Chapter 5
Judas puts to flight the peoples who want to destroy Israel. About Timotheus, the leader of the Ammonites. Simon, sent by his brother, conquers the nations. About the wars of Judah against Timotheus, etc.
5:1 And it came to pass that when the nations round about heard that the altar and the sanctuary had been rebuilt as before, they became very angry, etc.
The nations are provoked when they see the work of the worship of God renewed, because both visible and invisible enemies, who gasp in the heat of envy against the progress of faith and virtues, grow angry, are tormented, and persecute the servants of God, wanting to reduce them to nothing when they see them desiring to keep the observance of good works on the altar of true faith. Therefore it is said that they planned to destroy the race of Jacob who were among them, and began to kill them, because as the Gospel of Christ became revealed in the world and all received faith in God, the persecutors were racked with torment and tried by punishing them with sufferings to turn them away from it. Likewise, spiritual enemies, when they fall upon see some who, out of sloth and negligence, now wish to restore themselves in the worship of devotion, undertake to kill them with the sword of sinfulness and to slaughter them as if in the death of sinners. But Judas, bravely resisting the enemies with the shield of faith, conquers the sons of Esau in Idumea, because the company of holy teachers, slaying idolaters, who are extremely harsh with the thorns of vices and most foul with deadly sacrifices and worldly lust, by the sword of the spirit, makes those who were opposed become subject and turns enemies into friends.
5:3 And those who were in Acrabathane, because they surrounded the Israelites, etc.
Those who lived in the aforementioned places, that is Acrabathane and Bean, and who, surrounding the children of Israel, became for them a snare and an offense, lying in wait against them, signify the Jews and the heretics, who always devise scandals and plots against the Church of God. But such people are shut up by Judah and his companions in their towers, when in the schemes of their pride they are taken through the skill of learned teachers, and their errors are anathematized; whose towers are burned with fire along with all who are in them, when the authors of crimes and the inventors of errors are even now consumed by the enthusiasm of the divine word for their sins, and in the future judgment, unless they have previously performed fitting repentance, they will be burned in the fire of eternal vengeance.
5:6 And he went over to the sons of Ammon, and found a strong hand and a numerous people, etc.
By the sons of Ammon, which is interpreted “son of my people,” are signified schismatics and heretics, who once seemed to be sons of the holy Church, but now, withdrawing and casting themselves into error, have become sons of the Devil. Therefore the apostle John says: They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would certainly have remained with us (1 Jn. 2:19). These have Timothy as their leader, that is, the heresiarchs, who, according to the interpretation of his name, are praised among them, but according to the truth of understanding are by no means found to be among us. Timothy is interpreted “with benefits”; but this is an opinion held by the deceived about the heresiarchs, whereas by us they are called “sorcerers,” because by their evil deeds they mix the poison of error for their hearers. Against them Judas rises up, and, being superior, gains the victory and, by destroying their errors, returns with triumph into Judea, that is, into the confession of the praise of God, of his enemies.
5:9 And the nations who are in Gilead were gathered together against the Israelites who were in their borders, to destroy them, etc.
The nations who are in Gilead gather together against the Israelites to destroy them, when a multitude of heretics and schismatics comes together for this purpose: that, with the testimonies of Scripture corrupted according to their own understanding, they may attack the Catholic faith, which endures through the ages. For Gilead is interpreted “heap of testimony,” and the name is well suited to those who devote themselves to the meditation of the Scriptures.
But the Israelites flee into the stronghold, just as all the faithful flee for refuge to the truth of faith; and they ask that help be brought to them by Judah and his brothers, because by the Gospel of Christ, through the ministry of holy preachers, they desire to be defended against the spiritual Timothy, of whom we spoke above, and his companions.
But what the Israelites complain about regarding the killing of their men and their captivity shows that among the faithful there is no small grief of the nations, when they saw some of their own withdraw from the truth and fall into the error of the wicked, etc.
5:14 And behold, other messengers came from Galilee with their garments torn, announcing these words, etc.
Those who gathered from various foreign places to destroy the people of God clearly signify the nations of the Gentiles, who, still in unbelief, stir up wars and persecutions against Christians. But when the words that the different groups had brought to Judas and his companions were heard, a great church assembly met to consider what they should do about their brothers who were in tribulation and were being attacked by enemies; for the concern and highest care of the whole holy Church is how it may defend its children against various enemies, (5:16) that is, Jews, pagans, heretics, and schismatics. In this matter also, with prudent counsel and every effort, it takes action together with those who seem to be more learned and stronger in faith and in the practice of virtues, as to how it may resist the enemies and suitably defend its own.
5:17 And Judas said to Simon his brother, etc.
Just as the assaults of the Church by its enemies are many, so also the battles of spiritual warriors ought to be distinct. Therefore Simon goes into Galilee with three thousand men, as is shown in what follows, in order to free his brothers; but Judas and Jonathan go into the land of Gilead with eight thousand. And what is signified by Simon, who is sent into Galilee, that is, “the circle,” if not the preachers who are directed to the nations? These, going with three thousand men, that is, with faith in the Holy Trinity, prepare to go against their adversaries and strive, through evangelical preaching, to cast down the enemies and to set free believers. But Judas and Jonathan represent those teachers who, preaching the word of God in Judea, strive to overcome either the Jews or also the heretics, who misuse the testimonies of Scripture, by means of the truth of sound understanding. And note that only Simon with his men is sent against the Gentiles, whereas two go with a greater number against the Jews and the heretics: because among the Gentiles only idolatry together with pagan error had to be overcome, but among the Jews and the heretics both an old-established practice and a new superstition had to be corrected by the spiritual knowledge of the two Testaments. Here eight thousand men are taken, because there it is taught both that the circumcision of the Law must be spiritually observed and that the resurrection of Christ must be truly believed.
5:21 And Simon went into Galilee and engaged in many battles with the nations, etc.
Simon engages in many battles with the nations when holy preachers throughout the whole world strive to overthrow idolatry and the confused errors of the nations; and the nations are crushed before their face when they lay aside their stubbornness in resisting the Gospel of God. He pursued them as far as the gate of Ptolemais, when, in their own devices by which, through vain studies, they were plotting to oppose the word of God, they are overcome by truth itself, taken captive, and brought into subjection by the confession of the right faith. Where it is aptly added:
5:22 And about three thousand men of the Gentiles fell.
They, falling from the most wicked state of pride into repentance for their sins, by rising again through right faith are found worthy to be raised up into the state of good works. Their spoils Simon receives, when the Catholic teacher strives to convert entirely to the service of God whatever they have worked out by the knowledge of letters or the investigation of truth; where very many of those who had been trained in the liberal arts while living among the pagans… [something is missing in the manuscript] … But those who were in Galilee, with their wives and children and all that they had with them, he brought into Judaea with great joy, when, by the teaching of the Gospel, rescuing any Catholics who were entangled in the affairs of the world, he teaches them with all concern and all effort to desire the things that are of God.
5:24 And Judas Maccabeus and Jonathan his brother crossed the Jordan, etc.
Against those who were hindering the captive Jews in the region of Gilead, Judas Maccabeus and his brother Jonathan, having been sent with their companions, crossed the Jordan and went a three days’ journey through the desert. In the same way, holy preachers, sent into the world to summon people to the faith of Christ and to overthrow Jewish and schismatic errors, first cross the Jordan, that is, they teach that one must first pass by the sacrament of baptism from the darkness of unbelief into the grace of Christ, with Truth itself testifying that unless one is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (Jn. 3:5) Then they go a three days’ journey through the desert, because they affirm that the faith of the Holy Trinity, which all the faithful profess in baptism, must be observed with good works for the whole time of their sojourn in this world. But the fact that the Nabathaeans met them peacefully and related what had happened to their brothers in the region of Gilead signifies that the words of the holy prophets bring timely comfort to holy teachers, when by their testimony they make clear all the torments that believers in are going to suffer. For “Nabathaeans” is interpreted as “those who prophesy,” and they foretell with true prophecy the errors that the sons of perdition are plotting to set up against the truth of the Gospel of Christ. Therefore Hosea attacks the cows of Beth-aven and the inhabitants of Samaria (Hos. 10:5), and Amos rebukes those who sacrifice with leavened bread, and likewise detests those who turn judgment and justice into wormwood, and who accept bribes and crush the poor in the gate (Amos 5:12). Moreover, the fact that the Nabathaeans report that certain Jews have been seized in Barasa and Bosor is well expressed by the interpretation of their names; for Barasa and Bosor are interpreted as “tribulations and distress,” because all, according to the word of Paul, who wish to live spiritually in Christ will suffer persecution, nor will that person escape the injury of heretics who strives to preserve the doctrine of the true faith. These heretics John the Apostle, in his Apocalypse, describes as causing torment like the torment of scorpions when they strike a man, (Rev. 9:5) because just as scorpions carry their poison in their tail, so heretics conceal their hatred in the completion of their deceit, in order to harm the unsuspecting not with an open face, but with hidden snares.
5:28 And Judas turned back, and his army, etc.
In the preceding passages it is related that the cities of Gilead, in which the Jews had been seized, were fortified and great, which Judas committed to capture and destroy in a single day: for by unity the holy preachers plan to destroy all the strongholds of false doctrines that heretics establish in order to deceive innocent souls and to hold them captive in their errors. Now, however, it says that Judas, in the desert of Bosor, seized the city of Bosor, and killed every male with the edge of the sword, and took their spoils, and burned it with fire; for in this the holy teachers are greatly zealous, that, once they have taken the stronghold of the heretics, they may destroy with the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17), all the power of wicked sects that they establish through worldly philosophy and empty deceit; so that what those men, by their flashiness, had pretended to be of highest importance, these may show to be nothings and frivolous. They take their spoils when they remove from them, as from unjust possessors, the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures which they have misused, and they burn with perpetual anathema their very confession. But what follows, that they rose up in the night, shows that they were left in the darkness of their own error.
5:30 And it came to pass at daybreak, when they lifted up their eyes, etc.
What is expressed by the rankings and schemes of the nations, if not the exultation and defiant arrogance of the proud, through which they desire to attack and overthrow the Church of Christ? But our Judas, who arranges the whole apparatus of war in the light, fights against them with three ranks, that is, either with the faith of the Holy Trinity, or with a twofold teaching, namely historical, allegorical, and tropological; and he cries out with trumpets to heaven, because by strong preaching he raises his voice in exultation, and with the deep cry of the heart he calls upon God as helper in prayer.
5:34 And the camp of Timotheus learned that Maccabaeus was there, and they fled from his presence.
The camp of Timotheus, having recognized Maccabaeus, fled from his presence, because heretics, once they have recognized the power and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, flee in terror; and they are struck with a great blow, because in them, according to justice, through holy teachers, the vengeance of anathema is carried out; and about eight thousand men fall from among them, together with all the heap of those whom they were striving to gather against the true understanding of spiritual circumcision, or against the faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and of His members, and the Truth itself, victorious, destroyed them. Therefore it is that the Savior in the Gospel, in loosening the figurative sabbath, on the first day of the week, which is also the eighth day after the seventh, has revealed to us the mystery of His resurrection. Therefore also the Apostle Paul teaches (Col. 2:11) that circumcision not made by hand, in the stripping off of the body of flesh, must be accomplished by the Spirit of the living God in the hearts of believers; where also the old law taught that the foreskin of the heart had to be circumcised.
5:37 After these words, however, Timothy gathered another army and set up camp against Raphon, etc.
After Timothy had been defeated once and again, he did not cease to increase his wickedness, but multiplied his hatred. Once more he rebuilds an army against Judas and his companions; for it is not enough for heretics to engage in disputes once and again with a small number, but they constantly stir up new wars against the Church and pour out the various poisons of their deceit. They set up camp against Raphon across the stream , because with the utmost effort of their pride they rouse fury and stir up the storm of wars; and they also lead the Arabs, which means “those of the plain,” to their aid, because they take to the support of their error those who are devoted to pleasure and follow the luxury of this world. Therefore all these have constructed no small wickedness of their error against the Church. But Judas sends men to scout their army, just as holy teachers urge their hearers to guard against the uproar of the wicked, lest the course of their deceit bring about the destruction of simple souls. As for the fact that Timothy, as if making a calculation, says to the leaders of his army:
5:40-41 When Judas and his army approach the stream of water, if he crosses over to us first, we shall not be able to withstand him, for he will be strong enough to prevail against us; but if he is afraid to cross and sets up camp outside the river, we shall cross over to them and we shall be able to prevail against him.
This shows that all heretics fear the confidence and commitment of the people who believe rightly, and acknowledge themselves to be weaker the more they see them stronger in the unity of faith; but if they observe the rest of the Catholics becoming slower in the contemplation of God’s law and in the practice of good works, they eagerly promise themselves triumph and captivity over them.
5:42 But when Judas drew near to the brook of water, etc.
Crossing the brook of water, Judas stationed the scribes of the people so that they might urge the crowd behind him to go into battle, just as our Redeemer, approaching the passion of the cross, appointed the apostles, who were to teach those believing in him to despise the torment of bodily death and to trust in the power of heavenly truth. Therefore it is said: Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna (Matt. 10:28); and again: By your patience you will possess your souls; and he who perseveres to the end, this one will be saved (Luke 21:19); and elsewhere: Blessed, he says, are those who suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:10). From this it is fittingly added:
5:43a He crossed over to them first, and all the people after him,
because it was necessary that the mediator between God and humans should first fulfill the mystery of his own passion, and therefore, strengthened by his example, the faithful from all nations might learn, in suffering for him, to despise death.
5:43b And all nations are crushed before their face,
When the errors of different people are shattered by the power of God's strength.
5:43c They cast away their weapons and fled to the sanctuary that is in Carnaim.
When the obstacles of disputes have been abandoned, the persecutors of truth, not daring to resist, take refuge in the temples of their own gods; from the place where they seek protection, from there they meet their downfall. Now Carnaim is interpreted as “horns”; and horns can suitably be taken to signify kingship and defense. But their belief did not help them; rather, it deceived them.
5:44 For Judas seized the city itself and burned the sanctuary with fire, together with all who were in it,
showing how our Savior not only destroys every scheme of the error of heretics and persecutors, but indeed burns with the fire of just vengeance all those who put their trust in it. Therefore the Lord commanded in Deuteronomy, saying: If you hear in one of your cities which the Lord your God gives you to dwell in, that some are saying: The sons of Belial have gone out from your midst and have turned away the inhabitants of their city and have said: Let us go and serve strange gods whom you do not know, then you shall inquire carefully and diligently, and if, with the truth of the matter fully examined, you find that what is said is certain, and that this abomination has been committed in deed, you shall immediately strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword and destroy it, and all that is in it, even to the cattle. Whatever furnishings there may be, you shall gather in the midst of its streets, and together with the city itself you shall burn them, so that you utterly consume all for the Lord your God, and it shall be an everlasting heap of ruins (Deut. 13:12-26).
5:45 And Judas gathered together all the Israelites who were in the region of Gilead, etc.
Judas gathers the Israelites from the region of Gilead, just as our Redeemer, through his teachers by the word of the Gospel, calls back to the Catholic faith those who have been taken captive by heretics; for this is what it means to come into the land of Judah: to praise the Lord with right faith and good works.
5:46 And they came as far as Ephron, and this great city, etc.
All the battles of the nations signify the various wars of vices and errors. We have said that those nations which were in the land of Gilead and tried to capture the Israelites represented heretics and Jews; but now, with those who were in Carnaim subdued, again those who were in Ephron strive to resist Judas and his allies: for although various heretics have been crushed, those who follow the letter of the Old Testament still refuse to open the way to spiritual understanding. For what is indicated by Ephron, which is interpreted as “dust of sorrow” or “dust and useless,” if not the unnecessary observance of the law in the time of grace, in which the Jews who acknowledge it enclose themselves and block the gates with stones? Dedicated to the shadow, they set the historical tradition, which is written in stone in the law, against the preachers of the Gospel; they will in no way consent to be torn away from it, nor do they allow us to follow a more correct understanding. Therefore: Woe to you, lawyers, who have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering (Luke 11:52). But Judas sends to them with peaceful words, saying:
5:48 We will pass through your land to go into our own land, and no one will harm us.
For holy preachers, according to the command of our Lord, first offer peace to the opposing side, so that what is written may be fulfilled: If there is a son of peace there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, he says, it will return to you (Luke 10:6). We will pass, they say, through your land to go into our land; as if they were saying: Let us read the history of your books, so that there, by an allegorical sense, we may find in heaven the homeland promised to us; and no one will harm you, because our passing will be harmless for you; we will pass only with our feet, when by the step of good works we desire to reach the heavenly kingdom. They were unwilling to open, since in the law handed down to them they did not want to share with the preachers of the Gospel.
5:49 And Judas commanded them to preach in the camp, etc.
What does it mean that Judas commanded them to preach in the camp so that each one should move toward the city from the place where he was, if not that holy teachers grant to their hearers freedom of understanding in the Holy Scriptures, so that each person may seek to have opened to himself, in the divine reading, whether through allegory, or through tropology, or through anagogy, what he desires according to the wish of his heart, and, with heavenly grace granting it, may receive the ability to enter in? And note that men of bravery are said there to move in and to attack the city all day and all night: because unless someone is a man of bravery, so that he desires in deed to fulfill what he has learned from the teaching of his masters, and constantly meditates on the law of God day and night, that is, at all times, he will not be the conqueror of that aforementioned city. Therefore the Psalmist calls blessed the man who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night, and has not gone with the counsel of the wicked, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of plague (Ps. 1:1-2). But when it says that they destroyed every male by the edge of the sword and uprooted the city, and therefore took its spoils as he passed through the whole city over the slain, and then crossed the Jordan, it shows us that if we wish to be possessors of the law of the Lord and to receive its spoils, that is, the various understandings, according to right faith, we should first strive to crush the surface of the letter and to condemn all the errors of heretics; and therefore we should cross into the great plain, that is, cleansed by baptism from burden, let us pass into the freedom of glory, where the sun of righteousness shines upon us, in whose wings true healing is found, who illumines the darkness, the hidden things of darkness, and reveals the secret mysteries to those who seek him not with the fabrication of hypocrisy, but with the truth of faith. Therefore Wisdom warns, saying: “Think about the Lord with goodness, and seek him with simplicity of heart, for he is found by those who do not test him, and he appears to those who have faith in him. For crooked thoughts separate from God, and when power is tested it exposes the foolish. Because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul, nor will she dwell in a body enslaved to sins. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee deceit, and remove from thoughts that are without understanding” (Wis. 1:1-5).
5:53 And Judas was gathering the slackers and was exhorting the people along the whole way, etc.
That Judas, returning with his army into the land of Judah, gathering the slackers, was exhorting the people along the whole way until they came into the land of Judah, teaches by his example the doctors of the holy Church what kind of care and how much diligence they ought to have toward their subjects, so that in the journey of the present life they may not neglect to bestow upon them the word of encouragement; but, by teaching, admonishing, reproving, and consoling, they may always strive to benefit them, and, so far as lies in them, may allow no one to fall back from their company and perish; rather, let them hurry all the more, so that, the number of those entrusted to their care being preserved, they may joyfully return into the land of Judah, according to the statement of Paul (Heb. 12 :22-23), to Mount Sion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the assembly of many thousands of angels, and the Church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to the Judge of all, the Lord, and then render thanks to Him with worthy praises, by whose gift they have been able to come to the seat of rest and peace.
5:55 And in the days when Judas and Jonathan were in the land of Gilead, etc.
What is signified by these two leaders, namely Joseph and Azariah, who, stirred by zeal for the virtues of Judas, wished through boastfulness to gain a name for themselves in battles, if not the figure of hypocrites, who seek to imitate the virtues of the saints not with a straightforward intention, but with the pride of arrogance? But just as things did not turn out well for them, because what they did was not done with a good character, so also for these men from their attempt there follows not true glory, but everlasting disgrace; for they do not deserve to rejoice in the victory of their own people, but will rather mourn over their own and their followers’ eternal damnation. Therefore it is rightly added.
5:60 And there was a great flight among the people, etc.
Therefore, with good reason the one who does not listen to the health-giving counsel of spiritual Judah suffers the fall of great plagues; and because they were not among the number of the elect, who, stirred by the Spirit of God, perform works of virtue, they will, on account of their shameless boldness, be disgracefully confused at the last together with sinners.
5:63 And the men of Judah were greatly magnified in the sight of Israel, etc.
It is well said that the men of Judah were greatly magnified in the sight of all nations, because those who hold the true confession of right faith in such a way that they fulfill in deed what they proclaim with their mouth are deservedly praised by the voice of all nations; and they come to them with favorable cheers, that is, by keeping his commandments they declare them blessed, and they render the praises of Judah to the heavenly King, according to that saying of the Psalmist, who, considering the goods of the Church, says: “They called the people blessed who have these things; blessed is the people whose God is the Lord” (Ps. 144:15). Therefore also our Savior in the Gospel commanded his disciples, saying: “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).
5:65 And Judas went out, and his brothers, and they attacked the sons of Esau in the land which is to the south, etc.
What is understood by Esau, who through desire for food sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob, if not the former people, who, because of earthly desire, showed themselves unworthy of the honor of the firstborn, and on this account the whole dignity was transferred to the people of the Gentiles? And fittingly the sons of Esau are said to dwell in the land which is to the south, because the Jewish people, on account of the law they had received and the writings of the prophets that were handed down among them, seemed to draw near to the light of the eternal sun; but since they were stirred in mind, and placed close to the light, namely that light which enlightens every man coming into this world (Jn. 1:9), they were unwilling to receive it when set before them, and therefore they are clearly said to have been attacked by Judas and his brothers. For the holy teachers, criticizing them for their error, and, after the just one had been despised and condemned because of their disobedience, turning to the preaching of the Gentiles, struck down the error of the faithless both in the Synagogue itself and in individual persons with the sword of the word of God, and burned with the fire of due condemnation the towers of pride which they, with exalted mind, had raised against the Gospel of Christ.
5:66 And he moved his camp to go into the land of foreigners, etc.
Note, reader, that he now briefly recapitulates, by touching on them again, all those types of adversaries which he had mentioned before, that is, of the Jews, the Gentiles, and the heretics. For when a little earlier he related that the sons of Esau had been conquered, he immediately added that the camps of the foreigners, together with their altars and the spoils of their own gods, had been burned; then that Samaria had been navigated. Now he mentions Samaria, because not only Jewish superstition, but also the error of the Gentiles and the corruption of the heretics, is overcome, confused, destroyed, and reduced to nothing through the preaching of the apostles and the Gospel of Christ. Yet above all, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David (Rev. 5:5), has conquered, and who can resist him? Judgment has been hurled from heaven, the earth trembled and was still when God rose up in judgment to save all the meek of the earth (Ps. 76:8-9). But what is said among other things, that priests fell in battle when they go out to the fight without counsel, is a most fearful sentence.