And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
All Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 10:4 Go To 1 Corinthians 10
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them. The rock which gave water to the Hebrews was a type of Christ, who is the true Rock from which flowed the blood to quench the heat of our lust. But what is meant by saying that this rock followed the Hebrews?
1. The Hebrews reply that their tradition, and the Chaldean rendering of Num. xxi16 , is that this rock miraculously followed the Jews everywhere in the wilderness till they came to Canaan, and supplied them with water. Hence Ephrem renders this, "They drank of the spiritual rock which same with them;" and Tertullian (de Baptismo, c. ix.) calls this rock their "companion." He says: "This is the water which flowed from the rock which accompanied the people." But farther on he interprets this rock of Christ, who in His Godhead accompanied and led the Hebrews through the wilderness. He says again (contra Marcion, lib. ii. c5): "He will understand that the rock which accompanied them to supply them with drink was Christ." S. Ambrose, too (in Psalm 38) says: "There is a shadow in the rock which poured forth water and followed the people. Was not the water from the rock a shadow of the blood of Christ, who followed the people, though they fled from Him, that He might give them drink and quench their thirst, that they might be redeemed and not perish?" Again, S, Ambrose (de Sacramentis, lib. v. c1) takes the rock to be Christ. He says: "It was no motionless rock which followed the people. Drink, that Christ may follow Thee also." But I should like to have better authorities for this tradition, for it is against it that after this water came from the rock ( Numbers 20:11), the people murmured again because of the scarcity of water ver16).
2. Others soften down the passage and explain it thus: "The waters which burst forth from the rock flowed for a long time and rushed forth as a torrent, and this stream followed the Hebrews till they came to a place where there was plenty of water. For had it been a supply to last but for one day, the rock would have had to be struck on the next day, and the third, and the fourth, and so on, to get a supply of water." And this explanation they support by pointing out that the manna is literal manna, and that therefore the rock or the drink spoken are material rock and material drink; but the objections to the first explanation are equally strong against this.
3. Photius supposes that the word for following simply means serving, and he would paraphrase the verse, "This rock satisfied the thirst of the Hebrews." But the Greek cannot possibly bear this interpretation.
4. It is better, then, to understand this of the spiritual Rock signified, not the one signifying. The meaning is then: By the power of the Godhead of Christ, which was the spiritual Rock signified by the rock that gave water to the Hebrews , and which was their constant companion in the wilderness, water was given to them from the material rock. It is so explained by S. Chrysostom, Ambrose, Anselm, Å’cumenius.
It may be said, By "spiritual meat" the Apostle meant manna, not the body of Christ, and by "spiritual drink" he means the water signifying the blood of Christ, not the blood itself; therefore, by parity of reasoning, the "spiritual rock" is the actual rock that typified Christ, not Christ Himself.
I deny the consequence, for the Apostle in speaking of the Rock inverts the phrase, and passes from the sign to the thing signified. This is evident from his saying in explanation of the Rock, "That Rock was Christ." In other words, "When I speak of the spiritual Rock, I mean Christ." What can be clearer? For it was not the material but the spiritual Rock which was Christ: one was type, the other antitype.
It may be urged again, that the phrase "They drank of the spiritual Rock," means that they drank the spiritual or typical drink, for the rock giving this drink was spiritual or typical. This would give the connecting idea, and the reason for saying that "they drank the same spiritual drink," for the rock was a type of Christ.
The answer to this objection is that the sequence of thought is clear enough. The particle for gives the efficient cause of so great a miracle; in other words, the Hebrews drank of water which served as a type, for Christ was foreshadowed by the rock which gave this water, and He miraculously gave them this typical water in order that they might know and worship Christ giving it; but this, as the sequel shows, very many of them did not do.
The rock that gave the water allegorically stood for Christ, because Christ, like a rock most firm, supports the Church, and was smitten, i.e, killed, by Moses, i.e, the Jews, with a rod; that Isaiah , the Cross poured forth waters, that Isaiah , most fruitful streams of grace, to the faithless of contradiction, to the faithful of sanctification. This is especially true of the waters of His blood in the Eucharist, with which He gives us drink in the desert of this life, that, strengthened by them, we may attain to our country in the heavens. See S. John vii37 and iv14. S. Augustine (contra Faustum, lib. xvi. c15).
It may be argued: Some Catholic writers, according to the first explanation given above, say that, as "that Rock was Christ" means that it was typical of Christ, so in the same way it can be said of the Eucharist, that "this is My body" means "this bread is a figure of My body."
But add that the Apostle expressly says that he us speaking of the spiritual, not the material rock. "They drank of that spiritual Rock," he says, and "that spiritual Rock was Christ." It is called a spiritual Rock, or typical, because it was a type of Christ. But neither Christ nor S. Paul speak then of the Eucharist. S. Paul and all the Evangelists uniformly declare that Christ said, "This is My Body," not, "This is My spiritual or typical Body." Secondly, I answer that that explanation of some writers is not a very probable one; for that spiritual Rock, i.e, the One signified, was really Christ, not a type of Him. The words of S. Paul clearly say this.
