3.

40 How Job's seven sons typify the twelve Apostles.

Jos written of Him, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord hath 1 filled Him; for the Incarnate Lord shewed forth in His own Isa. 11, Person whatsoever He hath inspired us withal, that what He delivered by precept, He might recommend by example. So then according to our human nature our Redeemer feared God, for to redeem proud man, He took for man's sake an humble mind. And His acting likewise is fitly designated hereby, in that the blessed Job is said to eschew evil. For He Himself eschewed evil, not evil which He came in contact with in the doing, but which upon meeting with it, Не rejected; for He forsook the old life after man's method, which He found at His birth, and He stamped upon the character of His followers that new life, which He brought down with Him.

xiv.

18. Ver. 2. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. What is conveyed to us in the number of seven, saving the sum of perfection? for to say nothing of the arguments of human reasoning which maintain that it is therefore perfect, because it consists of the first even number, and of the first uneven; of the first that is capable of division, and of the first which is incapable of it; we know most certainly that holy Scripture is wont to put the number seven for perfection, whence also it tells us that on the seventh day the Lord rested from His works; and it is hence too that the seventh day was given to man for a rest; i. e. for a 'Sabbath.' Hence it is that the year of jubilee, wherein we have a full rest set forth, is accomplished in seven weeks, being completed by the addition of the unit of our uniting together.

19. Thus there were born to him seven sons; namely, the Apostles manfully issuing forth to preach; who in putting in practice the precepts of perfection, as it were maintained in their manner of life the courage of the superior sex. For hence it is that twelve of them were chosen, who should be replenished with the perfection of the sevenfold grace of the Spirit. As from the number seven we rise to twelve; for seven multiplied in its component parts is extended to twelve; for whether four be taken by three or three by four,

،

* The Vulgate reads, ' replebit' ' shall fill, the Eng. Vers. " and shall

fear of the Lord."

I.

The three daughters, several orders of Christians. 41 seven is changed into twelve, and hence, forasmuch as the Book holy Apostles were sent to proclaim the holy Trinity in the four quarters of the globe, they were chosen twelve in number, that by their very number they might set forth that perfection, which they proclaimed both by their lips and in their lives.

20. And three daughters. What do we understand by the daughters but the weaker multitudes of the faithful, who, though they never adhere with a virtuous resolution to perfection of life, yet cleave with constancy to the belief of the Trinity which has been taught them. Thus by 'the seven sons' is represented the order of the Preachers, and by 'the three daughters' the multitude of the hearers. By 'the three daughters' may also be signified the three orders of the faithful, for after mention of the sons the daughters are named, in that succeeding next to the distinguished courage of the Apostles came three divisions of the faithful, in the state of life in the Church; viz. of Pastors, of those following continence, and of the married. And hence the prophet Ezekiel declares that he heard three men named that were set free; viz. Noah, and Daniel, and Job; for what is signi-`` fied by Noah who guided the Ark in the waters, but the order of rulers, who, while they govern the people for the fashioning of their lives, are the directors of holy Church amidst the waves of temptation? What is represented by Daniel, whose marvellous abstinence we have described to us, but the life of the continent, who, while they give up every thing that is of the world, rule with elevated mind over Babylon which lies beneath them? What is signified by Job but the life of the good that are married, who, while they do deeds of mercy by the good things of the world which they possess, do as it were advance to their heavenly country by the paths of earth? Therefore because after the holy Apostles there came these three divisions of the faithful, after the sons rightly follows the mention of the three daughters that were born to him. It proceeds:

Ver. 3. His substance also was three thousand sheep and three thousand camels.

21. That believing hearers have been gathered from various xv. manners of life, a truth which is first declared generały by

7

24.

42

Camels a type of the Gentile Churches. JOB the mention of the daughters, the same is afterwards brought 1.3. before us in detail by the specification of the animals. For

what does he set forth in the seven thousand sheep, but some men's perfect innocency, which comes from the pastures of the Law to the perfect estate of grace'? what again is signified by the three thousand camels, but the crooked defectiveness of the Gentiles coming to the fulness of faith. Now in Holy Scripture, sometimes the Lord Himself is expressed by the title of a camel, and sometimes the Gentile people. For the Lord is signified by the name of a camel, as when it is said

by that very Lord to the Jews that set themselves against Mat.23, Him, who strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. For a gnat wounds while it whispers, but a camel of free will bends to receive its load. Thus the Jews strained at a gnat, in that they sought that a seditious robber should be let go, but they swallowed a camel, in that Him, Who had come down of His own accord to take upon Him the burthens of our mortal nature, they strove to overwhelm by their clamours. Again, the Gentile state is signified by the naming of a camel; and hence Rebecca on going to Isaac is brought on a camel's back, in that the Church, which hastens from the Gentile state to Christ, is found in the crooked and defective behaviour of the old life; and she, when she saw Isaac, descended, in that when the Gentile world knew the Lord, it abandoned its sins, and descending from the height of self-elation sought the lowly walks of humility; and she too in bashfulness covers herself with a veil, in that she is con

founded in His presence for her past life. And hence it is

Rom. 6, said by the Apostle to these same Gentiles, What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? Whereas then by the sheep we understand the Hebrews coming to the faith from the pastures of the Law, nothing hinders but that we understand by the camels the Gentile people, crooked in their ways and laden with idolatrous ceremonials. For because they devised them gods of their own selves whom they should worship, there had grown up as it were out of themselves a load upon their back which they should carry.

1

Camels perhaps Samaritans; Oxen, the simple. 48

22. Furthermore in that they are common animals, it Book is possible that by camels is represented the life of the Samaritans. For camels chew the cud, but do not divide the hoof. So likewise the Samaritans do as it were chew the Lev. 11, cud, in that they receive in part the words of the Law, but do not divide the hoof as it were, forasmuch as they despise it in part. And they bear a grievous burthen upon the mind's back, in that they weary themselves in whatsoever they do without any hope of eternity.

I.

see §. 40.

4.

For they are strangers to faith in the Resurrection, and what can be more grievous or more burthensome than to endure the tribulation of this passing state of existence, and yet never, for relief of mind, to look forward to the joy of our reward; but forasmuch as the Lord, when He appeared in the flesh, both filled the Hebrew people with the grace of perfection, and brought some of the Samaritans to the knowledge of the faith by shewing marvellous works, it might well be said of the shadow which was to express the reality, that he possessed both seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels. It goes on; And five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses.

23. We have said above that by the number fifty, which xvi. is completed by seven weeks and the addition of an unit, rest is signified, and by the number 'ten' the sum of perfection is set forth. Now forasmuch as the perfection of rest is promised to the faithful, by multiplying fifty ten times, we in this way arrive at five hundred. But in sacred Writ, the title of ' oxen' sometimes represents the dulness of the foolish sort, and sometimes the life of well doers. For because the stupidity of the fool is represented by the title of an ox, Solomon says rightly, he goeth after her straightway, as an Prov. 7, ox goeth to the slaughter. Again, that the life of every labourer is set forth by the title of oxen, the Precepts of the Law are a testimony, which enjoined through Moses; Thou Deut. shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. And 25, 4. this again is declared in plain words; the labourer is worthy Lukelo, of his hire. By the title of asses, too, we have represented sometimes the inertness of fools, sometimes the unrestrained indulgence of the wanton, sometimes the simplemindedness of the Gentiles; for the inertness of fools is imaged by the

22.

7.

44

The ox laborious, the ass unreasoning.

Job designation of asses, as where it is said through Moses, Thou 1,3. shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together. As though he Deut. said, 'do not associate fools and wise men together in 22, 10. preaching, lest by means of him who has no power to accomplish the work, you hinder him who has abundant power.' The unrestrained indulgence of the wanton is likewise set forth by the appellation of asses, as the prophet testifies, Ezek. where he says, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses. Again, 23, 20. by the title of asses is shewn the simplicity of the Gentiles. Hence when the Lord went up toward Jerusalem, He is related to have sat upon a young ass, for what is it for Him to come to Jerusalem sitting upon an ass, except taking possession of the simple hearts of the Gentiles to conduct them to the vision of peace', by ruling and ordering them? And this is shewn by one passage, and that a very easy one; in that both the workmen of Judæa are represented by oxen, and the Gentile peoples by an ass, when it is said by the

Is. 1, 3. Prophet, The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib. For who appears as the ox, saving the Jewish people, whose neck was worn by the yoke of the Law? and who was the ass but the Gentile world, which was found like a brute animal of every deceiver, and was overlaid with whatever deceit he pleased, without resisting by any exercise of reason? Thus the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib, in that both the Hebrews found out the God Whom they worshipped but as yet knew Him not, and the Gentile world received the food of the Law, which it had none of. That therefore which is spoken above in the designation of the sheep and of the camels, is here repeated below in the oxen and the asses.

24. Now even before the coming of the Redeemer Judica possessed oxen, in that she sent out labourers to preach, to Mat.23, whom it is said by the voice of Truth, Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. These were weighed down with the heavy yoke of the Law, because they were burthened with the ordinances of the external letter, to Mat.11, whom it is spoken by the voice of Truth, Come unto Me, all 1 So the Fathers explain the name Jerusalem.