Father Noel Alexandre's Literal Commentary on 1 Peter 1:3-9

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 Translated by Qwen. 1 Pet 1:3–4: The Blessing of Regeneration "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you." We ought to give immortal thanks to God, to offer Him continually the sacrifice of praise, on account of His infinite goodness toward His elect. It belongs to the Eternal Father to choose the members of His Son, the adopted children who are co-heirs with the Only-Begotten. Let us seek no other reason for this election than mercy, whose greatness cannot be worthily expressed in human words. He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. Us, unworthy sinners, His enemies, deserving of eternal punishments, He has regenerated through Baptism; and, the oldness which we had contracted from Adam in our first birth being abolished, He ...
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Verse
Theological Theme
Literal Interpretation
Metaphorical or Allegorical Meaning
Key Hebrew or Greek Terms
Cross-Referenced Scripture
Commentator or Source Authority
Source
Joel 2:12
True Contrition and Conversion
A divine admonition calling the people of Israel to return to God through fasting, weeping, and mourning to avert threatened miseries.
A conversion of grace where the soul, previously turned away by sin (enmity), returns to God's love and friendship; the 'root' of the will must be irrigated by grace to produce living works.
Return (Conversion according to grace)
Deut 6:5; Deut 30:10; 1 Sam 7:3; 1 Kings 8:48; Ps 130:1; Jer 15; Ezek 33:11; Matt 22:37; 2 Cor 11:27
St. Jerome, St. Albert the Great, Professor de Palacio
[1-3]
Joel 2:13
Divine Mercy and Inward Penance
The Jews are commanded to tear their hearts rather than their garments, referencing the cultural custom of rending clothes to manifest grief.
The 'rending' signifies evangelical self-denial and the separation of the soul from earthly affections and the 'wineskins' of sin to receive God's truth.
channûn (gracious/benign); rachûm (merciful/compassionate); ʾereḵ ʾappayim (patient/long of nostrils); niḥam (relenting/repenting)
Exod 34:6; 2 Kings 19; 2 Kings 22; Ps 85:5; Jonah 4:2; Matt 26; James 2:13
St. Jerome, St. Cyril of Alexandria, Father Knabenbauer, Father Ribera, Cornelius a Lapide
[1, 3-7]
Joel 2:14
Hope vs. Presumption
The prophet expresses uncertainty regarding whether God will grant temporal relief and restore the abundance of crops needed for cultic offerings.
The 'blessing' left behind represents the restoration of grace and the ability of the person to become a living sacrifice and libation to God.
Who knows (uncertainty of temporal punishment remission)
2 Sam 12; Ps 51:1-2; Jonah 3; Mal 1:10; 2 Cor 7:10
St. Jerome, St. Albert the Great, E.B. Pusey, Father Ribera
[1, 2, 4-6, 8]
Joel 2:15-16
Communal Repentance and Universal Call
A public proclamation for a fast and assembly including all demographics: elders, children, nursing infants, and newlyweds.
The gathering of the 'Church' signifies the merit of communal holiness; the bridegroom leaving the chamber signifies the temporary setting aside of even lawful earthly pleasures for spiritual focus.
Blow the trumpet (convoking cultic assembly); ‛âtsar (solemn assembly/to stop)
Num 10:1; Deut 20:7; Deut 24:5; Judith 4; Matt 17:21; 1 Cor 7:5
St. Jerome, St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Albert the Great, Cornelius a Lapide
[1, 2, 4-8]
Joel 2:17
Priestly Intercession and Divine Glory
Priests are to weep between the temple porch and the bronze altar of holocausts, pleading for God to spare His 'inheritance' from the reproach of nations.
The space between the vestibule and altar represents the bridge between mortification (altar) and prayer (temple); allegorically, the altar is the Cross and the vestibule the Resurrection.
ulam (vestibule/porch); l’mashal bam (to rule over/use as a byword)
Exod 19:5-6; 1 Kings 6:3; Ps 79; Ezek 8:16; Matt 23:35; 2 Cor 11:29
St. Jerome, St. Albert the Great, Father Knabenbauer, Father Ribera
[1-5, 7, 8]
Joel 2:18
Divine Zeal and Restoration
The turning point where God responds to the people's repentance with jealousy for His land and pity for His people, leading to the removal of the threat.
God's zeal is an 'indignation born of love' that restores the 'second plank after shipwreck' (penance), converting eternal debt into temporal mercy.
Jealous (burning zeal); chamal (pity/softness)
Num 11; Ps 68; Isa 9; Isa 59; Luke 1:2; Hosea 14
St. Jerome, St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Albert the Great, Hugo of St. Victor
[1, 2, 4-8]
[1] A Treatise on True Contrition and Divine Conversion
[2] St. Albert the Great on Penitence and the Prophet Joel
[3] St. Jerome’s Commentary on Joel: Repentance and Divine Mercy
[4] Repentance and Divine Mercy in the Prophet Joel
[5] Ribera on Joel: Repentance and the Path to Restoration
[6] St. Cyril of Alexandria on the Joel Prophecy
[7] Turn to the Lord: A Commentary on Prophetic Repentance
[8] The Prophet Joel: A Commentary on Repentance and Restoration

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