The discourse proceeds with regard to Nineveh. It is not surprising that your valiant men fall easily, like ripe figs into the mouth of the devourer, since your populace has become effeminate and cannot put up a fight. Your gates will be opened; the city will yield to its adversaries, and even the strongest gates will be consumed by flames. Therefore, gather water, ensuring that you provide for your thirst during the impending siege; prepare bricks to mend the breaches in your defenses, for the siege approaches. If you complete these tasks, you will be consumed by the sword, just as grass is eaten away by a caterpillar. When you increase in number like the caterpillar and gather together like locusts, amassing wealth like the stars in the sky, you will scatter and flee like those pests, like the particular species of locust known as attelabi, which escapes the moment the sun shines intensely, becoming hard to track down. It is typical for locusts to remain still in the cold, but to take flight in the heat. Moreover, the attelabus, which Aquila translated evocatively as 'devourer', is a small locust, a blend of locust and caterpillar; it has diminutive wings, prefers crawling over flying, and consistently leaps. Thus, wherever it appears, it obliterates everything down to the last granule, since it cannot depart until its wings are fully formed. To aid understanding, I have expanded and clarified this discussion as it pertains to the Hebrew text, closely following the scriptural wording. I will now carry on with the allegorical interpretation I initiated, looking first for a succinct outline and then delving into specifics.
The inhabitants of Nineveh—representing worldly individuals, correctly identified as the people of the Assyrian city—are so overwhelmed by passions and debilitated by vices that they are likened to powerless women; they possess nothing robust, nothing resolute or brave within their spirits. Consequently, their foes have triumphed over them, opening all their senses and invading them through the entrances of the body. The gates of the land of Nineveh are explicitly identified as the bodily senses. Those who are slaves to vice have, from the moment of creation, been endowed by God with the capacity to know Him, akin to strong locks that can secure and barricade the gate of senses. Yet, even they will succumb to the fire of scorching arrows. Thus, there is a call issued to Nineveh: "Draw water for yourself," meaning to nourish yourself through the Word and contemplation, utilizing your intrinsic ability to recognize God and strive for virtue in your battles. However, you have squandered all the power embedded in you through indulgent practices—works of lust—thus, repent and reclaim your strongholds. For having descended into filth and being encased in a body—comprising flesh, blood, veins, nerves, and bones like earth, straw, and water—you must endure the offenses and trials of the body: allow yourself to be trampled by enemies, and accept all that is necessary for the perfection of the flesh, and for acts worthy of repentance.
Once you have embraced the earthly and the trivial, surrendering to the activities of this world, you must voluntarily accept unjust mistreatment. Yet, do not lose hope for salvation; instead, strive to utilize your body, which has absorbed the Word like water, for service and submit your earthly self to your spirit. Otherwise, if you do not act thus, the unquenchable flame—whether ignited in Gehenna as punishment or by the fiery arrows of your enemies—will ultimately consume you, and you will not only face annihilation by fire but also be devoured by the sword, like how locusts ravage the crops of the earth. You will bear witness to this if you do not rise above the earthly, for weighty with your transgressions, you may descend as a caterpillar does when it can no longer lift itself after wearying flight.
Let your strength be boundless, akin to that of a caterpillar, so you may not sink due to your own heaviness. You have come to this point because you have multiplied wealth and indulged in numerous doctrines, placing them above God's glory, thus shining brighter in your eyes than the luminaries or the stars above. This summary serves as a brief elucidation of the meaning; returning to my initial premises, I will now elaborate on each point as best I can. Who will not declare that the illustrious Nineveh represents a soul that is naturally beautiful, yet, indulged by worldly luxuries and pleasures, degenerates into femininity, losing its resilience and strength? If the soul of a righteous individual, having reached "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13), unites in strength with God, becoming one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:16), then how does a soul that is drawn to worldly desires become one with the world, diminishing in strength?
In Exodus (chapter 1), Pharaoh commanded that every male child born to the Hebrews should be thrown into the river, while female children were to be spared. For the king of Egypt, who later declares, "My rivers are my own" (Ezekiel 29:3), could only aim to drown all that is strong and masculine in the Hebrews—as he wanted to rid them of the potential for strength while allowing the weak and feminine to thrive and multiply. However, it is critical to note that he could not slay the men of the Jews or those who had matured beyond childhood, targeting instead the young who possess fragile bodies, just beginning their growth. He knows that the strength of men can only be extinguished when boys are killed.
In the following phrase, "To your enemies the gates of your land shall be opened wide," this is corroborated by Jeremiah, who writes, "Death shall come in through your windows" (Jeremiah 9:21). What Jeremiah describes as windows here correspond to the gates, and these gates speak to the senses. The Word of God perceives that feelings come in pairs and specifies in Proverbs (chap. 2) that one should seek out divine feelings rather than lesser ones. Here, 'sense' should not be misconceived as referring to mind and spirit, but denotes the faculties of perception that include the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Hence, the gates of Nineveh symbolize the bodily senses, whereas the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem denote every divine sense descending from above.
The gates of Nineveh are opened by its inhabitants, who, through seeking pleasure instead of spiritual fulfillment via their senses, lead themselves towards destruction. The people of God, on the contrary, shut their gates, covering their ears to prevent the sound of bloodshed from penetrating; they blindfold themselves to avoid witnessing injustice, refrain from inhaling the scent of uplifting incense that nourishes the soul, and deny themselves the taste of good things, constraining their hands so that their lust-driven hearts are not drawn to earthly passions. Conversely, these faithful individuals open their senses—the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem—to allow the Word of God to enter. Scripture illustrates the contrasting state of these gates: "Thou hast lifted me up from the gates of death" (Ps. 9:14) serves as a manifestation of deliverance; however, "that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion" (Ps. 9:15) provides an example of glorification through acknowledgment with thanksgiving.
When you perceive a man who loves pleasure more than God, wholly devoted to indulgence, you should immediately recognize that he has opened the gates of his land to his enemies, for such individuals serve as friends to their souls, yet open themselves to destruction, allowing their Nineveh—their senses—to be preyed upon. If even those revered leaders among the people conduct themselves likewise, then you need not hesitate to proclaim: "The elders of my people shall be cast out of the houses of their delights" (Micah 2:9). Should you observe them, ensnared by the chains of pleasure and luxury, indifferent to the plight of the poor and unconcerned for the people of God, then apply to them the words: "They that sleep on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall, that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest creams, but are not grieved for the ruin of Joseph" (Am. 6:4, 6).
Furthermore, regarding the statement, "the fire shall consume your strength," if there was a modicum of intrinsic goodness in your soul, which like strength could effectively stave off enemies seeking entrance through the gates of your senses, that goodness has been incinerated by the flames of Babylon. The exhortation "draw water for yourselves to be strong" speaks of the Word of God, instructing Nineveh to surround itself with the doctrines and understanding found in Scripture, like a strong fortress to prevent enemy invasion.
"Hold firmly to your fortifications," calls forth the reminder that all the good you possess by nature, which reflects your divine inheritance, must be tightly secured, so it does not vanish from the central point of your heart. The subsequent words, "enter into disgrace and be trodden down in the straw," could refer to the soul, confined in bodily filth and preoccupied with worldly vanities, being trampled by malevolent forces. Yet, I propose these words encourage you to endure the tribulations and challenges you rightfully endure. For if you aspire to elevate yourself above earthly vanity and impermanence, know that these trials will serve as healing, provided you reign over your physical form and submit it to the authority of your spiritual essence.
Finally, with the warning, "the fire shall consume you," if you fail to rise above the body and allow the flesh to dictate your life, clinging to it and reveling in its comforts, then not only will the fiery arrows of your adversaries destroy you, but their sword will also overpower you, just as locusts devour all that appears green within you, nourished through the favorable workings of nature. Now burdened by sin, you will plummet to the ground as a caterpillar weighed down by its sins. Hence, to avoid this plight, you must multiply your virtues to equal the number of the caterpillar.
You have reached the point in the Hebrew text that states, "The sun rose, and she flew away, and you will not know where she was," which I have elucidated in relation to the text itself. However, since the Septuagint translation plainly begins with a new thought, I shall present its testimony and continue my previous interpretation. The caterpillar (bruchus) has invaded and taken flight; your little caterpillar (sommixticius) has leapt like a grasshopper (attelabus), while the locust huddles on a fence during the cold: the sun arises, it leaps, and you fail to perceive its place. Woe to them! It appears to me that the residents of Nineveh, a mixed multitude gathered from all corners, lacking leadership and order, resemble a caterpillar—small yet numerous, barely lifting itself from the ground.
In this context, the grasshopper (attelabus), referred to in Greek as συμμμιλτὸς, understood in Latin as sommixticius (mixed or blended), could symbolize the rabble and tribes that congregate, relative to citizens, indicating that they are not natives but outsiders. Hence, it is noted in Exodus 12 that among the Israelites leaving Egypt were a mixed multitude, consisting of Egyptians, Ethiopians, and various ethnic groups. Thus, this heterogeneous Nineveh is likened to a hopping grasshopper and a locust, remaining motionless during the cold until the sun warms it, prompting it to jump and fly away to other lands, oblivious to the fence it perched upon during winter.
THEOSIS