FEED, To
FEED, To
To Feed as to feed others, signifies to give ease and plenty, to enrich and provide with all worldly necessaries; for, according to the notion of the ancients, and especially the Hebrew language, riches consist in meat and drink, in having plenty of the fruits of the earth, and much cattle, with all necessaries to human life, So Job and Abraham are said to be rich. And the rich man in the Gospel is described by having plenty of corn and fruits of the earth, more than his granaries could hold. And so in Mat 10:9-10, meat is made equivalent to gold, silver, brass, and clothes.
FEET
Feet signify the servants, followers, or disciples of the party spoken of; it being the business of servants in former times to wash their masters’ feet;f1 and disciples “sat at the feet of their masters.”f2
Thus by the Indian Oneirocritic, in chap. 227, the feet are explained of the servants, goods, and life of the party; and, according to Artemidorus, feet in the fire signify loss of goods, children, and servants.f3
To this exposition of feet are agreeable several Hebrew expressions. The Targum explains feet, in Eze 32:2, of auxiliaries. In Exo 11:8, “all the people at thy feet,” signify all the people which thou commandest or leadest. The like phrase is found in Jdg 8:5; 1Ki 20:10; 2Ki 3:9; but, though at or under the feet of another implies submission to another’s commands, yet this does not hinder but that such as are at the feet may at the same time be princes and governors over others; as in Jdg 4:10, “Barak went out with two thousand men at his feet,” i.e. under his command; and yet many of these were of as good quality as himself, being in tribes independent, and only at this time under his command; and some of these are called, Jdg 5:14, governors out of Machir, and Jdg 5:15, princes of Issachar.
From between the feet of a woman, is an expression denoting the place towards which the child falls.f4
To set one’s foot in a place, signifies to take possession thereof, as in Deu 1:36; Deu 11:24, and other places. Rev 10:2 : “The angel set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth.” It signifies also to overcome, as in order to take possession, or to rule, as in Psa 44:5; Psa 91:13; Isa 26:6; Dan 7:23; Mal 4:3.
In Daniel, the feet and legs of the image denote a monarchy succeeding all the rest, the legs and feet being the extreme parts of the body, or the last parts of the image.
Lastly, according to the matter of the feet and legs, judgment is to be made of the duration, happiness, and prosperity of the subject. Thus, according to the Indian Interpreter, chap. 114, legs and feet of iron, in respect of a king, denote that he shall be long lived; that he shall tread upon his enemies, and shall highly honour and advance the servant most in his favour; and, in respect of a private person, are the symbols of riches, firm and durable.
And, on the contrary, legs of glass signify short life and sudden death.
Feet as if they burned in a furnace, symbolizes a state of affliction. And, as the feet are the extremities of the body, the symbol, Rev 1:15, signifies, that towards the end the tribulation of the Church shall be the greatest.
F1 1Sa 25:41
F2 Act 22:3. Deu 33:3.
F3 L. i. c. 50
F4 Deu 28:56. Homer E. T ver. 110.