The Hebrew scriptures present numerous contradictions when compared with the LXX translation, which results in challenges for both my rendering and the conventional version. This calls for a heightened reliance on the Holy Spirit, whom we continuously seek in our interpretation of the Scriptures, especially in light of His promise, ‘Open thy mouth, and I will fill it.’ Geth, mentioned once in the Chronicles of Kings (1 Kings 17:4, 58), is among the five significant cities in Palestine, located near the border of Judah along the route from Eleutheropolis to Gaza. Even today, it remains a substantial settlement, the birthplace of Goliath, the giant whom David defeated.
If the prophet, through divine inspiration, declares, ‘I will weep and wail, I will walk as robed and naked, I will howl like dragons, and cry like ostriches, because the plague of Samaria is hopeless and incurable, and has reached Judah, and has even touched the gates of my people Jerusalem,’ we must start from the lamenter's plea: ‘Do not declare in Geth,’ lest your enemies rejoice, and do not weep, for your anguish might erupt into loud sorrow. Conceal your tears, lest your adversaries greet them with joy; cover your faces with the grief of your heart, but don’t venture out. Instead, retreat to the house of dust, covering yourself in ashes from your ruins. Depart, or allow the people of Saphir, which means ‘beauty’ in Syriac and Hebrew, to leave you. Indeed, Samaria was situated in one of the most beautiful and fertile regions of Judea, a fact still evident today. Therefore, it is said to her: O dwellers in fertile lands, since you are shrouded in disgrace, flee and be led away, lest a foreigner, due to your great calamities, hears your lament.
The subsequent phrase, ‘the inhabitants of Sennan have not departed,’ implying an exodus (as Simmachus translates it, ‘the abundant population has not departed’), refers to Samaria, which stands at the very threshold of Assyrian captivity. Once displaced from their territory, they immediately entered that of the enemy. The ‘abundant’ population should be perceived in the same light as the ‘beautiful’ population referenced earlier. Thus, it was not voluntary for those residing, or those who dwelt in the exodus or who were numerous, to depart; instead, they were forcefully taken into a land of Assyrians. Following this, the neighboring house—that is, the kingdom of Judah—which after Samaria's fall still stands under God's protection, will receive sorrow from you.
The inhabitants of Maroth or Ramoth, described as not significant in their virtue, are shaken by fear, symbolizing ‘sorrows,’ or, as Simmachus explains, ‘a population burdened by grief.’ This population, distressed about the captivity of the adjoining tribes, experienced calamity poured out from the Lord upon Jerusalem’s gates. The Assyrian went up against Jerusalem during the time when Rabshekah was sent to raid, a narrative elaborated in the Fourth Book of Kings and Isaiah. The King of Assyria sent out from Lachish to besiege Jerusalem, then, after taking Lachish, proceeded to lay siege to Libnah. O Lachish, O Lachish, a city devoted to idolatry; the riders and horses of Assyria shall descend upon you, for in you are found the offenses of Israel, marking the start of Judah's idolatrous practices. Through you, as through a gateway, the wickedness of the ten tribes entered into Jerusalem. Disorder and cavalry shall not only spread in Lachish but also in Geth, the chief city of Palestine, which I mentioned earlier: ‘boast not in Geth.’ The Assyrian shall dispatch his raiders, whom he refers to as spies, to seize the idolater's dwelling and the city of falsehood that has long supported the Israelite kings.
In contrast, the next statement, ‘I will bring an heir unto thee who dwelleth in Mareshah,’ aligns with the city's name since Mareshah signifies ‘inheritance.’ He refers to the invading foes as heirs, extending even as far as Odollam, the city of Judah, which also represents ‘inheritance’—a glory among Israel’s cities. Simmachus translates it thus: ‘I will still bring an heir to thee who dwells in Mareshah; even unto Odollam shall reach ‘the glory of Israel,’ which indicates something esteemed among Israelite cities. With ‘glory’ denoted in the singular genitive (hujus gloriae), we comprehend this: the captivity of Israel arriving at Lachish, Geth, and Mareshah shall also reach Odollam, significantly termed ‘the glories of Israel,’ allowing the full weight of loss to be perceived.
Moreover, the interpretation we previously established regarding the prophet Morasfi’s homeland as ‘inheritance’ also appears in the cited verse, ‘therefore he shall send out spies over the inheritance of Geth.’ According to the Hebrew, instead of ‘over the inheritance of Geth,’ it is rendered maraseth geth. Herein we have navigated carefully amid the rugged terrain of the Hebrew scriptures and understandings relayed by Jewish tradition. Whether I have securely arrived at the desired destination, or still drift amidst the turbulent waters, is left to your discernment. With your prayers, I shall now take a different path, striving to circumvent misunderstandings in this interpretation.
Geth, interpreted as a place of pressing grapes (torcular), signifies that those inhabiting Geth, or the place of grape pressing—believing they have reaped life's fruits—remains oblivious to the fact that the grapevines of Judah are no longer within the realms of gentiles. ‘Be not proud,’ says he, ‘you who dwell in places of grape pressing, for your vineyard is from Sodom, and your growth from Gomorrah; your grapes are steeped in bitterness; they are gall to you; your wine is the wrath of dragons and incurable madness.’ Therefore, even if you produce fruit (as your grapes originate not solely from Sodom and Gomorrah, but also Egypt and other hostile nations), the Lord shall surrender your yield to decay, your toil to locusts, and your vines to hail, and your mulberry trees to frost.
Do not be deceived by the apparent goodness of wine; do not call bitter sweet. Taste your wine thoroughly and discern, for in it you will find, instead of the wine from the vineyard of Sorek, the wrath of dragons and poison. Thus, do not pride yourselves; rather humble yourselves under the mighty hand of the Lord, and come to that place of grape pressing, wherein it is declared by Him who emerges from Edom, stained red from Bosra, through the prophet Isaiah, ‘I trod the winepress alone, and not one man was with me’ (Isaiah 63:3). Meanwhile, others among the foreign nations, who, through their wickedness and antagonism to God declare, ‘We are defeated, yet will renew what has been destroyed,’ the prophet limits both iniquity's extent and specifies those against whom God's indignation is directed: ‘Those who dwell in Bahim shall not turn their houses into derision.’ Bakhim translates in our language to ‘woe and lamentation’; all, save for the LXX, translate it as ‘lamentation.’
Therefore, you who have given yourselves over to works and thoughts deserving of lamentations, do not rebuild the edifice of the wicked; do not deem the fruits of your minds to be godly works; do not construct upon sand, lest storms approach and your dwelling crumble, causing your labor to be a subject of mockery to onlookers. How much better would it be for you, recognizing the ridicule your edifice merits, to sprinkle dust and ashes upon your heads, repenting for recklessly endeavoring to construct a house destined to collapse.
The continuation: ‘she that dwells well in her cities shall not elude that dwells in Sennan’ appears to mean this: O arrogant men of Cephas and Bahima, your efforts to establish a ridiculed house are in vain; don ashes upon yourselves and repent, as you sought to tread upon vile wine, creating a mockery of a house contrary to God. However, the Church of Christ, flourishing in her cities, with parts distributed throughout the earth, is united by the Spirit's kinship; she possesses mighty bulwarks in the law, the prophets, the gospel, and apostolic teaching; she has not diverged from her foundations, which are the Holy Scriptures; she abides in Canaan, which, as indicated by Symmachus, denotes ‘abundance.’ She possesses the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, encompassing all spiritual grace and profusion of virtue. Consequently, it is proclaimed concerning her: ‘Let there be peace in your fortifications and abundance in your towers’ (Psalm 121:7).
But as for you, heretics inhabiting near the Sennan, the overflowing Church, you who disseminate erroneous doctrines, lament your state, for you have fashioned a dwelling worthy of derision and have strained pridefully the grapes; you have built not upon Divine Spirit, but a mere imitation of the Scriptures, deserving thus not of joyous merriment but of mourning and weeping. Hence the following addition, ‘Weep over the house that is close by,’ that is, Sennan; but also that addition stating, ‘shall suffer from you the plagues of affliction,’ speaks directly to the heretics, who are enjoined to weep for the house adjoining the Church, as they shall be subjected to the adversary, the devil, as retribution, who will inflict upon them calamities, changing their unholy edifice into a site of suffering.
These afflictions shall serve to instill reflection in them for their transgressions, leading them to repentance, so that the house of calamity may convert into a source of blessings for them. Alternatively, this could reflect the sorrow of the Church, which will one day mourn for her children, ultimately becoming a channel of salvation for heretics wishing to return to their grieving mother. The subsequent words, ‘for calamity came from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem,’ are often wielded by both Marcionites and Manichaeans to suggest that the God of the Old Testament is the author of evil. To this, we assert: calamities originated from the Lord, similar to how the Savior affirmed in the Gospel, ‘I beheld Satan fall from heaven like lightning’ (Luke 10:18).
Just as the dawn fell from heaven and was reduced to the earth by the one sent to the nations, – so separate calamities that came from the Lord to the gates of Jerusalem were not originally calamities; they transformed into calamities due to their descent from God. To understand the enemy’s guile, it is mentioned: ‘they came to the gates of Jerusalem’; the gates are recommended as stable and fortified, akin to diamonds, ending with the apostles, entrusted with Jerusalem's keys. The enemy attempts to enter the gates, attacking those wishing to depart. Therefore, he who resides within Jerusalem, living righteously within its confines, does not venture outside, as he enjoys fullness; he continually abides within them, avoiding the gates, for into death shall any who venture beyond be cast. The proud operating in Geth, those residing in Bahima constructing mockery simultaneously, represent those subjected to perils, as the afflictions which descend from the Lord shall invoke a din of chariots and horsemen, producing such tumult before Jerusalem’s gates that they shall bring death to those seen fleeing.
Finally, it states, ‘the inhabitant of Lachish: she is the beginning of the sin of the daughter of Zion.’ Lachish signifies the pace of transgression. Thus, they are those who harness chariots and procure horses, creating dreadful clamor, and to her that dwells righteously in her cities shall say: Behold, these are upon chariots and those upon steeds; yet we will invoke the name of the Lord our God (Psalms 19:8); for as they exalt themselves and get swept away by various doctrines (Ephesians 4:14), they aspire to forsake the Church, emblematic of height, or Zion, thus becoming the root of the sin of the daughter of Zion.
THEOSIS