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*H At that time Abia, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick.
Ver. 1. At. The Sept. omit the 20 verses following. But Grabe's edition has them marked with asterisks, (H.) as being supplied from Theodotion, &c. The Vat. copy gives a great part, with some circumstances which occur no where else. C. xii. 24. C. — The wife of Jeroboam is there called Ano, (M.) the elder sister of the queen of Egypt, Thekemina. See C. xi. 19; where Adad marries another sister. H. — Time. This expression does not determine the year. S. Chrys. &c. — The passage in the Vat. Sept. seems to place this death before Jeroboam ascended the throne: but it took place rather at the end of his reign, v. 14. Abia seems to have been his eldest son, and fit for command; so that the people mourn for him, which they would hardly have done for an infant. C.
*H And Jeroboam said to his wife: Arise, and change thy dress, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Silo, where Ahias, the prophet is, who told me that I should reign over this people.
Ver. 2. Dress. As if the prophet, who could dive into futurity, could be thus imposed upon. Jeroboam was aware that he would be full of indignation at the changes which had been introduced. He might also fear, lest his wife might be exposed to danger in (C.) or near (H.) the enemy's country, (C.) and the people would have been more convinced of the vanity of their idols, if they had seen that it was necessary to have recourse to a prophet of the true God. M. — The mother might ask without the least suspicion, "Will my son recover?" — Silo might still be attached to the service of God, in consequence of the ark residing there so long, and the presence of the revered Ahias; so that, if it formed a part of the dominions of Israel, (T.) as it was in the tribe of Ephraim, though nearer Jerusalem than Sichem, (C.) Jeroboam might reasonably fear lest his wife should be treated with indignity. T.
*H Take also with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a pot of honey, and go to him: for he will tell thee what will become of this child.
Ver. 3. Cracknels. Heb. nikkudim, "cakes full of holes," &c. Jos. ix. 12. C. — Sept. give a double translation, "cakes and raisins." Arab. "fruits." Syr. adds "dried." It was customary to make presents to the prophets, 1 K. ix. 7. C. — But these were mean, that the woman might not be known. D. — It is not said that Ahias deigned to receive them. S. Jer. in Mic. iii.
* Summa
*S Part 3, Ques 100, Article 3
[II-II, Q. 100, Art. 3]
Whether It Is Lawful to Give and Receive Money for Spiritual Actions?
Objection 1: It seems that it is lawful to give and receive money for spiritual actions. The use of prophecy is a spiritual action. But something used to be given of old for the use of prophecy, as appears from 1 Kings 9:7, 8, and 3 Kings 14:3. Therefore it would seem that it is lawful to give and receive money for a spiritual action.
Obj. 2: Further, prayer, preaching, divine praise, are most spiritual actions. Now money is given to holy persons in order to obtain the assistance of their prayers, according to Luke 16:9, "Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity." To preachers also, who sow spiritual things, temporal things are due according to the Apostle (1 Cor. 9:14). Moreover, something is given to those who celebrate the divine praises in the ecclesiastical office, and make processions: and sometimes an annual income is assigned to them. Therefore it is lawful to receive something for spiritual actions.
Obj. 3: Further, science is no less spiritual than power. Now it is lawful to receive money for the use of science: thus a lawyer may sell his just advocacy, a physician his advice for health, and a master the exercise of his teaching. Therefore in like manner it would seem lawful for a prelate to receive something for the use of his spiritual power, for instance, for correction, dispensation, and so forth.
Obj. 4: Further, religion is the state of spiritual perfection. Now in certain monasteries something is demanded from those who are received there. Therefore it is lawful to demand something for spiritual things.
_On the contrary,_ It is stated (I, qu. i [*Can. Quidquid invisibilis]): "It is absolutely forbidden to make a charge for what is acquired by the consolation of invisible grace, whether by demanding a price or by seeking any kind of return whatever." Now all these spiritual things are acquired through an invisible grace. Therefore it is not lawful to charge a price or return for them.
_I answer that,_ Just as the sacraments are called spiritual, because they confer a spiritual grace, so, too, certain other things are called spiritual, because they flow from spiritual grace and dispose thereto. And yet these things are obtainable through the ministry of men, according to 1 Cor. 9:7, "Who serveth as a soldier at any time at his own charges? Who feedeth the flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?" Hence it is simoniacal to sell or buy that which is spiritual in such like actions; but to receive or give something for the support of those who minister spiritual things in accordance with the statutes of the Church and approved customs is lawful, yet in such wise that there be no intention of buying or selling, and that no pressure be brought to bear on those who are unwilling to give, by withholding spiritual things that ought to be administered, for then there would be an appearance of simony. But after the spiritual things have been freely bestowed, then the statutory and customary offerings and other dues may be exacted from those who are unwilling but able to pay, if the superior authorize this to be done.
Reply Obj. 1: As Jerome says in his commentary on Mic. 3:9, certain gifts were freely offered to the good prophets, for their livelihood, but not as a price for the exercise of their gift of prophecy. Wicked prophets, however, abused this exercise by demanding payment for it.
Reply Obj. 2: Those who give alms to the poor in order to obtain from them the assistance of their prayers do not give with the intent of buying their prayers; but by their gratuitous beneficence inspire the poor with the mind to pray for them freely and out of charity. Temporal things are due to the preacher as means for his support, not as a price of the words he preaches. Hence a gloss on 1 Tim. 5:11, "Let the priests that rule well," says: "Their need allows them to receive the wherewithal to live, charity demands that this should be given to them: yet the Gospel is not for sale, nor is a livelihood the object of preaching: for if they sell it for this purpose, they sell a great thing for a contemptible price." In like manner temporal things are given to those who praise God by celebrating the divine office whether for the living or for the dead, not as a price but as a means of livelihood; and the same purpose is fulfilled when alms are received for making processions in funerals. Yet it is simoniacal to do such things by contract, or with the intention of buying or selling. Hence it would be an unlawful ordinance if it were decreed in any church that no procession would take place at a funeral unless a certain sum of money were paid, because such an ordinance would preclude the free granting of pious offices to any person. The ordinance would be more in keeping with the law, if it were decreed that this honor would be accorded to all who gave a certain alms, because this would not preclude its being granted to others. Moreover, the former ordinance has the appearance of an exaction, whereas the latter bears a likeness to a gratuitous remuneration.
Reply Obj. 3: A person to whom a spiritual power is entrusted is bound by virtue of his office to exercise the power entrusted to him in dispensing spiritual things. Moreover, he receives a statutory payment from the funds of the Church as a means of livelihood. Therefore, if he were to accept anything for the exercise of his spiritual power, this would imply, not a hiring of his labor (which he is bound to give, as a duty arising out of the office he has accepted), but a sale of the very use of a spiritual grace. For this reason it is unlawful for him to receive anything for any dispensing whatever, or for allowing someone else to take his duty, or for correcting his subjects, or for omitting to correct them. On the other hand it is lawful for him to receive "procurations," when he visits his subjects, not as a price for correcting them, but as a means of livelihood. He that is possessed of science, without having taken upon himself the obligation of using it for the benefit of others can lawfully receive a price for his learning or advice, since this is not a sale of truth or science, but a hiring of labor. If, on the other hand, he be so bound by virtue of his office, this would amount to a sale of the truth, and consequently he would sin grievously. For instance, those who in certain churches are appointed to instruct the clerics of that church and other poor persons, and are in receipt of an ecclesiastical benefice for so doing, are not allowed to receive anything in return, either for teaching, or for celebrating or omitting any feasts.
Reply Obj. 4: It is unlawful to exact or receive anything as price for entering a monastery: but, in the case of small monasteries, that are unable to support so many persons, it is lawful, while entrance to the monastery is free, to accept something for the support of those who are about to be received into the monastery, if its revenues are insufficient. In like manner it is lawful to be easier in admitting to a monastery a person who has proved his regard for that monastery by the generosity of his alms: just as, on the other hand, it is lawful to incite a person's regard for a monastery by means of temporal benefits, in order that he may thereby be induced to enter the monastery; although it is unlawful to agree to give or receive something for entrance into a monastery (I, qu. ii, cap. Quam pio). _______________________
FOURTH
*H Jeroboam's wife did as he told her: and rising up, went to Silo, and came to the house of Ahias; but he could not see, for his eyes were dim by reason of his age.
Ver. 4. Dim. Heb. "swelled," &c. C. — Sept. inform us that the prophet was 60 years old. H.
*H Ahias heard the sound of her feet, coming in at the door, and said: Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam: why dost thou feign thyself to be another? But I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
Ver. 6. Tidings. Heb. "I am a hard messenger to thee." C.
*H But hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast made thee strange gods, and molten gods, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
Ver. 9. Strange gods; that is, foreign gods: which expression destroys the opinion of those who imagine that Jeroboam designed by his calves to worship the Lord God of Israel. Ch. — Back. Lit. "body."
*H Therefore, behold I will bring evils upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel: and I will sweep away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as dung is swept away till all be clean.
Ver. 10. Wall. Every male child, or every dog. See 1 K. xxv. 22. H. — The Heb. word mashtin, in Spanish and French, signifies a "shepherd's dog." — Israel. This proverbial expression signifies, that even those who keep at home, and meddle not with the affairs of war, will not escape; (C.) nor shall those who have run away from the field of battle, (H.) nor the most precious or contemptible things be spared. Deut. xxxii. 36. 4 K. xiv. 26. M. — Clean. This family is compared to something most disgusting, (H.) because it had introduced idolatry, and the prediction against it was literally fulfilled by Baasa, (C. xv. 29. T.) "as the vintner seeks in the vineyard even for the last grape." Syr. and Arab.
*H Them that shall die of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs shall eat: and them that shall die in the field, the birds of the air shall devour: for the Lord hath spoken it.
Ver. 11. Devour. They shall have the burial of asses. Jer. xxii. 19.
*H And all Israel shall mourn for him, and shall bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall be laid in a sepulchre, because in his regard there is found a good word from the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
Ver. 13. Word from. Heb. or "thought towards." Grot. — He has entertained sentiments of piety (C.) in the midst of a wicked court; therefore, God will hasten to draw him out of the midst of iniquity. H. — The Rabbins say that he had pulled down the walls, which his father had built, to prevent the people from going to Jerusalem. C. — God was please to shew mercy to him. M.
*H And the Lord hath appointed himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam in this day, and in this time:
Ver. 14. Time. Prot. "But what? even now." The young prince, (H.) who was the firmest support of the family, was presently hurried away. Abia, king of Juda, slew above 500,000 of Jeroboam's subjects at once; and Baasa exterminated his family. C. — The latter had now begun his conspiracy. Abulensis, q. 26.
*H And the Lord God shall strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water: and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river: because they have made to themselves groves, to provoke the Lord.
Ver. 15. Water. The kingdom of Israel was continually agitated with wars. — River Euphrates, by degrees. The kings of Assyria verified these predictions; and we know not what is become of these ten tribes. C. — To provoke. These people did not perhaps design (H.) to make God their enemy, no more than their king did, v. 9. But their actions had that effect. Such expressions denote not the final cause, but the sequel of other facts, without direct intention. W. — Yet these sins might probably be called sins of malice. H. — They were all involved in ruin, because they had been accomplices in wickedness. M.
*H And the Lord shall give up Israel for the sins of Jeroboam, who hath sinned, and made Israel to sin.
Ver. 16. Sin. This is the common effect of evil example in kings. Plus exemplo quàm peccato nocent. Cicero, Leg. iii. "As it is esteemed a sort of service to imitate the customs and vices of the king; they laid aside all piety, lest they might seem to upbraid the king with his impiety, if they should live in a virtuous manner." Lact. v. 6. The crimes of kings are seldom confined to their own persons. C.
*H And the wife of Jeroboam arose, and departed, and came to Thersa: and when she was coming in to the threshold of the house, the child died,
Ver. 17. Thersa. Sept. inform us that Jeroboam had built this place, which the call Sarira, while he was employed by Solomon. No wonder, therefore, that it is not mentioned by Josue. Its exact situation is not known, though it must have been very delightful, since Solomon compares the spouse to it. C. — Where we read sweet, (Cant. vi. 3.) Heb. has, "Thou art beautiful....as Thersa, and comely as Jerusalem." Hither Jeroboam had removed his court from Sichem. T. — Some place Thersa in the tribe of Manasses; (Adric.) others, in that of Ephraim. Bonfrere. — House. Heb. "door," or gate of the city, when the prophet had denounced that the child should die, (v. 12.) unless the palace was contiguous to the walls. H.
*H And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he fought, and how he reigned, behold they are written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel.
Ver. 19. The book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel. This book, which is often mentioned in the Book of Kings, is long since lost. For as to the books of Paralipomenon, or Chronicles, (which the Hebrews call the words of the days) they were certainly written after the Book of Kings, since they frequently refer to them; (Ch.) and they also remit us to these journals for farther information. H.
* Footnotes
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*
2_Paralipomenon
12:13
King Roboam therefore was strengthened in Jerusalem, and reigned: he was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord chose out of all the tribes of Israel, to establish his name there: and the name of his mother was Naama an Ammonitess.
*H And Roboam, the son of Solomon, reigned in Juda: Roboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord chose out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naama, an Ammonitess.
Ver. 21. Forty. Some suspect there is a mistake, and that it should be twenty-one. See 1 Par. xxii. 5. Grotius D. — Hardouin dates from the æra of Solomon. Roboam was young, in the Scripture style. But he might be forty-one years old. C. xii. 10. C. — Ammonitess. She probably perverted her son; (M.) so that he only continued three years faithful to the Lord; (2 Par. xi. 17.) when his people readily imitated the idolatry of Israel, as they had been already staggered in their faith by the conduct of Solomon. C.
*H For they also built them altars, and statues, and groves, upon every high hill, and under every green tree:
Ver. 23. High hill. Such places of devotion had been tolerated, before the temple was built: but now they were deemed profane. C.
*H There were also the effeminate in the land, and they did according to all the abominations of the people, whom the Lord had destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.
Ver. 24. The effeminate. Catamites, or men addicted to unnatural lust. Ch. — This crime had been punished in the Sodomites, and in the people of Chanaan, and of Benjamin. Yet they continued prevalent in the country. C. xv. 12. and 4 K. xxiii. 7. and Isai. ii. 6. and 2 Mac. iv. 12. C. — These were perpetrated in honour of Venus, Priapus, &c. M. See Deut. xxiii. 17. H.
* Footnotes
- A.M. 3030.
*H And in the fifth year of the reign of Roboam, Sesac, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem.
Ver. 25. Sesac. See C. xi. 40. He was allied to Jeroboam, (C.) so that he might come to his assistance, (H.) being attracted by the ivory throne, (Rabbins) and the immense riches of Jeroboam. C. — Roboam was informed by Semeias, that resistance would be fruitless; and being humbled, he repaired more frequently to the temple, v. 18. But his piety was of short duration, as it was influenced only by fear. 2 Par. xii. 14.
*H And Roboam made shields of brass instead of them, and delivered them into the hand of the captains of the shieldbearers, and of them that kept watch before the gate of the king's house.
Ver. 27. Hand. Sym. "the place where the courtiers" (guards) stood, (H.) in the hall; (C.) or he made the guards carry these shields before him, v. 28. H.
*H And there was war between Roboam and Jeroboam always.
Ver. 30. Always. The two kingdoms were constantly divided, and did each other all the harm they could; though we know not that they ever came to a pitched battle. Roboam was too great a coward. 2 Par. xiii. 7.
*H And Roboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with them, in the city of David: and his mother's name was Naama, an Ammonitess: and Abiam, his son, reigned in his stead.
Ver. 31. Roboam. He deserved some commendation for procuring provisions, and fortifying his dominions; (2 Par. xi. 5, 12.) but was a prince devoid of wisdom or religion. He married 18 wives and 60 concubines. The son of Maacha, his most favourite queen, succeeded him, after he had reigned seventeen years, and lived fifty-eight. C. — Semeias and Addo wrote his history. 2 Par. xii. 15.