Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah (chapters 12–22)
Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah
continued
Chapter 12
Ezra, hearing that the people of Israel had been defiled by foreign wives, takes on the habit of mourning and prays to the Lord for forgiveness of their guilt. (I Esdras IX.)
Ezra 9:1
After these things were completed, etc. The guilt of this transgression is also clearly described and reproved by prophetic authority in the prophet Malachi; because evidently those who returned from Babylonian captivity, both princes and priests and Levites, as well as the rest of the people, took wives of Israelite descent, who, suffering from the hardship and infirmity of long life, and the fragility of their sex, had been worn out and contracted weakness and deformity of body, and they married foreign women who were either flourishing in age, or more beautiful in body, or daughters of the powerful and rich. This should be understood not about those who were then with Ezra, but about those who had already ascended from captivity with Zerubbabel and Jeshua; for those who had come with Ezra could hardly have so quickly despised the doctrine of such a great leader and prelate, as it is understood, that after scarcely five months in their homeland, they had left their own wives and taken foreign wives; of whom these princes, who brought this crime to Ezra to be punished, were more likely to have been. Nor is it surprising that the people of Israel, along with priests and Levites, are said to have committed this crime, since that transmigration was more from Judah and Benjamin than from the ten tribes which were called Israel.
For it should be known that when Israel, that is, the ten tribes, was taken into captivity, the traditional name was also indiscriminately applied to the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, calling them Israel. Therefore, the people of Israel in this place is to be understood not in the distinction of Judah and the ten tribes of Benjamin, but in the general distinction of the peoples of the lands, understanding the people of God, who polluted the dignity of their heavenly name with the society of earthly ones. For also the same prophet Malachi, whom the Hebrews assert to be Ezra himself, recalls such transgression in his book of prophecy: "Judah has been unfaithful, an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, because Judah has desecrated the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and married the daughter of a foreign god. May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob anyone who does this—an advocate or master and student—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty" (Malachi II). Where, referring to Judah, he clearly indicates that the people of the first transmigration were polluted by this crime. And when he adds, "May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob anyone who does this—an advocate or master and student," he taught that both the leaders and the people, polluted by this transgression, and if they do not correct it, should be eradicated from the fellowship of saints.
And when he added, "Even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty," he warns that they offer sacrifices to the Lord in vain, who do not fear to submit themselves to the devil by sinning. Among these, the admirable faith and excellent purpose of the people freed from captivity, who called other nations the peoples of the lands in distinction to themselves, should be noted, so that they clearly implied that they themselves, although born from the earth, believed they had their conversation not on earth, but in heaven, since they believed in the God of heaven above all other nations and hoped to obtain blessings from Him. From this, they rightly grieved that their sanctification was contaminated by people of the nations; and what is more serious, they confessed that their leaders, from whom they should have been corrected, were the first to err. It should be carefully noted, and taken as an example for conduct, that what the leaders sinned and made the people committed to them sin as well, other leaders who lived more sanctly strive to correct. But because they cannot do it by themselves, they refer the cause to the pontiff, that is, their archbishop, by whose authority such a grave, multifaceted, and long-lasting sin would be expiated. No one doubts that foreign wives figuratively represent heresies and superstitious sects of philosophers.
When these are incautiously admitted into the Church, they not only contaminate the holy seed of Catholic truth and pure action with their errors, but also all the sins with which the Gentiles are accustomed to be polluted, while Christians are not ashamed to imitate them, become like foreign wives, degenerating from the holy seed of the word of God, by which they were born, as the apostle James says: "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth" (James I); and as if they produce profane offspring from the daughters of foreigners, while following the attractions of those who go astray, they bring forth perverse acts into the knowledge of everyone.
Ezra 9:3
And when I had heard this word, I tore my garment, etc. Ezra reveals the deepest sorrow of his heart, he tore his clothing, plucked the hairs of his head and beard; he sits in mourning, so that by such dishonoring of his body and clothing, along with the sorrow of his face, he might more quickly rouse all hearts to repentance either for their own or their brothers' sins, because clothing is often used to signify our deeds, which either bring us to glory if clean, or to destruction if soiled, and do not commend themselves with the splendid love of the bridegroom. By the hairs of the head are meant thoughts, which arise from the hidden root of the heart, as if from the inner chambers of the brain. These, if upright, should be preserved: but if reproved, ought to be cut off. Hence, about Samuel, who was to be holy, his mother says: "And a razor shall not come upon his head" (cf. 1 Sam. 1:11). And to the apostles, the Lord says: "And not a hair of your head shall perish," because surely all the thoughts of the saints are worthy of eternal remembrance before the Lord. But truly, the sinner, that he may be cleansed from his iniquities, must cast away from himself reproveable thoughts, that is, the sources and incentives of evil deeds.
Hence, the leper in Leviticus, when he has received healing, among other ceremonies of purification, is also commanded to shave off all the hair of his body, so that being thus cleansed, he might be worthy to enter the camp (cf. Lev. 14). Because then we are perfectly cleansed from the foulness of vices when we strive to expel not only harmful actions but also thoughts from ourselves. The beard too, which is a sign of male sex and age, is customarily taken to signify virtue. The high priest tore his cloak and tunic, to signify that the people he ruled had less perfect deeds, and whose deficiency needed to be mended through repentance and renewed in better behavior. He plucked the hairs of his head, so that he might signify to the same people that wicked thoughts must be uprooted from their hearts, and room given for useful ones to be born anew. He also plucked the hairs of his beard, so that even in the virtues they seemed to possess, they might be humbled, and reminded that these small or non-existent things were mixed with vices and not esteemed in the examination of the inner judge. He sat in mourning, to teach that through the lamentations of repentance, forgiveness for such a great offense ought to be sought. Nor is it to be wondered at if the actions of such a good leader soon bore great virtue among the subjects. Consider what follows:
Ezra 9:4
And all those who feared the Lord gathered to me, etc. O, what a great change of things! It was previously said that the treachery of princes and magistrates led many to luxury, and now with a good prince turned to lamentation, and indicating through his grief and tears what should be done by sinners, it is said that all those who feared the word of God, which threatens to punish transgressors, gathered to him. O, how much pious examples help good teachers! Ezras spoke nothing at all, but, having only heard of the crime, it is written that he was turned to tears and weeping, and drew the crowd of the faithful to him not by shouting, but by mourning. It is added:
Ezra 9:5
And in the evening sacrifice I rose from my affliction, etc. Ezra had prepared himself through the contrition of his heart and the affliction of his body, so that he might be made worthy to hear divine compassion, and thus he broke forth into the words of prayer. He bent his knees, spread his hands, and poured out prayers to the Lord at the time of the evening sacrifice; not doubting that this sacrifice would be more pleasing to God—because it was offered in a spirit of humility and a contrite soul—than if it had been offered with the flesh and blood of sheep. Symbolically, by bending his knees with his garment rent, spreading his hands to God, and pouring out prayers and tears, he turned the minds of many to repentance, as it is written in what follows, showing the Lord Savior, who deigned to pray for our sins both before His passion and at the very time of His passion; and who, with His hands extended on the cross, willed the garment of His flesh to be torn and mortified with wounds for our restoration, so that He, as the Apostle says, who died for our sins, might rise for our justification (Rom. 4). This was suitably done at the time of the evening sacrifice, either because the Lord, at the end of the world, offered the sacrifice of His flesh and blood to the Father and commanded us to offer it in bread and wine; or because, with the completion of the legal sacrifice, He freed us by His passion and, separating us from the peoples of the earth, made us heavenly, and granted that we might cling to Him with pure heart and body. The prayer itself, by which he, though just, associated himself with the sinful people, saying:
Ezra 9:6
My God, I am confounded and ashamed, etc. It befits the humility of our Redeemer, who appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh to take away the sins of the world. Hence, even in the Psalms, which according to the testimony of the Gospel, are written about Him, He clearly calls the sins He took upon Himself as ours, saying: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 21:1). And adding: Far from my salvation are the words of my sins (Psalm 21:2). And again: O God, you know my foolishness, and my sins are not hidden from you (Psalm 69:5); not because He could have sins or foolishness in Himself, who, as the Apostle says, was made wisdom and justice and sanctification and redemption for us from God; but because, taking on the cause of those He came to save, He deigned to transfer upon Himself even those things that truly pertained to their frailty.
Chapter 13
While Ezra prays and weeps, the people also turn to repentance, and with unanimous counsel they separate from foreign wives. (1 Esdras 10) [Ezra 10:1] -- Therefore, as Ezra prayed and implored, etc. The effectiveness of Ezra's prayer, weeping, and lamentation is shown when immediately a very large assembly of both sexes and all ages is reported to have gathered to him. They wept, either those who had sinned, repenting of their guilt, or those who had remained chaste, grieving over the transgression and fall of their brothers. But whether these, or those, or both wept, they are all shown greatly troubled by the prayers and lamentations of their priest, such that even women, along with children, are said to have been present. It can also be understood with this discretion, that first the innocent and upright gathered to him, when he said: And all who feared the word of the God of Israel assembled to me because of the unfaithfulness of the exiles (1 Esdras 9); now even those who had sinned with their wives and children gather to act in repentance.
Ezra 10:2
And Sechenias responded, etc. Josephus says that this Sechenias was the first of the Jerusalemites, and he himself, as befits a leader, with the greatest authority, soon helped Ezra's intention, both by confessing that the people had sinned together with him, and by advising that repentance should be made, by casting off foreign wives, along with the children born from them. [Ezra 10:2] -- And now if there is repentance in Israel concerning this, etc. He says, if the people perfectly repent of this transgression, first let us turn to the Lord and promise correction, and ask for pardon; then turning back to ourselves, let us root out and excise from us all the actions and roots of the crime committed, namely by casting out the wives along with all their unlawful offspring; for this is truly to repent, and to turn wholly inwardly in the heart to the Lord, and outwardly to cut off all matters of sin from their very origin. And what follows:
Ezra 10:4
Arise, it is your task to decide, etc. He very fittingly teaches how it should be conducted among the elders in council, so that each person may state what seems best according to their understanding, or what they have seemed to have understood; and yet leave the decision to him who has the power, ready to obey all that he has determined to be done according to the will and law of God. [Ezra 10:5] -- And Ezra rose before the house of God, etc. Eliasib was the high priest of that time, since after Jesus the son of Jozadak, his son Joachim, and after him his son Eliasib, carried out the rank of high priest, as both the subsequent sections of this sacred history and the Jewish history of Josephus prove.
Ezra 10:6
He did not eat bread, etc. Here they will have an excellent example not only of weeping and praying, but also of fasting for those who have sinned; and since blessed are those who mourn, who weep for their own sins, because after receiving remission, they are comforted, how much more are they to be believed blessed, who also mourn for the errors of their brothers; and this to such an extent that they do not even want to touch bread and water, which is the nourishment of those who abstain, nor enter their house, or ascend to their bed, but rather prefer to pray throughout the night in the courtyards of the house of the Lord. For there was the house of the priest, which, as evening came, Ezra is reported to have entered. Finally, another Edition instead of Johanan's bedchamber, has Johanan's vestry, by which name Scripture often refers to the porticoes surrounding the temple on all sides, in which the ministers and guards of the same temple used to reside. They also mourn now for the transgression of those who came from captivity, who grieve for those who, having been recently rescued from sins through repentance, have again fallen into sin, by which they might be once more captured by the devil. Regarding whose seducers, as about parents of impure wives, the apostle Peter speaks: For, speaking arrogant words of vanity, they entice by lusts of the flesh, those who have barely escaped (II Peter II). And a little later he speaks about those who, as if ascending from captivity, are nonetheless captured by luxury: For if, he says, those who have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first (Ibid.).
Ezra 10:7
And a voice was sent into Judah and Jerusalem, etc. While it is said that the sons of Judah and Benjamin gathered, it is clearly evident that those who were defiled by the marriage of foreign wives were from the first migration, which was from these tribes, and through Jesus and Zerubbabel, they were recalled to the house, as we have previously mentioned.
Ezra 10:9
He is the new moon, on the twentieth day of the month, etc. The ninth month is the same which the Hebrews call Casleu, and the Romans call December, which comes in the middle of winter and is rainy and stormy, as anyone would know. Therefore, it should be noted more diligently that when the people gathered in mid-winter, they were reminded to tremble from sin and rains. For when they saw that rains were falling even more than usual during the season of rains, they returned to their conscience and understood this to be due to their crimes and feared the celestial wrath that would come, being warned by the disturbance in the atmosphere. Therefore, they did not presume to conduct their affairs in private houses but gathered in the square of the house of the Lord, having assumed the habit of penitence and humility. This is mentioned for those who, although the elements are disturbed, and either by the noise of the winds, the flooding of the rains, the heaps of snow, the heat of drought, or even the ruin of men or animals increasing from above, and with the same Judge by clear signs threatening the force of His wrath, do not inquire at all about the correction of morals, by which they might please the Judge and evade the impending plague, but only diligently consider by what skill they might either avoid or overcome the adversities that rage outside due to sins.
But the people sat in the square of the house of God, that is, around the priest’s court, which was surrounded everywhere by the house of God itself, as we taught above; having around it on every side in a square the spacious houses of the courts, in which the people could stand when necessary due to the rains and still see what was happening at the temple gates or around the temple. For the inner walls were made with columns up to the ground, and the outer walls were solid.
Ezra 10:10
And Ezra the priest arose and said, etc. This passage corresponds to what was previously mentioned: And Ezra arose before the house of God and went to the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib, and he went there, he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water; for he was mourning. Here the devotion of the high priest is to be noted, who, mourning, praying, and fasting for the transgression of the people, remained for three days in the courtyards of the temple; nor did he wish to enter his own house before he saw the people, having given their consent, wholly repentant and turned to the Lord with all their heart. The other leaders also seem to have shared in his devotion, as they are said to have gone to the houses of their fathers after the assembly was finished. For if the sacred history writer did not wish to signify this with that statement, what was the point of writing that, after the discussion was completed, Ezra and the heads of the families went from the courtyards of the temple to the houses of their fathers, when everyone would know that they would do this even without Scripture saying it? What was the point of adding, And all by their names, when this too would be well-known to all, except that he wanted it to be understood that they were such whose names and deeds should rightfully be kept in memory and handed down to be known by posterity?
Ezra 10:16
And they sat on the first day of the tenth month, etc. Note that the number three is very commonly used in mystical figures. It was previously said that in three days all the sons of the diaspora should come to Jerusalem; and now in three months, namely the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth, they are punished by foreign wives. For there are three virtues without which we cannot attain life: faith, hope, and charity. Coming into the world at the third time of the age, the Lord bestowed upon us the grace of the Gospel. For the first time was before the law with the patriarchs, the second with the prophets under the law, in the third He Himself came with grace; because redeeming us by His passion, He rose from the dead on the third day; through whose grace, both by being joined in fellowship with the holy Church and by being cleansed from the allurements of vices, aptly the sons of the diaspora, having to be corrected from their errors in three days, convened in Jerusalem, and in three months completed their task of correction. But also literally, the leaders of the families and the Levites worked opportunely and salutarily so that before the beginning of the first month all those who were stained by profane marriage were completed; that is, they were cleansed from such a crime, so that they could enter the first month, in which the Passover was to be held, pure, and could celebrate the Paschal feast pure, and could begin and continue the year pure. This is also suitable for us to imitate every year in Lent in preparation for Easter, so that as the solemnities of the Lord's Resurrection approach, we cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, so that we may also be able to be partakers of the Resurrection.
Chapter 14
Summary of those who cast out the foreign wives they had taken.
Ezra 10:18
And there were found among the sons of the priests those who had taken, etc. The Hebrews apply to this place the prophecy of Zechariah: And the Lord showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him (Zech. III). And a little later: And Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And he said to him, See, I have taken away your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes. And put a clean turban on his head (Ibid.). They say rightly, Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him because the accusation was true, as he too, along with the others, had taken a foreign wife. But what is said, that Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, is interpreted in three ways: either because of the unlawful marriage, or because of the sins of the people, or because of the squalor of captivity. The angel, before whom Joshua stood, commanded the other angels in the person of the Lord to remove from him the filthy garments, which we mentioned. When they had completed the command, the same angel again speaks to Joshua: See, I have taken away your iniquity from you; these are the filthy garments; and I will clothe you with rich robes, that is, I have united to you an Israelite wife.
And what follows: Put a clean turban on his head; which many call a mitre; in this they understand the dignity of the priesthood, that with the stains of sins cleansed, he has a pure priesthood. But we should note that Ezra does not write that Jesus himself had taken a foreign wife, but says that some of his sons and brothers were defiled with this crime. Although the guilt of the sons reflects on the father, he cannot be perfectly righteous who neglected to correct his delinquent sons while he could. Whence some say that the aforesaid prophecy about Joshua is not to be referred to the son of Jozadak but to the Lord the Savior. Who, though He is the brightness of glory and the express image of God’s substance, accepted filthy garments for a time out of compassion for our frailty, as Isaiah says: But He was wounded for our iniquities and bruised for our sins (Isa. LIII); to whom Satan stood at the right hand to oppose Him, always seeking to oppose His right hand and His virtues, as the sacred history of the Gospel reports. And the apostle says: He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (Heb. IV). From whom the filthy garments are removed, and He is clothed with rich robes, when He cleansed us from our sins in His own blood, so that what the apostle says may be fulfilled: For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Or He who had filthy garments in His passion, received rich robes in His resurrection, so that we may truly say of Him: Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer (II Cor. V). He also received the turban on His head, for He was proven to have an eternal priesthood, according to the Psalmist: You are a priest forever (Ps. CIX). As for what Ezra says, that the brothers of Joshua the son of Jozadak also took foreign wives, we should understand them not as his carnal brothers, but as relatives according to the custom of Holy Scripture; nor could his brethren in the flesh have lived until then and devoted themselves to pleasure, since more than a hundred years had passed since Cyrus began to reign and sent Joshua and Zerubbabel with the captivity of Judah and Benjamin to rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. It follows:
Ezra 10:19
And they gave their hands, to cast out their wives, etc. First, they reject the illicit wives from themselves, and thus they offer a ram for themselves, so that, with the crime removed, they could approach the altar in purity. Indeed, it is difficult for the sacrifice of him to be accepted by God, who has not first endeavored to abandon the fault for which he offers, as Isaiah says: Cease to do evil, learn to do well (Is. 1). And because the sons or brothers of the high priest, who were the first to sin, rightly offer a ram from the flocks for the punishment of the crime, so that by such a sacrifice they might indicate that they were offering themselves, who appeared to be the teachers of the people and leaders like the leaders of following flocks, from their former life, to slaughter and purify themselves and offer worthy penance to God through a better life. It is noteworthy how skillfully the devil always battles against the faithful, never leaving them a secure time without combat. Behold, those who could not be overcome by adversities are overcome by blandishments; they overcame public enemies by building the temple of the Lord and dedicating it, but they were overcome by the love of foreign women, so they might not keep the temples of their hearts or bodies, dignified for the indwelling of God.
Of which matter the figure was completely fulfilled in our times, since we see the minds of the faithful much more dangerously tempted inwardly now, drawn and enticed by their own desires, than they were once outwardly, when the fierce adversary raged against their steadfastness with iron and fire. But the piety of the Lord will assist, which, just as it then granted them the virtue of patience against the open battles of the raging ones, so it may also grant us the caution to guard against the snares of creeping flattery. Finally, through the diligent action of the industrious pontiff and all those who feared the Lord, those who had sinned were pricked in their hearts and cast away foreign wives; and thus, with the foulness of lust expelled, the honor of chastity returned, and in the city of the Lord, with the rubbish of vices cast out, the flowers and aromas of virtues were scattered. Up to this point are the words of Ezra, by which he described the deeds of Zorobabel and Jesus, and afterwards his own. And he himself also clearly held the type of the Lord Savior, in that he renewed the holy Scripture, recalled the people from captivity to Jerusalem, elevated the house of the Lord with greater gifts, appointed leaders beyond the river Euphrates, and corrected the sons of the captivity from foreign wives.
For the Lord restored the sacred Scripture, which the Scribes and Pharisees had either defiled with their traditions or taught was to be understood only according to the letter, showing it as full of spiritual sense, as it was written by Moses or the prophets. And He also had the New Testament described by the apostles or apostolic men, sending the Holy Spirit from above. He led the people out of Babylonian captivity and brought them to Jerusalem and the promised land liberated, because He, having suffered once on the cross, redeemed the world with His blood, and descending to the underworld, led out those He found there as true Israelites, that is, the elect, bringing them to the walls of the heavenly city, and granted them the joys of the promised inheritance of old. And daily, gathering the faithful from the turmoil of this world, He calls them to the fellowship of the holy Church and the everlasting kingdom. He adorned the temple with gold and silver and precious vessels, which either the people of Israel or the Persian princes had sent there through him, because He never stops adorning and glorifying the Church with the faith and works of those who believe from both peoples, namely, Jew and gentile.
He appointed leaders and overseers for all the people beyond the river, who knew and taught the law of God, because in the holy Church, which is also washed with the river of sacred baptism, and transcends the river of Babylon, that is, the turmoil of the fluctuating world by the sincerity of faith, He placed apostles, evangelists, pastors, and leaders. He corrected the sons of the captivity from foreign wives, because He forbade those who had renounced the world by profession of faith to serve again the enticements of the world. He also cast out the sons of such foreign mothers from the congregation of the captivity, lest, when they grew up, they might follow the faithlessness of their mothers rather than the faith of their fathers, because our works, even those that seem good to men, if they are mixed with carnal delights, or have taken their origin from the contagion of human favor, He taught to reject, nor to deem them worthy of the fellowship of those who, perfectly renouncing the world, with full mind progress to heavenly things; who do not allow themselves to be enfeebled by temporal blandishments, but rather are exercised by adversities, and prepared for eternal rest with joy. But if anyone wishes to object, saying that it is not written that the sons of the adulteresses were cast out, but only the women themselves, it is though Shecaniah, suggesting and saying:
Let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and those born of them, was followed by the prompt, And Ezra rose and adjured the chiefs of the priests, Levites, and all Israel, to do according to this word, and they swore, he should understand that if they did not cast out those children born to them by foreign women, it was because they taught them to renounce maternal infidelity, and consecrated to the Lord through circumcision and a saving sacrifice, making them companions of their faith and chastity. It is clear indeed that the mystery of this matter is evident, because good works, which we do for the sake of temporal advantage, or favor, or delight, either are to be counted as among evil works, or must be distinguished by the lowest intention and done solely for heavenly recompense. For he who, for example, fasts, prays, gives alms with the intention that he may be seen and praised by men, such a one indeed, the offspring of a good deed, is as it were born of an unclean mother of a filthy conscience; hence it cannot have a part with the congregation of those who ascended from Babylon to Jerusalem, because a justice, or rather a simulation of justice, which has received its reward in the present, will lack future recompense in heaven.
But if such a worker of a deed, converting his mind to better things, begins to do for heavenly reward what he did for the desire for empty praise, consecrating his offspring, even if unworthily born, to the Lord, he makes it a citizen of Jerusalem, because he corrects a work badly begun from the time, making it worthy of eternal reward in heaven.
Chapter 15
Nehemiah, the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes, upon hearing of the affliction of those who were in Jerusalem, fasts, prays, and seeks mercy from the Lord. (Nehemiah I)
Nehemiah 1:1
The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah, etc. Nehemiah is interpreted in Latin as "the Lord comforts," or "comforter from the Lord"; who, when he had renewed the walls of Jerusalem and freed the people of God from the insults of their enemies, elevated observance of the divine law; it is evident that in both name and deed and person he fittingly designates the Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who declares himself sent for the comfort of the poor in spirit, when about to ascend to heaven, he says to his disciples: I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that is, consoler (John 14). The Psalmist shows that it is He who builds up the city of God, namely the holy Church, and comforts the mourners when he says: The Lord builds up Jerusalem, and gathers the dispersed of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147), etc. The figure of Nehemiah also suits the holy preachers, through whose ministry heavenly consolation is conferred upon us, while, after the fall into sin, they promise penitent ones hope of divine pardon and propitiation, as they rebuild the walls of Jerusalem destroyed by enemies. The month of Chislev is the same we call December, and is the ninth month among the Hebrews, the last month of the year with us; whose name, interpreted in Latin "his hope," most clearly matches the desires of him who directed his mind to raising up the ruins of the holy city.
For the first foundation of good action is that we have undoubted hope of the Lord's assistance in accomplishing what we desire. It is the same month in which our Lord was born in the flesh, beautifully prefiguring long beforehand by its name that in it the true Nehemiah, that is the comforter from God the Father, so long hoped for by the chosen, would come into the world for the building of the holy Church. But that Nehemiah writes that he was in the citadel of Susa when men came who reported about Jerusalem. Susa is the metropolis of the kingdom of the Persians, as we read in the history of Esther (Esther 1); which Nehemiah calls a citadel, as does the prophet Daniel (Daniel 8); not because the city is a citadel, but because it is built with such strength that it seems to be one. Susa is interpreted as “horsemanship” or “returning”, a name suitably adapted to the fortification of the faithful minds of those especially concerned with the captivity of Jerusalem, that is, the salvation of those who, once snatched from the Church by the devil's snares, have now by penance been brought back to the Church through the grace of God. Such are in the returning citadel, that is, in the strength of a mind called back from weak delights to the desire for the heavenly homeland, from which they fell in the first parent. Such are in the strong host of holy hearts, who bear God as rider. As the prophet says:
Riding upon your horses, and your ridership is salvation. The Lord indeed ascends upon his horses when he enlightens the hearts of preachers which he governs with the grace of his piety; and his ridership is salvation, because he leads to eternal salvation those whom he governs, and he makes others too, through them, who are equally governed, partakers of the same eternal salvation. Therefore, Nehemiah inquiring about those who had remained from the captivity of Jerusalem, let us see what follows:
Nehemiah 1:3
And they said to me: Those who remained and were left, etc. The sense of the letter is clear, because those who had remained from captivity, although they seemed to live in peace with the king of Persia being their friend, whom he had also sent with letters much earlier, who had power in the whole region beyond the river; nevertheless, they were in great affliction of mind, because their enemies reproached them that the holy city still remained in ruins. But now also in the holy Church, it is justly afflicted, and pricked with salutary sadness, they who, themselves repenting from past crimes, consider that their neighbors still lie under vices, so that through the negligence of those who could have benefited many of the corrected, the devil has a free entrance into the Church as if through the walls of a destroyed city. This is all the more necessary to be lamented, if even those who ought to have benefited others by teaching or example, wrongly living, show themselves as an example over destruction to those who see them. For this is what it means for the gates of Jerusalem to be burned with hostile flames, those who ought to have introduced the worthy into the company of the elect by living and teaching well, and kept away the unworthy, to perish by the fire of avarice, lust, pride, contention, envy, and other vices which the malignant enemy is accustomed to incite. But what seems to us to be done about these things, or what ought to be done, is shown when it is immediately added:
Nehemiah 1:4
And when I heard such words, I sat and wept, etc., up to And direct your servant, etc. For if a holy man, hearing the buildings of stones and wood destroyed, rightly mourned, fasted, and prayed, and for a long time sat in sadness; how much more in the destruction and ruin of souls, which is committed through sin, should continuous mourning, tears, and prayers be insisted upon? So that, with the Lord pitying, those who lay filthy in the longlasting filth of vices, as a reproach against religion, with the enemy triumphing, may be raised to their former health.
Chapter 16
Nehemiah, having received permission and letters from the king, came to Jerusalem to build the city; from this year are calculated the seventy weeks of years which the angel foretold to Daniel, and they reach to the time of the Lord's passion. (II Esdras II.) [Nehemiah 2:1] -- Now it happened in the month of Nisan, etc. Nisan is the first month of the year according to the Hebrews, in which they always used to celebrate Passover, which we call April. Therefore, what was said above, that he mourned, fasted, and prayed for many days, it is evident indeed that for four continuous months, namely the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth, he devoted himself to this most sacred dedication, awaiting the opportune time in which he could express his desire to the king. And indeed, he was the chief cupbearer, he used to hand the cup to the king, performing the duty of joy outwardly, but inwardly he was weighed down with severe sadness, because he remembered the holy city as destroyed and the people of God given over to reproach and contempt by the enemies of God. Hence, with those like him, he declares speaking in the Psalm: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion" (Psalm 136).
Nehemiah 2:2
And the king said to me: "Why is your face sad? etc. Just as we have clearly recognized, with Isaiah teaching, that Cyrus, the first king of the Persians, holds the figure of the Lord and Savior because he released the people of God from captivity and commanded the temple to be rebuilt; likewise, we can rightly understand his successor in the same empire, Artaxerxes, who commanded with the same devotion that the city of Jerusalem be rebuilt, as a type of the Lord. The Lord constructs for himself a city from living stones, that is, one church from all the elect, through the office of preachers. Therefore Artaxerxes is well interpreted as testing the light with silence. For the Lord is the light of life, who tests the hearts of His faithful with silence, sometimes enlightening them with the sweetness of heavenly grace, sometimes obscuring them with the hardships of the present life, so that, educated by temporal adversities, they may more fervently desire eternal goods. This year is memorable, in which it was permitted to build Jerusalem, and it is already prefigured in the mystic writings of the prophet Daniel, with the angel saying to him that seventy weeks have been shortened over his people and over his holy city. And shortly after: From the going forth of the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. And shortly after:
He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. These weeks, therefore, begin from the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, when he gave permission for the rebuilding of Jerusalem; at which time, as Julius Africanus writes, the years of the Persian reign were one hundred and fifteen, and the same number of years remained incomplete until Alexander the Great, when he killed Darius; but it was the one hundred and eighty-fifth year of the captivity of Jerusalem; and they reach up to the times of the Lord's passion, by which the end was put to legal sacrifices and offerings. Indeed, each of these weeks has seven years, that is, four hundred and ninety years according to the lunar course; only in such a way that each one, in a new and unusual manner, has no more than twelve lunar months. Hence, the angel carefully says that seventy weeks are not counted but shortened over his people, which are solar years 475. Concerning this entire prophecy, I have taken care to discuss it as fully as I could in the book of Times.
Nehemiah 2:10
And Sanballat the Horonite, etc., heard. And the heretics are grieved, and all the enemies of the Church are saddened whenever they see any elected persons working for the sake of the Catholic faith or for the correction of customs, by which the walls of the Church are to be renewed. Indeed, the diversity of souls and matters is to be noted, for it was said above that those who remained from captivity in Judea were in great affliction and reproach; but also Nehemiah led a long fast with weeping and prayers because the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, and its gates were burned with fire. And now, on the contrary, the enemies of that same holy city are in great affliction and are grieved because its buildings are to be restored, and at the same time, the citizens understand that they are to be lifted from the insults of their enemies. From this, it is to be gathered that even in this life, the sentence of the Lord can be fulfilled; He who said: Amen, amen, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy (John 16). For as the world that rejoiced is weeping, the sorrow of the righteous will be turned into joy when the holy affairs of the Church are seen to grow, and those who had strayed by sinning are recognized to return to it by repenting.
Chapter 17
Nehemiah, coming to Jerusalem, observes the ruined state of the walls by night, and in the morning, revealing the purpose of his journey, strengthens the heart and hands of the people to rebuild. [Nehemiah 2:11] -- "And I came to Jerusalem and was there three days," etc. He wanders through various parts of the destroyed city, carefully scrutinizing each, and considers anxiously how they ought to be repaired. Thus it is with spiritual teachers, often rising at night and by diligent investigation examining the condition of the holy Church while others are resting; so that they may vigilantly inquire how those things which are defiled or ruined by the wars of vices may be corrected and raised by castigating. But the wall of Jerusalem is laid waste, and the conduct of the faithful is soiled by earthly and low affections; the gates are consumed by fire, when even those who ought to open the way of life to others through teaching, abandoning the office of truth, become equally torpid with common inertia, and serve temporal cares.
Nehemiah 2:17
"And I said to them: You see the distress we are in," etc. These words are plain and very apt in a spiritual sense, because holy teachers, and indeed all who are fervent with zeal for God, are in great distress as long as Jerusalem, that is, the vision of peace which the Lord has left and entrusted to us, is seen to be deserted through the wars of dissensions; and they observe the gates of virtues, which, according to Isaiah, ought to have been occupied by praise (Isa. 60), being cast down and held in contempt by the prevailing gates of hell. Hence they strive, by gathering the ministers of the word into a single endeavor, to rebuild by faith and good action those things which seemed to be destroyed.
Chapter 18
The wall, towers, and gates of Jerusalem are built, starting with the great priest Eliasib. (Nehemiah III.) [Nehemiah 3:1] -- And Eliasib the great priest rose, etc. This Eliasib, the high priest of that time, was the son of Joakim, who, after his father Jesus the son of Josedec the great priest, himself also for no small time held the insignias of the high priesthood. And rightly the restoration of the city began with the great priest and his brothers, so that those who had precedence in rank of order might themselves become an example to all in good works. And it is well joined with the priests who are building.
Nehemiah 3:1
And up to the tower of a hundred cubits, etc. For priests build up to the measure of a hundred cubits, when they kindle all whom they instruct with love and desire for eternal things. For the number one hundred, which in the counting of fingers passes from the left to the right, represents heavenly goods, which, in comparison to temporal and lesser goods, are as the right hand to the left. They are also said to have sanctified the gate they built; for it is the duty of priests to make their works specially worthy of sanctification above others, and to act earnestly so that whoever is joined to them may sanctify the name of the Lord in themselves by living well. According to the letter, it seems that the first gate of the flock was either built or sanctified by the priests because it was near the temple and belonged properly to them; for it also seems reasonable that the building of the city should start from the temple. For it is indeed necessary that we first preserve within ourselves the constancy of faith and love for God, and then add works of piety that pertain to the love of our neighbor; thirdly, that is, lastly, we should take care of those things that pertain to the general provision of this life, concerning which the Apostle says: Having food and clothing, let us be content with these (1 Tim 6).
But it could also seem probable that the gate of the flock is so called because through it the animals that were to be offered in the temple were usually brought in. Therefore, the priests build the gate of the flock at the beginning of the building of the city of God, when holy preachers imbue their hearers, above all, with the truth of faith which works through love, through which they should introduce the sacrifices of good deeds and offer them to God on the altar of their heart. The construction of this gate, extended to a hundred cubits, is sanctified to the tower of Hananeel, that is, to the grace of God, when from the beginning of faith to the firmness of good action, which is accomplished only with the inspiration and help of God, they extend solely with the intention of eternal retribution. It should be noted, indeed, that our manuscripts have: And they built the gate of the flock. The old translation has: And they built the gate and the pool of Bethesda; of which name John makes mention in his Gospel: Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porches; in these lay a great multitude of sick people (John 5), etc. Nor does anything prevent us from understanding that this place is designated here; for the name of the Sheep Gate is not much different from the name Bethesda: for in Greek a sheep is called ‘probaton’.
Jerome also mentions this place in his book of Places, writing thus: Bethesda is a pool in Jerusalem, which is called the Sheep Gate, and it can be interpreted by us as pertaining to sheep. It once had five porches; and twin pools are shown, one of which is usually filled with winter rains, and the other, wondrously red, as if with bloody waters, reveals signs of ancient work. For they say that sacrifices used to be washed in it by the priests, hence it received its name. From all these indications, it appears that the Sheep Gate is near the pool of Bethesda, so that by this gate the sacrifices to be washed in that pool were brought in.
Nehemiah 3:3
The fish gate was built by the sons of Asnah. He called it the fish gate, which looked towards Joppa and Diospolis, that is, Lydda, and it was closer to the sea among all the routes to Jerusalem, which now is said to be called the gate of David, and is the first of the gates to the west of Mount Zion. To this opinion seem to agree the words of the Chronicles, in which it is written about King Manasseh of Judah: “After this, he built a wall outside the city of David to the west of Gihon in the valley, from the entrance of the fish gate, around to Ophel, and raised it very high” (2 Chr. 33). In a typological sense, just as the flock of the Lord's faithful is so often called fish, hence as He said to Peter, “Feed my sheep” (John 21); so also He promised the same to Andrew and the other apostles, saying: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4). Again, He spoke of these fishermen through a parable, saying: “They chose the good fish and put them into vessels, but threw the bad away” (Matt. 13). Therefore, they built the fish gate in Jerusalem when those steps are ordained in the Church by which the elect are separated from the reprobate, like good fish from bad, to be brought into the fellowship of eternal peace.
The fish gate is built when, by the works of virtues, the faithful serve those who see themselves, having been rescued from the waves of turbulence and worldly desire, led into the tranquility and peace of spiritual life. Zephaniah the prophet remembers this gate, saying: “A sound of crying from the fish gate, and wailing from the second” (Zeph. 1). Because what he added, the second, signifies a gate of the second wall in the same area. For in the times of Hezekiah, the wall of the city was doubled, the Chronicles narrate, where it is written: “He built diligently all the wall that had been broken, and raised up towers upon it, and outside another wall” (2 Chr. 32). These things about the literal sense. But according to the allegory of the law, Zephaniah heard the voice of crying from the fish gate and wailing from the second, because he foresaw that both would be thrown down by enemies: for he saw that the faith and works of teachers, by which it was proper for others to be saved from the waves of corruptible life and led into the holy Church, would be overthrown by the snares of the ancient enemy, that is, by the desire for earthly pleasures which would deprive them of heavenly joys.
Rightly, indeed, he heard a voice of crying and wailing from both the first and second gate, both from the outer and inner, because he saw that both outward works and the hearts of the negligent within would be overthrown by the devil's attack; but since the Lord lifts up those who are cast down (Ps. 145:14), Nehemiah records that the same fish gate was restored after a long ruin: for even if some of the preachers fall by sinning, there will not be lacking those who, up until the end of the world, succeeding in the place of their predecessors, with the Lord's help, open the gates of righteousness by preaching and living rightly. Rightly, however, it is added about those who destroyed this gate:
Nehemiah 3:3
They themselves wove it and set up the gates, etc. Returning also to the others which are said to have been built, the gate is repeatedly mentioned frequently; because it is evidently necessary that whoever has begun the construction of good action, should continue adhering to their beginnings up to the peak of perfection, and being alert, should set up the gates, bars, and locks. For gates are set in doors so that, being opened at a fitting time, the citizens may have the ability to enter or exit. Locks and bars are set so that, with the doors stopped up and closed, the enemy may not be able to enter. Thus, in our good works, gates of kind provision are to be set up so that fellow citizens, that is, our neighbors, seeing these, may glorify our Father who is in heaven, and they themselves too learn to follow our examples and walk with us through the walls of virtues. Also, locks and bars are to be set up against the plots and invasions of the enemies, so that we may be diligently fortified on all sides, lest perhaps the ancient enemy, having been unwisely let in, might take our stronghold of virtue by force. Hence it is well said in Proverbs: "A brother helped by his brother is like a fortified city, and judgments are like the bars of cities" (Prov. XII).
When indeed both peoples, that is, the Jews and the Gentiles, agree in brotherly love in Christ, they build one Church, namely the city of their Creator. And just as the bars strengthen the gates of cities, so the doctrines of truth defend the Churches throughout the world, which make one Catholic Church, from the incursion of the unbelievers. Likewise, we set up locks and bars on our gates, when we carefully guard against disclosing the secrets of our faith to pigs and dogs, that is, to impure minds, or performing our righteousness for the sake of human favor, and admitting through our good works those who bring more danger by their praise than a helpful support by their observation.
Nehemiah 3:6
And they rebuilt the old gate, etc. That old gate is what John mentions, saying: Beloved, I do not write a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning (1 John 2). The old commandment is the word which you have heard. Therefore, the old gate is rebuilt in Jerusalem, when the word of faith and love, which has been handed down from the beginning of the holy Church, is either recovered in those who have gone astray, or begins to be established in those recently believing. [Nehemiah 3:8] -- And they left Jerusalem, etc. The wall of the broad street in Jerusalem is the firmness and fortification of perfect love in the hearts of the elect, to which its teachers reach by building, when progressing in works of charity, they can say to their Creator and Helper: We have run the way of your commandments, when you enlarged our heart (Psalm 119). Indeed, that enlargement of an enlightened mind, which can love both a friend in God and an enemy for the sake of God.
Nehemiah 3:13
And Hanun built up the Valley Gate, etc. We know that the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which was also called Gehenna, that is, the Valley of Hinnom, was to the eastern side of the city of Jerusalem, through which flows the Kidron stream, mentioned in the Gospel (John XVIII), when it receives waters from rain or snow, flowing from the northern to the southern region. But we also read of the Valley of Gihon on the western side of the same city, as the Book of Chronicles says about King Manasseh of Judah, which we have mentioned above: After this, he built a wall outside the City of David to the west of Gihon in the valley (II Chronicles XXXIII). Gihon, moreover, is the name of the spring where Solomon was anointed king outside the city. Therefore, whether Ezra signifies this one, that one, or any other valley of the same city in this place, the mystery is clear, because the Valley Gate is built in Jerusalem, when for those who have been recently initiated into the knowledge of faith, or for those who have been restored to chastity of faith by the truth's teachers who had gone astray, the virtue of humility, among other virtues, is commanded to be observed, through which they may deserve to be elevated by a greater grace of God, as the Holy Scripture says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (I Peter V). And in the Psalm:
And the valleys are covered with grain (Psalm LXV), which means, the humble will be abundantly filled with the gifts of heavenly sustenance. And it is fitting that after the Old Gate and the wall of the broad street, the Valley Gate is built; because indeed, after the first principles of the catholic faith, which works through love, humility must be inculcated to us, which is the guardian of virtues, so that according to the wise man's precept, the greater we are, the more we should humble ourselves in all things (Ecclesiasticus III).
Nehemiah 3:14
And a thousand cubits along the wall up to the Dung Gate, etc. They say that the site of the city of Jerusalem is arranged on such a gentle slope, facing north and east, that rain falling there never remains, but flows like rivers through the eastern gates, carrying with it all the filth of the streets, augmenting the torrent Cedron in the valley of Josaphat. From this, it seems likely that the gate is called the Dung Gate, through which filth and impurities are accustomed to be carried out. It is by no means of less strength and usefulness that all impurities should be carried out of the city of the Lord than that which is pure should be gathered into it. Therefore, they build the Dung Gate in Jerusalem, who ordain those into the ministry of the Holy Church, through whom the filth of vices may be cleansed from the minds of the elect. But also corrupt-minded men should be excluded from the borders of the Church, with the help and weakening of all impurity by the shower of heavenly grace; so that according to the Psalmist, "All who do iniquity may be destroyed from the city of the Lord" (Psalm 10). And since it is a sign of great perfection when someone progresses so much through the merit of humility that they can keenly perceive their errors and effectively cleanse those discovered;
it is rightly said that those who built the Valley Gate also constructed a thousand cubits in the wall up to the Dung Gate. For the number a thousand signifies perfection, and a cubit signifies the operation which is done by hands and arms. And they reach a thousand cubits building in the wall of the holy city from the Valley Gate to the Dung Gate, who, having acquired the grace of humility, devote themselves so industriously to the works of perfection that they cast out from themselves all rubble of not only harmful action or useless speech but even superfluous thought.
Nehemiah 3:15
And Shallun built the gate of the fountain, etc. "Pagos" in Greek signifies a village in Latin. But writers tell that from that front of Mount Zion, which faces the eastern region with a steep rock, within the walls, and at the roots of the hill, the fountain of Siloam bursts forth; which indeed flows southward with alternating access of waters, that is, not with continuous waters, but it bubbles at uncertain [fixed] hours and days, and through the hollows of the earth and caves of very hard rock, it is accustomed to come with great noise, with which, namely, the city is said to use this one spring, and this not perpetual. Therefore, understand the gate of this fountain designated in this place, especially when it is openly added:
Nehemiah 3:15
And the walls of the pool of Siloam in the garden of the king, etc. Therefore, Siloa, which is interpreted as the sent one, where the man born blind and was illuminated, signifies the Lord Savior, who was sent by God the Father for our enlightenment; whose source can most aptly be understood as the same Father, from whom He was born. Concerning which the Psalmist well says: For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we will see light (Psalm 35). And the Fountain Gate is built in Jerusalem when teachers are appointed in the Church, who preach to the people the faith of divine eternity. The walls of the pool of Siloam are also built when the very firm and invincible testimonies of the Scriptures, by which the mystery of the Lord's incarnation is designated, are rooted in the minds of the faithful. These walls of divine utterances reach the king’s garden when, with the mysteries of the Lord's dispensation known, we begin to produce the sprouts of virtues with the help of the most high king, our Lord God. They also reach the steps that descend from the city of David when someone learns to advance from the general life of the faithful to heavenly things with spiritual desires. The steps that descend from the city of David to the lower part of the city of Jerusalem are indeed aids of divine inspiration or protection, by which we are gradually raised to reach the walls of the heavenly kingdom.
For David made steps by which we should ascend to his city when divine piety taught us the order of virtues by which we may seek heavenly things, and granted us the gift of performing those virtues. Concerning these steps, the Psalmist undoubtedly said: Blessed is the man whose help is from thee; in his heart he has arranged the ascents in the valley of tears, in the place he has appointed, etc., until he says: They shall go from strength to strength; the God of gods shall be seen in Zion (Psalm 83). Therefore, the builders of the holy city reach these steps, after building the walls of the pool of Siloam and after the king's garden, when after manifesting the sacrament of the Lord's incarnation, by which the blindness of the gentiles from their birth was washed and illuminated, and after beginning through faith the sprouting of good deeds, the holy teachers more diligently show their listeners the progress of virtues over time; by which they ascend to the vision of their Creator, namely strong in hand and desirable, as David will call. The most reverend father, by name and life Benedict, rightly understood that these progressions consist mainly in humility, when interpreting the ladder of the patriarch Jacob, shown with angels ascending and descending on it, as designating our journey to heavenly things; he meticulously and piously distinguished the steps of that ladder by the increments and advancements of good deeds done through humility.
The city of David, according to the letter, is called Mount Zion, which, placed to the south, stands out as the fortress of the city, and the larger part of the city lies below the mountain, situated in the plain of a lower hill. Hence it is written in the book of Kings: David began to take the fortress of Zion, this is the city of David. And shortly after: David dwelt in the fortress, and called it the city of David (1 Kings 25).
Nehemiah 3:16
After him Nehemiah built, etc. Note that King David is buried not in Bethlehem, as some assert, but in Jerusalem; and indeed not without a certain reason of mystery. For just as in Bethlehem he was born and anointed as a king, prefiguring that the Lord Christ would be born there from his seed and be adored by the Magi under the guise of a king; so also, having died and been buried in Jerusalem, he signified that the same Lord would suffer and be buried in that city, but would rise again from the grave. Therefore, after the gate of the fountain, and the walls of the pool of Siloam, which reach into the king's garden, and up to the steps that descend from the city of David, even up to the tomb of the same David the measure of the holy city extends; because he who preaches the faith of divine eternity, who declares the dispensation of the Lord's incarnation, who relates the fruitfulness of the Church adhering to Christ; of which he Himself says: A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse (Song of Solomon IV); he declares to the faithful listeners that not only do they need to imitate those steps of good deeds by which they ascend to the eternal homeland; but also they must always recall the sacrament of the Lord's Passion to their memory, that they may recognize that through Him who died and rose again for them, they too are to be raised from the region and shadow of death to life, and to ascend to the heavenly kingdom. It follows well, however:
Nehemiah 3:16
And up to the pool, etc. The pool, indeed, constructed with great effort, can not be unreasonably understood as divine Scripture; which, created by the work of the Holy Spirit, provides for us a washing to cleanse sins, and at the same time offers a cup of salvific taste. Which if it has been transformed for us by the Lord into wine, that is, translated into a spiritual sense, it inebriates us with the more pleasant sweetness of truth. Wherein also is the house of the strong; for whoever has been accustomed to be refreshed by the frequent streams of divine words by hearing and doing, they are rendered strong and invincible against all the snares of the ancient enemy. Therefore, after the tomb of David, in the holy city a pool constructed with great effort is placed, to which the house of the strong is adjacent; because through the passion of the Lord, the abyss of the Scriptures has been revealed to us, by whose abundance the hearts of the faithful are strengthened, and the city of Christ made impregnable to all enemies. For if the waters fail or are obtained by the enemy, the city is easily captured. And if the ancient enemy removes from us the fountain of the word of God, nothing prevents the fierce attacker and destroyer from immediately ascending the citadel of our mind.
Nehemiah 3:17
After him, their brothers, the Levites, built, etc. Up to this point, the first wall of the city is constructed, from here the measure of the second, that is, the inner wall, which we mentioned above, begins. Hence, in this description, it is said that many of the builders built opposite their own house; for many houses of the city were either adjacent to or joined to the inner wall. Therefore, after the construction of the outer wall, the measure of the second wall follows also in our city, when, after the perfection of works and speech—which can appear to men—we strive more to please God in the inner parts of our mind, so that we may not presume to conceive anything in secret that would offend the eyes of the internal judge. And it is rightly said that the second measure is built against the ascent of the most solid corner; the most solid corner indeed is the Lord, who brought together the people of the Jews and the Gentiles in His faith and love; hence in the Psalm (Psalm 117) or Isaiah (Isaiah 28), He is called the cornerstone. Against the ascent of which corner the second measure is built, when through the purity of pious thought we strive to reach the vision of our Creator; even when held in this life, we frequently sigh with longing for His vision. From here follow many orders of builders who are said to have built the second measure, because the greatest structure of the holy Church is in the fortification of inner virtue, when we, of course, guard our heart with all vigilance, for from it springs life. To discuss these individually and to draw everything to spiritual understanding would be too lengthy.
Nehemiah 3:26
The Nathinnei, however, dwelt in Ophel, etc. The Nathinnei are considered to be the Gibeonites, who served the house of the Lord with faithful devotion according to the arrangement of Joshua the son of Nun. Ophel, however, was a tower, not far from the temple, of enormous height. Hence, Ophel, that is, of darkness, or named after a cloud, because its head rose up to the clouds. Finally, where it is written in Micah: And the tower of the flock, the cloud of the daughter of Zion (Micah IV); in Hebrew, for the cloudy tower, it is written "the tower Ophel. This tower is mentioned, and its part within the city is indicated in the book of Chronicles, referring to King Manasseh, which we also previously noted, that he built a wall outside the city of David to the west of Gihon in the valley, from the entrance of the fish gate around up to Ophel (II Chron. XXXIII). Therefore, according to the location, it was fitting that the temple servants lived in the nearby temple tower. However, according to the mystical sense as well, Nathinnei dwell in Ophel, that is, in the cloudy tower, when those dedicated to God in the profession of a more perfect life, always live in the fortress and height of virtues and actions and thoughts. Saying with the Apostle, For our conversation is in heaven (Phil. III). Of whom the multitude of the people also testifies with admiration, saying: Who are these who fly like clouds? (Isa. LX).
Similarly, Nathinnei dwell in Ophel, when those distinguished in the garb of religion have learned to penetrate the hidden things of Scripture, about which it is said, Dark water in the clouds of the sky; that is, the mystical knowledge in the prophets with an illuminated heart, and to meditate on these readings day and night. Regarding their habitation, it is aptly added: Up to the water gate towards the east and the tower that projected. For the gate of waters is the Lord, who daily waters us with the grace of his mercy lest we fail in the troubles of the present life. The Psalmist desired to enter this gate, when he said: As the deer pants for the fountains of water, so my soul desires you, God (Psalm XLI). This gate is fittingly mentioned as positioned towards the east; because indeed the same Lord, who, by the torrent of his pleasure, drenches us lest we thirst, also illuminates us with the gift of his visitation, lest we dwell in the darkness of errors. Accordingly, Zechariah says: The dawn from on high has visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke I). He also defends us with the protection of his aid, lest we be touched by the enemy. Hence it aptly follows: And up to the tower that projected. Understanding this, the same Psalmist said: You led me, because you have been my hope, a tower of strength in the face of the enemy (Psalm LX).
Therefore, the Nathinnei dwell in Ophel, up to the water gate towards the east, and the tower that projected; when faithful persons dedicated to sacred readings rejoice in being drenched and illuminated by divine mercy and grace, and in always being protected from the enemy. And because after the present gifts of virtues one ascends to see the clarity of the dominical man, it is rightly added:
Nehemiah 3:27
After them, the Tekoites repaired another section, etc. Indeed, the wall of the temple is the body of the Lord Savior, about which He Himself said to the Jews: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2): which, of course, the temple of His body, His persecutors destroyed in death, but being raised up, and exalted to the heavens, His lovers saw in glory, and do not cease to see forever. Therefore, from the great and eminent tower, even to the wall of the temple, the structure of the holy city is reached, as every just person, from the height of contemplation, in which, with earthly temporals despised even in this life, they are elevated to aspire to celestial things, and in that life, with the brightness of the Lord's incarnation revealed, they also ascend to the eternity of divine glory. And because Tekoa means trumpet or horn, the Tekoites are interpreted as trumpeters, it is aptly said that the Tekoites built these things; for it is the duty of teachers, whose sound has gone out to all the earth, to reveal either the present gifts of God, or the future in His city, that is, the people of the faithful.
Nehemiah 3:28
Upwards to the Horse Gate they built, etc. Jeremiah mentions this gate and designates it to be on the eastern side of the city, writing typically about the holy Church: And the city shall be built for the Lord from the tower of Hananeel (Jer. XXI). And a little later: Up to the brook Kidron, and unto the corner of the Horse Gate eastwards (Ibid.). Horses, when taken in a good sense, like donkeys, camels, and mules, sometimes signify the Gentile peoples converted to the Lord, and sometimes the cares of temporal matters rightly subjected to the Lord by the soul. The priests built the wall of God's city up to the Horse Gate, just as the holy teachers, after the calling of the Jewish people, continued spreading the word until they brought the Gentile peoples into the Holy Church. Equally, they build to the Horse Gate when they provide the example of a sufficient mode of living for those who enter the gates of the holy Church to restrain their carnal or mental desires; or certainly when they arrange their own thoughts, which they must have in dealing with their livelihood or habits, in such a way that they do not hinder the freedom of mind, with which they have always proposed to seek heavenly things. And it is aptly added about the laborers, "Everyone against his own house"; this phrase is often repeated in this construction of the holy city.
There is no need to labor in explaining how in the holy Church each one should build a wall of virtues against his own house and fortify his mind against the devil's snares; so that he who roams about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Pet. V), cannot in any way break in, while each one fortifies his own body and mind with the strong faith in the Lord. But everyone also builds against his own house if he protects with diligent guard of regular discipline those who are committed to him, so that they cannot be deceived either by the incursion of vices or by heretical persuasion. It would take a long time to discuss in spiritual interpretation each of the buildings of the holy city or its builders; which, even without our speaking, the skilled reader can very easily recognize. This much, however, should be noted, that those who build the gates and towers, through which either citizens may enter or enemies be warded off, are the prophets, apostles, and evangelists; through whom the form and order of faith and right action have been provided to us, by which we ought to enter the unity of the holy Church; and by whose words we learn how to refute and repel the adversaries of truth. But those who build with other words are the pastors and teachers, whom the Apostle placed second, through whose diligence the Catholic faith, which was built by the great architects of the Church, is preserved throughout the world to this day.
And just as Nehemiah, enumerating the builders of the city in order, renders them perpetually memorable; so the Lord, the comforter of our poverty, inscribes the names in heaven of all who build up His Church among the elect. But let us consider the remaining matters as well.
Chapter 19
Sanballat and Tobiah mock the builders, but they are scorned; they wage wars, but they are repelled by prayers and arms. (Nehemiah IV.) [Nehemiah 4:1] -- Now it came to pass, when Sanballat heard, etc. Clearly, this is the anger of the heretics, these are their words, who vainly call themselves Samaritans, that is, guardians of God's law, when they are in fact greatly opposed to God and His laws, as they have long been separated from the house of David, that is, from the unity of Christ and the Church through heresies or schisms, or wicked deeds; who fear that their own impiety might be attacked and excluded, and therefore dread the building of the walls of faith. This is the derision of all who say they know God but deny Him by their deeds. For the Samaritans served the Lord in such a way that they did not renounce their ancient gods. Today, those who imitate them typologically are those who are Christians in such a way that they also consider their belly as their god, follow greed, which the Apostle clearly calls the service of idols; and being enslaved by the other allurements of the world, they serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. And therefore, such people, like the heretics, do not want the walls of the Church to be renewed, lest, as the state of piety grows, they are forced to abandon their impiety. Such people are accustomed to call the Jews weak, that is, confessors of the faith, and easily vanquished by the nations, while in the daily contest for souls they prefer to embrace vices rather than to obtain the palm of victory through virtue. And because there are some among the heretics who even deny forgiveness to those who repent after falling, it is rightly added in the person of these:
Nehemiah 4:2
"Will the stones be rebuilt?" etc. For the stones were rebuilt, burnt from the heaps of dust, and were placed again in the work of the holy city, when those who had either denied the faith under the fire of persecutions or had lost the purity of conduct under the grips of vice, repented by the mercy of the Lord; so that they both recover the integrity of the catholic faith by steadfast profession, and obtain the ornaments of virtues by amended morals.
Nehemiah 4:3
But also Tobias the Ammonite, his neighbor, said: Let them build, etc. And both the person and words of this Tobias agree with heretics. The person indeed, because his patriarch Ammon was conceived from incest and drunkenness, and at night and in a cave. All of which clearly can be easily applied to any heresiarch; whose entire origin is from carnal pleasure and impurity, from the darkness of errors or crimes, from private gatherings, and not from the public symbol of the holy Church. Indeed, Tobias himself, meaning "good" of the Lord, said not by merit and truth, but by arrogance and pride, that the wall of the holy city could be leaped over by a fox; it is evident that heretics are called foxes. From which is that of the Song of Songs: Catch for us the little foxes that ruin the vineyards (Cant. II); which is to say quite clearly, Catch and bring to light the putrid and deceitful cunning of heretics, by which they strive to corrupt the fruitful minds of the faithful. Therefore, if, he says, a fox climbs up, it will leap over their stone wall. If against their faith's assertion any heretic arises, he immediately becomes proud and will subject all the confidence of their doctrine to his feet, which they boast is fortified like a stone and founded in Christ. But such blasphemers will come to what the sacred writer of this history, in imprecation, adds:
Nehemiah 4:4
Hear, our God, for we have become an object of contempt, etc. Similar to that of the Psalmist about the enemies of the elect, speaking as if under the guise of one wicked person: His trouble will return on his own head, and his violence will descend on his own crown (Psalm VII). [Nehemiah 4:9] -- And we prayed to our God, etc. This is the only refuge against all the enemies of the Church, namely prayer to God, and the industry of teachers who meditating day and night on his law, fortify the hearts of the faithful against the snares of the devil and his soldiers by preaching, consoling, and exhorting them. [Nehemiah 4:10] -- But Judas said: The strength of the bearer is weakened, etc. Judas speaks of the tribe of Judah’s sons. However, the question is about not being able to build the wall because an excessive amount of soil was piled up at the place of the wall, which first needed to be removed so that the foundations of the wall could be laid on solid ground. This relates to the parable of the evangelical house, whose builder dug deep; and with the accumulation of earth removed, he laid the foundation on rock that could not be toppled by any force of water or wind (Matthew VII; Luke VI). For first, the soil of earthly desires must be removed from our hearts, and then the firm and impregnable wall of good works must be built upon the foundation of faith; for whoever attempts to erect the edifice of holy action upon the soil and rubble of weak thoughts is deceived, and instead of a house or city, he will soon find, when the storm of temptation strikes, that he has built ruin.
Nehemiah 4:11
And our enemies said: Let them not know and understand, etc. And this is always accustomed to be done in the spiritual building. For the tireless enemy remains with his satellites, namely unclean spirits and wicked men, who, caring less for the works of faith and virtues, strive to hinder and, as much as they can, always to attack, and they seek to kill the mind of the faithful with the sword of wicked suggestion. But we, according to the Apostle, must take up the armor of God against these, so that we may be able to resist on the evil day, and stand perfect in all things (Eph. VI). However, it is well said that he set up people with arms around the wall, so that the builders, surrounded by a line of armed men, might apply themselves to building the wall with a freer and more secure hand. For the degrees of the faithful are divided, and some adorn the Church with good works within; others, armed with the arms of sacred reading, watch over the Church against those heretics attacking it. These comfort their neighbors in the truth of the faith with devout religious fervor, those exercise necessary combat against the darts of the devil or vices, by which they labor to attack the same faith, and repel the insidious wolves from the Lord’s fold with pastoral care.
Nehemiah 4:15
And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it had been made known to us, God had frustrated their plan, etc. And in the spiritual building, if we have always been clothed with apostolic arms, the plan of the devil and his angels, who desire to defeat us, will be frustrated.
Chapter 20
All the builders, armed and prepared for battle, were thus committed to the building of the walls.
Nehemiah 4:18
And it happened from that day on, that half of the young men did the work, etc. It is to be noted that not only half of the young men did the work and the other half were prepared for war, but even those who did the work, the youths, were girded with swords. For so great is the cunning of the ancient enemy, so great is the fury of his militia fighting against the Church, that not only the preachers of truth, but also the people of God themselves must always be vigilant against his schemes and stand as if in battle array. Indeed, those who build gird their loins with swords when those who devote themselves to good works, who take care to arrange those entrusted to them in an orderly manner (that is, to place living stones in the building of the holy city fittingly), strive to restrain the flows of luxury in themselves by the keenness of the word of God. Nor should it be overlooked that when David or Solomon built that same city, nothing is reported about armed builders or adversaries attacking; but when the city was destroyed due to their sins, it was rebuilt with greater labor and industry, because such is the spiritual building that pertains to the salvation of souls, that in baptism, reborn through faith and the confession of the Holy Trinity, we become his city and house by the grace of God without any of our labor.
And if after the washing of the sacred font, we relapse into sins, seduced by the devil, and the enemy, victorious, destroys the walls of our virtues with the fire of vices, we must repair the buildings of good works we have lost with greater efforts of prayer, affliction, vigils, alms, and a stricter way of life. For it is more difficult for those who have experienced the allurements of vice to abstain from them than for those who are ignorant of them; and it is less laborious to beware of the unknown pleasure of the flesh than to reject the known one.
Nehemiah 4:21
Let each one remain with his child, etc. Note how much effort they had in working, who also continued in labor at night. Thus the Apostle did, who worked night and day with his hands, so as not to burden any of the believers by seeking a livelihood (I Cor. IV). Unless perhaps they are to be believed to have succeeded each other in turns working, so that some worked by day on the wall, and others kept night watch against the attacks of enemies. For even the builders of our city do both at the same time. And those same ones who build up the Church by instructing the faithful, also drive away unbelievers and contradictors by reproving them from injuring the Church.
Chapter 21
Upon the people being stirred into uproar due to hunger and scarcity, Nehemiah compels the nobles and magistrates not to demand interest from their brothers, but rather to provide money for them. (II. Esdras V.)
Nehemiah 5:1
And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives, etc. Indeed, the people desired to build the city wall, but due to the great famine, they were hindered from the sacred work. This famine was caused not only by the shortage of crops but also by the greed of the rulers, who demanded greater tributes from the same people than they could pay, which we see happening in the same manner among us daily. For how many are there among the people of God who willingly desire to obey divine commands, but are prevented from fulfilling what they desire by the lack of temporal goods and poverty, and the examples of those who seem to be adorned with the appearance of religion, when they themselves, from those they appear to govern, demand an immense weight and tribute of secular goods, and contribute nothing to their eternal salvation, either by teaching, or providing examples of living, or by performing works of piety. And would that some Nehemiah in our days, that is, a comforter sent by the Lord, would restrain our errors, ignite our hearts towards divine love, turning our hands away from our own wills to build the city of Christ. But let us see according to the letter, for the outcry of the afflicted people was increased by a threefold distinction. Some, indeed, compelled by hunger, were arranging to sell their children for food to the wealthier; others, sparing their children, preferred to give their fields and homes for food; still others, preventing both the sale of their children and their fields, only persuaded this, that they should borrow money for the king's tribute, with their fields and vineyards given in pledge, until, with the return of abundance and crops, they could repay what they had borrowed to the moneylenders.
Nehemiah 5:7
And he rebuked the nobles and magistrates, etc. As the best leader of the heavenly army, and a wise architect of the city of God, what he wanted the nobles and magistrates of the people to do, he first declared that he himself had done; namely, giving alms to the poor, and seeking nothing from them except the observance of the law of God and the edification of his city. In this reading, it is not appropriate for us to seek the sense through allegory, but rather to diligently observe the very text of the letter; that is to say, apart from the daily fruits of alms, we should be concerned, when a general time of famine and poverty afflicts the people, to lend to the needy whatever we can, and also to remit the tributes which we used to demand from our subjects as if justly, to the extent that our Father may also forgive us our debts. A very terrible conclusion is imposed on this reading, when it is said:
Nehemiah 5:13
Moreover, I shook out the fold of my garment, and said, etc. For whoever either refuses to give mercy to the poor, or does not blush to demand back what they do not have, as if justly, this person is shaken out of his house, namely, from the assembly of the holy Church, in which he believed he would remain forever, thrown out. He is also shaken out of his labors, that is, deprived of the fruit of the good works in which he thought he had laudably labored. For labors without pity cannot become fruitful before the Lord. How greatly this rebuke or imprecation of Nehemiah moved the hearts of all is clearly declared, when it is immediately added: [Nehemiah 5:13] -- And all the multitude said, Amen, etc. For when, having heard his testimony, all responded Amen, and praising God, they did what was commanded; it is evident, indeed, that they received his words not compelled by fear, but with the deep affection of their heart.
Chapter 22
Nehemiah explains how much piety he brought to the people by his own example. [Nehemiah 5:14] -- From the day on which he commanded me to be their leader, etc. Explaining this typologically, the Apostle says: “For the Lord has ordained that those who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel; but I have used none of these things” (I Cor. IX). Nehemiah, along with his brothers, lived in such a way for twelve years during his leadership that they did not consume the provisions owed to the leaders, thereby mystically indicating that it is an apostolic work when someone promoted to the governance of the people of God nobly exercises the work of leadership by building up the Church, but does not seek material gain from those he governs by preaching and living well.