^^W ANOr.THOROUGHLY REVISED tOlftWW®" *'*®'"^ MR. KEITH JOHNSTON'S CENERAL GAZETTEIK, Itl < (lie . Pisces n|;U.-!lli^ ilbo.ii. jU.OW \airii 111 ussia, with flexible back, 4U. A Is 1-; w DICTIOiNAllY of GEOGRAPHY, ^-.-.;->Mw \]]. ft,;-;,,. ■Mm ^jtUvelHfolojfP^^P^. /. i.r.^i' m,jf, Shelf PRINCETON, N. J. ^if. Division Section Number iiS1.5"05 fonix I uiten >; , 1 iievca. me luost comjiro- ^' THE PROPHECIES EELATINO TO NINEVEH AND THE ASSYEIANS. TRANSLATED FROM THE HEBREW, HISTORICAL INTRODUCTIONS and NOTES, EXHIBITING THE PRINCIPAL RESULTS OF THE RECENT DISCOVEEIES. BY GEORGE VANCE SMITH, B.A. LONDON: LONGMiN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, AND ROBERTS. 1857. The fiiiht of tfavahition is reserved. , London: Printed by Spottiswoode & Co. New-street Square. PREFACE. The main purpose of this work is, perhaps, sufficiently indicated in the title-page. It is to present to the reader a new version of the Proj^hecies included in the volume, accompanied by the additional matter needed for their elucidation, in their bearing, more especially, on the con- nected histories of the Assyrians and Hebrews. The work is, therefore, properly historical in its character, and does not profess to engage in the discussion of Theological questions. The few passages which might seem to aflford the opportunity for such discussion, will be found to have been treated in subordination to the leading design of the volume. In selecting the Prophecies to be translated, I have been guided, very much, by the wish to include only those in which there could be no doubt that the Assyrians were distinctly in the sacred writer's mind, in the whole, or some principal part, of the composition. Slight inci- dental allusions, such, for example, as we have in Hosea and Micah, have not been thought sufficient to require the introduction of the passages containing them. In most of what is here offered, the Assyrians, or their capital city, are the evident subject of the prophecy ; in the rest they are more or less intimately connected with it, even Avhen not expressly named ; as, for instance, in Isaiah, ch. xxviii. Among prophecies of the latter class, some A 2 IV PREFACE. readers may expect to find the book of Joel. I would willingly have included that book, for it is one of the most life-like and picturesque of the Minor Prophets. But I have never been able to see that, by locusts, Joel can have intended anything but locusts. He appears to have written at a time when the Assyrians had not yet inflicted injury upon Judah ; and hence he does not allude to them among the enemies upon whom, as he declares (ch. iii), judgment shall be executed. The General Introduction, it will be observed, makes no claim to be more than a short continuous sketch of the chief facts of the history of Assyria ; nor does it profess to give any detailed account of the recent discoveries. My aim has been to include in it so much as seemed requisite for the full illustration of the translated pro- phecies, and for exhibiting the relation of the period to which they belong to the general course and character of Assyrian history. Many of the details here brought together have lain scattered through various publications, and are given on the authority of those to whom we owe the partial decipherment of the Monuments. In the pi'esent stage of that work, a number of topics can only be treated conjecturally ; and, in all probability, as a better knowledge of the Inscriptions is gained, some things now accepted, or offered for acceptance, will be withdrawn or considerably modified.^ Meantime, I have availed myself as best I could, and not without the fear of having sometimes gone astray, of the light which has been thrown on these subjects, during the last few years, ' The need of caution is well shown in a recent work of J. Brandis, of Bonn ; who, while recognising the value and soundness of the principal results thus far obtained, yet gives good reasons for hesitation in regard to some of the details. (Uber d. hlstorisch. Gewinn aus d. Entzifferung d. Assyr. Inschriften, pp. 24-43. See also the note on the decipherment of the Assyrian Inscriptions at the end of the pi'csent volume). PREFACE. by the discoveries and investigations in particular of Sir H. C. Rawlinson, Mr. Layard, and Dr. Hincks, to each of whom reference is duly made. The time, it Is evident, is not yet come for attempting to write, definitively, the history of the Assyrians. We cannot doubt, however, that the untiring efforts and eminent skill of several of the investigators, English and Continental, now engaged In this work, will greatly contribute to hasten its arrival ; while to the varied learning and the power of historical re-construction of my valued friend and former teacher, the Author of " Ancient Egypt under the Pharaohs," and " Phoenicia," many will also look for important help in the same field, in case he should give to the public the remainder of his " contemplated work comprehending the history of those countries of the East whose civilisation preceded and influenced that of Greece."^ In preparing the Explanatory Notes, besides the sources just referred to, I have had recourse to the usual autho- rities ; but would express my especial obligations, in the chapters from Isaiali, not only to the Commentaries of Gesenlus and Ewald, but also to the very useful Hand- hucli of KnobeP, to which I have often been greatly indebted. It is much the fashion of German Com- mentators — with one notable exception — not only to give their own exposition of the meaning of their author, but also to discuss, more or less fully, the Interpretations of their predecessors. I have not thought it necessary to Imitate this elaborate and often tedious method ; but nevertheless I have deemed it well, in places of Interest, to report what some one or more of the leading writers may have said upon the passage. In Nahum I have ' Ancient Egypt under the Pharaohs. By John Kenrick, M.A. Pref. p. vi. ^ l)er Prophet Je^aia erkliirt yon August Knobel, Leipzig, 1854. A 3 VI PREFACE. made some use of Hitzig', but more of Otto Strauss^, whose work on that prophet, if rather too diffuse, is a very good proof of the learning to be found in the posses- sion of what many would term the reactionary religious party, which is now, under Hengstenberg and Stahl, so prominent and active in North Germany. It remains that I should say a few words respecting the translated portion of this volume. The translation, while properly an independent one, — that is, direct, word by word, from the original, — has yet been made under the influence of a constant desire to avoid needless departures from the authorised English version. In other words, highly appreciating the various excellencies of that ver- sion, I have, as the rule, sought to retain or imitate its simple and well known phraseology, and have not left it for the mere sake of novelty of expression, nor without some, to myself sufficient, reason for so doing. In cases where the order of the words is here different from that of the English Bible, the change has been made both for the sake of a closer correspondence to the structure of the Hebrew, and also because it often seemed to help to bring out the meaning more exactly. Slight verbal changes here and there, with little or no alteration of sense, must be ascribed to the translator's feeling that the new form is preferable, for some reason of euphony or emphasis, in connection with the rest of the sentence. Points to which I would call the particular attention of the reader are the following : — (1) Critical emendation of the original^ has been but seldom resorted to ; and that only, as it is believed, when both manifestly needed, and also supported by ample ' Zwolf Kleinen Propheten erkliirt, Leipz. 1838. ' Nahumi de Nino Vaticinium, Bcrol. 1853. ■'' The text of Van der Hooght, as edited by D'AllemuucI, London, 1836. PREFACE. VU authority. Some notice of all cases of the kind will be found in the critical notes, at the end. (2) As much as possible, the same Hebrew has been rendered by the same English word. It is not always possible, or expedient, to follow this rule. In the same immediate context it generally is so ; but not invariably, even here. See Isaiah vii, 15, 22. (3) The Hebrew language being rich in certain classes of words, a sufficient variety of suitable English terms cannot always be found. In a few instances, in the pre- sent work, it has appeared to me that different Hebrew words, occurring near to each other, might best be repre- sented by the same English word. In such cases, the difference of the original has been marked by printing the repeated English word with a capital letter. See Isaiah viii, 22 ; ix, 1 ; xxviii, 21. (4) When tioo English words are used to express one Hebrew, the former are joined together by a hyphen : thus sour-grapes, Is. v, 2 ; strong- drink, ^. 11 ; Holy-One, v. 18. This has been done throughout, or nearly so, in the case of nouns ; but has not been extended to verbs. Such phrases as cast doicn, give command, take vengeance, go forth, and so on, may, almost without exception, be re- garded as the rendering of a single Hebrew verb. The same remark applies, of course, to all the cases in which the auxiliary verb is used in English to form the tense. (5) Italics, to denote supplied words, have been intro- duced sparingly. Where the sense is clear, and doubt can hardly exist as to what word should be inserted, they have not been used ; but in those comparatively rare cases in which a question might arise as to the exact word to be understood, and in a few others, italics have been em- ployee]. See Is. ix, 1; xxviii, 8 — 10. (6) The frequent recurrence of the word and will vm PREFACE. hardly fail to be noticed. I have not been anxious to disguise, or avoid this, as might often easily be done ; because the constant use of this particle, resulting from the simplicity of Hebrew modes of thought, is a genuine characteristic of Hebrew style ; and it may well be ques- tioned whether the original Vau really had all the variety of frequently changing significations and uses which have been attributed to it. In the vast majority of cases it is simply a7id ; and it is better so to render it. If a certain roughness or sameness of expression seems often to result from this and from other sources — e.g., occasional abrupt changes, as of person, from second to third ; or of number, from singular to plural ; or again of te?ise, from future to preterite, and vice versa — it will be remembered that this belongs to the original. The Hebrew prophets and poets •were evidently little solicitous about such matters, and are indeed but seldom smooth reading for long together ; while yet we have, occasionally, a passage truly har- monious and beautiful, in both its substance and its form. It is one of the chief merits of Ewald's translations of the prophetic and poetical books, as also of those in our own English Bible, that they so well preserve the rugged strength and simplicity of the ancient style. June, 1857. CONTENTS. GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Page § 1. Situation, inhabitants, and early history of Assyria . . 1 § 2. Biblical Period. — First invaders of Palestine, Pul and Tiglath Pileser . . . . . . .17 §3. Shalmaneser and Sargon. — Captivity of the Ten Tribes . 28 § 4. Sennacherib's invasion. — Hezekiah and Isaiah . . 38 § 5. Successors of Sennacherib to the Fall of the Empire . . 46 § 6. Nineveh : its situation, magnitude, commerce . . 53 Chronological Note . . . . . .63 THE PROPHET ISAIAH. § 1. His personal history and influence . . . .70 §2. Chronological arrangement of his prophecies . . .76 § 3. Oh. v. Parable of the vineyard. — First coming of the Assyrians . . . . . . .86 § 4. Ch. vii. The Syro-Israelitish war. — The sign to Ahaz. — Immanuel ....... 94 § 5. Ch. viii-ix, 7. Devastation of Judah by the king of Assyria. — The Child to be born . . . . .103 §6. Ch. xxiii. Overthrow of Tyre and Sidon . .113 §7. Ch. xxviii. Destruction of Samaria — a warningto Judah . 122 CONTENTS, Page § 8. Ch. X, 5-xii, G. Assyrian pride and its pxinishmcnt. — The Branch from the stem of Jesse . . . .133 § 9. Ch. xiv, 24-27. Jehovah's oath to crush Assyria . .145 § 10. Ch. xix. Egypts' humiliation and dismay . . . 147 § 11. Ch. XX. Egypt and Ethiopia conquered by Assyria , . 163 §12. Ch. xxix. Siege of Jerusalem (Sennacherib) . . 167 § 1 3, Ch. xxx-xxxii. Against alliances with Egypt. — Address to the careless -women . . . . .175 § 14. Ch. xvii, 12-xviii, 7. Destruction of a mighty host upon the hills of Judah announced to Ethiopian ambassadors . 191 § 15. Ch. xxii, 1-14. Alarm in Jerusalem .... 197 §16. Ch. xxxiii. Woe to the Spoiler ! . . . .204 § 1 7. Ch. xxxvi-xxxvii. Narrative of the invasion. — The defiance of the Virgin Daughter of Zion . . . .211 THE PROPHET NAHUM. § 1. His date. — The object and spirit of his prophecy . . 227 §2. Ch. i, 1-14. The vengeance and the mercy of Jehovah . 236 §3. Ch. i, 15-ii, 13. The capture and destruction of the Den of Lions ....... 240 § 4. Ch. iii. The ignominy of Nineveh completed . . 245 THE PROPHET JONAH. The Book concerning him, its age and design Ch. i. Jonah's flight, and its consequences Ch. ii. His thanksgiving Ch. iii. His ^^sit to Nineveh Ch. iv. The gourd 251 260 264 266 268 CONTENTS. THE PROPHETS ZEPHANIAH AND EZEKIEL. Page § 1. Introductory note . . . . • .270 § 2. Zepb. ch. ii, 13-15. The rejoicing city a desolation . . 276 § 3, Ezek. cli. xxxi. Assyria in its ruin a warning to Pharaoh . 278 Critical Notes ........ 283 Decipherment of the Cuneiform Inscriptions .... 296 Corrigenda . ....... 298 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. § 1. SITUATION, INHABITANTS, AND EARLY HISTORY OF ASSYRIA. The region to which the name Assyria properly belonged, and which appears to have been called by its own ancient inhabitants the Land of Athur, or Asshur, lies principally just within the eastern frontier of the Turkish dominions in Asia. It was a territory of from three to four hundred miles in length, by about one hundred and fifty in average width ; — such at least are the dimensions assigned to it in the Atlas Antiquics of Spruner, who, however, most probably makes it larger than it really was. Without pretending to speak with more exactness than is warranted by the imperfect geographical notices left by ancient writers, we may state that the region referred to was comprised between the river Tigris, on the west and south-west, and what are now the Kurdistan mountains on the east. It probably included some part of the latter, and had no very clearly defined boundary in that direction. It may also, in its northern portion, have extended beyond the Tioris^ and thus comprehended a part of Mesopotamia, as some maps represent. On the north it was overlooked by the mountain ranges of Armenia, and south and south-eastward lost itself in the level country forming the provinces of Babylonia and B 2 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. Susiana, and extending round the head of the Persian Gulf. The river Zab, the lesser of the name, has been thought to have been the boundary in this direction ; but it seems hardly likely that the southern limit should have been reached so soon. To the eastward of Assyria proper lay the extensive high- land region of Media, inhabited by a numerous and warlike race, more than once the rivals, perhaps the conquerors, of the Assyrians themselves. Westward, beyond the Tigris, spread the plains of Mesopotamia, of immense extent, and, in those days, there is every reason to believe, populous and fertile. To the south the Tigris gave to those who lived near its banks easy access to the sea, and to the productions of India ; and, far away to the south-east, lay the vast and rugged table- land, now known to us as part of Persia — the primitive home of powerful tribes, who were destined, in conjunction with the Medes, eventually to subvert the later Babylonian empire, and found upon its ruins that of the Persian Cyrus and his suc- cessors. From all that we know it may be inferred that Assyria, thus defined, was, at an early period, productive and well-peopled. Herodotus speaks of the canals made for irrigation, in Baby- lonia and Assyria ; and mentions particulai'ly the abundant crops of large-eared grain grown in the former province, as well as its numei'ous date-trees^ and other productions. What he says of Babylonia may very reasonably be extended to Assyria. Rabshakeh, speaking probably of the latter, describes it as " a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey." Traces of the canals just referred to are constantly met with by the traveller, showing the care and industry with which the ground was cultivated.^ ' Herod, i, 193 ; 2 Kings xviii, 32 ; Researches in Assyria, e.g. pp. 28-31, compare Layard, Nineveh and Ba- 256-8 ; also of Rich, Narrative, ii, hylon, p. 636. To the same effect pp. 62-3, 88-9. are several statements of Ainsworth, GENERAL INTllODUCTION, § 1. 3 Assyria is, indeed, possessed of natural rivers and watercourses, descending from the neighbouring mountains, sufficient, with but little artificial aid, for the purposes of irrigation. Mr. Layard speaks of the plain between Nimroud and Khorsabad as "a rich plain, capable of very high cultivation, though want- ing in water, and still well stocked with villages." Captain Felix Jones^ to whom we are indebted for a recent trigonome- trical survey of the same district, as well as for an interesting account of the Topography of Nineveh, speaks in the highest terms of the natural fertility and of the climate of this portion of Assyria in particular.! That the country must have been also populous, we require no direct testimony, beyond its general history, and the various ruins which it contains, to assure us. It could never have become the nucleus of a great empire, had it not possessed a race of inhabitants, who, what- ever their remoter origin, were both numerous, and, at the same time, hardy, brave, and energetic. Bordering upon Media, and probably for a long period mis- tress of that country, Assyria would have command of the breed of large and excellent horses for which it was famed in the time of Herodotus ; and also the means of recruiting her armies from the Median tribes. Abundant materials for building purposes, as well as for implements of industry and of war, were evidently within easy reach of her people, if not the actual production of their own country. Excellent stone and marble, both for building and for sculpture, they would find within their own borders ; and these materials would be easily floated by the Tigris to the places where they were wanted. Bricks, together with earthenware vessels of different kinds — even porcelain is suggested by Mr. Layard — they made of clay, baked with fire or dried in the sun. Wood, for fuel and other uses, they obtained among the neighbouring hills and mountains, or ' Nin. & Bab., p. 130; Topography of Nineveh, in Journal of Roy. As. Soc, vol. XV, pp. 298-9. B 2 4 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. brought from distant places ; while they must also have pos- sessed various hard and Avell-tempered tools, as well as skilful artisans and workmen to use them, if we may judge from the architectural remains, finely cut sculptures, obelisks and statues, inscribed slabs and tablets, and the multitude of smaller and more delicately worked objects, with wliich the world has, of late years, been so bighly astonished and delighted, thi-ough the discoveries of Botta, Layard, and their successors. The central seat of Assyrian power was, as we have already intimated, the comparatively small district lying between the Tigris on the west and some hills called Gebel Maklub and Ayn es Safra to the eastward, and extending from the Khosr-su on the north-west to the Greater Zab and the Ghasr-su on the south-east. Within these limits are contained the ruins of Khorsabad, those of Koyunjik and Nebbi Yunus, tliose of Nimroud, and many others of minor importance ; the whole, in short, of the great palaces of the Assyrian kings. This district, distinguished on Captain F. Jones's maps as Central Assyria, occupies a space of about 370 square miles. In the flourishing period of the empire it was, doubtless, a thickly populated and carefully cultivated province. Here, too, Ni- neveh was situated ; which latter point, however, we shall have an opportunity of noticing more fully hereafter, when speaking of the exact site and extent of that capital. The leading features of the Assyrian character — the cha- racter, that is, of the ruling class — are revealed to us, both in what we know of the history of the nation, and in the archi- tectural and other remains which have come down to us. The higher classes, and indeed many of those whom they ruled, were evidently a race of great physical strength, and of indomi- table energy ; possessed of considerable talent for the organisa- tion and government of large masses of men, and the execution of warlike enterprises. War seems to have been their usual occupation, or pastime ; and, as we may gather from the sculp- tured scenes which they have themselves left us, depicting GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. 5 their treatment of their captives, they were ferocious and vin- dictive in the extreme. Tliey have not hesitated to employ the artistic skill Avhich they could command, to commemorate such scenes as flaying, impalement, and other horrible modes of torturing their prisoners. Their monarch seems to have taken delight in striking out the eyes of his captured enemies — the unfortunate princes and chieftains wlio fell into his power. He seems not merely to have allowed it, but to have done it with his own hand. The lot of the wretched multitudes carried off to people distant places, as in the case of the deportation of the Ten Tribes, must have been something terrible to contemplnte ; including, as it did, long marches under a burning sun, with little clothing, food, or water, and, most probably, beneath the lash of brutal guards.' The intellectual capacity of the Assy- rians, and their taste for the cultivation of Art, require no illustration. It is only singular that there should be so much of these, found united with so much that is repulsive and cruel, in conduct and disposition. Their sense of right and wrong and their religious feeling can only have been of the lowest and grossest quality. The early history of the Assyrian people and their relation to their Babylonian neighbours are still involved in much ob- scurity. While many interesting facts have been brought to light, we are yet often met by such conflicting statements, or else are left with such slight and imperfect evidence, that it is very difficult to come to a conclusion on various points of im-- portance. As the main purpose of the present sketch is simply the illustration of the Prophecies concerning the As- syrians and of the Biblical portion of their history, we need not here attempt to dwell minutely on either its more ancient or its later period. In both these periods many obscure and intri- cate questions present themselves. Our object will be not so ' Layard, Niri. & Bab., pp. 440, 448, 456-8; Comp. 2 Kings xxv, 7 B 3 6 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. mucli to discuss such questions — although it may be necessary to touch upon some of them — as to endeavour to present^ in a brief and connected form, the principal facts which appear to be well ascertained, or to be commonly admitted as highly probable. In the most ancient historical times to which we can ascend, many centuries before the appearance of the Assyrians in the Scriptures under their king Pul, or Phul, there existed, we have good reason to believe, on the banks of the Lower Euphrates, a large and populous community, or state; — whe- ther a considerable empire under one head, or only a collection of cities, each self-governed, but yet united together by common bonds of race, language, and commercial intercourse, has not perhaps as yet been sufficiently ascertained. Of this ancient community the regions now known as Babylonia and Chaldaea were the native home ; and Babylon was, probably, the prin- cipal and oldest city. The latter point, however, may be some- what doubtful ; Avhile yet it is clear that the earliest notices we possess of this city are such as to favour the supposition of its very high antiquity. We may refer, in illustration, to Genesis x, 10, and xi, 1-9 ; both of which passages show us that, in the time of tlie writer of these accounts, the region in which Babylon was situated, " the land of Shinar," was believed to have been one of the earliest centres of a large population. The representation of the sacred writer corre- sponds sufficiently with all that we can learn from other sources on the same point'; and, in a word, there seems to be nothing improbable, but the contrary, in the supposition of a large and populous state, or group of cities, in the region referred to. It has usually been supposed that the first inhabitants of ' Comp. Eawlinson, Outlines of the enormous extent of existing re- Ass. Hist. pp. XV, xvi; Communica- mains, see also Mr. Loftus's recent tion to the Athcnjeum, 1854, p. "42. work, "Travels and Researches in For evidence of the ancient popu- Chaldtea and Susiana," ch. ii, and lousness of this region afforded hv xv. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. 7 whom we have any certain historical traces, in this part of Asia, were of the Semitic race; — that race of which the Ilebrew^s, Phoenicians, and Ai-abians are the most prominent and well-known members. If, indeed, a Scythic population were supposed to have preceded them, yet the period to wliich it belonged was so remote, and the fact itself so much a matter of speculation, that it seemed to be still substantially correct, as it is certainly most in harmony with the Biblical records, to speak of a Semitic population as the first occupiers of" Babylonia and Chaldaja historically known to us. And this, up to a recent date, appears to have been the opinion of Sir H. Rawlinson, among other authorities. We may add, that his decipherment also of the inscriptions, of both Assyria and Babylonia, from the most ancient downwards, appears to have proceeded entirely on the same supposition. The twenty-third century before Christ has been fixed upon as that in wliich a Semitic empire " superseded a Scythic occupation of Babylonia." ' More recently, however, the same investigator informs us that the Scythic race continued to hold their ground for many centuries later than he had supposed ; and that it was not perhaps until even the time of Nebuchadnezzar, about 600 B.C., that a Semitic population and language obtained a decided preponderance in tiiat region. 2 Further confirmation of this announcement will be looked for with much interest. Meantime it will be asked, how is such a statement to be reconciled with the fact of the origin of the Semitic Abraham and his family, in the nineteenth or twentieth century before Christ, in the country of the Lower Euphrates? — for that " Ur of the Chaldees," his native place, was in that part, is the assertion of Sir H. Rawlinson him- self. Again, there is reason for regarding the Phoenicians, another Semitic people, as originally emigrants from the ' Rawlinson, Early History of Cun. Insc. pp. 10-16 ; Memoir ou Babylonia, in Jour of As. Soc, xv, Do., in Jour, of As. Soc, xiv. pp. 217-224; Commentary on the '^ Communication to As. Soc. (in Ath, 1855, p. 1438). B 4 8 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. shores of the Persian Gulf; and the date of their removal thence to Palestine must fall within the period during which Babylonia and the neighbouring countries were still Scythic.^ One conjecture may, pei'haps, in some degree harmonise these apparently conflicting facts and statements. It may have been some great and overwhelming inroad of the Scythians, which occasioned the movement westward both of the ancestor of the Jewish nation and of the kindred Phoenician settlers on the Mediterranean coast. The Scythic tribes, having, then, ac- quired the countries on the Lower Euphrates, may have main- tained themselves there for some centuries, until finally over- powered, in their turn, by the Semitic race. This supposition, however, implies that the Semitos were the original inhabitants of the country ; and, even with this explanation, there remains a question of some interest. Many of the Cuneiform inscrip- tions of the early Babylonian period have been interpreted on the supposition that they were written in a Semitic dialect^, whereas the inhabitants of Babylonia, in that period, must have been Scythians, speaking a totally different language. How are we now to regard the alleged decipherment of such inscriptions? However this question maybe settled, the an- nounced fact of a Scythic element, settled and predominant in Babylonia to so late a date, is one of such importance as to require the most careful examination ; and this, we may be sure, it will receive at the hands of its able expounder.^ The race and language of the Assyrians themselves must now be regarded as finally determined. Until lately it was thought doubtful, by some good authorities, with which of the great divisions of mankind, the Indo-Germanic, or the Semitic, these renowned conquerors of the ancient world ought to be classed. Prof. Newman leaves the point undecided ; while ' Kenrick, Phoenicia, pp. 46-8. Scythic hypothesis is more than * Journ. of As. Soc. xv, p. 221, doubted by Dr. Hincks. See Letter note; Comp. Ath. 1854, p. 342. to Monthly Review, Feb. 1856. ' It is but right to add that the GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. 9 Winer denies that the Assyrian language belonged to the Semitic family, and connects it rather with the Medo-Persian stock.' If we may rely, however, on the united testimony of the decipherers, the Nineveh inscriptions from Khorsabad, Koyunjik, Nimroud, and other places, are written in a true Semitic dialect. The various inquiries into the forms and meanings of pronouns, nouns, and verbs, have throughout pro- ceeded on the assumption of the closest affinity between the Assyrian, as well as the Babylonian, and the Hebrew and Arabic.^ To the ancient Babylonian period of which we have spoken, belong several facts which may be stated on the authority of Sir H. Rawlinson's communication to the Athenaeum so often referi'ed to. A monarchy existed at least as early as 1976, and continued until the year 1518, B.C. Nor, as before observed, Avas this the earliest organised government established in those countries. For it would appear that there were earlier dynas- ties still, through a lapse of several previous centuries ; of which, however, from the nature of the case, little but Avhat is conjectural can be affirmed. To confine ourselves, therefore, to what may be termed comparatively modern times, we have to notice that one of the sovereigns of the line that reigned between 1976 and 1518 was named Ismi-dakan (or-dagon); who lived about the year 1870, and ruled over Assyria, Baby- lonia, and ChaldiKa. He was succeeded by his son Shamasphal, the founder of a temple that was restored by the Assyrian king Tiglath Pileser the First, in the twelftli century B.C., after having existed for a period of seven hundred years : — for such is the record found on an inscribed cylinder from the ruins of Ivalah-Shergat, the site of one of the oldest Assyrian capitals. This ancient line of kings is said to have been followed by an ' Newman,Heb. Monarcliy(1847), fore ; Dr. Hincks, On the Khorsabad p. 250; Winer, Bib. Realwb., Art. Inscriptions. Comp. J. Brandis, U. Assyrien. d. historischen Gewinn, pp. 32-35, ' Rawl. Com. and Mem., ns be- 70-1. 10 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. Arab dynasty, which ruled until the year b.c. 1273, but of which no certain traces have been found as yet upon the monuments. There are two or three passages of the Old Testament, re- ferring obscurely to the Assyrian or Babylonian power, which probably belong to the period over which we have thus glanced. For example, in Genesis xiv a "king of Shinar" is repre- sented, along with a king of Elam and other chiefs, as making an expedition into the country of Abraham, and conquering the native kings. ^ This occurrence may be well connected with the existence of an ancient government, or collection of confederate cities, on the Lower Euphrates. Indeed the nar- rative of the sacred writer lends evident support, or confirma- tion, to that supposition. Again, in Judges iii, 8-10, a king of Mesopotamia (or Aram-Naharaim) is stated to have conquered the Israelites. Tliis must have been at an early date in the period of the Judges, and long before the foundation of the Hebrew monarchy in the eleventh century B.C. It appears, therefore, to cor- respond with the time of the Babylonian government, which existed previous to the year 1273; and the passage maybe understood to refer to some expedition into the country of the Isi'aelites similar to that of Genesis xiv. Another allusion is of a more obscure and difficult character. It is found in Numbers xxiv, 22-24 ; where Assbur probably means Assyria. Whatever the interpretation of these verses, they have been appealed to as evidence that the Pentateuch could not have existed, as we now have it, till after the com- mencement of the Assyrian inroads upon Palestine in the eighth century b.c.^ It is evident, however, that they cannot be adduced with any effect for such a purpose. For Asshur ' Chedorlaomer (Gen. xiv, 1) is of the Clialdees. Loftus, ChaldoBa, identified with a certain Kudur-ma- pp. 97, 131. pula inscribed on bricks found at " De Wette, Einl., A. T., § 159. Mug'cyer, the supposed site of Ur GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. 11 becomes powerful and prominent in the thirteenth centiny ; and an Assyi'o-Babylonian state, or confederation of states, earlier still. Judging from the instances just cited, even the latter must have been known to any contemporaneous writer of history or laws among the Hebrews. A reference, there- fore, to the dangers threatened by Assyria to neighbouring nations, is no sure proof of lateness of composition. The same remark applies to some other passages in which the Assyrians, or their country, are mentioned in the Mosaic books; — as. Gen. ii, 14; xxv, 18. Beyond the slight notices which have just been stated, we have no evidence in the books of Scripture of the existence of any empire in the countries to the south of Assyria, such as we have hitherto spoken of. It may be expected that a further knowledge of the Cuneiform writing will throw light upon this, as upon other obscure points. Meantime, assuming the reality of this ancient government, we have to ask what relation did the Assyrians and their great city Nineveh bear to it ? Most probably, if the latter were of any importance at all, they were as yet .subject to the southern power. The great centres of population in ancient times, including some of the largest and oldest cities, in most instances existed on, or near, rivers, and in the midst of fertile plains or valleys ; — the latter being an obvious condition of a large population. Hence it may be inferred that the flat and well-watered countries about the Lower Euphrates and Tigris were the earliest abodes of a numerous and settled people, and the seats of regular govern- ment. Assyria with its cities, lying far to the north, at a great distance from the sea, and on the borders of rough moun- tainous regions, would thus in all probability be colonised from the south ; a statement which is in harmony with the Scriptural account (Gen. x, 8-12) representing Asshur as going out of the land of Shinar to found Nineveh and other cities of Assyria. We may properly, therefore, regard the latter country as originally a part of the more ancient Babylonian state ; and it 12 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. was probably not until the thirteenth century B.C. that it sue • ceeded in throwing off its allegiance to Babylon, preparatory to becoming, as it eventually did, the supreme ruling power. We are informed by Herodotus that the Assyrians had held pos- session of Upper Asia for 520 years previously to the revolt of the Medes, an event which took place, there is reason to believe, in the eighth century B.C. This statement gives us of course the thirteenth century for the commencement of the inde- pendence of the former people, or rather of their dominion over adjoining countries. It need not, however, be supposed that Assyria attained at this time a complete and undisputed empire over South-western Asia. It is more likely that for some time it would have to contend for supremacy, both with the Baby- lonians and with other neighbouring peoples. And that this was the case appears from a notice of a battle between a king of Babylon and a king of Assyria, about 1120 B.C., still to be seen in a rock inscription at Bavian, some hours' journey to the north-east of Khorsabad.' Tliis gradual and contested attainment of supreme power may help to account for the circumstance that during the reigns of David and Solomon, from about 1050 to 975, although the dominion of these kings is believed to have extended north-eastward as far as the Euphrates, we meet with no trace of any collision between the Israelites and the Assyrians. The latter were, as yet, only forming and consolidating their power ; and it was not until after the monarchy of David and Solomon had been split into two, often hostile, kingdoms, and so weakened as to pi'omise but little resistance, that the great eastern conquerors began to be really formidable to the people of Palestine. The small Syrian kingdoms must, however, by this time have been visited by the Assyrians, if, as there is reason to believe, the latter had already pushed their expedi- tions as far as the countries about the head-waters of the Tigris ' Layard, Nin. & Bab., pp. 212-13. GENERAL INTKODUCTION, § 1. 13 and Euphrates. But the able and victorious rule of David seems to have deterred them from any attempt to penetrate to the Mediterranean by Palestine ; and it must not be forgotten that Egypt, too, was at this time a powerful empire which had perhaps more than once sent its forces as far as the Euphrates.^ The Assyrians, sufficiently occupied w^ith their nearer con- quests, or troubled by internal dissensions, would be in no condition to encounter such opponents as either the Israelites under David, or the Egyptians under kings like Shishak.^ However this may have been, we soon come to the beginning of a series of powerful kings, many of whose names and dates have, with more or less of certainty, been recovered from the inscriptions. One of these, Tiglath Pileser the First, has already been mentioned. He began his reign about 1130 B.C., and carried on wars in the north and north-west, perhaps as far as Asia Minor. He was also the monarch between whom and the king of Babylon occurred the battle recorded on the rock of Bavian, as before stated ; in commemoration of which battle, again, it may be noticed, the great temple of the Birs Nimroud, near Babylon, lately laid open by Sir H. Rawlinson, was originally built by the victor, the Babylonian king, Mero- dach-adan-akhi. The occurrence of this battle and its issue prove that the Babylonian dominion was, as yet, far from being merged in the Assyrian, and that the monarchs of the south were still able to continue the contest with the growing power of their former subjects. Passing over the names of several kings who reigned sub- sequently to Tiglath Pileser I, and some of whom may have been the founders of palaces at Nimroud, but of whom only the names have hitherto been recovered, we come, after a consider- able interval, to a king whose name has been read both Assar- adan-pal, i. e. Sardanapalus, and also Asshur-akh-bal. The 'Kenrick,Egypt,ii,p.339. Sharpe, ^ 1 Khigs xiv, 25; 2 Chron. xii, Hist, of Egypt, 3rd ed., i, pp. 62-3. 2. 14 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1. latter name is now the established one, and has been inscribed upon many of the marbles in the British Museum. It some- times appears, also, under the slightly different form of Asshur- uchar-pal, or -akh-pal.i Of this king, there is a small sitting statue preserved in the Museum. He is a personage of very high interest, from having been the builder of the North-west Palace of Nimroud, the sculptures from which are the most grand and striking, as well as finely executed, of all that have been recovered from the Assyrian ruins. Asshur-akh-bal is believed to have reigned in the last quarter of the tenth century, between 930 and 900 b. c. The account of his ex- ploits, as well as of his I'e-erection of the palace, which had been originally founded by one of his ancestors, but had fallen into decay, is inscribed upon an immense slab of alabaster, forming the floor of a recess in an inner chamber of one of the temples at Nimroud.^ The inscription is found on both sides of the slab, the upper and the under, the latter indeed con- taining the larger number of particulars. It has been in great part read by Dr. Hincks, and contains minute statements as to the countries overrun and conquered by this victorious monarch. He seems to have cai'ried his arms both north and south, from Elam to Armenia, and then again westward, as far as Syria and the Mediterranean. He includes the Phoenicians among his ti'ibutaries, but the Israelites would appear to have still escaped. This is the earliest king of whom we have such full details ; and his inscriptions furnish a remarkable proof of the pains taken by the Assyi'ians to perpetuate the fame of their deeds to future times. And not without effect, must we of this nineteenth century confess, as we look upon the many curious and noble objects now in the British Museum — the actual visible relics as they are of the old heathen conquerors, and their magnificent palaces ! • Braiidis (Hist. Gewian, p. 60) = Layard, Nin. & Bab., pp. 352- adheres to the form AssardonpaJ, 6. or Sardanapalus. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 1, 15 The son of the preceding king comes next in the order of succession. He has been variously named Temenbar, Divanu- bara, Shalmanubar. We may adopt the last of these as very pro- bably correct. The monarch so called reigned in the earlier half of the ninth century B.C., and is on several accounts a remark- able character. In the first place, he was the builder of the Centre Palace of Nimroud, in which, among other things, was found an obelisk of black marble, now a conspicuous object in tlie Assyrian department of the British Museum. This very interesting relic is about seven feet in height, and is covered on its four sides with an inscription of more than 200 lines, besides rows of figures in bas relief representing men and animals, with other objects. Much of the inscription has been deci- phered and published by Sir H. Rawlinson ; and more recently his interpretation has been confirmed and supplemented by Captain Ormsby, in a paper read before the Royal Asiatic Society.^ On this inscription is found the name of the king now under our notice — who is, therefore, sometimes termed the Obelisk King. There is, in fact, no reason to doubt that it was he who caused the obelisk to be erected, to commemorate his various conquests and the nations from whom he received tribute. Among the latter, for the first time, we meet with the Jews ; for the name of Jehu, king of Israel, has been found in the second of the five epigraphs near the top of the obelisk, having been i*ead about the same time by Dr. Hincks and Sir H. Raw- linson, independently of each other.^ The former scholar also read on this obelisk the names of Hazael and Benhadad, (2 Kings viii, 7 ; x, 32) — although, as we need hardly add, the payment of tribute to the Assyrians by any of these kings is nowhere mentioned in the Biblical history. The epigraphs further enumerate the different articles of tribute receive;! ' Eawlinson, Com. on Cun. Ins., - Layard, Nin. & Bab., pp. 613- p. 31, seci- ; Ath. Dec. 2, 1855. 14. 16 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § L from the conquered kings by their Assyrian master. The variety of the animals and other objects show the great extent of the empire at this time- — including, as they do, the Bactrian camel, the elephant, the rhinoceros, the wild bull, apes, stags and lions- From Jehu, we are told, come vases, rings and seals of gold, pearls, precious oil, and other articles. Captain Ormsby goes so far as to say that the features portrayed on the epigraph relating to Jehu are Jewish in expression ! One other fact in connection with king Shalmanubar deserves to be mentioned. He was the builder of the great edifice which forms the lofty conical mound or pyramid at the north- west corner of the platform of Niraroud, and which was opened by Mr. Layard, and thought by him to be a tomb. It has been termed the tomb of Sardanapalus ; and the evidence relating to it tends to prove that it once contained the body of the builder of the North-west Palace (sometimes called Sarda- napalus I, or the Great), by whom, indeed, the structure ap- pears to have been commenced.^ The successor of Shalmanubar was Shamasphal, of whom nothing is reported, except that his reign was a short one. As the interval between Shalmanubar and the next Assyrian king of whom we have fuller knowledge is little, if at all, short of 100 years, it is evident that there must have been several other kings during this time besides Shamasphah Their names have not been recovered, and so we are brought down at once to Phal-lukha, a monarch of the highest interest, as hav- ing been identified with the Pul of the Scriptures, the first of the great invaders of Palestine expressly mentioned in the Bible.2 ' Layard, N. & B., p. 126. But obelisk, "inscribed with the Annals see Fergusson, Handbook of Ar- of the father of Pul," has an-ived in chitecture, i, pp. 164, 180. He England. (Athen. 1856, p. 427.) thinks that the pyramid was more It may now be seen in the B. probably a temple. Museum. ^ Since the above was ^vTitten, an GENERAL INTKODUCTION, § 2. 17 § 2. BIBLICAL PERIOD. FIRST INVADERS OF PALESTINE, PUL AND TIGLATH PILESER. Before proceeding with the history of Pul, it is desirable to notice briefly the statements of Herodotus and Ctesias re- spectively, concerning the duration and overthrow of the Assyrian empire. (1) Herodotus flourished in the fifth century, B.C. We have very probably to lament the loss of a separate work of his on the Assyrians, to which he twice alludes in his extant books. The brief and fragmentary narrative remaining to us in the latter, is to the following effect : — The Assyrians had command of Asia for 520 years, before the defection of the Medes and other nations. The Medes, having become free, after a time chose for their king Dejoces, a wise and just man of their own iiation. To him succeeded his son Phraortes, who lost his life and whose army was de- stroyed in attempting to conquer Nineveh, which was still the capital of the Assyrians. Cyaxares his son followed him, a powerful king, who at length succeeded in becoming master of Nineveh.' The son and successor of Cyaxares was Astyages, whose daughter Mandane was the mother of Cyrus. The last named rebelled against his grandfather, defeated and captured him, and, seizing his throne, became the founder of the great Medo-Persian empire.^ The united reigns of the four Median kings (53 + 22 + 40 + 35) amount to 150 years ; and as the ac- cession of Cyrus took place in 560 b. c, reckoning upwards, we obtain B.C. 710 for the date of the foundation of the Median monarchy by Dejoces. The defection of the Medes and other nations, of which Herodotus speaks, must have occurred some time previously, we know not how long. It thus appears from Herodotus that the Assyrians were Masters of Asia from ' For more about Cyaxares and - Ilerod. i, 95-130. the Scythians, see infra, § 5. C 18 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. about 1230, at the latest, until 710 B.C., and that their power continued to be formidable long after this last date, as is seen in their defeat of Phraortes. (2) Ctesias was a Greek physician, who lived for seventeen years from about 401 B.C. at the court of Artaxerxes Mnemon, and probably wrote his history of the Assyrians and Persians during this time. The work is lost, except fragments in several ancient authoi's. Some of its contents relating to the Assyrians are preserved in the 2nd book of Diodorus Siculus.^ According to Ctesias, the founder of the Assyrian empire was Ninus, who subdued all Asia from India to the Nile, and who built Nineveh. His wife Semiramis reigned along with him, and succeeded him on the throne. Her military undertakings rivalled, or surpassed, those of her husband ; and she built Babylon. After these two great monarchs comes, during a period of 1306 years, a series of thirty kings, of whom Ctesias has hardly anything to relate, except that one of them sent the hero Memnon to the assistance of Priam in the Trojan war, and that in the reign of another occurred a change of dynasty — Beleus of the line of Ninus being dethroned and succeeded by his chief gardener Balatqras. The whole of these kings were remarkable chiefly for the luxury and effemi- nacy of their lives, in which, however, they were surpassed by the last of the series, Sardanapalus, with whom the Assyrian empire terminates. This result was brought about by the revolt of Arbaces the Mede, and Belesis a priest of Babylon. They captured Nineveh after a struggle of some duration, in which Sardanapalus roused himself from his sloth and self- indulgence, and headed his troops with the utmost bravery. Finding that he could not subdue the rebels, and that Nineveh was about to fall into their hands, he destroyed himself, with his wives and treasures, in one vast funeral pile, kindled by his own hand. Arbaces became king of Media ; while Belesis ' See the fragments from Dio- iu his Ctesiae Cnidii quae snpersunt, dorus and others collected by Lion, pp. 80-118. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. 19 retired to Babylon, of which he received, or retained, the government. The Median kings from Arbaces to Astyages, both included, are nine in number, and their united reigns make up a period of 317 years. In the Ctesian account, as in that of Herodotus, Cyrus succeeds Astyages ; but in the former he is the son-in-lav7, while Herodotus makes him the grandson, of Astyages. Xenophon, again, diifers from both, but on his statements we need not here dwelh Reckoning upwards, as before, from 560, we reach 877 for the date of the subversion of the Assyrian empire ; and adding to this 1306 years, we have 2183 B.C. for its commencement. We have no certain knowledge of the sources from which either Herodotus or Ctesias derived his narrative. The state- ment of the former is simple, and in itself credible enough ; while the other, whatever its origin, is evidently, to a large extent, of a contrary character. To proceed, now, with the account of Pul. The only passage in the Old Testament in which he is mentioned is 2 Kings xv, 19 (comp. 1 Chron. v, 26), where he invades Palestine and levies a large tribute from Menahem, king of Israel. His identification with the Phal-lukha before referred to rests, mainly, on an inscription found on a statue of the God Nebo, now in the British Museum. This was discovered early in 1854 in the ruins of the South-east palace of Nimroud. The inscription states that the statue was " executed by a certain sculptor of Calah, and dedicated by him to his Lord, Phal- lukha, king of Assyria, and to his Lady Sammuramit, Queen of the palace." The decipherer adds, " I must premise that the reading of Sammuramit is quite certain ; and that the type of character employed in the inscription is equally decisive as to the attribution of the legend to Phal-lukha III, and not to either of the earlier monarchs of the same name.''^ The identity ' Eawlinson, in Athcn., J 854, p. read A7h-?z^/(, i.e. the Ninus of Greek 465. It must be noticed that Dr. tradition — not, however, the great Iliucks, instead oi Phal-lukha, would conqueror of that name, but a much c 2 20 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. of this Phal-lukha and the Pul of the Scriptures is made out somewhat as follows. First, this is the only instance in the inscriptions of a king of Assyria being named along with his queen, the latter apparently a personage of equal importance with himself. It may be reasonably taken to correspond to the one similar instance in the Graeco-Assyrian lists, in which the only monarchs similarly related are Belochus and Semiramis. But this Belochus, the 'BiiXoyoQ of Eusebius, is the ^aXw;^ of the Septuagint (1 Chron. v, 26), the Pul of the Bible. Secondly, Herodotus (i, 184) speaks of a Queen Semiramis at Babylon five generations before Nitocris ; the latter having probably lived about the beginning of the 6th century (604- 580) B.C. Allowing, then, a sufficient number of years for five generations, or thereabouts, upwards from Nitocris, we reach the time not only of the Semiramis of Herodotus, but also of the Scriptural Pul. Hence, from this evident corre- spondence in time, it may be concluded that they are the Phal-lukha and Sammuramit of the statue. Respecting the monarch thus identified, little beyond the name was until very recently known to us, at least from the inscriptions. It has lately been reported, however, that a tablet has been found in " the upper chambers of the Central Palace of Nimroud," recording an expedition of Pul into Syria and Palestine. Several particulars are given including the amount of tribute exacted from the king of Damascus, "who was probably the son of Benhadad, and the father of Rezin." The conclusion is that this expedition of Pul into the West is the same which is mentioned 2 Kings xv, 19-20, in connection with MenahemJ. The comparative want of monuments of Pul has been ac- counted for by the supposition that he was the last monarch of the upper, or older, Assyrian line. If he were dethroned, as later king, who had a wife Semira- ' Rawlinson, Communication to mis, so called after the wife of the Roj'. As. Soc, in Athen., 1856, pp. ancient Ninus. — Letter to Monthly 174-5. Review, June 1856. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. 21 the result of some rebellious outbreak which, at the same time, seated his successor, Tiglath Pileser, on the throne, the monu- ments and inscriptions relating to him would be defaced or destroyed by the usurper, as appears to have been done in at least one other case. It has even been doubtfully concluded that Pul was the Sai'danapalus of Ctesias, in so far as he was the last of the so-called line of Ninus, and therefore corresponds, in this respect, to that monarch. A little exercise of ingenuity easily suggests what may stand for corroborative evidence to the same effect.' What if the name Pul be merely an abbreviation, or one of the chief elements^ of the name dis- guised by the Greeks under the longer form ? And what if Belesis be merely a transformation of the original Pileser ? That a priest should have gained the supreme command of the Assyrian empire and become a great conqueror, is by no means inconsistent with ancient oriental history ; as we know, for example, that the connection between the royal and the sacer- dotal power was fiimiliar to the Egyptians. Belesis is described as a captain, as well as a priest ; and it would seem that the Assyrian king was, in fact, very closely connected with the priestly ox'der, and took a peculiar part in certain religious ceremonies.^ Thus it would appear that the account of Ctesias may not be so destitute of a foundation in truth as has often been sup- posed. It is true that he places the death of Sardanapalus in the ninth century, whereas Pul lived in the eighth. But then, as he was a credulous and uncritical writer, he may easily have made a mistake of a hundred years, in speaking of what took place so long before his own time. Several of the reigns in his list of kings, from Arbaces to Astyages, are evidently much too ' The theory now under notice is Von Gumpach, Abriss d. Bab. Ass. substantially advanced by Sir H. Gesch. (1854), p. 75. Kawlinson, Athen., 1854, pp. 342, - Layard, Nin. & Rem., ii, pp. 466. Much the same idea is thrown 472-3 ; N. & B., pp. 351-61. out by a recent German author : — c 3 22 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. long. Again, it is true that he speaks of Arbaces as the prin- cipal actor against Sardanapalus, which may seem very incon- sistent with the supposition that Belesis (as Tiglath Pileser) became the founder of a new Assyrian dynasty, with Nineveh as its capital. But the statements of Ctesias need not be taken strictly in all their details. He is evidently wrong in making the Assyrian empire terminate with Sardanapalus ; for we know both from Herodotus and the Bible that it continued long after his death. It is, therefore, to be inferred that, after their victory, Arbaces and his INIedes, now for a time independent, contented themselves with their own country, and left their coadjutor, Belesis, in possession of Nineveh, or of so much of it as had not been destroyed. Babylon may at first have been his chief capital ; but Nineveh would soon revive ; and it must have done so, as we know, long before the close of the century. After all it must be admitted that it is but vain, however amusing it may be, to speculate on these matters, in the absence of positive evidence. The uncertainty and unsatisfactoriness of such speculations, in the present state of our knowledge of the contents of the inscriptions, becomes the more manifest by a reference to the narrative of Herodotus. "We cannot venture in this place upon any attempt to harmonise the two authors. It is possible that on this subject the information of Herodotus was no better than that of Ctesias. That his account is not, at any rate, complete, appears from the fact that there was some interval between the revolt of the Medes and their choice of Dejoces as their king, of which he was not able to give us any information. 1 ' It has been iisnal to consider the narrative of Ctesias relates, the the Biblical Pul, as the restorer of latter that which appears in the the Assyrian monarchy after its de- height of its power in the Bible, struction by Arbaces, thus making, Such, it would seem, is the opinion in effect, an earlier and a later em- of Dr. Hincks, who also, at the same pire ; the former being that to which time, holds Sammuramit and her GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. 23 Menahem, the king of Israel from whom Pul takes so large a tribute, is usually understood to have reigned from 770 to 760 B.C.'; and these dates may be taken to determine the period of Pul's reign as falling within the first half (800-750) of the same century. He must have ceased to reign long before the husband Phal-lukh (Ninukli) to have belonged to the older dynasty. (M. llev., ub. sup.) To reconcile Herodotus and Cte- sias, wo may suppose that the full independence of the Medes under Ai'baces was only of short duration. The kings of Media, following him, may have been only Viceroys or Satraps ; until the time of Dejoces, when another attempt to cast oft' the Assyrian yoke was more successful, and gave origin to the Median dy- nasty of Herodotus. This was at the time of the overthrow of Sen- nacherib's army in the campaign against Hezekiali, or soon after- wards. That Herodotus docs not, in his extant books, go further back than Dejoces, or speak of the re- markable fate of Sardanapalus, and the conquest of Nineveh by Ar. baces, may arise from this, that he only designed to show the descent of his chief personage Cyrus, and the position which he and his grand- father held as kings of Media. For this purpose it was not necessary for him to ascend beyond Dejoces. Perhaps in his Assyrian books he had what corresponded to the nar- rative of Ctcsias, in its leading features, though it cei'tainly could not have done so in its chronology. He probably placed Ninus (i, 7) many centuries later than Ctesias had done — at the time, in short, of the origin of the Assyrian empire, 520 yeai"s before the Median revolt. The difference of the Median names in Herodotus from those in the list of Ctesias is an evident dif- ficulty. To remove it we have no other resource but to suppose that the two authors may, from some caiise or other, have hit upon dif- ferent names for the sa7ne persons. Nor, when we remember the dif- ficulty of oriental names, their fre- quent conplexity and length, as well as the way in which Greek writers haA'e disguised them in other cases, is there any improbability in such a supposition. They are often still a puzzle to Europeans, When Ctesias represents the death of Sardana- palus, as the very termination of the Assyrian empire, he merely con- founds the conquest of Nineveh by Arbaces with that which took place under Cyaxares, and which really destroyed the Assyrian power. The latter event must have occurred more than 200 years before Ctesias, and he evidently had not the means of very accurate information, about either the earlier or the later cata- strophe. Another explanation proposed may be mentioned here. It is that the number of the Median kings in Ctesias has been somehow errone- ously doubled: — Von Gump, Zeit- rechnung d. Bab. u. Assyr., p. 143. ' See, however, the Chronological note, at the end of this Intro- duction. c 4 24 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. death of Menahem, for wheii that event took place Tiglath Pileser, the second of the name, had been for some years on the throne. This appears from the fact that Menahem's name is found upon the monuments so late as the eighth year of Tiglath Pileser. The latter must, therefore, have supplanted his pre- decessor (if he really did so) about the year 768 B.C. It was, we believe. Dr. Hincks*, who first announced that he had read the name of Menahem as that of an Israelitish king pay- ing tribute to a king of the Assyrians in his eighth year. The same scholar, in the communication referred to, thinks that the Assyrian king was Pul ; while Mr. Layard is doubtful on the point, but inclines to the opinion that it was either Pul or Tig- lath Pileser. The latter is the more in agreement with the various facts of the case. It will, of course, be to the same king that we must ascribe the sculptures found in the South-west Palace of Nimroud, but believed to have been brought there from the Centre Palace, and on the inscriptions of which the name of Menahem may be read, as just mentioned. The latter palace, originally erected by Shalmanubar, was probably rebuilt or enlarged by Tiglath Pileser, and may have been occupied also by his predecessor. It will be tliis king, again, rather than Pul, who, as related on the slabs so transferred to the South-west Palace, carried his arms into Chaldea, Armenia, and Syria, and as far as Tyre and Sidon ; and who is represented on the fine bas-relief of which a drawing is given by Mr. Layard.^ The monuments are stated to contain records of Tiglath Pileser for a period of seventeen years. Little, however, appears to have been as yet reported of their contents, beyond wliat we have mentioned, except that, in addition to Menahem, there appear among his tributaries Rezin, king of Damascus, a ' In Athen., 1852, p. 26. eighth year of Tiglath Pileser." — 2 Nin. & Bab., pp. 617-19. Sir Athen., 1856, p. 175. There are H. Rawlinson, we may observe, two conspicuous slabs in the B. Mus., speaks positively of "the name of representing Tig. P. and an atten- Menahem in an inscription of the dant. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. 25 king of Tyre, and some other petty western kings. There is thus, as in other cases, a fair amount of agreement between the inscriptions and the Biblical history. Let us now, however, observe more exactly what the Hebrew narrator tells us. He says : — " In the days of Pekah, king of Israel, came Tiglath Pileser, king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-niaacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria " (2 Kings xv, 29). The places men- tioned belonged to the Israelitish kingdom ; and this early deportation of their inhabitants is probably referred to in one of Isaiah's prophecies (ix, 1). It is not clear, however, from the sacred history, whether the expedition in question was the same as that undertaken by Tiglath Pileser at the request of Ahaz, and recorded in the next chapter of the Kings. At fii-st it would appear to have been so ; because it is mentioned immediately before the death of Pekah ; and we know that the expedition in aid of Ahaz must have occurred during the last three years of Pekah's life, in which alone he reigned contem poraneously with Ahaz. The rapid and fragmentary character of the narrative warns us, however, not to attach too much weight to this inference. And if the allusion of Isaiah be to the invasion of 2 Kings xv, 29, as we have supposed, that invasion cannot have been the one undertaken for the defence of Ahaz, for the prophet's words evidently imply a considerable interval from the event to which he refers. It is, therefore, most probable that Tiglath Pileser came against Pekah twice ; and that the first statement of the Kings relates to the earlier expedition, in which Pekah was reduced to subjection and made tributary, along with Rezin of Syria. Accordingly, both Syria and Israel, we may conclude, remained subject to Assyria for many years ; while, meantime, Jotham was reigning prosperously in the neighbouring kingdom of Judah Whether this king also was dependent on Assyria in any way, does not appear ; but, from the fact being nowhere stated, we 26 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. are at liberty to conclude that he was not. It may be inferred, either that the character of has reign was such as to save him from the humiliation ; or that the Assyrians, in his time, were too much occupied elsewhere to attempt to extend their dominion over him. The later expedition of Tiglath Pileser was one of great im- portance to Judah. Ahaz, the son of Jotham, was now on the throne. He was a young man and a feeble ruler ; and his accession appears to have been thought, by Pekah and Rezin, a good opportunity for prosecuting the war already commenced before the death of Jotham, and even for trying to place a vassal of their own over Judah. ^ Their object was, no doubt, to unite the strength of the three kingdoms against Assyria. Egypt was most probably concerned in the plan ; as the evident policy of that country was to unite with the smaller states lying between her own frontier and Assyria, in a confederacy, directed by herself, against the overwhelming power of the larger empire. We may infer this from such expressions as Is. vii, 18 ; and from 2 Kings xvii, 4, where we see Hoshea in league with the king of Egypt, and casting off his allegiance to Assyria. Ahaz was, at all events, now compelled to throw himself on the protection of the Assyrians. His appeal had the desired result. He and his people were saved from the threatened danger ; but the deliverance was evidently pur- chased by the sacrifice of the independence of Judah, and the payment of a large tribute to the protecting power. (2 Kings xvi, 8.) On the occasion of the Jewish king's visit to Damascus to meet Tiglath Pileser — the first occasion on which the Jews of the southern kingdom may have come into close con- tact with the pomp and power of the mighty Assyrian Monarch — the only incident that seems to have struck the mind of the old annalist as deserving of record, was that Ahaz saw ' 2 Kings xvii ; Is. vii. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 2. 27 an altar at Damascus, ami caused one of the same fashion to be built at Jerusalem, and used there after his return home. The tone of the narrative leads to the inference that the transac- tion was regarded by the writer as idolatrous. In the Chro- nicles (2 Chron. xxviii, 23) it decidedly appears in this light. The representation of the two books is sufficiently illustrated by the language in which Isaiah, at the close of his first and second chapters, speaks of the idolatry prevailing in Jerusalem, about the time to which the incident belongs. The subjection of Judah to Assyria, we may conclude, con- tinued for the rest of the reign of Ahaz ; nor is it probable that any effort which the king or his people could at this time have made, Avould have been attended with success. The kingdom was unable to defend itself from the attacks of its neighbours the Edomites and Philistines (2 Chron. xxviii, 17-18); and we may infer that the Assyrians did nothing for its protection in those quarters, but, as the Chronicles state, distressed Ahaz, rather than helped or strengthened him. This expression should, probably, be understood simply of the ex- hausting effects of the tribute payments, and not of any failure of the Assyrian king to perform his compact relating to the Syro-Israelitish invasion. The silence of the Chronicles as to the aid given on that occasion is remarkable, and not easy to explain. Possibly the Chronicler deemed it of but little worth, seeing that, after all, it had proved unable to save either Ahaz from further transgression, or his kingdom from the hostile inroads of his bitterest enemies. Of Tiglath Pileser's reign, nothing beyond what we have already noticed appears to have been recovered from the monu- ments. That his annals for a period of seventeen years have been found we have before stated; but his reign must have extended over a much longer time if it commenced so early as 768, for there is no positive trace of his successor, Shalma- neser, until we reach the beginning of the reign of Hoshea, king of Israel. This would be some forty-two years from the 28 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. first of Menahera, but the Chronology of the period has many ditficulties.' Taking, then, 42 from 770, the year of Mena- hem's accession, we obtain 728 for that of Hoshea, a date which, as compared with the beginning of Hezekiah's reign (2 Kings xviii, 1), is rather too late. How long Shalmaneser may then have been king of Assyria (2 Kings xvii, 3) we have no means of determining. Supposing, however, that he ascended the throne not later than 730 b. c., his predecessor's reign would have a length of about thirty-eight years. This is a good deal too long, and it would be better to take off eight or ten years and give them to Shalmaneser, — a change which it seems very allowable to make, where so much is obscure and so entirely conjectural. § 3. SHALMANESER AND SARGON. — THE CAPTIVITY OF THE TEN TRIBES. The name of Shalmaneser has not, as yet, been discovered on the Assyrian monuments. The following statement, how- ever, respecting him has been made by Sir H. Rawlinson : — *' There are two inscriptions in the British Museum which almost certainly belong to him (see Brit. Mus. Inscriptions, pp. 66 and 72), for in the one we find a notice of an attack ' From the first year of Menahem interregnum, or period of anarchy, to Hoshea (2 Kings xvii, 17-30) is in Israel, before Hoshea was recog- 32 years; thus — Menahem, 10; Pe- nised as king, of which the rapid kaiah, 2; Pekah, 20. If, however, narrative gives no account. Too we attend to the parallel reigns of short a duration may also have been Judah, we get a different result ; assigned to Menahem's reign, or to thus — Menahem and Pekaiah, as Pekah's, or both. Mr. Newman, before, 1^ ; Pekah (2 Kings xv, 32), rejecting the supposition of an in- 2; Jotham (v. 33), 16; Ahaz (2 terregnum as arbitrary, finds reason Kings xvii, 1), 12; together 42 years. to lower the date of Menahem's This discrepancy we have no certain reign by 9 years. (Heb. Mon., p. means of removing. The usual sup- 149.) position is, that there was a long GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. 29 upon a king of Samaria, whose name, although mutilated, I read as Hoshea, and in the other there is an account of a cam- paign against a son of Rezin, which latter king was, as we know from Scripture, a contemporary of the predecessor of Shalraaneser."' The great event which gives its interest to this reign, and for a knowledge of which we are chiefly indebted to the Scriptures, is the invasion of the kingdom of Israel, or Samaria, ending as it did in the captivity of the Ten Tribes (2 Kings xvii). At first Hoshea appears to have submitted to the As- syrians and paid the tribute. Shalmaneser, having invaded the country, retired again, as we may infer, when " Hoshea became his servant and gave him presents" (v. 3). Within a few years, however, he repeated the visits and with more serious and lasting consequences. Between the first of these invasions and the siege of Samaria, we ought most probably to place the siege of Tyre, spoken of by Isaiah in his 23rd chapter. It is to an extract from the liis- torian Menander, preserved by Josephus, that we owe our knowledge of the fact that it was Shalmaneser who attacked the Phoenician cities. The Assyrians, as we are told, first subdued the mainland of Phoenicia ; and then, by the aid of the ships of the conquered cities, Sidon and others, endeavoured to master the "crown-giving city " herself. The attempt did not succeed ; the Tyrian ships defeated those brought against them by the Assyrians ; and at the end of five years, it seems probable, although it is not expressly stated, that a peace was concluded on terms favourable to the Tyrians.^ If we rightly place the siege of Tyre between Shalmaneser's first and second invasion of Israel, it must have terminated not long before the close of his reign. The siege of Samaria may, indeed, have been going on at the same time ; for so small an undertaking as ' Communic. to Athcn., 1854, p. * Kenrick, Phoenicia, pp. .377-80. 343, For more see Iiitrod. to Is., ch. xxiii. 30 GENEEAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. the latter can hardly have required the whole Assyrian army, a portion only of which would, accordingly, be sent up from the main body against the Israelitish capital. In this case there is notliing to prevent us fi'ora even supposing that the peace with the Phoenicians was made by Shalmaneser's suc- cessor. There is, in fact, a Khorsabad cylinder which speaks of the capture of Tyre by Sargo7i.^ It appears to have been, in great measure, the interference of Egypt in the affairs of Israel which brouglit about the final catastrophe in the northern kingdom. Hoshea, we read, con- spiring with So, king of Egypt (2 K. xvii, 4), refused the usual tributary presents to the Assyi'ians. The Egyptian king, there is reason to believe, was one of the twenty-fifth, or Ethiopian, dynasty, which reigned in Egypt for a period of about fifty years, contemporaneously for a part of this time with Hoshea .and Hezekiah. The dynasty consisted of three, or perhaps four, powerful Ethiopian monarchs, of whom So (or Seva, as the word might be written by a different punctuation of the Hebrew letters) was either the first or the second. These two are known in history by the respective names of Sabaco and Sevechus, and to either of these the form Seva may properly enough be referred. The object of the Ethiopian was to strengthen himself against the Assyrian power, by an alliance with Hoshea, hoping, it may be, also to include Judah and Syria in the same confederacy. Tlie attempt only led to a fresh invasion by the Assyrians, about the sixth year of Hoshea, and finally to the destruction of the Israelitish king, whose capital was taken after a siege of three years. As in the case of Tyre, however, it is thought that this siege was concluded, not by Shalmaneser but by his successor Sargon. This view is not inconsistent with what is stated in the book of Kings, which in one place simply relates that the "King of Assyria took Samaria" (xvii, 6), > Eawlinsoii, Atli., 1852, p. 13C2. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. 31 without saying whether it was Shalmaneser, or his successor ; and in a second place the historian, curiously enough, seems to refrain even from saying that the king of Assyria took the city, for he adds to his statement, that " at the end of three years they took it" (2 Kings xviii, 10). i Yet it must be admitted that, had we no other source of information, we could only suppose that the monarch to whom Hoshea refused tribute was the same who came up and besieged Samaria, and finally led away the tribes into their distant captivity. It is more probable, however, on the whole, that Sargon was the king referred to by the historian as finishing the siege. For in the magnificent palace of this monarch at Khorsabad, inscriptions have been found which mention the number — 27,280 — of Israelites, carried into captivity by the founder of the palace, from Samaria and other places in the kingdom of Israel.2 Principally on account of this correspondence between what is attributed to Shalmaneser in the Kings, and to Sargon in the inscriptions, it has been supposed that Shalmaneser and Sargon were but two names of one and the sanje ruler. On the face of the matter it is highly improbable that it should be so. For an active and victorious king who made repeated expeditions into Palestine, carried on a long siege in the country, perhaps two or three, and took captive many thou- sands of the inhabitants, must have been well known by name to the Jewish people, and cannot, therefore, have been spoken of by their writers under two, or even three ^, perfectly distinct names, and that, too, without any intimation that they intended ' It may be observed that the considered by Sir H. Rawlinson as Hebrew might be so pointed as to only another name or title of the read, "he took it," — i. c. Shalma- same king (Outlines, pp. 26-8). neser. Von Gumpach, Abriss, p. 75, makes "^ Layard, Nin. & Bab., p. 618. Shalmaneser identical with Sargon. ' Tiglath Pileser was formerly 32 GENEKAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. all the time to designate the same person. Hence we readily adopt the view which recognises Sargon as different from Shal- maneser, and which appears to be fully borne out by the monuments, as well as by the language of Scripture. It may, accordingly, be supposed that, while the last named king w^as engaged in the siege of Samaria, Sargon was enabled to usurp the supreme power, to overcome and destroy Slial- maneser, and supersede him in the empire. Of the events leading to this revolution w^e know nothing. It may be con- jectured, however, that it is owing to this that so little remains of the monuments and inscriptions of the two predecessors of Sargon. Their memorials were probably destroyed by the usurper, as those of Pul are believed to have been by Tiglath Pileser. What the relation between Tiglath Pileser and Shal- maneser may have been, whether that of father and son, we seem to have, as yet, no means of determining. The com- mencement of the siege of Samaria was, according to the common Chronology, in the year 723, and its close in 721 B.C., the latter year being, also, the first year of the reign of Sargon. The information respecting this monarch to be derived from the Scriptures is limited to a single fact, which, although stated only by w^ay of parenthesis, is a fact of some interest, and one M^hich is suggestive of a whole train of events of high import- ance. It is, that Sargon sent his general against Ashdod and took it (Isaiah xx, 1). The connection in which the statement occurs leads to the inference that Sargon was at this time about to enter upon a war with Egypt and Ethiopia ; and it is evident that an issue unfortunate for those two countries was antici- pated by the Hebrew prophet. The inscriptions make up, in great measure, for the scanti- ness of the information afforded by the Bible. From them it may be gathered, as vre have already noticed, that Sargon was the builder of the palace at Khorsabad, which was the first of the great Assyrian ruins laid open, and from which, in the first GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. 33 instance, the French Consul Botta, ami afterwards Mr. Layard i, obtained a large number of sculptures of excellent workmanship and in the best preservation. The more important of these, consisting partly of colossal human-headed and winged bulls, are now in the Louvre, and a few of a less striking character in our own British Museum. ^ As to the monarch whom these marbles commemorate, and who is believed to have effected a second dynastic revolution, we have no reason to suppose that he was in any way connected with the ancient line, which terminated in the person of Pul. It seems most probable that he was not, because his father and grandfather, whose names have been recovered from a tablet found in the ruins of the palace of his son Sennacherib, do not appear as monarchs of Assyria ; nor has any inscription been discovered attributing such a descent to the founder of the palace of Khorsabad. It may, therefore, be assumed that he was only some great officer, or Satrap, of the Assyrian empire, who by a favoui'able conjuncture of circumstances was enabled to possess himself of supreme power. He appears, also, to have been a very successful general. Besides completing the conquest of Samaria, as before stated, he, doubtless, kept in subjection the kingdom of Judah, in which Hezekiah had be- come king, some years before Sargon's accession. No attempt was made, so far as we know, by the Jewish king just named, to throw off the Assyrian yoke, until the time of Sennacherib. After the conquest of the Israelitish kingdom, therefore, Sar- gon's attention seems to have been directed to the acquisition of the Philistine cities, of which Ashdod was one — probably as the preliminary to his invasion of Egypt. The line of march into this country would lie along the coast, in the south-western ' Nin. & Bab., pp. 131-2. Sec ^ For an interesting account of the magnificent restoration of the tlie Ivliorsabad discoveries see Bo- palace court at Khorsabad, in Fer- nomi's Nineveh and its Palaces, gusson, Ildbk. of Architecture, i, p. 2nd ed., 1853. 169. 34 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. part of Palestine ; and hence the importance of securing this district before actually entering Egypt. It is probable that at this time Hezekiah was the active ally of Sargon, for when Isaiah (xix, 15) speaks of the land of Judah as being a "terror to Egypt," he seems to mean that it will be so, not from anything that Judah alone could do, but only through its alliance with the greater power. This interpretation of the words will be found to correspond with the general scope of the passage ; and also with the fact, before referred to, that Hezekiah was now, as for several years previously, under the predecessor of Sargon, submissive to the Assyrian power, and, therefore, we may pre- sume, in alliance with it. Of the result of the Egyptian expedition we have no in- formation, beyond the fact, learnt from the inscriptions, that Sargon received tribute from a Pharaoh of Egypt, which im- plies, of course, a successful issue. If, moreover, the partial destruction of No Ammon, or Thebes (Nahum iii, 8), be rightly referred to this Assyrian invasion under Sargon, his arms must have penetrated far into the interior of Egypt ; and his supe- riority over the Ethiopians must have been very decided. It appears difficult to admit that such a considerable result as this would imply can have been attained by the invading force, and yet have been left without any distinct record or allusion, either in the prophecies of Isaiah, or in the historical books of Scrip- ture. Any memorial of the event, a memorial of Egyptian humiliation, is not to be looked for on the Egyptian monuments. We may hope, however, here again, that a better knowledge of the Assyrian records will throw light on this obscure subject. The absence from the latter of all notice of so remai-kable a campaign, would be tolerably conclusive evidence against its occurrence, and against ascribing to Sargon the destruction of No Ammon. Nor are we able to determine who the Pharaoh was from whom Sargon received tribute. We can scarcely suppose that any member of the powerful Ethiopian dynasty could have GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. 35 been reduced to the position of an Assyrian tributary, although Sargon may possibly have penetrated as far as Thebes, and even have defeated the Ethiopian armies. It is more likely that the Pharoah referred to was some native Egyptian king, who at this time, like Sethos somewhat later, ruled over a portion of Lower Egypt, perhaps by permission of the Ethi- opians. Or is the statement of the Assyrians about their receipt of Egyptian tribute a mere vain boast ? It further appears, from the inscriptions, that Sargon waged war with various so-called kings of Ashdod, Gaza, Hamath, and other Syrian cities ; the records being in evident harmony with the passage of Isaiah before cited. His armies also fought in Babylonia, Armenia, Susiana, and Media. They appear to have passed over, probably by the aid of the Phoenician ship- ping, as far as the island of Cyprus, where a memorial tablet of this monarch has been discovered.^ From these various and distant expeditions and conquests, it is evident that the reign of Sargon must have been one of some considerable duration. It has usually been thought to have occupied only a very few years. Winer, who sufficiently represents this view, gives it a duration of at most from two to three years, adding that it may have been, perhaps, only a few months.2 This is, of course, too short a time for a reign em- bracing so many important events — including, also, as it must have done, the erection of such a palace as that of Khorsabad. On the other hand. Sir H. Rawlinson would extend the reign of Sargon to 19 years, i.e. from 721 to 702 B.C., in which latter year he places the accession of Sennacherib.^ If the annals of Sargon clearly represent him as reigning so long, we ' Layard, Nin. & Bab., pp. 618- ' On the ground that inscriptions 20. Comp. Kcnrick, Plioenicia, pp. of Sennacherib represent him, early 381-2. The tablet is now at Berlin, in his reign, as placing Belibus on and has been recognised as belong- the throne of Babylon, and Belibus ing to the builder of Khorsabad. occurs in the Canon of Ptolemy Rawlinson, Comment., p. 53. about 702. But is the identification - Rcalwb. Art. Sargon. sufficiently made out ? D 2 36 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. are bound to admit their account, and must make the best we can of any difficulties that may arise in connection with the Biblical Chronology. In the present state of our knowledge, however, it may be allowable to hesitate awhile before making so great a change, or regarding the question as finally settled. For, let us observe the relation in which the longer period stands to one or two precise and familiar Biblical statements, Sennacherib, let it be granted, succeeded Sargon in 702, and invaded Judah, we will suppose, 2 years later, in 700 b, c. The latter was, therefore, the fourteenth of Hezekiah (2 Kings xviii, 13), who, accordingly, must have ascended the throne in the year 714. But, on the other hand, he was king when Samaria was captured in 721 B. c. ; and, indeed, this event took place in Hezekiah's 6th year (2 Kings xviii, 10) : thus he must have ascended the throne not later than about 726 or 727 B. c, and his fourteenth year must have been, not in 700^ but in 712 or 713. It is observable, also, that this want of agreement between the length of 19 years assigned to Sar- gon's reign, and the years of Hezekiah just mentioned, equally exists, from whatever point we date the commencement of Hezekiah's reign. The sixth of Hezekiah was the year of the conquest of Samaria, and his fourteenth was that of Senna- cherib's invasion, whenever Hezekiah began to reign ; leaving an interval of not more than eight years for Sargon ; and if we attach any value to the Biblical account, these dates should not be lightly altered or departed from. In the face of this difficulty, therefore, we think it better for the present to adhere more closely to the commonly received Chronology, even in reference to the reign of Sargon, and to assign to it a duration rather of six or seven than of nineteen years. The question remains whether this length of time is sufficient for the various expeditions which Sargon is said to have under- taken. It appears to be so ; for, as in the case of the siege of Ashdod, some of them may have been conducted by his generals, while attributed to their master; he himself being GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 3. 37 engaged at the same time in others. Sargon may have been pursuing his conquests in Phoenicia, while Tartan was among the Pliilistine cities, and while another of his generals may- have passed over to Cyprus. The invasion of Egypt would not, perhaps, occupy more than two years ; and in fact Isaiah (ch. xx) speaks of three years, as the limit within which the humiliation of that country by Assyria is to be effected. The campaigns in Babylonia and Susiana need not have occupied more than a single year ; while those in Armenia and Media may have taken one or two more. All this time the erection and adornment of the great palace may have been proceeding. Nor is it absolutely necessary to suppose that it was both begun and completed by Sargon, and not rather continued and finished after his death, by his son Sennacherib, in commemora- tion of his exploits. There seems, therefore, to be nothing, in the succession or character of the events falling within the reign of Sargon, requiring us to regard it as having lasted so long as 19 years ; or even as having preceded the reign of Shal- maneser, the latter being the short reign — a view which has been adopted by several authors. At the same time it must be admitted, that should the longer duration be established con- clusively, such an arrangement of the reigns will be the preferable one ; and most probably, in that case, it will be found to be warranted, or required, by a further knowledge of the inscriptions. The fact that the sculptures represent Sargon as the father of Sennacherib will not, perhaps, form an insuperable objection to such a transposition. There are, however, some other considerable difficulties connected with it, but with these we need not at present concern ourselves.' ' Comp. Newman, Heb. Mon., attributed to the former, giving to p. 270 ; Bosanquet, Jour, of Roy. Sargon a reign of only 4 years. As. Soc., XV, p. 282. A late writer Among other reasons, this author (Kruger, Gesch. d. Assyr. & Ira- urges that, according to the Greek nier, pp. 135-6, 360) transfers from account, it was Shahnaneser, not Sargon to Shahnaneser the 19 vears Sargon. who made the conquest of D 3 38 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 4. § 4. Sennacherib's invasion. — hezekiah and isaiah. In the reign of Sennacherib we reach the point of highest interest in the connected histories of Judah and Assyria. Hezekiah was on the throne of the former kingdom, and had been so probably for eleven or twelve years, when Sennacherib succeeded his father Sargon. The Jewish monarch and his advisers probably thought that the death of Sargon, followed by the accession of a young and untried ruler, afforded a favourable opportunity for the attempt to free themselves from the Assyrian supremacy. We are left here, again, as in other cases, almost entirely without certain knowledge, as to the immediate circumstances in the position either of Assyrian or of Jewish affairs, which led to the determination at last to refuse the long-paid tribute. We are told, indeed, in general terms, that Hezekiah's government was successful ; that " he prospered, whithersoever he went forth," and that he also " smote the Philistines." (2 Kings xviii, 7-8.) Such expres- sions manifestly imply a considerable degree of material success, the consequence and the reward, in the sacred wi-iter's view, of Hezekiah's obedience to the Law. The fact that the book of Kings represents Hezekiah as having " rebelled against the king of Assyria and served him not," before it speaks of the capture of Samaria in the sixth year of Hezekiah, ought not, probably, to be regarded as implying that the rebellion of Cypras. But how doubtful this is stand the test of a close examination, may be seen in Kenrick, Phoenicia, In connection with this subject, we p. 379, note 1 ; where it is shown may venture to express the hope that it is not necessary to understand shortly to see published the very the Greek statement of einjAsst/rian interesting and able paper, on some occupation of Cyprus at all. We points in the work referred to, re- imagine that a good deal more, in cently read before the Royal Society the ingenious attempt of Kruger to of Literature by the Bp. of St. extract the early Assyrian history David's, from the Shah Nameh, would not GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 4. 39 Hezekiali took place previous to that event. The introductory verses of this chapter (v. 1-8) have the appearance of being a summary statement of the general character of Hezekiah's reign ; and the particular details do not appear to be entered upon until we reach the 9th verse. Hence, as we have said, it was, probably, not until after the death of Sargon that Judah went so far as actually to refuse the Assyrian tribute. In seeking for the motives which may have led to this decided step, besides the opportunity presented by Sargon's death, and the generally successful character of Hezekiah's reign, we must bear in mind the probable influence of Egypt at this time in the counsels of Judah. There are distinct in- timations, in the prophecies of Isaiah, of an understanding between Hezekiah and one of the Pharaohs, as well as of friendly relations subsisting with Ethiopia. The object of both the latter powers was, we must infer, as in other cases, to strengthen themselves against the Assyrians, and to secure upon their Asiatic frontier the support of an allied power. Hezekiah, in the same manner, would consider it important to have behind him one or more friendly powers on whose support he could count. It must be confessed that the act of the Jewish king was a bold one; and one which, whatever the aid afforded by Egypt, was only too likely to bring upon Judah the most terrible calamities. The certainty of an Assyrian invasion, and the consequent desolation of the country, would seem to be evident. An alliance with Egypt, even if it should prove really productive of its desired results, and should bring up a powerful auxiliary force, would only tend to cause greater calamities to the Jewish people. In this case their country would become the battle-field of two great powers — a result, with its attendant miseries, which is alluded to by Isaiah in one or two passages, and which may well have led that prophet, for the sake of his people, to resist to the utmost the policy of an alliance with the Egyptians. Accordingly, we find him, from the first, decidedly opposed D 4 40 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 4. to that course. He probably thought it not only little calcu- lated, in the distracted state of Egypt, to bring substantial aid to Judah, but also the most certain course to exasperate the Assyrians and hasten the destruction of his people. That the prophet was an advocate of submission to Assyria, and of the continued payment of the tribute, does not, however, appear. The contrary may, perhaps, be inferred from the distinct terms in which he announces that Judah shall be delivered from the yoke, and the power of the oppressor broken : but the source of his reliance for this result was neither the assistance of Egypt, nor the unaided efforts of the kingdom of Judah itself, but, simply, the protection of Jehovah. The most that may be gathered from his writings, in favour of the former sup- position, is that he probably would have preferred that his people should have remained quiet (xxx, 15); that they should not trouble themselves with warlike preparations, which, against so overwhelming a power as Assyria, could have no chance of succeeding ; that they should trustfully await the great deliverance. It may be said that this was virtually to recommend the continuance of submission ; but to the mind of the Hebrew prophet, with his unwavering faith in the Pro- tector of his nation, the matter would not so appear. The quiet trust and expectation, accompanied by the return to national and individual rectitude and purity of worship, which Isaiah so earnestly sought to bring about, this alone, in his view, could win the Divine protection, and secure the wished- for deliverance ; while Avarlike preparations, mere self-depend- ence, in the midst of so much iniquity, however aided by foreign alliances, could lead to nothing but defeat and renewed humiliation. But the exact position of Isaiah in relation to the Assyrian invasion will be seen more clearly in the section on the prophet's life, and in the remarks accompanying the prophecies relating to this period of the history. The policy condemned by Isaiah undoubtedly prevailed. The speedy result was that, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 4. 41 the Assyrians invaded tlie country in overwhelming force under Sennacherib. We need not dwell at any length on the well-known details. It will be interesting, however, to observe how far the Biblical account is in harmony with what we can learn respecting these events from other sources, including, of course, the Assyrian monuments. There appear to be ample reasons for identifying Senna- cherib as the builder of the great palace of Koyunjik, the most extensive, if not the most magnificent, of the disinterred palaces. Its ruins were excavated by Mi*. Layard in his second expedition ' ; and some fine sculptures, the fruits of his operations in the great mound opposite Mosul, are now in the British Museum, These slabs are, in their kind, little, if at all, inferior to those from Khorsabad previously men- tioned, and indicate, it is thought, a more advanced state of Art than those from the older palaces of Nimroud. The annals of the founder of the palace, for a series of years, occur in the in- scriptions on the great human-headed bulls, and upon other portions of the edifice. The name of Sennacherib was first read by Dr. Hincks^ ; but for the more complete knowledge of the contents of the inscriptions we are indebted to Sir II. Rawlin- son.3 His interpretations have been, in the main, confirmed by the independent investigations of Dr. Hincks."* The fact that results so much alike have been thus separately arrived at, is our best assurance that they give us substantially the actual contents of the inscriptions. The full details will be found i^ the works referred to. It is enough for our present purpose to state, in regard to the first and second years of the reign of Sennacherib, that various expeditions to the north and south of Assyria took place in those years. It is not until we reach the third year that we ' Nin. & Bab., in particular, ch. ^ Ath., 1851, Aug. 23 & Sep. 8. V, vi, & XX. Outlines of Ass. Hist. pp. xx-xxxix. - Khorsabad Inscriptions, pp. 34- * Nin. & Bab., p. 139. 6. 42 GENERAL INTKODUCTION, § 4. come to statements immediately bearing on the sacred narra- tive. We find that, in that year, Sennacherib overran Syria, and after subduing Sidon and other Phoenician cities — of which successes he probably caused the memorial tablet to be executed which is found cut in the I'ock near the Nahr el Kelb river^ — reached the country of the Philistines on the south- west coast of Palestine. Here he captured and plundered many towns ; and here, according to his own account, he encountered and defeated the Egyptians, assisted by the Ethi- opians. This battle is thought by both our authorities to have really taken place, and to be alluded to in the narrative of 2 Kings (xviii, 21, 24 ; xix, 9); but the allusion is extremely slight and doubtful. The Biblical account appears, rather, to pass over without notice whatever, in the series of events, does not immediately relate to the Jewish kingdom. An invasion of Egypt by Sennacherib is, it is well known, mentioned by Herodotus, who was told by the Egyptian priests that the Assyrian army was defeated and forced to retreat, in con- sequence of a multitude of field-mice, sent by one of their gods, having, in the night, gnawed the bowstrings and shield- straps of the Assyrian soldiers. This story may be regarded either as a mere invention of the priests ; or as a vei'sion, framed, however, to do honour to the Egyptian god, of the great disaster sustained at this time by Sennacherib's forces, accord- ing to the Scriptural narrative. The inscriptions, as might be expected, make no allusion to any such defeat, or destruction, of the invading host, but represent Sennacherib as successful throughout his enterprise. It is very probable that the events of the campaign were of a mixed character, partly prosperous, partly adverse. In the first encounter with the Egyptians Sen- nacherib may have defeated them, although supported by their Ethiopian allies. He may thus have been enabled to pursue his march towards, or into, Egypt, and then have met with the ' Rawlinson, Comment., p. 55 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 4. 43 blow which compelled him to turn back. Or, only a portion of his host may have advanced so far as the Egyptian frontier, while the remainder, still encamped on Jewish ground, sud- denly found itself disabled from pursuing the enterprise; while its discomfiture occasioned the hasty retreat of the advanced body, ascribed by the Egyptians to the interference of their god. Either of these suppositions would, in some measure, reconcile the inscriptions with Herodotus, and with the account of the Bible — the chief difficulty in connection with the latter being that the scene of the calamity is removed to a distance from Jerusalem.' In other respects, the statements of the in- scriptions agree sufficiently with those of the sacred writers. The capture of the " fortified cities of Judah," is distinctly mentioned, as well as the devastation of the country and the deportation of its inhabitants, of both of which Isaiah so pathetically speaks in several instances. It is related also that an increased tribute was imposed upon Hezekiah, in addition to what he had formerly paid, the exact amount being given, and corresponding so far as regards the 30 talents of gold with what is stated in the Scriptures. The silver is set down in the inscriptions at 800 talents, whereas the Biblical account speaks of only 300 ; but the latter, it is suggested, may have been only the actual money amount carried off, while the larger sum may include, also, the value of the silver in various forms, obtained from the temple dooi's and pillars, and from other quarters. (2 Kings xviii, 16.) Still, however, Hezekiah, although forced to submit so far as to renew the payment of tribute, yet, encouraged by Isaiah, would not, and did not, give up Jerusalem to the Assyrian army. Sennacherib does not appear to have approached that city himself; but only to have sent his generals to demand its surrender. Hence, we may ' This is inconsistent with the some further notice of this point, words "that night" (2 Kings xix, and of the question of locality, see 35), which, however, are not found z«/>-a, Introd. tols. ch. xxxvi-xxxvii. in the parallel place of Tsaiah. For Comp. note on xxxvii, 36. 44 GENERAL INTUODUCTION, § 4. infer, that the main body of the Assyrians were at some dis- tance from Jerusalem, with their king himself. The latter is stated to have been, in the first place, at Lachish (Is. xxxvi, 2), and afterwards (xxxvii, 8) at Libnah ; that is to say, Senna- cherib was himself engaged among the cities in the south-west, towards the Egyptian fi-ontier, when the interview took place between his messengers and Hezekiah. It was, doubtless, owing to the sudden destruction which overtook a great part of the Assyrian host, either in Judah, or on the borders of Egypt, that the threats against Jerusalem and Hezekiah were not car- ried into effect. Sennacherib, having indeed laid the country waste, despoiled its towns and villages, and captured great num- bers of its inhabitants, was yet obliged to return to Nineveh, without having obtained possession of Jerusalem ; nor do the inscriptions, we are informed, contain anything inconsistent with this representation of the sacred historian. We have sufficiently noticed ^elsewhere the difficulty arising in the account of 2 Kings (xix, 35) from the use of the words " that night." They are not found in the narrative of Isaiah. Even if they be retained, they do not afford any sure ground for concluding that the historian conceived of the fatal blow as falling upon the Assyrians near Jerusalem. If they be dis- regarded, we are left at liberty to think that the event not only took place at a distance from Jerusalem, but even occupied some time in its accomplishment. If, as some interpreters sup- 2)ose, the destruction were occasioned by a sudden outbreak of the plague, w^hich possibly may have been also the cause of the sickness of Hezekiah, many days or even weeks may have passed before the final retreat of the remnant of the As- syrians. Mr. Layard's identification of a great fortified city, lying in a hilly and fruitful country, and represented on the Koyunjik marbles in the British Museum, with the Lachish besieged by Sennacherib, appears to be satisfactorily established.' ' Nin. & Bab. pp. 148-52, GENERAL INTllODUCTION, § 4. 45 There are several of the Psalms ^ which may with much probability be referred to the great event we have just related. Of these Ps. xlvi is the most striking, and well expresses the fet4ings with which the deliverance was viewed by probably a considerable number of the inhabitants of Jerusalem — those who, we may suppose, would be most in sympathy with the moral and religious spirit of the prophet Isaiah. It has been thought tliat Sennacherib must have made two different expeditions into Palestine, separated from each other by an interval of some years. The question is of but small importance, or interest, in this place ; and it may be passed over with the remark that the supposition is inconsistent with the sacred narrative, and not supported by any other sufficient evidence. After his return to his own country, Sennacherib lived for many years. Notices of his various expeditions remain on the monuments, and represent him as carrying on wars in Armenia and Babylonia. He even brought Phoenician sailors, we are told, to man ships which he had caused to be built on the Tigris and Euphrates, and conducted a naval expedition suc- cessfully against some of his revolted subjects along the shores of the Persian Gulf. Why, then, it may be asked, did he not return to Judah, to endeavour to repair the misfortune that had befallen him, by completing the conquest of that kingdom ? We can give no answer to the question, beyond the supposition that the terrible nature of the calamity and the attendant con- viction that Hezekiah was under the protection of a Higher Power, probably co-operated in his mind to lead him to abandon any further attack upon either Judah or Egypt. After a reign, it is believed, of not less than 22 years, perhaps of 2.5, he was assassinated by two of his sons, "as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his God" (2 Kings xix, 37), and then " Esar- haddon his son I'eigned in his stead." ' E. g. xlvi, xlvii, xlviii. 46 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 5. § 5. THE SUCCESSORS OF SENNACHERIB TO THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE. As none of the successors of Sennacherib known to us possess any special interest in connection with the Assyrian prophecies, it is not necessary here to dwell at any length upon their reigns. The name of Esarhaddon occurs in but one other place in the Hebrew Scriptures besides that just cited, and the parallel pas- sage in Isaiah. In Ezra iv, 2, he is mentioned as having brought colonists into Samaria. Hence it may be inferred that, like his father, he made an expedition into the western parts of Asia ; and it may be that he effected some great interchange of colonising tribes between the eastern and the western regions of his empire. He has been thought also to have been the Assy- rian king who carried Manasseh captive to Babylon (2 Chron. xxxiii, 11), an occurrence of which it is strange that nothing is said in the book of Kings. Neither has any allusion to it been found on the monuments. Esarhaddon was the builder of several palaces, the chief of which are one on the mound called Nebbi Yunus and that called the South-west Palace of Nim- roud. The latter was destroyed by fire, but yet the name of Esarhaddon and some record of his wars have been found on the great bulls and some other objects from the building.' He obtained materials for his new palace by despoiling the older structures of the North-west and Centre Palaces, erected by monarchs of the ancient line which we have seen reason to conclude terminated with Pul — monuments of the latter, as well as some of Tiglath Pileser, his successor, brought from the Centre Palace, having been found, as we formerly noticed, in the South-west Palace. From the inscriptions it appears that Esarhaddon found his chief occupation in war, like his father, ' Layard, Nin. & Bab., pp. 160, 62!. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 5. 47 and carried his arms over an equally extensive portion of South- western Asia. The son and successor of Esarhaddon is not mentioned in the Bible. He has been named both Sardanapalus HI, and xVsshur-bani-pal', and of his reign some very interesting monuments remain to us. These were discovered chiefly in a liart of the palace of his grandfather Sennacherib, in the great mound of Koyunjik. He appears either to have enlarged this palace, or else to have completed the decoration of the part referred to, in which were found many very beautiful and elaborately sculptured slabs, as well as colossal bulls and lions.^ He was also the builder of the North Palace of Koyunjik, the sculptures of which are more minute and delicate, as well as more perfect in their imitation of nature, than those of the older palaces, though, at the same time, inferior in grandeur and breadth of design.-'' Some of the hunting scenes, in particular, have been characterised as belonging to the highest style of Assyrian Art. The same king, altliough a great warrior, and much engaged in the reduction of his rebel- lious subjects in Elam and Babylonia, as recorded on some of his marbles, would seem also to be entitled to the character of a patron of letters. To his reign are referred the very nume- rous inscriptions on tablets of baked clay, which are spoken of as having constituted the "royal library," and are sta'ed to have proved of the utmost value in the task of deciphering the Assyrian writing.'* "We have no certain information as to the length of the two reigns just noticed. They must, however, have occupied a large part of the 7th century ; and the death of Asshur- ' Rawlinson, Outlines, p. xl ; " Layard, Nin. & Bab. pp. 445-59. Ath., 1854, p. 343. He is called ' Fergusson, Handbk. of Arch, i, Asshurakbbal III on some of the p. 177. For a list of these sculp- marbles (46, 49) in the B. Mus. ; tures, which are now in the British while the name Asshur-bani pal Museum, see Ath., April 5, 1856. does not appear to be recognised. ■• Layard, Nin. & Bab., pp.344-7. 48 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 5. bani-pal may be assumed to have occurred not earlier than from 650 to 640. Perhaps it was even later than this. The Assyrian rule, still, no doubt, retained a large share of its earlier vigour ; but it was on the decline ; and with the next monarch it is probable that the mighty empire came to an end. His name has but recently been made known, and is stated to have been Asshur-ebid-ilut. He is believed to have built the South-east Palace of Nimroud, an edifice of some extent, but in other respects greatly inferior to the earlier palaces.* It is altogether such a building as, in the department of Art, may well enough correspond to that decline of the political power of the Assyrians which, from causes not yet fully known to us, had taken i:)lace before the death of this king. It has been conjectured that his father Asshur- bani-pal lost his life while defending Nineveh against an attack of the Scythians, b. c. 634 ; and that the builder of the South-east Palace, having thus succeeded to the throne, reigned in Nineveh after its capture by the Scythians and by tlieir permission, during the interval which elapsed before the final destruction of that capital by the united Medes and Baby- lonians, under Cyaxares and Nabopolassar.^ The conjecture is unsupported by anything like evidence ; and, perhaps, the same remark applies equally to a suggestion of Mr. Layard's^, to the effect that this was the king who executed the great act of self-destruction which we have attributed to Pul. If this were correct, Cyaxares would be the Arbaces of Ctesias and Nabopolassar the Belesis. But then, what are we, on such a supposition, to make of the long interval between Arbaces and Cyrus, occupying, as we have seen, a period in Herodotus of 150, in Ctesias of more than 300, years? These somewhat arbitrary suppositions may serve to warn us that the period of Assyrian history at which we have arrived ' Nin. & Bab., pp. 599, 655. » N. &. B. p. 622. - Riiwlinsoii, Outlines, p. xli. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 5. 49 is one that is involved in the greatest obscurity. Conjectures iri abundance may be put forth ; the more easily from the want of facts by which to limit and to test them. It must still be considered doubtful, not only whether the gi'andson of Esar- haddon was the last king, but also whether the Babylonian empire Avhich now rises into view was not, in fact, only the older Assyrian power under a new name ; or whether, again, the commencement of the former does not indicate a total change, not only of the name and capital city, but even of the ruling race. It is not necessary for our present pur[)ose to enter upon the discussion of such questions, or to pursue the subject into the Babylonian period. With a brief notice of the destruction of Nineveh, the task proposed in this outline will be completed. As we have said, the successor or successors of the son of P^sarhaddon were in no position to continue the warlike under- takings of their ancestors ; but, on the contrary, were most pro- bably, both personally and politically, little equal to the task of preserving even the ancient boundaries of the empire. The Median power would seem again to have become especially threatening. Herodotus, we have before seen, informs us that under Phraortes, the son of Dejoces, the Medes went so far as to attack the Assyrians who held Nineveh. This state- ment probably implies that some previous battles had taken place, in which the Assyrians had been defeated. But, if so, they were eventually able to repel the attack, and Phraortes is related to have lost his life in a battle which they won.' This may have been about the year 635 B.C. Shortly after this victory, it has been thought, occurred the ' The battle has been called the On these points and on the question battle of Ragau, from Judith i, 5-15 ; of the historical credibility of Judith, tlie Arphaxad of this apocryphal see Kruger, Assyrier, p. 371-2 ; also boolv being thought to denote Phra- Von Gumpach, Zeitrechnung d. Bab. ortes, and Nebucliodonosar the As- & Ass., pp. 161-4. Syrian king who defeated the Modes. 50 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 5. expedition of Holophernes related in the book of Judith — the last vain effort, as it has been considered, of Assyria to recover its ancient predominance over Western Asia. But the his- torical character of the book of Judith is by no means such as to warrant our receiving so important a series of events on its sole authority. The struggle against Assyria, which was evidently one of race against race for the empire of Asia, was renewed by the Medes under Cyaxares, the son of Phraortes, who succeeded in bringing up the Median forces again to the siege of Nineveh. But, at this critical point, an irruption of the Scythians saved for a time the beleaguered capital. It seems not improbable that they may have been invited to advance into Media by the Assyrians themselves, who may have seen no other chance of escape fi*om their impending fate than by bringing this for- midable enemy upon their besiegers. The wild nomade race which thus burst over the south-west of Asia came from the regions beyond the Caucasus, now forming part of the Russian empire in Europe, and extending from the northern shores of the Black Sea to the Caspian. Their inroad into Media com- pelled Cyaxares to retire from the siege. He marched against them, but was defeated ; his dominion was for a time at an end ; and the Scythians spread themselves over the continent from Media to the boi'ders of Egypt. It is has been thought that the prophets Zephaniah (ch. i. ii) and Jeremiah (i, 14; iv, 6-7; V, 15, seq.) allude to the threatened invasion of Judea by these wild hordes. If so, the terras in which the latter speaks of them show us the terrible character of their inroad. After some years, however, Cyaxares recovered his power. Partly by force, partly by stratagem, he succeeded in overpowering the barbarians, now probably enfeebled by various causes, and incapable of any long continued effort of government or self- defence. By degrees he extended his authority over the neigh- bouring countries, as far even as Asia Minor. Meantime Nabopolassar had become governor of Babylon, GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 5. 51 probably ruling there as viceroy of the Assyrian monarch.^ He saw in the rising fortunes of Cyaxares sufficient encourage- ment to throw off his allegiance to Assyria. It may be that the expedition of Pharaoh Necho (2 Kings xxiii, 29), stated by the sacred writer to have been against " the king of Assyria," took place at this time ; and that by " king of Assyria " is really meant the revolted Babylonian Satrap. According to this view, the expedition was designed to relieve the Assyrians besieged in Nineveh, and Josiah, king of Judah, who Avas defeated and slain by the Egyptians at the battle of Megiddo, must have been in alliance with Cyaxares and Nabopolassar.^ These two rulers now detached Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, with a portion of their united armies, to meet and oppose the victorious Egyptians. A battle took place at Car- chemish on the Euphrates. The Egyptians were here defeated and compelled to return. Their interference thus proved of no avail, if such were its aim, for the deliverance of Nineveh, and the siege, now renewed by Cyaxares, went on. It may have continued for two or three years, and then Nineveh was finally captured. The marks of fire, found on several of the palaces, may have been caused by conflagrations kindled at the close of the attack. It is singular, however, how little informa- tion has been left to us respecting the overthrow of so great a city, the central point as it was of Assyrian power and grandeur. The notices of the ruin of the empire, by the prophets Ezekiel and Zephaniah (Ez. xxxi ; Zeph. ii, 13), show, indeed, how complete was the destruction, but give us no details as to the manner of its accomplishment. It is equally remarkable that Xenophon, who, not much more than 200 1 Another supposition is that man, Heb. Mon., pp. 323-4 ; and Nabopolassar was a chief of the see infra, note on Is. xxiii, 13. Chaldees, who, at the time of the ^ This combination, perhaps, best great Scythian invasion, got pes- reconciles the different statements session of Babylon and the govern- in this part of the history ; but must ment of the country. Comp. New- be taken for no more than it is worth, as merely conjectural. K 2 52 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 5. years after the event, must in his retreat with the Ten Thousand have passed by the ruins, yet makes no statement indicating that he was even aware of the true character of the site. Much of the wall surrounding the city existed in his time, as he particularly notices it ', and gives its measurement ; but the name of Nineveh he does not mention ; and it would seem that the ruins did not, in any way, recall to his mind that famous word. With the destruction of the Assyrian capital, the ruling power passed more entirely into the hands of the Medes and Babylonians. The latter now become prominent in the Biblical narrative ; and, under Nebucliadnezzar, who shortly afterwards succeeded his father, are seen in possession of an empire rival- ling in extent that of their ancient masters. It has been no part of our plan to dwell on the relations sub- sisting between Babylon and the Assyrian empire during the century and a half preceding the destruction of Nineveh. It is known that a regular succession of rulers, during much of that period, administered the Babylonian government, from the time of Nabonassar (747 B.C.) downwards. They were probably, for the most part, only viceroys of Assyria. In some instances they appear to have been sons of the Assyrian monarch, as in the case of Esarhaddon, during the lifetime of his father Sen- nacherib. In some instances, also, they may have made them- selves for a time independent, or have attempted to do so, and thus have given occasion to the wars of which records are left in the inscriptions. Merodach Baladan 2, for example, is found to have endeavoured to maintain his independence against Sen- nacherib, perhaps encouraged to this by the great disaster of the latter in his Jewish campaign. In other instances, again, there is reason to identify the Babylonian governor with the ' Auab., iii, 4-10. When Xeno- Medes and Babylonian.':, of which phon states that a Persian king took he evidently had no exact informa- the city, he must he understood to tion. allude to its capture by the united - Comp. Isaiah xxxix, 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 6. 53 Assyrian monarch himself, who would of course have his proper place in the separate Canon, or list, of the Babylonian rulers, while, at the same time, he was the head of the whole empire. Thus Asshur-bani-pal is thought to correspond to the Saos- duchin of the Canon. Of these Babylonian governors, Nabo- polassar appears to have been the first who succeeded in establishing permanently his independent sovereignty ; and, under his son Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon, rebuilt and enor- mously enlarged, took the position which Nineveh had hitherto held ; althougli, from the want of stone in the region of the Lower Euphrates, the buildings of the former city were not such as to survive the lapse of ages, and remain, after more than two thousand years, to be the prize of these later times. § 6. NINEVEH : ITS SITUATION, MAGNITUDE, COMMERCE. The origin and extent of the city, the downfall of which we have thus slightly traced, are points still involved in much obscurity; but the further decipherment of the monuments will, it may be hoped, help to elucidate them. On the former point we seem to have at pi-esent absolutely no information, beyond the statement of Genesis x, 11, and the Greek story attributing the foundation of Nineveh to Ninus. It may be doubted whether we shall ever be able to penetrate sufficiently far back into Assyrian antiquity to ascertain either when Nineveh originated, or by what race it was first inhabited. The question of its site is one which it appears now more practicable to answer. Indeed, notwithstanding the silence of Xenophon, before mentioned, it is probably correct to say that the knowledge of the true situation of the "great city" was never really lost by the inliabitants of tiie country. Mr. Layard quotes a passage from Sir Anthony Shirley's " Travels in Persia," which seems plainly to show that in Shirley's time (1598-9) the site was clearly identified with that of the immense mounds lying j; 3 54 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 6- eastward of the Tigris near Mosul, and so well known as the Koyunjik and Nebbi Yunus of recent explorers. We are not aware of the grounds on which Shirley so confidently gave to those mounds the name of Nineveh ; but he probably re- ceived his information from the people living near them. It is known that other old European travellers, as Thevenot, Taver- nier, Chardin, in accordance, doubtless, with the traditions of the neighbourhood, regarded the buried remains as those of the Assyrian capital ; and Oriental writers are stated to have done the same for many centuries past. Mr. Rich, again, in the year 1820, speaks with equal confidence of the site of Nineveh, or at least of a part of Nineveh, as being here ; and gives a plan and dimensions of the mounds and other remains, not materially differing from those of the recent survey of Capt. F. Jones to which we have already alluded.^ Still it can hardly be said to have been finally determined, or very generally understood, where precisely Nineveh was situ- ated, or what may have been its extent, before the discoveries of Botta and Layard aroused so great and wide-spread an interest in these questions, and afforded such abundant mate- rials for answering them. And indeed, even now, with all the light that has of late years been thrown upon the subject, considerable difference of opinion exists on some points of importance. We have already spoken of the situation and area of the district termed Central Assyria, within which lie all the great masses of buildings which have been recently excavated. (Sttpra, § 1.) Towards the north-eastern limit of this dis- trict is Khorsabad; at the north-western, near the Tigris, are the mounds of Koyunjik and Nebbi Yunus ; in the south- western angle, between the Tigris and the Z-ab, is Nimroud ; and towards the south-east, but at some distance inward ' Nin. & Bab., pp. 658-60; Tuch, de Nino Urbe, pp. 20-5, 38-9 ; Rich, Narrative, ii, ch. xiii. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 6. 55 from the Zab and its tributary the Ghazr-su, is the mound of Kax'amless. Other remains, which have as yet been but slightly or not at all examined, lie here and there between the four extremes just mentioned. Mr. Layard states that "the great ruins of Koyunjik, Nimroud, Karamless, and Khorsabad, form very nearly a perfect parallelogram." ' This statement is hardly borne out by his own maps ; but it is nearly so, we may add, by those of Capt. F. Jones. It may, therefore, be received as giving us, correctly enough, a general idea of the form of the space within which lie the great Assyrian ruins.2 The actual size of the parallelogram may be learnt from the following dimensions: — From Koyunjik to Nimroud is about eighteen miles ; from Khorsabad to Karamless must be nearly the same ; from Koyunjik to Khorsabad, along the northern boundary, is fourteen miles ; and along the southern, from Nimroud to Karamless, must again be about an equal distance. The total area will thus be about 252 square miles — or some- thing like four or five times the area of London with its suburbs, at the present time. The question may now be asked, whereabouts within this large space did Nineveh lie; or, was the whole space, with all that it contained, comprehended under that name ? It can, we assume, no longer be open to question that the city did lie within the limits just described. Mr. Layard, to wliose judg- ment in the matter every one will be disposed to attach the utmost weight, maintains that the several masses of ruins so often named are the remains, not so much of distinct cities, as of royal palaces with their connected buildings and parks ; and that these structures, togetlier with the liabitations of the people lying around them, or extending from one to the other, constituted " Nineveh, that great city." The oldest of these palaces, he thinks, must have been at Nimroud, and here conse- ' Nin. & Bab., p. 640, note. ^ See the map of Central Assyria attached to this volume. E 4 56 GENEllAL INTRODUCTION, § G. quently was the original site. New ones, with their grounds and buildings, would be erected by successive kings, the original name being still retained and applied to all ; and so the whole area within which they wei*e included became known as Nineveh. These immense structures were also strongly fortified, so as to be capable of standing a long siege, and of serving as places of refuge for the surrounding popula- tion, if attacked by an enemy. Large as must have been the area to which, according to this account, the name Nineveh was applied, it may have been fortihed on its different sides by various walls and ditches, as well as by the Tigris. It is not, however, supposed to have been all covered with buildings ; but to have included large spaces of cultivated ground — enough, perhaps, in great measure, for the support of its inhabitants. With this may be compared Mr. Layard's later statement, in his second work. The two substantially agree, except only that the author appears now to concede that the name Nineveh did not originally belong toNimroud, but to Koyunjik. The latter locality, as being the most important and best de- fended enclosure, and " especially called Nineveh," may have given its name to the whole city.^ The view just stated certainly goes far towards explaining the terms in which ancient writers speak of the extent of Nineveh. Some of their accounts have usually been regarded as simply fabulous, and incredible. Strabo tells us that Nineveh was larger than Babylon, a city said to have covered a sjiace of 140 square miles. Diodorus Siculus more precisely says that Nineveh was a city of quadrangular shape, two of its opposite sides being each 90 stadia in length, and the others each 150, making an entire circuit of nearly 60 miles, and an area of more than 200. Tliis does not differ greatly from the paral- lelogram spoken of by Mr. Layard. Diodorus also says that ' Nin. & Rem., i, p. 242, seq.; Nin. & Bab., pp. 638-41. GENERAL INTIIODUCTIOX, § G. 57 the walls enclosing this immense area were 100 feet higli, and broad enough to allow three chariots to be driven abreast upon them, — a statement which Xenophon appears to confirm, in giving the height oi" the wall of the ruined city near which he encamped at 100 feet and its breadth at 50. These walls were defended, moreover, by lofty towers to the number of not less than 1500. The account of Diodorus has been thought to confirm and explain the w^ords of the book of Jonah (iii, 3), in which we read that " Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey." If the day's journey be taken at about twenty miles, the expression, understood of the circuit of the city, agrees closely with the description of the Greek historian. But the next verse would seem at first to require us to understand the " three days' journey " of the length of the city, or, in other words, of the time occupied in going from one end to the other: — "Jonah began to enter into the city a da^'s journey." This interpretation is not quite certain ; the meaning may only be that the pi'ophet went to and fro within the city on his mis- sion for one day, and then the people repented. But most probably these expressions of Jonah, as well as the " six score thousand persons" of the same book (iv, 11), ought not to be otherwise understood than as indicating the writer's belief that Nineveh was a very large city. This book was written, we shall see reason to conclude, long after the Assyrian capital was destroyed ; and we cannot, therefore, reasonably regard the author as having either possessed, or wished to be thought to have possessed, exact information as to its size, or population. Without, therefore, putting forward as precisely correct the statements either of Jonah or of Diodorus, we may yet very ■well admit both writers in evidence of the ancient and widely- diffused celebrity of Nineveh, as a place of extraordinary mag- nitude. In this respect they are in harmony with the general tenor of ancient testimony. Hence, again, we must allow that JMr. Layard's opinion, above given, is essentially more probable 58 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 6, than that of Sir H. Rawlinson^, who identifies the compara- tively small mound of Nebbi Yunus Avith Nineveh proper, making its immense neighbour, the mound of Koyunjik, repre- sent a mere suburb; and regarding Khorsabad and Nimroud as entirely distinct cities, — the former a city to which the name Sarghun may have belonged, the latter the Calah, or Kalah, of the Old Testament (2 Kings xvii, 6), and the Larissa of Xenophon.2 The same investigator, however, admits that the whole group of cities may have been known by the com- mon appellation of Nineveh ; and hence there does not seem to be much real diiFerenee between our two authorities ; except that the one would make either Nimroud or Koyunjik the original site, while the other would assign that distinction to the mound of Nebbi Yunus. In the present state of the question we may allow ourselves to be a good deal guided by the clear and interesting topo- graphical survey already cited in these pages. Its author, Avith some points of agreement with Mr. Layard, has also some differences. As the authority who has most recently gone over the ground, and had peculiar opportunities of gaining correct knowledge on many points, his conclusions are entitled to much consideration. According to the maps of Captain Jones, and his long and elaborate paper on the Topography of Nineveh (supra, § 1), the masses of ruins called Koyunjik and Nebbi Yunus must be regarded as both marking the true site of the city. It must, however, have included a much greater extent of surface than is now covered by those mounds. Both of them lie within what was its western boundary, and were most probably in the Assyrian times close upon the Tigris, although that stream is now at a distance of nearly a mile. Nineveh was surrounded by vai'ious walls and other defences, which may still be traced, with sufficient distinctness, through- out their whole extent. The river wall, on the Tigris, was ' Comraent. on Ciin. Insc, pp. 17-19. * Anab., iii, 4, 7. GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § G. 59 nearly straight, and about 4530 yards in length. At its nortliern extremity it turned eastward from the river, at right angles to its previous course. The length of this part was about 2330 yards. It continued, after turning sharply round to the south, for a distance of 5300 yards, running at first in a somewhat curved form, the convex being outward, i.e. east- ward. Then, making a sharp angle and turning towards the west, it rejoined the river front at its southern extremity, this south wall not being more than about 1000 yards in length. There were extensive moats without the north, south, and east sides, capable of being easily filled with water from the Khosr-su. Traces of dams for regulating the supply are still visible ; and it was, no doubt, practicable, for defensive pur- poses, to surround the whole city with a very effectual water barrier (comp. Nahum ii, 6, 8). Towards the east, again, Nineveh was still further protected by a lofty double rampart, with a moat nearly 200 feet wide between its two parts, cut with great labour in rocky ground. This immense rampart must have been a most formidable work, and was evidently designed to cover the city on its weakest side. It was nearly parallel, in most of its course, to the eastern wall before mentioned, but at a considerable distance — nearly a mile, indeed, at its nortliern end. The space between was occupied by an inner rampart, also double, with its connected moats. The course of these great outer defences, as well as of the walls and moats, is, as we have said, sufficiently indicated by various signs — blocks of stone, the elevation or depression of the ground, and frag- ments of building. According to this description, the form of Nineveh, within its principal continuous wall, was that of a trapezium, having its smallest side, or end, towards the south. The total circuit of the same wall was about seven, or seven and a half, English miles, which is considerably under even the six parasangs which Xenophon assigns as the circuit of the ruins near which he encamped. If, however, we add the additional length re- 60 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 6. quired by the great outer rampart, we shall have a much longer line of enclosing wall. It will still not amount to six parasangs, even taking the parasang, according to a suggestion of Mr. Layard, merely as a measure of the distance easily walked in an hour. We cannot make it less than two and a half mileSj and this will give us fifteen miles for Xenophon's measurement. Possibly he spoke from a mere rough estimate, or from some exaggerated statement given to him on the spot, as to the extent of the ruins. There may also have been other remains of buildings in his time, which have since disappeared, and which he included within the six parasangs. The dimensions just stated are vastly below those of Dio- dorus, as well as far less than those suggested by the writer of Jonah. It may, therefore, be that the former had no cor- rect infox'mation on the subject, and that the Hebrew author really meant to comprehend, under the appellation of Nineveh, the whole district of Central Assyria, in which, in fact, Nineveh was only one of several closely connected cities, and to which it gave its name, according to Mr. Layard's supposition. It is possible, at the same time, that if the writer of Jonah had this meaning, the Greek historian may have intended no more when he assigns to the Assyrian capital such enormous dimen- sions. It is evident, however, that in speaking of so great a space as enclosed by the same wall, Diodorus must have been grossly mistaken or misinformed. Nothing has been found to support such an assertion, — the detached mounds scattered over the parallelogram-shaped space lying between Koyunjik, Khorsabad, Karamless and Nimroud, not being so situated as to justify the conclusion that they represent what can ever have formed one continuous wall. The city of Nimroud, thougli it may not have been tlie original foundation, was evidently one of the great enclosed and fortified places which may have been sometimes compre- hended, with others, under the one name of Nineveh. The space enclosed at Nimroud is only about half of that at Koyun- GENERAL INTKODUCTION, § 6. Gl jik. The former must, under some monarchs, have been a seat of the government, as it is known to have been a great site of royal palaces. It may have been distinguished, too, in another character, as a sacred city of the Assyrians ; the remains of three temples having been found here, viz., the great pyramid, by some regarded as a tomb, and two smaller edifices examined by Mr. Layard. It may thus, in short, have been another city, in some periods of equal rank and importance with the capital ; and this circumstance, again, would cause it to be regarded and spoken of by those at a distance, as eitiier tlie same city with Nineveh, or a portion of it. The existing remains of Nimroud, are, indeed, older than those, of Koyunjik and Nebbi Yunus, i. e. of the proper Nineveh itself. Granting this, — which, however, Capt. Jones seems inclined to dispute, — yet the comparatively modern palaces of those two mounds may have been erected on an ancient site, originally occupied by structures of which nothing now remains, but which were still older than those of Nimroud. This appears to be by far the most probable supposition ; for, if any reliance can be placed on the cuneiform decipher- ments to which we have so often alluded, there can be no question that the palaces at Koyunjik and Nebbi Yunus, as well as at Khorsabad, are less ancient than the north-west and central palaces at Nimroud. If this last city is to receive its own distinctive name, it is, according to Capt. Jones, rightly denominated the Calah of the Old Testament, — an honour which some have given to tlie ruins of Kalah Shergat, lower down the Tigris on its right bank; — and Nimroud was also the Larissa of Xenophon. Khorsabad was probably another of the oldest sites of Cen- tral Assyria, although the actual remains of the palace of Sargon are of comparatively modern date. It appears to have been strongly fortified, like the capital, and it may have been connected with the latter by means of strong works of defence extending partly along the course of the Khosr-su. 62 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, § 6. The situation of Nineveh and its adjacent cities was evi- dently an advantageous one, in several respects. The entire district formed a strong position, capable of being easily de- fended against an enemy. To the west, or south-west, the Tigris, a broad, and sometimes rapid and deep river, gave ample protection. Northward the Khosr-su, and the works connected with it, extending from the Tigris to Khorsabad, were probably equally effectual. To the north-east, again, the hills before mentioned afforded another natural barrier ; with intervals, certainly, through which a hostile force could pass, but which, at the same time, defenders might hold far more easily than they could have done the whole plain, had it been entirely open in that direction. There may have been artificial defences, too, in this part, of which no traces now exist, and which may have given origin or countenance to the exag- gerated statements of the ancients respecting the great extent of Nineveh and its surrounding wall. Perhaps it is to such defences that Nahum alludes, when he speaks of "the gates of thy land " (iii, 13). South-eastward and south the Ghazr-su and the Zab completed the circuit of defensive facilities. Both these streams and the valleys, or hollows, through which they run, could probably be turned to good account in resisting the approach of invading armies. For commercial purposes the position of Nineveh was equally good. Lying on the Tigris, it had easy access to the sea, and also, by means of the large canals, to Babylon. It lay upon one of the great routes by which the peoples of the West and North-west communicated with Babylonia and the surrounding countries — by way of Northern Mesopotamia and the Tigris. Nineveh possessed, in short, the same advantages which make Mosul an important seat of trade at the present day. Accordingly we find the commerce of Asshur distinctly noticedby ancient writers. The prophet Nahum (iii, 16) men- tions the merchants of Nineveh as multiplied " above the stars of heaven." Ezekiel, also (xxvii, 23-4), speaks of the mer- NOTE OJSr THE CHKONOLOGY. 63 chants of Assliur as trading with Tjre ; and the Phoenicians are said by Herodotus to have been at first mere carriers of the wares of Egypt and Assyria. ^ The riches to wliich Nahum refers (ii, 9) may, therefore, have arisen partly from the com- merce and the manufacturing skill of the Assyrians ; while, at the same time, the plunder of many conquered states and capitals, and the annual tribute paid by these, would contribute largely to their stores of silver and gold, " the abundance of every precious thing." The luxury and magnificence ascribed to some of the Assyrian monarchs may also be taken to express, in some measure, the mode of life of the great nobles. We may even infer that the same material abundance, enjoyed with no small amount of licentious indulgence, was shared by many of the traders and artisans of Nineveh ; for it is not likely that the various works of Art, which excite the admiration even of modern times, should have been executed by a race of ignorant and ill-treated slaves. ^ NOTE ON THE CHRONOLOGY. In assigning the year 770 B.C. for the commencement of the ten years' reign of Menahem ^, it seems desirable to offer a few remarks, under this separate head, on the general question of the Biblical Chronology, in the period between that reign and the close of the Assyrian history. In the present very unset- tled state of the subject, the best course is to adhere to the dates ' Tuch, de Nino Urbe, pp. 31-4 ; as of their manners, will be found in comp. Ivenriek, Phoenicia, pp. 201-4. Layard, Nin. & Bab., pt. ii, ch. iii, ^ A very interesting account of iv, vi. their arts and manufactures, as well ' Supra, p. 23. 64 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. usually given. These we have mostly taken from the tables of Winer, appended to his Bealworterbuch, 3rd ed., 1847. For the period noAV under notice they will be found not to differ greatly from those of the common Chronology, as given in the margin of our English Bible in many editions ; and hence Winer may be regarded as virtually a sufficient representative of the common system. It seems highly probable, however, that a better knowledge of the contents of the inscriptions, as well as a due consideration of other data, will materially affect the received Chronology, substituting a new series of dates, for the most part considerably later than those to which we have been hitherto accustomed. Considerable alterations have been proposed, by various recent authorities, English and German. Hitherto, Sir H. Rawlinson, it would appear, has adhered as much as possible to the usual dates. While, however, lately proposing 762 (instead of 770, as formerly) for the first year of Menahem, he yet would place the overthrow of Pul in 747 or 748 B.c.^ This is done, apparently, from some imaginary necessity of connecting that event with the era of Nabonassar. But if Menahem were tributary not only to Pul, but, as read in the inscription, to Tiglath Pileser in the 8tli year of the latter ; and if Menahem only reigned ten years from 762, it is plain enough that Pul's overthrow by Tiglath Pileser must have occurred long before 747, and indeed that it cannot have been later than about 760. To avoid this conclusion it is sug- gested that the name Menahem given in the inscription as that of a king paying tribute to Tiglath Pileser in his 8th year, is an error ; or, as the same thing was expressed in an earlier communication, " used improperly for Pekah." ~ This conjec- ture may, of course, be correct ; but it requires verification ; and the necessity for it arises, as we have intimated, only from the assumed relationship between the overthrow of Pul and the ' Com. to R. As. Soc, iu Ath., ^ Ath., ibid. ; also Ath., 1854, p. 1856, p. 174. 343. NOTE ON THE CHRONOLOGY. 65 era of Nabonassar, a connection for which there is really very little to be urged. This will appear from the following remarks. "We have seen some reason to consider Pul as the husband of the queen Semiramis, who, as Herodotus writes, lived five generations before Nitocris, i. e. before Nebuchadnezzar, for Nitocris is assumed to have been the wife of that Chaldsean monarch, who ascended the throne about 604 b. c. It is hardly necessary to observe tliat it is not Herodotus that makes the queen named the wife of Nebuchadnezzar ; this is the assumption of the chronologist ; and it may certainly now be defended on the ground that the great works ascribed by Herodotus to Nitocris are found by remaining inscriptions to have been done by, or in the time of, Nebuchadnezzar. The assumption is, moreover, in harmony with the interpretation of one part of the great inscription in the East India Company's Museum, which is understood to speak of a period during which Nebuchadnezzar was afflicted with insanity ! Supposing, then, the date of Nitocris to be rightly given, the space of five generations, or about 150 years, added to 604, or thereabouts, takes us up, as near as need be, to 747. It is evident, however, that the statement of Herodotus is a very vague and inexact one. Five generations may certainly be I'egai'ded as equivalent to 150 years, but may as well include twenty years more or less. It cannot be shown that Herodotus was so precisely informed in this case, that we must allow his statement, taken in the strictest sense, to check and limit every other consideration ; and, conse- quently, we may let the joint reign of Pul and Semiramis fall within 780-70, or 770-60, with just as much probability as within 750-40. The possible connection of Semiramis (of the statue) with Babylon, and with Nabonassar, must next be noticed. We are told by Sir H. Rawlinson that this queen was probably a prin- cess of Medo-Armenian origin. He further suggests that the F 66 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. attack upon Pul, which deprived him of his throne and life, was brought about at her instigation^ supported by her Median kinsmen. There is, we suppose, no great improbability in assuming such treachery on the part of an ancient oriental queen towards her husband. Granting the supposition, then, we have to ask, how did Semiramis become Queen of Babylon, as she is in Herodotus ? The question has been answered with some degi'ee of confidence: — "It seems almost certain that, after the expulsion of Phal-lukha and the establishment of a new dynasty at Nineveh under Tiglath Pileser, she descended upon Babylon, either as a refugee or a conqueror, and there instituted the Era of Nabonassar in b. c. 747." ' There is, however, no kind of positive evidence to this effect, and little probability in the statement as thus made. If she, as Queen of Babylon, "instituted" an era, surely it would have been an era of Semiramis, and not of Nabonassar, for she was manifestly, according to Herodotus, a person of great importance. This difficulty is in some degree met by Mr. Bosanquet^, who goes so far as to make Semiramis both mother and wife of Nabonassar. Thus it would seem, that, having come to Ba- bylon, she reigned there along with her son, and caused the works to be executed which are attributed to her by Herodo- tus. But surely we must admit that such conjectures are a little wild, and of no value whatever as historical data. And how is it that Herodotus does not mention Nabonassar, stand- ing as he did in so remarkable a relation to Semiramis ? So far as we have gone, then, we have found nothing to authorise us to connect Semiramis with the era of Nabonassar ; nor consequently have we any reason for dating the overthrow of Pul, her Assyrian husband, later than the year before given, viz. 768 (or 7bO) b. c. Granting, however, that Semiramis did reside at Babylon after the destruction of Pul, had she no connection, then, with ' Rawliuson, Comm. to Athen., 1854, p. 466. - Roj'. As. Soc. Journ., xv, p. 280. NOTE ON THE CHRONOLOGY. 67 Nabonassar ? Instead of unnecessarily making her both wife and mother of that ruler, suppose that we let her sustain only one of these characters, and make her his mother. We may thus easily arrive at the conclusion that after the attack on Nineveh and the fall of Pul, she retired to Babylon — perhaps with her infant son Nabonassar ; or perhaps he was not born until a somewhat later date. She may have ruled in Babylon during his infancy and youth, and have been succeeded by him in 747. He, coming after a period of confusion, caused by the overthrow of the old line of Nineveh kings, would give origin to the new era called after him. Thus the period of Semiramis at Babylon, beginning either in 768 or in 760, and ending in 747, is quite as much in agreement with the statement of He- rodotus, according to which she lived five generations before Nitocris, as is the supposition that she did not come to Babylon until the last mentioned year. If any one should ask who was the father of Nabonassar, assuming Semiramis to have been his mother, he may evi- dently take his choice betvreen Pul and the successor of Pul, viz., Tiglath Pileser. If Semiramis conspired with the latter for the destruction of Pul, there is no great diflSculty in supposing her to have become the queen of the successful usurper. It was formerly proposed by Dr. Hincks ^ to shorten the long reign of Manasseh by thirty years, and reduce various dates preceding his reign in the same proportion. Thus, instead of 770 for Menahem, we get 740 ; for Jotham, 729 ; Ahaz, 713 ; Hezekiah, 697; captivity of Israel, 691; and so on. Dr. Hincks must, however, have seen reason to abandon this scheme, as he has more recently proposed to read " the fifth for the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, as the date of Sennacherib's invasion. The illness of Hezekiah and the embassy of Me- ' Khorsabad Insc, pp. 49-55. F 2 68 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. rodach Baladan he places eleven years earlier." ^ It farther appears that he now thinks that Sennacherib commenced his reign in 703.'* Mr. Bosanquet^, again, maintains on several grounds that the year of Sennacherib's invasion, the fourteenth of Hezekiab, was 689 B. c. His chief argument proceeds on the very allow- able assumption that the year of Hezekiah's sickness (Is. xxxviii) was the year of the invasion. On this basis he endeavours to prove that the recession of the shadow on the dial of Ahaz was caused by an eclipse of the sun, which is known to have taken place in 689. Into the details of his able and elaborate argument we cannot here enter. We are not satisfied that the conclusion sought is sufficiently established ; but should it eventually be so, very considerable changes, and some confusion, will be the result. How the Biblical Chro- nology will be affected will appear, in regard to some of the principal dates, from the subjoined tabular statement. These various proposed changes are mentioned here, simply to show what is the present position of the Chronological question, in the Biblical period of the Assyrian history. The differences existing afford a sufficient reason for adhering, in these pages, to the commonly received system of dates. While regarding the latter as in all probability erroneous, in placing many of the events from ten to twenty years too early, Ave do not see that it has been made out clearly what we ought to put in its place, as sufficiently satisfying all the conditions of the problem. The following short table will exhibit, in a compendious form, the dates assumed by some of the writers who have been named, and who appear to have given particular attention to the subject of Chronology. The dates of Winer, which are nearly the same as those usually received, are added for the purpose of comparison : — ' Nin. & Bab., p. 145, note, " lb., p. 620. ' Ub. Sup. NOTE ON THE CHRONOLOGY. 69 TABLE OF DATES ACCORDING TO EECENT AUTHORITIES. Accession of Kings, &c. Winer. Bosanquet. Von Gumpach.i Kruger.i Pul, king of Assyria 770 750-746 748-732 768-752 Menahem 770-760 750-740 746-736 757-746 Jothara 758 738 733 743-728 Tiglath Pileser between 760 and 730 746 (1st yr.) 732 752-725 Ahaz - - - 741 718 718 728-713 Pekah killed - 738 706 705 — Shalmaneser - 730 702 (after Sargon). 705-691? 725-706 Hoshea - - - 729 706 705 697 716-708 Samaria captured - 720 698 696 708 Hezekiah 725 702 703 713 Sargon 720 721 — 706-2 Sennacherib - 692 691 702-680 Uth of Hezekiah - 712 689 689 699 Esarhaddon - 696 667 674 Nineveh conquered 625 585 607 606 Eclipse of Thales - — 5853 610 — ' Zeitrechnung der Bab. & Ass.; Kruger, Gesch. d. Assyrier, pp. 173- 6. ^ Making Shalmaneser and Sar- gon the same person. ^ Jour, of As. Soc, xv, p. 417 ; Athenaeum, Aug. 23, 1856. F 3 THE PROPHET ISAIAH. § 1. HIS PERSONAL HISTORY AND INFLUENCE. We have but little information respecting Isaiah beyond what may be drawn from the allusions, more or less direct and clear, which occur in his own writings. He was the son of a certain Amoz, mentioned ch. i, 1, of whom we have no further know- ledge, and whom there is no reason to regard as the same with the prophet Amos, but the contrai'y, seeing that the names are in the original two different Avords, He was married, perhaps twice, and mentions his wife and children several times (vii, 3, 14; viii, 3, 4, 18). He connects his family with his prophetical labours by the symbolical names which he gives his children, making them, as he says, '•' for signs and for wonders in Israel," serving to express and keep in view some declara- tion of his own, or to indicate in some way the period within which what he had foretold should take place. That Isaiah was educated in one of the schools of the prophets, although pro- bable enough in itself, supposing those institutions to have continued to his time, is yet a statement for which no certain evidence can be given. Nor has the opinion of some modern writers any better foundation, to the effect that he was the educator of King Hezekiah, and annalist of the kingdom of Judah during his reign. According to all the indications which his writings afford, Isaiah was a citizen of Judah. The inscription at the head of Lis prophecies, stating under what reigns he lived, mentions § 1. PERSONAL HISTORY. 71 only sovereigns of that kingdom ; and, while he shows himself possessed of intimate knowledge of its affairs and constantly addresses the people of Jerusalem, he but rarely concerns him- self with the northern kingdom. Jerusalem was most probably his residence, since, in those instances in which he appears in connection with any definite locality, it is that capital, or its immediate neighbourhood, in which he does so. We never read of his coming into Jerusalem ; doubtless because he is already there. — See vii, 3, 10; xxii, 1, seq., 15, seq.; xxxvii, 2, seq. ; xxxix, 3. Hence may be explained the fact that Isaiah frequently addresses, not only the entire people of that city, but also distinct classes, with whom he is evidently well acquainted; for example the mockers, xxviii, 14, 22; the rulei-s, XXX, 1 2, seq. ; the women, xxxii, 9, seq. Isaiah lived under the four kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The first of these began to reign about 811 B.C.; the last died 699 b. c. As, therefore, we have in the four reigns a period of more than a hundi-ed years, it is most likely that the ministry of Isaiah did not commence before the last year of Uzziah. This is, indeed, directly suggested, by the sixth chapter of his prophecies, which describes his call to the prophetic office, and speaks of the event as taking place in the year of Uzziah's death. If this be correct, it may be that this chapter should be regarded as the oldest portion of the book. But, on the other hand, it is certainly not necessary to suppose that it was written at the time of the vision which it describes, or even very soon afterwards ; and some reasons may be urged against such a supposition. The tone of the passage (v. 9, seq.) appears to be that of one who has already had a prolonged experience of the obstinacy and wickedness of his people ; and discloses rather the feeling of a man whose long chei'ished expectation of better days has been thus far disappointed, than the clear and sanguine hope of a young man just entering upon his office. However this may be, the passage seems clearly enough r 4- 72 THE PKOPHET ISAIAH. to point out to us the date of Isaiah's assumption of the pro- phetic character. Uzziah died in the year 759, according to the common Chronology. His successor Jotliam reigned till 743. Ahaz followed, from 743 to 726, and Hezekiah from 726 to about 699. The whole interval is sixty years ; and assuming that Isaiah began to prophecy when a young man of from twenty to thirty, he may very well have lived far into the reign of Hezekiah, or even have survived that monarch. If 2 Chron. xxxii, 32, be rightly understood of a biography or history of Hezekiah written by Isaiah, the latter was of course the survivor of the King ; but such an interpretation of the passage is not a certain one, as the statement may refer to the present collection of Isaiah's prophecies, or, indeed, only to the historical section incorporated in it, and forming ch. xxxvi -xxxix.i An old rabbinical tradition, adopted by many Christian writei's, states that Isaiah was put to death by Manasseh, the successor of Hezekiah ; but this tradition has been shown by Gesenius ^ to be unworthy of credit. Besides the work referred to by the Chronicles, as just men- tioned, — if it be, indeed, a separate work, — Isaiah is also stated to have written an account of the reign of Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi, 22), These two compositions are the only writings attributed to him, besides his prophecies, by any Old Testament authority. ' The Chronicler may, however, vision, viz., ch. xviii, 13, seq. Ge- refer rather to that part of the senius inclines to interpret the pas- 2 Kings (ch. xviii; 13-xx, 19) from sage of a separate work of Isaiah rc- which his own account is abbre- lating to Hezekiah, and containing viated. If so, he terms this portion some of his own prophecies — some of Kings the " vision of Isaiah," such work as that which Gad and because it contained that vision ; other prophets are stated to have and writes accordingly, "the rest of written respecting the reign of David, the acts of Hezekiah and his good- and other reigns. (1 Chron. xxix, ness, behold they are written in the 29 ; 2 Chron. ix, 29.) • Ges., Corn- vision of Isaiah, the prophet, the son mentar, Einl., § 4. Comp. infra, of Amoz, in the book of the Kings Introduction to Is. xxxvi-vii. of Judah and Israel" — i.e. in that - Comm., Einl., p. 10. part of the Kings containing the § 1. PERSONAL HISTORY. 73 That Isaiah held so influential a position dui'ing the reign of Ilezekiah, was due not only to the character of the Prophet, but to that also of the King ; and it is unnecessary, in order to account for it, to have recourse to the supposition that the former had been the tutor of Hezekiah ; much less to assume that he was a member of the royal family of Judah. In con- firmation of this remark, and in explanation of the true cause of Isaiah's influence, the substance of Ewald's estimate of the character of Hezekiah may be suitably quoted here : — " He was," says that author, " thoroughly noble, not unwar- like, nor wanting in courage ', but yet more willingly devoted to the arts of peace ; the good administration of his kingdom, and the promotion of agriculture, being as dear to him as to his great-grandfather Uzziah, while, even in unprosperous times, his treasury was not empty.^ His tender and grateful disposi- tion we see most clearly from the song of thanksgiving which he composed.^ Himself, like his great ancestor David, a poet, lie honoured also the precious literary remains of the elder times ; and, as we are informed, he caused the Proverbs of Solomon to be collected by qualified persons of his court.^ Truly devoted to the Jehovah-religion, according to the elevated conception of it formed by great prophets of his time, he not only banished from the land the ti'aces of heathen religions, properly so called, but was also the first to try to extirpate those relics of the old Israelitish religion to which various superstitions had too strongly adhered It is dis- tinctly related that he removed the brazen serpent ^, to which worship was still offered, as though Moses had intended it for an idol. This purification of Divine worship certainly began to occupy him soon after his accession.^ But it did not at once penetrate to the idolatrous practices of individual households > 2 Kings XX, 20. * Prov. xxv, 1. 2 2 Chron. xxxii, 27-29 ; 2 Kings * 2 Kings xviii, 4. XX, 13, & xviii, 15. * 2 Kings xviii, 22. ' Is. xxxviii, 9-20. 74 THE PROPHET ISAIAH. throughout the country > ; and thus it was left to Josiah, to renew, and more strictly carry out, what Hezekiah had com- menced It is still more easy to understand that the good king was not immediately able to correct the moral condition of his people ; yet he caused Isaiah, and other pro- phets of that time, constantly to speak freely concerning it, and so in the best manner to contend against it."^ We need make no attempt here minutely to set forth the spirit of the writings of this great prophet, or to characterise his style. The power of the latter, the variety and richness of its phraseology, the vividness, and often the beauty, of its many images, can hardly fail to be perceived by any one who has the feeling to be drawn to the perusal of this part of the Old Testa- ment. The animating spirit of Isaiah, as indeed of every true prophet, may be described in a single word — it is religious. His politics and his morality are founded upon the deepest con- sciousness of the Divine presence and power in the world ; on the conviction that Jehovah is the One God, the immediate Ruler of His people Israel, and the Sovereign Lord of the universe. The Assyrians are but His instruments ; the evils which the nation endures are His punishments, sent to humble and i-eform the sinful people, whom, amidst all their faithless- ness and obstinacy. He still loves and wishes to save. Trust in Jehovah, obedience to the moral law as well-pleasing in His sight, are what the prophet constantly seeks to inculcate on his countrymen. Hence the comparative worthlessness of all cere- monies and sacrifices ; the impossibility of idol-worship in any form whatever ; and the impolicy and uselessness of seeking protection from foreign powers like Assyria and Egypt. A tranquil faith in God, accompanied by a sincere practice of righteousness, especially on the part of the rich and powerful towards the poor and the weak, of rulers and judges to- wards the people, is the one great condition of the Divine ' Is. XXX, 22. = EwaUl, Geschichte d. v., Is. iii, pp. 327-8. (Ed. 1847.) § 1. TERSONAL HISTORY. 75 protection ; and without these no alliance with other nations will be sufficient to save the state from punishment and its miseries. And amidst the worst times the prophet's own faith in Jehovah never failed him. Whatever the distress which might overwhelm the nation, as at the time of the Syro-Israel- itish invasion and in that of Sennacherib, he still holds fast his trust that happier times are in store for at least the remnant of his people ; and he is enabled, by the example of his own stead- fastness, to impart courage and hope to others around him. From the same essential source evidently arose, also, those Messianic anticipations the record of which Isaiah, in common with other prophets, has left behind him. On this subject different persons will, unavoidably, form very different conclu- sions ; but, at all events, it cannot be far wrong to regard the expectation of a Messiah, so often and so clearly expressed by writers of the Old Testament, as a direct and natural growth of their own strong, unwavering faith in Jehovah, in His power, and His mercy towards His people. In times of distress they could not believe that He had forsaken them, or forgotten them. The affliction would only endure for a while, and until it had performed its work of chastisement and purification. Then would their God again lift up the light of His countenance upon His repentant children, and out of the sorrow and dark- ness bring forth light and prosperity. From the individual prophet, and the few more devout minds, the belief in question appears to have spread in the course of generations, variously modified, throughout all classes ; until, in the definite personal form of later times, it became one of the most decided and influential beliefs of the nation, and was turned, under Divine Providence, to the accomplishment of the most important ends, in immediate connection with the origin and diffusion of Chris- tianity. And, indeed, Trust in Jehovah, Religious Trust, the deep consciousness of the Divine presence with man upon the earth, will be found to be the very life of Isaiah's and of the other 76 THE PROPHET ISAIAH. prophecies ; manifesting itself not only in the Messianic belief, in reference to the future, but in all that the prophet writes respecting the present. For it is surely a great mistake to suppose, as some persons would seem to do, that the prophets were solely, or mainly, occupied with predictions relating to the distant future. On the contrary, as we cleai'ly see in the case of Isaiah, they were intimately concerned with the imme- diate affairs of their own day, and exercised often a powerful influence upon them. It is hardly possible to read a chapter of their writings, without feeling how much its interpretation is bound up with references to contemporary events, political and social ; as in Joel, for example, we have the famine caused by the locusts ; in Isaiah, the transactions between Ahaz and the Assyrians ; in Nahum, the fall of Nineveh. Hence one great source of difficulty, in the interpretation of the prophecies — their immediate relation to contemporary events and persons of which we often know little or nothing. But while this is so true, it is also equally true that the prophetic utterances are everywhere full of the spirit of religion, the essence of which was, and is. Trust in the everliving God, and the earnest desire to know and do His will. It is this pervading element of so large a part of these venerable writings which gives them their abiding value, notwithstanding much that is obscure in their interpretation, or national and narrow in feeling, — much, in short, that a Christian reader cannot appropriate, or wish to appropriate. § 2. CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT OF ISAIAH'S PROPHECIES. We have already spoken of the political circumstances of the two reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah, to which the prophetic career of Isaiah, as known to us, almost entirely belongs. (Gen. Introd. §§ 2-4.) It will here be sufficient, therefore, to notice that it ap- pears to have been the invasion of Judah, by the kings of Syria and Israel, which first brought him prominently forward. Under § 2. CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT. 77 the influence, most probably, of Egypt, the two kings sought, as we may remember, to conquer Judali and to place a nominee of their own on the throne at Jerusalem. They deemed it necessary, we may infer, that the whole West of Asia should present a united front to the expected onslauglit of the Assy- rians. Hence also the Moabites, and other neighbouring tribes, as we gather from detached prophecies of Isaiah (ch. xv, xvi ; xxi, 11-17), were included in the league, making the position of Ahaz one of great and imminent danger. This view of the state of affairs finds confirmation in some obscure allusions in Isaiah's contemporary, Hosea, to alliances with Egypt and Assy- ria : — e.g., Hos. vii, 11; ix, 3; xi, 5-11; xii, 1. There are also one or two expressions to the same effect in the older por- tion of the book of Zechariah, viz., x, 9, seq. (Comp. 2 Kings xvii, 4.) In the face of this powerful combination against his own little state, the prophet manifested a high and trustful spirit. His great aim was to inspire his people and their rulers with confidence ; to lead them quietly to rely on the Divine protec- tion, and, without themselves resorting to the perilous expe- dient of calling in the aid of Assyria, to leave it to the course of events to bring that power into the field to recover its lost dominion over the revolted kings, and so ensure the deliver- ance of Judah from their joint attack. Hostilities had been commenced by Syria and Israel against Judah before the end of Jotham's reign (2 Kings xv, 37), when perhaps the latter no longer ruled with the vigour and success of his earlier years. (2 Chron. xxvii ; 2 Kings xv, 32, seq.) It was not, however, until the accession of his son Ahaz that the two powers proceeded so far in their designs as to threaten the capture of Jerusalem itself. The warnings and advice of Isaiah at this period were disregarded. Ahaz obtained tlie protection he asked for, and probably continued to enjoy it during the remainder of his reign. The Syro-Israelitish invasion may most suitably be referred 78 THE PROPHET ISAIAH. to the first year of Ahaz, about 743-2 B.C. The chief reason for this is that the allied kings, having already commenced hostilities before the death of Jotham, would be likely to take advantage of the opportunity, afforded by the accession of a young and inexperienced sovereign, to prosecute their attempt upon his kingdom. It is the more likely that this would be the case, if, as seems probable from an expression of Isaiah (viii, 6), enemies of Ahaz and friends of the invading armies were not wanting among his own people. With the events of the period thus hastily passed through, we have next to endeavour to connect Isaiah's earlier prophe- cies, in their chronological order. We have already seen that there is but one chapter (vi), the substance of which can be referred to so eai'ly a date as the last year of Uzziah. The reign of his successor, Jotham, distinguished on the whole as it was by prosperity and obedience to the law, probably pre- sented but few occasions of prophetic warning or exhortation. At least the compositions of his time have not come down to us, with the exception of a few pieces, which appear to belong to the closing year or two of his reign. The earliest of these is the passage found in xvii, 1-11, in which the prophet announces the overthrow of Syria and Israel, doubtless antici- pating this result both as the punishment of the apostacy of Israel, and as the immediate issue of the approaching attack of the Assyrians. The prophecy may have been fulfilled in the second invasion of Tiglath Pileser (2 Kings xvi). If Isaiah's expectation was that the invading Assyrian army, having subdued Israel and Syria, would pass through the country eastward of the Jordan, we may refer to the same period, chapters xv and xvi, and perhaps the fragmentary prophe- cies contained in ch. xxi, 11-17. If the Moabites and other tribes took part with the Syrians and Israelites in their de- fiance of Assyria, the vengeance of the latter power would un- doubtedly fall upon them, as foretold in the three chapters just referred to. § 2. CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT. 79 To the same earlj period probably belongs the second section of Isaiah, comprising chapters ii, iii, and iv. This prophecy may have been occasioned by the same thi-eatened attack of the two northern kings, and the accompanying anti- cipation of great calamities to Judah, the sure consequence, to the prophet's mind, of the wickedness and idolatry beginning to prevail about the end of Jotham's reign. On the date of these chapters, however, authorities are divided ; Gesenius, followed by Ewald, among others, attributing them to the com- mencement of the reign of Ahaz ; while Knobel, De Wette, and some earlier writers, among wliom is Bp. Lowth, regard the older date as the best supported. The difference is not great, and, as the passage in question is not included within tlie present volume, it is unnecessary to dwell further upon the point. The portions of Isaiah which have just been mentioned are all that can with any confidence be thought to have been written before the time of Ahaz. With him, so far as we can now ascertain, commences the pei'iod of Isaiah's greatest pro- phetic activity. The beginning of the reign of this king was marked, as we have said, by the actual execution of the design of the con- federate powers. Their forces invaded Judah, and advanced to besiege Jerusalem. To this period we have assigned the first section (eh. v) of Isaiah, included in these pages. The prophet in this passage foresees the devastation of Judah, and announces that Jehovah has permitted these sufferings in order to punish the manifold wickedness of His people. Isaiah did not, however, share the fears of Ahaz and his court that the invaders would succeed in their object. On the conti'ary, in the following section (ch. vii), he foretells the discomfiture of the undertaking, doubtless, by his clear prophetic insight, per- ceiving the actual posture of affairs and the results of the com- plication far better than the terrified monarch and his advisers. He bids Ahaz, therefore, take courage, and gives him a sign 80 THE PROPHET ISAIAH. by whicli he may know that the land will be delivered within a short definite period. Yet Isaiah plainly foresees the desola- tion that will be caused by the ensuing operations, and the slaughter and captivity of many of his countrymen. And these results he predicts both in the fifth and in the seventh chapters, at the close of the former of which he distinctly threatens the people with additional sufferings, at the hands of the Assyrians themselves. It follows from what we have said that the two sections, viz., ch. v and vii, belong to the same period, and re- late to the calamities caused by the Syro-Israelitish army about the year 743-2 B.C., followed by the further misfortunes con- sequent on the operations of the Assyrians, for the recovery of their lost dominion and the deliverance of Judah. We shall not err greatly if we interpret our next section (ch. viii-ix, 6) as relating generally to the same course of events. It would seem to be later by a year or two than the sections previously noticed ; and thus it happens that the Assy- rians are no longer spoken of with the same apprehension as before. Yet the prophet, in this section also, evidently foresees a period of great distress for his country (viii;, 21-2); while, nevertheless, he concludes his prophecy with the anticipation of more prosperous and happy times, in the celebrated Messianic passage near the commencement of ch. ix. The advance of the Assyrians against the allied kings, pro- bably hastened by the application of Ahaz for help, would be necessarily followed by the precipitate retreat of the confede- rates into their own territories. The invaders had, however, already inflicted great injury upon the subjects of Ahaz. The condition to which they had reduced the country probably gave occasion to Isaiah to address to rulers and people one of the noblest of his prophecies — that earnest expostulation and call to repentance which forms his first chapter, and in which he gives us so affecting a picture of the stricken and desolate con- dition of Jerusalem and the neighbouring districts. This chapter, therefore, and the retreat of the Syro-Israelitish army § 2. CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT. 81 may be ascribed to the year 740, which was the third of Aiiaz, and within the period assigned by the prophet for the promised deliverance. It is no part of our present purpose to attempt a chro- nological arrangement of all Isaiah's prophecies ; but to notice the dates of those only which have been translated in the following pages. Yet we may mention, in passing, that the remainder of ch. ix, with part of ch. x (1-4), as well as a portion of ch. xiv (29-32)', addressed to the Philistines, very probably refers to the anticipated prosecution by the Assyrians, at this period, of their successes over the enemies of Judah. The latter kingdom was now, however, to enjoy repose under its powerful protectors. This state of things continued, we may conclude, for the rest of the reign of Ahaz, who lived about twelve or thirteen years after his submission to Assyria. We know little of the condition of the nation during this time, as nothing that throws light upon it has come down to us from the pen of Isaiah or anj^ other prophet. Hezekiah succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, about 726. With him we commence a period of comparative prosperity for Judah, and one of great importance in the life of the Hebrew prophet. In the earlier years of his reign the new King appears to have submitted to the tribute-payments commenced by Ahaz. Meantime, the course of events in the neighbouring kingdom of Israel had been different, and their issue was a lamentable one for the population. Of the events referred to, resulting in the captivity of the Ten Tribes, Ave have already spoken, in connection with the Assyrian his- tory (Gen. Introd. § 3). To this period most probably belong the two chapters xxiii and xxviii ; in the latter of which the conquest of the Israelitish capital is vividly foretold by the prophet ; who, at the same time, threatens the rulei's of his own ' If the date of this fragment be Ahaz, must be incorrect. The words rightly assigned, v. 28, which attri- may have proceeded from the col- butes it to the year of the death of lector of the prophecies of IsaiaJi. G 82 THE PEOPHET ISAIAH. na'ion with a similar fate, as the punisliment of their iniquities. The fulfilment of the prediction, in its reference to Samaria, took place about 721 B.C.; and its composition may be assigned to a somewhat earlier date. About the same period, or at least not long after the down- fall of Samaria, must have been composed the large section formed by ch. x, 5-xii, 6 : of which we may consider the fragment cb. xiv, 24-27, as a detached portion. The prophet would appear to have expected an immediate advance of the Assyrian army upon Jerusalem (x, 28-32). It is probable, however, that the position of the new monarch Sargon ren- dered such a step impracticable. (Gen. Introd. § 3.) The sec- tion now under notice consists, in great part, of a denunciation of Assyrian arrogance, followed by an announcement of the happier times still reserved for the Hebrew people. Through- out the passage, Isaiah expresses unbounded confidence in the ultimate deliverance of " the remnant of Israel." The coming period of humiliation and suffering will prepare them for the reio'n of peace under the Branch from the root of Jesse ; and in the midst of the actual dangers of their position, almost in the very presence of the victorious enemy who has just de- stroyed the capital and kingdom of their neighbours, the fulness of his trust overflows in the beautiful song of praise which concludes the prophecy. . After the accession of Sargon and the capture of Samaria, the Assyrians pursued their plans in reference to Egypt and Ethiopia. In ch. xix-xx, the prophet evidently has their con- templated invasion of those countries in his view. The differ- ence of tone observable in these chapters, as compared with the two preceding sections, renders it probable that their compo- sition should be referred to a point of time in the reign of Saro-on, when it had become clear that Judah was, for the present at least, to be left uninjured, and was even to join the Assyrians in their invasion of Egypt. Accordingly, to these chapters we may assign the date 719-20. No other prophecy § 2. CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT. 83 has come down to us from this period — the interval between the destruction of the kingdom of Samaria and the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib. Of the events leading to and connected with this great inva- sion we have sufficiently spoken in the General Introduction (§ 4), and need not relate them again in this place. The earliest prophecy belonging to the period is probably ch. xxix ; in which Isaiah anticipates a siege of Jerusalem, and also its deliverance by the destruction of the invading army. The second passage in the order of time, referring to the same events, is the long section formed by ch. xxx, xxxi, xxxii ; in the course of which the prophet points out the uselessness of the alliance with Egypt, predicts the calamities which the Assyrian invasion will bring upon the country, and at the same time expresses his continued trust in the Divine protection. Most probably in close connection with this Egyptian alliance should be taken the obscure allusion, in ch. xviii, to ambassadors of the Ethiopians. Negotiations appear to have taken place between the Ethiopian king Tirhaka and Hezekiah, for the purpose of forming a defensive league against the expected attack of Sennacherib (Is. xxxvii, 9). Ambassadors of the Ethiopians had, therefore, come to Jerusalem, and to them Isaiah announces, so far as we can now understand the passage, the approaching and speedy destruction of the Assyrian hosts (ch. xvii, 12-xviii, 7). Meantime the advance of the gi*eat army continued, and a siege of Jerusalem was apparently near at liand. We see this in ch. xxii, 1-14; but, a little later, ch. xxxiii predicts again the overthrow of tlie invaders ; at the same time describin"- in strong terms the distress to which the Jewish people and their country had been reduced, by the presence of the hostile forces. The apprehended siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib if such were indeed Isaiah's anticipation — did not take place although it appears tliat a portion of the Assyrian army must have advanced to the vei-y walls of that city. Sennacherib G 2 84 THE PROPHET ISAIAH. pursued his mai'cli towards Egypt ; his forces were destroyed ; and the remaining years of Hezekiah were spent without any apprehension of danger from the same quarter. The two chap- ters, xxxvi and xxxvii, in which the invasion and the defeat of Sennacherib's designs are related, form an historical supple- ment to the first half of the book of Isaiah. There is reason to believe that those two chapters are not from his own hand ; but they nevertheless throw considerable light on several sections of his Assyrian prophecies. In the foregoing sketch we have brought togetlier, in con- secutive order, the positive results ai'rived at in the intro- ductory notes attached to each of the translated sections. For the fuller details of the evidence from which these conclusions are drawn, the reader will of course turn to the introductory notes themselves. The following list will show the chapters to which a chronological position has been assigned. It will also give a connected view of the whole series of sections, in the probable order of their composition, or, at least, of the events to which they may be referred. Portions of Isaiah included in the 'present %oork in the probable order of their composition, Ch. V. Bcguming of the reign of Ahaz, 743 B, c. „ vii. The same. „ yiii-ix, 6. A year or two later. „ xxiii. During the siege of Samaria, 723-21. „ xxviii. The same. „ X, 5-xii, 6. 1 „ ^ , . xiv, 24-27. J Soon after the siege. „ xix. "1 h About 719-20. „ XX. J „ xxix. 714, early in the year. „ xxx-xxxii. 714, later. „ xvii, 12-xviii, 7. „ xxii, 1-14. )■ 713, the time of the hivasion. „ xxxiii. „ xxxvi-xxxvii. § 2. CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT. 85 Besides the sections just enumerated, we have also, in the foregoing remarks, noticed and assigned a date to the following passages : — Ch. i. About 740 B.C. „ ii-iv. Close of the reign of Jotham, 743. „ vi. Last year of Uzziah, 759, or later. „ ix, 7-x, 4. 740. „ xiv, 29-32. „ „ XV, xvi. End of Jotham's reign. „ xvii, l-ll. „ „ „ xxi, 11-17. „ „ It may here be observed that the entire book of Isaiah is divisible into two principal parts ; (l)ch. i-xxxix; (2) xl-lxvi. The second of these parts relates wholly to the time of the Babylonian captivity, between one and two hundred years after the destruction of Sennacherib's army ; and with this we have not here any further to concern ourselves. Of the tliirty- nine chapters forming the first division, it will be found that the larger half is comprised within these pages, as relating more or less directly to the Assyrians. The list last given includes other chapters of the same division, with their pro- bable dates — those chapters, that is, which have been only incidentally mentioned. The remainder of the first part of Isaiah (viz. ch. xiii-xiv, 23 ; xxi, 1-10 ; xxii, 15-25 ; xxiv- xxvii ; xxxiv, xxxv ; xxxviii, xxxix) does not contain matter such as to bring it within the plan of this work. It may also be observed that among these excluded sections will be found all the passages belonging to the first division of the book which can with any great probability be shown not to have proceeded from the pen of Isaiah. G 3 86 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. § 3. Chap. V. Prophecy of the Assyrian invasion of Judah, introduced by a denunciation of the manifold wickedness which has occasioned this severe punish- ment. According to the chronological scheme proposed in the last section, this prophecy must be referred to the impending Syro- Israelitish invasion of Judah, in the first year of Ahaz, 743 b. c. Near the close of the chapter, Isaiah speaks distinctly of the approach of the Assyrians, and threatens Judah with calamitous consequences from their visit. He can hardly, therefore, have regarded them as coming in the character of friends ; and hence the passage must be referred to a date somewhat pre- vious to the treaty between Ahaz and Tiglath Pileser ; or, at all events, previous to Isaiah's knowledge of its existence. He probably foresees that the Assyrian power will necessarily be brought into the field, both to recover its lost dominion over the two confederate kings, and to maintain its predominance over the rival power of Egypt. The scene of the conflict will be the central territory of Judah, lying as it does between the hostile nations ; and hence the terrible devastation and distress within his own land which Isaiah anticipates (vv. 29-30). Previously to this approach of the Assyrians, however, the country is to be laid waste by other enemies ; and these can only be the invading armies of the two kings of Israel and Syria. The consequences are clearly represented by the prophet as the appointed punishment of the wickedness in high places which he denounces in the earlier part of the § 3. ISAIAH, CH. V. 87 chapter. The picture drawn is a fearful one ; presenting, as its leading features, avarice, oppression of the poor, habitual drunkenness, neglect of the prophetic warnings, obstinate self- confidence, and corruption in the administration of justice. It is only by the most severe suffering that the nation is to be brought back to a right sense of its moral and religious duties; and this process of purification Jehovah has prepared for his people by the hands of their approacliing enemies. The bear- ing of the parable with which the chapter opens upon this position of affairs will be sufficiently plain, without any special exposition. Its application to Judah is, evidently, the same as that of the very similar allegory contained in the latter part of Ps. Ixxx. 1. IVTOW let me sing to my beloved, -L 1 A song of my beloved touching his vineyard. A vineyard had my beloved on a fruitful hill, 2. And he digged it, and cleared it of stones, And planted it with the choicest-vine ; He built a tower in the midst of it, And also hewed out a winepress within it ; I. mi/ beloved : ov Mend. It is not 21,33. fruitful hill : or, on the necessary to find a special applica- to/? o/" a fruitful liill ; literally, o« the tion for every object or action intro- horn of; suggesting isolation and duced in the parable; yet it seems security, as well as exposure to the clear that Jehovah must throughout sun and consequent fertility, be conceived of as the possessor of 2. a tower : for the watchers, to the vineyard. Conip.vv. 6-7. Similar guard against depredation by man parables, it is hardly necessary to or beast; or for the use of the owner, remind the reader, are found in the winepress: the word includes here New Testament, e.g. Matt. 20, 1; tVawinevat — both hewn, for coolness G 4 88 PFOPHECIES OF ISAIAH. And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, But it brought forth sour-grapes. 3. And now, inhabitant of Jerusalem and man of Judah, Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. 4. What is there to do more for ray vineyard, that I have not done in it ? Wherefore, when I looked tliat it should bring forth grapes, Did it bring forth sour-grapes ? 5. And now, therefore, let me make known to you AVhat I am about to do to my vineyard — To take away its hedge, that it may be devoured, To overthrow its wall, that it may be trodden down ; 6. Thus will I lay it waste ; It shall not be pruned, nor weeded, And shall grow up into thorns and briars ; I will also give charge to the clouds. That they rain no rain upon it, 7. For the vineyard of Jehovah of Hosts is the house of Israel, And the man of Judah the plant of his deliglit ; out of the rocky substratum of the vineyard sour-grapes : the word expresses baxhiess of smell, then of disposition, or nature, in general. The vineyard, therefore, produced bad, fojtid fruit, instead of choice grapes, a conception strongly de- scriptive of the corrupt state of the nation. 3. Isaiah speaks in the character of the owner, and thus, by appealing to his people, makes them pass sen- tence on themselves. So Matt. 21, 41. 4-5. The transition to the an- nouncement of condemnation and punishment is made naturally and with skill ; nothing has been left imdone for the vineyard, and it only remains now to destroy so worthless a possession. hedge — wall : that it had both is proof of the great care of its owner ; but they shall now be removed, so that it may be trampled down by wild animals and passers by. Comp. Ps. 80, 12-13. 6. give charge : Jehovah is here more directly suggested as the owner, for He alone can give such a command. The parabolical form is now lightly dropped, having served its purpose of introducing the main object of the prophecy, which is brought out with great directness and power in the next verse. 7. For : the application of the parable, and the ground of the pre- ceding declaration : I will give charge, . ... for I speak in the name of Jehovah, who will do so ; seeing that by the vineyard I mean the house of Israel, and Jehovah by its owner, my friend. The parono- masia of the original in this verse it § 3. ISAIAH, CH. V. 89 And he looked for justice, but behold bloodshed ! For righteousness, but behold a cry ! 8. Woe unto them that add house to house, Who join field to field, Until there be no place, And ye dwell alone in the midst of the land ! 9. In mine ears hath Jehovah of Hosts declared it, Assuredly many houses shall be a desolation. Great and goodly houses without inhabitant; 10. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield onli/ one bath, And a homer of seed an ephah. is hardly possible to represent in English: — "He looked for Mishpat, but behold Mispach ! For Tsedaqa, but behold 7!se- aqa ! " The German has greater power of expression in such cases. Thus Ewald renders, — "Und er wartete auf Kecht — doch sieh da alles sclilecht, auf Gerechtigkeit — doch sieh da Grausamkeit : " and Knobel, — " er hoffte auf gerechtes Wort, und siehe blutige Mord, auf Milde und siehe Unbilde ; " neither, how- ever, very exactly. This play upon words, which is not uncommon in Isaiah, can rai'cly be well imitated in an English version. 8-23. The prophet now, under six different heads, or forms, de- nounces woe upon the iniquity to which he has referred ; having probablj^ in his mind, throughout, the more wealthy and ruling class of his countrymen. 8. The Jirst woe is against the avaricious, who unjustly appropriate the property of others, leaving no place in the land for any but them- selves. t/e : so the Heb. 9. They are threatened with a deportation which will leave their houses and lands desolate. This rapacity was directly contrary to the spirit of the Law, which sought to prevent the accumulation of pro- perty in the hands of a few. Lev. 25, 8, seq. • Hosts: a strongly monotheistic expression, common in Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and one or two of the minor prophets ; implying the supremacy of Jehovah over the ai'mics of men, the heavenly bodies, and all celestial beings ; and thus excluding the acknowledgment of cither of the latter as objects of worship. 10. ten acres: literally ten yokes, i. e. ten times as much land as a pair of oxen could plough in a day. The laiid shall become so unproductive that ten acres shall produce only one hath of wine, and a homer of seed yield only a tenth of its own quan- tity — the homer being ten times the ephah. The .bath and the ephah were each about eight or nine of our gallons. 90 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 11. Woe unto them that rise early in the morning to pursue strong-drink, Continuing late in the night, till wine inflame them, 12. And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and the flute, and wine, are in their feasts, But the deed of Jehovah they regard not, And the work of his hands they do not see ! 13. Therefore my people goeth into captivity for want of knowledge. Their honourable-ones are famished, And their multitude parched with thirst ; 14. Therefore doth the grave enlarge herself, And open her mouth without measure ; And their glory shall descend into it, Their multitude, and their tumult, and he that rejoiceth. 15. Then shall every man be brought low and humbled, And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. 15, But Jehovah of Hosts shall be exalted by judgment. And the holy God show himself holy by righteousness. 11. The second woe, against drunken revellers : absorbed in their own self-indulgence, they regard not the warning voice of the pro- phet. rise early: to drink, or even to eat, early, was a mark of intemperance. Eccles. 10, 16-17; Acts 2, 15. 12. The Hebrews, like other ancient nations, had music and singing at their banquets. Comp. Is. 24, 8-9. So, probably, Is. 14, 1 1 ; Amos 6, 5-6. deed of Jehovah : i. e. the invasion of the land, with its consequences, by the Syrians and Israelites, to which this part of the prophecy refers. Further punish- ment by the Assyrian invasion is not mentioned before v. 26. 1.3. want of knowledge : not seeing that their punishment is Jehovah's work on account of their sins, nor seeking by repentance to avert it from them. Therefore shall nobles and people be thoroughly roused by hunger and thirst when driven, as captives, into a distant land. These and other evils of deportation are frequently alluded to; Is. 48, 21; 49, 10; Ps. 107, 5 — terrible con- trast to the luxurious feasting pre- viously mentioned ! On the suffer- ings of captives, comp. Layard, Nin. Bab. p. 440, & Gen. Introd. § 1. 14. They shall peri.sh, falling into the open jaws of the grave. he that rejoiceth : the drunken reveller in Jerusalem. 15. everi/ man: the repetition ia the original expressed by the Com- mon version merely strengthens and generalises the assertion. 16. By his just punishments of the wicked shall Jehovah manifest his holiness. § 3. ISAIAH, CH. V. 91 17. Then sheep shall feed as in their own pasture, And the deserted-places of the rich strangers shall devour. 18. Woe unto them that draw down punishment with cords of wickedness, And as with the ropes of a waggon the penalty-of-sin ! 19. Who say. Let him speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it. And let the counsel of the Holy-One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it. 20. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, That put darkness for light, and light for darkness, That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter ! 21. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes And prudent in their own sight ! 22. Woe unto them that are valiant to drink wine. And men of strength to mino;le strong-drink ! 17. The prophet here recurs to the thought expressed in a different form in vv. 8-9 ; on the deserted lands of the rich, who have go .e into captivity, the sheep, even of strangers, shall feed — an allusion, it may be, to nomade tribes with their flocks, who sometimes wandered into the country. Gesenius refers to the Rechabites of Jerem. 35, and the Kenitcs, Judges 1, 16, as illus- trative instances. 18. The third woe: obstinate perseverance in sin seems to be meant by these figurative expres- sions, as well as defiance of the divine warnings : — Woe to them that thus with all their might persist in drawing destruction upon them- selves ! punishment : literally, iniquity; but this often stands for its consequence. So with the word sin, in the next line. 20. The fourth, against those whose moral perception is darkened and perverted, by their own evil conduct ; or who sophistically seek to defend as right what they know to be wrong, and vice versa. 21. The yJ/iA, against the so-called wise, who in their self-confidence think they understand the state of affairs better than the prophet, and reject his warnings. Comp. 29, 14-15; 28, 9. 22. The sixth woe, against cor- rupt judges, who, brave at least to drink wine, if not to defend their country, obtain the means of self- indulgence by taking bribes. mingle : not with water, but with spices, to improve the strength and 92 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 23. Who absolve the guilty for a gift. And take away the righteousness of the righteous from him. 24. Wherefore, as a tongue of fire devoureth stubble, And as withered-grass in the flame vanisheth away, So shall their root be like rottenness. And their blossom shall ascend like dust ; Because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts, And despised the word of the Holy-One of Israel. 25. Therefore is the anger of Jeliovah kindled against his people, He shall stretch forth his hand against them and smite them, And the mountains shall tremble. And their corpses shall be as dirt in the streets. With all this his anger is not turned away, But his hand is stretched out still ; 26. And he lifteth up a standard to the nations afar, He histeth them from the end of the earth, ' And behold with S[)eed, quickly, shall they come. 27. None shall be weary nor stumble among them, They shall not slumber nor sleep. flavour of the wine. Comp. Song of Sol. 8, 2. 24. This and the next verse pro- bably refer to the miseries caused by the Syro-Israelitish invasion, which Isaiah has in view, as the first and most imminent medium of punishment. The unjust and disso- lute rulers shall be destroyed, like stubble burnt on the field for manure or to clear the ground ; or shall be dissipated like the dust of a rotten tree. root : blossom : i. e. entirely; or, as we say, "root and branch." The images express the ease and rapidity of the destruction. 2.5. The advent of Jehovah is to be marked by terrible natural phe- nomena. So usually ; comp, 13, 13; 24, 19, seq.; Nah. 1, 3-5. corpses : slaiu by the invading armies, and left unburicd. For the slaughter attending this invasion, see 2 Chron. 28, 5-8. There is no evidence that Isaiah refers here to an earthquake which took place many years before in the time of Uzziah; comp. Amos 1, 1. with all this : yet even this is not punishment enough ; Jehovah will bring upon them a still more fearful enemy, even the Assyrian army ! 26. At the given signal they shall come eagerly from the end of the earth, the distant east, rapid and in- defatigable. Jiations : the dif- ferent subject races, forming the Assyrian empire and contributing men to its armies; comp. 22, 6. • histeth: see note on 7, 18. So Bp. Lowth. 27. Requiring no rest, ever girded for the march; so stoutly clad that they shall not be impeded by even § 3. ISAIAH, CII. V. 93 Neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, Nor the latchet of tlieir sandals be broken ; 28. Whose arrows are sharpened, and all their bows bent. The hoofs of their horses are accounted like rock, And their chariot-wheels like the whirlwind ; 29- Their roaring is like that of the lion. And they shall roar like young-lions ; They shall rage and seize the prey, And carry it off, and none shall deliver it ; 30. They shall rage over it in that day like the raging of the sea ; And if one looketh upon the land, behold darkness of distress, And the sun shall be darkened in its clouds. a strap of their sandals breaking on the way. 28. rock : hard-hoofed horses, able to bear the long march. So Homer speaks of iron-footed, and of strong- hoofed horses. (Lowth, in loc ) In the absence of shoes it was a valu- able quality. The whole description is brief, but extremely graphic, and quite in harmony with what we know from other sources of the equipment of the Assyrian troops. Mr. Layard gives some plates which well illus- trate the prophet's allusions. See, in particular, Nin. & Rem., ii, pp. 350, 357, 393, 396, where wc have both horsemen and chariots, the bent bow and the girdle of the warrior; and at p. 324 the sandal. Some of the slabs in the British Museum af- ford also excellent illustration of such passages. The Assyrian hosts con- tained a large proportion of cavalry and of chariots, which are often referred to; e.g.. Is. 22, 6-7; 36, 8; Ezek. 23, 6. That the Assyrians are not here mentioned by name is suggestive of the comparatively early date of the prophecy. They are described only in general terms, as a distant people, as yet unfa- miliar, or unseen, but, therefore, the more to be feared. This corre- sponds well with the date we have assigned to the passage — the first year of Ahaz; if it do not indicate a still earlier composition. 29. The tumult and cries of battle are referred to. 30. The desolation and suffering necessarily caused by the presence of hostile armies are meant. Whether the Assyrians should come in the first instance as protectors of Judah, or as invaders, seeking to recover their power over their revolted tri- butaries and resist the encroach- ments of Egypt, the devastation of the land might equally be foreseen. Isaiah may have anticipated also that they would seize the oppor- tunity to take possession of the country. its clouds : those of the land; the very light of the sun shall be darkened amidst the distress. Comp. note on v. 25. 94 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. § 4. Chap. VII. Prophecy of the Deliverance of Jerusalem from the Syro-Israelitish attack, and of the invasion of Judah by the Assyrians and Egyptians. The historical passage which throws light on this section, as on the last, is 2 Kings xv, 37-xvi, 9. (Comp. 2 Chron. xxviii). It has been thought that two campaigns of the con- federate kings against Judah must have taken place, in the first of which the destruction of the army of Ahaz, as stated in the Chronicles, may have occurred, and in the second the attempt to take Jerusalem and dethrone that monarch. The latter would, on this supposition, be the occasion to Avhich this prophecy refers. Well might the young King tremble at the approach of the powerful enemies who had already so grievously defeated and slaughtered his subjects ! There is no absolute necessity, however, to suppose that two campaigns took place ; and, indeed, the narrative, both of the Kings and of Isaiah, is opposed to such a view. It is more easy to accept, without amplification, the simple statements of these two books, what- ever difficulty there may be in reconciling with them the narrative of the Chronicles, in which the numbers slain and captured are probably overstated. In ancient times large numbers were but seldom accurately counted, and in the statement of them a tendency to exaggeration is constantly observable. There can be no doubt that some errors of this kind, arising from various imaginable causes, have crept into the Biblical accounts. § 4. ISAIAH, CH. VII. 95 Why the dethronement of Ahaz should have been considered necessary by the two confederates, or why he should not have joined them in their league, we have no means of explaining. Possibly the ground of this attack upon him lay in the know- ledge that the Jewish King and his court were already inclined towards the Assyrians, and more likely to call in their aid than to accept the alliance of their northern neighbours. This political tendency of Judah, again, may have been but the expression of the old enmity existing between that kingdom and Israel since the time of their separation, more than 200 years before (2 Kings xii). There is no clear reference, how- ever, in the prophecy before us, to Ahaz's application to the Assyrians for assistance. Moreover, the decided tone of ap- prehension in which their approach is still spoken of would seem to prove that the prophet did not regard them, even yet, any more than in the fifth chapter, as coming to defend Ahaz. Hence the probability tliat the application for assistance had not yet been made ; or, if made, that it was not yet known to Isaiah. Whatever the truth on this point may be, we see Ahaz in the greatest terror, and the prophet vainly en- deavouring to reassure him, and bring him to rely on the protection of the God of his fiitliers. It is only on the failure of his endeavours that he proceeds to speak of the conse- quences of the King's want of faith and firmness, in the inva- sion of his kingdom by the rival powers of Egypt and Assyria. Hence Isaiah's object may really have been to deter him from calling in the aid of the latter ; but this certainly does not clearly appear from this passage, although it may be inferred from the general feeling of Isaiah in reference to foreign as.sistance. He, doubtless, anticipated, as the result of the existing state of affairs, that the country would become the battle-field between the two greater nations, and that many of his countrymen would be slain or carried away, and the land left desolate. 96 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. ND it came to pass in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem, 2. to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told to the house of David, saying, Syria is encamped upon Ephraim : and his heart v^^as moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are moved before the wind. 3. Then said Jehovah unto Isaiah, Go forth, now, to meet Ahaz, thou and Shear-jashub thy son, to the end of the conduit of the 1. could not prevail : In addition to the great battle mentioned 2 Chron. 28, a siege of Jerusalem would appear actually to have taken place ; i.e. the two armies came up to that city and tried to subdue it (2 Kings 16, 5); but before they had time to reduce it, the approach of the Assyrian army to Damascus (2 Kings 16, 9) made it necessaiy for them to return to defend their own dominions. The historical por- tion of tliis chapter must have been written after the failure of the at- tempt, as indeed may the entire chapter; in which case it should be considered the record of the spoken prophecy. And so it may have been in some other instances. 2. encamped upon : the Syrian army is now in the territory of Ephraim, or Israel ; that kingdom being often so called, after the name of one of its principal tribes. Syria and Israel were uniting their forces. house of David : this expres- sion reminds us of the power of that warlike king, who had ruled over the whole Jewish people, had conquered the Syrians and occupied their capital. To his descendant Ahaz were left only two of the twelve tribes, while the other ten were now warring against him, in league with a heathen enemy. 3. go forth : Isaiah, living in the city, is told to go out into some spot in the neighbourhood, where he would find the king superintending the works for the defence. The latter was engaged about the water- supply, either to secure it to Jeru- salem during the coming siege, or to cut it off from the invading armies. Something of the same kind took place on the approach of Sennache- rib (22, 9). It has always been difficult for a besieging army to provide itself with water around Jerusalem. Robinson, Biblical Re- searches, i, p. 479. Shear-jashub : literally, a remnant shall return : a name significant of Isaiah's belief in the ultimate safety and return to Jehovah of a portion of his people. This son is thus a standing memento of the prophet's faith and a perpetual prophecy to all who ai'e aware of his name. The same is the inten- tion of the name Immanuel (v. 14), § 4. ISAIAH, CII. VII. 97 4. uppei* pool, to the highway of the fuller's field ; and say unto him, Take lieed and be quiet, Fear not, nor let thy heart become faint, By reason of the two tails of these smoking firebrands, For the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Rema- liah. 5. Because that Syria hatli devised evil against thee, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying, 6. Let us go up against Judah and besiege it. And force our way into it, And set as king in the midst of it the son of Tabeal ; 7. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, It shall not stand, nor come to pass. 8. For the ht^ad of Sjria is Damascus, And tlie head of Damascus Rezin, (And within sixty and five years shall Ephraim be destroyed that it be not a people,) and of Maher-shalal-hash-haz (8, 1). — — conduit: we cannot be cer- tain of the place. Dr. Eobinson thinks that, the upper pool is the large reservoir lying westward of Jerusalem and about 700 yards from the Jaffa gate. The end of the conduit must have been on the same side of the city. (Bib. Res. i, pp. 483-4.) The highway may have run along the top of the lower wall of the pool, so crossing the valley. 4. Take heed and be quiet : pos- sibly this may allude to the design of seeking the Assyrian assistance ; if so, it will express the prophet's disapproval of that design. Such recourse to foreign aid will be dis- trust towards Jehovah. The allu- sion, however, is not clear. smoking firebrands : the epithets are contemptuous, and express the pro- phet's belief in their inability much longer to injure Ahaz. They are about to be quenched. son of Re- miiliah: also a contemptuous desig- nation of Pekah as a usurper, the son of an ignoble father. 6. son of Tabeal: used in the same way. This person, of whom we know nothing more, was pro- bably a subject, or vassal, of the king of Syria. 8. the head: in each kingdom the capital shall remain as it is ; they shall not conquer Judah, but each monarch possess only his own dominions. The latter part of v. 8 may be a marginal gloss introduced into the text. So Gesenius and others. The difficulty of explain- ing the words may be seen in the comment of Bp. Lowth. He holds that the final overthrow of Israel was not effected till the time H 98 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 9. And tlie head of Ephraitn Samaria, And the head of Samaria the son of Remaliah : If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. 10. And Jehovah again spake unto Aliaz, saying, 11. Ask for thyself a sign from Jehovah thy God, Ask it in the depth, or in the height above. 12. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt Jehovah. 13. Then he said, Hear now, oh house of David, Is it too small a thing for you to Aveary men, That ye will weary ray God also? 14. Wherefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign ; of Esarhaddon, 65 years after this prediction was uttered ; but the supposition is opposed by such posi- tive evidence as we have ; for the captivity of the Ten tribes, i. e. the destruction of the northern kingdom, took place within about 20 3-ears from the first of Ahaz (2 Kings 17). The clause, it will be observed, de- stroys the parallelism and symmetry of the passage, and is unsuitable to the immediate object of Isaiah's ad- dress, which is to inspire Ahaz with confidence in the actual position of affairs — an object hardly answered by telling him that two generations later one of his adversaries shall be overthrown. 9. believe : another instance of the play upon words before alluded to. It may be expressed thus : If ye will not covjide, ye shall not abide. Ewald renders : " glaubet ihr nicht, ja so bleibet ihr nicht ; " closely fol- lowing Luther. 11. a sign: some visible object, or present event, taken as the repre- sentative, or pledge, of something else, not present, or of some event which is yet future ; it may be also of an event which is past, and of which it is desired to afford a proof, or a memorial (Josh. 4, 5-8). Thus significant names and symbolical actions may be signs of what is future (Is. 8, 18; 20, 3). Isaiah now requests Ahaz to ask for a sign, which may serve, we may suppose, as a memorial of the prophet's asser- tion, and perhaps as a proof, in some way, that it will be verified. This the King refuses to do, although offered the widest limits within which to make his choice. Had he asked for the sign, he would by so doing have implied his own readi- ness to act in accordance with the prophet's exhortation. This pro- bably would not have suited the plan of calling in the Assyrians. He therefore rejects the proposal, under the pretext, known by Isaiah to be hypocritical, of keeping the Law (Duut. 6, 16). 1 3. weary men : perhaps the pro- phet himself. God also : by re- fusing the trust which tiie acceptance of the sign would imply. 14. The sign is, in this case, a child yet to be born, whose name, now proclaimed (God-with-us), shall be a record of the promise of de- § 4. ISAIAIT, CH. VII. 99 Behold the virgin hath conceived, and shall bear a son, And call his name Iinmanuel ; 15. Milk and honey shall he eat, livcrance. the virgin: the article points to some definite person known to the speaker and to the King ; indeed, it must have been so for the prophecy to carry with it any in- telligible ground of confidence or certainty ; for otherwise how could its fulfilment be recognised ? We have no means of determining, however, ivho exactly may have been within the prophet's view. The word has been variously understood. We need only mention here that it has been taken to denote, (1) Isaiah's wife, the mother of Shear-jashub ; (2) a betrothed, or recently married, second wife of the prophet. In either case the expected child will be another son of Isaiah, with a significant name (comp. 8, 1-4); and will become by his name a sign of the approaching deliverance. The word has been explained (3) of the wife of Ahaz himself; and (4), in a twofold sense, of some person then present and typical of the mother of the Messiah. This last is sub- stantially Bp. Lowth's interpretation, and so most other interpreters. Ac- cording to this view the child Im- manucl is the Messiah. But it must be observed that Isaiah, wishing to encourage Ahaz, is evidently speak- ing of a deliverance shortly to be wrought, a deliverance from the enemy then present in the land, or soon to be so ; and cannot well be supposed to be referring to any re- mote descendant of the line of David, to be born long afterwards. The prophecy is indeed cited by St. Matthew, nearly in the words of the Septuagint version, and ap- plied by him to the birth of Christ (Matt 1, 23). The words had probably come to be understood in the Messianic sense by the later Jews, and hence the use made of them by the Evangelist and the early Christian church. This ap- plication is defended by Lowth on the ground that the verse contains " a higher secondary sense," dis- tinctly intended by the prophet, besides the literal or historical one arising out of the circumstances of the times. Isaiah does not, however, tell us anything of this higher sense ; and so the reader is of course left at liberty to judge for himself how far it is here admissible. hath con- ceived: the original word is a verbal adjective, without any j^ropcr mark of time. It is found Gen. 16, 11, where it is riglitly rendered by a present in our English version. The preterite in the text, really equivalent to the present in Gen. 16, 11, has been used, because the context seems only to require that the birth and naming should be future. The question of tense is, however, here unimportant, for the substance or point of the prophecy is in the limitation of time expressed in v. 16. See Crit. Note. 15. Milk: the original, which in our English version is always ren- dered butter, most commonly denotes curdled milk, the acid of which is grateful in the heat of the East. The Avord is used also, as here, as a general name for milk, i. e, new sweet milk. So Job 20, 17. H 2 iro PEOPHECIES OF ISAIAH. That lie may know to refuse the evil and to choose the good ; 16. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, The land shall be made desolate, before whose two kings thou fearest. 17, Jehovah shall bring upon thee. And upon thy people, and upon the house of thy father, Days such as have not come since Ephi'aim departed from Judah; (The king of Assyria). hojiey : was abundant in Palestine. Comp. Jud. 14, 8 ; 1 Sam. 14, 25, seq. : Matt. 3, 4. The word niny sometimes denote some sweet aro- matic gum yielded by various trees. Milk and honey are mentioned by several ancient writers as suitable food for young cliildren. The ex- pression in the text is used in v. 22 to denote a period of deprivation. It may have the same meaning here ; and the prophet may intend to say that during his infancy the child, in common with the other inhabitants of the land, shall live on milk and honey, because these shall be the most abundant articles of food ; he shall live on these that he may grow up to know, &c. — i. e. until the age of commencing moral conscious- ness ; or for some three or four years. Lowth understands by the expression a period of plenti/, to come iv/ien the child shall know, &c. In using the words, Isaiah may allude to the suitableness of such food for an infant ; while, at the same time, he employs them in his own peculiar sense, as just ex- plained. Such a play upon the meaning of a phrase is elsewhere met with. Comp. 28, 10-13; and sec Crit. Note. 16. For: refers either (1) to the promise of deliverance conveyed by the word Immanuel, in which case V. 15 is parenthetical, and is intro- duced only to state prominently the length of the interval beibre de- liverance ; or (2) to the implied limitation of the same verse : the deprivation which leads to the use of such food shall last only while the child is growing up to know, &c. ; for before tlie time of his knowledge comes, the de- liverance shall have arrived. Comp. 8, 4, for a similar limitation dif- feiently expressed. See Crit. Note. 17. The deliverance just spoken of is but temporary ; the promise is accompanied by a threat of later and more dreadful punishment, ren- dered necessary by the national sins. The Assyrians, having repelled the Israelites and Syrians, will next en- counter the Egyptians. Hence the devastation of Judah by t!.e two great powers — the severest calamity that has befallen the nation since the separation of the kingdoms. The words in the parenthesis are omitted by Bp. Lowth, as very probably an old gloss. They are unsuitable to the previous days; nor is it usual for the prophet to add such ex- planatory sentences. § 4. ISAIAH, Cn. VII. 101 18. And it shall come to pass in that day, That Jehovah shall hist for the fly Which is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, And to the bee which is in tlie land of Assyria ; 19' And they sliall come and alight, all of them, In the precipitous valleys and the clefts of the rocks, And on all thorn-bushes and on all pastures. 20. In that day Jehovah shall shave with the hired blade. By the dwellers-beyond the River, by the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the feet ; And also the beard shall it take away. 21. And it shall come to pass in that day, That a man shall keep a young cow and two sheep ; 22. And it shall come to pass, from the abundance of milk which they shall yield, That he sliall eat butter ; For butter and honey shall every-one eat that is left in the land. 18. hist : hiss, or whistle, denoting the sound made to bring bees to settle. Comp. 5, 26. Jly : bee : expresbive both of the numbers and of the dangerous character of the approaching hosts. The terms are appropriate ; the overflow of the Nile and the marshy nature of parts of Egypt producing flies in vast swarms; while some districts of As- syria were famous for honey. Comp. 2 Kings 18, 23. livers: the Nile, with its branches and canals. See notes on 19, 5-7; 23, 3. 20. hired: as employed by Je- hovah for punishment ; or there may be an allusion to Ahaz having engaged the assistance of the As- syrians. head: feet: the hair of the whole body, including even the beard, the most sacred of all, shall be cut oif — image of the utmost indignity and injury. Comp. 2 Sam. 10, 4-5. dwellers: lite- rally lands-beyond, here put for their inhabitants. So Is. 23, 13. River: the Euphrates, and per- haps also, in this case, the Nile,- i.e. by means of Assyrians and Egyp- tians. See Crit. Note. 21-25. These verses describe the future state of the country. Its cultivation will be impossible, and hardly necessary, because the very smallest number of cattle will be sufficient to aff'ord the few scattered inhabitants left the means of sub- sistence. 22. viilk : here new or sweet milk ; a different word from that in v. 1 5. The word butter is the same as in V. 15, and is taken by some here to mean cream. The rendering of the English version has been retained, in this instance, as nearer to the original than inilk, and to avoid the repetition. The words contain a threat, because the abiindance spoken H 3 102 PROPHECIES or ISAIAH. 23. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place Where are a thousand vines worth a thousand pieces of silver, Shall become briars and thoi'ns. 24. With arrows and with the bow shall one go there ; For the whole land shall become briars and thorns. 25. And all the hills which were digged with the spade. There shalt thou not go through fear of briars and thoi'ns ; And they shall be for the sending-forth of cattle, And for the treadinjr of lesser-cattle. of is only relative, arising from the deportation or destruction of the inhabitants. 23. thousand vines : perhaps the iTSual number in a vineyard ; even the most valuable vineyards, con- taining vines worth a silver shekel each, shall lie uncultivated. pieces : i. e. shekels, the value of ■which is variously given from Is. Gd. to 2s. 6c?., a very high price. Knobcl observes that at the present time in Syria each vine is estimated at about thi'eepence. 24. Wild animals will abound, so hat men will pursue them, or guard themselves from them, with bows and arrows, in the midst of what was once the most fertile land. 25. fear: the sense given by our English version is hardly clear or consistent with the context, although it has the sanction of Ewald. "We may, after Gesenius and Hitzig, take the word as equivalent to a preposition, meaning for fear of, as we say: no one shall go iipon the once cultivated hills, covered with vineyards ; only cattle shall be able to make their way througli the thorny wilderness lesser cattle: i. e. sheep and goats. § 5. ISAIAH, CH. VIII — IX, 7. 103 § 5. Chap. VIII— IX, 7. Overthrow of Syria and Israel by the Assyrians. — Invasion and devastation of Judah by the latter. — Anticipation of happier times under an illustrious Descendant of the house of David. It is evidently necessary to include the first seven verses of eh. ix as a part of this section. • The common division into chapters and verses, it need hardly be observed, does not proceed from the sacred writers themselves, and is in some cases objectionable. Of course the interpreter is at liberty, in each case, to adopt such divisions as may seem to him to be required, to bring out the full meaning of his author. We but follow Bishop Lowth and the best authorities of more recent date, in the arrangement of this and the 7th Section. The passage may properly be regarded as somewhat later than the preceding chapter. We are now evidently nearer to the promised deliverance, since a shorter time is mentioned as intervening before it takes place. In the last chapter it was at least some three years ; in the present (v. 4) it is not more, perhaps, than a year and a half. This view is confirmed by expressions in the prophecy which seem to imply that the course of events contemplated in ch. vii has already made some progress. Whereas in vii, 4, Isaiah had spoken con_ temptuously of the threatened danger; here (vv. 17, 21, 22) he appears to express himself more despondingly. In vii, 15, 22, ' Here, as elsewhere, the English of (Eng.) ch. ix ; and the former division of the chapters is followed. has 23 vv. In the Hebrew, ch, viii includes v. 1 H 4 104 PROPHECIES or ISAIAH. the few people left in the country are to be able to find suffi- cient food of a certain kind ; while here (v. 21, seq.) actual famine is to result from the presence of the invaders. Ch. viii, 6, appears to allude to a party which has now been formed among Ahaz's own subjects, and which is reaily to take part Avith Ptkah and Renialiah. V. 9 may refer to tlie near ap- proach of tlie attack on Jerusiilem ; and v. 12, perliaps, to the fact that Ahnz, in presence of the now imminent danger, and impelled by the known hostility of some of his own subjects, is on the point of concluding his treaty with the Assyrians. If these inferences are correct, it follows that the invasion has made considerable progress towards its accomplishment, and this section must be proportionately later tlian the last. The Assyrians are, however, still not yet in the land ; and as the prophet does not again mention the Egyptians, he may no longer have feared a conflict in Judah between the two great powers. His trust in the divine protection appears tiiroughout the piece as unwavering as ever; and at the close it rises out of the midst of the calamities and sufferings which he con- templates to the prophetic anticipation of a glorious and happy period, under the rule of an illustrious scion of the house of David. ND Jehovah said unto me. Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it with the pen of a man concerning Malier- 1. to J/e< : of wood, stone, ormctal, in any sacred or hieroglyphic cha- made sniootli, sometimes covered racter, known only to the learned, with a coating of wax, upon which Conip. Rev. 21, 17; Rom. 3, 5; 6, the characters were written with a 19, for somewhat analogous expres- pointed instrument. pen of a sions. It may be supposed that the man : in the ordmary writing cha- prophet intended to phice the tablet racter, which any man may i-ead, not in his house, where, being large, it § 5. ISAIAH, cn. VIII— IX, 7. 105 2. shalal-hash-baz. And I took unto me faitliful witnesses, Uriah 3- the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. And I went unto the prophetess, and she conceived and bare a son. Then said Jehovah unto me, Call his name Maher-shalal-liash-baz ; 4. for before the child shall have knowledge to call, My father and my mother, they shall carry away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Assyria. 5. And Jehovah spake also unto me, and said, C. Because that this people hath refused The waters of Shiloah which flow softly, And hath joy in Rezin and Remaliah's son, would be conspicuous, and might be read by all who wished. One ob- ject is evidently to preserve a record of the prophecy, for the justification of Isaiah himself. Maher-shalal- hash-baz : i. e., Haste-to-the-spoil- Spccd-to-the-prey ; signifying (v. 4), speedily shall Israel and Syria be despoiled, and our deliverance from them effected. It does not appear that anything but this significant name was written upon the tablet. See Crit. Note. 2. Uriah : perhaps the same as in 2 Kings, 16, 10, and probably the high priest; of the other witness we know nothing. The witnesses are to give evidence, when the time comes, that the prophecy was deli- vered and the tablet inscribed as stated. 3. went unto : perhaps we should render, had gone unto. his name ; the new-born child receiving tliis name becomes like his brother Shcar- jashub, and perhaps Immanuel, a sign of the deliverance to be speeiliiy wrought. It has been maintained that this is the same child with the Immanuel of v. 7. All that we have said, in the introductory note, about the later date of this section is against such a conclusion. 4. Before the child shall be able to utter (in the Hebrew) the words which an infant first learns, i. e. within a year, or a year and a half, Samaria and Damascus sliall be plundered by Tiglath Pileser. 6. this people : when Jehovah in the prophetic representations speaks with approval and kindness to the nation, it is with the appellation 7inj people; in other cases as here. Comp. 6, 9 Shiloah : the brook so called, which had its source on the south- eastern side of mount Zion; put for the reigning family, which dwelt on Zion. The allusion is not clear. We have before observed that it may be to a party in Judali favour- able to the invaders, and even will- ing to exchange the feeble and unwarlike Ahaz for the son of Tabeal. Hence the prophet an- nounces that the flood which is first to sweep away Israelites and Syrians (v. 7), shall rise high enough to reach also the rebellious of Judah (V. 8). 106 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 7. Therefore behold the Lord bringetli up upon them The waters of the river, strong and many, The king of Assyria and all his glory ; And he shall rise above all his channels, And come over all his banks ; 8. And he shall penetrate into Judah, He shall overflow and pass over^ Unto the neck shall he reach ; And the out-spread of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, oh Immanuel ! 9. Rage, ye peoples, and be dismayed, And give ear, all ye distant lands ; Gird yourselves, and be dismayed, Gird yourselves, and be dismayed ; 10. Take counsel together and it shall come to nou"-ht ; Speak the word, and it shall not stand, For God is with us ! 11. For thus spake Jehovah unto me, when his hand grasped me. And taught me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 7, 8. Instead of the softly flowing brook they shall have the river : the mighty Eujihrates, the symbol of As- syrian power, whose ■^vaters in the spring and summer, from the melting snow of the Armenian mountains, inundate the country. It shall now rise even to the neck, threatening the utmost danger. wings : per- haps the extremities of the army, mounted bands, ravaging the coun- try. thy land: Immanuel is ad- dressed, to recall the promise of deliverance, amidst the danger ; the land is still his, and shall be. 9. The combined nations are ad- dressed : let them rage and do their •worst, their plans will be frustrated. When two imperatives come toge- ther in this way, the second often states some consequence of the ac- tion expressed by the first ; or the second may contain a threat, or a promise, corresponding to the first. So here, be dismayed is equivalent to the threat ye shall be dismayed. give ear : calling upon distant na- tions to witness the coming discom- fiture. 10. shall not stand : the approach of the Assyrians, or the news of it, shall compel them to retire. We do not know that they went so far as to make any assault on Jerusalem. 11. grasped me: the figure ex- presses the felt impulse of the Divine Spirit in the prophet's mind, com- pelling him to this inspired utter- ance respecting the future. Comp. Ezek. 3, 14; 37, 1; Jer. 15, 17. § 5. ISAIAH, cn. VIII— IX, 7. 107 12. Say ye not, A confederacy, of all which this people calleth a confederacy, Neither fear ye its fear, nor be afraid ; 13. Jehovah of Hosts, Him deem ye holy, Let Him be your fear, and Him your dread, 14. And he shall be your refuge ; But a stone to strike, and a rock of stumbling, To the two houses of Israel, A trap and a snare to the inhabitant of Jerusalem. 15. And many shall stumble thereon, And fall, and be broken, and ensnared, and taken. 16. Bind up the testimony. Seal the commandment by means of my disciples ; 17. And I will wait for Jehovah, Who hideth his face from the house of Jacob, And I will trust in him. ivay of this people : their Avant of courage and their distrust of Je- hovah. 12. confederacy: or conspiracy; referring to the combination of Israel and Syria against Judah, which is, in reality, one against Jehovah through his anointed sove- reign. This design does not even deserve the name of confederacy, so little of success shall attend it in its issue. its fear : the object of its fear; the hostile alliance. Comparing V. 6, we may see that, while a part of the people were ready to receive the invaders, there was another party who feared them; the latter is now addressed by Isaiah. 13. Him: some find here an im- plied allusion to the plan of seeking the help of Assyria. To do this is to distrust and turn away from Jehovah. 14. refuge : literally, sanctuary, or asylum, like the altar of the temple (1 Kings 1, .50; 2, 28). Such will Jehovah be to those who re- main faithful ; but the contrary to the two houses of Israel : i. e. to those of both kingdoms who forsake Him; to them He will be a cause of over- throw and destruction. to strike : literally of striking. The following images are taken from the familiar means of catching and destroying wild animals. So in v. 15. 16. The command of Jehovah to his prophet. testimony : command- ment : the whole announcement re- specting the future involved in the name inscribed upon the tablet. my disciples : Uriah and Jeberechiah, before mentioned. Let them bind up the tablet for preservation. 17. The prophet's own declara- tion. house of Jacob : i. e. king- dom of Judah. 108 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 18. Behold, I and the children whom Jeliovah hath given me Are for signs and for symbols in Israel, From Jehovah of Hosts who dwelleth in mount Zion. 19. And when they sliall say unto you. Seek ye unto the spirit-charmei's and the wizards, That chirp and mutter, — Shall not a people seek unto their God ? In place of the living, shall they go unto the dead ? 20. To the commandment and to the testimony! Shall not they speak according to this word, Who have no dawninjT-liolit ? 18. / and the children : Isaiah's own name was significant, meaning Salvation of Jehovah ; in his own and his chihiren's names he finds sure and lasting signs of the coming deliverance, and for this he will wait. 19. The prophet still speaks : while himself waiting for Jehovah, his mind turns to those who, in their terror, and their want of faith, seek relief in the superstitious practices of idolatry resorted to in seasons of distress and perplexity. From ancient times they had been prevalent in Judah. Spirit-charmers : persons who pretended, by magic formulas, to communicate with the dead, and by their aid to give advice, or fore- tell future events, as the witch of Endor (1 Sara. 28. 7, seq): they seem to have employed a kmd of ventriloquism (expressed by the Sep- tuagint rendering iyyaaTpifivdovs), imitating the supposed low and feeble voice of a spirit, and making it appear to come out of the ground. Hence the figure in Is. 29, 4. The word translated spirit-charmers de- notes either the person communi- cating with the dead, or, also, sometimes, the spirit itself, thought to speak through, or in, him; the latter in 29, 4. Wizards, those who know, i. e. about the future. chirp : mutter : alluding to the pecu- liar sounds with which such persons carry on their pretended necro- mancy. In place of: so Lowth, we think rightly — meaning. Instead of going for counsel to the living God, shall they apply to dead men? Gesenius, somewhat sharply, rejects Louth's rendering, and would trans- late. For the living, i. e. for the benefit, or information, of the living, will ye go unto the dead ? The sense of either version is appropriate, but the former is the more so, when we consider the prophet's evident purpose to rebuke the idolatrous prac'ices. 20. Probably the prophet's exhor- tation, in answer to the previous question. commandment : testi- mony : we naturally look back to V. 16, for the explanation of these words, and must, accordingly, take the sense to be. Let us turn to the commandment, or revelation, which God has given us by his prophet respecting our future deliverance, rather than to the dead. The following words are very difficult, § 5. ISAIAH, CH. VIII — IX, 7. 109 21. And they shall pass through it, oppressed and hungrj, And it shall come to pass, wlien they shall be hungry, That they shall burst into anger and curse their king and their God, 22. And turn their faces upward ; And they shall look unto the eai'th, And behold trouble and darkness, Darkness of distress ; And they shall be driven into thick-darkness. IX. 1. But there shall not he Darkness where Distress now is ; As the former time brouglit into contempt The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali ; So the after-time maketh honourable and various versions have been pro- posed. We give what appears the simplest, without being sure that it is right. dawniiig-light : or morn- ing light, the image of returning hap- piness, after the night of distress and suffering just passed through; "no dawning-light," of course, is the contrary; and the meaning will be, Shall not they who are suffering the deepest affliction speak thus ? shall not their sufferings bring them to their God ? See Crit. Note. 21. Isaiah now dwells on the idea just introduced of the coming anguish and desperation. it: i.e. the land ; famished and enraged even against heaven itself. He has here greater apprehensions than in the last chapter. The hostile army may have been some time in tiie country, and he looks forward to still further devastation at the hands of the As- syrians. 22. theT/ : the verb is singular, and used impersonally ; meaning, the sufTcring people. ix, 1. This verse introduces that trustful anticipation of brighter times to which the trials of the present led the prophet and, doubt- less, many of his people the more tenaciously to cling, as the clouds and darkness gathered around them. former time: Gescnius thinks that the devastation of these parts earlier in the present war, and by Tiglath Pileser, is meant. The expression "former time," if we rightly understand it, is against this, and refers to something mure re- mote. We have already (Gen. la- trod., § 2) referred the statement of 2 Kings 15, 29, to an earlier inva- sion by Tiglath Pileser. The inju- ries inflicted in that invasion may here also be referred to, and it is not necessary to think that Isaiah has anything so far back as Pul in his mind. Having been led to mention the northern districts, by tlie fact that they especially suffered on a former occasion, tlie prophet naturally speaks first of their share in tlie future glory. after-time : may be understood of the deliver- ance referred to in v. 4, including the restoration of the united people under a prince of the house of David, and their participation in the happi- 110 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. The way of the sea, the land-beyond Jordan, The circle of the Gentiles. 2. The people that walked in darkness see great light, They that dwelt in the land of the shadow-of-death, Upon tliem light hath shined. 3. Thou hast increased the nation, Thou hast made great its joy ; They rejoice before thee, as with the joy of harvest, As men exult when they divide the spoil ; 4. For the yoke of his burden, and the rod of his shoulder. The staff of his oppressor, hast thou broken. As in the day of Midian ; ness of the Messiah's reign. In the last sense the passage will be fami- liar to the reader of the New Testa- ment, from the application of it to our Lord's ministry in Galilee, by St. Matthew (4, 20). loaij of the sea : the district about the lake of Galilee. circle: Heb. GaUl, from which, no doubt, the Galilee of later times originated. It was a northern part of Naphtali, which bordered on the Phcenician territory, and in which a Gentile population was in- termingled with the Jewish. Hence the appellation of the text ; and hence also the low estimation in which the southern Jews held this part of the countiy, a feeling which we see at its height in the New Tes- tament times. John 1, 46 ; 7, 52 ; Matt. 26, 69-73. 2-3. see : this and the other lead- ing verbs, though preterites, must be understood as relating to the future; as is common in the pro- phetic style. The certamtij of the occurrence appears to be intended by this use of the past tense ; as though it were so clearly foreseen that it might be described as already come. light : the image of deli- verance and happiness. dark- ness: that of captivity and miserj^ in the land of their enemies. Be- fore this time Jewish captives had been dispersed over many lands. Comp. Is. 11, 11-12; Joel 3, 2, seq. shadow of death : the utmost misery of invasion and captivity. increased : by the return of the captives. its joy : See Grit. Note. 4. yoke: they shall be released from the Assyrian dominion, under which Israel has been bowed down since the time of Pul ; and to which Judah is now voluntarily submitting under Ahaz. his: the nation's, conceived of as a single individual : so in other instances, in some of which we have rendered the pro- noun as a plural, the better to suit the context. Midian : Comp. Judges 7, 8, seq. As Gideon with a handful of men gained that victory, so shall the small Hebrew peo])le repel the great Assyrian power, deliver the captives, and carry off the spoil of its enemies. Mich. 5, 4, seq., for the same anticipation. § 5. ISAIAH, CH. VIII — IX, 7. Ill 5. For all the armour of him that armeth tumultuously, And the garment rolled in blood. Shall be for burning, fuel for the fire. 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, And the government shall be upon his shoulder, And they shall call his name Wonderful, Giver-of-counsel, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace ! 7. To the increase of his government and to prosperity there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom. 5. armour : perhaps for the lower part of the legs, greaves, but it is not certain ; it may thus stand for arms in general. Broken arms and soiled garments were often burnt on the field of battle by the ancients. The meaning here, however, probably is that all the warlike weajjons and gar- ments shall be destroyed, as no longer required in the new era of peace. Comp. Mich. 5, 5, 10; Zach. 9, 9-10. 6-7. The ground of these great expectations is now given ; the ad- vent of an illustrious prince, who shall rule his people in perpetual peace and security. We have here, doubtless, Isaiah's idea of the Mes- siah and his glorious reign. Comp. Mich. 5, 2-7. It is proper to observe the prominence which in this place, as in 11, 4-9, is given to the moral and religious element, as the ac- companiment, or foundation, of the anticipated happiness. Thus it is no mere triumph over enemies, or condition of material prosperity, to which the prophet looks forward ; but a state the highest characteristics of which may truly be said to be attained, or attainable, only in and by Christ. — That Isaiah himself, however, looked forward, through so many centuries, to so distant a day as that of Christ, there appears to be no clear evidence to show, but the contrary. It was. probably, a much speedier arrival of the Messi- anic glories which he contemplated ; one, perhaps, which he himself and some of his contemporaries should behold. If so, we may believe that, in the continued unfaithfulness and unpreparedness of Israel, Divine Providence did not grant, even to its greatest prophet, more than a dim and uncertain foresight of the future age — leaving to the course of events the function of enlightening both him and his nation, as to the full purposes of the Supreme Euler con- cerning them. The passage, it may be observed, is not applied any- where in the New Testament to our Saviour. The Jewish Commentators a,nd some moderns, including Gese- nius, think, that Hezekiah was in Isaiah's mind ; but that is not pro- bable, as this prince was already some years old on his father's ac- cession, and could hardly be spoken of now as a child just born,»or still to be born. The early Christian writers find the application of the prophecy in Christ and the Gospel ; but, as is well known, they are not generally good expositors of the Old 112 PROPHECIES OP ISAIAH. To establish it and to maintain it, by justice and by righteous- ness. From henceforth and for ever. The zeal of Jeliovah of Hosts shall do this. Testament. They are followed ii this case, however, by the great majority of Christian interpreters. The various epithets of the pas- sage sufficiently explain themselves. We have translated them as literally as possible, and would only further suggest that they may be intended as a kind of compound name, like Immanuel, given to the expected prince, and descriptive of his reign and character. We thus have a significant name made up of no less than eight separate words — twice the number contamed in Ma- her-shalal-hash-baz. § 6, ISAIAH, CU. XXIII. 113 § 6. CiiAP. XXIII. Prophecy of the destruction of Phanicltin Cities, and of the eventual restoration of Tyre to her former wealth and prosperity. In that portion of our Gen. Introd. (§ 3) which relates to Shalmaneser, it has been noticed that the conquest of several Phoenician cities and a siege of Tyre are, by the historian Menander, ascribed to that King. The attack upon Plioenicia took place, we have found reason to believe, about the time of the siege of Samaria, and perhaps, like that undertaking, it was finished, not by Shalmaneser, but by his successor Sargon. The historian just named states that the Assyrians soon re- duced the cities of the mainland, Sidon, Acco, and Old Tyre ; but New Tyre, which was built upon an island, distant about half a mile from the shore, resisted them with obstinacy and success. The Tyrian ships defeated those which the assailants were able to bring against them ; and Shalmaneser, it is stated, was compelled to be satisfied with placing guards on the mainland to prevent the islanders from obtaining water. They supplied themselves, however, by means of cisterns, and the blockade went on for five years. How it terminated is not stated. Probably Sargon, the successor, or supplanter, of Shalmaneser, would, on attaining the supreme power, have his hands sufficiently full, and having got possession of the main- land and its cities, would be willing to come to terms with the Tyrians. The name of Tyre does not occur among those cities which Sennacherib (ch. xxxvi-xxxvii) boasts that he or his predecessor had conquered, while that of Samaria does ; from which it may be inferred that the former had not been captured. I 114 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. The composition of the prophecy may be best referred to the commencement of the Assyrian inroad upon Palestine, about the year 724 b.c. The prophet evidently anticipates the rapid and complete success of the attack ; which he could hardly have done had he not written before its partial failure, as regards insular Tyre, had become manifest. Two other sieges of the great maritime city are recorded in history ; one by Nebuchadnezzar, after his capture of Jeru • salem and destruction of the kingdom of Judah ; and the other by Alexander the Great, in the year 332. The former is said to have lasted thirteen years, and though Old Tyre, on the mainland, was then reduced to ruins, and so probably re- mained, yet the island city appears to have again successfully resisted. Alexander, after a siege of seven months, finally took and destroyed New Tyre, although it was certainly in his time, in the words of the prophet, a " stronghold of the sea." The terrible history of this siege, as well as an account of that by Nebuchadnezzar, may be seen in sufficient detail in Kenrick.' Several interpreters, among them Bp. Lowth, have thought that the prophecy before us should be referred to the siege by Nebuchadnezzar ; and some, again, taking the same view, have seen reason to deny that it proceeds from Isaiah, and to attri- bute it to Jeremiah, or some unknown author. Some dis- cussion of this question may be seen in Knobel ^ together with a very satisfactoi-y answer to objections urged against the authenticity of the chapter as a composition of Isaiah. Mr. Stanley, speaking of the revival of Tyre, from time to time, and of the still continued existence of Sidon, insists with much eloquence and truth on the total destruction of both cities for political purposes, as affording " a striking in- stance of the moral and poetical, as distinct from the literal and prosaic, accomplishment of the Prophetical Scriptures." ^ ' Phoenicia, Hist. ch. ii-iv. - les., pp. 166-8. =* Sinai & Palest , pp. 271-3. § G. ISAIAH, CII. XXIII. 115 1. r I IHE prophecy of Tyre. -L Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, for it is laid waste, So that there is no house to enter ! From the land of the Cliittim it is revealed to them. 2. Be struck dumb, ye inhabitants of the coast, "Which the merchant of Sidon, who passeth over the sea, hath filled ; 1. The title here, as in some other cases, was probably added by some compiler. The rendering burden in our English version is from the onus of the Vnlgate, used by Jerome to represent the original word, on the supposition that it denotes a prophecy containing a threat or de- 7uinciation, which, however, is not true of all the prophecies with this heading (Zech. 12, 1 ; Mai. 1, 1). The original term simply means a lifting up, i. e. of the voice, or speech; and might, therefore, be well ex- pressed by Announcement, or Oracle. Tyre : Heb. Tsur, i. e. rock; the origin evidently of the Greek Supi'a, Syi'ia. Howl: i.e. tvail; the usual word for the most violent lamenta- tion. — The prophet addresses the sailors of the ships returning fi-om their voyage to Tarshish : Tartessus, an important Pha3nician colony, in the south of Spain, whence were brought various metals, including silver (Jer. 10, 9; Ezek. 27, 12-25). The ex]iression ships of Tarshish is sometimes used also of large trading vessels, fit for any distant voyages; e.g. 1 Kings, 10, 22; Ps. 48, 7. it is laid waste : Heb., devastation has been wrought; i. e. (with the next words). Tyre and the surrounding country have been laid waste, so that there is not a house left stand- ing. land of the Chittim : the island of Cyprus, most of whose cities, among them Citium, belonged to the Phajnicians. revealed .- the seamen calling here on the voyage homeward will receive certain intel- ligence, of what may have previously reached them only as a vague ru- mour. 2. Be struck dumb: addressed to those already in the country, who in the very midst of the destruction may be expected to look upon it with still greater horror. coast : the narrow strip of territory along the Mediterranean (see note on 20, 6), forming the mainland of Pho;- nicia, filled with the large and indus- trious population of several conside- rable cities; — among them Sidon: i. e. Fishing station : such was its origin. It was probably the oldest, and hence the phrase merchant of Sidon, used of the trading population of the whole region. Tyre is said to have been founded by fugitives from Sidon, when the latter was conquered by the Philistines. Old and new Tyre formed together one large city, and soon exceeded Sidon in importance. For more, see Ken- rick, Phoen, Hist. ch. i. I 2 116 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 3. And, by the wide waters, the grain of tlie Nile, Tlie harvest of the River, is her revenue. And she is the mart of nations. 4. Be thou ashamed, O Sidon, Fur the sea hath spoken, tlie stronghold of the sea, Saying, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, I have not reared young men, nor brought up maidens. 5. When the report cometh to Egypt, They shall tremble as at the report of Tyre. 6. Pass over to Tarshish ! Howl, ye inhabitants of the coast ! 3. From direct address the pi'o- l^het passes to description. by the wide ivaters : by, or over, the sea; or, by many waters, in the same sense. The Phoenicians supplied themselves and other nations with the corn of Egypt, carrying thither their own wine, oil, glass, &c. Hence they are said to have as their revenue (or perhaps produce) the grain of the Nile : literally of the dark, or turbid; an epithet of the Nile, not unknown to Classical writers. Mr. Stanley (Sin. & P., p. xxxv-vi) speaks of its " bro vn co- lour." He adds, " Immediately above the brown and blue waters of the .... river rises a thick black bank of clod or mud, mostly in terraces." The epithet seems thus to allude to the dark-coloured fertilising soil deposited by the annual overflow. Tor the rendering grain comp. 1 Sam. 8,15; Job 39, 12. Biver : leor, the word of the Egyptians for their river, adopted by the Hebrews and often met with, as Gen. 41,1; Is. 19, 7-8. mart : or, gai7i ; i. e. the produce is so: but comp. Ezek. 27, 3, which favours the former expla- nation. See Crit. Note. 4. Sidon, as the parent city, is now called upon to feel the ignominy of being childless — such was the ancient oriental idea — to be ashamed that she and her related cities are as though they had never borne children, their population being de- stroyed stronghold : New Tyre, on a rock, as the name implies, and surrounded by the sea, must have been a great and populous city, for although only about three miles in circumference it was closely built, and the liDiises were lofty. It was strongly fortified, particularly to- wards the land side, where the walls rose to a height of 150 feet, and were constructed of large stones firmly put together, so as long to defy all the efforts of Alexander, as well as of preceding besiegers. Comp. Ezek. 26, 4; 15-17. Remains of buildings may still be seen. Ken- rick and Stanley, m6. sup. 5. as at the report : the fall of such a place shall make Egypt tremble, — because, if so strong a city could not resist the Assyrians, little prospect of doing so remained for that country. 6. Pass over : take refuge in your colonies. This was done by many during Alexander's siege. So the § 6. ISAIAH, CII. XXIII. 117 7. Is this your rejoicing city, Whose antiquity is of ancient days ? Her own feet shall cai'ry her afar to dwell. 8. AVho hath decreed tliis against Tyre, The crown-giving city. Whose merchants are princes, Whose traffickers the honoured of the earth ? 9. Jehovah of Hosts hath decreed it. To profane the pride of all glory. To bring into contempt all the honoured of the earth. 10. Pass through thy land like the River, Phocseans abandoned their city rather than submit to the Persian Cyrus, and became the founders of Marseilles. 7. 7-ejoicing city : this silent and desolate ruin, is this the once joy- ful, crowded, luxurious city ? antiquity : Herodotus mentions that Tyre in his time was said by the Tyrian priests to have already ex- isted 2300 years. This was pro- bably an exaggeration ; but that the Phccnician settlements on the coast of Palestine may have existed as far back as the time of Abraham is not unlikely. Keiirick, Phoen., p. 57. Comp. Gen. Introd., § 1. Her own feet : walking on foot, as cap- tives, into some distant Assyrian province. 8. crown-giving : Tyre, as having become the leading city, had pro- bably a certain authority over the neighbouring cities, and over the colonies of the Phoenicians. t?-af- Jickers : literally Canaanites ; the people of this part of Palestine having been gi-eat traders, the term Canaanite is found several times in the Old Testament in the sense of merchant, or trafficker ; as Zeph. 1, II; Job 41, 6; Prov. 31, 24. 9. profane: the verb is expressive particularly of religious desecration ; and hence it may be that the ancient and splendid temple of the Tyrian Hercules (Herod., 2, 44) is meant by the words pride of all ylory : which may, however, include also the stately dwellings of the Tyrian merchants. It would be altogether in the spirit of the Hebrew prophet thus to single out for special notice the place of idolatrous worship. 10. The prophet now addresses a Tyrian colony. Its people, often hardly treated, and compelled to work in the silver and lead mines for their masters, may pass freely where they will ; — they are released from their subjection. Just as the great River (the Nile, as in v. 3) moves on continually without restraint, so now may the Phoenician colonists pass through their territories, uncon- trolled by the parent state. The Hebrews had no " abounding river " of their own from which they could draw such a comparison ; hence their use of the Egyptian word. I 3 118 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. Daughter of Tarshish ! There is no longer restraint. 11. His hand hath he stretched out over the sea, He hath shaken kingdoms ; Jehovah hath given command against Canaan, To destroy her strongholds. 12. And he saith, Thou shalt not again rejoice, O dishonoured virgin, daughter of Sidon ! Arise, pass over to Chittim, Even there shalt thou have no rest. 13. Behold the land of the Chaldseans, — This people was not, Daughter : i. e. population, per- sonified under the image of a female, the child of the place denoted. So daughter of Z ion, Is. 1, 8. Keeping up, or rather reversing, the figure, the individuals of the population may be spoken of as the children, sons and daughters, of the jjer- sonified city or state. 11-14 : repeats in a shorter form the announcement of the previous verses, and moreover points out the enemy who is to be the chief instru- ment of the destruction of Tyre. 11. kingdoms: the Phoenician cities and colonics, spoken of as separate states. Canaan : here put for Phoenicia, which was pro- perly a portion only of that country. The same word was used by the Pha3nicians themselves, as the name of their country, and has been found on their coins. It is stated by Augustin that the Punic peasants of Hippo in his time called themselves Canani. The Carthaginians were of Phoenician origin. This is the only instance in the Old Testament in which the name is applied to the Phccnician territory. Comp. Ken- rick, Phcen., pp. 41-3. 1 2. daughter of Sidon : the people of the whole country ; otherwise, according to some authorities, still Tyre, a younger city descended from Sidon. Comp, Nahum's description of the ignominy of Nineveh, Nah. 3, 5, seq. no rest : the colonies will throw off their allegiance, and will have little of hospitality to give their former masters. 13. The Chaldteans were origin- ally inhabitants of the mountainous region lying to the north and east of Assyria proper. Some of the race may have settled in Mesopotamia and Babylonia at a very early period, and, in the latter province, may have given origin to the learned class of priests and astrologers called Chal- da;ans in later times. But it would also appear from this passage that, shortly before Isaiah wrote, a con- siderable body of the same people had been transferred by the Assy- rians from their primitive northern abodes into the southern districts of the empire, perhaps into the region known to the Greeks as Chaldoea, and bordering upon the desert Arabia. Such deportations of large masses of people were, as wc know, § 6. ISAIAH, CH. XXIII. 119 u. Assyria established tliera as dwellers-of-tlie-tlesert — They set up their siege-towers, They hiy bare her paLaces, They make her a ruin. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish, For your stronghokl is laid waste. And it shall come to pass in that day, That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years. According to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it sliall be to Tyre According the song of the harlot ; not uncommon in those times; and may have been necessary in this case for recruiting the Assyrian armies. The Chaldieaus of the north were a brave and hardy race, fond of war, and addicted to robbery. Bands of them seem to have adhered to their predatory habits, while others were engaged in fighting for tlie Assy- rians, or leading a settled life in Chaldtea. Comp. Job 1, 17; Hab. 1, 6-10; Dan. 2, 2, seq. In the time of Isaiah they were probably a for- midable element of the Assyrian forces, and hence the particular notice which he takes of them. As the same people possessed, also, a powerful priestly caste, it is not surprising that they were even- tually able to gain the supremacy, and to establish the later, or Chal- daian, empire. Explained in ac- cordance with these remarks, the verse before us need not be regarded as a proof of the composition of this prophecy so late as the time of Nebuchadnezzar, the great Chal- drean monarch, or as written in re- ference to his siege of Tyre ; nor does there appear to be any necessity for the conjectural changes of the text adopted by Ewald and some other commentators. was not : i. e. did not exist as a people in Chaldrea until recently. The fact is mentioned, perhaps, in order to ren- der more evident the humiliation of Tyre; this most ancient of cities is to be destroyed by a race whose existence is but of yesterday. establish them : literally founded it ; it referring to the previous land, which, again, stands for people. The Assyrians founded, or settled, the Chalda;ans in their new abodes, thus infusing into their own subject populations the fresh wild blood of the hardy mountaineers. siege- towers : towers for the attack of the high walls, from which the besiegers may hurl their missiles. They were often furnished with the battering- ram, and were either stationary or moveable. They are represented on the Nineveh sculptures ; Nin. & Kem,, ii, p. 367-8. lai/ bare: either despoil, strip bare, or, less lite- rally, demolish. 15. fo? gotten : having lost the re- noAvn of former days, Tyre shall pass through a period of obscurity. seventy years : a definite num- I 4 120 PROPHECIES or ISATAn. 16, Take the harp, go about the city, O harlot that hast been forgotten ! Play skilfully, sing many songs, That thou mayest be remembered. 17, And it shall come to pass at the end o'' seventy years, That Jehovah shall visit Tyre, And she shall return to her gain. And play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world Upon the face of the earth. 18, But her traffic and her gain shall be holy to Jehovah, It shall not be treasured, nor laid up in store ; ber, put perhaps simply to denote a long period, which is further defined in this case as resembling the length of a king's I'eign, or life; the "three score years and ten " of the Psalmist. Comp. Jcr. 25, 11-12; 29, 10; also 46, 26 ; 49, 6-39. In the last two pas- sages the prophet leaves the limit of time quite indefinite ; probably he had much the same meaning in all these cases. Ezekiel (29, 12-13) appears to use the number forty in the same way. At the end, there- fore of this long indefinite period, Tyre shall be again remembered, shall recover her fame; it shall be with her as with a harlot that has been forgotten, but who succeeds in attracting notice by her song. 1 6. Some have taken these words as a portion of the song which she sings ; but they may be only the prophet's address, or exhortation, to her ; his application of the idea, intended to suggest that the new period of fame is eftectually gained; or how it is gained, viz., by means of commerce. The comparison is appropriate to the great maritime city, inasmuch as the prophets con- sidered commerce a source of un- faithfulness towards Jehovah, seeing that it was the means of introducing strange and idolatrous practices among their countrymen. This conception is more or less clearly expressed in such passages as Is. 2, 6-8. 16; Nah. 3, 4 ; comp. Rev. 18, 3. 17. visit: often used of punish- ment. Comp. 10, 12. Here the visitation is for a diflTerent purpose, to restore the ancient prosperity of Tyre, and make her again populous and wealthy. Tyre recovered even from the destruction caused by Alexander's siege, and was a great commercial city under the Romans, and down to the time of the Cru- sades. 18. Having in her adversities been taught to know Jehovah, she shall consecrate her wealth to his service. She shall send presents to his ministers in Jerusalem, contributing liberally to their maintenance and dignity. Such are the results which the prophet anticipates from these po- litical convulsions — here for the Tyrians, as in ch. 18 for the Ethio- pians, and in ch. 19 for the Egyp- tians and Assyrians. The central truth of the expectation is that the § 6. ISAIAn, CH. XXIII. 121 For her traffic shall be for them that dwell before Jehovah, To eat abundantly, and for stately clothing. knowledge of the one God, Jchovab, must in due time be spread over the earth. This Isaiah, with his clear eye of Faith, fully sees; and it must be confessed that the vision has been wondcrMly fitljilled — not indeed in the exact way contemplated by the Hebrew prophet, nor in his time, but in a still better way, and more fitting time. It may here be noticed that Ewald, judging from the internal character of the prophecy, thinks it the com- position, not of Isaiah himself, but of some younger contemporary and disciple, one perhaps of those dis- ciples mentioned (8, 16; comp. v. 2) as taking part in the attestation of the prophet's statements. The same authority maintains also, as others have done before him, that vv. IS- IS are an addition to the chapter, made not earlier than the com- mencement of the Persian period, and perhaps by the same hand to which, as he thinks, we owe ch. 12. See m/;a, note on Is. 12, 6. The Babylonian or Chaldrean empire, founded by the father of Nebuchad- nezzar, and overthrown by Cyrus the Great, lasted about seventy years. With its downfall various cities and provinces attained for a time their ancient independence. So now Tyre, the prophet, or his imitator, states, shall rise again to import- ance, after seventy years of humilia- tion, and shall devote her recovered wealth to the service of Jehovah. So far as this application of the verses in question is concerned, the same position is maintained by several of the older Commentators, including Bp. Lowth. That it is not necessary or certain, any more than the assertion that the three verses are a late addition, is perhaps suflSciently shown by the inter- pretation above given. 122 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. § 7. Chap. XXVIII. The speedy destruction of Samaria by the Assyrians. — Warnings drawn from that event addressed to the dissolute and scornful Rulers in Jerusalem. Some expressions in this section (vv. 15-18) miglit be under- stood to refer to the protection of Ahaz by the Assyrians ; to his league or covenant with them securing Judah from any renewal of the attempt of Syria and Israeh If this view were correct, the passage must have been composed at a compara- tively early period ; viz., not long after the commencement of the reign of Ahaz, when the treaty between him and the Assyrians was still a recent transaction. On the whole, how- ever, it does not appear necessary to give so literal an interpre- tation to the expressions referred to. They may only allude to a certain confidence in themselves, and their alliance with the Assyrians, which was indulged in by the ruling men of Judah, in the earlier part of Hezekiah's reign^ and which led them to think that, whatever might befall the neighbouring kingdom of Israel, they themselves, notwithstanding their iniquities, their drunkenness, their scorn of the prophetic warnings, would remain uninjured. This feeling may have been encouraged also, if not originated, by the generally prosperous character of Hezekiah's first years (2 Kings xviii, 7-8). It must be ad- mitted, again, that some expressions at the beginning of the chapter distinctly imply that the destruction of Samaria is approaching. It may be that the army of Shalmaneser was known to be near, or even that the siege had already begun. § 7. ISAIAH, CII. XXVIII. 123 On what grounds, however, docs Isaiah anticipate that the kingdom of Judah will suffer at the hands of the Assyrians, seeing that it is still tributary to them (v. 22), and, so far as we know, had as yet made no attempt to escape from the obli- gation ? We can only answer the question conjecturally. The prophet may have expected, as did his contemporary Micah (Mic. i, 9-12 ; iii, 12 ; iv, 10, seq. ; vii, 13), that the Assyrians, after the conquest of Samaria, would pass through Judah on their way to attack Egypt, the protector of Samaria (2 Kings xvii, 4), and it was impossible for them thus to invade and occupy the country without at the same time inflicting many evils upon the unfortunate inhabitants. If, moreover, the people of Judah were busying themselves with warlike pre- parations (v. 12), the Assyrians might be doubtful of their fidelity, and deem it necessary to take severe measures to secure it, by occupying their cities and strong places, as was done by Sennacherib at a later period. This is, perhaps, what the prophet has in his contemplation when he speaks of the scourge passing through the land, and continuing to do so (vv. 18, 19); and when he speaks of the strange work which Jehovah will execute upon his people (v. 21). From these remarks it follows that the chapter may be referred to a date shortly preceding the destruction of the kingdom of Samaria and the captivity of the Ten Tribes. Its composition must, therefore, have been contemporaneous, or nearly so, with that of the preceding section. The expectation of Isaiah that when the Assyrian king had completed his conquest of Samaria he would invade, or traverse, Judahj was not immediately realised, — not, at least, in a hostile sense. Sargon was probably occupied for some time with the siege of Tyre, and when, somewhat later, he pursued the Egyptian campaign, Judah was probably in alliance with him. (Comp. Introductory Notes to ch. xix, xx). We have, accord- ingly, no account of any severities exercised upon its people at this time. 124 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. "OE to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraira, And the fading flower, their glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley. Of them that are overcome with wine! 2- Behold the Lord hath a strong and active- one ; Like a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overwhelming waters. Shall he dash to the earth, with the hand. 3. With feet sliall it be trodden down. The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim. 1-4. Addressed to Samaria, the capital of the neighbouring king- dom of Israel, or Ephraim, as it is often termed from the name of its leading tribe. (Comp. 1 Kings, ch. 12.) crown of pride : i. e. proud crown ; the situation of Samaria is probably alluded to. It lay upon a hill, rising up in the midst of a fruitful valley, over which it com- manded an extensive prospect. (1 Kings 16,24.) The city surrounding the summit of the hill, houses and trees intermingling and forming a stately and beautiful object, is com- pared to a crown ; there being also, perhaps, an allusion to its rank as the chief city of the kingdom. Similar epithets are used of Jeru- salem, Ps. 48, 2 ; 50, 2. Any allusion to chaplcts or wreaths, worn on the head at banquets, is very doubtful. Dr. Eobinson speaks of the hill of Samaria as a " fine round swelling hill," standing alone in the midst of a " broad noble basin." He adds that " it would be difficult to find in all Palestine a situation of equal strength, fertility, and beauty com- bined." (Bib Res., iii, pp. 138, 146 ) So Mr. Stanley, Sin. & Pal., p. 244. But this beautifully situated ca- pital was also a place of drunkards : it was a chief seat of the vices of the upper classes of the idolatrous king- dom of Israel. (Amos 4, 1 ; 6, 1-6 ; Mich. 1, 5.) -flower: beauty: may be also taken as descriptive of the city; or maybe referred specifically to the nobles and rich men, the flower, as we might say, of the nation, who are so shortly to be slain, or led into exile by the Assy- rians ; whose glory, therefore, is even now fading away. their : literallj'', Ids; i.e. Epraim's. overcome: literally, struck or stupificd. 2. Explanation of the previous announcement. Jehovah is about to send the Assyrian (10, 5), who shall sweep over the land like a destroying tempest, and dash down city and people together ; literally, cause to rest or lie ; i. e. on the ground, without rising again. with the hand : probably in the sense of with violence. Comp. 57, 10; 8, 11. 3. it : the Hebrew verb is in the plural; because crcwn, meaning the § 7. ISAIAH, CII. XXVIII. 125 4. 7. And the fading flower, their glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Shall be like an early-fig before the summer, Which he that looketh upon it seeth, And, while it is yet in his hand, swalloweth it. In that day Jehovah of Hosts shall be for a crown of beauty, And a diadem of glory to the remnant of his people ; And for a spirit of judgment to him that sittcth in judgment. And for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. But even these stagger with wine, and i"eel with strong-drink, whole city, is a kind of collective, or plural, idea. 4. early-fig : the fruit first ripe, about the end of June, is consider-od a delicacy, and eagerly eaten. (Hos. 9, 10; Mich. 7, 1; Jcr. 24, 2.) while it is yet: i.e. immediati.'ly, without delay. Such early fruit easily falls from the tree when shaken, and hence the figui'c ex- presses not only the eagerness of the Assyrian for the concpiest, but also the ease and rapidity with which he will effect it. Thus understood these verses cannot be regarded as written after the fall of Samaria, as some have thought ; fur Samaria did not fall rapidly, or easily, but only, as it would appear, after a prolonged resistance (2 Kings 18, 10). More- over, the phrase "in that day" (v. 5) clearly points to the future ; and in the prophetic style has always that force, or nearly so. 5-13- The prophet now turns more directly to address his own people, warning them of the similar punish- ment which awaits their wickedness. He begins, however, with a promise; but it is for those only who have proved themselves \\'orthy to be the "remnant," and to survive the coming visitation. 5. crown of beauty : to them shall Jehovah be what now the Samaritan capital is to its inhabitants, their boast and ornament. 6. Jehovah shall inspire those who administer justice with the spirit of justice, and give strength to the defender of his country who drives back the enemy from the in- terior to the gate. 7. Comparing this verse with the last, we may infer that there were now two parties at Jerusalem ; one of the more upright and faithful rulers, whose counsels probably were most in harmony with the inclina- tions of Hezekiah himself ; the otlier, those described in this and the fol- lowing verses, containinj^ both priests and prophets, or pretended prophets, irreligious and scornful, who looked rather to Egypt than to Jehovah for their deliverance. The latter may have been the more powerful party, and may often have carried the King with them in their policy, even against his own better judgment. Hence the necessity that a period of calamity and punishment should precede the fulfilment of the pro- mise. even these : many rulerg and judges of Jerusalem are corrupt, as well as those of Samaria. ■ 126 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. Priest and prophet stagger with strong-drink, They are swallowed up of wine, They reel from strong-drink. They stagger in vision, stumble in judgment ; 8. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit. There is no plfice free. 9. Whom will he teach knowledge, And whom will he make to understand instruction ? Are ive weaned from the milk, taken from the breast, 10. That he gives us precept upon precept, precept upon precept. Line upon line, line upon line, A little here, a little there ? 11. Truly by stammering lips and by another tongue. Will he speak to this people. priest and prophet: singled out to represent the whole class of dissolute rulers, and because the vice was in them particularly i)itolerable. reel: otherwise go astray, or err in their decisions. The repetitions in this verse express, perhaps, the fre- qxiency a/id variety of form of the vicious practice, as well as the pro- phet's abhorrence. vision : even in the most sacred function of a prophet, that of declaring the Divine will. Isaiah has probably in his view certain false, or pretended, prophets of his time, who claimed the Divine sanction for then- coun- sels, whatever they may have been. judgment : similarly the priests to whom the administration of the Law was committed (Deut. 17, 9; 19, 17), are guilty of drunkenness, in the discharge of their duties. It was against the Law for the priests to take wine or strong drinks, before entering the tabernacle. Lev. 10, 9; comp. Ezck. 44, 21. 9-10 express the spirit in which the rulers receive the expostulations of the prophet ; or perhaps the very words with which they reply to him. Accordingly, he will be Isaiah him- self : " Whom does he, the projjhet, presume to instruct ? Does he treat us like young children, just weaned, with his constant repetition of what we ought to do, precept upon pre- cept, &c., to impress it on our me- mory ? " Or else the verbs teach and understand may be used im- personally ; — Whom will one teach, &c., with the same general meaning. The words precept upon precept, line upon line (in the original, zav lazav, zav lazav, kav lakav, kav lakav), may be a scornful imitation of the stammering utterance with wliicli the drunken rulers replied to Isaiah's admonitions. 11-13. The prophet's answer to them: Truly your dnuiken ques- tioning shall be answered by means of those who speak also with stam- mering lips and an unfamiliar tongue, even by means of the As- syrians ! The latter, though a Semitic race, doubtless spoke a § 7. ISAIAH, cu. XXVIII. ]27 12. He who hath said to them, This is rest, That ye give rest to the weary, And this is repose : but they would not hear ; 13. So that the word of Jehovah hath been to them Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, A little here, a little there ; That tliey may walk, and stumble backward. And be broken, and snared, and taken. 14. Wherefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, ye scornful men, Who rule this people, which is in Jerusalem : 15. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, And with the grave made a league ; dialect that differed considerably in pronunciation from the Jewish, and might not be easily understood at Jerusalem. Moreover, their armies contained Medes, and men of other nations, speaking languages quite different from the Hebrew. Comp. Is. 33, 19, and 36, 11, where the same dialectical difference is most probably referred to, 12. He who : in apposition with the previous he, and meaning Jeho- vah. This is rest: repose: This will be your security and your repose, that ye let the people have rest from your warlike preparations. The nation had hardly recovered from the calamities of the Syi'O- Israelitish invasion ; it had for years past been compelled to pay tribute to the Assyrians; yet the King and his nobles were engaged in various warlike enterprises, which doubtless caused both disquiet and exhaustion to the people. Comp. 2 Kings 18, 8; Is. 22, 8; 39, 2; 36, 1. Isaiah has no faith in these defences, which may both arouse the suspicion and hostility of the Assyrians, and also still further oppress and agitate the exhausted nation. ] 3. the word of Jehovah : i. e. the warnings of his prophet have been to them as an unintelligible lesson, the fact being expressed in their own stammering words. That they may walk : the t-esult spoken of as the intention, as is not uncommon in Isaiah's style. Comp. 6, 9-10 ; 30, 1 ; Hos. 8, 4 : meaning, so that they will be overthrown and taken captive by their enemies. Tlieir vices and neglect will lead to this final cata- strophe, as in the neighbouring king- dom, unless they repent in time. 14. scornful : comp. vv. 9-10. 15. covenant: league : may be un- derstood of the confidence of the rulers in their security under the Assyrian protection ; or else re- ferred to the various measures of defence by which they would seek to strengthen themselves in prepa- ration for their already contem- plated refusal of the tribute payment. The latter is the more probable. 128 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. The overwhelming scourge, when it passeth through, shall not come unto us, For we have made lying our refuge, And in falsehood we have hid ourselves : 16. Tlierefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold I have laid in Zion a stone, A tried stone, a precious corner-stone, A foundation firmly-laid ; He who confideth shall not flee. scourge : can only be the Assyrian army, passing through the land on its way to Egypt. They have se- cured themselves against attacks from it, and therefore have nothing to fear : such is the confidence which the prophet ascribes to them. lying : falsehood : of course the epithets of Isaiah himself, put into the mouth of the rulers. He clearly foresees that the grounds of their trust will fail them in the hoixr of need. 16. laid in Zion : or perhaps ap- pointed or constituted Zion. See Crit. Note. Tiie meaning may thus be, Behold I have made Zion a well-tried, strongly founded, city of refuge; under my protection it shall Avithstand all attacks, and be the symbol of security to the state ; he who confideth in my assurance, re- presented by this defence, shall not flee but find safety there. As the Syrians and Israelites were not able to take Jerusalem, so neither shall the Assyrians. corner-stone : the large and massive stone of the best kind, sometimes expensively worked and ornamented, laid at the corner where two walls meet, and connect- ing them together. Comp. 1 Kings 5, 17; 7, 9. It was considered an important part of the structure, and hence the figures drawn from it to denote an object or person of great importance, as a chief, or head, of a nation. Is. 19, 13; comp. 1 Pet. 2, 6. Different viev/s have been held as to what the prophet means pre- cisely by the expression, which is evidently figurative. Ewald thinks the temple intended, the place of the presence of Jehovah, and an ob- ject of the worshipper's reverence and trust. Gesenius, after some of the Jewish commentators, applies the words to Hezckiah, who may perhaps also be alluded to in one or two other places in simihir high terms, as 32, 1 ; 33, 17. But against this view is the fact that it is not in the manner of Isaiah to speak of any inan as an object of such trust. See 2, 1 1-32 ; 5, 1 .5. The King, too, had probably at this time, not less than his nobles, promoted the warlike preparations, the "lying" and "false- hood" before referred to. He, there- fore, would hardly be likely to be pointed out by the prophet as him- self a ground, or object, of confidence. Some of the New Testament writers apply the words to the Messiah. (Rom. 9, 33; 10, 11; 1 Pet. 2, 6, scq.) They do so, it may be, only by way of accommodation ; or else quote them as the medium of ex- § 7. ISAIAH, CII. XXVIII. 129 17. And I will make judgment a measuring-liue, And righteousness a plummet ; And the hail-storm shall sweep away the refuge of lying, And the waters shall overwhelm the hiding-place. 18. Thus shall your covenant with death be annulled, And your league with the grave shall not stand ; When the overwhelming scourge shall pass by. Then shall ye be trodden down by it. 19. As often as it passeth by, it shall seize you ; For morning after morning shall it pass by, By day and by night ; And hard-treatment only shall make you understand instruc- tion. 20 For too short is the bed for one to stretch himself, And the covering too narrow for one to wrap himself. pressing or illustrating their own thought, in each case. In judging of the import of the phrase, we ought not to lose sight of the fact that Isaiah speaks of the corner- stone as already laid, and prepared to afford refuge in the approaching time of invasion and calamity. Comp. Note on Is. 9, 6-7. 1 7. judgment : i. e. justice, right- eousness : the most obvious meaning is that the corner-stone shall be well proportioned, and set up with ex- actness: but probably the idea hid- den under this form of words is that Jehovah will now, instead of con- tinuing his previous forbearance, apply the strictest standard of jus- tice to the conduct of the " scornful men " in Jerusalem, and sweep them and their hiding-place away toge- ther, as the reward of their iniquities. 18-19. This punishment is to be wrought by means of the Assyrian army, the overwhelming scourge which shall pass through the land. The nobles, in their self-confidcucc tempted to resist, shall be destroyed. trodden down : the word ot-er- whebning, or overpowering, as applied to a scotirge, was inappropriate enough. Here we have the still more incongruous addition of the idea of treading down. The scourge being really an army, the phrase is full of meaning. The truth is, that the writers of the Old Testament are little careful about the consis- tency or elegance of their figures, provided the words used convey the meaning with a certain rough power of expression. often: the pro- phet seems to contemplate repeated invasions; or, perhaps rather, only repeated attacks, in the same inva- sion. hard-treatment : the in- struction which they would not receive from the prophet (v. 9), which they rejected with scorn, shall be effectually given by adversity. 20. Perhaps a proverbial expres- sion, used to denote the perplexed and miserable state into which they have been brought. 130 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 21. For Jehovah shall rise up, as at mount Perazim, As in the valley of Gibeon, he shall rage, To do his deed, his strange deed, And work his Avork, his Strange work. 22. Now therefore mock not, lest your bands become strong ; For o/" destruction and what-is-decreed have I heard From the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, concerning all the land. 23. Give ear, and hear my voice. Attend and hear my word : 24. Doth the ploiigher plough all day to sow ? Or doth he continually open and harrow his ground ? 21. Perazim: in the valley of Eephaim (Is. 1 7, 5). Gibeon : in the neighboui'hood of Jerusalem, where the Philistines were over- thrown by David. 2 Sam. 5, 20, seq.; 1 Chron. 14, 16. So shall Jehovah now arise to confound and destroy the guilty rulers; to do the work so strange to him, as being against those whom he would regard as his own people. 22. bands become strong : either their Assyrian bondage (com]). 10, 27; 23, 10), or the punishment of their conduct. destruction : de- creed : i. e. the decreed destruction. Comp. 10, 23. 23-29. The prophet illustrates the course of Divine Providence by the operations of the husbandman. The latter performs the different kinds of work required, each in its right time, and due proportion. He does not continue ploughing, and neglect to sow the seed ; and he sows each kind of seed in its proper manner, broad-cast or in rows. So with the after-operation of threshing. Each grain is treated with the ne- cessary regard to length of time and instruments employed. The evident intention of the passage is to suggest the thought that God also can adapt his visitations to the varying conduct of men; that He also can discriminate, and execute mercy or judgment, lift up or cast down, reward fidelity or punish wickedness in his creatures, each by its suitable instruments and in its due season. The figures of planting, sowing, reaping, threshing, are not unfre- quently used in a similar sense, as 40, 24; Jer. 24, 6; Hos.2, 23; eomp. Matt. 3, 12. Thus understood the passage forms a warning and a threat to the same persons as those addressed in v. 7, seq. Another in- terpretation, adapted by Hitzig and Ewald, makes the husbandman a pattern, or example, to be followed by the sinful rulers. According to this, they are admonished now to adapt their conduct to the neces- sities of the approaching times of trial ; i. e. to put away their frivo- lity, their revelling, and their scorn, and seek to manifest the upright and earnest spirit which alone becomes their position. This explanation seems less in harmony with the preceding verses (14-22), and im- § 7. ISAIAH, cn. XXVIII. 131 i5. When he hath made the face thereof even, Doth he not also cast abroad the dill, And sow the cummin, and place the wheat in rows. And the barley in the appointed-place. And the rye in its border ? 26. Thus doth He instruct him aright, His God teacheth him. 27. For the dill is not beaten out with a corn-drag, Nor is the wheel of a threshing-dray turned upon cummin. But with the flail dill is beaten out, And cummin with the rod. '28. Bread-corn is trodden out, But not perpetually doth one continue to thresh it, plies, too directly, that the couduct of the rulers has hitherto been cor- rect and timely enough, requiring to be changed only because external circumstances are changed. 25. dill : rendered in our English version fitches, i. e. vetches. The ■word probably denotes a plant still largely cultivated in India and other eastern countries, and pro- ducing a black seed, or grain, which is easily beaten out with a stick, and which is used as a condiment, and medicine. This account agrees with the Scptuagint rendering of the word, fjuKavQiou. Cyc. of Bib. Lit., Art. Ketzach. cummin : mentioned in both the Old and the New Testament, a plant of similar kind, and producing a seed applied to the same uses. 26. The work of the husband- man, the most ancient of all employ- ments, may be regarded as given, or taught, by God himself. Conip. Gen. 3, 17; 19. 23. He: is not in the Heb., but may be supplied from the next clause. 27. The plants producing their seed in pods were beaten out witli the hand; the heavier instruments would have crashed and injured the seeds. wheel : or roller ; armed with iron teeth, and fixed beneath a kind of sledge-shaped waggon, drawn by oxen over the corn. The corn-drag was probably a heavy wooden instrument, with pieces of stone, or sometimes iron teeth, fixed into holes underneath, and also drawn by oxen. Both these instru- ments appear to have separated tlic corn, and at the same time cut the straw for fodder. Cyc. of Bib. Lit. Art. Agriculture. Mr. Layard says of the threshing which he saw in Armenia: — "The children either drive horses round and round, over the heaps, or, standing upon a sledge stuck full of sharp flints on the under part, are drawn by oxen over the scattered sheaves." Nin. & Bab., pp. 17-18. 23. trodden-out: by means of cattle driven over the corn, as it lay upon the threshing-floor. Deut. 25, 132 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. And drive over it the rolling of his thresliing-dray, Nor bruise it with his horses. 29 This also Cometh forth from Jehovah of Hosts, He is w^onderful in counsel, He is ffreat in wisdom ! 4. The flail, or rod, was used only for the lighter kinds of seeds, or for corn in small quantities. 29. This also : the knowledge, or skill, which leads the husbandman thus duly to adjust his labours, is given by Jehovah. The latter, there- fore, must also be able to adapt his government to the several needs of his creatures. What, however, may be termed the application of the allegory is left to the reader, and not carefully pointed out by the prophet. He has either left his design not quite fully cari'ied out, or else only intended to convey his lesson by light and indi- rect suggestion, rather than by a complete exposition. § 8. ISAIAH cn. X, 5— XII, 6. 133 § 8. Chap. X, 5 — XIT, 6. runisliment of Assjrian pride and self-confidence. — Description of the hapiiier jMcssianic time reserved for the remnant of Israel, and song fif thanksgiving to Jehovah. It appears from x, 9-11, that the present section is later than the Assyrian conquest of Samaria. Further, according to x, 27, Judah is still tributary to Assyria, and hence Ilezekiah has not yet revolted, as we know he did soon after the commence- ment of Sennacherib's reign. (Gen. Introd., § 4.) We have thus the years 722 — 715, as the limits of the period within which the composition of the section must be placed. Bishop Lowth, and, more recently, Ewald, suppose the invasion of Sennacherib to be within the view of the prophet ; Ewald apparently referring the composition of the piece to the time of that event ; while Lowth is silent on the latter point. An earlier date seems to be preferable ; chiefly because Judah appears here still tributary, while after Sennacherib's accession it was no longer so. Moreover, the overthrow of Samaria is referred to in such a way as to show that it was not long past. Some additional reasons in favour of an early date have been found in the fact that the figures introduced, as well as many individual words of the section, have more of resemblance to those of pieces known to be of earliest date, or of actual identity with them, than is found in the later compositions of Isaiah. But on such an argument as this it is not safe to lay much stress; although the fact certainly tends to confirm the inference derivable from the considerations previously stated. Knobel K 3 134 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. observes, with justice, that it would be strange if the collection of Isaiah's prophecies contained nothing relating to the im- portant, and, for Judah, anxious and threatening, period, im- mediately following the destruction of the sister kingdom. We sliall, therefore, probably be near the truth, if we refer the composition of this section to about the year 722-1, when the destruction of Israel was still recent, and it was perhaps still doubtful what course the Assyrian king might take in reference to Judah. On the extent and unity of the whole piece, as it is here presented, perhaps no remark is called for. See Introductory Note to § 5. 5. "YXTOE to Assyria, the rod of my anger, * » And the staff in whose hand is my indignation ! 6. Against a profane nation will I send him, And against the people of my wrath will I give him charge. To divide the spoil and to seize the prey, And to trample them down like the mire of the streets. 7. But lie meaneth not so, Nor doth his heart so intend ; For to destroy is in his heart, And to cut off nations not a few. 5-6. Assyria is only, in reality, the 7. He does not know that he is instrument of the Divine purposes, God's instniment, but acts as though commissioned to execute punish- by his own power and for liis own ment on Jehovah's sinful people. ambitious ends. Thus he exceeds nation: the kingdom of Israel his commission. not a few: this as well as Judah may be meant, passage and the triumphant career although the former has just been of the Assyrian power is well illus- destroyed, and the tense is future. trated by the self-laudatory inscrip- The future form suits the fact that tions which have been deciphered the punishment of Judah is still by Sir H. Rawlinson and Dr. Hincks. unexecuted (v. 12). Sec the notice of the inscription of § 8. ISAIAH, cn. X, 5 — XII, 6. 135 8' For he saitli. Are not my princes altogether kings ? 9. Is not Calno as Carchemish ? Is not Hamath as Arpad ? Is not Samaria as Damascus ? 10. As my hand hath found in the kingdoms of the idols — And their graven-images were more than those of Jerusalem and Samaria — n. Even as I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall not I do thus to Jerusalem and her images ? 12. Wherefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall ac- complish his whole work On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I will visit the fruit of the proud heart of the king of Assyria, And the pride of his lofty eyes. the black obelisk, and that relating to Sennacherib's invasion of Judah in our Gen. Introd., §§ 1,4. 8. my princes: his Satraps or Viceroys, often relatives of the monarch, had sometimes the title of King ; hence he is himself termed Great King, or King of Princes (Is. 36, 4; Hos. 8, 10); a later Chaldasan ruler is termed King of Kings (Ezek. 26, 7; Dan. 2, 37), a title usually applied by the Hebrews only to Jehovah himself. 9. The monarch appeals, in his pride, to his former conquests ; first mentioning instances in Babylonia and Mesopotamia. Calno : or Calne (Amos 6, 2) ; probably at a later period Ctesiphon on the Tigris, opposite to which Seleueia was built. Carchemish : the important city of Circesium, in Mesopotamia. The others, except Samaria, were in Syria. 10. Having conquered such great and powerful places, protected by their numerous idol-deities, he is confident of success in the case of Jerusalem. 11. her idols: the images (17, 8) of Baal and Astarte, and of the calf worshipped in Samaria. (Hos. 8, 5; 10, 5; 13, 2.) images: such things were not wanting in Jeru- salem also, under some of the idola- trous kings (Is. 2, 7-8), and the prophet represents the Assyrian, in his ignorance, as identifying Jehovah with them. So probably 36, 7. 12. / will visit: i.e. punish; the prophet speaks for Jehovah ; or, without giving us any notice, intro- duces the latter as speaking directly — a transition not uncommon. When the Assyrian has accomplished his work, then his fall shall come. yruit : tha purpose, or else the actions, originating in his pride and am- bition ; or perhaps only the boast of the following verse. K 4 136 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAIT. 13. For lie hath said, By the strength of my hand have I done it. And by my wisdom ; for I am prudent ; I have removed the boundaries of peoples, And plundered their treasures ; As a valiant man I have cast dovv^n the inhabitants ; 14. My hand liath found, as a nest, the wealth of the peoples, And as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, I have gathered all the eartli. And there was none that moved the wing or chirped. Shall the axe boast itself against him that cutteth with it? Shall the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it ? As if the rod should move him that lifteth it ! As if the staff should lift what is not wood ! Wherefore the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, Shall send among his fat-ones leanness, And beneath his glory shall he kindle a burning, like the burning of fire ; And the Light of Israel shall be for a fire, And his Holy-One for a flame. Which shall utterly devour his thorns and briars in one day. 15. And the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful-field. 15. IG 17 13. boundaries: incorporated their territories witli my own ; in itself a criminal act, as the boundaries of the nations had been appointed by Jehovah himself, according to tlie Hebrew conception. Comp. Dent. 32, 8. Again, the best illustration may be found in the records of con- quests preserved in the inscriptions found in the various Assyrian palaces. inhabitants : literally, those ■who sit or dwell; therefore, perhaps, those who sit on thrones. Comp. Ps. 2, 4; 29, 10. 1 4. None were able to resist — all were absolutely helpless befoi-e him. 15. The prophet's reply to the boast. The Assyrian is but as an axe, or a saw, or a rod, in the hand of the man using it. not wood : the workman that wields it. 16. Lord : here and elsewhere is the rendering of Adonai. fat ones : his strong and well-fed soldiers ; his army shall be wasted and destroyed. Some understand the fat limbs of the Assyrian king himself, with the same general sense. 17-18. Light of Israel: I^i-acl's God, who is light and giveth light, shall be as a consuming fire to the Assyrian hosts. The fire shall as- cend from the lowliest and most worthless underwood up to the stateliest trees of the forest. frtiilful-feld: Heb., Carmcl, a fre- quently mentioned and very fruit- § 8. ISAIAH, cn. X, 5 — XII, 6. 137 Both soul and body shall it consume, And he shall be like the wasting away of a sick-man. 19. The remnant of the trees of his forest shall be a number, Which a child may write. 20. And it shall come to pass in that day, That the remnant of Israel, and the escaped of the house of Jacob, Shall not again lean upon him that smote them, But shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy-One of Israel, in truth. 21. A remnant shall return, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God; 22. For though thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them shall return ; The destruction is decreed, overflowing with justice ; 23. For Destruction and what-is-deci'eed doth the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, execute, In the midst of all the earth. ful region of woodland, corn-fields, and vineyards, on the coast. Mr. Stanley observes, "Rocky dells, with deep jungles of copse, are found there alone in Palestine. And though to European eyes it presents a forest-beauty only of an inferior order, there is no wonder that to an Israelite it seemed ' the Park ' of his country." (Sin. & Pal., p. 352.) Comp. 29, 17. sick-man: see Crit. Note. 19. a number: so small; though previously an innumerable host, to read, or call, the list of wliich would be a work of labour to many strong men. 20-21. The mention of the As- syrian remnant suggests the idea, so often occurring in Isaiah (see 6, 13), of the few to be saved among his own people. The latter, taught by their experience, shall no longer depend on foreign aid, whioji has only brought fresh calamities ; but shall henceforth be faithful to Je- hovah. The statement is repeated (v. 21) with greater emphasis on the superior might of Jehovah. There is perhaps an allusion to the child Shear-jashub (7, 3). 22. Yet, the prophet once more affirms, leaving no room for mistake, it is only a remnant that shall escape ; however great may now be the numbers of the people. The chas- tisement necessary to purification (v. 12) is decreed, and comparatively few will survive it. overjlowing : or, perhaps, flowing in ; as a deluge of punishment. 23. midst : proljably meaning in Zion, the central point, iu regard to the presence of Jehovah, of all the earth. However the clause (v. 22-3) may 138 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 24. Wherefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Fear not, my people, that dwellest in Zion, because of Assyria ; With the rod will he smite thee ; Yea, his Rod will he lift up against thee, in the manner of Egypt ; 25. But yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, And my anger shall be for their destruction. 26. And Jehovah of Hosts will stir up against him a scourge. As in the slaughter of IMidian, at the rock Oreb ; And as his Rod ^vas upon the sea, So shall he lift it up, in the manner of Egypt. 27 And it shall come to pass in that day, That his burden shall depart from thy shoulder. And his yoke from upon thy neck, Yea, the yoke shall be destroyed, because of fatness. 23. He is come to Aiath ! be taken as parenthetical and ex- planatory, we cannot help suspecting some coiTuption of the text. As it stands the prophet turns abruptly — in the midst of his denunciation of the Assyrians, and wliile meaning to console his own people — to speak of the all but entire destruction which is to overtake the latter. And then, in v. 24, he begins again, " Wherefore fear not, &c." We have, however, translated closely seeing no means of escape from the difficulty, except by unwarrantable conjectural changes. If we could refer all that is minatory in the two verses to the Assyrians, much of the incongruity of the passage would disappear. 24. The people of Jerusalem are addressed, as representing the entire nation. 25. indignation: i.e. against Ju- dah ; this will be past, but directed now against the Assyrians, which may be understood to be expressed by the words, for their destruction : otherwise, against their destroyer. 26. Oreb : Comp. 9, 4 ; and Judges 7, 25. his Rod: Je- hovah's ; so he now lifteth it up against Assyria, as formerly against Egypt, in the destruction of Pha- raoh. See Ex. 14, 16. 27. The tribute and submission shall no longer be rendered. • because of fatness : perhaps, literally, from the face (or head) of fatness ; the steer, growing fat, shall burst the yoke; or else, in high-fed wan- tonness, shall thi'ow it off. Compare the expression, "Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked." Deut. 32, 15. Our English version, " because of the anointing," has little meaning. 28-34. We have now a graphic description of the approach of the Assyrian army to Jerusalem, scat- isAiAn, en. X, 5 — xii, 6. 139 He hath passed through Migron, At Mikmash he layeth up his baggage ; 29. They have crossed the pass, In Geba they spend the niglit, Ramah trerableth, Gibeah of Saul is fled. 30. Lift up thy voice, daughter of Gallim ! Hearken, Laisha, Answer htr, O Anathoth ! 31. Madmena fleeth, The inhabitants of Gebim hasten away. 32. Yet a day hath he in Nob to halt, Then will he shake his hand at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem ! tering the population as it comes on. There is no historical account of any such march as this, and most probably a great army would not choose so difficult a line of country, but would advance by the more level region to the westward The passage may be regarded as the ideal picture by which the prophet realised to himself and his con- temporaries the greatness of the danger and of the deliverance. Dr. E-obinson identifies several of the names as those of places still exist- ing. Bib. Res., ii. pp. 114-19; 148- 9 ; comp. Stanley, Sin.', & Pal., pp. 202-7. 28. Aiath : the Ai of Josh. 7 ; the name has perished and the site is unknown. So with Migron, which Mr. Stanley would here take in its general sense of " precipice," but the through is against this. Mik- mash : he leaves such things as would encumber him in crossing the pass, and on his nearer approach to assault Jerusalem. 29. pass : the deep and precipi- tous valley between Mikinash and Gibeah; called the "passage of Mikmash," 1 Sam. 13, 23; comp. I Sam. 14, 4-5. In Geba: this miglit be rendered Geba is our night- qiiarters ; and might be taken as the exclamation with which the Assyrian soldiers march up to that place. Ramah : about an hour's walk distant from Geba. Gibeah is de- serted by its inhabitants on the approach of the invaders. of Saul : his dwelling place. 1 Sam. 11,4; 15,34. 30. daughter : i. e. people ; or the two words may be one name, Beth- gallim. Answer Aer, O Anathoth : otherwise, poor Anathoth; so Gese- nius ; a slight change in the punctu- ation gives the meaning we have adopted. Anathoth, the birth-place of the prophet Jeremiah, was four or five miles north of Jerusa- lem. 32. Nob : a Levitical city, not far from Anathoth (1 Sam. 22, 11-19), from whence probably Jerusalem could be seen. The Assyrian rests there a day, previous to the assault. . shake his hand : in defiance ; 140 PEOPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 33. But lu ! the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, Striketh off the chief-bough with sudden-terror, And the high in stature shall be cut down. The lofty shall be brought low ; 34. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty-one. Cu. xr 1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, And a branch shall grow out of his roots ; And the spirit of Jehovali shall rest upon him, 2. The spirit of wisdom and of understanding. The spirit of counsel and of might, The spirit of knowledge, and the fear of Jehovah. His delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah ; 3. He shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of his ears ; or actually raise it to make the attack. 33-34. But this highest degree of presumption shall be followed by his own speedy destruction. The Assyrian army is compared to a forest, even a Lebanon covered with stately trees. It is unnecessary to seek for a special interpretation of each figure, as, e.g., bough, the lofty, the thicket: we may understand the whole as saying, simply, that the proud and mighty host shall be de- stroyed. he : Jehovah ; or the verb may be used impersonally ; meaning one, or the}/, shall cut down. mighty-one : also Jehovah. Ch. xi. AVhile the great Assyrian forest is thus cut down, the root and stem of Jesse shall spring up into new life. We come again to the prophet's conception of the Messianic age. 1. And: the particle evidently connects the chapter with what has just preceded; as, indeed, the figures of 10, 33-4, seem directly to have suggested this of 11, 1. rod: i. e. a young slender twig, first ; becoming, in due time, a strong bi-anch. stem of Jesse : though cut down, yet the trunk has retained its living root; the fa-i:ily of Jesse, i. e. the royal house of Judah, fallen as it has been beneath foreign sub- jection, shall yet rise again, giving birth to the most glorious of its members. The expression naturally calls to mind the power and sjDlen- dour of the reign of David, but the coming Prince shall be even more iUustrious and mighty than he. The general interpretation of the passage is suggested in the note on Is. 9, 6-7. 2. The spirit of Jehovah shall guide him in all his acts. 3. And he himself shall delight to follow its guidance. eyes : ears : he shall not judge by mere ISAIAH, cu. X, 5 — XII, G, 141 4. But he shall judge the poor with righteousness, And decide with equity for the afflicted of the earth. He shall smite the earth with the rod of his moutli, And with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. .5. Thus righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, And truth the girdle of his reins. 6. Then the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, And the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; And the calf, and the young lion, and the fiitling together, And a little child shall lead them. 7. The cow and the bear shall feed, Their young ones shall lie down together. And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8. And the sucking-child shall play on the hole of the asp, And on the den of the viper shall the weaned-child stretch forth his hand. 9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain ; For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, As the waters cover the sea. outward appearances, but shall be able to penetrate into what is most seci'et and difficult, and pass a just sentence in regard to it. 4. With perfect impartiality he shall judge the poor of the earth, not less than the rich and powerful. rod of his mouth : the severe sentence which his mouth shall pro- nounce. 5. girdle : being constantly with him ; as though a portion of his ordinary dress and adornment. 6-7. Under the rule of this Prince of Peace even fierce animals shall lose their natural dispositions, and dwell quietly with those on which they have been accustomed to prey. Beasts of prey shall be satisfied with the food of the domestic ani- mals. 8-9. Venomous creatures shall be- come harmless, so that young chil- dren may be put to play with them. We may understand these state- ments, not perhaps as giving us the literal expectation of the prophet, but rather as poetically and figura- tively descriptive of the happy pe- riod to which he was looking for- ward. For: the grand cause of this prevalence of peace and righte- ousness : all men shall be possessed of true religious knowledge. Bishop Lowth cites expressions somewhat similar to the foregoing from Greek and Latin writers ; but none in which the moral and religious elements are so clearly made the foundation on which the happiness of the coming age shall rest. 142 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 10. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, Which shall stand as a banner for the peoples ; Unto him shall the nations seek, And his rest shall be glorious. 11. And it shall come to pass in that day, That the Loi'd shall again, a second time, put forth his hand. To recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, From Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, From Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, From Hamath, and from the lands of the sea. 12. And he shall lift up a banner to the nations, And gather the exiles of Israel, And collect the dispersed of Judah, Fi'om the four quarters of the earth. 13. And the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be ciit off ; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not distress Ephraim. 10-11. The inspired head of this new state, by his wisdom and right- eousness, shall draw to him even distant nations : they shall seek judgment and counsel from him ; and, by their embassies and their offerings, make his rest, or resting- place, glorious, All the sulijccts of his kingdom shall be restored to him, even from the remotest places in which they may be held in capti- vity. Pathros : Upper Egypt. Cush : Ethiopia. Elam : a coun- try to the east of Babylonia, in which the kings of Assyria, accord- ing to the inscriptions, waged wars, and whither some of the Jewish captives may have been carried off. Comp. note on 22, 6. Shinar: Hamath : the Assyrian provinces of Babylonia and Syria. — Probably on the destruction of the kingdom of Israel many Jews had fled to Egypt and Ethiopia, both of whicli would be friendly to the Israelitish people. Many may have been car- ried away also into the other regions mentioned. laiids of the sea : the coasts and islands of the Medi- terranean sea. Comp., as before, Joel 3, 4-6. 12. exiles : Heb. masculine. dispersed: feminine; meaning, there- fore, all the captive men and women of the two kingdoms. 13. The old enmity shall now cease. eni^ of Ephraim : to- wards Judah. adversaries of Judah : i. e. those in, or belonging to, Judah, who are hostile to Ephraim. The parallelism requires this inter- pretation. § 8. ISAIAH, cii. X, 5 — XII, 6. 143 H. But they shall fly upon the country of the Philistines, towards the west, Together shall they spoil the children of the East ; Edom and Moab shall be the prey of their hand, And the children of Ammon shall obey them. 15' As Jehovah dried up the tongue of the Egyptian sea, So, with his strong blast, shall he shake his hand over the river, And smite it into seven streams, That a man may pass through it dryshod ; IG- That there may be a highway from Assyria, For the remnant of his people which shall be left, As there was to Israel in the day of his coming up out of the land of Egypt. XII. 1. And in that day thou shalt say, I will praise Thee, O Jehovah ; Though thou hast been angry with me, 14. The reunited peoples of Israel and Judali shall now be powerful enough to assail their old enemies, tlie Philistines, the Arabs, the Edom- ites and others. fly : as a bird of prey. Comp. Hab. 1, 8. country : the word is applied sometimes to a ridge or hill (Deut. 33, 12 ; Josh. 18, 16); it is used here, perhaps, to denote the territory of Philistia. The latter was, however, a plain, though with some elevations. Stan- ley, Sin. & P., p. 2.55. AVe might properly enough retain the render- ing shoulder, or back, on account of the figure ; for a bii'd of prey sweeps down upon that part of the animal attacked. children of the East : tribes of the Arabian desert, who, always hostile, and not to bo reduced under any re- gular government, are only to be conquered and despoiled. Comp. Jer. 49, 28-9. 15. dried up : divided, so that the Israelites passed through. tongue : the narrow arm of the sea, as we say. The meaning, of course, is that Jehovah will again show himself as powerful in the commg deliverance, as formerly in the re- lease from Egypt. strong blast : perhaps, hy his hot wind. .shahe his hand : i. e. lift it to strike, or to act, to do what is spoken of. Comp. 10, 32. river: the Assyrian river, the Euphrates. seven: perhaps equi- valent to many; so that, being changed into a number of small streams, it shall become easily ford- able. dryshod: literally, in san- dals; i.e. without being wet above the soles of the feet. See Crit. Note. Ch.xii. Asintlie deliverance from 14i mOPHECIES OF ISAIAH. Thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me. 2. ]jehold God is my salvation ; I will trust and not fear, For my strength and song is Jehovah ; And he will be my salvation. 3. Therefore shall ye draw water with joy, Out of wells of salvation ; 4. And say in that day, Give praise to Jehovah And call upon his name. Make known among the people his deeds, Proclaim that his name is exalted. 5. Sing praise to Jehovah, for he hath done excellent things, Be this made known in all the earth. 6. Cry aloud and shout, inhabitant of Zion, For great in the midst of thee is the Holy-One of Israel. Egypt (Exod. 15), so now shall the people sing a hymn of praise to theii' great deliverer. 2. See Crit. Note. 3. The words of the prophet ad- dressed to the people. water : the frequent image of refreshment, consolation, and happiness; in a burning climate far more expressive than with us. Comp. Job 20, 17; Ps, 72, 6; 73, 10. 4. Proclaim : or, remind each other. 6. inhabitant of Zion : above all others, on account of the signal de- liverance experienced. The objections raised by Ewald to the authenticity of this beautiful hymn, which he ascribes to some anonymous writer who lived after the exile, appear to have but little force. Granting that words and images are found in it different from those which we meet with in other compositions of Isaiah, are we to suppose that the richly poetical mind of this prophet must ever be repeating itself in its words and figures and turns of thought ? — that it had no power of adaptation, in these matters, to changing circum- stances ? Surely the man who could compose the parable of the vineyard ; the description of the approach of the Assyrians at the close of the same chapter ; of their march to Jerusalem, near the end of the tenth; who could paint the desola- tion of his country as in 1, 5-9, and 8, 21-2 ; and its happiness tmdcr the reign of the Branch from the stem of Jesse, as in 11, 1-9; might well also be able to compose the liymn which so appropriately termi- nates this section of his prophecies. § 9. ISAIAH, Gil. XIV, 21 — 27. 145 § 9. CiiAP. XIV, 24—27. Jehovah's oath to crash Assyria. This short section is by Gesenius connected more imme- diately with ch. X ; while Hitzig and Knobel consider it a somewhat later addition by Isaiah to ch. xii. In the arrange- ment of the prophecies it may have been accidentally cut off from its proper place by the interposition of ch. xiii-xiv, 23. Bishop Lowth, retaining the passage where it now stands, as a part of a prophecy relating to Babylon, suggests that by As- syria may here be meant that power, on the ground that Baby- lon is sometimes called a city of Assyria by classical writers. But then the prophecy of v. 25 finds no kind of fulfilment in connection with Babylon or the Babylonians, as it does in the destruction of the army of Sennacherib ; nor can it be shown that Isaiah in any other case confounds Babylon and Assyria in the way supposed. To apply the passage both to the Babylonians and to the Assyrians under Sennacherib, is to attribute a needless confusion of ideas to the Hebrew prophet. Ewald, standing here, as so often elsewhere, alone, puts these vei'ses at the end of our § 14, a combination from which, he thinks, arises at least an excellent sense, and which gives us a prophecy complete in itself, and consisting of four regular strophes. This seems a little arbitrary, but the question is of no great importance. The passage is distinguished by the regularity and completeness of its parallelisms, as well as by its terse energy of expression. 14G PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH, CH. XIV. 24. TEHOVAH of Hosts hatli sworn, saying, ^ Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass, And as I have purposed, that shall stand ; 25. That I will crush Assyria in my land, And upon my mountains tread him under foot : Then shall his yoke depart from upon them. And his burden depart from upon his shoulder. 26. This is the purpose that is purposed upon all the earth. And this the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27. For Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall make it void ? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back ? 24. Jehovah by an oath confirms the previous assurance of deliver- ance. 25. my : the land and mountains of Judah, under the special protec- tion of Jehovah. See note on 8. 6. his yoke : perhaps Judali's; the yoke which he bears ; and as the pronoun really belongs to a noun of multitude (people), it may be changed for the plural form them; so in the next line. 26. all the earth: the great As- syrian empire, equivalent to the whole earth, as conceived by a He- brew mind of the time. — So with the expression all the nationn : the same empire seemed to include within its armies men of all the different nations. this the hand : i. e. this the destruction which Jeho- vah's hand is already extended to accomplish. §10. ISAIAU, CII. XIX. 147 § 10. Chap. XIX. Invasion of Egypt. — Hamiliatlon and helplessness of its rulers and people. — Their consequent acknowledgment of Jehovah, The period of Egyptian history to which the follo\Ying chap- ter relates is one which is involved in great obscurity ; the conflicting statements of various ancient authorities making it very difficult to gain any clear idea of the succession of events, or of the relations between Egypt and other countries. A few leading facts may, however, be discerned, and it will be desirable to give a brief outline of tliese, to serve as a basis for the interpretation of this and the succeeding chapter. It may with tolerable certainty be shown, that Psammitichus, the first Egyptian ruler who admitted the Greeks into the interior of the country, and employed them in his armies, began his reign in the year 670 b. c. For fifteen years previously to this date Egypt had been divided between a number of petty kings, whose rule is known in Egyptian history under the name of the dodecarchy. Psammitichus was himself one of these kings, and it was by the aid of his foreign auxiliaries that he succeeded in conquering the rest, and making himself master of the whole country. Previously, again, to the esta- blishment of the dodecarchy, we are told that there was an interval of anarchy, which lasted for two years, and which ensued on the death of a preceding king called Sethos. This last event must accordingly have taken place about the year 687 ; and, as Sethos reigned thirty-one years, we reach the year 718 B.C. for the commencement of his reign. Sethos L 2 148 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. must, therefore, have been on the throne at the time of Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, as, indeed, we know that he Avas, from the history of Herodotus ; and he, accordingly, will be the Piiaraoh to whom Ilezekiah sent ambassadors to ask for assistance against the Assyrians (Is. xxx, 1-4 ; xxxi, 1-3). Sethos was a usurper, and one of the priestly caste. We have no information as to how he obtained the throne : but two things appear certain in connection with him ; 1st, that he was able to master and oppress the warrior caste, probably by the aid of the population of the towns ; and 2nd, tliat in conse- quence of the feud between him and the warriors, the latter would not give him assistance in repelling the Assyrians, or, as we may infer, in helping Hezekiah. This alienation between the royal and the military power appears to be alluded to, both in the chapter immediately before us, and in one or two other places. Before the usurpation of Sethos, Egypt had been subdued and governed by the Ethiopians, of which nation three monarchs, Sabaco, Sevechus, and Tirhaka, held possession of the country, or some part of it, for a period of between forty and fifty years. One of these Ethiopian kings, probably the second, is stated to have retired from Lower Egypt, on account of the resistance of the priests to his authority, and his own unwilling- ness to adopt severe measures towards them. It was on his withdrawal that Sethos, a member of, and, doubtless, repre- senting, the sacerdotal body, obtained the supreme power, as before stated. The capital city of this monarch was either Tanis, the Zoan of Scripture, or Memphis ; while the Ethio- pians retained Upper Egypt, with Thebes as its capital, and possessed under Tirhaka an empire that was formidable even to the Assyrians. The fame of this last-named king and his expeditions, which are spoken of as rivalling even those of Sesostris, was widely spread in ancient times. While the Ethiopians reigned at Thebes, and Sethos at Memphis, there is reason to believe that there was, at the same time, at least one § 10. ISAIAH, CIt. XIX. 149 Other native dynasty. To this Psammitichus and his father, Necho I, belonged ; and the seat of its government was Sais, in the western part of Lower Egypt. The weakness of Egypt, resulting from these subdivisions, and from the dissensions of the ruling castes, is very distinctly alluded to by the prophet.^ The recent investigations in Assyrian antiquity have not, as yet, thrown much light on the relations existing between Assyria and Egypt in the time of Isaiah, or, indeed, on those of any other period. We know, that long before the establish- ment of the Hebrew monarchy, some of the Egyptian kings, and in particular the great Sesostris, had carried their arms eastward as far as the Tigris, and perhaps beyond it. The power of the Egyptians, however, for such distant expeditions, was already declining before the Assyrian empire had been founded ; and we have no reason to suppose tliat the two states came into collision until the Assyrians in their turn began to make distant conquests, and to become formidable to the immediate neighbours of Egypt. In the first instance, and for a long period, they would seem to have been at peace, indications of friendly intercourse between them having been found among the Assyrian ruins. Mr. Layard (Nin, 8c Rem., ii, pp. 8-11; 205-11) gives an account of certain ivories found at Nimroud, on which are figures and hiero- glyphics decidedly Egyptian in their character. Some names, also, of Egyptian origin, occur in the lists of Assyrian kings, and vice versa (_ib. p. 215). The period to which some of the objects just mentioned belong is thought to be that of the Jewish king Solomon, the earlier half of the tenth century before Christ. ^ Subsequent to this time, such notices as we find in the Bible represent the Assyrian and Egyptian powers most commonly in an attitude of hostility to each other. In ' Comp. Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, tamia, are attributed to the 15th ii, pp. 363-377. century b. c. Nin. & Bab., pp. - Some other Egyptian relics 280-282. found on the Khabour, in Mesopo- L 3 150 PKOPHECIES OF ISAIAH. the book of Isaiali we Lave found this very clearly the case. In the reigns of Sargon and Sennacherib, the Assyrians were probably more than once the invaders of Egypt. Esarhaddon, also, is styled in his inscriptions, " King of Egypt and conqueror of Ethiopia " (Layard, Nin, & Bab., p. 620) ; nor had this ancient enmity between the East and the West ceased in the later Babylonian and Persian times, as the wars of Nebuchad- nezzar and Cambyses against Egypt sufficiently attest. Some illustration of the period to which the chapter before us must belong, may perhaps be derived from certain Egyptian seals discovered by Mr. Layard in the palace of Sennacherib. (Nin. & Bab., pp. 155-8). One of these deserves especially to be noticed here. It is an impression on clay, containing the cartouche with the name of the Ethiopian king Sabaco, read by ]\Ir. Birch, and said to be distinctly legible. On the same piece of clay is found what is believed to be the seal of an Assyrian king, " the device representing a priest ministering before the king." It is supposed that the two seals were originally attached to a treaty of peace between the Egyptians and the Assyrians. The document itself, being of parchment or papyrus, has perished, while the baked clay of the seals has proved an extremely durable material. Supposing the reading of the name Sabaco, and the conjecture as to the use of the seals, correct, we may conclude that they belong to the time of the Assyrian Sargon. That they were found in the palace of Sennacherib is no certain proof that he was the monarch immediately concerned in the treaty, and the fact that the Egyptian name is Sabaco is inconsistent with that supposition. Tirhaka was Sennacherib's contemporary, and Tirhaka's pre- decessor, Sevechus, or, as he is also called, Sabaco II, to whom the seal is thought to have belonged, must have had for his contemporary, Sargon, the predecessor of Sennacherib. The ti'eaty of peace may thus have been the result of the invasion of Egypt by Sargon, which is alluded to in Isaiah ch. xx. The question still remains, to what portion of the Egyptian § 10. ISAIAH, CH. XIX. 151 history should we refer the prophecy before us ? Two or three data, presented by the chapter itself, may perhaps enable us to give a not unsatisfactory answer. And first it is to be ob- served, that the prophet speaks of the distress of Egypt as caused by Jehovah coming to that country (v. 1) ; and again, it is also evident from what direction he conceives of Him as proceeding, for Isaiah states that " the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt" (vv. 16-17). Now it is clearly not to be supposed that the prophet conceived of the little kingdom of Judah as, in itself, capable of being a terror to Egypt. Neither the form of the expression nor the context seems to require, or to justify, such an interpretation. He must, therefore, have had in his mind some greater power, which, acting as Jehovah's instrument, and in union with his own nation, was to render the latter thus formidable. That power could be no other than Assyria ; and the way in which Assyria is mentioned (vv. 22-4), as third with Israel and Egypt, united with them, in the acknowledgment of Jehovah, shows that Assyria was really in the prophet's mind. It could not, however, have been the Assyrians under Sennacherib, of whom the prophet had this expectation ; for he nowhere speaks of that monarch and his hosts except as the cruel oppressors and devastators of his country. We are thus thrown back upon the reign of the preceding Assyrian king, viz. Sargon, for the means of ex- plaining the peculiar combination of Judah with Assyria to which we have referred. We have no reason to suppose that Hezekiah refused the tribute to Assyria before the commence- ment of Sennacherib's reign. He was, therefore, probably at peace with the two pi-eceding Assyrian monarchs. Hence it was that he was left unmolested, when Samaria was destroyed ; and when Sargon carried out his campaign against Egypt, of which the siege of Ashdod (Is. xx, 1) was the commencement, the Jewish king was also at peace, and, therefore, in alliance, with him. It follows, again, that the danger to Egypt, of which the prophet speaks as proceeding from Judah, must have been L 4 152 PROPHECIES or ISAIAH. that which threatened Egypt through the invasion of Sargon. And Isaiah indicated Judah as the direction from which it would come, because he looked upon the Assyrian monarch, advancing from that quarter, and in league with the tributary Jews, as the appointed instrument of Jehovah, in inflicting punishment upon the Egyptians. If this be a correct conclusion, we must infer that the two chapters, xix and xx, are both in time and substance very closely connected, and that the threat of the latter, so far as Egypt is concerned, is but another form of the prediction con- tained in the former. The reign of Sargon, as we know, falls between the years 722-715 B.C., and thus coincides with a very troubled and eventful period of Egyptian history. Egypt had, then, in great part, been long subject to the Ethiopians ; who, when they withdrew from Lower Egypt, probably did not do so without a struggle. The priestly order at least had been ob- stinately hostile to them. About the safiie time (718 B.C.) Sethos usurped his throne, and, supported probably by the population of the towns, entered upon his contest with the military caste. One other dynasty, the Saitic, existed in the country, perhaps more than one ; so that the internal con- dition of Egypt was such as corresponded in a remarkable manner with the main features of Isaiah's propliecy. It may be conjectured that the threatened invasion by the Assyrians, together with the opposition of the native population, had some influence in causing the Ethiopian Sabaco to retire from Lower Egypt. It can hardly be determined how early in the reign of Sargon Isaiah may have composed the piece. If, as seems in itself likely enough, it was not far from the time of the composition of ch. XX, it would be near the beginning of Sargon's reign ; for this monarch appears only to have taken up the plans of his predecessor Shalmaneser, who intended, after subduing Tyre, to continue his expedition by making the conquest of § 10. ISAIAH, cn. XIX. 153 Egypt. Judging from the difference of tone in reference to the Assyrians, some interval must have elapsed between the composition of the passages included in the two preceding sec- tions and that of ch, xix, xx. Of these chapters, again, it seems most probable that the former is the earlier in the order of composition. This conclusion rests on the fact that in ch. XX the Ethiopians are joined with the Egyptians as their allies. It would be some time before the former people, after their retirement from Lower Egypt, would enter into an alliance with the new Phai'aoh ; and probably such a union would only be effected when the danger became imminent, and the need of mutual help was clearly seen. Thus we naturally place the passage which speaks of, or implies, this union, later in the order of time than the one which speaks only of the Egyptians; although it may be admitted that the interval between the two cannot have been a long one. We may add to the foregoing statements that Gesenius finds the application of the prophecy in the state of Egypt at a much later period. He thinks that the time of the dodecarchy and the contests connected with its close are what is contemplated by the prophet ; and that the "cruel lord," mentioned in v. 4, is not the king of Assyria, but Psammitichus. In order to adapt the chronology to this explanation, and especially to avoid making the life of Isaiah too long, he finds it necessary to place the reign of Psammitichus between twenty and thirty years earlier than we have done ; and refers the prophet's de- claration that " the land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt," not, of course, to the circumstance that from Judah, and in alliance witli Judah, the Assyrian power would attack Egypt — which, it may be observed, gives so appropriate and full a sense to the words — but simply to the general condition of weakness and internal disunion, into which Egypt had been brought before the reign of Psammitichus ; a condition so feeble that even so small a state as Judah was formidable to the Egyptians. The following or 20th chapter the same authority 154 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. separates entirely from the IDtli, assigning it to tlie reign of Sargon, and the interval between the years 720-716 ; which may be received as a correct enough account of its date. There is no necessity, however, for separating the two chapters so entirely from each other, and certainly no advantage in so doing, but the reverse ; while the chronological difficulties in the Avay of the transfer of the commencement of the reign of Psammitichus from 670 to 696 B.C. are really insuperable. The same reference of ch. xix to the time of Psammitichus and the dodecarchy, has led some winters, on the other hand, to deny the authenticity of the passage, and ascribe it to a prophet who lived later than Isaiah. But the internal cha- racteristics of the chapter are strongly in favour of its authen- ticity, as has been pointed out by Gesenius, Ewald, and others, whose judgment on such a point ought to be decisive. The conclusions of the last named critic on the interpretation of the cliapter do not differ materially from those of Gesenius. Decidedly asserting the authenticity of the prophecy, yet, on the ground of a certain feebleness of style and want of colovir which he is able to perceive, Ewald thinks that it must proceed from the latest period of the prophet's life ; and accordingly he places it last, in his arrangement of Isaiah's writings. He infers that it was probably composed about ten years after the defeat of Sennacherib's invasion. As to the particular appli- cation of the passage, Ewald simply refers it, in a general way, to the troubles of the times of Sethos and the dodecarchy ; not venturing, in the absence of clear and certain knowledge of this portion of Egyptian history, upon any more definite interpretation. § 10. iSAiAn, en. XIX. 155 THE prophecy of Egypt. Behold Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud and comcth to Egypt, And the idols of Egypt tremble before him, And the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will stir up Egypt against Egypt, That they may fight each-man against his brother, And each-man against his friend, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall faint in the midst of it. And their counsel will I destroy ; 1. Tor the title, see note on 23, 1. Jehovah : for the probable idea of the prophet, see the introductory note. The troubles about to be foretold pi'oceed from Jehovah, both because He is the great ruler of the world, and because the danger con- templated in this case came from the direction of Judah, where was the centre of the Divine presence on earth. swift cloud: or, light cloud : for the expression, comp. Ps. 18, 10, seq. ; 104, 3. idols of Egypt: they tremble at the advent of Him whom they recognise as mightier than themselves. We need not suppose that Isaiah attributed real life or thought to the Egy]itian Deities. He expresses himself simply with poetical licence. Comp. Jer. 50, 2. For the Theological System and Animal Worship of the Egyp- tians, see Kenrick, Anc. Eg. ch. xxi; xxiii. shall melt : this is the first verb in the sentence in which the tense is future. Here, as in other cases, where there may be ap- parent roughness of expression, or inconsistency in the use of the tenses, it arises from the translation adliering closely to the original forms. 2. stir up : perhaps, arm. ■ Egypt against Egypt : in this and similar expressions we have a direct allusion to the divided state of the country, which has been more fully set forth in the introductory note. — " Egypt appears on the stage of history from the beginning as an Empire formed out of the Upper and Lower country. The country itself is generally called ' the two countries.' The title of their kings down to the latest period ran tlins — • Lord of Upper and Lower Egypt " (Bunsen, Egypt's place, i. p. 73), The Hebrew name of Egypt, we may add, is dual in form, and ex- pressive, therefore, of the same fact. 3. spirit of Egypt shall fail : pro- bably, the far-famed Egyptian wis- dom shall be of no aA^ail. Comp. 31, 2; 1 Kings 4, 30; Acts 7, 20. In their perplexity they shall seek for guidance from objects really powerless to direct them. See note on 8. 10. 156 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. And they shall seek unto the idols, and to the soothsayers, And to the spirit-charmers and to the wizards. 4. 1 will deliver Egypt into tlie hand of a cruel lord, And a strong king shall rule over them, Saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts. 5. And the waters shall fail fi'om the sea, And the stream shall dry up and be dry ; 6. The streams shall become putrid, The canals of E;j:ypt shall become feeble and dry up, Reed and rush shall wither. 7. The pastures by the River, by the edge of the River, And all the corn-land of the River shall be dry ; It shall be blasted and be no more. 4. critel lord : the adjective is sin- gular, though the noun is plural; hence the latter may be understood as the same word is in Gen. 39, 2, seq., not of a succession or plurality of lords, as some have thought, but of one only. This is confirmed by the next phrase, strong king : by which, according to the introductory note, tlie Assyrian king Sargon must be meant. The words have been variously interpreted, of the Ethiopian Sabaco; of the Egjq^tian Sethos; and, as we have noticed, by Gesenius, of Fsamniitichus. Tlie Septuagint translators probably re- ferred them to the Ptolemies. 5. Physical calamities, which are also the instruments of the Divine anger, shall not be wanting in the midst of the political confusion and distress. Pirst and greatest of all, the Nile shall fail to rise to its ac- customed height, certain forerunner of famine and its dreadful conse- quences. sea : this word was applied to any large collection of water, as the lake of Galilee ; it is sometimes also used of a large river; here, doubtless, the Nile is meant. Comp. 18, 2; Nah. 3, 8. Perhaps what is now in the prophet's view is the overflowing of the Nile. — Dr. Eobinson (Bib. Res., i, p. 542) ob- serves that the Nile is still often called El Bahr, the sea, by the Egyptians. stream : sometimes, riuer ; may here mean the usual stream of the Nile. 6. streams : canals : probably both words denote the artificial canals made for irrigation. These, as the water fails, become stagnant and loathsome. The word canals might be rendered Niles, or Nile-canals, as it is the plural of the Egyptian term for the great river. Comp. 23, 3. 7. The whole land, proverbially well-watered and fertile, shall be- come a desert. Comp. Gen. 13, 10; Deut. 11, 10. pastures: see Grit. Note. edge oftheRiver : although so near the water, they shall not escape. The extensive marsh-dis- tricts of Lower Egypt, producing a § 10. ISAIAU, CII. XIX. 157 8. The fislicrs also shall mourn, And all that cast a hook into the River shall lament, They that spread the net upon the face of the waters shall languish ; 9. They that work the fine flax shall be confounded, And they that weave tlie white-cloth. 10. Her pillars also shall be struck down ; All who work for hire shall be sad in soul. 11. Truly the princes of Zoan are fools, The wise counsellors of Pharaoh — their counsel is become brutish ! How say ye unto Pharaoh, A son of the wise am I, A son of ancient kings ? luxuriant Iierbage, afforded excellent pasturage. 8. Another distressing conse- quence of the failure of water. Various writers speak of the abun- dance of fish in the Nile. From this source employment and profit were derived by hu'ge numbers of the people. Comp. Num. 11, 5. 9. Flax was grown in both Upper and Lower Egypt, and was an im- portant object of cultivation. The processes of its manufacture, from the plucking to spinning and weav- ing, are represented in paintings found in the Egyptian tombs. The linen of Egypt was celebrated for its fineness. Comp. Ex. 9, 31; Ezek. 27, 7 ; Prov. 7, 16. For the pro- ductions and arts referred to in this passage, see Kenrick, Anc. Eg., i, ch. ix, X, xii. 10. All classes shall suffer pillars : the nobles or rulers ; comp. Ps. 11, 3; Is. 3, 1, for similar ex- pressions. The phrase corner-stone, V 13, is parallel. 11. Zoan: Tanis, on the easteru bank of the Tauitic arm of the Nile. Considerable remains are still to be seen where it was probably situated, at a place now called San. It was an ancient and important town, and well known to the Hebrews, being one of the Egyptian cities nearest to Palestine. Num. 13, 22 ; Ps. 78, 12, 43. It was now, perhaps, the chiefcity of Sethos — unless that dis- tinction should rather be attributed to Memphis. Its princes, or nobles, the counsellors of this monarch, have no advice or help amidst these dire calamities. What the value, then, of their boasted wisdom, or their ancient descent? kings: the priestly caste was the highest in the land, and the king was chosen either from it, or from the warrior caste. In the latter case he was ad- mitted into the sacred order. Hence the priests might be regarded as sons of kings, as the kings might be said to be their sons. The priests came next in rank and honours to the moiuxrch, and were his constant attendants and counsellors. Ken- rick, Aac. Eg., ii, ch. xxiv. 158 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 12. Where ai'e they, then, thy wise men ? And let them declare now to thee, and make known, What Jehovah of Hosts hath decreed concerning Egypt. 13. The princes of Zoan have become foolish, The princes of Noph are deceived ; And they that are the corner-stone of her castes have caused Egypt to err. 14. Jehovah hath mingled in the midst of her A spirit of perversity ; And they have caused Egypt to err in every deed thereof, Like the staggering of a drunken-man in his vomit. 15. Neither is there any deed of Egypt Which head or tail, palm-branch or reed, may do. 16. In that day shall Egypt he like women. And fear and tremble at the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of Hosts, Which he shaketh against it. 12. declare : they pretended to be able to foretell the future. See Grit. Note. 13. Noph: sometimes Muph (\los. 9, 6), INIcmphis, the principal city of Lo\Ycr Egypt, on the western bank of the Nile, and next in importance to Thebes. It lay not far from the great pyramids, and was in ruins even in the time of Strabo. Vast mounds, which mark its site, may still be seen. Kenrick, Anc. Eg., i, ch. vi. It has been conjectured that the militaiy caste was here the ruling power. They, too, are deceived : perhaps deeming themselves secure from the Assyrian attack. corner-stone : the two chief or ruling castes, the priests and the warriors. See note on V. 10; also 28, 16. to err: bringing the nation into a state of anarchy and civil war. 14. Folly so extraordinary must spring from an extraordinary cause. It is Jehovah that has caused it. mingled : as though he had prepared for them a strongly intoxicating draught. See note on 5, 22. This spirit of perversity : thus administered to thcni shall make the rulers in- capable of directing themselves, or others; or even reduce them to the last and most revolting condition of the drunken man — the image of total helplessness. 15. deed: they can do nothing effectual to release themselves from this state. head or tail: i. e. prince or people, the lofty palm, or the humble reed. Comp. 9, 14-15; 10, 33-4. 16. In that day: perhaps referring to the Gommencement of the chapter, particularly v. 4. When the invader comes they shall be incapable of resistance in their perplexity and helplessness, shaking of the liand : §10. ISAIAH, Cn. XIX. 159 17. And the land of Judali shall be a terror unto Egypt, Every-one who calleth it to mind shall be afraid. Because of the counsel of Jehovah of Hosts, Which he hath determined concerning it. 18. In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt Speak the language of Canaan And swear to Jehovah of Hosts ; One shall be called the City of defence. i.e. by means of the invading forces. Conip. 10, 5-32. 17. Jtidah : the tributary and ally of the Assyrian king, and therefore equally an object of fear to Egypt. See introductory note. Were there Jewish soldiers in the Assyrian army ? Comp. 2 Kings 23, 29, where Josiah takes the field, evi- dently as the ally of Assyria against Egypt. 18-22. Suffering shall be followed by repentance. The prophet an- ticipates that the Egyptians, struck with fear at the greatness of Jehovah, the author of their cah^mities, will be brought to acknowledge and to worship him. Comp. note on 23, 18. 18. Jive cities: the numeral may here, perhaps, be used in the in- definite sense of some, or several. Among the instances appealed to in support of this meaning, the most to be depended on are Gen. 43, 34; Is. 17, 6; 30, 17; 1 Sam. 21, ?. Some refer the expression to five definite cities, viz., Heliopolis, Lcon- topolis, Migdol, Daphne, and Mem- phis. language of Canaan : per- liaps this expression ought not to be too strictly taken. It may only mean that, along with the knowledge of Jehovah, shall be introduced the use of the sacred language in which the Divine revelations have been made and are preserved. Or is it that the Jews living in these cities shall be very numerous? swear to : i. e. as subjects, taking an oath of allegiance, or religious service. Citi/ of defence : i. e. city defended by Jehovah ; under his special pro- tection, as the chief of the Egyptian cities, thus resembling Jerusalem. This meaning is best suited to the context, which speaks of recon- ciliation and deliverance. It is ob- tained by a very slight change in the original. At the time of the captivity and afterwards great num- bers of Jews settled in Egypt, where they enjoyed considerable privileges under the Ptolemies. It is obser- vable, however, that these settlers ratlier adopted the Greek language spoken around them, than introduced their own among the Egyptians. The Hebrew Scriptures were also trans- lated into Greek by the Jews of Egypt. Our common version has cit)/ of destruction ; whicli may mean city doomed to destruction. This translation represents the reading now found in most Hebrew IISS. and printed editions; — a reading which is certainly ancient, and which was understood by the Palestinian Jews 160 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. 19. In that day there shall be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, And a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah. 20. And it shall be for a sign and for a testimony To Jehovah of Hosts in the land of Egypt ; For they shall cry unto Jehovah because of oppressors, And he shall send to them a saviour and a defender, And he shall deliver them. 21. And Jehovah shall be made known to Egypt, And Egypt shall know Jehovah in that day ; They shall also serve him with sacrifices and offerings, And vow vows to Jehovah and perform them. 22. Thus doth Jehovah smite Egypt, smiting and healing ; And they shall return unto Jehovah, And he shall be intreated of them and heal them. of the time of Christ and subse- quently to refer to Leontopolis, in Lower Egypt. In this city, about the year 180 B.C., a temple was erected by the Egyptian Jews, which was looked upon by the former as a rival of the temple at Jerusalem, and regarded with feelings of great animosity. Hence, again, the Pales- tinians have been accused of chang- ing the original Hebrew word, so as to make the passage yield the hostile sense. It is probable that they preferred the reading giving this sense, and were the means of preserving it, but an alteration of the text is more likely to have been made by their adversaries. It is not probable that the prophet had any definite city in his mind at all ; but that he used the word simply as a symbolical epithet of one of the cities that should be converted to Jehovah. See Crit Note. 19. an altar : for sacrifice. a pillar : as a monument to com- memorate Jehovah's miglit, and his dealings with them. Perhaps the two words should be understood as collectives. Isaiah does not con- template the erection of a temple in Egypt. Such a great central point shall be only at Jerusalem, and thither the people of all lands shall come with sacrifices and ofixrings : but yet, after the manner of the old patriarchal times, they shall worship also in various places witliin their own land. border : that is, of Egypt and Judah, proclaiming their conversion to both countries. 20. a sign: for their contempo- raries. a testimony : to their descendants. For they shall cry : not, as heretofore, to their idol deities, but to Jehovah. Otherwise, a sign and a testimony that they cried, &c. So Gesenius, making the expression refer only to what is past. 22. return : used here even of the heathen, as if they had voluntarily, by their sins and idolatries, departed from their natural Lord and God. § 10. ISAIAH, Cn. XIX. 161 In th.at day tliei'e shall be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, So that Assyria may come into Egypt, And Egypt into Assyria, And Egypt shall serve with Assyria. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, A blessing in the midst of the earth. Which Jehovah of Hosts hath blessed, saying. Here we have some approach to the comprehensive spirit of the Gospel. The same remark may indeed be made of the whole of these concluding verses (18-25), in which we may easily recognise in the Hebrew pro- phet the forerunner of him who best taught the universality of the Divine providence and love. 23. highway : commercial inter- course between Egypt and the East is known to have taken place in the most ancient times. It is alluded to in the Old Testament, Gen. 37, 25; 1 Kings 10, 28; comp. Ezek. ch. 27. The prophet states that these friendly dealings between the Assyrians and Egyptians shall be continued, and strengthened by a higher principle of union ; the two nations shall serve Jehovah together. So the words serve ivith should be understood ; not, as some, both ancient and modei-n, authorities have taken them, the Eyijptians shall serve the Assijrians ; which the context hardly allows. 24. Israel : the three nations shall be thus united by their common religion and worshiji. 25. which : perhaps, with ivhich. vv. 24, 25 may be thus connected; — these nations shall be a blessing in the midst of the earth, which Jehovah hath uttered, saying, &c. The three nations shall be a comiuon object of blessing to Jehovah. See Crit. Note. viy people ; mi/ inheritance : words not used elsewhere, except of Israel; here applied to Egypt and Assyria to express the equality of their participation in the favour of Jehovah. Several commentators have dis- puted the authenticity of the latter part of this prophecy (vv. 16-25). Gesenius is doubtful in particular respecting vv. 18-20; thinking that they may have been interpolated in the time of Jeremiah, and by the party opposed to that prophet, or some member of it, who wished to make the flight of the Jews into Egypt, which Jeremiah resisted (Jer. ch. 42-43), appear to have the sanction of Isaiah. The deliver- ance spoken of, v. 20, and the city of defence, v. 18, may, in this view, be referred to the escape of the fu- gitives. This may explain also the statement as to the Hebrew language in Egypt, in v. 18. The great dif- ficulty in admitting the verses men- tioned seems to Gesenius to lie in the definiteness of the prophecy. But if the explanation above given be a correct one, that objection loses much of its force ; as is, in substance, admitted by Gesenius himself, while stating the difficulties which he feels respecting the passage. Ou the 162 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. Blessed be my people, Egypt, And the work of my hands, Assyria, And mine inheritance, Israel. other hand, the language of the latter part of the chapter is allowed to afford no ground for denying that it proceeds from the pen of Isaiah. And, again, it is not easy to see of what use or value such an interpolation could be to the adver- saries of Jeremiah; for the passage clearly speaks of a deliverance to be wrought in Egypt for Egyptians, and not for Jewish fugitives. Jere- miah's enemies were also, most probably, not men to think it neces- sary, for the justification of their flight to Egypt, to be able to appeal to Isaiah, or any other prophet. §11. ISAIAH, CII. XX. 163 § 11. Chap. XX. Symbolical proi^hccy of the defeat of the Egyptians and Ethiopians by the Assyrians. We meet with a general called Tartan under Sennacherib, 2 Kings xviii, 17. If, with Gesenius and other commentators, we take the word Tartan as a title, and not a proper name, the same individual may or may not be meant in the former and in the present passage. Assuming the Tartan of Sargon to be the same witli the Tartan of Sennacherib, we must sup- pose that that general, after the death of Sargon, continued under his successor in the command of an Assyrian army. We know nothing further x-especting him. Nor, of the expedi- tion to Egypt alluded to in this, as in the preceding chapter, have we, as yet, any direct information, beyond what is found in these two passages. It may be hoped that further knowledge of the Assyrian inscriptions will supply the void. At present we can only combine conjecturally such few data as we possess, and construct with them the merest historical outline. For this end sufficient has perhaps already been said in the Introduction to Ch. xix. The prophet, it is evident, does not, in the present chapter, anticipate any good result for either Egypt or Ethiopia. These two powers, i.e. one or more of the contemporary Piia- raohs and the Ethiopian king, had probably now united to repel the Assyrians ; and it is to be observed that it is not here Judah that Isaiah warns against this alliance, but the in- habitants of the coast (v. 6), the Philistines, and perhaps the Plia3nicians. This is altogether in harmony with what we M 2 ]64 rROPIlEClES OF ISAIAH. have said respecting Judah being at this time in fact leagued with Assyria, and an object of terror to Egypt, rather than, as afterwards, a suppliant for its aid. The tone of the present passage in reference to the Ethio- pians, separates it widely from eh. xviii. The latter, we shall find, belongs to the time of Sennacherib's invasion, some years later, when Isaiah could speak decidedly of the destruction of the Assyrian army. The discomfiture which here he foretells for Ethiopia, he there as positively assigns to the Assyrians. This difference is sufficient to justify us in ascribing the two prophecies to two periods very distinct from each other in their political features. And two such periods we find — first, in the reign of Sargon, between 722 and 715 B.C., during which an invasion of Egypt was accomplished, successful, probably, on the whole, though not attended by any lasting results, in consequence, perhaps, of the speedy death of the monarch*; and, secondly, in the reign of Sennacherib, his son and successor, in which, while pursuing a similar end, the Assyrian army was destroyed. ■I N the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon, king of Assyria, sent him, and fought against Ashdod and 1. Ashdod: a Philistine city near to their invasion of Egypt. Herodotus the south-west coast of Palestine, relates that Psammitichus besieged towards the frontier of Egypt ; it for twenty-nine years, before he known to Greek and Roman writers took it. This great strength has under the name of Azotus. Acts 8, been attributed to the fortifications 40. It was a very strong place, and now built by the Assyrians. Ken- important from its position, and is rick, Egypt of Herod., p. 202. therefore besieged and taken by the The Philistines, we may infer, were Assyrians, as a necessary preliminary allies of the Egyptians. Comp. v. 6. * On the possible connection of No-Aramon with Sargon's invasion, see the note on Nahum iii, 8, §11. ISAIAH, CII. XX. 1G5 2. took it ; at that time spake Jehovah by Isaiah, son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from upon thy loins, and put off thy sandal from upon thy foot ; and he did so, going 3. uncovered and bare-foot. And Jehovah said, As my servant Isaiah goeth uncovered and bare-foot, three years a sign and an As Sargon is said to have sent Tartan, it may be supposed that the monarch either remained behind, engaged perhaps with the Phojnician cities, or that he led the main body of his forces more directly into Egypt out of Judah. 2. sackcloth : the loose upper, or outer, garment of coarse dark hair- cloth, worn by mourners (2 Sam. 3, 31), and often by the prophets instead of the ordinaiy outer gar- ment of linen or woollen. Comp. Matt. 3, 24. It was little more than a large square piece of cloth, wrapped round the person and fastened at the waist by a girdle. The same rough material was sometimes worn next the skin (2 Kings 6, 30), but as this is mentioned apparently as something unusual, probably the common practice was to wear the sackcloth garment over the under- dress, the more closely fitting tunic or frock. Hence we find that the words used to expi'ess putting on or off the sackcloth are the verbs to gird and to loosen, the same which arc used of any other loose, external article of dress, as e. g. the sword. uncovered: the English version has the word naked, which is un- fortunate, as not correctly repre- senting the action of Isaiah. He merely put off the outer sackcloth, doubtless retaining still the tunic. Comp. 1 Sam. 19, 24; Amos 2, 16; John 21, 7 ; where most probably the same act of uncovering is de- noted. If the original word has sometimes the sense of our naked (as Job 1, 21; Eccles. 5, 14), this sense seems rather to be imparted by the context, than to be inherent in the word itself. 3. three years : the English version represents the action as continuing all this time. But this can hardly be the sense, because it implies that the words of Jehovah in v. 3 fol- lowed those of v. 2 after so long an interval. It is better to connect "three years" with tho. following, ra- ther than with the preceding words. The meaning thus arising is that the prophet performed the symbolical action once only, viz., at the time of the announcement, and that it then became ''three years a sign;" i.e. a sign standing for three years, and to be then fulfilled. We have here the only instance of an action pro- perly symbolical performed by Isaiah; although he gives his chil- dren symbolical names, in several instances. See ch. 7, 14; 8, 3. With later prophets, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel, this mode of announcement became very common. See Jer. 13; Ez. 12. It seems rather to mark the decay of the prophetic inspira- tion. Whether the action was really performed in the present and in other instances, or is merely spoken of as performed for the sake of illus- tration, has been doubted. If the latter be the correct view, its three years' duration would present no difficulty, and perhaps this is the better explanation, sign : sig- M 3 166 PROrnECIES OF ISAIAH. 4. omen upon Egypt and Ethiopia ; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young men and aged, uncovered and bare-foot, and with naked 5. back, a disgrace to Egypt. And they shall be dismayed and put to shame, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and 6. because of Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this coast shall say in that day. Behold such is our expectation whither we had fled for help, to be delivered from the king of Assyria, and how shall we escape ? nificant of the disgrace announced. 071 omen : as conveying a threat referring to the future So the original word may perhaps best be rendered, in this connection. Comp, 8, IS.' upon: perhaps, against. 4. 7iaked back : treated with the utmost indignity. It is stated that captives are so represented upon the Egyptian monuments. 5. they : i. e. the Phihstine allies of Egypt and Etliiopia who have trusted to the protection of the latter. expectation : ghry : or boast; the alliance witli Egypt was accom- plished; that with Ethiopia had not perhaps been made, but was sought, and hoped for ; hence the words may correspond very exactly to the real position of affairs. Comp. 30, 7. 6. this coast: Philistia, and per- haps Phoenicia; the original word denotes sometimes an island, any maritime country, or even a district lying along a river. Comp. 23, 2 ; 11, 11; Ps. 72, 10. how shall ive escape : if the powerful Egypt is to be thus reduced, how shall we, the small and insignificant people of Philistia, escape ? § 12. ISAIATI, CII. XXIX. 167 § 12. CiiAP. XXIX. Prophecy of the siego of Jerusalem by the Assyrian army, and of its deliverance. — Rebuke of the unfaithful and disobedient, and announce- ment of a great moral change. "We now come to a series of prophecies which may, with the utmost probability, be referred to the time of the great invasion under Sennacherib. Having already (Gen. Introd., § 4) noticed the position of that event in the Jewish history of Isaiah's time, we have little to add here on the same subject. Hezekiah appears to have continued for some years the tribute begun by his father Ahaz. On, or soon after, the accession of Senna- cherib, he "rebelled against the king of Assyria and served him not" (2 Kings xviii, 7). He thus exposed himself to the attack of that monarch, who accordingly, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, "came up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them" {ib., v. 13). Sennacherib was probably on his way to Egypt, which appears to have recovered from the blow struck by his father Sargon ; and to have formed alliances both with Ethiopia and with Judah. (Comp. 2 Kings xviii, 21-24; xix, 7). It was, we may conjecture, the prospect of the powerful support of the Ethiopian and Egyptian kings, that led Hezekiah to refuse longer to pay the tribute. On his way, therefore, to meet the greater powers, Sennacherib passes through Judah, intending most probably to take possession of Jerusalem, and either hold it to protect his return, or to treat it as his father had treated Samaria. On this occasion we read that Hezekiah, terrified at the approach of the invader, sent ambassadors to meet him, offering submission and the payment M 4 168 rROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. of whatever tribute might be demanded (2 Kings xviii, 14-16). Sennacherib accepted this oiFer, so far as to exact a large sum of money ; but yet pursued his purpose of obtaining possession of Jerusalem in addition (v. 17). The Assyrians, however, never did occupy the Jewisli capital. Its natural strength, which so long defied the Romans, together witli tlie assurances of the pi'ophet, emboldened Hezekiah to refuse to surrender it, and the Assyrian king was so far baffled. We find the expectation of a siege very clearly expressed in the chapter before us. It does not appear, however, that this actually took place, further than is implied in the approach of a part of the Assyrian army under Rabshakeh ; although siege operations, of which no account has been preserved, may cer- tainly then have been begun. Sennacherib appears to have been diverted from his immediate object by hearing of the preparations of his Egyptian and Ethiopian enemies to oppose him (2 Kings xix, 9), and to have thought it better to pursue his main design, and leave Jerusalem for the present un- subdued. This he did not do, however, without another at- tempt to gain possession of the city by threats (^ib., v. 9, seq.), which were as unavailing as before. The light thrown on these transactions by the recently deciphered inscriptions may be seen in our Gen. Introd., § 4. In the preceding remarks we have passed beyond the date to which the composition of the present section should be as- signed. It is somewhat earlier than the actual time of the invasion. It may be referred to the preceding year (714) ; and from the allusion to the feasts in v. 1, we may infer that it was written about the season of the Passover. The prophet anticipates that the inroad will take place within a year of the time when he wrote — an expectation which was fulfilled. For more on the events of the invasion see infra, § 17, which contains the historical supplement of Isaiah relating to this subject. §12. ISAIAHj CII. XXIX. 169 1. TT70E to Ariel, Ariel, ▼ T The city where David dwelt ! Add yet another year, Let the feasts go round, 2. Then will I distress Ariel, And there shall be sighing and moaning, And it shall be to me like Ariel. 3. I will encamp against thee round-about, And press upon thee with the mound, And raise siege-towers against thee. 4. Then shalt thou be brought low, 1. Jenisalem is addressed as Ariel : wliich means, either hearth of God, i. e. place where the altar fire burns (comp. 31, 9); or else lion of God, i. e. strong, invincible city, protected by God. Interpreters ai'e, as usual, much divided between the two meanings. The allusion to the word in the next verse would seem to decide the question. add : year : literally, add a year to a year ; which may be taken to mean, add another year to the one just closed. So the next expression, Let the feasts of another year come round, and then expect the As- syrians. The Jewish year com- menced with the Passover; and if the prophet wrote this at that point of time, he expected the invasion early in the following year, accord- ing to the interpretation of the phrase just stated. The words may, however, be no more than a poetical expression for an indefinite length of time. 2. / : i. e. Jehovah. sighing : or, preserving the paronomasia, groaning and moaning. like Ariel : i. e. like a hearth where burning takes place, a scene of devastation by fire ; I shall lament as for a city so laid waste. According to this interpretation the words convey a threat : according to the other, they contain a promise ; viz., the city shall be for me as a strong, unconquered city. The former is preferable, on account of the next verse, which continues the threat ; whereas the promise of deliverance does not come till v. 5. to me: must be the prophet himself. 3. /; again Jehovah speaks. mound: literally something set up, perhaps the artificial bank or slope, sometimes formed for reaching the top of high walls ; comp. Is. 37, 33; Ezek. 17, 17; otherwise a station, i. e. of warriors for the siege. siege-towers : so Deut. 20, 20, ren- dered " bulwarks." These words again find illustration in some of the Nineveh sculptures. Comp. Layard, Nin. & Rem., ii, pp. 367-8 ; and see Is. 23, 13. 4. Jerusalem shall be as a cap- tive prostrate on the ground, in 170 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. From the earth shalt thou speak, And low from the dust shall thy speech be, And thy voice from the earth, like a spirit-charmer's; Even from the dust shall thy speech whisper. 5. Yet the multitude of thy strange-enemies shall be as fine dust, And like chaff that passeth away the multitude of the terrible ; And it shall happen in a moment, suddenly. 6. From Jehovah of Hosts shalt thou be visited, With thunder, and with earthquake, and a great noise, Whirlwind and tempest and a flame of devouring fire. 7. And they shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. The multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, And all who war against her, and her fortress, and besiege her. 8. And it shall be as w^hen the hungry man dreameth, And, behold, he eateth, But he awaketh and his soul is empty ; And as when the thirsty man dreameth. And, behold, he drinketli, But he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, And his soul is Thirsty ; So shall the multitude of all the nations be, That fight against mount Zion. the deepest humiliation and dis- 6. Isaiah appears to have formed tress. Her voice shall rise feeble a very definite conception of the and mournful, appearing to come mode in which the destruction of from beneath the earth, like that of the besiegers should be wrought: or a spirit- charmer, or necromancer. ought we rather to regard the state- See note on 8, 19. Gesenius thinks ment as only the poetical ampli- that the spirit itself is here meant. fication of the thought previously The context does not requh-e this; expressed, as in v. 8 ? The prophet's and we may as well avoid ascribing confidence in the safety of the city to the prophet what implies a belief, is clear and immoveable, which he probably did not hold, in 8. it shall be : equally sudden, and the actual existence of such beings, with as gi-eat disappointment of and in the reality of the necro- their expectation of obtaining what mancer's art. whisper; or chirp, they are so eager for, viz., the cap- as in 8, 19. ture of Jerusalem. soul: the 5. Yet in this extremity help Hebi-ew often uses this word, where shall come and their enemies shall we should say only appetite, or sim- be scattered. ply he, or he himself. §12. ISAIAH, CII. XXIX. 171 9. Hesitate, and be amazed ! Shew yourselves blinded, and be blind ! They are drunken, but not with wine ; They stagger, but not with strong-drink. [ 0. For Jehovah hath poured upon you a spirit of slumber. And hath closed your eyes, the prophets ; And your heads, the seers, he hath covered ; 11. And the whole vision is to you like the words of a sealed book, Which they give to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee ; and he saith, I am not able, because it is sealed : 12. And the book is given to one that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee ; and he saith, I am not learned. 9. Isaiah addresses now his own people ; who, as we may suppose him to conceive, come towards him in amazement at his dechiration, and unable to believe him. Their disbe- lief may relate both to the threatened danger, and to the deliverance ; in short, to the prophet's whole an- nouncement. Hesitate : look on in iiTesolution and incredulity: per- haps stare at one another would best express the original. — The second imperative is probably a threat. So in the next line. Comp. note on 8, 9 ; and see Crit. Note. drunken : i. e. with fear and astonishment ; as we sometimes say, " paralysed with fear." The same people are ad- dressed by the prophet, though the pronouns (ye — they) change. He first speaks to them, and then of them. As they are incredulous, blind, insensible to the prophetic warnings, they shall be amazed, blinded, stupified with terror, when the time comes. 10. Further explains the pre- ceding. As the prophecy is ad- dressed not particularly to prophets, or seers, but the whole people, it has been thought that the words pro- phets, and seers, may, in each case, be an old explanatory gloss which has crept into the text. There is, however, no external evidence against them. For : Jehovah has for the time given them up to their own hardness of heart. covered : the orientals cover the head and face to sleep ; so that this expression is parallel with the preceding line. 11-12. The result. Any extra- ordinary occurrence, physical or moral, of which the immediate cause might not be evident, would bo ascribed by a Hebrew mind to God as its author. Hence even such an insensate condition of the nation as that contemplated by Isaiah must have been caused, or permitted, by Him. So St. Paul sometimes speaks of the unbelief of the Jews in his time. Eom. 11, 7-8; 25; 31-32; comp. Zech. 14, 13. This verse and the following give a further de- scription of the obstinate insensibility of all classes of the people. hook : or ivriting. it is sealed: an absurd reason, and no sufficient exculpation. learned : i. e. ac- 172 FKOPIIECIES OF ISAIAH. 13. Therefore saith the Lord, Because that this people draw near with their mouth And honour me with their lips, But have removed their heart far from me, And their fear of me is a precept taught of men, 14. Therefore, behold, I will again act marvellously among this people. Marvellously, and wonderfully ! And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish. And the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid. 15. Woe unto them that hide deeply their counsel from Jehovah, Whose works are in darkness. And who say. Who seeth us and who knoweth us! 16. Ah, your perverseness ! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay ? That the work should say to him who made it. He hath not made me. Or the thing formed say to him that formed it, He hath not understood ? 17. Is there not yet a very little while, qwainted with writing ; the learned assistance from Egypt, which is will not read, for an absurd reason more directly mentioned in the next (as he might break the seal); the chapter. This course was probably unlearned is not able; and thus no urged upon the King by his nobles, one receives the warning, and all and in opposition to the advice of remain spiritually dead. the prophet : it may, therefore, have 13. tauglit of men : not heartfelt, been kept as far as possible a secret, or earnest, but done by rule, as pre- both that Isaiah might not defeat it scribed by men; external and cere- by his op]Josition, and that the As- monial. Syrians might not be informed of it. 1 4. Probably a threat ; I will in- 1 6. The prophet illustrates their fliet fresh calamities more strange perverse conduct by the figure of and severe than those of former the potter and the clay; so 45, 9 ; times, amidst which their wise men 64,8: shall they, the mere clay in shall be unable to advise or help the hands of the workman, resist, or them, act independently of, Jehovah their 1 5. It may be that we have here maker ? an allusion to the plan of seeking 17-18. A great revolution, pro- §12. ISAIAH, CII. XXIX. 173 And Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful-field, And the fruitful -field shall be esteemed as a forest ? 18. In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And out of obscurity and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. 19. The afllicted shall increase their joy in Jehovah, And the needy among men shall exult in the Iloly-One of Israel, 20. Because the terrible ceaseth, and the scorner is destroyed, And all that watch for iniquity are cut off, 21. Who mislead a man in his cause, And for him that pleadeth in the gate lay snares, And turn aside the just through falsehood. 22. Therefore thus saith Jeliovah to the house of Jacob, He who redeemed Abraham, Not now shall Jacob be put to shame, Neither shall his face now grow pale ; 23. For when he seeth his children the work of mine hands in the midst of him. bably moral, shall be the ultimate consequence of the ensuing events ; as great as if Lebanon with its forests became a fruitful-field, lite- rally a Carmel. See note on 10, 18 ; and comp. 32. 15. The phrase, which occurs several times, may be pro- verbial. In that day the very blind and deaf shall understand the words of the book, or writing, i.e., the moral and spiritual condition of the now unawakened people shall be entirely changed. Comp. v. 11. 19. The oppressed and the poorest shall rejoice in Him who has been their protector. among men : i- e. the neediest man. 20. terrible : scorner : perhaps only epithets of the powerful and op; res- sivc nobles. watch: who not only commit iniquity, but so far find delight in it, as even to watch eagerly for it. 21. Further designation of the same ; they pervert justice by vio- lence or fraud mislead : this might be rendered, either make a num sin in a cause ; i. e. by procuring false testimony, or bribing the judge to decide unjustly; or else, condemn a man in a cause, i. e. unjustly c'on- demn. gate : i. e. before the judge ; the gate of an oriental city being the forum, where trials took place, markets were held, &c. See Euth 4, 11; Prov 31, 23. 22. After the great revolution referred to, v. 17, Jehovah shall be gracious to them ; they shall not be ashamed of their own conduct, or afraid of punishment. 23. children : When the dcpopu- 174 PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH. They shall sanctify my name, And sanctify the Holy-One of Jacob, And fear the God of Israel. 24. They also that erred in spirit shall gain discernment, And the rebellious shall receive instruction. latecl city has again recovered its worship God, having, thi'ough chas- numbers, and the days of renewed tisement, gained discernment and happiness and peace have arrived, instruction, then shall they truly fear and § 13. ISAIAH, cii. XXX— XXXII. 175 § 13. Chap. XXX— XXXII. The contents of the present section sufficiently show that it belongs to the same period of the history as the last. It was probably written somewhat later than ch. xxix ; for, if we are right in supposing v. 15 in that chapter to be an allusion to the alliance with Egypt, it would appear, from the character of the allusion, that the prophet, when writing that verse, had not, as yet, the full or positive knowledge of what was proposed by the rulers which appears in the present section. Thus ch. xxix will belong to an early stage of the negotiations with Egypt, while, in the chapters now before us, we see the trans- action far advanced. Jewish ambassadors are already on their way to Egypt ; — see xxx, 2-6; xxxi, 1. If, then, ch. xxix belongs to about the time of the Passover of the year 714, wo may ascribe the present section to a rather later period of the same year; — yet not much later, because the prophet still speaks (xxxii, 10) of some delay, which is to intervene before the actual arrival of the invading enemy. We may on the whole, therefore, suitably refer the composition of this section to the summer of the year 714, — a date with which the allusion to the fruit-gathering and the vintage (xxxii, 10) \cYy well agrees, as does the position of these chapters between xxix and xxxiii. The section may be conveniently subdivided into three portions, each of which forms a tolerably distinct and self- consistent whole ; viz. (a) ch. xxx ; (b) ch. xxxi-xxxii, 8 ; (c) xxxii, 9-20. The last of these passages alone seems here to require any 176 PKOPHECIES OF ISAIAH. special notice. It is remarkable as being addressed more particularly to the women of Jerusalem, who, probably, troubling themselves little about the political signs of the times, were living, many of them, their usual life of frivolity and self-indulgence. Comp. eh. iii, 16-23, and the remarkable picture which Isaiah there gives of the manners and dress of the " daughters of Zion." In the present passage, the prophet forcibly reminds his countrywomen of what most nearly touched each of them that happened to be the mistress of a household, or the mother of a family ; viz., the failure of food through the devastation of the land by the Assyrians, and the con- sequent impossibility of either cultivating the ground or gathering its produce. Knobel conjectures that this portion of the prophecy may liave been occasioned by some concourse of Jewish women to the temple at some festive season ; but of this we can know nothing certain. Cii. XXX. 1. § 13 (a). — The prophet denounces the alliance with Egypt, and reproves the prevailing inclination to war, and distrust of Jehovah. WOE to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah ; To take counsel, but not from me, And to make a treaty, but not by my spirit. That they may add sin to sin ! Who are going down to Egypt, 1. To take : is explanatory of the Ex. 24, 8 ; Zech. 9, 11. that they previous rebellious, defining more may : the consequence again spoken exactly the manner of the latter. of as the intention; meaning, so as 7na/,e a treaty: literally, to pour out to add. a libation ; alluding to the sacri- 2. going : the participle present, ficial ceremony, by which a cove- indicating that the messengers are nam or treaty was ratified. Comp. already on the way. Egypt : for § 13. ISATAII, CIT. XXX. 177 And have not asked of my mouth, To become strong by the strength of Pharaoh, And to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt ! 3. But the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, And the taking-refuge in the shadow of Egypt your disgrace : 4. For his princes are at Zoan, And his messengers reach unto Hanes. 5. Every-one shall be ashamed of a people that doth not profit them, Which serveth not for help, nor to profit, But for shame, and also for reproach. 6. The prophecy of the beasts of the south : — the historical circumstances see the intvoductoiy notes to §§ 10, 11; also Gen. In trod., § 4. 3. The pi-ophet constantly speaks of Egypt as unable to resist the Assyrian power. Weak through internal dissensions, alliance with it will only bring disappointment and injury. 4. his : Zoan : may mean that the ambassadors of Judah have already arrived at Zoan (see 19, 11), on their errand to Pharaoh. Hanes : probably Heracleopolis, in Egyptian Hnes, or Ehnes, which again may have been the Anysis of Herodotus (2, 137). It was situated on the west of the Nile, and may, as well as Zoan, have been the seat of a reigning sovereign. Hence the Jewish ambassadors came to Hanes also to seek for help. Such is in substance the explanation given by Gescnius, and followed by some later interpreters. Its correctness has been disputed, chiefly on the ground that his cannot refer either to Judah or Hezekiah, neither of whom have been mentioned in the prophecy. Ewakl refers the pronoun to Pharaoh, which, grammatically, is easy. According to this we may translate: Thoiajh his princes are at Zuan, Sfc.; i.e. though his dominions form a great and powerful country, extending from Zoan to Hanes. Knobel, also referring the pro- noun to Pharaoh, understands the former clause thus: For his princes, of the warrior caste, refuse to assist the king of Egypt, in his wish to aid Judah ; they remain quietly at Zoan, and make no effort to collect the necessary troops. The latter clause, by a slight change of reading, the same author renders : His messen-