The miserable destruction of Ninive.
A description of Niniues ruine, 5. made ignominious to al nations: 17. forraine souldiars fleing away, and al their owne terrified.
1Woe to thee, O city of blood, all full of lies and violence: rapine shall not depart from thee.Guai a te, città di sangue, tutta menzogne, piena di strage, e di incessante rapina.VVO to thee ô citie of blouds, al of lying ful of tearing: spoile shal not depart from thee.Væ civitas sanguinum, / universa mendacii dilaceratione plena ! / non recedet a te rapina. 2The noise of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the neighing horse; and of the running chariot, and of the horsemen coming up,Romor di sferza, romore di ruote precipitose, e di frementi cavalli, e di cocchi ardenti, e di cavalleria, che si inoltra;The voice of the whippe, and the voice of the violence of the wheele, & of the neighing horse, and of the feruent chariot, and of the horsman mounting.Vox flagelli, et vox impetus rotæ, et equi frementis, / et quadrigæ ferventis, et equitis ascendentis, 3And of the shining sword, and of the glittering spear, and of a multitude slain, and of a grievous destruction: and there is no end of carcasses, and they shall fall down on their dead bodies.E di spada, che lampeggia, e di lancia folgoreggiante, e di turba, che è uccisa, e di grave ruina; sono senza fine i cadaveri, gli uni cadono sui corpi degli altri.And of the glistering sword, and of the glittering speare, and of a multitude slaine, and of a greuous ruine: neither is there an end of corses, and they shal fal on their bodies.et micantis gladii, et fulgurantis hastæ, / et multitudinis interfectæ, et gravis ruinæ; / nec est finis cadaverum, / et corruent in corporibus suis. 4Because of the multitude of the fornications of the harlot that was beautiful and agreeable, and that made use of witchcraft, that sold nations through her fornications, and families through her witchcrafts.Per ragion delle molte fornicazioni della meretrice avvenente, e graziosa, che ha l'arte degl'incantesimi, che ha fatte schiave di sue fornicazioni le genti, e le famiglie de' suoi incantesimi.Because of the multitude of the fornications, of the harlot beautiful & grateful, and hauing sorceries, which hath sold nations in her fornications, & families in her sorceries.Propter multitudinem fornicationum meretricis / speciosæ, et gratæ, et habentis maleficia, / quæ vendidit gentes in fornicationibus suis, / et familias in maleficiis suis. 5Behold I come against thee, saith the Lord of hosts: and I will discover thy shame to thy face, and will shew thy nakedness to the nations, and thy shame to kingdoms.Eccomi a te, dice il Signor degli eserciti, e io svelerò sotto i tuoi occhi le tue ignominie, e farò vedere alle genti la tua nudità, e i tuoi obbrobrj a tutti i reami.Behold I to thee, sayth the Lord of hosts: and I wil discouer thy priuie parts in thy face, and wil shew to the Gentils thy nakednes, & to kingdoms thine ignominie.Ecce ego ad te, dicit Dominus exercituum, / et revelabo pudenda tua in facie tua; / et ostendam gentibus nuditatem tuam, / et regnis ignominiam tuam.
6And I will cast abominations upon thee, and will disgrace thee, and will make an example of thee.E sopra di te getterò le (tue) abbominazioni, e ti caricherò di contumelie, e farotti un esempio.And I wil throw vpon thee abominations, and wil vse thee contumeliously, and wil put thee for an example.Et projiciam super te abominationes, / et contumeliis te afficiam, / et ponam te in exemplum. 7And it shall come to pass that every one that shall see thee, shall flee from thee, and shall say: Ninive is laid waste: who shall bemoan thee? whence shall I seek a comforter for thee?E allora tutti quelli, che ti vedranno, si tireranno indietro lungi da te, e diranno: Ninive è desolata. Chi scuoterà il capo sopra di te? Donde cercherò io un consolatore per te?And it shal be, euerie one that shal see thee, shal leape backe from thee, and shal say: Niniue is wasted: who shal shake the head vpon thee? whence shal I seeke a cōforter for thee?Et erit: omnis qui viderit te resiliet a te, / et dicet: Vastata est Ninive. / Quis commovebit super te caput ? / unde quæram consolatorem tibi ? 8Art thou better than the populous Alexandria, that dwelleth among the rivers? waters are round about it: the sea is its riches: the waters are its walls.Se' tu forse migliore della popolosa Alessandria, che risiede in mezzo a' fiumi, ed è cinta dalle acque, il di cui tesoro è il mare, e le sue mura sono le acque?Why, art thou better then Alexandria ful of peoples, which dwelleth in the riuers? waters round about it: whose riches, the sea: waters the walles therof.Numquid melior es Alexandria populorum, / quæ habitat in fluminibus ? / aquæ in circuti ejus; / cujus divitiæ, mare; / aquæ, muri ejus. 9Ethiopia and Egypt were the strength thereof, and there is no end: Africa and the Libyans were thy helpers.Sua fortezza fu l'Etiopia, e l'Egitto, che non ha fine: l'Affrica, e la Libia le diedero aiuti.Aethiopia the strength of it, and Aegypt, & there is no end: Afrike, and the Libyans haue bene in thine ayde.Æthiopia fortitudo ejus, et Ægyptus, et non est finis; / Africa et Lybies fuerunt in auxilio tuo. 10Yet she also was removed and carried into captivity: her young children were dashed in pieces at the top of every street, and they cast lots upon her nobles, and all her great men were bound in fetters.Ma ella pure fu menata schiava in paese straniero: i suoi pargoletti furono infranti negli angoli di tutte le strade: e i suoi nobili furon tirati a sorte, e i suoi grandi conficcati ne' ceppi.But she also in transmigration was led into captiuitie: her litle ones were dashed in the head of al wayes, and vpon her noble ones, they haue cast lot, and al her great men were made fast in fetters.Sed et ipsa in transmigrationem ducta est in captivitatem: / parvuli ejus elisi sunt in capite omnium viarum, / et super inclytos ejus miserunt sortem, / et omnes optimates ejus confixi sunt in compedibus.
11Therefore thou also shalt be made drunk, and shalt be despised: and thou shalt seek help from the enemies.Così anche tu berai fino all'ebbrezza, e sarai conculcata, e aiuto chiederai dal nimico.Thou also therfore shalt be made drunke, and shal be despised: and thou shalt seeke helpe of the enemie.Et tu ergo inebriaberis, et eris despecta: / et tu quæres auxilium ab inimico. 12All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with their green figs: if they be shaken, they shall fall into the mouth of the eater.Tutte le tue fortezze saranno come que' fichi primaticci, i quali ad una scossa cadono in bocca di chi se li mangia.Al thy munitions as figtrees with their grene figges: if they be shaken, they wil fal into the mouth of the eater.Omnes munitiones tuæ sicut ficus cum grossis suis: / si concussæ fuerint, cadent in os comedentis. 13Behold thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thy enemies, the fire shall devour thy bars.Ecco che in mezzo a te il tuo è popolo di donne. Saranno spalancate le porte del tuo paese, e le sbarre saran consumate dal fuoco.Behold thy people wemen in the middes of thee: to thine enimies the gates of thy land with opening shal be opened, fyre shal deuoure thy barres.Ecce populus tuus mulieres in medio tui: / inimicis tuis adapertione pandentur portæ terræ tuæ, / devorabit ignis vectes tuos. 14Draw thee water for the siege, build up thy bulwarks: go into the clay, and tread, work it and make brick.Attingi acqua per l'assedio, ristora le tue fortificazioni, metti i piedi nel fango, e pestalo, e impastandolo fanne mattoni.Draw thee water for the siege, build thy munitions: enter into the clay, and tread, making morter hold the bricke.Aquam propter obsidionem hauri tibi: / exstrue munitiones tuas, / intra in lutum, et calca, / subigens tene laterem. 15There shall the fire devour thee: thou shalt perish by the sword, it shall devour thee like the bruchus: assemble together like the bruchus, make thyself many like the locust.Allora ti consumerà il fuoco, ti sterminerà la spada, la quale ti divorerà, come fa il bruco: raguna gente in tanto numero come i bruchi, e come le locuste.There the fyre shal eate thee: thou shalt perish by the sword, as a bruke it shal deuoure thee: be gathered together as the bruke, be multiplied as the locust.Ibi comedet te ignis, / peribis gladio, devorabit te ut bruchus: / congregare ut bruchus, / multiplicare ut locusta.
16Thou hast multiplied thy merchandises above the stars of heaven: the bruchus hath spread himself and flown away.Avesti più mercatanti, che non sono le stelle del cielo; ma il bruco ingrassato vola via.Thou hast made thy merchandises more then are the starres of heauen: the bruke was spred, & flew away.Plures fecisti negotiationes tuas quam stellæ sint cæli; / bruchus expansus est, et avolavit. 17Thy guards are like the locusts: and thy little ones like the locusts of locusts which swarm on the hedges in the day of cold: the sun arose, and they flew away, and their place was not known where they were.I tuoi custodi simili alle locuste, e i tuoi piccoli come le tenere locuste, le quali si posano sulle siepi nel freddo tempo: ma nato il sole volano via, e non si sa dov'elle si fosser fermate.Thy kepers as the locusts: & thy litle ones as it were the locusts of locusts, which swarme on the hedges in the day of could: the sunne arose, & they flew away, and their place was not knowen where they were.Custodes tui quasi locustæ, / et parvuli tui quasi locustæ locustarum, / quæ considunt in sepibus in die frigoris: / sol ortus est, et avolaverunt, / et non est cognitus locus earum ubi fuerint. 18Thy shepherds have slumbered, O king of Assyria, thy princes shall be buried: thy people are hid in the mountains, and there is none to gather them.Dormono, o re di Assur, i tuoi Pastori: sono sepolti i tuoi principi, a tua gente va a nascondersi per le montagne, e non v'è chi la raduni.Thy pastours slumbred, ô King of Assur, thy princes shal be buried thy people lay hid in the mountaynes, and there is none to gather them together.Dormitaverunt pastores tui, rex Assur, / sepelientur principes tui: / latitavit populus tuus in montibus, / et non est qui congreget. 19Thy destruction is not hidden, thy wound is grievous: all that have heard the fame of thee, have clapped their hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?La tua ferita non è segreta, gravissima ell'è la tua piaga: tutti quelli, che hanno udite nuove di te, hanno battuto palma a palma per l'allegrezza: imperocché a chi non fece male in ogni tempo la tua malizia?Thy destruction is not obscure, thy plague is very sore: al that haue heard the fame of thee, haue clapped the hand vpon thee: for vpon whom hath not thy malice passed alwayes?Non est obscura contritio tua; / pessima est plaga tua. / Omnes qui audierunt auditionem tuam compresserunt manum super te: / quia super quem non transiit malitia tua semper ?
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Worthington
Blood. Nemrod established his power by shedding blood, Genesis 10. Ninus, who built Ninive, and his successors were also bloody. After 1200 years the empire decayed under Sardanapalus, as historians agree. Yet it continued longer, according to the Scriptures and Ribera, till the Chaldeans destroyed it, when it had subsisted about 1440 years. It was even possessed of great power after the return of the Jews from Babylon, as Eusebius, St. Augustine, Ven. Bede, etc., write. (Worthington)
Haydock
Depart. Septuagint, "be touched." (Haydock)
He continues the metaphor of the lion seizing its prey. Here the last chapter should end.
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The noise. He has described the forces of Ninive, now he specifies those of Cyaxares and Nabopolassar.
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Sold, forcing them to adopt her manners, Romans 7:14.
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Haydock
Bemoan. Literally, "shake his head:" the latter words are not in [the] Hebrew. (Haydock)
Calmet
Some supply, move his lips: but head will answer as well. This is a sign of derision or of pity, Job 42:11., and Matthew 27:39. (Calmet)
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Challoner
Populous Alexandria. No-Amon. A populous city of Egypt, destroyed by the Chaldeans, and afterwards rebuilt by Alexander, and called Alexandria. Others suppose No-Amon to be the same as Diospolis. (Challoner)
Calmet
This seems preferable, as it was amidst waters and near the Mediterranean. Profane historians take little notice of it, as it was greatly reduced. Bochart fixes upon Memphis, others upon the temple of Ammon. But these were too remote from the sea. (Calmet)
Calmet
The former was however near the Nile, (Haydock) which is sometimes called a sea. (Calmet)
Worthington
St. Jerome thinks that Alexandria stood on the ruins of No. (Worthington)
Usher
Yet of this we have no proof. It is thought that Nahum alludes to the devastation caused by Nabuchodonosor. As Juda however was still in his kingdom, it seems rather that Assaraddon, (Isaias xx.) or his predecessor, Sennacherib, (Calmet) laid waste this city, 4 Kings 18:21. (Usher, Year of the world 3292.)
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Calmet
Captivity. It was afterwards re-established and taken by Nabuchodonosor. (Calmet)
Haydock
Fetters, or stocks. (Haydock)
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Drunk, and be chastised by God, Ezechiel 23:32.
From, to escape.
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Water. This was a necessary precaution, 2 Paralipomenon 32:3.
Brick, to repair the breaches.
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Locust. Yet all will be in vain. Thy numbers will be cut off as easily as locusts.
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Away. Thus did the merchants, at the approach of the enemy.
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Guards. Hebrew, "crowned" princes.
Calmet
Little. Hebrew, "satraps are like great locusts, which," etc. St. Jerome has read (Calmet) toppic instead of taphseraic, (Haydock) which [the] Septuagint neglect. Thapsar denotes an officer, Jeremias 51:27. (Calmet)
Challoner
Of locusts. The young locusts. (Challoner)
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Calmet
Slumbered. They have not guarded the flock. (Calmet)
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Haydock
Hidden. Hebrew and Septuagint, "irremediable," (Haydock)
Calmet
No one pities thy wound, Chaldean. (Calmet)
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Populous Alexandria.... No-Ammon. A populous city of Egypt destroyed by the Chaldeans, and afterwards rebuilt by Alexander, and called Alexandria. Others suppose No-Ammon to be the same as Diospolis.
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Locusts of locusts.... The young locusts.
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THE PROPHECY OF HABACUC
HABACUC was a native of Bezocher, and prophesied in JUDA, some time before the invasion of the CHALDEANS, which he foretold. He lived to see this prophecy fulfilled, and for many years after, according to the general opinion, which supposes him to be the same that was brought by the ANGEL to DANIEL in BABYLON, Dan. 14.
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Nemrod beganne vvith sheeding bloud to make himself great. Gen 10. so Ninus who built Niniue, and their successors vvere stil very bloudie, and otherwise wicked, but at last after 1200 yeares, vnder Sardanapalus their Monarchie decayed much, as most vvriters both Greke & Latin testifie, but yet continued longer & florished againe as Doctor Ribera shevveth by the holie Scriptures, & continued in al from Ninus time til it vvas destroyed by the Chaldees, about 1440. yeares, yea & vvas repayred againe & vvas great after the relaxation of the Ievves from captiuitie. As Eusebius. S. Augustin. S. Beda and others vvrite.
Concordance Bzee. 14. Habac. 2.
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Concordance Isa. 47.
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This citie was first called No, but being destroyed by the Chaldees, and reedified by K. Alexander vvas then called by his name. S. Ierom.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 53.8
… Micah the Morasthite a joint heir with Christ announces the spoiling of the daughter of the robber and lays siege against her, because she has smitten the jawbone of the judge of Israel. Nahum, the consoler of the world, rebukes “the bloody city”
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1. Woe (namely to thee, O) city of bloods, — O Nineveh bloodthirsty, which hast shed the blood of all nations, that thou mightest subject them to thyself! Whence the Chaldean translator renders: Woe to the city of bloods! Thus Theophylactus, Haymo, Rupertus, Hugo and Lyra. It could secondly be that the phrase bloods might be taken for crimes, as if to say: Woe to thee, O wicked city, full and covered with all offences! because indeed the shedding of blood, namely murder, is the gravest crime against one's neighbour, hence any enormous crime is called blood, that is the shedding of blood, by synecdoche, whereby a part is put for the whole; or by catachresis, whereby the like is put for the like. Whence the Syrian and Arabic translators render: Woe to the city of bloods, which is all falsehood, and full of iniquity! He gives the causes of the destruction of Nineveh, namely why God transferred the monarchy from her to Babylon. The first is unjust murders, and those very many. The second is that she is "all of falsehood," that is, as the Septuagint has it, wholly false; the Zurich Bible, in every way full of falsehood, as if to say: "In Nineveh there is no truth, but all is falsehood," says St. Jerome, because all deceit and fraud reign in her. The third is that she is "full of tearing in pieces," that is full of rapine and tearing of prey. Whence Aquila translates, full of breaking of necks; Symmachus, amoropias, that is full of cruelty or severity. "In another edition of his," says St. Jerome, "I found μελοκοπίας πλήρης, that is full of cuttings of flesh and pieces cut through the limbs; finally he immediately added: Where there is unceasing prey," as if to say Nineveh is filled with rapines, just as the lairs of lions are full of limbs and bones of animals torn and devoured by them. For he compared Nineveh to these in chapter II, 11, where he called her "the dwelling place of lions." St. Jerome adds: "Moreover the Hebrew (the master of St. Jerome in the Hebrew language) פרק perec, rudder, that is κυβερνισμόν interpreted it, so as to show that the city was also royal, and as it were in a ship held the rudder of all nations." Symbolically, Nineveh is fair, and fair is this world, which in Greek is called κοσμός from appearance and ornament. For this whole world is placed in evil, and will be full and fuller at the end, under the day of judgment (and therefore then it will be overthrown and burned up) with bloods, that is with murders and crimes, equally with falsehoods, deceits and frauds; likewise with calumnies, rapines, and all violence by which it tears to pieces the reputation, goods, body or life of one's neighbours. Thus St. Jerome. Rapine shall not depart (that is shall never depart) from thee, — as if to say Nineveh is wholly intent upon rapines; for the future tense of the Hebrews often signifies the continuation, custom, habit and perpetuity of an action.
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Vers. 2. The voice of the whip. — St. Jerome with Remigius, Albert and his other followers continues to take these things of Nineveh and the Assyrians, as if the Prophet here describes their chariots, horsemen, and arms, by which they inflicted force upon other nations, and plundered and tore them to pieces. Better do Theodoret, Theophylactus and Vatable take these things of the Chaldeans, who scourged and punished the predations, murders and rapines of Nineveh. This is therefore a hypotyposis, or a vivid image and representation of war being waged upon Nineveh by the Chaldeans, as if to say: I seem now to see near at hand and to hear the whips of the charioteers in the hostile chariots of the Chaldeans, the running and rush of wheels, horsemen and horses neighing; likewise their flashing swords and gleaming spears, by which they themselves will slay a great multitude of the Ninevites, and bring upon them grave ruin, that is a multitude of corpses. Note that grave is here put for great, that is much; it is an enallage: for quality is put for quantity, and continuous quantity for discrete; for instance grave for great, and great for much. Thus Antiochus is said to have entered Egypt in grave multitude, that is numerous and abundant, I Maccabees 1, 18. Thus God sent upon Egypt through Moses a most grievous fly, that is a very great number, Exodus chapter VIII, verse 24. See the remarks there. Again he calls the chariots burning and blazing, on account of the speed and impetuosity by which they themselves and their wheels become so heated by motion and collision of stones that they appear to burn, and indeed truly emit sparks and fire. Virgil gives a similar heat to chariots in III Georgics: They press on with twisted lash, and leaning forward give rein: the axle flies hot with force, now they seem low, now raised on high, to be borne through the empty air, and to rise into the breezes. Tropologically, Nineveh is the sinful soul, full of bloods, that is crimes; this is all of falsehood, because it leaves no place in itself for God, who is truth; but imbued with false opinions, and deceived by the devil's tricks, it thinks riches, pleasures, and honours, which are only shadows, to be body and solid substance. This tears to pieces the reputation and goods of one's neighbours, and indeed turns others away from the way of God, and plunders their good works, nor does it cease from this rapine. Many evils threaten this. The first is, "the voice of the whip," that is of conscience scourging the mind within, of which Juvenal speaks, in satire XIII: Do you think those have escaped whom the mind conscious of dire guilt holds in terror, and beats with deaf scourging; shaking the hidden scourge, the torturer in the soul? Thus Ribera.
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3. They shall fall (the Ninevites and Assyrians) in their bodies, — that is, among the bodies and corpses of their own. Thus the Chaldean. Whence the Zurich version translates: They shall fall through their bodies. Pagninus and Vatablus translate somewhat differently: They shall strike (namely the Chaldeans) upon their bodies, that is, of the slain Assyrians, as if to say: So great shall be the slaughter of the Ninevites, so great a multitude of corpses, that they shall block the way both for the Assyrians fleeing and for the Chaldeans pursuing, and both shall strike upon it and fall.
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Vers. 4. On account of the multitude of the fornications of the beautiful harlot. — Fornication among the Prophets signifies idolatry, for an idol is as it were an adulterer; Nineveh is as it were a beautiful harlot, as if to say: The Assyrians shall fall on account of the multitude of idolatry of Nineveh, which both in fact and in name sounds beautiful, and therefore on account of her beautiful riches, delights and pomp was pleasing to all, as if to say, St. Jerome says, Nineveh shall fall, because she worshipped idols and evil magical deeds of the whole world subject to her; because she was wholly devoted to magic, superstition and idolatry, and drew, nay forced, all nations to it. Whence follows: Who sold nations in her fornications, — as if to say: Nineveh delivered other nations and peoples to her enemies, namely the Chaldeans; because she herself taught them her idolatries and evil deeds, namely magical incantations and superstitions, on account of which they were delivered by God to the Chaldeans. For this reason God sent the Chaldeans as lictors against all nations, that they might punish their idolatry and crimes, as is evident from Jeremiah, chapter XXV, verse 17. Note: The word sold signifies, first, that Nineveh, like a queen but rather a harlot, compelled other nations subject to her, now by force, now by enticements, now by deceptions and other harlot-like arts, to her idols and crimes. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Rupert, Hugh and Lyra. Second, that she reduced nations to servitude and abused them as slaves, inasmuch as she sold them to the enemy, when she forced them to go forth with her into battle against the Chaldeans; and thus she exposed them like sheep to be slaughtered together by the swords of the Chaldeans. Thus Theophylactus. Here is verified that saying of the Poet: Whatever madness the kings commit, the Achaeans are punished. Cyril and Theophylactus add that fornication here is called magic, by which nations and tribes sold, saying: Give us reward and price, and we shall curse the nations hostile to you, and thus we shall make it so that they cannot resist you, and you may easily conquer them, as Balaam the soothsayer did for Balak king of Moab, Numbers XXII and XXIII. Third, in Scripture Ahab, III Kings XXI, 25, and others are said to be sold or put up for sale to do evil; because namely they were delivered as slaves into the power of sin and the devil, that at his nod they might be driven like slaves to every crime; delivered, I say, directly by themselves and their masters and lords; indirectly by God permitting and punishing their former crimes. And families (that is, peoples) in her sorceries. — He calls sorceries poisonings, as the Septuagint translates, riches, pomp, delights, incantations, love-charms, namely enticements, by which Nineveh like a harlot allured all to her love and the worship of her gods. For this is what the Hebrew kesaphim signifies. Symbolically St. Jerome: Nineveh, he says, is the alluring world, having sorceries; the Septuagint, the leader of sorceries, that is, of incantations and enticements, by which she maddens men: "The voice of scourges is heard in the world, because there are many tribulations of the just, by which they are scourged, they cry out, and testify to the greatness of their pain with weeping voice. When one is seized by a demon, another by wrath, which is like fury, another by lust, hatred, envy, pride, the scourge of the Assyrian king sounds in them. But also in bodily ills, we understand the scourge of the devil, of which it is said to the just in Psalm XC: And the scourge shall not come nigh thy dwelling. When we see one rotted away by the royal disease and surviving his own corpse: another cut off by water and with swollen nature of body, and with growing members the form of his former man decreasing: one discharging certain purulent matter and the damage of a wounded lung: another with moisture dried into stones, feeling the bitterness of urine and the torments of the bladder; let us not doubt to say that the voice of scourges is Nineveh." This St. Jerome, who also adds: "And the voice of the commotion of wheels, while the human race is carried hither and thither, and in uncertain courses through all things, where danger is, where safety is we know not; concerning which wheel both in Ezech. I, 16, and Psalm. LXXVI we read: Thy voice in the wheel of thunder. And Nineveh has also a horse pursuing, namely the devil, concerning whom Job XXXIX: From afar he smelleth the battle. The chariots, and their four horses are four perturbations, concerning which Maro: These desire and fear, grieve and rejoice. With these horses, and this chariot Nineveh disturbs all things. And just as four, with which we fight and are protected, are the shields of virtues: prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude; so on the other hand four vices are, foolishness, iniquity, luxury, fear by which we are struck by the enemy. Each of which sprouting has in itself manifold species of arrows, by which wounds are inflicted, nay the wounded are plunged even to the depths of hell. And there is no end to her nations. Her malice has no end, and as many species of sins as there are, so many nations are Nineveh's, by which they shall be weakened in their bodies by the multitude of fornication. Nor will anyone marvel that Nineveh has become most pleasing to harlots, who has seen so great a multitude of men fornicating with her, and by her evils, and by certain incantations almost all are drawn to love of her. She has sold nations in her fornications, which take away the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot: and she does this by three evils of hers. For she makes them love those things which they ought to have hated, and detest those things which they ought to have loved; so that when they have been deceived, they also supplant others by maternal art." Whence alluding to this St. John Apoc. XVII, 3, his Babylon (which is a type of the world) as another Nineveh in the form of a queen, but of a harlot thus depicts: "I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads, and ten horns. And the woman was clothed round about with purple, and scarlet, and gilded with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of the abomination, and uncleanness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery: Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications, and of the abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." See the things said there. Most excellently St. Bernard, epist. 103: "Woe, he says, woe! it is a vapor for a short time producing, which shuts off the entrance to eternal happiness. How long dost thou put forth the hay of so great glory, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven: I mean the flesh, and its glory: For all flesh is hay, and all the glory thereof as the flower of hay. If thou art wise, if thou hast a heart, if the light of thine eyes is with thee, cease now to follow those things, which both to attain is wretched. Blessed is he who went not after her, which things possessed burden, loved defile, lost torment." And epist. 107: "Long, he says, the world will not be able to have this in thee, and thee indeed itself will not have shortly. For the days of man are short. The world indeed with its concupiscences passes away; but it sends thee forth before it itself passes away. That love which delights thee without end is soon to be ended."
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Vers. 5. Behold I come against thee, — O Nineveh, armed and raging in the Chaldeans I come, that I may despoil thee like an infamous harlot, strip thee naked, chastise thee, and expose thee to the ridicule and hissing of the whole world. Whence the Zurich version translates: Behold I am thy enemy, saith the Lord of hosts. I will discover thy shame in thy face. — The Zurich version, Pagninus and Vatablus: I will discover thy borders, or thy hems; that is, I will strip thee of thy borders and beautiful and precious garments through the Chaldeans, so that thou, stripped and naked of all things, mayest be mocked and derided by all, while all, besides thy nakedness and poverty, shall also behold thy hidden filths, thy sores and cancers, which thou didst cover with thy train and golden garment (for these he calls shameful things, because on account of them thou wast ashamed), that is, thy hidden uncleanness, vices and deformities, openly. For he persists in the metaphor of a harlot. Whence, explaining this, he adds: Vers. 5 and 6. I will shew thy nakedness to the nations, and thy shame to the kingdoms. And I will cast upon thee abominations, — that is, I will impose upon thee, show, and make public all thy abominable crimes; whereby it shall come to pass that all shall vie with one another in abhorring thee, and shall devote thee to a thousand curses: for so sharp is the vengeance of God, by which He shall punish and overthrow thee, that it shall show to all that thou hast been a most rapacious and wicked tyrant. Whence it follows, "and I will cover thee with reproach," as all mock at harlots publicly exposed in the circus, or bound to a post, and cast upon them filth, mud and dung: and so "I will make thee a gazing-stock"; the Zurich version, I will make thee a spectacle; Pagninus, I will make thee filth: the Chaldean, I will make thee accursed, and I will make thee most foul in the eyes of all who see thee. Morally, it is a great grace of God when He reveals to a sinner his own baseness and the filth of unlawful pleasure, for example that of a harlot. For just as outwardly and publicly nothing appears more beautiful and elegant than a harlot; so inwardly and at home nothing is more foul, filthy, vile, wretched, poor, so that young men who are so drawn to those so pompous ones, when they see their internal filth, feel nausea and abhor them. Such is sin and the sinful soul, namely it is as it were an adorned harlot, and a whited sepulchre; outwardly shining, inwardly stinking and reeking; outwardly Venus, inwardly an old woman; outwardly beautiful as Lais, inwardly deformed as Thais; publicly more splendid than Cyrus, at home poorer than Irus, scarcely having black bread to eat, as Terence says in the Eunuch. I have heard from courtiers of a certain prince's wife living luxuriously, that her body exhaled such a stench that it seemed intolerable, and thou wouldst say it was not so much a body as a three-day-old corpse.
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Verse 7. Every one that shall see thee shall flee from thee. — Pagninus, they shall withdraw themselves from thee; Zurich, he shall flee from thee, and shall say: Nineveh is laid waste; Chaldean, Nineveh is plundered; Septuagint: He that shall see thee shall descend from thee, and shall say: Miserable is Nineveh. In like manner in the destruction of Babylon it is said in the Apocalypse XVIII, 15: "The merchants of these things, who were made rich, shall stand afar off from her, for fear of the torments of her, weeping and mourning, and saying: Alas, alas, that great city, which was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet! etc.: for in one hour are so great riches come to nought." Thus concerning Tyre Ezekiel saith in chapter XXVI, 47: "How art thou destroyed, that dwellest in the sea, renowned city? etc. Now the ships shall be astonished in the day of thy fear: and the islands shall be troubled in the sea, because no one shall go out from thee." And in chapter XXVII, 28, he describes the sailors and merchants wailing in the desolation of Tyre. Tropologically St. Jerome saith: "So long as, he says, we honour earthly things, and think them to be sublime, as if we were on some height of pride, and we admire the beauty of Nineveh," that is, of the world. "But when we shall have considered its nature, and all corporeal goods, as if we despised them as humble, subjecting ourselves to the power of the hand of God, then we shall pity Nineveh, and shall judge all earthly goods worthy of lamentation, and shall say: Miserable Nineveh, how many hast thou ensnared in thy snares? how many bound in thy snares dost thou hold? who thinkest thou shall flee from thee, and shall descend from thy pride, and shall judge thee miserable?" as if to say, Few are they, but wise and discerning, who judge thus. Nineveh therefore is a fair wife, fair sons and daughters, fair pomp of servants, fair riches, fair dignities, which captivate and madden many by their beauty. But the prudent, who consider their brevity, instability, fugacity, cares, troubles, anguishes, dangers, see this beauty to be painted and masked: for immediately the fashion of this world passeth away, as the Apostle saith. Wherefore they despise these things, and say: "O how much emptiness is in things!" and they long for the beauty of the heavenly world, which endureth for ever, and is divine and blessed. A notable example in this matter was given by St. Eucherius, bishop of Lyons, in the year of the Lord 440, who, as Ado hath it in the Martyrology on the sixteenth of November, when he was a senator distinguished in genius, wealth, eloquence, learning, and dignity, and had an illustrious and wealthy wife, and from her fair children, both sons and daughters, despised all these things, and taught all his own to despise them likewise. For leaving all things, he withdrew into the monastery of Lérins; thence into solitude, and there in a cave he devoted himself entirely to fastings and prayers, until, the episcopal see of Lyons becoming vacant, he was designated bishop of Lyons by angelic admonition. Wherefore when he was requested by the clergy and people for this office, since he himself utterly refused and rejected it, he was forcibly drawn from the cave, bound and led into the city, and violently placed in the episcopal chair, which he administered with wonderful faith, holiness and learning. His learned labours on Genesis, the books of Kings, etc., still exist, which he dedicated to his sons Veranius and Salonius. For he caused these to be educated from childhood in the monastery, who were afterwards likewise called from the monastery to the episcopate on account of their illustrious virtue and wisdom. But his wife, named Galla, withdrew into the cave of her husband when he was seized for the episcopate, and succeeded him in the rigour of life, equally as of place; for there she devoted herself entirely to penance and prayer. But his daughters Consortia and Tullia, imitating their father and mother, vowed their virginity to God, and were renowned not only for the grace of virginity, but also for the glory of signs, equally as their father, namely St. Eucherius himself, who among other miracles, meeting in the Alps a man with contracted limbs, and at the command of St. Caesarius, bishop of Arles (as is related in his Life), stretching out his hand to him, and lifting him up, restored him to health and the use of his limbs. Thus Baronius in the year of Christ 441 and 463. Whence Claudianus in book II of the State of the Soul, speaking of St. Eucherius, saith that he, "in the green of his age, mature in mind, despising the earth, desiring heaven, humble in spirit, lofty in merit, most subtle in genius, full of learning, flowing in eloquence, by far the greatest of the great bishops of his age, having published many volumes of various works for the sake of the faith, also preached to the people concerning the state of the soul." Whosoever therefore art wise, with St. Eucherius despise the earth, desire the stars, despise the ground, look up to heaven, despise vain things though fair, seek true and eternal things, and despising all earthly things say: Fie, fie upon the earth, how dost thou appear foul to me, when I behold heaven! Who shall shake his head over thee? — The Septuagint: Who shall groan for her? The Chaldean, Pagninus and Vatablus: Who shall have compassion on thee? because as formerly thou hadst mercy on none, so now none shall have mercy on thee; Zurich: Who for her sake shall undertake a journey? that he might help her. In Hebrew word for word it is: Who shall shake for him, or for her? namely his feet, or rather his head: for the shaking of the head over the afflicted is a sign of condolence and compassion, Job XVI, 5; Jeremiah XVIII, 16 and elsewhere. Whence shall I seek a comforter for thee? — that is to say, Nowhere shall one be found who will console thee, because thou art hated by all, and therefore all who have experienced thy tyranny shall rejoice at thy fall and ruin. Thus Vatablus.
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Verse 8. Art thou better than Alexandria of the peoples? — that is, populous, which has many peoples, which abounds in multitude and crowds. Thus Pagninus, Vatablus, Mariana and others: for this is what the Hebrew אמון amon signifies; for it is placed for הכון hamon. Again, Amon is a name for Alexandria, because it was situated in the region of Ammon, not far from the temple of Jupiter Ammon. See what is said at Jeremiah XLVI, 10. Whence the Syrian translates: Art thou better than Jovon Amon (that is, Alexandria, which is also called Amon of the waters, thus the Syriac Lexicons) which sits in the rivers? Wherefore the Arabic of Antioch translates it more strangely: Art thou better than buar (destruction) of Moab? and the Alexandrian: Prepare for thyself a lot from the cities of Horod, that is, of the Scythians, or a lot from Tammuz, which dwells in the rivers. Unless you say Alexandria is called Tammuz from its idol, because it worshipped Tammuz, that is, Adonis the beloved of Venus; which is easy to believe: for this city was flowing with riches and delights, and hence abounded in luxury and licentiousness. The sense is: Art thou, O Nineveh, better, that is, greater, stronger, more populous, more powerful than Alexandria, most populous and most strong? inasmuch as it is surrounded on one side by the Nile, on another by Lake Mareotis, on a third by the sea, on a fourth by an impassable desert, as Josephus teaches in Book II of the Wars, chapter XVI. See its situation and description in Abraham Ortelius in the Theatre of Cities, that is to say, If Alexandria, which both by the situation of its place and by the multitude of its citizens appears most fortified, inaccessible and impregnable, shall nevertheless be conquered and taken; there is no reason for thee, O Nineveh, to trust in thy strength; for in like manner thou shalt be conquered and taken also. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Rupert, Remigius, Hugh, Lyra and others. Note first: This city in the time of Nahum and Jeremiah was called No, as the Hebrew text has it, which afterwards, namely after 200 years, that is, in the year 320 before the birth of Christ, was restored and enlarged by Alexander the Great, from which it was called Alexandria, as Pliny teaches in Book V, chapter X, Solinus chapter XXXV, Strabo Book XIV, and others. Nahum here predicts, as also Jeremiah in chapter XLVI, 10, that it would be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; which although some, such as Castro, think was done before the destruction of Jerusalem, namely in the year 1 of Nebuchadnezzar; yet it is far more true that it was done after the destruction of Jerusalem, in the year 23 or 24 of Nebuchadnezzar, as I showed in chapter II, 1, and this Nahum sufficiently indicates here. Note second: This city was the most celebrated, most opulent, most fortified and most populous of Egypt. Whence Alexander the Great restored it magnificently in the likeness of a Macedonian cloak, says Pliny in Book V, chapter X, with a circular circuit, in the space of seventeen days, as Justinus testifies in Book XI, with walls constructed which extended to six thousand paces, which extended to six thousand paces. The city was the greatest of all after Rome (whence it is here compared with Nineveh, which is taught to have been very great in Jonah chapter III, 3) thirty stadia long, ten wide, its circumference itself encompassing fifteen thousand paces. Quintus Curtius adds in Book IV On the Deeds of Alexander: "It is reported," he says, "that when the king had designated barley meal for the future walls of the city, as is the custom of the Macedonians, flocks of birds flew down and ate the barley; and when this omen was taken as a bad sign by many, the soothsayer answered that this great city would be cultivated by the frequency of foreigners, and would provide food to many lands." For it has an excellent harbor, to the right of which the island of Pharos is situated, which sustains a very great tower, shining with fire to navigators up to three hundred stadia. Wherefore when it obeyed the Romans, it paid more tribute in single months than Jerusalem in a whole year, and besides money, it supplied grain for four months to the Roman people. Alexandria therefore, which Strabo in Book XIV calls a powerful and populous city, the work, name and tomb of Alexander the Great, was the most ancient emporium of all Egypt, situated in a place convenient for commerce, namely on the shore of our sea, near the Canobic mouth of the Nile, facing Africa. A city once magnificent, with most superb buildings, both public and private. Then, on account of the divine worship flourishing there and the sanctity of the people, the ancients called it the Lord's paradise; just as they also called Antioch Theoupolis. Wherefore Augustus Caesar, after defeating Antony and coming to Alexandria, and reverently beholding the founder's body, openly confessed that he had preserved that same city, although hostile and favoring Antony, for a threefold reason: namely, on account of the memory of Alexander, the beauty of the city, and because of Arius the philosopher, who was a professor in the University of Alexandria and held in great honor with Augustus. For in it were the Museum, the Temple of Serapis, and the Temple of Isis, named from the Muses, Serapis, and Isis. St. Mark the evangelist, finally, sent there by St. Peter, converted the Alexandrians to the faith, and most holy and always most holy men presided over it, such as Pantaenus; then Origen, who, occupying the citadel of philosophy and eloquence, there composed his famous Hexapla and Octapla of Holy Scripture and illustrious commentaries upon it. Heraclas succeeded Origen; Dionysius succeeded him, then Athenodorus, Malchion, Didymus, St. Athanasius, Cyril, Theophilus, etc. Here St. Jerome, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nazianzus and other most excellent learned men were educated. Philo the Jew was also celebrated here in his writings. How greatly mathematics flourished here Cicero teaches in book I of On Divination. Strabo in book XIII is a witness to the magnificent Library of Alexandria, furnished with all disciplines, in which there were forty thousand books, which Aristotle first established; Ptolemy Philadelphus, the second king of Egypt after Alexander the Great, marvelously increased this with books sought from Greece, especially from Athens and Rhodes, as Athenaeus testifies in book I, chapter XVII; but especially with the sacred Scriptures, translated into Greek by the Seventy interpreters, whom he himself requested from Eleazar the high priest. This version, therefore, was made and completed by the Seventy Interpreters at Alexandria. Thus Eusebius in book VIII of the Preparation, chapter 1, Josephus in book XII of the Antiquities, chapter II, Clement of Alexandria in book I of the Stromata, and others. Finally, St. Catherine was from Alexandria, who is said to have been beheaded there and to have shed milk instead of blood. With good reason, therefore, does Nahum compare Alexandria with Nineveh both in magnitude, both in frequency, both in strength, both in the disaster of destruction. Note third: For Alexandria of the peoples in Hebrew is מנא אמון minno amon; but the Septuagint, reading with different vowel points מנא mana (whence mina and mna) Amon, translate it, part of Ammon. For thus they have it, fit the strings part of Ammon. By Ammon some understand the Ammonites, neighbors of the Moabites. Better you would understand the Ammonitis region of Egypt, near which Alexandria was situated, as if to say, O region of Ammon, O Alexandria, you shall be laid waste: fit therefore the strings of your lyre, so that you may sing to yourself a lyric and funeral song. Thus St. Jerome, who also explains it otherwise, namely concerning Nineveh, as if to say, "O Nineveh, your disordered and uncomposed state, and that which is discrepant in various ways, fit it to the likeness of strings, so that there may be harmony and a vocal concert in the praises of God; because your appearance and magnitude, which you believe yourself to possess as principal, will profit you nothing unless you have fitted yourself to singing. Consider indeed every part of the lot of the children of Ammon, and whatever things are esteemed to possess goods, how they did not defend them, lest they go into captivity:" thus neither shall yours defend you. But St. Jerome prefers the former sense, and with good reason: for here there is no discussion of the sons of Lot, Ammon and Moab, but of Ammon of Egypt. Note fourth: For Alexandria of the peoples, it can be translated, Alexandria of tumult, as Our [translator] rendered it in Jeremiah XLVI, 25. For both meanings are signified by Amon or Hamon, because a people brings a crowd, a crowd begets tumult, tumult sedition, sedition slaughter and destruction. Livy wisely says in book II: "Sedition," he says, "is a poison to wealthy cities, great empires it has rendered mortal." Hence again Thucydides wisely admonishes in book IV: "Care must be taken," he says, "by neighboring peoples, that peace be cultivated among neighboring peoples," lest their tumult and war bring and carry tumult and war to neighbors. For this reason populous cities and regions, in order to preserve themselves in peace, ought often to send forth many of them abroad to war, or to new colonies, especially the idle, restless, keen and warlike. Thus concerning the Spanish, Justin writes in book XLIV: "The Spanish," he says, "prefer war to peace; if there is no foreign enemy, they seek one at home." And the Emperor Charles V is reported to have said to Francis Valesius, King of the Gauls: "Your Franks and my Spanish are so fervent and ardent that if they make war on no one else, they bring it upon their own prince." Wherefore a wise man aptly pronounced: "For Gaul to be healthy and to preserve itself in peace, it is necessary that it shed blood every ten years." Indeed, St. Catherine of Siena for this reason persuaded Gregory XI and Pope Urban VI to wage holy war against the Saracens and Turks; and when the Pontiff objected to her that this was inopportune because of internal discord and wars, she replied that a holy war against the Turks would be an effective remedy for allaying these discords; for in it Christians would set aside private quarrels and would willingly go with united hearts against the common enemy of the faith. Moreover, they would send forth into it idle and quarrelsome men, and with these sent forth there would be peace at home. Truly a wise counsel, which would that the princes of the commonwealth and Church would adopt and practice! for they would pacify their own dominions and would acquire those of the infidels for themselves and the Church. This concerning St. Catherine of Siena is related by Ambrosius Catharinus in her Life. In like manner the tumults of peoples destroyed Alexandria: that Nahum might signify this, he cleverly calls it Alexandria Amon, that is, of peoples and tumults. For the Alexandrians and other Orientals are hot and cunning: heat makes them mobile, changeable, bilious, quarrelsome: cunning makes them crafty, subtle, deceitful, industrious in contriving tumults and wars. Which dwelleth in the rivers. — Because Alexandria is surrounded on the east and west by the Nile, which dividing itself into various channels flows through the city and makes many islands in it. Waters in the midst of her. — Vatablus: She is surrounded by waters; because on the east and west by the Nile, on the north by the sea, on the south by Lake Mareotis she is enclosed. Whence waters are her walls: whose riches are the sea; because by sea all manner of merchandise, as it were to the East, indeed to the world, as to an emporium, are brought. Osorius, Maffeius in book I of On Indian Affairs, and others write that before the Portuguese sailed to India and brought Indian merchandise from Goa to Lisbon, all those goods were accustomed to be brought from India to Alexandria, and from there to be carried to Venice, and thence distributed throughout Europe. For riches in Hebrew is chel, which signifies both strength and wealth. Whence the Chaldean renders it, whose wall is the sea; Pagninus, whose bulwark is the sea; the Zurich Bible, whose rampart is the sea; the Septuagint, however, deriving chel from חול chol, that is, to begin, render it, whose beginning is the sea. Hence it is clear that Alexandria was most fortified by waters and situation. For, as Josephus says in book II of the Jewish War, chapter XVI: "It is fortified on all sides either by impassable desert, or by harbourless sea, or by rivers, or by muddy marshes." And Solinus, Polyhistor, chapter XXXV: "Alexandria is approached by insidious access, by deceptive shallows, by treacherous sea, and admits navigators by only three channels." And St. Cyril its patriarch: "Alexandria," he says, "excelled all other cities of Egypt greatly, safe from robbers, and a secure refuge, because it is surrounded by waters on all sides; and toward the North it is washed by the sea, toward the South it has a broad and long, and as it were another sea, namely the marsh of Mareotis: it is fortified moreover by other rivers, and is surrounded by lakes."
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9. Ethiopia is her strength. — For Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, is near and adjacent to Alexandria: whence it is called Ethiopia under Egypt. Alexandria therefore easily summoned auxiliary forces to itself from Ethiopia, and more easily from the nearest Egypt. And there is no end, — namely of soldiers and forces, which she summoned to herself from neighboring peoples confederated with her. For also Africa and the Libyans were in thy aid, — that is to say, You had all Africa as an auxiliary, and especially its nearer part, namely Libya. In the voice thy, there is an enallage of person, customary among the Hebrews. For it passes from the third person to the second. Otherwise Vatablus, that is to say, Ethiopia and Egypt were an aid to Alexandria, just as to you, O Nineveh, Africa and Libya were auxiliaries. But truly Africa and Libya are near to Alexandria, yet very remote from Nineveh: whence it was easy and facile for the Alexandrians to summon aid from there, but not so for the Ninevites.
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10. But she also (Alexandria) was led into captivity. — Hence Clarius and Arias think that Alexandria had already been laid waste when Nahum wrote this. But from Jeremiah, cap. XLVI, 10, it is established that it was laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, who lived long after Nahum. It is therefore an enallage of prophetic time; for the past tense is put for the future, "was led," that is, shall be led, "into captivity." Allegorically, Alexandria of peoples is the Church gathered from all peoples, which, as St. Jerome says, "dwells upon all the Prophets, and has teachers in her circuit, from whose belly rivers flow: whose beginning is the sea," that is, the law which is bitter, unless it be sweetened by the wood of the cross of Christ: "which has Ethiopia in strength: for Ethiopia shall prevent her hands unto God: and Egypt, into which the Lord came in a light cloud; and the Libyans, who formerly dwelt in deserts, and afterwards became her helpers. And this one therefore, if she does not attend to herself, and with all diligence keep her heart, shall be led captive, and shall weep for her children. And thou therefore, Nineveh, namely faithless men, men cleaving to the world, shalt feel punishments, and shalt be made drunk with my chalice, with those also who drank, who were of my part, and fell by their own fault." Her little ones were dashed — were dashed against rocks by the Chaldeans, which is an argument of the utmost cruelty and misery alike. And upon her illustrious ones they cast lots, — that is to say, the Chaldeans cast lots upon the noble men and chief men of Alexandria captured by them, and distributed them among themselves as if they were slaves by lot. And all her nobles were fastened (the Septuagint, bound; the Zurich Bible, bound) in fetters.
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11. And thou therefore (O Nineveh, in like manner as Alexandria) shalt be made drunk (with the chalice of the wrath of God, that thou mayest be punished and laid waste), and thou shalt be despised, — so that even by the enemies whom thou didst formerly despise, thou shalt be forced to seek help. For despised the Chaldee renders, destroyed; Pagninus, hidden; the Zurich Bible, darkened, that is to say, Thou shalt hide thyself for fear and trembling: or, as others say, thou shalt be taken away from the midst, so that thou dost not appear; because thou shalt cease to be in the nature of things. Thus Vatablus.
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12. All thy fortifications are like fig trees with their early figs. — There are two kinds of early figs in fig trees: the former are the first figs, which are therefore called flowers of the fig tree, as being first ripe and most delicious; the latter are unripe figs, which fall of themselves in winter. The former are here treated of, that is to say, As the early figs, that is, the first precocious and ripe figs (for these are signified by the Hebrew בכורים biccurim), when shaken with their tree by the wind, easily fall from it into the mouth of the eater, that is, of a man sitting under the fig tree, so that the falling figs may be caught and eaten; so thy fortifications, O Nineveh, shaken by the Chaldeans, shall immediately fall, and into the mouth, that is, into the hands and power of them, shall fall. In this sense the fig tree here signifies the tree, not the fruit. Thus the Chaldee, St. Jerome, Haymo, Rupertus and others throughout. Secondly and better, Vatablus, a Castro and others understand by figs not trees, but fruits, that is to say, As the later figs with the earlier, or precocious ones, which are called early figs, shaken by the wind fall into the mouth of the eater; so shall the walls and bulwarks of Nineveh fall into the hands of the Chaldeans, and that easily and without labor; for not trees, but fruits of fig trees fall into the mouth of the eater. Whence the Syriac renders: As early figs (primitive ones) which when they have become ripe, fall into the mouth of the eater; the Arabic of Antioch: As beautiful figs, which when they have become ripe, fall from the mouth of him who eats them; the Arabic of Alexandria: All thy dwellings swelling like fig trees, in which there remains a residue, which when they have been shaken, that which is in them fell to him eating it. Thus tropologically, the souls of sinners are like figs and early figs, which fall into the mouth of the devil, says Theophylactus, just as into his mouth fell Adam eating the forbidden fruit, which appears to have been a fig. Thus likewise anagogically on the day of judgment, says Rupertus: "When our God shall come manifestly, and shall not hold his peace; when fire shall burn in his sight, and a mighty tempest round about him;" by a great earthquake of the earth shall fall the fortifications of the whole world, however great or of whatever kind they may be, whether they can be understood as spiritual or material, and those whose first builder was Cain, and those which the spirit of error builds against the truth, all shall fall into the mouth of the devouring hell, the gulping abyss, the hellish fire.
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Vers. 13. Behold thy people are women, — that is, as it were unwarlike women, effeminate, O Nineveh. Whence the Chaldean renders: Behold thy people are weak as women in the midst of thee; because on account of its cowardice and fear of enemies, etc., thy gates shall be opened; Vatablus, thy gates shall open, namely of their own accord, so that it be a hyperbole. Tropologically St. Jerome: "Nineveh," he says, "that is, worldly men are so enervated by passions and weakened in strength that they are compared to the weakness of women. For they possess nothing strong in their souls, nothing robust and manly. Whence enemies, prevailing against them, have opened all their senses, and entering through bodily gates; because with hands dissolved, that is, works of pleasure, thou hast lost whatever strength thou hadst." Fire shall devour thy bars. — I take fire properly, of which I spoke cap. II, 13. Otherwise Vatablus, as if to say: Thy bars, which otherwise are wont to be iron and most strong, shall not resist the assaults of the Chaldeans, but shall immediately burst asunder, so that they appear to be consumed by fire.
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Vers. 14. Draw thee water for the siege, — as if to say: A siege presses upon thee, O Nineveh; prepare thyself therefore for it, gather water and provisions: for the siege shall be long and prolonged. Certain cities lack wells; whence through aqueducts from without, from fountains or rivers, they receive waters into cisterns and preserve them, as is done in Bruges of Flanders; indeed even in Rome many use not well water, but spring water brought in through aqueducts. Such appears to have been Nineveh. Whence the Prophet admonishes that before the siege thou shouldst provide thyself with water. Whence the Syriac renders: Draw thee waters in tribulation (siege); the Arabic: Draw thee water in distress. Go into the mire, — that is, as St. Jerome says, by working clay make bricks, with which thou mayest stop up the ruins of thy walls; but thou shalt do this in vain, because there and in this work the Chaldeans shall lay thee waste with fire and sword. Tropologically St. Jerome: Our body, he says, is mire and brick, "because as earth, and straw, and water; so is it compacted of flesh, blood, veins, sinews, and bones. As if to say: Because once, O soul, thou hast entered into mire, and shut up in body, endure the injury and necessities of the body, and being trampled by enemies, and all things pertaining to the making of flesh, which are worthy of penance, suffer. For once assuming mire and straw, and wrapped up in the empty affairs of this world, thou must willingly be trampled by injury. And yet do not wholly despair of salvation: be confident, and thy body, that is thy brick, on account of the Word assumed, reduce as it were water into servitude, and subject it to thyself, that thou mayest rule thy flesh, lest the living flame of hell consume thee."
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Vers. 15. Thou shalt perish by the sword, it shall devour thee as the locust, — as if to say: As the locust consumes all sprouts, so the hostile sword shall destroy all the ranks of thy citizens; and, as St. Jerome says, "whatever in thee appeared living, and springing forth by the good of nature, it shall consume with greedy tooth, and as a locust with lost flight, and burdened by its own weight, so also thou, burdened with the weight of sins, art dragged down to the earth." Gather thyself together as the locust: multiply thyself as the grasshopper, — as if to say: Collect and gather together the greatest number of soldiers, as great as is wont to be the number of locusts and grasshoppers, if thou wilt and canst; but in vain: for no forces shall be able to protect thee; for thou shalt certainly perish. It is irony. The locust is a species of grasshopper, of which I spoke Joel. I, 4.
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Vers. 16. Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the locust hath spread itself, and flown away, — as if to say: Thou hast gathered together very many wares and riches, but all these like a locust shall quickly fly away from thee to the Chaldeans, by whom they shall be plundered. Vatablus: Thou hast had more merchants than there are stars of heaven: but they shall be as a locust, which when it has consumed all things flies away, as if to say: Thy merchants, O Nineveh, as soon as they hear the report of war and siege, shall flee away with their wares and riches, like a locust flying away when the sprout fails. Thus also a Castro and Pagninus, who renders: The locust hath ravaged, and flown away. This is what Sophar says Job. cap. XX, 5: "That the praise of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment. If his pride mount up even to heaven, and his head reach unto the clouds, in the end he shall be destroyed like a dunghill: and they that have seen him shall say: Where is he? As a dream that fleeth away, he shall not be found, he shall pass as a vision of the night." Thus also that saying of the Wise Man may be understood, Prov. XXIII, 5: "Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have (namely justly and lawfully, as if to say: which to have or retain is unlawful); because they shall make themselves wings like an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven:" as birds caught by a fowler, when the way out is open, immediately fly away from him as from an unjust and tyrannical man; for in like manner riches held by unjust possessors are as it were violently detained captives: whence that they may assert themselves from this captivity into liberty, and serve God and the just for whom they were created, they fly to them, as the Wise Man teaches Prov. XXVIII, 8.
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Verse 17. Thy guards as locusts, — that is to say, The leaders and soldiers who guarded thee, O Nineveh, shall be as locusts, which lacking a ruler, scatter hither and thither in danger, and which torpid in the cold of night, growing warm as the sun rises, fly away; so also thy sluggish soldiers, when the Chaldean approaches, struck and smitten as by fire, shall flee in all directions. Note: A guard is called by the Hebrews a prefect, king, lord; for it is his office to guard and protect those subject to him. Thus Job, chapter VII, 20, calls God a guard, that is, king and lord of men. Thus Jeremiah, chapter IV, 17, calls guards the kings of the nations who were about to come against Jerusalem. For guards in Hebrew it is minnezaraich, which is derived from nezer, that is, crown, diadem, hair, separation, consecration, Nazarite status. Whence Vatablus translates it, thy crowned ones, that is, as Pagninus says, thy magnates and princes; the Chaldean: Thy plates flame like locusts: plates, namely of crowns and diadems, with which these princes were adorned. Others, thy Nazarites; others, thy separated and consecrated ones. For princes, like priests also, were separated from the common people by dignity, equally as by crown and garment. The Zurich Bible: Thy long-haired ones shall resemble locusts, that is to say, Thy princes had long hair, and by that very hair and locks, as by crown and diadem, they were as it were separated from others by dignity. For hair and locks in a man are as it were a crown of dignity. Hence the Nazarites among the Hebrews were separated from the common people, and as it were consecrated to God through the hair which they nourished: hair therefore was the sign of honor and dignity. And thy little ones as the locusts of locusts. — "Little ones," that is, the inferior and common soldiers, of every kind and nation. For these are signified by the Hebrew tapsar, whom therefore the Septuagint call mixed, namely from a varied sort and nation of men. Thus St. Jerome. For these, because they are small and numerous and varied, are rightly compared to locusts, as the Midianites are compared to them for the same reason in Judges VI, 5. Others think tapsar is composed of taph, that is, small, and sar, that is, prince. Whence the Chaldean translates it, thy leaders; Pagninus, thy princes; Vatablus, thy nobles; the Zurich Bible, thy freemen; the Arabic of Antioch, thy armed men; the Arabic of Alexandria, thy people; the Syriac, thy Nazarites (continent, chaste) as a locust clinging to or fixed in a hedge. It is better to explain tapsar as the small one of a prince, namely a servant and soldier. Thus Our translation and the Septuagint. Moreover, locust of locusts is not a large and very great locust, as de Castro wishes, just as the Song of Songs is a great and notable song compared to other songs; but a small one, namely the offspring and brood of a locust, that is, the attelabus, as the Septuagint and Zurich Bible translate it. Whence St. Jerome thus explains it, that is to say, "As locusts and the bruchus, and similar offspring of locusts which are called attelabi, when the sun grows warm, fly away and are not found; so thou, O Nineveh, art scattered and fleest. For it is the nature of locusts that, torpid in cold, they fly about in heat. Moreover the attelabus, which Aquila more significantly interpreted as a devourer, is a small locust between the locust and the bruchus, and creeping with small wings rather than flying, and always leaping, and for this reason wherever it is born, it consumes all things even to the dust; because as long as its wings are growing, it cannot depart." See concerning locusts and attelabi what I have noted on Joel I, 4. Where note a Hebraism: For the Hebrews, when they wish to signify an animal tender and newly born, add to it the name of the mother, as if it still followed the mother itself, and were nourished or fed by her. Thus are called lambs of sheep, that is, tender lambs, following their mother ewes. Thus Alexander is called a he-goat of she-goats, that is, a kid following its mother she-goat, because he was young, Daniel VIII, 5. Thus the whelp of a lioness is called a young lion accompanying its mother lioness. Thus Samson says in Judges XV, 16: "With the jawbone of an ass, with the jaw of the foal of she-asses," that is, of a young ass suckling and following its mother ass, "I have slain them, and have smitten a thousand men." For it is the mark of a strong man to accomplish great things by a small thing, as Samson by the jawbone of an ass slew a thousand Philistines. Their place is not known, — that is, the locusts themselves are not known, nor found in their place, because they have perished. It is a hypallage. See what is said chapter I, 18. Vers. 18. Thy shepherds (princes and leaders) have slumbered, O king of Assyria, — O king of Nineveh. It signifies that the idleness of the leaders was the cause why Nineveh was captured by the Chaldaeans, and therefore the leaders themselves were slain by the Chaldaeans, and the people scattered. For this is what he adds: "Thy princes shall be buried," first in wine, then in earth, that is to say, The Chaldaeans will invade Nineveh buried in sleep and wine, and therefore they will slay those buried and bury them in ditches. The Septuagint translates: He hath made thy strong men to sleep, namely thy king, O Nineveh, just as Baltasar made the nobles sleep with wine; whom therefore Cyrus, having captured Babylon, oppressed and slew on that same night, Daniel, cap. V, 1 and following. Which St. Jerome explains tropologically of the devil: for he is the king of Nineveh, that is of the world: "For always, he says, the study of the devil is to make waking souls fall asleep. Finally, sleep, and in the passion of the Lord he presses down the eyes of the Apostles with heavy slumber, whom the Saviour, awakening, says: Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. And again: What I say unto you, I say unto all: Watch. Hence those whom he has enticed to sleep by the sweet and pernicious song of the Sirens, the divine word awakens, and says: Arise thou that sleepest, and Christ shall enlighten thee," Ephes. V. Whence the same Christ will say anagogically in the destruction of Nineveh, that is in the end of the world, when he shall raise up men made to sleep by sin with the sleep of death, and shall make them rise again to blessed life. Thy people are scattered in the mountains. — The Chaldaean, Zurich and Pagninus: Thy people are dispersed through the mountains, namely fleeing the Chaldaeans, and hiding themselves from them in mountains and caves.
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Verse 19. Thy destruction is not obscure, — that is to say, O Nineveh, thy ruin and devastation, thy downfall, I say, is not secret, but public and conspicuous to the whole world. The Septuagint translates: There is no healing of thy destruction, that is, of the plague and wound inflicted upon thee by the Chaldeans; the Chaldee: There is none who grieves for thy breaking, that is to say, there is none who sympathizes with thee and thy plague. Pagninus: There is no cure of thy fracture; the Zurich Bible: Neither is thy wound light, but thy plague is severe; Vatablus: There shall be no cure of thy fracture, thy plague shall be full of pain, that is, thy fracture shall not be able to be cured by any cure: the wound which thou shalt receive from the Chaldeans shall be full of pain. All they that have heard the report of thee (that is, the rumor and fame of thy calamity and destruction. It is a metonymy: for the act is put for the object, namely hearing for the thing heard, to wit for the message and fame), have clapped their hands over thee, — that is, as the Chaldee: They have clapped their hands over thee rejoicing, because thy malice and tyranny, through tributes, burdens, and other exactions and oppressions, has passed through all, and has continually vexed everyone, as if to say, Because thou hast always afflicted others, therefore now God shall afflict thee in like manner through the Chaldeans, and all shall rejoice and praise the just judgment of God upon thee. Symbolically and tropologically, all things which in these three chapters have been said by the Prophet concerning Nineveh, and her pomp, riches, strength, glory, allurements, paint, frauds, vanity and destruction, it is easy, by merely changing the name of Nineveh to the name of the world, to adapt to the world, and its pomp, riches, glory, vanity and destruction, which we see with our eyes daily, and shall see fully at its end, namely on the day of judgment. Wherefore St. John wisely admonishes in his first epistle, chapter II, 15: "Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him." And again: "The world passeth away, and the concupiscence thereof." Where St. Augustine says: "What dost thou wish? he says, whether to love temporal things and pass away with time, or to love Christ and live forever?" The same, epistle 36: "The bonds, he says, of this world have true harshness, false pleasantness, certain pain, uncertain pleasure, hard labor, fearful rest, a thing full of misery, a vain hope of blessedness." St. Ambrose, in the book On Virginity: "Learn, he says, in this world to be above the world. If ye bear a body, let the inner bird fly within you." St. Chrysostom, homily 77 on Matthew: "Why dost thou pour water into a perforated vessel? For nothing else is it to labor for these present things than to pluck flame, than to strike the air with fists. Surely thou runnest in vain; for all things are vanity." St. Gregory, homily 3 on the Gospel: "Let us despise, he says, all present things. There are none indeed which are able to pass away. It is shameful to love what is certain to perish more quickly. Let not the love of earthly things overcome us, let not pride, let not anger tear us apart, let not lust defile us, let not envy consume us." And homily 5: "Its very ruins preach that it is not to be loved. For if the ruin of his house threatened to shake it, whoever dwelt in it would flee: and he who had loved it standing would hasten to depart from it falling as quickly as possible. If therefore the world falls, and we embrace it by loving it, we wish rather to be crushed than to dwell; because no reason separates us from its ruin, whom the love of its sufferings binds." St. Bernard everywhere calls the world a stable, the way of sinners, a prison, the court of the devil, night, full of thorns, a cross, faithless, loving nothing, driven by the wind of vanity, an enemy to God. "It drives, he says himself in sermon 85 on the Song of Songs, all, but overturns only its friends, that is those agreeing with it. I do not wish to be a friend of the world, lest I fall. For he who wishes to be a friend of this world is made an enemy of God, than which surely there is no heavier fall." The same, sermon 9 on the Lord's Supper: "Love of the world," he says, "seeks the whole world, and is never satisfied. Indeed, the more it has, the more it always desires to have. Love of God always desires to have one thing alone; it is content with that, it no longer prefers to possess anything else. Love of God seeks nothing else, except God alone." The same, sermon On the Misery of Man: "See, wretched man, that all is vanity, all is foolishness, all is madness, whatever you do in this world, except that alone which you do for God, and for the sake of God, and for the honor of God. And you love the world, and you abandon God: he who loves the world is always in distress; to live for the world is death; the soul dead to the world will live. While you live in the flesh, die to the world, so that after the death of the flesh you may begin to live for God," he says in the same epistle 105. The same in the Meditations: "Tell me," he says, "where are the lovers of the world, who were with us a short time ago? nothing of them remained except ashes and worms. Attend carefully to who they are and were; just as you they ate and drank, they laughed, they spent their days in pleasures, and in an instant they descended to hell. Here their flesh is given to worms, there their soul is given to fires, until again bound together in that unhappy company, they are wrapped in eternal fires. Those who were companions in vices will be companions in punishments: for one punishment binds those whom one love bound in crime." Boethius, book II of the Consolation of Philosophy, meter 3: If the world's form rarely endures, If it varies through such great changes, Believe in the fleeting fortunes of men, Believe in transient goods, It is established eternal and fixed by law That nothing generated endures. Moreover, Cicero in the Tusculan Disputations IV: "What," he says, "would seem great to him in human affairs, to whom all eternity and the magnitude of the whole world is known?" And Seneca: "Teach," he says, "that this which is called happiness among men is light and vain, one syllable easily befalls it." This syllable is, fel: for earthly happiness, and its sweetness easily turns to fel, or is, in: for happiness easily becomes unhappiness. And Pliny in the Panegyric of Trajan: "The condition of mortals has," he says, "these alternations, so that adversities arise from prosperities, and prosperities from adversities." These things that courtier of Caesar was thinking about, these things he understood, who, having read the Life of St. Anthony, turned to his companion: "Tell me, I beseech you," he said, "to what end we strive with all our labors. What do we seek? For what reason do we serve? Can our hope be greater in the palace than to be friends of the emperor? and what there is not fragile and full of dangers? and through how many dangers does one arrive at a greater danger? and how long will this last? But if I wish to be a friend of God, behold, I become one now." And soon after: "I have already torn myself away from that hope of ours, and I have determined to serve God; and I begin this from this hour, in this place. If it displeases you to imitate, do not oppose." He answered that he would adhere to his companion in such a reward, and such a service." Both therefore, bidding farewell to the court and the world, bound themselves to the service of God there. "And both had betrothals, who after they heard this, also dedicated their virginity to you, O Lord." Thus St. Augustine in book VIII of the Confessions, chapter VI. St. Romula understood these things, who, trampling the world and dedicating herself entirely to God, dying was led to heaven by two choirs of angels singing. Concerning her, therefore, St. Gregory, homily 40 on the Gospel, thus exclaims: "O you who in this world believe yourselves to be, or are, rich, compare, if you can, your false riches to the true riches of Romula. You possess in the way of this world all things which you will lose; she sought nothing in the journey, and found all things in arrival. You lead a joyful life, you fear a sad death; she endured a sad life, she arrived at a joyful death. You seek for a time the obedience of men; she, despised by men, found the companions of choirs of angels. Learn therefore, brothers, to despise all temporal things; learn to scorn fleeting honor, to love eternal glory."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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v. 4 « Vae civitas sanguinum ! universa mendacii dilaceratione plena ! non recedet a. te rapina » ; —hebr. universa illa mendacio, dilaceratione plena. Bene Chal. : « vae civitati fundenti sanguinem » ; continuis enim bellis in alias gentes saevierunt Ássyrii ; « promptissimi ad caedes et admodum sanguinarii fuerunt "eges Ninives; alii ex eorum numero belli cupidi et in quos ducerent, cos semper implacabili feritate vexare connitentes » (S. Cyr. sim. Theod. M. Pint. Mar.). Et quanta crudelitate et quot caedibus usi sint in bellis gerendis, satis superque monumenta hodiedum servata ostendunt (cf. Layard l. c. 448. 4956. Rawlinson|. c. Accedit, quod in subigendis nationibus mendacioi. e. fraudibus, dolis usi sunt, fidem iuratam et foederum sacramenta violaverunt (cf. Cyr. Theoph. Alb. Pint. Calm.), falsis promissionibus dece perunt (comparat Theod. M. promissa a Rabsace facta Is. 36, 16). Ita vi et fraude omnes spoliarunt ; quare urbs dilaceratione ? plena, i. e. rapinis violentia et crudelitate factis more belluarum rapacium, quae praedam discerpunt. Idque factum est continuo ; quare additur non recedet... i.e. nunquam non Ninive rapinis erat plena ?; erat quasi leonum spelunca semper praeda referta (cf. 2, 43) ; designatur «pertinacia in malo» (A/b.) et « continuum latrocinium » (Calin.), Eandem regni indolem reprehendit Is. 33, 1. At qua re Ninive peccavit, eadem punietur; bellico furore et terrore oppressit ; bellico horrore ipsa opprimetur. Quem impetum vivis coloribus, « mira elegantia, proprietate, maiestate verborum » (Rib.) vates describit, quasi eum irruentem iam oculis cerneret et auribus perciperet
Ninive vel imperium assyriacum reliquas gentes caedibus, vario fraudum genere, spoliationibus oppressit ; quare vates vaé illi denuntiat -
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v. 9 «voz flagelli et vox impetus rotae et equi frementis et quadrigae ferventis et equitis ascendentis
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v. 3 et micantis gladii et fulgurantis hastae et multitudinis interfectae et gravis ruinae, nec est finis cadaverum et corrwent in corporibus suis» ; — primo currus bellici quattuor dictionibus exhibentur : voz vel sonus flagri, quo aurigae equorum cursum accelerant et aérem strepitu implent ; sonus strepitus rotae (hebr.), qui simul cum multiplici flagrorum sonitu percipitur ; e£ equus currens et currus saliens (hebr.) i. e. praeceleritate currus, praesertim in campo vel ad minimum inaequali, subsultare et salire videntur rapide concussi. Praeter currus citato cursu equites quoque ad certamen feruntur : eques ascendens et flamma gladii et fulgur lanceae (hebr.) ; arma coruscantia promuntur et quasi incendia et fuleura undique horrorem et mortem spargunt, id quod statim subditur (et ita declaratur, quid tales milites istis effecerint armis) : et multitudo percussorum et ingens pondus cadaverum, mec finis corporibus (hebr.) i. e. inzens mortuorum cumulus $. Notat S. Hier. : «in hebraeo habetur pherec malea (1N312 D^2 quod interpretatus acervatur, continuo corpora caesorum corporibus iam prostratis adduntur, et ita quidem, ut ipsis victoribus prae corporum ubique iacentium mole fere obstruantur viae et aditus occludatur : impingunt 4n corpora eorum (hebr. cf. Vat. Tir. Calm.). Vera dicendi lumina a propheta promuntur ; quare rite advertit S. ITier. : « tam pulchra autem iuxta hebraicum et picturae similis ad proelium se praeparantis exercitus descriptio est, ut omnis meus sermo sit vilior ». Atque membra illa brevia, consisa, solis nominibus conflata quam maxime apta sunt ad vivam rerum imaginem exhibendam et dum per modum exclamationis proferuntur, etiam audientium animos vehementer percellunt, et crebris particulis iuncta impetum et praecipitem rui- .nae cursum delineant. Elegantem descriptionem oculis subiicere conantur interpretes ;: audi S. Cyr. : « mihi videtur propheta tumultuationem proelii veluti ante oculos positam perspicue commemorare ; videt enim quodammodo urbem equorum ungulis pulsatam et curruum rotis perstrepentem et omni armorum genere clarissime fulgentes vastatores et innumeros eversores» ; audi Sanct. : « haec pulchra quaedam hypotyposis exercitus, qui alacri atque incitato cursu properat ad sumendum de Ninive supplicium, aspirans caedem et sanguinem et ad paratam sibi praedam anhelans ». At circumlocutio quaevis vim illam et energiam in simplici verborum serie apud vatem constitutam non adaequat et si plura iis addideris, brevitatem illam ictusque continuos, quibus pondus inest maximum, enervasti. — S. Hier. ad integragn sententiam retulit vocem, a qua descriptio incipit; verum commodius id non fit. Ceterum verum est, quod Sanct. adnotat : «vocis significatio apud Hebraeos latissime patet et idem est quod sonus, undecumque proveniat... quare vox dicitur sonus, qui auditur a flagello aurigae; vox rotae, cum praecipiti celeritate volvitur; vox item hinnitus equorum : quaecumque demum a corporum collisioneaudiendi sensum tangunt et movent » ; unde iuxta vulg. expone: « videor etiam audire sonum gladii micantis, i. e. exacuti, optime praeparati iam Assyrios caedentis et hastae longe lucentis et splendorem quasi fulguris emittentis » (Rib.) ; est enim militibus cura maxima, ut arma tersa sint et splendida. Illud vulg. corruent 4n corporibus suis de Assyriis dicitur (cf. Rib. Sanct. Lap.); S. Hier. advertit, textum duplici modo intelligi posse : « vel cadent a sua multitudine, dum a se invicem constipantur; vel in cadaveribus corruent interfectorum ' » ; et hoc ultimum praefert Pint. Praeter caedes, iniurias, rapinas omnemque erudelitatem et oppressionem Assyrii turpi etiam idololatria peccarunt atque hanc et vitia ei congenita aliis quoque gentibus persuaserunt easque in eundem insaniae ac libidinis furorem rapuerunt. Haec est alia ratio, cur Ninive supplicio prosterni debeat, quam vates exsequitur
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v. 4 « propter multitudinem fornicationum meretricis speciosae et gratae et habentis maleficia, quae vendidit gentes in. fornicationibus suis'et familias in maleficiis suis,
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v. 5 ecce ego ad te, dicit Dominus exercituum, et revelabo pudenda tua in facie tua et ostendam gentibus nuditatem tuam et regnis ignominiam tuam » ; — Niniven Michaeas quoque vocat meretricem cf. Mich. 4, 7. Quando forn?cari de Israelitis dicitur, frequenter idololatriam designat. Atque eam etiam h. 1. ita designari, plerique interpretum censent (cf. Hier. Theod. Theoph. Alb. Barh. Pint. Rib. Sanct. Sa, Lap. Mar. Men. Calm.). Atque iure quidem. Nam cum talis appellatio prophetis esset in usu posita, nihil obstat, quominus etiam ad gentes transferatur, quippe quae cum verum Deum naturali rationis lumine potuerint cognoscere (cf. Sap. 13, 4. Rom. 1, 18. 19), vere dicantura vero Deo defecisse ac recessisse et ad idola defluxisse; hisce autem scortatio idololatriae continetur. Accedit, quod Assyrii magnam in eo curam ponebant, ut quo- - cumque arma inferrent victricia, etiam symbola erigerent ac monumenta « Assur » vel « magnorum deorum » et gentes devictas ad eorgm adigerent cultum (cf. Rawlinson l. c. 1 940). Multiplex vero idololatria Assyriorum magna pompa peragebatur ; hodiedum adhuc apparent in monumentis vestes sacrae maxima cura elaboratae, supplicationes sollemnes pompa magnifica ductae etc. (cf. Rawlinson l. c. II 40. 41). Et cum idolorum cultus apud Assyrios ea quoque vitia haberet associata et quodammodo consecrata, ad quae corrupta et ad libidines prona natura humana quam maxime sollicitatur !, mirum non est, si ipsa Ninive merevix appellatur gratiosa (hebr.), quae sit domina praestigiarum (hebr.) ; tali enim cultu, qui sit libidinum fomes, quasi philtris quibusdam omnium mentes et animos ad se pellexit; adde varia magiae et veneficiorum genera, quae nunquam non aderant (cf. Cyr. Theoph.). Ad eadem crimina gentes quoque subiectas vendidit 1. e. impulit ac protraxit, libertate iis adempta (cf. Theod. Theod. M. Theoph. Alb. Pint. Rib. Sanct. Lap.). Quare iustum Ninives supplicium in eo erit, ut quam maxima cum ignominia et omnium irrisione ac ludificatione intereat. « Haec autem omnia sub metaphora mulieris narrantur adulterae, quae cum fuerit deprehensa, producitur in medium et ante oculos omnium depompatur » (S. Hier.). Ecce ego ad. te cf. 2, 13; et « ut scil. virtute divina fiat, quod virtute humana non credis esse futurum » (Alb.), Dominus ezercituum summam suam ostentans potentiam eas ingerit minas : retegam fimbrias tuas super faciem tuam (hebr. cf. Pint. Rib. Sanct. Lap. Mar.), ut detracta pompa et fuco exteriore sordes omnes maxima cum verecundia omnium oculis appareant ; cf. Is. 47, 3. Ier. 43, 26. Ez. 16, 31. Os. 2, 10. Lament. 4, 21. Mich. 4, 41. Hab. 2, 15. Apoc. 3, 18. Alii fornicationes explicant de commercio et mercatura (cf. Is. 93, 17), alii de fraudibus et simulatis amicitiis, quibus Assyrii alias gentes dece] erint et suo imperio subiecerint (cf. Hitz Keil, Trochon) ; maleficia esse dolos ac vafritiem illam astutam, quibus veluti magicis artibus gentes innodaverint et suo iugo submiserint. Át quae ex istis vera sunt, iam v. 4 in mendacio declarantur, neque ullo pacto constat, Ássvrios meretricum in morem adulationibus, blandimentis, deliciis propositis gentes suo imperio addidisse, verum bellis atrociter ac conti nuo gestis. Unde artes meretricias alibi quaeras oportet, neque aptius quidquam occurret, quam quod ex plurimorum sententia supra est propositum de idolola tria. Hac explicatione et novum aliquid recensetur priorique criminationi additur et id effertur, quod non solum nomini congruit ex usu prophetico sed etiam apud Assyrios obtigisse probatur. Quare explicatio tradita rationibus firmis innititur. Insuper non est censendum, prophetam idololatriam adeo turpem talemque vitiorum fautricem sine gravi censura fuisse omissurum. — Poenam v. 9 intentatam varie declarant ; « ex metaphora dictum est a famulis desumpta qui ad maiorem contumeliam exuuntur et flagellantur ; ait ergo : omnibus iniquitatem tuam per punitionem notam faciam, et regibus et gentibus » (Theod.) ; « cooperiam, inquit, te ignominia omnimoda, veluti cum quis aliquem excruciaturus detractam e vestem in vultum congerit universam, ut turpe sit nuditatis spectaculum, amara autem cruciatuum exspectatio, qui quidem capite vestibus obvoluto ne rem quidem praesentem cernere potest » (Theod. M.) ; alio modo rem concipit Theoph. z « monstrabo gentibus quas vicisti, quod neque tum tu fortis fueris, quando eas subieceris tuo imperio, sed me mea voluntate ea fecisse, ac regna, quae te antea tamquam fortem venerata sunt, nunc imbecillitatis tuae ignominiam agno- Scent ». Urbis adeo florenus ruina et excidium maxima est ignominia. Augetur opprobrium, quod Deus urbem vastatam atque conculcatam perpetuis ignominiae atque abiectionis documentis affectam esse voluit;
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v. 6 « et proiiciam super te abominationes et contumelia te affictum et ponam te in exemplum » ; — i. e. proiiciam super te res foedas ; luto, stercoribus te obruam et ponam te sicut spectaculum (hebr.), eig zapz2svypa, uti LXX habent, omnium oculis et irrisionibus te exponam. Metaphora ex versu antecedenti continuatur : praeter denudationis confusionem sordiumque manifestationem alia dedecoris insignia meretrici adduntur, rebus foedissimis obruitur et abominationibus onusta publicae subsannationi exponitur. Ita fit in exemplum « vindictae scil. et maledictionis, ita ut quoties de magno aliquo supplicio aut de insigni calamitate narrabitur, statim in exemplum adducaris ; et quoties quis malum alteri imprecari volet, dicet : faciat tibi Dominus, sicut fecit Ninive » (cf. Num. 5, 21. ler. 48, 39. Rib.). Atque talis subsannatio de ruina foeda et irreparabili in eam proiicietur a cunctis :
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v. 1 « et erit, omnis qui viderit te, vesiliet a te et dicet : vastata est IYinive ! quis commovelit super te caput? unde quaeram consolatorem tibi »? — i. e. tanti horroris tantaeque foeditatis est ruina illa, ut si quis fortuito oculos in eam coniecerit, statim cum fastidio refugiat ac resiliat, quasi a conspectu putrescentis cadaveris (cf. Sanct.); neque quisquam casum miseratur, verum de eo omnes laetantur : quis condolebit ei (hebr. Pint. Mar. Calm.)? talem scil. qui sortem Nihives lugeat, frustra quaeres ubique terrarum ; nulla iam pro Ninive adest consolatio vel reparationis spes ; casus et ruina est sine remedio, fatum irreparabile. Notat S. Hier. ; « in hebraeo non habetur caput, sed nos apposuimus, ut sensus manifestior fieret ». Ceterum locutionem caput commovere ipse explicat : « hoc est : quis dolebit super te »? Verum caput movere super aliquem potius est illudentis atque irridentis; cf. Iob 16, 4. 5. Is. 31, 92, Ps. 21, 8 et Iob 9, 41 in hebr. et 42, 11. Ier. 48, 16. Lament. 2, 49. Matth. 27, 39 eic. in hebr. legitur 733, quod verbum S. lier. saepius recte transtulit vel contristari pro al. ler. 15, 5, super al. Is. 51, 19 (cf. Ps. 68, 21) ; vel consolari Ier. 16, 5 ; 48, 11 ; vcl lugere Ier. 22, 10. At Iob 42, 11 addidit caput, locutionem obstupescentium habitum et gestum interpretans.
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v. 8 « Numquid melior es Alexandria populorum, quae habitat in. fluminibus ? aquae in circuitu eius, cuius. divi- (iae "nare, aquae muri eius » ; — hebr. mumquid. melior es quam No- Amon ?, quac sedet in fluminibus i. e. ad Nilum Nilique canales sita est et ita aquis circumdata et Nilo protecta ab expugnatione tuta esse videbatur ; hebr. cuius virtus (munimentum, praemunitio) mare esti. e. Nilus, fluvius scil. praegrandis ; tamquam talis enim mare appellatur, uti probabiliter Is. 19, 5. Iob 41, 23 et ita vocatur Euphrates Ier. 51, 36 et probabiliter etiam Is. 97, 4. In hebr. ez mari murus eius ?. No-Amon esse urbem Thebarum in Aegypto superiore, multi censent (cf. Schegg, Keil, Trochon). Hanc sententiam etiam profert Brugsch in opere ex hieroglyphicis et demoticis inscriptionibus collecto : Dictionnaire géographique de l'ancienne Égypte p. 28; ubi haec habet : Nai-Amun (ita signa hieroglyphica transscribit) « la ville d'ÀÁmon », un des noms de la ville de Thébes, qui en hébreux est trés-exactement transcrit par Yi2x N23. Verum 1. c. p. 291 ad nostrum prophetae locum magis aptam esse censet urbem Diospolin in Delta sitam, quam etiam Nai-Amwun vocari asserit; dicit enim : « ces indications (i. e. unc ville fortifice, située sur la mer et entourée de canaux) perdent toutes leurs valeurs, si on voulait reconnaitre la ville de Thébes de Haute-Egzypte ». In cunciformibus inscriptionibus (vide G. Smith, History of Asurbanipal p. 47. 55. Schrader, 1. c. p. 450. 432) urbs ita exprimitur, ut ad literam débeat scribi w*3. Secundum versionem a 5mith et Schrader datam ita legitur * : « fiducia freti Asur, Sin ct deorum magnorum, dominorum meorum (milites mei) ei (scil. UÜrdamani, regi Aezyptiorum, qui post Tharaeam regnum obtinuit) in certamine in magno campo cladem intulerunt eiusque copias fugarunt. Urdamani solus aufugit ct in Ni urbem regiam se recepit. Itinere mensis unius et decem dierum per vias difficillimas post eum profecti sunt ; urbem illam totam ceperunt et instar turbinis eam prostraverunt ». Haec inscriptio nobis utilissima est ad urbem Vo- Amon inveniendam. Solum oportet ei aliam adiungere, quae de eadem expeditione mili- semel *353 vel 12 pars uspís. 3. Scl. in textu. mas. legitur Q3; LXX, Syrus, Hier. legerunt try. aquae, uti otiam aliqui codd. hebr. apud de Rossi. Textum mas. exprimit Chald. At simplicior est lectio quam LXX et S. Hier. sequuntur. 4. Cf. etiam Vigourouz, La Biblo et les découvertes modernes t. IV p. 242 seq. Atque No-Amon urbs expugnata est, quamvis rex Aegypti copias collegerit innumeras ex ipsa Aegypto et regionibus adiacentibus. Unde Ninive ne sibi propter suos exercitus securitatem polliccatur!
Tali vaticinio Ninive ne opponat se maximo apparatu bellico et mililitum copia esse munitam. Frustra haec sunt Domino invito; nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat, qui custodit eam. Quare in Sorte munitissimae urbis aegyptiacae ostendit propheta, mqua inopes sint opes humanae. Praeterea per legem t(alionis ! Ninive simili fato occumbere debebit, nisi iuris praecipui praerozativa fruatur. Quare non sine ironia propheta quaerit
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v. 9 « Aethiopia fortitudo eius et Aeayptus, et non est finis ; Aphrica etl Libyes fuerunt in auxilio tuo » ; — bene ponitur primo loco Aethiopia, quia Urdamani filius erat et rcgni successor Tharacae, qui rex Aethiopiae explicite dicitur (4 Reg. 19, 9. Is. 371, 9) et etiam a Manethone dynastiae aethiopicae adscribitur. In hebr. PAut et Lubim fuerunt in auxilio tuo; adest repentina personae mutatio, dum subito ipsam urbem No-Amon alloquitur ; appellatio talis affectus magnitudinem prodere solet!. PAut nomen est hieroglyphicum Put vel Punt et forte regionem Arabiae? designat (cf. Ebers, Acgypten und die Dücher Mose's p. 64 et seq.), uti ex iis colligi videtur, quae Aegyptii desitu terrae Put eiusque mercibus memoriae tradiderunt ; Lubim sunt Libyes, alias Lehabim quoque vocati ; uti Phut terram ab Aegypto orientalem dicit, ita Lubim stirps dicitur residens in parte occidentali (cf. Ebers |. c. p. 108 et seq.). Unde copiarum enumeratio optimo fit ordine: a meridie (Cusch vel Aethiopia) ad septemtrionem per longissimum Aegypti tractum ; dein a dextris et sinistris i. e. a parte orientali et occidentali. v5 in versione graeca modo $o59 exprimitur (Gen. 10, 6. 4 Par. 4, 8) modo At&uzz (Ier. 46, 9. Ez. 97, 10; 30, 5; 38, 5). Etiam S. Hier. vel Phut retinet vel Libyes vel Africa vertit. Flavius quoque Iosephus in eadem est sententia, Phutem Libyam fundasse ait et a suo nomine incolas doírou; appellasse. Et in confirmationem advertit, esse dy «y Maizov 7a flumen eiusdem nominis (cf. Ant. iud. 1, 6), quod flumen Fut etiam Plinius V, 43 et $0o08. Ptolemaeus IV, 4, 3 commemorant (cf. Ebers 1. c. 68). Quare interpretes eandem sententiam amplexi sunt usque ad tempora recentissima (cf. Knobel, Voclkertafel s. n. ; Keil). Verum quae Ebers affert, eam opinionem refellunt, atque simul explicant, quomodo nomen tempore posteriore in partem illam Africae migraverit cum ipsis illis Árabum stirpibus, quae Put vocantur. Quare alii non dubitant in eius partes concedere (cf. Merz in Dibel-Lexicon, ed. Schenkel V p. 90) aliis tamen contradicentibus (cf. Iiehm, Hand-Woerterbuch II p. 1959, ubi veterum sententia propugnatur). Aliam iterum sententiam proponit H. Drugsch (Die altaegyptische Voelkertafel p. 38. 45. 51. 59. 66 — Orientalisten-Congress in Derlin 1852). Secundum ipsum nomen omnino non designat Árabiam, verum partem quam maxime meridionalem litoris maris rubri, quod a veteribus Troglodytice appellabatur. 1. Simplicius sane est, quod praebent LXX et Syrus : &ox0ot au17«. Cum textu hebr. ct S. Hier. consentit Chald. Perperam Oppert l. c. tuo ad Niniven refert; at propheta in eo cst, ut vires Ácgypti exaggeret, et ad id v. 10 demum apte adnectitur. 2. Vel certo saltem regionem orientalem ab Acgypto indicat. Dici vero Punt ab Aegyptiis et Put ab Hebraeis, idem esse, atque in hebr. v2, vin, mon, quae verba apud Aegyptios et Árabes litera n inserta habeantur (p; 92, At urbs iis praesidiis munita tristissimam sortem non effugit
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v. 40 « sed et ipsa én transmigrationem ducta est in captivitatem ; parvuli eius. elisi sunt 1n capite omnium viarum et super inclytos eius miserunt sortem ef omnes optimates eius confizi sunt in compedibus » ; —i. e. in alienam regionem abducti sunt more captivorum ; ergo non solum in exsilium, verum simul in captivitatem ducti sunt ; caput viarum ibi est, ubi plures viae convergunt, igitur compita ; super honoratos (hcbr.) eius Sortem miserunt, i. e. sorte inter se dividebant et optimates, magnates constricti sunt compedibus. De urbis destructione non est sermo ; etiam in inscriptionibus cuneiformibus potissimum recensentur opes et thesauri argenti et auri et lapidum pretiosorum et vestium atque supellectilis, quae fuerint ablata et simul cum equis et hominum multitudine in Niniven transportata (cf. Smith 1l. c. p. 54. 56. Oppert l. c. p. 19. 81). Iam fit ad Niniven applicatio, quae eventum illum aegyptiacum recenter contigisse et in Iudaeorum animis et memoria alte esse impressum ostendit
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v. 44 « et tu ergo «nebriaberis et eris despecta et tu. quacres auxilium ab inimico » ; — inebriaberis calice scil. irae Dei (Alb. Pint.) ; maxima enim calamitas, qua sensus omnes et animi vires vel horrore ac terrore obstupefiunt vel quasi vertigine perturbantur, ebrietas aut potatio e calice furoris Domini hausta vocari solet (cf. Is. 19, 14. Ier. 25, 19). In hebr. quae calamitatem vel comitantur vel subsequuntur, ita habentur:eris abscondita ;etiam tu quaeres refugium ab hoste, quo scil. tuta sisab hoste, eum effugias ; id quod optime dicitur, quia Aegyptii repetitis vicibus, ut se ab Assyriis tutarentur, fugam capessiverunt. Ita enim Tharaca fugit a Memphi Thebas, a Thcbis cum eousque Assyrii penetrassent, Nilo traiecto in Aethiopiam se recepit ; similiter Urdamani ex Aegypto inferiore fugit Thebas, indeque expulsus in Kipkipi se recepit (cf. Oppert l. c. 81. 8l. Smith l. c. 39. 53). Igitur Ninives gloria obumbrabitur, eris abscondita, quae eousque suo terrore et potentia nationes in admirationem rapiebat, iam oblivioni et obscuritati tradetur. — Alii: ita necessitate affligeris, ut ab ipsis hostibus auxilium et refugium supplex efflagitare cogaris (cf. Hier. Pint. Rib. Sanct. Trochon). —— Calamitatem summatim denuntiatam iam per singula clarius proponit propheta, docens, ad quantam debilitatem et infirmitatem fortissima eorum praesidia reducturus sit Dominus et quanta alacritate et fortitudine hostes eorum sint ab ipso armandi
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v. 12 « omnes munitiones tuae sicut ficus cum grossis suis ; s concussae fuerint, cadent in os comedentis » ; — hebr. sicut ficus cum praecocibus ; « omnia firmamenta tua et muri in sublime porrecti et altitudines turrium, quas nunc inexpugnabiles putas, et viri fortes bellatoresque tui, primitivis ficis comparabuntur, quae si concussae fuerint levi tactu in os cadent devorantis » (S. Hier.) ; tam facile primo quasi impulsu corruct Ninive ; « maturae ficus concus- 3a arbore decidunt facile et tantum non in concutientis manum desiliunt et quaerentibus comedere sponte veniunt » (S. Cyr. Theoph.); addit Alb., sicut ficus praecoces ob raritatem plus desiderentur, ita munitiones Ninives plus desiderari ab hostibus ; at comparatio hic sistit in celeri expugnatione. Et quomodo facile corruat Ninive concussa, declaratur
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V. 18 « ecce populus tuus mulieres án medio tui ; inimicis tuis adapertione pandentur portae terrae tuae; devorabit ignis vectes tuos » ; — Dominus scil. auferet fortitudinem eorum ; erunt igitur bellatores Ninives imbecilles atque impotes sicut mulieres (Chald.) ; quare hostibus facilis patet aditus quasi portis late apertis (unde hebr. aperiendo aperientur, « quae vocum ab eadem origine coniugatio nunquam est sine epitasi » Sanct.). Portae terrae varii sunt aditus ad terram Assyriorum, qui eousque hostibus erant clausi, impervii; at tum regio Assyriorum undequaque hostium incursioni patebit, et quae invasionem impedire possent, vectes i. e. arces, castella, munitiones, igne absumentur (cf. Schegg). Dicuntur vectes, quia iis terra clauditur hostibus, uti portae vectibus firmantur et clauduntur (cf. Is. 15, 5; 43, 14. ler. 541, 30. Am. 14, 5). Cum igitur hostes quasi portis late apertis irruant in terram Assyriorum, propheta Niniven ironice exhortatur, ut quae ad obsidionem sustinendam necessaria sint, sibi praeparet;
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v. 44 « Aquam propter obsidionem hauri tibi, exstrue munitiones tuas, intra in lutum et calca, subigens tene laterem » ! — « cura, ne potus desit obsessae munitioni ! ; lateres confice, ut interrupta murorum struas ; prope est enim obsidio » (S. Hier.). Igitur monet, ut cisternae fodiantur, lacus et piscinae intra urbem conficiantur, quibus aquarum copiae subministrentur (cf. Is. 22, 11. 4 Reg. 90, 90. 9 Par. 32, 30 Ezechias rex simili modo obsidioni providet). In hebr. firmas fac munitiones tuas; i. e. « moenibus addatur firmitas; et si quid rimosum est aut debile, novis operibus obstruatur, subige lutum et calca argillam, firmam fac fornacem laterariam ? ; Assyrii enim, uti ex aedificiorum ruinis apparet, multum lateribus vel solis calore vel fornace coctis utebantur et tales lateres sat magnos (longitudine atque latitudine pedum duorum) quandoque conficere solebant (cf. G. Rawlinson l. c. I p. 219. 301. 335. 384). Apte igitur cum ironia monentur, ut fornacem ad lateres coquendos fortissimam faciant, quo magno calore succendi et lateres firmos celeriter excoquere queat. At dum illi ignem adhibent ad conficienda munimenta et maximam militum multitudinem congregant ad defensionem, iam interitus urbisque concrematio, caedes militum et exidium eis denuntiatur v. 45 « ibi comedet le ignis; peribis gladio, devorabit te ut bruchus. Congregare ut bruchus, multiplicare ut locusta » ; — ibi non sine magna emphasi ; eodem sc. in loco, ubi praesidiis et munimentis exstructis tuae securitati ac defensioni optime consultum esse censuisti. /gne Niniven periisse et veterum narrationes ferunt ! et monumentorum reliquiae testantur (cf. Rawlinson l. c. 1 p. 301 et saepius; Keil ad h. 1.) ; urbis exidium veloa et integrum comparatione bruchi effertur ; bruchus enim vel generatim locustae brevissimo temporis spatio regionis in qua consederunt arbores, agros, campos, prata penitus depascuntur et devastant. — Ab hac metaphora statim ad aliam transitus fit, quae locustarum mentione facta satis prope adiacet; congregare... i. e. exercitus compara et conscribe, qui militum multitudine densissima locustarum agmina exaequent, tamen nihil tibi salutis vel remedii copiae immensae afferent (cf. 4, 12; 2, 9). Immo, quo plures opes ac divitiae in urbe congestae sunt, eo maiore impetu ac rapacitate hostes eam invadent et spoliabunt :
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v. 16 « plures fecisti negotiationes tuas quam stellae sint coeli ; bruchus expansus est et avolavit » ; — hebr. multiplicasti mercatores tuos magis quam... bruchus ezspoliat ? et avolat i. e. locustae in campum adeo uberem et frugibus plenum, qualis est Ninive commerciorum opibus ditata, subito sese demittunt, omnia devorant, denudant, et vastatione perfecta Chald. forüfica aedificia tua. Syrus mutata literula una vocem syriacam w329*23 consilium oxprimit. 3. Hebr. QQvj5 significat sese diffundere, grassari, irruere, invadere, cf. Iud. 9, 33. 44. que onusti abibunt. Niniven quoque multiplici commercio insignem fuisse constat. Erant enim urbes in Mesopotamia plerumque magna emporia mercium illarum pretiosarum, quae terra marique ex Asia interiore, ex Indiis et China, afferebantur (cf. Movers, Die Phoenizier II, 3, p. 240 et seq.). Alii bruchi similitudinem expressam cernunt in ipsis Ninivitis : dispergentur scil. et fugient (S. Hier.) ; alii in mercatorum multitudine quae appropinquante periculo aufugiat, vel in divitiis fallacibus quae cito avolent ad alios (cf. Bib. Lap. Mar. Men. Tir Schegg) ; alii de militibus ex gentibus finitimis conductis, qui metu hostium perculsi in omnes partes dilabantur (cf. Cyr. Theod. M. Theoph. Barh. Sanct.). Sed explicatio supra proposita praeferenda est, quia et verbis magis est adaptata — alii enim «à UD significationem affingunt, quam probare nequeunt — et comparationem v. 13 institutam declarat eique insistit : devorabit te ut bruchus ibi de hostium invasione dicitur ; hoc loco additur, eos vastatione impune facta abituros esse incolumes. Ceterum mentione facta divitiarum per commercia collectarum apte adiungitur, cum de multiplici ruina sermo instituatur, praedatio hostilis ; accedit, quod in antecedentibus (cf. v. 12. 14. 41S) et in iis quae sequuntur (v. 17) potentia et opes Ninives excidio ac calamitati opponuntur; quare etiam in versu nostro tali oppositione ruina lamentabilis concinne exprimitur. Modo divitias commemoravit vates, quas hostes sunt praedaturi, ita explicans partem priorem v. 15 devorabit te bruchus. Iam alteram partem multiplicare ut locusta exsequitur, ostendens, custodum ac ducum multitudinem nihil profuturam esse ad avertendam ruinam ; v. 1'1 « custodes tui quas? locustae et parvuli tui quasi locustae locustarum, quae considunt 4n sepibus in. die frigoris ; sol ortus est et avolaverunt et non est cognitus locus eorum ubi fuerint» ; — verba 3532 et ^D2à ex hebraico explicari nequeunt. Cum de rebus assyriacis sermo sit, eo ipso ut de assyriacis petamus explicationem, admonemur. Et revera inter verba assyriaca, quae Strassmaier S. I. in opere suo! collegit, eadem verba inveniuntur ; prius ma-as-sa-ru (ss resolvitur in ns) et dup-sar-ru alterum. Prius significationem custodis, vel alicuius magistratus minoris locis omnibus collatis habere videtur; dupsarru autem vel, uti etiam invenitur scriptum dipsarru dicit scribam ?, qui in iudiciis, in palatiis, munere suo fungi dicitur et etiam in dignitate aliqua magistratus vide- 4. Verzeichniss der akkadischen und assyrischen Woerter, Leipzig, (Hinrichs) n. 5102. n. 2091 et vide n. 5096. €. Uti Sfrassmaier asserit, apud Babylonios dupsarru saepe ex ordine saccrdotali tur esse constitutus. In monumentis quoque saepius cernitur scriba, qui captivorum militum nomina tabulis inscribit. Ex iis igitur satis patere videtur, hoc loco non milites gregarios dici, sed custodes et scribas i. e. eos qui in ordine militari et civili aliis praesint et minoribus muneribus fungantur. Si vero isti adeo numero excellunt, facile colligitur, quam immensa militum civiumque turba adfuisse censenda sit. Neque tamen ea multitudo quidquam ad urbis incolumitatem tutandam valebit; erunt scil. praepositi isti tamquam locustae frigore constrictae, quae sine motu et quasi vitae expertes torpentes et stupefactae in sepibus considunt; nempe illi quoque in die calamitatis, quo eorum prudentia, virtus, sagacitas quam maxime requireretur, cbrigescent et inertia tabescent. Quare earundem locustarum instar, quae solis calore ab illo rigore excitatae subito et velocissime avolant, subito interibunt nullo vestigio relicto. S. Hier. vertit parvuli, ac si F|D esset scriptum *. LXX aliud exhibent : £t53ato &s; xvt£Aacoz Ó gopqitxzós 007; itaque videntur in prima voce verbum n? legisse ; alicram autem de promiscua turba explicasse. Syrus : nazaraei tui sicut. locustae et bellantes . . . Chald. vocem alteram retinuit — Iudaeis recentioribus eo nomine angeli quoque designantur cf. Ges. s. y. Levy, Chald. W. I. 316 — pro priore expressit ND 1áet;, lamina « laminae tuae splendescunt » i. e. milites tui laminis tecti et loricati refulgent cf: Levy l. c. I. 311. — Recentiorum coniecturas incertas referre non libet ; si libuerit, vide Ges. s. v. Ros. Keil, Hitz. Sed postquam verba apud Assyrios inventa sunt, frustra aliunde quaeres significationem. Ipse S. Hier. solem orientem explicat incalescentem. Dein pergit: « natura enim haec locustarum est, ut in frigore torpentes per calorem volitent. Porro attclabus quem significantius comesorem interpretatus est Aquila, parva locusta est inter locustam et bruchum et modicis pennisreptans polius quam volans semperque subsiliens ». Ceterum cf. Ioel 1, &. Locustae locustarum ingentem dicunt multitudinem * ; 5233 nomen est collectivum ; cf. Am. 7, 15 et eiusdem significationis cum 333, quasi dicas : locustarum turba super turbam. Impotes fore et interituros esse dixerat vates magistratus minores v. 41; idem denuntiat maioribus totique populo
3:18
v. 18 « dormitaverunt pastores tui, rez Assur, sepelientur principes tui; latitavit populus tuus in montibus et non est qui congreget » ; — hebr.... tacent magnifici tui ; dispersus est populus tuus super montes i. e. caede prostrati somnum mortis dormiunt pastores regis Assur, ii qui proximi regi recni populique curam exercebant et nobilitate ac dignitate florebant ; magni- | 4. At Ier. 51, 27 vocem faphsar retinuit. " 9. Chald. vertit : sicut vermes locustarum. Syrus verbi repctitionem non reddit, nequc fici vel ?llustres antiquum regni splendorem et gloriam ingentem ipso nomine in memoriam revocant. Hic quoque valet illud : fuit Ilion et ingens gloria Teucrorum! Tali autem ruinae non aderit remedium : populum dispersum iam nemo colliget ; i.e. regnum collapsum iam nemo instaurabit. Id quod versu seq. denuo cum emphasi inculcatur ; v. 19 in hebr. non est mitigatio contritioni (fracturae) tuae i.e. non est sanatio, remissio; uti etiam LXX oix &cxtv Üaotg «3j cuvcp:ós] cov. Hanc ruinam omnium oculis esse expositam S. Ier. versio ' indicat. Ruinae vero irreparabili omnes addunt irrisionem et contemptum, memores antiquae ac diuturnae Assyriorum tyrannidis :
3:19
v. 19 «non est obscura contritio tua; pessima, est plaga tua. Omnes qui audierunt auditionem tuam, compresserunt manum super te ; quia super quem non transiit malitia tua semper » ? — i. e. omnes qui audituri sunt nuntium de excidio Ninives, manibus plaudent ?, laetitia et exsultatione magna urbis odiosae interitum festive celebrabunt (cf. S..Hicr. Rib. Sanct.) ; « nullus enim est qui possit super te dolere et eversioni et vulneri tuo lacrimas donare» (S. Hier.), quia nullus est populus, ordo nullus, quem non tyrannico imperio et crudelitate Ninive oppresserit. Talis est malorum et impiorum finis. Tale onus Ninives a Deo impositum, sub quo occumbet et in perpetuum iacebit prostrata, dum Dci cultores felicitate fruuntur; «nam bonus Dominus et ,confortans in die tribulationis et sciens sperantes in se » (1, 'i). Quod in uno imperio Deo hostili Nahum delineavit, id semper et ubique fore scimus; « gens enim et regnum quod non servierit tibi peribit et gentes solitudine vastabuntur » (Is. 60, 12) ; Christum vero« oportet regnare, donec ponat omnes inimicos sub pedibus eius» (1 Cor. 15, 23), namque regnum Messiae «comminuet atque consumet universa regna haec; et ipsum stabit in aeternum » (Dan. 9, 44). Vaticiniis 3 capitibus comprehensis plena quaedam ac perfecta destructio Ninives praedicitur ; Deus enim consummationem faciet loci eius A, 8." 9; consumentur quasi. stipula ariditate plena 4, 10 ; non seminabitur ez nomine tuo amplius ; universus interiit 1, 14. 15. Hancinnuit quaestio illa : ubi est habitaculum leonum... 9, 11; propterea Deus succendet usque ad fumum quadrigas, exterminabit de terra praedam et *on audietur ultra voz nuntiorum 9, 43. Haecenuntiatur 8, 1. 19. 1'1. Vaticinia 2, Notat Pint. alios codices latinos legero : comploserunt «nanum super te. eventu fuisse completa, plenissime constat. Ita enim diruta est urbs, ut loci ipsius quo condita erat memoria statim post ruinam ex animis hominum penitus amitteretur. In cuius rei testimonium scribit Strabo : 4 piv có» Nivog «mÓAtg 59xv(c0m «apaypzux petx t3 TOV Züpov xataóow (XVI, 4, 3); et ita quidem disparuit, ut cum anno 401. a. Ch. Xenophon cum celeberrimis suis decem millibus prope eius urbis regionem versaretur, ne nomen quidem eius ab incolis regionis audiret ; ruinas duarum urbium in quas incidit, nomine Larissa et Mespila designat ; illas partes et regiones esse celeberrimae urbis Ninives — Calach scil. et Kujundschik — eum plane fugit (cf. Kec). Ita urbs iacuit sepulta ruinis et oblivione obruta, donec recentissimis temporibus ex immenso pulvere et ingenti vastitate casus. illius ac pristinae gloriae vestigia eruditorum hominum opera et laboribus eruerentur. Inceptae enim sunt ab anno 1842 effossiones a Botta, Layard, Rawlinson etc., de quorum labore et successu vide quae scripsit Layavrd (Discoveries in the ruins of. N. and Babylon), Oppert (Expédition en Mésopotamie), Rawlinson in opere saepius allegato, Kaulen (Assyrien und Babylonien), Vigourouz (l. c. I p. 140) aliique. De tempore, quo Ninive succubuit et regnum Assyriorum desiit, haec statuenda videntur *. Cum 4 Reg. 93, 29 eo tempore, quo obiit Iosias, mentio fiat regis Assyriorum, contra quem ascenderat Nechao rex Aegypti, patet illis assentiendum non esse, qui Niniven destructam esse velint iam eo tempore, quo Nabopolassar regno Babylonis potitus est i. e. circa annum 625 a. Ch. sed urbis Ninivcs eversionem referendam esse circiter ad annum 606 a. Ch. Atque hoc cum iis quoque bene concordat, quae ex Ássyriorum monumentis colliguntur. Nam post Ásurbanipal, cui regnum 42 annorum non sine probabilitate adscribitur (068-696), duo saltem reges e monumentis eruuntur : Asur-itil-ili et alter, qui probabiliter Bel-sum-iskun legi debet (prior nominis pars Bel vel Bil dubia est, quare Schrader Keilinseh. und À. T. p. 359 nomen scribit X-sum-iskun ; at probabiliter Bel esse legendum, Strassmaier mihi asseruit). lsti duo reges aedificia erigebant. Et si fides adhibenda est veteribus scriptoribus scil. Niniven expugnatam ct combustam fuisse sub rege Saraco (cf. ex Abydeno apud Eusebium Chron. 1, 9; M. 19, 194 — Syncellus ed. Dindorf p. 396-alias p. 210 B), tertius adhuc post Asurbanipal rex Assyriorum erit statuendus, quem Asurachiddin secundum analogiam assyriacam vocare forte licet (cf. Schrader 1. c.). Niniven viribus Medorum et Babyloniorum coniunctis et a Cyaxare et Nabopolassar (?j directis * interiisse, certum esse videtur (cf. Rawlinson 1. c. II p. 232. 390); 1. De hac quaestiono praeprimis vide egregium librum : A. Delattre S. I., Le peuple et l'empire des Módes, méinoire couronné par l'académie de Belgique, Bruxelles, 1883 p. 178-183. 2. Berosus quidem, uti fragmenta ostendunt por Abydenum, Polyhistorem, Iosephum praeter hos Ctesias ', ut Diodorus Siculus refert (II, 24-27), Persas quoque et Arabes inter expugnatores adfuisse commemorat ; ille eorum numerum quadringentis millibus militum constitisse perhibet; initio Ássyrios quidem victores exstitisse in tribus proeliis, at mox advenientibus novis copiis ex Dactria Assyrios noctu caesos fugatosque et urbi inclusos fuisse; obsidionem per duos annos frustra esse protractam ; tertio demum anno magnis Tigridis inundationinibus moenium partem eximiam esse deiectam ; quo audito regem Assyriorum oraculo monitum, nihil esse timendum, quamdiu fluvius non exstitisset inimicus, desperasse et se et thesauros et pellices incendio conceremasse; oppugnatores vero per moenium rupturas ingressos praedam egisse urbemque destruxisse. — Ad tempus assignatum etiam facere videtur, quod Herodotus, de duplici expeditione Cyaxaris contra Niniven refert; priorem exstitisse statim postquam reipsumque Cyaxaren ab ipsis esse victum ; alteram susceptam esse postquam Cyaxares Scythas per 28 annos Asiae insultantes magnam partem occiderit (Herod. 4, 103. 106) et tum demum Niniven urbem esse captam. Neque tamen 928 anni imperii Scytharum, de quibus Herodotus loquitur, obstant quominus Niniven captam esse dicamus circa ann. 606. Herodotus enim non asserit annos eos fluxisse a primo cum Cyaxare congressu usque ad expugnationem Ninives, neque clade a Cyaxare illis illata totam Scytharum per Ásiam dominationem subito el quasi uno ictu concidisse. Uti iam ad 2, "7 adnotatum est, urbem captum iri inundatione fluvii propheta innuit. Atque ita factum esse narratio Ctesiae refert neque est, cu? eam reiiciamus saltem si id quod in eventu praecipuum est spectaverimus *. Nam ex recentiore etiam tempore constat, urbes ad Tigridem sitas repentinis inundationibus periculo summo exponi ; ita v. g. die 5» Maii 1849 Tigris fluvius ad urbem Bagdad plus quam 22 pedibus (ex norma anglica) communem aquarum conditionem excessit. Vide quae de ea re affert Rawlinson 1. c. II 393 nota 3. Atque ne quid deesse videatur, recentiori exemplo addimus antiquum, quod Strassmaier (Verzeichniss der akk. und ass. W. p. 4) refert inscriptum lateri : « it; anno duodecimo Sargon aquae in inferiore parte urbis fundamenta occuparunt ; usque in mediam urbem non penetrarunt ». textus autom graecus libri Tobiae id & Nabuchodonosor et Asyero esse praestitum asserit (14, 15 ; cf. Delattre ). c. 181). 1. Ceterum Ctesiam esse auctorem dubiae fidei nemo ignorat. 2. Cf. Kaulen, Assyrien und Babylonien p. 191. Vigouroux l. c. 1V p. 290 Uti Nahum propheta Assyriis, ita Habacuc Chaldaeis vel Babyloniis, qui post eos imperium nacti orbi dominabantur, interitum praedicit. Per utrosque populus Dei castigari debuit, sed utrisque deiectis et contritis nova instaurationis epocha populo electa exorta cst. — Habacuc post Nahum vaticinatum esse, ipsa res suadet, cum Babylonios ultores Iudaeorum exhibeat; unde S. Hier.: « quomodo prior propheta Naum, quem Abacue sequitur, vaticinium habuit contra Niniven et Assyrios, qui vastaverunt decem tribus, quae vocabantur Israel: ita Abacuc prophetiam habet adversus Babylonem et Nabuchodonosor, a quibus luda et lerusalem templumque subversa sunt ». Verum, quo tempore vixerit, accuratius determinari vix potest. Nihil enim de ipso certi scimus, nisi quod hoc ipso libello vel continetur vel colligitur. Ex quo discimus, Babylonios nondum terram palaestinensem invasisse ; eos enim venturos esse suscitatos a Domino ad scelera populi punienda, tamquam rem fere incredibilem annuntiat propheta (1, 5) ; unde facile quoque coniicies, Babylonios eo tempore nondum latius quoddam imperium ab Assyriis independens obtinuisse, ita ut de Babyloniorum incursu nemini in mentem venerit. Praeterea taletempus apud Iudaeos describitur, quod oppressione, pravitate, iniustitiis, legum conculcatione et iudiciis iniquis abundabat (1, 9 - 4) ; at nulla fit idololatriae mentio vel reprehensio. Ex hisco igitur tempus coniicias oportet. Ad ultimos Manassis regis annos et vetores multi et recentiores aliqui vatem referunt. Ita iam Seder Olam! ; ita « neque pauci neque indocti » apud Sanct. ; ita communior habet opinio apud Lap. qui monet, vaticinium illud 4 Reg. 91, 10 - 19 : « ecce ego inducam mala super Ierusalem et Iudam, ut quicumque audierit, tinniant ambae aures eius » forte ad nostrum quoque referri ; ita censent Keil, Kaulen (Einleitung... p. 361), Trochon. Neque obstat, quod Deus opus se facturum istud spondet £n diebus vestris, quasi mox vel statim implendum ; nam, quamvis Zn diebus vestris qum addito tempus mox instans dicat (cf. Ioel 4, 2. Ier. 16, 9. Ez. 12, 25), tamen per se longius etiam spatium significare potest et hoc loco plane sufficit, ut homines, ad quos sermo fit, possint adhuc exsistere testes inczpientis Chaldaeorum imperii. Eandem sententiam proponit Zschokke (historia s. ant. T. 2 ed. pag. 213). | Nomen Habacuc p*pan explicat S. "Hier. : « vel ex eo quod amabilis Domini sua transtulerint, necne, videtur esse valde incertum. Nam qui eos affirmant alludere ad Habacuc (cf. Delitzsch, Zschokke, Keil, Kaulen), locos afferunt, qui hoe evincere non videntur, cum sententiae aut sint nimis generales aut valde usitatae et per se fere natae v. g. ler. 4, 13; 5, 6; 6, 15. 23; M, 37 coll. Hab. 4, 6. 1. 85 2, 13. Soph. 4, 7. Hab. 2, 20 ; de qua re bene disserit Schegg (Die kleinen Proph. II p. 78). In duas partes libellus propheticus dividitur. Et priore quidem (cap. 4 et 2) dialogus quidam exhibetur inter prophetam et Deum ; altera autem (cap. 3) carmen sublime, quo Dei iudicium in hostes et salutem piis afl-- rendam colebrat. Ad tale canticum parte priore via sternitur. In ipsc enim libri vestibulo vates acriter conqueritur de licentia et iniustitia iu Iuda regnante et cum Deo expostulat, quod talem iniquitatem non reprimat ; illa enim indulgentia mala durescere et augeri, impios magis magisque efferri in iustos. Cui Deus respondet, se iam parare insignem ultionem, eousque inauditam ; ait enim se suscitaturum Chaldaeos, quibus vindictae ministris utatur; qui quo maiore terrore Iudaeorum animos percellant, praeclaram subiungit eorum ferocitatis, rapacitatis descriptionem ;atroci indoli ait eos adiungere optimum militiae et belli gerendi apparatum, maximam praedae capiendae et vastitatis inferendae ardorem, insolentiam ex partis iam victoriis immensam. Tali nuntio talique poena attonitus haeret propheta. Num omnes ruinae involvendi erunt? Obtestatur Deum, ne ad internecionem usque puniat, ne pios simul cum impiis interire sinat, ne hostes laxatis habenis furere permittat. Flagitantem audit Deus. Normam ei aperit divinam, qua iustus salvus evadat, intereat impius. Quare Chaldaeus est virga in manu Dei, quae peracta castigatione confringatur et abiiciatur ; quam eorum confractionem et ruinam quinque vae explicat, varias afferens causas, cur interitui obnoxii sint ; reliquas enim gentes rapacitate, superbia, crudelitate, contemptu, miserum in modum discerpserunt et creaturis abusi sunt in cultu idolorum. — Iudicium igitur Dei imminet impiis Iudaeis ; imminet quoque Chaldaeis oppressoribus et idolorum cultoribus. Sed in ipso iudicio salus promittitur piis ct fidelibus. Hacc sunt prioris partis argumenta ampla et fecunda. Haec in altera parte sublimi carmine illustrantur. Vates profitetur se sacro quodam terrore perfundi, cum abdita consilia divina et iudicia scrutetur ; obsecratur, ut Deus opus promissum exsequatur misericordiae memor. Tum hoc ipsum Dei opus describere agareditur : Deum enim exhibet apparentem, lumine circumdatum, qui suae maiestatis splendore orbem replet ; at simul vindictae administros comites habet. Coram tali iudice et homines terrefiunt et ipsa mundi machina 3r" DE ARGUMENTO HADACUC contremiscit. Iam iudicium divinum primo in rerum creatarum maxima perturbatione adumbratur : agitantur flumina et maria ; discinditur terra ; montes contremiscunt ; fluctus undequaque irruunt ; tenebris omnia horrescunt vel fulminibus ad terrorem coruscant. Hac symbolica iudicii divini adumbratione praemissa, quae partim magnalia Dei in Aegypto et in Sinai refert, partim 1udicii universalis lineamenta explicat, iudicium Dei in hostes suos proponitur, quorum conteri caput, subverti fundamentum, superbiam retundi dicitur. At piis oborietur salus; nam ad hanc salutem efficiendam egreditur Deus iudex. Quemadmodum igitur populus Dei, qui castigationem per Chaldaeos meruit, non sine timore esse potest, ita tamen laeta spe et fiducia in Deo servatore collocata se erigere potcrit et consolari. Ex iudicio illo particulari in Chaldaeos impendente occasionem capit propheta describendi generatim Deum iudicem, et, ut ait S. Cyr., pariter a liberatione particulari ad universam maximeque communem progreditur ; quare "ius vaticinium imprimis aptum est, quo universam Dei agendi rationem discamus et quibus normis eius utatur providentia supernaturalis melius perspiciamus. Anc. — Expostulat vates, quod Deus flagitantem, ut populi perversi tatem iniquitatemque coerceat, non exaudiat ; tali enim mora et longani mitate augeri mala, ius et legem magis magisque sperni, iustum mise rum in modum opprimi ab impio (1, 2-4). Respondet Deus, se iam parare ultionem e longinquo a gentibus provenientem eousque inauditam ; sta timque egregiam hostis ultoris i. e. Chaldaeorum descriptionem subiun cit; ait enim se suscitaturum populum ferocem, rapacem, terrore et violentia plenum, optimis instructum armis et egregio apparatu bellico, praedae ac devastationis cupidissimum, insignem regibus devictis, cui munitio nulla resistat (1, 5-11). Iam propheta perterritus tantae cladis ruinaeque nuntio Deum supplex obsecratur, ut memor sanctitatis suae ne ad internecionem. usque puniat neve permittat pios simul cum impiis eadem pernicie involvi et quasi vilissimam praedàm agi ; tali enim rerum eventu gentem idololatram impio deorum cultui et aliorum populorum internecioni maiorem etiam operam esse daturam (1, 12-17). Pia et tacita mentis consideratione responsum Dei vates efflagitat, moxque Deus dare dignatur idque clare omnibus legendum proponi iubet : vaticinium scil. fixum ratumque esse et manere, eam autem esse divinam in rerum administratione normam, ut iustus in fide sua vivat, impius vero et superbus et rapax ipsa sua insatiabili cupiditate deceptus intereat (2, 1-5). Qua norma qualis rei exitus demum futurus sit, iam satis indicatur. Quare statim sermo ad Chaldaeorum interitum convertitur et quinque strophis, quarum unaquaeque a vae incipit, eorum ruina explicatur : vae scil. latroni et raptori, vae dominatori superbo qui suae domus gloriam stabilire cupierit (2, 6-11) ; vae oppressori, qui servitute gentium abusus sit ad exstruenda palatia mox interitura, vae illuscri, qui et hemines maximo contemptu et ignominia alffecerit et rerum creatarum abusu et destructione peccaverit, idolorum fretus fiducia; sed vae idclclatrae, qui res inanes colat ; coram Deo expavescat terra (2, 19-90). Inscribitur libellus : « Onus, quod vidit Habocuc prop!cta » ; — quo titulo et visio divinitus vati communicata et rei argumentum innuitur, quod minis et molestia et castigatione non careat ; vide ad Nahum 1, 1. Animum exhibet propheta de popularium perversitate vchementer commotum. Neque enim corum scclera sclum tacito. del?re. prosecutus est, verum continuis obsecrationibus supplex a Domino efilagitabat, ut, quia divina clementia ad meliorem frugem non adducerentur, pecnis divinitus inflictis inviti quasi ac reluctantes a sceleribus echiberentur. Aegre fert, quod Deus pro sua longanimitate et arcanae providentiae consiaestuantis animi impetum demumin haec verba solvit :
3:8
A. is named in the Masoretic text in Nah. 3:8, and Jer. 46:25. In Nah., Thebes is called "dwelling of A." (Nô'-Amôn), in Jer. 46:25 (and Ez. 30:10, 15 f.) Nô'. The Vulgate wrongly translates in these passages Nô' as "Alexandria" …
… The five mentions of A. in the Vulgate (Jer. 46:25; Ezek. 30:14-16; Nah. 3:8) are due to a misunderstanding of St. Jerome, who, believing the city to have been founded on the site of ancient No (Thebes), replaced the name No of the Hebrew text with the name A. (v. AMMON). …
Egypt having been conquered by Esarhaddon (671), Ashurbanipal his son and successor (668-625) returned there victoriously in 667 and in 663, the year in which he ferociously sacked Thebes (Nō' Āmēn); cf. Nah. 3:8 ff.
Nahum (Hebrew: Naḥûm «Comforter»)
… In chs. 2-3 he describes the fall of Nineveh, imminent, and as a type recalls the past ruin of Thebes (Nō'-Amôn: Nah. 3:8 ff.; cf. Ezek. 30:14 ff.; St. Jerome [PL 25, 1260] erroneously translates Alexandria popularum). …
Still in the Bible there is an allusion to the flooding of the N. (Jer. 46:7-8), to the fact that Alexandria is entirely surrounded by the waters of the river as well as by the sea (Nah. 3:8), to the hippopotamus and the crocodile of the N. (Job 40:10-28) and perhaps to the dragon (Ex. 32:2; Am. 9:4); as well as to the fishermen with net and hook (Is. 19:8) and …
3:18
Nahum (Hebrew: Naḥûm «Comforter»)
… These two indications allow the prophecy of N. to be dated: after 663 (destruction of Thebes by Ashurbanipal) and before 612 B.C. (fall of Nineveh); closer, however (Nah. 3:18), to the latter (625-615).
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.