Fragments on the Blessings of Isaac, Jacob and Balaam, and on the Great Ode (Moses)

Contents

Fragment 7 of Bonwetsch (Latin, Jerome, Ep. 36) and the spurious catena fragments are not staged.

1. 1.1Scripture says “one day,” not “the first day,” to show the single day that returns in the cycle of the week.
2. 1.2At creation God divided the waters into three parts: one congealed in the middle, one taken up with the firmament, and one left below for human use.
3. 1.3Genesis speaks of one human being, not of three kinds (spiritual, psychic, earthy) as some teach.
4. 1.4Paradise was planted on earth, not in heaven, as the rivers flowing from it show.
5. 1.5Adam's fig-leaf girdle, which itches, symbolizes his sins and the reproof of his transgression.
6. 1.6The garments of skin, a dead covering, signified the corruption brought by sin.
7. 1.8Reuben's blessing is read as a prophecy of the people of the circumcision, which hardened itself, laid hands on the Lord, and still plots against the church.
8. 1.9Simeon and Levi stand for the scribes and priests who together killed the Lord.
9. 1.10The Spirit foretold the lawless counsel of those who would plot against the Lord.
10. 1.11Jacob's words about the assembly refer to the gathering against Christ foretold in Psalm 2.
11. 1.12“In their anger they killed men” refers to the killing of the prophets.
12. 1.13The bull hamstrung in Jacob's blessing is Christ, killed by those he turned from evil desires and nailed to the cross.
13. 1.14The curse of Simeon and Levi falls not on the whole people but on those who rose against Christ.
14. 1.16“Israel” means one who sees God; the people who rejected him will be scattered among the nations that see God.
15. 1.17Judah's hand on the neck of his enemies foretells Christ's victory over his persecutors and the final confession of the people.
16. 1.18Judah's lion's whelp “from a shoot” foretells Christ's birth according to the flesh from the Spirit and Mary.
17. 1.19This part of Judah's blessing points to the Father and the Lord.
18. 1.20“Who will rouse him?” means that Christ, who is in the Father, raised himself.
19. 1.21The rulers from Judah would not fail until Christ was born; after him the people has no ruler.
20. 1.22The vine is Christ and the colt bound to it is the calling of the Gentiles, joined to the Lord.
21. 1.23The two colts are the callings of Gentiles and Jews from one faith, the one bound to the Lord, the other to the old law.
22. 1.24The robe washed in the blood of the grape is the flesh cleansed by the Spirit and by the Lord's own flesh and blood.
23. 1.25Christ's bright eyes look upon all who believe in him.
24. 1.26Christ's white teeth are his words, which give light to believers.
25. 1.27Zebulun by the sea foretells the spread of Christ's grace to the Gentiles, as the Gospel says of Galilee of the Gentiles.
26. 1.28Issachar, who “desired what is good,” is a type of the apostles who left the law to follow the Lord.
27. 1.29Resting “between the lots” means holding both the law and the Lord's teaching, as Christ fulfills the law and the prophets.
28. 1.30The “lots” are the portions of land assigned as inheritance.
29. 1.31The good rest Issachar saw is the Lord's teaching, which gives rest to the weary.
30. 1.32The rich land is the Lord's flesh, the true land flowing with milk and honey.
31. 1.33Issachar bending his shoulder to toil is a type of the apostles, who cultivated humanity by preaching.
32. 1.34Dan who judges is a type of the devil, the accuser of humanity cast down in Revelation.
33. 1.35Dan the serpent is the devil, who hid in Judas, of the tribe of Dan, and struck at the Lord who came in the flesh.
34. 1.36The horseman who falls is Christ, whose death at the end of the times is the fall and rising of many.
35. 1.37The raider who attacks Gad is the people that plotted against the Lord.
36. 1.38Gad raiding “at the heels” signifies the Lord's swift vengeance on those who plotted against him.
37. 1.39Asher's rich bread is Christ the bread of life, who feeds the Gentiles and the faithful of Israel alike.
38. 1.40Naphtali too is a type of the Gentile church, as the Gospel's quotation of Isaiah on Galilee shows.
39. 1.41Naphtali's stem is the Gentile calling, grafted onto the Lord's tree and bearing fruit.
40. 1.42Joseph, the son grown great, is a type of the Lord who makes the church grow.
41. 1.43The envied son is Christ, envied to this day.
42. 1.44Joseph the youngest son is Christ, the man from heaven, who ascended to the Father and whose persecutors' bows were broken by the resurrection.
43. 1.45The persecutors' strength has been undone by the power of the Father and the Son.
44. 1.46The help given to Joseph is the Father's help to the Son, and “my God” is the Spirit speaking through Jacob.
45. 1.47The blessings of heaven, of breasts and womb, and of father and mother signify the Spirit's descent, the virgin's motherhood, and the Father's blessing on the church.
46. 1.48The everlasting mountains and hills signify the greatness and permanence of the blessing of salvation.
47. 1.49The hills and mountains signify the distinction that makes Joseph visible to all.
48. 1.50Joseph's head points to Christ, the head of all believers.
49. 1.51Benjamin devouring in the morning signifies Saul of Benjamin, who persecuted David, a type of the Lord.
50. 1.52Benjamin dividing the spoil at evening signifies Paul, the persecutor who later fed the church with spiritual food.
51. 2.1Christ, as mediator between God and humanity, has both the divine essence and the human, as a pledge from both sides.
52. 3.1Christ, the firstborn Word, descended to Hades and into the virgin's womb to raise Adam, and by his obedience on the tree made the conquered man victorious over the serpent.
53. 3.2Those who now reject the incarnate Son will recognize him when he comes as judge in glory.
54. 3.3As Israel could not find Moses' grave, the apostles found Christ's tomb empty on the third day.