Salvatio et Judaeorum et Gentium
Salvation of Both Jews and Gentiles
Lectio 1
Lecture 1
Electio Dei reliquiarum Judaeorum
God’s election of a Jewish remnant
11:1 Dico ergo: numquid Deus repulit populum suum? Absit. Nam et ego Israëlita sum ex semine Abraham, de tribu Benjamin: [n. 859]
11:1 I say then: has God cast away his people? God forbid! For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. [n. 859]
11:2 non repulit Deus plebem suam, quam praescivit. An nescitis in Elia quid dicit Scriptura? quemadmodum interpellat Deum adversum Israël: [n. 862]
11:2 God has not cast away his people which he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elias, how he calls on God against Israel? [n. 862]
11:3 Domine, prophetas tuos occiderunt, altaria tua suffoderunt: et ego relictus sum solus, et quaerunt animam meam. [n. 867]
11:3 Lord, they have slain your prophets, they have dug down your altars. And I am left alone: and they seek my life. [n. 867]
11:4 Sed quid dicit illi divinum responsum? Reliqui mihi septem millia virorum, qui non curvaverunt genua ante Baal. [n. 870]
11:4 But what does the divine answer say to him? I have left me seven thousand men that have not bowed their knees to Baal. [n. 870]
11:5 Sic ergo et in hoc tempore reliquiae secundum electionem gratiae salvae factae sunt. [n. 871]
11:5 Even so then, at this present time also, there is a remnant saved according to the election of grace. [n. 871]
11:6 Si autem gratia, jam non ex operibus: alioquin gratia jam non est gratia.
11:6 And if by grace, it is not now by works: otherwise grace is no more grace.
11:7 Quid ergo? Quod quaerebat Israël, hoc non est consecutus: electio autem consecuta est: ceteri vero excaecati sunt: [n. 872]
11:7 What then? That which Israel sought, he has not obtained: but the election has obtained it. And the rest have been blinded. [n. 872]
11:8 sicut scriptum est: dedit illis Deus spiritum compunctionis: oculos ut non videant, et aures ut non audiant, usque in hodiernum diem. [n. 873]
11:8 As it is written: God has given them the spirit of insensibility; eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, until this present day. [n. 873]
11:9 Et David dicit: fiat mensa eorum in laqueum, et in captionem, et in scandalum, et in retributionem illis. [n. 876]
11:9 And David says: let their table be made a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a recompense unto them. [n. 876]
11:10 Obscurentur oculi eorum ne videant: et dorsum eorum semper incurva. [n. 877]
11:10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see: and bow down their back always. [n. 877]
859. Postquam Apostolus ostendit Iudaeorum casum esse miserandum, non tamen totaliter excusabilem, hic ostendit casum Iudaeorum non esse universalem.
859. After showing that the fall of the Jews is deplorable, though not entirely excusable, the Apostle now shows that it is not universal.
Et primo movet quaestionem;
First, he raises a question;
secundo solvit, ibi absit, etc.;
second, he answers it, at God forbid;
tertio infert conclusionem, ibi quid ergo, et cetera.
third, he draws a conclusion, at what then.
860. Dicit ergo primo: dico, ad haec inquirendo, numquid Deus repulit, totaliter, populum suum? Scilicet Iudaeorum, quia vocat eum non credentem sed contradicentem. Et hoc Psalmista etiam inquirit dicens: ut quid Deus, repulisti in finem? Thr. II, 7: repulit Dominus altare suum.
860. First, therefore, he says: I say then: has God entirely cast away his people? i.e., the Jews, because he calls them unbelieving and contrary. Even the Psalmist asks: O God, why dost you cast us forever? (Ps 74:1); the Lord has scorned his altar (Lam 2:7).
861. Deinde, cum dicit absit, etc., solvit quaestionem ostendens quod Deus non totaliter repulit populum Iudaeorum. Et hoc est quod dicit absit, ut scilicet populus Iudaeorum sit totaliter repulsus. Et hoc quidem, primo, probat quantum ad personam suam, dicens: nam et ego, scilicet in fide Christi existens, Israelita sum, scilicet gente; II Cor. XI, 22: Israelitae sunt et ego.
861. Then when he says, God forbid, he answers the question and shows that God has not totally rejected the Jewish people. And this is what he says: God forbid that the Jewish people be rejected in their entirety. He proves this, first of all, with respect to himself, saying: for I also, living in the faith of Christ, am an Israelite by race: are they Israelites? So am I (2 Cor 11:22).
Et quia in populo Israel erant aliqui proselyti, qui non descenderunt secundum carnem ex patriarchis, secundo, hoc de se excludit, subdens ex semine Abrahae. II Cor. c. XI, 22: semen Abrahae sunt, et ego.
And because there were among the people of Israel some proselytes not descended in the flesh from the patriarchs, he says that this is not so of him, adding: of the seed of Abraham: are they descendants of Abraham? So am I (2 Cor 11:23).
Erant autem in populo Iudaeorum tribus distinctae secundum filios Iacob, quorum quidam fuerunt filii ancillarum, quidam uxorum. Ioseph autem et Beniamin filii Rachel, praedilectae uxoris. Unde, tertio, suam excellentiam in populo Iudaeorum ostendens dicit ex tribu Beniamin. Phil. III, 5: ex genere Israel, de tribu Beniamin. Unde et de eo exponitur a quibusdam quod legitur Gen. penult.: Beniamin, lupus rapax mane comedet praedam, et vespere dividet spolia.
Furthermore, among the Jewish people the tribes were distinguished according to the sons of Jacob, some of whom were sons of slaves and some of wives. Joseph and Benjamin were sons of Rachel, Jacob’s fondest wife. Hence he shows his eminence among the Jewish people, saying: of the tribe of Benjamin: of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5). Hence, some apply to Paul what is in Genesis: Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil (Gen 49:27).
862. Secundo, ibi: non repulit, etc., ostendit populum illum non esse repulsum a Deo etiam quantum ad multos electos suos.
862. Second, when he says: God has not cast away, he shows that his people has not been rejected by God in regard to many chosen ones.
Et primo proponit quod intendit;
First, he states his proposition;
secundo inducit similitudinem, dicens an nescitis;
second, he recalls a similar situation, saying do you not know;
tertio adaptat eam, ibi sic ergo et in hoc tempore, et cetera.
third, he adapts it, at even so then, at this present time.
863. Dicit ergo primo: non solum ego non sum repulsus sed Deus non repulit plebem suam, totam, quam praescivit, id est praedestinavit. Supra VIII, 29: quos praescivit, hos et praedestinavit. Ps. XCIII, 14: non repellet Dominus plebem suam. Quod Apostolus hic exponit quantum ad praedestinatos.
863. First, therefore, he says: not only have I not been rejected, but God has not cast away his people which he foreknew, i.e., the predestined ones. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined (Rom 8:29). For the Lord will not reject his people (Ps 94:14). The Apostle applies this to the predestined.
864. Deinde, cum dicit an nescitis, etc., inducit similitudinem de his quae contigerunt tempore Eliae, quando etiam totus populus videbatur a cultu unius Dei aberrasse.
864. Then when he says, do you not know, he recalls a similar situation which occurred during the time of Elijah, when all the people seemed to have turned from the worship of the one God.
Ubi primo ponit interpellationem Eliae;
First, he presents Elijah’s plea;
secundo responsionem Domini, ibi sed quid dicit Scriptura divina, et cetera.
second, the Lord’s reply, at but what does the divine answer say.
865. Dicit ergo primo an nescitis quid Scriptura sacra dicat in Elia, id est de Elia III Reg. XIX, 10. Vel, in Elia id est in libro de Elia scripto.
865. First, therefore, he says: do you not know what the Scripture says of Elias, i.e., in 1 Kings (1 Kgs 19:10). Or, of Elias, i.e., in the book written about Elijah.
Totus enim liber regum est principaliter scriptus ad notificandum dicta et facta prophetarum. Unde et inter libros propheticos computatur, ut Hieron. dicit in prologo libri regum. Quemadmodum, scilicet ipse Elias, interpellat Deum adversus Israel.
For the entire book of Kings was written mainly to make known the sayings and deeds of the prophets. That is why it is counted among the prophetic books, as Jerome says. How he, namely Elijah himself, calls on God against Israel.
866. Contra quod videtur esse verbum Samuelis dicentis I Reg. XII, 23: absit hoc peccatum a me in Domino, ut cessem orare pro vobis. Multo ergo minus est contra populum interpellandum.
866. The word of Samuel seems to be contrary to this when he says: far from me be this sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you (1 Sam 12:23). Much less, then, should one intervene against the people.
Sed intelligendum est quod prophetae contra populum aliquem interpellant tripliciter. Uno modo conformando voluntatem suam voluntati divinae eis revelatae, sicut et in Ps. LVII, 11 dicitur: laetabitur iustus, cum viderit vindictam. Alio modo interpellando contra regnum peccati, ut scilicet non homines, sed peccata hominum destruantur. Tertio modo ut interpellatio, vel oratio est interpretanda per modum denuntiationis, secundum illud Ier. XVII, 18: confundantur qui me persequuntur, id est confundentur.
But it should be noted that prophets intervene against the people in three ways: in one way by conforming their wills to the divine will revealed to them, as it says in a psalm: the just will rejoice when he sees the vengeance (Ps 58:10). In another way by intervening against the kingdom of sin, in order that men’s sins but not men be destroyed. In a third way that the intervention or prayer be construed as a denunciation, as in Jeremiah: let them that persecute me be confounded (Jer 17:18), i.e., they will be confounded.
867. Duo autem in hac sua interpellatione contra eos allegat.
867. In this intervention Isaiah alleges two things against them.
Primo quidem impietatem quam commiserant contra cultum Dei, uno quidem modo persequendo ministros eius, quod tangit dicens Domine, prophetas tuos occiderunt. III Reg. XVIII, 13: numquid non indicatum est tibi Domino meo quid fecerim, cum interficeret Iezabel prophetas Domini? Act. VII, v. 52: quem prophetarum non sunt persecuti patres vestri? Alio modo quantum ad loca Deo sanctificata, secundum illud Ps. LXXIII, 7: incenderunt igni sanctuarium tuum. Et quantum ad hoc dicit: altaria tua suffoderunt.
First, the impiety they committed against the worship of God. In one way, by persecuting his ministers, to which he refers when he says: Lord, they have slain your prophets: has it not been told my Lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord? (1 Kgs 18:13); which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? (Acts 7:52). In another way, they committed impiety against God’s holy places, as it says: they set the sanctuary on fire (Ps 74:7). In regard to this he says: they have dug down your altars.
868. Unde notandum est quod, Deut. c. XII, 5, Dominus mandavit dicens: ad locum quem elegerit Dominus Deus vester de cunctis tribubus vestris, ut ponat nomen suum ibi et habitet in eo, venietis et offeretis in illo loco holocausta et victimas vestras. Tamen ante aedificationem templi permittebatur populo, ut in diversis locis altaria construeret ad cultum divinum; quod quia erat contra legem, aedificato iam templo, Ezechias rex piissimus omnia huiusmodi altaria destrui fecit. Et hoc est quod dicitur IV Reg. c. XVIII, 22: nonne iste est Ezechias, qui abstulit excelsa et altaria, et praecepit Iudae et Ierusalem: ante altare hoc adorabitis in Ierusalem? Quod ergo Ezechias fecit ex pietate, hoc fecit Achab et Iezabel ex impietate, volentes cultum Dei totaliter extirpare.
868. Here it should be noted what the Lord commanded, saying: you shall seek the place which the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there; thither you shall go, and thither you shall bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices (Deut 12:5). However, before the temple was built, the people were allowed to build altars in various places for divine worship; but because this became illegal after the temple had been built, the pious king Hezekiah destroyed all such altars. And that is what it says in 2 Kings: is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: you shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? (2 Kgs 18:22). Therefore, what Hezekiah did in a spirit of piety, Achab and Jezebel did in a spirit of impiety in their desire to root out the worship of God entirely.