Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The Jews build with one hand and hold a sword with the other, to repel the attacking Samaritans; with Nehemiah pressing on and praying, the construction of the walls and gates is completed.
Vulgate Text: 2 Esdrae (Nehemiah) 4:1-23
1. And it came to pass, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was very angry: and being greatly moved, he mocked the Jews, 2. and said before his brethren and the multitude of the Samaritans: What are these feeble Jews doing? Will the nations let them alone? Will they sacrifice and finish in one day? Can they build stones out of heaps of dust that have been burned? 3. And Tobias the Ammonite, who was near him, said: Let them build: if a fox climbs up, it will leap over their stone wall. 4. Hear, O our God, for we are despised: turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them over to contempt in a land of captivity. 5. Do not cover their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before Your face, because they have mocked the builders. 6. So we built the wall, and joined it all together to half its height: and the heart of the people was stirred up to work. 7. And it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobias, and the Arabs, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being repaired, and that the breaches were beginning to be closed up, they were exceedingly angry. 8. And they all gathered together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to devise ambushes. 9. And we prayed to our God, and set guards upon the wall day and night against them. 10. And Judah said: The strength of the bearer is weakened, and the earth is too much, and we shall not be able to build the wall. 11. And our enemies said: Let them not know or be aware until we come into their midst, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. 12. And it came to pass that the Jews who dwelt near them came and told us ten times over, from all the places from which they had come to us, 13. I stationed the people behind the wall all around in order, with their swords, and lances, and bows. 14. And I looked and arose, and said to the nobles and magistrates, and to the rest of the common people: Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses. 15. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that we had been warned, God frustrated their plan. And we all returned to the walls, each one to his work. 16. And it came to pass from that day forward, that half of their young men did the work, and half were ready for battle, with lances, and shields, and bows, and coats of mail, and the rulers were behind them in all the house of Judah, 17. of those building on the wall, and those carrying burdens, and those loading: with one of his hands he did the work, and with the other he held a sword. 18. For every one of the builders was girded with a sword about his loins. And they built, and sounded the trumpet beside me. 19. And I said to the nobles, and to the magistrates, and to the rest of the common people: The work is great and wide, and we are separated on the wall one far from another: 20. in whatever place you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, run all thither to us: our God will fight for us. 21. And let us do the work: and let half of us hold our lances from the rising of the morning until the stars appear. 22. At that time also I said to the people: Let each one with his servant remain in the midst of Jerusalem, and let there be watches for us by night and day for working. 23. But I and my brethren, and my servants, and the watchmen who were behind me, did not put off our garments: each one only stripped for bathing.
Verse 2: What Are These Feeble Jews Doing
2. Will the nations let them alone? — That is to say: Will we, the neighbors of the Jews, who are nations so many and so powerful, allow the Jews to build their Jerusalem, from which they would then invade and harass us as they once did? As if to say: Not at all; in no way should we permit them to build this fortress and impose it on our shoulders. WILL THEY SACRIFICE AND FINISH IN ONE DAY? — That is to say: Do they think that in one day, that is, in the briefest time, they can begin the construction of so great a city (which was done by sacrificing and dedicating the walls, and then feasting joyfully) and at the same time complete it? As if to say: By no means; for we will intervene in time, and will disturb them, and by force compel them to cease from the construction. CAN THEY BUILD STONES OUT OF HEAPS OF DUST THAT HAVE BEEN BURNED? — The Hebrew for 'build' is 'revive'; the Septuagint has 'heal.' As if to say: Can the Jews reform the bricks and stones burned by the Chaldeans and reduced to ashes, and restore them to their former solidity, strength, and usefulness as stones and bricks, so as to rebuild walls from them? That is to say: The Jews are attempting something very difficult, indeed an impossible construction.
Verse 3: If a Fox Climbs Up
3. IF A FOX CLIMBS UP, IT WILL LEAP OVER THEIR WALL. — The Hebrew has: a fox will climb up and break through their stone wall. It is sarcasm or hostile mockery, as if to say: Let the Jews work, labor, and sweat as much as they want; so fragile and low will be the wall they erect that it can be leaped over by a fox, indeed demolished by one. So Cajetan.
Verse 5: Do Not Cover Their Iniquity
5. Do not cover their iniquity — with oblivion and impunity. As if to say: Remember, O Lord, these injuries and mockeries with which our enemies unjustly harass us, and restrain and punish them. For when God spares, He is said to cover sins; when He does not spare, but punishes, He is said to uncover, look upon, and set them before His eyes. Hence St. Stephen praying for the Jews: 'Lord,' he says, 'do not hold this sin against them,' Acts chapter VII. Therefore Nehemiah does not pray that God would not forgive the guilt of the penitent; for to ask this would be impious and diabolical, but rather that He would not condone the punishment of the impenitent who persist in guilt.
Verse 10: The Strength of the Bearer Is Weakened
10. AND JUDAH SAID — that is, the Jews said, who, weary from labor and frightened by the threats of the enemies, began to grow slack in the work, and to murmur against Nehemiah who was pressing on with the work and construction. THE STRENGTH OF THE BEARER IS WEAKENED — that is, the shoulders and hands of the workers and carriers bearing stones, timber, water, and morite have been weakened by so great, so constant, and so long a labor, that they can hardly carry them any further. AND THE EARTH IS TOO MUCH — that is to say: There is need of too much mortar, earth, or, as the Hebrew and Greek have it, dust, mixed and blended. Or more simply, as if to say: 'The earth,' that is, in digging the earth and laying the foundations of the walls, too much rubble of earth and stones remains to be excavated, more than can be cleared and carried away by so few workers and carriers. Yet Nehemiah overcame this complaint of his people too, by his gentleness in enduring and his constancy in encouraging them.
Verse 12: Telling Us Ten Times Over
12. TELLING US TEN TIMES OVER — that is, they repeatedly told and warned us of the enemies' ambushes, and their imminent secret attacks: FROM ALL THE PLACES — as if to say: Informants came from everywhere reporting the same thing, namely that the enemies were planning to attack us by ambush. Therefore Nehemiah, arming his men and arranging them in battle order, anticipated, dispersed, and averted the enemies' ambushes.
Verse 17: With One Hand He Did the Work
17. OF THOSE BUILDING, etc. (supply: each one) WITH ONE HAND HE DID THE WORK AND WITH THE OTHER HELD A SWORD — to repel the enemies suddenly rushing in from ambush. Note here the prudence as well as the constancy and zeal of the people in building.
So once the Spaniards, continually fighting with the Saracens who occupied Spain, when they prayed or did anything else, kept a sword at hand, to repel those who attacked them; whence the custom still prevails, that even now peasants in Spain walk about armed with swords, and indeed do not plow unless girded with a sword. So even now the Hungarians leap from the plow to arms, when the neighboring Turks suddenly invade them.
See the allegory and tropology in Bede, who says: 'For those who build gird their loins with a sword, when those who pursue good works, and strive to arrange those committed to them according to a regular pattern (for this is to place living stones in the building of the Church in their proper order), strive to restrain in themselves the flow of luxury with the sharpness of the word of God.' Therefore, while we apply ourselves to reason, to the work of charity, to preaching, and to other pious acts of virtue, by which we construct the spiritual building of merit in the soul, let us hold with the other hand the sword of mortification, by which we may powerfully repel, indeed cut away from ourselves, the temptations of the flesh and the suggestions of the devil and the world — vainglory, pride, envy, gluttony, lust, etc. These are 'the arms of justice,' with which the Apostle fortifies every faithful person 'on the right hand and on the left,' II Corinthians VI, 7, and more fully in Ephesians VI, 13: 'Put on,' he says, 'the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand perfect in all things.' Then he assigns the panoply with which he arms the soldier of Christ from head to toe, namely the belt of truth, the breastplate of justice, the sandal of readiness of the Gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. See the commentary there.
Verse 21: Until the Stars Come Out
21. Until the stars come out — that is, until night, when the stars seem to emerge from their caves or chambers, in which they lay hidden all day while the sun shone, to keep their nightly watches. Scripture speaks according to the perception of the common people, who think that the stars are hidden during the day in their retreats, from which they come forth at night to perform their watch, as it were a military one, until dawn, when they return to their hiding places, and 'Lucifer departs last from his post.' So Vatablus.
Verse 22: Each One Remain in Jerusalem
22. Let each one with his servant (that is, with his attendant) REMAIN (also at night) IN THE MIDST OF JERUSALEM — and not go elsewhere, so that if the enemies attack us at night, we may all together meet and resist them.
AND LET THERE BE WATCHES FOR US BY NIGHT AND DAY FOR WORKING. — The Hebrew and Septuagint have: And let the night be for us a guard and the day for work. Vatablus renders it clearly: Let each one with his servant spend the night in the midst of Jerusalem, so that at night there may be sentinels for us, but during the day for work, that is, at night they may guard us, and during the day work on the wall. Therefore Nehemiah commands that all spend the night in the city with their servants, and that some of them be designated to stand watch at night in turns, while the rest sleep, but mostly clothed, so that if the sentinels give the signal of an approaching enemy, they may immediately seize their arms and meet them; but during the day they should divide their duties so that one part works, and the other, armed with lances, stands by those working for their protection.
Verse 23: I Did Not Put Off My Garments
23. BUT I AND MY BRETHREN AND MY SERVANTS AND THE GUARDS WHO WERE BEHIND ME DID NOT PUT OFF OUR GARMENTS — so that I, as their leader, might teach the other citizens and soldiers to do the same, not so much by word and command, as by deed and example, namely that they should not put off their clothes and arms at night, according to that saying of a general in Livy, book VII: 'I want you soldiers to follow my deeds, not my words: and to seek from me not only discipline, but also example.' Which Cato did, of whom Lucan says, book IX: He himself, bearing javelins in his own hand, goes before the face Of the panting soldier, on foot: he shows how to endure labors, He does not merely teach. In like manner, when I was living in Belgium, the Marquis Spinola, besieging Ostend for two years, for seven whole months never took off his clothes when sleeping, and by this vigilance of his finally captured the city situated at the mouth of the sea, and therefore virtually impregnable, and triumphed over it with great glory to his name.
EACH ONE ONLY STRIPPED FOR BATHING — the Hebrew has: each one's removal or laying aside (the 'his' is redundant, in the Hebrew manner), understand, of the garments just mentioned, for the waters, namely baptismal, that is, purificatory, when indeed he wanted to wash his body and cleanse himself. For the Jews, both because of legal uncleanness, which they easily contracted by contact with a legally unclean thing — for example, from association with Gentiles — and because of the heat and resulting sweat and stench, and because of filth contracted from elsewhere (whence Ammianus, book II, and Martial, book IV, Epigram IV, call the Jews malodorous), frequently washed their whole body, indeed even their garments and beds. See the commentary on Mark chapter VII, verse 3.