God permitted the children and wives of David and his companions to be taken captive, so that, driven by grief, they might make war on the Amalekites and, in accordance with the Lord’s prophecy, utterly destroy them. A Furthermore, so that David, having obtained great spoils, might send them to his fellow tribesmen and thereby bind their wills to himself more closely and win their favor.
VERS. 7. *Afferte Ephod.* Aquila: "Bring near the ephod to me." He asks concerning the *geddur*, which among the Hebrews signifies the gathering of a band, or a haunt of robbers, and the pillaging of brigands. It is so called as a brigandish system. Aquila rendered it, "of a single-banded gathering." B
VERS. 10. *Substiterunt septuaginta viri* (The seventy men stood by). Aquila: "They were exhausted, so that they could not pass over."
VERS. 13. *Quia turbatus, et defatigatus sum.* Aquila: "I am ill (sick), I am infirm."
VERS. 17. *A lucifero* (From the morning star). Aquila: "From darkness." Symmachus: "From the time when it grew dark." C
VARIÆ LECTIONES. *C. L. Instead of, "I am ill," there is "I am in the third day," which means three days.
ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS. CHAPTER I.
VERS. 6. *Casu cecidit* (He fell by accident), instead of, "Israel was defeated." *Appropinquabant ei* (They were approaching him). Aquila: "When he seized."
VERS. 10. *Chlidona, armillam.* It is an ornament of gold, which is placed either on the arms or on the wrists of the hands. Aquila called it a "brachiare" (bracelet).
VERS. 15. *Quoniam os tuum respondit contra te dicens* (Since your own mouth has testified against you, saying). O singular prudence of mind! D Having heard of the slaughter of his enemy, he lamented bitterly. But that madman, having suffered no injury, boasted of the death, even though Jonathan had fallen and a great part of the army had been destroyed along with him. Moreover, he feigns—though in vain—that he killed Saul. But he was an Amalekite, against whom a sentence of death had long since been passed by God. Therefore, some falsely accuse David regarding this matter.
VERS. 17. *Lamentatus est David.* Many things brought mourning to David: the longing for Jonathan, his concern for the people, the victory of the impious Philistines, and, in addition to these, the death of Saul. For him, whom he had respected and honored while alive, he now pitied much more in death.
VERS. 18. *Scripta est lamentatio in libro recti.* This declares that this history [was taken] from many prophetic books
been gathered from historical books. It must be inquired, however, whether it becomes a wise man to mourn, and who are to be mourned by him, and whether he should mourn because of those who are dying, or for his own sake, as those did who made lamentation over Stephen. A
*Erige monumentum Israel.* Aquila: *Accurate pernosce.* It is no common calamity, he says. For a king has fallen, and a king’s son, and the bravest of all his fellow tribesmen. And that the power of the Philistines was a great vexation to him, what follows bears witness. B
*Considera Israel* (v. 19), stands for: as a column standing on high, so consider the present fall; it stands for: remember the present blow, and seek the cause of the divine fury.
*Agri primitiarum* (v. 21); Aquila: *agri ablationum*; Theodotion: *agri mortis*. *Indignatus est clypeus*; Aquila: *abjectus est*.
*Montes Gelboe* (v. 21). Inflamed with pain, he curses inanimate things, just as those who feel pain in some part of their body, or against the walls, or upon the bed, strike their hands, not bearing their torments. C But it would seem to signify something more sublime, namely Christ lamenting the former people, and those within it who were more refined, and the height of legal worship among the nations. For he said: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets," and the rest. For the death of the prophets was the end of the gifts which are given from heaven. Following that saying: "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."
*Amor tuus, tanquam amor mulierum* (v. 26). These words pertain to showing the vehemence and sincerity of love. For such is the disposition of a man toward his wife as is expressed in the law of marriage: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." This Elkanah also showed, while comforting Hannah: "Am I not better to thee," he said, "than ten sons?" What therefore is said concerning those joined in matrimony, "into one flesh," this is said of friends who love one another, "into one soul." D
*Num in perpetuum tuus mucro desæviet?* (v. 26). It is not right, he says, for the victors to seek to bring total destruction upon the vanquished. For often the victors are themselves conquered, and those who pursue take to flight. Therefore he says that the *last things shall be bitter*. He reminded them also of their kinship, and he persuaded them. And "the last things shall be bitter," because to wage war against brothers carries the weight of repentance.
CAP. II.
*Respondit: In Chebron* (v. 1). From what is apparent, one may say it was because the patriarchs dwelt there and were buried there. And because it belonged to the tribe of Judah, from whence David was, Chebron was then the metropolis.
because Hebron, whence David originated, was at that time a metropolis. A For the Jebusites still held Jerusalem; wherefore it infers that, ascending, they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. Furthermore, the tribe of Judah loved David more, as a fellow tribesman. Hence it says: *And the men of Judah come, and anoint David there*; that is, they elect him. For Samuel the prophet had anointed him with the holy oil.
VERS. 12. *Mephibosheth*. The other translators call him Isbaal.
VERS. 13. *And let them play before you*. He calls their engagement and conflict a "game," comparing the particular one with the common and great battle.
VERS. 26. *Shall the sword devour to victory?* It is not right, he says, that the victors should seek to bring total destruction upon the defeated. For often those who are winning are defeated, and those who are pursuing turn to flight. Wherefore he says that the end will be bitter. He also recalled their kinship to his memory, and persuaded him of what he wished.
VERS. 32. *They went to the west*. Having left behind Rama and Gabaa, the dwellings of Saul, which are called the camps, they retired to the royal city.
CAP. III.
VERS. 3. *And the fourth Onia*. Aquila, Adonias.
VERS. 7. C *Why have you gone in unto my father's concubine?* For it was not permitted for others than kings to have intercourse with the concubines of kings. Therefore Absalom went in unto the concubines of his father, wishing to obtain the kingdom; and Adonias was slain as one aspiring to the kingdom, because he wished to go in unto the concubine of his father.
VERS. 13. *Unless you bring Michel*. And yet it was iniquitous and against the laws to receive one who had been joined to another. God says through Jeremiah: *If a man puts away his wife, and she goes and becomes another man's wife, shall he return to her any more?* But David did not put away Michel; rather Saul, against law and right, violently snatched her away and betrothed her to another; wherefore David forgave her who had been violently snatched away.
VERS. 27. *They came from an excursion*. Aquila, of the *Geddur* of excellent war.
*And smote him there*. He had a true pretext in the slaughter of Asahel, but the cause was envy. For knowing that Abner would receive military command if he brought all Israel over to David, desiring the leadership ambitiously, he slew him.
VERS. 29. D *And holding a staff*. Those with a flow and the lepers are, according to the law, unclean and separated from the common community; but they use a staff who are mutilated in body. Wherefore Aquila rendered such a one as "blind."
VERS. 33. *Shall he die according to the death of Nabal?*
Abner. Nabal indeed was cruel, and unjust, and ungrateful, but Abner was equal in contracts, A he says, and as a brave man in battles, he did not suffer the fate of those who are defeated. But the hypocrisy of friendship brought him death. David therefore poured out tears from his grief. But that lamentation increased the goodwill of the people.
VERS. 39. The sons of Survia are harder than I. He states the cause for which David did not exact the capital penalty from the slayer of Abner. For when he could easily have exercised his just anger, he did not spare him.
CAP. IV. [V]
VERS. 3. And they anoint David. That is, for the vote, the other tribes also choose him.
VERS. 8. Because the lame and the blind withstood him. The Jebusites held Jerusalem. B Therefore, the civil and intestine war having ceased, the king David undertook an expedition against them. But they, despising them, ordered the mutilated and maimed, if they should ascend the walls, to insult them. When David had already occupied the citadel—for he calls this region [the city]—he ordered all the Jebusites to be slain, according to the command of God which had been revealed in the beginning. Whence also he named it the city of Sion, that is, the upper city. But regarding "let him reach with a dagger," Symmachus says: "whoever may happen to be a Jebusite, and shall seize C the pinnacle." But Aquila says: "everyone striking a Jebusite, and shall touch in the vertex," and [he means] that [they were] to be struck unto the shedding of blood.
And the Lord Almighty was with him. Let the heretics be confounded. For thus the divine Spirit has frequently called him.
VERS. 18. Into the valley of the Titans. They used to call them Giants and Titans, whom the Hebrews call Raphain. Hebron and Geth had such men, of whose number Goliath also was, and the very brave men of David, whose prowess the Scripture admires and celebrates. It is probable, therefore, that in this place some battle was formerly joined by them, from which the place was so named. D
VERS. 20. And you shall be near them by the weeping. Aquila [puts it] in this manner: "from the opposite of the pear trees." Just as a trainer anoints him for virtue, exhorting him not to trust in his own strength, but to await divine assistance.
CAP. V. [VI]
VERS. 2. From the leaders of Juda. Aquila, "from the priests."
VERS. 3. And Oza, and his brothers, the sons of Aminadab. Some say that Oza paid the penalty for rashness, as having attempted to bring aid to the Ark, which, since it presided over the whole people, did not stand in need of the help of others. Josephus, however, says that since he was not a Levite, he nevertheless dared to touch the Ark; and yet he was the son of Aminadab, to whom they of Bethsamis handed over the Ark, having been released by the Philistines, he being of the Levitical tribe. For the Scripture says: "And they sanctified his son Eleazar, to keep the Ark of the covenant."
A And the sons of Aminadab were walking in front, from the sides of the Ark. But how did he pay the penalty for presumption, seeing that when the cart tilted, it was necessary to steady it with his hand? There is, therefore, another reason for this; for since the law commanded that the priests should carry the Ark on their shoulders, they placed it upon a cart, having been deceived by the fact that it had suffered no harm when sent in such a manner by the foreigners. It should be observed that they neither knew the law, nor were the priests of the Lord present with them. Therefore, B Uzzah having fallen, David became afraid to bring it into the palace, rightly suspecting the punishment. But when he saw that Obed-Edom, who had received it, was blessed, he brought it to himself, not using a cart, but the priests according to the Law, while playing instruments and wearing a robe of varied colors, that is, one that was embroidered. This the book of Chronicles clearly explained: "They carried," it says, "the Ark of the Lord, as Moses had commanded by the word of the Lord God of Israel, upon poles, according to the Scripture, on their shoulders." But if this is true, why did Uzzah alone suffer, and not all the Levites? And why did he not attempt to steady it from the beginning, but only then? Therefore, perhaps he himself was the one who suggested placing it on the cart, and for this reason he alone was deemed worthy of punishment—whence perhaps the Scripture placed him before his brethren. He suffered ill, as it was revealed what happened from placing it on the cart, and God willed to chasten him through the mistake, or he was otherwise unworthy. C
VERS. 15. And she despised him in her heart. She thought it foreign to royal dignity to dance in public before everyone. For she did not know the goads of divine fervor, which David revealed to her in his words. The Scripture added to these that she had no child, indicating the penalty for her mockery, and also so that no one from that seed might reign; for it was likely that the subjects would have preferred him, having had both parents of royal lineage, to any other sons. C And David danced with rhythmic movement of his body, manifesting his inner disposition outwardly, and at the same time teaching us not to be ashamed of the cross. For then dancing was reproached, but now it is the cross that is mocked. But to David, indeed, was given as a reward for his piety the fruitfulness of children—for this was a great good in the law—while to Melchol, as a reward for her disbelief, a penalty was given: sterility.
VERS. 22. And I will be undisguised even as this, and I will be base. Aquila: And I will be dishonored even more than this, and I will be humble. D
CAP. VI. [VII.]
VERS. 5. And Nathan said to the king: All that you have conceived in your heart, go and do. The prophets did not foresee everything, but only those things which divine grace revealed to them. Thus Samuel also was ignorant of who...
A
Just as Elisha speaks regarding the calamity of the Shunammite: "The Lord has hidden it from me." B And now Nathan, having commended the king’s intention, thought that the work was pleasing to God. A matter which David himself, though he was a prophet, was ignorant of.
Verse 5. *Thou shalt not build me a house.* God did not permit David to construct a house of prayer, teaching all who were to pray therein to have humanity. For those who see that the prophet was not permitted to perform the construction, because he had handled slaughter, even if justly, are taught to keep their hands clean. Yet God nevertheless chose David, who lived with women in the manner of the ancients, and used the situation without fear, prior to this grace, in accordance with the law of worship, having paid great heed to prayer, to psalmody, to the love of God, and to the salvation of the people. C He was trustworthy toward friends, grateful toward benefactors, and not harsh toward those who did him wrong. Furthermore, he was a lover of the poor, if any other man ever was. For which reasons he is called a man after the heart of God. If, however, as a mortal he did stumble somewhere, the Master rebuked him, but did not turn away from him, seeing he was otherwise good, except for a few things; just as one, evaluating on a fair scale, finds more good deeds than bad.
Verse 10. *And he shall dwell by himself.* For as one living according to the divine law, he was separated from other nations.
Verse 11. *And from the days in which I set judges.* Since in the time of the judges they were subject sometimes to the Ammonites and Moabites, and sometimes to the Midianites and foreigners, He promised to keep their kingdom intact for them, and to deliver them from these constant shifts. D
Verse 13. *And I will establish his throne forever.* In the fourth book of Chronicles, similar things are said, through which the prophecy concerning Christ is clearly presented. Therefore the Jews said to Christ: "We have heard from the law that Christ remains forever," for whom He prepared the throne, having built a house of living and spiritual stones, for a holy priesthood to the name of the Father; and God firmly established His throne forever. And the Apostle also took these things from the passages before us in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son." And likewise those things which are read concerning the eternal throne. For it is not fitting that we understand all these things about Solomon; for how is his throne established forever? If you speak of a succession of descendants, this ought to have been said to David before Solomon. Second, how is that fulfilled: "Many days the sons of Israel shall sit, with no king and no ruler"? If indeed it cannot be said that the throne was truly established then, how does He say: "in sempitern-
...sum? If these things are to be taken concerning Christ, how can they be adapted to Christ: "And if his iniquity shall come, I will chasten him with the rod of men"? A Does not Scripture say that he, having taken upon himself our infirmity, labored and suffered hunger and thirst; likewise, as it is said, that he bore our infirmity and put on principalities and powers, in order that afterwards, having stripped them off, he might triumph with great confidence on the wood of the cross? And in Psalm XXI: "Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses." And in Psalm LXVIII: "The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up." He says also: "O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my offenses are not hidden from thee." Thus, that statement: "And if his iniquity shall come." And yet it is not said here, "If he shall have done iniquity," but, "If his iniquity shall come." Furthermore, we are his; we are the iniquity, to whom it is said: "Ye were sometimes darkness"; and since he died for us, it can be said of him: "If his iniquity shall come, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men." That is what shows him, as being God by nature, and according to his human nature unpolluted by any stain of sin, to be distinct from other men and from the sons of men.
VERS. 19. "These things have appeared small in thy sight, O my Lord." Teaching the omnipotence of the Lord, he says, "I have been astonished at the excellence of the promises, looking back at myself." For these things are small when compared with thy power.
CHAPTER VII [VIII].
VERS. 2. "He measured them with a line," etc. The multitude of the captives was so great C that it did not allow them to be counted. Therefore he ordered them to be laid prone on the ground; and, having stretched a line over them, he divided them into three parts; and, two parts having been slaughtered, he preserved the third. Aquila, however, rendered it, "a separated bridle of the deduction of waters."
VERS. 4. "And David put out of service all the chariots," etc. For the divine law commanded: "Thou shalt not multiply to thyself a horse," so that they might not place their protection in horses, but in the power of God’s salvation.
VERS. 9. "King of Emath." Aquila translates it, "the appearance or arrival of Syria."
VERS. 14. "In all Idumea he placed garrisons." D Now is fulfilled that which Isaac foretold to Jacob: "Be thou," he said, "lord of thy brother." For having defeated the Idumeans, he placed garrisons over them. Moreover, he himself named the present garrison-soldiers, whom some now call *egkathetous* (seditious or placed-in).
VERS. 16. "From the commentaries." Aquila has, that is, "recalling to memory."
VERS. 17. "And Abimelech the son of Abiathar." They say this is a scribe's error. For, on the contrary, Abiathar is the son of Abimelech.
And [they were] the Philethi and the Chereti. He calls the slingers and the archers by this name.
CHAPTER VIII
Præscidit vestes ipsorum. Either those which he calls Arcadica, or the mantles. But Aquila says, tunics.CAPUT IX
And if the war thrives. Another translation has, and into the peace of the war.CAPUT X.
To do [it] for the foreign man. He calls the wicked thought a "foreigner," as it attacks us from the outside and is not in us by nature. That the man who did this is worthy of death. This is indeed an exaggeration, but to restore fourfold is in accordance with the law.To be for you as a wife. The word intimates that God was more angered by the marriage than by the adultery that preceded it. For the latter he committed while stupified by desire; the former, however, holds the consent of the intellect. For whereas he ought to have been mourning for adultery and murder, he consented to an unlawful marriage.
And I will take your wives, and give them to your neighbor. It is similar to: "God gave them up to the desires of shame" (Rom. 1, 26). Signifying the permission of God. For even Jacob, concerning Sichem, which was destroyed by Simeon and Levi, his sons—whom he cursed—contrary to his own will, making the inheritance over to Joseph, says: "Which I took with my bow," attributing to himself the deed of his sons, which had occurred against his will.
You shall not die. By the law, he was obligated to a double death, for adultery and for murder; but the confession of the sin averted [the penalty].
You have provoked the Lord to your enemies. Aquila more clearly says, you have exasperated the enemies of the Lord. For being stripped of divine care, he caused the aliens to prevail and to exult against the Creator of all things. But Uriah was a proselyte; for God calls him a Hittite.
And your son, who has been born to you, shall die. For the living child was a proof of the transgression of the law. God, therefore, caring for the pious king, removed his reproach.
For it is an illegitimate child. And so great was the fruit of repentance that even the grandfather of the generation of Christ himself, according to the flesh, would be born from this same woman.
Iedidia. Aquila: for the Lord's sake. Symmachus: set apart for the king.
And he sawed them with saws. It was not a work of cruelty, but of just punishment. For the Ammonites...
of the Israelites, as we know, used to gouge out their right eyes. It is also known from the prophets that they practiced other cruelties of this kind.
Chapter XI [XIII]
VERS. 3. *Jonadab was a very prudent man.* Yet he gave an iniquitous and unjust counsel. Scripture praises his prudence, even though he made bad use of it (just as it also calls the serpent most prudent), wherefore he paid the penalty for his evil counsel. "For you saw," it says, "a thief, and you ran with him, and you placed your portion with an adulterer." A
VERS. 18. *A tunic reaching to the heels.* Symmachus: *having sleeves.* Aquila: *having sleeves* or *variegated*, because it has fruits woven into it. Today they call it *plumaricon*. Josephus terms it *reaching to the ankles*. B
VERS. 37. *To Tholmi.* He fled to his maternal grandfather. For Maachah, his mother, was the daughter of Tholmi, who ruled as king in Gessur.
CAP. XII [XIV]
VERS. 7. *And let us kill him for the life of his brother.* He secretly implies David, who neither punished Amnon nor dispelled Absalom’s grief, and now, when the matter is finished and cannot be changed, he is angry to no purpose.
VERS. 20. *That he might turn the face of this speech.* "How," she says, "can you free my son from slaughter, without bringing back your son? For that, she says, will be a pattern of this. If you do not bring back your son, the tribes, having a suitable cause, will contradict you concerning the flight of your son. Do not give, therefore," she says, "to the Lord’s people such an opportunity for murmuring." Then she consoles the king concerning the death of Absalom. C For as water poured out is not gathered up, so he who is dead will not rise again. Why, therefore, do you contend to be deprived even of the survivor?
*That the face might be surrounded.* "Directly," she says, "it was not permitted to entreat you, whence it was suggested to me that there was need of a circumlocution of words, so that, by seeing your own case in a feigned one, you might apply to yourself the remedy you wished to apply to me."
CHAPTER XIII [XV]
VERS. 25. *Bring back the ark of the Lord into the city.* Since he was a pious man and a prophet, he understood into what danger the abandoned ark had fallen as a punishment for the transgressors of the Law. For whereas those men had been taken from the midst, the ark itself had been taken captive. D Revolving these things in his mind, he wished it to be brought back. For he himself could not carry the ark in his company, because he was held bound by the laws concerning adultery and homicide. "For," says the Law, "you shall not kill the innocent and the just." But when, he says, the Lawgiver shall have purified the eye of my soul, then I shall be able to see the beauty of the ark.
COMMENTARIES ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS
A VERS. 32. *When he had come to the summit.* By the summit, he understands the Mount of Olives, from whence our Lord Christ was taken up. And he worshipped God there, looking toward the tabernacle and the ark which was placed therein, as was fitting.
VERS. 37. *Chusi, the king's friend.* Some do not approve of this lie of Chusi, being ignorant that a lie which has a good end set before it is equivalent to the truth. For the purpose of both good and evil things must be sought, and thus we shall find whether each is good or evil. For who would not justly condemn the truth of Herod in the slaughter of John the Baptist? For since he had sworn to do what he should not, it would have been better to lie than to commit murder. And in this matter, he did not dissemble in order to acquire money, or to bring destruction upon others, but to defend the life of a pious king and prophet.
CAP. XIV [XVI]
VERS. 4. *Behold, all things are thine which belonged to Mephibaal.* Some have censured this excessive credulity of David. But it has often been said that the prophets did not know all things. Moreover, he [Mephibaal] possessed a probable discourse, suited for persuasion; furthermore, he also brought gifts, declaring his goodwill. But David, once the truth was known as it really stood, assigned a portion of the property to each, and again took care and account of him. For when the Gibeonites in the time of famine sought seven of the kinsmen of Saul, he did not hand over Mephibaal, but kept the covenant made with Jonathan. Furthermore, by diminishing the property, he cast down his spirit, lest he should aspire to the kingdom. Perhaps he recognized and observed some such imagination in the young man, and, because he was good, he accepted the apology. For otherwise, he would by no means have made him a participant in his property—he who had spoken a lie against his own lord, whom he ought rather to have punished.
D VERS. 11. *Behold my son, who has gone forth from my womb, etc.* "Since Semei," he says, "is sprung from the family of Saul and exercises an old grudge against me, do you seek to exact vengeance for this, when you see my son plotting against my life?" This divine judgment now brings to fulfillment those things which were foretold. One must therefore endure, and the divine wrath is to be overcome by patience. And such was that holy man. However, neither the illicit cohabitation of Ammon, nor the fratricide of Absalom, nor such great fury against a parent was from divine operation; but the house of David, deprived of God’s governance, was like a ship which has no pilot, and was tossed by the greatest storms and tempests of evils.
VERS. 23. *And all the counsel of Achitophel was, as well with David as with Absalom.* How did David use this counselor, who gave evil advice? It is certain that Achitophel accommodated himself to the existing circumstances, and gave advice according to the character and customs of each: hiding his malice toward the good man, but displaying it toward the wicked one who rejoiced in evils. But he hastened to remove David, fearing
nature reconcile the two, and urge him to make a treaty, although he himself paid the penalty for his treason. Nevertheless, he did not escape punishment, but, having armed his son against his father, he brought death upon himself. A
CHAPTER XV [XVII]
It should be noted that while here he calls Chusi the son of Arachi, in the inscription of the seventh psalm he is called the son of Jeminei. Might it be, perhaps, because he had received great fortitude and boldness from the habit of friendship, that for this reason he calls him the son of Jeminei, that is, the son of the right hand? David, however, wisely opposed the powerful man with someone prudent. For prudence is stronger than power; and power without prudence knows how to destroy those who trust in it. B
VERS. 14. *And the Lord commanded that the counsel of Achitophel be dissipated.* The Holy Scripture has taught how God acted with Chusi. It calls that counsel good which was advantageous to the tyranny. For this reason David said in the Psalms: "Behold, he has been in labor with iniquity, he has conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity; he has opened a pit and dug it, and he shall fall into the ditch which he has made."
VERS. 28. *And he dried up palathas* (figs). Aquila and Symmachus have *ptisanas*, that is, barley or husked wheat.
*But David came to Manaim.* In Manaim, Theodotion, *into the camps*.
*Samphot of oxen*; Theodotion, *milky calves*. C
CHAPTER XVI [XVIII]
VERS. 3. *The heart will not be set upon us.* Taken interrogatively: "If thou dost survive," they say, "will we not all be of good heart?" Or negatively: "If thou shouldst fall, it is certain that we will be dismayed." But if we are killed in part, they say, those who remain will not be equal to the task of consolation. Therefore they forbid David from going out, fearing that some misfortune might happen to him; for it was likely that the enemies and foes were seeking him alone. At the same time, they also feared that if, having conquered, he were to escape, he might be moved to mercy toward the tyrant. They say, therefore, that if we are defeated and put to flight, we have your life as a sufficient consolation; but if anything adverse happens to you, it will be a public calamity. For you alone excel all of us by infinite measures. Symmachus also indicates this, saying: *And you are as ten thousand of us.* D
VERS. 18. *For he said: There is no son to me,* etc. And yet the divine writer said above that he had three sons and a daughter also. It is probable that he fathered children and they died. Josephus, however, writes that he did this for the reason that, since children cannot last for a long time, that building might preserve the memory of himself longer.
Joab is not to be blamed because, when he heard David ordering him to spare the youth, he [slaughtered] Absalom. For God himself, having anticipated, suspended him in the...
perished at the hand of the one who killed Absalom. For God himself, anticipating, suspended him by the branches of the oak, that such an impious man might suffer those things. When Joab saw this, he left his father to practice humanity, while he himself lent his right hand to God against Absalom, and plunged his spears into his most wicked heart. C
VERS. 33. *And the king wept.* For how could he who, because of his humanity, lamented for Saul, fail to be overcome by nature at the death of his son? Moreover, that pious man laments for one who could no longer be healed through repentance.
Chapter XVII [XIX]
VERS. 13. *You shall be commander-in-chief for me.* Although Joab had endured many dangers for David, he nevertheless pursued the audacity of that man with hatred. Yet he tolerated him nonetheless, partly because of the goodwill which he maintained toward David, and partly fearing lest he should plot something radical. Now, however, having found an opportunity, he declares Amasa—whom Absalom had made commander—commander-in-chief (he was also himself a cousin of David’s); and when Joab knew this, under the pretext of friendship he killed him too. DCHAPTER XVIII [XX]
*And David was worn out.* For being an old man, and having fought in many battles, he failed in the strength of his body, yet he was saved miraculously, having escaped the hands of the giant. Scripture indicates that they thus called those who were great in body and possessed irresistible strength, and not the impious, nor the long-lived, as some have conjectured.CAP. XIX [XXI]
*A man from Gath.* Aquila, *adversary*, that is, of controversy; but Symmachus has *pro-meter*.CHAPTER XX [XXII]
*The words of this song.* After the enemies were defeated, he composed a song of victory to God. And he prophesies concerning the Lord Christ; it is, except for a few things, the same as the 131st Psalm.CHAPTER XXI [XXIII]
*The Spirit of the Lord has spoken in me.* Let the Jews now be ashamed, who cannot endure to call David a prophet, who so evidently and clearly prophesied concerning the things of Christ and the faith of the nations. For if the Spirit of God is in him, and if it pleased the God of Jacob to speak in him, and He revealed to him the hidden things of His wisdom, why would he not be a prophet?VERS. 16. *And he would not do it.* For, having been chastened, he knew how many grave misfortunes desire creates.
A VERS. 19. *Famous among the three, more renowned than the two.* Praising the three, he says that Abishai was superior to the two, but inferior to the first. For the latter slew nine hundred in battle, while the former slew six hundred. He is the first of the three, not because of his deeds, but because of his office. One should know, however, that Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was a cousin of the king. For he called him a grandson of Jesse, and after having frequently mentioned his bravery, he added that he was glorious beyond the three, and that he did not reach the three. For while he was inferior in strength to the three, he was glorious in that he had been entrusted with the king’s guard. David also appointed him over his guard.
CHAPTER XXII [XXIV]
VERS. 1. *Saying: Go, number Israel.* And if God commanded it, why does he render an account for the numbering? Therefore, one must not consider the words, but the permission of God. He granted him the use of his reason. Wherefore in the Book of Chronicles it says thus: *And Satan rose up against Israel, and deceived David, and urged him to number Israel;* and thus the Hebrews call an adversary a defector. Since, therefore, such a thought was contrary to the divine promises, He calls it by this name. And He did not say *against David*, but *against Israel*, against whom the penalty also raged. Moreover, Scripture calls the devil the wrath of God, and hence calls him Satan in the Book of Chronicles. Furthermore, it said *wrath*, not him himself. But how is the penalty exacted from the people, when it was David who numbered the people? The people paid the just penalty for their own iniquity, in that they had deserted the pious king who had been appointed by God to rule over all, and had followed the party of an impious and lawless son. Moreover, they did not abandon Saul, even after he had been condemned B and stripped of divine grace, until his death, even though David had been anointed king by the prophet. For him who had been the author of many good things for them, and who had broken the power of the Philistines, and who was a prophet, they not only deserted, but even drew up an army against him. Therefore, they pay the penalty on account of David, toward whom they were insulting. Hence Scripture says that the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, not against David. For the census of the people was only the occasion for the penalty. Thus He strikes only the defectors, and spares those who had not yet reached an age useful for public affairs. For it was necessary to forestall the future, by suppressing the constant defections. But David, very religiously, did not choose those things in which he himself, being king, could easily have had an advantage over the others; for had a famine arisen, he himself would not have suffered from a lack of food; also, by hiding within walls and fortifications and donning armor, he would easily have escaped the enemies. Therefore, he chose a matter that does not admit of human aid and power, committing himself on equal terms with the rest to the judgment of the Superior.
A VERS. 15. *A mane usque ad horam prandii.* By numbering the nights also with the days, we find that only the twelfth part of the threat was brought upon the people. So philanthropic is God, that while He uses greater threats to strike fear into those who sin, He inflicts punishments far less than the threats. For when there were thirteen hundred thousand—to wit, those of military age, and the children, and the elderly, and moreover the women being excluded, and in addition to these the Levites and the tribe of Benjamin—since the king repented, they were not numbered. Only seventy thousand were slain, and not even they were destroyed in an instant. For the avenging angel needed no time. In an instant, indeed, he destroyed both the firstborn of the Egyptians and the hundred and eighty thousand of the Assyrians. Therefore, this time is a sign of divine kindness toward men, not of impotence. B Certain people have allegorized the present passage in this way: Death, because of the wrath of God, held dominion over the people of the Lord up until the hour of the meal; that is, from the beginning of the ages until the time of the meal, specifically until the intelligible bread came down from heaven. For then God, being appeased, dissolved and restrained the destroyer, that is, death. Since He did not wish the destroyer to lay his destructive hand upon those who inhabit the holy city—the Church—the order is given that he should cease from those who are perfected through the living bread, the inhabitants of the Church. “Glorious things,” He says, “are spoken of you, O city of God” (Ps. LXXXVI, 3). For it was not fitting that the enemy should conquer after the manifestation of the time of the holy table, which the time of the meal signifies. C But Christ, our Savior, as if being understood in the person of Christ, offered Himself for us, calling that sin His own, He who knew no sin. For He Himself takes away our sin, suffers for us, and, like a good shepherd, has laid down His soul for His sheep. For according to the history, David, being ignorant of the true cause, calls that which had happened his own sin.
VERS. 21. *That I may acquire the threshing floor from you, etc.* The threshing floor represents the Church, through which death ceases. For it is the house of natural life, that is, of Christ, into which the pious, having been harvested from this world by the discourses of the saints, are gathered like sheaves, that they may be brought into the heavenly hall, as if into a master’s granary, just as is understood under the likeness of chaff. Wherefore He says: “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already for harvest” (Joan. IV, 35), and “the reaper receives wages.” And again: “The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few” (Matth. IX, 37), and what follows. D And concerning Christ, John says: “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.”