Lectio 3
Lecture 3
Vita Pauli ut Judaeus
Paul’s life as a Jew
1:11 Notum enim vobis facio, fratres, Evangelium, quod evangelizatum est a me, quia non est secundum hominem: [n. 32]
1:11 For I give you to understand, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. [n. 32]
1:12 neque enim ego ab homine accepi illud, neque didici, sed per revelationem Jesu Christi. [n. 34]
1:12 For neither did I receive it of man: nor did I learn it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. [n. 34]
1:13 Audistis enim conversationem meam aliquando in Judaismo: quoniam supra modum persequebar Ecclesiam Dei, et expugnabam illam, [n. 35]
1:13 For you have heard of my behavior in time past in the Jews’ religion: how that, beyond measure, I persecuted the Church of God and wasted it. [n. 35]
1:14 et proficiebam in Judaismo supra multos coaetaneos meos in genere meo, abundantius aemulator existens paternarum mearum traditionum. [n. 37]
1:14 And I made progress in the Jews’ religion above many of my equals in my own nation, being more abundantly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. [n. 37]
32. Supra Apostolus redarguit Galatas de levitate animi, eo quod sic cito dimiserant doctrinam Evangelii, hic vero ipsius Evangelicae doctrinae dignitatem ostendit. Et
32. In the foregoing the Apostle rebuked the Galatians for their fickleness of mind in so quickly setting aside the Gospel teaching; now he shows the dignity of the Gospel teaching.
circa hoc duo facit. Quia
And concerning this he does two things:
primo commendat auctoritatem doctrinae Evangelicae secundum seipsam;
first, he commends the authority of the Gospel teaching according to itself;
secundo ex parte aliorum apostolorum, et sua simul, cap. II, ibi deinde post annos quatuordecim, et cetera.
second on the part both of the other apostles and himself, at then, after fourteen years (Gal 2:1).
Iterum prima pars dividitur in duas, quia
The first part is further divided into two others, because
primo proponit intentum;
first, he presents his intention;
secundo manifestat propositum, ibi audistis enim, et cetera.
second, he manifests his purpose, at for you have heard.
Circa primum duo facit.
Regarding the first he does two things.
Primo proponit quod intendit;
First, he proposes what he intends;
secundo probat quod proponit, ibi neque enim, et cetera.
second, he proves what he proposes, at for neither.
33. Intendens ergo commendare veritatem Evangelicae doctrinae, dicit notum vobis, etc., quasi dicat: ita sum certus de auctoritate Evangelii, quod non solum hominibus, immo etiam angelis contrarium non crederem; sed eos si contrarii essent, anathematizarem. Quam quidem certitudinem ex hoc habeo, quia magis credendum est Deo quam hominibus, seu angelis. Et ideo cum ego habuerim illud Evangelium a Deo, maximam certitudinem habere debeo et habeo.
33. Intending, therefore, to commend the truth of the Gospel teaching, he says, for I give you to understand, brethren. As if to say: so certain am I of the Gospel’s authority, that I would disbelieve not only men but even angels saying the contrary; so that if they were contrary, I would say anathema to them. And I have this certainty, because one must believe God rather than men or angels. Therefore, since I have this Gospel from God, I should and do have the greatest of certainty.
Et ideo dicit notum enim vobis facio, fratres, Evangelium, quod evangelizatum est a me vobis et aliis ecclesiis, quia non est secundum hominem, id est, secundum humanam naturam discordantem a regula seu revelatione divina.
Hence he says, for I give you to understand, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me to you and to the other churches is not according to man, i.e., not according to human nature that is at variance with the divine rule or divine revelation.
Et sic ly secundum hominem, sonat in vitium. I Cor. III, 3: cum enim sit inter vos zelus et contentio, et cetera. Et sic accipit hic Apostolus. Et ideo dicit non secundum hominem docentem me vel mittentem: quasi dicat: nullo modo potest hoc Evangelium haberi ab homine, sed a Deo.
In this sense, according to man implies something evil: for whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal, and walk according to man? (1 Cor 3:3). And this is the sense the Apostle takes here. Hence he says, not according to man teaching me or sending me, as if to say: this Gospel can in no way be had from men, but only from God.
34. Et ideo subdit neque enim ego ab homine, etc., ubi duplicem modum acceptionis excludit. Primo quod non habuit ab homine auctoritatem evangelizandi, et quantum ad hoc dicit neque ab homine, scilicet puro, accepi illud, id est, auctoritatem evangelizandi Evangelium, sed a Christo. Rom. c. X, 15: quomodo praedicabunt, nisi mittantur? Is. XLII, 6: dedi te in lucem gentium, et cetera. Act. IX, 15: vas electionis est mihi iste, et cetera.
34. That is why he adds, for neither did I receive it of man, whereby he precludes two ways of receiving. First, that he did not receive from man the authority to preach. As to this he says, nor of man, i.e., purely man, did I receive it, i.e., the authority to preach the Gospel, but of Christ: and how shall they preach unless they be sent? (Rom 10:15); I have given you for a light of the gentiles (Isa 42:6); this man is to me a vessel of election (Acts 9:15).
Secundo, quod non accepit scientiam evangelizandi ab homine. Et ideo dicit neque didici, scilicet Evangelium per hominem purum, sed per revelationem Iesu Christi, id est, per Iesum Christum omnia clare ostendentem. I Cor. II, 10: nobis autem revelavit Deus, etc., Is. l, 5: Dominus Deus aperuit mihi aurem, et cetera. Et ibid., 4: Dominus dedit mihi linguam eruditam, ut sciam, et cetera.
Second, that he did not receive the knowledge of what is to be preached from man. Hence he says, nor did I learn it, namely, the Gospel, from mere man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, i.e., by Jesus Christ showing everything clearly. But to us, God has revealed them (1 Cor 2:10); the Lord has opened my ear, and I do not resist (Isa 50:5), and the Lord has given me a learned tongue (Isa 50:4).
Haec autem revelatio facta fuit Apostolo, cum raptus fuit in paradisum, ubi audivit arcana verba quae non licet homini loqui, II Cor. XII, 4.
Now this revelation was made to the Apostle when he was rapt into paradise, where he heard secret words which it is not granted to man to utter (2 Cor 12:4).
35. Consequenter cum dicit audistis enim, etc., probat propositum, scilicet quod non accepit ab homine Evangelium, neque ante conversionem, neque post conversionem ad Christum, ibi cum enim placuit, et cetera.
35. Then when he says, for you have heard of my behavior in time past, he shows that he did not receive the Gospel from men, either before his conversion or after his conversion to Christ, at but when it pleased him (Gal 1:15).
Quod autem non acceperit ab homine ante conversionem suam, ostendit et per odium quod habebat ad fidem Christi et ad Christianos, et per fervorem quem habebat ad Iudaismum, ibi et proficiebam, et cetera.
That he did not receive it from man before his conversion he shows both by the hatred he bore toward the faith of Christ and toward Christians, and by the zeal he had for Judaism, at and I made progress.
36. Dicit ergo: dico quod non accepi ab homine, et hoc ante conversionem meam, quod patet ex factis illius temporis, et ex odio quod habebam ad fidem. Nam vos ipsi audistis, infra eodem, tantum autem auditum habebant, etc., conversationem meam aliquando, dum infidelis eram, in Iudaismo, quo Iudaice vivebam. Et dicit, meam, quia hoc quod male facimus ex nobis est, ex Deo autem quidquid boni facimus. Os. XIII, 9: ex te perditio tua, Israel, tantummodo in me auxilium tuum.
36. He says therefore: I say that I did not receive it of man, and this is true of the time before my conversion. This, indeed, is obvious from my actions at that time and from the hatred I bore toward the faith. For you yourselves have heard, and below to the same purpose: but they had heard only: he who persecuted us in times past now preaches the faith which once he impugned (Gal 1:23), of my behavior in time past, when I was an unbeliever, in the Jews’ religion, when I lived as a Jew. And he says, my, because the evil we do is from ourselves, but whatever good we do is from God: destruction is your own, O Israel: your help is only in me (Hos 13:9).
Istud scilicet audistis, quoniam supra modum, scilicet aliorum, quia non solum per se, sed provocabat principes ad hoc. Alii enim forte a principibus inducti persequebantur, sed iste eos inducebat. Act. IX, 1: Saulus adhuc spirans minarum, etc., accessit, et cetera. Et quia non solum in Ierusalem, sed etiam per totam regionem. Unde accepit litteras in Damascum, et cetera. Unde de eo potest intelligi illud quod dicitur Gen. XLIX, 27: Beniamin lupus rapax, et cetera. Persecutus sum Ecclesiam Dei, scilicet inquirendo Christianos et fugando. I Cor. XV, 9: non sum dignus vocari apostolus, et cetera. Et expugnabam illam, non quidem spiritualiter, quia corda fidelium non poteram a fide avertere, sed corporaliter affligendo eos poenis corporalibus, et ponendo in carcere. Act. IX, 21: nonne hic est qui, etc., Ps. CXXVIII, 1: saepe expugnaverunt me, et cetera.
This you have heard, how that, beyond measure, i.e., more than others, because he bestirred not only himself to this but rulers as well. For others, when they persecuted, were led to it by the rulers, but he urged even them: Saul, as yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest (Acts 9:1). Also because he did this not only in Jerusalem but in the entire region. Hence he received letters to Damascus (Acts 9:2). Therefore what is said in Genesis can be understood as applying to him: Benjamin a ravenous wolf (Gen 49:27). I persecuted the Church of God, i.e., by hunting down Christians and discomfiting them: I am not worthy to be called an apostle (1 Cor 15:9); and I wasted it, not indeed spiritually, because I was unable to turn the hearts of the faithful from their faith, but physically by inflicting bodily punishment on them and casting them into prison: is not this he who persecuted in Jerusalem? (Acts 9:21) often have they fought against me (Ps 129:1).
Sic ergo patet, per odium quod habebat ad fidem Christi ante conversionem, quod non accepit Evangelium ab homine.
It is plain, therefore, from the hatred he bore toward the faith of Christ before his conversion, that he did not receive the Gospel from man.
37. Patet hoc etiam per amorem et fervorem zeli, quem habuit ad Iudaismum, et hoc quantum ad profectum exteriorem. Unde dicit et proficiebam, etc., ubi tria ponit quae exprimunt profectus magnitudinem, quia supra multos, non supra paucos proficiebat, non supra senes ineptos ad profectum scientiae, sed coaetaneos, scilicet adolescentes acutos et aptos ad profectum. Thren. III, 27: bonum est viro, cum portaverit iugum ab adolescentia sua.
37. It is plain also from the love and burning zeal he had for Judaism, as to outward progress. Hence he says, and I made progress in the Jews’ religion above many of my equals in my own nation: wherein he mentions three things that indicate how great was his progress. For he progressed not above a few but above many, not above old men incapable of progress in learning, but my equals, i.e., young men who were intelligent and capable of progress: it is good for a man, when he has borne the yoke from his youth (Lam 3:27).
Item non supra coaetaneos extraneos, quasi ignotae linguae, sed illos qui sunt in genere meo, scilicet Iudaeorum. Act. XXII, 3: ego sum vir Iudaeus, secus pedes Gamalielis eruditus, et cetera.
Furthermore, not above equals who were foreigners and ignorant of the language, but equals in my own nation, i.e., Jews: I am a Jew, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).
Item quantum ad zelum interiorem quem habebat ad legem. Et ideo dicit abundantius prae aliis aemulator existens, non solum legis, sed paternarum mearum traditionum, scilicet quas habent Iudaei licitas, quas boni patres addiderunt, ut dicitur in Glossa, quas quidem traditiones vocat suas, quia ita reputabat eas, ac si suae fuissent. Phil. III, 5: secundum legem Pharisaeus, secundum aemulationem persequens, et cetera.
Finally, as to the inward zeal he had for the law. Hence he says, being more abundantly zealous, not only for the law, but for the traditions of my fathers, namely, those traditions which the Jews lawfully kept and which the good fathers added, as is said in a Gloss. He calls these traditions his own because he treasured them as though they were his: according to the law, a Pharisee; according to zeal, persecuting the Church of God (Phil 3:5).
38. Sed quaestio est super hoc quod dicit Glossa: boni patres addiderunt. Videtur quod non fuerint boni, quia Deut. IV, 2 dicitur: non addetis ad verbum quod ego loquor vobis, et cetera. Ergo fecerunt contra mandatum domini, addentes traditiones, et sic non fuerunt boni.
38. But a question arises from the fact that the aforesaid Gloss says: the good fathers added. For it seems that they were not good, because, it is said: you shall not add to the word I speak to you (Deut 4:2). Hence in adding traditions they acted against the command of God and so were not good.
Dicendum est quod verbum illud Domini intelligendum est sic: non addetis aliquid contrarium, seu extraneum verbis quae ego loquor, et cetera. Addere autem aliqua quae non sunt contraria, licuit eis, scilicet aliquos dies solemnes et alia similia, sicut factum est tempore Mardochaei, et tempore Iudith, in memoriam beneficiorum quae a Deo recipiebant.
To this one may answer that this word of the Lord is taken to mean that you shall not add anything contrary or alien to the words which I shall speak. But to add certain things not contrary was lawful for them, namely, certain solemn days and the like, as was done in the time of Mordochai and of Judith, in memory of the blessings they received from God.
Contra, Matth. XV, 6, Dominus reprehendit eos, dicens: irritum fecistis mandatum Domini propter traditiones hominum. Non ergo sunt licitae traditiones.
But against this is the rebuke addressed to them by our Lord, when he says: you have made void the command of the Lord for the traditions of men (Matt 15:16). Hence those traditions were not lawful.
Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod non arguuntur, quod tenent traditiones hominum, sed quia propter traditiones hominum dimittunt mandata Dei.
I answer that they are not rebuked for holding the traditions of men, but because for the sake of the traditions of men, they neglect the commands of God.
Lectio 4
Lecture 4
Evangelium Pauli non ex hominibus
Paul’s Gospel not from man