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of the unbelievers. In addition to these things, he says, the Lord will be a sign forever in the land of Egypt. Therefore, the Egyptians who have received the Lord, having learned to be sealed with this sign, have used it as a protective charm, so that in tribulations, using this sign as a help, they cry out and call upon the Lord on account of those who afflict them; and who were these, but the Egyptians who remained in unbelief, concerning whom it was said at the beginning of the prophecy: “and Egyptians will rise up against Egyptians, and a man will fight his brother, city against city, and nome against nome.” And when these were afflicting and persecuting those who fled to God, the afflicted will cry out to the Lord, and he immediately presents his Christ to them as a savior, which is why according to the other interpreters it is said: and he will send them a savior and he will fight for them, most clearly Jesus our savior; for this is what the name means as the word declares. But instead of: and he will save them, judging he will save them, Symmachus has said and he will fight for them and will deliver them. And who will deliver them but the savior who is sent to help those who are afflicted for his sake? And judging he will save them, if he should find them worthy of salvation, pursuing with an unseen hand and discrimination those who afflict them. In this way, at least, the Lord will be known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day, clearly in the time of their affliction. Then, having learned to be thankful, they will render sacrifices to him, since indeed they have an altar among them and have been deemed worthy to offer sacred rites to God. Which is why according to Symmachus it is said: and they will offer a sacrifice and an offering. Here it is necessary to apply the mind, how the word presents the introduction of a new law and a new covenant; for while the law of Moses forbids an altar to stand outside of Jerusalem and for any other tribe than the Levitical alone to offer sacred rites to God, the prophecy establishes an altar to God in Egypt and decrees that priests, Egyptian by race, will offer up sacrifices and offerings to the Lord of the prophets. And somewhere the divine Apostle says: “For when the priesthood is changed, there is of necessity a change of law as well.” Next to these things it adds: and they will vow, clearly the Egyptians, a vow to the Lord and will pay it; for having promised in their vows also the promises fitting for God, they will not transgress, which is why they endure the struggles for piety even to death. Then it is said: and the Lord will strike the Egyptians with a plague and will heal them with a healing, and they will turn to the Lord; “for since the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastises every son he receives,” it is fitting that he also strikes the Egyptians, loving them, whenever they are in need of discipline and of turning back, but not for long; and without any delay he heals them with a healing. And in that same day, that is, according to the indicated time, there will be, he says, a road for the Egyptians to the Assyrians, and the Assyrians will enter into Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to the Assyrians, and the Egyptians will serve the Assyrians. But here I think scripture calls Assyrians those who are now called Syrians; and in ancient times those who inhabited Syria and Mesopotamia were called Assyrians. But the Egyptians and Assyrians were enemies and continually remained at war with each other from the beginning, but now the present word decrees fellowship and mingling for them, which has never happened at any other time; for before the Roman rule both the Egyptians and the Assyrians had their own separate kings. And the Egyptians had the Ptolemies, but the Syrians those from Antiochus and Demetrius; in the middle of whom lay Judea, which was also itself governed separately by its own rulers. But the nation of the Jews, lying in between, was sometimes warred against by the Syrians, and sometimes by the Ptolemies. But the Syrians were also enemies to the Egyptians, Egyptians

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τῶν ἀπίστων. Πρὸς τούτοις ἔσται φησὶν εἰς σημεῖον εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα κύριος ἐν χώρᾳ Αἰγύπτου. διὸ τῷ σημείῳ τούτῳ κατασφραγίζεσθαι μεμαθηκότες οἱ τὸν κύριον παραδεδεγμένοι Αἰγύπτιοι φυλακτηρίῳ τούτῳ κέχρηνται, ὥστε ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν αὐτῷ σημείῳ βοηθῷ χρωμένους ἀναβοᾶν καὶ ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸν κύριον διὰ τοὺς θλίβοντας αὐτούς· τίνες δ' ἦσαν οὗτοι, ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ ἐναπομείναντες ἐν τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ Αἰγύπτιοι, περὶ ὧν κατ' ἀρχὰς ἐλέγετο τῆς προφητείας· «καὶ ἐπαναστήσονται Αἰγύπτιοι ἐπ' Αἰγυπτίους, καὶ πολεμήσει ἄνθρωπος τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, πόλις ἐπὶ πόλιν καὶ νομὸς ἐπὶ νομόν». τούτων δὲ θλιβόντων καὶ διωκόντων τοὺς τῷ θεῷ προσφεύγοντας οἱ μὲν θλιβόμενοι βοήσουσι πρὸς κύριον, ὁ δὲ τὸν Χριστὸν αὐτοῦ παραχρῆμα παρίστησιν αὐτοῖς σωτῆρα, διὸ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτὰς εἴρηται· καὶ ἀποστελεῖ αὐτοῖς σωτῆρα καὶ ὑπερμαχήσει αὐτῶν, λευκότατα Ἰησοῦν τὸν σωτῆρα ἡμῶν· τοῦτο γὰρ ἑρμηνεύει τοὔνομα θεσπίζοντος τοῦ λόγου. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· καὶ σώσει αὐτούς, κρίνων σώσει αὐτούς, ὁ Σύμμαχος καὶ ὑπερμαχήσει αὐτῶν καὶ ἐξελεῖται αὐτοὺς εἴρηκε. τίς δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐξελεῖται ἢ ὁ ἀποστελλόμενος βοηθῆσαι τοῖς δι' αὐτὸν θλιβομένοις σωτήρ; κρίνων δὲ σώσει αὐτούς, εἰ εὕροι ἀξίους σωτηρίας ἀοράτῳ χειρὶ καὶ διακρίσει τοὺς θλίβοντας μετερχόμενος. Τούτῳ γοῦν μάλιστα τῷ τρόπῳ γνωστὸς ἔσται κύριος τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις, καὶ γνώσονται οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τὸν κύριον ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, δῆλον δ' ὅτι ἐν τῷ τῆς θλίψεως αὐτῶν καιρῷ. εἶτ' εὐχάριστοι εἶναι μεμαθηκότες ἀποδώσουσιν αὐτῷ τὰς θυσίας, ἅτε δὴ ἐσχηκότες παρ' ἑαυτοῖς θυσιαστήριον καὶ ἱερᾶσθαι τῷ θεῷ κατηξιωμένοι. διὸ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον εἴρηται· καὶ προσοίσουσι θυσίαν καὶ προσφοράν. ἔνθα δὴ ἐπιστῆσαι τὸν νοῦν ἀναγκαῖον ὡς καινοῦ νόμου καὶ καινῆς διαθήκης εἰσαγωγὴν ὁ λόγος παρίστησι· τοῦ γὰρ Μωσέως νόμου διαγορεύσαντος μὴ ἐκτὸς τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἑστάναι θυσιαστήριον μηδ' ἑτέρας φυλῆς ἢ μόνης τῆς Λευιτικῆς ἱερᾶσθαι τῷ θεῷ, ἡ προφητεία ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἵστησι τῷ θεῷ θυσιαστήριον καὶ ἱερεῖς τὸ γένος Αἰγυπτίους τῷ τῶν προφητῶν κυρίῳ θυσίας καὶ προσφορὰς ἀνοίσειν θεσπίζει. φησὶ δέ που ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος· «μετατιθεμένης δὲ τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ νόμου μετάθεσις γίγνεται». τούτοις ἑξῆς ἐπιφέρει· καὶ εὔξονται, δῆλον δ' ὅτι οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι, εὐχὴν τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἀποδώσουσιν· ἐπαγγελλόμενοι γὰρ ἐν ταῖς εὐχαῖς καὶ τὰς πρεπούσας τῷ θεῷ ἐπαγγελίας οὐ παραβήσονται, διὸ μέχρι θανάτου τοὺς ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας ἀγῶνας ὑπομένουσιν. Εἶτ' ἐπιλέγεται· καὶ πατάξει κύριος τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους πληγῇ καὶ ἰάσεται αὐτοὺς ἰάσει, καὶ ἐπιστραφήσονται πρὸς κύριον· «ἐπεὶ γὰρ ὃν ἀγαπᾷ κύριος παιδεύει, μαστιγοῖ δὲ πάντα υἱὸν ὃν παραδέχεται», εἰκότως καὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους πατάσσει ἀγαπῶν, ἐπειδὰν ἐν χρείᾳ γένωνται παιδείας καὶ ἐπιστροφῆς ἀλλ' οὐκ εἰς μακρόν· μηδὲν δὲ ὑπερθέμενος ἰᾶται αὐτοὺς ἰάσει. Κατὰ δὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ἡμέραν, τοῦτ' ἔστι κατὰ τὸν δηλούμενον χρόνον, ἔσται φησὶν ὁδὸς Αἰγυπτίοις πρὸς Ἀσσυρίους, καὶ εἰσελεύσονται Ἀσσύριοι εἰς Αἴγυπτον, καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι πορεύσονται πρὸς Ἀσσυρίους, καὶ δουλεύσουσιν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τοῖς Ἀσσυρίοις. Ἀσσυρίους δ' ἐνταῦθα οἶμαι καλεῖν τὴν γραφὴν τοὺς νῦν καλουμένους Σύρους· καὶ τὸ παλαιὸν δὲ οἱ τὴν Συρίαν καὶ τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν οἰκοῦντες Ἀσσύριοι ἐχρημάτιζον. ἐχθροὶ δὲ ἦσαν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ Ἀσσύριοι καὶ πολέμιοι διετέλουν ὄντες ἐκ τοῦ παντός, νῦν δ' ὁ παρὼν λόγος κοινωνίαν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐπιμιξίαν θεσπίζει, ὅπερ οὐδ' ἄλλοτε γέγονε πώποτε· πρὸ γὰρ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς ἰδιάζοντας εἶχον βασιλέας οἵ τε Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ οἱ Ἀσσύριοι. καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι μὲν τοὺς Πτολεμαίους, Σύροι δὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ Ἀντιόχου καὶ ∆ημητρίου· ὧν μέση κειμένη ἡ Ἰουδαία ἰδίως καὶ αὐτὴ ὑπὸ οἰκείοις ἄρχουσιν ἐκυβερνᾶτο. μεμεσολαβημένον δὲ τὸ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος, ποτὲ μὲν ὑπὸ Σύρων ἐπολεμεῖτο, ποτὲ δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν Πτολεμαίων. ἀλλὰ καὶ Αἰγυπτίοις ἐτύγχανον οἱ Σύροι πολέμιοι, Αἰγύπτιοί