Iacob with his fathers blessing, and admonition not to take a wife of Chanaan, but of the daughters of his vncle Laban, goeth into Mesopotamia: (6. Esau in the meane time marieth a third wife, his vncle Ismaels daughter) 11. Iacob seeth in slepe a ladder reaching to heauen, Angels ascending and descending, and our Lord leyning theron renewed the promises made to Abraham and Isaac. 16. And be away king maketh a vow.
1And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, saying: Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan:Isacco adunque chiamò a sé Giacobbe, e lo benedisse, e gli diede questo comando, dicendo: Non prender moglie della stirpe di Chanaan:ISAAC therfore called Iacob, and blessed him, and commanded him saying: Take not a wife of the stocke of Chanaan:Vocavit itaque Isaac Jacob, et benedixit eum, præcepitque ei dicens: Noli accipere conjugem de genere Chanaan: 2But go, and take a journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bathuel, thy mother’s father, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban, thy uncle.Ma parti, e va' nella Mesopotamia di Siria alla casa di Bathuele, padre di tua genitrice, e quindi prenditi una moglie delle figlie di Laban tuo zio.but goe, and make a iourney into Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bathuel thy mothers father, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thin vncle.sed vade, et proficiscere in Mesopotamiam Syriæ, ad domum Bathuel patris matris tuæ, et accipe tibi inde uxorem de filiabus Laban avunculi tui. 3And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people.E Dio onnipotente ti benedica, e ti faccia crescere, e ti moltiplichi; onde tu sii capo di una turba di popoli.And God almightie blesse thee, and make thee encrease, and multiplie thee: that thou maiest be into multitudes of peoples.Deus autem omnipotens benedicat tibi, et crescere te faciat, atque multiplicet, ut sis in turbas populorum. 4And give the blessings of Araham to thee, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment, which he promised to thy grandfather.E dia egli le benedizioni di Abramo a te, e alla tua stirpe dopo di te; onde tu sii padrone della terra, dove sei pellegrino, promessa da lui al tuo nonno.And geue he thee the blessings of Abraham, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayest possesse the land of thy perigrination, which he promised to thy grandfather.Et det tibi benedictiones Abrahæ, et semini tuo post te: ut possideas terram peregrinationis tuæ, quam pollicitus est avo tuo. 5And when Isaac had sent him away, he took his journey and went to Mesopotamia of Syria, to Laban, the son of Bathuel, the Syrian, brother to Rebecca, his mother.Licenziatosi Giacobbe da Isacco, si partì, e giunse nella Mesopotamia di Siria alla casa di Laban, figliuolo di Bathuele Siro, fratello di Rebecca sua madre.And when Isaac had dismist him, taking his iourney he came to Mesopotamia of Syria to Laban the sonne of Bathuel the Syrian, brother to Rebecca his mother.Cumque dimisisset eum Isaac, profectus venit in Mesopotamiam Syriæ ad Laban filium Bathuel Syri, fratrem Rebeccæ matris suæ.
6And Esau seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to marry a wife thence; and that after the blessing he had charged him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Chanaan:Ma veggendo Esaù, come il padre suo avea benedetto Giacobbe, e lo avea mandato nella Mesopotamia di Siria a prendervi moglie, e come dopo la benedizione gli avea dato quest'ordine dicendo: Non prenderai in moglie alcuna delle figlie di Chanaan:And Esau seing that his father had blessed Iacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to marry a wife thence; and that after the blessing he had commanded him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Chanaan:Videns autem Esau quod benedixisset pater suus Jacob, et misisset eum in Mesopotamiam Syriæ, ut inde uxorem duceret; et quod post benedictionem præcepisset ei, dicens: Non accipies uxorem de filiabus Chanaan: 7And that Jacob obeying his parents, was gone into Syria:E come obbedendo Giacobbe a' suoi genitori, era andato nella Siria:and that Iacob obeying his parents was gone into Syria:quodque obediens Jacob parentibus suis isset in Syriam: 8Experiencing also, that his father was not well pleased with the daughters of Chanaan:Avendo ancora sperimentato, che non di buon occhio vedeva il padre suo le figlie di Chanaan:hauing tryal also that his father did not willingly see the daughters of Canaan:probans quoque quod non libenter aspiceret filias Chanaan pater suus: 9He went to Ismael, and took to wife, besides them he had before, Maheleth, the daughter of Ismael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nabajoth.Andò alla casa d'Ismaele, e prese moglie, oltre quelle che prima avea, Maheleth, figliuola d'Ismaele, figliuolo di Abramo, sorella di Nabajoth.he went to Ismael, and tooke to wife besides them, which he had before, Maheleth the daughter of Ismael Abrahams sonne, sister to Nabaioth.ivit ad Ismaëlem, et duxit uxorem absque iis, quas prius habebat, Maheleth filiam Ismaël filii Abraham, sororem Nabaioth. 10But Jacob being departed from Bersabee, went on to Haran.Ma Giacobbe partito da Bersabee, andava verso Haran.Therfore Iacob being departed from Bersabee, went on to Haran.Igitur egressus Jacob de Bersabee, pergebat Haran. 11And when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in it after sunset, he took of the stones that lay there, and putting under his head, slept in the same place.E arrivato in un certo luogo, e volendo ivi riposare dopo il tramontare del sole, prese una delle pietre, che erano per terra, e se la pose sotto del capo, e nel luogo stesso si addormentò.And when he was come to a certaine place, and would rest in it after sunne set, he tooke one of the stones that lay there, and putting it vnder his head, slept in the same place.Cumque venisset ad quemdam locum, et vellet in eo requiescere post solis occubitum, tulit de lapidibus qui jacebant, et supponens capiti suo, dormivit in eodem loco.
12And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it.E vide in sogno una scala appoggiata alla terra, la cui sommità toccava il cielo: e gli Angeli di Dio, che salivano per essa, e scendevano,And he saw in his sleepe a ladder standing vpon the earth, and the top therof tooching heauen: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it,Viditque in somnis scalam stantem super terram, et cacumen illius tangens cælum: angelos quoque Dei ascendentes et descendentes per eam, 13And the Lord leaning upon the ladder saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: The land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed.E il Signore appoggiato alla scala, il quale a lui diceva: Io sono il Signore Dio di Abramo tuo padre, e Dio d'Isacco: la terra, in cui tu dormi, la darò a te, e alla tua stirpe.and our Lord leyning vpon the ladder saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the Land, wherin thou sleepest, I wil geue to thee and to thy seed.et Dominum innixum scalæ dicentem sibi: Ego sum Dominus Deus Abraham patris tui, et Deus Isaac: terram, in qua dormis, tibi dabo et semini tuo. 14And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth: thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and IN THEE and thy seed, all the tribes of the earth SHALL BE BLESSED.E la tua stirpe sarà come la polve della terra: ti dilaterai a occidente, e ad oriente, e a settentrione, e a mezzo giorno, e IN TE, e nel seme tuo SARAN BENEDETTE tutte le tribù della terra.And thy seed shal be as the dust of the earth: thou shalt be dilated to the West, and to the East, & to the North, and to the South: and IN THEE and thy seed al the tribes of the earth SHAL BE BLESSED.Eritque semen tuum quasi pulvis terræ: dilataberis ad occidentem, et orientem, et septentrionem, et meridiem: et benedicentur in te et in semine tuo cunctæ tribus terræ. 15And I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land: neither will I leave thee, till I shall have accomplished all that I have said.E io sarò tuo custode, in qualunque luogo anderai: e ti ricondurrò in questo paese: e non ti lascerò senza avere adempiuto tutto quello che ho detto.And I wil be thy keeper whither so euer thou goest, and wil bring thee backe into this land: neither wil I leaue thee, til I shal haue accomplished al things which I haue said.Et ero custos tuus quocumque perrexeris, et reducam te in terram hanc: nec dimittam nisi complevero universa quæ dixi.
16And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said: Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.E svegliatosi Giacobbe dal sonno, disse: Veramente il Signore è in questo luogo, e io nol sapeva.And when Iacob was awaked out of sleepe, he said: In dede our Lord is in this place, and I wist not.Cumque evigilasset Jacob de somno, ait: Vere Dominus est in loco isto, et ego nesciebam. 17And trembling, he said: How terrible is this place? this is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven.E pien di paura: Quanto è terribile, diss'egli, questo luogo! non è qui altra cosa, se non la casa di Dio, e la porta del cielo.And trembling he said: How terrible is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and the gate of heauen.Pavensque, Quam terribilis est, inquit, locus iste ! non est hic aliud nisi domus Dei, et porta cæli. 18And Jacob arising in the morning, took the stone which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it.Alzatosi adunque al mattino Giacobbe, prese la pietra, che avea posta sotto il suo capo, e la eresse in monumento, versandovi sopra dell'olio.And Iacob arising in the morning, tooke the stone, which he had laid vnder his head, and erected it for a title, powring oyle vpon the toppe.Surgens ergo Jacob mane, tulit lapidem quem supposuerat capiti suo, et erexit in titulum, fundens oleum desuper. 19And he called the name of the city Bethel, which before was called Luza.E alla città, che prima chiamavasi Luza, diede il nome di Bethel.And he called the name of the citie Bethel, which before was called Luza.Appellavitque nomen urbis Bethel, quæ prius Luza vocabatur. 20And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way, by which I walk, and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,Fece ancora voto, dicendo: Se il Signore sarà con me, e sarà mio custode nel viaggio da me intrapreso, e mi darà pane da mangiare, e veste da coprirmi,And he vowed a vowe, saying: If God shal be with me, and shal keepe me in the way, by the which I walke, and shal geue me bread to eate, and rayment to put on,Vovit etiam votum, dicens: Si fuerit Deus mecum, et custodierit me in via, per quam ego ambulo, et dederit mihi panem ad vescendum, et vestimentum ad induendum, 21And I shall return prosperously to my father’s house: the Lord shall be my God:E tornerò felicemente alla casa del padre mio, il Signore sarà mio Dio,and I shal be returned prosperously to my fathers house, the Lord shal be my God,reversusque fuero prospere ad domum patris mei: erit mihi Dominus in Deum,
22And this stone, which I have set up for a title, shall be called the house of God: and of all things that thou shalt give to me, I will offer tithes to thee.E questa pietra alzata da me per monumento, avrà il nome di casa di Dio: e di tutte le cose, che darai a me, ti offerirò la decima.and this stone, which I haue erected for a title, shal be called the House of God: and of al things that thou shalt geue to me, I wil offer tithes to thee.et lapis iste, quem erexi in titulum, vocabitur Domus Dei: cunctorumque quæ dederis mihi, decimas offeram tibi.
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Year of the World 2245.
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Take. Septuagint, "flee;" as if Isaac began at last to be apprized of Esau's designs. Wisdom 10:10 conducted the just when he fled from his brother's wrath, etc.
Thy uncle. He points out the house, but leaves the woman to his choice.
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Haydock
Grandfather. Isaac, out of modesty, does not mention that the same promises had been made to himself. He determines the right over Chanaan to belong solely to Jacob, and to his posterity. (Haydock)
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Calmet
To Ismael's family; for he had been dead fourteen years. Esau asks no advice. It is doubtful whether he meant to appease or irritate his parents, (Menochius) by this marriage with the daughter of Ismael. She lived with her brother, the head of the Nabutheans, and is called Basemath, Genesis 36:3. (Calmet)
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Haydock
Head for a pillow. Behold the austerity of the heir of all that country! (Haydock)
Worthington
He departs from home in haste, with his staff only, that Esau might not know. (Worthington)
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Haydock
A ladder and angels, etc. This mysterious vision tended to comfort the patriarch, with the assurance that God would now take him under his more particular protection, when he was destitute of human aid. (Haydock)
Menochius
The angels ascending, foretold that his journey would be prosperous; and descending, shewed that he would return with safety. (Menochius)
Haydock
Or rather, the ladder represented the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, born of so many patriarchs from Adam, who was created by God, to the blessed Virgin Mary. He is the way by which we must ascend, by observing the truth, till we obtain life eternal. (Haydock)
Menochius
Mercy and truth are like the two sides; the virtues of Christ are signified by the steps. Angels descend to announce this joyful mystery to men; they ascend to convey the prayers and ardent desires of the ancient saints, to hasten their redemption. (Menochius)
Our Saviour seems to allude to this passage, John 1:51; 14:6. The Providence of God, watching over all things, appears here very conspicuous.
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Haydock
Thy father, or grandfather. God joins the dead with the living, to shew that all live to him, and that the soul is immortal. (Haydock)
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Haydock
Knew it not. Jacob was not ignorant that God fills all places. But he thought that he would not manifest himself thus in a land given to idolatry. He begins to suspect that the place had been formerly consecrated to the worship of the true God, (Calmet) as it probably had by Abraham, who dwelt near Bethel, (Chap. 12:8, ) and built an altar on Mount Moria, Genesis 22:14. Interpreters are not agreed on which of these places Jacob spent the night. St. Augustine, q. 83, supposes it was on the latter, "where God appointed the tabernacle to remain." The Chaldean paraphrases it very well in this sense, ver. 17, "How terrible is this place! It is not an ordinary place, but a place beloved by God, and over against this place is the door of heaven." (Haydock)
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Challoner
A title. That is, a pillar or monument. (Challoner)
Worthington
Or an altar, consecrated by that rite to the service of the true God. This he did without any superstition; as the Catholic Church still pours oil or chrism upon her altars, in imitation of Jacob. (Rabanus, Instit. 1:45.) If pagans did the like, this is no reason why we should condemn the practice. They were blamable for designing thus to worship false gods. (St. Clement of Alexandria, strom. vii; Apuleius, Florid. i; etc.) If Protestants pull down altars, under the plea of their being superstitious, we cannot but pity their ignorance or malice. (Worthington)
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Challoner
Bethel. This name signifies the house of God. (Challoner)
Chardin
Bethel was the name which Jacob gave to the place; and the town, which was built after his return, was called by the same name. Hence those famous animated stones or idols, received their title (Bethules, Eusebius, praep. 1:10.) being consecrated to Saturn, the Sun, etc. Till the days of Mahomet, the Arabs adored a rough stone, taken from the temple of Mecca, which they pretended was built by Abraham. (Chardin)
Haydock
Luza, so called from the number of nut or almond trees. Here the golden calf was afterwards set up, on the confines of the tribes of Benjamin and of Ephraim, (Calmet) the southern limits of the kingdom of Jeroboam. (Haydock)
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Calmet
A vow; not simply that he would acknowledge one God, but that he would testify his peculiar veneration for him, by erecting an altar, at his return, and by giving voluntarily the tithes of all he had. (Worthington) (Chap. 35:7.) How he gave these tithes, we do not read. Perhaps he might hereby engage his posterity to give them under the law of Moses. (Calmet)
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Bethel.... This name signifies the house of God.
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Isaac againe cōfirmeth the blessings of Abraham to Iacob, and his sede, omitting Esau: yea and God repeteth the same. v. 13.
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Liturgia The Epistle in a votiue Masse for trauelers.
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11. Tooke of the stones] Iacob traueling into a strange countrie went in such VVhy Iacob traueled in poore state. poore state, the better to hide his departure from Esau. who otherwise might haue killed him by the way. It was also thus disposed by God, that Iacobs faith and confidence might, to his greatter merite, be exercised: and that Gods prouidence might more manifestly appeare, as it did in his returne after twentie yeares, when with most gratful mind he recounted Gods benefites saying (Gen. 32) VVith my staffe I passed ouer this Iordan, and now with two troupes I do returne.
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12. A ladder] He that was in temporal distresse, was maruelously comforted A notable example of Gods comforth to the afflicted. Al nations beleuing in Christ are blessed in him. spiritually, by seing a ladder that reached from the earth to heauen; Angels passing vp and downe the same, and the Sonne of God leaning vpon it, as he that reigneth both in heauen and earth, who in particular promised him, and his sede that whole land, that he and his sede should be blessed, yea that in His Sede al nations should be blessed, and that he would kepe and protect him where soeuer he went. How al this was performed is briefly rehersed in the booke of wisdom. chap. 10.
Concordanza Sap. 10.
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18. Erected it, povvring oyle] To erect a stone, and powre oyle vpon it, was nowise supersticious in Iacob Neither did he lerne it of Idolaters: for Erecting and annointing of Altares is a religious office being done to Gods honour. The Church lerneth not rites of Idolaters, but they of the Church. Difference in religious, supersticious, & ciuil honour consisteth in the persons, & intentions. he abhorred and detested al idolatrical obseruances But as S. Iustinus Martyr S. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius and others testifie, idololatrical superstition did rather imitate true religious ceremonies For the diuel alwayes affecting that honour, which he seeth done to God, perswaded those whom he seduced, and blinded with errors, to serue him in such maner of external rires, as God was serued, that therby he might either haue like worship with God, as it happened among Painim Idolaters: or els depriue God of this kind of honour, as now we see Protestants reiect and pul downe consecrated Altares, pretending them to be supersticious. VVherin they shew most grosse ignorance, if in dede they so iudge of ignorance, and not of mere malice. For who is so simple, but he may see, that the chiefe difference betwen Religion and Superstition in external things, consisteth in the persons to whom they are done, & in the intētion of the doers, & by the same difference of persons ciuil honour is also distinguished, from both religious and supersticious. As he that kneeleth to God, religiously honoreth God. Kneeling to the sunne, moone, or other false Gods, supersticiously honoreth the diuel, & kneeling to the King, ciuilly honoreth the King. Iacob without doubt did al to Gods onlie honour. And that which he did in this place, is now vsed in the Catholique Church. For so Rabanus a diligent obseruer and writer of Ecclesiastical Rites, Ceremonies, and Customes touching the vse of holie oyle witnesseth (li. 1. c. 45. Institut. cleric.) that the Altar being first sprinkled with water, is annointed with Chrisme, to the example of the Patriarch Iacob, who after that dreadful vision, erected a stone for a title (or monument) powring oyle theron, and calling that place The house of God. S Cyprian Two sortes of holie oyle. also writing of Chrisme, mentioneth the two sortes of holie oyle vsed in the Church; one of simple oyle consecrated by a Bishop, which is vsed for Catechumes before Baptisme, persons possessed, and the sick; the other is made of oyle and balme, also consecrated by a Bishop, and this is vsed in Baptisme, Confirmation, and in consecrating Altares, Kings, and Priests.
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House of God.
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20. Vovved] It can not be vnderstood that Iacob here vowed, or promised Vowes are properly of things which are not otherwise commanded. only to serue God, as the Soueraigne Lord of al creatures, for to that he was bond, whether he should prosper temporally or no; but that he vowed particular godlie workes, to which he was not otherwise obliged. As here he expresseth two things. Presupposing before al, that the Lord Omnipotent shal be his God, he addeth, first And this stone, vvhich I haue erected for a title, shal be called the house of God. wherby he promised the building of a Church, performed at his returne (chap. 35.) Secondly he added, And of al things vvhich thou shalt geue me I vvil offer tubes to thee. And this Likwise was of free deuotion. For tithes also in the law of nature were dew to Priests, and by inferior Priests Gen. 14. to the chiefe Priest, as Abraham gaue tithes to Melchisedech. And so al his tithes were dew to his father, and after his father him selfe was chiefe: yet he promised them to God, that is, to offer them in Sacrifice, and bestow them in other vses pertaining to Gods seruice.
To whom ynough is not ynough, to him nothing is ynough Aulus Gell.
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sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. City of God 16.38
… And my God bless thee, and increase thee, and multiply thee; and thou shalt be an assembly of peoples; and give to thee the blessing of Abraham thy father, and to thy seed after thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou dwellest, which God gave unto Abraham.”
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san Gregorio Nazianzeno † 389 d.C. Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 28
… And Noah’s glory was that he was pleasing to God; he who was entrusted with the saving of the whole world from the waters, or rather of the Seeds of the world, escaped the Deluge in a small Ark. And Abraham, great Patriarch though he was, was justified by faith, and offered a strange victim,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 28.3
… For who would call an uncle or a sister’s son “brother”? Yet the Scripture calls relatives of this kind “brothers.” For Abraham and Lot are called brothers, while Abraham was Lot’s uncle. Laban and Jacob are called brothers, while Laban was Jacob’s uncle.
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sant'Atanasio di Alessandria † 373 d.C. Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.25
… and He will deliver in Whom we trust .’ And none other than God blessed Abraham and Isaac; and Isaac praying for Jacob, said, ‘May God bless thee and increase thee and multiply thee, and thou shalt be for many companies of nations, and may He give thee the blessing of Abraham my father
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papa san Clemente I † 99 d.C. The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians 32
… For from him have sprung the priests and all the Levites who minister at the altar of God. From him also [was descended] our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh. From him [arose] kings, princes, and rulers of the race of Judah. Nor are his other tribes in small glory, inasmuch as God had promised, “Thy seed shall be as the stars of heaven.”
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sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. On the Decease of His Brother Satyrus 2.23
23. The holy patriarch Israel fled from his country, was exiled from his father, relatives, and home,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 10.2
… From Scripture itself. Lot is called “Abraham’s brother;” he was his brother’s son. Read, and thou wilt find that Abraham was Lot’s uncle on the father’s side, and yet they are called brethren. Why, but because they were kinsmen? Laban the Syrian was Jacob’s uncle by the mother’s side, for he was the brother of Rebecca, Isaac’s wife and Jacob’s mother.
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sant'Ippolito † 235 d.C. The Refutation of All Heresies 5.3
… that is, (the entrance and gate) were made known unto him as he journeyed into Mesopotamia. But Mesopotamia, he says, is the current of the great ocean flowing from the midst of the Perfect Man; and he was astonished at the celestial gate, exclaiming, “How terrible is this place! it is nought else than the house of God, and this (is) the gate of heaven.”
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san Giustino † 165 d.C. Dialogue with Trypho 58
… this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up in the morning, and took the stone which he had placed under his head, and he set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it; and Jacob called the name of the place The House of God, and the name of the city formerly was Ulammaus.’ ”
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. City of God 16.38
… And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob arose, and took the stone that he had put under his head there, and set it up for a memorial, and poured oil upon the top of it. And Jacob called the name of that place the house of God.”
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san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 123.15
… Moreover, to prove to us his powers of endurance, he took a stone for his pillow. Yet as he lay there he beheld a ladder set up on the earth reaching to heaven and behold the Lord stood above it, and the angels ascended and descended on it;
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On Christian Doctrine 1.2
… but things are learnt by means of signs. I now use the word “thing” in a strict sense, to signify that which is never employed as a sign of anything else: for example, wood, stone, cattle, and other things of that kind. Not, however, the wood which we read Moses cast into the bitter waters to make them sweet, nor the stone which Jacob used as a pillow,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 12.26
… Jacob saw in his dream "Verily I say unto you, Ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." This Jacob saw, who in the blessing was called Israel, when he had the stone for a pillow, and had the vision of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, on which the angels of God were ascending and descending.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 39.5
… There are many such, but meanwhile, as is suggested by this mention of the corner-stone, when Jacob anointed the stone which he had placed at his head as he slept, and in his sleep saw a mysterious dream, ladders rising from the earth to heaven, and Angels ascending and descending, and the Lord standing upon the ladder,
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 72.2
… thou shalt see greater things than these.” What are these greater things? And He said, “Ye shall see heaven open, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Let us call to mind the old story written in the sacred Book. I mean in Genesis.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 45.18
18. This was figured in Jacob’s placing a stone at his head, and so sleeping.
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Tertulliano † 220 d.C. The Five Books Against Marcion 3.24
… For why, as soon as he awoke out of his sleep, and shook through a dread of the spot, does he fall to an interpretation of his dream? He exclaims, “How terrible is this place!” And then adds, “This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”
Tertulliano † 220 d.C. De Fuga in Persecutione 1
… But the judging properly belongs to God alone. This is that fan which even now cleanses the Lord’s threshing-floor—the Church, I mean—winnowing the mixed heap of believers, and separating the grain of the martyrs from the chaff of the deniers; and this is also the ladder
Origene † 254 d.C. Origen Against Celsus 6.21
… Celsus, too, agreeably to the opinion of Plato, asserts that souls can make their way to and from the earth through the planets; while Moses, our most ancient prophet, says that a divine vision was presented to the view of our prophet Jacob,
Eusebio di Cesarea † 339 d.C. The Church History of Eusebius 2.18.4
4. And there is also a work of his On Emigration, and one On the life of a Wise Man made perfect in Righteousness, or On unwritten Laws; and still further the work On Giants or On the Immutability of God, and a first, second, third, fourth and fifth book On the proposition, that Dreams according to Moses are sent by God.
san Gregorio Nazianzeno † 389 d.C. Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 43.71
… nor was he outwitted in the preference of his children, but bestowed upon each what was due to him, without any deception, according to the judgment of the Spirit. I extol the ladder of Jacob,
sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. On the Decease of His Brother Satyrus 2.100
… We shall have our share with him, if we imitate him. He was obedient to his mother, he yielded to his brother, he served his father-in-law, he sought his wages from the increase, not from a division of the flocks. There was no covetous division, where his portion brought such gain. Nor was that sign without a purpose, the ladder from earth to heaven,
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 49
… This (Joseph’s) uncle (Esau) had ill designs against his father (Jacob), and drove him out of his native land: what then? ( Gen. xxvii. 41 .) He too set him (thereby) aloof from the danger; for he too got (thereby) to be in safety. He made him a wiser and a better man ( φιλοσοφώτερον ); he was the means of his having that dream (
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 3.4
4. Bonosus, your friend, or, to speak more truly, mine as well as yours, is now climbing the ladder foreshown in Jacob’s dream.
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 22.4
… upon him, “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.” For he had said in his heart, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God,” and “I will be like the Most High.” Wherefore God says every day to the angels, as they descend the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream,
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 54.6
… his end is condemned because of his treachery. Read Ezekiel, “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness.” The Christian life is the true Jacob’s ladder on which the angels ascend and descend,
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 108.13
… and of Bethel, ‘the house of God,’ where Jacob poor and destitute slept upon the bare ground. Here it was that, having set beneath his head a stone which in Zechariah is described as having seven eyes and in Isaiah is spoken of as a corner-stone, he beheld a ladder reaching up to heaven; yes, and the Lord standing high above it
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 118.7
… Jacob’s father was a man of great wealth; yet, when Jacob went to Mesopotamia, he went alone and destitute leaning upon his staff. When he felt weary he had to lie down by the wayside and, delicately nurtured as he had been by his mother Rebekah, was forced to content himself with a stone for a pillow. Yet it was then
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 7.23
… but lest you should have forgotten, I shall speak of the latter briefly by way of recalling it to your recollection. I should use more words if I were introducing, not recalling the subject. Jacob saw a ladder in a dream; and on a ladder he saw angels ascending and descending: and he anointed the stone which he had placed at his head.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 45.25
… “Come” (He says), “ye blessed of My Father.” Why? “I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat,” etc. These are the gifts with which the daughters of Tyre worship the King; for when they said, “When saw we Thee?” He who is at once above and below (whence those “ascending” and “descending” are spoken of
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Expositions on the Book of Psalms 120.1
… Ye will not long toil in hearing, nor will ye toil fruitlessly in working. For it is, according to the title prefixed to it, “A song of degrees.” Degrees are either of ascent or of descent. But degrees, as they are used in this Psalm, are of ascending…There are therefore both those who ascend and those who descend on that ladder.
papa san Gregorio I Magno † 604 d.C. The Book of Pastoral Rule 2.5
… or whether we be sober, it is for you ( 2 Cor. v. 13 ). For he had known how both to transcend himself in contemplation, and to accommodate himself to his hearers in condescension. Hence Jacob, the Lord looking down from above, and oil being poured down on the stone, saw angels ascending and descending (
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san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. Homilies on Colossians 5
And observe the signs of signs, and thou wilt discern this in the ladder which Jacob saw. “Above,” it is said, “the Lord stood fast, and underneath Angels were ascending and descending.” (
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sant'Ignazio di Antiochia † 108 d.C. Epistle to the Magnesians: Shorter and Longer Versions 10
… For where there is Christianity there cannot be Judaism. For Christ is one, in whom every nation that believes, and every tongue that confesses, is gathered unto God. And those that were of a stony heart have become the children of Abraham, the friend of God; and in his seed all those have been blessed
san Giustino † 165 d.C. Dialogue with Trypho 120
“Observe, too, how the same promises are made to Isaac and to Jacob. For thus He speaks to Isaac: ‘And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.’ And to Jacob: ‘And in thee and in thy seed shall all families of the earth be blessed.’
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 12.41
41. Besides this wonderful agreement between the types and the things typified, the adversary may be convinced by plain prophetic intimations, such as this: "In thy seed shall all nations be blessed." This was said to Abraham, and again to Isaac, and again to Jacob.
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. The Harmony of the Gospels 1.14
… For it was to this Israel also that it was said, “In thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.”
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sant'Atanasio di Alessandria † 373 d.C. Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.25
… but these are not his doings, but of God who commanded and sent him, whose also it is to deliver, whom He will deliver. There fore it was no other than the Lord God Himself whom he had seen, who said to him, ‘And behold I am with thee, to guard thee in all the way whither thou
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san Basilio † 379 d.C. De Spiritu Sancto 26
… “The sacrifice of praise.” And in what place do we offer it? In the Holy Spirit. Where have we learnt this? From the Lord himself in the words “The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.” This place Jacob saw and said “The Lord is in this place.”
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sant'Ambrogio † 397 d.C. On the Holy Spirit 1.4
… But as the Father is one Who both spake of old, as we read, to the fathers by the prophets, and to us in the last days by His Son; “and as the Son is one, Who according to the tenour of the Old Testament was offended by Adam, seen by Abraham, worshipped by Jacob;
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sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 2.6
… For that rock was a thing already created, and after the mode of its action was called by the name of Christ, whom it signified; like the stone placed under Jacob’s head, and also anointed, which he took in order to signify the Lord;
sant'Agostino d'Ippona † 430 d.C. On the Holy Trinity 3.10
… Sometimes, also, a thing which was not a prophet in his own proper self, and which existed already among earthly things, was assumed in order to signify this; as Jacob, when he had seen the dream, upon waking up did with the stone, which when asleep he had under his head.
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san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 21
“Who then,” it may be said, “have not taken thought”? Didst thou not hear how many of the righteous I adduced? Seest thou not with them Jacob, departing from his father’s house destitute of all things? Dost thou not hear him praying and saying, “If the Lord give me bread to eat and raiment to put on?”
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 16
… “If the Lord stirreth thee up against me, may thy sacrifice be acceptable.” ( 1 Sam. xxvi. 19 .) And then too, being in affliction, he spared even his enemies: but afterwards, not friends even, nor those who had done him no injury. Again, Jacob when he was in affliction, said: “If the Lord will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on.” (
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. Homilies on Second Corinthians 6
… 6 .) Hear Job giving thanks and saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.” ( Job i. 21 .) These things are the words of a living soul, of a soul discharging the functions proper to it. Thus also Jacob said, “If the Lord will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on.” (
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. Homilies on Second Corinthians 15
… blush ye who are unbelievers, before those barbarians who have no need of art. For God made nature exceedingly independent, needing only a few things . However, I do not compel you nor lay it down for law that ye should live thus; but as Jacob asked. And what did he ask? “If the Lord will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on.” (
san Giovanni Crisostomo † 407 d.C. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 18
And what could be poorer than Jacob (tell me), who said, “If the Lord give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on”? (
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. The Letters of St. Jerome 22.32
… “Faith and pity have I none; but such as I have, silver and gold, these I will not give thee.” “Having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” Hear the prayer of Jacob: “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, then shall the Lord be my God.”
san Girolamo † 420 d.C. Against the Pelagians 3.6
8. A. We must use the words of Scripture not as you propose, but as truth and reason demand. Jacob says in his prayer,
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1. BENEDIXIT EUM, — datam paulo ante benedictionem confirmavit. Ita S. Augustinus.
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2. IN MESOPOTAMIAM, — in Haran, sive Carrhas, urbem Mesopotamiae, quae distabat a Bersabee, ubi habitabant Isaac et Jacob, itinere circiter octo dierum. DOMUM BATHUEL, — quae fuerat Bathuel, sed eo mortuo, jam erat filii, puta Laban avunculi sui.
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3. CRESCERE TE FACIAT ATQUE MULTIPLICET, UT SIS IN TURBAS POPULORUM, — crescere te faciat multa prole et familia, ut multae tribus et turbae populorum ex te nascantur. Ita reipsa populosae fuerunt tribus duodecim, descendentes ex Jacob.
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4. SEMINI TUO POST TE. — Hinc S. Augustinus, lib. XVI De Civitate Dei, cap. XXXVIII, et Rupertus colligunt promissiones Dei de terra Chanaan possidenda, de numerosa prole et opibus, de Christo ex se nascituro, etc., Abrahae et Isaaco factas, appropriatas esse Jacobo ejusque posteris: atque hac ratione Esau, quasi ex semine et familia Abrahae et Isaaci exclusum externumque censeri, et externae gentis, puta Idumaeorum, patrem et conditorem effectum esse; unde consequenter conditione et onere in pacto et benedictione Abrahae incluso, puta, lege circumcisionis obligati non fuerunt Esau et Idumaei; licet sponte et libere eam acceptarint, ut patet Jeremiae IX, 25 et 26.
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5. VENIT IN MESOPOTAMIAM, — eo itinere, quod fusius enarratur vers. 10. Est ergo prolepsis; voluit enim Moses simul quasi in synopsi hic ob oculos ponere et opponere gesta, tam Esau quam Jacob, ejusque a fratre fugam et fugae terminum, ut eam deinde in sequentibus resumat et enarret fusius. Intendit enim Moses gesta Jacobi, utpote patris duodecim Patriarcharum, omniumque Israelitarum ad longum recensere; unde ut totus iis incumbere possit, obiter gesta Esau, quae sub idem tempus contigerunt, praemittit et perstringit. Moraliter S. Ambrosius, lib. II De Jacob et vita beata, docet Jacobum etiam in fuga et exilio fuisse beatum. «An non beatus Jacob, inquit, etiam cum patriam relinqueret? Imo plane beatus, qui dura exilii suscipit, ut fratris mitigaret iracundiam. Nam si beatus est qui peccatum declinat, utique negari beatus esse non potest, qui alterius culpam levat, crimen avertit. Paratum itaque parricidium declinavit exilio voluntario, eoque facto sibi salutem quaesivit, fratri innocentiam donavit. Merito itaque eum divina ubique comitata est gratia, ut et cum dormiret, beatae vitae munus acquireret; videbat enim futurorum mysteria, et divina audiebat oracula.» Nam in somnis magnificas Dei consolationes, visiones, benedictiones et promissiones accepit, juxta illud Cant. cap. V, 2: «Ego dormio, et cor meum vigilat.» Unde Clemens Alexandrinus, lib. II Paedagogi, cap. IX, ita sobrie dormientes exaequat angelis semper vigilantibus, dum vitae aeternitatem ex meditatione vigiliae suscipiunt. Ubi significat animam quasi mori, si cesset a meditatione, vivere vero et aeternare, si in continua meditatione exerceat.
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8. SYRI, — Mesopotamii. Vide dicta cap. XXV, vers. 20. PROBANS QUOQUE, — animadvertens et videns. Ita Hebraea. «Probans» ergo hic, non est idem quod explorans, sed q. d. Cum probatione et experientia didicisset et comperisset. Videtur Esau voluisse accipere tertiam hanc uxorem, quae parentibus placeret, vel certe minus displiceret, quam duae priores, quae erant Chananaeae. Noluit vero accipere ex domo Nachor, licet sciret id fore gratius parentibus suis: idque ex quadam animositate, quia scilicet eo concesserat Jacob, ne videretur fratrem sequi et imitari, praesertim cum ipse illo esset senior.
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9. IVIT AD ISMAELEM, — ad Ismaelitas: jam enim quatuordecim annis mortuus erat Ismael; haec enim, uti dixi initio cap. XXVII, contigerunt anno Jacobi 77; Ismael autem mortuus est anno aetatis 137, qui fuit Isaaci 123, Jacobi vero 63. Ita Tostatus.
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11. TULIT DE LAPIDIBUS. — Ex hisce verbis R. Nehemias, in Midras Tehillim, ad illud Psal. XC: «Angelis suis Deus mandavit de te,» et liber Rabboth hoc loco, putant Jacobum tres lapides accepisse, eosque conversos esse in unum, de quo dicitur vers. 18: «Tulit lapidem quem supposuerat capiti suo, et erexit in titulum;» ut eo significaretur mysterium S. Trinitatis, in qua tres personae coeunt in unam essentiam, ideoque Jacobum vers. 17 exclamasse: «Quam mirabilis est locus iste!» Verum hoc videtur Rabbinicum commentum et fabella; nil enim tale habet S. Hieronymus aut ullus veterum, vel novorum Interpretum. Quod ergo dicitur: «Tulit de lapidibus,» subaudi unum grandiorem aptioremque, uti se explicat vers. 18, dicens: «Tulit lapidem quem supposuerat capiti suo.»
SUPPONENS CAPITI SUO. — Moraliter: Nota hic Jacobum durum sibi sternere lectum et pulvinar, scilicet lapidem; quia coeli aulicos durus lectus, durus victus, omnia dura decent. «Vide, ait S. Chrysostomus, pueri robur, qui lapidibus pro pulvinari utitur; vide masculum spiritum: super pavimentum dormit.» Sed hoc lapide (qui typus fuit Christi) refrigeratur et firmatur. Unde S. Hieronymus in Psal. CXXXIII, lapidem istum Jacob vocat lapidem adjutorii: Qui talem, inquit, habebat pulvillum, in quo refrigerabat aestum persecutionis, videt scalam, qua si opus foret, in coelum reciperetur. Christus ergo est pulvinar laborantium, in quo suaviter conquiescunt ac coeli refrigeria capiunt. Ex adverso lecti aurei et molles, sunt quasi sepulcra somni, mollitiei, torporis et acediae, cum duri et lapidei sint gymnasia et palaestrae roboris et virtutis. Quocirca S. Ambrosius, lib. II De Jacob: «Jacob, ait, in somno bonus operarius, quoniam plus negotii cum Deo peregit dormiendo, quam vigilando.»
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12. VIDITQUE IN SOMNIS. — Fuit ergo haec visio imaginaria et symbolica. SCALAM STANTEM. — Septuaginta, «Scalam firmatam.» Censet Alcazar in Apoc. cap. IV, vers. 1, Deum ad scalam hanc, non in coelo, sed in terra, ad imos scalae gradus constitisse, ut eam teneret et firmaret; quia ipse cum Jacobo, in terra, ad scalam dormiente, locutus est; erat ergo ei vicinus. Verum aptius Josephus et Cajetanus censent Deum in coelo constitisse, summisque scalae gradibus innixum fuisse. Nam ad Deum per scalam hanc ascendebant angeli, ut ejus jussa in terram perferrent; nec mirum est Deum e coelo locutum esse Jacobo in terra existenti, quia locutio haec, uti et visio, non fuit sensibilis, sed imaginaria vel intellectualis, quae inter remotissimos fieri potest, saepeque fit, non tantum a Deo, sed etiam ab angelis.
Quaeres primo, quid ad litteram haec scala Jacob significet? Respondet Philo et Origenes apud S. Hieronymum, epist. 161, scalam hanc esse μετεμψύκωσιν, sive migrationem animae hominis, ex corpore in corpus. Censent enim ipsi, animam cujusque hominis ante corpus exstitisse, et quoties tunc peccavit, atque e coelo quasi in terram descendit, toties illam nunc corpora mutare, ex uno in aliud migrando, donec per illa, quasi per quosdam poenitentiae (instar scalae) gradus in coelum rursum ascendat. Rursum in descensu hoc animae hos gradus assignat Origenes. Primo, inquit, anima in subtiliora corpora demittitur; deinde, si peccare pergat, in crassiora; ac tandem in terrena corpora detruditur. Porro Philo, lib. De Plantatione Noe, scribit, per hanc scalam animarum in corpora, dum nascuntur, descensum significari, vel reipsa fieri. Explicans enim haec Origenes verba, Vidit Jacob scalam, ait: «Aer instar populosae civitatis, cives immortales habet, scilicet animas, quae stellis numero sunt pares; harum aliae descendunt illigandae corporibus mortalibus,» etc. Hinc et Origenes finxit animas hominum fuisse angelos, qui ob peccata in coelo commissa detrusi, per hanc scalam descenderunt gradatim in alia et alia corpora, magis semper vilia. Audi S. Hieronymum ad Pammachium contra errores Joannis Hierosolymitani: «Docet Origenes per scalam Jacob paulatim rationabiles creaturas ad ultimum gradum, id est ad carnem et sanguinem descendere, nec fieri posse ut de centenario numero subito quis ad unum numerum praecipitetur, nisi per singulos numeros, quasi per scalae gradus ad ultimum usque perveniat, et tot mutare corpora, quot de coelo ad terram mutaverint mansiones.» Dat exemplum: «Finge aliquem tribunitiae potestatis suo vitio regradatum, per singula militiae equestris officia ad tironis vocabulum devolutum, numquid ex tribuno statim fit tiro? Non, sed ante primicerius, deinde senator, ducenarius, biarchus, circitor, eques, deinde tiro.» Sed haec Pythagorae et Origenis sunt deliria.
Dico ergo cum Theodoreto, Aben Ezra, Hebraeis et Pererio, scalam hanc, primo, symbolum esse providentiae et gubernationis divinae; unde Deus illi innititur, quasi prima causa et primum movens omnium, qui tempus ab aevo ire jubet, stabilisque manens dat cuncta moveri. Secundo, angeli ascendunt et descendunt, quasi ministri et executores providentiae Dei, quibus Deus sigillatim sua munia cuique distribuit. Tertio, haec scala a coelo in terram pertingit, quia Deus inferiora per superiora, homines per angelos gubernat. Quarto, duo scalae latera sunt suavitas et fortitudo; Deus enim sua sapientia mundum gubernans, attingit a fine usque ad finem fortiter, et disponit omnia suaviter. Quinto, varii scalae gradus sunt varii modi providentiae Dei, et variae rerum species et perfectiones inde manantes. Sic Homerus Iliad. lib. IX, Dei providentiam describit et repraesentat per catenam auream, a Jove e coelo demissam in terras, qua Jupiter omnia comprehendit, constringit et ad se retrahit.
Secundo, magis proprie et particulatim Diodorus Tarsensis, per angelos descendentes felicem abitum Jacobi in Mesopotamiam, per ascendentes vero felicem ejusdem reditum in Palaestinam, significari docet. Voluit enim Deus hac visione consolari et animare Jacobum, qui parentes derelinquens, et fratri exosus, profugus, exul et solitarius, moestus et sollicitus, dure hic cubabat in saxo, q. d. Noli tristari, noli timere, o Jacob. Scio, tria te gravant et angunt: patria, parentes, frater; hisce tria quae te consolentur, oppono — scalam, Deum, angelos. Primo, patriam deseruisti, peregrinus in terram alienam tendis: at vide scalam, quae tibi coelum reserat, quae viam tibi in coelum paratam ostendit; secundo, parentes dereliquisti, et profugus ad incognitos pergis in Mesopotamiam: at scito Deum iter hoc tuum dirigere, tibi adesse, te ducere, protegere, qui pariter sua ope te benedicet et locupletabit; tertio, fratri es exosus, et solus peregrinaris: at scito angelos tibi esse comites et duces, qui te salvum ducent in Mesopotamiam, et incolumem reducent ad parentes in Chanaan. Hunc esse sensum litteralem patet ex sequentibus, quae haec ita ad amussim evenisse Jacobo enarrant.
Moraliter: Nota hic Deum suos, praesertim virtute insignes et heroes, qualis erat Jacob, tanta cura per se et per angelos curare, ac si iis totus incumberet, nec quidquam aliud curaret in toto mundo, juxta illud Cant. II, 16: «Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi.» Ubi S. Bernardus, serm. 68 in Cant.: «Itane, ait, huic intenta est illa majestas, cui gubernatio universitatis incumbit, et cura saeculorum ad sola transfertur negotia, imo otia amoris? ita plane. Omnia enim propter electos.» Ergo providentiam caeteris creaturis non negamus, curam Dei sola sponsa vindicat sibi. Talis fuit B. Virgo, quae in hac scala est summus gradus, cui Deus incumbit, uti mox dicam. Unde S. Thomas, II II, Quaest. CIII, art. 4, ad 2, docet eam prae aliis Sanctis hyperdulia coli, quia sua, ait, operatione fines divinitatis propinquius attigit; in incarnatione enim Christi fecit omne id, ad quod extendere se potest vis naturae, qua deficiente, successit divinitas, ut ipsam substantiam operis deinde sola perficeret.
Quaeres secundo, quid allegorice haec scala Jacob significet? Respondet Eustachius hanc scalam significare crucem Christi. Sic et S. Augustinus, serm. 79: Dominus, ait, scalae incumbens est Christus in cruce pendens; inde uxorem accepit, id est Ecclesiam sibi sociavit. Apte; crux enim est scala et via, per quam Christus omnesque Christiani in coelum conscenderunt et indies conscendunt. Ita legimus in martyrio S. Perpetuae et Felicitatis, 7 martii, quarum fortitudinem S. Augustinus in Psal. XLVII, et alibi saepe celebrat, illas omen et indicium martyrii a Deo accepisse per scalam. Cum enim in carcere captivae tenerentur, vidit S. Perpetua per visionem, scalam auream e terra in coelum se porrigentem, ad cujus gradus affixi erant multi gladii, iique acutissimi, ita ut videretur nemo posse conscendere, sine gravi sui laesione. Inferne erat draco horribilis, volens impedire, ne quis ascenderet. Vidit deinde Satyrum (qui unus erat e quatuor ejus sociis, qui omnes simul anno Domini 205, martyrio cum ea laureati sunt) magno animo scalam conscendentem, hortantemque alios ut intrepide sese sequerentur, nec timerent draconem, eo quod eos impedire nequiret. Evigilavit deinde, et hanc visionem sociis enarravit; qui omnes gratias Deo egerunt. Intellexerunt enim se vocari ad martyrium; hoc enim esse scalam illam tot cultris et gladiis acuminatam, per quam Deus illos in coelum gloriose deducere volebat, nec posse draconem infernalem hoc eorum iter et ascensum impedire.
Verum aptius et germanius Diodorus, Vatablus et Rupertus putant Spiritum Sanctum per scalam hanc repraesentasse incarnationem Verbi, puta generationem Christi, ex Jacob nascituri et descensuri per varios gradus, id est generationes et genitores, quorum ultimus est Joseph cum beata Virgine, summus est Adam, qui proxime et immediate a Deo creatus est. Secundo, duo scalae latera sunt misericordia et veritas, sive fidelitas Dei de promisso Messia; haec enim duo fecerunt Verbum ad nos descendere, nostramque carnem suscipere. Tertio, haec scala tangit terram, quia Verbum est incarnatum in terra, eamque suo incarnationis tactu benedixit; tangit et coelum, quia Christus, qui incarnatus est, est Filius Dei, sive Deus homo: Christus enim coelestia terrenis, ima summis, atque adeo Deum homini in se conjunxit. Unde ipse ait: «Nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui descendit de coelo;» ipse ergo est scala nostra, per quam ad Deum ascendimus: nemo enim venit ad Patrem, nisi per Christum. Quarto, descendunt angeli, ut hoc incarnationis mysterium hominibus annuntient; iidem ascendunt, ut ardentia Patriarcharum desideria et orationes sursum ferant ad Deum. Hinc B. Petrus Chrysologus, serm. 3 De Annuntiatione, incarnationem vocat negotium omnium saeculorum, nimirum quia in eo omnibus aetatibus insudatum est, ac per angelos acriter actum cum Deo de communi hoc mundi remedio, donec intra Virginis domum negotium coeleste compleretur. Quinto, gradus hujus scalae sunt variae Christi virtutes, ac praesertim quatuor, scilicet 1. humilitas in nativitate; 2. paupertas in praesepio; 3. charitas in progressu vitae; 4. obedientia in passione: haec est via in coelum, ambulate in ea. Denique B. Virgo vocatur scala Jacob in Litaniis suis; itaque eam vocat S. Bernardus (vel quisquis est auctor) serm. De B. Maria, pag. 394: «Haec, inquit, est scala, rubus, area, sidus, virga, vellus, thalamus, porta, hortus, aurora. Haec enim est scala Jacob, quae duodecim gradus habet, inter duo latera. Dextrum latus est contemptus sui, usque ad amorem Dei; sinistrum, contemptus mundi usque ad amorem regni. Ascensiones hujus duodecim humilitatis sunt gradus. Primus est odium peccati; secundus, fuga delicti; tertius, metus odii; quartus, in omnibus his subesse Creatori; quintus, obedire meliori; sextus, obedire compari; septimus, obsequi inferiori; octavus, subesse sibi; nonus, finem suum jugiter meditari; decimus, opera sua semper vereri; undecimus, cogitationes suas humiliter confiteri; duodecimus, per omnia ad manum, ad nutum, ad libitum Domini moveri. Per hos gradus ascendunt angeli, et sublimant homines. Sic disponuntur in corde ascensiones, sensim proficiendo et pedetentim ascendendo. Sic in domo Patris lucidas percipiunt mansiones. Hi sunt duodecim Apostoli, qui sequuntur in eremo vestigia Jesu Christi.»
Hinc secundo, S. Basilius in Psalm. I: Scala, inquit, est ascensus ad perfectionem; culmen, est charitas; gradus, sunt decem gradus abrenuntiationis, quorum primus est, abdicare terrena, ut cum Apostolis dicat: «Ecce nos reliquimus omnia;» secundus, eadem oblivisci, Psalm. XLIV: «Audi, filia, etc., et obliviscere populum tuum;» tertius, eadem ut stercora odisse et aversari; quartus, parentum et cognatorum amorem exuere; quintus, odisse animam suam propter Christum, ut ne de vita quidem sua quidquam affectus sit omnino, etiamsi mortis habeat responsum, ait S. Basilius; sextus, abnegare suum judicium et voluntatem; septimus, semper mortificare suas cupiditates, ut impleat illud Christi: «Abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam quotidie;» octavus, sequi Christum, et discere ab eo, quia mitis est et humilis corde; nonus, amare constanter et efficaciter proximos, etiam inimicos; decimus, in quo Dominus visus est, est adhaerere Deo, eique in uno spiritu uniri. Ita Pererius.
Quaeres tertio, quid haec scala significet symbolice? Respondet Philo lib. De Somniis: Scala, inquit, est anima; basis, est sensus et appetitus terrenorum; caput, est mens purissima, quae per gradus contemplationis ad Deum ascendit, sicuti e contrario basis jam dicta, per gradus cupiditatum descendit ad terram et terrena. Videat ergo homo ne basim sequens descendat, sed potius ut caput suum intuens ascendat. Secundo, idem Philo: Scala, inquit, est hujus vitae inconstantia, in qua alii ex summo dejiciuntur in imum, alii ex imo evehuntur in summum, idque ad Dei nutum et voluntatem, qui scalae huic incumbens, eam regit et dirigit. Sic Pittacus apud Aelianum, lib. II, scalam fecit imaginem fortunae ac vicissitudinis, felicitatis et infelicitatis; felices enim ascendunt in rota fortunae, infelices descendunt. Verum haec philosophica sunt, nec ad mentem Spiritus Sancti hoc loco pertinent.
Quaeres quarto, quid haec scala Jacob significet tropologice? Respondet Tertullianus in fine libri tertii Contra Marcionem: Scala, inquit, haec est via qua justi ascensiones in corde suo disponunt in coelum. Idem insinuat Spiritus Sanctus, Sap. X, 10, ubi de Jacobo hoc nostro, et visione scalae hujus coelestis loquens, sic ait: «Haec (sapientia) profugum irae fratris justum deduxit per vias rectas, et ostendit illi regnum Dei.» Hinc Barlaam ad Josaphat ait: «Virtutes quasi scalae quaedam coeli sunt,» teste Damasceno in Histor. cap. XX. Duo latera hujus scalae, sunt fides et opera; vel verbum Dei et sacramenta; vel «sustine et abstine;» quae duo verba si quis observet, vitam vivet sine peccato tranquillissimam et sanctissimam, ut dicere solet Epictetus. Gradus sunt variarum legum et virtutum ascensus; rursum hi gradus sunt incipientium, proficientium et perfectorum, quibus Deus in vertice se unit, in iisque deliciatur et inhabitat. Angeli ascendentes ad Deum, ait S. Gregorius, lib. V Moralium, et ex eo S. Thomas, II II, Quaest. CLXXXI, art. ult., significant vitam contemplativam; descendentes vero ad humana, significant vitam activam. Unde apte Alcazar supra, per hos angelos accipit Apostolos aliosque praedicatores Evangelii, qui sapientiam, quam a Deo in meditatione hauserunt, in homines praedicando effundunt. Ut ergo concionator rite concionetur, prius meditando ad Deum in coelum conscendat, ut ab eo hauriat, quae dicat. Vidit itaque Jacob in hisce angelis praesignari suas proles et posteros, puta praecones Evangelii, ex Christo filio suo nascituros, qui homines docturi erant scientiam Sanctorum, quam proinde Deus Jacobo dedisse et revelasse dicitur, Sapient. X, 10.
Huc pertinet et illa Zenonis Episcopi Veronensis explicatio, qua censet scalam hanc significare duo testamenta, quae per quosdam observantiae gradus hominem a terris ad Deum perducunt. Angeli descendentes, sunt homines qui a spiritualibus ad saecularia decidunt, et nutriti olim in croceis, nunc stercora amplectuntur; ascendentes vero, sunt homines justi, qui in corde suo disponunt ascensiones, quaerentes quae in coelis sunt, et non quae in terra. Sed cur nemo hic subsistit? Respondet S. Bernardus, epist. 253, quia in hac via, inter profectum et defectum, nihil est medium; uti in rota quae volvitur, is qui insidet, subsistere nequit, sed vel ascendat, vel descendat necesse est. O monache, satis te laborasse putas, proficere non vis: deficias oportet; quod hic negligis, per totam aeternitatem recuperare non poteris. Instar formicae ergo congere merita in hac vita, ut iis vivas et gloriose vivas in aeterna, quae te exspectat; «quodcumque facere potest manus tua, instanter operare;» quam in aeternitate gaudebis de modico hoc tempore bene transacto! Denique S. Bernardus, serm. in illud, Ecce nos reliquimus omnia: Scala, ait, haec est disciplina Religiosa, vel regula Ordinis, v. g. qua dilectus Dei Benedictus ascendit ad coelum; duo latera sunt mentis humilitas et vitae asperitas; gradus sunt variae regulae et virtutum actus. Scala enim arcta arctam disciplinae viam, quae ducit ad coelum, significat. Nam, ut ait S. Augustinus in Sententiis, Sent. 19: «Angusta est via quae ducit ad vitam, et tamen per ipsam, nisi dilatato corde non curritur; quia iter virtutum quo gradiuntur pauperes Christi, amplum est fidelium spei, etsi arctum sit infidelium vanitati.» S. Antoninus in Summa Theologica, part. III, tit. 26, cap. x, § 11: Bonum, inquit, Religionis significatum est nobili illa scala Jacob, cujus gradus nulli sunt alii, quam lectionis, meditationis, mortificationis aliarumque similium exercitationum, quibus Religio constat. In hac ascendunt angeli, ad haec opera Deo offerenda; ac descendunt, ad deferenda vicissim ad religiosas animas varia sponsi munera ac beneficia. Ei porro incumbit Deus, quia ejus gratia et auxilio omnia nostra studia nituntur, quae, eo tenente, cadere non possunt; ipseque est ascendentibus firmamentum, et pervenientibus in fine est praemium. Unde de ea vere dicitur: «Non est hic aliud nisi domus Dei et porta coeli.» Sic S. Romualdus, ut habetur in ejus Vita, visu scalae, ex ima terra in coelum vertice pertingentis, per quam ascendentes intuebatur, descendentesque monachos albenti veste, Religionis perfectionem, ejusque habitum designari mirabiliter agnovit. Quocirca eumdem locum a nobili viro, ejus domino, cui nomen erat Maldulo, petiit et impetravit, ibique monasterium sui Ordinis primarium aedificavit, anno Domini 1009, quod exinde Camaldulum, quasi campus Malduli, est nuncupatum; situm est juxta Florentiam in monte Apennino, jam a sexcentis annis sanctorum Eremitarum, angelorum inquam terrestrium, copia florens. Sic S. Antoninus agens de morte S. Dominici: Prior, ait, Brixiensis eadem hora, qua S. Dominicus obiit, vidit hiatum in coelo, per quem submittebantur duae candidissimae scalae: unam tenebat B. Virgo, alteram Christus; angeli vero ascendebant et descendebant; et in fine utriusque scalae sedes posita erat, et unus ei insidens similis fratri Praedicatori (is erat S. Dominicus), habens faciem velatam, quasi vadens versus coelum; scalas autem Christus et mater ejus sursum, cum sede et sedente trahebant, et tunc hiatus clausus est. Hac visione significata est via, qua S. Dominicus ad superos transivit, nimirum certum praedestinationis signum, certaque in coelum via est, tum regula et vita Religiosa, quam S. Dominicus aliique fundatores Ordinum Dei instinctu instituerunt; tum hujus vitae radix et matrix, puta seria imitatio, cultus, et consequenter auxilium et patrocinium B. Virginis. Hinc B. Virgo a Patribus, et in Litaniis Lauretanis vocatur janua et scala coeli.
Quaeres quinto, quid significet haec scala anagogice? Respondeo: Scala haec, sunt variae sedes, gradus et chori Sanctorum et angelorum in coelis. Angeli descendunt, quando ad hominum custodiam mittuntur; ascendunt quando redeunt, et justorum animas collocant in gradibus hujus scalae, id est in sedilibus angelorum, qui ceciderunt, et facti sunt daemones. Huc quoque alludit Sapiens, cap. x, vers. 10, ut supra dixi. Hinc saepius Sanctis in hac vita certantibus suus in coelis locus, sua corona ostensa est, uti S. Stephano, quadraginta Martyribus quorum memoria recolitur 9 martii, S. Nicolao Tolentinati, S. Francisco, S. Vitali. Vitalis enim cum a persequentibus cogeretur, ut Christum negaret, audacius eum confitebatur; quare omni tormentorum genere excarnificatus est, ut non esset in ejus corpore sine vulnere locus. Forti autem animo cruciatus perferens Martyr, preces fundens ardentissimas dixit: «Domine Jesu Christe, servator meus et Deus meus, jube suscipi spiritum meum; quia jam desidero accipere coronam, quam angelus tuus sanctus mihi ostendit.» His dictis evolavit in coelum; testes sunt S. Ambrosius et S. Hieronymus, Exhort. ad Virgines. Recte ergo idem Hieronymus, epist. ad Julian. tom. I: «Vidit, ait, Jacob scalam, et desuper innitentem Dominum, ut lassis manum porrigeret, ut ascendentes suo ad laborem provocaret aspectu.»
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13. TERRAM IN QUA DORMIS, -- totam Chananaean. TIBI DABO ET SEMINI TUO. -- "Tibi," id est semini tuo: nam to et hic est exegeticum, sive explicationis nota, significatque id est.
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14. BENEDICENTUR IN TE ET IN SEMINE TUO CUNCTAE TRIBUS TERRAE. -- "In te," quasi in origine et parente; sed "in semine tuo," puta per Christum ex te nasciturum, proxime et immediate benedicentur, id est justitia, gratia et salute donabuntur cunctae tribus terrae, quae videlicet Christum recipient, illi credent et obedient.
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15. Nisi complevero, -- donec compleam. Nota hic sex ingentia bona, quae Deus suo servo Jacob moesto et afflicto pollicetur. Primum est, "Terram in qua dormis, tibi dabo;" secundum, "Erit semen tuum innumerabile, quasi pulvis terrae;" tertium, "Benedicentur in te cunctae tribus terrae;" quartum, "Ero custos tuus quocumque perrexeris;" quintum, "Reducam te in terram hanc;" sextum, "Nec dimittam, nisi complevero universa quae dixi."
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17. PAVENSQUE -- sacro timore, horrore, et reverentia perfusus. QUAM TERRIBILIS! -- quam religiosus, quanta reverentia, tremore, humilitate colendus est locus iste, ob Dei et angelorum per scalam ascendentium et descendentium praesentiam! NON EST HIC ALIUD NISI DOMUS DEI, -- ubi scilicet Deus scalae incumbens, cum angelis suis ascendentibus et descendentibus inhabitat. Chaldaeus vertit, Quam terribilis est locus iste! non est locus communis, sed locus in quo beneplacitum est coram Deo, et e regione loci hujus est porta coeli. Vide hic quam, a tempore Jacobi et Abrahae, Deus certa loca sui apparitione, beneficiis, miraculis illustrarit, ibique coli et invocari voluerit. Quid ergo Novantes obstrepunt beatae Virgini Lauretanae, Hallensi, Aspericoliensi? Tertullianus, lib. De Fuga, putat Jacobum in hac visione vidisse Christum, qui est domus Dei et simul porta, per quam intramus in coelum, idque hisce suis verbis intelligere et significare. ET PORTA COELI, -- quia scilicet illinc vidi angelos egredientes, cum per scalam descendunt; et ingredientes, cum per eam ad Deum ascendunt. Allegorice, Ecclesia est Bethel, id est domus Dei et porta coeli: quia in ea quasi domo sua Deus habitat per praesentiam, tum spiritualem, tum realem et corporalem in Eucharistia; et quia in Ecclesia sunt merita Christi (cujus parens et typus fuit Jacob), quibus porta coeli non reserata est. Ita Rupertus. Vide Cajetanum. Si ergo tam angustus et terribilis fuit locus et lapis hic, quid erit Ecclesia Christianorum, in qua non umbra, id est arca testamenti, asservatur, uti fiebat in tabernaculo Mosis, sed omnipotens ipse rerum omnium conditor sub augustissimi Sacramenti candido velamine, ac velut nebula vere habitat? Vere S. Chrysostomus, hom. 36 in I ad Corinth.: "Ecclesia, ait, est locus Angelorum, locus Archangelorum, regnum Dei, ipsum coelum; quod si non credis, aspice ad hanc mensam," id est altare.
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18. EREXIT IN TITULUM, -- lapidem illum, sive saxum in quo dormierat, elevavit Jacob, rectumque statuit, ut esset monumentum visionis et apparitionis sibi factae. Nota: Titulus dicitur quadrupliciter, quatuorque res significat. Primo, titulus est inscriptio rei, ut titulus libri, titulus crucis; secundo, titulus est columna aut pyramis in trophaeum victoriae, aut insignis facinoris erecta; tertio, titulus est statua, imago vel idolum erectum ad cultum et adorationem, qualis titulus prohibetur Levit. xxvi, 1; quarto, titulus est lignum, lapis, vel res alia, posita vel erecta in memoriam et indicium rei alicujus, verbi gratia visionis angelicae Jacobo hic factae. Erexit enim Jacob hunc lapidem in titulum, ut in reditu ex Haran in patriam, eodem loco hoc Dei beneficium recoleret et veneraretur, uti eum fecisse constat cap. xxxv, vers. 5. Hinc etiam eumdem lapidem in altare consecravit, ut patebit vers. ult.; unde titulus hic non tantum monumentum, sed etiam altare significat. Atque hinc primi Christiani ad exemplum Jacobi, ecclesias suas vocarunt titulos, a titulo, id est signo crucis, et a titulo, id est nomine alicujus Sancti, in cujus honorem intitulabantur, id est nominabantur, consecrabantur et distinguebantur ecclesiae, ut titulus S. Praxedis, est ecclesia S. Praxedis; titulus S. Laurentii, est ecclesia S. Laurentii. Quae phrasis crebra est in Vitis primorum Pontificum. Ita Jacobus Gretserus, lib. II De Cruce, cap. VII. Atque ex hisce titulis Cardinales suos titulos et cognomina sumpserunt, uti docet Hieronymus Platus, lib. De Cardinalis dignitate, cap. II.
Fundens oleum desuper, -- in signum consecrationis, ait Abulensis, quia res consecratae oleo unguntur. Non ergo haec olei fusio fuit libatio aut sacrificium; nusquam enim solum oleum Deo libatum aut sacrificatum legimus. Itaque Jacob ex hac visione divina mane evigilans, ex urbe vicina Luza, quae postea ab eo Bethel est dicta, oleum attulit, inquit Abulensis, eoque lapidem, in quo sibi dormienti tam mira visio contigerat, inunxit, eumque inungendo Deo quasi consecravit. Unde et postea eodem, quasi altari consecrato usus est, in eoque sacrificavit, ut patet cap. xxxv, 7. Sic ad Jacobi exemplum, Ecclesia altaria et templa sacra unctione Deo dicat et consecrat, cujus unctionis moralem significationem vide apud S. Bernardum, serm. De Dedic. Ecclesiae. Rursum simili unctione, ait Theodoretus, solent piae mulieres ungere thecas Martyrum, ut tum eorum sanctitatem, tum suam erga eos devotionem testar. Unde et daemon, quasi Dei et Sanctorum simia, hanc unctionem in suis sacris imitatus est, quando suis persuasit lapides Termino inungere et consecrare. Ita S. Augustinus, lib. XVI De Civit. cap. xxxviii. Allegorice, S. Augustinus ibidem putat hic significari Christum et Chrisma Christianorum: Christus enim est lapis Ecclesiae angularis, Ephes. II, 20, ungens et unctus oleo exultationis, prae consortibus suis.
Tropologice, oleum est symbolum gratiarum et virtutum, ob octo quas habet proprietates, analogias et similitudines. Nam primo, oleum habet virtutem illuminandi: est enim pabulum et alimentum lucis et lucernarum; secundo, oleum habet vim condiendi cibos, et ad sanitatem utiliter, et jucunde ad gustatum; tertia olei vis est, supernatandi aliis liquoribus; quarta est fovendi vulnera doloresque mitigandi: hinc enim apud Lucam cap. x, ei quem latrones gravissimis plagis impositis semivivum reliquerant, Samaritanus ille obligavit vulnera, oleum infundens et vinum; quinta est exhilarandi faciem, lassaque et languida membra recreandi: unde illud Psal. cm: "Ut exhilaret faciem in oleo;" sexta est levandi labores, minuendique molestias, quo spectat illud Isaiae x: "Computrescet jugum a facie olei;" septima est, vegetandi roborandique corpus, et habile reddendi ad luctam et certamen, ut in athletis fieri solebat; octava est, molliendi et impinguandi, juxta illud Psalm. xxii: "Impinguasti in oleo caput meum;" ex quo propter mollitiem et pinguedinem, oleum solet esse symbolum misericordiae. Haec omnia facile est adaptare gratiae et virtutibus.
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19. APPELLAVITQUE NOMEN URBIS BETHEL, QUAE PRIUS LUZA VOCABATUR. -- Urbs quae prius Luz vel Luza, a nucum vel amygdalorum copia (luz enim hebraice nucem significat), dicebatur, inquit S. Hieronymus in Quaestion. Hebr., a Jacobo dicta est Bethel, id est, domus Dei, eo quod juxta illam dormiens, vidisset Deum innitentem scalae. Bethel haec non est Jerusalem, nec mons Moria, uti volunt Hebraei, Lyranus et Cajetanus; sed, ut recte Abulensis, Adrichomius et alii, est urbs a Jerusalem distans plus octodecim milliaribus, in sorte tribus Ephraim sita, juxta Sichem, in qua, uti et in Dan, quasi in extremis sui regni limitibus, Jeroboam suos vitulos aureos populo adorandos proposuit, abusus ad hoc persuadendum exemplo Jacobi, qui ibidem lapidem hunc in titulum erexit; unde a Prophetis haec Bethel per antiphrasim vocatur Bethaven, id est Domus idoli, vel iniquitatis, ut vertit Theodotion, Osee IV, 5 et 10. Putant aliqui duas fuisse Bethel, unam hanc in tribu Ephraim, alteram in tribu Benjamin, juxta Hai, de qua Josue XVIII, vers. 22. Verum id refutat Andreas Masius, probatque unam et eamdem fuisse Bethel, quae sita fuerit in agro Luzae, ita ut ab ipsa Luza dissita fuerit, a qua tamen ipsa Luza subinde dicebatur Bethel. Utrum horum sit verius, discutiemus Josue XVIII, et Judicum I.
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21. ERIT MIHI DOMINUS IN DEUM. -- Jam erat et fuerat ipsi Jacobo ab ortu Dominus in Deum. Sensus ergo est, q. d. Si Deus mihi dederit victum, vestitum, ac felicem reditum in patriam; ego ipsi voveo ac promitto quod deinceps eum colam speciali et majori cultu, quam ante eum coluerim, nimirum quod dabo ei decimas, tum ad sacrificia, tum ad alium quemlibet ejus cultum; quodque post meum ex Mesopotamia reditum locum hunc Deo quasi aram et templum aut sacellum dicabo: ita enim hoc votum suum in sequentibus explicat ipse Jacob, ut recte advertit Cajetanus. Moraliter Rupertus urget Jacobi verba, Si fuerit Deus mecum, et dederit mihi panem, aitque: "Hoc tanquam pauper, et vere Dei mendicus dixit. Nec mirum, cum rex maximus David dicat: Ego autem mendicus sum et pauper. Bonum ergo ex patribus exemplum nobis filiis provisum est, ut, quantumcumque divites simus, dicamus tamen, mendici omnes ante fores divinae gratiae: Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, etc., ut illum ex dono ejus (Dei) fateamur nobis esse, qui solus potuit creare non minus regi in solio fulgenti, quam viduae ad molam sedenti, necessarium panis alimentum." Rursus Jacob panem petit, non carnem, non perdices. Nam, ut docet Nyssenus, lib. De Oratione: "Quaerere jubemur id quod satis est ad naturam corporis conservandam: Panem da, ad Deum dicentes, non luxum, non delicias, non ornamenta aurea, non lapidum fulgores, non agros, non gentium praefecturas, non pannos sericos, non musica acroamata, nec quidquam quo anima a divina ac potiori cura abstrahatur; sed panem." Et infra: "Exiguum est quod naturae debes; cur adversus temetipsum multiplicas tributa? Est autem venter perpetuus tributorum exactor, etc. Dic ei qui educit panem de terra, dic corvos pascenti, qui omni carni cibum dat, qui manum aperit et implet omne animal benedictione: A te mihi vita est, a te quoque mihi vitae subsidium contingat. Tu da panem, id est, ut ex justis laboribus cibum adipiscar. Nam si Deus justitia est, non habet a Deo panem, qui ex re fraudulenter et injuste parta cibum habet." Denique ponderat S. Chrysostomus, homil. 54, "et dederit mihi panem." Praevenit enim reipsa Jacob orationem, quam postea docuit sanxitque Christus, dicens: "Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie;" diei alimentum, inquit: ne igitur temporale aliquid ab eo petamus. Indignum enim valde est, a tam liberali et tanta virtute praestanti hujusmodi petere, quae in praesenti vita dissolvuntur, et magnam habent vicissitudinem. Id genus sunt humana omnia, sive divitias dixeris, sive potentiam, sive humanam gloriam. Sed petamus semper manentia, sufficientia, vicissitudinis nescia.
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22. LAPIS ISTE QUEM EREXI, VOCABITUR DOMUS DEI. -- Est metonymia: locatum enim ponitur pro loco, q. d. Locus in quo est lapis hic, mea applicatione, destinatione, et quasi consecratione, erit et vocabitur sanctus, ac domus sive habitaculum Dei, atque super lapide hoc, quasi super altari Deo sacrificabo. Ita Chaldaeus, Cajetanus, Lipomanus et alii. Hunc esse sensum patet ex cap. xxxv, 7; ibi enim votum hoc suum explet Jacob, redux ex Haran, atque super hoc lapide, quasi ara, Deo sacrificium offert. DECIMAS OFFERAM TIBI. -- Hinc patet contra Calvinum, pie et religiose voveri posse opus, etiam quod non est praeceptum a Deo; tale enim est dare decimas, quod vovet hic Jacob.
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v. 4 « Vocavit :taque Isaac Iacob et benedixit eum praecepitque ei dicens : Noli accipere coniugem de genere Chanaan » ;
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v. 2 « sed vade, proficiscere 1n Mesopotamiam Syriae , ad domum Bathuel patris matris tuae, et accipe tibi inde uxorem de filiabus Laban avunculi tui ».
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v. 3 « Deus autem omnipotens » — pro *1v 5x LXX wnbx — « benedicat tibi, et crescere te faciat atque multiplicet, ut sis in turbas populorum »;
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v. & « et det tibi benedictiones Abrahae et semini (uo post te, ut possideas terram peregrinationis tuae, quam pollicitus est avo tuo ». Elohistae propriam esse declarant expressionem 1722 1123 28,1. 6. 8; 36,2, dum iahvista scribat *27225 133 25,3. 37. Mitto, LXX 28,1. 6; 36,2 videri legisse *2y223 n2, atque hinc lectionem non esse plane certam. At 24,3. 37 scriptor non potuit aliud scribere quam 37225, quod sequeretur sententia relativa « inter quos habito ». Ergo non probantur diversi auctores. — v. 3 sq. Isaac benedicit Iacob ipsis divinarum promissionum Abrahae factarum verbis, quae ipse alta mente fixa tenebat. Nihil inde erui potest quoad diversos scriptores homines.
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v. 5 « Cumque dimisisset eum Isaac, profectus venit in Mesopotamiam Syriae ad Laban, filum Bathuel Syri, fratrem Rebeccae matris suae », Hebr. matris lacob et Esau.
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v. 6 « Videns autem Esau, quod benedixisset paler suus Iacob » 91,28 sq., quae benedictio cum revocari non posset, melius videbatur ut omnia placide componerentur, « e/ misisset eum in Mesopotamiam Syriae, ut in de uxorem duceret , et quod post benedictionem » 98,1 « praecepisset ei dicens : Non accipies uxorem de filiabus Chanaan »; v. « quodque obediens Iacob parentibus suis isset in Syriam »;
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v. 8 « probans quoque, quod non libenter adspiceret filias Chanaan pater suus », v 9 « ivit ad Ismaelem et duxit uxorem absque 11s, quas prius habebat, Maheleth » — Syr. nao23 : cf. dicsnda ad 36,3 — « filiam Ismael fil Abraham, sororem Nabatoth ». v. 6 Hebr. 1*232323 sine copula, ergo : addita benedictione et mandato : Non accipies etc. Ex duplici argumento perspiciebat Esau uxores Chananaeas invisas esse parenti : e prohibitione Iacobo imposita, et e propria experientia, probans seu Hebr. et vidit. — v, 7 *'ON Ow" coniicit Dillm. a redactore esse adiectum intuitu 21,49 sq. : si ea verba vel paululum a contextu viderentur dissonare, illico adiudicarentur adventitio cuidam scriptori; at, cum optime quadrent, pronuntiantur adiecta esse à redactore ad pleniorem nexum efficiendum. Quis textus tales artes evadet illaesus? Cum seeundum computum p. 359. 463 a nobis propositum Iacob iter syriacum susceperit anno mundi circiter 2485, Esau nonnisi fratre profecto filiam Ismaelis duxerit, Ismael vero anno mundi 2470 e vivis cesserit, ergo Ismael v. 9 intelligenda est defuncti iam Ismaelis familia. Arg. — Itersyriacum auspicatur visio scalae promissiones ante factas repetens atque confirmans et Iacobum divinae providentiae commonefaciens. Pericopen concedunt iahvistae, tamen in aliquibus elohistam secundum deprehendunt : difficultate omni te expedies, si adverteris eum, cuius verbis expressam accepimus traditionem recentiorem, optime calluisse traditionem antiquiorem eiusque facta commemorasse et expressiones repetiisse; quibus igitur perse utique demonstratur unitas traditionis, minime vero unitas aut diversitas narratorum.
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v. 10 « Igitur egressus lacob de Bersabee pergebat Haran », sine comitibus et muneribus, apud Laban sc. aliquamdiu substiturus eique serviturus (Bonfr.). Versus nos revocat, non immediate ad 27,45 (Dillm.), sed ad 28,5; nam v. 6-9 instar parentheseos interiicitur.
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v. 11 « Cumque venisset ad quemdam locum et vellet in eo requiescere », 1. e. pernoctare, « post solis occubitum, tulit de lapidibus , qui iacebant , et supponens capiti suo, dormivit in eodem loco ». à 335, impingere in utique denotat « occursum improvisum » (Ca:.) et redditur a Vulg. inserta voce quemdam. Videtur lacob ignorare aut non satis attendisse, se esse prope locum ab Abraham consecratum 12,8. Ceterum expressio cum in Pentateucho secus nonnisi 32,2 legatur, reapse elohistaesecundi propria diei nequit. Aiunt eündem auctorem somniis delectari v. 12, uti et decimis v. 22 : sc. omnes, qui de eiusmodi agunt, textus excisos fictitio illi tribuunt auctori; forfice res agitur, non crisi.
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v. 19 « Viditque in somnis scalam stantem super terram et [cacumen litus] tangens coelum , angelos quoque Dei ascendentes et descendentes per eam »,
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v. 13 « et Dominum innixum scalae dicentem sibi » : — Intelligi potest scala vel ea, quam échelle, vel quam escalier vocant Galli. 5» 23 verti potest aut stabat super eam , aut (cf. 18,2; 45,1) prope adstabat : neutro modo cogimur Deum concipere stantem in cacumine scalae. Neque tamen id excluditur aut colloquium cum Deo in coelo consistente difficultatem habet, cum agatur de re in somnio peracta (Caíim.), et cf. colloquium Abrahae cum divite in inferno. Ex interpretibus pluribus (cf. Ephr. Theodoret.) unum audi Per. : « Extra controversiam est, scalam illam fuisse symbolum et signum magnae cuiuspiam rei, cuius significandae gratia potissimum dormienti Iacob visum illius scalae oblatum est. — Scala illa pertingens a terra usque in coelum est divina providentia. — Administri huius divinae providentiae sunt beati spiritus angelici. — Quod autem lacob vidit Deum in fastigio scalae innixum.ei sive, ut hebraea sonant, stantem super eam, id significabat Deum esse primum principium atque ultimum finem totius providenliae, ab ipso mitti angelos cum mandatis peragendis in terra atque, his peractis, ad ipsum reverti ». Concedebatur autem haec visio Iacobo, qui solus, moestus atque sollicitus e terra promissa emigrabat vel potius aufugiebat, ad eius spem et fiduciam excitandam. Promittebat divinam protectionem et ascendenti in Mesopotamiam et descensuro rursum in Palaestinam (7"r.). In quantum vero ipse in Mesopotamia nacturus erat uxores, liberos et opes, et in quantum haec erant necessaria, quibus fieret messiae progenitor, in quo benedicendae toties fuerant praedictae omnes tribus terrae, haec visio simul priores messianicas promissiones omnes confirmat, et angelorum ascensus repraesentat V. T. redemptori obviam ascendens, descensus N. T. gratias in terram profusas , imprimis incarnationem ipsam. « Ego sum Dominus Deus Abraham patris tui et Deus Isaac », quos per omnia vitae discrimina fidelis protexi. Protegam etiam te. « Terram , in qua dormis , tibi dabo et semini tuo », tibi in semine tuo, semini in seipso.
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v. 14 « Eritque semen tuum quast pulvis terrae * dilataberis ad occidentem et orientem et septentrionem et meridiem; et benedicentur in te et £n semine tuo cunct(ae tribus terrae ». Cf. 26,4; 19,3; 18,17; 92,18. Tandem specialem in itinere protectionem et reditum in terram sanctam pollicetur Deus
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v. 15 : « Et ero » tecum et « custos (tus , quocumque perrezeris , et reducam te in terram hanc nec dimittam, nzsi complevero universa, quae dizi ».
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v. 16 « Cumque evigilasset lacob de somno , ait : Vere Dominus est in loco isto », « peculiari sc. ratione, quia in eo se Deus ipsi manifestaverat et specialem favorem ostenderat » (Bon/r.); « et egonesciebam » et hunc locum profano usui addixi (Ca/m.).
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v. 17 « Pavensque : Quam. terribilis est, inquit, locus iste! » « quam venerandus, quam. religiosus! nempe propter Dei et angelorum praesentiam » (T?».). « Non est hic aliud nisi domus Det, et » haec est « porta coeli ». Cf. Sap. 10,10 : « Haec profugum irae fratris iustum deduxit per vias rectas et ostendit illi regnum Dei ». Coelum locus est visionis Dei et angelo-. rum; hinc locus, ubi se Deus et angeli videndos praebuere, merito a Iacob vocatur porta coeli. Quae tandem expressio synonyma est cum domus Dei, quae est nomen exprimens, quod ante dicebatur Vere Dominus est $n loco isto. His omnibus ratio redditur imponendi nominis Bethel. Si autem duo nomina Domus Dei et Porta Coeli attenderis, perspicies in illis contineri utrumque elementum nominis Babel seu Porta Dei. Babel posteris Noe quondam fuerat urbs sancta et revelationis divinae centrum, inde egressi exspectabant alium divinitus designatum iri locum sacrosanctum ; hunc se locum invenisse reputabat Iacob, ubi visione fuerat dignatus; ei igitur nomen imposuit non quidem Babel, quod iam Deus abominabatur (11,9), sed forma simile, significatione idem, Bethel.
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v. 18 « Surgens ergo lacob mane tulit lapidem, quem supposuerat capiti suo, et erexit in titulum, fundens oleum desuper ». Sumpsit ipsum lapidem, quem ad profanum usum usurpaverat, eumque summmitati infuso oleo consecravit Deo. 1330, cum ex etymo tum secundum versiones, significat aliquid erectum, stans, cippum. Si diu post idolorum cippi in statuas transiere, non ideo fas est h. l. quidquam tale adstruere.
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v. 19 « Appellavitque nomen urbis Bethel, quae prius Luza vocabatur ». « Locum eo nomine apppellavit, quod deinde communicatum est urbi » (Caím.). Sane urbis incolae perrexerunt urbem vocare Luzam , Abrahamidae vocabant Bethel (cf. Ios. 18,13 ; Iud. 1,23); quando regio ab Hebraeis subacta est, tandem unum praevaluit nomen Bethel.
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v. 20 « Vovit etzam votum dicens : Si fuerit Deus mecum , et custodierit me in via, per quam ego ambulo, et dederit mihi panem ad vescendum et vestimentum ad induendum », — multo plura maiora largitus est Deus: uxores, liberos, opes —
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v. 21 « reversusque fuero prospere ad domum patris mei : ertt mihi Dominus in Deum ». Cum haec ultima expressio ex 17,7 sensum habeat e/ Dominus protexerit me , e constructione etiam v. 21 assimiletur, ideo ad prodosin trahatur opertet , dum apodosis habetur v. 22. (ui expressionem explicant « religioso cultu eum prosequar » (Bonfr. et alii), primum hunc sensum expressioni gratuito affingunt, dein gratuito supplere debent « in loco », ergo hunc locum Dei cultui consecrabo. Id certe textus non habet.
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v. 929 « Et lapis iste, quem erezi in titulum, vocabitur domus Dei » et erit, quam promissionem lacob 35,77 implevit exstructo ib. altari (Ca?.), « cunctorumque , quae dederis mihi, dectmas offeram tibi », probabilius sacrificiis absumendas (Ca:.). gendorum apud populos antiquos frequens erat; neque est, cur negemus eundem usum iam penes patriarchas Abrahamo antiquiores observatum esse. Si suspicetur quis, hac in re Iacob secutum esse ritum Chananaeorum, attendat oportet, eum ritum de se esse plane innocentem. Postea, quod gentiles eos cippos superstitiose colerent, iidem Hebraeis severe sunt prohibiti Lev. 26, 1. 29,1-30 Wellh. totum tribuit alteri elohistae; e contra Dzl/lm. ad v. 15^ usque narrationem tribuit iahvistae. Ratio eius est, quod v. 15-17 deprehendat hiatum aliquem, ut duae videantur consutae narrationes, Cum enim ante non fuerit sermo de mercede, pro qua lacob servierit Laban, v. 15 subito de mercede loquitur Laban; et v. 16 in recensendis filiabus Laban Rachel nominatur, quin indicetur de Rachel iam ante fuisse sermonem. Non lubet refutare argumentulum, cuius ne Wellh. quidem perspexit aciem ; neque etiam rationes rimari, ob quas Wellh. v. 9-15 alteri elohistae vindicat, quippe quas Dillm. censuerit esse inefficaces. Cum ipso eam pericopen priorum narratori, quem iahvistam vocant, permittimus; cf. quae dicemus post v. 17. | Cap. XXIX v.4 « Profectus ergo Iacob venit ?n terram orientalem », Hebr. : ad. terram filiorum orientis. Appellatio minus usitata : tamen Num. 93,7 Aram dicitur « terra orientis ». LXX addunt : ad Laban filium. Bathuel Syri, fratrem lebeccae matris Iacob et Esau. Simile additamentum habent 34,1 praeter LXX Vulg. omnes. Ergo eiusmodi quandoque s. textui addebantur, quandoque subtrahebantur : ergo audacius recentiores, ubi eiusmodi prolixior habetur oratio, illico versum tribuunt elohistae. v. 9 « Et vidit puteum tn agro, tres quoque greges ovium accubantes iuxta eum : nam ez tllo adaquabantur pecora; et os eius grandi lapide claudebatur ». xax apud Sam. articulo caret. Claudebatur os putei, non tam « ut possent greges salubrius, purius et copiosius potari » (Menoch.), sed quo alieni prohiberentur (Kn.). Hodie apud Arabes putei pertinent ad tribus vel familias, necnisi oblato munere alienus ex illis haurire permittitur.
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… Presso gli Ebrei, come fra gli altri Semiti, erano i genitori a decidere sulla sorte dei figli (cf. Gen. 24, 2-4; 28, 1 sg.; Eccl. 7, 27); occasionalmente viene ricordato il proposito efficace del giovane di sposare una ragazza non gradita ai genitori (Gen. 28, 6-9; Iud. 14, 2 sg.). …
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… Sia l'ebraico ἀδ. sia il greco ἀδελφός, come risulta dai molti testi sacri e profani, può indicare: a) f. nel vero e proprio senso (Gen. 4, 8; Mt. 4, 21; 17, 1, ecc.); b) consanguineo di qualsiasi grado (Gen. 13, 18; 28, 2; I Par. 23, 21); c) prossimo (Deut. 15, 3; Ios. 22, 2; Iudc. 1, 3; Ier. 7, 15; Rom. 9, 3; Iac. 1, 9; Platone, Men., 8, 239; Senofonte, Anab., 7, 2, 25, 38). Quindi si domanda: in che …
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… In composizione con 'El ('Elōhim) o con Jahweh figurano specialmente i termini 'elōh = 'Altissimo' (Gen. 14, 18-20, 22; Ps. 46, 3; 77, 56) e Saadaj (Gen. 17, 1; 28, 3; 35, 11; ecc.), tradotto di solito 'Onnipotente', ma il cui significato etimologico è molto discusso. …
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… L'abitante del luogo viene chiamato « arameo » (Gen. 25, 20; 28, 5; 31, 20, 24).
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… Presso gli Ebrei, come fra gli altri Semiti, erano i genitori a decidere sulla sorte dei figli (cf. Gen. 24, 2-4; 28, 1 sg.; Eccl. 7, 27); occasionalmente viene ricordato il proposito efficace del giovane di sposare una ragazza non gradita ai genitori (Gen. 28, 6-9; Iud. 14, 2 sg.). …
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… Gli I. dovettero avere stretti contatti con i Madianiti e con gli Idumei, con i quali sono spesso nominati nella Bibbia (cf. Gen. 28, 9; 36, 3; Iud. 8, 3, 24; Iud. 2, 13; I Par. 2, 17; 27, 30; Ps. 82, 7). Come il padre, si diedero alla vita nomade. …
NABATEI (GR. NĀḤĀṬAṬṬO; LAT. NABATAEI)
… Iud., 1, 12, 4) e s. Girolamo (Quaest. in Gen., 25, 12; PL 23, 977) li fanno discendere dalla tribù ismaelita di Nabaioth (Gen. 25, 13; 28, 9; 36, 3; I Par. 1, 29). I Nabātu, associati con Qidri nelle iscrizioni assire e che Assurbanipal respinse nel Naḡd, potrebbero essere gli antichi antenati dei N. dell'epoca ellenistica e romana. …
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… Abramo (v.), venuto da Ur, visse colà lunghi anni prima di partire alla volta di Canaan (Gen. 11, 3 sg.; 12, 4 sg.); vi si svolsero gli idillici episodi di Rebecca e di Rachele presso il pozzo di H., e la fuga di Giacobbe (Gen. 24, 10; 27, 43; 28, 10; 29, 4).
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BETHEL (EBR. BĚTH-'ĚL = « CASA DI DIO »)
potamia per sfuggire all'ira di Esaù (Gen. 28, 11-22). Alla storia di B. sono legati molti ricordi biblici. …
LUZA (EBR. LÁZ « MANDORLO », SETTANTA ἈΟΥΖΆ)
… primitivo d'una località cananea, ca. 17 km. a nord di Gerusalemme, alla quale più tardi fu imposto il nome Bethel (v.) o « casa di Dio » in ricordo della visione della scala e degli Angeli ivi avuta da Giacobbe mentre si recava da Bersabea a Haran (Gen. 28, 11-28). Era situata quasi al centro della Palestina, e nella divisione della Terra Promessa venne a trovarsi ai confini delle tribù di Ephraim e di Beniamin (cf. Ios. 16, 1 sgg.; 8, 3).
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… Appaiono, tra l'altro, ad Agar (Gen. 16, 7), ad Abramo (Gen. 18, 1-2; 22, 1-18), a Lot (Gen. 19, 1), a Giacobbe (Gen. 28, 12). Nel Vecchio Testamento non si parla esplicitamente della creazione degli a., ma essa è implicita nel fatto che l'unico Dio viene descritto come creatore di tutti gli esseri (Ex. …
GIACOBBE - La scala di G. (Gen. 28, 12) e l'altare di Bethel (ibid. 18). Musiaco della Cappella Palatina (sec. …
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Nel Vecchio Testamento 'ab (plurale 'abbôth, testi di el-Amarna abûti) assume molti significati derivati, in base alle nozioni di origine, allevamento e autorità, connesse semanticamente colla paternità: 1) Nonno (Gen. 28, 13), antenato (I Reg. 15, 11, 24; al plurale è frequente: Gen. 15, 15; Num. 14, 18; ecc.), onde 'abbôthêm' « i nostri podrì » (Eccli. 44, 1) frequente nelle preghiere dei giudei (cf. …
28:14
… «ripiena di Spirito Santo» (v. 41), lo ha completato dandone la ragione profonda nel frutto benedetto del ventre suo, nel quale appunto, secondo le promesse messianiche ai Patriarchi, sarebbero state «benedette tutte le genti» (Gen. 22, 18; 26, 4; 28, 14, e Io. 1, 16 e Gal. 3, 8-16). Teologicamente quelle parole sono essenziali: senza di esse il messaggio angelico rimarrebbe incompleto, trascurando la ragione vera del «Dominus tecum»; …
28:18
… mensa («mensa di Jahweh» Mal. 1, 7, 12; Ez. 41, 22). Primo menzionato è quello di Noè, Gen. 8, 20; Abramo erige a. a Sichem, presso Bethel, a Mambre, sul Moria, Gen. 12, 7 sg.; 13, 18; 22, 9; Isacco a Bersabea, Gen. 26, 25; Giacobbe a Bethel, Gen. 28, 18; 35, 14; Mosè in Raphidim, con dodici masšebāth, alle falde del Sinai (Ex. 17, 15; 24, 4). La forma primitiva sembra fosse un blocco roccioso o un ammasso di pietre non squadrate; …
… Nella Bibbia è commemorativo di un beneficio divino (Gen. 28, 18, 22; 31, 13; 35, 14), o di un patto (tra Giacobbe e Laban: Gen. 31, 45, 51 sg.; del patto del Sinai: Ex. 24, 4); è simbolo del culto del vero Dio (Is. 19, 19). Come stele funeraria …
… Per questo fin dall'antichità fu usato nel culto sacro, come nella consacrazione di altari, vasi e luoghi (Gen. 28, 18; 35, 14; Ex. 30, 24 sgg.; 40, 9, sgg.), dei sacerdoti (ibid. 29, 7 sgg.; Lev. 8, 11), dei re (I Reg. 10, 1; 16, 13); nei sacrifici e nelle oblazioni delle primizie (Lev. …
28:22
… La d. cultuale, accanto alla quale esisteva anche una d. regale (I Sam. 8, 15.17), rappresenta un istituto antico (Gen. 14, 20; 28, 22) e si basa sul concetto di offerta rivolta alla divinità come proprietaria del paese (Lev. 25, 23; Deut. 26, 1 sgg.).
… Vi era qualche santuario, ove si interrogava l'oracolo (Gen. 25, 22) e al sacerdote del quale si pagavano le decime, come a Bethel (ibid. 28, 22). Vestigio dell'antica funzione sacerdotale del capofamiglia rimase l'immolazione dell'agnello (v.) pasquale (Ex. 12, 3-11. 21-27). Sembra esistessero veri sacerdoti in Israele prima …
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.