Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
God commands the Hebrews to celebrate the Passover at Sinai, which in order was the second (for the first the Hebrews celebrated in Egypt, Exodus XII). Second, verse 15, the cloud is described, which was the guide of their journey and rest.
Vulgate Text: Numbers 9:1-23
1. The Lord spoke to Moses, in the desert of Sinai, in the second year after they had gone out from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying: 2. Let the children of Israel make the Phase in its time, 3. on the fourteenth day of this month at evening, according to all its ceremonies and justifications. 4. And Moses commanded the children of Israel to make the Phase. 5. And they made it in its time on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, on Mount Sinai. According to all the things which the Lord had commanded Moses, the children of Israel did. 6. But behold, certain men who were unclean by reason of the soul of a man, who could not make the Phase on that day, coming to Moses and Aaron, 7. said to them: We are unclean by reason of the soul of a man; why are we defrauded so that we cannot offer the oblation to the Lord in its time among the children of Israel? 8. Moses answered them: Stand that I may consult what the Lord will command concerning you. 9. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 10. Speak to the children of Israel: The man who shall be unclean by reason of a soul, or shall be on a journey afar off in your nation, let him make the Phase to the Lord, 11. in the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and wild lettuce: 12. they shall not leave anything of it until morning, nor break a bone thereof: they shall observe all the rite of the Phase. 13. But if any man is both clean, and was not on a journey, and yet did not make the Phase, that soul shall be cut off from among his peoples, because he did not offer the sacrifice to the Lord in its time: he shall bear his sin. 14. The stranger also and the sojourner, if they shall be among you, shall make the Phase to the Lord according to its ceremonies and justifications. The same precept shall be among you for the stranger as for the native. 15. Therefore on the day the tabernacle was erected, the cloud covered it. But from evening over the tent there was as it were the appearance of fire until morning; 16. so it was continually: by day the cloud covered it, and by night as it were the appearance of fire. 17. And when the cloud that covered the tabernacle was taken up, then the children of Israel set forward, and in the place where the cloud stood still, there they camped. 18. At the commandment of the Lord they set forward, and at His commandment they pitched the tabernacle. All the days that the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in the same place. 19. And if it happened that it remained a long time over it, the children of Israel were in the watches of the Lord, and did not set forward. 20. For as many days as the cloud was over the tabernacle. At the commandment of the Lord they pitched their tents, and at His commandment they took them down. 21. If the cloud was there from evening until morning, and immediately at daybreak left the tabernacle, they set forward: and if after a day and a night it departed, they took down their tents. 22. But if it remained over the tabernacle for two days, or one month, or a longer time, the children of Israel stayed in the same place, and did not set forward: but as soon as it departed, they moved camp. 23. By the word of the Lord they pitched their tents and by His word they set forward: and they were in the watches of the Lord according to His commandment through the hand of Moses.
Verses 1-2: The Lord Spoke to Moses — the Chronological Order
The Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the second year after they had gone out from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying: Let the children of Israel make the Phase. — From this it is again clear that the order of history and time is not observed here: for according to that order this chapter should be placed before the first chapter; for those things which are narrated in chapter I occurred in the second month, as is said there; but these things took place in the first month of the same year: evidently Moses wished to begin this book of Numbers with the numbering of the people and of the Levites, which was the principal subject of this book, and to add other things afterward, even if they had happened earlier.
God therefore proclaimed these things in the first month, before the fourteenth day of the month, and commanded that on the fourteenth day they should celebrate the Phase, or Passover: and this for the purpose that the people might know that this feast and its legal rite were permanent, and not merely observed once for the actual departure from Egypt, but would endure forever in the land of Canaan.
I say in Canaan: for in the desert after the departure from Sinai they do not seem to have celebrated the Phase any more, because there they were uncertain when they would have to move camp. Hence they observed neither circumcision nor other ceremonial laws in the desert, except those which are expressly mentioned, as here it is expressly stated that in the second year, in the first month, the Phase was celebrated.
Note: Which Feasts the Hebrews Celebrated at Sinai
Note: The Hebrews at Sinai celebrated only the Passover; not Pentecost, not the feast of Tabernacles; not of Trumpets; etc.; because they departed from Sinai before the time of those feasts arrived; for after the erection of the tabernacle, which took place on the first day of the first month of the second year after the departure from Egypt, they remained at Sinai for only 50 days. For they moved camp from Sinai on the 20th day of the second month, as is clear from chapter X, verse 11; therefore they departed from Sinai before Pentecost: for this fell on the sixth day of the third month.
Verse 3: Justifications
Justifications, — in Hebrew, judgments, that is, the due and prescribed rite. The same is found in verse 14.
Verse 5: They Made the Phase in Its Time
Who made (the Phase) in its time, — namely on the fourteenth day of the first month. In this Phase they did not observe the law about unleavened bread, because in the desert they were eating unleavened manna daily renewed.
Note: This Phase was eaten only by those who had gone out from Egypt. For those who had been born in the desert were uncircumcised; hence it was not lawful for them to eat the Phase: although they could not anyway because of their age, for they were tender infants of one year. For these things occurred in the second year after the departure from Egypt.
Verse 7: We Are Unclean by Reason of a Soul
We are unclean by reason of a soul. — "Soul," that is, a corpse, by antiphrasis, because namely we have touched the corpse of a man. For such persons, Leviticus XXII, 4, are excluded from all sacrifice: and consequently from the paschal lamb. In like manner lepers, those with seminal discharge, and those suffering from a flow of blood, being unclean, never celebrated the Passover.
Why are we defrauded, — why are we deprived? In Hebrew, why are we prohibited and kept back from the Phase?
Verses 10-11: The Second Passover in the Second Month
The man who shall be unclean by reason of a soul, or shall be on a journey afar off in your nation, let him make the Phase to the Lord in the second month, — as if to say: He who is unclean or travelling on a journey, far away from Judea and from Jerusalem (for in it alone was it lawful to make the Phase, as is clear from Deuteronomy XVI, 2) at the time of the Passover, let him celebrate his Passover in the second month. Therefore the Jews who were travelling in the first month, that is, the paschal month, were obliged to prepare themselves, if they could, to return home before the 14th day on which the Passover was to be celebrated. The same judgment applies to any unclean persons, for the reason is the same for all; but if they could not do this, they were obliged to prepare themselves for the second month, so that on its fourteenth day they might celebrate the Passover. In like manner, those who now because of absence or another cause cannot receive communion at Easter are bound as soon as they return, or are able, to receive communion and celebrate their Passover.
On Vows That Conflict with the Passover Commandment
Hence it is clear that, if any Jew had vowed to abstain from meat for the whole year, he would nevertheless have been obliged, notwithstanding his vow, to eat the flesh of the lamb at the Passover, because this was commanded by God, and therefore could not be overridden by a vow; indeed if anyone had vowed not to eat meat at the Passover, he would have sinned, and his vow would have been null, as being contrary to God's commandment. So Abulensis.
Note on "In Your Nation"
Note: The words in your nation are to be referred, not to on a journey, but to the man, as if to say: A man of your nation, who shall be far away on a journey, let him make the Passover in the second month.
Whether the Passover Could Be Deferred Beyond the Second Month
You will ask: What if in the second month they were still unclean, or were still far from Jerusalem, travelling abroad on the road — would it have been lawful for them to celebrate the Phase in the third or fourth month? I answer that it would not have been lawful, both because here only the second month is prescribed for the Phase; and because otherwise the order of the feasts would have been disturbed, and the Phase would have been celebrated together with Pentecost, or the feast of Tabernacles, Trumpets, etc.; and because of the time when the Hebrews were led out of Egypt, that is, the first month, or at least the nearest to it, the greatest account is taken in this feast of the Passover: because the feast of the Passover was an express memorial of the liberation from Egypt, formerly accomplished at this same time; and so the Jews practiced, as is clear from II Paralipomenon XXX, 15, compared with verse 18.
Objection from St. Augustine
You will say: St. Augustine here, Question XV, extends the Passover for the unclean and travellers up to the third month.
I answer: St. Augustine speaks disjunctively; for he says that such persons either celebrated the Passover in the third month, or certainly if they had not made the Passover that year, they did not sin — and the latter is true.
Verse 13: He Shall Bear His Own Sin
He shall bear his own sin (the punishment of his sin — this is metonymy).
Verse 14: The Stranger and the Sojourner
The stranger also and the sojourner, if they shall be among you, shall make the Phase. — For stranger and sojourner, in Hebrew there is a single word, ger, meaning one who comes from abroad, that is, a sojourner; understand, if he is a Jew, or initiated into Judaism: for he alone was able and was bound to celebrate the Passover; and therefore all, even strangers and proselytes, who were able, were bound to come to Jerusalem for the Passover: many, however, dwelling in places far from it, were excused on account of various impediments. Hence he says: "If they shall be among you."
Verse 15: The Cloud Covered the Tabernacle
Therefore on the day the tabernacle was erected, the cloud covered it. — "Cloud," that is, the pillar of cloud, which went before the camp as a guide showing the way through the desert to Canaan, as I said on Exodus chapter XIII, verse 12.
You will ask whether this pillar of cloud was a created and real cloud. Calvin in Exodus chapter XIII attacks the execrable delirium of his disciple Servetus: for Servetus imagined that this cloud was uncreated, as if it were the very deity of Christ, which he alone substituted for the three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, which he denied; as if the deity were then corporeal, which he calls a figurative son, who later became flesh, not because He put on flesh, but because He appeared as a man, composed of three uncreated elements and the seed of David. How many monstrous errors are here! Such are the disciples Calvin has given us; recognize the crow from the egg: for Servetus was the bad egg of a bad crow (Calvin), because from Calvin the heresiarch he learned nothing but to invent heresies.
I say therefore first: It is certain that this cloud was not uncreated, but was created, which extended upward in the shape and figure of a column, to which an angel attended as a pilot to a ship, and through it spoke in God's name, inclining it toward the earth, or toward the tabernacle, Numbers XII, 5. Hence it is said in Psalm XCVIII, 7: "In a pillar of cloud He spoke to them."
The Nature of the Pillar of Cloud
I say second, that this pillar of cloud was similar to a cloud in its material and in its color: for it was white and bright, like a white cloud; yet it differed from a cloud, because it was, first, purer and brighter than a cloud; second, denser and more solid; third, it always retained the shape of a column, while clouds very often change their shape. Fourth, clouds are moved by the winds, this column was moved by an angel. Fifth, this column was always similar to itself, while clouds very often change their color, or place, or density. Sixth, clouds dissolve into rain, this column remained a column. Seventh, clouds are moved with a circular motion together with the sky, this cloud was moved with a straight motion, now forward, now backward, now to the side.
For when the camp was moving, this cloud placed itself over, or before the standard of the tribe of Judah (for this was the first and the leader of the rest, as is clear from chapter X, verses 13 and 14), and all the camps followed its movement and guidance: but when the camps were to be pitched, this column returned from the standard of the tribe of Judah to the tabernacle, which was in the middle of the camps, as is clear from chapter II, verse 2. Eighth, this column accommodated itself and its movement to the strength of the Hebrews, so that it did not go faster than they could follow: it therefore moderated its movement according to the strength and pace of so many women, small children, old men, sheep, lambs, etc., as were in the camps of the Hebrews, which customarily proceeded at a slow pace.
The Appearance of Fire by Night
But from evening over the tent there was as it were the appearance of fire until morning, — as if to say: This column by day had the appearance of a cloud, but by night it had the appearance of fire, which illuminated all the camps. The Hebrews think there were two columns, one of cloud by day, to which another of fire succeeded at night; but it is more true that it was one and the same column, which by day appeared as what it really was, namely a cloud raised up in the form of a column: but at night it shone like fire. For in this passage it is said that at night there was as it were the appearance of fire, because this columnar cloud appeared fiery at night. Indeed Philo also relates that it was the same column, but one which by day shone with a solar brightness, and by night with a fiery one. Again this is clear from the fact that in Exodus chapter XIV, verses 20 and 24, the same is called a column of cloud and fire, which interposed itself between the camps of the Hebrews and the Egyptians, and illuminated the Hebrews like fire, but obscured the Egyptians like a cloud. So Abulensis, Cajetan, Pererius and others, on Exodus XIII. Hence it is clearer that the truth is that this nocturnal fire of the column was not true fire, but as it were fire, that is, had the appearance of fire, as is said in chapters 15 and 16.
Objection: Why Is It Called Fire?
You will say: How then in Exodus 13:12 and 22 is this nocturnal pillar called fire, if it was not really fire but a cloud? I answer: It is called fire because to those looking at it, it appeared to be fire: for it shone like fire, and God imparted this splendor to the cloud by night, but withdrew it by day. For it is customary for Scripture to speak in the common manner of men, and to call a thing what it appears to be, even if in reality it is not such. Thus it calls idols "foreign gods," which are in reality neither gods nor foreign, but are regarded as gods by foreign or Gentile nations. Thus in Exodus 3, the bush is called "burning," which appeared to be burning; yet in reality it was not burning. For thus Plato in the Timaeus distinguishes a threefold fire: the first, which is in an ignited body, such as in a coal or glowing iron; the second, which is called flame, and is both burning and shining; the third, which shines but does not burn: such is the light of the sun and stars. Hence the Poet:
You, eternal fires, and you inviolable majesty,
I call to witness.
This fire, therefore, was nothing other than a light and a wonderful splendor imparted to the pillar by night, which illuminated the entire camp, like the moon or the sun; hence it is also called a sun in Wisdom 18:3. Note here that the light of this pillar was red like a flame, as Philo says. For that reason it is called fire, and for that reason in Wisdom 18:3 this pillar is called "burning," that is, flame-colored, named not from heat but from color.
The Twofold Function of the One Pillar
There was, therefore, one pillar, but it had a twofold function, and consequently a twofold appearance or form. For by day it overshadowed the camp like a cloud; but by night the same pillar illuminated it, like a torch of fire.
Allegorical Meaning: Christ and the Holy Spirit
Thus, allegorically, Christ and the Holy Spirit protects us like a cloud and sets us ablaze like fire. "The Spirit of Jesus, says St. Bernard, the Good Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Upright Spirit, the Sweet Spirit, the Strong Spirit, strengthening the weak, smoothing what is rough, purifying hearts, makes light whatever in this wicked age seems difficult and narrow: He judges insult received as joy, and persuades that contempt is exaltation."
Under this guide we ascend to the promised land, because, as the Venerable Bede says: "The saints find the entrance to heavenly life through the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit: humble through the fear of God, merciful through the pursuit of piety, discerning through knowledge, free through strength of mind, cautious through counsel, provident through understanding, mature through wisdom." Rightly therefore St. Augustine invokes the Holy Spirit, saying: "Always breathe Your holy work in me, that I may think; compel me, that I may act; persuade me, that I may love You; confirm me, that I may hold You; guard me, lest I lose You."
Tropological Meaning: Pillars of Light — the Saints
Tropologically, pillars of light are strong and illustrious saints. Once Abbot Hilarion came to Abbot Anthony, and Abbot Anthony said to him: "Welcome, morning star, who rises at dawn." And Abbot Hilarion replied: "Peace to you, pillar of light, who supports the world." As is found in the Lives of the Fathers, Book 5, Treatise 17, number 4.
Such a pillar of light was also Simeon Stylites, who, in order to draw all from earth to heaven, stood upon a pillar for eighty years, scarcely eating or sleeping, and always either praying or giving counsels of salvation to those who approached. Thus Peter, James, and John appeared to be pillars in the Church, says Paul, Galatians 2:9.
Apocalypse 3:12 — "I Will Make Him a Pillar"
For this reason Christ, in Apocalypse 3:12, promises to the Angel, that is, the Bishop, of Philadelphia: "He who overcomes," He says, "I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God," as if to say: I will make him firm, great, and glorious both in the Church and in heaven. He alludes to the two pillars of the temple, Booz and Jachin, 3 Kings 7, as Viegas shows at length there, section 6. Hence Richard of St. Victor first expounds it thus, as if to say: "I will make it so that he who overcomes persecutions and temptations shall be like a pillar, firm in himself through faith, upright through equity, raised up through intention, sublime through contemplation, supporting others by the word of consolation, by the aid of prayer, by the example of action." And Primasius: "A pillar, he says, in buildings serves both for defense and for beauty; so also the rulers of the world are eminent in the Church by the office of dignity, and bear others by the duty of charity."
Second, Ambrose: "I will make him a pillar," that is, a preacher in the Church; just as Paul, in Galatians chapter 2, called Peter, James, and John pillars. But because Origen, Tertullian, and others who were, as it were, pillars, fell, Ambrose says it is better understood as: "I will make him a pillar," that is, exalted in heaven, from which he shall never depart again.
Third, Abbot Joachim: "I will make him a pillar," that is, a Prelate. For such a one, first, touches the earth with his body, heaven with his mind; second, through the active life he adheres to those below, yet through the contemplative life he looks upward; third, he is polished by many blows; fourth, amid the stormy whirlwinds of the winds, he indefatigably bears the structure placed upon his care; fifth, he is as calm and immovable as a pillar.
Pererius notes there that eight qualities are observed and praised in a pillar: namely straightness, height, thickness, firmness, roundness, smoothness, color, and material, which are easily applied to a preacher, a Prelate, and any excellent Saint in the Church, and especially in heaven, where these Saints, like pillars subject to no change, shall stand for eternity, exalted and glorious.
St. Ephrem's Vision of the Great Basil
Wherefore St. Ephrem, praying to God to reveal to him what manner of man the great Basil was, saw in ecstasy a pillar of fire whose top reached to heaven, and a voice from above saying: Ephrem, Ephrem, just as you have seen this pillar of fire, such is the great Basil, says Amphilochius in his Life.
The Movement of the Pillar and the Ark
Note: Whenever the pillar moved and went before the camp, the priests raised and carried the ark of the Lord; Moses meanwhile invoked God, saying: "Arise, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before Your face," as if to say: Arise, and go forth with us, O Lord, and go before the camp, and put our enemies, who are equally Yours, to flight and scatter them, so that they dare not attack us. But when the pillar rested again, the priests set down the ark, and Moses, inviting the Lord who sat, as it were, upon the ark to remain there with the Hebrews, prayed to Him thus: "Return, O Lord, to the multitude of the army of Israel," as is clear from chapter 10, at the end.
The Duration of the Pillar until Joshua
The Hebrews think that the pillar of fire and cloud ceased immediately after the death of Aaron, which occurred in the fifth month of the fortieth year, some months before the death of Moses and the entry of the Hebrews into Canaan. But they are mistaken; for in Deuteronomy 31:15, shortly before the death of Moses, this pillar is said to have appeared to Moses and Joshua. This pillar therefore lasted until the leadership of Joshua, and led both him and the Hebrews into the very land of Canaan, where, together with the manna, it ceased and disappeared.
Verse 18: At the Command of the Lord
At the command of the Lord they set out. — "Of the Lord," namely, who moved through an angel the pillar of cloud that was the guide of the journey, and by this was admonishing and commanding the camp to move and set out.
Verse 19: The Watches of the Lord
And if it happened that the cloud remained over it (the tabernacle) for a long time, the children of Israel were on watch for the Lord, — that is, they stood as though keeping watch and being vigilant for the movement of the cloud, namely for when God would move the cloud and by this command them to move the camp.
Note: The Pillar Rested Twice Daily
Note: This pillar of cloud rested twice daily, even during the movement of the camp, namely at the midday meal and at supper: for at those times both men and animals had to cook food and refresh themselves with it. In addition, it always rested in the evening and by night: for then men and animals had to take their sleep. Hence we never read that they moved the camp by night; but when it rested for a longer time, they pitched tents there, and such a rest was called a station or halt, of which the Hebrews had forty-two in the desert, as is clear from chapter 33.
You ask, how did the Hebrews know that this rest would be a longer one, and that the camp should be pitched there? I answer, from this: If after midday, when the meal was already finished, the pillar was still resting, it was a sign that the camp should be pitched there; likewise if after the night's rest, in the morning the pillar was still resting, it was a sign that they should stay there at least until the midday meal.
Verse 20: At the Command of the Lord They Raised Their Tents
At the command of the Lord they raised their tents. — And they were on watch for the Lord, — keeping watch for the movement of the pillar, and consequently of the camp, as I said at verse 19.
Verse 21: They Took Down Their Tents
They took down (that is, removed) their tents, — and packed up all their belongings.
Verse 23: By the Word of the Lord They Pitched Their Tents
By the word of the Lord they pitched their tents, — as if to say: by the command of the Lord given to Moses, so that when the pillar of cloud moved, they would move the camp; when it stopped, they would pitch the camp. The Hebrews moved or pitched the camp accordingly. Thus, tropologically, Religious who follow the guidance of obedience, and pious men who follow their holy inspirations, act under the guidance and command of the Lord; hence it is fitting that they should be on watch for the Lord and say: I will hear what the Lord speaks in me.
Rightly therefore St. Gregory, 17 Moralia, 14: "Whoever, he says, is established with right intention in the work of God, is raised up as a pillar in the structure of the spiritual building; so that, placed in this temple which is the Church, he may serve both for usefulness and for beauty."