Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
He praises Moses up to verse 7. Then Aaron up to verse 28. Then Phinehas up to the end of the chapter. Moreover, he praises them both for their illustrious deeds and for the great gifts bestowed upon them by God.
Vulgate Text: Ecclesiasticus 45:1-31
1. Beloved of God and men was Moses: whose memory is in blessing. 2. He made him like to the glory of the saints, and magnified him in the fear of his enemies, and with his words he appeased prodigies. 3. He glorified him in the sight of kings, and gave him commandments before his people, and showed him His glory. 4. In his faithfulness and meekness He made him holy, and chose him out of all flesh. 5. For He heard him, and his voice, and led him into the cloud. 6. And He gave him commandments before his face, and the law of life and discipline, to teach Jacob his covenant, and Israel his judgments. 7. He exalted Aaron his brother, and like to himself from the tribe of Levi: 8. He established with him an everlasting covenant, and gave him the priesthood of the nation: and He made him blessed in glory, 9. and He girded him about with a belt of glory, and clothed him with a robe of glory, and crowned him with the vessels of power. 10. He put upon him ankle-length garments, and breeches, and an ephod, and girded him round about with many golden bells, 11. to give sound as he walked, to make his sound heard in the temple, for a memorial to the children of his nation. 12. A holy robe of gold, and blue, and purple, the work of a weaver, of a wise man endowed with judgment and truth: 13. of twisted scarlet the work of the craftsman, with precious stones set in the binding of gold, and graven by the work of a jeweler, for a memorial according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 14. A crown of gold upon his mitre, engraved with the sign of holiness, and the glory of honor: a work of power, and the desires of the eyes adorned. 15. Before him there were none so beautiful, even to the very beginning, 16. No stranger was ever clothed with them, but only his children alone, and his grandchildren for all time. 17. His sacrifices were consumed by fire daily. 18. Moses filled his hands, and anointed him with holy oil. 19. It was made to him an everlasting covenant, and to his seed like the days of heaven, to exercise the priesthood, and to have praise, and to glorify his people in his name. 20. He chose him from all the living, to offer sacrifice to God, incense, and a good odor, for a memorial to make reconciliation for his people: 21. and He gave him power in his precepts, in the covenants of judgments, to teach Jacob his testimonies, and to give light to Israel in his law. 22. For strangers stood up against him, and through envy men encompassed him in the desert, who were with Dathan and Abiron, and the congregation of Korah in wrath. 23. The Lord God saw, and it pleased Him not, and they were consumed in the fury of wrath. 24. He wrought prodigies against them, and consumed them with a flame of fire. 25. And He added glory to Aaron, and gave him an inheritance, and divided unto him the first-fruits of the produce of the earth. 26. He prepared bread for them first of all in abundance: for they shall eat the sacrifices of the Lord, which He gave to him and to his seed. 27. But he shall have no inheritance in the land of the nations, and he has no portion among the people: for He Himself is his portion and inheritance. 28. Phinehas the son of Eleazar is the third in glory, in imitating him in the fear of the Lord: 29. and in standing firm in the shame of his nation: in the goodness and eagerness of his soul he was pleasing to God for Israel. 30. Therefore He established with him a covenant of peace, making him the prince of the sanctuary, and of his nation, that the dignity of the priesthood should be his and his seed's forever. 31. And a covenant with David the king, the son of Jesse of the tribe of Judah, an inheritance to him and to his seed, that he might give wisdom into our heart to judge his nation in justice, lest their goods be abolished, and he made their glory eternal among their nation.
First Part of the Chapter. Encomium of Moses
1. BELOVED OF GOD AND MEN (the Syriac has: beloved before God, and also in the eyes of men) WAS MOSES: WHOSE MEMORY IS IN BLESSING. — In Greek, "whose memorial is in blessings"; the Tigurine version: Whose memory is blessed; others: Whose memory is in every way blessed; Vatablus: It is of happy omen, so that the faithful of Moses, namely the Hebrews, might frequently remember him, and as often as they remember and speak of him, so often they bless him, that is, they praise him, glorify him, and wish him every happiness and glory. Hence the Rabbis adopted that eulogy of theirs, that whenever they remembered the fathers or well-deserving men now deceased, they would say: Zichronam libracha, that is, may their memory be in blessing. Now the reason why Moses was beloved of God and men and blessed was his outstanding virtue, by which he led the people safely out of Egypt into the promised land, and especially his meekness; for of this Sirach said, chapter 3:19: "My son, perform your works in meekness, and you will be loved beyond the glory of men." I assigned the reasons in that place; "Now Moses was the meekest man of all who dwelt upon the earth," Numbers 12:3. So too the outstanding praise of David is that it is said of him: "Remember, O Lord, David, and all his meekness," Psalm 131:1. Therefore, among the men of mercy whom Sirach, at the end of the preceding chapter, said God had preserved for Jacob, the first and standard-bearer of all the rest is Moses. See what I have said in praise of Moses in the Prooemium to the Pentateuch, section 3.
Tropologically, St. Bernard applies this saying to the saint who was Benedict both by name and in reality, in his sermon on him: "Truly beloved of God," he says, "and of men, whose not only his presence was a blessing, as there are many beloved of God alone, because known to God alone; but his memory also is still in blessing. For even to this day, in the threefold confession of the Lord's love, he feeds the Lord's flock with this threefold fruit. He feeds by his life, he feeds by his teaching, he feeds by his intercession. Assisted unceasingly through him, bear fruit you also, dearly beloved; for you have been appointed for this, that you should go and bear fruit." Moreover, love of God, obedience, prayer, and contemplation make one beloved of God; love of neighbor, care, and beneficence make one beloved of one's neighbor — namely when one comes to the aid of one's neighbor and assists him, and especially when one draws him out of the mire of sins and from hell, and leads him back to the way of salvation. The contemplative life therefore makes one beloved of God; the active life makes one beloved of one's neighbor. Let him therefore join both, who desires to be beloved of both, just as Moses joined both, who both conversed with God on the mountain and instructed the people in God's law in the camp.
2. HE MADE HIM LIKE IN THE GLORY OF THE SAINTS; AND HE MAGNIFIED HIM IN THE FEAR OF HIS ENEMIES, AND WITH HIS WORDS HE APPEASED PRODIGIES. — The Syriac translates: He magnified (or nourished) him with blessings, and strengthened him against terrors. Three things are here celebrated in Moses: first, that He made him "like" in glory to "the saints," that is, like the holy ones, namely the Patriarchs — Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
celebrated in the preceding chapter; in Greek, "he made him like to the glory of the saints." So the Complutensian, the Roman, and the Tigurine: He made him equal to the glory of the saints (Vatablus: he made him equal in glory to the saints); others: He likened him in glory to the saints. This is great praise of Moses, that his glory is so great as to be compared to the glory and the glorious deeds and gifts of the greatest Patriarchs — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Second, that "He magnified him in the fear of his enemies," because through Moses, who performed so many prodigies in Egypt and in the desert, God struck immense fear and terror into Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the Amalekites, and the other Canaanites who were enemies of the Hebrews. Hence the Tigurine translates: He made him great for terrifying the enemy; others more literally: He made him great by the terrors of the enemy, for in Greek it is in the plural, "in fears" or terrors. For the Egyptians and the nations feared Moses as a thunderbolt, and as their Jupiter thundering and hurling lightning, when with thunders, lightnings, fires, hailstorms, and other plagues elicited from God by prayer, he struck Egypt. Hence he heard from God: "I have made you a god to Pharaoh," Exodus 7:1. Explaining these words, St. Ambrose, in his book On Paradise, chapter 2, gives this moral reason for them: "For," he says, "a conqueror of all passions, not captivated by any enticements of the world, who had covered over this entire bodily habitation with the purity of a heavenly way of life, governing his mind, subjecting his flesh, and chastising it with a kind of royal authority, he was called by the name of God, to whose likeness he had formed himself by the abundance of perfect virtue. And therefore we do not read of him as of others — that he died failing — but that he died by the word of God; for God suffers neither failing nor diminution, nor does He admit of increase. Hence Scripture also adds: Because no one knows his burial place to this day, so that one might understand a translation rather than a death."
Third, that "with his words" (in Greek, "his," namely of Moses) God "appeased prodigies"; in Greek, "he made signs or portents cease and rest"; because God calmed and removed the monstrous and portentous plagues inflicted at the prayers of Moses by the same prayers, just as He calmed the plague of frogs, Exodus 8:9. Conversely, the Tigurine: By his commands, it says, He designated miracles, so that the Greek word which others translate as "he made to cease" corresponds to the Hebrew heniach, which can also be translated as "he let down, he sent down," unless you prefer "he dissolved the illusions of Pharaoh's magicians," says Vatablus. For the rod of Moses, turned by him into a serpent, devoured the rods of the magicians which they had likewise turned into serpents, Exodus 7:12. For heniach means "he made to rest, he placed, he let down, he deposited"; so that the meaning is: Moses made signs — that is, the ten plagues — rest upon Egypt, meaning he let these plagues down upon Egypt, so that they might occupy it and rest there. For thus the frogs, gnats, locusts, hailstorms, and darkness at the command of Moses occupied the whole of
Egypt. Both are true, both magnificent and glorious for Moses; and which is greater is uncertain; for it was as glorious for Moses to check and stop the heavenly plagues at a nod as to summon and inflict them. Wherefore Moses was "the summary of miracles," as Nazianzen teaches, oration 1. Furthermore, Pomponius Laetus says: "The word 'monstrum' (prodigy) is derived from 'monere' (to warn), as if 'monestrum,' because it shows what is to come and warns of the will of the gods; which is also called 'prodigium,' as if 'predicted'; and 'portentum,' because it portends; and 'ostentum,' because it shows" some new thing heralding the future. So also Isidore, book 11 of the Origins, chapter 3, except that he interprets 'prodigia' as meaning 'they speak forth,' that is, they predict the future. So too a fox born from a mare portended the dissolution of Xerxes' kingdom. So these plagues of Moses were prodigies, because they portended and showed — indeed they brought about — the impending ruin of Egypt and Pharaoh.
3. HE GLORIFIED HIM IN THE SIGHT OF KINGS, AND GAVE HIM COMMANDMENTS BEFORE HIS PEOPLE, AND SHOWED HIM HIS GLORY. — The fourth encomium of Moses is that God, through the many prodigies, plagues, and victories which He wrought through Moses, made him glorious before Pharaoh king of Egypt, Agag king of Amalek, Og king of Bashan, and Sihon king of the Amorites; all of whom Moses deprived of their kingdoms and slew; on account of which all the kings of Canaan, indeed of the whole world, admired and celebrated his glory. Fifth, that "He gave him commandments before his people," that is, in the presence of the people, with the entire people looking on, God speaking with Moses gave him orders and commandments to be delivered to the people. Hence the Greek has, "He gave him commandments toward his people"; the Syriac, concerning his people. God did this when on Sinai He gave Moses the stone tablets of the Decalogue and the other ceremonial and judicial precepts; then when at the door of the tabernacle, conversing with Moses as was His custom in the sight of the people, He signified to him what He wished to be done both by him and by the people, Exodus 20 and following, Leviticus 1:1, and frequently elsewhere. The sixth is that "He showed him His glory"; the Syriac has, His honor or majesty; namely when, with Moses placed in a cave, an angel representing God, resplendent with immense light and glory, passed by, and showed him His back, not His face, as He had promised him, saying: "You shall see My back parts: but My face you cannot see." Hence St. Augustine and others think that Moses then saw the divine essence; but this is not more certain, as I showed in Exodus 33 and 34.
4. IN HIS FAITHFULNESS AND MEEKNESS HE MADE HIM HOLY, AND CHOSE HIM OUT OF ALL FLESH. — The Syriac: In his faithfulness and in his meekness He chose him from all men. This is the seventh encomium of Moses. By "faith" can be understood first, faith properly so called; second, trust in God; third, and most fittingly, faithfulness, according to that saying of God about Moses: "Moses is the most faithful in all My house,"
Numbers 12. For Moses most faithfully carried out God's commands among the people. By "meekness" understand gentleness, of which it is likewise said: "Moses was the meekest of men," etc. And — that is, therefore, namely on account of such faithfulness and meekness of Moses — God "chose him out of all flesh"; because from all men He chose him alone to be God's ambassador to Pharaoh, and the leader and governor of Israel, and to lead them with a mighty hand out of Egypt into the promised land. For faithfulness toward God and gentleness toward one's neighbors make a man most suited for these things; for we should be gentle toward our neighbor, yet at the same time be faithful to God, and not on account of excessive gentleness overlook offenses and injuries against God. Conversely, we should be faithful to God, yet not be too rigid, but gentle toward our neighbor, so that we gently bear his weakness, raise up his falls, and strengthen his wavering. Hence the Tigurine translates: He made him holy by his faithfulness and affability, and chose him from all mortals; others: By faith and meekness He sanctified him, and chose him from all men. Therefore, just as Saul was chosen by God as king, because there was no man better than he in Israel, 1 Samuel 10, and just as Peter was chosen as pontiff, because he was of the greatest charity, John, last chapter; so too Moses was chosen from all men as leader of the people, because there was none holier or more fit than he. Note the phrase "He made him holy," or as the Greek has, "He sanctified him"; for faith, that is, faithfulness and faithful obedience toward God and God's laws, sanctifies a man, as does gentleness and clemency toward one's neighbors, for the meek and gentle man through his gentleness has his affections ordered and composed, and therefore pure and holy. Hence St. Basil, on Psalm 33: "Those," he says, "who have left no room in their hands for disturbance, these at last are called meek." And St. Augustine, book 1 of the Sermon on the Mount, chapter 3: "The meek," he says, "are those who yield to wickedness, and do not resist evil"; so that when assailed with injuries, reproaches, curses, and even stones (as Moses was assailed by the people), they do not avenge themselves, indeed they do not even grow angry; but rather they feel compassion for their assailants, strive to soften them, and pray to God for them. And indeed Aristotle, book 4 of the Ethics, chapter 4: "The meek man," he says, "is one who is free from disturbance and is not at all led by passion; but as reason itself has determined, so and for so long he is angry." And Speusippus, Plato's
nephew, defines it thus: "Meekness," he says, "is a disposition of the soul immovable against the onset of anger, a moderate temperament of the soul." Again, the holy gentleness of the faithful is charity, or certainly the companion of charity, according to that saying of Paul: "Charity is patient, is kind," 1 Corinthians 13. True gentleness, therefore, is not the goodness of nature and disposition, but the benignity of grace and charity, and therefore true holiness; and conversely, true holiness is itself the gentleness of charity — indeed, the Divinity itself is uncreated and essential gentleness. Hence God and the Spirit
The Holy Spirit appeared to Elijah not in thunder, not in lightning, not in an earthquake, but in the whisper of a gentle breeze, 3 Kings, chapter 19:12. For this reason Rufinus, in the Preface to the Lives of the Fathers, speaking of the ancient hermits and outstanding saints, illustrious with the gift of prophecy and miracles: "For so great," he says, "is the faith in them, that they are able to command even mountains to be moved. They are therefore adorned in their conduct — quiet, gentle, tranquil, and bound by the bond of charity as if by a kind of brotherhood." So St. Bernard, in his sermon On St. Malachy, teaches that he soared to holiness on these two wings — faith in prosperity, gentleness in bearing adversity: "In his faithfulness and meekness," he says, "He made him holy. By faith he trampled the world underfoot, as John attests, who says: This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith, 1 John 5. For in a spirit of gentleness he bore all hardships and adversities with equanimity. Thus, on the one hand, after Christ, by faith he trampled the seas underfoot, lest he be captured by enticements; on the other hand, in his patience he possessed his soul, lest he be broken by troubles. For of these two things you have in Psalm 90 that a thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand — because far more are overthrown by the deceptions of prosperity than by the scourges of adversity." The same, in the Vigil of the Nativity, sermon 5: "Be sanctified today, and be prepared: be sanctified," he says, "more and more by advancing from virtue to virtue, and be prepared by persevering. In what, however, shall we be sanctified? I have read Scripture saying of a certain man: In his faithfulness and meekness He made him holy; for it is no more possible to please men without gentleness than to please God without faith." St. Chrysostom says beautifully, in homily 6 on Acts:
"A physician," he says, "does not as quickly free a fevered man from fevers by his care, as a patient man will cool down an angry person burning with rage, taking hold of him by the spirit of his own words. And what do I say of physicians? Not even red-hot iron plunged into water loses its heat as quickly as an angry man falling upon a patient soul." And shortly after: "For the meek man is indeed sweet to himself and useful to others; but the angry man is both unpleasant to himself and harmful to others." The same, in his sermon On Meekness, volume 5, teaches that the meek man in the home, in the Church, in the city is what sinews are in the body — that he is an imitator of Christ and like to God. Tropologically, meekness is indeed an illustrious virtue in all people, but especially in rulers, such as
was Moses, among whom the greater the eminence, the more admirable is the humility and gentleness of spirit. For this reason the Emperor Marcus Antoninus, as recorded by Lampridius, Spartianus, and others, praising clemency, said: "This made Caesar a god, this consecrated Augustus, this adorned your father (he is addressing his wife Faustina) with the name of 'Pius.'" And Pliny, in his Panegyric on Trajan: "Since arms," he says, "are provoked by arms, and fear and terror are weak bonds of affection." And again: "Power ill tests its strength by insults to others, and submission ill obtained by terror; love is far more powerful for obtaining what you wish than fear; and therefore faithfulness guards a prince better than the sword, and it is more fitting that a Caesar be loved than feared." For this reason St. Ambrose, book 1 of the Offices, chapter 22, lays down: "Let discussion be without anger, sweetness without bitterness, admonition without harshness, exhortation without offense." See the same author, book 2 of the Offices, chapter 7, where he sets Moses as the example of meekness. I have quoted his words at chapter 3:19; and St. Augustine, On Holy Virginity, chapter 35: "The measure of humility," he says, "is given to each according to the measure of his own greatness." So also Origen interprets this passage, tract 24 on Matthew chapter 22, and proves it by the example of Christ: "For as much," he says, "as He was great, so much did He humble Himself." William Paradinus, in the Education of Princes, offers a comparison for this: "For the sun," he says, "when it has reached its highest point in the Zodiac, is then of the slowest motion: so the higher fortune has raised you, the more you ought to be of a gentler and less fierce spirit." For this reason Chilon, in Laertius, book 1, chapter 4, said that meekness should be joined to power: "So that a prince," he says, "should not so much extort fear from his subjects as command their reverence; the companion of reverence is love, of fear hatred; moreover, to be loved is not only more honorable, but also safer." Extend the same to men eminent in wisdom and virtue: for if they are affable and humble, they will be far more exalted, more pleasing to God and men, and more formidable to the devil. For, as St. Chrysostom says, on that passage of Isaiah 6, "I saw the Lord," homily 4: "Just as sailors who have an empty ship do not fear the attack of pirates, but those who have a loaded one — for pirates hasten where gold, silver, and precious stones are — so the devil does not easily persecute the sinner, but the just man, where there are many riches; the greater you are, the more humble yourself."
Similar to Moses in meekness, as well as in zeal, was St. Philastrius, Bishop of Brescia, a contemporary of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, who highly praises him in his letter to Quodvultdeus. Hence St. Gaudentius, the successor of St. Philastrius in the bishopric, published this encomium of him: "Philastrius, traversing the whole circuit of the Roman world, like a second Paul sowed the word of the Lord, so that with it planted in the hearts of the peoples, all pledged to bear most willingly every kind of martyrdom for Christ. And when he had preached against Gentiles, Jews, and heretics, having recalled many to the worship of the orthodox faith, beaten by certain unbelievers, not long after — stigmatized as by the Lord's own passion — he more happily returned his soul to God. Let us therefore remember what great gentleness that ardent zeal of our father Philastrius possessed in his holy conduct, how his lofty learning was sublime in humility, how his knowledge of divine things was ignorant of earthly things. For he was unaware of human glory, a zealous exactor of divine honor, not seeking his own interests but those of Jesus Christ; despising the friendships of the world and worldly duties, he clung constantly to the service of God. This same saint was brief in anger, easy in forgiveness, conquering by patience, winning over by kindness, strict in correcting, absolute in pardoning, free in action, of marvelous benignity common to every age and condition and sex, and closely joined to the most humble of all."
5. FOR HE HEARD HIM, AND HIS VOICE, AND LED HIM INTO THE CLOUD. — So the Roman edition, although the modern Greek and Rabanus read: He made His voice heard by him, or, as the Complutensian has it, He caused him to hear (for the Greek means "to cause to hear") His voice, namely when from Sinai God through an Angel with a trumpet voice promulgated the Decalogue, and delivered the other judicial and ceremonial precepts to Moses by word of mouth. In the same sense the Latin Vulgate version can be understood, meaning: God chose Moses out of all flesh as the leader of His people; because by this divine election it came about that Moses alone above all others heard God and (the "and" is exegetical, meaning "that is") His voice; namely when he conversed with God face to face both on Sinai and at the door of the tabernacle, and was instructed by Him as leader, and taught the ways of leading and governing the people; "and," that is, "therefore the Lord led him into the cloud," in Greek gnophon, that is, darkness, in which that most radiant and immense light of the divinity lay hidden and veiled itself; so that in it Moses might draw near most closely to God and converse with Him most secretly and intimately. For although the other past tenses — "He made, He chose, He led" — refer to God, yet the word "he heard" seems to refer to Moses; for the sequence of the subject matter and narrative seems to require this. Nor is this interchange of persons novel or remarkable, because it is frequent in Scripture and familiar to the Hebrews; for they often pass from one person to another without naming or distinguishing them, but leave it to the reader to name and distinguish from the context.
If, however, you prefer to refer all these past tenses to the same person, namely to God, the meaning will be: God chose Moses out of all flesh, as is clear from the effect. For on account of this election and love of Moses, God heard him, that is, his voice, when he, praying for the whole people already condemned to destruction for worshipping the golden calf by God, obtained pardon for them by his prayers and merits, Exodus 32. The former sense seems more fitting, both to the Greek and to what follows; which the Tigurine expresses thus: His voice He caused to be heard by him, and led him into the cloud. This is the eighth encomium of Moses, namely that he was led by God into His darkness, where he heard the voice of the Lord and conversed with Him familiarly. Into this darkness of God there ascended in mind
men outstanding in holiness and contemplation, so that in it they might discern and hear God dwelling through shadow. On this darkness see St. Dionysius, On the Divine Names. Hence learn this saying: "You will deserve God, if you flee from men." St. Gregory Nazianzen says beautifully, oration 1: "Nothing," he says, "seemed to me more desirable for anyone than to close the senses and, placed outside the world and the flesh, collected in oneself, touching nothing of human affairs except what necessity demands, conversing with oneself and with God, to lead a life superior to things that fall under the gaze, and to carry about in oneself divine images that are always pure and unmixed with any earthly and wandering forms; and to be a perfectly pure mirror of God and divine things, and to become so more and more day by day, and to take on light through light — the brighter, that is, through the dimmer; and already to perceive the good of the age to come, and to converse with the angels, and although on earth, to leave the earth, and to be placed on high by the Spirit."
6. AND HE GAVE HIM COMMANDMENTS BEFORE HIS FACE, AND THE LAW OF LIFE AND DISCIPLINE, TO TEACH JACOB HIS COVENANT, AND ISRAEL HIS JUDGMENTS. — So the Roman edition. The Syriac: He set before him the law of life and blessing, to teach those who are of the house of Israel his laws, and covenants, and judgments. Therefore many wrongly read: He gave him a heart and commandments; for the Greek is, "he gave him face-to-face commandments"; face-to-face, that is, in the presence, in the sight, meaning: God gave the law to Moses not through a messenger, as if absent to an absent one, but through Himself face-to-face, as if present to one present, speaking with him face to face. He alludes to Exodus 33:11: "The Lord spoke to Moses, as a man is accustomed to speak to his friend." And Numbers 12:8, where comparing and preferring Moses to the other Prophets, to whom God spoke through visions or dreams, He says of Moses: "I speak to him mouth to mouth, plainly, and not through riddles and figures does he see the Lord." He calls the law "of life," both because the law teaches how one should live rightly according to God and reason; and because the law promised its observers a long and happy present life; and because if it were fulfilled through faith and charity, it bestowed a blessed and eternal life. He alludes to Leviticus 18:5: "Keep my laws and judgments, which if a man does, he shall live in them." Again, he calls the law "of discipline," in Greek epistemes, that is, of knowledge, because the law teaches true practical knowledge, which teaches a man what to do and what to avoid in order to please God, and to be gifted by Him with grace and glory. Our translator renders "of discipline," both because through the law the Jews were instructed as pupils by a teacher; and because the law, as a discipline, chastised and restrained the illicit movements of desire and the disordered ways of the Jews.
Third, he calls the law "a covenant," that is, a pact; because the law is the condition of the pact entered into between God and men. For God had made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the Hebrews that He would be their God — that is, their father, guardian, and provider — on this condition: that they would keep His laws, and show themselves to be His faithful servants. Fourth, he calls the law "judgments," because the law establishes and prescribes what is equitable and just, and according to it all judges must judge in their judgments; therefore when there were disputes among the Hebrews, all of them had to be judged and settled according to the law and through the law. Hence the Tigurine translates: To him He delivered commandments face-to-face, the law of life and knowledge, to teach Jacob the covenant, and Israel its right. Therefore the covenant is the same as the right or judgment; just as Jacob is the same as Israel: for the Hebrews, from their Patriarch who was called Jacob and Israel, are now called Jacob, now Israel; thus the second half of the verse explains the first in the Hebrew manner. This is the ninth encomium of Moses, that he was the divine lawgiver: for the law which he gave to the Hebrews, he received from the mouth of God.
St. Gregory Nazianzen says beautifully, oration 6: "Who is the most illustrious of lawgivers?" he says. "Moses. Who the holiest of priests? Aaron: brothers no less in piety than in body; or rather, the former indeed was the God of Pharaoh, and the ruler and lawgiver of the Israelites, entering the cloud, a spectator of the divine mysteries, a leader, and the true builder of that tabernacle which was constructed by God, not by man: but both were equally priests, Psalm 98: For Moses, he says, and Aaron among His priests. He was the prince of princes and the priest of priests, using Aaron as his tongue, and Aaron in turn serving him in those things that pertained to God: the latter was immediately second to him, but far surpassed all others in dignity and nearness to God. Both afflicted Egypt, divided the sea, brought Israel across, drowned the enemies, drew bread from above, partly poured forth, partly sweetened water surpassing human belief in the desert. Both by the holy extension of their hands, a figure of a higher mystery, crushed the Amalekites. Both offered themselves as guides of the way to the promised land, and hastened on. What image could be imagined more familiar and clear than this?" Moses, therefore, was the author of divine laws and, as it were, the vicar of divinity; the prince of priests and the priest of princes; the commander of the sea and winds; the controller of springs, rivers, cloud, fire, and sky; the master of nature and the worker of all miracles; the tamer of tyrants and the God of Pharaoh. I have said more about Moses in the Prooemium to the Pentateuch.
Second Part of the Chapter. Encomium of Aaron
7. HE EXALTED AARON HIS BROTHER, AND LIKE TO HIMSELF FROM THE TRIBE OF LEVI. — From Moses the prince he passes to Aaron, the brother of Moses, whom God chose as the first high priest of the Hebrews, and made it hereditary, so that the pontificate would be transmitted to his descendants, namely to all the firstborn successively begotten from him. God therefore exalted him, "and made him high and like to himself": "to himself," that is, to him, namely to Moses, meaning: God made Aaron like to Moses; both in terms of genealogy, because both were of the same tribe of Levi, which God chose for Himself as the priestly tribe, and indeed were begotten of the same parents; and because Aaron was the companion and assistant of Moses in declaring God's commands to Pharaoh, and in performing the plagues and miracles (as is clear from Exodus 7 and 8), to lead the people out of Egypt, according to that saying: "Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak to him all that I command you: and he shall speak to Pharaoh, that he may let the children of Israel go out of his land," Exodus 7:1. For this reason Nazianzen, oration 1: "Aaron," he says, "held the first place with God after Moses"; and in oration 6, he calls him "the most holy priest." Hence the Greek has: He raised up, or exalted, Aaron the holy one, like to him, his brother, from the tribe of Levi. For the tribe of Levi was chosen and raised by God to the priesthood, just as the tribe of Judah to the kingship: hence the Levites were more honored than the rest, as being dedicated and consecrated to God, just as Religious and priests are today. Hence "Levi" and Levite means the same as "joined," Genesis 29:34, because one must be wholly joined and attached to God. Some also interpret "Levi" as "he is mine," as if God were saying: He is a Levite, that is, he is wholly consecrated to me, he is wholly mine: I have chosen him as my minister, my friend, my son; so that in return he might wholly devote and join himself to me, and despise and disdain the rest. This etymological explanation is given by Philo, in his book On the Planting of Noah: "For among others," he says, "other things are prized; but for him alone, the most excellent and greatest author of all things." And after some further remarks: "The same (the same contempt of worldly things) the lawgiver frequently teaches to those who do not desire to grow rich on created things, disdaining whatever belongs to the nations, because of the great familiarity with Him whom alone they have as the most perfect end of riches and happiness."
In the Greek it is not simply "he raised up," but in compound form, "he raised up on high," he superexalted, he lifted to the heights. The Syriac: And He exalted Aaron the holy one from the tribe of Levi, like to him. For in the divine commonwealth, and therefore the supreme dignity is that of the priesthood: for the priest deals with the affairs of the commonwealth with God, and is like a mediator
between God and the people, so as to reconcile both God to the people and the people to God. For this reason St. Ambrose, On the Dignity of the Priesthood, chapter 3, asserts that "nothing in this world is more excellent than priests, nothing more sublime than bishops." The same, on Leviticus chapter 10, to Simplicianus: "In the matter of prophecy," he says, "Moses is preferred as a Prophet: but where the matter, duty, and office of the priesthood is concerned, Aaron is preferred as a priest." Hence Aaron bore the type of Christ the High Priest, as the same author says, book 2 of On the Faith, to Gratian, near the beginning. Again, "holy," that is, consecrated and sanctified as a priest to God: for thus every priest, because dedicated and consecrated to God, is called "holy," even if he is wicked because of a depraved life. Yet this title continually reminds him that as he is holy by office, so he should be holy in life. Hence St. Ambrose, On the Dignity of the Priesthood, chapter 3: "Let us worthily know," he says, "what we are: and let us demonstrate what we are by profession through action rather than by name: so that the name matches the action, and the action corresponds to the name; lest the name be empty, and the crime be enormous; lest the honor be sublime, and the life deformed; lest the profession be godlike, and the action illicit; lest the garb be religious, and the advancement irreligious; lest we feign the speech of a dove, and have the mind of a dog; lest we display the profession of a sheep, and have the ferocity of a wolf."
8. HE ESTABLISHED WITH HIM AN EVERLASTING COVENANT, AND GAVE HIM THE PRIESTHOOD OF THE NATION. — The Syriac: He placed him as the firmness of the people. For the high priest is the firmness of the people. This is the exaltation and eminence of Aaron, that God by a "covenant," that is, an eternal pact, established and assigned to him "the priesthood" and pontificate of his "nation," namely the Hebrews, decreeing that the priesthood should always remain in his line, so that no one could be a priest unless descended from Aaron; and no one could be high priest unless he descended from Aaron as firstborn. It is called "eternal," not absolutely, but relatively; because it would endure always, as long as that law and the religion of Judaism would endure. Mystically also "eternal," because in its antitype, namely in the priesthood of Christ and of Christians (which it prefigured and of which it was the type), it will endure forever: for the new priesthood of Christ fulfills and perfects the old priesthood of Aaron. Hence the Tigurine: He made an eternal pact with him, and committed to him the priesthood of the people. AND HE MADE HIM BLESSED IN GLORY. — The Syriac: He bestowed upon him from His own honor and glory, and chose him in the height of His honor. Palacius understands "glory" as the vision of God. For just as God gave this glory to Moses, so that he saw God and with Him
conversed: so too He communicated the same to his brother Aaron, when He ordered him to ascend with Moses to the summit of Mount Sinai, where God displayed His glory to be seen, Exodus chapter 19, verse 24. But for "glory," the Greek is eukosmia, that is, adornment, a composed, elegant, and tasteful vestment. By "glory" therefore he means the adornment of the sacerdotal and pontifical vestments, which made Aaron glorious and, as it were, blessed. The meaning therefore is: God made Aaron as if happy and blessed with so glorious a priesthood, and with its vesture and adornment so splendid and magnificent. Hence, explaining further, he adds: AND HE CROWNED HIM WITH THE VESSELS OF POWER — that is, with the outstanding instruments of vestments, by which his "power," that is, his authority, strength, and pontifical dignity was declared, on account of which all honored, venerated, and feared him. In Greek, "He strengthened him with vessels of glory"; others: He fortified him with vestments of strength; the Syriac: He honored him with vestments of strength. Note that the Hebrews call any instruments "vessels," and specifically garments, apparatus, and ornaments. So in Deuteronomy 22:5 it says: "A woman shall not wear a man's garment," in Hebrew kele isch, that is, the vessels of a man. Xenophon, book 4 of the Education of Cyrus, calls the trappings and coverings of horses "vessels of horses." Indeed the Greek word in the feminine means the same as habit, clothing, attire, ornament, apparel; and the related verb means to prepare, arrange, clothe, adorn, deck out, dress, and equip.
Again, "of power" (in Hebrew chail) means strength, authority, majesty, dignity; also wealth and riches: for wealth makes a man powerful. Hence the Tigurine translates: He equipped him with opulent apparel; Vatablus, with outstanding apparel: for the vestments of the high priest were interwoven with gold and gems, and therefore precious and opulent, and full of majesty and magnificence, all of which is signified by the Hebrew chail, that is, power. For the high priest by this magnificent adornment represented the magnificence and majesty of God, whose vicar and representative he was on earth. Palacius adds thirdly, from Galatinus, that the vestments of the high priest are called "of power," that is, of strength, because the high priest clothed in them gave oracles, which is a work of great power and might: and indeed, bearing upon his golden plate the ineffable name Jehovah, he from time to time performed miracles. So Jaddus the high priest, clothed in these pontifical vestments, going out to meet Alexander the Great who was hostile to the Jews, struck him with such sacred awe that he made him
submissive and well-disposed toward the Jews, as Josephus attests, book 12 of the Antiquities, chapter 8; and of the vestments of the high priest it is said, Wisdom 18:25: "But the destroyer yielded to these things, and he feared them." Fourth, "power" can be taken for valor, skill, and industry, so that "the work of power" is a work skillfully made and elaborated with great art: in which manner Italians and French call an outstanding craftsman un vaillant homme (a valiant man). Mystically, Rabanus says: "The vestments of the high priest," he says, "are none other than the works of the virtues and the teaching of wisdom: which truly adorn good priests, when they are found to live rightly in these things. Hence it is said here: He crowned him with the vessels of power: and the wise of heart, whom God filled with the spirit of prudence for making these same vestments, are the Prophets and Apostles, and the other teachers of truth, who show us most clearly how priests and ministers of the altar ought to live, and how they ought to teach, whether by the example of their conduct or by the word of exhortation."
9. AND HE GIRDED HIM ABOUT WITH A BELT OF GLORY. — Rabanus, Dionysius, and others read "of justice" instead of "of glory," because this belt, says Palacius, since it was the final ornament of the high priest, signified the perfection and justice of Aaron, according to what Isaiah says of Christ, chapter 11: "And justice shall be the girdle of his loins." Again, for "belt" the Greek has stole, that is, a stole, a garment, a long robe reaching to the ankles. Hence the Tigurine: He made him blessed with an elegant attire, and clothed him with a glorious vestment; others: "He made him blessed with a splendid adornment, and clothed him with a glorious robe"; the Syriac: He clothed him with garments of blue. Our translator perhaps read zone (belt) instead of stole: for to the former properly belongs the word "he girded about," and because he names the robe in the following verse. Finally, because the belt greatly adorned the high priest, and it was twofold: the first, interior, common to all priests, with which they girded up the linen tunic; the second, exterior, proper to the high priest, woven of purple, scarlet, blue, and twisted fine linen, which girded the Ephod and the Breastpiece, and was therefore august, and was called the "balteus" (sash); on which I spoke at Exodus 28:39. AND HE CLOTHED HIM WITH A ROBE OF GLORY — that is, a glorious garment: for the high priest did not have a garment that was properly called a "stola." "Stola" therefore signifies any garment, vesture, and adornment, from the Greek word meaning
"to be clothed." So Josephus, book 15 of the Antiquities, last chapter, calls the pontifical robe the pontiff's vesture, over the custody of which he says kings and governors contended. Note: the word "of glory" is repeated three times here, to signify a threefold, that is, full and complete glory, meaning: The vestment of the high priest, thrice and four times over — that is, in every way and in every direction — was glorious: for the high priest derived no less dignity from it than the blessed do from their glorious gifts; indeed, the glory of the high priest was a specimen and image of the glory of the Blessed, to such a degree that those who saw the high priest in this glorious attire seemed to behold not so much a man as a blessed soul or an angel fallen from heaven, indeed some divine being; as happened to Alexander the Great when Jaddus the high priest met him, as Josephus attests, book 11 of the Antiquities, chapter 8. In Greek, "He clothed him with the consummation of boasting"; the Complutensian: He clothed him with the consummation of glorying; the Tigurine: He adorned him with perfect magnificence; others: He clothed
him with consummate glorying. Hence, explaining, he adds:
10 and 11. HE PUT UPON HIM THE ANKLE-LENGTH ROBE, AND THE BREECHES, AND THE EPHOD (that is, as others read, He imposed upon him, that is, He clothed him), AND HE GIRDED HIM ABOUT WITH MANY GOLDEN BELLS ALL AROUND, TO GIVE FORTH SOUND AS HE WALKED, TO MAKE SOUND BE HEARD IN THE TEMPLE, AS A MEMORIAL TO THE CHILDREN OF HIS NATION. — By "ankle-length robe," or as many read "circumpedites," first, Lyranus and Dionysius understand sandals: for these surround and cover the feet. Second, Rabanus better takes it as the linen tunic, which was common to the high priest with the other priests; for this extended down to the feet. Third, it is best understood as the blue robe which was proper to the high priest, and which in Exodus 28:4 is called meil: for this encircled the feet, so that it could be called "circumpedes" (foot-encircling): hence in Greek it is poderes, by which name the Septuagint (whom Sirach usually follows) call the blue robe of the high priest, Exodus 28. Although St. Jerome, in his letter to Fabiola, also calls the linen tunic poderes, that is, reaching to the ankles, because it reached down to the feet and ankles, just as the blue robe did. For "breeches," the Greek is periskele; for by this name the Septuagint, Exodus 28:42, call the undergarments or breeches. Sirach places these first in the Greek, because they were the first and innermost garment of the high priest, as of any priest.
For "ephod" the Greek is epomis, by which name the Septuagint, Exodus 25:7, translate the Hebrew ephod, which was a short garment covering the shoulders down to the waist, woven from threads of gold, blue, scarlet, purple, and fine linen, and therefore dazzling the eyes with its brilliance like a hooded cloak, says St. Jerome, in his letter to Fabiola. In the middle of this ephod, in front of the breast, there was an opening, which was filled by the square Breastpiece, woven with marvelous beauty, in which were twelve precious stones, inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes, on which I treated at length at Exodus 28.
Tropologically, St. Gregory briefly, Part 2 of the Pastoral Rule, chapter 3, applies each of these to the character of a priest: "In the habit of the priest," he says, "gold shines, so that in him the understanding of wisdom may principally gleam: to which blue is joined, so that through everything he penetrates by understanding, he may rise not to base flattery, but to the love of heavenly things. Purple is mixed in, so that the priestly heart may repress within itself the promptings of vices, and contradict them as if by royal authority. Double-dyed scarlet is added, so that all the goods of the virtues may be adorned with charity: which, because it loves God and neighbor, shines as if from a twofold dye. And what is signified by fine linen, if not chastity, gleaming white with the beauty of purity? This twisted fine linen is joined to the beauty of the ephod; because chastity is brought to the perfect whiteness of purity when the flesh is mortified through abstinence."
He adds the bells, which hung from the hem of the blue robe, 72 in number, says St. Jerome to Fabiola, and they were of gold, interspersed with as many pomegranates (which are therefore added here in the Greek) woven of scarlet, purple, blue, and fine linen, so that alternately there was a bell and a pomegranate. He gives the reason: "As a memorial to the children of his nation," that is, so that they might remember the giving of the law at Sinai with the sounding trumpet. Or rather, meaning: So that the people by this ringing would remember the divine majesty, and revere it in the high priest entering the temple to perform the sacred rites of God. See my comments on Exodus 28:35. The Tigurine translates less correctly: For the commendation of the children of his people; for the Greek word means memorial and remembrance, not commendation.
12. THE HOLY ROBE, OF GOLD, AND BLUE, AND PURPLE, THE WOVEN WORK OF A WISE MAN, ENDOWED WITH JUDGMENT AND TRUTH. — For "woven work" the Greek is ergon poikiltou, which the Complutensian translates: the work of a weaver of many threads; the Roman: of an embroiderer; others: of a needle-worker; others: with variegated work; the Tigurine: a close-fitting garment of varied work and craftsmanship, such as is the work of embroiderers or needle-workers.
"Stola," although properly a garment reaching to the ankles, especially a woman's, nevertheless absolutely signifies any garment, from the Greek word meaning to clothe, to dress. Here therefore it signifies the Breastpiece. For he alludes to Exodus 28:4, where the Septuagint, listing the holy vestments of the high priest, place first the pectoral, or Breastpiece. This therefore is called a "stola," that is, a holy vestment, because among all it was both the most precious, being composed of twelve gems, and the most sacred. For in the Breastpiece God, as it were, dwelt: for He was consulted through it, and through it He gave His responses. Hence it was called logion, that is, oracle. The meaning therefore is: God clothed Aaron as high priest with the holy stola, that is, the holy Breastpiece, which was a woven work made from threads of gold, blue, and purple, by a wise man endowed with "judgment and truth," that is, with true prudence and skill for weaving and adorning it, namely Bezaleel, of whom God says, Exodus 31:3: "I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge in every work, to devise whatever can be skillfully made from gold," etc.
The Greek now reads differently, namely: "with the Breastpiece of judgment, with signs or manifestations of truth"; the Tigurine: with the breastpiece of judgment (Vatablus: with the ritual breastpiece; because, he says, by that rite he was commanded to consult God) with teaching and truth.
By which are signified the Urim and Thummim: for the Septuagint translates these as "manifestation and truth," because through them God manifested the truth to the high priest consulting Him about a future or doubtful matter. What these were I discussed at length at Exodus 28:30.
13. OF TWISTED SCARLET, THE WORK OF A CRAFTSMAN, WITH PRECIOUS STONES SET IN GOLD SETTINGS, AND ENGRAVED BY THE WORK OF A STONE-CUTTER, AS A MEMORIAL ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. — For "twisted" the Greek Roman text has "twisted," namely the robe: "scarlet," that is, from scarlet threads; the Tigurine: With work of scarlet threads both skillfully and with precious stones engraved in the manner of seals, and with the work of an engraver set in gold (others: with signet carvings bound in gold) with an inscription engraved for the sake of a memorial, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
He continues here describing the construction, use, and purpose of the Breastpiece, namely that it was made of "twisted scarlet," that is, of twisted scarlet threads, adorned with twelve gems set in gold, inscribed with the names of the 12 tribes, and this "as a memorial according to the number of the children of Israel," that is, so that the high priest, bearing on his breast the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, would remember that he ought to embrace them most lovingly in his bosom and heart, and pursue them with all charity, and pray to God for them continually. Again, "as a memorial," namely of God, so that God, seeing the high priest clothed in the Breastpiece, would, as it were, be reminded of the children of Israel by the sight of the Breastpiece, in which He beheld their names engraved, and would help them in all things according to the promises made to their fathers.
14. A GOLDEN CROWN (so the Roman text, although Jansenius and others read "a golden crown" as an accusative, supply: He placed upon him) UPON HIS MITRE, ENGRAVED WITH THE SIGN OF HOLINESS, AND THE GLORY OF HONOR: A WORK OF POWER, AND THE DESIRES OF THE EYES ADORNED. — The "golden crown" is the golden plate, which, like half a crown or a semicircle, covered and adorned the forehead of the high priest, and extended to each ear, where it was fastened to the cap of the head by a blue ribbon. By "mitre," in Greek mitra, he means the turban of the high priest, which Josephus describes thus, book 3 of the Antiquities, chapter 8: "He wore a cap like the other priests, over which stood out another one, sewn and decorated with blue: a golden crown encircled this in a triple row."
"Engraved with the sign of holiness," because on this plate, as on a sign, that is, as on a seal, was engraved kodes ladonai, that is, "Holiness to the Lord," so that he might profess himself the high priest of the most holy God, whom all would revere, and in him venerate God; and so that by this title he might be admonished that he ought to express the holiness of his God as much by his speech as by his life and conduct. Just as the Seraphim who minister and stand before God, continually adore Him crying out: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts," Isaiah 6. Hence the Wise Man, Wisdom 18:24, says that the magnificence of God was written on the diadem of the high priest's head. For instead of Adonai, as is commonly read, there was engraved on the plate the name "Jehovah" — the Tetragrammaton — which was so sacred to the Jews that
it was unspeakable and unpronounceable, that is, ineffable: hence whenever it occurred, out of reverence they suppressed it and pronounced "Adonai" in its place; which custom of their nation even Christ and the Apostles followed. Hence it is called "a work of power," that is, of glory and majesty, as I said at verse 9. Palacius adds that it is called "a work of power," that is, of strength and might, because the name "Jehovah" engraved on the plate performed miracles. In Greek it is "an impression of the seal of holiness," which Sirach as usual borrowed from the Septuagint, Exodus 28:36, for which our translator there renders: You shall engrave by the work of an engraver, Holy to the Lord (which the Complutensian translates "sculpture"; the Roman, "a fashioning") of the seal of holiness; the Tigurine: sculpted in the manner of a seal in a holy way; others: the expressed figure of a sacred seal.
He adds thirdly that this crown, namely the plate, was for the high priest "the glory of honor, and a work of power," that is, it was an ornament glorious and honorific to him, fashioned with outstanding, august, and venerable workmanship, which demonstrated his supreme power, that is, authority and dignity; so much so that it was itself "the desires of the eyes adorned," because it seized and marvelously delighted the eyes and desires of those who beheld it by its adornment and elegance; and this for the purpose that by this means the high priest might draw all to love, desire, worship, and venerate himself, and much more so God. Hence the Wise Man, chapter 18:24: "On his full-length robe," he says, "the whole world was represented, and the great deeds of the fathers were engraved on four rows of stones, and Your majesty was engraved on the diadem of his head."
Furthermore, the Complutensian Greek elegantly and forcefully renders this whole sentence thus: A golden crown upon the mitre, an engraving of the seal of holiness, a glorying of honor, works (in the plural: for in Greek it is erga) of power, desires of the eyes, adorned, beautiful; the Tigurine: With a golden crown upon the mitre (he clothed Aaron) in the manner of a seal, sculpted in a holy way, with honorific adornment, and with outstanding workmanship, and with a comely and splendid delight to the eyes; others: A golden crown placed upon the turban, with the expressed figure of a sacred seal, with honorific glorying, with a work of strength, with desires of the eyes, with beautiful ornaments.
Furthermore, in this order and ritual the high priest put on all these vestments. First, he put on the breeches; over these he threw the linen tunic, and bound it with a belt: over this he put on the blue robe, over which he girded the ephod with the Breastpiece by means of a second belt: upon his head he placed the turban, to which was affixed the golden plate with this inscription: Holy to the Lord. Eight therefore were his vestments, namely: the breeches, the linen tunic, the blue robe, the ephod, the Breastpiece, the belt, the turban, and the golden plate; which signified eight gifts and virtues necessary for the priest and high priest: "For in the Breastpiece," says Rabanus, "the fullness of knowledge is expressed; in the ephod, the performance of good works; in the blue robe, heavenly conduct; in the bells, the preaching of the sacred word; in the linen tunic, which is here also called the ankle-length robe because it reached to the ankles, the perfection of chastity is suggested; in the belt, continence; in the turban, which covered the head, the guarding of all the senses; and in the breeches, bodily purity against lust; but the crown upon the mitre, in which
was engraved the sign of holiness (so the codex reads; but for 'sanctitatis' I think 'sanctitatis' should be read: for so Sirach has it), that is, the name of Almighty God, signifies the honor of the divine majesty, which we must place at the summit of our state, and above all things. So that in all our actions, words, and conduct God may be honored through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the head of the body of the Church, and the savior of all, especially of the faithful." And St. Thomas, I-II, Question 102, article 5, reply to objection 10, at the end: "There are," he says, "four things necessary for all priests, namely: chastity, which is signified by the breeches; purity of life, which is signified by the linen tunic; the moderation of discretion, which is signified by the belt; and rectitude of intention, which is signified by the turban protecting the head. But beyond these, high priests must have four additional things. First, the continual remembrance of God in contemplation; and this is signified by the golden plate bearing the name of God on the forehead. Second, that they bear the infirmities of the people; which is signified by the ephod. Third, that they have the people in their heart and in their inmost being, through the solicitude of charity; which is signified by the Breastpiece. Fourth, that they have heavenly conduct through works of perfection; which is signified by the blue robe. Hence to the blue robe are joined at its extremity golden bells, by which is signified the teaching of divine things, which must be joined to the heavenly conduct of the high priest. Pomegranates are also added, by which is signified the unity of faith and harmony in good morals; because his teaching must be so united that through it the unity of faith and peace may not be broken."
15. SUCH BEAUTIFUL THINGS WERE NOT BEFORE HIM EVEN TO THE BEGINNING — namely, from the beginning of the world: for in Greek it is "unto the age," that is, from the age, and from the beginning of the age. Less correctly some read "unto the east," meaning: From the beginning of the world — which amounts to the same thing — meaning: Even if you were to review the deeds of preceding ages all the way back to the beginning of the world, you would find nothing so beautiful in priestly vestments, no sacred ornament so splendid, so august, as was the vesture of Aaron; because Bezaleel made it with art, not human, but divine, that is, infused in him from heaven by God, Exodus 31; and things that are divine surpass all human art, says Palacius.
16. NO STRANGER WAS CLOTHED IN THAT (crown, or golden plate bearing the name Jehovah, and the rest of the sacred vestment of Aaron), BUT ONLY HIS SONS ALONE, AND HIS DESCENDANTS THROUGH ALL TIME. — By "stranger" understand not only a Gentile, but also a Jew born of any other tribe and family than Levi and Aaron. For only Aaron, and his sons and firstborn grandsons succeeding their father in the pontificate, could be clothed in these pontifical vestments. This signified first, the great privilege of Aaron, namely that the pontificate was assigned by God, and appropriated as if by hereditary right, not only to himself but also to his descendants, and to them alone; second, the great dignity and holiness of the pontifical vestments, as garments in which no one could be clothed but the descendants of Aaron, and they as high priests; third, allegorically, it signified that there would be one high priest in the new law; namely, Aaron prefigured Christ, whose vicars and successors would be the Roman Pontiffs, who by a similar splendor of vestments would represent their own, indeed Christ's, beauty, authority, and majesty. For in order that there might be one Church, Christ willed that it should have one head, namely the Pontiff: for just as in one human body there is one head which governs the other members, so in the mystical body of the Church there must be one head, whose members are the rest of the faithful, who are governed by this head.
17. HIS SACRIFICES WERE CONSUMED (in Greek, "were offered as whole burnt offerings," that is, were entirely consumed, completely burned as holocausts, which were wholly cremated to God) BY FIRE DAILY. — From the vestments he passes to the sacrifices of Aaron, and celebrates them first on account of the heavenly fire which consumed them: for Aaron, having been consecrated high priest by Moses, immediately offered his first sacrifice, and thereby, as it were, celebrated his first fruits, which, in order that God might approve them, He consumed by fire sent down from heaven, Leviticus 9:23: "And the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole multitude: and behold, fire came forth from the Lord and devoured the holocausts"; and this heavenly fire, kept alive in the tabernacle by God's command, thereafter consumed all the subsequent victims of all his successors: because Nadab and Abihu did not use this fire, but burned incense with common fire, they were consumed by divine fire, Leviticus 10:2. Now when he says "daily," understand this of the perpetual sacrifice, namely the two lambs, of which one in the morning and another in the evening were offered daily to God as a holocaust, Exodus 29:38. For that this is the subject here is clear from the Greek, which reads: His sacrifices (the Complutensian reads "their" instead of "his": for not Aaron alone, but any priest could offer the perpetual sacrifice) shall be made as whole burnt offerings daily, continually, twice. For first the perpetual sacrifice was offered: then the other holocausts and victims, which were gradually consumed by the same heavenly fire, as is decreed in Leviticus 6:9. Hence the Tigurine translates: Their sacrifices used to be entirely (completely, wholly) consumed, namely two daily in constant succession: for from this the sacrifice was called perpetual, or continual and unceasing. This is the second encomium of Aaron, as well as his office, namely the right and power of sacrificing to God.
18. MOSES FILLED HIS HANDS, AND ANOINTED HIM WITH HOLY OIL — meaning: Moses consecrated the hands of Aaron, filling them both with oil, with which he anointed them in consecration, and with gifts and victims which Aaron, being initiated and consecrated, was to offer to God for his consecration, Leviticus 8, where I explained the rite of consecration of both Aaron as high priest and of his sons as priests. Note the Hebrew idiom, by which "to fill" or "to complete
the hands" means to consecrate, for the reasons already stated; and because "to fill the hands," says Jansenius, is to perfect them, and to give them the right and power of offering sacrifices to God; for thus the hands are perfected: which is nothing other than to consecrate them, as St. Jerome translates, Numbers 3:3, Judges 17:5 and 12, and 3 Kings 13:33, and often elsewhere. Hence the Tigurine translates here: Moses consecrated the hands of this man, and anointed him with sacred oil.
This is the third encomium of Aaron, that he was ordained and consecrated to God as High Priest through Moses. Hence the Syriac, rendering the sense rather than word for word: Moses, he says, laid his hand upon him, and anointed him with the anointing of holiness.
19. IT WAS MADE FOR HIM AN ETERNAL COVENANT, AND FOR HIS SEED LIKE THE DAYS OF HEAVEN, TO EXERCISE THE PRIESTHOOD, AND TO HAVE PRAISE, AND TO GLORIFY HIS PEOPLE IN HIS NAME — meaning: God gave and assigned to Aaron "and to his seed," that is, to his descendants, the priesthood as an eternal pact, so that it might endure and last in his line as long as the days of heaven endure; He gave, I say, to him "to exercise the priesthood and to have praise," that is, to have the office of praising God through hymns, psalms, sacrifices, and other sacred functions: for in Greek it reads "to minister to Him and at the same time to serve as priest," that is, to discharge the liturgy, that is, to perform the sacred ministry and priesthood: "And to glorify His people," in Greek "to bless," that is, as the Syriac has it, to bless the people, "in His name," namely by his pontifical right and authority, according to the rite and holy form prescribed by God, Numbers 6:24. For "His," the Greek has a pronoun that others translate "of Him," namely of God. Palacius differently says, "to glorify the people" is to obtain glory and happiness for the people through his intercessions: for the high priest ought to be so holy that through his intervention God glorifies the people.
This is the fourth encomium, as well as the office of the priest, namely to praise God, and to pray for blessings upon the people. From this learn that, just as it is the angels' role to perpetually praise God in heaven, so it is the office of priests to continually praise the same God on earth: for which reason the Church established the Ecclesiastical Office, and distributed it through the hours, so that priests might recite it, and at each hour sing psalms and praise God. Hence St. Ignatius, Martyr and Bishop of Antioch, seeing in a rapture the Angels praising God antiphonally, that is, with alternating voices and choirs, introduced the same rite and method of chanting into the Church. The Tigurine translates: By an everlasting pact it was granted to this man and his progeny, for as long as the days of heaven roll on, to minister to God, and at the same time to sacrifice, and in His name to invoke blessings upon His people.
From this passage is taken the Chapter Reading, which we read in the Ecclesiastical Office for a Confessor Pontiff, at None: "To exercise the priesthood, and to have praise in His name (for the Greek pronoun can be translated either 'His,' namely of God or of the people, or 'his own,' as our translator renders it here), and to offer Him worthy incense for a sweet odor." For if so great
was the "glory" of Aaron, far greater is the glory of the High Priest and priests of the New Testament, as the Apostle teaches, 2 Corinthians 3. For they sacrifice not the flesh of bulls and goats, but Christ Himself, the Son of God, Hebrews 9: how great therefore should be their purity, holiness, reverence, and devotion? Candidly, but truly and forcefully, our Thomas, taught by God, writes in The Imitation of Christ, book 4, chapter 5: "When the priest," he says, "celebrates devoutly, he honors God, gladdens the angels, edifies the Church, helps the living, procures rest for the dead, and makes himself a partaker of all good things." See St. Gregory, Part 2 of the Pastoral Rule, chapter 3, and book 1 of the Register, epistle 24; St. Chrysostom in the six outstanding books he wrote On the Priesthood; St. Ambrose, On the Dignity of the Priesthood.
20. HE CHOSE HIM FROM AMONG ALL THE LIVING, TO OFFER SACRIFICE TO GOD, INCENSE (the Syriac: frankincense), AND A SWEET ODOR, AS A MEMORIAL TO MAKE ATONEMENT FOR HIS PEOPLE. — For "sacrifice," the Greek is karposis, that is, a gift, oblation, sacrifice; so called from karpos, that is, fruit, because the victim becomes a fruit, that is, for the use, honor, and possession of God; or, as others say, because the victim was the fruit of the one offering it, being procured by his labor or means, whence they translate: "He chose him from among all the living, to offer to the Lord what they had received from their fruits." "Sacrifice" therefore signifies the animal victim, which Aaron and any priest offered before the tabernacle on the altar of holocausts, which was before the Holy Place in the open air, so that the smoke and savor of the burned flesh would rise and spread through the air. "Incense" however signifies the incense-offering, which was offered daily morning and evening with the perpetual sacrifice on the altar of incense, which was in the Holy Place itself, Exodus 30: "Incense and a sweet odor," that is, incense of sweet odor, or fragrant and aromatic incense. It is a hendiadys.
The meaning therefore is: God by His singular grace, not so much making worthy as freely given, from so many thousands of Hebrews chose one, Aaron, as priest and high priest, who either by himself or through his sons the priests, would offer to God a carnal sacrifice on the altar of holocausts, and sweet-smelling incense on the altar of incense: and this first, in honor of God, so that men would offer the best they have to God: otherwise, just as God is not fed by flesh, so neither does He delight in pleasant odors, indeed He has no sense of smell or nostrils with which to smell them. Second, "as a memorial," so that He would, as it were, be reminded of His people, "and to appease," that is, to placate Him, so that God when angry might be reconciled to the people, or when not angry might become more favorable and well-disposed toward the people — not that the victims of the old law effected this by themselves and by the work performed, as do the sacrifice and Sacrament of the new law; but rather they accomplished this by the work of the one performing it, namely by the devotion of the priests sacrificing the victims, and of the laypeople offering them.
24. AND HE GAVE HIM IN HIS PRECEPTS AUTHORITY, IN THE COVENANTS OF JUDGMENTS, TO TEACH JACOB HIS TESTIMONIES, AND IN HIS LAW TO GIVE LIGHT TO ISRAEL. — By "authority" understand not the power of dispensing (for the high priest could not dispense from the divine law), but, as follows, of teaching and explaining the law of God, interpreting it in doubtful cases, and settling controversies. For this interpretation and determination belonged to the high priest by divine right: for God gave him this right, Deuteronomy 17:8: "If, He says, you perceive that there is among you a difficult and ambiguous judgment, etc., you shall come to the priests of the Levitical line, and to the judge who shall be at that time: and you shall inquire of them, and they will declare to you the truth of the judgment." Note: In substance, precepts, covenants, judgments, testimonies, and law are the same thing; although they differ in etymology and connotation; for precepts are called "covenants," that is, pacts, because they are the conditions of the pact between God and men, as I said above: the same are called "judgments," because they prescribed what is just: hence according to them the judge was to judge, and a just sentence was to be rendered. God therefore gave to Aaron and his successors the aforesaid "authority" in the "covenants of judgments," that is, in judgments, that is, in His precepts, by which He testified what He willed to be done by them, and by which He made a covenant with Israel.
Hence explaining this authority he adds, "to teach," that is, for the purpose of teaching, "Jacob," that is, the Israelites, "the testimonies," that is, the commandments of God: "And in His law to give light to Israel," that is, to illuminate and explain the law of God to Israel. For since the law is light, whoever teaches the law gives light. Hence the Tigurine translates: He delivered to him His commandments (for instead of "in precepts," as our translator reads, the Tigurine with the Complutensian reads "precepts, commandments") and according to the prescribed rights, authority, so that he might teach Jacob what He had testified, and illuminate Israel with His law. Palacius explains differently: God, he says, gave the high priest "authority in the covenants of judgments," that is, so that through the covenants, that is, the precepts, he might judge his people, as indeed all the high priests judged the people up to Samuel; but in the time of Samuel, secular judgment was transferred to Saul and the other kings. For David and Solomon judged these secular matters, as is clear from 2 Samuel 12 and 3 Kings 3, but the power of judging very doubtful and difficult cases always remained with the high priest, Deuteronomy 17:8. So he says. But these matters must be examined elsewhere.
The truth is that by "covenants of judgments" here are properly meant not just any commandments, but judicial and ceremonial ones, in which a doubt of law in judgments often arose, which had to be resolved and determined by the high priest. For he clearly alludes to Deuteronomy 17:8: "If you perceive that there is among you a difficult and ambiguous judgment between blood and blood, case and case, leprosy and leprosy: and you see the opinions of the judges within your gates vary, etc., you shall come to the priests of the Levitical line, and to the judge," namely the high priest. See my comments there. So Lyranus and Dionysius: "In the covenants of judgments," he says, "that is, in the dispositions and pacts of judicial commandments, He gave them the authority to discern what was to be held and observed in even the most difficult cases: because the more difficult cases and disputes were referred to the judgment of the high priest." This is the fifth encomium of Aaron.
22, 23, and 24. BECAUSE STRANGERS STOOD AGAINST HIM, AND THROUGH ENVY MEN SURROUNDED HIM IN THE DESERT, WHO WERE WITH DATHAN AND ABIRON, AND THE CONGREGATION OF KORAH IN WRATH. THE LORD GOD SAW, AND IT DID NOT PLEASE HIM, AND THEY WERE CONSUMED IN THE FURY OF HIS WRATH. HE WROUGHT WONDERS AGAINST THEM, AND CONSUMED THEM IN A FLAME OF FIRE. — The Syriac: And He created for them a plague, and consumed them by the force of His fury. This is the sixth encomium of Aaron, namely that God struck down from heaven his rivals, who envied his priesthood — Korah, Dathan, and Abiron — and consumed them with sacred fire, and thus established the priesthood of Aaron, and struck reverence and fear of him into all. The history is narrated at length in Numbers 16, where I explained it. The word "because" is not in the Greek, but appears throughout the Latin, and depends on what follows: "The Lord God saw, and it did not please Him," etc., meaning: Because strangers rose up against Aaron, whom God had appointed high priest; therefore God, seeing this, burned and slew them with a severe vengeance, namely fire. He calls them strangers because, although they were Israelites, they were nevertheless other than and foreign to the family of Aaron, to whom God had assigned the priesthood. Moreover, "strangers," that is, adversaries, enemies, and rivals of Aaron. Finally, they were "strangers" to the faith, obedience, humility, and spirit of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He calls them "wonders," that is, unusual and unheard-of portents of a new and prodigious vengeance, namely that the earth swallowed them alive, while their companions, 250 in number, were consumed by divine flame.
Hence the Tigurine: He displayed miracles against them, when He consumed them with His blazing fire; others: He wrought portents against them, consuming them with blazing fire. Palacius explains differently: The wonders, he says, were apparitions of demons. For when the earth opened up, demons were seen, and a flame burst forth, which consumed the rebels. But Scripture says nothing about these apparitions of demons, Numbers 16.
To this point pertains what the Rabbis write and hand down in Pirke Avoth and elsewhere, saying: Ten wonders were shown to our fathers in the house of the sanctuary: "No woman miscarried on account of the odor of the sacrifices: the flesh of the holocaust gave off no foul smell or stench: not even the smallest fly was seen in the place of the slaughter of the victims: on the day of expiation no defilement befell the high priest: no amount of rain, however great, could extinguish the fire of the altar, nor did the wind scatter with its whirlwind and force the column of smoke that rose straight upward from the fire: no deficiency was noted in the omer, which is a measure of barley, which the
priest was accustomed to fill on the second day of Passover, nor in the two loaves, nor even in the showbread, or the bread of faces, which was changed every week and placed upon the golden table of the sanctuary. And although the Hebrews who had come together to celebrate the Passover, standing, were pressed by the crowd of the thronging people; nevertheless when they came to worship, they marveled that they were placed at ease, without any crushing from the pressing crowd. Moreover, a serpent and a scorpion, being devoid of sting or venom, harmed no one on that day, and no one said to his neighbor: I am cramped by those standing around me in the place where I dwell in Jerusalem." But the credibility of these things rests with them; for they smack of something cabalistic, not to say Judaistic and fabulous.
25. AND HE ADDED GLORY TO AARON, AND GAVE HIM AN INHERITANCE, AND DIVIDED THE FIRST-FRUITS OF THE EARTH FOR HIM. — The Tigurine: But He increased Aaron with glory, and established for him an hereditary fruit. He assigned to him the first-fruits of the first produce. This is the seventh encomium of Aaron, that after his rivals were condemned to perpetual disgrace, God heaped glory upon Aaron, and indeed a threefold glory. The first was when, among the twelve rods of the twelve tribes, Aaron's rod alone miraculously blossomed, put forth leaves, and suddenly produced almonds; so that by this portent God might show that He had chosen him alone out of all as high priest, Numbers 17. The second was that He assigned all the Levites to his service: "I have given to you," He says, "your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel, and I have delivered them as a gift to the Lord, that they may serve in the ministries of His tabernacle," Numbers 18:6. The third was that He assigned to him His own inheritance, namely His own victims, first-fruits, and offerings; hence the Syriac: And He placed honor upon Aaron, and gave him His inheritance, the first-fruits of holiness.
26. HE PREPARED BREAD FOR THEM (namely for Aaron and his sons the priests; so the Roman text; less correctly some read "for him") IN THE FIRST PLACE TO THEIR FILL: FOR THEY SHALL EAT THE SACRIFICES OF THE LORD, WHICH HE GAVE TO HIM AND HIS SEED. — By "bread" understand both the fine flour and the loaves made from it, which were offered to God (hence the Syriac translates: the rows of loaves), and any food in the Hebrew idiom, meaning: God abundantly provided for Aaron and the priests, to their full satisfaction and abundance, from the provisions, "in the first place," that is, in the first-fruits and the first produce, giving him the first-fruits (which are the best fruits of the earth) of all Israel. That this is the meaning is clear from the Greek, which connects this with the first-fruits of the preceding verse thus: He distributed to him the first-fruits of the first produce: in the first place (in the first-fruits) he prepared bread in abundance; the Roman text: bread, in the first place He prepared to their fill, that is, up to satiety, so that they would eat bread to their fill: "For they shall eat the sacrifices of the Lord, which He gave to him and his seed," namely to his sons and his priestly descendants. This was an enormous revenue for Aaron and the priests: for all the victims of God (except the holocaust, which was entirely burned to God) went to them. For since the sacrifice was, as it were, a banquet of God, at which God deigned to, as it were, feast with men, and the loaves and meats were, as it were, the food of God, while the wine that was poured out was, as it were, the drink of God; God, who needs no food or drink, transferred all these things to the priests, as His own household, and through them ate and drank these things. The priests therefore were, as it were, the mouth of God, who ate and drank the food and drink in God's place, and thus consumed and completed the sacrifice of God.
27. BUT IN THE LAND OF THE NATION HE SHALL HAVE NO INHERITANCE, AND THERE IS NO PORTION FOR HIM AMONG THE PEOPLE (the Syriac: He did not share a division with them): FOR HE HIMSELF IS HIS PORTION AND INHERITANCE. — The Tigurine: But in the land of the people he has no possession, nor has he obtained a portion in his nation: for the Lord Himself is his hereditary allotment. This is the eighth encomium of Aaron and the priests, namely that God, in the division of the holy land among the twelve tribes made by Joshua, chapter 15, exempted the priestly tribe of Levi, and did not wish it to have a portion in the land; because He Himself wished to be their portion and inheritance, giving them His own victims, tithes, and offerings: and this for the purpose that the Levites and priests might devote themselves entirely to Him and to His worship and ministry, and dwell not so much on earth as in heaven with God and the Angels. Sirach alludes to, indeed cites, Numbers 18:20, where the Lord speaks thus to Aaron and his descendants: "In their land you shall possess nothing, nor shall you have a portion among them: I am your portion and your inheritance." Where the Septuagint, which Sirach follows, reads: In their land you shall not inherit, and a portion shall not be for you among them: because I am your portion, and your inheritance. In two ways, says Palacius, God was the inheritance of the priests: both because He gave them what the people offered to Him, and because He wished to be their sole love.
Let the priests and Prelates of the new law hear these things, and consider that they are said much more to them than to Aaron and the Aaronic priests by God: "In the land you shall possess nothing, nor shall you have a portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance." For you, O priest, God is your rich, heavenly, and divine inheritance: why do you seek an earthly, base, and perishable one? Why do you prefer earth to heaven, soil to the sun, gold to God? You show yourself to be a Judaistic priest, not a Christian one, indeed a baser and worse one: for the Judaistic priest possessed nothing on earth: you possess much, and desire to possess more; you insatiably heap fields upon fields, riches upon riches, benefices upon benefices, as if you were going to live here forever, as if you were going to have paradise and blessedness here. Where is your faith? Where is your hope? Where is your heart? Where is your soul? Surely in money, not in the heavens: "O souls bent toward the earth, and devoid of heavenly things!" See my comments on Numbers 18:20.
Third Part of the Chapter. Encomium of Phinehas
28 and 29. PHINEHAS THE SON OF ELEAZAR IS THE THIRD IN GLORY, BY IMITATING HIM IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD: AND TO STAND IN THE REVERENCE OF THE NATION: IN THE GOODNESS AND ALACRITY OF HIS SOUL HE PLEASED GOD FOR ISRAEL. — That is, he appeased God for Israel, as the Greek has it. This is how it should be read with the Roman text. Less correctly therefore Jansenius and others read: he pleased the God of Israel. Note first: Phinehas is called the third, namely from Aaron, meaning: The first priest and high priest instituted by God was Aaron, the second was Eleazar the son of Aaron, the third was Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron. So Lyranus and Dionysius. But since he does not say the third in the priesthood, but "the third in glory," the meaning is rather: In the tribe of Levi, to which God assigned the first-fruits, the pontificate, and the leadership, the first eminent and distinguished in the glory of deeds and portents was Moses, the second Aaron, the third Phinehas: for he passes over Eleazar the son of Aaron and father of Phinehas, because Sacred Scripture narrates nothing notable or extraordinary about him. The Arabic however explains "the third" differently, translating thus: And Phinehas the son of Eleazar, who in his giant-like strength (that is, gigantic fortitude and power) received three kinds of honor through the zeal with which he was zealous for the city of Israel; the Syriac: Phinehas also the son of Eleazar, by his virtue attained three honors through the zeal with which he was moved against the Midianite woman and against the son of Israel, and because he stood in the breach of his people, and interceded for Israel. The three honors he calls the threefold glory of threefold virtue, namely first, the zeal by which he slew the Midianite woman; second, the constancy by which he stood faithful to God in the apostasy of the people; third, the prayer by which he obtained pardon from God for the people.
Note second: For "by imitating him," the Greek reads "by being zealous for him." This can first be rendered: by imitating him, that is, when Phinehas imitated him, namely Aaron, his grandfather, in the fear of God, because he feared, that is, revered, worshipped, and loved God equally as Aaron did. Or "him," namely Moses, of whom there was mention at the beginning of the chapter, after whom Phinehas was the third in glory. For Phinehas emulated the zeal of Moses, when he killed the prince, just as Moses with the Levites killed the Israelites who were worshipping the golden calf, Exodus 32:28. So Palacius. Second, it can be rendered: by being zealous for him, when Phinehas was zealous "in the fear of the Lord," that is, for the fear, honor, and worship of God, zealously killed the prince of the tribe of Simeon who was fornicating with the Midianite woman and worshipping idols. So the Arabic and Syriac. The history is narrated at length in Numbers chapter 25, where I explained it. Hence the Tigurine translates: Furthermore, third in glory after these is Phinehas, born of Eleazar, because he burned with zeal for religion; Vatablus: because he bore himself bravely for the sake of religion.
For the fear of God signifies the worship and religion of God. Hence St. Gregory Nazianzen, oration 19, considers that Phinehas was named from his zeal; for praising "the zeal of Phinehas," he adds: "From which he also takes his name." But Phinehas, or as the Hebrews say, Pinchas (for the Septuagint is accustomed to soften the letter chet, as being guttural and of harsher pronunciation, and to render it by e; hence for Corach they translate Core, for Tharach, Thare, for Pasach, Phase; so also for Pinchas they translate Phinees) cannot signify zeal, but rather the face or countenance of one who spares or covers, who trusts or protects, from pi, that is, mouth, or panim, that is, face, and chas, that is, to spare, or to cover, to trust. So Pagninus in his Hebrew Names. Perhaps Nazianzen alludes to the opinion of the Hebrews, who considered Phinehas to be the same as Elijah, and therefore to still be alive. For the life and zeal of both were similar: for Elijah's surname and epithet was "the zealous one." See my comments on Numbers 25:13.
Note third: "to stand in the reverence of the nation," that is, by standing, or when Phinehas stood faithful and steadfast "in the reverence," that is, in the shame, reproach, and disgrace in which his nation, namely the Jews, were rushing into the embraces of the Midianite women, fornicating with them and worshipping Baal-Peor, or Priapus, Numbers 25. The translator reads by contraction "in reverence, shame"; but by separation others read "in the turning," that is, in the conversion, or defection and apostasy, when the Jews apostatized from God and worshipped Baal-Peor. Hence the Tigurine translates: Because he opposed the defecting people with the best alacrity of his spirit; others: Because he stood in the defection of the people; others: Because he set himself up in the defection of the people, namely as God's champion, or set himself up as a wall and rampart for the people, lest they all rush into harlotry and idolatry: for the Greek verb means both to set up (active) and to stand (intransitive); it signifies both to establish and to stand.
The meaning therefore is: In the priestly tribe of Levi, after Moses and Aaron, the third illustrious in the glory of deeds is Phinehas, because he imitated the zeal of Moses in fear, that is, in defending and championing the worship of the true God, when "in the reverence," that is, in the public disgrace of the fornication and idolatry of the Hebrews, he himself bravely and resolutely rushed upon the guilty one, and killed him, and thus restrained the rest of the crowd from wickedness; by which heroic deed he wonderfully "pleased God for Israel," in Greek "he made expiation for Israel," that is, as the Complutensian and Roman texts have it: he appeased (God) for Israel; the Tigurine: he made expiation for Israel. For so pleasing to God was this zeal of Phinehas, that he appeased and prevailed upon God who was willing to destroy the idolatrous people, and stayed His vengeance and plague, Numbers 25. Wherefore Rabbi Hillel,
in Pirke Avoth: "Be," he says, "and show yourselves as sons and disciples of Aaron, who sought peace with all diligence, and was a lover of men, whom he led to the observance of the law." Likewise: "He who seeks honor too eagerly suffers the loss of honor. He who does not devote his station to the study of the law shall in the end miserably perish. He who neglects the law is worthy of death; and he who abuses the crown of the law is even then cut off."
30. THEREFORE HE ESTABLISHED FOR HIM A COVENANT OF PEACE, A PRINCE OF THE HOLY THINGS AND OF HIS NATION (the Syriac: For this reason God swore to him that He would build for him an altar in the tabernacle of Moses, and for his descendants in the temple of Solomon, so that they might sacrifice to God in it), THAT THE DIGNITY OF THE PRIESTHOOD MIGHT BE HIS AND HIS SEED'S FOREVER. — He calls it a "covenant of peace," that is, a peaceful and prosperous pact, bringing peace and happiness, so that Phinehas might peacefully and prosperously preside over the Israelites as a divine high priest. Hence He established him as "a prince of the holy things," so that he might, as it were, as prince preside over holy things, both persons, namely the Levites and priests, and vessels and places, namely the tabernacle, in the Holy Place and in the Holy of Holies; indeed He decreed that the "dignity" of the "priesthood," that is, the pontificate, should remain in his family "forever," that is, for as long as the old law and Judaism would endure. For although the pontificate after Phinehas was transferred to Eli, who descended from Ithamar, not from Eleazar and Phinehas, yet this was for a brief time; for soon the pontificate was restored by Solomon to Zadok, who descended from Phinehas, and thereafter it always remained in his family. Hence the Maccabees, who were high priests, call Phinehas their father, 1 Maccabees 2:54: "Phinehas," says Mattathias, the father of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, "our father, by being zealous with the zeal of God, received the covenant of an everlasting priesthood." See my comments on Numbers 25:13. Furthermore, Vatablus translates clearly: "Wherefore the Lord confirmed to him a covenant of prosperity, that he would be the leader of sacred things and of his people, and that he and his posterity would enjoy the perpetual magnificence of the priesthood."
31. AND THE COVENANT WITH DAVID THE KING, SON OF JESSE, OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, AN INHERITANCE FOR HIM AND HIS SEED, THAT HE MIGHT GIVE WISDOM TO OUR HEART TO JUDGE HIS PEOPLE IN JUSTICE, THAT THEIR GOOD THINGS MIGHT NOT BE ABOLISHED, AND HE MADE THEIR GLORY ETERNAL AMONG THEIR PEOPLE. — The word "and" is comparative, or a mark of comparison and similarity with the preceding verse. For this verse depends on that one, and is, as it were, its other part and half, connected and interwoven with it. For he compares and, as it were, combines God's pact about perpetuating the priesthood in the family of Phinehas, with God's pact about perpetuating the kingship in the family of David; for one illuminates and ennobles the other, and likewise the people of Israel. For God wished to provide Israel with a stable and perpetual succession of kings to administer the commonwealth and civil affairs, and of high priests to administer the Church and sacred matters: for on these two hinges turns and revolves the happy governance and administration of a people and of any commonwealth. The meaning therefore is: Just as God gave Phinehas in spiritual matters an eternal priesthood, so likewise in civil matters He gave to David and his posterity an eternal kingdom, so that it would be, as it were, an "inheritance," that is, hereditary; and this for the purpose that Phinehas and the priests might teach wisdom to the Israelites, while David and the kings might justly judge the nation; and this with the end that the "good things" of both David and Phinehas, and of the people of Israel, should never be abolished: wherefore by this means He made "their glory" among "their people," namely among the Israelites of all ages, "eternal" and enduring. Hence the Syriac translates clearly: And also David the son of Jesse alone inherited the inheritance of kings (the royal heritage), and the inheritance of Aaron (namely the pontificate and priesthood) was attributed and appropriated by God to him and his seed. Now bless God, who has given you wisdom of heart to judge His people in His name, lest the good (blessedness, happiness) of those men be forgotten, and their authority throughout all generations of the world.
Furthermore, in the praise of Phinehas mention is made of David, because "David," says Rabanus, "in the distribution of the ministers of the Lord (by which he divided them into twenty-four lots, so that they would minister before the Lord in their turns), did not diminish the glory of Phinehas, but even increased it. Hence in Paralipomenon (Chronicles), where the Korahites are mentioned as being over the works of the ministry, keepers of the thresholds of the tabernacle, and their families by turns guarding the entrance of the camp of the Lord, it is added: But Phinehas the son of Eleazar was their leader before the Lord; from this the Hebrews hand down that the same Phinehas was still living at that time, and organized the turns of those ministering in the tabernacle."
But in this the Hebrews are mistaken; for Phinehas could not have lived until the time of David. Therefore that Phinehas just cited from 1 Paralipomenon (1 Chronicles) 9:20 was a different person from our Phinehas: for that one was merely a Levite, while ours was a High Priest; that one lived after the Babylonian captivity, this one shortly after Moses. So Lyranus, on 1 Paralipomenon 9.
The Greek here is obscure, and renders the latter part in the optative mood thus: And the covenant with David the son (one ancient codex adds Jesse) from the tribe of Judah — the inheritance of the king's son, from son alone — the inheritance of Aaron and his seed. May He give you wisdom in your heart, to judge His people in justice, that the good things of those men may not be abolished, and their glory throughout their generations. So read the corrected Roman codices. Vatablus illuminates and explains these obscure words thus: Furthermore, what was covenanted with David the son of Jesse from the tribe of Judah — the hereditary fruit of the king's son from his only son (that is, his only grandson, namely Christ, says Vatablus) — the hereditary fruit likewise covenanted with Aaron and his progeny — may it imbue our hearts with wisdom, by which His people may be justly governed, lest their good things be abolished, or their glory throughout their ages.