Jerome — Commentary on Scripture | TrulyRandomVerse

On Genesis

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Genesis 10:10
(Verse 10.) And it was, he said, the head of his kingdom, Babel and Arach, and Achad, and Chalanne in the land of Sennaar. Nimrod, the son of Chus, first seized an unprecedented tyranny among the people, and he reigned in Babylon, which was named after him because the tower of the builders' confusion occurred there. For Babel means confusion. However, he also reigned in Arach, which is Edessa, and in Achad, which is now called Nisibis: and in Chalanne, which later, under a different name, was called Seleucia by King Seleucus, or certainly what is now called Ktesiphon.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 10:11
(Verse 11) From that land came Assur, and he built Nineveh and the city of Rehoboth. From this land of the Assyrians, the empire sprouted, founded by Ninus, son of Belus, and it is a great city which the Hebrews call Nineveh. The entire prophecy of Jonah pertains to its destruction or repentance. And when it says 'Nineveh and the city of Rehoboth,' we should not think that there are two cities, but because Rehoboth means streets, it should be read as 'And he built Nineveh, and the streets of the city.'

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 10:13
(Verse 13) And Mesraim fathered Ludim, and Anamim, and Laabim, and Nephtuim, and Phetrosim, and Chasloim, from whom came the Philistines and the Caphtorim. Except for the Laabim, who were later called Libyans, and the Chasloim, who were later called Philistines, whom we incorrectly call Palestinians, the other six nations are unknown to us, for they were destroyed in the Ethiopian war and their names have been forgotten. But they possessed the land from Gaza to the furthest boundaries of Egypt.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 10:15

(Verse 15.) And Canaan begot his firstborn Sidon, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, and the Girgashites, and the Hivites, and the Arkites, and the Sinites, and the Arvadites, and the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. From Canaan, Sidon was born, from whom the city of Sidon in Phoenicia is named. Then the Arkite, who founded Ark, a town situated opposite Tripolis at the roots of Mount Lebanon. Not far from there was another city named Sini, which, after various events of war, was destroyed and only retained its original name. There are Aradians, who possessed the island of Aradu, separated by a narrow strait from the Phoenician coast. The Samaritans, to whom Emesa, a noble city of Coele Syria, belongs. Amath, up until our time, is called by both the Syrians and the Hebrews, as it was called by the ancients. The Macedonians, who ruled in the East after Alexander, called it Epiphania. Some believe that Antioch was called by that name. Others, though not truly, yet consoling their opinion with a seemingly plausible word, think that the first dwelling of Emath, as they j…

(Verse 15.) And Canaan begot his firstborn Sidon, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, and the Girgashites, and the Hivites, and the Arkites, and the Sinites, and the Arvadites, and the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. From Canaan, Sidon was born, from whom the city of Sidon in Phoenicia is named. Then the Arkite, who founded Ark, a town situated opposite Tripolis at the roots of Mount Lebanon. Not far from there was another city named Sini, which, after various events of war, was destroyed and only retained its original name. There are Aradians, who possessed the island of Aradu, separated by a narrow strait from the Phoenician coast. The Samaritans, to whom Emesa, a noble city of Coele Syria, belongs. Amath, up until our time, is called by both the Syrians and the Hebrews, as it was called by the ancients. The Macedonians, who ruled in the East after Alexander, called it Epiphania. Some believe that Antioch was called by that name. Others, though not truly, yet consoling their opinion with a seemingly plausible word, think that the first dwelling of Emath, as they journeyed from Antioch, was called Edessa: and that it is the same as Emach, which was called by the ancients.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 10:19
(Verse 19.) And the boundary of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as you come to Gerar, as far as Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboiim, to Lasha. These are the cities of Sidon and Gerar, and Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboiim, which are known to all, but it is important to note that Lasha itself is now called Callirhoe, where the hot springs flow into the Dead Sea.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 10:22
(Verse 22.) The sons of Shem, Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. These hold the part of Asia from the Euphrates River to the Indian Ocean. Now Elam, from whom the Elamite princes of Persia descend. Concerning Asshur, it has already been said that he founded the city of Nineveh. Arphaxad, from whom the Chaldeans descend. Lud, from whom the Lydians descend. Aram, from whom the Syrians descend, with Damascus as their metropolis.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 10:23
(Verse 23.) The sons of Aram were Us, Ul, Gether, and Mes. Us founded Trachonitis and Damascus, and he held the principality between Palestine and Coele-Syria. From him, the Seventy Interpreters translated the land of Us, the region of Ausitis, as if it were Usitis, in the Book of Job where it is written in Hebrew. Ul is the ancestor of the Armenians; Gether is the ancestor of the Acarnanians, or the Carians. And Mes, whom the Seventy Interpreters called Mosoch, are now called Maeones.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 10:24
(Verse 24.) Arphaxad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber. From Eber were born two sons: one was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan. Eber, from whom the Hebrews are descended, gave his son Peleg the name which means 'division', because in his days the languages were divided in Babylon.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 10:24-25
Eber, from whom the Hebrews descended, because of a prophecy gave his son the name Peleg, which means “division,” on account of the fact that in his days the languages were divided up in Babylon.

HEBREW QUESTIONS ON GENESIS 10.24-25
Genesis 10:26
(Verse 26.) Jectan begat Helmodad, and Saleph, and Asermoth, and Jare, and Aduram, and Uzal, and Decla, Ebal, Abimael, Seba, Ophir, Evila, and Jobab. I could not find the names of the twelve other nations; but up to the present time, because they are far from us, or because they are called by different names, or because they have been changed, they are unknown. However, they possessed the whole region of India, which is called Hieria, from the river Cophene.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 11:1-9

Verse 2. <i>"And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand."</i> The fact that Jehoiachim is recorded to have been given over shows that it was not a victory for the might of his enemies but rather it was of the will of the Lord. <i>"...and some of the vessels of the house of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the house of his god, and he conveyed them into the treasure house of his god"</i> (Gen. 11). The land of Shinar is a region of Babylon in which the plain of Dura was located, and also the tower which those who had migrated from the East attempted to build up to heaven. From this circumstance and from the confusion of tongues the region received the name Babylon, which, translated into our language, means "confusion." At the same time it ought to be noted, by way of spiritual interpretation, that the king of Babylon was not able to transport all of the vessels of God, and place them in the idol-house which he had built himself, but only a part of the vessels of God's house. By these vessels we are to understand the dogmas of truth. For if you go through…

Verse 2. <i>"And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand."</i> The fact that Jehoiachim is recorded to have been given over shows that it was not a victory for the might of his enemies but rather it was of the will of the Lord. <i>"...and some of the vessels of the house of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the house of his god, and he conveyed them into the treasure house of his god"</i> (Gen. 11). The land of Shinar is a region of Babylon in which the plain of Dura was located, and also the tower which those who had migrated from the East attempted to build up to heaven. From this circumstance and from the confusion of tongues the region received the name Babylon, which, translated into our language, means "confusion." At the same time it ought to be noted, by way of spiritual interpretation, that the king of Babylon was not able to transport all of the vessels of God, and place them in the idol-house which he had built himself, but only a part of the vessels of God's house. By these vessels we are to understand the dogmas of truth. For if you go through all of the works of the philosophers, you will necessarily find in them some portion of the vessels of God. For example, you will find in Plato that God is the fashioner of the universe, in Zeno the chief of the Stoics, that there are inhabitants in the infernal regions and that souls are immortal, and that honor is the one (true) good. But because the philosophers combine truth with error and corrupt the good of nature with many evils, for that reason they are recorded to have captured only a portion of the vessels of God's house, and not all of them in their completeness and perfection.

St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ONE
Genesis 11:9
Just as when holy men live together, it is a great grace and blessing; so, likewise, that congregation is the worst kind when sinners dwell together. The more sinners there are at one time, the worse they are. Indeed, when the tower was being built up against God, those who were building it were disbanded for their own welfare. The conspiracy was evil. The dispersion was of true benefit even to those who were dispersed.

HOMILIES 21
Genesis 11:24-28
“And Aran [Haran] died before his father in the land in which he was born in the territory of the Chaldeans.” In place of what we read [in the LXX] as “in the territory of the Chaldeans,” in the Hebrew it has “in ur Chesdim,” that is, “in the fire of the Chaldeans.” Moreover the Hebrews, taking the opportunity afforded by this verse, hand on a story of this sort to the effect that Abraham was put into the fire because he refused to worship the fire, which the Chaldeans honor, and that he escaped through God’s help and fled from the fire of idolatry. What is written [in the LXX] in the following verses, that Thara [Terah] with his offspring “went out from the territory of the Chaldeans,” stands in place of what is contained in the Hebrew, “from the fire of the Chaldeans.” And they maintain that this refers to what is said in this verse: “Aran died before the face of Thara in the land of his birth in the fire of the Chaldeans”; that is, because he refused to worship fire, he was consumed by fire.

HEBREW QUESTIONS ON GENESIS 11.28
Genesis 11:28
(Chapter 11, Verse 28) And Haran died before his father in the land of his birth, in the region of the Chaldeans. As we read, in the region of the Chaldeans, in Hebrew it is written, in Ur of the Chaldeans, that is, in the fire of the Chaldeans. However, the Hebrews relate a legend from this occasion: that Abraham was thrown into the fire because he refused to worship the fire that the Chaldeans worship, and with God's help, he was freed and escaped from the fire of idolatry. This is written in the following passages, that Terah went out with his family from the region of the Chaldeans, for which it is written in Hebrew, from the burning of the Chaldeans. And this is what is now said: Aran died before the sight of his father Thare in the land of his nativity, in the fire of the Chaldeans: namely, because he did not wish to adore the fire, he was consumed by the fire. But the Lord spoke afterwards to Abraham: I am the one who brought you out of the fire of the Chaldeans.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 11:29
(Verse 29) And Abram and Nachor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nachor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran. The father of Milcah was also the father of Iscah. Haran fathered two daughters, Milcah and Iscah, who were both called by the same name. Of these, Milcah became the wife of Nachor, and Sarai became the wife of Abram. At that time, marriage between cousins and between siblings was not yet prohibited by law, as it later became among all people, even among brothers and sisters.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 11:31
Aran [Haran] was the son of Thara [Terah], the brother of Abram and Nachor [Nahor], and he fathered two daughters, Melcha [Milcha] and Sarai who, surnamed Jesca [Iscah], had two names. Of these, Nachor took Melcha as wife, and Abram took Sarai, because marriages between uncles and brothers’ daughters had not yet been forbidden by the law. Even marriages between brothers and sisters were contracted among the first human beings.

HEBREW QUESTIONS ON GENESIS 11.29
Genesis 12:4

(Chapter 12, Verse 4) Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. There arises an unsolvable question: for if Terah, the father of Abram, when he was still in the land of the Chaldeans, at seventy years old begot Abram, and afterwards died in Haran at the age of two hundred and five: how is it now mentioned that Abram, after the death of Terah, when departing from Haran, was seventy-five years old? Since from the birth of Abram until the death of his father, it is said that one hundred and thirty-five years passed. Therefore, that tradition of the Hebrews, which we mentioned above, is true: that Thara went out with his sons from the fire of the Chaldeans, and that Abram, surrounded by the Babylonian fire, was liberated by the help of God because he refused to worship it; and from that time, the days of his life, and the reckoning of his age, are considered from when he confessed the Lord, rejecting the idols of the Chaldeans. However, it is possible that because the Scripture left it uncertain, a few years ago Thara set out from Chaldea and came to Haran, where…

(Chapter 12, Verse 4) Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. There arises an unsolvable question: for if Terah, the father of Abram, when he was still in the land of the Chaldeans, at seventy years old begot Abram, and afterwards died in Haran at the age of two hundred and five: how is it now mentioned that Abram, after the death of Terah, when departing from Haran, was seventy-five years old? Since from the birth of Abram until the death of his father, it is said that one hundred and thirty-five years passed. Therefore, that tradition of the Hebrews, which we mentioned above, is true: that Thara went out with his sons from the fire of the Chaldeans, and that Abram, surrounded by the Babylonian fire, was liberated by the help of God because he refused to worship it; and from that time, the days of his life, and the reckoning of his age, are considered from when he confessed the Lord, rejecting the idols of the Chaldeans. However, it is possible that because the Scripture left it uncertain, a few years ago Thara set out from Chaldea and came to Haran, where he died. Certainly, after the persecution, he came to Haran and stayed there for a longer time. Therefore, if anyone is opposed to this explanation, they will seek another solution and then rightfully reject what we have said.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 12:9
(Verse 9) And Abram, setting out, went into the desert; and famine came upon the land. And in the present and in many other places, for desert, it is written in Hebrew. Therefore, we should take note of this.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 12:15-16
(Vs. 15 and 16) And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was brought into Pharaoh's house. And Abram benefitted because of her, and he had sheep, and cattle, and donkeys, and male and female servants, and mules and camels. Although the body of holy women does not see blemish, but the will does, and Sarai can be excused because, in the time of famine, she could not resist being alone in foreign places, with her husband conniving; however, the ugly necessity can also be excused in another way: that according to the book of Esther, whatever pleased the king among the women, for six months she was anointed with myrtle oil, and for six months she was in various perfumes and women's treatments, and only then she entered the king's presence. And so it happened that Sarai, after pleasing the king, while she was being prepared for a year to enter the king's presence, and Pharaoh gave many gifts to Abraham, and Pharaoh later was struck by the Lord, she still remained untouched by his concubinage.

Hebrew Questions on Genesis
Genesis 13:4

(Chapter 13, Verse 4) And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the wilderness. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel. It is said that Abram went up from Egypt in a splendid manner. But there is a contradiction to this idea in what follows: how could he have become very rich upon leaving Egypt? This is explained by the Hebrew word used, which means Abram was heavily burdened, that is, βαρύς σφόδρα: for he was burdened by the weight of Egypt. And although they may seem to be riches of cattle, gold, and silver, yet if they are of Egypt, they are burdensome to a holy man. Finally, not as we read in the Septuagint, 'He went back from where he came into the desert unto Bethel,' but as it is written in Hebrew, 'He went on his journey by way of the south unto Bethel.' Therefore, he departed from Egypt not to enter the desert that he had left in Egypt, but to come by way of the south, which is opposite to the north, to the house of God, where his tabernacle ha…

(Chapter 13, Verse 4) And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the wilderness. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel. It is said that Abram went up from Egypt in a splendid manner. But there is a contradiction to this idea in what follows: how could he have become very rich upon leaving Egypt? This is explained by the Hebrew word used, which means Abram was heavily burdened, that is, βαρύς σφόδρα: for he was burdened by the weight of Egypt. And although they may seem to be riches of cattle, gold, and silver, yet if they are of Egypt, they are burdensome to a holy man. Finally, not as we read in the Septuagint, 'He went back from where he came into the desert unto Bethel,' but as it is written in Hebrew, 'He went on his journey by way of the south unto Bethel.' Therefore, he departed from Egypt not to enter the desert that he had left in Egypt, but to come by way of the south, which is opposite to the north, to the house of God, where his tabernacle had been in the midst of Bethel and Ai (also called Gai).

Hebrew Questions on Genesis