Глава 16

1–14. Punishment of the Egyptians through animals and benefiting the Jews through them. 15–29. The second comparison: the punishment of the Egyptians by terrible natural phenomena and their beneficial effect on the Jews. comparison of events from the history of the Egyptians and the Jewish people during their liberation from slavery. In this last section of the book of the Wisdom of Solomon, the writer returns to the same topic that was revealed to him in Prem. 10:15–11:1–17 st. and which was interrupted by a discussion about God's love (XI: 18-XII) and about the origin and irrationality of idolatry (XIII-XV). Clarifying the opposite fate of the Jews protected by the wisdom of God and the rejected Egyptians, he makes five comparisons of the events of the period of the Jews’ exit from Egypt. These comparisons are made very skillfully, in the description of events there are many new, compared to the book of Exodus, details and explanations, and the descriptions themselves are often very artistic (for example, Chapter XVII). Initial 14 verses of Chapter XVI. contain the first parallel between the opposite fate of the Egyptians and the Israelites, namely in relation to the punishment of some and the benefit of others through animals. The Israelites satisfied their hunger with the animals sent to them, but among the Egyptians, on the contrary, the sight of the animals sent in the 2nd plague caused an aversion to food (vv. 1–4). If the Israelites were punished through animals, then, in contrast to the Egyptians, for a short time and, moreover, with the purpose that the salvation that quickly followed the punishment would remind them of the mercy of God (vv. 5-14). Prem.16:1. Therefore they were deservedly punished through such animals and tormented by many monsters. 1. See note to XI:16 art. The first verse is closely related to the last two verses of Chapter XV. The absurd extreme veneration of disgusting animals was the reason why the Egyptians “were worthily punished through such animals.” Prem.16:2. Instead of such punishment, You did good to Your people: to satisfy their whims, You prepared for them extraordinary food - quails, 2. Wed. Pres.19:11–12; Ref. 16:13 ; Number 11:31; Ps. 104:40. Moving on to the fate of the Israeli people, the writer contrasts the punishment of the Egyptians through animals with the benefit of the Jews by sending them quails for food. This was done “to satisfy their whim,” i.e. when the Jews did not yet feel real hunger, and when asking for meat, as the writer notes elsewhere, “they were carried away by desire” (Wis.19:11). This feature is noted here by the writer to contrast the famine of the Egyptians in verse 3. Prem.16:3. so that those tormented by hunger, due to the disgusting appearance of the sent reptiles, would refuse the necessary urge for food, and these, having suffered a short-term lack, would taste extraordinary food. 3. The writer refers to the punishment of the Egyptians by disgusting toads, which appeared in such numbers that they climbed everywhere: into houses, in ovens, in kneading bowls (Ex. 8:3) and aroused disgust for the food they touched. That is why the Egyptians, “tormented by hunger,” “refused the necessary urge to eat.” Thus, animals were sent to the Israelis to satisfy their “whims,” and to the Egyptians animals prevented them from satisfying their natural feeling of hunger. As can be seen from this example, the writer with great skill establishes parallels between various events from the ancient history of the Jewish people. Beginning of 3rd Art. "so that they" is directly related to verse 1, not verse 2. Prem.16:4. For those oppressors had to suffer an inevitable disadvantage, and this only needed to show how their enemies suffered. 4. See Wisdom 11:9–11 v. The punishment for Israelis and Egyptians is not the same. The latter suffer an “inevitable disadvantage,” a complete inability to satisfy their hunger, a full measure of punishment, and the Israelites are punished only in order to know “how their enemies suffered.” In their very suffering there is a share of pleasantness, the consciousness that their historical enemies suffered in the same way, but to an even greater extent. Prem.16:5. And then, when the terrible rage of the beasts befell them and they were destroyed by the remorse of the insidious serpents, Your wrath did not continue to the end. 5. The writer moves on to another event, the punishment of the Israelites by the bite of poisonous snakes (Num. 21, from v. 6) and notes, first of all, that here, too, “the wrath of God did not continue to the end.” Pres.16:6. But they were troubled for a short time for admonition, having received the sign of salvation in remembrance of the commandment of Your law, Pres.16:7. for he who turned was healed not by what he looked at, but by You, the Savior of all. 6–7. These verses convey Moses' story about the copper serpent (Num. 21:6–9), which was lifted up on a tree so that those bitten by serpents, looking at it, would receive healing. This serpent was for the Jews a “sign of salvation,” a certain kind of symbol, but did not directly provide healing: “for he who turned was healed not by what he looked at, but by You, the Savior of all.” The meaning of the serpent as a symbol was that it evoked “the remembrance of the commandment of Your law.” There is no reason to think that the serpent was a reminder of any specific commandment of the law that was violated by the Jews. Further, this expression is replaced by a more general one: “as a reminder of Your words” (Art. 11). The copper serpent was generally supposed to remind the Jews of the mercy of God, saving repentant sinners, and of their duty of obedience to God. Prem.16:8. And by this You showed our enemies that You are the One who delivers from all evil: Pres.16:9. for they were killed by the bites of locusts and flies, and no cure was found for their souls, because they were worthy of torment from these. Prem.16:10 . But Your sons were not overcome by the teeth of poisonous serpents, for Your mercy came to the rescue and healed them. 8–10. The writer contrasts the event of the healing of Jews from the bites of poisonous snakes with the “executions” of the Egyptians from flies and locusts. This apparently insignificant danger led them to death (verse 9), while the mercy of God saved the Jewish people even in incomparably greater dangers (verse 10). This comparison was instructive for the Egyptians themselves: “by this You showed our enemies that You are the One who delivers from all evil.” Here, as in Wisdom 11:14, the writer either assumes that the events of the Jews’ wanderings in the desert became known in Egypt, or generally speaks of a history lesson for posterity. Prem.16:11. Although they were wounded by reminding them of Your words, they were soon healed, so that, having fallen into deep oblivion, they would not be deprived of Your good deeds. 11. The purpose of God's mercies to the Jews is indicated so that they do not fall “into deep oblivion” of the words of God. Thus, according to the writer, the Jewish people were brought up in loyalty to Jehovah by His mercies and blessings. Prem.16:12. It was not grass or plaster that healed them, but Your, Lord, all-healing word. Prem.16:13 . You have the power of life and death and bring down to the gates of hell and build up. 12–13 . The assertion of verse 11, that the salvation of the Israelites was intended to remind them of God and of their duty to obey His commandments, the writer bases here on the fact that the healing was not accomplished by the natural forces of nature, but by the sole omnipotent will of God, the Lord of life and death. “...the all-healing word...” is not the logos of the Alexandrians here, but in comparison of this verse with verses 7, 10 and 26, of course, the Divine will revealed in the external world, the natural and very frequent symbol in Holy Scripture is speech, the word (Ps. 107:20; Is. 40:11). “...you bring down to the gates of hell and build up.” To be brought down to the gates of hell means to lead to death, and to be brought up from hell in the language of Holy Scripture often (see Ps. 48:16, 86:13) means to deliver from mortal danger. But in view of the fact that in the next verse the power of God is contrasted with the powerlessness of a person to return the life taken from another person, it is more correct here in the words “you raise” from hell to see the idea that God can return life to the dead. Prem.16:14. Man, out of his malice, kills, but cannot return the departed spirit and cannot call back the taken soul. Prem.16:15 . And Your hand cannot be avoided, 15–29. This section contains a second parallel between the fate of the Jews and the Egyptians. The latter were punished by rain, hail and fire, the fire destroyed their means of food; on the contrary, the Israelites were given wonderful heavenly food, similar in appearance to snow and hail, which did not melt even from fire. True, some of this food was lost for the Israelites, but still not for the same reason as for the Egyptians, not from the destructive force of fire, but from a weak ray of sunlight, and this did not happen as a punishment to them, but as a reminder of the debt of gratitude. Prem.16:16. for the wicked, who deny to know You, are punished by the power of Your arm, being pursued by extraordinary rains, hail and inevitable storms and destroyed by fire. Prem.16:17. But the most wonderful thing was that the fire had a stronger effect in the water, which extinguishes everything, for the world itself is a champion for the righteous. Prem.16:18. Sometimes the flames were tamed so as not to burn the animals sent against the wicked, and so that they, seeing this, would know that they were being persecuted by the judgment of God. Prem.16:19. And sometimes even among the waters it burned stronger than fire, in order to destroy the products of the unrighteous land. 16–19. The basis for this story of the writer is the story of Moses about the 7th and 8th plagues of Egypt: Ex. 9:22–25. However, the nature of the story is such that it is difficult to decide whether the writer, in his special language, conveys only events already known from the book of Exodus, introducing only new details into them, or whether he speaks partly about events completely unknown from the Bible. Particularly perplexing is the story about fire, which “burned even in the middle of water” (19) and even “had a stronger effect in water” (17), which acted selectively (18). If by this fire we mean the lightning that accompanied the hail and storm, striking even in the midst of the erupting downpour, which is apparently indicated by the name of this fire “burning in the hail and shining in the rain,” then in this case the writer reports on an event that is essentially already known from the story of Moses, only embellishes it with the details of a later legend. In addition to introducing new details, the writer also departs from the Mosaic story by the fact that whereas, according to Moses, executions through animals had long ceased when hail and flames followed, according to the writer of our book, these executions coincided in time (v. 18). “...The world itself is a champion for the righteous” (17). This expression means that the elements of nature, being in the hands of God a means of punishing the wicked, thereby come to the defense of the righteous. Prem.16:20 . Instead, You fed Your people with the food of angels and sent them, who did not work, ready-made bread from heaven, which had every kind of delight according to everyone’s taste. From verse 20, the writer moves on to contrast the Jewish people with the Egyptians. For those, the flame destroyed the products of their land, “instead, You fed Your people with the food of angels,” which was given to them without any labor on their part and in a form completely ready for consumption. These details are noted to make the contrast more vivid. Undoubtedly, here the writer is talking about manna (Ex. XVI ch.). The name of manna “angel food” indicates that it fell from heaven, and the predicate “angelic” is equivalent to the adjective “heavenly.” In other places it is called: Pres.19:20; Ps. 77:24, 104:40. “...bread that had every pleasant thing to suit everyone’s taste.” The writer speaks about this property of manna to change the taste according to the taste of everyone on the basis of a later legend. There is no basis for this in the books of Moses; on the contrary, the Jews complained that only manna was before their eyes and asked for a different kind of food. Prem.16:21. For the quality of Your food showed Your love for children and, to satisfy the desire of the eater, it changed according to the taste of each. Prem.16:22. And the snow and ice withstood the fire and did not melt, so that they knew that the fire that burned in the hail and shone in the rain destroyed the fruits of the enemies. Prem.16:23 . But the same fire, so that the righteous might be nourished, lost its power. 22–23. “And snow and ice withstood fire...” In XVI:14 Art. book Exodus (Ex. 16:14) manna is compared to frost in terms of its extreme abundance and to amber (Num. 11:7) in its transparent appearance. In this place, the writer also talks about manna, using the comparison of snow and ice. That “snow and ice” are images here for some kind of food is evident from the fact that the writer contrasts them with the “fruits of enemies,” and then in another place he directly calls manna “a snow-like kind of heavenly food” (Wis. 19:20). The writer uses these images of manna to strengthen the contrast between the Egyptians and the Jews: hail destroyed the grain fields of the Egyptians, and food similar to hail was sent to the Jews; “The fire... destroyed the fruits of the enemies,” and the bread sent to the Jews, although it looked like snow and ice, did not melt from the fire; the Jews ate it even in the heat of the desert. Prem.16:24. For creation, serving You, the Creator, rushes to punish the wicked and subsides for the benefit of those who believe in You. 24. The writer points out the basis for the above-mentioned double opposite action of fire in the fact that nature, in order to realize the highest divine goals in the moral world government, changes its forces: “it rushes to punish the wicked, and subsides for the benefit of those who believe in You.” The writer distinguishes this “striving” and “subsidence” of nature from the usual order of things (see Wisdom 19:6, 18) and the concept of a miracle is quite applicable to these phenomena. Prem.16:25 . Therefore, even then, changing into everything, she obeyed Your grace, which nourishes everyone, according to the desire of those in need, Prem.16:26. so that Your sons, whom You, O Lord, have loved, may know that it is not the generation of fruits that nourishes a person, but Your word preserves those who believe in You. 25–26. We are talking about manna. Based on the idea expressed in the previous verse that everything created serves the highest purposes of the Creator (24), the writer says that the manna changed its taste not according to its natural property, but “obeyed Your grace.” From this the Jews were to learn “that it is not the generation of fruits that feed a man, but Thy word preserveth them that believe in Thee.” Man is preserved not by the abundance of earthly fruits, but solely by the Divine will, as the first and immediate cause of everything. Regarding “the word,” see the note on verse 12. Prem.16:27 . For what was not damaged by fire, being warmed by a weak ray of sunlight, immediately melted, Prem.16:28 . so that it is known that the sun should warn the sun with thanksgiving to You and turn to You to the east of the world. Prem.16:29 . For the hope of the ungrateful will melt like winter frost and pour out like worthless water. 27–29. Wed. Ref. 16:21. The manna fell only in the early morning, warmed by the rays of the sun, it had already disappeared. In this circumstance, the writer sees the goal of educating the Israelis in a sense of gratitude to God. Unable to collect manna in reserve, but forced to earn food for themselves every early morning, the Jews must have keenly felt their dependence on God and, receiving daily food from Him, were imbued with gratitude to Him. The words of verse 28: “The sun must warn the sun with thanksgiving to You and turn to You in the east of the world”, some interpreters cite in support of their assumption that the writer of the book of the Wisdom of Solomon was a therapist or an Essene, in which sects prayer at the indicated time was mandatory. However, without this preconceived idea about the writer’s belonging to one of the indicated sects, it is most natural to see in the above words a simple exhortation to be zealous for prayer so much as to start your day with it. In this sense, morning prayer is also spoken of in other places of Holy Scripture: Ps. 5:3–4, 87:14, etc. Since the manna disappeared with the first rays of the sun (v. 27), the Jews who collected it, naturally, had to “warn the sun” with their prayerful thanksgiving. Encouraging the Jews to be grateful to God, the writer says in the last verse that “the hope of the ungrateful will melt like winter frost and pour out like worthless water.” The images are taken in accordance with verses 22 and 27.