Numbers 15:38
Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt tell them to make to themselves fringes in the corners of their garments, putting in them ribands of blue:
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Loquere filiis Israël, et dices ad eos ut faciant sibi fimbrias per angulos palliorum, ponentes in eis vittas hyacinthinas :
- Septuagint (Swete)
- Λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς, καὶ ποιησάτωσαν ἑαυτοῖς κράσπεδα ἐπὶ τὰ πτερύγια τῶν ἱματίων αὐτῶν εἰς τὰς γενεὰς αὐτῶν· καὶ ἐπιθήσετε ἐπὶ τὰ κράσπεδα τῶν πτερυγίων κλῶσμα ὑακίνθινον.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם וְעָשׂ֨וּ לָהֶ֥ם צִיצִ֛ת עַל כַּנְפֵ֥י בִגְדֵיהֶ֖ם לְדֹרֹתָ֑ם וְנָֽתְנ֛וּ עַל צִיצִ֥ת הַכָּנָ֖ף פְּתִ֥יל תְּכֵֽלֶת
Haydock's commentary
Fringes. The Pharisees enlarged these fringes through hypocrisy, (Matthew xxiii. 5,) to appear more zealous than other men for the law of God. (Challoner)
Our Saviour conformed to this law, Luke viii. 44. Moses shews that these fringes were to be made for the cloak, which was square, and not for the tunic, Deuteronomy xxii. 12. The colour, in St. Justin Martyr's time, was purple. (Dialogue with Trypho) It seems that the Phœnicians were accustomed to wear such fringes. Sidoniam picto chlamidem circumdata limbo. (Virgil, Æneid iv.) (Calmet)
God ordained that his people should be thus distinguished from other nations. (Tirinus)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter XLVI. Trypho asks whether a
Then I returned answer, “You perceive that God by Moses laid all such ordinances upon you on account of the hardness of your people’s hearts, in order that, by the large number of them, you might keep God continually, and in every action, before your eyes, and never begin to act unjustly or impiously. For He enjoined you to place around you [a fringe] of purple dye, in order that you might not forget God; and He commanded you to wear a phylactery, certain characters, which indeed we consider holy, being engraved on very thin parchment; and by these means stirring you up to retain a constant remembrance of God: at the same time, however, convincing you, that in your hearts you have not even a faint remembrance of God’s worship. …