Cornelius a Lapide, S.J.
(Commentary on the Pentateuch of Moses)
Argumentum
The Hebrews, as St. Jerome attests in his Helmeted Prologue, count as many books of Sacred Scripture — that is, of the Old Testament — as they have letters, namely twenty-two, and divide them into three classes: namely, Torah, that is, the Law; Nebiim, that is, the Prophets; and Ketubim, that is, the Hagiographa. The Torah or Law comprises the Pentateuch, namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which were thus divided and named not by Moses, as Philo holds, but by the Seventy Translators, since previously it was a single book of the Law.
They count a double set of Prophets, the Former and the Latter: they call the Former Prophets Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and the four books of Kings; the Latter Prophets they reckon as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets.
The Hagiographa they count as Job, the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Daniel, the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Esther.
The Pentateuch, that is, this fivefold volume of Moses, is a chronicle of the world. For its purpose is to weave together the history and chronology of the world, and the deeds of the patriarchs from the first creation of the world up to the death of Moses. For in Genesis, Moses traces from the beginning the creation of the world and the deeds of Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others up to the death of Joseph. In Exodus, the persecution of Pharaoh, and thence the ten plagues of Egypt, the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, and their wandering through the desert, where at Sinai they received the Decalogue and the other laws from God. In Leviticus are described the sacred rites and sacrifices, forbidden foods, feasts, and other rituals, purifications, and ceremonies, both of the people and of the priests and Levites. In Numbers, the people, the princes, and the Levites are numbered, likewise the forty-two stations of the Hebrews, and their deeds as well as God's deeds in the desert; moreover, the prophecy of Balaam is recounted, and the war of the Hebrews with the Midianites. Deuteronomy, or the second law, repeats and impresses upon the Hebrews the laws previously given by God through Moses in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.
Note first. The author of the Pentateuch is Moses: so teach all the Greeks and Latins, indeed Christ himself, as is clear from John 1:17 and 45; John 5:46, and elsewhere.
Furthermore, Moses was more ancient and preceded by far in time all the sages of Greece and the Gentiles, namely Homer, Hesiod, Thales, Pythagoras, Socrates, and those still older than these — Orpheus, Linus, Musaeus, Hercules, Aesculapius, Apollo — indeed even Mercury Trismegistus himself, who was the most ancient of all. For this Mercury Trismegistus, says St. Augustine, in Book XVIII of the City of God, chapter 39, was the grandson of the elder Mercury, whose maternal grandfather Atlas the astrologer, a contemporary of Prometheus, flourished at the time when Moses lived. Here note that Moses simply wrote the Pentateuch in the manner of a diary or annals; yet Joshua, or someone like him, arranged these same annals of Moses into order, divided them, and added and interwove certain passages. For thus at the end of Deuteronomy, the death of Moses — he being of course already dead — was added and described by Joshua or someone else. Likewise, it was not Moses but someone else, it seems, who interwove the praise of Moses' meekness in Numbers 12:3. Likewise, in Genesis 14:15, the city Laish is called Dan, although it was called Dan long after Moses' time; therefore the name Dan was substituted there for Laish, not by Joshua, but by another who lived later. Likewise in Numbers 21, verses 14, 15, and 27 were similarly added by another. In the same way, the death of Joshua was added by another, in Joshua, the last chapter, verse 29. In the same way, the prophecy of Jeremiah was arranged and put into order by Baruch, as I shall show in the preface to Jeremiah. So too the proverbs of Solomon were not gathered and arranged by him, but by others from his writings, as is clear from Proverbs 25:1.
Moreover, Moses learned and received these things partly by tradition, partly by divine revelation, and partly by personal observation: for the things he narrates in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, he himself was present to see and do.
Note second. Moses wrote Genesis while he was living as an exile in Midian, Exodus 2:15, says Pererius, and this for the consolation of the Hebrews, who were being oppressed by Pharaoh in Egypt. But Theodoret, Bede, and Tostatus hold a better view (from whom Eusebius does not dissent, in Book VII of the Preparation, chapter 11, if his words are carefully examined): that both Genesis and the four following books were written by Moses after the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, when he himself was occupied in the wilderness as a leader, high priest, prophet, teacher, and lawgiver of the people, and was forming and instructing a commonwealth and Church of God from the assembly and Synagogue of the Jews, so that they might recognize, love, and worship God the Creator from the creation and governance of things.
Canons Bearing a Torch Before the Pentateuch
Canon 1. Since Moses here writes a history of the world, it is clear that his narration is not symbolic, not allegorical, not mystical, but historical, simple, and plain; and therefore the things he narrates about paradise, Adam, Eve, and the creation of all things completed successively over the space of six days, etc., are to be taken historically and properly, as they sound. This is against Origen, who thought all these things should be expounded allegorically and symbolically, and thus overturned the letter and the literal sense. But all the other Fathers transmit our canon, and the Church, which here condemns the allegories of Origen. See St. Basil arguing against Origen here, Homilies 3 and 9 on the Hexaemeron. St. Jerome says truly: "Origen made his own intellect the mysteries of the Church."
Canon 2. Philosophy and natural science must be adapted to Sacred Scripture and to the word of God, from whom all number, order, and measure of nature derives, says St. Augustine. Therefore, conversely, Sacred Scripture must not be twisted to fit the opinions of philosophers, or to the light and dictate of nature.
Canon 3. Moses often uses prolepsis or anticipation: for he calls cities and places by the name that was given to them much later. Thus in Genesis 14:2, he calls the city Bala by the name Segor, which however was not then but only later called Segor, when Lot had escaped there from Sodom. Likewise in verse 6 of the same chapter, he calls the mountains Seir, which were called Seir only long after, by Esau. Likewise in verse 14 of the same, he calls Dan what was then called Laish.
Canon 4. "Eternal" often does not signify eternity properly so called, but some long period of time whose end is not foreseen: for the Hebrew olam, that is, "eternal," signifies an age, inasmuch as it is hidden, or whose limit and end is not perceived. For the root alam means to hide or conceal. Again, "eternal" is often said not absolutely but relatively, and signifies the entire duration of a thing, which is eternal not absolutely but with respect to a certain state, commonwealth, or nation. Thus the old law is said to endure forever, that is, always — not absolutely, but with respect to the Jews: because that law lasted as long as the Jewish commonwealth and Synagogue lasted, namely throughout the whole time of Judaism, until the new law should succeed it; for it was to last until the truth dawned through Christ. That this is so is clear: for elsewhere the same Scripture says that the old law is to be abolished and a new Evangelical law substituted in its place, as is clear from Jeremiah 31:32 and following. Thus Horace takes "eternal" when he says: "He who knows not how to use a little will serve forever." For he cannot serve forever in an absolute sense, he whose very life in which he serves cannot be eternal. St. Augustine transmits this canon in Question 31 on Genesis, on which see more in Pererius, vol. III on Genesis, p. 430 and following.
Canon 5. The Hebrews by enallage often interchange one sense with another, and especially take sight for any sense, both because sight is the most excellent and most certain of all the senses, and because in the common sense, which is above sight and the eyes, the sensations of all the senses converge. Thus sight is taken for touch in John 20:29: "Because you have seen, that is, touched me, Thomas, you have believed." For smell it is taken in Exodus 5:21, in the Hebrew: "You have made our odor (name and reputation) stink in the eyes," that is, in the nostrils of Pharaoh. For taste it is taken in Psalm 33:9: "Taste and see (that is, savor) that the Lord is sweet." For hearing it is taken in Exodus 20:18: "The people saw, that is, heard, the voices;" therefore "to see" means the same as to know or to perceive clearly.
Canon 6. "Sin" is often, especially in Leviticus, taken metonymically: first, for the sacrifice offered for sin; second, for the punishment of sin; third, for the irregularity or legal uncleanness contracted from the flow of menstrual blood, of seed, of leprosy, or from contact with a dead body. Thus in Leviticus 12:6, childbirth is called "sin," that is, legal uncleanness; and in Leviticus 14:13, leprosy is called "sin" — not sin properly so called, but legal, that is, an irregularity which barred the leper from sacred rites and from the company of men.
Canon 7. The laws of God are called, first, precepts, statutes, or observances, because they prescribe things to be kept or avoided; second, they are called judgments, because they direct and settle disputes among men — for in a court one must judge according to the laws. Third, they are called justices, because they establish what is fair and just. Fourth, they are called testimonies, because they attest the will of God, or what God requires of us, what he wishes to be done by us. Fifth, they are called a testament, that is, a covenant and pact — that is, the conditions of the pact entered into with God — because on this condition God made a covenant with both the Jews and the Christians: that he would be their God and Father, if they would keep his laws.
Canon 8. In the Pentateuch, synecdoche is frequent. Thus the genus is taken for the species: "to make a kid, a lamb, a calf" means to sacrifice a kid, a lamb, a calf. Thus the part is taken for the whole: "to fill the hand" — supply, with oil — means to consecrate someone as a priest by anointing. Thus "to uncover nakedness," or "to know a woman," or "to go in to her," means for a man to have relations with a woman. Thus "to open someone's ear" means to speak in his ear, or to whisper, to indicate, and to reveal something.
Canon 9. In like manner, metonymy is frequent, as in Genesis 14:22 and Exodus 6:8: "I raise my hand," that is, with raised hand I call the Lord of heaven as witness and swear by God. Thus "mouth" signifies a word or precept that is given by mouth. Thus "hand" signifies power, force, or punishment, which is done by the hand. Thus "soul" signifies life, or the animal itself, whose form and life is the soul. Thus a "man of blood" is what a murderer is called.
Canon 10. In like manner, catachresis is frequent; as when the "father" of something is said to be he who is the author, founder, or inventor of the thing, or he who is first and foremost in that thing. Thus God is called the "father" of rain, that is, the author. Thus the devil is called the "father" of lies, that is, the author. Thus Tubalcain is called the "father" of those who play instruments: father, that is, the first and inventor of the instrument. Thus they say: "He struck them with the mouth, that is, with the edge, of the sword" — for the "mouth" of the sword is what the very edge of the sword is called, which consumes and devours men, just as a mouth devours bread. For in this way lions, tigers, wolves, and other wild beasts strike sheep, dogs, and oxen with their mouths, when they tear, rend, and devour them with the gape of their jaws. By a similar catachresis, they call the smaller towns and villages "daughters," which are adjacent and subject to the mother city as if to a mother. Again, they call the cities themselves "daughters" on account of their beauty and elegance, as "daughter of Zion" is the city and citadel of Zion; "daughter of Jerusalem" is the city of Jerusalem; "daughter of Babylon" is the city of Babylon, that is, Babylon itself. In the same way, to "build a house" for someone, or to destroy it, means to give someone, or to destroy, a family and offspring. For "house" signifies offspring and posterity. Hence the Hebrews call sons banim, as if abanim, that is, "stones," from the root bana, that is, "he built"; for from sons as from stones the houses and families of parents are built, as Euripides says: "the pillars of houses are male children."
Canon 11. The Hebrews often take real verbs for verbal or mental ones. Thus in Leviticus 13:6, 11, 20, 27, 30, it is said that the priest will "cleanse" or "contaminate" the leper, that is, will declare and pronounce him clean or contaminated, so that he may be restored to the company of men, or barred from it. Thus in Jeremiah 1:10, it is said: "I have set you over nations and over kingdoms, to uproot, and to destroy, and to scatter, and to overthrow, and to build, and to plant" — that is, to prophesy and preach that these nations are to be uprooted and destroyed, but those are to be built up and planted. Thus it is said in Leviticus 20:8, and chapter 21:8, 15, and 25: "I am the Lord who sanctifies you," that is, I command you to be holy.
Canon 12. The Hebrews often leave the subject unexpressed, whether the person or thing acting or acted upon, because they leave it to be understood from the preceding or following context, as in Deuteronomy 33:12, and elsewhere.
Canon 13. The words and sentences of Sacred Scripture are not always to be referred to the immediately preceding ones, but sometimes to more remote ones that came long before. Thus that passage of Exodus 22:3 — "If he (the thief) does not have what he might restore for the theft, he himself shall be sold" — must be connected not with the immediately preceding words, but with verse 1, where it says: "If anyone has stolen an ox, he shall restore fivefold." Likewise in Song of Songs 1, it says: "I am black but beautiful, like the tents of Cedar, like the curtains of Solomon," where "tents of Cedar" cannot be connected with "beautiful," for they were themselves unsightly, being scorched by heat, black, and ugly. Therefore these words must be connected and explained thus: I am black like the tents of Cedar, yet at the same time I am beautiful like the embroidered and royal curtains of Solomon.
Canon 14. A negation in Hebrew negates everything that follows; hence "not all" in Hebrew means the same as "none," whereas in Latin it means "some... not" (i.e., not every one).
Canon 15. Scripture is accustomed to promise certain things to certain persons that are not fulfilled in themselves but in their descendants, to signify that God bestows these things on the descendants for the sake of the original recipients; because what is given to descendants is considered to be given to those whose descendants are a portion of them, as to the source and head of the posterity. Thus to Abraham the land of Canaan is promised not in himself but in his descendants, Genesis 13:14. Thus to Jacob, that is, to the Jacobites, dominion over Esau, that is, the Edomites, is promised, Genesis 27:29. Thus in Genesis 29, the twelve Patriarchs are promised what was to come to their descendants. St. Chrysostom transmits this canon, Homily 8 on Matthew.
Canon 16. Although St. Cyprian, Book II Against the Jews, chapter 5; Hilary, Book IV on the Trinity; and Nazianzen, in the tract On the Faith, think that God appeared in a bodily form assumed and appeared visibly to Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets, nevertheless it is more true that all these apparitions were made through angels, who in assumed bodies bore the person of God, and are therefore called God. So Dionysius, chapter 4 of the Celestial Hierarchy; St. Jerome on chapter 3 of Galatians; Augustine, Book III of the Trinity, the last chapter; Gregory in the preface to the Morals, Book 1, and others throughout. And it is proven. For he who appeared to Moses and said, "I am the God of Abraham," was an angel, as St. Stephen teaches in Acts 7:30. Thus the Lord who delivered the law to Moses at Sinai, Exodus 19 and 20, is called an angel by Paul in Galatians 3:19. For angels are ministering spirits, through whom God carries out all his works. Therefore, what the Council of Sirmium, canon 14, defines — that the one who wrestled against Jacob, Genesis 32, was the Son of God — understand this to mean that it was an angel who represented the Son of God. Add that the decrees of this Council are not definitions of faith, nor even dogmas of the Church, except insofar as they condemn the heresies of Photinus; for it is established that this Council was an assembly of Arians.
Canon 17. When Sacred Scripture imposes a new name on someone, it is to be understood as not taking away the prior name, but adding the later one to the former, so that the person may be called by either name, now by one, now by the other. Thus in Genesis 35:10, it says: "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel" — the meaning is, as if to say: You will be called not only Jacob, but also Israel; for often afterwards he is still called Jacob. Thus Gideon, in Judges 6:32, is said from that day to have been called Jerubbaal, and nevertheless Scripture continues to call him Gideon. Thus Simon, after he was called Cephas by the Lord, is not infrequently still called Simon afterwards.
Here note: God and the Hebrews imposed names on their people from events, namely names that signified an event, whether present or future; and then the names were like omens, or warnings, or wishes for the future; for by imposing a name on someone, they foretold or wished that person to be such as was signified by that name. That this is so is clear in the names Adam, Eve, Seth, Cain, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, etc., as I shall show in their proper places.
The Romans, Greeks, and Germans imitated this same practice. The Romans called Corvinus from the raven (corvus) that gave him an omen of victory in the camp; Caesar from the full head of hair (caesaries) with which he is reported to have been born; Caligula from the military boot (caliga) that he often wore. Thus the Pisos were so named because they sowed peas (pisa) excellently; just as the Ciceros received their name from chickpeas (cicer), the Fabii from beans (faba), and the Lentuli from lentils (lens) excellently sown. Thus Ancus was named from his crooked elbow, says Festus — for "elbow" in Greek is called ankon. Thus Servius, because he was born of a slave mother; Paulus, from his small stature; Torquatus, from the torque he stripped from a Gaul in battle; Plancus, from his flat feet. Thus Scipio was the cognomen of the Cornelii, which P. Cornelius (grandfather of P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, who defeated Hannibal) originated. For because he guided and led his father in place of a staff (scipio), he was the first to be surnamed Scipio, and transmitted that cognomen to his posterity.
The Greeks called Plato, as it were, "the broad one," from his broad shoulders, though he was previously called Aristocles; Chrysostom, as it were, "golden mouth," from his eloquence; Laonicus, as it were, "conqueror of the people"; Leonicus, as if "of a lion"; Stratonicus, as if "conqueror of an army"; Demosthenes, as if "the firmament of the people"; Aristotle, as if "the best end"; Gregory, as if "the watchful one"; Diogenes, as if "born of Zeus"; Aristobulus, as if "a man of the best counsel"; Theodore, as if "a gift of God"; Hippocrates, as if "endowed with the strength of a horse"; Callimachus, from "a beautiful battle."
The Germans and Belgians named Frederick, as it were, "rich in peace," that is, thoroughly peaceful; Leonard, as if "of leonine character"; Bernard, as if "of bear-like character"; Gerard, as if "of vulture-like character"; Cuno, as if "bold"; Conrad, as if "of bold counsel"; Adelgisius, as if "of noble spirit"; Canute, from draining cups; Pharamund or Framund, from beauty of face. Thus William from a gilded helmet; Gudela, as if "a good portion or lot"; Lothair, as if "leaden heart"; Leopold, as if "lion's foot"; Lanfranc, as if "long-lasting freedom"; Wolfgang, as if "wolfish gait." See more in Goropius, Scrieckius, and Pontus Heutterus on Belgium.
Canon 18. When, for someone who already has a name, the name is not changed, but simply — with his name left tacit and presupposed — he is said to be called this or that, then no other name is being imposed on him, but it is being signified that he will be such that he could rightly be called and addressed by that other name. Thus in Isaiah 7:14, Christ is called Emmanuel; and in chapter 8, verse 3: "Make haste to seize the spoils, hasten to plunder"; and in chapter 9, verse 6: "Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, Father of the world to come, Prince of Peace"; and in Zechariah chapter 6, verse 12, he is called the Orient. Thus John the Baptist is called Elijah by Malachi; and the sons of Zebedee in the Gospel are called Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder.
Canon 19. Men and women of old bore many names: hence it is not surprising if the same person in Scripture is called now by one name, now by another. Thus the wife of Esau who in Genesis 36:2 is called Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite, in Genesis 26:34 is called Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite; and his other wife who in Genesis 36:2 is called Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, in Genesis 26:34 is called Basemath, daughter of Elon. Likewise often in 1 Chronicles, through the first ten chapters, different names are given to men and women — different, I say, from those they have in Genesis, Joshua, Judges, and the books of Kings. Thus Abimelech and Ahimelech are the same, Job and Jobab, Achar and Achan, Aram and Ram, Araunah and Ornan, Jethro and Reuel. Here note in passing that names, when they are transferred into another language, are so changed that they scarcely seem to be the same, especially when they allude to and incline toward a different etymology in their own language.
Canon 20. Scripture is accustomed to call what was merely an occasion a cause, and to put it in place of the true cause of the matter, because people commonly speak in this way, calling any outcome from whatever source an effect, and calling an occasion a cause. So in Genesis 43:6, Jacob says: "You have done this to my misery, by telling him that you had another brother." For the sons of Jacob did not intend their father's misery, but it followed accidentally and incidentally from their deeds and words while they were doing something else. See Ribera on Amos 2:19.
Canon 21. The Hebrews frequently put the abstract for the concrete, as "abomination" for an abominable or abominated thing, Exodus 8:28: "Shall we sacrifice the abominations of the Egyptians to the Lord?" Psalm 20:2: "The desire (that is, the desired thing) of his heart you have granted him." So God is called our hope, that is, the thing hoped for, and our patience and glory, that is, the one for whom we suffer, in whom we glory.
Canon 22. The Hebrews take verbs now in the completed act, now in the continuing act, now in the inchoative act, so that "to do" is the same as to attempt, to undertake, to begin to do something. Thus the Hebrews are said to have departed from Egypt sometimes in the evening, as in Deuteronomy 16:6, sometimes at night, as in Exodus 12:42, and elsewhere in the morning, as in Numbers 23:3, because in the evening they sacrificed the lamb, which was the cause and beginning of the departure; at night, after the firstborn of the Egyptians were slain, they received permission from Pharaoh, indeed the command to depart, and packing their belongings began to go out; but in the morning they in fact fully and completely departed.
Canon 23. When the Hebrews wish to exaggerate something, or to express the superlative degree (which they lack), they use either an abstract noun or a doubled concrete noun, as "holiness is" or "the holy of holies is," that is, "it is most holy" — which is frequent in Leviticus.
Canon 24. In Scripture, hypallage is frequent, as in Exodus 12:11: "You shall have sandals on your feet," which is, by inversion, you shall have your feet in sandals, that is, shod. For sandals are not on feet, but feet are in sandals. Exodus 3:2, in Hebrew: "The bush was burning in fire," that is, fire was burning in the bush. Judges 1:8, in Hebrew: "They cast the city into fire," that is, they cast fire into the city. 4 Kings 9:30, it is said of Jezebel in Hebrew: "She put her eyes in kohl," that is, she put kohl on her eyes, she painted her eyes with kohl. Psalm 76:6, in Hebrew: "You have given us to drink a measure in tears," that is, tears in a measure, certainly a large one, as Rabbi David says. Psalm 18:5: "From the sun he set his tabernacle," that is, he set the sun in his tabernacle, or he set a tabernacle for the sun in the heavens, as the Hebrew has it. Psalm 80:6: "He set a testimony in Joseph," that is, he set Joseph as a testimony, for whom indeed all things went well because he kept the law of God. So the Chaldean: although there is another, more genuine sense of this passage, as I said on Psalm 80.
Canon 25. The Hebrews take nouns now actively, now passively. Thus "fear" is used both for the fear by which we fear someone, and for the one who is feared, as in Genesis 31:42, God is called the fear of Isaac, that is, the one who was feared by Isaac, whom Isaac dreaded and revered. So "patience" is used not only for that virtue which impels us to suffer bravely, but also for the suffering itself, and for the adversity which we endure, indeed even for God himself, for whose sake we suffer, as in Psalm 70:5: "You are my patience, O Lord." Likewise "love" is used not only for the love by which we love, but also for what is loved, as "My God, my love, and my all."
Canon 26. In Scripture, litotes is frequent (which should rather be called litotes, that is, understatement), meaning a diminution by which great things are expressed with meager words and, as it were, minimized, such as that of Virgil, Georgics book 3: "Who does not know harsh Eurystheus, or the altars of unsung Busiris?" "Unsung," that is, most wicked and most deserving of censure. For Busiris used to slaughter and sacrifice his guests. So in 1 Samuel 12:21, it says: "Do not turn aside after empty things, which will not profit you," that is, do not turn aside to idols, which will greatly harm you and be injurious to you. 1 Maccabees 2:21: "It is not useful for us (that is, it will greatly harm us) to abandon the law." Micah 2:1: "Woe to those who devise what is useless," that is, what is pernicious. Leviticus 10:1: "Offering before the Lord an alien fire, which was not commanded to them," that is, which was forbidden to them.
Canon 27. Moses, says Clement (Stromata, book 6), because he was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, from time to time uses their hieroglyphic method in his laws, and transmits them through symbols and riddles. So also Eleazar the high priest, when Aristeas (as he himself attests in his treatise On the Seventy Interpreters, volume 2 of the Library of the Holy Fathers), the envoy of Ptolemy Philadelphus, asked why Moses had forbidden certain animals to be eaten or sacrificed which other nations used, replied: These precepts of Moses are symbolic and enigmatic, such as are the symbols of Pythagoras and the hieroglyphics of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the riddles of Pythagoras, says St. Jerome (Against Rufinus, book 3), were such as these: "Do not step over the balance," that is, do not transgress justice. "Do not poke fire with a sword," that is, do not provoke an angry person with words. "The crown must not be plucked," that is, the laws of cities must not be picked at but preserved. "Do not eat the heart," that is, cast sorrow from your mind. "Do not walk on the public road," that is, do not follow the error of the multitude. "A swallow should not be received into the house," that is, chatterboxes should not be admitted into the house. "A burden should be placed upon those who are loaded, but a burden should not be shared with those who lay it down," that is, for those striving toward virtue, precepts should be increased; but those who flee labor and are given to idleness should be left alone.
Canon 28. The more recent Hebrews do not know the true meaning of proper nouns, of animals, herbs, trees, and gems; but each of them guesses what he wishes. And so in this matter the surest rule is to follow the most learned ancient Hebrews, and above all our interpreter [the Vulgate translator], who by the judgment of the Church is the best of all.
Canon 29. Hebrew names for animals, trees, and stones are general and common to many. Thus saphan, Leviticus 11:5, signifies the coney; but Proverbs 30:26, it signifies the hare; Psalm 104:18, however, it signifies the hedgehog. See Ribera on Zechariah chapter 5, number 21.
Canon 30. The Hebrews frequently put the act, the habit, and the faculty for the object, and vice versa, by metonymy. Thus they call color an "eye" or "look," since color is the object of the eye and of sight, as in Leviticus 13:10, leprosy is said to change the "look," that is, the appearance and color. So again God is called our fear, love, hope, patience, and glory, because he is the object of our fear, love, hope, patience, and glory; for he is the one whom we fear, love, hope for, for whose sake we suffer, in whom we glory.
Canon 31. Moses in the Pentateuch acts first as a historian, second as a lawgiver, third as a prophet; whence he must be expounded now historically, now juridically, now prophetically.
Canon 32. The conjunction "and" among the Hebrews is often exegetical, that is, a mark of explanation, meaning "that is," as in Leviticus 3:3: "Whose hands have been filled, and (that is) consecrated": for to fill the hands with oil was to consecrate them for the priesthood. So Colossians 2:8: "See that no one deceives you through philosophy, and (that is) empty deceit." For the Apostle does not wish to condemn true Philosophy, but only false and sophistical philosophy. In a similar way "and" is taken in Matthew 13:41; Jeremiah 34:21, and elsewhere.
Canon 33. The Hebrews frequently use the interrogative form not in a doubtful matter but in a clear one, and not for reproving but for rousing and sharpening the hearer's attention. So in Genesis 47:19, the Egyptians say to Joseph: "Why should we die before your eyes?" So in Exodus 4:2, God says to Moses: "What is it that you hold in your hand?" and in chapter 14, verse 15: "Why do you cry out to me?" So that saying of Christ to his mother: "What is it to me and to you, woman?" is not a rebuke, but a testing of hope, sharpening it.
Canon 34. All the precepts of the Pentateuch, even the judicial ones, are of divine law, because they were sanctioned by God; some of them, however, do not seem to have been binding under mortal sin, but only under venial sin, on account of the lightness of the matter, as "You shall not sow your field with diverse seed" (Leviticus 19:19), and "If you find a nest, take the young, but let the mother go" (Deuteronomy 22:6).
Canon 35. Scripture, especially in the prophecies, from time to time simultaneously embraces both the type and the antitype, that is, the thing which the words properly signify, and at the same time the allegory which that thing represents; but in such a way that some things better suit the type, and others better suit the antitype; and then there is a twofold literal sense of that passage: the first historical, the second prophetic. For even clever young men often play and laugh at a companion, saying, for example, "You have a long nose," and at the same time mean that he is shrewd, as if to say, "You are equally keen-nosed and large-nosed": where the word "nose" both retains its proper meaning and takes on another through an elegant allusion and allegory. Why then should the Holy Spirit not be able in one concept and discourse to embrace both the sign and the thing signified, the type and the truth? Examples are in 2 Samuel 7:12, where he speaks literally of Solomon, yet says certain things about him by hyperbole which properly and fully in the literal sense belong to Christ alone. So in Genesis 3:14, God speaks to the serpent, and through it to the devil lurking within it. Hence he says some things which properly belong to the serpent, such as: "Upon your breast you shall crawl, and you shall eat earth"; and some which properly belong to the devil, such as: "I will place enmity between you and the woman; she shall crush your head." So Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18, by the Prophet whom he promises after himself, understands both any prophets and properly Christ. So Balaam, saying that Israel will devastate Moab, Edom, and the sons of Seth (Numbers 24:17), by Israel understands both David and Christ. So Isaiah, chapter 14:11 and following, describes the fall of the king of Babylon through the fall of Lucifer; whence he says some things which properly suit Lucifer, and Belshazzar only figuratively, that is, hyperbolically or parabolically, such as: "How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer! Your pride has been dragged down to hell, you who said: I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will be like the Most High." But he says other things which properly suit Belshazzar, such as: "Your corpse has fallen, the moth shall be spread beneath you, and worms shall be your covering." In a similar way, Ezekiel chapter 28, verses 2 and 14, describes the wealth and fall of the king of Tyre after the pattern of the wealth and fall of some Cherub. For the mind of the Prophet is carried away by the most exalted prophetic light, in which all things are close and connected, and one thing seems to be the figure of another; hence the Prophets often leap from one thing to another, both for the reason just stated and for elegance, by which they compare and foreshadow like things with like.
Canon 36. That there can be multiple literal senses of Holy Scripture — not only typical and typically subordinated ones, but even dissimilar and disparate ones — is taught by St. Augustine, Confessions book 12, chapters 18, 25, 26, 31 and 32, whom St. Thomas cites and follows (Summa Theologiae I, q. 1, art. 10, in the body), and this is gathered from the Lateran Council, chapter Firmiter, on the Supreme Trinity, where the Council from that passage in Genesis 1, "In the beginning God created heaven and earth," according to two literal senses, concludes two truths: namely, that the world had a beginning, as if "in the beginning" signifies the beginning of time; and that nothing was produced before the world, as if "in the beginning" means the same as "before all things." So that passage of Psalm 2:7: "Today I have begotten you," the Fathers explain both of the human and of the divine generation of Christ. Hence also the Septuagint version from time to time gives a different literal sense than ours, and formerly there were many other versions differing from each other. So in one sense Caiaphas, in another the Holy Spirit through his mouth, said: "It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people" (John 11:50); and yet St. John narrates and signifies by these words the sense and intention of both, namely of Caiaphas as well as of the Holy Spirit. But in this, as in most other cases, one sense is in some way joined to the other and, as it were, subordinated to it.
Canon 37. Among the Hebrews, especially the Prophets, enallage and interchange are frequent — of person, so that they pass from the first or second person to the third, as in Deuteronomy 33:7; of tense, so that they put the past for the future, on account of the certainty of the future, as in Deuteronomy 32:15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22 and following; of number, so that they pass from the singular to the plural and vice versa, as in Deuteronomy 32:45 and 16; of gender, so that they pass from the feminine to the masculine and vice versa, as in Genesis 3:15.
Canon 38. The climates, or regions of the world, such as East, West, South, and North, in Scripture must be understood according to the position of Judea, Jerusalem, and the Temple. For Moses and the other sacred writers write for the Jews; and Judea, situated as it were in the middle of the inhabited and cultivated world, was the land and special possession of God.
Canon 39. One thing can be a figure of two even contrary things, but in different respects. Thus the flood, insofar as Noah survived it through the ark, was for the faithful a type of baptism; but insofar as the wicked were submerged by it, it was a type of the punishment to be inflicted on the reprobate at the last judgment. So Christ is the rock and cornerstone of the Church; but for the pious he is the stone of salvation, while for unbelievers and the wicked he is a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal. So Christ is called a lion on account of his strength; but the devil is called a lion on account of his cruelty and rapacity. St. Augustine (Epistle 99 to Evodius) and St. Basil (on Isaiah chapter 2) hand down this canon.
Canon 40. In the literal sense, all sentences and all words must be explained and applied to the thing signified; but this is not necessary in the allegorical sense. Indeed, St. Jerome, Gregory, Origen, and others often wish the allegory to be free, and in explaining it they do not observe the rigor of history. An example is David's adultery, which St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, and others teach was a type of the love of Christ for the Church of the Gentiles, which had previously lived with idols as an adulteress. But a proper and solid allegory ought to correspond to the history, and the more aptly it corresponds, the more suitable it is; indeed, otherwise it is not a proper sense of Scripture, but rather an accommodated one. For just as the literal sense is that which the words first signify, so the allegorical sense is that which the things signified by the literal sense foreshadow and signify. So St. Jerome teaches on Hosea chapter 5, where he retracts the contrary view he had expressed elsewhere.
Canon 41. In Moses and in Scripture, hendiadys is not uncommon — a figure by which one thing is divided into two, whence it is more correctly called hen dia dyoin, that is, one through two, as in Virgil, Aeneid 1: "He placed a mass and high mountains upon them," that is, he placed the masses of high mountains; and elsewhere: "He bit the gold and the bridle," that is, he bit the golden bridle; and elsewhere: "We pour libations with bowls and gold," that is, with golden bowls. Such is Genesis 1:14: "Let (the sun and moon) be for signs, and times, and days, and years," that is, let them be for signs of times, days, and years. Such also is Colossians 2:8: "See that no one deceives you through philosophy and empty deceit," that is, through the philosophy of empty deceit, or which is empty deceit, as if to say: I do not condemn all philosophy, but only that which is nothing other than empty deceit. For the word "and" there and elsewhere must be explained as meaning "that is."
Canon 42. Moses and the other Prophets are accustomed to signify the redemption of Christ by a twofold name, and usually a paired one — namely slaughter and salvation, vengeance and redemption, indignation and peace, blood and safety, ransom and victory. Hence, secondly, the Prophets, making no distinction between enemies and citizens, introduce Christ coming to redeem mankind as an armored commander who, driven by divine fury, rushes upon men and overturns, tramples, and slays whomever he meets. For so Balaam sings in Numbers 24:17 of Christ the Savior: "He shall strike the leaders of Moab, and shall devastate all the sons of Seth," that is, all men; for these are descended from Adam through Seth. And the Psalmist in Psalm 109:6: "He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill them with ruins, he shall crush heads in the land of many, he shall drink from the torrent on the way." And Isaiah in chapter 61 describes the consolation and redemption of Christ, but in chapter 63 his vengeance: "I have trampled them, he says, in my fury, and I have made them drunk in my indignation, and I have dragged their strength down to the earth. For the day of vengeance was in my heart." And immediately he adds: "In his love and in his mercy he himself redeemed them," etc.
The cause of this matter and manner of speaking is twofold: the first, because each temporal liberation, which preceded the spiritual liberation of the human race as a type — namely the Egyptian and the Babylonian (for they allude to these) — was not accomplished without the blood and slaughter of enemies, namely the Egyptians in the Red Sea, and of the Chaldeans through Cyrus, was won and accomplished. The second reason is that in this vengeance and redemption of Christ, the same persons are both enemies and friends, both conquered and liberated, both slain and redeemed — but dissimilar in disposition, character, and affection. For those who were formerly unbelievers and wicked, through Christ became believers and pious. Christ therefore slew nations and men, and raised up others — indeed the very same ones; because, for example, he slew Peter the idolater, the drunkard, the adulterer, and raised up the same man and made him Peter the worshipper of God, sober, chaste, etc.
Note: The sinner represents a twofold person, and subsists in a twofold nature, as it were — namely that of a man and that of a demon, or of vice and sin. The former is a soldier, the latter an enemy of Christ; the former was to be liberated, the latter to be vanquished. To the former belongs the year of remission, to the latter the day of vengeance. The former is compared to the redeemed Israelites, the latter to the slaughtered Egyptians and Babylonians. So then the fury of Christ fights against the demon and his followers, namely the vices, and expels them from man, in order to establish the kingdom of God in man and to restore man to himself and to God.
Sacred Chronology
Since the Pentateuch contains the chronicles of the world, it seemed good to present here a brief and probable chronology, useful and pleasant for the reader, in which, as in a synopsis, one might at a single glance survey the ages and times of individual persons or notable events in Sacred Scripture, and their distances from each other. I received it from the Reverend Father Henricus Samerius of blessed memory, who elaborated it with precision; it was not, however, free from errors, from which I diligently purged it. He himself omits Cainan; to Saul alone after Samuel he gives 40 years, as is indicated in Acts 13:21; and the 70 years of captivity or servitude, which Jeremiah foretold in chapter 25:12 and chapter 29:10, he probably begins from the deportation and captivity of Jeconiah or Joachin, who was the son of Joakim and the grandson of Zedekiah — about which matters and others I shall treat more fully in their proper places, and examine them more precisely. The years written in this table in the first vertical series, and noted in the column joined to it, signify the years of the world successively increasing up to Christ. The years noted in the horizontal lines and columns signify the distances of the same from one another, if those which are in the vertical series are combined so that they converge in one and the same column — for example, the second horizontal column converging with the fourth in the vertical line signifies that from the flood to Abraham, 292 years elapsed.
Note first: The same event is sometimes recorded one year earlier, sometimes one year later. For example, from the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt to the temple of Solomon, sometimes 479 years are counted, namely completed years; sometimes 480, namely begun years — for the 480th year had begun when the construction of the temple commenced. Hence it is a common axiom of chronologists that one year in chronology makes no difference in the reckoning of times, and therefore should not be considered significant.
Note second: Just as the Jews and Christians begin their chronology from Adam, or from the flood, or from Abraham, or from the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, so the pagans reckon their times first from Ninus and Semiramis, who founded the first monarchy of the Assyrians, in whose time Abraham lived. Second, from the flood of Ogyges and the reign of Inachus and Phoroneus as kings, which falls in the time of the patriarch Jacob. Third, from the war and destruction of Troy, which occurred in the time of Samson and the high priest Eli. Fourth, from the beginning of the Olympiads, which began near the end of the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah. Fifth, from the founding of the city of Rome, which occurred near the end of the reign of Jotham, king of Judah.
Synopsis of the Chronology of the Old Testament World to Christ
The following chronological data cross-references major biblical events against multiple dating systems. Each entry gives the event and the number of years from the beginning of the world.
Years from the beginning of the world to Noah: 1056
Years from the beginning of the world to the flood (end of flood): 1657
Years from the beginning of the world to Abraham: 2024
Years from the beginning of the world to the promise made to Abraham: 2084
Years from the beginning of the world to Jacob's entry into Egypt: 2299
Years from the beginning of the world to the death of Joseph: 2370
Years from the beginning of the world to the servitude in Egypt in clay and straw: 2431
Years from the beginning of the world to the departure of the Israelites from Egypt: 2531
Years from the beginning of the world to the entry into the promised land, and the Judges: 2571
Years from the beginning of the world to the temple of Solomon: 3011
Years from the beginning of the world to the Kings: 3046
Years from the beginning of the world to the Olympiads: 3228
Years from the beginning of the world to the founding of Rome: 3250
Years from the beginning of the world to the captivity of the 10 tribes under Shalmaneser: 3283
Years from the beginning of the world to the deportation of Jeconiah or Jehoiachin: 3405
Years from the beginning of the world to the Babylonian captivity and destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar: 3416
Years from the beginning of the world to the freedom under Cyrus: 3486
Years from the beginning of the world to the weeks of Daniel: 3486
Years from the beginning of the world to the Greek era or the Seleucids: 3694
Years from the beginning of the world to the subjection of Judea to the Romans by Pompey: 3888
Years from the beginning of the world to the Nativity of Christ: 3950
The first year of Christ: 3951
Years from the beginning of the world to the Baptism of the Savior: 3981
Years from the beginning of the world to the Passion of the Redeemer: 3984
Years from the beginning of the world to the end of the weeks of Daniel: 3984
From the Babylonian captivity up to the years of the Greeks or Seleucids, from whom the books of the Maccabees compute and record their histories, and which begin after the death of Alexander the Great in the twelfth year when Seleucus assumed the royal title, 278 years elapsed.
And so that you may have a summary of all these things, note and remember: From Adam up to the flood, 1656 years elapsed, as is gathered from Genesis 5 and 7; up to the end of the flood, however, 1657 years elapsed, for the flood lasted a full year, Gen. 7 and 8.
Christ therefore was born in the year of the world 3950.
Chronology of the Bible
The investigations of modern scholars in consulting the books and monuments of the ancients have so far not freed the matter of chronology from every tangle and knot; on the contrary, they have left it more intricate and difficult. For this reason, we have considered it sufficient for our purpose to point out to our Readers an excellent work of this kind entitled Fasti Hellenici, by Clinton, and also to have placed before their eyes the brief table taken from the work of Dr. Sepp written in French, La Vie de N.-S. Jesus-Christ, vol. II, p. 454.
Patriarchal Genealogy
Adam, 130 years old, begets Seth. Year of the world: 130. Years before Christ: 4061.
Seth, 105 years old, begets Enos. Year of the world: 235. Years before Christ: 3956.
Enos, 90 years old, begets Cainan. Year of the world: 325. Years before Christ: 3866.
Cainan, 70 years old, begets Malaleel. Year of the world: 395. Years before Christ: 3796.
Malaleel, 65 years old, begets Jared. Year of the world: 460. Years before Christ: 3731.
Jared, 162 years old, begets Enoch. Year of the world: 622. Years before Christ: 3569.
Enoch, 65 years old, begets Methuselah. Year of the world: 687. Years before Christ: 3504.
Methuselah, 187 years old, begets Lamech. Year of the world: 874. Years before Christ: 3317.
Lamech, 182 years old, begets Noah. Year of the world: 1056. Years before Christ: 3135.
Noah, 500 years old, begets Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Year of the world: 1556. Years before Christ: 2635.
Methuselah dies at 969 years old. The flood is completed in the 34th jubilee after creation (the same number of years Christ lived on earth), with Noah in his 600th year of life. The flood ceases. Year of the world: 1657. Years before Christ: 2534.
Two years later, Shem, 100 years old, begets Arphaxad. Year of the world: 1659. Years before Christ: 2532.
Arphaxad, 35 years old, begets Shelah. Year of the world: 1694. Years before Christ: 2497.
Shelah, 30 years old, begets Eber. Year of the world: 1724. Years before Christ: 2467.
Eber, 34 years old, begets Peleg. Year of the world: 1758. Years before Christ: 2433.
Peleg, 30 years old, begets Reu. Year of the world: 1788. Years before Christ: 2403.
Reu, 32 years old, begets Serug. Year of the world: 1820. Years before Christ: 2371.
Serug, 30 years old, begets Nahor. Year of the world: 1850. Years before Christ: 2341.
Nahor, 29 years old, begets Terah. Year of the world: 1879. Years before Christ: 2312.
Terah, 70 years old, begets Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Year of the world: 1949. Years before Christ: 2242.
Abram, 75 years old, comes into the land of Canaan. Year of the world: 2084. Years before Christ: 2107.
Abraham, 86 years old, begets Ishmael. Year of the world: 2095. Years before Christ: 2096.
Abraham, 100 years old, begets Isaac. Year of the world: 2109. Years before Christ: 2082.
Isaac, 40 years old, marries Rebecca. Year of the world: 2149. Years before Christ: 2042.
Isaac, 60 years old, begets Esau and Jacob. Year of the world: 2169. Years before Christ: 2022.
Abraham, 175 years old, dies. Year of the world: 2184. Years before Christ: 2007.
Esau at forty marries the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. Year of the world: 2209. Years before Christ: 1982.
Jacob, 77 years old, flees to Mesopotamia. Year of the world: 2246. Years before Christ: 1945.
Jacob, 91 years old, begets Joseph. Year of the world: 2260. Years before Christ: 1931.
Jacob, 97 years old, returns to the land of Canaan. Year of the world: 2266. Years before Christ: 1925.
Joseph, 16 years old, is sold by his brothers. Year of the world: 2276. Years before Christ: 1915.
Isaac, 180 years old, dies. Year of the world: 2289. Years before Christ: 1902.
Jacob, 130 years old, comes to Egypt, in the 24th year after Joseph's own arrival, and 215 years after Abraham's migration. Year of the world: 2299. Years before Christ: 1892.
Jacob dies, 147 years old. Year of the world: 2316. Years before Christ: 1875.
Joseph dies, 110 years old. Year of the world: 2370. Years before Christ: 1821.
The Israelites leave Egypt in the 430th year of captivity. Year of the world: 2700. Years before Christ: 1491.
Kings of Judah
480 years are counted from the Egyptian captivity to the building of the Temple, in the 4th year of Solomon's reign. Year of the world: 3011. Years before Christ: 1180.
From this point to the building of the Herodian temple, 1000 years elapsed. Solomon moreover reigned 36 years after building the Temple. Year of the world: 3046. Years before Christ: 1145.
Rehoboam reigns 17 years. Year of the world: 3082. Years before Christ: 1109.
Abijah reigns 3 years. Year of the world: 3085. Years before Christ: 1106.
Asa reigns 41 years. Year of the world: 3126. Years before Christ: 1065.
Jehoshaphat reigns 25 years. Year of the world: 3151. Years before Christ: 1040.
Joram reigns 8 years. Year of the world: 3159. Years before Christ: 1032.
Ahaziah reigns 1 year. Year of the world: 3160. Years before Christ: 1031.
Athaliah reigns 6 years. Year of the world: 3166. Years before Christ: 1025.
Joash reigns 40 years. Year of the world: 3206. Years before Christ: 985.
Amaziah reigns 29 years. Year of the world: 3235. Years before Christ: 956.
Uzziah reigns 52 years. Year of the world: 3287. Years before Christ: 904.
Jotham reigns 16 years. Year of the world: 3303. Years before Christ: 888.
Ahaz reigns 16 years. Year of the world: 3319. Years before Christ: 872.
Hezekiah reigns 29 years. Year of the world: 3348. Years before Christ: 843.
Manasseh reigns 55 years. Year of the world: 3403. Years before Christ: 788.
Amon reigns 2 years. Year of the world: 3405. Years before Christ: 786.
Josiah reigns 31 years. Year of the world: 3436. Years before Christ: 755.
Jehoahaz reigns 3 months. Year of the world: 3436. Years before Christ: 755.
Jehoiakim reigns 11 years. Year of the world: 3447. Years before Christ: 744.
Jehoiachin reigns 3 months. Year of the world: 3447. Years before Christ: 744.
Zedekiah reigns 11 years, before Jerusalem was stormed by Nebuchadnezzar. This storming occurred 430 years after the Solomonic temple was built, 580 years before the birth of Christ, or 166 years after the founding of Rome. Year of the world: 3611. Years before Christ: 580.
For Jehoiachin was a captive in Babylon for 37 years, up to the reign of Evil-Merodach (4 Kings 25). From there to the capture of Babylon by Cyrus, 23 years elapsed according to the canon of Ptolemy, then 233 years to Ptolemy Lagus, then 275 years to Alexandria being captured by Augustus (year 724 of the City). Now if you subtract 166 years from 747 (when the City was founded), you will get 581, or year of the world 4191.
Therefore from the creation of the world to the birth of Christ, 4191 solar years intervened, but 4320 lunar years, and 5625 priestly years.
Cf. des Vignoles, Chronology of Sacred History.