Commentaria in Genesim
20. ZABULON.—Zabulon is the same as dwelling-place, or dwelling together, as if she said: Because of so many children of mine, my husband will love me, and will dwell with me cheerfully and firmly.
23. MY REPROACH—my barrenness, which was then a reproach and disgrace.
24. THE LORD ADD TO ME.—Rachel wishes a second son to be added to her; hence from this wish and desire of hers she calls the son Joseph; Joseph therefore is the same as adding, or increasing, as is plain from chapter St. Cyril, book 11, has the allegory of these eleven names of the Patriarchs. For the allegory of the whole of this chapter see St. Augustine, Against Faustus, book 22, chapter 46 and following.
“After the first son is born the second follows, because after great fear sorrow must needs follow. But a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise, but in His kindness will hear; and therefore such a son is called Simeon, that is, hearing.
“But what consolation, I ask, can there be for penitents and those who truly mourn, but the one hope of pardon? This is that third of the sons of Jacob, who is called Levi, that is, added. Not given, but added, the divine word names this son, lest before fear and the sorrow worthy of penance anyone should presume upon hope of pardon.
“But as after fear, increasing daily, sorrow necessarily arose, so also after hope was born, love arises. This is that son who is born in the fourth place, and is named in Holy Scripture Judas, that is, confessing. For what we love, we both praise with the mouth and confess with the heart.
“These are followed by Dan and Nephtali, sons of Rachel’s handmaid; and because by the office of Dan we reprove and condemn alluring thoughts, and put them to flight, we rightly call him Dan, that is, judgment. Whence it is written: Dan shall judge his people.
“Nephtali, moreover, brings before the eyes of the mind the image of eternal goods; and because he is wont to turn the knowledge of any nature of visible things to spiritual understanding, he is rightly named Nephtali, that is, conversion.” Lia, therefore, seeing her sister Rachel rejoice in adopted offspring, is herself provoked to give her handmaid to her husband; from whom were born Gad and Aser, namely rigour of abstinence and vigour of discipline. Gad is born first, because first it is needful that we be temperate toward our own goods, then also strong to bear the evils of others. By the vigour of Gad evils rising up within are repressed, by that of Aser evils rising up from without are repelled, whence it is said:
Gad, girded, shall fight before him.
“These are Gad and Aser, who shut out false joy and bring in true joy, and therefore to them being born succeeds Issachar, who is interpreted reward. For what other reward do we seek for so many and so great labours but true joy? And rightly after the birth of Gad and Aser did Lia bear such a son; because unless through abstinence and penance the human mind does not attain to true joy. After Issachar, Zabulon is begotten, who is interpreted dwelling of fortitude; because by the tasting of inward joy hatred of vices is generated, and the strength of true fortitude is acquired. This is that Zabulon, who by being angry is wont to appease the anger of God, who piously raging against the vices of men, as if not sparing them, spares them the better.” He then proves this by the example of Moses, Phinees and Elias. But how difficult it is to preserve all these offspring of Jacob, these virtues, I say, of the soul, without discretion! This may be conjectured from this, “that without it we can neither acquire the goods of the mind nor preserve them when acquired. This is therefore that Joseph, who is indeed born late, but is loved by his father more than the rest: who knows not only to grow with growing virtues, to advance with advancing, but even from the failure of his brothers to tend to progress, and from the losses of others to gain profits of prudence. Wherefore Joseph, that is, increase, and an increasing son, is deservedly so called by his father; him the sun, moon and stars adore, that is, father, mother, brethren, because all the virtues worship discretion as their mistress and ruler.”
The array of brothers is closed by Benjamin, called by his mother Benoni, that is, son of sorrow: because at his birth she herself dies, “on account of the anxiety of daily bearing, and the immensity of pain in giving birth. But what is the death of Rachel? Is it not failure of the mind in contemplation? Was not Rachel then dead, and every sense of human reason failed in the Apostle, when he said: Whether in the body, or out of the body, I know not, God knoweth. Let no one therefore think that by argument he can penetrate to the brightness of that divine light, let no one believe that by human reasoning he can comprehend it. It is necessary that Rachel die, that ecstatic Benjamin may arise.”
25. AND WHEN JOSEPH WAS BORN, JACOB SAID TO HIS FATHER-IN-LAW: SEND ME AWAY—for I have now fulfilled the fourteen years of service, by which I bound myself to thee for Rachel and Lia, chapter 29, verses 18 and 27.
Again, Joseph was born in the ninety-first year of his father Jacob. This is plain from the fact that when Jacob went down into Egypt and stood before Pharao, being 130 years old, Genesis 47:9, Joseph was then 39 years old; for Joseph, when he was made prince of Egypt by Pharao, was 30 years old, Genesis chapter 41, verse 46; from which time there soon followed the seven years of plenty, foretold by Joseph; and then the seven years of dearth, in the second year of which Jacob went down into Egypt, chapter 45, verse 6 and following. Jacob therefore went down into Egypt in the ninth year from the princedom of Joseph, namely when Joseph was 39 years old, and Jacob was then 130 years old. Now take away the 39 years of Joseph’s life from the 130 years of Jacob’s life, and you will have the ninety-first year of Jacob, in which Joseph was born.
27. I HAVE LEARNED BY EXPERIENCE, THAT GOD HATH BLESSED me for thy sake; thou hast brought thy good fortune with thee into my house.
Note: Experience teaches that some men are fortunate, so that whatever they do turns out prosperously, nay they even make houses and households fortunate: whence they are called “of good foot,” and by the Carthaginians the fortunate Paul Jovius. So fortunate was Henry IV, king of France, in gaining and governing his kingdom, up to his death. Finally Plutarch, in his book On the Fortune of the Romans, teaches that fortune no less than virtue advanced the Romans to so great a pinnacle of empire.
whether the leader to be chosen is fortunate or unfortunate. So in wars Alexander was fortunate, who in twelve years subdued the world. So fortunate was Polycrates, tyrant of the Samians, who was fortunate not by merit but by chance. You will ask: What is the cause of this disparity? The Gentiles judged the cause to be the goddess Fortune.
Polycrates the Samian, he says, they call fortunate; nothing had befallen him that he did not wish, except that he threw into the sea the ring in which he delighted (to temper his excessive felicity); therefore unfortunate in one trouble; fortunate again, when that very ring was found in the belly of a fish.” But in death he was unfortunate; for, taken by guile by the Persian satrap Oroetes, he was hanged, according to Strabo, book 14.