Offerings prescribed for making the tabernacle, the ark, the candlestick, etc.
Oblations of first fruictes, and freegiftes for making the Tabernacle, and things perteyning therto 10. The Arck. 17. The Propitiatorie, and Cherubims. 23. A table, and theron the Loaues ef proposition. 31. A candlestick, 37. and seuen lampes, with snuffers of gold.
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:E il Signore parlò a Mosè, e disse:AND our Lord spake to Moyses, saying:Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: 2Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring firstfruits to me: of every man that offereth of his own accord, you shall take them.Di' a' figliuoli d'Israele, che mettano a parte per me le primizie: le riceverete da tutti quelli che spontaneamente le offeriranno.Speake to the children of Israel, that they take first fruites for me of euerie man that offereth of his owne accord, you shal take them.Loquere filiis Israël, ut tollant mihi primitias: ab omni homine qui offeret ultroneus, accipietis eas. 3And these are the things you must take: Gold, and silver, and brass,Ed ecco quali cose dovete accettare: oro, e argento, e rame,And these are the thinges which you must take: Gold, and siluer, and brasse,Hæc sunt autem quæ accipere debeatis: aurum, et argentum, et æs, 4Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,Iacinto, e porpora, e cocco tinto due volte, e bisso, e pelo di capra,hyacinth and purple, and scarlet twise died, and silke, and the haire of goates,hyacinthum et purpuram, coccumque bis tinctum, et byssum, pilos caprarum, 5And rams’ skins dyed red, and violet skins, and setim wood:E pelli di montoni di color rosso, e pelli di color violetto, e legni di setim,and rammes skinnes died redde, and ianthin skinnes, and the wood setim:et pelles arietum rubricatas, pellesque janthinas, et ligna setim: 6Oil to make lights: spices for ointment, and for sweetsmelling incense:Olio per accendere le lampane, aromi per fare gli unguenti, e profumi di grato odore,oyle to make lightes: spices for oyntement, and for incense of good sauour:oleum ad luminaria concinnanda: aromata in unguentum, et thymiamata boni odoris: 7Onyx stones, and precious stones to adorn the ephod and the rational.Pietre di oniche, e gemme per ornamento dell'Ephod, e del Razionale.Onyx stones, and pretious stones to adorne the ephod, and rationale.lapides onychinos, et gemmas ad ornandum ephod, ac rationale. 8And they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them:E mi fabbricheranno un santuario, ed io abiterò in mezzo ad essi.And they shal make me a sanctuarie, and I wil dwel in the middes of them:Facientque mihi sanctuarium, et habitabo in medio eorum: 9According to all the likeness of the tabernacle which I will shew thee, and of all the vessels for the service thereof: and thus you shall make it:(Lo fabbricherai) secondo l'intero disegno del tabernacolo, che io farotti vedere, e di tutti i vasi pel culto di esso: e lo farete in questo modo.according to al the similitude of the tabernacle which I wil shew thee, & of al the vessel to the seruice therof: & thus you shal make it:juxta omnem similitudinem tabernaculi quod ostendam tibi, et omnium vasorum in cultum ejus. Sicque facietis illud:
10Frame an ark of setim wood, the length whereof shall be of two cubits and a half; the breadth, a cubit and a half; the height, likewise, a cubit and a half.Fate un'arca di legno di setim, che abbia due cubiti e mezzo di lunghezza, un cubito e mezzo di larghezza, e parimente un cubito e mezzo di altezza.frame an arke of the wood setim, the length wherof shal haue two cubites & an halfe: the bredth, a cubite and an halfe: the height, likewise a cubite and an halfe.arcam de lignis setim compingite, cujus longitudo habeat duos et semis cubitos: latitudo, cubitum et dimidium: altitudo, cubitum similiter ac semissem. 11And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, within and without; and over it thou shalt make a golden crown round about:E la vestirai di lame d'oro purissimo di dentro e di fuori: e farai al di sopra una corona d'oro, che giri intorno,And thou shalt plate it with most pure gold within and without: and ouer it thou shalt make a golden crowne round about:Et deaurabis eam auro mundissimo intus et foris: faciesque supra, coronam auream per circuitum: 12And four golden rings, which thou shalt put at the four corners of the ark: let two rings be on the one side, and two on the other.E porrai a' quattro angoli dell'arca quattro cerchi d'oro, due da una parte, e due dall'altra.and foure golden ringes, which thou shalt put at the foure corners of the arke: let two ringes be on the one side, and two on the other.et quatuor circulos aureos, quos pones per quatuor arcæ angulos: duo circuli sint in latere uno, et duo in altero. 13Thou shalt make bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold.E farai ancora le stanghe di legni di setim, e le coprirai di lame d'oro.Thou shalt make barres also of the wood setim, and shalt couer them with gold.Facies quoque vectes de lignis setim, et operies eos auro. 14And thou shalt put them in through the rings that are in the sides of the ark, that it may be carried on them:E le farai passare pei cerchi, che sono ai lati dell'arca, perché servano a trasportarla:And thou shalt put them in through the ringes that are in the sides of the arke, that it may be caried on them:Inducesque per circulos qui sunt in arcæ lateribus, ut portetur in eis: 15And they shall be always in the rings, neither shall they at any time be drawn out of them.E staranno sempre inserte ne' cerchi, e mai da essi si trarran fuora.the which shal be alwayes in the ringes, neither shal they at anie time be drawen out of them.qui semper erunt in circulis, nec umquam extrahentur ab eis.
16And thou shalt put in the ark the testimony which I will give thee.E nell'arca riporrai la legge, ch'io ti darò.And thou shalt put in the arke the testification which I wil geue thee.Ponesque in arca testificationem quam dabo tibi. 17Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold: the length thereof shall be two cubits and a half, and the breadth a cubit and a half.Farai ancora il propiziatorio di oro purissimo: la sua lunghezza sarà di due cubiti e mezzo, e la larghezza di un cubito e mezzo.Thou shalt make a Propitiatorie of most pure gold: the length therof shal hold two cubites and an halfe, and the bredth a cubite & an halfe.Facies et propitiatorium de auro mundissimo: duos cubitos et dimidium tenebit longitudo ejus, et cubitum ac semissem latitudo. 18Thou shalt make also two cherubims of beaten gold, on the two sides of the oracle.Farai anche due cherubini d'oro lavorati al martello dall'una e dall'altra parte del propiziatorio.Two Cherubims also thou shalt make of beaten gold, on both sides of the oracle.Duos quoque cherubim aureos et productiles facies, ex utraque parte oraculi. 19Let one cherub be on the one side, and the other on the other.Un cherubino da un lato, e uno dall'altro.Let one Cherub be on the one side, and the other on the other.Cherub unus sit in latere uno, et alter in altero. 20Let them cover both sides of the propitiatory, spreading their wings, and covering the oracle, and let them look one towards the other, their faces being turned towards the propitiatory wherewith the ark is to be covered.Ei copriranno l'uno e l'altro lato del propiziatorio stendendo le ali, e adombreranno il propiziatorio, e si guarderanno l'un l'altro, avendo le facce rivolte al propiziatorio, il quale debb'essere il coperchio dell'arca:Let them couer both sides of the Propitiatorie spreading their winges, and couering the oracle, and let them looke one towards the other, their faces turned vnto the Propitiatorie wherwith the arke is to be couered,Utrumque latus propitiatorii tegant expandentes alas, et operientes oraculum, respiciantque se mutuo versis vultibus in propitiatorium quo operienda est arca, 21In which thou shalt put the testimony that I will give thee.Nella quale porrai la legge che io ti darò.wherin thou shalt put the testimony that I wil geue thee.in qua pones testimonium quod dabo tibi. 22Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee over the propitiatory, and from the midst of the two cherubims, which shall be upon the ark of the testimony, all things which I will command the children of Israel by thee.Di lì io t'intimerò i miei comandamenti di sopra al propiziatorio, e di mezzo ai due cherubini, che saranno sopra l'arca della testimonianza, dirò a te tutte quelle cose, le quali io ordinerò per mezzo di te a' figliuoli d'Israele.Thence wil I command, and wil speake to thee ouer the propitiatorie & •o• the middes of the two Cherubims which shal be vpon the arke of testimonie, al thinges which I wil command the children of Israel by thee.Inde præcipiam, et loquar ad te supra propitiatorium, ac de medio duorum cherubim, qui erunt super arcam testimonii, cuncta quæ mandabo per te filiis Israël.
23Thou shalt make a table also of setim wood, of two cubits in length, and a cubit in breadth, and a cubit and a half in height.Farai anche una mensa di legni di setim, la quale sarà lunga due cubiti, e larga un cubito, e alta un cubito e mezzo.Thou shalt make a table also of the wood setim, hauing two cubites in length, and in bredth a cubite, and in height a cubite and an halfe.Facies et mensam de lignis setim, habentem duos cubitos longitudinis, et in latitudine cubitum, et in altitudine cubitum et semissem. 24And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold: and thou shalt make to it a golden ledge round about.E la coprirai di lamine d'oro purissimo: e le farai una cornice d'oro all'intorno:And thou shalt plate it with most pure gold. & thou shalt make to it a golden ledge round about,Et inaurabis eam auro purissimo: faciesque illi labium aureum per circuitum, 25And to the ledge itself a polished crown, four inches high; and over the same another little golden crown.E alla cornice una corona parte piana, parte scolpita, alta quattro dita: e sopra di questa un'altra corona piccola d'oro.and to the ledge it self a crowne enterpolished, foure fingers high: and vpon the same, an other golden crowne.et ipsi labio coronam interrasilem altam quatuor digitis: et super illam, alteram coronam aureolam. 26Thou shalt prepare also four golden rings, and shalt put them in the four corners of the same table, over each foot.E preparerai ancora quattro cerchi d'oro, e li porrai a' quattro lati della mensa stessa uno per ognuno de' piedi.Thou shalt prepare also foure golden ringes, and shalt put them in the foure corners of the same table at euerie foote.Quatuor quoque circulos aureos præparabis, et pones eis in quatuor angulis ejusdem mensæ per singulos pedes. 27Under the crown shall the golden rings be, that the bars may be put through them, and the table may be carried.Sotto la corona saranno i cerchi d'oro per far passare per essi le stanghe, onde possa portarsi la mensa.Vnder the crowne shal the golden ringes be, that the barres may be put through them, and the table may be carried.Subter coronam erunt circuli aurei, ut mittantur vectes per eos, et possit mensa portari. 28The bars also themselves thou shalt make of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold, to bear up the table.Le stanghe stesse le farai di legni di setim, e le coprirai di lame d'oro, e serviranno a portarsi la mensa.The barres also them selues thou shalt make of the wood setim, and shalt compasse them with gold to beare vp the table.Ipsos quoque vectes facies de lignis setim, et circumdabis auro ad subvehendam mensam.
29Thou shalt prepare also dishes, and bowls, censers, and cups, wherein the libations are to be offered, of the purest gold.E formerai ancora d'oro purissimo le scodelle, e le caraffe, i turiboli, e le coppe, onde offerire le libagioni.Thou shalt prepare also sawcers, and phials, censers, and goblettes, wherein the libamentes are to be offered, of most pure gold.Parabis et acetabula, ac phialas, thuribula, et cyathos, in quibus offerenda sunt libamina, ex auro purissimo. 30And thou shalt set upon the table loaves of proposition in my sight always.E sulla mensa terrai sempre esposti davanti a me i pani della proposizione.And thou shalt sette vpon the table loaues of proposition in my sight alwaies.Et pones super mensam panes propositionis in conspectu meo semper. 31Thou shalt make also a candlestick of beaten work, of the finest gold, the shaft thereof, and the branches, the cups, and the bowls, and the lilies going forth from it.Farai anche un candelliere d'oro purissimo battuto, il suo tronco, le braccia, le coppe, e le sferette, e i gigli, che di esso usciranno.Thou shalt make also a candlesticke beaten of most pure gold, the shaft therof, and branches, cuppes, and boules, and lilies proceding from the same.Facies et candelabrum ductile de auro mundissimo, hastile ejus, et calamos, scyphos, et sphærulas, ac lilia ex ipso procedentia. 32Six branches shall come out of the sides, three out of one side, and three out of the other.Sei braccia usciranno da' due lati, tre dall'uno, e tre dall'altro.Six branches shal goe forth of the sides, three out of one side, and three out of the other.Sex calami egredientur de lateribus, tres ex uno latere, et tres ex altero. 33Three cups as it were nuts to every branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily: and three cups likewise of the fashion of nuts in the other branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily. Such shall be the work of the six branches, that are to come out from the shaft:Tre coppe quasi a forma di una noce ad ogni braccio, e una sferetta, e un giglio: e parimente tre coppe di figura di una noce all'altro braccio, e la sferetta, e il giglio: così saran formate le sei braccia che usciranno dal tronco.Three cuppes as it were in maner of a nutte on euerie branch, and a boule withal, and a lilie: and three cuppes likewise of the fashion of a nutte in an other branch, and a boule withal, and a lilie. This shal be the worke of the six branches, that are to be drawen forth from the shaft:Tres scyphi quasi in nucis modum per calamos singulos, sphærulaque simul, et lilium: et tres similiter scyphi instar nucis in calamo altero, sphærulaque simul et lilium. Hoc erit opus sex calamorum, qui producendi sunt de hastili:
34And in the candlestick itself shall be four cups in the manner of a nut, and at every one bowls and lilies.Nel tronco poi del candeliere saran quattro coppe di figura di una noce, e ad ogni coppa la sua sferetta, e i gigli.and in the candlesticke it selfe shal be foure cuppes in maner of a nutte, and at euerie one boules and lilies.in ipso autem candelabro erunt quatuor scyphi in nucis modum, sphærulæque per singulos, et lilia. 35Bowls under two branches in three places, which together make six, coming forth out of one shaft.Dalle palle che saranno in tre luoghi del tronco, usciranno da ognuna due bracci, e saranno in tutto sei bracci.Boules vnder two branches in three places, which together make six comnig forth out of one shaft.Sphærulæ sub duobus calamis per tria loca, qui simul sex fiunt procedentes de hastili uno. 36And both the bowls and the branches shall be of the same beaten work of the purest gold.Le palle adunque, e le braccia saranno d'una stessa massa: il tutto d'oro finissimo lavorato a martello.Both the boules therfore and the branches shal be out of it, al the whole beaten of most pure gold.Et sphærulæ igitur et calami ex ipso erunt, universa ductilia de auro purissimo. 37Thou shalt make also seven lamps, and shalt set them upon the candlestick, to give light over against.Farai ancora sette lucerne, e le porrai sul candelliere, affinché illuminino quello che sta loro dirimpetto.Thou thalt make also seuen lampes, and shalt sette them vpon the candlesticke, for to geue light ouer against.Facies et lucernas septem, et pones eas super candelabrum, ut luceant ex adverso. 38The snuffers also, and where the snuffings shall be put out, shall be made of the purest gold.Parimente le smoccolatoie, e i vasi dove smorzare quello che è smoccolato, saran fatti d'oro purissimo.The snuffers also and where the snuffinges shal be put out, let them be made of most pure gold.Emunctoria quoque, et ubi quæ emuncta sunt extinguantur, fiant de auro purissimo. 39The whole weight of the candlestick, with all the furniture thereof, shall be a talent of the purest gold.Tutto il peso del candelliere con tutti i suoi vasi sarà un talento d'oro finissimo.The whole weight of the candlesticke with al the furniture therof shal haue a talent of most pure gold.Omne pondus candelabri cum universis vasis suis habebit talentum auri purissimi. 40Look, and make it according to the pattern that was shewn thee in the mount.Mira, e fa' secondo il modello fatto vedere a te sul monte.Looke, and make it according to the paterne, that was shewed thee in the mount.Inspice, et fac secundum exemplar quod tibi in monte monstratum est.
25:2
Challoner
First-fruits: offerings, of some of the best and choicest of their goods. (Challoner)
Menochius
This was the first time such a voluntary offering was made by the Hebrews. (Menochius)
Worthington
It is a lesson for Christians to be liberal for God's service. (Worthington)
25:4
25:5
Setim-wood. The wood of a tree that grows in the wilderness, which is said to be incorruptible, (Challoner) as the Septuagint intimate. It is perhaps the Acacia, which is very black and hard. St. Jerome in Joel 3:18, says it resembles our white thorn.
25:7
Calmet
Onyx, emeralds. (Calmet)
Challoner
The ephod and the rational. The ephod was the high priests upper vestment; and the rational his breast-plate, in which were twelve gems, etc. (Challoner)
Calmet
Ephod means a kind of girdle or stole, peculiar to priests, or used by others only of the highest distinction, (Calmet) and in religious solemnities. (St. Jerome, ad Marcel.) Josephus (Antiquities 2:8,) describes it as different from what it was in the days of Moses. Many other alterations had then taken place; the Urim and Thummim were disused, etc. The Pallium is in imitation of the high priest's ephod. The rational is so called, because by it the high priest was enabled to give his oracles, Exodus 28:15. (Calmet)
Haydock
The precise import of the Hebrew cheshen, which Protestants render breast plate, is not known. It was certainly fastened on the ephod over the breast, and consisted of 12 stones, on which the names of the 12 patriarchs were engraven. (Haydock)
25:8
Calmet
Sanctuary, or tabernacle, to serve as a portable temple. Such alone were probably used at that time. The high priest entered into this holy place once a year. (Calmet)
25:10
Calmet
Ark, to contain the tables of the law, as a constant memorial of the alliance made between God and his people, ver. 16. In, or on the side of it, were also placed the rod of Aaron, (Numbers 17:10.) and the golden urn, containing manna, Hebrews 9:3. Hence the pagans perhaps took occasion to keep their secret mysteries in an ark, cista secretorum. (Apuleius, Met. 2.) (Calmet)
Haydock
The ark was three feet nine inches long, two feet three inches high, and as much in breadth. (Haydock)
25:11
Gold (deaurabis). Our method of gilding was not yet discovered.
Crown, or border, resembling "waves," (kumatia) Septuagint.
25:14
Calmet
Carried on them, when exposed in solemn processions. These were covered along with the ark: and other bars were used to remove the ark during the journeys in the desert, Numbers 4:6. (Calmet)
25:16
Menochius
Testimony, the law which testifies the will of God to us. (Menochius)
Calmet
An authentic record. Jeremias (xxxii. 11,) uses praeceptum in the same sense. (Calmet)
25:17
Challoner
A propitiatory: a covering for the ark; called a propitiatory, or mercy-seat, because the Lord, who was supposed to sit there upon the wings of the cherubims, with the ark for his footstool, from thence shewed mercy. It is also called the oracle, ver. 18 and 20, because, from thence, God gave his orders and his answers. (Challoner)
Calmet
It was the lid or covering of the ark, from kapha, "to cover, efface," etc. (Calmet)
25:18
Calmet
Cherubims, symbolic figures, which Moses does not perfectly describe, and therefore we cannot pretend to know their exact form. Some represent them as young men, with their wings joined over the propitiatory, in a contrary direction to those of birds, in order to form a throne for God, and bending towards Him, with profound respect. Others only admit their heads, with six wings: while many suppose, that they resembled those compounded figures mentioned, Ezechiel 1:5.; Ezechiel 10:20. They denote some extraordinary figure not found in nature, 3 Kings 7:29. An order of angels is known by this name. Yet the four animals, or cherubims, represent the saints, Apocalypse 5:8, 10. The different forms under which they appear, set before us their various perfections. Their wings denote agility, etc. The Egyptians adored Anubis, under the form of a man, with a dog's head. Isis had the head of a cow, Apis that of a bull. They placed a sphinx at the entrance of their temples, to shew that their theology was enigmatical. God condescended perhaps to satisfy the inclinations of his people, by representing the mysteries of religion under similar forms, Wisdom 18:24. (Calmet)
Haydock
Would he have allowed such things, if they were so dangerous, as to be inseparable from idolatry! (Haydock)
25:23
Worthington
A table: on which were to be placed the twelve loaves of proposition; or, as they are called in the Hebrew, the face bread; because they were always to stand before the face of the Lord in his temple: as a figure of the eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament, in the church of Christ; (Challoner) which shews that Christ must be present in the eucharist. (Worthington)
Tirinus
By this bread, renewed at the public expense every sabbath-day, the Israelites made profession that they were indebted for their food to God's providence; and in gratitude, offered him this sacrifice, with incense and wine, ver. 29. The priests alone were to eat these loaves (1 Kings xxi.) at the expiration of the week. (Tirinus)
25:25
Haydock
Polished, (interrasilem, sculptured and plain, at equal distances). Hebrew, "Thou shalt make all round at the top, a ledge (border) of a hand's breadth," etc. The tabernacle was the tent of God, the king of Israel: and food and lights were on that account placed before him, (Calmet) though he stood not in need of them. The idolatrous priests set all sorts of meats before Bel, Daniel 14. (Haydock)
25:29
Dishes. (acetabulum.) Properly a vessel to hold vinegar, but used for various purposes.
Tostat
Bowls, or vials full of wine. (Tostat)
Censers, to contain incense, etc., Exodus 37:16. The first term, karuth, might also mean vessels to contain the flour and oil of which these loaves were made, Numbers 7:13. The Levites made the bread themselves, (1 Paralipomenon 22:29,) and even sowed the corn, and did every thing about it. (St. Jerome in Malachias 1:7.) The second term, coputh, may denote vessels to keep incense; the third, monkiuth, instruments to clean either the floor or the table, etc. All these vessels seem mended to accompany the table of shew-bread.
Cups, used for libations (chap. 37:16; Numbers 4:7) of wine, on the sabbath. Kossuth signifies a porringer or dish, like the ancient patera. Whether wine was placed on this table, we cannot determine. But we read of salt, (Calmet) which was to accompany all God's sacrifices, Leviticus 2:13.
25:30
Loaves. There were 12, containing each six pints of flour, made up in a square form, without leaven. They were placed in two rows, one above the other, and were kept separate by plates of gold. (Calmet) See Leviticus 24:5.
25:31
Challoner
A candlestick. This candlestick, with its seven lamps, which was always to give light in the house of God, was a figure of the light of the Holy Ghost, and his seven-fold grace, in the sanctuary of the church of Christ. (Challoner)
It contained a talent of gold, or above 113 lb.; worth £5475 sterling, including the snuffers, etc., (ver. 39,) and had seven branches, adorned alternately with cups, bowls, or knobs, and lilies; (Haydock) or with cups, pomegranates, and lilies. The shaft was adorned with 15, the branches with only 12 of these ornaments. All was of massive gold, moksse.
Calmet
Bowls, sphaerulas, globes, apples, etc. (Calmet)
25:33
Cups. Hebrew, "cups which produce almonds or nuts;" that is three buds of flowers, out of which comes the stalk, as fruit does from the flower. The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages use the word chalice, or cup, for a flower full-blown. The height of this candlestick is undetermined; but it would not exceed five feet.
25:37
Tirinus
Against. The table of proposition on the north, and that of perfumes in the middle, before the veil. (Tirinus)
Bonfrere
The lamps might be detached from the rest, (Calmet) and were trimmed every evening to burn all night; but, in the day, four were extinguished. (Bonfrere)
25:38
Haydock
Put out, with the oil, etc. Nothing was to be treated with disrespect that had been dedicated to God's service. (Haydock)
Calmet
Alexander adorned the temple of Apollo with a grand candlestick, resembling a tree laden with fruit; (Pliny, [Natural History?] 34:3,) and Dionysius the younger made a present of one to the prytaneum of Athens, which had 365 lamps upon it. They stood on the ground, and burnt oil, being the more necessary, as the ancient temples had generally no windows. The Egyptians, according to St. Clement of Alexandria (strom. 1,) were the first who introduced them into their temples. (Calmet)
Solomon set up ten candlesticks, five on the north, and five on the south of the holy place, 3 Kings 7:49.
25:2
Firstfruits.... Offerings of some of the best and choicest of their goods.
25:5
Setim wood.... The wood of a tree that grows in the wilderness, which is said to be incorruptible.
25:7
The ephod and the rational.... The ephod was the high priest’s upper vestment; and the rational his breastplate, in which were twelve gems, etc.
25:17
A propitiatory.... a covering for the ark: called a propitiatory, or mercy seat, because the Lord, who was supposed to sit there upon the wings of the cherubims, with the ark for his footstool, from thence shewed mercy. It is also called the oracle, ver. 18 and 20; because from thence God gave his orders and his answers.
25:23
A table.... On which were to be placed the twelve loaves of proposition: or, as they are called in the Hebrew, the face bread, because they were always to stand before the face of the Lord in his temple: as a figure of the eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament, in the church of Christ.
25:29
Libations.... That is, drink offerings.
25:31
A candlestick.... This candlestick, with its seven lamps, which was always to give light in the house of God, was a figure of the light of the Holy Ghost, and his sevenfold grace, in the sanctuary of the church of Christ.
25:3
As the Israelites were prompt to offer these external things in the old law, so Christians must offer the like for Gods seruice: but specially al sortes of vertues, Faith, hope, charitie, penance, deuotion, prayer almes, fasting. &c.
25:18
If Images were vnlawful God would not haue commanded to make Cherubims. 〈◊〉. 〈◊〉. 2.
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For the perpetual v•e and sanctitie of these loaues, which none might eate but such as were pure (1. Reg. 21.) they prefigured •he holie Eucharist S. •ur in T••. 1. S Damna ••n de oxtho. li. 4 c. 14. S. Cyril. ••the• 4. And consequently Christ is really present in the •. Sacrament. For if there were bread in substance, it should not excel the figure; which is required it, euerie thing prefigured. Colless. 2.
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St Methodius † AD 311 Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna On the Day that They Met in the Temple 1
… Yea, moreover, the rod of the priest which, without culture, blossomed forth in fruit, the pledge and earnest of a perpetual priesthood, furnished no contemptible symbol of thy supernatural child-bearing. What, moreover? Hath not the mighty Moses expressly declared, that on account of these types of thee, hard to be understood,
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St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Hortatory Address to the Greeks 29
… For Moses wrote that God had spoken to him regarding the tabernacle in the following words: “And thou shalt make for me according to all that I show thee in the mount, the pattern of the tabernacle.” And again: “And thou shalt erect the tabernacle according to the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shalt thou make it.”
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.24.3
… and, above all, in the case of the Ark of the Covenant, on account of which the whole tabernacle of witness was formed. Now it was constructed thus: its length
Tertullian † AD 220 Five Books in Reply to Marcion 4
Gold-clad; and all between of wood. Here are so
St Hippolytus † AD 235 On Daniel 2.5
… For He says to him, “And thou shalt make the ark of imperishable wood, and shalt overlay it with pure gold within and without; and thou shalt make the length of it two cubits and a half, and the breadth thereof one cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half the height;”
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.24
Like the ark of the covenant Christ’s spouse should be overlaid with gold within and without;
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Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 2.11
… Thou shalt make four rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the four corners of the ark, and thou shalt make staves of shittim-wood, and overlay them with gold, and shalt put them through the rings which are by the sides of the ark, that it may be borne with them, and they shall always be in the rings, nor shall they ever be drawn out from them (
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.24.3
… Now it was constructed thus: its length was two cubits and a half, its breadth one cubit and a half, its height one cubit and a half; but such a number of cubits in no respect corresponds with their system, yet by it the type ought to have been, beyond everything else, clearly set forth. The mercy-seat
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St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.16
… Why was it that the Mosaic people honoured on all hands the tabernacle which bore an image and type of heavenly things, or rather of the whole creation? God indeed said to Moses, Look that thou make them after their pattern which was shewed thee in the mount . The Cherubim, too, which o’ershadow the mercy seat, are they not the work of men’s hands
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St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 235.3
… All this they thrust on one side and force knowledge into one single meaning, the contemplation of God’s essence. Thou shalt put them, it is said, before the testimony and I shall be known of thee thence.
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St Methodius † AD 311 Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna On the Day that They Met in the Temple 1
… As to the first of these: “In the midst of two living creatures thou shalt be known,” he refers to that overshadowing of the divine glory which, in the time of the law, rested in the Holy of holies upon the covering of the ark, between the typical cherubim, as He says to Moses, “There will I be known to thee.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 17
… that they should have God for Witness: this was all. “According to the fashion,” it says, “that was shown thee on the mount:” so that on the mount was the Original. And this Tabernacle, moreover, “in the wilderness,” was carried about, and not locally fixed. And he calls it, “Tabernacle of witness:” i.e. (for witness) of the miracles, of the statutes.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.24
… she should be the guardian of the law of the Lord. Just as the ark contained nothing but the tables of the covenant, so in you there should be no thought of anything that is outside. For it pleases the Lord to sit in your mind as He once sat on the mercy-seat and the cherubims.
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.24.3
… but such a number of cubits in no respect corresponds with their system, yet by it the type ought to have been, beyond everything else, clearly set forth. The mercy-seat also does in like manner not at all harmonize with their expositions. Moreover, the table of shew-bread
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.24.3
… Moreover, the table of shew-bread was two cubits in length, while its height was a cubit and a half. These stood before the holy of holies, and yet in them not a single number is of such an amount as contains an indication of the Tetrad, or the Ogdoad, or of the rest of their Pleroma. What of the candlestick,
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 2.24.3
… Moreover, the table of shew-bread was two cubits in length, while its height was a cubit and a half. These stood before the holy of holies, and yet in them not a single number is of such an amount as contains an indication of the Tetrad, or the Ogdoad, or of the rest of their Pleroma. What of the candlestick, too, which had seven
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 41
… And the sevenfold looking for the cloud imposed upon the young servant; and Elissæus stretching himself that number of times upon the child of the Shunammite, by which stretching the breath of life was restored. To the same doctrine belongs, I think (if I may omit the seven-stemmed and seven-lamped candlestick of the Temple
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Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 14.10
… For “man is a great thing, and a pitiful man is precious,” precious so as to be worthy of a talent, whether of gold like as the lamp which was equal to a talent of gold,
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St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Hortatory Address to the Greeks 29
… “And thou shalt erect the tabernacle according to the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shalt thou make it.” And again, a little afterwards: “Thus then thou shalt make it according to the pattern which was showed to thee in the mount.”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.14.3
… that is, to things that are real, by means of those that are typical; and by things temporal, to eternal; and by the carnal to the spiritual; and by the earthly to the heavenly; as was also said to Moses, “Thou shalt make all things after the pattern of those things which thou sawest in the mount.”
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 5.35
… and that this is the tabernacle of God, in which God will dwell with men. Of this Jerusalem the former one is an image—that Jerusalem of the former earth in which the righteous are disciplined beforehand for incorruption and prepared for salvation. And of this tabernacle Moses received the pattern in the mount;
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 3.6.8
… of which it is said, that “they serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things” —those, viz., who were in subjection in the law. To Moses himself also was the injunction given, “Look that thou make them after the form and pattern which were showed thee on the mount.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis iv.1.13
… “And they drank of that spiritual Rock which followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” In another Epistle also, when referring to the tabernacle, he mentions the direction which was given to Moses: “Thou shalt make (all things) according to the pattern which was showed thee in the mount.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis iv.1-2.13
… “For they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” And in another Epistle, when sketching the various matters relating to the tabernacle, he used the words: “Thou shalt make everything according to the pattern showed thee in the mount.”
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 5.7
… The Hebrews were commanded to ornament the Tabernacle as a type of the Church, that they might be able, by means of sensible things, to announce beforehand the image of divine things. For the pattern which was shown to Moses
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 1.3.2
2. Moses was the first to make known the name of Christ as a name especially august and glorious. When he delivered types and symbols of heavenly things, and mysterious images, in accordance with the oracle which said to him, “Look that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shown thee in the mount,”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 45
XI. But before our time the Holy Apostle declared that the Law was but a shadow of things to come, which are conceived by thought. And God too, who in still older times gave oracles to Moses, said when giving laws concerning these things, See thou make all things according to the pattern shewed thee in the Mount,
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.16
… Now a prototype is that which is imaged, from which the derivative is obtained. Why was it that the Mosaic people honoured on all hands the tabernacle which bore an image and type of heavenly things, or rather of the whole creation? God indeed said to Moses, Look that thou make them after their pattern which was shewed thee in the mount
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2. LET THEM TAKE FOR ME FIRST-FRUITS. — Because this was the first common offering of the Hebrews, which was made for the building of the tabernacle. Otherwise Theodoret, Question LXX, and Abulensis: "First-fruits," they say, that is the first and most excellent; for these must be offered to God. WHOSE HEART SHALL BE MOVED TO OFFER. — In Hebrew, whom a spontaneous and liberal heart shall have made.
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4. HYACINTH. — Properly hyacinth is a kind of violet; hence it signifies a gem similar in color to violet: for this is called hyacinth. Third, it signifies wool of hyacinthine color, that is, of violet and heavenly color, which wool was held in great esteem by the ancients. Whence Homer in the Odyssey, Book IV, speaking of Helen says: But over it the distaff was stretched of violet color; that is, having violet wool. Here throughout hyacinth signifies this violet wool. Tropologically, hyacinth represents the heavenly mind and conversation. Hence the Church, and any holy soul, is shod with a violet shoe, that is, heavenly. Ezekiel, chapter XVI, 9: "I shod thee with violet," or as the Septuagint has it, hyacinthine, that is, with a shoe of violet and heavenly color; so that by this symbol God might signify that the conversation of the Saints, who are in the Church, is heavenly. Thus shod with violet, St. Paul, and with the feet of his mind treading upon the heavens and stars, said: "Our conversation is in heaven." Thus shod with violet, St. Jerome said that Socratic saying: "I ascend to the aether, and despise only this earth and heaven." For, as the Apostle says: "Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners; but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestics of God." And again: "You are come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, and to the church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new testament," Hebrews XII, 22. Wherefore St. Martin, as in life, so also in death constantly looking up to heaven, when in a burning fever he lay supine with his face turned to heaven, and his disciples asked him to turn his body for a time, that while the force of the disease abated, he might rest prone: "Allow me," said he, "rather to look upon heaven than earth, so that my spirit, about to go its way to the Lord, may be directed by it." With eyes and hands therefore always intent upon heaven, he did not relax his unconquered spirit from prayer. Wherefore the Church rightly sings of him: "Martin is received joyfully in the bosom of Abraham; Martin, poor and humble here, enters heaven rich, and is honored with heavenly hymns." In like manner St. Stephen, undaunted amid the whirlwind of crashing stones: "I see," said he, "the heavens opened, and Jesus standing on the right hand of the power of God;"; and soon exclaiming: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," he flew up to him in heaven to be crowned.
AND PURPLE. — Purple is a fish, or rather a shell, with whose blood they dye wool, which wool infected with this reddish-black color, is hence likewise called purple: from which formerly were made, and even now are made, royal garments; whence also its use was here in the tabernacle. Cabalistically, as Valverdius relates in the Alphabet of Solomon, they note that argaman, that is, purple, is composed of four first letters, from which the names of four angels take their beginning, namely Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, Nuriel; which they assert are the names of those animals which Ezekiel saw, chapter 1. For with that splendor, as with royal purple, God was clothed, according to that: "Clothed with light as with a garment." See how easily these weavers of trifles weave their angels from purple, more easily surely than a spider weaves its web!
AND TWICE-DYED SCARLET. — Scarlet is a dye-grain (whence it is also sometimes called grain), born from a shrub called fullonia, which is similar to the holm-oak: this grain produces within itself a small worm of red color, with its blood wools are reddened, which are therefore called scarlet, and in Hebrew worm, or little worm. Of this worm, or scarlet, it is said in Isaiah 1, 18: "If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow." Now wool was accustomed, so that it might be more red, to be twice imbued with this blood of the worm, namely first, when it was still only wool; and second, when being spun it was drawn into threads: whence it was called twice-dyed, and in Hebrew tolaat scani, that is, scarlet or worm repeated. Hence also to scani, standing alone, signifies scarlet twice-dyed or double-dipped, which the Septuagint call diploun, that is, double.
AND FINE LINEN. — Fine linen, says Hieronymus Prado in Ezech. xvi, 10, p. 186, is the whitest and softest linen, or it is the down of a tree, which is a middle thing between wool and linen; for in origin it is linen, but in softness it is wool, and when woven it resembles linen, says Pollux: it is, namely, the down of a tree enclosed in a pod, which the common people call gossypium or xylon, the Flemish and French call coton, from which was made gossypine or byssine cloth in Egypt and Palestine, and is still made in Crete, Sicily and Spain. Thus from Pollux and Pliny, lib. X, cap. 1, Prado in the place already cited. Hence Prado notes secondly in the same place that this down, namely gossypium, or fine linen, was sometimes dyed with a purple colour, and that was called here purple, sometimes with a hyacinthine colour, and that was called here hyacinth, sometimes with a scarlet colour, and that was called here scarlet; but fine linen was and is called fine linen when it is dyed with no colour, but in its native state is equally the whitest and softest. He proves this from Deut. xxii, 11, where it is forbidden that cloth be made of wool and linen; therefore here in the curtains and vestments of the tabernacle, wool could not be interwoven with linen, and consequently this fine linen of the tabernacle was not linen, but wool or gossypium as aforesaid. Secondly, if fine linen were linen, cloth made from it would not have been clean and pure; for threads of linen do not so drink in the juice of hyacinth or purple that they shine; but wool or gossypium does so drink it, so that it saturated with colour shines brightly. But Pliny distinguishes fine linen from gossypium, lib. XIX, cap. 1, where after he had first treated of gossypine linen, he afterwards treats of byssine linen as of a different thing; therefore this fine linen was not the down of gossypium. Again, this fine linen is called linen, as is plain in cap. xxxix, vers. 28, in the Hebrew: but scarlet, hyacinth and purple were wool, as all interpreters teach; indeed Scripture itself plainly distinguishes fine linen from hyacinth, scarlet and purple; therefore the material of fine linen was different from that of the other three: namely the material of fine linen was linen, but the material of the others was wool. I say therefore that fine linen here is not silk, which is spun by worms, namely silkworms, which the common people now call fine linen and silk; nor is it gossypium, as I have already shown; but it is a kind of the whitest and finest linen, and therefore fine linen is the best linen; but the best linen is, says Pliny, that in which there is first, an exceptional whiteness and brightness; secondly, wonderful fineness; thirdly, an equal dense firmness and consistency of thread. Such linen, from whatever province it comes, will be fine linen, says Alcazar in Apoc. 1, 43, note 11, for this is precious: hence Achaian fine linen was sold at the weight of gold; and Judean fine linen was superior to Achaian, says Pausanias. This fine linen therefore was linen growing in Egypt and Palestine, in the pods of a certain plant (which are similar to the pods of poppies), and from it they say cloth was made, which like asbestos is not consumed by fire, but is purified (whence Pliny also compares this fine linen to asbestos stone, which burns and is not burned up), which is still known today to the Venetians, and is similar in whiteness and fineness to our Cameracene cloth. Thus Delrio in Genes. XLIII, 42, and others. Hence in Hebrew this fine linen is called shesh, that is, the whitest: whence also marble is called shesh, Esther, 1, 6, because it is the whitest; but in Latin and Greek it is called byssus from the Hebrew buts. Hence also this fine linen, because it was the finest, was twisted and doubled, as the Septuagint has here and the Hebrew, and our Interpreter in what follows. To the arguments of Prado I reply, Deuter. xxii, forbids only private persons to make a garment of wool and linen, but not priests for the public worship of God. Again, it forbids that in cloth or fabric woolen and linen threads be mixed in the woof; but here those were not mixed in the woof: for the warp was of fine linen, but the woof was of wool, namely hyacinthine, scarlet and purple.
You ask, what do these four things, namely byssus, cochineal, purple and hyacinth, from which the tabernacle was made, signify symbolically and mystically? I answer, they signify the four elements and the whole world; for the tabernacle was a type of this. For byssus signifies the earth, because it is produced from it; purple signifies the sea, because it is dyed with the shells of the sea; hyacinth signifies the air, because it is of an airy color; for the same reason cochineal signifies fire and the aether: for all these things represent the majesty of God, and admonish with what reverence and purity the tabernacle and temple should be approached. Secondly, all these things signify that the priest is the minister of the Creator, and that he supplicates in the tabernacle for the whole creation and the entire world. Thus St. Jerome to Fabiola, concerning the vestments of the priests, Philo, Josephus, Theodoret and Bede. Tropologically, in our tabernacle, that is the Church, some bring cochineal twice dyed, that is twofold charity; others purple, that is mortification of the body; others byssus, that is chastity; others hyacinth, that is contemplation of heavenly things; others goat hair, that is the habit of penance and patience; others violet skins, that is hope of supernal things; others skins of rams dyed red, that is fortitude and martyrdom, as the Apostles and Martyrs did; others acacia wood, that is purity of heart; others oil of mercy; others incense of good and pious example. See Bede in Origen's chapter XXVII. Hear also Origen here, homily 9: Faith, he says, can be compared to gold, the word of preaching to silver, patience to bronze, incorruptible wood to knowledge, byssus to virginity, cochineal to the glory of confession, purple to the vigor of charity, hyacinth to the hope of the kingdom of heaven.
GOAT HAIR, — from which cloths are made, called camelots, suited for bearing rains: for they do not quickly imbibe water. Thus Arias, tract. On the Ark of Noah. These cloths, because they were made of hair, were hence called haircloth; they were nevertheless beautiful and neat on the outside: whence also women skilled in weaving are said to have woven this hair, chapter xxxv, verse 23. Thus Cajetan.
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5. AND SKINS OF RAMS DYED RED AND VIOLET SKINS. — For violet skins in Hebrew it is tachas, what this is, is uncertain; the Jews think it is the badger. The badger, which is also called the taxus, is a rough animal, biting, greedy for honey, of the size of a fox, troublesome to beehives. But who does not see that they make the Hebrew word tachas Latin, and from the letters alone divine it to be the taxus, when the skins of badgers or honey-badgers are of a feline color, not a hyacinthine one? Wherefore it is more to be believed that the Septuagint, who translate tachas as hyacinthine; and St. Jerome, who translates it as violet, that is purple; and Josephus, who says that both these skins and the preceding ones were not of badgers, but of rams and sheep, dyed partly in hyacinthine, partly in red color: for just as the same wool was dyed in hyacinthine color, and was called hyacinth or in purple, and was called purple, as I said verse 4: so the skins of rams were some dyed red, others hyacinthine, which in Hebrew were called tachasim.
AND ACACIA WOOD. — Kimchi and other Rabbis understand cedar by acacia; but they err. For St. Jerome in chapter LIX of Isaiah: "Acacia," he says, "is a kind of tree growing in the desert (in the desert of Arabia, and perhaps in the place which is called Setim, where the sons of Israel fornicated with Belphegor, Numbers xxv, 1), having white thorns in appearance, from which all the wood instruments of the ark and tabernacle were made;" and it is incorruptible wood, as the Septuagint translate it, and very light, and surpasses all wood both in strength and solidity, and in brightness and beauty. I said that acacia wood is like white thorn, namely as to leaves and color; whence also it came to pass that acacia is called thorn by the Latins and Greeks. Hence also Theodotion, and St. Jerome, Isaiah XLI, 19, and Joel III, verse 18, translated acacia as thorn: for otherwise that acacia differs from thorn in size is evident from the fact that acacias are large trees, from which broad planks are cut, as is clear here in the construction of the tabernacle; white thorn however is only a thumb's breadth in thickness, and two cubits in height, as experience shows, and Dioscorides teaches, book III, chapter XII. Rabbi Solomon fables, when he says in Lyra: "Jacob saw in the Holy Spirit that his sons were going to make a tabernacle in the desert, and he brought with him seeds into Egypt, and roots of acacia trees, and there planted and nourished them, commanding his sons, that going out of Egypt they should bring them with them." For, as I said from St. Jerome, acacia grows naturally in the desert. Allegorically and anagogically, the tabernacle made from incorruptible acacia wood signifies the Church, both militant and more triumphant, which in all its parts is incorruptible and eternal: thus Bede. Augustus Caesar, with Piso building a house accurately from foundation to roof: "You gladden my spirit," he says, "building thus, as if Rome were going to be eternal." Thus most truly God built the Church, which was going to be eternal. The Septuagint add or rather anticipate, sardius stones. But we shall hear of these below.
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7. GEMS FOR ADORNING THE EPHOD. — In Hebrew, stones of fullnesses, that is, of completions, which indeed, as the Chaldean says, fill the carvings of the ephod and the breastplate, just as a gem is accustomed to fill the setting of a ring.
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8. AND THEY SHALL MAKE ME A SANCTUARY, — namely a tabernacle, which shall be as it were a holy temple, in which sacred rites and sacrifices are performed for me; which shall be as it were my house, in which I am worshipped, sought and found with solemn and public worship of all.
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9. ACCORDING TO ALL THE LIKENESS OF THE TABERNACLE WHICH I WILL SHOW THEE. — Hence also from the last verse it is clear that God showed Moses on Mount Sinai the design of the tabernacle, so that according to it he would construct the tabernacle. Learn here how great reverence ought to be paid to temples and places dedicated to God. First, from the fact that God commanded Moses and Solomon to erect and dedicate a temple to him; and when it had been burned by the Babylonians, he commanded through Aggaeus and others that it be rebuilt: just as the Blessed Virgin wished to be instituted as heir by John the Patrician, in the time of Pope Liberius, with a temple built in the place which she had covered with snow by a miracle on the fifth of August, when there are great heats in Rome, which church is now called St. Mary Major. Second, because the temple is the house of God dwelling among men, just as heaven is the house of God dwelling among the Angels and the Blessed. Just as therefore we ought to revere God, so also ought we to revere his temple, and to say: "In the sight of the angels will I sing praise to thee." Whence the Psalmist says in Psalm 64, 5: "Thy holy temple is wonderful in justice." And in this place God says: "They shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them." In the temple therefore let us be before God as it were angels. Third, because the temple is a house of prayer, and in it God hears prayers. For he promised this to Solomon praying and dedicating the temple, in III Kings VIII. Fourth, because in temples it has been established as an asylum for the guilty and the condemned. Whence Jehoiada the High Priest forbade Athaliah to be killed in the temple; but commanded her to be led out, IV Kings XI, 15. Thus also Benaiah, about to kill Joab, commanded him to go forth from the tabernacle of the Lord, III Kings cap. II, 30. Thus also St. Chrysostom protected Eutropius fleeing to the temple from death. Fifth, because the temple is called a sanctuary: "Fear my sanctuary, I am the Lord," Lev. XIX, verse 30. Again in Hebrew it is called hechal, that is, a basilica, an august palace, powerful and splendid, in which the Almighty dwells. Sixth, because God is a fierce avenger of a defiled and violated temple. Hence he himself says to Isaiah XXXI, 9: "The Lord hath said, whose fire is in Sion, and his furnace in Jerusalem;" so that namely from the temple violated by enemies, fire as it were leaps upon them and burns them. Thus Christ cast out from the temple those selling and buying doves with a scourge, and overturned the tables, nor did he show such zeal at any other time, saying: "My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves," Matt. XXI, 14; and Paul: "If any man violate the temple of God, God shall destroy him," I Cor. III, 17. Seventh, because in the temple he established an oracle and the mercy seat, and being consulted from it by Moses and the High Priest he gave responses, as is clear here verse 22. Whence Solomon marveling said: "Is it then credible that God should dwell with men upon the earth? If heaven and the heaven of heavens do not contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?" II Paralip. VI, 18. Eighth, because the Gentiles with great reverence cultivated their shrines and temples. For the temple was to them a place marked by an augur either in heaven or on earth. Whence temple is said to be from tuendo, that is, beholding, because it can be seen from every part, or because every part can be seen from it, as Donatus says. First indeed they called heaven itself a temple, because we behold it at first sight. On earth a temple was called any place inaugurated for the sake of religious worship. Again they called a temple a shrine, from fando, because in it Apollo or another of their gods, being consulted, would speak and give responses. Ninth, this is evident from examples of Saints and Kings. First, David says: "I will go into Thy house, I will worship towards Thy holy temple in Thy fear," Psalm V, 8. And "We will go into His tabernacle, we will adore in the place where His feet have stood," Psalm CXXXI, 7. Second, Jacob concerning Bethel, Genesis XXVIII, 17, says: "How terrible is this place! truly there is no other thing here but the house of God and the gate of heaven." Third, Isaiah cap. II, vers. 3, says: "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths." Fourth, Constantine the Great, and St. Helena both at Rome and at Jerusalem and elsewhere, built very many most magnificent temples: and Constantine himself, laying aside his diadem, and lying upon the ground, pouring forth a flood of tears, having received a spade, dug up the earth, and from thence, having removed twelve baskets of earth in honor of the twelve Apostles, having designated the place for the basilica of the Prince of the Apostles, built a church of wondrous workmanship, which St. Sylvester dedicated, whose memory is now celebrated in the Church on the 18th of November. Fifth, Theodosius, Charlemagne, Pulcheria, and other most Christian Emperors and Princes imitated Constantine in this matter. To omit others, hear Crantz, lib. III Metropol. cap. VIII: There was, he says, in the Bishopric of Minden a noble matron, named Hilburgis, who, when she despaired of her husband, who had set out for Palestine by vow, returning thence, spent her whole substance on one monastery and nine churches to be built. Her husband returns not long after, and to appease him, she goes to meet him, and after greeting him: "Nine, she says, daughters have I borne to thee in thy absence; but they are not yet reborn in Christ." The pious man understood that nine churches had been constructed, but not yet consecrated, and he approved and ratified the deed of his wife. Sixth, St. Ambrose stood for the temple of God even unto death and martyrdom. For when the Arians through Justina the Arian Empress demanded that it be given to them, and Justina had persuaded her son the Emperor Valentinian, Ambrose resisted him to his face, saying: "To the Emperor belong palaces and walls; to the Bishop, churches." See him writing at length on this matter to his sister Marcellina. Seventh, St. Chrysostom, when the Emperor asked him to concede to Gainas the Arian general one of the Catholic temples, replied: "No, Emperor, do not promise him this, nor deliver the holy to dogs. For I will never suffer those who praise God with hymns night and day to be driven from the temple, and that it be given to those who speak blasphemies against Him."
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10. YOU SHALL MAKE THE ARK OF SETIM WOOD. — Note first: The ark was like a small square chest, or rather a rectangular one. For the ark was a cubit and a half high, and a cubit and a half wide, but two and a half cubits long. Second, the ark was made of setim wood covered with gold, so that in it might be placed the tablets of the Decalogue, given by God to Moses. For that only these were placed in the ark is evident from III Kings VIII, 9, and therefore the ark was held in the highest reverence and veneration, whence it was called the ark of the covenant, or of the testament, as I shall say in verse 16. And therefore the ark was placed in the Holy of Holies. For the ark was the glory of Israel: whence the wife of Phinees says in I Kings IV, 21: "The glory is departed from Israel, because the ark of God was taken." Again the ark is called the strength and beauty of Israel, Psalm LXXVII, 61: "And he delivered their strength into captivity, and their beauty into the hands of the enemy," namely he delivered the ark into the hands of the Philistines. Third, the ark was open at the top; but above itself it had the propitiatory, as it were a cover, made not of setim wood, but of solid gold. Fourth, two Cherubim were above the propitiatory, so that by their wings spread out and joined together they exhibited as it were a seat for God, and the propitiatory with the ark was as it were a footstool of his feet. Fifth, the ark was encircled at the top with a crown all around, of which I shall speak in verse 11; but on the sides on either side it had two golden rings, through which were inserted two golden poles, by which the ark was carried by the priests on their shoulders, when the camps were to be moved. Sixth, the ark was placed on the floor of the Holy of Holies; it is likely, however, that this floor was covered with some tapestry: or rather this ark had its feet, namely four knobs, or spherules in four corners, on which as it were on four wheels it rested. For thus it can be translated from the Hebrew in verse 12. Whence the ark was as it were the chariot of God, or the royal and triumphal chariot of God over the defeated Egyptians, and this chariot Ezechiel saw in chapter 1. Thus Jerome Prado there, of which more in verse 18. And for this reason the ark is called the glory of the Lord, because in it God exhibited to the Hebrews his presence, aid and glorious triumph; and this is what is said in Deut. IV, 7: "Neither is there any other nation so great, that hath gods so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions;" and Psalm XXV: "I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth." Hence also Heli, not struck down by the twofold death of his sons, not by so great a calamity of the people, but by the news of the ark captured, fell down, and his daughter-in-law brought forth saying: "The glory is departed from Israel." Seventh, this ark afterwards, when Solomon had built the temple, was placed in it in the Holy of Holies, and remained in it as long as it stood, namely until the Babylonian captivity. For then Jeremiah carried out the ark and the tabernacle to Mount Nebo, from which Moses saw the promised land, and hid it with the altar of incense in a certain cave, as is said in II Maccabees II, verses 4 and seq., saying: "That the place may be unknown, until God gather together the congregation of his people." Whence Epiphanius in the Life of Moses, Dorotheus in the Synopsis, cap. On Jeremiah, and others relate that the ark was not in the second temple, which the Jews built after their return from Babylon, but that it was to be hidden until the end of the world, and then was to be made manifest for the conversion of the Jews. Certainly Josephus in his time, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans, expressly asserts in lib. VI On the War, cap. VI, that there was absolutely nothing in the Holy of Holies; the words of Josephus are: "The inner part of the temple was twenty cubits. It was separated likewise by a veil from the outer part, and absolutely nothing was placed in it;" therefore neither the ark nor the Cherubim; "but it was held inaccessible and inviolate, and invisible to all, and was called the Holy of Holies." Therefore they err, who think that the ark was led in triumph by Titus, and is still kept in Rome in the Lateran temple, from the fact that in Rome on the triumphal arch of Titus the ark is depicted in the triumphal procession; for that is not the ark, but the table of the shewbread, as Josephus asserts, who was a spectator of the triumph of Titus. Finally Epiphanius in the Life of Jeremiah has these things about the ark: In the resurrection, he says, the ark shall first rise, and shall come forth from the rock, and shall be placed on Mount Sinai: Moses shall open it; and all the Saints shall flock to it, so that there they may receive the Lord, and put to flight the enemy. This rock is in the wilderness, where the ark was first made in the midst of mountains, in which Moses and Aaron lie buried, and there in the nights a little cloud shines like fire. Let the faith of these things rest with St. Epiphanius.
You ask, what does the ark signify allegorically? Rupertus answers that the ark signifies the humanity of Christ; and St. Gregory, in the last homily on Ezekiel, says: "The ark, he says, within the veil is our redeemer." But I say truly: Properly and genuinely, the ark which was in the Holy of Holies, which represented heaven, signified the Blessed in heaven, among whom the Blessed Virgin especially shines forth: hence not unfittingly she herself is called by St. Bernard, in his sermon On the Blessed Mary, and by others, the ark of the covenant. Hear him in the Sentences: "The Author of wonders, God, he says, has wrought three certain wonders in Mary. First, he miraculously raised up the integrity of purity, so that the ark of the covenant was covered with the purest gold. Second, he made virginal purity potentially fruitful, so that the burning bush was not consumed. Third, he ineffably joined the lowest things with the highest, so that Jacob's ladder, by means of an earthly thing, united heavenly things." The length of the ark is the long-suffering and wisdom of the Saints; the width, charity; the height, contemplation and desire of eternal goods. These have the measure of a cubit, which is perfect, because in the Blessed all things on every side are whole and perfect. Second, the ark was made of acacia wood, because the Blessed after the resurrection will have immortal bodies; it was covered with gold, because both the souls of the Saints will shine with the ineffable brightness of divine vision, and the bodies will gleam with admirable splendor. In it are the tablets of the law, because the Saints once meditated on the law of God day and night, and now delight in it continually. Hear St. Jerome, to Eustochium, concerning the Virgin: "The Bride of Christ, he says, is the ark of the covenant, gilded within and without, keeper of the law of the Lord. Just as in that there was nothing else but the tablets of the covenant, so in you let there be no external thought. Over this mercy seat, as over the Cherubim, the Lord wishes to sit." And St. Gregory, book VII of the Register, epistle 30: "What is, he says, a priestly heart, but the ark of the covenant? in which, because spiritual doctrine flourishes, without doubt the tablets of the law lie." Third, the ark had above it the mercy seat, because the Saints have above them Christ the redeemer, Rom. III, 21. Fourth, the ark is surrounded by Cherubim, because the Blessed are encircled by holy angels. Fifth, the crown of the ark signified the crowns of the Saints, as if they were victors, triumphers, kings and priests of God: likewise the halos of Virgins, Martyrs and Doctors. The rings and poles of the ark signified the gifts of the Holy Spirit, by which a holy soul becomes movable and agile for all good: therefore the four golden rings are four gifts which pertain to the intellect, namely wisdom, understanding, knowledge and counsel; the two poles are the remaining three, namely piety, fear and fortitude, which pertain to the will. The poles ought to be inserted into the rings, because unless the will is moved, the motion and illumination of the intellect avails little. Finally, before the ark was an urn with manna, because the Blessed always remember the heavenly bread of the Eucharist, by which they were nourished in the desert of this life. Before the ark was the rod of Aaron, which budding assigned the priesthood to Aaron; they remember the priesthood of Christ, who by the sacrifice of his body took away the sins of the world, and for this continually praise Christ and God: these and more things Ribera, book II On the Temple, chapter III. Why therefore do we not long for this ark, for these crowns? "Our homeland, says St. Cyprian, in the tract On Mortality, we reckon as paradise; we have already begun to have the patriarchs as parents. A great number of our dear ones awaits us there; a frequent throng of parents, brothers, children desires us, already secure in their immortality, and still solicitous for our salvation. There the glorious choir of Apostles, there the exulting number of Prophets, there the innumerable people of Martyrs crowned on account of the victory of their struggle and passion; there virgins triumphing, who subdued the desire of the flesh by the strength of continence." And St. Bernard, On the Reward of Heaven: "The Blessed shall see God according to their will, shall have Him for their pleasure, shall enjoy Him for their joy. In eternity He shall flourish, in truth He shall shine, in goodness He shall rejoice. As He shall have the eternity of permanence, so the facility of knowing, the happiness of rest. For he shall be a citizen of that holy city, whose angels are citizens, God the Father is the temple, His Son is the splendor, the Holy Spirit is charity." The same in a sermon: "O blessed region of paradise, O blessed region of delights, for which I long from the valley of tears! where wisdom without ignorance, where memory without forgetfulness, where understanding without error, where reason without obscurity shall shine. Blessed are those who dwell there! they shall praise God for ever and ever, amen. The Kingdom of God is granted, promised, shown, perceived: it is granted in predestination, promised in vocation, shown in justification, perceived in glorification." And St. Augustine: "There," he says, "the hymn-singing choirs of angels, there the society of heavenly citizens, there the sweet solemnity of those returning from the sad labor of this pilgrimage, there festivity without end, eternity without blemish, serenity without cloud." Symbolically, St. Thomas, III, Question CII, article 4, to 6: Three things, he says, which were in the ark, or near the ark, signified three attributes of God, namely the tablets of the law signified wisdom, the rod signified power, the manna signified the goodness of God. Again, the ark, that is the Church and commonwealth and its ruler should have the tablets of the law, the rod of discipline and correction, the manna of sweetness in governance: thus St. Gregory, epistle 25, book I. Hence the Samaritan, he says, pours oil and wine upon the wounded man, "so that by wine namely the wounds may be bitten, by oil they may be warmed. Let there be love, but not enervating; let there be vigor, but not exasperating." See the same II part of the Pastoral, chapter vi, and book XX of the Morals, viii. Bees have honey, they have also a sting, by which they defend their hives. Thus he who rules the commonwealth should have honey, that is the sweetness of clemency; should have also the sting of justice, by which against the wicked he may protect the commonwealth. This most prudent king indicated, who wished the pomegranate to be the emblem of his governance, which has sweetness mixed with bitterness. "In ruling," says St. Gregory, "mildness must be mixed with severity, so that smiling he may be feared, and angry he may be loved, lest excessive joy render him contemptible, or immoderate severity hateful." Now let us return to the text.
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Verse 11. AND THOU SHALT OVERLAY IT WITH GOLD, — with golden plates, not truly with golden leaves; this is sufficiently clear from the fact that in Hebrew for "thou shalt overlay," there is "thou shalt hide, cover and clothe it with gold": and that within and without, so that tropologically it may signify that the soul of the just ought to be holy both inwardly and outwardly, and be surrounded on all sides with the gold of charity. St. Jerome objects to Rufinus that "within he is Nero, without Cato," that he lives privately in delights, but publicly shows severity in dress and gait: this is hypocrisy displeasing to God and men. Let the saint be holy both within and without, not Cato, but Paul, but John, but an angel. AND THOU SHALT MAKE UPON IT A GOLDEN CROWN ROUND ABOUT. — This crown of the ark was not round, but square; for the ark itself was square, which this crown surrounded all around like a border. Thus Hugh. This border therefore was on the outside, and rose and was elevated above the ark. The Septuagint translates: a face and golden cymatia that turn, or rather twisted; which I wonder the interpreter of the Complutensian version translates, a face and golden waves: for cymatia signify not only small waves and undulations, but also, by a metaphor drawn from waves, signify according to Vitruvius the uppermost part of the epistyle or capital in columns; which meaning the Septuagint aptly imitated here by calling the border of the ark cymatia, and those twisted, that is fixed indeed, but with twisted work, as if twisted torques elaborated. Thus St. Augustine, Question CIV.
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12. And four golden rings. — These rings were at the four corners of the ark, and the poles were inserted into them, so that the ark could be carried on the shoulders of four priests for magnificence: for it was not fitting that the ark be dragged or carried on a cart. Moreover, the poles extended according to the length of the ark, not according to the width; and that the ark was carried and borne lengthwise, not widthwise or transversely, as Cajetan wishes, is signified by Josephus, when he says: "From each longer side rings enter," through which namely the poles were inserted for carrying the ark. But God provided in verse 15 that the poles should never be drawn out from these rings, lest the priests ever think themselves freed from the care and burden of bearing the ark, says Arias. WHICH THOU SHALT PUT THROUGH THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE ARK. — For corners the Hebrew is pa'amotav, which properly signifies steps and feet; whence it appears that the ark was not on the ground, but had four feet, that is globes and spherules, on which it rested, which had the appearance of wheels: for the ark was the chariot of the glory of God, as I shall say in verse 18. This cubit must be understood not as the greater, or royal, which contains twenty-seven digits, as Herodotus testifies, lib. I; much less the greatest, that is geometric, which contains six common cubits, as St. Augustine teaches from Origen, lib. XV De Civit. xxvii; but the common, which is that length which extends from the bend of the arm to the end of the finger which is called the index, and contains twenty-four transverse digits, or two spans; a span moreover is the space which, with the hand extended, lies between the thumb and the index finger, and contains twelve transverse digits. This is evident from Josephus, lib. III Antiq. vi, and Bede, lib. I De Tabern. cap. iv. "The length of the ark," says Josephus, "was five palms, but the height and width three palms;" for palm in Greek is span, which I said contains twelve digits. Thus two and a half cubits make five palms, or spans.
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16. AND THOU SHALT PUT IN THE ARK THE TESTIMONY, — that is the law, or the tables of the law: for the law is often called testimony, or testification, because it contains an attestation of the divine will, and God left it testified what He wishes to be done by men. Hence it was called "the ark of testimony," that is of the law, and "the ark of the covenant," that is of the agreement: for it contained the law, which was the condition of the covenant made between God and the Hebrews; consequently the tabernacle from the ark which it contained was called "the tabernacle of the covenant" and "the tabernacle of testimony;" indeed hence the ark itself is called "testimony," cap. XXX, 6; Num. XVII, 4; Levit. XXIV, 3, and that by metonymy, because namely the ark contained in itself the testimony, that is the tables of the law. Moreover, that only the tables of the law were in that ark, which had such great reverence among the Hebrews, and not the urn with manna, or the rod of Aaron, Scripture expressly teaches, III Reg. VIII, 9, and II Paralip. V, 10, and Josephus, lib. VIII Antiq. II. Hence both the urn with manna and the rod of Aaron are narrated in the Pentateuch to have been placed not in the ark, but in the tabernacle before the Lord, that is before the ark, as is evident from Exod. XVI, 33; Num. XVII, 4. See the remarks on Hebr. IX, 4.
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17. YOU SHALL MAKE A MERCY SEAT OF PURE GOLD. — Note first: The mercy seat was the cover of the ark, or a board covering and concealing the ark, as is evident from verse 20; hence it was equal to the ark in length and width: therefore it is also called by the Septuagint epithema, that is, something placed over, namely over the ark, that is the cover of the ark, which was joined to the ark by golden hinges, as Josephus teaches, book III of the Antiquities, vi: "The ark had," he says, "a cover fitted with golden hinges, projecting in no part." Second, the mercy seat was a board made, not of acacia wood covered with gold, as the ark was, but of pure gold. Third, the mercy seat in Hebrew is called kapporet, which signifies both mercy seat and the cover of the ark. Whence the Septuagint translates it hilasterion epithema, that is, a propitiatory or mercy seat cover. Fourth, it was called mercy seat, as it were the place of propitiation, because there God appearing to Moses and speaking with him, was appeased and made propitious to the people; in the mercy seat therefore was the oracle of God, as is evident from verse 18, and chapter XXXVII, 6, and Numbers VII, last verse: "And when," it says, "Moses entered into the tabernacle of the covenant to consult the oracle, he heard the voice speaking to him from the mercy seat, which was upon the ark of the testimony between the two Cherubim;" and therefore God was said to sit upon the Cherubim: for they covered the mercy seat. Hence that part of the temple, or the Holy of Holies, in which the mercy seat was, was called the oracle, because from there God gave oracles. Fifth, the mercy seat with the two Cherubim was as it were the seat and throne of God; but the ark was the footstool of His feet, this is evident from Psalm XCVIII, where it is said: "Adore the footstool of His feet," that is, adore the ark, fall down before the ark. Whence some probably think, as St. Thomas, Cajetan, Delrio, and de Castro in Lamentations II, 1, that the mercy seat was elevated, and lifted up on high by the Cherubim above the ark: otherwise indeed it could not have been the seat of God; so that the ark would be the footstool of His feet. Yet more truly do Abulensis, Alcazar, Ribera and others think that the mercy seat was placed immediately and directly upon, touching and covering the very ark itself. Allegorically, the mercy seat signifies Christ, "whom God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood," Romans III, 21. First therefore the mercy seat was above the ark, because Christ surpasses all the Blessed in grace and glory; yet the ark is joined to it by hinges, because all the grace and glory of the Saints descends from Christ and from Christ's merits. Second, the whole was of gold, because the humanity of Christ does not subsist by itself, but in the Godhead, namely in the Word; and therefore in it "dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." And, as St. John says: "We saw His glory, the glory as it were of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Third, Christ is the cover of the ark, because He is encircled with the glory and crowns of the Saints, says Origen, and the Saints themselves place and offer their crowns to Christ. Fourth, Christ is the oracle of the Father, declaring those things which He saw in the bosom of the Father hidden from the foundation of the world. Fifth, the humanity of Christ was as it were the seat and throne, nay the footstool of the Godhead of the Word. "Christ," says St. Bernard, sermon 22, "became for us wisdom in preaching, justice in the absolution of sinners, sanctification in conversation, redemption in passion." And St. Gregory, homily 4 on Ezekiel: "Our Redeemer," he says, "became man by being born, a calf by dying, a lion by rising, an eagle by ascending to heaven." Wherefore St. Ambrose: "We have," he says, "all things in Christ, and Christ all things in us. If you desire to be healed of a wound, He is a physician: if you burn with fevers, He is a fountain: if you are weighed down by iniquity, He is justice: if you need help, He is strength: if you fear death, He is life: if you flee darkness, He is light: if you desire heaven, He is the way: if you seek food, He is nourishment." For Christ was the true Noah, who made us rest from our labors and burdens. Our mercy seat therefore, to which in every difficulty we ought to flee, is Christ suffering and crucified. "The Passion of Christ sustains heaven, rules the world, pierces hell; in it the angels are confirmed, peoples are redeemed, enemies are crushed, substances are established, living things are animated, sentient things consent, intelligent things are illuminated," says Rabanus, On the Praise of the Cross. Therefore let our hope, our love, our refuge always and everywhere be Christ. Thus Theodore the Martyr, when Publius asked: "Would you rather be with your Christ, or truly with us?" answered: "I am, have been, and shall be with my Christ: and therefore I do not fear your torments." Thus Charles the Fifth inverted that saying of Julius Caesar: "I came, I saw, I conquered," saying: "I came and saw, but Christ conquered." Thus Paul: "For me," he says, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
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Verse 18. AND TWO GOLDEN CHERUBIM, BEATEN OUT OF ONE PIECE, ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ORACLE. It is inquired here first, what were these two Cherubim? Note: Moses scarcely expresses or indicates the form of these Cherubim, and that lest the Jews, prone to idolatry, should make an idol of them and worship it. First therefore Philo, in the book On the Cherubim, says that the Cherubim are symbols or signs which signify and represent the outermost circumference of the universe's heaven. Second, Josephus, book III of Antiquities, chapter vi: "The Cherubim," he says, "are winged creatures, of a new kind, never seen by any man, which Moses saw figured upon God's throne." But I say first, that these two Cherubim had human form and appearance. Thus the Hebrews and Christians commonly teach; and this is evident in II Paralipomenon III, 13, where of the Cherubim it is said: "And they stood with their feet upright." I say second: It is likely that these Cherubim, besides the form of man, also had the form of other animals. This is proved, because Ezechiel expressly teaches in chapter 1 that the Cherubim had the form of four animals, namely of a man, an eagle, a lion, and a calf. The Cherubim were therefore golden effigies, in the form of a winged and beardless youth, so that by this form they might represent the vigor, liveliness and eternity of the angels, who are as it were princes always attending and standing before God.
Their position was such that partly with their wings, partly with their body they covered the whole propitiatory. For one Cherub was to the South of the propitiatory, the other to the North, so that by the thickness of their bodies they covered those sides of the width of the propitiatory: but the Eastern and Western sides, which were the sides of the length of the propitiatory, they covered and veiled with their wings spread toward each other; just as if two men should look at each other and hold each other with their hands. These two Cherubim were not fixed to the propitiatory, but were produced from the propitiatory itself by hammering; for this is what "beaten out" signifies, and the Hebrew text more clearly states that they were made from the propitiatory. Whence it follows that the Cherubim were made from solid gold. I say therefore: It seems more true that the Cherubim did not support the propitiatory, but stood upon it with their feet, so that with their wings spread they partly covered the propitiatory, like a roof or canopy, whence they are called by the Apostle "overshadowing the propitiatory," Hebrews IX, 5; partly so that with the same wings they provided a seat for God, who is hence said to sit upon the Cherubim: so that the ark with its cover, namely the propitiatory, was the footstool of God's feet. That this is so is proved first from Josephus, who expressly asserts this, book III of Antiquities vi: "There were," he says, "imposed upon the cover (of the ark, that is the propitiatory) two effigies, which the Hebrews call Cherubs." Where note, that these Cherubim not only had the form of standing, but of flying: for they had wings spread, because by these they signified the angels, who fly most swiftly, of whom the Psalmist and St. Paul say: "Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." Hence also God is said to fly upon the Cherubim, Psalm XVII, 11.
The Cherubim are as it were attendants of God. Hence they bear four emblems and insignia of the Lord God: for the form of the eagle signifies God's wisdom; the form of man signifies God's goodness, gentleness and mercy; the ox signifies God's justice, religion and worship due to Him; the lion signifies God's strength and power. These attributes the Cherubim themselves, that is the angels, participate in and represent from God. For they are eagles through swiftness and contemplation; they are lions through strength; they are men through gentleness; they are oxen through patience and labors. Thus St. Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy, chapter xv. Allegorically, this chariot of the Cherubim signifies the triumphal chariot of Christ the redeemer of men; which chariot is the Church, of which it is said in the Canticle I, verse 4: "I have likened thee to my chariot." The four wheels are the Apostles, Pastors and Doctors, who drive and propagate the chariot of the Gospel and the Church strongly and swiftly, like lightning, throughout the whole world. Hence the Cherubim bear four insignia of Christ: for the form of man signifies Christ's incarnation; the form of the calf signifies Christ's death and immolation on the cross; the form of the lion signifies Christ's strength in the resurrection; the form of the eagle signifies Christ's ascension into heaven. Allegorically St. Gregory, homily 26 on the Gospel: "The two," he says, "angels whom Magdalen saw in the sepulcher of Christ, and the two Cherubim of the ark are the two testaments: the propitiatory is Christ incarnate. And while the Old Testament announces this to be done, which the New Testament proclaims to have been done concerning the Lord, as it were both Cherubim look at each other, while they turn their faces toward the propitiatory: because while they see the incarnate Lord placed between them, they do not differ in their aspect, they who concordantly narrate the mystery of His dispensation."
You ask, whence are the Cherubim called, and what does Cherubim signify in Hebrew? They are called Cherubim from a multitude of strength, glory, knowledge and wisdom, as St. Dionysius teaches, chapter vii of the Celestial Hierarchy. Moreover, Cherub signifies a multitude of knowledge, from the root nachar, that is, he knew or understood, and rab, that is, much. Or rather and more simply from ke and rab, that is, like rabbi, that is, like a wise man, powerful, honored and glorious. The name Cherub also alludes, by metathesis, to recheb, that is, chariot: for the Cherubim attended and adorned the chariot of the glory of God; and to rocheb, that is, riding, that is, prince, ruler and governor. Such are the angels, who rule the world, and moderate, move and direct it as it were the chariot of divine providence. The name Cherub also alludes, by metathesis, to cabbir, that is, manifold. Finally, by Hebrew anagrammatism ethbash, kerub is the same as kannescer, that is, like an eagle. Thus Cherub, both in its form and in its name, includes and expresses the species of four animals.
Morally, the Cherubim are a symbol of wisdom, which excels all other things, and alone is fit for governance. For the wisdom of God, in governing this universe, "reacheth from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly." This is the form of the best government. Do you wish to govern well? govern as God does, mightily and sweetly. Plato said that republics would be blessed if either wise men governed them, or their rulers devoted themselves to wisdom. And Aristotle says: "It is the part of a prince to be wise." Apuleius: "The wise man," he says, "is neither lifted up in prosperous things, nor contracted in adverse things." And Seneca, epistle 60: "The wise man," he says, "is armed and prepared for every assault: whether poverty, whether grief, whether disgrace, whether pain make an attack, he will not give ground. He will go against these things unafraid, and among them. The wise man is full of joy, cheerful, calm and unmoved, and lives as an equal with the gods." Cicero, book III of the Tusculan Disputations: "To the wise man," he says, "nothing can seem great in human affairs, to whom all eternity and the magnitude of the whole world is known." Do you wish therefore to be wise? despise time and temporal things, think of eternal things and eternity. St. Gregory, book X of the Morals, chapter xxvii: "The wisdom of the just," he says, "is to feign nothing through ostentation, to open the sense by words, to love true things as they are, to avoid false things, to exhibit good things freely, to bear evil things more willingly than to do them, to seek no vengeance for injury, to count contumely for truth as gain." Lactantius, book III, chapter xxx: "Whoever wishes," he says, "to be wise and blessed, let him hear the voice of God, let him learn justice, let him know the mystery of his birth, let him despise human things, let him regard divine things, so that he may be able to attain that highest good, for which he was born. Therefore the highest wisdom is in this one thing, that man may know and worship God."
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Verse 21. IN WHICH THOU SHALT PUT THE TESTIMONY. — That is, the law, namely the tables of the law. See the remarks on verse 16.
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Verse 22. FROM THENCE I WILL GIVE COMMANDMENT AND WILL SPEAK TO THEE ABOVE THE PROPITIATORY. — From this it is clear that Moses, the leader and lawgiver of the people, often entered into the Holy of Holies, so that he might consult God concerning doubts, or hear God there admonishing and commanding, as is said here. Wherefore, what God commands in Leviticus, chapter xvi, that the high priest enter into the Holy of Holies only once a year, this does not apply to Moses, who was not a high priest, but a legate and messenger of God.
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Verse 23. AND THOU SHALT MAKE A TABLE OF SETIM WOOD. — Note: This table was made to receive the 12 loaves to be set before God; hence this table was before the Holy of Holies, in the Holy Place, next to the altar of incense: for the Holy Place had these three things, namely the altar of incense, which had this table on its northern or left side, and on its southern or right side had the candlestick. Whence also the table in Hebrew is called schulchan, as it were a sending or putting forth, because these loaves were put forth upon it to God. The table was made of setim wood overlaid with gold. It was two cubits long, one cubit wide, one and a half cubits high: hence it is clear that the table was not round, but rectangular. This table had a border, that is a golden rim all around; in this border was a carved crown four fingers high, upon which another smaller crown was placed for ornament, and so that the crown might be higher, and so that it might better hold the loaves lest they fall. This table had four feet, and at the top of each foot it had a golden ring, so that through four rings placed on the sides, not of the length but of the width, two poles were inserted, by which the table might be carried on the shoulders of four priests. Thus from Josephus and Ribera. Allegorically, the Holy Place is the Church militant on earth, tending toward the Holy of Holies, that is, toward heaven: in which some dedicate themselves to almsgiving and works of charity: these are signified by this table of loaves; others dedicate themselves to teaching and holy life: these are signified by the candlestick; others dedicate themselves to prayer, praise of God and contemplation: these are signified by the altar of incense. Just as this table was in the Holy Place next to the Holy of Holies, in which was the throne of God, so "almsgiving," says St. Chrysostom, homily 9 on Matthew, "stands as a friend of God, and is always near to him: for whomever it wishes, it easily obtains a gift, it dissolves the bonds of sins, it puts to flight darkness, it extinguishes fire: with great confidence the gates of heaven are opened to it, and as if a queen entering, none of the gatekeepers, none of the guards who stand by, dare to say: Who are you, or whence? but all receive it with respect. It is a virgin having golden wings, surrounded on all sides with beauty, but girded, having a bright and gentle countenance, winged and light, and always stands before the royal throne." Again this table signifies the table of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. Thus Rupertus and St. Jerome in the first book of Malachi, and Damascenus, book IV, chapter xiv, and Cyrillus, Catechesis 4, mystagogical. Of this table the Psalmist sings, Psalm 115, verse 4: "What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things he hath rendered to me? I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord." And Psalm 22, verse 5: "Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me. Thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my chalice which inebriateth me, how goodly is it!"
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Verse 24. AND THOU SHALT MAKE TO IT A GOLDEN BORDER: — "border," that is a rim all around.
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Verse 25. AND UPON THAT BORDER THOU SHALT MAKE A GOLDEN CROWN FOUR FINGERS HIGH. — In Hebrew, upon that border, or rim thou shalt make a closure, that is another border which shall close the limits of the table, lest the loaves fall from it. Vilalpando describes this carved work thus: If you place, he says, a thick board four fingers, of which the two middle ones are drawn back to the interior, and made rougher by various carvings, it is carved work; the remaining two fingers, namely one below, the other above, will be a cymatium for the board itself. AND UPON IT ANOTHER GOLDEN CROWN. — This was a third border of the table, placed upon the second. Our Interpreter calls this crown a small golden crown, not as if it were not of pure gold, but because it was small, and therefore contained less gold than the others. Hence Ribera and others think that the Scholastics took the name of a small golden crown from this, so that by it they might signify certain accidental gifts of beatitude, which will be proper to Virgins, Martyrs and Doctors.
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Verse 27. THAT THE POLES MAY BE PUT THROUGH THEM. — It is likely that these poles were inserted in the rings and extended, not according to the length, but according to the width of the table, so that namely the heavy table might be carried by four men on their shoulders. Thus Abulensis.
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Vers. 29. YOU SHALL MAKE DISHES AND CUPS, AND BOWLS, AND CENSERS, AND VESSELS, IN WHICH THE LIBATIONS ARE TO BE OFFERED, OF THE PUREST GOLD. — "Dishes," in Hebrew little plates; the Septuagint, side-tables, patens, or bowls, namely for receiving and holding fine flour, when it was to be offered; likewise for receiving the sacrifices of the frying-pan and the oven, concerning which Leviticus chapter ii. BOWLS. — These are small and concave vessels, known in more noble banquets; in Hebrew they are called cappoth, from the curvature of the palm of the hand, which they imitate. These bowls were prepared for pouring wine and other libations in sacrifices. These vessels allegorically signify the measure of preaching, namely that to each according to the capacity of his nature and talent it should be tempered and bestowed. Again St. Gregory, homily 6 in the Gospels, by bowls understands the more learned; by cups, the less learned and wise. "In the tabernacle, he says, not only bowls were made at the Lord's command, but also cups. By bowls indeed abundant doctrine, by cups truly small and narrow knowledge is designated. In God's tabernacle therefore, that is in the Church, placed, if through the doctrine of wisdom you are not able to minister bowls, insofar as you are sufficient for the divine bounty, give to your neighbors cups of good word. Also draw others with you, desire to have companions in the way of the Lord: if you tend toward God, take care lest you arrive at him alone." CENSERS, — namely for preserving both the incense which was to be burned, and the frankincense which was to be placed upon the shewbread, as it is said in Leviticus chapter xxiv, verse 7.
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30. AND YOU SHALL SET UPON THE TABLE SHEWBREAD IN MY SIGHT ALWAYS. — Note "shewbread," which namely are set forth, or placed, before the Lord, or before the ark and the mercy seat, in which God exhibits himself present: hence in Hebrew they are called lechem panim, that is, bread of the face. Concerning these breads I shall say more in Leviticus xxiv, 5. Note: Just as the Mosaic candlestick in Christian temples corresponds to candlesticks and lights, and especially a lamp lit before the Venerable Sacrament (for this is our Holy of Holies); and just as the altar of incense corresponds to our censers, and the burning of incense in the sacrifice of the Mass: so the table of shewbread corresponds to the table of the Holy Spirit, which they call, which in temples on Sundays, in many places is set forth full of breads, so that these may be distributed to the poor, and this from the ancient rite of the Church. For St. Paul, I Corinthians chapter xvi, verse 2, commands that a collection of alms be made in the church on Sunday, which are to be distributed to the poor.
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31. THE CANDLESTICK AND A CANDLESTICK OF PURE BEATEN GOLD. — Note first: This candlestick was one of three which were in the Holy Place, and it was on the right side of the altar of incense. This beaten candlestick was, that is, produced by hammering and formed by working from one talent of gold: for it was hollow and small. Second, the middle shaft of the candlestick had on each side three branches, or arms, that is, six in all, which all with the shaft rose equally upward: hence the candlestick was sevenfold; and at the top both of the shaft and of each branch it had a lamp; it had therefore seven lamps. But all these things were not inserted or affixed, but beaten, namely produced by hammering from one mass and talent of gold. Third, the branches were adorned with a triple, but the shaft with a quadruple order of cups, spherules or globes, and lilies succeeding one another in turn. Fourth, these lamps illuminated the tabernacle or Holy Place, the altar of incense and the table of the loaves of proposition, but by night only, as I shall say in more places in chapter xxvii, verse 21. Fifth, the candlestick had its snuffers, likewise censers or vessels, in which those things which were snuffed out were extinguished. Sixth, the candlestick was placed in the Holy Place obliquely, so that the lamps faced toward the South and East. Thus Josephus. Seventh, in the tabernacle there was only one candlestick; but in the temple of Solomon there were ten candlesticks, five on the right and five on the left, as appears in III Kings vii, 49. Symbolically, this candlestick was an image of the celestial sphere sevenfold in light, or of the seven planets. For the tabernacle bore the type of the world, but the Holy of Holies of the empyrean heaven of the Blessed. Thus Philo and Josephus. Allegorically, the candlestick is Christ, or rather the Church, Apocalypse chapter 1, verse last, which is the light and teacher of truth. First and most fittingly, the candlestick is the faith and doctrine of the Church shining forth to the whole world and illuminating it. Second, its seven lamps are all the doctors, who shine throughout the whole night of the present age by life and doctrine. Third, the cups signify thirst for God and divine things, the spherules contempt for earthly things (for a sphere or globe touches the earth only at a point), lilies the beauty of virtues and the fragrance of a good life. All these things were made of gold, because the virtues already mentioned ought to flow from charity. Again, the candlestick is beaten, not cast, because doctors must be struck and polished by many temptations and persecutions, before they attain to the height of virtue. Fourth, this candlestick illuminated the table, the altar and the whole Holy Place by night, because the faith and doctrine of the Church ought to illuminate and direct the prayers, works of mercy, and all holy works of the faithful in this life. Fifth, the snuffers are disputations and explanations, by which errors are removed, and their light is restored to truth. Sixth, in the tabernacle there was one candlestick, in the temple ten, because the light of doctrine and knowledge of divine mysteries is greater in the Church than it was in the Synagogue. Morally therefore doctors and doctrine are the light and candlesticks of the Church. Let this be their first law: "The doctor," says St. Bernard, "should be a shell, not a channel," that is, let him first receive knowledge and fill himself with it, so that being full he may then pour it forth into others; let him teach himself before others. Third, let him imbue not only the intellect, but also the affection, "for the doctrine of the spirit does not sharpen curiosity, but kindles charity," says St. Bernard. Fourth, let him teach by deed before by word. For thus Jesus began to do, then to teach. "Doctrine," says St. Gregory, "is taught with all authority, when it is done before it is said."
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33. Three cups as it were in the manner of a nut through each branch. — He calls "cups" the parts of the candlestick projecting like nuts, or, as it is in Hebrew, almonds (for the almond is a species of nut), as to the bending of the sides. AND A SPHERULE TOGETHER WITH A LILY. — For spherule, in Hebrew it is caphtorim, that is, apples, globules or spherules like apples. Whence it appears that in this candlestick there was some likeness of a tree, in that it expanded branches on each side, and was laden with flowers and fruits. AND A LILY. — That these lilies were at the top of the branches, and that the lamp was placed upon these lilies, Philo relates. Finally, as it is said in verse 31, all these things were "proceeding from it"; for from the trunk or shaft of the candlestick all things were drawn and formed by the hammer; but no parts were inlaid from elsewhere.
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34. In the candlestick itself, — in the shaft or trunk of the candlestick, from which the branches proceed, there shall be four orders of cups, spherules and lilies.
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35. SPHERULES UNDER TWO REEDS THROUGH THREE PLACES, WHICH TOGETHER MAKE SIX, PROCEEDING FROM ONE SHAFT, — that is to say, In the shaft there will be three places, from which three rows of two reeds will arise, and under each place and row of two reeds there will be a spherule. That you may see this clearly, behold here was the order in the shaft itself: below at the foot of the shaft was the first cup, and then the first spherule; after this two reeds ascended on either side, very long. After these first two lowest reeds, ascending in the shaft, there followed the first lily, after this the second cup, and the second spherule; after this spherule there followed two middle reeds. After these was the second lily, after this the third cup with the third spherule, after which two last reeds, very short. After these the third lily, and finally the fourth cup, the fourth spherule, and the fourth lily, with a lamp at the top. Tropologically, after the spherules follows the reed, because the holy doctor is a spherule, that is, always in a round and equal state and countenance in joys and sorrows; whence as it were a reed is raised on high, that it may shine forth to others.
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37. THAT THEY MAY GIVE LIGHT OPPOSITE, — Toward the table of the loaves of proposition, which was in the opposite, namely in the Northern, part of the tabernacle: for this table was the table of God, at which God as it were took supper; but in a nocturnal supper a candle or lamp is placed illuminating the table, that those eating may see what they eat.
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38. THAT THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SNUFFED OUT, MAY BE EXTINGUISHED, — namely vessels which receive the snuffed-out ashes of the lamps, that they may be extinguished there, lest scattered through that tabernacle they defile it, and infect it with a foul odor. The Chaldean calls these vessels censers.
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39. ALL THE WEIGHT OF THE CANDLESTICK, etc., SHALL BE A TALENT OF GOLD. — A talent, says Josephus, lib. III, cap. VII, weighed one hundred minas; which Ribera understands of the Hebrew mina, which contained sixty shekels, that is two hundred and forty drachmas. But in cap. xxxviii, vers. 23, I shall demonstrate that the Hebrew talent contained only three thousand shekels; and since the shekel contained four Attic drachmas, that is four aurei, it follows that the Hebrew talent containing three thousand shekels weighed and was worth twelve thousand aurei. I speak of a talent of gold; for a talent of silver was of equal weight, but of unequal value, as is evident. From a talent a candlestick could be made, because it itself was small and hollow, that it might signify the internal Spirit of God, who intimately insinuates himself into the Church and her Doctors.
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40. LOOK, AND MAKE ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHEWN THEE IN THE MOUNT. — "Make according to the pattern," in Hebrew there is added of them, namely of the candlestick and the tabernacle with its vessels, which to thee in these 40 days on Mount Sinai is described by God with a living voice, and at the same time some sensible idea is proposed to be beheld. For that old tabernacle type, St. Stephen teaches that these words are to be received according to the letter, Acts VII, 44. Secondly, from the Apostle, Hebrews VIII, 5, it appears to be clear that here also an anagogical pattern was shown by God, namely heavenly things and the spiritual tabernacle, which was signified by this material one, as if by this Moses is commanded here to make his material tabernacle, namely so that it might correspond to that spiritual one as to its antitype, and might aptly signify and represent it. Thus Bede thinks here. Hence St. Justin, Exhortation to the Gentiles, near the end, believes that Plato received from this place of Moses his opinion concerning ideas. Tropologically, St. Gregory in the first book of Kings, chapter x: This is, he says, the form of chosen obedience, that in all that we do outwardly, we might look upon the power of the Creator and his wisdom, as an idea everywhere present. Again, look upon the pattern of obedience, patience, fortitude, charity, humility, contempt of the world, and of all virtues, which was shown to thee on Mount Calvary by Christ, and which Moses prefigured through his altar of burnt offerings and incense, through the tabernacle, sacred vestments and victims, and express and imitate it; thus thou shalt build a tabernacle adorned and perfected with all virtues to God in thy soul. For, as St. Augustine says, in the book On True Religion, chapter xvi: "The whole life of Christ was a discipline of morals. The servants of pleasures were seeking riches destructively: he wished to be poor. They were grasping at honors and empires: he refused to become king. They thought great good in their carnal children: he despised such marriage and offspring. They most proudly abhorred insults: he endured every kind of insult. They thought injuries intolerable: what greater injury than that a just and innocent man should be condemned? They execrated bodily pains: he was scourged and tortured. They feared to die: he was punished with death. They thought crucifixion the most ignominious kind of death: he was crucified. All things which we desired to have and did not live rightly, by lacking them he made vile; all things which we desired to avoid and turned aside from the study of truth, by enduring them he cast down." St. Francis continually looked upon this pattern of the crucified Christ, so that he might express it in himself, and therefore not only in mind but also in body did he receive his sacred stigmata divinely impressed. Hear St. Bonaventure in his Life, book I, chapter XIII: "There had grown up in him," he says, "an irresistible burning of love for the good Jesus in lamps of fire and flames. When therefore he was borne upward to God by seraphic ardors of desire, one morning about the feast of the exaltation of the holy Cross, while he was praying on the side of the mountain, he saw one Seraph having six wings, as fiery as they were splendid, descending from heaven. And when with swiftest flight he had come to the place in the air near the man of God, there appeared between the wings the image of a man crucified. Seeing this he was greatly amazed, and a mixture of sorrow and joy entered his heart. He understood at last from this, the Lord revealing it, that he was to be transformed not through the martyrdom of the flesh, but through the burning of the mind, wholly into the likeness of the crucified Christ. The vision therefore disappearing left a wonderful ardor in his heart; but it also expressed in the flesh no less wonderful the image of the signs. Straightway indeed in his hands and feet there began to appear the marks of nails; his right side also as if pierced by a lance, was covered with a red scar, which often pouring forth sacred blood, sprinkled his tunic and breeches." Finally St. Bernard, in the treatise On the Solitary Life: "A house of the glory of God," he says, "is to be built by each one, which is shown to him in the height of the mind and in pious meditation, as in an idea, so that he might build according to the form of poverty, not houses to dwell in, but tabernacles to be abandoned, so that thus he might stir up in himself contempt of all external things, and love of internal and heavenly things."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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v. 14 « Locutus est Dominus ad. Moysen. dicens » :
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v. 8 « Loquere filiis Israel, ut tollant mihi primitias » ; — omnes concedunt minus apte sic à LXX Vulg. verti iómn, quod donum sonat, Chald. Syr. separatio, 1d quod pro aliquo seponitur — « ab omn homine, qui offeret ultroneus , accipietis eas ». Cf. 35,5 sqq. Agitur de donis spontaneis cogendis ad exstruendum sanctuarium.
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v. 3 « Haee sunt autem, quae accipere debetis : Aurum et argentum et aes ». — Aeris cudendi peritissimi erant Aegyptii. Ferri habebatur mentio Gen. 5,22; non habetur h. l., uti neque stanni et plumbi (Sy/v.); Aegyptii antiquitus ferrum utique norant, sed longe communius utebantur aere (Ermanp. 611) —
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v. 4 « hyacinthum et purpuram ». —Haec duoin textu etiam assyriaco (Schrader), qui elenchum tradit rerum coloratarum, reperiuntur : takiltu — argamannu. 0520, 04x002;, nomen graecum petitum non a flore sed à gemma coloris caerulei seu violacel, est succus profectus ex helice ianthina (Linn.), genus purpurae, quod Ez. 91,1 dicitur provenire « de insulis Elisa », i. e. de Graecia, non tamen de illis insulis solis. y23?N, quod 2 Par. 2,7 (6) legitur forma aramaica va (ef. Chald. Syr.), est purpura iq etiam vergens ad nigredinem, quare Cant. 1,5 (6) sponsae coma ei purpurae comparatur; LXX xopgüpa — « coccumque bis tinctum » — zv ny»n i. e. vermis (Deut. 28,39) cocci, sc. cocci ilicis (Linn. ; ga//. cochenille); Lev. 14, *zc ny? sed Vitae simpliciter *3v (Gen. 38,27. 30); 2 Par. 2,7 (6) et 3,1* voeatur5"»275, unde germ. Kermes, gall. cramoisi. Targ. utramque vocem una reddunt voce v2 color, ob coloris fulgorem Ag. exóXvxcc ivágopov. Falsam illam secundae vocis versionem is £inctum etiam aliqui codices graeci habent : 36xo£g; — « et byssum », — (ósco» vsxosbombyce conficiebant. Ez. 297,1. 16 byssus uu vocatur vv, Syriaca y"2 ( Kn.), quam vocem b. l. habent Targ. Syr. — « pilos caprarum » : ita etiam LXX Syr. vertunt amv; Targ. »Y'2, 1. e. res a capris proveniens. Cf. 1 Reg. 19,13. Etiam pili eaprarum texebantur. Ergo uti v. 3 metalla, ita v. ^ textilia recenset; sequuntur
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v. 5 pelles : « et pelles arietum rubricatas , pellesque ianthinas ». Si solum spectes cum priore expressione parallelismum, n'Vnn poterit exprimere vel animal (Bot) vel colorem (D»23N'2). Hoc alterum expressere LXX óa«a(v0tva, Aq. Symm. iáV0twa, ergo violaceus; dum Targ. Syr. adstruunt animal NA3w3bD. E cuius pelle tentoria et calcei conficiebantur (cf. Ez. 16,10). At quodnam animal est Sasguna? Varii varias in medium proferunt coniecturas, quas vide apud Dillm. Appellat Del. (Prolegomena eines neuen hebr.-aram. Woerterbuches, p. 77 sq.) vocem assyram tachschw, quam censet exprimere vervecem : hoc esset satis affine iis, quae ante recensentur, pellibus arietum. Alii ex lingua arab. petunt significationem delphini seu alicuius animalis delphini affinis, suggeruntque trichechum manatum (Duiong, Halicore), qui in Mari Rubro abundat, et e cuius pelle calcei et scuta conficiuntur. Intelligitur sane genus corii, quod etiam Aegyptii norunt, quos in eo praeparando fuisse peritissimos disce ex Erman p. 598. Post metalla, textilia et pelles sequitur lignum : « e£ /igna setim ». nov, aeg. schonti, schonte est mimosa nilotica (Linn.), arbor procera, ramosa, in Aegypto et Arabia frequens. Est unica Sinaitidis arbor, quae constructionibus est apta. Lignum est durissimum, levissimum, fere incorruptibile (LXX £»Ax 4eqzza): erat igitur aptissimum conficlendis iis, quae ad arcam spectabant, quae et longo tempore erant duratura et continuo circumferenda. Hoc lignum tandem nigrescit
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« Oleum ad luminaria [concinnanda| , aromata in. unguentum, et feras ad 35,8. 1^4. 19. 98. Sequuntur tandem gemmae, quas secundum 35,97 principes daturi erant :
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v. 7 « /apides onychinos, et gemmas ad ornandwum ephod ac rationale ». 3EN (cf. quae diximus ad 1 Reg. 2, tes sacras viderant Hebraei apud Aegyptios, sacerdotes Hebraei fortasse iam ante Moysen gesserant. 39r; depictum vide apud W. Sm De nmnv diximus ad Gen. 2,12 : quae ea gemma fuerit, nondum certo constat. tur. Hae gemmae circumcludendae erant auro DnhNY 2, in impletione sua. Ergo haec impletio non est idem atque illa cireumclusio : sed illae gemmae replebant rationale circa et inter duos maiores lapides QW. Cf. 28,17. 20; 31,5; 35,33; 39,10.
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v. 8 « Facientque mihi sanctuarium, et habitabo in medio eorum ». "^w ^95: 0/500. | 261
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v. 9 « Juxta omnem similitudinem. tabernaculi , quod ostendam tibi, et omnium vasorum [in cultum eius] : sicque facietis illud ». Copula ante 32 non est versione exprimenda. Hebr. : Secundum omne, quod ego tibi ostendam , exemplar tabernaculi et exemplar omnium instrumentorum etus, sic facietis vel facies (Sam.). Cf. v. 40; 26,30; 27,8; Arg. — Deseribitur v. 10-16 arca ipsa cum annulis et vectibus, v. 17-91 propitiatorium cum Cherubim. Quae duo membra in eandem - v. 16. 21 clausulam desinunt. v. 22 describit, quomodo Deus ex area populum suum sit recturus.
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v. 10 « Arcam de lignis setim compingite, cuius longitudo habeat duos et semis cubitos.» (fere 1: 3125m.), « latitudo cubitum et. dimidium » (071815), « altitudo cubitum [stmiliter| ac semissem. ». Ratio igitur erat 5 : 3: 3.
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v. 14 « Et deaurabis eam » — Hebr. : superinduces ei, ergo laminae aureae superinducebantur (os. Ant. III. 6. 5 : cf. n. 3) — « auro mundissimo », quod nihil omnino argenti aliusve metalli admixtum haberet, « intus et foris; faciesque supra coronam auream per circuitum » (un rebord, eine Leiste, a ledge). An e verbis colligatur totus ille limbus fuisse ex auro (Ca?.), neque solum e ligno auri laminis operto, non liquet. Cingebatis quatuor arcae latera (Men.). Bàhr (ap. Dillm.) censet, "5v non edicere eum limbum affixum esse summis lignis sed fortasse cirea medium ; ita etiam craticulam 27,5 non ad summum sed ad medium tantummodo altare pertigisse. Verum ibi non scribitur 5v, sed "xn 7». Limbus hic sane idem est, atque aurei illi cardines (exeoqvy&) , quibus teste Jos. tegmen coaptabatur arcae. Limbo « tegebatur propitiatorii cum arca commissura » (Ma/v.). « Operculum arcae seu propitiatorium intra coronam illam conclusum fuisse videtur » (Jans.). Ita profecto perspicitur, quis eius coronae fuerit usus; quae si mediam arcam circumplectebatur, inutilis erat. Porro censet Cai., arcam aliud praeter propitiatorium habuisse operculum, quo claudebatur; dum Jos., qui rem scire poterat, dicit ipsum propitiatorium fuisse etiam operculum, et LXX v. 17 propitiatorium simpliciter vocant ix(0sua, 1..e. operculum. | v. 12 « Et » fundes ei « quatuor circulos », 1. e. annulos, « aureos , quos pones per quatuor arcae anqulos ». 372 ictus, hine passus, quia passus ictu pedis perficitur. 4 passu ad. pedem facilis transitio : Ps. 56 (57); 1; 57 (58), 11 ; Cant. 7,1 (2); Is. 26,6. Tamen, necum Aóen Ezra h.]. vertamus pedes, illud prohibet, quod, cum omnes reliquae sanctuarii partes aecurate describantur, eorum arcae pedum nulla iam fiat men- Vulg. angulos : quae reapse videtur esse probabilis derivata significatio vocis BY2. « Duo circuli sint 2n latere uno, et duo in altero » ; i. e. per quos unus vectis traducatur, et duo item in latere sinistro pro altero vecte.
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v. 13 « Facies quoque vectes de lignis setim , et opertes eos auro ». v. A& « Inducesque per circulos » (annulos) , « quz sunt tn arcae lateribus, wt portetur in eis » ;
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v. 15 « qui semper erunt in circulis, nec unquam extrahentur ab eis ». Annulos Ios. attribuit longioribus arcae lateribus, Tos/. brevioribus ob rationes satis infirmas. Cum arca omnino imitetur Aegyptiorum arcas sacras tot monumentis depietas, coniicere licebit eam ita portari consuevisse vectibus, ut eorum, qui in propitiatorio essent, duorum Cherubim unus itineri dorvisse a quatuor gestatoribus, suggerit Aug. - putaverim, Aegyptiorum instar, plures esse adhibitos, quo illa et levius et dignius portaretur.
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v. 16 « Ponesque in arca testificationem , quam dabo tibi » , sc. kabulas legis (Ca?.), nam illas daturus erat Dominus. Neque obest, serius vocem de quibusvis Dei mandatis adhiberi; in sing. tamen solummodo Ps. 118 (119), 88. n7, quod in Pentateucho semper articulum habet, est testificatio, i. e. solemnis affirmatio sive facti sive voluntatis, testamentum. Tabulae legis testantur divinam voluntatem decalogo expressam (Vai.) et, quia tabulae datae sunt documentum acceptatae a populo 24,3 divinae legis, etiam testantur factum sanciti foederis et concessarum divinarum promissionum (Tost.). Sunt autem tabulae testificatio, cum quatenus Dei verbum sunt testificans, tum quatenus scriptura sunt digito Dei exarata. Hinc natae sunt expressiones n7Yn nn» (91,185,.32,155 24,20) 5 H3 TON (25,225. 20,98. (80.: 190,0. :265$99,95; 40,3..5. 215 Num; 459; 258952108 04 45) 1009 nT7yn (Lev. 24,3), nvyn 3125 (Ex. 30,36; Num. 17,19: 25), mnn [Due (Ex: 38,215 Num. 1,50::535:10, 11) T9393 OnN (Num.9.155 17,92 sq75 18,2): "CL. Dillm:
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v. 1* « Facies et propitiatorium de auro mundissimo », aureum totum. n?22 a "22 tegere, ergo operculum : haec significatio certe prima occurrebat ei, qui inde a v. 10 tot audierat de arca et nihil de eius operculo conficiendo. Praeterea 322 etiam edicit legere peccatum, ergo propitiari : hine propitiatorium (Vulg.; cf. Lev. 16,1h. 16), tAxoviotov (LXX), wen (Syr.). Nota, in n»22 Deum non solam propitiationem largitum esse, sed alia etiam, imprimis oracula. Versio operculum utique est praeferenda. « Duos cubitos et dimidium [tenebit | longitudo eius , et cubitum ac semissem latitudo », prorsus uti ipsa area. v. 18
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« Duos quoque Cherubim aureos et productiles facies », — ergo non e ligno superpositis laminis aureis, sed totos aureos (Ca?.), uti ipsum propitiatorium. Cherubim tamquam res nota non describuntur aspice Aegyptiorum depictas templorum muris pompas, videbisque, quas Hebraei viderant, Cherubim figuras in genua procumbentium coram sacris in arcis imaginibus. Alas habent brachia ; singuli Cherubim unum brachium alatum extendunt super sacram imaginem, illam tegentes vel protegentes, alterum demissum habent — « ez utraque parte oraculi » , propitiatorit. Hoc innitebantur pro basi ( Bonfr.). Faciendi erant a duabus extremitatibus propitiatorii, interstitium. linquentes in medio.
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v. 19 « Cherub unus sit in latere uno, et alter in altero » opposito. Additamentum habent Hebr. Sam. Chald. : de propitiatorwo facies (Sam. LXX Syr.) Cherubim in duabus extremitatibus eius. Sensus videtur esse : facies eos quasi partem propitiatorli, adhaerentes illi. Sed aliter iungunt Syr. LXX. Hi, n»225 v2 ad priora trahentes, sequentia vertunt : faciesque duos Cherubim super duas extremitates eius. v. « Utrumque latus propitiatorii tegant, expandenles alas » sursum « et opertentes oraculum |» (propitiatorium), « respiciantque se mutuo versis vultibus in propitiatorium, [guo operienda est arca| ». Cf. Hebr.; cf. etiam, quae ad Gen. 3,25 de Cherubim diximus. Sensus clarus est : Cherubim, in oppositis propitiatorii lateribus constituti, facies ad invicem habebant conversas, simulque ad medium dob Baton quod vacuum erat. Dum enim in Aegyptiorum areis medium inter Cherubim locum occupabat numinis effigies, apud Hebraeos (cf. 20,4) nulla erat numinis repraesentatio, sed invisibilis praesentia. Cherubim formis docemur simul, non ab omnibus seulptis imaginibus interdictos fuisse Hebraeos (Sy/v.).
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v. 21 « In qua pones testimonium , quod dabo tibi » (cf. v. 16).
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v. 22 « Inde praecipiam » — Hebr. : conveniam tecum — « et loquar ad te » de « supra propitiatorium ac de medio duorum Cherubim, qui erunt super arcam testimonn, cuncta quae mandabo per te filiis [srael ». Sensus est planus : Deus invisibiliter residet super opereulum arcae et inter Cherubidh. similiter atque effigies numinum Aegyptiorum UR D DAN inter eosdem. Hine dicitur « sedere super Cherubim » 2 Reg. 6,2; Is. 31,16 etc. Arg. — Describitur v. 23-98 mensa cum annulis et vectibus, v. 29 recensentur mensae vasa , v. 30 mensae usus (cf. v. 16,21).
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v. 93 « Facies et mensam de lignis setim, habentem duos cubitos longitudinis, etin latitudine cubitum, et in altitudine cubitum ac semis- - sem ». Mensas etiam aliae gentes cultui divino adhibuere; imprimis penes Aegyptios cernis mensas donis onustas, ante deos vel reges constitutas. Haec mensa, uti patet, habebat formam rectanguli oblongi.
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v. 94 « Et inaurabis eam auro purissimo, faciesque illi labium », i. e. limbum (cf. v. 11), « aureum per circuitum », quem nonnihil supra mensam eminulsse, non absurde coniicit Sy/v. Hucusque textus sat planus est, sed v. 25 mire torsit interpretes. Nos variorum argutias non recensebimus, esset enim labor gravis nec satis utilis. Quid ipsi senliamus, succincte proponemus.
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v. 95 « Et ?psi [labio] » facies « coronam interrasilem altam. quatuor digitis; et super illam alteram coronam aureolam ». Hebr. : Et facies ei nba nen in circuitu, et facies uli non limbum aureum in circuitu. Pronomen ei retulit Vulg. ad labium v. 24, sed commodius refertur ad mensam. Porro e 3 Reg. 1,98-36 effici videtur, n»ib5 esse lacunam , aream , gall. un panneau, germ. ein Feld. nzw etiam significat palmam (quatuor digitos): sed nemo perspicit, quo loco fuerit illa lacuna vel corona quatuor digitos alta. Sume potius ut participium verbi : planus. Verte igitur : Et facles ei lacunas planas in circuitu, et facies lacunis limbum aureum in circuitu. Singulae lacunae (erant autem quatuor numero pro numero laterum mensae) earumque limbi suis cingebantur limbis. Mensa erat situ horizontalis, lacunae cum suis limbis verticales; limbus limbum gebat. An lacunae cum suis limbis essent e ligno atque auro superinductae, non liquet; non erantsane totae aureae.
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v. 96 « Quatuor quoque circulos aureos », i. e. annulos (cf. v. 19), ei, sc. mensae « praeparabis, et pones eos in quatuor anqulis |etusdem mensae] per singulos pedes ». Quatuor pedes habebat mensa subter lacunas eorumque limbos, uti v. 27 innuit Vu/g.; singuli pedes habebant annulum ; annuli ita erant dispositi bini ad dexteram et bini ad sinistram (cf. v. 12), ut duo vectes per illos transmitterentur. 5N2 latus, margo, extremum; sed Vulg. Chald. Syr., uti v. 12, videntur legisse ni2v5.
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v. 27 « Subter coronam erunt circuli aurei, ut mittantur vectes per eos, et possit mensa por-.- tari ». Hebr. : Prope lacunas erunt annuli, in loca pro vectibus ad portandam mensam. Ct. Chald. Syr.
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v. 28 « Ipsos quoque vectes facies de lignis setim, et circumdabis auro ad subvehendam mensam ». mensam panum propositionis pertinere.
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v. 99 « Parabis et acetabula ac phialas, thuribula et cyathos, in quibus offerenda sunt libamma, ez auro purissimo ». Cum ex Num. 5,7 etiam nvp inserviant libationibus, sententia relativa h. l. ad haec etiam et non ad sola nvpz2 refe- WU IgE N90 sog, 5.7 265 renda est. n322 Num. 7,1^ describuntur « plena incensi »; sunt naviculae, in quibus offerebatur et asservabatur incensum. np Num. 1,13 describuntur fuisse « plena simila conspersa oleo ». Porro versiones haec vocabula exprimunt nominibus vasorum iis, quae in sua quisque lingua proxime accedere putabant ad formam vasis hebraici; quae tamen h. l. supervacaneum est recensere. Acetabulum est vas acetum habens ad intingendum panem.
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v. 30 « Et pones super mensam panes propositionis in conspectu meo semper ». Loquitur de his panibus quasi de re nota. Arg. — E basi nascitur hastile, quod summum in quatuor calices superpositos effloresecit. E tribus in hastili nodis nascuntur rami latebus singulis e calice nascitur sphaerula seu nodus, e nodo lilium. Lampas supremo lilio imponitur, ut sint lampades omnino septem. Omnia ex auro conficiuntur.
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v. 91 « Facies et candelabrum ductile de auro mundissimo », quod ideo 31,8; 39,36 (37); Lev. 95,4 vocatur « candelabrum mundum » (Kn.); « Ahastile eius et calamos, scyphos et sphaerulas ac lilia ex 1pso [procedentia] » erunt. na (fem.) Vulg. LXX commode referunt ad n"35, ergo: procedent e candelabro. Sensu fere eodem Di/[;m. : erunt ex eo, erunt unum cum illo, provocans ad v. 19, ubi tamen lectio est incerta. Vat. suffixum fem. refert ad masc. 275 : erunt ex auro. 1" femur, ea est pars corporis, unde crura separantur, et in candelabro opponitur calamo seu trunco nzp : ergo illud non est Aastile, «aox5c, xv (Chald.),sed 202 basis (Syr.) ; etsequens n2p (sing.) est ipse candelabri truncus, hastile. At praeter illum unum nzp habentur sex mp calami , rami, óracA?ia ex illo uno trunco procedentia :
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v. 32 « Sez ca- Ex unoquoque calamo egrediuntur tres scypAi seu potius calices (7*22; cfr. Gen. 44,9 sqq.), florum calices imitantes. Singuli caliees habent "22, quod in eolumnis corollam seu capitulum designat, ergo in candelabro sphaerulas , eooxotxziosz , Chald. Syr. malum punicum; et nz florem seu , uti belle Vulg. Chald. Syr. habent, li/ium : quo lilio continetur lampadis oleum. Calix efflorescit in sphaerulam, sphaerula in lilium.
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v. 33 « Tres scyphi [quasi] in nucis » , seu potius /loris amygdalae « modum, per calamos singulos, sphaerulaque [simul] et lilium ; et tres [szmiliter| scypAi instar nucis in calamo altero, sphaerulague |simut| et lilium : hoc erit opus sex calamorum , qui producendi sunt de haslili » seutrunco. Singuli esex calamis producunt calices trinos, fortasse unum supra alterum. At non soli calami seu rami suos producent calices, sed 1psum etiam hastile seu truncus :
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v. 3 « In ?ipso autem candelabro erunt quatuor scyphi » seu calices, « 2n nucis modum, sphaerulaeque per singulos et lilia ». Ipsum tandem hastile in quatuor calices supersub duobus calamis per tria loca, qui simul sex fiunt, procedentes de hastili uno ». Pluribus verbis sed clarius Hebr. rem explicat : et sphaerula infra duos (infimos) calamos ex eo, sc. candelabro progerminans; et sphaerula znfra duos (medios) calamos ez eo; et sphaerula infra duos (summos) calamos ex eo; quoad ser calamos egredientes de candelabro. Tres in ipso candelabri hastili erant sphaerulae, e quibus egrediebantur non lilia, uti adstruit Kn., sed duo calami, simulque ipsum hastile altius assurgens.
25:36
v. 36 « Et sphaerulae igttur et calami ez ipso erunt » candelabro, ex ipso veluti nascentur; quod illico explicatur : « universa ductilia de auro purissimo », seu clarius Hebr. - toti erunt unum (opus) ductile ex auro purissimo. Non variae partes separatae parabuntur, sed totum opus ex uno fiet. Hebr. : sphaerulae eorum et calami eorum , sc. illorum sex calamorum (v. 35), ergo sex calami et sphaerulae tres; sed idipsum sane etiam valet de reliquis sphaerulis (v. 33).
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v. 31 « Facies et lucernas septem, et pones eas super candelabrum, ut luceant ex adverso », ex adverso faciet eius, sc. candelabri, seu secundum Num. 8,2 ut respiciant ad boream et ad mensam panum propositionis. Quare perspicitur (Ca?.), lucernas illas non fuisse omnino planas et lumen aequaliter in omnes plagas diffundentes, sed habuisse veluti rostra in una parte.
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v. 38 « Emunctoria quoque et , ubi quae emuncta sunt ezstinguantur, fiant de auro purissimo ». E Num. 16,6 collige, »nm2 non esse palam seu batillum pro carbonibus, neque forcipem, sed thuribulum, non illud quidem quod circumagitur, sed in quo ignis asservatur ad incensum adolendum et ad alias lampades accendendas.
25:39
v. 39 « [Omne pondus] candelabri cum. universis vasis suis habebit talentum auri purissimi ». LXX omittunt nns, et /Teóbr. Chald. post eam vocem. ignorant copulam : assignant igitur pondus emunctoriorum et thuribulorum, non vero rel omnino praecipuae, candelabri. Omnino post nnw scribenda copula cum Sam. Vulg. Syro. Descriptionem claudit generale (cf. v. 9) monitum.
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v. 40 « Inspice, et fac secundum exemplar, quod. tibi in monte monstratum est ». Quo supplentur ea, quae verbis in prioribus non exprimebantur, v. g. quae futura esset candelabri altitudo (Ca?.). Rem de se non ita facilem intellectu difficiliorem reddidit Vulg., quibusdam vocibus non sat accurate translatis. Dum Hebr. v. 1-6 (cf. v. 19. 15. 18. 20. 92. 96. 30) agit de habitaculo vow, et v. 1-1& de tabernaculo 5nw, Vulg. plerumque scribit /abernaculum, quandoque lectum vel operimentum. Kadem quos 25,* dixerat pilos caprarum, ea v. 1 vocat cilicina. Quae 26,1-6 dixerat cortinas et circulos , ea iam scribit sagum. et fibulam. Quae vocabulorum mutationes, ubi de rebus agitur iisdem , sermonem confundunt. — Igitur cap. 26 primum agit de habitaculi M byssinis, de tabernaculo cilicino et jue illud operientibus; dein de ligneis habitaculi parietibus. Arg. — Decem cortinae byssinae in quinarum cortinarum duo tapeta coniunguntur. Haec quinquaginta aureis uncinulis, bis quinquaginta ansulis insertis ita iunguntur, ut uncinulorum series simul sancti sanctorum a sancto limen describat. Cap. XXVI
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furnishings of worship (26 times in Ex. 25, 5-30, 5 and 35, 7-38, 6; Deut. 10, 3).
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… It is a red gem set in the ephod and in the breastpiece of the high priest (cf. Ex. 25:7; 28:9 etc.). …
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Ark (of the Covenant), Ark of the Testimony
ARK (of the Covenant), Ark of the Testimony. - Thus the Pentateuch designates the most important and ancient object of Israelite worship from Moses to the exile; the other sacred books also call it the "Ark of the Lord" or "of God." It consisted (Ex. 25:10-22; 37:1-9) of a chest (the ordinary meaning of the Hebrew 'āron) of acacia wood, measuring 2½ cubits by 1½ by 1½ (if this is, as it seems, the smaller cubit [0.45 m]: approximately 1.12 …
25:16
Ark (of the Covenant), Ark of the Testimony
… Inside was placed "the testimony," that is, the two tablets of the Law (I Kings 8:9; cf. Ex. 25:16); according to Hebr. 9:4, also a golden jar with some manna and Aaron's rod (but cf. Ex. 16:33-34); beside it was placed the book of the Law of Moses (Deut. 31:26).
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Propitiatory (Heb. Happōreth, Septuagint Ἐναστήρων)
… Of unspecified thickness, it measured two and a half cubits (= approx. 1.31 m) in length and one and a half (= 0.78 m) in width (Ex. 25:17; cf. 26:34; 30:6; 31:7; 37:6).
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Cherubim (Hebrew Plural Hērubhîm)
… From there, from the place "between the c.," God gave his oracles (Ex. 25:18-22; 37:7-9; Num. 7:89) and was therefore called "He who sits above the c." (I Sam. 4:4; II Sam. 6:2; Isa. 37:16; Ps. 80:2; 99:1). When he manifests himself in the storm "he …
… heavens, nor of what is on the earth, nor of what is in the depths of the abysses." In reality, this prohibition was never absolute, at least in a certain period; consider, for example, the cherubim of the ark of the covenant and the bronze serpent (Ex. 25:18; 37:7-9; Num. 21:8-9; Reg. 7:25). It is in the time after the exile, especially in the age of the Maccabees, that Judaism begins to proscribe any image for fear of idolatry.
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Ark (of the Covenant), Ark of the Testimony
… Moses would have acted similarly with regard to God. Yahweh was "enthroned upon the cherubim" (I Sam. 4:4, etc.) of the propitiatory, and more precisely on the space between their wings, where he appeared "in the cloud" (Lev. 16:2), and spoke to Moses (Ex. 25:22) and to others. …
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… they were made at the expense of the Temple treasury (Neh. 10:33), in a special room (Tāmīdh, III, 3; Middōth, I, 6), by specific Levites (I Par. 9:32), in the form of cakes a finger thick, with the side edges turned up. They were arranged on the table (Ex. 25:25-30) in two piles of six, raised one above the other by means of a kind of framework of golden wires. …
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They are called lēhem pāniem "bread of the face" or of the presence (Ex. 25:30; I Sam. 21:7 etc.), because they were placed before God; lēhem tāmīdh "perpetual bread" (Num. 4:7); lēhem gādheh "holy bread" (I Sam. 21:5, 7); after the exile, also lēhem ham-ma'ārehheth …
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Candelabrum with Seven Branches
… On the seven branches were placed seven lamps (Ex. 25:31-39; 37:17-24), which according to Zech. 4:2, 10 signify "seven eyes of the Lord that range over the whole earth."
25:39
Candelabrum with Seven Branches
Its height, according to the Mišnah (Mēṇāḥāth, III, 7; IV, 8; IX, 3), was 3 cubits, that is, about 1.35 m. For it and for its furnishings a talent of pure gold was used (Ex. 25:39), that is, 49.11 kg. A base supported the main shaft, from which three branches extended laterally, all ending at the same level, that is, at the height of the tip of the central shaft, …
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.