Commentary on the Twelve Prophets

Commentary on the Prophet Hosea

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pp. 37-102

As an indictment of those who presume to apply themselves to the prophetic utterances without due preparation, and also by way of education of those coming after, let us come to the task of clarifying the prophetic books with God’s assistance, making a start with Hosea, who happens to be the first in time of the other prophets.¹ Blessed David, remember, as I said before, had clearly addressed in psalms all the vicissitudes that would befall the people...

Commentary on the Prophet Joel

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pp. 103-125

The task now before us is to begin clarifying blessed Joel the prophet.¹ The theme of his work, in general terms, is that also of all the prophets, who were anxious to disclose what was going to happen in regard to the people according to the grace of the Holy Spirit given to them in regard to that. First place among them, as I said before, was held by blessed David, who long ago—in fact, very long ago—and well before the outcome of the events mentioned...

Commentary on the Prophet Amos

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pp. 126-173

It is quite obvious, on the one hand, that the blessed prophet Amos, on whom with the grace of God it is now our task to comment, speaks in almost all his prophecy of the fate that would befall the people. Thus he reveals the ten tribes would suffer first at the hands of the Assyrians, and what was due to affect Jerusalem, and the tribe of Judah, and then the rest of that kingdom at the hands of the Babylonians. On the other hand, it was not without purpose¹...

Commentary on the Prophet Obadiah

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pp. 174-184

Idumeans were hostile to the Israelites from olden times, giving high priority to their destruction and taking satisfaction in the disasters befalling them, to the extent that they even conspired [305] in every scheme with those attacking them at times when by divine permission they were reduced to experiencing troubles. Israelites were descended from Jacob, you see, and Idumeans from Esau, and these men were brothers, sons of Isaac: when by divine decision...

Commentary on the Prophet Jonah

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pp. 185-205

The god of both the Old and the New covenant is one, the Lord and maker of all things, who with one end in view made dispositions for both the former and the latter.¹ While of old he had determined with himself the manifestation of the future condition of things, whose commencement he brought to light in the Incarnation of Christ the Lord, he nevertheless judged it necessary for us first, to take on this condition—I mean our present one—and later, to...

Commentary on the Prophet Micah

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pp. 206-244

Blessed micah also emerges prophesying things similar to what Hosea, Amos, and the rest all prophesied to these people.¹ Under the influence of spiritual grace, in fact, he did his best to foretell what would happen to the people at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians, from the very outset delivering a message of general application to the whole of Israel—that is, the ten tribes, of whom Samaria happened to be head, and the two, who were led by Jerusalem. ...

Commentary on the Prophet Nahum

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pp. 245-265

Nineveh was a large city, priding itself on its vast population, as the divine Scripture informs us, and was the most famous of all those in Assyria. In it was in fact the palace, and the king of the Assyrians made it his residence for a long period.¹ These people, however—I mean the inhabitants of Nineveh—when God wanted to give a demonstration of his characteristic grace, as we said more clearly in commenting on the prophecy of blessed Jonah, were seized...

Commentary on the Prophet Habakkuk

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pp. 266-285

After taking the ten tribes off to his own country as captives, the Assyrian advanced on Jerusalem; but he [425] sustained that fearful attack by the angel, and in the great shame predictably arising from it he turned tail for his own country.¹ Then it was that blessed Habakkuk delivered this prophecy in Judah, dividing his treatment into two parts.² One is the censure of those among the people exercising influence and judgment, who afflicted the...

Commentary on the Prophet Zephaniah

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pp. 286-305

Blessed Zephaniah delivered this prophecy at no great distance in time from blessed Habakkuk, dealing in his prophecy with the present in the time of Josiah, king of Judah, as the book indicates.¹ A short time after him the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem, and made a vast number of dispositions affecting the tribe of Judah, killing many and taking a great number off into captivity. They also plundered...

Commentary on the Prophet Haggai

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pp. 306-321

The blessed prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Micah directed their discourse in general to all the Israelite people, both those of the ten tribes ruled by Samaria and especially those of the tribe of Judah, who dwelt in Jerusalem.¹ They accused both in similar fashion of acts of impiety and [476] lawlessness, which they committed in various ways, and went on to mention also the troubles that would thus befall them for sinning without repentance, namely, the...

Commentary on the Prophet Zechariah

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pp. 322-397

It is clear that, at the same time as the prophet Haggai, blessed Zechariah was also prophesying: in the [496] second year of Darius, as you can learn from the divine Scripture itself,¹ the former says he began his prophecy according to a divine revelation, and similarly the latter. So it becomes clear that each was delivering his prophecy after the return of the Israelite people when brought back from Babylon to Judea. When Cyrus, you see, who was the first to...

Commentary on the Prophet Malachi

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pp. 398-423

The blessed prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied through divine influence after the return of the people from Babylon. While blessed Haggai addressed the people on the rebuilding of the Temple and in particular disclosed the destruction of those in the company of Gog, blessed Zechariah mentioned those things as well as the doings of the Maccabees much later,¹ setting out as well many and varied revelations in which he indicated the variety of...

General Index

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pp. 427-430

Index of Holy Scripture

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pp. 431-435