On the Forty-Two Mansions of the Sons of Israel

SOCOTH.—The second departure of the sons of Israel was to Socoth: and there, having left their tents in Egypt, they pitched them and had their second mansion. Hence it says: And the sons of Israel, departing from Ramesses, encamped in Socoth. It was not the intent of the holy prophet Moses, who by God's command described the people's progress from Egypt to the Jordan, to note every single place at which they happened to turn aside in the whole journey; but only those in which some mysteries were accomplished. Socoth is a city in the mountains, outside the land of Egypt, yet bordering upon it, as is read in the book of Joshua. Now, Socoth is interpreted as "tabernacles." Whence Jacob, when he separated himself from Esau who met him returning from Mesopotamia. He returned, says Scripture, to the tabernacles. Where another translation has: He returned to Socoth. And it adds there: And Jacob made himself houses, and for his cattle he made tabernacles: for this reason he called the name of that place, Tabernacles.

And there another translation says: He called the name of that place Socoth, that is, tabernacles. In this mansion also they baked flour: for it is said in the book of Exodus: And they made unleavened cakes baked under the ashes of flour: for it was not leavened; for the Egyptians had cast them out. In this mansion, moreover, a reckoning of the years is made, during which Israel was in Egypt. For he says: Now the dwelling of the sons of Israel, which they and their fathers dwelt in the land of Egypt. In this, finally, it is commanded that there be a perpetual memorial among them of this liberation from Egypt. For he says: Moses said to the people: Remember this day, on which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: for by a mighty hand the Lord brought you out from here. In this, at last, the feast of unleavened bread, and the rite of eating unleavened bread, is prescribed.

For he says: Six days you shall eat unleavened bread; but on the seventh day is the feast of the Lord: no leavened thing shall appear there. So much for the letter. But as regards the mysteries, we say that the departure of the sons of Israel to Socoth, which is interpreted "Tabernacles," designates that whoever has had his mansion in Ramesses, that is, in the commotion of penitence, must journey on to Socoth, that is, to walk as it were through contemplation in tabernacles. For as one who is bound elsewhere and has no fixed house, lodges in tents, so what else is it to dwell in tabernacles than to be a pilgrim? As the Apostle to the Hebrews testifies, speaking of the fathers. For he says: Confessing that they were pilgrims and strangers upon the earth: and seeing himself a stranger on earth, let him say with the Prophet: I am a sojourner on the earth. Let him consider likewise the saying of the Apostle: We have not here a lasting city.

Let him know, finally, that as long as he is in the body, he is a pilgrim away from the Lord: whence let him reject the things that are in the world; for it is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life. Let him follow the counsel of the Apostle: Touch not, taste not, handle not, all which things are unto destruction, by the using itself: but let him groan for the habitation which is from heaven, ever striving to please God. The baking of the cakes under the ashes teaches that, the old leaven of the wickedness of philosophers and the malice of the Jews being purged out, he should feast on the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Let each of us keep continually in memory that precept of the Lord, saying: Look, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and let him not forget the caution of the Apostle: Beware lest any man deceive you through philosophy and vain deceit.

Then, in Socoth is enjoined the reckoning of the years during which the people were in Egypt: because to the penitent it is said that he ought, like the swallow, to cry out, and like the dove, to meditate on his years in the bitterness of his soul: nor to be without fear concerning the propitiation of sin; but to grieve, and say with the Prophet: And my sin is ever before me. That he should not look back, longing for former vanities, like Lot's wife, and like a dog returning to its vomit. Rather, just as he prostituted his members to uncleanness and iniquity, so let him exhibit his members as servants to justice unto sanctification, so that, as much as he has gloried in himself and lived in delights, so much, correcting his errors and vindicating himself, let him feel torment and mourning. Finally, the feast and perpetual solemnity of unleavened bread is prescribed, that is, perseverance of meditation and works is enjoined: because he who shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.

Whence the Apostle: Persevere in discipline, my sons. The departure, then, from Ramesses to Socoth is to better things.

ETHAN.—The third mansion is Ethan. For the children of Israel, departing from Socoth, arrived at Ethan: and pitching their tents there, they completed the third station. For it says: And having set out from Socoth, they encamped in Ethan. Ethan is a region between Egypt and the wilderness, in which is the town of Petra, in whose cave Samson dwelt when he was harassed by the Philistines: And he sat, it says, in the cave of the Rock of Etham, which place was very fortified, as Josephus testifies. This region was moreover at the beginning of the wilderness. Therefore it says: And it is on the edge of the desert. The prophet David mentions this region, saying: Thou hast dried up the rivers of Ethan.

In this mansion the Lord first appeared by night in a pillar of fire, and by day in a pillar of cloud, showing the way to the people, all the way to the land of their inheritance: And the pillar of cloud, it says, failed not by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before all the people. But because Ethan signifies to us strength; whence Roboam, preparing to defend himself against Jeroboam, said: He built, it says, fortified cities, Ethan and Thecue, that is, cities of strength—we are taught that when one has resolved, in Socoth of this pilgrimage, in the meditation and exercise of good works, to persevere unto the end, he ascends to Ethan, that is, to strength: because it is the Lord Himself who gives virtue and strength to His people.

Whence the Apostle said: I can do all things in Him who strengthens me, Christ Jesus; indeed, through the cloud and the fire He opens the way for him, and becomes the guide of his journey, until he sees the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. Let us, then, also ascend into Ethan, that we may resist the devil, strong in faith.

Os eroth.—The fourth mansion is called Os Eroth. Whence it follows: And having set out from Ethan, they encamped at Os Eroth, which is opposite Beelsephon, and opposite Magdalon. Os Eroth is called in another translation Phihahiroth; it is a village and suburb of Magdal, toward the Red Sea, as is found in the book of Exodus. In this mansion Pharaoh, indignant that Israel was leaving Egypt, having gathered a great army, pursues them, saying: What have we done, that we should let Israel go, that they should not serve us. And he adds: So Pharaoh yoked his chariots. But as to the moral sense: through Os Eroth, which is interpreted "mouth of nobles", it is shown that, having taken up strength in Ethan, we ascend to Os Eroth, because we are ennobled in the Lord.

And that Os Eroth is a village is not without mystery: so that first the small things are grasped: for it is the order that one comes from small things to great ones: for unmoderated prosperity has always been dangerous in beginnings, as also adversity. Finally, Beelsephon, which is interpreted "Lord of the North," designates the devil: because, as the prophet Isaiah testifies, he said: I will sit on the mount of the assembly, in the sides of the north (Esa. Xiv, 13). Os Eroth is therefore opposite Beelsephon, that is, opposite the devil, who always stands to oppose those going to the Jerusalem which is in heaven. Therefore the Apostle said: Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The same too is designated by Pharaoh's people pursuing.

MARAH.—Marah is the fifth mansion: for thus it says: And having set out from opposite Os Eroth, they passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness, and journeyed three days' way through the desert, and encamped in Marah. Marah is a place in the wilderness of Sur, called by such a name because of the bitterness of its waters: for thus it is written in the book of Exodus: And they came to Marah, and could not drink the water of Marah. For it was bitter, and for this reason the name of that place was called Bitterness. Concerning this mansion three things are to be considered: the setting out, the encampment, and the working.

The setting out, because on this journey the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea with dry footing: for Scripture says: But the children of Israel went through the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall to them on the right hand and on the left; but Pharaoh with his army was drowned in the raging waters: for thus it is written of him: And the water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh, who had come into the sea after them, and there was not left one of them. The encampment; because they found bitter waters, the bitterness of which they could not bear to drink, although greatly vexed by thirst. The working; because at the command of the Lord, Moses touched the waters with a piece of wood, and the waters which had before been bitter were turned to sweetness and made drinkable, so that they could quench their thirst.

By which is first signified to us that Pharaoh with his army meets those hastening toward grace—that is, the devil with such strong power that, as it is written, nothing like him had been made upon the earth: but just as Pharaoh with his army is at last drowned in the raging waters, so too the devil is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Whence let us not be terrified by this into forsaking the way. Then in the encampment bitter waters are tasted, since even for those still remaining in grace, manifold bitternesses of tribulations remain. Whence John the Apostle said: I John, your brother and partaker in tribulation. Indeed the apostle Paul said: If you are without discipline, you are bastards and not sons. Finally, in the working, just as the Lord is present by His word so that the waters become sweet, so He grants us His presence in tribulations, the Prophet saying: I am with him in tribulation, that afflictions may be softened.

Whence the prophet Isaiah proclaims: If you pass through the water, I am with you, and the rivers shall not overwhelm you: and if you pass through fire, you shall not be burned (Esa. Xliii, 2). Therefore for Stephen the stones of the torrent became sweetness, and for Lawrence the coals became refreshment. Rightly, therefore, does the Apostle say: We glory in tribulations.

ELIM.—The sixth mansion is called Elim: for the children of Israel, departing from Marah, came to Elim: there they stopped, and there they set up their tents. Whence it says: And having set out from Marah, they came to Elim. Now in Elim there were twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there by the waters. The same is read in the book of Exodus: But it is a beautiful order, and a happy progress of virtue, which always tends toward the best: from darkness to light, from hardships to happiness. Behold, the children of Israel, after the cruelties of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, after the perils of the sea and the desert, after the burning of a three days' thirst, and the bitternesses of Marah, came at last to palms, came to fountains. By which we are taught that those who are weighed down by hardships are at length received into joyful and pleasant places: since rest is attained only through labor, and joys only through sorrows.

The people came to the palms: but first they endured very many hardships from the Egyptians. They came to the fountains; but first they suffered the thirst of three days, and the bitternesses of the waters. Nor yet in these is the end of the journey, nor the final rest from labors; for still harder things remain: but God, the dispenser of all things, who arranges all things sweetly, intersperses even in the journey itself certain refreshments, so that the soul, refreshed and its strength renewed by them, may return more readily prepared for the remaining labors. Therefore the twelve fountains and the seventy palms designate the leaders of the Christian flock: namely the twelve Apostles, of whom Luke thus writes: He chose twelve of them, whom He named Apostles, and the seventy Disciples whom St. Luke elsewhere mentions, saying: The Lord appointed also seventy others, and sent them two by two before His face. The distinction between whom the Apostle makes, when speaking of the Lord's appearances after His resurrection.

For he says to the Corinthians: He was seen by Cephas, and after that by the eleven, and then He was seen by all the Apostles. Who nevertheless are all leaders and teachers of the Lord's flock. Wherefore it is written of them: He who hears you, hears me; and he who despises you, despises me. Let us, then, draw from such most abundant fountains, and drink: let us also pluck from the solid fruits of these palms of victory, and eat eagerly, so that, refreshed with such food and drink, we may be found stronger for accomplishing the remaining mansions.

The red sea.—The seventh mansion is beside the Red Sea: for, the Red Sea having been crossed, and the mansions of Marah and Elim having been traversed, a certain inlet of that same sea meets the children of Israel again. And because they landed there, and set up their tents, they are now said to encamp by the sea. For it says: And having set out from Elim, they encamped upon the Red Sea. But observe that they see the sea, yet do not enter it again, for it was enough to have entered and crossed it once, since that sea was a figure of our baptism, as the Apostle writes to the Corinthians, saying: For all our fathers were baptized in the cloud and in the sea. But their baptism was in figure, ours however is in truth. And because baptism is not to be repeated, since it is written: One God, one faith, one baptism, just as it was fitting to be baptized once, so also it was enough to have entered the sea once.

Now therefore, as the people proceed toward the promised inheritance, the sea meets them again, so that, seeing it, and beholding its waves, they may walk more cautiously, lest something worse befall them.

The desert of SIN.—The eighth mansion is the desert of Sin. Therefore it says: And having set out from the Red Sea, they encamped in the desert of Sin: but it is to be observed that this whole wilderness, from the Red Sea all the way to Mount Sinai, is called Sin. In which the children of Israel had five mansions: namely the Red Sea, as above, this one of which we are treating, and the three following. This one, however, is particular; although it is called by the common name, desert of Sin, from the name of the whole desert: just as Moab too is the name both of a city and of a province.

But because Sin is interpreted "bush," it signifies to us that just as in the eighth mansion we came to Sin, that is, to the bush, in which the liberation of the children of Israel from the slavery of Egypt was brought about: so in the resurrection, which is understood by the eighth, we shall come to the bush, in which will be enacted our liberation from the slavery of corruption: which we await, as the Apostle says: And we ourselves groan within ourselves, awaiting the adoption of sons, the redemption of our body. And elsewhere: We await the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our lowliness, conformed to the body of His glory. And then we shall see the bush burning and not being consumed; because the body of our humanity will die, but will not be consumed; rather it will rise to a greater glory. The Apostle says: It is sown in dishonor, it shall rise in glory: it is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power.

Let us therefore pray to God that we may be able to come to the eighth mansion, or rather that it may come to us quickly.

DEPHCHA.—The ninth mansion is called Dephcha: which is reckoned the third among the mansions of the desert of Sin: for the children of Israel, departing from the mansion which is called by the common name "desert," came to this one. Wherefore he adds: And setting out from the desert of Sin, they encamped in Dephcha. This mansion is not found in Exodus: but only the departure from the desert to Raphidim is written. Both this and the following mansion are therefore passed over in silence; because that was not the place in which Moses, through the word of God, was recounting the departures in order. Now Dephcha is interpreted "health". But perfect health of the soul is that whereby it cannot sin, just as perfect health of the body is that whereby it does not happen to fall ill; which comes about only in the resurrection: for then, as the prophet Isaiah says: Upon their head shall be praise and gladness, they shall take hold of them: sorrow, mourning and groaning shall flee away.

You see, therefore, the order of the advances. The children of Israel from the eighth mansion attain Dephcha: and we, from the resurrection, obtain the perfect health of soul and body, as John the Apostle testifies in the Apocalypse, saying: And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor shall there be sorrow any more. But because the sickness of the soul is sin, whence the Prophet said: Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee: the sickness of our soul is pride, is anger, is avarice: therefore let each one of us, bending the knees of heart and body, pray to our Lord Jesus Christ, who heals all our infirmities: and as the prophet says: Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved. And let him say also with David: Heal me, O Lord, for all my bones are troubled.

HALUS.—The tenth mansion is Halus: to which the children of Israel journeyed from Dephcha. Thus it says: And setting out from Dephcha, they encamped in Halus. In Exodus this mansion likewise is not named distinctly; but it is comprehended under the mansions from the desert of Sin as far as Raphidim. For when it says: And the whole congregation of the children of Israel set out from the desert of Sin by their stages, according to the word of the Lord; it indicates that there were several encampments and lodgings. Three things are accomplished in this mansion. First, the people of God beholds the glory: for it is written in Exodus: And the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. Then, it is fed with quails: It came to pass in the evening, as it is read there, that the quail came up and covered the camp. Third, it is fed with manna from heaven.

For thus Moses addresses the people: This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat: this is the word which the Lord has appointed. By which we are admonished that he who rests in the tenth mansion, that is, in the observance of the law—for by the number ten the law is signified, which consists of ten words, as it is written: And Moses wrote these ten words on the tables of the covenant—beholds the glory of God. Wherefore, when the Prophet asks who shall dwell in the tabernacle of God, and who shall rest on his holy mountain, the answer given is that it is the diligent observer of the law, as it is said: He who walks without blemish, and works justice: who speaks truth in his heart.

And the same is fed with the flesh and heavenly manna, that is, with the precious body of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose body is true flesh, John the apostle saying: My flesh is truly food, and it is truly manna, not in figure, but in truth: I am, he says, the living bread which came down from heaven. It is indeed flesh on account of true humanity: it is living bread on account of divinity. When, therefore, we eat the body of Christ, we partake of divinity and humanity, as the Apostle writes to the Corinthians. Rightly, moreover, are these greater benefits bestowed in this place: for Halus is interpreted "labor"; and it is fitting for one who labors that the glory of the Lord should appear, so that by the sight of the reward he may more eagerly sustain his labors. It is fitting also that food be supplied, that, refreshed thereby, he may more strongly pursue the journey he has begun.

RAPHIDIM.—The eleventh mansion is accomplished at Raphidim: there the people, wearied by the hard journey, took refreshment. Thus it follows: And setting out from Halus, they encamped in Raphidim: and there was no water there for the people to drink. The same mansion is also written in Exodus: And they encamped, it says, in Raphidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. This mansion is adorned above all with the prerogative of three admirable works. First, by the wondrous bringing forth of water from the rock: for the people, wearied by the roughness of the mountains and the length of the way, burned with great heat of thirst. And coming to Raphidim, and seeing the place dry and lacking waters, they began to murmur angrily against Moses. Whence the place was named in Scripture "the place of strife." But he, taking the rod, struck the rock at the Lord's command: and it, being struck, poured forth so great an abundance of waters that the people and the cattle could quench all their thirst.

Marveling at which, David the prophet burst forth into these words: For he struck the rock, and the waters flowed, and the torrents overflowed. Second, the memorable victory against the Amalekites: for while the people were making their station here, the peoples of the Amalekites began to resist them, to harass them, and to attack them with an army prepared in strength. But Moses, considering that the strength of the people, already broken by the weariness of the long journey, was not sufficiently fit to repel the enemy's boldness, resolved to have recourse to divine help. Whence, leaving the whole business of resisting the enemy and waging war to Joshua, he himself withdrew to a hill to pray to God. But O the wondrous power of prayer! While Moses stretched forth his palms to heaven, Israel prevailed: but when he let them down, Israel gave way. But with Aaron and Hur supporting his hands until sunset, Joshua obtained the victory, as Scripture says: He put Amalek and all his people to flight by the edge of the sword.

Third, the prudent counsel of Jethro in the moderating of public affairs: for Jethro, seeing that Moses his son-in-law was occupied longer than was fitting in hearing the causes of the people, and that from dawn to evening all the time was consumed thereby, counseled that he should establish judges, tribunes, and other officers over war and peace, who would judge the people, hear the causes, settle disputes, and briefly resolve all light matters, reserving only the weighty matters for his own judgment. To this Moses assented. Thus it is written: And Moses heard the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he said to him. And because Raphidim is interpreted "praise of judgment," rightly in its mansion the rock brings forth water: for the rock, Christ, brings forth the water of his grace to him who keeps judgment: for it is written: Blessed are they who keep judgment!

Amalek is conquered; because by judgment the devil is condemned: right administration of the people is taught; because it is written: A wise judge teaches his people: this is he who judges all things, and he himself is judged by no one.

The desert of SINAI.—The twelfth station is had in the desert of Sinai. Hence he adds: And having set out from Raphidim, they camped in the desert of Sinai. This is a most celebrated station, where God descended in fire upon the mountain, and Moses, after purifying the people, ascended to the summit of the mountain at God's command, and spoke with him, and received the precepts of the decalogue. There the pattern of the fabric of the Tabernacle is shown; there the multiplicity of victims is prescribed, the distinction of vessels, the vestments of the Pontiff, the ceremonies of the Priests and Levites. There the number of the peoples and of the Levites, and the distribution of the people through each tribe: the offerings of the princes too are described in this station.

Two silver trumpets also are commanded to be made there for moving the camps, and there it is prescribed concerning those unclean because of a man's soul, who could not be present at the Passover in the first month, that they should assemble in the second month: and those who dwelt farther off, or had been unclean, were commanded to keep the Passover in the second month. This indeed is understood as a type of the people of the Gentiles, who, having fornicated with demons, seemed unclean in soul; but by the healthful confession of faith, in a second birth, as it were in a second month, they are commanded to be purified. It is also commanded in this station that the Nazarites should not drink wine or strong drink, nor even vinegar made from wine or strong drink: nor eat fresh grapes, nor even dried grapes; which is likewise commanded in Proverbs: Let not princes who are prone to anger drink wine; lest when they have drunk they forget wisdom.

What then is signified by the name of the Nazarites, if not the life of those who abstain and are continent; to whom luxury is forbidden in wine, and every earthly pleasure in strong drink? For strong drink is made from diverse kinds, just as pleasure arises from a diverse filth of vices. Hence those are said to drink wine who, to deceive men, feign that they possess certain shadows and images of virtues. Those eat dried grapes who, for the sake of human eyes, are tinged with the pallor of abstinence, that they may receive glory from men. But those drink vinegar who, after the sanctity of a life, slip back into former vices, and delight in the corruption of old wickedness. God therefore commanded that those who have put on the title of sanctity should be free from all vices, and should seek no such disturbance of this kind as would overturn the state of the mind.

In this station lepers, those with an issue of seed, and the unclean are separated from the camps: lepers signifying doctrine, those with an issue of seed signifying thought, the unclean signifying deed—that is, heretics, schismatics, and the luxurious: these, as contagious and diseased, are cast out from the camps, lest by the contagion of their perfidy or of their morals they defile the life of the innocent. Finally, the peoples who are found fit for battle are numbered from the twentieth year and above: but why from the twentieth year, unless because at this age wars against each of the vices are born. And therefore they are chosen for battle, that they may have a conflict against lust, and not be overcome by luxury.

Here also it is commanded that from the twenty-fifth year the Levites should serve in the Tabernacle, and from the fiftieth year they are appointed keepers of the vessels: for what is signified by the twenty-fifth year, in which the flower of youth arises, if not the very wars against each of the vices; and what by the fiftieth year, in which, by the reckoning of the Jubilee, even the land rests, if not the eternal rest expressed once the war of the mind is subdued? What is signified by the vessels of the tabernacle, if not the souls of the faithful? The Levites therefore serve the tabernacle from the twenty-fifth year, and become keepers of the vessels from the fiftieth, so that, evidently, those who still admit through the consent of pleasure the contests of assailing vices should not presume to undertake the care of others.

But when they shall have subdued the wars of temptation, when they may reasonably be reckoned secure within themselves concerning inward tranquility, then they can be assigned to the guardianship of souls: but who can perfectly overcome these battles for himself, since Paul says: I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind? But it is one thing to endure wars bravely, another to be overcome feebly by wars. In the former, virtue is exercised, lest anyone should be exalted; in the latter, it is utterly extinguished, lest it stand. The law then commands that all the Levites shave the hair of their flesh: because those who are taken up for divine services ought to appear before the eyes of God cleansed from all thoughts of the flesh, lest the mind bring forth unlawful thoughts, and render the beautiful form of the soul disfigured as though by growing hairs. After this it is also commanded that two trumpets be made, by whose blast the peoples might be moved to battle.

For thus it is written of these to Moses: Make for yourself two beaten silver trumpets; and shortly after: And when a broken blast has sounded, the camps shall move. For by two trumpets the army is led, because by the two Testaments, or by the two precepts of charity, the people is called to the battle of faith, which are commanded to be made of silver for this reason, that the words of preachers may shine with the brightness of eloquence, and confuse the minds of the hearers with no obscurity of their own; and they are made beaten for this reason, because it is necessary that those who preach the life to come should grow by the pounding of present tribulations. And it is rightly said: When a broken blast has sounded, the camps shall move; because indeed, when a subtler and more minute discourse of preaching is treated, the minds of hearers are more ardently roused against the contests of temptations.

Now from here the Sons of Israel are moved on from Mount Sinai, and pass over into the Graves of concupiscence.

The Graves of concupiscence.—The thirteenth station is had at the Graves of concupiscence. Hence he says: And having set out from the desert of Sinai, they camped at the Graves of concupiscence. This station took its name from the event: for the people, wearied of manna, craved meat, fish, melons, and other things that among the Egyptians were incitements to gluttony, and raised a tumult against Moses. Wherefore the Lord, being angered, sent an innumerable abundance of quails flying near the ground, with which they could satisfy their gluttony: But Scripture says: The flesh was still between their teeth: that is, before it was digested, the Lord struck the people with a very great plague: And hence, it says, the name of that place was called, the Graves of concupiscence: because there they buried the people who had lusted.

From which we are taught that we who have abandoned the way of life of the world, and have despised the Egyptian pots, that is, the fervors of carnal desires, ought not to murmur against the heavenly bread, nor crave the poisonous things of the Egyptians, which are of great flesh; but to seek the simple food of manna, that is, a pure and heavenly life. Otherwise, if after the precepts, we should wish again to crave the Angelic food, and the manna of heavenly life or doctrine, the Egyptian flesh, which are the carnal pleasures of this world, and the concupiscences of old vices, we shall at once be struck by the wrath of the Lord and tormented, our desires shall be turned into tombs, so that we shall be whitened sepulchers, which appear beautiful to men outwardly, but within are full of all filthiness.

In this station Moses, by the command of God, chose seventy elders from among the people, who might be his helpers in ruling the people: And they shall bear, he says, with you the burden of the people, and you will not bear them alone. Upon whom the Spirit afterward descended, and they prophesied. Which was done as a type: because the Holy Spirit poured himself into the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, that they might be wise for founding the Church, and strong for ruling it: Take heed, he says, as is read in the Acts of the Apostles, to yourselves and to the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to rule the Church of God. Thus the gift of heavenly virtue which formerly existed in Moses and in the Prophets appeared visibly upon the Apostles.

ASEROTH.—The fourteenth station is completed at Aseroth: for he adds: And having set out from the Graves of concupiscence, they camped at Aseroth. Concerning the same station it is likewise read elsewhere thus: From the Graves of concupiscence the people set out to Aseroth. Here Aaron and his sister Miriam, because Moses had taken to wife an Ethiopian, a foreigner, spoke against him quite insolently. Wherefore she, immediately overspread with the contagion of leprosy, was cast out from the company of others until the time of healing. This bore forth an evident figure of a new mystery: namely that that priestly people of the fathers would rise up, out of zeal for Christ our Savior, against the Church gathered from the Gentiles. By which impure envy of perfidy they would not be admitted into the tabernacles of God, until the appointed time should shine forth clearly, in which the fullness of the Gentiles should be completed, as the Apostle wrote to the Romans.

For then only will she be able to recover her former health, when the sevenfold grace of the Spirit shall have interceded for pardon. But because Aseroth is interpreted "beatitude," it is fitting that one comes to this station from the graves of concupiscence: since unless one has buried the concupiscences of the flesh, he cannot arrive at eternal beatitude. Therefore the Apostle says, Flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God.

RETHMA.—The fifteenth station is called Rethma. Hence it follows: And having set out from Aseroth, they camped at Rethma. But because elsewhere it is read: And after this the people set out from Aseroth, and camped in the desert of Pharan: lest the passages of Scripture seem to contradict each other, it must be noted that from here up to Asiongaber, all the stations, which are numbered as eighteen—all, I say, following up to the thirty-second—are contained under the name of the desert of Pharan. This station therefore is elsewhere called, by the common name of the wilderness shared with many others, Pharan; but by its own proper name, Rethma. Scripture commends Pharan in another place, saying: God will come from the South, and the Holy One from the shadowy mountain of Pharan. Under this desert, at God's command, Moses sent twelve men to explore the land, who brought back a cluster of grapes, pomegranates, and figs of the land.

Under this desert, Dathan, Abiron, and the sons of Core with their households were swallowed up by the gaping of the earth, because of sedition. Under this desert, Aaron the priest, standing in the middle between the living and the dead, appeased God who was indignant by the offering of incense, and stayed the plague. Under this desert, Aaron's rod, placed in sand in the tabernacle, both budded and flowered by a miracle: and many other things, as is read in the book of Numbers, were done, though not distributed among the individual stations.

By which we are mystically taught that the men sent to explore the fruitful land, and who caused the people to despair of the promised inheritance of the Lord, bore forth the image of the scribes and pharisees: for just as those were sent by Moses that, by carefully considering the fruitfulness of the soil, they might encourage the people to its attainment; so also these, through the Law and the Prophets, were appointed that, by the investigation of the Scriptures, they might behold the coming of the Lord, in which they could attain eternal life: but just as those drew the people back from the hope of possessing the inheritance, or the people itself, through their report, alienated itself from the promise of God: so also these, by their deceptions, dissuaded the people from believing in Christ the Lord. Hence it is said of them: Woe to you who have taken away the key of knowledge: you yourselves have not entered, and those who were entering you have hindered. The cluster which they brought back is Christ.

Hence in the Song of Songs the Church says of Christ: My brother is to me a cluster of cypress in the vineyards of Engaddi. The pomegranate, on account of its redness, is the blood of Christ. Whence Isaiah: Whence the redness of your garments from Bosra? The fig, on account of its sweetness, is the evangelical law: hence, my yoke is sweet. By Dathan and Abiron, what else is signified but those who introduce heresies and schisms into the Church? These, having despised the authority of the priest, separating themselves from him and from the Church of God, dream up other churches, another altar, other customs, as did Apollinaris, Novatian, and their like: and rejecting the ordinance of God, they strive to establish their own vanities: at last, with the heretics and schismatics swallowed up in the gulf of the earth, Aaron the priest—that is, Christ the Lord, priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech—is set in the middle to appease God: because he has an everlasting priesthood, always living to make intercession for us.

The dry rod of Aaron, which afterward flowered by a miracle, is the flesh of Christ, which is called a rod by the prophet: There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse. This dry rod flowered, because, having died, it rose again.

REMON-PHARES.—The sixteenth station is called Remon-phares. For it follows: And having set out from Rethma, they camped at Remon-phares

This is the second station in the desert of Pharan, which in our language is interpreted "sublime division": for when one has tarried at Rethma, that is, "the mouth of the one seeing," that is, has attained perfect understanding of things, he comes to Remon-phares, that is, to a sublime division, by which he is able to separate heavenly things from earthly, and lofty things from lowly. Nor undeservedly: for as the intellect grows in strength, and the knowledge of things increases, judgment is poured in, by which eternal things are discerned from temporal, and perpetual things from things that pass away. Wherefore it is said through the Prophet: If thou bring forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth.

LEBNA.—The seventeenth station is undertaken at Lebna, wherefore he adds: And setting out from Remon-phares, they encamped in Lebna. By this station we are mystically taught that in the journey of this life we ought to be washed in body and clean in heart, as the Apostle writes to the Hebrews, saying: Let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water. This same thing indeed the interpretation of the word Lebna indicates: for Lebna in Latin sounds the same as "whitening." But it is not the whitening of which it is culpably said, both a whitened wall and whitened sepulchres; but that which the Prophet entreats, saying: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow, which the Lord promises through the prophet, saying: If your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and if they be red as crimson, I will make them white as wool.

This whitening arises powerfully from the brightness of judgment gained at Remon-phares, and the clarity of visions at Rethma, where the true Israelite performs his stations.

RESSA.—The eighteenth station is accomplished at Ressa. Hence he adds: And setting out from Lebna, they encamped in Ressa. By this station we are mystically taught that although one may seem to have made very great progress, and to have attained great advances, temptations nonetheless do not desert him: for the apostle Paul had already so progressed that he was even caught up to the third heaven, and heard ineffable secrets, yet nonetheless he felt himself still pressed by monstrous temptations. Hence he complained: There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me. Yet the apostle James testifies that temptations of this kind are praiseworthy, saying: Count it all joy, brethren, when you fall into various temptations, for these are applied to a man as a kind of guardianship. For just as flesh, however excellent, decays unless it is sprinkled with salt, so also the soul, however perfect, becomes slack unless it is salted with constant temptations. This, because Ressa is interpreted "praiseworthy temptation."

CALATHA.—The nineteenth station is called Calatha: to which the sons of Israel arrived, departing from Ressa. Hence follows: And setting out from Ressa, they encamped in Calatha. Calatha in Latin sounds "rod," and signifies dominion. According to that: A rod of equity is the rod of thy kingdom. And rightly does Calatha follow after Ressa: since where the soul has overcome temptations in Ressa, it comes forth so strong that it ascends to Calatha, that is, that it acquires dominion, not only over its lower faculties, but also over the whole world. To this had the Apostle ascended, when he said: The world is crucified to me, and I to the world. Let us then also encamp at this station, so that, crucifying the flesh with its vices and desires, and mortifying its deeds, we may say with the Apostle: But the life I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God.

ARSAPHAR.—The twentieth station is at Arsaphar. Hence he says: And setting out from Calatha, they encamped in Arsaphar. This is a spirited stopping-place; indeed it invites us to arduous deeds, namely to wars, and the harshest wars, and against the strongest and most savage enemies. Of these the Apostle spoke: Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of this world, against the rulers of this darkness. By these the same Apostle felt himself pressed and forced; wherefore he said: Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? This, because Arsaphar is "the blast of a trumpet," or "trumpeting," which is the signal of war.

Nor undeservedly; since the soul, seeing itself armed at the earlier stations with so many and such great virtues, cannot be contained from advancing into the midst, and offering itself for battles, but rather presents itself ready; indeed the trumpet's blast summons even the rest along with the Prophet, who says: Take up arms, bring shields to the battle, harness the horses, mount the horsemen, polish the spears. Nay, as another prophet says: Proclaim this among the nations, prepare war, stir up the fighting men, let the men of war draw near. This war the fathers waged and won, as the Apostle relates to the Hebrews: They stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made valiant in fight. Full of vigor and spirit, therefore, is this station.

ARADA.—The twenty-first station is Arada; hence he says: And setting out from Arsaphar, they encamped in Arada. This station too is to be recalled with lengthy praises. For Arada indicates "having been made suitable." A fair order is present here; but the degrees of those who progress must be observed, and the sequence of advancements must be examined. For where the soul has overcome temptations, it dares to press down the lower faculties; and where it perceives itself to hold command over these, it insults the hostile powers, and no longer fears their might, but provokes it to combat. Now, however, secure of victory, it ascends into Arada, that is, it glories in the Lord that it has been made suitable, and says with the Apostle: Our sufficiency is from God, who has also made us fit ministers of the New Testament. Let us pray then to God, that we too may be able to reach Arada, and there to hold our station.

MACELOTH.—The twenty-second station is called Maceloth; therefore he adds: And setting out from Arada, they encamped in Maceloth. Maceloth is interpreted "from the beginning," by which it is intimated that whoever tends toward perfection, or feels that he has in some manner attained it, ought to look back to the beginning of things, on which all things depend, and refer all things to it, and never depart from it. God is the beginning and the end, as it is written in the Apocalypse: I am the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Therefore all things must be brought back to God. The prophet acknowledged him as the beginning, when he said: Art thou not from the beginning, O Lord my holy God? The Apostle acknowledged him, saying: I bend my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

THAATH.—The twenty-third station is Thaath; hence follows: And setting out from Maceloth, they encamped in Thaath. But because Thaath signifies in Latin "longsuffering" or "endurance," through it is indicated to us that whoever strives to progress in the way of God, and to be of profit to others, must of necessity suffer much, and endure much with equanimity. Wherefore it is said to the apostles: In your patience you shall possess your souls. The Apostle invites us to endurance, setting forth the example of the preceding fathers, and of Christ. For he says: Therefore we also, having so great a cloud of witnesses set over us, laying aside every weight and the sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. For our Lord Jesus Christ showed us, in order that we might follow in his footsteps, as the apostle Peter says, many examples of gentleness and endurance of evils toward men, as is clearly recounted in the Gospels.

THARE.—The twenty-fourth station is called Thare; for it follows: And setting out from Thaath, they encamped in Thare. Thare is interpreted in Latin as "amazement," in Greek ἔκστασις, which is a kind of vehement wonder, arising from the sight of arduous and unaccustomed things. For when things unusual, indeed impossible to nature, present themselves to human sight; because in the investigation of such a cause the senses fail, and reason succumbs, the mind is amazed. This Daniel expressed more clearly, saying: I was amazed at the vision, and there was none that understood. Hence when the people saw the paralytic who was carried by four men rise at the sole voice of the Lord, take up the bed on which he lay, and go away to his house; because this was beyond human capability, they were amazed. Hence Saint Luke says: And amazement seized them all. Treating of this, the prophet Jeremiah says: Amazement and horrible things are done in the land.

And because in these stations many splendid and admirable works have been brought forth, whose causes the human mind cannot comprehend by reason, one arrives at last at Thare, that is, at amazement; for so it is interpreted. Hence it is written: And they were all amazed at the mighty works of God.

METCHA.—The twenty-fifth station is undertaken at Metcha; hence he says: And setting out from Thare, they encamped in Metcha. Metcha is called in Latin "new death." But so that it may be understood what this "new death" is, it must be observed that we read of a threefold death in the Scriptures. One is the death of the body, by which our earthly house of this habitation, to use the Apostle's words, is dissolved, and the soul departs from the tabernacle of the body of this the Apostle writes: It is appointed unto men once to die. By this Abraham and the prophets died, by this death we shall all die, and like water spilt upon the ground, we shall not be gathered up again. Another death is that of the soul, by which the soul, worn away by the contagion of sin, dies—not indeed in its substance, which knows not how to die, but in the life-giving grace of God.

For by the demerit of sin, God withdrawing, it loses the spiritual life of the soul. Whence the Apostle says: She that liveth is dead. It is said to die then through sin; for the soul that sins, it shall die. But it dies as regards the Lord not by weakness of nature, but by the demerit of guilt, which is not a departure from this life, but a fall into error. Third is the fault by which the concupiscence of the flesh dies, so that the mind may live to God; of which the Apostle says: Our old man is crucified together with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, that we may no longer serve sin. Nor is this undeserved; for just as one who is dead in life is no longer liable to guilt, so one reborn through grace ought no longer to serve sin. Of this death the Apostle speaks, saying: For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Rebuking those who are dead in this manner, the same Apostle says: If you be dead with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to decrees? One death, then, is natural, another penal, a third spiritual. This last is designated by Metcha, which is called "new death"; because it renews the old man, and makes a new creature, as the Apostle says: Old things have passed away; behold, all things are made new. Let us then also make our station here, so that, dead to sins, we may live forever to righteousness.

ESMONA.—The twenty-sixth mansion is called Esmona; for it says: And setting out from Metcha, they encamped in Esmona. Esmona in Latin means acceleration, which fittingly applies to this mansion. For when the soul, dead to the sin through the preceding station, has passed into a new creature, it cannot remain still in mind, nor grow torpid in idleness; but strives to advance further, and to hasten its journey. For travelers speed is most fitting; for this reason the people of the fathers were commanded to eat the passover, and to do so hastily. Hence it was commanded to the apostles: Greet no one along the way. Thus we read in the book of Kings that Elisha enjoined Gehazi: Gird up your loins, he said, and take my staff in your hand, and go; and if you find anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him: for the work of God demands even hasty haste. Cursed, says the prophet, is he who does the work of God negligently.

Therefore that disciple, who outran Peter to the tomb more quickly, is highly commended. On the way of God there ought to be a hastening progress, so that no space is left for the devil, who always stands at the right hand to oppose the saints, to hinder the journey begun. Let us, then, who having died to sins, live to righteousness through Metcha, not merely follow toward the palm of the heavenly calling; but let us run in Esmona, hastening toward the contest set before us. For the shepherds came hastening, and found the infant Jesus.

MOSEROTH.—The twenty-seventh mansion is called Moseroth; for it says: And setting out from Esmona, they encamped in Moseroth. Fittingly Moseroth now follows; for it signifies disciplines, so that he who acquired haste for himself in Esmona may now wisely summon it toward acquiring disciplines: And let it be, as James the apostle teaches, that every man be swift indeed to hear. God is the author of this discipline: for it is said through the prophet: Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds? Who has crossed over the sea, and found her, and will bring her for choice gold? There is none who knows her way, nor who considers her paths: but he who knows all things knows her, and has found her out by his own understanding. Therefore she is to be sought from him, as James the apostle says: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all abundantly. This reveals God and his works.

The discipline of God, says Solomon, is a teacher, and the chooser of his works; her keeping is the rod of correction. For it is written: Blows and rebukes give wisdom. We read in Numbers that a certain man gathering wood on the sabbath day was arrested, ordered to be brought before Moses and the elders, and at last, by God's command, was punished with death, stoned with stones: Let the man, he said, die the death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp. Some think this happened in this mansion. Hence the Apostle also said: Rebuke him who sins before all, that the rest may have fear. Let us then have our station in Moseroth, that is, let us be held in the mortification of rebukes within the discipline of God.

BANEJACHAM.—The twenty-eighth mansion is accomplished in Banejacham; for it says: And setting out from Moseroth, they encamped in Banejacham. He who has his station in the discipline of God ought diligently to devote all zeal, all effort, so that not even the least thing of God's own law be violated and fall away; and, as the Savior says, that not one iota, nor one tittle, should pass from the Law. For he ought to hold perpetually in mind that word of the Gospel, where it is said: I say to you, you shall not go out from there until you pay back even the last farthing? For just as a debt of interest is not cleared before the whole sum, down to the last coin, whatever the manner of payment, the entire amount is paid; so neither is the penalty of sin dissolved, except by the compensation of charity and the other virtues, or by strict satisfaction.

Sin is not washed away, brethren, unless the guilty one is exercised so long by penalties, that he pays the punishments for the error committed. James the apostle said: Whoever has kept the whole Law, but offends in one point, has become guilty of all. We ought also to weigh that sentence of God, which is written in the Law: I am the Lord your God, a jealous God. The law of God, then, is to be examined with the most exacting scrutiny, and observed with all the greater diligence one can muster, lest perhaps we fall away from it. This the present mansion teaches us: for Banejacham signifies sifting. He who sifts the law of God carefully observes that not even the smallest syllable or tittle slip by through negligence.

GADGAD.—The twenty-ninth mansion is held at Mount Gadgad; for it says: And setting out from Banejacham, they encamped at Mount Gadgad. Temptation is a faithful guard for the soul, and an increase of fortitude and virtue; for unless the soul of the just felt itself pressed at times by temptations, far from remaining in its guard, it would rather be relaxed, flowing away as it were from an abundance of graces. This lesson is clearly held from holy Moses. When the people saw the lamps and the smoking mountain, and heard the voices, and fled terrified from the Lord, Moses said: Take courage, for God has come to tempt you; that his fear may be in you, and that you may not sin. It is also called fortitude; for the soul, recognizing itself surrounded by manifold temptations, walks more cautiously, and asks greater strength from the Lord, saying with the Prophet: Have mercy on me, O God, for many are warring against me.

And it is called an increase of virtue, insofar as the soul, exercised by temptations, comes forth purer. Therefore Solomon says in Proverbs: As silver and gold are tried in the furnace, so are chosen hearts before the Lord. That the soul profits by temptations, holy James the apostle also testifies, saying: Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he shall receive the crown of life. Temptations, then, are not to be fled, but sought after; whence David the prophet says: Prove me, O Lord, and try me. To those advancing on the way of the Lord, therefore, temptations are more frequently brought, that they may walk more cautiously and fruitfully. This the present mansion suggests to us; for Gadgad is interpreted as temptation. Lest, then, the traveler, from the abundance of so many virtues in the higher mansions, should flow away or fall, this mansion follows the previous one.

JETHEBATHA.—The thirtieth mansion is celebrated at Jethebatha; whence follows: And setting out from Mount Gadgad, they encamped in Jethebatha. By the experience of temptations the virtue of the just, as said in the preceding mansion, becomes more conspicuous and shines more clearly. Hence also Peter the apostle: You shall rejoice now, he says, if it is fitting that you be made sorrowful by various temptations; that the trial of your faith, much more precious than gold, which is tried by fire, may be found. It also acquires greater grace through this; therefore it is written in the book of Wisdom: But proven virtue reproves the foolish. Through it, even in the midst of a perverse nation, hidden virtue puts itself forth and shines; therefore the apostle Paul says to the Corinthians: There must be heresies, that those who are approved may be made manifest among you.

More sincere goodness comes forth from temptations, just as purer silver from the furnace of fire; for Scripture says: For silver is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. Since, therefore, purer goodness comes forth from temptation as if from a furnace, fittingly now Jethebatha, which is interpreted as goodness, follows.

EBRONA.—The thirty-first mansion is carried out at Ebrona; therefore it says: And setting out from Jethebatha, they encamped in Ebrona. Although the just man may have arrived even at perfect goodness in this life, yet he does not stand still in mind, nor is he content with his present state; rather, passing through all things, he strives with burning desire toward better things. Hence David the prophet said: These things I have remembered, and have poured out my soul within me; for I shall pass over into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of God. There indeed he shall rest, there all his desire shall be fulfilled. Therefore in another place the same prophet said: I shall be satisfied, O Lord, when your glory shall appear to me. In this life there is no rest, but perpetual passing over.

Wherefore the bridegroom in the Song of Songs, on account of the swiftness of his course, is likened to a roe and a young hart; whence he also leaps upon the mountains, and skips over the hills. This the present mansion teaches us, since Ebrona means a passing over; so that although you may have arrived at goodness through the preceding mansion, yet all things are to be passed beyond: you must pass over to better things, until you come to that good which is supreme, and which satisfies every desire, and in which you ought to remain forever.

ASIONGABER.—The thirty-second mansion is called Asiongaber, to which the children of Israel came; whence it follows: And setting out from Ebrona, they encamped in Asiongaber. This is the last station of the children of Israel in the desert of Pharan; for, as we said above, that wilderness, encompassing very many mansions, extends up to this point: it is interpreted, however, as the counsels of a man. And it fits the intention rightly: since he who has completed so many mansions, has penetrated the folds of so many virtues, has felt the breathings of so many gifts, has exercised himself in so many pursuits of perfections; has now ceased to be a child in his senses, has now come to the measure of the fullness of the age of Christ, has now grown into a perfect man. And therefore he has attained the counsels of a man, so that he may say with the Apostle: But when I became a man, I put away the things that were of a child.

Rather, he has attained a lofty counsel, because Solomon says in Proverbs: Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water. Concerning this counsel the wise man said: Do nothing without counsel, and when you have done a thing, repent not. This is not that of which the Lord complains, saying through the prophet: Woe, apostate children! Thus says the Lord: You have made a plan, not by me, and a covenant, not by my Spirit. But that of which the wise man speaks: The knowledge of the wise man shall abound like a flood, and his counsel like a pure fountain of life, which keeps from evil; because good counsel shall keep you, and holy thought shall preserve you. Let us therefore hasten hither without delay, and eagerly pitch our tents here; that we may be able to confess to God with our whole heart, as David in the council of the just, and in the congregation.

SIN.—The thirty-third mansion is in the desert of Sin; wherefore it adds: And setting out from Asiongaber, they encamped in the desert of Sin. The eighth mansion above is also called by the same name; for it says: And setting out from the Red Sea, they encamped in the desert of Sin. But it must be noted that this place is different from that one; therefore it is added below: From the desert of Sin, this is Cades. And elsewhere, while the people were staying in this mansion, Moses, sending messengers to the king of Edom, says: And now we are, he says, in the city of Cades, on the edge of your borders. David the prophet remembers this, saying: And the Lord shall shake the desert of Cades. Here Mary, the sister of Moses, ended her day, died, and was buried, as we read above.

Josephus also describes this, saying: Then, therefore, the end of life took his sister Mary, when she had completed her fortieth year from the time she left Egypt: and they buried her most splendidly in public. Here, finally, the people suffered from lack of water; wherefore, angered, they raised a tumult against Moses: from whom, by the command of God, the rock was struck by the wondrous rod, and water flowed abundantly; whence, all drinking, the craving of thirst was taken away.

HOR.—The thirty-fourth mansion is at Mount Hor; for it says: And setting out from the desert of Sin, this is Cades, they encamped in Mount Hor near the land of Edom. While the children of Israel were making their stay at Cades in the desert of Sin, Moses sent envoys to the king of the Idumeans, that he might grant them passage through his territory together with his people; they were also to assure him that they would not even ask that water be given them without payment. But he, refusing the request and not yielding passage, answered: You shall not pass through me, otherwise I will come out against you in battle. Wherefore the people, by the command of God, as is found in Deuteronomy, turned aside from him; and departing from Cades, they came to Mount Hor, and had this mansion which we read of.

There, according to the Lord's command, Aaron went up onto Mount Hor together with Moses his brother and Eleazar his son; where Moses, by the word of God, stripped Aaron of his pontifical vestments and immediately clothed with them his son Eleazar, to whom the pontificate fell by reason of age, while the whole people, standing opposite, looked on in wonder. And there Aaron, having ended his life, was gathered to his people, and Eleazar his son was declared priest in the place of Aaron his father. This mansion, therefore, is memorable.

SALMONA.—The thirty-fifth mansion is held at Salmona; for it follows: And setting out from Mount Hor, they encamped in Salmona. Having departed from Mount Hor, the people did not continue on the straight way they had begun, but going around the land of Edom, took their route toward the Red Sea; so that, according to the word of the Lord, they should not make war upon their brethren, nor injure them at all: for he says: Do not stir up war against them. Wearied, therefore, by so many windings of the roads, and disgusted with the manna, the people, it is said, spoke against God and Moses. Wherefore the Lord, being angered, sent among the people venomous and deadly serpents, which slew by their bite; whence a very great number of the people perished. Of these the Apostle also makes mention, saying: Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted him, and perished by the serpents.

Then, when Moses prayed for the destruction of the serpents, God answered: Make thee a bronze serpent, and set it up as a sign; and everyone who, having been bitten, looks upon it, shall live. Moses did according to the command of the Lord, and the people were freed from the plague. But since Salmona is interpreted "shadow," this event is rightly fitted to the mansion. For the serpent lifted up on wood was a type and shadow of Christ hanging on the cross for our salvation, as he himself explains in the Gospel, saying: As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Let us, then, frequent this station, that we may look upon Christ hanging on the cross for the salvation of the world; since it is salutary.

PHINON.—The thirty-sixth mansion is called Phinon; for it says: And setting out from Salmona, they encamped in Phinon. The moderation of the tongue, among those things which are for man no less necessary than difficult, holy James the apostle sets forth at length, saying: If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits into the mouths of horses, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. Behold also ships, though they are so great, and are driven by strong winds, are yet turned about by a very small helm, whithersoever the impulse of the one directing it desires. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire kindles how great a forest. And the tongue is a fire, the whole world of iniquity; and the rest which the holy apostle discusses to the purpose.

If so many evils threaten a man from the tongue, who will dare to say that it does not need moderation? Therefore the Wise Man commands this, saying: Hedge in your possession with thorns, and make doors and bars for your mouth: melt down your silver and your gold, and make a balance for your words, and a gate and a bolt for your mouth. But since a balance, gate, and bolt would not readily be found for the tongue, the same Wise Man said: Who will set a guard over my mouth, and a seal upon my lips? David the prophet, recognizing that these gifts are bestowed by the Lord, prayed to the Lord in these words: Set, O Lord, a watch before my mouth, and a door round about my lips. The moderation of the tongue has its seat in this mansion.

For Phinon is interpreted "sparingness of the mouth." Let us, therefore, take care to have our station here also; that we may know what, when, how, and to whom it is fitting to speak: and let our mouth meditate wisdom, and our tongue speak judgment.

OBOTH.—The thirty-seventh mansion is called Oboth, to which at last the children of Israel came; for it follows: And setting out from Phinon, they encamped in Oboth. Of this mansion it is read elsewhere: And the children of Israel, setting out, encamped in Oboth. But it must be noted that the greater and more pernicious temptations by which the soul is assailed in this life are, by common estimation, the illusions of demons and the tricks of magicians and pythons. For these, by their sorceries and magic arts, in order to remove the worship of divinity from the hearts of men, profess to accomplish things possible only to the divine nature. Whence they dare to resist his power perpetually. But at length, their vanities being uncovered and their arts routed, the divine power always prevails. The magicians dared to resist Moses in the presence of Pharaoh, and contended that their rods too became serpents.

But at length the rod of Moses, turned into a serpent by the providence and power of God, leapt upon the serpents of the magicians and immediately devoured them. For those things done by Moses came about not by deception, not by tricks, but by truth; therefore they subsisted by wondrous power. It is also read in the Acts of the Apostles that when the apostle Paul was preaching before Sergius the proconsul, who desired to hear the word of God, Elymas the magician, it says, resisted, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then, when he was rebuked by the Apostle, he was made blind, so that, going about, it says, he sought someone to give him a hand. Therefore in the law it is especially commanded that dealings with such be avoided; for it says: The soul that shall follow after those who have familiar spirits, or wizards, to go astray after them, I will set my face against that soul, and destroy it from among its people.

This station is observed for the destruction of magicians: for Oboth is interpreted "magicians." Let us, therefore, also go to Oboth, and pitch our tents there; that, dwelling under the protection of the God of heaven, we may not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the business that walks about in darkness, nor the invasion and demon of noonday.

JEABARIM.—The thirty-eighth mansion is called Jeabarim; for thus it is stated: And setting out from Oboth, they encamped in Jeabarim, in that which is beyond, in the borders of Moab. Of this mansion it is read more clearly in another place: And departing from Oboth, they encamped in Jeabarim, in the desert which is opposite Moab, toward the rising of the sun. Concerning which it must be remembered that the Idumeans, as we said above, hostilely refused to grant the children of Israel passage through their lands. Whence, turning away from them, they were compelled to go around the borders of the Moabites. Hence it is said that they came to the borders of Moab toward the east. Now Jeabarim signifies a heap of stones passing over, which is the Church of the just. For the stones that pass over are the just. For these, on account of their firmness, are called stones, of whom Peter the apostle writes, saying: And you yourselves, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house.

Firmness is rightly attributed to the just, because they do not fluctuate, nor are they carried about by every wind of doctrine; whence in the Gospel they are compared to the house founded upon firm rock, upon which the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew, and it did not fall. They are also called "passing over," because, according to the Apostle, they confess that they are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. Finally, the Church is rightly called a heap of stones, because she herself is the pillar and ground of the truth. Let us, then, also have our station in Jeabarim, that, according to the apostle Paul, we may hold fast the hope set before us, as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast, and entering in even within the veil; that, according to the apostle Peter also, knowing these things beforehand, we may take care lest, being led away by the error of the wicked, we fall from our own steadfastness.

DIBONGAD.—The thirty-ninth mansion is held at Dibongad; for thus it is read: And setting out from Jeabarim, they encamped in Dibongad. But concerning this mansion something quite different seems to be read in another place; for it is written: And departing from Oboth, they encamped in Jeabarim, in the desert which is opposite Moab, toward the rising of the sun. From there they departed, and encamped in the valley of Zared, and so on. If, then, they encamped in the valley of Zared, you will say: How then in Dibongad? But there the common place is expressed, here the proper one. For Dibongad is around the valley of Zared, which is between the borders of the Amorites and the Moabites. Mystically, however, Dibongad signifies "a hive of temptations." By which we are taught that although a just man may be at, or near, the summit of perfection, temptations are nevertheless not lacking to him. This is by the caution of divine providence, lest, through good successes, we seize an occasion for turning aside from the right way.

Hence Job said: Blessed is the man whom the Lord corrects: refuse not the chastening of the Almighty. And even though, while we are in the flesh, temptations seem bitter to us, they nevertheless wonderfully profit us for the life to come, the Apostle saying: Now no chastisement for the present seems to be a matter of joy, but of grief: but afterward it will yield to those exercised by it the most peaceable fruit of justice. Let us, then, approach and hasten to enter this mansion: knowing that we are at times chastised by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with this world. Let us also have the sure hope that God will not suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able, but will make with the temptation also a way of escape, that we may be able to bear it.

Elmon deblathaim.—The fortieth mansion, at Elmon Deblathaim, is undergone by the children of Israel; for thus it is written: And setting out from Dibongad, they encamped in Elmon Deblathaim. This name, Elmon Deblathaim, being twofold, likewise signifies two things, namely, contempt of figs, that is, contempt of earthly sweetness; for figs represent sweetness. Whence Jeremiah the prophet saw figs, good, very good. And our Savior, being hungry, and leaving the bitterness of the scribes and Pharisees, came to a fig tree; that he might at least find some sweetness in the people: and when he found nothing but leaves only, he cursed it, saying: Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. Contempt, then, of earthly delights is especially necessary for one hastening toward heaven. For unless we disregard the allurements of pleasures and those things which seem delightful on earth, we cannot raise ourselves up to heavenly things. Therefore the Apostle admonishes, saying: Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth. Indeed, to mind earthly things is confusion.

So the Apostle writes: Glory in the shame of them, who mind earthly things. But since our conversation is in heaven, we who have risen with Christ, let us, treading down with all alacrity of heart the enticements of the world, enter into the tabernacles of this mansion, seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God: and let us strive, whether absent or present, to please the Lord our God.

ABARIM.—The forty-first mansion is made by the children of Israel in the mountains of Abarim; for it follows: And setting out from Elmondeblathaim, they encamped upon the mountains of Abarim over against Nebo. But this seems far different from what is read elsewhere concerning this mansion. For it says: They encamped in the valley of Zared; and departing thence, they encamped beyond the Arnon in the desert, which lies out from the borders of the Amorrhites. From which words it seems that the children of Israel had their mansion after Elmon not in the mountains of Abarim, but in the desert beyond the Arnon: but there is no discrepancy, since Abarim is in the desert beyond the Arnon. What Scripture expressed there under a common name, it here expressed under a proper name. Whence it adds: For the Arnon is at the borders of Moab between the Amorrhites; and there is the mount Abarim, at the foot of which, near the Amorrhites, the river Arnon flows.

Now the mount Abarim is said to be beyond the Arnon, not with reference to the crossing of the Hebrews, but with reference to the situation of the holy land, as is Moses' custom in this description; for in the book of Deuteronomy it is read: These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the desert toward the west. Yet Moses never crossed the Jordan at all: therefore it was "on this side" with respect to the way of the Hebrews, but "beyond" with respect to the situation of the holy land. Under this mansion Moses sent envoys to Sehon, king of the Amorrhites, that he might grant passage to him with the people through his lands, without any harm at all to his own people: We will pass, they say, through your land; we will not turn aside either to field or to vineyard, nor will we drink water from a well; we will pass by the king's highway.

But Sehon, refusing this altogether, answered harshly; nay, arming a strong force, he went down at once to the river Arnon, by which Israel was to pass, in order to block the way and to resist the one attacking him. But it was brought about by divine power that, the king being slain in battle, the Hebrews smote the people of the Amorrhites with the edge of the sword, and laid waste and despoiled their lands. Meanwhile Og, king of Basan, in order to bring aid to his friend the Amorrhite, armed vast forces, with which he came forth to attack Israel as an enemy. But Israel, fighting with help from on high, slew that king also in battle, destroyed his whole army, and finally subdued the whole of their land; whence, with a notable victory, he brought back great quantities of riches. All these things Josephus has related in a long account.

By the Jordan.—The forty-second mansion is held in the plains of Moab by the Jordan; therefore it says: And setting out from the borders of Abarim, they came to the west of Moab, above the Jordan near Jericho; and there they encamped by the Jordan between Bethsimon as far as Belsachin, in the west of Moab. Scripture mentions the same mansion elsewhere, saying: And the children of Israel, departing, encamped in the west of Moab, by the Jordan, near Jericho. Finally, this is the last mansion of this laborious and long-continued journey of the children of Israel, described by Moses through the word of God. In which, although very many things worthy of remembrance were said and done, we shall relate but a few. First, Balac, king of the Moabites, seeing the children of Israel advancing with such great increase, and their affairs prospering with such favorable success, conceived great dread for his own affairs, as appears from what he said beforehand to the people of Madian.

For he says: Now this assembly will lick up all who are around us, as the calf licks up the green things of the field. Wherefore, not daring to attack them openly with arms, lest they should become too powerful, he resolved to resort to hidden arts. Whence he summoned to himself the magician Balaam, and asked him to curse and destroy the people by imprecations and his sorcerous arts. This he could never obtain from him, either by persuasions or by gifts, divine providence resisting; nay rather, the magician himself, the Lord opening his mouth, prayed good things for the people, and foretold happy outcomes: How beautiful, he said, are your dwellings, O Jacob, your tabernacles, O Israel, like valleys giving shade, like gardens beside a river, and like tabernacles which the Lord has pitched; and below: Blessed be they who bless you, and cursed be they who curse you; likewise: A star shall arise out of Jacob, and a man shall spring up out of Israel.

Then, because the people, through love of Madianite women, having forsaken God, had turned aside to idols, Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, being zealous with zeal for the Lord of hosts, before iniquity should rage more strongly through impunity, slew publicly with a drawn dagger a Hebrew man and a Madianite woman caught in fornication and brought before Moses: by whose example many, provoked, rose up with arms against the fornicators, and there were slain that day, to the point of destruction, twenty-four thousand men. Wherefore, the fornicators being slain, God was reconciled with the people: And the plague, it says, ceased from the children of Israel.

Moreover, because the land of the Chananites, which the children of Israel were tending to possess through the word of God, was already appearing close by, and they themselves, after forty and more years of wandering, were now almost touching the borders of the holy land; and because it was granted to them to take it only by armed hand and unbroken strength: therefore Eleazar the priest decided, by the command of God, to make a new count of the people fit for war, in which, apart from the tribe of Levi, set apart for the special worship of God, and the women, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty men, from twenty years old and upward, ready for wars, as Scripture says, were numbered.

But very many other things pertaining to religion and the worship of God, as well as to the governing of the commonwealth in war and peace, Moses and Eleazar the priest set in order in this mansion: which, lest they should draw out our reading too long, or because we have set them forth more often in other places, we now judge should be omitted.

Yet we have not thought it right to pass over in silence that Moses, at length recognizing through the word of God that his last day was at hand, having declared his successor and the leader of the people by God's command, Joshua the son of Nun, and having set forth beforehand the blessings and curses which would befall those who observed or transgressed the divine law, and having also foretold to each tribe what would come upon them individually, ascended Mount Nebo, and from there he both surveyed with his eyes and considered in his mind the ample and excellent region of the Chananites, a land indeed flowing with milk and honey, promised even by repeated oracles to the fathers, lying opposite Mount Nebo, and, to use the Apostle's words, greeted it from afar. When this was finally done, the Lord said to him: I have shown this land to your eyes, but you shall not enter it.

And immediately, by the word of God, he died, and was buried in the valley: and no one has known his sepulcher to this day. This is the end of Moses, and of the mansions set in order by the command of God for the people. As for the rest, there would now be several mystical matters to explain, had we not scattered most of them throughout the present treatise, and explained others in other places.

This finally we have judged worth the trouble to note, that this whole passage is recorded here, and this whole course is set forth to be completed, for this purpose: that, arriving at last at the Jordan, the river of God, we may be watered by the streams of divine wisdom; that, purified through all things, we may at last, by God's mercy, be able to enter the land of promise, and to say with the Apostle: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith, and there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the just judge, will render on that day to those who love his coming; may it be laid up for us through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be all honor, glory, and perpetuity for ages of ages. Amen.