Explanatio Eorundem Nominum Ab Eodem Compilata

Likewise, a moral explanation of the same names, compiled by the same author. It also seems opportune that we derive the names of the same genealogy, through interpretation as well, in broader figures, to a moral understanding, as far as we are able. Therefore, understanding this in holy Abraham, let us strive to become fathers of holy nations—that is, of the perfect virtues of the soul—which, after the evil nations—that is, the death-dealing vices—have been uprooted, destroyed, scattered, and laid waste, holy Jeremiah is commanded by the Lord to build and to plant. In the type of these vices, the seven nations of the Canaanites, like so many principal vices, were wiped out by the people of Israel (Cassian, Collation 5, chapter 22), and their land was possessed by the same people by hereditary right. Let us also be strangers and pilgrims in this world, in the likeness of Abraham, as were all our fathers; and let us also offer to God, at the Lord’s command, the whole joy of this present life, like Isaac, our dearest son, so that we may rejoice forever with Christ, as He Himself says: “Blessed are those who mourn now, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5).

In Isaac we are enriched a hundredfold in fruit, and we rejoice in trials, and we take Rebecca as a second wife, that is, we have patience, as the Apostle James says: Consider all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, so that through patience and the consolation of the Scriptures we may have hope, according to Paul’s saying (Rom. 15); let us always rejoice in the Lord; for without God, even if we have rejoiced, we cannot always rejoice; for this is the everlasting and true and complete joy, which is begun here through faith and is perfected there through vision; just as present worldly joy is ended by its conclusion and destroyed by grief, so that future joy knows no end nor is interrupted by sorrows. In Jacob, let us supplant our old man Edom, that is, the earthly man, with the new man, and let the spirit of our mind, renewed according to the Lord, obtain the name of supplanter. For the flesh, according to the Apostle, desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh (Gal. 5); that is, the elder brother against the younger, and the younger against the elder, because what is spiritual is not prior, but what is animate (1 Cor. 15); but [the text is missing].

in this struggle of wrestling, whoever emerges as victor, having overcome the carnal and old man, and having mortified his members which are upon the earth, becomes pure in heart—that is, emptied of vices and filled with virtues—and, passing from the active to the contemplative life, will merit being called by the name of Israel, that is, "man," or "mind seeing the Lord," or "prince with God," or "directed [beloved] of the Lord," whom he will see in the present life through faith, and in the future will contemplate face to face: "Blessed," he says, "are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5). In Judah, that we may praise and always glorify the Lord, and confess to him, praising his name. Now, confession in the divine Scriptures is of two kinds; for it either pertains to the satisfaction of penance, as they were baptized by him confessing their sins (Matthew 3); and again: "Confess," he says, "your sins to one another" (James 5); or it is referred to the giving of thanks and praise, as the holy Daniel: "To you," he says, "God of our fathers, I confess, and I praise you" (Daniel 2); and again in the Gospel, he who like a sheep committed no sin: "I confess," he says, "to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth" (Matthew 11), that is, I give thanks to you, or I glorify (St. Augustine, Sermon on the Words of the Lord).

Therefore, let us hasten in confession before the face of the Lord and confess our sins; for we have an advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2). Let us lay bare our wounds to the healer; for he who reads nourishes his own wounds; let hidden offenses be revealed to the Lord; once revealed through penance, let them be covered by the Lord’s mercy; in both adversities and prosperities, let us praise Christ, giving thanks in all things to the Lord God the Father through Him. In Phares, let us divide rightly and offer rightly to the Lord, shunning the most wicked example of that parricide, and let us divide our patrimonies among the needy and render to parents what belongs to parents; moreover, let us strive to be dividers of the office of the upper waters from the lower, that is, with patience interposing as a firmament, let us separate virtues from vices, and, having become pure animals, let us be taken up into Noah’s ark, dividing the intellectual hoof, that is, distinguishing letter from spirit, and, as we said before, vices from virtues. Let us also approve all things according to the Apostle, and hold fast only to what is good, so that when the day of that terrible judgment arrives, we who have judged ourselves may not be judged by the Lord, nor be condemned with the wicked world (1 Thessalonians 5).

In Zara [or Zaram], so that the morning star may rise in our hearts (2 Pet. 1) and the sun of justice, which rises for those who fear the Lord and sets for the negligent, may illuminate us—namely, the true light which illuminates every man coming into this world (John 1); and may it not set upon our wrath or upon any deadly vice: radiant with whose brightness we ourselves shall shine like stars for everlasting eternities (Dan. 12), and we shall rise like lights for this world, bearing the word of life, so that our light may shine before men, and our works may glorify our Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5); nor is it enough for us only to believe in Christ, but, if necessity so compels, let us be prepared also to shed our own blood for his name and to undergo the joined passion of the martyrs. Let our scarlet [or crimson] also be twice-dyed, that is, let it be filled through the Holy Spirit with the fiery love of God and of neighbor; concerning which it is said: Many waters could not extinguish charity; its lamps are lamps of fire and flames (Song 8).

In Esron, so that we may foresee the burning arrows of the devil, the fiery darts of the Enemy, with the penetrating gaze of the heart, and be able to say with the Apostle Paul: "For we are not ignorant of his wiles" (2 Cor. 2); for seeing which we have need of watchful eyes of the heart. For, says the Apostle, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6). And therefore, as the same Apostle says elsewhere: "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual" (2 Cor. 10); for with spiritual and invisible weapons of the invisible soul, we must fight against invisible enemies. Let us therefore take up, according to the Apostle (Eph. 6; 1 Thess. 5), so that we may be able to resist on the evil day, taking in all things the shield of faith, with which we can extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy, and the helmet of hope, and the breastplate of charity, and the sword of the spirit, which is the Word [of God is missing]; for the name Esron is to be understood by us in both ways, either because, as said above, we are to beware of the devil's arrows, or because, seeing the Lord's arrows, which according to the Psalmist are sharp, we may oppose them with his arrows; for no one contending in the struggle will be crowned, unless he has fought lawfully (2 Tim. 2). Let us also become an atrium, so that, as in the sanctuary of his temple, he may dwell in us, as he himself says: "I will dwell in them.

Let us also stand in the house of our Lord, in the courts of the house of our God (Ps. 115); praising the Lord because He is good. Let us enter its gates with exultation and its courts with hymns (Ps. 99); for those planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, will flourish (Ps. 91), so that after they have flourished in the courts of the present Church, they may be planted, stable, in the house of the eternal kingdom. In Aram, that we may be counted among the number of the elect of the Lord, against whom there is no one who accuses; for the Father has chosen us in Christ that we might be holy and immaculate before Him (2 Pet. 1); therefore let us make our vocation and election certain through good works, so that, since many are called, we may be found among the few elect: for all who obey the will of the Lord are called the chosen race, the royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2); likewise let us be exalted and sublime, that is, elevated by the dignity of merit, let us be raised from earthly things to heavenly ones, to which whoever clings, from the lofty dwelling of heaven, despises all transitory things.

In Aminadab, that we may be a willing people of the Lord; for in the building of the tabernacle of testimony, in which without ambiguity every Church is signified, each person offered with a ready spirit what he wished. Whence the Truth itself says: "If anyone wishes to come after me" (Matt. 16); and elsewhere: "If you wish to be perfect" (Matt. 19); and again concerning the choice of virginity, it left free will (1 Cor. 7), saying: "He who can take, let him take"; for just as the Lord acquired our life by voluntary passion, so He wishes us to sacrifice ourselves to Him voluntarily, so that He may make the voluntary good-pleasures of our mouth His own, just as He, knowing the will of the blind, asked them, saying, "What do you wish that I do for you?" (Mark 10); and immediately the faithful will was followed by the effect of healing. In Naason, that, having abandoned the worldly auguries of the gentiles, we may give faith to divine promises, and place the prosperity of all things in the will of the Lord alone, not in false divinations, as Paul says: "If somehow, he says, at last I may have a prosperous journey in the will of God for coming to you" (Rom. 1). Behold, not in fate, nor in augury, but in the Lord's will, he placed the prosperity of his journey. David also concerning the blessed man: "All things, he says, that he does will prosper" (Ps. 1), and John the Apostle: "Dearest, he says, in all things I pray that you enter prosperously" (3 John).

Therefore, having despised all worldly auguries, let us prosper in the will of God, and let us believe in divine oracles, and let us attend only to the promises of the Lord: for Charity believes all things, hopes all things (1 Cor. 13); indeed, it is said to the greatest height of praise concerning the people of Israel: "There is no augury in Jacob, nor divination in Israel" (Num. 18). In Salmon, that we may test all things sensibly in the Lord, and hold only those which are good (1 Thess. 5), and, perfected in senses, let us be children in malice (1 Cor. 14). Let us also perceive this in ourselves which is also in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider it a robbery to be equal to God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant (Phil. 2), and the rest; and with one mind, feeling one thing, with one voice let us honor the Lord, and, instructed by the senses of sacred Scripture, let us become teachable of the Lord. As the holy Isaiah says: "And all shall be teachable of God" (Isa. 54; John 3).

In Booz, that we may be strengthened in the Lord and act manfully, with Christ confirming our hands for battle and our fingers for war, so that, fortified by the strength of patience, we may be able to endure all kinds of temptations and triumph over enemies, also fearing that Apostolic saying: "How," he says, "have you become those for whom there is need of work, not of solid food" (Heb. 5)? For solid food belongs to perfect men, who have exercised senses for the discernment of good and evil. Fortified with such strength was he who said: "But I can do all things in him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4). In Obed, that we may serve the Lord in joy (Ps. 99), that is, with that servitude by which one serves the Lord not through the spirit of fear, but through the spirit of adoption as sons (Rom. 5); for just as there are two fears that produce two kinds of fearful persons, so there are two servitudes that produce two kinds of servants: one fear is penal in servitude, the other is the beginning of wisdom, the other is the fullness of divine law. Therefore, let us show ourselves to the Lord as perfect servants through perfect servitude, so that, when the time of servitude has ended, we may be called by the Lord into the eternal kingdom.

In Jesse, that we may advance the incense of prayers on the altar of our heart—"Let my prayer be directed," says David, "like incense before you" (Ps. 141); and, burning everything, let us be consumed by the fire of the spirit, offering a contrite spirit to the Lord and sacrificing to God a sacrifice of praise (Ps. 116), burning with the fire of God, of which it is said: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth" (Luke 12:49). In David, that we may forgive personal injuries and become desirable to the Lord, and have an eager desire for God—that is, that by loving the Lord, we may be loved by the Lord: "He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him" (John 14). Let us also be strong of hand—that is, by perfect work, wounding the intellectual giant with his own sword, and snatching both our own souls and those of our neighbors from the jaws of the ancient plunderer, so that, when the final judgment comes, we may shine, desirable as the sun, in the kingdom of our Father, and, having fought the good fight, we may receive from the just judge the crown of justice stored up for us in heaven.

In Solomon, that as far as it lies with us, we may have peace with all, and with the internal war of vices conquered by spiritual virtues, and with both our men reconciled into one heavenly being, we may have peace with the Lord and with our neighbor, and not only be peaceable with all, but also be peacemakers for all, and recall discordant brothers, though they be, to unity of spirit and concord. "Blessed," he says, "are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matt. 5:9). In Rehoboam, that fulfilling the broad commandment of the Lord, that is, without any discrimination of persons, we may show fraternal charity to all; according to Paul, we may be enlarged in our heart, and the children of Israel may multiply and grow in our land, that is, be filled with spiritual virtues, which resist the nation of vices. With such a people thus expanded within us, the impetus of spiritual desire may break the spiritual assault; for "the rush of the river gladdens the city of the Lord" (Ps. 46:5).

In Abia, that we may have the Lord as Father, that we may be in the Lord, so that we can truly say "Our Father" (Matthew 6). And that we may be sons of God and heirs, indeed heirs of God, but co-heirs of Christ (Romans 8), if only we suffer together, so that we may also be glorified together. In Asaph, that we may lift our mind from earthly things to heavenly things, and also from the path, according to the prophet, remove stones (Jeremiah 50), that is, from the path of holy conduct let us remove sins. In Josaphat, that we may judge rightly, examining our own faults as if we were subjects to ourselves: For if, as the Apostle says, we were to judge ourselves, we would certainly not be judged by the Lord (1 Corinthians 11). In Joram, that when we have risen with Christ, we may seek what is above, we may know what is above, not what is upon the earth, and having become elevated in the Lord, we may have our conduct in the heavens (Colossians 3). In Ozia, that from now on we may be strengthened in the Lord and in the power of his might, so that with us fighting thus, Satan may be quickly crushed under our feet (Ephesians 6).

In Joatham, that we, doing perfect works, may be perfect and whole, faltering in no kind of temptation, with Truth herself saying: "Be ye perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5). In Achas, that we may grasp that in which we are grasped, and, forgetting what is behind, stretch ourselves forward into the future, so that we may be able to grasp the true life, which is Christ. "I am," he says, "the light and life of the world" (John 8). In Ezechia, that, freed from all the languors of the soul, we may ascend into the temple of God and do his will, and, strengthened by the fortitude of the Lord, we may deserve that the setting sun of iniquity rise for us as the sun of righteousness (Malachi 4), and wherever sin, and from sin death, have approached, turning to the Lord, we may weep and beseech the Lord in penitence until, moved to mercy, he raises us up and makes us live the spiritual life.

In Manasse, that, forgetful of past evils, we may always be mindful of the name of the Lord in the night of this present age; also, that we may not seek vengeance, nor be mindful of injury to our neighbors, but, remitting all debts, we may deserve to have our own offenses loosened by the Lord, with Him saying: "Forgive, and it shall be forgiven you" (Luke 6). In Amon, that we may stand in faith, and cleave faithfully to the faithful Lord; for charity believes all things (1 Cor. 13), but faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, for what does one who sees hope for (Heb. 11)? It is faith, therefore, which makes us sons of Abraham, who believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Rom. 4), through which all our fathers also have obtained the testimony of being just. Let us therefore live by faith, and be justified by faith, because the just man lives by faith (Rom. 1). In Josia, that we may seek where we ought to burn incense to the Lord, namely ourselves, in our bodies, offering a living, holy, God-pleasing sacrifice (Rom. 12), immolating the sacrifice of praise to the Lord with words (Ps. 115), sacrificing with thoughts hearts contrite and humbled and spirits crushed; and dedicated to God by these three, namely by thought and word and deed, may we be found immaculate hosts, and, having become not unfruitful hearers, for those things which the divine law accuses in us, let us do penance, anticipating its face in confession (Ps.

XCIV), that, having received our satisfaction, He may turn away His wrath from us. In Jechonia, that we may be prepared for the coming of the Lord and always watchful (Luke 21), lest our hearts be weighed down by gluttony and drunkenness, and by the cares of this life, and that sudden day come upon us: for it comes as a snare upon all who sit upon the face of the earth. Therefore, shunning being evil and useless, and by the example of the foolish virgins, let us watch and prepare, so that, when the Lord comes, we may enter as a bride into the joy of the Lord and be admitted to the eternal wedding feast. In Joachim, that we may merit to be the resurrection of the Lord, that we may rise from the death of sin to the life of righteousness; for in baptism we are buried with Christ, that we may live with Him through righteousness; this is the first resurrection, by which only the righteous are raised. In the second, both the impious and sinners as well as the faithful will rise and be perfected, some to the resurrection of life, others to the resurrection of judgment (John 5). Blessed, says John, and holy is he who has a part in the first resurrection; over him the second death has no power (Revelation 20).

In Joachim, that, prepared from the beginning of the world, we may merit to be called with the just into the kingdom at the right hand (Matthew 25). In Zalathiel, that we may ask one petition of the Lord, that we may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life, and see His will (Psalm 22). For everyone who asks, receives (Luke 11). Let us always ask of the Lord in the name of the Savior, that is, for those things which pertain to true salvation, the Savior saying: Whatever you ask of my Father in my name, He will give you (John 14), and let equal things be sought, lest prayer be turned into sin. In Zorobabel, that with all zeal we may strive to become as much disciples of the heavenly and true teacher as teachers of disciples, so that whatever we have learned, completing it in deed, we may teach others. He who hears, it says, let him say: come (Revelation 21); he who has been invited to the spiritual banquet, let him also invite the rest, so that the house may be full of those reclining (Luke 14).

In Abiud, that God may be a Father to us, and we sons and daughters to him, and that we, begetting spiritual sons in Christ, may be fathers to them, at once disciples and masters, existing as fathers and sons, taught and begotten by the Lord, we may teach and beget offspring for the Lord, so that such offspring may reign with the eternal Father. In Eliachim, that we may rise again here in spirit, and there, revived, may live in a holy and spiritual body; for the one death of our Redeemer was salvation for our two departures, and his one resurrection granted two resurrections: namely, in the present time the vivification of the soul from the death of sin, and in the future the incorruptible resurrection of the body. In Assur, that with the Lord helping... (The rest is missing.)