Bellarmine · De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis · On the Ecclesiastical Writers
Chapter 1: The Old Testament: Moses to Abdias
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. XII, De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis, of the Old Testament. The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
Bellarmine's catalogue of the writers of the Church, from Moses to his own century, first printed at Rome in 1613. Each entry carries the year he assigns: for the Old Testament, the year of the world by his own reckoning; for the New, the year of the Lord.
On the Ecclesiastical Writers of the Old Testament
Moses. Year of the world 2483
Moses, a most holy and most ancient Prophet, and the first among the writers of the Church, was born, by my reckoning, in the year 2403 from the beginning of the world. He lived a hundred and twenty years. In the eightieth year of his life he took up, by God's command, the leadership of the Hebrews, that is, in the year of the world 2483; he died in the year of the world 2523.
He wrote the Pentateuch, that is, five volumes, whose names among the Hebrews are taken from the first words of the books. So they call the first Bereshit, that is, In the beginning; the second, We-elleh shemot, that is, These are the names; the third, Wayyiqra, that is, And he called; the fourth, Wayedabber, that is, And he spoke; the fifth, Elleh ha-debarim, that is, These are the words. The Greeks and Latins name these books from the matter treated at the beginning of the book. So they call the first book Genesis, because at the beginning is written the generation of heaven and earth and of the other created things. They call the second book Exodus, because at the beginning is described the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt; for exodus means going out. The third they call Leviticus, because in it is described the office of the Levites about the tabernacle, the sacrifices and other things of that kind. The fourth they call Numbers, because at the beginning of the book the multitude of the children of Israel is numbered by their tribes and families. The fifth they call Deuteronomy, as it were the second law, because in it the law of the Lord given on Mount Sinai is repeated and explained.
From these books it can be understood that Moses was a most learned man, not only in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, as St. Stephen says in Acts 7, but also in the arts of history, poetry, oratory, morals and theology. For he writes the history, the genealogies and the deeds of the Patriarchs from the founding of the world to the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt, that is, from the beginning of time to the year 2483, and indeed to his own death, that is, to the year 2523. What is written after the death of Moses himself, in the last chapter of Deuteronomy, was added either by Joshua, or by Esdras, or by some other Prophet.
That Moses was also a notable poet is witnessed by his two songs, the one in Exodus 15, the other in Deuteronomy 32. Of his art of oratory the speech he writes under the name of Judah to Joseph, Genesis 44, is witness, and another of Moses himself to God, Numbers 14, and his exhortations or rebukes to the people. Of his moral knowledge and skill in making laws, not so much by his own wit as by divine inspiration, a great part of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy is witness. Lastly, of the mysteries of theology under the figure of the Ark of the covenant, the priestly vestments and the whole tabernacle, Philo the Hebrew is witness, who explained these allegories most subtly.
The life of Moses was written by Philo among the Jews and by Gregory of Nyssa among the Christians. Eleven Psalms are attributed to Moses by St. Jerome and others; but I have thought the opinion of St. Augustine and others more probable, who will have the whole psalter to be David's. On this I have written in the preface to the Psalms.
Job
Job, holy and learned to the point of wonder, lived before Moses. For in the opinion of the Hebrews, and of St. Jerome in the Hebrew Questions, Job did not descend from Esau, but from Nahor the brother of Abraham, and was third from Nahor the brother of Abraham, and so much more ancient than Moses. This is gathered also from his age. For Job lived a hundred and forty years after the plagues, as is said at the end of the book, and before that he had lived many years, since he had begotten seven sons and three daughters. So St. Isidore, in the book On the Life and Death of the Fathers, chapter 24, does not write amiss that Job lived 248 years, an age which in the time of Moses no one reached. The opinion of St. Jerome has always seemed to me the more probable: both because of the distance in age, as we have said, and because that great-grandson of Esau is not called Job, but Jobab, as is known from Genesis 36; by which name Job is never called, neither in the book of Job, nor in Ezekiel 14, nor in Tobias 1, nor in James 5, the only places in which holy Job is mentioned. And that the difference may appear more clearly, one must know that holy Job is written in Hebrew with the letters aleph, yod, waw, beth, and the great-grandson of Esau with yod, waw, beth, beth; where the difference is in the root letters themselves. [The Hebrew is garbled in the scan; the letters are given here from the two names.] What some answer, that the letter aleph sometimes drops out and that names are often contracted, is of no great weight. For root letters are not wont to drop out; and if Job were a contracted name, it would sometimes be read whole in the book, where he is named everywhere; but nowhere is it read except as Job.
On the other side an argument is brought from the edition of the Seventy. For in that edition there is an appendix at the end of the book of Job, in which it is said that Job was of the sons of Esau and fifth from Abraham. But that appendix does not seem to be of the text of the Seventy, but added by someone; otherwise it would not be so freely rejected by St. Jerome.
But whatever may be of this, St. Isidore, Etymologies book 6, chapter 2, writes that the author of the book of Job was Moses, or Job himself, or another of the Prophets. And indeed not a few contend that the author of the book was Job, but no fewer will have it to be Moses. To me both opinions seem true, if we say that Job himself noted down his deeds in the Arabic tongue, but that afterwards Moses composed from Job's volume the book we now have in the Hebrew tongue, adding the beginning and the end: that is, adding the words, There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job, and that man was simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil, and at the end adding his death.
That the book which now exists is Moses's rather than Job's I am persuaded, because the Hebrew doctors think so, and reasons not to be despised can be brought for this opinion. First, if Job were the author of the book which now exists, Job would be the first sacred writer, not Moses; for we have already shown from the age, and from Scripture itself, that Job was more ancient than Moses. But by common consent Moses is the first writer of the Church. Next, if Job were the author of this book, it would not have been admitted into the canon of Scripture by the Hebrews; for Job was not of the children of Israel, but an Idumean or an Arab, and the Idumeans and Arabs were held as enemies by the Hebrews. Further, the book of Job is written in Hebrew, not in Syriac or Arabic, though some Arabic words are read in it, especially when the friends of Job are brought in speaking; but Job did not write in Hebrew, if he wrote anything, but in his own tongue. And if Job is not the author of this book, this work can be ascribed to no one better than to Moses, who lived in the times of Job.
For what some say, that the author of this book is Solomon, on the authority of St. Gregory Nazianzen in the oration to Julian the tax-collector, is not to be made much of. For St. Gregory does not say that Solomon is the author of the book of Job, but only quotes under the name of Solomon certain words which are found in Job, chapter 3. But it could easily happen that St. Gregory by a slip of memory attributed the words of one author to another; especially since in that place he joined to words that are in Job others too that are not in Job.
Joshua. 2523
Joshua the son of Nun was the successor of Moses in the leadership of the Hebrews in the year of the world 2524. He ruled the people after the death of Moses for 26 years, and died in the hundred and tenth year of his life, as is found in the last chapter of Joshua. Who was the author of the book of Joshua is not altogether certain. For St. Athanasius in the Synopsis rightly warns that from the name of a book the author is not necessarily to be gathered, but the matter. For it is called the book of Joshua because it contains the deeds of Joshua; and in the same way the other books are named, of Judges, or of Ruth, or of Kings, or of Tobias, or Judith, or Esther, or of the Machabees. Theodoret, in the book of Questions on Joshua, thinks the book of Joshua was written by an anonymous author, who wrote the book of the Just, of which it is said in Joshua 10: “Is not this written in the book of the just?” But this argument proves nothing. For that place treats only of that huge wonder by which, at the word of Joshua, the sun and moon stood still; for this wonder, with others like it, seems to have been noted in some book called the book of the Just.
St. Isidore, Etymologies book 6, chapter 2, affirms that the book of Joshua was written by Joshua himself. And this seems most true to us: both because in the last chapter of this book it is said of Joshua, He wrote also all these words in the volume of the law of the Lord; and because it is altogether credible that Joshua, the minister, disciple and successor of Moses, wished to imitate his lord and master and predecessor, so that as he had committed to writing for everlasting memory the deeds done among the people of God up to his own time, so he too should do, since neither knowledge nor the assistance of the Holy Spirit in writing sacred histories was lacking to him. The few things that are added at the end of the book about his death and burial were without doubt written by his successors, whoever they were; and it is likely, by Samuel or Esdras.
Samuel the Prophet. 2878
Samuel was a Prophet, the last judge and ruler of the people before kings began to be made. He took up the leadership in the year of the world 2878 and ruled for 20 years. That he was the author of the book of Judges, and of Ruth, and of the first book of Kings, St. Isidore teaches, Etymologies book 6, chapter 2. And as to the first book of Kings, in which the deeds of David are contained, the first book of Paralipomenon, last chapter, testifies that it was written by Samuel. It is said also in 1 Kings 10 that the law of the kingdom was written by Samuel; this does not seem to be extant.
David. 2919
David, king and Prophet, began to reign in the year of the world 2919, and reigned 40 years, as is written in 3 Kings 2. He wrote the book of the hundred and fifty Psalms. So Chrysostom, Theodoret, Cassiodorus, Euthymius and others teach in their prefaces to the Psalms, and St. Augustine, City of God book 17, chapter 14. And though St. Hilary in his preface to the Psalms and St. Jerome in the letter to Cyprian will have the Psalms to be composed by the authors named in the titles, as by Moses, Solomon, Asaph, Core and Idithun, yet we think the former opinion more probable; of which we have treated in the preface to the explanation of the Psalms. There is indeed a short Psalm outside the number of the hundred and fifty Psalms; but we think it apocryphal, because the Council of Laodicea, last canon, and that of Trent, session 4, put into the canon of Scripture only 150 Psalms. Further, David was not only an eminent Prophet, but also a most graceful and most learned poet, and had knowledge of sacred history, of the divine laws, and of moral and natural philosophy; all of which appear wonderfully in the Psalms.
Gad and Nathan. 2959
The Prophets Gad and Nathan continued the deeds of David, which are found in the first and second books of Kings and at the beginning of the third, from the place where Samuel left off. For so it is written in 1 Paralipomenon, last chapter: Now the acts of king David first and last are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer. The age of these two Prophets must necessarily be put after the death of David, which death happened in the year of the world 2959.
Solomon, the wisest king. 2959
King Solomon, the son of king David, began to reign in the year of the world 2959 and reigned 40 years, as is written in 3 Kings 2. He wrote without any controversy three books: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Canticle of Canticles. Of the book of Wisdom there is some question. For it is not found in the Hebrew codices, but only in the Greek, and it is ascribed to Philo the Jew, as St. Jerome testifies in the preface to the Proverbs of Solomon. But yet by the old Fathers with common consent this book is attributed to Solomon, as is known from Eusebius, History book 4, chapter 22; Tertullian, On Prescription; Cyprian, On Mortality; Hilary on Psalm 127; Ambrose, sermon 8 on Psalm 118; Basil, book 5 against Eunomius; Epiphanius on the heresy of the Anomoeans; and Augustine, treatise on Psalm 63. And the author of the book of Wisdom himself testifies in chapter 9 that he was king in Israel, and was commanded by the Lord to build the temple; which things properly fit Solomon. But this disagreement will easily be reconciled if we say that the sayings of this book are Solomon's, but gathered into one volume and put into Greek words by Philo; not the one who flourished in the time of the emperor Gaius, but another more ancient.
Josephus, Antiquities book 8, chapter 2, relates that Solomon wrote books of odes and songs, five and a thousand, and books of parables, three thousand. Likewise that incantations were written by him by which diseases are cured and demons driven out. These things seem hardly likely; but whether they are true or false, it is certain that they are not extant at this time. And perhaps from the words of Josephus some lost men took occasion to ascribe to Solomon a most pernicious book, which is entitled the Key of Solomon.
Ahias and Addo. 3000
Ahias and Addo wrote the deeds of Solomon, as is found in 2 Paralipomenon 9, whether these be those that are told in the third book of Kings or others. But who wrote the rest that is found in the third book of Kings after chapter 11, and in the whole fourth, and in the two books of Paralipomenon, is not altogether certain; but it is credible that it was written by the priests and Prophets of those times.
Osee. 3170
The Prophets, both greater and lesser, flourished after the division of the kingdom, which was made after the death of Solomon; at which time also the authors of the books of Tobias, Judith and Esther lived. But to set them out in order, it seems it must be laid down as certain that the lesser Prophets prophesied in the order in which they are placed in the Hebrew and Latin Bibles, though in the Greek there is some difference, and of Abdias and Habacuc there is no small difficulty. The reason for this foundation is that we see the greater Prophets placed in their order without any controversy, so that Isaias preceded Jeremias, and Jeremias Ezechiel, and Ezechiel Daniel. Likewise a great part of the lesser Prophets are without any doubt so placed that Osee precedes Joel, and at the end Aggeus Zacharias, and Zacharias Malachias; so it can be gathered that all are set out in their order. Nor can any reason be thought of why one earlier in time should have been put after a later, except when the class (so to speak) changes. For the greater Prophets make their own class, and the lesser their own. But we shall make one class of both, so as to place them all according to the order of time.
The first of all, both greater and lesser, was Osee, who prophesied, as he himself testifies, in the days of Ozias, Joatham, Achaz and Ezechias, kings of Juda, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joas, king of Israel. And the year in which Ozias began to reign in Jerusalem was the twenty-seventh of Jeroboam's reign in Samaria, that is, the year 3170. Osee was of the tribe of Issachar, as Epiphanius testifies; and by the Lord's command he took a wife of fornications, to signify the fornication of the people away from God by idolatry; and for this sin he foretold the captivity of the ten tribes, and then also the captivity of the other two tribes, which was made by Nabuchodonosor.
Isaias. 3190
After Osee follows next Isaias, the first of the greater. For though both Osee and Isaias say at the beginning that they prophesied in the days of Ozias, Joatham, Achaz and Ezechias, yet Eusebius in the Chronicle and St. Jerome on the first chapter of Osee write that Osee was first and Isaias second in writing prophecy. And this seems able to be confirmed both from the words of Osee, The beginning of the Lord's speaking by Osee, by which it seems to be signified that among the many who prophesied at nearly the same time Osee was first; and from the fact that Osee adds that he saw the vision not only in the days of Ozias but also in the days of Jeroboam, so as to signify that he saw the vision and prophesied at the beginning of the reign of Ozias, which coincides with the end of the reign of Jeroboam; while Isaias makes no mention of Jeroboam, because he did not prophesy in his days, and so did not prophesy at the beginning of the reign of Ozias, but afterwards. But whatever may be of these reasons, we rely on the authority of St. Jerome and Eusebius, who place Isaias after Osee.
Isaias, then, is one, and the first, of the greater Prophets. He wrote a great book, indeed greater than any other Prophet, and wrote before all the other greater Prophets. For those are called greater Prophets who each wrote their own whole books; and those are called lesser whose prophecies are all contained together among the Hebrews in a single book. He was a noble man of the tribe of Juda, and most eloquent, as anyone can understand from his volume. He wrote of the coming of Christ, of his birth from a Virgin, of his life, preaching, kingdom, miracles, passion, burial and his other mysteries, so that he seems to have been an Evangelist rather than a Prophet. He wrote also of the calling of the Gentiles and of the glory of the Church, quite wonderfully. He died under king Manasses, the most wicked son of the most good king Ezechias; by the order of that Manasses he was sawn in two, by a most cruel punishment, as Epiphanius testifies in the book On the Life and Death of the Prophets. But God, on the same Epiphanius's word, made his tomb glorious with miracles.
Joel. 3195
The Greeks put Amos after Osee; but the Hebrew and Latin codices put Joel. But it is not a matter of great weight, because all these three Prophets were synchronous, that is, contemporaries, as St. Jerome says at the beginning of his explanation of Osee. And because Joel does not mark the time in which he prophesied, he is understood to have prophesied under the same kings, as St. Jerome writes on the first chapter of Joel, and St. Augustine, City of God book 18, chapter 27, and Theodoret in the prologue on the twelve Prophets. Further, Joel foretold to the two tribes, to whom he had been given as a Prophet by God, the Babylonian captivity, and exhorted them to penance; and in his last prophecy he foretold the coming of the Messias and of the Holy Spirit to be sent by him, and the day of the last judgement. He died in peace.
Amos. 3195
Amos prophesied at the same time. For at the beginning he says that he saw his vision in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joas. He too foretold the captivity and other grievous scourges; and, inveighing most sharply against crimes, he died struck on the temples with a club by the son of Amasias the priest, as Epiphanius testifies in the book On the Life and Death of the Prophets.
Abdias. 3195
Abdias is placed by Eusebius in the Chronicle in the times of Achab king of Israel, and so long before Osee, Isaias, Joel and Amos. St. Jerome and St. Epiphanius seem to have thought the same. For Abdias is believed by St. Jerome in his commentary to be that steward of the house of king Achab who hid a hundred Prophets and fed them, at the time when Jezabel the wife of Achab was persecuting the Prophets of the Lord; of which Scripture speaks in 3 Kings 18. But Epiphanius thinks this same Prophet Abdias to be that captain of fifty whom Elias spared, lest he be consumed by the fire sent from heaven; of which history Scripture speaks in 4 Kings 1. Nor does Epiphanius disagree with Jerome, because it may be that he who was steward in the house of Achab was afterwards made captain of the soldiery in the house of Ochozias the son of Achab.
But the greatest difficulty is that the same St. Jerome, on the first chapter of Osee, writes that Abdias was a contemporary of Osee, Joel and Amos, and has the fourth place among the lesser Prophets; and it cannot be that the Abdias who lived in the time of Achab reached the times of Ozias and Ezechias, in which Osee, Joel and Amos prophesied; for Achab was older than Ozias by more than a hundred and fifty years. On the other hand Abdias seems to have been later not only than Osee, Joel and Amos, but also than Micheas and Jonas and many others. For in his prophecy he mentions the war of the Chaldeans against Jerusalem and the captivity of that city as already carried out and past, so that he seems to be placed after Jeremias.
Yet the opinion of St. Jerome pleases me, who (as I said a little before) makes Abdias equal in time with Osee, Joel and Amos. And that he said elsewhere that the Prophet Abdias was the steward of the house of Achab, he seems to have said not from his own mind but from a certain Jewish tradition; which tradition rests on no other foundation than the likeness of the name, as if there could not be several named Abdias. And that this Prophet mentions the Babylonian captivity does not force us to think that he prophesied after the captivity; for in the manner of the Prophets he speaks of that future captivity with a verb of past time. Abdias therefore prophesied against the Idumeans, and foretold not only their destruction but also the cause of the destruction: that, namely, in the time of the Babylonian captivity the Idumeans would be allies of the Chaldeans against the children of Israel. This Prophet died in peace, on the authority of Epiphanius in the place cited.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
DE SCRIPTORIBUS ECCLESIASTICIS VETERIS ET NOVI TESTAMENTI. DE SCRIPTORIBUS ECCLESIASTICIS TESTAMENTI VETERIS. De Mose. Anno mundi 2483. Moses Propheta sanctissimus et vetutis- simus, et primus inter scriptores Ecclesia¬ sticos, natus est, secundum meum compu- tum, anno bis millesimo quadringentesimo tertio, ab initio mundi. Vixit annis centum viginti. Anno octogesimo vitee suee suscepit jussu Dei principatum Hebraeorum, id est, anno mundi 2483. obiit anno mundi 2523. Scripsit Pentateuchum, id est, quinque vo¬ lumina : quorum nomina ab Hebraeis su¬ muntur a primis verbis librorum. Itaque primum vocant Bereschit, id est, In principio. Secundum, Ve elle semot, id est. Haec sunt nomina. Tertium Vaicra, id est, Vocavit autem. Quartum, Vaiedabber, id est , Locutu¬ sque est. Quintum, Elle addebarim, id est, Haec sunt verba. Graeci et Latini denominant hos libros a materia, de qua agitur in principio libri, et quidem primum librum vocant Genesim, quia initio scribitur generatio coeli et terrae, et reliquarum rerum creatarum. Exodum vocant libium secundum, quia initio describitur egressio filiorum Israel de Aegypto. Exodus enim egressum significat. Tertium vocant Leviticum, quoniam in eo describitur officium Levitarum circa taber¬ naculum, sacrificia, et alia id genus. Quartum vocant Numeros, quoniam initio libri numeratur multitudo filiorum Israel per tribus et familias suas. Quintum vocant Deuteronomium, quasi secundam legem, quoniam in eo repetitur et explanatur lex Domini data in monte Sina. Ex his libris intelligi potest, Mosem fuisse virum doctissimum, non solum in omni sa¬ pientia ^Egyptiorum, ut dicitur a Sancto Stephano, Act. vn. sed etiam in arte histo¬ rica, poetica, oratoria, morali, et theologi¬ ca. Scribit enim historiam, genealogias, et res gestas Patriarcharum, ab orbe condito usque ad exitum filiorum Israel de A£gypto, id est, ab initio temporum usque ad annum bis millesimum quadringentesimum octoge¬ simum tertium, imo etiam usque ad obitum suum, id est, usque ad annum bis millesi¬ mum quingentesimum vicesimum tertium. Quae autem post mortem ipsius Mosis scri¬ buntur in extremo capite Deuteronomii, ad¬ dita sunt, vel a Josue, vel ab Esdra, vel ab alio aliquo Propheta. Quod etiam poeta insignis fuerit Moses, testantur duo cantica ipsius, alterum, Exod. xv. alterum Deuteron. xxxii. De arte ipsius oratoria testatur Oratio, quam scribit sub nomine Judae ad Joseph. Gen. xliv. et alia ipsius Mosis ad Deum. Num. xiv. et exhorta¬ tiones, vel reprehensiones ad populum. De scientia morali, et peritia legum condenda¬ rum, non tam proprio ingenio quam inspi¬ ratione divina, testis est magna pars Exodi, Levitici, et Deuteronomii. Denique de my¬ steriis theologiae, sub figura Arcae foederis, et vestium sacerdotalium, et totius taberna¬ culi, testis Philo Hebraeus, qui has allegorias subtilissime explanavit. Scripserunt vitam Mosis Philo ex Judaeis, et Gregorius Nyssenus ex Christianis. Tri¬ buuntur Mosi Psalmi undecim a Sancto Hieronymo, et aliis : sed probabiliorem exi¬ stimavi sententiam Sancti Augustini, et alio¬ rum, qui totum psalterium Davidis esse volunt. De quare scripsi in praefatione Psal¬ morum. 342 DE SCRIPTORIBUS ECCLESIASTICIS De Job. Job, ad miraculum usque sanctus, et do¬ ctus, ante Mosem vixit. Nam ex sententia Hebraeorum, et Sancti Hieronymi in qaestio- nibus Hebraicis, Job non descendit ab Esau, sed a Nachor fratre Abrahae : et fuit tertius a Nachor fratre Abrahae ac per hoc multo antiquior Mose. Quod etiam ex aetate colligi¬ tur. Job enim vixit centum quadraginta an¬ nis post plagas, ut dicitur in fine libri, et antea vixerat multos annos, cum septem fi¬ lios et tres tilias genuisset. Quare non male Sanctus Isidorus in lib. de vita et morte Pa¬ trum cap. 24. scribit, Job vixisse 248. annos, ad quam aetatem Mosis tempore nemo per¬ veniebat. Mihi sententia Sancti Hieronymi semper visa est probabilior, tum propter distantiam aetatis, ut diximus : tum quia pronepos ille Esau, non dicitur Job, sed Jabab, ut notum est ex Gen. cap. xxxvi. quo nomine nunquam vocatur Job, neque in libro Job, neque apud Ezechielem cap. xiv. neque Tobiae primo, neque Jacobi quin¬ to, in quibus solis locis fit mentio Sancti Job. Ac ut magis appareat differentia : sciendum, sanctum Job, ita scribi Hebraicae STlfc pro¬ nepotem autem Esau, ita scribi WP ubi differentia est in ipsis radicalibus litteris. Quod autem aliqui respondent , litteram aleph, aliquando excidere , et nomina saepe contrahi ; non magni momenti est. Nam lit¬ terae radicales non solent excidere : et si, Job, esset nomen contractum, aliquando le¬ geretur integrum in libro, ubi passim nomi¬ natur : nusquam autem legitur, nisi Job. At contra objicitur argumentum ex edi¬ tione 70. Interpretum. Habetur enim in ea editione appendix ad finem libri Job, in qua dicitur, Jobum fuisse de filiis Esau, et quin¬ tum ab Abraham. Sed ea appendix non vi¬ detur de textu 70. sed ab aliquo addita : alioqui non ita libere a Sancto Hieronymo rejiceretur. Sed quicquid de hoc sit, au¬ ctorem libri Job Sanctus Isidorus lib. vi. originum cap. 2. scribit fuisse Mosem, aut ipsum Job, aut alium ex Prophetis. Et qui¬ dem non pauci contendunt, auctorem libri fuisse Job, sed non pauciores volunt fuisse Mosem. Mihi utraque sententia videtur vera, si ita dicamus, ab ipso Job fuisse annotatas res ejus gestas lingua Arabica : sed a Mose fuis¬ se postea ex volumine Job compositum li¬ brum, quem nunc habemus lingua Hebraica, addito principio, et fine, id est, additis illis verbis, [Yir erat in terra Hus, nomine Job simplex et rectus, et timens Deum, et rece¬ dens a malo;] et ad finem addita morte ipsius. Quod autem liber, qui nunc exstat, sit Mosis potius quam Job ; ideo mihi persua¬ deo, quia et Hebreei doctores ita sentiunt, et rationes non contemnendae pro hac senten¬ tia possunt afferri. Primum enim si Job esset auctor libri, qui nunc exstat , primus scriptor sacer esset Job, non Moses. Jam enim fex aetate ostendi¬ mus, et ex ipsa Scriptura, Jobum fuisse an¬ tiquiorem Mose. At communi consensu, Mo¬ ses est primus scriptor Ecclesiasticus. Deinde si Job esset auctor libri hujus, non esset hic liber in canonem Scripturarum ab Hebraeis admissus. Job enim non fuit de fi¬ liis Israel, sed Idumaeus, vel Arabs ; Idumaei autem et Arabes pro hostibus habebuntur ab Hebraeis. Praeterea liber Job Hebraice scriptus est, non Syriace, vel Arabice, quamvis aliqua vocabula Arabica in eo legantur, praesertim quando introducuntur loquentes amici Job : at Job, non Hebraice scripsit, si quid scri¬ psit, sed lingua sua. Quod si non est Job au¬ ctor libri hujus, nulli melius tribui potest hoc opus, quam Mosi, qui fuit temporibus Jobi. Quod enim quidam dicunt, auctorem hujus libri esse Salomonem, ex auctoritate Sancti Gregorii Nazianzeni, oratione ad Ju¬ lianum exactorem tributorum, non magnifa- ciendum est; nam Sanctus Gregorius non dicit, Salomonem esse auctorem libri Job, sed solum citat sub nomine Salomonis quae¬ dam verba, quae habentur apud Job cap. m. Sed facile fuit ut Sanctus Gregorius ex lapsu memoriae verba unius auctoris tribuerit alte¬ ri praesertim cum eo loco verbis, quae sunt apud Job, adjunxerit etiam alia, quae non sunt apud Job. De Josue. 2523. Josue filius Nun, successor Mosis fuit in principatu Hebraeorum anno mundi 2524. qui populum post obitum Mosis rexit annis 26. et obiit anno centesimo decimo vitae suae, ut habetur in ultimo capite Josue. Quis au¬ ctor fuerit libri Josue, non est omnino cer¬ tum. Nam Sanctus Athanasius in synopsi recte monet ex nomine libri non necessario TESTAMENTI VETERIS 343 colligi auctorem, sed materiam. Dicitur enim liber Josue, quia continet res gestas Josue : et eadem modo dicuntur libri alii, vel Judi¬ cum, vel Ruth, vel Regum, vel Tobiae, aut Judith, aut Esther , aut Macchabaeorum- Theodoretus in lib. de quaestionibus in Josue» existimat, librum Josue scriptum ab auctore anonymo, qui scripsit librum Justorum, de quo dicitur Josue x. « Nonne scriptum est hoc in libro Justorum?» Sed hoc argumentum nihil efficit. Nam non agitur eo loco, nisi de ingenti illo prodigio, quo, ad verbum Josue, sol et luna steterunt. Hoc enim prodigium cum aliis similibus videtur annotatum fuisse in aliquo libro, qui dicebatur liber Justorum. Sanctus Isidorus lib. vi. originum cap. % affirmat, librum Josue scriptum fuisse ab ipso Josue. Et hoc verissimum nobis esse vi¬ detur, tum quia in extremo capite hujus li¬ bri dicitur de Josue, [scripsit omnia verba haec in volumine legis Domini ,] tum quia omnino credibile est Josue ministrum, disci¬ pulum, et successorem Mosis, imitari vo¬ luisse dominum et magistrum, et praedeces¬ sorem suum : ut sicut ille ad aeternam me¬ moriam litteris mandaverat res gestas in populo Dei usque ad sua tempora ; ita et ipse faceret, cum ei nec scientia, nec assi¬ stentia Spiritus sancti in scribendis sacris historiis deesset. Porro pauca, quae addun¬ tur in fine libri de morte ipsius et sepultura, sine dubio scripta sunt a successoribus, qui¬ cumque illi fuerint, et verisimile est a Sa- muele, vel Esdra. De Samuele Propheta. 2878. Samuel Propheta fuit, ultimus judex et princeps populi, antequam reges creari coepissent. Suscepit autem principatum an¬ no mundi 2878. praefuit annis 20. Hunc fuisse auctorem libri Judicum, et Ruth, et libri primi Regum, docet Sanctus Isidorus lib. vi. Originum cap. 2. et quod attinet ad librum primum Regum, in quo continentur res gestae Davidis, testatur liber primus Parali, cap. ult. eum scriptum fuisse a Samuele. Dicitur 'etiam lib. I. Reg. cap. x. a Sa¬ muele fuisse scriptam legem regni : haec non videtur exstare. De Davide. 2919. , David rex et Propheta regnare coepit anno mundi 2919. et regnavit annis 40. ut scribi¬ tur lib. iii. Reg. cap. ii. scripsit librum Psal¬ morum centum quinquaginta. Sic enim do¬ cent Chrysostomus, Theodoretus, Cassiodo- rus, Euthymius,et alii praefatione in Psalmos, et Sanctus Augustinus lib. xvn. de Civitate Dei cap. 14. Quamvis autem Sanctus Hila¬ rius praefatione in Psalmos, et Sanctus Hie¬ ronymus in epist. ad Cyprianum, velint Psalmos esse compositos ab auctoribus, qui nominantur in titulis, ut a Mose, Salomone. Asaph, Chore, Idithun : tamen probabilio¬ rem existimamus sententiam priorem. De qua re disseruimus prefatione in explanatio¬ nem Psalmorum. Exstat quidem Psalmus quidam brevis extra numerum centum quin¬ quaginta Psalmorum; sed eum apocryphum existimamus, quia Concilium Laodicenum cap. ultimo, et Tridentinum sess. 4. non ponunt in canonem Scripturarum nisi Psal¬ mos 150. Porro David non solum Prophetae eximius fuit, sed etiam poeta venustissimus, et do¬ ctissimus : et scientiam habuit historiae sa¬ crae, legum divinarum, moralis et naturalis philosophiae. Quae omnia in Psalmis mirifice apparent. De Gad. et Nathan. 2959. Gad et Nathan Prophetoe prosecuti sunt res gestas Davidis, quae habentur in libro primo et secundo Regum, et initio tertii, ab eo loco ubi desiit Samuel. Sic enim scribitur lib. i. Paralipom. cap. ultimo (gesta regis David priora, et novissima, scripta sunt in libro Samuel videntis, et in libro Nathan Prophetae, et in volumine Gad videntis.) jEtas horum duorum Prophetarum neces¬ sario debet poni, post obitum Davidis, qui obitus contigit anno mundi 2959. De Salomone rege sapientissimo. 2959. Salomon rex, Davidis regis filius, regnare coepit anno mundi 2959. et regnavit annis 40. ut scribitur Regum lib. iii. cap. 2. Scripsit sine ulla controversia libros tres, Proverbia, Ecclesiastem et Cantica canticorum. De libro Sapientiae nonnulla quaestio est. Nam non habetur in codicibus Hebraicis, sed solum in Graecis, et Philoni adscribitur Judaeo, teste Sancto Hieronymo, praefatione in Pro¬ verbia Salomonis. Sed tamen a veteribu§ Patribus communi consensu hic liber tribui¬ tur Salomoni, ut notum est ex Eusebio, lib. 344 DE SCRIPTORIBUS ECCLESIASTICIS iv. hist.cap.22; Tertulliano de praescriptione; Cypriano, de mortalitate ; Hilario, in Psalm. cxxvii. Ambrosio, sermone 8. in Psal. cxvui. Basilio, lib. v. in Eunomium ; Epiphanio, haeresi Anomajorum, et Augustino, tract. in Psalm. lxiii. et ipse auctor libri Sapientiae cap. ix. testatur, se fuisse regem in Israel, et sibi a Domino imperatum, ut templum aedificaret : quae in Salomonem proprie con¬ veniunt. Sed haec discordia facile concilia¬ bitur, si dicamus, sententias hujus libri esse Salomonis, sed collectas in unum volumen, et Graecis verbis ' expressas a Philone, non illo, qui tempore Caii imp. floruit, sed alio antiquiore. Josephus lib. vm. antiquitatum cap. 2. refert a Salomone scriptos fuisse li¬ bros odarum et carminum quinque supra mille : et parabolarum libros ter mille. Item scriptas ab eo fuisse incantationes, quibus morbi curantur, et Daemones pelluntur. Quae videntur parum verisimilia ; sed sive sint vera, sive falsa, certum est ea hoc tempore non exstare et fortasse ex verbis Josephi, occasionem acceperunt aliqui perditi homi¬ nes tribuendi Salomoni librum perniciosis¬ simum, qui inscribitur, Clavicula Salomo¬ nis. De Ahia, et Addo. 3000. Ahias et Addo scripserunt res gestas Sa¬ lomonis, ut habetur in secundo libro Parali- pomenon cap. ix. sive sint eae, quae narrantur in tertio libro Regum, sive res aliae. Quis autem scripserit reliqua quae habentur in libro tertio Regum, post caput undecimum, et in toto quarto, et in duobus libros Parali- pomenon, non est omnino certum : sed cre¬ dibile est scripta fuisse a sacerdotibus et Prophetis illorum temporum. De Osea. 3170. Prophetae tam majores quam minores flo¬ ruerunt post divisionem regni, quae facta est post obitum Salomonis. Quo etiam tem¬ pore vixerunt auctores librorum Tobiae, Ju- dith , et Esther. Sed ut eos ordine dispona¬ mus, statuendum esse videtur ut certum, Prophetas minores eo prophetasse ordine, quo in Bibliis Hebraicis et Latinis collocan¬ tur quamvis in Graecis sit aliqua diversitas, et de Abdia et Habacuc sit non exigua diffi¬ cultas. Ratio hujus fundamenti est, quia vi¬ demus, Prophetas majores sine ulla contro¬ versia suo ordine collocatos , ut Isaias praecesserit Hieremiam, et Hieremias Eze- chielem, et Ezechiel Danielem. Item quia magna pars Prophetarum minorum sine ullo dubio ita collocati sunt , ut Oseas Joelem praecedat, et in fine Aggaeus Zachariam, et Zacharias Malachiam, proinde colligi potest, omnes esse suo ordine dispositos : neque exeo- gitari potest ulla ratio, cur prior tempore de¬ buerit posteriori postponi : nisi cum classis (ut sic loquar) variatur. Majores enim Prophe¬ tae suam classem faciunt, et minores quoque suam. Sed nos ex utrisque unam classem faciemus, ut secundum ordinem temporis omnes collocemus. Primus omnium tam majorum quam mi¬ norum fuit Oseas, qui prophetavit, ut ipse testatur, in diebus Oziae, Joatham, Achaz, et Ezechiae, regum Juda, et in diebus Hie- roboam filii Joas regis Israel. Annus autem quo regnare coepit Ozias in Hierusalem, fuit vicesimus septimus, quo regnavit Hieroboam in Samaria, videlicet ter millesimus centesi¬ mus septuagesimus. Fuit autem Oseas de tribu Issachar, ut Epiphanius testatur : et jussu Domini accepit uxorem fornicariam, ut significaretur fornicatio populi, per ido¬ lolatriam a Deo : et propter hoc peccatum praedixit captivitatem decem tribuum ; et deinde captivitatem etiam duarum aliarum tribuum, quae facta est per Nabuchodono- sor. De Isaia. 3190. Post Oseam sequitur proxime Isaias pri¬ mus ex majoribus. Quamvis enim tam Osee quam Isaias initio dicant, se prophetasse in diebus Oziae, Joatham, Achaz, et Ezechiae : tamen Eusebius in chronico, et Sanctus Hieronymus in primum caput Oseae, scri¬ bunt Oseam fuisse primum, etlsaiam secun¬ dum in scribenda prophetia. Et videtur hoc posse confirmari tum ex illis verbis Oseae. (Principium loquendi Domino in Osee ;) quo significari videtur, inter multos, qui eodem fere tempore prophetaverunt, primum fuisse Oseam; tum ex eo quod Oseas addit, se vi¬ sionem vidisse, non solum in diebus Oziae, sed etiam in diebus Hieroboam, ut videlicet significaret, se visionem vidisse , et prophe¬ tasse ad initium regni Oziae, quod concurrit cum fine regni Hieroboam : Isaias autem non meminit Hieroboam, quia non prophe¬ tavit in diebus ejus, ac per hoc non prophe- TESTAMENTI VETERIS tavit ad initium regni Oziae, sed postea. Sed quicquid sit de his rationibus , nos nitimur auctoritate Sancti Hieronymi, et Eusebii, qui Isaiam collocant post Oseam. Isaias igitur unus est et primus ex majo¬ ribus Prophetis, scripsit librum magnum, imo etiam majorem quam ullus alius Pro¬ pheta, et scripsit ante omnes alios Prophetas majores. Dicuntur enim Prophetae majores , qui singuli suos scripserqnt libros integros; mi¬ nores autem dicuntur illi, quorum prophe¬ tiae omnes simul unico libro apud Hebraeos continentur. Fuit vir nobilis ex tribu Juda, et facundissimus, ut ex ejus volumine quivis intelligere potest. Scripsit autem de adventu Christi, de nativitate ejus ex Virgine, de vi¬ ta, de praedicatione, de regno, de miraculis, de passione, de sepultura, de aliis ejus my¬ steriis, ut E vangelista potius quam Propheta fuisse videatur. Scripsit etiam de vocatione gentium, et de gloria Ecclesiae, plane admi¬ rabiliter. Obiit sub Manasse rege filio perdi¬ tissimo Ezechiae regis optimi; jussu ejusdem Manasse sectus in duas partes, crudelissimo supplicio, ut Epiphanius testatur in libro de vita et morte Prophetarum. Sed Deus eo¬ dem auctore Epiphanio, sepulcrum ejus gloriosum miraculis reddidit. De Joel. 3195. Graeci post Oseam ponunt Amos : sed He¬ braici et Latini codices ponunt Joel. Sed non est res magni momenti, quia fuerunt omnes isti tres Prophetae synchroni, id est, contemporanei, ut Sanctus Hieronymus lo¬ quitur initio explicationis Oseae. Et quia Joel non designat tempus, quo prophetaverit, intelligitur prophetasse sub eisdem regibus, ut scribunt Sanctus Hieronymus in caput primum Joelis, et Sanctus Augustinus lib. xviii. de Civitate Dei cap. 27. et Theodore- tusin prologo super duodecim Prophetas. Porro Joel praedixit duabus tribubus, qui¬ bus Propheta datus erat a Deo, Babyloni¬ cam captivitatem, easque ad poenitentiam hortatur, et in extremo vaticinio praedixit adventum Messiae, et Spiritus sancti per eum mittendi, et ultimi judicii diem. Obiit in pace. De Amos. 3195. Araos prophetavit eodem tempore. Nam 345 initio dicit se visionem suam vidisse in die¬ bus Hieroboam filii Joas. Praedixit ipse quoque captivitatem, et alia gravia flagella; et gravissime in scelera in¬ vectus, filio Amasiae sacerdotis fuste inter tempora percussus interiit, ut Epiphanius testatur in libro de vita et morte Propheta¬ rum. De Abdia. 3195. Abdias, ab Eusebio in Chronico, ponitur temporibus Achab regis Israel, ac per hoc longe ante Oseam, et Isaiam, et Joel, et Amos. Idem videntur sensisse Sanctus Hie¬ ronymus, et Sanctus Epiphanius. Abdias enim a Sancto Hieronymo in commentario creditur esse ille dispensator domus Achab regis, qui abscondit centum Prophetas, eos- que pavit, quo tempore Jezabel uxor Acha- bi, Prophetas Domini persequebatur, de qua re loquitur Scriptura lib. III. Regum c. xviii. sed Epiphanius hunc eumdem Abdiam Pro¬ phetam existimat esse illum quinquagena¬ rium principem, cui pepercit Elias, ne ab igne de coelo misso absumeretur. De qua historia Scriptura loquitur lib. iv. Regum cap. i. Neque dissentit Epiphanius a Hiero¬ nymo, quia potest fieri, ut ille, qui erat dis¬ pensator in domo Achab, postea factus sit dux militiae in domo Ochoziae filii Achab. Sed maxima difficultas est, quia idem San¬ ctus Hieronymus in primum cap. Oseae scri¬ bit. Abdiam fuisse contemporaneum Oseae, Joelis, et Amos, et quartum locum habere inter Prophetas minores :et non potest fieri, ut ille Abdias, qui vixit tempore Achab, pervenerit ad tempora Oziae, et Ezechiae, in quibus temporibus prophetarunt Osee, Joel, et Amos. Achab enim antiquior fuit Ozia, plus centum quinquaginta annis. Contra autem videtur Abdias posterior fuisse non solum Osea, Joele, et Amos, sed etiam Michaea, et Jona, et aliis multis. Nam in prophetia sua meminit belli Chal¬ daeorum contra Hierusalem, et captivitatis ejusdem urbis tamquam jam peractae, et praeteritae, ut videatur collocandus post Hie- remiam. Mihi tamen placet sententia Sancti Hiero¬ nymi, qui (ut paulo ante dixi) facit Abdiam aequalem Oseae, Joelis et Amos. Quod au¬ tem alibi dixit Prophetam Abdiam fuisse dispensatorem domus Achab, non ex mente sua, sed ex traditione quadam Judaica di- I 346 DE SCRIPTORIBUS ECCLESIASTICIS xisse videtur, quse traditio non alio funda¬ mento nititur , nisi similitudine nominis, quasi non potuerint esse plures Abdiae. Quod autem hic Propheta meminerit ca¬ ptivitatis Babylonicae, non cogit, ut sentia¬ mus, illum prophetasse post captivitatem : nam more Prophetarum loquitur de capti¬ vitate illa futura per verbum praeteriti tem¬ poris. Igitur AbdiasProphetavitcontra Idumaeos, et non solum praedixit exitium eorum, sed etiam causam exitii, quia videlicet tempore captivitatis Babylonicae futuri essent Idu¬ maei socii Chaldaeorum contra filios Israel. Obiit hic propheta in pace, Epiphanio au- tore loco citato.