01.01.01.09. CHAPTER IX. OF METAPHORS WHEREBY THINGS ARE PROPOSED, AS PERSONS, ...
CHAPTER IX. OF METAPHORS WHEREBY THINGS ARE PROPOSED, AS PERSONS, WHICH ARE NOT PERSONS, WHICH KIND THEY CALL PROSOPOPEIA.
PROSOPOPEIA is, when any thing (which is not a person) is metaphorically introduced or proposed as a person: or when the properties of a man are attributed to other things, for things, for likeness and agreement’s sake. Profane authors use very elegant metaphors of this kind, as that of Cicero---"What did that drawn sword of yours do in the Pharsalian field? Whose side did that point seek? What was the sense of your arms?" Aristotle defines this metaphor, "that which is in act, bringing in inanimate things doing something, as if they had life and sense;" but we will follow the distinct classes of scripture examples.
Some things are said of the members of a human body, which are properly the act of the mind, as Genesis 48:14, "He made his hands to understand," (so the Hebrew
Job 29:11, "When the ear heard, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw, it gave witness to me." Here to the ear and eye is attributed, what belongs to man. Job 28:4, "The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant; forgotten of the foot:" where forgetfulness is attributed to the foot, that is, (as Junius and Tremellius note) such floods as no foot ever experienced, because so deep as not to be waded or gone through.
Psalms 35:10, "All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee?" Psalms 51:8, "The bones which thou hast broken shall rejoice," (so the Hebrew;) here glorying and rejoicing in God is attributed to the bones which is the property of man; as if he had said, I will inwardly and heartily glorify thee, and rejoice in thee. By the same reason it is said, Psalms 103:1, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within, (or my bowels), bless his holy name." Psalms 68:31, "Ethiopia shall make her hands to turn to God," (so the Hebrew) that is, shall with speed stretch them out in prayer; as the Chald. expounds it: or shall quickly extend her hands to give gifts of gold to the Lord, as R. Aben Ezra; and R. Salomon expound it. See Psalms 72:15. Some take this metonymically, where extending the hands is put for a gift, as before.
Psalms 73:9, "They set their mouth against the heavens," (that is, the foolish and wicked, as Psalms 73:3,) and their tongue walked through the earth," that is, they do rashly and licentiously throw reproaches upon God and man, neither sparing heavenly or earthly things. Psalms 137:5, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right-hand forget" (that is, as Junius and Tremellius say, itself,) viz., "let it be rather dead or withered, than I should give over singing," or as Illyricus says, "let my right-hand forget its musical dexterity," as in the next verse, "Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above the head of my joy;" that is, let the Lord vouchsafe, that I may never play upon music, or sing more, ’ere I should admit so great a wickedness, as to desert Jerusalem, and its religion and ministry, and give over to celebrate it with hymns, music, and voice; yea, I will prefer thee to the chief esteem before all other things, joys, comforts, &c.
Proverbs 10:32, "The lips of the righteous, know what is acceptable;" that is, they speak so prudently, as if knowledge resided in them, which Job 34:35, is in the negative expressed, "Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom." Matthew 6:3, "But when thou givest alms, let not thy left-hand know what thy right-hand doeth;" this is spoken to prohibit the vain glory of almsgiving, when done for praise, &c. Theophilact expounds it, "if it be possible, you are even to forget all your own good deeds, or at least by no means to glory in them, or rest upon them, lest you be vainly lifted up." To this may be referred, where anger is attributed to the eyes, Genesis 31:35; Genesis 45:5; Isaiah 3:8; and concupiscence, pleasure, or desire, 1 Kings 20:6; Ezekiel 24:16, Ezekiel 24:21; 1 John 2:16, (hence the phrase of the heart’s walking after the eyes, Job 31:7; that is, the desires and lusts follow, which the eyes moved by outward objects, endeavour to stir up in the heart. "The abominations of the eyes," Ezekiel 20:7; that is, which were the object and scope of desire;) and adultery, 2 Peter 2:14, and compassion, as when the eye is said to pity, Deuteronomy 13:8; Isaiah 13:18, (&c).; the hope or expectation, Psalms 119:82, Psalms 119:123; Psalms 145:14-15, vid. Gram. Sacr. p. 282.
2. Words are used of brutes which properly belong to man, as Job 12:7, "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee." To ask and speak in this place signifies to meditate, search into, or contemplate; for the teaching, telling, or narration, of beasts, fowls, the earth, and fishes, intimates that they are a real testimony and evidence of the wisdom of the Creator. What he said, Job 12:2, that he had understanding and skill in what his friends discoursed of, he prosecutes here, as if he had said, ye have talked much of the wisdom and power of God, and that he creates and preserves all things, as if they were unknown to me, but the very creatures tacitly inform me of that. See Job 9:10; Romans 1:20.
Job 41:29, "He (the leviathan or whale) laugheth at the shaking of a spear," that is, he cares not for it. Proverbs 30:25, "The ants are a people not strong, &c.; Proverbs 30:26, "The conies are but a feeble people," &c.; Joel 1:6, "For a nation is come upon my land, strong, and without number," &c. The speech here is of canker worms, locusts, or caterpillars, mentioned, Joel 1:4, and which by the same metaphor are called the great army of God, Joel 2:11, Joel 2:25. By the same reason the multitude of locusts are represented as an army, Proverbs 30:27; Nehemiah 3:17. Hieron.upon Joel 2:1-32, thus writes, "This we saw lately in this province (viz. Palestine,) for when whole troops of locusts came, and filled the air between heaven and earth, they flew with so great an order by the disposal of God, who commanded them, so that like square stones placed by the hand of an artificer in a pavement, they kept their places, that not one was observed to incline to the other, by any transvere or irregular motion." This was a great punishment upon enormous sinners, which Moses in God’s stead threatens, Deuteronomy 28:38-39; and Solomon prays against, 1 Kings 8:37; and Pliny himself, a heathen writer, Lib. xi. Cap. 29, acknowledges the anger of the gods by the multitude of these insects; some with these words of scripture, parallel Virgil’s words, of bees, Lib. 4. Georg.
"Magnanimosque duces, totiusque ex ordine gentis, Mores et studia, et populos, et prælia dicam." And of Ants, "It nigris campis agmen, prædamque per herbas Convectant calle angusto, pars grandia trudunt Obnixe frumenta humeris, pars agmina cogunt, Castigantque moras, &c." Lib. 4. Æneid. To this class may be referred when the word son is ascribed to beasts, as Exodus 29:1, "Take a young bullock the son of a cow," so the Hebrew, that is, a sucking calf or one not as yet weaned: Genesis 49:11. The son of an ass is put for its colt or foal,
3. Some things are spoken of things growing out of the earth, which properly belong to man, as Leviticus 19:23, "And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised; three years shall it be uncircumcised unto you; it shall not he eaten of." The meaning is, that the fruit of the three first years shall be accounted unclean and rejected, as an uncircumcised man was accounted unclean before God, and was not to be received among the people. And in the fourth year that fruit was to be offered to God as a sign of thanksgiving, Leviticus 19:24; but the fifth year the common use of it was allowed, Leviticus 19:25.
Job 14:7-9, Hope, old age, death, the scent of waters, are applied to the bough of a tree, which is cut off, and buds again; and compared to a man once dead, who cannot return to revive again, viz., into this life, which was the scope of Job, as Job 7:7, Job 7:9-10; Job 13:15-16; Job 19:25-27, where he evidently declares the resurrection of the dead to the enjoyment of everlasting life.
Psalms 78:4, killing and death is attributed to plants, as "he killed (so the Hebrew,) their vines with hail, and their sycamores with great hail stones." Contrary to this is that zwopoihsiv, (zoopoiesis) quickening or living of the seed cast into the earth, by which its budding or growth is noted, as in the following verses, Ezekiel 31:9, envy or emulation; Ezekiel 31:14, exalting or elevation of heart and drinking of water; Ezekiel 31:15, mourning or grief of mind; Ezekiel 31:16, consolation and comfort are attributed to trees, by a certain prosopopeia, and in a way of comparison of a goodly tree with the king of Assyria. See Hosea 9:6; Joel 1:10. "The new wine is ashamed or blushed;" that is, there is so bad a vintage or wine harvest, that it is ashamed, because it did not answer the people’s expectation. In the same verse languishing or a disease is attributed to oil, which properly belongs to man, Psalms 6:2-3, but metaphorically denotes a spoil and devastation of the fruit of the earth, as Isaiah 16:8, (&c.) It is said, Habakkuk 3:17, "That the labour of the olive shall lie," so the Hebrew, when it answers not the desires of men, but fails their expectation of much fruit, which is also ascribed to new wine, Hosea 9:2. It is said, Psalms 58:9, "Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind;" that is, before your pots grow hot with a fire of thorns (which were wont to be used,) for that fire lasts but a little while, and will not boil the flesh, so shall they quickly perish, &c.
4. Some things are spoken of inanimate creatures, which properly belong to a living man (or more generally to living creatures.) As,
(1.) Of dead men, Genesis 4:10, "The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground." Here a voice and crying is attributed to the blood of slain Abel by a very weighty emphasis. As to the phrase of a voice and crying directed to God, it manifestly intimates these two things. First, that he is a just judge, and the avenger of wickedness; and therefore the violent murder of Abel, could not but come to him for justice on the assassin, as it is said in the like case, 2 Chronicles 24:22, "The Lord look upon it, and require it," viz., the blood of Zechariah. The second is, that he is a gracious loving Father, and Defender of such as are his, and minds them as well in life as in death; for he had not only a respect for Abel when alive, but hearkens also to the cry of his blood when dead, according to Romans 14:8, "Whether we live, or die, we are the Lord’s."
Some put an emphasis in bloods being in the plural number, intimating, as it were, that there were many slain in Abel, that is, such offspring as he might have had, which tacitly call for justice, hence the Chaldee translates it "The voice of the seeds of thy brother’s blood, which were to come, and issue from thy brother," but seems to be far stretched. By the plural word of bloods, are noted slaughters, because the blood gushing from the veins scatters into diverse parts. Psalms 5:6, "The Lord will abhor the man of bloods, and deceit;" so the Hebrew, Psalms 51:14, "Deliver me from bloods;" we translate it blood-guiltiness; Hosea 4:2, "They break out and bloods touch bloods." But here, blood violently shed is understood by a synecdoche, and Matthew 23:35, the blood of Abel is expressed in the singular number, aima, (haima.) As to the sense and connexion, because Cain did not only not confess his sin, but also impudently denied that he was concerned in the care or keeping of his brother. God deals more openly, saying: "The voice of thy brother’s blood cries to me from the earth," that is, thy brother is slain: I do not vainly inquire where he is, his blood demands vengeance of me, and I am concerned to call his murderer to account, therefore speak plainly; what hast thou done? that is, why didst thou dare or presume to lay violent hands on him? Thou sayest, thou art not his keeper, as if the question were whether thou hast kept him? Tell rather what thou hast designed against him;" this is the paraphrase of Musculus upon the place. To this place, Hebrews 12:24, refers, where the crying blood of dead Abel is fairly compared to the living blood of Christ our Mediator and Intercessor.
Isaiah 14:9-10, the dead, are feigned to come from hell, or the graves, to deride the pride and haughtiness of that inhuman king of Babylon, speaking to him when fallen from his greatness, and upbraiding him for his monstrous pride, and shameful downfall.
Jeremiah 31:15, Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, long before dead, is brought in as bitterly weeping for the captivity of the people; which prophecy is alledged to express the cruelty of Herod’s massacre of the infants, Matthew 2:18, for the agreement of that tyrannical fact with that place. Rachel’s sepulchre was near Bethlehem, in which and the adjacent places, that most cruel villany was committed, &c. See also Ezekiel 32:21, (&c.)
2. Of other things void of life and soul, Genesis 4:11, "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;" by this prosopopeia the wickedness of Cain is aggravated, as if he had said, the very earth, though destitute of sense and reason, yet was more humane and kind to thy brother than thou wert, because it received and laid up that blood which thou hast spilt, from the sight of men, lest it should cause horror in them. Others say, that this speech denotes the extreme grievousness of his wickedness, and the horror of his guilty conscience, rendering the very senseless creatures his enemies, as if he had said, the very earth which (as it were) with open mouth received the blood of thy brother from thy hand, will account thee as execrable, which agrees fairly with the following words.
Genesis 47:19, "Death is attributed to the land," which denotes desolation; Exodus 19:18, it is said of mount Sinai, that Jehovah appearing, it quaked, that is, it had such commotions, as if, like a man, it had trembled for fear--- Leviticus 18:28, "Spuing out its inhabitants," is attributed to the land, which signifies their expulsion for their wickedness; Deuteronomy 32:42, God is said to make "his arrows drunk with blood," that is, that out of his just wrath, he would send the enemies of the land, to kill the wicked and rebellious people. See Isaiah 34:5; Jeremiah 46:10.
Joshua 24:27, "And Joshua said unto all the people, behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us: for it hath heard all the words of the Lord, which he spake unto us:" &c. The stone erected there is by a prosopopeia, said to hear, because it was present, (as it were a witness) and was appointed, as a memorial and testimonial sign of the covenant God then made with his people.
Judges 5:20, "They fought from heaven, the stars in their courses (or degrees) fought against Sisera."---The stars are said to fight, because they were instruments of exciting those hails and storms, which God probably used against his enemies. Josephus says, that when the Canaanites encountered with the Israelites, a violent shower fell, and much rain and hail by the force of the wind, was fiercely driven into the Canaanites’ faces, so that their bows and slings became unprofitable and useless, neither could they, being so benumbed with cold, handle their swords; which tempest, nevertheless, did no way prejudice the Israelites. Brentius thus expounds it, "we simply expound it that God was no way favourable, but an enemy to the enterprise of Sisera, because he dwells in heaven, and terrified the host and chariots of Sisera," &c., Judges 4:15. And whereas the stars are said to fight, it carries the show of a proverb, signifying that no prosperous fortune was on Sisera’s side, for when any ill luck betides men, they are wont to say, that no star shines upon them, or that the stars resist them, by which is meant, that all creatures both earthly and heavenly threaten their destruction. Junius and Tremellius translate "that the stars (e suis aggeribus) from their sconces or bulwarks, fought against Sisera," that is, from the superior regions of the air, a speech translated from soldiers fighting from higher places.
Job 3:8, eye-lids, in the Hebrew text, are attributed to the morning, by which its early beams are understood, or the first shining of its rays arising from the approaching sun; a metaphor taken from one newly awake that lifts up his eye-lids, or, as others say, from the swift motion and vibration of the eye-lids, because the sun-beams move swiftly, till they are diffused to the ends of the hemisphere.
Job 31:38, "If my land cry against me, or that the furrows thereof weep." The good man declares that he is ready to bear judgment, censure, or curses, if any person can justly complain, that he has done them injury; which by an elegant prosopopeia he expresses; the explication follows, Job 31:39, "If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the souls of the owners thereof to expire," breathe out, or grieve, so the Hebrew. Illyricus says, "that the land and furrows are put metonymically for the husbandmen," but the former explication is the best. See Job 38:7, with Psalms 148:2-3, (&c.) A nativity, or birth, is attributed to rain, dew, ice, and frost, Job 38:28-29, for their production from God, where there is also an anthropopathy.
Psalms 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy-work," that is, they exhibit, show, and demonstrate, to the eyes of all things, a real testimony and instruction of the glorious power of God, Psalms 19:2, "Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge," that is, by that succession and vicissitude of days and nights, which is so certain, so constant, and so profitable, for men and other creatures, the glory of God, the Workman, is most evidently celebrated, see Psalms 104:20-24.
Some by a metonymy, understand day and night of those things which are done or happen by day and night, that the sense may be, that every day and every night, some new thing is discovered by which, to right observers, the glory of God may be illustrated, Psalms 19:3, "There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard;" that is, there are no people, though of different languages, whom that speech of the heavens, and their real publication of praise, may not instruct in the glory and power of God. See Romans 1:19-20, "Because that which may be known of God, is manifest in them, or to them; for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse," Psalms 19:4; "Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world," that is, to the extremest parts of the earth, that stately fabric of celestial bodies is seen, as if it were exactly done by line and square, which serves instead of words, &c. Romans 10:18. For their line we read their sound, because what is said in the Psalm of the motion of the celestial bodies, the apostle elegantly accomodates to the course of evangelical preaching. Genebrard says, that the Hebrew word signifies indeed a line, but the Septuagint respects the sense, whom the apostle followed, (that being the most used and received version). Psalms 19:5, "The going forth of a bridegroom out of his chamber, and his rejoicing," is by the same metaphor ascribed to the rising sun, to his never ceasing, and most swift course.
Psalms 55:12, "The little hills are
Psalms 77:16, "The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee: they were afraid; the depths also were troubled." He speaks of the Red Sea’s being divided, and the people of Israel’s marching through the middle of it, which is described, Exodus 14:1-31. But the sense of seeing, and the passion of fear, is attributed to the waters by a prosopopeia, for to see here signifies to experience; as if he had said, they have experienced thee, and felt thy power, when by a strong wind they were cut, and the bottom of the sea became naked, to make a way, or passage for thy people. They are said to fear; when at the command of God, like trembling persons, they fled from their place, against their nature, and by the tremendous omnipotency of God stood as a wall on either side, as it is said of the same miracle, Psalms 114:3, "The sea saw it, and fled," &c., Psalms 114:5, ’"What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?" &c.
Psalms 98:8, "Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills sing," so the Hebrew, These things are ascribed to inanimate creatures, to stir up men to a desire after the coming of the Lord. So Psalms 96:11-12, (&c.) More examples you may see, Psalms 103:16, with Job 7:10; Job 8:18; Psalms 104:19; Son 1:16; Isaiah 3:26, with Job 1:20; Job 2:13.
Isaiah 5:14, "Hell (others translate it sepulchre) hath enlarged her soul," so the Hebrew, "and opened her mouth without measure." By a prosopopeia he compares the insatiable condition of hell, or the grave, with the unsatisfied gluttony and luxury of the Jews, and foretels the punishment, that God in his wrath will therefore inflict upon them. Jerome in his commentary upon this place says, "Hell is said to have a soul, not that it is a living creature, as some erroneously conceive, but because by words of human custom we may express the affection of things insensible: it is insatiable because it can never be filled with the multitude of the dead. See more examples, Isaiah 24:4; Isaiah 33:9; Jeremiah 4:28; Jeremiah 12:4; Amos 2:8; Hosea 4:3; Joel 1:10; Amos 1:2, (&c.)
Isaiah 24:23, "Then shall the moon blush, (so the Hebrew,) and the sun shall be ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Sion," &c. This prosopopeia intimates the light of divine grace in the church; as if he had said, the glory of the sun or moon will be nothing, if compared with the glory of him that rules in the church of God. Isaiah 55:12, "The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." By this most elegant prosopopeia likewise spiritual joy in the kingdom of Christ is figured, as Isaiah 49:13, where the heavens and mountains are excited to singing, by the same prophetical voice. And Jeremiah 51:48, "Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon," &c.; by which hyperbolical prosopopeia, an immensity of joy for the destruction of Babylon, and the deliverance of all true Israelites is set forth; Amos 1:4, "The ways of Sion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feast." This intimates a forsaking of the solemn worship of God.
Hosea 1:11, "And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine and the oil: and they shall hear Jezreel." Besides the gracious blessing of God, the connexion of first and second causes is fairly intimated by this speech. Jezreel, that is, the congregation of the faithful, (which according to this name, is the seed of God,) does as it were cry, that is, expects corn, wine, and oil; and these, as it were, cry to the earth, that they may receive juice and nourishment from it, for their nourishment and increase. And the earth, as it were, invokes heaven for heat, rain, showers, dew, snow, winds, and celestial influences: and the heavens, as it were, invoke God, the chief Cause of all things, without whom no second causes can effect or produce any thing, and who when be hath a mind to punish, can "make the heavens as brass, and the earth as iron," Deuteronomy 28:23, and detain the fructifying rain, Jeremiah 14:22; but here being gracious and propitious to men, he is pleased to hear, giving power to heaven, that by clouds made of collected vapours, and by various fructifying ways it should influence the earth; and "the heaven shall hear the earth," by giving rain, and other things needful to make it fruitful "And the earth shall hear the corn, the wine, and the oil," and other things growing upon the earth, whilst moistened from heaven it gives them juice and vigour: "and these shall hear Jezreel," that is, they shall answer the prayers or desires of the godly, and so shall divine blessing be conveyed to them, &c.
Jonah 1:4, "But the Lord cast forth a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship thought to be broken," so the Hebrew, that is, it was like to be broken, as if the ship had a mind. Some explain this by a metonymy of the thing containing; that is, they that were in the ship thought that they must speedily suffer shipwreck.
John 3:8, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth;" &c. A will and walking is attributed to the wind and air, to signify its various wonderful vicissitudes unknown to man; upon which Erasmus in his paraphrase excellently says, "This air by which we are vegetated, and whose power and utility we only feel, is very subtle, and is called a spirit or wind; and this spirit is not restrained at the pleasure of men, but is carried by its own force, by which it is known to diffuse itself through all things, having a wonderful power over all corporeal things: sometimes giving life, sometimes death. Now calm and silent, then more violent, sometimes blowing from the East, sometimes from the West, and sometimes from other different quarters of the world. And discovers itself by the effect: you hear its voice, when you see nobody, neither can it be grasped by hands; you feel it present, but you see it not coming, neither can you tell whither it goes at its departure. The new birth is like it. The minds of men by the Spirit of God are carried away, and transformed by secret breathings. The ineffable power and effect of it is felt, but what is done is not discerned by the eyes. And so they that are born again, are not now actuated by a human and carnal spirit, but by the Spirit of God, who quickens and governs all things. See Romans 8:22. To this class belong some Nouns, and some Verbs.
1. Nouns, as when arrows are called the sons of the quiver, Amos 3:13, because they lie hid there, as a child in the womb, Psalms 127:3-4; so sparkles are called "sons of burning coals," Job 5:7, (for in both places the Hebrew is so.) A tongue is ascribed to fire (Isaiah 5:24,) and flame, because of some similitude betwixt a tongue and the tapering flame. See Acts 2:3. A tongue is also attributed to the sea, Joshua 15:2, Joshua 15:5, which is to be understood of a bay in form like a tongue; so the tongue of the Egyptian sea, Isaiah 11:15, is a certain bay or river, &c. The (oblong) wedge which Achan took, is called, in the Hebrew, "a tongue of gold," Joshua 7:21. A hand is attributed to a sword, Job 5:20; to a flame of fire, Isaiah 47:14; to hell, Hosea 13:14, by which (as in our translation) their power is understood. The beginning of a party-way is called the mother, and head of the way, Ezekiel 21:21.
2. Verbs, bread is said "to be gone away," when it is spent, 1 Samuel 9:7, see Revelation 18:14. A city is said to cry, Isaiah 14:31; so is a stone, Habakkuk 2:11. "The hire of labourers defrauded," James 5:4, which denotes the grievousness of the sin or punishment. See Luke 19:40. ’’To eat,"is ascribed to consuming fire, Leviticus 10:2; Job 1:16; Nahum 3:15; to the destroying sword, 2 Samuel 2:26; Isaiah 1:20; Jeremiah 2:30; and to a land or region, Numbers 13:30, either because being hard it wasted men’s strength in tilling, or because of the unwholesomeness of the air. To heal, cure, or revive, is put for repairing decayed buildings, 1 Chronicles 11:8; 2 Chronicles 24:13; Nehemiah 4:2; 1 Kings 18:30. Healing is put for blessing the land, 2 Chronicles 7:14; Psalms 60:3-4; for making the waters wholesome, 2 Kings 2:21-22; Ezekiel 47:8. See more examples, Genesis 18:10, Genesis 18:14; Son 5:5; Jeremiah 23:9; Jeremiah 5:28, (&c.)
5. Sometimes kingdoms, provinces, and cities, (which are, as it were, incorporate bodies) are spoken of, as if they were a single person, as
(1.) The people in general, as Isaiah 1:5-6, expounded Isaiah 1:7-9, Deuteronomy 33:12; Isaiah 7:20; Isaiah 8:8; Isaiah 30:28.
(2.) Of the whole people more specially, but less frequently, Amos 3:1; Isaiah 7:20.
(3.) Of a whole city the scripture speaks as of a woman, Isaiah 32:9. An evident example of this prosopopeia you will find, Isaiah 1:1-31 and Amos 2:1-16, see also Isaiah 32:11, with Isaiah 32:9. Hence the people of the Jews are proposed as a faithless and adulterous woman, Jeremiah 3:1, Jeremiah 3:3-4, and Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel 16:1-63 and Ezekiel 23:1-49 by which the conjunction of the church with God is compared to human wedlock. God himself is proposed in this allegory as the husband, the commonwealth of Israel as the mother, out of which sprung the two kingdoms of Israel and Juda, which are compared with daughters (Ezekiel 32:2, "There were two women, the daughters of one mother;" Ezekiel 32:3, "and they committed whoredoms in Egypt;)" and when they were espoused in a covenant-way to God, they most wickedly forsook him, and committed frequent adulteries, &c., for they are spiritual adulteries, and whoredoms, which Jehovah so often reprehends and detests by his prophets, when joined by impenitence, Exodus 34:15-16; Deuteronomy 31:16; Judges 2:17; Isaiah 1:21; Isaiah 57:3; Nahum 3:4, (&c.,) Isaiah 23:15-17.
(4.) The name of mother is attributed to a city, 2 Samuel 20:19, by which the chief, or metropolitan city, is understood, from whence the rest derive their original, and owe subjection to, Joshua 17:16; Numbers 21:25; Judges 11:26; 2 Samuel 8:1. The Whole people of God are called mother, Isaiah 50:1; Hosea 2:2, because it begets, or ought to beget spiritual sons to God. Hence it is translated to the heavenly "Jerusalem," the New Testament church, Galatians 4:26.
(5.) The name of daughter and virgin, is often attributed to a people or city, either distinctly or conjunctly, Psalms 45:12; Psalms 137:8, "Daughter of Babylon," is put for the kingdom of Babylon; so Amos 1:6; Amos 2:1, (&c.,) "Daughter of Sion," for the people of the Jews, and hence, Amos 2:2, she is called the "Daughter of Juda," so Ecclesiastes 9:9; Isaiah 1:8; Isaiah 10:32; Isaiah 16:1; Isaiah 37:22; Jeremiah 4:31; Jeremiah 6:2; Micah 4:10, Micah 4:13; Zephaniah 3:10, Zephaniah 3:14, (&c.) So the virgin of Israel, Jeremiah 31:4, Jeremiah 31:21; Amos 5:2,; sometimes virgin and daughter are joined, as Isaiah 23:12; Isaiah 37:22; Isaiah 47:1; Jeremiah 46:11.
1. When the name of virgin is attributed to the people of God, some say it is with respect to the true worship of God, observed by them, without corruption, because such as depart from its purity, are called whorish and adulterous, upon which Jerome
2. By Israel we are to understand the land, and by virgin or daughter the inhabitants; for the ancients were wont to call their country, their mother.
6. The scripture speaks of certain accidents, as if they were men, and had a body, which kind they call Somatopeia, as Genesis 4:7, "And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." Sin is here proposed as lying at the door like a night watchman; whereby is noted that a sure punishment will follow ill-doing, as a watchman sleeps not, but observes all things and discovers what is evil or hurtful, in order to punishment.
There are other places where the body, as it were a person, and its actions are attributed to sin, as Isaiah 59:12; Jeremiah 14:7; Acts 7:60; Romans 6:6, It is emphatically called the "body of sin," because it struggles with so great, force, soliciting us strongly to do evil, as if it were a living body, or something existing by itself.
Romans 7:9, "Sin revived and died." By the knowledge of the law, sin is known, then conscience makes a man tremble, and a fearful consternation follows, by which man sees nothing before his eyes, but eternal death, as the reward of his sin, for the consideration of the commandment broken by it, makes it "exceeding sinful," Romans 7:13; and in the following verses it is brought in as a cruel tyrant detaining the miserable sinner captive, dwelling in him, and warring against the spirit, not that it will be a perpetual conqueror in the regenerate, for that will not be, Romans 6:6, Romans 6:12, Romans 6:14, (&c.,) but for that unavoidable repugnancy which naturally remains in the flesh against the Spirit, whilst the regenerate man lives in this life, Romans 7:24, see Colossians 2:11; Colossians 3:5; where the members of this body of sin, are recited as fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affections, evil concupiscence, covetousness, &c., by which the will and reason are depraved, as the body by its members. Compare the following texts together, James 1:14-15, James 1:18; 1 Peter 2:11; James 4:1; Revelation 18:5. To this class also belong, Genesis 30:33, "So shall my righteousness answer (or witness) for me, when it shall come for my hire before thy face;" that is, the future event shall declare that God has an account of my righteousness, which you shall then evidently see, &c., here witnessing which is the proper action of a person is attributed to righteousness. Punishments are called witnesses, Job 10:17, with Job 16:8.
Psalms 85:10, "Mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other;" affinity and conjunction of those virtues or graces is set before our eyes by the similitude of Persons, who after the manner of their country, do at meeting embrace and kiss each other, in testimony of friendship. He speaks of the kingdom of Christ, expressing its blessings and manner of administration by this prosopopeia; Psalms 85:12. It is said, that "righteousness shall look down from heaven; that is, the righteousness of Christ, through whose merits we become justified before God, Romans 1:17-32, Romans 2:1-29, Romans 3:1-22. It is said, Psalms 85:13, "That righteousness shall walk before him," that is, to testify his gracious coming and presence; Isaiah 59:14, "Judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter." Here is an elegant prosopopeia of virtue and piety, intimating how scarce they are, and how rarely found amongst men.