Cornelius a Lapide
Index
Synopsis Capitis
Praedicit Judaeos, et omnes gentes servituras Babyloniis per septuaginta annos, post quos Babylon evertetur, unde, vers. 15, propinat eis omnibus calicem irae Dei. Deinde, vers. 30, Deum, quasi leonem in eos rugientem inducit, quo fiet ut tanta pastorum populique sit strages, ut mortui non plangantur, nec mandentur sepulturae.
Textus Vulgatae: Jeremias 25:1-38
1. Verbum, quod factum est ad Jeremiam de omni populo Juda, in anno quarto Joakim filii Josiae regis Juda (ipse est annus primus Nabuchodonosor regis Babylonis). 2. Quod locutus est Jeremias propheta ad omnem populum Juda, et ad universos habitatores Jerusalem, dicens: 3. A tertio decimo anno Josiae filii Ammon regis Juda usque ad diem hanc; iste tertius et vigesimus annus; factum est verbum Domini ad me, et locutus sum ad vos de nocte consurgens, et loquens: et non audistis. 4. Et misit Dominus ad vos omnes servos suos prophetas, consurgens diluculo, mittensque: et non audistis, neque inclinastis aures vestras, ut audiretis, 5. cum diceret: Revertimini unusquisque a via sua mala, et a pessimis cogitationibus vestris: et habitabitis in terra quam dedit Dominus vobis, et patribus vestris, a saeculo et usque in saeculum. 6. Et nolite ire post deos alienos, ut serviatis eis, adoretisque eos: neque me ad iracundiam provocetis in operibus manuum vestrarum, et non affligam vos. 7. Et non audistis me, dicit Dominus, ut me ad iracundiam provocaretis in operibus manuum vestrarum, in malum vestrum. 8. Propterea haec dicit Dominus exercituum: Pro eo quod non audistis verba mea: 9. ecce ego mittam, et assumam universas cognationes Aquilonis, ait Dominus, et Nabuchodonosor regem Babylonis servum meum: et adducam eos super terram istam, et super habitatores ejus, et super omnes nationes, quae in circuitu illius sunt; et interficiam eos, et ponam eos in stuporem et in sibilum, et in solitudines sempiternas. 10. Perdamque ex eis vocem gaudii, et vocem laetitiae, vocem sponsi, et vocem sponsae, vocem molae, et lumen lucernae. 11. Et erit universa terra haec in solitudinem, et in stuporem; et servient omnes gentes istae regi Babylonis septuaginta annis...
omnes gentes istae regi Babylonis septuaginta annis. 12. Cumque impleti fuerint septuaginta anni, visitabo super regem Babylonis, et super gentem illam, dicit Dominus, iniquitatem eorum, et super terram Chaldaeorum: et ponam illam in solitudines sempiternas. 13. Et adducam super terram illam omnia verba mea, quae locutus sum contra eam, omne quod scriptum est in libro isto, quaecumque prophetavit Jeremias adversum omnes gentes... [continues through verse 38]
Versus 3
3. Tertio decimo anno Josiae. — Illo enim coepit prophetare Jeremias; inde ad hunc annum quartum Joakim fluxerant jam 23 anni. Locutus sum ad vos de nocte consurgens. — Pro nocte, Hebraeus, Chaldaeus et Septuaginta habent «mane,» seu «diluculo,» q. d. Tempestive, summa cura, diligentia et sollicitudine, quovis tempore, etiam si opus esset noctu, non destiti vos quasi bonus pastor monere et urgere.
6. In operibus manuum vestrarum, — in idolis: haec enim sunt opera quae fecistis, et conflastis manibus vestris.
Versus 6
9. Ecce ego mittam, et assumam universas cognationes Aquilonis. — «Cognationes,» id est tribus et populos, habitantes ad aquilonem respectu Judaeae, puta Chaldaeos, eorumque vicinos et subditos. Populi enim vicini invicem cognati sunt; descendunt enim ab eodem patriarcha, aut ab ejus fratre, qui in divisione gentium in Babel, vicinam fratri regionem elegit et incoluit. Perinde ac etiamnum vicinae gentes facile connubia et cognationes contrahunt. Porro in «mittam» Dionysius intelligit angelos malos; S. Hieronymus angelos bonos, qui suscitent aquilonares Chaldaeos ad excidium impiae Judaeae. Verum simplicius haec jungas, q. d. Mittam cognationes aquilonis, easque assumam milites, ut vindictam meam in Judaeos peragant.
Versus 9
Nabuchodonosor servum meum. — Vocat eum «servum,» id est lictorem et exsecutorem justae suae vindictae. Perperam ergo hinc infert Calvinus, Deum esse auctorem operum malorum, v. g. tyrannidis: sic enim peccati esset auctor. Serviunt ergo Deo tyranni, omnesque malae voluntates: quia eorum tyrannide et malitia (quam non Deus, sed ipsi ponunt) jam posita et praevisa Deus utitur, eamque ordinat ad justam aliorum impiorum castigationem, uti docent S. Augustinus, S. Thomas et passim Theologi. Moraliter disce hic nos tradi tyrannis et malis regibus, ac Praelatis ob nostra peccata. Hoc est enim quod ait Job, cap. XXXIV, 30: «Qui regnare facit hominem hypocritam propter peccata populi.» Et Isaias, cap. III, vers. 4: «Et dabo pueros principes eorum; et effeminati dominabantur eis.» Audi duo illustria exempla quae refert Anastasius Nicenus in Quaest. S. Script. Quaest. XV: «Cum Phocas, inquit, Imperator per Bonosum lictorem eas faceret sanguinis effusiones, quidam monachus sanctus Deo in oratione dixit: Domine, cur eum fecisti Imperatorem? atque vox ad eum venit a Deo, dicens: Quoniam non inveni pejorem. Fuit etiam quaedam civitas in Thebaïde scelerata, in qua vir quidam perniciosissimus simulate factus est monachus. Accidit ergo ut decederet Episcopus civitatis: cuidam autem viro apparuit angelus dicens: Fac ut civitas Episcopum eligat eum peregrinum, qui illic habitat. Abiens ergo fecit quod jussus fuerat. Illo autem jam ob episcopatum intumescente, angelus dixit ei: Cur superbis, et magnifice tibi places, o infelix? revera non tanquam dignus sacerdotio factus es Episcopus, sed quia haec civitas tali digna erat Episcopo.»
10. Perdamque, etc., vocem molae, — strepitum molae et molentium. Solebant enim in Judaea (uti etiamnum in Africa, et alibi ubi deest aqua et ventus) esse molae domesticae, quas puellae binae manibus vertebant, interimque cantillabant, ut taedium et laborem levarent; hinc ait Christus Matth. cap. XXIV, 41: «Erunt duae molentes in mola: una assumetur, et una relinquetur.» Vox ergo molae, est hic puellarum molentium cantus, q. d. Non erunt qui vel quae molant frumenta, et inter molendum cantitent, uti antea solebant. Et lumen lucernae. — Lucernarum usus erat in conviviis, nuptiis et festis: item in officinis magnarum urbium ad operandum aut vendendum suas merces vespere, q. d. Auferam omne gaudium conviviorum, nuptiarum, festorum, operarum et mercium a Jerusalem, eamque evertam.
Probabiliter Sanchez haec omnia refert ad nuptialem plausum et laetitiam: illam enim hic assumi quasi typum et exemplar ingentis gaudii. In nuptiis ergo erant haec quatuor. Primo, vox et cantus sponsi et sponsae, quasi epithalamium, ut patet ex Cant. Secundo, erant lucernae, id est faces et taedae, quae sponsis, eorumque asseclis (noctu enim celebrabantur nuptiae) praelucerent. Tertio, erat vox gaudii et laetitiae, puta vox musicorum et ore, et testudine, violis, aliisque instrumentis mire concentu concinentium. Quarto, erat vox molae, id est cantus puellarum molentium, et ex farina molita placentas, aliaque dulciaria pro nuptiali coena parantium et coquentium. Sic apud Gentiles in nuptiis omnes et omnia personabant Hymenaeo plausu. Omnes enim novis sponsis felicia apprecantes inclamabant et ingeminabant: «Veni, o Hymen, veni, o Hymenee!» Prior tamen sensus planior et generalior est; unde Apoc. XVIII, 22, ubi haec in excidio Babylonis citantur et iterantur, additur: «Et omnis artifex omnis artis non invenietur in te amplius.»
Versus 10
11. Et servient omnes gentes istae regi Babylonis septuaginta annis, — id est usque ad annum septuagesimum captivitatis Babylonicae: quaedam enim gentes 50, aliae 60, aliae, ut Judaei (de quibus proprie hic agitur) 70 annis servierunt Chaldaeis: de quo plura cap. XXVII, vers. 7, et cap. XXIX, 10. Simile est Exodi XII, 40, ubi Hebraei dicuntur habitasse in Aegypto 430 annis, non quod omnibus illis annis ibi habitarint; sed quod ibi habitarint usque ad annum 430, computandum scilicet a vocatione et egressu Abrahae ex Chaldaea in terram Chanaan, Genes. XII, 1. Simile quoque est Judith cap. XVI, 28, ubi Judith dicitur mansisse in domo viri sui annos 105, id est usque ad annum aetatis suae 105; nec enim post mortem viri mansit annos 105, sic enim ipsa vixisset 130 annis.
Ponam eos, etc., in solitudines sempiternas, — id est diuturnas, scilicet per septuaginta annos captivitatis Babylonicae. Sic saepe in Scriptura aeternum per hyperbolen significat longum tempus, esto finitum, aut potius finiendum.
ipsi Chaldaei serviant aliis, scilicet Persis, sicque reddam eis talionem.
13. Quaecumque prophetavit Jeremias adversum omnes gentes, — q. d. Omnia gentium excidia reflectam et convertam in ipsam Babylonem, ut qua mensura mensa est ipsa aliis gentibus, easque vastavit, eadem remetiatur ei.
Versus 11
Aliter explicat S. Hieronymus, q. d. Gentes et reges vicinos evertam, quia servierunt Chaldaeis pugnando contra Judaeos, aut, ut Sanchez, quia servire fecerunt Judaeos, et alias gentes, ac reges multos et potentes; hinc juste eos puniam, ut et ipsi Chaldaei serviant aliis, scilicet Persis.
14. Quia servierunt eis, — scilicet Chaldaeis, quos nominavit vers. 12, q. d. Quia Chaldaei superbe sibi subegerunt et servire sibi fecerunt populum Dei, puta Judaeos. Tertio, Chaldaeus et Vatablus sic vertunt, servierunt, id est servient, scilicet Chaldaei, eis, scilicet gentibus quae sunt multae, et habent reges magnos, scilicet Medis et Persis.
15. Sume calicem. — Notant Hugo et S. Thomas Jeremiae in visione ostensum et oblatum fuisse a Deo calicem vini, qui significabat justam mensuram vindictae et suppliciorum, quibus Deus per Chaldaeos quasi vino inebriaturus erat impios Judaeos et gentes, ut pene ad insaniam vi doloris adigerentur; hunc vicissim ipsismet Chaldaeis similiter per visionem propinat, id est praedicit et comminatur, Jeremias. Ita Theodoretus, Hugo, S. Thomas et alii. Idque quia ipsi quasi ebrii vino erroris et scelerum, impegerunt et collapsi sunt in hanc irati Dei manum. Sic calix sumitur Psalm. LXXIV, 9: «Calix in manu Domini vini meri plenus mixto. Et inclinavit ex hoc in hoc: verumtamen faex ejus non est exinanita.» Et Isaiae LI, 17: «Usque ad fundum calicis soporis bibisti, et potasti usque ad faeces;» unde calicem hunc mox Jeremias vocat gladium, cum subdit: «Insanient a facie gladii.» Alludit ad symposiarchum, sive modimperatorem, qui convivii praefectus erat, et cuique suum calicem admetiebatur et temperabat: talis enim modimperator in mundo est Deus, de quo plura alibi. Addit Sanchez calicem hunc esse eum qui damnatis ad mortem dabatur, ut fortius eam ferrent; ideoque significare mortem.
Versus 13
Secundo, Sanchez censet haec non per visionem, sed reipsa peracta esse a Jeremia, ideoque eum, instar Habacuc, Daniel. XIV, ab Angelo traductum esse per provincias hasce omnes cum calice divini furoris pleno; aut potius eum iis, qui ex singulis hisce gentibus Hierosolymam ventitabant, praesertim in festo Paschae, Pentecostes, aut Tabernaculorum, calicem hunc propinavisse, ut cum in suas singuli sedes remigrarent, docerent cives suos, quid ad nationes illas in mandatis a Deo habuerit Jeremias. Haec sententia probabilis est; prior tamen uti communior, ita facilior est et planior. Difficile enim est concipere, quomodo tot tamque remotae gentes Hierosolymam uno eodemque tempore confluxerint. Deinde, quia id quod sequitur: «Et bibent, et turbabuntur, et insanient a facie gladii,» plane significat haec omnia non reipsa, sed symbolice esse peracta. Nec enim reipsa gentes biberunt calicem a Jeremia acceptum, moxque turbatae sunt, et insanierunt a facie gladii; nec enim calix est gladius, aut gladium parit. Calix ergo hic, uti et ejus haustus, sive potatio, imaginarius fuit, non realis; videbatur enim Jeremias sibi videre, quod calicem acciperet a Deo, eumque Dei jussu propinaret Gentibus: cumque illae eum recusarent, invitas coegit eum bibere et haurire; eo hausto mox turbatae sunt, et quasi ebrii coeperunt stringere gladios contra sese invicem, seque mutuo pugnis et praeliis conficere.
18. Jerusalem. — A Jerusalem plaga Dei incipit, tum quia illa cognoscens et colens Deum, plus caeteris gentibus peccavit; tum quia caeteris statuitur in exemplum, ut ex ea suam quisque plagam metiatur, similemque exspectet. Hoc est quod ait Deus, vers. 29: «Quia ecce in civitate, in qua invocatum est nomen meum, ego incipiam affligere, et vos quasi innocentes et immunes eritis?» Hinc huc alludens S. Petrus, epist. I, cap. IV, vers. 17, ait: «Tempus est ut incipiat judicium a domo Dei.»
Versus 14
Ut darem (id est praedicerem et prophetarem dandos fore) eos in solitudinem, etc. — Sic cap. I, vers. 10, audivit a Deo: «Ecce constitui te hodie super gentes, et super regna, ut evellas, et destruas,» etc., id est, ut praedicas et prophetes eas evellendas et destruendas. Sicut est dies ista, — sicut erit, sicut mox demonstrabit dies excidii imminens. Ita Lyranus et Maldonatus. Secundo, S. Hieronymus, Rabanus, Hugo et Vatablus censent haec verba addita esse, quando post excidium urbis Jeremias suas prophetias, olim editas, in unum volumen redegit. Verum idipsum fecisse videtur Jeremias hoc anno quarto Joakim, non autem capta urbe. Respondeo ergo, «sicut est,» id est sicut jam esse incipit dies ista vastitatis; nam hoc anno quarto Joakim cum suis captus est; coepit ergo hoc anno prophetia haec impleri, perfecte vero impleta est anno ultimo Sedeciae. Ita Theodoretus, Hugo, Vatablus et Sanchez.
subegerunt et servire sibi fecerunt populum Dei, puta Judaeos. Quod nihil aliud fuit, quam justo Dei judicio et vindicta exortas esse inter eos lites et rixas, quae in mutuas caedes eruperunt. Secus est de catenis, cap. XXVII, 2; has enim reipsa misit Jeremias ad gentes, uti ibi patebit.
Versus 15
20. Universis generaliter. — Hebraice כל הערב col haereb, id est omnibus promiscue, vel omni mixtioni, id est Judaeis et exteris, qui fugerant et miscuerant se Aegyptiis. Ausitidis. — Hebraeus, Chaldaeus, Septuaginta, terrae Hus, quae est regio Arabiae et Idumaeae, aut terrae ei confinis, ubi habitavit Job, cap. I, vers. 1. Nominat hic Propheta omnes regiones vastandas a Chaldaeis. Et reliquis Azoti, — id est urbi Geth quae vicina et confinis est Azoto. Ita S. Hieronymus. Secundo, alii, «reliquiis,» inquiunt, id est, iis qui reliqui erunt e clade Azoti facta per Sennacherib, Isaia XX, 1; vel per Pharaonem Nechao, cum cecidit Josiam, IV Reg. XXIII, 29. Tertio et optime, a Castro censet reliquias hic vocari urbes et vicos Azoto vicinos et subjectos, uti Gazaram, I Machab. XIV, 34, Cheretheos et alios. Similis phrasis est cap. XLVII, vers. 5, et Amos I, 8.
22. Et cunctis regibus Tyri. — Unus erat rex Tyri, uti et Sidonis; hic tamen reges vocantur in plurali, quia ad posteros ejus haec clades pertinuit. Duravit enim haec Chaldaeorum vastitas et dominatus per 70 annos, uti dicitur vers. 14: «Tyrus et Sidon, ait S. Hieronymus, in Phoenices littore principes civitates, quae et ipsae Babylonio supervenientes superatae sunt, quarum Carthago colonia. Unde et Poeni sermone corrupto quasi Phoeni appellantur, quorum lingua Hebraeae linguae magna ex parte confinis est.» Regibus terrae insularum, qui sunt trans mare, — id est regibus insularum, ad quas eunti necesse est mare transire; quia sitae sunt in medio mari Mediterraneo, uti sunt Cyprus, Rhodus, et aliae insulae quas cepit Nabuchodonosor. Ita S. Hieronymus, Rabanus, Hugo et Vatablus. Secundo, insulae et insulani in Scriptura vocantur quaevis remotae gentes; tales enim esse insulanos aestimabant Judaei, utpote navium et rei nauticae inexperti. Ita Sanchez.
Versus 18
23. Dedan, et Thema, et Buz. — Hae gentes, ait S. Hieronymus, sunt in solitudine, vicinae et mixtae Saracenis sive Arabibus. Sunt hae regiones Agarenorum, de quibus uti et de Aelam, cap. XXX: «Et universis qui attonsi sunt in comam,» de quibus dixi cap. IX, in fine. Zambri et Aelam. — Regiones sunt Persidis, aut solitudinis, id est Arabiae Desertae, inquit S. Hieronymus.
26. Unicuique contra fratrem suum. — Supple, ait S. Hieronymus, dedi, et ex me tu, o Jeremia, propinabis et dabis hunc calicem, et meracam potionem irae et vindictae meae, ut omnes furant, vomant, insaniant, ut scilicet unus contra alium pugnet, et mutuis inter se praeliis dimicent, seque invicem conficiant, quasi ebrii et insani. Alludit ad convivia, ubi in orbem bibitur, donec omnes inebrientur, q. d. Pari modo hic unus alteri porriget calicem irae meae, unus alterum invadet, vastabit, occidet.
Quaeres, cur Deus has omnes gentes Judaeis vicinas jussit excidi? Respondet primo, Theodoretus, quia Judaeis fuerunt causa vel occasio idololatriae, ad eamque illos vel suasu suo, vel exemplo pellexerunt. Secundo, Lyranus causam dat, ut earum clade Deus subtraheret Judaeis spem ad eas recurrendi, earumque opem contra Chaldaeos aliosque hostes implorandi. Tertio, S. Hieronymus, Rabanus, Hugo et Dionysius: Quia, inquiunt, hae gentes in Judaeorum clade et excidio gavisae sint, imo in eo Chaldaeos adjuverunt: hanc enim causam dat in sequentibus Jeremias. Quarto, Sanchez: Quia, inquit, hae gentes populum Dei vexarunt, illumque sibi servire coegerunt. Hae rationes partiales sunt certarum gentium, non universales omnium quae hic nominantur. Reges enim Medorum, insularum, Tyri, Sidonis, etc., non fuerunt hostes, sed potius amici et confoederati Judaeorum. Quinto ergo, generatim et adaequate causa excidii harum omnium gentium fuit, quod Deus impleta jam mensura peccatorum earumdem, more suo voluerit et decreverit eas punire et exscindere. Hoc est quod ait vers. 30: «Dominus de excelso rugiet,» quasi judicium universale orbis peragens: «Celeuma quasi calcantium concinetur adversus omnes habitatores terrae. Quia judicium Domino cum gentibus; judicatur ipse cum omni carne, impios tradidi gladio, dicit Dominus.» Hac de causa voluit Deus transferre monarchiam Assyriorum, eamque tradere Chaldaeis. Ut enim Chaldaei se facerent monarchas omnesque gentes sibi subderent, necessum erat ut eas bello appeterent et protererent. Sic postea cum rursum impleta esset mensura peccatorum orbis, puta post duo saecula, suscitavit Graecos et Alexandrum, et post hos Romanos, ac deinde Gothos, Wandalos, Alanos, Turcas, etc., qui vindictam universalem peragerent, orbemque quasi purgarent et expiarent. Fuerunt ergo ipsi quasi lustratores orbis: unde a Jeremia vocantur milites et sacerdotes Dei, ab Isaia virga Dei, sicut Attila dicebat se esse flagellum Dei.
Rex Sesach bibet post eos. — «Rex Sesach» non est rex Aegypti, uti censuit Lyranus, ex eo quod Sesach fuerit proprium nomen alicujus regis Aegypti, ut patet III Reg. XIV, 23, et II Paral. cap. XII, vers. 2; nam id huic loco non congruit. Pharao enim quem vicit Nabuchodonosor, non «Sesach,» sed Vafres est dictus. Non etiam est rex Aethiopiae, ut vertit Arabicus Antiochenus: nemo enim alius ita vertit. «Rex ergo Sesach» est rex Babylonis, ut patet cap. LI, vers. 41, qui ultimus bibit calicem irae Dei. Ita S. Hieronymus, Chaldaeus, Theodoretus, Rabanus, Hugo, S. Thomas, Vatablus. «Sesach» ergo est Babylon, idque ex eo quod Sesach erat vel urbs potentissima Babylonis, vel dea Babylonis; et potius, ut S. Hieronymus et Hebraei, ex eo quod Sesach idem est quod Babel per alphabetariam revolutionem, quam Hebraei atbas vocant, qua ultimas litteras cum primis retrogrado ordine commutant, scilicet in Babel beth, secundam initialem alphabeti commutant cum schin, secunda finali; et caph, undecimam initialem, commutant cum lamed, undecima finali.
Versus 20
Idque facit Jeremias: quia, ut ait S. Hieronymus, occulte haec et obscure loqui volebat, ob metum Chaldaeorum jam dominantium, ne, si aperte Babylonem nominasset, dixissetque eam vastandam esse, eorum jam Judaeae imminentium magis contra eam, aeque ac contra se concitaret insaniam. Verum satis aperte Propheta, vers. 12 et aliis, prophetat excidium Babylonis. Potius ergo cum a Castro dixerim, regem Sesach hic vocari regem Babylonis per anagrammatismum jam dictum, ex eo quod hic rex post omnes alios erat puniendus. Illi ergo quasi postremo puniendo, postremas alphabeti litteras eleganter adaptat. Secundo, id facit, ut hac confusione litterarum significet confusionem rerum futuram in Babylone. Tertio, Hebraeum Sesach, id est byssus tua, significat regem bysso et purpura splendidum, his exuendum esse, et ad infima dejiciendum. Unde Syrus et Arabicus Alexandrinus vertunt, rex maximus. Rursum S. Hieronymus, in Nomin. Hebr., ex Jeremia: «Sesach, inquit, est byssus sacceus, sive mavis sacci.» Sac enim Hebraice est saccus non saxum; imo, to sac ab Hebraeis in omnes pene linguas transiit, aeque ac keren, id est cornu. Hoc etymon huic loco apte congruit, q. d. O Babylon! voco te Sesach, id est byssum sacci, sive byssum et saccum: quia tua byssus et purpura regalis commutabitur in saccum lugubrem et servilem, quando te Cyrus capiet et vastabit. Denique Sesach verti potest, senarius tuus. Ses enim hebraice sunt sex. Unde sosan et susanna vocatur lilium, a sex foliis. Ita Pagninus, q. d. Appropinquat, o Babylon! Sesach, id est senarius tuus, hoc est finis tuus, ruina tua et exitium. Senarius enim symbolum est consummationis et finis rei; quia sex diebus primis mundi Deus consummavit et finivit opus creationis universi, et sex diebus decurrit ad finem tota hebdomada, ac consequenter omnia tempora; ac sexto annorum millenario finiente finietur et mundi cursus, uti passim Patres asserunt. Unde et Christus feria sexta, horaque sexta crucifigi morique voluit. Insuper alludit ad Susa regiam Persarum, q. d. Sesach transibit in Susa, id est, finis imperii Babylonis transibit in initium monarchiae Persarum, qui imperabunt in Susa. Susa enim dicta est non a Suso fluvio, uti aliqui volunt, sed ab Hebraeo, Chaldaeo et Persico susan, id est lilium; quod eo loci liliorum ingens sit copia. Ita Athenaeus, lib. II; Stephanus, lib. De Urbibus, et alii. Hinc et oleum Susinum confectum ex liliis, de quo Plinius, lib. XIII, cap. 1, qui et lib. VI, cap. XXVII, tradit Susa urbem conditam fuisse a Dario, filio Hystaspis. Ibi fuit regia Cyri lapide candido et vario, columnis aureis, et lacunaribus gemmisque distincta, coeli continens simulacrum, stellis micantibus insignitum, et incredibilia multa. Ibi Assuerus convivium maximis divitiis et deliciis copiosum celebravit, Esther. I. Ad haec Sesach, id est byssus tua, transibit in Susa, id est in lilium, puta Babylonii in Persidem et Persas: Babylonii enim opulenti erant et splendidi bysso Ezech. XXIII, 6. Persarum insigne erat lilium, uti modo est Francorum.
Simili modo Julius Caesar, cum quid secreti scribere vellet, litteras commutabat, primam scilicet pro quarta supponendo: unde pro A scribebat D, quae quarta est ab A. Et Augustus pro A scribebat B, pro B scribebat C, et ita consequenter: testis est Suetonius et Isidorus, lib. I Etymol. cap. XV. Porro anagrammatismum hunc Graecos et Latinos mutuatos esse ab Hebraeis docent veteres et moderni. Isaacius Tzetzes in Prol. ad Lycophr., refert Lycophronem poetam vetustum et elegantem litteras hebraicas percalluisse, et inde anagrammatismos suos fecisse, ideoque eum Ptolemaeo Philadelpho non tam ob poesin, quam ob hosce anagrammatismos charum fuisse, a quo ille dicebatur per anagramma: Πτολεμαῖος — Ptolemaeus, Ἀπο μέλιτος — A melle, melleus. Plato in Cratylo: Ἥρα, inquit, id est Juno, idem est quod ἀήρ aer, per anagramma: aerem enim nomine Junonis, Gentiles ut deam venerati sunt.
Sic a facie aquilae, idem est quod a facie Cyri, qui sibi praeferri jussit insigne aquilae, quod postea imitati sunt alii reges Persarum. Sic et aquila sola in aciem Romanorum inducta est a C. Mario, ait Plinius, lib. X, cap. IV; nam antea Romani in vexillis lupi, minotauri, equi et apri imagines mixtim praeferebant. Sic Constantinus in labaro signum crucis castris praetulit, teste S. Ambrosio, epist. 29. Hinc patet hanc sententiam de columbae insigni in vexillis Chaldaeorum tot auctoribus veteribus et modernis subnixam, non carere fundamento, uti autumant nonnulli.
Versus 22
27. Inebriamini. — Ebrietas ista significat mentis ex metu et miseriis perculsae perturbationem, stuporem, consilii inopiam, desperationem, et pene amentiam; in qua omnia sua bona omnemque felicitatem, honorem et gaudium, imo sanguinem, animam et vitam erant evomituri. Unde calicem hunc et ebrietatem mox vocat gladium, dicens: «Neque surgatis a facie gladii;» quia sicut ebrius sui impos ruit et cadit in terram, sic et vos, saeviente gladio Chaldaeorum, ruetis in interitum et mortem perpetuam.
Eustathius in Homero, Iliad. α, vers. 55, anagrammata haec celebrat, multaque dat exempla, e quibus accipe pauca. Ἄτλας Atlas, τάλας miser, θύμος animus, μῦθος verbum, ὄχλος turba, λόχος cohors; ἀρετή virtus, ἐρατή amabilis, φλύαρος nugae, φλαῦρος vilis. Sic Latinus poeta ludit per anagramma in voce Roma, quasi sit mora: Cur varios tamdiu remoratur Roma clientes / Forte quod inverso nomine Roma mora est. Melius alter per perfectum atbas: Roma, inquit, est amor; unde versus totus anagrammaticus, totusque atbas: Roma tibi subito motibus ibit amor. Ut patebit, si quis retrograde eum legat. Denique artificium hoc anagrammatum ab Hebraeis ad Graecos et Latinos transmissum fuisse docet Guillelmus Blanchus Albiensis, lib. De Anagrammat.
Versus 23
Hinc etiam Spiritus Sanctus, praeter alias causas, in baptismo Christi specie columbae in Palaestina descendit; quia haec species ibi erat augustissima. Sed unde hoc? Graeci putant eos coluisse columbam in honorem Rheae, quae pluviis praesidet: pia enim est fluo. Putabant enim Assyrii, ex aere et aqua proprie rerum naturam constare; hinc pro aqua pisces, verbi gratia Dagon; pro aere, ex quo pluvia descendit, columbam aeream coluisse creduntur.
Planius Diodorus Siculus et alii putant eos coluisse columbam, in honorem Semiramidis reginae Assyriorum; aut potius eos Semiramidem coluisse sub effigie columbae, eo quod, ut scribit Guidius, fama esset eam a columbis enutritam (et inde dicta est Semiramis, quae vox syriace avem significat), et post mortem in columbam esse conversam. Fictum hoc videtur vel assentationis causa, vel, ut notat Pierius, ob ejus libidinem, quae tanta fuit, ut filii concubitum expetierit, qua de causa ab eo occisa est. Columba enim ita libidinosa est, ut singulis mensibus pariat. Hinc veteres Veneri dicabant columbas albas, quas proinde Aeneas apud Poetam maternas appellat aves. Hinc ergo Babylonii in vexillis et labaris columbam praeferebant, et inde exercitus eorum dicitur columba, tum hic, tum cap. XLVI, vers. 13, juncto cum vers. 16, et cap. L, vers. 15, 16. De columba plura habet Pierius, hieroglyph. 22, et Guevara supra.
Versus 26
Multis id probat Antonius Guevara in Habacuc I, num. 154, itaque explicat illud Psalm. LXVII, 14: «Si dormiatis inter medios cleros,» id est inter sortes et terminos hostium vestrorum Philistinorum, eritis «sicut pennae columbae deargentatae,» id est eritis candidi, intacti et illaesi, instar columbae albae, cujus «posteriora» sunt «in pallore auri,» id est aureis maculis sunt variegata, q. d. Esto cingamini Palaestinis hostibus, iis tamen timori et religioni eritis, non secus atque alba columba, quam nemo eorum audet tangere.
Babylonii et Syri easdem pro numine colebant; testis est Xenophon in Cyro Juniore, et Lucianus in dea Syria. Syri dico, maxime illi qui Palaestinam incolebant; unde Tibullus: Quid referam ut volitet crebras intacta per urbes / Alba Palaestino sancta columba Syro?
30. Dominus de excelso rugiet, q. d. Sicut leo rugitu suo omnes terret, ita Deus quasi rugiet excidii sententiam ferens et exsequens contra Jerusalem, facietque Chaldaeos quasi leones rugire et vociferari, ac invicem animare ad eam invadendam, sicque terrebit omnes gentes vicinas. Nota: Per decorem intelligit vel Jerusalem, ut Chaldaeus, vel templum, ut passim alii interpretes exponunt: quia ibi vera fide, religione, sacrificiisque victimis colebatur, et quasi decorabatur Deus. Celeuma — proprie est clamor, non lugubris, ut vult S. Hieronymus, sed laetus, scilicet jubilus nautarum et militum ad remigandum et praeliandum, et in Scriptura calcantium uvas ad mustum exprimendum, communi omnium annisu et voce invicem se adhortantium, cum scilicet uno aliquid jubente omnes uniformiter respondent, quasi invicem jubentes et excitantes ad commune omnium opus: dicitur enim celeuma ἀπὸ τοῦ κελεύω, id est jubeo, q. d. Nabuchodonosor et Chaldaei quasi communi celeumate se invicem adhortabuntur ad cladem, conculcationem et eversionem Judaeorum, ut eos trucident et sanguinem exprimant, instar eorum qui calcant et exprimunt uvas in torculari. Hi enim, collecta vindemia, solent tripudiare et canticis testari laetitiam. Unde Virgilius: Jam canit extremos effetus vinitor antes. Omnes habitatores terrae, — scilicet Judaeae, vel illius quae hic vastanda a Deo decernitur. Ita Vatablus.
31. Pervenit (perveniet tunc ad omnes gentes) sonitus; — Chaldaeus, tumultus; Septuaginta, interitus; alii, strepitus armorum et clangor tubarum; alii, fama et rumor belli, ut scilicet omnes gentes rumorem, pariter et clamorem hostium Chaldaeorum audiant et sentiant. Locus hic allegorice competit apte extremo judicio, quando Christus angelos mittet cum tuba per totum orbem. Ita S. Hieronymus. Judicatur (disceptat, et judicium subit Deus) cum omni carne, — id est cum omni homine, scilicet sistens se judicio omnium hominum, ut omnes homines examinantes peccata gentium et poenam a Deo inflictam, judicent Deum juste tantam eis poenam inflixisse ob tanta peccata. De hoc judicio Dei vide Isaiam, cap. 1, 18, et cap. XLIII, 44.
32. Turbo magnus egredietur. — Hoc factum est, ait S. Hieronymus, cum Nabuchodonosor omnes in circuitu gentes et summa, id est extrema terrae, quasi turbo subito et potenter suis armis involvit et vastavit.
33. Et erunt interfecti Domini, — a Domino per Chaldaeos. In sterquilinium. — Supple, in sterquilinium projicientur, ibique jacebunt, ut a canibus et feris devorentur.
34. Ululate, pastores. — Chaldaeus: Ululate, reges et principes.
aitque atbas esse commentum ineptissimorum Rabbinorum; Sesach ergo esse nomen deae. Verum S. Hieronymo et priscis Rabbinis, quos sequitur S. Hieronymus, magis credendum est quam uni moderno Scaligero.)
Et dissipationes vestrae, — supple et repete, completae sunt, q. d. Nunc plane dissipabimini, et cadetis quasi vasa pretiosa, quae cadendo diffringuntur, dissiliunt et dissipantur. Ego enim vos hactenus, quasi vasa pretiosa, manu mea continui et conservavi; nunc vero sinam vos cadere, frangi et dissipari, ut, sicut fuistis vasa in honorem, sic nunc sitis vasa in contumeliam.
Versus 27
35. Peribit fuga a pastoribus (non poterunt fugere pastores), — id est principes et optimates. 36. Vox clamoris — audietur. 37. Conticuerunt (quasi maesta et desolata jacent et tacent, ac nullos dant fructus) arva pacis, — id est antea pacifica, atque in pace cultissima, amoenissima et uberrima, quasi Tempe, et paradisi deliciarum.
38. Dereliquit, — scilicet Deus, templum habitaculum suum, quod, ut leo quasi latibulum suum, ante tuebatur, ut nemo auderet illud aggredi; sed Deo quasi illud derelinquente et egresso, Chaldaei ingressi sunt illud, atque vastarunt. Ita S. Hieronymus, Rabanus, Hugo, Lyranus. Aliter Vatablus: Sicut leo, inquit, esuriens, nec habens praedam, latibulum egreditur: ita Deus praedam, sive escam, id est sancta sacrificia, et pietatem ac justitiam, non reperiens in templo, illud deseruit. Aliter quoque alii, q. d. Sicut leo deserit speluncam suam, cum sylva, ubi est, succenditur ac vastatur: ita Deus, vastata Judaea, deseret Jerusalem et templum, in quo habitat. Huic sensui apte respondet id quod sequitur: «Quia facta est terra eorum in desolationem.» Sed juxta primum sensum to quia, more hebraeo non causam, sed signum concomitans, aut etiam effectum significat. Hic enim vocatur causa, non a priori, sed quasi a posteriori quoad nos, quae scilicet nos eam scire et cognoscere facit, q. d. Ex eo quod terra desolata est, scimus et cognoscimus clare, quod Deus eam dereliquerit. Porro Sanchez per leonem accipit non Deum, sed reges et principes vastandos a Chaldaeis, q. d. Principum, qui videbantur esse terribiles quasi leones, regna et regiones sic incedent et populabuntur Chaldaei, ut nullus eis sit reliquus ad effugium locus. Sed sic potius dixisset, «dereliquerunt,» non «dereliquit.»
A facie irae columbae. — Lyranus nimis credulus R. Salomoni, pro columba vertit, vinositatem, q. d. A vino furoris Domini. Sic et Chaldaeus, a facie gladii inimici, qui inebriat sicut vinum; sed hebraice est יונה iona, non יין iain, id est vinum. Secundo, Pagninus et Vatablus vertunt, a facie ira oppressoris. Sed tum יונח ione dicendum esset, non יונה iona. Septuaginta non verba, sed sensum reddunt, vertuntque, a facie gladii magni. Noster ergo et alii optime propriissimeque vertunt, a facie irae columbae, hebraice היונה haiona, id est illius columbae, scilicet insignis et celebratae. Quaeres, quaenam est haec columba? Respondent S. Hieronymus et D. Thomas, posse accipi Jerusalem, q. d. Terra Judaica coram Jerusalem vastata est, ideoque irata est, et infremuit ipsa Jerusalem, utpote metropolis. Sed to a facie irae significat iram activam et vastantem, non passivam, et vastitatem patientem.
Secundo, Maldonatus censet Deum vocari columbam, eo quod sit mansuetissimus, et tamen multitudine peccatorum irritatus sit, et provocatus ad vindictam. Verum Jeremias hic distinguit iram columbae, ab ira furoris Domini; ait enim: «A facie irae columbae, et a facie irae furoris Domini.» Tertio et genuine, idem S. Hieronymus, S. Thomas, Pierius, Guevara, Capilla, Castrius, Maldonatus et alii per columbam accipiunt Nabuchodonosorem et Chaldaeos; idque primo, ob celeritatem et perennem constantemque volatum ad praedam et caedem: columba enim 'Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas.' Secundo, ut Hugo et S. Thomas, per antiphrasin columba hic significat feritatem Chaldaeorum. Tertio, quia Deus eos e Babylone, quasi e columbario, emisit ad quaerendum cibum in Judaeam, quasi in alienam segetem. Addit Sanchez leonem fuisse insigne et stemma Judae et Judaeorum, Genes. XLIX, 9, et de eo hic dici vers. 38: «Dereliquit quasi leo umbraculum suum;» huic opponit columbam (ut quasi duellet cum leone), quae erat insigne Chaldaeorum, q. d. Dimicabunt et duellabunt leo et columba, puta Judaei et Chaldaei; at columba vincet et proteret leonem, puta Chaldaei proterent Judaeos; fugiet ergo leo, derelinquet terram a facie irae columbae, cujus impetum sustinere non poterit; quia nimirum in columba et per columbam pugnabit Dominus, Dominique furor. Unde subdit: «Et a facie irae furoris Domini.» Unde vers. 9, Deus Nabuchodonosorem vocavit servum suum. Quarto, quia columbas albas uti Persae ob leprae odium detestabantur, ita Babylonii et Syri easdem pro numine colebant; testis est Xenophon in Cyro Juniore, et Lucianus in dea Syria. Syri dico, maxime illi qui Palaestinam incolebant; unde Tibullus: Quid referam ut volitet crebras intacta per urbes / Alba Palaestino sancta columba Syro?
Et a facie irae furoris (id est irae furibundae, et actu furentis, id est saevientis) Domini. — Copula et significat, id est, q. d. «A facie irae columbae, id est a facie irae furoris Domini;» quia furor columbae est furor Domini. Aut, q. d. «A facie irae columbae, aut potius a facie irae furoris Domini.» Nec enim columba mitis tantas volvit iras in pectore; Dei ergo furor volens punire scelera Judaeorum, has iras columbae, id est Chaldaeis indidit. Ita Sanchez.
Mystice S. Gregorius, lib. XXXII Moral. cap. VI: Columba, inquit, est Deus, quia simplex est, aequabilis, mansuetus, immutabilis, et cum irascitur, punitque Judaeos per Chaldaeos, ira non perturbatur. Et D. Thomas: Deus, ait, qui per patientiam hactenus fuit columba, jam erit leo ob vehementiam vindictae; unde Maldonatus et aliqui alii per columbam hic ad litteram intelligunt Deum. Quae expositio non est improbabilis.
Seir. 30. Dominus de excelso rugiet, q. d. Sicut leo rugitu suo omnes terret, ita Deus quasi rugiet excidii sententiam ferens et exsequens contra Jerusalem, facietque Chaldaeos quasi leones rugire et vociferari, ac invicem animare ad eam invadendam, sicque terrebit omnes gentes vicinas. Nota: Per decorem intelligit vel Jerusalem, ut Chaldaeus, vel templum, ut passim alii interpretes exponunt: quia ibi vera fide, religione, sacrificiisque victimis colebatur, et quasi decorabatur Deus. Celeuma — proprie est clamor, non lugubris, ut vult S. Hieronymus, sed laetus, scilicet jubilus nautarum et militum ad remigandum et praeliandum, et in Scriptura calcantium uvas ad mustum exprimendum, communi omnium annisu et voce invicem se adhortantium, cum scilicet uno aliquid jubente omnes uniformiter respondent, quasi invicem jubentes et excitantes ad commune omnium opus: dicitur enim celeuma ἀπὸ τοῦ κελεύω, id est jubeo, q. d. Nabuchodonosor et Chaldaei quasi communi celeumate se invicem adhortabuntur ad cladem, conculcationem et eversionem Judaeorum, ut eos trucident et sanguinem exprimant, instar eorum qui calcant et exprimunt uvas in torculari. Hi enim, collecta vindemia, solent tripudiare et canticis testari laetitiam. Unde Virgilius: Jam canit extremos effetus vinitor antes. Omnes habitatores terrae, — scilicet Judaeae, vel illius quae hic vastanda a Deo decernitur. Ita Vatablus.
Versus 30
34. Ululate, pastores. — Chaldaeus: Ululate, reges et principes. Et dissipationes vestrae, — supple et repete, completae sunt, q. d. Nunc plane dissipabimini, et cadetis quasi vasa pretiosa, quae cadendo diffringuntur, dissiliunt et dissipantur. Ego enim vos hactenus, quasi vasa pretiosa, manu mea continui et conservavi; nunc vero sinam vos cadere, frangi et dissipari, ut, sicut fuistis vasa in honorem, sic nunc sitis vasa in contumeliam.
Note: By "beauty" he means either Jerusalem, as the Chaldean says, or the temple, as other interpreters commonly explain: because there God was worshipped and, as it were, adorned with true faith, religion, and sacrificial victims.
CELEUMA — is properly a shout, not mournful, as St. Jerome would have it, but joyful — namely, the cheer of sailors and soldiers for rowing and fighting, and in Scripture of those who tread grapes to press out the must, all encouraging one another with a common effort and voice, when, at one person's command, all respond in unison, as if commanding and rousing each other to their common work. For celeuma is derived from the Greek keleuō, meaning "I command," as if to say: Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans will encourage one another with a common shout to the slaughter, trampling, and overthrow of the Jews, to kill them and press out their blood, like those who tread and press grapes in the winepress. For these, when the vintage is gathered, are accustomed to dance and attest their joy with songs. Hence Virgil: Now the exhausted vine-dresser sings at the last rows.
ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH — namely, of Judea, or of the land which is here decreed by God to be devastated. So Vatablus.
Versus 31
31. THE SOUND SHALL REACH (shall then reach all nations); — the Chaldean: tumult; the Septuagint: destruction; others: the clash of arms and the blast of trumpets; others: the report and rumor of war, so that all nations may hear and feel the rumor and also the battle cry of the Chaldean enemies.
This passage allegorically fits well the last judgment, when Christ shall send the angels with a trumpet throughout the whole world. So St. Jerome.
HE ENTERS INTO JUDGMENT (God disputes and submits to judgment) WITH ALL FLESH — that is, with every human being, namely presenting Himself to the judgment of all people, so that all people, examining the sins of the nations and the punishment inflicted by God, may judge that God justly inflicted so great a punishment upon them for so great sins. On this judgment of God, see Isaiah chapter 1:18 and chapter 43:44.
Versus 32
32. A GREAT WHIRLWIND SHALL GO FORTH. — This was fulfilled, says St. Jerome, when Nebuchadnezzar engulfed and devastated all the surrounding nations and the uttermost parts of the earth, like a whirlwind, suddenly and powerfully with his arms.
Versus 33
33. AND THE SLAIN OF THE LORD — slain by the Lord through the Chaldeans. ON THE DUNGHILL. — Supply: they shall be cast on the dunghill, and there they shall lie, to be devoured by dogs and wild beasts.
Versus 34
34. HOWL, O PASTORS. — The Chaldean: Howl, O kings and princes.
(Scaliger) says that atbash is the invention of the most inept Rabbis; that Sesach, therefore, is the name of a goddess. But St. Jerome and the ancient Rabbis, whom St. Jerome follows, are more to be believed than one modern Scaliger.)
AND YOUR DISSIPATIONS — supply and repeat: are completed, as if to say: Now you shall plainly be scattered, and you shall fall like precious vessels which, when falling, are smashed, shatter, and are scattered. For until now I held and preserved you in My hand, like precious vessels; but now I will let you fall, be broken, and be scattered, so that, just as you were vessels of honor, so now you may be vessels of dishonor.
Versus 35
35. FLIGHT SHALL PERISH FROM THE PASTORS (the pastors shall not be able to flee) — that is, the princes and nobles. 36. THE VOICE OF A CRY — shall be heard. 37. THE PEACEFUL PASTURES HAVE FALLEN SILENT (as though mourning and desolate they lie silent, and yield no fruits) — that is, the pastures formerly peaceful, and in peacetime most cultivated, most pleasant, and most fertile, like Tempe, and the paradise of delights.
Versus 38
38. HE HAS ABANDONED — namely, God has abandoned the temple, His habitation, which, like a lion its den, He previously guarded so that no one dared attack it; but with God, as it were, abandoning it and departing, the Chaldeans entered and devastated it. So St. Jerome, Rabanus, Hugo, Lyranus. Otherwise Vatablus: Like a hungry lion, he says, with no prey, that leaves its den — so God, finding no prey or food in the temple, that is, no holy sacrifices, piety, or justice, abandoned it. Others explain it differently: Just as a lion abandons its cave when the forest in which it lives is set on fire and devastated — so God, when Judea was devastated, will abandon Jerusalem and the temple in which He dwelt. To this meaning what follows aptly corresponds: "For their land has become a desolation." But according to the first meaning, the word "for" in the Hebrew manner signifies not the cause but an accompanying sign, or even an effect. For here it is called a cause not a priori, but as it were a posteriori with respect to us, namely what makes us know and recognize it — as if to say: From the fact that the land is desolated, we know and clearly recognize that God has abandoned it. Furthermore, Sanchez understands the lion not as God, but as the kings and princes who are to be devastated by the Chaldeans, as if to say: The Chaldeans will so invade and ravage the kingdoms and regions of the princes, who seemed as terrible as lions, that no place of escape will be left to them. But then he should rather have said "they abandoned" (plural), not "He abandoned" (singular).
BECAUSE OF THE WRATH OF THE DOVE. — Lyranus, too credulous of Rabbi Solomon, translates "dove" as "drunkenness," as if to say: Because of the wine of the Lord's fury. So also the Chaldean: because of the sword of the enemy, which inebriates like wine. But in Hebrew it is yonah (dove), not yayin (wine).
Second, Pagninus and Vatablus translate: because of the wrath of the oppressor. But then it should be yoneh, not yonah. The Septuagint renders not the words but the sense, translating: because of the great sword.
Our translation and others, therefore, most correctly and properly translate: because of the wrath of the dove, in Hebrew haionah, that is, of that dove — namely, the famous and renowned one.
One may ask: What is this dove? St. Jerome and St. Thomas respond that it can be taken as Jerusalem, as if to say: The land of Judea was devastated before Jerusalem, and therefore Jerusalem itself, as the metropolis, was angered and groaned. But "because of the wrath" signifies an active and devastating wrath, not a passive one enduring devastation.
Second, Maldonatus thinks God is called a dove because He is most gentle, and yet was provoked and roused to vengeance by the multitude of sins. But Jeremiah here distinguishes the wrath of the dove from the wrath of the Lord's fury; for he says: "Because of the wrath of the dove, and because of the wrath of the Lord's fury."
Third, and genuinely, the same St. Jerome, St. Thomas, Pierius, Guevara, Capilla, Castrius, Maldonatus, and others understand by the dove Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans; and this first, because of the swiftness and constant, unceasing flight toward prey and slaughter — for the dove "cleaves a liquid path and does not move its swift wings." Second, as Hugo and St. Thomas say, by antiphrasis the dove here signifies the ferocity of the Chaldeans. Third, because God sent them from Babylon, as from a dovecote, to seek food in Judea, as in another's harvest field. Sanchez adds that the lion was the emblem and coat of arms of Judah and the Jews, Genesis 49:9, and that of it is said here in verse 38: "He has abandoned His shelter like a lion." Against this he sets the dove (as if to make it duel with the lion), which was the emblem of the Chaldeans — as if to say: The lion and the dove shall fight and duel, namely the Jews and the Chaldeans; but the dove shall conquer and crush the lion — that is, the Chaldeans shall crush the Jews. The lion shall therefore flee and abandon the land because of the wrath of the dove, whose onslaught it will not be able to withstand; because, indeed, in the dove and through the dove the Lord and the Lord's fury shall fight. Hence He adds: "And because of the wrath of the Lord's fury." Hence in verse 9, God called Nebuchadnezzar His servant. Fourth, because whereas the Persians detested white doves out of their hatred of leprosy, the Babylonians and Syrians worshipped them as a divinity; the witnesses are Xenophon in Cyrus the Younger, and Lucian in The Syrian Goddess. The Syrians, I say, especially those who inhabited Palestine; hence Tibullus: Why should I tell how the white dove, sacred and untouched, / Flies through the crowded cities of the Palestinian Syrian?
AND BECAUSE OF THE FIERCE ANGER (that is, the furious anger, actually raging, that is, fierce) OF THE LORD. — The conjunction "and" means "that is" — as if to say: "Because of the wrath of the dove, that is, because of the fierce anger of the Lord"; because the fury of the dove is the fury of the Lord. Or, as if to say: "Because of the wrath of the dove, or rather because of the fierce anger of the Lord." For a gentle dove does not roll such great wrath in its breast; it is therefore the fury of God, wishing to punish the crimes of the Jews, that instilled these wrathful passions in the dove, that is, in the Chaldeans. So Sanchez.
Mystically, St. Gregory, Book 32 of the Moralia, chapter 6: The dove, he says, is God, because He is simple, even-tempered, gentle, unchangeable, and when He is angry and punishes the Jews through the Chaldeans, He is not disturbed by anger. And St. Thomas: God, he says, who through patience has until now been a dove, will now be a lion because of the vehemence of His vengeance; whence Maldonatus and some others understand the dove here literally as God. This interpretation is not implausible.
SEIR.
30. THE LORD SHALL ROAR FROM ON HIGH, as if to say: Just as a lion terrifies all with its roar, so God shall, as it were, roar, pronouncing and executing the sentence of destruction against Jerusalem, and shall make the Chaldeans roar and shout like lions, and encourage one another to invade it, and thus shall terrify all the neighboring nations.
Note: By "beauty" he means either Jerusalem, as the Chaldean says, or the temple, as other interpreters commonly explain: because there God was worshipped and, as it were, adorned with true faith, religion, and sacrificial victims.
CELEUMA — is properly a shout, not mournful, as St. Jerome would have it, but joyful — namely, the cheer of sailors and soldiers for rowing and fighting, and in Scripture of those who tread grapes to press out the must, all encouraging one another with a common effort and voice, when, at one person's command, all respond in unison, as if commanding and rousing each other to their common work. For celeuma is derived from the Greek keleuō, meaning "I command," as if to say: Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans will encourage one another with a common shout to the slaughter, trampling, and overthrow of the Jews, to kill them and press out their blood, like those who tread and press grapes in the winepress. For these, when the vintage is gathered, are accustomed to dance and attest their joy with songs. Hence Virgil: Now the exhausted vine-dresser sings at the last rows.
ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH — namely, of Judea, or of the land which is here decreed by God to be devastated. So Vatablus.
BECAUSE OF THE WRATH OF THE DOVE. — Lyranus, too credulous of Rabbi Solomon, translates "dove" as "drunkenness," as if to say: Because of the wine of the Lord's fury. So also the Chaldean: because of the sword of the enemy, which inebriates like wine. But in Hebrew it is yonah (dove), not yayin (wine).
Second, Pagninus and Vatablus translate: because of the wrath of the oppressor. But then it should be yoneh, not yonah. The Septuagint renders not the words but the sense, translating: because of the great sword.
Our translation and others, therefore, most correctly and properly translate: because of the wrath of the dove, in Hebrew haionah, that is, of that dove — namely, the famous and renowned one.
Hence also the Holy Spirit, besides other reasons, at the baptism of Christ descended in the form of a dove in Palestine; because this form was most august there. But why was this? The Greeks think they worshipped the dove in honor of Rhea, who presides over rains — for pia means "I flow." For the Assyrians believed that the nature of things properly consists of air and water; hence for water they worshipped fish, for example Dagon; for air, from which rain descends, they are believed to have worshipped a bronze dove.
More clearly, Diodorus Siculus and others think they worshipped the dove in honor of Semiramis, queen of the Assyrians; or rather, that they worshipped Semiramis under the image of a dove, because, as Guidius writes, the story was that she had been nursed by doves (and hence she was called Semiramis, which word in Syriac means bird), and after death was converted into a dove. This seems to have been invented either for flattery, or, as Pierius notes, because of her lust, which was so great that she sought intercourse with her son, for which reason she was killed by him. For the dove is so libidinous that it breeds every month. Hence the ancients dedicated white doves to Venus, which accordingly Aeneas in the Poet calls his mother's birds. Hence, therefore, the Babylonians bore a dove on their standards and banners, and hence their army is called a dove, both here and in chapter 46, verse 13, joined with verse 16, and chapter 50, verses 15-16. Pierius has more on the dove, Hieroglyphics 22, and Guevara above.
Second, Maldonatus thinks God is called a dove because He is most gentle, and yet was provoked and roused to vengeance by the multitude of sins. But Jeremiah here distinguishes the wrath of the dove from the wrath of the Lord's fury; for he says: "Because of the wrath of the dove, and because of the wrath of the Lord's fury."
Third, and genuinely, the same St. Jerome, St. Thomas, Pierius, Guevara, Capilla, Castrius, Maldonatus, and others understand by the dove Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans; and this first, because of the swiftness and constant, unceasing flight toward prey and slaughter — for the dove "cleaves a liquid path and does not move its swift wings." Second, as Hugo and St. Thomas say, by antiphrasis the dove here signifies the ferocity of the Chaldeans. Third, because God sent them from Babylon, as from a dovecote, to seek food in Judea, as in another's harvest field. Sanchez adds that the lion was the emblem and coat of arms of Judah and the Jews, Genesis 49:9, and that of it is said here in verse 38: "He has abandoned His shelter like a lion." Against this he sets the dove (as if to make it duel with the lion), which was the emblem of the Chaldeans — as if to say: The lion and the dove shall fight and duel, namely the Jews and the Chaldeans; but the dove shall conquer and crush the lion — that is, the Chaldeans shall crush the Jews. The lion shall therefore flee and abandon the land because of the wrath of the dove, whose onslaught it will not be able to withstand; because, indeed, in the dove and through the dove the Lord and the Lord's fury shall fight. Hence He adds: "And because of the wrath of the Lord's fury." Hence in verse 9, God called Nebuchadnezzar His servant. Fourth, because whereas the Persians detested white doves out of their hatred of leprosy, the Babylonians and Syrians worshipped them as a divinity.
Antonius Guevara proves this at length in his commentary on Habakkuk 1, number 154, and thus explains Psalm 68:13: "If you sleep among the sheepfolds," that is, between the lots and borders of your enemies the Philistines, you shall be "like the wings of a dove covered with silver," that is, you shall be white, untouched, and unharmed, like a white dove, whose "back feathers" are "in the pallor of gold," that is, are variegated with golden spots — as if to say: Even though you are surrounded by Philistine enemies, you will be a terror and object of reverence to them, no less than a white dove which none of them dares to touch.
Mystically, St. Gregory, Book 32 of the Moralia, chapter 6: The dove, he says, is God, because He is simple, even-tempered, gentle, unchangeable, and when He is angry and punishes the Jews through the Chaldeans, He is not disturbed by anger. And St. Thomas: God, he says, who through patience has until now been a dove, will now be a lion because of the vehemence of His vengeance; whence Maldonatus and some others understand the dove here literally as God. This interpretation is not implausible.
AND BECAUSE OF THE FIERCE ANGER (that is, the furious anger, actually raging, that is, fierce) OF THE LORD. — The conjunction "and" means "that is" — as if to say: "Because of the wrath of the dove, that is, because of the fierce anger of the Lord"; because the fury of the dove is the fury of the Lord. Or, as if to say: "Because of the wrath of the dove, or rather because of the fierce anger of the Lord." For a gentle dove does not roll such great wrath in its breast; it is therefore the fury of God, wishing to punish the crimes of the Jews, that instilled these wrathful passions in the dove, that is, in the Chaldeans. So Sanchez.