Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Thus far the Prophet has prophesied to the Jews; now he passes to other nations, and prophesies a similar destruction upon them. And this he does from this chapter almost to chapter XLI. In this chapter, therefore, he threatens devastation upon the enemies of the Jews, namely the Ammonites, verse 3; the Moabites, verse 8; the Idumeans, verse 12; the Philistines, verse 14, because they exulted over the devastation of Jerusalem and insulted it, either out of hatred of the nation, or of God, as if the God of the Hebrews could not defend Himself, His people, and His temple, and because they aided the Chaldeans in the siege of Jerusalem.
Vulgate Text: Ezekiel 25:1-17
1. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2. Son of man, set your face against the sons of Ammon, and prophesy concerning them. 3. And you shall say to the sons of Ammon: Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God: Because you said: Aha, aha, over my sanctuary, because it was polluted, and over the land of Israel, because it was desolated; and over the house of Judah, because they were led into captivity: 4. Therefore I will deliver you to the sons of the East as an inheritance, and they shall set up their sheepfolds in you, and shall place their tents in you: they shall eat your fruits: and they shall drink your milk. 5. And I will make Rabbath a habitation for camels, and the sons of Ammon a resting-place for flocks: and you shall know that I am the Lord. 6. For thus says the Lord God: Because you clapped your hands, and stamped your foot, and rejoiced with all your heart over the land of Israel: 7. Therefore behold, I will stretch out My hand against you, and will deliver you to the plunder of the nations, and will cut you off from the peoples, and will destroy you from the lands, and will crush you: and you shall know that I am the Lord. 8. Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir said: Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations: 9. Therefore behold, I will open the shoulder of Moab from its cities, from its cities, I say,
the renowned cities of its territory, Bethiesimoth, and Beelmeon, and Cariathaim, 10. to the sons of the East together with the sons of Ammon, and I will give it as an inheritance: so that there may no longer be any remembrance of the sons of Ammon among the nations. 11. And upon Moab I will execute judgments: and they shall know that I am the Lord. 12. Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom took vengeance to avenge itself on the sons of Judah, and sinned by doing so, and sought revenge upon them: 13. therefore thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out My hand against Edom, and will take away from it man and beast, and will make it desolate from the south: and those who are in Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14. And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel: and they shall deal with Edom according to My anger and My fury: and they shall know My vengeance, says the Lord God. 15. Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines have taken vengeance, and have avenged themselves with all their heart, killing and fulfilling ancient enmities: 16. therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and will slay the slayers, and will destroy the remnants of the maritime region: 17. and I will execute great vengeances upon them, rebuking in fury: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay My vengeance upon them.
Verse 2: SET YOUR FACE.
2. SET YOUR FACE. — The Septuagint: Harden your face, that is, look upon the Ammonites with a firm, stern, and threatening countenance. This means, turn your face toward Ammon, so that you may freely and fearlessly predict the evils that will befall them. Similar was chapter VI, 2, and chapter XIII, verse 17.
Verse 3: HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD.
3. HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD. — He said this in the hearing not of the Ammonites, but of the Jews, who could report the same to the Ammonites, and this in order to console the Jews, from the fact that God would avenge their injuries.
YOU SAID: AHA, AHA, — that is, as the Septuagint has it, you rejoiced in the overthrow of the temple. Similar is Psalm XXXIV, 21.
Verse 4: I Will Deliver You To The Sons Of The East
4. I WILL DELIVER YOU TO THE SONS OF THE EAST, — that is, to the Medes and Persians, say R. David and Vatablus. Second, to the Arabs, say Theodoretus and Maldonatus; for the Arabs are neighbors and to the east of the Ammonites, and they were shepherds and camel-drivers. Hence it aptly fits them, what follows: "They shall set up sheepfolds in you, they shall drink your milk, you shall be a habitation for camels, and a resting-place for flocks." Third, and best, "to the Easterners," that is, to the Chaldeans, say St. Jerome and the Hebrews. For we read that it was not the Arabs, nor the Medes, nor the Persians, but the Chaldeans who laid waste the land of Ammon. For Nebuchadnezzar, as we heard in chapter XXI, 21, standing at the crossroads cast lots whether he should proceed against Jerusalem; and when the lot fell against Jerusalem, he went there and devastated it: and after its devastation, in the fifth year he devastated the Ammonites, as Josephus teaches, book X of the Antiquities, chapter XI. Therefore Jeremiah predicted the same destruction for the Ammonites, in chapter XLIX.
Nevertheless, by the Easterners can also be understood the Arabs, either because they aided the Chaldeans in the conquest of the Ammonites; or because, after the Ammonites were slain or led away, they invaded and occupied their region as common pasture, and fed their flocks there. For the Arabs, descended from the sons of Abraham whom he begot from Keturah, are called in Scripture "sons of the East," as I noted on Genesis XXV, 6.
THEY SHALL SET UP THEIR SHEEPFOLDS IN YOU, — that is, they will overthrow and devastate you, and burn your cities and fortresses, so that in them, as in an open and fertile field, they may pitch their tents and sheepfolds. For metaphorically he calls the Chaldeans shepherds. For just as a shepherd rules his sheep, and leads, handles, and slaughters them as he wishes: so also the Chaldeans with the Ammonites. Alternatively, Theodoretus and Maldonatus say: I will deliver you to the Ishmaelites, whose custom it is to dwell in tents.
Verse 7: I Will Cut You Off From The Peoples
7. I WILL CUT YOU OFF FROM THE PEOPLES, — that is, I will cut you off so that you may not be numbered among the peoples, nor be named and counted among the nations. AND I WILL DESTROY YOU FROM THE LANDS, — so that you may no longer exist on earth.
Verse 8: Seir
8. SEIR, — that is, Edom. For Esau was called Seir, because he was hairy: hence the region which he inhabited was called after him Seir, as well as Edom or Idumea. BEHOLD, LIKE ALL THE NATIONS, — as if to say: The Jews have neither God nor anything else remarkable compared to other nations, but are similarly subject to calamities and to the Chaldeans just like the rest.
Verse 9: I WILL OPEN THE SHOULDER OF MOAB.
9. I WILL OPEN THE SHOULDER OF MOAB. — The Chaldean: I will break...
...I will break the strength of Moab. For men have their strength in their shoulders and arms. Second, Vatablus says that to open the shoulder or side is to make access to the strongest and most fortified places, so that they may lie open to enemies. For fortresses, fortified cities, and ramparts have the appearance of shoulders. These therefore he calls the shoulders from among the cities, that is, of the cities of Moab.
FROM ITS BORDERS, — from the border cities that are on its frontiers. For these, as the outer wall of the region, are usually the most fortified, such as in Moab were Bethiesimoth, Beelmeon, and Cariathaim; whence he calls them the renowned cities of the land.
Verse 10: To The Sons Of The East
10. TO THE SONS OF THE EAST, — that is, to the Chaldeans. Refer this to "I will open the shoulder of Moab," as if to say: I will open and expose the fortresses and towns of Moab to the Chaldeans. Together with the sons of Ammon (as if to say: Just as I will open the shoulder of Moab to the Chaldeans, so also I will open the shoulder of the sons of Ammon to them), AND I WILL GIVE IT (namely Ammon, that is, the land of Ammon; or rather Moab, that is, the land of Moab; so St. Jerome) AS AN INHERITANCE (to the Chaldeans), SO THAT THERE MAY NO LONGER BE ANY REMEMBRANCE OF THE SONS OF AMMON AMONG THE NATIONS, — as if to say: Just as there will be no remembrance of the sons of Ammon among the nations, so also "upon Moab" I will execute "vengeances" and "judgments," as follows. So St. Jerome, although the Roman Bibles punctuate this differently, for they place a period before "and upon Moab I will execute judgments," and there begin verse 11. Therefore according to this punctuation, it is better to understand what preceded, "I will give it as an inheritance," as referring to the land of Ammon. He speaks jointly of Ammon and Moab; hence he soon returns to Moab, because these nations were neighboring, intermingled, and equally related. For Ammon was the brother of Moab, from their father Lot, when his daughters committed incest with him. The Septuagint translates: against the sons of Ammon. Whence Vatablus clearly translates: I will summon the sons of the East against the Ammonites, and will deliver the land of Ammon itself into their possession, so that the memory of Ammon may not be among the nations.
Verse 12: Because Edom Took Vengeance
12. BECAUSE EDOM TOOK VENGEANCE, — as if to say: Because the Edomites joined themselves to the Chaldeans in the siege of Jerusalem, as is clear from Obadiah chapter I, 14; and because, after the Jews were slain or led away, the Edomites occupied Judea, as Jeremiah says in chapter XLIX, 2. Therefore, "I will stretch out My hand against it," I will strike it and afflict it with plagues.
Verse 13: AND I WILL MAKE IT DESOLATE FROM THE SOUTH
13. AND I WILL MAKE IT DESOLATE FROM THE SOUTH. — In Hebrew mitteman, that is, from Teman, which was the chief city of Edom; so called from Teman son of Eliphaz, son of Esau, Genesis XXXVI, 15. But because Teman was a southern city of Edom, and Teman in Hebrew means the South; hence our translator rightly renders it, from the south. Therefore "from Teman," as the Hebrew and Septuagint have it, means the same as "from the south." The Prophet signifies that all of Edom from south to north (for its boundary seems to have been Dedan) would be laid waste by the Chaldeans. So Maldonatus, and St. Jerome implies.
Verse 14: I Will Lay My Vengeance Upon Edom By The Hand Of My People
14. I WILL LAY MY VENGEANCE UPON EDOM BY THE HAND OF MY PEOPLE, — that is, on the occasion or on account of the injury done to My people, that is, inflicted upon My people by the Edomites. So Prado. Second, more simply we shall say that the Jews took vengeance on the Edomites in the time of the Maccabees, or at other times. For this is plainly what these words mean, although the history of the event, says Vatablus, is not recorded in Scripture; just as many other things said by the Prophets are not. See the comments on Jeremiah XLIX, 22. THEY SHALL KNOW (that is, experience) MY VENGEANCE.
Verse 15: BECAUSE THE PHILISTINES HAVE ACTED.
15. BECAUSE THE PHILISTINES HAVE ACTED. — From the Edomites he passes to the Philistines, or Palestines, the ancient enemies of the Jews.
Verse 16: I WILL SLAY THE SLAYERS.
16. I WILL SLAY THE SLAYERS. — So translate Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. He calls the Philistines slayers because they were accustomed to slaying the Jews. Hence the Chaldean translates: I will slay those who are worthy of death; in Hebrew it is, I will slay the Cherethites, who, like the Pelethites and Gittites, appear to have been peoples from the cities or places of the Philistines, called Gath, Peleth, Chereth, 1 Samuel XXX, 14, who, because they were most warlike and most faithful, and now, as it seems, converted to Judaism and made proselytes, were recruited by David for his bodyguard, 2 Samuel XV, 18, just as the Swiss are now recruited by foreign princes. So the Hebrews, although Ribera on Zephaniah II, num. 11, considers Cherethites not to be a proper name of a nation, but a common name for all Philistines. For these are called Cherethites, that is, cutters-off; because they were warlike and fierce. This opinion is not improbable. Certainly here and elsewhere by Cherethites all the Philistines are understood, by synecdoche, by which from the part we understand the whole. The Septuagint translates Cherethites as Cretans. These Cretans therefore are the Cherethites, inhabitants of Palestine just mentioned, who led a colony to the island of Crete, and thence were called Cretans, and their region Crete. Hence also in Crete there was a port called Phoenix, Acts XXVII, 12, from the Phoenicians, who accompanied their colonists or neighboring Cherethites there. So Prado. It is not therefore...
...so that one might wonder with St. Jerome why the Septuagint translated here Cretans; for by them they understand not the insular Cretans, but the Cherethites of Palestine. For Cherethites is the same as Cretans. Moreover, that very many Jews and Philistines had migrated to the island of Crete is evident both from other sources and from the fact that Josephus, the noble Jew, took a wife from Crete. For thus he writes at the end of his Life: "After her I married another woman, a Cretan, Jewish by descent, born of parents most noble at home, and of outstanding character among others." And Strabo, book X, celebrates the migration of the Curetes or Cretans to other lands, as well as their military valor. But whether the insular Cretans originated from these Cherethites of Palestine, or conversely these from them, interpreters disagree. The former is asserted by Prado, the latter by the Scholiast and Theodoretus, from what is added here: "I will destroy the remnants of the maritime region;" nevertheless they generally agree that these Cherethites, or Cretans, were a particular nation which inhabited either all of Palestine, or some maritime part of it. So judge Vatablus on 1 Samuel chapter X, Abulensis at the same place, Question X, R. David, Mercerus and others in their Lexicons, as well as Prado here, and Pineda, book II On the Affairs of Solomon, chapter XV.
Therefore it does not seem true what some, such as Avenarius in his Lexicon, hold — that Chereth is the island of Crete or Curete, so called from the Hebrew karath, that is, to cut off, to slay, because the insular Cretans were most warlike soldiers: and thence was derived the Greek verb krateo, and the Latin certo, as if Cretans were the same as fighters, and akratountes, that is, powerful, conquering, dominating. For it is certain that here the discussion is about Cherethite inhabitants, not of the island of Crete, but of Palestine. So also David, 1 Samuel chapter XXX, 14, says he raided "toward the south of the Cherethites," or of Crete — not the island (for that was entirely separated from him by sea), but of Palestine: for this was neighboring the tribe of Judah, and Ziklag, where David was living, a fugitive from Saul.
I WILL DESTROY THE REMNANTS OF THE MARITIME REGION. — That is, I will destroy the Philistines. For they were dwellers along the Mediterranean Sea.
Tropologically, St. Jerome understands by Ammon the heretics, by Moab the proud philosophers, of whom it is said: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will reject the understanding of the intelligent." By Edom, earthly ones — those who, forsaking the spirit, follow the flesh. These God will subject to Judah, that is, to reason and spirit: "So that," he says, "the flesh joined to it may cease to be, and Edom may pass into Judah. Philistim means those who fall by the cup, who themselves also are drunk from the golden cup of Babylon, and rage, and insult Israel with all their heart, and therefore are separated from the people of God." By these therefore can be understood the Turks and pagans, whom God will at last destroy.
Morally, learn from this chapter how displeasing to God are mercilessness and envy, and how with a similar disaster and calamity He punishes those who do not sympathize with the calamity of others, but insult them. For this reason Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah threaten destruction upon Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, the Tyrians, and other nations, because in the disaster and destruction of the Jews they did not grieve but exulted. Hannibal drew upon himself the hatred of both heaven and men, when, having inspected a ditch full of human blood, he said: "This is a beautiful spectacle."
And the emperor Vitellius, when others were turning aside from the road because of the stench of corpses, he himself proceeding straight through the heap of the dead, said: "A dead enemy smells excellent, and especially a dead citizen." So Suetonius in his Life of Vitellius.
But even more so Wenceslaus, Emperor and King of Bohemia, who was so savage that he kept constantly near him an executioner, whom he called his godfather, because he had lifted his son from the sacred font; and he used him so familiarly that sometimes he allowed him to ride with him on one and the same horse, says Dubravius, book XXIII. Wherefore he was deservedly seized by the barons of the realm, and removed from the Empire by the electors in the year of our Lord 1400. So Aemilius, book X.
Conversely, it is equally pleasing to God and men to sympathize with and show mercy to enemies who are conquered and afflicted. Illustrious in this regard were the Romans. For the Roman Senate decreed that Syphax, once the wealthiest king of Numidia, who died a captive in custody at Tibur, should be carried out with a public funeral, so as to add to the gift of life the honor of burial. He used a similar clemency toward Perseus. For when he had died at Alba, to which he had been banished under custody, the Senate sent a quaestor to carry him out with a public funeral, lest it permit royal remains to lie unhonored. These offices were paid to enemies, to the wretched, and to those who had met their fate — and paid by kings. And to come from all the Fathers of the Senate to individuals, L. Cornelius the consul in the first Punic War, when he had captured the town of Olbia, for which Hanno, the Carthaginian general, had fought most bravely and been killed, carried out his body from his own tent with a grand funeral: nor did he hesitate to celebrate the obsequies of an enemy himself; believing that the victory would ultimately be least envied both by the gods and by men, which had displayed the most humanity.
Come, the clemency of M. Marcellus — what a brilliant and memorable example it should be considered! He who...
...having captured Syracuse, stationed himself in its citadel, in order to behold from on high the fortune of a city just now most wealthy, but then afflicted. However, gazing upon its mournful fall, he could not hold back his tears. If any man who did not know him had observed him, he would have believed it was another's victory. And so, Syracusan city, in your greatest disaster you had something mixed with congratulation: because if it was not permitted for you to stand unharmed, you fell gently under so merciful a conqueror.
Pompey did not suffer Tigranes, king of Armenia — who both had himself waged great wars against the Roman people, and had protected with his own forces Mithridates, most hostile to our city, when he was driven from Pontus — to lie as a suppliant in his sight any longer, but with kind words... he ordered the diadem, which he had cast aside, to be replaced upon his head, and having imposed certain conditions, restored him to his former state of fortune; judging it equally noble both to conquer kings and to make them.
Caesar too, upon hearing of the death of Cato, said that he envied Cato his glory, and that Cato had envied him his; and he preserved his estate intact for his children.
The mind of Mark Antony too was not lacking in such understanding of humanity. For he handed over the body of M. Brutus to his freedman for burial, and that he might be cremated more honorably, he ordered his own military cloak to be placed upon him, considering him, once hatred was set aside, not an enemy but a citizen. And when he discovered that the cloak had been intercepted by the freedman, inflamed with anger, he immediately punished him, using this preface: "What? Did you not know whose burial I entrusted to you?"
Hannibal did not allow the body of Aemilius Paullus, slaughtered at Cannae, having been sought out, to lie unburied, as far as it was in his power. The same Hannibal committed Tiberius Gracchus, who had been surrounded and killed by the ambushes of the Lucanians, to burial with the highest honor, and handed over his bones to be carried to his homeland by Roman soldiers. The same Hannibal carried out with legitimate rites M. Marcellus, who had been killed in the territory of Bruttium while scouting the Punic camp more eagerly than cautiously; and having honored him with a Punic cloak and a laurel crown, placed him on the pyre. So Valerius Maximus, book V, chapter I.
Agesilaus, upon hearing of the victory of his Spartans over the neighboring Corinthians, but one bloody on both sides, groaned and said: "How many citizens of Greece have perished, who could have beaten back the violence and attacks of the barbarians, and especially of the Persians!" So Plutarch in his Life of Agesilaus.
Q. Fabius Maximus, who broke Hannibal by delaying, was called "the Little Lamb" on account of his clemency, according to Plutarch in his book On Illustrious Men.