Fathers

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What the Fathers say

Job 24:14

Western Saints

Gregory the Dialogist

The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief. MYSTICAL INTERPRETATION Whereas the murderer in the killing of his neighbours is wont to come upon them chiefly in the silence of the night, why is it that he is said in this place to 'rise with the light' in order to 'kill the poor and needy,' whilst 'in the night' he is described 'to be as a thief?' Now forasmuch as the letter in the bare words alone is not consistent with itself, we are called back for the investigating the hidden …

Morals on the Book of Job, Book XVI ↗

Thomas Aquinas

As a sign that they resist the spiritual light of wisdom he says that loving darkness they even hate exterior light, according to John, "Everyone who does evil hates the light." (3:20) So he continues here, "At the first light of morning, the murderer rises and kills the poor and needy," since at that hour there is usually no one about on the street, but some poor men, driven by necessity, anticipate the time for work, and thieves lie in ambush for them along the way. …

Commentary on Job ↗