31. There were then certain persons among the Jews, Writ-
History of the Prophetic hooks, and their evidence.
mind with himself; and I do not think it irrelevant to Apol. allude in this place even to Antinoiis, who is lately dead, ^••^^^^^'' whom all were eager with fear to worship as a god^, although they knew both who he was, and what was his origin.
30. But lest any should ask us in objection, what prevents Witness Him Whom we call Christ from being a man, of men, who^^^^ J"' performed what we term miracles by magic craft, and thereChrist, fore appeared to be the Son of God, I will now offer my proof, not trusting to the words of those who affirm these things, but necessarily believing those who foretold what should happen before it came to pass, for we see with our very eyes that events have happened, and are happening, as was foretold ; and this will, I think, appear, even to you, the greatest and truest proof.
31. There were then certain persons among the Jews, Writwho were prophets of God, by whom the Spirit of Prophecy [hfVl-oforetold events that were about to happen, before they came P^^ts to pass.
And the prophecies of these persons, the kings of laied.
Judah for the time being acquired and took care of, as they were spoken, when uttered prophetically in their own Hebrew language, and arranged in books by the Prophets themselves.
But when Ptolemy king of Egypt was forming his library, and endeavouring to collect the works of every author, he heard also about these prophetic writings, and sent to Herod, who was then king of the Jews^ entreating that the books of the prophecies might be transmitted to him ; on which, Herod the king sent them written in their Hebrew language mentioned before ; but when their contents were not understood by the Egyptians, he sent a second time to request the presence of persons to translate them into Greek ; when this was done, the books remained in the possession of the Egyptians even to the present time, and they are in the hands of all the Jews throughout the world; but although
« '' As a god."
(Is e^hv Sm (p6$ov chronism of this assertion, Grabe pro- (Tf^eiu &pfM-nuTo.
Eusebius reads Si^ posed to read tepeT for 'HpciSr, ; and <p6^ou, which Valesius translates " per Philo relates, that the high priest, to vim et metum:" the Benedictine prewhom Ptolemy sent, held the kingdom fers the first reading, since it was not together with the high priesthood, lib.
Adrian himself, he says, who terrified 2. de Vit. Moses.
This appears to be men by the authority of his power, but the best emendation yet proposed ot the fear of him, as of some great god, the passage.
Usher suggests a second which took possession of men's minds. occasion, the restoration of the library
'^ Herod, who was then king of the by Cleopatra.
Jews.
To obviate the manifest ana-
^4 Various prophecies.
Jacob's blessing of Judah.
Just, these people read them, they do not understand what is said '- in them ; but consider us as their enemies and opponents, killing and illtreating us, as you do, whenever they have the power, as you may well believe.
For even in the late Jewish war, Barchochebas, the ringleader of the Jewish revolt, commanded that Christians alone should be dragged to cruel tortures, unless they would deny Jesus to be Christ, and blaspheme Him ; and we find it foretold in the books of the Prophets, that Jesus our Christ should come born of a Virgin, and grow to manhood, and heal every disease, and every malady, and raise the dead, and be envied, and unrecognised, and crucified, and should die, and rise again, and go up to Heaven, and should both be, and be called, the Son of God; and that certain persons should be sent by Him into every nation of men to proclaim these facts, and that rather the men of Gentile race should believe in Him.
And this was foretold before His coming; at first, five thousand^ years; then, three thousand; then, two thousand; then, one thousand ; and, lastly, eight hundred ; for, according to the succession of generations, there existed a succession of different Prophets.
Prophe32. Moses then, in truth, who was the first of the Pro-^ Moses, phets, spoke in these very words. The sceptre shall not depart
^Q^'^^fro7n Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until He 1 So come, for whom ' it is in store, binding his foal to the vine, and Aquila <ix:ashinq his robe in the blood of the qrape.
It is your duty renders ^ , -( ..
Sfiituh. to enquire with accuracy, and learn, until v/hose time there was a ruler and king among the Jews peculiar to themselves.
Until the appearance of Jesus Christ our Teacher, and the Expounder of those Prophecies which were unknown, as was foretold by the divine and holy spirit of Prophecy through Moses ; The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, until He come, for whom the kingdom is in store ; for Judah was the forefather of the Jews, and it is from him that they derive the title of Jews, and you, since Christ's appearance, have ruled also over the Jews, and held possession of their whole country; but the words, He shall be the expectatioti of the Gentiles, signify, that men from all nations should look for His coining ^igain, as you yourselves may see and be convinced by the facts : for from all nations men look for Him Who was '' To Adam, according to the Septuagint reckoriing.
The Genealogy and Passion of our Lord foretold.
crucified in Judea, after whom the land of the Jews was at Apol. once deHvered into your hands as a spoil of war; and the ^'
•^•^' expression, Binding his foal to the vine, and washing his robe in the blood of the grape, was a symbol significative of the events that were to happen to Christ, and of the works that should be performed by Him.
For the foal of an ass stood at the entrance of a village bound to a vine, and He commanded His disciples to bring it then to Him, and when it was brought, He mounted and sat upon it, and entered into Jerusalem, where was the chief Temple of the Jews, which w^as subsequently destroyed by you ; and after this, He was crucified, that the rest of the prophecy might be • fulfilled, for the words, washing His robe in the blood of the grape, were prophetical of the passion which He was to • undergo, cleansing by His blood those who believed on Him ; for that which the Holy Spirit terms by the Prophet,
His robe, are those who believe in Him, in Whom dwells that seed which is from God, namely The Word ; and what is called the blood of the grape, signifies that He Who should appear would have blood, but not of human seed, but of Divine Power: for the first Power after God the Father and Lord of all things, even His Son, is The Word, Who took flesh, and was made man, in the manner which shall be described hereafter ; for as man made not the blood of the grape, but God, so also this blood is declared to have been not of human seed, but of the Power of God, as aforesaid.
And Isaiah, also another Prophet, declaring the same things in other words, speaks thus; A Star shall rise out of Jacob, Is. 11,1. and a Branch shall grow out of the root of Jesse, and in His^^^ J7* arm shall the nations trust.
A Star of light has arisen, and a flower has sprung up from the root of Jesse, this the Christ : for of a Virgin who was of the seed of Jacob the father of Judali, whom we have shewn to be the father of the Jews, through the power of God was He born, and Jesse was His forefather according to this prophecy, and He was the son of Jacob and Judah, according to the succession of generation.
SS. And, again, hear how He was foretold in express Pro^ ^^ terms by Isaiah as about to be born of a Virgin; it is I'saiah. spoken thus. Behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son;
•26 Our LorcVs hirlh of a Virgin foretold.
Just, and they shall say of His name, ' God with us;' for the things that are considered to be incredible and impossible with ' men, the same has God declared beforehand by the Spirit of Prophecy to be about to come to pass ; that when they have come to pass, they should not be disbelieved, but from having been foretold should be believed.
But lest any, not understanding the prophecy which I have cited, should accuse us of saying the same things as we have laid to the charge of the poets, who say, that for the sake of sensual gratifications Jupiter formed an union with women,
I will endeavour to explain its expressions.
The words then, • Behold, a Virgiii shall conceive, signify that the Virgin should conceive without intercourse ; for, if she had intercourse with any one Vv'homsoever, she was no longer a virgin, but the Power of God coming upon the Virgin overshadowed her, and caused her, being a virgin, to conceive and the Angel of God, who was sent to this same Virgin at Luke 1, that time, brought her good tidings, saying.
Behold, thou ^ ' shall conceive in thy ivomb of the Holy Ghost, and shalt bring forth a Son, and He shall be called the Son of the Most High, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall deliver His people from their sins, as they who have related all the things about our Saviour Jesus Christ taught; whom we believe, for by the forementioned Isaiah also, the Spirit of Prophecy declared that He should be born as I have previously stated.
It is right then to conceive the Spirit, and the power which is from God, to be nothing other than the AVord, Who is also the First-born of God, as Moses the forementioned Prophet has declared ^, and this, when it came upon the Virgin and overshadowed her, not by intercourse but by power, made her pregnant.
But the name Jesus in the Hebrew language means lioiTr^^ (Saviour) in the Greek, hence also the angel said to the Virgin, And thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.
But that the Prophets are inspired by no other than the Divine Word even you, as I think, will admit. c Grabe would substitute Isaiah for Benedictine, however, rejects it, beMoses, an emendation which most of cause St. Justin in the Dialogue with the editors have approved, and which Trypho cites Moses to prove that Christ would appear to agree with the context is the First-begotten.
§. 52. [and folbetter than the present reading.
The lowing.]