Samaria shall be destroyed. An exhortation to repentance: God’s favour through Christ to the penitent.
The prophet forewarning the people of their future afflictions, 2. exhorteth them to repentance, and confession of their sinnes: 5. foreshewing that God wil geue much grace to the penitent. 10. Al which mysteries only the godlie wise shal vnderstand.
1Let Samaria perish, because she hath stirred up her God to bitterness: let them perish by the sword, let their little ones be dashed, and let the women with child be ripped up.Perisca Samaria, perchè ha esacerbato il suo Dio; periscano di spada coloro, e i loro bambini siano infranti, e sventrate le donne gravide.LET Samaria perish, because she hath stirred vp her God to bitternes: let them perish by the sword, let their litle ones be dashed, and let the wemen with child be cut in sunder.Pereat Samaria, quoniam ad amaritudinem concitavit Deum suum ! / in gladio pereant, / parvuli eorum elidantur, / et fœtæ ejus discindantur ! 2Return, O Israel, to the Lord thy God: for thou hast fallen down by thy iniquity.Convertiti, o Israele, al Signore Dio tuo; perocché per le tue scelleraggini ti sei precipitato.Conuert ô Israel to our Lord thy God: because thou art fallen in thine iniquitie.Convertere, Israël, ad Dominum Deum tuum, / quoniam corruisti in iniquitate tua. 3Take with you words, and return to the Lord, and say to him: Take away all iniquity, and receive the good: and we will render the calves of our lips.Prendete con voi parole, e volgete vi al Signore, e ditegli: Togli tutte le iniquità, accetta questo bene, e noi ti offeriremo le ostie delle nostre labbra.Take wordes with you, and conuert to our Lord, and say to him: Take away al iniquitie, and receiue good: and we wil render the calues of our lippes.Tollite vobiscum verba, / et convertimini ad Dominum; et dicite ei: / Omnem aufer iniquitatem, accipe bonum, / et reddemus vitulos labiorum nostrorum. 4Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more: The works of our hands are our gods: for thou wilt have mercy on the fatherless that is in thee.Non sarà nostro salvatore l'Assiro, non saliremo sopra i cavalli, non diremo mai più che nostri dii siano le opere di nostre mani, perchè tu avrai pietà del pupillo rimesso nelle tue mani.Assur shal not saue vs, we wil not mount vpon horse: neither wil we say any more: Our goddes the worke of our handes: because thou wilt haue mercie on that pupil, which is in thee.Assur non salvabit nos: / super equum non ascendemus, / nec dicemus ultra, Dii nostri opera manuum nostrarum: / quia ejus, qui in te est, misereberis pupilli. 5I will heal their breaches, I will love them freely: for my wrath is turned away from them.Io sanerò le loro piaghe, gli amerò gratuitamente, perchè si è placato con essi il mio sdegno.I wil heale their confractions, I wil loue them voluntarily: because my furie is auerted from them.Sanabo contritiones eorum; / diligam eos spontanee: / quia aversus est furor meus ab eis.
6I will be as the dew, Israel shall spring as the lily, and his root shall shoot forth as that of Libanus.Io sarò come rugiada per Israele, ed egli spunterà come giglio, e getterà sue radici come una pianta del Libano.I wil be as dew, Israel shal spring as the lillie, and his roote shal breake forth as that of Libanus.Ero quasi ros; / Israël germinabit sicut lilium, / et erumpet radix ejus ut Libani. 7His branches shall spread, and his glory shall be as the olive tree: and his smell as that of Libanus.Si diffonderanno i suoi rami; ei sarà bello come un ulivo, e odoroso come l'incenso.His boughes shal goe, and his glorie shal be as the oliuetree: and his smel as of Libanus.Ibunt rami ejus, / et erit quasi oliva gloria ejus, / et odor ejus ut Libani. 8They shall be converted that sit under his shadow: they shall live upon wheat, and they shall blossom as a vine: his memorial shall be as the wine of Libanus.Si convertiranno, e sederanno all'ombra di lui: viveranno di frumento; si propagheranno qual vite: il loro nome sarà come il vino nel Libano.They shal be conuerted that sitte vnder his shadow: they shal liue with wheate, and they shal spring as a vine: his memorial as the wine of Libanus.Convertentur sedentes in umbra ejus; / vivent tritico, et germinabunt quasi vinea; / memoriale ejus sicut vinum Libani. 9Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I will hear him, and I will make him flourish like a green fir tree: from me is thy fruit found.Ephraim (dirà): che ho io ornai da fare cogl'idoli? io l'esaudirò, io lo farò andare in alto come un verde abete: da me verranno i tuoi frutti.Ephraim what haue I to doe any more with idols? I wil heare, and I wil direct him as a verdant firretree: out of me thy fruit is found.Ephraim, quid mihi ultra idola ? / Ego exaudiam, et dirigam eum ego ut abietem virentem; / ex me fructus tuus inventus est. 10Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know these things? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall in them.Chi è il saggio, che tali cose comprenda? chi ha intelletto per penetrarle? perocché le vie del Signore sono diritte, e i giusti le battono, ma i prevaricatori vi ricaderanno.Who is wise, and shal vnderstand these thinges? of vnderstanding, and shal know these thinges? because the wayes of our Lord be right, and the iust shal walke in them: but preuaricatours shal fal in them.Quis sapiens, et intelliget ista ? intelligens, et sciet hæc ? / quia rectæ viæ Domini, / et justi ambulabunt in eis; / prævaricatores vero corruent in eis.
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St. Jerome
Perish, because she hath stirred up her God to bitterness. It is not a curse or imprecation, but a prophecy of what should come to pass (Challoner) to Israel, in Assyria. Many such expressions occur, Psalm 68:25., etc. (St. Jerome)
Worthington
Sometimes they are the effects of zeal, conformable to divine justice, Psalm 140:6. (Worthington)
Calmet
Hebrew, "Samaria has sinned, or shall perish." (Calmet)
Haydock
Bitterness. Septuagint, "she hath resisted her God." (Haydock)
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Calmet
Words. In captivity, legal victims cannot be offered. (Calmet)
But a contrite heart is always acceptable, Psalm L.
Good. While engaged in sin, (Haydock) "we can offer thee nothing good."
St. Jerome
Calves: victims of praise. (St. Jerome)
Calmet
Hebrew parim. Septuagint omit m, (Haydock) and render fruit. They are followed by the Arabic and Syriac as well as by the apostle, Hebrews 13:15. (Calmet)
We will offer what victims we please. (Estius) (Psalms 69:23., and 65:13.)
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Calmet
Gods. The Assyrians, instead of protecting, oppress us; while Egypt, famous for horses, sits unconcerned. (Calmet)
But the source of all our evils are the idols, which we will follow no more.
Haydock
In thee: adheres to the true faith in practice. (Haydock)
Calmet
Israel was like an orphan during the captivity, Lamentations 1:1. (Calmet)
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Worthington
Breaches, when Israel shall be converted, as some were to Christ, and many will be at the end of the world. (Worthington)
Hebrew, "their return." Septuagint, "dwellings." They shall be purified.
Calmet
Freely. I have been forced to chastise, My heart dilates. (Calmet)
Haydock
Septuagint, "I will love them manifestly." Syriac, "accept their free offerings." (Haydock)
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Dew. Israel has been like a plant dried up, Osee 13:15.
Libanus. The cedars were tall and bulky, being well rooted.
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Glory. Septuagint, "he shall be as fruitful as the olive-tree."
Calmet
Libanus, or incense. (Calmet)
Haydock
The term has both meanings. (Haydock)
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His. This may refer to the tree, or to God. The captives shall return, and be happy. But in a more sublime sense it refers to the nations which shall embrace the gospel.
Calmet
Libanus, or fragrant. Such wine was esteemed in which certain odoriferous herbs were infused, Canticle of Canticles 7:2. (Calmet)
Libanus was also famous for generous wines. (Siconita 11.)
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Idols? or God will no more reproach them, as their conversion is sincere.
Calmet
Make. Hebrew, "be to him like," etc. (Calmet)
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Theodoret
Wise. This denotes the obscurity of the prophecy. (Theodoret)
Worthington
No human wit can explain the prophets: yet the just shall understand as much as shall be necessary. (St. Jerome; St. Augustine, City of God 18:28.) (Worthington)
Calmet
Only few will make good use of these admonitions, and share in the promises. (Calmet)
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Perish, because she hath stirred up her God to bitterness.... It is not a curse or imprecation, but a prophecy of what should come to pass.
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THE PROPHECY OF JOEL
JOEL, whose name, according to ST. JEROME, signifies THE LORD GOD: or, as others say, THE COMING DOWN OF GOD: prophesied about the same time in the kingdom of Judea, as OSEE did in the kingdom of Israel. He foretells under figure the great evils that were coming upon the people for their sins: earnestly exhorts them to repentance: and comforts them with the promise of a TEACHER OF JUSTICE, viz., CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD, and of the coming down of his holy SPIRIT.
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Such imprecations in holie scriptures are sometimes only predictions. as Psal. 68. v. 23. & so here is prophecied what shal happen to the Israelites in Assyria. S. Ierom. sometimes are the zelous desires of Sainctes conformable to Gods iustice. as Psal. 149. v. 6. 7. 8. 9.
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Concordance Ioel. 2. Zach. 1.
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VVhen the Israelites shal conuert to God, as some did vvhen Christ came, and manie wil nere the end of the vvorld, then Christ wil heale thē.
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No humane vvitte is able to vnderstand this (and other prophetes) yet the iust shal know so much as is necessarie. S. Ierom. in prooem. S. Aug. li. 18. c. 28. ciuit.
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Prayer 27
The more diligent in prayer are wont to subjoin in their prayers the “Hallelujah,” and such kind of psalms, in the closes of which the company respond. And, of course, every institution is excellent which, for the extolling and honouring of God, aims unitedly to bring Him enriched prayer as a choice victim.
Pseudo-Cyprian Exhortation to Repentance 1
Also in Hosea: “Be thou converted, O Israel, to the Lord thy God, because thou art weakened by thine iniquities. Take many with you, and be converted to the Lord your God; worship Him, and say, Thou art mighty to put away our sins; that ye may not receive iniquity, but that ye may receive good things.”
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 1.4
33. This is our Faith. Thus did God will that He should be known by all, thus believed the three children, and felt not the fire into the midst whereof they were cast, which destroyed and burnt up unbelievers, whilst it fell harmless as dew upon the faithful,
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 On Daniel 3
23. “Because Thou hast given me wisdom and might.” We ought therefore to mark the goodness of God, how He straightway reveals and shows (Himself) to the worthy, and to those that fear Him, fulfilling their prayers and supplications, as the prophet says: “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? and prudent, and he shall know them?”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 3.45
… And one of the prophets—Hosea—says at the end of his prophecies: “Who is wise, and he will understand these things? or prudent, and he shall know them?”
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 4.50
… But why establish at greater length what needs no demonstration? For to these things applies the saying: “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? or who is prudent, and he shall know them?”
St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 14
… And the firstborn were preserved by God from being touched by the destroyer, to show that we who were made alive in Christ no longer die in Adam. The sea and the cloud for the time being led on through amazement to faith, but for the time to come they typically prefigured the grace to be. “Who is wise and he shall understand these things?”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 3.13
… “I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not his: neither is it in a man to walk and to direct his steps.” And the Lord Himself says to Israel: “I will direct him like a green fir-tree: from Me is thy fruit found.”
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St Melito of Sardis † AD 180 Melito, the Philosopher 9
Again: The ways of the Lord —His precepts. In Hosea: “For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the just shall walk in them.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.36
Akin to this sacrifice are the others of which the sacrifices of the law are symbols, and another kind of sacrifice also appears to me to be of the same nature; namely, the shedding of the blood of the noble martyrs, whom the disciple John saw, for this is not without significance, standing beside the heavenly altar. “Who is wise,
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Repentance 1.9
… it does not imply no one, but some special one is meant, after having said “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?” the Psalmist adds: “He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lift up his mind unto vanity.” And elsewhere it is said: “Who is wise and he shall understand these things?”
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1. LET SAMARIA PERISH. — The word pereat can be properly taken as an optative, as if the Prophet, conforming himself to the will of God the avenger, out of zeal for justice and righteous vengeance for repairing the honour of God violated by Samaria, wishes that it itself perish. Yet you may better take the optative for the future, namely pereat for peribit, so that it may be prophetic. Thus the Hebrew and the Septuagint. So also elsewhere wishes for extreme evils in holy men are taken for prophecies and predictions of the same, as in Psalm LXVIII, 29: "Let them be blotted out," that is, they shall be blotted out, "from the book of the living, and with the just let them not be written," that is, they shall not be written. The sense therefore is, as if to say: First Samaria sinned by introducing golden calves, first therefore and last let it be punished: first in its tributaries, whom it will see slaughtered and laid waste by the Assyrians; last in itself, when by the same it and its people will be slaughtered and laid waste, and thus it will perish. For pereat in Hebrew it is תשאם tescam, which signifies both to be desolate or to perish, and to sin, because often sin is the cause of desolation and perdition. Whence the Chaldean renders it: Samaria is guilty of sin; Leo the Hebrew and Pagninus, shall offend, or shall sin, that is, has sinned, Samaria. The Symmachus joined both senses when he rendered it, shall do penance, that is, shall pay the penalty of sin, "Samaria," and therefore properly it shall do penance for its sin, but too late. BECAUSE IT HAS PROVOKED ITS GOD TO BITTERNESS (Leo the Hebrew, has exacerbated) — The Septuagint: Because it resisted against God. Wonderful therefore is the acerbity of sin, inasmuch as it embittered and exacerbated God, who is most benign and most sweet. THEIR LITTLE ONES SHALL BE DASHED IN PIECES, — that is, shall be dashed, as the Hebrew has it, namely against rocks and walls, and thus they shall be killed. AND HIS WOMEN WITH CHILD (that is, pregnant mothers and those with child: thus the Hebrew, Septuagint and Chaldean) SHALL BE RIPPED UP, — that is, shall be ripped up together with the child which they carry in the womb. Both denote the extreme anger, fury and barbarous cruelty of the Assyrian enemies, and consequently the most grievous crime of Samaria, which brought down upon itself this anger of God. Wherefore Eliseus, predicting to Hazael that he would be king of Syria, and that he would dash in pieces the little ones of Israel and rip up the women with child, was troubled even to the suffusion of his face and wept, IV Kings, chapter VIII, 11. That this actually happened to Samaria is certain from this oracle, even if it is not narrated in the books of Kings.
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2. TURN BACK, ISRAEL, TO THE LORD. — Note here the alternating affections of God and the Prophet. For from threats they suddenly pass to blandishments, so as to show the piety and clemency of God, which threatens not in order to destroy, but to correct, save and bring Israel back to himself. Morally, note here that true and complete conversion is that by which the mind, turned away from lust, wine and other desires which it formerly loved, is wholly converted to God, and is wholly joined and cleaves to him. Conversion, says Albert and from him Sanchez here, is a change of position, so that things which are on the left become right; and conversely, things which were on the right become left; things which were in front become behind; things which were above become below. Unless one reaches this place and degree, one will not truly arrive at the Lord, even if one congratulates oneself on the name of penance. The avaricious man had earthly and perishable riches on the right, in front and above; he had spiritual and heavenly riches on the left, behind and below; it is necessary that he convert this position and order, if he wishes to please God, namely so that he places heavenly riches on the right, in front and in the superior place; but earthly riches on the left, behind and in the inferior place. Whence St. Gregory, in book I of Kings, chapter VII, book III: "He is perfectly converted," he says, "who grieves for what he once wickedly did; and what he grieves for, he does not repeat again." And St. Augustine, sermon 3 on the First Sunday of Lent, teaches that he is not converted who opens again and reopens the scars of former wounds. The same, book VIII of Genesis according to the letter, chapter XII: "The whole good action of man," he says, "is to turn to him from whom he was made, and from him to become always just, pious, wise and blessed, not to become and depart, as from a physician of the body to be healed and go away." For when someone is healed, he departs from the physician and remains healthy: but when someone is healed from sin and turns to God, he ought always to cleave to him, and to say: "For me it is good to cleave to God," AND WE WILL RENDER THE CALVES OF OUR LIPS. — Here he explains what he said: "Accept good"; for this good, or the effects and fruits of this good are calves, that is, sacrifices, "of our lips," namely praises of God and thanksgivings, which we will offer to you with our lips in place of calves for the pardon and good things received from you. Thus St. Jerome, the Chaldean, Vatablus, Arias and others, or, as others say, we will render to you the calves which we have vowed to you with our lips and promised to offer. The Jews take this ridiculously, as if to say: Since on account of the destroyed temple we cannot offer to God true and real calves, we offer him calves of the lips, namely the reading of Leviticus concerning sacrifices in the Synagogues, and thus we satisfy God and the law, as Hosea foretold. The Septuagint translates it "fruit of the lips." For the Hebrew פרים, if you point it פָּרִים parim, signifies calves; if פְּרִיִם periim, signifies fruits. To this the Apostle alluded, Hebrews chapter XIII, 15, when he says: "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing his name"; for the word "that is" signifies that he alludes to another, namely to this place. The Prophet here prescribes to Israel, and to any penitent, a formula of confession, penance and supplication, namely that they say to God, first: "Take away all iniquity"; second: "Accept good"; third: "We will render the calves of our lips"; fourth: "Assyria," etc. Let us use this in our sins and calamities both private and public. Whence St. Ambrose, epistle 28 to Theodosius, understands by the calves of the lips the confession of sins: "There were then," he says, "(in the time of David) sacrifices for transgressions; these now are sacrifices of penance," by which as it were with a knife we slay former iniquities and desires, and the old man with sorrow and shame, so that the new man may begin to live to God, to the law and to virtue. and God guarding, while he rules over the obedient and subject, etc.; but in his absence, immediately it is darkened." St. Bernard, sermon 1 on St. Paul, sets him forth as an example of perfect conversion: "This indeed, brethren," he says, "is the form of perfect conversion. My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready. Lord, what wilt thou have me do? O brief word, but full, but living, but efficacious, but worthy of all acceptance! How few are found in this form of perfect obedience, who have so cast away their own will that they do not even have their own heart, but seek what the Lord wills every hour, saying without ceasing: Lord, what wilt thou have me do? etc. For thus it is fitting, thus it is altogether worthy, that not my will from you, but your will from me be sought and done." THOU ART CORRUPTED IN THY INIQUITY, — as if to say: By, and on account of thy iniquity thou art corrupted into so many miseries.
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3. Take with you words (namely, soft and tearful, and equally pious and holy, as if most pleasing gifts and offerings, which might soothe the heart of an angry and exasperated God, soften it and bend it to mercy, such as words of humility, penance, confession, supplication and praise of God, to wit) SAY UNTO HIM: TAKE AWAY ALL INIQUITY, — we repent that we have sinned, forgive therefore, and in forgiving take away, we beseech thee, our iniquity. RECEIVE GOOD, — both our soul and our word, as if to say Receive our contrite heart, receive the good of our penance and supplication. Secondly, "receive good," that is, effect that with our malice and iniquity taken away, through thee and the good of thy grace together with life and salvation we may be gifted, so that henceforth our good things both works and sacrifices, and we ourselves as if wholly devoted to thee and thine, thou mayest receive in thanksgiving. Whence the Chaldean renders: Receive us now good, and devoted to thee, together with the good works which we silently ask from thee, that we may render them to thee, and thou mayest receive them from us as a sacrifice or eucharistic oblation. "Receive" therefore, that is "give good," which in turn thou mayest receive from us. It is a metalepsis: for to flatter, artificially begging mendicants say: Receive, not Give, as if to say Give not so much to us, as to thyself; because we shall render it to thee, and thou shalt again receive it from us as an oblation and thanksgiving. By a similar figure it is said in Psalm LXVII, 19: "Thou hast ascended on high, etc., thou hast received gifts in men; thou hast received, that is thou hast given, sending the Holy Ghost and his gifts upon the Apostles at Pentecost, about to receive them again from them through praise and eucharist, as the Apostle explains, Ephes. cap. IV, 8. See the things said there. It is therefore an antithesis, as if to say "Take away iniquity:" and in its place "receive good," that is confer grace, give justice. Again take away iniquities, the punishments and evils inflicted on us on account of it, or about to be inflicted, and in their place confer good, namely thy favor, beneficence, and all good things, both corporeal and spiri- BECAUSE HIS, WHO IS IN THEE, THOU WILT HAVE MERCY ON THE FATHERLESS, — as if to say Thou wilt have mercy, O Lord, on Israel, who as if without father and mother, and abandoned by all, as a fatherless child "is in thee," that is is thine, and left and entrusted to thy care, and therefore reposes all his hopes in thee alone: "For the poor man is forsaken to thee, thou shalt be a helper to the orphan." Thus in I Peter, cap. V, 2, it is said: "Feed the flock which is in you," that is which is entrusted to you, and committed as it were to your care as shepherds, "the flock of God." Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret, Cyril and others. Secondly, the fatherless child "is in thee," O Lord, through memory, compassion and care; for as the beloved object is in the lover through love; so the wretched, for example the fatherless child, is in God having mercy through mercy. For the Hebrew has: Because in thee is the mercy of the fatherless; the Septuagint, in thee thou wilt have mercy on the fatherless, as if to say In thee and in thy bowels, O Lord, the fatherless child has intimate and visceral compassion, mercy and pity; for this is what ירחם יתום (yerucham yatom) signifies. This therefore is a great consolation to the fatherless and wretched, that in God, and in God's memory, compassion and providence, as if in God's very bowels they are, and in them live securely and dwell, according to that Psalm XC, 1: "He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven." Thus far the formula of prayer of penitent Israel. To this the benign Lord comes and answers:
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5. I will heal their backslidings. — In Hebrew משובתם (mescubatam), that is their turning away, namely apostasy, by which they turned aside from me to idols. "I will heal," I say, when they shall repent, and say: "Take away all iniquity," etc., as preceded: which shall come to pass in a shadowy and typical manner, when they shall be sent forth from captivity through Cyrus, says Rufinus; but truly and fully it shall come to pass through Christ, as if to say Through Christ preaching I shall begin to heal, and at the end of the world through the same Christ judging and beatifying I shall perfectly heal the backslidings, that is the wounds, of the Israelites, which are wont to be made from backsliding or breaking, wounds, I say, of the soul, namely turning away from Christ and God. For I shall make it so that they see their afflictions to be punishments of their turning away from me, and from this repenting they may turn to me, and recognize Christ my savior and their Messiah. For the following things are more sublime than to befit Cyrus. Therefore the Prophet passes to Christ in his accustomed manner, and concludes his oracles with a joyful message concerning Christ and his redemption. Thus St. Jerome, Cyril, Theodoret, Haymo, Vatablus and others throughout. "I will love them freely," namely without their merits, gratuitously and from mere benevolence. In Hebrew it is נדבה (nedaba), that is with a liberal, royal, magnificent spirit. Whence Leo the Hebrew renders it, most liberally.
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6. I WILL BE AS THE DEW, ISRAEL, etc. — The Syrian: I will be as the dew of Israel, and it shall bud forth as a lily; both the Arabic versions: I will be as the dew of Israel, and it shall bud forth as a rose, that is to say, Just as dew gently moistens and makes fertile the herbs, so I, by my law, doctrine and grace, gently watering Israel, shall make it fertile in virtues and good works. Thus St. Jerome, Theodoret and Vatable. Hence the Egyptians, as Horus Apollo says, lib. I, hieroglyph. 35, wishing to indicate doctrine, painted the sky pouring forth dew, signifying that just as dew softens herbs, not rocks, so doctrine softens and imbues the teachable, not the stupid, hard and unteachable. Secondly, that is to say, Just as dew from heaven descends to earth secretly by night, so I, Christ, who am the Son of God, shall descend from heaven into the womb of the Virgin of Israel secretly, and shall assume flesh from her, that I may save Israel: just as dew descended upon the fleece of Gideon, signifying that Gideon would free the Israelites from the oppression of the Midianites, Judges cap. VI, 37. This is what Isaiah says cap. XLV, 8: "Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just; let the earth be opened, and bud forth a Saviour." Thus Rupert, Lyra and the ancient Rabbis in Galatinus, lib. III, cap. XVII, and lib. IX, cap. XI. For what reasons and analogies Christ is compared to dew and sprinkling, I have assigned various ones, Isaiah cap. XLV, 8. Thirdly, some understand by dew the Eucharist, into which Christ steals silently and secretly like dew, and brings forth the lilies of virginity, of which presently; especially because manna, which was an express type of the Eucharist, was like dew congealed and frozen. Indeed the Hebrews hand down that dew fell with the manna, which covered the manna, just as the species of bread in the Eucharist cover and veil the body of Christ, concerning which I have said more in Exodus cap. XVI, 13 and following. There is therefore here an analogical proportion of the first to the second, such as the third to the fourth. For just as dew relates to the earth into which it steals, making it fertile; so divinity, or the Word, relates both to the humanity of Christ, to which it steals through the grace of hypostatic union; and to ours, to which it steals through created grace and the Eucharist, making it fertile with all gifts and good works. IT SHALL BUD FORTH (Leo the Hebrew, shall blossom) AS A LILY, — that is to say, Israel, sprinkled with the dew of my grace, shall grow and blossom as a lily: first, in amplitude and propagation. For just as a lily grows wonderfully and propagates itself; so Israel, that is the faithful people, through Christ and the Apostles has been propagated throughout the whole world. Secondly, in the whiteness of chastity and purity of life. Thirdly, in odour and fragrance of good repute. Thus Cyril and Theophylact: The lily, he says, has fragrance of odour, it does not have magnitude, that is to say, So a learned and holy man, the more humble he is, the greater fragrance of virtue and wisdom he exhales. Fourthly, in the admirable splendour of virtues; for, as Theodoret says: "The splendour of the lily excites admiration." And Theophylact: "When," he says, For nothing is more fertile than the lily, says Pliny, one root often putting forth fifty bulbs, Hist. natur. lib. XXI, cap. V. Who also adds: The lily is next to the rose in nobility, nor is the excellence of any flower greater. truth, miracles purity of heart, sacraments the mystery of piety, suffering the willingness to suffer, death freedom from dying, resurrection strength, ascension the exhibition of promises." you see someone in the Church living well, and shining in the light of virtues before men, call him a lily." Fifthly, just as the lily raises its petals upward, even amid clouds and hail; so Israel, that is the holy one, has his heart raised to heaven toward God both in adversities and in prosperities. Thus the Hebrews in Galatinus, lib. III, cap. XVII. Israel therefore, that is the faithful and just one, is similar to Christ, who, as St. Jerome says on Cant. cap. II, 1: "I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys; as the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." For just as Christ in the field of this world, like a lily exposed to the heats and rains of labours, persecutions and sorrows, in the midst of thorns, that is the Jews, was exposed, says St. Ambrose, lib. III De Instit. virg. cap. XII; so also is the just one. Sixthly, the lily is a symbol of hope. Hence in the coins of the Roman Emperors on the other side is seen God, extending a lily with his right hand, with this inscription, public hope, or Augustan hope, or hope of the Roman people, as Pierius testifies, hieroglyph. 35. Whence also Virgil, signifying hope conceived concerning Marcellus, thus sings of him in the VI Aeneid: No boy of Trojan race shall lift his ancestors so high in hope. And soon after: Thou shalt be Marcellus: give lilies with full hands. For as the lily of the valleys is exposed to the rays of the corporeal sun, and from them expects and draws spirit, life, beauty, and all good; for by them it is nourished and vivified; so also a good man, especially if he be excellent, is continually irradiated by the rays of divine providence, and by them is nourished and grows: therefore from them he hopes for and seeks all good. Seventh, Gregory of Nyssa, homily 4 in the Canticles, and St. Ambrose, in the book On Virgins: "The lily," they say, "among thorns signifies chastity and virtue besieged by the thorns of spiritual wickedness; whence no one bears fruit unless he walks cautiously." The same Ambrose, book III On Virgins, explaining that passage: The lily among thorns: "Is it not," he says, "among the hardships of labors and the contritions of souls that a flower of good odor arises? because God is pleased with a contrite heart." See St. Bernard, sermon 48 in the Canticles, where among other things he says: "O shining lily, O tender and delicate flower! the unbelieving and subversive are with you; see how carefully you walk. The world is full of thorns, they are on the earth, they are in the air, they are in your flesh; to move among these and not be harmed is the work of divine power, not of your virtue." The same, sermon 70 in the Canticles: "How many," he says, "virtues, so many lilies. Hence Christ called himself a lily, because he is wholly conversant in lilies; and all things that are his are lilies; his conception, birth, conversation, words, miracles, sacraments, passion, death, resurrection, ascension; what of these is not bright and does not smell most sweetly? Moreover, his birth was made bright by the incorrupt virginity of his mother, his conversation by the innocence of his life, his words AND HIS ROOT SHALL SPREAD FORTH LIKE LIBANUS,—that is, Israel and the faithful shall make their roots so deep, like the cedars and other trees of Libanus, which, since they are lofty and vast, and are tossed about by the blasts of winds, cast their roots deep, namely, as much as they rise into the air with their top, so much do they plunge their root into the depths, so that they are shaken by no tempest, but stand firm for a long time with stable mass, as St. Jerome says, as if to say. In like manner Israel, safe and firm in God's protection, shall endure through many, indeed all ages, nor can it be moved from its place by any wind of enemies or adverse fortune. Thus St. Jerome, Vatablus, and the Chaldean, who thus translated it: They shall dwell in the strength of their land, like the tree of Libanus which spreads forth its shoots. Second, Libanus in Hebrew signifies frankincense. Whence Cyril thus explains concerning frankincense: "Israel shall be so safe and firm as is the plant of frankincense, which casts its roots deep; such is the mind of believers, who are not moved by the impulse of winds." Such was, and is, the constancy of martyrs. Third, Sanchez takes root metonymically for the shoot sprouting from the root, as Christ is called "the root of David," that is, a shoot sprung from David as from a root, Isaiah chapter XI, and Apocalypse chapter XXII. For a shoot properly is said to burst forth, not a root which hides itself under the earth. Now this shoot familiar to Libanus is the cedar, which is a lofty and firm tree, and therefore a symbol of immortality and eternity. Whence Persius: "And worthy of cedar speech;" indeed Pliny also, book XVI, chapter XL, calls the cedar and cypress "eternal trees," because they do not experience age and decay. The sense therefore will be, as if to say, Israel, almost dead, shall grow green again like a cedar shoot, so that after the manner of it it shall grow into great height and glory, and that eternal. But the first sense seems to be the genuine one: first, because the Hebrew and Septuagint have, it shall send forth, or cast forth its roots; but to send forth or cast forth roots is to spread them deep in the earth in all directions and to fix them. Second, because if you take roots properly, you will have here the proper cause of what follows: "Its branches shall go forth;" they shall go forth, that is, they shall spread themselves far and wide. For as much as a tree sends forth its roots downward in depth and breadth, so much does it spread its branches upward in height and breadth, according to that of Virgil, IV Aeneid, concerning the oak: Itself clings to the rocks, and as much as its top reaches to the ethereal breezes, so much does its root extend to the depths. Third, because thus St. Jerome himself interprets it in his Commentary; for he is the author of the Vulgate version. Whence this sense is not opposed by the word shall burst forth, because a root is said to burst forth not only into shoots, but also into its fibers; for when that which before appeared dry and dead emits forth the vital and vegetative force lying hidden in itself, and exerts itself into fibers, by which it may spread itself in the earth and fix itself, it is said to burst forth.
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7. HIS BRANCHES SHALL GO FORTH (that is, they shall advance themselves, grow, spread abroad). — By branches he understands offspring and children, especially spiritual ones; as if to say, Israel shall have a great offspring of sons, namely of the faithful whom he shall convert to God, as well as of virtues and good works. Whence the Chaldean translator renders it: The Israelites shall grow in sons and daughters. AND HIS GLORY SHALL BE AS THE OLIVE TREE, — as if to say, Israel shall be fruitful, beautiful and glorious like an olive tree surrounded on all sides with branches and fruits and as if crowned with them; for this is the glory of the olive. This is what is said in Psalm CXXVII: "Thy children as young olive plants round about thy table." Note that the Church and any saint is called an olive on account of the fruitfulness of good works, on account of outstanding charity, mercy, gentleness and the splendor of virtues, for oil is the symbol of these things. Thus of Elias and Henoch it is said in the Apocalypse, cap. XI, 4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." And Jerem. cap. XI, 16, of Israel it is said: "A fair olive tree, beautiful, fruitful, goodly, the Lord called thy name." See the things said there. Martin of Roa adds, lib. IV Singular. cap. VI, that the olive is a symbol of peace, surrender and obedience: for the branches of the olive are presented by the conquered to the victors, as the Jews did to Christ, when on the day of palms he entered Jerusalem as a king, victor and conqueror; and thus he explains that passage of Psalm CXXVII: "Thy children as young olive plants round about thy table," as if to say, Thy children shall submit themselves to thee, and shall be obedient, and shall not quarrel among themselves; but shall be concordant and peaceful like young olive plants. The Chaldean translator renders it: Their splendor as the splendor of the candlestick of holiness. For the candlestick of the temple had seven lamps burning with olive oil. AND HIS SMELL AS LIBANUS. — By Libanus, the mountain, or also by frankincense understand it: for lebona in Hebrew is called frankincense; hence the mountain abounding in frankincense, cedar, pine, and other resinous and fragrant trees was called Libanus. Whence the Chaldean translator renders it: Their smell as the smell of the incense of spices. And Cyril: "His smell," he says, "is as that of frankincense, of the best odor. For this reason the law of Moses consecrated him to God. The smell therefore is the fruit of the elect and called." And Theophylactus: "It is signified," he says, "that he who offers himself to God in mind and spirit praying, has a fragrance like Libanus of sweet odor."
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8. THEY THAT DWELL IN HIS SHADOW SHALL BE CONVERTED, — that is to say, The Israelites shall return from captivity, so that they may sit altogether secure, stable and fortunate in the shadow, that is, the protection, of Christ. Thus the Chaldean Paraphrase, St. Jerome, Rupertus, Lyra, and others in various places. For the pronoun "his" refers to Christ; for he himself is the leader of Israel, that is, of the faithful people: for this Prophet speaks continually of Christ from verse 5 to the end of the chapter. Otherwise according to Castro: "His," he says, that is, of Israel, as if to say, Those who sit in the shadow of Israel, that is, who join themselves to the Church and the faithful people, "shall be converted" from carnal life to Christ, and shall put on his pure and holy ways. Otherwise also Arias: "His," he says, that is, of Lebanon, as if to say, The faithful shall be converted so that they may sit always under the shadow of Lebanon, and may also be refreshed by its most sweet fragrance. THEY SHALL LIVE BY WHEAT, — that is to say, The Israelites, that is, the faithful in the time of Christ shall abound in spiritual grain, by which they may feed and refresh their souls abundantly and deliciously; grain, I say, both of the word of God, as the Chaldean Paraphrase, St. Jerome and Theodoret say; and of the Eucharist, as Emmanuel says. For this exhibits to us the bread of heaven, namely the vivifying body of Christ to be eaten under the appearance of wheaten bread; and his blood to be drunk under the appearance of wine, concerning which it is added here: "They shall flourish as a vine, the memorial of him as the wine of Lebanon." This is the "wheat of the elect," of which in Zechariah chapter IX, 17, and the bread of life, of which Christ speaks, John VI, 50: "This is the bread that cometh down from heaven: that if any man eat of it, he shall not die." And verse 59: "He that eateth this bread shall live for ever." Thus Haymo, Albert and Lyra. Hence also the Septuagint translates, they shall drink (or, as the Roman codices of Carafa read, they shall live), and they shall be made drunk (although the Complutensian edition reads στηριχθήσονται, that is, they shall be strengthened, or comforted) with wheat. For wheat is drunk in a drink made from it, namely in beer, by which those beyond the Alps delight themselves and become drunk as with wine. Wheat therefore is to them both food and drink, equally as the Eucharist is to the faithful. Whence St. Jerome, expounding the Septuagint: "They shall drink and be made drunk with wheat," this is, he says, "abundance of all things. But that drunkenness here signifies not the overthrow of the mind, but abundance of all things, that verse declares, saying: Thou hast visited the earth, and hast inebriated it, Psalm LXIV; and the banquet of Joseph, in which he is said to have made his brothers drunk, Genesis chapter XLIII: And the Lord speaking to the Apostles: Eat, my friends, and drink, and be ye inebriated, brethren, Canticles V. Or because our Lord himself is the wheat, and the vine, whoever believeth in him is said to be made drunk. Finally it follows: And it shall flourish as a vine, the memorial of him as the wine of Lebanon." Therefore one of the many effects of the Eucharist is, that from it the faithful become spiritually drunk, according to that Psalm XXII: "How goodly is thy cup that inebriates!" And Psalm XXXV: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house;" where St. Augustine says: "With this cup," he says, "the martyrs were inebriated, when going to their passion, they did not recognize their own. What is so drunk as not to recognize a weeping wife, not children, not parents? Do not marvel, they were drunk. Where were they drunk? See, they had received the cup from which they were to be inebriated." The same in Psalm CIV, at verse 15: And wine maketh glad the heart of man: "This drunkenness," he says, "shall be seen in your works, it shall be seen in holy love of justice, it shall be seen finally in the alienation of your mind, but from earthly things to heaven." Moreover, the Rabbis from this and similar passages acknowledge that the Messiah will work a certain wonderful change in wheat, namely the transubstantiation of bread into his body; and this is foretold in Psalm LXXII, 16: "There shall be a firmament in the earth on the tops of mountains, and his fruit shall be exalted above Libanus: for firmament is the same as bread confirming the heart of man. For in Hebrew it is פסת בר pissat bar, which Burgensis translates as a little cake of wheat; R. Emmanuel, vola, that is a handful full of wheat: properly pissat bar is a particle, a cake, or a handful of wheat. St. Jerome translates it: There shall be a memorial of wheat; the Chaldean: There shall be substantial bread; Jonathan more clearly: There shall be a cake of wheat on the top of the priests. Finally, the ancient Rabbis explain these words of the Psalm concerning the sacrifice of most delicate bread, to be offered and eaten in the time of the Messiah. Leo Hebraeus here for living wheat translates, they shall revive like wheat; which Vatablus explains, as if to say, The faithful of Christ by grace shall most strongly bear afflictions and persecutions, and shall be as it were vivified by them, just as wheat bears the cold of winter, and from it rises more vigorously and abundantly. Therefore tribulations do not kill, but vivify the faithful, and strengthen them in spiritual life, so that they make great increase in it, equally as fruit in their neighbors. Whence the Arabic of Antioch translates: And they shall live, and shall remain without sin, and the memory of him shall remain as a vine, and as the trees (trees) of Libanus, which are Ephraim: what has he to do with idols? And I who strengthen him as the trees of the plane, which namely luxuriate in branches and foliage. And the Arabic of Alexandria: And they shall live, and shall be satisfied with wheat, and shall germinate as a vine, and shall be as incense. Finally, concerning this wine which germinates virgins, equally as concerning the wheat of youths, or the elect, I shall say more in Zechariah IX, 17. THEY SHALL GERMINATE AS A VINE,—that is to say, The faithful most joyfully, most abundantly, most happily like a happy and fertile vine shall propagate themselves to this, not the hoopoe's, but the swan's voice and promise of God. For the hoopoe, says Horus Apollo, lib. II, hieroglyph. 88, singing before the time of the vine, foretells great goodness and abundance of wine. Whence the Egyptians, signifying a presage of abundance of wine, painted the hoopoe. HIS MEMORIAL (in Hebrew זכרו zichro, that is, his memory) SHALL BE AS THE WINE OF LIBANUS. — Thus the Syriac version, meaning that the memory and commemoration of Israel will be most pleasing and most sweet, just as was the wine growing in Libanus. For that this was most excellent, and equally most fragrant from the breath of fragrant trees, with which Libanus abounded, the geographers of the Holy Land teach. Hear Burchard in the Antilibanus: "The Antilibanus," he says, "is distant from that city (Sidon) by six and a half leagues, and there is held most delicious wine, of which the Prophet speaks (Hosea in this place): Thy memorial as the wine of Libanus." Wherefore the Arabic Alexandrian version translates: And it shall be as incense; therefore the wine of Libanus is wine of incense, namely fragrant like frankincense or incense: for Libanus in Hebrew signifies frankincense or incense. Whence R. David from the book of Asaph the physician teaches that the wine of Libanus was wine excelling in color, odor, taste, and indeed also in medicinal virtue. Certainly Byblus is a city situated at Libanus which gave its name to Byblian wine, which is celebrated by Hesiod, Achaean, Theocritus and others. Finally, the Fathers of our Society originating from Libanus, namely Maronites, assured me at Rome that the wine of Libanus is even now very generous and excellent, and therefore preserves its strength for many years. To this, the clusters and grapes from which it is pressed are huge, similar to those which the scouts brought out from the Holy Land on a pole, Num. XIII, 14. The same situation of the place suggests: for Libanus is in a warm, fertile, mountainous and vine-bearing region. For Bacchus loves warm hills. Wherefore Theodoret thus explains: "The Israelites similarly, as fragrant wine cultivated in Libanus, will possess the fragrance of virtue; and from thence flowing good reputation they will receive as a fruit." And St. Cyril: "Such," he says, "is all the discourse and doctrine of Christ," likewise the mysteries and sacraments of his life, especially the Eucharist, which under the species of bread and wine exhibits to us the body and blood of Christ. For this is the memorial, and the perpetual memorial of Christ, of which the Psalmist, Psalm. CX, 4: "The Lord hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works, being merciful and gracious: he hath given food to them that fear him;" and Christ himself: "Do this for a commemoration of me," Matt. XXVI, 26. "For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice: you shall shew the death of the Lord," says Paul I Corinth. XI, 26. Thus of the fame of most pious King Josias it is said, Eccli. XLIX, 1: "The memory of Josias is made in the composition of a sweet odor, the work of the perfumer. In every mouth his memory shall be as honey, and as music in the banquet of wine." Otherwise some according to St. Jerome; for by the wine of Libanus they understand wine seasoned with frankincense. But this is unpleasant. Otherwise also the Chaldean, St. Jerome and Haymo; for by the wine of Libanus they understand the wine of the temple, which was used in sacrifices as a libation, and is called of Libanus, because made from the grapes of Libanus. Whence the Chaldean translates: It shall be the memorial of their goodness bearing fruit and unfailing, just as the memory of the sound of trumpets over old wine, which is wont to be poured out in the house of the sanctuary. The first sense, as it is simple and plain, so also is genuine; to which add another most fitting, which Sanchez delivers, namely that the wine of Libanus is called wine seasoned with the aromatics of Libanus, and therefore fragrant. For Libanus so abounds in fragrant drops, herbs and aromatics, that it is used for the very odors themselves. Such is myrrhed wine, leafed wine, spikenard wine. Sanchez adds that wine is wont to be seasoned not only for the sweetness of taste, and for the health of the body, but also for the force of odor and ointment. Thus wine in which Cilician spikenard, that is, saffron, is cooked, was scattered in theaters as a precious ointment. Thus Martial says, in Amphith. epigr. III: And Cilicians here were wetted by their showers. For the showers of Cilicians are wines, which drew to themselves odor from the cooking of saffron. The sense therefore is, that is, Israel recently hated among all nations, now converted to God will be so pleasing in memory, and his name and commemoration will inhale to those hearing it such sweetness, as inhales the wine seasoned with the aroma of Libanus, or most fragrant ointment.
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9. EPHRAIM (supply, so much affected by Christ with benefits will say, as the Hebrew and Chaldean have it) WHAT HAVE I TO DO ANYMORE WITH IDOLS? — what have I to do with idols? let them go to the devil: henceforth God alone shall be my shepherd and director, Christ my love. The Septuagint translates: Ephraim, what more and with idols? To this the Apostle alluded in II Corinthians VI, 15: "What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? Or what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God." Otherwise St. Jerome and Albert understand these words, namely, not as of Israel, but as of God, that is to say, What have I to do with you, O Ephraim, that you object idols to me? You see them to be idols, that is, shadowy and vain things; therefore abandon them, follow me alone and worship me. I WILL HEAR HIM AND DIRECT HIM (Ephraim, or Israel), I AS A FIR TREE (the Arabic, as a plane tree) FLOURISHING. — For the fir tree always flourishes, and does not lose its leaves in winter, as Pliny teaches in book XVI, chapter XXI, that is to say, As the fir tree, a tree without knots, lofty, always flourishing, straight, always ascending directly upward; so I will direct Israel, flourishing always in virtues, toward heaven to me, and to blessed life. Thus Rupert. The fir, says Pliny in book XVI, chapter X, "is the largest of all, and the female even more prolific (for the fir is both male and female) with softer and baser material, rounder than a tree, dense with pinnate foliage, so that rains do not pass through it, and more cheerful altogether." Such is Israel also, that is, the faithful one, whom God makes always to flourish, to become dense, and to be gladdened by grace and virtues. Thus St. Jerome. The Septuagint for fir translates juniper. For the Hebrew בְרוֹשׁ berosch signifies both fir and juniper and cypress. They translate therefore: I as a juniper condensed or cypress. For juniper, says Cyril, is so thickened with foliage that neither the rays of the sun nor rains, however violent, pass through it: so also God and Christ provide to their faithful ones in every temptation and tribulation a dense shade and protection: although indeed Virgil calls the shade of the juniper heavy, namely for one sleeping under it; yet the same is pleasant and safe for one taking refuge, so as to avoid rain or heat, says Delrio, adage 965. Theodoret adds: "The juniper," he says, "always remains green, and does not rot, and its foliage is crowned with prickles. By these he shows that I will care for you with all diligence, will make you safe from every harm, and will terrify the invader as if with certain prickles." These prickles, or thorns, Theophylactus interprets otherwise; namely, that God is a thorn, because he commands his faithful ones, who wish to live according to God, a harsh life, which pricks and compels them by consideration of the final judgment. FROM ME THY FRUIT IS FOUND, — that is to say, I have said that I will make you beautiful and flourishing as a fir tree, and lest you think you will be leafy only, not fruitful, as the fir is, I add moreover that I will give you the fruit of good works, of grace and of glory. You will therefore be a fir tree in leaves, a vine and olive in fruits. Thus the Chaldean, St. Jerome, Lyran and others. Morally, let the faithful be a fir tree in words and holy precepts, but at the same time let him be an olive in works and fruits. Thus Jesus was mighty in deed and in word. Why? Because his words and sayings were deeds: what he taught by word, he showed by example. Phocion, as Plutarch testifies in his Life, said that those speaking and teaching good things, but not doing them, were like cypress trees, which, although they are lofty and beautiful, yet produce no fruit. Thus here Hosea says they are like a flourishing fir tree.
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10. WHO IS WISE, AND SHALL UNDERSTAND THESE THINGS? — namely my oracles: for they are deep and remote from the sense of carnal and impious men, and accessible only to the just. Thus St. Jerome and Rupertus. Or rather "these things," namely the mysteries and promises of Christ, as if to say: How few will there be among the Jews who shall believe, understand, love and do these things of Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life! BECAUSE THE WAYS OF THE LORD ARE RIGHT (and straight they lead upward to God the most upright: whence they can be known and traversed only by the upright. For the) JUST SHALL WALK IN THEM (but depressed and curved souls bent toward the earth, and empty of heavenly things, such as the Judæo- Although each explanation has patrons among the great interpreters of names, it seems preferable to establish that the word of God continues to Ephraim, by which He beseeches him what he has in common with idols in benefits bestowed and to be bestowed, when He alone grants all things. For the former interpretation is opposed by what immediately follows ani, I, which is to be referred to God. ans, cannot understand and enter these ways; nay rather they shall stumble and) SHALL FALL IN THEM, — especially when they are cast down and rush into hell, because they were unwilling to know them, nor to walk in them. Secondly, from the Hebrew it can thus be translated with Leo Hebraeus, Vatablus, Lyran and Arias: "If anyone is wise, let him understand these things; if anyone is prudent, let him know them, that the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them, but transgressors shall fall in them," as if to say: Whoever is wise understands and sees that the works and judgments of the Lord are just, both concerning the just and the unjust; while He directs, cherishes and rewards the former, He neglects, rejects and punishes the latter: for whatever is done by God is just. Whence the just, who alone are wise, walk, that is, observe the ways of the Lord, and praise God in all His works: but sinners, being foolish, neglect them, despise them, revile them, and therefore shall fall in them. Aleazar thinks that St. John alludes to these words of Hosea, Apocalypse V, 2, where he says: "And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" indeed he thinks this strong angel is Hosea himself, concerning which matter I have said what is to be thought in the Proem. Morally: Few are they who know and pursue the way to heaven, and the path to blessedness. With reason did Moses groan: "It is a nation without counsel, and without wisdom. O that they would be wise and would understand, and would provide for their last end!" Deuteronomy XXXII, 28. And Christ: "Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!" Matthew VII, 13. "Weigh a thousand years against Eternity, nay thousands of thousands; what dost thou weigh with the infinite, however great the finite?" says St. Augustine on Psalm XXXVI. Furthermore, the happiness of the wise, namely the faithful, who shall follow Christ, the Prophet here depicts graphically in fourteen particulars, partly by promises, partly by phrases and parables, and proposes it to all to be beheld and embraced. For first, he promises to them, verse 5: "I will heal their breaches;"; secondly: "I will love them freely;"; thirdly: "I will be as the dew;"; fourthly: "Israel shall spring as the lily;"; fifthly: "His root shall break forth as Libanus;"; sixthly: "His branches shall go forth;"; seventhly: "His glory shall be as the olive tree;"; eighthly: "His smell (shall be) as Libanus;"; ninthly: "They shall return that dwell under his shadow;"; tenthly: "They shall be revived as wheat;"; eleventhly: "They shall bud forth as a vine;"; twelfthly: "His memorial shall be as the wine of Libanus;"; thirteenth: "I will hear him, and I will direct him as a green fir tree;"; fourteenth: "From me is thy fruit found." O foolish children of Adam, why do you love vanity, and seek after lying? why do you feed yourselves like chameleons on empty air and vain breath? O senseless ones, why do you prefer things that perish to things that are solid, exile to the immense, earthly things to heavenly, human things to divine, momentary things to eternal? why do you set the creature before the Creator, a mistress before Christ, Mammon before God? why do you purchase the eternal fires of hell, pains and anguishes for the basest, briefest and foulest pleasure? You will repent, and repent forever; but late, and in vain. Be wise while you may, work while it is light, seize grace while it is offered, lest with the foolish virgins you seek it in death with tears, and find it not; lest excluded with them from the heavenly nuptials, you hear from Christ: "I know you not. Lift up your eyes to heaven," cast them down to the depths, think of God the avenger. Live FOR ETERNITY. "Let us therefore follow thee, O Lord Jesus, through thee, unto thee; because thou art the way, the truth, and the life: the way in example, the truth in promise, the life in reward," says St. Bernard, sermon 1 On the Ascension. Joel, says Epiphanius in the book On the Life and Death of the Prophets, was born in the field of Bethor, of the tribe of Ruben; so also Dorotheus in the Life of Joel, except that he calls the field Bethomeron in Ruben. R. Solomon thinks Joel was the son of Samuel the prophet, who anointed David as king; because his son is called Joel by Josephus, book VI of the Antiquities III. But this is a different Joel from ours; for our Joel was much later in time, as will soon be evident. Some think that Joel, like Osee, prophesied both against the ten tribes and against the two tribes, namely both against Samaria and against Judah. Thus St. Jerome according to the opinion of the Hebrews, epistle 103 to Paulinus: "Joel," he says, "son of Phatuel describes the land of the twelve tribes (although Albertus reads two) devastated by the locust, the bruchus, the locust, and rust, and after the overthrow of the former people the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon the servants of God and handmaids, that is upon the hundred and twenty believers by name, and will be poured out in the cenacle of Sion." Thus also Theodoret, Remigius, R. Solomon, Lyran, Vatablus and other more recent Hebrews, who think Joel lived and prophesied with Eliseus under king Joram, and therefore in chapter I prophesy the famine which at that time afflicted both Samaria and Judah, as is evident from IV Kings VI, 25. But more correctly the same St. Jerome, in the Preface to Joel, thinks that Joel prophesied to only two tribes, namely Judah and Benjamin: "How," he says, "in the prophet Osee under the name Ephraim the prophecy is directed to the ten tribes, which is often called either Samaria or Israel; so in Joel everything that is said must be believed to pertain to the tribe of Judah and to Jerusalem, and no mention is made at all of Israel, that is of the ten tribes." Thus also Epiphanius in the book On the Life of the Prophets, in Joel, Hugo, Albertus, Haymo, Ribera, Dionysius a Castro, Sanchez and others; and it is evident from the words of Joel, chapter I, 13: "Mourn, ye priests, howl, ye ministers of the altar;" and chapter II, 15 and 17: "Blow the trumpet in Sion. Between the porch and the altar the priests shall weep," etc. For the altar was in Jerusalem, nowhere else. Furthermore Joel prophesied at almost the same time as Osee, under Ozias, Joatham, Achaz and Ezechias, kings of Judah, says St. Jerome, Cyril, Theodoret, Rufinus, and St. Augustine XVIII On the City of God, chapter XXVII, although the Hebrews in the Seder Olam, and from them R. David, Genebrardus in the Chronology, Arias and a Castro here think he prophesied under Manasses, and consequently after the destruction of Samaria and the ten tribes: for this happened in the sixth year of Ezechias, who was the father of Manasses: and this is made probable from the fact that Joel prophesies to only two tribes, not the remaining ten; because those had already been cut off and carried away. Again from the fact that Scripture says God sent Prophets, who threatened Judah with calamities in the name of God on account of the crimes of Manasses, IV Kings XXI, 10, and chapter XXIII, 26. It therefore seems from
(1) We, says Rosenmuller, doubt not that Joel was the contemporary of Hosea and Amos, not indeed moved by that rule which Jerome reports to have received from the Jews, that in the writings of the Prophets where the time is not set forth in the title, they prophesied under those kings under whom also those who have titles before them prophesied, in which there is little strength, as the example of Jonah alone demonstrates; but convinced by reasons which Campegius Vitringer produced for that opinion: "Our opinion," he says, "is the same as that of Abarbanel, that Joel lived at the same time as Amos, and published this prophecy a little before him. Our arguments are, first, that among the enemies of the Jews only Egyptians and Idumeans occur (add Philistines and Phoenicians), cap. iii, 4, 19, but no mention is made of Assyrians or Babylonians. For the passage cap. ii, 20, pertains equally as the foregoing to the plague of locusts. Second, that he reproves the same crimes to the Tyrians, Sidonians and Idumeans (who had carried off many captives from Judea of both sexes and all ages, treated them harshly and sold them to foreigners, and invaded and occupied their lands), which Amos does; and denounces a like judgment to them, cap. iv, 2–7 (Vulg. iii), compared with Amos, i, 9–11. Third, at the time when Joel preached, the sacred rites still stood in their order among the Jews, cap. ii, 15, 16, 17. Fourth, he also promised happier times in Judea with abundance of all things, cap. ii, 18, 19. Fifth, the calamity of famine and barrenness which Joel predicted as impending upon the Jews, Amos shows the Israelites to have just suffered and still to be suffering, cap. iv, 6, 7. Sixth, Amos begins his prophecy with that sentence, cap. i, 2, with which Joel almost closes his, cap. iv, 16: The Lord shall roar from Sion, and what follows. his was Joel; for he himself threatens these calamities upon Judea, equally as Jeremiah cap. xv, 4, who on account of the sins of Manasseh expressly asserts that they were to be inflicted. This opinion is very probable; hence in the Roman edition of the Septuagint, Joel is placed after Micah. Hence also he depicts the day of the destruction of Jerusalem so vividly and horrifically, that he seems to see it as if impending and almost present before his eyes. From what has been said it follows that Joel threatens not the Assyrian captivity, by which Samaria was laid waste; but the Babylonian, by which Jerusalem and Judea were laid waste by the Chaldeans. The argument therefore of Joel is to predict God's vengeance and the Babylonian captivity, and thence its antitype, the final judgment, in which the reprobate are adjudged to hell, the good to heaven. First therefore, cap. i, he threatens the Jews with destruction by the Chaldeans, and that they may escape this, he exhorts all to lamentation and to penance. Second, cap. ii, he continues to describe the horror of this day and destruction, and thence stirs all to mourning and public supplications. Then he promises to the penitent a return from captivity and from Babylon. Moreover he promises the coming of Christ, who shall pour out the Holy Spirit upon his faithful. Thence he passes to the second coming of Christ, and narrates its preceding signs. Third, cap. iii, he teaches that Christ in the valley of Josaphat shall judge all nations as it were a judge, and shall condemn the impious to hell; but shall translate the pious to the heavenly Jerusalem, whose delights, glory and happiness he describes. Tropologically Joel in Hebrew is the same as willing, beginning, or the descent of the Lord; but Phatuel his father, in Hebrew is the same as breadth, or gate, or persuasion of God, or God opening; so that it may be signified morally that he who has the gate, persuasion and knowledge of God, rightly begins to prophesy, so that with Paul he may say: "Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians, our heart is enlarged;" because he heard from the Lord: "Open thy mouth, and I will fill it." For the very adaptation of the mouth is not in the power of man, but in the power of God, as the same Paul says: "A great door and evident is opened to me," II Corinth. ii, 12. Thus St. Jerome, who in cap. i of Hosea says: Joel is the same as Lord God; so that Joel by crasis is the same as Jehova el, or Ja el, which are all names of God. Finally Joel is numbered among the Saints, and is read inscribed in the Roman Martyrology on the 13th of July (1). (1) The prophecy of Joel is contained in three chapters in the Vulgate; it is divided otherwise in the Hebrew text, where four chapters will be found, namely, the third begins at verse 28 of cap. ii in the Vulgate, and ends at verse 32 of the same chapter. Which is to be retained for the passages and citations by interpreters who follow the Hebrew text, extracted. The divinity of this book has given place to no particular difficulty, which Carpzovius himself noting says: The canonical authority and credibility of the book rests upon such firm foundations, that no adversary, so far as I know, has dared to undermine it specifically. The style of this Prophet is poetic, vehement, elegant and sublime. The descriptions of locusts, of great mourning, of the golden age, of the valley of Josaphat, of the fountain arising from the temple, etc., are most beautiful. A poet of sublime genius, says Rosenmuller, to whom, besides Isaiah and Habacuc, you will scarcely find an equal in the whole number of Hebrew seers. De Wette, Jahn, Eichornius and Lowthius have extolled the poetic nature of Joel in a wonderful manner, in their Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, lecture xxi. We subjoin the names of those, at least the principal ones, who have illustrated the prophecies of Joel in separate writings, among Catholics: Sebastian Tuscanus, 1556; Gilbert Genebrard, 1563; Maturin Quadratus, 1576; Simon Simonis, 1593; John Quinquarboreus, 1687: among heterodox interpreters: Benjamin Boner, 1597; John Leusden, 1657; Cornelius Hasaeus, 1697; Jo. Jac. Schurmann, 1703; Samuel Chandler, 1735; Christ. Frid. Bauer, 1741, 1742; Gottlob. Henric. Richter, 1747; Siegm. Jac. Baumgarten, 1756; Carol. Phil. Conz, 1783; Joann. Büttner, 1784; Carl. Wilh. Justi, 1792; A. Svanborg, 1806; Holzhausen, 1829; Credner, 1831. CHAPTER ONE.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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14, 14. « pereat Samaria, quoniam ad. amaritudinem concitavit Deum suum ; in gladio pereant ; parvuli eorum elidantur, et foetae eius discindantur » ; — ad rem notat Lap. : « «5. pereat potest proprie accipi ut optativum, quasi propheta conformans se voluntati Dei vindicis ex zelo iustitiae iustaeque vindictae ad sarciendum Dei honorem a Samaria violatum, optet, ut ipsa dispereat » ; sim. Ephr. ; cf. 9, 14. Is. 2, 9; « licet autem hoc sanctis vel virtute divina imperare, vel etiam optare, quo peccatores resipiscant, aut eorum suppliciis alii corrigantur, aut certe Dei iustitia et potentia demonstretur, ut optime docet S. Thomas 2, 2, qu. 93a. 6 ad 3, ubi breviter adnotat his modis intelligi in Scriptura. imprecationes » (Rib.). Bellum ferocissimum et summa crudelitatis ac sacvitiei genera describuntur, cum neque parvulis, neque mulieribus, immo ne infantibus quidem in utero parcatur ; ita ipsi quasi fontes vitae exstinguuntur cf. 13, 15; et similia revera quandoque ferociter esse patrata, iam Aib. Sanct. aliique ex 4 Reg. 8, 19; 15, 16. Amos 1, 13 probant. At spes est pro populo Dei, ut surgat a ruina. Unde
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v. 2 « convertere, Israel, ad Dominum Deum tuum, quoniam corruisti in iniquitate tua » ; — nomine consalutatur honorifico quasi spei salutisque pignore. Bene Haimo : « corruisti per idololatriam, consurge per cultum et religionem Dei tui adimplendam ». Hebr. proprie revertere ; locutio hebr. deprompta est ex Deut. 4, 30; 30, 2; corruere cf. 4, 5; 5, 5; 14, 10; iniquitas 9 cf. 4, 85; 1, 15; 8, 135; 9, 1. 9; 12, 9; 13, 12. Uti iniquitas sola causa est ruinae, ita pietas sola spem et salutem conciliabit ; neque enim prophetae calamitates armis et furori hostium attribuunt, vorum ex una norma theocratica omnia dimetiuntur, quemadmodum Lev. 26. Deut. 28 regula traditur. Adhortationi generali addit modum, quo reverti debeant ad Dominum : docet scil. supplicationem humilem, qua a peccatis sanari exoptent ;
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V. 9 « tollite vobiscum verba et convertimini ad Dominum et dicite ei : omnem aufer iniquitatem, accipe bonum, et reddemus vitulos labtorum nostrorum » ! — modum docet verae poenitentiae : tollite i. e. preces et delictorum confessionem ! exhibentes Dominum adeant (cf. Hier.) ; non opus esse, ut divitias, vasa pretiosa, sacrificia multa Deo offerant, verum id unum a Domino postulari, ut animis sinceris ad Dominum loquantur (cf. Cyr. Rup.): proinde quam facilis sit verus ad Dominum reditus, declarat. Unde explicat, quae verba afferentes apparere debeant coram Domino, qua animorum dispositione opus sit : desiderium scil. ut a peccatis sanentur ; « nihil languoris in nobis et ruinae pristinae derelinquas, ne rursum mali seminis pullulent rediviva plantaria, et accipe, inquit, bonum : nisi enim tuleris mala nostra, bonum quod tibi offeramus habere non possumus » (Hier.). Quale vero bonum ut Deus bene accipiat gratumque habeat efflagitent, declarant : et. reddemus ( hebr. reddamus cum exhortatione vitulos labiorum nostrorum i. e. laudes et gratiarum actiones; « sic enim carmina quoque sancta docuerunt, ut immolemus Deo sacrificium laudis, quia grata sit ei oblata ex puro corde laudatio super vitulum novellum, ungulas et cornua producentem » (Ps. Ruf. sim. Hier. Lap.); sacrificium enim Deo est spiritus contribulatus ; unde spirituales oblationes quae fiunt precibus ac supplicationibus, vituli labiorum dici possunt, quamquam iste loquendi modus alias non invenitur. Neque LXX neque Syrus eum exprimunt, sed pro Q3 textus mas. legentes «45 fructum labiorum efferunt ; quae lectio facilis est, apta, a S. Paulo (Hebr. 13, 15) adoptata. Cum textu mas. consentit Chald. : « sint verba labiorum nostrorum coram te accepta sicuti boves ad beneplacitum super altari ». — Certe quod in hebr. adest : reddamus iuvencos labia nostra vel solyamus (tamquam) iuvencos labia mostra, non una ex causa salis mirum videtur. Quare mQ'"5 alii explicant a verbo ias scindere Lev. 10, 6 ; 13, 45 — apertionem labiorum i. e. inconsideratam et eulpae obnoxiam locutionem se expiaturos esse illos profiteri (cf. Hitz. Fürst L.). At ea vox Q'15 non modo alibi non occurit, verum etiam haec notio non est ad rem apta, neque ullo pacto cernitur, quomodo « apertio vel scissio labiorum » sit veluti summa et ratio praecipua peccatorum Israel, quam se velle expiare spondeant. Unde hoc commento relicto commodissima videtur lectio LXX et Syri, quam etiam sequitur S. Paulus (Hebr. 13, 15). Mihi quidem ex paraphrasi chaldaica suspicio orta est, ne Iudaei consulto textum prophetae in praesentem formam una litera. addita mutaverint, ut habeant. oraculum divinum, quo defectum sacrificiorum verbis labiorum suppleri posse ac debere doceant. Id enim Iudaeos docuisse certum est (cf. Rib. Sanct.). — y Ni2 hoc loco non est : portare iniquitatem, vel eam expiare, poenam tolerando, verum, uti sensus requirit, auferre, ignoscere iniquitatem, neque haec notio adeo est aliena, uli Scholz censet. Nam N72 saepe significat auferre (cf. 1 Sim. 17, 34 ; 2 Sam. 14, 14. Gen. 40, 19. Eccl. 5, 1*4 etc. — lexica multa suppeditant exempla) et speciatim Gen. 50, 17 yv '3 — ignoscere delictum, illud remittere, condonare et Ex. 34, 7 Deus vocatur "y NU3 — auferens iniquitatem ; quae locutio aliter prorsus intelligi nequit. LXX non legerunt 55, verum ON ; vertunt enim xo; uà Ain à6tziav. Sed apud Theod. alia cer- nitur lectio: 8ü0vzeat xàcav àpxipeiv Xyxosiav et Theod. M. utramque simul exhibet. Syrus et Chald. quoque exprimunt dimittere iniquitatem ; hebr. 53 vero non legisse videntur, et revera 53 dubium movere potest. singulari sua collocatione ; Aq. tamen etiam illud expressit (cf. Middeldorpf, cod. syriaco-hexaplaris ad h. 1.) : xàcav &àvopíav &oats. — Hebr. 2330 np aliqui reddunt : sume bonitatem i. e. sis benignus ; alii cape bonum, ut scil. illud nobis des(Lap. Scholz ); alii versionem vulg. retinent et approbant (Keil, Schegg) idque iure ; habet enim npo sine ullo dubio etiam accipiendi notionem Alterum, quod in sincera ad Deum conversione praestandum est, in eo consistit ut abiecta omni humana confidentia in uno Deo qui pauperum et supplicum miseretur totam spem collocent. Hac enim spe neglecta et abiecta quam maxime a vera theocratiae indole recesserunt. Unde propheta illam mentis ad meliora innovationem clare describit
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v. 4 « Assur non salvabit nos, super equum non ascendemus, nec dicemus ultra : dii nostri opera manuum mostrarum, quia eius qui in te est misereberis pupilli » ; — antea enim ad Assur et Aegyptum confugere soliti erant 9, 13; 711, 115; 8, 89; super equum . . cf. Is. 30, 16; potest esse allusio ad auxilium, quod ab Aegyptiis equitatu nobilibus exspectarunt (cf. Hier. Cyr. Alb. Sa), sed generatim edicitur, spem non esse reponendam in subsidiis humanis (cf. Sanct. Schegg, Scholz), uti Ps. 19, 8: « hi in curribus et hi in equis; nos autem in nomine Domini Dei nostri invocabimus » ; Ps. 32, 4*1. Prov. 21, 31 et supra 1, "1. Foedera cum exteris idololatriam inducebant, fovebant. Quare illis repudiatis etiam profitentur se iam non opera manuum suarum deos esse vocaturos, neque in idolis speraturos, verum se confidere aiunt in solo Deo : quia in te misericordiam inveniet pupillus (hebr.) ; nunc enim sciunt, Deum esse unicum salvatorem et utentes voce env tempus instaurationis tamquam tempus gratiae et miserationis designant cf. 1, 6; 2, 1. 23. « Ne dubites, Israel, inquit, te optata consecuturum, si te prius ad poenitentiam dederis ; qui enim in te est Deus misereri et miserari pupillos novit » (Cyr. sim. Schegg, Scholz) ; alii pupillum intelligunt populum Israel, qui a Deo, a patre relictus, a filii felici conditione in pupilli sortem delapsus sit ; idque bene; cf. Lam. 5, 3:« pupilli facti sumus absque patre » (cf. Hier. Alb. Rib. Sanct. Lap.). Textus latinus eiusdem est sensus ; ?n te est i. e. tuus est, tuae curae ac providentiae relictus et creditus, a te foedere tuo tibi ipsi consociatus tibique commissus. LXX 96 £v cot £ezott ópoavóv j. e. ut ait Theod. 6 &v cot cuvegéc qatvonevoc Koptos ; legerunt itaque formam verbi acüvam Qn; Syrus vertit sicut Hier. misereberis ' ; Chald. effert formam passivam *, sed refert ad tempus praeteritum : « eo quod coram te misericordia praestita sit patribus nostris, quando erant in Aegypto sicut pupilli ». Notatu dignum est, in hac instaurationis descriptione indolem adeo efferri spiritualem, veram animorum innovationem, quae in pietate, spe divina, in remissione peccatorum, in laude et gratiarum actione consistat. |
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v. 5 « Sanabo contritiones eorum, diligam eos spontanee, quia aversus est furor meus ab eis » ; — in hebr. sanabo aversionem eorum, apostasiam ; cf. 7, 41. LXX *Xg xavouag a)vOv !, «habitacula eorum in quibus fuerant vulnerati, sive confracti » (Hier.). Sensus in hebr. est optimus : populus corruit, quia a Deo recessit ; quare instauratione fons et origo omnis mali sanari dicitur i. e. tolli ; sanatur autem aversio, si animi firma fide et pietate constanti imbuti Domino adhaerere edocentur; unde pro instauratione promittit gratiam internam, stabilem, potentem cf. 2, 19. Hanc autem promissionem confirmat et auget professione profusissimae suae in eos caritatis; spontanee, 1311 id quod motu et impulsu proprio ac liberali fit, ex intima animi propensione et indole sponte. et ubertim erumpit (cf. Num. 18, 3. Deut. 23, 24 etc.) ; LXX óyeXéyoc;, quod Theod. «v5iw; explicat et Cyr. àucXovougévog xai axgózzog et S. Hier. ? : « perspicue atque aperte vel absque ulla dubitatione, qui enim prius irascebar eis propter peccata quae fecerant, nunc miserebor propter clementiam meam » ; furor aversus est cf. Is. 19, 4 ; tempus instaurationis est tempus gratiae, clementiae, foedus amoris inviolabile, caritatis aeternae (cf. 9, 19). Exposuit propheta Dei benignitatem £n affectu; iam subdit eandem in effectu (Alb.) ; ea scil. enumerat, quae Dei amor operaturus sit ;
Supplicanti populo et pietatis vota reddenti Deus profusissima caritate et liberalitate occurrit; enarrat enim qualem instaurationem sit effecturus. Et primo quidem damna a peccatis et apostasia illata resarcit et conversos ad se tenero amore complectitur. Ita
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v. 6 «ero quasi ros, Israel germinabit sicut lilium et erumpet radix eius ut Libani »; —in hebr. et apud LXX, Syrum et Chald. et ero quasi ros Israeli. Herba enim in agro sitiente marcescens rore reviviscit et revirescit (Sanct. Lap.), terrae viror ac fecunditas rore promovetur, quia germina latentia foventur, humectantur, fecundantur. Ros placide illabitur — ita Dei gratia (cf. Is. 26, 19 et quae ad eum locum adnotantur apud Hier. Cyr. Eusebium). Deus igitur gratiae suae rorem promittit, ipse cordibus illabitur, ipse ad vitam et vigorem animos intima sua communicatione et aspersione excitat et fecundat, ipse quasi vita est vitae nostrae; unde vitae fructus enasci oportet uberrimos. « Cum autem nos Dominus Suo rore resperserit et siccitatem pectoris nostri suis pluviis irrigarit, germinabimus, immo florebimus ut lilium, imitantes Dominum Salvatorem, qui dicit : ego flos campi et lilium convallium » (Hier.) ; germinabit sicut lilium i. e. celerrime, abundantissime et cum maxima venustate, suaveolentia, fragrantia, splendore novus Dei populus florebit coram Domino ; laudant enim lilium ab augmenti celeritate et propagatio- nis amplitudine, a florum excelsitate, a candore et fragrantia (cf. Cyr. Theod. Lap.) et simul a maiestate quadam et splendore, quo prae Salomonis gloria vestitum est (cf. Matth. 6, 28. Luc. 12, 27). Unde saepe ad amoenitatis et fecunditatis laudem lilia celebrantur cf. Is. 33, 1. Cant. 2, 1. 2. 16; 4, 55; 5, 135 6, 1. 2; "i, 2. Chald. « et splendebunt ». — Ad pulchritudinem illam et ubertatem accedit plantationis firmitas, soliditas inconcussa ; hebr. et agit (incutit) radices sicut Libanon. LXX xai (xxt 7X b/(ag a9:69 og Alfjavog 1. e. uti mons altus firmis radicibus terrae inhaeret immobilis, ita firmiter altis radicibus actis consistet florens populi conditio. In textu lat. explanando generatim supplent arbores, vel cedros : « cumque creverimus in Domino, mittemus radices nostras sicut arbores Libani, quae quantum in auras consurgunt vertice, tantum radicem in ima demergunt, ut nulla tempestate quatiantur, sed stabili mole consistant » (IRer.). Haec Dei plantatio pulcherrima et firma in se longe lateque diffundetur et omnia sua amoenitate et ubertate complebit v. "1 « ibunt rami eius et erit quasi oliva gloria eius et odor eius ut Libani ». — Nam instaurationi proprium est, ut arctis limitibus veteris theocratiae remotis ad Dei regnum omnes gentes convocentur et colligantur ; unde ?bunt i. e. longe lateque protendentur cf. Is. 16, 8; et cum Dei plantatio adeo spatiis proficit, etiam virtute, fecunditate, ubertate augescit : quasi oliva gloria eius ; oliva enim fructus fert gratissimos et ad varios usus pernecessarios ; est arbor in Palaestina una ex praeclarissimis, quibus terrae fertilitas ac divitiae quasi continentur; cf. Ier. 114, 16 : « olivam uberem, pulchram, fructiferam, speciosam vocabit Dominus nomen tuum »; gloria, ornatus, amoenitas plantationis erit sicut olivae i. oc. fructus afferet suavissimos. Atque ne quid desit, ex iis exhalabitur odor gratissimus ac fragrantia : et odor eius ut Libani, i. e. montis variis aromatibus et odoriferis arboribus consiti ; insuper etiam cedri gratum spirabant odorem secundum illud poetae: urit odoratam nocturna in lumina cedrum (Sanct.) ; cf. Cant. 4, 11 et Eccli. 39, 18 : « quasi Libanus odorem suavitatis habete ». Excellit igitur fragrantia virtutum, est bonus odor Christi, et odore suo ad Dei laudem et amorem virtutum provocat et animos omnium oblectatione delectat, sicut Isaac statim ut sensit vestimentorum Iacob fragrantiam, ei benedixit : « ecce odor filii mei, ut odor agri pleni » (Gen. 97, 27). Cum Libanus herbarum odoriferarum ferax fuerit, non opus est cum interpretibus graecis et Chald. comparationem speciatim in odore turis (1:25) reponere. — Plantatio Dei describitur ita, ut in se sit pulcherrima, firma, inconcussa, frugum feracissima et omnes in sui admirationem rapiat et undique odorem aromatum spiret ; praeclarum sane cernitur symbolum sponsae Christi, Ecclesiae, quae non habet rugam vel maculam, sed perpetua sanctitate Sponso servit et placet et continuo quoque novis propaginibus dilatatur. Iam a symbolo ad rem significatam deflectit propheta, vel potius exsequitur, quales in hac Dei plantatione victuri sint ;
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v. 8 « convertentur sedentes in umbra eius, vivent tritico et germinabunt quasi vinea ; me- - moriale eius sicut vinum Libani » ; — i. e. qui in eius plantationis vel arboris (cf. v. 7) umbra sedent, eius protectione laetantur et frugibus vescuntur, ii animos habent ab errore veteri alienissimos, ii sunt ad Deum conversi, et a vetusta consuetudine penitus redierunt (cf. v. 4) ; bonis fruuntur ; fructus uberes et laetos afferunt, sicut vinea, divites igitur sunt bonis operibus, uti antea malis abundabant (cf. 4, 2), et nunc véra Domini vinea (Is. 5, 1 ; 2'1, 3) effecti sunt, quare nomen, memoria, gloria eorum est sicut vinum Libani, quod mixtum et. conditum thymiamate odorem habuit suavissimum (Hier.), « gloriae vestrae erit tanta fragrantia, quanta vini quod optimum in monte Libanon generatur » (Ps. Alii hebr. a/* adverbialiter reddunt: iterum vivent (cf. Keil, Schegg ) ; LXX vero habent &xtezp£doust xat xato0vzat, et Chald. : congregabuntur de medio captivitatis ; Syrus : acedificabuntur et sedebunt .. et haec. veterum acceptio est praeferenda (cf. Scholz). Hebr. | »m proprie est vivificare triticum, id quod explanant plantare triticum (cf. Keil), sed haec locutio est nimis singularis, neque ullum habet veterum versionum testimonium ; LXX (5covtat xat us0uc020ovtat (vo * ; Syrus vertit uti S. Hier., Chald. vocem omnino non exprimit, verum locum hunc interpretatur quasi ex Is. 26, 19 : « habitabunt in umbra Christi sui, vivent mortui et accrescet bonum in terra ». Vivere tritico dici potest ad bonorum copiam designandam cf. Ps. 71, 16. Zach. 9, 177 et supra 2, 22, sicuti frumenti copia pars est benedictionis patriarcharum Gen. 27, 28 ; 49, 20. Aliis praeplacet tacitam ibi agnoscere comparationem, uti adest in membro parallelo : vivent quasi triticum (neglecta punctatione mas.) ; at inaudita est talis comparatio neque quid sibi velit vivere tritici instar perspicitur. Unde textus mas. ad veterum versionum normam erit emendandus. Descripsit novi coetus sanctitatem et gloriam. Ex hac salute demum . propheta, qui vaticinia etiam longo post tempore opera implenda in popularium et aequalium utilitatem et adhortationem convertere solet, admonitionem colligit, ut Ephraim iam toto ex corde abiiciat idola, cum Deus talem ac tantam donare velit salutem. Hunc nexum bene perspexit Ps. Ruf. : « quae cum ita sint, linquit, ut dispositio nostra perdocuit, id est unam hanc esse viam salutis, quam cultus nostri numinis religioque patefecit, ponite profanitati saltem modum, et uni, qui verus est, Domino tota fide ac devotione cohaerescite » ; ita
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v. 9 « Ephraim, quid mihi ultra idola ? ego exaudiam et dirigam eum ego ut abietem virentem ; ez me fructus tuus inventus est » ; — quasi admirabundus et stupefactus quaerit : quomodo potestis mihi abire ad idola et illa ultra colere auditis tot ac tantis promissis ? vel, ut latini interpretes frequenter supplent: quid mihi ultra idola opponitis, vel potius : quid sibi vult, ut ultra idola mihi colatis ? mihi ethicus est dativus et rem Deo esse cordi significat. Neque ab hoc sensu multum recedunt LXX «à "Escatu «t Ett. abc) xa eióoAot; (cf. Cyr.) ; Syrus vero et Chald. haec ab Ephraim dici volunt, ita ut Ephraim edoctus iam ex animo idolis renuntiet eaque abiiciat indignabundus, quasi praeoccupans conclusionem a propheta propositam. — Aliter Rup. nexum concipit : numquid spiritualem lsrael avertere poterunt simulacra vel figmenta mendacii, sicut carnalem averterunt vituli aurei ? quasi dicat, num idola impedire poterunt, ne salutis consilium exsequar et attingam ? Alio quoque modo Scholz coniungit : cultus idololatrici recordatio subito Domino obversatur et Ephraim tanto scelere onustum et Dei gratia indignum ostendit ; at Dominus sceleris memoriam se penitus depositurum spondet, ne in caritatis suae profusione quasi coerceatur ; unde : quid ultra mihi idola? i. e. abeat et pereat penitus scelerum memoria ! Attamen dubito, an haec Dei cum seipso disceptatio ex verbis adeo simplicibus colligi possit ; insuper mihi valde dubium est, an Deus in bonorum largitione unquam hacsitet vel quasi dubius haereat propter praeterita scelera eorum, quos denuo ad gratiae suae amplexum admisit ; id scio im poena infligenda Deum recordatione miserationis commoveri et quasi coerceri cf. Ier. 31, 20. Quare in priore explicatione sistendum esse censeo, quae ad prophetae munus facta ommino est et nata. Cur autem idolis nuntius sit remittendus, rationem affert ex Dei consilio salutari : ego exaudiam et respiciam eum, ego, sicuti cypressum virentem (hebr.) ; ipsa populi calamitas est postulatio quaedam Deo facta, ut generi electo decus restituat ac gratiam : unde ego, inquit, eraudiam et e miseria eripiam, ereptumque diligenter, omni cura respiciam et fovebo, ut sit quasi cypressus perpetuo virens, ne unquam a novo illo vigore excidat, sed « ut habeat viriditatem fidei et operationis » (/aimo) ; erat enim, ait Sanct. populus antea quasi lignum aridum, aut quales in hieme rigente atque aspera apparere solent plantae sic squalentes et horridae, ut nihil differre videantur a mortuis; at ubi spirante gratia mitior tempestas et quasi vernus tepor advenit, mutata est rerum species et pro hiemali siccitate successit viriditatis vernae suavis amoenitas '. Demum concludit, totum virorem, profectum, fructum in una Dei gratia residere : ex me fructus tuus inventus est (cf. v. 6. 71) ; i. e. exsistit ; nam sine me nihil potestis facere (Cyr. Rib). Vinea illa iam non est de vinea Sodomorum (Deut. 32, 32), verum vinea Domino afferens fructus suavissimos tamquam vinea electa (cf. Ier. 2, 24. Is. 27, 3). Proposuit propheta populo suo Dei consilium pro tempore calamitatis et instaurationis, viam ostendit, qua imminentia mala avertere possint, ea docuit, quibus mediis in miseriis se solentur, et praeprimis salutare Dei omnibus offerri praeclarissimum, omnes a Deo invitari, ut sincere ad ipsum redeant, multis significavit. Iam quis est successus adhortationis propheticae? Duae in eo cernuntur normae divinae : multi vocati, sed pauci electi et Dei iudicia iustificata sunt in semetipsis.. Cum dolore quodam propheta munere suo functus conqueritur, paucissimos esse ex Israel, qui prophetae verba perpendant
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v. 10 « Quis sapiens et intelliget ista? intelligens et sciet haec? quia rectae sunt viae Domini et iusti ambulabunt in. eis, praevaricatores vero corruent in eis ». — Propheta enim qui peccata punit et veram morum emendationem postulat, non est ille, quem turbae sequuntur (cf. Mich. 2, 11); et pauci prudentia humana relicta et mundi sapientia spreta ad unam theocratiae normam omnia exigunt; hos demum paucos vere esse sapienies dicit. Et quid pauci solum rite percipiunt? quia rectae ... merito notat ad haec verba Theoph. : « paucis universa complectitur » ; summa enim in eis vaticiniorum continetur. Viae Domini eius sunt dispositiones, rationes, modi, quibus utitur ad consilia sua exsequenda ; illae viae sanctae sunt et ordinem divinae rectitudinis constituunt et in opus externum deducunt, unde ita sunt conformatae, ut iusti erigantur, salventur, peccatores vero pereant culparum suarum pondere. Has Domini vias promissionibus et minis propheta explicavit ( Sanct.) ; sunt hae ipsae annuntiationes illis in ruinam maiorem, si fuerint contumaces — quia qui scit Dei voluntatem et non fecerit, durius vapulabit — velin salutem, si obedierint..Dei normam in rerum Israelitarum administratione et in salutis praeparatione et largitione propheta exposuit ; iam cum emphasi interrogans quis sapiens ... et quater notionem sapientiae ac scientiae efferens, et rei gravitatem demonstrat et desiderium pandit, quo optat, ut ad eam animos advertant (cf. Sanct.). Ioel, cuius nomen magna probabilitate interpretantur : Iahve est Deus ! in Iuda vaticinatus est. Iudaeam enim et Ierusalem ca indicant (uti iam advertunt Rib. Sanct. Lap. Sa) quae de sacrificiis, de tuba in Sion, de coetu sacro in templo celebrando etc. profert (1, 9. 13; 9, 1. 13-18); eum sacerdotem fuisse aliqui ex repetita mentione sacrificiorum et caerimoniarum sacrarum probabile censent ; sed quam debili fundamento conlectura haec innitatur, liquido patet. Eum esse ortum ex tribu Ruben (S. Ephr.), ex vico Bethom (al. Theboran ; cf. Ps. Epiph. de vitis proph. c. 14; M. 43, 408) aliqui tradunt. Quo tempore vixerit, certo definiri nequit. At nihil obstare videtur, quominus ipsam eius libelli in serie prophetarum minorum collocationem ? testimonium traditionis antiquissimae et verae habeamus etiam de vitae eius tempore, ita saltem, ut eum ante exsilium vaticinatum esse certo asseramus ; ordine enim quodam temporis series prophetarum minorum collocata et ordinata esse videtur ; id quod ex iis prophetis colligi potest qui reges habent in titulo adscriptos. Immo cum Amos 1, 2 versum proferat ex abrupto, quem suo in contextu apud Ioel legimus ! ac deprehendimus 3, 16, saltem probabile est, Ioel prophetasse ante Amos. Maxima est sententiarum varietas de tempore quo Ioel munere prophetico functus sit, et ea quidem quae ab anno 883 a. Ch. usque ad tempora post Nehemiam extenditur. Multi enim eum habent prophetarum qui scripta reliquerint antiquissimum, aliqui vero omnium recentissimum. In tanta opinionum discordia rationibus quae vel pro antiquitate illa maiore vel pro tempore post exsilium afferuntur diligenter expensis dici potest, nihil adhuc allatum esse quo vetus illa traditio evertatur, de qua S. Hier., in quibus tempus non praefertur in titulo, sub illis eos regibus prophetasse, sub quibus et hi qui ante eos habent titulum prophetaverunt (cf. M. 28, 1016 ; 25, 950). | d) respublica supponitur adeo parva, ut tuba canente in Sion omnes audiant, omnes convocari ad coetum sacrum et ieiunium possint, ut una locustarum vastatione iam vinum et frumentum plane deficiat ; in ea vero republica seniores et sacerdotes primas gerunt partes ; atqui ea omnia revera non contigerunt nisi post exsilium (cf. p. 9. 29); b) supponitur stricta legis observatio et rituum sacrorum externorum magna religio atque reverentia ; idololatria plane abest a populo ; neque scelera populi reprehenduntur, neque ad Deum conversio vera et sincera, uti apud priscos prophetas, magno fervore postulatur ; talis vero rerum conditio cogitari nequit nisi post exsilium (cf. p. 7. 9) ; €) propheta ipse non internam animorum habitudinem, verum ritus externos, ordinem scil. et locum, quo stare debeant in templo, ieiunium, fletum et similia curat et commendat ; omnia « carnalia » sunt, arctis limitibus praeiudiciorum : iudaicorum circumscripta; solos ludaeos salvos fieri, gentes omnes perdi docetur : brevi mens cernitur expressa viri, qui ipse totus est immersus et constrictus « elementis mundi » ; sed talis animi indoles non incipit praevalere, nisi post exsilium ; aliud in prophetis priscis cernitur (cf. p. 12. 21) ; d) totum vaticinii argumentum ex aliis prophetis est concoctum (p. 17. 22. 93); arbores et urbes et domos et cubieulorum secreta penetrent ». Apud leremiam 9, 21 legimus: « ascendit mors per fenestras nostras » ; milites per fenestras intrare certe est insolitum ; sed ca locutio plana fit, si statuimus leremiam illum loelis locum respicere simulque advertimus apud lIoelem schemate locustarum hostem depingi. Si ergo dependentia est assumenda, locutio Ieremiae ex Ioele declaratur, minime vero vice versa. Aliud temporis posterioris indicium Scholz repetit ex dicendi genere : sermonem esse valde prosaicum, parallelismum vix adesse, ornatum oratorium desiderari, dicendi genus saepe esse quaesitum, aenigmaticum ; quae omnia sint totidem argumenta indubia temporis posterioris. Sed contra hanc argumentationem duo liceat advertere : a) mirum est alios interpretes omnes genus dicendi vatis nostri haud exiguis celebrare laudibus ; ex multis pauca accipe. De eo ita iudicat Lowth (de sacra poesi Hebr. prael. 21. ed. Ros. p. 245) : « loel ab Hoseae stilo multum discrepat ; sed aeque poeticus est quamquam in genere diverso dictionis et compositionis eharacter. Imprimis est elegans, clarus, fusus fluensque ; valde etiam sublimis, acer, fervidus ; ostendit capite primo et secundo, quid valet in descriptionibus poesis prophetica . . nec minus clara est rerum connexio, quam dictionis color ». Et Ros.:« est sublimis ingenii poeta, cui praeter lesaiam et Habacucum in omni vatum hebraicorum numero vix invcnias parem » ; similia legere est apud. Credner, Iahn, Ewald, Wünsche, Kaulen ; Zschokke in eo laudat tamquam antiqui temporis notas dictionis puritatem, stili nitiditatem et orationis poeticae vim, et Vigourour non dubitat asserere: « presque chaque verset de loel montre en lui un maitre dans l'art de la parole ; sa langue est aussi pure qu'énergique, aussi vive que claire ; nous pouvons bien l'appeler classique, et, en fait, il servit de modele aux prophétes qui le suivirent... Son style s'éleve, par la sublimité, au-dessus de cclui des autres prophétes, excepté ]saie et Habacuc. Il unit la force de Michée à la tendresse de lérémie et à la vivacité de couleurs de Nahum. Sa description de l'invasion des sauterelles est un admirable morceau littéraire » (Manuel bibl. II, 625). Et etiam Merz vati nostro dictionem concedit elerantem, fluentem, sublimem (1l. c. p. 78). Quae cum ita sint, iudicium illud adeo severum quod Schol: protulit, merito in dubium vocatur. Sed si etiam ei subscriberemus, nondum tempus post exsilium necessario esset assumendum. Xam b! non intelligitur, eur prophetae antiquiores quia sint antiquiores etiam stili elegantia et nitore debeant excellere, ita quidem ut si quis ab ceo nitore vel illa sublimitate recedat, jam exsistat temporis indicium posterioris. Neque enim antiquitas, ut puto, dictionis vim et maiestatem confert, sed is fructus est ingenii felicis. Et quam intirmum tale sit argumentum, facile perspicies, si Osee dictionem comparaveris cum dicendi genere [saiae; sub iisdem regibus uterque vaticinatus est; sed quanta stili differentia ! Osee haud. immerito dicitur concisus, commatieus, ita brevis, ut saepe sit obscurus stilus, impeditus et obvolutus ; in Isaia vero iure laudatur elegantia, maiestas, ubertas dicendi et copia, perspieuitas ae compositionis dulcedo (cf. Lowth l. c. p. 241. 211) Tertio in ipso vatis sermone Scholz posterioris temporis vestigia impressa À plaga locustarum, cuius effectus etiamtum ingravescentes sentiuntür, sacer vates incipit. Vivide horrorer illius et calamitatem describit, qua vincae et ficus perierint et ipsa iam desit sacrificiorum materia et omnes ordines lucu et moerore afficiantur. Verum ea castigatione omnes vult ad poenitentiam invitari; quia nisi poenitentiam ea punitione eruditi ecerint, iudicium Dei multo magis tremendum et horrendum ingrüet ; est enim plaga illa, quam iam experiuntur, initium quoddam et indicium gravissimi Dei in rebelles iudicii : quia prope est dies Domini el quasi vastitas a potente. veniet (1, 15). Quod Dei iudicium ut avertant vel effugiant, poenitentiam suadet eamque adhortationem longiore fuüleit descriptione, quibus et quam horrendis vindictae ministris Deus in contumaces sit usurus. Dein verae poenitentiae modum docet, spem excitat veniae ac misericordiae, quam ut revera consequantur, coetum sacrum indicit et preces supplicationesque ad Deum fundere iubet, Atque haec est prima libelli pars 1-2, 17, quae apte inter se cohaeret et claram sensuum seriem praebet, dummodo ad 1, 15 attendatur, scil. plagam praesentem esse maioris et gravioris iudicii quasi praeambulum, quod tamen facta poenitentia avertere possint. Uti ex 2, 18 patet, populus eam adhortationem secutus vera poenitentia et sincero ad Deum reditu ulteriores Dei plagas avertit. Deus enim misericordia motus et recordatus amoris sui et electionis populi factae verba consolatoria ad populum loquitur : promittit rerum abundantiam, periculi amotionem, salutarem iustitiae institutionem ; unde populus Deum laudibus prosequatur et etus potentiam expertus iam ab ulteriore opprobrio sit immunis. Insuper ea maioribus etiam donis excipientur:spiritus sui dona large effundet in omnes, et cum demum mundi machina in die iudicii ultimi erit concutienda, quicumque Dei nomen regnantis in Sion invocaverint, salvi evadent. Haec altera parte proponuntur (2, 18-32). Uti ipsa rerum serie cernitur, Ioel Dei normes generales amplissimis lineamentis adumbrat: Deus hereditatem. suam non abiicit, verum postquam eam castigavit, ipsos ultionis ministros destruet et. suos donis temporalibus et spiritualibus concessis ad maiora bona i. e. messianica praeparat. Haec bona spiritus Dei effusione larga constitui docet et demum periodum messianicam magno Dei iudicio esse eoncludendam ostendit una salutis tessera in Dei nomine invocato proposita. Normam salutis exhibuerat invocatione Dei regnantis in Sion. Iam in tertia parte ratio redditur, cur in Ierusalem salvatio sit futura. Deus enim hanc urbem regni sui sedem elegit, quare ultionem capiet de omnibus, qui ei iniuriam intulerint. Vindictam eam vicinis populis primum denuntiat, dein ex particulari illa punitione transit ad cladem universalem omnibus regni Dei oppugnatoribus inferendam. Sacro enim bello, cui Dei cultores omnes et ipsos angelos auxilium ferentes adesse docet, erit dimicandum, eo quidem eventu, ut demum rebelles omnes Deo iudici sistantur proterendi, dum Deus suis futurus sit spes ac fortitudo. Tali vero rerum omnium exitu proposito omnes iam nunc agnoscere debent : Dominum habitare in Sion, Sionem i. e. regnum a Deo fundatum sanctitate et protectione divina exornari, atque in eo solo benedictionem et salutem concedi (3, 4 - 21). Ita in tertia quoque parte sacer vates ex rebus particularibus, quas initio tangit, mox ad normas regni Dei generales ascendit sacramque militiam in eo regno esse elacriter obeundam docet, quam superno angelorum subsidio (ex textu hebr.) iuvari declarat ; eius militiae finem et exitum in saeculorum consummatione futurum proponit. Sed si talis est rerum omnium finis, una salutis norma, i. e. Dei nominis invocatio atque religio sancta erit usurpanda. Ex hac argumenti consideratione patet certam rerum seriem apud Ioelem deprehendi. Plaga locustarum regionem saepius iam esse percussam aperte docetur; coniungi cum hac vastatione qua fruges deletae sint etiam magnam ariditatem, qua futurae quoque messis spes seminibus granisque in humo emortuis funditus tollatur, ex 1, 17-20 pariter elucet. Duas plagas ita inter se coniungi, ut tempore veris et aestatis agmina grassentur locustarum, tempore autumni vero siccitate spes messis futurae tollatur, nihil habet quod in se sit improbabile. Propheta igitur calamitates quas experti sunt et quibus etiam tum affliguntur adhibet, ut ad poenitentiam eos excitet. Qua in explicatione sermo propheticus cp. 1 clarus est ac lucidus, cui tenebras offundis, si cum Merz et Scholz statim confugeris ad explicationem eschatologicam. Calamitates praesentes indicia esse et praesagia maioris iudicii pro impoenitentibus, ipsa verba 1, 13 edicunt ; quod si attenditur id ad quod verba prorsus cogunt : prope est dies et vastitas veniet, aptus habetur rerum progressus et quomodo descriptio cp. 2 sit explicanda via sternitur, et insuper adhortationi ratio adiungitur valentissima. In tali acceptione Ioel minime est accusandus cum Scholz, quod aenigmata proponat, quod nolit certum gigni sensum in legentium vel audientium animis. Dein reliqua quoque libelfi pars apte subsequitur : Deus populum resipiscentem gratia donat novisque beneficiis et demum bona largitur messianica. €. DE ARGUMENTO IOEL 19i Ex eo quod Ioel hostes populi externos non nominat, Merz et Scholz colligunt, tales omnino non adfuisse, atque inde, cum ante exsilium semper hostes imminerent, tempus fluere post exsilium volunt. Sed illatio haec pluribus peccat. Nam 3, 4-8. 19 hostes designantur Phoenices, Philisthiim, Edomitae i. e. iidem quos Amos quoque enumerat (1, 6-12), et arbitraria est explicatio a Schol; proposita hisce omnibus non intelligi nisi hostem rerni Dei ultimum et eos versus iam delineare ultimum iudicium. Neque facile ei concesseris, temporis posterioris notam cerni in co quod apud loel servi dicuntur vendi et in terras occidentales mitti, dum tempore Amos in plagas missi sint orientales (1, 9). An fortasse tempore Amos Phoenices solum orientem versus mercaturam exercebant ? Porro illatio illa etiam eo peccat, quod supponit in libello prophetico exprimi debere imaginem adaequatam temporis. Sed e sacris literis etiam discimus, prophetas a Deo quandoque excitatos et missos esse, ut in una aliqua calamitate populo opem et subsidium ferrent (cf. 2 Par. 20, 14 seq.). Potuit igitur fieri, ut Ioel solum spiritu Dei indueretur ad populi institutionem et adhortationem in illa calamitate faciendam ; unde sermo eius adaequatam conditionum temporum eius descriptionem minime postulasse censendus erit. Anc. — Describit sacer vates ingentem locustarum plagam nuper faciam, cuius effectus etiamtunc sentiuntur. Talem eam esse ait, ut ne senes quidem similem recordentur, ut digna sit, quae longa generationum serie hominum memoriae prodatur ; plaga enim ingens erat diuque protracta, qua vineae et ficus perierunt, fruges et fructus interierunt, ita ut ipsa sacrificiorum materia iam deesset, et agricolae summa penuria laborarent, et sacerdotes maximo luctu prosternerentur (1, 2-13). Hac vero plaga ad poenitentiam omnes provocari necesse est. Est enim initium et indicium gravissimi Dei in rebelles iudicii ; cuius terrorem ut incutiat, iterato depingit, quantum illud quasi iudicii praeludium iam intulerit hominibus, animalibus, agris horroris et calamitatis (1, 14-20). Quod Dei iudicium iamiam contumacibus imminens ut avertant, poenitentiam suadet eamque adhortationem descriptione horribilis Dei iudicii fulcit ; diem scil. ingruere miseriae summae, horroris infandi ; Deumque usurum ministris vindictae fortissimis, horridis, quos vincere vel effugere nemo possit, quos Dominus ipse quasi dux belli fortitudine et horrore induat (2, 1-11). Minis istis propositis ad poenitentiam sacer vates adhortatur, verae poenitentiae modum docet, spem excitat veniae ac misericordiae, quam ut consequantur, omnes ordines sacro coetu vult congregari et preces atque obsecrationes ad Dominum fundi, quarum exemplum proponit a sacerdotibus nomine omnium recitandum (2, 12-1'1). Libri inscriptione « Verbum Domini, quod. factum est ad Ioel, filium Phatuel », — propheta missionem a Deo acceptam manifestat, seque non sua auctoritate, sed Dei mandato loqui ostendit. Similiter v. g. in epistolis Apostoli hunc suum titulum iuris et auctoritatis praefigunt, ut non nomine suo se loqui sed Dei legatione fungi perhibeant (cf. Cyr.). Ut in plaga praesenti Dei manum vindicem agnoscere ne detractent, « arte rhetorica ex rerum magnitudine attentum auditorem facit : nulla haec, inquit, aetas meminit, quae dicturus sum, nec vestro nec patrum vestrorum atque maiorum facta sunt tempore » ( Hier.) ;
14:3
(force of arms, political alliances) and in the "gods of foreigners" (idols; cf. Hos. 14:3 ff.; Jer. 3:22 ff.); c) conversion to Yahweh includes aversion to every evil, to every action contrary to God. This negative aspect, implicitly stated by the more ancient Prophets, is …
14:4
… To enter into the game of political powers, trusting in one's own arms and in the stronger kingdoms, means no longer having faith in the covenant, in God's faithfulness and omnipotence; it is to set out toward syncretism and idolatry (Hos. 5:13; 7:11; 8:9; 10:4 ff.; 12:2; 14:4).
14:6
In the Bible Lebanon is often mentioned as the northern boundary of Palestine (cf. Deut. 11, 24; Ios. 1, 4) and as a very high mountain (cf. Is. 10, 34; Ier. 22, 6.20; Os. 14, 6), always covered with snow (Ier. 18, 14); but even more often its vegetation is recalled, of which only traces now remain. …
14:8
… The Assyrians continued the spoliation, as did also the Israelites, as appears from the well-known account of the constructions of King Solomon (cf. I Reg. 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, etc.) and various species of conifers (Is. 60, 13), the Bible also recalls the wine of Lebanon (cf. Os. 14, 8), while poetically it speaks with admiration of the fragrant exhalations (cf. Cant. 4, 11, Hebrew text) of so many trees (Is. 35, 2).
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.