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of the destruction at that time of the kingdom in Egypt, so that from then until now their former rulers, I mean the Ptolemies, no longer hold power, and the Romans were shown to be their masters. And instead of: "and harsh kings," Aquila has said: "and a strengthened king will have authority over them," and Symmachus: "and a strong king will have authority over them," and Theodotion: "and a strong king will rule over them." You might say this was the one who, around the time of the birth of our Savior, became the sole ruler of the Roman empire. For then Augustus, truly a strengthened and strong king, was the first to subject Egypt to the Romans, having overthrown the long-reigning succession of the Ptolemies who had ruled among them. And after these things the Roman emperors, being in fact strengthened and strong kings, or even harsh according to the Seventy, enslaved the nation of the Egyptians, by whom the military rulers of Egypt, being sent out from time to time, treated them more harshly. Wherefore it was said concerning them: "And I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh masters," and according to the other translators, these were called harsh masters, I mean the regional rulers. Next to these things it has been said: "And the Egyptians will drink water by the sea," instead of which Aquila says: "and waters will be drunk up from the sea," and Symmachus: "and waters will disappear from the sea." And figuratively, the word "sea" in these passages alluded to the turbulent multitude of the Egyptians. as you offer them a strange drink; for since the river no longer exists, nor any other Egyptian water, and not even the sea water is suitable for drinking, he says they will drink a new and strange water. And this was the water "from the springs of salvation" supplied to them by the Lord. Therefore, just as was shown a little before in the text: "Woe to the multitude of many nations; as a surging sea, and the back of many nations will resound like water. Like much water, many nations," in which he compared the turbulence of the nations to waters and to a "surging sea." And the phrase, "and the river will fail," would be significant of their kingdom no longer subsisting. And that the word saying the river of the Egyptians would fail signified their kingdom, we have already presented before in the prophecy concerning the one who would come forth "from the root of Jesse." through which it was said: "and the Lord will lay his hand on the river with a mighty wind and will strike it into seven channels so that one may cross it in sandals." For those things were similar to the things at hand, through which it is said: "but the river will fail and every gathering of water will be dried up," and through the preceding words in which it was said: "a nation without hope and trampled down, whose land the rivers have ravaged." The word was not about physical rivers, but about those which we have explained in the Topoi; so also here, if the prophecy should say that the river will fail and be dried up, and again after the first, other rivers and the canals and every gathering of water will fail, it seems to me to allude to the destruction of the kingdom of the Egyptians and of the regional rulers who were formerly among them. And since there were also certain military forces among them, it prophesies that their gatherings and kings will cease in the indicated times. But indeed, when the kingdom of Egypt has been taken down, it proclaims in the next passage that the rivers will be calmed and be at peace, adding: "and then their waters will be quiet, and their rivers will flow like oil." Following this, he says that all the things that formerly grew will disappear: reed around the river, that is, both papyrus and the green marsh-grass and certain other things that sprout upon the river itself, such as are seen in abundance along the river of the Egyptians. But I think a complete dryness of waters through

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τῆς ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ καταλύσεως τοῦ κατ' Αἴγυπτον βασιλείου, ὡς ἐξ ἐκείνου καὶ εἰς δεῦρο μηκέτ' αὐτῶν τοὺς πρότερον ἄρχοντας, λέγω δὲ τοὺς Πτολεμαίους κρατεῖν, Ῥωμαίους δ' αὐτῶν κυρίους ἀποφανθῆναι. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· καὶ βασιλεῖς σκληροί, ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας· καὶ βασιλεὺς κεκραταιωμένος ἐξουσιάσει αὐτῶν εἴρηκεν, ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος· καὶ βασιλεὺς ἰσχυρὸς ἐξουσιάσει αὐτῶν, ὁ δὲ Θεοδοτίων· καὶ βασιλεὺς ἰσχυρὸς κυριεύσει αὐτῶν. εἴποις δ' ἂν τοῦτον εἶναι τὸν κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους τῆς γενέσεως τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τῆς Ῥωμαίων μοναρχήσαντα βασιλείας. τότε γοῦν Αὔγουστος κεκραταιωμένος ἀληθῶς καὶ ἰσχυρὸς βασιλεὺς πρῶτος τὴν Αἴγυπτον ὑπέταξε Ῥωμαίοις, καθελὼν τὴν ἐκ μακροῦ κρατήσασαν διαδοχὴν τὴν τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς βασιλευσάντων Πτολεμαίων. καὶ οἱ μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ Ῥωμαίων αὐτοκράτορες κεκραταιωμένοι τῷ ὄντι καὶ ἰσχυροὶ βασιλεῖς ἢ καὶ σκληροὶ κατὰ τοὺς Ἑβδομήκοντα τὸ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων κατεδουλώσαντο ἔθνος, ὑφ' ὧν ἀποστελλόμενοι κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους οἱ τῶν στρατιωτικῶν ἄρχοντες Αἰγύπτου σκληρότερον αὐτοῖς ἐκέχρηντο. διὸ περὶ αὐτῶν εἴρηται· καὶ παραδώσω τὴν Αἴγυπτον εἰς χεῖρας ἀνθρώπων κυρίων σκληρῶν, καὶ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς δὲ ἑρμηνευτὰς σκληροὶ κύριοι οὗτοι, λέγω δὲ οἱ κατὰ μέρος ἄρχοντες, ὠνομάσθησαν. Ἑξῆς τούτοις λέλεκται· καὶ πίονται οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ὕδωρ τὸ παρὰ θάλασσαν, ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας· καὶ ἀναποθήσεταί φησιν ὕδατα ἀπὸ θαλάσσης, ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος· καὶ ἀφανισθήσεται ὕδατα ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάσσης. τροπικῶς καὶ ὁ λόγος θάλασσαν ἐν τούτοις τὸ ταραχῶδες πλῆθος τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ᾐνίξατο. ὡς ξένον αὐτοῖς ξενίζεις ποτόν· μηκέτι γὰρ ὑφεστῶτος τοῦ ποταμοῦ μηδὲ ἑτέρου Αἰγυπτιακοῦ ὕδατος, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ τοῦ θαλαττίου ἐπιτηδείου ὄντος πρὸς πόσιν νέον καὶ ξένον ὕδωρ πίεσθαι αὐτούς φησι. τοῦτο δὲ ἦν τὸ «ἐκ τῶν πηγῶν τοῦ σωτηρίου» παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῖς χορηγούμενον. ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἐν τοῖς μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἐδηλοῦτο ἐν τῷ· «Οὐαὶ πλῆθος ἐθνῶν πολλῶν· ὡς θάλασσα κυμαίνουσα, καὶ νῶτος ἐθνῶν πολλῶν ὡς ὕδωρ ἠχήσει. ὡς ὕδωρ πολὺ ἔθνη πολλά», ἐν οἷς τὸ ταραχῶδες τῶν ἐθνῶν ὕδασι παρέβαλε καὶ «θαλάττῃ κυμαινούσῃ». τὸ δέ· καὶ ὁ ποταμὸς ἐκλείψει σημαντικὸν ἂν εἴη τοῦ μηκέτι τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῶν ὑποστήσεσθαι. ὅτι δὲ ὁ φάσκων λόγος τὸν ποταμὸν τὸν τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἐκλείψειν τὸ βασίλειον αὐτῶν ἐδήλου, παρεστήσαμεν ἤδη πρότερον ἐν τῇ προφητείᾳ τῇ περὶ τοῦ «ἐκ ῥίζης Ἰεσσαὶ» προελευσομένου. δι' ἧς ἐλέγετο· «καὶ ἐπιβαλεῖ κύριος τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν πνεύματι βιαίῳ καὶ πατάξει αὐτὸν εἰς ἑπτὰ φάραγγας ὥστε διαπορεύεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν ὑποδήμασιν». ὅμοια γὰρ ἦν κἀκεῖνα τοῖς μετὰ χεῖρας, δι' ὧν εἴρηται· ὁ δὲ ποταμὸς ἐκλείψει καὶ ξηρανθήσεται πᾶσα συναγωγὴ ὕδατος, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν δὲ ἐν οἷς ἐλέγετο· «ἔθνος ἀνέλπιστον καὶ καταπεπατημένον, οὗ οἱ ποταμοὶ διήρπασαν τὴν γῆν». οὐ περὶ σωματικῶν ποταμῶν ἦν ὁ λόγος, περὶ δὲ ὧν ἐν τοῖς Τόποις ἀποδεδώκαμεν· οὕτως κἀνταῦθα, εἰ λέγοι ἡ προφητεία τὸν ποταμὸν ἐκλείψειν καὶ ξηρανθήσεσθαι καὶ πάλιν μετὰ τὸν πρῶτον ἑτέρους ποταμοὺς καὶ τὰς διώρυχας καὶ πᾶσαν συναγωγὴν ὕδατος ἐκλείψειν, αἰνίττεσθαί μοι δοκεῖ τῆς Αἰγυπτίων βασιλείας καὶ τῶν κατὰ μέρος πρότερον παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀρχόντων τὴν κατάλυσιν. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ πολεμικαί τινες ἦσαν παρ' αὐτοῖς δυνάμεις, καὶ τούτων τὰς συναγωγὰς αὐτοῖς καὶ βασιλεῦσι παυθήσεσθαι κατὰ τοὺς δηλουμένους χρόνους προφητεύει. ἀλλὰ γὰρ καθαιρεθείσης τῆς Αἰγύπτου βασιλείας τοὺς ποταμοὺς πραϋνθήσεσθαι καὶ ἠρεμήσειν θεσπίζει ἑξῆς ἐπιφέρων· «καὶ τότε ἡσυχάσει τὰ ὕδατα αὐτῶν, καὶ οἱ ποταμοὶ αὐτῶν ὡς ἔλαιον πορεύσονται». τούτοις ἑξῆς ἀφανισθήσεσθαί φησι πάντα τὰ πάλαι φύοντα, κύκλῳ τοῦ ποταμοῦ κάλαμον, δηλαδὴ καὶ πάπυρον καὶ τὸ ἄχι τὸ χλωρὸν καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ τὰ ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποταμοῦ βλαστῶντα, ὁποῖα πολλὰ κατὰ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ποταμὸν ὁρᾶται. παντελῆ δὲ οἶμαι ξηρασίαν ὑδάτων διὰ