Commentaries, Commentary on Judges · Chapter 3 · Verse 31
31 After him was Sangar the ſonne of Anath: and he ſmote of the Philiſtians .600. men wt the goade of an oxe: & he alſo ſaued Iſrael.
What this Sangar was, or of what tribe or family, the holy ſcripture doth not declare. But this coniecture is very likely, yt when the Hebrues had a long tyme liued in peace vnderunder Ehud, as ſone as he was dead, the Philiſtiās began to vexe them. Wherfore Sangar being ſtirred vp by God, defended the people from cō ming again into ſubiection vnderunder the Philiſtians. And among other victories, of the which I think ther wer very many, this is chiefly mēcioned as a miraculous & wonderful victory. The Hebrues think that this notable act of this Sangar happened in the time of the oppreſſion vnderunder Iabin. But thei bring no reaſons why they ſhould ſo thinke. Farther,Ioſephus. by the holy ſcriptures it appeareth not how many yeres the Hebrues wer kept by this Iudge: yet by Ioſephus we may know, yt he fought for the Iſraelites but onelyonly one yere. That which we tranſlate wyth the goade of an Oxe, the Grecians cal foreign, that is, with the foote or ſtaffe of a plow. The comon tranſlation in latin hath with the plow ſhare.Auguſtine. Auguſtine (as it appeareth by his queſtions on this place) redeth, beſide calues of the kyne. Which clauſe ſemeth to hauehave no ſenſe in it. And he iudgeth yt this Sangar in this murther of ye Philiſtians ſlew peraduēture many oxen, which ar called calues. And he addeth that ye Egiptians vſed in his time to call all kind of oxen of what age ſoeuer they wer, by ye name of calues. As we (ſaith he) cal Chickens, all vniuerſally as many as ar cōprehended vnderunder the kind of hens, with out any difference of yeares and age. In the meane time he confeſſeth that it is not ſo in the Hebrue, & he hath ſaide truly: for in ye Hebrue bibles we read Melamed. Which woord is deriued of this verbe Lamad. And that verbe, in the cōiugation Kal, is to learn, but in the cōiugation Pihel, it is to teach. Wherfore Melamed might be turned a teacher of Oxen,Kimhi. namely to be yt inſtrumēt wherby Oxen in plowing ar guided. And leaſt we ſhould doubt what it is, Kimhi writeth yt it is a rod or a ſtaffe, in ye end or top wherof ther is faſtened a prick. And ye Chaldey paraphraſt teſtifieth the ſame, which in ſteede of ye word hath put this word Peraſch: & that word ſignifieth to prick. Wherfore it is an inſtrumēt whereby oxen in plowing ar pricked. Wherfore the word Peraſchim ſignifieth horſmen, of ſpurres, wherby horſes are by the riders vponupon them, pricked. And thus much by the way.
The old writers thinke that in this place is vſed the figure Synechdoche, as though Sangar did not alone kil ſo great a number of Philiſtians, but that hee wyth other ruſticall men fought agaynſte them, whyche ruſticall men were armed with no other kinde of weapons than with goades of Oxen. In deede I know that the holy ſcriptures many times do admit chaūge of numbers, which whither in this place it be to be receaued, I do very much doubt. Yea (if I ſhould ſpeake the truth as it is) I thinke the contrary: foraſmuch as in this preſent hyſtory me thinketh no vulgare acte is ſet foorth, but rather a wonder or myracle. But howſoeuer it be, this I thinke is godlily and profitablye to be noted: That any thing may ſerue vsus for weapons, when the woord of God is added. A ſlyng and ſtones of a ryuer furniſhed Dauid nobly. The iaw bone alſo of an Aſſe was a weapon to Samſon, and a naile to Iahel, wherwith ſhe ſlew Siſera. And contrariwiſe, what kind of weapōs of fence ſo euer we deuiſe, vnles it be ſtrengthened by the word of God, it ſhalbe vtterly vnprofitable and ſerue to no purpoſe. The walles of Iericho, which otherwiſe were wel fenced, fell downe of their own accord:Pſal. xxxiii. and the great ſword of Goliah the Giant was made to cut the throte of hys own maiſter. Wherfore it is moſt truly ſaid in the Pſalmes: A king is not ſaued by much ſtrength, and a horſe is a vayne thing to ſaue a man. But what doo we ſpeake of weapons, when as the ſame happeneth vntounto al creatures? For ſo long eueryevery one of them is and abideth, as the woorde of God caryeth and vpholdeth them. For althings whatſoeuer they be, do by yt onelyonly both abide & conſiſt. Yea and the Sacramentes themſelues, taking away the woord of God, are vtterlye nothing. For what do we thinke bread, wyne, or water to hauehave by themſelues, which may be profitable for our ſaluation,Auguſtine. or ſerue to ſtirre vp or to ſtrengthen faith? Vndoubtedly nothing. Wherefore Auguſtine hath right well ſayde: The word cōmeth vntounto the element, & it is made a ſacrament. Wherfore in that .vi. hundred Philiſtians were kylled with an Oxe goade, wee muſt beleue that the ſame came to paſſe by the cōmaundement of God, & by the power of his woord.