Interpretation of the book of the prophet Obadiah

“Interpretation of the Book of the Prophet Obadiah” was compiled by Bl. Jerome of Stridon in 396-397. In the prologue blzh. Jerome notes that in his youth he already wrote an interpretation of this book. Now he is ashamed of this, because... it was replete with allegorical interpretations. We are talking about an interpretation written in 375 and lost during the life of the saint. Jerome. *The title of the work in Latin is Commentarius in Abdiam prophetam. “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child, but when I became a man, I left childish things behind” (1 Cor. 13:11). If the apostle gradually improved and daily, “forgetting the former things, he stretched forward” (Phil. 3:13) and, holding on to the plow, according to the commandment of the Lord Savior, did not look back (Luke 9:62); then all the more I, who have not yet reached the age of a perfect man and the measure of Christ (Eph. 4:13), should deserve an apology for the fact that during my youth, carried away by an ardent love for Scriptures, allegorically interpreted [the book] of the prophet Obadiah, the historical meaning of which I did not know. My spirit was burning with a passion for mysterious knowledge and, having read everything possible for believers, I did not know that there were different gifts; I knew secular literature, and therefore I thought that I could read a book that was written down! Twenty-four elders, having cups and harps in their hands, and four living creatures full of eyes, rise from their throne, confess ignorance and sing a song of praise to the Lamb and the Branch from the root of Jesse (Apoc. 5); but I considered it possible for myself what I believed in - and, in whose hand there was no word of God, who could not say: “I understood from Your commandments” (Psalm 119:104) and did not remember the blessedness of the Gospel: “the blessedness of the pure in heart, that they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). The coal had not yet been taken from the altar and had not cleansed my mouth (Isa. 6:6-7). The error of ancient ignorance had not yet been circumcised by the fire of the Holy Spirit, but I dared to say to the Lord: “Behold, send me” (Isa. 6:8). I hoped that my writing would remain hidden in [my] closet, and doomed this first, unreasonable experiment of my talent to be burned, when suddenly a list was brought from Italy by a young man who was as old as I was when I wrote this work, and who praised my work. I confess that I was surprised that no matter how poorly someone writes, they still find a reader like themselves. He praised, and I blushed; he extolled to the skies my seemingly penetration into secrets, but I, lowering my head, could not admit my shame. But does this mean that we condemn what we enjoyed as children? Not at all, because we know that gold and goat’s hair were brought equally to the tabernacle of God. In the Gospel (Mark 12:41–44) we read that the poor widow’s two mites were more acceptable than the offerings of the rich. We brought what we had then, and now, if, however, we have had any success, we bring His gifts to the Lord. For “by the grace of God I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). And I do not deny that during these thirty years I labored and labored quite a bit for His cause. He is a good Father: He soon receives the returning son and does not wait for anyone to open the door; He Himself goes out to the meeting and prepares clothes and a ring: although his own brother reveals envy and calls him a fornicator and a spendthrift, the angels and all the powers of heaven express in harmonious singing the joy of his salvation (Luke 15). It was that time, dear Pammachius, more pleasant than this world, when we, upon leaving the rhetoric school, gave ourselves up to various hobbies, when my dear Iliodorus and I equally sought (or: desired) to settle in Syria, in the Chalcis desert. Now I will retrace my steps again, correcting as much as possible the incorrect outlines of the letters. I was a child and did not yet know how to write: my hand was shaking, my fingers were trembling. Now, if I have not been successful in anything else, then at least I know the saying of Socrates: “I know that I know nothing.” Also your Tullius 1 says that some of his experiments from his youth came out unfinished and unfinished. If he could speak like this about the books “to Herennius” 2 and rhetorical treatises, which I consider the most perfect, compared with the ripe fruits of his old age, then all the more can I safely say that this was the work of a child, and this is the work of mature old age. The same thing was expressed (or experienced) by both Septimius Tertullian in his books “against Marcion”, Origen in the Song of Songs and Quintilian in the twelve books “On oratorical education (Institutionis oratoriae)”. From this it is clearly seen that every age is perfect in its own way and that the number of years must be taken into account when assessing. But it’s time to begin the beginning of the book of Obadiah and, with the help of your prayers - because this book is dedicated to you - to cross the choppy sea and the stormy whirlpools of the world. The Jews claim that this was the one who, under King Ahab of Sanaria and the most wicked Jezebel, nourished in caves a hundred prophets who did not bend the knee to Baal, and was one of the seven thousand of whom Elijah is accused of ignorance (1 Kings 19:18), and his tomb is honored to this day, along with the mausoleum of the prophet Elisha and John the Baptist, in Sebastia, which was formerly called Samaria. This name was given to it by Herod, king of the Jews, son of Antipater, in honor of Caesar Augustus, translating the word “Augusta” into Greek 3. Thus, as the one who fed a hundred prophets, he received the gift of prophecy and from the leader of the army became the leader of the Church. Then he fed a small flock in Samaria, and now he feeds the churches of Christ all over the world, and like Stephen, according to the book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts. 7), was crowned with martyrdom in accordance with his name (φερωνύμως 4), and he received his name as “the servant of the Lord.” What is visible in relation to Idumea is not a “burden,” that is, λήμμα, or the “heaviness” of Idumea, according to the definition we made regarding Nahum 5, and this is either because Edom, that is, Esau, as the son of Isaac and the brother of Jacob, is not counted among the foreign nations (Gen. 36), as a result of which its land is not given into the possession of Israel and is not allowed to fight against her, but it is forbidden to arm oneself against a brother (Deut. 2), or, perhaps, because this vision is not of Idumea - if it were written like that, then the question might arise - but Obadiah, that is, “the servant of the Lord,” and what he saw refers to those nations to which the Lord sent him as an ambassador. They are told: “Arise, and let us rise up against her to war.” For the destruction of Idumea is the subject of Nahum's vision. But, perhaps, they will ask: why is the inscription put “the vision of Obadiah”, but after that nothing is said about what he saw, and meanwhile in Isaiah we read: “I saw the Lord of hosts sitting on a throne, high and exalted” (Is. 6:1), and in Ezekiel: “the heavens were opened, and I saw the vision of God” (Ezek. 1, 1), and then it is added: “And I saw, and behold a spirit rise up (or “stormy”) coming from the north, and a great cloud, and a light round about it” (Ezek. 1:4), after the words “the vision of Obadiah” it is immediately said: “Thus says the Lord God about Edom” and also: “Behold, I have made you a little among the nations.” [In response to this] we will give an example from Deuteronomy, in which not actions (res), but words were visible: “Take heed to yourself,” he says, “and provide your soul with good food, and do not forget ... the words that your eyes have seen” (Deut. 4:9). And John in his letter says: “Even with our eyes we have seen, and with our eyes we have seen, and our hands have touched the Word of the living things” (1 John 1:1). Moses also says that he saw the voice of the Lord speaking to him (Ex. 20). So, if after the vision what was said is given, and if the mental eyes see what is usually perceived by hearing, then the seer rightly uses the word “vision” in the inscription, because the prophets were formerly called “seers.” This is what the Lord God says about Edom. This is a minor prophet in terms of the number of verses, and not in thoughts. Also in the three books of Solomon and in the Song of Songs, the more brevity, the more difficulties. We have already shown what thoughts are contained in the letter to Philemon. Also, the gospel speech is short - it is more condensed than the lengthy exposition of the Law. Thus, here too the prophet, as the servant of the Lord, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the servant of the Lord, and according to the apostle, as the word of Christ, sees and hears what is worthy of prophetic service. Many, based on the meaning of the name, believe that this is the servant of the Lord to whom Isaiah says: “Great is it that you should be called My servant” (Is. 42:6), and who humbled Himself, taking on the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7). But if we understand it this way, then we will need to look for another ambassador sent to the nations, and following an allegorical understanding, we lose a very clear prophecy. Therefore we ask: who is Edom or Idumea, about which the Lord now speaks through Obadiah? In the book of Genesis we clearly read that Esau received the name Edom because he sold his birthright for a red lentil dish (Gen. 25:30–34), because “Edom” means πυῤρ´ὸς, that is, “red.” The same book says that he was also called “Seir,” that is, “shaggy,” because he was covered with hair and did not have smooth skin like Jacob. Thus, he was called by three names: “Esau”, “Edom” and “Seir” and ruled that country, which is now called Gebalena (Gebalena) and is located within the boundaries of Eleutheropolis (`Ελευθεροπόλεως), where the Gorites formerly lived, which means “free”, from where the city itself later received its name 6 . What is called in Hebrew "Edom" and in Greek "Idumea" (᾿Ιδουμαία) constitutes a village in Palestine which retains the name of its founder, and is mentioned in both Latin and Greek history. He is told through Amos: “For three transgressions of Edom and for four I will not turn him away, because he persecuted his brother with the sword, violated mercy towards him, restrained his wrath and kept his anger to the end” (Amos. 1, 11–12). Also in Isaiah we read from the Hebrew text: “The Burden of Duma. They shout to me from Seir: watchman! How long is it night? watchman! How long is it night? (Isa. 21:11). And Jeremiah, in accordance with this prophecy, says: “food is wisdom in Femina” (Jer. 49:7)? and so on until the end of this prophecy, where it says: “And the heart of the mighty Edomites in that day will be like the heart of a woman giving birth” (Jer. 49:22). Apart from the altered order and other apparent differences, a large part of Obadiah's [prophecy] is contained in the book of Jeremiah. These are Mount Seir, to which the prophet Ezekiel turns his face and about which it is said: “I will make Mount Seir desolate and desolate” (Ezek. 35:7), and a little further, “Mount Seir will be desolate, and all Idumea” (Ezek. 35:15). It would take a long time to revise all the Scriptures and quote from them passages relating to Mount Seir, and especially from Malachi, in which it is written immediately at the beginning of the book: “Was not Esau Jacob's brother? - says the Lord. “However, I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and I gave his mountains to desolation and his inheritance to the dragons of the desert. If Idumea says: “We are ruined, but we will restore what was destroyed,” then this is what the Lord of hosts says: They will build, but I will destroy, and they will be called the borders of wickedness and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever” (Malach. 1, 2-4). Since we already know that the Edomite land is opposite to the Promised Land, and since we read that Esau was Jacob’s enemy and a people with whom the Lord was angry forever, then we must, according to the laws of allegorical exposition, know that the speech is directed either against the Jews (who serve as enemies of Christians and persecute their brother, Jacob, this rebellious people who anticipated their birthright), or, perhaps, against all heresies and teachings contrary to the truth, which. although they seem close to us, they are more hostile to us and try to expel the simple inhabitants of the house of Jacob from their fatherly heritage. But Idumea, further, also means “earthly” and, due to its red color, can be understood as “bloody.” Therefore, when the angels, at the return of the Savior to the Father with victory over the world, exclaimed: “Open the gates, your princes, ... and the King of glory will come in” (Ps. 23:7), and, according to Isaiah, they asked with amazement: “Who is this who comes from Edom, in scarlet robes from Bozrah, so beautiful in white clothes?” and they said to Himself: “Why Your garments are scarlet, and Your garments are like a winepress that has been trodden on?” ; then He solemnly answers, pointing to the victorious signs of His cross: “I have trodden the winepress alone, and among the nations there is no man with Me” (Is. 63:1-3). Some understand the flesh by Idumea and believe that the soul is called to fight against it, so that we, by mortifying our members on earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, can achieve eternal victory in Christ. The Jews vainly imagine that this prophecy refers to Rome and the Roman state, and that in what is written in Isaiah (Is. 21:11) "the burden of Duma" one can, with a slight change in the form of the letter, read "resh" instead of "dalet" and pronounce "Roma" [that is, "Rome", instead of "Duma"], because the letter "vav" in their language is also taken for [Latin] "and", and for "o". We heard a rumor from the Lord, and He sent an envoy to the nations [to announce]: Arise, and let us rise up against him to war. (LXX. I heard a rumor from the Lord, and He sent a barrier to the nations: arise, and let us rise up against him to war). As we said above, Edom means the same as Idumea, because in the Hebrew text the one who built [the city] is named, and in the Greek the city built by him. Thus, either Obadiah heard, or all the prophets heard together (because they all wrote regarding Edom), that an ambassador had been sent to the nations, the intercessor of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, about whom the Father also speaks through Haggai: “I will shake all nations, and the One desired by all nations will come” (Hag. 2:7). He is depicted in Isaiah as the Angel of the great council and the Father of the future age (Is. 9:6). Regarding the fact that LXX instead of “ambassador”, that is, “sir,” was translated περιοκὴν, that is, “fence,” we can say that He Himself 7 is our ambassador, He is our fence, and He says what is expressed in the prophetic words: “Arise, and let us rise up against him” or “not to war.” The ambassador sent to the nations says this: “Arise from sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will illuminate you” (Eph. 5:14). And so that the war does not seem to us (or to you) difficult and unusual, then, he says, you have Me at the head of the army. I will be a commander (ἀρκιστπατηγὸς) in wars, - I who appeared with a sword in hand to Joshua the son of Nun (Joshua 5:13–14), and who during the war of Moses defeated Amalek with the banner of His cross (Exodus 17:9–13). Jeremiah presents little difference from this in a vision against Idumea: “hearing (or: through hearing), he says, I heard from the Lord, and an ambassador was sent to the nations to say: gather together, and go against her, and let us rise up to war” (Jer. 49:14). It follows: Obd.1:2–4. Behold, I have made you a small one among the nations; you are quite despicable. The pride of your heart has overpowered you, who dwells in the clefts of the rock (or: rocks), setting your throne on high, saying in your heart: who will cast me down to the earth? If you rise high like an eagle, and if you make your nest among the stars, then from there I will bring you down, says the Lord. (LXX: Behold, I have made you the least among the nations; you are very dishonest. The pride of your heart has overpowered you, living in the holes of the rocks, making your habitation high and saying in your heart: who will bring me down to the earth? If you rise high like an eagle, and if you build your nest among the stars, then from there I will cast you down, says the Lord). Almost literally consistent with this are the following words of Jeremiah, whom we mentioned above: “Behold, I have made you small among the nations, despised among men... Arrogance has deceived you into the arrogance of your heart, living in the caves of the rock and trying to occupy the top of the hill. If you build your nest high, like an eagle, then from there I will cast you down, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 49:15-16). In interpreting prophecies, we must, following our custom, first lay the historical foundation and then, if we can, erect the towers and the pinnacle of the roof. You, Edom, he says, being the smallest among the nations and few in number compared to other nations, arrogantly exalt yourself beyond your strength. Living in caves or in clefts of rocks and not having high roofs of buildings, being low and very poor, you rise to heights like an eagle, and are so exalted in your thoughts that you consider yourself to live among the stars; but even though you, contrary to nature, could rise to the heights of heaven, I will overthrow you from there and bring you down to earth, says the Lord God. The words added by Jeremiah: “and trying to occupy the top of the hill” reveal a mysterious meaning, pointing across the hill to Mount Zion and making it clear that here one should understand either the city of Jerusalem itself or the church built in it. As for the eagle, those who study the natural properties of birds report that it flies higher than all birds and is said to have such vision that, rushing with its wings remaining motionless over the seas and being inaccessible to human vision, it sees swimming fish from such a height and, when they approach the shore, it descends, like a thrown stone (tovmenti), and, having grabbed the prey, drags it, with the help of its wings, to the shore. Having learned the historical meaning of this, let us trace the spiritual meaning. Although you, heretic, consider yourself great and despise the church as small, yet you are small among the nations and despised, and not only despised, but also despised with intensification (᾿επιτάσει): “very.” “The pride of your heart has made you proud.” For which of the heretics does not exalt himself arrogantly, disdaining the simplicity of the Church and considering faith for ignorance? “He who dwells in the clefts of the rock and sets his throne on high. Although stone [or rock] is often used in relation to the Lord or in the sense of hardness (as a result of which the prophet says: “set my nose on stones” (Psalm 39:3), and Peter is told: “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18), however, it is often used in the opposite sense: “I will give it away," he says, "the heart stony...and I will give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26), and “from this stone God is able to raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:9), and especially in the present place, where it is not said: “living on” [the “rock” or] “stone” on which the wise builder built his house, but: “in the clefts of the rock” to indicate the separation of heresies from the stone - Christ (or: Christ) and from the Church. The next words are: “who sets his throne on high and says in his heart: who will cast me down to the earth?” point to the arrogance of heretics, relying on their sacraments and secrets and, as far as depends on them, promising themselves the kingdom of heaven (we must understand this as hyperbole). Therefore, the apostle writes to people of this kind: you have already “reigned without us, and so that you might reign naturally, so that we too might reign with you” (1 Cor. 4:8)! David says something similar: “he set his mouth in heaven, and his tongue went over the earth” (Psalm 73:9). But if they rise as high as an eagle (because they themselves assume the resemblance to eagles, which usually gather near the body of the Lord), and if they build their nest among the stars, then I will cast them down from there, says the Lord. For just as when the lord of the house sleeps, the enemy man sows tares among the wheat (Matt. 13:25), so this eagle with large wings, fluffy and motley, goes to Lebanon, takes the top of a cedar and makes plantings by the soft waters, so that they sprout and that they may grow into vines (Ezek. 17), usually builds his nest among the stars of the church, about which it is said elsewhere: “the righteous will shine like the stars” (Matthew 13:43). I said above that this can be applied to the flesh, precisely in the sense that at the coming of Christ its strength weakened, it became despicable, submitted to the power of the soul and tries in vain to rise, living in the clefts of the rock, [that is, being immersed in its] feelings or thoughts, and wants to dominate the soul, placing its throne high and believing that its deeds cannot be overcome. She is told that although she tries to rise high, imitating the eagle in this regard, and deceived many saints, she was defeated and cast down by the Lord. What we have interpreted regarding heretics and the flesh can also be understood in relation to the Jews. Obd.1:5–6. If thieves, if robbers broke into your place at night, how could you remain silent? Wouldn't they steal as much as they needed? If grape robbers broke into your place, wouldn’t they at least leave you a bunch of berries? But how they searched Esau and explored his hiding places! (LXX: If thieves or night robbers had penetrated you, then where would you have been defeated! Wouldn’t they have stolen as much as they needed? And if grape thieves had penetrated you, wouldn’t they have left a bunch of berries? But how Esau was searched and his hiding places were plundered!) Jeremiah says in a similar way, but with a change in the order [of the words]: “If grape thieves had penetrated you, they would not have left (or: would they not have left) you a bunch of berries; and if thieves came at night, they would steal as much as they needed. But I exposed Esau, opened his hiding places, and they cannot hide" (Jeremiah 49:9-10). These words have the following meaning. If thieves and robbers, who usually dig under houses at night and steal what is in the houses, penetrated you and, being hidden in darkness, inspected all the corners of your house, then they would, of course, take what they considered necessary for themselves, and They would have left some items in your house either because they were completely satisfied with themselves, or because they did not notice them. If grape thieves entered your vineyard and wanted to either plunder it, like enemies, or rob it, like those who took it from you, then no matter how carefully the picking of the grapes was, they would still leave [several] clusters between the shoots, covered with vines and leaves. But the enemies, who, at the command of the Lord, attacked you (referring to the Babylonians and the army of Nebuchadnezzar), searched everything, examined all your hiding places, and the clefts and openings of the caves in which you live. And indeed (let us say a few words about the nature of this area) the entire southern part of Idumea from Eleutheropolis to Petra and Elam (for this is the domain of Esau) has dwellings in caves and, due to the extraordinary heat of the sun - because this is the southern region - uses underground huts. “I exposed,” he says, “Esau,” that is, I discovered what was hidden in the earth, and revealed everything that you hid, and when I, together with the enemies, searched everything that was with you, then nothing that was hidden could be hidden. Another meaning: by thieves and robbers who come at night, because they are the sons of the night and darkness, I understand heretics who preach teachings contrary to the truth, steal what they need, and daily rush to steal from the flocks of the church. They, entering that vineyard of our Lord, which He brought from the Egypt of this age (Psal. 79:9-10) and from the fruits of which He promises to drink wine in the kingdom of the Father (Mark 14:25), so they want to empty it so that not a single brush remains in it. But the Lord does, on the contrary, that He reveals all their secrets and the hidden sacraments of the patriarchs Esau (I mean precisely the first inventors of heresy) through His saints, through the men of the church and teachers, and His first victory is that what was kept secret is revealed. That is why it is said with surprise; “As Esau was searched, his hiding places were plundered”! Look at Marcion, Valentinus and all the heretics: how they, having a seared conscience, boast of demonic teachings and how, with skillfully constructed speech, they deceive simple-minded people, as if initiating them into some divine sacraments! But when the word reveals to everyone thirty aeons in the number of four, and in the number of eight, and in the number of twelve, and the twofold god, and the monstrous Abrax, then the wisdom of Esau will turn out to be stupidity, and all their secrets will become known. Obd.1:7. All your allies drove you out to the borders: they ridiculed you, those who lived in peace with you defeated you. Those who eat with you will lay snares for you; there is no wisdom in him. (LXX: They drove you out to the borders: all your allies rebelled against you; those who lived in peace with you overcame you; they laid a snare for you: there is no wisdom in it.) Some of what we stated above: “how Esau was searched, and his hiding places were robbed” end with the words: “to the utmost,” so that there is the following meaning: what you hid, and your secrets are revealed to the end. But we prefer to connect [the words “to the utmost”] with the following ones. So, during the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, about whom Jeremiah speaks against Edom: “behold, like a lion he will come out from the luxurious [banks] of the Jordan against the beautiful fortified [country], because I will make him hasten to go to it” (Jeremiah 49, 19), and then: “behold, like an eagle he will soar, and he will fly and spread his wings over Bosra, and the heart of the mighty Edomites in that day will be like the heart of a woman giving birth" (Jer. 49:22), all those who were previously allies of Edom and served as the support of the magnificent city left it and, uniting with the enemies, laid nets for it, and overpowered it, and then it was discovered that there is no wisdom in Edom, because it trusts in those who were opponents. Otherwise: when the secrets of Esau and the great mysteries with which the nations were entangled are discovered, so that a member of the Church can say: “we know her tricks” (Sir. 1), then they will leave the borders of Edom and escort him out and, having crossed into the borders of the Church, will reveal his perverse teachings. Then they will laugh and rebel against their former teacher, saying that what he taught them is false; they will overcome him and, being enlightened by the faith of the Church, will expose the falsity of his teaching. Those who formerly ate from the heretics, not the bread of the Eucharist, but the bread of sorrow and the bread baked in ashes that is turned (Hos. 7:8), will propose questions regarding the Scriptures and lay snares for the Edomite or earthly and in all respects carnal teacher (for in the epistle to Galatians (Gal. 5:19-20) we read that heresies are numbered among the works of the flesh), and then it will be discovered that there is no wisdom in Edom. Obd.1:8–9. Shall I not in that day,...says the Lord, destroy the wise in Idumea and prudence in the mountain of Esau? And your brave men from the south will be struck with fear, so that your man will perish on the mountain of Esau. (LXX: On that day, says the Lord, I will destroy the wise in Idumea and understanding on the mountain of Esau. And your warriors from Teman will be afraid, so that man will be destroyed on the mountain of Esau). When the enemy takes possession of your borders and all your allies ridicule you and defeat you, then wisdom in Idumea will perish, and its insight will turn out to be foolishness. The Lord Himself will also destroy wisdom on the mountain of Esau, that is, on Mount Seir, either because the city of Idumea is located on a mountain, or because that entire country, facing the south and adjacent to the desert, is covered with high mountains. That is why it is said: “Your warriors from Teman will be afraid,” which we translated by “south.” Esau, as I said above, is called by three names; also that part of his kingdom that faces the south bears three names: “Darom, Teman and Nageb,” and all three [names] mean, according to Ezekiel, “south,” “southwest,” and “noon.” When the brave men of his kingdom, who lived (or: living) in the south, are struck with fear, then the man on Mount Esau will die, who usually fought to protect the citizens and gave wise advice. Otherwise: when those who were previously deceived turn to the Church, then the wise men of Edom, who thought about carnal and earthly things, will perish in the war that the Lord Himself will wage, and prudence will be destroyed on the mountain of Esau, which exalted itself against the mind of God. Those who formerly fought with the help of dialectical art in defense of Esau and Idumea and were the support of "Teman", which means "extermination", will cease to fight in defense of their teachers, or: those who previously appropriated the light of knowledge to themselves and considered themselves to be in the south, will be struck with fear and horror when the man of the church triumphs over their sophisms, so that there will be no one left who could, through royal council or armed force, advocate for arrogance and the false teaching of heretics. Obd.1:10–11. For murder and lawlessness against your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will perish forever. On that day when you stood against him, when strangers took his army captive, and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were also like one of them. (LXX: For murder and iniquity against your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be rejected forever. From the day when you rebelled against him, on the day when foreigners carried away his strength into captivity, and strangers entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you also were like one of them). Your husband will perish on the mountain of Esau and wisdom will disappear in Idumea and prudence on the mountain of Esau because you killed your half-blood and acted lawlessly in relation to your brother Jacob: when the Chaldeans and Babylonians devastated Jerusalem, besieged the city, entered its gates and cast lots to divide the spoils, you were their ally and were among their enemies. Another kind of explanation: you, bloody, earthly and cruel Edom, will be subjected to everything that is written above, because you killed your brother Jacob with false and deadly teaching and wicked speeches against the Lord. In Solomon we read: “there are those who speak and kill [as] with a sword” (Prov. 25:18). And in another place: “the tongue of asps is under their lips” (Psalm 139:4), and: “their tongue is a sharp sword” (Psalm 56:5). Therefore, shame will cover you, and you will say: “Shame covers my face” (Psalm 68:8), and you will perish, but not for a short time, but forever; because you inflicted on your brother, as far as it depended on you, an eternal wound. Also, this will be the reason for your punishment, that when strangers destroyed the army of Jacob and entered through its gates into Jerusalem, which was previously peaceful, and cast lots to divide the spoils from it among themselves, you were one of the enemies. We read, see and are convinced every day that when persecution against the Church arises, Jews and heretics become much more cruel persecutors of Christians than pagans. We can call strangers entering the gates of Jerusalem λογισμοὺς, that is, “evil thoughts,” and by the gates of Jerusalem, that is, the soul that is at peace and contemplating God, we understand the five senses through which enemies enter and divide the spoils of Jerusalem. If we look at a woman with lust (Matthew 5:28), then “death is seen through our windows” (Jeremiah 9:21). If we listen with our ears to lies and the judgment of blood, then the enemy has entered through another gate. If also the sense of smell, taste and touch are captivated either by various kinds of smells, or by delicious dishes, or by tender embraces, then the enemies have entered through another gate and are dividing the spoils from unfortunate Jerusalem. Thus, at a time when, under the yoke of persecution or as a result of a destructive inclination to pleasure, someone in the Church falls, the heretics rejoice and the Jews rejoice in the fact that they, too, are one of the persecutors, and that they are numbered among the pagans. Obd.1:12–13. “And you will not show contempt in the day of your brother, in the day of his wandering, and you will not rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction, and you will not speak arrogantly in the day of disaster, and you will not enter into the gates of My people in the day of their fall. (LXX: And you will not despise the day of your brother in the day of the strangers, and you will not rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction, and you will not speak arrogantly in the day of disaster, and you will not enter into the gates of My people in the day of their affliction). This has the same meaning as what was stated above: when, due to murder and lawlessness in relation to his brother, Jacob, a man dies on the mountain of Esau, and eternal shame covers him, then he will not do what he previously did against his own brother, namely: he will not express contempt and insult, seeing his brother going into captivity, and will not rejoice over the sons of Judah. For the two tribes that possessed Jerusalem and were called Judah, with the exception of the Levites, were carried away into captivity by the Chaldeans. You will also not speak arrogantly and, as if considering yourself one of the winners, mock your brother’s misfortune. On the day of the ruin and fall of My people you will not enter majestically into the gates of Jerusalem. You will not do this because you yourself will be subjected to a similar fate. Otherwise: when you see that your brother is captured as a result of various kinds of persecution, that he is bound and moving away from the church faith, and does not follow his own city, but [strives] for everything foreign; then you will not rejoice, because you yourself will experience a similar fate. For you rejoiced when Jacob was taken captive, and you mocked the sons of Judah, by which we mean the disciples of Christ, on the day of their destruction. This means that the soul is in the middle between vices and virtues and at any moment can be directed in one direction or another. “You will not,” he says, “speak arrogantly on the day of disaster.” We must understand this in a double sense: as a physical (corporalis) disaster in relation to persecution and sins, and as a spiritual one, when the soul, captive by enemies and vices, will be taken to Babylon. “And you will not enter into the gates of My people in the day of their fall,” for when doubt or emotional excitement oppresses us, and when an unhappy conscience does not retain its former firmness, then we easily incline towards opposing teachings that flatter our error and do not heal the wound, but irritate it. For the consolation in distress is the hope of receiving what was lost. Obd.1:13–14. You will not show contempt during his disasters, in the day of his devastation, and you will not go against his army in the day of his devastation, and you will not stand at the exits to kill those who fled from him and lock up those who remain from him on the day of disaster. (LXX: You will also not despise their gatherings in the day of their destruction, and you will not join their strength in the day of their destruction, nor will you stand at their exits to kill those who survive from them and lock up those who fled from them on the day of disaster). When you yourself are taken captive and when you are subjected to ruin and destruction, then from what you did, you will not do the following: you will not treat your brother Jacob with contempt and arrogance on the day of his destruction and you will not join the army of the Babylonians, and you will not go against the army of Judah when he is defeated by his opponents and takes flight. When they begin to flee along the paths known to them, along side roads and paths leading into the desert, then you will not stand at the crossroads and wait for those coming at the crossroads, in order to kill those who survive from them, and detain and lock up others, and either take them prisoner yourself, or hand them over to the enemy. We said this in relation to the historical meaning; because we, having briefly touched on what is clear, must move on to something darker. Which heretics does not despise the members of the church? Who does not rejoice in their misfortunes? If ever a people is persecuted because of sins, and many, either due to weakness of faith, or because the seed in them fell on rocky soil, renounce [the faith], then you can see that those 8 rejoice, rejoice and consider our fall to be their victory, so that they unite with the pagans, and the persecution is more severe either from the Jews, or from those who pretend to be our brothers and are considered among them. When someone, either through flight or as a result of repentance, falls away, they stop on the side roads, offer sophisms and present evidence as if from the Scriptures, in order to offer sewn pillows to the weary and exhausted and place them under each elbow of the hand (see Ezek. 13:18). Therefore, it happens that those who either bravely withstood persecution or escaped it due to fear are again imprisoned in errors, being deceived by perverse teachings, and this disaster is worse than that which happened from the pagans, because it is easier to save someone who has fallen into the hands of the pagans than one who is entangled in the nets of heretical idle talk. Obd.1:15–16. For the day of the Lord is near for all nations: as you have done, so they will do to you. He will turn your retribution...on your head. For as you drank on My holy mountain, so all nations will always drink, will drink, will swallow and will be, as if they were not. (LXX: For the day of the Lord is near for all nations: as you have done, so they will do (or: will do) to you. Your reward will be returned on your head. For as you drank on My holy mountain, so all nations will drink wine; they will drink and swallow, and they will be as if they were not.) You, Idumea, will stop doing this because the punishment of the Lord will befall you. For if, according to Jeremiah (chapter 25), those who were not appointed to drink the cup will certainly drink, then how can you remain as if innocent? You won't be innocent, but you will certainly drink. Then, as for the words: “the day of the Lord is near for all nations,” we will read the same Jeremiah and see that the cup of the Lord was offered to all nations. That’s why he says: “The golden cup Babylon is in the hand of the Lord, filling” all nations (Jeremiah 51:7). And indeed, all the peoples up to the Propontis and the Scythian and Ionian or Aegean seas were conquered by the Assyrians and Babylonians. If we read Herodotus and the history of the Greeks and barbarian peoples, we will see how during the reign of the Babylonians and Assyrians these words were fulfilled: “the day of the Lord is near for all nations.” As for the following words: “As you did, so they will do to you; He will turn your reward on your head,” then they have the same meaning as expressed in the following words of the psalm: “Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, saying: exhaust, exhaust it to its foundations” (Ps. 136:7). Therefore, in relation to Babylon, the prophet expresses the following curses: “Wretched daughter of Babylon, blessed is he who will reward you with your reward, which you have rewarded us; blessed is he who has and will dash your babies against the stone” (Psalm 136:8-9)! For just as you drank with the Babylonians on My holy mountain Zion and rejoiced, so all the nations who helped the Babylonians with you will turn against you and drink and rejoice. And they will not only drink, but they will also devour you so that the Edomites will be as if they were not there, or perhaps these same nations, having swallowed you, will be swallowed up by the Medes, and the path of punishment will be circular, so that you will destroy Israel, you will be destroyed by the Babylonian, and the Babylonian by the Mede and the Persian. Let us follow the order of interpretation. The day of the Lord is near, O heretic, for all nations, the time of judgment is near, by which all nations will be judged. As you acted towards the members of the church, so your pain will turn on your head, and your unrighteousness will fall on your crown (Psalm 7:17). For how you rejoiced when they were beaten, and held a feast and on My holy mountain, that is, in the church, you drank not My cup, but the devil’s, about which Habakkuk says: “Woe to him who drinks his companion with muddy corruption” (Habakk 2:15); so all nations, either opposing forces intended for punishment, or all hostile powers, will drink and consume your blood, and when, finally, everyone is punished, then they themselves will be as if they did not exist. For whoever perishes, in relation to the Existence, who says to Moses: “He who sent me to you” (Ex. 3:14), is usually called non-existent in the Scriptures. Therefore, in the book of Esther we read: “Do not betray, O Lord, this kingdom that is not yours” (Esther 4:17q). We can explain this passage differently: since you rejoiced at the fall of My servants, the same persecution will befall you, and you will experience everything that you yourself did. And just as you, along with other nations, gloated against My people, so all nations will gloat against you, will devour and drink, and will destroy you through the same kind of persecution. Obd.1:17–18. And on Mount Zion there will be salvation, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will belong to those who owned it. And the house of Jacob shall be fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; They will burn it and destroy it, and there will be no remnant of the house of Esau, because the Lord has spoken this. (LXX: On Mount Zion there will be salvation, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will take possession of those who possessed it. And the house of Jacob will be fire, and the house of Joseph as flame, and the house of Esau as stubble; they will burn it and destroy it, and there will be no messenger (frumentarius) 9 left in the house of Esau; because the Lord has spoken it.) When Idumea is destroyed and exterminated by those nations with whom it previously entered into an alliance against Jacob, then there will be remnants on Mount Zion, there will be salvation on it, and it will be holy, that is: either the Lord himself will return to the church, abandoned by Him because of sins, or in general it will be a shrine, that is, the holy of holies. And the house of Jacob under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah shall take possession of those who had hereditary possession of it. And the house of Jacob, that is, Judah, will be fire, and the house of Joseph, that is, the ten tribes, will be fire, because from Joseph was born Ephraim, from whose tribe came the kingdom of Samaria; the house of Esau, that is, the Edomites, who turned out to be so cruel and merciless in relation to their brother, will turn into straw. And just as fire and flame quickly consume straw, so these two kingdoms, having united, according to Ezekiel (chapter 17), into one vine, will devastate Idumea and destroy it, and there will be no one left from the people who could announce to the neighboring nations the destruction of their enemies. For this means that LXX was translated through πυροφόρον, and that we expressed through “frumentarium” in accordance with the ancient way of expression; because those who are now called couriers or messengers were in ancient times called “frumantarii” 10. But it is better to follow the Hebrew text, in which the word "sarid" means either "the rest" according to Aquila, or "fleeing" according to Symmachus, or "remaining" according to Theodotion and the fifth edition. All this will happen because the Lord said so, and His command means the same as fulfillment. Another kind of explanation: after the destruction of the works of the flesh and the destruction of the kingdom of the earth, there will be salvation in the church for those who have not moved away from their mother. The Holy One will abide in it, about whom Isaiah says: “holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts” (Is. 6:3), because he is “holy and sanctified from one and all” (Heb. 2:11). And the house of the reproacher Jacob will take possession of those who hereditarily owned it; he will make his persecutors Christians and the Edomites themselves will be accepted into the church faith; the house of Esau will turn into straw. And just as straw cannot withstand the proximity of fire; so the house of Esau will not be able to withstand the arguments of Jacob, red-hot with the fire of the word of the Lord, because “the word of the Lord is kindled” (Psalm 17:31), and against the house of Joseph, which means “increase” and who, having been sold by his brothers, provided food for the people in Egypt; but at the first competition their sophisms 11 will turn into nothing. And they will be consumed for their salvation in accordance with what is said in Isaac’s blessing to Esau: “But I have made him lord over you, and made all your brothers his servants, and you will serve your brother” (Gen. 27:37). And there will be no remnant of the house of Isaac when before Christ “all things bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth” (Phil. 2:10), and when everything is said to Him, so that “God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). But since Esau, through his own fault, built on the foundation of Christ from wood, hay and straw (1 Cor. 3:12), then the house of Jacob and Joseph will turn into fire and flame, like the Lord who says: “I am a consuming fire” (Deut. 4:24), so that, after the straw of sins is destroyed, the pure wheat will be gathered into the barns. All that we have said and what we will say, the Jews expect for themselves in the future, when instead of Christ they will accept the Antichrist in fulfillment of the prophecy of the Lord Savior: “I came in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me: if anyone comes in his own name, you will receive him” (John 5:43). They imagine that everything that we have interpreted in relation to Idumea applies to the Roman kingdom; but we say that this either has already been fulfilled in accordance with history under Zerubbabel, or, in accordance with the nature of the prophecy and in a mysterious sense, is being accomplished daily in the church and is being fulfilled over everyone in the kingdom of the soul in relation to the flesh. As for the “supplier of bread” (frumentarium), then, in relation to the allegorical meaning, we can say that he ceases to be among the heretics when they have no one who could boast that he has the grain of wheat that died in the earth, and the bread of heaven. Some believe that LXX was translated not πυροφόπον, that is, “supplier of bread,” but πυρφόρον, that is, “he who is able to give a spark.” Thus, based on various interpretations, we can, in relation to the allegorical meaning, say that heretics will not only not have a supplier of bread, but also one who claims to have the light of Christ. For “Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). Avd.1:19. And those on the south will receive the mountain of Esau as an inheritance, and those on the plains will receive the Philistines, and they will possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead. (LXX: And those who are in Nageb will possess the mountain of Esau, and those who are in Zephelah will possess the foreigners, and they will possess the mountain of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria, and Benjamin and Gilead.) After the return of Judah to his kingdom, who lived in the south and owned, according to the distribution of Joshua the son of Nun, the entire country facing Scorpio, that is, all of Akrabitten, those who were previously limited to narrow borders will take possession of the mountain of Esau, that is, Mount Seir, and those mountainous areas that Edom previously owned. Those who lived in Sephele, that is, in the plains, which points to Lydda and Emmaus, that is, Diospolis and Nicopolis, will own the Palestinians and the five cities of the Palestinians: Gaza, Ascalon, Azoth, Ekron and Gath, or all that country, which in the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 9) is called Sharon. Others believe that this Sephele, that is, the level country located near Eleutheropolis, is given a promise that it will extend to Rhinocorura and to the sea itself, that is, it will not only receive Eleutheropolis from the tribe of Judah, but will reach the very coastal country and will subject to its power the Philistines, who were not previously subject to it, and also the borders of the sons of Judah will expand to Ephraim, where Neapolis is now, and to the country of Samaria, where Sebaste is now built. Benjamin, whose borders extended directly from Jerusalem to the north, will own all of Arabia, which was formerly called Gilead, and is now called Gerasa (or: Gerara). According to the translation of LXX, those who were in the south will own Mount Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria, and Benjamin, and Gilead. Whether it was so, God knows; this could be partially fulfilled during the five hundred years that elapsed before the coming of Christ; but what I do know is that it is daily fulfilled and confirmed in the kingdom of the church. For those who live in the south, that is, in Nageb, who have the true light and occupy the level and low places, that is, His disciples 12, to whom it is said: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29), will take possession of the mountain of Esau and the Philistines, by which we can understand the pagans because of their arrogant teaching and worldly eloquence. There will be teachers on the mountain, and among the Philistines and foreigners there will be disciples, guided by the authority of the teachers. They will take possession not only of the mountain of Esau and the foreigners, but also of the land of Ephraim and Samaria. We often read about Ephraim and Samaria in Hosea and explained them in relation to heresies, which, hiding behind the Christian name, divide the church. For even there they expect abundance and ascribe to themselves the observance of faith. Next, Benjamin, the “son of the right hand” and “strength”, where the church of God is located, will take possession of “Gilead,” which means “transmigration of the testimony” and points to bodily Israel, because from him the testimony of the Lord came to us. According to the translation of LXX, both Benjamin itself and Gilead will be owned by those who were in the south. Avd.1:20–21. And those displaced from his army, the children of Israel, will take possession of the land (omnia) of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and those displaced from Jerusalem, who are in the Bosphorus, will take possession of the southern cities. And saviors will ascend to Mount Zion to judge Mount Esau, and the kingdom will be for the Lord. (LXX: Those who were carried away from the children of Israel in the beginning [will have] the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and those who were carried away from Jerusalem as far as Euphrath will possess the cities of Nageb. And those who escaped from Mount Siom will come to punish the Mount of Esau, and the kingdom will be for the Lord.) In this place our translation differs significantly from the generally accepted (vulgata) edition; therefore, in historical explanation we must follow the original Jewish text. Those who, according to the book of Ezra and Nehemiah, returned from Babylon to Judea will rightly be called displaced. All this army of the children of Israel in the south, west and north will possess the Edomites, the Palestinians, Mount Ephraim and Samaria. Also, Benjamin, as adjacent to the desert, will receive ownership of Gilead in particular. On the eastern side, they will own all the Canaanite land up to Zarephath of Sidon, in which a widow once fed Elijah (1 Kings 17). Then, those who from Jerusalem itself, the main city, were resettled to Sapharod, which we transferred through the Bosporus, will own the southern cities located in the tribe of Judah, because upon returning to their city they will occupy the places adjacent to this city. And when all this was fulfilled, the Lord sent, just as in the book of Judges (Judg. 3), saviors to save the people from captivity; in this way they will appear and come to Mount Zion to carry out judgment and make decisions on the mountain of Esau, as subjected and enslaved, that is, over the Edomites, and after the subjugation of all there will be a kingdom for the Lord. Where we put “Bosphorus”, there in the Hebrew text there is “Sapharad”, that LXX for some reason translated “Ephratha”, while the translation of Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion is consistent with the original Hebrew text. But we learned from a Jew who was our teacher in the Holy Scriptures that this is the name of the Bosporus, and, as a Jew, he said that this is the country to which Hadrian resettled the captives. Thus, when our Christ comes, then these captives will return to Judea. But we can understand some place of the kingdom of Babylon, although I have another assumption. The prophets, speaking about Babylon, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Philistines and other peoples, usually use many words from their language and retain the local features of the language. But since the “limit,” which is called “gebul” in Hebrew, is called “sacharad” in the language of the Assyrians, 13 I believe that this has the following meaning: The Jerusalem settlers, stationed throughout all borders and countries, will again occupy the cities in the south, that is, in their tribe. Instead of what we translated: “saviors will arise,” and what LXX translated: “those saved,” the Hebrew text says “mosim”; this should be understood not in the passive meaning of σεσωμένοι or ὰνασωζ´μενοι, as Aquila, LXX and Theodotion do, but according to Symmachus in the active meaning of σώζοντες, that is, “saviors”. For σεσωμένοι, that is, “saved,” are called in Hebrew “pheletim” (or: “phlettim”). Since we have completed, as far as we could, the interpretation in relation to history and have steered our boat through dangerous pitfalls, let us unfurl the sails of spiritual understanding, so that, with the wind of the Lord revealing His secrets, we may joyfully reach the harbor. At the time when Benjamin will rule Gilead, the displaced army of the children of Israel or the first immigrants of Israel, which was formerly carnal, will reach the land of the Canaanites, and the prophetic word, which experienced a famine in Judah, after the wool dried up in Israel, passed onto the dew of the pagans: there it feeds and nourishes, since it is received by the believers and itself feeds the believers. “Zarephath” is either a compound of two words and means “need for bread,” or it is one word meaning “burning.” “Canaan” means σάλον, that is, “movement,” or it is the name of “merchant” and “humble.” So, when the exiled sons of Israel leave the letter that kills and reach the spirit that gives life, they will remove everything that belonged to the law. They will buy one pearl of great price from many pearls and, leaving Jewish arrogance, will follow Christian humility, and will reach the place where previously there was a need for bread, and a widow woman, abandoned by her Creator, could barely feed her young son, and where all their sins and vices will be burned. Captives or immigrants from Jerusalem, where there once was a vision of peace and who are now scattered throughout the world, will own the cities of the south, that is, the churches of the true and perfect light and, bringing repentance, they will say together with the bride: “Where you pasture, where you rest at noon” (Song. 1:6)! They will return with Joseph to their former native circle and will become drunk with the blood of the shepherd and the prince. If you read Ephrathah from LXX, then the faith of Christ is undoubtedly understood here. For Ephratha means χααρποφορία, that is, “fertility,” and has two names (δυώνυμος), - it is also called Bethlehem, where the bread of heaven came from. When all this is accomplished, the saviors or those saved from the remnants of the Jewish people will ascend to Mount Zion and will judge and punish Mount Esau. Just as the Lord, being light, calls his apostles light and says: “you are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14) and Himself, being a stone, allowed Peter to be a stone, also being a good shepherd, he gave them the names of shepherds and wanted that everything that was said about Him should also be said about His servants; so the Savior Himself wanted His apostles to be the saviors of the world, who, having ascended to the top of the mountain of the church and overthrown the arrogance of the Jews and all the mountains that rebelled against the knowledge of God, prepared the kingdom for the Lord. This I quickly dictated, following the authority of the ancients and especially the Jewish explanation during my two night works, and I opened my lips, but I do not know whether Christ filled them. Therefore, the wise reader should look more for consistency of thought than for grace of presentation. For when dictating we do not smooth out and trim expressions in the same way as when writing. It is another thing, dear Pammachius, to frequently make corrections and write what deserves to be stated, and another to dictate everything that comes to mind when the scribe is waiting, and when shame does not allow one to remain silent. We studied this prophet in our youth, and in our old age we decided to take on it. If someone says something better and closer to the truth, then accept his opinion. Siser. De orat. I. 2, 5. Modern criticism denies that this work (Ad Herennium) belongs to Cicero. The Greek word σεβαστὸς corresponds in its meaning to the Latin augustus. Stephen (στέφανος in Greek means crown. In the prologue to the interpretation of the prophet Nahum. ᾿Ελευθερόπολις translated from Greek means free city. Actually, the suppliers of grain for the army or the managers of provisions, who in ancient times were usually not killed by enemies and therefore, in case of complete defeat of the army, could announce this and serve as messengers or couriers. This is not entirely accurate. Here, of course, in all likelihood, some city or locality in Babylonia, for example. the famous city of Sipar (Sipar or Sirpar, Serharvaim) or the region Saparda mentioned in the inscriptions of the Assyrian king Sargon II, which is found in southwestern Media, near Babylonia, and the name of which fully corresponds to the Hebrew name in question. See Keilinschr. und Alt. Testament von Eb. Schrader. 2 Auf. Geess. 1883. 8. 279, 280 and 447. You might be interested in: