The LXX translates it as “you cows of Bashan, who reside in the mountains of Samaria, who exploit the poor and trample on the needy, telling your rulers to provide you with drink.” The Lord swears by His holy ones that the days are approaching when you would be carried away in arms, and those alongside you thrown into the cauldrons, as the greedy merchants, and you will be expelled naked, each one isolated and thrown into Mount Gemmam, says the Lord. Instead of referring to “fat cows,” the LXX uses “vasanitids,” and Aquila and Theodotion retain the Hebrew “Vasan.” Following Symmachus, who employed the term “fatted heifers,” we use “fat cows.” This is directed at the rulers of Israel and all the nobles of the ten tribes who have surrendered to indulgence and avarice. They are warned to heed God’s word, realizing they are not laboring oxen, but rather pampered heifers grazing in Bashan’s rich pastures. This signifies they are not destined for work, but for slaughter. You are the well-fed cows on the mountains of Samaria; you oppress the humble, commanding your leaders, interpreted as kings, to provide for you, boasting, “Just order it, and we will consume everything.” Since it states, “give us, and we will drink,” rather than “give us, and we will eat,” this highlights their intoxication from wine and lust, which corrupts the heart. Consequently, the Lord God has sworn by His holy ones—whether by Himself, the Son, the temple, or any of the sanctified—that a day of reckoning approaches, not distant in time, but imminent, when the cows will be taken on shovels, while others are boiled in pots. The Hebrew text and Aquila mention “in pots of small fish.” Instead of “shovels,” which in Hebrew are called sannoth, Avila translated as “shields,” while Symmachus and the LXX termed them “weapons,” with Theodotion alone using “spears,” hence we translated it as “shovels” or “spears.” The implication is that they would be captured in warfare, seized as a result of conquest. Yet in expanding the metaphor regarding the cows, the once pampered heifers will have their flesh taken away on shovels or shields. Just as small fish are carelessly thrown into a boiling pot, so too will the cows of Bashan face the chaotic turmoil of captivity.
The subsequent statement, “and you shall come out by openings one against another,” can be understood as follows: a pathway to captivity has been opened for you, and when your pots are heated, you will emerge “one against another.” This phrase reflects a distinct form in Hebrew which uses expressions like “woman and woman” instead of saying “one by one” or “one after the other.” “And you shall be cast into the lands of Armenia,” identified as ’Armonoia.’ Consequently, Symmachus translates, “and you shall be cast down in Armenia.” The LXX renders it as “Mount Remmam,” Aquila as “Mount Armona,” Theodotion as “Mount Mona,” and other translations as “the high mountain.” Figuratively, the message the cows of Bashan are urged to heed pertains to heretics, who, serving their appetites and gluttony, rightfully carry the title of fat or ignoble heifers, denoting shame and disgrace. This signifies the term “Vazap” equates to αἰσχύνη, and were we to interpret it, it would fit the word “confusion” better than “Bashan.” These fat or ignoble heifers are referred to as “Vassan.” The heifers, shameful and “withered” in meaning, are positioned atop the mountain of Samaria, to which Hosea addresses, "Thou shalt break thy calf, O Samaria," and again, "for thy calf is flattered, O Samaria" (Hosea 8:5-6). They stand on the mountain of Samaria because they arrogantly exalt themselves, harboring false hopes. The name Samaria implies a guard, but this is not in the sense of observing the words of the Lord, rather that they ostentatiously claim to be protectors of His commandments. They defame and exploit the needy. The needy and poor refer to followers of the church’s doctrine, who, satisfied with pure truth, do not chase after heretical embellishments, eloquent rhetoric, or the richness of argumentative prowess. These cows command their leaders, “Bring it, and we will drink.” We might refer to Valentinus, Marcion, Arius, and Eunomius as their leaders or princes of misguided teachings, or those who, through their numerous texts, promote the harmful fabrications of others. To these, the cows of Bashan proclaim, “Bring it to us, and we will drink.” For if they are not given what they desire, they will starve or, rather, be deprived of their indulgences. However, we must understand that water and cups symbolize teaching, as made evident by the Lord’s words to the Samaritan woman, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst” (John 4:13-14). Therefore, those consuming the water provided by the Samaritan woman, i.e., the heretics, will remain parched and incapable of quenching their dry throats, as Isaiah states: "As a dream, the thirsty one appears to drink, but upon waking, thirst persists, even as the soul yearns"—so shall it be for all nations that have waged war against Jerusalem (Isaiah 29:8). Indeed, anyone who drinks the water of heretics and contends against Jerusalem, the assembly of God, finds their hydration a mere illusion, their soul misled by insubstantial visions, and as they feel satisfied, their thirst will return. Thus, it’s also declared to the adherents of the Church’s doctrine, “Drink from the waters of your own cisterns and from the fountains of your own spring; they shall be for you alone” (Proverbs 5:15, 17). The Lord your God swears by His holy ones regarding the cows that embody sustenance; He swears by His saints that the days of judgment and retribution are near. They shall be seized alongside their weapons, and those accompanying them shall be immersed in their cauldrons, either the cows themselves or those sent to take them, operating as merchants of destruction, rendered naked, seeing one another in that state, and cast upon Mount Remman, says the Lord God. When judgment day arrives for the heretics, they will be taken in arms—together with their weapons, with which they fought against the church, or else, defeated by God’s might and struck down by His warriors, will be thrown into boiling pots, to be cooked and annihilated, having once been merchants of death. These individuals are referenced as the “sons of Eli”—the sons of perdition (1 Kings 2:12)—and who “sat on the seats of destruction.” Once boiled and burned, they will emerge stripped of all they once grasped. They shall confront their own disgrace, cast down on the mountain “Remman,” which signifies height, for due to their pride, they shall meet their end. Some might interpret “Remman” as something seen, i.e., δρασίν τινος. They did grasp fragments of understanding but failed to see the entire reality, hence being thrown there because of their misguided self-awareness. It may also have a literal context: when the days of captivity arrive for the cows of Samaria, their adversaries will overcome them in combat and compel them to flee to fortified cities. Just as Jerusalem, with its inhabitants confined and distressed, is likened to a boiling pot filled with meat, similarly the cities of Samaria are compared to boiling cauldrons, and those trapped within shall find no escape, compelled by famine and disease to face the reality of their captivity and be led away to the mountains of Armona in Armenia, neighboring Media and Persia.
THEOSIS