Prologue — Exposition of St. Thomas

1. Matthew from Judea. Jerome places a prologue before the Gospel of Matthew, in which he does three things:

first, he describes the author himself;

second, he opens the mysteries of the Gospel, at takes up the origins of two in the generation of Christ;

third, he indicates his own intention, at for us however in the pursuit of the preface.

2. He describes the author himself by four things: first by name, when he says Matthew; second by origin, when he says from Judea; third by order of writing, at as he is placed first in order; fourth by calling, at whose calling to the Lord, i.e., to Christ. Concerning this, see Matthew 9:9 and Luke 5:27.

And note that the interlinear Gloss, which says first, i.e., before whom no one, seems to want to say that others after Matthew have written in Judea, which is not true. Only Matthew wrote in Judea; Mark wrote in Italy, Luke in Achaia, and John in Asia.

3. Next, he opens the mysteries of the Gospel itself.

And first, he opens the mysteries which concern the beginning of the Gospel;

second, he shows that the same mysteries are to be sought in the middle; and at the end, at in which Gospel it is useful.

Now at the beginning of the Gospel two things are touched upon. First, a title is set down, so to speak, when it says, the book of the generation; second, the series of a certain generation is described, when it says, Abraham begot Isaac.

First, therefore, Jerome sets out the mysteries of the title, or of those things touched upon in the title;

second, the mysteries of the generation, at and thus, the number fourteen.

4. Now it says in the title, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. Here two origins are touched upon, namely David and Abraham. And this is because the precept about circumcision was given to Abraham first; second he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of justice of the faith which he had, being uncircumcised: that he might be a father of all who believe (Rom 4:11). But David was chosen by the Lord: the Lord has sought a man according to his own heart (1 Sam 13:14). For this reason, these two are touched upon in order to point out that Christ took origin from the circumcised fathers and the chosen. And this is the of two, i.e., of two men, or of two origins, David and Abraham.

5. Next, he sets out the mysteries which are touched upon in the genealogy.

And first, he touches on the mysteries of the Gospel itself, or of the Evangelist;

second, of Christ, at of all these things.

6. And it is a mystery that the Evangelist divides the genealogy of Christ into three fourteens. The first of these is from Abraham to David, the second from David to the transmigration, the third to Christ—that he might show Christ to be from the circumcised and from the chosen and from those who transmigrated. And this is set down triformly, i.e., repeated three times in the genealogy. From the faith of believing, i.e., from Abraham himself, who was the first model of believing. To the time of election, i.e., leading down even to David. And setting it in order from the election, i.e., from David himself, to the day of the transmigration. And from the day of the transmigration. This is clear. He shows the hurried, i.e., briefly and cursorily touched upon, generation of the coming of the Lord, giving sufficient attention both to number and to time. This is clear.

7. Of all these things, the time. Note that in this series of the generation four things are touched upon: the time, the order, the number, and the arrangement or the reason, because the time from Abraham to David is touched upon. The reason is the arrangement. All these things show nothing other than that Christ is God; for he intends this according to an allegorical arrangement and reason, namely that Christ is God. What is necessary for faith, namely that Christ is God, i.e., in all things there is nothing of more necessity for faith than that Christ is God.

Who was made from a woman. Note, explain, and indicate the chapters.

And fastened all things to the cross, i.e., all sins, according as he took from the middle, because the handwriting was against us (Col 4:14). Or better: Christ as God and as man, because he is all things: and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself (John 12:32), and: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth (Phil 2:10). So triumphing, because through the trophy of the cross he subjected all things to himself, and has triumphed over anything at all.

8. And the name of the Father to the Son in the fathers. For clarity it should be noted that certain fathers and certain sons are placed in the series of the generation, as is clear. Again, a certain father without a father is placed there, namely Adam, and a certain son without a son, namely Jesus. Similarly, certain ones who are both fathers and sons are placed there, namely all the ones in between Abraham and Jesus. This indicates mystically that in the Trinity there is a Father and a Son, just as in this genealogy there are certain fathers and certain sons. Similarly, the fact that the first father does not have a father in this series, nor the last son a son, shows that they are eternal. Again, the fact that one and the same person is father and son with respect to different persons, indicates that they are one, not indeed in person, but in nature.

And this is what Jerome means by restoring the name of the Father to the Son in the fathers, i.e., that the Son has a Father; in the fathers, i.e., through the fact that certain fathers are placed there in the series. And restoring the name of the Father, i.e., that the Father has a Son, and this is in the sons, i.e., through the fact that certain sons are placed there. Without beginning and without end, because the first father does not have a father, nor the last son a son. [Showing himself to be one with the Father,] i.e., of one nature, because they are one, namely in person, yet with respect to different persons in the aforementioned genealogy.

Note the interlinear Gloss which says, one Christ. This should certainly not be said.

9. Next, he shows that similar mysteries are to be sought in the aforementioned Gospel, not only at the beginning, but also in the middle and at the end. And this is what Jerome means by, in which Gospel, namely the Gospel of Matthew, it is useful to those desiring God to understand in this way, i.e., in the same way as we have said, to understand the first i.e., the beginning, or the middle, or the perfect things, the end and consummation, so that reading, they might understand. It is written: I follow after, if I may by any means apprehend (Phil 3:12).

10. But for us. Here he shows his own intention, namely that he means that those things which are said here are true in history, and nevertheless are to be understood spiritually.

But for us in the pursuit of this preface, i.e., the prologue, there has been this, i.e., this intention.