The Holy Bible depicts our Lord’s blessed mother as typifying or personifying the nation of Israel by taking language, which is reminiscent to the way the Hebrew Scriptures portray God’s people, and ascribing it to her.
For instance, the nation is collectively addressed as the virgin daughter of Zion or the virgin daughter of Judah:
“this is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.” Isaiah 37:22
“The LORD hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the LORD hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress.” Lamentations 1:15
“What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?” Lamentations 2:13
The [O]ld [T]estament even promises that the day will come when the Lord will come to dwell with/in the midst of the daughter of Jerusalem and Zion in order to save his people and reign over them as King:
“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Zephaniah 3:14-17
“For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.” Zechariah 2:8-13
What makes this truly remarkable is that, in the case of Mary, she literally was a virgin daughter of Judah/Zion/Jerusalem who not only had the sovereign Lord with her, but actually had the glorious Lord dwelling within her!
The blessed mother gave birth to the Lord Almighty who had come to reign as King forever and to save his people from their sins:
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:26-35
“And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Luke 1:43
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived IN HER is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the LORD by the prophet, saying,Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us (meth hemon HO THEOS). Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the LORD had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” Matthew 1:18-25
As such, Mary was the living, physical embodiment of the promise of God’s coming to dwell in the midst of the virgin daughter of Zion/Judah/Jerusalem!
Moreover, a comparison of the Greek of the angel’s annunciation to Joseph and Gabriel’s greeting to Mary with the Greek rendering of the aforementioned OT prophecies further solidifies this connection between the blessed mother and the nation:
“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived IN HER (en aute) is of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 18:20
“And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice (Chaire), highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’” Luke 1:28 New King James Version (NKJV)
Compare:
“Rejoice (Chaire), O daughter of Sion; cry aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; rejoice and delight thyself with all thine heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.” Zephaniah 3:14 LXX
“And I will be to her, saith the Lord, a wall of fire round about, and I will be for a glory in the midst of her (en meso autes).” Zechariah 2:9 LXX
It is, therefore, reasonably certain that Mary is being depicted as the personification of the nation of Israel since the promises that the Lord would come to dwell in their midst in order to reign and save them, was literally fulfilled in the blessed mother when she physically carried and gave birth to “God with us” (Immanuel).
Unless stated otherwise, biblical citations taken from the Authorized King James Version (AV).
FURTHER READING
PROTESTANT SCHOLARSHIP ON LUKE 1:26-56 AND MARY AS GOD’S ARK
EARLY CHURCH’S INVOCATION OF MARY
What the Early Church Believed: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary
Church Fathers on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity
Mary’s Purity and Sinlessness in the Church Fathers
NOTES FOR THE DISCUSSION ON THE MARIAN DOCTRINES
NOTES FOR PERPETUAL VIRGINITY DEBATE
Answering Islam Blog 
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Thank our Triune God!
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