Chapter 18
Chapter XVIII.
Second, concerning punishments inflicting death.
But to your holy ones. After having treated of punishments falling short of death, here he treats of punishments inflicting death: and first, of the extermination of their firstborn in Egypt, namely in this chapter; second, of their overthrow in the Red Sea, namely in the last chapter.
On the extermination of the firstborn in Egypt.
In the first part, first is touched upon the commendation of the Hebrews, whom they were oppressing; second, through their liberation, the worthy punishment of the Egyptians who were oppressing them: Worthy indeed etc.; third, after the liberation of the Hebrews, a grave trial, namely in the desert: It touched.
First, the commendation of the Hebrews.
Concerning the commendation, four things are touched upon: first, the bestowal of a divine benefit; second, thanksgiving for the bestowal of the benefit: And because not they themselves also; third, supplication for the continuation of the benefit: And that there might be; fourth, the hearing of the supplication, at: On account of which.
(Vers. 1.). But to your holy ones etc. Thus the Egyptians were in darkness; but, in the sense of however; to your holy ones: namely the Israelites, according to that passage of Leviticus 11: "Be holy"; there was the greatest light, because there was exterior bodily light; whence Exodus 10: "Wherever the children of Israel dwelt, there was light"; likewise interior spiritual light; whence the Gloss: "To your holy ones, that is the Israelites, whom faith and purity of conscience illumined"; 1 Thessalonians 5: "You are all children of light"; likewise superior heavenly light; John 1: "There was the true light, which enlightens every man" etc.; likewise Malachi 4: "To you who fear my name, the sun of justice shall arise." And indeed of these, namely the holy ones, the enemies heard the voice, whether of human conversation or of divine praise, namely the Egyptians; but they did not see their form, namely on account of the hindering darkness.
But to the contrary: Because one who is in darkness can see him who is in the light, and not conversely.
It must be said that this is true, unless there be an impediment in his eye, or in the medium itself. But there the impediment was in the eye of those seeing, because they had been struck with a kind of blindness, and in the medium, because the darkness there was dense and palpable.
And because not also, that is even, they themselves, namely the holy ones, had suffered through the same things, "that is, the same plagues," according to the Gloss, they magnified you, namely by praising; Luke 1: "My soul magnifies the Lord"; Ecclesiasticus 43: "Who shall magnify him, as he is from the beginning"?
(Vers. 2.). And those who before had been harmed, namely by Pharaoh oppressing and scourging them, as is clear from Exodus 1. Because they were not harmed, namely by the plagues inflicted by God, they gave thanks to you: Isaiah 51: "Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of praise." And that there might be a distinction, namely between themselves and the Egyptians; they sought you, O God, or: they prayed to you, O God, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from an unholy nation," just as Abraham also asked that the just man not be destroyed like the impious: Genesis 18. Or: distinction, namely distance: this was granted to the Israelites when "the Angel, lifting himself up, stood between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel," as is clear from Exodus 14.
(Vers. 3.). On account of which, namely because they were grateful for the benefit bestowed, praying by offering thanks: they had a burning column of fire, namely by night, as is clear from Exodus 13; as a guide on an unknown way, namely through the desert, and a sun without harm, along the way; a sun, I say, of good lodging, supply: a guide to the end of the journey; you provided; without harm, I say, by day, and this because the column of cloud tempered the heat of the sun, as is clear from the same place and above in chapter 10: "It was for them a covering by day and a light of stars by night," so that they came to a place where they could suitably find lodging and pitch their tents: Isaiah 4: "The Lord will create over every place of Mount Zion, and where he has been invoked, a cloud by day"; and afterward: "and it shall be a shade by day from the heat."
Second, the worthy punishment of the Egyptians.
Worthy indeed. Here is shown the worthy punishment of the Egyptians who oppressed the Israelites: and first is touched upon, as if summarizing, the punishment common to all: second, specifically of those slain: When they thought: third, specifically of the living and the wakeful: There resounded: fourth, of the living who were sleeping: For when quiet.
(Vers. 4.). Worthy indeed were those, namely the Egyptians, supply: to lack light, with regard to the privation of sense, and to suffer the prison of darkness, with regard to the privation of movement: who kept them enclosed etc., not permitting them to go out from the land of Egypt; Exodus 5: "I know not the Lord, and I will not let Israel go." Your holy sons, namely the Israelites believing in you: John 1: "He gave them power to become sons of God, to those who believe in his name"; through whom was beginning, namely through the preparation of that people and the reception of the Law, because it had not yet been given: the incorrupt light of the law to be given to the world. It should be noted that the law is sometimes called a light, because it illuminates the intellect: Proverbs 6: "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is a light"; incorrupt, because it purifies or preserves the affections from corruption, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The word of the Lord, tested by fire, proven to the earth, purified seven times."
When they thought etc. Here is first touched upon the striking of the firstborn of Egypt; second, the foreknowledge of the striking: For that: third, the escape of the Hebrews: But there was received by the people; fourth, the reason for the escape: For in secret.
(Vers. 5.). When they thought, namely the Egyptians, of the just, that is, of the Hebrews, to kill the infants, not only by simple thought, but also progressively toward the deed, as is clear from Exodus 1. And one son, namely Moses, being exposed, namely by his mother, and delivered, namely by the daughter of Pharaoh, as is clear from Exodus 2. For the reproof of them, that is, the punishment of the Egyptians, or: for the leading forth of them, that is, of the Hebrews, that is, so that he might lead them out of Egypt through Moses who had been delivered. You took away a multitude of children, that is, the totality of the firstborn, Exodus 12. And at the same time, that is, simultaneously, them, namely the Egyptian parents of those children, you destroyed in a mighty water, namely by drowning them in the Red Sea, Exodus 14: "Not even one of them survived," and chapter 15: "They sank like lead in the mighty waters."
(Vers. 6.). For that: for, stands for but: night, namely the night on which the firstborn were slain, was known beforehand by our fathers, namely Abraham and others: whence Genesis 15: "Know assuredly that your seed shall be a stranger in a land not its own" etc.; or by the Israelites themselves in Egypt, with Moses foretelling it to them, as is clear from Exodus 12. So that truly, that is, with certainty, knowing in what oaths they trusted, that is, how firm were God's promises; Genesis 22: "By myself I have sworn, says the Lord"; likewise Hebrews 6: "That by two immutable things" etc.; they might be of better courage, namely in awaiting the fulfillment of the oath.
(Vers. 7.). But there was received etc., namely on that night, or according to the Gloss: "the law of the Passover," on that night, as if for a great benefit, by your people, namely the Israelite people, as is clear from Exodus 12, where it is said: "And they did" etc.; the salvation indeed of the just, for by it the Israelites were saved from the destroying Angel, as is clear from Exodus 12; but of the unjust, namely the Egyptians, destruction, that is, slaying by the destroying Angel, in the same place.
(Vers. 8.). For as you struck our adversaries, namely by slaying them on account of their sins, so also urging us on, supply: to better things, namely to faith and the reception of the Law; Deuteronomy 32: "As an eagle stirring up to fly" etc., you magnified us, namely by magnificently delivering us from that destruction.
(Vers. 9.). For in secret, namely on account of fear of the Egyptians, according to the Gloss; they sacrificed, namely by immolating the Passover, as is clear from Exodus 12. The just children, namely the sons, of the good, namely of the Israelites, together with their fathers themselves, on account of which they merited to be freed, the firstborn of the Egyptians having been slain. And the law of justice, namely the one given, in the same place, concerning the immolation of the Passover, which was just, because it signified the justification to be accomplished through the death of Christ; likewise it was called a law, because it bound to its observance for its own time. They disposed in concord, that is, they harmoniously received it and proposed to fulfill it and did fulfill it: whence in the Psalm: "Gather to him his Saints, who order his covenant upon sacrifices." Likewise, that is, with equanimity, good and evil, that is, prosperity and adversity, the just about to receive, namely themselves: repeat: they disposed, whatever God might wish to inflict: Job 2: "If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, why then should we not endure evil things?" Likewise Luke 16: "You received good things in your life, and Lazarus likewise evil things." Ancestral praises, that is, established and celebrated by the fathers, singing forth, that is, devoutly singing, namely praising God both for evils, namely of punishment, and for goods, namely of grace, or of fortune, or of nature; in the Psalm: "His praise is always in my mouth"; always, that is, not only in prosperity, but also in adversity.
But there resounded etc. Here is touched upon the punishment of the Egyptians living and waking, namely the mourning over the death of their firstborn: and first is touched upon the matter of the mourning: second, the lot of the mourners: But with a similar punishment: third, the cause of the universality: Similarly therefore all: fourth, the consequent effect: For of all etc.
(Vers. 10.). Thus I said, that ancestral praises were being sung forth; but there resounded, namely loudly throughout the whole land of Egypt, the discordant voice of the enemies, that is, the voice of the Egyptians, horrible to hear: Exodus 12: "There arose a great cry in Egypt"; and there was heard a lamentable wailing, that is, weeping with lamentation: for there was a cry of the voice and weeping of the eyes and wailing of the hands: a lamentable, I say, wailing of those mourning children, that is, concerning the children or for the children, whom they were mourning, according to that of Jeremiah 6: "Make for yourself the mourning of an only child, a bitter lamentation."
(Vers. 11.). But with a similar punishment, that is, by the loss of his firstborn, the servant was afflicted together with the master, in one house: and the common man suffered similar things to the king, namely in the whole kingdom of Egypt, Exodus 12: "He struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, even to the firstborn of the captive woman, who was in the prison"; Isaiah 24: "As the people, so also the priest: and as the servant, so his master."
(Vers. 12.). Similarly therefore all, that is, the greater and the lesser and the middling, namely King Pharaoh and the other lords and their servants: had innumerable dead, all the firstborn, dead, I say, by one manner of death, namely by one kind, because it was a divine plague. And he well says: all, because "there was no house in which there did not lie one dead," as is found in Exodus twelve. For neither etc. And I well said: innumerable: for neither for burying, namely the dead, did the living suffice: Jeremiah sixteen: "The small and the great shall die, and they shall not be buried" etc. Since in one moment, namely in one hour of the night, that which was the more noble offspring of theirs, that is, the whole body of the firstborn, who surpass the remaining sons in dignity: was destroyed, that is, slain by the destroying Angel, as is clear from Exodus twelve.
(Vers. 13.). For concerning all, as if to say: and rightly were the firstborn thus slain: for concerning all, that is, on account of all the plagues previously inflicted, not believing, namely the Egyptians, on account of the benefits, namely those done to them in the relaxation of each of the plagues, as is clear from Exodus seven, eight, nine, ten, and twelve. Then when first there was the destruction of the firstborn, namely in the last plague, they pledged that they were the people of God, that is, they promised to carry out God's command, which was concerning the release of the children of Israel: for then they released them, as is clear from Exodus twelve. Or: they pledged etc., that is, they promised to believe in the God of the Hebrews, if they were delivered: Isaiah twenty-six: "Lord, in distress they sought you"; in the Psalm: "When he slew them, they sought him."
For when quiet etc. After he has determined concerning the affliction of those who were awake on account of the death of the firstborn, here he treats of the affliction of those who were sleeping: and first the cause of the affliction is touched upon: second, the punishment: Then immediately.
(Vers. 14. 15.). I well said: Then when first there was the destruction: for, in the sense of because: when quiet silence held all things: silence, namely of the night, which was given for resting, just as the day for working: whence First Thessalonians five: "Those who sleep, sleep at night." And the night in its course had reached its midpoint, that is, when it was the middle of the night: whence Exodus twelve: "And it came to pass in the middle of the night"; and this on account of their lack of foresight.
Your almighty word, O Lord, that is, your ordinance and command: whence Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective," namely because of the impossibility of resisting, leaping from heaven, leaping he says because of the swiftness, from heaven, that is, in the destroying Angel, from the royal thrones, namely yours, that is, from the company of Angels, among whom you reign and sit enthroned: in the Psalm: "You who sit upon the Cherubim." Or: leaping from heaven, namely sent by you, who sit enthroned in heaven: "For they are all ministering spirits sent forth for service on behalf of those who shall inherit salvation," Hebrews 1: came harsh, that is, implacable, a warrior, namely against the Egyptians because of their obstinacy; into the midst of the land of destruction, that is, into the land of Egypt to be destroyed by the death of the firstborn; he leaped forth, namely suddenly.
(Vers. 16.). A sharp sword, that is, about to fulfill the office of a sharp sword through the slaying of the firstborn: Hebrews 4: "The word of God is living and effective and more piercing than any two-edged sword"; likewise Ephesians 6: "The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." A sword, therefore, sharp, because of the ready facility for harming, bearing your unfeigned command, that is, not a fictitious but a true command and power of yours, because "there is no power except from God," Romans 13. Unfeigned therefore command is said because of the divine authority, and standing, because of the immovability of the sentence. He filled all things with death, that is, the whole land of Egypt with dead firstborn. "For there was no house in which there did not lie one dead," as is clear from Exodus 12. He says therefore: He filled all things etc., because of the universality of this plague.
But an objection is raised, because in Exodus 12 it is said: "I will pass through the land of Egypt that night and I will strike every firstborn" etc.; therefore he was not standing: therefore it is poorly said here: And standing etc.
But it must be said that this standing, of which he speaks here, is opposed to departure from the land of Egypt, not to movement through the land itself. Whence he means to say that the Angel, executing the word or command given concerning the slaying of the firstborn, stood in the land of Egypt, so that outside Egypt no one was slain: but he does not mean to say that he did not pass through Egypt from house to house.
And he reached even to heaven while standing on earth, that is, he seemed to reach, namely because of the inevitability, namely lest anyone should escape; in the Psalm: "If I ascend into heaven, you are there." Or: even to heaven etc., he says this because that Angel was contemplating in heaven while ministering on earth, according to that saying of Bede: "They run within God, wherever they are sent"; likewise Matthew 18: "Their Angels"; namely the ministers, "in heaven always behold," through contemplation, "the face of my Father" etc.
Allegorically however, the coming of Christ in the flesh is described here, who is called the almighty word of God through eternal generation, according to that passage in John 1: "In the beginning was the Word"; but is said to have come from heaven, from the royal thrones, through the temporal assumption of flesh: in the Psalm: "His going forth is from the highest heaven"; in the silence of midnight, on account of the opportuneness of the time: Galatians 4: "But when the fullness of time came," etc. The first silence was under the law of nature, and this on account of ignorance of infirmity; the second, under the law of Moses, and this on account of despair of healing; the third, under the law of grace, and this on account of the attainment of salvation. As a fierce warrior etc., namely on account of the vanquishing of demons; Luke 11: "When a strong man armed guards his court, all things that he possesses are in peace; but if a stronger one than he comes upon him," etc. Into the midst of the land of destruction, that is, into the midst of the world, on account of the position of the land in which he was born: in the Psalm: "He has worked salvation in the midst of the earth." He carried the dominion of God with him, on account of his Divinity co-omnipotent with the Father: John 1: "And the Word was God," namely, of whom he afterwards adds: "And the Word was made flesh"; likewise the last chapter of Matthew: "All power is given to me," etc. He filled all things with death, on account of the consummation of all things in his death, according to that passage in John 19: "It is consummated." Standing on earth, he touched heaven, because his soul in the state of a wayfarer had continual enjoyment of God; John 3: "No one has ascended into heaven, except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven."
(Vers. 17.). Then immediately, namely at the very hour of the slaying, visions of evil dreams, that is, of terrible ones, disturbed them, namely those sleeping: the Gloss: "So that neither to those awake nor to those sleeping was rest given." And unforeseen fears, that is, sudden ones, came upon them, namely upon them: Job 7: "You will terrify me through dreams, and shake me with horror through visions"; Job 4: "In the horror of a nocturnal vision, when deep sleep is wont to seize men, dread took hold of me."
(Vers. 18.). And one here, another there, namely than the other, cast down half-dead, that is, at the extremity of his life; he showed the cause of death on account of which he was dying, namely by indicating to others, as he was able, namely on account of the hardness of heart rebelling against the God of the Hebrews and against Moses, his servant: Romans 2: "According to your hardness and impenitent heart."
(Vers. 19.). The visions indeed, of dreams, namely, which disturbed them, forewarned these things, namely the cause of their death. Lest they perish unknowing why they suffered evils, and thus be excused on account of ignorance from impenitence: Isaiah 28: "Vexation will give understanding to the hearing"; Gregory: "The eyes which guilt closes, punishment opens."
Third, the grave trial of the Hebrews.
It touched etc. Here is subjoined the grave temptation of the Hebrews in the desert after their liberation: and first is shown the peril on the part of those tempted; second, the manner of liberation on the part of the High Priest: For hastening etc.; third, the cause or power liberating on the part of the pontifical vestment: In the robe etc.; fourth, the effect that followed on the part of the destroying Angel: But to these etc.
(Vers. 20.). But it touched etc. Thus the Egyptians were punished, and not only they: but, for "however": it touched then: then, is taken broadly, so that the sense is: Then, namely at that time when, having gone out of Egypt, they were journeying through the desert, it touched even the just, namely the children of Israel. It touched, he says, because it did not long remain nor was it in all, a trial of death, that is, leading to death. And a commotion of the multitude was made in the desert, namely against Moses and Aaron, so that they fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, as is clear from Numbers 16. But your wrath did not long remain: Habakkuk: "When you are angry, you will remember mercies."
For hastening etc. Here he touches upon the threefold manner of liberation of them, namely by devoutly praying: second, the fathers' promises to be recalled: But he overcame; third, by personally interposing himself: For when already in heaps.
(Vers. 21.). He says therefore: For hastening etc. I have rightly said that your wrath did not long remain: for hastening, a man without reproach, namely Aaron: whence Numbers 16: "When Aaron had heard this and had run into the midst of the multitude, which the conflagration was already devastating" etc.; hastening, in this is intimated the fervor of heart; without reproach, the holiness of conduct; to entreat for the peoples etc. For God hears such a one and not sinners: whence John 9: "God does not hear sinners"; Gregory: "When one who is displeasing is sent to intercede, the mind of the one angered is provoked to worse things"; to entreat for the peoples: entreaty properly concerns the removal of evils, while prayer concerns the obtaining of goods, but commonly one is put for the other. Bringing forth the shield of his service, prayer etc. Prayer is called a shield by reason of protection: Ezekiel 20: "I sought among them a man who would set up a hedge and stand opposed against me." Of his service is said because he was bound to this service by reason of the pontifical office; whence Hebrews 5: "For every high priest, taken from among men, is appointed for men"; and afterward follows: "He ought, just as for the people, so also for himself to offer for sins."
It should be noted that the shield can spiritually be called faith: whence Ephesians 6: "In all things taking up the shield of faith." Likewise, the word of God: whence Proverbs 30: "Every word" of the Lord, or "of God, is a fiery shield to those who hope in him." Likewise, prayer: whence here: Bringing forth the shield of his service, prayer. Likewise, equity; whence above in chapter 5: "He will take up the impregnable shield, equity." Likewise, almsgiving: whence Ecclesiasticus 29: "Above the shield of the mighty and above the lance, it will fight against your enemy." Likewise, patience: 2 Kings 1: "There the shield of the mighty was cast away," etc. Likewise, obedience, concerning which, 1 Maccabees 14: "This is the golden shield of Simon, of a thousand minas."
And through incense, that is, the offering of incense, presenting a supplication, that is, bringing forward by way of plea: Numbers 16: "He offered incense and standing between the dead and the living, he made supplication for the people." And it should be noted that prayer is set down for the remission of sin, supplication for the removal of the scourge, incense for the reconciliation of the offended judge. Hastening, I say, the man, etc., he withstood the wrath, that is, the divine chastisement. And he put an end to the distress, that is, to the inevitable human affliction. Showing, namely by deed, not only by word, that he is your servant, according to that passage in John 10: "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep"; Ecclesiasticus 45: "He chose him from among all the living to offer sacrifice to God, incense," etc. On the contrary, the Lord complains about wicked prelates in Ezekiel 13: "You have not gone up against the enemy, nor have you set up a wall for the house of Israel."
(Vers. 22.). But he overcame the throngs, that is, the troubled people, by dividing and penetrating through them, not by the strength of the body, as Samson overcame the Philistines, Judges 15; nor by the armor of power, namely powerful and strong armor, as David overcame Goliath, 1 Kings 17: 1 Maccabees 3: "Not in the multitude of the army is the victory of war." But by the word, namely of devout prayer, he subdued him who was tormenting him, namely the Angel destroying the people, which he reckoned as his own torment, according to that passage: "Who is weak, and I am not weak?" etc., 2 Corinthians 11. The oaths of the Fathers and the covenant, that is, the promise made to the Fathers concerning giving them the land of promise as an inheritance; Genesis 12: "To your seed I will give this land"; recalling them, namely in his prayer.
(Vers. 23.). For when etc., as if to say: rightly did I say that he overcame the multitudes etc.: for when the dead had already fallen in heaps upon one another, that is, when the dead lay in heaps one upon another: he stood between, that is, he stood between the living and the dead: whence Numbers sixteen: "He stood between the dead and the living." And he cut off the assault, namely of the fire consuming them; Hebrews eleven: "They quenched the violence of fire"; and he divided the way that led to the living, namely by placing himself against the fire in the middle of the way, lest the fire should pass from the dead to the living.
For in the robe etc. Here is touched upon the cause of the deliverance, and first on the part of the high priest: second, on the part of the Angel of destruction: But to these.
(Vers. 24.). For in the robe etc., as if to say: therefore he was able to do the aforesaid things: for in the robe reaching to the feet, that is, the ankle-length hyacinth-colored tunic, "on the hem of which were bells and pomegranates," Exodus twenty-eight. Or according to Josephus, the whole pontifical vestment, both interior and exterior, is the poderis, a linen garment descending to the feet, whence it is named from podos in Greek, which means foot in Latin, whence poderis as if clinging to the feet.
in the robe reaching to the feet is understood, which seems truer from what follows. In the robe, I say, reaching to the feet, which he wore, namely Aaron, the whole world was depicted, namely in symbol, because, as the Gloss says, "the Hebrews assign fine linen to the earth, because it is produced from the earth: purple to the sea, because it is dyed from its shellfish: hyacinth to the air on account of the likeness of color: scarlet to fire and the ether, namely so that the High Priest might pray for the whole world; since the world consists of earth, water, fire, and air."
But according as it is expounded of the hyacinth-colored tunic alone, the question arises: how was the whole world depicted in it? For since it was entirely of hyacinth, no part of the world seems to be depicted in it except the air alone.
But it must be said that, although the body of the tunic was of hyacinth, nevertheless at its borders there were some things of purple and fine linen and hyacinth and scarlet, such as pomegranates and the like.
The belt represented the ocean, because it encircles the whole earth. The ephod and the two stones, which were above covering each shoulder, represented the two hemispheres, or the sun and the moon. The pomegranates and bells placed below represented lightning and thunder: the twelve stones of the breastplate represented the twelve months, or the twelve parts of the zodiac. The breastplate represented divine providence and disposition. The miter with its hyacinth-colored ribbon represented the heavens. The plate on the forehead of the High Priest and the name of God written thereon represented that all things which exist are governed by the will of God.
And the great deeds of the fathers, that is, names of great authority, were engraved in four rows of stones: for on the breastplate there were four rows of precious stones: on each were inscribed the individual names of the twelve Patriarchs, as is clear from Exodus twenty-eight, just as also in the foundations of Jerusalem are said to be inscribed the names of the twelve Apostles, Apocalypse twenty-one. And your magnificence was engraved on the diadem of his head, that is, the magnificent name of God, the tetragrammaton, that is, of four letters, which are: Yod, He, Vau, He, which signify the principle of the life and passion of Christ.
(Vers. 25.). To these, however, namely the sacred vestments, the one who was destroying yielded, namely the Angel or the fire, yielding not on account of those vestments themselves, but on account of what they signified, namely on account of the future adornment, that is, the sacrifice of the supreme Pontiff, namely Christ, according to what the Gloss touches upon. And he feared these things, that is, he acted as if he feared, namely by withdrawing;
and well did I say: To these he yielded, etc.; for it was only a trial of wrath, that is, a beginning, not a consummation, sufficient namely for the correction of the people, namely with the intercession of the Priest.