First ReadingNumbers 21:4-9|
| 1 And when king Arad the Chanaanite, who dwelt towards the south, had heard this, to wit, that Israel was come by the way of the spies, he fought against them, and overcoming them carried off their spoils. | Arad. This was either the name of the king, or of his city, which was situated in the southern parts of Chanaan, and which fell to the share of Hobab, in the tribe of Juda. H. --- When this king heard, by means of his spies, or was informed that Israel intended to make an irruption into his country like spies, without declaring war, or by the way which their spies had marked out either just before, or in the second year after their exit; or in fine, by the road, which the Sept. leave untranslated, Athrim, and which means "of the spies," he resolved to be beforehand with them; and, coming suddenly upon them, took some spoils, or, according to the Heb. Sept. &c. "captives." These, by the ancient laws of war, he might either sell or put to death. Vendere cum possis captivum, ocidere noli. Horace. Grot. Jur. iii. 7. The Rabbins pretend that this king took fresh courage on account of the death of Aaron, and the consequent
disappearance of the cloud, and that he drove the Israelites seven encampments back, as far as Mosera, which they confound with Haseroth.
| | 2 But Israel binding himself by vow to the Lord, said: It thou wilt deliver this people into my hand, I will utterly destroy their cities. | Cities. Heb. "I will subject their cities to anathema, or utter destruction." This vow they probably made at the place called Horma, or "Anathema," which was anciently called Saphaad. Judg. i. 17. They fully executed their threat under Josue, who defeated the king of Hered, (Jo. xii. 14,) though they destroyed, at present, whatever they could. Arad was afterwards rebuilt by Hobab.
| | 3 And the Lord heard the prayers of Israel, and delivered up the Chanaanite, and they cut them off and destroyed their cities: and they called the name of that place Horma, that is to say, Anathema. | Anathema. That is, a thing devoted to utter destruction. Ch. --- The explanation of Horma is inserted by S. Jerom. H.
| | 4 And they marched from mount Hor, by the way that leadeth to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom. And the people began to be weary of their journey and labour: | Edom, one of the princes, had refused them a passage; upon which they went by Salmona to Phunon, (C. xxxiii. 37. 42,) where they probably murmured, (C. v.) and were bitten by the serpents, as we read in this chapter. C.
| | 5 And speaking against God and Moses, they said: Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor have we any waters: our soul now loatheth this very light food. | God. They had before often directed their complaints against the two brothers. Now, Aaron being no more, they attack God himself, who had always resented the injury done to his ministers. --- Food. So they call the heavenly manna: thus worldlings loathe the things of heaven, for which they have no relish. Ch. --- Sept. "our soul is indignant at this most empty bread," which has no solidity in it, nor support. Many translate the Heb. "most vile bread." Thus, in the blessed eucharist, the substance of bread is removed, and the accidents only appear; so that to the worldly receiver, it seems very empty and light, though in reality it be supersubstantial; containing Christ himself, who fills the worthy communicant with grace and comfort, and enables him to go forward on the road to heaven, without fainting. H.
| | 6 Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them and killed many of them. | Fiery serpents. They are so called, because they that were bitten by them were burnt with a violent heat. Ch. --- Hence they are called seraphim, by which name an order of angels are known. The Egyptians adored a serpent which they called serapis, at Rome; and they represented their god serapis, with a serpent entwining a monstrous figure, composed of a lion, a dog, and a wolf. Macrob. Saturn i. 20. The seraph was a winged serpent. Isai. xiv. 29. and xxx. 6. Such often infested Egypt, in spring, coming from Arabia, unless they were intercepted by the ibis. Their wings resembled those of bats. Herod. ii. 76. Mela, &c. God probably sent some of this description into the camp of the Israelites. C. --- Some call them prœster, (Plin. xxiv. 13,) from their burning; others the hydra, or, when out of water, the chershydra, the venom of which is most dangerous. The Sept. style them simply, "the destroying, or deadly serpents." See Bochart. T. ii. B. iii. 13. Deut.
viii. 15. Wisd. xvi. 5. 10. H.
| | 7 Upon which they came to Moses, and said: We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee: pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. | | | 8 And the Lord said to him: Make brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck shall look on it, shall live. | Brazen. Heb. "fiery." But, in the following verse, it is said to have been "of brass." We might translate, "make a seraph, and fix it upon a standard," (C.) in which form it would resemble one suspended on a cross. It was placed at the entrance of the tabernacle. S. Just. apol. Ezechias afterwards destroyed it, because it was treated with superstitious honours. 4 K. xviii. 4. Thus the best things are often abused. H. --- God commands this image to be erected, while he forbids all images of idols. W. --- By comparing the different passages of Scripture we may discern the true import of them. Pictures may often prove very useful and instructive. They serve the ignorant instead of books. But then the ignorant must be carefully instructed not to treat them with improper respect, as S. Gregory admonishes. And is not the same caution requisite for those who read even the word of God, lest they wrest it to their own destruction, as both the unlearned and the unstable
frequently do. 2 Pet. iii. 16. If every thing must be rejected which is liable to abuse, what part of the creation will be spared? The Bible, the sacraments, all creatures must be laid aside. For we read, (Rom. viii. 20. 22,) the creature was made subject to vanity --- every creature groaneth. H. --- It is probable that Moses represented on the standard such a serpent, as had been the instrument of death. This was not intended for a charm or talisman, as Marsham would impiously pretend. Chron. x. p. 148. Such inventions proceed from the devil; and the Marsi were famous for curing the bites of serpents, by giving certain plates of brass. Arnob. ii. See Psal. lviii. 5. But this image was set up by God's express command; and the Book of Wisdom (xvi. 5. 7,) assures us, that the effect was entirely to be attributed to him, the figure of a brazen serpent being rather calculated to increase than to remove the danger. Kimchi. Muis. Hence Jonathan well observes, that only those were
healed who raised their hearts to God. C.
| | 9 Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: which when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed. | A brazen serpent. This was a figure of Christ crucified, and of the efficacy of a lively faith in him, against the bites of the hellish serpent. John iii. 14. (Ch.) S. Amb. Apol. i. 3. As the old serpent infected the whole human race, Jesus Christ gives life to those that look at him with entire confidence. Theod. q. 38. The brazen serpent was destitute of poison, though it resembled a most noxious animal; so Jesus Christ assumed our nature, yet without sin. C.
| | 10 And the children of Israel setting forwards camped in Oboth. | Oboth, where Obodas, an ancient king of the Nabatheans, was adored. Hither they came from Phunon, celebrated for its copper-mines, where Bochart believes the Hebrews were bitten by the serpents, though others say that judgment was inflicted upon them at Salmona; which may be derived from tselem enu, "our image."
| | 11 And departing thence they pitched their tents in Jeabarim, in the wilderness, that faceth Moab toward the east. | Jeabarim, means "the ford, (of Zared, v. 12,) or the straits of passages, passengers, or Hebrews; or the hills Abarim," which extended over the eastern parts of Moab. It was the 38th station, (C.) at the southern extremity of Mount Abarim. H. --- After which Moses specifies those of Zared, (v. 12,) Mathana, Nahaliel, Bamoth, Arnon, (v. 19,) Dibon-gad, and Helmon-dablataim, (C.) all on the sides of that mountain, before they came to the summit, which was also called Phasga and Nabo. C. xxxiii. 45, &c. But Pococke reckons only the two last among the stations, and makes those of Abarim and Shittim the 41st and 42d. The Sept. read, "they encamped in Achelgai, on the other side, in the desert." H. --- Eusebius and S. Jerom call this station of Jee, Gai or Hai, which they place near Petra. Jer. xlix. 4. --- East. The Sam. here inserts, (Deut. ii. 9,) "And the Lord said to Moses, Fight not, " &c.
| | 12 And removing from thence, they came to the torrent Zared: | Zared. The Israelites passed over this torrent, 38 years after the murmur at Cades-barne, (Deut. ii. 14,) when God ordered Moses not to attack the Moabites.
| | 13 Which they left and encamped over against Arnon, which is in the desert and standeth out on the borders of the Amorrhite. For Arnon is the border of Moab, dividing the Moabites and the Amorrhites. | Against. Heb. "on the other, or on this side of (the river, v. 14) Arnon," which runs from the east, almost in the same direction as the torrent of Zared, but empties itself into the Dead Sea higher up, near the mouth of the Jordan. C. --- It divides the Moabites from their brethren, the children of Ammon, who lay to the north-east. The Hebrews encamped on the south side of this river, in the desert of Cademoth, (Deut. ii. 26,) whence they sent to ask leave of Sehon to pass through his dominions; but, on his refusal, God ordered them to cross the Arnon by force. C.
| | 14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord: As he did in the Red Sea, so will he do in the streams of Arnon. | The book of the wars, &c. An ancient book, which, like several others quoted in Scripture, has been lost. Ch. --- S. Augustine (q. 42) thinks this book was written by one of that country. Others believe that Moses wrote a more detailed account of the wars which he had to wage with the Amalecites, (Ex. xvii. 14,) and these other nations, out of which he has only inserted some of the heads in the Pentateuch. But whether these two verses were taken from another work of Moses, or from the history of some other person, they are now of divine authority. Saul says to David, (1 K. xviii. 17,) fight the battles of the Lord,...and the children of God and of Ruben pass all armed for war before the Lord, (C. xxxii. 29. C.) whence it appears, that the wars of the Hebrews were attributed to God. Tostat is of opinion, that the Book of the Just, is the same with that to which Moses here refers. See Jos. x. 13. 2 K. i. 18. But Theodoret thinks rather, that the former was a
more extensive account of the transactions of Josue, out of which the book which bears his name was compiled. Such records certainly existed, to which the sacred historians frequently refer: and it is very probable, that a work of this nature was compiled in the days of Moses, or perhaps before his time. S. Aug. C. D. xviii. As it contained a prediction, respecting the future wars, in which the Hebrews were about to engage, it could not but make a suitable impression upon them. It might already be in every one's mouth, and the Heb. may insinuate, that it would be handed down to the latest posterity: "Wherefore in the history, or account of the wars of the Lord, this also shall be mentioned," jamor, dicetur. According to this interpretation, it would not be necessary to suppose, that Moses refers to any more ancient book, as sepher means also, "a narration" by word of mouth; and Rabbi Menachem believes, that God had revealed this event to Moses, encouraging
him with the assurance, that he would give him the victory over the nations bordering upon the Arnon, as he had done over the Egyptians and Amalecites at the Red Sea. See Sixt. Senens. H. --- Of Arnon, the waters of which are supposed to have given the Hebrews a passage, as the Chaldee asserts on the authority of Ps. lxxiii. 15. Habacuc (iii. 13) also mentions that several rivers were dried up by God. The Hebrew text is almost unintelligible, "From, or against, Vahab to Supha." As there is no verb, some translate, "he (Sehon) fought against Vaheb (Grotius reads Moab) at Supha, or he came to Veb. " But Calmet would substitute Zared instead of Vaheb: "The encamped at the torrent of Zared, and came to Supha, (Deut. i. 1, where we read the Red Sea ) to the torrent of Arnon." Protestants translate, "What he did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, (16) and at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling or Ar, and lieth upon the
border of Moab." H.
| | 15 The rocks of the torrents were bowed down that they might rest in Ar, and lie down in the borders of the Moabites. | The rocks. Some assert that the rocks fell upon the enemy: others, that they gave way and opened a passage for the Hebrews, while the rivers were also dried up. Heb. "They encamped on the stream of the torrents, which bends towards the dwelling (or city) of Ar, and rests upon the frontiers of Moab." Thus the book to which Moses alludes, confirms his account of these different encampments. C. --- The Sept. give rather a different turn of these two verses: "Hence it is said in a book, The war of the Lord has burnt Zoob and the torrents of Arnon---and has sent the torrents to inhabit Er: and it lies upon the borders of Moab." The river, it seems, had been removed out of its bead by a subterraneous fire or earthquake, and deluged the city of Ar, belonging to Moab. The mighty hand of God terrified those nations, while all nature fought against the wicked and the unwise. Wisd. v. 21. H. --- Rocks were hurled upon the heads of the Amorrhites, and the waters
conveyed their dead bodies into the vale of Moab. W.
| | 16 When they went from that place, the well appeared whereof the Lord said to Moses: Gather the people together, and I will give them water. | Well. Heb., Beer. H. --- This station is not mentioned under the same name at least, C. xxxiii. Probably the inhabitants had covered up this well with sand, and God having discovered it to Moses, he informed the princes, who pushed their staves down. Upon which the waters appearing, the people sung a hymn of thanksgiving and joy. Water is very scarce, and, of course, of course, of great value in those deserts, where even still the Arabs conceal their wells, and often fight to hinder passengers from taking any of the water. C.
| | 17 Then Israel sung this song: Let the well spring up. They sung thereto: | They sung. Heb. "sing ye unto it," in chorus, men and women. Sept. "commence a canticle unto it. This well the princes dug, the kings of nations hewed in the rock, in their kingdom, while they held dominion."
| | 18 The well, which the princes dug, and the chiefs of the people prepared by the direction of the lawgiver, and with their staves. And they marched from the wilderness to Mathana. | Mathana. Perhaps they did not stop here, though all the encampments are not specified, C. xxxiii. Nahaliel, "God my torrent," and Bamoth, "the heights," are also situated upon the Arnon.
| | 19 From Mathana unto Nahaliel: from Nahaliel unto Bamoth. | | | 20 From Bamoth, is a valley in the country of Moab, to the top of Phasga, which looked towards the desert. | Desert. Heb. and Chal. "Yeshimon," (Jos. xiii. 28. Ezec. xxv. 9,) a city of the Moabites.
| | 21 And Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, saying: | Messengers, not from the city of Cademoth, which was in the midst of Phasga, but from a desert of the same name, situated out of the dominions of Sehon. Deut. ii. 24. Euseb. --- God had already promised this country to Abraham, and though Moses did not intend to attack the king at present, being eager to fall upon the Chanaanites on the other side of the Jordan, God punishes the refusal of Sehon to let his people pass, by a swifter destruction. C. --- The measure of his crimes was full, though the mere denial of a passage to such a vast multitude might even by justified by sound policy. H.
| | 22 I beseech thee that I may have leave to pass through thy land: we will not go aside into the fields or the vineyards, we will not drink waters of the wells, we will go the king's highway, till we be past thy borders. | Wells. We shall content ourselves with the torrents. They had only to travel about thirty miles. C.
| | 23 And he would not grant that Israel should pass by his borders: but rather gathering an army, went forth to meet them in the desert, and came to Jasa, and fought against them. | Jasa was not far from the Arnon, between Medaba and Dibon. Isai. xv. 4. Euseb.
| | 24 And he was slain by them with the edge of the sword, and they possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jeboc, and to the confines of the children of Ammon: for the borders of the Ammonites, were kept with a strong garrison. | Garrison, either against Sehon, or against the Hebrews, whom God did not, as yet, authorize to attack the Ammonites, (C.) though the latter knew it not. H.
| | 25 So Israel took all his cities, and dwelt in the cities of the Amorrhite, to wit, in Hesebon, and in the villages thereof. | | | 26 Hesebon was the city of Sehon the king of the Amorrhites, who fought against the king of Moab: and took all the land, that had been of his dominions, as far as the Arnon. | Arnon. Hence this territory, which formerly belonged to Moab, being taken in a just war, the Moabites could not lawfully retain it, as they attempted to do under Jephte. Jud. xi. 13. Grot. Jur. iii. 6. --- Hesebon, or Esbus, was the capital, and lay over-against Jericho, twenty miles from the Jordan.
| | 27 Therefore it is said in the proverb: Come into Hesebon, let the city of Sehon be built and set up: | Proverb. Heb. Moshelim: "Those who speak proverbs, or enigmas, say." Those were the ancient poets of the Amorrhites, who composed this canticle on the victory of Sehon. C. --- Moses inserts it in his work, as an additional proof, that the country was entirely lost to Moab, and as a denunciation of the evils which still hung over the head of that people, and would be inflicted upon them by David, &c. 2 K. x. i. and 4 K. iii. 16. Amos i. 13. H.
| | 28 A fire is gone out of Hesebon, a flame from the city of Sehon, and hath consumed Ar of the Moabites, and the inhabitants of the high places of the Arnon. | A fire and flame, denote the horrors of war. Jud. ix. 20. --- Ar. Sam. and Sept. read ad, "hath consumed even the country of the Moabites and the lords (or pillars, Sept.) of Bamoth, (the heights mentioned in v. 18, 19,) on the Arnon." These lords may be the principal men, priests, or gods of the city. Jeremias (xlviii. 45,) reads this passage in a different manner, "it (the flame) shall devour part of Moab, and the crown of the head of the children of tumult." The city of Ar (which some confound with Aroer) always continued in the hands of the Moabites, so that the efforts of Sehon against it, seem to have proved abortive. Deut. ii. 9. 18. 29. Bonfrere. See C. xxiv. 17.
| | 29 Woe to thee Moab: thou art undone, O people of Chamos. He hath given his sons to flight, and his daughters into captivity to Sehon the king of the Amorrhites. | He. Chamos, the idol of Moab, is upbraided as too weak to defend his people. The pagans generally formed their judgments of the power of their gods, by the event; and, if that proved unfortunate, they were ever ready to consign the idols to the flames. Chamos was probably the sun. C. --- Some say he was Bacchus, whom the Greeks call Komas. M.
| | 30 Their yoke is perished from Hesebon unto Dibon, they came weary to Nophe, and unto Medaba. | Hesebon in the north, to Dibon in the southern extremity of the conquered country, near the Arnon, where Moses places the station of Dibon-gad. The yoke, or dominion of the Moabites, was ruined in all those parts. C. --- Heb. "We have shot at them; or their lamp, ( children or power ,) from Hesebon as far as Dibon, is extinguished; and their wives ( or we have destroyed them) even unto Nophe and Medaba." Sept. "Their women have still kindled a fire against Moab." Nophe is probably the Nabo of Isaias, (xv. 2,) in the environs of Medaba, where the fainting Moabites had time to breathe. The fire, which the Sept. say the women enkindled against Moab, might seem to indicate that the war was commenced on their account, like that which brought on the destruction of Troy. They entailed a still heavier destruction upon their country, when, by alluring the Hebrews to sin, they enkindled God's indignation. C. xxv. With this verse the quotation, from the
Amorrhite proverbial writers, concludes, v. 27. H.
| | 31 So Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorrhite. | | | 32 And Moses sent some to take a view of Jazer: and they took the villages of it, and conquered the inhabitants. | Jazer, a famous city, 15 miles from Hesebon, given afterwards to the Levites. Moses " took the Amorrhites who were there" prisoners, according to the Heb.; or, "drove them away," (Sept.) putting to death those who continued to make resistance. C.
| | 33 And they turned themselves, and went up by the way of Basan, and Og the king of Basan came against them with all his people, to fight in Edrai. |
Og,
the king of the most fertile country of Basan, was of gigantic stature. Deut. iii. 11. The Rabbins relate many fables concerning him. ---
Edrai
was 15 miles to the north of the torrent Jeboc, (C.) which was the southern extremity of this territory. H.
| | 34 And the Lord said to Moses: Fear him not, for I have delivered him and all his people, and his country into thy hand: and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Sehon the king of the Amorrhites, the inhabitant of Hesebon. | | | 35 So they slew him also with his sons, and all his people, not letting any one escape, and they possessed his land. | |
GospelJohn 8:21-30|
| 1 And Jesus went unto mount Olivet. | | | 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him, and sitting down he taught them. | | | 3 And the scribes and the Pharisees bring unto him a woman taken in adultery: and they set her in the midst, | | | 4 And said to him: Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery. | | | 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one. But what sayest thou? | | | 6 And this they said tempting him, that they might accuse him. But Jesus bowing himself down, wrote with his finger on the ground. | Wrote with his finger, as one that was musing about something else. W.
| | 7 When therefore they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. | We cannot with any propriety reprehend or condemn faults in others, if we ourselves be guilty of the same, or other great faults, S. Cyril, in Joan. — See annotations on Matt. vii, v. 1.
| | 8 And again stooping down, he wrote on the ground. | | | 9 But they hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. | Went out one by one, [2] confounded, and as it is in the ordinary Greek copies, convicted by their own conscience. Wi.
| | 10 Then Jesus lifting up himself, said to her: Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee? | | | 11 Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more. | Hence we may see how impious is the doctrine of those who say that God is the author of sin. Christ did not say to the woman: I do not condemn thy sin; or, go and live now as thou pleasest, I will free thee from all punishment due to any sin thou shalt commit: but he only said, Go, and from henceforth sin no more: thus preserving his amiable virtue of clemency, and still not encouraging vice. S. Aug.
| | 12 Again therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying: I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life. | | | 13 The Pharisees therefore said to him: Thou givest testimony of thyself: thy testimony is not true. | | | 14 Jesus answered, and said to them: Although I give testimony of myself, my testimony is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go: but you know not whence I come, or whither I go. | Although I give testimony (or witness) of myself, my testimony is true. He gives them the reason, v. 16; because he is not alone, but the Father (who also beareth witness) is also with him. Wi.
| | 15 You judge according to the flesh: I judge not any man. | You judge, and also bear testimony concerning other men, according to the flesh, and according to outward shew and appearances only. I judge no one in this manner. And whatever judgment I pass, or if I give testimony, my testimony is true, as coming also from the Father, with whom I am one in nature, though a distinct person: and two, according to the law, are enough to give evidence. Wi. — You judge according to the flesh, &c. Because you do not understand the ways of God, and think you only see in me the person of man; therefore I seem to you to be arrogant, bearing witness of myself. Man indeed, who wishes alone to bear testimony of himself, is arrogant, and not to be believed, because all men are frail and liable to be deceived; but light and truth itself can neither deceive nor be deceived. S. Aug.
| | 16 And if I do judge, my judgment is true: because I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. | I am not alone. Christ does not here say that he is the Father and he is the Son, he only says that he is not alone, but that the Father is with him, plainly distinguishing the two Persons. The Father is truly the Father, and the Son truly the Son, not one elder or greater than the other, but both entirely equal in all perfections. One in substance, co-eternal, and of one perfect equality. S. Aug.
| | 17 And in your law it is written, that the testimony of two men is true. | | | 18 I am one that give testimony of myself: and the Father that sent me giveth testimony of me. | | | 19 They said therefore to him: Where is thy Father? Jesus answered: Neither me do you know, nor my Father: if you did know me, perhaps you would know my Father also. | Where is thy Father? They knew well enough by other discourses, that he had called and declared God to be his Father; but they had a mind to make him own it again, that they might accuse him as guilty of blasphemy. — Neither me do you know, nor my Father: you will not own me to have been always his Son, nor him to have been always my Father, but did you know me to be his Son, always proceeding from him, you would know my Father also, and know him as my Father from all eternity. Wi. — As in common conversation we often say, "when you have seen one, you have seen the other;" when two persons or things seem perfectly alike as to outward appearances, so here Christ says, If you did know me, you would know my Father also: not that the Father is the Son, or the Son the Father, but because the Father is like the Son. S. Aug. — Here might the Arians, and all who maintain that Christ is a mere creature, blush; for if he were a creature, how can any one who
knows him likewise know God? Therefore is Christ consubstantial with the Father, for he who knows the Son, knows the Father also. Theophyl.
| | 20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple: and no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. | | | 21 Again therefore Jesus said to them: I go, and you shall seek me, and you shall die in your sin. Whither I go, you cannot come. | I go my way, and you shall seek me, &c. See the foregoing chapter, v. 34. Wi.
| | 22 The Jews therefore said: Will he kill himself, because he said: Whither I go, you cannot come? | | | 23 And he said to them: You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. | I am not of this world: he speaks of his divine person, as the words evidently shew. Wi.
| | 24 Therefore I said to you, that you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sin. | | | 25 They said therefore to him: Who art thou? Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you. | Who art thou? Jesus said to them: The beginning, [3] who also speak to you. This text and the construction of it is obscure, both in the Latin and in the Greek. S. Aug. and some of the Latin Fathers, expound it in this manner: I am the beginning of all things, who now being made man, speak to you. But this does not seem the construction, if we consult the Greek text; (where the beginning is not in the nominative, but in the accusative case) and therefore S. Aug. having considered more attentively the Greek, thinks that something must be understood, as believe me to be the beginning: he looks upon this to be the sense and the construction, as being connected with what was said two verses before; to wit, if you believe not that I am he, the true Messias, you shall die in your sins. "That they might," says S. Aug. (tract. 38, num. 11, p. 560) "know what they were to believe," he made them this answer, as if he had said: believe me to be
the beginning, the cause, the author of all things, who am now become man, and speak to you. Other later interpreters are of opinion that the beginning is here a Grecism, and signifies that same as at first, or from the beginning. The sense therefore and construction may be, I am, what I said and told you at first, and from the beginning; that is, I am your Messias, the true Son of God, sent into the world, &c. Wi. — The Pharisees, indignant at the liberty with which Jesus spoke to them, demand of him in a rage, Who art thou, to speak to us in this imperious manner, to say that we shall die in our sins? Jesus answered them, that he was the Beginning, Author, Creator, and Ruler of all things. This is the more orthodox and more becoming interpretation. Or, I am, in the first place, what I have already told you; viz. (v. 12.) I am the light of the world; he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Or, it may mean, I am what I
have always from the beginning told you. I am the Son of God, the Messias, &c. Calmet.
| | 26 Many things I have to speak and to judge of you. But he that sent me, is true: and the things I have heard of him, these same I speak in the world. | And the things I have heard from him, &c. For Christ, to hear from his Father, to see, &c. is the same as to proceed from him, to be of the same nature and substance. See c. v, v. 19. Wi.
| | 27 And they understood not, that he called God his Father. | Now they, &c. Some of the more ignorant among the Jews understood not Christ when he clearly enough signified that he was equal to God, and of one and the same nature; but at other times they that heard him, perceived it very well; and so, in this place, they were for stoning him to death. Wi.
| | 28 Jesus therefore said to them: When you shall have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know, that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father hath taught me, these things I speak: | When you shall have lifted up, &c. That is, have put me to the death of the cross; (see John iii. 14. and xii. 32.) you, that is, many of you, shall know, and believe in me, as your Messias. Wi.
| | 29 And he that sent me, is with me, and he hath not left me alone: for I do always the things that please him. | | | 30 When he spoke these things, many believed in him. | | | 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews, who believed him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed. | If you persevere in the true faith, and in the observance of my words, you shall be my disciples indeed. It is not sufficient to believe; you must likewise do what my words command you to do: nor will it be sufficient to have the true faith for a time; you must persevere in that faith to the end. S. Aug. Ven. Bede. S. Chrys. Theophy. Euthym. &c. — Faith alone without perseverance, or abiding in God's commandments, will not suffice. B.
| | 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. | And the truth shall make you free. They were affronted at these words, as if he hinted they were slaves, and not a free people. They tell him, therefore, that they were never slaves to any one. They can only pretend this of themselves: for, their forefathers were slaves to the Egyptians, to the Babylonians, &c. and besides they were now the subjects, if not slaves, to the Romans. But Christ speaks of the worst of slaveries, and tells them the such as live in sin, are slaves to sin. Wi.
| | 33 They answered him: We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any man: how sayest thou: you shall be free? | | | 34 Jesus answered them: Amen, amen I say unto you: that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin. | | | 35 Now the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the son abideth for ever. | Now the servant abideth not in the house for ever, nor has a right to live in that manner as a son and a child of the family has to live in his father's house. A slave or servant, though he live ever so long in his master's house, his condition is quite different from that of a son of the family: and thus Christ puts them in mind that though they be of the race of Abraham, and in that sense can pretend to be his children, yet having made themselves slaves to sin, and remaining in that sin, by which they refuse to believe in him, their Messias, they are not the spiritual children of Abraham, nor can they inherit the promises made to Abraham, till, by the grace of Christ, they believe in him, and become his adoptive children. Wi.
| | 36 If therefore the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. | Man never was without free-will; but, having the grace of Christ, his will is truly made free from the servitude of sin. S. Austin, tract. 41. in Joan.
| | 37 I know that you are the children of Abraham: but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. | You. That is, many of you, seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you; that is, is not rightly understood, nor received by you: you reject my doctrine, and are displeased with it. Wi.
| | 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do the things that you have seen with your father. | The things that you have seen with your father. That is, you follow the suggestions of the devil, whom, (v. 44.) in plain terms, he calls their father. Wi.
| | 39 They answered, and said to him: Abraham is our father. Jesus saith to them: If you be the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. | Not only faith but good works make men children of Abraham. See James, c. ii.
| | 40 But now you seek to kill me, a man who have spoken the truth to you, which I have heard of God. This Abraham did not. | | | 41 You do the works of your father. They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God. | We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, God. These Jews perceived that Christ had hinted that they were not the true and faithful sons of Abraham; and therefore they replied in this manner. But Christ answered, if God was your Father, if you were his dutiful children, you would also believe in me, and love me; for I have proceeded from him, and am come from him, his true Son: and now sent into the world by him. But you cannot hear my word, because you will not, by your own wilful obstinate blindness. Wi.
| | 42 Jesus therefore said to them: If God were your Father, you would indeed love me. For from God I proceeded, and came; for I came not of myself, but he sent me: | | | 43 Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word. | | | 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. | You are of your father, the devil, and have made yourselves his slaves. — He was a murderer from the beginning of the world, having brought both a corporal and a spiritual death by sin, upon all mankind. — He abode not in the truth, in the ways of truth and obedience to God. — He is a liar, and the father thereof: that is, the father of lies. I speak truth, being truth itself. Wi. -- S. Austin compares heretics, who drive Christians out of the Church, to the devil, who was the cause of our first parents' banishment from paradise. Cont. lit. Petil. l. ii. c. 13.
| | 45 But if I say the truth, you believe me not. | | | 46 Which of you shall convince me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me? | | | 47 He that is of God, heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God. | | | 48 The Jews therefore answered, and said to him: Do not we say well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? | | | 49 Jesus answered: I have not a devil: but I honour my Father, and you have dishonoured me. | | | 50 But I seek not my own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. | | | 51 Amen, amen I say to you: If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever. | He shall not see death, he shall not die, for ever. That is, he shall not incur an eternal death, as they who die in sin: but they understood his words of the death of the body. Wi. — You accuse me of being possessed with a devil, because I preach to you a doctrine far different from what you are accustomed to hear; but I speak nothing but the truth; I give honour to my Father, I execute his orders; and the words I now speak to you, are the words of eternal life. Whoever observes them shall not die. Moses promised a long life to those who observed what was commanded in the old law, and offered them as their reward goods and temporal prosperity. But I now offer you an eternal life. Believe my words, keep them, and observe my ordinances, and you shall not feel the death of the soul, the second, eternal, and most miserable of deaths. Calmet.
| | 52 The Jews therefore said: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. | | | 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself? | | | 54 Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your God. | | | 55 And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I shall say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know him, and do keep his word. | | | 56 Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it, and was glad. | Abraham, your father, rejoiced that he might see my day, my entrance into this world, my incarnation, my birth, my manifestation in Israel, my death and passion. S. Irenæus, Origen, S. Cyril, &c. — He waited with impatience for the deliverance of the whole world. He saw it, and was glad. He saw it in spirit, for God revealed it to him. He saw it approaching in the birth of his son Isaac, and in the miraculous deliverance of his dear son, when he was commanded to offer him in sacrifice to the Lord. The vivacity of his faith made him, as it were, present at the time of my birth, though then so far off. S. Chrys. Leont. Theophyl. Euth. — It is not unlikely that this patriarch, and the others who were with him, detained in limbo, were apprised of the incarnation and coming of the Messias, which would fill them with an effusion of inexpressible joy. S. Chrys. — Christ here teaches us two things. 1. That he was before Abraham. 2. That the Jews were not true sons of
Abraham, now treating so rudely him, who, even before his coming, had given the patriarch so much joy. Calmet.
| | 57 The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? | | | 58 Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am. | Before Abraham was made, I am. [4] Christ here speaks of his eternal existence as God. S. Aug. shews this by these very words, I am. He does not say, before Abraham was made, I was made: because, as the Son of God, he never was made: but I am, which shews his eternal divine nature. Wi.
| | 59 They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple. | |
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