Antient Univerfal Hiftory, and there I fhould fee, that the authors of that work, were of the fame opinion with me, as to the kings of Ifrael and Judah, being the kings, meant by the Prophet Ifaiah. I accordingly took it down immediately from the fhelf, but found, that it related to the hiftory of the Jews after the Babylonifh captivity. Then referring to the third volume, I only found, after the relation of the invafion of Judea, by the confederated kings of Syria and Ifrael, in the beginning of Ahaz's reign, and the account of Ifaiah the Prophet's going to the king, the following paffage.

Ifaiah,

Ifaiah, the fon of Amos,

"who had begun to prophecy from "the latter end of Uzziah's reign,

came to him from the Lord, to "affure him, that these two princes "would try their ftrength in vain

against Jerufalem, which they were "about to befiege. At the fame "time he affured him, that the final "end of the Jewish monarchs was "far enough off, bidding him afk

a fign of God, and it fhould be granted. The king, whether out "of refpect, or defpondency and unbelief, refufing to afk for the "promifed fign, the Prophet affured "him from the Lord, that before

" that

"that time

came, a virgin fhould

conceive, and bear a fon, and "call his name Himmanuel, or, "God with us."

This explanation being upon the whole, not only fo utterly unlike, but fo totally oppofite to my explanation of the intention of the Prophet, that I was fure this could not poffibly be the paffage, to which my friend referred ; and as the

number of the volume was not the fame, I concluded, that fomething must have been inferted in the former editions of the Univerfal Hiftory, which was omitted in the laft. I therefore procured the fourth vo

lume

lume of the edition in 1747, and found, in pages 154 and 155, the following note, referring to the foregoing paffage, not without great furprife, as the meaning of the prophecy had been fo often agitated fince that time, and not a fingle writer I had met with, had ever quoted it, either for the purpofe of adoption, or refutation.

"This we take to be a much more natural fenfe of that pro

phecy, than to fuppofc, as fome "have done, that fuch a miracu"lous child was really born in "Ahaz's time, to affure him of the promifed deliverance: for as there N n

"is

"is not the least mention of fuch

an extraordinary birth, fo neither "do we fee there was any neceffity

"for it, in order to convince the defponding king, who could not "be ignorant of that prophecy of

Jacob, that the fceptre fhould not

depart from Judah, 'till 'Shiloh was

<< come :-much less that he was to

fpring of the lineage of David. "But, what ftaggered Ahaz's faith, "and made him fear, that the royal

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power was going to depart from "his family, was, that his two ene"mies had combined to fet a ftranger

upon his throne. All therefore, "that was wanting, to difpel his prefent fears about it, was, for

"the