Synopsis of the Chapter
Achior the leader of Ammon advises Holofernes to inquire whether the Jews have sinned against their God; for if so, they can easily be conquered by him; otherwise, with their God protecting them, they are unconquerable. Therefore the nobles of Holofernes condemn Achior to death.
Verse 1: The Children of Israel Had Prepared Themselves to Resist ¶
1. THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAD PREPARED THEMSELVES TO RESIST. — The Greek adds: And they had placed obstacles in the plains, that is, hindrances, such as hidden ditches, caltrops, and sharp stakes, into which the Assyrians, passing carelessly, would fall or stumble.
Verse 3: Tell Me Who This People Is ¶
3. AND HE SAID TO THEM: TELL ME WHO THIS PEOPLE IS? — From this it is again gathered that these things did not happen under Manasseh, but under Xerxes. For under Manasseh, and from Manasseh and the chief Jews who were captive, the Babylonians and Assyrians had sufficiently learned who and of what character the Jewish people were. Hence those who hold that these things happened under Manasseh say that this questioning by Holofernes is not that of one who is ignorant, but of one who is marveling and indignant, and despising the Jews as worthless.
Verse 4: And Why Above All Who Dwell in the East ¶
4. AND WHY ABOVE ALL WHO DWELL IN THE EAST. — The Greek has: in the West.
Verse 5: Then Achior the Leader of the Children of Ammon ¶
5. THEN ACHIOR THE LEADER OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF AMMON. — Serarius includes the Edomites under the children of Ammon. For since they were brothers of the Jews (Jacob, the ancestor of the Jews, was brother of Esau, or Edom, the ancestor of the Edomites), when they wished to attack them, they called themselves Ammonites, not Edomites, lest they be publicly blamed for attacking their brothers. Hence in II Paralipomenon XX, 4, it says: 'The children of Moab gathered, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, against Jehoshaphat.' Where you see the Ammonites distinguished from the children of Ammon. Where the book of traditions says: 'By Ammonites he means the Edomites, who out of respect for their ancestral name did not wish to take up arms against Israel in their own dress, but disguised themselves in the garb of the Ammonites.'
Verse 6: This People Is Descended From the Chaldeans ¶
6. THIS PEOPLE IS DESCENDED FROM THE CHALDEANS, — because God led Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, out of Ur of the Chaldeans, Genesis XI, 31.
Verse 9: They Went Down Into Egypt ¶
9. THEY WENT DOWN INTO EGYPT, AND THERE FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS THEY MULTIPLIED. — Count these 400 years from the departure of Abraham from Chaldea and Haran: for otherwise the Hebrews dwelt in Egypt for only 215 years, as I showed in Exodus XII, 40.
Verse 13: They Were Covered With Waters ¶
13. THEY WERE COVERED WITH WATERS, — Pharaoh with all his men. Achior recounts the miracles by which God led the Hebrews from Egypt into Canaan, all of which I explained in Exodus.
Verse 17: There Was None Who Triumphed Over This People ¶
17. AND THERE WAS NONE WHO TRIUMPHED OVER THIS PEOPLE, EXCEPT WHEN THEY DEPARTED FROM THE WORSHIP OF THE LORD THEIR GOD. — Learn here to serve God: for thus God will make you unconquerable and superior to all enemies. But if you do not, He will allow you to be subjugated and trampled by anyone. Let cities and kingdoms learn the same, and their kings and princes. Hear the weighty maxims of two Fathers on this subject: one is St. Jerome, epistle 48: 'By our sins, he says, the barbarians are strong; by our vices the Roman army is put to flight.' The other is St. Ambrose, sermon 85: 'Destruction is brought upon a city only because of the sins of its citizens. Cease to sin, and the city will not perish.' Therefore nations that sin should fear God's vengeance and destruction: but those that do not sin should hope for security and happiness.
Verse 22: When They Had Departed From the Way ¶
22. FOR SOME YEARS AGO, WHEN THEY HAD DEPARTED FROM THE WAY (religion and law) WHICH GOD HAD GIVEN THEM, etc., THEY WERE CARRIED CAPTIVE. — By Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon, which was the most famous, universal, and properly twelve-fold captivity, from which they returned under Cyrus. But such was not the one that happened under Manasseh; for that was not universal. And the other captivity of the ten tribes carried out under Hezekiah by Shalmaneser was likewise not universal, because it was not of all the tribes, namely the twelve, but only of ten. Moreover, that was permanent, because the Israelites never returned from it.
The Greek adds: And the temple of their God was made level with the pavement. Vatablus says, leveled to the ground, because it was burned by the Chaldeans. From this it is clear that these things happened after the destruction of Jerusalem. But Bellarmine, Serarius and others, who hold that these events occurred before the destruction, reply that these words were inserted by someone into the Greek text, since they are absent from the Latin, and therefore should be given little weight. Others reply that Manasseh by his idolatry had despised, cast down, and profaned the temple, and indeed had demolished it in many places and practically leveled it to the ground.
Verse 25: We Will Not Be Able to Resist Them ¶
25. WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RESIST THEM, BECAUSE THEIR GOD WILL DEFEND THEM. — Now, 'if God is for us, who is against us?' Romans chapter VIII. These words stirred Holofernes' anger, so that he condemned Achior to death, because he recognized no God except Nebuchadnezzar.
SO THAT EVERY NATION MAY KNOW THAT NEBUCHADNEZZAR IS THE GOD OF THE EARTH. — Rightly 'of the earth,' because he has no authority or power over heaven, nor does his power extend beyond the earth. Therefore he falsely wishes to be God. For God rules both heaven and earth. Why then are you proud and mad, O little worm of the earth, and challenge the God of heaven to a duel, to deprive Him of His divinity and cast Him down? Wisely Tertullian says, Apology XL: 'Be religious toward God, you who wish Him to be favorable to the Emperor. Cease to believe in or worship another god, and thus also to call him god, who needs a God.'