Книга пророка Иеремии, Глава 31, стих 38. Толкования стиха

JEREMIAH DOES NOT PROPHESY A LITERAL RESTORATION. JEROME: Those who accept the reign of the Messiah for one thousand years in the land of Judea—clearly the Jews and our Judaizers—strive to claim and to demonstrate that the sanctuary of the Lord, that is, the temple, must be maintained forever in one location, specifically that of the tower of Hananel and the corner gate and the hill Gareb and Goah and the entire valley of corpses and ashes and the river Kidron and the corner of the eastern Gate of Horses. Because they are unable to show that it was completed after their captivity in the times of Zerubbabel and Ezra, they pass to the times of the Messiah, whom they say is coming at the consummation of the world, so that a golden and bejeweled Jerusalem can descend, according to the Apocalypse of John, and be built within this space of land, that is, beginning at one place and ending at another. And they receive this whiff of a suspicion that the foundation of the city is to be laid from the tower at Anathoth, which today is called Jeremiah’s and is separated from Jerusalem by three thousand sic, to the river Kidron, where there is a garden in which Judas the traitor betrayed the Savior, as written in the Gospel.

“We are about to read in what follows,” they say, “that Hanamel the son of Shallum was Jeremiah’s uncle and that Jeremiah bought Hanamel’s field and that this is the tower of Hanamel.” Yet, they did not know the truth of the Hebrew, for this is what is written: “from the tower of Hananel,” with an n clearly as the fifth letter, whereas the name in the other phrase has an m as the fifth letter: “Behold, Hanamel, son of Shallum, your uncle, will come to you.” SIX BOOKS ON JEREMIAH 6.29.2-5.

 

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST, CITY OF GOD. JEROME: Invoking the Lord and Savior “who has the key of David, who opens and no one closes, who closes and no one opens,” . . . let us approach the edifice of the city to which the prophetic words were directed: “Glorious things are said of you, O city of God,” and “the river’s flow delights the City of God.” Thus, the church is built from the tower “of obedience” or “grace” or “the gifts of God”—for this is what Hananel means—to the corner gate. Even though the church may appear to have a sublime beginning, we are unable to possess the straight line of truth as long as we are in the flesh, but we stand on a corner with broken lines, where the measuring line goes out beyond the corner gate to the hill Gareb, which, in our language, is translated either “sojourn” or “itch,” to teach us that we are foreigners and wanderers with ears itching to provide easy agreement to the worst of new doctrines.

And “it will go around Goah,” it says, which the Septuagint translates as “a circuit around chosen stones,” who wish to be on the face of the earth and are bound together by the cornerstone, with the apostle Peter saying, “like living stones, be built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” It continues, “And it goes around the entire valley of Phagarim,” which means “ruins” and “ashes,” so that even though we appear to be in the hills, we may always yet fear the ruins and consider the ashes and say penance with David: “I ate ashes like bread and mixed tears into my drink.” Hence, to the sleeping it is said, “Is it not true that one who falls rises again, says the Lord?” It also says “the entire Sademoth,” which we translate as the “region of death,” from sade, which means “region,” and moth, which means “death.” But Aquila translates it “suburban,” or “field” and “country.” But the “region of death” is the region of sinners and “suburban” the region of pleasures, which continues all the way to the river Kidron, where the Lord was betrayed, which is translated “darkness.” See how many places the church has and how the apostolic word that it is to be “without spot or wrinkle” is reserved for the future in heaven. You heard about the corner, you heard about the itchy ears, you heard about the ruins and the ashes and the region of death and the darkness, and still you glory in your virtue and your sinlessness! SIX BOOKS ON JEREMIAH 6.29.6-11.

 

THE CHURCH WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED. JEROME: Then it continues, “to the corner gate.” It is made a corner lest any true justice or any certain victory be thought demonstrable in this world. And the corner gate itself, though it may be “in the east,” whence the light originates, is nevertheless called “horse gate,” this to teach us that we need to ride and to fight, so that we may deserve to hear with the Lord, “You mounted your horses and the salvation of your chariot.” The sanctification of the Lord is placed in the eastern gate, the gate of chariots, that we may be deemed perfect when we say to the Lord, “The chariot of God is tens of thousands of joyful people, for the Lord is among them.” In this way, the building that is established on the foundation of Christ, about which the apostle also said, “as a wise architect, I laid a foundation,” will never be destroyed but will remain forever. SIX BOOKS ON JEREMIAH 6.29.12-13.

Се дние грядут, рече Господь, и созиждется град Господеви от столпа Ананиила (Άνανιήλ)* до врат уголных, и далее. То есть, от башни Ананиила. А хочет сказать о величине города, что он будет больше, чем был прежде. Ананиил был один из военачальников. *Вместо этого читается в древн. сп. греч. перевода, с которыми согласуется Слав. Б., Ἀναμεήλ=Анамеиля.

От башни Анамеила до ворот угольных. См. коммент. к Неем. 3:1 и 2 Пар. 25:23. Вероятно, речь идет о западной части северной стены, где вавилоняне могли проломить брешь и войти в город. Северная часть города была наиболее уязвимой, поскольку все остальные стороны были защищены от вторжения крутыми склонами.

город. Т.е. Иерусалим. от башни Анамеила до ворот угольных. Упоминание построек, располагавшихся на противоположных концах Иерусалима, подчеркивает, что речь идет обо всем городе (см. 2 Пар. 26,9; Зах. 14,10.11). Возрождение Иерусалима будет первым знаком исполнения обещаний нового завета.

«Вот наступают дни». Некоторые толкователи (Dachsel, Die Propheten и др.) относят это пророчество о восстановлении Иерусалима и Иудейского государства ко временам, какие переживаем мы, т. е. к концу 19-го и началу 20-го столетия, когда будто бы евреи должны как народ войти в Церковь Христову и обосноваться снова в Палестине. Подобные мнения, которые их авторы пытаются основать на хронологических данных Aпокалипсиса (напр., на Откр. 11:2), опровергаются уже самою действительностью, и несомненно возобновление Завета с Израилем – дело весьма еще отдаленного от нас будущего. «Башня Анамеила» (по евр. Хананла) стояла на северо-восточном углу городской стены (Зах. 14:10; Неем. 3:1), а угольные ворота – на северо-западе города (4 Цар. 14:13; 2 Пар. 26:9). Сперва, таким образом, пророк обозначает северную линию города.

Се дние грядут, глаголет «Господь, и созиждется град Господеви от Анамеиля, до врат угольных.» Сирский переводчик говорит: от столпа угла Анамеиля¹.