thirst.
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6. Behold, I will stand there before thee upon the rock Horeb. — "I will stand," namely in a pillar of cloud which I will fix upon the rock Horeb, that is to say, I will be present by means of the pillar of cloud, and I will draw waters from the rock Horeb, so that the people thirsting may drink from them, and thus cease from murmuring. The Septuagint translates: I stand before thee, or, before thou comest. For the Hebrew לפניך lephaneca can be translated both as "before thee" and as "in thy presence," that is to say, Before thou comest to the rock, I am already there standing ready for thy aid and for a miracle, so that namely I may draw forth water from it for you. The rock Horeb. — Horeb is Sinai; therefore this rock was in the desert of Sinai, whence it is called the rock of Horeb or Sinai; yet it was nearer to Raphidim than to Mount Sinai; for these things happened at Raphidim, as is clear from the following verse: for the Hebrews had not yet reached Mount Horeb or Sinai; they reached it at the following encampment, which was the twelfth: for that one was at Sinai. AND WATER SHALL COME OUT OF IT. — That this rock still endures and continually pours forth waters, the Cosmographers relate, says Abulensis, concerning which more at Num. XX, verses 8 and 11. Indeed Abulensis adds in Num. cap. XX, Question III, that Arabia became habitable from this water and the enduring rock of Moses, when before on account of excessive dryness it was uninhabitable. The same opinion is held by Gaspar Sanchez in Isaiah cap. XLVIII, n. 28. Allegorically, the rock is Christ, I Cor. X, 4; the rod striking the rock is the cross, by which Christ struck and wounded poured forth water, that is blood, for us, and left it to be drunk by all in the Eucharist. Thus Theodoret. And St. Ambrose, lib. V On the Sacraments, cap. I: "See," he says, "the mystery: Moses, that is the Prophet; the rod, that is the word of God: but the priest of God touches the rock, and water flows forth, and the people of God drinks, who have obtained the grace of God." Secondly, Tertullian, lib. On Baptism, cap. IX, understands by water baptism, whose virtue flows from the cross of Christ. Thirdly, Isidore and Rupert understand by water grace and the Holy Spirit and his gifts. Beautifully concerning this mystical rock St. Bernard, serm. 61 in Cant., on that passage Cant. II, My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the caverns of the wall: "The bride hears this," he says, "that she should be wholly occupied with devotion in the wounds of Christ, and dwell in them with constant meditation. From this comes the endurance of martyrdom, from this comes to her great confidence before God; there is nothing for the Martyr to fear in lifting up an exsanguine and naked face to him, by whose bruising she is healed: truly she will not feel her own wounds while she gazes upon his. The Martyr stands exulting and triumphing, though her whole body be torn; and with iron rending her sides, not only bravely but also cheerfully she sees the sacred blood gush forth from her flesh. Where then is the soul of the Martyr? namely in safety, namely in the rock, namely in the bowels of Jesus. Dwelling in the rock, what wonder if she has hardened in the manner of a rock? nor does this come from stupor, but from love; for the sense is subdued, not lost; nor is pain absent, but overcome, but despised. Therefore from the rock comes the Martyr's strength, pleasing to the emperor watching no less than to the soldier triumphing." The same Bernard, serm. 66 among the lesser ones: "That," he says, "waters of protection in torments are drawn from that very fountain of virtue (that is, from the Spirit of God), is shown also by those three youths placed in the burning heat of the furnace, to whom the very flame grew cool; and especially by that renowned Martyr Vincent, who when he was grievously tortured, is said not only to have endured, but also to have boldly provoked his torturer with these words: Rise up, and rage with all the malice of thy spirit; thou shalt see that I can do more by the power of God while being tortured, than thou canst, who art torturing me."
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7. AND HE CALLED THE NAME OF THAT PLACE, TEMPTATION. — Hebr. he called the name of that place, massa umeriba, that is temptation and contention, or quarrel. Of this ingratitude of the Hebrews there is frequent mention likewise in Scripture, showing how much it displeased God, as Deut. VI, 16, Ps. LXXVII, 15, Ps. XCVIII, 8, and Ps. CV, 14. Moreover this is not the water of contradiction, of which Num. XXXIII: for that was after the passage of Sinai in the thirty-third encampment at Cades.
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8. AND AMALEC CAME AND FOUGHT AGAINST ISRAEL IN RAPHIDIM. — Amalec, that is, the Amalecites, whose king or prince was called Amalec, because he was descended from Amalec the son of Eliphaz, and grandson of Esau, Genesis XXXVI, 16: just as the kings of Egypt were called Ptolemies, from the first king Ptolemy, son of Lagus. The region of the Amalecites was in the desert, to the south of Judaea, going beyond the city of Petra to Aila, as St. Jerome says in the Hebrew Places. The cause of Amalec's war appears to have been the ancient and paternal hatred of Esau and his descendants against Jacob and his posterity, on account of the birthright taken from him and his, and on account of the father's blessing taken from him. For the Amalecites feared for themselves on account of so great an army of Jacobites, and they dreaded lest that blessing which Jacob had taken from his brother Esau, their ancestor, should now be fulfilled, Genesis XXVII, 29. For they saw the Jacobites with so great a force of armed men tending toward the promised land; they therefore came against them, so that they might hinder their passage, and decide the matter by war. Tropologically, Amalec in Hebrew means the same as a people licking: this one first encounters Israel, because to those who go forth from the flesh and the world to God, the first enemies that encounter them are the enticements of the flesh and its blandishments; from these indeed the first temptations arise, against which one must fight hand to hand with Joshua, that is with Jesus Christ, observing his and the Saints' abstinence and continence, and in fact mortifying the flesh with him, by the chastisement of the body and mortification; but from a distance one must contend by prayer, which is sustained by the mountain-dweller Aaron (Aaron in Hebrew signifies mountain), that is Christ, and the hero Hur, that is the strength of the Holy Spirit. Thus Rupert and St. Gregory, book VI in the book of Kings II.
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11. AND WHEN MOSES LIFTED UP HIS HANDS, ISRAEL PREVAILED: BUT IF HE LET THEM DOWN A LITTLE, AMALEC OVERCAME. — By this symbol God signified to the Hebrews that this victory was not to be attributed to the unwarlike multitude of their own people, but to God dwelling in the heavens: for this reason Moses stretched forth his hands toward heaven, that he might invoke God the giver of victory. "Moses stood," says St. Chrysostom, homil. De Mose (if indeed he is the author of so Latin a discourse), "on the mountain already near to heaven, already close to the stars. And by how much the height of the mountain had exalted him, by so much did prayer exhibit him near to God. Prayer is directed to the avenging of the enemy, whose crimes already provoked destruction, etc. For what one of the just has not fought by praying? Who has overcome the enemy except by praying? By prayers to Daniel visions are unfolded, flames are put to sleep, beasts are made dull, enemies fall, foes are conquered. It is permitted to converse with God by praying, it is permitted to speak with him when you wish, it is permitted by prayers to bargain for what you desire. And although you cannot hear his voice, yet while you receive what you ask, he deigns to converse with you, if not by words, yet by benefits." Secondly, by this symbol God wished to signify the power of prayer; for "prayer," says St. Augustine, "is a protection to the one praying, a sacrifice to God, a scourge to the demon." For the lifting up of hands shadowed forth the striving of prayer, the lowering of hands shadowed forth the remission of prayer. And truly Moses, vigorous and alert, lifting up his hands, at the same time lifted up and directed his mind toward God: but when weary and exhausted he lowered his hands, at the same time he lowered his spirit and his prayer. Why those praying should lift up their hands, I have assigned seven reasons in I Tim. II, 8. It appears, however, that Moses lifted up and extended his hands joined together, so that one palm embraced the other, which held the rod; for he could not have held the rod, being pastoral and large, elevated so long in the air with a single hand. This rod signified the cross of Christ: whence the Fathers teach that Moses here bore the form and type of the cross of Jesus. Thus Tertullian, lib. III Against Marcion, cap. XVIII; Cyril in Collecta, cap. XVI; Cyprian, lib. II Testim. cap. XXI; Justin, Against Trypho, near the middle; Prosper, I part. Praedic. cap. ult. Finally, concerning this prayer and victory of Moses, St. Chrysostom has a beautiful homily, serm. De Mose, tom. I. Following the example of Moses was St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop of Neocaesarea. For when persecution raged, he himself, about to fight in prayer for his citizens and Martyrs contending with the tyrant, ascended a mountain with a deacon, and there with extended hands they prayed. The persecutors followed them, but seeing them did not recognize them: for they thought they saw not two men, but two trees. Witness is Gregory of Nyssa in his Life, who after this adds saying: "Just as Moses, when far removed from the battle of the Amalecites, by prayer infused strength into his people against the enemies: so he (Gregory), as if beholding with the eyes of the mind the things that were happening, invoked divine aid for those who were fighting in the name of faith." He then narrates the fruit of prayer, and its illustrious example: "And when," he says, "he was praying to God at some time, suddenly he seemed to be seized with anguish, and as if some sound were reaching his ears, he seemed to turn his ears to listen: and after he had thus remained erect and motionless for a long time, then as if a good spectacle had had a good outcome, he returned to his former state, and with a clear voice praised God for the victory, saying: Blessed be God, who hath not given us for a prey to their teeth. And when his familiars asked what he had seen, he said that he had seen a great ruin in that hour, the devil being overcome by a certain noble youth in contests undertaken for piety. He also added the name, calling him Troadius: and that after many torments, which he had borne bravely, he had been crowned with the crown of martyrdom; the deacon, astonished at hearing these things, when he afterwards went into the city, found that the matter had happened in exactly the same moment and manner as Gregory had related." Symbolically, Moses here was a type of the contemplative life, Joshua of the active: and that this ought to be directed by that, and draw all its force and energy, and victory against passions and all enemies from it: for thus Joshua drew the strength of fighting and conquering from the prayer of Moses. In the Lives of the Fathers lib. VII, cap. XVIII, a similar scheme is given in two holy monks, of whom one was Arsenius, a solitary, taciturn and contemplative; the other Moses, familiar, kind and beneficial to all. And when someone asked God to reveal to him which was the holier and more perfect: "Behold in ecstasy two ships were shown to them through a river, and in one indeed he saw the Holy Spirit with silence and rest, sailing together with Abbot Arsenius; but in the other ship he saw Abbot Moses and the angels of God, inserting honey and honeycomb into his mouth and into his teeth."
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12. NOW THE HANDS OF MOSES WERE HEAVY. — That is to say, the hands of Moses, as he was growing old, were heavy both in themselves and were weighed down by prolonged extension upward: therefore they made Moses sit upon a stone, and Aaron and Hur sustained his hands; there is no doubt that these also prayed together with Moses as he prayed. Josephus relates that this Hur was the husband of Mary, the sister of Moses; but Scripture more suggests that Mary was a virgin than married, as I said in chapter XV, verse 20. AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT HIS HANDS WERE NOT WEARY UNTIL THE SUN WENT DOWN. — In Hebrew it is, there was firmness or stability in his hands, that is, as the Chaldean paraphrases it, his hands were firmly extended in prayer; because, as the Septuagint translates it, his hands were sustained; namely by Aaron and Hur. Symbolically Philo says: "The actions of an evil man are sudden and light; but those of Moses, that is, of the wise man, are heavy and unshaken, and therefore are supported by Aaron, that is, by reason, and by Hur, that is, by light, that is by truth; as if to say: The actions of the wise man are supported by reason and truth," especially that by which he attentively considers divine and eternal things. Philo adds that it was not by nature, but by a prodigy that lightness and heaviness were sent upon the hands of Moses, and he adds: "Whenever," he says, "the hands of Moses grew heavy, the hostile army prevailed, God signifying thereby; that the proper inheritance of some is the earth, the weak part of the world; of others the most sacred aether, and just as in the universe heaven is superior to earth, so also His people would overcome the adverse army in war." Finally he concludes: "When therefore for some time the hands of the balance, now raised upward, now bent downward, and the contest was waged with uncertain outcome; at last suddenly as if having wings for fingers, they were lifted up and flew through the air remaining on high, until certain victory befell the Hebrews, the enemies being destroyed with slaughter." But truly these things do not sufficiently accord with the narrative of Holy Scripture, which asserts that the hands of Moses were sustained not by a miracle, but by Aaron and Hur.
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13. AND JOSHUA DEFEATED AMALEC, AND HIS PEOPLE WITH THE EDGE OF THE SWORD. — For defeated, the Hebrew is יחלוש iachalos, that is, weakened, cast down, prostrated, routed, by killing some and putting others to flight; hence חלוש chalus means weary, weakened, cast down. The Jews relate, or rather after their manner fabricate, that the Amalecites wished by their incantations to fly, and thus to fly upon and rush into the camp of the Hebrews; but Joshua by showing the name of God, the tetragrammaton, prostrated them. Josephus asserts plainly that this victory was bloodless for the Hebrews, with none of them lost. Here the name Joshua is found for the first time; whence, since from this victory at this place, he was called Joshua instead of Hosea, that is to say, "Savior of the people," Origen, Lactantius and others think, concerning which more in Numbers, chapter XIII, verse 17. With the edge of the sword. — Thus our Interpreter translated it in Hebrews, chapter XI, verse 34: whence the sword is called two-edged δίτομος, as if having two edges, that is, two blades, in Hebrews, chapter IV, verse 12. Hence because the edge of the sword, being most sharp, penetrates, cuts or kills whatever it strikes, therefore when it is said in Scripture: "He smote them with the edge of the sword," it commonly signifies that he destroyed them utterly; thus also the French speak of utter slaughter: Il les a passés au fil de l'épée. Thus Vatablus. Secondly, "with the edge of the sword," that is, in the devouring or consuming of the sword: whence the Septuagint translates ἐν φόνω μαχαίρας, in the slaying of the sword, so that there is a double figure: the former, by which mouth is put metonymically for eating, which is done by the mouth; the latter, by which the eating of an animal is metaphorically attributed to a thing inanimate, namely the sword that kills: for just as we eat bread, so war and the sword devour men. Whence the Hebrews call war מלחמה milchama, that is, eating, as if to say: Joshua defeated Amalec by the slaying of the sword, or by the sword slaying him pursuing on all sides. Thirdly, Francis Ribera in Hosea, chapter X, number 37: Mouth, he says, in Scripture often is taken for will; thus to reap in the mouth of mercy, that is, to reap according to the will of mercy, as much as mercy wills, that is, to reap most abundantly. Thus to smite with the edge of the sword, is to kill all, and to spare none, which is to smite as much as the sword wishes to smite; as if to say: He smote them with the edge (with the will of the sword), that is, he smote them to satiety, at pleasure, according to the will, at the command of the sword, he smote as many as it pleased the sword and the swordsman to smite.
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14. WRITE THIS FOR A MEMORIAL IN A BOOK, AND DELIVER IT IN THE EARS OF JOSUE. — That is to say, Write in the chronicles, and make known to Josue, so that he himself and the people's leaders and judges following him, and these in turn to those following them, may make known the will and decree of God concerning the execution of vengeance, and concerning the destruction of Amalec, and this until that same leader, or king Saul, shall arise, who shall actually exercise this vengeance; for Josue was destined by God to be the successor of Moses, and the leader of the people: hence also in this war against Amalec he himself, the chosen leader, gave as it were a prelude to his future principate. Then God commands that this be made known to Josue, lest, when the promised land had been subdued, he himself should enter into or permit covenants with the Amalecites. FOR I WILL BLOT OUT THE MEMORY OF AMALEC FROM UNDER HEAVEN. — In Hebrew it is, blotting out I will blot out, that is, I will utterly and completely blot out, let this be a fixed and certain will to me, which Samuel rubbed in Saul's face, I Kings cap. XV, where Saul, on account of his neglect and incomplete fulfillment of this will of God, was rejected by God and fell from his kingdom and life. Wherefore certain Jews wrongly excuse Saul through ignorance, because the Hebrew זכר, if the vowel point camets be substituted for it, so that it becomes zachar, signifies a male; but if segol, so that it becomes zecher, signifies memory: that Amalec was to be destroyed and abolished. Moreover, God pronounced so severe a sentence upon Amalec because the Amalecites had attacked the innocent and wavering Hebrews with so savage a war, and those new in their calling, so as to deter them from following God's guidance into Chanaan, and because, as it is said in Deuteronomy cap. XXV, vers. 18, they struck down the hindmost of the army, the weary and those worn out by hunger and toil. From this let us learn how grave an offense it is against God to turn away tender and newly-made followers of God from his calling and following, namely from true faith, or Religion and the state of perfection; concerning which matter see St. Jerome Plato, lib. III On the Good of the Religious State, cap. XXXV.
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15. AND MOSES BUILT AN ALTAR, AND CALLED THE NAME OF IT, THE LORD IS MY EXALTATION. — In Hebrew, אדני נסי Adonai nissi, which first, our translator rendered The Lord (is) my exaltation. Second, it can be translated, The Lord is my standard, that is, the Lord was to me in place of a standard, he himself brought forth the signs of victory against the enemy. Whence Josephus says that Moses set up this altar to God the victor, as the Romans set up (altars) to Jupiter the victor. Third, it can be translated, The Lord is my sign, or my miracle, because he bestowed upon me a miraculous victory, and so many other miracles. Thus the Chaldean (Paraphrase). By this trophy Moses assigned all the praise of victory to God; for he erected the altar not merely for the sake of sacrifice, but also as a trophy, and this nomenclature proves it. Calvin, abhorring every name of images and statues, as it were the shadows and phantoms of death, and fearing lest from this we might turn a weapon against him on account of images, impudently denies that this name was given to the altar, contrary to the express faith of Holy Scripture, which asserts that this altar was called by this name, as a trophy of victory; for names are properly imposed upon trophies and titles, and this name can be fitting only to a trophy. For it is not the case, as Calvin feared, that the name of God is here communicated to the altar as though it itself were God; but the sense is, as if to say: By this altar as a trophy I testify, I signify, that God is my exaltation, who made me superior to the enemies the Amalekites, and therefore to him, as to the sign of the thing signified, I give the name, and call it: "The Lord is my exaltation;" just as we are accustomed to say of the image of Caesar, or of a King: This is Caesar, this is the King, that is to say, this image is Caesar's, this is the King's. Similar appellations are found throughout Scripture. For thus Isaac, Genesis chapter XXVI, verse 20, called a well from the event Calumny, and another verse 21, he called Breadth. Thus Gedeon, Judges chapter VI, verse 24, calls his altar "The Peace of the Lord." Similar instances are I Kings chapter VII, verse 12, II Kings chapter XVIII, verse 48. Note here that victory in wars depends upon God, and is a singular gift of God. Thus Judith consecrated the head of Holofernes, as an anathema, to God the author of victory, Judith chapter XVI, verse 23. Thus the prophet Jahaziel, when he had promised a remarkable victory to King Josaphat against the Moabites, added: "You shall not need to fight in this battle: stand ye, and see the salvation of the Lord over you; fear not. To-morrow go ye forth against them, and the Lord will be with you," II Paralipomenon chapter XX, verse 17. Thus Judas Machabaeus, when his men feared, being few in number, encouraging them said: "It is easy for many to be shut up in the hands of a few; and there is no difference in the sight of the God of heaven, to deliver with many, or with few; for the victory of battle is not in the multitude of the army, but strength is from heaven," I Machabees chapter III, verse 17. Thus Trajanus, a general of war sent by the Emperor Valens against the Barbarians, when he had been defeated, and was accused of cowardice by Valens, generously replied: "It is not I, O Emperor, who have been conquered, but you yourself have lost the victory, you who do not cease to array your forces against God, and thus conciliate his aid to the Barbarians. For being attacked by you, he joins himself to them. But victory follows God, and comes to those to whom God offers himself as leader. Thus you know what men you have expelled from the Churches, and to whom you have delivered them?" Thus Theodoret, book IV of History, chapter XXIX. Thus the Emperor Theodosius, when victory over the tyrant John was announced to him in the games of the Circus, crying out to the people: "Come," he said, "let us leave off this sport and go into this house of prayer, and compose songs of thanksgiving to the author of victory." He said and did it. Thus Nicephorus, book XIV, chapter VII. Thus Clotharius, king of the Franks, when about to fight against Chramnus his rebellious son: "Look down," he said, "O Lord, from heaven, and judge my cause. For I suffer wrongs unjustly from my son. Look down, and judge justly, and impose upon it that judgment which you once placed between Absalom and his father David." Therefore, when battle was joined, Chramnus was captured and killed by Clotharius. Thus Gregory of Tours, book IV, chapters XVI and XVII. Alphonsus, king of Aragon, to his son Ferdinand, while going to war against the Florentines: "Do not," he said, "O my son, attribute so much to your own or your soldiers' boldness, as to think that any victory can be had without the aid of God. For victory is not procured by human disciplines or industry, but by the benignity and will of God the best and greatest: therefore worship God, and reconcile him to yourself: but if ever you should suspect him to be angry with you, beware of contending; and whatever you see has happened to you from him, take it in good part, and appease him by patience and penance." Thus the Panormitan in his Life.
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16. SAYING: BECAUSE THE HAND OF THE THRONE OF THE LORD, AND THE WAR OF THE LORD SHALL BE AGAINST AMALEC FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. — The Hebrew is, because the hand is upon the throne of the Lord, that is, because God extended His hand over His throne, that is, by the extension of His hand over His throne He swore, and, that is, that the war of the same people and the Hebrews against Amalec shall be eternal, that is, as long as Amalec shall remain, as if to say, There shall be with the Hebrews against Amalec an ἄσπονδος πόλεμος, that is, an irreconcilable and internecine war. Note first, that quia is not causal, but enclitic; for it answers to the Hebrew כי ki, which often is redundant. Whence Vatablus translates, and said: The hand being lifted up by the throne of God I swear. For Moses here gave a name to the altar and at the same time swore an eternal war with Amalec: for these are disparate things, and one is not the cause of the other. Second, this hand of the one swearing is either that of Moses, as Vatablus wishes, or rather that of God: for our translation has, "the hand of the throne of the Lord;" the Chaldean and the Septuagint have the same more clearly. Third, the particle et is not one of conjunction, but of confirmation, and designates the matter of the oath, signifying, because. Hence the Chaldean beautifully translates: With an oath this was said from the terrible face, whose majesty is upon the throne of glory, that battle be committed from the face of the Lord against the men of the house of Amalec, that He may consume them from the generations of the age. The Septuagint interpret the hand upon the throne as a hidden hand, or rather, as others read, an exalted one: for thus they have, ὅτι ἐν χειρὶ κουφαίᾳ (Eugubinus reads κορυφαίᾳ, that is, exalted, and this better answers the Hebrew) πολεμεῖ Κύριος, that is, because in a hidden and exalted hand the Lord makes war, as if the hand of God in His throne, though hidden, yet works in an exalted manner. You will ask, why formerly and even now is an oath sworn with the hand raised to heaven? I answer: Because by this rite we testify that God is in the heavens, as if sitting upon His throne. Second, because by this rite we signify that just as the heavens stand and endure, so firm shall be the thing which we promise by oath. Thus therefore God swears here by His throne, as if by something eternal and immutable. Thus the Hebrews teach. Hence St. Augustine, book XXII Against Faustus, chapter LXXIV, defends Moses against the calumnies of Faustus, and convicts him (and against our Anabaptists and enthusiasts), that war is lawful for the faithful, because Moses undertook it by the will of the Lord, and it is said here that the war of the Lord shall be against Amalec forever. Tropologically, let us also say as resolved soldiers of Christ: The war of the Lord shall be mine, that is, war against Amalec, that is, against the flesh and the world forever: for this is the war of the Lord, which the Lord commands us, and which He Himself wages through us. Consider that saying of St. Francis: Small is the pleasure here: but afterwards immense punishment. Small is the labor here: but afterwards eternal glory. Choose. The calling of many, the election of few, the retribution of all. Think of eternity.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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v. 4 « Igitur profecta omnis multitudo filiorum Israel de deserto Stn per mansiones suas » — « peritinera sua » (Vat.), cf. Gen. 13,3 et, si compares Num. 33,12 sq., commode hic indicari fateberis (Ca1.) stationes Daphca et Alus — « tuzta sermonem Domini » , — qui apte h. l. intelligi potest columna nubis, nam « sermo Dei vocatur omne signum, quo Deus voluntatem suam manifestat » (Sylv.) — « castrametati sunt in. Raphidim, ubi non. erat aqua ad. bibendum populo ».
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v. 9 « Qui iurgatus contra Moysen ait : Da nobis aquam , ut bibamus. Quibus respondit Moyses : Quid iurgamini contra me? cur tentatis Dominum? » Querelae vestrae non tam in me diriguntur, quam in ipsum Deum. « Quare Deum provocatis ad iracundiam, et cur diffisi de divino favore et auxilio, quod toties estis experti, rursum vultis per experientiam cognoscere, an Deus in vobis sit, cum deberetis non murmurando, sed orando et firmiter sperando ad Deum recurrere? » (Sylv.).
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v. 3 « Sitivit ergo ibt populus prae aquae penuria, et murmuravit contra Moysen dicens : Cur fecisti nos exire de Aegypto, ut occideres nos et liberos nostros ac tumenta sità2 »
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v. & « Clamavit autem. Moyses ad. Dominum dicens :. Quid faciam. populo huic? » « Quomodo potero satisfacere petitioni eius? » (Tost.). Fortasse melius generatim : Quid faciam respectu populi huius, imprimis ut me ab eius importunitate defendam? « AdAuc paululum, et lapidabit me » petunt, lapidabunt me » (Tost.).
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v. 5 « Et ait Dominus ad Moysen : Antecede populum » , — Hebr. : transi ante faciem populi, quod insensus, quem exprimunt Vw/g. LXX : praecede populum, soc. versus toritatis testes futuros miraculi (Tost.); « et virgam, qua percussisti fluvium » Nilum (7,17. 20), « tolle àin manu tua, et vade ». « Virga, quae tantum flumen in sanguinem transformavit virtute divina, quomodo non poterat elicere aquam ex hac petra? » (Proc.). Post transitum Maris Rubri non scribitur adhibuisse eam vzrgam Moyses, nisi gitur, virgam tum non iam in Moysis manibus fuisse, sed asservatam esse coram Iahve, i. e. in sanctuario (cf. Ex. 17,33). Videtur ea solis favor, quique plenam et Moysis et populi mereretur fiduciam, ut hac virga rursum post exodum permitteretur uti Moyses.
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v. 6 « En ego stabo ibi coram te supra petram » in « Horeb ». Cf. quae dicebamus ad 3,1. « Non solus et destitutus eris : ego adero » (Proc.). « Percutiesque petram, et exibit ex ea, aqua, ut bibat populus ». Pro ut reliqui e£. Sed. fortasse feliciter vertit Vulg. estque in textu illud, quod suggerit Tosí., effluxuram esse aquam tantam, quanta pro populo eregibusque requireretur. Non dicit textus natum esse fontem perennem, neque locus Hesy el Khattatin nunc fontem habet. Potuere Amalecitae impetum differre, quoad Hebraei siti exhausti et pugnae impares ad ipsum fere oasis limen pervenissent : at Deus hostium fefellit astutiam, suosque ibidem miraculoso haustu refecit. « Fecit Moyses ita coram senioribus Israel »,
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v. 1 « et vocavit nomen. loci illius Tentatio » et. Turgium, « propter iurgium. filiorum Israel, et quia tentaverunt Dominum dicentes : Estne Dominus tn nobis, an non? » Duplici loci nomini 3*3" nD5 praeludunt verba v. 2 3*3 et yon. Sed cur duplici una occasione nomine unus locus appellatur? Adverte, Num. 20 narrari eventus omnino similes, imponique fonti cuidam nomen item n23'w2. Potuit ea similitudo ratio esse, ut h. l. praeter nomen 7nD23 irreperet etiam nomen na"'w23: maxime cum verbum 3*4 tam v. ? quam v. 7 legatur.
17:8
v. 8 « Venit autem Amalec et pugnabat contra Israel in Raphidim ». De Amalec diximus ad Gen. 15,7; 36,12. Cf. etiam 1 Reg. 27,8; Num. 13,29 515,43. 45. Accuratius hanc pugnam describit Deut. 25,17 sq. : « Memento, quae fecerit tibi Amalec 1n via, quando egrediebaris ex Aegypto : quomodo occurrerit tibi et extremos agminis tui, qui lassi residebant, ceciderit, quando tu eras fame et labore confectus, et non timuerit Deum ». Ergo Amalecitae latronum instar, non iusto proelio aggressi primum fuerant Israelitas; unde perspicitur, quomodo potuerit v. 9 Moyses diem proelii ipse determinare : cras. Proelium sc. tum obtinuit, quando Iosue cum viris lectis Amalecitas in locis inaccessis aggressus est. Quod autem habetur Iudith 4,13, Amelecitas etiam fisos esse « eurribus suis », verba sunt Eliachim auctoris non inspirati desuntque apud LXX. Amalecitas tum usos esse curribus improbabile apparet cum e natura locorum curribus perquam iniqua, tum ex iis omnibus, quae de tribuum deserti moribus ex Aegyptiorum monumentis novimus : curribus eae carebant.
Arg. — Mox Amalecitas adorti Hebraei fundunt, Moyse in vertice collis manus cum virga attollente. Perpetuas Hebraeis in Amalecitas inimicitias Deus indicit, Moyses vero altari erecto certaminis locum consecrat. i
17:9
v. 9 « Dixitque Moyses ad Iosue - Elige » nobis « viros, et egressus pugna contra Amalec : cras » — sed hanc vocem aptius fortasse LXX Syr. ad praecedentia trahunt — « ego stabo in vertice collis, habens virgam Dei in manu mea ». Differentia vocum nz23 et (v. 6) *s potius suggerit, hunc collem alium esse a petra Horeb; narratio suggerit fuisse collem, unde Moyses et Hur satis probabiliter Ios. (Antiq. III. 6) eundem esse pronuntiat atque avum Beseleel artificis, filium Caleb, filii Hesron, filii Phares, filii Iuda : Ex. 31,2; 35,30; 38,22; 1 Par. 2,19. 50; 4,1. 4; 2 Par. 1,5. Quo iure eundem maritum fecerit Mariae, sororis Moysis, nescimus : quod si admittas, habebis Moysi adstantes viros duos prae ceteris illi maxime necessarios, fratrem et generum. Alius vir nominis Hur habetur 2 Esdr. 3,9; itemque rex Madianitarum Num. 31,8; Ios. 13,21. — Natales cur reticeantur Iosue et Hur, cf. quae suggerebamus p. 37 sq. « Filius Nun » vocatur Iosue primum 33,11 post interemptos sacerdotes pristini ordinis. Hur 31,2; 38,22 simpliciter dicitur « de tribu Iuda ». Neuter suae tribus princeps erat, sed Iosue scribitur Elisamae nepos, qui ipse princeps erat tribus Ephraim (Num. 1,10) : vir ille senior videtur consiliis tribus praefuisse, dum iunior tribui praeibat ad pugnam (Ex. 17,9 sqq.). Hur originem duxisse scribitur ab Hesron, nepote Iudae; non tamen ab Hesronis filio natu maiore Ram, cuius nepos Nahasson (Num. 1,7) erat princeps tribus Iuda, sed ab Hesronis filio minore Caleb (1 Par. 2,5 sqq.).
17:11
v. 14 « Cumque levaret Moyses manus », — solus Hebr. : manum — « vincebat Israel; sin autem |paululum)] remisisset, superabat Amalec ».
17:12
v. 19 « Manus autem Moysi erant graves », factae sunt graves : quis enim integro die manus extentas servet? « Sumentes igitur lapidem posuerunt subter eum, in quo sedit; Aaron autem et Hur sustentabant manus eius ex utraque parte. Et factum est, ut manus illius non lassarentur usque ad occasum solis ».
17:13
v. 43 « Fugavitque Iosue Amalec, et populum etus in ore », in acie « gladii ».
17:14
v. 4 « Dixit autem Dominus ad Moysen : Scribe hoc 0b monumentum », « in memoriam » (Bonfr.), « in libro et trade auribus Iosue : delebo [enim| memoriam Amoaálec sub coelo ». Scribendam censet Ca?. rem gestam, tradendam auribus Iosue divinam de delendis Amalecitis comminationem ; rem gestam enim, inquit, Iosue oppido norat neque erat, cur ei narraretur. Melius Bonfr. censet, utrumque verbum ad unam referri comminationem. Liber articulo caret apud LXX, articulum habet apud Masor. : secundum hos iam exsistebat liber aliquis, puta Liber Iustorum; secundum illos generale datur scribendi mandatum. Ceterum ex verbis probabili coniectura inferimus, consuevisse iam tum apud Hebraeos aliqua scriptis mandari. Neque id mirum, quod Aegyptii, Babylonii pluresque Asiae anterioris eius aevi populi tam: multa nobis scripta reliquerint.
17:15
v. 15 « Aedificavitque Moyses altare », et sine dubio sacrificium in illo obtulit, « e£ vocavit nomen eius : Dominus Exaltatio mea, dicens » :
17:16
v. 16 « Quia manus solii Domini, et bellum Domini erit conlra Amalec , a generatione in generationem ». 'Di minm significationem habet attollendi, a qua legitime derivantur exal- EX. 17,16. | 183 tatio (Vulg.; cf. LXX «x8 l) , imo miraculum (Chald.), et. vexillum, res sc. quae attollitur. Cum vero in toto hoc contextu (cf. 15,25; 16,4; 17,2. 7 et sequentia) nDJ usurpetur sensu attollendo examinare, probare, tentare, erit is sensus etiam h. 1. retinendus : ergo Dominus Probatio mea. Potestque probatio vel active accipi: Deus, qui me probavit penuria cibi et potus hostiumque incursu, et qui probatum salvavit; vel passive : Deus, qui probavit me, sed probatum non est oblitus, sed. tandem hostibus. eripuit. — Prior v. 16 pars obscura : n'*D2 ovy "1 '2; secunda clara esto mor TY poca nn an». Illud n^*' ignorant Sam. LXX Syr. et fortasse Chald.; tamen pro D2 legit Sam. ND2, significatione eadem; et LXX iv yet xpogata potest revocari ad n'"^p» "2. Ergo 5"! ut nomen Dei verius supprimitur, ov e contra retinetur, cum soli LXX illud ignorent. Sed quid sibi vult manus super solium? Explieant Targ. de Deo iuramentum praestante admota throno suo manu : inusitatus iurandi ritus et iniqua constructio. Adverte nostram sententiam probabilius aliquam continere nominis "Di n'"" explieationem, et prius membrum fortasse parallele se habere ad secundum : desiderabis igitur in illa aliquod radicis D31 vestigrum, quod illico comparebit, si D2 corruptum supponas e D23 (Cler.), literis 2 et 1in antiquis characteribus simillimis inter se. Ergo *D3 9?V 3! "2, quia manus super tentantem me. Tentans hic est Amalec, quo Deus tamquam instrumento utitur ad tentandum Israel; et manus intelligitur manus Dei. Quod illico explicat alterum membrum parallelum : et pugna. Iahve contra Amalec in perpetuum. Hoc igitur decretum futurae exterminationis altaris nomine includitur, hoc Moyses scriptis con- signare iubetur. 3. lethronis acta in. Raphidim Ex. 18. . . Quae hoe capite narrantur de lIethro, post 7Tos/. censebat Cam. legi loco non suo, sed proprie inserenda esse Num. 10, inter v. 10 et 11. Quem secuti sunt recentiores plures. Rationem affert primam , acta haec esse 18,5 in castris « iuxta montem Dei », qui alius non sit nisi Sinai : igitur àcta esse non in Raphidim, sed in sequente statione. Respondemus, e 3,1 constare Iethro incoluisse non ita longe a « monte De1 Horeb » facileque intelligi, eum tum Moysen adiisse, quandois proxime ad eius sedes accessisset; sed in Raphidim 17,6 erat « petra Horeb », e qua elicuit Moyses aquam. Ergo obvia est conclusio, unum esse locum, qui modo « mons Dei », modo « mons Dei Horeb », modo « petra Horeb » audiat, atque hinc cap. 18 narrata spectare ad stationem Raphidim. — At nonne Deut. 1,9. 10. 15 dicit Moyses, se iam castra moturum e Sinai instituisse principes etc., quod est ipsum consilium, quod Ex. 18 et lethro dedisse et Moyses exsecutus esse narratur? Respondeo, etsi concedatur de eodem agi facto, at verba Deut. 1,9 « Dixique vobis illo . in tempore » ostendere, res ibi non referri ordine stricte chronologico. — Urget Calm., Num. 10,29 sqq. Moysen iamiam a monte Sinai recessurum, habuisse Iobab seu Iethro secum in castris. Respondeo, cum lethro prope Horeb incoleret, potuit sane plus quam semel generum ibidem degentem invisere. At nonne Ex. 18,16 meminit Moyses « praeceptorum et legum Dei »? Recole, quae dicebamus ad Ex. 15,95. Urget DilIm., iudicum illud institutum non potuisse perfici brevi illo tempore, quo Hebraei in Raphidim substitere. At potuit ibidem inchoari. Cf. quae dicebamus in Introd. p. 13. Arg. — lethro Moysen generum adit, partim ut prope suas sedes cum numeroso exercitu transeuntem salutet atque propitiet (cf. Gen. 154,18), partim ut viro tot divinis favoribus honorato uxorem reconciliet filiosque tradat. Edoctus a Moyse omnia Iahve magnalia, in Iahve laudes prorumpit Iethro Deumque sacrificio gratiarum actionis honorat. Sephora quoque in plenam gratiam recipitur. . Cap. XVIII
17:1
… Among other things it speaks there of a solemn libation, perhaps allusive to the miracle of the rock in the desert (Ex. 17:1-7), of which there are only probable hints in the Old Testament (I Sam. 7:6 etc.): during the ceremony the text of Isaiah on the "waters of salvation" was sung (Is. 12:3). To this rite …
RAPHIDIM. - An encampment of the Israelites on their itinerary from the Red Sea to Sinai, situated between the steppe of Sin and Sinai (Ex. 17:1), after the stages of Dophkah and Alush (Num. 33:12-13), famous for the spring that Moses caused to gush from the rock of Horeb (Ex. 17:1-7) and for the victory won over the Amalekites, …
1. Desert (Heb. Sin) crossed by the Israelites on their itinerary from Elim and the Red Sea to Raphidim (v.) and to Sinai (Ex. 16:1; 17:1; Num. 33:11).
17:4
Amalecites (Heb. Amaleq; Vulgate [Septuagint] Amalec and Amalecites)
… times (mē-'ōlām) from Shur as far as the land of Egypt." And while the Edomites were to be spared by the Hebrews (cf. Deut. 2:4-8), the A. were subject to the herem (v.), that is, they were devoted to destruction, and war against them was holy (Ex. 17:4, 16; Deut. 25:19; I Sam. 15).
17:5
MIRACLE OF THE FOUNTAIN. - The miracle worked by Moses in the desert was represented quite early in primitive Christian funerary art; the patriarch strikes the rock of Horeb and from it gushes the water that slakes the thirst of the people of Israel (Ex. 17:5). Already St. Paul teaches that Petra autem erat Christus (1 Cor. 10:4).
17:6
Horeb (Hebrew Hōrēb, «Drought», «Desolation»)
… of the Law (Mal. 4:4); the worship of the golden calf (Ps. 105[106]:19; Deut. 9:8 ff.); the long sojourn of the Israelites just out of Egypt and the point of departure for Kadesh-barnea (Deut. 1:2, 19, etc.); there Moses made water gush from a rock (Ex. 17:6), and there the prophet Elijah took refuge (1 Kings 19:8).
Moses (Mōšeh, Μω[θ]σῆς, Vulg. MoySES, Ancient Latin Moses)
Moses - The Hebrews quench their thirst with the water that gushed from the rock (Ex. 17:6). Miniature from the pontifical of Landolfo I of Benevento (937-84).
17:8
Aaron (Heb. 'Ahărān, of uncertain etymology)
… At Rephidim, he and Hur held up the arms of Moses in prayer, until the complete defeat of the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8-16); on Çebel Mûsâ he had the grandiose vision of God (Ex. 24:10). On ascending Sinai, Moses left to A. and to Hur the task of resolving the difficulties that might arise among the people …
… To punish the raids and killings he had committed against Israel, God ordered the extermination of the Amalekites (v.), who for centuries had fought the Israelites, after having blocked their way to Canaan (Ex. 17:8-16). By order of Samuel, who spoke to him in the name of the Lord, Saul decreed the anathema or hērem against the enemies, that is, he devoted men and beasts to death; but then he transgressed …
Amalecites (Heb. Amaleq; Vulgate [Septuagint] Amalec and Amalecites)
… and struck all the territory of the A." (Gen. 14:7). At the time of the exodus from Egypt, at Raphidim (v.), northwest of Sinai, the Hebrews, attacked by hordes of plundering A., defeated them after a bitter battle thanks to the prayer of Moses (Ex. 17:8-16). The following year, when, against Moses' prohibition, the Israelites wished to cross the territory of the A. in order to enter Palestine directly from Kadesh, the A. together with …
connected with the suppliant raised hands of Moses (Ex. 17, 8-16); original sin itself is an indication of the solidarity of all men with Adam, since in him all sinned (Rom. 5, 12).
… This is the case of Ex. 17:14; 24:4; 34:27; Num. 33:2; Deut. 31:9, 24, for the respective passages (Ex. 17:8-13; 20-23; etc.), in particular the "Canticle" (Deut. 31:22).
… Sin and Sinai (Ex. 17:1), after the stages of Dophkah and Alush (Num. 33:12-13), famous for the spring that Moses caused to gush from the rock of Horeb (Ex. 17:1-7) and for the victory won over the Amalekites, in which the valor of Joshua shone forth (ibid. 17:8-16).
17:9
Already during the crossing of the desert he had been chosen as his "minister" (Ex. 24:13) by Moses, who used him for tasks of particular trust, such as the war against the Amalekites, while Moses prayed on the mountain (Ex. 17:9-13), and the exploration of Canaan (Num. 13); he took him with him onto Sinai when he received the Tablets of the Law (Ex. 24:13) and always held him dear (Num. 11:29; 14:6 ff.). …
17:11
… This is proved by the comparisons used by the Fathers (with a bird in flight, a ship, the letters T and Φ) and above all by the types of the Old Testament applied by the Fathers: Gen. 47, 14-19, Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh with crossed arms; Ex. 17, 11, Moses prays with raised hands for the fighting people; Is. 65, 2, "I have spread out my hands." In Eph. 3, 18, the Fathers find the four dimensions of the cross.
ORANTE (Orant). - The early Christians adopted for prayer the same gestures used by the pagans (Cicero, Fam. 7, 5; Virgil, Aen., II, 687 ff.; Apuleius, De mundo, 33) and by the Jewish people (Ex. 17, 11; Lam. 3, 41).
17:14
… Another proof of the inspiration of the Old Testament is furnished by the titles with which the books are designated, namely "holy," "sacred" (II Macc. 12, 9; II Macc. 8, 23), "book of the Lord" (Is. 34, 16), or simply "book" or "Scripture" (Dan. 9, 2; Ex. 17, 14 etc.).
Moses (Mōšeh, Μω[θ]σῆς, Vulg. MoySES, Ancient Latin Moses)
… Israel of putting into writing accounts of events that had occurred; and it is noteworthy that, alongside the order: "Write this in remembrance in the book ("any writing to be kept for memory") it is said at once: "And put it in the ears of Joshua" (Ex. 17, 14): in the small nomadic group traditions are being established, but in their support a nucleus of written documents is also being formed, of an official character, since it is said …
In the book itself there is found from time to time the explicit attribution to Moses of some part: after the victory over the Amalekites Moses received from God the order to "write this in a book for a memorial" (Ex. 17:14); later he "wrote" (ibid. 24:4) the laws of the "code of the Covenant" and the "terms of the Covenant" (ibid. 34:27), "recorded" the stages of the advance into Transjordan (Num. 33:2), …
17:15
… Noah, Gen. 8:20; Abraham erects altars at Shechem, near Bethel, at Mamre, on Moriah, Gen. 12:7 ff.; 13:18; 22:9; Isaac at Beersheba, Gen. 26:25; Jacob at Bethel, Gen. 28:18; 35:14; Moses at Rephidim, with twelve masšebāth, at the foot of Sinai (Ex. 17:15; 24:4). The primitive form seems to have been a rocky block or a heap of unhewn stones; then the Mosaic Law sanctioned the use of rough stones, forbidding the placing of steps upon …
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.