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| Chapter XXXV
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Chapter
XXXV.
But that we may not seem, because of a Hebrew
word, to endeavour to persuade those who are unable to determine
whether they ought to believe it or not, that the prophet spoke of this
man being born of a virgin, because at his birth these words,
“God with us,” were uttered, let us make good our point
from the words themselves. The Lord is related to have spoken to
Ahaz thus: “Ask a sign for thyself from the Lord thy God, either in the depth or height
above;”3130
and afterwards the
sign is given, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son.”3131
What kind of
sign, then, would that have been—a young woman who was not a
virgin giving birth to a child? And which of the two is the more
appropriate as the mother of Immanuel (i.e., “God with
us”),—whether a woman who has had intercourse with a man,
and who has conceived after the manner of women, or one who is still a
pure and holy virgin? Surely it is appropriate only to the latter
to produce a being at whose birth it is said, “God with
us.” And should he be so captious as to say that it is to
Ahaz that the command is addressed, “Ask for thyself a sign from
the Lord thy God,” we shall ask in
return, who in the times of Ahaz bore a son at whose birth the
expression is made use of, “Immanuel,” i.e., “God
with us?” And if no one can be found, then manifestly what
was said to Ahaz was said to the house of David, because it is written
that the Saviour was born of the house of David according to the flesh;
and this sign is said to be “in the depth or in the
height,” since “He that descended is the same also that
ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all
things.”3132
And these
arguments I employ as against a Jew who believes in prophecy. Let
Celsus now tell me, or any of those who think with him, with what
meaning the prophet utters either these statements about the future, or
the others which are contained in the prophecies? Is it with any
foresight of the future or not? If with a foresight of the
future, then the prophets were divinely inspired; if with no foresight
of the future, let him explain the meaning of one who speaks thus
boldly regarding the future, and who is an object of admiration among
the Jews because of his prophetic powers.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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