Lectio 2 Lecture 2 ^7:10 Et adjecit Dominus loqui ad Achaz dicens: ^7:10 And the Lord spoke again to Achaz, saying: ^7:11 Pete tibi signum a Domino Deo tuo in profundum inferni sive in excelsum supra. ^7:11 Ask you a sign of the Lord your God, either unto the depth of hell, or unto the height above. ^7:12 Et dixit Achaz: non petam et non tentabo Dominum. ^7:12 And Achaz said: I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord. ^7:13 Et dixit: audite ergo domus David. Numquid parum vobis est molestos esse hominibus quia molesti estis et Deo meo? ^7:13 And he said: hear you therefore, O house of David: is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also? ^7:14 Propter hoc dabit Dominus ipse vobis signum. Ecce virgo concipiet et pariet filium, et vocabitur nomen ejus Emmanuel; ^7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. ^7:15 butyrum et mel comedet, ut sciat reprobare malum et eligere bonum; ^7:15 He shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good. ^7:16 quia antequam sciat puer reprobare malum et eligere bonum derelinquetur terra quam tu detestaris a facie duorum regum suorum. ^7:16 For before the child know to refuse the evil and to choose the good, the land which you abhor shall be forsaken of the face of her two kings. ^7:17 Adducet Dominus super te et super populum tuum et super domum patris tui dies qui non venerunt a diebus separationis Ephraim a Juda cum rege Assyriorum. ^7:17 The Lord shall bring upon you, and upon your people, and upon the house of your father, days that have not come since the time of the separation of Ephraim from Judah with the king of the Assyrians. ^7:18 Et erit in die illa, sibilabit Dominus muscæ quæ est in extremo fluminum Ægypti, et api quæ est in terra Assur, ^7:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall whistle for the fly, that is in the uttermost parts of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. ^7:19 et venient et requiescent omnes in torrentibus vallium et in cavernis petrarum et in omnibus frutetis et in universis foraminibus. ^7:19 And they shall come, and shall all of them rest in the torrents of the valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all places set with shrubs, and in all hollow places. ^7:20 In die illa radet Dominus in novacula acuta in his qui trans flumen sunt, in rege Assyriorum caput et pilos pedum et barbam universam. ^7:20 In that day the Lord shall shave with a sharp razor by them that are beyond the river, by the king of the Assyrians, the head and the hairs of the feet, and the whole beard. ^7:21 Et erit in die illa, nutriet homo vaccam boum et duas oves, ^7:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep. ^7:22 et præ ubertate lactis comedet butyrum; butyrum enim et mel manducabit omnis homo qui relictus fuerit in medio terræ. ^7:22 And for the abundance of milk he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that shall be left in the midst of the land. ^7:23 Et erit in die illa, omnis locus ubi fuerint mille vites mille argenteis et in spinas et in vepres erunt. ^7:23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place where there were a thousand vines, at a thousand pieces of silver, shall become thorns and briers. ^7:24 Cum sagittis et arcu ingredientur illuc; vepres enim et spinæ erunt in universa terra. ^7:24 With arrows and with bows they shall go in thither: for briers and thorns shall be in all the land. ^7:25 Et omnes montes qui in sarculo sarrientur, non veniet illuc terror spinarum et veprium, et erit in pascua bovis et in conculcationem pecoris. ^7:25 And as for the hills that shall be raked with a rake, the fear of thorns and briers shall not come thither, but they shall be for the ox to feed on, and the lesser cattle to tread upon. 244. Et adiecit loqui ad Achaz. Hic ponitur liberationis signum. 244. And the Lord spoke again to Achaz. Here the sign of liberation is set out. Et primo datur optio ad signum eligendum; And first, the liberty to choose a sign is given; secundo confertur signum ad credendum: propter hoc dabit. second, the sign for believing is conferred: therefore the Lord himself shall give (Isa 7:14). Circa primum tria ponuntur. Concerning the first, three things are set out. Primo optio eligendi signum conceditur: et dixit Dominus ad Achaz—quia prophetas contemnebat, ipse per se dixit: quia videtur durum quod tam potentes reges ita cito destruantur—, pete tibi signum, ut credas, a Domino Deo tuo. Ex hoc videtur quod sit sermo prophetae; et dicendum quod mos est hebraici sermonis ut utatur nominibus pro pronominibus: unde a Domino Deo tuo, id est a me. Vel est verbum Domini per inspirationem et prophetae per denuntiationem, infra VIII 19 numquid non propheta a Deo suo. In profundum inferni, ut aperiatur terra et infernus pateat, sicut in subversionem Dathan et Abiron, Num. XVI 31–33; vel per infernum inferiora elementa, sicut Moyses de terra locustas et cyniphes, Exo. IX; sive in excelsum supra, sicut Josue in statione solis X 12–13, Judaei enim signa quaerunt, I Cor. I 22. First, the liberty of choosing a sign is conceded: and the Lord said to Achaz—because he disdained the prophets, the Lord himself spoke: because it seems hard that such powerful kings would be destroyed so quickly—ask you a sign, that you might believe, of the Lord your God. From this it seems that these may be the words of the prophet; and to this is to be said that it is a custom of Hebrew speech to use a noun for a pronoun: hence, of the Lord your God, that is, “of me.” Or they are the words of the Lord through inspiration, and of the prophet through declaration, below: should not the prophet seek of his God? (Isa 8:19). Unto the depth of hell, that the earth be opened and hell be exposed, as in the destruction of Dathan and Abiron (Num 16:31–33); or by hell is meant the lower elements, as Moses brought forth locusts and gnats from the earth (Exod 8:16–19, 10:1–20); or unto the height above, as Joshua, when the sun stood still (Josh 10:1–15): for the Jews seek signs (1 Cor 1:22). 245. Secundo oblati refutatio: et dixit: non petam, vel quia in idolis confidebat, vel in rege Assyriorum, vel invidens Dei gloriae, vel quia timebat offendere Deum in angustia positus, infra XXVI 16 Domine, in angustia requisierunt te. Unde dicit non tentabo, innixus ei quod dicitur Deut. VI 16 non tentabis Dominum Deum tuum. Sed male intellexit, quia licebat ei auctoritate Domini petere signum, sicut Gedeon in vellere, Jud. VI 36. 245. Second, the refusal of the offer: and Achaz said: I will not ask, either because he was trusting in idols or in the king of the Assyrians, or because he was jealous of the glory of God, or because, being placed in distress, he feared to offend God, below: Lord, they have sought after you in distress (Isa 26:16). Hence he says, I will not tempt, for he relied on what is said in Deuteronomy 6:16: you shall not tempt the Lord your God. But he understood badly, for by the authority of the Lord he was allowed to seek a sign, as Gideon with the fleece (Judg 6:36–40). 246. Tertio ponitur refutantis increpatio: et dixit, scilicet Isaias: ergo ex quo tam rebelles estis, audite ergo domus David, propter consensum in malitia regis, vel quia David promissus Christus datur signum, Ps. de fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem. Numquid parum vobis est, ad merendam divinam iram, esse molestos hominibus quos spoliatis, vel prophetis quibus non creditis; quia molesti estis, per rebellionem, Deo meo, non vestro, cui non obedistis, Jer. XXIII 33 ut quid vobis onus? Projiciam quippe vos, dicit Dominus. 246. Third, the rebuke of the one who refuses is set out: and he, namely, Isaiah, said: therefore, since you are so rebellious, hear you therefore, O house of David, because of its consent in the malice of the king, or because the promised Christ is given as a sign to David: of the fruit of your womb I will set upon your throne (Ps 131[132]:11). Is it a small thing for you, to merit divine wrath, to be grievous to men, whom you plunder, or to the prophets, in whom you do not believe; that you are grievous, through rebellion, to my God, not yours, whom you did not obey: why is this a burden to you? for I will cast you away, says the Lord (Jer 23:33). 247. Propter hoc. Hic datur signum ad credendum. 247. Therefore. Here the sign for belief is given. Et primo confertur signum liberationis; And first, the sign of liberation is conferred; secundo comminatur incredulis poenam destructionis: adducet Dominus. second, he threatens the unbelieving with the punishment of destruction: the Lord shall bring upon you (Isa 7:17). Hoc autem signum est de Christi incarnatione. Sed contra hoc objiciunt Judaei multipliciter. Now this is the sign of the Incarnation of Christ. But the Jews object against this in many ways. Primo quia Dominus dabat signum illius liberationis ad quam nihil consonat Christi incarnatio. First, that the Lord was giving a sign of the liberation of the Jews at that time, with which the Incarnation of Christ agrees in nothing. Ad quod dicendum quod incarnatio Christi significat ipsam quasi per locum a majori: quia si Deus dabit Filium suum ad salutem totius mundi, multo magis potest salvare vos ab istis hostibus, Ro. VIII 32 qui proprio Filio suo non pepercit sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit illum; vel quasi causa motiva, hoc enim quasi movit Dominum quod multa bona illi populo, quamvis injusto, concedantur, quia de illo providerat Filium suum incarnandum. To which is to be said that the Incarnation of Christ signifies that liberation by an argument from the greater: for if God will give his son for the salvation of the whole world, much more can he save you from these enemies? He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all (Rom 8:32); or as a motive cause, for this moves the Lord, as it were, since many good things are conceded to this people, however unjust they were, because he had provided for his Son to be made incarnate from them. 248. Item objiciunt quia signum sequens datur ad praesentes, sed incarnatio non fuit facta temporibus illorum, et sic videtur quod hoc nullum sit signum. 248. Likewise they object that the sign that follows is given to those who are present, but the Incarnation did not happen in their time, and so it would appear that no sign was given. Ad quod dicendum quod incarnatio, quamvis non fuerit facta praesentibus illis hominibus, fuit tamen manente domo David: unde dicit audite domus David, non autem “audi Achaz.” To which is to be said that, although the Incarnation did not happen in the presence of those men, it nevertheless did happen in the presence of the abiding house of David: hence he says, hear, O house of David (Isa 7:13), but not, “hear, Achaz.” 249. Item objiciunt quia signum debet praecedere signatum; sed incarnatio fuit diu post liberationem illam: ergo non fuit signum ejus. 249. Likewise they object that a sign ought to precede the thing signified; but the Incarnation happened long after this liberation; therefore it was not a sign of it. Ad quod dicendum quod signum quandoque sequitur signatum, sicut Deut. XVIII 22 hoc habebis signum: quod in nomine Domini propheta ille praedixerit et non evenerit, hoc Dominus non est locutus; quandoque est simul, II Reg. V 24 cum audieris sonitum gradientis in cacumine pirorum, tunc inibis praelium; quandoque praecedit, sicut Jud. VII 5–7 de Gedeone, ubi datum est signum quod vincere debebat in his qui aquam manibus lambuerant. Et oportet de necessitate quod hoc signum sequatur, etiam secundum quod ipsi exponunt: si enim praecedit, tunc puer parum fuit natus ante mortem Phacee qui regnavit viginti annis, cujus decimo septimo anno regnavit Achaz, qui regnavit sexdecim annis; ergo Achaz regnavit tredecim annis post mortem ejus. Et Osee regnavit duodecimo anno Achaz, cujus nono anno Samaria capta est, qui fuit sextus annus post mortem Achaz; ergo in captivitate Samariae ad minus habebat puer decem et novem annos: ergo falsum est quod infra dicitur quod puer nesciebat vocare patrem et matrem. To which is to be said that sometimes a sign follows the thing signified, as Deuteronomy 18:22: you shall have this sign: whatsoever that same prophet foretells in the name of the Lord, and it comes not to pass: that thing the Lord has not spoken; sometimes it occurs at the same time: when you shall hear the sound of one going in the tops of the pear trees, then shall you join battle (2 Sam 5:24); sometimes the sign precedes the thing signified, as with Gideon in Judges 7:5–7, when the sign was given that he ought to conquer with those who had lapped up water with their hands. And it is necessary that this sign should follow the thing signified, even as they themselves explain: for if it preceded it, then the child was born before the death of Phacee, who reigned twenty years; in the seventeenth year of his reign, Achaz began to reign, and Achaz reigned sixteen years; therefore, Achaz reigned thirteen years after the death of Phacee. And in the twelfth year of Achaz, Osee began to reign. In the ninth year of his reign, Samaria was captured, which was six years after the death of Achaz. Therefore, at the capture of Samaria, the child would have been at least nineteen years old; and thus what is said below in 8:4, that the child did not know to call his father and mother, would be false. 250. Item objiciunt quod in hebraeo non est virgo, sed alma, quae apud eos significat juvenculam nubilem, sicut habetur Gen. XXIV 16 de Rebecca, ubi nos habemus puella decora nimis et ipsi habent alma; et si etiam habeatur bethula, quod apud eos significat virginem, non oportet quod manens virgo conciperet, quia poterat esse quod quae tunc erat virgo postea ex semine viri corrupta concepisset. 250. Likewise they object that in Hebrew it does not say virgin, but alma, which, according to them, signifies a marriageable young girl, as is found in Genesis 24:16 concerning Rebecca; where we have an exceeding comely maid, they also have alma. And even if it said bethula, which, according to them, signifies a virgin, this does not necessarily mean that she conceives while remaining a virgin, because it may be that she who was a virgin at the time of the prophecy, should conceive afterwards, having been corrupted by the seed of a man.