Isaiah — Chapter 11

And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. The mighty cedars (Assyria) felled in ch.10 are contrasted with the root of Jesse which is nearly buried but will spring forth. Virga = the Virgin Mary (rod-without-thorn, slender branch; Lapide's extended Marian typology); Flos = Christ (the Flower of Virginal purity). Radix = Jesse/David's line, cut to the ground but not dead. Lapide cites Tertullian, Ambrose, Jerome, Bernard, and many others for this identification. The 'geza' (stock/stump) of Jesse = the apparently dead Davidic line at Christ's birth.

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. The seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit (LXX adds timorem as a seventh distinct from the sixth). Lapide discusses why the Spirit 'rests' on Christ uniquely — not momentarily as on prophets but with permanent full possession. All seven gifts belong to Christ's human soul by the grace of hypostatic union. The classic enumeration of the gifts (also discussed in relation to confirmation and charity).

And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. Christ judges not from appearances but from the penetrating knowledge of the heart (scientia cordium), knowing all human thoughts. This verse refutes those who accuse Christ of ignorance of the day of judgment (Mark 13:32) — He knew all things in His human soul per the beatific vision.

But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. The rod of Christ's mouth = His preaching and word, which struck and convicted the proud (Scribes, Pharisees). 'Spirit of his lips shall slay the wicked' = fulfillment in the destruction of Antichrist at the Last Day (2 Thess.2:8: 'whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the breath of his mouth'). Lapide: primarily applied to Sennacherib; more deeply to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem; most fully to Antichrist.

And justice shall be the girdle of his loins: and faith the girdle of his reins. Christ's justice and fidelity as girdle (cingulum) — the garment of his active mission. Applied morally: justice as restraining the concupiscence of the loins (lower faculties), faith as restraining the movements of the kidneys/affections.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion, and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them. Four interpretations of this famous passage: (1) literal future peace of nature under Christ (rejected by Lapide as inconsistent with experience and implying physical change of predators); (2) Origen and Cyril: the conversion of savage nations (wolves, leopards = formerly savage peoples become gentle); (3) moral/spiritual (Augustine, Thomas): former sinners of each type now living in harmony through grace; (4) eschatological paradise regained. Lapide follows interpretation (2) most strongly, listing examples: the Franks/Gauls, Japanese converts, Mexcian converts changing from wolves to lambs through the Gospel.

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp: and the weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk. Even the most dangerous spiritual serpents (devils, heretics, wicked people) will be harmless to those who have received Christ's spirit of wisdom. Lapide: children playing on serpent-holes = the Apostles and early martyrs who endured the bites of persecution without fear. The martyrs' imperturbability at torture was a fulfillment of this verse.

They shall not hurt, nor shall they kill in all my holy mountain: for the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering waters of the sea. In Christ's kingdom, spiritual serpents (sins, demons, heretics) will lose their power to kill souls because knowledge of God will flood the whole earth as the sea covers the deep. Applied to the rapid spread of the Gospel: within 50 years of the Ascension the faith was proclaimed in all nations.

In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the people, him the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulchre shall be glorious. 'Radix Jesse' = Christ who takes His origin from Jesse's root yet is simultaneously the root (origin) of all sanctity. 'Standing for a sign' = the Cross of Christ as the standard (signum/vexillum crucis) to which all nations flock. 'His sepulchre shall be glorious' = the Holy Sepulchre, venerated by all nations, beginning with Constantine and Helena's recovery of the Cross.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand the second time to possess the remnant of his people, which shall be left from the Assyrians, and from Egypt, and from Phetros. The 'second' gathering: the first gathering was from Egypt (the Exodus); the second and greater is the gathering of Jews and Gentiles from all nations through the Apostolic mission (Acts 1-5 onward). Lapide lists the extensive geographical scope: Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, the islands of the sea = the entire oikumene.

And he shall set up a standard for the nations, and shall assemble the fugitives of Israel, and shall gather together the dispersed of Juda from the four quarters of the earth. The Cross as the standard of the nations. The gathering = the Catholic Church assembled from all nations. Lapide discusses whether this also refers to an eschatological conversion of the Jews at the end of time (yes, citing Paul in Rom.11:25-26: 'until the fulness of the Gentiles come in, and then all Israel shall be saved').

And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of Juda shall perish: Ephraim shall not envy Juda, and Juda shall not fight against Ephraim. The ancient jealousy between the two kingdoms (Judah and Israel/Ephraim) dissolved in the Church where Jew and Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised, are one in Christ (Gal.3:28).

And they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines by the sea, they shall together spoil the children of the east. The Apostles flying like eagles onto the Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites = the rapid spread of the Gospel among the nations neighboring Israel. These ancient enemies of Israel became, many of them, the first converts of the Apostolic Church.

And the Lord shall lay waste the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and shall lift up his hand over the river in the strength of his spirit: and he shall strike it in the seven streams, and shall make men pass over it in their shoes. God will dry the Egyptian Sea and divide the Euphrates into seven fordable streams, creating a highway for the returning remnant. This typifies Baptism, which dries the sea of sin, and the spread of the Gospel to the east (Persia, India, China) and west.