Cornelius a Lapide
Index
Synopsis Capitis
Spectat vers. 4, Messiam sub nomine Agnum dominatorem terrae. Inde, vers. 2, dat eis consilium, ut benigne excipiant Judaeos profugos. Tertio, vers. 6, ait superbiam Moab majorem esse quam sit ejus fortitudo. Quarto, vers. 7, pergit in clade et planctu Moab, quam vers. 14, ait in tribus annis futuram.
Textus Vulgatae: Isaias 16:1-14
1. Emitte agnum, Domine, dominatorem terrae, de Petra deserti ad montem filiae Sion. 2. Et erit: Sicut avis fugiens, et pulli de nido avolantes, sic erunt filiae Moab in transcensu Arnon. 3. Ini consilium, coge consilium: pone quasi noctem umbram tuam in meridie: absconde fugientes, et vagos ne prodas. 4. Habitabunt apud te profugi mei: Moab esto latibulum eorum a facie vastatoris: finitus est enim pulvis, consummatus est miser: defecit qui conculcabat terram. 5. Et praeparabitur in misericordia solium, et sedebit super illud in veritate in tabernaculo David, judicans et quaerens judicium, et velociter reddens quod justum est. 6. Audivimus superbiam Moab, superbus est valde: superbia ejus, et arrogantia ejus, et indignatio ejus, plusquam fortitudo ejus. 7. Idcirco ululabit Moab ad Moab, universus ululabit: his, qui laetantur super muros cocti lateris, loquimini plagas suas. 8. Quoniam suburbana Hesebon deserta sunt, et vineam Sabama Domini Gentium exciderunt: flagella ejus usque ad Jazer pervenerunt: erraverunt in deserto, propagines ejus relictae sunt, transierunt mare. 9. Super hoc plorabo in fletu Jazer vineam Sabama: inebriabo te lacryma mea, Hesebon, et Eleale: quoniam super vindemiam tuam et super messem tuam vox calcantium irruit. 10. Et auferetur laetitia et exsultatio de Carmelo, et in vineis non exsultabit, neque jubilabit. Vinum in torculari non calcabit qui calcare consueverat: vocem calcantium abstuli. 11. Super hoc venter meus ad Moab quasi cithara sonabit, et viscera mea ad murum cocti lateris. 12. Et erit: cum apparuerit quod laboravit Moab super excelsis suis, ingredietur ad sancta sua ut obsecret, et non valebit. 13. Hoc verbum, quod locutus est Dominus ad Moab ex tunc: 14. et nunc locutus est Dominus, dicens: In tribus annis, quasi anni mercenarii, auferetur gloria Moab super omni populo multo, et relinquetur parvus et modicus, nequaquam multus.
Versus 1: Send Forth the Lamb
1. EMITTE AGNUM. — Codices Septuaginta Sixtini, Basilius et Cyrillus habent: Mittam quasi reptilia super terram, id est mittam serpentes in Moab; nimirum in Hebraeo pro כר משל ארץ car mosel arets, id est agnum dominantem terrae, legerunt per diastolem כרמש לארץ keremes laurets, id est sicut reptile terrae. Secundo, Hebraei et R. Salomon ex Hebraeo vertunt: Mittite agnum dominatori terrae, et interpretantur sic, quod, cum Moabitae consuessent pendere regi Israel annuum tributum centum millium agnorum, mortuo Achaz id detrectarunt, IV Reg. III. Quocirca sub Ezechia pio et felice rege animos et vires resumens Israel, nunc Moabitis insultans dicit: Mittite, o Moabitae! ut soletis, tributum, scilicet agnos, dominatori terrae, id est novo et potenti regi Ezechiae, de Petra deserti, id est de Moab. Verum frustra haec a Christo torqueat ad Ezechiam; nec enim Ezechias fuit rex Israel, sed Juda: multo minus dici potest dominator terrae, nec ipse in Scriptura Moabitis bellum intulisse, aut tributum imposuisse legitur. Adde, tam Septuaginta quam nostrum vertere: « Emitte agnum dominatorem (non, dominatori) terrae. »
Secondly, the Hebrews and R. Solomon translate from the Hebrew: Send the lamb to the ruler of the earth, and they interpret it thus: since the Moabites were accustomed to pay the king of Israel an annual tribute of a hundred thousand lambs, when Achaz died they refused to pay it, IV Kings III. Wherefore, under Hezekiah the pious and fortunate king, Israel, resuming its courage and strength, now taunts the Moabites saying: Send, O Moabites! as you are accustomed, your tribute, namely lambs, to the ruler of the earth, that is, to the new and powerful King Hezekiah, from Petra of the desert, that is, from Moab. But in vain would one twist this from Christ to Hezekiah; for Hezekiah was not king of Israel, but of Judah: much less can he be called the ruler of the earth, nor is it read in Scripture that he waged war against the Moabites, or imposed tribute upon them. Add that both the Septuagint and our version translate: "Send forth the lamb, the ruler (not, to the ruler) of the earth."
Pluribus id refutat Leo Castrius. Multo minus potest hic locus accipi de Osee ultimo rege Israel: quia is jam erat occisus, et regnum Israel eversum, non a Moabitis, sed ab Assyriis. Tertio, Hebraei aliqui et Forerius pro « agnum » vertunt, arietem, et per arietem accipiunt vel machinas bellicas, quae ob similitudinem arietum arietes vocantur, vel duces et milites fortes instar arietum, quasi per ironiam et irrisionem dicat Propheta: O Moabitae! instruite arietes, duces et milites ad oppugnandum Sion, qui dominentur terrae sanctae, eamque sibi subjiciant; sed frustra id facietis, quinimo arrogantiae vestrae poenas dabitis. Verum dico cum S. Hieronymo, Hugone, Lyrano, Adamo, Vatablo et aliis, per « agnum » hic accipi Christum, qui ex Ruth Moabitide prognatus est. Cum enim Isaias vaticinaretur de excidio Moab, videretque gentem pene interituram, indoluit. Unde altera ex parte videns ex Ruth Moabitide nasciturum esse Christum, ad eum more suo obiter (unde Biblia Plantina hunc versum parenthesi includunt) advolat, ejusque nativitate consolatur tam se quam Moabitas, indeque statim redit ad institutam narrationem, et ad onera Moab: Vide Can. IV, q. d. Mitte, o Domine! vel, ut hebraice est, שלחו scilchu, id est mittite, et rorate, scilicet, o coeli! vel vos, o Pater! o Fili! o Spiritus Sancte! non agnos illos mutos et vectigales Moabitarum, sed agnum dominatorem terrae, id est Christum, qui quasi agnus Dei tollat peccata mundi, totique Ecclesiae et orbi dominetur: mittite, inquam, eum de Petra urbe deserti, quae est in Moab, puta de Ruth Moabitide, quae in hac urbe nata, jam olim ex ea migravit ad Judaeos. Quare quod Vatablus sic exponit: O Domine! ne perdas Moabitas, ut tandem nascatur Messias, sic accipi debet, scilicet ut nascatur Messias, qui salvet suos cognatos, videlicet Moabitas. Nam ipse nascetur ex Ruth, quae olim ex Moab hoc Dei consilio ad Judaeos transiit, ut scilicet ex ea descenderet Christus, qui Moabitis salutem afferret. Nam alioqui etiamsi omnes Moabitae fuissent deleti, adhuc Christus descendisset ex Davide et Ruth; utpote quae diu ante hanc cladem, Judaeorum genti fuerat inserta. Booz enim ex Ruth genuit Obed, Obed genuit Jesse, Jesse genuit David, ex quo prognatus est Christus.
Thirdly, some Hebrews and Forerius translate "lamb" as ram, and by ram they understand either battering rams, which are called rams because of their resemblance, or strong leaders and soldiers like rams, as though the Prophet says by irony and mockery: O Moabites! prepare your rams, leaders and soldiers to attack Sion, to rule the Holy Land and subject it to yourselves; but you will do this in vain, indeed you will pay the penalty for your arrogance.
But I say with St. Jerome, Hugo, Lyranus, Adam, Vatablus and others, that by "lamb" here is understood Christ, who descended from Ruth the Moabitess.
For when Isaiah was prophesying about the destruction of Moab, and saw that the nation was about to perish, he was grieved. Whence, on the other hand, seeing that from Ruth the Moabitess Christ was to be born, he flies in passing to Him according to his custom (whence the Plantin Bibles enclose this verse in parenthesis), and with His nativity consoles both himself and the Moabites, and thence immediately returns to the narrative he had begun, and to the burdens of Moab. See Canon IV, as if to say: Send, O Lord! or, as it is in Hebrew, שלחו scilchu, that is, send forth, and rain down, namely, O heavens! or you, O Father! O Son! O Holy Spirit! not those mute and tributary lambs of the Moabites, but the lamb, the ruler of the earth, that is, Christ, who as the Lamb of God may take away the sins of the world, and rule over the whole Church and the world: send Him, I say, from the city of Petra of the desert, which is in Moab, namely from Ruth the Moabitess, who, born in this city, had long ago migrated from it to the Jews. Wherefore what Vatablus so expounds: O Lord! do not destroy the Moabites, so that the Messiah may at last be born, ought to be understood thus: namely, that the Messiah may be born, who will save His own kinsmen, that is, the Moabites. For He Himself will be born from Ruth, who long ago by this counsel of God passed from Moab to the Jews, so that Christ might descend from her, who would bring salvation to the Moabites. For otherwise, even if all the Moabites had been destroyed, Christ would still have descended from David and Ruth; since she had been incorporated into the Jewish nation long before this disaster. For Boaz begot Obed from Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, Jesse begot David, from whom Christ descended.
Christum vocat « agnum, » vel « arietem: » utrumque enim significat Hebraeum כר car. Primo, quia alludit ad vectigal agnorum, quod pendebant Moabitae regi Israel. Secundo, quia Moabitae rei pecuariae erant studiosissimi, et ovibus ditissimi. Tertio, quia agni et arietes Moab corpore et viribus superabant agnos et arietes aliarum provinciarum, erantque quasi duces gregum: unde recte agnus vel aries hic significat ducem et dominatorem Christum. Unde Syrus vertit: Mitte Messiam dominatoris terrae. Perperam Arabicus Alexandrinus vertit: Mittam ad eos muscas, vel bruchos; et Antiochenus: Mittam ad eos dominantes super terram.
Porro, quod Hebraei nonnulli tradunt, Ruth fuisse filiam regis Moab, nomine Eglon, quem occidit Aod judex, Hebraeorum fabula est; nam inter Eglon et Ruth interfluxerunt 230 anni, nec credibile est regem dedisse filiam suam uxorem homini plebeio, qualis fuit maritus Ruth. Ita Abulensis et Lyranus.
Denique pro « dominatorem » verti potest, o dominator! Hebraei enim, cum careant casibus, idem nomen usurpant pro quolibet casu, q. d. O dominator terrae! mitte nobis Agnum, id est filium tuum dilectum, qui quasi agnus piacularis nos redimat et salvet.
DE PETRA DESERTI. — Urbs haec dicta est Petra, quia in circuitu rupibus et praecipitiis est murata, inquit Strabo, lib. XVI, et ab ea tota regio dicta est Arabia Petraea. Hanc urbem auxit Balduinus rex post bellum sacrum. Deinde Soldanus, ea recepta, collocavit ibi thesaurum Aegypti et Arabiae. Ita Adrichomius.
Nota: Christus emissus dicitur de Petra Moab, non in se, sed in sua avia Ruth; haec enim inde a Deo quasi emissa venit in Sion: sicut nepotes Judae dicuntur ex Chanaan egressi, et ingressi in Aegyptum, non in se, sed in suo parente Jacob; nam ipsi nati sunt post ingressum parentis in Aegyptum. Vide dicta Genes. XLVI.
Mystice, Petra deserti est B. Virgo, quae iis qui ab omni auxilio deserti sunt, praesidio est instar petrae, inquit Hugo; haec enim proximius quam Ruth edidit nobis hunc Agnum. Vide Viegas, Apoc. XII, Comment. III, sect. XXIV.
Demum, ad Moab, id est ad peccati excidium missus est Christus. Ita Alcazar in Apocal. XIV, 1, notat. 1, ubi contendit hunc sensum esse litteralem; sed ex dictis liquet esse mysticum.
Versus 2: And it shall be: as a Bird
2. ET ERIT: SICUT AVIS. — Redit Propheta post parenthesin, qua breviter aspiravit et avolavit ad Christum, ad inchoatam cladem et captivitatem Moab, q. d. Moabitae trans fluvium Arnon, ubi sunt termini Moab, in Babylonem violenter et celeriter abducentur, ibique dispergentur, sicuti disperguntur aves e nido avolantes, cum aliquis praedo nidum invadit.
Versus 3: Take counsel
3. Ini consilium, — q. d. inquit S. Hieronymus, Vis cladem evadere, o Moab! Deumque tibi propitium et protectorem reddere, accipe consilium tuum a tuis, tum potius a me; fac, inquam, quod suggero; dum subdo:
Pone quasi noctem. — Symbolice, sicut meridies et aestus significant ingentem afflictionem et calamitatem; quia in meridie sol maxime urit: ita umbra et nox significat ejus remedium, refugium et refrigerium. Unde, cap. IV, vers. 6, dicitur: « Erit in umbraculum diei ab aestu. » Sensus ergo est, q. d. O Moabitae! vultis esse salvi, vultis evadere manus Nabuchodonosoris? Facite quod dico: nimirum Israelitas cognatos et vicinos vestros patria exsules et profugos, tum ob metum Sennacherib, tum ob alios tyrannos, tum maxime ob vastationem Nabuchodonosoris, humaniter excipite, fovete, protegite, vicesque eis rependite. Nam sic Abraham pater eorum Lot patrem vestrum excepit, juvit, fovit, et a Chodorlahomor captum liberavit. Porro exigit umbram quasi noctem, id est umbram densissimam, quasi dicat: Susceptio, pietas et humanitas vestra non sit levis, arcta et brevis, sed copiosa, larga et liberalis.
Tropologice, nota hic optimum remedium ad evadendam instantem afflictionem et Dei vindictam esse misericordiam: vis evadere miseriam? sto misericors in miseros; vis suscipi coelo? suscipe peregrinum hospitio: nam « beati misericordes, quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur. » Hinc ait S. Nazianzenus: « Este calamitoso Deus, et Dominum in calamitate Deum invenies, » et Daniel Nabuchodonosori, ut impendens exitium evaderet, suasit: « Peccata tua eleemosynis redime, et iniquitates tuas misericordiis pauperum. »
Ita Lot in Sodoma hospitio suscepit Angelos, putans esse homines peregrinos, eosque contra procaciam Sodomitarum defendit, ut potuit. Unde ab eis ex incendio Sodomae liberatus et eductus est, Gen. XIX. Rahab exploratores, quos miserat Josue in Jericho, hospitio excepit, et fideliter custodivit ac dimisit. Proinde domus ejus tota sola ab Hebraeis in clade Jerichuntis servata est, Josue II et VI. Mulier Sunamitis Eliseum transeuntem hospitio recepit, qui ei ob id filium impetravit, eumque mortuum suscitavit, IV Reg. IV. Zachaeus gaudens suscepit Christum in domum suam, ideoque ab eo audivit: « Hodie salus domui huic facta est, » Lucae XIX. Narrat S. Gregorius, lib. III Dialog., cap. XI, quod Cerbonius, Populonii Episcopus, quosdam milites transcuntes hospitio exceperit, eosque a Gothis supervenientibus absconderit, et in vita conservaverit. Quod dum Totilas rex Gothorum audisset, jussit eum ursis objici coram toto populo, ut ab eis devoraretur. Sed ursus in eum immissus ferocitatis suae oblitus, deflexa cervice, submissoque humiliter capite, lambere coepit pedes Episcopi: « Ut patenter omnibus daretur intelligi, quia erga illum virum Dei et ferina essent corda hominum, et quasi humana bestiarum. » Quare populus et rex ipse ad venerationem ejus permoti sunt.
Rahab received the spies whom Joshua had sent into Jericho with hospitality, and faithfully guarded and released them. Consequently her whole household alone was preserved by the Hebrews in the destruction of Jericho, Joshua II and VI.
The Shunammite woman received Elisha, who was passing through, with hospitality; and on account of this he obtained a son for her and raised him from the dead, IV Kings IV.
Zacchaeus joyfully received Christ into his house, and therefore heard from Him: "Today salvation has come to this house," Luke XIX.
St. Gregory narrates, book III of the Dialogues, chapter XI, that Cerbonius, Bishop of Populonia, received certain passing soldiers with hospitality, hid them from the Goths who came upon them, and preserved their lives. When Totilas, king of the Goths, heard this, he ordered him to be thrown to bears before the entire people, so that he might be devoured by them. But the bear released against him, forgetting its ferocity, with lowered neck and head humbly bowed, began to lick the Bishop's feet: "So that it might be openly given to all to understand that toward that man of God the hearts of men were bestial, and those of beasts were as human." Wherefore the people and the king himself were moved to reverence for him.
Idem Gregorius, homil. 23 in Evangel., narrat de quodam viro valde hospitali, qui per hospitalitatem meruit Christum in sua persona recipere, a quo per visionem audivit: « Caeteris diebus me in membris, heri me suscepisti. » Narrat S. Augustinus, lib. XXII De Civit. VIII, Innocentium quemdam, hospitalitati deditum, miraculose curatum fuisse a vulnere periculosissimo. Leo IX Pontifex, vir mire fuit hospitalis, adeo ut, cum semel ante fores suas leprosum invenisset, eum in lectulo suo collocari jusserit: sed apertis mane a janitore foribus, nusquam leprosus inventus est: creditum est Christum pauperis nomine eo loci recubuisse. Ita Platina et alii in ejus Vita, sub annum Domini 1050.
St. Augustine narrates, in book XXII of the City of God, chapter VIII, that a certain Innocentius, devoted to hospitality, was miraculously cured of a most dangerous wound.
Pope Leo IX was a man of marvelous hospitality, to such a degree that, when he once found a leper before his doors, he ordered him to be placed in his own bed: but when the doorkeeper opened the doors in the morning, the leper was nowhere to be found: it was believed that Christ had lain there under the name of a poor person. So Platina and others in his Life, around the year of the Lord 1050.
Versus 4: For the Dust is Finished
4. FINITUS EST ENIM PULVIS. — Martinus de Roa vir doctus, lib. IV Singul., cap. III, sic explicat, q. d. Misera et vilis tua, o Moab! conditio, pariter et luctus abiit, depulsa est servitus, atque hostis defecit, cui in pulvere sedendo, vel fronte tangendo humum et pulverem, supplicare cogaris. Haec enim omnia pulvere significantur apud Hebraeos, Romanos et Graecos: omnes enim in luctu caput inspergebant pulvere; vel in eo sedebant. Verum sequentia ostendunt non agi hic de pulvere Moab et amicorum, sed Sennacherib et hostium. Licet enim agat Propheta de excidio Moab peracto non a Sennacherib, sed a Nabuchodonosore; tamen meminit imminentis Judaeae Sennacherib, quia multi e Judaea propter eum fugitari erant in Moab. Monet ergo Isaias Moabitas, ut eos humaniter excipiant, si Dei gratiam et opem promereri velint. Si enim in eos sint duri et inclementes, eos propter hoc peccatum et alia plura, impleta tandem mensura, vindictam Dei experturos, et immisericorditer pariter vastandos esse Nabuchodonosore.
But what follows shows that the subject here is not the dust of Moab and its friends, but of Sennacherib and the enemies. For although the Prophet is dealing with the destruction of Moab accomplished not by Sennacherib but by Nebuchadnezzar, nevertheless he mentions Sennacherib's threat against Judaea, because many from Judaea had fled to Moab on account of him. Isaiah therefore admonishes the Moabites to receive them humanely, if they wish to merit God's grace and help. For if they are harsh and merciless toward them, they will experience God's vengeance for this sin and many others, once the measure is at last filled, and will be devastated without mercy by Nebuchadnezzar.
Sensus ergo est, q. d. Ne te, o Moab! excuses ab excipiendo Hebraeos profugos, dicendo te metuere Sennacherib, aut quem alium eorum hostem et vastatorem, quia is brevi finietur et evanescet quasi pulvis, atque cito consumetur miser: « et praeparabitur, » etc., id est, atque vetus solium regni Hierosolymis, et Ezechiae regi justo et bono, ejusque posteris praeparabitur, id est confirmabitur et corroborabitur, in, id est per, misericordiam Dei. Ita Adamus et alii.
Allegorice, sedes haec est regis Christi, qui judicat tam pauperes quam divites in judicio et justitia, Psal. LXXXVIII. Imo Sanchez et alii volunt hunc sensum de Christo esse litteralem; sed verius et planius est esse allegoricum. Nota, per hebraismum intelligi notam similitudinis sicut; sic enim haec explicanda sunt: finitus est vastator, quasi pulvis. Comparatur Sennacherib, ejusque similes pulveri. Primo, ob innumerabilem exercitum, qui videbatur esse instar arenae vel pulveris. Secundo, quia levi plaga Angeli caesus est, sicut levi flatu venti totus pulvis difflatur et dispellitur, ita ut terra solida et nitida appareat, ac si scopis esset versa.
Note, by a Hebraism we understand the comparative particle "as"; for these words must be explained thus: the destroyer is finished, like dust. Sennacherib and those like him are compared to dust. First, on account of his innumerable army, which seemed to be like sand or dust. Second, because he was struck down by the light blow of an Angel, just as by a light gust of wind all dust is blown away and scattered, so that the solid, clean earth appears, as if it had been swept clean.
Versus 6: We have heard the pride of Moab
6. Audivimus superbiam Moab. — Haec superbia evertit Moab: eversa enim est, eo quod suis armis et moenibus lateritiis superbiens et praefidens contempserit hostem se potentiorem. Vide dicta Jerem. XLVIII, 29. 7. IDCIRCO ULULABIT MOAB AD MOAB, — q. d. Ululabit alter ad alterum, cives unius civitatis ad cives alterius. Secundo, « Moab ad Moab, » id est Moabitae superstites lugebunt Moabitas occisos, inquit Vatablus. Aliter Sanchez: « Moab ad Moab, » inquit, hoc est, Moab ad seipsum, vel secum ululabit, uti moerentes et desperantes solent. SUPER MUROS COCTI LATERIS, — super muros lateritios. Secundo, et melius hoc est nomen proprium urbis, quae hebraice dicitur קיר חרשת kir charescet, id est habens muros lateritios. Id patet ex IV Reg. III, 25, ubi cum dixisset scriptor: « Ita ut muri tantum fictiles remanerent, » subdit: « Et circumdata est civitas a fundibulariis: » quae verba plane significant, to muri fictiles, esse civitatem jam dictam Kircharescet, ad quam utpote munitissimam rex Moab in extremo discrimine confugit. Sensus ergo est, q. d. Dicite Moabitis, quod Kircharescet, quae eis est arx inexpugnabilis, in qua superbiunt, non eos tutabitur, sed capietur ab hoste.
7. THEREFORE MOAB SHALL HOWL TO MOAB, — as if to say: One shall howl to another, the citizens of one city to the citizens of another. Secondly, "Moab to Moab," that is, the surviving Moabites will mourn the Moabites who have been slain, says Vatablus. Otherwise Sanchez: "Moab to Moab," he says, that is, Moab to itself, or will howl within itself, as mourners and despairing people are wont to do.
UPON THE WALLS OF BAKED BRICK, — upon brick walls. Secondly, and better, this is the proper name of a city, which in Hebrew is called קיר חרשת kir charescet, that is, having brick walls. This is clear from IV Kings III, 25, where after the writer had said: "So that only the brick walls remained," he adds: "And the city was surrounded by slingers:" which words plainly signify that the "brick walls" is the city already mentioned, Kir-hareseth, to which as most fortified the king of Moab fled in the last extremity. The sense therefore is, as if to say: Tell the Moabites that Kir-hareseth, which is their impregnable citadel, in which they pride themselves, will not protect them, but will be taken by the enemy.
Versus 8: And the Vine of Sabama
8. ET VINEAM SABAMA. — Solet Scriptura civitates vocare vineas, tum ob propagines filiorum et familiarum, tum ob fertilitatem; uti Moab vinetis, vino et frugibus erat fertilis: quo allusit Jeremias, cap. XLVIII, vers. 11. Hanc ergo vineam, id est urbem Sabama, « domini gentium, » id est principes, vel Sennacherib, vel potius Nabuchodonosor, exciderunt. Flagella ejus usque ad Jazer. — « Flagella » vineae vel vitis vocantur ejus propagines et surculi circinantes, quibus vitis se ad palum vel arborem alligat et retinet ne cadat: unde et claviculi vocantur. Per has autem propagines metaphorice intelligit populum Moab profugum, qui transiit mare, cum abductus est in Babylonem. Ita S. Hieronymus. Vide dicta Jerem. XLVIII, 31.
Its branches reached as far as Jazer. — The "branches" of a vine or grapevine are its shoots and tendrils curling around, by which the vine attaches itself to a stake or tree and holds itself up lest it fall: hence they are also called "tendrils." By these shoots he metaphorically understands the people of Moab as fugitives, who crossed the sea when they were carried away to Babylon. So St. Jerome. See what was said on Jeremiah XLVIII, 31.
Versus 9: I will weep with the weeping of Jazer
9. Plorabo in fletu Jazer. — Jazer erat ultima civitas Moab juxta Jordanem, quae videtur prius vastata quam Hesebon et Sabama; nam ait Isaias se ploraturum in excidio Sabama, sicut comploratum fuit in excidio Jazer. Vox calcantium (id est Chaldaeorum depraedantium tuam messem et vindemiam, eamque calcantium et exprimentium) irruit. — Nota: Hostium vastatio metaphorice recte comparatur conculcationi uvarum et segetum. Haec omnia fusius et clarius exprimit Jeremias cap. XLVIII. 10. AUFERETUR LAETITIA, etc., DE CARMELO. — Carmelus non est in Moab, sed in Judaea; sed, ut notat S. Hieronymus, solet Scriptura proverbialiter per Carmelum significare quemvis locum uberem et fertilem: talis enim est mons Carmelus. « De Carmelo » ergo, id est de agris Moab pinguibus et fertilibus, « auferetur laetitia, » solent enim laetari et exsultare vinitores in ubere vindemia, et messores in copiosa messe. VOCEM CALCANTIUM ABSTULI. — Jeremias habet: « Nequaquam calcator uvae solitum celeuma cantabit. » Vide ibi dicta.
The voice of the treaders (that is, of the Chaldeans plundering your harvest and vintage, and treading and pressing them) has fallen. — Note: The devastation of enemies is rightly compared metaphorically to the treading of grapes and crops. All these things are expressed more fully and clearly by Jeremiah in chapter XLVIII.
10. JOY SHALL BE TAKEN AWAY, etc., FROM CARMEL. — Carmel is not in Moab, but in Judaea; but, as St. Jerome notes, Scripture is accustomed to signify proverbially by Carmel any fruitful and fertile place: for such is Mount Carmel. "From Carmel," therefore, that is from the rich and fertile fields of Moab, "joy shall be taken away," for the vintners are accustomed to rejoice and exult in an abundant vintage, and the harvesters in a copious harvest.
I HAVE TAKEN AWAY THE VOICE OF THE TREADERS. — Jeremiah has: "The grape-treader shall by no means sing his customary refrain." See what was said there.
Versus 11: For this my Bowels shall Sound Like a Harp for Moab
11. SUPER HOC VENTER MEUS AD MOAB QUASI CITHARA SONABIT, — q. d. Intima viscera mea, tacta dolore, edent lugubrem cantum et gemitus ob Moabitarum, hostium licet nostrorum, vastationem; sicut cithara, plectro tacta, dat sonitum in funere funereum. Jeremias habet: « Cor meum ad Moab quasi tibiae resonabit. » Nota: Citharae et tibiae, quia lugubre quid sonant, solebant olim adhiberi luctui et funeribus, ut dixi Jerem. cap. XLVIII, 36.
Versus 12: And it shall be: When it Appears (as
12. ET ERIT: CUM APPARUERIT (q. d. Moab, adveniente hoste, videns se frustra laborare in excelsis suis, aris et idolis colendis, nec ab iis ferri opem, alia) sancta (scilicet templa sua publica), INGREDIETUR (id est ingredi conabitur, ut deos suos exoret; sed) NON VALEBIT, — partim ob pavorem, fatigationem et virium dissolutionem; partim ob subitum hostium impetum, qui eum opprimet.
Versus 13: This is the word
Vers. 13. Hoc est verbum, — q. d. Hucusque enarravi oracula et minas contra Moab; hoc est quod ait Jerem. cap. XLVIII: « Hucusque judicia Moab. » QUOD LOCUTUS EST, etc., EX TUNC, — id est ab olim, jampridem, scilicet per Amos, qui cap. II, idem excidium Moab ante Isaiam praedixit.
WHICH HE SPOKE, etc., FROM THAT TIME, — that is, from long ago, previously, namely through Amos, who in chapter II predicted the same destruction of Moab before Isaiah.
Vers. 13. Hoc est verbum, — q. d. Hucusque enarravi oracula et minas contra Moab; hoc est quod ait Jerem. cap. XLVIII: « Hucusque judicia Moab. » QUOD LOCUTUS EST, etc., EX TUNC, — id est ab olim, jampridem, scilicet per Amos, qui cap. II, idem excidium Moab ante Isaiam praedixit. 14. IN TRIBUS ANNIS. — Non quod haec clades Moab facta sit a Sennacherib, post triennium ab hac prophetia: facta est enim a Nabuchodonosore, ut dixi initio cap.; sed quod Nabuchodonosor post tres annos ab excisa a se Jerusalem, id est quinto ab ejus vastatione anno, vastaverit Moab: hoc enim diserte docet Josephus, lib. X Antiq. XI, vel certe quod trium annorum spatio vexaverit et vastaverit Moab. Ita S. Hieronymus, Hugo, Pintus, Leo Castrius et alii. Audi S. Hieronymum: « Potest, ait, et de Babylonica captivitate praedici, quod post captam Jerusalem, transitis annorum trium circulis, Moab a Chaldaeis vastata sit; sive quod trium annorum spatio nulla ei data sit requies. » Quasi anni mercenarii. — Id est qui (scilicet tres anni jam dicti) sunt « quasi anni mercenarii, » id est praefixi, integri et certi, quibus nihil addi aut demi potest. Mercenariis enim certum tempus prostituitur, cui ipsi nihil patiuntur addi; nec qui conducit eos, aliquid ex eo tolli patitur. Ita Vatablus, Forerius, Arias, Osorius et alii, imo S. Cyrillus. Secundo, sicut mercenarius, finitis conductionis suae annis, recedit, ita recedet et auferetur consolatio et gloria Moab, ita ut vix racemus in ea remaneat, ut sequitur. Tertio, proprie hi anni direptionis Moab vocantur mercenarii, eo quod hisce quasi pro mercede excisae a se Jerusalem, et divinae vindictae exercitae, regnum et spolia Moab accepturus sit Nabuchodonosor, inquit S. Hieronymus, uti idem pro expugnata Tyro, in mercedem quasi a Deo accepit Aegyptum, Ezech. XXIX. Quarto, hi anni vocantur mercenarii, id est laboriosi et molesti ab hoste vexante et spoliante. Sic enim mercenarius diem agit laboriosum et aerumnosum, assistente semper et ad opus urgente hero. Ita Sanchez et Adamus. Vide Pinedam in Job. VII, 2. Symbolice, S. Basilius, qui hic finit suum Commentarium in Isaiam: Qui ad gloriam, inquit, populi captandam bona opera faciunt, horum gloria vertetur in ignominiam in tribus annis, id est in omni dimensione temporis, scilicet praeteriti, praesentis et futuri. SUPER OMNI POPULO, — de tam numeroso populo Moab, in quo ipse gloriatur, post hanc cladem relinquentur paucissimi, sicut paucissimae relinquuntur uvae post vindemiam. Unde aliqui codices legunt: Relinquetur sicut racemus parvus. Vide hic in Moab vanitatem regnorum, omnisque pompae et fastus. Brevi enim, Deo puniente, eorum gloria in probrum, multitudo in paucitatem, potentia in imbecillitatem, sapientia in stultitiam, opes in egestatem, magnificentia in sordes, excellentia in humilitatem, gratia in odium, securitas in angustiam, pax in mille discrimina commutatur.
WHICH HE SPOKE, etc., FROM THAT TIME, — that is, from long ago, previously, namely through Amos, who in chapter II predicted the same destruction of Moab before Isaiah.
14. IN TRIBUS ANNIS. — Non quod haec clades Moab facta sit a Sennacherib, post triennium ab hac prophetia: facta est enim a Nabuchodonosore, ut dixi initio cap.; sed quod Nabuchodonosor post tres annos ab excisa a se Jerusalem, id est quinto ab ejus vastatione anno, vastaverit Moab: hoc enim diserte docet Josephus, lib. X Antiq. XI, vel certe quod trium annorum spatio vexaverit et vastaverit Moab. Ita S. Hieronymus, Hugo, Pintus, Leo Castrius et alii. Audi S. Hieronymum: « Potest, ait, et de Babylonica captivitate praedici, quod post captam Jerusalem, transitis annorum trium circulis, Moab a Chaldaeis vastata sit; sive quod trium annorum spatio nulla ei data sit requies. »
Quasi anni mercenarii. — Id est qui (scilicet tres anni jam dicti) sunt « quasi anni mercenarii, » id est praefixi, integri et certi, quibus nihil addi aut demi potest. Mercenariis enim certum tempus prostituitur, cui ipsi nihil patiuntur addi; nec qui conducit eos, aliquid ex eo tolli patitur. Ita Vatablus, Forerius, Arias, Osorius et alii, imo S. Cyrillus. Secundo, sicut mercenarius, finitis conductionis suae annis, recedit, ita recedet et auferetur consolatio et gloria Moab, Ita ut vix racemus in ea remaneat, ut sequitur. Tertio, proprie hi anni direptionis Moab vocantur mercenarii, eo quod hisce quasi pro mercede excisae a se Jerusalem, et divinae vindictae exercitae, regnum et spolia Moab accepturus sit Nabuchodonosor, inquit S. Hieronymus, uti idem pro expugnata Tyro, in mercedem quasi a Deo accepit Aegyptum, Ezech. XXIX. Quarto, hi anni vocantur mercenarii, id est laboriosi et molesti ab hoste vexante et spoliante. Sic enim mercenarius diem agit laboriosum et aerumnosum, assistente semper et ad opus urgente hero. Ita Sanchez et Adamus. Vide Pinedam in Job. VII, 2.
Secondly, just as a hireling departs when his years of service are finished, so the consolation and glory of Moab shall depart and be taken away, so that scarcely a grape-cluster remains in it, as follows.
Thirdly, properly these years of the plundering of Moab are called years of a hireling, because for these, as it were for the wage of having destroyed Jerusalem and carried out the divine vengeance, Nebuchadnezzar will receive the kingdom and spoils of Moab, says St. Jerome; just as the same man, for having conquered Tyre, received Egypt as a wage from God, as it were, Ezekiel XXIX.
Fourthly, these years are called mercenary, that is, laborious and burdensome from the enemy harassing and plundering. For thus a hireling spends his day laboring and in hardship, with the master always standing by and urging him to work. So Sanchez and Adam. See Pineda on Job VII, 2.
Symbolice, S. Basilius, qui hic finit suum Commentarium in Isaiam: Qui ad gloriam, inquit, populi captandam bona opera faciunt, horum gloria vertetur in ignominiam in tribus annis, id est in omni dimensione temporis, scilicet praeteriti, praesentis et futuri. SUPER OMNI POPULO, — de tam numeroso populo Moab, in quo ipse gloriatur, post hanc cladem relinquentur paucissimi, sicut paucissimae relinquuntur uvae post vindemiam. Unde aliqui codices legunt: Relinquetur sicut racemus parvus.
WITH ALL ITS GREAT PEOPLE, — out of so numerous a people of Moab, in which it glories, after this disaster very few will remain, just as very few grapes remain after the vintage. Hence some codices read: It shall remain like a small grape-cluster.
Vide hic in Moab vanitatem regnorum, omnisque pompae et fastus. Brevi enim, Deo puniente, eorum gloria in probrum, multitudo in paucitatem, potentia in imbecillitatem, sapientia in stultitiam, opes in egestatem, magnificentia in sordes, excellentia in humilitatem, gratia in odium, securitas in angustiam, pax in mille discrimina commutatur.
Versus 14: In Three Years
14. IN THREE YEARS. — Not that this disaster of Moab was inflicted by Sennacherib, three years after this prophecy: for it was inflicted by Nebuchadnezzar, as I said at the beginning of this chapter; but rather that Nebuchadnezzar, three years after having destroyed Jerusalem, that is in the fifth year after its devastation, laid waste to Moab: for Josephus expressly teaches this, book X of the Antiquities, chapter XI; or certainly that for a space of three years he harassed and devastated Moab. So St. Jerome, Hugo, Pintus, Leo Castrius and others. Hear St. Jerome: "It can also be predicted of the Babylonian captivity," he says, "that after Jerusalem was captured, when three years had passed, Moab was devastated by the Chaldeans; or that for a space of three years no rest was given to it."
As the years of a hireling. — That is, the said three years are "as the years of a hireling," that is, fixed, complete, and certain, to which nothing can be added or taken away. For a fixed time is assigned to hired workers, to which they suffer nothing to be added; nor does the one who hires them allow anything to be taken from it. So Vatablus, Forerius, Arias, Osorius and others, indeed even St. Cyril.
Secondly, just as a hireling departs when his years of service are finished, so the consolation and glory of Moab shall depart and be taken away, so that scarcely a grape-cluster remains in it, as follows.
Thirdly, properly these years of the plundering of Moab are called years of a hireling, because for these, as it were for the wage of having destroyed Jerusalem and carried out the divine vengeance, Nebuchadnezzar will receive the kingdom and spoils of Moab, says St. Jerome; just as the same man, for having conquered Tyre, received Egypt as a wage from God, as it were, Ezekiel XXIX.
Fourthly, these years are called mercenary, that is, laborious and burdensome from the enemy harassing and plundering. For thus a hireling spends his day laboring and in hardship, with the master always standing by and urging him to work. So Sanchez and Adam. See Pineda on Job VII, 2.
Symbolically, St. Basil, who here ends his Commentary on Isaiah, says: Those who do good works for the sake of capturing the glory of the people — their glory will be turned to disgrace in three years, that is, in every dimension of time: namely past, present, and future.
WITH ALL ITS GREAT PEOPLE, — out of so numerous a people of Moab, in which it glories, after this disaster very few will remain, just as very few grapes remain after the vintage. Hence some codices read: It shall remain like a small grape-cluster.
See here in Moab the vanity of kingdoms, and of all pomp and pride. For in a short time, when God punishes, their glory is changed to disgrace, their multitude to fewness, power to weakness, wisdom to foolishness, wealth to poverty, magnificence to squalor, excellence to humiliation, favor to hatred, security to distress, peace to a thousand dangers.