Bede

And when you depart from there, and go further, etc. Increasing the course of his teaching, the Savior arrived at the point of revealing to the disciples the secret of his passion, signifying that he was to bestow the gifts of the highest light on the world. Indeed, Thabor, which is a very high mountain and is interpreted as the coming light, in both name and position, smiles upon the mysteries of the life-giving cross, whose sacraments the Lord, revealing them, sought devoutly, and found all the mighty confessors of the Holy Trinity ascending to God in the Church with devout progress, which is Bethel, that is, the house of God; who, according to the grace given to them, some offered the richest remedies of penance for thought, speech, and action; others offered strengthening provisions of Sacred Scripture for the heart of man, revealed by divine gift in a threefold manner; others brought the most fervent cups of compunctive love in earthen vessels of the heart to be dedicated to God. While each in their own rank recognized Christ the Savior and wished for his incarnation to bring about the world's salvation, they gave him a double interpretation of the Scriptures; that after the first reading of the history, which was completed before his incarnation through the law, he might also open the allegorical and anagogical sense, which either pertains to the truth of present grace or to the beatitude of future life, through the act of the assumed dispensation. Surely, he also accepted these loaves from the hand of those who offered when he revealed to the disciples a worthy operation according to merits, so that they might understand the Scriptures. To this, if I am not mistaken, the interpretation of the three loaves rightly resonates; because in the Gospel, the importunate petitioner, urged by necessity, equally seeks and receives three loaves from a faithful friend (Luke 11). And in Leviticus, the loaves to be offered as a sacrifice are commanded to be prepared in three kinds of baking: namely, in the oven, in the pan, and on the griddle (Leviticus 2). We are nourished with the bread baked on the griddle when we receive those things which are openly and literally said or done without any cover to safeguard the soul's health. But with the bread fried in the pan, we seek what is often reviewed and reconsidered in the surface of the letter, to see what in it allegorically suits the mysteries of Christ, the state of the Catholic Church, and the correction of individual morals. Moreover, we seek the bread of the word in the oven when we also comprehend in the anagogical scripture, that is, by the upward lifting intention of the mind, those things which we cannot yet see, but hope to live out in the future.

After these things, you will come to the hill of God, where the station of the Philistines is, etc. Understand the hill of God to be Gabatha, the city which is interpreted as a hill. Therefore, the Lord, coming to the height of His divine majesty to be explained to mortals, which impure spirits brazenly claimed for themselves, took a flock of prophets as companions, helpers, and witnesses of His preaching; just as He Himself taught by reading one of them from Isaiah (Luke IV); those prophets, indeed, were accustomed to return from the hidden summit of the highest glory to the common weaknesses of humanity by both doing and speaking, with their life and their word being like an instrument they played and a song they sang. And beautifully, the flock of prophets descending from the height and prophesying is described not as having musicians behind them, but in front of them. For the teacher is truly shown to have been in the height of divine contemplation, who, condescending to speak to the humble and weak, preaches everything he is going to say, demonstrating by his actions what he will teach by his words, similar to how it is written of the Lord: "Jesus began to do and to teach" (Acts I). Therefore, when the prophets met him, Saul accepted the Spirit of the Lord and prophesied with them, and he was immediately changed into another man. So also our Lord, after revealing the prophecies about Himself from the prophets, openly filled with the spirit of grace and prophecy, that is, preaching the joys to come, took up His ministry. And without delay, as the minds of believers advanced, He was changed from a prophet into the Christ, not by beginning to be what He was not, but by appearing as what He was.

And Saul’s uncle said to him: Tell me, etc. Saul’s uncle who speaks with him here is understood to be Ner, the father of Abner, who was the son of Abiel or Saul. Therefore, the relatives and brothers of the Lord, who were seeking what testimony John had given of him but not yet believing in him, as John the Evangelist testifies; the Lord himself responded, teaching that the entrance of the heavenly kingdom was proclaimed to those repenting by his precursor and promised; but he delayed saying that he was the God and Lord preached by that same precursor, and that he was to be proclaimed king to all nations unsparing and proud. Thus far we have briefly traversed the allegorical exposition of the anointing of Saul concerning the Lord. But also tropologically, that is, according to the rules of moral understanding, each of us keeps simple thoughts and those refreshed by the word of God to bear the burdens of fraternal necessity within the enclosures of our hearts, as if pasturing donkeys prepared for daily work, which namely, the most healthful devotion of thoughts, having been slipped away by some temptation as is usual at the moment, having escaped from watchfulness, broken with the reins of continence, to pursue external and secular things, it is necessary to recall wandering minds with all instant attention and to hasten to return them to the inner manger of heavenly fodder. And because we are not sufficient to do anything of ourselves, as from ourselves, having received the gifts of obedience and humility, let us ascend to hear the word of God, and being raised by his modest consolations, let us acquire that which our weakness could not achieve. And indeed it will come, with the help of divine grace, that not only do we recover the interrupted watchfulness of the mind, but also being enriched with the interest of a more perfect gift, we may begin to hope for the joys of the heavenly kingdom; indeed leading devoted people of God in charity, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, goodness, kindness, faith, modesty, continence, and the other fruits of the Spirit, we may be anointed with the oil of heavenly grace as prince over this inheritance of the Lord; and also to kiss with the prophetic mouth, that is, to receive in our manner the exhortatory admonitions of the holy Scripture, by which the hearts of either ourselves or our neighbors may be comforted.

And Samuel dismissed all the people, etc. Even today, a teacher dismisses the congregation after the sermon is finished, similarly, once the reading of the little script is concluded, he dismisses all the listeners, each to their own conscience, so that they may reconsider what they have heard through meditation, and by acting on what they have meditated, may bring it to perfection. But if anyone is disturbed as to why I have presumed to interpret the deeds of a reprobate king allegorically in relation to Christ, who is the King of Kings, let him know that it is customary for interpreters, indeed it is the essence of the Scriptures, to draw either good from evil or an allegorical form from a good man, where such an order is necessary, impartially. Otherwise, it would never be appropriate to write with black ink, but always with bright gold, or some other honorable form; for God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1). A dark color does not unorderly signify brightness. Accordingly, Blessed Pope Gregory did not doubt to transfer even the anointing of the same Saul, not only to the kingdom of Christ but also his death, which befell because of his sin, to signify allegorically the innocent death of Christ. For you may read his exposition in Job, where he says, "Let the day perish in which I was born." Similarly, concerning King Jehoiachin, who, condemned for his crime, is carried away from Judah to the Chaldeans, he understands it as representing the Lord being transferred from the unbelieving Jews to the salvation of the Gentiles. Likewise, the Church refers all the wisdom, sayings, and actions of Solomon, though he gravely sinned afterwards, to be figures of praises of Christ. Quite a few Church commentators, as the Apostle says, "The rock was Christ," understand the rod that struck the rock as the cross of Christ, and Moses and Aaron, holy men who struck it, as representing the chief priests and doctors of the law, that is, the Pharisees, who crucified the Lord. And if that rock, although offering salutary drinks to the people, a rock nonetheless adhering to the back of the countryside with natural mass, signifies the ineffable gifts of Christ, or that patriarch anointed with holy chrism proclaims the Son of God anointed with the holy oil of the Spirit; or certainly Cyrus, the Persian, though a reasonable man yet wholly alien to the faith and sacraments of Christ, could rightly be consecrated in type or name for the congruity of prefiguring Christ: why could not a man of Christ, consecrated in youth with mystical anointing to Christ, illustrious unto death with the most holy name, predictively proclaim the future deeds of Christ in the flesh through figurative representation? It is also to be noted more attentively that the Scripture itself does not approve of all things it takes up as examples. For it is not to be thought that the wise man preached the art of the Marsi, which is undoubtedly demonic, when he says: "Who shall heal the enchanter bitten by the serpent?" The sense of which saying is, who will correct a teacher deceived by the devil? And if it seems novel to anyone that the same Saul is said to signify both good and evil at the same time, let him see the holy man Isaac blessing his son, but not recognizing the same son, as a type of the Jews, who having long sung of Christ the Savior coming blessed in the name of the Lord, did not recognize Him already present in the flesh by faith. Let him see the same son both blessed by an angel and rendered lame, signifying the Jewish nation, blessed indeed in those who believe in Christ, but lame in those who persecute Christ. And so, through the good, good things, through the evil, evil things, and through the evil, good things are figuratively represented freely according to places and times. However, in the reception of rewards, the good bring only the good things they have done, and the evil bring only the evil things they have done. Just as Ethiopians drawn in black color and a fair Saxon, discerned by their native color, can be easily and without any controversy distinguished, but differently in a painting, where unless each person is transformed into their proper colors as well as forms, the shamelessly deceptive picture, which has promised an image, is accused.

And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, etc. Many faithful men of the Church, united in true love, often consented to serve humbly by obeying teachers, whom they esteemed as wise as serpents in frequent meditation on the Scriptures; but they did not fail to be as doves in keeping ecclesiastical peace. However, because there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, the fabricators of errors and cultivators of perverse doctrines continually revealed themselves, showing that they did not have the enlightened eyes of the heart, nor could it be said of them, "Your eyes are like doves" (Cant. II); but rather they desired to remove the right eyes from all their listeners, that is, the senses of heavenly and supreme contemplation, and to deflect them to see only the left and perverse things, rendering them impotent in the daily battle we wage against spiritual wickedness in high places. For this reason Nahash wanted to gouge out the right eyes of the Jabeites, so that while they covered the left side of their faces with shields in battle, they would not be able to see what they should do against the enemy, or for their own salvation. For this reason the ancient enemy tries to deprive the faithful of heavenly light, to render them useless in every spiritual fight.

And the elders of Jabesh said to him, etc. The more prudent and cautious ones in faith said to the heretics, in whom they recognized the voice of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, just as Christ spoke differently in Paul and his followers: Do not force us to believe your new doctrine until, in seeking the light of the Holy Spirit, who was given to the sevenfold Church, we have thoroughly examined the writings of the Fathers; and if in them there is no one who defends our faith, we will come out to you, and, abandoning the Catholic unity which is within, we will instead join you, who have long since gone out from it and now attack it from outside, and we will listen as it is also read against us in it. They went out from us, but they were not of us: for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us (1 John 2). These things they spoke not with any intention of assenting to the heretics, but being most certain of the paternal faith, they intended to conquer them by the just reasoning of their argument. This is similar to what the Psalmist says: If I have returned evil to those who rewarded me, I will fall empty by my enemies (Psalm 7). And what the Apostle says: For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our faith is in vain, our preaching is also in vain. And we are found to be false witnesses of God, because we have testified against God that He raised up Christ; whom He did not raise if the dead do not rise (1 Corinthians 15). These things were said not so that either the resurrection of Christ is denied, or the prophet is taught to return evil to those who rewarded him; but that by means of those things which could not be proven false, also those things about which there was doubt might be established as true.

Therefore, the fear of the Lord seized the people, etc. Upon hearing through the Gospel what heretics and schismatics, what pagans and unfaithful Jews are to suffer, the people of the faithful, struck with a wholesome fear, departing from the enticements of the old man, took themselves into the unity of the Catholic Church. And, scorning all the lurking places of the apocrypha, they came to be counted by Christ in the light of the shining Gospel, and to receive their name in heaven. For this reason, Bezec is rightly interpreted as lightning, certainly signifying that heavenly light of truth and grace, about which the Lord, teaching that heretics are to be avoided, said, “And they will say to you, 'Behold, here,' or 'Behold, there.' Do not go out, nor follow them;” He added and said, “For as the lightning flashes under heaven and shines to the other part under heaven, so will the Son of Man be in His day” (Luke XVII). And about which the Psalmist says, “He multiplied and troubled them” (Psalm XVII). Nor is it without reason that Bezec is also said to mean poverty. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew V). And those who, leaving everything, follow the Lord, why would they not be thought to be counted by their King in Bezec?

And there were three hundred thousand sons of Israel, etc. There were in the people of the nations, those who were most ready to defend the faith, who believed rightly, hoped, and acted through love. For the number three, because of the confession of the Holy Trinity, is to faith; ten and a hundred because of the choice of the reward of the right hand, and the daily denarius to be given to good vineyard workers, are related to hope. Moreover, a thousand because of the solid nature of the denarius, which naturally looks to the immutable and stable operation of perfect love, it can rightly be understood in the same Church either of the Jews or of the nations, by the strength of the men of Judah first confessing God; but by the sons of Israel, the sublimity of those who have learned to contemplate Him more perfectly, as the Psalm says: "God is known in Judah, His name is great in Israel." It is to be noted that according to the letter much before the times of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, separately the tribe of Judah, but separately also the others that were called Israel, were counted, although not yet divided by empire or religion.