² See Jewish Expositor, 1828, pp. 125–130. It may not be out of place here to state that “The isles afar off” (Jer. xxxi. 10) were supposed by the ancients to have been Britannia, Scotia, and Hibernia. The following statement was made by a celebrated and venerable divine of the Church of England, when pleading the cause of the “London Society for promoting Christianity amongst the Jews”――I mean the Rev. Dr. Marsh:――“The command is to declare the Lord’s purpose concerning Israel ‘in the isles afar off’ (the expression always used by the Hebrews for _these islands_――known to them through the reports of the merchants of Tyre――Britannia, Scotia, and Hibernia). The proclamation is to be made here.” This notion receives additional force from the command contained in the 7th verse of the same chapter. “For thus saith the Lord, sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the _chief of the nations_: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. “Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattereth Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock.” The prophet seems to behold Britain in his vision. There can be no doubt that Britain is now the _chief of the nations_. Her monarch’s territory is one upon which the sun never sets. The expression “The end of the world,” mentioned in Isaiah lxii. 11, is also supposed to mean Britain, which was a common appellation for this island in remote ages. An expression which readily brings to our mind the phrase “... ultimos Orbis Britannos.” I wish now to call your attention to another circumstance, which also gives colour to the idea, that the Jews visited this country earlier than is generally supposed.