God sends his armies against Ninive to destroy it.
The Chaldees shal mightely inuade the Assirians, 5. take and ransacke Niniue.
1He is come up that shall destroy before thy face, that shall keep the siege: watch the way, fortify thy loins, strengthen thy power exceedingly.Ci mette in viaggio colui, che sotto i gli occhi tuoi devasterà, e stringerà l'assedio: osserva tu i suoi movimenti, rinforza i tuoi fianchi, accresci grandemente le tue forze.HE is come vp that shal scatter before thee, that shal keepe the seige: behold the way, fortifie the loynes, strengthen force excedingly.Ascendit qui dispergat coram te, / qui custodiat obsidionem: / contemplare viam, conforta lumbos, / robora virtutem valde. 2For the Lord hath rendered the pride of Jacob, as the pride of Israel: because the spoilers have laid them waste, and have marred their vine branches.Perchè il Signore farà vendetta della superbia contro Giacobbe, come della superbia contro Israele; perocché questi distruttori li spersero, e guastaron le loro propagini.Because our Lord hath rendered the pride of Iacob, as the pride of Israel: because the waters haue dissipated them, and haue marred their branches.Quia reddidit Dominus superbiam Jacob, / sicut superbiam Israël; / quia vastatores dissipaverunt eos, / et propagines eorum corruperunt. 3The shield of his mighty men is like fire, the men of the army are clad in scarlet, the reins of the chariot are flaming in the day of his preparation, and the drivers are stupefied.Le rotelle de' suoi campioni gettano fiamme, i suoi soldati hanno vesti di porpora: le redini de' cocchi sono fiammanti nel giorno, in cui ella si mette in ordine (per la battaglia), e i loro cocchieri sono addormentati.The buckler of his valiants fyrie, the men of the armie in scarlets, the raynes of the chariot fyrie in the day of his preparation, and the driuers are brought asleepe.Clypeus fortium ejus ignitus, / viri exercitus in coccineis; / igneæ habenæ currus in die præparationis ejus, / et agitatores consopiti sunt. 4They are in confusion in the ways, the chariots jostle one against another in the streets: their looks are like torches, like lightning running to and fro.Si scompigliano per istrada: i loro cocchi s'infrangono nelle piazze: i loro occhi son come accese faci, come folgori, che strisciano.In the wayes they are trubled, the chariots strooke one agaynstan other in the streetes: their appearance are as it were lampes, as it were lightning running to and fro.In itineribus conturbati sunt; / quadrigæ collisæ sunt in plateis: / aspectus eorum quasi lampades, / quasi fulgura discurrentia. 5He will muster up his valiant men, they shall stumble in their march: they shall quickly get upon the walls thereof: and a covering shall be prepared.Ella farà rassegna de' suoi bravi; si urteranno per le strade; correranno in fretta alle mura, e si prepareranno da stare al coperto.He wil remember his valiants, they shal fal in their wayes: they shal quickly scale the walles therof, and a bowre shal be prepared.Recordabitur fortium suorum; / ruent in itineribus suis: / velociter ascendent muros ejus, / et præparabitur umbraculum.
6The gates of the rivers are opened, and the temple is thrown down to the ground.Le porte de' fiumi sono spalancate, e il tempio è atterrato sino ai fondamenti.The gates of the riuers are opened, and the temple throwen downe to the ground.Portæ fluviorum apertæ sunt, / et templum ad solum dirutum. 7And the soldier is led away captive: and her bondwomen were led away mourning as doves, murmuring in their hearts.E i suoi soldati sono menati via prigionieri, e le donne condotte schiave, gemono come colombe, e si querelano in cuor loro.And the souldiar is led away captiue: and her handmayds were led away mourning as doues, murmuring in their hartes.Et miles captivus abductus est, / et ancillæ ejus minabantur gementes ut columbæ, / murmurantes in cordibus suis. 8And as for Ninive, her waters are like a great pool: but the men flee away. They cry: Stand, stand, but there is none that will return back.E Ninive colle sue acque è come un padule: quelli sono fuggiti fermatevi, fermatevi ma nissuno si volge indietro.And Niniue her waters as it were a fishpoole of waters: but themselues are fled Stand stand, & there is none that wil returne.Et Ninive quasi piscina aquarum aquæ ejus; / ipsi vero fugerunt. State, state ! / et non est qui revertatur. 9Take ye the spoil of the silver, take the spoil of the gold: for there is no end of the riches of all the precious furniture.Saccheggiate l'argento, saccheggiate l'oro: la ricchezza de' suoi preziosi vasi è senza fine.Spoile the siluer, spoile the gold: and there is no end of the riches of al vessels that are to be desired.Diripite argentum, diripite aurum: / et non est finis divitiarum ex omnibus vasis desiderabilibus. 10She is destroyed, and rent, and torn: the heart melteth, and the knees fail, and all the loins lose their strength: and the faces of them all are as the blackness of a kettle.Ella è devastata, e squarciata e lacerata: cuor languente, ginocchia tremanti, fianchi spossati, facce di tutta la gente abbronzate come una pignatta.She is dissipated, and rent, and torne: and pyning hart, and dissolution of the knees, and defect in al reynes: and the faces of them al as the blacknes of a pot.Dissipata est, et scissa, et dilacerata; / et cor tabescens, et dissolutio geniculorum, / et defectio in cunctis renibus, / et facies omnium eorum sicut nigredo ollæ. 11Where is now the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, to which the lion went, to enter in thither, the young lion, and there was none to make them afraid?Dov' è la tana de' leoni, e i paschi de' lioncelli, dove andava a riporsi il lione, e i suoi lioncini, senza aver chi li disturbasse?VVhere is the habitation of lions, & the pasture of lions welps, to which the lion went, to goe in thither, the lions whelpe, and is there none to make them afrayd?Ubi est habitaculum leonum, / et pascua catulorum leonum, / ad quam ivit leo ut ingrederetur illuc catulus leonis, / et non est qui exterreat ?
12The lion caught enough for his whelps, and killed for his lionesses: and he filled his holes with prey, and his den with rapine.Quel lione, fatta preda sufficiente pe' suoi lioncini, fece strage per le sue lionesse; e di uccisi animali empiè la sua tana, e il suo covile di rapine.The lion hath caught sufficiently for his welpes, and hath killed for his lionesses: and he hath filled his dennes with praye, and his couch with rauening.Leo cepit sufficienter catulis suis, / et necavit leænis suis, / et implevit præda speluncas suas, / et cubile suum rapina. 13Behold I come against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will burn thy chariots even to smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey out of the land, and the voice of thy messengers shall be heard no more.Eccomi a te, dice il Signore degli eserciti: Io darò fuoco a' tuoi cocchi, e ridurrolli in fumo; e i tuoi lioncini saran divorati dalla spada, e torrò dalla terra le tue rapine: e non si udirà mai più la voce de' tuoi ambasciadori.Behold I to thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I wil burne thy chariots euen to smoke, and the sword shal eate thy litle lions: and I wil destroy thy praye out of the land, and the voice of thy messengers shal be heard no more.Ecce ego ad te, dicit Dominus exercituum, / et succendam usque ad fumum quadrigas tuas, / et leunculos tuos comedet gladius, / et exterminabo de terra prædam tuam, / et non audietur ultra vox nuntiorum tuorum.
2:1
Haydock
Face, O Juda. Septuagint, "who blows on thy face, (Genesis 2:7.) freeing from misery." Here St. Jerome's Greek copy ends the chapter. (Haydock)
Calmet
Watch. Behold Nabopolassar is about to attack thy enemies. Some think that Nahum addresses Ninive ironically. (Calmet)
Calmet
Nabuchodonosor wasted all the environs, and then took the city (Worthington) after his other conquests. (Calmet)
Haydock
But his father is here denoted. (Haydock)
2:2
Challoner
Pride, etc. He hath punished Jacob for his pride; and therefore Ninive must not expect to escape. Or else, rendering the pride of Jacob means rewarding, that is, punishing Ninive for the pride they exercised against Jacob. (Challoner)
Worthington
After the Assyrians had seized the ten tribes, they became more insolent, and are therefore punished. (Worthington)
Haydock
The haughty Phul, etc., had invaded the Israelites, and had taken them into captivity. This God will now resent, (Calmet) though he justly chastised his people by them. (Haydock)
2:3
Challoner
Mighty men. He speaks of the Chaldeans and Medes sent to destroy the Ninivites. (Challoner)
Calmet
This is the common opinion. Yet it seems rather that the Ninivites are designated, as they were asleep and stumbled, etc. (Calmet)
Challoner
Stupified. That is, they drive on furiously, like men intoxicated with wine. (Challoner)
Haydock
Hebrew, "the fir-tree shall be shaken," or poisoned. Psalm 119:4. Septuagint read better, (Calmet) "their horsemen shall be in a hurry, or in confusion." (Haydock)
Xen. iii
The armour was kept very shining, and the soldiers of Cyrus were clothed in purple, like himself. (Xen. iii.)
Calmet
Yet this availed nothing, while the men were asleep or confounded. (Calmet)
2:4
St. Jerome
Streets. The Ninivites are disordered at the enemy's approach. (St. Jerome)
2:5
Calmet
Muster. Literally, " remember" (Haydock) the ancient heroes, Salmanasar, etc. (Calmet)
Challoner
Stumble, by running hastily on. (Challoner)
Haydock
Prepared to defend the city. (Haydock)
Calmet
All this represents a city surprised. It attempts to defend itself; but God renders all efforts vain. (Calmet)
2:6
Gates; floodgates or channel of the Tigris overflowing, Nahum 1:8.
Temple. Septuagint," palace."
2:7
Sanct. xxxi
Soldier. Hebrew hutsab, (Haydock) "the station" or guard; the queen, or the statue of the idol, with the women (Calmet) who prostituted themselves in its honour. (Sanct. xxxi.)
Grotius
Ninive and its dependances are taken. (Grotius)
2:8
Haydock
Waters: multitudes, (Apocalypse 17:15.) and riches; (Calmet) or the flood bursting upon them makes them flee. (Haydock)
Worthington
The citizens run away when the enemy had made a breach, as water does when the dam is broken down; and though some more valiant will exhort them to tarry, they will not succeed, nor save the city. (Worthington)
2:10
Tav. Perse
Kettle. In mourning they blacken their face. (Tav. Perse.)
2:11
Worthington
Lions. The kings of Assyria had plundered various nations, (Haydock) and had brought the spoils to Ninive. But all shall be lost. (Worthington)
These princes followed no law but their own will.
Calmet
The lion, Nabopolassar, or his son: though it seems rather to relate to the Assyrian monarchs. (Calmet)
2:13
Theodoret
Chariots. Septuagint, "multitude." Some wild beasts were thus suffocated in their dens. (Theodoret)
2:2
Hath rendered the pride of Jacob, etc.... He hath punished Jacob for his pride; and therefore Ninive must not expect to escape. Or else, rendering the pride of Jacob means rewarding, that is, punishing Ninive for the pride they exercised against Jacob.
2:3
Of his mighty men, etc.... He speaks of the Chaldeans and Medes sent to destroy Ninive.—Ibid. Stupefied.... consopiti. That is, they drive on furiously like men intoxicated with wine.
2:5
Stumble in their march.... By running hastily on.
2:1
Nabuchodo nosor muading the territorie of Niniue vvasted al thinges, and then assaulted and tooke the citie.
2:2
The Assirians became more proud and insolent after they had spoiled the tvvo tribes & caried the ten into captiuitie and therfore God vvil novv reuenge this pride.
2:8
The people of Niniue, vvhen the wal of the citie shal once be broken by the enemies, vvil flee away as vvater runneth out of a pond, or fishpoole, vvhen the banke is broken
Although some of more corege wil exhortethe fugitiues to stay, and sight for their citie, it vvil not auaile, because the most part vvil seeke to escape by running avvay.
2:9
Concordance Isa. 2.
2:11
The king of Assirians like a furious lion gathered praye out of al countries, and brought it into Niniue as into his denne, but at last shal be spoyled of al.
2:1
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 17.12
… whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained . This was the second time He breathed on man (His first breath having been stifled through wilful sins); that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He went up breathing upon thy face, and delivering thee from affliction
2:6
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.14
115. But is this the only place where we read of “substance”? Hath it not also been said in another passage: “The gates of the cities are broken down, the mountains are fallen, and His substance is revealed”?
2:10
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 16.7
… nor is it possible to escape the might and speed of His wrath when He watches over our impieties, and His jealousy, which knoweth to devour His adversaries, pursues His enemies to the death. I know the emptying, the making void, the making waste, the melting of the heart, and knocking of the knees together,
2:1
hardening in their hearts. 8. And Nineveh like a pool of waters, her waters: but they themselves fled: stand, stand, and there is none that returneth. 9. Seize the silver, seize the gold: and there is no end of the riches from all the vessels of desire. 10. She is dissipated, and torn, and rent asunder: and the heart melting, and the loosening of the knees, and failure in all the loins: and the face of them all as the blackness of a pot. 11. Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the pasture of the young lions, to which the lion went to enter in there, the young lion, and there was none to terrify him? 12. The lion caught enough for his whelps, and killed for his lionesses: and filled his dens with prey, and his couch with rapine. 13. Behold I come against thee, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will burn thy chariots even to smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall be heard no more. 1. THERE ASCENDETH BEFORE THY FACE HE THAT SCATTERETH, THAT KEEPETH THE SIEGE. — The Syriac and Arabic versions read: keeping a keeping, that is, keeping watch. You will ask FIRST, concerning what siege Nahum speaks here, whether of Jerusalem or of Nineveh? The Chaldean, Theodoret, Theophylactus and Vatablus think it is concerning Jerusalem, who translates and applies it thus: There ascendeth, that is, like a vapor ascendeth into the air, he hath gone, vanished and perished, the scatterer or dissipator, that is Sennacherib, who scattered thy sons, O Jerusalem, and besieged thee. For it seems that Nahum continues the calamity of Sennacherib, which he treated at the end of the preceding chapter. Whence the Septuagint translates: There ascendeth breathing upon thy face, drawing thee out of tribulation, as if to say, as Theodoret interprets: God in thee, O Jerusalem, besieged and well-nigh destroyed, breathed the spirit of life and salvation, and made thee to revive, when he breathed out and slew the camp of Sennacherib, which besieged thee and destroyed thee: just as of old in forming Adam he breathed into him the spirit of life, and made him into a living soul, so that he should be an animal and a living man. The following passages favor this, in which he speaks of Israel saying: "Because the Lord hath returned the pride of Jacob, as the pride of Israel," as if to say, God, after he had sufficiently chastised the pride of Israel and Judah through Sennacherib, cast the rod into the fire, that is, destroyed Sennacherib himself with his forces. To this pertains the exposition of Arias, which is as follows: Be not proud, O Jerusalem, because thou hast escaped the hands of Sennacherib; for if thou fallest back into crimes, there shall ascend against thee Nebuchadnezzar, who shall punish thy pride, and shall besiege and lay waste thee, as indeed came to pass. Secondly, others more rightly everywhere understand these things concerning the siege and destruction of Nineveh, both because the whole prophecy of Nahum is "the burden of Nineveh," as its title has it, not of Jerusalem; and because explaining herself expressly concerning it in verse 8, she says: "And Nineveh like a pool," etc. Thus the Hebrews, St. Jerome, Remigius, Albert, Hugh, Lyran, Clarius, Ribera, de Castro and others. The sense therefore is, as if to say, Against thee, O Nineveh, "there ascendeth," that is, there shall soon ascend an enemy, who "before thy face," that is in thy sight, thou beholding and lamenting, "scattereth," in Hebrew מפיץ mephits, that is breaketh, crusheth, scattereth, disperseth thy fields, villages, fortifications, riches, inhabitants and neighbors, "and who keepeth the siege," that is who most strictly besiegeth thee, presseth thee, and watcheth as a keeper, lest by any way thou escape, and evadest his hand; nor shall he cease until he taketh and captiveth thee. For, as Livy wisely saith in book V: "The siege of that city, which thou wishest to take quickly, must be urged and pressed." Likewise: "With an obstinate enemy one must fight obstinately," saith the same in book X. Hence the proverb: "Thou imitatest Hector, thou never departeth from Troy." You ask secondly, when and by whom was Nineveh besieged and captured? First, Diodorus Siculus in book III, Justinus in book I, Megasthenes, Eusebius, Orosius and other chronologists and historians teach throughout that Nineveh was conquered by Arbaces the Mede and Belesis the Babylonian, who forced Sardanapalus, king of Nineveh, to his own death, namely that he might hurl himself into a pyre kindled by himself: for he was the last king or monarch of the Assyrians, and in him that kingdom ceased and was transferred to the Medes and Chaldeans. Moreover Eusebius in his Chronicle, St. Jerome at the beginning of his Commentary on Amos, St. Augustine in book XVIII of the City of God, chapter xxi, Orosius and others throughout relate that Sardanapalus lived in the time of Ozias king of Judah, at which time Procas Silvius, grandfather of Romulus, was king of the Latins and reigned in Alba. Yet these two accounts do not sufficiently agree with Holy Scripture; for it is established that after Ozias, under his great-grandson Hezekiah, there lived Shalmaneser, Sennacherib and Esarhaddon, who were kings of the Assyrians and reigned in Nineveh, and were most powerful: unless you say that in Sardanapalus Nineveh and the Assyrian monarchy were overthrown; yet afterwards Nineveh flourished again and the kingdom was restored to it, though not the monarchy. For what some, wishing to reconcile pagan historians with Holy Scripture, answer with Eusebius and Megasthenes, that Shalmaneser, Sennacherib and Esarhaddon were kings of the Assyrians, that is of the Babylonians, who had already transferred the Assyrian monarchy to themselves and ruled over the conquered Assyrians; this, I say, cannot be said. For at the same time Merodach-Baladan ruled over the Babylonians, when Esarhaddon ruled over the Assyrians, as is evident from IV Kings xx, 12, compared with chapter xix, last verse. Therefore at that time there were different and proper kings of the Assyrians, as much as of the Babylonians. Be that as it may, concerning the destruction of Nineveh under Sardanapalus, if you place him as contemporary with Ozias, Nahum cannot speak of it, being far later than that; therefore that pertains to the times of Jonah, as I said in his Preface. Secondly, the Hebrews hold that Nineveh was laid waste at the beginning of the reign of Manasseh, who succeeded his father Hezekiah in the kingdom of Judah, and therefore Manasseh was led captive to Babylon, not to Nineveh, because Nineveh was already destroyed, as Genebrardus reports from Suidas in book I of his Chronology, who also adds that Sardanapalus, by crasis, is the same both in name and person as Esarhaddon. For Esarhaddon reigned in the times of Manasseh: and he appears to have been the last king of the Assyrians: for after him no other is named in Scripture. And since pagan historians assert that the last king of the Assyrians was Sardanapalus, it appears that he was none other than Esarhaddon, who lived under Manasseh; and consequently then the Assyrian empire ceased and Nineveh was destroyed. Yet Eusebius, St. Jerome, St. Augustine and other Greek and Latin writers throughout oppose this opinion, who teach that Sardanapalus lived long before Manasseh under Ozias king of Judah, as I have already said. Thirdly, St. Cyril and Theophylactus hold that Nineveh was destroyed by Cyrus and the Persians. But these appear to confuse the Assyrians with the Babylonians, and Nineveh with Babylon: for Cyrus destroyed Babylon, not Nineveh. Thus historians often comprehend the Babylonians under the Assyrians, and vice versa, as when they enumerate the four celebrated ancient monarchies, of the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans, they comprehend the Babylonians under the Assyrians. I say therefore that Nineveh was captured and destroyed by the Medes and Chaldeans, namely by Cyaxares king of the Medes and by Nebuchadnezzar king of the Babylonians. This Cyaxares was the son of Phraortes and father of Astyages; and Astyages was the maternal grandfather of Cyrus. This opinion is proved first, because the Septuagint expressly asserts it in Tobit chapter xiv, last verse. For Tobias the elder, dying there in verse 5, admonishes his son Tobias the younger to depart from Nineveh, because on account of his sins there impends upon it destruction threatened by Jonah. The Septuagint adds at the end of the chapter that Tobias the younger before his death heard of this destruction, and says: And he died (Tobias the younger) at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years in Ecbatana of Media. And he heard, before he himself died, of the destruction of Nineveh, which Nebuchadnezzar and Assuerus captured, or, as the Roman copies read, Assyeros, that is Cyaxares. For the name Cyaxares, or Kyaxares, is compounded from the prefix Ky, that is prince; and Axares, which is the same as the Hebrew and Chaldean Achasueros, that is Assuerus, as Scaliger teaches in his Emendation of Times concerning Assuerus, and Serarius in Tobit chapter xiv, Question IV. For in both names are the same consonant letters, which alone the Hebrews and Chaldeans regard, even if the points or vowels vary. Secondly, because it is the common opinion of chronologists and historians that Nebuchadnezzar was the founder of the monarchy of the Babylonians, and that he transferred it from the Assyrians and Nineveh to Babylon: but he could not have done this unless, having captured and laid waste Nineveh, he had taken the empire from them. Thirdly, Herodotus, book I, plainly teaches that Nineveh was overthrown by Cyaxares. For when he had narrated that Phraortes attacked Nineveh, but in vain; for he perished there with his forces, he adds that Cyaxares, son of Phraortes, in order to avenge his father's death, besieged Nineveh, but when meanwhile the Scythians invaded Media and occupied the empire of Asia (which they held for 28 years), Cyaxares lifted the siege and waged wars with the Scythians, until after 28 years he overcame and expelled them: having done this, he attacked Nineveh again and took it. The same is taught by Eusebius in his Chronicle, and by St. Jerome here and in the Preface to Jonah: "And truly, he says, as far as both Hebrew and Greek histories pertain, and especially Herodotus, we read that Nineveh was overthrown when Josiah was reigning among the Hebrews, and Astyages (reigning with his father Cyaxares) king of the Medes." Moreover, Cyaxares took Nineveh with the help of his son-in-law Nebuchadnezzar; for this reason he betrothed his daughter to him, by name Nitocris. This is that famous Nitocris, who in Babylon took care to have the hanging gardens built, which were a wonder of the world, concerning which Curtius in book V, and Josephus in book X of the Antiquities XIII. Herodotus celebrates her heroic deeds in book I, where he also adds that she built a tomb for herself and inscribed these words upon it: "If any of the kings of Babylon after me shall have need of money, let him open the tomb and take as much as he wishes, provided he is in need of money only, otherwise let him not open it." Darius opened it, but instead of money he found this inscription: "Unless you were insatiable for money and greedy for shameful gain, you would not have opened the urns of the dead." Finally, this is the opinion of the Hebrews in the Seder Olam, of Theodoret, Rupert, Lyra, Ribera, a Castro, Adrichomius in the Chronology, in the year of the world 3237, of Serarius in chapter XIV of Tobit, and of others. You will ask THIRDLY, when Cyaxares and Nebuchadnezzar took Nineveh, whether before or after the destruction of Jerusalem, which Nebuchadnezzar inflicted upon it in the 18th year of his reign, which was the eleventh and last year of Zedekiah king of Judah? Some think that Nineveh was taken before Jerusalem. Thus Eusebius in his Chronicle says that Nineveh was taken beginning in the 28th year of Josiah, and completed in the 4th year of Joakim son of Josiah. Beda follows Eusebius, in the book On the Six Ages of the World, where he relates that Scripture numbers the years of Nebuchadnezzar from the 4th year of Joakim, because from that time he himself began to rule not only over the Chaldeans and Jews, but also over the Assyrians and Egyptians. Christopher a Castro agrees, who thinks that Nineveh was taken in the 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar. Again, modern chronologists in manuscripts think that Cyaxares in the 35th year of his reign, which they say was the 13th of Josiah king of Judah and the first of the elder Nebuchadnezzar, took Nineveh. This elder Nebuchadnezzar is called by Berossus, Eusebius, Josephus, Scaliger, Cardinal Bellarmine and others Nabonassar, or Nabopolassar, who reigned 21 years and was the father of the younger Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed Jerusalem and other nations: whence from the glory of his deeds he was surnamed the Great, of whom Scripture speaks throughout in IV Kings chapters XXIV and XXV, and in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and other Prophets. By his father therefore, as well as by Cyaxares, these say that Nineveh was overthrown. They prove this first, because Herodotus indicates that Cyaxares was contemporary with Psammitichus, king of Egypt, who was the great-grandfather of Apries, or Ephree. For Psammitichus, who reigned 54 years, was succeeded by his son Nechao, who killed Josiah, king of Judah. Nechao was succeeded by his son Psammis, who was the father of Pharaoh Apries, or Ephree, as Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus relate. Ephree was indeed deprived of his kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar the Younger, as Jeremiah teaches in chapter xliv, 30. Therefore Cyaxares, in conquering Nineveh, does not appear to have been contemporary with Nebuchadnezzar the Younger, inasmuch as he preceded him by several generations; but rather with the Elder. Second, because Eusebius and St. Jerome, cited a little before, teach that Nineveh was overthrown by Cyaxares, or Astyages, under Josiah, king of Judah: therefore before the destruction of Jerusalem; for this happened under Zedekiah, son of Josiah. Third, because the Septuagint, already cited, teaches that the younger Tobias heard of the destruction of Nineveh before his death: now this Tobias, a boy, namely about six or seven years old, was carried away with his father in the destruction of Samaria and the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser into Assyria, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and died in Media at the age of 99, as the Latin Bibles have it, Tobias xiv. Subtract seven years of his childhood, which preceded his captivity and the sixth year of Hezekiah, and from that point count the following years up to the thirteenth of Josiah, you will find 99: so that Tobias here appears to have died in the thirteenth year of Josiah already mentioned. Fourth, Josephus, in book IX of the Antiquities, chapter XI, teaches that Nahum prophesied under Jotham, father of Ahaz, and adds: "Now all things that were predicted concerning Nineveh came to pass after one hundred and fifteen years." But the thirteenth year of Josiah is 115 years from the last year of Jotham: therefore in this thirteenth year of Josiah Nineveh appears to have been destroyed. And this appears to have been the rod of vigilance hanging over the back of all nations, which Jeremiah saw in the thirteenth year of Josiah, chapter I, 2; namely, this rod was Nebuchadnezzar the Elder, who in the thirteenth year of Josiah destroyed Nineveh, and began to rage against other nations. However, this opinion is opposed, first, by the fact that these authors, in their synchronism, or combination of times, are forced to begin the 70 years of Babylonian captivity from the thirteenth year of Josiah; for they say that the thirty-fifth year of Cyaxares fell in this year, in which he himself destroyed Nineveh, and he then reigned five more years (for he reigned in all 40 years). He was succeeded by his son Astyages for 38 years; Astyages was succeeded by his grandson Cyrus, as is evident from Daniel XIII, 65. Cyrus, however, gradually growing in strength and victories, finally in the twenty-seventh year of his reign attacked Babylon, took it, and became monarch, and then released the Jews captive in Babylon. Add the 5 years of Cyaxares, 38 of Astyages, 27 of Cyrus, and you will have 70 years of captivity: for these are completed in the twenty-seventh year of Cyrus. Whence it necessarily follows that the 70 years of Babylonian captivity must begin from the thirteenth year of Josiah, which, as they say, was the thirty-fifth of Cyaxares. But chronologists everywhere refute this, who begin these 70 years much later, and count far more than 70 years from the thirteenth of Josiah to the twenty-seventh of Cyrus. Add that under Josiah Jerusalem was prosperous; but its captivities began under Joiakim and Zedekiah, sons of Josiah. Second, Eusebius in the Chronicle, and others say that Cyaxares began to reign in the fifteenth year of Josiah; therefore he could not have destroyed Nineveh in the thirteenth year of Josiah, inasmuch as he was not yet king. Third, because Nahum, chapter III, 7 and 8, signifies that Nineveh was to be destroyed after the destruction of Alexandria: but Alexandria was destroyed after Jerusalem. For, as Josephus teaches in X Antiquities xi, and Ezekiel in chapter xxix, 17, Nebuchadnezzar the Younger, after laying waste Jerusalem, in the fifth year invaded and occupied Egypt, whose metropolis is Alexandria. Fourth, Jeremiah favors this, who, in chapter xxv, 26, among the nations and kings to be overcome by Nebuchadnezzar the Younger, names the kings of the North: for among these the king of Nineveh and the Assyrians was nearest to him and to Babylon. Whence Judith xvi, 5, it is said: "Assur came from the mountains from the North." Again Jeremiah, chapter L, 18: "Behold, says he, I will visit the king of Babylon, and his land as I visited the king of Assur;" signifying that Babylon was to be destroyed in like manner not long after Nineveh, namely after 54 years: for so many years are there from the twenty-fourth year of Nebuchadnezzar the Younger, or the Great, in which he himself destroyed Nineveh, up to the twenty-seventh of Cyrus, in which he took Babylon, and having destroyed it made himself monarch. It appears therefore that Nebuchadnezzar the Great, gradually growing through arms and victories, after destroying Jerusalem, finally in the 23rd year of his reign invaded Egypt: having occupied it, in the 24th year he dared to attempt the citadel of the monarchy, namely Nineveh, aided by Cyaxares, and having captured it, he transferred the monarchy from Nineveh to Babylon, and made himself its first monarch. Whence from this year, as the first of the monarchy, Daniel counts his years in chapter II, 1, as I said there. Thus Ribera, Serarius in Tobias chapter xiv, Question IV, and Torniellus hold, in the year of the world 3432, who also adds that Nineveh was captured many times. For it itself, rebelling repeatedly against the Chaldeans, as being impatient of the yoke, which it had been accustomed to rule over others, was first captured by Arbaces the Mede, when Sardanapalus was its king, shortly after the preaching of Jonah before the times of Nahum. Second, it was captured under Asarhaddon son of Sennacherib by Merodach Baladan, king of Babylon. Whence after Asarhaddon no kings of the Assyrians are named in Scripture any longer, but only of the Babylonians. Hence Asarhaddon was overcome by Merodach Baladan, under the 27th year of Hezekiah king of Judah, as Josephus in Antiquities book III chapter III, Bellarmine, Genebrard and Torniellus in the Chronicle hold, in the year of the world 3335, who also in the year of the world 3384 thus recounts the series of the kings of Babylon of that age. Nabonassar reigned for 26 years, then Merodach Baladan for 52 years, after him Ben Merodach for 24 years; next Nabolassar (or Nebuchadnezzar the elder) for 21 years, finally Nebuchadnezzar the younger for 44 years. Third, Nineveh was captured and completely subdued by Cyaxares and Nebuchadnezzar the younger in the 24th year of his reign. Finally after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, in the time of Xerxes, as Ribera wishes, or of Artaxerxes, as others hold, another Nebuchadnezzar reigned in Nineveh, who sent Holofernes into Judea; whom Judith killed, chapter I, 5. See how God presses down proud cities and the proud, and this as often as they raise up their necks and horns. To the first argument of the previous opinion I reply that Cyaxares, beginning to reign at the end of the reign of Psammetichus, could easily reach the times of Ephraim, who was the great-grandson of Psammetichus. For Cyaxares reigned for 40 years. It is certain however that he was contemporary with Nebuchadnezzar the younger; for this one began to reign in the 3rd year of Joiakim son of Josiah, Daniel I, 1. But Cyaxares began to reign in the 15th year of Josiah, who reigned for 31 years. Whence it follows that Cyaxares reigned only 18 years before Nebuchadnezzar, and reigned with him for 22 years: in total he reigned for 40 years. To the second, I reply that Eusebius and St. Jerome speak confusedly about the time of the destruction of Nineveh, and assign it under Josiah; because Cyaxares began to besiege Nineveh under Josiah; but when the Scythians invaded Media, he interrupted the siege for 28 years, as I said a little before: after which, resuming and renewing the siege with Nebuchadnezzar the younger, he captured Nineveh and laid it waste in the year already mentioned. Hence St. Jerome says it was laid waste under Astyages, when namely Cyaxares, growing old, had made Astyages his son a partner in the kingdom, indeed its moderator; which certainly was not under Josiah, but long after. Hence again Eusebius is not sufficiently consistent with himself. For he assigns the beginning of the reign of Cyaxares to the 13th year of Josiah, but the capture of Nineveh to the 28th year of Josiah, and again to the fourth year of Joiakim. Whence it follows that he captured Nineveh in the 13th year of his reign, or certainly the 20th, when on the other hand from Herodotus it is established that at least 28 years elapsed between the beginning of his reign and the siege of Nineveh, up to its capture. To the third, I reply that the Septuagint gives to Tobias the younger not only 99 years, as the Latin Bibles have, but 127; which if you count, you will reach the year of the destruction of Nineveh designated by me a little before. Add some, like Serarius, who compute these 99 years from the death of his father; to which add the 63 years in which he lived with his father in captivity, and if you make him only two years old when he came into captivity, you will conclude that he lived in total 164 years, so that he reached the 24th year of Nebuchadnezzar, in which Nineveh was overthrown. To the fourth, it is answered that Josephus says this prophecy of Nahum was fulfilled after 115 years, because then it began to be fulfilled; for then Cyaxares began to besiege Nineveh: but it was perfectly completed after 28 years of Cyaxares, as I have already shown. Add that Josephus errs, when he says Nahum began to prophesy under Jotham: for he began under his grandson Hezekiah, as I said in the Proem. Finally, the synchronism of those times will be easy if you add ten years from Astyages, his son, to Cyaxares, to whom Eusebius gives only 32 years of reign, years which Astyages administered the kingdom while his father was old, and for this reason these years are given by historians to Astyages, not to Cyaxares; and therefore St. Jerome, in the Preface to Jonah, says Nineveh was conquered by Astyages, not by Cyaxares: for when ten years are added to Cyaxares, the 42nd year of Cyaxares will fall upon the 24th year of Nebuchadnezzar the Younger, or the Great, in which he himself, having laid waste Egypt, conquered Nineveh with the forces of Cyaxares. Then succeeded Cyaxares his son Astyages, who alone reigned 28 years, and then Cyrus, who in the 27th year of his reign released the Babylonian captivity, which had already lasted 70 years; for you will find these 70 years if you begin them from the 11th and last year of Joakim, which was the 27th of Cyaxares; for add the remaining 15 years of Cyaxares, 28 of Astyages, 27 of Cyrus, and you will have the 70 years which we seek. From what has been said it follows that the empire of Nineveh and the Assyrians stood for 1440 years; for so many years flowed from the first year of Ninus, the founder of Nineveh, who preceded the birth of Abraham by 43 years (for in the 43rd year of Ninus Abraham was born, says Eusebius in the Chronicle) until the 24th year of Nebuchadnezzar, in which Nineveh was overthrown. Thus Ribera. Let these things concerning chronology so ancient, and therefore uncertain and obscure, suffice. CONTEMPLATE (O Nineveh) THE WAY — by which the Medes and Chaldeans come in great companies, that they may besiege and destroy you. For thus the citizens of a besieged city are accustomed to gaze carefully and anxiously upon the ways by which the camps of the enemy come, about to besiege the city. Way therefore is put for wayfarers, namely enemies, by metonymy. The infirm are called those without strength in the loins; and when we wish to weaken a man or animal, we break his loins. Thus Plautus in the Amphitryon: "If," he says, "you provoke me, you will carry away a breaking of the loins from here today," that is to say, If you provoke me, I will break your loins. On the other hand, concerning a strong woman the Wise Man says in Proverbs xxxi, 17: "She hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened her arm." Moreover, the loins are strengthened if they are bound tight with a hand, belt, or similar bond. Whence the Septuagint translates: Gird the loins, act manfully. STRENGTHEN VIRTUE GREATLY. — "Virtue," that is strength; the Hebrew, strengthen strength greatly; the Septuagint, to strengthen mightily; the Chaldean, corroborate strength greatly; the Zurich, in all ways equip the forces; for these are the strengths of cities, namely the multitudes of citizens and soldiers.
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Tropologically St. Jerome says: "Three things, he says, are commanded to Judah," that is to the Church and to the faithful soul: "First, that she contemplate the way, and the path by which she is about to walk, let her carefully observe it, according to that in Jeremiah vi, 16: Stand ye in the ways, and ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it, so that, when we have stood in many ways, we may come to that way which says: I am the way. Then it is said to her that she hold her loins, that is, that after the choice of life, she mortify her body and subject it to servitude, lest, as a king and master preaching to others, she herself be found reprobate, because the power of the devil is especially in the loins, Job XL, 11; and because John girds himself with a leather girdle, Matthew III; and because the Savior commands his disciples: Let your loins be girded about, Luke XII; and the Apostle in Ephesians VI: Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth; for although continence of life greatly surpasses mortification of the loins, nevertheless nothing mortifies them so much as knowledge of truth. Whence it is said: Gird up your loins in truth. For if truth is Christ, whoever has believed in Christ with his whole mind has mortified his loins in Christ. Third, it is commanded: Be strengthened with exceeding might. Thou hast chosen, he says, the way, thou hast held thy loins; assume strength, that thou mayest be able to fight with enemies. And lest perchance thou despair, a reason is given thee why thou shouldest hope. The Lord, he says, hath turned away the reproach of Jacob, which Jacob was wont to do to others. For it is not so much a matter of virtue to endure injury done by others, as it is a matter of the grace of the Lord to be unable to do injury in a peaceful, meek and tranquil manner. Israel therefore, that is the sense or the man seeing God, and always thinking of God, knows not how to do injury." 2. Because the Lord hath returned the pride of Jacob, as the PRIDE OF ISRAEL. — For pride the Hebrew is גאון geon, which signifies both pride and magnificence and glory. Whence the Chaldean, Vatablus and Arias translate: He shall restore the magnificence of Jacob, according to the majesty of Israel, that is, as if to say, The Lord shall restore to Israel through Cyrus its former majesty and glory, which the Assyrian and Babylonian had obscured by despoiling the Jews of all goods and leading them captive into Babylon. For Jacob and Israel seem to be taken for the same, namely for the Jews. Thus Isaiah, cap. LX, 15, says: "I will make thee a glory," that is magnificence and glory, "of ages." And cap. LXI, 6: "In their glory you shall glory," that is you shall boast. Thus also Virgil, I Aeneid: Hence a people, a king far and wide, mighty in war, destined to come to the destruction of Libya. And lib. III: Barbarian bearers of gold and spoils, magnificent, that is magnificent. Whence the Syrian translates: Because he restored (brought back: for the Syriac word properly is said of a thing which, brought into captivity, plunder or loss, is restored to its former state) the honor or glory of Jacob, as the honor or glory of Israel. Thus also the Arabic of Antioch. But others more correctly everywhere take pride here properly, and that in a twofold sense. The former is, that the pride of Jacob and Israel be taken passively, for that which Jacob and Israel suffered from the Assyrians. Thus God is called our love, fear, hope, patience, passively and objectively, namely he who is loved, feared, hoped for by us, on account of whom we suffer, as if to say, Thou shalt be besieged and laid waste, O Nineveh, because God is destined to avenge the pride which thy king Sennacherib and thy Assyrians exercised against Jacob, that is against the Jews, insulting them through Rabshakeh; as much as the pride which the same exercised against Israel, that is against Samaria and the ten tribes, laying them waste through Shalmaneser. Thus St. Jerome, Remigius, Hugh, Lyra; indeed even the Septuagint translates: The Lord hath turned away the reproach of Jacob, as the reproach of Israel. The second interpretation is that the pride of Jacob and Israel is taken properly and actively for the arrogance of the Jews and Israelites, by which, being puffed up and swollen, they wished to live for themselves and were unwilling to be subject to God and obey Him, as if to say: I will render upon Nineveh and punish and destroy its pride; because "I have rendered," that is, I will render and punish, the pride of Jacob, that is, of Jerusalem and the Jews, by destroying them through Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, just as I have rendered, punished and destroyed Israel, or the ten tribes, through Shalmaneser and the Assyrians. For if I do not spare my faithful people, much less shall I spare my enemies, namely the unfaithful Assyrians; but just as I have broken their proud necks through the Chaldeans, so also shall I break these; especially because they themselves have been injurious to this people of mine, and I have permitted and tolerated them and their injuries for this time only, that through them I might chastise my people: but now that my people have been sufficiently and more than sufficiently chastised, I no longer need the Assyrians as chastisers; I will therefore chastise them also, and cast the rod, as is commonly said, into the fire. Thus Clarius and Arias. This interpretation is proved first, because according to it the pride of Jacob and Israel is taken properly. Second, because the following words demand it: "Because the spoilers," namely the Chaldeans, "have scattered them"; for immediately after he describes at length the shields, arms, forces, ardor, might and assault of the Chaldeans from verse 3 to 8. Whence the Arabic Alexandrian version translates: Because the Lord despised Jacob according to the despising of Israel. Because the spoilers have scattered them. — First, St. Jerome, Haymo, Hugo, Lyran, Arias and Vatablus understand by spoilers the Assyrians, as if to say: The Assyrians have devastated and scattered Israel, that is, Samaria and the ten tribes, through their king Shalmaneser; and Jacob, that is, Jerusalem and Judah, through Sennacherib. Second and better, by spoilers with Theodoret and Theophylact you should understand the Chaldeans, who have devastated and despoiled both Nineveh and the Assyrians just as Jerusalem and the Jews. In the Hebrew there is a beautiful paronomasia כי בקקום בוקקים ki becacum bokekim, that is, because they have emptied them by emptying of goods, as Pagninus translates; and the Zurich Bible: Plunderers have plundered them; and, as Vatablus: Spoilers have spoiled them. It follows: And their branches have they corrupted, — as if to say: Just as boars or enemies devastating a vineyard tear up, scatter and corrupt individual vines and their branches; so the Chaldeans, devastating Nineveh, equally as Jerusalem, will destroy and corrupt its individual families, indeed its individual citizens and inhabitants, either by killing them or by leading them into captivity. Note: The branches of cities, for example Nineveh, can first be understood as suburbs, villages and towns which are derived from and depend upon the metropolis, and adorn it as branches or shoots adorn a vine. Thus the Chaldean and Arias. Second, tribes and families. Thus Albert and Hugo. Third, sons and grandsons. Fourth, harvests and riches, which the Israelites accumulated from year to year: for the Assyrians invaded the land of Israel almost every year and despoiled it of the goods which it had accumulated. These he calls corrupted branches, says Vatablus; but I have already said that these things must be understood of the Chaldeans plundering Nineveh equally as Jerusalem, not of the Assyrians. Therefore the harvests and riches of the Ninevites, equally as of the Jews, he calls their branches, which Nebuchadnezzar repeatedly invaded and seized. Whence he adds concerning him:
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3. THE SHIELD OF HIS MIGHTY ONES IS KINDLED. — Now he speaks of the Chaldeans in the plural, saying: "Devastators have scattered them;" now in the singular, saying: "Shield," that is shields: because the army is one collectively, but many distributively; for it contains many soldiers, just as many citizens make one city, and many families one people, and many nations one kingdom and empire. He looks back to the beginning of the chapter: "He ascendeth that scattereth before thee." Namely, Nebuchadnezzar ascends, and his army. Whence concerning him, as being singular, he speaks here singularly: "The shield of his mighty ones is kindled," that is to say, the Chaldeans and Medes, your devastators, O Nineveh, have shields of gold or brass, which by the reflection of the sun appear red and kindled, and therefore are terrible and fearful, according to that saying of Virgil, Aeneid X: A helmet terrible with crests, and flames vomiting forth. The apex burns upon the head, and from the crest at the summit flame Pours forth, and the golden boss vomits forth vast fires. For in Hebrew it is: The shield of his mighty ones מאדם meaddam, that is, red, as the Chaldean translator renders it; or, as Pagninus, reddened; Zurich: The shield of his heroes glows like fire or lightning; Syriac: The shields of the giants (mighty ones) of them grow red, and the men giants (strong) play with burning torches (kindled) and in chariots on the day when they are prepared; Arabic: The shields of the giants of them glowing flash forth, and the men giants sadden the fire; the Septuagint, reading מאדם meadam with different points, that is, from man, translate: The arms of his power from men, namely because the men of the army in scarlet, as follows. Graphically the Prophet here depicts the shields, arms, strength, spirits and onslaughts of the Chaldeans, so that by these he may strike down Nineveh and the Assyrians. First therefore he depicts here their first line equipped with shields, that is to say, the first ranks of the Chaldeans equipped with golden shields and bucklers will lead the camp, so that by these they may intercept all the darts and javelins of the enemy: they will therefore be noble and generous. For which reason they will attack you generously and strenuously, O Nineveh: they will not flee like common and ordinary soldiers; for they will esteem this to be a disgrace to themselves: but they will prefer to fall than to flee, so that they may maintain their honor and glory. Thus the Spanish celebrate this military axiom: "A captain who hunts for fame and glory ought to make little account of life." Hence secondly, he describes the second line, saying: MEN OF THE ARMY IN SCARLET, — that is to say, The soldiers of the Chaldeans will be noble, and therefore will be clothed in scarlet cloaks: for scarlet was the garment of the noble, indeed of kings, as I said on Lamentations IV, 4, to that passage: "They that were brought up in scarlet," in Hebrew, in scarlet. Whence Zurich translates: The men of war are clothed in purple; Pagninus: Men of the army, clothed in vermilion garments. This scarlet color, being blood-colored, represents the ferocity of the Chaldeans, that they will be bloody, and will pour much blood in Nineveh. Thus Remigius, Albert and Arias. For which reason St. John saw that great and horrible army, which at the end of the world will slay the third part of men, having breastplates of fire, hyacinthine and sulphurous, Apocalypse IX, 17. Thus the Romans, about to engage with the enemy, displayed the signal of battle in the praetorium, a red or scarlet tunic, and indeed the soldiers themselves were clothed in the same, and from this were called russati, as Lipsius teaches from Plutarch in Fabius and in Brutus, and also from Isidore, lib. IV On Roman Warfare, cap. xii. The Greeks did the same in turn. For Plutarch, speaking of the battle of Antiochus with Cleomenes: "He ordered some to rest," he says, "until the purple garment spread over the sarissa should be removed by the king." And Homer, Iliad 6, speaking of Agamemnon calling his men to battle: "Lifting the purple garment in his strong hand." For which reason soldiers also wore red or purple crests on their helmets, attached indeed to bloody Mars. Hence Virgil, Aeneid IX: "And the crest covers the golden helmet red." And again: "Purple-crested youths." Diodorus, lib. VI, teaches that the Spanish did the same: "Around their heads," he says, "they place bronze helmets, adorned with purple crests." Concerning the army of Cyrus, Xenophon, lib. VI of the Education of Cyrus: "The whole army," he says, "flashed with bronze, and flourished with purple ornament." Our Martin of Roa gives the reason, lib. I Singularities, cap. II, namely so that blood, if any were expressed from an inflicted wound, would be absorbed by the scarlet: then they would fight more confidently, and without fear. This is more truly in the blood of Christ, which is our purple and scarlet garment, says St. Ambrose in Psalm cxviii, sermon 47. For He indeed dyes souls, and from them as it were drinks the blood of sinners: "For He hath washed us from our sins in His blood." Again, He inflames us to fight sharply against the demon, flesh and world. For nothing so sharpens minds against the enemy as the appearance of received injury set before the eyes. For this brings pain to the eyes, anger to the mind: which two are torches in war. He adds a second reason in cap. III, namely that the Gentiles believed that a scarlet garment would keep them safe in battles and dangers. Whence also formerly a scarlet cord was hung from the neck of Christian children, to avert the evil eye and all perils, as St. Chrysostom reviews and refutes, homil. 12 in epist. I ad Cor. cap. IV. The Egyptians also every year anointed all trees, cattle and many other things with red ochre against fire and other misfortunes, as Epiphanius testifies, hæres. 18; which superstition they seem to have drawn from the fact that the children of Israel were saved by the destroying angel, by anointing the doorposts with the blood of the paschal lamb, Exodus XII. He gives a third reason in lib. IV, cap. VII, that the scarlet or purple color approaches fire, and is an index and stimulus of fiery spirit: whence when you say purple, you seem to say pure burning, namely fire. Purple therefore bears the color of roses before it, and the splendor of fire. Whence fire is called purple by the Poets, and purple fiery. He gives a symbolic reason in the same place cap. VIII, that those who descend into battle fight for the soul, which consists in blood, which scarlet or purple represents. Whence Virgil in Aeneid XI: He vomits forth the purple soul. This color therefore especially stirs minds and moves them against enemies, whom we know to crave blood, or even to have shed it. Tropologically, the scarlet soldiers of Christ are martyrs, who are purpled with their own blood, and willingly, indeed joyfully, repay it to the blood of Christ: for which reason Cardinals are clothed in purple, to show themselves ready to shed blood for Christ and the Church, as I said on Ezechiel xvi, 10. The scarlet are also the faithful burning with charity, according to that concerning the bride, Canticles IV, 3: "Thy lips are like a scarlet thread," namely, "that speech always burns with charity, reddens with the passion of the lamb and spouse, who should always be in the heart, always on the lips, fair and ruddy, sweet Jesus," says St. Bernard, On the Passion of the Lord, cap. XXXI. Thirdly, he describes their fiery chariots thus: FIERY REINS OF HIS CHARIOT IN THE DAY OF HIS PREPARATION. — "Fiery," that is golden, which in the radiant sun will appear bright and burning, as I said before concerning shields: "Now in burning," in straps and reins, says St. Jerome, "signifies the swiftness of those preparing, and as it were the ἐντάξιν of those preparing themselves to battle is narrated in procession." Note: The Chaldeans, equally as the Romans of old, nobles and soldiers, were wholly devoted to arms; and, if they were horsemen, to adorning bridles and horses. Hear Juvenal, satyr. XI: Whatever silver there was shone alone in arms. Great artificers' cups the soldier broke, That his horse might rejoice in trappings. And Virgil, Aeneid IV, concerning Aeneas: And he had a sword starred with tawny jasper. And lib. VII, concerning the horses which King Latinus gave to Aeneas: He orders the Teucrians to be led in order, swift-footed horses spread with purple, and with painted tapestries. Golden necklaces hang down from their breasts. Covered with gold they chew the tawny gold beneath their teeth. For reins, as our translator and the Septuagint render it, in Hebrew it is פלדות peladoth, which by metathesis is placed for לפידות lappideth, that is lamps, torches, torches: the Chaldean, Zurich, Vatablus, Pagninus and the Rabbis accept it; whence they translate: The chariots of his expedition at that time will be like the fire of lamps, or torches, that is to say, The scythed chariots of Nebuchadnezzar himself coming to besiege Jerusalem will be seen as fiery, or surrounded with fire, which will be raised by the iron of wheels rapidly driven, striking against rocks and flints. By this phrase he indicates the violence and swiftness, and the rapid course, and as it were the flight of chariots. Some add that torches and burning brands were attached to these chariots, by which they would burn those in the way and things in the way, just as scythes were attached to them (from which they are called scythed) to cut and mow everything. Whence the Chaldean translates: The fire of torches of their chariots is prepared. Hence also concerning the same it is added: Their appearance is as of lamps, as of lightnings running to and fro. AND THE DRIVERS ARE OVERCOME WITH SLEEP. — The Syrian: The mighty horsemen are stupefied, that is to say, the Medes and Chaldeans, most skilled and strongest drivers of chariots and horses, overcome with drunkenness (so that they may sleep away the apprehension and fear of battle, not the senses and spirits of fighting; but rather sharpen and inflame them with wine, as happens in those half-drunk) will rush intrepidly into battles and arms against the Ninevites. Thus today we see the Cossacks, the Dutch, the Irish, and certain other nations about to fight, fill themselves with strong wine, so that they appear bold and burning, and breathing fire, and thus rush fearlessly upon enemies and swords. To this pertains the exposition of Sanchez, that is to say, the Chaldeans in advancing and fighting will be so ardent and precipitous that fury and wine seem to have utterly robbed them of mind and counsel. For drivers in Hebrew is ברושים beroscim, that is, firs. Whence Vatablus and Arias translate: Firs, that is, the lances and spears of the Chaldeans made of fir wood, infected with poison, so that they would destroy all; Pagninus, and the firs trembled, that is, the leaders of the Assyrians, who are like firs, in Nineveh seized with trembling, while they saw the fiery chariots and horsemen of the Chaldeans attacking them. But Our author translates, drivers; and the Septuagint, horsemen, who standing in chariots were lofty, hard and strong, like firs. For thus Pharaoh, erect and glorious, is compared to a fir, cedar and plane tree, Ezech. xxxi, 8. Perhaps for ברושים beroscim they read בראשם beroseam, that is, in their head, namely the leaders and commanders of chariots, that is their charioteers and drivers. Whence the Chaldean translates, magnates. For these are as it were the charioteers of the political chariot, that is of the commonwealth. Whence it is said to Elias: "My father, the chariot of Israel and the charioteer thereof," IV Kings II, 12. Again for overcome with sleep, in Hebrew it is הורעלו horalu, which is derived from רעל raal, that is, deadly poison, tremor, sleep; also a mitre, or trembling crown. Wherefore horalu can first be translated, overcome with sleep, as Our author translates; secondly, mitred or crowned, as if nobles of the nobles, drivers and leaders of chariots. Whence the Chaldean translates: And their magnates glitter in colored garments; thirdly, infected with poison; fourthly, trembled, or will be disturbed. Whence the Septuagint translates: Their horsemen will be in tumult, that is to say, The horsemen and charioteers, on account of their number, haste, violence and impetuosity, meeting in roads too narrow for them, will be in tumult, so that they collide their chariots with one another. Hence it appears that this, equally as the preceding and following passages, pertains to the Chaldeans besieging Nineveh, not to the Assyrians besieged; for the Chaldean war chariots, as he began, so he continues in the following passages to depict. However, St. Jerome, Theodoret, Theophylactus, Remigius, Hugo, Lyran, Ribera and a Castro refer this to the Assyrians, as if to say: The Chaldeans will come swiftly to lay waste Nineveh, when the Assyrian horsemen, previously excellent and renowned in driving horses, will have been overcome with sleep either by gluttony, or by sloth, or by fear. For these properly are said to be overcome with sleep: since the Chaldeans rather were agile, wakeful and keen for battle. And this properly signifies the Hebrew horalu, that is, they were made to sleep, they trembled, they were dismayed, as if they had drunk deadly poison. Wherefore this sense concerning the Assyrians seems clearer and more genuine. Nor does it hinder that before and after Nahum speaks of the Chaldeans; because Prophets are wont often to change persons, and to pass from one to another, which has a dispute or matter with the former; and that silently and with tacit name. Thus here he celebrates the chariots and warriors of the Chaldeans from this, that at their presence, force and impetuosity the Assyrians, otherwise illustrious and famous in the driving and chariotry of horses, fell, and as if lifeless were stupefied, and overcome with sleep. Whence of the same he says verse 13: "I will burn thy chariots even to smoke."
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4. In their journeys they were troubled. — Namely the Assyrians, drivers of horses and chariots, of whom Nahum has just spoken immediately before. For these, despairing of safety, like madmen ran about through the city, namely Nineveh, besieged by the Chaldeans. Thus Theodoret, Theophylactus, Vatablus and a Castro. Better St. Jerome, Remigius, Rupertus, Hugo, Lyran and Arias refer these things to the Chaldeans: for he describes their war chariots, force and impetuosity, and compares them a little later to lightnings, as if to say: The chariots and quadrigae of the Chaldeans will run through the streets of Nineveh in such number and force that they will trouble and collide with one another, and by collision will strike out sparks and flames. Whence they will be so terrible, swift and violent that they will seem to be like fiery torches, that is, fire and lightnings running about; "so that they terrify enemies by their appearance before they strike them down with the sword," says St. Jerome. For "they were troubled" in Hebrew is יתהוללו iitholelu, which Pagninus properly translates as "they shall rage," that is, they run about like madmen, says Vatablus; the Chaldean [paraphrase], "they make a loud noise"; the Septuagint, "they are confused"; the Zurich [Bible], "they will tumult." Thus the Poet said of Gnaeus and Publius Scipio: "Two lightnings of war, the Scipios." Thus also the Cherubim, soldiers of God, went and returned in the likeness of a flash of lightning, Ezech. I, 14. See the things said there. In lightning is noted splendor joined with swiftness, which pierces the eyes and strikes the mind vehemently: hence lightning in Scripture is a symbol of terror and of something fearful. The Chaldeans therefore are compared to running lightnings in imitation of splendor, swiftness and efficacy in terrifying and penetrating, on account of the armored Babylonian and Persian horseman, whom Heliodorus, book IX of the History of Ethiopia, describes, with gleaming arms and swift course. Thus Cyprian the Cistercian monk on this passage, and Delrio in adage 997. Finally, the golden helmets of the Chaldeans flashed with the reflection of the sun; perhaps also they painted lightnings on them, so that they would appear more terrible and lightning-like, according to that saying of Statius, book III: "Helmets crested with the brightness of lightning." Second, "their appearance," namely of the Chaldeans, will be threatening, burning, lightning-like, so that fury and burning rage flash forth from their eyes. Thus Cicero said of Verres: "His eyes burned, cruelty flashed forth from his whole face." And Seneca in Oedipus: Threatening cheeks burn with savage fire, And eyes scarcely hold themselves in their sockets. And Virgil, X Aeneid: He is driven by these furies, and from his whole burning face Sparks fly forth, fire flashes in his keen eyes. Thus Sanchez. Tropologically, all these things are easily adapted to Lucifer. For he is our Nebuchadnezzar, and a lightning-like enemy, whose fiery darts, as the Apostle says in Ephes. VI, 16, are burning temptations and lusts, which he stirs up in our flesh. His soldiers are innumerable demons, who run about like lightnings to destroy men: for they burn with hatred and envy toward them, and therefore conspire for their destruction. Wherefore St. Peter, epistle I, chapter V, 8: "Be sober," he says, "and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour: whom resist ye, strong in faith." And St. Paul, Ephes. VI, 11: "Put on," he says, "the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil; for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places." See the things said there, and things to be said here chapter III, 4.
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5. HE SHALL REMEMBER HIS MIGHTY ONES. — This verse can pertain both to the besieged Ninevites and to the besieging Chaldeans. If to the besieged, the sense will be, as if to say, Nineveh and its king will recall and review all their most mighty commanders and soldiers, and will send them to the walls to defend them, who will rush upon them with such force and number that especially in narrow streets, thrusting and striking one another, they will fall: thence they will ascend the walls, and there will construct shelters, or, as the Septuagint has it, fortifications, or, as the Chaldean version, towers, by which they may protect themselves against the invading Chaldeans, or even against the injuries of the air, so that they may endure a long siege. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Theophylactus, Remigius, Rupertus, Lyran, Hugh, Clarius, de Castro and Ribera. If to the besiegers, the sense will be, as if to say, The enemy Cyaxares and Nebuchadnezzar will send their strong soldiers against you, O Nineveh, in such abundance and force that from haste and confusion they will fall, while they ascend and invade your walls; and while they will prepare and bring up a shelter, that is a testudo, by which through a battering ram sent and driven against the walls, they will shake and cast them down. For those who worked the ram lay hidden under the testudo, undermining the walls of cities. Thus Vatablus and R. David. For the testudo was indeed a war machine of this form: it was constructed of planks, and covered with cilician hides, or patchwork, and other materials which are difficult to burn. This had within it a beam, which was fixed with an iron hook, and was called a falx from the fact that it was curved, and would extract stones from the wall. For the beam was drawn back by ropes suspended (which was called a ram), so that when drawn back it would strike more forcefully: and therefore also called testudo from the likeness of a reptile, in that it now extends its head, now draws it back. This reptile is called a testudo, from the shell by which it covers and encloses itself, says Varro. Hence Silius in book I: At last with the dense arms of the narrow testudo, The Carthaginian rampart removed, and the blind hiding place, They open the city collapsed with walls undermined. This testudo was called a battering-ram testudo, because it contained a ram, and vibrated against the walls. Thus Procopius in book I of the Gothic War, and our Valtrin in book V On Military Matters, chapter VI. For there was another military testudo, easy and common, namely con- Mystically, our testudo is the providence of God, the saint's faith, hope and confidence in Him: for this protects us, and preserves us unharmed from every enemy and danger; indeed it hurls battering rams and darts against our enemies, by which it prostrates them. Whence the Psalmist, Psalm XC: "He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven." Read the psalm, which is entirely about this matter. Sitting in this testudo, David confidently proclaims Psalm XXVI, 1: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear: if a battle should rise up against me, in this will I hope."
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6. THE GATES OF THE RIVERS ARE OPENED, — as if to say, The gates of Nineveh, which lead to the Tigris, are opened by its flooding and the irruption of enemies. Thus Clarius, Vatablus, Dionysius and the Chaldean version, which translates: The sources of the rivers are cut off. Whence soon after the Prophet calls Nineveh a pool of waters. See what I said about this flooding of the Tigris into Nineveh in chapter I, 8. Symbolically, the gates of Nineveh are called "gates of rivers," that is of peoples, because they poured forth an immense multitude of citizens. Thus in Apocalypse XVII, 15, many waters are called "many peoples." Whence the Septuagint translates: The gates of the cities are opened; for cities abound in people. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Theophylactus, Rupertus, Remigius and Lyran. Secondly, Sanchez metaphorically takes the rivers to mean the forces of the Chaldeans, which, held back by the walls of Nineveh as if by dikes, having broken through them by force, inundated and devastated the city. AND THE TEMPLE IS DESTROYED TO THE GROUND. — The temple namely of Nesroch, celebrated for wealth and fame, says Lyran, in which Sennacherib, while worshipping, was slain by his sons. In Hebrew it is היכל hechal, that is a basilica, palace, stately house, temple. Whence the Septuagint translates: The royal buildings, that is the royal dwellings, collapsed; the Chaldean: The king trembled in his palace; the Zurich version: The palace was dissolved. The matter comes to the same thing. For in palaces kings had temples of their tutelary gods, as the Romans had the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in the Capitol, the Trojans had the temple of Pallas in the citadel, and her image, which they called the Palladium. Constantine the emperor did the same, when he built the Lateran basilica in his Lateran palace. Kings and princes do the same even now, as can be seen in their courts.
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7. AND A SOLDIER CAPTIVE WAS LED AWAY. — The interpreter reads הצב hatsab, that is, standing, remaining, namely a soldier stationed and garrisoned for the rampart in a station remaining, so that he might defend Nineveh against the Chaldeans, was captured by the Chaldeans and led away. Thus St. Jerome, Rupertus, Remigius, Haymo and Lyranus. Secondly, hatsab is the same as station, substance, subsistence. Whence the Septuagint translates: And substance was revealed, as if to say the Chaldeans plundered the substance and riches of Nineveh. Now for hatsab, with another pointing they read passively in hophal, הצב hutsab, that is, appointed, constituted, namely either a fortress; whence Arias and the Zurich Bible translate: And her fortification most firm was laid bare and taken away; or the wife of the king, or queen who is accustomed to stand beside the king; whence the Chaldean translator renders: And the queen, who sat assisting, went into captivity; and her handmaids led after her walked mourning, like doves. Thus the Hebrews. Whence Pagninus retained the Hebrew name hutsab as if a proper name of the queen, and translated: And Hutsab the queen was led captive, ordered to mount a chariot. AND HER HANDMAIDS LAMENTED, — that is, the virgins and matrons of Nineveh, once noble, now captive, as handmaids and slaves, nay rather as beasts, lamented by the Chaldeans, and were dragged into servitude, who dared not wail from fear of them: but like doves they groaned in secret, and murmured in their hearts. Symbolically St. Jerome, Rupertus and Remigius understand by handmaids the cities which were subject to Nineveh the metropolis, and served it as handmaids, all of which Nebuchadnezzar captured, laid waste and took captive. Otherwise Sanchez, who restricts this to the soldiers guarding the temple, of which the preceding passage spoke; and consequently understands by handmaids the religious women who had dedicated themselves to the temple, so that they might care for the worship of their God, the sacred rites and the splendor. Thus continued by soldiers massed together, a series of shields raised over the head, curved in the form of a tortoise, by which protected they unharmed by the javelins of the enemy went under the walls, and either undermined them or scaled them. For the tortoise was as it were a ladder by which invading soldiers were raised up, and climbed the citadels and ramparts. Mystically, our tortoise is the providence of God, the saint's faith in him and his hope and confidence: for these protect us, and preserve us unharmed from every enemy and danger; nay rather they hurl rams and darts against our enemies, by which they prostrate them. Whence the Psalmist, Psalm XC: "He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven." Read the psalm, which is entirely about this matter. Sitting in this tortoise David confidently proclaims Psalm XXVI, 1: "The Lord is my illumination and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? If armies in camp stand against me, my heart shall not fear: if a battle rise up against me, in this will I be confident." 6. THE GATES OF THE RIVERS WERE OPENED, — that is, the gates of Nineveh, which lead to the Tigris, by its flooding and the irruption of enemies were opened. Thus Clarius, Vatablus, Dionysius and the Chaldean, who translates: The sources of the rivers were cut. Whence soon after the Prophet calls Nineveh a pool of waters. See what I said about this flooding of the Tigris in Nineveh at chapter I, 8. Symbolically, the gates of Nineveh are called "gates of rivers," that is, of peoples, because they poured forth an immense multitude of citizens. Thus Apocalypse XVII, 15, many waters are called "many peoples." Whence the Septuagint translates: The gates of the cities were opened; for cities abound in people. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoretus, Theophylactus, Rupertus, Remigius and Lyranus. Secondly, Sanchez understands by rivers metaphorically the forces of the Chaldeans, which, held back by the walls of Nineveh as by dikes, these being broken by force, inundated and laid waste the city. AND THE TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED TO THE GROUND. — The temple namely of Nesroch, celebrated in riches and fame, says Lyranus, in which Sennacherib adoring was slain by his sons. In Hebrew it is היכל hechal, that is, basilica, palace, august house, temple. Whence the Septuagint translates: Royal buildings, that is, royal dwellings, were shaken; the Chaldean: The king in his palace trembled; the Zurich Bible: The palace was dissolved. The matter comes to the same thing. For in palaces kings had their temples of their tutelary gods, as the Romans had in the Capitol the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, the Trojans in the citadel had the temple of Pallas, and her image, which they called the Palladium. The same did the Emperor Constantine, when in his Lateran palace he built the Lateran basilica. The same even now do kings and princes, as can be seen in their courts. 7. AND THE SOLDIER CAPTIVE WAS LED AWAY. — The interpreter reads הצב hatsab, that is, standing, remaining, namely a soldier on garrison duty and stationed for the rampart in a station, so that he might defend Nineveh against the Chaldeans, was captured and led away by the Chaldeans. Thus St. Jerome, Rupertus, Remigius, Haymo and Lyranus. Secondly, hatsab is the same as station, substance, subsistence. Whence the Septuagint translates: And substance was revealed, that is to say, the Chaldeans plundered the substance and riches of Nineveh. Now for hatsab, with another pointing they read passively in hophal, הצב hutsab, that is, appointed, constituted, namely either the citadel; whence Arias and the Zurich Bible translate: And its fortification most firm was laid bare and taken away; or the wife of the king, or queen who is accustomed to stand by the king; whence the Chaldean paraphrast translates: And the queen, who sat assisting, went into captivity; and her handmaids led after her went moaning, like doves. Thus the Hebrews. Whence Pagninus retained the Hebrew name hutsab as if a proper name of the queen, and translated: And Hutsab the queen was led captive, ordered to mount the chariot. AND HER HANDMAIDS LAMENTED, — that is to say, the virgins and matrons of Nineveh, once noble, now captive, as handmaids and slaves, nay rather as beasts, lamented by the Chaldeans, and were dragged into servitude, who dared not wail from fear of them: but like doves they moaned in secret, and murmured in their heart. Symbolically St. Jerome, Rupertus and Remigius understand by handmaids the cities which were subject to the metropolis Nineveh, and served it as handmaids, all of which Nebuchadnezzar captured, devastated and took captive. Otherwise Sanchez, who restricts this to the soldiers guarding the temple, of which the preceding passage spoke; and consequently understands by handmaids the religious women who had dedicated themselves to the temple, so that they might care for the worship of their God, the sacred rites and the splendor. Thus of the Chaldeans, who, as the Assyrians fled, with Nineveh captured, encourage one another in turn to its plundering, so that they might seize and carry off booty from it. You see here how frequently the persons change: for now Nineveh speaks, now the Chaldeans, now the Prophet, now God. For it is as it were a dialogue. Thus Vatablus, although others think there is here the voice of the Prophet to the Chaldeans, by which he exhorts them to plunder Nineveh deserted by its fleeing citizens. Thus Dionysius, Vatablus and Arias. Finally, others think there is the voice of Nineveh, giving itself and its riches deserted by its citizens to the Chaldean, that is to say, O Chaldeans, seize the gold of my cowardly citizens, because they themselves do not deserve to retain and possess it, nor are they able or can. The Chaldeans assign the cause, or rather the enticement of this plundering, when they add: AND THERE IS NO END OF THE RICHES. — For in Hebrew the vau, that is and, is taken for because, that is to say, Come on, comrades, go, seize the gold, vessels and riches, which Nineveh seized from other nations, and heaped upon itself: because these vessels and riches are most beautiful and most precious, and equally numerous and innumerable; and therefore supremely desirable. In Hebrew there is added כבוד cabod, that is, glory, or weight and burden. Whence the Septuagint translates: They are weighed down with all vessels of her desire, that is, as the Zurich Bible translates: It is laden with things most dear; for the more gold it had, which is heavy, "the more it itself was weighed down, which loved heavy things," says St. Jerome. "Whence also iniquity, Zach. V, sits upon a talent of lead; and the Egyptians, who were heavy with sins, were sunk in the sea like lead. And from the person of the sinner it is said Ps. XXXVII: As a heavy burden they are heavy upon me;" Vatablus however translates: Glory greater than all desirable furnishings, that is, precious furnishings (for he calls this glory) is greater, or more precious than all desirable things, that is to say, Her furnishings are more precious than all other furnishings, however precious and desirable, as Pagninus translates. In Nineveh that was true which is said Eccles. V, 12: "And there is another most evil infirmity, which I saw under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner." Whence Morally, learn here how vain and unworthy of the human heart gold is; nay rather harmful, inasmuch as it attracted enemies to the destruction of Nineveh, namely so that they might seize its gold. Wherefore the Babylonians hated gold, and rejected it, nay buried it, lest it be harmful to anyone. Hear the memorable thing which Solinus the polyhistor writes of them in cap. XXXVI: "From Susa," he says, "the town of Babylonia is distant one hundred thirty-five thousand paces, in which all mortals come together in hatred of gold, this kind of metal, and cast it into the depths of the earth, lest polluted by its use, avarice corrupt equity." The same thing Pliny writes of the same in almost the same words in lib. VI, cap. XXVII, who also in lib. XXXIII, cap. I: "Would that," he says, "gold could be wholly banished from life, accursed hunger, as the most celebrated authors have said, Thus among the Jews women were dedicated to the foul sacred rites of Priapus, over whom the mother of King Asa presided, III Kings XV, 13. Thus among the Babylonians, Cypriots, Phoenicians, etc., there were women dedicated to Venus, as I showed in Baruch VI, 42. But it is an obstacle that for its in Hebrew there is a feminine pronoun, which certainly refers and respects Nineveh, not the temple, as he himself Sanchez rightly observed, and therefore finally he abandons this interpretation.
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8. And Nineveh as a pool of waters, her waters. — The Interpreter reads מימי (meme) doubled, that is, waters; thus also the Septuagint already reads מימי (mime), that is, from days, namely ancient, that is, from old, supply it was. Thus the Chaldean, the Hebrews, Vatablus, Pagninus and the Syrian, who translated: Nineveh as a lake (pool) of waters is, and among the waters it is. Thus also the Arabic. By waters in the literal sense are understood the waves of the Tigris, which inundated Nineveh, so that they appeared to be a pool or marsh, as if to say: the Tigris did not protect Nineveh, but rather overwhelmed it and delivered it to the enemy: for the Tigris, or, as others say, the Euphrates (for Nineveh is adjacent to the Tigris, but the Euphrates was not far from it; whence it could stagnate in the fields of Nineveh) swollen by great and prolonged rains, bursting forth from the cataracts, inundated Nineveh. With the rains the South winds conspired against the snows of the adverse northern Caucasus, which being melted, the overflowing river laid waste the walls of Nineveh, stagnated the city, overturned the temple and the palace. Others add from Herodotus book I and Diodorus Siculus book III, that Nineveh was situated in a damp and marshy place, and therefore produced weak, languid and sluggish citizens, who were not able to protect the city. Symbolically, Nineveh was a pool of waters, that is, full of waters, that is, of peoples. For he compares the city to a pool, the citizens to waters; just as therefore a pool abounds in waters, so Nineveh abounded in inhabitants, as if to say: Nineveh nourished a multitude of men, but an unwarlike and useless one: for when the Chaldean besieged it, it cried out for their aid and protection: "but they themselves fled," and although the city itself crying out to the ravine, again and again called them back from flight, and cried out: "Stand, stand," that you might defend me and resist the Chaldean; yet it did so in vain: for "there is none that returneth" from flight, to oppose the enemy, and to stand for the walls and fight. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Theophylactus, Remigius, Hugo, Lyran and Vatablus. Finally, waters signify the abundance of riches which flowed into Nineveh, just as waters flow into a pool. Whence concerning these he adds: "Plunder the silver, plunder the gold, or there is no end of riches." Thus Rupertus and Vatablus. STAND, STAND, — These are the words of Nineveh, that is, of the princes of Nineveh, who cry out to their fleeing men that they stand and resist the enemy, as I have said: although others think they are the words of the Chaldeans, mocking or challenging the Ninevites to battle, and saying in the manner: "Stand, stand," and fight with us.
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9. PLUNDER THE SILVER. — It is the voice of the Medes and scorned by insults from the best men, and discovered to the ruin of life: how much more happily in that age, when things themselves were exchanged among themselves, as also happened in the time of the Trojans, it is fitting to believe Homer." And soon after: "He committed the worst crime of life, who first put on a ring." And he adds that the Romans formerly used a ring, not of gold, but of iron; and the Lacedaemonians still do this. And below: "At Rome, he says, there was no gold, except a small amount, for a long time. Certainly when the city was captured by the Gauls, peace was purchased, not more than a thousand pounds could be made." The same, book XXXIII, chapter III: "King Servius, he says, first stamped bronze (for before they used rough bronze); it was stamped with the mark of cattle: whence also money is called. Stamped silver was in the five hundred eighty-fifth year of the City, Q. Fabius consul, five years before the first Punic War. The golden coin was struck sixty-two years after the silver." And soon after: "From the coin, the first origin of avarice was devised. King Mithridates poured gold into the mouth of the captured general Aquilius. This begets the desire of having. It shames the beholder so many names of this kind, which are continually devised in Greek speech, with silver vessels expressed in gold, or enclosed, by which delicacies both golden and gilded are sold, when we know that Spartacus forbade his camps, that no one should have gold or silver. So much more spirit had our fugitives." Isaias writes something similar concerning the Medes in chapter XIII, 17: "Behold, he says, I will raise up the Medes against them, who seek not silver, nor desire gold." That philosopher, when asked "why gold grows pale," answered cleverly: "From fear, because all lie in wait for it." Most excellently St. Bernard, sermon 4 in Advent: "Sons of Adam, he says, a greedy and ambitious race, hear: What have you to do with earthly riches and temporal glory, which are neither true nor yours? Is not gold and silver red and white earth, which the error of man alone makes (or rather esteems) precious? Finally, if these are yours, take them with you. But when man dies, he will not take all, nor will his glory descend with him. True riches therefore are not wealth, but virtues, which conscience carries with it, so that it becomes rich forever." Blessed Thomas More writes in Utopia, a happy commonwealth, that gold is not esteemed. For thus he says in book II of Utopia: "Gold and silver are valued by no one more than the nature of the things themselves merits, by which one does not see how far below iron they are? without which mortals cannot live any more than without fire and water, whereas meanwhile nature has given to gold and silver no use by which we cannot easily do without, unless the foolishness of men has made a price from rarity." He then adds that they, in order to instill contempt for gold in their own people, make chamber pots and the most sordid vessels from gold in its mockery, likewise chains and heavy shackles, by which they restrain slaves: "Finally, he says, those whom some crime makes infamous, golden rings hang from their ears, gold encircles their fingers, a golden torque surrounds their neck, and finally their head is bound with gold. They adorn little children with pearls and gems, who when they have grown somewhat more in age, when they observe that such trifles are used only by children, by no admonition of their parents, but by their own shame, they put them aside." He then adds a witty narrative about ambassadors of other nations entering Utopia, whose gem-adorned and golden garments, torques, rings, etc.: "Among the Utopians these were either the punishments of slaves, or the disgrace of the infamous, or the trifles of children. Wherefore, reverently greeting each of the lowest as lords, they passed by the ambassadors themselves, held to be slaves from the use of golden chains, with no honor whatsoever. Indeed you would have seen even children, who had cast aside gems and pearls, when they saw them fixed in the ambassadors' caps, address their mother and poke her side: Behold, mother, how great a fool still uses pearls and little gems, as if he were a small child! But the parent seriously replied: Be quiet, my son; there is, I think, someone among the fools of the ambassadors." He adds the reason: "For they marvel if there is any mortal whom small gems or a doubtful gleam of stone delights; to whom it is permitted to gaze upon some star, and even the sun itself; or if anyone is so mad that he seems to himself more noble on account of a thread of finer wool, if indeed a sheep once bore this very thing, and was meanwhile nothing other than a sheep. They marvel likewise that gold, by its own nature so useless, is now esteemed so highly everywhere among nations, that man himself, through whom, and indeed for whose use it has obtained such a price, is esteemed much less than gold itself; to such a degree that some leaden fellow, and one who has no more intelligence than a log, and is no less wicked than foolish, nevertheless has many wise and good men in servitude, for this reason alone, that a great heap of golden coins has fallen to him; which if fortune, or some twist of laws, should transfer from that master to the most abject scoundrel of his entire household, it happens that shortly after he passes into the servitude of his servant, as if an appendage and addition to the coins." This More, not a fool (μώρος), but wise (σόφος), and therefore Chancellor of England and martyr, in that republic of his, not Platonic but Christian. If the inhabitants of Utopia esteem gold so cheaply, much more do the citizens of Urania and heaven hold it and the other riches for mud, says St. Theofridus in the Epitaph of Saints, book II, chapter IV. Only the citizens of Babylon and Egypt, who build cities from mud and straw, hold it in price and delight. For what are pearls, except excretions of shells? what are gems, except smaller and more subtle stones? what is purple, except the blood of a foul little fish? what is cochineal, except the blood of a little worm? what is byssus, except threads and cloth of silkworms, of horrible, I say, worms? Wisely Venantius Fortunatus: "The poor man reigns in a narrow space, having God." And St. Paulinus, bishop of Nola, captured by the Vandals: "Lord, he says, I am not tormented on account of gold and silver; for where all my things are, thou knowest," as St. Augustine relates in book I of the City of God, X.
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10. IT IS DISSIPATED (Nineveh by the Medes and Chaldeans), AND RENT, AND TORN IN PIECES. — In the Hebrew there is an elegant and forceful paronomasia בוקה ומבוקה ומבלקה buka umebuka umebulaka, that is, emptiness, and evacuation, and laceration is hers, as if to say: Truly Nineveh is evacuated of its riches and inhabitants, and torn in pieces in its walls and houses. Thus the Tigurines, Vatablus, Pagninus. Hence the Septuagint translates: Shaking, and shaking out, and ebullition; the Chaldean: Plundered, despoiled, and the gate is opened to the enemy. Moreover, ebullition in Greek is called ἐκδράσματα, says St. Jerome, because what lay hidden within bursts forth to the surface. Whence also pustules, which are born on the lips after sickness, are called ἐκδράσματα, and seem to be a sign of health. This remedy therefore, as it were, is applied to sick Nineveh, so that the evil hidden within in the vital parts may boil forth outward, so that it may be shaken out, vexed and afflicted repeatedly. But not only is this remedy given, but also the breaking of the heart and the dissolution of the knees, so that the hard and stony heart of Nineveh, broken, may be softened, and the rigid knees which before did not bend to God may be dissolved and bent to God, and in the name of Jesus every knee of those in heaven, on earth and under the earth may bend. Thus St. Jerome. A HEART MELTING AWAY. — In Hebrew, a liquefied heart. Thus the Chaldean, Pagninus and Vatablus. For just as wax brought near to fire melts and wastes away; so also the heart brought near to vehement anguish, pain and fear, as if liquefying, wastes away, fails, and is as it were broken, as the Septuagint translates. These things pertain to the citizens, as the former things pertain to the city itself. Moreover, from this melting of the heart, as from the obstruction of a fountain, there naturally follows first, "the dissolution of the knees;" the Tigurines, trembling of the knees; Pagninus and Vatablus, striking together of the knees; for with the heart failing, the vital and animal spirits fail, which are transmitted from the heart to the knees to strengthen them for sustaining the body and for walking: but when these spirits are withdrawn or languish, the knees languish and tremble, and strike together from trepidation. Secondly, there follows "weakness in all the loins;" the Tigurines, sickness in all the loins. In the loins therefore, that is in the two loins, under which lie two kidneys. For the loins are fleshy, and embrace five vertebrae of the sacred spine below on both sides, from which spine nerves, muscles and motive spirits are derived through its marrow to the whole body. If these vertebrae are dissolved or injured and contracted or impeded, as happens in fear and terror, man becomes without loins and infirm. Thus Ribera. Hence in the loins and kidneys consists a great part of the strength and vigor of man, as I said in verse 1. Thirdly, there follows: "And the faces of them all shall be as the blackness of a pot;" in Hebrew, they contracted a pot, that is, as the Tigurines, the appearance of a pot. Its color and soot; the Chaldean: All faces shall be covered with blackness, like a blackened pot; the Septuagint, like the burning of a pot; for the face destitute of the influx of the heart and spirits grows pale and blackens, as is seen in those who are suffocated or hanged: see what is said in Joel II, 6. Mystically, Rupertus: The black pot, he says, is the devil, and all who place their hope in him, who shall finally become like him whom they worshipped, when they are thrust into the volcanic pot, namely into hell, and shall become most black both in body and in mind.
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11. Where is the dwelling place of the lions? — Zurich: Where is the lair of the lions? that is, where is Nineveh, which was as it were a cave of lions, that is the royal seat of robbers and tyrants, as if to say, It is deserted, overthrown, perished, destroyed. He compares the kings of the Assyrians to lions; Nineveh to a lair; their sons and princes to lion cubs, on account of their strength, cruelty and rapacity. For they themselves, like lions, hunted and plundered all nations, and conveyed their wealth and spoils into Nineveh, and there distributed them among their sons, wives and princes, as is evident from IV Kings XIX, 11. Thus St. Jerome, Remigius, Haymo, Theophylactus, Lyran, Clarius, Arias and Vatablus. Thus Ezechiel cap. XIX, 1 and following, calls Jerusalem a lioness; but he calls her young kings lion cubs, namely Joachas, Joakim, Joachin and Sedechias, sons of Josias. Thus Jeremias cap. IV, 7, calls Nabuchodonosor a lion: "The lion, he says, hath come up from his couch, and the robber of the nations hath risen up: he hath gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate." It is sarcasm, or rather emphatic admiration; for he mocks, or rather wonders at, and proposes to others as a thing to be wondered at the horrible destruction of that renowned Nineveh, and of its tyrants, so that by her example they may be struck down, and may beware of lion-like pride and plunder, on account of which they hear and see Nineveh destroyed. By a similar figure Baruch cap. III, 16 says: "Where are the princes of the nations, and they that rule over the beasts, that are upon the earth? they that had their pastime with the birds of the air? they that hoarded up silver and gold, etc. They are destroyed, and have gone down to hell, and others have risen up in their stead." And Isaias concerning Babylon, cap. XIV, 4: "How is the oppressor come to nothing, the tribute hath ceased? The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers, that struck the people with a blow in his wrath, with a plague incurable, that brought nations under in his anger, that persecuted cruelly (was not this a cave of lions?). The whole earth is at rest and is quiet: it hath broken forth into a song of joy," when it saw Babylon destroyed by Cyrus, her tyrannical rod. In like manner Nineveh is here called "the dwelling place of the lions, and the pasture of the lion cubs," that is, the seat of tyrants, and of their sons: for pasture is a feminine noun of the singular number, as I have shown in Joel. I, 18. Whence she subjoins: To which (namely to the pasture of the lion cubs, that is to Nineveh) THE LION WENT THAT HE MIGHT ENTER THERE, THE LION'S CUB (that is the cubs) OF THE LION, AND THERE IS NONE TO MAKE HIM AFRAID? — go? — as if to say, Where is that rich and beautiful Nineveh, in which, as in the most abundant pastures, the kings and their sons fed themselves on the spoils and plunder which they had seized from all provinces and nations? Where are her kings and tyrants, and their sons and princes, who, like lions and lion cubs in Nineveh as in an impregnable cave, relying on their strength and wealth, dwelt secure, so that no one dared to invade them, no one was able to strike fear or dread into them? as if to say, It is destroyed, perished, vanished; there was Troy and the great glory of the Teucrians; there was Nineveh and the great glory of the Ninevites. Thus Theodoret, Theophylactus, Lyran, Clarius, Arias and Vatablus. On the other hand, however, St. Jerome, with his followers, Remigius, Haymo and others, understand by the lion Nabuchodonosor, who, like a lion, invaded the lions of the Assyrians, and their lair, namely Nineveh, so powerfully and terribly, that no one dared to deter him, no one dared to oppose him. But all the preceding and following passages pertain to the Assyrians, not to the Chaldeans. I pass over the fact that lions are not wont to invade and plunder other lions and their lairs, but bulls, oxen, horses, and other beasts and wild animals of a species distinct from themselves: it is otherwise with wolves; for a wolf in hunger devours a wolf. Whence the saying: "Man is a wolf to man." Wherefore the former sense seems more genuine. Morally, behold here the swift and miserable rise and fall of tyrants, kings and kingdoms. Where is that glory of Nineveh? where is proud Babylon? where is that renowned Rome? Ovid excellently says, lib. XV Metamorph.: Now humble Troy shows only ancient ruins, And for riches displays the tombs of her ancestors. Sparta was famous: great Mycenae flourished, Sparta is now vile ground; lofty Mycenae have fallen. What are the Thebes of Oedipus but names? What remains of Athens of Pandion but the name Athens?
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12. The lion hath caught enough for his whelps (to feed them), and hath killed for his lionesses. — Zurich, strangled; Pagninus, suffocated for his lionesses. For lions are wont to strangle animals, and to tear them in pieces and distribute them to their cubs and lionesses. The lion is the king of the Assyrians, the cubs are his sons, the lionesses are his wives and concubines, whom the king enriched and adorned from the spoils of nations. Thus Cicero, in the fifth oration against Verres, asserts that "barbarous kings of the Persians and Syrians (understand the Assyrians and Chaldeans under them) are wont to have many wives; and to these wives they assign cities in this manner: This city shall provide for the woman as a headdress, this one for her neck, this one for her hair. Thus they have all peoples not only conscious of their lust, but also as ministers of it." Thus Antiochus king of Syria gave two illustrious cities to his concubine, in book II Maccabees cap. IV, verse 30.
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13. Behold I come against thee. — O den of lions, O Nineveh! I come, that I may overcome thee through the Chaldeans, punish and destroy thee. Whence the Zurich version translates: Behold me thy enemy, saith the Lord. AND I WILL BURN THY CHARIOTS IN SMOKE. — Pagninus and Vatablus: I will burn with flaming fire, that is with fire mixed with smoke, thy chariots, that is thine; it is an enallage of person, as if to say I will burn Nineveh and her chariots, and will convert all things into smoke and flame. He alludes to hunters, who at the caves of lions and wild beasts set fires, and raise up great smoke, by which they force the beasts and their cubs, lest they be suffocated by the smoke, to go forth, and having gone forth they receive them with javelins and pierce them through. Thus Theodoret and Theophylactus. Dorotheus and Epiphanius add in the Life of Nahum, that this fire arising from the earth and wilderness invaded and burned up Nineveh, as I said in the Preface. The Septuagint, reading for ב an affine letter כ, namely for רכבה richba, that is her chariots, reading רבבה ribba, translate: I will burn in smoke the multitude of thee; for the root רבב rabab, or rab, signifies to be multiplied and to be much. Whence rab and rabbi, that is much, that is great, namely doctor or prelate. I WILL DESTROY THY PREY FROM THE EARTH. — Zurich version: I will turn away the tearing from the earth, as if to say Thou shalt prey no more. Thus Vatablus. AND THE VOICE OF THY MESSENGERS SHALL BE HEARD NO MORE, — whom, O Nineveh, thou wast wont to send to cities, demanding from them either surrender, as thou didst send Rabshakeh to Jerusalem, who demanded its surrender to King Sennacherib, Isaiah XXXVI, 2. Thus St. Jerome and Theophylactus. Or tribute accustomed to be paid by them, or new burdens which thou didst impose upon them, by which thou didst plunder them. Thus Remigius, Albert and Hugh. The Septuagint, for מלאכיך malachecha, that is thy messengers, reading with other points מלאכיך melacha, that is thy works, translate: Thy works shall be heard no more. Symbolically, the burning and destruction of Nineveh represents the burning and destruction of the world on the day of judgment, which St. John describes mystically under the name of Babylon in the Apocalypse, chapter XVII. For the "world," as the Philosopher used to say, "is nothing other than a market of deceivers, a treasury of sorrows, a school of vanity, a brothel of tyrants, a den of robbers and the wicked," in which the powerful plunder the poor and simple. As therefore Nineveh was punished by fire, so also the world shall be expiated by the fire of conflagration, according to that: "Fire shall go before him, and shall burn his enemies round about," Psalm XCVI, 3. By that fire therefore shall be burned all lions and lion-cubs, that is all tyrants, plunderers and the wicked, and all their messengers, chariots, and pomp, and especially their leader and prince Antichrist, saith St. Jerome.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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v. 4 « Ascendit qui dispergat coram te, qui custodiat obsidionem » ; — hebr. verte : ascendit perfringens (conterens) contra faciem tuam i. e. contra te ct simul coram te 1. e. aperte, ita ut tu cum horroré testis sis invasionis impetusque hostilis; in altero membro statim indicatur, cur dissipator ascendat ob oculos tuos (ut Pagninus vertit) : obsidel arcem i. e. ascendit ad obsidionem vel custodiat i. e. perseveret in obsidione, donec expugneris (Pint.). Quare Ninivitas ad defensionem et sedulam curam et fortitudinem exhibendam adhortatur : « contemplare viam, conforta lumbos, robora virtutem valde » ; — i. e. speculare viam (hebr.), diligenter viam observa, custodi, qua hostes aggressuri sint, ut eos impedias; « videsis, quinam tibi superveniant » (Theod. M.); dein: « quidquid habes virium, collige, ut resistas » (Lap.), confortare lumbos « est robur et fortitudinem assumere, vires colligere, excitore in se fortitudinem et animum intrepidum ad quidvis audendum... etenim inlumbi: posita est magna pars roboris animalium ; unde illud 2 Par. 10, 10: minimus digitus meus grossior est lumbis patris mei, et imbecilli Latinis dicuntur elumbes » (Rib.). Adhortatio est ironia et irrisione plena (cf. Aib.), quare etiam bis profertur : robora... virtutem tuam viresque collige, auge, quantum vales. S. Hier. vertit custodiens obsidionem; in hebr. legitur infinitivus absolutus "i2, Ewald, Ausführl. Lehrb. 2 £. £10 a. 351 c). Iam nostro loco cum ita concipi debere Ccnsco, ut vcrbum finitum noy subsequatur ct expliect ; ita primo maior habetur concinnilas versus, cum duobus eis membris tria alia subdantur, dum c contra unum quattuor subsequerentur ; dein. verbum generalis significationis noy speciali modo determinatur, ut invasio et impetus fieri obsidione intelligatur ; terlio locutio ad Ni nivitas fit per tres imperativos ; quare prorsus arbitrarium est, infinitivum absolutum eliam per imperativum explicare et non potius eum ad. verbum.,anlecedens referre 3 quarto ad membrum antecedens referunt quoque LXX, S. Hier., quibus Chald. et 5yrus quoque possunt annumerari, quia quattuor membra eadem ratione ad dissipatorem referunt. Habere autem 333 obsidendi nolionem, extra controversiam est ; cf. Ier. &, 16. Iob 7, 20, uti verbum ciusdem significatus v3? 2 Sam. 11, 16 adhibetur ; vide Ges. Thes. p. 907 ; Fürst L. s. v. — Hilz. v5 explicat nalis (Streithammer) 3 cuius interpretationis iam fiib. mentionem facit, afferens Prov. 25,18. At quam coacte hic dicatur : ascendit alleus, nemo non sentit. — Sermonem fieri ad Niniven, plerique rite explicant (cf. Jer. Cyr. Alb. Pint. Lap.) ; dissipatorem, qui dispergatesse Nabuchodonosorem, docent Hier. Alb. lib. Pint. Lap. Sa, Mar., esse Chaldaeum Men., Medum Tir. ; Cyrum vero intelligunt Cyr. Theoph.; sermonem dirigi ad Iudam pauci volunt, inter quos Theod. Theod. M. Sunct. Calm. LXX habent ££atpoopsvóe 709 &x 0Xiy&o; ; proinde legerunt A2 pro n"; ulumo reliquae versiones adstipulantur. Haec autem obsidio et consequens expugnatio et ruina urbi Assyriorum imminet, quia Dominus memor populi sui electi, quem Assyrii conculcarunt, eum ad promissam dignitatem evehere vult (cf.
Postquam vates in sermone primo ruinam Ninives causasque magis in universum delineavit, iam ad particularia et determinata descendit. Atque primo quidem annuntiat hostilem exercitum, armis ac robore insignem, sub duce invicto obsidionem urbis Ninives esse moliturum ; quo vero exitu, statim primis verbis clare indicatur :
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4, "1. 42. 13) v. 2 «quia reddidit Dominus superbiam lacob sicut. superbiam Isracl ; quia vastatores dissipaverunt eos ct propagines eorum corrupe- Fut» ; — i. e. Assyrii vastatores populum Dei multis modis vexarunt, afflixerunt (cf. 4 Reg. 18, 19 et iam ante illud tempus, uti ex inscriptionibus cuneiformibus elucet; de qua relege in prolegg. ad Ionam — 4 Reg. 16, 1; 171, 8;18, 44.9 Par. 98, 94 ; 32, 1,33, jd) et propds jincs i. e. vineam Domini, quo nomine populus Dei frequenter audit (cf. Ps. 19, 9. Is. 3, 145; 5, 1. 7; 21, 2. Ier. 2, 21; 12, 10. Ez. 1'i, 6. Os. 40, 1) corruperunt, partem populi electi repetitis vicibus in exsilium abduxerunt regno Israel impugnato et destructo; ipsos Iudaeos multis calamitatibus, expugaatis 2 agrorum vastatione, abductione captivorum infestarunt (cf. Is. 22, 171; 33, 1). Verum Assur virga furoris estin manu Domini (Is. 10, 5), pod utique populum suum percutit ; sed filios suos castigat, non ut eos abiiciat, at ut emendet, et ad dignitatem ipsis promissam evehat. Hanc vocat superbiam lacob i. e. excellentuam, magnificentiam (— hebr. TN3 maiestas, sublimitas, gloria cf. Mich. 5, 4) ; quare populum e miseria erigit et ita ipse Deus red:t ad 3ublimitatem Iacob (hebr.)', cuius quasi oblitus erat, dum illos hostibus-traderet vexandos. Unde sublimitas lacob sicut Israel i. e. totius populi electi omniumque tribuum consistit i magnificis Dei promissis, quae serie continua à priscis temporibus usque ad tempora Nahum facta sunt, quorum vi populus Dei eripi, salvari, ad instaurationem messianicam adduci debet. Ita vocem yiN3 esse accipiendam, rite perspexerunt Syrus, Chald. quos Lap. quoque affert, Pint. Sanct. Schegg, Trochon eiusque interpretationis etiam Estius meminit. Ea sane optimum praebet sensum et talem, qui sollemnis est apud prophetas, hostes scil. delici, quia Dominus consilia salutis et gloriae in populo suo statucre et in opus deducere vult. Stante tali Dei consilio eo magis elucet, quam indigna res sit, quia vastatores ... ct quantopere ultio Dei in tales impugnatores regni theocratici provocetur. Igitur propheta ruinam Ninives ex altissima Dei specula contemplatur : Assyriorum imperium contra reenum Dei superbe insurrexit, crgo ruinae devovendum est. Alii superbiam lacob fastum intellizunt et arrogantiam Iudaeorum, quos punierit Deus (Lap. Men.) co sensu, ut Deus qui populo suo peccanti non pepercerit, a fortiore censeatur poenas exigere ab Assyriis. Complures explicant. superbiam lacob vim ac superbiam a Senuacherib vel generatim ab Assyriis illatam et ludaeis et Israelitis, quam iniuriam Deus iamiam sit ulturus (cf. Hier. Rup. Alb. Pint. Rib. Sa, Mar. Tir. Gord. Calm.). Verum expositio supra data non solum . ampliorem praebet sensum atque multo digniorem, verum etiam ipsis verbis 2 et x3 unice est accommodata. Nam redire, se convertere ad sublimitatem lacob sane idem est re ac magnificentiam Tacob restituere, reducere, ergo deiectam Iacob conditionem erigere et sospitate gloriaque donare. De 2X9 c. accus. rei, ad quam fit reditus, cf. Num. 40, 36. Ps. 88, 5; perperam vero Keil provocat ad Gen. 50, 14. Ex. 4, 20; istis in locis enim adest n locale : redire in Aegyptum. Indicavit propheta obsidionem Ninives (v. 1) eiusque causam et ultimam altissimamque (2a) et proximam (2b). Quasi sua sponte iam exercitus ultoris descriptio adiungitur : arma, opparatus bellicus, furor et ingens tumultus infinitae multitudinis ad horrorem et pavorem incutiendum exhibentur; sicque patet, quam vere dictum fuerit : ascendit perfringens, et quam irrisoria sit illa ad Ninivitas exhortatio triplex (v. 1). Unde
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v. 3 «clypeus fortium cius ignitus, viri exercitus tn coccineis ; igneae habenae currus in die praeparationis eius et agitatores consopiti sunt » ; — describitur exercitus ille tamquam furtium, validorum, heroum e?us scil. Domini (v. 2), quia a Domino mittuntur et bellum De contra Niniven gerunt ; codem scil. modo, quo Deus opud Isaiam loquitur : « ego mandavi sanctificatis meis » (Is. 13, 3). Id propter v. 2 propius adiacet, quam quod plerisque (cf. Jlier. Alb. Sa, Pint. Rib. Lap. Schegg) placet, fortes intelligi dissipatoris (v. 1). — Arma, vestimenta, totus apparatus bellieus ad terrorem incutiendum facta sant. Clypeus rubeus est (hebr. cf. Rib.) i. e. scuta obducta sunt aere, chalybe polita, et ita resplendentia colore rubicundo, fortasse etiam, ut veteribus mos ! erat, auro vel argento ornata. Ostendit enim cura armorum splendori et ornatui impensa animum bellandi cupiditate flagrantem (cf. Sanct.). Et adde, quod Aib. habet: «ignitum vocat, quia propter peltas aurcas » circumpositas sole desuper insidente ignem clypeus videtur emittere ; 1 Mach. 6, 39 : «refulsit sol in clypeos aureos et aereos, resplenduerunt montes ab eis et resplenduerunt sicut lampades ignis». Viri virtuti; (hebr.) i.e. validi, fortes, heroes vestiti sunt coccineis chlamydibus ? ; « color hic coccineus, utpote sanguinets, repraesentat Ghaldaeorum feritatem, quod sanguinolenti sunt futuri multumque in Ninive sanguinem fusuri ; ita Jtemig. Alb. et Arias » (Lap. Pint. et comparant Apoc. 9, 11). «Quod autem ait : ?gneae habenae curríam, in. ardentibus loris velocitatem properantium significat et quasi ézwexeuz; praeparantium sc ad proelium pompa narratur» (S. Hier.); habenas i. e. lora quibus dirigebant equos, etiam ita ornabant, ut fulgida et lucida viderentur; «in habenis autem phaleras intelligimus, ex parte videlicet totum » (Rib.). Atque currus Assyriorum variis ornamentis solis, lunae, stellarum fuisse insignes, ipsae earum imagines produnt in parietibus depictae et exsculptae, quae ab Assyria in urbem Londinum translatae ibi in Musaeo britannico expositae cernuntur. Bene describit O. Strauss : « Assyriorum currus, quales in monumentis conspicimus, horrent fulgentibus rebus, seu e ferro seu e chalybe factis, securibus, arcubus, sagittis clypeisque. et quibusvis instrumentis, equi coronis rubrisque cirris ornati, temones denique fulgent bus solibus lunisque apparent distincti ; quo adde armatos milites, curribus instantes ; quibus rebus omnibus fieri non potuit, quin radiis insuper solis collustrati cum ingenti celeritate volitantes flammarum conspectum referrent » (apud Keil h. 1.). Iam quae de Assyriorum armis noscuntur, haud immerito etiam adfinitimarum gentium 9. Colorem rufum vestesque coccineas gratas fuisse militibus veterum, multis locis ostendunt Sanct. et Lap. — Est yo*n vermis coccifer, uudo coccus, color coccineus, panni cocci - apparatum bellicum transferre licebit. Nostro enim loco apertum est, prophetam non Ninivitarum vel Assyriorum arma depingere (uti volunt Cyr. Theod. Theod. M. Mar. Calm.), sed hostium invadentium, i. e. Medorum et Chaldaeorum (cf. Alb. Rib. Sa, Lap. Schegg). De eorum autem moribus bellicis non adeo multa memoriae nostrisque oculis servata sunt (cf. G. Rawlinson ]. c.). Quae ita desunt, iure supplentur ex descriptionibus Nahum et Habacuc (1, 6-11). Obscurum est membrum ultimum. Cum modo mentio inciderit curruum, eaque denuo occurrat v. 5, iam aurigas vel equites nominari exspectabis ; eos revera in medium proferunt LXX, Syrus et certe etiam S. Ilier. vertens agitatores !. Sed quod addunt 0:95$5042cvcxt, obstupescunt, consopiti sunt, ad hostium invadentium descriptionem minime aptum est. Num igitur membrum hoc ad Ninivitas referri debet? Referunt S. Hier. Alb. Rib., atque ne adeo repentinam sermonis mutationem quis miretur, S. Ilier. advertit : « commixtim nunc de Israel quae olim passus sit, nunc de Assyrio quod fecerit, nunc de Babyloniis quae exerceant in Assyrios, Scriptura contexitur ». Sed etsi talem mutationem vel admiseris5 vel neglexeris, sensus commodus aptusque non apparet. Quomodo enim apud Assyrios in urbe obsidione occlusos equitum vel aurigarum obstupefactorum mentio subito incidit? Tale incommodum perspicientes alii neque orationis filum subito ad alios esse transferendum censentes vocem consopiti sunt explicare conantur : vino et ebrietate temulenti audacia maxima in omnia pericula ruunt; nihil timent, ac si essent ebrii (cf. Sanct. Sa, Men. Tir. Gord.), et Chaldaeos adeo praecipites ferri et fervenies in pugnam volunt, ut furor illis et vinum mentem omnem et consilium cripuisse videantur ?. Sensus utique non spernendus ; atunum desidero, ut scil. ex verbo ipso fluat. Textum mas. vertunt: cypressi i. e. lanceae cypressinae agitantur (cf. apu: Pint. Lap. Mar. Houbig. Trochon, Keib. Sed valde dubito, num talis metaphora apud Hebraeos nllo exemplo simili possit commendari ; afferunt quidem interpretes et lexicographi exempla ex scriptoribus graecis latinisque (cf. Ros. Ges. Thes. p. 247) deprompta, sed ea et perpauca sunt neque ullo pacto persuadent, talem coactem loquendi rationem exstitisse apud Hebraeos ; quid enim magis absonum fingi potest, quam dicere : abietes, quercus concuti pro parva illa lignea lancearum parte ex abiete facta ? Quare, si alicubi, certe hic coniecturae locus esse potest, si tamen coniectura vocanda est ea lectionis restitutio, quae ex vete- 1. Legeruut ergo Q2 promas. Qvz v3 egressi agitantur, Vibrantur, Si Chald. idem legit, quod textus mas. habet, cypressos metaphorice de viris mayuatibus explicavit ; praeb.t enim : proceres exercitus eoram operti sunt vestibus coloratis. 2. Miuus apto Pint : «dorimient securi qnasi iam capta praeda ». rum versionum vestigiis haud difücile colligitur ; unde rescribamus in textu hebr, id quod LXX, Syrus et certe etiam S. Hier. legerunt, vertamusque : et equite tumultu agitantur ; quod membrum antecedenti descriptioni apte subiungitur, est enim sensus: aurigas curribus insidentes agitari, manibus, gestibus, toto corpore motitari, quo maxima velocitate currus protrudant et bellandi ardorem astentent ; vel si mavis, equites intellige, qui cursu veloci equitantes moventur et quasi librantur. Alia difficultas nondum satis expedita iacet in licbr. &zat 2sy. ni^. In dialectis cognatis (ctiam in lingua persica) vox n12 chalybem dicit. Quare fortasse res e chalybe factae, ornamenta curruum ex chalybe facta nostro loco intelliguntur : in igne ferramentorum currus (scil. cernitur) in die praeparationis cius, in die certaminis i. e. currus splendore ornamentorum ex chalybe et ferro lucet quasi igne; id quod apprime valet de Assyriorum curribus (cf. Layardl.c. p. 1515de Elamitarum curribus vide p. 449 — G. Rawlinson 1l. c. I p. 407 et scq.). Sunt, qui falces explicent, ita Tir. Ros. Ilitz. ; sed currus falcatos apud cos populos in usu fuisse, ostendi nequit. S. Hier. secutus est LXX, qui verterunt: aü zvíat t&v óppitow. Syrus vertit ac si legisset 225 faces ; Chald. exprimit vocem licbr. per Y»5ib5 5 alias est elephas; quid hoc loco sibi velit, obscurum est (cf. Levy, Chald. Woerterb. II p. 202). Quanto impetu et terrore hostes irruant ad urbem cingendam et expuanandam, ulterius exhibetur
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v. 4 « in itineribus conturbati sunt ; quadrijae collisae sunt in plateis ; aspectus eorum quasi lampades, quasi fulqura discurrentia » ; — « tanta est, inquit, multitudo venientium, ut commixtum agmen sit in itinere et discerni nequeat; ipsae quoque quadrigae dum viam non reperiunt, prae multitudine inter se colliduntur in »lateis » (S. Iler.). Itaque describitur hostium agmen irruens, quale e moenibus arcis Ninivitarum conspicitur. Unde parum interest, utrum currus dicantur znsanire (hebr.) et prae impetu ac velocitate inter se collidi in campis et regionibus extra urbem (cf. Hitz. Schegg), an ipsis in vicis, plateis, suburbanis Ninives, intra cuius spatia iam versentur ad arcem principalem oppugnandam (cf. Keil, Trochon). Sed propter v. 'l prior tamen explicatio praeferenda videtur!. Hostium velocitas, furor, splendor armorum, impetus erdorque pugnandi describitur : aspectus eorum sicuti faces, sicut fulgura discurrunt (hebr.), « utante visu adversarios terreant, quam mucrone prosternant» (lHher.);ita ferocitatem pugnantium et splendorem armorum designari, etiam apud poetas in more est positum ; exempla vide v. g. apud tib. Sanct. Ab hostium irruentium aspectu vates se convertit ad Ninivitas eorumque conatus periculi propellendi causa susceptos
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v. 8 « recordabitur fortium suorum , ruent in itineribus suis, velociter ascendent muros eius et praeparabitur umbraculum » ; — Assur scil. recordabitur (cf. Alb. Sa) heroum suorum, principum, ducum, per quos olim immensam gloriam militarem innumerasque victorias reportavit, quos nune ad urbem defendendam convocat. At formidine perterriti et periculis tfepidi émpingunt vel corruunt in £ncessibus suis (hebr.), dum ad moenia properant eius scil. urbis (cf. 1, 1. 8). Neque omnis defensio negligitur ; nam praeparatum est tegens: (hebr.) 1. e. tegumentum, testudo, qua milites tecti hostes oppugnantes secure depellere possint et ipsi a sagittarum vel telorum iactibus in tuto collocentur. Comparari possunt aliqua ratione varia genera arietum, tecta umbraculis ex ligno vel pellibus confectis, vel scuta illa maiora in moenibus suffodiendis adhibita, quibus Assyrii in obsidendis urbibus utebantur et quae in eorum monumentis efficta ccrnuntur (cf. Rawlinson l. c. I p. 410-414). At, ut bene notat S. Hier. : « quid prodest aedificare domum, nisi Dominus aedificaverit? quid iuvat claudere portas, quas Dominus reserat »? Propheta statim oculis subiicit exitum oppugnationis : urbs ope inundationis et aquarum impetu, quo moenia disrumpebantur, demum capta est, quem eventum propheta non ita obscure innuit futurum
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v. 6 « portae fluviorum apertae sunt et templum ad. solum dirutum » ; — hebr. verte : et palatium dissolvitur, uti LXX xat «à 6xo0.eux Gtaxece, et uti ipse S. IIier. indicat scribens : « templum i. e. regnum eius destructum est », arx regia corruit (cf. apud Sanct. Lap. Mar.), quatenus a parte potiore destructio urbis innuitur. Fieri etiam potest, ut illa inundatione fatali palatium regium maius tulerit detrimentum ; nam uti inscriptione aliqua regis Sennacherib docemur !, palatium regium aquis inundantibus saepius damno afficiebatur — quare Sennacherib palatii fundamentis altius meliusque constructis illud tutum reddere studuit ab undarum iniuria. Portae fluviorum aperiri dicuntur, quando aquarum vis omni repagulo remoto magno impetu super ripas effunditur et omnia undis coopcriuntur ; quamdiu enim flumina suis in alvis continentur, quati clausis portis aquarum moles in tuto collocatur. Haec explicatio ei obvia est et facilis verbisque accommodata atque ad rei eventum apprime consentanea (cf. quae ad 3, 19 notata sunt) ; indicat eam Barh. ! et approbat Trochon. De aliorum explicationibus haec sufficiant : proxime ad rem accedit Lap. : « portae Ninives, quae ducunt ad Tigrim, eius eluvione et hostium irruptione apertae sunt ; ita Clarius, Vatabl. Dionys. » ; sim. Pint. Tir. ; ita Keil quoque, intelligi portas ad fluvios sitas iisque munitas. Calm. autem portas fluminum dici censet ab Hebraeis pontes vel arcus; secutus est chaldaicam paraphrasin, quae haec habet : pontes fluviorum excisi sunt (cf. Levy, Chald. Woerterb. I p. 437). Alii ad. metaphoram confugiunt alias inauditam ; dici scil. fluvios multitudines hominum, quippe qui per plateas fluminum instar fluant. Sed ii quoque non uno modo explicant : « apertae sunt portae Ninive, quae ad instar fluminum habebat civium multitudinem » ; ita S. Hier., quem sequuntur Alb. Rib. Sa, Mar. Men. Schegg et plerumque provocant coní(irmationis causa ad v. 8 Ninive quasi piscina aquarum ; alii : portae apertae sunt, per quas hostes fluminum more irrumpunt (1t0s.) ; alii ita diei volunt plateas, quae ad portas ducunt, in quibus incolae fluunt (liitz.). Sed hanc interpretandi rationem iam Lap. repudiat, eam diceus tantum symbolicam. Alio parumper modo Sanct. rem proponit : « divisiones murorum, quas fecerunt catapultae et arietes aut aliud quodvis murale tormentum, portae dicuntur fluviorum, quia per illas Chaldaei quasi erumpentes fluvii, in urbem populabundi sunt ingressi. Haec explicatio mihi omnium videlur expedita maxime ; in aliis multa aut fingenda sunt aut supplenda ; alia non parum a litera contorta ». Expugnationem urbis solitae miseriae subsequuntur captivitatis, exsilii, variaeque afflictionis v. "1 « et miles captivus abductus est et ancillae eius minabantur gementes ut. columbae, murmurantes $n. cordibus $uis »; — ancillae eius scil. Ninives (cf. v. 8 muros eius), mulieres sunt et matronae, quae olim nobilitate et opibus insignes iam ancillarum in modum abripiuntur in servitutem ; quare significationem doloris vocibus querulis gementes edunt et infortunii magnitudinem pulsantes super corda sua (hebr.) i. e. pectora tundentes more acerbe lugentium pandunt (cf. Pint. Lap. Men. Mar. Tir.) ; aliis placet ancillas dici oppida circa Niniven sita, quae eandem cum metropoli sortem experiantur (cf. Cyr. Theod. Theod. M. Theoph. Alb. Sa) ; utrumque S. Hier. proponit. Murmurantes, ut S. Hier. vertit, ita ipse explicat : « tantus terror erit, ut ne in singultus quidem et ululatum erumpat dolor, sed intra se tacite gemant et obscuro murmure devorent lacrimas in morem mussitantium columbarum ». Textus hebr. praebet vocem 3yn'", quam sequitur nn53; utriusque explicatio in -^ 1 YU NS controversia est. Hanc enim explicant vel: mudata est, i. e. urbs Ninive turpiter tractatur et ignominia afficitur ; vel: abducta est in captivitatem. Cum sequatur nn57a, prior interpretatio est praeferenda ; ergo habitu turpi abducitur (cf. Is. 47, 2. 3). : : Magis intricata quaestio de voce priore agitur. S. Hier. verüt, ac si 23Y0O legisset 1 Sam. 13, 23 statio militaris et 1&, 1. 4. 6. 11 vcl 2Y1 praesidium militare Is. 29, 3 vel ac si forma 3y5 esset aequivalens N3y5 exercitus. LXX vertunt. duas illas voces 7, 0xóotaai; àxsx3X1020» ; id explicat Theod. :-« quae olim occultata fuerant et multis repagulis communita, omnibus revelata sunt». Itaque de thesauris intelligit. Et aperte S. Cyr : «xóotxotv bb xv zXo0tov &zxoxa)si, quas opesex iniuria, rapinis, fraudibus Ninive sibi collegerit ». Chald. vocem declarat reginam, hancque interpretationem non solum rabbini, verum eliam recentiores quidam secuti sunt, Huzzab esse censentes nomen proprium reginae Ninives v. g. Ewald, Rückert aliique, quos vide apud Schegg. Insulse derivant appellationem rabbini ex Ps. 42, 10 astiit regina iY2Y2 (cf. Ges. Thes. p. 1147). Ipse Schegg nomen Assyriae esse. vult symbolicum : firma, vel truculenta (cf. 39*), sicuti Aegyptus apud prophetas audit Rahab i. e. superba Is. 30, 7 ; 51, 9 ; rex Assur Iareb i. c. litigator Os. 5, 13 ; Ierusalem Ariel, vallis visionis, Oholiba (Is. 22, 1 ; 29, 1. Ez. 23, 4). Aliud Ges. proponit ; vocem cnim cum superiore sententia iungit : palatium dissolvetur et dif]luet et tum v. "1 incipit. Sed 223 hac pollere significatione, ex hobr. probari nequit. Ceterum veteres omnes aliter iunxerunt ; id quod non negligendum esse videtur. Aliis placet vertere : decretum est (cf. Keil, Trochon,) ita ut ignominia et captivitas Ninives ad decretum Dei referatur. Bonus quidem sensus; at decretum est &deo ieiune dicitur neque scio, num simili exemplo ; solent enim prophetae alias dicere vel Dominus dixit vel Dominus fecit, cogitavit (cf. Is. 9, 6; 23, 9. ler. 51, 12. Lament. 2, 8. 17). Hlitz. legit 2yn et vertit : lacerta revelabitur i. e. ex latübulo suo extrahetur, quod per modun proverbii dictum esse vult more Arabum, qui de lacerta multa iactent proverbia. — Quodsi coniectura est facienda, quare non polius legamus *ayn splendida, magnifica ? est enim *2y splendor, decus ct apud Is. 43, 19 Babylonia dicitur decus regnorum ; apud Ez. saepius Palaesüna vocatur decus terrae cf. 20, 6. 15; 25, 9 Dan. 8, 9 etc. Certe haec coniectura apta est et facilis. Ceterum nihil certi de loco adeo intricato pronuntiari potest. Selige ex opinionibus, quas recensui, quae minus impedita tibi videtur. Ruinam cernens Ninives propheta miratur urbem adeo olim militibus plenam, quae iam ab omnibus turpi fuga dilapsis deserta sit. Quanta cum velocitate bellicam gloriam cum summa ignaviae ignominia commutavit !
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v. 8 « et Ninive quasi piscina aquarum aquae eius ; ipsi vero fugerunt. State, state ! et non est qui revertatur » ; — « piscinae Niniven comparat plenae et exundanti propter incredibilem civium multitudinem quam continebat et populorum auxiliariorum quae se infuderat copiam innumerabilem » (S. Cyr. sim. Theod.) ; idqueeoaptius, quia urbs accadice ita scribitur, ut. domus qiscis explicetur (cf. Strassmater, Verzeichnissd. akk. assyr. W. n. 6238. 6261) ; at Dominus mare eius desertum facit.et siccat venam eius (cf. Ier. 51, 36); hostis enim impetum non sustinent ; celeri fuga se proripiunt. Frustra duces hortantur animosque ignavis et terrore insano perculsis addere student; praecipiti fuga diffunduntur ( cf. Ier. 46, 5). Milites fusi fugatique sunt et quicumque ex aliis regionibus populisque in illam metropolin confluxerunt, etiam quanta possunt celeritate, imminentem ruinam effugere student ; cf. Ier. 50, 46 : « unusquisque ad populum suum convertetur et singuli ad terram suam fugient ». Uti S. Hier. , ita etiam LXX legerunt ; scil. "2*D aquae eius 1. e. habitantium multitudo — cf. Apoc. 17, 13 aquae, quas vidisti, populi sunt ef. genfes et linguae — et cum Ninive iam piscinae comparata sit, metaphora hoc loco facile est obvia. Verum quia piscina idem iam exprimit, lectio textus hebr. quam etiam Chuld. sequitur, praeferri debet N*Y n2"2 ez diebus quibus fuit illa i. e. ex diebus antiquis, uti Chald. habet; Ninive ex priscis iam temporibus incolis abundabat et antiqua gloria erat insignis ; quare casus eius eo magis est lamentabilis,
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v. 9 « Diripite argentum, diripite aurum ! et non est finis divitiarum ez omnibus vasis desiderabilibus ». — Frustra acclamatum est state v. 8 ; alius clamor qui iam tollitur ad victores exhortandos, effectu non carebit. Verba sunt vel principam (ScAegg), vel generatim Medorum et Chaldaeorum inter sc ad opima spolia capienda adhortantium (cf. Pint. Lap. Sa, Mar. Mon. Gor.), aut potius prophetae, qui nomine Dei hostes excitat ad iudicium in Niniven exsequendum (Sanct. Trochon) ; cf. 1,8 ;2, 9. 13. Is. 13, 3. Ier. 90, 23 - 21. Et sane suum erit direptioni, pretium : et non est fiis apparatui (ornatui, opibus) ; adest copia gravis ex omni supellectile pretiosa (hebr.) i. e. « dicitur ad Babylonios : quia illi fugerunt, diripite argentum et tanto tempore congregatas opes subita vastatione praedamini. Non enim est finis divitiarum, supellectilis et vasorum, quae in Ninive condita sunt » (S. Hier.). Ornatum esse constitutum in lapillis indicis censet S. Cyr. : « morem enim habebant Assyrii seu Ninivitae, multos pretiosos lapides perstudiose conquirere et iis instar puellarum ornari, ut contenderent in ipsis quoque conflictibus ornamentorum splendore insignes apparere ». Post praedationem tradita est destructioni et vastitati. Talem enim sortem ei inflizendam esse pro illo odio, q10 in urbem olim potentissimam flagrabant, censebant victores. Eius vastationis horrorem et terrorem vates ita describit :
Fugientibus pugnatoribus thesauri metropolis per longum imperium et plurima bella collecti ' in facilem praedam cedunt victoribus
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v. 10 « dissipata est et scissa et dilacerata, et cor (abescens et dissolutio geniculorum et defectio in cunctis renibus et facies omnium eorum sicut nigredo ollae » ; — « sub metaphora captivae mulieris Ninive dissipata, scissa, lacerata describitur : tabescente corde, dissolutis genibus, renibusque confractis, et quod omnium habitatorum eius prae terrore hostium et magnitudine metus facies in ollarum similitudine videanturexustae, tabidae et pallore deformes » (S. Hier.). Verborum accumulatio « omni genere contritionis contritum eos iri » (S. Cyr.) dicit. In hebraeo adest nervosa paronomasia : vacuitas, evacuatio, evanidatio i. e. perfectissima quaedam destructio, quae nunc per singula enumeratione quadam declaratur : cor i. e. animus, fortitudo, concidit et quasi confringitur; cor liquefactum (hebr.) ; « sicut enim cera admota igni liquescit et tabescit, ita et cor admotum vehementi angustiae, dolori et pavori liquescens concidit » (Lap.); « in genu robur cruris est ad incessum, ad cursum, ad erectionem iacentis corporis; quare genuum dissolutio aut tremor imbecillitatis indicium est e: defectionis virium » (Rb. qui veterum quoque poetarum ea de re testimonia profert) ; ad omnium virium defectionem accedit dolor vehementissimus in omnibus lumbis (hebr. !), quasi parturientium dolor, cf. Ier. 30, 6 : « quare vidi omnis viri manum super lumbum suum quasi parturientis et conversae sunt universae facies in auruginem ? vae, quia magna est dies illa... tempusque tribulationis est Iacob ». Atque dolor iste ac pavor et tremor in omnium aspectu et habitu maxima vi expressus legitur ; unde facies omnium ?... vide Ioel 2, 6. Is. 13, 8. Ier. 30, 6. Ez. 20, 46 ; « atrae omnium facies ac deformes, quasi os carbone liniverint. Asserunt itineraria quaedam, orientales in luctu ora fuligine ollarum tingere. Utitur passim huiusmodi locutione Scriptura, ut insoliium luctum, plumbeum, atrum, fuscum oris luridi squalentisque colorem describat » (Calm.). Igitur « septem dietionibus grandisonis, quo videlicet numero universitas designari solet » (Iüup.), mala omnia Ninivitis obventura describit !. Eam rerum mutationem admiratur propheta, ita ut modo oratorio pristinam potentiam ac splendorem in memoriam revocet et quasi obstupefactus quaerat
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v. 14 « ubi est habitaculum leonum et pascua catulorum leonum ; ad quam ivit leo, ut ingred^retur illuc, catulus leonis et non est qui exterreat » ? — hebr. ubi ambulabat leo, leaena ?, catulus leonis et non (erat) exterrens i. e. ita, ut nemo posset vel auderet eos turbare vel terrere. Symbolo leonum Assyriorum potentia, terror, devastatio quam aliis intulerunt nationibus, aptissime exhibetur, idque eo magis, quia ipsi Assyrii, prout monumenta creberrime ostendunt, leonum emblemate delectati eorum statuas quasi custodes portarum et palatiorum ponebant et in leonum venatione summam gloriam et voluptatem constituebant (cf. Layard, Discoveries p. 218. 293. 3359 ctc. G. Itawlinson l. c. 1 p. 353 et seq.). Ninive est habitaculum, ut urbs principalis; pascua non est eadem urbs (Sanct. Lap. Tir.), neque Assyria (Schegg), sed regiones sublectae, ex quibus praedam et spolia capiebant, ad quas quasi in campum venationum amplum exspatiari solebant (cf. Cyr. Theod. Theoph.). Catulos intelligunt. satrapas, duces, principes regis Assyriorum, per quos regnum administrabant, bella gerebant (cf. Cyr. Theod. Theoph. Lap. Men.) ; alii tali enumeratione seriem regum longam declarari volunt ; « catuli iidem sunt atque leones » (Theod. M.). Antea ubique secure et cum maiestatis terrore incedebant, ita ut nemo hiscere auderet (cf. Is. 10, 14), nemo iis resistere posset (cf. Is. 10, 9; 36, 8. 9). Quare immensa spolia ex variis regionibus ceperunt iisque metropolin superbe exornarunt et impleverunt, omnium opes et innumera trophaea illuc comportantes
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v. 12 « leo cepit sufficienter catulis suis et ecavit leaenis suis, et implevit praeda speluncas suas et cubile suum rapina »; — qui comparationem ad singula membra exigendam esse censent, catulos explicant filios regum Assyriorum, leaenas reginas.:et concubinas, quibus rex opima spolia, divitias, provincias, contulerit !. Spelunca illa spoliis referta est Ninive, urbs regia, « cubile leonis », leonum figuris amplissimis olim adornata. Leonem h. 1. Nabuchodonosorem intelligunt S. Cyr. S. Hier. Haim. Pint. Plerique vero regem Assyriorum rite agnoscunt ; aliqui inter utrumque haerent (Calm.). Ad rem sunt verba Theoph. : « quia enim bestiae strangulare solent a se comprehensa animalia, tumque ex illis alimoniam capere, non dissimili ratione assyrii, inquit, reges alia dissolventes regna, propriis leonibus h. e. pueris suis ac regibus, illorum opes et undecumque collecta vectigalia coacervarunt... ». Longa consuetudo in hebr. designatur verbi forma : leo rapiens pro sufficientia catulorum suorum, et suffocans pro leaenis suis. Verum seriem istam et leonis maiestatem et terrorem Dominus facillime aufert et delet
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v. 13 « ecce ego ad te, dicit Dominus exercituum, et succendam usque ad. fumum quadrigas tuas et leunculos tuos comedet gladius ; et exterminabo de terra praedam tuam cet non. audietur 4ltra vox nuntiorum tuorum »; — cecce ego ad te; phrasis usitatissina in prophetis, cum Deus magnum ac certum ac cito venturum supplicium comminatur » (Rib.) ; Dominus exercituum (Sabaoth), cui agnina coelestia et terrestria subserviunt, destruet apparatum bellicum, nilites gladio tradet, opes collectas et tot victoriarum spolia exscindet et Ninive, quae tot principes, legatos in omnem circa regionem ad multarum gentium obsequia et vectigalia accipienda miserat, iam silentio, jblivione in aeternum sepelietur. Bene S. Hier. : « o Ninive, universa quae dicta sunt, patieris. Ego Dominus succendam usqüe ad fumum et 'onsumptionem currus tuos et nobiles quosque atque subregulos gladio faceiam devorari; nequaquam terras ultra vastabis nec tributa exiges aec audientur per provincias tuas emissarii tui ». Quam funditus Ninive eversa est ita, ut citissime quoque ex hominum memoria ubi olim urbs fuisset. oblivione deleretur! ' Anc. — Propheta scelera Ninives commemorat et poenam iis congruam ; idque bis eodem ordine : continuo enim caede, fraudibus, rapinis alias gentes oppressit, quare belli horrore et immensa clade prosternetur ; insuper gentes subiectas variis turpis idololatriae sceleribus corrupit ; quare summa ignominia in omnium conspectu punietur, ita ut omnes cum fastidio maximo et summa irrisione irreparabilem Ninives ruinam explodant (3, 4-7). Neque eam amplissimus belli apparatus avertet. Id propheta ostendit recenti Thebarum, urbis potentissimae Aegypti, exemplo. Licet enim Thebae et natura et arte essent munitissimae eisque praesto adstarent copiae auxiliares ex Aethiopia et Africa septemtrionali fere innumerae, tamen misere captae sunt earumque principes et incolae servituti subiecti. Eadem sorte Ninive corruet; eius enim munitiones facile ac cito destruentur, milites fortitudine destituentur ; hostes victores ingressi igne omnia vastabunt (3, 8-13). Quare propheta Ninivitas ironice exhortatur, ut contra urbis obsidionem se communiant. At licet copias innumeras colligant, velociter peribunt, absumentur igne. Opes immenso commercio acquisitae praedae erunt hostibus ; invalidae et prorsus impotentes erunt copiae Ninivitarum ; principes, nobiles, vulgus, omnes aut interibunt prostrati aut dispersi fugient. Erit ruina irreparabilis, cuius nuntium propter tyrannidem Ninives tamdiu exercitam oranes magno cum tripudio suscipient (3, 14-19). Ilac oratione scelera imperii assyriaci distinctius enumerantur (v. 1. 4) ; ignominia ruinae quae futura sit cum reliquarum gentium applausu, magis effertur (v. 5-1. 10. 19) atque prorsus frustra ingenti conatu Assyrios contra ruinam illam omnia molituros esse clarius proponitur (v. 8 seq. 19 seq.). Demum impetus hostilis, combustio urbis, regni excidium praeclaro dicendi genere verbisque maxime perspicuis illustrantur (v. 2. 3. 1. 43. 45. 18. 19). Quare praecedentes orationes hac tertia declarantur et absolvuntur.
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I Reg. 2, 26, "of iniquity": Iob. 34, 36); I Sam. 25, 25; 30, 22; II Sam. 16, 7; 20, 1; I Reg. 21, 13; Prov. 6, 12; 16, 27; 19, 28 (Eccli. 11, 32). Alone, used elliptically (for 'īl b.), b. is equivalent to "wicked" (II Sam. 23, 6; Iob. 34, 18) or "destroyer" (Nah. 2, 1), taking on a concrete sense, as a noun or adjective. B. expresses moral evil, and is applied to everything (things, thoughts, actions) that tends toward it or proceeds from it (Deut. …
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.