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of the prophecy, Hezekiah is shown to have been born long before; for he succeeded Ahaz, who had reigned for sixteen years, being in his twenty-fifth year of age when he began his reign, so that his birth preceded his father’s accession to the kingdom by nine years; but indeed, the things set forth are prophesied to Ahaz while he is already reigning, concerning the declared paradoxical and most wondrous birth of Christ. But as for 179 what meaning each word has, the diligent student will know by consulting the exegetical works of the admirable man on these passages. Ps. 5. And the Lord said to me, Take for yourself a great new roll of paper, and write on it with a man’s pen, To make a swift plunder of spoils; For it is at hand, and make for me faithful men as witnesses, Uriah the priest, and Zachariah son of Barachiah. And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son; and the Lord said to me, Call his name, Spoil quickly, plunder swiftly; because before the child knows how to call father or mother, he will take the power of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians. For the inscription of the paradox that was to be accomplished, the prophet is ordered to take a great, new, unwritten roll; by which I think is signified the gospel of the new covenant; but also to make for the Lord faithful men as witnesses, of whom one is said to be a priest, and the other I think was a prophet, for the book of Chronicles mentions him, whom I also suppose to be a symbol of the prophets who bore witness to the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the priests long established in his type. After this it is said: and I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son, and so on. But it is very unseemly and foreign to the prophetic 180 dignity and purity to suppose so readily that the prophet, in the very act of being inspired by God, approached a woman who was also a prophetess before the aforementioned witnesses for the sake of shameful intercourse; and what probability could there be that he approached her and she conceived and bore a son? But I think that this prophecy also holds to the meaning of the one set forth before, in which it was said, behold, the virgin shall conceive; for there it was foretold that the virgin would conceive and bear a son; but here the manner in which the prophecy was fulfilled is also declared; for, it says, she conceived and bore a son. Who, then, would be the one saying, “I went to the prophetess,” if not the Holy Spirit speaking in the prophet, concerning whom it was said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” Therefore she too might not unreasonably be called a prophetess, having conceived by the Holy Spirit and borne him who was there called Emmanuel, but here is addressed otherwise; for, it says, call the name of the child that was born, spoil quickly, plunder swiftly; for truly he did spoil and plunder by an ineffable and divine power the opposing invisible and spiritual powers, so as to say, “I have overcome the world”; from whom, having taken spoils and plunder, the souls long tyrannized by them, to proclaim release to the captives, he confesses that he received from the Father the nations as his inheritance; which might 181 easily be called spoils; and as his possession the ends of the earth, which might also reasonably be called plunder. In addition to this, before the child knows how to call father or mother, he will take, it says, the power of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians; which things, I think, are also said according to the spiritual sense alone, that is, concerning certain evil powers, which the divine power of our Savior destroyed at his birth, or also concerning the diversity of souls who have believed in him; of whom some turned from idolatry to the

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προφητείας, Ἐζεκίας ἤδη πάλαι γεγενημένος ἀποδείκνυται· ἐπὶ δέκα γοὖν καὶ ἓξ ἔτεσιν τὸν Ἄχας βασιλεύσαντα διαδέχεται, ἄγων ἔτος τῆς ἡλικίας πέμπτον καὶ εἰκοστὸν, ὁπηνίκα τῆς βασιλείας ἤρχετο, ὡς προλαμβάνειν αὐτοῦ τὴν γένεσιν ἔτεσιν ἐννέα τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλείαν πάροδον· ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἤδη βασιλεύοντι τὰ προκείμενα τῷ Ἄχας προφητεύεται περὶ τῆς δεδηλωμένης τοῦ Χριστοῦ παραδόξου καὶ θαυμασιωτάτης γενέσεως. Τὰ δὲ 179 κατὰ τὴν λέξιν ἕκαστα ὁποῖον ἔχει νοῦν, τοῖς εἰς τοὺς τόπους τοῦ θαυμασίου ἀνδρὸς ἐξηγητικοῖς ἐντυχὼν ὁ φιλομαθὴς εἴσεται. Ψ. Εʹ. Καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος πρὸς μὲ, Λάβε σεαυτῷ τόμον χάρτου καινοῦ μεγάλου, καὶ γράψον εἰς αὐτὸν γραφίδι ἀνθρώπου, τοῦ ὀξέως προνομὴν ποιῆσαι σκύλων· Πάρεστι γὰρ, καὶ μάρτυράς μοι ποίησον πιστοὺς ἀνθρώπους, τὸν Οὐρίαν τὸν ἱερέα, καὶ Ζαχαρίαν υἱὸν Βαραχίου. Καὶ προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν προφήτην ῆτιν, καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβεν, καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱόν· καὶ εἶπεν Κύριός μοι, Κάλεσον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, Ταχέως σκύλευσον, ὀξέως προνόμευσον· δι' ὅτι πρὶν ἢ γνῶναι τὸ παιδίον καλεῖν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, λήψεται δύναμιν ∆αμασκοῦ, καὶ τὰ σκῦλα Σαμαρείας ἐναντίον βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων. Ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ μέλλοντος ἀποτελεῖσθαι παραδόξου ἀναγραφῇ τόμον καινοῦ μεγάλου ἀγράφου προστάσσεται λαβεῖν ὁ προφήτης· δι' οὗ δηλοῦσθαι νομίζω τὸ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης εὐαγγέλιον· ἀλλὰ καὶ μάρτυρας τῷ Κυρίῳ ποιήσασθαι πιστοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ὧν ὁ μὲν ἱερεὺς λέγεται εἶναι, ὁ δ' ἕτερος οἶμαι προφήτης ἦν, μέμνηται γοὖν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ τῶν Παραλειπομένων γραφὴ, οὓς καὶ αὐτοὺς ὑπολαμβάνω σύμβολον εἶναι τῶν μεμαρτυρηκότων τῇ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίᾳ προφητῶν, καὶ τῶν εἰς τὸν αὐτοῦ τύπον πάλαι καθεστώτων ἱερέων. Μετὰ ταῦτα λέγεται· καὶ προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν προφῆτιν, καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβε καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱὸν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Σφόδρα δὲ ἀπρεπὲς καὶ τῆς προφη 180 τικῆς σεμνότητός τε καὶ καθαρότητος ἀλλότριον τὸ προχείρως οὕτως οἴεσθαι τὸν προφήτην ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ θεοφορεῖσθαι ἐπὶ μαρτύρων τῶν προδεδηλωμένων κοινωνίας χάριν αἰσχρᾶς προσεληλυθέναι γυναικὶ προφήτιδι καὶ αὐτῇ· ποία δὲ κἂν πιθανότης τολμάτω προσελθεῖν αὐτὸν συνειληφέναι καὶ τετοκέναι αὐτὴν υἱόν· ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἔχεσθαι καὶ ταύτην τὴν προφητείαν ἡγοῦμαι τοῦ νοῦ τῆς προεκτεθείσης, καθ' ἣν εἴρητο, ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ λήψεται· ἐκεῖσε μὲν γὰρ ἐν γαστρὶ λήψεσθαι καὶ τέξεσθαι υἱὸν προυλέγετο ἡ παρθένος· ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ ὁ τρόπος καθ' ὃν πέρας εἴληφεν ἡ προφητεία δηλοῦται· ἐν γαστρὶ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἔλαβεν καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱόν. Τίς ἂν οὖν εἴη ὁ φάσκων τὸ, προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν προφῆτιν, ἢ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τὸ λαλοῦν ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ, περὶ οὗ λέλεκται τῇ Μαρίᾳ, Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σὲ, καὶ δύναμις Ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι. ∆ιὸ καὶ προφῆτις οὐκ ἀπεικότως καὶ αὐτὴ ἂν λεχθείη, ἀπὸ γ' οὖν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος συλλαβοῦσα τέτοκεν τὸν ἐκεῖσε μὲν ἐπικεκλημένον Ἐμμανουὴλ, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἄλλως προσαγορευόμενον· κάλεσον γὰρ, φησὶ, τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἀποτεχθέντος παιδίου, ταχέως σκύλευσον, ὀξέως προνόμευσον· καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐσκύλευσεν οὗτος καὶ προενόμευσεν ἀπορρήτῳ καὶ θείᾳ δυνάμει τὰς ἀντικειμένας ἀοράτους καὶ πνευματικὰς δυνάμεις, ὥστε εἰπεῖν, ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον· ἀφ' ὧν σκῦλα καὶ προνομὴν εἰληφὼς τὰς πάλαι κατατυραννουμένας ὑπ' αὐτῶν ψυχὰς κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν, ὁμολογεῖ λαβὼν παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ· ἃ λέγοιτ' 181 ἂν εὐκόλως σκῦλα· καὶ τὴν κατάσχεσιν αὐτοῦ τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς, ἃ καὶ αὐτὰ εἰκότως ἂν καλοῖτο προνομήν. Πρὸς τούτοις πρὶν ἢ γνῶναι τὸ παιδίον καλεῖν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, λήψεται φησὶν δύναμιν ∆αμασκοῦ, καὶ τὰ σκῦλα Σαμαρείας ἔναντι βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων· ἅπερ καὶ αὐτὰ κατὰ μόνην διάνοιαν, ἤτοι περὶ δυνάμεων τινῶν πονηρῶν οἶμαι λέγεσθαι, ἃς ἅμα τῇ γενέσει καθεῖλεν ἡ θεία τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν δύναμις, ἢ καὶ περὶ ψυχῶν τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκότων διαφορᾶς· ὧν τὰς μὲν ἐξ εἰδωλολατρείας μεταβαλούσας ἐπὶ τὸν