Interpretatio Mystica Progenitorum Christi

The Mystical Interpretation of the Ancestors of Christ by Saint Aileran the Scoto-Hibernian Abbot (Bibliotheca Patrum, vol. XII, p. 39). It seems opportune to set forth the mystical understandings of the names of the Lord’s genealogy, as perceived by the authority of the Fathers alone, with that sense especially established, so that how the interpretation is to be referred to our Lord Jesus in the case of each man may be supported by suitable testimonies of the Sacred Scriptures, and that all the generations of the genealogy may be taught to have prefigured and prophesied the Saviour Himself, whose genealogies are uncertain by divine providence. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Priest according to the order of Melchisedech (Ps. CIX), and King according to the election of David, whom Samuel anointed as king and prophet before his brothers (1 Sam. XVI, 18), as also the Father anointed Jesus Christ with the oil of joy before His fellows (Heb. I, 9), is called Patriarch among patriarchs, Priest among priests, Judge among judges, Prophet among prophets, Leader among leaders, Apostle among apostles; among angels, He is called the Angel of the great counsel.

In Abraham the High Father is understood (Jerome, On the Interpretation of Hebrew Names, from Genesis), concerning whom among other things Isaiah speaks: "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of the coming age, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). And David says: "But if his sons abandon my law and do not walk in my judgments; if they profane my justices and do not keep my commandments, I will visit their iniquities with a rod" (Psalm 88). For when the sons of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he begot by the word of life and caused to be reborn through baptism, fall, they will not be dashed to pieces; because the Lord places under them the hand of his mercy (Psalm 36:24), which he extended to Peter when he was in peril (Matthew 14:30). In Isaac, joy (Philo, On the Interpretation of Hebrew Names, from Genesis; Origen, Homilies on Genesis); as the angel said to the shepherds: "Behold, I announce to you a great joy, which will be among all the people" (Luke 2:10), for as he had said to Zacharias concerning John the Baptist: "And many will rejoice at his birth" (Luke 1:14). For when prophets and holy men and those born by divine promise came, joy arose for parents and relatives; but when the Redeemer of all and the Lord of the whole world was born, incomparable and greatest joy is deservedly announced to all the people, that is, to the whole human race, as having arisen.

In Jacob the supplanter (Gen. 27:36; Origen, Homilies on Exodus; Arnobius, On Psalm 52). For he himself says: No one can enter the house of the strong man and seize his vessels unless he first binds the strong man (Matt. 12:29); for the Lord supplanted Satan when he said: Go back, Satan (Mark 8:31); for he thrust the foot back. In Judah the confessor (Jerome, On Chapter 3 of Mark, and in the Book of Interpretation of Names from Matthew; Origen, Homilies on Genesis), who said: I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth (Matt. 12:25). In Phares the Divider (Origen, Homilies on Matthew), who separates the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:32), that is, the fruitful from the unfruitful. In Zara the Eastern (Philo, Book of Interpretation of Names from Genesis), concerning whom the prophetic spirit says: Behold, a man named East. Concerning whom also Zechariah says: The East has visited us from on high (Zech. 6:12; Luke 1:78). And elsewhere: For those who fear the name of the Lord, the sun of righteousness will rise, and health in its wings (Mal. 4:2); whose day's rising and setting Abraham desired to see, and saw (John 8:56). But we must understand the rising as the nativity, by which the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), and the setting as the death of the cross, which he suffered for us (Phil. 2:8). For that eternal and ineffable day of Divinity, of which it is said: Today groan (Ps. 109:4), is always a beginning, but knows no rising; it is always an end, but has no setting.

But the word "scarlet" is derived from the Lord in such a way that it signifies either the red blood of the passion, or the inextinguishable ardor of fiery charity (of which he gave an example) in him. In Esdron. He saw an arrow (Origen, Homilies on Matthew; Augustine, On Psalm 87; Hesychius, On Leviticus 14), or his court (Philo, Book of Interpretation of the Man, On Joshua), to whom it is said: The arrows of the mighty one are sharp (Psalm 119:4); but his arrows are the Lord's precepts, or the judgments of the one judging. The court, that is, a broad house open to all, is so called because, inviting all to himself, he says: Come to me, all who labor and are burdened (Matthew 11:28). And again: He who abides in me and I in him, this one bears much fruit (John 15:5); and again: Go, he says, to the exits of the ways, and compel all to enter (Luke 14:23). In Aram. The Chosen One, of whom he speaks thus: Behold my boy, whom I have chosen, my chosen one, I have placed my spirit upon him (Matthew 12:18); and truly who is the chosen boy, except he who from boyhood rejected evil and chose what is good (Isaiah 7:15); which is not common to all boys, except for one boy, who from sin, without sin, was born like an unputrid worm from putrefaction.

In Aminadab: My people, spontaneous (Philo, On the Interpretation of Names, from Exodus, Numbers, Judges), who says: No one takes my soul from me myself (John 10:18). And: If you wish to come into life, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17). In Naason: the diviner (Jerome, On the Interpretation of Hebrew Names, from the Acts of the Apostles and Matthew), who promises, saying: When the Son of Man comes in his majesty (Luke 9:26), whose prophecy looked to three times of prophecy: to the past, as in: He saw Abraham’s day [my day], and rejoiced; to the present, as in: Why do you think evil in your hearts (John 8:56)? To the future, as in: For they will be like angels in heaven (Matthew 9:4); and that: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise [it] up (John 2:19). In Salomon: the sensible one (Jerome, On the Interpretation of Names, from Matthew); Mark 12:25, who says: Someone touched me, for I felt power go out from me (Luke 8:46). And: Why do you think evil in your hearts (Matthew 9:4)? Truly he is sensible, who discerns thoughts as deeds, and future things as present; as it is written of him: Who made things that are to come (Wisdom 8:8).

In Booz, in whom there is strength (Philo, On the Interpretation of Names, from the Book of Judges, Ruth), who says: I will draw everything to myself (John 12:32). Every man’s virtue fails in death, but the Word which became flesh has been made stronger from weakness, more alive from death, higher from humility. In Obed, serving (Josephus, Antiquities, Book V, chapter 14), who did not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28); and likewise the Apostle: He took, he says, the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7). In Jesse, incense (Philo, On the Interpretation of Names, from 1 and 3 Kings), who says: I have come to cast fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49). And John: He himself, he says, will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3). In David, desirable (Jerome, On the Interpretation of Names, from Matthew and the Acts of the Apostles), of whom the evangelist says: And his face shone like the sun (Matthew 17:2). Whence also the Prophet had said: Beautiful in form before the sons of men (Psalm 44:3).

In Solomon, the peacemaker (Origen, Homilies on John), who says: I give you my peace (John 14:27). By adding “my,” he shows that he hates not his own peace; concerning which it is said: I did not come to bring peace to the earth, but the sword (Matthew 10:34). And the Apostle concerning Christ: He himself, he says, is our peace, who made both one (Ephesians 2:14). In Rehoboam, the breadth of the people (Philo, On the Interpretation of Names, from 2 Kings; Jerome, ibid., from Matthew), when he says: Many will come from the East and the West, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8). And likewise elsewhere: Come to me, all who labor and are burdened (Matthew 11:28); but the rush of the people is so called because, just as lightning goes out from the East and appears as far as the West, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:27). In Abijah, the Father is Lord (Jerome, as above, from Matthew), who says: Do not call anyone Father to you on earth (Matthew 23:9), not because we say there are two in the Godhead, but because even the human father of that man is the father of the one he teaches, as Paul says: For even if you have ten thousand teachers in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in CHRIST JESUS through the Gospel I have begotten you (1 Corinthians 4). But if a disciple deserved to be called father, how much more so his Master.

In Asa, the one who lifts up (Philo, On the Interpretation of the Names, On 3 Kings, Jeremiah), concerning whom John says: Behold, he says, the Lamb of God, who takes away sins (John 1:29). In Jehoshaphat, the one who judges (Philo, ibid., 2 Kings 3), as he says: The Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). In Joram, where there is a high one (Philo, ibid., 3 Kings; Jerome, ibid., On Matthew), as he says: No one ascends into heaven except he who descended from heaven (John 3:13). In Uzziah, the strong one of the Lord (Philo, ibid., On Isaiah), who said: Lazarus, come forth (John 11:43). For then the voice of the Lord was in its power, when it recalled the soul of the four-days-dead man from the underworld, and the body from the tomb. In Jotham, the completed one (Jerome, Book of Interpretation of Hebrew Names, On Matthew), concerning whom it is said: Having completed every temptation (Luke 4:13); and at the end of all things that were prophesied about him it is said: And when he had completed. Then he spoke all these words to his disciples: You know that after two days the Passover will take place (Matthew 26:2). And hanging on the cross and given vinegar to drink, he said: It is completed, and having bowed his head he gave up his spirit (John 19:30). But if he is called perfect (Author of the Unfinished Work, Homily on Matthew), it is explained thus, because he who commands his own to be perfect, saying: Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48); Jesus ought to have been called perfect above all others, since he began to do and to teach (Acts 1:1) those things which are perfect.

In Ahaz, the one who turns (Author of the Opus Imperfectum, Homily on Matthew, and Origen, On Exodus), who says: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near (Matthew 3:2); or the one who seizes (Philo, On the Interpretation of the Names, On Micah), who, having seized the hand of Peter's mother-in-law, healed the woman with a fever (Luke 4:38), and raised the dead daughter of a ruler (Matthew 9:23). Paul also: If in any way, he says, I may seize that by which I have been seized (Philippians 3:12). Likewise elsewhere: For he does not seize angels, but he seizes the seed of Abraham (Hebrews 22:16). In Hezekiah, the Lord strengthened (Author, anonymous, Homily on Matthew), who says: Have confidence, I have conquered the world (John 16:31). And Paul: But we, he says, preach: Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). In Manasseh, the forgetful one (Philo, as above on Genesis), who says: Many sins are forgiven him, because he loved much (Luke 7:47); for charity covers a multitude of sins (James 5:20). And Ezekiel: On whatever day, he says, the unjust man has turned from his injustice, all his iniquities will be consigned to oblivion (Ezekiel 18).

In Amon, the faithful one (Philo, ibid., On Jeremiah), who says: Ask and it will be given to you (Matthew 7:7). And Paul says: So that he might become merciful, and a faithful High Priest before the Lord (Hebrews 2:17). And John in the Apocalypse: And from Jesus Christ, who is a faithful witness (Apocalypse 1:5); but one is called faithful whose promises are always faithful, which are both to be hoped for and to be feared in equal measure. In Josiah, where there is the incense of the Lord (Jerome, Interpretation of Hebrew Names), of whom it is said: And he prayed more at length (Luke 22:44); but how prayer is said to be incense, the Psalmist testifies, saying: Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed like incense before you (Psalm 140:2). In Jeconiah, the one who prepares (Jerome, ibid.; and Philo, 4th Interpretation of Names, on 1 Kings and Jeremiah), as he says: If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again to you, and take you to myself (John 5:3).

If, however, Joachim and Joachin are properly distinguished, that is, the Father; in Joachin the Lord’s resurrection is spoken of (Jerome, ibid., on Matthew), as he says: After I have risen, I will go before you into Galilee (Matthew 26:2); in Joachim the Lord’s preparation (Author of the Imperfect Work, homily on Matthew), who said: Come, blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world (Matthew 25:34). In Salathiel, my petition is God (Jerome, ibid., on Matthew; Philo, ibid., on Haggai), who said: Holy Father, keep those whom you have given to me (John 17:11). In Zorobabel, he himself is the master of confusion (Jerome, ibid.), as he says: Many will come from the East and the West and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11); and of the same it is said: Why does your Master eat with publicans and sinners (Mark 2:16)? In Abiud, that one is my Father (Philo, ibid., Exodus), who says: I and my Father are one (John 10:30).

In Eliakim the Lord will raise up (Philo, ibid., On the Books of Kings), as he says: He who believes in me will not die forever, but I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:40). In Azor, helped (Philo, On the Interpretation of Names, On 3 Kings, Jeremiah), as he says: I am not alone, because the Father is with me (John 8:19). In Zadok justified (Jerome, On the Interpretation of Names, On Luke), as he says: I speak the truth, because he who sent me is truthful (John 8:26); to whom it is also said: You will be justified in your words (Psalm 50:6). And John: We have, he says, an advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the just (John 2:1). In Achim My brother (Origen, Homily on Joshua), as he says: Whoever does the will of my Father, he is my brother, and my mother, and my sister (Matthew 12:50), or mother’s brother; indeed the Lord is called mother’s brother, since we all (at Christ’s command) say to one Father: Our Father who art in heaven (Ibid.).

In Eliud, My God is this (Philo, On the Interpretation of Names, On the First Book of Kings), to whom Thomas says: My Lord and my God (John 20:28). But what else does the pronoun "this" signify except the marks of the nails and the lance, which show the true knowledge of the body. In Eleazar, My God is helper (Philo, On the Interpretation of Names, On Genesis and Exodus), as he says: And He who sent me, my Father, is with me (John 8:16). In Mathan, giving (Jerome, On the Interpretation of Names, On Matthew), as he says: I have forgiven you every debt because you asked me (Matthew 18:32). In Jacob, supplanter (Origen, Homily on Exodus), as he says: I have given you the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon every power of the enemy (Luke 10). In Joseph, increased, or adding (Philo, ibid., On Genesis; Josephus, Antiquities, Book I, Chapter 17), as he says: I have come so that they may have life; and may have it more abundantly (John 10:10); and elsewhere: And I have other sheep which are not of this fold, and I must bring them so that there may be one flock and one Shepherd (John 10).

Thus far, as we have been able, we have set forth with examples from sacred Scripture how Christ was prefigured and prophesied in all the genealogies or generations.