Hilary of Poitiers — Commentary on Scripture

Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:

He who was established before time was already begotten, not only before the earth but also before the mountains and the hills. And because wisdom is certainly referring to itself in this passage, it says more than is heard.

Isaiah 40:12

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

The words “I am that I am” were clearly an adequate indication of God’s infinity. But, in addition, we needed to apprehend the operation of his majesty and power. For while absolute existence is peculiar to him who, abiding eternally, had no beginning in a past however remote, we hear again an utterance worthy of himself issuing from the eternal and holy God, who says, “who holds the heaven in his palm and the earth in his hand,” and again, “The heaven is my throne and the earth is the footstool of my feet. What house will you build me or what shall be the place of my rest?” The whole heaven is held in the palm of God, the whole earth grasped in his hand. Now the word of God … reveals a deeper meaning to the patient student.… This heaven that is held in the palm of God is also his throne, and the earth that is grasped in his hand is also the footstool beneath his feet. This was not written that … we should conclude that he has extension in space, as of a body.… It was written that in all born and created things God might be known within them and without, overshadowing and indwelling…

The words “I am that I am” were clearly an adequate indication of God’s infinity. But, in addition, we needed to apprehend the operation of his majesty and power. For while absolute existence is peculiar to him who, abiding eternally, had no beginning in a past however remote, we hear again an utterance worthy of himself issuing from the eternal and holy God, who says, “who holds the heaven in his palm and the earth in his hand,” and again, “The heaven is my throne and the earth is the footstool of my feet. What house will you build me or what shall be the place of my rest?” The whole heaven is held in the palm of God, the whole earth grasped in his hand.
Now the word of God … reveals a deeper meaning to the patient student.… This heaven that is held in the palm of God is also his throne, and the earth that is grasped in his hand is also the footstool beneath his feet. This was not written that … we should conclude that he has extension in space, as of a body.… It was written that in all born and created things God might be known within them and without, overshadowing and indwelling, surrounding all and interfused through all, since palm and hand, which hold, reveal the might of his external control, while throne and footstool, by their support of a sitter, display the subservience of outward things to One who, himself outside them, encloses all in his grasp.… Being infinite, he is present in all things. In him who is infinite all are included. - "On the Trinity 1.6"

Isaiah 64:4

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

But it may be argued that the apostle was not inspired by the Spirit of prophecy when he borrowed these prophetic words; that he was only interpreting at random the words of another man, and though, no doubt, everything the apostle says of himself comes to him by revelation from Christ, yet his knowledge of the words of Isaiah is only derived from the book.… Isaiah says that he has seen no God besides him. For he did actually see the glory of God, the mystery of whose taking flesh from the Virgin he foretold. And if you, in your heresy, do not know that it was God the Only Begotten whom the prophet saw in that glory, listen to the Evangelist: “Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory and spoke of him.” The apostle, the Evangelist, the prophet combine to silence your objections. Isaiah did see God; even though it is written, “No one has seen God at any time, except for the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father; he has declared him.” It was God whom the prophet saw. He gazed on the divine glory, and people were filled with envy at such honor graciously granted to hi…

But it may be argued that the apostle was not inspired by the Spirit of prophecy when he borrowed these prophetic words; that he was only interpreting at random the words of another man, and though, no doubt, everything the apostle says of himself comes to him by revelation from Christ, yet his knowledge of the words of Isaiah is only derived from the book.… Isaiah says that he has seen no God besides him. For he did actually see the glory of God, the mystery of whose taking flesh from the Virgin he foretold. And if you, in your heresy, do not know that it was God the Only Begotten whom the prophet saw in that glory, listen to the Evangelist: “Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory and spoke of him.” The apostle, the Evangelist, the prophet combine to silence your objections. Isaiah did see God; even though it is written, “No one has seen God at any time, except for the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father; he has declared him.” It was God whom the prophet saw. He gazed on the divine glory, and people were filled with envy at such honor graciously granted to his prophetic greatness. For this was the reason why the Jews passed sentence of death on him.

Daniel 7:13-14

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

Glance over the whole course of time, and realize in what guise he appeared to Joshua the son of Nun, a prophet bearing his name, or to Isaiah, who relates that he saw him, as the gospel also bears witness, or to Ezekiel, who was admitted even to knowledge of the resurrection, or to Daniel, who confesses the Son of man in the eternal kingdom of the ages, or to all the rest to whom he presented himself in the form of various created beings, for the ways of God and for the works of God, that is to say, to teach us to know God and to profit our eternal state. Why does this method, expressly designed for human salvation, bring about at the present time such an impious attack on his eternal birth? The creation, of which you speak, dates from the commencement of the ages; but his birth is without end and before the ages. Maintain this by all means: we are doing violence to words, if a prophet, or the Lord, or an apostle or any oracle whatever has described by the name of creation the birth of his eternal divinity. In all these manifestations God, who is a consuming fire, is present, as cre…

Glance over the whole course of time, and realize in what guise he appeared to Joshua the son of Nun, a prophet bearing his name, or to Isaiah, who relates that he saw him, as the gospel also bears witness, or to Ezekiel, who was admitted even to knowledge of the resurrection, or to Daniel, who confesses the Son of man in the eternal kingdom of the ages, or to all the rest to whom he presented himself in the form of various created beings, for the ways of God and for the works of God, that is to say, to teach us to know God and to profit our eternal state. Why does this method, expressly designed for human salvation, bring about at the present time such an impious attack on his eternal birth? The creation, of which you speak, dates from the commencement of the ages; but his birth is without end and before the ages. Maintain this by all means: we are doing violence to words, if a prophet, or the Lord, or an apostle or any oracle whatever has described by the name of creation the birth of his eternal divinity. In all these manifestations God, who is a consuming fire, is present, as created, in such a manner that he could lay aside the created form by the same power by which he assumed it, being able to destroy again that which had come into existence merely that it might be looked on.

Daniel 13:56

Salvation was awaited by and offered to Israel but not to the carnal Israel. “In fact, it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise who are considered his offspring.” As John also attests, the children of Abraham are not the children according to the flesh, since they are also children of vipers, and God can raise up children of Abraham from rocks. The Lord taught that the right of succession is constituted by works of faith and that we must not think of the birth of children according to carnal generation, when he says, “If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works that Abraham did.” And Daniel also, condemning the old men, does not say, “offspring of Abraham,” but, “offspring of Canaan and not of Judah.” Ezekiel also, confronting the people with their iniquities, says, “Your father was a Canaanite, your mother a Hittite. Your origin and your birth are of the land of Canaan.” We are not dealing, therefore, with this Israel that comes from carnal succession and to which is attributed the birth of a generation that is whol…

Salvation was awaited by and offered to Israel but not to the carnal Israel. “In fact, it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise who are considered his offspring.” As John also attests, the children of Abraham are not the children according to the flesh, since they are also children of vipers, and God can raise up children of Abraham from rocks. The Lord taught that the right of succession is constituted by works of faith and that we must not think of the birth of children according to carnal generation, when he says, “If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works that Abraham did.” And Daniel also, condemning the old men, does not say, “offspring of Abraham,” but, “offspring of Canaan and not of Judah.” Ezekiel also, confronting the people with their iniquities, says, “Your father was a Canaanite, your mother a Hittite. Your origin and your birth are of the land of Canaan.” We are not dealing, therefore, with this Israel that comes from carnal succession and to which is attributed the birth of a generation that is wholly profane because of its unbelief. It is not to this Israel, therefore, that salvation is given, because they did not accept it when it was offered, but to that other who, their slavery ended, has become the people of God.

Hosea 1:7

But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

He says to Hosea the prophet, “I will not add any more to have mercy on the house of Israel, but as their adversary I shall oppose them. But I shall have mercy on the sons of Judah, and I shall save them by the Lord their God.” The Father unmistakably gives the name of God to his Son in whom he chose us before the eternal ages. For this reason he says “their God,” because the unborn God is from no one, and God the Father has given us as an inheritance to his Son.

Hosea 13:4

Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

All things have been created by the Lord Christ, and therefore the proper name for him is that he is a creator. The nature and title of what he himself produced is unsuitable for him. Our witness is Melchizedek, who proclaims God as the Creator of heaven and earth in the following words: “Blessed be Abraham by the most high God, who created heaven and earth.” Hosea the prophet is also a witness when he says, “I am the Lord your God who strengthened the heavens and created the earth, whose hands created all the hosts of heaven.” Peter also is a witness, who writes as follows: “Commending your souls as to a faithful creator.” Why do we attribute the name of the work to the maker? Why do we give God the same name as our own? He is our Creator, the Creator of the whole heavenly array.

Malachi 3:6

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

He does not need those things that are from him, through him and to him; neither he who is the origin, nor he who is the designer, nor he who embraces all things. He is outside of the things that are within; he is the Creator of those that have been made; and he himself is never in want of his own possessions. Nothing is before him, nothing is from anywhere else, nothing is outside of him. What growth in fullness is therefore wanting to him that God may yet be all in all in the course of time? Or whence shall he procure it outside of whom there is nothing, but nothing in the sense that he always is? And by what kind of an increase is he himself to be made complete who always exists and outside of whom there is nothing? Or by what kind of growth is he to be changed who says, “I am, and I change not,” since there is no opportunity for a change or any cause that will enable him to make progress. Nor is there anything prior to eternity or anything else besides God in his relationship with God. Hence God will not be all in all through subjection of the Son, nor will any cause make him per…

He does not need those things that are from him, through him and to him; neither he who is the origin, nor he who is the designer, nor he who embraces all things. He is outside of the things that are within; he is the Creator of those that have been made; and he himself is never in want of his own possessions. Nothing is before him, nothing is from anywhere else, nothing is outside of him. What growth in fullness is therefore wanting to him that God may yet be all in all in the course of time? Or whence shall he procure it outside of whom there is nothing, but nothing in the sense that he always is? And by what kind of an increase is he himself to be made complete who always exists and outside of whom there is nothing? Or by what kind of growth is he to be changed who says, “I am, and I change not,” since there is no opportunity for a change or any cause that will enable him to make progress. Nor is there anything prior to eternity or anything else besides God in his relationship with God. Hence God will not be all in all through subjection of the Son, nor will any cause make him perfect from whom, through whom and in whom every cause exists. He remains, therefore, as he is, always God, and he does not stand in need of improvement who is always that which he is from himself and to himself.

Matthew 1:1 · 2 passages

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

(Quæst. Nov. et Vet. Test. q. 49.) What God conferred on those, who, by the anointing of oil were consecrated as kings or priests, this the Holy Spirit conferred on the Man Christ; adding moreover a purification. The Holy Spirit cleansed that which taken of the Virgin Mary was exalted into the Body of the Saviour, and this is that anointing of the Body of the Saviour's flesh whence He was called Christb. Because the impious craft of the Jews denied that Jesus was born of the seed of David, he adds, The son of David, the son of Abraham.

What Matthew publishes in order of kingly succession, Luke has set forth in order of priestly origin. While accounting for each order, both indicate the relationship of the Lord to each ancestral lineage. The order of his lineage is thus duly presented, because the association of the priestly and royal tribes that was begun through David from marriage is now confirmed out of the descent from Shealtiel to Zerubbabel. And so, while Matthew recounts his paternal origin that began in Judah, Luke teaches that his ancestry was taken from the tribe of Levi. Each in his own way demonstrates the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is both the eternal king and priest, as seen even in the fleshly origin of both of his ancestries. It does not matter that the origin of Joseph instead of Mary is recounted, for indeed there is one and the same blood relationship for the whole tribe. Moreover, both Matthew and Luke provide precedents. They name fathers in order not so much by their lineage as by their clan, since the tribe began from one individual and continues under a family of one succession and…

What Matthew publishes in order of kingly succession, Luke has set forth in order of priestly origin. While accounting for each order, both indicate the relationship of the Lord to each ancestral lineage. The order of his lineage is thus duly presented, because the association of the priestly and royal tribes that was begun through David from marriage is now confirmed out of the descent from Shealtiel to Zerubbabel. And so, while Matthew recounts his paternal origin that began in Judah, Luke teaches that his ancestry was taken from the tribe of Levi. Each in his own way demonstrates the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is both the eternal king and priest, as seen even in the fleshly origin of both of his ancestries. It does not matter that the origin of Joseph instead of Mary is recounted, for indeed there is one and the same blood relationship for the whole tribe. Moreover, both Matthew and Luke provide precedents. They name fathers in order not so much by their lineage as by their clan, since the tribe began from one individual and continues under a family of one succession and origin. Indeed, Christ has to be shown as the son of David and Abraham, so Matthew began in this way: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” It does not matter who is placed in a given order as long as the whole family is understood to derive from a single source. Joseph and Mary belonged to the same kinship line. Joseph is shown to have sprung from the line of Abraham. It is revealed that Mary came from this line, too. This system is codified in law so that, if the oldest of a family should die without sons, the next oldest brother of the same family would take the dead man’s wife in marriage. He would consider his sons as received into the family of the one who had died, and thus the order of succession remains with the firstborn, since they are considered to be the fathers of those born after them in either name or birth.

Matthew 1:8-11

And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;

Thus the stain of the Gentile alliance being purged, the royal race is again taken up in the fourth following generation.

Matthew 1:16

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Quaest. Nov. et Vet. Test. q. 49: What God conveyed by the anointing of oil to those who were anointed to be kings, this the Holy Spirit conveyed upon the man Christ, adding thereto the expiation; wherefore when born He was called Christ; and thus it proceeds, “who is called Christ.”

Matthew 2:13-15

And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

The first time when he would teach Joseph that she was lawfully espoused, the Angel called the Virgin his espoused wife; but after the birth she is only spoken of as the Mother of Jesus. As wedlock was rightfully imputed to her in her virginity, so virginity is esteemed venerable in her as the mother of Jesus.

Egypt full of idols; for after this enquiry for Him among the Jews, Christ leaving Judæa goes to be cherished among nations given to the vainest superstitions.

Matthew 2:17-18

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

It could not be that they were not who seemed now dead, but by glorious martyrdom they were advanced to eternal life; and consolation is for those who have suffered loss, not for those who have reaped a gain. Rachel affords a type of the Church long barren now at length fruitful. She is heard weeping for her children, not because she mourned them dead, but because they were slaughtered by those whom she would have retained as her first-born sons.

Matthew 2:19

But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

After the death of Herod, Joseph was advised by the angel to return to Judea with the boy and his mother. When he returned he heard that Archelaeus, son of Herod, was king. So he was afraid to go, but the angel admonished him to cross over into the region of Galilee, and they lived in the city of Nazareth.… Joseph resembles the apostles to whom Christ entrusted the spreading of the news about him. Similar to what happened with Joseph after the death of Herod, they must deal with the same people who caused the Lord to suffer. The apostles are commanded to preach to the Jews, for they were sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But when they saw that the power remained in the hands of inherited faithlessness, they became afraid and retreated.

Matthew 2:21-23

And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

But the figurative interpretation holds good any way. Joseph represents the Apostles, to whom Christ is entrusted to be borne about. These, as though Herod were dead, that is, his people being destroyed in the Lord's passion, are commanded to preach the Gospel to the Jews; they are sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But finding the seed of their hereditary unbelief still abiding, they fear and withdraw; admonished by a vision, to wit, seeing the Holy Ghost poured upon the Gentiles, they carry Christ to them.

Matthew 3:1-3

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

Or, he came to Judæa, desert by the absence of God, not of population, that the place of preaching might witness the few to whom the preaching was sent.

He therefore preaches repentance when the Kingdom of Heaven approaches; by which we return from error, we escape from sin, and after shame for our faults, we make profession of forsaking them.

Matthew 3:4 · 2 passages

And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

For the preaching of John no place more suitable, no clothing more useful, no food more fitted.

The preacher of Christ is clad in the skins of unclean beasts, to which the Gentiles are compared, and so by the Prophets' dress is sanctified whatever in them was useless or unclean. The girdle is a thing of much efficacy to every good work, that we may be girt for every ministry of Christ. For his food are chosen locusts, which fly the face of man, and escape from every approach, signifying ourselves who were borne away from every word or speech of good by a spontaneous motion of the body, weak in will, barren in works, fretful in speech, foreign in abode, are now become the food of the Saints, chosen to fill the Prophets' desire, furnishing our most sweet food not from the hives of the law, but from the trunks of wild trees.

A garment woven with camel’s hair designates the peculiar clothing of this prophetic preacher. He is covered with the skins of an unclean animal. Whatever had been useless or shabby in us becomes sanctified by the prophet’s clothes.

Matthew 3:5-6

Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

The preacher of Christ is clad in the skins of unclean beasts, to which the Gentiles are compared, and so by the Prophets' dress is sanctified whatever in them was useless or unclean. The girdle is a thing of much efficacy to every good work, that we may be girt for every ministry of Christ. For his food are chosen locusts, which fly the face of man, and escape from every approach, signifying ourselves who were borne away from every word or speech of good by a spontaneous motion of the body, weak in will, barren in works, fretful in speech, foreign in abode, are now become the food of the Saints, chosen to fill the Prophets' desire, furnishing our most sweet food not from the hives of the law, but from the trunks of wild trees.