Глава IV.

John 4:1–2. And Jonah was saddened with great sorrow and was irritated. And he prayed to the Lord and said: LXX: And Jonah was saddened with great sorrow and was troubled. And he prayed to the Lord and said: Seeing that the full number of the pagans is entering and that the words of Deuteronomy are being fulfilled: “They have provoked Me with those who are not gods, and I will provoke them... with a people that is not a people, with a senseless people” I will provoke them (Deut. 32:21), he despairs of the salvation of Israel and is depressed by the great sorrow that is expressed in words, and sets out the reasons for the sorrow, as if saying: I alone am chosen from so many a great number of prophets in order to proclaim the destruction of my people through the salvation of others. Thus, he grieves not because - as some believe - that many pagans are being saved, but because Israel is perishing. That is why our Lord wept for Jerusalem (Luke 19) and did not want to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs (Mark 7). And the apostles first preach to Israel (Acts 13). And Paul desires to be excommunicated for his brothers, that is, the Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption, and the glory, and the covenant, and the promises, and the law, from whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh (Rom. 9). The sick man 15 (for this means the name of Jonah) quite in agreement with this is struck with sadness and his soul grieves mortally (Matthew 26:38); because he endured a lot in order, as far as it depended on him, to prevent the destruction of the Jewish people. Also in the historical sense, the name of the sick person is more appropriate for the prophet, indicating the difficulties experienced, the disasters of travel and storms. John 4:2–3. I pray to You, Lord, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my country? So I prefaced this by fleeing to Tarshish. For I know that You are a good and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving evil; and now, I ask You, Lord, take my soul from me, for death is better for me than life. LXX: Oh my God! Isn’t this what I said when I was still in my country? So I prefaced this by fleeing to Tarshish. For I know that You are merciful and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and repenting of evil; and now, Sovereign Lord, take my soul from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. What we translated through “I pray” and what LXX translated through ῶ᾿ δὴ in the Hebrew text is expressed through “anna,” which, it seems to me, serves as an interjection, meaning prayer for the purpose of propitiation. Since he, by saying in his prayer that he justly wanted to flee, in some way accuses God of injustice, he softens his complaints, beginning them with a word meaning prayer. Wasn’t this the same thing, he says, that was said by me when I was still in my country? I knew that You would do it; I knew that You are merciful; therefore, I did not want to proclaim You as strict and merciless; Therefore, I wished to flee to Tarshish, indulge in contemplation and enjoy peace and inaction in the sea of ​​this age. I left my home, left my inheritance, departed from Your bosom and came here. If I began to talk about You as merciful, merciful and forgiving of evil, then no one would repent; and if I began to portray You as merciless and only as a judge, then, as I knew, this would not correspond to Your nature. Thus, being in such a difficult position, I chose to flee rather than mislead the repentant through goodness or portray You as what You were not. Therefore, O Lord, take my soul, for death is better for me than life. Take my soul, which grieves unto death. Take my soul, for I commend my spirit into Your hands (Luke 23:46), because death is better for me than life. While living, I could not save one people, the Israelites; but I will die, and the world will be saved. The historical meaning of this is clear, and in relation to the prophet it can be understood, as we have often said, in the sense that he grieves and desires to die because of the fear that the conversion of numerous pagans might lead Israel to eternal destruction. John 4:4. And the Lord said: Are you right (bene) to be angry? LXX: And the Lord said to Jonah: Are you really so upset? The Hebrew word “aralac” can be translated both “you are irritated” and “you are upset.” Both apply to Jonah and to the face of the Lord: he was either irritated due to fear of being seen as having lied to the Ninevites, or was upset when he saw that Israel was about to perish. And quite rightly, the Lord does not say to him: “you are unjustly irritated (male)” or “upset,” so as not to seem that He is reproaching the upset person, or again: “you are justly irritated or upset,” so as not to contradict His decision; but asks the one who is irritated and upset, so that in his answer he sets out the reasons for the irritation or sadness, or, if he remains silent, so that the justice of God’s judgment is confirmed by his silence. John 4:5. And Jonah went out of the city, and sat down on the east side of the city, and made himself a booth there, and sat under it in the shade, so that he could see what would happen to the city. LXX was translated in the same way. The fratricide and murderer Cain was the first to build a city in a world bloodied by the blood of his brother and named it after his son Enoch (Gen. 4). Therefore, the prophet Hosea says: “I am God, and not man, I am holy in you, and I will not go into the city” (Hos. 11:9); for, as the psalmist says, “The Lord’s departure from death” (Psalm 67:21). Therefore, one of the cities of refuge is called Ramoth (Joshua 20), that is, “vision of death.” And justly, everyone who runs away and is unworthy to dwell in Jerusalem dwells in the city of death and is on the other side of the Jordan, meaning “descent.” The dove or mourner thus leaves this kind of city and settles opposite the east, from where the sun rises, and remains there in its thicket. where, contemplating all the passing time, he expects what will happen to the above-mentioned city; before Nineveh was saved and the pumpkin dried up; Before the Gospel of Christ shone and the prophecy of Zechariah was fulfilled: “Behold the Man, whose name is the East” (Zech. 6:12), Jonah was under the booth. For the truth has not yet come, about which the evangelist and apostle says: “God is truth.” It is also quite appropriately added: “and he made himself a booth there,” near Nineveh. “He made it for himself,” because none of the Ninevites could live with the prophet at that time, and “sat under the shadow” either in the position of a judge or diminished in his greatness and girded his loins with force, so that all the clothing did not fall to his feet and to us below, but was restrained by a narrow (or high) girdle. Further, as for the words: “to see what will happen to the city,” they correspond to the custom of the Scriptures to apply to God what is characteristic of people. John 4:6. And the Lord God prepared ivy, and it rose over the head of Jonah, so that there would be a shadow over his head and to protect him, because he suffered; and Jonah rejoiced over the ivy with great joy. LXX: And the Lord God commanded the pumpkin, and it rose over the head of Jonah, so that there would be a shadow over his head and protect him in case of misfortunes; and Jonah rejoiced at the pumpkin with great joy. Because of this passage, a certain Canterius 16 from a very ancient family of Cornelii or (as he himself boasts) from the descendants of Asinius Pollio, recently in Rome, as they say, accused me of sacrilege, because instead of “pumpkin” I translated “ivy” 17: he was obviously afraid that if ivy were born instead of pumpkins, he would not have anything from which to drink secretly and in the dark 18 . And indeed, in the very pumpkin vessels, which in the vulgar language are called saucomariae, the image of the apostles is usually imprinted, as it were, which he used for his inappropriate accusation. And if names are so easily changed that the rebellious tribunes of Cornelia are called by the names of the Aemilian consuls, then I wonder why I can’t translate ivy instead of pumpkin. But let's get down to business. Instead of pumpkin or ivy in the Hebrew text we read ciceion, which is also called ciceia in Syriac and Punic. This is a genus of shrub or tree with wide leaves like grapes and with very thick shade, supported on its own trunk, and growing in abundance in Palestine and mainly in sandy places; if you throw its seed into the ground, then with amazing speed it, under the influence of heat, grows in the form of a tree, and a few days after you saw it in the form of grass, you already see it as a tree. Therefore, at the time when I was translating the prophets, I wanted to leave the Hebrew name in the translation, because in Latin there is no name for this type of tree; but I feared that the grammarians, if given complete freedom of explanation, would invent either Indian animals, or the Boeotian mountains, or some similar kind of wonder, and therefore I followed the ancient translators, who also translated ivy, which in Greek is called χισσὸς, because they had no other name. Now we will examine the historical meaning and, before the mysterious explanation, let us delve only into the letter. Pumpkin and ivy tend to crawl along the ground and, without stands and supports to support them, cannot rise high. How did the pumpkin, which rose one night, without the knowledge of the prophet, provide shade to him, when, by its nature, it cannot rise high without poles, stamens and supports? As for the plant ceceion, while representing a miracle in its sudden appearance and demonstrating the power of God in protection by the shadow of its greenery, it nevertheless followed its natural properties. In relation to the person of the Lord Savior, not completely leaving the pumpkin for the sake of the lover of pumpkin vessels φιλοχολύχηνθον, this can be explained by recalling the words of Isaiah: “The daughter of Zion will be left like a booth of vineyards and like a hut in a vegetable garden 20, like a city at war” (Is. 1, 8). To this we will add that in other places of Scripture there is no mention of pumpkins and that where cucumbers are born, pumpkins will usually be born there. Israel is compared with this genus of plant, because it once protected Jonah with its shadow, awaiting the conversion of the pagans, and brought him no small joy, providing him with shade and a tabernacle rather than a house, because it had the semblance of a dwelling, but did not have the foundations on which houses are built. Further, our small tree ceceion, growing quickly and quickly drying up, can be compared with Israel, as putting down small roots in the ground and although trying to rise high, does not reach the height of the cedars of God and the firs. The same thing, it seems to me, means the locusts on which John fed, speaking under the image of Israel: “It is fitting for him to grow, but for me to grow small” (John 3:30). It is a small animal that has weak wings and, although it rises from the ground, cannot fly high, so that although it is more than a reptile, it cannot be equal to birds. John 4:7–8. And the Lord sent a worm at dawn the next day, and it struck the ivy, and it withered. When the sun rose, the Lord commanded a hot and burning wind, and the sun struck Jonah's head, and he grew weak, and asked himself animae suae of death, and said: it is better for me to die than to live. LXX: And God commanded the worm in the morning the next day, and it struck the pumpkin, and it withered. Immediately after the sun rose, the Lord commanded a hot, burning wind, and the sun struck Jonah’s head, and he became exhausted, and he was bored with his life, and he said: “It is better for me to die than to live.” Before the sun of righteousness rose, that which provided the shade was full of greenery, and Israel did not wither; but when it rose, then, by its light, the Nineveh darkness dissipated. the sent worm, when the dawn appeared the next day, about which in the twenty-first psalm it is written: “at the appearance of the dawn,” and about which, as having come out of the earth without a seed, it is said: “I am a worm, and not a man,” (Psalm 21:7), struck the plant that provided shade, which, being deprived of God’s help, lost all its greenery. And the Lord commanded the wind hot and burning, which is spoken of in the prophecy of Hosea: “The Lord will bring a scorching wind from the desert, and will dry up its veins and devastate its springs” (Hosea 13:15). And Jonah began to faint and again desire death in baptism along with Israel, so that by washing he would again receive the moisture that he lost during his denial. Therefore, Peter speaks to those who are drying up. to the Jews: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Some by the worm and the burning wind mean the Roman generals who, after the resurrection of Christ, completely destroyed Israel. John 4:9. And the Lord said to Jonah: Are you justly angry because of the ivy? And he said: I am rightly irritated even to death. LXX: And the Lord God said to Jonah: Are you really so upset about the pumpkin? And he said: I am greatly grieved, even unto death. Above (v. 4). When the Ninevites repented and when the pagan city was saved, the prophet answered the same question: “Are you rightly irritated?” did not answer anything, but silently expressed his agreement with the decision, which consisted in the question of God; Knowing that God is good and merciful, long-suffering and abundant in mercy and forgiving of evil, he was not upset by the salvation of the pagans; but here, when, after the gourd withered, Israel dried up, and when a certain question is put to him: “Are you justly irritated because of the ivy?” he answers with confidence, saying: “I am rightly irritated” or “grieved even to death,” because I did not want to save some so that others would perish, and so gain strangers in order to lose my own. And indeed, to this day, Christ grieves for Israel and grieves for Jerusalem even to the point of death - not His own, but that of the Jews, so that those who deny would die and those who confess the Son of God would rise. John 4:10–11. And the Lord said: You grieve over the ivy, which you did not work on and which you did not grow, which grew in one night and disappeared in one night. Should I not have pity on Nineveh, a great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left, and a multitude of cattle? LXX: And the Lord said: you regretted the pumpkin, which you did not work on and did not raise, which grew overnight and died overnight. Should I not have pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which live more than twelve myriads of 21 people who do not distinguish their right hand from their left, and a multitude of cattle? It is extremely difficult to explain how, in an allegorical sense, it is said about the Son: “You grieve over the ivy over which you did not labor and which you did not grow,” when “all things were by Him and without Him they were nothing” (John 1:3). Therefore, one interpreter of this passage, while deciding the real question, fell into blasphemy. For, taking the words of the Gospel: “Why do you say that I am good? No one is good, except one God” (Mark 10:18), he interpreted them in the sense that the Father is good, and the Son, compared with Him who is completely and truly good, stands on a lower level. In saying this, he did not notice that he fell into the heresy rather of Marcion, who recognizes one God as exclusively good and another as judge and creator, than of Arius, who, recognizing the Father as superior (majorem), and the Son inferior (minorem), nevertheless does not deny the Son as creator. Therefore, we should listen condescendingly to what we say, and rather promote our aspirations through goodwill and prayers, rather than treating them with contempt and malice, because even ignorant people can blame and slander, but educated people who know the difficulty of work tend to either give a hand to the weary or show the way to the wandering. Our Lord and Savior did not work so much regarding Israel as he worked regarding the pagan nations. Therefore, Israel arrogantly says: “I have worked for you for so many years, and I have transgressed none of your commandments, and you have given me no more kids of goats, so that I may rejoice with my friends; When this son of yours, who had devoured your property with the fornicators, came, you sacrificed the bullock for him to eat” (Luke 15:29-30). Nevertheless, the father does not refute him, but meekly says to him: “child, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours; You will rejoice and rejoice as you should, because this brother of yours was dead, and is alive, and was bent, and is found” (Luke 15:31-32). For the sake of the pagan people, the fatted calf was slaughtered and precious blood was shed, which Paul speaks about in great detail in his letter to the Hebrews (Heb. 10). And David in the psalm says: “a brother will not deliver, but a man will deliver” (Psalm 48:8). Christ ordained that that people should increase, and He died that they might live; He descended into the underworld so that he could reach heaven. Nothing similar was done in relation to Israel. Therefore, he envies his younger brother, who, having squandered his property with harlots and libertines, receives a ring and the best clothes and acquires his former dignity. The words: “who grew up in one night” indicate the time before the coming of Christ, who was the light of the world and about whom it is said: “the night has passed away, but the day has come” (Rom. 13:12). “And in one night he disappeared,” when the sun of righteousness hid from them 22 and when they lost the word of God. As for Nineveh, the great and most beautiful city, it represents a church in which the number of members is more than ten or twelve tribes of Israel, as indicated by the twelve baskets of fragments in the wilderness (Mark 6). They do not know how to distinguish the right hand from the left, either because of innocence and simplicity, which indicates infancy and makes it clear how large the number of people of other ages should be when such is the number of infants; or, perhaps, since it was a large city and since in a large house there are vessels not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay (2 Tim. 2:20), there were very many there who, before repentance, did not distinguish good from bad, right hand from left. “And a multitude of cattle,” because in Nineveh there was a large number of cattle, that is, foolish people who are compared to “foolish cattle” and are likened to them (Psalm 48:21). Instead of Cantherius, some manuscripts and publications read Cantelius, Cantherus, Cancherior, Corpelius. This name is apparently fictitious and used in an ironic sense (fn. expressions: Cantherius or Canteriis in fossa or in porta); the real name of this person was, apparently, Aemilius or Cornelius, as one should assume based on the following remark of Blessed. Jerome on Cornelia and Emilia. Sn. 90 letter to the blessed one. Jerome to Augustine in Russian. translation of part 3, countries. 85. In some countries, drinking vessels are still made from pumpkins. The Hebrew word ciseion or kikaion, as explained by new interpreters, means one of the species of the famous castor bean plant (ricinus). In succumerario - actually in a cucumber garden or in a garden with beds for cucumbers. You might be interested in: