*
Wis
6:6,
tested:The meaning seems rather to
be “tormented” and to refer to punishment.
*
Wis
11:26,
Lord who love the living:Vulgate
has “souls” for “living.” The Greek word
could mean either.
THE BOOK OF SIRACH
The Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) belongs to the
Wisdom literature and was written by Ben Sira, a “sage of
Israel,” in the early second century B.C. It was originally
composed in Hebrew, as we learn from the Prologue, and translated
into Greek some fifty years later by his grandson. During these
fifty years there had been a violent persecution of the Jews by the
Seleucid kings in order to force them to adopt Greek religion and
culture. The beginnings of this were already apparent in the time
of Ben Sira, and it was to counteract such influences that his book
was written. It is full of traditional Jewish wisdom and morals;
indeed, full of worldly wisdom and written by one with wide
experience of life. He re-emphasizes the traditional truths, but
manages to do this in an interesting way and sometimes even from a
new angle, e.g., his words on death (
40:2;
41:2).
Sirach was included in the Greek Bible but
not in the later Jewish canon. The Hebrew text was known to Jerome
but later disappeared and was rediscovered, though not complete,
only at the end of the nineteenth century in Cairo. Further
fragments have been found recently in Palestine.
The Church accepted the book as canonical,
but it was the Greek text she accepted. The name Ecclesiasticus was
given to it in its Old Latin version—a name which appears to
date from the time of St. Cyprian. St. Jerome did not translate the
book or revise the Old Latin, so the text is substantially as he
found it. It is a version made from the Greek, but a Greek text
notably different from the one we use, chiefly in the quantity of
additional material. However, these additions do not add anything
substantially new to the book except, perhaps, the spirit in which
they are written. The version has been described as “a
Pharisaic recension of the original work of Ben Sira.”
Back to
text.THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH
The Books of Prophecy
In
ancient times there were prophets of many different religions, men
who claimed to speak in the name of their gods; and not
infrequently they existed in large groups. Thus Elijah had to
confront no less than 450 prophets of Baal on the occasion of the
contest on Mount Carmel (
1 Kings 18). There were similar groups of prophets
who spoke in the name of Yahweh. These prophets experienced
ecstasies and trances often induced by the playing of music
(
1 Sam 10:5),
and seem to have been organized into communities (
2 Kings
2:3–18).
The prophets, however, whom we know by name
and whose actions are recorded in the Bible, were very different
from these and their influence on Israel was much more profound. So
far from their seeking prophecy as a profession, it was imposed on
them by God and they could not refuse (
Jer 1:9;
Amos 3:8). So far from their trying by fair words to
please their hearers, they often had to announce approaching
disaster as punishment for sin. Not only their words, their whole
life was given up to the ministry, and they had to lead a life of
great penance and sacrifice often ending in violent death. The
prophet received an inner, wordless message, which he was then
compelled to communicate, sometimes in lyric poetry, sometimes in
prose, often making use of parables, allegories, and symbolic
actions. When disaster had fallen on the nation, then the role of
the prophet changed from one of threat to one of consolation
(
Is 40ff.). It
was in such times as these that many Messianic prophecies were
uttered, foretelling the coming of God’s kingdom in
“the last days” heralded by God’s anointed or
“messiah.” The character and mission of Christ are
vividly portrayed in Isaiah and even his sufferings are there
described, though it does not follow that those who first heard the
prophecies understood all that was being said. Many prophecies were
fully understood only when they came to pass.
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH
Isaiah, the greatest of all the prophets,
lived at a critical time in Israel’s history. The very
existence of the people was threatened by the king of Assyria in
the latter part of the eighth century B.C. The well-known and
beautiful Immanuel prophecies (chapters
6–12) were uttered on occasions of great
national danger when Judah was ruled by an unworthy
king—Ahaz. Under his successor, Hezekiah, a good and prudent
king, Isaiah, who was himself of noble birth, occupied a position
of influence in promoting religious reform, and many of his
prophecies are to be ascribed to this period. He was by now a
national figure with a large following. He appears last of all in
the great crisis of 701 B.C. when, as he had promised, Jerusalem
was saved from destruction by the Assyrians.
His prophecies are distinguished both for
their poetical quality and for the elevation of their thought. The
monotheism of Isaiah is declared in eloquent terms. Likewise, his
Messianic predictions attain a clarity that has induced some to
give him the title of “evangelist.” The second part of
the book (chapters
40–55), quite different from the first and
perhaps even more sublime, is generally held now not to be by
Isaiah himself but by a later prophet writing at the time of the
Exile, doubtless a member of the Isaian school and following in his
tradition. These chapters are remarkable for the words of comfort
and encouragement they contain and perhaps even more for the
remarkable “Servant Songs,” prophecies about the
Messiah to come, foretelling his sufferings. The remaining chapters
(
56–66)
contain a varied selection of prophecies of different dates.
Back to
text.*
Is
2:2–4:Note the universalism of this prophecy.
*
Is
6:1–13:This vision stresses the solemnity of the
prophet’s calling. The “
Holy, holy,
holy” is fittingly included in the Mass. The vision also
serves to introduce the Immanuel prophecies.
*
Is
7:14,
virgin or
young woman:The Hebrew word
‘almah is not explicit. The Greek translates
this as
parthenos, “virgin,”
and may be regarded as a witness to later Jewish tradition as to
the meaning of the prophecy. The virginal conception is, of course,
unequivocally stated in the Gospel where this prophecy is quoted
(
Mt 1:23;
cf. also
Lk
1:35).
*
Is
9:6:Passage selected for the Introit of the Mass of Christmas
Day, showing that the Church regards these words as being fulfilled
in Jesus Christ.
*
Is
11:2:The enumeration of the “gifts of the Holy
Spirit” is taken from this passage.
*
Is
40:1:Here begins the “Book of the Consolation of
Israel,” as it has been beautifully called. It was written to
comfort and console the people in their exile in Babylonia.
*
Is
42:1–4:The “Servant of Yahweh” is here
introduced. This and three other prophecies (
49:1–6;
50:4–9;
52:13—53:12)
depict the Messiah in a new light, giving details of his meekness
and suffering.
*
Is
53:4–6:The doctrine of vicarious atonement is the unique
characteristic of this prophecy. We find it in the New Testament in
all its fulness.
*
56 to the end:These prophecies were probably uttered
in the difficult days of the return from exile, about the year 538
B.C.
THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH
*Jeremiah, sometimes called a prophet of
doom, lived at the most tragic period of Israel’s history,
during which Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar and the
people were carried off into captivity. He was of a priestly family
and he makes it clear in his book that he obeyed God’s call
to prophesy most reluctantly. It was his task, under the
circumstances, to preach repentance and prophesy destruction if
repentance was not forthcoming. But his words fell on deaf ears. In
so far as the people heard at all, it was only to resent what he
said and make him suffer for it. As the prophet was of a specially
sensitive and affectionate nature, his sufferings were all the more
acute.
He did not always prophesy doom. Thus in
31:31–34,
he foretells the new covenant in terms that remind us of passages
in the prophet Isaiah. His words may not have had much effect
during his lifetime but after his death his influence was
considerable, as was the case with other prophets also; cf.
Mt
23:29–30. Not all the prophecies in the book are from
Jeremiah himself but some have been inserted later. An important
feature of the book is the quantity of biographical material, which
tells us a great deal about the prophet.
Back to text.*
Jer
1:6:Typically, Jeremiah is reluctant to accept an office for
which he feels himself ill suited, and which, he foresees, can
bring nothing but suffering and disappointment.
*
Jer
3:16:The ark must have been destroyed at the same time as the
temple in 586 B.C. In the Messianic times the presence of the Lord
will not be restricted to the ark of the covenant; cf.
Rev 21:22.
*
Jer
7:4:Trust in the temple’s presence without true service
of God and observance of his commands is vain, just as earlier a
similar trust in the presence of the ark was fruitless without
moral observance;
1
Sam 4:3.
*
Jer
13:1–11:Note here and elsewhere the use of symbolic
action throughout Jeremiah’s ministry.
*
Jer
30:8:The new covenant and the restoration.
*
Jer
35:1This chapter is our chief source of information about the
little-known sect of Rechabites; cf.
2 Kings
10:15–16,
23. They obeyed what they felt to be a call to serve
God in the wilderness and desert places. The ancient nomad life
during the Exodus was always looked back to as the time of the
greatest fidelity to God.
THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH
*This book is traditionally ascribed to Jeremiah but
is probably not all by him. It seems rather to have been composed
by more than one author, though at about the same period of the
siege and exile. The poems, written in the rhythm known as
qinah, were probably composed for the
liturgical services that continued to be held on the site of the
temple.
Back to
text.THE BOOK OF BARUCH
*This book, one of the deuterocanonical books, is
not extant in Hebrew and is placed here after Lamentations in the
Latin Vulgate. It is said to have been composed by Baruch at
Babylon during the Exile, but in fact the evidence indicates rather
that some of it was composed about the second or even first century
B.C. The material may well have been composed at different periods,
and the final editing have taken place toward the time of Christ.
The particular value of the book is that it gives an insight into
Jewish life in the Dispersion.
Back to text.THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL
*The beginning of Ezekiel’s ministry
overlapped the end of that of Jeremiah and the prophet is concerned
with the same evils. But his style and matter are very different.
Ezekiel was a priest and mainly concerned with the temple worship
and the observances of the law. His description of the future
temple should be compared with that in
Rev 21. Ezekiel performs
a great variety of symbolic actions—as did Jeremiah on a
smaller scale. Ezekiel’s visions make one think of
apocalyptic writing, e.g., Daniel and Revelation. He does not
enlarge greatly on Messianic themes. He speaks of a new covenant
(
16:60) and,
like Jeremiah, of personal responsibility (
chapter 18). Above all,
he insists on the need for interior renewal, and thus prepares the
way for the teaching of Christ.
Back to text.*
Ezek
1:5,
four living creatures:The
description recalls the Assyrian
karibu:
statues of animals with human heads guarding the palace at Nineveh.
Here these creatures are pressed into the service of Yahweh. They
are met again in
Rev
4:6–8. The point of the vision is
that Yahweh is not tied to Jerusalem and could follow his people
into exile.
*
Ezek 1:28,
the glory of the
Lord:The luminous cloud, or shekinah (
Ex 24:16), that normally
dwelt in the temple.
*
Ezek 8:14,
weeping for
Tammuz:A vegetation god known as Adonis to the Phoenicians. He
was supposed to die in the summer and come to life again in the
spring. Women wept at the time of his departure to the
underworld.
*
Ezek 14:12–23:The Lord stresses individual
responsibility rather than collective responsibility. It had been
taken for granted that some just men would have to suffer in a
group or city with the guilty majority.
*
Ezek 14:14,
Daniel:It is
possible that this refers to Danel, an ancient Phoenician sage
known to us from the Ras Shamra literature. It is unlikely that
Ezekiel would have been speaking of Daniel the prophet as the other
names in this passage are both of more ancient personages.
Moreover, the spelling of the name in the book of Ezekiel is
different from the spelling used in the book of Daniel.
*
Ezek 26:The city of Tyre, in those days an island
and one of the richest cities in the East, was regarded as
impregnable from the landward side. In this instance the siege
lasted thirteen years but remained indecisive, as Nebuchadnezzar
had no fleet. We must, therefore, regard the prophet’s
language here as rhetorical rather than historical; cf.
29:18.
*
Ezek 37:1,
full of
bones:This vision foretells the restoration of Israel after the
Exile (
verse
12). It has sometimes been thought, wrongly, to foretell the
resurrection of the body.
*
Ezek 38–39:Gog and Magog. Gog—an obscure
name probably meaning “darkness”—here represents
the forces of evil. He is destroyed by Yahweh. Magog probably means
no more than “land of Gog.” The names appear to be used
here as ciphers for Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon.
*
Ezek 40–48. In these chapters Ezekiel
describes the new temple and its worship. The passage is not meant
to be taken historically and, in fact, the later builders of the
temple made no attempt to take it literally. The prophet is
referring to the Messianic times in symbolic language.
THE BOOK OF DANIEL
*The book is composed of two distinct parts. In the
first, there are stories about Daniel in the time of the Babylonian
Empire; in the second, there are a number of apocalyptic visions
ascribed to Daniel and foretelling the future. The stories of the
first part may be based on original material dating from the time
of Daniel but must have been written down later, as they betray an
unfamiliarity with the history of the period. Likewise, the visions
of the second part are predominantly concerned with the later Greek
Empire and it is unlikely that they were composed before that time.
Their literary form, too, corresponds to the apocalyptic style of
literature common in the second century B.C. The Greek version has
some portions not in the Hebrew or Aramaic and these are accepted
as canonical by the Catholic Church. They are:The Prayer of Azariah
and the Song of the Three Young Men (
3:1–68); Susanna
(chapter 13); Bel and the Dragon (chapter
14). In the rest of the
book there are some parts written in Aramaic, thus suggesting a
rather late date.
In the first part of the book, the main
purpose is to exalt the God of Israel over the gods of the pagans
through the experiences of the prophet Daniel. In the second part,
the aim is equally to exalt the God of Israel, but this time it is
done through a series of visions in which many prophecies are
made—the chief of which is the seventy weeks of years until
the coming of the Messiah (
9:24). The author aims at sustaining the faith of
the people of God during difficult times culminating in the
persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes.
Back to text.*
Dan
1:8,
would not defile himself:When the
Greek persecution broke out, the king tried to get the Jews to
break their laws about food and drink, and such breaches of the law
were taken to be apostasy; cf.
2 Mac 6:18—7:42.
*
Dan
3:23:After this verse the section (sixty-eight verses) printed
in italics is contained only in the Greek. It is here translated
from Theodotion’s version. Concordance of verse
numberings:
RSVVulgate
1–2824–51
29–3052
3153
3255
3354
3456
3557
3659
3758
38–4560–67
4668–69
4771
4872
49–5070
51–6873–90
*
Dan
3:68:The reader will notice that the roman figures used for the
remaining verses of this chapter take up again the numbering of the
protocanonical text. Verses
24–30 are numbered 91–97 in the Greek
and Vulgate; they are written in Aramaic, not Hebrew.
*
Dan
4:1–3:These verses correspond to 3:31–33 in the
Aramaic and to 3:98–100 in the Greek and Vulgate. The chapter
is considerably longer in the Greek than in the Aramaic.
*
Dan
4:8,
Belteshazzar:The name given to
Daniel means “May Bel protect his life.”
*
Dan
4:13, a
watcher, a holy one:An angel,
so called because he is ever watchful to serve God. In
Ezek 1:18 the wheels
representing angels are said to be full of eyes.
*
Dan
5:1,
Belshazzar:He was the son of
Nabonidus and was never in fact king.
*
Dan
5:31,
Darius the Mede:Nothing is known
in history of this person. The Persians, moreover, had already
conquered the Medes before taking Babylon.
*
Dan
7:8,
another horn, a little
one:Antiochus Epiphanes, who originally was of no
importance.
*
Dan
7:13, a
son of man:The same title with
which God addressed Ezekiel. Here it means someone who is more than
human.
*
Dan
9:24–27:Prophecy of the seventy weeks. The prophecy, made
to encourage the Jews in time of persecution, looks to the future
Messianic age in the time of the end; cf.
12:9. The seventy weeks are seventy seven-year
periods, i.e., 490 years. But we can hardly take it as an exact
historical period. Its immediate application seems to be to the
period 170–163 B.C., i.e., from the beginning of the
persecution of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes to the purification
of the temple and the death of Antiochus.
*
Dan
10–12:Summary of the history of the Persian and Greek
periods down to Antiochus Epiphanes and thence to the time of the
end.
*
Dan
13:1:The story of Susanna, here translated from the Greek of
Theodotion, is accepted by the Catholic Church as canonical
Scripture and placed among the deuterocanonical writings. It is
prefixed to the book of Daniel in the Septuagint Greek, but in the
Vulgate Latin it is placed here as chapter 13.
*
Dan
14:1:Bel and the Dragon. These stories, here translated from
the Greek of Theodotion, are added at the end of Daniel by both
Greek and Vulgate. The latter treats the appendix as chapter 14,
but attaches verse 1 to the preceding chapter as 13:65.
The Books of the Minor Prophets
These twelve are grouped together both in
the Hebrew and in the Greek. The only reason for this seems to be
that the books happen to be short. They are not “minor”
in any other way; their religious value is great. They do not
belong to any one historical period, and they range from Amos
(eighth century B.C.) to Malachi, Joel, Obadiah, and Jonah (fifth
to fourth century B.C.). They are here arranged according to their
traditional order in the Hebrew, which is not the same as their
historical order. The Latin Vulgate also follows the order of the
Hebrew.
THE BOOK OF HOSEA
*Hosea (Osee) preached and prophesied during the
century—the eighth—that saw the decline and final
destruction of the northern kingdom. It was a period of both moral
and material dissolution, and it is this that gives his prophecy
its peculiar characteristics. Hosea seems to take occasion of his
own unhappy marriage to draw a parallel between it and the
relationship between God and his unfaithful spouse Israel. He
attacks passionately the moral evils and the injustice of the
society in which he lives. Above all, he condemns the idolatry
rampant everywhere, as well as the debased Yahweh worship. Israel
will be punished, but after repentance the people will be welcomed
back to their God.
Back to text.THE BOOK OF JOEL
*Joel prophesied about four centuries later than
Hosea, during the postexilic period. He foretells a plague of
locusts as punishment and speaks threateningly of the “day of
the LORD”; but then at once declares the Lord to be merciful
and kind to those who repent. Toward the end of chapter 2 the style
becomes apocalyptic and he speaks of the outpouring of the Spirit
upon the people in the Messianic age. This was fulfilled (
Acts 2:16–21) at
Pentecost.
Back to
text.THE BOOK OF AMOS
*Amos was a shepherd of Judah called suddenly by God
to denounce social corruption and injustice in the northern kingdom
during the reign of Jeroboam II (eighth century B.C.). It was a
time of great material luxury and worldly splendor, and the
pastoral origins of the prophet contrasted strongly with the
sophisticated decadence which, together with the people’s
infidelity, he denounced. He foretells the “day of the
L
ORD,” a time of punishment for
men’s sins, but holds out a hope of God’s mercy to
“the remnant of Joseph” (
5:15). Some of the prophecies are probably of
a later age.
Back to
text.THE BOOK OF OBADIAH
*The book of Obadiah (Abdias) is so short that it is
difficult to be certain of its date and character. It is a tirade
against the people of Edom, who are told not to exult over the
misfortune of Jerusalem, for they shall be utterly destroyed, while
a remnant from Israel shall survive. It seems to apply to the
situation of the postexilic period when the surrounding nations,
including Edom, had partly occupied the vacant territory of Judah.
Back to
text.THE BOOK OF JONAH
*The Book of Jonah (Jonas) is set in the reign of
Jeroboam II (eighth century B.C.), but the book was probably
written long after the Exile. This suggests that it is not meant to
be taken historically, although the central figure, Jonah, is
mentioned in
2
Kings 14:25 and appears to have been a well-known prophet of
the time. In this story the writer, making use of many improbable
details, teaches that God is merciful even in his punishments, if
only his people will repent; and so far from being the God of
Israel alone, he is prepared to extend his mercy to others,
provided they possess or acquire the necessary dispositions of
heart. Our Lord himself quotes the conversion of the Ninevites and
the three days Jonah spent inside the great fish (
Mt
12:38–41), but this is not a testimony to its historical
character. He is concerned rather with its teaching.
Back to text.THE BOOK OF MICAH
*Micah lived and prophesied at about the same time
as Isaiah, in the kingdom of Judah. Like his contemporaries, he
denounces the evils of his age, which he contrasts dramatically
with the requirements of God:“to do justice, and to love
kindness, and to walk humbly” with God (
6:8). He foretells
God’s punishments, even the fall of Jerusalem (
3:12). At the same time
he prophesies, like Isaiah, that a remnant shall be saved (chapters
4–5) and
speaks of the Messiah to come (
5:2).
Back to text.THE BOOK OF NAHUM
*The opening words of the Book of Nahum announce the
central theme—the coming destruction of Nineveh, the great
oppressor of God’s people. The passion with which this lyric
poetry is imbued is explained by the tyranny endured for so long by
Israel. But the deliverance announced will not, unfortunately, be
of long duration. The fall of Nineveh (612 B.C.) will be followed
by the fall of Jerusalem, but that is not part of the
prophet’s message.
Back to text.THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK
*There is not much evidence for the date of the Book
of Habakkuk (Habacuc), but it is likely that the prophet is
speaking against the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed
Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The book starts with a dialogue between the
prophet and God—the prophet complaining, and the Lord
explaining and foretelling the coming destruction of the oppressor.
All this took place probably before the fall of Jerusalem. Habakkuk
has some originality; he asks God to explain his thought:for
example, why does he punish his erring people by a nation more
wicked than itself? And hence, why does wickedness seem to triumph?
This is the problem found all through the Old Testament.
Back to text.THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH
*Zephaniah (Sophonias) prophesied shortly before the
religious reform of Josiah, i.e., about the year 630 B.C., and he
proclaims in clarion tones the “day of the L
ORD,” when his people will be crushed by
their enemies because of their sins; cf. Amos. The words of
Zephaniah (
1:15) remind one of the
Dies
irae, which seems to have drawn its imagery from here. The
prophet foretells punishment not only for Judah but also for the
nations round about (
2:4–15). Then, after more threats against
Jerusalem (
3:1–8), he utters consolations (
3:9–20):the people
will be restored, but chastened and humble. The reform of Josiah
was too short-lived to affect the results of these
prophecies—the Exile and the return followed within the
century.
Back to
text.THE BOOK OF HAGGAI
*Haggai (Aggeus) is the first of the postexilic
prophets and differs considerably from the earlier. No longer do we
read threats of punishment for sin or words of consolation. The
people need to be helped in their work of restoration and
encouraged to persevere. Haggai first insists that the temple must
be built before they think of anything else. This is to be the
focal point of their life, as it was in the past, and they cannot
hope for any prosperity without it. In spite of its humble
appearance, the Spirit of God will rest upon it and the
“latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the
former, says the L
ORD of hosts”
(
2:9).
Back to text.THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH
*Zechariah (Zacharias) prophesied at the same time
as Haggai, about 520 B.C. and, like him, exhorted the people to
press on with the building of the temple, but he goes on to develop
the plans for the national restoration. He speaks in terms of a
Messianic era in which the priesthood is supreme but the royal
prerogatives are possessed by “the Branch” (
6:12), a Messianic term
for Zerubbabel. Chapters
1–8 relate a series of visions and are
apocalyptic in tone. The second part (chapters
9–14) is quite
different, and consists of a collection of prophecies dating from
the fourth century and edited later during the Greek period. These
are chiefly noteworthy for the Messianic passages in them,
especially
9:9,
fulfilled on Palm Sunday, and
12:10:“when they look on him whom they
have pierced, they shall mourn.”
Back to text.THE BOOK OF MALACHI
The name Malachi (Malachias) merely means
“my messenger,” and the book is probably anonymous. Its
contents suggest that the historical context is the period of Ezra
and Nehemiah. The theme is the love of God for his people in spite
of their backsliding. Both priests and people are guilty of not
offering a clean sacrifice—and in
1:11 is the prophecy of
the universal sacrifice, relating evidently to Messianic times. The
prophet also denounces marriages with Gentiles and the practice of
divorce. He goes on to proclaim the “day of the
L
ORD,” “great and
terrible.” Like many prophets, he does not distinguish
between the first and second coming.
Back to text.The First and Second Books of the
Maccabees
1 Maccabees deals with the history of the
Jews in Palestine during the forty years from the accession of the
Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes to the death of Simon in 134 B.C.
It was a life–and-death struggle between the Jews and the
Syrians who wanted to impose Greek religion and culture on them.
The book recounts the heroic deeds of the three great leaders,
Judas Maccabeus and his brothers Jonathan and Simon, who were in
turn at the head of the Jewish people until death overtook them. It
was written with a strong religious purpose, and the high point is
reached with a description of the rededication of the temple.
Originally written in Hebrew about the year 100 B.C. the book now
exists only in a Greek translation.
2 Maccabees is quite different. It is not a
continuation of 1 Maccabees but concentrates on the period of about
fifteen years covered by 1 Maccabees, chapters 1–7. It aims
at bringing out even more strongly the religious lessons of the
time, and the story is written in a way that is more like a sermon
than a history. The historical facts are arranged to suit the
religious purpose of the book. Several passages in the work are
well known in reference to particular doctrines, e.g., the
resurrection of the body (
7:9, 11;
14:46); rewards and punishments after death
(
6:26);
prayers for the dead (
12:42–45); the intercession of the saints
(
15:12–16).
Back to text.THE FIRST BOOK OF THE MACCABEES
*
1
Mac 4:29:Vulgate has “Judea” for
Idumea and “Beth-horon” for
Beth-zur.*
1
Mac 5:35:Vulgate reads “Maspha” (i.e., Mizpah) for
Alema; cf. note
b.*
1
Mac 5:66, 68:Vulgate has “aliens” and
“strangers” for
Philistines,
and “Samaria” for
Marisa; cf.
note
c.
THE SECOND BOOK OF THE MACCABEES
*
2
Mac 4:29:Vulgate reads:“And Menelaus was removed from the
priesthood, Lysimachus his brother succeeding:and Sostratus was
made governor of the Cyprians.”
*
2
Mac 4:34,
put him out of the
way:Vulgate has “slew him.”
*
2
Mac 7:9,
to an everlasting renewal of
life:Vulgate has:“in the resurrection of eternal
life.”
*
2
Mac 12:45:Vulgate has (verses 45–46):“
45And because he considered that they who had
fallen asleep with godliness had great grace laid up for them.
46It is therefore a holy and wholesome
thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from
sins.”
New Testament
Matthew
*
Mt 1:1:The genealogy is given to show that Jesus had
the descent required for Messiahship, i.e., from Abraham and, in
particular, from David the King.
*
Mt 1:16:Joseph’s, not Mary’s, descent is
given here, as the Jews did not usually reckon descent through the
mother. Joseph was the legal and presumed father, and it was this
fact that conferred rights of inheritance, in this case, the
fulfilment of the Messianic promises.
*
Mt 1:25:This means only that Joseph had nothing to
do with the conception of Jesus. It implies nothing as to what
happened afterward.
*
Mt 3:2:
Repent implies an
internal change of heart.
*
Mt 3:6:Not a Christian baptism but a preparation for
it.
*
Mt 3:15:Though without sin, Jesus wished to be
baptized by John, as this was the final preparation for his mission
as Messiah.
*
Mt 5:17:Jesus came to bring the old law to its
natural fulfilment in the new, while discarding what had become
obsolete; cf.
Jn
4:21.
*
Mt 5:29:An exaggeration to emphasize the need to
avoid occasions of sin.
*
Mt 5:32,
unchastity:The
Greek word used here appears to refer to marriages that were not
legally marriages because they were either within the forbidden
degrees of consanguinity (
Lev 18:6–16) or contracted with a Gentile. The
phrase
except on the ground of unchastity
does not occur in the parallel passage in
Lk 16:18. See
also
Mt
19:9 (
Mk
10:11–12), and especially
1 Cor 7:10–11, which shows that the
prohibition is unconditional.
*
Mt 6:6:This does not, of course, exclude public
worship but ostentatious prayer.
*
Mt 8:3:The miracles of Jesus were never performed to
amaze people and shock them into belief. They were worked with a
view to a real strengthening of faith in the recipient or beholder,
from whom the proper dispositions were required.
*
Mt 8:29,
before the
time:Before the day of judgment the demons are permitted by God
to tempt men and even to possess them.
*
Mt 10:5:The gospel, the Messianic salvation, had
first to be preached and offered to the chosen people, Israel.
Later it would be offered to the Gentiles.
*
Mt 11:3:The Baptist expected more obvious signs of
the Messiah. By quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus showed that he
was indeed inaugurating the Messianic kingdom—but by doing
good rather than by glorious manifestations or sudden
punishments.
*
Mt 11:27:This shows a profound relationship between
the Son and the Father, far superior to adoptive sonship.
*
Mt 12:14:The Pharisees regarded healing as work and
so forbade it on the sabbath.
*
Mt 12:24,
Beel-zebul:Name of
a Canaanite god meaning “the Prince-god.” The Jews
interpreted this name as “Prince of demons,” because
for them all false gods were demons. The form
“Beel-zebub” is a contemptuous adaptation meaning
“Lord of the flies.”
*
Mt 12:31:To attribute to the devil the works of the
Holy Spirit seems to imply a hardness of heart that precludes
repentance.
*
Mt 12:48:Jesus puts the work of salvation before
family relationships. It is not said, however, that he refused to
see them.
*
Mt 13:12:To those well-disposed Jews who have made
good use of the old covenant will now be given the perfection of
the new. On the other hand, from those who have rejected
God’s advances will now be taken away even that which they
have, because the old covenant is passing away.
*
Mt 13:52:This is Matthew’s ideal:that the
learned Jew should become the disciple of Jesus and so add the
riches of the new covenant to those of the old, which he already
possesses; cf.
verse 12.
*
Mt 14:33:Their realization of his Godhead was the
prelude to Peter’s confession of faith at Caesarea Philippi
(
Mt
16:16).
*
Mt 15:5:By dedicating his property to God, i.e., to
the temple, a man could avoid having to help his parents, without
actually giving up what he had. The scribes held such a vow to be
valid without necessarily approving it.
*
Mt 16:14:The title of prophet had a Messianic
significance because the gift of prophecy, which had been extinct
since Malachi, was expected to return at the beginning of the
Messianic era, especially by an outpouring of the Spirit as
foretold by the prophet Joel and as realized in
Acts 2:16.
*
Mt 16:16:The context shows that Peter recognizes the
sonship of Jesus as divine and not adoptive like ours. Mark and
Luke in the parallel passages mention only the confession of the
Messiahship.
*
Mt 16:18:The name “Peter” comes from the
Greek word for “rock.” Jesus makes him the foundation
on which the church is to be built. The word “church”
means “assembly” or “society” of believers.
The Hebrew equivalent is used in the Old Testament to indicate the
chosen people. In applying it to the church, Jesus shows it to be
the Messianic community foretold by the prophets.
*
Mt 16:19,
the kingdom of
heaven:Peter has the key to the gates of the city of God. This
power is exercised through the church. “Binding” and
“loosing” are rabbinic terms referring to
excommunication, then later to forbidding or allowing something.
Not only can Peter admit to the kingdom; he also has power to make
authoritative decisions in matters of faith or morals.
*
Mt 16:26,
life (both
times):A play on the word “life”—natural and
supernatural; cf.
Mk
8:35–36.
*
Mt 17:4:Peter thought the glorious Messianic kingdom
had come. In fact, Jesus allowed this glimpse of his glory to
strengthen them for the coming passion.
*
Mt 18:9:Gehenna (see footnote
b) was the name of a valley south of Jerusalem
where human sacrifice had once been practiced; cf.
2 Chron 33:6. Later
it became a cursed place and a refuse dump, and the name came to
symbolize the Christian place of punishment.
*
Mt 18:18:To the other apostles is given a share in
the authority given to Peter.
*
Mt 19:9:This appears to refer to the case in
Mt 5:32,
though the Greek word for “except” is different.
*
Mt 19:11–12:Jesus means that a life of
continence is to be chosen only by those who are called to it for
the sake of the kingdom of God.
*
Mt 21:9:The crowd openly recognizes Jesus as the
Messiah and he allows it for the first time.
*
Mt 21:23:They object to the assumption of authority
implicit in the manner of his entry into the city and in his
expulsion of the sellers from the temple.
*
Mt 21:33–44:This parable is really an allegory
in which almost every detail represents something in God’s
dealings with Israel.
*
Mt 22:11:The wedding garment represents the
dispositions necessary for admission to the kingdom.
*
Mt 23:5,
phylacteries:Little
leather boxes containing, on a very small scroll, the principal
words of the law; cf.
Deut 6:4–9. Taking the command literally, they
fastened these to their arms and their foreheads.
*
Mt 23:9:i.e., “Do not use the title without
reference to God’s universal fatherhood.” He cannot
mean that the title is never to be used by a son to his
father.
*
Mt 24:1—25:46:The “Eschatological
Discourse,” as it is called, deals with the fall of Jerusalem
and the end of the world. The two themes seem to be inextricably
intermingled in the Gospel as we now have it, but it is possible
that originally they were in separate discourses. However, the
fusion of the two does bring out their connection. The one
prefigures the other. Moreover, in the reverse direction, so to
speak, the language used to describe the day of the Lord in Joel
and elsewhere is here applied to the fall of Jerusalem, the details
of which must therefore not be taken too literally (
24:29).
*
Mt 26:17:The passover supper was eaten this year on
the Friday evening (
Jn 18:28). Jesus must have anticipated the passover
meal because he would be dead the following day and because the
meal prefigured his death.
*
Mt 26:26:The details of the Eucharist are
superimposed on the ritual of the passover.
*
Mt 26:51:It was Peter, as John in his later Gospel
tells us (
Jn
18:10), though Matthew is reluctant to say so.
*
Mt 26:59:They sought evidence against him and this
was necessarily false.
*
Mt 26:64–65:For the first time Jesus speaks
clearly of his own identity. Caiaphas evidently understands him to
claim divinity.
*
Mt 27:66:The sealing and guarding only helped to
make the subsequent resurrection more obvious.
*
Mt 28:1–20:The resurrection appearances. There
are divergent traditions in the gospels, Galilean and Judean. Paul
adds his own record (
1 Cor 15). The accounts do not easily fit together,
but this is surely evidence of their genuineness. There is no
attempt to produce an artificial conformity.
Mark
*
Mk
1:34:Throughout his ministry Jesus forbade the demons and those
he healed of their infirmities to reveal his identity as Messiah,
because the people, with their ideas of a national leader to come,
were only too prone to mistake his true mission.
*
Mk
2:14,
Levi:Mark does not identify him
with Matthew the apostle; cf.
Mt 9:9.
*
Mk
4:12,
so that...:One might rephrase
this:“so that the Scripture might be fulfiled”; cf.
Jn 18:32;
19:24,
28. It was not
God’s intention to prevent their understanding. Matthew
avoids this difficulty by writing, “I speak to them in
parables,
because seeing they do not
see”
Mt 13:13).
*
Mk
5:43:Knowing their nationalistic views about the Messiah to
come, Jesus wished to avoid a tumult.
*
Mk
7:3:Mark, writing for Gentiles, explains these Jewish
customs.
*
Mk
10:24,
amazed at his words:The Old
Testament often records God’s offers of material rewards for
observance of his laws. This was because the future life was not
yet revealed. It was therefore taken for granted, in spite of
contrary evidence, that riches were a sign of God’s
favor.
*
Mk
10:30:Some of the reward will be given in this life.
*
Mk
14:13:It was unusual for a man to carry water; it was a
woman’s task.
*
Mk
14:51–52:This young man is usually supposed to have been
the evangelist himself.
*
Mk
15:1:The Jews could not execute Jesus without the Roman
governor’s permission.
*
Mk
16:1:There had been no time on the Friday to anoint him before
the sabbath rest.
*
Mk
16:9–20:This passage is regarded as inspired and
canonical Scripture even if not written by Mark. As it is missing
from some important manuscripts, it is possible that Mark did not
write it. On the other hand, he would hardly have left his Gospel
unfinished at verse 8. Many think that the original ending was lost
at a very early date and that this ending was composed at the end
of the apostolic period to take its place.
Luke
*
Lk 1:3:Theophilus is again referred to in
Acts 1:1, but nothing is
known of him.
*
Lk 1:5—2:52:The “Infancy Gospel,”
as it is called, is written in a markedly Semitic style, which
differs from that of the rest of the Gospel. It appears to be based
on the reminiscences of Mary.
*
Lk 1:30:The words of the angel are drawn from
Messianic passages in the Old Testament.
*
Lk 1:34:
How can this
be:alternate reading is
How will this
be.
*
Lk 1:46–55:The Magnificat is based on the Song
of Hannah (
1 Sam
2:1–10), and other Old Testament passages that describe
God’s favor toward Israel and especially toward the poor and
lowly.
*
Lk 1:69,
a horn of
salvation:i.e., a mighty savior.
*
Lk 2:7,
first-born:The term
connotes possession of certain rights, privileges, and obligations;
cf.
Ex
13:1–2,
11–16. The word is used even in modern times
without necessarily implying subsequent births.
*
Lk 2:34,
for the fall:i.e.,
in the sense that by rejecting his claims many would sin
grievously.
*
Lk 2:49:Jesus stresses the priority of his duty to
his Father, which involves a high degree of independence of earthly
ties.
*
Lk 3:7,
brood of vipers:This
epithet seems to have been directed mainly at the Pharisees; cf.
Mt
3:7.
*
Lk 3:23:This genealogy is more universalist than
that of Matthew. Like Matthew, however, it gives the genealogy of
Joseph, though Mary may well have been of the family of
David.
*
Lk 4:16–30:This account of the visit to the
synagogue seems to be composed of the details of more than one
visit. Luke is trying here to underline the contrast between
Christ’s offer of salvation and the people’s refusal of
it.
*
Lk 6:20–49:Luke’s discourse is shorter
than that of Matthew because it does not contain Matthew’s
additional material collected from other occasions, or his details
that would interest only Jews.
*
Lk 7:28:John, by virtue of his office, belonged to
the old dispensation, the time of preparation for the kingdom. In
terms of spiritual status, even the humbler members of the kingdom
were superior to him.
*
Lk 7:47:The preceding parable suggests that she
loved much because she had been forgiven much. Jesus now implies
that her love is a sign rather than a cause of forgiveness, thus
confirming the point of the parable.
*
Lk 8:39:There was no reason for secrecy (to avoid
popular disturbance) in a non-Jewish area.
*
Lk 9:51:Here begins the “Travel
Narrative” of Luke, which continues up to the passion.
*
Lk 9:51, 53:The Samaritans worshiped on Mount
Gerizim, while orthodox Jews, of course, went to Jerusalem, and to
Jerusalem only, for sacrifice.
*
Lk 10:18:Jesus refers to the fall of the angels (cf.
Rev 12:9), while
he speaks of his conquest of the forces of evil.
*
Lk 14:26:Christ’s disciples must be prepared
to part from any one who prevents them from serving him.
*
Lk 16:8:The master commended his foresight without
approving what he actually did.
*
Lk 17:20:At that time many persons were expecting to
see the kingdom inaugurated with striking manifestations; cf.
19:11.
*
Lk 19:41–44:These moving words spoken over the
city are full of scriptural allusions. Moreover, the details given
could apply as well to the siege of 587 B.C. as to that of A.D. 70.
It is not safe, therefore, to argue from this passage that the fall
of the city had already taken place when Luke wrote his
Gospel.
*
Lk 21:24,
the times of the
Gentiles:i.e., those during which the Gentiles will take the
place of the unbelieving people of Israel. Evidently, therefore,
the end of the world does not coincide with the fall of Jerusalem.
St. Paul says that the Jews will be converted before the end
(
Rom
11:26).
*
Lk 22:52:Matthew and Mark describe the arrest first,
before Christ’s words. Luke and John both put his address to
the soldiers and officials before the arrest, doubtless to stress
his command over events.
*
Lk 23:2:They purposely produce political charges, as
these alone would interest Pilate.
*
Lk 23:14:Luke, writing for Gentiles, makes it clear
that Pilate wanted to release Jesus.
*
Lk 23:31:One does not burn green wood. The meaning
is that, if an innocent man is thus punished, what must the guilty
(dry wood) expect?
*
Lk 24:38:Luke stresses this episode for the benefit
of his Greek readers, for whom the resurrection of the body was
both impossible and absurd; cf.
Acts 17:32.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN
*
Jn
1:1:John begins by giving his Gospel a theological background.
By speaking at once of “the Word” he implies that his
readers are familiar with the term. To Gentiles it indicated some
form of divine revelation or self-expression. Jews would equate it
with the divine Wisdom described in Proverbs, which already appears
as something more than a divine quality and has some relationship
with the visible world. In Sirach and Wisdom the idea is further
developed. In the last-named book, Wisdom appears as a pre-existing
person, taking part in the creation of the world and having a
mission to reveal God to his creatures; cf.
Wis
7:22—8:1.
*
Jn
1:5,
light...darkness:One of the
familiar themes of the Gospel.
*
Jn
1:29:John applies to Jesus the Messianic prophecy of
Isaiah 53:6–7,
perhaps worded more explicitly by the evangelist in later
years.
*
Jn
2:4,
What have you to do with me?: What
is that to you or to me? While this expression always implies a
divergence of view, the precise meaning is to be determined by the
context, which here shows that it is not an unqualified refusal,
still less a rebuke.
*
Jn
3:22,
baptized:A baptism like that of
John. The time for baptism “in the Spirit” had not yet
come.
*
Jn
3:24:From the other Gospels we learn that, after John was
arrested, Jesus withdrew from Judea.
*
Jn
4:20,
this mountain:Gerizim, on which
the Samaritans worshiped.
*
Jn
5:18,
broke the sabbath:i.e., broke the
sabbath as interpreted by them; see note on
Mt 12:14.
*
Jn
6:51:Jesus is the “living bread” both as Word of
God (
verses
32ff.) and as sacrificial victim for the salvation of
man.
*
Jn
6:52:A natural question to ask. Jesus answers, not by
explaining it away, but by reemphasizing the reality, though not,
of course, in the crude sense implied in their question.
*
Jn
6:62:When Jesus ascends into heaven they will know that he
spoke the truth.
*
Jn
7:53—8:11:This passage, though absent from some of the
most ancient manuscripts, is regarded as inspired and canonical by
the Church. The style suggests that it is not by St. John, and that
it belongs to the Synoptic tradition.
*
Jn
8:21,
die in your sin:Theirs is that
sin against the truth which is the sin against the Spirit; cf. Mt
12:31.
*
Jn
8:41:They mean, “We are not idolaters,” and protest
their fidelity to God their Father; see notes on
Rev 14:4 and
17:2.
*
Jn
8:56,
he saw it either in prophetic
vision while on earth or by some special privilege after
death.
*
Jn
8:58:The present tense indicates Christ’s eternal
existence as God.
*
Jn
9:3:Jesus explains in advance the purpose of the miracle.
*
Jn
10:14,
the good shepherd:The name has
Messianic significance; cf.
Ezek 34.
*
Jn
10:18:Throughout the Gospel, Jesus insists that he is master of
his own life and no one takes it from him; cf.
18:6 (at his arrest);
19:11 (before
Pilate);
19:30
(on the cross).
*
Jn
11:50:Caiaphas agreed that, as Jesus was not (in their opinion)
the Messiah, any popular insurrection now could end only in
disaster; so it was better, he argued, to do away with him. He was
unconscious of the deeper meaning of his words, namely that Jesus
must die for the salvation of man.
*
Jn
12:1:Here begins the last week of Jesus’ public life.
This is described in great detail, as was the first week in chapter
1.
*
Jn
12:32,
lifted up:i.e., on the cross;
but the words also contain a reference to his going up into heaven.
The two mysteries are inseparable.
*
Jn
13:1:John begins here to unfold the mystery of the love of
Jesus for “his own.” Note the solemn introduction to
the “hour” of his passion and death.
*
Jn
13:34,
new commandment:Jesus gives a
new depth to the familiar commandment of the Old Testament. The
standard now is, “as I have loved you.”
*
Jn
14:26,
all things:After Jesus has gone
to his Father, the Holy Spirit will complete his revelation to the
world.
*
Jn
15:18:Jesus contrasts the love his disciples have with the
hatred the world bears them.
*
Jn
16:10:Jesus is taken from them because they did not receive
him.
*
Jn
17:1–26:The priestly prayer of Jesus, before his
sacrifice.
*
Jn
17:5 declares his pre-existence.
*
Jn
18:13:According to Jewish law the high-priesthood was for life.
The Romans had deposed Annas, the legal holder, in A.D. 15, and
appointed another in his place, but many Jews continued to
recognize Annas.
*
Jn
18:28:They would have contracted a legal impurity by entering
the house of a pagan.
*
Jn
18:31:Crucifixion was a Roman, not a Jewish, punishment.
*
Jn
19:7:At last, because of Pilate’s reluctance, they
produce the real charge.
*
Jn
19:8–9:Pilate is afraid and asks Jesus where he comes
from—not his country, but his mysterious origins, as implied
in the charge.
*
Jn
19:27,
took her to his own home:Joseph
must now have been dead.
*
Jn
20:17:The death and resurrection of Jesus had put an end to the
ordinary familiar relationships of human life, and the time of
lasting companionship had not yet come.
*
Jn
21:15–17:The threefold question addressed to Peter alone
corresponds to the threefold denial. Jesus gives Peter charge over
his flock.
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
*
Acts
1:1,
the first book:i.e., St.
Luke’s Gospel.
*
Acts 1:22:An apostle must be a witness to
Christ’s resurrection.
*
Acts 2:14:Peter assumes the leadership in public. In
this discourse we have the earliest form of the apostolic
preaching.
*
Acts
3:1:In the early days, the first Christians observed the
prescriptions of the Jewish law.
*
Acts
4:2:The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the
dead.
*
Acts 4:32,
everything in
common:They freely shared what was theirs individually; cf.
Acts 5:4.
*
Acts 5:11,
Church:i.e., the
Christian and Messianic community; a term borrowed from the Old
Testament.
*
Acts 5:20,
Life:cf.
Acts 9:2, “the
Way.” These terms recall the words of Jesus, “I am the
way, and the truth, and the life” (
Jn 14:6).
*
Acts
6:1,
Hellenists:Greek-speaking Jews of
the Dispersion, who had their own synagogues in Jerusalem and read
the Scriptures in Greek.
*
Acts 8:20:Hence the word “simony,”
meaning “buying and selling spiritual powers and
privileges.”
*
Acts
9:5:Jesus identifies himself with his followers.
*
Acts 9:13,
saints:i.e.,
Christians, made holy by baptism.
*
Acts 10:16:The vision was to prepare Peter for his
reception of Cornelius the Gentile and his household into the
Church; cf. also
Acts 15.
*
Acts 16:10:This is the first of the passages in Acts
in which the story is told in the first person plural, indicating
that Luke, the author, was there. The manuscript Codex Bezae,
however, has a “we” passage in 11:28.
*
Acts 16:13:Being a Roman colony, Philippi had no
synagogue within its walls.
*
Acts 19:35,
the sacred stone
or statue of the goddess which, according to legend, came down from
heaven. Possibly a meteorite.
*
Acts 20:7:Celebration of the Eucharist on the
Lord’s day, i.e., Saturday evening, according to the Jewish
way of reckoning a day from sunset to sunset.
*
Acts 20:34:Paul insisted on working for his living,
though recognizing the apostle’s right to support by the
faithful; cf.
1 Cor
9:4–7.
*
Acts 21:4,
told Paul not to
go:This was not a command. The Holy Spirit enlightened them
about what lay before Paul and they naturally wished to spare him;
cf.
verse
11.
*
Acts 22:20,
your
witness:Greek, “martyr.” Witnessing by one’s
death (i.e., martyrdom) is the supreme example.
THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS
*
Rom
1:1–7:The opening address and salutation are very much in
the style of contemporary letter-writing, giving the name of the
sender and recipient, and following this with greetings.
*
Rom
1:10:Paul did not found the church at Rome.
*
Rom
1:13,
harvest:Perhaps those who founded
the church at Rome had confined themselves largely to Jews and had
not made much headway with Gentiles.
*
Rom
3:27:Above all, it is faith, not works alone, that will justify
both Jew and Gentile, and (as is made clear later) faith in
Jesus.
*
Rom
5:12:Physical death is a sign of spiritual death; though
physical death remains after justification.
*
Rom
5:15:The
felix culpa praised in the
Exsultet at the Easter Vigil.
*
Rom
6:4,
buried:Immersed in the water of
baptism.
*
Rom
6:15:As before, in the case of the law (
Rom 2:17–29), so
now, in the case of grace, Paul says it is not a license to
sin.
*
Rom
7:13–25:Man under the law of Moses and perhaps man under
the natural law too.
*
Rom
8:19:Material creation, too, shares man’s destiny, made
as it was for him. Many ancient philosophers thought matter to be
evil and that the spirit should be freed from it.
*
Rom
9:19–24:Paul’s words here, taken by themselves,
seem to leave no room for moral responsibility, but they must be
taken in conjunction with other passages; see chapters
1 and
2.
*
Rom
10:1:Paul is afraid he has spoken too strongly of their sins,
so he declares his love for Israel.
*
Rom
14:1—15:13:Paul is tolerant of the Jewish
Christians’ reluctance to abandon the ritual prescriptions of
the law of Moses, while being equally insistent that these shall
not be forced on Gentile Christians.
*
Rom
15:15–16:Paul again justifies his writing to a church he
did not found.
*
Rom
16:16,
All the churches of Christ greet
you:A remarkable salutation, not used elsewhere.
THE FIRST LETTER OF PAUL TO THE
CORINTHIANS
*
1
Cor 1:2,
saints:A word commonly used
for Christians in Paul’s letters and in Acts.
*
1
Cor 1:12,
Cephas:i.e., Peter. It does
not follow from this that he had even been to Corinth, but it does
indicate his authority there.
*
1
Cor 2:1–2:Paul’s failure at Athens convinced him
that lofty words and worldly wisdom were less effective than Jesus
crucified.
*
1
Cor 3:13,
the Day:i.e., the day of the
Lord, God’s searching judgment.
*
1
Cor 3:16,
God’s temple:The
dignity of the Christians.
*
1
Cor 5:1,
father’s wife:Evidently
his stepmother.
*
1
Cor 5:5,
to Satan:Not only
excommunicated, but in some sense given over to suffering, for his
own good.
*
1
Cor 5:11,
guilty of
immorality:Literally, “a fornicator.”
*
1
Cor 6:1,
the unrighteous:i.e., civil
courts in which the judges were, of course, pagan.
*
1
Cor 6:9:
the immoral:literally,
“fornicators.”
*
1
Cor 6:9:
homosexuals:Greek has
“effeminate nor sodomites.” The apostle condemns, not
the inherent tendencies of such, but the indulgence of them.
*
1
Cor 6:12:This saying is possibly an exaggeration of the freedom
from the Mosaic law that Christians enjoyed. The saying has been
applied to sinful practices, as is clear from the following
verses.
*
1
Cor 7:2:Note Paul’s insistence on equality of man and
woman in certain aspects of Christian marriage, and his recognition
that the unmarried state is also a gift from God.
*
1
Cor 8:1–13:Animals sacrificed to pagan gods were often
sold as meat in the market. Could Christians buy such meat? Paul
allows it so long as scandal is avoided.
*
1
Cor 9:3:Paul set great store by the fact that he has earned his
living and waived his right to support by the faithful. He used
this as an authentication of his apostolate.
*
1
Cor 9:5,
wife:Greek, a
“woman,” a “sister.” This could mean either
a woman who is a Christian or a wife who is a Christian. There were
pious women who ministered to the apostles (
Lk 8:3). As many
of the apostles must have been married, they may have been
ministered to by their wives, though it is possible they had left
their wives in answer to the Lord’s command to leave all
(
Lk
18:28–29).
*
1
Cor 10:20:Paul appears to forbid partaking in sacrificial
meals. In
verse
27 he says they may eat meat offered to idols if it is at an
ordinary meal, unless it would cause scandal to anyone
present.
*
1
Cor 11:20:There was apparently a common meal before the
Eucharist at which food and drink were to be shared. Paul condemns
the abuses that had crept in.
*
1
Cor 12:1:The spiritual gifts here referred to were common in
the first age of the Church and helped to establish it on a firm
basis.
*
1
Cor 12:31:Love, however, is far superior to these gifts.
*
1
Cor 15:13:Again, the resurrection of the dead is linked with
Christ’s resurrection; cf.
Rom 8:11.
*
1
Cor 15:29:Apparently a custom of vicarious baptism for those
who had died without it. Paul mentions it without approving
it.
*
1
Cor 16:1:The collection to be made everywhere for the poor
Christians in Jerusalem.
THE SECOND LETTER OF PAUL TO THE
CORINTHIANS
*
2
Cor 3:18:Cleansed in baptism through the power of the Holy
Spirit, our soul shines with the reflected glory of God.
*
2
Cor 4:7,
this treasure:i.e., the
apostolate.
*
2
Cor 4:12:i.e., we suffer, if necessary, even unto death, that
you may have (spiritual) life.
*
2
Cor 5:19:Or, “God was reconciling the world to himself
through Christ.”
*
2
Cor 5:21,
made him to be sin:i.e.,
“sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for
sin, he condemned sin in the flesh” (
Rom 8:3).
*
2
Cor 9:1,
superfluous:Yet Paul goes on
to do so at some length, exhorting them to be generous.
*
2
Cor 10:1:Paul is referring ironically to what some people are
saying about him; see
verse 10.
*
2
Cor 12:7,
a thorn:Perhaps some form of
sickness or disability, or the opposition of Israel to his
teaching.
*
2
Cor 12:13:Paul ironically asks forgiveness for not being a
charge on them as the other apostles were.
THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE GALATIANS
*
Gal
1:6:After the greeting there is no commendation, as was usual,
but rather strong rebuke.
*
Gal
1:10:No doubt Paul was accused of exempting Gentile converts
from the law of Moses in order to curry favor.
*
Gal
2:16,
works of the law:Paul is
contrasting not faith with good works but faith in Jesus Christ
with observance of the law of Moses.
*
Gal
3:2,
Spirit:He probably refers to the
outward manifestations of the Spirit, such as the gift of
tongues.
*
Gal
5:11,
stumbling block of the cross:So
far as the Jews were concerned, this would consist largely in the
exemption of converts from the obligations of the law of
Moses.
THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS
*
Eph
1:1,
To the saints who are:The addition
“at Ephesus” is doubtful. The letter may have been a
form of encyclical.
*
Eph
1:10,
to unite:Or, “to sum
up.” This is one of the chief themes of the letter. Men are
to be under Christ as head of the Mystical Body, and even
irrational creatures must be in some way under him as the
cornerstone of creation.
*
Eph
2:14,
dividing wall:A metaphor taken
from the wall that divided the court of the Gentiles from the court
of the Israelites in the temple.
*
Eph
3:3,
the mystery:i.e., that the
Gentiles were to be admitted to the Church on the basis of
equality.
THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS
*
Phil 1:14,
because of my
imprisonment:i.e., because I continue to preach in their midst,
though in prison.
*
Phil 1:20,
honored in my
body:i.e., through my sufferings.
*
Phil
2:6,
in the form of God:The Greek shows
that divine attributes, and therefore nature, are implied here. It
is not the divine nature he set no store by, but equality of
treatment and recognition of his divinity.
*
Phil
2:7,
emptied himself of this external
recognition, which was his right.
*
Phil 3:12,
made me his
own:On the road to Damascus.
*
Phil 3:19:These Judaizers made holiness a question
of distinction of foods and set great store by circumcision.
THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS
*
Col
1:15,
first-born:Born of the Father
before all ages. The reference here is to the divine person of the
Word; see
verse
16.
*
Col
1:24,
what is lacking:Christ’s
sufferings were, of course, sufficient for our redemption, but all
of us may add ours to his, in order that the fruits of his
redemption be applied to the souls of men.
THE FIRST LETTER OF PAUL TO THE
THESSALONIANS
*
1
Thess 1:1:Paul joins with himself two who had evangelized
Thessalonica with him.
*
1 Thess 2:18,
I, Paul:He
distinguishes himself from Silvanus and Timothy.
*
1
Thess 4:3,
sanctification:With special
reference to the practice of purity, specially difficult to those
newly converted from paganism.
*
1 Thess 4:11:The Thessalonians thought that the
second Coming of Christ was at hand and tended to neglect their
daily duties. He corrects this misconception.
*
1 Thess 4:13:Paul tells them that those who died
before Christ’s second Coming are no worse off than those who
will still be alive at his coming.
*
1 Thess 4:17:i.e., we who are alive shall go out to
meet him and accompany him back on his return to this earth.
THE SECOND LETTER OF PAUL TO THE
THESSALONIANS
*
2
Thess 2:2:Paul warns against over-eagerness to expect the
second Coming, and specifies various signs to be looked for
first.
*
2
Thess 2:7:Evil will operate secretly till the final
unmasking.
THE FIRST LETTER OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY
*
1
Tim 1:2:Timothy, son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, was
already a Christian when Paul met him (
Acts 16:1). A close
association ensued.
*
1
Tim 1:4,
myths and endless
genealogies:A reference to the Jewish legends and spurious
pedigrees added by false Judaizers to the Biblical narratives; cf.
the Book of Jubilees.
*
1
Tim 3:1,
bishop:At this time an office
probably not distinct from that of priest.
*
1
Tim 4:3,
forbid marriage:As some
Gnostics did.
*
1
Tim 4:3,
abstinence from foods:As
practiced by Judaizers.
*
1
Tim 5:3,
real widows:i.e., with no one
to help and support them.
*
1
Tim 5:12:Paul had no objection to widows marrying again; cf.
1 Cor
7:8–9. But the widows here had clearly made some sort of
vow or promise to serve the Church in singleness. Paul recommended
that younger widows should marry again (
verse 14).
THE SECOND LETTER OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY
*
2
Tim 1:15,
Asia:The Roman province of
that name, now in western Turkey.
*
2
Tim 2:18:They explained the resurrection by saying it was the
rising to newness of life in baptism, thus ignoring a bodily
resurrection, a doctrine the Greeks found very hard to accept; cf.
Acts
17:32.
*
2
Tim 3:16:Paul refers to the Old Testament Scriptures.
*
2
Tim 4:6,
on the point of being
sacrificed:Literally, “poured out in sacrifice” as
a drink-offering or libation.
*
2
Tim 4:21,
Linus:According to tradition,
the successor of Peter in the see of Rome.
THE LETTER OF PAUL TO TITUS
*
Tit
1:5,
elders:Each Christian community
was ruled by a body of elders.
*
Tit
2:13,
God and Savior:Both terms appear
to refer to Jesus Christ.
*
Tit
3:5–7:A brief and clear statement of the doctrine of
justification.
THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS
*
Heb
1:1–4:A contrast between the progressive and piecemeal
revelation of the old dispensation and the complete revelation of
the new given by a single representative—no mere prophet but
the Son of God himself.
*
Heb
2:2,
angels:The covenant of Sinai was
thought to have been given through the angels.
*
Heb
2:10,
suffering:The divinely appointed
means of progress toward God; cf. verse
18.
*
Heb
3:11:Those who murmured against God in the desert were excluded
from the promised land (the “rest”). Christians should
beware lest, by offending God, they be excluded from heaven, the
true rest, of which the promised land was a type.
*
Heb
5:1–5:If Jesus was to be mediator, he had to have a human
nature like ours, and, moreover, he could not appoint himself, but
had to be appointed by God.
*
Heb
6:4,
impossible:The apostasy referred
to in
verse 6 is
clearly thought of as so deliberate as to preclude any real
possibility of repentance; or there may be a reference here to the
impossibility of being baptized a second time.
*
Heb
7:3,
without father:i.e., the father is
not mentioned in Scripture.
*
Heb
7:3,
neither beginning of days nor end of
life:So too here, they are not mentioned in Scripture either.
Thus his priesthood can be taken to foreshadow or symbolize the
Christian priesthood. “You are a priest for ever according to
the order of Melchizedek” (
Ps 110:4; cf.
Heb 7:17).
*
Heb
8:11:This verse means merely that knowledge of God will be
commonly shared. It does not exclude the existence of a ministry of
teaching in the Messianic times.
*
Heb
10:1ff.:The sacrifices of the old law, being imperfect, were
repeated and did at least keep alive a sense of sin. Contrast with
Christ’s sacrifice (verse
14).
*
Heb
11:6:Here is stated the minimum necessary for salvation.
*
Heb
12:1ff.:After explaining in the preceding chapters how we are
redeemed through faith in Jesus Christ, the author now exhorts his
readers to run the race with perseverance.
*
Heb
13:13:i.e., “Let us leave the observance of Judaism
behind us.”
THE LETTER OF JAMES
*
Jas
1:1,
twelve tribes:i.e., Jewish
Christians outside Palestine.
*
Jas
1:22:This is the main theme of the letter.
*
Jas
2:1–7:These are hard words, but no harder than those of
Jesus.
*
Jas
2:10:In keeping the law, we must keep
the
whole law. We cannot pick and choose.
*
Jas
2:14:Good works are necessary besides faith.
*
Jas
5:3:The “treasure” they have laid up is described
in the following verses.
*
Jas
5:13–15:This passage is the scriptural basis for the
sacrament of anointing the sick.
THE FIRST LETTER OF PETER
*
1
Pet 1:1:See note on
Jas 1:1. Baptism is the main theme of this letter
which, in fact, may have been a baptismal address.
*
1
Pet 1:11,
Spirit of Christ:Christ, as
the eternally existing Word, is envisaged as inspiring the prophets
of old.
*
1
Pet 3:1–6:Peter’s teaching on the behavior and
status of women corresponds to that of Paul, though without
Paul’s forthrightness.
*
1
Pet 4:1,
ceased from sin:Peter means
that a continual acceptance of suffering is incompatible with a
proneness to sin.
THE SECOND LETTER OF PETER
*
2
Pet 1:4,
partakers of the divine
nature:A strong expression to describe the transformation of
human nature by divine grace.
*
2
Pet 2:3:Much of the material of this chapter appears to be from
the Letter of Jude.
*
2
Pet 3:16,
this seems to refer to the
theme of the end of the world and the second Coming of Christ,
about which Paul had written in his letters to the
Thessalonians.
THE FIRST LETTER OF JOHN
*
1 Jn
1:3,
fellowship:A Johannine
theme.
*
1 Jn
1:5,
light...darkness:Another familiar
theme in John’s Gospel.
*
1 Jn
2:3:Cf. the words of Jesus, “If you love me, you will
keep my commandments” (
Jn 14:15).
*
1
Jn 2:18,
the last hour:John exhorts his
readers to hold fast, as though the end were at hand.
*
1 Jn
3:6,
sins:i.e., remains in sin, or has
a habit of sin.
*
1 Jn
4:1,
test the spirits:i.e., examine
those who claim to have special gifts from the Holy Spirit; cf.
1 Cor
14:32.
*
1 Jn
5:8:This reads as follows in the Vulgate:“
7There are three who give testimony in heaven:the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
8And there are three that give
testimony on earth:the spirit, and the water, and the blood; and
these three are one.” The “Three Heavenly
Witnesses,” as the first sentence is called, is first found
in the Latin (fourth century) and does not appear in any Greek
manuscript until the fifteenth century. It is probably a marginal
gloss that found its way into the text.
THE SECOND LETTER OF JOHN
*
2 Jn
1: The elder:Perhaps the head of the
group or “college” of elders that presided over each
Christian community. John was head not only of the Ephesus
community but of all the communities in the province of Asia.
*
2 Jn
1: the elect lady:Probably not an
individual lady but a particular church or community in Asia.
*
2
Jn 13: children:i.e., the Christians of
Ephesus.
THE THIRD LETTER OF JOHN
*
3
Jn 12: Demetrius:Evidently a leading
Christian, recommended to Gaius.
THE LETTER OF JUDE
*
Jude
6:It is not clear to what Jude refers. Perhaps
Gen 6:2 or the apocryphal
Enoch 6–15.
*
Jude
9:Apparently a reference to another apocryphal work, the
Assumption of Moses.
THE REVELATION TO JOHN
*
Rev
1:4–8:Describes the glorious coming and reign of the
Messiah.
*
Rev
1:13,
Son of man refers to
Dan 7:13. The Messiah is
described in symbolic terms.
*
Rev
2:10,
ten days:Not literally. It means
the persecution will be short.
*
Rev
2:20–21,
immorality here seems to
mean idolatry rather than sexual excess.
*
Rev
2:24,
deep things of Satan:The
doctrines of the Nicolaitans.
They called
them the “deep things of God.”
*
Rev
2:28,
morning star:Probably Christ
himself.
*
Rev
3:12,
new name:cf.
Is 62:2. Perhaps it was
“the Word,” or perhaps it is not to be revealed till
the last day.
*
Rev
4:3:John describes God in symbolic terms.
*
Rev
4:4,
elders:They perform a priestly and
royal task, since they praise God and share in the government of
the world.
*
Rev
4:6,
four living creatures:cf.
Ezek 1:4–25:the
four angels who preside over the government of the world. But in
Christian tradition these symbols are used for the four
evangelists.
*
Rev
4:8,
Holy, holy, holy:Quoted in the
Sanctus at Mass.
*
Rev
5:1,
a scroll:This contained
God’s designs, kept secret till now; being written on both
sides, nothing could be added.
*
Rev
5:6:The seven horns and seven eyes symbolize Christ’s
full power and knowledge.
*
Rev
6:1:Begins the account of the destruction of the Roman Empire
(chapters 6–9).
*
Rev
6:5,
balance:Symbol of famine. The
balance was to measure rations.
*
Rev
7:4,
a hundred and forty-four
thousand:A symbolic number, i.e., twelve (the sacred number)
squared and multiplied by 1,000 to denote a multitude. It is the
Church, the spiritual Israel, that is meant.
*
Rev
7:14,
the great tribulation:The
Neronian persecution?
*
Rev
8:5:Coals from the altar of burnt offering were brought to the
altar of incense.
*
Rev
9:14,
Euphrates:The region of the
Parthians.
*
Rev
10:7,
mystery of God:i.e., the
establishment of the kingdom of God following on the destruction of
Israel’s enemies.
*
Rev
10:9,
bitter...sweet:The scroll related
both the sufferings and the victories of Christ’s
Church.
*
Rev
11:1–19:The Jerusalem here described stands for the
Church, which is to be persecuted by the Romans.
*
Rev
11:2:The three and a half years’ persecution of the Jews
by Antiochus Epiphanes, 168–165
b.c., had become the standard time of a
persecution. Three and a half years equals 42 months equals 1,260
days (
verse
3).
*
Rev
11:3,
two witnesses:As they have yet to
die, possibly they are Elijah and Enoch.
*
Rev
12:1–6:The
child brought forth is
the Messiah; the
dragon is the devil; the
woman who gave birth to the Messiah is
Israel, and then becomes the Christian Church, which continually
gives birth to the faithful.
*
Rev
12:14,
a time, and times, and half a
time:This is the three and a half years of
11:2.
*
Rev
12:17:Mary, the mother of the Messiah, must also be included in
the meaning.
*
Rev
13:1,
a beast:This symbolizes the
material forces of evil, arrayed against the Church.
*
Rev
13:11,
another beast:i.e., the false
prophets.
*
Rev
13:18,
six hundred and sixty-six:The
letters of Nero’s name plus the title of Caesar, given their
numerical meaning in Hebrew and added together, make 666.
*
Rev
14:4:Although tradition tends to take this literally, the
context and Old Testament metaphor suggest that it means they have
kept free from idolatry.
*
Rev
15:3–4:The song of Moses in
Ex 15:1–18 celebrated victory over
Pharaoh. This is seen as foreshadowing the triumph of the
Lamb.
*
Rev
16:14,
the great day:On which all the
Gentile armies shall be gathered to give battle.
*
Rev
18:11–20:The description abruptly assumes the language of
Ezekiel’s prophecy of the destruction of Tyre, another city
notorious for its sins (
Ezek 27:1—28:19).
*
Rev
19:7,
marriage of the Lamb:i.e., final
establishment of the kingdom of God. The spouse is the
Church.
*
Rev
20:3:The destruction of the dragon must coincide in time with
that of the beast (
19:20), so that the first resurrection with the
reign of the martyrs refers to the revival and expansion of the
Church after the years of persecution.
*
Rev
21:1:Creation will be renewed one day, freed from corruption
and illumined by God’s glory.
*
Rev
21:8,
second death:i.e., eternal
damnation.
EXEGETICAL NOTES
THE BOOK OF GENESIS
hSam Gk Syr
Compare Vg: Heb lacks
Let us go out to the
field.
Back to
text.
nCompare
verses 20, 31. Heb lacks
These are the sons of
Japheth.
Back to
text.