Bible in a Year with Fr Paul

The enemies of the holy city are urging Nehemiah to go down to the plains and to enter into a peace pact with them by together slaughtering calves as testimony to the arranged treaty, but he perseveres in the mountains so that the devout work is not neglected. So too, heretics and false catholics want to have a fellowship of peace with true catholics but with this stipulation, that they do not agr...

The Pool of Siloa [This is the Latin spelling (derived from the Greek in the LXX) of the name “shelah”.] (which means “sent”), where the man born blind was given light, [ Jhn 9:7 .] stands for the Lord Savior who was sent by God the Father for our illumination. The spring of this pool can be very aptly understood as the same Father from whom he was born, about which the psalmist well says, “For wi...

Nehemiah is interpreted in Latin as “My consoler is the Lord” or “the consoler from the Lord.” For when Nehemiah restored Jerusalem’s walls and, after delivering them from the disdain of their enemies, raised up the people of God to the observance of the divine law, it is surely clear that by his word and deed and person he not unsuitably designates the mediator of God and people, the man Christ J...

“These are their family heads, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of King Artaxerxes: Of the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom,” and so on until the end of the genealogy. He carefully enumerates the leaders who came up with him from Babylon and unfolds their genealogy. He takes pains, too, to add their total, which reached 1,440, to suggest that the...

Speaking further of Christ in the same vein, Malachi says, “Behold, I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament whom you desire, shall come into the temple. Behold, he comes, says the Lord of hosts. And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? And who shall stand to see him?” In this text he foretel...

When the whole nation of Israel was about to perish, blessed Esther defeated the tyrant’s anger simply by fasting and praying to God. By faith she changed the ruin of her people into safety. [See the commentary on Esth 4:16.] Those days are feast days for Israel; they used to call a feast when an enemy was slain or a conspiracy against the people was broken up and Israel was delivered. That is why...

But what use is there to recall all the examples of those who, because they prayed as they ought, received great favours from God? Everyone can choose for himself many examples from the Scriptures. Anna obtained the birth of Samuel, who was reckoned with Moses, [See Jer 15:1 ; Psa 99:6 (98:6 LXX).] because when she was barren she prayed to the Lord with faith. [ 1Sa 1:9-18 .] And Ezechias, being s...

Not only the Holy Scriptures, but the Jewish Antiquities of Josephus as well contain the story of Esther, although they differ in some of the historical details. Therefore, there is some question as to the actual identity of that Ahasuerus who ruled from India to Ethiopia over one hundred twenty-seven provinces. In fact, when Josephus mentions him, he relates that he was Cyrus son of King Xerxes w...

Why do we need such extensive genealogies that occupy the first NINE chapters of 1 Chronicles? By Fr Tadros Malaty (Part 4/4) 17. The form of the genealogies in general reveals the plan of God and His work with us, whether on the level of the church as a congregation, or the people of God or the believer as a member. The genealogies pass through three stages: · The first stage: The choice: God cho...

Why do we need such extensive genealogies that occupy the first NINE chapters of 1 Chronicles? By Fr Tadros Malaty (Part 3/4) 14. Going through these chapters, we encounter people along the generations, through whom we would get lessons for the edification of our souls, and would learn from some of them how they came to be great in the sight of God, and the sight of the heavenly creatures, through...

Why do we need such extensive genealogies that occupy the first NINE chapters of 1 Chronicles? By Fr Tadros Malaty (Part 2/4) 6. These genealogies that goe back to Adam, provokes us not to isolate ourselves, neither from the near or the far past. 7. This genealogies constitute persons who lived on this earth, then were forgotten by the time, and their names were buried in ancient records One day,...

Why do we need such extensive genealogies that occupy the first NINE chapters of 1 Chronicles? By Fr Tadros Malaty (Part 1/4) For a long time, I used to avoid reading these nine chapters concerning the genealogies, on account of that they include many names of which I know nothing, and are even difficult to pronounce, being no more familiar today. Why then does the Holy Book care to record them? I...

From Syria even to Rome I fight with beasts: not that I am devoured by brute beasts, for these, as you know, by the will of God, spared Daniel, but by beasts in the shape of people, in whom the merciless wild beast himself lies hid and pricks and wounds me day by day. But none of these hardships “move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself,” [ Act 20:24 .] in such a way as to love it better...

The sequence of events in the text is as if Darius himself had read Cyrus’s letter and, having perused it, immediately endorsed it with his authority, in such a way that suppressing all their adversaries, he ordered the temple of God to be rebuilt on its site just as the letter said, and himself, with a most devout mind in all things, assisted God’s worshipers to serve his will. Let Artaxerxes, th...

For in that passage too, in giving the name of high priest to him who made with his own blood the priestly propitiation for our sins, he does not by the word made declare the first existence of the Only-begotten. But he says “made” with the intention of representing that grace which is commonly spoken of in connection with the appointment of priests. For Jesus, the great high priest (as Zechariah...

The man who dies before his time does not build his tomb, for, although he lives, he is dead. [ 1Ti 5:6 .] He does not hear the words of Haggai, whose name interpreted the banqueter, for he does not enter the tabernacle of God “with the voice of joy and praise, the noise of one feasting.” [ Psa 42:4 (41:5 LXX).] How does he hear his voice if he does not see his works? If he saw them, he would hear...

He would have not ordered that if there had been the law, but now he becomes priest, while they bring offerings. Job had made sacrifices for his children; now he makes them for his friends. See how the text shows that Job is devoid of resentment. God takes [Job’s friends] as witnesses of the virtue of the man, and equally he shows the gravity of their fault through the extraordinary importance of...

“I will question you, and you answer me.” The perfect rewards of the struggles are reserved after this life to those who fought bravely. The grace of God nevertheless offers a sort of pledge to the athletes. For this reason, Job faced the hardest fights; while losing his riches, he praised him who gave him these afflictions. After losing his children, he glorified him who had taken them away. Whil...

These words mean, I do not speak so out of envy or jealousy. Even though the three friends said the same things as him, they did not do so in the same spirit or in order to defend God. Indeed also Judas and the eleven disciples expressed the same opinion about the vase of perfume, but not in the same spirit. Therefore, let us not examine the words but the intention with which each expresses himsel...

What do the words “he adds at the beginning of his speech” mean? It is not that he completes his speeches, but he comes back to his starting point, without allowing his adversaries to interrupt him or to begin new arguments. What does he say? I would like to live one month of my old happiness in order to shut your mouth and to show you who I was. “One month comparable to a month of my past days.”...

The things that are administered by the Holy Spirit are worthy of description. Therefore, they are described, so that the reader may take advantage of the things being read. If the speeches of those three who came to Job were not useful, so that the reader might gain nothing from what was said to Job through them, to be sure the divine Providence would have not reported the speeches of those three...

“Only know that the Lord has dealt with me thus.… You speak against me; you do not feel for me but bear hard upon me.… May the dignity of him who punishes me make you change your mind,” he says. We do not have to trample underfoot the people who are punished by God, but we must shed tears and grieve over their fate. Above all, we must not rejoice over the death of anybody, because such an action w...

A worthless physician is literally one who applies curing strategies that are not useful for the suffering. This happens in two ways: either it is due to lack of experience in the physician or to his wickedness. The friends who are contradicted here speak out of a lack of knowledge rather than wickedness in saying, “You suffer due to your sins.” They think they are bringing words of comfort. They...

“He is wise in mind, mighty and strong,” with good reason. Indeed, since God is wise, his benefits are countless. But if you do not believe, O mortal, let us bring our reflection to its conclusion. If he pronounces one thousand words, we cannot answer a single one. These are wise words. In fact, that righteous man said, “Also the righteous will be happy.” About what righteous man is he speaking? B...

But the wise person examines all with care, whereas the fool sees nothing. This certainly means that it is God who “causes the foolish to be destroyed by his wrath, while ardor makes him who has gone astray, perish.” This refers to the ardor of God. “His wrath causes the foolish to disappear” means, in my opinion, that God’s wrath causes the sinners to disappear. “Wrath destroys the foolish one,”...