Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Having set forth the guilt and punishment of the fathers, namely the destruction and Babylonian captivity, he urges the Jews to turn steadfastly from their idols and vices to God and virtue, lest God inflict on them a similar new disaster. Second, in verse 7, through black, red, dappled, and white horses, he represents the varied state of the nations, and the miserable present condition of the Jewish commonwealth. Hence he sees an angel standing among the myrtles and praying: 'How long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem? This is now the seventieth year.' Having been heard, he learns that God will give peace and good things to the Jews, so that Jerusalem may be rebuilt, and that He will destroy their enemies. Then, in verse 18, he sees four craftsmen carrying four horns, which had afflicted and scattered Judah.
Vulgate Text: Zechariah 1:1-21
1. In the eighth month, in the second year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying: 2. The Lord was angry with your fathers with great wrath. 3. And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to Me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. 4. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn from your evil ways and from your wicked thoughts; but they did not hear, nor did they attend to Me, says the Lord. 5. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6. But My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers, so that they repented and said: As the Lord of hosts planned to deal with us according to our ways and according to our deeds, so He has dealt with us? 7. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying: 8. I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtles that were in the valley, and behind him were red, dappled, and white horses. 9. And I said: What are these, my lord? And the angel who spoke with me said: I will show you what these are. 10. And the man who stood among the myrtles answered and said: These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth. 11. And they answered the angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtles, and said: We have patrolled the earth, and behold, the whole earth is inhabited and at rest. 12. And the angel of the Lord answered and said: O Lord of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry? This is now the seventieth year. 13. And the Lord answered the angel who spoke with me with good words, words of comfort. 14. And the angel who spoke with me said to me: Cry out, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great jealousy. 15. And with great anger I am angry with the wealthy nations; for I was but a little angry, but they furthered the affliction. 16. Therefore thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem with mercies; and My house shall be built in it, says the Lord of hosts; and the measuring line shall be stretched over Jerusalem. 17. Cry out again, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall yet overflow with good things; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. 18. And I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, four horns. 19. And I said to the angel who spoke with me: What are these? And he said to me: These are the horns that scattered Judah, and Israel, and Jerusalem. 20. And the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21. And I said: What are these coming to do? And he spoke, saying: These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no man lifted up his head; and these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.
Verse 1: In The Eighth Month
1. IN THE EIGHTH MONTH, that is in October, Zechariah began to prophesy; Haggai however in the sixth month, that is in August: both prophesied, not in Babylon, as some think, but in Jerusalem, as Ezra expressly says in book 1, chapter 5. DARIUS Hystaspes; see what was said at Haggai 1:1. Darius in Persian means oppouzer, that is, 'the prudent one,' says Hesychius: for prudence and foresight are the first endowment of a king, that he may rule and govern well.
SON OF BERECHIAH. Berechiah in Hebrew means the same as 'blessing of the Lord.' His son is Zechariah, that is, 'memory' or 'mindful of the Lord.' For it is a great blessing and the highest good to remember God continually, and always to have Him in one's memory, indeed in one's eyes and mind.
SON OF IDDO. Therefore Iddo was the grandfather of Zechariah; St. Jerome and those who followed him -- Remigius, Albert, Haymo, Hugh, and Denis -- hold that this was Iddo the Seer, that is, the prophet who wrote the chronicles of the kings of Judah, 2 Chronicles 22:15, and who was sent by God to Jeroboam the first king of Israel to announce destruction upon him for the golden calves he had erected, 3 Kings 13:1, although Scripture does not name him there. But this is hard to believe, for from Jeroboam to Darius Hystaspes more than 400 years had passed. Therefore it seems more likely that Iddo, the grandfather of Zechariah, was likewise a prophet, as the Hebrews hold, or at least an illustrious man, and is named here to lend honor and distinction to his grandson Zechariah. Unless you say that Iddo the Seer was not the grandfather but the fifth or sixth ancestor of Zechariah, so that Berechiah is called 'son,' that is, great-grandson of Iddo. For thus Zechariah himself is called son, that is, grandson or great-grandson of Iddo, in 1 Ezra 5:1. And this is quite plausible, both because we do not read of another Iddo who was a prophet or famous in Scripture; and because prophecy at that time was quasi-hereditary, just like the priesthood, and passed from grandfathers to fathers and grandsons, as the Hebrews report; hence in the books of Kings the 'sons of the Prophets' are celebrated, and Zechariah the father of John the Baptist was a prophet just as his son was, as is evident from Luke 1:67; and because St. Jerome and the others already cited expressly affirm this, who plainly saw that with such a gap of years Iddo could not be the grandfather of Zechariah; by 'grandfather' therefore he understands 'ancestor.' If this is so, then Zechariah was the descendant and heir of a great prophet (for such was Iddo the Seer).
Verse 2: The Lord Was Angry. I
2. THE LORD WAS ANGRY. In Hebrew, 'He was angry with anger,' that is, He was vehemently angry, He burned with great wrath.
Verse 3: And You Shall Say To Them
3. AND YOU SHALL SAY TO THEM, namely to the Jews, among whom you dwell, and whose prophet I have appointed you. The relative pronoun, or rather the demonstrative, is used for the antecedent, as being well known and obvious. THUS SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS. This is added because the speech is addressed to those who had come under the power of Darius, the leader and commander of great armies, as if to say: Thus speaks He whose forces are far greater than human forces, whose army and power far surpass the army and power of Darius, otherwise most powerful. So says Vatablus.
RETURN TO ME. St. Gregory writes beautifully in his commentary on the seventh Penitential Psalm: "God, he says, who rejects the sinner, turns to the penitent; He calls even the hostile, forgives the sins of those who convert, exhorts the sluggish, consoles the afflicted, teaches the studious, helps those who fight, strengthens those who labor, hears those who cry out from the heart. For He Himself says through the Prophet: 'Return to Me, and I will return to you'; but because we cannot turn to Him without Him, let us cry daily with the Prophet: 'Do not turn Your face from me.'" Furthermore, St. Thomas (III, Question 89, article 6, ad 3), and following him Capreolus (in II, distinction 40, single Question), Soto (book II On Justice, Question 3, article 10), and Navarrus (Enchiridion 11, no. 8), hold that this precept of conversion to God obliges at the first instant of the use of reason: for a child, they say, when he begins to have the use of reason, is bound to order himself and his affairs to the proper end, namely to God; and if he does this, God will infuse into him the grace by which he will obtain the remission of original sin; if he does not, he sins mortally. For the order of nature seems to require that man, when he begins rational life, should begin from the intention of the ultimate end; for the right ordering of a good life depends on it. But other doctors hold the contrary, namely that at the first instant of reason a child is not bound to turn himself to God through the love of God above all things, whether natural or supernatural: first, because this precept is most difficult and supremely sublime. It is not credible that God would have obliged men of such immature judgment to carry out such a precept immediately; second, because man at the beginning does not think about such sublime matters, but about sensible and familiar things. Nor is there anything from which such a sublime thought might be suggested to them; and therefore the failure to consider it, or ignorance of it, is invincible; third, because no such precept exists in Scripture, nor does natural reason dictate it. For the text: 'Return to Me, and I will return to you,' pertains to sinners who are commanded to do penance for actual sins, not to those who have only original sin; and even if it did pertain to these, it would not therefore need to be fulfilled immediately. For it is an affirmative precept, which always obliges, but not for always, as a negative precept obliges; just as an adult who has sinned mortally is not bound to do penance immediately under a new sin.
Verse 4: Do Not Be Like Your Fathers
4. DO NOT BE LIKE YOUR FATHERS -- do not imitate your fathers, do not emulate the idolatry, disobedience, and apostasy of your fathers; otherwise I will make you like them in punishment, just as you have made yourselves like them in guilt.
Verse 5: Your Fathers, Where Are They
5. YOUR FATHERS, WHERE ARE THEY? As if to say: they were destroyed, and in the destruction of Jerusalem either killed or carried off to Babylon, and they died there, as I had foretold to them and threatened through My prophets. Do you not see that My threats and oracles concerning them were not empty and vain, but true, certain, and effective? Know therefore that these things which I likewise intend and declare to you through Zechariah will also come to pass. AND DO THE PROPHETS LIVE FOREVER? He means the prophets of the impious fathers, namely the false prophets; for he immediately contrasts them with His servants the Prophets, as if to say: The false prophets, who falsely proclaimed and promised happiness to your fathers, saying, 'Peace, peace' -- did not they too, just like your fathers, die miserably, either by the sword or by the miseries of captivity? Where then is their happiness and longevity, which they promised to themselves and to your fathers? Did they not by their own so unhappy death testify that they were liars, and that their oracles were the predictions of a demon, not of God? So say St. Jerome, Albert, Hugh, and Lyra. But others understand the true Prophets, as if to say: Both the pious Prophets and your impious fathers have died; for the good die just as the wicked do; but their prophecies and threats live, prevail, and are fulfilled, inasmuch as they overtook your fathers in the punishment they had foretold to them; for this is what verse 6 means: 'My words overtook your fathers.' So say Arias, Vatablus, and Mariana.
Verse 6: But Indeed
6. BUT INDEED, as if to say: Your false prophets deceived you, because they promised prosperity that did not come to pass. But My Prophets, who proclaimed to your fathers and to you My words, that is, threats and statutes, namely the punishments established by the law of Moses against transgressors of the law, did not deceive you; for the punishments and plagues they threatened actually overtook your fathers, who, instructed by these scourges of God, recognized the just judgment of God upon them and their own guilt, so that those who formerly had been unwilling to heed Me when I invited them to repentance, as is said in verse 4, now, chastened by these corrections, though late and under compulsion, changed their minds and their opinion, and said: 'As the Lord of hosts planned to deal with us according to our ways, etc., so He has dealt with us.' So say Arias, Clarius, and Vatablus.
Verse 7: On The Twenty-Fourth Day Of The Eleventh Month Shebat
7. ON THE TWENTY-FOURTH DAY OF THE ELEVENTH MONTH SHEBAT, which corresponds to our January; for this is our first month, but it was the penultimate month for the Jews. For they began the sacred year from Nisan, that is, March. Shebat and the other Hebrew names of the months seem to be Chaldean, for they are found only among those who returned from Babylon. So says Vatablus. THE WORD CAME, that is, the vision of the angel and the horses among the myrtles: for God speaks by symbols as much as by words. Therefore any prophecy, as I said at Isaiah 1:1, is called indiscriminately now 'word,' now 'vision'; although the actual words of the angel are also mingled and interspersed in this vision. SAYING, that is, showing what follows, which he narrates by speaking.
Verse 8: I Saw By Night. F
8. I SAW BY NIGHT. For night is more suited to visions; for in it, when the senses are at rest and recollected, the imagination more vividly conceives and beholds its images, especially those impressed by God or an angel. Symbolically, this night was a symbol of the calamity in which the Jews returning from Babylon found themselves, which was soon to be changed into the day, light, and joy of the restoration of the city and temple. For calamity is opportune for hearing the word of God, because it softens the heart like wax. Hence tribulation gives understanding to the hearing. So says St. Jerome.
Whence, morally, St. Gregory in book 2 of the Moralia, chapter 2, teaches that Sacred Scripture is accustomed to signify the outcome of a matter by the time: "From the quality of the time, he says, the end of the action is expressed; just as Judas, who was not to return to pardon, is said to have gone out at night to commit his treacherous betrayal, since when he departed, the Evangelist St. John says in chapter 18: 'And it was night.' For hence also it is said to the wicked rich man in Luke 12: 'This night they will demand your soul from you.' For the soul that is led to darkness is remembered as being claimed not by day, but by night. Hence Solomon, who received wisdom but was not to persevere in it, is described as having received it in dreams and by night, in 3 Kings 3. Hence the angels come to Abraham at midday; but when they are about to punish Sodom, they are recorded as having arrived in the evening. Therefore, because the trial of blessed Job is led to victory, it is said to have begun by day, when it says: 'Now on a certain day when the sons of God came,'" etc.
AND BEHOLD, A MAN, that is, an angel assuming the appearance of a man; for that he was an angel is clear from verse 11. The Hebrews, St. Jerome, Theodoret, and generally others hold that it was St. Michael; for he was formerly the guardian of the Synagogue of the Jews, as he is now of the Church of Christians, as is evident from Daniel 10:21 and chapter 12:1; although some think it was Gabriel, who is a mighty warrior for the people of God, as is evident from Daniel 9:21 and chapter 10:3.
ON A RED HORSE. He sits on a horse, as being swift and hasty to aid his people; and on a red one, as being bloodthirsty and a fierce avenger against the enemies of the Jews. For the horse signifies many things, namely the speed, nobility, dignity, ardor for battle, victories, glory, and triumphs of St. Michael.
Theodoret interprets it differently: He sits, he says, on a red horse to signify the affliction of the people: "For the red horse shows the conspiracy and indignation of the enemies, because fury is bloodthirsty and red." Novelly, therefore, Arias takes this man to be Alexander the Great, whose horse was red, namely Bucephalus, so called because it was similar to an ox in head and color; and oxen are commonly reddish, especially in Greece and other warm regions. He holds, then, that this signifies that Alexander would transfer the monarchy from the Persians to the Greeks. But the Prophet is not dealing with this matter here. Moreover, Theodoret calls this red horse 'spadix,' that is, of a bay color, which is most commended in horses, concerning which hear Virgil in Georgics 3, when he depicts a noble horse with these marks: His neck is held high, His head is fine, his belly short, his back is broad, And his spirited chest swells with muscle: the best colors Are bay and grey: the worst is white. Now from the nobility of the horse understand and measure the spirit, strength, and fury of the rider. The difficulty of the situation and the affliction demanded them. For the Jews were plunged into the depth of calamities, as will soon be said: they therefore needed a powerful angel as liberator and champion of great zeal. Note here: Angels are wont to be at hand for the afflicted, and the greater the affliction, the greater the strength, help, and consolation they bring.
Mystically, this man standing among the myrtles is Christ, who in the flesh which He assumed from the myrtle, that is, the Blessed Virgin, stands in the midst of the Patriarchs, Prophets, and saints of the Old and New Testaments, as if among myrtles. The red horse is human nature, upon which the divinity sits, which He assumed from the first parent, who was called Adam, that is, 'red,' from the red earth from which he was formed by God, and which He reddened with blood, both His own and His enemies', which He as conqueror shed, according to that saying of Isaiah 63:1: "Who is this who comes from Edom, with garments stained from Bozrah? etc. Why then is your garment red? 'I have trodden the winepress alone,'" etc. So says Peter, Abbot of Celles, in his book On the Loaves, chapter 13, in volume 8 of the Bibliotheca SS. Patrum. Following Him are red, white, and dappled horses, that is, apostles, martyrs, and virgins: likewise craftsmen, that is, doctors and preachers, who all built the Church of Christ and overthrew the enemies of Christ who wished to hinder this work.
AMONG THE MYRTLES, that is, places planted with myrtles; the Syriac version says, among shady or shadowy trees; the Arabic Alexandrine, between two mountains facing each other, that is, opposite. In the grammatical sense it denotes Babylon, where the Jews had been captive; for the myrtle, because of its dryness, loves low, deep, and irrigated places, such as Babylon, which is near the Euphrates and Tigris. So say Arias and Vatablus, and also the Chaldean version which translates: 'And he was standing among the myrtle trees that are in Babylon.' Hence it adds 'in the valley,' that is, near the deep, namely of the waters and rivers. There, therefore, the angel was seen, to signify the captivity and Babylonian calamity of the Jews, in which they were as if plunged into the deep and nearly swallowed up, according to Psalm 68:3: 'I am stuck in the mire of the deep, and there is no firm ground'; and that he had brought them out from there in large part and freed them, and would free the rest, while he would soon help those who had returned in the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple, and when that was finished, the rest from Babylon would immediately fly to Jerusalem. And so Michael appears among the myrtles, because he announces joyful things about the building and glory of the temple; for the myrtle is a sign of gladness.
Hence there was formerly a custom at banquets to pass around a myrtle branch and thus rouse the guests to singing; for each one, upon receiving it in his hands, would sing his part, as Plutarch attests in his Symposium. And Horace, when the spring season arrives and cheerfulness shows itself on every side, elegantly says: 'To bind the shining head with green myrtle.' And wherever he celebrates the joy of feasts, he orders wreaths of myrtle to be brought in. So says Pierius, Hieroglyphics, book 50, chapter 27. Again symbolically, by myrtles he understands the families and assemblies of the faithful and just Jews, who in Babylon had either been captives or were still sojourners, such as Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai, etc. Among these, therefore, Michael stood. For the myrtle signifies the just, on account of the solidity, beauty, and fragrance of their good works. Hence Queen Esther, pious and holy, in chapter 2, was called by Mordecai, on account of her beauty and grace, in Hebrew hadissa, in Latin edissa, that is, 'myrtle' or 'myrtle-like.' So say St. Jerome, Remigius, Albert, and Hugh.
He alludes to the name, character, court, household, and associates of Queen Esther; for she was called Hadissa, that is, 'myrtle.' For she lived at this time, and indeed some chronologists and learned men, from many weighty conjectures, believe she was the wife of this very Darius Hystaspes, and that it was for this reason that he was so benevolent toward the Jews that, among other things, he saw to it that the temple was rebuilt for them. For this reason Haggai and Zechariah prophesied under the same king. Therefore, they say, the angel was seen standing among myrtles, that is, in the court and household of Esther, who was a myrtle both in virtue and in name, as if foretelling her marriage to Darius, which took place the following year, namely in the third year of Ahasuerus, that is, of Darius (for Ahasuerus was the common name of the kings of Persia), as is evident from Esther 1:3. Again, among the myrtles, that is, among the household and followers of Queen Esther, namely Mordecai, Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, and Joshua, who served Queen Esther, and who were likewise, in the vigor and vitality of their spirit and character, myrtles and myrtle groves, as prominent leaders among the people. For in ancient times princes were crowned with myrtle wreaths, as Suidas attests. Hence the proverb: 'You are seeking a myrtle crown,' that is, you are seeking leadership or office.
Thus mystically, our Hadissa and myrtle, our Esther is the Blessed Virgin, who saves those devoted to her and frees them from Haman, that is, from the devil. The angels stand therefore among the myrtles, that is, under the wings and shadow of the Blessed Virgin, or among her faithful, congregations, and assemblies dedicated to her, so that through her merits and prayers they may obtain for her clients pardon, grace, and consolation. For the myrtle, joyful and beautiful, is a symbol of happiness. Hence just as from myrtles, through topiary work in gardens, are made armed soldiers, triremes, armored cavalry, as well as pheasants, parrots, nightingales, etc., for pleasure and delight; so the Blessed Virgin, seated among the myrtles of the heavenly paradise, that is, among the angels, indeed presiding over them, promises her devotees not only help but also consolation, joy, and all spiritual delights; which she bestows through these her angels, who, since by their nature they are without bodily form, can assume any appearance and take on manifold armor, indeed full panoply, so that they may fight powerfully for the honor and glory of the Mother of God their mistress, and for her worshipers, and that they may build the Church and a house for God in the souls of the faithful. Thus among the pagans Venus, the goddess of beauty, was called 'myrtle-Venus.' Hence Pliny in book 15, chapter 29: 'There was, he says, an ancient altar in Rome of Myrtle-Venus.' The same author in book 21, chapter 11: 'In Egypt, he says, all these (rose, lily, violet, etc.) are without scent, and only myrtles have a distinctive fragrance.' What is more beautiful, what more sweet-scented than the Virgin Mother of God? This one beauty of God, that is, her splendor, grace, and loveliness, obscures all the beauties of Satan and the world, indeed shows them to be vain and foul. For she is the abyss of grace, the ocean of beauty, the treasury of all spiritual gifts, who alone, like Esther, appeased Ahasuerus, that is God the Father, and found grace in His eyes, so that she was greeted by Him through the Archangel Gabriel: 'Hail, full of grace.'
For, as is said of her in Song of Songs 4:7: 'You are all beautiful, my beloved, and there is no blemish in you.' And Sirach 24:24: 'I am the mother of beautiful love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue,' etc. Rightly therefore St. Bernard says in Homily 4 on the Missus est: 'From your mouth, O Virgin, depends the consolation of the wretched, the redemption of captives, the liberation of the condemned, indeed the salvation of all.' The same author says: God placed all the beauty of the world in Mary, so that whatever hope, whatever grace, whatever salvation is in us, we may know it overflows from her. Therefore, with the same saint, in Sermon 4 On the Assumption, let us invoke her constantly, and say: 'May it please your mercy, O Blessed Virgin, to make known to the world that grace which you found with God, obtaining by your holy prayers pardon for the guilty, healing for the sick, strength for the fainthearted, consolation for the afflicted, help for those in danger, and deliverance. Amen.' Mary therefore is the myrtle of God.
Moreover, Theodoret, following the Septuagint, reads 'shady mountains' instead of 'myrtles,' by which he understands the providence of God, under which all live, from which this angel goes forth to carry out his protection of the Jews. These mountains are shady because the judgments of God are obscure and hidden.
Morally, note: The just person, and especially the Blessed Virgin, is fittingly compared to the myrtle: first, because the myrtle, loving valleys, signifies her humility, which is the foundation of sanctity. Second, because the myrtle grows near water. Hence Virgil in Georgics 4: 'And myrtles that love the shores.' So the just person grows through the tears of compunction and penance, and through the waters of tribulation and patience. Third, the myrtle bears berries of excellent flavor, from which wine is made: so the just person bears the fruits of good works, savory to God and men, from which is made the wine of exultation that gladdens the angels. Fourth, the myrtle is very fragrant and beautiful; hence it imparts a pleasant scent to the mouth and breath, says Pliny in book 23, chapter 18. Hence effeminate persons who have stomach troubles and foul breath eat myrtle berries in the morning as a remedy; for this reason it was dedicated to Venus by the pagans, as Pliny attests in book 12, chapter 1. So the just person spreads from himself the fragrance of a good reputation, and by the purity, modesty, and gentleness of his character makes himself pleasing to all, and fulfills that admonition of the Apostle: 'Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt,' Colossians 4:6.
Fifth, the myrtle is always green; so the just person always preserves and increases the greenness of his virtues. Sixth, oil from the myrtle is astringent and hardening, says Pliny in book 23, chapters 4 and 9: 'Its seed, he says, is a remedy for those who spit blood, and is also given to those with dysentery in the weight of a denarius in wine.' So the just person restrains and checks the flow of harmful desires. Seventh, at festivals, games, etc., they wreathed their heads with myrtle, as Virgil sings in Georgics 1, and Tibullus in book 1, Elegy 3: 'And wears myrtle garlands on his noble head.' The myrtle therefore denotes the spiritual joy and exultation that the just person possesses on account of the peace of conscience. Hence Lyra literally understands by the myrtles the joy of the Jews at the restoration of the city and temple, and that they would soon actually see myrtles and myrtle groves again being planted and grown near the city and temple. Moreover, that this joy was immense and overflowing is indicated by the fact that the angel was seen not among myrtle trees, but among myrtle groves, that is, forests of myrtles. So says Fernandius in Vision 29, section 2, who also adds that fragrant things restore vigor and strength to those who are failing, and therefore the angel was seen among myrtles, which are most fragrant, in order to bring consolation and strengthening to the Jews who were nearly failing and collapsing from fear. Eighth, myrtles are customarily used to adorn and enclose gardens, meadows, and villas; hence Martial in book 5: 'A villa arranged with leisurely myrtle groves.' So the just person is both a defense and an ornament of his house, college, city, commonwealth, Church, and the whole world: just as from myrtles are made topiaries, which are the glory of gardens.
Ninth, wine flavored with myrtle, which they call myrtites, is effective for relieving stomach pains, says Pliny in book 30, chapter 7, and Columella in book 12, chapter 38; so the just person by his patience and virtue calms and overcomes all the pains of diseases and torments. Furthermore, Theodoret says: 'The myrtle is a fragrant plant, having the power to cool hot diseases.' So the just person extinguishes the heat of anger and lust through the grace of God. Tenth, Pliny in book 15, chapter 29: 'The nature of juices, he says, has its chief wonder in the myrtle, since from this one plant alone two kinds of both oil and wine are made.' He adds that the ancients used myrtle berries in place of pepper. So everything in the just person is juicy, savory, sharp, and effective. Eleventh, in the same place Pliny asserts that the myrtle is effective for purging bile, and therefore for reconciling the minds of those who are at variance. Hence, 'it is reported, he says, that the Romans and Sabines, when they wished to fight over the abducted virgins, laid down their arms and were purified with myrtle branches in the place that now has the shrine of Venus Cloacina. For the ancients said cluere meant to purify. It was then chosen because Venus presides over marriage and over this tree.' So the just person everywhere reconciles those who are at variance, and follows that saying of Christ: 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God,' Matthew 5. Twelfth, in the same place Pliny says: 'Cato, he says, identified three kinds of myrtle: black, white, and conjugal; perhaps from marriages, from that Cloacina variety.' And soon he says: 'The leaves are also dried by themselves into flour for remedies for ulcers on the human body, with a gently biting powder, and for cooling sweats. Indeed in the oil also (amazing to say) there is a certain wine flavor, and at the same time a rich liquid, with special power for correcting wines, after the bags have been soaked.' So the just person in his holiness, and in his words and corrections, has something sharp and biting, by which he chastises the faults and defects of others. 'Flattery is smooth,' says St. Jerome in Dialogue 1 Against the Pelagians, 'and among the philosophers a flatterer is well defined as a smooth enemy; truth is bitter, with a wrinkled and stern brow, and offends those who are corrected.'
Thirteenth, from myrtle was made the crown of those celebrating a minor triumph, and sometimes also of those celebrating a full triumph, says Pliny in the same place. This represents the crown of triumph which the ever-green virtue of the just, and their heroic virtue, merits. Fourteenth, the myrtle, says Pliny in book 23, chapter 9, 'heals stubborn ulcers on the extremities of the body. It is applied with barley meal for eye inflammation, and on the left breast for heart conditions. Against scorpion stings in unmixed wine, and for bladder ailments, headaches, and fistulas before they suppurate. Likewise for swellings, and with the pits removed, ground in old wine, for eruptions of phlegm. The juice of the seed checks the bowels and stimulates urine. For eruptions of pustules and phlegm it is applied with wax ointment. It darkens the hair.' He then adds that it is effective against erysipelas, hair loss, dandruff, joint diseases, dropsy, hemorrhoids, freckles, suppurating ears, kidney pain, jaundice, and kidney stones. So there is no evil that the just person, through God's grace, cannot cure by his virtue; no temptation that he cannot overcome; no vice that he cannot conquer and vanquish by his constancy and fortitude. For he overcomes pride by humility, anger by gentleness, gluttony by abstinence, lust by mortification, avarice by generosity, sloth by fervor and zeal, etc.
Fifteenth, the myrtle is short-lived, but quick to bear fruit. Hear Pliny in book 17, chapter 13: 'Some things, he says, grow slowly by nature, especially those that are born only from seed and last a long time. But those that quickly die are swift in bearing fruit, such as the fig, pomegranate, plum, apple, pear, and myrtle; and yet they surpass in riches. For they begin to bear in three years.' So the saints who are eminent and ardent are of short life; but they fill it with many heroic virtues, as can be seen in St. Agnes, Cecilia, St. Stephen, St. Lawrence, Linus, Cletus, Clement, and all the first holy Popes.
Finally, the myrtle was used in sacred rites, says Pliny in book 16, chapter 32, who also in book 15, chapter 29, speaking of the most ancient shrine of Quirinus, that is, Romulus, says: 'In it there were two sacred myrtles, before the temple itself for a long time.' The myrtle therefore denotes religion, prayer, and the devotion of the saints. For these reasons Isaiah, describing the endowments and beauty of the Church, in chapter 41:19 says: 'I will place in the desert (of the Gentiles) the cedar, and the thorn, and the myrtle, and the olive tree.' And in chapter 55:13: 'Instead of the brier shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the nettle shall grow the myrtle.' Thus, of the Jews going to Babylon as if to prison, it is said in Psalm 136:2: 'On the willows in its midst we hung our instruments.' But now when they return from Babylon joyful and full of hope, the willows are changed into myrtles for them. Hence the angel appears among the myrtles, to indicate and increase their joy. For this reason also in Leviticus 23:40, at the Feast of Tabernacles the Jews are commanded to carry branches of thick-leaved trees, that is, of myrtle, as the Chaldean version, Josephus, and others translate, so that by them they might attest and represent the joy with which God filled them when He led them out of Egypt through the desert and settled them in the promised land, namely in Canaan.
AND BEHIND HIM RED, DAPPLED, AND WHITE HORSES. For 'dappled' the Hebrew is שרוקים serukim, which Arias translates as 'silky,' such as is the color of raw silk before it is dyed, namely yellow or tawny, as the Arabic of Antioch translates; or saffron, such as is the color of gold. Marinus in his Lexicon derives serukim from sorec, which was a kind of vine and excellent grape; hence serukim is called the color of the finest grape. Others derive serukim from שורק scorec, that is, a shoot, to signify 'spadix,' that is, a palm shoot with fruit, which is of a crimson color. But the Septuagint, our Vulgate, the Chaldean version, and others translate 'dappled'; others, 'multicolored.' Hence the Arabic Alexandrine translates: And around him were also red horses, and flame-colored, and tawny, and black; others read 'speckled'; others, 'choice': unless by 'varied color' you understand a middle color, and therefore mixed. For the yellow color is composed of green, red, and white, and is therefore brighter than tawny, like the color of gold. Hence it denotes nations that are in the middle, that is, partly friendly, partly hostile to the Jews.
Note first, that by the horses we should understand, by metonymy, the riders and horsemen. For of them he adds: 'These are they whom the Lord has sent.' Second, that these horsemen designate the guardian angels of kingdoms: for they follow the first horseman, namely St. Michael, as their leader and standard-bearer. Third, the color indicates the quality and condition of the kingdoms and nations over which they preside, and especially their diverse manners and dispositions toward the Jews: so say the Hebrews, and from them St. Jerome, whom Haymo, Albert, Remigius, and Hugh follow as usual. The red horses therefore signify the angels presiding over bloodthirsty nations, which had devastated Judea and other peoples with war, plundering, and slaughter, such as were then the Assyrians and Chaldeans. The white, on account of their bright and joyful color, signify the rulers of peaceful nations favorable to the Jews, such as were then the Persians and Medes. The dappled, that is, of various colors, signify the angels presiding over nations that had various states and inclinations -- now toward peace, soon toward war; now toward friendship and kindness, soon toward hatred and harm; now toward good, soon toward evil and inflicting disasters -- such as were then the Macedonians and Greeks. So say the Hebrews, St. Jerome, and his followers. But since at that time the empire and power of the Macedonians did not yet exist, as it began with Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, it is better to understand by the dappled horses the various nations neighboring the Jews, partly friendly and partly hostile to them, or now benevolent, soon hostile, such as the Egyptians, Tyrians, Sidonians, Syrians, Ammonites, etc.
Therefore some wrongly take the first horse, namely the red one, to represent the Romans. Others, less badly, take the dappled horses, as being tawny, to represent the Romans, especially Titus and Vespasian, who were of the Flavian gens. But this is not the literal or genuine meaning. For the Romans at that time were insignificant and obscure, and had nothing in common with the Jews, much less were they 'red,' that is, bloodthirsty toward them: hence it is better to understand the red horses as the Chaldeans, as I have said.
These angels therefore represent their nations; and having patrolled them and surveyed the condition of each in verse 11, they report that all nations and the whole earth are at peace, and living peacefully in their homes, and resting there. For this vision is aimed at persuading the Jews through Zechariah to proceed confidently in the building of the temple and city, since all the surrounding nations are at peace and will not bring war upon the Jews or hinder the building. These horses are understood differently in chapter 6. For there they are of four colors, and signify the four monarchies succeeding one another in order; but here they are of three colors, and signify the present state of the nations, and their threefold disposition toward the Jews, about which more will be said in chapter 6.
Moreover, he says 'horses,' not 'horse'; because the individual angels, or rather archangels, being princes and rulers of nations, did not come alone, but accompanied by their cohorts of angels. The same must be said even more of Michael. Furthermore, the red, dappled, and white horses signify angels destined for various offices: some for exercising severity and vengeance, others for beneficence and mercy, and others partly for vengeance and partly for mercy. Therefore the opinion of Arias is irrelevant and improbable, who takes the man standing among the myrtles to be Alexander the Great, and the red, dappled, and white horses to be Alexander's successors -- Seleucus, Philip, Antigonus, and Ptolemy -- who cut up and divided his monarchy among themselves. For Zechariah preceded Alexander by nearly 200 years, and he is dealing with present matters, namely the present consolation of the Jews, in order to encourage and impel them to the present building of the temple, to which Alexander contributed nothing. One might more probably say that in these horses there is an allusion to the present empire of the Persians, to whom the Jews were subject; for the Persians were powerful in horses, just as even now they are powerful in cavalry against the Turks. Hence by the neighing of a horse Darius Hystaspes was made king of the Persians, in the second year of whose reign this vision occurred to Zechariah.
Mystically, St. Ambrose in his work on the Apostles' Creed, volume 4, takes the red horses to mean martyrs; the white, virgins; and the dappled, or as he himself reads from the Septuagint, 'starling-colored,' that is, of the color of the starling bird, to mean doctors. 'They were followed, he says, by horses of various colors, that is, those who are shown to be either red by martyrdom; or starling-colored in flight, that is, varied in virtues; or white in virginity.'
Verse 9: And The Angel Who Spoke With Me Said To Me. T
9. AND THE ANGEL WHO SPOKE WITH ME SAID TO ME. This angel seems to have been the guardian of the Prophet, who revealed to him these oracles and showed him these visions. For he says: 'I will show you what these are.' He was therefore different from Michael: for Michael was the guardian of the whole people and stood among the myrtles, but this angel was the guardian of Zechariah and spoke within him. So say St. Jerome, Remigius, Albert, Hugh, and Lyra, although the Rabbis, Theodoret, and Vatablus hold the contrary, namely that this angel was the same as the one who stood among the myrtles, that is, Michael. For Michael, wishing to console the people, illuminated Zechariah and showed him these visions and consoling words, so that he might relate them to the people and comfort them. But the former view which I stated is plainer and more consonant with the text. Moreover, from the fact that he says of this angel of his, 'he spoke in me,' some think that this angel, who was suggesting oracles to Zechariah, spoke to him not outwardly by voice, but inwardly by mental or imaginative inspiration, and as it were possessed and governed him, as a demon possesses and governs the possessed; and this is what St. Gregory implies in book 28 of the Moralia, chapter 2: 'When he says that the angel spoke to him indeed, but in him, he clearly shows that he who was speaking to him was not outside in bodily form.' But I say that this happened in this manner: through an imaginary vision presented to Zechariah by God, he seemed to himself to see his prophetic angel conversing with him face to face, and speaking with Michael. For this angel asks Michael to explain to Zechariah who these red, dappled, and white horses are. Hence Michael, questioned by him, answers:
Verse 10: These Are They Whom The Lord Has Sent To Patrol The Earth
10. THESE ARE THEY WHOM THE LORD HAS SENT TO PATROL THE EARTH, that is to say: These are the angels presiding over the regions, whom God sent to survey them. Then Michael questions these same angels, as their prince, about the state of the regions -- what they had seen in this survey, how the regions entrusted to them were faring. They answer him: 'We have patrolled the earth, and behold, the whole earth is inhabited and at rest,' so that Zechariah might know that there was full peace among the nations, especially those neighboring Judea, and that they would be peaceable toward the Jews, so as not to provoke them to war or hinder the building of the city and temple. You ask: Why then does he say of this angel, 'who spoke in me'? I reply that this is a Hebraism: 'in me' means 'to me' or 'with me,' as the Chaldean version translates. In addition, the phrase 'in me' signifies that this vision was not real but imaginary, in which the angel depicted and spoke all these things in the mind, or rather in the imagination of Zechariah. For Zechariah seemed to himself to see the angels conversing with one another, and his angel showing him and suggesting to him these sights and conversations, but he was not seeing and hearing these things outwardly with his bodily eyes.
Verse 11: We Have Patrolled. I
11. WE HAVE PATROLLED. In Hebrew הלך halach, that is, 'to walk,' 'to patrol,' when applied to princes, such as angels are, denotes sovereignty, namely the act of visiting, inquiring, examining, and arranging all things. Hence that passage in Ezekiel 28:14: 'You walked in the midst of the stones of fire,' that is to say: Among the Cherubim you, O Cherub, held sovereignty. So in 1 Maccabees 3:8: 'Judas patrolled,' as a superior judge and avenger, 'the cities of Judah, and destroyed the impious from them.' So concerning God the wicked say in Job 22:14: 'He walks around the hinges of heaven, and does not consider our affairs,' as if to say: God governs the heavens, but despises and neglects the earth. In Leviticus 26:12, God says: 'I will walk among you,' as your prince, protector, and provider. Hence He adds: 'And I will be your God, and you shall be My people.' So, conversely, Satan says in Job 1:7: 'I have gone about the earth, and walked through it.' And Psalm 90:6: 'From the plague that stalks in darkness,' that is, from the demon that rules and rages by night, as well as the one that rages by day; of which he adds: 'From the assault and the noonday demon.' So King 'Antiochus was traversing the upper provinces' with his army, 1 Maccabees 6:1. So even now the kings of the Moguls and of Ethiopia, accompanied by sixty thousand, or two hundred, or even sometimes five hundred thousand armed men, continually traverse their territories and kingdoms, which are vast, in order to keep them in peace, survey, direct, and govern them.
In the same way these angels patrolled the provinces entrusted to them, as their inspectors, guardians, and rulers. St. Jerome, Remigius, and Hugh add that these angels, by patrolling the kingdoms committed to them, subdued neighboring, rebellious, or hostile nations, and subjected them to their kingdoms, and thus secured full peace for all. Finally, the word 'we have patrolled' signifies the execution of divine providence publicly exercised and demonstrated through the angels, although it proceeds from obscure causes and hidden judgments, namely from the counsel of God, which lies hidden 'in the deep and among the myrtles,' and, as the Septuagint says, among the shady mountains.
THE WHOLE EARTH IS INHABITED AND AT REST. 'The whole earth,' namely the land neighboring Judea. For in remote regions there were wars. Hence the Romans, in the ninth year of this Darius Hystaspes, says Eusebius in his Chronicle, expelled Tarquin the Proud, their king, from the city and kingdom, and in his place created as consuls Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. Moreover, this same Darius a little later besieged and captured Babylon, and finally invaded Greece with six hundred thousand soldiers, all of whom were routed by a few Greeks under the command of Miltiades at Marathon, as Justin, Herodotus, and others attest.
Verse 12: And The Angel Of The Lord Answered And Said: O Lord Of Hosts, How L...
12. AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD ANSWERED AND SAID: O LORD OF HOSTS, HOW LONG WILL YOU NOT HAVE MERCY ON JERUSALEM? This angel seems to have been not the guardian of Zechariah, but the guardian of the whole Jewish people, namely Michael. For he prays for the whole people committed to him, as if saying: Since all other nations live in peace and prosperity, why, O Lord, do You allow only the Jews to be troubled by Cambyses, by the Samaritans, and by other enemies who have hitherto hindered the building of the city and temple? How long will You delay having mercy on Jerusalem, which is inhabited by the few citizens returning from Babylon, and is enclosed neither by walls nor by a temple? (1 Ezra 5). How long will You not bring it about that it and the other cities of Judea, and especially the temple in it, be restored? Behold, 'this is now the seventieth year' decreed and appointed by You for its desolation. So say St. Jerome, Theodoret, Haymo, Albert, Hugh, and Lyra. THIS IS NOW THE SEVENTIETH YEAR. The angel said this in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, as is clear from verse 1. In this second year, therefore, these 70 years were completed: whence it follows that they are different from the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity, of which Jeremiah speaks in chapter 25:11 and chapter 29:10, for those ended in the first year of Cyrus, who dissolved the captivity and sent the Jews back from Babylon, which he had captured, to Jerusalem, as is clear from 1 Ezra 1:1. These 70 years, however, begin from the destruction of the city and temple by the Chaldeans, which occurred in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, and they end in the second year of Darius Hystaspes. Therefore these years of Zechariah are called the 70 years of desolation, namely of the city and temple; while the former years of Jeremiah are called the 70 years of captivity, namely of the Jews. So say Eusebius in his Chronicle, Clement in book 4 of the Stromata, St. Jerome in his Preface to Haggai, St. Augustine in book 18 of the City of God, chapter 26, Emmanuel, and Torniellus in his Chronicle at the year of the world 3462 (who however begins these years of Zechariah from the last captivity of the Jews, that is, when after the destruction of Jerusalem they fled to Egypt, and from there, according to the oracle of Jeremiah, were carried off by the Chaldeans to Babylon, which occurred in the 27th year of the deportation of Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah), Ribera, Sanchez, a Castro, and others here, and Fernandius in Vision 29, section 1. Zechariah favors this in chapter 7:5, where in the fourth year of Darius Hystaspes he says of these 70 years of desolation: 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during these seventy years.' Note the pronoun 'these,' which designates the present years, not those past before Cyrus.
Some, however, hold that the 70 years of Jeremiah and of Zechariah, of desolation and of captivity, are the same, and that they had already ended in the first year of Cyrus. Hence they read these words of Zechariah as a question or exclamation, as if saying: Is this, O Lord, the seventieth year of our liberation, foretold by Jeremiah in chapter 25 and by Daniel in chapter 9:2? As if to say: Not only the seventieth, but the eightieth year and beyond is this year of our captivity, and yet there is still no end to our miseries. For although some returned from captivity, many still remain in Babylon; and those who returned are afflicted with such great hardships that it would almost have been better, and more desirable for them, to have stayed and lived in Babylon. So say Albert, Hugh, Lyra, and Mariana. But the Roman Bibles have no mark of interrogation or exclamation, although the Plantin Bibles have one. Therefore the former opinion is both more common and more true. From which you may rightly deduce that the 70 years of captivity begin in the eleventh year of Jehoiakim, when he was killed, and three months later his son and heir to the kingdom, Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah, was carried off captive to Babylon: and that they end in the first year of Cyrus, as I showed at chapters 25 and 29 of Jeremiah. But the 70 years of desolation, of which Zechariah speaks here, begin 11 years later, namely in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, and end 11 years later, namely in the second year of Darius Hystaspes. Hence you may again conclude that Cyrus released the Jews from captivity and conquered Babylon not in the first year of his reign, as Eusebius in his Chronicle, Africanus, St. Jerome here, Pererius, and others think, but of his monarchy; and he lived as monarch for only three years, as the Hebrews consistently assert in the Seder Olam. Hence Daniel too mentions only the third year of Cyrus in chapter 10:1. I know that Xenophon gives Cyrus 7 years of monarchy; but Xenophon in his Cyrus does not so much describe his deeds and history as the ideal of a distinguished king and monarch, just as Plato in his Republic depicts the ideal of a commonwealth not existing but Platonic, that is, one which Plato imagined to be the best. For it is difficult to fit these 7 years to Sacred Scripture: although some for this reason begin the 70 years of captivity earlier, namely from the third year of Jehoiakim, when Daniel was carried off to Babylon, Daniel 1:1, yet the calculation of years does not correspond equally. For from the third year of Jehoiakim to the eleventh of the same, eight years elapsed, which the 7 years of Cyrus do not match: for from those we must subtract three, which we assigned to the same Cyrus with the Hebrews, reckoning the 70 years of captivity from the eleventh year of Jehoiakim to the first year of Cyrus's monarchy. But more on this at 1 Ezra 1:1.
Morally, let us say the same thing, let us pray and beseech the same for England, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, etc., in which heresy has stood and still stands, and the desolation of churches, monasteries, and all sacred things has lasted for seventy years and more. How long, O Lord, will You not have mercy on England? etc. This is now the seventieth, indeed nearly the hundredth year of its desolation. Has England then sinned more than Jerusalem and Judea, that while the latter atoned for its sins with a captivity of seventy years, England cannot atone in a hundred years? It has sinned indeed, and committed a great sin, making a schism from You and Your Church; but for this, so many hundreds of martyrs have shed their blood, who unceasingly pray for her and cry out, not for vengeance like the blood of Abel, but for mercy. Accept these victims for sin, and with their blood wash and cleanse this schism: for You are loving and φιλόψυχος (a lover of souls), You love the souls which You created and redeemed with the blood of Your Christ.
Verse 13: Good Words
13. GOOD WORDS, that is, words of consolation for the Jews, words of good omen, auspicious words, namely the joyful oracle of a good so long desired by their prayers, concerning the future happiness of Jerusalem, when the Lord would return to it in mercies, as follows. 'Good, says St. Jerome, on account of the promise of future things; consoling, on account of the distress of present things.' So Virgil in Eclogue 5: Good Daphnis loves his ease, 'good,' that is, happy, blessed, free from guile, pure. Therefore 'a good word' embraces not only the dignity of the thing about which the oracle is given, but also the truth of the oracle, and the certainty and greatness of the promises. Hence the Psalmist in Psalm 44: 'My heart, he says, has uttered a good word,' as if to say: The word that I conceived in my mind is so auspicious and happy, so sweet, and fills the heart with such fullness and pleasure, that I am compelled to open my mouth and pour it forth, and as if intoxicated, to belch it out. Moreover, the 'good words' are those which he adds:
Verse 14: I Am Jealous For Jerusalem And Zion With Great Jealousy. T
14. I AM JEALOUS FOR JERUSALEM AND ZION WITH GREAT JEALOUSY. This jealousy embraces two contrary acts, namely an ardent love for Jerusalem and an immense wrath against its enemies; for hatred of the latter necessarily follows from love of the former, as if to say: I love Jerusalem vehemently, as a jealous husband ardently loves his wife, and therefore I am vehemently angry with the Chaldeans, because they so cruelly destroyed her and enriched themselves with her spoils, when I had intended only to chastise her through them moderately and gently, as a schoolmaster chastises a boy and student. For this is what He says:
Verse 15: For I Was But A Little Angry, But They Furthered The Affliction. S
15. FOR I WAS BUT A LITTLE ANGRY, BUT THEY FURTHERED THE AFFLICTION. So say Lyra, Vatablus, and others. He calls the Chaldeans 'wealthy nations,' in Hebrew שאננים schaanannim, that is, as the Chaldean version says, those who live securely, trusting in themselves and in their own strength and wealth, fearing no evil; Vatablus translates 'tranquil'; Pagninus, 'quiet'; the Septuagint, 'those who are set above,' that is, those who rule. Morally, note here that God, after having inflicted a blow upon His people, when His fury has abated, turns His just indignation against those very ones who provoked God Himself to vengeance, or who carried it out not to satisfy God, but to indulge their own ambition and tyranny. An example is 2 Chronicles 28:9: 'The Lord God of your fathers, he says, being angry with Judah, delivered them into your hands, and you killed them with a cruelty that has reached to heaven, etc.; you have sinned in this against the Lord your God.' And Psalm 68:27: 'For whom You have struck, they have persecuted: and they have added to the pain of my wounds' -- mockery, reproach, and at times blows along with words.
To strike is one thing, to persecute to destruction is another: the former is the act of a father, the latter of an enemy; the former justice does, the latter malice; the former God attributes to Himself in the death of Christ, saying in Isaiah 54:8: 'For the wickedness of My people I struck Him,' and Christ Himself ascribes the same to the Father in this Psalm passage; but the latter He imputes to the bloodthirsty Jews.
Verse 16: I Will Return To Jerusalem With Mercies
16. I WILL RETURN TO JERUSALEM WITH MERCIES: in Hebrew ברחמים berachamim, that is, with tender compassion, which springs from My inmost bowels and moves, affects, and afflicts them, as if to say: I will show and display intimate and tender compassion and mercy to Jerusalem in many ways and gifts, and moved by this I will do what follows: MY HOUSE (the temple) SHALL BE BUILT IN IT, AND THE MEASURING LINE SHALL BE STRETCHED OVER JERUSALEM, that is, Jerusalem shall be rebuilt. It is a metonymy: for by the plumb line, or level, which architects use to build in a straight line and to make the structure even, he means the entire building. For in the plumb line there hangs from a cord a piece of lead or small weight, which, being heavy, tends toward its center, namely toward the center of the earth and of the whole universe; hence architects use it to level the areas on which they build, and make them equally distant from the center of the earth, which they call 'leveling'; and they raise the building which they construct on the area or flat surface to the plumb line, so that all its parts, being equidistant from the center, may stand solidly; lest if one part curves and leans more toward the center than another, it may collapse that way, and pull the other parts and the whole building into ruin with it. For every heavy object inclines and tends with equal weight toward its center, which is the same and common to all. Therefore two walls of a building opposite each other are mathematically not parallel; because if they were extended, they would converge at the center of the earth; but because this difference, at such a great distance from the center, is tiny and imperceptible, they are considered physically parallel.
Verse 17: My Cities Shall Yet Overflow With Good Things. I
17. MY CITIES SHALL YET OVERFLOW WITH GOOD THINGS. In Hebrew תפוצינה מטב tephutsena mittob, that is, they shall spread out, they shall disperse themselves because of the abundance of good things, to build other cities and villages. The Septuagint translates: 'The cities shall be spread abroad with good things'; the Chaldean: 'They shall be filled with good.' God brought this about in the time of Zerubbabel, and afterwards in the time of the Maccabees, but especially in the time of Christ.
Verse 18: Four Horns. T
18. FOUR HORNS. The Hebrews and, following them, St. Jerome take these to be the four monarchies, namely of the Chaldeans, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, which afflicted the Jews with various disasters through various ages. But this is not very probable. First, because this vision aims to relieve and console the Jews returning from Babylon in their present distress. Therefore it does not refer to the Greeks and Romans, who did not yet exist and had not afflicted the Jews, but were to come many centuries later, indeed after this consolation which the angel gives here; again because they afflicted the Jews, and finally utterly destroyed them under Titus. Second, because the Persians, such as Cyrus and Darius, were benevolent toward the Jews, freed them from Babylon, and gave them the authority to rebuild the city and temple. Therefore they were not horns butting against the Jews. Third, because the Persians, Greeks, and Romans could not afflict Israel, which had already been overthrown and carried off to Assyria, but only Judah: but these horns attacked Israel as well as Judah, as is stated here.
I say therefore, with Theodoret, Clarius, Ribera, Sanchez, a Castro, and others, that by the four horns are signified the four quarters of the world, and the nations dwelling in them, which harassed both the Jews and the Israelites, that is, the ten tribes, with wars: from the East were the Ammonites and Moabites, from the West the Philistines, from the South the Edomites and Egyptians, and from the North the Assyrians and Chaldeans. For of these the angel says: 'These are the horns that scattered Judah, and Israel, and Jerusalem.' Hence the Chaldean version translates 'four horns' as 'four kingdoms.'
Verse 20: Four Craftsmen. T
20. FOUR CRAFTSMEN. These craftsmen were four angels, guardians and champions of Jerusalem and Judea. They are called craftsmen because they come for this purpose: to terrify, cast down, and cut off the four iron horns that so attacked the Jews that none of them dared to lift up his head. Therefore these craftsmen seem to have been blacksmiths: for it is their task to cut off iron horns with iron. So say St. Jerome, Cyril, Theodoret, Remigius, and others.
Verse 21: And These Came To Terrify Them. N
21. AND THESE CAME TO TERRIFY THEM. Note: some read deterere ('to wear down'), but one should read with the Roman edition deterrere ('to terrify'); and this is what the Hebrew לחריד leacharid means, that is, to strike terror into them, to make them tremble: for by the horns he means the hostile nations which these craftsmen, that is, the angels, shook with trembling. For first they struck terror into the hostile nations, then cut them down once they were cast down by fear. Moreover, that these horns were iron may be conjectured from the fact that they violently shook and struck down Judea and Samaria: therefore they were strong, therefore iron. For, as Daniel says in chapter 2:40: 'Iron subdues all things.' Second, because Zedekiah the false prophet did something similar for a similar effect, 3 Kings 22:11: 'Zedekiah, it says, made iron horns,' to express the iron and invincible strength of King Ahab, to whom he said flatteringly: 'With these you shall gore Syria.' Third, because 'craftsman' commonly means a blacksmith, unless 'mason,' 'carpenter,' or something similar is added. Vatablus and Arias, however, just as they take the horns as natural, so they also take the craftsmen as horn-workers or turners, who work at turning, cutting, and polishing horns. Moreover, that the angels bestowed these blessings upon Jerusalem that Zechariah promises here is clear from the outcome: for soon the city and temple were peacefully and splendidly restored, as were the other cities of Judea. Hence in the following chapter the Prophet saw a man measuring Jerusalem with a line, with the aim of rebuilding it, and such a number of citizens in it that the city would not hold them all.
Morally, learn here first that there is no power of kings or tyrants that does not have another more powerful one above it, to which the oppressed may flee and appeal. 'Every kingdom is under a heavier kingdom.' And Horace, book 3, ode 1: Over their own flocks kings rule with dread, Over kings themselves the dominion is Jove's. Hence Ecclesiastes chapter 5:7: 'If you see, he says, the oppression of the poor, and violent judgments, and justice perverted in the province, do not marvel at the matter; for above the high official there is a higher, and above these there are still higher ones; and moreover the king of the whole earth commands all who serve.'
Second, that the power and might of the angels over all kings and kingdoms is great, since by merely displaying the hammer or iron with which they are about to strike off the horns of kings, they immediately strike them with terror and trembling: for this is what 'to terrify' means, and more forcefully the Hebrew hacharid, that is, 'to shake with trembling.' Hence Daniel, although a holy and strong man, when he saw the angel and spoke with him in chapter 10:17, said: 'O my lord, in your vision my joints were dissolved, and no strength remained in me; and even my breath was taken away.' And soon after, concerning his companions: 'Moreover, the men who were with me did not see it; but a great terror fell upon them, and they fled into hiding.' So commonly in Scripture, when an angel is seen, it is said of the one who sees: 'Fear or terror fell upon him,' as is said of Zechariah in Luke 1:12. Where St. Ambrose says: 'We are disturbed, he says, and estranged from our natural state, when we are struck by the encounter with some superior power.' Indeed, the opinion and feeling of the ancients was that the angels were so powerful and terrible that anyone who saw them would necessarily die. For hence comes that exclamation of Manoah, who was the father of Samson: 'We shall surely die, because we have seen the Lord,' that is, the angel, Judges chapter 13:22.
Mystically, St. Jerome says: The four horns, he says, which attack each person who wishes to build a spiritual house of God, are the four passions of the soul, namely joy, sorrow, fear, and hope or desire, which the Poet embraced in this verse: They fear, they desire, they rejoice, and they grieve. For who is there, even among the faithful and just, who is not agitated now by fear, now by hope, now by joy, now by sorrow? The four craftsmen are the four cardinal virtues which subdue these passions, namely prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. So says St. Jerome. Or more properly and pertinently, they are these four: First, penance, which overthrows sinful joy. Second, self-denial and resignation to the will of God, which kills sorrow. Third, magnanimity and confidence in God, which routs fear. Fourth, contempt of the world, which suppresses hope. For he who, like Magdalene, weeps for his sins, despises all the joys of the world, and the whole world becomes bitter to him. He who denies himself and his own comforts, and resigns himself to the will of God, is saddened by nothing; but accepts all things with equanimity from the hand of God, who makes all things work together for good for those who love Him. He who is magnanimous and trusts in God fears nothing. He who despises all things in the world, and looks down upon them as vain, cheap, brief, and trifling, hopes for nothing in the world. Moreover, St. Jerome fittingly adds: 'Those who destroy vices and build virtues, and all the saints who, possessing these remedies, are always restoring the Church, must be called craftsmen. Hence the Apostle too said: As a wise architect I laid the foundation. And the angered Lord says He will take from Jerusalem the architect and the wise man. And the Lord Himself, the Son of God Almighty and Creator of all, is called the son of a craftsman.' St. Jerome adds: 'I have read in a certain commentary that the four craftsmen are understood as the four Evangelists, who restore oppressed Israel -- meaning the sense that sees God -- and Judah, meaning the one who confesses the Lord, and Jerusalem, meaning the vision of peace, to their former state, and through the preaching of the Gospel drew back to salvation those whom the nations of vice had scattered from the Church.' In the same way you may take the four Doctors of the Church: St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, and St. Gregory. For they, like craftsmen, built the Church with their teaching and writings.
Second, more fittingly, by the four horns we may understand the four capital vices that most assail the Church and the faithful, and the four demons that preside over them, whom the Psalmist designates in Psalm 90:13, saying: 'You shall walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon,' says St. Jerome. For the asp denotes envy and anger; the basilisk, which kills by its gaze, denotes lust, for the eyes are the leaders in love; the lion, pride; the dragon, gluttony and avarice. The four craftsmen are four virtues and angels fighting against these four vices: namely charity against envy, chastity against lust, humility against pride, abstinence against gluttony and avarice; or Uriel against Beelzebub, Raphael against Asmodeus, Michael against Lucifer, Gabriel against Bacchus and Mammon.
In a similar way, in the time of the early Church, the four horns attacking it were the four heresiarchs: namely Arius, who denied the divinity of Christ; Nestorius, who posited two persons in Christ, as well as two natures; Eutyches, who posited one nature in Christ, as well as one person; and Macedonius, who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The four craftsmen who cut them down were the four Ecumenical Councils: namely Nicaea against Arius, Ephesus against Nestorius, Chalcedon against Eutyches, and Constantinople against Macedonius. In these, the principal craftsman against Arius was St. Athanasius, against Nestorius was Cyril, against Eutyches was St. Leo, and against Macedonius was St. Gregory Nazianzen.
Symbolically, these four horns are the four universal persecutions and persecutors of the Church, who have successively attacked it from the time of Christ up to the present, whom St. John prefigured in Revelation 6 through the four horses and horsemen: white, red, black, and pale. For the white signifies Christ defeating the Jews; the red signifies the Gentiles, especially the emperors such as Nero, Decius, and Diocletian, whose craftsman and destroyer was Constantine the Great. The black signifies heretics, especially the Arians, whose craftsman and conqueror was St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, etc. The pale signifies the Muslims, whose craftsmen in part were the kings of Spain; but the craftsman who will fully cut them down we still await: may God soon reveal him! For the first persecution of the Church was from the Jews; the second from the pagans; the third from the Arians; the fourth from the Saracens.
Likewise these four horns are the four first heresies. In a similar way, in the time of the early Church, the four horns attacking it were the four heresiarchs: namely Arius, who denied the divinity of Christ; Nestorius, who posited two persons in Christ, as well as two natures; Eutyches, who posited one nature in Christ, as well as one person; and Macedonius, who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The four craftsmen who cut them down were the four Ecumenical Councils: namely Nicaea against Arius, Ephesus against Nestorius, Chalcedon against Eutyches, and Constantinople against Macedonius. In these, the principal craftsman against Arius was St. Athanasius, against Nestorius was Cyril, against Eutyches was St. Leo, and against Macedonius was St. Gregory Nazianzen.