Books of the Old Testament

As Jeremiah says, they will see by trial how painful and bitter it is to have forsaken the Lord. Jeremiah 2:19. Chapter 2 deals with Israel's apostasy.

How they will then be confounded, the king and the princes, the priests and the scribes, who in truth have said and say to that which is nothingness or, worse, is sin: "You are a father to me. You have begotten me! In reference to Psalm 2:7.

Truly, truly, I say to you that Moses broke the Tables of the Law in anger at the sight of the idolatrous people, then returned to the mountain, prayed, worshipped and obtained mercy. Centuries ago. See the book of Exodus, chapters 32 to 34.

Jeremiah asks: "Can a virgin forget her finery and a bride her girdle? "Jeremiah 2:32.

"Why do you try to show the honesty of your conduct in order to seek love, you who, on the contrary, teach perversion and your ways and whose garments evoke the blood of the poor and the innocent? "Jeremiah 2:34.

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Book of Jeremiah 2, 19.32.34

Jer 2:19: Your impiety chastises you and your rebellions punish you! Know therefore and see how evil and bitter it is to have forsaken Yahweh, your God, and to have no fear of me, - oracle of the Lord Yahweh of hosts.

Jer 2:32: Does a virgin forget her adornment, a bride her girdle? And my people have forgotten me for days without number!

Jer 2:34: Even on the skirts of your garments is the blood of the innocent poor; you did not catch them breaking and entering, but you killed them for all these things.

Book of Psalms 2, 7

Ps 2, 7 : I will publish the decree: Yahweh has said to me: You are my Son, I have begotten you today.

Book of Exodus 32-34

Exodus 32-34: When the people saw that Moses was slow to come down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us. For as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him." Aaron said to them, "Take off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, sons and daughters, and bring them to me." Everyone took off the gold rings they had in their ears, and they brought them to Aaron. He received them from their hands, fashioned the gold with a chisel, and made a cast-iron calf out of it. And they said, "Israel, this is your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the image, and cried out, "Tomorrow there will be a feast in honor of Yahweh." The next day, having risen early in the morning, they offered burnt offerings and presented peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and then they rose to enjoy themselves.

Yahweh said to Moses: "Go, come down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have behaved very badly. They soon turned aside from the way I had commanded them; they made themselves a molten calf, and worshipped it, and offered sacrifices to it, and said, Israel, this is your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." Yahweh said to Moses, "I see that this people is a stiff-necked people. 10Now leave them to me: let my anger burn against them and consume them! But I will make of you a great nation."

Moses implored Yahweh, his God, and said, "Why, Yahweh, should your anger be kindled against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt by great power and a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'He brought them out for their own hurt, to destroy them in the mountains and to destroy them from the earth? Return from the fierceness of your anger, and repent of the evil you want to do to your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, your servants, to whom you said, swearing by yourself, 'I will multiply your seed like the stars of heaven, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall possess it forever.'"

And Yahweh repented of the evil he had spoken of doing to his people. Moses returned and came down from the mountain, having in his hand the two tablets of the testimony, tablets written on their two sides; they were written on both sides. The tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing, engraved on the tablets. Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, and he said to Moses, "There is a battle cry in the camp!" Moses replied, "It's neither a noise of shouts of victory, nor a noise of shouts of defeat; I hear the voice of people singing." When he was near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. And Moses' anger was kindled; he threw down the tablets with his hands and broke them at the foot of the Mountain. And taking the calf they had made, he burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, poured the powder on the water, and gave it to the children of Israel to drink.

Moses said to Aaron, "What has this people done to you that you have brought upon them such great sin?" Aaron replied: "Let not the anger of my lord be kindled! You yourself know that this people is inclined to evil. 23They said to me, 'Make us a god who will go before us; for as for this Moses, this man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. I said to them, "Let those who have gold strip themselves of it! They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out of it came this calf."

Moses saw that the people had no restraint, because Aaron had taken away all restraint from them, exposing them to become a laughingstock among their enemies. And Moses stood at the gate of the camp, and said, "Mine are those who are for Yahweh!" And all the children of Levi gathered to him. He said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: Let each of you put his sword to his side; go through the camp again and again from gate to gate, and let each of you kill his brother, each of you his friend, each of you his kinsman!" The children of Levi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people perished that day. Moses said, "Consecrate yourselves today to Yahweh, since every one of you has been against his son and his father, so that he may give you a blessing today."

The next day, Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. And now I will go up to Yahweh: perhaps I will obtain forgiveness for your sin." Moses returned to Yahweh and said, "Ah! this people has committed a great sin! They have made themselves a god of gold. Now forgive their sin; if not, erase me from your book that you have written." Yahweh said to Moses: "It is he who has sinned against me whom I will blot out of my book. Go now, lead the people where I have told you. Behold, my angel will go before you, but on the day of my visitation I will punish them for their sin." Thus Yahweh smote the people, because they had made the calf that Aaron had made.

(Chapter 33) Yahweh said to Moses, "Go, depart from here, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt; go up to the land I promised with an oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your descendants. I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Chananean, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, so as not to destroy you on the way."

Hearing these harsh words, the people mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to the children of Israel, 'You are a stiff-necked people; if I went up among you for a moment, I would destroy you. And now remove your ornaments from over you, and I will know what I have to do to you." 6The children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, right from Mount Horeb.

Moses took the tent and pitched it for himself outside the camp at some distance; he called it the tent of meeting; and whoever sought Yahweh, went to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. And when Moses went to the tent, all the people rose, each standing at the entrance of the tent, and they followed Moses with their eyes, until he entered the tent. As soon as Moses had entered the tent, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the entrance of the tent, and Yahweh spoke with Moses. And all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent; and all the people arose, and every man bowed down at the entrance of his tent. And Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses returned to the camp; but his servant Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the midst of the tent.

Moses said to Yahweh: "You say to me: Bring up this people; and you do not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you said, 'I know you by name, and you have found favor in my sight. And now, if I have found favor in your sight, let me know your ways, that I may know you, that I may find favor in your sight. Consider that this nation is your people." Yahweh replied, "My face will go with you, and I will give you rest." Moses said, "If your face does not come, do not send us away from here. How will it be known that I and your people have found favor in your eyes, if not that you will walk with us? This is what will distinguish me and your people from all the peoples on the face of the earth." Yahweh said to Moses, "I will still do what you ask, for you have found favor in my sight and I know you by name."

Moses said, "Show me your glory." Yahweh replied, "I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and I will speak the name of Yahweh before you: for I show grace to whom I show grace, and mercy to whom I show mercy." Yahweh said, "You will not be able to see my face, for man cannot see me and live." Yahweh said, "Here is a place near me; you shall stand on the rock. When my glory passes, I will put you in the hollow of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed. Then I will withdraw my hand, and you will see me from behind; but my face shall not be seen."

(Chapter 34) Yahweh said to Moses: "Hew out two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets you broke. Be ready for tomorrow, and go up to Mount Sinai in the morning, and stand there before me on the top of the mountain. Let no one go up with you, and let no one show himself anywhere on the mountain, and let neither sheep nor oxen graze on the side of this mountain." So Moses cut two tables of stone like the first ones; and rising early, he went up Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him; and he took the two tables of stone in his hand.

Yahweh came down in the cloud, stood there with him and spoke the name of Yahweh. And Yahweh passed before him and cried out, "Yahweh! Yahweh! Merciful and compassionate God, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness, who preserves his grace to a thousand generations, who forgives iniquity, rebellion and sin; but he does not leave them unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the children's children to the third and fourth generation!" Immediately Moses bowed to the ground and worshipped, 9saying, "If I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, deign the Lord to walk among us, for they are a stiff-necked people; forgive our iniquities and our sins, and take us for your inheritance."

Yahweh said, "Behold, I make a covenant: in the presence of all your people I will do wonders that have not taken place in any land or among any nation; and all the people around you will see the work of Yahweh, for terrible are the things I will do with you.

Take heed to what I command you today. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorite, the Chananean, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Beware of making a covenant with the inhabitants of the land against which you are marching, lest they be a snare in your midst. 13But you shall overthrow their altars, break their pillars and cut down their Asherim. You shall worship no other god; for Yahweh is called the jealous one, he is a jealous God. So do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they invite you in and you eat of their victims; lest you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters, prostituting themselves to their gods, cause your sons also to prostitute themselves to their gods.

You shall not make gods of molten metal.

You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread: for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I have commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of abib, for in the month of abib you came out of Egypt.

Every firstborn male of your flocks, whether ox or sheep, is mine. You shall redeem the donkey's firstborn with a lamb; and if you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck. You shall redeem every firstborn of your sons, and they shall not come before me empty-handed.

Six days thou shalt labor, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest, even in the time of plowing and harvesting.

You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, of the first wheat harvest, and the Feast of Harvest at the end of the year.

Three times a year, all the males will present themselves before the Lord, Yahweh, God Israel. For I will drive out the nations from before you and extend your borders; and no one will covet your land while you go up to present yourself before Yahweh, your God, three times a year.

You shall not offer the blood of my victim with leavened bread, and the sacrifice of the Passover feast shall not be kept overnight until morning.

You shall bring the first-fruits of the first-fruits of your ground to the house of Yahweh your God.

You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk."

Yahweh said to Moses, "You write these words; for according to these words I make a covenant with you and with Israel."

And Moses was there with Yahweh forty days and forty nights, neither eating bread nor drinking water. And Yahweh wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words.

Moses came down from Mount Sinai; Moses had the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain; and Moses did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant as he spoke with Yahweh. Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face glowed; and they feared to approach him. Moses called them, and Aaron and all the princes of the congregation came to him, and he spoke to them. Then all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them all the commands he had received from Yahweh on Mount Sinai.

When Moses had finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. When Moses entered before Yahweh to speak with him, he took off the veil, until he came out; then he went out and told the children of Israel what he had been commanded. 35The children of Israel saw Moses' face, they saw that the skin of Moses' face was radiant; and Moses put the veil back on his face, until he entered to speak with Yahweh.

The chief reads. And so the trials of Onias, the mistakes of Jason, the betrayals and thefts of Menelaus pass before the audience. The chapter is over. The reader looks at Jesus, who has been listening attentively. Cf. the second book of the Maccabees, 2 M 4.

I want direct contact to begin, continuous contact between the apostles and the people. This was decided in Upper Galilee, and there was a first glimmer of light. Jesus sends them out to preach for the first time in EMV 166.2-3. They give their first sermon in EMV 166.4-12 (especially Simon the Zealot and John). It was near the house of Elise, in Judea, that Jesus declared that he was no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the crowds(EMV 209.5).

As for the fate of the complicit masses, read it in these words: "From the earth, the voice of this blood cries out to me. You will therefore be cursed...". And it is God who will pronounce them to an entire people who have failed to protect the gift of Heaven. For if it is true that I have come to redeem, woe to those who will be murderers and will not be redeemed, among this people whose first redemption was my Word. Cf. Gen 4:10-11 below.

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Second Book of the Maccabees, 4

2 M 4 : Simon, the informer of the treasury and of his country, spoke ill of Onias: it was he, he said, who had stirred up Heliodorus and who was the author of all the evil. The city's benefactor, the defender of his fellow citizens and the faithful observer of the laws, he dared to pass him off as an adversary of the state. This hatred went so far that murders were committed by one of Simon's affianced. Then Onias, considering the danger of these divisions and the outbursts of Apollonius, the military governor of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, who was encouraging Simon's wickedness, went to see the king, not to accuse his fellow citizens, but having in mind the general and particular interest of all his people. For he could see that, without the king's intervention, it would be impossible to pacify the situation, and that Simon would not give up his criminal ventures.

But after the death of Seleucus, Antiochus nicknamed Epiphanes succeeded him, and Jason, brother of Onias, set out to usurp the pontificate. In a meeting with the king, he promised him three hundred and sixty talents of silver and eighty talents from other revenues. In addition, he promised to commit himself in writing to a further 150 talents, if he were allowed to establish, on his own authority and according to his own views, a gymnasium with an epebeum, and to register the inhabitants of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch. The king agreed to everything. As soon as Jason had obtained power, he set about introducing Greek customs among his fellow citizens. He abolished the franchises which the kings, out of humanity, had granted to the Jews thanks to the enterprise of John, father of Eupolemus, who had been sent on an embassy to conclude a treaty of alliance and friendship with the Romans, and, destroying legitimate institutions, he established customs contrary to the law. He took pleasure in founding a gymnasium at the very foot of the Acropolis, and raised the noblest children by putting them under the hat. Hellenism then grew to such an extent, and the excessive perversity of Jason, a godless man and by no means a high priest, led to such an inclination towards foreign customs, that the priests no longer showed any zeal for the service of the altar and, despising the temple and neglecting the sacrifices, rushed to take part, in the palaestra, in the exercises proscribed by the law, as soon as the call to throw the discus was heard. Paying no heed to the honorific functions of their country, they held in high esteem the distinctions of the Greeks. That's why serious calamities befell them, and in the very people whose way of life they imitated and to whom they wanted to resemble in everything, they found enemies and oppressors. For one does not violate divine laws with impunity; but this is what subsequent events will demonstrate.

While the five-yearly games were being celebrated in Tyre, which the king was attending, the criminal Jason sent spectators from Jerusalem, who were citizens of Antioch, bearing three hundred drachmas of silver for the sacrifice of Hercules; but the same people who were carrying them asked that this money be used, not for sacrifices, which was not appropriate, but to cover other expenses. Thus the three hundred drachmas were indeed intended by the one who sent them for the sacrifice in honor of Hercules; but they were used, according to the desire of those who brought them, for the construction of triremes.

Apollonius, son of Menestheus, having been sent to Egypt, on the occasion of the enthronement of King Ptolemy Philometor, Antiochus learned that this king was ill-disposed towards him and, wishing to be safe from him, he went to Joppa, then to Jerusalem. Received magnificently by Jason and the whole city, he made his entry by torchlight and amidst acclamations; then he led his army to Phoenicia in the same way.

Three years later, Jason sent Menelaus, brother of the aforementioned Simon, to bring the money to the king and pay the registration fees for important business. But Menelaus recommended himself to the king, honored him with the outward appearance of a man in high place, and had the sovereign pontificate awarded to himself, offering three hundred talents of silver more than Jason had done. Having received his letters of investiture from the king, he returned to Jerusalem, having nothing worthy of the priesthood and bringing only the instincts of a cruel tyrant and the fury of a wild beast. Thus Jason, who had deceived his own brother, deceived in turn by another, had to flee to the land of the Ammonites. As for Menelaus, he obtained power; but, as he did not comply with the sum promised to the king, despite the complaints of Sostratus, commander of the Acropolis, who was responsible for collecting taxes, both were summoned to the king.

Menelaus left his brother Lysimachus to replace him as high priest, and Sostratus left Cratès, governor of Cyprus, to replace him. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Tarsus and Mallas revolted, because these two cities had been given as presents to Antiochides, the king's concubine. The king therefore left in haste to quell the sedition, having left as his lieutenant Andronicus, one of the great dignitaries. Menelaus, judging the circumstances favorable, took some gold vessels from the temple and gave them to Andronicus, and managed to sell others to Tyre and the neighboring cities.

When Onias became aware of Menelaus' new crime, he reproached him for it, after retiring to a safe haven at Daphne, near Antioch. Menelaus therefore took Andronicus aside and urged him to put Onias to death. Andronic therefore came to Onias and, using cunning, swore an oath on his right hand; then, although suspicious, he persuaded him to leave his asylum and immediately put him to death, without regard for justice. And so, not only the Jews, but many of the other nations were outraged and grieved at this man's unjust murder.

And when the king had returned from Cilicia, the Jews of Antioch, together with Greeks who were also enemies of violence, came to him about the unjust murder of Onias. Antiochus was deeply saddened and, moved by compassion for Onias, shed tears at the memory of the deceased's moderation and wise conduct. Red with anger, he immediately had Andronicus stripped of his purple, tore off his clothes and, having had him led through the whole city, he degraded this scoundrel in the very place where he had carried out his impious attack on Onias, the Lord thus striking him with just punishment.

Now, a great number of sacrilegious thefts having been committed in the city by Lysimachus, in agreement with Menelaus, and word of them having spread, the people rose up against Lysimachus, when already many golden vessels had been scattered. Seeing the multitude stirred up and their spirits inflamed with anger, Lysimachus armed some three thousand men and began to commit acts of violence, under the command of a certain Tyrant, a man advanced in age and no less in perversity. But when they heard of Lysimachus' attack, some seized stones, others large sticks, and some gathered ashes from the ground, and hurled them tumultuously at Lysimachus' followers. In this way, they wounded many of his men, killed several of them, put all the others to flight and massacred the sacrilegious man himself near the temple treasury.

An investigation against Menelaus then began. When the king came to Tyre, the three men sent by the elders explained the justice of their case. Seeing himself convinced, Menelaus promised Ptolemy, son of Dorymene, a large sum of money to make the king favorable to him. Ptolemy then took the king under the peristyle, as if to cool off, and made him change his mind. The king declared Menelaus innocent of the charges brought against him, though guilty of all crimes, and condemned to death unfortunate men who, had they pleaded their case even before Scythians, would have been returned innocent; and men who had defended the city, the people and sacred objects, suffered this unjust punishment without delay. The Tyrians themselves were outraged, and gave the victims a magnificent funeral. As for Menelaus, thanks to the greed of the powerful, he maintained his dignity, growing in malice and cruel scourge of his fellow citizens.

Book of Genesis 4, 10-11

Gen 4, 10-11 : Yahweh said: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out from the earth to me. Now you are cursed by the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand."

Come closer: there (to the north) lies Gerimot. Do you remember Joshua? This is the site of the defeat of the kings who sought to attack the camp of Israel, which was strengthened by its alliance with the Gibeonites. Gerimot, Jarmout, Yarmouth: The description provided is perfectly consistent with recent archaeological discoveries, which have uncovered traces of fortifications at Khirbit el Yarmuk, 27 km west-southwest of Jerusalem, and less than two kilometers from Beth Shemesh. However, in Maria Valtorta’s time, the supposed location was indicated further east—Jean-François Lavère,*Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel According to Maria Valtorta* and*The Valtorta Enigma*, Volume 1, page101.     

This is the site of the defeat of the kings who sought to attack the camp of Israel, which was strengthened by its alliance with the Gibeonites ( Joshua 10:1–14): Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, learned that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction, that he had treated Ai and its king as he had treated Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon, having made peace with Israel, were living among them. He was then greatly afraid; for Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities, even larger than Ai, and all its men were valiant. Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, sent word to Oham, king of Hebron; to Pharam, king of Jerimoth; to Japhia, king of Lachish; and to Dabir, king of Eglon: “Come up to me and help me, so that we may attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel.” ” So the five kings of the Amorites—the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jerimoth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon—gathered together and marched up with all their armies; they set up camp near Gibeon and laid siege to it. The people of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: “Do not withhold your help from your servants; hurry to come up to us, rescue us, and come to our aid; for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country have joined forces against us.” ” So Joshua set out from Gilgal, he and all the warriors with him, and all the valiant men of war. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hands, and not one of them will stand against you.” Joshua came upon them suddenly; having marched all night from Gilgal. And the Lord threw them into confusion before Israel; Israel inflicted a great defeat on them near Gibeon, pursued them along the road leading up to Beth-horon, and defeated them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel down the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord rained large stones down on them from the sky as far as Azekah, and they died; more died from the hailstones than were killed by the sword of the Israelites. Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day the Lord delivered the Amorites into the hands of the Israelites, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!” And the sun stood still, and the moon stood still, until the nation had avenged itself on its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of the Righteous? And the sun stood still in the midst of the sky and did not hasten to set for nearly a whole day. There has never been a day like that, either before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord was fighting for Israel.  

And nearby was Beth-Shemesh, the priestly city of Judah, where the Philistines returned the Ark along with the offering of gold—which the soothsayers and priests had required of the people to be delivered from the plagues that were tormenting the guilty Philistines. 1 Samuel 6:1–15: The Ark of Yahweh remained in the land of the Philistines for seven months. Then the Philistines summoned the priests and diviners and said to them, “What shall we do with the Ark of the Lord? Tell us how we are to send it back to its place.” ” They replied, “If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it back empty, but be sure to offer a guilt offering to him; then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.” The Philistines asked, “What kind of restitution shall we make to him?” They replied, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, for the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. So make models of your tumors and models of the mice that are ravaging the land, and thus give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps he will cease to lay his hand so heavily upon you, upon your gods, and upon your land. Why would you harden your hearts, just as Egypt and Pharaoh hardened theirs? Did they not let the children of Israel go after he had brought his punishments upon them? Now, then, make a new cart and take two nursing cows that have never been yoked; harness the cows to the cart, and take their calves away from them into the stall. Take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart; then, having placed the gold objects you have given as a restitution offering in a chest beside it, send it on its way, and it will go. Watch it closely: if it goes up the road toward its border, to Beth-Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster upon us; but if not, we will know that it was not his hand that struck us, and that this has happened to us by chance.”

So the people did as they were told; they took two nursing cows, harnessed them to a cart, and shut their calves in the stall. They placed the ark of Yahweh on the cart, along with the box containing the golden mice and the models of their tumors. The cows went straight toward Beth-Shemesh; they kept following the same path, walking and lowing, without turning to the right or to the left. The princes of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth-Shemesh. The people of Beth-Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. Looking up, they saw the ark and rejoiced at the sight of it. The cart came to the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite and stopped there. There was a large stone there. They split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. The Levites, after bringing down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was beside it, containing the gold objects, placed everything on the large stone. The people of Beth-Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord on that day.

And there, over there, is Tsorea, bathed in sunlight, the homeland of Samson. Seraa , Sar’a, Tsor’ah, Tsorea, Tsorea, Soréa. SeeJudges 13:2: “There was a man from Saraa, of the clan of Dan, named Manoah; his wife was barren and had never given birth.”

And, a little further east, Timna, where he married and where he performed so many feats, but also committed many follies.  Timnata, Timnatha, Timna. According to Maria Valtorta, Timnatah would thus be located a little east of Saara, which is entirely consistent with the biblical context of Judges 13,1–6 | Judges 14:1–5 | Joshua 15:10–57 | Joshua 19:43 | 2 Chronicles 28:18. This would suggest locating it about twenty kilometers west of Bethlehem. (Jean-François Lavère,Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel According to Maria Valtorta).        

Where he married and where he performed so many feats, but also committed many follies Judges 14:1–20: Samson went down to Timnah, and there he saw a woman among the daughters of the Philistines. When he returned, he told his father and mother, saying, “I saw a woman in Timnah among the daughters of the Philistines; now get her for me as my wife.” His father and mother said to him: “Is there no woman among your brothers’ daughters or among all our people that you must go and take a wife from the Philistines, who are uncircumcised?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me.” ” His father and mother did not know that this was from the Lord; for He was seeking a cause for conflict with the Philistines. — At that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When they arrived at the vineyards of Timnah, behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of Yahweh came upon Samson; and, with nothing in his hand, Samson tore the lion apart as one would tear apart a young goat. And he did not tell his father and mother what he had done.

He went down and spoke to the woman, and she pleased him. Some time later, having returned to Timnah to take her as his wife, he took a detour to look at the lion’s carcass, and there he found a swarm of bees and honey inside the lion’s body. He scooped some up in his hands and ate it as he went along; and when he came near his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass. Samson’s father went down to the woman’s house; and there Samson held a feast, as was the custom among young men. As soon as they saw him, they invited thirty companions to be with him.

Samson said to them, “I’m going to give you a riddle. If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and if you can guess it, I will give you thirty tunics and thirty sets of clothes; but if you cannot explain it to me, then you must give me thirty tunics and thirty sets of clothes.” ” They said to him, “Tell us your riddle, so that we may hear it.” He said to them, “Out of the eater came something to be eaten; out of the strong came the sweet.” For three days, they could not solve the riddle. On the seventh day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Persuade your husband to explain the riddle to us; otherwise, we will burn you and your father’s house. Surely you invited us here just to rob us?” ” Samson’s wife wept beside him and said, “You have nothing but hatred for me, and you do not love me. You have set a riddle before the sons of my people, and you haven’t explained it to me!” He replied to her, “I haven’t explained it to my father or my mother—why should I explain it to you?” She wept before him like this throughout the seven days of the feast; on the seventh day, as she was tormenting him, he explained the riddle to her, and she explained it to the people of her town. The townspeople said to Samson on the seventh day, before sunset: “What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have guessed my riddle.”

The Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon. There he killed thirty men; taking their spoils, he gave the spare clothes to those who had solved the riddle. Then, burning with anger, he went up to his father’s house. Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions, whom he had chosen as a friend.

And there were Azekah and Soko, which were Philistine camps at that time. 1 Samuel 17:1: The Philistines, having gathered their armies to wage war, assembled at Soco, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Soco and Azeka, at Ephes-Dommim.

Further down, here is Zanoah, one of the cities of Judea. Szanoé, Zanuah, Zanoah, Zano’akh. Mentioned inJoshua 15:56: “Jezreel, Jucadam, Zanoé.”  

And here—turn around—is the Valley of the Terebinth where David defeated Goliath. See 1 Samuel 17:2–54: Saul and the men of Israel also gathered and camped in the Valley of the Terebinth; and they drew up in battle formation opposite the Philistines. The Philistines were stationed on the mountain on one side, and Israel was stationed on the mountain on the other side; the valley lay between them. Then a champion came out from the Philistine camp; his name was Goliath; he was from Gath, and his height was six cubits and a span. A bronze helmet covered his head, and he wore a scale coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He wore bronze shoes on his feet and carried a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the tip of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-bearer walked ahead of him. Goliath stopped and, addressing the battalions of Israel, shouted to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man to come down against me. If he prevails against me in battle and kills me, we will be subject to you; but if I prevail against him and kill him, you will be subject to us and serve us.”

The Philistine added, “Today I challenge the army of Israel: Give me a man, and we will fight each other. ” When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they were terrified and filled with great fear. Now David was the son of a man from Bethlehem in Judah named Jesse, an Ephrathite, who had eight sons; this man was old and advanced in years during the time of Saul. The three eldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul into battle; and the names of these three sons who had gone to war were Eliab, the eldest, Abinadab, the second, and Shammah, the third. David was the youngest. The three older sons were with Saul, and David would go back and forth from Saul’s camp to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem. The Philistine came forward morning and evening, and he appeared for forty days. Jesse said to David, his son, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers, and run to the camp to your brothers. And these ten cheeses, take them to the commander of their thousand. Go and see how your brothers are doing, and bring back a token from them. Saul and they, along with all the men of Israel, are in the Valley of Terebinth, fighting against the Philistines.”

David rose early in the morning and, leaving the sheep with a shepherd, took the provisions and set out, just as Jesse had commanded him. When he arrived at the camp, the army was marching out of the camp to form battle lines, and war cries were being shouted. The Israelites and the Philistines lined up in formation, unit against unit. David handed his baggage over to the baggage keeper and ran toward the troops. As soon as he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. While he was talking with them, the champion—his name was Goliath, the Philistine from Gath—stepped forward from the Philistine ranks, uttering the same taunts, and David heard him. When they saw this man, all the men of Israel retreated before him, overcome with great fear. An Israelite said, “Do you see that man coming forward? He is coming forward to defy Israel. Whoever kills him, the king will shower him with great riches, give him his daughter, and free his father’s household from all taxes in Israel.” ” David said to the men standing near him, “What will be done for the one who kills this Philistine and removes the disgrace from Israel? Who is this Philistine, this uncircumcised man, that he should insult the armies of the living God? ” The people repeated the same words to him, saying, “That is what will be done for the one who kills him.” Eliab, his older brother, heard him speaking to the men, and Eliab’s anger flared up against David, and he said: “Why have you come down here, and with whom have you left this small flock in the wilderness? I know your pride and the wickedness of your heart; you have come down just to watch the battle.”

David replied, “What have I done now? Wasn’t that just a figure of speech?” ” Then, turning away from him to speak to another, he spoke the same words; and the people answered him as they had the first time. When the words David had spoken were heard, they were reported to Saul, who sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail! Your servant will go and fight this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “You cannot go against this Philistine to fight him, for you are but a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” ” David said to Saul, “When your servant was tending his father’s sheep, and a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I would go after it, strike it, and snatch the sheep from its mouth; if it turned against me, I would seize it by the jaw, strike it, and kill it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear, and it will be the same with this Philistine, this uncircumcised man—for he has defied the armies of the living God. ” David added, “The Lord, who has delivered me from the lion and the bear, will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

Saul had David put on his clothes, placed a bronze helmet on his head, and clad him in a coat of mail; then David girded Saul’s sword over his armor, and he tried to walk, for he had never worn armor before. David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these weapons; I am not used to them.” So David took them off, picked up his staff, selected five smooth stones from the stream, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, his quiver. Then, with his sling in hand, he advanced toward the Philistine. The Philistine drew closer to David little by little, preceded by the man carrying the shield. The Philistine looked, saw David, and despised him, for he was very young, fair-haired, and handsome. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with a staff?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” ” David replied to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword, spear, and javelin; but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the LORD will deliver you into my hands; I will strike you down and cut off your head; today I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth; and the whole earth will know that Israel has a God; and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle belongs to the Lord, and He has delivered you into our hands.”

The Philistine rose, set out, and advanced toward David, and David hurried to run toward the front of the army to meet the Philistine. David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it with his sling; he struck the Philistine on the forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. Thus David, with a sling and a stone, prevailed over the Philistine; he struck the Philistine dead. And there was no sword in David’s hand. David ran over, stopped beside the Philistine, and, seizing his sword and drawing it from its sheath, killed him and cut off his head with it. Seeing their hero dead, the Philistines fled. Then the men of Israel and Judah rose up, shouting, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance to Gath and to the gates of Ekron. The corpses of the Philistines lay strewn along the road from Saraim to Gath and to Ekron. When the Israelites returned from pursuing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. David took the Philistine’s head and had it brought to Jerusalem, and he placed the Philistine’s weapons in his tent.

That is Maqqeda, where Joshua defeated the Amorites. Maqeda, Makkedah, Maqqeda. SeeJoshua 10:10–41|Joshua 15:41.  Joshua 10:10–41: And the Lord threw them into confusion before Israel; Israel inflicted a great defeat on them near Gibeon, pursued them along the road leading up to Beth-horon, and defeated them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel down the slope of Beth-horon, the LORD rained large stones from the sky upon them as far as Azekah, and they died; more died from the hailstones than were killed by the sword of the Israelites. Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day the Lord delivered the Amorites into the hands of the Israelites, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!” And the sun stood still, and the moon stood still, until the nation had avenged itself on its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of the Righteous? And the sun stood still in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to set for nearly a whole day. There has never been a day like that, either before or since, when the Lord obeyed the voice of a man; for the Lord was fighting for Israel.   

Joshua, and all Israel with him, marched from Lebna to Lachish; he set up camp before it and attacked it. And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hands of Israel, who captured it on the second day and struck it down with the edge of the sword, along with all the living creatures within it, just as he had done to Lebna. — Then Horam, king of Gezer, went up to help Lachish; but Joshua defeated him and his people, leaving no one to escape. Joshua and all Israel with him moved from Lachish to Eglon; they set up camp before it and attacked it. They captured it that same day and put it to the sword; Joshua devoted every living thing in it to destruction that day, just as he had done to Lachish.

Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they attacked it. After capturing it, they struck it down with the edge of the sword—the city, its king, all its surrounding towns, and every living thing in it—leaving no one to escape, just as Joshua had done to Eglon; and he devoted it to destruction, along with every living thing in it. Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned toward Debir and attacked it. They captured it, along with its king and all its surrounding towns; and they struck them down with the edge of the sword, and they utterly destroyed every living thing in it, sparing no one. Joshua dealt with Debir and its king just as he had dealt with Hebron and just as he had dealt with Libnah and its king. Joshua conquered the entire land—the hill country, the Negev, the lowlands, and the foothills—along with all their kings, sparing no one and devoting everything that breathed to destruction, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. Joshua defeated them from Kadesh-Barnea to Gaza, and throughout the land of Goshen as far as Gibeon.

Joshua 15:41: Gideroth , Beth-Dagon, Naama, and Makkedah—sixteen cities and their villages.

Turn around again. Do you see that solitary mountain in the middle of the plain that once belonged to the Philistines? There lies Gath, the homeland of Goliath and the place where David took refuge with Achish to escape Saul’s mad rage. Get , Gath, Tel es-Safieh. Mentioned several times in the Bible (including 1 Samuel 17:4). The site was identified in 1887, but it was not until 2001 that excavations confirmed earlier hypotheses. Maria Valtorta’s description is all the more remarkable for this (Jean-François Lavère,Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel According to Maria Valtorta).         

There lies Gath, the homeland of Goliath and the place where David sought refuge with Achish to escape Saul’s mad rage. See 1 Samuel 27:1–4: David said to himself: “One day I will perish at the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than to take refuge quickly in the land of the Philistines, so that Saul may give up searching for me throughout the territory of Israel; thus I will escape from his hand.” ” So David set out, along with the six hundred men who were with him, and they went to Achish, son of Maoch, king of Gath. David stayed with Achish in Gath, along with his men—each with his family—and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the wife of Nabal. It was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, and he did not pursue him any further.    

This open landscape is the plains of the very fertile land of the Philistines. We will travel that way to Ramlé. Ramlé , Ramla, Ramleh. Historians identify Ramlé as the only city in Palestine founded by the Arabs, built around 705–715 by Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik. The fact that the name is “mentioned by Jesus” seems to indicate that it existed well before the^8thcentury (Jean-François Lavère,*Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel* based on Maria Valtorta).          

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Book of Joshua 10:1–51 (Gerimoth | Megiddo)

Joshua 10:1–51: Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction, that he had treated Ai and its king as he had treated Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon, having made peace with Israel, were living among them. He was then greatly afraid; for Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities, even larger than Ai, and all its men were valiant warriors. Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, sent word to Oham, king of Hebron; to Pharam, king of Jerimoth; to Japhia, king of Lachish; and to Dabir, king of Eglon: “Come up to me and help me, so that we may attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel.” ” So the five kings of the Amorites—the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jerimoth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon—gathered together and went up with all their armies; they set up camp near Gibeon and laid siege to it. The people of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: “Do not withhold your help from your servants; hurry to come up to us, rescue us, and come to our aid; for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country have joined forces against us.” ” So Joshua set out from Gilgal, he and all the warriors with him, and all the valiant men of war. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hands, and not one of them will stand against you.” Joshua came upon them suddenly; having marched all night from Gilgal. And the Lord threw them into confusion before Israel; Israel inflicted a great defeat on them near Gibeon, pursued them along the road leading up to Beth-horon, and defeated them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel down the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord rained large stones down on them from the sky as far as Azekah, and they died; more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the sword of the Israelites. Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day the Lord delivered the Amorites into the hands of the Israelites, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!” And the sun stood still, and the moon stood still, until the nation had avenged itself on its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of the Righteous? And the sun stood still in the middle of the sky and was not in a hurry to set for nearly a whole day. There has never been a day like that, either before or since, when the Lord obeyed the voice of a man; for the Lord was fighting for Israel.

Joshua, and all Israel with him, marched from Lebna to Lachish; he set up camp before it and attacked it. And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hands of Israel, who captured it on the second day and struck it down with the edge of the sword, along with every living thing in it, just as he had done to Lebnah. — Then Horam, king of Gezer, went up to help Lachish; but Joshua defeated him and his people, leaving no one to escape. Joshua and all Israel with him moved from Lachish to Eglon; they set up camp before it and attacked it. They captured it that very day and put it to the sword; Joshua devoted every living thing in it to destruction that day, just as he had done to Lachish.

Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they attacked it. After capturing it, they struck it down with the edge of the sword—the city, its king, all its surrounding towns, and every living thing in it—leaving no one to escape, just as Joshua had done to Eglon; and he devoted it to destruction, along with every living thing in it. Joshua and all Israel with him then turned toward Debir and attacked it. They captured it, along with its king and all its surrounding towns; and they struck them down with the edge of the sword, and they utterly destroyed every living thing in it, leaving no one to escape. Joshua dealt with Debir and its king just as he had dealt with Hebron and just as he had dealt with Libnah and its king. Joshua conquered the entire land—the hill country, the Negev, the lowlands, and the foothills—along with all their kings, sparing no one and devoting everything that breathed to destruction, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. Joshua defeated them from Kadesh-Barnea to Gaza, and throughout the land of Goshen as far as Gibeon.

Book of Joshua 15:41 (Macedah)

Joshua 15:41: Gideroth, Beth-Dagon, Naama, and Maceda: sixteen cities and their villages.

Book of Joshua 15:56 (Zanuah)

Joshua 15:56: “ Jezreel, Jukadam, Zanoah”

1 Samuel 6:1–15 (Beth-Shemesh—The Ark Returned by the Philistines)

1 Sam 6:1–15: The ark of the Lord remained in the land of the Philistines for seven months. Then the Philistines summoned the priests and diviners and said to them, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we are to send it back to its place.” ” They replied, “If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it back empty, but be sure to offer a guilt offering to him; then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.” The Philistines asked, “What kind of restitution shall we make to him?” They replied, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, for the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. So make models of your tumors and models of the mice that are ravaging the land, and thus give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps he will cease to lay his hand so heavily upon you, your gods, and your land. Why would you harden your hearts, just as Egypt and Pharaoh hardened theirs? Did they not, after he had brought his punishments upon them, let the children of Israel go? Now, then, make a new cart and take two nursing cows that have never been yoked; harness the cows to the cart, and take their calves away from them into the stall. Take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart; then, having placed the gold objects you have given as a restitution offering in a chest beside it, send it on its way, and it will go. Watch it closely: if it goes up the road toward its border, to Beth-Shemesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster upon us; but if not, we will know that it was not his hand that struck us, and that this has happened to us by chance.”

So the people did as they were told; they took two nursing cows, harnessed them to a cart, and shut their calves in the stall. They placed the ark of Yahweh on the cart, along with the box containing the golden mice and the models of their tumors. The cows went straight toward Beth-Shemesh; they kept following the same path, walking and lowing, without turning to the right or to the left. The princes of the Philistines followed them as far as the border of Beth-Shemesh. The people of Beth-Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. Looking up, they saw the ark and rejoiced at the sight of it. The cart came to the field of Joshua the Beth-Shemeshite and stopped there. There was a large stone there. They split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. The Levites, after bringing down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was beside it, containing the gold objects, placed everything on the large stone. The people of Beth-Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrifices to the Lord on that day.

1 Samuel 17:1–54 (Gath | Socoh | Azekah | Valley of Tiberin | David and Goliath)

1 Sam 17:1: The Philistines gathered their armies to go to war and assembled at Socoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Socoh and Azekah, at Ephes-Dommim.

1 Sam 17:2–54: Saul and the men of Israel also gathered and encamped in the Valley of Terebinth; they drew up in battle formation opposite the Philistines. The Philistines were stationed on one side of the mountain, and Israel was stationed on the other side; the valley lay between them. Then a champion came out from the Philistine camp; his name was Goliath; he was from Gath, and his height was six cubits and a span. A bronze helmet covered his head, and he wore a scale armor; the weight of the armor was five thousand shekels of bronze. He wore bronze shoes on his feet and carried a bronze javelin between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the tip of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-bearer walked ahead of him. Goliath stopped and, addressing the battalions of Israel, shouted to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man to come down against me. If he prevails against me in battle and kills me, we will be subject to you; but if I prevail against him and kill him, you will be subject to us and serve us.”

The Philistine added, “Today I challenge the army of Israel: Give me a man, and we will fight each other. ” When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they were terrified and filled with great fear. Now David was the son of a man from Bethlehem in Judah named Jesse, an Ephrathite, who had eight sons; this man was old and advanced in years during the time of Saul. The three eldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul into battle; and the names of these three sons who had gone to war were Eliab, the eldest; Abinadab, the second; and Shammah, the third. David was the youngest. The three older sons were with Saul, and David would go back and forth from Saul’s camp to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem. The Philistine came forward morning and evening, and he appeared for forty days. Jesse said to David, his son, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers, and run to the camp to your brothers. And these ten cheeses—take them to the commander of their thousand. Go and see how your brothers are doing, and bring back a token from them. Saul and they, along with all the men of Israel, are in the Valley of Terebinth, fighting against the Philistines.”

David got up early in the morning and, leaving the sheep with a shepherd, took the provisions and set out, just as Jesse had commanded him. When he arrived at the camp, the army was marching out of the camp to form battle lines, and war cries were being shouted. The Israelites and the Philistines lined up in formation, unit against unit. David handed his baggage over to the baggage keeper and ran toward the troops. As soon as he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. While he was talking with them, the champion—his name was Goliath, the Philistine from Gath—stepped forward from the Philistine ranks, uttering the same taunts, and David heard him. When they saw this man, all the men of Israel retreated before him, overcome with great fear. An Israelite said, “Do you see that man coming forward? He is coming forward to defy Israel. Whoever kills him, the king will shower him with great riches, give him his daughter, and free his father’s household from all taxes in Israel.” ” David said to the men standing near him, “What will be done for the one who kills this Philistine and removes the disgrace from Israel? Who is this Philistine, this uncircumcised man, to insult the armies of the living God? ” The people repeated the same words to him, saying, “That is what will be done for the one who kills him.” Eliab, his older brother, heard him speaking to the men, and Eliab’s anger flared up against David, and he said: “Why have you come down here, and with whom have you left this small flock in the wilderness? I know your pride and the wickedness of your heart; you have come down just to watch the battle.”

David replied, “What have I done now? Wasn’t that just a figure of speech?” ” Then, turning away from him to speak to another, he spoke the same words; and the people answered him as they had the first time. When the words David had spoken were heard, they were reported to Saul, who sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail! Your servant will go and fight this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “You cannot go against this Philistine to fight him, for you are a child, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” ” David said to Saul, “When your servant was tending his father’s sheep, and a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I would go after it, strike it, and snatch the sheep from its mouth; if it turned against me, I would seize it by the jaw, strike it, and kill it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear, and it will be the same with this Philistine, this uncircumcised man—for he has defied the armies of the living God. ” David added, “The Lord, who has delivered me from the lion and the bear, will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

Saul had David put on his clothes, placed a bronze helmet on his head, and clad him in a coat of mail; then David girded Saul’s sword over his armor, and he tried to walk, for he had never worn armor before. David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these weapons; I am not used to them.” So David took them off, picked up his staff, selected five smooth stones from the stream, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, his quiver. Then, with his sling in hand, he advanced toward the Philistine. The Philistine drew closer to David little by little, preceded by the man carrying the shield. The Philistine looked, saw David, and despised him, for he was very young, fair-haired, and handsome. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with a stick?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” ” David replied to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword, spear, and javelin; but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the LORD will deliver you into my hands; I will strike you down and cut off your head; today I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth; and the whole earth will know that Israel has a God; and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle belongs to the Lord, and He has delivered you into our hands.”

The Philistine rose, set out, and advanced toward David, and David hurried to run toward the front of the army to meet the Philistine. David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it with his sling; he struck the Philistine on the forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. Thus David, with a sling and a stone, prevailed over the Philistine; he struck the Philistine dead. And there was no sword in David’s hand. David ran over, stopped beside the Philistine, and, seizing his sword and drawing it from its sheath, killed him and cut off his head with it. Seeing their hero dead, the Philistines fled. Then the men of Israel and Judah rose up, shouting, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance to Gath and to the gates of Ekron. The corpses of the Philistines littered the road from Saraim to Gath and to Ekron. When they returned from pursuing the Philistines, the Israelites plundered their camp. David took the Philistine’s head and had it brought to Jerusalem, and he placed the Philistine’s weapons in his tent.

1 Samuel 27:1–4 (Gath | David, Achish, Saul)

1 Sam. 27:1–4: David said to himself: “One day I will perish at the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than to flee quickly to the land of the Philistines, so that Saul will give up searching for me throughout the territory of Israel; thus I will escape his hand.” ” So David set out, along with the six hundred men who were with him, and they went to Achish, son of Maoch, king of Gath. David stayed with Achish in Gath, along with his men—each with his family—and David with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the wife of Nabal. It was reported to Saul that David had fled to Gath, and he did not pursue him any further.

Book of Judges 13:2 (Corea)

Judg 13:2: There was a man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, named Manoah; his wife was barren and had never given birth.

Book of Judges 14:1–20 (Samson—Timnah)

Jg 14:1–20: Samson went down to Timnah, and there he saw a woman among the daughters of the Philistines. When he returned, he told his father and mother, saying, “I saw a woman in Timnah among the daughters of the Philistines; now get her for me as my wife.” His father and mother said to him: “Is there no woman among your brothers’ daughters or among all our people that you must go and take a wife from the Philistines, who are uncircumcised?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me.” ” His father and mother did not know that this was from the Lord; for He was seeking a cause for conflict with the Philistines. — At that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When they arrived at the vineyards of Timnah, behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of Yahweh came upon Samson; and, with nothing in his hand, Samson tore the lion apart as one would tear apart a young goat. And he did not tell his father and mother what he had done.

He went down and spoke to the woman, and she pleased him. Some time later, when he returned to Timnah to take her as his wife, he took a detour to look at the lion’s carcass, and there was a swarm of bees and honey in the lion’s body. He scooped some up in his hands and ate it as he went along; and when he came near his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass. Samson’s father went down to the woman’s house; and there Samson held a feast, as was the custom among young men. As soon as they saw him, they invited thirty companions to be with him.

Samson said to them, “I’m going to give you a riddle. If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and if you can guess it, I will give you thirty tunics and thirty sets of clothes; but if you cannot explain it to me, then you must give me thirty tunics and thirty sets of clothes.” ” They said to him, “Tell us your riddle, so that we may hear it.” He said to them, “Out of the eater came something to be eaten; out of the strong came the sweet.” For three days, they could not solve the riddle. On the seventh day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Persuade your husband to explain the riddle to us; otherwise, we will burn you and your father’s house. Surely you invited us here just to rob us?” ” Samson’s wife wept beside him and said, “You have nothing but hatred for me; you do not love me. You have set a riddle before the sons of my people, and you have not explained it to me!” He replied to her, “I have not explained it to my father or my mother—why should I explain it to you?” She wept before him like this throughout the seven days of the feast; on the seventh day, as she was tormenting him, he explained the riddle to her, and she explained it to the people of her town. The townspeople said to Samson on the seventh day, before sunset: “What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have guessed my riddle.” The Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon. There he killed thirty men; taking their spoils, he gave the spare clothes to those who had solved the riddle. Then, burning with anger, he went up to his father’s house. Samson’s wife was given to one of his companions, whom he had chosen as a friend.

Have you never read how David, at Nob, took the consecrated bread to feed himself and his companions? The consecrated bread belonged to God, in His house, set aside by an eternal decree for the priests. It is written: “They shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in a holy place, for it is a most holy thing.” See 1 Samuel 21:1–4 and Leviticus 24:9.

God punished David severely for his lust and for his census: regarding his lust, see 2 Samuel 12:9–14 (see also 94.7). For the census, see 2 Samuel 24:1–17 and 1 Chronicles 21:1–17.

To the good as well as to the wicked, for I am Mercy. But you do not know what mercy is. If you knew what it means, you would also understand that I desire nothing but it. Cf . Hosea 6:6, also quoted in Matthew 9:13.

They finally come upon a hedge of prickly pears, at the tops of which, bristling with thorns, figs are beginning to ripen. This mention is intriguing: the prickly pear, or Barbary fig, is said to have been imported from Mexico by Christopher Columbus. Is this a glaring anachronism or a rare piece of knowledge on Maria Valtorta’s part? See the commentary.

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Leviticus 24:9

Lev 24:9: They shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in a holy place; for it is a most holy thing to them among the offerings made by fire to the Lord. This is a perpetual statute.

First Book of Samuel 21:1–7

1 Sam 1–7: David got up and left, and Jonathan returned to the city. David went to Nob, to the high priest Ahimelech; and Ahimelech came running out to meet David in fear and said to him, “ ‘Why are you alone, and is there no one with you?’” David replied to the priest Ahimelech, “The king gave me an order and said, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter for which I am sending you, and I have given you an order.’ I have appointed a meeting place for my men. Now, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you have.” ” The priest replied to David, saying, “I have no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread—provided your men have abstained from women.” ” David replied to the priest and said, “We have abstained from women for the three days since I set out, and the vessels of my men are holy; and even if the journey is profane, is not the vessel itself sanctified?” ” Then the priest gave him consecrated bread, for there was no other bread there except the showbread, which had been removed from before the Lord and replaced with fresh bread at the time it was taken away.

2 Samuel 12:9–14

2 Sam. 12:9–14: “Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his sight? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you took his wife to be your own, and you killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. And now the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife. Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring disaster upon you from within your own house; I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you acted in secret, but I will do this in the sight of all Israel and in broad daylight.”

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord has forgiven your sin; you will not die. But because by this deed you have made the Lord a laughingstock to his enemies, the son born to you will die.”

2 Samuel 24:1–17

2 Sam. 24:1–17: The anger of the Lord was kindled again against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, take a census of Israel and Judah.” ” The king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba; take a census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people.” ” Joab said to the king, “May Yahweh your God add to the people a hundred times as many as there are now, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it! But why does my lord the king take pleasure in doing this? ” But the king’s command prevailed over Joab and the commanders of the army; so Joab and the commanders of the army set out from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Israel.

After crossing the Jordan, they camped at Aroer, on the right side of the city, which is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and then at Jazer. They came to Gilead and to the land of Tachthim-Hodsi; then they came to Dan-Jaan and to the vicinity of Sidon. They went to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites, and they reached the Negev of Judah, at Beersheba. When they had thus surveyed the entire land, they returned to Jerusalem after nine months and twenty days. Joab presented the king with the census report: there were eight hundred thousand men of war in Israel who could wield a sword, and five hundred thousand in Judah. David’s heart was troubled after he had counted the people, and David said to Yahweh: “I have committed a great sin in what I have done! Now, O Yahweh, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

The next day, when David arose, the word of the LORD came to Gad, the prophet, David’s seer, saying: “Go and tell David: Thus says the LORD: I set before you three things; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.” ” Gad came to David and told him the word of the Lord, saying: “Shall there be a famine of seven years in your land, or shall you flee for three months before your enemies who will pursue you, or shall there be a plague for three days in your land? Now consider and see what I should answer the one who sent me.” ” David replied to Gad, “I am in great distress. Oh, let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hands of men! ” And the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning of that day until the appointed time; and seventy thousand men of the people died, from Dan to Beersheba. The angel was stretching out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it. But the Lord relented from this disaster and said to the angel who was striking down the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now.” ” The angel of Yahweh was standing near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to Yahweh: “Behold, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one who is guilty. But these sheep—what have they done? Let your hand fall on me and on my father’s house!”

That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” David went up, as Gad had said, just as the Lord had commanded. When Araunah looked up, he saw the king and his servants coming toward him; Araunah went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground, saying, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David replied: “To buy this threshing floor from you, so that I may build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be lifted from the people.” Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take the threshing floor and offer whatever sacrifice he deems fit! Here are the oxen for the burnt offering, along with the sleds and the ox yokes for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said further to the king, “May the Lord your God be gracious to you!” ” But the king said to Areuna, “No! I want to buy it from you for a price in silver, and I will not offer to Yahweh, my God, burnt offerings that cost me nothing. ” And David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25And David built an altar to Yahweh there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

Thus the Lord was appeased toward the land, and the plague was lifted from Israel.

1 Chronicles 21:1–17

1 Chr 21:1–17: Satan stood against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. And David said to Joab and the leaders of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and report the number to me, so that I may know how many there are.” ” Joab replied, “May Yahweh add to his people a hundred times as many as there are! O king, my lord, are they not all servants of my lord? Why then does my lord ask this? Why bring sin upon Israel?” But the king’s word prevailed over Joab. Joab set out and traveled throughout all Israel, and he returned to Jerusalem. And Joab presented to David the results of the census of the people: there were in all Israel eleven hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, and in Judah four hundred seventy thousand men who could handle a sword. He did not count the Levites and the Benjamites among them, for Joab was reluctant to carry out the king’s command.

God was displeased with this matter, and He struck Israel. Then David said to God, “I have committed a great sin in doing this. Now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” ” Yahweh spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying: “Go and speak to David, saying: Thus says Yahweh: I set before you three things; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.” Gad came to David and said to him: “Thus says Yahweh: Choose either three years of famine, or three months during which you will be swept away before your adversaries and struck down by the sword of your enemies, or three days during which the sword of the LORD and the plague will be in the land, and the angel of the LORD will bring destruction throughout the territory of Israel. Now see what I should answer the one who sent me.” David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Oh, that I might fall into the hands of the Lord—for his mercy is very great—rather than into the hands of men!”

And the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men in Israel fell. And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as the angel was destroying it, the Lord saw what was happening and relented from this disaster, and He said to the angel who was destroying it, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now.” ” The angel of Yahweh was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand, pointed toward Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded that the people be counted? It is I who have sinned and done wrong; but these—these sheep—what have they done? Yahweh, my God, let your hand be against me and against my father’s house, but not against your people to bring about their ruin.”

Book of Hosea 6:6

Hos 6:6: She became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhama (that is, ‘Not Loved’), for I no longer love the house of Israel and will no longer forgive them.”

Gospel of Matthew 9:13

Mt 9:13: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Gospel of Matthew 12:1–8

Mt 12:1–8: At that time, on a Sabbath, Jesus was walking through the wheat fields; his disciples were hungry, so they began to pluck heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him: “Look, your disciples are doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath!” But he said to them: “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence; yet neither he nor those with him had the right to eat it, but only the priests. Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath rest without being guilty of a sin? But I tell you: there is one here who is greater than the temple. If you had understood what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned those who have committed no offense. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Gospel of Mark 2:23–28

Mk 2:23–28: One Sabbath, Jesus was walking through the grain fields; and as they went along, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look what they are doing on the Sabbath! That is not permitted.” And Jesus said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, both he and those with him? During the time of the high priest Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which no one is allowed to eat except the priests, and he also gave some to those who were with him. ” He also said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Gospel of Luke 6:1–5

Luke 6:1–5: One Sabbath, Jesus was walking through the fields; his disciples were plucking heads of grain and eating them after rubbing them in their hands. Some of the Pharisees then said, “Why are you doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?” Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He went into the house of God, took the bread of the Presence, ate it, and gave some to those who were with him—even though only the priests are allowed to eat it.” He also said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”