Three Books of Commentaries on the Prophet Amos by Saint Jerome of Stridon, Priest
Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.
Translated into English using ChatGPT.
Table of Contents
Prologue
The prophet Amos, who follows Joel, is the third of the twelve prophets, but he is not the same person as the father of the prophet Isaiah whom we read about. The name Amos is written with the first and last letter of his name, Aleph and Sade, and it means strong and robust. However, the name Isaiah is written with Ain and Samech, and it means a people torn away: the middle letters Mem and Vau are common to both names. But for us, who do not have such a distinction between vowels and the letter s, which has three forms in Hebrew, these and other names seem to be common, which are distinguished among the Hebrews by the diversity of the elements and their properties. Therefore, the prophet whom we now have in our hands was from the town of Thecue, which is six miles to the south from the holy Bethlehem, which gave birth to the Savior of the world; and beyond that, there is no village, not even any rural huts resembling ovens, which the Africans call mapalia. Such is the vastness of the wilderness, which extends as far as the Red Sea and the borders of the Persians, Ethiopians, and Indians. And because nothing at all grows on the dry and sandy ground, the whole area is full of shepherds, in order to compensate for the sterility of the land with a multitude of livestock. From this number of shepherds Amos was a prophet, unskilled in speech but not in knowledge. For the same Spirit of the Holy Ghost spoke through all the prophets. Hence we translate from the Hebrew.
Book One
Book One
1:1
Chapter 1 - Verse 1. The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel. However, the Septuagint, wanting to add something, interpreted it as: The words of Amos, who was among the vine-dressers of Tekoa, which he saw for Jerusalem. And it should be known that this prophet saw not for Jerusalem, which is not found at all in the Hebrew text, but concerning Israel, that is,
In the days of King Uzziah of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of the ten tribes called Israel, who were in Samaria, there were prophets. Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion also translated this. Therefore, the first prophet Hosea speaks to the ten tribes called Ephraim, Samaria, the house of Joseph, and Israel. The second prophet Joel, prophesies to Jerusalem and the two tribes called Judah and Jerusalem, with no mention at all of Israel. The third Amos, not at all in Jerusalem, which was ruled by the tribe of Judah, but in Israel in Samaria, preaches. This can be proven from the whole volume of his work, and especially from what is written: Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam the king of Israel, saying: Amos has rebelled against you in the midst of the house of Israel (Amos VII, 10). And shortly after, Amaziah said to Amos: You see, go, flee to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and there you shall prophesy, and in Bethel you shall not prophesy anymore, for it is the sanctity of the king and the house of the kingdom. To whom Amos responded: I was not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but a keeper of sycamore trees, gathering their fruit. And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and said to me: Go, be a prophet to my people Israel; not to Judah and Jerusalem, as is wrongly stated by the Greeks and Latins, but to Israel, that is, the ten tribes, which had retained their original name due to the multitude of the people. And in the place where the Seventy translated, in Accaron, Theodotion placed the Hebrew word itself: in Nokedim (), which Aquila rendered as ἐν ποιμνιοτρόφοις, that is, in pastures: Symmachus and the fifth edition rendered it ἐν τοῖς ποιμέσιν, that is, among shepherds. And I think because of the similarity of the letters Daleth and Res, they were also deceived here, for Nocedim, as if it were Nocerim: and from there they placed the word Accarim, although the letter Nun at the beginning of the name leaves no excuse for the error. However, I have not read that Accarim is Hebrew until now. And those who interpret sterilitatem, that is, στείρωσιν, express more the city of Accaron, which belongs to the Philistines, than Accarim, which is not found at all. Therefore, the sermons of Amos, who was from the town of Thecue and among the number of shepherds, are contained in this volume, because both the region and the message are pastoral. He saw these sermons concerning Israel, not with physical eyes, but with the vision of the mind, since the prophets were called seers; otherwise, the sermons are not seen according to the letter, but heard. Hence, the people saw the voice of God, and Moses spoke silently to the Lord when he said to him: Why do you cry out to me (Exodus 14:15)? In the New Testament also we read: That which we have seen with our eyes, and have heard with our ears, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life (John 1:1). For the Word of God, which is in itself invisible, is seen and touched by the apostles with their own hands. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14). But Jehoiada's son, the king of Israel, saw these words two years before the earthquakes. When Sardanapalus reigned among the Assyrians and the cities of Cilicia, about whom the renowned orator said: More shameful in vices than in name. And among the Latins, Procas Silvius, to whom Amulius succeeded in the kingdom after expelling his brother Numitor. After killing him, Romulus, with the hand of shepherds and outlaws gathered, founded the city of his own name. But this is Ozias, king of Judah, surnamed Azariah, who, attempting to claim the priesthood which was not due to him, was struck with leprosy on his forehead (2 Chronicles 26), when the wrath of the Lord not only punished him for his sacrilege but also manifested an earthquake, which the Hebrews then commemorate. But Jeroboam is not the son of Nabath, who made Israel sin (III Kings XII), but the son of Joas, the son of Joathan (also called Joachaz and Joachan), the grandson of the same Jehu, under whom Hosea, Joel, and Amos prophesied. Therefore, Ozias is interpreted as 'the power of the Lord,' that is, authority or strength of the Lord. Jeroboam is 'the judgment of the people,' that is, the judgment or cause of the people, although some, reading the Greek letter chi, suspect it means 'the division of the people.' Joas' time, that is, the delay of the Lord, or temporal existence. Therefore, the words of Amos, at the time when the people of Israel were separated from the Lord and served golden calves, or when they were separated from the kingdom of the Davidic line, they sang with a clear voice like the sound of a trumpet, which is interpreted as Thecue. And they sang over Israel, who once was most upright before God, that is, most righteous before God. In the days of King Uzziah of Judah, when, due to the temple and the Holy of Holies, the strength of the Lord remained and ruled over a people who confessed. The name Jeroboam, who arose for the division of the people, signifies that Israel remained in idolatrous error for a long time before the captivity completely shook them, which in two years showed the double distress of the ten tribes and the two, so that those who were willing to do penance would no longer feel the shaking of the earth.
These, most beloved Pammachus, I have gathered together in a long discourse as a brief reminder, interpreting the sayings of the prophet Amos, that you, through the interpretation of your name, demonstrate yourself to be a fighter in every art of battling against the devil and opposing powers. I have also promised an explanation of the prophets Hosea and Zechariah to myself and other holy men, but most of all to your holy and venerable mother, Paula, while she was alive. And I will not greatly err in my promise, if I deliver to my son what I have promised to his mother. But now it is time for me to explain in detail, using the words of the prophet himself, what I think.
1:2
(Verse 2.) And he said: The Lord from Zion shall roar, and from Jerusalem he shall give his voice. And the pastures of the shepherds have shone, and the top of Carmel has dried up. LXX: And he said: The Lord from Zion has spoken, and from Jerusalem he has given his voice, and the pastures of the shepherds have shone, and the top of Carmel has dried up. It is natural that all artisans of their craft speak with examples, and each one brings forth the likeness of the one in which he has spent his time: for example, the sailor and the navigator compare their sadness to a storm; they call damage, shipwreck; they call their enemies, adverse winds. Once again, it names prosperity and joy, the most gentle breeze and favorable winds; calm seas and waters, like peaceful fields. From the opposite direction, the soldier signifies whatever he says, shield, sword, armor, helmet, spear, bow, arrow, death, wound, and victory. In the mouths of philosophers, Socrates and Plato are always present, Xenophon and Theophrastus, Zeno and Aristotle, Stoics and Peripatetics. Orators praise Lysias and Hyperides, Pericles and Demosthenes, Gracchi, Catos, Ciceros, and Hortensius in heaven. If they are epic poets, they frequently mention Homer and Virgil; if they are lyric poets, they celebrate Pindar and Flaccus. Why were these things said? To show that even the prophet Amos, who was a shepherd of shepherds, not in cultivated places with planted trees and vineyards, or certainly among green forests and meadows, but in the vastness of the wilderness, where the fierceness of lions and the killing of livestock dwell, made use of his skill in words, in order to mention the terrible and fearful voice of the Lord, the roaring of lions, and the growling of a lion. Comparing the destruction of the Israelite cities to the solitude of shepherds and the dryness of mountains: The Lord, he says, will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem he will give his voice. In Hebrew, to roar is called Jesag: Beautifully he will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem he will give his voice, where the temple and the religion of God were, in order to teach that God is not present in the cities of Israel, that is, in Bethel and Dan, where the golden calves were, nor in the capital city of Samaria and Jezreel, but rather in the true religion, which was practiced at that time in Zion and Jerusalem. With the roaring of Zion, and giving his voice from Jerusalem (for the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem), all the shepherds and kings of Israel have mourned, and the peak of Carmel has dried up, which once abounded with joyful pastures. Carmel is called in Greek and Latin, but in Hebrew it is called Chermel: and there are two mountains, which are called by this name. One in which Nabal was, Carmelus, the husband of Abigail to the South. According to Ptolemy, the place formerly called Acho, which is close to the sea, where the prophet Elias obtained rain on bended knees (1 Kings 15). If therefore it refers to Chermel, where Nabal lived, it is more suitable for the flocks of shepherds, because it is close to the wilderness (3 Kings 18). But if it refers to that place which is near the coast, it pertains to the kings and the pride of the kings of Israel, whom he says are to be devastated like the desert mountains when captivity is imminent. Otherwise, when the Lord from Zion and Jerusalem, from the watchtower of the Church, which is situated on the mountain and cannot be hidden, and in which the vision of peace is, has given through the old and new Testament, and through the ecclesiastical teachers his voice, and has sounded as a clear trumpet, then all the beautiful things of the shepherds, that is, the doctrine of the heretics, which seemed composed in beautiful language, and the knowledge of circumcision (for this is interpreted as Chermel, through which they promise themselves the knowledge of the true circumcision), will mourn and wither, and thousands of peoples, who are called flocks because of their simplicity, will wither suddenly with drought.
1:3
(Version 3.) Thus says the Lord: Because of three transgressions of Damascus, and because of four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. LXX: And the Lord said: Because of three transgressions of Damascus, and because of four, I will not turn away from them; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Regarding the tribes, which are called Arsoth in Hebrew (), and have been translated by Theodotion as iron wheels, which we have interpreted as iron sledges, the Seventy have translated as threshing sledges of iron. But there is a type of wagon that is propelled by iron and toothed wheels, which, after the grain has been beaten out, crushes the straw in the threshing floor, and grinds the straw into food for animals due to the scarcity of hay. Furthermore, in the Hebrew language, where it is written Benadad (), and it is one name, the Seventy translated it as the sons of Ader, Res and Daleth by the similarity of false elements. In that place also where we said, concerning the house of pleasure, which is called Mebbeth Eden () in Hebrew, and they all translated it similarly, the Seventy translated it as from the men of Haran, considering Daleth as the middle letter of the name Res, and according to their custom, placing the Greek letter Chi (Χ) before the first Hebrew letter Ain. They also translated Cyrene, which is called Cira in Hebrew (ἑπήκλητον), that is, called or named, because of the similarity of the word, because Chares (Χάρης) can be called a calling, and they understood it as a proper name, an appellative. We have briefly mentioned the reasons for different translations: now let us move on to the meaning of what has been said. First, the word of God is directed against Damascus, where Azazel was reigning, who at that time when Amos was prophesying, was severely oppressing Israel, that is, the ten tribes: to such an extent that, after King Ahab of Israel was defeated in Ramoth-gilead, he would slaughter and crush all the region that was called Gilead, and had passed into the possession of the half tribe of Manasseh, like the wheat of tribulation in the threshing floors. What the prophet Elisha says more fully in the book of Kings, where we read: And he stood with him, and was troubled even to the reddening of his face, and the man of God wept. To whom Hazael said: Why does my lord weep? And he answered: Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will burn their fortified cities with fire, and you will slay their young men with the sword, and you will dash their little ones against the stones, and you will rip up their pregnant women. And Azazel said, 'For what am I, your servant, but a dog, that I should do this great thing?' And Elisha said, 'The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Syria.' (2 Kings 8:11ff). And what follows in the prophet.
1:4
(Ver. 4.) And I will send fire into the house of Azael, and it shall devour the houses of Benadad. And I will break the bars of Damascus, and I will destroy the inhabitants from the plain of idols. LXX: And I will send fire into the house of Azael, and it shall devour the foundations of the son of Ader, and I will break the bars of Damascus, and I will destroy the inhabitants from the plain, being. Give understanding, that Azael, when Ozia and Jeroboam reigned, was already dead in Syria, and his son Benadad succeeded him in the kingdom, from whom all the later kings of Aram, that is, Syria and Damascus, took the name Benadad. He did not say beautifully, I will send fire into Azazel, but into the house of Azazel, that is, into his royal house, over which Ben-hadad, his son, was ruling at that time. And I will break down, he said, the bars of Damascus, and I will destroy the inhabitants of the idolatrous field. Namely, all the strength (or multitude) of the Syrians, which, like a kind of cart and bars, repelled the attacks of their enemies. Now the idolatrous field, which is called Aven in Hebrew, is interpreted by the Septuagint and Theodotion as meaning "iniquity"; Symmachus and the fifth edition translated it as "useless," in order to show the useless help of idols, since the people of Damascus will be captured when the Assyrians come. For we read that Theglathphalasar, king of Assyria, after killing King Rezin of Damascus, of whom Isaiah speaks, transferred all the people of Syria, who were called Aram, to Cyrene, and for this reason it is said now (2 Kings 16).
1:5
(Verse 5) Holding the scepter from the house of pleasure, and the people of Syria will be transferred to Cyrene, says the Lord. LXX: And I will cut off the tribe from men from Haran, and the captive people of Syria will be led, says the Lord. So that it is understood, I will crush and destroy, and the people of Syria will be transferred to the farthest borders of Egypt. And that which is said at the beginning: Concerning the three sins of Damascus, and concerning the four, shall I not (Alternate: shall I not indeed) turn away from him, and according to the Septuagint, shall I not (Alternate: shall I not indeed) reject him, that is, the people of Damascus, or Aram, that is, Syria, can have this meaning according to the history: If they had persecuted my people once, or even twice, I would have forgiven them. But now, since they have become cruel for a third and fourth time, to the point of driving captive multitudes with iron chariots, should I not punish them with blows? Doesn't the mercy of my mother turn away from him? But according to tropology, we can say this: the first sin is to think of evil things. The second is to find rest in perverse thoughts. The third is to carry out what you have decided in your mind. The fourth is not to repent after the sin and to take pleasure in your own wrongdoing. All heretics do this, who not only think and do evil things, but deceive the innocent with their teachings, and, following the example of the Damascenes, who interpret that they drink blood, they also drink the blood of those they have deceived. The Lord says of such great sins: is it not fitting that I punish them with blows and turn my face away from them? For those who do not see the truth of my teachings, let them be overwhelmed with darkness by the turning away of my countenance. Indeed, they have contrived and dissected in iron chariots the pregnant women of Gilead. These are the pregnant ones of whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel: Woe to the pregnant and nursing women in those days (Luke 21:23). The souls of believers are pregnant, who at the beginning of faith can say: We have conceived and given birth from your fear, O Lord (Is. XXVI, 17, 18); and if they are not equipped with iron and toothed wagons (of which the Psalmist says: The teeth of men are their weapons and arrows (Ps. LVI, 5), cut and ironed, they can also say what follows: We have given birth, we will bring forth the spirit of your salvation upon the earth. At the same time, consider that they cannot cut down men of perfect age; but those who are still in the womb, or who are unable to take solid food and are still being nourished by milk, belong to infancy. Now, these pregnant women are from Gilead, which means translation or transmigration of the testimony. For they have migrated from the Church into heresy, and have transferred the testimonies of God, which they had previously received, to foreign boundaries. But the Lord will send fire into the house of Azel, which they themselves call Azel (), that is, the vision of God: a fire that will consume the wood and straw in them, and devour the foundation of the son of Ader. For we ought to say also according to the Septuagint, lest we seem to have proposed them in vain: Ader is translated as 'elegance', which we can also call 'beauty': because every heretic discourse is well-arranged and composed, and has the beauty of secular eloquence, it deceives the listeners more easily. However, the beams of Damascus, like very strong and firm bolts, are to be understood as those who are trained in the art of dialectic and the arguments of philosophers. For example, the door is called, which conceived and gave birth to false doctrine, like Arius in Alexandria: its bolts and strongest bars, Eutychius and Eunomius, try to strengthen with syllogisms and enthymemes, even with sophisms, and pseudo-reasonings and arguments, which they have poorly invented compared to others. And when the bolts of Damascus are broken and shattered, he will also destroy the inhabitants of the field, which is interpreted as labor or pain. For all heretics have made great effort and endured great pain in seeking some order and consistency in their heresy. And I will destroy the tribe of Charram, which in our language means 'holes.' For they do not have windows, through which the light of truth may enter; but rather they have certain holes and hidden passages, through which harmful and impure creatures may enter. And the captive Aram shall be led away, a proud and lofty people, who have exalted themselves and made promises of heavenly things to themselves, so that they may be captured in their own salvation. And they shall be transferred to Cyrene, according to the Hebrew, where the calling of God is.
1:6-8
(Verse 6 and following) Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment; because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza, fire which shall devour its strongholds. I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord. LXX: Thus says the Lord: Because of the three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away from it, because they carried away captive the captivity of Solomon, to shut them up in Idumea, and I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour the foundations thereof, and I will cut off the inhabitant from Azotus, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ascalon, and I will turn my hand against Accaron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord. In the third and fourth generation, the Lord threatens to repay the sins of the fathers in the Law to the children: not in the equality of judgment, so that some may sin and others may be punished, but by the magnitude of His mercy, as He always waits for repentance: and what is committed in the first generation, He does not correct and amend until the third and fourth generation comes. The apostle Paul also speaks of this to the Romans: Or do you despise the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will repay each one according to his works (Romans 2:4-6). Therefore, what He says is this: I have waited a long time for them to repent, and for this reason I did not want to punish the sinners, so that they might eventually return to health. But because they keep doing the same things for the third and fourth time, I am forced to change my mind and correct the wrongdoers with punishments. Now let us see what the Philistines and their cities have sinned, whom the Seventy always translate as foreigners; for wherever in the Old Testament we have read ἀλλοφύλους, that is, foreigners, it should not be taken as a general name for all foreign nations, but specifically as the Philistines, who are now called Palestinians. What did Gaza do to provoke the Lord to anger and vengeance? It transferred the complete captivity of the people of Judah and sold them to the Edomites, whom it had captured from the Jews. For the complete captivity, the Seventy interpreted the name of Solomon as the Hebrew word Salma (), which means complete and perfect. Finally, Aquila translated it as ἀπηρτισμένην and ἀναπεπληρωμένην; Symmachus and Theodotion as τελείαν, which signifies not Solomon, but complete and perfect, so that no captive remains who has not been handed over to the Edomites. He threatens to send himself against the walls and buildings, or even the foundations of Gaza, in order to devour and swallow everything. And because we read in the book of Kings that there are five cities of the Philistines that were struck with plagues due to the disrespect of the Ark, after Gaza, he goes to Ashdod (1 Samuel 5), which is called Esdod in the Bible, and then to Ashkelon. With a terrifying voice, he threatens to destroy the inhabitants of Ashdod and the ruler of Ashkelon, along with the royal power or tribe of Ashkelon, so that no one remains there, not even the last generation of people who have trembling limbs supported by a ruling staff. And again he moves his hand to strike Accaron. And after enumerating four cities, he includes the remaining Philistine cities in one discourse. And the rest of the Philistines will perish: whom we must either accept as the city of Gath or all the villages that are subordinate to the aforementioned cities. According to tropology, it seems that this should be explained to us: Gaza, which is called Aza in Hebrew, signifies strength or power; Salomon, peace; Idumaeus, bloodshed and earthly; Azotus, that is, Esdod, a fire of abundance or of the father; although some, reading "dod" instead of "dor," mistakenly understand it as a fire of generation; Ascalon signifies a murderous fire or one that is suspended and weighed down; Accaron, στείρωσις, that is, sterility, and ἐκρίζωσις ((Al. ἐκρίσωσις)), which means eradication. Therefore, Gaza, which boasts of its strength of knowledge and authority, is accused of imprisoning captives from the family of Solomon in Idumea. I believe these are the Jewish teachers and all those who follow the letter, do not want to receive the life-giving spirit; but whatever they interpret and understand, they want to be earthly and do not listen when the Lord speaks in parables to his disciples, saying: 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear' (Matthew 11:15), especially since the Apostle understands the clear history in two testaments (Galatians 4). One over Mount Sinai, which is Agar, and she serves with her sons: the other over Jerusalem, which is our mother. Therefore, she asserts that she will send fire onto the walls of Gaza, and all its defenses, in order to surround and protect her lies. And when she will have sent fire onto the walls, the houses or foundations of it, whatever can have strength (if it can have any), and everything built by dialectic art, will be devoured. Also, from Ashdod, which itself is foreign, she will take away its inhabitant: whose breasts are full not of milk but of fire, because she follows the letter (literal interpretation), and everything that lies about having fire as its father, its whole generation must be attributed to fires. (Hosea 9:14) And they will take the scepter, or tribe, from Ascalon, where the destructive fire is. For just as the fire of the Lord will save those whose hearts it has penetrated, so this fire that descends from heaven, like lightning, which ignites the devil's arrows, will kill whoever it strikes. He will also stretch out his hand over Accaron, where there is barrenness and uprooting. For whoever does not receive spiritual understanding, will hear through Hosea: Give them, O Lord. What will you give them? Give them a barren womb and withered breasts. And to sum up everything in one word, he says that he will destroy all the remaining Philistines, whether in the city of Gath, where the devil's winepress is, or all the other Philistines, who are also called fallen by the cup. For when they are intoxicated, they will fall and roll in their own vomit.
1:9-10
(Verse 9, 10.) Thus says the Lord: Because of three crimes of Tyre, and because of four, I will not revoke my decision, because they delivered up a complete captivity to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood, I will send fire upon the wall of Tyre, and it will consume its palaces. LXX: Thus says the Lord: Because of three acts of impiety of Tyre, and because of four, I will not turn away from it, because they delivered up the captivity of Solomon to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. And I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre, and it will devour its foundations. The same three or four acts of impiety or crimes that he had charged to Damascus, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ashdod, and to the other cities of the Philistines, he also assigns to Tyre and reproaches it for having brought to completion and perfection the captivity in Edom, of which we have spoken above: And they have not (or were not) mindful of the covenant of their brothers. We seek to know how the Tyrian brothers are related to the Jews. These brothers call them friends and connected by a bond, because Hiram, the prince of Tyre, had friendships with David and Solomon, to the extent that Hiram sent cedar wood for the construction of the Temple and palace, all the way from Joppa. And these brothers would provide grain and oil to the Tyrians, and give twenty cities in Bashan as a gift, which he refused to accept because they were full of grass (1 Kings 5, 2 Chronicles 2). He says, therefore, that he will hurl fire onto its walls and devour its buildings or foundations, which the Prophet Ezekiel mentions that King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldeans did in a vision of Tyre, where he says: 'He will surround you with siege works and build a siege ramp against you' (Ezek. 29:6). And again: 'King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was shaved bald, and every shoulder rubbed bare, yet he and his army got no wages from Tyre for the labor he had spent against it' (ibid., 29:18), because his army built a siege ramp to capture Tyre, which was once an island. The history tells that Alexander the Great did the same thing to make a peninsula out of an island, which the Greeks call a chersonese. Tyrus interprets as tribulation or confinement: and all perverse doctrine tries to grasp the truth and conclude it in earthly senses, and does not remember the covenant of his brothers, which we should ascend from earthly things to heavenly ones: and the commandment is for us to inscribe the sacred Scripture in our heart in a threefold manner. But God will send fire into all the strongholds of Tyre, which will devour not only its walls, but also its foundations. We have already mentioned the captivity of Solomon, for whom it is recorded in Hebrew, as being completed and perfected.
1:11-13