Elias fleing Iezabel, in the desert eateth a harth cake and drinketh water, brought by an Angel, and so goeth fourtie dayes and nightes vnto mount Horeb. 9. Lamenting that he alone is leist of the prophetes of God. 15. God commandeth him to returne to Damascus, and anoint Hazael king of Syria, Iehu king of Israel, and Eliseus a prophet: 18. and telleth him, there remaine seuen thousand in Israel, which haue not bowed to Baal.
1And Achab told Jezabel all that Elias had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.Or Achab raccontò a Jezabele tutto quello, che Elia avea fatto, e come avea uccisi di spada tutti i profeti.AND Achab told Iezabel al thinges that Elias had done, and how he had killed al the prophetes with the sword.Nuntiavit autem Achab Jezabel omnia quæ fecerat Elias, et quomodo occidisset universos prophetas gladio. 2And Jezabel sent a messenger to Elias, saying: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and add still more, if by this hour to morrow I make not thy life as the life of one of them.E Jezabele spedì un messo ad Elia, che gli dicesse: Gli dei facciano a me questo, e peggio, se domane a quest'ora io non farò a te, come è stato di ognun di quelli.And Iezabel sent a messenger to Elias, saying: These thinges do the goddes to me, and these adde they, if this houre to morow I make not thy soule as the soule of one of them.Misitque Jezabel nuntium ad Eliam, dicens: Hæc mihi faciant dii, et hæc addant, nisi hac hora cras posuero animam tuam sicut animam unius ex illis. 3Then Elias was afraid, and rising up, he went whithersoever he had a mind: and he came to Bersabee of Juda, and left his servant there,Elia pertanto ebbe paura, e si partì, e andava dove la fantasia il portava, e giunse a Bersabee di Giuda, e ivi licenziò il suo servo,Elias therfore was afraid, & rysing he went whither soeuer his wil caried him: and he came into Bersabee of Iuda, and leaft his seruant there,Timuit ergo Elias, et surgens abiit quocumque eum ferebat voluntas: venitque in Bersabee Juda, et dimisit ibi puerum suum, 4And he went forward, one day’s journey into the desert. And when he was there, and sat under a juniper tree, he requested for his soul that he might die, and said: It is enough for me, Lord; take away my soul: for I am no better than my fathers.E s'inoltrò nel deserto, una giornata di cammino. Ed essendo andato a sedere sotto un giunipero, si desiderava la morte, e disse: Basta, o Signore, prendi l'anima mia; perocché non son io qualche cosa di meglio, che i padri miei.and went forward into the desert, one dayes iourney. And when he was come, and sate vnder a iuniper tree, he desired for his soule to die, and sayd: It sufficeth me Lord, take my soul: for I am not better then my fathers.et perrexit in desertum, viam unius diei. Cumque venisset, et sederet subter unam juniperum, petivit animæ suæ ut moreretur, et ait: Sufficit mihi, Domine: tolle animam meam: neque enim melior sum quam patres mei.
5And he cast himself down, and slept in the shadow of the juniper tree: and behold an angel of the Lord touched him, and said to him: Arise and eat.E si gettò per terra, e si addormentò all'ombra del giunipero: quand'ecco, che l'Angelo del Signore il toccò, e gli disse: Alzati, e mangia.And he cast him self downe, and slept in the shadow of the iuniper tree: and behold an Angel of our Lord touched him, and sayd to him: Arise, and eate.Projecitque se, et obdormivit in umbra juniperi: et ecce angelus Domini tetigit eum, et dixit illi: Surge, et comede. 6He looked, and behold there was at his head a hearth cake, and a vessel of water: and he ate and drank, and he fell asleep again.Si volge egli indietro, e vede presso al suo capo un pane cotto sotto la cenere, e un vaso d'acqua. Egli adunque mangiò, e bevve, e di nuovo si addormentò.He looked, and behold at his head harthbaked bread, and a vessel of water: he therfore did eate, and drinke, and he slept againe.Respexit, et ecce ad caput suum subcinericius panis, et vas aquæ: comedit ergo, et bibit, et rursum obdormivit. 7And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go.E l'Angelo del Signore tornò la seconda volta, e lo toccò, e gli disse: Alzati, e mangia; perocché lunga è la strada, che ti rimane.And the Angel of our Lord returned the second time, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eate: for thou hast yet a great way to goe.Reversusque est angelus Domini secundo, et tetigit eum, dixitque illi: Surge, comede: grandis enim tibi restat via. 8And he arose, and ate and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb.Ed egli alzatosi mangiò, e bevve; e fortificato con quel cibo camminò quaranta dì, e quaranta notti, sino al monte di Dio Horeb.Who when he was risen: did eate and drinke, & walked in the strength of that meate fourtie daies, and fourtie nightes, vnto the mount of God, Horeb.Qui cum surrexisset, comedit et bibit, et ambulavit in fortitudine cibi illius quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus usque ad montem Dei Horeb. 9And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave: and behold the word of the Lord came unto him, and he said to him: What dost thou here, Elias?E giunto colà se ne stava in una spelonca, e tosto il Signore gli parlò, e gli disse: Che fai tu qui, o Elia?And when he was come thither, he taried in a caue: and behold the word of our Lord vnto him, & he said to him: What doest thou here Elias?Cumque venisset illuc, mansit in spelunca: et ecce sermo Domini ad eum, dixitque illi: Quid hic agis, Elia ?
10And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have thrown down thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.E quegli rispose: Io ardo di zelo pel Signore Dio degli eserciti, perchè i figliuoli d'Israele hanno abbandonato il tuo patto, han distrutti i tuoi altari, hanno uccisi di spada i tuoi profeti; son rimaso sol io, e mi cercano, per tormi la vita.But he answered: With zele haue I beene zelous for our Lord the God of hostes because the children of Israel haue forsaken thy couenant: thy altars haue they destroyed, & thy prophetes they haue slaine with the sword, & I alone am leaft, & they seeke my life to take it away.At ille respondit: Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum, quia dereliquerunt pactum tuum filii Israël: altaria tua destruxerunt, prophetas tuos occiderunt gladio, derelictus sum ego solus, et quærunt animam meam ut auferant eam. 11And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before the Lord, overthrowing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: but the Lord is not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake: but the Lord is not in the earthquake.E (il Signore) gli disse: Esci fuora, e sta sul monte dinanzi al Signore: ed ecco, che passa il Signore: ma innanzi al Signore un vento grande, e gagliardo da sciorre i monti, e spezzar le pietre; e non col vento il Signore: e dopo il vento un tremuoto; non col tremuoto il Signore:And he said to him: Come forth, and stand in the mount before our Lord: and behold our Lord passeth, and a great winde, and strong ouerthrowing mountaynes and breaking rockes before our Lord: not in the winde is our Lord, and after the winde an earth quake: not in the earth quake is our Lord,Et ait ei: Egredere, et sta in monte coram Domino: et ecce Dominus transit. Et spiritus grandis et fortis subvertens montes, et conterens petras, ante Dominum: non in spiritu Dominus. Et post spiritum commotio: non in commotione Dominus. 12And after the earthquake, a fire: but the Lord is not in the fire. And after the fire, a whistling of a gentle air.E dopo il tremuoto un fuoco; non col fuoco il Signore: e dopo il fuoco, il fischio di un'aura leggera.and after the earth quake fire: not in the fire is our Lord, and after the fire a wistling of a gentle winde.Et post commotionem ignis: non in igne Dominus. Et post ignem sibilus auræ tenuis. 13And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and coming forth, stood in the entering in of the cave, and behold a voice unto him, saying: What dost thou here, Elias? And he answered:Ciò avendo udito Elia, si coperse il volto col mantello, e uscito fuora si stava alla porta della spelonca, ed ecco una voce: che disse a lui: Che fai tu qui, o Elia? Ed ei rispose:Which when Elias had heard, he couered his face with his mantel, and coming forth stood in the doore of the caue, and behold a voyce vnto him, saying: What doest thou here Elias?Quod cum audisset Elias, operuit vultum suum pallio, et egressus stetit in ostio speluncæ. Et ecce vox ad eum dicens: Quid hic agis, Elia ? Et ille respondit:
14With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword; and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.Io ardo di zelo pel Signore Dio degli eserciti, perchè i figliuoli d'Israele hanno abbandonato il tuo patto, distrutti i tuoi altari, hanno uccisi di spada i tuoi profeti, son rimaso sol io, e mi cercano, per tormi la vita.And he answered: With zele haue I beene zelous for our Lord the God of hostes: because the children of Israel haue forsaken thy couenant: thyn altars they haue destroyed, and thy prophetes they haue slaine with the sword, and I alone am leaft, and they seeke my life to take it away.Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum, quia dereliquerunt pactum tuum filii Israël: altaria tua destruxerunt, prophetas tuos occiderunt gladio, derelictus sum ego solus, et quærunt animam meam ut auferant eam. 15And the Lord said to him: Go, and return on thy way, through the desert, to Damascus: and when thou art come thither, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;E il Signore disse a lui: Va, e torna indietro per la tua strada stessa del deserto verso Damasco; e quando sarai giunto colà, ungerai Hazael in re della Siria,And our Lord sayd to him: Goe, and returne into thy way by the desert of Damiascus: and when thou art come thither thou shalt anoint Hazael king ouer Syria,Et ait Dominus ad eum: Vade, et revertere in viam tuam per desertum in Damascum: cumque perveneris illuc, unges Hazaël regem super Syriam, 16And thou shalt anoint Jehu, the son of Namsi, to be king over Israel: and Eliseus, the son of Saphat, of Abelmeula, thou shalt anoint to be prophet in thy room.E Jehu figliuolo di Namsi lo ungerai re d'Israele; e ungerai profeta in tua vece Eliseo figliuolo di Saphat, che è di Abelmeula.and Iehu the sonne of Namsi thou shalt anoynt king ouer Israel: and Eliseus the sonne of Saphat, which is of Abelmeula, thou shalt anoynt prophet for thee.et Jehu filium Namsi unges regem super Israël: Eliseum autem filium Saphat, qui est de Abelmehula, unges prophetam pro te. 17And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall escape the sword of Hazael, shall be slain by Jehu: and whosoever shall escape the sword of Jehu, shall be slain by Eliseus.E avverrà, che chi avrà scansata la spada di Hazael, sarà ucciso da Jehu: e chi avrà scansata la spada di Jehu, sarà ucciso da Eliseo.And it shal be, whosoeuer shal escape the sword of Hazael, him Iehu shal kil: and whosouer shal escape the sword of Iehu, him shal Eliseus kil.Et erit: quicumque fugerit gladium Hazaël, occidet eum Jehu: et quicumque fugerit gladium Jehu, interficiet eum Eliseus.
18And I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal, and every mouth that hath not worshipped him, kissing the hands.E io serberommi in Israele sette mila uomini, i quali non han piegato il ginocchio dinanzi a Baal, e nissun de' quali ha accostata la mano alla sua bocca in adorandolo.And I wil leaue me in Israel seuen thousand men, whose knees haue not beene bowed before Baal, and euerie mouth, that hath not adored him kyssing his handes.Et derelinquam mihi in Israël septem millia virorum, quorum genua non sunt incurvata ante Baal, et omne os quod non adoravit eum osculans manus. 19And Elias departing from thence, found Eliseus, the son of Saphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen: and he was one of them that were ploughing with, twelve yoke of oxen: and when Elias came up to him, he cast his mantle upon him.Partitosi adunque di là Elia, trovò Eliseo figliuolo di Saphat, il quale arava la terra con dodici paia di buoi, ed egli era un di quei, che aravano colle dodici paia di bovi: e giunto a lui Elia, gettò sopra di lui il suo mantello.Elias therfore departing thence, found Eliseus the sonne of Saphat, ploughing with twelue yoke of oxen, and he was one of them that ploughed with twelue yoke of oxen: and when Elias came to him, he cast his mantel vpon him.Profectus ergo inde Elias, reperit Eliseum filium Saphat, arantem in duodecim jugis boum. Et ipse in duodecim jugis boum arantibus unus erat: cumque venisset Elias ad eum, misit pallium suum super illum. 20And he forthwith left the oxen, and ran after Elias, and said: Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said to him: Go, and return back: for that which was my part, I have done to thee.E quegli, lasciati subito i bovi, corse dietro ad Elia, e disse: Concedi, ch'io vada a dar un bacio a mio padre, e a mia madre, e poi ti seguirò. E quegli disse a lui: va, e torna: perocché quello, che toccava a me, io l'ho fatto.Who forth with leauing the oxen ranne after Elias, and said: Let me kisse, I pray thee, my father, and my mother, and so I wil folow thee. And he sayd to him: Goe, and returne: for that which was my part, I haue donne to thee.Qui statim relictis bobus cucurrit post Eliam, et ait: Osculer, oro, patrem meum, et matrem meam, et sic sequar te. Dixitque ei: Vade, et revertere: quod enim meum erat, feci tibi. 21And returning back from him, he took a yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled the flesh with the plough of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate: and rising up, he went away, and followed Elias, and ministered to him.E partitosi da lui, prese un paio di bovi, e gli scannò, e colle legna dell'aratro cosse le carni, e la diede alla gente, perchè le mangiasse: e parti, e andò, e seguitò Elia, e lo serviva.And returning from him, he tooke a yoke of oxen, and killed them, and sod the flesh with the plough of the oxen, and gaue to the people, and they did eate: and rysing vp he departed, and folowed Elias, & ministred to him.Reversus autem ab eo, tulit par boum, et mactavit illud, et in aratro boum coxit carnes, et dedit populo, et comederunt: consurgensque abiit, et secutus est Eliam, et ministrabat ei.
19:3
Year of the World 3097, Year before Christ 907.
Haydock
Afraid. Hebrew, "he saw, arose, and went for his life." (Haydock)
Haydock
He was aware of a woman's anger, Ecclesiasticus 25:23. Though he goes intrepidly to meet Achab, he flees before a woman, God being desirous that he should exercise humility, (Theodoret, q. 57, etc.) though some think that he had given way to a secret fault; (Calmet) which is a groundless assertion. (Haydock)
Tirinus
He must confess that all his strength is from above. (Tirinus)
Menochius
Mind, to escape notice. (Menochius)
Calmet
Bersabee, at the southern extremity of the kingdom of Juda, perhaps fifty leagues from Samaria, and five more from Jezrahel. (Calmet)
Abulensis
Servant, the boy whom he had raised to life. (Abulensis)
19:4
Calmet
Desert. It seems, towards Horeb. (Calmet)
Haydock
Tree. Hebrew Rothem, which term the Septuagint retain, "Rathmen." Symmachus has, "a shade." (Haydock)
Challoner
Die. Elias requested to die, not out of impatience or pusillanimity, but out of zeal against sin; and that he might no longer be witness of the miseries of his people, and the war they were waging against God and his servants. See ver. 10. (Challoner)
Calmet
He does not wish to fall into the hands of Jezabel, lest the idolaters should triumph: but he is willing to die, if God so order it. (Calmet)
Mathathias entertained the like sentiments, 1 Machabees 2:7.
Fathers: that I should live longer than they did. (Menochius) (Ecclesiasticus 30:17.)
Calmet
If he had been weary of life, why did he flee? His answer to Achab shews that he was by no means timid. (Calmet)
19:6
Calmet
Cake, baked in a hollow stone, covered with fire. The Arabs call such cakes, Ridpha. An angel brought this nourishment. (Calmet)
19:7
Haydock
Go. Hebrew, "the journey is too great for thee," without this support. (Haydock)
Calmet
He spent forty days in this journey, as he did not follow the straitest road. Horeb is only about fifty leagues from Bersabee. (Calmet)
Menochius
He might have travelled thither in four or five days. (Menochius)
19:8
Challoner
In the strength of that food, etc. This bread with which Elias was fed in the wilderness, was a figure of the bread of life, which we receive in the blessed sacrament [of the Eucharist]: by the strength of which we are to be supported in our journey through the wilderness of this world, till we come to the true mountain of God, and his vision in a happy eternity. (Challoner)
Calmet
Horeb signifies "a rock, or dry wilderness." (Calmet)
19:9
Tirinus
Here. Thy presence is necessary in Israel. (Tirinus)
Menochius
Elias had been guided by a natural fear. (Menochius)
Tertullian
"With how great familiarity is he received by God!" (Tertullian, contra Psychic. vi.)
19:10
Calmet
Zeal; ordering the idolatrous prophets to be destroyed, (Menochius) which has enkindled the rage of Jezabel against me. I cannot bear to see the general corruption. (Calmet)
Haydock
Covenant; neglecting circumcision, (Rabbins) and almost the whole law. (Haydock)
Haydock
Altars. Some had been erected by the prophets, (Estius) as the king would suffer none to go to Jerusalem. (Haydock)
Calmet
The idolaters threw them down, 3 Kings 18:30. Such altars would have been unlawful in Juda. (Calmet)
Worthington
I alone am left; viz., of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, or of the ten tribes; for in the kingdom of Juda, religion was at that time in a very flourishing condition, under the kings Asa and Josaphat. And even in Israel there remained several prophets, though not then known to Elias. See 3 Kings 20:13, 28, 35. (Challoner) (Worthington)
Haydock
Hebrew repeats I, as [in] ver. 14, and 3 Kings 18:22. He might justly fear that those had been destroyed at last, whom Abdias had protected. At any rate, none durst appear in public to assist Elias. (Haydock)
God informs him (ver. 18.) that all is not yet lost.
19:11
Menochius
Lord; the angel, his representative. (Menochius)
19:12
Grotius
Air. Something similar happened at the giving of the law, and at the propagation of the gospel, Exodus 19:9, 16., and Acts 2:2. The Lord was pleased to shew his prophet the difference between the two laws: the one was full of terror, the other of mildness. (Grotius)
Calmet
He insinuated likewise, that he could easily exterminate the offenders, but he chose to bear patiently with them; (Tirinus) and taught his prophet to moderate his zeal, and, after terrifying sinners, to being them to a sense of their duty by gentle means. (Sanctius) (Calmet)
Tertullian
"His spirit is most indulgent and mild." ....est tenerae serenitatis, apertus et simplex. (Tertullian, contra Marcion xxiii.)
19:13
Menochius
Mantle, out of respect, like Moses, Exodus 3:6. So the cherubim veil their faces with their wings, Isaias 6:2. (Menochius)
Calmet
Among the Orientals, to cover the face has the same import as when we pull of our hats. (Calmet)
19:15
Menochius
Desert, avoiding the towns as much as possible, (Calmet) and travelling through the country of Ammon to Damascus. (Menochius)
Haydock
God does not send Elias again into the midst of danger, at Achab's court. (Haydock)
Calmet
Hazael. God exercises his authority over all nations, and disposes of crowns. He appoints Hazael to punish his people. It does not appear that Elias performed this commission in person, but by the hand of Eliseus, 4 Kings 8:12. Neither do we find that Hazael was anointed, but he was "declared king;" in which sense the term is used, Judges 9:8. (Salien) (Calmet)
Worthington
Yet Torniel believes, that Elias really anointed both Hazael and Jehu. He foretold, at least, (Haydock) that they should reign. (Worthington)
19:16
Menochius
Jehu, the son of Jospahat, (4 Kings 9:2.) and grandson of Namsi. (Menochius)
Eliseus sent one of his disciples to anoint him, (4 Kings 9:1.; Calmet) with common oil; the sacred was reserved for priests and the kings of Juda, according to the Rabbins.
Calmet
Anoint, or call to the ministry, perhaps by placing a mantle on his head, ver. 19. No mention is made of unction. (Calmet)
Sanctius
Yet the Fathers have hence inferred that prophets received it, as well as priests and kings. (Sanctius)
Calmet
Elias had complained that he was left alone. God appoints him a coadjutor, and successor; a person who seemed to have yet made no immediate preparation for the office. His parents were probably known for their probity, and had taken no part in the worship of idols. (Calmet)
Eusebio † 339 d.C.
Abelmeula was in the great plain, ten miles south of Scythopolis. (Eusebius)
19:17
Challoner
Shall be slain by Eliseus. Eliseus did not kill any of the idolaters with the material sword; but he is here joined with Hazael and Jehu, the great instruments of God in punishing the idolatry of Israel, because he foretold to the former his exaltation to the kingdom of Syria, and the vengeance he would execute against Israel, and anointed the latter by one of his disciples to be king of Israel, with commission to extirpate the house of Achab. (Challoner)
Haydock
They left nothing imperfect in the vengeance, 4 Kings viii., and ix. Eliseus sent bears to destroy forty-two children of Bethel; (4 Kings 2:23.; Calmet) and Abulensis (q. 23.) thinks that he might put many false prophets to death, as the Scripture does not mention every thing, (Menochius) and as Elias had done himself. (Haydock)
Du Hamel
Eliseus may also be the name of some general. (Du Hamel)
19:18
Haydock
Will leave. Hebrew also, "I have left," as Romans 11:4. Septuagint, "thou shalt leave." (Haydock)
Haydock
After answering the first part of the prophet's complaint, and informing him that the guilty should not pass unpunished, God lets him know that he is not left alone, but that many thousands (Calmet) even in Israel still continue faithful; so far was the true Church from being in danger of perishing entirely. (Haydock)
Grotius
Seven is often put for a great number, Proverbs 24:16. Yet some suppose, (Calmet) that only this number served God out of 1,110,000 men in Israel, 1 Paralipomenon 21:5. (Grotius, etc.)
Haydock
Hands. To this custom the word adore owes it rise. (Haydock)
Calmet
The pagans kissed their right-hand, or the statue itself, when they could reach it, to testify their veneration. Inter adorandum, dexteram ad osculum referimus. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 28:2.) Cicero (in Ver. 4.) mentions a beautiful statue of Hercules, the cheeks and beard of which had been rather worn with kissing; non solum id venerari, sed etiam osculari solent. See Genesis 18:2. (Calmet)
Menochius
Job 31:27. (Menochius)
19:19
Menochius
Mantle, perhaps to signify that he must change his manner of living. (Menochius)
19:20
Menochius
Kiss, and bid them adieu. (Menochius)
To thee. I have no farther orders. Obey the Spirit of God. Hoc age. Hebrew, "for what have I done to thee?" Did I require thee to follow me? Act as God may direct thee. Yet remember the ceremony which thou hast seen, and do not turn back (Calmet) to neglect thy office. (Haydock) (Matthew 8:22., and Luke 9:62.)
19:21
Menochius
Oxen, to shew that he had relinquished his profession. (Menochius)
St. Jerome
"He makes a vow of them." (St. Jerome, ep. xxviii.)
Calmet
Elias waited for him in the field, while he made a feast for his fellow-citizens, at parting. (Calmet)
Haydock
Then both probably retreated to Carmel, (Salien) to watch over the instruction of the college of prophets. (Haydock)
19:4
That he might die.... Elias requested to die, not out of impatience or pusillanimity, but out of zeal against sin; and that he might no longer be witness of the miseries of his people; and the war they were waging against God and his servants. See ver. 10.
19:8
In the strength of that food, etc.... This bread, with which Elias was fed in the wilderness, was a figure of the bread of life which we receive in the blessed sacrament; by the strength of which we are to be supported in our journey through the wilderness of this world till we come to the true mountain of God, and his vision in a happy eternity.
19:10
I alone am left.... Viz., of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, or of the ten tribes; for in the kingdom of Juda religion was at that time in a very flourishing condition under the kings Asa and Josaphat. And even in Israel there remained several prophets, though not then known to Elias. See chap. 20.13, 28, 35.
19:17
Shall be slain by Eliseus.... Eliseus did not kill any of the idolaters with the material sword: but he is here joined with Hazael and Jehu, the great instruments of God in punishing the idolatry of Israel, because he foretold to the former his exaltation to the kingdom of Syria, and the vengeance he would execute against Israel, and anointed the latter by one of his disciples to be king of Israel, with commission to extirpate the house of Achab.
19:10
Elias knew no other at that instant in the tenne tribes, that were not partakers in idolatrie; but there were in deede seuen thousand (v. 18) that bowed not their knees to Baal. And the whole kingdom of Iuda obserued true religion, where Asa then reigned, and after him Iosaphat: both good kinges, chap. 15. v. 11. 22 v. 43. 2. Par. 15. &. 17.
19:15
Elias prophecied that these two should be kinges, and cast his cloke ouer Elizeus. v. 19. Elizeus declared to Hazael that he should be king. 4. Reg. 8. an other prophet annointed Iehu. 4. Reg. 9.
19:1
Tertulliano † 220 d.C. On Fasting 6
… where, when he had made a cave his inn, with how familiar a meeting with God was he received!
Tertulliano † 220 d.C. Five Books in Reply to Marcion 3
Was rapt; who hath not tasted yet death’s dues;
sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 20.18
… My strength is less, but I have more danger. Of women change follows on change, their hatreds alternate, their falsehoods vary, elders assemble together, wrong done to the Emperor is made a pretence. What is then the reason of such severe temptation against me, a mere worm; except that they are attacking not me but the Church?
Teodoreto di Cirro † 458 d.C. Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 3
… In like manner the great Elias when he had learnt Jezebel’s threats did not give himself up to them which wished to kill him, but left the world and hurried to the desert.
19:3
Tertulliano † 220 d.C. On Fasting 9
I return likewise to Elijah. When the ravens had been wont to satisfy him with “bread and flesh ,” why was it that afterwards, at Beersheba of Judea, that certain angel, after rousing him from sleep, offered him, beyond doubt, bread alone , and water?
Socrate Scolastico † 440 d.C. The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus 3.8
… and for his concealment in a cave, after contriving to extricate himself from the treacherous designs of Abimelech, by feigning madness? What will these reckless asserters of whatever suits their purpose answer, when they are reminded of the great prophet Elijah,
19:4
Tertulliano † 220 d.C. On Patience 15
… her clothing, moreover, about her bosom white and well fitted to her person, as being neither inflated nor disturbed. For Patience sits on the throne of that calmest and gentlest Spirit, who is not found in the roll of the whirlwind, nor in the leaden hue of the cloud, but is of soft serenity, open and simple, whom Elias saw at his third essay.
san Metodio d'Olimpo † 311 d.C. The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 10.3
… by some it is called bramble, by others agnos . Perhaps it is because the plant is akin to virginity that it is called bramble and agnos ; bramble, because of its strength and firmness against pleasures; agnos, because it always continues chaste. Hence the Scripture relates that Elijah, fleeing from the face of the woman Jezebel,
sant'Atanasio di Alessandria † 373 d.C. Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 10
… For although the place was unfrequented by man and desolate, yet, through the gracious gift of the law, and through converse with angels, it was no longer desert, but far more than an inhabited country. As also Elisha
sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. On the Decease of His Brother Satyrus 2.125
125. Wherefore holy men have not without reason often lamented their lengthy dwelling here: David lamented it, Jeremiah lamented it, and Elijah
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 22.9
9. When Elijah, in his flight from Jezebel, lay weary and desolate beneath the oak, there came an angel who raised him up and said, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold there was a cake and a cruse of water at his head.
19:6
Tertulliano † 220 d.C. On Fasting 6
… where, when he had made a cave his inn, with how familiar a meeting with God was he received!
sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.24
28. Lastly, Elijah, whom the Lord was training to the perfection of virtue, found at his head a cake and a cruse of water; and then fasted in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 1.24
… How think ye that the holy Elias received the cruse of water, and the cake of bread, to satisfy him for forty days?
19:7
san Tascio Cecilio Cipriano † 258 d.C. On the Lord's Prayer 18
… as He Himself threatens, and says, “Unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye shall have no life in you.” And therefore we ask that our bread—that is, Christ—may be given to us daily, that we who abide and live in Christ may not depart from His sanctification and body.
19:8
Tertulliano † 220 d.C. On the Resurrection of the Flesh 61
… Death, too, will cease; so there will be no more need of the nutriment of food for the defence of life, nor will mothers’ limbs any longer have to be laden for the replenishment of our race. But even in the present life there may be cessations of their office for our stomachs and our generative organs. For forty days Moses and Elias
san Cirillo di Gerusalemme † 386 d.C. The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 12.16
… The Lord, who ate with Abraham, ate also with us. What strange thing then do we announce? Nay more, we produce two witnesses, those who stood before Lord on Mount Sinai: Moses was in a clift of the rock , and Elias was once in a clift of the rock
sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.24
75. Elijah himself too, that the word spoken by his mouth might be confirmed, was sent by the Lord to hide himself by the brook Cherith. Ahab threatened, Jezebel threatened, Elijah was afraid and rose up, and then “went in the strength of that spiritual meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God;”
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. Against Jovinianus 2.10
… And all they of the land took food. And so binding was a solemn fast once it was proclaimed to the Lord, that Jonathan, to whom the victory was due, was taken by lot, and could not escape the charge of sinning in ignorance, and his father’s hand was raised against him, and the prayers of the people scarce availed to save him.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Letters of St. Augustin 55.28
28. The Fast of Forty Days has its warrant both in the Old Testament, from the fasting of Moses and of Elijah,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 1.3
… only they probably do not need those aliments, which by their use minister refreshment to the body; but ever since their translation they so live, as to enjoy such a sufficiency as was provided during the forty days in which Elijah lived on the cruse of water and the cake, without substantial food;
san Giovanni Damasceno † 749 d.C. An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.23
… But if they should object that this took place before the law, what will they say about Elias the Thesbite who accomplished a journey of forty days on one meal
19:9
Tertulliano † 220 d.C. On Fasting 6
… where, when he had made a cave his inn, with how familiar a meeting with God was he received! “What (doest) thou, Elijah, here?”
19:10
san Tascio Cecilio Cipriano † 258 d.C. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 1.3
… “In being jealous I have been jealous for the Lord God Almighty; because the children of Israel have forsaken Thee, have demolished Thine altars, and have slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I have remained solitary, and they seek my life, to take it away from me.”
san Cirillo di Gerusalemme † 386 d.C. The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 12.7
… And again, Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, and upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself: so will not we go back from Thee . And another of the Prophets entreated, saying, Bow the heavens, O Lord and come down . The wounds of man’s nature pass our healing. They slew Thy Prophets, and cast down Thine altars
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 17
… for was He man? No wonder that He who wrought those works, should also have wrought these. “Ye slew them who preached of Him,” much more Himself. He shows them disobedient both to God, and to Angels, and the Prophets, and the Spirit, and to all: as also Scripture saith elsewhere: “Lord, they have slain Thy Prophets, and thrown down Thine altars.” (
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 31
… And yet, you will say, though he has often met with long-suffering from me he has become worse. This is not thine affair, but his. Wilt thou learn what wrongs God suffered? They threw down His altars, and slew His prophets (
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. Homilies on First Corinthians 5
… Hear, for example, what saith Elias, after that fearful famine, and the marvellous rain, and the torch which he brought down from heaven, and the strange holocaust; driven, as he was, to the very extreme edge of their country: “Lord, thy prophets they have killed, thine altars they have digged down, and I am left alone, and they seek my life.” (
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. City of God 17.22
… For there the great and illustrious prophet Elijah and Elisha his disciple arose, who also did many wonderful works. Even there, when Elijah said, “O Lord, they have slain Thy prophets, they have digged down Thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life,” it was answered that seven thousand men were there who had not bowed the knee to Baal.
19:11
san Giustino † 165 d.C. Hortatory Address to the Greeks 31
… Was it not from the third book of the history of the Kings, where it is written, “The Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice?”
sant'Ireneo di Lione † 202 d.C. Against Heresies 4.20.10
… And the Lord [was] not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord [was] not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord [was] not in the fire; and after the fire a scarcely audible voice” ( vox auræ tenuis ).
san Gregorio Nazianzeno † 389 d.C. Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 28
XIX. To Elias neither the strong wind, nor the fire, nor the earthquake, as you learn from the story,
san Gregorio Nazianzeno † 389 d.C. Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 40
… Fear not the conflict; defend yourself with the Water; defend yourself with the Spirit, by Which all the fiery darts of the wicked shall be quenched. It is Spirit, but That Spirit which rent the Mountains.
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 123.15
… in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” For they were not weighed down with the burthen of riches. Therefore they could stand, as Elijah, in the crevice of the rock, they could pass through the needle’s eye, and behold the back parts of the Lord.
19:12
Tertulliano † 220 d.C. The Five Books Against Marcion 4.23
… “He shall not contend,” says He, “nor shall His voice be heard in the street; a bruised reed shall He not crush, and smoking flax shall He not quench.” Being of such a character, He was of course much the less disposed to burn men. For even at that time the Lord said to Elias, “He was not in the fire, but in the still small voice.”
19:14
san Giustino † 165 d.C. Dialogue with Trypho 39
… For indeed Elijah, conversing with God concerning you, speaks thus: ‘Lord, they have slain Thy prophets, and digged down Thine altars: and I am left alone, and they seek my life.’ And He answers him: ‘I have still seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 18
… For to prevent their saying that it was as a deceiver we put Christ to death, and as impostors that we persecute the Apostles, he brings forward the text which says, “Lord, they have killed Thy prophets, and digged down thine altars.” (
19:18
san Gregorio Nazianzeno † 389 d.C. Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 42.7
… Or how do you understand the passage that though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved? And again, I have left me seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal?
sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. On the Decease of His Brother Satyrus 2.108
… In hundreds also and in thousands the observation of the sacred number is by no means passed over, for not without a meaning did the Lord say: “I have left the seven thousand men, who have not bent their knees before Baal.”
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 21
Let us not therefore suppose His injunctions are impossible: for there are many who duly perform them, even as it is. And if thou knowest not of them, it is nothing marvellous, since Elias too supposed he was alone, but was told, “I have left unto myself seven thousand men.”
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 18
… ii. 14, 15 ); which is what he says here too, that they both digged down the altars, and killed the prophets. But what saith the answer of God unto him? “I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.” (
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 50.9
9. But what the Lord did after His resurrection, signified what is to be to us after our resurrection, in that number of the kingdom of heaven, where shall be no bad man.…Lastly, those seven thousand of whom reply was made to Elias, “I have left me seven thousand men that have not bowed knees before Baal,”
19:20
sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. On the Duties of the Clergy 1.30
… The Lord does not want us to give away all our goods at once, but to impart them little by little; unless, indeed, our case is like that of Elisha, who killed his oxen, and fed the people on what he had, so that no household cares might hold him back, and that he might give up all things, and devote himself to the prophetic teaching.
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 14.3
But mark both their faith, and their obedience. For though they were in the midst of their work (and ye know how greedy a thing fishing is), when they heard His command, they delayed not, they procrastinated not, they said not, “let us return home, and converse with our kinsfolk,” but “they forsook all and followed,” even as Elisha did to Elijah.”
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 65
… While this desire is warm in you, go your way unto those angels, kindle it more. For the account that we give will not be able to set thee on fire, like as the sight of the things. Say not, I will speak with my wife, and I will settle my affairs first. This delay is the beginning of remissness. Hear, how one desired to bid farewell to them at his house,
19:21
sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. On the Duties of the Clergy 2.20
… The one to give witness, the other to give comfort; the one to give guidance, the other to give pleasure. I pass by Lot, who when young clung to Abraham, as he was setting out. For some perhaps might say this arose rather owing to their relationship than from any voluntary action on his part. And what are we to say of Elijah and Elisha?
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 4
… what he did among the sheepfolds, the same he did after his victory and trophy; that it might be shown how simple and absolute was his faith. Again, see Moses despising royalty, and forsaking all, and after forty years taking the lead of the people ( Exod. ii. 11 ); and Samuel occupied there in the temple ( 1 Sam. iii. 3 ); Elisha leaving all (
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 71.3
… Elijah also when he was carried up in a chariot of fire to heaven left his mantle of sheepskin on earth. Elisha used for sacrifice the oxen and the yokes which hitherto he had employed in his work.
19:3
3. TIMUIT ERGO ELIAS (furorem et potentiam Jezabelis, de quo vers. 4. Vide Abulensem, Quaest. III), ET DIMISIT PUERUM, — scilicet famulum, ut solus secretus fugeret et lateret.
19:4
4. PERREXIT IN DESERTUM, etc., CUMQUE VENISSET, ET SEDERET SUBTER UNAM JUNIPERUM. — « Juniperus » enim amat loca calida et sicca; unde abundat in Syria, ac praesertim in deserto. Unde Plinius, lib. XVI, cap. XXX: « Junipero, ait, eadem virtus quae cedro. » Et cap. XL: « Cariem vetustatemque non sentiunt cupressus, cedrus, ebenus, lotus, buxus, taxus, juniperus. » Hinc baccae juniperi sunt calidae, robustae et efficaces ad stomachum calefaciendum, siccandum et roborandum instar piperis et sinapis. Talis est vir zelosus, de quo vere dicas illud Arabum adagium: « Praestat granum piperis (vel juniperi) decem peponibus. » Zelosus enim instar parvi piperis vel ju- niperi, si frangatur, vel confricetur, ignes amoris divini exhalat, quibus auditores ad bonum stimulat, pungit, accendit. Apposite ergo sub juniperi umbra quievit Elias; juniperi enim baccae, quae ardent instar piperis, repraesentant ardorem et zelum Eliae; sed hic temperandus erat umbra patientiae et humilitatis: juniperus enim cum sit parva, parvam humilemque dat umbram. Talis fuit Juniperus, unus e primis sociis S. Francisci, de quo in Annalibus Waddingi ita legimus, anno Domini 1210, num. 35: « Suae etiam tunc aggregavit (S. Franciscus) sodalitati B. Juniperum tanta humilitatis et simplicitatis virum, ut ab imperito vulgo fatuus crederetur. Incredibilia pene videntur quae fecit, et dixit ad imam sui dejectionem, nec alius quisquam tam honoris avidus, quam hic vituperii. Proinde cum ab aliquo afficeretur opprobriis, fimbrias pauperis lacernae expandens dicebat ei: Amice, projicias huc liberaliter, imple gremium lapidibus istis pretiosis, imple, ne timeas: injurias et opprobria, lapides appellans pretiosos. Quando redibat domum, hujusmodi secum habebat sermonem: O inutilis frater, qua fronte redis ad patres? quo te admittent titulo? certe si hospitii gratia te sub tecto colligant, et panem arctum et aquam brevem dederint, rem magnam et tuis meritis majorem praestabunt: juste certe te repellent tanquam sua indignum societate. Ejus simplicitatem S. Franciscus admirans, adstantibus dicebat: Utinam, fratres, de hujusmodi Juniperis integram sylvam haberemus! » alludens ad nominis etymologiam et proprietatem, quia teste B. Isidoro, ut cinis juniperi diutissime accensos ejusdem ligni carbones servat, sic hic in sacro pectore accensum servabat amorem. Et sicut juniperus est obsita aculeis, et secundum Hieronymum semper floret, semper novos affert fructus, et nunquam deponit virorem suum: sic hic poenitentiae compunctione et asperitate fovebat in se divinae charitatis viriditatem. Pro juniperum Hebraice est רותם rothem, quod retinentes Septuaginta vertunt Ratham, ut habent Complutensia, vel Rathmon, ut habent Romana: hinc aliqui putarunt rothem esse rhamnum. Audi S. Methodium, tract. De Castitate, apud Photium in Bibliotheca: « Rhamnus virginitatem denotat (quia enim aculeatus est et pungit, hinc denotat vitam asperam et mortificationem, quae parens est et nutrix castitatis): Rhamnus enim arbor casta est, et fortasse ex simili quadam cum virgine natura stirps haec agnos appellatur; rhamnus quidem propter robur et fortitudinem contra voluptates; agnos vero, quod omni ex parte casta et pura sit. Unde et Eliam ferant a facie Jezabelis mulieris fugientem ad Rhamnum primum venisse, atque exauditum fuisse, cibumque accepisse; quia fugientibus stimulum carnis et feminam et voluptatem, perfugium et tegumentum castitatis lignum germinavit, quod ab auctore virginitatis Christo plantatum est eis, qui virginitatem complectuntur. » Sicque explicat illud Judic. IX, 14: « Dixerunt omnia ligna ad rhamnum: Veni et impera super nos, » quia cum ficus, id est, lex naturae in paradiso, et vitis, id est lex naturae data Noe post diluvium, qui reperit vitem et vinum, ac olea, id est, lex Moysis et Prophetarum (hi enim ungebantur oleo) festentia hominum vulnera curare nequivissent: « Misit quarto Deus rhamnum, id est castitatem, quae illis imperaret, quae voluptatibus superatis, etiam in reliquum tempus illis interminata est, quod nisi sibi parerent omnes, et sincere ad se accederent, futurum, ut omnes flammis absumerentur: nullam enim post hanc aliam legem secuturam, sed judicium et ignem. Hinc coepit homo justitiam colere, Deoque constanter per fidem adhaerere, et se a diabolo sejungere. » Hucusque S. Methodius. Allegorice Rupertus, lib. V, cap. X, per juniperum accipit sanctam et vivificam Dei crucem, ad quam confugit fidelis, dum timore aliave tentatione pulsatur: illic ambit mortem, illic optat commori Christo, quia ejus cruci totum se subjicit, optatque ei configurari et concrucifigi. PETIVIT ANIMAE SUAE (id est sibi; est Hebraismus) UT MORERETUR. — Unde tantus pavor, tanta consternatio in Elia, qui paulo ante impavidus certarat cum Achab et Baalitis, eosque superaverat? Respondeo primo, quia subduxit Deus illi robur a se inditum, ut agnosceret Elias illud fuisse donum Dei, se vero ex natura sua timidum, uti sunt alii homines. Hac de causa solet Deus sanctos, qui praeclara gesserunt, objicere timoribus et tentationibus, ut eos conservet in humilitate, ne efferantur, sed cogantur ad Deum recurrere. Ita S. Chrysostomus, homil. De Elia et Petro, quae exstat apud Surium die prima augusti: « Deus, inquit, declarare voluit miracula illa, quae ostensa fuerant, non ab Elia, sed a sua ipsius potentia facta fuisse. Vide quid faciat, quo tempore Deus ipse operabatur, Reges, Principes et populi Eliae succumbebant; cum vero Deus abscessisset, etiam mulier una prophetae illi terribilis visa est. Abscessit Deus, et natura humana redarguta fuit. Et paulo post: « Non uno, aut altero, sed quadraginta diebus aufugit, et ad regionem omnino desertam se contulit, non nutrimentum, non cibum aliquem secum ferens; nam tanquam ebrius prae metu, caetera nihil curabat, sed desertas tantum regiones sequebatur. » Idem pene hic habent Angelomus et Rabanus: « Sancti, inquiunt, viri, sublevante spiritu, ad summa rapiuntur, quamdiu vero in hac vita sunt, ne superbiant, tentationibus reprimuntur. » Addit S. Chrysostomus Deum voluisse hoc metu punire crudelitatem Eliae, qua 850 pseudoprophetas occiderat. Verum hoc est improbabile, cum hoc fecerit jussu Dei ex zelo, ad tollendam idololatriam. Secundo, quia Jezabel videns prophetas suos omnes ab Elia occisos, furebat contra Eliam, ad eum dirissime excarnificandum, et habebat in manu Achab regem maritum suum, per quem poterat innumeros milites in Eliam immittere. Quare magis timuit Elias Jezabelem, quam Achab et Baalitas. Nam, ut ait Ecclesiasticus, cap. XXV, vers. 23: « Non est caput nequius super caput colubri, et non est ira super iram mulieris. » Unde S. Ambrosius, epist. 23, graviores ait esse tentationes mulierum, quam virorum, utpote quibus viri fortes victi prostratique sint. Sic et S. Bernardus, serm. 64 inter parvos. Hinc S. Petrus, qui pugnarat contra totam cohortem, et Malcho aurem amputarat, timuit ancillam, ejusque metu Christum negavit. UT MORERETUR. — Dices: Elias fugiebat Jezabel volentem se occidere, fugiebat ergo mortem. Cur ergo mortem hic optat? Respondeo primo, quia in fuga ejusque difficultatibus, et viae aerumnis crevit labor, indeque dolor, et maeror Eliae, qui ita eum depressit, ut optaret mortem ad aerumnas tot tantasque evadendas, quam prius fugerat. Sic videmus eos, qui pestem mortemque evaserunt, si postea in graviores tribulationes et pericula incidant, optare dicereque: Utinam mortuus fuissem cum sociis, utinam pestis me cum caeteris abstulisset. Tales fuere Graeci, qui capta Troja redeuntes, acerrima tempestate jactati optarunt se in obsidione Trojae occubuisse: Quid fata possunt? invidet Pyrrhus patri; Ajaci Ulysses, Hectori Atrides minor: Priamo Agamemnon. Quisquis ad Trojam jacet Felix putatur, (ait Seneca in Agamemnone). Secunda et potior causa fuit, quod Elias timeret occidi a Jezabele, non quod mortem metueret, sed ne videretur superatus et victus a Jezabele, et cum ipso vera Dei religio. Jezabel enim jactasset se occidisse Eliam, et cum eo supplantasse Dei fidem et cultum. Optat ergo a Deo sibi mortem immitti, ne illa a Jezabele inferatur non tam sibi, quam Dei cultui et religioni. Sic Herodias occidit S. Joannem Baptistam Eliae antitypum, et Eudoxia, S. Chrysostomum. Vide S. Petrum Damianum, tom. II, serm. 2 De S. Vitali. Allegorice, Elias repraesentat hic infirmitatem Christi paventis in horto. Ita Rupertus, lib. V, cap. X. SUFFICIT MIHI, DOMINE (huc usque vixisse, ac tot tantisque beneficiis a te ornatum fuisse. Sufficit mihi vicisse Achab, et pseudoprophetas occidisse). TOLLE (ergo) ANIMAM MEAM, — ne eam tollat Jezabel cum meo aeque ac tuo dedecore et infamia. NEQUE ENIM MELIOR SUM QUAM PATRES MEI, — tum prisci Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc.; tum proximi, nimirum prophetae jam ante a Jezabele occisi, quos ego ut me seniores et patres, imo ut martyres veneror.
19:5
5. PROJECITQUE SE ET OBDORMIVIT IN UMBRA JUNIPERI, — ex lassitudine itineris, et ex moerore animi. Porro umbra juniperi exilis est, cum juniperus pro frondibus spinas habeat, et noxia. Nam, ut ait Virgilius, Ecloga 10: « Juniperi gravis umbra: » quare umbra haec potius capitis dolorem et maerorem in Elia auxit, quam minuit. Unde umbra haec typus est humanorum praesidiorum, quae cum vana sint et noxia, ad eam tamen confugiunt homines, dum potius ad Dei Christique umbram et protectionem, velut utilem et solidam confugere deberent cum sponsa, quae ait Cantic. cap. II, vers. 3: « Sub umbra illius, quem desideraveram sedi, et fructus ejus dulcis gutturi meo. » Et cum Jeremia, Thren. IV, 20: « Spiritus oris nostri Christus Dominus captus est in peccatis nostris, cui diximus: In umbra tua vivemus in Gentibus. » « Christus enim, ut ait S. Bernardus, serm. 2 Super Missus est, parvulos ad se confugientes sub umbra alarum suarum protegere non desinit, sive ab aestu carnalium desideriorum, sive a facie impiorum, qui eos afflixerunt. Bona et desiderabilis umbra sub alis Jesu, ubi tutum est fugientibus refugium, gratum fessis refrigerium. » Hinc rursum Jeremias, cap. XVII, vers. 5: « Maledictus, inquit, homo qui confidit in homine, etc. Erit enim quasi myricae in deserto, et non videbit cum venerit bonum. Benedictus vir qui confidit in Domino. »
19:7
7. GRANDIS TIBI RESTAT VIA, — usque in montem Horeb, ut ibi videas et audias Deum vers. 11, uti vidit et audivit Moyses. Sic cuique fideli grandis restat via ad culmen sanctitatis et perfectionis, et grandior via restat in coelum empyreum.
19:8
8. AMBULAVIT IN FORTITUDINE CIBI ILLIUS QUADRAGINTA DIEBUS ET QUADRAGINTA NOCTIBUS USQUE AD MONTEM DEI HOREB. — Hinc patet huic cibo et pani admirandam a Deo inditam fuisse virtutem, ut Eliae vires sufficerent ad iter agendum sine alio alimento per 40 dies et noctes. Unde Auctor Mirabilium S. Scripturae, lib. II, cap. XIX, asserit panem hunc mirabiliter factum manibus Angelorum, licet Abulensis naturalem et communem putet fuisse, cui Deus hanc vim ad confortandum Eliam indiderit, ut alio cibo non indigeret. Tropologiam totius historiae habet S. Bernardus toto serm. 64 inter parvos. Allegorice per panem hunc Eliae, Patres accipiunt Eucharistiam, cujus virtute per 40 dies, id est per totam vitam, quae nobis est tempus jejunii et poenitentiae, ambulamus « ad montem Dei Horeb, » ut scilicet videamus « Deum deorum in Sion. » Ita Paschasius Radbertus, lib. De Sanguine et Corpore Domini, cap. X; Algerus, lib. II De Sacramento Altaris, cap. I; Rupertus, lib. V, cap. X; R. Samuel Marochius, lib. De Adventu Messiae, cap. XX. Anagogice, panis hic repraesentat suavissimam refectionem Sanctorum in coelo, per quam non 40 diebus, sed per omnem aeternitatem sine cibo sani, fortes, laeti et gloriosi permanebunt. Ita Rupertus. QUADRAGINTA DIEBUS, — sine alio cibo, ideoque jejunus. Paucorum dierum iter est a Bersabee usque in montem Horeb, scilicet quatuor, vel quinque; praesertim cum Elias tam nocte quam die ambularet, et timor ei adderet alas, ait Serarius. Unde patet eum metu, pavore, moerore et angore perculsum, vagabundum incessisse, huc illucque divertendo, quo eum voluntas ferebat, non autem rectum tenuisse iter; ac forte nec sibi in animo praefixisse viae terminum, scilicet ire in Horeb. Ita Abulensis. Nota hic Eliam jejunasse 40 diebus, aeque ac fecit Moyses, et postea Christus, cujus imitatione Ecclesia instituit jejunium Quadragesimae. Scripsit S. Ambrosius librum De Elia et Jejunio, in quo ostendit commoda jejunii, affertque varia hac de re e sacra Scriptura exempla, aeque ac nocumenta ebrietatis et intemperantiae. MONTES, ET CONTERENS PETRAS ANTE DOMINUM: NON IN SPIRITU DOMINUS; ET POST SPIRITUM COMMOTIO. NON IN COMMOTIONE DOMINUS; ET POST COMMOTIONEM IGNIS, NON IN IGNE DOMINUS; ET POST IGNEM SIBILUS AURAE TENUIS. — Hebraice, sibilus, vel vox tacita, sive submissa et gracilis. Septuaginta addunt καὶ ἐκεῖ Κύριος, id est et ibi (in sibilo) Dominus. Horeb. — « Horeb » est mons Sinai, uti ostendi Exodi cap. XVII, vers. 6, in quo Moyses legem a Deo accipiens cum eo collocutus est, Exodi XIX, ut scilicet in eodem Elias pro lege Dei patiens et pugnans, cum eodem colloqueretur, et modum ad eam propugnandam ab eo acciperet.
19:9
9. Mansit in spelunca. — In hac spelunca (ut videtur) Moyses a Deo obtectus, Exodi XXXIII, 22, vidit tergum et gloriam Dei pertranseuntis, ideoque in illa eamdem vidit hic Elias, sed alio schemate. Moyses enim vidit in specie ingentis lucis et splendoris. Elias vero in specie sibili aurae tenuis; ita R. Salomon, Lyranus et alii. Hinc spelunca haec priscis fuit in magna veneratione, adeoque Josephus, lib. II Antiq. cap. XII, tradit, ante Moysis aetatem, locum illum ita antiquis visum esse sacrum, ut pastores religione quadam prohiberentur greges ad illum montem appellere, quia ibi divinum esse aliquid suspicabantur. Symbolice S. Gregorius, lib. II in Ezech. homil. 13: « Elias, ait, cum vocem Domini secum loquentis audiret, in speluncae suae ostio stetisse describitur, et faciem velasse; quia cum per contemplationis gratiam vox supernae intelligentiae fit in mente, totus homo jam intra speluncam non est, quia animam carnis cura non possidet, sed stat in ostio, quia mortalitatis angustias exire meditatur. Sed jam qui in ostio speluncae consistit, et verba Dei in aure cordis percipit, necesse est ut faciem velet: quia dum per supernam gratiam ad altiora intelligenda ducimur, quanto sublimius levamur, tanto semper per humilitatem nosmetipsos intellectu nostro premere debemus, ne conemur plus sapere, quam oportet sapere. » Et nonnullis interjectis: « Aurem enim intendere, et faciem operire, est vocem interioris substantiae audire per mentem, et tamen ab omni specie corporea oculos cordis avertere, ne quid sibi in illa corporale animus fingat, quae ubique tota, et ubique circumscripta est. »
19:10
10. ZELO ZELATUS SUM PRO DOMINO DEO EXERCITUUM, — ut tollerem cultum Baal et idolorum, et ideo 850 eorum antistites occidi. Rursum verti potest cum Vatablo, mira zelotypia teneor pro Domino Deo, q. d. Crucior in honorem Dei quadam quasi zelotypia, et quasi sustinerem Dei personam; crucior, cum videam synagogam, quae sponsa est Dei, ab eo deficere, et ad Baal quasi ad adulterum transire. ALTARIA TUA DESTRUXERUNT. — Praeter altare enim a Deo constitutum in templo Jerosolymae, multi ab ea remoti in montibus vicinis altaria Deo vero erexerant, quae vocabantur « excelsa, » in iisque sacrificabant, quae licet Deo minus placerent, tamen ipse ea spiritu haeretico et impio, quasi illa essent Dei falsi, non veri, everti nolebat. Ita Abulensis et Serarius.
19:11
11. Et ait (Angelus Dei vicarius) ei: Egredere ET STA IN MONTE CORAM DOMINO: ET ECCE DOMINUS TRANSIT, ET SPIRITUS GRANDIS ET FORTIS SUBVERTENS Nota finem et scopum hujus visionis fuisse, ut Deus Eliam ira, taedio et dolore ob licentiam, impunitatem et scelera Jezabelis, et Baalitarum succensum consolaretur, mitigaret et erudiret. Primo ergo ipsius oculis et sensibus, offert ventum validissimum, adeo ut is videretur subversurus montes, et contriturus petras; mox ingentem terrae motum; deinde ignem ardentem et flagrantem, q. d. Mihi, o Elia, venti, terra, ignes, adeoque omnia elementa, omnesque creaturae mediae, summae et imae ad manum sunt, ut idolotatras et Jezabelem perdam: at hic modus providentiae et clementiae meae non est ordinarius et usitatus, nec congruus; ideoque nolo eo uti, unde ait: « Non in eo Dominus. » Quarto denique loco Deus auribus Eliae offert lenem auram, sive spiritum et sibilum repraesentantem se, et suam clementiam ac providentiam: spiritus enim hic lenis significat Dei patientiam et longanimitatem ad punienda peccata, quam imitari et induere debeat Elias, et quivis vir Apostolicus. Ita S. Irenaeus, lib. IV Contra haereses, cap. XXXVII: « Docebatur, ait, propheta turbatior et concitatior ad vindictam mitius agere. » Et Tertullianus, lib. De Patientia, cap. XV: « Sedet in throno spiritus ejus (id est Dei) mitissimi et mansuetissimi, qui non turbine glomeratur, non nubilo livet, sed est tenerae serenitatis apertus et simplex, quem tertio vidit Elias: nam ubi Deus, ibi et alumna ejus, patientia scilicet. » Et S. Macarius, homil. 6: « Ecce, inquit, vox aurae tenuis, et in ea Dominus. Liquet ergo quod quies Domini sita est in pace et tranquillitate. » Et Theodoretus, Quaest. LVII: « Per hoc, ait, ostendens quod lenitas, benignitas et clementia sola est Deo grata: unumquodque autem aliorum attrahit hominum improbitas. » S. Chrysostomus, homil. 1 De Elia, in fine asserit, ideo Deum cito rapuisse Eliam, ne, si diutius viveret, igne et zelo ejus perderetur orbis, sed in zelum severum Eliae severior est Chrysostomus. Sic et Procopius. Secundo, hic lenis spiritus sive sibilus detulit vocem Dei ad Eliam, qua Deus eum nimis perturbatum, pusillanimem, putantemque se unicum superesse Dei cultorem et prophetam, erudivit; unde ait: « Reliqui mihi septem millia virorum, qui non curvaverunt genua ante Baal, » Roman. cap. XI, vers. 4. Tertio, spiritus hic subtilis significabat Dei virtutem, efficacitatem et vindictam omnia penetrantem. Unde indicavit Eliae modum vindictae in Baalitas exercendae per Hazael, Jehu et Elisaeum, non per ventum, terrae motum et ignem. Ita Ca- jetanus et Antonius Fernandius in Visionibus veteris Testamenti, visione 9. Igitur spiritus hic lenis simul erat subtilis et acer. Deus enim Deique sapientia et providentia operatur et castigat tam fortiter, quam suaviter. Igitur Deus hac visione non volebat Eliae zelum vindictae improbare, sed moderari duntaxat, ut non fieret ex ira et perturbatione animi, qualis erat in Elia; sed ex lenitate et amore justitiae. Unde mox eidem vindictae rationem et modum praescribit, scilicet ut ungat in regem Hazael et Jehu, ac Elisaeum in prophetam, ut ipsi eamdem peragant. Porro haec omnia per Angelos, utpote Dei administros, ut ait Apostolus, Hebr. cap. I, 14, facta sunt. Unde Chaldaeus vertit: Ecce gloria Domini revelatur, et ante eum erat exercitus Angelorum venti disrumpentium montes, et confringentium petras ante Dominum: non erat in exercitu Angelorum venti majestas Domini, et post exercitum Angelorum venti erat exercitus Angelorum commotionis (excitantium terrae motum): non erat in exercitu Angelorum commotionis majestas Domini: et post exercitum commotionis, exercitus Angelorum ignis: non erat in exercitu Angelorum ignis majestas Domini: et post exercitum Angelorum ignis vox canentium in silentio, quasi demulcentium Eliae animum maerentem et perturbatum. Symbolice, hac visione significabatur Dei natura et majestas, quae non est ventus, nec terra, nec ignis, nec aliud corpus, sed subtilissimus, mitissimus et purissimus spiritus. Haec ergo Dei apparitio fuit quasi scintillatio divinitatis, ut loquitur Tertullianus, quae sui reverentiam a nobis extorquet. Rursum, significatur hic Dei indoles, cui propria est lenitas et clementia. Tonat Deus, fulminat, fulgurat, concutit montes, sed id quodammodo facit invitus et « tactus dolore cordis intrinsecus, » quia proprium est illius miserere et parcere; atque ideo non inhabitare dicitur in turbine et igne, quia haec aliquid sonant horribile et humanis commodis importunum, sed in aura tenui, quae recreat et reficit laborantem spiritum, ait Sanchez ex Theodoreto, etc. Sic et S. Gregorius, libro V Moralium, cap. XXVI, cujus verba mox recitabo. Allegorice, repraesentabatur Christi Salvatoris in mundum venturi spiritus fore diversus, et adversus spiritui Moysis, Eliae et legis veteris. Deus enim in Horeb, sive Sina, dans legem Moysi, audirifecit tonitrua, micare fulgura, ignes coruscare, montem tremere, Exodi XIX et XX, ut duros Judaeos sui suaeque legis metu percelleret. Idem fecit hic Elias, cum per eum violatam legem, suique cultum restaurare vellet. At vero cum Filius Dei in carnem descendit, venit in spiritu lenitatis et mansuetudinis, juxta illud Isaiae XLII, 1, quod citat S. Matthaeus, cap. XII, 19: « Non contendet, neque clamabit, neque audiet aliquis in plateis vocem ejus; arundinem quassatam non confrin- get, et linum fumigans non exstinguet. » Unde, cum Joannes et Jacobus vellent ut Christus in Samaritanos eum non recipientes instar Eliae e coelo vibraret ignes et fulmina, ipse eos repressit, dixitque: « Nescitis cujus spiritus estis. Filius hominis non venit animas perdere, sed salvare, » Lucae IX, 55. Ita S. Irenaeus, lib. IV, cap. XXXVII: « Domini, inquit, adventus significabatur post legem, quae data est per Moysen, mitis et tranquillus, et regni ejus mitis et mansueta requietio. » Et Rupertus: « Non in variis, inquit, Judaeorum captivitatibus erat finis, nondum venerat Messias; sed in spiritu aurae lenis, id est occultus et secretus fuit ejus adventus, quem quasi de aura tenui, id est de Spiritu Sancto Maria Virgo concepit. » Hunc spiritum lenitatis Christus commendavit et impressit S. Petro, Paulo caeterisque Apostolis et fidelibus. Unde hic est spiritus legis gratiae et novi Testamenti, qui longe potentior et efficacior est spiritu timoris et terroris veteris Testamenti. Huc facit apologus de Euro vento validissimo certante cum sole, uter esset potentior, uter scilicet viatori pallium excuteret. Sane non excussit Eurus, imo viator Euro flante magis pallio se involvit, ut Euro resisteret; sed illud ei suo ardore et calore sudorem ei excutiens extorsit sol: simili modo plus valet, plus potest lenitas quam violentia; plus amor quam timor, plus ardor quam terror. Recitat fusius hunc apologum B. Petrus Damianus, lib. I, epist. 16 ad Alexandrum II Pont. additque: « Si Roboam senum consiliis acquiescens populo mitia respondisset, totum Israel sui juris imperio subdidisset; sed quia coaevorum suorum superbiae credidit, divisis a se decem tribubus, sublimem regni potentiam humilem fecit. Rhinoceros etiam qui rabida persequentium canum ora celerrima pernicitate contemnit, capi se gremio blandae virginis non pavescit. » Porro S. Gregorius, lib. V Moral. cap. XXV, explicans illud Job. cap. IV: Et vocem quasi aurae lenis audivi: « Quid, inquit, per vocem aurae lenis nisi Spiritus Sancti cognitio designatur? Qui tamen super Apostolos veniens per exteriorem sonum, tanquam per vehementem demonstratur, cum dicitur: Factus est repente de coelo sonus tanquam advenientis spiritus vehementis. Sanctus enim Spiritus cum se notitiae humanae imbecillitatis insinuat, et sonitu vehementis spiritus, et voce aurae lenis exprimitur, quia scilicet veniens et vehemens est et lenis; lenis, quia notitiam suam quatenus cognosci utcumque valeat nostris sensibus temperat; vehemens, quia, quantumlibet hanc temperet, adventu tamen suo infirmitatis nostrae caecitatem illuminando perturbat. Tropologice significatur hic primo, modus quo Deus poenitentes et perfectionis studiosos exercet et disponit, ut eos ad perfectionem suamque familiaritatem perducat. Primo enim eos terrore mortis, judicii et gehennae quasi vento validissimo, terrae motu et igne percellit, compungit, ciet lacrymas, ac deinde ut spiritus aurae lenis eos mulcet, adoptat, recreat, et ad altum contemplationis verticem sustollit. Audi S. Gregorium, lib. V Moral. cap. XXVI: « Spiritus ante Dominum evertit montes, et petras conterit, quia pavor qui ex adventu ejus irruit, et altitudinem cordis nostri dejicit, et duritiam liquefacit; sed spiritui commotionis, et igni non inesse Dominus dicitur; esse vero in sibilo aurae tenuis non negatur. Quia nimirum mens cum in contemplationis sublimitate suspenditur, quidquid perfecte conspicere praevalet Deus non est. Cum vero subtile aliquid conspicit, hoc est quod de incomprehensibili substantia aeternitatis. Quasi enim sibilum tenuis aurae percipimus, cum saporem incircumscriptae veritatis contemplatione subita degustamus. » Idem praestitit Deus Eliae, dum eum, post terrores, luctas et pugnas cum Baalitis, curru igneo rapuit in coelum, ubi aura leni, id est plena pace mentis et corporis fruitur. Simili modo ergo, qui tentationibus agitatur, non demittat animum; sed sciat ei successurum « spiritum aurae lenis, » id est consolationem, quietem et gaudium. Secundo, traditur hic forma, ait Sanchez, viris Apostolicis et Praelatis, quae in corrigendis, aut puniendis divinae legis transgressoribus servari debeat; nempe ut illa imitetur, quae maxime sunt in rerum natura violenta, ventum nimirum, qui concutit atque subvertit montes; et ignem, qui consumit et dissipat omnia, idque celeritate incredibili, neque suavitatem assumat tenuis et refrigerantis aurae, donec Deum advenire videat, quem antecedunt quasi stratores viarum et praecursores ad parandum hospitium, ventus, commotio, ignis.
19:13
13. Quod cum audisset Elias. — Audiebat enim ventum valide perstrepentem, terrae motum locum conquassantem, auram tenuem sibilantem; ignem vero partim audiebat, utpote stridentem, partim vero videbat, utpote lucentem. OPERUIT VULTUM SUUM PALLIO, — ut Deo se hisce signis ostendenti reverentiam exhiberet, quasi indignus qui in eum aspiceret, eumque contueretur.
19:14
14. PROPHETAS TUOS OCCIDERUNT GLADIO (quia sese opponebant cultui Baal), DERELICTUS SUM EGO SOLUS (propheta et zelator verae religionis, qui me valide eidem oppono), ET QUAERUNT ANIMAM MEAM, — ut me occidant; me ergo occiso nullus supererit propheta, nullus zelator, qui tuum cultum propugnet et Baalitis sese opponat. Actum ergo est de vera religione, de tuo cultu, de tota Synagoga; omnia occupat impia Jezabel; ubique colitur Baal; ubique exundat perfidia et idololatria. Haec est causa mei doloris et moeris, meae fugae et exilii, ut mori optem potius quam vivere; et videre tanta mala gentis meae et populi Dei. Ita Elias moerore, ira et zelo confectus. 15 et 16. UNGES HAZAEL REGEM SUPER SYRIAM, ET JEHU FILIUM NAMSI UNGES REGEM SUPER ISRAEL: ELI- SEUM AUTEM, etc., UNGES PROPHETAM PRO TE, — ut hi ultionem justam de Baalitis, quam tu, o Elia, adeo desideras, reipsa peragant. Unde in Eliae laudibus dicitur Ecclesiastici cap. XLVIII, vers. 8: « Qui ungis reges ad poenitentiam, » id est ad poenam et ultionem impiorum, ut sint divini cultus vindices. « Unges regem, » id est regem designabis, regnum ei deferes. Est catachresis: quia enim unctione creabantur reges, hinc ungere est regem creare. Nam Hazael non fuit unctus ab Elia, sed designatus rex ab Eliseo, quem ad eum misit Elias: Jehu vero in regem Israel unctus fuit ab uno Elisei discipulo, ut patet IV Reg. VIII, 13 et seq. Itaque Elias haec jussa Dei exsecutus fuit per Eliseum, quem idcirco jussu Dei sibi subrogavit. Sic Eliseum non legimus unctum, sed immisso ab Elia in eum pallio designatum prophetam, vers. 19. Ita Theodoretus, Rabanus, Dionysius, Abulensis, Salianus. Sanchez tamen to unges proprie accipit, censetque omnes hos tres ab Elia fuisse unctos, licet id Scriptura factum non narret. Ideo enim videtur Elias jussu Dei rediisse per desertum in Damascum, quae longior et inamoenior erat via, ut ibi Hazaelem in regem ungeret; esto enim Hazael postea rursum ab alio unctus sit, tamen nil prohibet eum prius ab Elia fuisse unctum. Sic enim David et Saul bis uncti fuere. Haec sententia probabilis est, atque hunc versum proprie ad litteram accipit. QUI EST DE ABELMEULA. — Erat haec urbs in tribu Manasse cis Jordanem. Fuit ergo Eliseus de tribu Manasse, sicut Elias de tribu Gad. Ita S. Hieronymus, Salianus, Adrichomius et alii; licet S. Epiphanius et Isidorus in Vita Elisei, dicant eum fuisse oriundum ex tribu Ruben, qui et addunt in ortu Elisei mugiisse unum e vitulis aureis, quos conflavit Jeroboam, et illius mugitum auditum fuisse Hierosolymis, et ex eo Sacerdotem quemdam prudentem conjectasse, eo die aliquem esse natum, qui futurus esset sculptilibus omnibus atque idolis exterminium.
19:17
17. ET ERIT, QUICUMQUE FUGERIT GLADIUM HAZAEL, OCCIDET EUM JEHU. — Quomodo Hazael et Jehu occiderint idololatras, audiemus in sequentibus. ET QUICUMQUE FUGERIT GLADIUM JEHU, INTERFICIET EUM ELISEUS, — gladio non corporali, sed spirituali, puta gladio linguae, qua eos acriter redarguet minabiturque mortem praesentem et aeternam, inquit Angelomus, Rabanus et Hugo. Planius accipias haec de gladio et morte corporali; illo enim idololatras occiderunt Hazael et Jehu, quibus hic Eliseus comparatur. Eliseus enim occidit 42 pueros idololatrarum filios sibi insultantes, dicentesque: « Ascende, calve, » IV Reg. II, ac verisimile est eum, instar Eliae magistri sui, juxta hoc oraculum plures alios idololatras interfecisse, etsi Scriptura id non commemoret. Ita Abulensis, Lyranus, Cajetanus, Sanchez et alii.
19:18
18. ET DERELINQUAM MIHI IN ISRAEL SEPTEM MILLIA VIRORUM, QUORUM GENUA NON SUNT CURVATA ANTE BAAL. — Opponit Deus septem millia illi, quod dixerat Elias vers. 14: « Derelictus sum ego solus, » q. d. Falleris, Elia, non es solus. En Eliseus tibi accedit: en septem millia virorum Deicolarum, quae « derelinquam. » Hebraice הישארתי hisarti, id est remanere faciam, reservabo, custodiam, ne a Jezabel occidantur, aut pervertantur, et ad cultum Baal traducantur. ET OMNE OS QUOD NON ADORAVIT EUM, OSCULANS MANUS, — repete « derelinquam, » id est custodiam et in vita conservabo. Sensus totius versus est, q. d. Et custodiam septem millia virorum, qui non flexerunt genua ante Baal, nec osculando manum eum adorarunt: erat enim hoc duplex genus adorationis, genuflexio et osculatio manus. Osculans manus, Hebraice osculans eum, scilicet Baal, ut eum osculo hoc salutet et adoret, quasi suum Deum et Dominum. Noster vertit, « osculans manus, » ut notet ritum modumque adorandi, qui erat osculari manum idoli, vel manum propriam eo ritu et gestu quasi oscularetur manum idoli, utpote remoti, vel longe positi. Hunc ritum insinuat Job, cap. XXXI, vers. 26: « Si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare, et laetatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo. » Hujus consuetudinis externi quoque meminerunt Plinius lib. XXVIII, cap. II: « Inter adorandum dexteram ad osculum referimus. » Minutius in Octavio: « Caecilius, simulacro Serapidis viso, ut vulgus superstitiosus solet, manum ori admovens, osculum labiis impressit. »
19:19
19. REPERIT ELISEUM FILIUM SAPHAT ARANTEM IN (cum) DUODECIM JUGIS BOUM. — Erat ergo Eliseus agricola locuples, utpote qui haberet duodecim juga boum, iisque agrum ingentem coleret. Nam boves hos ipsius fuisse patet ex vers. ult., ubi ipse par boum mactavit pro epulo, quo suis valedixit. ET IPSE IN DUODECIM JUGIS BOUM ARANTIBUS UNUS ERAT. — Nam quodque jugum boum, sive par boum suum habebat aurigam et aratorem; quare duodecim erant hic juga boum, et pariter duodecim aratores, e quibus unus erat Eliseus. MISIT PALLIUM SUUM SUPER ILLUM, — ut eum vocaret ad se sequendum, eumque faceret sibi socium suique instituti participem, uti jam novitiis in Religione datur pallium, sive vestis ejusdem Religionis. Simili modo olim sponsus, sponsam ambieus, tegebat eam pallio suo. Unde illud Ruth ambientis nuptias Booz, cap. III, vers. 9: « Expande pallium tuum super famulam tuam; » et illud Ezech. XVI, 8: « Expande amictum meum super te. » Hac ergo caeremonia institutus est Eliseus propheta socius et successor Eliae, ejusque cor omnino a Deo immutatum est, atque ex laico factus est Religiosus, ex agricola Propheta, ex idiota Theodidactos. Unde statim reliquit boves, domum, parentes, et secutus est Eliam. Addit Sanchez eum fuisse unctum ab Elia; hoc enim jusserat Deus, vers. 16. Unctio, inquit, Eliseum fecit Prophetam (hic enim ungi solebat); pallium autem, Eliae contubernalem et monachum.
19:20
20. QUOD ENIM MEUM ERAT, FECI TIBI, — q. d. Ego non nisi pallio te tetigi; sed Deus cor tuum tetigit, illudque ex carnali fecit spirituale et coeleste, ut omnia relinquas, et alacer me sequaris, certesque ut ego cum idololatris.
19:21
21. TULIT PAR BOUM ET MACTAVIT ILLUD, ET IN ARATRO BOUM COXIT CARNES, ET DEDIT POPULO ET COMEDERUNT. — Eliseus, quia festinabat et gestiebat illico sequi Eliam, idcirco usus est aratro pro lignis, ad coquendum carnes boum. Dedit ergo typum et exemplum nobis, ut Dei vocationem illico, resolute et constanter sequamur, uti notant Cajetanus et Abulensis. Celebravit enim convivium quo suis valedixit, ut ostenderet se boves, aratrum, agrum omniaque relinquere, ac laetum sequi Eliam. Hinc colligit Abulensis eum fuisse juvenem et ἄγαμον, id est sine uxore et caelibem: alioqui enim petiisset ab Elia facultatem salutandi tam uxorem et filios, quam patrem et matrem. Rursum Eliseus, ait Abulensis, nihil voluit sibi reliquum manere in saeculo, ut liber et expeditus transiret totus ad Dominum: idcirco aratrum et boves consumpsit, qua in re exemplum dedit Religiosis, ut idem faciant. Hinc et S. Ignatius, epist. ad Philadelph., Eliseum asserit fuisse caelibem et virginem: nimirum Eliseus Dei vocantis instinctu jam superior erat omni terrena cupiditate. Nam, ut ait S. Cyprianus, tract. De Oratione Dominica, ad illa: « Adveniat regnum tuum: Qui renuntiavit jam saeculo, major est et honoribus ejus et regno; et ideo qui se Deo et Christo dedicat, non terrena, sed coelestia regna desiderat; » imo Deum ipsum, « quia in illo regnaturi sumus. » Et S. Ambrosius, lib. VI De Sacramentis, cap. V: « Si Deus in nobis regnat, locum habere adversarius non potest. Culpa non regnat, peccatum non regnat: sed regnat virtus, regnat pudicitia, regnat devotio.
19:2
furente Iezabel (I Reg. 19, 2). Oltre la Giudea, dov'è
19:3
SIMEONE (EBR. ŠIM'ÔN, GRECO ΣΥΜΖΌΝ)
… I Simeoniti forniscono ancora 7100 guerrieri a David (I Par. 12, 25). Ma già in quest'epoca, e sempre più spesso in seguito, le città già di S. vengono censite come giudaiche: Bethel, Ramoth a sud, Arama, Asan (I Sam. 30, 27-30), Bersabee (II Sam. 24, 7; I Reg. 19, 3; II Reg. 23, 8), Siceleg (I Sam. 27, 6), ecc. (cf. I Par. 4, 28-31).
19:8
HOREB (EBR. HŌRĒB, «SICCITÀ», «DESOLAZIONE»)
… (Ps. 105[106], 19; Deut. 9, 8 sgg.); il lungo soggiorno degli Israeliti appena usciti dall'Egitto e il punto di partenza per Cadesbarne (Deut. 1, 2, 19, ecc.); ivi Mosè fece scaturire le acque da una roccia (Ex. 17, 6) e vi si rifugiò il profeta Elia (I Reg. 19, 8).
… 24-30). Ivi fu suggellato il patto d'alleanza con Dio, per cui il popolo s'impegnava ad osservarne la Legge (ibid. 23, 25-31). Vari secoli dopo, il profeta Elia, per sfuggire alle minacce della regina Iezabel, si recò in 40 giorni «a Horeb, monte di Dio» (I Reg. 19, 8).
19:15
HAZAEL (EBR. ḤĀZĀ'EL E ḤĀZĀ'EL, « DIO VEDE »; ACCADICO, ḤAZA'ILU; SETTANTA, A'ĀYĀ)
HAZAEL (ebr. Ḥāzā'el e Ḥāzā'el, « Dio vede »; accadico, ḥaza'ilu; Settanta, A'āyā). - Fiero re degli Aramei di Damasco (ca. 844-797), destinato da Jahweh a punire l'idolatria di Israele (I Reg. 19, 15-17). Mandato dall'infermo Benadad II a consultare Eliseo, H., con spiacevole sorpresa, si sentì svelato il suo piano di uccidere il Re ed annunziare il gran male che avrebbe fatto ad …
19:16
ABEL (EBR. ABHÈL «PRATO»; FORSE PERÒ È ARAMAIZZAZIONE DAL CANANEO ABIL «CANALE»)
… Patria di Eliseo (Iudc. 7, 22; I Reg. 4, 12; 19, 16); forse è l'odierno Tell Abu Sifri, a ca. 15 km. a sud di Beisan.
ELISEO ('ELĪLĀ' = « DIO SALVA »)
… Era figlio di Saphat, originario di Abelmeula, a sud-est di Bejsān (I Reg. 19, 16). Ricco possidente (I Reg. 19, 19), rispose con gioia al gesto simbolico di Elia che lo consacrava profeta e suo successore da parte di Jahweh (I Reg. 19, 19-21). Discepolo affezionato …
19:18
parte del popolo era idolatra (cf. I Reg. 19, 18).
… Furono tra i fedeli jahwisti che non piegarono il loro ginocchio dinanzi a Baal (cf. I Reg. 19, 18); il loro capo godeva grande stima e influenza: Iehu (842 a. C.) lo volle al suo fianco, sul suo stesso cocchio, quando, dopo la strage della dinastia degli Omridi, s'avviava a Samaria …
19:19
ELISEO ('ELĪLĀ' = « DIO SALVA »)
… Era figlio di Saphat, originario di Abelmeula, a sud-est di Bejsān (I Reg. 19, 16). Ricco possidente (I Reg. 19, 19), rispose con gioia al gesto simbolico di Elia che lo consacrava profeta e suo successore da parte di Jahweh (I Reg. 19, 19-21). Discepolo affezionato di Elia (II Reg. 3, 11; cf. cap. …
19:25
ELISEO ('ELĪLĀ' = « DIO SALVA »)
Si reca a Damasco per compiere la missione da Dio affidata ad Elia (cf. I Reg. 19, 25); a Hazael svela che ucciderà il re ammalato, avrà il regno a farà gran male a Israele (II Reg. 8, 7-15). Allo stesso modo sceglie il momento più opportuno per ungere, mediante un …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · Douay-Rheims originale (Douai 1609-10), trascrizione 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')). Pubblico dominio.