Bede : Fill your horn with oil, and come, etc. Leaving behind, he says, the care of the carnal kingdom, embrace rather that dominion, which by the light of the Holy Spirit is ascertained to be most rich, to be hoped for and loved. This not coming from yourselves, but sent by my Spirit, carefully disclose to that people, which separated from the enticements of the world, sighs for the joys of eternal salvation. For I have provided for myself a king among the sons of the same people. For Isaiah is interpreted as an island of holocaust or sacrifice, Bethlehem as the house of bread. But an island is each faithful soul; the whole Church of the saints is an island, which by seeking higher things is separated from the waves of this world, now purifying itself entirely by the fervor of the Holy Spirit, making itself an acceptable offering to God, and making its heart a dwelling place of the living bread. — Commentary on Samuel Gregory the Dialogist : 1. For when it is said to him: "How long will you mourn?" it is shown that he was mourning persistently. Great, therefore, is the affection of the saints, even when they outwardly bring forth the severity of punishment. For on the outside they rage, but inwardly they melt with love. In the manner of mothers they strike their little ones, yet they groan with the affection of the little ones whom they chastise. But what does it mean that the Lord says: "How long will you mourn for Saul?" Can a mother see her son dying and not weep at all through the rending of her heart? She who dies endures the dead without grief, but is weakened. What does it mean that He says: "How long will you mourn for Saul?" Unless it is because the lost are not to be mourned excessively? For often a teacher is vehemently afflicted over the perdition of his subject, but is consoled by regard for the supreme justice. What, therefore, does this saying of God to the prophet mean, except to relieve the preacher's mind from affliction through inward consolation? And because, when prelates have fallen, the elect are substituted through divine mercy, the Lord adds, saying: (Verse 1.) "Fill your horn with oil, and come: I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided among his sons a king for myself." 2. For as if consoling one who mourns, he says: Why is the casting off of one person lamented, when a better one is substituted? Hence Saul is shown as not foreseen, but David as foreseen. How great, therefore, and of what quality he was, let it be weighed with prompt consideration—he who is determined by the judgment and choice of Almighty God. But what does it mean that God foresees and the prophet is sent to anoint, except that the spiritual customs of the holy Church are being described, which is seen to appoint no one except those whom it contemplates God to have chosen beforehand and preordained? "Come," he says, "I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have foreseen among his sons a king." As if to say: Presume nothing on your own part, but by ordaining you will follow him whom I have foreseen. Hence also a little later he adds, saying: "And you shall anoint the one I shall point out to you." What is this, except that those who wish to ordain others to the summit of the Church ought to be prophets? For they can recognize what has been foreseen by God, if they consult the sacred Scriptures to find the person of the bishop to be chosen. For it is as though God is shown speaking when such a Pastor is chosen as is commended through sacred eloquence. In the literal sense, however, Samuel is told to come from the Lord so that he might be called back from compassion for the reprobate and rejected king. But if by continual weeping he was seeking the restoration of the fallen one, for him to come was to cease from such an intention. And he filled his horn with oil, because he tempered pastoral sublimity in anointing the king with the splendor of praise. For with a harsh horn he assailed Saul, because he struck down the sinner as if with a great assault, saying: "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you from being king" (1 Kings 15:23). What does it mean, then, that the horn is commanded to be filled with oil, except that the justice of the king to be anointed is commended? As if to say: The king who is now anointed will not need to be struck with rebuke, but proclaimed with the favor of wondrous praise—he needs not to be assailed, but to be favored. He is sent to Jesse the Bethlehemite, so that the king who is chosen might be taught to be one who would endure. For through the patriarch Jacob, the condition of the kingdom that would endure was shown long before, because he said: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a ruler from his loins, until he comes who is to be sent" (Genesis 49:10). Therefore the king foreseen among the sons of Jesse is declared, so that the king who is commanded to be anointed might be taught to be not one who would depart like Saul, but one who would be lasting. As if he rouses the prophet wasting away in anguish over the rejected one, saying: Why is the one rejected for his fault lamented, when one worthy of praise is substituted? 3. We have touched upon these things according to the literal sense; now let us consider the election of our prelates beneath the literal narrative. What does it mean that the horn is commanded to be filled with oil, except that such a pastor is to be chosen in the holy Church who ought not to be accused as a transgressor, but commended to the example of others with wondrous praises? For the horn is the weapon of animals. And what else are the authority and rebuke of the chief bishop but weapons? Indeed horns strike when their sharp points are applied to sinners through rebuke. For to strike with the horn is to reprove sinners sharply. The horn is filled with oil when the sublimity of the preacher does not have the harshness of threats, but the gentleness of favors. Or the horn is filled with oil when to the chosen pastor there is given at once both the exaltation of the summit and the power of anointing—when the lofty rank is ascended, yet he who is raised to the heights is filled with the abundance of merits. Therefore priests are anointed from a full horn who attain to the highest rank with the fullness of graces. Because indeed fire is kindled by oil, the oil is the love of the teacher's heart—in which fire is kindled, because in the richness of the mouth the power and grace of the Holy Spirit burns. Because therefore the teacher ought to have the richness of great charity, the king who is commanded to be anointed is said to be anointed from a full horn. The fullness of the horn is also spoken of in terms of the perseverance of graces; for those who fail before the end do not merit to be anointed with the fullness of the horn. Still more must be said about the fullness of this horn: it is commanded for this reason, because he who must fill others from his own fullness needs a great anointing. Whence Moses too is said to have been so full that the Lord is shown to have taken from his spirit and given it to others (Num. 11). Or the horn of the prophet is filled when the pontifical sublimity is prepared for teaching more perfect things. For when the princes of the Church are ordained, the things they ought to do must not be preached to them in half-measure. Therefore the bishops fill the horn when they set forth full and perfect virtues, which the chosen princes of the Church may imitate. Because indeed those who anoint ought themselves to be spiritual, they are commanded to fill the horn. The horn is indeed from the flesh, but it is not enclosed in the flesh. Therefore the horn is the spiritual manner of life of the teacher. The horn pours out oil when he preaches lofty things who demonstrates these things by his lofty manner of life. Therefore to fill the horn with oil is to take up the preaching of great virtues in a lofty manner of life. And he pours it on the head when he imprints it on the mind of him who comes newly to the highest order. Therefore when the elect are promoted, they are anointed from a full horn, because they advance to the height of their order by the power of perfection. 4. But the prophet is sent to Jesse of Bethlehem, a king is foreseen among his sons, because that shepherd is chosen who has been instructed in ecclesiastical devotion. Bethlehem, therefore, which is called "house of bread," what else does it designate but each and every house of religion? For by the name of bread the teaching of perfection is shown, as Paul attests, who, rousing the weak to conversion, says: "I gave you milk to drink, not solid food. For you were not yet able, nor are you yet able" (1 Cor. 3:2). For if milk belongs to little ones, bread belongs to none but the perfect. Whence also it is said of the strength of the perfect man: "He shall dwell on high, the fortifications of rocks shall be his loftiness, bread has been given to him" (Isa. 33:16). Therefore in the house of bread a king is sought for anointing, because those are profitably advanced who are nourished in the order of perfect conduct. For he is able to make others strong who has not been nourished in lax and negligent conduct. Therefore he is sought in the house of bread, because in promoting a bishop, strength of conduct must be sought. From a weak congregation a person of virtue is almost never taken. Whence rightly the search is made among the sons of Jesse, who is named "salvation of the Lord," or certainly "salvation" absolutely. Indeed, a prelate is rightly called salvation. For what are sins and vices, if not diseases of souls? But a chosen preacher, through the integrity of sound doctrine, through the solidity of innocence, through the splendor of an elect life, is rightly named the salvation of the Lord. There are indeed other teachers whose speech creeps like a cancer. From the family of these a king is not taken, because he does not lead sick minds to health, but kills them. And it should be noted that Jesse is called by another name, Isai. He has indeed a twofold name, because a good teacher is not always at peace. In time of peace he is called the salvation of the Lord, so that the wounds of wars may be taught to be healed, as it were, within the secure vestibules of his house. But in war he has the name Jesse, because he both fortifies himself bravely and protects others valiantly. For Jesse is said to mean "relief of the island." But by the name of island, what is understood if not minds surrounded by the waves of temptations? They are indeed islands, because even if they endure great conflicts, they are not moved. Whence also the Psalmist, proclaiming the victory of the elect, says: "The Lord has reigned, let the earth exult, let many islands rejoice" (Ps. 97:1). The Lord indeed reigns when no storm of enemies disturbs his throne, namely the elect minds; but the earth rejoices, because the solid hearts of teachers are glad. The islands rejoice, because when they overcome temptations by his grace, the hearers of their superiors are gladdened. The earth indeed is the strong mind and the firm tongue of the teacher. But the island is said to be the strong heart of the subject, which is still assailed by temptations, yet is not moved. What then does it mean that Jesse is called the relief of the island, except that through the strength of teachers the hearts of the lesser are uplifted? For amid so many waves of temptations they would collapse, if their hearts were not raised to the desire of the lofty life by the strength of their superiors. Therefore a king is described as hidden among the sons of Isai and Jesse, because those profitably come to the summit of the Church who have learned under the instruction of the elect both to guard peace and to arrange or wage spiritual wars. Therefore it is well said: "For I have provided among his sons a king for myself." For among these and not among others is a king foreseen, because through divine grace none attain to the summit of the Church who do not follow the instruction of the elect through all the successive periods of time. There follows: (Verses 2–3.) And Samuel said: "How shall I go? For Saul will hear of it and will kill me." And the Lord said: "You shall take a calf from the herd in your hand, and you shall say: I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. And you shall call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do." — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 3 Gregory the Dialogist : 22. Now indeed, according to our plan, the book ought to be brought to a close at its end; but it returns to memory that we referred the beginnings of the volume to the conversation of the Redeemer. And since through John our same Redeemer is declared to be the beginning and the end, the book is most fittingly closed if it is completed in the narration of our Redeemer (Rev. 1:8). David, therefore, meaning "strong of hand," represents the Redeemer of the human race Himself, who prevailed over the ancient enemy and carried away the elect from his power. He is called the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, because He willed to be born from that people whom He filled, as it were with bread, with the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. For Judea was the "house of bread," which possessed the solid food of the Scriptures in spiritual understanding, as if from bread. But what does Samuel signify, except, as we have already often said, the order of the new preachers? And what does David represent, except the Redeemer? Samuel is therefore sent to anoint him. For to anoint him is to preach his incomparable sanctification to those who are ignorant of it. For he is, as it were, anointed when the fragrance of his renown is opened to those who do not know him. For he was anointing Him who said: "Because in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily" (Col. 2:9). But why do we take only the new preachers as pertaining to his anointing, when we see that the old ones also anointed him so reverently? For what smells better and sweeter than what the prophet Isaiah poured out upon him, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him" (Isa. 11:2)? Likewise, he who is held in our hands, David, speaking to him, says: "Beautiful in form above the sons of men, grace is poured forth upon your lips" (Ps. 44:3). And shortly after: "God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions." Moreover, Daniel anointed him and offered the whole sacrament of anointing to the Jews, saying: "When the Holy of Holies shall come, your anointing shall cease" (Dan. 9). The prophet is therefore sent to anoint him, because the fragrance of him is never grasped by the little ones unless it is spread abroad through the mouths of preachers. Whence also those three women prepare spices and anoint the Redeemer in the tomb (Mark 16). Jesus is indeed anointed in the tomb when the glory of his resurrection is preached. Whence also when they come, Jesus is not found; because when they rightly discuss the Lord's death, they show that the dead one is already rising, and as it were by coming they do not find him; because where they rightly understand the cause of his death, they find that life has been restored through that death. 23. But what does it mean that he is commanded to fill the horn with oil? For what was the severity of the law, if not the sharpness of a horn? For it struck as if with a horn, since it did not pardon sins through mercy, but punished them by inflicting penalty. The horn, therefore, is filled with oil, because such a King is anointed who mercifully forgives the sins of men, not punishing through the severity of the law. For they were holding forth the horn of Moses, who said to the Lord concerning the woman who had been caught in adultery: "Moses commands that such a woman be stoned; what do You say about her?" (John 8:5). But He who had been anointed with the full horn says: "Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone at her." That man had taken up the horn for striking, as it were, who said: "If this man were a prophet, He would know who and what sort of woman this is who touches Him, for she is a sinner" (Luke 7:39). But Jesus, who had been anointed from the fullness of the horn, forgave everything, saying: "Her many sins are forgiven, because she loved much." Hence to those murmuring about His reception of sinners He says: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt. 9:13). The prophet is therefore sent with a full horn to anoint David, because teachers now preach Him who dissolved the harshness of the law, and restored through the warmth of His grace everything that it had set forth rigidly. Was he not anointing Him—he who was sent to anoint Him—of whom it is said: "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John: he came as a witness, to bear witness to the light" (John 1:6)? But we have heard how he was sent; let us hear how he anoints: "Behold," he says, "the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). 24. By the horn, namely of his kingdom, the sublimity of the holy Church can be designated, which is great, but is not harsh and proud. Concerning this horn it is said above through Hannah, the mother of Samuel: "He will exalt the horn of his Christ" (1 Sam. 2:10). For hence it is said through Zechariah: "He has raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of David his servant" (Luke 1:69). What indeed is the horn of salvation, if not the sublimity of ecclesiastical power? For what is nowhere said to the ancients is now said to the universal Church: "Whatever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven" (Matt. 16:19). This horn is indeed said to be raised up and full of oil, because the holy Church, together with the sublimity of power, extends the bowels of compassion. And because through the vice of condemned humanity we can more easily be lifted up to the authority of power than bent to the tenderness of piety, rightly he is commanded not to prepare a horn, but oil. For he who says, "Fill your horn with oil," indicated that the horn existed without oil. What is this, except that we can grow angry and rebuke even without deliberation, but we cannot be bent to mercy except through great meditation? As if he were saying: Fill with oil the zeal which you naturally have; for if you do not have it of yourself, you can have it from virtue. This is certainly said to him who is sent to anoint the Redeemer, so that he who is placed in the office of preaching may always strive to be rich in mercy. 25. By this horn the affection of the mind can be shown. This horn is certainly commanded to be filled, because the anointing of our Redeemer, that is, His sanctification, ought to be perfectly known before it can be sufficiently preached. The horn is therefore filled when the holiness of the Redeemer is well recognized. And he is anointed with a full horn when He is preached most excellently. For John, because he had come to anoint by preaching, as it were filled the horn by knowing, so that he might be able to anoint Him by speaking well. But if we wish to understand the filling well, let us hear what is said in the Gospel: "The word came upon John the son of Zacharias in the desert" (Luke 3:2). He therefore anointed Him with a full horn, who was first perfectly taught by the Word before he could speak of the divinity of the Word and the assumed nature of man. But coming, he had a calf in his hand; because, in order to become a worthy herald of the Redeemer, he slaughtered his own flesh to God through abstinence. By the name of calf the Lord Himself can also be designated. What then does it mean that the prophet carried a calf in his hand, except that he who wishes to show forth Jesus by preaching ought to imitate the sufferings of Him whom he preaches through the mortification of the flesh? Indeed, to hold a calf in the hand is to show the likeness of Christ's passion in the power of one's works. For otherwise, he who comes to anoint the king is slain; because indeed the preacher of truth brings himself into danger of his own salvation, who tramples by wicked conduct the word that he preaches with his mouth. Samuel therefore, coming to anoint the king, carried a calf in his hand; because the forerunner of the Lord first showed himself admirable through the splendor of a heavenly way of life, and thus made known the good of so great a grace to those who did not know it. 26. But what does it mean that he is commanded to seek among the sons of Jesse, except that He was to be born from the ancient people and was to have no equal? He is therefore commanded to be sought, so that we might believe in Him with reason. And because He says of Himself: "No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44), it is rightly said to Samuel by the Father: "You shall anoint the one whom I shall show you." For he had anointed, as it were, one who was shown to him—he who heard from the one whom he had anointed: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 16:17). He is sent therefore to Bethlehem, because when Christ is sought according to the flesh, He is found born from the people of the Jews. — Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 3 Jerome : [Daniel 9:2] "I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of the Lord had come to the prophet Jeremiah, that seventy years would be accomplished for the desolation of Jerusalem." Jeremiah had predicted seventy years for the desolation of the Temple (Jeremiah 29:1-10), at the end of which the people would again return to Judaea and build the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. But this fact did not render Daniel careless, but rather encouraged him to pray that God might through his supplications fulfil that which He had graciously promised. Thus he avoided the danger that carelessness might result in pride, and pride cause offense to the Lord. Accordingly we read in Genesis that prior to the Deluge one hundred and twenty years were appointed for men to come to repentance (Genesis 6:3); and inasmuch as they refused to repent even within so long an interval of time as a hundred years, God did not wait for the remaining twenty years to be fulfilled, but brought on the punishment earlier which He had threatened for a later time. So also Jeremiah is told, on account of the hardness of the heart of the Jewish people: "Pray not for this people, for I will not hearken unto thee" (Jeremiah 7:16). Samuel also was told: "How long wilt thou mourn over Saul? I also have rejected him" (1 Samuel 16:1). And so it was with sackcloth and ashes that Daniel besought the Lord to fulfil what He had promised, not that Daniel lacked faith concerning the future, but rather he would avoid the danger that a feeling of security might produce carelessness, and carelessness produce an offense to God. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER NINE Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius : The Jews had before been directed to compose a sacred oil, with which those who were called to the priesthood or to the kingdom might be anointed. And as now the robe of purple is a sign of the assumption of royal dignity among the Romans, so with them the anointing with the holy oil conferred the title and power of king. But since the ancient Greeks used the word chriesthai to express the art of anointing, which they now express by anleiphesthai, as the verse of Homer shows, "But the attendants washed, and anointed them with oil"; on this account we call him Christ, that is, the Anointed, who in Hebrew is called the Messiah. — EPITOME OF THE DIVINE INSTITUTES 4.7