Balaam, instead of cursing Israel, is obliged to bless them, and prophesy good things of them.
Balaam endeuoureth to curse Israel, but God forceth him to blesse them. 11. Againe he vrgeth him to curse them, but he stil prophecieth good things of them. 26. Yet Balac insisteth willing him to curse, or not to blesse them.
1And Balaam said to Balac: Build me here seven altars, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.E disse Balaam a Balac: Alzami qui sette altari, e prepara altrettanti vitelli, e un egual numero di arieti.AND Balaam said to Balac: Build me here seuen altares, and prepare as manie calues, and rammes of the same number.Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Ædifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, ejusdemque numeri arietes. 2And when he had done according to the word of Balaam, they laid together a calf and a ram upon every altar.Ed essendo stato fatto, come avea detto Balaam, posero insieme un vitello, e un ariete sopra ciascun altare.And when he had done according to the word of Balaam, they together laid a calfe and a ramme vpon an altar.Cumque fecisset juxta sermonem Balaam, imposuerunt simul vitulum et arietem super aram. 3And Balaam said to Balac: Stand a while by thy burnt offering, until I go, to see if perhaps the Lord will meet me, and whatsoever he shall command, I will speak to thee.E Balaam disse a Balac: Sta per un poco presso al tuo olocausto, mentre io vo per vedere, se a sorte mi si presenti il Signore, e io ti dirò tutto quello ch'ei mi comanderà.And Balaam said to Balac: Stand a while beside thy holocauste, vntil I goe, if happely the Lord wil meete me, and whatsoeuer he shal command, I wil speake to thee.Dixitque Balaam ad Balac: Sta paulisper juxta holocaustum tuum, donec vadam, si forte occurrat mihi Dominus, et quodcumque imperaverit, loquar tibi. 4And when he was gone with speed, God met him. And Balaam speaking to him, said: I have erected seven altars, and have laid on everyone a calf and a ram.Ed essendosi egli partito in fretta, se gli fe' incontro Dio. E Balaam gli disse: Io ho eretti sette altari, ed ho messo sopra ognuno un vitello, e un ariete.And when he was gone in hast, God mette him. And Balaam speaking to him, said: I haue erected seuen altares, and haue laid thereon a calse and a ramme.Cumque abiisset velociter, occurrit illi Deus. Locutusque ad eum Balaam: Septem, inquit, aras erexi, et imposui vitulum et arietem desuper. 5And the Lord put the word in his mouth, and said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak.E il Signore pose nella bocca di lui le parole, e disse: Torna a Balac, e digli questo.And our Lord put a word in his mouth, and said: Returne to Balac, and thus shalt thou speake.Dominus autem posuit verbum in ore ejus, et ait: Revertere ad Balac, et hæc loqueris. 6Returning he found Balac standing by his burnt offering, with all the princes of the Moabites:Tornò, e trovò Balac in piedi presso al suo olocausto con tutti i principi de' Moabiti.Returning he found Balac standing beside his holocauste, and al the princes of the Moabites:Reversus invenit stantem Balac juxta holocaustum suum, et omnes principes Moabitarum:
7And taking up his parable, he said: Balac king of the Moabites hath brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east: Come, said he, and curse Jacob: make haste and detest Israel.E prendendo il suo tuono disse: Balac re de' Moabiti mi ha condotto da Aram da' monti d'oriente. Vieni, ha egli detto, e maledici Giacobbe: affrettati, e manda imprecazioni ad Israele.and taking vp his parable, he said: From Aram hath Balac King of the Moabites brought me, from the mountaines of the East: Come, quoth he, and curse Iacob: make hast, and detest Israel.assumptaque parabola sua, dixit: De Aram adduxit me Balac / rex Moabitarum, de montibus orientis: / Veni, inquit, et maledic Jacob; / propera, et detestare Israël. 8How shall I curse him, whom God hath not cursed? By what means should I detest him, whom the Lord detesteth not?Come maledirò chi dal Signore non è maledetto? In qual modo manderò imprecazioni a chi non è in odio al Signore?How shal I curse, whom God hath not cursed? By what meanes may I detest, whom the Lord detesteth not?Quomodo maledicam, cui non maledixit Deus ? / qua ratione detester, quem Dominus non detestatur ? 9I shall see him from the tops of the rocks, and shall consider him from the hills. This people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.Io lo vedrò dall'alto dei massi, e lo considererò dalle colline. Questo popolo si starà solo, e non sarà noverato tra le nazioni.From the highest flintes shal I see him, and from the hilles shal I view him. The people shal dwel alone, and among the Gentiles shal not be accounted.De summis silicibus videbo eum, / et de collibus considerabo illum. / Populus solus habitabit, / et inter gentes non reputabitur. 10Who can count the dust of Jacob, and know the number of the stock of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the just, and my last end be like to them.Chi potrà contare i granelli della polvere di Giacobbe, e sapere il numero della stirpe d'Israele? Possa io morire della morte de' giusti, e simile al loro sia il mio fine.Who may be able to number the dust of Iacob, and to know the number of the stocke of Israel? My soule die the death of the iust, and my last endes be made like to them.Quis dinumerare possit pulverem Jacob, / et nosse numerum stirpis Israël ? / Moriatur anima mea morte justorum, / et fiant novissima mea horum similia. 11And Balac said to Balaam: What is this that thou dost? I sent for thee to curse my enemies: and thou contrariwise blessest them.Ma Balac disse a Balaam: Che è quel che tu fai? Io ti ho fatto venire, perché tu maledica i miei nemici: e tu all'opposto li benedici.And Balac said to Balaam: What is this that thou doest? That thou shouldest curse mine enemies I called thee: and thou contrariewise blessest them.Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Quid est hoc quod agis ? ut malediceres inimicis meis vocavi te, et tu e contrario benedicis eis.
12He answered him: Can I speak any thing else but what the Lord commandeth?E quegli rispose a lui: Posso io dir altro che quello che mi ha ordinato il Signore?To whom he answered: Can I speake ought els, but that which the Lord commandeth?Cui ille respondit: Num aliud possum loqui, nisi quod jusserit Dominus ? 13Balac therefore said: Come with me to another place from whence thou mayest see part of Israel, and canst not see them all: curse them from thence.Disse allor Balac: Vieni meco in altra parte, donde tu vegga una porzione d'Israele, e non possa vederlo tutto; e di lì lo maledirai.Balac therfore said: Come with me into an other place whence thou mayest see part of Israel, and canst not see the whole, from thence curse them.Dixit ergo Balac: Veni mecum in alterum locum unde partem Israël videas, et totum videre non possis: inde maledicito ei. 14And when he had brought him to a high place, upon the top of mount Phasga, Balaam built seven altars, and laying on every one a calf and a ram,E condottolo in luogo elevato sulla cima del monte Phasga, eresse Balaam sette altari, e posto sopra ciascuno un vitello, e un ariete,And when he had brought him into a high place, vpon the toppe of the mountaine Phasga, Balaam builded seuen altares, & laying thereon calues and rammes,Cumque duxisset eum in locum sublimem, super verticem montis Phasga, ædificavit Balaam septem aras, et impositis supra vitulo atque ariete, 15He said to Balac: Stand here by thy burnt offering while I go to meet him.Disse a Balac: Sta qui tu presso al tuo olocausto, mentre io vo ad incontrare (il Signore).he said to Balac: Stand here beside thy holocaust, whiles I goe to meete him.dixit ad Balac: Sta hic juxta holocaustum tuum, donec ego obvius pergam. 16And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou say to him.Ed essendogli venuto incontro il Signore, e avendogli messa in bocca la parola, disse: Ritorna a Balac, e di' a lui queste cose.Whom when our Lord had mette, and had put the word in his mouth, he said: Returne to Balac and thus thou shalt speake to him.Cui cum Dominus occurrisset, posuissetque verbum in ore ejus, ait: Revertere ad Balac, et hæc loqueris ei. 17Returning he found him standing by his burnt sacrifice, and the princes of the Moabites with him. And Balac said to him: What hath the Lord spoken?E quegli essendo tornato trovò Balac, che stava in piedi presso al suo olocausto insieme co' principi de' Moabiti. E disse a lui Balac: Che ha egli detto il Signore?Returning he found him standing beside his holocauste, and the princes of the Moabites with him. To whom Balac said: What hath the Lord spoken?Reversus invenit eum stantem juxta holocaustum suum, et principes Moabitarum cum eo. Ad quem Balac: Quid, inquit, locutus est Dominus ?
18But he taking up his parable, said: Stand, O Balac, and give ear: hear, thou son of Sephor:Ma quegli preso il suo tuono disse: Sta su, o Balac, e pon mente; porgi le orecchie, o figliuolo di Sephor:But he taking vp his parable, said: Stand Balac, and harken, heare thou sonne of Sephor:At ille, assumpta parabola sua, ait: Sta, Balac, et ausculta; audi, fili Sephor: 19God is not a man, that he should lie, nor is the son of man, that he should be changed. Hath he said then, and will he not do? hath he spoken, and will he not fulfil?Dio non è come l'uomo, che può mentire: né come il figliuolo dell'uomo, che può mutarsi. Egli ha detto una cosa, e non la farà? ha parlato, e non manterrà la parola?God is not as man, that he may lie, nor as the sonne of man, that he may be changed. Hath he said then, and wil he not doe? hath he spoken, and wil he not fulfil?non est Deus quasi homo, ut mentiatur, / nec ut filius hominis, ut mutetur. / Dixit ergo, et non faciet ? / locutus est, et non implebit ? 20I was brought to bless, the blessing I am not able to hinder.Sono stato condotto per benedire, e non posso sopprimere la benedizione.I was brought to blesse, the blessing I am not able to stay.Ad benedicendum adductus sum: / benedictionem prohibere non valeo. 21There is no idol in Jacob, neither is there an image god to be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the sound of the victory of the king in him.Non v'ha idolo in casa di Giacobbe, e non vedesi simulacro in Israele. Il Signore suo Dio è con lui, e vi si ode il suono della vittoria del re.There is no Idol in Iacob, neither is there simulachre to be seene in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the sound of the victorie of the king in him.Non est idolum in Jacob, / nec videtur simulacrum in Israël. / Dominus Deus ejus cum eo est, / et clangor victoriæ regis in illo. 22God hath brought him out of Egypt, whose strength is like to the rhinoceros.Il Signore lo trasse dall'Egitto: egli è simile al rinoceronte nella fortezza.God hath brought him out of Aegypt, whose strength is like to the vnicorne.Deus eduxit illum de Ægypto, / cujus fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis. 23There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor divination in Israel. In their times it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God hath wrought.Giacobbe non ha augurii, né indozzamenti Israele. Si racconterà a suo tempo a Giacobbe, e ad Israele, quali cose abbia operate il Signore.There is no South saying in Iacob, nor diuination in Israel. In their times it shal be said to Iacob and Israel what God hath wrought.Non est augurium in Jacob, / nec divinatio in Israël: / temporibus suis dicetur Jacob et Israëli quid operatus sit Deus.
24Behold the people shall rise up as a lioness, and shall lift itself up as a lion: it shall not lie down till it devour the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.Ecco un popolo, che si leverà su qual lionessa, e come leone si alzerà: non si sdraierà, se non dopo che avrà divorato la preda, e bevuto il sangue degli uccisi.Behold the people shal rise vp as a lionesse, and as a lion shal raise it self: It shal not lie downe til it deuoure the pray, and drinke the bloud of the slaine.Ecce populus ut leæna consurget, / et quasi leo erigetur: / non accubabit donec devoret prædam, / et occisorum sanguinem bibat. 25And Balac said to Balaam: Neither curse, nor bless him.E Balac disse a Balaam: Non dar loro maledizione, né benedizione.And Balac said to Balaam: neither curse, nor blesse him.Dixitque Balac ad Balaam: Nec maledicas ei, nec benedicas. 26And he said: Did I not tell thee, that whatsoever God should command me, that I would do?Ma quegli disse: Non ti ho io detto, che avrei fatto tutto quello che il Signore comandasse?And he said: Did I not tel thee, that whatsoeuer God should command me, that would I doe?Et ille ait: Nonne dixi tibi quod quidquid mihi Deus imperaret, hoc facerem ? 27And Balac said to him: Come and I will bring thee to another place; if peradventure it please God that thou mayest curse them from thence.E Balac gli disse: Vieni, ti condurrò in altro luogo se mai piacesse a Dio, che di là tu li maledicessi.And Balac said to him: Come, and I wil bring thee to an other place: if happely it please God that thence thou mayest curse them.Et ait Balac ad eum: Veni, et ducam te ad alium locum: si forte placeat Deo ut inde maledicas eis. 28And when he had brought him upon the top of mount Phogor, which looketh towards the wilderness,E condottolo sulla cima del monte Phogor, che guarda il deserto,And when he had brought him vpon the toppe of the mountaine Phogor, which looketh to the wildernesse,Cumque duxisset eum super verticem montis Phogor, qui respicit solitudinem, 29Balaam said to him: Build me here seven altars, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.Balaam gli disse: Fammi qui sette altari, e prepara altrettanti vitelli, ed egual numero di arieti.Balaam said to him: Build me here seuen altares, and prepare as manie calues, and rammes of the same number.dixit ei Balaam: Ædifica mihi hic septem aras, et para totidem vitulos, ejusdemque numeri arietes. 30Balac did as Balaam had said: and he laid on every altar, a calf and a ram.Fece Balac, come avea detto Balaam: e pose i vitelli, e gli arieti uno per ogni altare.Balac did as Balaam had said: and he laide the calues and the rammes on euerie altar.Fecit Balac ut Balaam dixerat: imposuitque vitulos et arietes per singulas aras.
23:2
Haydock
Altar. They both join in sacrificing to Chamos or the devil, whom Balaam styles his lord, Yehovah: but the true God was pleased to hinder the idol from interfering at present, and answered Balaam, in order that he might see the folly of his conduct, and repent; and that others, who are more willing to listen to him, than to the servants of God, might be instructed by his declaration. (Haydock)
Worthington
"God's voice is heard sounding from a profane mouth." (St. Jerome, de 42. mans.) (Worthington)
23:4
Calmet
Speed. Hebrew shephi, may signify also "on the straight road," (Septuagint) "into the plain," (Louis de Dieu) "all alone," (Onkelos) or most probably "upon an eminence." (Kimchi) (Calmet)
Menochius
God, in the visible form of an angel. (Menochius)
Haydock
To him. Balaam might suppose that he was addressing his idol. But Moses informs us, that the true God or his angel was present, and forced Balaam to deliver an unwelcome message to the king. (Haydock)
23:7
Calmet
Parable. Beginning to speak in a beautiful and poetic style, like a man inspired. (Calmet)
Menochius
Mashal, denotes a striking and elegant prophecy. (Menochius)
Aram, when placed alone, properly means Syria; but when Padan or Naharaim are added, Mesopotamia is meant, whence Balaam came, Deuteronomy 22:5.
Calmet
East of Moab, though lying to the north, or higher part of Mesopotamia. (Calmet)
23:9
Calmet
Hills. But all in vain. (Calmet)
Haydock
I am prevented from cursing him; and if I should do it, my imprecations would be turned into blessings by a superior Being. (Haydock)
Calmet
Alone, without standing in need of any auxiliaries, and devoid of fear, Deuteronomy 13:28., and Jeremias 49:31. The Jews had but few connections with foreign nations, keeping at a distance from them, as being of a different religion. (Calmet)
Haydock
Indeed, when they applied for aid to the Egyptians, etc., it generally turned out to their detriment, that they might learn to trust in God alone, who would effectually protect them, if they observed his law, as he had repeatedly promised. (Haydock)
Calmet
Nations. Israel shall not be like other people. He is under the peculiar care of God, covered with glory, full of confidence, and inspired with the love of independence; so that he will have nothing to do with the rest of the world. (Calmet)
23:10
Dust. God had promised to multiply the seed of Abraham as the dust of the earth, Genesis 13:16. Balaam had just beheld several thousands of them, and in rapture, exclaims, according to the Hebrew, "Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel?" Their camp was divided into four great battalions, surrounding the ark and the Levites. Who can tell the number of one of these divisions, much less of all the multitudes there assembled, and what millions may, in a short time, proceed from them? You have reason, therefore, O Balac, to tremble, if they continue faithful to their God. But strive to make friends with them.
Haydock
Let, etc. Hebrew may also admit of the version of the Septuagint, "May my soul die among the souls of the just, and may my offspring be like this." We behold in this sentence, the sentiments of all worldly and interested people, who wish to obtain a reward without submitting to the necessary labour. Impotent desires! selfish views! (Haydock)
Calmet
"All," says St. Bernard, (in Cant. serm. 21,) "wish to enjoy the felicity which Jesus Christ has promised. But how few are willing to imitate Him who invites us to do it." (Calmet)
Worthington
Thus, infidels desire sometimes to die like Catholics, though they will not live in that religion. (Worthington)
Even those who are in the Church, frequently give in to this delusion, making fine prayers, and, in the time of temptation, forgetting all their sighs and tears, to whom God will say, as St. Gregory justly observes on those words of Job, 41:3, I will not spare him nor his mighty words, and framed to make supplication. For, like Balaam, when the fit of devotion is over, such people are ready to give the most pernicious advice against the lives of those, whom they pretend they would be desirous to resemble in death. "That prayer is vain, which is not followed by continual perseverance in charity." (St. Gregory, Mor. 33:27.) The false prophet says not a word about living like the just; he only wishes, that after his soul has enjoyed all the pleasures of this world, it may depart to joys eternal, while his posterity is left behind in the midst of temporal prosperity.
Haydock
Soul die, or be separated from its body. Even Balaam establishes the immortality of the soul. (Haydock)
23:13
Calmet
Thence. He has a mind to try a new experiment. We have observed, that the object of malediction was to be in view, chap. 22:41. But Balac, supposing perhaps that the multitude made too deep an impression upon the soothsayer, judged it expedient to place him in another situation, where he might see only a part of Israel. Some, however, imagine that he had only seen a fourth part, or the uttermost part of the people, who lay nearest to him before; (ver. 10, and chap. 22:41) and hence, would have him to take now a distinct view of the whole; and, in this sense, the Samaritan and Glassius translate from whence, etc., thus, "for thou hast seen only part of Israel, and couldst not see them all." (Calmet)
Menochius
By a similar superstition, the Syrians imagined that the God of Israel was a God of the hills, and that they could more easily conquer his people on the plain country, 3 Kings 20:23. (Menochius)
23:14
Calmet
Place. Hebrew sede tsohpim, or "the field of the sentinels." (Chaldean) Such were commonly stationed on the top of high hills, to give notice, by kindling a fire, etc., of the approach of an enemy, Isaias 21:11., and Jeremias 6:1. (Calmet)
23:18
Haydock
Hear. Hebrew, "to me." Septuagint read had, instead of hadai, and translate, "Give ear, thou witness, (martus) son," etc. (Haydock)
23:19
Calmet
Changed. Hebrew, "repent." Septuagint, "to be overawed by threats." Origen, "to be terrified." In the book of Judith 8:15, it is said, For God will not threaten like man, nor be inflamed to anger, like the son of man. (Calmet)
Menochius
Do. Will he suffer me to curse Israel, after he has once given me a decided prohibition? (Menochius)
23:20
Haydock
To bless, not by my own intention, or by that of Balac, but by God, who hath only suffered me to proceed on my journey, on condition that I would declare his will, chap. 22:35. (Haydock)
Calmet
Hebrew, "Behold, I have received an order to bless;" or, with the Septuagint, "I have been chosen to pronounce a blessing; I will bless, and will not revoke it, or leave off." (Calmet)
23:21
Menochius
Image-god, (simulachrum) "a statue." Chaldean, "falsehood." Hebrew may also signify "perversity, or punishment." As long as Israel refrains from idol-worship, and from other transgressions, as they do at present, God will be so far from punishing them, that he will fight their battles, as their king; (Haydock) and at the sound of the silver trumpets, will grant them victory, (Numbers 10:9.) (Menochius)
Haydock
The sound. Hebrew, "the shout of a king among them," encouraging his people by his presence and by his words. (Haydock)
Menochius
"I behold those who do not serve idols in the house of Jacob....the word of the Lord their God is helping them, and the majesty of their king is among them," Chaldean. (Menochius)
23:22
Haydock
Rhinoceros. Hebrew ream, which is sometimes rendered unicorn. Bochart thinks it means the oryx, or the strong Arabian goat. The animal, of which the Scripture so often speaks, was remarkable for its strength, (Calmet) and could not easily be tamed, Job 39:9. (Haydock)
Calmet
The Septuagint generally translate monoceros, which is a fish, with a horn proceeding from its upper jaw. This is often shewn in cabinets for the horn of the unicorn. There are various animals which have only one horn. Pliny and Aristotle instance the oryx, etc. Various authors of credit specify likewise the rhinoceros, which has "a horn upon its nose," and is found in Ethiopia. The emperor of that country sent one to the court of Persia, which Chardin saw and describes. It is as large as an elephant, and the people have learnt the method of taming both these huge beasts. (Calmet)
Haydock
It seems the art was unknown in the days of Job, if this be the animal of which he speaks. (Haydock)
Calmet
Moses (Deuteronomy 33:17,) seems to attribute two horns to the ream; and Pausanius allows a greater and a less one to the rhinoceros; the latter is very strong and erect. It is of a brownish colour. (Calmet)
Haydock
Whatever may be the precise meaning of ream, it certainly denotes an animal of superior strength, and very formidable. Balaam represents God, or the people of Israel, in this light. God had given repeated instances of his dominion over all nature, in delivering the Hebrews out of Egypt. They were also capable of striking the Moabites with terror, on account of their known prowess, and surprising numbers, ver. 24. (Haydock)
23:23
Soothsaying. This may be joined to what goes before, as an explanation why Israel is so much to be feared; because the people have no dealings with the devil, in which case neither he nor all his agents can hurt them, since God is their protector, and will direct them when and how to act.
Haydock
Hath wrought. Septuagint, "will bring to perfection." (Origen, contra Cels.) The Hebrew may also signify, "undoubtedly there is no charm powerful enough against....Israel," or "Jacob has no regard for the vain art of divination. Israel does not apply to augury. This very time will be memorable among their posterity for the wonders which God has wrought." Indeed, never was there a greater display of the divine power in favour of the Hebrews, than in this 40th year after their exit from Egypt; and in the following, which was noted for the victories and miracles of Josue. (Haydock)
23:24
Calmet
Lioness. Septuagint, "lion's whelp." Some explain the Hebrew, "a lion" of full growth and strength. But the antithesis of the Vulgate is more natural and beautiful. (Calmet)
The lioness, being solicitous for its young ones, becomes more furious.
Haydock
A lion, ready to fall upon its prey. So Israel will not lay down the sword, till he has conquered the nations of Chanaan, (Menochius) and those who dare to molest him. The allusion to the prediction of Jacob in favour of Juda seems very plain, Genesis 49:9. (Haydock)
23:25
Worthington
Neither, etc. When infidels cannot prevail upon people to side with them entirely, in their false worship, they endeavour to induce them at least not to bless, nor follow up the true religion. (Worthington)
23:28
Haydock
Phogor. Hebrew, "Pehor, which looketh towards Jeshimon, or the desert." This was a part of the same chain of the mountains Abarim, with Phasga, ver. 14. Balac foolishly supposed that in a different aspect, he might still obtain what he wanted; and the soothsayer was no less infatuated in following him. But he soon felt an internal monitor, who informed him, that he need not put himself to no farther trouble, in retiring alone, to prepare himself for the operation of the spirit. More glorious predictions in favour of Israel, presented themselves so forcibly, that he could hardly refrain, and durst no longer forbear proclaiming them aloud, chap 24:1. (Haydock)
23:1
Before the diuel would curse Gods people he required sacrifice. which being offered yet he could not worke his malice. For by Gods commandmēs (saith S. Hierom. de mans. 42.) Israel is blessed, cursing turned into praise and Gods voice is heard sounding from a profaine mouth.
23:10
Heretikes, & other infidels desire sometimes to die in state of Catholiques, though they wil not liue as they do. S. Greg. li. 33. c. 27. Moral.
23:21
•ikne• of idol.
23:25
VVhen Infidels can not draw others to false worship, or cursing, they are content that men professe no God, nor religion at al.
23:2
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 41.24
… “O My people, what have I done to thee, or wherein have I troubled thee, or wherein have I wearied thee? Answer Me. Is it because I brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and delivered thee from the house of bondage?” adding: “And I sent before thy face Moses and Aaron and Miriam.” Remember what Balaam conceived against thee,
23:10
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Decease of His Brother Satyrus 2.43
43. Thou hast caused me, my brother, not to fear death, and I only would that my life might die with thine! This Balaam wished for as the greatest good for himself, when, inspired by the spirit of prophecy, he said: “Let my soul die in the souls of the righteous, and let my seed be like the seed of them.”
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 3.30
… while the good, when tempted of evil to which they in no wise consent, plant the steps of their heart towards righteousness through humility all the more surely from their tottering through infirmity. Thus Balaam, looking on the tents of the righteous, said, May my soul die the death of the righteous, and may my last end be like theirs (
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 1.22
… binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the branch of the vine; he shall wash his garments in wine, and his clothing in the blood of the grape: terrible are his eyes with wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.” Hence in Numbers it is written concerning our people: “Behold, the people shall rise up as a lion-like people.”
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.21
… “And they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced.” Also in the eighty-seventh Psalm: “I have called unto Thee, O Lord, the whole day; I have stretched out my hands unto Thee.” Also in Numbers: “Not as a man is God suspended, nor as the son of man does He suffer threats.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.5
40. Furthermore, the Arians deny that in Godhead He is One with the Father. Let them annul the Gospel, then, and silence the voice of Christ. For Christ Himself has said: “I and the Father are one.” It is not I who say this: Christ has said it. Is He a deceiver, that He should lie?
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.12
76. Seeing, then, that we find not the customary order prevailing, be content, Arian, to believe in a miraculous generation of the Son. Be content, I say, and if you believe me not, at least have respect unto the voice of God saying, “To whom have ye esteemed Me to be like?” and again: “God is not like a man that He should repent.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 5.15
… And this I plainly know from the love of God toward man, as well as from those things which He hath done for men, and cities, and nations, and whole populations. For He threatened the city of Nineveh, and said, “There are yet three days,
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 77.10
… They united their resources and combined their plans that harmony might forward what rivalry must have brought to nought. No sooner was the scheme broached than it was carried out. A house was purchased to serve as a shelter, and a crowd flocked into it. “There was no more travail in Jacob nor distress in Israel.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 130.7
… “By night I sought him whom my soul loveth. Tell me where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon;” and with the psalmist: “my soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me;” and with Jeremiah: “I have not found it hard.…to follow thee,” for “there is no grief in Jacob neither is there travail in Israel.”
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Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 4.95
… “For there is no enchantment in Jacob, nor is there divination in Israel. In due time will it be declared to Jacob and Israel what the Lord will do.”
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1. AND BALAAM SAID TO BALAC: BUILD ME HERE SEVEN ALTARS, AND PREPARE AS MANY BULLOCKS. — Balaam ordered these altars to be erected, first, for sacrificing, not to the true God of the Hebrews, as Eugubinus wishes: for Balac would not have permitted that; but to Baal, or to a demon: for these were the high places of Baal, as preceded in the preceding chapter, last verse. Secondly, for the superstition of divination, and to search through them for an omen, as shall be said in the following chapter, verse 1; whence he ordered precisely seven altars to be made, and in each two victims to be burned, namely a bullock and a ram, and that with the cooperation of Balac the idolatrous king: whence also verse 3 calls this his holocaust; although verse 4, the angel occurring to him contrary to his hope, he feigns to present himself as having erected these altars in honour of the Lord, so that he might conciliate the angel to himself. Moreover, he erected seven altars, either on account of the seven planets: for he himself seems to have been an astrologer genethliacus, who namely divined from the horoscope and inspection of the stars, says Abulensis; or because the number seven is a symbol of perfection, and is therefore used in sacred things; whence also he ordered seven bullocks and rams to be sacrificed, so that he might divine from their entrails, namely from the inspection of the viscera: for this is the office of a soothsayer, such as this Balaam was, as is plain from chapter XXII, verse 5. Or finally, he did this from superstition. For magicians and sorcerers especially observe certain numbers, whence they do nothing by an even number, but all things by an odd number. Hence Virgil, Eclogue 8: These three threads first, divided in triple colour, I bind around thee, and thrice around these altars I lead thy image: God delights in an odd number.
Allegorically, Balac, which in Hebrew is the same as licking and devouring, signifies the devil; Balaam, that is, people of vanity, signifies the Scribes and Pharisees, who by the impulse of the demon wished to curse and destroy Christ and the Christians, who are the true Israelites; but God converted their curse and the death of the cross into blessing and glory. Thus Rabanus. Again, the Emperor Jovianus truly said, "flatterers (such as this Balaam was) do not worship God, but the purple: and are very like Euripides, who is precipitated now in this direction, now in that;" Socrates is witness, lib. III, cap. XXI. Bion, when asked "what animal was most harmful of all: If you ask about wild beasts, he said, a tyrant; if about tame ones, a flatterer." Thus Laertius, lib. I, cap. V. Diogenes called smooth and flattering speech a honeyed snare. He also said, "it is better to fall εἰς κόρακας than εἰς κόλακας, that is, to ravens than to flatterers." Thus Laertius. Epictetus said: "Ravens pluck out the eyes of the dead; but flatterers, corrupting the souls of the living, deprive them of all sight." Phavorinus said: "Just as Actaeon perished by his own hounds: so parasites destroy those by whom they are fed." "As a dog is by nature hostile to a hare, so a flatterer to a friend," says Antonius in the Melissa, part. I, serm. 52. Whence Aristotle, lib. IX Ethic.: "He who feigns himself a friend, and is not, he says, is worse than he who made false coin."
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3. STAND A WHILE, IF PERCHANCE THE LORD SHALL MEET ME. — "The Lord," namely Baal, or a demon: for to this Balac had offered this holocaust with Balaam; for Balaam here was seeking an augury, as it is said in the following chapter, verse 1, that is a divination, namely the demon himself, with whom he would speak in secret after his custom, and from whom he would hear responses which he would bring to Balac. Thus Cyril, lib. VI On Adoration, fol. 113, Theodoret, Question XL, St. Augustine, serm. 103 On the Seasons, Ambrose, lib. VI, epist. 37, Gregory of Nyssa, On the Life of Moses, near the end, Procopius and Rabanus here. You will say: For "the Lord" in Hebrew is Jehova, which is a Hebrew name. I answer, Balaam did not say Jehova (for he had never heard this name), but used another name, by which the Moabites were accustomed to call God (who was not the true God to them, but Baal, or a demon); but Moses, because he wrote not in Moabite but in Hebrew, substituted for it the Hebrew name Jehova.
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4. AND WHEN HE HAD GONE SWIFTLY. — Vatablus and the Hebrews translate, and when he had gone to the high places; for the Hebrew שפי scephi also signifies this. Others translate, and when he had gone alone. GOD MET HIM. — "God," that is, a good angel sent by God, or "God," not in himself, but through his angel; for although Balaam did not seek him but his demon, nevertheless the good angel of his own accord thrust himself upon him and met him, and this to promote the glory both of God and of the Hebrews; just as to the Pythoness, who consulted a demon for Saul, not an evil but a good spirit of Samuel thrust himself upon her. Moreover, the angel met him in visible form, and, as follows, "came in his way," namely in an assumed body; which Balaam seeing, first saluted him out of respect, and addressed him, saying: "I have set up seven altars;" he does not say to whom: perhaps because he doubted whether he who met him was a demon or God; nevertheless he tacitly indicated to him who met him that he had set up these altars, in which he lied. St. Augustine rightly says in Psalm LXIII: "Simulated equity is double iniquity."
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5. BUT THE LORD PUT A WORD IN HIS MOUTH, — that is to say, the angel suggested to him, and taught him what he was to say to Balac himself. Note: This angel did not reprove the lie, hypocrisy and idolatry of Balaam, but dissembled it, because he knew him to be an idolater, magician, wicked and incorrigible; therefore he only told him those things which pertained to the present matter, namely to the embassy of Balac, and the cause of the Hebrews.
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7. AND TAKING UP HIS PARABLE HE SAID. — He calls a grave, beautiful and keen prophecy a parable. For the Hebrew mascal, which our translator often renders as parable, signifies any sentence which is eminent and illustrious, and as it were a prince among sentences, such as the maxims of the wise, proverbs and parables, and also the oracles of the Prophets. For the root mascal signifies to rule and to have dominion. Hence are called misle, that is the Parables of Solomon, his grave and moral sentences. Add that in this prophecy of Balaam many similitudes and parables properly so called are interspersed. FROM ARAM (from Mesopotamia, which in Hebrew is called Aram Naharaim, as I said cap. XX, verse 5) BALAC HAS BROUGHT ME.
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8. HOW SHALL I CURSE WHOM GOD HATH NOT CURSED? — Note that not only the tongue, but also the mind of Balaam, at least at the time when he uttered these prophecies, was changed by God, so that whereas he had previously wished to curse the Hebrews, he now blessed them. For Balaam was not here seized by divine possession as were the Sibyls, and the maiden in the temple of Apollo Delphicus, into whom Phoebus himself, that is, a demon, entered, and turning her about on the ground and causing her to foam at the mouth, answered through her mouth all things about which he was questioned; yet that maiden understood nothing of these things, but was as it were beside herself, and in a frenzy, and after she ceased to rave, she did not remember what had been said. See Virgil, book VI of the Aeneid. But Balaam understood all these things, indeed he had already conceived them all beforehand and committed them to memory, when namely he heard them alone from the angel who met him, verse 5. For the angel is not read to have spoken to him or through him afterwards in the very prophecy itself. Again, that he spoke these things from his mind and seriously is evident from the fact that he adds: "Let my soul die the death of the just." God therefore did not move the mouth of Balaam as He moved the mouth of the speaking ass; for Balaam was moved as a man, not as a beast. God therefore impelled his will and enlightened his intellect, so that he would speak these things piously and willingly, and from his heart. The contrary, however, is the opinion of Abulensis, namely that Balaam, persisting in an impious will to curse, blessed by compulsion and unwillingly, from the fact that God moved his mouth, though unwilling, and formed in it these words by which he blessed Israel, and he proves this from the fact that Balaam says verse 12: "Can I speak anything else except what the Lord hath commanded?" But that does not compel: for I cannot there is the same as it is not permitted, it is not lawful. Therefore what I said before is more true, and this is confirmed in chapter XXIV, verse 1, where it is said: "And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord that he should bless Israel, etc., the spirit of God rushing upon him, he said." Yet immediately after the prophecy, Balaam returned to his nature, and sought ways of satisfying Balac, and of cursing the Hebrews: and this alone is what St. Gregory means, III part of the Pastoral, Admonition 13, when he says that Balaam changed his voice, not his mind. For in the manner in which I have explained it, St. Gregory explains himself, in book XXXIII of the Morals, chapter XXVII. In a similar way Saul prophesied among the Prophets, and sang praises to God; but departing from them, he returned to his nature, and continued to persecute David: therefore both Saul and Balaam remained in the hardness of their heart and habitual impiety, which each one, the good spirit of God withdrawing, shortly after exercised as much as before. Similar to Balaam and Saul are Christians, who live in concubinage, hatreds, drunkenness, possession of goods unjustly acquired, and at Easter, or at the point of death are broken and propose amendment; but soon after the feast, or freed from danger, they return to concubines, hatreds, drinking, and unjust possessions: let these fear for themselves, and expect an end and catastrophe such as Saul and Balaam had.
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9. FROM THE TOP OF THE ROCKS I SHALL SEE HIM, — that is to say, From this steep mountain I shall look upon the camp of Israel, and shall delight in beholding it as the camp of God, beautiful and well distributed and arranged by its tribes, ranks and standards, and shall enjoy it pleasantly. A PEOPLE THAT SHALL DWELL ALONE, — that is to say, Israel shall be separated, both in dominion and in fellowship from all other peoples, namely the Gentiles and idolaters, and alone indeed truly shall serve by its own laws and rites, because it is altogether different from the laws and customs of all other peoples, whence "and among" them "it shall not be reckoned," that is, shall not be counted, because among the Gentiles it shall not be numbered, nor shall it be reckoned among them. The Chaldean (who here, and elsewhere sometimes judaizes) translates, behold a people alone shall possess the world; for this is what the Jews expect under the Messiah, that they alone shall rule over the earth.
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10. WHO CAN COUNT THE DUST OF JACOB (that is, as the Chaldean translates: Who can count the little ones of the house of Jacob? of whom it was said Gen. XIII, 16, that "it shall be multiplied as the dust of the earth;" whence explaining he adds) AND KNOW THE NUMBER OF THE STOCK OF ISRAEL? — In Hebrew it is, and know the number of the fourth part of Israel. In this song, as also in others, after the Hebrew manner, the same thing is repeated and explained in the latter hemistich which was said in the former.
LET MY SOUL DIE THE DEATH OF THE JUST, AND LET MY LAST END BE LIKE TO THEIRS. — "My soul," that is, I myself: for soul is taken for man, as a part for the whole, by synecdoche. Thus also it is taken of Samson, when he says: "Let my soul die with the Philistines;" for the soul cannot die in itself, but nevertheless it seems to die with the body and man, when it is separated from it. Thus it is said in I Machabees II, 38: "They smote a thousand souls," that is, a thousand men, and in III Kings, cap. I, 11: "Save thy soul," that is, thyself, and thy life, so that thou mayest preserve thy soul in thy body. There are many similar instances in Scripture. Note: The camps of Israel are called the camps of the just, from the more important and worthy part, although in them there were more wicked than just. In a similar way the Church is called holy, although in it there are more wicked. The sense therefore is, as if Balaam were saying: Would that it might befall me to die so happy and blessed a death as the faithful and just Israelites will die, knowing that they are passing to a better life, namely to blessed immortality! The wicked, atheists and politicians say the same thing today, when they seriously and sincerely consider the present and future state of man; so great is the force of truth. All the wicked therefore desire a good death, but flee a good life, because to die well is happiness, but to live well is laborious: yet one is not granted without the other. Eternity depends upon death, this upon a good or bad life; choose: to perish once is to perish eternally. Recently a certain man, a heretical prince, or rather a Politician, of good character and ability nevertheless, being asked what he thought of Catholics and Calvinists, whose faith was truer, answered shrewdly that he would prefer to live with Calvinists, but to die with Catholics, because their death is happier and more secure, their life is more licentious and voluptuous. But he would have spoken more soundly and more suitably to his own salvation if he had said: Since I prefer to die with Catholics, I prefer also to live with them; for a good death depends upon a good life, and it is impossible for him who lives heretically or wickedly to die well and happily. More prudently therefore and more usefully to himself would Balaam have said: "Let my soul live the life of the just, that it may die the death of the just." For he who lives the life of the pious will certainly die the death of the pious: and he who lives the life of the impious will certainly die the death of the impious, and that once and forever. Lamachus the centurion rebuked a soldier for an error he had committed; and when the latter acknowledged his fault and said he would do nothing of the sort henceforth, he answered: "In war one is not permitted to sin twice." Thus Plutarch in the Laconian. But in death one is not permitted to sin even once. For this sin is irrevocable; once dead, thou art always dead; once dead badly, thou art damned; throughout all eternity thou canst not correct this death, thou canst not shake off this damnation. Iphicrates said to the same man that it was most shameful for a commander to say: "I did not think!" For a Christian it is imprudent and foolish to say this: "I did not think" that there was such a difference between a good and a bad life and death; I did not think that so great an eternity depended upon it; I did not think that I would die so soon and so quickly. Tropologically St. Bernard, sermon 52 in the Canticles: "Would that," he says, "I might frequently fall by this death, that I might escape the snares of death, that I might not feel the blandishments of a luxuriant life, that I might not be stupefied by the sense of lust, by the heat of avarice, by the stings of anger and impatience, by the anguish of anxieties and the troubles of cares! Let my soul die the death of the just, and let no fraud ensnare it, let no iniquity delight it. A good death, which does not take away life, but transfers it to something better. Good, in which not the body falls, but the soul is lifted up. But this is of men. But let my soul die also the death (if it can be said) of angels, so that, exceeding the memory of present things, it may strip itself not only of the desires of inferior and bodily things, but also of their likenesses, and may have pure conversation with them, with whom there is likeness of purity. Such, as I think, is called ecstasy, or contemplation at least, or at most. For to live not held by the desires of things is the work of human virtue: but to be not involved in the likenesses of bodies in contemplation is the work of angelic purity. Yet both are the gift of God."
The Death of the Just. — Do you wish to know what the death of the just is like? Listen and wonder. St. Nicholas of Tolentino, as his Life relates in chapters XI and XIII, for six whole months before his death, a little before the night prayers, heard every night the most sweet concert of angels, which offered him as it were a foretaste of the future life. And so how much do we believe he burned with longing for that life, to whose sweetness he was so sweetly invited? He himself declared it, who frequently had that saying of the Apostle on his lips: "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ." Indeed, when the time of his departure drew near, in his final breath he began to utter the words of one rejoicing and exulting: when the Brothers who were present sought the cause of this unusual joy, he, astonished and scarcely master of himself because of the magnitude of the matter, said: "My Lord, Jesus Christ, leaning upon His most holy Mother and Augustine our father, says to me: Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord;" and in these words he expired. St. Arnulph, Bishop of Soissons, foretold the day of his death, and on the day before his cell was shaken three times with great noise; when the others were afraid, he said he was being called to heaven. "At the first shaking, he said, Blessed Peter the Apostle came to me, signifying to me that my sins were forgiven and the gate of life opened; there was present a frequent assembly of the Blessed singing the praises of God continually. At the second shaking, St. Michael with many angelic spirits visited me, promising that with him as my guide, I would enter into blessed life. At the third shaking, our Lady, the true Mother of mercy, attended, surrounded by many bands of holy virgins, assured me in her most kind voice concerning my soul, to be transferred to the heavens among the joys of her Assumption." Thus it came to pass; for dying on the very day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, he went to heaven, as the Martyrology has it; thus John Lisiardus, his third successor, relates in his Life, and from him Baronius, vol. XI, in the year of Christ 1087. St. Gregory, in book IV of the Dialogues, chapter XI, describing the death of Ursinus the priest, thus says: "He began to cry out with great joy, saying: Welcome, my lords, welcome, my lords; why have you deigned to come to such a tiny servant of yours? I come, I come. I give thanks, I give thanks. And when he repeated this with reiterated voice, those who knew him and stood around him asked to whom he was speaking; to whom he answered in wonder, saying: Do you not see that the holy Apostles have come together here? Do you not behold the blessed Peter and Paul, the first of the Apostles? Turning again to them, he said: Behold, I come, behold, I come; and amid these words he gave up his soul. And because he truly saw the holy Apostles, by following them he also testified to it. Which frequently happens to the just, that in their death they behold visions of the most excellent Saints, lest they fear the penal sentence of their own death; but, while the society of the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem is shown to their mind, they are loosed from the bond of their flesh without the weariness of pain and fear." In the same work, chapter X, he relates concerning Abbot Spes, that when he had been blind for 40 years, he received his sight at the time of death, and that giving counsel of salvation to his own, communicating, singing psalms, praying, he gave up his soul to God, which the Brothers saw borne to heaven in the form of a dove. Chapter XII, he narrates concerning Probus, Bishop of Rieti, that St. Juvenal and St. Eleutherius the Martyrs, clothed in white, came to him as he was dying, and invited him to the heavenly banquet. Chapter XIII, he narrates concerning St. Galla, who seeing St. Peter asked: "Are my sins forgiven me?" To whom St. Peter said: "They are forgiven, come." Whence on the third day, with another sister whom St. Peter had named, she died. Chapter XIV, he narrates the wonderful life and death of St. Servulus, a poor and paralyzed man, who dying heard angels singing and inviting him and leading him to heaven, leaving behind him a wonderful fragrance of odor. Chapter XV, he narrates the passing of St. Romula and the heavenly funeral rites; for at her death there was plainly heard a choir of men and women singing psalms, which led her soul to heaven; and the higher the choir of singers ascended, the more softly the psalmody was heard. Chapter XVI, he narrates the passing of his aunt Tarsilla the virgin, who, called to heaven by her grandfather St. Felix, began to grow sick, and dying cried out: "Depart, Jesus comes."
On the contrary, do you wish to know what the death of the impious is like? Hear and shudder. The impious Jezabel, cast down from a window by command of Jehu, trampled under the hooves of horses, was eaten by dogs, IV Kings ix, 33. Baltasar, becoming drunk, saw a hand writing: Mane, tekel, phares, and was terrified; and on that same night he was stripped of life and kingdom by Cyrus, Daniel v. Antiochus, who had tortured many, suffered dire pain of the bowels, stench and worms, and died a miserable death in the mountains, II Maccabees ix, 9. Similar was the death of Herod of Ascalon. Hunericus, king of the Vandals, and most wicked persecutor of Catholics, according to Victor of Utica, lib. III Wandal., "held the dominion of the kingdom for seven years and ten months, completing the death merited by his deeds; for putrefied and teeming with worms, not his body, but parts of his body, were seen to be buried." Gregory of Tours, lib. II De Gestis Franc. cap. III, says that he was seized by a demon and tore himself with his own bites, and the sun appeared dark, so that scarcely a third of it shone forth: thus the wretched Hunericus died in the year of Christ 484. Famous is the death of Chrysaorius crying out: "Grant me respite until morning," as testified by St. Gregory, hom. 12 in Evang. Hear a similar one, which Gregory of Tours relates, lib. V Hist. Franc. cap. xxxvi, and from him Baronius, in the year of Christ 583: "Snatched away by a dreadful death from this life," he says, "was Nantinus, Count of Angoulême, who, having inflicted many evils upon holy places and the ministers of God, was seized by disease: and being excessively burned by fever, he cried out, saying: Alas, alas, I am burned by Heraclius the bishop; I am tortured by him; by him I am called to judgment. I recognize my crime, I remember that I unjustly inflicted injuries upon the Pontiff; I beg for death, lest I be tormented longer by this torture. While he cried out these things with great force in his fever, his bodily strength failing, he poured forth his wretched soul, leaving undoubted signs that this had come upon him as vengeance from the blessed man; for his lifeless body took on such blackness that you would think it had been burned, laid upon coals. Therefore let all these things astound them, let them marvel and fear, lest they inflict injuries upon priests, because the Lord is the avenger of His servants who hope in Him." Calvin, miserably tormented by various diseases, according to Beza, was moreover gnawed by lice, as Jerome Bolsec, a physician of Lyons, formerly his disciple, relates in his Life cap. xxii. Note here that those who persecute the Church are devoured by worms by the just judgment of God. Thus it happened to Hunericus, Herod, Antiochus, the Emperor Maximian, the Emperor Arnulf, successor of Charles the Fat, and Calvin.
Do you now wish to die the death not of the impious, but of the just? "Learn to die," think constantly that you will die: while you are healthy, prepare yourself for death. Thus St. Bernard counsels Pope Eugenius, in epistle 237: "In all your works remember that you are a man, and let the fear of him who takes away the spirit of princes always be before your eyes. And as much as the brevity of the time of their dominion announces to you the fewness of your days. Therefore, with constant meditation amid the blandishments of this present glory, remember your last things, because those whom you have succeeded in the seat, you will without doubt follow to death." When formerly an Emperor was crowned, builders of sepulchers would bring to him four or five fragments of marble of various colors, inquiring from which he wished his sepulcher to be constructed: by which he was admonished of his own mortality, and that he might rule prudently. Thus Leontius relates in the Life of St. John the Almsgiver, where he likewise narrates that St. John had a sepulcher made for himself, but left it imperfect, and ordered it to be suggested to him as he sat at table by his servants: "Your monument is to this day imperfect, Lord, command therefore that it be completed; for it is uncertain at what hour the thief will enter," namely death. St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, as witnessed by the Nyssene in his Life, thus learned to die, since he esteemed himself throughout his whole life to be a pilgrim here, and did not wish to be the possessor of any place: indeed, dying, he did not wish to have his own sepulcher, but desired to be buried in another's. St. Augustine, as witnessed by Possidius, prepared himself for death by reading assiduously the Penitential Psalms, weeping abundantly, praying constantly, so that during the last ten days of his life he admitted no one to himself except a physician or one bringing refreshment; and he also said that Christians praised without worthy and fitting penance ought not to depart from the body. Thus St. Fulgentius prepared himself for death by mortifying himself, weeping, refusing baths, praying in illnesses: "Lord, give me now patience, and afterwards forgiveness." Ferdinand, King of Castile and Leon, Catholic and chaste, in the year of the Lord 1065, as Lucas of Tuy relates and Baronius from him, feeling himself to fail, was carried by Bishops and religious men to the Church with royal honor; there, kneeling fixed at the altar, he said: "Yours is the power, Lord, yours is the kingdom. The kingdom which I received with you ruling, and as long as it pleased your will I ruled it, behold I return it to you: only I beseech you to receive the soul snatched from the abyss of this world itself, that you may take it to yourself." And saying these things, he removed the royal cloak with which his body was clothed, and laid down the jeweled crown with which his head was encircled, and with tears prostrate on the ground he more earnestly besought the Lord for forgiveness of his sins. Then, having received penance from the Bishops, anointed with the sacrament of Extreme Unction, he was clothed in a hair shirt in place of royal ornament, and sprinkled with ashes in place of a golden diadem, to whom, remaining alive in penance before the aforesaid altar, two days were given by God to live. On the following day, which was that of St. John the Evangelist, between the hands of the Pontiffs, he gave up his spirit to heaven, in the year of Christ 1065. Charles V, Emperor, mindful of his human condition, long before death voluntarily withdrew himself from the administration of the state; and when he had entrusted the cares to his son, now strong in age and mind, he withdrew into Spain, and hid himself in the monastery of St. Just, seven miles from Placentia, with only twelve attendants, to be free for God and quiet; but he forbade himself to be called otherwise than Charles, casting off with his mind the names of Caesar and Augustus along with things, and despising all this being honored. Indeed, they relate even more, that long before the empire was abdicated by him, he ordered a sarcophagus to be constructed for himself, to be carried with funeral furnishings, secretly however, wherever he went, which he had prepared with him for five years, wherever he was. But some who were around him thought that some treasure was detained and preserved there; others thought some books, which contain ancient histories; others something else of great importance: but Caesar, conscious to himself for what use he carried it with him, keeping silent, said that it was carried with him for the use of something most dear to him of all; thus he constantly set death before his eyes, and wished always to have the funeral rope at hand, so that perpetual meditation on death might remove from his heart the vain pride of this world, and admonish him to do holy actions while he lived. Thus among others Lipsius relates it, book II of Monitions, chapter xiv. The same did Maximilian I, Emperor, grandfather of Charles, who moreover provided in his will that his lifeless body, wrapped in rough linen, without any disembowelment, be placed in a sarcophagus, which he had caused to be prepared four years before his death, with his nostrils, mouth and ears filled with quicklime. Why this? He wished to have that monument constantly before his eyes, which would say to him: Maximilian, think of dying; why do you delay and extend yourself? He whom so many kingdoms do not contain, this small coffin will contain. But why do you wish to be preserved not with aromatics, but with quicklime? That I may quickly return to the earth from which I was taken. "Remember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Thus Lipsius relates it in the same place.
AND LET MY LAST THINGS BE LIKE TO THESE. — From this example of Balaam, St. Gregory teaches most beautifully, lib. XXXIII of the Morals, cap. xxvii, that "the weight of virtue does not belong to prayer, which the perseverance of continuous love does not hold. For Balaam, when the time of compunction departed, offered counsel against the life of those to whom he had even asked to become similar in dying, and when he found an opportunity from avarice, he immediately forgot whatever he had wished for himself concerning innocence."
Note here the wonderful efficacy of divine grace and inspiration, which, so long as it was present, changed Balaam's mind and made him superior to earth and heaven. For, as St. Cyprian says, in his epistle to Donatus, lib. II, epist. 2: "Just as the sun radiates willingly, the day illuminates, the fountain waters, the rain sprinkles: so the heavenly spirit pours itself in, after the soul, beholding its author and looking toward heaven, has known him; higher than the sun, and more sublime than all this power, it begins to be what it believes itself to be." Whence he infers: "Let there be for you either constant prayer, or reading; now speak with God, now God with you; let him instruct you with his precepts, let him dispose: whom he has made rich and satisfied, no one can make poor or hungry;" and above: "He who is greater than the world can now desire nothing, can desire nothing from the world." See therefore here how suddenly the Holy Spirit converts the heart and tongue of an impious man. Truly St. Gregory says: "I consider," he says, "the fathers of the New and Old Testament, David, Daniel, Amos, Peter, Paul and Matthew, and with eyes opened by faith I behold: for the Holy Spirit fills the boy who plays the harp, and makes him a psalmist: he fills the abstinent boy, and makes him a judge of the old: he fills the shepherd of flocks, and makes him a Prophet: he fills the fisherman, and makes him the prince of the Apostles: he fills the persecutor, and makes him a Doctor of the Gentiles: he fills the publican, and makes him an Evangelist; how insane therefore are we, who do not seek this Spirit!"
Symbolically, the death of the just is the mortification of passions, which they acquire through contemplation and heavenly life. This St. Bernard desired, serm. 52 in the Canticles, saying: "The soul exceeding, if not in life, certainly in the sense of life, it is necessary also that the temptation of life be not felt. Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly, and rest? Would that I might frequently fall by this death, and escape the snares of death, so that I might not feel the deadly blandishments of luxuriant life, so that I might not be stupefied at the sense of lust, at the heat of avarice, at the stings of anger and impatience, at the anguish of anxieties, and the troubles of cares! Let my soul die the death of the just, so that no fraud may ensnare it, no iniquity delight it. A good death, which does not take away life, but transfers it to something better." "There is a threefold death," says Cardinal Hugh: "of nature, of fault and of grace; in the first the flesh dies; in the second, the soul; in the third, the whole man. The first separates the soul from the flesh; the second divides grace from the mind; the third separates the whole man from worldly cares. The first is of all; the second is of the wicked; the third is of the good. Those dead by the first death are buried in the world; the second in hell with the rich man feasting; the third in heaven with Lazarus. Of the first it is said, Eccles. xli: O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee! Of the second: The death of sinners is very evil. Of the third: Let my soul die the death of the just."
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13. BALAC THEREFORE SAID: COME WITH ME INTO ANOTHER PLACE, THAT THOU MAYEST SEE PART OF ISRAEL, AND CANST NOT SEE ALL: AND FROM THENCE THOU SHALT CURSE HIM. — Balac superstitiously attributed the blessing of Balaam to the place and vision, as if he had blessed Israel because he had seen his whole people, or because that place was more fortunate than others, either from the influence of heaven and the stars, or from elsewhere. Similarly the Syrians, defeated by the Israelites, said: "The gods of the mountains are their gods, therefore they overcame us; but it is better that we fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them," lib. III Kings cap. xx, vers. 33.
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14. AND WHEN HE HAD BROUGHT HIM INTO A LOFTY PLACE. — In Hebrew into a field, that is a place, of watchers, that is a watchtower. AND BALAAM BUILT SEVEN ALTARS, — similar to those of which indeed it was said vers. 1.
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18 and 19. STAND, BALAC, AND HEARKEN, etc.: GOD IS NOT AS MAN, THAT HE SHOULD LIE; NOR AS THE SON OF MAN, THAT HE SHOULD BE CHANGED,—as if to say: Do not think, O Balac, that I shall retract the former blessing of Israel which I received from God: for God, who rules my mind and tongue, is not one who changes. In Hebrew, not one who repents, that is, who revokes and changes his words and promises. For He is by His essence immutable, "and remaining stable gives all things motion," as Boethius says. Whence it follows: DID HE SAY (God namely, so that I would not curse Israel), AND SHALL NOT DO IT?—as if to say: He will altogether do what He said, namely He will bring it about that I do not curse Israel. Note: Man is accustomed to deny a promise for four reasons: first, when he deceitfully promises something and lies; second, when he repents of the promise itself; third, when he is offended by him to whom he promised something; fourth, when it is not in his power to fulfill the promise. These are far removed from God. For first, He does not lie as man does; second, He does not repent as the son of man does; third, He regards not the merit or demerit of man, but His own goodness, and His promise and faithfulness; fourth, He has strength like a rhinoceros, therefore He can accomplish what He promises; and because He can, He truly does accomplish it.
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20. TO BLESS HAVE I BEEN BROUGHT, I CANNOT PROHIBIT THE BLESSING.—He rightly says, I came not, but have been brought; for he came with the intention to curse. But God was bringing him to bless. Our Interpreter reads, as also the Septuagint does, passively in Pual לֻקַּחְתִּי lukachti, that is, I have been received, brought; already in Qal they read lacachti, that is, I received. Whence Vatablus translates word for word, behold I have received a blessing, and He blessed, namely God, will not revoke it, namely the blessing, but the sense comes to the same thing. I CANNOT PROHIBIT THE BLESSING.—Not as if Balaam, being forced, spoke these things against his will, and God formed these words in his mouth unwillingly, as Abulensis wishes; but because his mind was so illuminated by God, and his will so incited to the praise and blessing of Israel, that he could scarcely and with difficulty curse it, indeed he could scarcely fail to bless. See the words of verse 7.
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21. THERE IS NO IDOL IN JACOB, etc., THE LORD HIS GOD IS WITH HIM, AND THE CLANGOR OF THE KING'S VICTORY IN HIM.—The Chaldean renders this beautifully and clearly: I behold that there are not those serving idols in the house of Jacob, nor those working falsehood (false gods, namely the images of false gods) in Israel. The word of the Lord his God is in their aid, and the majesty of his king is among them. Note: Idols and images here in Hebrew, as also often by the Prophets, are called עָוֶן and עָמָל aven and amal, that is, pain and labor, or iniquity and labor, because they are the cause of the greatest labors and pains to their worshippers. From this place it is clear that the Hebrews at this time, namely in the fortieth year from their departure from Egypt, did not worship idols, at least not publicly. For that they worshipped the golden calf and other idols before this in Egypt and in the desert is clear from Amos v, 25, and Acts vii, 42 and 43.
AND THE CLANGOR OF THE KING'S VICTORY IN HIM.—He alludes to the two silver trumpets, made by the command of the Lord, which when sounded God had commanded the Hebrews to go to war, and had promised that He would then be with them and give them victory, cap. x, verse 9, as if to say: Israel is impregnable and unconquerable, inasmuch as it carries victory with it; for it has God as leader, in the leader a king, in the king strength, in strength victory. God therefore is their king, who by the sounding of the trumpets gives them victory. See here how God scatters the counsels of wicked princes, and turns them back upon their own heads, and this through those very ones whom they had tried to draw to their impiety. For those who are unfaithful to God are also unfaithful to men. Wherefore prudently did Theodoric, king of the Goths, although an Arian, when he loved a certain orthodox Deacon, and he, to please the king more, had become an Arian, immediately ordered him to be beheaded, saying: "If you have not kept faith with God, how will you keep sincere conscience with man?" Thus Theodore the Lector relates in his Collections, lib. II. Thus by the nod of God Balaam, solicited by Balac to infidelity, became unfaithful and adverse to him, and against him prophesied victory for his enemies the Hebrews.
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22. GOD BROUGHT HIM OUT OF EGYPT, WHOSE STRENGTH IS LIKE THAT OF A RHINOCEROS. — The Chaldean, R. Solomon and Eugubinus translate it, whose strength is lofty and elevated. For they read רָם ram, that is, lofty, not reem; but Our author, with the Septuagint here and elsewhere, reads רְאֵם reem, that is, rhinoceros; or, as the Septuagint translates it, monoceros, that is, as Our author translates it elsewhere, unicorn. And although Tertullian, in his book Against the Jews, chapter x, St. Gregory, XXXI Morals xiii, Isidore, XII Etymologies II, and Bede in xxxix Job, teach that both these animals are the same, and say it is an animal having one horn in the middle of its forehead, four-footed, so sharp and strong that whatever it strikes with it, it either tosses or pierces through, nevertheless it is more true that the rhinoceros, or naricorn, is distinguished from the monoceros or unicorn. For Pliny distinguishes them, and from him the natural philosophers everywhere; for the rhinoceros, as Pliny teaches, in book VIII, chapter xx, is of a boxwood color, and has a horn protruding from its nostrils, not straight, but curved and hooked, and from this it is called rhinoceros from ῥίν, that is, nose, and κέρας, that is, horn, and by this it is most strong, and fights with the elephant, to which it is nearly equal in length, but with much shorter legs; it prepares itself for battle by filing its horn on rocks, and especially aims at the belly, which it understands to be softer, and having pierced it, it quickly overcomes the elephant. Thus Emmanuel, king of Portugal, in the year 1515, gave at Lisbon a remarkable spectacle of an elephant fighting with a rhinoceros, in which the elephant was overcome. Hence the rhinoceros is a symbol of strength, and consequently of God, who is most strong. Again, the rhinoceros is a symbol of slow anger, but terrible. For it itself requires great provocation, but when it begins to be angry, it is most fierce: so also God compensates the slowness of punishment with its severity; hence the proverb: The gods have woolen feet, but iron hands. Wherefore Domitian the Emperor, the first to bring a rhinoceros into the arena against a bull and a bear, at the dedication of the amphitheater, ordered a coin to be struck with the image of a rhinoceros, to signify that he, like a rhinoceros, was first magnanimous and endowed with royal strength; secondly, that he was slow to anger, but when provoked, implacable. This he explained with a double epigram of Martial, who was in Domitian's favor. In the first he explains the incomparable strength of the rhinoceros, in the duel tossing the bull like a ball, and says: You have displayed in the whole arena, Caesar, what the rhinoceros did not promise in battles. O how terribly it burst forth prone to anger! How great was the horn, for which the bull was a ball! In the other he teaches that it is slow to anger, but when it is angered, it is most furious, and strikes the enemy not with one but with two horns. For he says: While fearful trainers provoke the rhinoceros, and the great beast gathers its anger for a long time, the promised battles of Mars were despaired of: but yet that fury, known before, returned. For with its twin horn it so lifted up the heavy bear, that it tosses the bull with its imposed balls into the stars.
Now the Monoceros, says Pliny, lib. VIII, cap. xxi, is a very fierce beast, in the rest of its body similar to a horse, in head to a deer, in feet to an elephant, in tail to a boar, with a deep bellow, one black horn standing out from the middle of the forehead, two cubits in length; they say this beast cannot be captured alive. Aelian has similar accounts, lib. XVI De Animal. cap. xx, and lib. XVII, cap. xliv, who makes the monoceros dark-maned and dark-haired, swift of foot, with a black horn, gentle toward other beasts, fierce with its herd. Pierius in his hieroglyphic of the rhinoceros calls this the halicorn, and thinks it to be the one whom the Septuagint here translates as monoceros, and our translator elsewhere as unicorn. For the Hebrew word reem signifies both monoceros and rhinoceros, just as many other animal names among the Hebrews are common to several creatures. The monoceros, therefore, says St. Gregory and Isidore above, is of such strength that it cannot be captured by any hunting art; but, as natural philosophers assert, a virgin maiden is set before it, who opens her bosom to the approaching beast: it, laying aside all ferocity, lowers its head, and thus lulled to sleep, as if disarmed, is captured. Rupertus and Pierius above relate the same, and Albert the Great, lib. XXII De Animal., which history, if true, the monoceros will aptly be Christ; whence Rupertus: "The strongest, he says, of spirits, God, as a unicorn, that is of singular power, God incomprehensible, and of unconquered virtue, enclosed by the odor of the virgin's womb, and was shut up in it, and could be comprehended and slain only from it." Hence also Tertullian, Contra Judaeos, lib. X, and Justin, Contra Tryphonem, pag. 71, that passage from Deut. xxxiii, 17: "The horns of the monoceros (for thus the Septuagint has it for rhinoceros), his horns," they understand to be said of the horns of the cross of Christ, namely allegorically; for the horns of Christ, that is the strength and power, by which he winnowed the demon, and pierced sin and death, was the cross. But Marcus Paulus Venetus, lib. III, cap. xv, Gesner in his monoceros, and other learned men, call this narrative about the taming of the monoceros by a virgin a fable, and Gesner asserts it arose from the fact that the monoceros, being very fierce, becomes so mild only when it mingles with its female. Andreas Bacci the physician, tract. De Halicorno, pag. 67, where from Aelian he teaches that the halicorn is so fierce that it even hates its own female, and thus separating from her wanders solitary through deserts, until, growing warm with love, when the time for breeding comes, laying aside its ferocity, it approaches her gently, and feeds and mingles with her. But soon, when it feels her to be pregnant, and its womb to swell, it returns to its former ferocity, aversion and solitude. Finally Theodoret, Quaest. XLIV, thinks that the Hebrew people themselves are here called monoceros, because they worshipped one God, and therefore were strengthened by him, and became strong as a monoceros. But better do Procopius, Rabanus, Rupertus and others judge that God is here called rhinoceros or monoceros, according to the sense which I gave a little before. For elsewhere too Scripture measures the strength of God from the strength of the rhinoceros, as appears Job. xxxix, 12. But God has communicated and communicates this his strength, and consequently also the name of rhinoceros, to the Hebrews and his other clients.
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23. THERE IS NO AUGURY IN JACOB, NOR DIVINATION IN ISRAEL. — Under these he understands all incantation and witchcraft, as a genus under its most common species. Balaam therefore praises Israel here, that as it does not worship idols, so neither does it have auguries; but because it worships the true God, therefore it receives true prophecies and answers from him, both through Moses, and through the Priest Eleazar, clothed with the Urim and Thummim, and through other Prophets, and that God protects Israel, and fights for it; whence he adds: "In their times (namely in the following ages), it shall be said to Jacob and to Israel (that is to the descendants of the Israelites), what (and how great things) God has wrought for him."
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24. BEHOLD THE PEOPLE SHALL RISE UP AS A LIONESS, AND SHALL BE LIFTED UP AS A LION. — He compares Israel to a lion and a lioness, which when she suckles her cubs and is hungry, is more fierce and savage than the lion. See the sayings in Genesis xxix, 9. HE SHALL NOT LIE DOWN TILL HE DEVOUR THE PREY, AND DRINK THE BLOOD OF THE SLAIN. — He persists in the metaphor of the lion, as if to say: Israel shall not rest until he crush the enemies the Canaanites, and divide the prey from them, and take and divide their land promised to him; indeed, until like a lion he drink the blood of the slain: not as if this were to happen literally, or as if Israel afterwards actually did such a thing, but because he was about to achieve a perfect and most joyful victory over the Canaanites and other enemies, in which he would shed their blood so easily, so joyfully and without slaughter of his own, as if he were drinking and draining a cup; or rather, because in that victory he would shed so much of the enemies' blood that it, flowing like a torrent, could provide drink for the victors, and thus abundantly satisfy their desire and, as it were, their thirst. For these and similar phrases signify only this much through catachresis and metalepsis, as in Psalm lvii, 10: "He shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner;" Isaiah cap. lxiii, 3: "I have trodden them in my fury, and their blood is sprinkled upon my garments;" Psalm lxvii, 24: "That thy foot may be dipped in the blood;" Psalm cix, last: "He shall drink of the torrent in the way." For all these things signify nothing other than a remarkable, full and perfect victory over enemies.
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27. AND BALAC SAID TO HIM: COME, AND I WILL BRING THEE TO ANOTHER PLACE, IF PERHAPS IT MAY PLEASE GOD THAT FROM THENCE THOU MAYEST CURSE THEM. — This is the second change of place, by which the superstitious Balac hoped that Balaam would curse the Hebrews: whence three times from three different places, Balaam in turn blessed the Hebrews, namely first, from Mount Abarim and the temple of Baal, cap. xxii, 41; secondly, from the top of Phasga, cap. xxiii, 14; thirdly, here from Mount Phegor, as is evident from the following verses. Moreover Phogor or Phegor was an idol, from which was named Beelphegor, just as this mountain, concerning which cap. xxv, 3.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
23:1
… In the Bible itself mention is made of various sacrifices outside the chosen people (the Midianite Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, Ex. 18:20; Balaam, Num. 23:1, 13; Job, Job 1:7; 42:8) not to speak of the sacrifices in use among the Canaanite peoples (Lev. 18:21; 20:25). Accordingly Moses regulated and consecrated to the worship of the true God …
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M. was the first to discover and to evaluate the law of Hebrew parallelism, which he called "epesegesi" (I, pp. 44 f., 67, 168, 224 ff.; notes to Gen. 4, 23 f.; 11, 4; 49, 10 f.; II, pp. 102 f., 268; notes to Num. 23, 7; Is. 63, 1) already in the unpublished opuscule De poesi Hebraeorum of 1740; whereas the book of R. Lowth, to whom this discovery was attributed, is only of 1753. He advocated the …
Thus each prophecy of Balaam is a m. (Num. 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15), in a style rich with varied and picturesque images. …
23:10
The name J. (in the manuscripts of 'Ajn Feshah discovered in 1947, in which the "plena" spelling Ja'āqābh is constant) indicates, especially in the prophetic and poetic literature, the entire people (Gen. 49, 7), in parallelism with "Israel" (cf. Num. 23, 10, 21; 24, 5; Is. 2, 5; 40, 27; Jer. 2, 4, etc.). …
… It is often used almost as a synonym of life (to take away the néphēš "to kill"); to save the néphēš "to liberate"), indeed the use of néphēš instead of the personal or reflexive pronoun is very common (my néphēš dies "I die", Num. 23, 10; Jonathan loves David as his néphēš, "as himself"). …
23:23
Against the idolatrous institutions and practices of divination and magic, Jahweh, from the very beginnings of the chosen nation, established the prophets as the only spokesmen and interpreters of his thought and his will (Deut. 18:9-22; Num. 23:23; cf. Am. 2:10 ff.; Ex. 7:25; Zach. 7:12; Neh. 9:30), giving them as an unmistakable sign of recognition, besides moral worth, fidelity to Jahweh and to his precepts, the charism …
23:28
Beelphegor (Hebrew Ba'al-Pe'or)
… It is therefore a matter of the divinity worshiped near Phegor (or Pe'ôr), an unidentified mountain of Moab (v.) facing the northern tip of the Dead Sea, opposite the mouth of the Jordan (Num. 23:28). It is then the locality itself, the seat of the cult of the divinity. …
… Pē'ōr). - A mountain in Moab (Num. 23:28) north of Phasga (v.), which seems to be identifiable with the present-day range of el-Mušakkar located north of that of Nebo (v.). …
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.