The discourse regarding Nineveh persists. It is unsurprising that your valiant warriors, akin to ripe fruit, tumble directly into the jaws of the devourer, given that your populace has become soft and defenseless. Your gates will be thrown open, allowing the enemy access to the city, and even the mightiest gates will be ravaged by flames. Therefore, gather water, ensuring there is sufficient drink during the siege of your stronghold; prepare bricks to mend the breaches in its walls, for the siege draws near. After you have undertaken these preparations, you will be consumed by the sword like grass by rampant insects. Yet, just as you multiply like a swarm of locusts, amassing wealth that shines like the stars, you will scatter and flee like locusts and caterpillars, including a particular type known as the attelabi, vanishing in the heat of the day, making it impossible to locate them. Locusts tend to remain still in cold weather, but they take flight when it warms. The attelabus, which Aquila underscores as ‘devourer,’ represents a diminutive locust, situated between locusts and caterpillars. With its tiny wings, it crawls rather than flies and continually leaps; thus, wherever it appears, it devastates everything down to the last grain of dust, unable to depart until its wings fully develop. To aid comprehension, I have elaborated and clarified these observations based on the Hebrew text, following Scripture step by step. I will now resume the allegorical interpretation I initiated, applying it to the LXX translation: first in brief and then expanding on each aspect in detail. The inhabitants of Nineveh, the men of the earthly realm known as the people of the Assyrian city, are so drained by passions and weakened by vices that they resemble powerless women—they possess no fortitude or steadfastness within their spirits. Thus, their foes, having triumphed over them, opened all their senses and infiltrated through the physical gates. The gates of Nineveh represent the bodily senses. Those who yield to vices, since creation, have the potential to know God, akin to strong locks barring their senses. Yet, they too shall be consumed by the flames of piercing arrows. Accordingly, to Nineveh it is proclaimed: ‘Draw water for yourselves,’ refresh yourselves with the word and understanding, utilizing your inherent ability to know God and perform virtuous deeds in your struggle. But you, by your relaxed hands—the actions driven by lust—have obliterated all power within you; hence, turn back, repent, and reclaim your fortifications. Being mired in this physical form, fashioned from flesh, blood, veins, nerves, and bones—elements of earth, straw, and water—you must endure the trials and necessities of the body: withstand the trampling of your adversaries and endure all that serves to refine the flesh as well as that worthy of repentance. Since you have embraced dust and straw and surrendered to worldly pursuits, you must willingly face unjust oppression; yet do not despair of salvation, but place your hope in God, turning your brick—your body, which has taken on the Word as water—into service and bringing it under the mastery of your spirit. If you fail to do this, the unquenchable fire, be it kindled in Gehenna as punishment, or by the searing arrows of the enemy, will consume you. You shall not only face destruction by fire, but the sword will consume you as locusts devour the bounty of the earth. You shall witness this if you do not rise above the brick, but, weighed down by your own burden and lacking the will to soar, you plummet to the ground like a caterpillar that collapses when exhausted. May your strength be as countless as that of the caterpillar, lest you, because of your earthly weight, tumble like it. You have experienced this plight due to hoarding riches and embracing various teachings, mistaking them for the brilliance of the celestial bodies. I have presented this summary for clarity's sake; now, returning to the beginning of our discussion, we will progressively expound on each viewpoint in detail. Who would deny that the exquisite Nineveh symbolizes a soul, beautiful by nature, which, indulged by the luxuries and delights of this world, and captivated by feminine pleasures, forfeits its strength and becomes feeble? If the soul of a righteous individual, upon reaching ‘a perfect man’ (Eph. 4:13), retains its inherent strength and becomes one spirit with God (1 Cor. 6:16), then why does the soul that loves this world become intertwined with it, weakening in its femininity? It seems fitting then that Pharaoh commanded every male child born to the Hebrews to be cast into the river, leaving only the female children alive; for the ruler of Egypt, who claimed, ‘My rivers are rivers, and I will make them’ (Ezekiel 29:3), could only decree that all that is strong and manly amongst the Jews be swallowed by the waters, allowing the weak and feminine to thrive and multiply. Observe, however, that the king of Egypt cannot kill those Jewish men who are no longer boys, only the vulnerable who have yet to mature. He understands that the development of women hinges on the death of men; thus, he seeks to drown the strong and masculine attributes among the Jews, so that only the feminine may flourish. Regarding the following declaration, ‘Your enemies shall find wide openings into the gates of your land,’ one may interpret this alongside Jeremiah's testimony, which states, ‘Death shall come in through your windows’ (Jeremiah 9:21). What Jeremiah refers to as windows here symbolizes the gates we attribute to the senses. The Word of God acknowledges that feelings fall into two categories and indicates in Proverbs (chap. 2) a divine sensitivity in contrast to inferior feelings, thus denoting the sense of spirit and mind, which in Greek is termed νοῦς, as distinct from the physical sense (αἰσθήσει) associated with our five bodily senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. The gates of Nineveh, therefore, embody the physical senses, while the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem signify every divine sense, descending from above. These gates of Nineveh are acutely opened by its denizens, who, seeking earthly pleasures, try to indulge through the various senses, akin to a broad, winding path leading to death (Matthew 7). Conversely, the people of God shut their gates, covering their ears to avoid hearing cries of bloodshed, shutting their eyes to escape witnessing iniquity, closing their nostrils to refrain from inhaling the pleas for the soul's nourishment, restricting their mouths from consuming that which lacks virtue, and defending their hearts against the seductions of the flesh. In contrast, God’s people maintain their senses—those celestial gates—open for the Word of God to enter. An illustration of a well-guarded gate is presented in the words, ‘thou liftest me up from the gates of death’ (Ps. 9:14), while a positive example arises from, ‘that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion’ (Ps. 9:15). When you encounter one who favors pleasures over God, indulging in lust, you may rightly declare: ‘He has opened the gates of his land to his adversaries,’ for such individuals are friends to their own souls yet grant entrance to the enemies of Nineveh. If those regarded as leaders among the people act similarly, one would not hesitate to proclaim: ‘The elders of my people shall be cast out of the houses of their sweetness’ (Micah 2:9). If you witness their entrapment in the shackles of sensuality, displaying no pity for the needy or concern for God’s people, then apply the Scripture: ‘They that lie upon beds of ivory, and lavish themselves in their couches, that eat the lambs out of the flock, and feed on the calves of the stall; that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph’ (Am. 6:4-6). Additionally, regarding the phrase, ‘the fire devoured your constipation,’ this suggests that if there existed any semblance of natural goodness within you—capable of resisting the invading foes—this was extinguished by the fires of Babylon. Similarly, the phrase ‘draw water for yourselves to be strengthened’ refers to the Word of God, signifying that Nineveh should surround itself with the greatest defenses—the learning and understanding of the Scriptures—so that no enemy may breach its walls. ‘Hold fast,’ it is stated, ‘to your fortifications.’ All the inherent goodness that you possess, marked by the imprint of your Creator, cling tightly to this, O unfortunate soul of Nineveh, for your protection, lest it be lost from the chief seat of your heart. The subsequent words, ‘enter into the filth, be trampled down with the straw,’ could indeed pertain, perhaps, to the soul in that it, being enmeshed with bodily debris, wholly dwells amidst the vanity and transience of this world, and is trodden down by demons. However, I propose this directive is saying: Endure the trials and tribulations you face, the injustices you righteously endure; for should you surpass the futility of this world, know that these tribulations will serve as healing for you if only you exercise dominion over the flesh and align it behind the will of the spirit. Ultimately, it is expressed: ‘there shall the fire devour you’—if you do not elevate yourself above the brick and gain mastery over your flesh, but remain confined to these earthly confines, enamored by the straw, and dwell in the desires of the flesh, then will the unwavering arrows of the enemy consume you, and his sword will bring destruction upon you, consuming what appeared to flourish within you through the original design of nature, until, like a caterpillar stripped of its flight, encumbered by sin, you fall to the earth. To avoid such an experience, strive to multiply like the caterpillar, accumulating virtues that match its number. For while you may have hoarded teachings and worldly engagements, mistaking them for heavenly treasures, you must offset the multitude of sins with an abundance of virtues. Previously, I reached the portion of the Hebrew text stating, ‘The sun arose, and it flew away, and thou shall not know the place where it was,’ which I deemed significant in discussing the text. However, seeing that the LXX translation introduces a distinct thought, I shall present their account and further elaborate. LXX: The caterpillar has invaded and taken flight; your caterpillar has jumped like a grasshopper, akin to the locust that nestled on the fence during the cold: the sun has arisen, and it has leapt away, and you do not recognize its place. Woe to them! It appears to me that the denizens of Nineveh, a mixed multitude gathered from various lands, without organization or direction, flit about like a caterpillar—though small, they are numerous and scarcely able to lift themselves from the ground. The grasshopper, in Greek described as συμμμιλτὸς, and in Latin as sommixticius (mixed or blended), suggests a rabble formed from tribes hailing from many places, namely, not citizens but foreigners. Hence it is said of the Israelites who left Egypt that among them were πολὺν συμμμιχτὸν (a multitude of mixed people), encompassing Egyptians, Ethiopians, and other tribes. Thus, this so-called mixed Nineveh equates to a hopping grasshopper: in times of cold, it cannot escape and sits by the fence, but upon the sun's warmth, it springs forth, leaving its chilly perch unremembered. We speak of this through paraphrasis to illuminate the prophet’s words. However, we would not be misguided to liken the populace who tread the broad path of worldly existence to a caterpillar, as they are wholly devoted to earthly matters, caught up in frivolity, rushing haphazardly, unable to elevate their thoughts to loftier realms.
THEOSIS