First of all it must be noted that this testimony from chapter 9, verse 1 and following—‘At the former time the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali was brought low, but in the latter time the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations, was made glorious. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwell in the region of the shadow of death a light has risen’—is set forth in a twofold form.
The Septuagint (LXX) has: ‘Drink this first, do it quickly, O region of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, and the rest who are by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; you who dwell in the region and shadow of death, a light shall rise upon you.’
We have placed both editions side by side because this testimony is well known and is employed by the Evangelist Matthew, so that one may see either the diversity of interpretation or the similarity—namely, whether the Evangelist Matthew followed not the Septuagint but the Hebrews. For the Gospel narrative says: ‘When Jesus heard that John had been handed over, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations—the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those sitting in the region and shadow of death, a light has risen.’ From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near’ (Matthew 4:13ff.).
And John the Evangelist relates that Jesus, invited with his disciples to the wedding at Cana of Galilee, there performed his first sign by turning water into wine: ‘This Jesus did as the beginning of signs in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him’ (John 2:11). Hence also in the Septuagint it is said, ‘Drink this first, do it quickly,’ because the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were the first to see Christ’s miracles, so that they might first drink the draught of faith, having first seen the Lord working signs.
According to the Hebrew text, it is said that ‘in the former time’ it was relieved of the burden of sins, because in the regions of these two tribes the Savior first preached the Gospel. Hence also in the sixty-seventh Psalm it is said: ‘Bless God in the assemblies, the Lord from the fountains of Israel. There is Benjamin, the youngest’ (Psalm 68[67]:27–28). And in Acts 9 Paul the Apostle is said to have been ‘in an ecstasy of mind,’ as he himself elsewhere says, ‘whether we are beside ourselves, it is for God’ (2 Corinthians 5:13). ‘The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali, their leaders,’ because in these tribes there were villages from which our leaders, the Apostles, came to faith. And they believed, according to Symmachus, quickly, so that when they heard, ‘Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19), immediately they left both father and boat.
But ‘in the latter time’ their faith was weighed down, because many Jews remained in error. The sea here, however, he calls the lake of Gennesaret, which is formed by the inflow of the Jordan, on whose shore Capernaum, Tiberias, Bethsaida, and Chorazin are situated—in which region above all the Lord dwelt. Thus the people who either sat or walked in darkness saw not a small light, such as that of other prophets, but a great light—his who says in the Gospel, ‘I am the light’ (John 8:12). And ‘upon those who dwelt in the region of death a light has risen.’ Between death and the shadow of death I think there is this difference: their death is that of those who, with dead works, have gone down to the underworld—‘the soul that sins shall die’ (Ezekiel 18:20); but the shadow of death is that of those who, although they sin, have not yet departed this life, for if they wish they can still do penance.
For ‘Galilee of the nations,’ Aquila translated θῖνας ἐθνῶν (thínas ethnōn, “sandbanks/dunes of the nations”), and Symmachus translated ‘borders.’ By θῖνες (thínes) we understand mounds of sand, such as are found on shores or riverbanks. Hebrews who believe in Christ explain this passage thus: in the former time these two tribes, Zebulun and Naphtali, were captured by the Assyrians and led into a hostile land, and Galilee was left desolate (4 Kings [2 Kings] 15), which the prophet now says was relieved, because it bore the sins of the people. Afterwards, however, not only the two tribes, but also the rest who dwelt beyond the Jordan and in Samaria, were led into captivity (4 Kings 17–18). And Scripture, they say, now declares that the region whose people were first led into captivity and began to serve the Babylonians, and which earlier moved in the darkness of error, was itself the first to see the light of Christ’s preaching, and from it the Gospel was sown among all the nations.
The Nazarenes—whose opinion I mentioned above—try to explain this passage as follows: when Christ came and his preaching flashed forth, first the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were freed from the errors of the scribes and Pharisees and shook from their necks the very heavy yoke of Jewish traditions. Afterwards, however, through the Gospel of the Apostle Paul—who was the last of all the Apostles—the preaching was made heavier, that is, multiplied, and the Gospel of Christ shone along the way of the whole sea, even to the boundaries of the nations. Finally the whole world, which before walked or sat in darkness and was held by the bonds of idolatry and death, beheld the bright light of the Gospel.
Verses 2–4: ‘You have multiplied the nation; you have not increased the joy. They shall rejoice before you as they rejoice in the harvest, as victors exult when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the rod of his shoulder, and the staff of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every violent plundering with tumult, and garment rolled in blood, shall be for burning, fuel for fire.’
The Septuagint reads: ‘You have increased the greater part of the people in your joy, and they shall rejoice before you as they rejoice in harvest, and as those who divide spoils rejoice; for the yoke that lay upon them has been taken away, and the rod from their neck. For the rod of the oppressors shall be shattered as on the day of Midian. For every robe gathered by deceit and garment of exchange they shall restore, and they shall desire it to be burned with fire.’
In obscure places we place both editions, so that the diligent reader may recognize how far the Vulgate translation differs from the other editions and from the Hebrew truth. There is an apostrophe to the very light that appeared to the people sitting in darkness—that is, to the Lord Savior—and it is said to him: ‘You have multiplied the nation,’ that is, you have filled all nations with the knowledge of yourself, ‘but you have not magnified the joy.’ In accordance with this, the Apostle says that he has unceasing sorrow for his brothers who are Israelites (Romans 9). Jonah is grieved that the Ninevites were thus saved (Jonah 4), just as the gourd—קיקיון (qîqāyōn, “gourd” or “castor plant”)—withered. And the Lord himself says in the Gospel, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matthew 15:24), and in the Passion, ‘Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me’ (Matthew 26:39). This passage has the following sense: If it can be that the multitude of the nations believe without the destruction of the Jews, I refuse the Passion; but if they must be blinded so that all nations may see, then let it be—Father, your will be done.
When therefore Christ came and the Christian people were gathered from all nations, then the Apostles rejoiced as men rejoice at harvest, of which the Lord says, ‘The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few’ (Matthew 9:37), and as victors exult when they divide the captured spoil. For when the strong man is captured and bound, all his house is plundered and the spoils are divided (Matthew 12). But you, O Lord and Savior, have taken away the yoke of his burden—that is, of the devil—who formerly exulted in the world, who ruled over all nations, who pressed down the necks of all with the most grievous yoke of slavery, and who compelled them to render sins to himself as a kind of tribute. You have removed this from their shoulders and made them, once freed, serve you—without any army and without the shedding of blood, by a hidden hand—just as once under Gideon you granted victory to the people of Israel over the Midianites (Judges 7).
For just as a garment that has been stained—or rather drenched—with blood cannot be washed but, being infected with blood, is burned with fire so that the stains of foul gore may perish along with the garment, so the devil’s violent plundering and the tumult and disturbances by which he had subjected the human race have been assigned to the fires of Gehenna. The Septuagint signifies that not all, but a certain part of the people believed, although where they say ‘you led [them] in joy,’ others have interpreted ‘you magnified.’ And while they maintain the same sense in the rest, they add ‘the robe gathered by deceit and the exchanged garment he will restore,’ that is, the devil will restore all the souls which, with God’s help, he had stripped, to be restored with their former adornments—not only he himself, but also his satellites, the demons, who, if given the choice, would rather perish in flames than lose their prey.”
CONTINUE
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