THEOSISJerome of Stridon
The passage from the Septuagint conveys: Glory to the daughter of Israel. By including "daughter," Jewish interpreters position this phrase at the close of the preceding text. Following your request and holding to the interpretation we have initiated, we are to expound the Scriptures as the Church reads them, while remaining true to Jewish teachings. Thus, when the text speaks to Israel, we must take this literally, referring to either the ten oxen in Samaria or to all of Israel as a whole. The people have been taken captive, and all of Judea lies in ruin at the hands of the Assyrians and Babylonians; they must grieve and mourn for their children.
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Just as the eagle, the sovereign among birds, sheds its feathers and stands bare at certain times, so too will Israel forsake all the former glory it possessed and weep for its children who are subjected to the might of their foes. The eagle's shedding of feathers is noted in the Psalms: ‘Your old age is renewed like the eagle’ (Ps. 102:5). Similarly, a poet in the comedy ‘Punishing himself’ remarks on this nature of the eagle’s old age. If we consider the present afflictions of the Jewish people in this light, we can perceive that the grace which once adorned them before God has entirely vanished. Where now resides the prophet? Where is the teacher of the law? Where can we find the intercessions of angels? Where are the miraculous victories achieved by a few against numerous foes? Jerusalem, stripped of the glory it once held, has lost its radiance (Is. 33:18; 1 Cor. 1:20), and its children, who yelled against the Lord, ‘Crucify, crucify Him’ (Jn. 19:6), have been led into exile. I have come across an interpretation by a certain author who states that the phrase, ‘Cast off thy hair, and shave thy head,’ in sorrow for children whom you have lost, might reflect the state of humanity. It is as if God were speaking to Adam or to the heavenly Jerusalem: O spirit of man! O city, once the haven of saints, once situated in paradise, savoring the delights of varied trees, and possessing the most precious of adornments—now humbled, taken to Babylon, and brought to captivity. Having lost your splendor, may you cleanse yourself and don the garments of repentance; once soaring in the heights like an eagle, now mourn for your sons, your brood, who have been led away into bondage.