Isaiah 19:18

(Verse 18.) On that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear by the Lord of hosts. One of these cities shall be called the city of the sun. Concerning the city of the sun, the LXX translated 'asedec,' not knowing exactly what it meant. Some of our people interpret it as the city of justice, and due to a mistake, they think that it is written in Hebrew as 'Ares,' which means 'land' in other letters. Symmachus translated it better as 'the city of the sun shall be called one,' for 'Ares' is an ambiguous word and is used for both 'clay pot' and 'sun,' because both dry and heat. Not understanding this place, Onias built a temple in Egypt in the city of Heliopolis. Read Josephus' Histories (Joseph. lib. XII, cap. 9). Others want Ares, that is, a shell, that is, a testa, to be understood as the city of Ostracinem, and other cities near Rhinocorura and Casium, which until today it is evident that they speak in Egypt in the Canaanite language, that is, Syrian. And they think that the Syrians and Arabs came from neighboring places to that land under Nabuchodonosor's rule. Moreover, those who speak of the coming of Christ and the Roman empire prophecy, understand either the five cities or the law of the Lord, which was first interpreted in Alexandria, or the five orders of the Church, bishops, presbyters, deacons, believers, catechumens: or certainly the spiritual understanding of the law, of which the Apostle also says: I want to speak five words in the Churches in my understanding, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue (1 Cor. XIV): and that the one city of the five cities is called the city of the sun, namely justice, in whose wings there is healing.

The servant is "faithful in very little" who does not defile the word of God but speaks as though he were speaking from God and with God in Christ. For whatever gifts we receive at present are very little and very poor in comparison with those of the future, since "now we know only partially and prophesy only partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away." The ten cities are souls coming to the grace of the gospel through the word of the law. And because he must be glorified, the one who will invest the money of the word worthily for God is placed over them. Hence one successful investor addressed the cities over whom he presided, that is, the souls whose governance he had accepted, asking, "What is our hope or joy or crown of glory? Is it not you before the Lord Jesus?"20"And another came, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made five minas.' " This servant is representative of those who were sent to evangelize the uncircumcised. The Lord had given him one mina for preaching, which means one and the same faith which is also believed by the circumcised. He made five minas because people who had previously been enslaved to their bodily senses he converted to the grace of evangelical faith. "And he said to him, 'You will be over five cities,' " that is, you will shine greatly and on high with the faith and conversion of those souls whom you imbued. Isaiah also spoke mystically about this: "In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt who speak the language of Canaan." The five cities in the land of Egypt are the five senses of the body we use in this world, namely, vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. He who looks at a woman with concupiscence, he who shuts his ears not to hear the poor, he who gets drunk with wine, which is dissipation, he who delights in crowning himself with fresh roses, whose hands are covered with blood and whose right hand is filled with bribes, represents the five cities that speak the language of Egypt, that is, that perform the works of darkness with all of their senses, for Egypt sings of the darkness. But he who blocks his ears not to hear of blood and closes his eyes not to see evil, he who tastes and sees how sweet is the Lord, who castigates his body and makes it his slave, who is able to say with the apostle "we are the fragrance of Christ to God," represents the cities of those who speak the…