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He says that those very Jews and foreigners of that time, who had joined hands against the people of God, would very soon be dispersed and would withdraw from the war, but that their kingdom and their succession would be utterly destroyed and extinguished at the birth of the prophesied 'God with us'. 7.1.44 Consider, therefore, when the kingdom of the Damascenes and Jews together was destroyed, and in what times the land of the Jews was left without a king, and even the country of the Damascenes, which was previously very powerful, in ancient times ruling all of Syria with a strong hand. 7.1.45 For at the time of their destruction, it is likely that Emmanuel would certainly be born and the one prophesied would have come. If, then, one could see the said kingdoms still standing, there is no need to seek further, but only to suspend our hopes still even now for a future time; but if the destruction of the aforementioned is manifest in fact, so that a king appears neither in Damascus nor in Judea among us, it is clear that the oracle has been fulfilled which said, 'and the land shall be forsaken by the two kings whom you fear,' with 'kings' being named instead of 'kingdoms'. 7.1.46 Symmachus, at any rate, says: 'the land from which you are weary shall be forsaken by its two kings,' and Aquila: 'the earth which you loathe shall be forsaken by its two kings,' 7.1.47 and Theodotion also translated it in this way: 'the land which you abhor shall be forsaken by its two kings'. 7.1.48 Do you see how it prophesies that the land will be left without a king? And what land but that of the Damascenes and of Israel? For of these were the two kings, about whom is the discourse. The land of whom Ahaz 'loathed,' or 'abhorred,' being weary or 'fainthearted' because of it. When, then, did this happen? For with these things being accomplished, it is absolutely necessary that the aforementioned part of the prophecy has also come to pass; and this was that the virgin should bear 'God with us'. 7.1.49 And indeed it is very clear to those who examine the histories that up to the times of the appearance of our savior Jesus Christ, the kingdom of Damascus, by succession from their ancestors, still existed; at least the holy apostle mentions Aretas the king of the Damascenes. And the disorderly and not according to law kingdom of the nation of the Jews also still remained at that time; for Herod and those after him who existed at the time of our savior did not carry the succession of the rule from the family of David. 7.1.50 But after his appearance and the evangelical proclamation to all people of the child from the virgin, the land was immediately forsaken 'by the two kings'; for from that time, when the Roman monarchy prevailed over the nations, every local ethnarchy and city rule was dissolved, and finally, along with the others, the matters of the prophecy at hand also reached their fulfillment. 7.1.51 These things, then, are literal; but in its deeper meaning, the word of the prophecy signifies the stable, calm, and peaceful state of every soul that has received the born God, Emmanuel himself. For when the one Christ and the word proclaimed by him rule the soul of men, the former enemies have fled, the two modes of impiety: both that which introduces idolatry and heterodoxy in its manifold doctrines to men, and that which works perversion in morals. 7.1.52 Of these, then, the aforementioned physical kings of old bore the symbols; of whom the one of the Damascenes was an image of the error of the nations concerning idols, and the other of those who had apostatized from Jerusalem, that is, of those who had fallen away from the worship according to the law of God. 7.1.53 And that it is proper to receive these things tropologically according to their deeper meaning, one might learn also from what is said next, through which on the day of Emmanuel certain flies and

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αὐτοὺς μὲν τοὺς κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ Ἰουδαίους τε καὶ ἀλλοφύλους, κατὰ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ δεξιὰς ἀλλήλοις δεδωκότας, αὐτίκα μάλα διαλυθήσεσθαι καὶ ἀποχωρήσειν τοῦ πολέμου φησίν, τήν γε μὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν διαδοχὴν εἰς τὸ παντελὲς καταλυθήσεσθαι καὶ ἀποσβεσθήσεσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ προφητευομένου «μεθ' ἡμῶν θεοῦ» γενέσεως. 7.1.44 ἐπίστησον τοίνυν, πότε ἡ ∆αμασκηνῶν ὁμοῦ καὶ Ἰουδαίων κατελύθη βασιλεία, καὶ κατὰ ποίους χρόνους κατελείφθη ἡ γῆ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀβασίλευτος, καὶ αὐτή γε ἡ πρὶν πολλὰ δυναμένη ∆αμασκηνῶν χώρα, μεγάλῃ χειρὶ τὸ παλαιὸν τῆς Συρίας ἁπάσης βασιλεύουσα. 7.1.45 ἐπὶ γὰρ τῆς τούτων καθαιρέσεως τὸν Ἐμμανουὴλ πάντως που γεννηθήσεσθαι εἰκὸς καὶ τὸν προφητευόμενον ἐληλυθέναι. εἰ μὲν οὖν τῶν δηλουμένων παρῆν ὁρᾶν συνεστώσας τὰς βασιλείας, οὐδὲν χρὴ περαιτέρω ζητεῖν, μόνον δὲ ἔτι καὶ νῦν εἰς μέλλοντα χρόνον ἀναρτᾶν τὰς ἐλπίδας· εἰ δ' ἔργῳ προφανὴς ἡ καθαίρεσις τῶν εἰρημένων, ὡς μήτε ἐν ∆αμασκῷ μήτε ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ καθ' ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς φαίνεσθαι βασιλέα, πρόδηλον ὡς τέλους ἔτυχεν τὸ λόγιον φῆσαν «καὶ καταλειφθήσεται ἡ γῆ ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν δύο βασιλέων, ὧν σὺ φοβῇ, ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν», τῶν βασιλέων ἀντὶ τῶν βασιλειῶν ὠνομασμένων. 7.1.46 ὁ γοῦν Σύμμαχός φησιν· «ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ἡ γῆ, ἀφ' ἧς σὺ ἐγκακεῖς, ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν δύο βασιλέων αὐτῆς», καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας· «ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ἡ χθών, ἣν σὺ σικχαίνεις, ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν δύο βασιλέων αὐτῆς», 7.1.47 καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων δὲ τοῦτον ἡρμήνευσεν τὸν τρόπον· «ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ἡ γῆ, ἣν σὺ βδελύσσῃ, ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν δύο βασιλέων αὐτῆς». 7.1.48 ὁρᾷς ὅπως τὴν γῆν καταλειφθήσεσθαι ἀβασίλευτον θεσπίζει; ποίαν δὲ γῆν ἢ τὴν τῶν ∆αμασκηνῶν καὶ τὴν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ; τούτων γὰρ ἦσαν οἱ δύο βασιλεῖς, οἱ περὶ ὧν ὁ λόγος. ὧν ὁ Ἄχαζ τὴν γῆν «ἐσίκχαινεν», ἢ «ἐβδελύσσετο», ἀποκάμνων ἢ «ἐγκακῶν» ἀπ' αὐτῆς. πότ' οὖν τοῦτο γέγονεν; τούτων γὰρ συμπερασθέντων πᾶσα ἀνάγκη καὶ τὸ προλεγόμενον μέρος τῆς προφητείας εἰς ἔργον κεχωρηκέναι· τοῦτο δὲ ἦν τὸ τὴν παρθένον τεκεῖν τὸν «μεθ' ἡμῶν θεόν». 7.1.49 καὶ δὴ πρόδηλον τοῖς τὰς ἱστορίας ἐξετάζουσιν, ὡς μέχρι μὲν τῶν χρόνων τῆς ἐπιφανείας τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ∆αμασκοῦ συνειστήκει τὸ ἐκ προγόνων διαδοχῆς βασίλειον· μέμνηται γοῦν ὁ ἱερὸς ἀπόστολος Ἀρέτα τοῦ βασιλέως ∆αμασκηνῶν. καὶ τοῦ Ἰουδαίων δὲ ἔθνους ἡ ἄτακτος καὶ οὐ κατὰ νόμον εἰσέτι τότε διέμενεν βασιλεία· οὐ γὰρ ἀπὸ γένους ∆αβὶδ ἔφερον τὴν τῆς ἀρχῆς διαδοχὴν Ἡρώδης καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν γενόμενοι. 7.1.50 μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους τοῦ ἐκ τῆς παρθένου παιδὸς κήρυγμα καταλέλειπται αὐτίκα ἡ γῆ «ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν δυεῖν βασιλέων»· ἐξ ἐκείνου γάρ, τῆς Ῥωμαίων μοναρχίας τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπικρατησάσης, λέλυτο μὲν καὶ πᾶσα ἡ κατὰ τοὺς τόπους ἐθναρχία τε καὶ πολιαρχία, τέλος δὲ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τὰ τῆς ἐν χερσὶν ἐλάμβανε προφητείας. 7.1.51 Ῥητὰ μὲν οὖν τάδε· πρὸς δὲ διάνοιαν ὁ τῆς προφητείας λόγος ἁπάσης ψυχῆς τὸ εὐσταθὲς καὶ γαληναῖον καὶ εἰρηναῖον σημαίνει, τῆς τὸν γεννηθέντα θεὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τὸν Ἐμμανουὴλ παραδεξαμένης. ἑνὸς γὰρ Χριστοῦ καὶ τοῦ καταγγελθέντος πρὸς αὐτοῦ λόγου τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχῆς βασιλεύοντος, οἱ πρὶν ἀποπεφεύγασιν πολέμιοι, οἱ δύο τρόποι δυσσεβείας, ὅ τε τὴν εἰδωλολατρίαν καὶ τὴν ἐν πολυτρόποις δόγμασιν ἑτεροδοξίαν ὑποβάλλων ἀνθρώποις, καὶ ὁ τὴν ἐν ἤθεσι διαστροφὴν ἐνεργῶν. 7.1.52 τούτων δ' οὖν ἔφερον οἱ πάλαι δηλούμενοι σωματικοὶ βασιλεῖς τὰ σύμβολα· ὧν ὁ μὲν ∆αμασκηνῶν τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα πλάνης εἰκὼν ἦν, ὁ δ' ἕτερος τῶν ἀποστάντων τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ, δηλαδὴ τῶν ἀποπεπτωκότων τῆς κατὰ τὸν νόμον τοῦ θεοῦ λατρείας. 7.1.53 ὅτι δὲ ταῦτα κατὰ διάνοιαν τροπικῶς ἀποδέχεσθαι προσήκει, μάθοι ἄν τις καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἑξῆς ἐπιλεγομένων, δι' ὧν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ Ἐμμανουὴλ μυίας τινὰς καὶ