Chapter IX.—The Testimony of the Prophets.

If we satisfied ourselves with advancing such considerations as these, our doctrines might by some be looked upon as human. But, since the voices of the prophets confirm our arguments—for I think that you also, with your great zeal for knowledge, and your great attainments in learning, cannot be ignorant of the writings either of Moses or of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and the other prophets, who, lifted in ecstasy above the natural operations of their minds by the impulses of the Divine Spirit, uttered the things with which they were inspired, the Spirit making use of them as a flute-player25    [Kaye, 179. An important comment; comp. cap. vii., supra.] breathes into a flute;—what, then, do these men say? “The Lord is our God; no other can be compared with Him.”26    Isa. xli. 4; Ex. xx. 2, 3 (as to sense). And again: “I am God, the first and the last, and besides Me there is no God.”27    Isa. xliv. 6. In like manner: “Before Me there was no other God, and after Me there shall be none; I am God, and there is none besides Me.”28    Isa. xliii. 10, 11. And as to His greatness: “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet: what house will ye build for Me, or what is the place of My rest?”29    Isa. lxvi. 1. But I leave it to you, when you meet with the books themselves, to examine carefully the prophecies contained in them, that you may on fitting grounds defend us from the abuse cast upon us.

Eἰ μὲν οὖν ταῖς τοιαύταις ἐννοίαις ἀπηρκούμεθα, ἀνθρωπικὸν ἄν τις εἶναι τὸν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐνόμιζεν λόγον· ἐπεὶ δὲ αἱ φωναὶ τῶν προφητῶν πιστοῦσιν ἡμῶν τοὺς λογισμούς (νομίζω [δὲ] καὶ ὑμᾶς φιλομαθεστάτους καὶ ἐπιστημονεστάτους ὄντας οὐκ ἀνοήτους γεγονέναι οὔτε τῶν Μωσέως οὔτε τῶν Ἠσαΐου καὶ Ἱερεμίου καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν προφητῶν, οἳ κατ' ἔκστασιν τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς λογισμῶν, κινήσαντος αὐτοὺς τοῦ θείου πνεύματος, ἃ ἐνηργοῦντο ἐξεφώνησαν, συγχρησαμένου τοῦ πνεύματος, ὡς εἰ καὶ αὐλητὴς αὐλὸν ἐμπνεύσαι) –τί οὖν οὗτοι; “κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν· οὐ λογισθήσεται ἕτερος πρὸς αὐτόν.” καὶ πάλιν· “ἐγὼ θεὸς πρῶτος καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα, καὶ πλὴν ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἔστι θεός.” ὁμοίως· “ἔμπροσθεν ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἐγένετο ἄλλος θεὸς καὶ μετ' ἐμὲ οὐκ ἔσται· ἐγὼ ὁ θεὸς καὶ οὐκ ἔστι παρὲξ ἐμοῦ”. καὶ περὶ τοῦ μεγέθους. “ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρονός, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑπο πόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου. ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι, ἢ τίς τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου;” καταλείπω δὲ ὑμῖν ἐπ' αὐτῶν τῶν βιβλίων γενομένοις ἀκριβέστερον τὰς ἐκείνων ἐξετάσαι προφητείας, ὅπως μετὰ τοῦ προσήκοντος λογισμοῦ τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐπήρειαν ἀποσκευάσησθε.