Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The Prophet sees waters flowing from the temple. Then, at verse 13, the land is divided among the twelve tribes.
Vulgate Text: Ezekiel 47:1-23
1. And he brought me back to the gate of the house, and behold, waters issued from under the threshold of the house toward the East: for the face of the house looked toward the East: and the waters came down on the right side of the temple, to the south of the altar. 2. And he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate, by the way that faces East: and behold, waters were running out on the right side. 3. When the man went out toward the East, who had a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits: and he led me through the water, up to the ankles. 4. And again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water up to the knees: 5. and he measured a thousand, and led me through the water up to the loins. And he measured a thousand — a torrent which I could not cross: because the waters of the deep torrent had swollen, which could not be forded. 6. And he said to me: Surely you have seen, son of man. And he brought me out, and turned me toward the bank of the torrent. 7. And when I had turned, behold, on the bank of the torrent were very many trees on both sides. 8. And he said to me: These waters that go out toward the hills of sand to the East, and go down to the plains of the desert, shall enter the sea, and go out, and the waters shall be healed. 9. And every living creature that creeps, wherever the torrent comes, shall live: and there shall be very many fish, after these waters have come there, and they shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the torrent comes. 10. And fishermen shall stand upon them; from Engedi to Engallim there shall be a drying of nets: there shall be very many kinds of fish, like the fish of the great sea, an exceedingly great multitude: 11. but on its shores and in its marshes they shall not be healed, because they shall be given over to salt. 12. And upon the torrent on its banks on both sides shall grow every kind of fruit tree: its leaf shall not fall off, and its fruit shall not fail: it shall bring forth first-fruits every month, because its waters flow from the sanctuary: and its fruits shall be for food, and its leaves for medicine. 13. Thus says the Lord God: This is the border by which you shall possess the land among the twelve tribes of Israel: because Joseph has a double portion. 14. And you shall possess it, each one equally as his brother: upon
which I lifted My hand to give to your fathers: and this land shall fall to you as a possession. 15. And this is the boundary of the land: to the north, from the great sea by the way of Hethlon, as you come to Zedad, 16. Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, the house of Tichon, which is near the border of Hauran. 17. And the border from the sea shall be the court of Enon, the border of Damascus, and from the North to the North: the border of Hamath, the northern side. 18. And the eastern side, from the midst of Hauran, and from the midst of Damascus, and from the midst of Gilead, and from the midst of the land of Israel, with the Jordan marking the boundary to the Eastern Sea: you shall also measure the eastern side. 19. And the southern side toward the south, from Tamar to the waters of contradiction at Kadesh: and the torrent to the great sea: and this is the southern side toward the south. 20. And the western side is the great sea, from the border straight on until you come to Hamath: this is the western side. 21. And you shall divide this land among yourselves by the tribes of Israel: 22. and you shall cast lots for it as an inheritance for yourselves, and for the strangers who have come to you, who have begotten children among you: and they shall be to you as natives among the children of Israel: they shall divide possession with you among the tribes of Israel. 23. And in whatever tribe the stranger may be, there you shall give him his possession, says the Lord God.
Verse 1: TO THE GATE OF THE HOUSE
1. TO THE GATE OF THE HOUSE, — that is, of the temple. Maldonatus takes 'house' as the Holy of Holies. This gate was the eastern one, as is clear from what follows.
AND BEHOLD, WATERS ISSUED FORTH. — It is asked, what were these waters? Vilalpandus answers that they were the subterranean waters of the temple, which flowed through channels into the court of the priests, because both the sacrificial victims and the slaughterhouse floor itself were constantly washed. Of which St. Jerome says, on chapter 40 of Ezekiel, 41: 'On the outer side,' he says, 'according to the Septuagint, there was a constructed channel, which carried out the burnt offering, ashes, and foul matter of the flesh.' For the blood and other fluids and waste of so many daily victims would have created an intolerable stench, had they not been washed away by these waters and driven out through channels and aqueducts.
Concerning these waters and aqueducts, Aristeas, an eyewitness, writes thus, in his book On the Seventy Translators, near the beginning. There were hidden reservoirs of water in the temple, which are poured out to wash away the blood of the slaughtered victims, and their flow is so continuous that it seems like a perennial spring. And for this purpose there are frequent openings at the base of the altar, known only to the ministers. But wonderful and almost indescribable is the size of the underground cisterns, which extend up to five stadia around the entire temple. Lead pipes from them descend through the walls and the floor of the temple on every side, by which everything is washed and cleansed.
Such aqueducts, both underground and above ground, we see in Rome, and especially those of our Holy Father Sixtus V on the Quirinal, and of Paul V on the Janiculum, or Montorio. Pliny calls these aqueducts marvels of the world. One of them is described by him thus, book 36, chapter 15: 'The latest expenditure on the work begun by Gaius Caesar and completed by Claudius surpassed all previous aqueducts: for from the fortieth milestone to such a height that they were raised to all the hills of the city, the Curtian and Caerulean springs flowed in. Three hundred million sesterces were spent on this work.
And if anyone more carefully considers the abundance of water in public use, in baths, pools, houses, channels, gardens, suburban villas, and the arches built over the distance it covers, the mountains tunneled through, the valleys leveled, he will admit that nothing more wonderful existed in the whole world.' Moreover, Vilalpandus teaches, page 565, that Solomon's aqueducts were more wonderful than these Roman ones. Rome is still full of them, and therefore in almost every street there are latrines and little openings through which filth is carried down into these aqueducts and underground sewers, and finally into the Tiber, so that Rome appears hollow underground, and to stand on arches, and it is a wonder that it has not more often been shaken and indeed shattered by sinkholes and earthquakes.
Allegorically, and more properly, these waters signify both the waters of baptism, which flowed from the threshold of the temple, that is, from Christ, who is the way and the truth; and from the altar of the cross, namely from the side of Christ, and all the kinds of graces that emanated from them; and also the evangelical doctrine, says St. Jerome, of which the Prophet said, chapter 36:25: 'I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your defilements.' And Zechariah, chapter 14:8: 'And it shall be on that day: Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: half of them to the last sea: they shall be in summer and in winter.' For, as Isaiah says, chapter 2:3: 'From Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.' So St. Jerome, Theodoret, Vatablus, Maldonatus, Pintus, and others, meaning: Throughout the whole world shall be spread the doctrine, baptism, law, and grace of Christ. He names two seas, the Eastern, namely the Dead Sea; and the Western, namely the Mediterranean, because these were the boundaries of Palestine and of the people of God; and by them he means any and all others. So St. Cyril ibid.
Concerning these waters, Christ says, John 7: 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly. But this He said of the Spirit, which those who believed in Him were to receive.'
And the Psalmist, Psalm 22: 'He led me beside the waters of refreshment.' And Isaiah, chapter 12: 'You shall draw waters with joy from the springs of the Savior.' And chapter 35:6: 'Waters shall break forth in the desert, and torrents in the wilderness. And what was dry shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.' On the contrary, Jeremiah, chapter 2, according to the Septuagint, rebukes the Jews for going to the waters of Egypt: 'What is it to you,' he says, 'and the way of Egypt, that you drink of the waters of the Gihon?' which in Hebrew is called שיחור sichar, that is, muddy and filthy; this is the Nile. Such waters are the doctrines of heretics, says St. Jerome.
Verse 2: HE BROUGHT ME OUT BY THE WAY OF THE NORTH GATE
2. HE BROUGHT ME OUT BY THE WAY OF THE NORTH GATE. — 'By the way of the gate,' that is, through the gate: for the Hebrews add the word 'way' by pleonasm, meaning: The angel led me around through the gate of both courts, so that I might walk around the entire temple.
AND HE TURNED ME TOWARD THE OUTSIDE. — Vatablus translates clearly: He made me go around by the way leading outside to the outer gate (namely the northern one) by the way that tends toward the East. Therefore, the Prophet was brought back here to the eastern gate of the temple, to which he had first been led, chapter 40:6.
BEHOLD, WATERS RUNNING OUT. — Those same waters which he had seen in verse 1, flowing down along the right side of the temple, going around the temple, returned to the eastern gate. For there were not four streams, as some supposed, but only one flowing along the right side, says Maldonatus; but this stream burst forth in various places through channels and spouts. Whence the Hebrews and Vatablus think the Prophet first saw water issuing from the threshold, then from the place that was beneath the side of the house. Others say the Prophet saw water springing from the threshold, which was near the side of the wall of the house.
Verse 3: AND HE MEASURED
3. AND HE MEASURED. — The 'and' is redundant by a Hebraism: otherwise the sentence would be incomplete.
Verse 5: WATERS OF THE DEEP TORRENT
5. WATERS OF THE DEEP TORRENT. — In Hebrew: Waters of swimming of the torrent, which could not be forded, that is, which had so swollen that they could only be crossed by swimming. The Prophet was led to waters gradually deeper, namely first, deep up to the ankles; whence the Chaldean translates, up to the waters of the ankles; then, up to the knees; third, up to the thighs and loins; fourth, exceeding the height of a man, so that they had to be crossed by swimming.
Symbolically, these waters gradually increasing signified that the affairs of the Jews returning from Babylon, after the rebuilding of the temple, were to receive an enormous increase from small beginnings. For waters signify an affluence of good things, as is clear from verses 8 and 9. Isaiah 66:12: 'Behold,' he says, 'I will extend peace over her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing torrent, which you shall suck.'
Allegorically and more properly, Maldonatus says, they signified the Church and evangelical doctrine, having taken a small beginning, was to be spread far and wide from Jerusalem throughout the entire world, until Christ should reign 'from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth,' Psalm 71:8; and all nations, to which it reached in its course, were to be cured of moral corruption and the depravity of errors.
Or, the first thousand cubits denote the first order of Christians, which is called that of beginners, who are endowed with a lesser abundance of graces (namely up to the ankles), that is, until they walk in God's commandments, as Scripture usually puts it, but do not yet observe the counsels. The next thousand cubits signify the proficient, who strive to add the evangelical counsels to the precepts; but have not yet arrived at perfection. The next thousand, the perfect, around whose loins the water flows, that is, they receive so much grace from God that they can and wish to preserve perfect chastity, by which men imitate the life of the angels. The last represent the state of the Blessed, which cannot be forded; because 'eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him,' Isaiah 64:4 and 1 Corinthians 2:9.
So also, roughly, Theodoret. Hence Sirach 24:40, wisdom, which at first was small, like a channel, that is, an aqueduct, is said to have grown into an immense river: 'I, Wisdom,' it says, 'am like a canal of immense water from a river.' And again: 'And behold, my canal became an abundant river, and my river drew near to the sea.'
Antonius Fernandius also explains these measurements in this way, in vision 20, section 2, where he adds that the water first, exceeding the knees, signified Christ's doctrine, which gradually spread and persuaded all to bend the knee to Him; second, reaching the loins, it signified that His doctrine would more broadly restrain the flesh and its desires (for the loins are the seat of these), and would impel many to virginity and celibacy; third, that it could no longer be forded but had to be crossed by swimming, signified that Christians, especially the perfect, swim like fish in the Church and in the grace of God.
Furthermore, these waters flow from the sanctuary, that is, from the Holy Spirit, who is the author of all holiness, and also from Christ: for the body of Christ was the temple of God, according to that saying of John 2:19: 'Destroy this temple.' Therefore, the breast or heart of Christ was like a sanctuary, from which this divine water sprang forth.
St. Gregory explains it in a similar manner, book 22 of the Moralia, chapter 14: 'The water coming up to the ankles,' he says, 'means that through the wisdom we have received, we now hold the footsteps of the righteousness we desired. Again a thousand is measured, and the Prophet is led through the water up to the knees: because, when the fullness of good works is granted, wisdom increases in us to the point that we are no longer bent to evil actions. Again a thousand is measured, and the Prophet is led through the water up to the loins: because the fullness of good works grows in us when the wisdom we have received has extinguished, as far as possible, every delight of the flesh. And yet another thousand is measured, the torrent which the Prophet could not cross. For when perfection of works is attained, one is led to contemplation, in which the mind, elevated in God, cannot penetrate what it sees.'
Hear also St. Ambrose on Revelation 21:1: 'By the torrent,' he says, 'we should understand the divine Scripture, which goes forth from the temple, that is, from the Church, namely from the mouth of preachers; and the angel signifies the Lord. The angel therefore leads the Prophet a thousand cubits, when the Lord grants to one of His faithful the desire to understand the Scriptures. For the Prophet represents those who wish to learn the divine Scriptures so that they themselves may profit by them, and instruct others through their knowledge. The number one thousand often signifies the perfection of something. And the first passage pertains to the understanding of history, the second to the moral sense, the third to the spiritual. The angel therefore leads the Prophet up to the ankles, when he grants him the understanding of history. For whoever wishes to investigate the moral and spiritual meaning in the divine Scriptures, must first possess the historical understanding. Second, the angel leads the Prophet a thousand cubits, when the Lord kindles His faithful one to receive the moral understanding; he leads him through it up to the knees, when he reveals to him the moral meaning. And he could not ford the torrent, because no one who is wise can search out the depth of divine and heavenly mysteries. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, as the Apostle says: But when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall be done away. And again: We see now through a glass darkly; but then face to face. The same Paul, considering that he could not cross this torrent, said: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!'
Ferdinand Castiglione, a serious author, in his History of the Order of St. Dominic, part 1, book 3, chapter 47, recounts in Albert the Great's own words the wonderful vision concerning these waters granted to Albert the Great, namely that while he was struggling to explain certain difficult passages of St. Dionysius, he was led by St. Paul to these waters, and to the house of Aaron, and when the Apostle crossed them dryfoot, he himself, invited by him, could not follow and swim across them; but then he received from him the resolution of the difficulties encountered in the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy of St. Dionysius.
Verse 6: SURELY YOU HAVE SEEN
6. SURELY YOU HAVE SEEN. — In Hebrew הראית haraita, 'have you seen?' meaning: If you have not seen well, look more fully and observe; if you have seen enough, hear the mystery together with the use and fruit of these waters, namely 'many trees,' that is, many trees which these waters by irrigating produce and nourish. Mystically, the trees are Christians washed and watered by the waters of baptism, so that they may bear fruit, that is, the fruits of virtue, of which it is said in Psalm 95: 'Then all the trees of the forest shall rejoice before the face of the Lord, because He comes.' And Matthew 3: 'Every tree that does not bear good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire.'
Again, more aptly (though it amounts to the same thing), the trees are faith, hope, charity, and other habitual virtues. For these are born from the soil of our heart watered by the waters of the Gospel, and they bear the fruits of good actions (for as fruit comes from a tree, so actions proceed from habit) similar to themselves; and the leaves of modesty, piety, propriety, and all outward decency. Whence anagogically, from these in turn arise the habitual and actual endowments of beatitude, as I shall say shortly. For to grace and virtues there corresponds and is given beatific glory and its endowments, just as the harvest corresponds to the seed, the reward to the merit, the prize to the victory.
Verse 8: TO THE HILLS OF SAND TO THE EAST
8. TO THE HILLS OF SAND TO THE EAST. — From the Hebrew גלילה gelila, it can also be translated 'to the Galilean region to the East.' So the Septuagint, the Hebrew, and Vatablus. The Hebrews hold that this stream was divided into two brooks, one eastern, the other western; by which the Latins understand the Eastern and Western Church, say Vatablus, Pintus, and others. The first, therefore, they say, flowed into the Sea of Galilee, namely of Tiberias, or into the Dead Sea, or Sea of Sodom, which was to the east; the other into the Mediterranean Sea, which was to the west. Although Maldonatus takes the Eastern Sea to be the Persian Gulf; but this is too remote from Jerusalem and the temple.
What Ezekiel says here, Zechariah also said, chapter 14:8, in the words cited a little earlier.
Our translator better renders it 'to the hills of sand.' For the Hebrew gelila signifies the rolling formations and mounds of sand, as St. Jerome rightly teaches in his Commentary.
Now the meaning is: These waters which flow eastward from the threshold of the sanctuary, and in their rushing course drag along sand and raise mounds of it in their channel, and descend to the plain of the wilderness, shall enter the Dead Sea and go out from it, so that the waters of the sea shall be healed by the entrance of this river, and what was formerly bitter shall become sweet, and what was formerly dead in it shall come back to life. He alludes to the Jordan: for this enters the Dead Sea on one side and exits on the other, and partly sweetens its waters; it also rolls and creates mounds of sand, meaning: These waters which flow into the Jordan shall afterwards enter the Dead Sea.
Moreover, literally these waters did little to heal, that is to correct, the saltiness of the Dead Sea, or of the torrents flowing into it: we must therefore rather understand here mystical and antitypical waters, namely the waters of baptism; and by the torrents tending toward the Dead Sea, and by the Dead Sea itself, understand the unbelievers and sinners burdened with deadly sins, who through these waters receive salvation and life, and bear the most abundant and joyful fruits of virtue, so that those who were formerly a pit of vices, a foul lake of lusts, and a sea bitter and dead with sins, where there was nothing of life, nothing of grace, nothing of true sweetness, are converted into a pleasant, sweet, and salutary river, abounding in fish, of which what follows speaks.
Therefore the wicked, being as it were dead, owe it to Christ and to devout men that they exist and live.
Verse 9: AND EVERY LIVING CREATURE THAT CREEPS (in Hebrew אשר ישריץ ascer iasrits, that is, that crawls or
9. AND EVERY LIVING CREATURE THAT CREEPS (in Hebrew אשר ישריץ ascer iasrits, that is, that crawls or swims, namely fish) SHALL LIVE. — Again, iasrits means that which teems, multiplies, and swarms like frogs and fish. For, as Pliny says in book 2, chapter 2, more and larger animals are born in the sea than on land, because of the abundance of moisture. For this reason the Prophet compares the Church to a sea, and the faithful to fish; because they are many, and great in virtues and merits. Whence, explaining further, he adds:
AND THERE SHALL BE MANY FISH. — The fish are Christians, who, reborn through the waters of baptism, attain the life of grace. 'For baptism touches the body and cleanses the heart,' says St. Augustine, tract 80 on John. Hence Christ was called ichthys, that is, 'fish.' For if you expound the initial letters of the word ichthys, it is the same as Iesous Christos Theou Huios Soter, that is, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. So St. Augustine, book 18 of the City of God, chapter 23.
For this wondrous transformation, namely the vivification of the Dead Sea, that is, of the sinner, comes from the waters flowing from the threshold and door of the Holy of Holies, that is, from Christ who is the gate of heaven, and they flow to the right side, that is, through the right side of the crucified Christ, opened and wounded by the lance: for from it flowed blood and water, and the Sacraments of the Church, says St. Augustine.
Note here: The common opinion of the ancients is that the side of Christ pierced on the cross by the soldier was the right side, and some think this is predicted here by Ezekiel, when he says at verse 2: 'And behold, waters running out from the right side.' From this side of Christ, therefore, blood and water went forth, first, so that Christ might produce from Himself, as it were, a twofold baptism, namely of water in the Sacrament, and of blood in martyrdom: for He was about to confer the former on all the faithful, the latter on the martyrs. So Cyril of Jerusalem, catechesis 13; Tertullian, On Baptism.
St. Jerome, epistle 83 to Oceanus: 'The side of Christ,' he says, 'is struck by the lance, and the Sacraments of both baptism and martyrdom are poured forth together.' Second, so that by this it might be signified that the baptism of water received from the blood of Christ the power and efficacy of washing away sins. Whence St. Ambrose, On Blessings, chapter 4: 'The water,' he says, 'is for the washing, the blood for the price.' Third, so that it might be signified that from the side of Christ flowed, as it were, the Sacraments by which the Church was to be formed and nourished. Whence the Fathers call the side of Christ the gateway of baptism and of the other Sacraments: and they add that from the side of Christ sleeping on the cross, the Church was formed, just as Eve was formed from the side of Adam while he slept. So St. Cyprian and Tertullian, On Baptism.
Hence also St. Chrysostom, on John chapter 19:34, and in the same place, St. Cyril, understand baptism by the water, and the chalice of the Eucharist by the blood: for by the former we are begotten, by the latter we are nourished. Finally, St. Cyprian, in his sermon On the Resurrection of Christ, says: 'From this fountain we draw not only the waves of the first washing, but also there flow perennial streams of compunction and repentance, of mercies and of all the affections of piety.'
AND THEY SHALL BE HEALED. — In the baptism of Christ the waters were healed: because through the contact of the life-giving flesh of Christ, they received the power of giving life, says St. Augustine, sermon 36 On the Seasons.
Anagogically, these waters flow to the right side, that is, toward beatitude, and the lot and place of the elect. For Christ at the judgment will place them on His right; but the reprobate on His left. Whence it follows:
Verse 10: FISHERMEN SHALL STAND UPON THEM
10. FISHERMEN SHALL STAND UPON THEM. — Namely the Apostles, who heard from Christ: 'Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'
Note: The Apostles are called fishermen rather than hunters: because they drew men to themselves and to Christ not by violent compulsions, but gently by sweet words and manners; and gradually, imperceptibly, they drove them into the nets of the Church, so as to catch them alive and transfer them to a better life. Their bait was the promise of heavenly life. Finally, the obedience of those who were called and caught shows how sweet their fishing was.
FROM ENGEDI TO ENGALLIM, — from one boundary to the other. Engedi is a city near the Dead Sea, also called Asason-thamar, that is, 'city of palms'; because it flourished with palm trees and balsam. Hence there was a garden, or balsam vineyard, there, which was found almost there alone and nowhere else in the whole world. This garden or balsam vineyards, in the time of Herod the Great, Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, with the consent of her lover Antony, envying Herod such prosperity, transferred to Egypt, as Josephus testifies, book 1 of the Wars, chapter 13, along with Burchard of Saligniaco and others in their description of the Holy Land.
Engallim was a village or city at the beginning of the Dead Sea, where the Jordan flows into the sea. And from this place the fishermen stretched their nets to dry, as far as Engedi, as Ezekiel says here. 'Engallim,' says St. Jerome, 'is at the beginning of the Dead Sea, where the Jordan enters. Engedi, however, is where it ends and is consumed. Engedi means the fountain of the kid, Engallim the fountain of calves.'
THERE SHALL BE A DRYING OF NETS. — Fishermen wash their nets and tackle with sea water, then expose them to the sun to dry: so he who fishes for souls should wash away the moisture and filth of worldly vanity, which he contracted by associating with men, with the bitterness of penance, and recall his mind to himself and to God through meditations, examinations, and similar spiritual exercises; so that they may be dried by that divine sun, by the warmth of His grace; and he himself may become fit for a new fishing of souls. This is what Engedi signifies, that is, the fountain of the kid; and Engallim, that is, the fountain of calves. For the kid and the calf, as victims for sin, are symbols of penance and mortification.
Verse 11: BUT ON ITS SHORES AND IN ITS MARSHES THEY SHALL NOT BE HEALED
11. BUT ON ITS SHORES AND IN ITS MARSHES THEY SHALL NOT BE HEALED. — Literally, says St. Jerome, this is true of the Dead Sea; for in it and in its marshes no fish or other animal can be born, or, if brought from elsewhere, can live; hence it is called the Dead Sea. Hear St. Jerome: 'Nothing that breathes and can move can be found in this sea, because of its extreme bitterness. Not even tiny shells, small worms, eels, or other kinds of creatures or reptiles, whose tiny bodies we can know better than their names.'
Symbolically, the marshes are men who have fallen into sloth: the pools are those who deal only in externals, and are clothed with preaching alone, for example, preachers in tongue but not in life, of whom very many of our own are such, says Theodoret. These are healed with difficulty.
Allegorically, outside these waters of baptism, that is, outside the Church, in which is baptism, there is no salvation, and all the doctrine of the pagans and heretics is salty and bitter, being muddy and marshy: 'because they shall be given over to salt pits,' because when God shall expose their falsehood and punish them, they shall be salt for others, so that others may learn wisdom from their example and beware, according to what is written in Proverbs 19: 'When a pestilent man is scourged, the fool will become wiser,' says St. Jerome.
Hear also Fr. Barradius, volume 1, book 2, chapter 6, where he explains this temple of Ezekiel mystically, but interprets the salt pits differently, indeed contrarily:
'The Dead Sea,' he says, 'is a type of the world; the waters of the Gospel heal it, flowing into it. The waters of the Jordan flowed into the Dead Sea, but could not heal it; in the same way, the doctrine of Moses entered the world, but could not heal it: the salutary wave of the Gospel flowed in, and healed it. Moreover, the waters are said to be healed when they are transformed from saltiness, bitterness, and sterility to sweetness and fruitfulness. Whence Elisha, 4 Kings 2: I have healed (he said) these waters, and there shall no longer be death in them, nor sterility. Therefore God healed the waters of the Dead Sea, that is, of the world, because He exchanged its saltiness, bitterness, barrenness, and death for sweetness, and fruitfulness, and life, through the inflowing waters of the Gospel. Whence that sea which did not even produce a single fish, now produces so many that the prophet adds: There shall be very many kinds of fish, like the fish of the great sea, of an exceedingly great multitude.'
'Ezekiel says furthermore that some salt pits should be left; these I believe to be the religious communities and academies; for just as salt is produced in salt works, so in monasteries and universities it is produced, of which Christ says, Matthew 5: You, He says, are the salt of the earth. And indeed the fishermen, whom the Prophet mentions in the same passage, what do they represent if not preachers, whom the Lord called fishers of men? And the drying of the nets indicates that preachers should expose their nets, that is, their sermons, to the rays of the sun, that is, of Christ, before casting them into the sea, and should kindle them with the warmth of that same sun, and dry them of every moisture of human desire.'
Verse 12: AND UPON THE TORRENT
12. AND UPON THE TORRENT, — meaning: The faithful (their faith and virtues), who are watered by the waters of Christian doctrine and Sacred Scripture, shall be like trees always leafy and fruitful, so that each month, that is, perpetually, at the appropriate times, they may bring forth new fruits of good works.
IT SHALL BRING FORTH FIRST-FRUITS EVERY MONTH. — To render first-fruits means to resume the original fervor at the beginning of each month: which pious men and those eager for their own progress do. And it is very useful, indeed often necessary. For the human mind, as St. Gregory says, book 22 of the Moralia, chapter 2, 'when it is refined by the fire of love, always preserves in itself the brightness of beauty through the daily renewal of fervor; for the mind does not know how to grow old through torpor, when it strives always to begin anew through desire.'
AND ITS FRUITS SHALL BE FOR FOOD. — The fruits of just men are virtues, which are the food by which the soul is nourished for eternity: 'To each person his own cultivation gives fruit,' says St. Ambrose on Luke chapter 7. For as much as each person cultivates himself and his mind, so much fruit does he bear: ceremonies are the leaves that provide salutary instruction and medicine. So Alcazar on Revelation 22, and on Luke. Furthermore, the fruits are works, the leaves are salutary words, by which we instruct, teach, console, and rouse others, etc. For, as St. Basil says: 'The words of the perfect are words of life, and health of the soul.'
Again St. Jerome says: Sacred Scripture is this sacred tree, or tree of life, whose historical sense is food for us, because by it our faith is nourished: the allegorical and moral sense is 'for medicine,' because by it morals are corrected.
To this alludes, indeed this passage is cited anagogically (for literally Ezekiel speaks of the growing and militant Church) by St. John, Revelation 22:1, when he says: 'He showed me a river of the water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb (just as here at verse 1 it appears to proceed from the threshold of the house of God). In the middle of its street, and on both sides of the river, the tree of life
bearing twelve fruits; yielding its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations'; where 'the river of the water of life' is either the beatific vision, of which the Psalmist says: 'The rushing of the river makes glad the city of God'; 'the tree of life' is Christ, or Christ's humanity, who gives the blessed immortal life through the vision and enjoyment of Himself, and is for them as food and ever-fresh delight 'for twelve months,' that is, perpetually for all ages, for all eternity; 'the leaves of the tree' are the words of Christ, by which He will soothe and console the blessed of all nations.
Hear also St. Ambrose, on Revelation 22:1: 'The two banks,' he says, 'signify the two Testaments. Between these two banks flows the great torrent of Scriptures, which was produced by the holy Fathers; and by the trees are designated the Doctors of the Church, who are said to be planted on both banks, that is, in the teaching of the Old and New Testament; whence drawing the waters of true knowledge, they produce both fruits and leaves. For by fruits are designated good works; but by leaves, the words of preaching: fruits serve as food, and leaves serve for medicine; because each teacher administers the salutary medicine of words to the ailing soul, when he has first nourished it with examples of good works. Behold, Ezekiel said that he saw a torrent going out from the temple; but John says that not a torrent, but a river proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb was shown to him. A torrent usually dries up from excessive heat of the sun, but a river is dried up by no heat. Not improperly, therefore, by the torrent is expressed the divine Scripture, which when the sun comes, that is, when the Lord comes for judgment, will dry up; because after the resurrection the divine Scripture will no longer be necessary. But by the river, which is dried up by no heat of the sun, is understood the perpetual glory of the Saints: which is said to proceed from the throne of God and of the Lamb; because from Him shall proceed the river of the glory of the Saints, from whom there proceeded to them, while they were in the flesh, a stream of all good things; which river is said to be bright as crystal.'
Verse 13: THIS IS THE BORDER BY WHICH YOU SHALL POSSESS THE LAND
13. THIS IS THE BORDER BY WHICH YOU SHALL POSSESS THE LAND. — In chapter 45, the Prophet had begun to divide the land of Israel; but having interposed certain incidental matters, he had interrupted that division; now he returns to complete it. But before he divides the land by lots, he distinguishes its boundaries on every side, namely toward each region of the world.
BECAUSE JOSEPH HAS A DOUBLE PORTION. — 'Portion,' that is, a lot or hereditary share. For in ancient times they measured fields and inheritances with cords; hence 'cord' by metonymy means the same as lot or hereditary part, as in Psalm 15:6: 'The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places'; which he explains by adding: 'Indeed my inheritance is beautiful to me.' He gives the reason why he commanded the land to be divided among twelve tribes, when, with the tribe of Levi excluded (which did not receive a part of the land, because their part was the Lord, that is, the Lord's offerings), only eleven tribes would remain. The reason is that Joseph received a double portion in the land of Canaan from his father Jacob. For Jacob, Genesis 48:13, adopted as his own immediate and direct sons the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, his grandsons, for the purpose that each should constitute one tribe, and in Canaan should succeed with equal lot and right along with the other tribes, namely with the immediate sons of Jacob who were Joseph's brothers (for each of these constituted a single tribe), and divide the land. Therefore the tribe of Joseph, being one, was divided into two; so that, with Levi excluded, there still remained twelve tribes, because the posterity of Joseph took the place of Levi, as is said in Joshua chapter 14, verse 4.
Verse 14: AND YOU SHALL POSSESS IT
14. AND YOU SHALL POSSESS IT. — He commands here that the land be divided equally among the twelve tribes, whereas it had been done differently under Joshua: for then the larger tribe received the larger portion of land, and the smaller tribe the smaller.
UPON WHICH I LIFTED MY HAND, — which, with hand raised, as men do when they swear, I swore to your fathers and to you that I would give.
AND IT SHALL FALL, — by the casting of lots, not by anyone's choice, as I said at chapter 45:1.
Verse 15: AND THIS IS THE BOUNDARY
15. AND THIS IS THE BOUNDARY, — meaning: These are the borders, these the limits of Canaan to be divided among the twelve tribes.
FROM THE GREAT SEA, — namely from that part of the Mediterranean Sea which faced toward the North; for this is what he here marks as the boundary.
BY THE WAY OF HETHLON, — that is, coming from Hethlon to Zedad: for both cities were on the borders of the tribe of Judah. Note: The division of Canaan is described three times in Scripture: first, by Moses, Numbers 34; second, by Joshua, chapter 15; third, in this passage.
Verse 16: HAMATH, BEROTHAH
16. HAMATH, BEROTHAH. — Supply 'coming from Hethlon to Hamath, Berothah,' etc. Others explain it as meaning: In this region and side shall be these towns, Hamath, Berothah, etc. Moreover, Hamath is a city which was called Epiphania by Antiochus Epiphanes, says St. Jerome, and it was the northern and eastern boundary of the Holy Land, Joshua 13:1.
WHICH IS BETWEEN THE BORDER OF DAMASCUS, — that is, which is situated between the borders of Damascus, as Vatablus translates. For the Canaan destined and given by God to the Hebrews extended as far as the borders of Damascus.
THE HOUSE OF TICHON. — This place or city was called by these two words as if by a proper name, namely in Hebrew חצר התיכון chatser hatticon, which the Septuagint translates as 'the court of Tichon.'
Verse 17: AND THE BORDER FROM THE SEA
17. AND THE BORDER FROM THE SEA, — meaning: And so the border, that is, the measurement, of the northern side shall be from the Mediterranean Sea to Chatser Enon, that is, the court of Enon, as the Septuagint translates, which is the border of Damascus, that is, a place or city near Damascus, and it was the other boundary of the Holy Land on the other side, at the foot of the Anti-Lebanon.
FROM THE NORTH TO THE NORTH, THE BORDER OF HAMATH, — On one part of the northern side the boundary of Canaan shall be Chatser Enon, as preceded; on the other part the boundary shall be Hamath, that is, Epiphania. These therefore are the limits of the entire northern side.
Verse 18: FROM THE MIDST OF HAURAN
18. FROM THE MIDST OF HAURAN, — as if to say: The eastern boundary of Canaan shall be a line drawn between Hauran, Damascus, Gilead, and the land of Israel. So Vatablus.
TO THE EASTERN SEA, — that is, to the Dead Sea; others say, to the Sea of Galilee, or Tiberias; for the Jordan, flowing from one sea to the other, bounded Canaan on the East: both seas are placed as the boundary of eastern Canaan, Numbers 34:3 and 11.
Verse 19: AND THE SOUTHERN SIDE TOWARD THE SOUTH
19. AND THE SOUTHERN SIDE TOWARD THE SOUTH, — meaning: The southern boundary of Canaan toward the south shall be from the city called Tamar, that is, palm, because it abounds in palms.
TO THE WATERS OF CONTRADICTION AT KADESH, — that is, to Kadesh, which place on account of the murmuring of the Jews was called the waters of contradiction, as I said at Numbers 20:1 and following.
Note: Tamar, named after its palm groves, is Palmyra, a city which Solomon built, which was later restored by the Emperor Hadrian and called Adrianopolis. The territory in which it is situated is rich and fertile, enclosed all around by a vast expanse of sand. Palmyra alone in the neighboring desert, which is called the Palmyrene from it, abounds in springs and wells. So Adrichomius. Therefore Tamar, or Palmyra, is not Jericho, as some think, on the grounds that Jericho too is called the city of palms. For Jericho was in the tribe of Benjamin, whereas Palmyra was in the tribe of Manasseh.
AND THE TORRENT, — namely shall be the boundary. This is the torrent of Egypt, which flows into the sea near Rhinocorura, of which Numbers 35:5 speaks; for there the same boundaries of Canaan are named as here, namely the torrent of Egypt, Enan, Sephama, Hamath, Zedad, the sea, etc.
Verse 20: AND THE WESTERN SIDE
20. AND THE WESTERN SIDE, — that is, this is the boundary of the western side (for the great sea was to the west of the Holy Land), namely the great sea, that is, the Mediterranean.
FROM THE BORDER STRAIGHT ON UNTIL YOU COME TO HAMATH, — that is, where this sea along its borders directly faces and extends toward Hamath. Whence Vatablus translates: Which (namely the boundary) is opposite the entrance to Hamath.
Verse 22: YOU SHALL CAST LOTS FOR IT AS AN INHERITANCE
22. YOU SHALL CAST LOTS FOR IT AS AN INHERITANCE, — that is, by casting lots, you shall divide it and possess it as an inheritance.
AND FOR STRANGERS, — proselytes. God here commands the land to be divided both for proselytes converted from paganism to Judaism, and for the native-born Jews themselves, so that from both groups one Church and commonwealth might grow together.
Since we do not read that this was done by Ezra and Nehemiah, indeed Ezra expelled foreigners who had been mixed in with the Jews from the priesthood, 1 Ezra 2:62, these things should rather be referred to the Church of Christ, in which Gentiles and Jews have an equal portion; so that Paul rightly writes to the Gentile Ephesians, chapter 2:19: 'You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens of the Saints and members of the household of God.'
In the same way, the temple is described here as if situated outside the city, where although there is an allusion to the citadel and Mount Zion, on which the temple stood (for this mount was outside the city of Jerusalem, that is, outside the city of the people, which was in the valley below Mount Zion: whence Zion was called the city of David, but Jerusalem the city of the people); yet we do not read that so great a distance between the two, nor so extensive dwellings of priests and Levites around the temple, nor so great a magnificence as is described here, existed in the temple and city of Jerusalem after the return from Babylon. Even though the number and wealth of both citizens and city gradually grew after Ezra; and Herod, in order to be taken for the Messiah, built a most magnificent temple, having torn down the former one of Zerubbabel, which rivaled Solomon's.
All these prescriptions of Ezekiel, therefore, are rather the ideal of a perfect Church and commonwealth, such as existed among Christians, not among Jews, and especially such as shall exist in the heavenly Jerusalem, as I shall say at the end of chapter 48. For, to say nothing of other things, we nowhere read that the portion of the priests was 25 thousand reeds in length, and the portion of the Levites equally as much.
For which note: Five feet make a pace, 125 paces make a stadium, eight stadia make a mile: for a mile is a thousand paces. Moreover, the sacred reed, as I said in chapter 41:5, contains six cubits, that is, six times a foot and a half (for a cubit is a foot and a half). Therefore, the sacred reed contains 9 feet. Hence a reed contains two paces minus one foot: wherefore, since a thousand paces make a mile, it follows that a thousand reeds make two miles, minus a thousand feet, which make two hundred paces: and 500 reeds make one mile, minus 500 feet, which make a hundred paces. Therefore, 25 thousand reeds make 50 miles, minus 25 thousand feet, which make 5 thousand paces, or 5 miles. Therefore, 25 thousand reeds make precisely 45 miles.
Where and when did the priests possess a space of 45 miles? Again, the wall of the city, chapter 48 at the end, is said to have been 18 thousand reeds, that is, 32 miles and 400 paces. Who ever saw such great walls, such a great city?