And Trypho said, “This point has been proved to me forcibly, and by many arguments, my friend. It remains, then, to prove that He submitted to become man by the Virgin, according to the will of His Father; and to be crucified, and to die. Prove also clearly, that after this He rose again and ascended to heaven.”

I answered, “This, too, has been already demonstrated by me in the previously quoted words of the prophecies, my friends; which, by recalling and expounding for your sakes, I shall endeavour to lead you to agree with me also about this matter. The passage, then, which Isaiah records, ‘Who shall declare His generation? for His life is taken away from the earth,’²¹⁷⁹

2179 Isa. liii. 8.

And then, what is said by David, ‘In the splendours of Thy holiness have I begotten Thee from the womb, before the morning star.²¹⁸⁰

2180 Note this beautiful rendering, Ps. cx. 3.

The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek,’ ²¹⁸¹

2181 Ps. cx. 4.

—does this not declare to you²¹⁸²

2182 Or, “to us.”

that [He was] from of old,²¹⁸³

2183 ἄνωθεν; in Lat. vers. antiquitus, which Maranus prefers.

and that the God and Father of all things intended Him to be begotten by a human womb? And speaking in other words, which also have been already quoted, [he says]: ‘Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of rectitude is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hast hated iniquity: therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows. [He hath anointed Thee] with myrrh, and oil, and cassia from Thy garments, from the ivory palaces, whereby they made Thee glad. Kings’ daughters are in Thy honour. The queen stood at Thy right hand, clad in garments embroidered with gold.²¹⁸⁴

2184 Literally, “garments of gold, variegated.”

Hearken, O daughter, and behold, and incline thine ear, and forget thy people and the house of thy father; and the King shall desire thy beauty: because he is thy Lord, and thou shalt worship Him.’²¹⁸⁵

2185 Ps. xlv. 6–11.

Therefore these words testify explicitly that He is witnessed to by Him who established these things,²¹⁸⁶

2186 The incarnation, etc.

as deserving to be worshipped, as God and as Christ. Moreover, that the word of God speaks to those who believe in Him as being one soul, and one synagogue, and one church, as to a daughter; that it thus addresses the church which has sprung from His name and partakes of His name (for we are all called Christians), is distinctly proclaimed in like manner in the following words, which teach us also to forget [our] old ancestral customs, when they speak thus:²¹⁸⁷

2187 “Being so,” literally.

‘Hearken, O daughter, and behold, and incline thine ear; forget thy people and the house of thy father, and the King shall desire thy beauty: because He is thy Lord, and thou shalt worship Him.’ ”

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