Cap. 19, Vers. 1-20
by St. Bonaventure
Source text: Public Domain Mark 1.0. English translation/apparatus/encoding: CC BY-NC 4.0, Wroot Press.
https://bonaventure.wrootpress.com/browse/16/d/19/q/bon-sap-c19
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### Chapter XIX.

#### On the punishing of the Egyptians by their own death.

*But to the impious even to the end.* After he has determined of the punishing of the Egyptians by the death of the firstborn, here he determines of their punishing by *their own death,* namely when they were drowned in the Red Sea. And first is touched the *drowning of the Egyptians;* secondly, the *deliverance of the Hebrews: For every creature;* thirdly, the *giving of thanks* for both: *Seeing thy;* fourthly, the *obedience of the creatures* in both: *For the elements in themselves.*

#### First, the drowning of the Egyptians.

In the first is touched first the *gravity of the punishing;* secondly, the *reason on the part of the one punishing: For he knew before;* thirdly, the *desert on the part of the punished: For whilst yet;* fourthly, the *fittingness of the punishment: For there led.*

(Vers. 1.). *But to the impious* etc., as if to say: thus were the Israelites delivered from the burning; *but* (*autem*), for *sed; to the impious,* namely to the Egyptians, lacking the piety of religion as regards God and of compassion towards their neighbour, because they both despised God and oppressed his people; *even to the end,* that is, finally; Proverbs, the fifth: « Her end is bitter as wormwood »; *wrath without mercy came upon them. Without mercy,* namely not relaxing, but without mercy delivering, and this because they were impious and without mercy; James, the second: « Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy ». *Wrath,* that is, the vengeance of sin, which is the sign of wrath; *came upon them,* that is, by the supernal judgment of God came to their oppression; Job, the twenty-first: « The lamp of the impious shall be put out, and a deluge shall come upon them »; Proverbs, the first: « When tribulation and distress shall come upon you ». And deservedly *came upon them* etc.; *for he knew before,* God namely, *also,* that is, even, *their future things,* namely their sins, before they came to pass; to the Hebrews, the fourth: « All things are naked and open to his eyes »; likewise in the Psalm: « Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-third: « To the Lord our God all things were known, before they were created » etc.

(Vers. 2.). *For when they themselves,* namely the Egyptians, *had returned*, namely to their heart, according as Isaias admonishes, saying: « Return, ye transgressors, to the heart », Isaias, the forty-sixth. *Had returned,* I say, to their heart, outside which they had been for fear; in the Psalm: « My heart hath forsaken me ». *And had given leave,* namely before, *that they should lead themselves,* that is, that the children of Israel should lead themselves apart out of their land; whence Exodus, the eleventh: « Go forth, thou and all the people that is under thee ». *And with great care,* that is, urgency, *had sent them before,* namely by compelling them to go out; whence Exodus, the twelfth: « The Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of the land speedily ». *There followed upon them,* namely upon the Egyptians, when they had done this, *the act of repentance,* that is, sorrow over their departure, sorrow, I say, in the heart, and confession in the mouth, and the showing of both in the work of persecution; Exodus, the fourteenth: « The heart of Pharao and of his servants was changed with regard to the people, and they said: What meant we to do, that we let Israel go »?

(Vers. 3.). And I said well that *there followed upon them* etc. *For whilst they yet had mourning between their hands,* that is, the matter of mourning, namely their dead firstborn, or: *mourning,* that is, the signs of mourning; *and lamenting,* that is, greatly weeping, or weeping from the heart, or: *lamenting,* that is, weeping over the death of the firstborn. Well it follows: *At the graves of the dead,* namely of the firstborn, *they took up to themselves another thought* etc. He says well: *They took up* etc., because an evil thought is from man, but a good one from God; the second to the Corinthians, the third: « Not that we are sufficient to think any thing of ourselves » etc. *Thought,* I say, *of unknowing,* that is, of folly. For every evil man errs; Proverbs, the fourteenth: « They err that work evil ». The former thought had been foolish, by which they had thought to hold them back by force; the other also was foolish, by which they had thought to call them back or bring them back by force. *And whom asking they had cast out,* namely by compelling the children of Israel to go out, as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth; *these as fugitives,* that is, as it were departing without their leave, which was false; *they pursued,* as is clear from Exodus, the fourteenth.

(Vers. 4.). *There led* etc., as if: and fittingly; *for there led them to this end,* namely of obstinacy and of drowning, *a worthy necessity,* not of fortune or of fate, but of divine justice.

**But on the contrary:** Because they were tending to this voluntarily; therefore not by necessity.

It must be said that it was not a necessity of *coercion,* but of *immutability*.

**But on the contrary:** Because they could repent and so avoid that punishment.

It must be said that they could, but they would not. Hence that necessity was consequent upon the will, not antecedent. Or: they could not completely by themselves, nor were they willing to ask the help of God.

*And of those things which had happened,* namely of the many plagues brought on for the keeping back of the children of Israel, Exodus, the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and twelfth, *they lost the remembrance,* that is, they were losing it, if not in habit, yet in act; or in deed, if not in heart; Osee, the thirteenth: « They lifted up their heart, and have forgotten me ». *That what was wanting to the torments,* namely the preceding ones, for they had not yet been sufficiently punished; *the punishing might fill up,* namely the following one; and the word *ut* ("that") is set consecutively, not causally.

(Vers. 5.). *And that thy people indeed,* namely the Israelite people, *might wonderfully pass through,* namely through the Red Sea dry-shod; whence Exodus, the fifteenth: « The children of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst thereof ». *But they,* namely the Egyptians, *might find a new death,* namely a new manner of dying, namely through a miraculous drowning; in the same place: « The horseman went in », that is, the horse, « of Pharao », in the genitive case, « with his chariots and horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back upon them the waters of the sea ».

#### Secondly, the deliverance of the Hebrews.

*For every* etc. Here is touched the *deliverance of the Hebrews,* and first *in general;* secondly, *in special: For a cloud.*

(Vers. 6.). *For every* etc., as if he said thus: the Egyptians were drowned, and the Israelites delivered; *for every creature,* that is, all the elements, *according to its kind as from the beginning,* namely as it had held it, *was fashioned again,* that is, was again made like, namely in this, that it did not harm the good, just as neither in the state of innocence; whence Isidore: « If man had not sinned, water would not drown, fire would not burn, nor would the prickles of thorns wound ». The *creature* itself, I say, *serving thy commandments,* that is, thy ordinance and will; in the Psalm: « He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages: he hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away »; likewise Jeremias, the fifth: « I have set the sand a bound for the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it shall not pass over ». *That thy children,* namely the Hebrews subject to thee; Isaias, the eighth: « Behold I and my children »; *might be kept without hurt;* Proverbs, the second: « He will keep the salvation of the righteous, and protect them that walk in simplicity ».

(Vers. 7.). *For a cloud,* namely given by God through the ministry of an Angel, *overshadowed their camp,* namely of the Hebrews, « standing between their camp and the camp of the Egyptians, so that the whole night they could not come at them », as is clear from Exodus, the fourteenth. *And out of water,* that is, after water, as when it is said: out of morning comes midday, that is, after. *Out of water,* I say, *which was before,* in the place through which they passed; *dry land appeared,* namely dried by the blowing of the wind, as is clear from Exodus, the fourteenth. *And in the Red Sea,* namely divided, as is clear in the same place, likewise in the Psalm: « Who divided the Red Sea into parts »; *a way,* namely appeared, *without hindrance,* namely of water or of mud, according to that of the Psalm: « Thy way is in the sea » etc.; Habacuc, the third: « Thou madest a way in the sea for thy horses »; likewise Isaias, the fifty-first: « Who madest the depth of the sea a way, that the delivered might pass over ». *And a springing field,* that is, a way level and delightful, as through a springing field, *out of the excessive deep,* that is, after the excessive depth of the water that had been there before.

(Vers. 8.). *Through which,* namely the field, *all the nation,* namely of the Hebrews, *passed,* or *might pass,* the Egyptians pursuing. *Which was covered,* that is, was protected, *with thy hand,* that is, *power;* Isaias, the forty-ninth: « In the shadow of his hand he hath protected me », or *with the Son,* as in the Psalm: « Put forth thy hand from on high » etc.

#### Thirdly, the giving of thanks.

*Seeing* etc. Here is subjoined the *giving of thanks,* first for the *deliverance of the Hebrews;* secondly, for the *punishing* or drowning *of the Egyptians: And vexations.*

In the first is touched first the *leading of the Hebrews out of Egypt;* secondly, the *wonders done for them in Egypt: For they were mindful;* thirdly, *their refreshment in the desert: But at length.*

*Seeing thy,* as if to say: not only hearing, but also seeing; the first of John, the first: « That which we have seen, which we have heard » etc. *Thy wonders and portents; wonders,* namely the lesser, *and portents,* namely the greater; or: *wonders,* in their own deliverance, *portents,* in the overthrow of the Egyptians. For a *portent* is said to be not only something wonderful, but also something horrible.

(Vers. 9.). *Seeing,* I say, etc.; *for* (*enim*), that is, certainly, *they fed on their food,* namely in the casting down or consuming of their adversaries. Or he says this to this extent, that they delighted in their destruction, as horses when they eat or graze their food. *Like horses,* namely on which the Lord was sitting, according to that of Habacuc, the third: « Thou madest a way in the sea for thy horses ». *Like horses,* namely by neighing over the overcoming of their foes, according to that of Isaias, the twenty-fourth: « These shall lift up their voice, and shall give praise. When the Lord shall be glorified, they shall make a joyful noise from the sea ». *And like lambs,* namely simple and meek; in the Psalm: « The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the flock », that is, the greater as well as the lesser of them; *they exulted,* not only within in the heart, but also outwardly by rejoicing. *Magnifying thee, O Lord,* that is, by proclaiming thee great or by praising thee magnificently; Exodus, the fifteenth: « Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified ». *Who didst deliver them,* namely by leading them across through the sea; Isaias, the sixty-third: « He that led them out through the deeps, as a horse in the wilderness that stumbleth not, and as a beast in the field »; and deservedly they magnified thee.

(Vers. 10.). *For they were yet mindful of those things,* namely of the signs, *which had been done in the time of their sojourning,* that is, when they were still sojourners in Egypt. *How in place of the birth of animals,* that is, in the place of the production of natural animals, *the earth brought forth flies*, and this miraculously, as is clear from Exodus, the eighth, likewise in the Psalm: « He spoke, and there came divers sorts of flies and sciniphs » etc. *And in place of fishes,* that is, in the place of fishes, *the river cast up,* namely the Nile, *a multitude of frogs;* for the frogs came up out of the aforesaid river, as is had in Exodus, the eighth. Nor is that contrary to what is said in the Psalm: « Their land brought forth frogs » etc., because in the Psalm the container is set for the contained, namely the bed of the land for the water of the river.

(Vers. 11.). *But at length,* that is, after the aforesaid things; new indeed, or the former, had been the striking of Egypt, newer the leading of the Hebrews out of Egypt, but newest their refreshment in the desert. *They saw,* namely with their own eyes, *a new creature of birds,* namely of quails, Exodus, the sixteenth, and Numbers, the eleventh.

**But on the contrary:** Because in Genesis, the second, it is said: « God ended on the seventh day his work which he had made, and he rested from all the work which he had done », that is, from creating new kinds or species of creatures, according to Augustine; likewise Ecclesiastes, the first: « There is nothing new under the sun »: therefore he says ill here: *They saw a new creature.*

It must be said that it was not new simply, but new to them, because before unseen by them; likewise, new in that place, namely in the desert, and new in so great a multitude, to which birds are not wont to come, but rather to flee.

*When being led away,* that is, led far from God, *by concupiscence;* James, the first: « Every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, being drawn away and allured ». Of the concupiscence of these it is said in the Psalm: « They coveted their desire in the desert »; whence « and that place was called the graves of concupiscence », Numbers, the eleventh. *They asked,* namely of Moses, *foods of feasting,* that is, delicate and superfluous, not of necessity or of nurture.

(Vers. 12.). *For in the addressing of their desires*, that is, in consolation and mitigation, *there came up to them,* namely to the Hebrews, *from the sea.* Or thus: *For in the addressing of their desire,* or *of their desires,* while for desire of flesh they spoke, namely words of murmuring; *there came up to them from the sea,* this he does not say on this account, that they drew their origin from the sea, but because they were brought from beyond the sea or from some island of the sea, according to that of Numbers, the eleventh: « A wind going out from the Lord, taking quails up beyond the sea, brought them and cast them into the camp », or let them down, *the ortygometra,* that is, the quail. Now it is called *ortygometra* from *orthos,* which is "right", and *gogos,* which is "leading", and *metros,* which is "measure", as it were food rightly brought to them in measure; or, as was said above in the sixteenth, it is called *ortygometra* from the island *Ortygia,* in which such birds are thought first to have been, according to Isidore. « It is to be noted that, as the

Gloss says, for the enemies of God the earth brings forth flies, and the river frogs; but for the worshippers of God the earth gives fruit, and the sea the nourishment of flesh ».

*And vexations.* Here is touched the giving of thanks for the *vexation of the Egyptians,* or their punishing; and first is touched their *punishing;* secondly, the *justice of the punishing: For justly;* thirdly, the *blindness of the punished: But they were struck.*

The *justice of the punishing* is clear from this, that they behaved ill towards the strangers dwelling with them, or wishing to dwell, namely towards the children of Israel, and this either by *in no wise receiving* them, or by *bringing them, once received, into bondage: But others* etc.; or by *receiving them unwillingly: And not only;* or by *grievously afflicting* those who received them joyfully: *But those who* etc.

*And vexations* etc., as if to say: not only were the aforesaid good things done for the Hebrews, but *also vexations,* that is, afflictions of body and soul, *came upon the sinners* etc., according to that of the Psalm: « Many are the scourges of the sinner ». *Upon the sinners,* I say, that is, upon the Egyptians, who are here called sinners *by antonomasia,* and this on account of the sin of idolatry, which flourished more there, so that Cicero said that Egypt was the temple of the whole world. *Came upon,* I say, that is, came over and above those which they had suffered in Egypt; whence there follows: *Not without those,* nay, with those and beyond them; *which had been done before as proofs,* that is, as signs manifestative of the divine power and of their hardness, according to that to the Ephesians, the fifth: « All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light ». *Which,* I say, *had been done,* that is, in Egypt, *by the force of the rivers,* namely when they were turned into blood, and when the frogs came up out of the river. Or thus: *came upon,* I say, *by the force of the rivers,* that is, by the onrush of the rivers gathered in the Red Sea, returning upon them and suffocating them; Exodus, the fifteenth: « They sunk as lead in the mighty waters ». And deservedly: *for justly they suffered* this, namely because for the deserts of their sins; whence he subjoins: *According to their own wickednesses,* that is, the deserts of their wickednesses; Deuteronomy, the twenty-fifth: « According to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be ».

(Vers. 13.). *For indeed* (*Etenim*), for *quia* ("because"), *a more detestable,* namely than the others, *did they institute,* that is, as it were kept as instituted, *inhospitality,* against that to the Hebrews, the thirteenth: « Hospitality do not forget »; likewise the first of Peter, the fourth: « Using hospitality one towards another without murmuring ». So have Rabanus and Augustine. But some say *undetestable* or *more undetestable,* that is, very detestable, so that the preposition denotes augmentation or intensity; and he says: *Inhospitality,* either because they did not receive guests, or because they received them ill. *Some indeed,* namely of them, *did not receive the unknown strangers,* against which Job did, the thirty-first: « The stranger did not stay without ». Like these were those of Gabaa of Benjamin, who would not receive the Levite with his wife into their lodging, Judges, the nineteenth. *But others brought their good guests,* once received, *into bondage,* or *received*, as the children of Israel, oppressing them with the bondage « of clay and brick », Exodus, the first.

(Vers. 14.). *And not only these things,* supply: they did, *but also another* *was their regard,* that is, perverse was their intention, *because they received the strangers unwillingly,* although they were to be asked, after the example of Abraham saying: « Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant », Genesis, the eighteenth. Nor only to be asked, but even to be compelled, after the example of the two disciples, of whom Luke, the last: « And they constrained him »; upon which Gregory says: « That strangers are not only to be invited to hospitality, but even to be drawn ».

(Vers. 15.). *But those who received with joy them that had used the same institutions*, *afflicted them with most cruel pains;* the letter is to be construed thus: So I said that some received the strangers, but unwillingly; *but* (*autem*), for *sed; who had used the same institutions,* of detestable inhospitality, as the preceding ones also; *afflicted them with most cruel pains,* most cruel he says, because cruel is the pain over an evil inflicted on an outward possession; more cruel on a conjoined person, namely on a wife; most cruel on one's own person. *They afflicted those whom they had received with joy,* namely the guests, as the Sodomites themselves wished to afflict Lot, as is clear from Genesis, the nineteenth, and the Benjamites that old man, of whom Judges, the nineteenth.

(Vers. 16.). *But they were struck,* namely the Egyptians, *with blindness,* namely bodily through the plague of darkness, of which Exodus, the tenth; and spiritual through

the blinding of the mind, so that among the scourges they became worse; Exodus, the seventh: « Pharao's heart was hardened » etc. *As those,* namely the Sodomites not to be named, on account of their sin not to be named, which they committed; to the Romans, the first: « God delivered them up to shameful affections ». *At the doors of the just man,* namely Lot, of whom the second of Peter, the second: « In sight and hearing he was just ». *Those,* I say, *when they were covered with sudden darkness,* namely with aorasia, or not-seeing, struck by the Angel, *every one,* namely of them, *sought the passage of his door,* namely of Lot, and could not find it; whence Genesis, the nineteenth: « Them that were without they struck with blindness from the least to the greatest, so that they could not find the door ».

#### The obedience of the creatures.

*For the elements in themselves.* Here, after the punishing of the Egyptians and the consolation of the Hebrews and the giving of thanks for both, he shows the *obedience of the creatures in the aforesaid things,* and first he sets down the *commendation* of this obedience; secondly, its *manifestation through examples: As in an instrument;* thirdly, the *exaltation* of the people of God through this: *In all things.* — He sets *examples* first in the *lower elements;* secondly, in the *higher element,* namely in fire, there: *The fire in water* etc.; thirdly, in *elemented things: The flames on the contrary.*

(Vers. 17.). *For in themselves.* So I said that through the lower creatures the Egyptians were afflicted and the Hebrews consoled; *while the elements are converted,* that is, pass over, one into the force and power, or office and mode, of another, and this miraculously; *the sound of the quality,* that is, the quality of the sound, *is changed,* namely in act, that is, the natural consonance in its effects is for the hour changed according to the will and command of God who moves. *As in an instrument,* that is, as in any musical instrument whatever, which is here understood by *organum* ("instrument"), the quality of the sound is changed in act according to the will of the one who moves it; sometimes, however, *organum* is taken for a determinate instrument, as in the Psalm: « Praise him with strings and organs ». *And all things,* that is, the several elements and elemented things, *keep their sound,* that is, their natural harmony and order, in habit; likewise the several strings in an instrument keep their sound, and yet the sound of the instrument is changed according to the will of the one who moves it; whence the Gloss: « As in an instrument divers sounds agree by tempering unto the concord of melody; so the discordant elements, the right of nature being saved, are bent to the will of the Creator. For he did not make a creature contrary to himself, but in all things consonant with his will ». *Whereof,* that is, about which thing, *it may be judged,* that is, known, *by the very certain sight,* namely by looking at the metaphor of the instrument and at the truth of the thing done in the people of God.

(Vers. 18.). *For the field things,* namely animals, *were turned into water things,* that is, into the manner of water things, namely when « men and beasts, as the Gloss says, passed over the deep of the Red Sea dry-shod ». *And whatever things were swimming,* as the frogs, *passed upon the land,* namely by walking about over the land, Exodus, the eighth: « The frogs came up », namely out of the river, « and covered the land of Egypt ».

(Vers. 19.). *The fire had power in water,* that is, acted greatly, *above its own,* namely natural, *virtue,* which is that it be quenched in water, according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the third: « Water quencheth a flaming fire ». *And the water forgot its quenching nature,* namely of fire, because « hail and fire mixed were driven on together », as is had in Exodus, the ninth; likewise above, the sixteenth: « In the water, which quencheth all things, the fire had more force ».

(Vers. 20.). *The flames,* namely which were in the pillar of fire, *on the contrary,* supply: to what their nature would require, *did not vex the flesh,* namely by burning; *the flesh,* I say, *of corruptible living things,* namely of men and beasts, *walking with them,* with the flames themselves. He says this because, with the pillar of fire accompanying the Hebrews by night, they were not afflicted, or were not burned, as is clear from Exodus, the thirteenth. *Nor did they melt,* namely the flames themselves, *that good food, which was easily melted,* namely by the heat of the sun; *as ice,* namely is melted by the heat of the sun, above, the sixteenth: « For that which could not be exterminated by fire » etc. *Good food* he calls the manna, because it represented the goodness of any foods whatever; in the same place: « Serving every man's will ». *For in all things,* namely in the aforesaid miracles, *thou didst magnify thy people, O Lord,* namely the Israelite people, by casting down their adversaries. *And didst honour them,* by exalting them with many benefits; John, the twelfth: « If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour » etc.; likewise the first of Kings, the second: « If any man honour me, I will honour him ». *And didst not despise* them, namely by forsaking them in their tribulations; in the Psalm: « Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them »; Ecclesiasticus, the second: « Who hath called upon him, and he despised

him »? as if to say: no one. *At every time,* namely of prosperity and of adversity; Matthew, the last: « Behold I am with you all days »; and therefore *at every time* he is to be blessed, according to that of the Psalm: « I will bless the Lord at all times »; *and in every place,* namely as well safe as perilous; *assisting them,* as ready to help; Isaias, the forty-third: « When thou shalt pass through the waters, I will be with thee ».

But it is to be noted that the Lord magnifies his Saints in many ways: in the first way, *by conferring his grace,* according to that to the Romans, the eighth: « Whom he justified, them he also magnified ». Secondly, *by making them illustrious with miracles,* according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the forty-eighth: « Thus was Elias magnified in his wondrous works »; likewise Exodus, the eleventh: « Moses was a very great man in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharao's servants and of all the people ». Thirdly, *by raising them to ecclesiastical dignities;* whence the Church sings: « Behold a great Priest »; the third of Kings, the tenth: « King Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom ». Fourthly, *by leading them to the glory of the heavenly kingdom,* according as the Church sings: « He magnified him in the sight of kings », namely of the Angels, « and gave him a crown of glory »; in the Psalm: « His glory is great in thy salvation » etc. So great is the greatness of this glory, that the least of that kingdom is greater than the greatest of this world; whence Matthew, the eleventh: « There hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist. Yet he that is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he ». To this greatness may Jesus Christ our Lord lead us, who is blessed for ages of ages. Amen.

**Here ends the postil on the book of Wisdom.**

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