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ple of the city in the prophets in other instances similar to that of Isaiah VII. 14. in question Micah IV. 10. " Be in pain and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail. Isaiah XXIII. 12. " And he said, thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin daughter of Zion." But unless orthodox authors changed "the virgin" into a virgin" and "conceived" into shall conceive" they could not apply the verse in a direct sense to Mary the mother of Christ and to Christ himself; and consequently to suit their convenience they have entirely disregarded the original scripture, the context, and the historical facts.

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In noticing my explanation of the non "the virgin" in the Second Appeal, the Rev. Editor states that "It is true the emphatic of Hebrew is generally rendered in the septu agint by the Greek article; that they are by no means equivalent in value however he may convince himself by referring to that excellent work on the Greek article for which the learned world is indebted to Dr. Middleton the bishop of Calcutta." I am really sorry to observe that the Editor should have given such

* In Isaiah LII. 2. The city or the people of the city is once called "a captive daughter;" In ch LIV.I. it is once styled “barren” 85 a barlot" in Ezekiel XVI 35. and in other instances.

עקרה

an evasive answer to so important a point; He however was obliged to do so, knowing that

in Hebrew before a noun as

Jin Arabic is

invariably a definite article. In his attempt to remove the inconsistency between his maintaining the idea of the deity of Jesus and applying to him verses 15. and 16. in Isaiah VII. by which he is declared subject to total ignorance, the Rev. Editor attributes (534.) such ignorance to the human nature of Jesus, forgetting what, he in common with other orthodox Christians, offers as an explanation of such passages as declare all power in Heaven and earth to have been given to Jesus by the father of the universe; which is that all power was given him in his human capacity while in his divine capacity he enjoys independent omnipotence. Is not the power of distinguishing good from evil included in all power given to Jesus, according to the Editor in his human capacity? How then can the Editor be justified in maintaning the idea that in his human nature he, though possessed of all power in heaven and earth, was unable before the age of maturity to distinguish the good from the evil, as found in verse 15. aud 16. I beg also the attention of the Editor to Luke II. 46–50. shewing that Jesus was possessed of knowledge of his divine commission even in his early youth and also

to the Editor's own declaration (page 536.) "The spirit of the Lord was to rest upon him as the spirit of wisdom and understanding." Nothing but early prejudice can persuade a man to believe that one being at one time should be both subject to total ignorance and possessed of omniscience-two diametrically opposite qualities.

Let us now refer to the context of the verse in question. The first verse of the same chapter speaks of the king of Syria and the king of Israel having besieged Jerusalem; verse 3. and 4. of the Lord's having sent Isaiah the prophet to Ahaz the king of Jerusalem to offer him consolation and confidence against the attacks of these two kings; 5. and 6. of the two kings having taken evil counsel against Ahaz and of their determination to set the son of Tabeal on his throne; 8 and 9. foretel the total fall of Ephraim (the ten tribes of Israelites who separ ated from Judah which comprised the two remaining tribes) and of Samaria within three score and five years; (10. and 11th. mention the Lord's offering to Ahaz a sign which he (12. and 13) declined; 14. 15. and 16. contain the Lord's promise to give spontaneously a sign of the destruction of Ahaz's enemies in the person of the son born by the virgin of Jerusalem; T t

the delivery of Judah from these two kings before the child should become of age; 17. and following verses foretel what was to hap pen in Judah bringing the king of Assyria in opposition to the kings of Syria and of Israel, who were then inimical to the house of David. The first four verses of chapter 8th. speak of the birth of a son to Isaiah the prophet and of the depredations by the Assyrians on the land of Damascus the capital of Syria and on the land of Samaria the head of Ephraim, before that son should have knowledge to cry," My father and my mother." Hence it is evident that the child mentioned in VII. verse 14. called Immanuel, was much older than the child mentioned VIII. 3; for the attacks upon Syria and Israel by the Assyrians took place only before the former became of age to know right from wrong, but while the latter was still unable to could pronounce a single word. V. 6th speaks of the army of Rezin and of the son of Remaliah, the kings of Syria and Israel having refused the soft waters of Shiloah*, a river in Judah, figuratively meaning peace; 7. and 8. of the Lord's declaring that he would bring into the land of Immanuel

Shiloah found in Genesis XLIX. 10. implying a redeemer, differs in signification and also in spelling from the word "Shiloah" herein mentioned as signifying rivers; in Genesis in Isaiah VIII. 6.ŋbw

upon these invaders the strong waters ofthe river, that is the armies of the king of Assyria; 9th and 10th of the combination of the people against the king of Judah which turned to their own destruction for the sake of Immanuel. It is worth noticing that the last word in verse 10. is translated in the English version "God is with us" instead of leaving it as it is in the original Hebrew Immanuel" though in two other instances ch. VII. verse 14. and ch: VIII. verse 8. the word "Immanuel" is left unchanged as it stands in the original. V. 11. to 17. pronounce the Lord's displeasure at the disobedience of the tribes of Israel; advising them to fear the Lord, and not fear the confederacy of the kings of Syria and Israel. Verse 18. declares the Lord's having given the prophe: and the children for signs and for wonders in Israel and the remaining verses of this chapter speak of false prophets of the miserable situation of the Israelites a fact which is fully related in the book of 2d. Kings; XVI. 5. "Then Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war; and they besieged Ahaz but could not overcome him. (6.) At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath and the Syrians came to Elath and dwelt there unto this day.