and the traditional word of God, and he the Lord is with us, for he sent his angel to fight against Sennacherib."

Rabbi Mendel observed, that Isa. ix. 6, is involved in great difficulties; but "I shall (said he) be enabled, by the help of God, to give you the true meaning of the text. In this verse Hezekiah and Messiah are spoken of again : "A child is born unto us, the son of Ahaz; Hezekiah is given unto us, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and (God) shall call him with six names, in opposition to Sennacherib, who was likewise called with six names, as Nebusaraddon, Salmanassar, and so on; but Hezekiah shall be called with six wonderful names; 1. Wonderful, for he did wonderful things, which are mentioned 2 Chron. xxx. 18, according to which the Gemarah says, that Hezekiah stopped the course of the sun." 2. Counsellor: When Sennacherib came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and when Hezekiah heard it, he rent his clothes, and went into the house of the Lord, and sent to Isaiah-and the Lord said to him, "The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee," &c. 3. God: () Man cannot call any one God, except the Lord in heaven; but God himself may call with that name; and the meaning is, that that man who is called God by God himself, is a divine man, which may be proved from Gen. xxxiii. 20. "And he erected there an altar, and called it El-Elohe Israel," (God, the Lord of Israel.)

Luther translates it; "He called on the Lord God of Israel."

Rabbi Mendel's translation; " And the Lord of Israel called him (viz. Jacob) God," ver. 8. "Israel was deprived of the kingdom and the right of jurisdiction, and by his generation (the gentile world;) how much was Israel cast to the ground! (n) he was banished out of the land of the living, from the land of Canaan, for the transgression of my people." I interrupted him, and asked, Who was banished for my people, the people of God? Rabbi Mendel became rather angry; as soon as I observed it, I broke off. Mendel continued:

"He made his grave with the wicked, for poor Israel is buried out of the land of promise, and with the rich in his death; the rich is then, the wicked one." I said to him, that the word never signifies a kingdom; that the expression, "taken out of the land of the living," indicates the death of that man, which agrees with the whole contents of the chapter: "he has poured his soul unto death;" also, as soon as we assume the right of altering the text, to say, that "the rich" means a wicked one, we cannot rely upon the fact related in Moses.

Rabbi M. God forbid! but those expressions which cannot be understood literally, must be taken figuratively: Tell me the meaning of the expression, "with the rich in his death ?"

A rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus's disciple, went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus; and then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

Rabbi M. Apply the whole chapter to Jesus.

The Lord enabled me to do so, and rabbi Mendel was not able to contradict one single word. Almost all the disciples of rabbi Mendel called on me in the afternoon, and read in the New Testament more than an 1 hour. Whilst they were reading, Abraham, the son of Jeremiah, called on me, a young rabbi, sixteen years of age, but already four years married. The other called him a holy child, on account of his never having seen the land of strangers, for he was born at Jerusalem. Isaac Ben Solomon observed, that those who are born at Jerusalem observed, that those who are born at Jerusalem enjoy great privileges; for as soon as he sinneth, the Lord punishes him immediately with sickness, that he may not punish him in the future world. I showed them Malachi i. S. and Matt. viii. 11.

March 29. Friday.—Called again on rabbi Mendel, and desired him to give me his opinion of Isaiah vii. 10-15, and ix. 6; "A child is born," &c. Rabbi Mendel replied to me, "Hezekiah was called Mighty, for he was strong in the confidence of the Lord; he re

moved the high places, and brake the images, &c. 5. Father of the everlasting age; he was the spiritual father of Israel, for he protected them, so that they read the Torah in safety, day and night. And he was the father of the everlasting age, for there was not such a king after him, nor any such before him, and there shall not be such a one until the arrival of the Messiah. 6. Prince of Peace; for he was a prince by whom peace was es tablished in Israel; and we find further the words, "Of the increase of his government there shall be no end;" we meet with a final in the midst of the word man, and a mystery is hidden in it, viz. God intended to make Hezekiah the Messiah of Israel, and appointed Sennacherib as Gog and Magog; but justice interfered, and said to God, "Why will you make Hezekiah the Messiah of Israel, after that you have appointed David? and God therefore made a stop to his design, and for reason is written with a final." Rabbi Mendel showed me this abominable opinion in Sanhedrin, page 94.

L

Rabbi Mendel continued to say, "I have confessed it before the Jews, and I tell it freely to you, that there shall be a happy time for the Jews, when the Messiah shall arrive, for the poor Jews will no longer tear their clothes for sorrow, and the walls of Jerusalem shall be built again; but I confess sincerely, that these promises would not induce me to pray so ardently that Messiah may come, for it is well that the poor Jews should serve the Lord even in affliction; but one promise is given to us, and on account of that promise, Israel ought to pray, and on that account I pray that the Messiah may soon come; and that promise is, that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.."

Joseph, the son of Sachariah, (Joseph Smaria) one of the principal rabbies of the Spanish Jews, rabbi Abraham Beu Reuben, and rabbi Mose Secot, entered my room.

I can make nothing of rabbi Abraham Ben Reuben, for the answer he gives me is this, "My own soul, and the souls of all the Jews, stood upon mount Sinai on the

day that God gave the law by Moses, I cannot, therefore, deviate from that law." Rabbi Joseph Ben Sachariah read the New Testament whilst he was in my

room.

March 30.-Called on rabbi Joseph Ben Wolf, a gentleman eighty years of age. He tried to weaken my faith by reading with me in More Nebuhim, composed by rabbi Moses Ben Maimon.

March 31.-1 perceive that I must permit the Jews sometimes to appeal to their Talmud, that I may gain their confidence, and argue with them upon their own ground. I therefore prayed the Lord for his assistance, for I am not practised in Talmudical subtleties, but I hope the power of the Lord will help me. I called again on rabbi Mendel, and showed him that rabbi David Kimchi derives from, conceal, by which it is clear that it does signify virgin; and it is used as virgin, Gen. xxiv. 43; Exodus ii. 8; Psalm lxviii. 20; Prov. xxx. 19. Aud to convince rabbi Mendel that the English translators have translated Gen. xxxiii. 20, properly, "And he called it El," &c., I showed him the explanation of rabbi Solomon Isaac upon that passage: He says, that Jacob called the altar by that name, to indicate that God manifested himself to him upon that altar. I then asked Rabbi Mendel what his opinion is of the similitude of God, which Moses saw. He replied, that God manifested to him the mystery of the characters,,,, and .

I. I believe that the Messiah was that similitude of God.

I asked him about Haggai ii. 7-9.

Rabbi M. The desire of all nations, is as much as to say, the treasures of gold and silver belonging to all the nations. He broke off the very moment he said this, and added; "I have already told you the reason for which we ought to expect the Messiah, viz. that then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, not our own glory

for what are we? nothing but poor creatures, dust of the earth, with breath in our nostrils. Moses, our mas

ter, (peace be upon him!) he himself said to God: Who am I?"

I. If you would read the New Testament, you will find that it suits your feeling, for Christ and his disciples spake thus of the duty of giving all the glory to God, and of our own insufficiency.

Rabbi Mendel replied, that I might bring him a copy of the New Testament.

An old Jew, Solomon Ben Abraham, entered the room, and showed me Num. xxiv. 23, "Alas, who shall live when God doeth this !" Rabbi Solomon translates it, "Alas, who shall live when he makes himself God!" I told him, that the last verb is not in Hithpael; secondly, Christ did not testify of himself, for he was declared by a voice from heaven as the Son of God.

Rabbi Isaac Ben Solomon, Abraham Ben David, and Sachariah Ben Joseph, accompanied me to my room; they remained almost the whole day with me, and read the New Testament. I told them that I was much edified by some observations, I heard to-day from rabbi Mendel, for they entirely agreed with the principles of the New Testament. Rabbi Joseph Ben Sachariah called likewise; rabbi Joseph Smaria, a very learned and respectable Jew, entered my room with the greatest joy, and said, "I have now found a reply to your citation of Genesis xlix. 10;" he then showed me the interpretation of that prophecy in the book of rabbi Lip

man.

,מחקק

Rabbi Lipman translates and "chastisement," and justifies it by Exod. xxi. 20, and Numb. xxi. 18. I showed Rabbi Joseph, that Numb. xxi. 18, proves the contrary.

Several Greek boys, very poor indeed, requested Arabic Gospels and Bibles; I was not able to comply, my trunks not having arrived from Damietta. I sold them seven Arabic Psalters for forty barras (one piastre.) I gave twenty Arabic Psalters to Moses Secot to sell to Christians, and ten Psalters to Isaac Ben Solomon.

April 1-I gave twenty Arabic Psalters to the Jew, Abraham Ben David, to sell; he sold them in a mo