Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
David resolves to build the temple, and Nathan the prophet approves this; but warned by God he retracts it, and declares that not David, but his son Solomon, will build the temple. Second, God promises to David, verse 16, a continuous posterity and a perpetual kingdom.
Vulgate Text: 2 Kings 7:1-29
1. And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, 2. he said to Nathan the prophet: Do you see that I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God is placed in the midst of skins? 3. And Nathan said to the king: All that is in your heart, go, do, for the Lord is with you. 4. But it came to pass that night, and behold, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: 5. Go, and speak to My servant David: Thus says the Lord: Shall you build Me a house to dwell in? 6. For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt even to this day; but I have been walking in a tabernacle and in a tent. 7. In all the places through which I passed with all the children of Israel, did I ever speak to one of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying: Why have you not built Me a house of cedar? 8. And now thus shall you say to My servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pastures, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 9. And I was with you in all things wherever you went, and I slew all your enemies from before your face, and I made you a great name, like the name of the great ones that are on the earth. 10. And I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and I will plant them, and they shall dwell therein, and shall be disturbed no more; neither shall the children of iniquity afflict them any more as before, 11. from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. And the Lord foretells to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12. And when your days shall be fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which shall proceed out of your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13. He shall build a house to My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to Me a son; who if he commit any iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. 15. But My mercy I will not take away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before My face. 16. And your house shall be faithful, and your kingdom forever before your face, and your throne shall be firm forever. 17. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David. 18. And David went in and sat before the Lord, and said: Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me thus far? 19. Moreover this has seemed little in Your sight, O Lord God, unless You spoke also of the house of Your servant for a long time to come; for this is the law of Adam, O Lord God. 20. And what can David say more unto You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God. 21. For Your word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, so that You would make it known to Your servant. 22. Therefore You are magnified, O Lord God, for there is none like You, neither is there any God besides You, according to all the things which we have heard with our ears. 23. And what nation is there upon earth, as Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to Himself, and to make Him a name, and to do for them great and terrible things upon the earth, before the face of Your people, whom You redeemed to Yourself out of Egypt, from the nations and their gods? 24. For You have confirmed to Yourself Your people Israel to be an everlasting people; and You, O Lord God, are become their God. 25. And now, O Lord God, raise up forever the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, and do as You have spoken. 26. And let Your name be magnified forever, and let it be said: The Lord of hosts is God over Israel. And the house of Your servant David shall be established before the Lord. 27. Because You, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed to the ear of Your servant, saying: I will build you a house; therefore Your servant has found his heart to pray to You this prayer. 28. And now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words shall be true; for You have spoken to Your servant these good things. 29. And now begin, and bless the house of Your servant, that it may endure forever before You; because You, O Lord God, have spoken; and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.
The same account is narrated and repeated in 1 Chronicles chapter 17, which therefore pertains entirely to this passage.
Verse 2: The ark of God is placed in the midst of skins
2. AND THE ARK OF GOD IS PLACED IN THE MIDST OF SKINS? For the tabernacle in which it was housed was covered with reddened and violet ram skins like a pavilion, Exodus 26:14, as if to say: This seems unworthy; I therefore wish to build a magnificent temple in which I may honorably place the ark of God. Moreover, David not only wished to build the temple, but even vowed to do so, as is clear from Psalm 131:2 and following. Josephus asserts that David wished to do so by God's command; but he is mistaken: for nowhere did God command him to build the temple; on the contrary, He restrained him from doing so, as is clear from verse 5. David therefore wished and vowed to undertake this construction out of sheer and burning zeal for devotion and the worship of God, which had driven him to dance with all his might before the ark in the presence of the entire people, and from that time this zeal grew in him day by day, especially because in the presence of the ark he experienced ever greater benefits of God upon himself. Therefore he judged it unworthy that he himself should dwell in a house of cedar, while God and the ark of God should remain in a tabernacle of skins and a pavilion.
Eupolemus narrates this history as follows, cited by Eusebius, book 9 of the Preparation for the Gospel, near the end: "When David wished to build a temple for God, he asked God to show him the place for the altar. There an Angel appeared to him, standing over the place where the altar would be set up in Jerusalem, and commanded him not to build the temple, because he was polluted with human blood, and had waged many wars. His name was Dianathan, and he commanded him to permit the building to his son, while he himself should prepare what pertained to the furnishing."
Verse 3: Nathan said to the king
3. AND NATHAN SAID TO THE KING: ALL THAT IS IN YOUR HEART, GO, DO. Nathan was a prophet familiar to David, and among his counselors, according to St. Epiphanius, Isidore, and Dorotheus in the Lives of the Prophets; but because here he did not consult God, he was not illuminated by God, but erred; yet he immediately corrected the error when warned by God. Thus Prophets sometimes speak from the impulse not of God, but of their own judgment and spirit; indeed, because of the habit of prophecy, they think they are speaking from the spirit of God when they are speaking from their own; and then they can err, and sometimes do err, as Theodoret teaches here, and St. Gregory, homily 1 on Ezekiel, and St. Thomas, II-II, Question 171, article 5. Angelomus gives the reason, saying: "What almighty God arranges out of His great merciful dispensation is this: because sometimes He gives the spirit of prophecy and sometimes withdraws it, He both elevates the minds of prophets to lofty heights and keeps them in humility; so that when they receive the spirit, they may discover what they are from God, and when again not having the spirit of prophecy, they may know what they are of themselves."
Verse 5: Shall you build Me a house
5. SHALL YOU BUILD ME A HOUSE? The wish and vow of David to build a temple God approved and praised as to the thing itself, as religious, pious, and holy, but not as to the person. For He did not want it built by David, but by Solomon. The reason is given in 1 Chronicles chapter 22, verse 8, namely that David, continually engaged in wars, had shed much blood; therefore it was unfitting that David, with hands stained by so much human blood, should build a house, or temple, for God most pure, most gentle, most holy, and most merciful. He therefore willed the same to be done by Solomon, who, enjoying peace, was a pacific king, and therefore a type of Christ, who came into the world wholly meek and kind, to build the Church of the faithful for God, and to govern it in peace, according to that text: "His place was made in peace." So Eucherius, Rupertus, and Prosper, On Promises, part 2, chapter 27.
Tropologically it is signified, says Angelomus from St. Gregory, book 7 of Moralia, chapter 16, that "he who is a man of blood, that is, who still indulges in carnal deeds, ought not to build a temple to God, namely the holy Church, through the office of preaching; or even morally it is implied that one who takes care to correct the faults of others must himself be free from vices; he should not think about earthly things lest he succumb to base desires, so that he may foresee more clearly what others should avoid, the more truly he himself avoids these things through knowledge and life. The eye that is weighed down by dust cannot clearly observe a stain on a limb; and hands that hold mud cannot wipe away dirt piled on top.
In a similar way, God prohibited Geza, Duke of Hungary, who was the father of St. Stephen, the first King of the Hungarians, from building a temple when he wished to do so, through a vision: "For you have hands polluted with blood," He said, "but your son Stephen will do it, and as a reward he will be the first to be crowned King of the Hungarians." St. Stephen the Protomartyr confirmed the same, appearing to Geza and commanding him to give his son his name, and to call him Stephen after himself. He was a holy king who converted the Hungarians to Christ. Whence the Roman Pontiff, sending him a royal crown, said: "I am the Apostolic one; but Stephen is the Apostle of Hungary." So the Life of St. Stephen found in Surius under August 20.
Anagogically, it signifies the triumphant Church in heaven, to be gloriously built by Christ the Peacemaker, in the supreme peace and security, union and harmony, as well as purity, innocence, and holiness of all the Blessed.
Verse 7: Did I ever speak
7. DID I EVER SPEAK, etc., WHY HAVE YOU NOT BUILT ME A HOUSE OF CEDAR? God did not want a temple built by Joshua, Gideon, or any other Judge, because they were all engaged in wars and shed much blood, and were men of blood. So Angelomus.
Verse 10: I will appoint a place for My people
10. AND I WILL APPOINT A PLACE FOR MY PEOPLE ISRAEL, "a place," namely a stable and prosperous one; so that the Israelites may no longer wander, no longer be led away captive, no longer live a wretched life, as they have done up to now, harassed by the Philistines and other nations. Whence explaining He adds:
AND I WILL PLANT HIM, as if to say: Like a rooted plant and tree I will establish Israel firmly in Judea, so that they may rest in it firmly and prosperously, and live richly and happily.
AND HE WILL DWELL UNDER IT, that is, in it, namely in his place, as under a shelter, so that covered on every side he may remain stable and secure.
Verse 11: The Lord will build you a house
11. AND THE LORD FORETELLS TO YOU THAT THE LORD WILL MAKE YOU A HOUSE, "a house," that is, royal offspring and family; for that is called a house par excellence. Cajetan takes "house" to mean the Messiah, or Christ, as if here God promises David that Christ would be born from him. This is true, but in a sense that is not literal, as Abulensis holds, but allegorical, which sense nevertheless God seems here to have revealed and made known to David along with the literal, as will be clear from what follows.
Verse 12: When your days are fulfilled
12. AND WHEN YOUR DAYS ARE FULFILLED, etc., I WILL RAISE UP YOUR SEED AFTER YOU, that is, I will raise up Solomon to the kingdom so that he may reign after you; for although Solomon was anointed king at the command of David while he was still living, he did not fully reign while David was alive, but was anointed to the end that he should reign after him and succeed him in the kingdom when he died.
Verse 13: He shall build a house to My name
13. HE SHALL BUILD A HOUSE TO MY NAME, Solomon namely, as is clear from 2 Chronicles chapter 28, verse 6.
David, however, gave Solomon a most perfect plan of the entire temple, received from God, together with a very great supply of gold and silver for building the temple, as is clear from 3 Kings chapter 8, verse 16 and following, and 1 Chronicles chapter 22, verse 8 and following, and 2 Chronicles chapter 33, verse 7.
Allegorically, Solomon, that is Christ, built the Church, as the eternal kingdom and throne of God, and God is its true and proper Father, as follows. Whence Angelomus, Eucherius, and Rupertus think these things are said hyperbolically of Solomon, but properly and fully of Christ. For His throne is absolutely eternal, whereas Solomon's throne was only relatively eternal, namely only with respect to his own nation, because it lasted as long as the republic and kingdom of Israel lasted.
Verse 14: I will be to Him a father
14. I WILL BE TO HIM A FATHER, AND HE SHALL BE TO ME A SON. You ask, of whom God is speaking here literally, whether of Solomon or of Christ? First, some think that certain things said here belong literally to Christ, certain things to Solomon. So Theodoret and Procopius. Second, others attribute everything literally to Christ; for He alone is the true Son of God, and His kingdom is eternal. So Angelomus and the Glossa. Third, Lyranus and Abulensis take these things literally as referring to both Christ and Solomon.
Fourth, the Hebrews and many Latin interpreters explain them literally of Solomon, allegorically of Christ. This opinion is truer, as is clear from 1 Chronicles chapter 28, verse 6, where all these things are expressly attributed to Solomon: "Solomon," He says, "your son shall build My house; for I have chosen him as a son to Myself, and I will be to him a father, and I will establish his kingdom forever." And it is clear because God is speaking of the one who after David was to build the temple, which David wished to build but was prohibited by God. And this was none other than Solomon. But because Solomon was a type of Christ, who was to build the new Church of God, which was far more excellent than the temple, and this the Prophet foresaw in spirit and toward it he directed the focus of his mind and spirit; hence allegorically, but in the more important sense, these things are said of Christ: whence some things that are said here apply only faintly and in an inchoate way to Solomon; but fully and perfectly to Christ, such as: I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son; and: I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. It is therefore a matter of faith that this passage is understood of Christ. For St. Paul explains it of Him, Hebrews chapter 1, verse 5, where I treated the same passage at length. Whence St. Augustine, book 17 of the City of God, chapters 8 and 9, asserts that some things here are said of Solomon as a private person; but some things as he was a type of Christ. See here how tenderly and ardently God loved Solomon, that He takes him as a son to Himself above all, and wills His to be his father, and to exercise paternal duties toward him.
IF HE COMMITS ANY INIQUITY, I WILL CHASTISE HIM WITH THE ROD OF MEN, AND WITH THE STRIPES OF THE CHILDREN OF MEN, with which, namely, men are accustomed to chastise their sons, so as not to kill them, but to correct them, as if to say: I will chastise Solomon, if he sins, paternally as a father, not severely and rigidly as a judge. Again, I will chastise him as I am accustomed to chastise men, namely in a human manner, with a human, temporal, and merciful punishment, such as disease, famine, war; but not as I chastised the angels, whom I deprived of the heavenly kingdom and consigned to hell for eternity; nor as I chastised Saul, whom I rejected and stripped of the kingdom irrevocably and forever. Hence Burgensis and others conclude that Solomon was not damned but saved; but properly this passage is not about salvation, but about perpetuating the kingdom of Solomon in his posterity, as long as the Hebrew republic and kingdom was to last; whence explaining He adds:
Verse 15: My mercy I will not take away
15. BUT MY MERCY I WILL NOT TAKE AWAY FROM HIM, AS I TOOK IT AWAY FROM SAUL, WHOM I REMOVED FROM MY FACE.
16. AND YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR KINGDOM SHALL BE FAITHFUL FOREVER. Faithful in Hebrew neeman, that is, firm, stable, enduring, eternal, according to the sense I gave in verse 13. And this is what the Greek pistothisetai signifies.
Allegorically, these things cannot be said of the Person of Christ; for He was impeccable, but they are said of His members, namely the faithful, whom God when they sin mercifully chastises as a father, so as to correct them.
Verse 18: David sat before the Lord
18. AND DAVID WENT IN AND SAT BEFORE THE LORD, AND SAID: WHO AM I, O LORD? He sat in the tabernacle before the ark of God, not from laziness or softness, but so that he might pray more quietly, more secretly, more attentively and intently, and pour out his whole heart before God. For sitting aids these purposes. So St. Augustine in the passage soon to be cited, and from him Eucherius: "He sat," he says, "either because of the privacy with witnesses removed, or because of the innermost part of his heart, where the devotion of the one praying resided." Thus St. Bernard used to meditate while sitting, both because his body was weak, weary, and frail, and so that he might meditate more silently, quietly, devoutly, and for a longer time. For when the body is at rest, the spirit also rests, so that it may freely attend entirely to God. Sanchez and others add that David sat not on a throne or chair, but on the ground in the dust, and this out of zeal for humility as well as reverence for God, as Job did in chapter 2, verses 8 and 13. And Jerusalem, devastated by the Chaldeans, and therefore mourning and repenting, according to Lamentations chapter 1, verse 1: "How the city sits alone." Accordingly, Josephus says that David fell on his face and prayed to God prostrate on the ground in the manner of a suppliant.
Vatablus gives another reason for David's sitting, saying: "No one sitting was permitted to pray to God except the king." But this is false. For Elijah, who was not a king, sitting under a juniper tree prayed to God, 3 Kings chapter 19:4, and in Psalm 136:1, the Hebrews captive in Babylon, lamenting and praying, say: "There we sat and wept, when we remembered Zion." And Moses, Exodus chapter 17, verse 12, praying while sitting, was conquering Amalek: David therefore sat more in spirit than in body, silently and calmly meditating on God's benefits to him and giving thanks, according to Lamentations chapter 3, verse 28: "He shall sit solitary and be silent, because he has taken it upon himself..." Whence Angelomus: "To sit before the Lord," he says, "is to acknowledge His benefits with humility of heart."
St. Simplicianus, who succeeded St. Ambrose in the bishopric of Milan, posed this question to St. Augustine: why did David, so pious, pray while sitting, when the faithful normally pray kneeling, as Christ prayed in the garden, Matthew chapter 26, and Stephen in his martyrdom, Acts chapter 7, and St. Paul in prison, Ephesians chapter 3, verse 14? To which St. Augustine responds, book 2 to Simplicianus, Question 4, that no posture had been prescribed in the Law for one praying, but any was permitted, whichever was suited to each person's condition and devotion: "For we also pray standing," he says, "as it is written: But the tax collector stood at a distance, and kneeling as we read in the Acts of the Apostles: And sitting, as behold David and Elijah. Unless we also prayed lying down, it would not be written in the Psalms: Every night I will wash my bed, I will drench my couch with my tears. For when anyone seeks prayer, he arranges his limbs as occurs to him, with the body positioned suitably for the occasion to stir up the soul." The Gentiles did the same: whence the king of Nineveh, repenting at Jonah's preaching, chapter 3, verse 5, sat in ashes. Plutarch in the Life of Numa Pompilius, who succeeded Romulus in the kingdom of Rome, page 23, writes that Numa decreed that those who worship God ought to turn themselves in a circle, and then sit: by which rite, he says, they signified both that their prayers would be ratified and that they would persevere in good things, or that God should not be entreated casually and when we are occupied with other things, but when there is an opportune time in which we are resting and free from other business and cares. Finally, the Philosopher says: "The soul, by sitting, becomes wise." For when the humors settle through sitting, the passions of the soul that disturb reason are calmed, and when these are calmed, the mind more clearly sees what is true and holy. Jerome Mercurialis discusses at length the various positions and rites of those who pray, book 3 On Gymnastics, chapter 3. Finally, the masters of spiritual things give this rule for prayer: "In praying and meditating, that posture of the body should be maintained which seems apt for stirring up interior devotion in us."
18. WHO AM I, O LORD GOD, AND WHAT IS MY HOUSE, THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT ME THIS FAR? That from a shepherd of sheep You have made me a king of peoples, from a poor man a rich man, from a lowly man a noble, from an unknown man a celebrated and famous one. Let those say this whom God has raised from a humble and lowly place to the height of dignity, for example, to a bishopric, a principality, an apostolate, not by their own merit, but by the gratuitous gift of God.
St. Chrysostom (or whoever the author is; for the style indicates he was Latin, not Greek, and he cites St. Cyprian, which is unusual for St. Chrysostom) wrote a homily on this saying of David, which exists in volume 1, where among other things he says: "This holy man recognized what Abraham said to God in Genesis 18: I am dust and ashes. And each one thus spoke to God, so that it would be a pattern of perfect humility. Therefore: Who am I, O my Lord? Behold, he said he was nothing, and he did not deny that he was a servant: because everyone who confesses servitude deserves the freedom of grace. Therefore he says: Who am I, O my Lord? You see grace reigning everywhere, everywhere possessing tender mercy, illuminating the humble heart, drawing the kind to itself, enriching its confessors." And after a few lines: "He knew himself to be a shepherd of sheep, and not ennobled by birth. But when he became noble, he recognized that he had been raised up from nothing; and because he did not forget who he was born as, he persevered at the summit of royalty." See what I said on John chapter 1, verse 19, on those words: Who are you?
Verse 19: This is the law of Adam
19. THIS IS THE LAW OF ADAM, O LORD GOD. First, Angelomus explains it thus, as if to say: "This is the law of man, O Lord God, that he serve You in simplicity of heart and purity; and that You show him Your mercy, as You deigned to do for me Your servant." Second, Vatablus, as if to say: This royal condition and lot belongs to an illustrious and excellent man, not a worthless and abject one, such as I am. Whence Vatablus, for the Hebrew nir thorat, that is, law, translates, direction; the Chaldean translates, vision, from the root raa, that is, he saw. Third, others, as if to say: "The law of Adam," that is, of man, is that he be mortal and die. What is it then, O Lord, that You wish me and my kingdom to be eternal? "The law of Adam" is that he be wretched, poor, and lowly; what is it then that You heap upon me such great riches and honors? "What is man that You so magnify him?"
Fourth and genuinely, as if to say: You, Lord, have complied with my wishes; indeed You have anticipated them. For "the law," that is, the inclination implanted in man by nature, this is the common custom and practice of men, that they do not think themselves fully satisfied, even if they are wealthy, honored, and happy, unless provision has also been made for their descendants and their happiness and glory, which You, Lord, have deigned to do for me, promising that my descendants will always be kings, and will succeed me in the kingdom in a continuous and perpetual series. So Abulensis, Hugo, Cajetan, Dionysius, and others. The reason is that man naturally loves his children and descendants to be perpetually glorious, so that in them he may always survive, and attain a certain eternity of memory, fame, and glory. For children are, as it were, part and members of their parents, who therefore love their children as themselves, indeed more than themselves.
Verse 20: What more can David say
20. WHAT MORE CAN DAVID SAY TO YOU? FOR YOU KNOW YOUR SERVANT, O LORD. "You know," that is, You recognize, care for, love, direct, exalt, and glorify. For thus it is explained in 1 Chronicles 17:18, where it says: "What more can David add, when You have so glorified Your servant and known him?" For this knowledge and awareness of God is not speculative and arid, but practical and fruitful, and therefore involves God's love and beneficence. Thus the Apostle says of those predestined and elected to glory: "The Lord knows who are His," 2 Timothy 2:19; but to the reprobate Christ will say on the day of judgment: "I know you not," Matthew 25:12.
21. FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR WORD, as if to say: These great things You have granted me not on account of my merits, but to fulfill Your promises, by which You promised to do good to me when through Samuel You appointed and anointed me king.
SO THAT YOU MIGHT MAKE IT KNOWN TO YOUR SERVANT, so that You might display to me these promised great things, so that I might know them, indeed see them with my eyes and touch them with my hands.
AND THAT HE MIGHT MAKE A NAME FOR HIMSELF, so that Israel would be and be called the people of God, which is an outstanding dignity and a title of the highest honor as well as benefit. So Vatablus. Or, "that he might acquire a name," that is, fame and glory for himself; so Abulensis.
23. WHOM YOU REDEEMED FOR YOURSELF FROM EGYPT, A NATION AND ITS GOD, so that Israel might be Your nation and people, and that in turn You might be its God. Whence explaining He adds: "And You, Lord God, became their God." Second, others refer this to: and that He might do for them great and terrible things, namely by striking the nation and god of their enemy Egypt, that is, their gods, as if to say: You, O Lord, fighting for Your Hebrews, struck the nation of Egypt and the gods who opposed the Hebrews. Whence modern scholars generally with the Chaldean translate from the Hebrew in the ablative, from a nation and its god, as if to say: You redeemed Israel from Egypt, and consequently from the Egyptian nation and its god, that is, the gods of that same nation. Or more plainly you may refer it to: and that He might do for them great and terrible things upon the earth, as if to say: God wrought great and terrible miracles for the Hebrews both upon the land of Egypt and Canaan, and upon "the nation and god," that is, the gods of the same. For God afflicted with many plagues through Moses and Joshua both the very land of Egypt and Canaan, and the very nation of the Egyptians and Canaanites, and their gods and idols, overthrowing and smashing them. So Sanchez. This sense seems plainer than the others, and more consistent with the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Septuagint, which instead of nation have nations in the plural, which better fits the seven nations of the Canaanites and Egyptians than the one Hebrew nation.
Third, others understand by God, in Hebrew Elohim, Moses, who was constituted by God as the god of Pharaoh as well as of Israel, being its lawgiver and leader in God's place, Exodus chapter 4:16 and chapter 7:1. See what was said there, as if to say: You redeemed from Egypt the Hebrew nation, and "its god," that is, Moses who was its prince, leader, and guide in God's place.
Fourth, some understand by God or Elohim St. Michael, who in God's place was the leader, guardian, and protector of Israel. For while the Israelites, captive in Egypt, were being freed from it and going out free, he going out from Egypt with them seemed, as it were, to be freed.
Fifth, the Septuagint, instead of Elohau, that is, His God, reading by metathesis aholau, that is, his tents, translate: You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt nations and their tents. For the Hebrews went out of Egypt with possessions not only their own but also of the Egyptians, which they had received on loan by God's command, to despoil Egypt, Exodus 12.
Verse 25: Raise up
25. RAISE UP. In Hebrew hakem, that is, establish, make stable, confirm.
27. YOU HAVE REVEALED TO THE EAR OF YOUR SERVANT (that is, You said to him secretly and as it were in his ear): YOUR SERVANT HAS FOUND HIS HEART (namely prepared, grateful, and eager), TO PRAY TO YOU WITH THIS PRAYER, and by praying, to give thanks for so many great things granted to him -- thanks not adequate, but the best he could give. Others say, "he found his heart," that is, he found a resolution, they say, that would be useful to him henceforth. The same theme of thanksgiving for benefits granted to him, especially for the promises about perpetuating his house and kingdom, and consequently about Christ to be born from him, David treats in Psalm 88: "The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever," and by this gratitude he deserved to have these promises confirmed and increased by God.
29. THE HOUSE OF YOUR SERVANT SHALL BE BLESSED FOREVER, so that always from my house and family descendants of mine may succeed to the kingdom and reign over Israel, as long as the kingdom of Israel shall endure.
Abulensis here, last question, treats the question of whether Solomon was damned, and answers affirmatively, proving it chiefly from the fact that Solomon when dying did not destroy the idols he had erected, which he certainly should have done, and would actually have done if he had truly repented; for these idols were destroyed nearly three hundred years after him by King Josiah, 4 Kings 23. If you say that the pious kings Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah also did not destroy them, he responds that they could not do so, because the idolatry introduced by Solomon had been strengthened and increased by Jeroboam, who caused a schism by setting up golden calves as idols in Dan and Bethel. Solomon, however, could and should have destroyed them, both because he was most powerful, and because he had no rival, but reigned in full peace with everyone obeying him. Angelomus and Eucherius think the same, at 4 Kings 23. Bede in the Allegories of the Books of Kings, near the end, and Prosper, book of Predictions, part 2, chapter 27: "Solomon," he says, "proud in old age, fornicating in mind and body, with the Lord abandoning him, died badly, leaving a fearful example to posterity, lest disturbed by the happiness of this life they should desert Christ, who is the eternal happiness of His own." But modern interpreters are more lenient toward Solomon and hope better for his salvation. See what was said on Ecclesiastes chapter 47, verse 22.