AUG 8 1956 
 
 BS 1515 .S628 1897 v. 2 c.l 
 Bible. 
 
 The book of the prophet 
 Isaiah . 
 
Cj^e Camiintijje BiijU for ^ci)ool6 
 anD ColUges* 
 
 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET 
 
 ISAIAH, 
 
 CHAPTERS XL.— LXVI. 
 
2Lont)on : C. J. CLAY and SONS, 
 
 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE, 
 
 AVE MARIA LANE. 
 
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Cl)e CambiitJae Bible for ^cfjools 
 anti Colleges. 
 
 General Editor for the Old TESTAME^is-^^ ^ pqijT 
 A. F. KIRKPATRICK, D.D/^^ ^^ 
 
 AUG. 8 195 
 
 THE BOOK OF THE PROPH^e/CAL 8i»^ 
 
 ISAIAH. 
 
 CHAPTERS XL.— LXVI. 
 JV/TJI INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. J. SKINNER, D.D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF OLD TESTAMENT EXEGESIS IN THE PRESBYTERIAN 
 COLLEGE, LONDON. 
 
 EDITED FOR THE SYNDICS OF THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE: 
 
 AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 
 
 1898 
 
 [All Rights resefZ'c't/,] 
 
PRINTED BY J. & C. F. CLAY, 
 AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 GENERAL EDITOR FOR THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 The present General Editor for the Old Testament 
 in the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 
 desires to say that, in accordance with the policy of 
 his predecessor the Bishop of Worcester, he does not 
 hold himself responsible for the particular interpreta- 
 tions adopted or for the opinions expressed by the 
 editors of the several Books, nor has he endeavoured 
 to bring them into agreement with one another. It 
 is inevitable that there should be differences of 
 opinion in regard to many questions of criticism and 
 interpretation, and it seems best that these differences 
 should find free expression in different volumes. He 
 has endeavoured to secure, as far as possible, that 
 the general scope and character of the series should 
 be observed, and that views which have a reasonable 
 claim to consideration should not be ignored, but he 
 has felt it best that the final responsibility should, in 
 general, rest with the individual contributors. 
 
 A. F. KIRKPATRICK. 
 
 Cambridge, 
 
 August, 1896. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 General Introduction. 
 
 Chapter I. Contents of the Prophecy ix 
 
 ,, II. Historical Background of the Prophecy... xvii 
 
 „ HI. The Prophet's Theological Conceptions ... xxii 
 
 ,, IV. Date and Authorship of the Prophecy ... xxxix 
 
 ,, V. Unity of the Prophecy liii 
 
 Chronological Table Ixi 
 
 Text and Notes i — 232 
 
 Appendix 233 — 244 
 
 Index 245—251 
 
 The Text adopted in this Edition is that of Dr Scrivener's 
 Cambridge Paragraph Bible. A few variations from the ordi- 
 nary Text, chiefly in the spelling of certain words, and in the 
 use of italics, will be noticed. For the principles adopted by 
 Dr Scrivener as regards the printing of the Text see his In- 
 troduction to the Paragraph Bible, published by the Cambridge 
 University Press. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Contents of the Prophecy. 
 
 The division of the Book of Isaiah into two parts at the end 
 of ch. xxxix., although indicated by no superscription, is at once 
 suggested by the intervention of the narrative section, chs. xxxvi. 
 — xxxix., and is fully justified by the character of the last 27 
 chapters. Whether these chapters form a single continuous pro- 
 phecy, or whether, as some think, the work of different hands can 
 be distinguished, they are pervaded by a unity of spirit and aim 
 which separates them from the undisputed prophecies of Isaiah. 
 It is this part of the book which has gained for that prophet 
 the name of the Evangelist of the Old Testament, and whoever 
 the author may have been, that designation aptly characterises 
 the tendency of the chapters. Critical writers, as is well known, 
 generally assign them to an anonymous prophet, living in the 
 latter part of the Babylonian Exile ; and the grounds on which 
 this conclusion rests will naturally have to be stated at some 
 length in this Introduction. They will be found to be all of the 
 nature of what is called internal evidence^ being drawn from 
 indications furnished by the book itself of the circumstances in 
 which it was composed. It would, however, be a mistake to 
 allow this critical question to dominate the enquiry into the 
 nature and teaching of the prophecy. The proper course 
 obviously is first of all to gain as clear an idea as possible of the 
 prophecy itself, and then to consider what light is thereby thrown 
 on its origin. Accordingly, the substance of this and the two 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 following chapters will be independent of the controversy as to 
 authorship and date, and will for the most part represent views 
 in which critics of all shades of opinion are agreed. If it 
 should be necessary occasionally to refer to points of agree- 
 ment or disagreement with the earlier part of Isaiah, this will 
 be only for the sake of illustration, or to avoid repetition, and 
 certainly not from any desire to prejudge the issue whether 
 the author be Isaiah or another. 
 
 The prophecy may be conveniently divided into three nearly 
 equal sections : chs. xl. — xlviii., xlix. — Iv., and Ivi. — Ixvi.^ 
 
 (A) Chs. xl. — xlviii. The Restoration of Israel through the 
 instrumentality of Cyrus. 
 
 (i) The Prologue (ch. xl. i — ii) is a magnificent com- 
 position, setting forth in striking imagery and in language 
 of exquisite beauty the theme of the whole discourse. The 
 opening words, " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people," which 
 have been finely compared to "the first ripples of light in a 
 cloudless dawn 2," contain the burden of the prophet's message. 
 
 ^ The well-known division into three parts of nine chapters each 
 was first proposed by Friedrich Ruckert in 1831, and has found its way 
 into many commentaries. It is based on the observation that the words, 
 "There is no peace, saith the Lord (or, my God), to the wicked" recur 
 at the end of ch. xlviii. and Ivii., and that the last verse of ch. Ixvi. 
 expresses a similar thought. But the idea that these words were intro- 
 duced by the author as a refrain is not borne out by an examination of 
 the structure of the prophecy. Between ch. Ivii. and Iviii. there is no 
 break, but a very close connexion, and the supposed refrain completes in 
 the most natural manner the idea of the previous verse. In ch. xlviii. 22, 
 on the other hand, the words are so alien to the context that to some 
 commentators they strongly suggest the hand of a compiler. The 
 division as a whole, therefore, must be dismissed as "entirely superficial, 
 and worth nothing except as an aid to the memory " (A. B. Davidson, Ex- 
 positor^ 2nd Series, Vol. vi. p. 88). At the same time many of the best 
 critics agree with Riickert in regarding chs. xl. — xlviii. as the first great 
 section of the volume. A large number of characteristic ideas (see 
 p. 79), as well as a few peculiarities of style, are confined to these chap- 
 ters, and if the last verse was inserted by an editor to mark the close of 
 a division he appears to have been guided so far by a sound instinct. 
 In the remainder of the prophecy it is not so easy to fix on any par- 
 ticular point as marking more than others a fresh departure in the 
 argument ; but on the whole the greatest break seems to occur at the 
 end of ch. Iv. (so Duhm and Cheyne, and many of the latest writers). 
 
 - (\. A. Smith, Exposition, Vol. 11. p. 75. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 They mean that the night of Israel's affliction is far spent and 
 the day of deliverance is at hand {vv. i, 2). The prophet hears 
 the music of heavenly voices, telling him of spiritual agencies 
 already in motion which will issue in the restoration of the 
 exiles to their own land {vv. 3 — 5) ; assuring him also that all 
 human resistance must fail before the eternal energy of the 
 Divine word {vv. 6 — 8). The return from captivity is conceived 
 (as throughout these first nine chapters) as a triumphal march 
 of Jehovah through the desert at the head of His ransomed 
 people ; and the prelude ends with the arrival of the ideal 
 messengers who call upon Jerusalem and the cities of Judah to 
 behold their God {vv. 9 — 11). 
 
 (2) The following paragraph {vv. 12 — 31) introduces a theme 
 frequently recurring in the first nine chapters, the incomparable 
 power, the unsearchable wisdom, in a word, the infinity of 
 Israel's God. In order to remove the despondency which has 
 settled on the minds of his fellow-exiles {vv. 27 — 31) the writer 
 dwells at length on the evidences of Jehovah's might and 
 wisdom, to be observed especially in the works of creation 
 {vv. 12 — 17, 26), and takes occasion to shew the inherent 
 absurdity of idolatry {vv. 18 — 20), in proof that such gods as 
 those of Babylon are powerless to thwart the purposes of the 
 one true God. 
 
 (3) In ch. xli. the prophet touches for the first time on the 
 historical situation which is to be explained by the truths 
 just unfolded, {a) The sudden appearance of Cyrus as a great 
 world-conqueror engrosses the attention of mankind. This fact 
 is splendidly dramatised, in the conception of a great assembly 
 of the nations, to whom Jehovah propounds the questions. Who 
 has raised him up? Who has given him such astonishing 
 success (xli. i — 7) ? {b) Turning aside for a moment to assure 
 Israel, Jehovah's servant, that he has nothing to fear from these 
 political convulsions, which on the contraiy shall issue in his 
 final deliverance and victory {vv. 8 — 20), the prophet {c) re- 
 sumes and completes the argument left unfinished at v. 7 {vv. 
 21 — 29). That Jehovah, and not any of the heathen gods, has 
 raised up Cyrus is proved to demonstration by the fact that He 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 alone has foreseen and predicted the event ; this argument from 
 prophecy is another prominent feature of chs. xl. — xlviii. 
 
 (4) {a) Ch. xlii. i — 4 is the first of four portraits of Jehovah's 
 ideal Servant which are amongst the most remarkable passages 
 in the book. This great personage is here introduced as the 
 object of Jehovah's peculiar regard, and as endowed with the 
 Divine spirit for the accomplishment of his mission, which is 
 to teach the true religion to the world {v. i). His manner of 
 working is described as unobtrusive and gentle and helpful ; 
 yet he fails not nor is discouraged until his labours are crowned 
 with complete success {vv. 2 — 4). {b) In the next verses (5 — 9) 
 the portrait just sketched is made the ground of encourage- 
 ment to Israel, Jehovah, as it were, pledging His Godhead to 
 the fulfilment of the ideal in the people's experience, {c) The 
 prophet's thoughts being thus led forward to the redemptive 
 act through which Israel's destiny will be realised, he breaks 
 into a short lyric outburst of praise {vv. 10 — 12) ; after which 
 Jehovah Himself is represented as arousing Himself from His 
 long inactivity to bring about the deliverance of His people 
 {vv. 13—17). {d) In contrast with the ideal of vv. i — 4, the 
 condition of Israel, Jehovah's actual servant, is next described 
 {vv. 18 — 25). Blind and deaf, ignorant of the meaning of its 
 own history, it has utterly mistaken its true calling, and as 
 a consequence has been overwhelmed by the immeasurable 
 calamity of the Exile, and been brought to the verge of de- 
 struction, {e) Yet the Divine election stands immutable ; Israel 
 is still Jehovah's servant, and precious in His sight ; it shall be 
 ransomed at the cost of the most opulent and powerful nations 
 of the world, and its scattered members shall be brought 
 together from all parts of the earth (xliii. i — 7). 
 
 (5) {a) But there is at least one function which Israel with 
 all its failures and defects is still capable of performing : it is 
 Jehovah's witness to the fact that He has foretold the events 
 that are happening. This thought is again dramatised in a 
 judgement-scene, where the idols are challenged to bring for- 
 ward, if they can, any similar attestation of their divinity ; it 
 would seem also that, in the very act of witness-bearing, Israel's 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 eyes are at length opened to the significance of this great truth 
 and the character of its God {vv. 8 — 13). {b) In xHii. 14 the 
 first explicit announcement of the impending fate of Babylon 
 occurs, introducing a description of the marvels of the new 
 Exodus, for which the way is thus prepared {vv. 14 — 21). 
 {c) Israel, indeed, has not merited this deliverance, but Jehovah 
 for His own sake blots out its transgressions and promises to 
 remember them no more {vv. 22 — 28). {d) The reconciliation 
 is final and complete ; a brilliant future lies before the nation, 
 in which strangers shall esteem it an honour to attach them- 
 selves to the religion and the people of Jehovah (xliv. i — 5). 
 
 (6) Ch. xliv. 6 — 23 repeats the argument from prophecy for 
 the sole deity of Jehovah {vv. 6 — 8) ; confirms this bythe most 
 elaborate and sarcastic exposure of the irrationalities of idolatry 
 that the book contains {vv. 9 — 20) ; and appeals to the Israelites 
 to lay these truths to heart and cleave to the God who forgives 
 sin and is alone able to deliver {vv. 21 — 23). 
 
 (7) The passage ch. xliv. 24 — xlv. 25 is an important series of 
 oracles dealing mainly with the mission of Cyrus and its effects 
 in the universal diffusion of the worship of Jehovah, {a) The 
 subject is led up to in xliv. 24 — 28, a majestic period, where 
 Jehovah, describing Himself as the God of creation and pro- 
 phecy, at last announces His commission to Cyrus to rebuild 
 Jerusalem and the Temple, {b) Cyrus is next addressed in 
 person by Jehovah, who bestows on him the title of His 
 anointed {Messiah), and promises him an uninterrupted course 
 of victory, at the same time declaring that it is only in the 
 interest of Israel that he is thus honoured (xlv. i — 7). {c) After 
 a short poetic interlude {v. 8) the prophet turns to rebuke the 
 murmurs of dissent which this novel announcement calls forth 
 among some of his fellow-exiles {vv. 9 — 13). {d) And now at 
 length he reaches what may be regarded as the highest flight 
 of his inspired imagination. As a consequence of the signal 
 exaltation of Israel, achieved through the victories of Cyrus, 
 the conquered nations renounce their idols and do homage to 
 Israel as the people of the one true God {vv. 14 — 17). {e) But 
 further, this disclosure of the character and Godhead of Jehovah 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 becomes the source of salvation to the world at large. What 
 He has always been to Israel, — a God revealing Himself in 
 clear unambiguous oracles, — that the heathen shall recognise 
 Him to be ; and all the ends of the earth shall look unto Him 
 and be saved {vv. i8 — 25). 
 
 (8) The next two oracles deal with the fall of Babylon. In 
 ch. xlvi. the principal subject is the collapse of the Babylonian 
 state-religion. A striking contrast is drawn between the igno- 
 minious flight of the discredited idols, on the back of " weary 
 beasts," and the unchanging strength of Him who sustains the 
 fortunes of His people through all ages of their history. 
 
 (9) Ch. xlvii. is a Taunt-song on the humiliation of the 
 imperial* city, personified as a "tender and delicate " woman, 
 reduced from wealth and luxury and power to the lowest depth 
 of degradation. 
 
 (10) Ch. xlviii. is largely a recapitulation of arguments un- 
 folded in previous chapters, although these are interspersed 
 with rebukes of the obstinacy of the people, more severe than 
 any hitherto uttered. It closes with a jubilant summons to the 
 exiles to depart from Babylon and proclaim to all the world the 
 story of their redemption. 
 
 (B) Chs. xlix. — Iv. The work of Jehovah's Servant and the 
 glorification of Zion. 
 
 In the second division of the prophecy several lines of 
 thought, which have been very prominent in the first, entirely 
 disappear. The references to Cyrus and the prediction of the 
 fall of Babylon, the appeal to past prophecies now fulfilled, the 
 polemic against idolatry and the impressive inculcation of the 
 sole deity of Jehovah, all these now familiar topics henceforth 
 vanish from the writer's argument. But one great conception 
 is carried over from the first part to the second, and forms an 
 important link of connexion between them. This is the figure 
 of Jehovah's ideal Servant, of which there are three further 
 delineations in ch. xlix. i — 6, 1. 4 — 9, and lii. 13 — liii. 12. In 
 xlix. I — 6 the Servant himself addresses the nations of the world, 
 expressing his own consciousness of the mission entrusted to 
 him by Jehovah (see xlii. i — 4) and his sense of disappointment 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 at the apparent fruitlessness of his labour in the past, but 
 relating also how his misgivings have been removed by a fresh 
 disclosure of Jehovah's ultimate purpose in raising him up, viz. 
 to be the organ of His revelation to the whole human race. 
 The passage is followed (as in xlii. 5 ff.) by a promise of the 
 restoration of Israel, based on the portrait just given of the 
 Servant. — Ch. 1. 4 — 9 is again a soliloquy of the Servant, de- 
 scribing his entire self-surrender to the guidance of the Divine 
 word, his voluntary acceptance of the persecution which he had 
 to endure in the discharge of his mission, and his unwavering 
 confidence in the triumph of his righteous cause through the 
 help of Jehovah.— Ch. lii. 13 — liii. 12, the last and greatest of 
 the four " sei-vant-passages," is an account of the sufferings and 
 death of Jehovah's Servant, and a prediction of his future glory. 
 The impression made by his death on the minds of his con- 
 temporaries leads them at length to recognise his true mission 
 and produces in them a sense of guilt and sorrow for sin which 
 removes the barrier that had separated them from God. 
 
 The other conception which chiefly occupies the mind of the 
 prophet in this section of his discourse is that of Zion, figured as 
 a woman now desolate and bereaved, or drunken with the cup 
 of Jehovah's displeasure, but soon to be clothed in beauty and 
 comforted by reunion to her divine Husband and by the return 
 of her children. This image is developed in a series of passages : 
 ch. xlix. 14 — 26, li. 17 — Hi. 6, and liv. There are also exhortations 
 to individual Israelites to prepare themselves for the coming 
 salvation, and lay aside the fears which naturally beset them : 
 1. 1—3, li. I — 16, Iv. ; while lii. 7 — 10 gives a second description 
 of the arrival of the herald of salvation at Jerusalem (cf xl. gf). 
 It will be seen that the whole division continues to unfold the 
 programme sketched in outline in the Prologue (xl. i — 11). 
 
 (C) Chs. Ivi. — Ixvi. The future blessedness of the true 
 Israel contrasted with the doom of the apostates. 
 
 The third section of the book is less homogeneous in its com- 
 position than the two others. In passing from ch. Iv. to ch. hi. 
 the reader is at once sensible of a change of manner and cir- 
 cumstance, which becomes still more manifest as he proceeds. 
 
 ISAIAH II. I, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 (i) Ch. Ivi. I — 8 is a short independent oracle on the admis- 
 sion of foreigners and eunuchs to the new Israel, — a matter of 
 administrative detail, altogether unlike the lofty idealism of the 
 previous chapters. 
 
 (2) Then follows, in Ivi. 9— lix. 21, a series of discourses in 
 which the strain of prophetic rebuke predominates over the 
 note of comfort and encouragement, (a) Ch. Ivi. 9— Ivii. 2 is a 
 strongly worded denunciation of the worthless rulers through 
 whose selfish greed the nation has been left a prey to its 
 enemies. (^) Ch. Ivii. 3 — 13 is addressed to an idolatrous com- 
 munity, perpetuating the illegal worship of pre-exilic Israel, 
 and practising in addition many strange and outlandish super- 
 stitions, (c) This is followed in Ivii. 14 — 21 by a promise of 
 forgiveness and redemption to the true people of God. (d) Ch. 
 Iviii. states the moral conditions on which the fulfilment of this 
 promise depends, and censures in particular the solemn mockery 
 of the customary fasts, combined as they were with avarice and 
 high-handed oppression, {e) In ch. lix. the prophet in the 
 name of the community confesses the great social evils which 
 prevail within it, and utters a promise that Jehovah will speedily 
 interpose to make an end of unrighteousness and perform the 
 gracious word which He has spoken concerning His people. 
 
 (3) Chs. Ix. — Ixii. form a group by themselves, more akin to 
 the spirit of the earlier section of the prophecy, and having a 
 special resemblance to ch. liv. The theme is the felicity of the 
 ideal Zion of the future, which is depicted with a marvellous 
 wealth of imagery and illustration. The material splendour of 
 the restored city, the righteousness of its inhabitants, the sub- 
 servience of the Gentiles, and the return of the exiles from all 
 parts of the earth, are the features of Zion's glory which bulk 
 most largely in the eye of the prophet. 
 
 (4) In ch. Ixiii. the tone again changes. Vv. i — 6 are a 
 detached oracle, — one of the most graphic pieces of word- 
 painting in the Old Testament, — the subject being Jehovah's 
 return from a great slaughter of His assembled foes in the 
 land of Edom. 
 
 (5) Ch. Ixiii. 7 — Ixiv. 12 is a long prayer and confession put 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in the mouth of Israel, the most pathetic and plaintive passage 
 in the whole prophecy. 
 
 (6) Chs. Ixv. and Ixvi. contain an alternation of threats and 
 promises, corresponding to the distinction between two classes 
 of hearers which we have already recognised in ch. Ivii. The 
 contrast is pushed to the utmost extreme: the true believers 
 are assured of an abiding inheritance in the Holy Land, and an 
 existence of more than natural blessedness in the new heavens 
 and the new earth which Jehovah is about to create ; while the 
 apostates are threatened with final destruction, leaving their 
 name for a formula of imprecation, and their dishonoured 
 corpses for an everlasting spectacle to the worshippers in the 
 new Temple. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Historical Background of the Prophecy. 
 
 I. At the time when this prophecy opens Cyrus has appeared 
 on the stage of history and has gained many important victories. 
 In order to determine more precisely the period thus indicated 
 it will be suflficient to bear in mind the following events in the 
 career of this hero, as elucidated by two inscriptions first pub- 
 lished in the year 1880^. In these Cyrus appears first as king 
 of Ansan, in Elam, the country adjoining Babylonia on the 
 east. Although connected with the royal house of Persia, the 
 particular branch of the family to which he belonged does not 
 appear to have reigned over Persia proper; at all events it 
 is not till the year 546 that he is named as king of Persia. 
 Some years previously he had ascended the throne of Ansan, 
 and speedily gave proof of the commanding ability and energy 
 which were soon to raise him to the front rank among the 
 conquerors of the East. Through the defeat of Astyages in 549 
 
 ^ See Sayce, in Records of the Past, New Series, Vol. v. pp. 144 — 
 176. 
 
 b2 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 he annexed Media to his dominions, and laid the foundation of 
 the great Medo-Persian empire which controlled the destinies of 
 Western Asia for more than 200 years. His next great success 
 was the overthrow of Croesus, the wealthy king of Lydia, whose 
 capital of Sardis, with its fabulous treasures, fell into the hands 
 of Cyms in B.C. 540^ After some months spent in reducing the 
 tribes of "Upper" Asia^ Cyrus gathered his forces for the attack 
 on Babylon. This crowning enterprise of his life was carried to 
 a successful issue in 538. "In the month Tammuz [June] when 
 Cyrus in the city of Rutu [?], on the banks of the river Nizallat, 
 had delivered battle against the soldiers of Akkad [Northern 
 Babylonia], when the men of Akkad had delivered (battle) the 
 men of Akkad raised a revolt : (some) persons were slain. On 
 the 14th day (of the month) Sippara was taken without fighting; 
 Nabonidus [last king of Babylon] fled. (On) the i6th day 
 Gobryas [general of Cyrus], the governor of the country of 
 Gutium, and the soldiers of Cyrus without fighting entered 
 Babylon." Such is the unvarnished record of the so-called 
 "Annalistic Tablet" of Cyrus^; the religious aspect of the event 
 is expressed in remarkable language in his "Cylinder Inscrip- 
 tion": "Merodach... appointed also a prince who should guide 
 aright the wish of the heart which his hand upholds, even 
 Cyrus, the king of the city of Ansan ; he has proclaimed his 
 title ; for the sovereignty of all the world does he commemorate 
 his name... Merodach, the great lord, the restorer of his people, 
 beheld with joy the deeds of his vicegerent, who was righteous 
 in hand and heart. To his city of Babylon he summoned his 
 march ; he bade him also take the road to Babylon ; like a 
 friend and comrade he went at his side. The weapons of his 
 vast army, whose number, like the waters of a river, could not 
 be known, were marshalled in order, and it spread itself at his 
 side. Without fighting and battle (Merodach) caused him to 
 enter into Babylon ; his city of Babylon he spared ; in a hiding- 
 place Nabonidus the king, who revered him not, did he give 
 into his hand*." 
 
 ^ Herodotus, I. 73 — 84. ^ y^,-^, j ^^^ 
 
 ■* Sayce, loc. cit.^ p. 162. * Loc. cii.y pp. 165 f. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The allusions to Cyrus in the prophecy make it perfectly 
 certain that the time to which it refers lies between 549 and 538. 
 Cyrus is mentioned as one already well known as a conqueror, 
 and one whose brilliant victories have sent a thrill of excitement 
 through the world. He is spoken of as having been "raised up 
 from the east" (xli. 2, 25; of. xlvi. 11), or "from the north" 
 (xli. 25), as one whom "victory attends at every step" (see on 
 xli. 2), who "comes upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter 
 treadeth clay" (xli. 25), who "pursues them and passes on in 
 safety," whose movements are so rapid that he appears not to 
 "touch the path with his feet" (xli. 2, 3). Now Cyrus could not 
 have been recognised under such descriptive allusions prior to 
 the conquest of Astyages in 549, when he first became a promi- 
 nent actor in the political arena. But indeed the language 
 employed is so striking and emphatic as to suggest an even 
 later date, and to make it probable that the prophet has in view 
 the impression created by the first intelligence of the memorable 
 victory over Croesus in the year 540. 
 
 On the other hand, the capture of Babylon is still in the 
 future. Cyrus has not yet reached the climax of his success ; 
 " the doors of brass and the bolts of iron " have still to be broken 
 before him ; " treasures of darkness, the hidden riches of secret 
 places " are still to be given to him (xlv. 2, 3). It is he who 
 '"''shall execute Jehovah's purpose on Babylon" (xlviii. 14), who 
 ^^ shall rebuild My city and let My exiles go free" (xlv. 13 ; cf. 
 xliv. 28). But this final conquest, bringing in its train the 
 sovereignty of the world (xliii. 3, xlv. 14, li. 5), is imminent ; 
 " Jehovah has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the 
 nations " (Hi. 10) and the decisive blow is about to be struck. 
 The standpoint of the prophecy, therefore, is certainly inter- 
 mediate between 549 and 538, and most probably about 540 B.C. 
 
 2. In perfect harmony with these references to Cyrus are 
 those to the circumstances of Israel. The nation is in exile, 
 but on the eve of deliverance. Jerusalem has undergone a 
 period of hard servitude on account of her sins, but the term of 
 it has now expired ; her punishment has been more than ade- 
 quate (xl. 2). Israel is a people robbed and spoiled, snared in 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 holes and hid in prison-houses (xlii. 22) ; the captive crouches in 
 the dungeon (li. 14) ; the people are repeatedly spoken of as 
 prisoners or bound (xlii. 7, xlix. 9). Such expressions are no 
 doubt largely metaphorical, but the metaphors can denote 
 nothing but a national captivity. The oppressing power is 
 Babylon, the imperial city, still called "mistress of kingdoms" 
 (xlvii. 5), who has laid her yoke very heavily on the aged {v. 6). 
 She has said to Israel, " Bow down that we may go over," and 
 caused her to make her back as the ground and as the street to 
 them that go over (li. 23) ; and it is from Babylon that the 
 exiles are summoned to make good their escape (xlviii. 20, cf. 
 lii. 1 1 f.). Meanwhile Palestine is a waste and ruined land (xlix. 
 8, 19, li. 3, lii. 9) ; Jerusalem is frequently likened to a widowed 
 and bereaved mother mourning the loss of her children, though 
 now comforted with the promise of their restoration (xlix. 14 ff., 
 li. 17 ff., lii. I f., liv.). No such calamity as these accumulated 
 allusions imply had ever befallen Israel except in the half 
 century that followed the destruction of the state by the Chal- 
 daeans (B.C. 586). 
 
 3. One other fact may be noticed, as shewing how com- 
 pletely the prophet's point of view is identified with the age of 
 the Exile. Amongst the arguments most frequently adduced 
 for the deity of Jehovah and against idolatry is the appeal to 
 prophecies fulfilled by the appearance of Cyrus (xli. 26, xlii. 9, 
 xliii. 8 — 10, xlv. 21, xlvi. 10). What prophecies are referred to 
 is a question of some difficulty, which need not detain us here. 
 It is obvious that whatever they were the argument has no force 
 except as addressed to persons for whom the fulfilment was 
 a matter of experience. To the men of an earlier age such an 
 appeal could only appear as confusing and fallacious, being an 
 attempt to illustrate igtiotum per ig7iotius ; hence we must con- 
 clude that the prophecy was directly intended for the generation 
 of the Exile, and could produce its full effect only on them. It 
 must be observed that neither the appearance of Cyrus nor the 
 captivity of Israel is ever predicted in this prophecy ; they are 
 everywhere assumed as facts known to the readers. Predic- 
 tions do occur of the most definite kind, but they are of events 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 subsequent to those mentioned and lying in advance of the 
 standpoint which the prophet occupies. A distinction is often 
 made by the writer between " former things," which have already 
 come to pass, and " new things " or " coming things " (xli. 22, 
 xlii. 9, xHii. 9, 18 f, xliv. 7, xlv. 11, xlvi. 9, xlviii. 3 — 8), and in 
 some cases it seems clear that by " former things " he means 
 the fulfilment of earlier prophecies concerning Cyrus, while the 
 "new things," now first announced, are such events as the 
 triumph of Cyrus, the salvation of Israel, and the conversion of 
 the world to the worship of Jehovah. Even on the supposition 
 that the chapters were written by Isaiah, 150 years before any of 
 these occurrences, it still remains true that he does not formally 
 predict the rise of Cyrus, but addresses himself to those who 
 have witnessed it and only require to be told what developments 
 will result from it in the unfolding of Jehovah's purposed 
 
 ^ The passages cited above in illustration of the circumstances pre- 
 supposed by the prophecy are all, it will be observed, taken from the 
 first two divisions (chs. xl. — Iv.). It would be possible to supplement 
 the references in some particulars from the later chapters. Not, indeed, 
 with regard to Cyrus, or the argument from prophecy based on his 
 conquests, for these topics are never introduced after ch. xlviii. ; but 
 undoubtedly with regard to the desolation of the country (Iviii. 12, Ixi. 
 4, Ixii. 4, Ixiv. 10) and a return of exiled Jews (Ivi. 8, Ix. 4, 8, Ixvi. 20). 
 The reason for not treating these passages as quite on the same footing 
 with those cited in the text is that in the later chapters (Ivi. — Ixvi.) 
 there are allusions of an opposite character which seem to imply that 
 those there addressed are the Jewish community of Palestine after the 
 Return. Hence there is some uncertainty whether expressions which 
 at first sight seem altogether of a piece with those of the earlier sections 
 have not in reality a different bearing. In fact, it will be found that 
 with scarcely an exception they are more or less ambiguous in their 
 terms. The desolation of the land, for example, must have continued 
 for some time after the first Return ; and it is possible that only the 
 condition of the rural districts is described in Iviii. 12, Ixi. 4 and Ixii. 4. 
 The only place where Jerusalem itself is spoken of as desolate is ch. 
 Ixiv. 10 f., and this no doubt raises a certain presumption that the 
 capital is included in the parallel expressions. But the passage Ixiii. 7 
 — Ixiv. 1 2 presents so many peculiar features that it may be unsafe to 
 generalize from it to the bulk of chs. Ivi. — Ixvi. In like manner the 
 mention of a restoration of exiles is not inconsistent with the hypothesis 
 of post-exilic origin. The reference may be to the wider dispersion 
 over the civilised world of Israelites whose ingathering continued to be 
 an object of aspiration long after the Jewish state had been reestablished. 
 Even in the verses beginning, " Go through, go through the gates" (Ixii. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Prophet's Theological Conceptions. 
 
 The religious teaching of chs. xl. — Ixvi. has to be considered 
 in the light of the situation sketched in the previous chapter. 
 Although the writer's manner of thinking is more distinctly 
 theological than that of many other prophets, he is nevertheless 
 before all things a prophet, that is, an inspired Interpreter of 
 Jehovah's action in a great crisis of history. No part of the 
 prophetic literature answers more fully to the conception of pro- 
 phecy implied in the words of Amos : "Surely the Lord Jehovah 
 will do nothing, but he revealeth His secret unto his servants the 
 prophets " (Am. iii. 7). The great event in which this prophet 
 recognises the hand of Jehovah, and of which the secret has 
 been revealed to him, is, as has been already indicated, the 
 advent of Cyrus. Just as the teaching of Amos and Isaiah is 
 dominated by the appearance of the portentous Assyrian power, 
 or that of Jeremiah by the approach of the Chaldaeans, so the 
 thoughts of this writer crystallise around the historic figure of 
 Cyrus and the astonishing series of victories which have dis- 
 tinguished his career. It is true he is the first prophet who 
 discerns in the signs of the times a Divine purpose which is from 
 the first a purpose of grace towards Israel. His predecessors 
 had all looked on the world-power as the instrument of Je- 
 hovah's chastisement of His people, and had anticipated a 
 happy issue only as a second step, after the earthly instrument 
 had been broken and thrown away. But the writer of these 
 chapters has the word "comfort" constantly on his lips ; the 
 whole burden of his message is one of consolation and good 
 
 10 f.), so closely resembling xlviii. 20 and Iii. 10 f., there is nothing to 
 shew clearly that the gates of Babylon are meant. (See, moreover, 
 Zech. ii. 6, 7, — a post-exilic passage). — The question is perhaps one on 
 which it would be premature to offer a positive opinion, and of course 
 this is not the place to discuss it. But since it was impossible to ignore 
 it in the notes, it is right that attention should be called to the difficulty 
 here. Some further observations will be found in Chapter v. below. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tidings ; and he views Cyrus as the chosen agent of Jehovah, 
 not merely in crushing obstacles to the execution of His pur- 
 pose, but as lending active support in the establishment of His 
 kingdom. Nevertheless the author lives his prophetic life in 
 a time of perplexity and disquietude, when men's hearts failed 
 them for fear ; and it is in the disentanglement and solution of 
 a situation which was to all others a hopeless mystery that he 
 reahses his vocation as a prophet. 
 
 Like other prophets, too, he sees in the events of the time 
 the immediate precursors of Jehovah's everlasting kingdom of 
 righteousness. The final consummation of God's purposes with 
 humanity lies in germ in the appearance of Cyrus ; in the 
 writer's own graphic phrase, it already " sprouts " before men's 
 eyes (xlii. 9, xliii. 19). And thus he is led to a prophetic con- 
 struction of the outward course of events in which many things 
 are left obscure, but of which the salient features are as follows : 
 This Cyrus whom Jehovah has raised up to do His pleasure on 
 Babylon is the destined instrument of Israel's emancipation. 
 He shall let the captives go free ; they shall return to Jerusalem 
 in triumphal procession, with Jehovah Himself as their Shep- 
 herd, — the wilderness breaking forth before them into springs of 
 water and a luxuriant forest vegetation. The story of this 
 redemption resounds through the world, and the nations, already 
 impressed by the victory of Cyrus, and now convinced that he 
 has been raised up by Jehovah for the sake of Israel, renounce 
 their idolatries and find salvation in the knowledge of the one 
 true God. 
 
 The prophet is aware, however, that his hearers are not in 
 a mood to be easily cheered. References to their state of mind 
 are numerous, and nowhere do we find any indication of an 
 enthusiastic response to the prophet's joyful proclamation. 
 When Jehovah came there was no man, when He called there 
 was none to answer (ch. 1. 2). Among the exiles were some 
 who are described as "stouthearted, far from righteousness" 
 (xlvi. 12), who rejected the prophet's message and took exception 
 in particular to his designation of Cyrus as the chosen instru- 
 ment of Israel's release (xlv. 9—13). But the prevalent mood 
 
xxiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 was one of utter weariness and despondency. Israel said, 
 "My way is hid from Jehovah, and my right passes from my 
 God" (xl. 27 ; cf xlix. 14). Dismayed by the might of Babylon, 
 and fearing continually because of the oppressor (li. 13), con- 
 fronted on every hand by the monuments of a vast system of 
 idolatry, the exiles had given way to gloomy thoughts and 
 doubts of the power or willingness of Jehovah to redeem. To 
 counteract this despairing mood something more was needed 
 than a bare announcement of deliverance. The first requisite 
 was to revive their consciousness of God, to impress them with 
 a sense of His infinite power and resources, and the immuta- 
 bility of His word ; and also to impart to them a new and 
 inspiring view of their own mission and destiny as a nation. 
 And to this task the writer addresses himself with all the 
 impassioned and persuasive eloquence of which he is an un- 
 rivalled master. 
 
 Jehovah, the God of Israel.— The prophet's doctrine of 
 God is, accordingly, the fundamental element of his teaching. The 
 book, it has been well said, " is a structure based upon and built 
 out of the Monotheistic conception, the idea that Jehovah, God 
 of Israel, is the true and only God^." The author does not 
 differ from earlier prophets in being a monotheist, but he differs 
 remarkably in this that he inculcates the principle almost as an 
 abstract truth of religion, and strives to bring it home to the 
 reason and imagination of his readers. It is perhaps not strictly 
 accurate to say that he sets himself to prove any positive truth 
 about Jehovah, although some passages read to us like demon- 
 strations. The existence of Jehovah is assumed, as are also the 
 facts that He is the Creator of the universe and the Disposer of 
 the events of history ; and what is built on these assumptions is 
 an atte;,mpt to elevate and purify the conceptions of the Israelites 
 and convey to them some worthy idea of what Deity involves. 
 But if anything is made a matter of demonstration, it is the 
 negative conclusion that the idols are not gods, that their help- 
 lessness in the face of the facts of history shews them to lack 
 the attributes of Deity, that in short, as there is room for only 
 ^ A. B. Davidson, Expositor, 2nd Series, Vol. VI. p. 8r. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 one God, the God of Israel has alone made good His right to be 
 so regarded. 
 
 The prophet's conceptions of what God is in Himself are 
 most fully set forth in the meditation which immediately follows 
 the Prologue (ch. xl. 12 — 26). The chief thought is contained in 
 the repeated question, " To whom will ye liken God ?" {vv. 
 18, 25). It is the incomparable /less of Jehovah which the writer 
 seeks to expound and illustrate. This is enforced first of all by 
 an appeal to the works of creation. What sort of Being must 
 He be who "measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, 
 and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the 
 dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in 
 scales, and the hills in a balance?" {v. 12). " Lift up your eyes 
 on high and see ! Who hath created these [the starry host] ? 
 bringing out their host by number, calling them all by name ; 
 because of Him who is great in might and strong in power 
 not one is missing" (v. 26). In comparison with such a Being, 
 how insignificant and inappreciable is every form of finite 
 existence ! He " sitteth over the circle of the earth and the 
 inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers " {v. 22) ; " the nations 
 are as a drop from the bucket, and are counted as the small 
 dust of the balance " {v. 15). His purposes in history cannot be 
 thwarted by any political combinations, however powerful ; for 
 He " bringeth princes to nothing, and maketh the judges of the 
 earth as vanity ; hardly have they been planted ; hardly have 
 they been sown ;...when He bloweth upon them and they wither, 
 and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble" {vv, 23 f.). 
 And if men, singly and collectively, are thus helpless before 
 Him, what shall be thought of those so-called gods which are 
 the work of men's hands ? The idol is sufficiently discredited 
 by a description of the process of its manufacture {vv. 18 — 20); 
 it is not merely a "nonentity" (as Isaiah called it), it is a 
 reductio ad absurdum of the very conception of deity. 
 
 Thoughts similar to these run through the prophecy, especi- 
 ally the first nine chapters. The question, "To whom will ye 
 liken me?" recurs in xlvi. 5; Jehovah's creative activity is 
 touched upon in xHi. 5, xlv. 7, 12, 18, xlviii. 7, liv. 16, Ixv. i7f. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 &c. The argument against idolatry is developed in a series 
 of passages (xli. 7, xliv. 9 — 20, xlvi. 6 f., comp. xli. 23 fF., 
 xlii. 17, xlv. 16, 20, xlvi. if., xlviii. 5) which at once arrest 
 attention by their scathing irony and scorn. Idolatry is as it 
 were laughed out of court, treated as an effete delusion which 
 the world ought long to have outgrown. The consciousness of 
 unique Godhead is attributed to Jehovah in such utterances as, 
 "Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be 
 after me" (xliii. 10), or "I am God, and there is none else" (xlvi. 
 9; cf. xliv. 8, xlv. 6, 14, 18, 21 f.). The same truth is expressed 
 when He is called Qddosh (Holy) absolutely, almost as a proper 
 name (xl. 25) ; meaning that He alone possesses the attributes 
 that constitute divinity ^ He is the "First and the Last" (xli. 4, 
 xliv. 6, xlviii. 12), unchanging through all ages, an "Everlasting 
 God," inexhaustible in power and wisdom (xl. 28). 
 
 But though Jehovah is thus transcendently exalted. His 
 relation to the world and men upon it is not one of negation 
 or indifference. He did not create the earth for a waste, but to 
 be inhabited (xlv. 18); He is present in all ages of history, 
 calling the generations from the beginning (xli. 4), and moulding 
 their destinies in accordance with His world-wide purpose of 
 salvation. In pursuance of His far-reaching and unsearchable 
 designs He has raised up Israel, calling it from the ends of the 
 earth (xli. 9) to be the organ of His revelation, and now He 
 has raised up the Persian king Cyrus to be the instrument of 
 His final victory over heathenism. In connexion with this 
 unceasing activity of Jehovah in the affairs of men, great stress 
 is laid upon His knowledge of the future and His habit of 
 predicting it. The heathen gods are repeatedly challenged to 
 prove their claim to deity by instances of unambiguous pre- 
 dictions subsequently verified (xli. 22 f., xliii. 9, xliv. 7) ; while 
 Israel, on the other hand, is appealed to as a witness that 
 Jehovah has foreseen and foretold the future (xliii. 10, xliv. 8). 
 This peculiar test of divinity might appear to be a concession to 
 the mode of thought of the heathen, whose religion consisted in 
 great part in the search for divine prognostications of coming 
 ^ See Vol. 1. pp. xlv f. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 events. But it has also a positive value for the prophet's own mind, 
 as evidence that events are prearranged by Jehovah in accordance 
 with a fixed and intelligible plan whose goal is the redemption of 
 Israel and the manifestation of the Divine glory to all mankind. 
 Of the moral (as distinguished from the metaphysical) attri- 
 butes of God, the most important is His righteousness. The 
 prophet's use of this word is somewhat difficult, and it appears 
 to denote more than one aspect of the Divine character ^ It is 
 plain enough that what is called retributive righteousness, or 
 dealing with men according to their strict deserts, is far too 
 narrow an idea to explain some of its most striking applica- 
 tions. Righteousness is the quality displayed in the raising up 
 of Cyrus (xlv. 13), in the sustaining of Israel, which is ascribed 
 to Jehovah's "right hand of righteousness" (xli. 10), and in the 
 calling of the ideal Servant of the Lord (xHi. 6). But further it 
 is exhibited in Jehovah's manner of revealing Himself; He is 
 One who "speaks righteousness" (xlv. 19); One who in contrast 
 with the false gods is approved as righteous by the verification 
 of His prophecies (xli. 26) ; a word goes forth from His mouth 
 in righteousness and shall not return (xlv. 23). The general 
 idea suggested by these various usages is perhaps trustworthi- 
 ness in word and deed, and particularly in the perfect corre- 
 spondence between word and deed. This implies that Jehovah's 
 actions are all regulated by a consistent and firmly maintained 
 principle, so that when He speaks He but reveals the inner 
 principle which is the true motive of His action ; and when He 
 is said to uphold Israel or to raise up Cyrus "in righteousness" 
 the meaning is that He does so in pursuance of a steadfast 
 purpose which He may be relied on to carry through. And 
 since His purpose is ultimately a purpose of salvation, we can 
 understand how so frequently in the prophecy the idea of 
 righteousness tends to become merged in that of salvation. It 
 would, of course, be a paradox to speak of salvation as a divine 
 attribute^ although the paradox would very nearly represent an 
 important element in the prophet's idea of God. The power 
 and readiness to save men is a standing characteristic of 
 ^ See Appendix, Note 11. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Jehovah, which can be predicated of no other god; He is a 
 "righteous and saving God" (xlv. 21); besides Him there is no 
 Saviour (xliii. 11 ; cf. xlv. 15, 21 ; xlix. 26). But, speaking strictly, 
 salvation is the outward act which gives effect to Jehovah's 
 purpose ; and so we find several passages where righteousness 
 itself ceases to be an attribute and becomes a name for the 
 external manifestation in which the attribute embodies itself 
 (xlvi. 13, li. 6, 8, Ivi. i b). The same truth is expressed in the 
 frequent application to Jehovah of the verb "redeem" or the 
 epithet "Redeemer" (xli. 14, xliii. i, xliv. 6, 22 f, 24, &c. ; see 
 p. 20). "Salvation," however, is a term of wider import than 
 " redemption." The latter expresses what Jehovah does for His 
 own people of Israel ; but the former, although used in the first 
 instance of the deliverance of Israel from Babylon, is a spiritual 
 blessing in which all mankind have an interest. " Israel is 
 saved in Jehovah with an everlasting salvation" (xlv. 17); and 
 the heathen, recognising this, are invited to avail themselves 
 of the same privilege : " Look unto me and be ye saved, all 
 the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else" 
 {v. 22)1. 
 
 1 The idea of salvation has an instructive history. In Arabic the 
 root wasi^a means to be wide, roomy, spacious, &c.; and hence the 
 Hebr. verb "to save" (which is the causative of this) means primarily 
 "to make room for one," "to give one freedom or space to move in." 
 Even in this form the word contains the germ of a valuable religious 
 idea, salvation being essentially freedom for the normal expansion of 
 man's true life. In the O.T., however, it is always used with express 
 reference to some pressure or impediment, the removal of which consti- 
 tutes the essence of the act called salvation or the state of salvation 
 which results from it (V^l, 7\VJ\^\ nj;-1ti^ri). In the earlier literature 
 these names have mostly a secular and political application, denoting 
 "succour" in a military sense, or (more frequently) "victory." The 
 religious sense grew naturally out of this. At all times it was recognised 
 that Jehovah is the source of deliverance or victory ; but at least from 
 the time of the Exile the centre of gravity of the idea was shifted from 
 the temporal act of deliverance to the partly spiritual blessings which 
 were secured by it. Salvation becomes (as in this prophecy) a compre- 
 hensive term for that decisive vindication of Israel's cause which was 
 the foundation of all national well-being. At the same time "these 
 words seldom, if ever, express a spiritual state exclusively; their 
 common theological sense in Hebrew is that of a material deliverance 
 attended by spiritual blessings" (see Driver, Notes on Samuel, p. 90). 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 These are perhaps the most characteristic features in the 
 idea of God as presented in these chapters. It is after all an 
 imperfect statement of the Prophet's conception of God, which 
 is indeed so rich and full as almost to baffle analysis. "Jehovah 
 is to him a living moral Person, possessing all the powers of 
 personality in a degree transcending conception, and shewing 
 all the activities of moral being in perfection i." "It would be 
 easy to find in the prophet proof-texts for everything which 
 theology asserts regarding God, with the exception perhaps of 
 the assertion that He is a spirit, by which is meant that He 
 is a particular kind of substance. Neither the prophet nor the 
 Old Testament knows anything of a Divine essence. It does 
 not say that God is spirit, but that He has a spirit; and by 
 spirit is not meant a substance, but an efficiency. The spirit of 
 God is God operating in any way according to the ineffable 
 powers which He possesses as a moral person 2." 
 
 It may be remarked in contrast to what was said of Isaiah 
 in Vol. I. p. 1, that the divine tenderness receives full and 
 emphatic expression, as was to be expected from the character 
 of this prophecy. "In an outburst of wrath I hid my face from 
 thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have 
 mercy upon tliee" (liv. 8). Jehovah is compared to a shepherd, 
 gathering the lambs in His arms and carrying them in His 
 bosom, and gently leading those that give suck (xl. 11); and the 
 pathos of this image is even exceeded by one of the latest in 
 the book: "as a man whom his mother comforteth, so will I 
 comfort you" (Ixvi. 13). These expressions shew that with 
 all the prophet's insistence on the transcendent perfection of 
 Jehovah, there is no diminution of the vivid sense of His per- 
 sonal being. These chapters contain anthropomorphisms as 
 bold and striking as any to be found in the Old Testament. 
 Jehovah is described as a man of war eager for the fray, as 
 crying like a travailing woman, as gasping and panting with 
 suppressed fury (xlii. 13 f.). He arms Himself for conflict with 
 His enemies, putting on righteousness as a breastplate, clothing 
 
 ^ A. B. Davidson, Expositoi-, 2nd Series, Vol. viii. p. 255. 
 2 Ibid. p. 253. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Himself with zeal as a cloke, &c. (lix. i6— 18). In Ixiii. i— 6 
 He is represented coming up from a great slaughter of His foes, 
 striding in the greatness of His might, and speaking of the day 
 of vengeance that was in His heart. Such delineations are no 
 doubt imaginative, but the images express a truth, and belong 
 as much to the prophet's conception of God as the more abstract 
 and lofty ideas which stand side by side with them in the book. 
 
 Israel, the Servant of Jehovah. Remarkable as is the 
 prophet's contribution to the Biblical doctrine of God, it is 
 surpassed in importance and originality by his teaching with 
 regard to the mission of Israel. The very grandeur and uni- 
 versality of his conception of Jehovah appears to necessitate 
 a profounder interpretation of Israel's place in history than any 
 previous prophet had explicitly taught. It might readily appear 
 that a Being so exalted and glorious as Jehovah is here repre- 
 sented to be could not enter into special relations with any 
 particular people of the earth, and that Israel could be no more 
 to Him than the children of the Ethiopians (Am. ix. 7). This 
 inference, which for a special purpose the prophet Amos seemed 
 almost ready to draw, would obviously be fatal to the religion 
 of revelation. It is little to say that this prophet does not 
 accept the conclusion suggested; he repudiates it in the most 
 direct and emphatic manner, declaring that since Israel was 
 precious in His sight, Jehovah gives Egypt as its ransom, 
 Ethiopia and Seba in its stead (xliii. 3). And whether he was 
 conscious of the problem latent in his conceptions or not, it is 
 certain he has provided a solution of it, which lies in the thought 
 that Israel is elect for the sake of mankind. Jehovah, as we 
 have already seen, cherishes a purpose of grace towards the 
 whole human race (xlv. 18 ff.), and the meaning of His choice of 
 Israel is that He uses it as His instrument in the execution of 
 that world-wide purpose of salvation. 
 
 This view of Israel's position amongst the nations is ex- 
 pressed in the title "Servant of Jehovah," which is applied to 
 the people in passages too numerous to quote (xli. 8, xlii. igfif., 
 xliii. 10, 12, xhv. if, 21, xlv. 4, xlviii. 20). In most of these 
 places there is no room for doubt as to the subject which 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the writer has in his mind. It is the historic nation of Israel, 
 represented in the present chiefly by the community of the 
 Exiles, but conceived throughout as a moral individual whose 
 life and consciousness are those of the nation. The personifi- 
 cation is at times extremely bold ; as when Israel is said to have 
 been formed "from the womb" (xliv. i f.), or when Jehovah speaks 
 of it as having been "borne from the womb," and promises to 
 carry it "even unto old age and hoar hairs" (xlvi. 3, 4) ; at other 
 times the collective nature of the conception is suffered to appear 
 (xliii. 12, &c,). Still no one who reads the passages can suppose 
 for a moment that anything else than the actual people of 
 Israel is intended. Nor is the writer of these chapters the first 
 who employs the name "servant" in this sense. It is used by 
 Ezekiel in ch. xxviii. 25, xxxvii. 25, where Jehovah speaks of "the 
 land that I have given to Jacob my servant S" and it is found also 
 in Jer. xxx. 10, in a sentence which might have been written 
 by our prophet: "Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith 
 Jehovah, neither be dismayed, O Israel," &c. (So also Jer. 
 xlvi. 27.) In itself the designation might mean much or little. 
 As expressing the relation between the people and its national 
 deity, it might mean simply "worshipper" (see Josh. xxiv. 29; 
 Neh. i. 10; Job i. 8; Dan. vi. 20 and often) ; and this is certainly 
 included; Israel is the Servant of Jehovah as His worshipper, 
 His client, through whom His name is perpetuated among men. 
 But as certainly the prophet's idea goes far beyond this. Com- 
 paring the different connexions in which the name occurs, we 
 find the thoughts associated with it to be these two : firsts that 
 Israel has been adopted by Jehovah of His free grace and 
 brought into a peculiar relation to Himself. The words used 
 are many: "called," "chosen," "created," "formed," "made"; 
 but all these refer to one fact, the formation of the people at the 
 time of the Exodus from Egypt or (it may be) the call of 
 Abraham from Chaldsea. The second thought is that of a 
 mission entrusted to the nation of Israel by Jehovah. This is 
 naturally suggested by the word "servant"; and it is made still 
 
 ^ It is possible, however, in these passages, to understand the ex- 
 pression of Jacob as the ancestor of the nation, 
 
 ISAIAH II. C 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 clearer by ch. xlii. 19: "Who is blind but my servant? or deaf 
 as my messenger that I send?" and other passages. In so far as 
 the historic Israel is concerned, this mission is fulfilled more by 
 experiences in which it is passive than by its voluntary activity. 
 It has proved itself "blind" and "deaf"; i.e. spiritually unfit for 
 its high vocation (xHi. 19, 20, xliii. 8). Yet as the prophetic 
 nation it has already served an important purpose ; it is Jehovah's 
 witness to the truth of His prophecy, and through this to the 
 reality of His divinity (xliii. 10, 12, xliv. 8). And this function 
 shall be still more fully realised when the great deHverance 
 through Cyrus has taken place, and the nations of the world 
 shall behold this crowning demonstration of Jehovah's Godhead, 
 and turn to Israel with the confession, "Surely God is in thee ; 
 and there is none else, there is no God" (xlv. 14 ff.). In that day 
 Israel shall not be wholly a passive instrument of Jehovah's 
 great purpose; for "I will pour my spirit upon thy seed and 
 my blessing upon thine offspring.... One (i.e. from among the 
 heathen) shall say, I am Jehovah's, and another shall call him- 
 self by the name of Jacob ; and another shall inscribe on his 
 hand 'To Jehovah,' and be titled by the name of Israel" 
 (xliv. 3—5). 
 
 But there is another class of passages where this application 
 of the title "Servant of Jehovah" to the actual Israel does not 
 suffice (xHi. I — 4, xlix. i — 6, 1. 4 — 9, lii. 13 — liii. 12). We must 
 not overlook the close resemblance between these passages and 
 those spoken of in the last paragraph. The ideas included in 
 the term "servant" are precisely the same in the two cases. 
 New features are added to the description which are inapplicable 
 to the nation as a whole, but still the conception of the office of 
 the ideal Servant does not go beyond the two elements of an 
 election by Jehovah, and a commission to be discharged in His 
 service. What makes it impossible in the last group of passages 
 I to suppose that the Servant means Israel simply, is not so much 
 the intense personification of the ideal (although that is very 
 remarkable, and weighs with many minds) ; it is rather the 
 character attributed to the Servant and the fact that he is 
 n distinguished from Israel by having a work to do on behalf of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the nation. He is to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the 
 preserved of Israel (xlix. 8), to open Wind eyes, to bring out the 
 prisoners from the dungeon (xHi. 7) ; to " raise up the land, to 
 make them inherit the desolate heritages ; to say to them that 
 are bound, Go forth ; to them that are in darkness, Shew your- 
 selves " (xlix. 8, 9). That is, he is to be the agent in Jehovah's 
 hand of effecting the release of Israel from captivity and of 
 restoring it to its own land. Nay more, he endures persecution 
 and opposition from his own countrymen (1. 6 — 9), and dies the 
 death of a martyr at their hands (liii. i — 9). His sufferings and 
 death constitute an atonement for the sins of his people, so that 
 with his stripes they are healed (liii. 4 — 6, 8). He is one also 
 who is in conscious and perfect sympathy with Jehovah's pur- 
 pose in raising him up ; he is neither blind nor deaf, but alert 
 and sensitive and responsive to the divine voice (1. 4, 5). So 
 conscious is he of his mission and so eager to succeed in it, that 
 he speaks of himself as depressed and discouraged by its 
 apparent failure so long as it was limited to the conversion and 
 instruction of his own people (xlix. 4), and correspondingly 
 cheered when it is revealed to him that his work has a larger 
 scope, even the gathering of the whole race into the fold of the 
 true religion (xlix, 5, 6). To this wider outlook there is attached 
 the assurance of a signal success (xlii. i, 4), which shall excite 
 the astonishment of the nations and potentates of the world 
 (xlix. 7, Hi. 13 — 15, liii. 10 — 12). 
 
 The question, who is meant by the Servant of Jehovah in 
 these delineations is perhaps the most difficult problem in the 
 exposition of these chapters. Of the many views that have been 
 propounded (see Appendix, Note I.) there are but two which 
 call for consideration here. 
 
 I. A large number of expositors hold that the term " Servant 
 of Jehovah" always, in some sense, denotes Israel. They re- 
 gard it as inconceivable that the prophet should apply the same 
 title to two distinct subjects without so much as a hint that 
 there is a double application in his mind. It is all the more 
 difficult to suppose that this should be the case, because the 
 predicates associated with the title are essentially identical in all 
 
 c 2 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 its uses. The Servant is throughout one called and upheld by- 
 Jehovah, and destined to be the organ through whom He carries 
 out His purpose of establishing His universal kingdom. It is 
 true that the subject of the personification cannot in every case 
 be the actual Israel, or the nation en masse ^ for it has been 
 shewn that the characteristics of the Servant are in some 
 instances the opposite of those displayed by the bulk of the 
 people. But if the Servant cannot in such passages be the 
 literal historic nation, he may still be Israel according to its true 
 vocation and destiny, the ideal Israel which has existed in the 
 mind of God from the beginning, and which would yet emerge 
 on the stage of history in the nation purified and redeemed from 
 the sorrows of the Exile. It may be urged against this theory 
 that the Servant is represented as one who has an experience 
 and a history behind him (xlix. 4 ff., 1. 6, liii. i — 9) ; and to 
 many it may appear a contradiction that an ideal should have a 
 history of the kind depicted. A still more serious difficulty is 
 thought to lie in the fact that the Servant labours and suffers for 
 the good of Israel, and in particular is the agent of its deliver- 
 ance from captivity. These objections are forcible, but they are 
 partly met by the consideration that the ideal has been approxi- 
 mately reahsed in a section of the people who had worked for 
 the conversion of their nation, and on whose minds there had 
 dawned the more glorious hope of being a light to the Gentiles. 
 The conception is not free from difficulty, but there is nothing 
 unnatural in the supposition that the experiences of this godly 
 kernel of Israel should be ascribed to the ideal which is partly 
 manifest in them or that this ideal when personified should be 
 called by the name of Israel. And the fact that he is the agent 
 of the people's redemption may be explained in a similar way : 
 the ideal stands for the destiny of the nation, and since it is for 
 the sake of the ideal embodied in the Servant that Jehovah in 
 His providence brings to pass the redemption of Israel, the 
 whole process of deliverance might, in the personification, be 
 ascribed to the Servant. 
 
 2. Other writers, however, are not satisfied with this explana- 
 tion, and think that the Servant of Jehovah must in some cases 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 be an individual yet to arise, who shall embody in himself all 
 the characteristics that belong to the divine idea of Israel. It is 
 a question of inferior importance whether the figure be a modifi- 
 cation of the conception of the Messianic king, or an independent 
 creation, which was only shewn by the fulfilment to be identical 
 with the Messiah of other prophets. Now such a conception is 
 in itself perfectly intelligible and natural. We might suppose, 
 for example, that the author took up the expression, " Servant of 
 Jehovah," and under the guidance of the Spirit of God threw 
 out a portrait of what the ideal Servant of the Lord must be, and 
 that there was imparted to him the conviction that an individual 
 answering to this portrait would appear in the immediate future. 
 But in the connexion in which the idea occurs in this prophecy, 
 the explanation is encumbered by certain difficulties. Besides the 
 exegetical difficulty arising from the application of the same title to 
 subjects entirely different, there is this further objection that the 
 course of events as conceived by the prophet does not appear to 
 afford space for the evolution which it is necessary to suppose. 
 The Servant on the hypothesis has yet to appear (for it is 
 impossible to think that the writer speaks of a contemporary 
 known to him), has to be misjudged, rejected, maltreated and 
 put to death by his countrymen ; then the thoughts of his genera- 
 tion concerning him have to undergo a revolution (ch. liii. 9) ; 
 and only after all this has taken place can the people look for 
 his resurrection and the deliverance from exile which he is to 
 effect. The process described obviously demands time, and we 
 cannot help asking whether it is credible that this should be the 
 meaning of the prophet who penned the hasty summons to 
 escape from Babylon (xlviii. 20, lii. 11, 12) and gives many 
 another indication that he regards the deliverance as imminent. _ 
 If, on the other hand, the Servant be a personification of the 
 ideal of Israel, the greater part of the process lies already behind 
 the prophet. The popular misapprehension of the Servant's 
 mission, his persecution, his martyrdom, have been accomplished 
 in the persons of those Israelites in whom the ideal of Israel 
 was partly exhibited ; the revulsion of feeling, so profoundly 
 conceived and described in ch. liii., is perhaps a process which 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the prophet sees taking place around him ; and all that remains 
 for the future is the Servant's rising from the dead, which is, on 
 this theory, but a figure for the national restoration. 
 
 Each hypothesis, therefore, has its own peculiar attractions 
 and difficulties ; and it is natural that commentators should 
 differ as to which furnishes on the whole the most satisfactory 
 solution. Perhaps the point that requires most to be insisted on 
 as a matter of fair historical interpretation is that in the prophet's 
 mind the crisis of the Servant's career is somehow bound up 
 with the fortunes of Israel in the age of the Exile. "Not to 
 raise the question of the Servant here, whether he be Israel or 
 another, the way in which the prophet himself takes up his own 
 words towards the end of his prophecy, and, speaking of Israel 
 restored, says, 'The Gentiles shall come to thy light' (Ix. 3), 
 shews that at any rate the Servant shall come into communion 
 with the Gentiles through Israel redeemed, and in this way 
 become their Might.' Any missionary enterprises of individuals, 
 however exalted, could not occur to the prophet. Like all 
 prophets of the Old Testament he operates with nations and 
 peoples. And if the nations are to receive Might' through Israel, 
 it will be through Israel, again an imposing people before 
 the world's eyes, just as the Law goes forth from Zion and the 
 word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isa. ii.)^" 
 
 The value of the conception as a prophetic delineation of the 
 character and work of our Lord is in no way affected by the 
 view we may be led to adopt regarding its inception in the mind 
 of the prophet. All Christian interpreters agree that the ideal 
 has been fulfilled but once in history, in the person of Jesus 
 Christ, in whom all the features of the divine ideal impressed on 
 Israel have received adequate and final expression. Perhaps 
 we may go further and say that to us it is clear that the ideal 
 could only be realised in a personal life at once human and 
 divine ; only, we have no right to say that this must have been 
 equally evident to the prophet in his day. The significance of 
 his teaching does not lie in any direct statement that in some 
 future age an individual should arise bearing this image, — a 
 ^ A. B. Davidson, Expositor, 2nd Scries, vii. p. 91- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 statement which he never makes — ; it consists in the marvellous 
 degree in which he has been enabled to foreshadow the essential 
 truths concerning the life and mission of the Redeemer. This 
 is a fact which nothing can obscure, and which is attested for 
 us, if it needed attestation, by the application of these passages 
 to Christ in the New Testament. But just as it is certain that 
 the prophecy was not fulfilled in the precise way that the writer 
 expected (viz., as an element of Israel's restoration from 
 Babylon), so it is a legitimate question for historical exegesis 
 what kind of basis the ideal had in his thoughts, — " a real or an 
 ideal man, a man of flesh and blood, who, as he foresaw, would 
 appear in the world, or an ideal man, in one sense the creation 
 of his own mind, though in another sense existing from the 
 moment of Israel's call and creation, all down its history, and to 
 exist for ever^." 
 
 Israel and the Gentiles. — The state of things which 
 follows the redemption of Israel is an age of universal salvation 
 in which all nations share in the blessings that flow from a 
 knowledge of the true God. That Israel is to enjoy a religious 
 primacy among the peoples of the world might be assumed from 
 the general position of the Old Testament on this subject, and is 
 expressly asserted in ch. Ixi. 5, 6, where the Jews are spoken of 
 as the future priesthood of humanity. The manner in which the 
 world is to be converted to the religion of Israel and of Jehovah 
 is variously represented. In the first place, it is the direct result 
 of the victories of Cyrus, the " Anointed " of Jehovah. For this 
 purpose Jehovah has raised him up, " that men may know from 
 the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none beside 
 Me " (xlv. 6). The effect on the heathen nations is described in 
 vv. 14 — 17 of the same chapter ; and it is noteworthy that it is 
 not merely a negative effect, leading them to repudiate their 
 false gods, but involves some positive revelation of the character 
 of the God of Israel. "Only in thee (Israel) is God, and there 
 is none else ; there is no God. Verily thou art a God that 
 hidest thyself, O Saviour-God of Israel" {vv. 14, 15). Of the 
 same nature are passages where the forthputting of Jehovah's 
 ^ A. B. Davidson, Expositor^ viii. p. 450. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 might is spoken of as the means of convincing men of His God- 
 head : "mine arms shall judge the peoples ; the isles shall wait 
 for me, and on mine arm shall they trust" (li. 5 ; cf lii. lo, Ixvi. 
 19, &c.). In the second place, the conversion of the heathen is 
 the work of Jehovah's ideal Servant, and is accomplished partly 
 by his doctrine (" the isles wait for his teaching," xlii. 4) and the 
 prophetic word which is placed in his mouth (xlix. 2), partly by 
 the spectacle of his startling elevation from extreme abasement 
 to the highest influence and glory (lii. 13 — 15). He is thus set 
 for a " light to the Gentiles," to be God's salvation to the ends 
 of the earth (xlix. 6) ; he " shall not fail nor be discouraged, till 
 he have set judgement (i.e. true religion) in the earth " (xlii. 4). 
 The attitude towards the Gentiles expressed in these " servant- 
 passages" is singularly sympathetic and even appreciative. 
 They are likened to " crushed reeds " and " smoking wicks " 
 (xlii. 3) ; that is, they are conceived as possessing some natural 
 virtue, which is ready to expire for lack of a true faith, but which 
 the Servant's tender and helpful ministry will strengthen and fan 
 into a glowing flame. Once more, in the later chapters of the 
 prophecy, the salvation of the heathen is ascribed to the impres- 
 sion made by the unimagined splendour of the new Jerusalem, 
 which is the one centre of light in a benighted world. " For, 
 behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the 
 peoples ; but upon thee shall Jehovah arise and his glory shall 
 be seen upon thee. And nations shall come to thy light, and 
 kings to the brightness of thy rising" (Ix. 2, 3). The conception 
 of the future kingdom of God becomes perhaps on the whole 
 less ideal and more material towards the end of the book than 
 in the early chapters. The blessedness of Israel contains moral 
 and spiritual elements (Ix. 21, Ixi. 3, 11, Ixii. 2, Ixv. 24, Ixvi. 10 — 
 13, &c.) ; but great stress is laid on its external magnificence and 
 prosperity ; on the architectural beauties of Jerusalem (liv. 11 f., 
 Ix. 13, 17), on its wealth (Ix. 5 — 7, 9, 13, 16, Ixi. 6, Ixvi. 12) and 
 security in the enjoyment of temporal blessings (Ivii. 13, Ixii. 8 f., 
 Ixv. 9f, 21 ff.), and its abundant population (xlix. 17 ff., liv. i ff., 
 Ixvi. 7 fif.). So the relation of the Gentiles to the true God is 
 represented as one of subservience to Israel, the people of God : 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 they shall " bow down to thee with their faces to the earth, and 
 lick the dust of thy feet" (xlix. 23 ; cf. Ix. 14), placing their 
 wealth at the disposal of Israel (Ix. 6 f , 11, 16, Ixi. 6, Ixvi. 12) 
 and performing menial offices in its service (Ix. 10, Ixi. 5). But 
 the subjection is on the whole represented as a voluntary one on 
 the part of the nations, as is shewn by their goodwill in escorting 
 the exiles back (xlix. 22, Ix. 4, 9, Ixvi. 20), and the honourable 
 function assumed by them as guardians of the new community 
 (xlix, 23, Ixvi. 12). They are animated by a sincere desire to share 
 in the religious privileges which are dispensed through Israel, 
 and willingly acknowledge the superior position belonging to it, 
 as the seed which the Lord hath blessed (Ixi. 6, 9). The thought 
 expressed by these images is still the universal diffusion of the 
 true religion ; the Temple becomes a " house of prayer for all 
 peoples" (Ivi. 7), and "all flesh" comes to worship before 
 Jehovah at Jerusalem (Ixvi. 23). 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Date and Authorship of the Prophecy. 
 
 An attempt must now be made to present a summary of the 
 evidence for and against the Isaianic authorship of chs. xl. — Ixvi.^ 
 In doing so it is right to begin with the arguments that have led 
 a majority of critics to regard the prophecy as a work composed 
 towards the close of the Exile ^. Tradition has its prescriptive 
 
 ^ The present chapter is largely indebted to Driver's admirable (and 
 of course much fuller) statement of the evidence in his Isaiah"^, pp. 185 
 
 — -212. 
 
 -' Doderlein, in 1775, was the first modern scholar who took up this 
 position. Before then the traditional view does not seem to have been 
 questioned except by the Jewish commentator Aben Ezra (tii67 a.d.), 
 who, in very obscure language, appears to hint that the title of the book 
 does not guarantee the authorship of every part of it, any more than in 
 the case of the books of Samuel, of which Samuel himself could only 
 have written the first 24 chapters (his death being recorded in i Sam. 
 XXV. i). Doderlein has been followed, among others, by Gesenius, 
 Ewald, Plitzig, Knobel, Umbreit, de Wette. Bleek, Bunsen, Cheyne, 
 Kuenen, Reuss, Duhm, Oehler, A. B. Davidson, Orelli, Konig, Driver, 
 
xl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 rights, and its assertions are not to be questioned except on 
 adequate grounds. But where, as in the present case, it is 
 challenged by a large body of critical opinion, it is necessary to 
 form some estimate of the value of this opinion before proceed- 
 ing to test the traditional view which opposes it. Following the 
 example of Driver we may arrange the internal evidence under 
 three heads : (i) that derived from the historical presuppositions 
 of the prophecy; (2) that furnished by the prophet's concep- 
 tions ; and (3) that of his style and language. 
 
 I. The most important element in the critical argument is 
 the inference to be naturally drawn from the historical situatio)i 
 presupposed by the prophecy, as described in Chapter li. It is 
 impossible here to add anything to what was there said ; and it 
 is the less necessary to do this, since the case is freely admitted 
 by the ablest opponents of the critical position to be as stated ^ 
 It may therefore be taken as proved that the prophet's apparent 
 position is in the Captivity, and it only remains to be considered 
 
 G. A. Smith, Kirkpatrick, Delitzsch (in the 4th Ed. of his Comm. 1890), 
 &c. Amongst the defenders of the Isaianic authorship the best-known 
 names are those of Hengstenberg, Havernick, Drechsler, Delitzsch 
 (down to about 1880), Stier, Rutgers, Kay, Nagelsbach, Douglas, &c. 
 
 1 Delitzsch, writing in 1857 as a defender of the Isaianic authorship, 
 says: "The author of Isa. xl. — Ixvi. finds himself amongst the exiles, 
 and preaches to them with a pastor's most particular concern for their 
 varied moral circumstances. ...If the author had another situation actually 
 present before him, he is as it were completely detached from it. In 
 vain one looks in the course of these 27 chapters for an indication that 
 the prophet distinguishes his ideal from his actual present, that he turns 
 back from Babylon, where he is in spirit, to the yet undestroyed Jerusa- 
 lem, where he receives his message, that his consolation and admonitijn 
 ever turn aside from the people of the Exile to the people of the Holy 
 Land, from the future generation to his own contemporaries. This 
 nowhere happens ; he lives and moves entirely in the Exile, there and 
 nowhere else is the home of his thoughts" (Drechsler's Isaiah, iii. p. 
 389). Hengstenberg's admissions are less sweeping, but perhaps on 
 that account all the more significant. "The prophet, in the whole of 
 the second part, assumes his standpoint as a rule...\x\ the time when 
 Jerusalem was conquered by the Chaldaeans, &c. ...In this period he 
 thinks, feels and acts; it has become to him the present, from which he 
 looks out into the future, yet in such a manner that he does not every- 
 where maintain this ideal standpoint^'' {Chi'istologie, II. 195). Similar 
 testimonies could be quoted from other writers. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xli 
 
 whether it is credible that his actual position should be different 
 from this. 
 
 No question is here raised of the possibility of such a pro- 
 jection of the prophetic standpoint into the remote future as is 
 implied in the assumption that Isaiah wrote these chapters. 
 The only question is whether the phenomenon be probable, 
 judged by the analogy of prophecy itself. Now it is perfectly 
 true that the prophets do sometimes take up an ideal standpoint 
 from which events really future are spoken of as if they were 
 past. But no passage can be found which presents any real 
 parallel to the case before us if Isaiah be the writer of this pro- 
 phecy. In all other instances the adoption of a future stand- 
 point is but a sudden and transient flight of the prophet's 
 imagination, from which he speedily reverts to his actual pre- 
 sent; no example can be produced of a prophet immersing 
 himself, as it were, in the future, and gathering round him all the 
 elements of a definite and complex historical situation, and fore- 
 casting from it a future still more distant. Moreover, none of 
 the alleged parallels violate the invariable rule that the prophets 
 address themselves in the first instance, and chiefly, to the men of 
 their own time. Their descriptions of the future are meant for 
 the instruction and guidance of their own contemporaries, 
 whether the tenses used be past or future. But if Isaiah wrote 
 these chapters he absolutely ignores his contemporaries, al- 
 luding to circumstances of which they were not cognisant, and 
 using arguments (p. xx above) which had no force for them. 
 There is therefore nothing in the nature of prophecy to lessen 
 the inherent improbability that the prophet's actual standpoint 
 is at variance with what is acknowledged to be his ideal stand- 
 point. Nothing seems left for the consistent upholders of the 
 traditional theory but to admit that the phenomenon is unique, 
 and to urge (as Stier does) that there are other unique facts in 
 history which no one dreams of questioning. That again is 
 perfectly true, and if the fact were established no one would 
 have a right to disbelieve it merely because nothing like it could 
 be found elsewhere. But so long as the probabilit)- of the fact 
 in itself is under discussion, to admit that it is unique is virtually 
 to concede the whole matter in dispute. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 By some, however, it is denied that the exilic standpoint is 
 consistently maintained^, and expressions are cited (principally 
 from chs. Ivi. — lix.) which are thought to shew that the writer 
 lived before the Exile. These passages have an important bear- 
 ing on the unity of the prophecy, a point on which something 
 will have to be said in Chapter v.^ In the present argument 
 the unity of the book must be assumed, for obviously if that be 
 abandoned the passages in question will speak only for them- 
 selves, and will not affect the authorship of the much more 
 important parts of the prophecy where no such references occur. 
 Let us suppose, then, that the allusions are really to the age of 
 Manasseh, and that Isaiah was then alive and might have 
 witnessed the state of things there described ; what we have to 
 consider is, For whose benefit are these descriptions penned? 
 If it were seriously maintained that they are directly addressed 
 to the contemporaries of Isaiah's old age, there would be some 
 plausibility in the contention that he is the writer of them. But 
 this is not said by any believer in the unity of the prophecy. 
 It is admitted that, like the rest of the book, they are spoken to 
 the generation of the Exile. And if this be so, it is at least as 
 likely that they were written by a prophet living in the Exile 
 (who may have availed himself of older written material) as 
 that they were prepared for this purpose beforehand by Isaiah 
 himself In either case the implication must be that the exiles 
 shared the guilt of their forefathers' idolatries, as not having 
 disowned them by a genuine repentance; and that idea is 
 perhaps more natural, certainly not less natural, in the mind 
 of an exilic prophet, than in the mind of one living five genera- 
 tions before. 
 
 Another argument is based on the repeated allusions in the 
 prophecy to predictions already fulfilled. Strangely enough it 
 has been supposed that these predictions must be those of the 
 prophecy itself, and from this assumption the inference is 
 deduced that it must have been written long before the fulfil- 
 ment in the age of the Exile. This is almost as much as to say 
 
 ^ See the quotation from Hengbtenberg on p. xl, aboY( 
 ^ See pp. Iv ft'. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xliii 
 
 that the prophecy must have been written before it was written. 
 It makes the book to be at once a prediction and an appeal 
 to the fulfilment of its own prediction in proof of its divine 
 authority, a thing which is certainly without analogy in the 
 prophetic literature. The writer is responsible for no such 
 confusion. He nowhere says or implies that the fulfilled 
 predictions were uttered by himself, still less that they are 
 contained in this book. He distinguishes in the clearest manner 
 between the predictions that have come to pass and those that 
 still await their verification^ He himself claims to be the 
 medium of new prophecies concerning the deliverance of Israel 
 and the glorious future to follow, but he does not claim to be the 
 author of those to which he triumphantly appeals as evidences 
 of the Divine foreknowledge. What prophecies they were that 
 he had in view we cannot now determine, but they were pre- 
 dictions of the rise and conquests of Cyrus, and these are events 
 which he himself never predicts but always assumes as known. 
 
 The reader must be left to form his own judgement on the 
 considerations thus far submitted. But unless they can be 
 neutralised by evidence from some other quarter it is difficult 
 to resist the conclusion that they constitute a strong presump- 
 tion in favour of the exilic authorship of the prophecy. 
 
 2. We have next to compare the leading ideas of the prophet's 
 theology, as described in Chapter in., with those characteristic 
 of Isaiah (Vol. I. pp. xliii — Ixiii). Arguments from this source 
 may seem to many less cogent than either those derived from 
 historical allusions or those based on a comparison of language. 
 It may be thought that a prophet's ideas, being communicated 
 to him through divine inspiration, are independent of the ordi- 
 nary laws of human thinking. Or, again, it may be said that the 
 ideas in the second part of the book are the development of 
 those in the first, and that it is impossible to distinguish the 
 development which takes place in a single mind from that 
 which is wrought out in the course of several generations. But 
 a thoughtful reader of the Old Testament would be slow to 
 entertain the first of these suggestions, because it is absolutely 
 ^ See p. xxi above. 
 
xliv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 1 
 
 certain that the prophetic inspiration was not an influence which 
 suppressed the human individuality of the writers or suspended 
 the normal operations of their minds. And when every allow- 
 ance is made for the possibility of development within the limits 
 of the individual mind, it still remains in some degree im- 
 probable that a prophet like Isaiah, who through a long life 
 operates with one set of distinctive conceptions, should in the 
 end abandon them, and adopt others of a different character. 
 
 There is a difference, (a) first of all, in the conception of God 
 as presented in the two parts of the book. The writer of chs. xl. ff. 
 loves to expatiate on the infinitude and eternity of Jehovah, on 
 His incomparableness, on the fact that He is the universal 
 Creator, the bestower of Life, the omnipresent ruler of history. 
 Universality, indeed, may be said to be the distinctive feature 
 in the writer's thoughts about God. These truths are no doubt 
 implicitly contained in Isaiah's idea of God, but we search his 
 undisputed prophecies in vain for any direct inculcation of them. 
 If they do not belong of necessity to a later stage of revelation, 
 they are at least more intelligible in an age when Israel's views 
 of the world had been expanded by the breaking up of the 
 political system in which Isaiah's life was spent, and by direct 
 contact with the power and civilisation of the greatest empire of 
 the world, (d) Again, one of Isaiah's most characteristic doctrines 
 is that of the elect remnant of Israel, which is to survive the 
 judgement and inherit the promise of the future. This doctrine 
 is not, indeed, wholly absent from the later chapters (see lix, 20, 
 Ixv. 8, 9), but it occupies a very insignificant and subordinate 
 place and "is not more prominent than it is in the writings of 
 many later prophets ^" (c) On the other hand, the mission and 
 destiny of Israel as a whole are expounded in these chapters in 
 a manner to which there is no parallel in the uncontested 
 writings of Isaiah, {d) To take one more example, perhaps the 
 most striking of all, the central position occupied by the Messi- 
 anic King in the writings of Isaiah is assumed in chs. xl. ff, 
 by the entirely distinct figure of the Servant of Jehovah. It 
 
 ^ Driver (/s77/a//2, p. 206), who instances Am. v. 15, ix. 9; Mic. ii. 12, 
 V. 7f.; Zeph. iii. 13; Jer. iv. 27, xxx. 11, xxxi. 7. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xlv 
 
 is possible (though denied by most expositors) that there is 
 a single allusion to the Messianic King in ch. Iv. 3, 4. But 
 even if this be the case, it only illustrates the wholly secondary 
 position which the idea holds in the writer's thinking. Nor 
 can it be supposed that the figure of the Servant of Jehovah is 
 a form into which that of the Messiah might have developed at 
 a late stage in Isaiah's career; it is a new creation, resting on 
 different analogies, an idealisation not of the King, but of the 
 Prophet. Many other points of difference might be adduced, if 
 space permitted ; but these are perhaps sufficient. They relate 
 to features which are distinctive, on the one side or the other, 
 and there are no conceptions at all distinctive in which the two 
 sections of the book agree. Whatever weight, therefore, may be 
 assigned to these considerations, it is at least undeniable that 
 they point rather to diversity than to identity of authorship. 
 
 3. The evidence of style and la7iguage is very decidedly 
 against the probability that Isaiah is the author of chs. xl. — Ixvi. 
 The general style of these chapters presents in many respects a 
 strong contrast to that of Isaiah. The difference is one to be 
 felt rather than described ; and it may readily be felt, even 
 through the medium of a translation. Speaking broadly, it may 
 be said that Isaiah's style is distinguished by force and com- 
 pression, while that of the later chapters is profuse and flowing, 
 with a marked tendency to amplification and repetition. Isaiah, 
 with the exception of a few favourite and graphic phrases, rarely 
 repeats himself, and never dilates, but the writer of chs. xl. — Ixvi. 
 constantly reverts to a few fixed themes, in language which 
 might be monotonous if it were not always impressive. In illus- 
 tration of this full and expansive manner of expression, two 
 stylistic peculiarities may be mentioned, to neither of which is 
 there any strict parallel in Isaiah: (i) the dupH cation of the 
 opening word of a sentence or of some other emphatic word (xl. i, 
 xhii. II, 25, xlviii. 11, 15, li. 9, 12, 17, Hi. i, II, Ivii. 6, 14, Ixii. 10, 
 Ixv. i) ; and (2) the habit of attaching a series of descriptive 
 participial (or relative) clauses to the name of God, or Israel, or 
 Cyrus (see xl. 22 f., 28 f., xli. 8 f., 17, xHi. 5, xiiii. 16 f., xlv. 7, 18, 
 xlvi. 10 f, &c., and especially the splendid passage xliv, 24—28). 
 
xlvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A corresponding difference of imaginative quality may also be 
 detected : each writer is gifted in an unusual degree with the 
 sense of the sublime ; but the subHmity of Isaiah's images is 
 that of concentrated (often destructive) energy, while the later 
 writer's imagination revels chiefly in the thought of physical 
 magnitude (the spacious heavens, the innumerable starry host, 
 the mountains, the coast-lands, &c.). There is besides a 
 strain of pathos in the imagery of the later part of the book 
 which is absent from that of Isaiah (see Driver, /saia/i% pp. 
 182 ff.). 
 
 But the linguistic argument is capable of being brought to 
 a definite test by a comparison of the words and phrases charac- 
 teristic of the two portions of the book. There is of course 
 a large number of expressions common to both, and imposing 
 lists of such expressions have been drawn up for the purpose of 
 shewing that the style is the same. But on examination these 
 lists shrink to very insignificant dimensions, and really prove 
 little more than that both sections are written in good Hebrew^ 
 The only coincidences which arrest attention are the three 
 following: (i) Isaiah's designation of Jehovah as "the Holy 
 One of Israel," which occurs fourteen times in chs. xl. — lxvi.,and 
 only five times outside the book of Isaiah. This is undoubtedly 
 an important link of connexion. But it has to be observed that 
 a phrase like this, expressing an important theological idea, is 
 just one of those likely to be borrowed by one writer from 
 another, and therefore, unless supported by other resemblances, 
 it hardly counts in the argument for unity of authorship. (2) The 
 
 ^ For example, a list of 34 such words is given by Cheyne (not of 
 course with the object of proving identical authorship) in his Iniroduction, 
 pp. 251 ff. If the reader will take the trouble to go through this list, 
 and strike out (i) words which are found in chs. i. — xxxix. only in 
 passages probably not written by Isaiah, and (2) those found only once 
 in either part of the book, and therefore not as a rule distinctive of its 
 style, he will find that not more than six remain. These are '"'• seek 
 Jehovah^'' Jacob, ''house of Jacob " ''high and lifted up," torah ( = 
 instruction), and a rare form of the preposition from. All these except 
 the fourth are frequent in other writings. A list of 7 divine titles 
 {jbid. p. 254) is equally indecisive, except as regards ^^ the Holy One of 
 Israel,''' which is discussed above. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xlvil 
 
 divine title "Mighty One {'dbir) of Israel (or Jacob)'' occurs in 
 ch. i. 24, xlix. 26, and Ix. 16 (also in Gen. xlix. 24 ; Ps. cxxxii. 2, 5). 
 The coincidence is not important, since the phrase is obviously- 
 borrowed by the various writers from the blessing of Jacob 
 (Gen. xlix. 24). Moreover ch. Ix. 16 is clearly a quotation from 
 xlix. 26. (3) The formula " saith Jehovah," with the imperfect 
 tense instead of the usual perfect. This is found in ch. i. 
 II, 18, xxxiii. 10, xl. I, 25, xH. 21, Ixvi. 9; also in Ps. xii. 5. 
 It must be admitted that this is a styHstic peculiarity 0/ the 
 kind which would establish literary identity, but being an 
 almost solitary instance, it has little weight, and is more than 
 counterbalanced by the contrary evidence now to be adduced. 
 
 Over against this somewhat slender array of coincidences we 
 have to set a large number of characteristic expressions in which 
 the two writings differ. Konig^ justly remarks that in this 
 discussion special importance attaches to those slighter and less 
 significant elements of discourse where one word might in- 
 differently be substituted for another, so that a marked preference 
 for any particular idiom can only be due to the literary habit of 
 the author or his age. He instances the following cases of this 
 kind as characteristic of the second part of Isaiah (the list is here 
 slightly abridged and corrected in some points): — 
 
 (i) ^aph ( = also, with various shades of meaning): twenty-two times 
 in chs. xl. — xlviii. ; never in undisputed portions of Isaiah (Pxxxiii. 2). 
 
 (7) bal (negative particle) : eight times ; never in Isaiah (unless 
 ch. xxxiii. 20 — 24 be written by him). 
 
 (3) hen ( = behold) : about twenty-one times ; twice in Isaiah (xxiii. 
 13, xxxii. i; Pxxxiii. 7). 
 
 (4) zii (relative pronoun) : xlii. 24, xliii. 21 ; never in Isaiah. 
 
 (5) lema'an ( = in order that): sixteen times; once in Isaiah 
 (v. 19). 
 
 (6) Pie'od { = very): xlvii. 9, Ivi. 12, Ixiv. 9, 12; in Isaiah xxxi. i. 
 
 (7) pe'-tdldh {— work, reward) : xl. 10, xlix. 4, Ixi. 8, Ixii. 11, Ixv. 7 ; 
 nowhere in Isaiah. 
 
 (8) f^(f.f^ ( = righteousness) : about seventeen times; in Isaiah only 
 i. 21, 26, xi. 4f., xxxii. i. 
 
 ^ Offenbarungsbegriff des A. 7". Vol. I. pp. 211 f ; Einleitung, p. 322. 
 ISAIAH II. d 
 
xlviii IxNTRODUCTION. 
 
 (9) s^s, sason, masos ( = rejoice, joy): some fourtetn times; three 
 times in Isaiah. 
 
 (10) ^J/^/2 ( = chaos, nothingness): about eight times; in Isaiah once 
 (xxix. 21). 
 
 (11) l^'oldm ( = for ever): xl. 8, xlvii. 7, li. 6, 8, Ix. 21; and tdniid 
 ( = continually) : xlix. 16, li. 13, Hi. 5, Iviii. 11, Ix. 11, Ixii. 6, l\v. 3. 
 Isaiah uses idne^ah (xxviii. 28), and ie^ad (xxx. 8). 
 
 (12) '6th is written for 'eih ( = \vith) in liv. 15, lix. 21 ; — a mark of 
 late style. 
 
 (13) Idfno (an unusual suffix): xliii. 8, xliv. 7, 15 (?liii. 8). 
 To these should be added : 
 
 (14) yahad, yahddv { = \.ogt\htx): a peculiar pleonastic idiom illus- 
 trated by xli. 19, 20, and occurring some fifteen times in chs. xl. — Ixvi. 
 
 The following is a list of more expressive words and phrases, 
 more or less characteristic of the later chapters, and occurring 
 either not at all or only once in the undisputed portions of 
 Isaiah^: — 
 
 (15) all flesh: xl. 5, 6, xlix. 26, Ixvi. 16, 23, 24. 
 
 (16) 'dnim ( = strength): xl. 26, 29. 
 
 (17) ''ephcs ( = nothing): xl. 17, xli. 12, 29, xlv. 6, 14, xlvi. 9, xlvii. 
 8, 10, lii. 4, liv. 15. In Isaiah only v. 8. 
 
 (18) Hyytm (= coast-lands) : xl. 15, xli. i, 5, xlii. 4, 10, 12, 15, xlix. 
 I, li. 5, lix. 18, Ix. 9, Ixvi. 19. In Isaiah only the sing. '/>, in its proper 
 restricted signification, xx. 6, xxiii. 2, 6. 
 
 (19) ends (or end) of the earth: xl. 28, xli. 5, 9, xlii. 10, xliii. 6, 
 xlv. 22, xlviii. 20, xlix. 6, lii. 10, Ixii. 11. 
 
 (20) gd\-il ( = redeem) : verb and participle are used over 20 times. 
 
 (21) bard' ( = create): about sixteen times; in Isaiah only iv. 5, 
 —a doubtful passage. 
 
 (22) choosey chosen (of Israel or the Servant of Jehovah) : twelve 
 times. 
 
 (23) Lift up [your) eyes &c. : xl. 26, xlix. 18, li. 6, Ix. 4. 
 
 (24) hephe^ ( = pleasure), liv. 12, Ixii. 4 : ( = purpose), xliv. 28, xlvi. 
 10, xlviii. 14, liii. 10: ( = business), Iviii. 3, 13. 
 
 1 This list and the next are for the most part abridged from the three 
 given in Driver's Isaiah^, pp. 194—199, which the reader should by all 
 means consult. The dependence was inevitable; the object being to 
 present but a few of the clearest cases, a more judicious selection than 
 Driver's could not be made. 
 
INTRODUCTION. xlix 
 
 (25) /a'^ ( = deck) and /^zV/^/^'<?r( = deck oneselfj : xliv. 23, xlix. 3, 
 Iv. 5, Ix. 7, 9, 13, 21, Ixi. 3. In Isa. only x. 15. 
 
 (26) <5r^a!^ ^«/f into singing : xliv. 23, xlix. 13, lii. 9, liv. i, Iv. 12. 
 
 (27) hillel and tehilldh ( = praise, vb. and subst.), hithhallel 
 ( = exult): xli. 16, xlii. 8, 10, 12, xliii. 21, xlv. 25, xlviii. 9, Ix. 6, iS, 
 Ixi. 3, IX, Ixii. 7, 9, Ixiii. 7, Ixiv. 11 [10]. 
 
 (28) hdshdh (qal and hiph. = be silent): xlii. 14, Ivii. ir, Ixii. i, 6, 
 Ixiv. 12, Ixv. 6. 
 
 (29) (^e'egdHm ( = offspring) : xlii. 5, xliv. 3, xlviii. 19, Ixi. 9, Ixv. 23. 
 Isa. only xxii. 24. 
 
 {30) fdi/iah (=sprout): xliv. 4, xlv. 8, Iv. 10, Iviii. 8, Ixi. 11. Note 
 the unique metaphorical application to an event coming to pass, in xlii. 
 9, xliii. 19. 
 
 (31) Holy City: xlviii. 2, lii. i (cf. Ixiv. 10). 
 
 (32) rdfon ( = favour): xlix. 8, Ivi. 7, Iviii. 5, Ix. 7, 10, Ixi. 2. 
 {33) from the first [merosh): xl. 21, xli. 4, 26, xlviii. 16. 
 (34) lay to heart: xlii. 25, xlvii. 7, Ivii. r, 11. 
 
 Still more suggestive is a list of Isaiah's characteristic expres- 
 sions, not found at all in chs. xl. — Ixvi. The following examples 
 (from Driver) must suffice : — 
 
 (i) The Lord, Jehovah of Hosts: i. 24, iii. i, x. 16, 33, xix. 4. 
 
 (2) ^elilim ( = nonentities, of idols): ii. 8, 18, 20, x. 11, xix. i, 3, 
 xxxi. 7. 
 
 (3) inirmds (= trampling) : v. 5, vii. 25, x. 6, xxviii. 18. 
 
 (4) glory (of a nation): v. 13, viii. 7, x. 16, 18, xvi. 14, xvii. 3, 4; 
 (uf an individual), xxii. 18. 
 
 {5) smear (of the eyes) : vi. 10, xxix. 9, xxxii. 3. 
 
 (6) siksek ( = incite): ix. 11, xix. 2 (nowhere else). 
 
 (7) she'dr ( = remnant): vii. 3, x. 19, 20, 21, 22, xvi. 14, xvii. 3, 
 xxviii. 5. 
 
 (8) final and decisive zvork: x. 23, xxviii. 22. 
 
 (9) the figure of the scourge: x. 26, xxviii. 15, 18. 
 
 (10) fiying sdraph : xiv. 29, xxx. 6 (nowhere else). 
 
 (11) kabbir ( = numerous, mighty, &c.) : xvi. 14, xvii. 12, xxviii. 2. 
 Only seven times in Job besides, 
 
 (12) mebHsdh ( = treading down): xviii. 2, 7, xxii. 5 (nowhere else). 
 
 (13) cdbd^ ( = to war): xxix. 7, 8, xxxi. 4 (uncommon). 
 
 (14) zerem ( = streaming rain): xxviii. 2 bis^ xxx. 30, xwii. 2. 
 
 d 2 
 
1 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 (15) briers and thorns \ v. 6, vii. 23, 34, 25, ix. 18, x. 17. Except 
 in xxvii. 4, xxxii. 13, neither word occurs elsewhere. 
 
 (16) miz'dr ( = a little): x. 25, xvi. 14, xxix. 17. 
 
 It is impossible to pursue the subject further. The evidence 
 of style is as conclusive as could be desired, and amply confirms 
 the deduction to be naturally drawn from the historical setting 
 of the prophecy and its leading conceptions. The resulting 
 impression is so strong that probably few will hesitate to 
 acquiesce in the statement that " if the great prophecy of 
 Israel's redemption and glorification now included in the Book 
 of Isaiah had come down to us as an independent and anony- 
 mous document, no reasonable doubt could have been enter- 
 tained as to the time at which it was written. Ititernal evidence 
 would be regarded as fixing its date with remarkable precision 
 towards the close of the Babylonian Exile^.''^ 
 
 The only question that remains is whether all these considera- 
 tions can fairly be held to be outweighed by the circumstance 
 that the prophecy docs form part of the book of Isaiah, or by the 
 all but unbroken tradition in favour of the Isaianic authorship. 
 That tradition is unquestionably very ancient. It is attested by 
 Jesus the son of Sirach (ch. xlviii. 22 — 25)^, by several New 
 
 1 Kirkpatrick, Doctrine of the Prophets^, p. 353. 
 
 2 With regard to the place where the author wrote, little can be said 
 except that it is most reasonably to be assumed that he lived in Baby- 
 lonia. That was probably the only country where he could have had any 
 considerable audience of exiled Israelites ; and that he was actually in 
 direct touch with an audience can hardly be doubted, in view of the 
 eager and passionate pleadings in which the book abounds. Allusions 
 to Babylonia are as numerous as could be expected (see xliv. 27, xlv. 
 I f., 3, xlvi. I f., xlvii. 8 — 15, &c.), and quite as specific as those to be 
 found in Ezekiel, who lived there; although they are perhaps hardly 
 definite enough to determine the matter absolutely by themselves. 
 The view of Ewald and Bunsen, that the book was written in 
 Egypt, rests on no solid grounds, and Duhm's arguments in favour of 
 Phoenicia are equally unconvincing. The idea that it was composed in 
 Judaea has a certain plausibility as far as some of the later chapters are 
 concerned, but is wholly inconsistent with the allusions of chs. xl. — 
 xlviii. It is, of course, conceivable that the author might have returned 
 to Palestine with Zerubbabel in 536, and that parts of the prophecy 
 might be subsequent to that event. (See Appendix, Note iii.) 
 
 ^ Vv. 24 f. " He saw by an excellent spirit what should come to 
 
INTRODUCTION. li 
 
 Testament writers (Matt. iii. 3 and parallels, viii. 17, xii. 17 ; 
 Luke iv. 17 ; John i. 23 ; Acts viii. 28 ; Rom. x. 16, 20) and by 
 Josephus {Archaeol. xi. i, § 2; cf. X. 2, § 2f ; and is unhesi- 
 tatingly accepted by subsequent Jewish and Christian opinion. 
 Yet it may be doubted if all this weight of authority really adds 
 any evidence whatever to the fact that the prophecy stands in 
 the Canon under the name of Isaiah. It is not an unreasonable 
 assumption that the belief that Isaiah is the author rested origin- 
 ally on nothing else than the canonical title of the book, and was 
 simply transmitted without examination from one generation to 
 another. This possibility would be admitted readily enough in 
 the case of the secular writers that have been referred to. To 
 many it may seem that the New Testament writers, in virtue of 
 their inspiration, stand on a different footing. But this is surely 
 to press the doctrine of inspiration to a dangerous extreme. In 
 no single instance is it material to the purpose for which the 
 quotation is made, whether the author be Isaiah or a prophet of 
 the Exile ; and to say that an inspired writer may not use. the 
 current language of his time in referring to a book of Scripture 
 without imperilling the veracity of the author of Revelation, is a 
 position to which no wise man would wish to be committed. 
 
 What weight, then, is to be assigned to the fact that the 
 prophecy is included in the book of Isaiah ? The view taken by 
 critical scholars is the very simple one that the incorporation 
 was the work of an editor of the prophetical literature, — a 
 point, by the way, which seems to be imperfectly apprehended 
 by those writers who so persistently impute to critics the 
 imaginary crime of "sawing Isaiah asunder." Critics do not 
 profess to know who the editor was, or what were the precise 
 motives by which he was guided ; it is enough to know that the 
 operation is perfectly conceivable, and that a variety of reasons 
 might easily be suggested for it^. Nor is it an isolated instance 
 
 pass at the last ; and he conifc^rted them that mourned in Zion. He 
 shewed the things that should be to the end of time, and the hidden 
 things or ever they came." See Vol. i. p. Ixxiii. 
 
 ^ See Note on ch. xliv. 28. 
 
 ^ Kirkpatrick {Doctrine of the Prophets^, p. 363), suggests that "a 
 partial explanation [of the position of the prophecy] may be found in 
 
lii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in the history of prophetic writings. In Jeremiah li. 64 we find 
 a note (evidently the work of an editor), " thus far are the Avords 
 of Jeremiah " ; and it is practically certain that the book of 
 Zechariah contains the work of three separate prophets. 
 Whether, therefore, the editor supposed the prophecy to be 
 a genuine work of Isaiah, or whether for some other reason he 
 decided to add it to the collection of his prophecies, the fact that 
 it stands there is far from being a conclusive proof that Isaiah is 
 the author. And since a chain is no stronger than its weakest 
 link, it cannot be held that even a tradition of 2,000 years is 
 sufficient to invaHdate the critical arguments for the late date of 
 the prophecy. 
 
 It is but fair to notice another kind of external evidence to 
 which considerable importance is attached by some scholars, 
 viz., the alleged use by certain pre-exilic prophets of the last 
 twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah. This is thought to be proved 
 by a comparison of parallel passages, of which the clearest 
 examples are: Jer. x. i — 16 with ch. xliv. 12 — 15, &c.; Jer. 
 XXX. 10 f. ( = Jer. xlvi. 27 f.) with ch. xliii. i — 6, &c. ; Jer. xxxi. 12 
 with ch. Iviii. 11 ; Jer. xxxi. 35 with ch. li. 15 ; Jer. xxxiii. 3 with 
 ch. xlviii. 6 ; Jer. 1. 2, 8 with xlvi. i, xlviii. 20 ; Nah. i. 15 with 
 lii. 7 ; Nah. iii. 4, 5 with xlvii. 3, 9 ; Nah. iii. 7 with li. 19 ; Zeph. 
 ii. 15 with xlvii. 8, 10. In some of these cases the resemblance 
 is slight, and may be accidental, but in others it is so close as to 
 create an irresistible impression of literary dependence, on one 
 side or the other. In no instance, however, can it be pronounced 
 with confidence on which side the priority lies, the supposition 
 that the second Isaiah borrowed from his predecessors being, 
 in itself, just as reasonable as that pre-exilic prophets borrowed 
 from him. In three of the parallels there is perhaps a certain 
 presumption that the Isaianic passage is the original ; these are 
 Jer. X. I — 16, XXX. 10 f., and Nah. i. 15 ; but each of these 
 passages is suspected on independent grounds of being an 
 
 the form of ancient books. The prophecy was annexed to Isaiah 
 i. — xxxix., in order to form a volume approximately equal to those of 
 Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Minor Prophets. If it was anonymous it 
 would soon come to be ascribed to Isaiah." 
 
INTRODUCTION. liii 
 
 interpolation in the pre-exilic book where it stands. In any 
 event, the presumption is not strong- enough to counterbalance 
 any decided probability in the opposite direction. Moreover, the 
 force of the argument from verbal parallelisms would seem to be 
 neutralised by the fact that no pre-exilic writer betrays any 
 knowledge that the end of the Babylonian Exile had been dis- 
 tinctly foretold by Isaiah the son of Amoz. It would be a very 
 singular and unaccountable thing if the latter part of Isaiah had 
 been studied by a succession of prophets with such care that its 
 phrases passed into their style, while none of them ever suffers it 
 to appear that he had assimilated the contents of the book. It 
 cannot be too strongly insisted that the whole discussion is 
 a balancing of probabilities, and it will generally be found that 
 the argument from parallel passages can be used on either side 
 to strengthen that conclusion which on other grounds seems 
 most probable. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Unity of the Prophecy. 
 
 The most difficult of the current critical questions In regard 
 to the second part of Isaiah are those concerning the unity or 
 integrity of the volume. Whether the prophecy is the work of 
 a single writer, whether it was composed wholly before the close 
 of the Exile, or in part after the Return, whether the writer has 
 adopted fragments from earlier prophecies into his own work, 
 these are matters on which the utmost diversity of opinion exists 
 among recent scholars. And although it is neither desirable 
 nor possible in this place to enter fully into the discussion of 
 them, there are two questions of such magnitude and importance 
 that a few pages must be devoted to their consideration ^ 
 
 I. The first relates to the genuineness of the so-called 
 "Servant-passages" (xlii. i — 4, xlix. i — 6,1. 4 — 9, Hi. 13 — liii. 12). 
 
 ^ There are of course numerous passages supposed, with more or less 
 reason, to be interpolated, but these have to be considered in detail. 
 
liv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Ewald, in 1841, was the first great critic who expressed the 
 opinion that ch. Hi. 13 — liii. 12 was borrowed by the prophet 
 from an earher composition (which he assigned to the age ot 
 Manasseh) ; and similar views have been advocated with regard 
 to this passage by several subsequent writers. More recently 
 the tendency has been to recognise a close affinity between the 
 four great descriptions of the Servant of Jehovah, and to apply 
 the same critical methods to them all. Thus the question raised, 
 in its most general form, is whether these four passages form an 
 integral part of the exilic prophecy of chs. xl. ff., or whether they 
 are the work of another writer, who may have lived either before 
 or after that date. 
 
 It may be remarked that so long as the negative theory is 
 held in the form in which it was propounded by Ewald, the 
 question has but a secondary interest for the interpreter. "The 
 question he asks is not what may possibly have been the 
 original meaning of ch. liii. but what is its meaning now as it 
 stands an integral part of the magnificent production of which 
 it is the crown ^." If it be admitted that the disputed passages 
 passed through the mind of the exilic author, and were by 
 himself incorporated in his work, it matters comparatively little 
 whether he originally wrote them or drew them from an inde- 
 pendent source ; they form an essential element of his teaching, 
 and for all practical purposes may be treated as if they were his 
 own work. It is only when they are classed as real interpo- 
 lations, inserted without the knowledge of the author and after 
 his book was completed, that the issue becomes of serious con- 
 sequence. This is the position assumed by some writers, 
 notably by Duhm, who thinks that the fragments may have 
 been inserted by an editor, almost at hap-hazard, where there 
 chanced to be a convenient space in the manuscript ; an almost 
 incredible hypothesis, which, at least in this extreme form, is 
 not likely to be sustained. Some who follow Duhm, such as 
 Kosters^, have perceived that the first three passages cannot be 
 lifted from their places without carrying some of the succeeding 
 
 ^ Davidson, Expositor, 2nd Series, Vol. vi. p. 87. 
 2 rheologisch Tijdschrift, 1896, pp. 588 fif. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Iv 
 
 verses with them, and find accordingly that the interpolations 
 must be more extensive than Duhm supposed. But this kind of 
 criticism is exceedingly hazardous when applied to a work like 
 the second Isaiah, where one has only to read on far enough 
 to obtain a new point of connexion with something that has 
 gone before. For the rest, the present writer must be content 
 to express his general agreement with the conclusion of 
 Cheyne, which is that while it cannot be shewn that the 
 "Servant-passages" have spnmg immediately from the pre- 
 ceding context, "they have in general exercised such an in- 
 fluence on the following sections that they cannot well have 
 been inserted by anyone but li. Isaiah himself^"; and further 
 that it is not "at all impossible that they may be the work of 
 II. Isaiah himself^." 
 
 2. Another critical question of some importance arises in 
 connexion with the later chapters of the prophecy. Certain 
 pecuHarities of these chapters (particularly Ivi. — lix., Ixiii. — Ixvi.) 
 have for a long time engaged the attention of critics. Their 
 style differs considerably from that of the earlier part of the 
 volume ; their tone is much less hopeful and buoyant, they lay 
 far greater stress on the externals of religion (e.g. Sabbath- 
 observance and the Temple ritual), they appear to be addressed 
 to a Jewish community possessing a certain measure of political 
 independence, and the allusions to natural scenery indicate that 
 this community was settled in Palestine. These circumstances 
 conspire to render the literary unity of the second Isaiah very 
 difficult of belief ; and those who hold that the book is on the 
 whole the work of a single author have usually sought to explain 
 them by two assumptions: first, that the exilic author has 
 
 ^ httroduction, p. 307. In Cheyne's view, the latter statement is 
 only partially true of ch. Hi. 13 — liii. 1 2, which he regards as an msertion 
 made by the author after the completion of the work, and therefore 
 without direct influence on the succeeduig context. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 309. The suggestion is that they were composed by the 
 prophet at an earlier period of his life. Even this concession does not 
 seem to me necessary. If it be the practice of the writer "to take up 
 one of the Servant-passages as a suggestive theme" for a fresh start in 
 his argument, there can be no great difficulty in supposing that he wrote 
 them for that purpose along with the rest of the prophecy. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 embodied fragments of pre-exilic prophecies in his work, adapt- 
 ing them to his own purpose ; and secondly, that some portions 
 may have been written after the high hopes with which he 
 started had been damped, and possibly after he had returned to 
 Palestine. Of late years, however, and especially since the 
 appearance of Duhm's commentary in 1892, the idea has gained 
 favour in many quarters that the whole of the third division of 
 the prophecy (chs. Ivi. — Ixvi.) is of post-exilic origin, and was 
 written by one or more prophets living in Jerusalem about the 
 time of Nehemiah. 
 
 It cannot be denied that this theory has much to recommend 
 it. The condition of the people during the first century after 
 the Restoration is very imperfectly known, but the state of 
 things revealed by the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and the 
 prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah^, and Malachi embraces several 
 features which correspond to the allusions of chs. Ivi. — Ixvi. The 
 following are some of the circumstances which are appealed to 
 in support of the post-exilic authorship of this part of the 
 prophecy: — (i) The existence of the Temple appears to be pre- 
 supposed in ch. Ivi. 7, Ix. 7, Ixii. 9, more clearly in Ixv. 1 1, Ixvi. 6. 
 It is quite possible to interpret the first three references of a 
 Temple yet unbuilt, but this suggestion cannot be so readily 
 entertained with regard to the two remaining cases. If the 
 impression that an actually existing Temple is referred to be 
 correct, the date of the passages would be fixed as later than 
 B.C. 515 (Ezra vi. 15, &c.). (2) Ch. Ivi. 8 seems to imply that 
 a partial gathering of exiled Israelites has taken place, and 
 promises that others shall yet be gathered. None of the other 
 allusions to a restoration of exiles (Ix. 4, 8, Ixvi. 20) contain 
 anything inconsistent with this ; they can all be naturally 
 understood of the Dispersion that remained after the first 
 return from Babylon. (3) The social conditions dealt with 
 in the prophecy are in accordance with those which are known 
 
 ^ It must be remembered, however, that Haggai and Zechariah are 
 separated from the time of Nehemiah by an interval of nearly 80 years 
 (see Chronological Table, p. Ixi). Any illustrations drawn from their 
 writings are of value only in so far as they reveal a state of things 
 likely to have persisted through that long space of time. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Kii 
 
 to have existed after the Exile. Oppression of the poor by 
 the rich or of slaves by their masters (Iviii. 3 — 6, 9, lix. 3 f., 
 13 fF.) is attested by Neh. v. and Mai. iii. 5. The description 
 of the leaders of the community as worthless, greedy and self- 
 indulgent (Ivi. 10 — 12) is illustrated by the conduct of the 
 worldly-minded priests who sought their advantage in family 
 alliances with their half-heathen neighbours (Ezra ix. i, 2 ; Neh. 
 xiii. 4, 28), or the hireling prophets who tried to undermine the 
 influence of Nehemiah (Neh. vi. 10 — 14). There are also traces 
 of that cleavage into two parties, — one strict, fearing Jehovah 
 and trembling at His word, the other lax and indifferent to all 
 religious interests — which the book of Malachi proves to have 
 existed in the first century after the Restoration (see ch. Ivii. i, 
 15, 20, Hx. 4 — 8, 18, Ixv. 8, I3fif., Ixvi. 5; and comp. Mai. iii. 
 5, 15 — 18). These facts, taken together, seem to imply a date 
 either earlier or later than the Exile, and the parallels in post- 
 exilic writings go to shew that the latter alternative is at least as 
 probable as the former. (4) There are repeated allusions in 
 these chapters to a section of the population addicted to 
 idolatrous practices of a very peculiar kind (Ivii. 3 — 13, Ixv. i — 7, 
 II f, Ixvi. 3f., 17), It is an interesting suggestion of Duhm's 
 that these passages refer to the mixed population (of Israelites, 
 Ammonites, Arabians, &c.) which had settled in the land during 
 the Exile, particularly the half-caste Samaritans, who had at 
 first sought a share in the building of the Temple (Ezra iv. i ff.), 
 but afterwards, on being repulsed, did their utmost to weaken 
 the hands of the strictly religious party in Jerusalem. The 
 persons spoken of are described as "brethren" of the God-fearing 
 Jews (Ixvi. 5) and at the same time as the most bitter enemies of 
 the Temple-community (Ivii. 4, Ixvi. 5); they pride themselves 
 on their "righteousness" (Ivii. 12), although they have been 
 unfaithful to Jehovah (Ivii. 8) and "forgotten" His holy moun- 
 tain (Ixv. 11); the comparison of ch. Ivii. 3 certainly gains in 
 force if understood of a hybrid race like the Samaritans. These 
 things could not be said of pure heathen; they might no 
 doubt be said of a section of the Israelites themselves, but 
 perhaps their fittest application is to the community of whom it 
 
Iviii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 is recorded that "they feared Jehovah and served their own 
 gods" (2 Ki. xvii. 33). (5) The prophet gives utterance to a feeHng 
 which prevailed amongst the post-exiHc Jews when he com- 
 plains that the promised redemption is delayed, and finds the 
 explanation of the delay in the moral condition of the people 
 (ch. lix. I — 15). Such a feeling is never expressed in the earlier 
 part of the book (with the doubtful exception of ch. xlviii. 
 17 — 19); and it is difficult to believe that it could have arisen in the 
 interval between the appearing of the prophet and the close of 
 the Exile. (6) In addition to all this, the theory of Duhm is 
 recommended by its comparative simplicity. It has the merit 
 of applying a single explanation to a large number of congruous 
 phenomena ; and this is more than can be said for any tenable 
 form of the theory that the whole material has passed through 
 the hands of the principal author. The idea that a writer so 
 original as the second Isaiah should have copied long passages 
 from earlier prophets in order to convey his own message to his 
 countrymen is not a natural one ; and if the literary unity of the 
 prophecy is only to be saved by such expedients as that, it is 
 a question whether the problem is not really simplified by 
 ascribing the later chapters to an independent author, address- 
 ing a different audience. 
 
 These arguments are, of course, not decisive, and may not be 
 such as to overcome the natural reluctance to carry the dis- 
 integration of the prophetic books further than can be proved 
 absolutely necessary. And there are some considerations on the 
 other side which must not be overlooked, (i) Chs. Ix. — Ixii. so 
 closely resemble the work of the second Isaiah that it may seem 
 hardly reasonable to assign them to a different author. The 
 question may fairly be raised whether the resemblance is more 
 than superficial, and whether a close examination of chs. Ix. — Ixii. 
 does not shew that the existence of the Temple and the Jewish 
 State is there presupposed. Still the presumption that this is 
 the case can scarcely be said to be much stronger than in the 
 similar descriptions of chs. xlix. — liv., which only a few critics 
 have supposed to be written in Palestine. (2) A large number 
 of coincidences, both of thought and expression, are to be found 
 
INTRODUCTION. lix 
 
 distributed over the whole prophecy, and form an important link 
 of connexion between the two parts. Compare, for example, 
 ch. Ivi. I with xlvi. 13 ; ch. Ivii. 14, Ixii. 10 withxlviii. 20, lii. 11, 12; 
 Iviii. 12, Ixi. 4 with xlix. 8; lix. 16, Ixiii. 5 with 1. 2; lix. 17 with 
 xlii. 13; lix. 21 with xliv. 3; Ix. 14, 16, Ixvi. 11 with xlix. 23; 
 Ixi. I — 3 with the Servant-passages ; Ixi. 2 with xlix. 8 ; Ixi. 1 1 
 with xlv. 8; Ixii. 11 with xl. 10; Ixv. 17, Ixvi. 22 with li. 6; Ixvi. 
 8 with liv. I ; — a list which might be extended. It is difficult to 
 determine whether such affinities indicate unity of authorship or 
 only the influence of one author on another, or, in some 
 instances, direct quotation of the earlier by the later. (3) Al- 
 though there is no unambiguous declaration that the release from 
 Babylon is still future, yet the two passages Ivii. 14 and Ixii. 10 ff. 
 so much resemble ch. xl. 3, xlviii. 20, and lii. 1 1 f as to suggest 
 that they refer to that event. Duhm thinks that in these cases 
 (as in others) the post-exilic writer has adopted the idea from 
 his predecessor, but applied it figuratively, to the removal of 
 spiritual obstacles to the redemption of Israel, a suggestion 
 which may strike some minds as over-subtle. (4) The change 
 in the prophet's attitude (as compared with chs. xl. — Iv.) might 
 be fully explained if we knew anything at all of the circum- 
 stances of the Jews in Babylon towards the close of the Exile. 
 It is indeed conceivable that many features of their social and 
 religious condition might furnish an even more satisfying ex- 
 planation of the allusions in the prophecy than the parallels 
 drawn from the meagre post-exilic records. Thus, the earlier 
 part of the book contains indications of a division of parties, 
 and it is not unlikely that the cleavage might have been 
 accentuated as the deliverance drew near. Still, there are not 
 many scholars who hold that all the phenomena of the prophecy 
 can be thus accounted for ; some parts are generally allowed to 
 be so manifestly Palestinian in their colouring that, if not post- 
 exilic, they must be based on pre-exilic documents. (5) The 
 supposed references to the Samaritans, while instructive and 
 plausible up to a certain point, yet lack the definiteness which 
 was to have been expected and which is necessary to produce 
 complete conviction. Moreover, they differ in some important 
 
Ix INTRODUCTION. 
 
 particulars from what is otherwise known of that coninumity 
 and its relations with the Jews (see esp. on Ixv. 2) ^ 
 
 Whatever view be adopted regarding the literary integrity of 
 the prophecy, there is a deeper unity in it which is not impaired 
 by any critical theory of its authorship. If chs. Ivi. — Ixvi. were 
 not written by the same author as chs. xl. — Iv. they were at least 
 written by one who was imbued with the teaching of his pre- 
 decessor, and consciously built on the foundations which he had 
 laid. The brilliant promises of the second Isaiah had received 
 but a meagre fulfilment in the return of the first colony of exiled 
 Jews to Palestine; and the century that followed was in large 
 measure a period of disenchantment, when "the prophecies, 
 being read literally, proved a heritage of woe^." The existing 
 state of things was one in which believing minds found it 
 impossible to acquiesce. The restoration of the Jewish state 
 might be a solid gain to the cause of religion, but it did 
 not realise the glorious hopes that had been cherished with 
 regard to it. It had not ushered in the everlasting salvation of 
 which the prophet had spoken ; it had not even brought great 
 prosperity to Israel. The glory of the Lord had not been 
 revealed so that all flesh could see it, and there were no signs of 
 any movement of the Gentile world towards the true religion. 
 Hence the great question that exercised the minds of devout 
 Jews of this period was. Why does the Lord delay His coming? 
 What hinders the complete fulfilment of His word? We know 
 of some prophets who were raised up in the post-exilic age to 
 answer that question, and to keep alive the faith in the ultimate 
 triumph of Jehovah's kingdom. And if it should prove that 
 one prophet (or even more than one) has devoted himself to 
 supplementing the work of the second Isaiah by presenting his 
 ideals in fresh forms suited to the altered circumstances of the 
 time, there is certainly nothing in that view which will cause 
 disquietude to any unprejudiced student of Revelation, while 
 there may be much to throw light on an interesting, though 
 very obscure, portion of sacred history. 
 
 1 See further, Appendix, Note ill. 
 
 2 Davidson, The Exile and the. Restoration, p. 86. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ui 
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 604. Battle of Carchemish. 
 
 Nebuchadnkzzar, King of Babylon. 
 597. First deportation of Jewish Captives to Babylonia, with 
 
 Jehoiachin. 
 586. Destruction of Jerusalem, and second deportation of 
 
 Jews, with Zedekiah. 
 561. Evil-Merodach succeeds Nebuchadnezzar. 
 
 559. Neriglissar. 
 
 555. Nabonidus. 
 
 549. Cyrus conquers Media. 
 
 540. Defeats Croesus and captures Sardis. 
 
 538. Capture of Babylon. 
 
 Return of exiles under Zerubbabel. 
 529. Cambyses. 
 
 521. Darius Hystaspis. 
 
 520. Haggai. 
 
 520 — 518. Zechariah. 
 
 520 — 516. Building of the Second Temple. 
 490. Battle of Marathon. 
 
 485. Xerxes. 
 
 480. Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis, 
 
 464. Artaxerxes I. (Longimanus). 
 
 458. Return of exiles under Ezra. 
 
 Malachi (?). 
 445. Nehemiah appointed Governor of Jud?ea. 
 
 444. Introduction of the Law. 
 
 432. Nehemiah's second visit to Jerusaltm. 
 
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET 
 
 ISAIAH. 
 
 Ch. XL. 1—11. The Prologue. 
 
 This first proclamation of glad tidings to Zion (see ch. xli. 27) is a 
 passage of singular beauty, breathing the spirit of new-born hope and 
 enthusiasm with which the prophet enters on his work. The announce- 
 ment of a miraculous restoration of the exiles to their own land is the 
 central theme of his prophecy, and the point around which all the ideas 
 of the book crystallize. As yet the historical fact is but dimly outlined, 
 the writer's mind being occupied with its ideal significance as a revela- 
 tion of the glory and the gracious character of Jehovah (vv. 5, 10 f.). 
 His state of mind borders on ecstasy ; his ears are filled with the music 
 of heavenly voices telling him that the night is far spent and the day is 
 at hand ; and although his home is with the exiles in Babylon, his gaze 
 is fixed throughout on Jerusalem and the great Divine event which is 
 the consummation of Israel's redemption. — The prologue consists of two 
 parts: 
 
 i. vv. I, 2. — Proclamation of forgiveness and promise of deliverance 
 to the exiled nation. 
 
 ii. vv. 3 — II. An imaginative description of the process by which 
 the promise is to be fulfilled, — ^Jehovah's return with His people to 
 their ancient abode. This second division contains three sections : — 
 
 (i) vv. 3 — 5. A voice is heard calling on unseen agencies to prepare 
 a way for Jehovah through the desert. The idea expressed is that 
 already the spiritual and supernatural forces are in motion which will 
 bring about the return of the captives and a revelation of the Divine 
 glory to all the world. 
 
 (2) vv. 6 — 8. A second voice calls on the prophet to proclaim the 
 fundamental truth on which the realisation of his hope depends, — the 
 perishableness of all human power, and the enduring stability of the 
 word of the Lord. 
 
 (3) w. 9 — II. The prophet himself now takes up the strain; he 
 summons a company of ideal messengers to announce to Zion and the 
 cities of Judah the advent of Jehovah with His ransomed people. 
 
 ISAIAH II. I 
 
ISAIAH, XL. [vv. I, 2. 
 
 40 /^^OMFORT ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 
 2 V^ Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto 
 her, 
 That her warfare is accomplished, 
 That her iniquity is pardoned : 
 
 1, 2. The term of Jerusalem's servitude is accomplished; she has 
 suffered the full penalty of her transgressions. 
 
 Comfort ye\ The repetition of an emphatic opening word is charac- 
 teristic of the writer's style; cf. ch. xliii. n, 25, xlviii. 11, 15, li. 9, 12, 
 17, Hi. I, II etc. (see Introd. p. xlv). It is rather idle to enquire who 
 are the persons addressed; they might no doubt be prophets (as the 
 clause is paraphrased by the Targ. ) or the prophetically minded among 
 the people, but certainly not the priests, as is suggested by the Sept. 
 addition of ic/jcts at the beginning oiv. 1. 
 
 saith your God] The verb differs in tense from the usual prophetic 
 formula, being an impf. either of continued or of incipient action (see 
 Introd. p. xlvii, and Driver, Tenses^ § 33 (a) Obs.). To translate it by a 
 future and take this as a proof that the words were written by Isaiah 
 J 50 years before is quite unwarranted. 
 
 2. speak ye comfortably to] Lit. "speak to the heart of." To "speak 
 to one's own heart" is to whisper or meditate (i Sam. i. 13); to speak 
 to the heart of another is to soothe, or persuade, or comfort. For the 
 meaning of the phrase, see Gen. xxxiv. 3; Jud. xix. 3 ; 2 Sam. xix. 7; 
 Hos. ii. 14; and esp. Gen. 1. 21 ; and Ruth ii. 13, where it is parallel 
 to *' comfort" as here. 
 
 J erusaletn] an ideal representation of the people, like Zion in z/. 9 ; 
 cf. xlix. 14 ff., li. 16 f., lii. I ff. 7 ff . That there was an actual population 
 in the ruined city during the Exile is of course not to be inferred from 
 this figure. There are two standing personifications of Israel in this 
 prophecy, the other being the "Servant of the Lord." These, how- 
 ever, are not interchangeable ; Zion represents the nation on its recep- 
 tive side ; she is the mother of the people, the recipient of the blessings 
 of salvation; while the Servant represents the historic Israel, past, pre- 
 sent and future, in its religious aspect, with a Divine mission to fulfil 
 for humanity. 
 
 her warfare is accomplished] The word for ' ' warfare " is that rendered 
 •'appointed time" in A.V. of Job vii. i, xiv. 14. It means properly 
 a term of military service; then figuratively any period of irksome 
 toil or endurance which a man longs to reach the end of; such as 
 life itself had become to Job. The reference here is of course to the 
 Exile. Render: time of service (R.V. marg,). 
 
 her iniquity (better, her guilt) is pardoned] The expression for pardon 
 is rare. The verb commonly means "to be pleased with"; in a few 
 places it means (as here) "to pay off a debt to the satisfaction of the 
 creditor" (see Lev. xxvi. 34, 41, 43, and cf 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21). For 
 the idea see ch. 1. i. 
 
 for she hath received... double] i.e. "double penalty for her sins" (cf. 
 Jer. xvi. 18, xvii. 18; Rev. xviii. 6), not "(she shall receive) double 
 
J. 3, 4.] ISAIAH, XL. 
 
 For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for 
 all her sins. 
 
 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, 3 
 
 Prepare ye the way of the Lord, 
 Make straight in the desert a highway for our 
 
 God. 
 Every valley shall be exalted, 4 
 
 And every mountain and hill shall be made low. 
 And the crooked shall be made straight, 
 
 favour for her previous punishment." It is difficult to say whether the 
 clause is subordinate to the two preceding (as in A.V.) or co-ordinate . 
 with them, as in R.V. (reading that instead oi for). The idea that 
 Jerusalem's punishment had been greater than her sin required is not to 
 be pressed theologically ; but the idea that Jehovah's penal purpose can 
 be satisfied by a temporary chastisement is of the essence of the O.T. 
 notion of forgiveness. It must be remembered, however, that in the 
 view of this prophet, Israel includes the Servant of Jehovah, and the 
 unmerited sufferings of the Servant form the atoning element in the 
 punishment which has fallen on the nation as a whole (ch. liii.). 
 
 3 — 5. The prophet hears a voice calling on angelic powers to prepare 
 the way of the Lord. It is doubtful whether Duhm is right in regarding 
 this as a case of true prophetic "audition"; it is more naturally under- 
 stood as a flight of poetic imagination. 
 
 3. The voice of him that crieth'] The word "voice" here and often has 
 the force of an interjection ; render accordingly : Hark ! one crjdng. 
 The voice is not that of God (on account of the following "our God"), 
 neither is it a human voice ; it comes from one of the angelic ministers 
 of Jehovah and is addressed to beings of the same order. The words 
 in the wilderness should be joined with prepare ye etc., in accordance 
 with the accents (R.V.). A.V. agrees with LXX. and Vulg. and the 
 N.T. citations (Matt. iii. 3; Mark i. 3; Luke iii. 4); but sense and 
 parallelism alike shew that the Heb. accentuation is right. 
 
 Prepare'] strictly "clear of obstacles" (see Gen. xxiv. 31; Lev. xiv. 
 36; Ps. Ixxx. 9; cf. ch. Ivii. 14, Ixii. 10; Mai. iii. i). The figure is 
 taken from the well-known Eastern practice of repairing the roads for a 
 royal journey. It may be difficult to say how far the representation is 
 ideal. Allusions to the march through the desert are too constant 
 a feature of the prophecy (ch. xl. lof., xli. iSf., xlii. 16, xliii. i9f., 
 xlviii. -21, xlix. gff., Iv. i2f.) to be treated as merely figurative ; the 
 prophet seems to have expected the deliverance to issue in a triumphal 
 progress of Jehovah with His people through the desert between Baby- 
 lonia and Palestine, after the analogy of the exodus from Egypt. But all 
 such passages probably look beyond the material fulfilment and include 
 the removal of political and other hindrances to the restoration of Israel. 
 
 4. and the crooked... plain\ More literally: and the uneven shall 
 
ISAIAH, XL. [vv. 5—7. 
 
 And the rough places plain: 
 
 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, 
 
 And all flesh shall see // together: 
 
 For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken //. 
 
 The voice said, Cry. 
 
 And he said, What shall I cry? 
 
 All flesh is grass, 
 
 And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower 
 
 of the field : 
 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: 
 Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it : 
 
 become a plain, and the rugged places a valley, rough places is a 
 word of somewhat uncertain sense, which does not occur elsewhere. 
 straight and plain are nouns in the original. 
 
 5. In place of it together LXX. has "the salvation of God," bor- 
 rowing apparently from ch. lii, 10. See Luke iii. 6. 
 
 for the mouth... it"] This prophetic formula is nowhere else used by 
 second Isaiah. The whole verse is deleted as a gloss by Duhm and 
 Cheyne, but on grounds which seem insufficient. 
 
 6 — 8. The second voice proclaims the double truth: all earthly 
 might is transitory, the word of God is eternal. Logically the section 
 interrupts the connexion between v. 5 and v. 9, and is itself a prelude 
 to vv. 12 ff. But to transpose vv. 6 — 8 and 9 — ir, as is done by 
 the two commentators just named, is hardly advisable; logical sequence 
 is not the principle on which the book is arranged. 
 
 6. The voice said, Cry] Render (as before) Hark! one saying, Cry. 
 **Cry" here evidently means "prophesy" as in v. 2, ch, xliv. 7, Ixi. 
 if.; Jer. vii. 27. Hence the response, and one said (R.V.) will 
 naturally come from a prophet, the call being from the same quarter as 
 in V. 3. There is no need to suppose that an ideal person is meant, the 
 most probable interpretation is that it is the prophet himself who replies 
 to the voice. It is better, therefore, to change the vowels and read 
 with LXX. and Vulg. "and I said"; in spite of the fact that the author 
 usually keeps his own personality in the background. The other read- 
 ing does not sufficiently express the distinction between the call and the 
 answer; hence A.V. seems to refer both to the same speaker. 
 
 all flesh is grass] The answer to the question, ' * What shall I 
 cry?" Cf. ch. xxxvii. 27; Job viii. 12, xiv. 2; Ps. xxxvii. 2, ciii. 15, 
 and esp. Ps. xc. 5 f. goodliness] The Heb. word is nowhere 
 
 else used in this sense. It signifies "lovingkindness" or "grace" 
 (of God to men). The transition from the one meaning to the other is 
 illustrated by the Greek x^P'-^^ and there is no reason to suspect the text. 
 
 7. the spirit of the Lord] Better as R.V. the breath of the LORD, 
 i.e. the wind (Ps. ciii. 16), specially the scorching east- wind (Hos. xiii. 
 15) or Sirocco, which blows chiefly in the spring, blighting the fresh 
 vegetation (see Smith, Hist. Geog. of Palestiiic, pp. 67 ff.). 
 
r. 8, 9.] ISAIAH, XL. 
 
 Surely the people is grass. 
 
 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth : 8 
 
 But the word of our God shall stand for ever. 
 
 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into 9 
 
 the high mountain; 
 O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy 
 
 voice with strength ; 
 Lift /■/ up, be not afraid; 
 Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God. 
 
 surely the people is grass] "The people," used absolutely, must 
 apparently mean "humanity"; although there are no strict parallels to 
 this sense. To understand it of Israel is opposed to the prophet's 
 general teaching and misrepresents his meaning here. It is not Israel, 
 but the enemies of Israel, whose perishableness he is concerned to 
 assert. The words at best are a flat repetition of v. 6 and should pro- 
 bably be removed as a marginal gloss. The LXX., indeed, omits all 
 from because in v. 7 to fadeth in v. 8 : but this proves nothing, as it is 
 evidently an oversight caused by the homoeoteleuton. The resumption 
 of the leading thought is a very effective introduction to the contrasted 
 idea in the end of v. 8. 
 
 8. the word of our God] is the word spoken by the prophets to 
 Israel, the announcement of Jehovah's immutable purpose in the world ; 
 this is the one permanent factor in human history. It is a mistake to 
 limit the reference to the woi-d of promise just declared by the prophet ; 
 the statement is general, although the implied argument is that as the 
 threatening predictions of earlier prophets have been fulfilled, so this 
 new word of comfort shall stand, because it proceeds from the same 
 God, who can dissolve the mightiest combinations of human power 
 {v. 23). 
 
 9 — 11. The prophet announces the triumphal approach of Jehovah 
 to Zion. 
 
 O Zion... tidings] R.V. has thou that tellest good tidings to Zion. 
 Either translation is grammatically admissible ; but the second is to be 
 preferred, (i) because of the analogous passages xli. 27 and lii. 7, and 
 (2) because Zion always in this prophecy represents the community as 
 the passive recipient of salvation. The other rendering might seem to 
 be recommended by the apparent distinction between Jerusalem and the 
 cities of Judah, but this is probably not intended ; Zion itself is included 
 among the cities of Judah. The verb employed {mebassereth) is the 
 Hebrew basis (through the LXX.) of the N.T. (i)ayye\l^eLv ; the fem. 
 partic. is collective, denoting an ideal band of messengers (less probably 
 the company of prophets). These Evangelists are bidden to "go up to 
 a high mountain" to see from afar the coming of Jehovah, then to "lift 
 up their voice without fear" (of being put to shame) and proclaim the 
 glad tidings. 
 
ISAIAH, XL. [vv. lo, II. 
 
 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, 
 
 And his arm shall rule for him : 
 
 Behold, his reward is with him. 
 
 And his work before him. 
 
 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd : 
 
 He shall gather the lambs with his arm, 
 
 And carry them in his bosom, 
 
 Atid shall gently lead those that are with young. 
 
 10, 11. These words are spoken by the prophet in his own person. 
 
 10. -with strong hand] R. V. as a mighty one ; lit. , " in (the capacity 
 of) a strong one" {Beth essentiae). The chief ancient versions vocalised 
 the word as an abstract noun behozeq ("with strength"), which yields an 
 even better sense. and his arm shall rule\ or His arm ruling; — 
 the "arm," the symbol of strength. 
 
 For work render recompence (as R.V.) (see Lev. xix. 13). The idea 
 is somewhat uncertain. It might mean, (i) the reward (lit. "hire") 
 which Jehovah has earned by His victory over the Chaldgeans, in which 
 case the redeemed exiles themselves are the reward, which He brings 
 with Him through the desert (z/. 11). Or (2) it may refer to the reward 
 which Jehovah is prepared to bestow on His people, — the blessings of 
 His salvation. The last is perhaps the better sense, and is supported 
 by the similar passage, ch. Ixii. 1 1. 
 
 11. Jehovah as the Good Shepherd: an ideal picture of the home- 
 ward journey of the exiles, hardly of the permanent relations of Jehovah 
 to His people in the final dispensation. The same image is used of the 
 Restoration in Jer. xxiii. iff., xxxi. 10; Ezek. xxxiv. 11 ff.; Isa. xlix. 9; 
 cf Ixiii. II. 
 
 those that are with young] Render, with R.V. , those that give suck, 
 cf. Gen. xxxiii. 13. 
 
 Ch. XL. 12 — 31. Jehovah, God of Israel, the Incomparable, 
 
 is the title suggested by Dr Davidson^ for this great passage. It is a 
 meditation or homily on the immeasurable greatness and power and 
 wisdom of Jehovah, the Creator, as displayed in the works of nature 
 and in the government of the world; an expansion of the idea of 
 vv. 6 — 8. The argument from Creation is handled with a boldness 
 of conception and freedom of imagination to which there is nothing 
 equal in the earlier literature, and the frequent appeal to it on the part 
 of this prophet may be held to mark a distinct advance in Israel's 
 consciousness of God, coinciding generally with the period of the Exile. 
 The practical aim which the writer has in view appears from vtj. 27 ff. ; 
 •it is to counteract the unbelief and despondency of his fellow-countrymen 
 and to inspire them with some true sense of the infinitude of Jehovah, 
 
 • Expositor, Second Series, Vol. vii. p. 96. 
 
V. I2.J ISAIAH, XL. 
 
 > 
 
 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his m 
 
 hand, 
 And meted out heaven with the span. 
 
 their own God, who has addressed to them the consolations of w. i — n. 
 The passage may be divided as follows : — 
 
 i. The argument, vv. 12 — 26. 
 
 (i) w. 12 — 17. The greatness of Jehovah is illustrated by the 
 magnitude of His operations as Creator {v. 12), by the peifection and 
 self-sufficiency of His knowledge {vv. 13, 14), and by the insignificance 
 in comparison with Him of all that exists {w. 15 — 17). 
 
 (2) vv. 18 — 20. The thought of the transcendent greatness of 
 Jehovah "suggests the idol, which also bears the name of God. ...The 
 magnitude of the true God suggests the littleness of the idol-god. //e 
 is incomparable ; // is by no means so. Its genesis and manufacture are 
 known. It is a cast metal, gilt article, upheld with chains, lest it should 
 totter and tumble to the ground. Or it is a hard- wood tree fashioned 
 into a block by a cunning workman^." This is the first of several 
 sarcastic passages in which the processes of an idol factory are minutely 
 described : xli. 6, 7, xliv. 9 — 20, xlvi. 6 — 8. 
 
 (3) vv. 21 — 26. The thought of vv. 12 — 17 is now resumed and 
 completed. The intelligent contemplation of nature {w. 21 f.) or of 
 history {vv. 23 f.) is enough to dispel the glamour of idolatry, and force 
 the mind back on the Incomparableness of Him who is the Creator and 
 Ruler of the world {v. 25 f.). 
 
 ii. The application, vv. 27 — 31. If such be the God of Israel, how 
 can the exiles think that He is either unobservant of their fate or 
 indifferent to it? Their God is an everlasting God; His strength is 
 unfailing, His understanding unsearchable ; and they who wait on Him 
 shall find in Him an inexhaustible source of life and energy. 
 
 12 — 14. The argument for the infinitude of God opens with a series 
 of rhetorical questions, not needing to be answered, but intended to 
 raise the thoughts of despondent Israelites to the contemplation of the 
 true nature of the God they worshipped. For a different purpose, 
 namely, to humble the pride of human reason, the Almighty Himself 
 addresses a similar series of interrogations to Job (xxxviii. 4 ff.). 
 
 12. Who can vie with Jehovah in pozver? The point of these ques- 
 tions lies in the smallness of the measures figured as being used by 
 Jehovah in creating the universe, — the hollow of the hand, the span, 
 etc. Logically, the questions are not quite on the same line as those in 
 w. 13 f. There the answer required is a simple negative: "No one"; 
 here the meaning is, "What sort of Being must He be who actually 
 measured" etc. 
 
 meted out] Lit. "weighed out" (as Job xxviii. 25) ; see on "directed," 
 {v. 13). The word for comprehended hdi?, in New Hebr. and Aram, the 
 sense of "measure" and is probably so used here, — the only instance in 
 the O.T. 
 
 • Davidson, Ilnd. p. loi. 
 
ISAIAH, XL. [vv. 13, 14. 
 
 And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, 
 
 And weighed the mountains in scales. 
 
 And the hills in a balance? 
 
 Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord, 
 
 Or being his counseller hath taught him? 
 
 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him. 
 
 And taught him in the path of judgment, 
 
 a nieaswe] means **a third part," a tierce, but obviously a small 
 measure, probably a third of an ephah. 
 
 scales and balance might be better transposed ; the first word denotes 
 probably a "steelyard," the second the ordinary pair of scales. 
 
 The conception of the universe as measured out by its Creator appears 
 to include two things. There is first the idea of order, adjustment and 
 proportion in Nature, suggesting intelligence at work in the making of 
 the world. But the more important thought is that of the infinite 
 power which has carried through these vast operations as easily as man 
 handles his smallest instruments of precision. The passage is not a 
 demonstration of the existence of God, but assuming that He exists and, 
 is the Creator of all things, the prophet seeks to convey to his readers 
 some impression of His Omnipotence, which is so conspicuously dis- 
 played in the accurate determination of the great masses and expanses 
 of the material world. 
 
 13. From the power of Jehovah, the writer passes to expatiate on 
 His perfect and self-sufficing wisdom. 
 
 Who hath directed^ The verb is the same as "meted out" in the 
 previous verse, and the transition from the literal to the metaphorical 
 use is somewhat uncertain. From the idea of "weighing out" accord- 
 ing to a fixed scale we get the notion of "regulating" or "determining"; 
 cf. Ez. xviii. 25 (and pars.) "the way of Jehovah is not weighed out," 
 regulated, i.e. is arbitrary. Or, on the other hand, the meaning might 
 be "rightly estimated," "searched out" (as Prov. xvi. 2, xxi. 2). The 
 first sense suits the context best; whether we render "direct" or "regu- 
 late" or "determine." LXX. probably read a different word; its ris 
 iyvu) vovv Kvpiov is verbally cited in i Cor. ii. 16. 
 
 Ihe spirit of the Lord] denotes here the organ of the Divine 
 intelligence (see i Cor. ii. 11). This is more likely than that the spirit 
 is personified and then endowed with intelligence. The idea, however, 
 does not appear to be found elsewhere in the O.T. The Spirit of God 
 is ordinarily mentioned as the life-giving principle emanating from 
 Jehovah, which pervades and sustains the world, and endows select men 
 with extraordinary powers and virtues. 
 
 or being... ///w] Better, perhaps: and was the man of His counsel 
 who taught Him. "His" and "Him" refer of course to Jehovah, not 
 the Spirit. 
 
 14. and who instructed] Or, so that he instructed. 
 
 path of judgment] path of riglit {mishpdt). See ch. xxviii. 26, where 
 the word means orderly procedure ; here the reference is to the order 
 
vv. 15—18.] ISAIAH, XL. 
 
 And taught him knowledge, 
 And shewed to him the way of understanding? 
 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, 
 And are counted as the small dust of the balance : 
 Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 
 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, 
 Nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. 
 All nations before him are as nothing; 
 And they are counted to him less than nothing, and 
 vanity. 
 
 To whom then will ye liken God? 
 
 Or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 
 
 of nature, or else the transition is already made from creation tu 
 providence {v. 15). 
 
 way of tinderstanding\ Or, way of insight. The intermediate clause 
 and taught him knoxvledgc is omitted by the LXX., and since it disturbs 
 the parallelism, and repeats the verb just used, it may be a gloss. 
 
 15 — 17. The insignificance of collective humanity before Jehovah. 
 The meditation passes from Nature to History, with the same design of 
 encouraging those who doubted Jehovah's power to save. 
 
 a drop of a buckef] Rather: a drop from the bucket; Avhich falls 
 away without appreciably lessening the weight. 
 
 the small dust 6fc.'] which does not turn the scale. 
 
 the isles] a characteristic word of the second half of Isaiah, occurring 
 12 times (see Introd. p. xlviii). In the general usage of O.T. it denotes 
 the islands and coastlands of the Mediterranean (comp. the use of the 
 singular by Isaiah in ch. xx. 6). Etymologically it probably means 
 simply "habitable lands"; and this prophet uses it with great laxity, 
 hardly distinguishing it from "lands" (see esp. ch. xlii. 15). 
 
 as a very little thing] "a grain of powder," used of the manna, 
 Ex. xvi. 14. 
 
 16. So infinitely great is Jehovah that the forests of Lebanon would 
 not yield fuel enough, nor its wild animals victims enough, for a 
 holocaust worthy of Him. 
 
 17. less than nothing] Better: of nought; "belonging to the 
 category of nothingness" (Cheyne). 
 
 vanity] The Hebr. is tdh{l^ a word which means primarily "a 
 waste," and is applied in Gen. i. 2 to the primeval chaos (A.V. "without 
 form"). See on ch. xxix. 21, xxxiv. 11. Here and in many other cases 
 it is a synonym for nonentity. 
 
 18 — 20. "To whom will ye liken God?" This question introduces 
 the second distinct theme of the argument, the folly of idolatry. 
 Although the prophet has in his mind the difficulties of Jews impressed 
 by the fascinations of idolatry, his words are addressed not to them 
 directly, but to men in general. The error he exposes is not the 
 
ISAIAH, XL. [vv. 19, 20. 
 
 The workman melteth a graven image, 
 And the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, 
 And casteth silver chains. 
 
 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation 
 chooseth a tree that will not rot; 
 
 worshipping of Jehovah by images, but the universal error of thinking that 
 the Deity ('<?/) can be represented by the works of human hands. His 
 point of view is that of Paul's speech to the Athenians: "we ought not 
 to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone, graven 
 by art and device of man " (Acts xvii. 29). In order to see how absurd 
 this is, one has but to observe how the images are manufactured ; and 
 the various processes are described with an unmistakeable irony. After 
 z;. 19 Duhm and Cheyne (following out a hint of Lagarde's) insert vv. 6 
 and 7 of the next chapter. The description would then fall into two 
 unequal parts; first, the construction of a metal idol {v. 19, xli. 6, 7), 
 and second, that of a wooden idol {v. 20) ; each ending naturally with 
 the fastening of the image to its pedestal. 
 
 19. jnelteth a graven image] R.V. The graven image, a workman 
 melted it. The word pesel means strictly a "graven image," but is used 
 several times as here of an image in general. 
 
 overlayeth it with gold] The idol consists of a core of brass which 
 is cast by the "workman," and then handed over to the goldsmith to 
 be covered with a plating of gold (see ch. xxx. 22). 
 
 and casteth silver chains'] A perplexing clause, which the LXX. 
 omits. The word rendered "casteth" is the same as that for "gold- 
 smith" (strictly "assayer"), the participle being translated by a finite verb. 
 But such a construction is incorrect : and besides the verb is never used 
 except in the sense of "test" or "purify." It is only when the panic, 
 has become a noun that it assumes the general sense of worker in metal. 
 Hence Dilhnann proposes to render "and with silver chains a smelter 
 (sc. covers it)." But this is exceedingly harsh. The word for "chains" 
 is also of doubtful meaning, and altogether the clause must be 
 pionounced hopelessly obscure. 
 
 20. He that is so... oblation] R.V. He that is too impoverislied for 
 such an oblation (lit. impoverished with respect to an oblation). If the 
 text be sound this seems the only possible interpretation, although the 
 whole sense turns on the word "such" which is in no way expressed. 
 Moreover the technical ter^mah (temple-oblation) has no appropriateness 
 here. The LXX. appear to have read temihidh {o/uLoiiojULa), which looks 
 more promising, but leaves the word for "impoverished" (|3pP) more 
 unintelligible than ever. Jerome gives the information that mesiikkdn is a 
 durable kind of wood (see Vulg. "lignum imputribile") ; and this has 
 led some to connect it with an Assyrian word, mnstikkdnu ( = palm-tree). 
 The Targ. gives "he cutteth down a laurel-tree," apparently taking 
 pDD as a denominative from pSD ( = knife). This shews at least that 
 there was no reliable Jewish tradition as to the meaning of the word. 
 Duhm, combining the hints of the Targ. and the LXX., obtains a 
 
vv. 21,22.] ISAIAH, XL. II 
 
 He seeketh unto him a cunning workman 
 
 To prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. 
 
 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? 
 Hath it not been told you from the beginning? 
 Have ye not understood fro7?i the foundations of the 
 
 earth ? 
 // is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, 
 And the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers ; 
 That stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, 
 And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in : 
 
 reading which is as good as any that can be suggested: "He who 
 carves an image." The transition from the metal to the wooden idol is 
 thus more distinctly expressed. 
 ' a tree that will not rot] Such as those named in ch. xUv. 14. A 
 weak parody of Eternity ! 
 
 that s/iall not be moved] that wilT not totter. See i Sam. v. 3,4; 
 cf. Wisd. Sol. xiii. 15 f. 
 
 21. The next section (21 — 26) again commences with a series of 
 questions driving home the force of the whole previous argument. The 
 appeal seems to be still to mankind at large. 
 
 have ye not heard? Rather: Do ye not know? Do ye not hear? 
 The two avenues by which the knowledge of God reaches the mind are 
 reflexion oa the facts of nature and history, and external testimony, 
 
 told you from the beginning) i.e. from the beginning of the world, by 
 an unbroken tradition. 
 
 from the foundations] The preposition "from", might easily have 
 been accidentally omitted in the Heb. The LXX., indeed, and other 
 Versions take "foundations" as obj. to "understood." The parallelism 
 seems to require the phrase to be taken in a temporal sense (cf. Rom. 
 i. 20). but there is no other case where the word has the sense of 
 fundatio (properly, =fundamenta). 
 
 22, 23. The majesty of the God who reveals Himself in Creation 
 and Providence is described in interjectional participial clauses, the 
 force of which should not be blunted by the superfluous " It is " of E. V. 
 
 upon (rather : above, R.V. marg. ) the circle of the earth] i. e. the horizon, 
 where earth and heaven meet (see Prov. viii. 27), "at the confines of 
 light and darkness" (Job xxvi. 10). The earth with its surrounding 
 ocean is conceived as a flat disc, on which the arch of heaven comes 
 down. The rendering "on the vault of the earth" (see Job xxii. 14, 
 "vault of heaven," the same word) is possible, though not so good. 
 
 and (so that) the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers] Comp. for 
 the expression Num. xiii. 33, and for the thought Ps. cxiii. 5 f . 
 
 as a curtain] like gauze (lit. fine cloth). 
 
 a tent to dzoell iii] i.e. simply "a habitable tent." 
 
12 ISAIAH, XL. [vv. 23—26. 
 
 23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; 
 
 He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 
 
 24 Yea, they shall not be planted ; 
 Yea, they shall not be sown : 
 
 Yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth : 
 And he shall also blow upon them, and they shall 
 
 wither. 
 And the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 
 
 25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? 
 
 saith the Holy One. 
 
 26 Lift up your eyes on high, 
 
 And behold who hath created these things, 
 That bringeth out their host by number; 
 
 23, 24. The majesty of God displayed in Providence. 
 
 pnnces] dignitaries (a poetic word), "potent, grave and reverend 
 signiors." as vanily] "as nothingness," lit. "chaos"; see on v. 17.* 
 
 For he maketh, render who maketh. 
 
 24. Yea, they shall not be...'] Render: Scarcely have they been 
 planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock 
 struck root in the earth, when he bloweth etc. (see R. V. marg.). 
 
 their stock] The same word as "stem" in ch. xi. i, but in a different 
 sense. See the note there. 
 
 25, 26 form the peroration of a passage of striking elevation. The 
 writer makes a final appeal to the imagination of his audience by point- 
 ing to the nightly pageant of the starry hosts mustered at the command 
 of Him who is Jehovah of Hosts. 
 
 26. 7o whotn then] Exactly as in v, i8, and following a similar idea. 
 or shall I be equal?] Or, as R.V. , " that I should be equal to himl'' 
 the Holy One] Qddosh, without the art., almost like a proper name. 
 
 So Job vi. 10; Hab. iii. 3, and perhaps Ps. xxii. 3. 
 
 26. and behold 7vho hath created] Better as R.V. marg. : and see : 
 who hath created these ? The word "create" occurs fifteen times in 
 ch. xl. — Iv. and five times in the chapters which follow; perhaps not 
 more than nine times in the whole of the earlier literature. No other 
 language possesses a word so exclusively appropriated to the Divine 
 activity. Although it may not express the metaphysical idea of creation 
 ex nihilo, it certainly denotes the effortless production, by a bare volition, 
 which is the manner of God's working. Its frequent use in these chap- 
 ters is significant not only of the writer's theology, but of the great 
 movement of religious thought in Israel about the time of the Captivity. 
 See Introd. pp. xliv, xlviii. 
 
 For these things render simply these, i.e. "these (stars) yonder" 
 which you see when you lift your eyes on high. The stars are likened 
 to a great army, a host of living, intelligent beings, which every night 
 Jehovah marshals and leads across the sky. 
 
 that bringeth out] a participial clause like those oivv. 22 f. 
 
vv. 27—29.] ISAIAH, XL. 13 
 
 s 
 
 He calleth them all by names 
 
 By the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in 
 
 power ; 
 Not one faileth. 
 
 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, 27 
 
 My way is hid from the Lord, 
 
 And my judgment is passed over from my God? 
 
 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, 28 
 
 That the everlasting God, the Lord, 
 
 The Creator of the ends of the earth, 
 
 Fainteth not, neither is weary? 
 
 There is no searching of his understanding. • 
 
 He giveth power to the faint; 29 
 
 he calleth... names] Better: calling them all by name, i.e. not 
 "bestowing names on them," but calling each forth by his name. Cf. 
 Ps. cxlvii. 4, 5. 
 
 by the greatness ..failtth'] Render as a single sentence: On account of 
 Him who is great in might and strong in power not one is missing ; 
 none dares to leave its post vacant when it hears the summons of the 
 Almighty. A slight change of pointing {met'ab for merob) seems neces- 
 sary to make the epithet "great in might" correspond with "strong in 
 power." For the latter cf. Job ix. 4. 
 
 27 — 31. The prophet now turns to his own people, drawing the 
 lesson of hope and encouragement which lies in the true doctrine of 
 God. Jehovah, whom Israel still calls "my God" {v. 27), is eternal 
 and unchangeable, of infinite power and discernment (28), and the 
 source of strength to those who have none in themselves (29) if only 
 they will wait on Him in faith (31). 
 
 27. My way] i.e. my circumstances, my lot (Ps. xxxvii. 5). Israel 
 feels that its hard lot is overlooked or ignored by Jehovah ; far harder 
 is the complaint of Job (iii. 23) that God Himself has hidden his way, 
 setting a hedge across it. 
 
 my judgment... God] my right passes from my God, — escapes His 
 notice. In all its consciousness of guilt before God, the nation retained 
 the consciousness of having "right" on its side against its oppressors. 
 (See Appendix, Note II.). 
 
 28. that the everlasting God, the LORD] Better : An everlasting God 
 is Jehovah. "SL^ fainteth not] a new sentence. 
 
 there is no searching...] Therefore it must be for wise reasons that 
 
 Deep in unfathomable mines 
 Of never-failing skill 
 
 He treasures up His bright designs, etc. 
 29 should be joined in one verse with the last two lines of v. 28. 
 
14 ISAIAH, XL. vv. 30, 31. 
 
 And to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 
 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, | 
 
 And the young men shall utterly fall : \ 
 
 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
 
 strength ; 
 They shall mount up with wings as eagles; 
 They shall run, and not be weary; 
 And they shall walk, and not faint. 
 
 Not only is Jehovah never weary, but He gives strength to them who 
 are weary. 
 
 30. Even the youths shall faint... 1 Better : And thougli youths faint 
 and are -weary and choice young: men stumble (the protasis to v. 31). 
 Natural strength at its best is exhausted, but — 
 
 31. they that wait upon the LORD (shall) renew (lit. " exchange " of. eh. 
 ix. 10) their strength. 
 
 mount up vv^ith wings'] although an excellent sense, is doubtful 
 grammatically. The authorities are divided between the Targ. on the 
 one hand, and LXX. and Vulg. on the other. The former has "lift up 
 (their) vikings"; the latter "put forth (lit. "cause to grow") pinions" 
 (LXX. irrepocfivqaovffLv). The second is by far the best. An allusion 
 to the popular notion that the eagle renews his feathers in his old age 
 (Cheyne) is not probable ; it is even doubtful if the idea of renewal is in 
 the metaphor at all. It is rather a description (and a very fine one) of 
 the new kind of life which comes to him who waits on the Lord; he is 
 borne aloft on wings of faith and hope. 
 
 Ch. XLI. The appearance of the Conqueror Cyrus, a proof 
 THAT Jehovah presides over the destinies of all nations. 
 
 The prophet here touches the soil of contemporary history. Although 
 he is more of a theologian than earlier prophets, he is nevertheless like 
 them an interpreter to Israel of the signs of the times, and the great 
 historical fact which was the occasion of his message is the rise of the 
 new Persian Power. The victories of Cyrus have already challenged 
 the attention of the world. He conquered Media in 549 ; he over- 
 threw Croesus, king of Lydia, in 540, and captured Babylon in 538. 
 The stand-point of the prophecy is obviously somewhere in this career of 
 conquest, certainly subsequent to 549, when the Medo-Persian empire 
 was consolidated, and most probably subsequent to the defeat of Croesus 
 in 540, the most signal success of Cyrus prior to the occupation of 
 Babylon, which of course is still in the future. See Introd. pp. xvii ff. 
 
 In form the chapter is dramatic. Two great debates are imagined : 
 the first {w. i — 7) between Jehovah and the nations; the second [vv. 
 21 — 29) between Jehovah and the idols, the subject of both being the 
 appearance of Cyrus. In the intervening passage [vv. 8 — 20) Jehovah 
 encourages His servant Israel in view of this great crisis of history. 
 
V. I.] ISAIAH, XLI. 15 
 
 Keep silence before me, O islands; 41 
 
 And let the people renew their strength : 
 
 The chapter accordingly may be analysed as follows: — 
 
 i. w. I — 7. The proof of Jehovah's sovereignty in the form of a 
 discussion between Him and the nations. 
 
 (i) w. t — 4. The nations are summoned into the presence of 
 Jehovah, that it may be seen whether they can produce an explanation 
 of the rise of Cyrus (i). The problem is propounded : who has raised 
 him up? who is leading him from victory to victory? (2 f.); to which the 
 answer follows in the end oiv. 4. 
 
 (2) vv. 5 — 7. In their consternation the nations are represented as 
 betaking themselves to the fabrication of new idols to reassure them- 
 selves against the advance of the conqueror. (But see the notes below.) 
 ii. vv. 8—20. Turning from the nations, Jehovah addresses Israel 
 with words of encouragement and consolation. 
 
 (i) vv. 8 — 10. Israel is Jehovah's servant or client, chosen in the 
 person of Abraham to be the organ of the true religion and never since 
 cast off; hence it is upheld through all its history by the strength of its 
 Almighty Protector. 
 
 (2) vv. II — 16. Israel need not fear (in the coming convulsions) for 
 by the help of Jehovah it shall put to shame all its enemies, and anni- 
 hilate mountains of opposition. 
 
 (3) w. 17 — 20. But Israel, in the distress and misery of the Exile, 
 needs first of all refreshment; and this shall be abundantly and miracu- 
 lously provided. The figures are suggested by the thirsty march through 
 the desert : but, as in ch. xl. 3 f., the material becomes a symbol of the 
 spiritual, — of Jehovah's all-sufficient grace for the needs of His people. 
 
 iii. vv. 21 — 29. The argument for Jehovah's Divinity is resumed; 
 but this time the parties to the debate are the true God and the idols. 
 
 (i) vv. 21 — 24. The question is first stated in general terms: what 
 proof can the false gods produce of their own divinity? Has any arti- 
 culate prediction of theirs anticipated the great events that are happen- 
 ing? Or will they now undertake to foretell the issue of those events? 
 They cannot ; and their pretensions are dismissed as unworthy of serious 
 consideration. 
 
 (2) w. 25 — 29. Then the appearance of Cyrus is adduced as an 
 instance in which they might have been expected to exercise the divine 
 function of foreknowledge. But while Jehovah has called and strength- 
 ened Cyrus and announced it beforehand, they have not even foreseen 
 that He would do so. 
 
 1. Jehovah calls the heathen nations to a disputation concerning the 
 appearance of Cyrus. 
 
 Keep silence before me\ A pregnant constr. in the Heb.= Listen in 
 silence unto me. On islands, see on ch. xl. 15. 
 
 renew their strength^ The words are somewhat suspicious, as they 
 are repeated from ch. xl. 31, and the thought is hardly suitable at the 
 beginning of an argument. Job xxxviii. 3 is not an exact parallel. 
 Possibly the eye of a scribe may have wandered to the previous verse. 
 
i6 ISAIAH, XLI. [vv. 2, 3. 
 
 Let them come near ; then let them speak : 
 
 Let us come near together to judgment. 
 
 Who raised up the righteous vian from the east, 
 
 Called him to his foot, 
 
 Gave the nations before him, and made hhn rule over 
 
 kings? 
 He gave them as the dust to his sword, 
 And as driven stubble to his bow. 
 He pursued them, a7id passed safely ; 
 Eve7i by the way that he had not gone with his feet. 
 
 judgment^ (miskpdt) is used in the same sense as in Mai. iii. 5 
 ( = " judicial process.") Cf. Jud. iv. 5. 
 
 2, 3. The marvellous career of Cyrus is vividly described in highly 
 poetical language. That the reference is to Cyi'us (who is first named 
 in ch. xliv. 28) is unquestionable ; although the Jewish exegetes (with 
 the exception of Aben Ezra), and even Calvin, follow the Targ. in 
 applying the verses to Abraham, and his victory over the four kings 
 (Gen. xiv.). 
 
 2. Who hath stirred up...foot\ A much-disputed clause. Two 
 points may be regarded as settled ; ( i) that the abstract noun ^edeq cannot 
 be rendered *' righteous man " (A.V. following Vulg.) ; and (2) that it is 
 not to be treated as obj. to "stirred up" (A.V., LXX., Vulg.), but 
 belongs to the second member of the sentence (Heb. accentuation). 
 On the whole the most satisfactory translation is: Who hath stirred 
 up from the sun-rising (him whom) victory meets at every step? 
 (lit. "at his foot" cf. Gen. xxx. 30). Comp. R.V. marg. The Heb. 
 verbs for "meet " and "call" are distinct in origin, but closely resemble 
 each other; and the forms are constantly interchanged. The bare sense 
 of "victory" is perhaps an extreme use of gedeq (= righteousness) but 
 it is in the line of the prophet's characteristic use of the expression. 
 It means the outward manifestation that one is in the right, and when, 
 as here, the tribunal is the battle-field, right is equivalent to victory 
 (see Appendix, Note II). If the ordinary sense of "righteousness" is 
 to be retained, the word must be taken as adv. ace, as in R.V. : Who 
 hath raised up one from the east, whom he calleth in righteousness 
 to his foot ? 
 
 gave\ giveth. made him rtile over] It is perhaps necessary 
 
 (with Ewald or Hitzig) to change the vowels, rendering, suhdueth (as 
 in ch. xlv. i). 
 
 he gave them as the dnst to his szaord] The words would naturally 
 read, "he maketh his sword as dust." But this is an unnatural figure 
 for the swiftness of Cyrus's conquests; we must either take "his" as 
 equivalent to "their" (which is obviously objectionable), or Avith the 
 LXX. change the suffix to plur., he maketh their sword as dust. 
 So the next clause : their bow as driven stubble. 
 
 3. djy the 7vay...ft'et\ The easiest and most acceptable rendering is: 
 
vv. 4— 7.] ISAIAH, XLl. 
 
 Who hath wrought and done //, 4 
 
 CalUng the generations from the beginning? 
 I the Lord, the first, 
 And with the last; I am he. 
 
 The isles saw //, and feared; 5 
 
 The ends of the earth were afraid, 
 Drew near, and came. 
 
 They helped every one his neighbour; 6 
 
 And every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. 
 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, ^ 
 
 And he that smootheth with the hammer him that 
 smote the anvil, 
 
 the path with his feet he does not tread, — a picture of the celerity of 
 his movements. Other interpretations, such as: "by a path which he 
 had not gone (before) with his feet," or, "disdaining made roads," or 
 **not returning on his tracks," are forced, if not impossible. 
 
 4. The answer. 
 
 calling the generations from the beginning\ i.e. guiding the destinies 
 of the nations from the origins of human history. The clause should be 
 connected with what follows : it belongs to the answer, not to the 
 question ("He that calleth"). 
 
 / am he'\ Cf. ch. xliii. 10, 13, xlvi. 4, xlviii. 12, also Ps. cii. 27. 
 The sense which best suits the various passages is, "I am the same." 
 There is probably an allusion to the explanation of the name Jehovah 
 in Ex. iii. i4fif. Jehovah is "the First," existing before history began 
 to run its course, and He is "with the last," an ever-present, unchang- 
 ing God, 
 
 5 — 7. The alarm of the nations leads to the production of fresh 
 images. The view that vv. 6 and 7 form part of ch. xl. 18—20 has 
 already been mentioned. With regard to the suitability of the verses in 
 their present connexion, opinions differ. While some consider the scene 
 an appropriate sequel to vv. i — 4, and its irony exquisite and well-timed, 
 others find the irony overstrained, and doubt if even the most benighted 
 idolaters could be represented as seeking to arrest the advance of 
 Cyrus by making "a particularly good and strong set of gods." And 
 it must be admitted that the transition from an assembly of peoples to 
 the inside of an idol factory is extremely abrupt. The view in question 
 gives a somewhat different turn to v. 6 and probably necessitates the 
 excision of v. 5. 
 
 5. At the end of the verse LXX. seems to have read "and came 
 together to judgment" (in accordance with v. i). 
 
 6. they helped^ i.e. the nations. But if the verse stood originally 
 after xl. 19, "they" refers to the two classes of workmen there men- 
 tioned. Each helps the other, and says to his fellow, Cheer up! 
 
 7. the carpenter^ stands here for the same word as workman in xl. 
 19: it denotes an "artificer" either in metal or wood or stone. 
 
 he that smootheth with the hammer'] probably the man who fits on the 
 
 ISAIAH II. 2 
 
i8 ISAIAH, XLI. [v. 8. 
 
 Saying, It is ready for the sodering ; 
 
 And he fastened it with nails, ///«/ it should not be 
 
 moved. 
 But thou, Israel, ar^ my servant, 
 Jacob whom I have chosen, 
 The seed of Abraham my friend. 
 
 golden covering (xl. 19). The translation anvt/ is doubtful, the Targ. 
 has "him that striketh with the mallet." 
 
 saying... sodering] Render as R.V. : saying of the soldering, It is 
 good. that it should not be moved] See ch. xl. 20. 
 
 8 — 20, coming between vv. i — 4 and 21 fif., reads like a digression or 
 an "aside." But beneath the apparent disconnectedness there is a real 
 continuity of thought running through the chapter. It opens with a 
 discussion between Jehovah and the nations, and closes with another 
 between Jehovah and the heathen gods. But these ideal representations 
 have no reality except in so far as they take concrete form in history; 
 and the historical process of which they are the expression is suggested 
 by vv. 8 — 20. Jehovah's controversy with heathenism is carried on in 
 His Providence, and especially in His vindication of the "right" of 
 Israel against the world. The opposition which Israel encounters from 
 the heathen {vv. 1 1 f.) is a reflection of the antagonism between the true 
 religion and idolatry; and the essential identity of interest between 
 Jehovah and Isi-ael in this conflict of principles is the basis of the 
 message of consolation which these verses convey. Thus we have the 
 true God and His people over against the false gods and their peoples, 
 and there is a fitness in the introduction at this point of Israel in its 
 ideal functions as the organ of Jehovah's historical purpose. His 
 victory must issue in the redemption of His people, and therefore 
 Israel has no reason to fear the advance of Cyrus, who is God's chosen 
 instrument for the overthrow of idolatry. 
 
 8 — 10. Israel is bidden "Fear not,"' because of its peculiar relation 
 to Jehovah. 
 
 But thou f Israel] In opposition to the other peoples {v. i). Omit 
 "art" with R.V. 
 
 my servant] Cf. Jer. xxx. 10 f., xlvi. 27 f.; Ezek. xxviii. 25, xxxvii. 
 25, — the only older passages (if those in Jeremiah be really older) where 
 the name is applied to Israel. The title is used in its simplest and 
 widest sense, being applied to the nation as a whole, although of course 
 in its ideal aspect, as it exists in the mind of Jehovah. The idea, how- 
 ever, is already a complex one, although the writer does not as yet 
 analyse it into its different elements. (See Introduction, p. xxxi.) The 
 one fact emphasized in this passage is the irrevocable choice or election 
 of God, by which Israel was from its origin in Abraham constituted 
 His servant. Cf. ch. xliii. 10, xliv. i f , xlix. 7. 
 
 seed of Abraham my friend] (cf. 2 Chr. xx. 7) lit. "my lover": but as 
 Duhni remarks Heb. has no single word to express the reciprocal relation 
 of friendship as distinct from companionship. Cf. James ii. 23, 0t\os 
 
I vv. 9—12.] ISAIAH, XLI. 19 
 
 T^ou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, 9 
 
 And called thee from the chief men thereof, 
 
 And said unto thee, Thou ar^ my servant ; 
 
 I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 
 
 Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : 10 
 
 Be not dismayed ; for I am thy God : 
 
 I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; 
 
 Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my 
 
 righteousness. 
 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall n 
 
 be ashamed and confounded : 
 They shall be as nothing ; and they that strive with 
 
 thee shall perish. 
 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even 12 
 
 them that contended with thee : 
 
 deov eKXrjdij. So among the Mohammedans, Abraham is designated 
 cAa/i/ ullah, "Friend of God." Note that Abraham is called *'my 
 servant" in Gen, xxvi. 24. 
 
 9. taken (better, as R.V., taken hold ol) frcm the ends of the earthy 
 It is disputed whether the reference is to the caK of Abraham, or to the 
 
 ; Exodus. It is a little difficult to suppose that Egypt could be described 
 as the "ends of the earth" by a Jew; for although the writer may have 
 lived in Babylonia, he could hardly divest himself of the historic con- 
 sciousness of his nation, that Egypt was the neighbour of Israel. It 
 is more probable, therefore, that he is thinking of Mesopotamia, and of 
 the choice of Israel as effected in the call of Abraham. For chief men 
 render comers (R.V.). 
 
 cast thee away\ rejected thee — because of thy smallness. 
 
 10. be not dismayed^ lit. "look not round" in terror. 
 
 / will strengtheni The perf. tense used in the original expresses the 
 unalterable determination of the speaker's will; Driver, Tenses, § 13. 
 
 the right hand of 7ny righteousness'] Either "my righteous right 
 hand," or, "my right hand of righteousness." See Appendix, Note II. 
 ) 11 — 13. Humanly speaking Israel has cause for fear, being sur- 
 rounded by opponents; but they shall be put to utter confusion. 
 
 11 f. incensed] lit. "inflamed," as in ch. xlv. 24; Cant. i. 6. The 
 precise form occurs only in these passages. 
 
 they that strive... them that contend... M^j/ that war] Lit. men of thy 
 contention... strife... warfare; a climax which Delitzsch renders by 
 adversarii., inimici, hostes. These expressions are emphatic and stand 
 at the end of their respective clauses, and to each are attached ti.vo 
 (logical) predicates; hence in v. 11 we should read (as R.V. nearly): 
 they shall be as nothing, and shall perish— the men etc. 
 
 thou shalt seek and noXfind them that &c.] Cf. ch. xxxiii. 18. 
 
ISAIAH, XLI. L^v. 13—15. 
 
 They that war against thee shall be as nothing, and 
 as a thing of nought. 
 
 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, 
 
 Saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. 
 
 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel ; 
 
 I will help thee, saith the Lord, 
 
 And thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 
 
 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing in- 
 strument having teeth : 
 
 Thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, 
 
 13. imll hold... will help] do hold... do help. Y or saying xew^tx : I 
 Who say. 
 
 14 — 16. Israel itself, in the might of Jehovah, shall be the means of 
 cnishing and scattering its foes. The idea, however, is not that of 
 warlike conquest on the part of the Israelites, it is simply that in the 
 contest Israel is as the threshing instrument to the corn, it is armed 
 with an irresistible strength. Cheyne pointed out that in vv. 14, 15 a, 
 Israel is addressed in the fern., but that is in all probability a mere 
 freak of the punctuators, suggested by the fem. "worm." 
 
 tho7i worm Jacob] Cf. Ps. xxii. 6; Job xxv. 6. ye men of Israel] 
 
 supplies a very weak parallel. It is generally taken as an ellipsis for 
 "ye few men of I." (as if it were "IDDD TlD, Gen. xxxiv. 30 &c.), but 
 that would have to be expressed . We should probably read with Ewald 
 "thou small worm Israel" (DD"! for TlD); the two words for "worm" 
 occur together in Job xxv. 6 and also in ch. xiv. 11. 
 
 / will help] Render, as before, I help. 
 
 and thy redeemer, the Holy One] Read with R.V. and thy Redeemer 
 is the Holy One. The word for "Redeemer" is Go' el, the technical 
 term for the person charged with the duty of buying back the alienated 
 property of a kinsman, of avenging his death, and certain other obli- 
 gations (see Lev. xxv. 48 f.; Num. xxxv. 19 ff.; Ruth iii. \i &c.). It is 
 a standing title of Jehovah in the latter part of Isaiah, occurring in 1 2 
 passages (the corresponding verb in 6 others). The verb means originally 
 to assert a right by purchase : hence fig. to reclaim, rescue &c. ; Driver, 
 Introduction^, p. 418. 
 
 15. The threshing instrument (mSnzg) is a heavy sledge studded on 
 its under surface with sharp stones or knives, drawn by oxen over the 
 floor. See the Note in Driver's Joel and Amos, pp. 227 f. It is not a 
 different implement from the han7f of ch. xxviii. 27. Indeed this word 
 hdri}f is the one here translated "sharp"; and it may be doubted 
 whether it has not intruded into the text as a variant to mSrdg (Duhm), 
 The instrument to which Israel is likened is "new" and "many-toothed" 
 (lit. "possessor of mouths" i.e. edges), therefore in the highest state of 
 efficiency. 
 
 the mountains... the hills] A figure for formidable enemies; perhaps 
 also for obstacles in general. Comp. ch. xxi. 10; Mic. iv. 13. 
 
vv. 16—19.] ISAIAH, XLI. 
 
 21 
 
 And shalt make the hills as chaff. 
 
 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them 16 
 
 away, 
 And the whirlwind shall scatter them : 
 And thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, 
 And shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. 
 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is 17 
 
 none, 
 And their tongue faileth for thirst, 
 I the Lord will hear them, 
 / the God of Israel will not forsake them. 
 I will open rivers in high places, 18 
 
 And fountains in the midst of the valleys : 
 I will make the wilderness a pool of water, 
 And the dry land springs of water. 
 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah 19 
 
 tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; 
 I will set in the desert the fir tree, a7id the pine, and 
 
 the box tree together : 
 
 17 — 20. With great pathos the prophet recalls to mind the miserable 
 condition of Israel in the present, and adapts his glorious promise to 
 their sense of need. He is thus led to a glowing description of the 
 marvels of the desert journey, in which, however, a spiritual meaning is 
 not lost sight of. 
 
 When the poor...] Better: The afllicted and needy are seeking water 
 where there is none, their tongue is parched with thirst. It may 
 be a question whether such a description applies to all the exiles, or 
 only to those, the true Israel, who were conscious of the religious pri- 
 vations of the Captivity. 
 
 18. Cf. ch. XXX. 25. i?t high places'] R.V. on the hare heights. 
 The word occurs only in ch. xlix. 9 and in Jeremiah (iii. 2 &c.). In 
 Num. xxiii. 3 the text is doubtful. 
 
 19. The desert itself shall be transformed into a grove of stately and 
 beautiful trees. I will plant] Better : I will place. The shittah 
 tree is the acacia. The myrtle is only mentioned in exilic and post- 
 exilic writings; ch. Iv. 13; Zech. i. 8, 10 f.; Neh. viii. 15. 
 
 the oil tree] Not the olive, but the oleaster or vnld olive. 
 
 the fir tree] Rather : the cypress (R.V. marg.). With regard to the 
 two last of the seven trees there is no sure tradition. The first {tidhar) 
 is identified by different authorities with the fir, the elm and the plane. 
 The other {te'asshUr) is according to some the box-tree, according to 
 others a species of cedar, probably the sherbin-tree of the Arabs 
 (cypressus oxycedrus). The names occur again only in ch. Ix. 13; the 
 last, however, is also disguised in a corrupt reading in Ezek. xxvii. 6. 
 
22 ISAIAH, XLI. [vv. 20—22. 
 
 That they may see, and know, and consider, and 
 
 understand together, 
 That the hand of the Lord hath done this. 
 And the Holy One of Israel hath created it. 
 Produce your cause, saith the Lord ; 
 Bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of 
 
 Jacob. 
 Let them bring the?ti forth, and shew us what shall 
 
 happen : 
 Let them shew the former thi?igs, what they be, 
 That we may consider t/ie/n^ and know the latter end 
 
 of them ; 
 
 20. The ultimate object of this miracle is the demonstration of the 
 creative power of the true God ; see ch. xl. 5, Iv. 1 3. The verse seems 
 to shew that the previous description is not merely figurative, but that 
 an actual physical transformation of the desert is contemplated. 
 
 That they (men in general) may... consider] Lit. "lay (to heart)," a 
 common ellipsis, together binds the four verbs of the sentence. 
 
 21 — 24. The argument of vv. i — 4 is resumed, but now the idols 
 {v. 23), not their worshippers, are addressed. Foreknowledge is the 
 test of divinity. Can the idols produce any instance whatever of their 
 power to predict, or indeed any proof of life and activity at all? 
 
 21. your strong reasons] Lit. "your strengths," a military metaphor 
 transferred to controversy; cf. Job xiii. 12. The related word Hsma is 
 used in the same way in Arabic. 
 
 the King of Jacob] (Cf. ch. xliii. 15, xliv. 6), referring back, perhaps, 
 to vv. 8 f., — the King whose "servant" Jacob is. 
 
 22. bring them fo)'th and shew] It is assumed that the "strong 
 arguments " must be predictions. 
 
 the former things] i.e. " things past " (from the standpoint of the 
 speaker) as opposed to things still future {things to come). The ex- 
 pression {ha-rf shondth) occurs with great frequency in the first part of 
 this prophecy. Sometimes the stress lies on the event, sometimes on 
 the prediction; but in reality the phrase includes both ideas — "past 
 events as predicted." So here the challenge is to produce past pre- 
 dictions which have been already verified by the event. There is no 
 ground whatever for the view of Delitzsch and others that in this verse 
 ha-7-fshdndth refers to events still future, but in the itnmediate future, as 
 opposed to the more remote future ("things to come"). See G. A. 
 Smith, Exposition, p. 121, note. 
 
 the latter e?id of the??i] their issue. Sense and parallelism are un- 
 doubtedly improved if (with Duhm) we transpose the last two clauses, 
 reading the closing lines thus : 
 
 the former things, what they are do ye announce, that we may 
 lay it to heart ; or the coming things let us hear, that we may know 
 their issue. 
 
vv. 23—25.] ISAIAH, XLI. 
 
 23 
 
 Or declare us things for to come. 
 
 Shew the thiiigs that are to come hereafter, 23 
 
 That we may know that ye are gods : 
 
 Yea, do good, or do evil, 
 
 That we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 
 
 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought : 24 
 
 An abomination is he that chooseth you. 
 
 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall 25 
 
 come : 
 From the rising of the sun shall he call upon my 
 
 name : 
 And he shall come upon princes as upon morter, 
 
 23. do good, or do evil'\ i.e. **do anything whatever, good or bad" 
 (Jer. X. 5; Zeph. i, 12), give any sign of vitality or intelligence. 
 
 that we 7nay be dismayed^ Rather : that we may stare (in astonishi- 
 ment). (The same word in v. 10.) 
 
 24. The silence of the idols settles the controversy. 
 
 of nothing... of 7iought'\ See on eh. xl. 17. The word '^//a' here is 
 probably a copyist's error for ^ephes. 
 
 he that chooseth yott] — your worshipper. 
 
 25 — 29. The general argument is now brought to bear on the par- 
 ticular case of the raising up of Cyrus. 
 
 25. raised up\ Strictly: stirred up (as in v. 2) i.e. "impelled into 
 activity" (Driver). 
 
 from the north... from the rising of the sun (cf. v. 2)] Scarcely: 
 "from Media (in the north)" and "from Elam (in the east)." The 
 terms are poetic; the north is the region of mystery, and the east the 
 region of light (ch. xxiv. 15). In point of fact Cyrus came from the 
 north-east. 
 
 shall he call upon my name"] Render with R.V. one that calleth (or, 
 shall call) on my name. The clause is a relative one, and forms the 
 obj. to "stirred up." The expression can hardly mean less than that 
 Cyrus shall acknowledge Jehovah as God; the meaning "make known 
 everywhere, by his deeds " (Dillmann) is not to be defended. It is true 
 that in ch. xlv. 4 f. it is said that Cyrus had not known Jehovah ; but it 
 is also said (z^. 3) that the effect of his remarkable successes will be 
 " that thou mayest know that I am Jehovah that calleth thee by thy name, 
 the God of Israel." There is therefore no difficulty in the idea that 
 Cyrus, who was at first the unconscious instrument of Jehovah's purpose, 
 shall at length recognise that Jehovah was the true author of his success. 
 But the further explanation that Cyrus shall "become conscious of his 
 original religious affinity to the Jews, and act upon that consciousness " 
 (Cheyne) goes beyond the language of the prophet. 
 
 come upon princes'] is a possible construction ; but it is better, with 
 many comm. since Clericus, to read "tread" [yabih ioxydbo'). The word 
 for "princes" {sdgdn) is Assyrian (shaknu) and occurs first in Ezekiel. 
 
24 ISAIAH, XLI. XLII. [vv. 26—29. 
 
 And as the potter treadeth clay. 
 
 26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may 
 
 know? 
 And beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? 
 Yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none 
 
 that declareth, 
 Yea, there is none that heareth your words. 
 
 27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them : 
 And I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good 
 
 tidings. 
 
 28 For I beheld, and there was no man ; 
 
 Even amongst them, and there was no counseller, 
 That, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 
 
 29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: 
 Their molten images are wind and confusion. 
 
 26. He is righteous] He is in tlie right (cf. Ex. ix. 27) ; or, simply, 
 Right ! (cf. ch. xliii. 9), although the adj. is always used of persons, 
 except in Deut. iv. 8 (of the divine ordinances) . 
 
 27. The first .. .behold them] A very perplexing sentence: lit. "A 
 first one to Zion, Behold, behold them ! " We may render (nearly as 
 R.V.) (I) first (have said) to Zion, Behold, etc. Or we may supply the 
 verb from the following line, thus: "I first will give to Zion (one 
 saying) Behold," etc. ; or " I will give a first one (i.e. a forerunner) to 
 Zion (saying), Behold, etc." It is difficult to choose. In any case 
 there appears (from the phrase " behold them") to be a reference back 
 to ch. xl. 9 ff. ; and the general sense must be that that prediction was 
 the first authoritative declaration of the meaning of the appearance of 
 Cyrus. That Cyrus himself is the " forerunner " (Nagelsbach) is not a 
 probable interpretation. 
 
 one that bringeth good tidings] an evangelist (see ch. xl. 9). 
 
 28. For I beheld, and there was] Rather as R.V. And when I look, 
 there is. Cf. 1. 2. even amongst thef?i] Better : and among 
 these, viz., the idols; the previous clause referring to their worshippers. 
 
 no counseller] None who can advise in the present crisis. 
 
 29. The last word of the argument. 
 
 all of them (R.V.)] idols and worshippers together. 
 their works] are the images of the gods, " the work of men's hands " 
 (parallel to " molten linages" below). 
 
 confusion] '"nothingness" — chaos (see ch. xl. 17). 
 
 Ch. XLII. The high destiny of Israel as the Servant of 
 
 Jehovah contrasted with its present abasement and 
 
 unfitness for its mission. 
 
 The two preceding chapters were to some extent introductory to what 
 
 follows. Nearly all the leading ideas of the prophecy have been already 
 
ISAIAH, XLII. 
 
 25 
 
 expressed, and all the personages of the drama — Jehovah, Israel, Cyrus, 
 the nations and their gods — have been brought upon the stage, or at 
 least have been mentioned. With this chapter the prophet begins to 
 amplify and develope the various conceptions, already touched upon, 
 by means of which he is enabled to interpret the action of Jehovah in 
 the present crisis of history. And the first which he takes up is the 
 thought of Israel, Jehovah's Servant. Up to ch. xliv. 23, that is the 
 central and recurrent idea; in the end of that chapter the figure 
 of Cyrus comes to the front, and the main theme for several chapters is 
 the mission which he executes in the service of Jehovah. But the treat- 
 ment is nowhere exhaustive ; and although the minor sections are 
 remarkably distinct, sharply defined stages or advances in the general 
 thought can hardly be found. The writer glides rapidly from one theme to 
 another, frequently returning on his track; and while some conceptions 
 are dropped as he proceeds, there are others, and these the most 
 important, which run on to the close. 
 
 In the view of many expositors, indeed, an entirely new personage 
 is introduced in the opening verses of this chapter, namely, the Servant 
 of Jehovah, whom these writers hold to be distinct from Israel. This is 
 the deepest problem in the whole prophecy, and is only to be solved by 
 paying the closest attention to the exegesis of the individual passages 
 and the prophet's general scheme of thought. As supplementing the 
 notes on vv. i — 4 below, see Introduction, pp. xxxii — xxxvii, and 
 Appendix, Note I. 
 
 Ch. xlii. consists of three divisions : 
 
 i. w. I — 9. The ideal calling and function of Israel. 
 
 (i) w. I — 4. A portrait of Israel as the Lord's Sei'vant from the 
 point of view of Jehovah, who is the speaker. 
 
 (2) w. 5 — 9. The truth embodied in the portrait is held up as a 
 ground of encouragement to Israel; Jehovah, as it were, pledges His 
 Godhead to the fulfilment of the ideal in the experience of the people. 
 
 ii. vv. 10 — 17. The prophet's thoughts are thus led forward to the 
 great redemptive act by which Jehovah will raise Israel to the height of 
 its glorious destiny, 
 
 (i) w. 10 — 13 are a poem calling on the whole earth to rejoice in 
 Jehovah's triumph over His enemies. 
 
 (2) vv. 14 — 17. Jehovah Himself is then introduced as the speaker, 
 announcing that He will rouse Himself from His long inactivity, to 
 bring about the redemption of His people, and the consequent over- 
 throw of idolatry. 
 
 iii. w. 18 — 25. The prophet addresses himself to Israel in its 
 present state of blindness and wretchedness. He calls on the exiles to 
 reflect on all that they have suffered at the hand of their God, and to 
 recognise in it the effect of their obduracy and unfaithfulness to their 
 calling, their misuse of religious privileges, and their positive transgres- 
 sions of the law of Jehovah. 
 
 1 — 4. Israel as the Lord's Servant. The features of the portrait are 
 these: (i) It starts from the thought of ch. xli. 8ff., the electioti by 
 which Israel is constituted the Servant of Jehovah ; but this is imme- 
 diately followed by (2) the equipment of the Servant with the Divine 
 
26 ISAIAH, XLII. [v. I. 
 
 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; 
 
 Mine elect, i7t whom my soul delighteth; 
 
 I have put my spirit upon him: 
 
 He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 
 
 Spirit, and (3) the mission for which he is raised up, viz., to be the 
 organ of the true religion to the world {v. i). (4) The wa««^r and 
 spirit of the Sei-vajifs working are then described ; his unobtrusiveness 
 and tenderness (sf.). (5) His unflinching constancy in the prosecution 
 of his work, and his final and complete success. The whole description 
 is singularly elevated, and impressive; Jehovah speaks of His Servant 
 as He sees him, and as he shall yet be revealed to the world. 
 
 If the Servant of the Lord here described is Israel, he is obviously | 
 not Israel in its actual condition of bondage and inefficiency. He is 
 Israel according to its idea, — the Divine ideal after and towards which 
 Jehovah is fashioning the people. This ideal is personified, and it is the 
 vividness of the personification that leads many readers to think that an 
 individual must be meant. But such impressions are not greatly to be 
 trusted. It is a very hazardous thing to set limits to the possibilities of 
 O.T. personification. The real question is whether the characteristics 
 ascribed to the Servant are capable of being realised by the nation of 
 Israel, or whether they are such as to demand a separate and personal 
 embodiment. Even if it should be found that some details do not 
 readily fall in with the national interpretation it would not at once 
 follow that that interpretation was false; for no one argues that our 
 Lord's parables must be literally true stories, because they contain 
 features to which no spiritual meaning can be attached. But that 
 consideration need not trouble us in this passage, for it will be seen 
 that all that is here said of the Servant is applicable to Israel in the 
 ideal light in which it is here presented. Certainly no historic individual 
 of that age can possibly be the subject of the picture. 
 
 1. The election, equipment, and mission of the Servant. 
 
 Behold my sei-vant^ LXX. reads 'laicwjS 6 iraTs fiov ("Jacob my 
 servant") and in the next line, 'lapa-^X 6 ^/cXe/cros /xov ("Israel my 
 chosen "). 
 
 whom I uphold'\ Cf. ch. xli. 10. 
 
 mine elect] R.V. my chosen. Used of Israel ch. xliii. 20, xlv. 4; cf. 
 the verb in xli. 8 etc. ; and Deut. vii. 7 &c. 
 
 / have put my spirit upon hit7i\ The Servant's function being pro- 
 phetic, he is, like the prophets, endowed with the spirit of Jehovah. 
 Cf. ch. xi. 2 ff., where the Messiah is endowed with the Spirit for His 
 royal functions. 
 
 'he shall bring forth (or send forVa) judgment to the nations] This is 
 the ultimate purpose of the Servant's being raised up, — the diffusion of 
 the true religion throughout the world. The word "judgement" 
 {mishpat) occurs three times in these few verses, and evidently in a 
 special sense. The plural is often used of the ordinances (lit. "judicial 
 decisions") of Jehovah; these are sometimes viewed as a unity and 
 
vv 2—4.] ISAIAH, XLII. 27 
 
 He shall not cry, nor lift up, 
 
 Nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 
 
 A bruised reed shall he not break, 
 
 And the smoking flax shall he not quench: 
 
 He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 
 
 He shall not fail nor be discouraged. 
 
 Till he have set judgment in the earth : 
 
 And the isles shall wait for his law. 
 
 described by the sing, (see ch. 11. 4; Jer. v. 4, vili. 7). This is the 
 sense here ; it means the religion of Jehovah regarded as a system of 
 practical ordinances. All recent conmientators instance the close 
 parallel of the Arabic din^ which denotes both a system of usages and 
 a religion. This the Servant shall "send forth" to the nations by his 
 prophetic word. The best commentary on the passage is ch. ii. i — 4. 
 
 2 The Servant's unobtrusive manner of working. Not by clamorous 
 self-assertion in the high places of the world, but by silent spiritual 
 influences his great work shall be accomplished. Comp. the striking 
 application in Matt. xii. 17 ff. This feature of the Servant's activity can 
 hardly have been suggested by the demeanour of the prophets of Israel ; 
 and for that reason the prophecy is all the more wonderful as a perception 
 of the true conditions of spiritual work. It reminds us of the "still 
 small voice" in which Elijah was made to recognise the power of 
 Jehovah (i Ki. xix. 12 f.). 7ior lift up\ sc. his voice. 
 
 3. His gentleness towards the downtrodden expiring good in men. 
 the smoking flax\ R.V. marg. the dimly burning wick. The 
 
 metaphor (like the preceding) involves a litotes: the meaning is that 
 instead of crushing the expiring elements of goodness he will strengthen 
 and purify them. It is an interesting question whether these rudiments 
 of religion are conceived as existing in the heathen world or in the 
 breasts of individual Israelites. The former view is no doubt that to 
 which the national interpretation of the Servant most readily accommo- 
 dates itself, and is also most in keeping with the scope of the passage as 
 a whole. But in later sections a mission in and to Israel is undoubtedly 
 assigned to the Servant, and a reference to that here cannot be pro- 
 nounced impossible. 
 
 unto trut}i\ i.e. probably, in accordance with truth. The rendering 
 of R.V., however, "in truth," may be right. 
 
 4. His constancy. The words fail and be discouraged correspond in 
 the original to * 'dimly burning" and "broken" in v. 3. (See R.V. 
 marg.) The former is used of the failing eyesight of Eli (i Sam. iii. 2) ; 
 cf. Ezek. xxi. 7 (R.V. marg.). 
 
 for his law] his instruction (see on ch. i. 10), his revelation of the 
 tmth. It is doubtful whether the verb of this clause should be rendered 
 "shall wait" or "do wait." If the latter be correct, the remarkable 
 thought may be expressed that already the best of the heathen are 
 dissatisfied with their religious systems and long for a purer faith. 
 
28 ISAIAH, XLII. [vv. 5,6. 
 
 Thus saith God the Lord, 
 
 He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; 
 
 He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh 
 
 out of it ; 
 He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, 
 And spirit to them that walk therein : 
 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, 
 And will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, 
 And give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light 
 
 of the Gentiles; 
 
 5 — 9. Jehovah's promise to Israel, based on the preceding description. 
 
 God] in the Heb. ha-'el, the God, — the God who alone is truly God, 
 who has created and sustains all things, 
 
 spread forth'] or "made firm." The word means to beat out into a 
 thin surface, and probably (as in the noun "firmament") combines the 
 ideas of density and extension (cf. ch. xliv. 24; Ps. cxxxvi. 6). By a 
 strong zeugma this verb is made to govern a second object, that which 
 cometh out of it, which here probably denotes " vegetation" (see on ch. 
 xxxiv. i). 
 
 breath and spirit are here nearly identical, the divine principle of life 
 breathed into man at his creation ; Gen. ii. 7. 
 
 6. called thee in righteousness] i.e. in accordance with a stedfast and 
 consistent purpose. See Appendix, Note II, and cf. ch. xlv. 13. 
 
 and zvill keep thee] R.V. marg. ("form thee") derives the verb from 
 a different root ; if this sense be taken, it is necessary to read the words 
 in close connexion with what follows: "I will form and appoint thee 
 for a covenant &c." 
 
 for a covenant of the people] The expression occurs again in ch. xlix. 
 8^ and is one of the most difficult in this prophecy. The idea is neces- 
 sarily a pregnant one, and it is nowhere developed in such a way that 
 we can be sure of the exact meaning. The notion of a "national league " 
 must be dismissed, because the Heb. berith, unlike the German "Bund, " 
 nowhere means "confederation." To take "people" in the sense of 
 "humanity" is also unsuitable because of xlix. 8, which clearly limits 
 the reference to Israel. Looking at the phrase by itself two constructions 
 are grammatically possible: [a) We may render it, "a covenant of a 
 people," or "a covenanl_peoi:>le, " after the analogy of Gen. xvi. 12, 
 where Ishmael is called "a'wild ass of a man" (cf. "Wonder of a 
 Counsellor" in ch. ix. 6). This^ however, is somewhat strained, {b) The 
 most natural, and on the whole probably the most satrsfactbry rendering 
 is, "a nation's covenant," i.e. the covenant upon which a nation is con- 
 stituted, the conce^tioii implied being that Israel's future national 
 existence must be based on a new covenant between it and Jehovah 
 (ch. Iv. 3; Jer. xxxi. 30 — 32). The difficulty is thus reduced to the 
 pregnancy of the statement that the Servant ^j or shall be this covenant. 
 It is probably to be explained in accordance with such expressions as 
 
vv. 7— lo.] ISAIAH, XLII. 29 
 
 To open the blind eyes, 7 
 
 To bring out the prisoners from the prison, 
 
 And them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 
 
 I am the Lord : that is my name : s 
 
 And my glory will I not give to another. 
 
 Neither my praise to graven images. 
 
 Behold, the former things are come to pass, 9 
 
 And new things do I declare : 
 
 Before they spring forth I tell you of them. 
 
 Sing unto the Lord a new song, ,c 
 
 And his praise from the end of the earth, 
 
 Ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein ; 
 
 "thou shalt b? a blessing" (Gen. xii. 2). As "blessing" there means 
 *' cause of blessing," so here "covenant" may be equivalent to the 
 ground or (as most commentators explain) the mediator of a national 
 covenant. TJtie idea at all events must be something like this: the 
 Divine ideal represented by the Servant of the Lord becomes the basis 
 of a new national life, inasmuch as it expresses that for the sake of 
 which Jehovah enters into a new covenant relation with His people. 
 
 for a light of the nations] The ultimate destiny of the Servant j see 
 on V. I. 
 
 7. to open [the] blind eyes\ The subject of this and the following 
 verb might be either Jehovah or His Servant, and the point is not quite 
 settled by ch. xlix. 8, The latter, however, seems more probable from 
 xlix. 6. The reference is no doubt to the Servant's work on Israel. 
 The "blindness" spoken of is spiritual (see w. 18 — 20); imprisonment 
 is a metaphor for the Captivity (v. 22) ; although a spiritual application 
 may be included here'aiso. 
 
 8. my glory... another'\ (Cf. ch. xlviii. 11) — the gloiy of true deity, 
 which would be forfeited if Jehovah were unable to predict the future, 
 or if His predictions should fail {v. 9). 
 
 9. the former things] the things formerly predicted. The reference 
 probably is to prophecies just fulfilled in the successes of Cyrus. The 
 new things are the substance of the present prophecy, the exaltation of 
 the Servant, the redemption of Israel, and the conversion of the heathen. 
 (See Introd., p. xxi.) 
 
 10 — 13. The mention of "new things" in v. 9 suggests this "new 
 song," in which the creation is called to celebrate Jehovah's redemption 
 of His people. The expression is common in the Psalms (xxxiii. 3, xl. 
 3, xcvi. I, xcviii. i, cxliv. 9, cxlix. i ; cf. Rev. xiv. 3). These Psalmists 
 probably borrowed the term from our prophet, whose use of it bears the 
 stamp of originality. It is a song " such as has never been heard in the 
 heathen world " (Delitzscli). See ch. xxiv. 14 — 16. 
 
 from the end of the eart/i] means (as in Gen. xix. 4 ; Jer. li. 31) " from 
 end to end." 
 
 ye that go down to the sea] seafarers, cf. Ps. cvii. 23. There is some 
 
so ISAIAH, XLII. [vv. 11 — 13. 
 
 The isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 
 
 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up ^/leir 
 
 voice, 
 The villages f/mt Kedar doth inhabit : 
 Let the inhabitants of the rock sing. 
 Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 
 Let them give glory unto the Lord, 
 And declare his praise in the islands. 
 The Lord shall go forth as a mighty ma^i, 
 He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war : 
 
 awkwardness in the following words : and all that is therein (lit. " and 
 the fulness thereof"), which are naturally parallel to "the sea" and not 
 to "those who go down to it." The harshness is removed by a plausible 
 emendation of Lowth, who reads the whole clause in accordance 
 with Ps. xcvi. II, xcviii. 7 let the sea roax and the fulness thereof 
 
 (Cii;7. for nnv). 
 
 the isles] See on ch. xl. 15. The mention of the sea and its coasts 
 before the land is one indication of the prominence which the western 
 lands have in the mind of this prophet. 
 
 11. the wilderness and the cities thereof] The " cities," like the 
 *' villages " of the next line, are those in the oases, occupied by the 
 settled Arabs ; the former are probably the great centres of the caravan 
 trade, like Tadmor and Petra. Kedar (see on ch. xxi. 16) is sometimes 
 referred to as a tribe of nomadic, tent-dwelling Arabs (Ps. cxx. 5 ; 
 Cant. i. 5; Jer. xlix. 28 f.) ; here they are villagers, what the modern 
 Arabs call hadariya (connected with the word hager^ used here) as 
 opposed to the wabartya or nomads (Delitzsch). In Jer. ii. 10 Kedar 
 stands, as here, in opposition to the Mediterranean countries. 
 
 the inhabitants of the rock] (i.e. "the rock-dwellers"). R.V. has 
 "the inhabitants of Sela," which would probably be Petra. It is 
 difficult to say which translation is preferable. It should be mentioned 
 that the identification of Sela, in any O.T. passage, with Petra is resisted 
 by many scholars (see on ch. xvi. i). 
 
 sing] Rather, exult, — a different word at any rate from that used in 
 
 V. TO. 
 
 12. glory and praise : the same words as in v. 8. 
 
 13. The reason for the universal exultation ; Jehovah takes the field 
 against His enemies. The gracious side of His intervention is reserved 
 for V. 16. 
 
 The Lord shall go forth] The technical expression for the initiation 
 of a campaign (7, Sam. xi. i ; Am. v. 3 &c.) 
 
 as a mighty man (or, hero)... a man of roar] Similar representations 
 in ch. xxviii. 21, lix. 16 f.; Ex. xv. 3; Zech. xiv. 3, &c. ycalotisy 
 (better, zeal) means "passion" in very varied senses. Here it seems 
 equivalent to the " battle fever." See ch. ix. 7. 
 
r. J4— 16.] ISAIAH, XLII. 31 
 
 He sha^. cry, yea, roar ; 
 
 He shall prevail against his enemies. 
 
 I have long time holden my peace ; ,4 
 
 I have been still, and refrained myself: 
 
 No7v will I cry like a travailing woman 3 
 
 I will destroy and devour at once. 
 
 I will make waste mountains and hills, ,5 
 
 And dry up all their herbs; 
 
 And I will make the rivers islands, ' 
 
 And I will dry up the pools. 
 
 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew 16 
 
 not; 
 I will lead them in paths that they have not known : 
 
 he shall cry, yea, roar] He shall raise His battle cry, yea, shout 
 aloud. 
 
 he shall prevail] R.V. " he shall do mightily " ; lit., he shall 
 play the hero. The form occurs elsewhere only in Job (xv. 25, 
 xxxvi. 9). 
 
 14 — 17. Jehovah rouses Himself from His inactivity. The passage, 
 which obviously continues the figure of v. 13, is exceedingly bold in its 
 anthropomorphism ; it is Jehovah's battle-song. 
 
 14. / have long t'wie holden my peace] Lit. " I have been silent 
 from of old." The period of silence perhaps goes back further than the 
 Exile ; it is the time during which Jehovah has permitted the oppression 
 of His people by the heathen. 
 
 I have been still] Lit. " been dumb"; but "still " expresses the idea 
 better ; it is abstinence from action, not from speech, that is meant. 
 
 refrained myself] Cf Gen. xliii. 31, xlv. i. 
 
 now will I cry out] The verb does not recur in the O.T. In Aramaic 
 it is used of the bleating of sheep. Here it denotes the convulsive 
 utterance of uncontrollable emotion, "like a travailing woman." 
 
 destroy and devour at once] Render with R.V. gasp and pant 
 together ; " together " uniting the three ideas. 
 
 15. Jehovah's breath of anger will make the fairest and best watered 
 regions an arid waste. Cf. ch. xl. 7, 24, and note the contrasted image 
 in xli. 18 f For herbs, read herbage. The word islands is used in a 
 peculiar sense, of dry land as opposed to water. 
 
 16. The prophet hastens on to the gracious issue of God's inter- 
 position, the homebringing of the captives through the trackless 
 desert. 
 
 the blind here are hardly the spiritually blind, those who cannot 
 discern God's purpose (as v. 18); what is meant is that the travellers 
 cannot see their path, just as the desert is the region of " darkness " 
 because it has no track (cf Jer. ii. 6, 31). For knew and have known, 
 render know, with R.V. 
 
32 ISAIAH, XLII. [vv. 17—19- 
 
 I will make darkness light before them, 
 
 And crooked things straight. 
 
 These things will I do unto them, and not forsake 
 
 them. 
 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly 
 
 ashamed, that trust in graven images. 
 That say to the molten images. Ye are our gods. 
 Hear, ye deaf; 
 
 And look, ye blind, that ye may see. 
 Who is blind, but my servant? 
 Or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? 
 
 crooked things straight] crooked places a plain (cf. ch. xl. 4). 
 these things... forsake them] Better: These are the things I have 
 determined to do (perf. of resolution) and not leave irndone. 
 
 17. The confusion of the idolaters, through the "revelation of the 
 glory of God " (ch. xl. 5), the Babylonians being those specially referred 
 to (cf. ch. xlvi. i) ; they shall be utterly ashamed (as ch. xli. 1 1). 
 
 18 — 25. An expostulation with Israel for its insensibility to the privi- 
 leges it has enjoyed. The passage is of considerable interest for the 
 light M'hich it tiirovvs on the sense in which the title " Servant of the 
 Lord " is to be understood. The discrepancy between the description 
 in w. I — 4 and that here given is at first sight perplexing. There the 
 Servant is spoken of as the perfect and successful worker for God, here 
 he is addressed as blind and deaf and altogether unfit for Jehovah's pur- 
 pose. Yet it is extremely unnatural to suppose that the writer applies 
 the term to two entirely different subjects. To suggest, as the prophet's 
 meaning, that the inefficient Servant is to be replaced by another, who 
 shall accomplish the work in which the former has failed is perhaps 
 the least satisfactory of all explanations, and misrepresents the 
 teaching of the prophecy. That the subject here addressed is Israel in 
 its actual present condition is beyond dispute ; hence vv. i — 4 must also 
 be regarded as in some sense a description of Israel. The contrast, in 
 short, is not between the false servant and the true, — the one a nation 
 and the other an individual, — but between Israel as it really is and 
 Israel according to its idea. Indeed it would seem that what the 
 prophet wishes his people to lay to heart is just this contrast between 
 its ideal calling and its actual accomplishments ; and this is more 
 intelligible if the ideal has been already depicted, and is still present to 
 the writer's mind. 
 
 18. look and see are distinguished as in 2 Kings iii. 14 ; Job xxxv. 5, 
 &c.; the former is to direct the gaze towards, the latter to take in the 
 significance of an object. 
 
 19. Israel is the blind and deaf nation par excellence, because no 
 other nation has been so tested by the opportunity of seeing and hearing 
 (see on v. 21). my messenger that /send (R.V.)] Cf. ch. xliv. 
 26, where " messengers " is parallel to *' servant." 
 
vv. 20— 22.J ISAIAH, XLil. 33 
 
 Who is blind as he that is perfect, 
 
 And blind as the Lord's servant? 
 
 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; 
 
 Opening the ears, but he heareth not. 
 
 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; 
 
 He will magnify the law, and make it honourable. 
 
 But this is a people robbed and spoiled; 
 
 They are all of them snared in holes, 
 
 as he that is perfect'\ R.V. has, " as he that is at peace with me."' 
 The meaning of the Heb. ??ieshulldm (a proper name in 2 Ki. xxii. 3 ; 
 Ezra viii. 16, and often) is uncertain. Many take it as the equivalent of 
 the Arabic *' Moslim," = *' the surrendered one " (Cheyne, Comm.). It 
 is no objection to this that it is based on an Aramaic use of the verb ; 
 but the idea seems hardly suitable, inasmuch as it implies a state of 
 character which the actual Israel does not possess. Probably a better 
 rendering is the befriended one (sc. by Jehovah), after the analogy of 
 Job V. 23. Another possible translation would be " the requited one " 
 (see R.V. marg.), but it is difficult to attach any definite meaning to the 
 expression in this context. 
 
 blind in the last clause should no doubt be deaf, as is read in some 
 M.SS. 
 
 20. Seeing jnany things] Render with R.V. in accordance with the 
 consonantal text, Thou hast seen many things; the form has been quite 
 needlessly changed by the punctuators. The idea of the verse is that 
 the gi-eat historical facts of revelation have been within the cognisance 
 of Israel, but it has failed to apprehend their true import. Cf. ch. 
 vi. 9 ff. 
 
 21. The verse reads : It was Jehovah's pleasure, for His righteous- 
 ness' sake, to magnify instruction (or, Revelation) and glorify it. 
 (See R.V.) Righteotisness \% to be understood exactly as \xv v. 6; and 
 the verbs *' magnify " and " glorify " are subordinate to " was pleased," 
 expressing that which Jehovah was pleased to do. (See Davidson, 
 Synt. § 83, R. I.) The only question is whether the reference is to the 
 past revelation in law and prophecy, by which Israel has failed to profit; 
 or to the future glorification of religion by its diffusion among the 
 nations {vv. i, 4, 6). The last is probably nearest the truth. The verse 
 is not an explanation of the "many things " that Israel has seen and 
 failed to see, but introduces a new thought. It expresses the great 
 purpose which Jehovah had cherished with regard to Israel— to make 
 it the instrument of extending the knowledge of His will to the world. 
 This is the true ** glorification " of the Toi-dh of Israel {v. 4). 
 
 22 ff. shew how this design has hitherto been frustrated by the 
 necessity of imposing chastisement on Israel, till it should learn its true 
 mission. 
 
 But this. . .] Rather, But it. snared in holes'] This is no doubt 
 
 the sense, although a change of pointing seems necessary in the verb, 
 making it a passive (read hilphah for haph'eah). The metaphor is for 
 
 ISAIAH II. 3 
 
34 ISAIAH, XLII. [vv. 23—25. 
 
 And they are hid in prison houses : 
 They are for a prey, and none deUvereth; 
 For a spoil, and none saith. Restore. 
 Who among you will give ear to this? 
 Who will hearken and hear for the time to come? 
 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? 
 Did not the Lord, he against whom we have sinned? 
 For they would not walk in his ways. 
 Neither were they obedient unto his law. 
 Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his 
 
 anger, and the strength of battle : 
 And it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; 
 And it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. 
 
 the captivity, but it is only a metaphor ; the prophet does not imagine 
 that a large proportion of the exiles were actually incarcerated in 
 dungeons. 
 
 23. The question expresses the prophet's wish that now at last some 
 of the people should begin to realise the significance of their relation to 
 Jehovah, and prepare themselves for the great deliverance. 
 
 •will give ear to this] i.e. to the substance of the present exhortation, 
 — the contrast betvi^een the ideal calling of Israel and its present position, 
 its failure to realise its mission, and (especially) the reason of that failure 
 {vv. 24 f.). 
 
 foi- the time to come"] in contrast to past disobedience. It is evident 
 that the prophet expects the mission of Israel to be realised by a con- 
 version of the nation. The process of that conversion is powerfully 
 described in ch. liii. 
 
 24. 25. The enigma of Israel's history is that Jehovah its God has 
 given it over to its enemies, — a truth vi^hich the nation as a whole has 
 never yet laid to heart. 
 
 for a spoil] A better reading (vi^hich is probably that intended by the 
 consonantal text) is to the spoiler. (Cf. ch. x. 13.) 
 
 did not the Lord] The whole of this answer is regarded by Duhm 
 and Cheyne as spurious. Its removal gets rid of an awkward alternation 
 of persons, and enables us to read v. 25 as a continuation of the question 
 in the first part of z/. 24. But Duhm goes too far when he objects to the 
 substance of the answer, on the ground that so explicit a confession of 
 sin is improbable before ch. xliii. i ff. The two last clauses are to be 
 translated as relatives, and in whose ways they would not walk (so 
 R.V.), and whose law they would not ohey. 
 
 25. Therefore should be simply and. the strength of battle] 
 the violence of war, which (as in ch. ix. i8flF. etc.) is compared to a 
 fire.^^ he knew not] i.e. " understood it not ; " hardly, "heeded it 
 not." Israel felt its calamities keenly enough, but did not comprehend 
 their significance, as a visitation from Jehovah. Note the contrast in 
 ch. xliii. 2. 
 
V. I.] ISAIAH, XLIII. 35 
 
 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, 43 
 
 Ch. XLIII. I. — XLIV. 5. Israel, in spite of its sin and 
 blindness, is comforted with gracious promises of 
 Redemption. 
 
 (i) vv. 1 — 7. This section is very closely connected in thought with 
 7W. 18 — 25 of the previous chapter. The contrast, however, is no 
 longer between the ideal Israel and the actual, but between Israel in 
 the misery of exile and Israel in the glory of its coming salvation. The 
 prophet has just reminded the captives that the author of their calamities 
 is Jehovah, against whom they have sinned ; now he assures them that 
 in spite of these sins God has not finally cast them off, and directs their 
 thoughts to the bright future about to dawn on them. Jehovah is 
 about to redeem Israel, which He has formed and chosen for His own 
 {vv. 1,2); He will ransom it at the cost of powerful and wealthy nations 
 which must take its place as servants of the world-power, because it is 
 precious in His sight {vv. 3, 4); He will gather together its scattered 
 members from the remotest quarters of the world {vv. 5 — 7). 
 
 (ii) vv. 8 — 13. The argument from prophecy is here repeated, and 
 again in the dramatic form of a judicial process between Jehovah and 
 the assembled nations. These are challenged to bring forward their 
 witnesses to prove that their gods have foretold this wonderful event, or 
 that any past prediction of theirs has been verified {v. 9). Jehovah on 
 His part brings forward His servant Israel, a people blind and deaf, but 
 able at least to bear witness to the fact that He has given incontestable 
 proof of Divinity by predicting this great deliverance {vv. 8, 10 ff.). 
 
 (iii) vv. 14 — 21. The fall of Babylon is here for the first time 
 explicitly announced {vv. 14, 15), as the preliminary to Israel's restoration. 
 The glory of this "new thing" shall eclipse all "former things," even 
 the wonders of the exodus from Eg}'pt and the marching through the 
 wilderness {vv. 16 ff.). The prophet's imagination again fixes on the 
 concrete image of the miraculous way through the desert as the emblem 
 of Jehovah's saving power {v. 19 ff.). 
 
 (iv) vv. 22 — 28. A renewed remonstrance with Israel, similar in 
 tone to ch. xlii. 18 — 25. The general idea of the section seems to be 
 that while Israel has been utterly careless of Jehovah {v. 22), burdening 
 Him not with lavish offerings but merely with its sins and iniquities 
 {w. 23, 24), He, for His own sake, forgives its trespasses {v. 25), 
 although the people have forfeited all claim on His mercy {vv. 26 — 28). 
 (But see the Notes below, pp. 42 f.) 
 
 (v) Ch. xliv. I — 5. By the outpouring of His Spirit, Jehovah shall 
 so bless and prosper His people, that proselytes from among the heathen 
 shall voluntarily attach themselves to the restored nation. This promise 
 stands in contrast to the severity of the preceding verses, exactly as vv. 
 I — 7 follow upon the last strophe of ch. xlii. 
 
 1 — 7. Israel, though blind and deaf (ch. xlii, i8ff.), is precious in 
 the sight of Jehovah its Creator, who is now about to shew Himself as 
 its Redeemer. 
 
 But notv] Introducing the contrast to xlii. 25. 
 
 3—2 
 
36 ISAIAH, XLIII. [vv. 2— 4. 
 
 And he that formed thee, O Israel, 
 
 Fear not : for I have redeemed thee, 
 
 I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 
 
 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with 
 
 thee; 
 And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : 
 When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be 
 
 burnt ; 
 Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 
 For I am the Lord thy God, 
 The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour : 
 I gave Egypt for thy ransom, 
 Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 
 Since thou wast precious in my sight, 
 
 that created thee... that formed thee\ Three verbs which express 
 Jehovah's creative activity are applied in this prophecy to His special 
 relations to Israel: *'create" (vv. i, 7, 15); "form" {^vv. i, 21, xliv. 2, 
 CI, 24, xlv. II, xlix. 5 (Ixiv. 8); "make" (xliv. 2, li. 13, liv, 5). 
 
 I have redeemed thee\ Rather, I redeem thee (perf. of certainty). See 
 on ch. xli. 14. I have called (I call) thee by thy na?/ie] i.e. I 
 
 address thee as one who is familiar and dear (xlv. 3 f., cf. Ex. xxxi. 2); 
 stronger than the simple "call" (xlii. 6, xlix. i). 
 
 2. When Jehovah was angry the fire burned Israel (ch. xlii. 25), but 
 now with Jehovah on its side, it is invulnerable in the severest trials. 
 '* Water" and " fire" are common images of extreme peril ; the former 
 in Ps. xxxii. 6, xlii. 7, cxxiv. 4f. ; the latter in ch. xlii. 25 (cf. Dan. iii. 
 17, 27); both together Ps. Ixvi. 12. For burned render scorolied 
 (Prov. vi. 28). 
 
 3. thy Saviotirl or, "Deliverer"; a favourite designation of Jehovah 
 with this prophet; v. 11, ch. xlv. 15, 21, xlix. 26 (Ix. 16, Ixiii. 8). The 
 second half of the verse shews on how large a scale this deliverance is 
 to be executed. 
 
 / give Egypt as thy ransom.. !\ The meaning appears to be that 
 Cyrus will be compensated for the emancipation of Israel by the 
 conquest of these African nations, which did not belong to the Baby- 
 lonian Empire. As a matter of fact the conquest of Egypt was effected 
 by Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus, although it is said to have 
 been contemplated by Cyrus himself (Herod, i. 153) and is actually 
 (though wrongly) attributed to him by Xenophon [Cyrop. viii, 6. 20). 
 
 Seba (Gen. x. 7; Ps. Ixxii. 10; ch. xlv. 14) was, according to Josephus, 
 Meroe, the northern province of Ethiopia, lying between the Blue and 
 the White Nile. 
 
 ransom is strictly a money payment by which a man escapes the 
 forfeit of his life (see Ex. xxi. 30; Num. xxxv. 31 f; Prov. vi. 35 &c.). 
 
 4. Since thou wast... thou hast been...] Rather, Because thou art 
 
vv. 5—8.] ISAIAH, XLIII. 37 
 
 Thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee : 
 
 Therefore will I give men for thee, 
 
 And people for thy life. 
 
 Fear not : for I am with thee : s 
 
 I will bring thy seed from the east, 
 
 And gather thee from the west; 
 
 I will say to the north, Give up; 6 
 
 And to the south. Keep not back : 
 
 Bring my sons from far, 
 
 And my daughters from the ends of the earth; 
 
 Even every one that is called by my name : 7 
 
 For I have created him for my glory, 
 
 I have formed him; yea, I have made him. 
 
 Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, 8 
 
 And the deaf that have ears. 
 
 precious in my sight, art honourable, and I love thee (three coordinate 
 clauses). The A.V. seems to take the conjunction in a temporal sense, 
 a view which has been defended by some commentators on grammatical 
 grounds, but is quite unsuitable. 
 
 men\ in contrast to a money payment. Y ox people read peoples 
 
 (as R.V.). 
 
 5 — 7. The ingathering of the Dispersion (cf. ch. xlix. 12). 
 
 6. my sons... viy daughter s\ See ch. i. i. The individual Israelites 
 are the children of the marriage between Jehovah and the nation (Hos. 
 ii. 2, 5; Ez. xvi. 20, &c.). 
 
 7. that is called by ??iy name'\ i.e. who belongs to the community in 
 which Jehovah is worshipped. 
 
 for I have created hmt] Render with R.V. and whom I have created. 
 
 for my glory"] Although it is only the restored nation that can fully 
 manifest Jehovah's glory to the world, each of its scattered units shares 
 the dignity which belongs to Israel as a whole. 
 
 8 — 13. Another imaginary judgement scene (cf. ch. xli. i — 4, 21 — 28), 
 in which Israel appears as Jehovah's witness to the truth of His 
 prophecies. 
 
 8. Bring forth] i.e. not "from exile," but "before the tribunal." 
 The sense demands an imperat., and the Heb. pointing (which gives a 
 perf.) must be altered accordingly. 
 
 a blind people that have eyes...] *'a people which is blind and 
 yet has eyes &c." This cannot mean "a people once blind and deaf, 
 but nozv in possession of sight and hearing"; and it scarcely means 
 anything so subtle as "a people which though blind and deaf yet possesses 
 the organs of sight and hearing," and therefore can be made to see and 
 hear (v. 10). The paradox is the same as in ch. xlii. 20 ("thou hast 
 seen many things but thou observest not," &c.) and goes back to ch. vi. 
 
38 ISAIAH, XLIII. [vv. 9, lo. 
 
 Let all the nations be gathered together, 
 
 And let the people be assembled : 
 
 Who among them can declare this, 
 
 And shew us former thtJigs? 
 
 Let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be 
 
 justified : 
 Or let them hear, and say, // is truth. 
 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, 
 And my servant whom I have chosen : 
 
 9 ff. ; the sense being that while Israel lacks insight into the divine 
 meaning of its own history, it is nevertheless a perfectly competent 
 witness to the bare external facts \ it has heard the predictions and 
 seen them fulfilled. 
 
 Q^. Let all the nations be gathered together^ The form of the verb in 
 Heb. presents difficulty. By some it is treated as a rare form of 
 imperat., on the ground of two doubtful analogies (so R.V, marg., 
 "Gather yourselves together &c."). Others take it as a precative perf. 
 (A.V. and R.V.) the existence of which in Heb. is also disputed (see 
 Driver, Tenses^ § 20). There seems, however, no reason why it should 
 not be understood as a perf. in the ordinary sense : All the nations are 
 gathered together. The assembling of the parties in the process 
 naturally precedes the calling of witnesses; and this clause is descriptive 
 of the scene presupposed by v. 8. The following verb should then be 
 })ointed as a consecutive impf. : and the peoples are assembled. 
 
 who among thevi (the heathen gods, represented by their worshippers) 
 can declare this'\ i.e. the contents of the prophecy, vv. i — 7. 
 
 former things] predictions of the events that have already taken place. 
 If they profess to do this, then let them bring forth their witnesses, in 
 support of their contention. 
 
 or let them hear, and say\ The subject is the witnesses, who are 
 supposed to hear the allegations of the false deities, and corroborate 
 them. 
 
 be justified... \\. is truth'] See on ch. xli. ■26. 
 
 10. The gods are unable to meet the challenge, and Jehovah turns 
 to His servant Israel, whose very presence is evidence of His power 
 both to predict and to deliver. The words and my servant are not a 
 complement of the subject ("ye are my witnesses, and [so is] my 
 Servant") but of the predicate (ye are my witnesses and [ye are] my 
 Servant). The former view would imply some sort of distinction 
 between the Servant and Israel, whether of an individual over against 
 the nation, or of a part of the nation over against the whole. But what- 
 ever view may be held of the personality of the Servant, the natural 
 construction of the sentence places it alongside of those numerous 
 passages where the title is applied to Israel. To bear witness to 
 Jehovah's divinity is one of the functions of Israel as the Servant of the 
 Lord. 
 
 1 
 
vv. 11—13.] ISAIAH, XLIII. 39 
 
 That ye may know and believe me, 
 
 And understand that 1 am he: 
 
 Before me there was no God formed, 
 
 Neither shall there be after me. 
 
 I, even I, am the Lord; 
 
 And beside me ^/lere is no saviour. 
 
 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, 
 
 When there was no strange god among you : 
 
 Therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I 
 
 am God. 
 Yea, before the day 7ms I am he; 
 
 that ye may know...'] In the very act of bearing witness, it would 
 seem that the mind of Israel is to be awakened to the grand truth of 
 which its own history is the evidence, — the sole divinity ofjehovah, and 
 its own unique position as His servant. 
 
 /am he] See ch. xli. 4. 
 
 before me there was no god formed] Strictly, of course, the idea is, 
 " before any god was formed I existed." The form of expression might 
 be derived from the Babylonian cosmology, according to which the gods 
 were the first beings to emerge from the primeval chaos. The following 
 words occur in the Chaldsean account of creation : "When of the gods 
 none had yet arisen, when none named a name or [determined] fate; 
 then were the \.great] gods formed'^ (Schrader, Cuneiform Inscriptions 
 on Gen. i. i). It is probably to this origin of the gods themselves 
 that reference is made, rather than to the formation of their images 
 (ch. xliv, 9). 
 
 11. /, even /, am the Lord] I, I am Jehovali; see on ch. xlii. 8. 
 there is no saviour] See on v. 3. 
 
 12. have decla?-ed... saved... shewed] The arrangement of the verbs 
 is peculiar. Some would remove the second, others the third, as 
 dittography. But if there be any error in the text it is more likely the 
 omission of a fourth word, which would be parallel to "saved," as 
 "shewed" is to "declared" (so Duhm). 
 
 zvhen there was no strange god] Rather as R.V. and there was 
 no strange (i.e. foreign) god. There cannot be an allusion to an early 
 period of the history, before idolatry had crept in ; because the deliver- 
 ance is conceived as having just taken place. It is true that many 
 "strange gods" had been acknowledged in Israel; but none of them 
 was really there, as a living active presence in their midst. The meaning 
 is, " It was I who did this, and no god who was a stranger among you." 
 strange god is strictly "stranger," as in Deut. xxxii. i6; Jer, ii. 25, 
 iii. 13. 
 
 therefore ye are. . .that I am God] Render : and ye are my witnesses, 
 and I am God. 
 
 13. Yea, before the day was] The correct translation is that of R.V. 
 marg. : Yea, from this day forth (lor all the luture) I am the same 
 
40 ISAIAH, XLIII. [vv. 14, 15. 1 
 
 And there is none that can deliver out of my hand: 
 I will work, and who shall let it? 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One 
 
 of Israel; 
 For your sake I have sent to Babylon, 
 And have brought down all their nobles, 
 And the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 
 I am the Lord, your Holy One, 
 The creator of Israel, your King. 
 
 (xli. 4) ; the deliverance marking a new era in Jehovah's manifestation 
 of Himself as God, the only God who is a Saviour {v. 11). 
 
 / will work.. .let it f] Better : I work, and wlio shall reverse it ? 
 
 14, 15. A new section (14 — 21) commences here with a brief but 
 explicit announcement of the fall of Babylon. 
 
 the Lord, your redeemer'] See on ch. xli. 14. 
 
 / have sent (or perhaps, I will send) to Babylott] As object of the 
 verb we must supply, the Persian army, the "consecrated ones" of 
 ch. xiii. 3. 
 
 and have brotight ...ships\ This sentence is somewhat peculiar in its 
 structure and phraseology, and many emendations have been proposed. 
 Accepting the text as it stands, the best translation is no doubt that 
 of R.V. and I will bring down all of them as fugitives, even the 
 Chaldeans in the ships of their rejoicing. Since the verb "bring 
 down" cannot be understood in two different senses in the two members, 
 the idea must be that they shall all be sent down the Euphrates as 
 fugitives in ships, which was precisely the manner in which Merodach- 
 baladan made his escape from Sennacherib (see Schrader, Cuneiform 
 Inscriptions, E. T. vol. ii. p. 36). A description of the ships on the 
 Euphrates is to be found in Herod, i. 194 ; they are here called " ships 
 of rejoicing" as having formerly been used for pleasure. The rendering, 
 however, is not altogether convincing. The " and " before " Chaldasans " 
 seems to make a distinction between them and the fugitives, which is 
 hardly to be explained by supposing that the latter are the foreign 
 merchants referred to in ch. xiii. 14. The probability is that the 
 difficulties are due to somewhat extensive omissions in the text. The 
 word for "fugitives" might (with the change of one vowel) be read as 
 "bolts," and this is taken by A.V., though without any justification, as 
 a metaphor for " nobles." It might, however, be a metaphor for the 
 defences of Babylon, or a symbol of Israel's captivity; "I will bring 
 down the bolts " gives a good enough sense so far as it goes. Another 
 slight emendation which naturally suggests itself is to change "ships'* 
 into "lamentations": "and the shouting of the Chaldseans into lamen- , 
 tations." 
 
 16 — 21. The sequel to the overthrow of Babylon is the deliverance 
 of Israel, the method of which is compared with the greatest miracle in 
 Israel's past history, the exodus from Egypt. 
 
vv. i6— 19.1 ISAIAH, XLIII. 41 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, 16 
 
 And a path in the mighty waters; 
 
 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army 17 
 
 and the power; 
 They shall lie down together, they shall not rise : 
 They are extinct, they are quenched as tow. 
 Remember ye not the former things^ 18 
 
 Neither consider the things of old. 
 
 Behold, I will do a new thing ; 19 
 
 Now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? 
 
 16. Thus saith the LORD] The oracle itself begins sX v. 18; it is 
 prefaced in vv. 16 f. by a vivid description of the mighty power of 
 Jehovah, as illustrated once for all at the crossing of the Red Sea 
 (Ex. xiv. f ). 
 
 in the mighty waters'] Cf. Neh. ix. 11. 
 
 17. which bringeth forth] i.e. allows them to come forth to their 
 destruction (cf. Ez. xxxviii. 4, where the same expression is used with 
 regard to the expedition of Gog, king of Magog). The next words 
 should be rendered simply chariot and horse (without art.). 
 
 the army and the power] Perhaps : army and warrior. The second 
 word is found elsewhere only in Ps. xxiv. 8 (A.V. "mighty") in 
 apposition with the common word for **hero." Here it may be used 
 collectively. 
 
 they shall lie down] Better : they lie down. 
 
 quenched as totv] extinguished like a wick; the same words as in 
 ch. xlii. 3. The alternation of tenses in the original is noteworthy and 
 very graphic. The participial construction first gives place to the 
 descriptive impf., and this again to two perfects of completed action. 
 
 18. Great as the wonders of the exodus were they shall be far 
 surpassed by that which Jehovah is about to do. The verse resumes 
 the opening clause oiv, 16. 
 
 Remember ye not...] Cf. Jer. xvi. 14 f., xxiii. 7 f. It is not meant of 
 course that the exodus shall be actually forgotten (see ch. xlvi. 9), but 
 only that it shall no longer be the supreme instance of Jehovah's 
 redeeming power. 
 
 former things. . .things of old] Cf. ch. xlvi. 9. Obviously the expression 
 "former things," so often used of past events predicted, here includes 
 the remote incidents of the deliverance from Egypt. 
 
 19. The making of the way through the desert and water for the 
 pilgrims to drink (see on ch. xl. 3 f., xli. 18 fif.) is considered to be a 
 miracle transcending the passage of the Red Sea, and all the miracles 
 which attended the first exodus. This is the new thing on which the 
 prophet's mind fastens as the symbol of Israel's deliverance. 
 
 noiu it shall ^c] Rather: even now it is springing forth; 
 do ye not recognise it? In ch. xlii. 9, the new things are spoken of as 
 announced before they "spring forth," while as yet there is no sign of 
 
42 ISAIAH, XLIII. [vv. 20, 21. 
 
 I will even make a way in the wilderness, 
 
 And rivers in the desert. 
 
 The beast of the field shall honour me, 
 
 The dragons and the owls : 
 
 Because I give waters in the wilderness, 
 
 And rivers in the desert, 
 
 To give drink to my people, my chosen. 
 
 This people have I formed for myself; 
 
 They shall shew forth my praise. 
 
 their appearing ; here to the lively imagination of the prophet they are 
 already seen "germinating," and he calls on the people to see them as 
 the inevitable issue of the conquests of Cyrus. But while the above 
 seems the most effective rendering of the question, that of ^he E.V. is 
 quite possible: — "shall ye not experience it." 
 
 thd deseri] Heb. yeshhndn, an utterly barren and arid region (Deut. 
 xxxii. 10; Ps. Ixviii. 7, Ixxviii. 40, cvii. 4 &c.) as distinguished fron: 
 midbay ("wilderness" or "steppe"), where flocks can find a scanty 
 sustenance. It occurs as a proper name in Num. xxi. 20 (i Sam. 
 xxvi. i). 
 
 20. Even the wild beasts shall honour Jehovah, unconsciously, 
 through their joy at the abundant supply of water. 
 
 the dragons and the owls\ Render as R.V. the jackals and the 
 ostriches. See on ch. xiii. ■zi, 1^. 
 
 21. The verse supplies an apposition to "my people" of v. 10. It 
 reads: The people which I have formed for myself, they shall tell 
 forth my praise. As the "streams in the desert" were created for 
 Israel and not for the "beasts of the field," so it is Israel alone that 
 can fully celebrate the praises of the Lord, Who is its Redeemer 
 (cf. I Pet. ii. 9). 
 
 22 — 28. Jehovah effects this deliverance for His own sake, not in 
 return for any service He has received at the hands of Israel. The 
 argument of the section is difficult to follow, especially in the part 
 which speaks of sacrifice. Two questions present themselves : {a) does 
 Jehovah upbraid His people with their neglect of ritual, or does He 
 assert His mun indifference to it? and {b), is the reference to the 
 whole course of Israel's history or merely to the period of the Exile ? 
 The answer to [b) seems determined by the consideration that if 
 understood of the history as a whole the statement is inconsistent with 
 fact. Although the prophet undoubtedly takes a dark view of Israel's 
 past religious condition {v. 27), we cannot suppose that he charges 
 it with disregard of the externals of religion. Whatever faults Israel 
 had been guilty of, it had not been slack in the performance of ritual 
 (see ch. i. 10 ff.). Now if we limit the reference to the Exile, the idea 
 of an implied reproach (a) must be abandoned, because the suspension 
 of the sacrificial system was in the circumstances inevitable. In other 
 words, the main thought here is expressed in the second half of 7-. 23 
 
vv. 22,23.] ISAIAH, XLlli. 43 
 
 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; 22 
 
 But thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. 
 
 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy 23 
 
 burnt offerings; 
 Neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. 
 I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, 
 
 more clearly than in the first halves of w. 23 and 24. At the same 
 time this hardly amounts to a repudiation of sacrifice in principle on the 
 part of Jehovah. The truth appears to be that the prophet directs 
 attention to the simple fact that during the Exile sacrifice had not been 
 offered ; whether Israel vv'as to blame for this or not is immaterial to his 
 argument. He has in his view the prevailing ideas of the time as 
 to the normal attitude of a people to its God; and he shews how 
 inadequate these are to explain Jehovah's relation to Israel. The 
 natural and proper thing was for a nation to invoke the name of its 
 God, and to honour Him with costly and laborious rites. Israel has 
 done none of these things, it has only burdened Jehovah with its sins ; 
 yet Jehovah proves Himself to be its God by forgiving its iniquities and 
 undertaking its cause against its enemies. 
 
 22. But thou hast not called upon me'\ To call upon Jehovah "in 
 the day of trouble" was the first and most obvious duty of Israel 
 (Ps. 1. 15), but this duty Israel has neglected. The statement is of 
 course general ; it does not exclude the existence of a believing minority 
 which poured out its heart in prayer to God. The position of the word 
 "me" is emphatic in the original; but the emphasis on the object 
 throws a corresponding emphasis on the subject: "But not upon w^ 
 hast thou called, Jacob"; it is I who have called thee (ch. xli. 9, xlii. 6, 
 xliii. I &c.). It is foreign to the context to suppose an antithesis between 
 Jehovah and other gods. 
 
 but thou hast been iveary of me] Or, perhaps : much less hast thou 
 wearied thyself about me (Cheyne). The translation of E.V. is 
 possible, although the expression is not elsewhere used of being weary 
 of a person. The other sense, however, is much to be preferred 
 because of v. 23 <^, and is justified by the analogy of ch. xlvii. 12, 15, 
 Ixii. 8; Josh. xxiv. 13. The use of the conjunction is peculiar;^ 
 the simple hz seems to have the same force as the fuller ^aph ki 
 (as in I Ki. viii. 27, "much less this house" &c.). The easiest 
 solution might be to suppose that the 'aph has been omitted, but this 
 is not really necessary. How Israel might have "wearied itself about" 
 Jehovah is explained in vv. 23 f 
 
 23. The absence of sacrifice has not impaired the bond between 
 Jehovah and His people. The thought presents a striking contrast 
 "to ch. i. 10 ff., a passage which was probably in the writer's mind. 
 
 the small cattle'] The Heb, word serves as the noun of unity to the 
 word for "flock" (i.e. sheep and goats). On burnt -offerings, sacrifices 
 and offering, see on ch. i. ir, 13. 
 
 / have not caused thee to serve] " have not treated thee as a slave," by 
 
44 ISAIAH, XLIII. [vv. 24, 25. 
 
 Nor wearied thee with incense. 
 
 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, 
 
 Neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices : 
 
 But thou hast made me to serve with thy sins. 
 
 Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. 
 
 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions 
 
 for mine own sake, 
 And will not remember thy sins. 
 
 exacting tribute. The statement might no doubt be understood abso- 
 lutely, according to Jer. vii. 2 1 fif. ; but it is perhaps sufficient to take 
 it of the Exile, when the non-essential character of sacrifice was revealed 
 by its enforced discontinuance (cf. Ps. li. i6). 
 
 incense] See ch. Ix. 6 ; Jer. vi. 20. In both these passages incense 
 is described as coming from Arabia, which agrees with the statement of 
 Pliny, that it was collected in the chief city of Hadramaut and thence 
 conveyed to Syria. The Heb. word {lebdndh), which is preserved in 
 the Gr. Xi^auos, Xtj3aj/wT6s, is quite different from that found in 
 ch. i. 13. 
 
 24. sweei cane] {qdneh) is also mentioned in Jer. vi. 20 as coming 
 from a "far country." It is supposed to be calamus odoraius, a product 
 of India, but grown also in Arabia and Syria ; hence Jarchi, the Jewish 
 commentator, explains: "because there was enough in Palestine"! It 
 formed an ingredient in the sacred oil with which the priests, the taber- 
 nacle, &c. were anointed (Ex. xxx. 23, E.V. "sweet calamus"). One 
 of the rare paronomasias in this prophecy is the play of words between 
 this name and the verb for "buy" {qdnah). 
 
 filled me] satiated me (as R.V. marg.). 
 
 with the fat] cf. Jer. xxxi. 14; Ps. xxxvi. 8= 
 
 but (only) thou hast Jtiade me to serve. . .] This is the contrast which the 
 prophet has had in view from the beginning of the section : while 
 Jehovah has not burdened His people even with the offerings which it 
 had been too ready to bring, it has burdened Him with its sins ; and 
 while Israel has taken its whole relation to Jehovah lightly. He has 
 accepted the burden, and laboured in its service for the removal of its 
 guilt. 
 
 25. Since Israel has neither brought sacrifices, nor even offered 
 prayer acceptable to Jehovah, He himself must take the initiative 
 in the work of redemption, blotting out its transgressions ' ' for his own 
 sake." In accordance with O.T. analogies, the act of forgiveness is 
 described simply as "not remembering" sin; but the actual working 
 out of forgiveness in history calls into exercise the resources of Omnipo- 
 tence ; it includes all Jehovah's dealings with His people, His handing 
 them over to the dominion of the heathen {v. 28), and saving them 
 again in His marvellous providence. The verse, moreover, contains 
 only one half of the prophet's teaching about forgiveness ; the other half 
 is the process by which the people are brought to repentance, and this 
 is the work of the Servant of the Lord, as described in ch. liii. 
 
vv. 26— 28; 1,2.] ISAIAH, XLIII. XLIV. 45 
 
 Put me in remembrance : let us plead together : 26 
 
 Declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. 
 
 Thy first father hath sinned, 27 
 
 And thy teachers have transgressed against me. 
 
 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, 28 
 
 And have given Jacob to the curse. 
 
 And Israel to reproaches. 
 
 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; 44 
 
 And Israel, whom I have chosen : 
 
 Thus saith the Lord that made thee, 2 
 
 And formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; 
 
 26. In order to bring home the charge of guilt (z^. 24) Jehovah sum- 
 mons the people to debate their cause with Him. As "w. 23 — 25 recall 
 ch. i. I off., so this verse seems to be suggested \iyv. 18 of that chapter. 
 
 Put me in remembrance] i.e. "of any merits thou canst claim, or any 
 plea thou canst urge, and which I have overlooked." 
 
 let Jis plead together'] "let us implead one another," as in i. 18, though 
 the verb is different. declare thou] Rather reckon thou up (Ps. 
 
 xl. 5). mayest bejustifed] mayest be in the right. 
 
 27. Thy first father] U ndoubtedly Jacob, the eponymous hero of the 
 nation, is meant (cf. Hos. xii. 3f.), not Abraham (who is never spoken 
 of in the later literature as sinful), nor the earliest ancestors collectively; 
 still less Adam. 
 
 thy teachers] Lit. as R.V. thine interpreters (Gen. xlii. 23), and 
 hence "mediators" (as Job xxxiii. 23; 2 Chr. xxxii. 31); used of the 
 prophets only here. On the idea, see Jer. xxiii. 1 1 ff. If the represen- 
 tative ancestor and the spiritual leaders of Israel were such, what must 
 the mass of the nation have been ! 
 
 28. Therefore I have profaned] is better than R.V. "Therefore I 
 will profane," although it requires the change of a vowel. The verb 
 (like the one following) is pointed as a cohortative, and as this appears 
 sometimes to express the idea of compulsion (see Driver, Tenses^ §§ 51 — 
 53) we may perhaps venture to render : and so I had to profane. 
 
 the princes of the sanctuary] Better: consecrated princes. The 
 priests are so named in i Chr. xxiv. 5; it is doubtful whether here 
 priests or kings or both are meant, the consecration by anointing being 
 common to both. 
 
 and have given... curse] Render: and had to deliver (see on last 
 clause) Jacoh to the ban. R.V. changes the translation for the worse. 
 
 xliv. 1 — 5. Once more the gloom of the present is lighted up by the 
 promise of a brilliant future; the Divine spirit shall be poured out on 
 Israel, and strangers shall esteem it an honour to attach themselves to 
 the people of Jehovah. 
 
 1. Yet now] But now; marking the contrast, exactly as in ch. xliii. i. 
 
 2. formed thee from the womb] See 7^ 24, ch. xlix.5 . 
 
46 ISAIAH, XLIV. [vv. 3, 4. 
 
 Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; 
 
 And iJiou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 
 
 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, 
 
 And floods upon the dry groujid: 
 
 I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, 
 
 And my blessing upon thine offspring : 
 
 And they shall spring up as among the grass, 
 
 As willows by the water courses. 
 
 Jeshurun occurs again only in Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxiii. 5, 26; 
 always as a synonym for Israel and a title of honour (hardly a diminu- 
 tive, as the termination might suggest). It means the "Upright One," 
 being formed from an adj. ydshdr, which is applied to Israel in Num. 
 xxiii. 10, and perhaps also in the phrase "book of Jashar" (see Josh. x. 
 13, R. v.). The history of the name is, however, altogether obscure. 
 The opinion that it was coined in opposition to Jacob (" the supplanter ") 
 has little to recommend it; although that antithesis may have led to its 
 selection by this prophet. 
 
 Should the recent supposed discovery of the name Israel on an Egyp- 
 tian monument of the reign of Merenptah be confirmed, it is possible 
 that fresh light may be thrown on the relation of the two names Israel 
 and Jeshurun. The form in which the word there appears is said to be 
 Yishir'H, the sibilant agreeing with Jeshurun but differing from the 
 traditional pronunciation of Yisro'el. Yishiril and Yeshiirfin might be 
 derivations from a common root, ydshar. (Brandt, Theologisch Tijd- 
 schrift, 1896, p. 511; cf. Renan, Hist, du peuple d" Israel, Vol. I., 
 p. 106). 
 
 8. On the first half of the verse see ch. xli. i7ff. Here, however, 
 a figurative sense predominates, as is shewn by what follows. The 
 "spirit" is the agent both of physical and moral regeneration, as in ch. 
 xxxii. 15 (cf. Ez. xxxvii. 11 — 14); the former idea being prominent; 
 hence the parallelism " spirit"—" blessing," the former being the cause, 
 the latter the effect. On the figure of water for the spirit, cf. John i. 33 
 etc seed and offspring are individual Israelites. 
 
 4. spring up as among the grass'\ R.V., more accurately, omits 
 "as"; but the text is unquestionably corrupt. There is no doubt that 
 the LXX. preserves the true reading : spring up as grass among the 
 waters. (Instead of the impossible I^Vn p3, read "l^Vn D^ID T^D.) 
 
 willows'] or poplars; see on ch. xv. 7. 
 
 6. The result of the Divine blessing manifested in Israel's restoration 
 will be that foreigners shall attach themselves as proselytes to the 
 Jewish community. The promise therefore goes far beyond ch. xliii. 
 5 — 7, It is perhaps barely possible (with Dillmann) to understand this 
 verse also of Israelites by birth, in the sense that they shall esteem it an 
 honour to belong to their own nation; but this is certainly unnatural 
 and scarcely to be reconciled with the second and fourth members of the 
 verse. 
 
vv. 5, 6.] ISAIAH, XLIV. 47 
 
 One shall say, I a7n the Lord's ; 5 
 
 And another shall call himself by the name of Jacob ; 
 And another shall subscribe with his hand unto the 
 
 Lord, 
 And surname himself by the name of Israel. 
 
 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, 6 
 
 call himself by the name of facod] The words, strictly rendered, 
 would mean "call on the name of Jacob." It simplifies the construction 
 greatly if, with Duhm, we vocalize this verb (as well as the last verb 
 of the verse) as a passive: — "shall be called" etc. 
 
 subscribe with his hand unto the Lord] Rather: inscribe his hand 
 * To Jehovah.' The allusion is to the practice of branding slaves with the 
 name of their owner, or perhaps to the religious custom of tattooing 
 sacred marks on the person (Lev. xix. 28). See Ezek. ix. 4; Gal. vi. 17 ; 
 Rev. vii. 3, xiii. 16. 
 
 surfia??ie himself (or better be surnamed, see above) by the name of 
 Israel] The verb is connected etymologically with an Arabic word 
 kunya, although it is used here in a wider sense. The kunya is a sort 
 of household name, which consists in designating a man as the father of 
 a particular child; thus in Nimmer ibn Kobldn Abti Faris (N., son of 
 K., father of F.) the last title is the kunya. (Seetzen, Reisen, Vol. Ii., 
 p. 327.) Besides this, however, the Arabs make great use of honorific 
 X\t\es,\\\^e NAr-eddm ("Light of the Religion") etc. ; and it is in a sense 
 corresponding to this that the Heb. verb is always used; cf. ch. xlv. 4 
 and esp. Job xxxii. 21 f. (A.V. "give flattering titles"). The meaning, 
 therefore, is that in addition to their personal names the proselytes will 
 adopt the name of Israel as a title of honour. Cf. Ps. Ixxxvii. 4 f. 
 
 Ch. XLIV. 6—23. The Reality of Jehovah's Godhead, evinced 
 BY His Predictions, and contrasted with the manifold 
 absurdities of Idolatry. 
 
 The passage, which is merely a restatement of ideas already expressed, 
 consists of three divisions : 
 
 i. w. 6 — 8. A re -assertion and demonstration of the eternity and 
 sole Divinity of Jehovah. 
 
 ii. vv. 9 — 20. A fresh exposure — the most complete and remorseless 
 that the book contains — of the irrationality of idol-worship. 
 
 iii. w. 21 — 23. An exhortation to the exiles to lay these truths to 
 heart, and cleave to the God who forgives their sins and who alone can 
 deliver, v. 23 is a lyrical effusion, such as the thought of the redemp- 
 tion frequently calls forth from the prophet. 
 
 6 — 8. There is no God but Jehovah and Israel is His witness : this 
 is the substance of the verses, and the proof is the familiar one from 
 prophecy. 
 
 the King of Israel] See on ch. xli. ai. 
 
48 ISAIAH, XLIV. [v. 7. 
 
 And his redeemer the Lord of hosts; 
 I am the first, and I am the last; 
 And besides me there is no God. 
 And who, as I, shall call, 
 
 And shall declare it, and set it in order for me, 
 Since I appointed the ancient people? 
 And the things that are coming, and shall come, let 
 them shew unto them. 
 
 the Lord of hosts'\ this solemn appellation (see on ch. i. 9) occurs 
 here for the first time in this prophecy (cf. ch. xlv. 13, xlvii. 4, xlviii. 2, 
 li. 15, liv. 5). 
 
 /am the first and I oxci the last] So ch. xlviii. 12 ; see on xli. 4, and 
 cf. Rev. i. 8, 17, xxii. 13. besides ??ie there is no God] a fuller 
 
 expression of monotheism than ch. xliii. 10. 
 
 7. The proof of v. 6 is found in the incontestable fact of pro- 
 phecy (as ch. xli. 22 ff., xliii, 9, 12; &c.). The verse as translated in 
 A.V. and R.V. reads very awkwardly; it would have to be paraphrased 
 thus: "And which of the other gods shall call etc., as I have done since 
 I appointed the ancient people? ' But the distance of the last clause 
 from the "as I" on which it depends is so great as to make the con- 
 struction unnatural. It is better, with most commentators, to suppose 
 a parenthesis, and render thus : "And who, as I, proclaims (and let him 
 declare it and set it in order before me) since I founded the people of 
 antiquity?" But a parenthesis is always more or less suspicious in a 
 Hebrew sentence, and this one is doubly so on account of the "and" 
 which introduces it. The LXX. reads, "And who is like me? Let him 
 stand and proclaim &c." The additional verb ("stand") is likely to be 
 original, and the construction of the first part of the clause is faultless. 
 The only difficulty is presented by the temporal clause, "since I ap- 
 pointed " etc., on which see below. 
 
 call] means proclaim or "prophesy," as in ch. xl. 6. 
 
 set [it] in order] used of the arrangement of discourse, as Job xxxii. 14 j 
 Ps. 1. 21, V. 3. 
 
 since I appointed the...] Better: "since I founded the people of 
 antiquity." The most probable meaning is that prophecy has been con- 
 tinuous during the long period since Israel was formed into a nation. 
 Some take the expression to denote the earliest population of the world 
 (cf. ch. xli. 4) ; but this is less likely. Ewald applies it to Israel, but in 
 the sense "everlasting people." In Ez. xxvi. 20 the same phrase is 
 used of the shades in the underworld. 
 
 Several difficulties in the verse are got rid of by an attractive emenda- 
 tion of Oort (followed by Duhm), which makes this clause read; "who 
 hath announced from of old?" (D^IVD V^DK^H >D instead of ^OC'D 
 DbiyOy ; cf. ch. xlv. 21). The whole verse would then be rendered: 
 And who is like me? Let him stand and proclaim, and declare It and 
 set in order to me. Who hath announced from of old future things 7 
 and things to come let them declare. 
 
vv. 8, 9.] ISAIAH, XLIV. 49 
 
 Fear ye not, neither be afraid : s 
 
 Have not I told thee from that time, 
 
 And have declared itl ye are even my witnesses. 
 
 Is there a God besides me? 
 
 Yea, there is no God; I know not any. 
 
 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity ; 9 
 
 And their delectable things shall not profit; 
 
 And they are their own witnesses; 
 
 things that are cojiimg and that shall come are equivalent expressions; 
 there is no foundation for Delitzsch's notion that the former denotes the 
 future in general, and the latter the immediate future (see on ch. xli. 22). 
 
 8. Fear ye not] in the coming convulsions; the ground of confidence 
 is that Jehovah has proved His control over these events by foretelling 
 them. The verb for de afraid does not occur elsewhere. 
 
 frojH that time] Rather beforehand, or, from of old ; as ch. xlv. 21, 
 xlviii. 3, 5, 7. 
 
 and ye are my witnesses (R.V.)] Cf. ch. xliii. 10, 12. 
 
 no God] no Rock, as R.V. Cf. Deut. xxxii. 4, etc. 
 
 9 — 20. The course of thought is as follows : 
 
 (i) The makers of images are themselves frail men, and the gods they 
 fashion cannot profit them {9 — ii). 
 
 (2) The process of manufacture is then described in minute detail, 
 shewing what an expenditure of human strength and contrivance is 
 involved in the production of these useless deities (12 f.). 
 
 (3) Nay, the very material of which they may be composed is selected 
 at haphazard from the trees of the forest, and might just as readily have 
 been applied to cook the idolater's food (14 — 17). 
 
 (4) Finally, with incisive and relentless logic, the MTiter exposes the 
 strange infatuation which renders the idolater incapable of applying the 
 most rudimentary principles of reason to his own actions (r8 — 20). 
 
 9 — 11. The argument opens with the assertion of the nothingness 
 alike of the idol and its makers. Fear on the part of Israel would 
 be justified if other gods besides Jehovah had any power to influence the 
 course of history. 
 
 a graven image] for "image" in general, as ch. xl. 19. The writer 
 assumes that the god is the image and nothing more ; since the image is 
 plainly the work of human hands, the god cannot be greater than men 
 or able to save them. This of course is dii-ectly opposed to the funda- 
 mental assumption of the idolaters themselves, who distinguished 
 between the image and the divinity represented by it (see on v. 11). 
 
 vanity] lit. " chaos," as in xl. 17, xli. 29. 
 
 their delectable things] "the objects in which they delight," i.e. the 
 idols. 
 
 and they are their own witnesses] R.V. *' and their own witnesses 
 see not," etc. Render simply : and their witnesses ; their devotees, see 
 ch. xliii. 9. The pronoun which suggests the *' own " of A.V. and R.V. 
 is marked by the so-called puncta extraordinaria as suspicious, and is 
 
 ISAIAH II. A 
 
50 ISAIAH, XLIV. [vv. 10—12. 
 
 They see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. 
 
 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image 
 
 That is profitable for nothing? 
 
 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: 
 
 And the workmen, they are of men : 
 
 Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; 
 
 Yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. 
 
 The smith ivith the tongs both worketh in the coals, 
 
 And fashioneth it with hammers. 
 
 And worketh it with the strength of his arms : 
 
 therefore unaccented. If it is retained in the text (as it may very well 
 be) the better ti'anslation is, " and as for their witnesses, they see not " 
 &c. 
 
 that they may be ashamed^ The consequence of their ignorance ex- 
 pressed as a purpose. 
 
 10. Who hath foryned, ^c.'\ A rhetorical question : who has been 
 such a fool ? On molten a graven image see ch. xl. 19. 
 
 11. all his fellows] The word denotes the members of a guild, and 
 is understood by A.V. of the gang of craftsmen employed in the making 
 of the idol. It should rather be interpreted as the "adherents," the 
 clientele of the false god himself, as in R. V, marg., " all that join them- 
 selves thereto." Cf. Hos. iv. 17 ("associated with idols") and i Cor. 
 X. 20. are of men\ belong to the category of men (xl. 17), and 
 how can men produce a god ? Duhm, changing the vowel-points, 
 renders: "Behold all the spells (cf. ch. xlvii. 9, 12) are put to 
 shame, and as for enchantments (cf. ch. iii. 3), they are of men;" an 
 allusion to the magical process by which, in all systems of idolatry, 
 the manufactured image is transformed into a fetish, the residence of a 
 divinity. Similarly Cheyne {Introd. p. 301). 
 
 12. 13. This truth enforced by a description of the manufacture of 
 the idols. 
 
 The smith] lit. "the workman in iron," as opposed to the "work- 
 man in wood " of the next verse. The text is corrupt at the beginning. 
 R.V. has "the smith (maketh) an axe"; LXX. " the workman sharpeneth 
 iron, worketh it with the adze &c.," not perceiving that the verse speaks 
 of the blacksmitK s labours. It is possible, no doubt, to take the word 
 for " axe " (which is found again only in Jer. x, 3), as meaning ''cutting 
 instrument," for dividing the mass of iron on the anvil ; but this is 
 suggested by nothing in the verse ; and moreover, the description is 
 certainly not that of the manufacture of an implement, whether for the 
 smith or the carpenter. The only feasible solution is to omit the "axe" 
 altogether as a marginal gloss by some reader who fell into the 
 same error as the LXX. translator. Render : The smith works with 
 the coals. 
 
 fashioneth it (the iron core of the idol) with hammers] cf ch. xli. 7. 
 
 and worketh it with his strong arm] R.V. Gesenius cites in illustra- 
 tion two lines of Vergil {Georg. iv. 174 1.), 
 
vv. 13— 15J ISAIAH, XLIV. 51 
 
 Yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: 
 
 He drinketh no water, and is faint. 
 
 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule ; he marketh it 13 
 
 out with a line; 
 He fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with 
 
 the compass, 
 And maketh it after the figure of a man, according to 
 
 the beauty of a man ; 
 That it may remain m the house. 
 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress >4 
 
 and the oak, 
 Which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees 
 
 of the forest : 
 He planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish //. 
 Then shall it be for a man to burn : 15 
 
 *' Illi inter sese magna vi brachia tollunt 
 In numerum, versantque tenaci forcipe ferrum." 
 
 yea^ he is hungry... '\ The point is that the man who makes his own 
 gods exhausts his strength in the process ; contrast ch. xl. 31. 
 
 13. The carpenter\ lit., " the workman in wood." 
 
 stretcheth out a line, (R.V.)] to mark off the dimensions of the future 
 image on the block of wood. For line in the next clause read pencil 
 (as R.V.) ; the word, like that for "planes" (which may mean " chisels" 
 or any cutting implement), occurs only here. 
 
 fitteth^ R.V. "shapeth " ; lit. maketh. 
 
 that it may remain in the house"] to dwell in a house ; either a great 
 temple, or a private shrine. 
 
 14 — 17. The writer now goes back to the material of which this 
 second kind of idol is made. 
 
 He heweth him dozvn] The Heb. text, which reads " to hew down," 
 probably contains a mistake in the first letter. 
 
 strengtheneth for hifnself] must mean " allows to grow strong " in its 
 native forest. Nay, in some cases the future deity has been actually 
 planted by his worshipper, and nourished by the rain from heaven ! The 
 words tirzdh (" cypress") and ''oren (" ash ") occur only here in the O.T. 
 The former, according to the Vulg. and the Greek Versions of Aquila 
 and Theodotion, is the " holm-oak " {j.lex) ; the latter may be translated 
 '• pine" (Vulg.) ; the corresponding word in Assyrian denotes the cedar. 
 
 15, 16. Comp. (with Lowth) Horace, Sat. i. 8, i ff. : 
 
 " Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum, 
 Cum faber, incertus, scamnum taceretne Priapum, 
 Maluit esse Deum," 
 
 Also Wisd. Sol. xiii. 11 — 13. 
 
 4—2 
 
52 ISAIAH, XLIV. [vv. 16—20. 
 
 For he will take thereof, and warm himself; 
 
 Yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; 
 
 Yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it ; 
 
 He maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. 
 
 16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; 
 With part thereof he eateth flesh ; 
 He roasteth roast, and is satisfied : 
 
 Yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, 
 I am warm, I have seen the fire : 
 
 17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his 
 
 graven image : 
 He falleth down unto it, and worshippeth //, and 
 
 prayeth unto it, 
 And saith, Deliver me ; for thou art my god. 
 
 18 They have not known nor understood : 
 
 For he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; 
 And their hearts, that they cannot understand. 
 
 19 And none considereth in his heart, 
 
 Neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, 
 
 I have burnt part of it in the fire ; 
 
 Yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; 
 
 I have roasted flesh, and eaten it : 
 
 And shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? 
 
 Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? 
 
 20 He feedeth on ashes: 
 
 The word rendered *' falleth down {sdf^ad) " is an Aramaic verb 
 meaning "worship," recurring in the O.T. only w. 17, 19 and ch. 
 xlvi. 6. It is the root of the Arabic word mosque (musgid). 
 
 16. part thereof ^ lit. "half thereof," as opposed to "the residue 
 thereof " in z'. 17. Cf. v. 19, "upon the coals thereof." 
 
 18 — 20. But such is the infatuation of idolatry, that its blinded 
 votaries never pause to reflect on their actions ; the idolater has 
 not sense enough to say to himself in plain words what he has done. 
 
 They have not . . .tmderstood] Better, as R.V. they know not, neither 
 do they consider. he hath shut their eyes] Rather : their eyes 
 
 are besmeared, as it were plastered over, so that they cannot see (a 
 different verb, however, from that used by Isaiah in vi. 10, &c.). 
 
 19. considereth in his hearty R.V. calleth to mind ; lit. " bringeth 
 it back to his heart," i.e. " recalls in thought," a somewhat rare 
 expression {see ch. xlvi. 8 ; Deut. iv. 39, xxx. i ; i Ki. viii. 47). 
 
 part of ii] See on v. 16. The word rendered stock occurs again only 
 in Job xl. 20, where it seems to mean " produce." 
 
 20. He feedeth on ashes'^ lit., "a shepherd of ashes". Duhm rather 
 
 ! 
 
r. 21—23.] ISAIAH, XLIV. 53 
 
 A deceived heart hath turned him aside, 
 
 That he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, 
 
 Is there not a lie in my right hand ? 
 
 Remember these, O Jacob 2t 
 
 And Israel ; for thou art my servant : 
 
 I have formed thee ; thou art my servant : 
 
 Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. 
 
 1 have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, 22 
 And, as a cloud, thy sins : 
 
 Return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. 
 
 Sing, O ye heavens ; for the Lord hath done it : 23 
 
 Shout, ye lower parts of the earth : 
 
 fancifully suggests that the image may be that of a man trying to feed 
 his flock on a pasture that has been reduced to ashes: " A shepherd 
 of (or on) ashes is he whom a deceived heart hath turned aside " (from 
 the ways of reason). Another rendering might be : "One who finds 
 satisfaction in ashes is he whom, &c." For this sense of the verb rd''ah 
 see Hos. xii. i (?) ; Ps. xxxvii. 3 ; Pro v. xv. 14, &c. (Gesenius, Lexicon^^, 
 sub ve7-bo). 
 
 and he shall not deliver his sotii] Cf. v. ij. 
 
 Is there uot a tie...] Am I not cleaving to that which will disappoint 
 my hope ? 
 
 21. 22. An admonition to Israel to lay these truths to heart and 
 realise its special relation to the one living and true God. 
 
 Remefnbey- these] i.e. these things (R.V.), the principles enforced in 
 the preceding passage. 
 
 thoti shalt not be fo7'gotten of ine\ The Heb. construction, a passive 
 verb with accusative suffix, is abnori:iial. All the ancient versions and 
 many commentators render "thou shalt (or wilt) not forget me"; but 
 this is hardly defensible. The suffix must denote the indirect obj. 
 (dative) as is sometimes the case with intransitive verbs. (See Davidson, 
 Synt. § 73 R. 4.) For the sense, cf. ch. xl. '27,xlix. 14 ff. 
 
 22. Cf. ch. xliii. 25, " The sense of being forgotten of God is pro- 
 duced by the consciousness of guilt ; hence the promise of forgiveness is 
 here repeated " (Dillmann). 
 
 as a thick cloud... as a cloud] An image of transitoriness ; Hos. vi. 4, 
 xiii. 3 ; Job vii. 9, xxx. 15. 
 
 23. The prophet in a transport of joy calls on heaven and earth to 
 celebrate the wonders of Israel's redemption. Cf. ch. xlii. 10 — 13, 
 xlv. 8. The poetic outburst marks the end of the section. 
 
 the Lord hath done it] The redemption is already as good as com- 
 plete ; see the end of the verse. 
 
 ye lo7ver parts of the earth] or depths of the earth, the antithesis to 
 " ye heavens." 
 
54 ISAIAH, XLIV. [v. 23 
 
 Break forth into singing, ye mountains, 
 O forest, and every tree therein : 
 For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, 
 And glorified himself in Israel. 
 
 break forth into singing] Cf. ch. xiv. 7. 
 
 and glorified] R.V., more correctly : and will glorify. Cf. ch. xlix. 3, 
 Ix. 21, Ixi. 3. 
 
 Ch. XLIV. 24— XLV. 25. Jehovah's Commission to Cyrus, 
 His anointed, whose victories shall bring about the 
 
 UNIVERSAL recognition OF THE TRUE GOD. 
 
 The distinctive feature of this important section of the book is the 
 prominence given to the person and work of the Persian conqueror, 
 Cyms. The leading idea is no longer the relation of Israel to Jehovah, 
 but the glorious effects that are to follow its deliverance through the 
 agency of this divinely chosen hero. In the earlier allusions to Cyrus 
 (ch. xli. I — 4, 25 — 29) he is spoken of as one whose remarkable career 
 has challenged the attention of the world and illustrated the inability of 
 the heathen religions to deal with the great crises of history. There 
 have been abundant intimations that he is the destined instrument of 
 Israel's restoration, but these have hitherto occupied a secondary place 
 in the prophet's thoughts. Here, however, the figure of Cyrus is 
 brought prominently on the scene, he is addressed directly and by 
 name, and the ultimate scope of his mission is clearly unfolded. He is 
 to set the exiles free, to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple ; and the far- 
 reaching moral result of his singular generosity to Israel will be the 
 downfall of heathenism everywhere and the universal conviction that 
 Jehovah is the only God who is a Deliverer. There are five divisions : 
 
 1. ch. xliv. 24 — 28 is an introduction to the central passage, which 
 immediately follows. Jehovah, still addressing Israel, describes Him- 
 self by a majestic series of attributes, gradually converging from the 
 thought of His creative power to the particular point which is the subject 
 of the present discourse, His selection of Cyrus as the instrument of His 
 purpose. 
 
 ii. ch. xlv. I — 8. — The Divine speaker now addresses Cyrus in person, 
 promising to him an uninterrupted career of victory (i — 3) ; yet it is in 
 the interest of Israel that he, a stranger to the true God, is thus called 
 and commissioned (4) ; and the final issue of his achievements will be a 
 general recognition throughout the world of the sole Godhead of Jehovah 
 (5 — 7)- — The last verse (8) is a poetic interlude like ch. xlii. 10 ff., xliv. 
 23, &c. 
 
 iii. vv. 9 — 13. — Here the prophet turns aside to rebuke the murmurs 
 of dissent which this novel announcement calls forth amongst his fellow 
 countrymen (9 — 11). It would appear that there were ?ome of the 
 Israelites who rebelled against the thought of a foreign piince as the 
 Anointed of Jehovah and the Saviour of Israel. The answer to these 
 cavillers is an assertion of the absolute sovereignty of Jehovah, who 
 
vv. 24—26.] ISAIAH XLIV. 55 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, 24 
 
 And he that formed thee from the womb, 
 
 I am the Lord that maketh all thi?igs ; 
 
 That stretcheth forth the heavens alone; 
 
 That spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; 
 
 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, 25 
 
 And maketh diviners mad ; 
 
 That turneth wise 7nen backward, 
 
 And maketh their knowledge foolish; 
 
 That confirmeth the word of his servant, 26 
 
 reaffirms His choice of Cyrus as the instrument of Israel's deliverance 
 {12, 13). 
 
 iv. vv. 14 — 17. — Transporting himself to the time when the Divine 
 purpose shall be realised, the writer depicts the procession of conquered 
 nations who do homage to Israel as the people of the true God, and, 
 renouncing idolatry, acknowledge the hand of Jehovah in Israel's 
 everlasting salvation. 
 
 v. vv. 18 — 25. — This deliverance of Israel culminates in salvation 
 to the world at large. The passage contains some of the most striking 
 thoughts in the whole prophecy. The character of Jehovah, His good- 
 will to men, is to be learned from His creation of a habitable world (18) 
 and from the manner of His Revelation to Israel (19). He has shewn 
 Himself to be the only "righteous and saving God" (21) ; and the 
 heathen are now invited to share in His salvation through faith in His 
 sole divinity (■20, 22). It is His irrevocable purpose thus to secure 
 universal homage (■23 — 25). 
 
 24 — 28. Jehovah, the God of creation and of prophecy, has chosen 
 Cyrus to execute his purpose with regard to Israel. 
 
 thy redee77ier\ See on ch. xli. 14. formed thee from the womb] 
 
 as in V. 2. 
 
 that stretcheth .. .alone\ Cf. ch. xl. 22; xlii. 5; Job ix. 8. 
 
 by 77iyself\ The A.V. here follows the reading presupposed by the 
 vowel-points (Qere). The R.V. rightly goes back to the consonantal 
 text {Kethib) which is preserved in the LXX. and Vulg. and some 
 Hebrew MSS. Render accordingly : who was with me? i.e. there was 
 none to help me. 
 
 25, 26. The overthrow of heathen soothsaying and the establishment 
 of true prophecy as it existed in Israel. 
 
 the tokens of the liars'] Or, the signs Of the praters (cf. Jer. 1. 36, 
 and see on ch. xvi. 6 where the word means "pratings"). The "signs" 
 (see Deut. xiii. i f.) referred to are the omens on which the diviners 
 based their forecasts of the future. How much reliance was placed on 
 these prognostications by the Babylonians will be seen from ch. xlvii. 
 
 diviners] See on ch. iii. 2. 
 
 26. That confirmeth] is the antithesis to "that irustrateth" in v. 25. 
 (Cf. Jer. xxix. 10, xxxiii. 14). 
 
56 ISAIAH, XLIV. [vv. 27, 28. 
 
 And performeth the counsel of his messengers; 
 That saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited ; 
 And to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, 
 And I will raise up the decayed places thereof: 
 That saith to the deep, Be dry, 
 And I will dry up thy rivers : 
 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, 
 And shall perform all my pleasure : 
 
 the word of his servant... the counsel of his messengers'] are parallel 
 expressions for the word of prophecy. The sing, "servant" presents 
 some difficulty. That it is equivalent to ** prophet" is clear from the 
 context; but that a particular prophet, such as Jeremiah or the writer 
 himself, is meant is extremely improbable. It might conceivably be 
 used of the prophets collectively, or of Israel as the bearer of the pro- 
 phetic word, but the parallelism with "messengers" in the next clause 
 is opposed to both these interpretations. The word should probably be 
 pointed as a plural, — his servants; which is the reading of the Codex 
 Alexandrinus of the LXX. 
 
 performeth] Lit. completeth. 
 
 that saith dr'r.] that saith of Jerusalem, Let her be inhabited; 
 and of the cities of Judah, Let them be built. At this point, as 
 Delitzsch observes, the transition is made to special predictions bearing 
 on the restoration of Israel. 
 
 decayed places] R.V. waste places, or ruins. 
 
 27. the deep] is a figure for the obstacles to the deliverance of Israel. 
 It has been thought by some commentators (including Vitringa and 
 Lowth) that the verse contains an allusion to the well-known stratagem 
 by which Cyrus is said to have got possession of Babylon (Herodotus i. 
 185 — 191). The Hebrew word for "deep " might no doubt be applied 
 to a river, as a cognate word is in Zech. x. 11. But the recently dis- 
 covered Cyrus-inscriptions seem to shew that the narrative of Herodotus 
 is legendary. See Introd. p, xviii. 
 
 28. The series of predicates here culminates in the mention by name 
 of the conqueror of Babylon and liberator of Israel. The name Cyrus 
 is in Persian Kilrush, in Babylonian Kurash, in Greek KOpos. The 
 traditional Hebrew pronunciation is Koresh, but it is probable that the 
 original form preserved the chai-acteristic long u which appears in the 
 other languages. On the career of Cyrus see Introduction, pp. xvii ff. 
 
 He is my shepherd] Or simply, My Shepherd. "Shepherd" here 
 means "ruler" as in Jer. iii. 15 ; Ezek. xxxiv. pass. ; Mic. v. 5 : comp. 
 the Homeric woifi^ves XaQu. It is one of the honorific titles alluded to 
 in ch. xlv. 4. 
 
 perform all my pleasure] Or, complete all my purpose ; cf. ch. xlvi. 
 10, xlviii. 14, liii. 10. This use of the Heb. word for "pleasure" 
 illustrates the transition to its later sense of "business" (ch. Iviii. 3, 13) 
 or "matter" (Eccl. v. 8, viii. 6). Comp. Arab, ^//ajj/' ( = thing) from 
 sh&'a (to will). 
 
vv. 28; I.] ISAIAH, XLV. 57 
 
 Even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; 
 And to the temple. Thy foundation shall be laid. 
 Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, 45 
 
 Whose right hand I have hold en, 
 
 even saying\ If the text be right the meaning would probably be 
 that Cyrus would accomplish Jehovah's purpose by giving the order 
 for the rebuilding of the Temple &c. LXX. and Vulg. read " that 
 saith," substituting a participle for the inf of the Heb. In this case 
 the subject is Jehovah, as throughout the passage. 
 
 Instead oito ye^-itsalem, TJvou shalt be...y the Heb. has of Jerusalem, 
 Let her be.... See on v. 16. 
 
 According to Josephus {Ant. xi. i. 2) it was the reading of this verse 
 that fired Cyiois with the ambition to restore the Jewish Temple and 
 nationality. The statement, if true, would of course detract nothing 
 from the 'significance of the prophecy. But it has no claim to be 
 accepted, and would assuredly never have been made but for the 
 assumption that the words were written by Isaiah "one hundred and 
 forty years before the destruction of the Temple." 
 
 xlv. 1 — 7. The apostrophe to Cyrus expresses dramatically the purpose 
 of Jehovah in raising up the Persian conqueror. The idea that the true 
 God has made a personal revelation of Himself to the mind of Cyrus is 
 not implied ; Cyrus is to learn the religious significance of his mission 
 from its results {v. 3), just as mankind at large comes to understand it 
 {v. 6). The direct address to Cyrus [vv. 2ff.) is prefaced in z/. i by a 
 series of clauses describing his invincible career, which has already 
 attracted the attention of the world. There is a startling resemblance 
 between some of the expressions here used of Jehovah's choice of Cyrus, 
 and some of those employed by the Babylonian writer of the " Annalistic 
 Tablet " in describing him as the favourite of Merodach. We read 
 there that "Merodach... appointed a prince who should guide aright the 
 wish of the heart which his hand upholds, even Cyrus... " that he "has 
 proclaimed his title ; for the sovereignty of all the world does he com- 
 memorate his name," and that he "beheld with joy the deeds of his 
 vicegerent, who was righteous in hand and heart," and that "like a 
 friend and comrade he went at his side." (See Introduction, p. xviii.) 
 
 to his njwinted, to Cyrjis] The Hebr. word for "anointed" {mashi&h), 
 when used as a substantive, is almost confined to the kings of Israel ; 
 although in later times there was a tendency to employ it in a wider 
 sense (e.g. of the Patriarchs in Ps. cv. 15, of the people in Hab. iii. 13). 
 Unless Ps. ii. 2 be an exception it is never used in the O.T. of the future 
 ideal king (the Messiah) ; hence the idea that the role of the Messianic 
 king is by the prophet transferred to Cyrus is not to be entertained. 
 The title simply designates him as one consecrated by Jehovah to be His 
 agent and representative. This, however, is the only passage where the 
 title is bestowed upon a foreign ruler; Nebuchadnezzar is called the 
 "servant" ot Jehovah (Jer. xxv. 9, xxvii. 6, xliii. 10), but the more august 
 designation of "His Anointed" is reserved for one who as the Deliverer 
 of Israel and the instrument of the overthrow of polytheism, stands in a 
 
58 ISAIAH, XLV. [vv. 2, 3. 
 
 To subdue nations before him; 
 And I will loose the loins of kings, 
 To open before him the two leaved gates ; 
 And the gates shall not be shut ; 
 I will go before thee, 
 And make the crooked places straight : 
 I will break in pieces the gates of brass. 
 And cut in sunder the bars of iron : 
 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, 
 And hidden riches of secret places, 
 That thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call 
 thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. 
 
 still closer relation to Jehovah's purpose. Comp. "My Shepherd" in 
 ch. xliv. 28; also ch. xlvi. 11, xlviii. 14. 
 
 to subdue ^c.'\ Render: to subdue before him nations, and to 
 loose the loins of kings ; to open before him doors, and that gates 
 should not be shut; the infinitive construction is resolved into the finite 
 verb. To loose (lit. "open") is to ungird, or disarm; see i Ki. xx. 11, 
 where the same verb forms the contrast to "gird." 
 
 2, 3. Speaking directly to His Anointed, Jehovah assures him of 
 His continued support in the enterprise that still lies before him. 
 
 the crooked places'] Lit. "protuberances" or, "swells." The original 
 word (see on ch. Ixiii. i), which does not occur elsewhere as a noun, 
 appears to mean "swollen" or "tumid"; and denotes "hills." Comp. 
 Ovid Aifioj'. II. 16. 51 ("tumidi subsidite montes") and Milton's 
 
 "So high as heaved the tumid hills, so low 
 Down sunk a hollow bottom broad and deep." 
 
 {Paradise Lost, Bk. vii. 288.) 
 
 the gates (R.V. doors) of brass] Babylon had roo gates "all of brass," 
 according to the description of Herodotus (i. 179). Cf. Ps. cvii. 16. 
 
 3. the treasitres of darkness] i.e. treasures hid in darkness. The 
 following word rendered hidden riches (Heb. mat>no>i, held by some to 
 be the original of the N.T. "Mammon"), means properly treasure 
 hidden undergi-ound (Job iii. 21 ; Prov. ii, 4; Jer. xli. 8). The treasures 
 referred to are chiefly the loot of Sardis, which Xenophon describes 
 as "the richest city of Asia next to Babylon" {Cyrop. vii. 2. 11), and of 
 Babylon itself (Jer. 1. 37, li. 13). If, as is probable, the capture of the 
 former city was past before the date of the prophecy, rumours of the 
 fabulous wealth of Croesus, which then found its way into the coffers 
 of Cyrus, may have reached the prophet. 
 
 that thou mayest know 6^c.] Render : that thou mayest know that 
 I Jehovah am He that calleth thee by name (see on ch. xliii. i), the God 
 of Israel. The prophet apparently expects that Cyrus will come to 
 acknowledge Jehovah as the true God and the author of his success 
 
vv. 4—7.] ISAIAH, XLV. 59 
 
 For Jacob my servant's ^ake, and Israel mine elect, 4 
 
 I have even called thee by thy name : 
 
 I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. 
 
 I avi the Lord, and there is none else, s 
 
 There is no God besides me : 
 
 I girded thee though thou hast not known me : 
 
 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and e 
 
 from the west, 
 That there is none besides me. 
 I am the Lord, and there is none else. 
 I form the light, and create darkness : 7 
 
 (see cli. xli. 25). Whether this hope was actually realised is more than 
 ever doubtful since the discovery of cuneiform inscriptions in which 
 Cyrus uses the language of crude polytheism {Records of the Past, Vol. v., 
 pp. 167 f.). [Cf. Sayce, Higher Criticism and the Monuments, pp. 
 507 — 511.] Many elements of the prophecy, such as the universal 
 extinction of idolatry, remained unfulfilled, and it is possible that the 
 anticipated conversion of Cyrus to the true faith is one of them (see 
 Ryle's note on Ezra i. 1 in Cambridge Bible for Schools). The prophet 
 nowhere explains the process by which this spiritual change is to be 
 brought about, but he doubtless regards it as produced by the evidence 
 of prophecy, so frequently dwelt upon in the first nine chapters of the 
 book. The wonderful successes of Cyrus marked him out, to the mind 
 of antiquity, as a favourite of the gods; but the further conviction that 
 Jehovah alone is God proceeds from the knowledge that He alone has 
 foretold his appearance. 
 
 4. The remainder of the section announces Jehovah's purpose in 
 raising up Cyrus, which is twofold: (i) the liberation and exaltation of 
 His Servant Israel {v. 4), and (2) that His Godhead may be acknow- 
 ledged throughout the world {v. 6). These two motives are inseparable, 
 since it is only through Israel that the character of Jehovah can be 
 made known to the nations. Hence great as the mission of Cyrus is, 
 he is still but the instrument, while Israel is the goal of the Divine 
 activity (Duhm). 
 
 I have surnamed thee"] i.e. bestowed on thee such honourable appella- 
 tions as "My Shepherd," " My Anointed." See on ch. xliv. 5. 
 
 though thou hast not known me] Delitzsch and others somewhat 
 strangely take this to mean "before thou hadst being." But the words 
 present no difficulty in their natural sense, which is that Cyrus entered 
 on his career of conquest ignorant of the true God who made his way 
 prosperous. 
 
 5. /gird thee] the contrast to " loose the loins of kings " in v. i. 
 
 6. The ultimate purpose of the conquest of Cyrus is the universal 
 recognition of the truth asserted in z^. 5, the sole divinity of Jehovah. 
 
 from the west] Lit. from the going down thereof. (On omission 
 oi mappiq see Davidson, Gram?nar § 19. R. c.) 
 
6o ISAIAH, XLV. [v. 8. 
 
 I make peace, and create evil : 
 
 I the Lord do all these thi7igs. 
 
 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, 
 
 And let the skies pour down righteousness : 
 
 Let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, 
 
 7. It has been very generally supposed that the expressions of this 
 verse cover a polemic against the Zoroastrian dualism, with its eternal 
 antagonism between Ahuramazda, the god of light and of goodness, and 
 Ahriman, the god of darkness and evil. The prophet's language, how- 
 ever, is perfectly general, and it is hardly probable that he would have 
 contented himself with a vague allusion to so important a controversy. 
 And apart from the question whether Cyrus was a Zoroastrian in 
 religion, it is doubtful whether a sharply formulated dualism was a pro- 
 minent feature of Persian religion in his time. It is more likely there- 
 fore that the only dualism here referred to is the dualism latent in every 
 polytheistic system, viz., the ascription of good and evil events to 
 different classes of deities. The context shews that the writer is think- 
 ing of the effect of Jehovah's victory, not specially on Cyi^us, but upon 
 men in general; and the truth he asserts is simply that Jehovah as the 
 only God is the disposer of all events, good and evil alike. 
 
 and create evil] i.e. not moral evil, but physical evil, calamity. Cf. 
 Am. iii. 6, "shall evil befall a city and Jehovah hath not done it?" 
 The prophet's words are startlingly bold, but they do not go beyond 
 the common O. T. doctrine on the subject, which is free from the 
 speculative difficulties that readily suggest themselves to the mind of a 
 modern reader. There is no thought in the O.T. of reducing all evil, 
 moral and physical, to a single principle. Moral evil proceeds from the 
 will of man, physical evil from the will of God, who sends it as the 
 punishment of sin. The expression ^^ create evil " implies nothing more ; 
 than that. It is true (as we see from the Book of Job &c.) that the \ 
 indiscriminatejtess of physical calamities had begun to cause perplexity 
 in the age to which the prophecy belongs. But the discussion of that 
 question never shook either of the two positions, that sin originates in 
 man, and that God is the author of calamity. 
 
 8. A lyrical effusion, called forth by the thought of the blessings 
 that will follow the triumph of the true religion. The heavens are 
 represented as showering down gracious influences, which fructify the 
 earth and cause it to bring forth the fruits of salvation. For the figure 
 
 of the verse, cf. ch. Iv. lo; Hos. ii. 21 f ; Ps. Ixxii. 6; and esp. Ps. 1 
 Ixxxv. II ("truth springs out of the earth, and righteousness looks down 
 from heaven"). 
 
 D7'op down] is a causative verb, the obj. being "righteousness" in the 
 next line. 
 
 /et thevi bring forth ^'c] Rather : let salvation and [. . .] spring- forth ; 
 let her (the earth) cause righteousness to spring up. The plural verb 
 causes some difficulty. A.V. (and R.V.) appear to take heavens and 
 earth as subj.; but this is hardly possible, first because they belong to 
 
vv. 9, la] ISAIAH, XLV. 6i 
 
 And let righteousness spring up together; 
 
 I the Lord have created it. 
 
 Woe unto him that striveth with his maker ! 9 
 
 Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. 
 
 Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, 
 
 What makest thou? 
 Or thy work. He hath no hands? 
 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What be- ic 
 
 gettest thou? 
 
 different distich s, and secondly, because the verb is always neuter 
 (Deut. xxix. 17 is no exception). Perhaps a word has been omitted 
 from the text. 
 
 Two words are here used for righteousness, that which comes down 
 from heaven is ^edeq, that which springs from the earth is feddqdh. 
 The figure might suggest that fedeq is the cause of which ^eddqdh is 
 the effect; the former being the divine "right" which establishes salva- 
 tion &c., and the latter the human order which is an element of it. 
 But any such distinction is precarious. Salvation {yesha'') which 
 ordinarily means "deliverance" appears here to be used in its wider 
 sense of "welfare," like the kindred noun in Job xxx. 15 ("my welfare 
 is passed away as a cloud"). See Introduction, p. xxviii «. 
 
 9 — 13. These verses are addressed to a section of the exiles who 
 resented the idea of deliverance through a foreign conqueror. The 
 strong word "strive" and the emphatic reassertion of the mission of 
 Cyrus (z^. 13), as well as the connexion with w. i — 8, shew that delibe- 
 rate opposition to the Divine purpose, and not mere faint-hearted 
 unbelief (as in chs. xl. 27, li. 13), is here referred to. We know too little 
 of the circumstances to understand the precise state of mind from 
 which the objection proceeded. It may have arisen from reluctance 
 to entertain the idea of deliverance through a foreign conqueror, instead 
 of through an Israelite king, as ancient prophecies seemed to promise 
 (e.g., Jer. xxx. ^i). The same tendency of thought is probably alluded 
 to in ch. xlvi. 12 (the "stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness"). 
 
 his maker] the same word as "him that fashioned it" in the second 
 half of the verse. It is the ordinary word for " potter." 
 
 Let the potsherd strive drcJ] Render as in R.V. a potsherd among 
 the potsherds of the earth! or, "a potsherd like (no better than) 
 an earthen potsherd." "With" may mean "among" (as a synonymous 
 word does in Ps. Ixix. 28), or "like" (Job ix- 26), but the use of the 
 same preposition in two different senses in one sentence is no doubt 
 harsh. 
 
 or thy work, He hath no hands] i.e. no power. Delitzsch instances an 
 identical Arabic phrase (la yadai lahu= " it is not in his power"). The 
 LXX. reads "Thou" instead of "He," and several commentators have 
 suggested a transposition of the suffixes in the original : "or his work, 
 Thou hast no hands." The emendation is plausible, though perhaps 
 hardly necessary. 
 
62 ISAIAH, XLV. [vv. 11—13. 
 
 Or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? 
 Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his 
 
 maker, 
 Ask me of thi7igs to come concerning my sons, 
 And concerning the work of my hands command ye me. 
 I have made the earth, 
 And created man upon it : 
 
 I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, 
 And all their host have I commanded. 
 I have raised him up in righteousness. 
 And I will direct all his ways : 
 He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives. 
 
 10. The impiopriety of contending with God exhibited in a still 
 more repellent light. The words "his" and "the" are not expressed 
 in Hebrew; simply "« father," "« woman." "The rudest and most 
 outrageous intrusion into an unspeakably delicate and sacred relation- 
 ship" (Delitzsch). 
 
 11. The last two verses were probably spoken by the prophet in his 
 own name; here Jehovah addresses the same persons, introducing Him- 
 self as the Holy One of Israel (xli. 14) and his maker {v. 9). If the 
 text be quite accurate, ask me must mean "ask me, but do not criticise 
 me," and cofJitnand mevaw&t mean "leave to my care" (as i Sam. xiii. 
 14, XXV. 30; 2 Sam. vi. ii, vii. 11). But Cheyne well observes that 
 these parallels are not exact, the verb being used of a charge laid on an 
 inferior by a superior; and it is doubtful if it could be suitably em- 
 ployed of committing anything to the charge of God. He supposes 
 that by an easily explicable omission of a consonant an imperf, has been 
 changed into an imper. ; and his translation is perhaps more forcible 
 than any that can be obtained from the received text : concerning 
 things to come (xli. 23, xliv. 7) will ye question (i.e. "interrogate" 
 in a hostile sense) me? and concerning... the work of my hands will 
 ye lay commands upon me? 
 
 concerning my sons'] should (according to the accents) be taken with 
 what follows (as R-V.) ; but the phrase is irrelevant and should probably 
 be omitted as a gloss based on v. 10. 
 
 12. Is introductory iov. 13 ; it is the Creator of all things who has 
 destined Cyrus to be the emancipator of Israel. 
 
 /, even my hands] The "I" merely lends emphasis to the posses- 
 sive : "■my hands, and not another's." 
 
 all their host (the stars, not the angels, xl. 26) have I commanded] or, 
 "ordained." 
 
 13. / (again emphatic) have raised him (Cyrus) up in righteousness] 
 i.e. in accordance with a consistent, straightforward and right purpose 
 (of. ch. xlii. 6). Cf. also chs. xli. 2, 25, etc. 
 
 he (and no other) shall build my city cr^<r.] See ch. xliv. 27 f. 
 
V. 14-] ISAIAH, XLV. 63 
 
 Not for price nor reward, 
 Saith the Lord of hosts. 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, ] 
 
 The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia 
 And of the Sabeans, men of stature, 
 Shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine : 
 They shall come after thee, in chains they shall come 
 over, 
 
 not for price nor reward"] Lit. "not for hire and not for a bribe." 
 These words remove a difficulty which would naturally suggest itself to 
 the exiles: viz., that there was no conceivable motive that could induce 
 Cyrus to espouse the cause of Israel. The divine answer is that he will 
 do so from an inward impulse {opfi-q ti$, as Josephus expresses it) 
 inspired by Jehovah. There is an apparent but no real contradiction 
 between this assurance and the idea of ch. xliii. 3 f. The restoration 
 of Israel is conceived as preceding the Persian conquest of Egypt and 
 Ethiopia {v. 14); that is the reward subsequently given to Cyrus, but 
 not the inducement on which he acted. 
 
 14 — 17. The collapse of the heathen religions is here dramatically 
 represented under the image of a procession of conquered nations of 
 Africa, who pass before Israel, as tributaries and slaves, acknowledging 
 that Israel's God is the only true divinity. This seems to be the sense, 
 but see below on v. 14. 
 
 14. The peoples mentioned are the same as those named in ch. xliii. 
 3 (see on the passage) as the "ransom" given for Israel. They are 
 apparently represented here as already conquered by Cyrus, the vicege- 
 rent and anointed of Jehovah. It has even been supposed that Cyrus 
 is the person addressed in the verse, but this is impossible because of 
 the words " Surely in thee is God," which certainly could not be 
 addressed to Cyrus. The commonly accepted interpretation that there 
 is no thought of conquest in the passage, but only of spontaneous 
 homage rendered to Israel by distant nations of the earth, is less natural. 
 The idea that the "fetters" are self-imposed is a conceit not readily to 
 be attributed to the prophet, and the whole scene strongly suggests 
 a submission that has been preceded by humiliation and defeat. The 
 meaning probably is that the treasures of the nations are made over to 
 Israel by Cyrus, while the nations themselves recognise the exaltation of 
 Israel as the goal of the Persian victories and worship Jehovah, as the 
 only true God. 
 
 and the Sabceans^ men of stature] (see on ch, xviii. 2.) Omit *'of" 
 with R.V, ; the Sabgeans offer not tribute, but their persons (as slaves). 
 
 shall come over tmto thee] Rather : shall pass before thee (as i Ki. 
 ix. 8 ; 1 Ki. iv. 9). 
 
 in chains they shall come over] in fetters (Nah. iii. 10; Ps. cxUx. 8) 
 shall they pass. The word for make supplication is in every other 
 instance used of prayer to God. Israel is recognised as the mediator 
 between the true God and mankind. 
 
64 ISAIAH, XLV. [vv. 15—17. 
 
 And they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make 
 supplication unto thee, saying, 
 
 Surely God is in thee; 
 
 And there is none else, there is no God. 
 
 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, 
 
 O God of Israel, the saviour. 
 
 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of 
 them : 
 
 They shall go to confusion together that are makers 
 of idols. 
 
 But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an ever- 
 lasting salvation : 
 
 Surely God is ht thee] In thee only is God. These of course are 
 words of the Sabgeans, &c. to Israel, expressing their acceptance of the 
 true religion. Israel's God has proved Himself to be the God of history, 
 the only God. The expression appears to be alluded to by St Paul in 
 I Cor. xiv. 25 ("declaring that God is in you indeed"). 
 
 15. It is difficult to say whether this verse continues the confession of 
 the heathen, or whether it contains the prophet's own reflexion on the 
 marvellous issue of the deliverance. 
 
 a God that hidest thyself^ The prophet would perhaps hardly have 
 used this language in his own name (see v. 19). But to the nations of 
 the world Jehovah had hitherto been a hidden deity; His power and 
 glory had never been reflected in the fortunes of His own people. Now 
 at length He is revealed in His true character, as a " Saviour " (or 
 Deliverer) (see on ch. xliii. 3). Comp., however, ch. Iv. 8f.; Deut. 
 xxix. 29 ; Prov. xxv. 2, for a sense in which Jehovah might be said to 
 hide Himself even from Israel. 
 
 16. 17. The prophet now speaks, presenting in sharp contrast the 
 confusion of the idolaters {v. 16) and the everlasting salvation enjoyed 
 by Israel. The verbs should be rendered as presents. 
 
 They shall be ashamed ^c.'\ Better: they are ashamed, yea confounded 
 all of them ; they are gone away in confusion (i.e. disgrace) etc. The 
 perfect in Heb. depicts that which will have happened in that day. 
 
 The word for "idol" is used in the sense of "fonn" in Ps. xlix. 14 
 (R.V. marg.), only here of an idolatrous image. 
 
 17. But Israel shall be saved in the Lord] Israel is saved by 
 Jehovah. 
 
 with an everlasting salvation] which shall never be turned into 
 confusion. The state of things introduced by the deliverance is final, 
 including the manifestation of Jehovah as He is, and such a union 
 between Him and His people as can never be dissolved. As is usual 
 in the prophets, the perfect dispensation, or what is called the Messianic 
 age, is conceived as issuing immediately from the historical crisis which 
 is the subject of the prophecy, in this case the deliverance from 
 Babylon. 
 
vv. i8, 19.] ISAIAH, XLV. 65 
 
 Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without 
 end. 
 
 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; 
 God himself that formed the earth and made it; he 
 
 hath established it, 
 He created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: 
 I am the Lord ; and there is none else. 
 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the 
 
 earth : 
 I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in 
 
 vain : 
 
 world zuithout end] More literally: to all eternity. The exact 
 expression does not occur again. 
 
 18 — 26. The long passage on the mission of Cyrus closes here with 
 the announcement of a salvation as universal as it is eternal [v. 17). A 
 purpose of universal salvation is in harmony with the character of the 
 God who made the world for man to dwell in [v. 18) and whose 
 revelation of Himself to Israel bears the signature of absolute veracity 
 {v. 19). 
 
 18. The words God himself form a sort of parenthesis, and should 
 be rendered as in R.V., lie is God (or the God). Cf. i Kings xviii. 39. 
 
 he created it not in vain] lit. not a chaos [tohti). The significance 
 of the expression is seen from the contrast which immediately follows. 
 
 he formed it to be inhabited] and therefore the end of His ways cannot 
 be the destruction of the race for whose existence He has prepared the 
 earth. Jehovah's final purpose must be salvation. 
 
 19. The same character of goodwill to men is manifest in the manner 
 of Jehovah's revelation to Israel. It has been intelligible, explicit, and 
 (if the word may be used) candid. 
 
 in a dark place of the earth] R.V. in a place of the land of darkness. 
 It is doubtful if there is any direct allusion to the oracles of heathenism, 
 which had frequently to be sought in caves and deserts. The " land of 
 darkness " might be the under- world, from which dubious oracles were 
 obtained by necromancy and other magical arts (ch. viii. 19 ; i Sam. 
 xxviii. 7 ff.). But the sense is perhaps sufficiently explained (in accord- 
 ance with what follows) by Jer. ii. 31 : " Have I been a wilderness unto 
 Israel, a land of darkness?" Jehovah's revelation has not been like a 
 dark, trackless desert, but a light in which men might walk towards an 
 assured goal. 
 
 / said not... Seek ye me in vain] Lit, in chaos {tohA, as v. 18), i.e. 
 without definite guidance and without hope of result. When Jehovah 
 said, "Seek me," He meant that He should be found (Jer. xxix. 13) ; in 
 other words He has dealt openly and frankly with His people. It is 
 this quality of revelation that is denoted by the word righteousness in 
 the last line of the verse. It is used in its ethical sense of "trust- 
 
 ISAIAH II. c 
 
66 ISAIAH, XLV. [w. 20, 21. 
 
 I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that 
 
 are right. 
 Assemble yourselves and come; 
 
 Draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations : 
 They have no knowledge that set up the wood of their 
 
 graven image, 
 And pray unto a god that cannot save. 
 Tell ye, and bring tJie7]i near; 
 Yea, let them take counsel together : 
 Who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath 
 
 told it from that time? 
 Have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside 
 
 me; 
 A just God and a saviour ; there is none beside me. 
 
 worthiness " or straightforwardness, — perfect correspondence between 
 deeds and words, 
 
 things that are light'] uprightness. The plural, as always in this 
 word, expresses the abstract idea (see ch. xxvi. 7). 
 
 20, 21. The heathen are now summoned together that they may con- 
 sider this attribute of Jehovah's character, as illustrated by the prediction 
 of the victories of Cyrus. The question submitted to them is the same 
 as in xli. i — 4, 21 — 29, xliii. 9 — 13 : who has foretold these events? 
 But this scene is imagined as taking place after the great crisis is over ; 
 hence those addressed are the escaped of the nations (cf. Jer. li. 50), 
 the survivors of a world-wide judgement, of which Cyrus is the instrument 
 (see V. 14). 
 
 20. that set tip the wood...'] Render, with R.V., that carry, &c., in 
 religious processions (Am. v. 26), or perhaps into battle (2 Sam. v. 21). 
 That idols have to be carried is a sign of their powerlessness (xlvi. i f. ; 
 Jer. X. 5). 
 
 a god that cannot save] The contrast in the end oiv. 21. 
 
 21. Tell ye] Better : Declare ye, as R.V. 
 
 bring them near] Some such object as "your strong arguments" 
 (xli. 21) must be supplied, and has probably dropped out of the text. 
 
 who hath declared this...?] i.e. the rise of Cyrus and his conquests. 
 The phrase from that time should be either heforehand or long ago (see 
 on ch. xvi. 13). 
 
 a Just God... beside me] Better as a single sentence : a righteous God 
 and a Deliverer there is not besides me. Both attributes have been 
 exhibited in the recent crisis ; righteousness (see on v. 19) in the explicit 
 predictions of Cyrus, and salvation in the deliverance of Israel. 
 
 22 — 25. The demonstration of Jehovah's deity is followed by the 
 proclamation of salvation to all mankind, and the declaiation of iiis 
 purpose that all the world shall worship Him. 
 
I vv. 22—24.] ISAIAH, XLV. 67 
 
 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the 22 
 
 earth : 
 For I atn God, and there is none else. 
 I have sworn by myself, 23 
 
 The word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and 
 
 shall not return, 
 That unto me every knee shall bow. 
 Every tongue shall swear. 
 Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness 24 
 
 and strength : 
 
 22. Look unto me] is strictly Turn unto me (sc. for help), a phrase else- 
 where used of the acknowledgment of false gods (Lev. xix. 4 ; Hos. iii. i ; 
 Deut. XXX. 17 &c., xxxi. 18 &c. ; cf. Job v. i). The second imperative 
 expresses the consequence of the first : "Turn to Me and ye shall be 
 saved," "Salvation" here has still its ordinary sense of deliverance; 
 although the great judgement is past, it is plainly assumed that only 
 those who own Jehovah's sovereignty shall be spared {v. 23). But the 
 thought that it depends on knowledge of the true God, who is the God 
 of salvation, conveys the suggestion at least of a more positive meaning ; 
 cf. John xvii. 3. 
 
 23. By myself /lave I sworn] Cf Gen. xxii. i6 ; Jer. xxii. 5 ; and 
 see Heb. vi. 13. The form of Jehovah's oath by Himself is given in 
 ch. xlix. 18, "as I live, saith Jehovah." 
 
 the word is gone out dfc.\ Or, as R. V. marg. : righteousness is gone 
 forth from my mouth, a word which (lit. "and it ") sliall not return 
 (cf ch. Iv. 10 f.). 
 
 righteousness here means that which shall be verified, — a word to 
 which the deed will correspond. 
 
 every knee shall boiv (in homage, i Ki. xix. 18), every tongue shall 
 jwmr (fealty, ch. xix. 18)]. The reading "confess" is substituted for 
 "swear" in some codices of the LXX. , as in Rom. xiv. 11, Phil. ii. 10, 11. 
 
 24. 25 express the faith of the religious community of the future. 
 Surely, shall one say, in the LoRD ofc] Better : Only in Jehovah, 
 
 shall one say, &c. The R.V. gives a different turn to the thought by 
 including the word for "to me" in the parenthesis ("shall one say to 
 me" [marg. "of me"]); while the A.V. treats it as part of the main 
 sentence ("there is to me," i.e. "I have"). On the former view 
 righteousness and strength are divine attributes ; on the latter they are 
 blessings bestowed by Jehovah on men. The rendering of A.V. is pre- 
 ferable, although it is opposed to the Hebr. accents. 
 
 righteousness] lit. " righteousnesses, " the idea being intensified by the 
 plural. It is often used of the mighty acts of Jehovah, the individual 
 instances in which His righteous character is manifested (1 Sam. xii. 7 ; 
 Mi. vi. 5; Ps. Ixxi. 15 ff. &c.); here in like manner it must denote the 
 experiences through which a right relation to God is verified. The 
 parallelism with "strength" shews that it is almost identical with 
 salvation or victory (see on ch. »li. ^ and xlvi. 13). • 
 
 S— 2 
 
68 ISAIAH, XLV. [v. 25. 
 
 Even to him shall men come; 
 
 And all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. 
 -■5 In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and 
 shall glory. 
 
 even to him... ashamed] to him shall one come &c. ; or, to him shall 
 come with shame all that were incensed (xli. 1 1 ) against him. The 
 verb "be ashamed" seems merely to be a qualification of "shall come." 
 
 26. l>e justified] lit. be righteous, i.e. " enjoy righteousness " in the 
 same sense as v. ■24. Comp. Jer. xxiii. 6 ("Jehovah our Righteousness "). 
 
 Ch. XLVI. The Downfall of the gods of Babylon. 
 
 In this and the two following chapters the person of Cyrus is only 
 incidentally referred to; the leading idea is now the overthrow of 
 Babylon, and the emancipation of Israel from its tyranny. Ch. xlvi. 
 begins with the fall of the deities of the city; and from their proved 
 impotence, as contrasted with the omnipotence of Jehovah, proceeds 
 to draw lessons for various classes among the exiles. The unity of the 
 oracle is disputed by Duhm and Cheyne in so far as vv. 6 — 8 are 
 concerned, and the removal of these verses would somewhat modify the 
 reasoning of the chapter. As it stands, however, the natural divisions 
 are the following : — 
 
 (i) vv. I — 4. A contrast between the Babylonian gods and the 
 God of Israel ; while these share the fate of their worshippers and are 
 dome away in shameful flight, Jehovah is the bearer of His people, 
 making its history and leading it to final victory. 
 
 (2) vv. 5 — 7. The scene described in vv. i f. suggests another 
 sarcastic passage (after the manner of xl. 18 — 20, xliv. 9 — 20) on the 
 folly of idolatry in general. 
 
 (3) vv. 8— II. A renewed appeal (see xli. 21 — 29, &c.) to the 
 argument from prophecy, in which, with unwonted severity, the hearers 
 are addressed as "rebels" (z'. 8). 
 
 (4) vv. 12, 13. Addressing the opponents of Jehovah's purpose, the 
 prophet announces the speedy deliverance of Israel as the goal to which 
 events are hastening. 
 
 1, 2. The ignominious flight of the gods of Babylon. — Bel z.xA Nebo 
 are the Jupiter and Mercury of the Babylonian pantheon (they are re- 
 presented by these planets), and were the supreme deities in Babylon 
 at this time. Bel {Bilu) is the Babylonian form of the Hebrew Ba'al 
 ( = lord), and like that word is a generic name applicable to any deity. 
 "When used as a proper name it usually denotes Merodach (Marduk), the 
 tutelary divinity of the city of Babylon (so Jer. 1. 2, li. 44) ; although 
 there was an older Bel, who is spoken of as his father. The elevation 
 of Bel-Merodach to the chief place among the older gods, as recorded 
 in the mythical Chaldaean account of the Creation (Tablet iv., i ff.), is 
 the legendary counterpart of the ascendency acquired by Babylon over 
 the more ancient cities of the Euphrates Valley. Nebo {Nabii) was the 
 son of Merodach ; the chief seat of his worship being Borsippa, in the 
 
vv. 1—3.] ISAIAH, XLVI. 69 
 
 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, 46 
 
 Their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle : 
 
 Your carriages were heavy loaden; 
 
 They are a burden to the weary beast. 
 
 They stoop, they bow down together; a 
 
 They could not deliver the burden, 
 
 But themselves are gone into captivity. 
 
 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, 3 
 
 vicinity of Babylon. His name, which is supposed to be from the same 
 root as the Hebrew nabt\ "prophet," seems to mark him out as the 
 "speaker" of the gods (another point of contact with Mercury, "the 
 chief speaker," Acts xiv. 12). He was also regarded as the inventor of 
 writing. The frequency with which the Chaldsean kings are named 
 after him (Nabo-polassar, Nebu-chadnezzar, Nabo-nidus) has been 
 thought to shew that he was the patron deity of the dynasty. 
 
 boweth down... stoopeth (better crouchetli)] The second verb to be 
 pointed, like the first, as perfect (prophetic pf.). 
 
 their idols (ch. x. 11) are (R.V.) upon the beasts, and upon the cattle'\ 
 The allusion is hardly to the custom of carrying away the idols of a 
 conquered nation (Jer. xlviii. 7, xlix. 3; Hos. x. 5 f.), but rather to an 
 attempt of the Babylonians to carry off their images on the approach of 
 the Persians (see v. 2). Similarly, Merodach-Baladan packed his idols 
 on ships and carried them off, at the approach of Sennacherib (Schrader, 
 Cuneiform Inscr., Vol. ii. p. 36.) Beasts and cattle usually mean 
 
 respectively "wild beasts" and "domestic animals"; here, however, 
 they both denote beasts of burden simply. 
 
 your carriages were heavy loadenl Rather as R.V. the things that 
 ye carried about, i.e. in religious processions (ch. xlv. 20), are made 
 a load. "At the New Year's festival the images of Merodach and his 
 son Nebo were carried through Babylon in solemn procession on sacred 
 barques of great magnificence, and along a promenade prepared for this 
 purpose since Nabopolassar " (Fried. Delitzsch, quoted by Delitzsch, 
 Co??im. p. 403). Such scenes must have been familiar to the prophet 
 and his readers, and gave additional point to the contrasted picture here 
 imagined. 
 
 2. they could not deliver] i. e. cause to escape. 
 
 themselves are gone into captivity'] The distinction allowed between 
 the gods and their images is an ironical concession to heathen modes of 
 thought. The fact that the gods are unable to save their own images 
 means that they have vanished. The recently discovered inscriptions 
 have shevm, however, that the idols of Babylon had nothing to fear 
 from Cyrus. 
 
 3, 4. In the scene which he has just described the prophet sees an 
 emblem of the inherent weakness of heathenism. There man carries 
 his gods, and the result is that gods and worshippers are involved in 
 
70 ISAIAH, XLVI. [vv. 4—6. 
 
 And all the remnant of the house of Israel, 
 
 Which are borne by me from the belly, 
 
 Which are carried from the womb : 
 
 And even to your old age I am he; 
 
 And eveti to hoar hairs will I carry you: 
 
 I have made, and I will bear ; 
 
 Even I will carry, and will deliver you. 
 
 To whom will ye liken me, and make 77ie equal, 
 
 And compare me, that we may be Hke? 
 
 They lavish gold out of the bag, 
 
 And weigh silver in the balance, 
 
 And hire a goldsmith ; and he maketh it a god : 
 
 They fall down, yea, they worship. 
 
 common ruin. Israel has had a far different experience of its relation 
 to its God, having known Jehovah as One who has carried it from the 
 beginning of its history (Ex. xix. 4; Deut. i. 31, xxxii. 11; Hos. xi. 3 ; 
 cf. ch. xl, II, Ixiii. 9), and is able to bear it on to final salvation. The 
 profound insight into the nature of religion which is characteristic of the 
 writer is nowhere more clearly exhibited than in this striking and original 
 contrast. 
 
 3. all the remnant of the house of Israel^ It is doubtful whether 
 there is a reference here to the scattered survivors of the Ten Tribes. 
 More probably, the clause is a rhetorical variation of the previous 
 " house of Jacob." The participles borne and carried are repeated from 
 V. I, although in inverse order (" carried things " and " made a load "). 
 The words "by me" are better omitted. 
 
 4. And even to your o/d age dr'^.] Cf. Ps. Ixxi. 18. What Jehovah 
 has been to His people in the past, He will be for all the future. It is 
 not implied that Israel is now "old and gray-headed," as an erroneous 
 combination with ch. xlvii, 6 led Hitzig to suppose. 
 
 /am he'l See on ch. xli. 4. 
 I have made'] Better perhaps I have done it. 
 
 and loill deliver] in express contrast to the false gods who "could not 
 deliver" the dead burden of their images (v. 2). 
 
 5. Comp. the similar question of xl. 18, which as here introduces a 
 sarcastic description of the manufacture of idols. 
 
 6. 7. Contemptuous description of idolatry in general. Comp. 
 especially with ch. xliv. 9 — 20. 
 
 6. They lavish gold &'c.'] Better as an exclamation of contempt: 
 They that pour gold etc. The gold and silver are the material out 
 of which the images (or at least their plating) are to be made by the 
 goldsmith (xl. 19) who is hired for the work. The word for balance is 
 qdneh (reed), never elsewhere used in this sense. It probably denotes 
 the beam of the balance. 
 
 they fall doum] The same word {sdgad) in xliv. 15, 17, 19. 
 
vv. 7— lo.] ISAIAH, XLVI. 
 
 71 
 
 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, 
 
 And set him in his place, and he standeth; 
 
 From his place shall he not remove : 
 
 Yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, 
 
 Nor save him out of his trouble. 
 
 Remember this, and shew yourselves men : 
 
 Bring // again to mind, O ye transgressors. 
 
 Remember the former things of old : 
 
 For I am God, and there is none else; 
 
 / a7n God, and there is none like me, 
 
 Declaring the end from the beginning. 
 
 And from ancient times the things that are not yet 
 
 done, 
 Saying, My counsel shall stand, 
 And 1 will do all my pleasure : 
 
 7. They bear him 6^f.] the newly made idol, to his appointed place, 
 from which he is powerless to move. How vain, therefore, is it to cry 
 to him for help ! He is a " god that cannot save " (xlv. 20). 
 
 8 — 11. An appeal to history and prophecy in proof of Jehovah's 
 divinity. 
 
 shew yourselves me7i\ R.V. mnrg. renders "stand fast," but neither 
 sense is suitable in an address to " rebels." The verb used {hitKdshdshti) 
 is unknown in Hebrew. The rendering of A.V. is based on a 
 common view that it is a denominative from the word for "man" i^tsh), 
 which is grammatically untenable ; that of R.V. marg. connects it Avith 
 a root found in Aramaic, Assyrian and Arabic, meaning to "be firm." 
 Of proposed emendations the easiest is Lagarde's, "be ye ashamed" 
 [hithboshdsh^, after Gen. ii. 25). Others, hithbonanil, "consider" 
 (ch. xliii. 18). 
 
 bring it again to mind] as ch. xliv. 19. 
 
 O ye transgressors'] Rather rebels (xlviii. 8, liii. \i, Ixvi. -24). 
 From ch. xlv, 9 onwards there seems to be a growing sense of 
 antagonism between the prophet and at least a section of his audience 
 (see V. 12 and on xlviii. i — 11). 
 
 9. former things of old] See on xli. 22. The emphasis here lies less 
 on the predictions than on the events themselves, which are of such a 
 nature as to demonstrate that Jehovah alone is truly God. 
 
 10. the end from the beginning] i.e. the issue (of a particular series 
 of events or period of history) from its origin. 
 
 the things that are not yet done] with closer reference to the 
 events mentioned in v. 11. Cf. ch xlviii. 5 ("before it has come to 
 pass"). 
 
 My counsel shall stand] Cf ch. xiv. 24. 
 
 my pleasure] my purpose (see on ch. xliv. 28). 
 
72 ISAIAH, XLVI. [vv. II— 13. 
 
 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, 
 
 The man that executeth my counsel from a far country : 
 
 Yea, I have spoken //, I will also bring it to pass; 
 
 I have purposed //, I will also do it. 
 
 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted. 
 
 That are far from righteousness : 
 
 I bring near my righteousness ; it shall not be far off. 
 
 And my salvation shall not tarry : 
 
 And I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory. 
 
 11. The supreme illustration of the foreknowledge and power of 
 Jehovah is the raising up of Cyrus. Cyrus is compared to a ravenous 
 bird on account of the celerity of his movements (ch. xli. 3), just as 
 Nebuchadnezzar had been likened to an eagle (Jer. xlix. 22 ; Ezek. 
 xvii. 3). There can haidly be an allusion to the fact (if it be a fact) 
 that the royal ensign of Persia was a golden eagle (Xenophon, Cyrop. 
 VII. I, 4). 
 
 from the east\ xli. 2, 25. 
 
 the man that executeth my counsel] Lit. as R.V. the man of my 
 counsel (the consonantal text has " his counsel "). Not of course " my 
 counsellor " (as in xl. 13), but in the sense expressed by the A. V. 
 
 / have purposed] Lit. I have formed, i.e. "foreordained," as in 
 ch. xxii. II, xxxvii. 26. 
 
 12. 13. A call to repentance based on the nearness of deliverance. 
 ye stouthearted] The phrase means in Ps. Ixxvi. 5 "courageous"; 
 
 here it is rather akin to " stiff-hearted " in Ezek. ii. 4. The LXX. 
 
 reads "ye that have lost heart" (q"? H^N for 3^ H^^S), and this is 
 accepted as the true text by certain commentators. The sense is 
 too weak in this connexion ; if there are men who on the eve of 
 deliverance are "far from righteousness" they are surely those who 
 are in more or less conscious opposition to the divine purpose (cf. xlv. 9). 
 "Righteousness" in v. 13 is parallel to "salvation," and denotes the 
 manifestation of Jehovah's righteousness in the deliverance of Israel. In 
 this verse it is more natural to understand it in its forensic sense, of the 
 right relation to God, which is the condition of sharing in the outward 
 salvation. See Appendix, Note II. 
 
 13. for Israel 7ny glory] Cf. xlix. 3. But another possible translation 
 is "I will give... my glory unto Israel" (R.V. marg.). 
 
 The two verses express a paradox which enters deeply into the 
 thought of the prophet. While salvation is near in point of time, yet 
 Israel is spiritually far from it. Hence the work of salvation or 
 righteousness has two aspects ; along with the providential deliverance 
 of which the agent is Cyrus, there is an inward and spiritual salvation 
 which consists in bringing the nation to right thoughts about itself and 
 God. And in this spiritual transformation the instrument is the Servant 
 of Jehovah. 
 
V. I.] ISAIAH, XLVII. 73 
 
 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of 47 
 
 Babylon, 
 Sit on the ground : there is no throne, 
 O daughter of the Chaldeans ; 
 For thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. 
 
 Ch. XLVII. An Ode on the Fall of Babylon. 
 
 The strain of prophetic exhortation is here interrupted by an ironical 
 elegy or "taunt-song" with a strong resemblance to the ode on the 
 king of Babylon in ch. xiv. 4 — 21. The humiliation of the city is 
 represented by the graphic image of a delicate and luxurious lady of the 
 harem, suddenly reduced to Jhe shameful condition of a slave or a 
 captive. This female personification of Babylon forms an effective, and 
 no doubt intentional, contrast to the figure of Zion, the desolate and 
 bereaved widow, who is soon to be restored to the honour and joys of 
 motherhood (ch. xlix. 14 ff., li. 178"-, liv.). — Although words of Jehovah 
 occur in w. 3 and 6, it is hardly natural to suppose that He is the 
 speaker throughout. The singer is more probably either the nation of 
 Israel (as in xiv. 4 ff.) or the prophet speaking in his ovrci name. 
 
 The poem is usually divided into four unequal strophes, commencing 
 with w. I, 5, 8 and 12. Dillmann finds in it a combination of several 
 distinct poetic measures, and recognises the characteristic rhythm of the 
 elegy only in the opening verses of the first three strophes (i, 5, 8). 
 There is however an approximation to the structure of the qinah in 
 many verses; and the question is suggested whether the departures 
 from the regular form are not to be accounted for by errors in the 
 transmission of the text. Duhm, omitting three clauses as interpola- 
 tions (see below), makes out a division into five equal strophes (i — 4, 
 5 — 7, 8 — \oa, 10b — 12, 13 — 15) of seven lines each, and with a few 
 minor alterations the elegiac caesura (see on xiv. 4) is fairly well marked 
 in nearly every line. The textual alterations may not commend them- 
 selves in each instance, but there is at least a presumption in favour of 
 a stricter prosody than earlier commentators allow. 
 
 1 — 4. The first strophe consists of a tristich (jj. i) followed (on 
 Duhm's reconstruction) by two distichs. The leading thought is the 
 degradation of Babylon from her position of ease and luxury. 
 
 1. vij'gin daughter of Babylon] i.e. "virgin daughter, Babylon"; 
 see on i. 8, cf. xxxvii. 22. The parallel phrase daughter 0/ the Chaldceans 
 is somewhat different. It describes Babylon as the city of (possessed by) 
 the Chaldseans, the reigning dynasty. It 7Jiight no doubt be a personi- 
 fication of the land of Chaldaea, like "daughter of Egypt" in Jer. xlvi. 
 1 1 ; but this is less probable. 
 
 sit on the groufid] A sign not of mourning, as in iii, 26, but of 
 abject humiliation. 
 
 there is no throne] Render: without a throne, as R.V. 
 
 thou shalt 710 more be called] Lit. "thou shalt no more (be one whom) 
 they call " ; the peculiar construction being partly due to the Hebrew 
 aversion to the use of the passive. 
 
74 ISAIAH, XLVII. [w. 
 
 Take the millstones, and grind meal : 
 
 Uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, 
 
 Uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. 
 
 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall 
 
 be seen : 
 I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a 
 
 man. 
 As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, 
 The Holy One of Israel. 
 
 tender and delicate^ See Deut. xxviii.. 56, "the tender and delicate 
 woman which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the 
 ground." 
 
 2. Take the millstones ^c.^ The luxurious lady must betake herself 
 to the occupation of the meanest female slaves in the household : Ex. 
 xi. 5 ; Job xxxi. 10. 
 
 uficover thy locks'] Rather: take Off thy veil (Cant. iv. i, 3, vi. 7). 
 
 make bare the leg] remove the skirt. The last word does not occur 
 elsewhere. pass over the rivers] Render : pass tlirough streams, 
 
 omitting the article. The words are commonly taken to describe the 
 hardships of a journey into exile, but they may simply refer to the 
 degradations which she would have to undergo in performing the 
 drudgery of a common slave (so Dillmann). 
 
 3. Thy fzakc-dness . . .seen] These words, which undoubtedly spoil the 
 rhythm of the verse, are deleted by Duhm as a gloss suggested by the 
 latter part of v. 2. 
 
 and I will not meet thee as a ?nan] The sense is very obscure. 
 Either (a) " I will spare no man" (i.e. meet him with friendly intentions) ; 
 the figure of the virgin being dropped: or [b) "I will not entreat 
 any man (for help)": or {c) the vowel-points being changed, "I will 
 let no man intercede," — all unacceptable on one ground or another. 
 The difhculty lies in the word for "man"; this would be got rid of 
 by simply changing 'dddm into ^dmar ( = "saith") read by some MSS. 
 of the LXX. as the first word of v. 4. The verb then stands absolutely, 
 and is best pointed and translated as Niphal tolerativum: "I will not 
 (let myself) be entreated." (Oort and Duhm). See further on v. 4. 
 
 4. The verse as it stands interrupts the continuity of the poem, 
 especially in the view of those who hold that the speaker is through- 
 out Jehovah. Lowth and others regard it as the response of a 
 chorus of Israelites to the words of God in v. 3, while Dillmann and 
 others unhesitatingly pronounce it to be an interpolation. But all 
 reasonable objections are removed if we supply the word "saith" as in 
 two Greek codices. Combining this with the other suggestion of Oort 
 mentioned above, the last distich of the strophe reads thus : — 
 
 I will take vengeance and will not be entreated —saith our 
 
 Redeemer ; 
 Jehovah of Hosts is His name,— the Holy One of Israel. 
 
vv. 5—7.] ISAIAH, XLVII. 75 
 
 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of 5 
 the Chaldeans : 
 
 For thou shalt no more be called, The lady of king- 
 doms. 
 
 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine in- 6 
 heritance, 
 
 And given them into thine hand : 
 
 Thou didst shew them no mercy; 
 
 Upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. 
 
 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever : 7 
 
 5—7. The second strophe commences anew with an apostrophe to 
 Babylon. The keynote is struck in the words "mistress of kingdoms." 
 She is threatened with the loss of her imperial power, because she has 
 so grossly abused it by her cruelty to Israel. 
 
 6. get thee into darkness] Darkness may be a symbol either of 
 imprisonment (ch. xlii. 7) or, more generally, of misery; Lam. iii. 1. 
 
 lady of kingdom si Lit. "mistress" (xxiv. 1). The word is used of 
 the queen in Jer. xiii. 18, in a connexion somewhat similar to this. 
 Babylon is addressed as an imperial city holding the destinies of many 
 kingdoms in her hands. 
 
 6. Jehovah speaks, charging Babylon with pitiless inhumanity 
 towards His people when they were delivered to her for chastisement 
 (for the thought cf Zech. i. 15). 
 
 I was wroth with my people] Cf. liv. 9, Ivii. 16 f, ixiv. 5, q, 
 / have polluted (R.V. I profaned) mine inheritance] Cf. xliii. 28. 
 "Profane" is the opposite of "holy," as "holy to Jehovah" Israel was 
 inviolable (Jer. ii. 3), but when this relation ceased she passed under 
 the power of the heathen. 
 
 upon the ancient] Better, as R.V. : upon the aged. Although the 
 word is sing., there can be no doubt that it is used literally of the old 
 men on whom the hardships of captivity fell most heavily (cf Lam; iv. 
 16, V. 12). The idea that Israel as a nation is meant is not to be enter- 
 tained (see on ch. xlvi. 4). We have little knowledge of the circum- 
 stances of the Israelites in exile, but there is nothing improbable in the 
 supposition that some of them were put to forced labour, and that cases 
 of exceptional barbarity may have occurred. 
 
 7. Such inconsiderate cruelty can only be explained by the delusion 
 that her supremacy was eternal, that no day of reckoning could ever 
 come to her. 
 
 And thou saidst, I shall be dr'c.] Render (with a different division of 
 clauses) And thou saidst I shall be for ever— a lady eternally (lit. 
 "mistress of eternity"). The word here rendered "eternity" {''ad) is 
 taken in the received text as a conjunction (A.V. "so Ma/," strictly 
 "until"). The rhythm requires it to be treated as a substantive in the 
 genitive after "mistress." It is used in exactly the same way in the 
 name "Father of eternity"' (ch. ix. 6). 
 
76 ISAIAH, XLVII. [vv. 8—10. 
 
 So that thou didst not lay these t/iings to thy heart, 
 Neither didst remember the latter end of it. 
 Therefore hear now this, t/tou tliat art given to pleasures, 
 
 that dvvellest carelessly. 
 That sayest in thine heart, I avi^ and none else besides 
 
 me; 
 I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of 
 
 children : 
 But these two things shall come to thee /;/ a moment in 
 
 one day. 
 The loss of children, and widowhood : 
 They shall come upon thee in their perfection 
 For the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great 
 
 abundance of thine enchantments. 
 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness : thou hast said, 
 
 None seeth me. 
 
 these things] thy cruelties ; — in what sense she failed to lay them to 
 heart is explained by the following clause. 
 
 the latter end of it^ or the issue thereof, i.e. the inevitable retribution. 
 
 8 — 10a. The third strophe: Babylon's careless confidence in her 
 own future shall be put to shame by the suddenness of her calamities. 
 
 thou that art given to pleasures'] thou voluptuous one (Cheyne). The 
 word does not occur again. The remaining clauses of the verse recur 
 verbatim in Zeph. ii. 15. (of Nineveh). 
 
 that dwellest carelessly] that sittest securely. 
 
 / am and none else besides vie] Rather : I and none besides. The 
 words express Babylon's sense of her unique position. The vocalic 
 ending of the word for "none" {'aphsi from V/!>/i^{ = cessation, nothing- 
 ness) cannot be the poss. suff. of ist pers., which would give the sense 
 "I am no more," — the opposite of what is intended. It is probably an 
 old case- termination which has ceased to have any significance in the 
 Hebr. of the O.T. So again in v. 10. 
 
 9. widoivhood] is simply a figure for desolation, which is not to be 
 pressed by asking the question, Who was the husband? The reference 
 could hardly be to the king (for which there are no analogies), still less 
 to the foreign nations with whom she trafficked. 
 
 in their perfection] i.e. in their full measure (R.V.). 
 
 for the multitude] Better: in spite of, &c. (as in ch. v. 25 &c., *'for 
 all this"). Strict rhythm would here be restored by transposing the 
 two clauses: "for the great abundance... — for the multitude... " 
 
 10. thou hast trusted dT'c] Better perhaps : thou hast heen confident 
 in thy wickedness; hast perpetrated wickedness without a misgiving or 
 a thought of retribution. "Wickedness" probably means "tyranny," as 
 Nah. iii. 19. 
 
vv. II, 12.] ISAIAH, XLVII. 77 
 
 Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted 
 
 thee; 
 And thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else 
 
 besides me. 
 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not n 
 
 know from whence it riseth : 
 And mischief shall fall upon thee ; thou shalt not be able 
 
 to put it off: 
 And desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which 
 
 thou shalt not know. 
 Stand now vnth thine enchantments, and with the multi- 12 
 
 tude of thy sorceries, 
 Wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; 
 
 None seeth me] No holy and righteous God takes notice. Cf. Ps. 
 
 X. II, XCIV. 
 
 10 d — 12. The fourth strophe gives the reason for Babylon's security : 
 the elaborate system of magic for which she was famous, and in which 
 her practical religion largely consisted. For an account of Babylonian 
 sorcery &c., see Lenormant, ChaJdaean Magic (transl.), esp. chs. I — IV. 
 
 Thy wisdom and thy knowledge] The context shews that it is the 
 occult knowledge of sorcery, astrology &c., that is meant. 
 
 11. evil] is the same word as "wickedness" in v. 10; the play on 
 the two meanings of the word is intentional. 
 
 ffom whence it riseth] The literal rendering is given in R.V. "the 
 daAvning thereof." But the metaphor is unnatural (of calamity), and the 
 parallelism of the next line shews that an inf. must be read. A similar 
 Arabic verb means "to charm"; accordingly most commentators now 
 translate which thou shalt not know (how) to charm away (see R.V. 
 marg.). Some, however, prefer a slight alteration of the text, reading 
 "to buy off "(mnCJ^ for mnCJ^; cf. the parallelism in Prov. vi. 35). 
 
 to put off] is literally to expiate, i.e. avert by an offering. "They 
 try to avert evil and procure good, either by purifications, sacrifices, 
 or enchantments." (Diodorus Siculus, quoted by Lenormant, I.e. 
 p. 12.) 
 
 which thou shalt not know] The parallelism with the other two lines 
 of the tristich suggests that an inf. should be supplied at the end : which 
 thou Shalt not know how to... (so Duhm). 
 
 12. Stand noiu with ^'c] Either Stand by thy spells, persist in 
 them, stake everything upon them, as Lev. xiii. 5; Jer. xlviii. 11, 
 Ezek, xiii. 5 (these parallels, however, are not quite convincing) ; or (as 
 m V. 13) Stand forth with thy spells. 
 
 wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth] Or: with which thou 
 hast wearied thyself, &c.; see on ch. xliii. 22. Duhm omits these 
 words entirely, for the sake of the rhythm, but they excite no suspicion 
 on any other ground. 
 
78 ISAIAH, XLVII. [w. 13—15. 
 
 If so be thou shait be able to profit, if so be thou mayest 
 
 prevail. 
 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. 
 Let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly 
 
 prognosticators, 
 Stand tip, and save thee from these things that shall come 
 
 upon thee. 
 Behold, they shall be as stubble ; the fire shall burn 
 
 them; 
 They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the 
 
 flame : 
 There shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit 
 
 before it. 
 Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast 
 
 laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth : 
 
 if so be 6^<:.] perchance thou wilt be able to profit!— 
 
 perchance thou wilt inspire terror ! (Cf. R.V.) 
 keen and bitter irony. 
 
 13 — 15. The last strophe dwells on the futility of all the resources 
 that the "daughter of Babel" can call to her aid. 
 
 13. let nozv the astrologers &='c.'\ Render: let them stand forth 
 {v. 1-2) now and save thee, — they that have divided the heavens, they 
 that gaze on the stars, that announce month by month something of 
 what shall befall thee. 
 
 astrologers is an apt equivalent of "they that divided the heavens" 
 (i.e. into the constellations of the Zodiac, for astrological purposes). 
 This at least seems the most probable meaning, although the verb for 
 "divide" does not occur elsewhere in Hebrew (in Arab, it means to 
 "divide into great pieces"), and the Ancient Versions render otherwise 
 [LXX. 01 aarpoKb-yoi rod ovpavov]. So monthly prognosticators is a 
 felicitous condensation of the thought of the last clause, although the 
 E. V. (following some Jewish authorities) has mistaken the syntactical 
 construction. The special reference here is to the preparation of monthly 
 almanacs (based on astrological calculations) in which coming disasters 
 were foretold, lucky and unlucky days pointed out, &c. A specimen of 
 these almanacs is translated by Sayce in Trans, of the Society of Bibl. 
 A rchceology, ill. 2 2 9 ff. 
 
 14. They cannot even save their own lives, much less the State. 
 themselves] their (own) life. 
 
 there shall not be a coal &^c.] Better: It is no (glowing) coal to warm 
 oneself withal; no fire to sit before ! i.e. no genial hearth for comfort, 
 but an all-consuming fire! The sentence is prosaic and unnecessary, 
 and might readily be sacrificed (with Duhm) to the exigencies of the 
 strophe and the elegiac measure. 
 
 16. with who/n thou hast labour td\ See on v. \2. 
 
V. 15.] ISAIAH, XLVII. 79 
 
 They shall wander every one to his quarter ; none shall 
 save thee. 
 
 thy merchants^ Cf. Nah. iii. 16 f., and see on ch. xiii. 14. The 
 abrupt introduction of merchants here is somewhat perplexing, especi- 
 ally after the adverb "so"; but the word never means anything else in 
 Hebrew; and the context requires that some new persons should be 
 understood, since the astrologers have perished in the fii-e, while these 
 make their escape. It may however be used in a wide sense, of 
 nations that trafficked with Babylon. 
 
 every one to his quarter] Rather: each straight before Mm; cf. 
 Ezek. i. 9 (the cherubim went "everyone straight forward."). 
 
 Ch. XLVIII. Exhortations addressed to the Exiles in 
 THE near Prospect of Deliverance. 
 
 The chapter is largely a recapitulation of certain outstanding themes 
 of the prophecy, several of which are here touched upon for the last 
 time. The references to the victories of Cyrus, the predictions of the 
 fall of Babylon, the appeal to prophecy, and the distinction between 
 "former things" and "new things" henceforth disappear from the 
 circle of the author's thoughts, along with other familiar subjects, such 
 as the polemic against idolatry and the impressive inculcation of the 
 sole deity of Jehovah. This circumstance indicates that we have 
 reached the end of the first great division of the prophecy, and the 
 impression is confirmed by the closing hymn of praise, which carries us 
 forward to the very eve of the departure from Babylon. On some 
 critical difficulties of the passage see the introductory notes to "w. i — 1 1 
 and 17 — 19, below. 
 
 There are four distinct sections : 
 
 (i) vv. I — II. The prophet vindicates the methods of Jehovah's 
 revelation to Israel ; predictions have been given and withheld in such 
 a way as to remove every excuse for attributing the great events of 
 history to any other cause than the will of God. 
 
 (ii) vv. 11 — 16. An instance of the withholding of prophecy till 
 the eve of its accomplishment is the present announcement of the con- 
 quest of Babylon by Cyrus; it is the crowning proof of Jehovah's 
 abiding presence with His people. 
 
 (iii) vv. 17 — 19. Jehovah's compassion finds expression in a cry of 
 distress over the neglect of His commandments, which has stood in the 
 way of Israel's salvation. 
 
 (iv) vv. 20 — 22. In a final jubilant outburst of praise, the exiles 
 are summoned to flee from Babylon, whose power is already broken, 
 and to p^-oclaim the marvels of their redemption to the ends of the 
 earth. 
 
 1 — 11. These verses present some peculiar features, both of thought 
 and style, which have been felt by scholars representing widely diverg- 
 ing critical tendencies. The severe judgement on the people goes 
 beyond anything else in the prophecy; and, as has been pointed out, 
 
So ISAIAH, XLVIII. [vv. 1,2. 
 
 48 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, 
 
 Which are called by the name of Israel, 
 And are come forth out of the waters of Judah, 
 Which swear by the name of the I,ord, 
 And make mention of the God of Israel, 
 Bu^ not in truth, nor in righteousness. 
 2 For they call themselves of the holy city. 
 And stay themselves upon the God of Israel; 
 The Lord of hosts is his name. 
 
 seems to breathe the spirit of Ezekiel rather than of the second Isaiah. 
 Israel is addressed as a nation of hypocrites, of apostates, and of per- 
 sistent idolaters. Then the argument of the passage as a whole is very 
 remarkable. The "former things" (i.e. the events that have just taken 
 place) were announced long beforehand, lest Israel should be led to 
 ascribe them to some false god {vv. 3 — 6a); but the "new things" 
 (the subject of the present prophecy) have been "hidden" till the last 
 moment, lest the people in their perversity should say they had known 
 of them all along (6 d — 8). Duhm and Cheyne agree in assigning 
 these peculiarities to an editor, who has supplied a running commentary 
 on the words of the original author, in the shape of annotations. There 
 is much in the section which would be more intelligible if inserted by a 
 later writer; but the method attributed to the editor is peculiar, and no 
 motive suggests itself for his systematic attempt to correct the tendency 
 of this isolated passage. The difficulties are perhaps exaggerated ; the 
 stern attitude towards the nation is not without parallels (see ch. xlv. 
 9ff., and on ch. xlvi. 8), and the special development of the argument 
 from prophecy cannot be shown to involve a radical inconsistency with 
 the prophet's general conceptions. 
 
 1. J/ear ye this] refers to the following oracle, which commences 
 with V. 3 (cf. xlvi. 3 and xlviii. 12). The rest of vv. i f. is an editorial 
 insertion, in the view of Duhm and Cheyne (see above). 
 
 which are called] Or, which call themselves, as in v. 2 (cf. ch. 
 xliv. 5). For the remnant of the tribe of Judah, whom the author has 
 in his view, the name "Israel" was really a title of honour. 
 
 ou^ of the waters of Judahl The metaphor can be explained from 
 Ps. Ixviii. 26 (R.V.), where the ancestor of the nation is compared 
 to a fountain or cistern. It is perhaps better, however, to read (with 
 Seeker) mimm^e for minimi, rendering from the bowels (as v. 19) of 
 Judah. 
 
 To swear by the name of the LORD is a profession of allegiance to 
 Him, and as such is enjoined as a religious duty (Deut. vi. 13, x. ^o). 
 
 make mention of] i.e. celebrate; Ps. xx. 7. The words not in truth, 
 nor in righteousness do not refer specially to false swearing, but mean 
 that the profession is formal and insincere. 
 
 2. of (or by) the holy city] The phrase is here applied to Jerusalem 
 for the first time in the O.T. It occurs again in ch. Hi. i, elsewhere 
 only in the books of Nehemiah and Daniel (comp. Matt. iv. 5). 
 
vv. 3-6.] ISAIAH XLVIII. 8i 
 
 I have declared the formei thi7igs from the beginning ; 3 
 
 And they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed 
 them ; 
 
 I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. 
 
 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, 4 
 
 And thy neck is an iron sinew, 
 
 And thy brow brass : 
 
 I have even from the beginning declared // to thee ; 5 
 
 Before it came to pass I shewed it thee : 
 
 Lest thou shouldest say. Mine idol hath done them, 
 
 And my graven image, and my molten image, hath com- 
 manded them. 
 
 Thou hast heard, see all this; 6 
 
 And will not ye declare it^ 
 
 I have shewed thee new things from this time, 
 
 Even hidden things^ and thou didst not know them. 
 
 3 — 6a inculcate the lesson of the "former things," i.e. the events 
 that have now taken place, especially the appearance of Cyms. These 
 were predicted in advance, that Israel might not be able to say they 
 were done by the false gods (z/. 5). 
 
 3. Y ox from the beginning^ render beforehand, or (as R.V.) "from 
 of old." 
 
 they (the predictions) tvent forth out of ??iy tnouth...! did them] 
 brought the events to pass; the ri'shdnoth including both the pre- 
 dictions and their historical fulfilments (see on oh. xli. 22). 
 
 4. Cf. Ezek, iii. 7 — 9. 
 
 thy neck is an iron sinetv] Cf. for the idea Ex. xxxii. 9 ; Deut. ix. 6, 13. 
 
 6. I have even... thee'] And I announced it to thee beforehand {v. 3). 
 
 lest thou shouldest say drc.} But for the predictions the appearance 
 of Cyrus would have been attributed to the idols rather than to the God 
 who spoke through the prophets. The prevalence of idolatry among 
 the exiles is abundantly proved by the book of Ezekiel. 
 
 6. see all this] see it all (sc. fulfilled). 
 
 and will not ye declare it ?] Better (with the change of a consonant) 
 and you, will ye not bear witness? (Duhm). Cf. ch. xliii. 12. 
 
 6 b — 8. Jehovah has proved His power to foretell by the fulfilment of 
 past predictions [vv. 3 — 6 a) ; now He announces new things. 
 
 / have shewed thee] Rather : I shew thee (in the act of speaking). 
 
 new things] viz, those specified in v. 14, — the conquest of Babylon 
 and all that results from it, the deliverance of Israel, the overthrow o! 
 heathenism and the manifestation of the glory of Jehovah. 
 
 hidden things] Lit. "things kept" (in reserve). and thou 
 
 didst not knoiv them] which thou hast not known (R.V.). With the 
 exception of one letter the clause coincides with one in Jer. xxxiii. 3 
 ("difficult things which thou knowest not"), 
 
 ISAIAH II. 6 
 
ISAIAH, XLVIII. [vv. 7— 9. 
 
 They are created now, and not from the beginning; 
 Even before the day when thou heardest them not ; 
 Lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. 
 Yea, thou heardest not ; yea, thou knewest not ; 
 Yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened : 
 For I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, 
 And wast called a transgressor from the womb. 
 For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, 
 And for my praise will I refrain for thee, 
 That / cut thee not off. 
 
 7. They are created now] To create is to call into being by a word ; 
 and the idea here seems to be that the prophetic word which announces, 
 is at the same time the creative fiat of Jehovah. 
 
 not from the beginning] not aforetime (see z/, 3). 
 
 even before the day when dr'c. ] Render with R. V. and before this day 
 thou heardest them not. The phrase "before the day" means "here- 
 tofore," the opposite of "from this day forth" in ch. xliii. 13. 
 
 Behold, I knew them] The events would have lost the effect of 
 novelty if announced long before. Unbelief dies hard ; when it can no 
 longer say, " My idol did it," it is apt to take refuge in another subter- 
 fuge and say, " It is what I expected." 
 
 8. Yea, than heardest not dr'c. ] Better : Thou hast neither heard nor 
 known, nor was thine ear opened "beforehand. The verbal form for 
 "was opened" is properly transitive. It is used, however, in ch. Ix. 11 of 
 gates standing open, and in Cant. vii. 13 of the opening of a flower. 
 The LXX. reads " I opened," and this gives a better sense, the assertion 
 being not that Israel's ear refused to open, but that Jehovah had not 
 opened it, i.e. had not given a revelation. A similar conception of 
 revelation, though with a different verb, in ch. xxii. 14; i Sam. ix. 15 ; 
 with the same verb, in ch. 1. 5. 
 
 that thou wouldest deal very treacherously] Rather : that thou art 
 Utterly treacherous. a transgressor] a rebel. Such has been 
 
 the character of Israel as revealed in its past history; it would have 
 abused the knowledge if the predictions had been made earlier. 
 
 9 — 11. A nation so sunk in unbelief must have perished, but for 
 Jehovah's regard for His name. The thought is characteristic of Ezekiel 
 (see esp. ch. xx.). The expression "for my name's sake" (z^. 9) is not 
 found elsewhere in this prophecy; "for my own sake" {v. 11) occurs 
 in ch. xliii. 25. 
 
 9. The verbs should be rendered in the present tense. That for 
 refrain (found only here) means literally "muzzle:" the object ("my 
 anger ") is to be supplied from the previous clause. 
 
 that I cut thee not off] The idea that Israel is in danger of being cut 
 off is no doubt a surprising one in the mouth of this prophet (Duhm). 
 
 10. Instead of cutting off Israel, Jehovah has purified it in the 
 furnace of affliction. That the process has been fruitless of beneficial 
 
vv. lo— 14.] ISAIAH, XLVIII. 83 
 
 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; 10 
 
 I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 
 
 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I " 
 
 do it: 
 For how should my name be polluted? 
 And I will not give my glory unto another. 
 
 Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called; 12 
 
 \ am\i&;\ am the first, I also am the last. 
 
 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, ^3 
 
 And my right hand hath spanned the heavens : 
 
 When I call unto them, they stand up together. 
 
 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; 14 
 
 result (Dillmann) is suggested only by a particular interpretation of the 
 words. 
 
 but not with silver] The phrase is very obscure. Dillmann and 
 others take it to mean " not with silver as a result," without obtaining 
 any pure metal. Others render *'not as silver," i.e. either "not so 
 severely as silver is refined," or " with a refining of a different nature." 
 None of the proposed interpretations is satisfactory. 
 
 / have chosen thee in the furnace dfc] Render : I Mve tried thee &c. 
 (R.V. marg.). This sense of the verb is Aramaic (cf. Job xxxiv. 4?), and 
 since the verb " choose " is a common word of the prophet, the fact of 
 its being found here in a different sense may be an argument against 
 his authorship. 
 
 On the figure of the verse see ch. i. 25 ; Jer. vi. 29, ix. 7 ; Zech. xiii. 
 9 ; Mai. iii. 2, 3 ; i Pet. i. 7. 
 
 11. for hotu should my name be polluted?] Better : for how is it 
 profaned ! a parenthetic ejaculation, and in all probability a marginal 
 gloss. 
 
 I will not give my glory unto another] Cf. ch. xlii. 8. The " glory " 
 is that of bringing to pass the marvellous "new things," the era of 
 eternal salvation. 
 
 12 — 16. The substance of the " new things " {v. 6) is that Jehovah 
 has called Cyrus to execute His pleasure on the Chald?eans (14 f.), and 
 now openly announces His purpose beforehand (16). 
 
 12. / am he] See on ch. xli. 4. / am the first... the last] 
 xliv. 6. 
 
 13. Cf. ch. xl. 12, 22, 26; Ps. cii. 25. For hath spanned render 
 hath spread out (as R.V.). The verb is Aramaic, and does not occur 
 elsewhere in the O.T. 
 
 when / call.. .they stand up] Ps. xxxiii. 9. 
 
 14. All ye] The summons is addressed, not as in ch. xli. i — 4 &c. 
 to the nations, but to the people of Israel ; the gods of the heathen are 
 referred to in the words which among them &c. 
 
 6—2 
 
84 ISAIAH, XLVIII. [w. 15, 16. 
 
 Which among them hath declared these things 'i 
 The Lord hath loved him : 
 He will do his pleasure on Babylon, 
 And his arm shall be o?i the Chaldeans. 
 I, eve?i I, have spoken ; yea, I have called him : 
 I have brought him, and he shall make his way pros- 
 perous. 
 
 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this ; 
 
 I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; 
 
 From the time that it was, there afn I : 
 
 And now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. 
 
 The Lord hath loved hitn] is to be construed as a relative sentence : 
 lie whom Jehovah loveth shall perform etc. A new title, similar to 
 those in xliv. 28, xlv. i, xlvi. 11, is here bestowed upon Cyrus (comp. 
 " my friend " of Abraham in xli. 8). his pleasure] see on xlii. 21. 
 
 and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans] A preposition has dropped 
 out or must be supplied from the preceding clause ; and then we may 
 either render as E.V. (in which case " his arm " would most naturally 
 mean the arm, i.e. the might, of Cyrus) ; or thus : "and (he will perform) 
 His arm (Jehovah's mighty judgement) on the Chaldaeans" (Dillmann). 
 But although "arm" is a symbol of might, it could hardly be used alone 
 of judgement. The LXX. (*' to destroy the seed of the Chaldeans") 
 obviously read ze^-a'- instead of zh-d'6 ; and this is probably the 
 better text. Render simply and (on) the seed of the Chaldseans. 
 
 16. I have not spoken in secret] Cf. ch. xlv. 19. 
 from the beginning ; from the time that it 7vas] The sense is some- 
 what obscure. The pronoun "it" cannot refer to the world or the 
 creation, which would require to be expressed ; the implied antecedent 
 must be the subject of which the prophet is speaking, the purpose 
 of Jehovah against Babylon. The " beginning" will therefore be either 
 the origin of revelation in general, or of the series of prophecies now 
 being fulfilled. The meaning may be paraphrased thus : Jehovah has 
 never from the beginning spoken in dark and uncertain oracles, and He 
 does not conceal Himself now when events are already moving towards 
 the accomplishment of His words ; He is there, interpreting as well as 
 guiding the course of histor}\ That Jehovah is the speaker thus far 
 cannot be questioned, in spite of the last clause of the verse. For the 
 phrase " there am /," comp. Prov. viii. 27 (in the mouth of the personi- 
 fied Wisdom of God). 
 
 and 710W the Lord GOD ^c.] Render : and now the Lord Jehovah 
 hath sent me and (i.e. with) His spirit ; " His spirit " being not a 
 second subject along with Jehovah, but a second object. For the idea 
 cf. ch. Ixi. I and Zech. vii. 12. The Spirit is never spoken of in the 
 O.T. as the sender of the prophets, or as an independent agent distinct 
 from Jehovah. The isolation of this sentence from its context raises 
 
vv. 17, 18.] ISAIAH, XLVIII. 85 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, the Holy One of »7 
 
 Israel ; 
 I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, 
 Which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. 
 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments ! »8 
 
 doubts as to its genuineness. The sudden change of speaker disconnects 
 it from what precedes, and it is equally unsuitable as an introduction to 
 w. 17 — 19, where Jehovah Himself is again introduced by the ordinary 
 prophetic formula. A prelude to ch. xlix. (Delitzsch) it cannot possibly 
 be ; and it is utterly arbitrary and unnatural to suppose that the words 
 are spoken by the " Servant of Jehovah." If they are genuine they are 
 undoubtedly words of the prophet, who here calls attention to himself 
 and his mission, in a way which has no parallel in ch. xl. — Iv. Duhm 
 and Cheyne hold that the words are interpolated ; the motive for their 
 insertion being a misunderstanding of the first part of the verse. Taking 
 " from the beginning " and " from the time that it was " to refer to 
 the Creation, the editor supplied the contrast (" and now "), which he 
 believed the author to have in his mind. 
 
 17 — 19. If Israel had but known Jehovah as its faithful Guide, and 
 obeyed His commandments, how different would its present condition 
 have been ! The short passage has a striking resemblance to Ps. Ixxxi. 
 13 — 16, and is of singular beauty and depth of feeling. But the dis- 
 appointment expressed, that Israel has not attained to righteousness by 
 the keeping of the Divine law, is not altogether natural in this con- 
 nexion, or in the circumstances in which the prophecy was written. It 
 breathes rather the spirit of a time of depression, when Israel seemed in 
 danger of being "cut off," and when the faith of the Church was not 
 sustained by the immediate prospect of deliverance. Moreover, the song 
 of triumph in iru. lo f. is the proper sequel (as in every similar instance) 
 of the announcement of deliverance in 12 — 16 a.\ and it will be felt that 
 the obvious and natural connexion is disturbed by a sigh of regret for 
 what might have been. It is with reluctance that one is driven to assign 
 a thought so finely expressed to an interpolator, but a fair interpretation 
 of the spirit of the passage points strongly to that conclusion (so again 
 Duhm and Cheyne). 
 
 17. The introduction is in the prophet's usual manner ; cf. ch. xli. 
 14, xliii. 14, xlix. 7. 
 
 which teacheth thee to p7oJit\ i.e. profitably or "for thy profit "; cf. 
 xliv. lo (" to no profit"), xlvii. 1-2. 
 
 18. that thou hadst hearkened &'c.'\ This is the strict rendering of 
 the Hebr. idiom, which properly expresses a wish that has not been 
 realised (see Driver, Tenses, § 140). It may, indeed (as in ch. Ixiv. i), 
 be used in an impassioned wish for the future, and many commentators 
 prefer that sense here, — "O that thou wouldst hearken " (see Davidson, 
 Syntax ^ § 134). So R.V. marg. But the construction in Ixiv. i is 
 exceptional, and the two cases are not strictly parallel. Here the refer- 
 ence to the past is strengthened by the following clauses : " then had thy 
 
86 ISAIAH, XLVIII. [vv. 19, 20. 
 
 Then had thy peace been as a river, 
 And thy righteousness as the waves of the sea : 
 Thy seed also had been as the sand, 
 And the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; 
 His name should not have been cut off nor destroyed 
 from before me. 
 
 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, 
 
 peace been'^ &c. (consec. impf.); and it is only a feeling of the unsuit- 
 ability of the idea to the discourse that could ever suggest a departure 
 from the ordinary rule of syntax. It is true that "such a retrospect 
 here at the close would be extraordinary" (Dillmann), but in reality a 
 hypothetical promise of future blessedness would be just as surprising. 
 The difficulty is not grammatical but critical. 
 
 peace means national prosr Tity, "welfare," as explained in the next 
 verse (cf. ch. Ixvi. 12) ; righteousness is used in the same sense as in ch. 
 xlv. 8. 
 
 as a river} i.e. a perennial stream, such as the Euphrates (cf. Am. v. 
 24). It is easy to understand the impression made on the mind of 
 a native of Palestine, accustomed to "deceitful brooks " that run dry in 
 the summer, by the sight of a great river, flow^ing on for ever in 
 undiminished volume. The actual history of Israel had been like the 
 7aadis of Judaea, transient gleams of prosperity being interrupted by long 
 intervals of misfortune ; the river suggests to the writer an image of the 
 boundless and unfailing blessedness which would have followed the 
 keeping of the Divine commandments. 
 
 t/ie waves of the seci\ cf. ch. xi. 9. 
 
 19. as the sand'\ A common comparison ; see ch. x. 32 ; Gen. xxii. 
 17 ; Hos. i. 10 &c. 
 
 like the gravel t hereof '\ Lit. the grains thereof. The word used 
 resembles a fem. plur. of that which immediately precedes (" bowels"); 
 hence some commentators translate "the entrails thereof" (i.e. the 
 fishes), taking as antecedent of the pronoun the word *' sea " in the 
 previous verse (see R.V. marg.). It would be better to explain it at 
 once of the " entrails " of the sand (i.e. worms), for which indeed there 
 is said to be a Syriac parallel (see Payne Smith, Thesaurus, col. 2185). 
 But both comparisons alike are prosaic and unnatural. The word is no 
 doubt identical with the Aramaic md^dh, "kernel" (generally used of a 
 small coin). 
 
 his name &'c.] its name (that of the "seed") should not be cut 
 off &c. 
 
 20, 21 (cf. ch. lii. 11, 12) form the lyrical conclusion of this division of 
 the prophecy. In anticipation of this second exodus of Israel, the 
 prophet puts a song of praise in the mouth of the redeemed exiles. 
 
 flee ye from the Chaldeans} or "from Chaldjea " (see on xlvii. i). 
 The \QxhJiee probably means no more than "hasten " (see ch. lii. 12). 
 
22.] ISAIAH, XLVIII. XLIX. 87 
 
 With a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, 
 
 Utter it eve7i to the end of the earth ; 
 
 Say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob. 
 
 And they thirsted not wheti he led them through the 21 
 
 deserts : 
 He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them : 
 He clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. 
 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. 22 
 
 with a voice of singing... tell this] The exiles' shout of joy is a revela- 
 tion to the world of the greatness of the God of Israel. 
 utter it] Lit. "send it forth," as in ch. xlii. i. 
 
 21. These are still words of the ransomed people. The allusions 
 are to the miracles in the wilderness of Sinai (cf Ex. xvii. 6; Num. 
 XX. 11) which are represented as having been repealed during the desert 
 journey of the returning exiles. 
 
 22. The words are taken from ch. l--ii. 21, where, however, they 
 stand in their proper connexion. Here they are either a gloss or an 
 editorial insertion intended to mark the close of a division of the 
 prophecy. See the Introduction, p. x. 
 
 Ch. XLIX. 1—13. The Servant of Jehovah: His Fidelity 
 AMIDST Discouragements, and the ultimate Success of 
 His Mission. 
 
 The beginning of ch. xlix. seems to mark a distinct advance in the 
 development of the prophet's conceptions. " The controversial tone, 
 the repeated comparisons between Jehovah and the idols, with the y^ 
 arguments based upon them, disappear; the prophet feels that, as 
 regards these points, he has made his position sufficiently secure. For the / 
 same reason, allusions to Cyrus and his conquest of Babylon cease also ; 
 that, likewise, is now taken for granted" (Driver, Isaiah-, pp. 148 f). 
 In the remaining discourses (ch. xlix. — Iv.) the author concentrates his 
 attention almost exclusively on his central message of consolation, and f^ 
 the glorious future in store for Israel. His treatment of this theme 
 moves along two lines, which alternate with each other as the manner 
 of the writer is. The first is represented by the idea of the Servant of 
 the Lord, the second by the figure of Zion, both being personifications, 
 although in very different senses, of the people of Israel (see on ch. xl. i). 
 The Servant represents the ideal Israel as Jehovah's instrument, fixst, 
 in restoring the unity and prosperity of the nation, and secorid, in 
 extending the knowledge of God to the nations of the world. Zion, on 
 the other hand, is the representative of Israel in its passive aspect, as 
 deserted and humbled in the present, but at the same time the recipient 
 of the blessings which accrue from the work and sufferings of the Lord's 
 Servant. 
 
 The opening section consists of: — 
 
 i, A new description of the mission and experience of the Servant 
 of Jehovah (cf ch. xlii. i — 4) in the form of an address by the Servant 
 
88 ISAIAH, XLIX. 
 
 to the nations (vv. i — 6). These verses form the second of the four 
 •' Servant-passages " which occur in the book. 
 
 ii. A promise of speedy restoration to Israel, obviously based on the 
 preceding description (z/z/. 7 — 12). 
 
 iii. A hymn of gratitude to Jehovah, called forth as usual by the 
 prospect of deliverance (v. 13). 
 
 1 — 6. The Servant's address to the nations. The passage fonns the 
 natural sequel to ch. xlii. i — 4, and adds some fresh features to the 
 portrait there presented, (i) The Servant, speaking now in his own 
 name, expresses his consciousness of the mission entrusted to him by 
 Jehovah [zw. i — 3). (2) He records his failure in the past, and the sense 
 of disappointment caused in him by the apparent fniitlessness of his 
 labour; yet his faith in his mission remains constant {v. 4). (3) But now 
 his doubts have been removed by a revelation of the great purpose for 
 which Jehovah has raised him up; viz., to be the organ of His salvation 
 to the ends of the earth {vv. 5, 6). 
 
 It still remains the most probable view that Israel is here spoken of 
 under the name of the Servant of Jehovah; although hvo objections are 
 raised in addition to those suggested by xlii. i — 4. (a) The Servant is 
 described as one who has a history and an experience behind him, as 
 well as a mission to fulfil. Now this experience is not that of the 
 nation, which was conscious of no unique religious mission, and 
 therefore had no such sense of defeat as is described in z;. 4. And if 
 we say that it is not the actual but the ideal Israel that is meant, we are 
 asked to explain how an ideal can have a history, or when the ideal 
 Israel was born, or before whom Jehovah mentioned its name (Duhm). 
 (d) Another difficulty is created by the fact that the Servant is here 
 expressly distinguished from Israel when it is said that "the restoration 
 of the nation is to be effected by his activity. These objections are 
 perhaps sufficiently met by the consideration that the ideal represented 
 by the Servant is one that has been partially realised in the experience 
 of the best part of the nation. Since the beginning of prophecy there 
 had been a section of the people that had laboured for the conversion 
 of Israel, and there were doubtless many among the exiles whose 
 feelings of disappointment are truthfully reflected by the language put 
 into the mouth of the Servant. There is nothing unnatural in the 
 supposition that this party should be regarded as embodying the true 
 genius of Israel, or that their experience should be transferred to the 
 ideal figure by which the prophet sets forth his inspired interpretation 
 of Israel's history. Nor is there any great difficulty in the further 
 thought that the ideal Servant, as represented by this minority, 
 laboured for the reunion and upbuilding of the future Israel. This 
 also corresponds to a fact of history, for nothing is more certain than 
 that but for the influence of the prophetic teaching the Israelitish 
 nationality would have perished during the Captivity. The prophet's 
 conception of Israel's unique position is singularly profound as well as 
 elevated ; but it does not appear that any feature thus far introduced 
 into the portrait of Jehovah's Servant violates the conditions of a natural 
 personification. (See further Introduction, pp. xxxiii f.; and Appendix, 
 Note I.) 
 
vv. 1—3.] ISAIAH, XLIX. -Sg 
 
 Listen, O isles, unto me; 49 
 
 And hearken, ye people, from afar; 
 
 The Lord hath called me from the womb ; 
 
 From the bowels of my mother hath he made mention 
 
 of my name. 
 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; 2 
 In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, 
 And made me a polished shaft; 
 In his quiver hath he hid me ; 
 
 And said unto me, Thou ar^ my servant, 3 
 
 O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 
 
 1 — 3. The call and equipment of the Servant by Jehovah. The 
 nations of the world are addressed, because the great announcement 
 that the speaker has to make {v. 6) concerns them. Although Jeremiah 
 had already been conscious of being a "prophet to the nations" 
 (Jer. i. 5), the self-consciousness here attributed to the Servant is too 
 great to be that of any private individual, whether prophet or teacher. 
 
 O is/es] see on ch. xli. i. Y ax people render peoples (R.V.). 
 
 the Lord hath called me (xlii. 6 &c.) from the womb'\ Cf. ch. xljv. 
 ■2, 24, xlvi. 3, where the same metaphor is used of the beginning of the 
 nation's History. made mention of my na7nc'\ Cf. xliii. i. 
 
 2. The Servant is described as one prepared in secret for his great 
 work. He compai'es himself to a weapon fashioned by Jehovah for 
 His own use, but keg^jiijjeserve till the fulness of time. As the ideal 
 prophet, he speakswTiis~7«w??^7-theT5rgah'~"6r"proplietic utterance |see 
 Jer. i. 9; Is. vi. 7), as made like a sharp sword in virtue of the "word" 
 which Jehovah puts in it (ch. li. 16; cf. Heb. iv. 12). 
 
 in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me\ (ch. li. 16). The metaphor 
 perhaps denotes protection rather than secrecy. 
 
 a polished arrow] see Jer. li. 16. 
 
 There is nothing in the verse inconsistent with the idea that the 
 speaker is Israel personified. The fundamental thought, translated into 
 modern language, would be that prophecy is the highest expression 
 of the genius of Israel ; and the idealised nation is naturally identified 
 with what is best and most characteristic in its history, and invested 
 with the character of the ideal prophet. And again, Jehovah's hiding 
 of His Servant may express the truth that Israel had been providentially 
 preserved through long ages for the sake of the spiritual endowments 
 Avhich made it the mouthpiece of revelation. The further idea that the 
 real mission of Israel was concealed both from the world and from the 
 nation itself is no doubt true, but is perhaps hardly contained in the 
 figure. 
 
 3. The word Israel may be read either as a vocative or as a 
 continuation of the predicate: "(Thou art) Israel &c." (see R.V.). On 
 either view it presents insuperable difficulties to those who hold that 
 the Servant is an individual. To say that as the supreme personage of 
 
90 ISAIAH, XLIX. [vv. 4—6. 
 
 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, 
 
 I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain : 
 
 Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, 
 
 And my work with my God. 
 
 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the 
 
 womb to be his servant, 
 To bring Jacob again to him, 
 Though Israel be not gathered, 
 Yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, 
 And my God shall be my strength. 
 And he said. It is a light thing that thou shouldest 
 
 be my servant 
 
 Israel's history he receives the name " Israel" is an arbitrary explanation, 
 which is not to be justified by the observation that the name originally 
 belonged to an individual. Since, however, the most important idea 
 of the verse is contained in the words my servant, to which the clause 
 in xvhom I will be glorified (better : glorify myself) naturally attaches 
 itself, it is possible that Israel may be a gloss, and for that reason no 
 great stress can be laid on the word as an argument for the national 
 interpretation of the passage. 
 
 4. Although cast down for a moment by his want of success, he 
 does not yield to despondency (cf. xlii. 4), but leaves his cause in the 
 hands of God. 
 
 Then I said] R.V. But I said (with a certain emphasis on the "I"). 
 
 my Judgment] i.e. "my right," as in ch. xl. 27. my xvork should 
 
 be my recompence (R.V.) ; see ch. xl. 10. 
 
 6, 6. The Servant's faith is rewarded by the revelation of a loftier 
 mission than he had heretofore been conscious of. 
 
 though Israel be not gathered] R.V. "and that Israel be gathered 
 unto him." We have here the same confusion between /J* (not) and 16 
 (to him) as in ch. ix. 3. The verb for "gather," however, is used in 
 two senses, eitherr,V to gather in " or^A'to take away," "gather off" 
 (e.g. Ezek. xxxiv.^9, R.V. marg.); by adopting the latter we might 
 retain the negative particle as in the consonantal text : and that Israel 
 be not swept away. The clause, at all events, being parallel to the 
 preceding, must express a similar idea ; the rendering of A.V. proceeds 
 on a wrong view of the construction. 
 
 yet shall I be glorious] Rather : and I shall be (or am) honourable 
 (a different root from that used \nv. 3). This second half of the verse 
 seems somewhat out of place in its present context (hence it is marked 
 by R.V. as a parenthesis). Its original position may have been (as Duhm 
 thinks) at the end of v. 3, reading: "and so I was honourable in the 
 eyes of Jehovah, and my God was my strength." 
 
 6. And he said] resuming the sentence begim in v. 5. R.V. "Yea, 
 he saith." 
 
 // is a light thing ^c] Better as R.V. It is too light a thing &c. 
 
V. 7-] ISAIAH, XLIX. 
 
 To raise up the tribes of Jacob, 
 
 And to restore the preserved of Israel : 
 
 I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, 
 
 That thou mayest be my salvation unto the end 
 
 of the earth. 
 Thus saith the Lord, the redeemer of Israel, and his 7 
 
 Holy One, 
 To him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation 
 
 abhorreth, to a servant of rulers. 
 
 But the literal translation probably is, "It is too light for thy being 
 a servant to me that thou shouldst raise up" &c., i.e. "To restore 
 Israel is the least part of thy vocation as my servant." The sense is not 
 affected, and the rendering of R.V. might be defended by the analogy 
 of Ezek. viii. 17. raise 74p here means "re-establish," just as 
 
 "build" frequently means "rebuild" (Ps. cxxii. 3 &c.). 
 
 the preserved of Israel^ those who survive the destruction of the state 
 (Ezek. vi. 12, R.V. marg.). 
 
 / will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles^ ch. xlii. 6. 
 
 that thou mayest be my salvation 6^r.] Rather : that my salvation 
 may be &c. Comp. the N.T. application in Acts xiii. 47. The verse 
 evidently describes an enlargement of the Servant's conception of his 
 vocation. Previously, he had been conscious only of a mission to 
 Israel, and in that mission the significance of the title "Servant of 
 Jehovah "had seemed to be exhausted {v. 5). Now it is revealed to 
 him that the name includes a higher function, that, namely, of being the 
 mediato r of salvation to all mankind. And since the greater destiny 
 containsThe' lessT^e acceptance ofThis new commission delivers him 
 from the sense of failure by which he had been oppressed (v. 4). 
 Whatever view be taken of the Servant's personality, he speaks as 
 the ex£onent_ofJh^J^ehgioIL.Qf>eve^ and the fact here represented 
 
 is threxpansion^oTThatreligionTromT^mg a national to be a uniyexsal j 
 religion. The ideal was realised only in the New Testament dispensatiori, I 
 so that in this as in many other respects the portrait of the Servant is an 
 indirect prophecy of Christ. Cf. Luke ii. 32 
 
 7—12. The Servant's account of his calling forms the basis- 
 
 is- of a j/^ 
 ns, aa^/ 
 
 series of promises; v. 7 referring to his influence on the nations, 
 
 vv. 8 — 12 to the narrower sphere of his activity, the restoration of 
 
 Israel. 
 
 7. Israel shall be raised from the deepest degradation to the highest 
 honour. The verse is remarkable as anticipating the main idea of 
 ch. Hi. 13 — liii. 15. 
 
 to him whom man despiseth] Lit. to the despised of soul; i.e. "to 
 one who is heartily despised," the "soul" being the seat of emotion. 
 Comp. Ps. xvii. 9 ("my deadly enemies," = " they that hate me in the 
 soul,"). In the parallel phrase to the abhorred of people, "people" 
 seems to be used of men in general (the German Leute) as in Gen. xx. 4 
 
92 ISAIAH, XLIX. [vv. 8-IO. 
 
 Kings shall see and arise, 
 
 Princes also shall worship, 
 
 Because of the Lord that is faithful, 
 
 And the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, 
 
 In an acceptable time have I heard thee. 
 
 And in a day of salvation have I helped thee: 
 
 And I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant 
 
 of the people, 
 To establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate 
 
 heritages ; 
 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth ; 
 To the^n that are in darkness. Shew yourselves. 
 They shall feed in the ways, 
 And their pastures shall be in all high places. 
 They shall not hunger nor thirst; 
 
 ("righteous folk"). The words for "despised" and "abliorred" are 
 both peculiar in form. 
 
 a servant of rulers]^ of tyrants (ch. xiv. 5). 
 
 kings shall see (the exaltation of Israel) and arise] in amazement and 
 reverence (cf. ch. lii. 15). pri/ues also shall worship] princes 
 
 (sc. shall arise) and do homage (see R.V.). 
 
 and he shall choose thee] Better, as R.V. "who hath chosen thee 
 (strictly, "and he hath chosen thee"; see Driver's Tenses, § 76a). 
 
 8 — 12. A picture of the emancipation and return of the exiles. 
 
 8. In an acceptable time] Better: in a season of favour. Cf. 
 ch. Ixi. 2, and the citation in 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
 
 for a covenant of the people] See on ch. xlii. 6. 
 
 to establish the earth ^c] Render : to restore (see v. 6) the land (of 
 Israel), to allot (Deut. xxi. 16) the desolate heritages. It may be 
 difficult to decide whether Jehovah Himself or His Servant is the 
 implicit subject of these verbs, the Heb. construction being ambiguous. 
 The latter sense is certainly the more natural ; although it is only in a 
 figure that the repeopling &c. of the land can be attributed to the 
 agency of the ideal Israel: "what is done for the sake of the Servant, 
 is done by him" (Dillmann). 
 
 9. That thou mayest say] Rather, Sasring (R.V.) or possibly (con- 
 tinuing the previous infs.) "To say." 
 
 the prisoners .. .Witvcs. that are in darkness] i.e. the exiles; cf xlii. 7. 
 The second half of the verse introduces a new figure, that of the flock, 
 (see ch. xl. 11) led by Jehovah, the Good Shepherd. 
 
 they shall feed in the zoays] Or perhaps as LXX., in all the ways, 
 wherein they go. 
 
 high places] bare heights; ch. xli. 18. 
 
3-] ISAIAH, XLIX. 93 
 
 Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: 
 
 For he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, 
 
 Even by the springs of water shall he guide them. 
 
 And I will make all my mountains a way. 
 
 And my highways shall be exalted. 
 
 Behold, these shall come from far: 
 
 And lo, these from the north and from the west; 
 
 And these from the land of Sinim. 
 
 Sing, O heavens ; and be joyful, O earth ; 
 
 10. neither shall the heat... smite thent] The word for heat should 
 probably be rendered the hot wind (Sirocco; LXX., Kavaojv). It is 
 often taken to denote the mirage (see on ch. xxxv. 7), but that meaning 
 is unsuitable here on account of the verb "smite." 
 
 11. The expression ?fiy mountains is difficult. An allusion to the 
 mere fact of creation is not natural, and to understand it of the moun- 
 tains of Palestine (as in ch. xiv. 25) would limit the image to the last stage 
 of the return journey. Possibly the text should be amended so as to 
 read "mountains" simply. Cf. LXX. {irav opos). 
 
 my highways'] See on ch. xl. 4. 
 
 12. The return of exiles from the most distant parts of the earth. 
 these from the land of 6V«£w (the Sinites)] The last word is a 
 
 hopeless enigma. As the ohly'proper name in the verse the writer 
 must have had some special reason for mentioning it ; and the only 
 reason that can be plausibly imagined is that Sini??i lay on the utmost 
 limit of his geogiaphical horizon. This would exclude two suggested 
 identifications: (i) the Canaanite Sinites of Gen. x. 17, and (2) Sin 
 (Pelusium) on the nearest border of Egypt. Again, from the fact that 
 "north" and "west" have been already mentioned we may reasonably 
 infer that the Sinim must be looked for either in the far East or the 
 far South. The former is the view of most commentators, who find 
 in Sinim th e name China (properly "the Chinese"). If the prophecy 
 'had been wriffeffTour or five centuries later this hypothesis would be 
 more plausible than it is. The word might be the same as the Arabic 
 and Syriac name for China (PV), although there is a difference in 
 the first consonant which would excite misgivings. But it is generally 
 considered that this name is derived from that of the Tsin-dynasty, 
 which dates from 255 B.C.; it could not therefore have reached the 
 West in the time of the Exile. The numerous attempts to find an older 
 Chinese origin of the word are merely wasted ingenuity. Moreover, 
 it is inconceivable that Jewish captives had been transported to China 
 at so early a period ; and speculations about the possibility of intercourse 
 between the Chinese and Western Asia hardly touch the question. The _ 
 Sinii n are located in the South by the Targ. and Vulg., which render 
 "a South ern land " ; also by Cheyne, wHoTin his latest work , revives a 
 suggestion of f. D. Michaelis that Syene is meant (reading D''3).p for 
 
94 ISAIAH, XLIX. [v. 14. 
 
 And break forth into singing, O mountains : 
 For the Lord hath comforted his people, 
 And will have mercy upon his afflicted. 
 
 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, 
 And my Lord hath forgotten me. 
 
 13. The lyrical conclusion of the passage on the Servant, partly 
 resembling ch. xliv. 23. 
 
 his afflicted] See on xli. 17. 
 
 Ch. XLIX. 14— L. 3. The Consolation of Zion. 
 
 (i) vv. 14 — 21. In an apostrophe to Jerusalem the prophet an- 
 nounces the speedy return of her population and the rebuilding of her 
 waste places. The poetiy of the passage is singularly beautiful, and 
 charged with tender emotion. Zion, the idealised city, is the wife of 
 Jehovah, and the mother of her inhabitants. Although she now thinks 
 of herself as rejected and barren {v. 14), she is assured of the unchang- 
 ing love of her God [vv. 15, 16) which will soon be manifested in her 
 restoration to the joy of motherhood (17 — 20). The ecstasy of amaze- 
 ment and delight with which she recognises and welcomes her children 
 {v. 21) is finely opposed to the opening picture of her desolation and 
 despondency. Note also the contrast between the whole conception 
 and the fate of the "virgin daughter of Babylon" (xlvii. 8, 9). 
 
 (ii) Ch. xlix. 22 — 1. 3. Three oracles, confirming the promise to 
 Zion. 
 
 (i) vv. 22, 23. On a signal from Jehovah the nations shall bring 
 home the scattered children of Zion ; nay, their kings and queens shall 
 esteem it an honour to foster the newly-formed community. 
 
 (2) vv. 24 — 26, No earthly power can interpose between Jehovah 
 and the deliverance of His people; Israel is His lawful prey, and none 
 shall pluck them from Him (see the notes below). In thus represent- 
 ing the deliverance as effected by force, the prophet no doubt has in 
 view the one nation that would not obey the signal oi v. 22. 
 
 (3) 1. I — 3. Lastly, there exists no legal impediment to the re- 
 demption of Israel; Jehovah has issued no sentence of formal rejection 
 agamst His people, nor has anyone acquired the rights of a creditor over 
 them {v. 1). He therefore expresses surprise that there is so little 
 response to the promise of salvation, so little faith in His almighty 
 power. 
 
 14. But Zion said] Zion is the city of Jerusalem personified (cf. 
 V. 16) and, by a common O.T. figure, conceived as the mother of the 
 citizens (see further on v. 21). This is no doubt the primary reference 
 of the figure, but since the city derives its religious significance from 
 its being the centre of the national life, Zion really represents the 
 nation of Israel, as in ch. xl. 2. Hence the complaint of this verse is 
 the same as was previously heard from the lips of Israel (ch. xl. 27). 
 
 my Lord] Better, as R.V. the Lord. The word when pointed, as 
 here {^Addnai), is always equivalent to Jehovah. The suggestion that it 
 
vv. 15—18.] ISAIAH, XLIX. 9S 
 
 Can a woman forget her sucking child, 15 
 
 That she should not have compassion on the son of 
 
 her womb? 
 Yea, they may forget. 
 Yet will I not forget thee. 
 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of 7ny 16 
 
 hands ; 
 Thy walls are continually before me. 
 Thy children shall make haste; 17 
 
 Thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall 
 
 go forth of thee. 
 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold : 18 
 
 All these gather themselves together, atid come to thee. 
 As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe 
 
 thee with them all, as with an ornament, 
 
 may be used in the sense of "husband" (as Gen. xviii. 12) would 
 demand a different vocalisation (^Adont). But although the idea of 
 Jehovah as the husband of Zion was undoubtedly present to the 
 prophet's mind (1. i, liv. 6) it does not emerge in this verse. 
 
 15. Jehovah's remembrance of Zion is more enduring than the 
 strongest human affection. Even a mother's pity for an infant may 
 fail. yea^ they 9?iay forgef] Or, should even these forget (Cheyne). 
 
 yet will I not forget thee'] See on ch. xliv. 21. 
 
 16. I have graven thee] Not the name merely but the picture of the 
 city, as the next clause shews. Thy walls may refer to the ruined walls 
 with their mute appeal to Jehovah's compassion, or to the plan of the 
 new walls, which reminds Him of His purpose to rebuild them. The 
 latter is more likely. 
 
 upon the pahtis of my hands'] upon both hands. 
 
 17. 18. Already in vision the prophet sees the return of the exiles 
 and calls on Zion to welcome her sons. 
 
 Instead of Thy children the chief ancient Versions, and the import- 
 ant Babylonian Codex have "Thy builders" ("Jj^^S for "H^^S), a sense 
 which is recommended both by the antithesis to "thy destroyers" &c., 
 and the connexion with the previous verse. Yet it is doubtful if the 
 reading on the whole is preferable to that of the received text. The 
 latter at least is true to the fundamental image of the passage, which 
 appears again in vv. 20 f 
 
 For shall fnake haste read in the present tense (as R.V.) make haste. 
 
 thy destroyers d^c.] The expressions almost suggest that Jerusalem 
 was still occupied by Chaldaean troops. 
 
 18. As / live, saith the Lord] Jehovah's oath by Himself, ch. xlv. 
 23. It introduces a new, though closely related, conception ; the 
 inhabitants being compared to the bridal attire with which Zion replaces 
 the signs of her widowhood. 
 
96 ISAIAH, XLIX. [w. 19—21 
 
 And bind them on thee, as a bride doth. 
 
 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land 
 of thy destruction, 
 
 Shall even now be too narrow by reason of the in- 
 habitants, 
 
 And they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 
 
 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast 
 lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, 
 
 The place is too strait for me : 
 
 Give place to me that I may dwell. 
 
 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten 
 me these, 
 
 bind them on thee] Strictly gird them on. The verb is connected 
 with the word for "girdle" in ch. iii. 20 {qishshtirim, A. V. "headbands"). 
 It was evidently an ornamental girdle, possibly a part of the bridal 
 costume (cf. Jer. ii. 32, "can. ..a bride forget her girdle")- 
 
 19, 20. In place of her present solitude, the ideal Zion shall yet 
 look down on a densely peopled city, whose inhabitants are embarrassed 
 for want of room. 
 
 19. For as for thy waste and thy desolate places and thy land that 
 hath been destroyed, surely no%v shalt thou be too strait for the 
 inhabitants, (Sr'c] So R.V. But there appears to be some textual 
 disorder, the subjects in the first half of the verse having no predicate. 
 The R.V. gets over the difficulty by taking "ihy waste places" &c. as 
 a sort of casus pendens, resumed in the "thou" of the last clause; but 
 this is a forced construction. The most probable solution is that the 
 original conclusion of the first clause has been lost in copying (Duhm) ; 
 the second would then commence with the words For now. 
 
 the land of thy destruction'] lit. "thy land of destruction," i.e., as R.V., 
 thy land that hath heen destroyed. 
 
 20. The childi-en .. .other] Lit. the sons of thy bereavement, i.e. 
 those born to thee in the time of thy bereavement (see v. 21). 
 
 shall yet say in thine ears] The mother overhears the talk of her 
 vigorous and enterprising offspring. 
 
 the place is too strait for me] Cf. ^ Ki. vi. i. 
 
 Give place to me] This peculiar sense of the verb (usually "draw 
 near") finds an exact parallel in Gen. xix. 9. Comp. Ixv. 5, "draw near 
 to thyself" = "stand off," — a different, but synonymous verb. 
 
 21. Zion is bewildered at finding herself once more " a joyful mother 
 of children" (Ps. cxiii. 9). 
 
 Who hath begotten] Rather, Who hath borne (in spite of the mascu- 
 line gender of the verb). The peculiar figure is probably to be ex- 
 plained by the custom illustrated in Gen. xvi. i ff., xxx. i ff., &c. The 
 exile was the time of Zion's barrenness; the generation of Israelites 
 that had grown up in a foreign land are regarded as not her natural 
 
vv. 22, 23.] ISAIAH XLIX. 97 
 
 Seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, 
 
 A captive, and removing to and fro? 
 
 And who hath brought up these? 
 
 Behold, I was left alone ; 
 
 These, where had they been ? 
 
 Thus saith the Lord God, 22 
 
 Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, 
 
 And set up my standard to the people : 
 
 And they shall bring thy sons in their arms, 
 
 And thy daughters shall be carried upon fhei?- shoulders. 
 
 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, 23 
 
 And their queens thy nursing mothers : 
 
 They shall bow down to thee with their face toward 
 
 the earth. 
 And lick up the dust of thy feet ; 
 
 children, although legally they belong to hei", having been borne y^r her 
 by a stranger. 
 
 seeing I have lost ^c.l seeing I am childless and unfruitful. The 
 clause immediately following (which must be rendered exiled and put 
 away) introduces a conception alien to the image of the verse. Zion 
 herself was not ''exiled" but "left alone," when her children were 
 taken from her. The words are wanting in the LXX. and may be 
 a gloss. 
 
 these, where had they been?] If this were the sense intended, the 
 verb "had been" (or "were") would probably require to have been 
 expressed. But the question tliat Zion broods over is not 7vhere her 
 children had been, but how she comes to have children at all, who are 
 strangers to her. Render, therefore (with Dillmann), these, how (is It) 
 with them ? of what description are they? (cf. Jud. viii. 18). 
 
 22, 23. The first of the three short oracles describes the restoration 
 of the exiles as a spontaneous act of homage on the part of the Gentiles. 
 The conception is intermediate between that of ch. xlv. 14 ff., where the 
 nations acknowledge the divinity of Jehovah and the religious supremacy 
 of Israel, and that of ch. Ix. 4, 8, Ixvi. 20; cf. ch. xi. 11, 12. For 
 Gentiles read nations, and for people, peoples, as R.V. 
 
 set up my standard^ as a signal ; see on ch. v. 26. 
 
 they shall bring thy sons in the hosom] of the garment (sinus) where 
 little children were carried (Num. xi. 12). The word belongs to late 
 Hebrew (Neh. v. 13 [E.V. lap]; Ps, cxxix. 7). 
 
 23. thy nursing fathers] thy guardians ; i.e. of course, the guardians 
 of her children (in spite of ch. Ix. 16) ; see Num. xi. 12 ; 2 Ki. x. i ; 
 Esth. ii. 7 &c. The figure appears to express the permanent relation of 
 the kingdoms of the world to the glorified people of God. 
 
 lick up the dust of thy feet] An extravagant, but thoroughly Oriental, 
 metaphor for abject self-humiliation (cf. Mic. vii. 17; Ps. Ixxii. 9). 
 
 FSAIAH II. 7 
 
98 ISAIAH, XLIX. [v. 24. 
 
 And thou shalt know that I am the Lord : 
 
 For they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. 
 24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, 
 Or the lawful captive delivered? 
 
 Gesenius quotes from a Persian poem the following sentiment of a prince 
 to his conqueror : " When I shall have the good fortune to kiss the dust 
 of thy feet, then I shall believe that fortune flatters me," &c. Comp. 
 ch. xlv. 14, Ix. 14. 
 
 for they shall not be ashamed 6^<:.] Strictly a relative sentence, "they 
 that wait on Whom shall not be ashamed " ; which is perhaps hardly 
 English. Render as R.V. and they that wait for me shall not be 
 ashamed. 
 
 24 — 26. The emancipation of Israel is here regarded as having to 
 be effected by force, and Jehovah pledges His omnipotence to the task. 
 The bright picture of z*. 22 does not touch the gravest difficulty of the 
 situation, the formidable power and settled hostility of Babylon. 
 
 24. from the mighty] from a hero. the lawful captive] lit. the 
 
 captivity (=captives) of a righteous one. This is the only sense that the 
 phrase will properly bear ; all the attempts to construe it otherwise are 
 futile. Many authorities, however, adopt the reading of the Pesh. and 
 Vulg. (p'^y instead of pHV, as v. 25), and render : " captives of a terrible 
 one." (i) The verse has generally been considered to be a new utterance 
 of despair on the part of the Israelites, "Can the tyrant be made to 
 disgorge his prey?" (Cheyne), — to which v. 25 gives an affirmative 
 answer. On this view (which is certainly the one that first suggests itself) 
 the substitution of '■dri^ (terrible) iox^addiq (righteous) seems imperative, 
 since the latter expression could not possibly be applied to the Chaldaeans. 
 To suppose that by the "hero" and the "righteous one" Cyrus is meant 
 is at variance with the whole tenor of the prophecy (xli. 25, xliv. 28, xlv. 
 1 ff.). (2) Dillmann on the other hand holds that the reference in v. 24 
 is to Jehovah, who Himself asks if any power can deprive Him of His 
 lawful captives, the Israelites. The answer to be supplied is, "No"; 
 and this is confirmed by v. 25 : ^^ For even the captives of a (human) 
 hero jnay be delivered, yet will I (the Almighty) contend with" &c. 
 This is not altogether natural ; the antithesis of the divine hero in v. 24 
 and a human hero in v. 25 being indicated by nothing in the words. 
 (3) A simpler view is that question and answer are related as in z^. 14 ; 
 the question stating a supposition in the highest degree improbable 
 (though still conceivable), and the answer conceding the possibility in 
 order the more strongly to assert that the idea cannot be entertained 
 with regard to Jehovah. The sense might be paraphrased as follows : 
 " Can the captives of a mighty man be rescued from his grasp? Yes, 
 the captives of the mighty may be delivered, but / will (victoriously) 
 maintain thy cause against thy enemies" &c. (so, apparently, Duhm). 
 In this case also it is better to read ^drif, which may be used in a 
 neutral sense as in Jer. xx. 1 1 (of Jehovah). The image of Israel as 
 the prey of Jehovah has a certain resemblance to that of the lion and 
 his prey in ch, xxxi. 4. 
 
vv. 25, 26; I.] ISAIAH, XLIX. L. 99 
 
 But thus saith the Lord, 25 
 
 Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, 
 
 And the prey of the terrible shall be delivered : 
 
 For I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, 
 
 And I will save thy children. 
 
 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own 26 
 
 flesh; 
 And they shall be drunken with their own blood, as 
 
 with sweet wine : 
 And all flesh shall know that I the Lord arn thy 
 
 Saviour 
 And thy redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, 50 
 
 Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom 
 I have put away? 
 
 25. Read For instead of But, and later in the verse but instead of 
 for. 
 
 26. / will feed them that ? dfc.^ Better : I will cause thine op- 
 pressors (the Chaldseans) to eat their own flesh (cf. ch. ix. 20 ; Zech. 
 xi. 9). The enemies of Zion shall be consumed by internecine war — a 
 common eschatological representation (Ezek. xxxviii. ^i ; Hag. ii. 22 ; 
 Zech. xiv. 13). 
 
 and all fesh shall kncnv'] Comp. "And thou shalt know " at the end 
 of the previous oracle {z'. 23). 
 
 the mighty One of Jacob'] See on ch. i. 24, and cf Ix. 16. 
 
 L. 1 — 3. The third oracle meets another doubt vi^hich must have 
 occurred to the exiles, viz., that the covenant relation between Jehovah 
 and Israel has been broken beyond possibility of renewal. In v. i this 
 fear is dispelled by the help of two analogies from common life. 
 
 Where is the bill... whom I have put away}] (better, as R.V., where- 
 with I have put her away). No such document exists. Although 
 Jehovah has had good reason to adopt this extreme measure (Jer. iii. 8), 
 He has not done it, but has left the way open for a reconciliation. The 
 effect of the "bill of divorcement" was to make the separation absolute 
 and final ; the woman was free to marry another, but could not after 
 that be received back by her former husband (Deut. xxiv. i — 4). 
 (A specimen of the form of words used by later Jews is given in 
 Dalman's Aramdische Dialektprobeyi, p. 5.) In Mohammedan law a 
 man may divorce his wife twice and take her back without any 
 ceremony, but a third divorce (or a triple divorce conveyed in one 
 sentence) is final, unless the woman have contracted a fresh marriage in 
 the interval and been released from it either by divorce or the death of 
 the husband {Koran, Sura ii. 229 f.; see Lane, Modern Egyptians, 
 chap. III.). Both the Mosaic and the Mohammedan laws accord to a 
 
lOO 
 
 ISAIAH, L. [v. 2. 
 
 Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold 
 
 you? 
 Behold, for your iniquities have you sold yourselves, 
 And for your transgressions is your mother put away. 
 Wherefore, when I came, luas there no man? 
 When I called, was there none to answer? 
 Is my hand shortened at all, that // cannot redeem ? 
 Or have I no power to deliver? 
 Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, 
 I make the rivers a wilderness : 
 Their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth 
 
 for thirst. 
 
 husband the unrestricted right of divorce, and for this reason the Jewish 
 custom was pronounced by our Lord to be inconsistent with the true 
 idea of marriage and a concession to the weakness of human nature 
 (Matt. xix. 3 ff. ; Mark x. 2 ff.). 
 
 which of my creditors is it &c.] i.e. "what creditor of mine is there 
 to whom" &c. ? The selling of children into slavery in payment of a 
 debt is another practice tolerated, though hardly approved, by the Law 
 (Ex. xxi. 7 ; cf. 2 Ki. iv. i ; Neh. v. 5). Since it is inconceivable that 
 Jehovah sliould have a creditor, so it is impossible that He should have 
 surrendered His rights over His own children. 
 
 Behold, for your iniquities 6^^.] This is the true explanation of the 
 slavery of the children and the divorce of the mother, and this 
 cause is removed by the offer of forgiveness (xl. 2). It is remarkable 
 that the prophet does not, like Hosea and Ezekiel, directly attribute sin 
 to the ideal mother of the nation, but only to the individual Israelites, to 
 whom this whole expostulation is addressed (cf. Hos. ii. 2). 
 
 For have you sold yourselves i-ender with R.V. were ye sold (so again 
 ch. lii. 3). The phrase is frequently used in the Book of Judges of the 
 delivering of Israel into the power of its enemies (Jud. ii. 14 &c.). 
 
 2. Jehovah expresses surprise that His message of redemption 
 (delivered through the prophet) has been received with so little 
 enthusiasm by the people. 
 
 was there no man .?] The expression occurs again in lix. 16 ; in both 
 places the indefinite '* man " is explained by the second member of the 
 parallelism ; here, therefore, it means "no man to answer." 
 
 Is my hand shortened at all &-v.] Is it the case that my hand is too 
 short to redeem? (cf. lix. i). And the unreasonableness of such 
 doubts as to Jehovah's power is then proved by an appeal to His mighty 
 works in the natural sphere, probably with a special allusion to the 
 miracles of the Exodus period. 
 
 at (by) my rebuke'] Cf. ch. xvii. 13 ; esp. Ps. civ. 7, cvi. 9. 
 
 T make [fhe] rivers a wilderness'] Ps, cvii. 33. 
 
 their fish stinh-th o^r.] Ex. vii. 18. 
 
V. 3-] ISAIAH, L. loi 
 
 I clothe the heavens with blackness, 3 
 
 And I make sackcloth tl;ieir covering. 
 
 3. Comp. Ex. X. 21 with blackness] with murky storm-clouds. 
 
 The word, which occurs only here, denotes (like sackcloth in the next 
 clause) the garb of mourning. Cf. Rev. vi. 12. 
 
 The strophe ends somewhat abruptly, and the thought is perhaps 
 incomplete. 
 
 Ch. L. 4— H. The Lord's Servant made perfect through 
 Sufferings. 
 
 In vv. 4 — 9 the Servant is again introduced, speaking of himself and 
 his work, as in xlix. i — 6. He describes in the first place the close | J 
 and intimate and continuous communion with God thiough which he '' 
 has learned the ministry of comfort by the Divine word, and his own 
 complete self-surrender to the voice that guides him {7jv. 4, 5) ; next, 1 
 his acceptance of the persecution and obloquy which he had to encounter 
 in the discharge of his commission (6) ; and lastly he expresses his 
 unwavering confidence in the help of Jehovah and the victory of his 
 righteous cause and the discomfiture of all his enemies (7 — 9). 
 
 vv. 10, II are an appendix to the preceding description, drawing 
 lessons for the encouragement of believers {v. 10) and the warning 
 of unbelievers {v. 11). They contain expressions and even thoughts 
 which are unlike those of the second Isaiah; and are possibly (with 
 Duhm and Cheyne) to be regaided as a later insertion in the prophecy. 
 
 Although the word '* Servant " never occurs in this passage, its I 
 resemblance to the three other " servant-passages " makes it certain that J , 
 the speaker is none other than t he idea l character who comes before us / . 
 in xlii. I — 4, xlix. i — 6, and lii,' 13— Hii. i-,. The passage, indeed, 
 forms an almost indispensable link of connexion between the first two ; 
 and the last of these. Whilst it takes up and developes certain ideas I 
 thrown out in the earlier sections, and in its dramatic form most 
 resembles the second of them, its closest affinities are with lii. 13 ff. 
 Common to both is the new conception of the Servant as a sufferer, here 
 at the hands of men, there at the hands of men and God alike. In the 
 present passage we have the Servant's own consciousness with regard to 
 his sufferings, these being regarded from an ethical point of view as 
 brought on him by fidelity to his Divine mission. In ch. lii. 13 fi. it is 
 the religious aspect of them that is mainly dwelt upon : their value in 
 the sight of God, and their efficacy for the salvation of men. — The view, 
 therefore, that the prophet here speaks in his own name cannot be 
 maintained, although it is no doubt the one that would be most readily 
 suggested if the verses stood alone. So also the further question 
 whether the Servant be the ideal Israel must be considered with due 
 regard to the other places where the same idea is presented (see 
 Appendix, Note I). Here it is only necessary to observe that the 
 conception cannot in any case be applied to Israel as a whole and 
 its sufterings irom other nations. We have seen from ch. xlix. 6, 7 that 
 the Servant has two spheres oi' activity, one within Israel, and the other 
 
I02 ISAIAH, L. [vv. 4, 5. 
 
 The Lord Go d hath given me the tongue of the 
 
 learned, 
 That / should know how to s peak a word in seaso n 
 
 to him that is weary : 
 He wakeneth morning by morning. 
 He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 
 The Lord Gopj iath opened mine ear, 
 
 directed to the world at large ; and there can be no reasonable doubt 
 that the persecutions referred to belong to the narrower sphere, repre- 
 senting the experience of the godly minority in whom the true ideal 
 of Israel was partly realised, in conflict with their unregenerate fellow- 
 countrymen. 
 
 4, 5. The relation of the Servant to Jehovah is that of a favourite 
 disciple to his master; from Him he had learned the art of persuasive 
 and consoling speech, and to Him he daily looks for the substance of 
 his message. Comp. xlix. 2 (the Servant's endowment with prophetic 
 eloquence), an d xlii. .^ (the gentleness of his ministry). 
 
 the tongue of the learned^ a disciples* tongpue (see ch. viii. 16), 
 i.e. a disciplined tongue (R.V. "of them that are taught"). The stress 
 laid on the Divine education of the Servant is connected with the fact 
 that his ministry of consolation was almost a new departure in prophecy. 
 In the hands of the earlier prophets the word of Jehovah had been like 
 a hammer breaking the rock in pieces (Jer. xxiii. 29) rather than a dew 
 reviving the spirit of the humble. 
 
 that I should know .. .weary'] A difficult clause. The verb rendered 
 "speak in season" ['tith) is unknown in Hebrew. The A.V., following 
 the Jewish interpreters, takes it to be a denominative from the word 
 for "time" ('<?M), but that is an impossible etymology. The LXX. 
 gives a similar sense {rod yvuvai rjviKa 5et elireiv \6yov) but based on a 
 different text. Of the traditional interpretations the most suitable is 
 perhaps that of the Vulg. and Aquila (which is followed by the R.V.) : 
 that I should know how to sustain the weary with a word. Modern 
 authorities who adopt this rendering support it by an Arabic verb 
 meaning "to help," which however is not an exact philological equi- 
 valent. Another Arabic analogy has suggested the translation "water" 
 (i.e. "refresh"). It is impossible to get beyond conjecture, although 
 , the general sense is clear. 
 
 he wakeneth (sc. my ear) moj'ninz by morning ] (cf. xxviii. 19). A far 
 simpler sentence results if we omit with Cheyne the first word of the 
 Meb. (or with Duhm the first two words) as an uncorrected slip of a 
 copyist, reading the adverbial expression with the following verb ; 
 thus: "morning by morning (or "in the morning") he wakeneth my 
 ear to hear " &c. 
 
 as the learned] after the manner of disciples. 
 
 6. hath opened mine ear] The phrase used of the imparting of a 
 prophetic communication in i Sam, ix. i.s (cf. Ps. xl. 6^ different 
 verbs). 
 
^ 6—9.] ISAIAH, L. 103 
 
 And I was not rebellious, 
 
 Neither turned away back. 
 
 I gave my back to the smiters, 6 
 
 And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair : 
 
 I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 
 
 F or the Lord God will help me; 7 
 
 Therefore shall 1 not be confounded : 
 
 Therefore have I set my face like a flint, 
 
 And I know that I shall not be ashamed. 
 
 He is near that justifieth me ; 8 
 
 Who will contend with me ? let us stand together : 
 
 Who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. 
 
 Behold, the .L ord God will help me ; 9 
 
 Who is he that shall condemn me? 
 
 and I was not rebellious ^c.'\ a circumstantial clause ("I being not 
 rebellious" &c.). Comp. Jonah i, 3 and Jer. xx. 9. The character and 
 history of Jeremiah seem to have contributed many traits to the portrait 
 of the "Servant of Jehovah." 
 
 6. That persecutions were to be incurred in the performance of his 
 work is already indicated in the last words oi v. 5 ; now the speaker 
 declares his voluntary acquiescence in the hardships of his appointed 
 lot. 
 
 / gave my back to the smiters'] In Ps. cxxix. 3 the same figure is 
 applied to the sufferings of Israel as a nation. 
 
 to them that plucked off the hair] of the beard (cf. Ezra ix. 3 ; Neh. 
 xiii. 25) ; an extreme insult to an Oriental, to whom the beard is the 
 symbol of dignity (see on ch. vii. 20). 
 
 from shame and spitting] Num. xii. 14; Deut. xxv. 9; Matt. xxvi. 67, 
 xxvii. 30. 
 
 7. The verse is better rendered thus : But the Lord Jehovah helps 
 me, therefore I was not ashamed (i.e. felt no shame) ; therefore 
 I made my face like flint (figure for determination, cf. Ez. iii. 9). 
 and knew that I should not he put to shame. For the~tTTought cf 
 chj_xlii._4.. 
 
 8. 9. The consciousness of innocence is expressed (as often in the 
 Book of Job) under the conception of a legal process. 
 
 8. He is near that Justifieth me] Cf. ch. xlix. 4 ("my judgement is 
 with Jehovah"); li. 5. To "justify" is, as nearly always, to declare in 
 the right; so "condemn" in v. 9 is to pronounce in the wrong. 
 
 who will contend with me ?] cf. Job xiii. 19. 
 5/awt/ /c-^^/Zi^r] stand forth together (as xlvii. 12, 13). 
 zaho is 7nine adversary ?] lit. " the master of my cause" (dominus litis). 
 A similar expression is used in Ex. xxiv. 14. 
 
 9. who is he that shall condemn me ?] Comp. Rom. viii. 3_>, f. 
 
I04 ISAIAH, L. [vv. lo, ii. 
 
 Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment ; the moth 
 shall eat them up. 
 
 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, 
 That obeyeth the voice of his servant, 
 That walketh in darkness, and hath no light? 
 Let him trust in the name of the Lord, 
 And stay upon his God. 
 
 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yotcr- 
 selves about with sparks : 
 
 luax ij/a^ (better, be •worn out) as a garment ; the moth ^c.^ Common 
 images of gradual but inevitable destruction (cf. ch. li. 6, 8 ; Ps. xxxix. 
 II, cii. 26 ; Job xiii. 28 &c.). 
 
 Two striking parallels to the latter part of this discourse occur in the 
 Book of Jeremiah. See ch, xvii. 17 f ; "Thou art my refuge in the day 
 of evil. Let them be ashamed that persecute me, but let not me be 
 ashamed... bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with 
 double destruction": and xx. 7, ii ff. : "I am become a laughing- 
 stock all the day, every one mocketh me...." "But the Lord is with 
 me as a mighty one and a terrible; therefore my persecutors shall 
 stumble, and they shall not prevail; they shall be greatly ashamed" &c. 
 Cf. also Ps. xxii. 6 — 21. 
 
 10, 11. A double message of encouragement and warning based on 
 the preceding soliloquy of the Servant. It seems evident that the 
 Servant here is regarded as the nucleus of the godly party who are 
 addressed in v. 10; in other words, as a personification of the true 
 Israel which is in process of being separated from the unbelieving 
 part of the nation. These last are addressed in z^. n as opponents 
 and persecutors of the faithful Israelites. 
 
 10. Those who fear the Lord are exhorted to imitate the Servant's 
 trust in God. 
 
 that obeyeth the voice of his servant^ (lit. "that hearkeneth to" &c. ). 
 The LXX. reads "let him hearken," which certainly gives a better 
 balanced verse : " Whoso among you feareth Jehovah, let him hearken" 
 &c. The reference is not merely to the words just spoken {^v. 4 — 9), 
 but to the whole revelation of which the Servant is the organ. 
 
 that walketh] Better, as R. V., he that walketh — commencing a new 
 sentence. 
 
 in darkness'] lit. "in dark places"; i.e. in trouble. 
 
 let him trust ^c] Cf. ch xxvi. 4; Hab. ii. 4. 
 
 11. that compass yourselves about with sparks'] Lit. as R.V., that 
 g^ird yourselves about with firebrands (cf. Prov. xxvi. 18). The verb 
 "gird" hardly suits the metaphor; hence it is better with many 
 authorities to change ^"ITKD into ''TND ("that kindle"). "Fire" and 
 "firebrands" are both images for the machinations of the ungodly party 
 against the true servants of Jehovah (cf. Ps. vii. 13; Eph. vi. 16). 
 
V. II.] ISAIAH, L. LI. 105 
 
 Walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that 
 
 ye have kindled. 
 This shall ye have of mine hand; 
 Ye shall lie down in sorrow. 
 
 walk in the light <5r»<r.] Rather : walk into tlie flame of your fire &c. 
 Their mischievous designs shall recoil on themselves (Ps. vii. 15 f.). 
 
 this shall ye have of mine hand] Better : from my hand is this 
 (appointed) for you. 
 
 ye shall lie down in sorrotu] perhaps : in the place of torment ; see 
 on ch. Ixvi. 24. 
 
 Ch. LI. 1 — 16. Encouragements addressed to true 
 Israelites. 
 
 The strain of consolation, which was interrupted by the soliloquy 
 of the Servant at ch. 1. 4, is now resumed, and is continued till we 
 reach the fourth and last of the Servant-passages, l:i. 13 — liii. 12. 
 Thi-oughout this long passage (li. i — lii. 12) the prophet's thoughts are 
 occupied with the near prospect of deliverance, and his high-strung 
 emotion finds vent in a series of short impassioned oracles, mostly of a 
 lyrical character. These may be divided into two groups, each consisting 
 of three oracles. While those of the second group (li. 17 — lii. 12) are 
 addressed to the prostrate and desolate Zion, the first (li. i — 16) contains 
 words of cheer to the faithful but timid hearts in whom the prophet's 
 message had found an entrance. This section shews some points of 
 contact with the preceding descriptions of the Servant, and the line 
 of thought was probably influenced by the last of these, in 1. 4 — 9. The 
 contents of the section are as follows : — 
 
 i. w. I — 8. Jk glowing and animated appeal to the believing 
 exiles to put away the fears and misgivings which hinder their full 
 acceptance of the promise of salvation. The thrice-repeated "Hearken 
 to me" (see, however, on v. 4) indicates a division into three strophes, 
 (i) The first draws a lesson of encouragement from the example of the 
 solitary patriarch Abraham, who by the blessing of Jehovah became the 
 progenitor of a great nation. Let the true-hearted believers, therefore, 
 take courage, in spite of the fewness of their number, for the same 
 blessing rests on them, and will transform the waste places of Zion into 
 a scene of joy and gladness {w. 1 — 3). (2) The next strophe directs 
 the hope of the loyal Israelites to the glorious future that belongs to 
 those who wait for Jehovah's salvation ; though heaven and earth pass 
 away that world-wide salvation is imperishable and eternal {vv. 4 — 6). 
 (3) The last strophe, re-echoing one of the voices of the Prologue 
 (xl. 6 — 8), reminds the exiles that the reproach they fear is that of frail 
 and short-lived mortals, while the salvation they hope for endures for 
 ever. 
 
 ii. vv. 9, 10. Here for a moment the prophetic discourse is inter- 
 rupted by a magnificent apostrophe to the "arm" of Jehovah. The 
 speakers are most probably those to v/hom the previous words were 
 
io6 ISAIAH, LI. [vv. 1—3. 
 
 51 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye 
 that seek the Lord : 
 Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, 
 And to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. 
 
 2 Look unto Abraham your father, 
 And unto Sarah that bare you : 
 For I called him alone, 
 
 And blessed him, and increased him. 
 
 3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion : 
 
 addressed. As if all their doubts had been swept away by the im- 
 pressive appeals to which they have listened, their impatience breaks 
 forth in this impetuous challenge to Jehovah to reveal His power as in 
 the days of old. {v. 11 has been inserted from ch. xxxv. 10.) 
 
 iii. vv. 12 — 16. The Divine voice is again heard (in answer to the 
 people's prayer). Since their comforter is Jehovah Himself, the Creator 
 of heaven and earth, how unreasonable is their craven fear of their cruel 
 oppressors! {vv. 12, 13). Towards the close, however, the connexion 
 becomes very obscure (see the notes). 
 
 1 — 3. The opening exhortation alludes to a difficulty naturally 
 arising in the minds of believing exiles, viz., that they were too few in 
 number to inherit the glorious promises made to them. This is re- 
 moved by pointing to the marvellous increase of the nation from a single 
 patriarchal family. There is a curious coincidence between this passage 
 and Ezek. xxxiii. 24, where a parallel line of reasoning, on the part of 
 the ungodly remnant left in the land of Canaan, is denounced by the 
 prophet as impious. The history of Abraham and the religious lessons 
 to be drawn from it must have been familiar in the age of the Captivity. 
 
 1. ye that follow after (lit. ' ' pursue ") righteousness^ ' ' Righteousness " 
 here means, not "salvation" (as in w. 5, 6, 8), but righteousness in 
 conduct, a way of life in accordance with the will of God (as v. 7); 
 cf Prov. XV. 9 ; Rom. ix. 30 f. 
 
 look unto the rock ^c.'\ The ancestors of the nation are compared to 
 a quarry, the Israelites to the stones hewn from it, — a peculiar image 
 found nowhere else. The word for hole does not occur again in the 
 O.T.; but a noun from the same root is found in the first line of the 
 Siloam Inscription with the sense of " perforation " or " excavation." 
 
 2. The explanation of the figure. 
 
 I called him alone"] lit. "as one," i.e. a single individual. 
 
 blessed him, and increased him] Cf Gen. xii. 2, 3, xxii. 17. The 
 strict rendering of the Massoretic text would be ' ' that I might bless " 
 &c. ; but the verbs should no doubt be pointed as consec. impfs. 
 Without completing the analogy, the prophet proceeds at once in the 
 next verse to comfort the spiritual children of Abraham with the 
 assurance of the restoration of Zion. 
 
 3. shall comfort... will comfort .. .tvill make'] lit. as R.V. hath com- 
 forted... hath made (perf. of certainty). 
 
vv. 4, 5.] ISAIAH, LI. 107 
 
 He will comfort all her waste places; 
 
 And he will make her wilderness like Eden, 
 
 And her desert like the garden of the Lord ; 
 
 Joy and gladness shall be found therein. 
 
 Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 
 
 Hearken unto me, my people; 
 
 And give ear unto me, O my nation : 
 
 For a law shall proceed from me, 
 
 And I will make my judgment to rest for a light of 
 
 the people. 
 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, : 
 And mine arms shall judge the people ; 
 
 like the garden of the Lord] Gen. xiii. 10; cf. Ezek. xxviii. 13, 
 xxxi. 8 f. 
 
 Joy and gladness d^'c] Cf. Jer. xxxiii. 11. 
 
 4 — 6. The universal extension of the true religion is the second 
 ground of comfort which the prophet is commissioned to offer to his 
 fellow believers. The language of vv. 4, 5 is obviously moulded on 
 that of ch. xlii. i — 4; the functions there assigned to the Servant of the 
 Lord are here assumed by Jehovah Himself. At the same time the 
 thought is implied that the restored Israel is to be the bearer of salvation 
 to the world at large, and thus the further idea is suggested that the 
 ideal represented by the Servant will be realised by the people of Israel 
 when it emerges purified from the discipline of the Captivity. 
 
 4. Hearken unto me] Better as R.V. Attend unto me, the verb 
 being different from that used in w. i and 7. 
 
 a law shall proceed from me] See ch. ii. 3 ("for out of Zion shall go 
 forth Tdrdh"). For a law [torah) read, as usual, instruction. The 
 v^cx^ judgment in the next line is probably to be rendered "religion" 
 as in xlii. i, 3, 4 (see on xlii. i). 
 
 The verb rendered "make to rest" has three meanings in the O.T. 
 (a) to "cause to rest" (Jer. xxxi. 2) or "be at rest" (ch. xxxiv. 14), {b) to 
 "set in commotion" (Jer. 1. 34, see on v. 15 below), and {c) to "do a 
 thing in the twinkling of an eye" (Jer. xlix. 19). Of these {a) is alone 
 possible in the present connexion, though hardly quite suitable; the 
 sense " establish," given by some critics, seems to have no sufficient 
 support. By the LXX. the word is taken with v. 5, and in the sense 
 (<:), and this suggests the true reading, although it requires a slight 
 modification of the following word. The construction would be 
 the same as in Jer. xlix. 19, and the rendering perhaps, "Suddenly I 
 bring near my righteousness." The word is at all events superfluous in 
 v. 4, the last clause of which reads simply : and my judgement for a 
 light of the peoples (cf. xlix. 6). 
 
 5. My righteousness is near] See the last note and cf. ch. xlvi. 13. 
 Y ox people read peoples (as R.V.). 
 
io8 ISAIAH, LI. [vv. 6, 7. 
 
 The isles shall wait upon me, 
 
 And on mine arm shall they trust. 
 
 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, 
 
 And look upon the earth beneath : 
 
 For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, 
 
 And the earth shall wax old like a garment. 
 
 And they that dwell therein shall die in Hke manner: 
 
 But my salvation shall be for ever. 
 
 And my righteousness shall not be abolished. 
 
 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, 
 
 The people in whose heart is my law ; 
 
 Fear ye not the reproach of men, 
 
 Neither be ye afraid of their revilings. 
 
 Ihe isles shall wait upon me] Cf. xlii. 4. 
 
 on mine arm] i.e. "on my strength," my protection (xxxiii. 2). 
 
 6. From the thought of the universality of religion the prophet rises 
 to that of its eternity, which is here expressed by a contrast of surprising 
 boldness between the " things which are seen " and the "things which 
 are not seen." The whole visible creation, the heavens above and the 
 earth beneath, are transitory, but Jehovah's salvation endures for ever. 
 
 the heavens shall vanish away (or "be dissolved") like smoke] To feel 
 the force of the metaphor we must bear in mind the ancient conception 
 of the "firmament" as a solid vault overarching the earth. The word 
 for "vanish away" is connected with noun rendered "rotten rags" in 
 Jer. xxxviii. 1 1 f. 
 
 wax old like a garment] See on ch. 1 9^ from which the expression 
 is taken. Cf. also Ps. cii. 26. 
 
 shall die in like juatiner] Rather, as R. V. marg., shall die like gnats. 
 The word ken does not occur elsewhere in this sense, unless Num. xiii. 
 33 be an instance, which is doubtful. It might be a collective noun 
 corresponding to the fern, kinnah (noun of unity = a single gnat), found in 
 Talmudic Hebrew, Several commentators, however, think it necessary 
 to read kinnim (also a collective), a word used in Ex. viii. 16 — 18 of the 
 "lice" of Egypt. The Ancient Versions and the Jewish interpreters 
 explain as E. V., taking ken to be the common particle "so." 
 
 salvation and righteousness are practically synonymous, as often. See 
 Appendix, Note II. 
 
 7, 8. In the hope of this everlasting salvation the true Israelites may 
 well endure for a season the reproach of men. 
 
 7. To know righteousness does not differ in meaning from "follow 
 after righteousness" \nv. i. Both expressions refer to righteousness in 
 the ethical sense ; there it is represented as an ideal steadily pursued, here 
 as a rule of life apprehended by the heart and conscience. This inward 
 possession of righteousness is the earnest of the external righteousness, 
 the vindication of right, spoken of in vv. 6 and 8. 
 
 the people in whose heart is my instruction] Cf. Jer. xxxi. 33. 
 
vv. 8, 9.] ISAIAH, LI. 109 
 
 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, 8 
 
 And the worm shall eat them like wool : 
 
 But my righteousness shall be for ever. 
 
 And my salvation from generation to generation. 
 
 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; 9 
 Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. 
 Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab; and wounded 
 the dragon? 
 
 8. For the moth <5r-v.] See again ch. 1. 9; another indication that 
 the Servant is the type of the true Israel, and hence an example to 
 individual Israelites. 
 
 The word rendered "worm" {sds, cf. the Greek 0-175) means strictly 
 "moth." Although common in Semitic, it is found only here in Hebr. 
 
 9, 10. These verses are addressed to Jehovah, either by the prophet 
 himself, or by the community of true Israelites. It is difficult to decide 
 between these two views, but the dramatic unity of the passage is best 
 preserved if we adopt the latter, taking vv. 9, 10 as a prayer called forth 
 by the previous exhortation, and vv. 12 ff. as the Divine answer to this 
 prayer. 
 
 The imagery of the verses is obviously mythological. It rests on the 
 conception of a conflict in days long past between Jehovah and the 
 monsters called Rahab and the Dragon. Now both these names came 
 to be used as symbols of Egypt {see on ch. xxx. 7, and xxvii. i) ; and 
 most commentators have thought that this is the case here, the historic 
 reference being to the humiliation of Egypt, and the dividing of the Red 
 Sea in the days of Moses. But it is doubtful if this interpretation 
 exhausts the significance of the passage. The prophet seems to make 
 direct use of current mythological representations, as is frequently done 
 by the author of the Book of Job (see the notes on iii. 8, ix. 13, xxvi. 
 13 in Davidson's Book of Job). And if this be so there cannot be 
 much doubt as to the nature of the myth in question. It is most 
 probably a Hebrew variation of the Babylonian creation-h)ann, accord- 
 ing to which the creation of the world was preceded by a conflict 
 between the God of light and order and the monsters that symbolise 
 the dark powers of Chaos (so Duhm ; see also Gunkel, Schopfzmg imd 
 Chaos, pp. 30 ff.). The fundamental idea of the verses would therefore 
 seem to lie in the analogy between the original creation of the material 
 world, and the restoration of the moral order of the universe, which 
 has been disturbed by the reign of brute force in the Babylonian empire 
 (cf. V. 16). At the same time, the undoubted allusion to the Exodus 
 in 10 b, shows that the historical application of the imagery was present 
 to the mind of the prophet (see below). 
 
 9. put o?t strength'] Lit. "clothe thyself with strength," as Ps. xciii. i. 
 
 The arffi of the Lord is apostrophised, as the symbol of His might, 
 possibly with a reference back to z/. 5. 
 
 that hath cut Rahab ^c.\ R.V, that cttt Rabal) in pieces, that 
 
Jl 
 
 no ISAIAH, LI. [w. lo, ii. 
 
 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters 
 
 of the great deep; 
 That hath made the depths of the sea a way for the 
 
 ransomed to pass over? 
 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, 
 And come with singing u7ito Zion ; 
 And everlasting joy shall be upon their head : 
 They shall obtain gladness and joy ; 
 And sorrow and mourning shall flee away. 
 
 pierced tlie dragon. The verb "cut " is strictly " hewed " or "split. " 
 Rahab is the sea-monster (ch. xxx. 7); and the "dragon" {tannin) 
 probably one of the "helpers of Rahab" (Job ix. 13); both together 
 represent the chaotic elements from whose dominion the habitable 
 world had to be recovered ; hence the line expresses poetically the same 
 thought as the following "Art thou not it which dried up the sea " &c. ? 
 The original mythical emblem survives in one of the most beautiful 
 personifications of O.T. poetry, the comparison of the sea to a restless, 
 unmly creature, waging impotent war with heaven, and seeking to 
 devour the land, but a creature whom Jehovah holds completely in His 
 power, now stirring it to fury (see v. 15) by His rebuke, and again 
 stilling its commotions. 
 
 10. the great deep] (Gen. vii. 11; Am. vii. 4; Ps. xxxvi. 6) is the 
 primeval ocean of Gen. i. 2, out of which the dry land appeared. The 
 Hebrew {teh6?n) is connected etymologically with Tidmat, the name of 
 the Chaos-monster in the Babylonian creation tablets. 
 
 a way for the ransomed to pass over] The reference to the Exodus is 
 here unmistakeable. The transition is explained by the fact that every 
 exhibition of Jehovah's power over the sea was regarded as a repetition 
 on a smaller scale of the original miracle of creation. Both alike are 
 illustrations of what the "arm of the Lord" can do, and of the great 
 miracle of redemption to which the prophet looks forward. 
 
 11. For Therefore render as R.V. And. The verse is almost verbally 
 identical with xxxv. 10, which is clearly its original setting. Here its 
 connexion with what precedes is somewhat loose, and since ch. xxxv. is 
 of more recent date than this prophecy, the verse must have been 
 transferred by a copyist. 
 
 12 — 16. Jeho\^h again speaks as the comforter of His people. 
 That the passage is a direct answer to the importunate appeal of w. 9 f. , 
 seems probable, although it cannot be confidently afifirmed ; it is at all 
 events virtually an answer, A point of contact might be found in 
 Jehovah's assertion of His power over the sea '\x\.v. 15 ; but the connexion 
 of ideas in the last three verses is difiicult to make out, and the text 
 itself probably confused. 
 
 12. 13. An expostulation with the exiles, who having the Almighty 
 Creator for their God, live in constant terror of being destroyed by their 
 oppressors. 
 
vv. 12—14.] ISAIAH, LI. 
 
 I, even I, am he that comforteth you : 
 
 Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man 
 
 that shall die. 
 And of the son of man which shall be made as grass ; 
 And forgettest the Lord thy Maker, 
 That hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the 
 
 foundations of the earth ; 
 And hast feared continually every day because of the 
 
 fury of the oppressor, 
 As if he were ready to destroy? 
 And where is the fury of the oppressor? 
 The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, 
 And that he should not die in the pit. 
 
 12. /am he that comforteth you] Cf. xl. i, xlix, 13. The Israelites 
 are here addressed as individuals; this gives place immediately to the 
 feminine collective, Who art thou 6^r. ? and this again in v. 13 to 
 the masc. sing. The rhetorical question means simply ' ' Hov/ is it that 
 thou fearest" &c.? (on the use of the consec. impf. see Davidson's 
 Syntax § 51. R. 3). For made 2& grass we may translate "given up (to 
 destruction) as grass" (cf. ch. xl. 6). 
 
 13. And forgettest the Lord] Not in the sense of apostatising from 
 Him (as ch. xvii. 10 and often), but of failing to realise His omnipotence 
 as the Creator of all things (see ch. xlix. 14). 
 
 that hath stretched forth the heavens dr'c] Cf. xl. 22, xlii. 5, xliv. 24, 
 xlv. 12. 
 
 and hast feared... day] Better as R.V. and fearest continually all 
 the day. The oppressor is of course the Chaldaean Empire (see ch. 
 xlvii. 6), a proof that this part of the book was not written after the fall 
 of Babylon. 
 
 as if he were ready to destroy] R.V. when he maketh ready to 
 destroy; lit. "aims (his arrow) to destroy," the verb being used 
 technically of an archer directing his arrow; so Ps. xxi. 13, cf. Ps. vii. 
 13, xi. 2. 
 
 and where is the fury of the oppressor T] Cf. ch. xxxiii. 18. The 
 question gives a weak ending to the verse, and indeed both in this 
 clause and the preceding the soundness of the text is doubtful. 
 
 14. The received text is probably best rendered as follows : Speedily 
 shall the crouching (prisoner) he set free, and he shall not die (and 
 go down) to the pit, nor shall his bread fail (see R.V.); Israel in 
 exile being compared to a prisoner in danger of death through starva- 
 tion. The image reminds us of Jeremiah in the dungeon (xxxviii. 9, 10). 
 The verse is full of obscurities, and its connexion with what precedes 
 is of the loosest kind. The LXX. gives what is obviously a conjectural 
 rendering, and it is not unlikely that the Hebr. represents another 
 attempt to restore an illegible text. 
 
112 ISAIAH, LI. [vv. 15, 16. 
 
 Nor that his bread should fail. 
 
 But I am the Lord thy God, 
 
 That divided the sea, whose waves roared : 
 
 The Lord of hosts is his name. 
 
 And I have put my words in thy mouth, 
 
 And have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, 
 
 That I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations 
 
 of the earth. 
 And say unto Zion, Thou art my people. 
 
 15, 16. These verses contain a remarkable number of resemblances 
 to other passages (see below), v. 15, apart from the introductory 
 words, occurs in Jer. xxxi. 35, though it is doubtful to which passage 
 it originally belongs. Giesebrecht (on Jeremiah) unhesitatingly pro- 
 nounces it a citation from this verse. 
 
 16. that divided the sea 6^^.] Render with R.V. which stirreth up 
 (see on v. 4) the sea so that the waves thereof roar (cf. Job xxvi. 12). 
 
 The idea is parallel with that of vv. 9 f., being an illustration of 
 Jehovah's power over the elements. He can, as it were, play with the 
 sea, for His stirring it up to fury implies that He is able to restrain it, and 
 at the right time to still it again. 
 
 the Lord of hosts is his name\ Chs. xlvii. 4, xlviii. 1, liv. 5. 
 
 16. I have put my words in thy mouthy recurring in ch. lix. 21. 
 
 covered thee in the shadow of j?iine hand'\ Taken almost exactly from 
 xlix. 2. 
 
 that I may plant dr'r.] This is no doubt the right translation, not 
 " that thou mayest plant " (lit. " to plant "). The metaphor of " plant- 
 ing" the heavens is strange ; some critics substitute "to stretch forth " 
 (changing a letter), as in v. 13, with which likewise the following words 
 correspond. 
 
 The verse is remarkable in two respects, (i) It throws an important 
 light on the idea of the Servant of the Lord. Language which is 
 elsewhere used of the Servant is here applied to Israel, to whom the 
 verse is undoubtedly addressed. This would be a strong confirmation 
 of the theory that the Servant is in some sense a personification of 
 Israel. (2) The conception of a new moral universe about to be 
 created is partly anticipated both in v. 6 (where the transitoriness of 
 the present world is asserted), and in zw. gf. (see the notes above). 
 This verse, however, adds the further idea that the new creation is 
 the ultimate goal of God's dealings with Israel, whose religious mission 
 culminates in a universal and everlasting salvation. 
 
 Ch. LI. 17— LII. 12. The Lord will turn the Captivity 
 
 OF ZiON. 
 
 The three oracles into which this passage naturally falls are these : — 
 (1) vv. 17 — 23. The prophet, returning to the thought with which 
 the book opens (ch. xl. 2), announces that the period of Jerusalem's 
 
 
vv. 17, 18.] ISAIAH, LI. 113 
 
 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, 17 
 
 Which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup 
 
 of his fury ; 
 Thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, 
 
 and wrung them out. 
 There is none to guide her among all the sons whovi 18 
 
 she hath brought forth; 
 
 degradation has expired. The city is figured as a woman lying prostrate 
 and senseless, intoxicated with the cup of the Lord's indignation which 
 she has drunk to the dregs, her sons unable to help her (17 — 20). But 
 the cup is now taken from her and passed to the enemies who had 
 oppressed and insulted her (21 — 23). 
 
 (2) lii. I — 6. In a new apostrophe, the image is carried on ; let Zion 
 lay aside her soiled raiment, and the emblems of her slavery, and put 
 on her holiday attire (i, 2). Jehovah will no longer endure that His 
 name should be blasphemed through the banishment of His people 
 (3—6). 
 
 (3) vv. 7 — 12. A description of the triumphal return of Jehovah to 
 Zion, obviously based on the last section of the Prologue (ch. xl. 9 — 11). 
 The writer pictures the scene of joy within the city when the heralds of 
 the King arrive (7,8); he calls on the waste places of Jerusalem to 
 break forth into singing (9, 10) ; and finally, turning to the exiles (as in 
 xlviii. 20 f.) he summons them to hasten their escape from the land 
 of their captivity (11, 12). 
 
 17 — 20. The description of Jerusalem's degradation. The rhythm is 
 that of the qinak, and the resemblances to the book of Lamentations 
 are so striking that Ewald has conjectured that the passage is taken 
 from one of the elegies composed during the Exile. 
 
 Awake] Better Arouse thee (Cheyne) ; the verb being a reflexive as 
 distinct from the simple "Awake" of lii. i (and li. 9). 
 
 which hast drunk... the ctip of his fury] The image of the cup of the 
 Divine wrath originated in Jeremiah's great vision of judgement (ch. xxv. 
 15 ff.), where the prophet hands the cup to all nations, beginning with 
 Jerusalem. Cf. also Jer. xlix. 12 ; Hab. ii. 16; Ezek. xxiii. 31 — 34 ; 
 Lam. iv. 21 ; Obad. 16 ; Rev. xiv. ro. 
 
 the dregs of the cup of trembling] R.V. the bowl of the cup of 
 staggrering. " Dregs " is a mistaken Jewish rendering of a word 
 {qubba''ath), found only here and in v. 22. It means undoubtedly a 
 "bowl" or "chalice," and the pleonasm "bowl of the cup" has 
 probably arisen through the common word for cup being added as an 
 explanatory gloss. 
 
 of trembling] of intoxication. Ps. Ix. 3 (A.V. "wine of astonish- 
 ment"). 
 
 and wrung them otit] drained (cf. Ezek. xxiii. 34) — an asyndetic 
 construction in the Hebr. — "hast drunk, hast drained," i.e. "hast 
 drunk to the dregs." The whole clause reads : — 
 Thou who hast drunk from Jehovah's hand— the cup of His wrath, 
 The chalice of intoxication— hast thou drunk to the dregs. 
 
 ISAIAH II. 8 
 
H4 ISAIAH, LI. [w. 19-2: 
 
 Neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of 
 
 all the sons that she hath brought up. 
 These two things are come unto thee ; who shall be 
 
 sorry for thee? 
 Desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the 
 
 sword : 
 By whom shall I comfort thee? 
 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the 
 
 streets, as a wild bull iti a net : 
 They are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of 
 
 thy God. 
 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, 
 And drunken, but not with wine : 
 Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, 
 And thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, 
 
 19. These txvo things] (ch. xlvii. 9), i.e. two kinds uf calamities; 
 namely, devastation and destruction on land and city; famine and 
 sword on the inhabitants. 
 
 7vho shall be sorry for thee] Better who condoles with thee (Jer. 
 XV. 5; Nah. iii. 7), i.e. "thou hast no sympathizers." To "condole" 
 is in Hebr. to shake the head (cf. Jer. xvi. 5 ; Job ii. 11, xlii. n &c.), 
 a similar gesture, expressed by a difterent verb, denotes contempt (see 
 on ch. xxxvii. 22). 
 
 by whom shall I comfort thee .?] Rather : how (lit. who) shall I 
 comfort thee ? The idiom cannot be reproduced exactly; see Am. vii. 
 2, 5 and comp. Davidson's Synt. § 8 R. i (where it is suggested that 
 the peculiar use of the pronoun may be provincial or colloquial). The 
 Ancient Versions, however, read the third person, which is far easier ; 
 •• who comforts thee?" 
 
 20. Thy sons have swooned] lit. "were shrouded," — a usual 
 oriental metaphor (Am. viii. 13 ; Jon. iv. 8; Nah. iii. 11). For the 
 idea cf. Lam. ii. 11, 19, 21. at the head of all the streets] Lam. 
 ii. 19, iv. I. 
 
 as a wild bull va. a net] R.V., rightly, as an antelope (Deut. xiv. 5) 
 in a net, exhausted by its vain struggles to get free. 
 
 they are///// of the fury ds^c] The children have drunk of the same 
 cup as their mother. 
 
 21 — 23. The message of comfort. 
 
 21. hear now this] See ch. xlvii. 8. 
 drunken, but not with wine] Cf. ch. xxix. 9. 
 
 22. thy Lord the Lord] thy Lord Jehovah. It is in cases like this 
 that we are made to feel the inconvenience arising from the Jewish 
 reluctance to pronounce the sacred Name Yahveh. 
 
 / have taken] Better I take (a perf. of instant action, as 1 Sam. 
 li. 16). 
 
vv. 23; I.] ISAIAH, LI. LII. 115 
 
 Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of 
 
 trembling, 
 Even the dregs of the cup of my fury; 
 Thou shalt no more drink it again : 
 But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict 23 
 
 thee; 
 Which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go 
 
 over: 
 And thou hast laid thy body as the ground, 
 And as the street, to them that went over. 
 
 Awake, awake ; put on thy strength, O Zion ; 52 
 
 Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy 
 
 city: 
 For henceforth there shall no more come into thee the 
 
 uncircumcised and the unclean. 
 
 the cup of trembling... fury\ the cup of intoxication, the chalice of 
 mine indignation (see on z/. 17). 
 
 23. them that afflict thee'\ thy tormentors. The word occurs three 
 times in the Lamentations (i. 5, 12, iii. 32). 
 
 to thy soul] i.e. " to thyself," although without special emphasis (cf. 
 Ps. iii. 2, xi. i). 
 
 Bow down, that we may go over] The figure is taken from the Eastern 
 custom of treading or even riding on the backs of conquered enemies. 
 Comp. Lane's account of the Mohammedan ceremony of the Dooseh or 
 "Treading," as he witnessed it at Cairo in 1834; when the Sheikh of 
 the Saadiyeh dervishes, mounted on horseback, rode over the prostrate 
 bodies of a large number of dervishes. (See Manners and Customs of 
 the Modern Egyptians, pp. 417 f., 432 f. [Ed. 1890].) 
 
 and thou hast laid (Sr'c.] so that thou madest thy back as the earth. 
 Gesenius cites in illustration an Arabic proverb : *'To him who pleases 
 me, I will be earth." 
 
 Ch. Hi. 1, 2. Here the prophet's imagination takes a higher flight. 
 The cup of indignation having finally passed from her hands, Jerusalem 
 is summoned to shake off her stupor, and array herself in garments 
 befitting her dignity as the bride of Jehovah. The description is 
 influenced by the contrast (evidently intentional) to the taunt-song on 
 the " daughter of Babylon " (ch. xlvii. i flf.). 
 
 put on thy strength] Cf. ch. li. 9. 
 
 the holy city] as ch. xlviii. 2. 
 
 for... there shall no more come ^'c] Note the correspondence with 
 xlvii. I, 5. 
 
 the uncircumcised and the unclean] i.e. not foreigners generally (as 
 Joel iii. 17), as if the passage expressed the exclusiveness of later 
 
 8—2 
 
Ii6 ISAIAH, LII. [vv. 2— 5. I 
 
 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O ' 
 
 Jerusalem : 
 Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive , 
 
 daughter of Zion. I 
 
 For thus saith the Lord, * 
 
 Ye have sold yourselves for nought; 
 And ye shall be redeemed without money. 
 For thus saith the Lord God, 
 My people went down aforetime hito Egypt to sojourn 
 
 there ; 
 And the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 
 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, 
 
 Judaism, but the " destroyers " and " wasters " who at present desecrate 
 her soil ; see on xlix. 17. Cf. Nah. i. 15 ; Zech. ix. 8. 
 
 2. arise and sit do7V7i\ The meaning might be, " arise from the dust, 
 and sit on thy throne," — a contrast to xlvii. i. 
 
 loose thy self... neck] Better perhaps loose for thee the bonds &'c. ; 
 the reflexive verb having the same force as an ethical dative. The 
 alternative rendering of R.V. marg. " the bands of thy neck are loosed " 
 represents the Hebrew consonantal text. The Qere, however, is here 
 supported by the Ancient Versions, and is undoubtedly to be preferred. 
 
 3 — 6. There is here a sudden change both in form and subject. The 
 rhythmic structure of the preceding verses gives place to prose, and the 
 figure of Jerusalem arising from the dust is altogether abandoned. 
 Jehovah is represented as deliberating with Himself on the religious 
 situation, so injurious to His honour, brought about by the unprece- 
 dented calamities of His people {vv. 4, 5), and as resolving to end it 
 by their deliverance (6). It is doubtful if the passage was the original 
 sequel to vv. 1,2. 
 
 3. Ye have sold yourselves'] R.V. Ye "were sold ; see on eh. 1. i ; cf. 
 Ps. xliv. 12. 
 
 redeemed without money] Cf ch. xlv. 13. Jehovah gained nothing 
 by delivering Israel into the hand of its enemies, and He asks nothing 
 as the price of its redemption. 
 
 4. For aforetime render with R.V. at the first, at the outset of its 
 history. 
 
 without cause] i.e. probably, "for nought," without having acquired 
 any right over Israel by services rendered to Jehovah. The meaning 
 can hardly be that Israel suffered innocently. 
 
 6. Now therefore] Rather, But now, accentuating the gravity of the 
 present situation. Exile and oppression were indeed no new experiences 
 for Israel {v. 4), but no such overwhelming disaster as this had ever 
 befallen it hitherto. 
 
 what have I here dfc] The sentence may be variously understood. 
 The main idea obviously is that the state of things described in what 
 follows is not to be endured, being inconsistent with the honour of 
 
V. 6.] ISAIAH, LII. 117 
 
 That my people is taken away for nought? 
 
 They that rule over them make them to howl, saith ihe 
 
 Lord; 
 And my name continually every day is blasphemed. 
 Therefore my people shall know my name : 6 
 
 Therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that 
 
 doth speak : behold, // is I. 
 
 Jehovah. The formula "What is there to me?" expresses a strong 
 sense of mcongruity between what is and what ought to be (see iii. 15, 
 xxii. I, 16), and we may render either, "What am I about (xxii. 1) 
 here (in Babylonia)?" or, more generally, "What do I find here?" 
 i.e. in the existing position of affairs, as contrasted with the historic 
 parallels in v. 4. The last is perhaps to be preferred. The meaning 
 can hardly be, "What have I to do here (ch. xxii. 16) now that my 
 people is taken away?" 
 
 that (better for) my people is takai atvay\ destroyed outright 
 (ch. liii. 8). 
 
 they that rtile over them (the Chaldseans) ?ttake them to howl {R.Y. do 
 howl)] The R.V. rightly avoids the causative sense of the verb, which 
 has no support in usage. On the other hand, it is nowhere else used of 
 a shout of exultation, as it must be here; comp. with Gesenius and 
 others, "laetis u ki /are triumphis" (Lucan, 6, 261). In Syriac also the 
 word appears occasionally to undergo a similar modification. 
 
 my name... is blasphemed^ lit. despised. (The form should probably 
 be pointed as part. Pual.) The meaning is that the calamities of Israel 
 were attributed by the heathen to the impotence of their God, and thus 
 the majesty of Jehovah was impaired, — a thought frequently expressed 
 by Ezekiel (see Ezek. xxxvi. 20 &c.). The words are cited in 
 Rom. ii. 24. 
 
 continually all the day'\ (R.V.), as ch. li. 13. 
 
 6. The contempt thus brought on His name is the crowning motive 
 of Jehovah's interposition, — another point of affinity with Ezekiel 
 (see xxxvi. 21). 
 
 my people shall know 7ny name'\ i.e. shall know by experience what 
 My name imports; comp. "shall know that I am Jehovah," in Ezekiel 
 (xx. 42, 44 and often). The second the7-efore, followed by no new verb, 
 is both superfluous and difficult and should probably be omitted, 
 with LXX. 
 
 that /am he that doth speak: behold, it is /] The last words "behold 
 me" are hardly to be taken as obj. of the verb "speak"; they simply 
 repeat the sense of the preceding clause : "They shall know that it is I 
 who speak; here am I" (cf. Ezek. v. 13). 
 
 7 — 12. The return of Jehovah to Zion. 
 
 7 Describes, in vivid pictorial imagery taken from ch. xl. 9, the 
 arrival in Jerusalem of the first tidings of the deliverance from Baby- 
 lon and the establishment of the kingdom of God. Part of the verse 
 occurs in Nah. i. 15. 
 
ii8 ISAIAH, LII. [vv. 7—9. 
 
 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of 
 
 him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth 
 
 peace; 
 That bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth 
 
 salvation ; 
 That saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth ! 
 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; 
 With the voice together shall they sing : 
 For they shall see eye to eye. 
 When the Lord shall bring again Zion. 
 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of 
 
 Jerusalem : 
 
 of him that bringeth good tidings] The medasser (see on xl. 9 and cf. 
 xli. 27) is one of the prophet's dramatis personca^ occupying a position 
 somewhat analogous to that of "the fugitive" in the Book of Ezekiel 
 (xxiv. 26 f., xxxiii. 21 f.). He is the "evangelist," the herald of salvation 
 whose single function is to announce to Zion the speedy advent of her 
 God. He is an ideal creation of the writer's mind, and the conception 
 fluctuates between that of an individual (as here and xli. 27) and of a 
 company (in xl. 9). In St Paul's application of the figure (Rom. x. 15) 
 it becomes a type of the gospel ministry. 
 
 Thy God reigneth] Rather, thy God hath become king, has esta- 
 blished His everlasting kingdom (cf. ch. xxiv. 23; Ps. xciii. i, xcvii. i). 
 
 8. Thy watdunen... sing] Render, Hark, thy watchmen ! they lift 
 up the voice, together do they sing (see R.V.). Although the pro- 
 phets are often called "watchmen" (ch. Ivi. 10; Hab. ii. i ; Jer. vi. 17; 
 Ezek. xxxiii. 2 ff.) there is no reason to suppose that they are referred to 
 here. Prophets are no longer required after the herald of salvation has 
 arrived and Jehovah Himself is at hand. The word is used in its 
 ordinary sense of the watchmen posted on the city walls, who are 
 naturally represented as the first to see and announce the actual approach 
 of the King. 
 
 for they shall see ^c] Rather, for eye to eye do they look upon 
 Jehovah's return to Zion. The expression eye to eye occurs only once 
 again, in Num. xiv. 14, where Jehovah is said to be "seen eye to eye" 
 in Israel; i.e. He is visibly present there (cf. Jer. xxxii. 4, "his eyes 
 shall look on the eyes of Nebuchadnezzar"). The idea here must be 
 similar; Jehovah shall be seen in person when He comes to Zion, as 
 closely and clearly as when two men look one another in the face. 
 The phrase certainly has not in Hebr. the sense of harmony and unity 
 v/hich it has come to bear in English. But it can hardly mean merely 
 that the watchmen shall form a dense throng, looking each other in the 
 face ! That is a thought quite irrelevant in the context. 
 
 9. Break forth into joy, sing...] Render, Break forth Into singing 
 (lit. "'Break forth, sing"). Cf. xliv. 23. 
 
vv. lo— 12.] ISAIAH, LII. 119 
 
 For the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath re- 
 deemed Jerusalem. 
 
 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all 
 the nations ; 
 
 And all the ends of the earth shall see the 
 salvation of our God. 
 
 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, 
 touch no unclean thmg; 
 
 Go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that 
 bear the vessels of the Lord. 
 
 For ye shall not go out with haste, 
 
 Nor go by flight : 
 
 For the Lord will go before you; 
 
 And the God of Israel 7vill be your rereward. 
 
 the Lord hath comforted his people] li. 3. 
 
 10. Here (if not already in v. 9) the prophet withdraws his gaze 
 from the future, and describes Jehovah as preparing Himself for the 
 conflict which leads to the joyous scene oivv. 'ji. 
 
 hath made bare his holy arm] throwing back the sleeveless upper 
 garment from the right shoulder, in readiness for action: he^ibv ^ixov 
 yvfivop ^x^^ f*' ■'"i? f^XV (Arrian, Alex. 5. r8, quoted by Dillmann). See 
 the contrasted metaphor in Ps. Ixxiv. 11. his holy arm means 
 
 "His divine arm" (Ps. xcviii. i). The "arm" of Jehovah, as ch. li. 9 
 (cf. also liii. i). 
 
 shall see the salvation (i.e. the deliverance or "victory") of our God] 
 a different idea from that of xlv. ii. 
 
 11. 12. A summons to the exiles to prepare for their departure 
 from Babylon (cf. xlviii. 20, 21). These are to accompany Jehovah in 
 his triumphal "return to Zion" (see on ch. xl. 10, 11). 
 
 go ye out from thence] from Babylon; "in this section (vv. 7 — 12) 
 the prophet places himself in spirit at Jerusalem" (Cheyne). 
 
 tonch no unclean thing] They are to "purify themselves" (see 
 below) as those who take part in a religious procession. The stress 
 laid on ceremonial purity in this verse is an exceptional feature in the 
 prophecy. 
 
 be ye clean (cleanse yourselves ye) that bear the vessels of the Lord] 
 As in the exodus from Egypt, the priests bearing the sacred utensils 
 march at the head of the procession. Some have rendered "ye that 
 are Jehovah's armour-bearers" (so Cheyne, formerly), a military figure 
 suggested by the Hebrew phrase, but perhaps a little far-fetched in the 
 context. 
 
 12. Unlike the former exodus, the departure is to take place 
 deliberately and in perfect security, without haste (Ex. xii. ir; Deut. 
 xvi. 3), a representation differing somewhat from xlviii. 20. 
 
 the Lord zvill go before you] Ex. xiii. 21 f., &c. 
 
 will h^ your rere^vard] your rear guard; see Ex. xiv. 19. 
 
I20 ISAIAH, LII. [v. 13. 
 
 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, 
 
 Ch. LII. 13— LIII. 12. The Servant's Sacrifice 
 AND His Reward. 
 
 This is the last and greatest, as well as the most difficult, of the four 
 delineations of the Servant of Jehovah, and in several respects occupies 
 a place apart. In the previous passages the Servant has been described 
 as the ideal prophet or teacher, conscious of a world-wide mission in 
 the service of God, which he prosecutes amid discouragement and 
 persecution with inflexible purpose and the unfaltering assurance of 
 ultimate success. There has been no hint that his activity was inter- 
 rupted by death. Here the presentation is quite different. The con- 
 ception of the Prophet is all but displaced by that of the Man of Sorrows, 
 the meek and patient martyr, the sin-bearer. The passage is partly 
 retrospective and partly prophetic. In so far as it is a retrospect there 
 is no allusion to the prophetic activity of the servant; it is only after he 
 has been raised from the dead that he is to assume the function of the 
 great religious guide and authority of the world. But the most striking 
 feature of the passage is the unparalleled sufferings of the Servant, and 
 the effect they produce on the minds of his contemporaries. The 
 tragedy of which they have been spectators makes an impression far 
 more profound and convincing than any direct teaching could have 
 done, compelling them to recognise the mission of the Servant, and at 
 the same time producing penitence and confession of their own sin. 
 The whole conception here given of the Servant of the Lord makes the 
 prophecy the most remarkable anticipation in the Old Testament of the 
 "sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." 
 
 The passage may be divided into three parts : — 
 
 (i) An introduction, briefly stating the import of all that follows, — 
 the coming exaltation of the Servant in contrast to his past abasement 
 (lii. 13—15). 
 
 (2) A historical review of the Servant's career, as he had appeared to 
 his contemporaries in the days of his humiliation (liii. i — 9). 
 
 (3) An announcement of the glorious future and the astonishing 
 success in store for him as the reward of his obedience unto death 
 {vv. 10 — 12). 
 
 The middle section may be further subdivided into three strophes, 
 yielding an arrangement (recognised by most commentators) of the 
 whole in five strophes of three verses each. 
 
 13 — 16. Jehovah utters a brief but pregnant announcement of the 
 brilliant destiny in store for His Servant. Known to many in his mis- 
 fortunes as an object of aversion and contempt, he shall suddenly be 
 revealed in his true dignity ; and the unexpected transformation will 
 startle the whole world into astonishment and reverence. The verses 
 form a prelude to ch. liii., being a summary of what is there described 
 in detail ; and they indicate what is the main idea of the whole passage, 
 viz. the unexampled contrast between the present (and past) degrada- 
 tion and the future glory of Jehovah's Servant. 
 
 13. wj' scn'afjt shall deal prudently'] A more appropriate rendering 
 
V. 14. ISAIAH, LII. 121 
 
 He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 
 As many were astonied at thee; 
 His visage was so marred more than any man, 
 And his form more than the sons of men : 
 
 is that of R.V. marg. my servant shall prosper, i.e. his career shall be 
 crowned with complete success. The primary idea of the verb used is 
 no doubt "wisdom" (not mere shrewdness, however, rather "insight," 
 see Gen. iii. 6; Isa. xliv, i8), but it also includes the success which is 
 the normal result of wise action, and sometimes this secondary idea 
 almost supplants the original meaning (Josh. i. yf. ; i Sam. xviii, 5, i^i. 
 etc.). This sense seems to be required here by the parallelism with the 
 next line, for there is nothing in the whole prophecy to justify us in 
 regarding the Servant's elevation as the effect of his wisdom. The verse 
 is "a simple prediction of the exaltation awaiting the Servant, in con- 
 trast with his past sorrows and abasement" (Davidson). 
 
 he shall be exalted and extolled^ or "high and lifted up." The same 
 combination used of Jehovah in ch. Ivii. 15; of His throne in vi. i. 
 
 14, 15 must be read as a single compound sentence. The protasis is 
 the first line of z^. 14 ("According as many were astonied at thee") ; the 
 corresponding apodosis follows in ^'. 15 ("so shall he sprinkle &c."), the 
 intervening clauses being a parenthesis suggested by the word " astonied." 
 
 as t7iaiiy were astonied at thee'] The word "astonied" expresses the 
 blank amazement, mingled with horror, excited in the minds of beholders 
 by the spectacle of the Sei-vant's unparalleled sufferings (cf. i Ki. ix. 8 ; 
 Jer. ii. 12, xviii. 16). It is natural to suppose that the "many" here 
 referred to are the same as the "many nations" who witness the Ser- 
 vant's subsequent exaltation [v. 15), but the point is not to be pressed, 
 and on the hypothesis that the Servant is an individual Israelite, the 
 spectators of the Servant's abasement could hardly be the nations of the 
 world. Instead of "thee" the Targ. and Pesh. seem to have read 
 *'him," thus avoiding an embarrassing change of person. The LXX., 
 on the other hand, preserve the 2nd pers. throughout v. 14. The 
 change of person may no doubt be explained as caused by the paren- 
 thesis, but it is awkward nevertheless, and almost misleading, and many 
 commentators prefer to alter the text in accordance with the Targ. 
 
 his visage was so marred, iSr'r.] Render : 
 
 — so marred from that of man -wras his aspect, 
 and his form from that of the sons of men — 
 
 The sentence is inserted parenthetically to explain the repugnance felt 
 by all who beheld the Servant in his former abject condition. The 
 meaning J5 that he was so disfigured by disease^(see ch. liii. 3J as to be 
 no longer human in appearance. The word for "marred" is pointed 
 as a noun (not fdimd elsewhere): ''a''marred^T)ject." A participle 
 {moshhdth) would read more naturally after the adverb "so," although 
 the punctuators must have had some reason for avoiding the more 
 obvious form. 
 
122 ISAIAH, LII. [v. 15. 
 
 15 So shall he sprinkle many nations ; 
 
 The kings shall shut their mouths at him : 
 
 For that which had not been told them shall they 
 
 see ; 
 And that which they had not heard shall they 
 
 consider. 
 
 16. so shall he sprinkle many nalzons] The verb rendered 
 "sprinkle" means elsewhere to "scatter (a liquid) in small drops," and 
 its usage is confined to the ceremonial act illustrated by Lev. iv. 6 ; Num. 
 xix. 18 f. etc. This is the sense intended by the A.V. and the ancient 
 authorities (Aquila, Theodotion, Vulg.) which it follows; the antithesis 
 suggested being that as the Servant had been shunned by many as 
 unclean, so he shall (metaphorically) "sprinkle" them, i.e. make them 
 clean. But this interpretation imports into the passage ideas which are 
 not expressed, and is besides inadmissible on grammatical grounds; i.e. 
 the verb always means to sprinkle (a liquid), not to bespri?tkle (a person 
 or thing). TJie only rendering at all compatible with the ceremonial 
 use of the word would be that of the Targ. : "so shall he scatter 
 many nations," where the nations are actually, by a most unna- 
 tural metaphor, compared to spirting drops of water. To reach a 
 satisfactory sense it is only necessary to assume that the Hebrew verb 
 had a wider range of meaning than is represented in the O.T. It might 
 be causative of a verb (found in Arabic) meaning to "spring" or "leap," 
 just as the English "sprinkle" is perhaps etymologically the causative 
 of "spring." We may thus render with R.V. marg. so will he startle 
 many nations, i.e. "cause them to spring" in surprise, or (better) 
 "cause them to rise up suddenly" in reverential admiration. Cf. ch. 
 xlix. 7 and Job xxix. 8 ("The aged arose and stood up"). Most 
 modern writers agree in this explanation, although some have recourse 
 to emendation of the text. The LXX. expresses the same general idea 
 {davixacovTai ^dvT) iroWd, "many nations shall marvel "). 
 
 kings shall shut their ?noufhs because of him (R.V. marg.)] Comp. 
 again Job's touching description of the respect paid to him in the days 
 of his prosperity: "The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand 
 on their mouth. The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaned 
 to the roof of their mouth" (xxix. gi.). The art. before "kings" sho'.d 
 be omitted (as in R.V.). 
 
 for that which had not been told them 6^^,] The meaning is either 
 that the exaltation of the Servant is an event of which they had received 
 no announcement beforehand, or that it is one the like of which had 
 never been known. If the reference be to the coming elevation of 
 Israel, either sense would be suitable; if on the other hand the resurrec- 
 tion of an individual be predicted, the second would be more appro- 
 priate. 
 
 ch. liii. 1—9. Having thus indicated the subject of his discourse, the 
 prophet now proceeds to describe the career of the Servant, and the 
 impression he had made on his contemporaries. This is prefaced in 
 
V. I.] ISAIAH, LIII. 123 
 
 Who hath believed our report? 53 
 
 And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 
 
 V. I by a confession or complaint of the universal unbelief which had led 
 to his being so grievously misunderstood. 
 
 Th e speakers in this section are certainly not the heathen mentioned 
 in li i.'Ti;, but either all Israel or o ne Israelite in the natne ot a ll. The 
 "nations" and "kings" are surprised by the Servant's exaltation because 
 • ihey had not previously heard of it; those who now speak confess a 
 deeper fault, they have heard but did not believe. It is generally 
 assumed that there is a change of speaker in w. 7 — 9, where the 
 use of the ist pers. plu. is discontinued, and where {v. 8) we come 
 across the expression "wj people." This assumption is to be avoided 
 if possible, because vik 7 ff. continue the narrative of the Servant's 
 sufferings, and it is unnatural to think that the story begun by one 
 speaker should be completed by another unless there were some clear 
 indication that this is the case. There appears to be no difficulty in the 
 supposition that the prophet himself speaks throughout; although in 
 w. 1 — 6 he a ssociates himself wit h his generation^the coritemporanes__ 
 ^oLthe Servant. There must be some reason lor his thuslnerging his 
 individual consciousness in that of the community; and the obvious 
 reason is that in depicting the Servant as he appeared to men, he writes 
 ns a spectator along with others, and realises his solidarity with his nation. 
 In w. 7 — 9 the description simply becomes less subjective; the emphasis 
 lies less on what men thought of the Servant, and more on what he was 
 and endured ; and when the prophet again has occasion to refer to Israel 
 it is natural that he should do so as "my people." — Another thing to be 
 noted is that the language is consistently retrospective. Historic tenses 
 are employed throughout, the speaker looks back on the completed 
 tragedy of the Servant's career, and on the people's former thoughts of 
 him as things that belong to the past. On the other hand, the exalta- 
 tion of the Servant is always spoken of (both in lii. 13 — 15, and in liii. 
 10 — 12) as something still future. The standpoint assumed here seems 
 therefore to be intermediate between the death of the Servant and his 
 exaltation; and the great moral change which is described as taking 
 place in the mind of the people is not the result of the revelation of his 
 glory, but is brought about by reflection on his unparalleled sufferings, 
 and his patient demeanour under them, preparing the people to believe 
 the prophecies which had hitherto seemed incredible. 
 1. The verse should probably be rendered, 
 
 Who believed that which was revealed to us, 
 
 And the arm of Jehovah— to (lit. "on") whom was it disclosed? 
 The word which E.V. renders "report" is passive in form (lit. "a thing 
 heard"); ottr report, therefore, is not "that which we reported" but 
 either "the report concerning us" (2 Sam. iv, 4) or "that which was 
 reported to us." The last sense is alone admissible in this connexion, 
 and the only question that remains is, What kind of report is referred 
 to? Usually the word denotes a rumour circulated by the ordinary 
 channels of intelligence (ch. xxxvii. 7 &c.), and this meaning might be 
 
124 ISAIAH, LIII. [v. 2. 
 
 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, 1 
 
 thought of here if we could suppose the words spoken after the elevation 
 of the Servant. But this is objectionable, {a) because the standpoint of 
 the speakers is not subsequent to the glorification of the Servant, but 
 prior to it (see above), {b) the speakers, being Israelites, cannot readily 
 be supposed to learn the Servant's exaltation from rumour, and {c) it 
 would be necessary to render the verb "Who co7ild have believed?" 
 which although possible is not natural. The question implies a negative 
 answer: "No one believed it." It is better therefore to take the word in 
 its religious sense of a Divine revelation (see on ch. xxviii. 9), a "thing 
 heard" from Jehovah. "Our revelation" might of course be said by 
 the prophet of a cohimunication made directly to himself; but it might 
 also be said by the people of a revelation which had reached them 
 through the medium of the prophets. The reference will be to the 
 prophecies bearing on the Servant's glorious destiny, especially ch. xlii. 
 I — 4, xlix. I — 6, 1. 4 — 9, and perhaps lii. 13 — 15. 
 
 The arm of the Lord is, as in ch. li. 9, lii. 10 &c., ametaphorjor 
 Jehovah's operation in history . It was He who raised up tHeservant, 
 and~all through his tragic history God was working by him for the 
 redemption of His people and the inbringing of eternal salvation. But 
 this Divine power behind the Servant had not been "disclosed" to any 
 of his contemporaries ; they had neither perceived it for themselves nor 
 believed it when declared to them, and so in the blindness and deafness 
 of their unbelief they had misconceived him in the manner exhibited in 
 vv. 2 ff. 
 
 The verse is cited, with reference to the rejection of the Gospel by 
 the Jews, in John xii, 38 and (in part) Rom. x. 16. 
 
 2. The verse seems to take us back to the origin of the Servant's 
 career, in order to account for tlie powerful prejudices with which his 
 contemporaries regarded him. From the first he had been mean and 
 unprepossessing in appearance, like a stunted shrub struggling for exist- 
 ence in an arid soil. To this corresponded the first impressions of the 
 people, which were mainly -of a negative kind; they found in him 
 nothing that was attractive or desirable. Beyond this the verse does 
 not go. 
 
 For he shall grow up] Lit. Ajid lie g rew u p. It is not easy to 
 make out such a connexion between tliis sentence and the last as 
 would naturally be expressed by "and." If what is here stated were 
 the explanation of the unbelief confessed in v. i, the proper conjunction 
 would be "for," and so the word is by many rendered. Others take it 
 as the "and" of consequence ( = and so), but the clause is not a state- 
 ment of what the people thought of the Servant in consequence of their 
 unbelief, but of what he actually was. The phrase "before him" 
 seems decisive on that point, unless with Ewald and others we change 
 the reading to '-before us." With that alteration the whole verse 
 speaks of the impressions men formed of the Servant, and these 
 impressions might readily be regarded as the result of their want of 
 spiritual insight. But if the received text be retained (and there is no 
 sufficient reason for departing from it) the description begins with a 
 
V. 3-] ISAIAH, LIII. 125 
 
 And as a root out of a dry ground : 
 
 He hath no form nor comeliness ; 
 
 And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we 
 
 should desire him. 
 He is despised and rejected of men; 
 A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: 
 And we hid as it were our faces from him ; 
 
 statement of fact and then proceeds to the effect on the mind of the 
 people. It is probable that no logical connexion with the preceding 
 is intended. The conjunction may mark the commencement of the 
 narrative, in accordance with a tendency to begin a speech with "and" 
 (Josh. xxii. 28; Jer. ix. 21 ; cf ch. ii. 1). 
 
 as a tender plant\ a sapling. Cf. Ez. xvii. 22 ; Job xiv. 7. 
 
 a root (cf. ch. xi. 10) Qui of A. dry ground] The " dry gr ound" 
 might, on some theories ofwliat is meant by the Servant, symbolise 
 the Exile with its political hardships and lack of religious advantages, 
 but it is doubtful if the figure should be pressed so far. The Servant 
 is compared to a plant springing up in such a soil, but whether the 
 prophet thought of his lowly growth as due in any degree to unfavour- 
 able circumstances is uncertain. 
 
 In what follows hath should be had, and comeliness, majesty. The 
 words for form and beauty are the same as those rendered "form" and 
 "aspect" in lii. 14. Both are here used in the sense of "pleasing 
 form" &c. ; comp. "a man of form " in i Sam. xvi. 18, and the Latin 
 formosus ixovci forma, or "shapely" from "shape." 
 
 and when we shall see him^ Rather, wlien we saw him. The clause, 
 however, might (disregarding the accents) be read with what precedes : 
 "...and no majesty, that we should look upon him — and no aspect 
 that we should desire him " (see R.V. marg.). This at least yields a 
 more perfect parallelism in the last two lines. 
 
 3. Not only did the Servant fail to attract his contemporaries {v, 2); 
 there was that in his appearance which excited positive aversion. He 
 is represented as one stricken with loathsome and disfiguring disease, 
 probably leprosy (see on v. 4), so that men instinctively recoiled from 
 him in horror and disgust. 
 
 He is despised and rejected of men] Better, Despised and man - 
 
 forsaken, i.e. one with whom men refuse to associate, or, perhaps, one 
 
 "wKo renounces the hope of human fellowship. The corresponding verb 
 
 is used by Job when he complains of the estrangement of his friends : 
 
 "my kinsfolk have failed" (ch. xix. 14). 
 
 For sorr ows .. .grief , read pain s... sickness. Although both words 
 may~be used tropically^f mental suffering, it is plain that in the 
 figure of this verse and the following they are to be taken in their 
 literal sense. 
 
 and we hid ^c] More literally, and as one from whom there is a 
 hiding of the face ; his appearance was such as to cause men in- 
 voluntarily to cover their face from the sight of him. The expression 
 
126 ISAIAH, Llll. [v. 4. 
 
 He was despised, and we esteemed him not. 
 Surely he hath borne our griefs. 
 And carried our sorrows: 
 Yet we did esteem him stricken. 
 Smitten of God, and afflicted. 
 
 is similar to another phrase of Job's: "I am a spitting in the face" 
 (xvii. 6). For the idea cf. Job xix. 19, xxx. 10. Leprosy is again 
 suggested. The rendering of LXX. and Vulg. "and as one who hid 
 his face from us" is grammatically defensible, but conveys a wrong 
 idea; the Servant "hid not his face from shame and spitting" (ch. 1. 6). 
 
 esteemed hifn not\ (lit. "reckoned him not"), held "Mvn of no 
 account. 
 
 4 — 6. While vv. 2, 3 describe the natural instinctive impressions 
 produced by the Servant's appearance, vv. 4 — 6 reveal incidentally the 
 moral judgement Avhich the people were led to form regarding him. 
 His unparalleled sufferings had seemed to them to mark him out as a 
 special object of Jehovah's anger {v. 4), just as Job's calamities were 
 believed by his friends to be the evidence of great, though secret, sins. 
 But it is the reversal of this jud^nent, and the perception thereby 
 gained of the true nature of the Servant's mission, that is the chief 
 theme of this section. The people now see that although he suffered 
 greatly he was himself innocent, and from this they have advanced to 
 the conclusion that he suffered vicariously, bearing the penalty due to 
 the sin of his nation. This change of attitude towards the Servant 
 marks the beginning of repentance in the people; the consciousness 
 of their own guilt takes possession of their minds when they read God's 
 judgement upon it in the chastisement borne by their substitute. 
 
 4. Surely he hath borne cr'tr.] Render : 
 
 Surely it was our sicknesses that he bore 
 and our pains that he carried. 
 The emphasis of contrast lies on the words ottr and he in both lines. 
 To "bear" sickness is not to take it away (although that will be the 
 effect of vicarious bearing of it) but simply to endure it (as Jer. x. 19). 
 In Matt. viii. 17 the words are applied to our Lord's miracles of healing, 
 but the prophet's meaning plainly is that the Sei"vant endured in his own 
 person the penal consequences of the people's guilt. 
 
 yet we did esteem i3^c!\ Rather, while we a ccountedjiiai atrickeajcc. 
 The subject " we " is strongly emphasised, and the clause is circum- 
 stantial, introducing the people's false estimate of the Servant as a 
 concomitant of the main statement of the verse. "Stricken" is the 
 expression used when God visits a man with severe and sudden sickness 
 (Gen. xii. 17; i Sam. vi. 9), especially leprosy, which was regarded as 
 preeminently the "stroke" of God's hand (Job xix^ii; 2 Ki^xv^5 ; 
 .Lev, xiii . 3, 9, 20) and the direct consequence Tif stfiT That tllF'Servant 
 is pictured as a leper is suggested by several particulars in the description, 
 such as his marred and disfigured form, and his isolation from human 
 society, as well as the universal conviction of his contemporaries that he 
 
vv. 5,6.] ISAIAH, LI)I/^y 127 
 
 # for our transgre 
 
 But he was wounde#fo.r our transgressions, 
 
 He was bruised for our iniquities : 
 
 The chastisement of our peace ivas upon him ; 
 
 And with his stripes we are healed. 
 
 All we like sheep have gone astray; 
 
 We have turned every one to his own way \ 
 
 And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 
 
 was a special object of the divine wrath ; and the impression is confirmed 
 by the parallel case of Job, the typical righteous sufferer, whose disease 
 was elephantiasis, the most hideous form of leprosy. It has to be borne_ 
 
 image tor such suiienngs_as_are the evidence oi (jod s wrath against 
 
 6. In V. 4 the people confess that the Servant was their substitute" 
 in his endurance of pains and sicknesses; here they penetrate more 
 deeply into the meaning of his sufferings, perceiving the connexion 
 between his passion and their own sin. The connexion is twofold ; in 
 the first place the Servant's suffering was the penalty due to the people's 
 transgressions, and in the second place it was the remedy by which they 
 were restored to spiritual health. 
 
 But he was pierced because of our rebellions. 
 Crushed because of our iniquities. 
 The strong verbs "pierced" (see ch. li. 9) and "crushed" (Job vi. 9) 
 are probably metaphors expressing the fatal ravages of leprosy. 
 
 the chastisement of our peace] i.e. the chastisement needful to procure 
 peace or well-being for us. "Chastisement" is pain inflicted for moral 
 ends and with remedial intent (Prov. iii. 1 1 f. &c.). Cheyne's assertion 
 that the notion of punishment is the primary one in this word is not 
 borne out by O.T. usage. 
 
 with his stripes] lit. weals (see ch. i. 6). 
 
 That the people themselves had suffered for their sins is not excluded, 
 but is apparently implied in the last words ("we are healed"), and is 
 expressly said in other parts of the book (ch. xl. 2, xlii. 24 f. &c.). 
 What the verse teaches is that the people could not be healed by their 
 own suffering ; it was only through the Servant's voluntary submission 
 to the divine chastisement {v. 7), and his bearing it in an extraordinary 
 degree, that an atonement was effected between Jehovah and Israel 
 (see on ch. xl. 2). 
 
 6. Looking back on their former irreligious condition the people 
 see that their rejection of the Servant was the natural outcome of the 
 heedless and inconsiderate selfishness in which they were living. For 
 the figure of the strayed sheep, cf. Ps. cxix. 176; Matt. ix. 36, x. 6; 
 Luke XV. 4. 
 
 For have gone... have turned^ read had gone... had turned. 
 
 every one to his oivn way] selfishly following his individual impulses 
 and interests; cf. Ivi. 11. 
 
 hath laid on him the iniquity] made to light on him the guilt. 
 
128 ISAIAH, LIII. [vv. 7, 8. 
 
 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, 
 
 Yet he opened not his mouth : 
 
 He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, 
 
 And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb. 
 
 So he openeth not his mouth. 
 
 He was taken from prison and from judgment: 
 
 7 — 9. The narrative of the Servant's sufferings is in these verses 
 brought to its conclusion: after enduring violence and injustice at the 
 hands of men, his life was cut short and he wsls laid in a dishonoured 
 grave. The passage presents many difficulties, and the details of the 
 picture are somewhat uncertain. Thus it is doubtful whether the 
 Servant be represented as put to death by men, or as carried off by the 
 disease with which Jehovah had smitten him. With perhaps less 
 reason it has been questioned whether there is any reference to human 
 cruelty in the verses at all, whether the strong expressions "oppressed," 
 "oppression," "judgement" are not to be understood figuratively of the 
 hard fate which relentlessly pursued the sufferer to his death (so Duhm). 
 These matters, however, are of subordinate interest ; the prominent 
 feature of the description is the meek and submissive demeanour of the 
 Servant under his undeserved sufferings. 
 
 7. He was oppressed and he was afflicted'] The first verb (' ' oppressed ") 
 may summarize the preceding account of the Servant's afflictions (Dill- 
 mann), but more probably it introduces a feature not previously adverted 
 to, namely, the outrages inflicted on the Servant by his contemporaries, 
 in consequence of their false judgement of him. It denotes harsh, cruel 
 and arbitrary treatment, such as that of a slave-driver towards those who 
 are under him (Ex. iii. 7 ; Job iii. 18), and is nowhere employed of God's 
 action towards men. The second verb is shewn by the form of sentence 
 to be a contrast to the first, and must therefore be rendered as in R.V. : 
 yet he humbled himself (cf. Ex, x. 3, "How long dost thou refuse to 
 humble thyself. . . ?). And as this is the main idea of the verse, the 
 meaning may best be brought out if we translate the first two lines 
 thus : 
 
 Though oppressed, he was submissive ,1 ,1 j 
 and opened not his mouth. |/[ ' 
 
 Cf. Ps. xxxviii. 13, 14, xxxix. 9. 
 
 he is brought... dumb] Two relative sentences, to be rendered 
 with R.V. 
 
 as a lamb (lit. "sheep") that is led to the slaughter, 
 and a sheep (lit. "ewe") that before her shearers is dumb. 
 Comp. Jer. xi. 19: "I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the 
 slaughter." 
 
 so (R.V. **yea") he openeth not Ids mouth] in the Hebr. an exact 
 repetition of the second line. Since the tetrastich is complete without 
 it, the clause may possibly have been inserted through an error in 
 transcription. 
 
 8. lie was taken J'roni prison and from judgment] Every word here 
 
V. 8.] ISAIAH, LIII. 129 
 
 And who shall declare his generation? 
 
 is ambiguous. The principal interpretations are as follows : (i) "With- 
 out hindrance and without right he was taken away," i.e. he was put to 
 death without opposition from any quarter, and in defiance of justice. 
 The only exception that can fairly be taken to this view is the transla- 
 tion "hindrance," a sense of the noun for which there are no parallels. 
 Yet the verb from which the noun is derived occurs in the sense of 
 " detain " (i Ki. xviii. 44, &c.), and as the noun is very uncommon, the 
 rendering cannot be pronounced impossible. (2) " Through oppression 
 and through judgement he was taken away" (so virtually R.V.). 
 *' Judgement" here means "judicial procedure," and the rendering 
 *' oppression " is guaranteed by Ps. cvii. 39. *' Oppression and judg?^ 
 ment " may mean (as explained by Cheyne) an oppressive judgement 
 ("through distressful doom," see his Introduction, p. 428), the idea 
 being that the Servant's death, like that of our Lord, was a judicial 
 murder. For " taken away " in the sense of " put to death " see on ch. 
 Hi. 5, and cf. Ezek. xxxiii. 4 (where, however, a different part of the 
 verb is used). (3) " From oppression and from judgement he was taken 
 away," i.e. released by death, or taken by God to Himself (2 Ki. ii. 10). 
 Here the sense of "oppression and judgement" is indeterminate; the 
 meaning might either be simply that by death he was finally released 
 from his troubles, or that God took him away from the malice of his 
 persecutors. The rendering "imprisonment " instead of " oppression " 
 could be justified from the usage of the verb (2 Ki. xvii. 4 &c.), although 
 not of the noun itself; only in this case we must not read, "From 
 imprisonment... he was led away (to execution)," for that is an idea 
 which could hardly have suggested itself apart from the fulfilment of the 
 prophecy in the crucifixion of Christ. Of the three interpretations the 
 last seems the most natural, although everything turns on the question 
 whether the death of the Servant is conceived as caused directly by 
 men or by God through sickness. (See below on the last clause of this 
 verse.) 
 
 And who shall declare his generation ?'\ A still more difficult clause. 
 The Hebr. word for "generation" (dor) may mean (a) the time in 
 which he lived, (3) the circle of his contemporaries, (c) those like-minded 
 with him (Ps. xii. 7, xiv. 5; Prov. xxx. 11 ff.) ; but is never used 
 with any such significance as "length of life," or "life-history," or 
 "posterity." In neither of its three senses does it supply a suitable 
 object to the verb declare or rather consider (Ps. cxliii. 5 " meditate "). 
 We may, however, take it in the sense {b), and render with R. V. and as 
 for Ms generation who (among them) considered &c. (On this con- 
 struction see Davidson, Synt. § 72, Rem. 4). Vet the construction as 
 direct obj. of the verb is so much the more natural that any suggestion 
 would be acceptable which might enable us to retain it. Duhm (follow- 
 ing Knobel) takes the word in its Aramaic sense of " dwelling-place " 
 (see on ch. xxxviii. 12) and translates "who enquires after his dwell- 
 ing-place " (with God) ? It would be better, perhaps, to understand 
 " dwelling-place " exactly as in xxxviii. 12, of the earthly dwelling-place, 
 the place that once knew him but knows him no more : " Who enquires 
 ISAIAH II. 9 
 
I30 ISAIAH, LIII. [v. 9. 
 
 For he was cut off out of the land of the 
 
 living: 
 For the transgression of my people was he stricken. 
 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, 
 And with the rich in his death; 
 
 after it, or thinks about it?" he has vanished from the thoughts of 
 men. 
 
 for he was cut off (Ps. Ixxxviii, 5 ; Ezek. xxxvii. 1 1) out of the latid of 
 the living] Comp. again Jer. xi. 19. The R.V. makes this clause an 
 object sentence governed by the verb " considered " (reading that instead 
 oifor). This is perhaps necessary if the R.V. rendering of the previous 
 line be adopted. 
 
 for the rebellion of my people was he stricken (lit. " (was) a stroke upon 
 
 him")] The last word in the Hebr. ^uT^ would be translated most 
 naturally "upon them" (but see Davidson, Gram. § 19 R. c.)\ hence 
 some render " because of the rebellion of my people, the stroke {due) 
 to themy A far more satisfactory sense is obtained by the help of 
 
 the LXX. Read TWO? and change the preceding noun into a passive 
 verb {nugga'' for nega') and render was lie stricken unto death. The 
 expression " stricken " is from the same verb which in v. 4 suggested 
 leprosy as the cause of the Servant's disfigurement ; and its use here in 
 connexion with his death is in favour of the view that he died of his 
 sickness and not by the hands of his persecutors. If this conclusion be 
 sound it confirms the view expressed above as to the sense of the first 
 clause of this verse. 
 
 9. The unrelenting antipathy which the Servant experienced through 
 life is continued even after his death, and expresses itself in the manner 
 of his burial. 
 
 And they (R.V.) made his grave with the wicked"] The subject is 
 indefinite, the construction being equivalent to a passive : " And his 
 grave was made " &c. " With the wicked " need not imply that a special 
 burial-ground was set apart for them as a class, but only that such 
 persons were buried ignominiously and away from the family sepulchre, 
 like Absalom (2 Sam. xviii. 17). From Jer. xxvi. 23 (cf. 2 Ki. xxiii. 6) 
 it appears that it was a disgrace to be buried among the " common 
 people." In this case the "wicked" probably means the notoriously 
 wicked, criminals, apostates, and such like. With these the Servant 
 was numbered because his calamities had seemed to mark him out as a 
 heinous sinner in the sight of God. 
 
 and with the rich in his death] This clause must express the same 
 idea as the preceding. To take the two antithetically: "they meant 
 his grave to be with the wicked, but he was with the rich in his death " 
 (Delitzsch) is utterly unwarrantable. It is, no doubt, somewhat difficult 
 to justify this sense of "rich" as synonymous with "wicked" from 
 O.T. usage, although it might perhaps be suggested by the common 
 identification of poverty with piety. This explanation, however, is not 
 
V. lo.] ISATAH, LIII. 131 
 
 Because he had done no violence, 
 Neither- ^f'fl-i- any deceit in his mouth. 
 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him ; he hath put 1 
 him to grief: 
 
 quite satisfactory, and several emendations have been proposed, such as 
 " the oppressor " i^^^'O for 1^^), " the defrauder " (pW, Aramaic), 
 '* evil-doers" (yi ^b'l;). 
 
 in his death'] lit. " in his deaths." The use of the plural is variously 
 explained. Some find in it an intimation of the collective character of 
 the subject spoken of under the name of the Servant ; but even if 
 the Servant be a collective idea, it is inconceivable that the writer 
 should have here abandoned the personification which he has so strictly 
 maintained throughout. Nor is it any relief to say that it means "in 
 his state of death." It is better to read the singular with the LXX. 
 There is, however, another reading found in a few MSS. and adopted 
 by many commentators, according to which the clause would form 
 a perfect parallelism with the first line : 
 
 "And with the rich (or oppressor, &c.) his sepulchral mound.''' 
 But the word bdmah ( = high-place) is not elsewhere used in this sense. 
 
 because he had done no violence cSr'f.] Render with R.V. although 
 (" in spite of the fact that ") &c. as in Job xvi. 17. With this assertion 
 of his innocence the narrative of the Servant's career reaches its con- 
 clusion. While absolute sinlessness is not explicitly predicated of him, but 
 only freedom from " violence " and " deceit," yet the image of the lamb 
 led to the slaughter, and his patient resignation to the will of God, 
 strongly suggest that the prophet had in his mind the conception of 
 a perfectly sinless character. 
 
 10 — 12. These difficult verses describe, partly in the prophet's own 
 words and partly in those of Jehovah, the Divine purpose which is 
 realised through the sufferings of the Servant. In vv. 10, 11 it is 
 impossible to trace a clear connexion of ideas ; the grammar also is 
 peculiar, and in all probability there is considerable textual disorder. 
 The main thought, however, is that the Servant is to be the instrument 
 in establishing the true religion, by removing the burden of guilt and 
 bringing many to righteousness. As the reward of his sufferings he will 
 enjoy a brilliant future and have a numerous spiritual offspring. He 
 will become a great power in the world, attaining a position like that of 
 a mighty conqueror. The idea of a resurrection from the dead appears 
 to be necessarily implied. If the Servant be a personification of Israel, 
 this is merely a figure for national restoration from exile ; but if he be 
 an individual, then his resurrection must be accepted as a literal fact, 
 just as his death must be literally understood. 
 
 10. Yet it pleased... gj-ief] The sentence must be a restatement 
 of the fact that the Servant has suffered by the will of Jehovah, this 
 being repeated in order to introduce the explanation of Jehovah's 
 purpose in imposing chastisement upon him. The second clause, he 
 hath put him to grief, represents a single Hebrew word, which is 
 
 9-2 
 
132 ISAIAH, LIII. [v. II. 
 
 When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, 
 
 He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, 
 
 And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his 
 
 hand. 
 He shall see of the travail of his soul, afid shall be 
 
 satisfied : 
 
 vocalised and translated by the LXX. as the noun for "sickness" {v. 3). 
 The meaning intended by the punctuators is probably "he hath made 
 him sick" (R.V. marg.), although the form is anomalous and the 
 syntax uncertain. Since it is too short to form an independent line, 
 it must be closely attached to what precedes : hence the rendering 
 of Dillmann and others, " It pleased Jehovah to crush him incurably," 
 i.e. grievously (cf. Mic. vi. 13; Nah. iii. 19). This is perhaps the best 
 that can be made of the received reading, but it is most probable that 
 the textual derangement which prevails in these verses begins here. 
 
 when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin] Rather "if (or 
 when) his soul should present a guilt-offering." The difficulty here 
 does not lie in the analogy of the guilt-offering, for this probably signi- 
 fies n( thing more than has been already expressed in plain words, that 
 the Servant's death is the means of removing guilt {vv. 4, 5, 6). It does 
 not appear that the distinctive ritual and function of the guilt-offering 
 {'dshdm, see Lev. v. i4ff., &c.) throws any light on this passage. The 
 chief difficulty is the hypothetical character of the sentence, of which no 
 satisfactory explanation has been given. No doubt the atoning effect of the 
 sufferings is the condition of Jehovah's great purpose being attained, but 
 the condition has been already fulfilled, whereas it is here spoken of as 
 an event which is, if not problematic, at least future. — The subject is 
 ambiguous, but on every ground it is better to suppose that "his soul" 
 is subject than that Jehovah is addressed. Ewald and Cheyne, how- 
 evei-, prefer to read (with the change of a consonant) "when he shall 
 make his soul a guilt-offering." 
 
 /^ he shall see^t^eedSsJ^ Qftn. 1. 23) ^ 6' shall prolong his days] i.e. shall^ 
 enjoylong^life. His '*Teed " arejhe true^spinFual Israel of the future, 
 those who by his means are converted to the knowledge of Jehovah. , 
 
 the pleasure (i.e. the purpose, see on xliv. 28) of the LORD] the 
 establishment of the universal religion, the eternal salvation. The verse 
 returns on itself by repetition of the opening idea (as w. 3, 6, 7) — 
 '*palindromically," as Delitzsch would say. 
 
 11. An amplification of the meaning of z'. 10. He shall see &"€.] 
 
 Lit. Of the travail of his soul he shall see, shall he satisfied. It is 
 doubtful if the preposition "of" can express 7-esult, as the E. V. suggests, 
 or can introduce the object of the verb "he shall see." It may be used 
 in its local sense ("away from," or "free from") or causally ("in con- 
 sequence of"), hardly in a temporal sense ("after"). The asyndetic 
 construction of the two verbs probably indicates that one is to be sub- 
 ordinated to the other : lie shall see with satisfaction, sc. the cause of 
 Jehovah prospering in his hand (as v, 10). The LXX. deserves 
 
V. 12.] ISAIAH, LIII. 133 
 
 By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify 
 
 many; 
 For he shall bear their iniquities. 
 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the grca^ 
 And he shall divide the spoil with the strong p' 
 Because he hath poured out his soul unto death : 
 And he was numbered with the transgressors; 
 
 attention: **And it pleased the Lord to deliver (a variant reading of 
 the last clause of v. 10) (him) from the trouble of his soul: to cause him 
 to see light" «&c. 
 
 by his kno%ukdge\ The gen. is not that of the obi. (**t)y the know^- 
 ledge of him") but of the subj.; the knovi^ledge of God and salvation 
 which he possesses, and which he communicates to others. The refer- 
 ence is to the prophetic activity of the Servant (see xlii. i fF., xlix. 2, 
 1. 4f.) which had seemed to be cut short by his death, but will be 
 resumed and crowned with success in his exalted state. 
 
 shall my righteous servant justify many] Rather : sliall a righteous 
 one, my servant, make the many righteous ; but the Hebr. is very 
 peculiar. The ordinary sense of the word for ''justify" ("declare 
 righteous") is here unsuitable, and the only other passage where it bears 
 the ethical sense of "making righteous" is probably based on this verse 
 (Dan, xii. 3, "they that turn the many to righteousness"). The many 
 contains a reference to lii. 14 f The clause would read more smoothly 
 if we could suppose that the word rendered "a righteous one" has 
 arisen through dittography ; but the source of the difficulty probably lies 
 deeper. 
 
 he shall bear their iniquities'] Cf. v. 4. 
 
 12. As the reward of his unmerited sufferings and his mediatorial 
 work, the Servant shall attain an influence equal to that of the great 
 potentates of the world. To "divide spoil" is a figurative and pro- 
 verbial expression for victory or success; Pro v. xvi. 19 ("It is better to 
 be of lowly spirit with the meek than to divide spoil with the proud"). 
 It is therefore not necessarily implied that the Servant's future greatness 
 will be political, although that is certainly suggested. 
 
 Instead oi will I divide, the LXX. reads "he shall inherit" (which is 
 perhaps preferable as avoiding the recurrence of the same verb in two 
 consecutive lines), but it is a mistake of some authorities to follow this 
 version in treating the "many" as direct obj. of the verb; the sense 
 must be either "he shall inherit," or "I will give him a share" amongst 
 the many. 
 
 The latter part of the verse returns to the great contrast that runs 
 through the passage, between the true meaning of the Servant's afflictions 
 and the false construction put on them. 
 
 because he poured out (omit "hath" with R.V.) his soul] his blood, 
 which is the seat of life ; Lev. xvii. i r. For the expression cf Ps. cxli. 8. 
 
 zvas numbered with the rebels] See v. 9. Cited Mark xv. 28 ; 
 Luke xxii. 37. 
 
134 ISAIAH, LIII. [v. 12. 
 
 And he bare the sin of many, 
 
 And made intercession for the transgressors. 
 
 and he bare Qfc.'\ whereas he bare, the true vie^\' of his death as 
 opposed to the false judgement of men, — a circumstantial clause. 
 
 for the transgressors] for the rebellious, the class to which he was 
 himself reckoned. 
 
 Although several things in this marvellous description of the innocent 
 suffering for the guilty be obscure, the salient features of the picture 
 stand out with great clearness. Whether the portrait be that of an 
 individual or of a personified community is a question that need not 
 here be discussed (see Appendix, Note I.). If there be personification it 
 is as consistently maintained as it is vividly conceived, and we are hardly 
 entitled to assume that the writer has anywhere allowed the collective 
 reality to peer through the veil of allegory. The fig-nre broug ht on the. 
 scene is that of a man, s o marred and deformed by revolting sickness 
 as to be universally shunned and despised and maltreated as one bearing 
 the manifest tokens of the divine displeasure; yet the dignity and 
 patience of his demeanour profoundly impresses his contemporaries, so 
 that after his death their thoughts are irresistibly drawn back to the 
 tragedy of his fate, and they come to the conviction that he was indeed 
 what he professed to be, the Servant of Jehovah, that he was the one 
 innocent person in his generation, and that his sufferings were due not 
 to his personal guilt, but to the guilt of a whole nation, which is by 
 them atoned for and taken away. And finally it is prophesied con- 
 cerning him that he shall rise again, to the astonishment of the whole 
 world, and that his career shall be crowned with success even more con- 
 spicuous than his humiliation had been. — It has already been pointed 
 out that this conception of the Servant has certain afifinities with the 
 figure of Job, and it may be partly moulded on the story of that patri- 
 arch's trial. But the religious teaching of this passage moves on a 
 different plane from that of the Book of Job. The problem of individual 
 retribution, of how it can be that the righteous suffei-, does not seem to 
 have been present to the mind of the writer, although he no doubt 
 furnishes an important contribution to the solution of that mystery. 
 This is found in the idea of vicarious suiTering, which is so emphatically 
 expressed throughout the passage. Now the principle that the indi- 
 vidual bears the guilt of the community to w^hich he belongs was 
 perfectly familiar to the ancient woi-ld, and many startling applications 
 of it occur in the O.T. (Josh. vii. 24; 2 Sam. xxi. 6 &c.). It is true 
 that it had begun to excite protest towards the time of the Exile (Deut. 
 xxiv. 16; 2 Ki. xiv. 6; Jer. xxxi. 29; Ez. xviii. 20); but this prophet 
 accepts the principle and discerns in it a moral significance by which it 
 is deprived of the appearance of arbitrariness or injustice. The essence 
 of the Servant's sacrifice lies in the fact that whilst himself innocent he 
 acquiesces in the divine judgement on sin, and willingly endures it for the 
 sake of his people. And it is the perception of this truth on the part of 
 the people that brings home to them the sense of their own guilt, and 
 removes the obstacle which their impenitence had interposed to Jehovah's 
 
V. I.] ISAIAH, LIV. 135 
 
 Sing, O barren, thou tJiai didst not bear; 54 
 
 Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou 
 that didst not travail with child: 
 
 purpose of salvation. The suffering of the innocent on behalf of the 
 guilty is thus seen to be a moral necessity, since it Was only through such 
 sufferings as the sinless Servant of the Lord was alone capable of, that 
 punishment could reach its end in the taking avi^ay of sin and the 
 bringing in of everlasting righteousness. 
 
 Ch. LIV. The Future Felicity of Zion, reunited to 
 Jehovah in an Everlasting Covenant. 
 
 The chapter continues the series of oracles of consolation which com- 
 mences at xlix. 14, and is broken by the two passages on the Servant of 
 the Lord in 1. 4 — 11 and lii. 13 — liii. 12. The direct influence of the 
 latter passage on ch. liv. is less obvious than might have been expected 
 from the singularly profound conceptions there unfolded of the work of 
 Jehovah's Servant. The points of contact adduced by some comment- 
 ators are few and unessential, and they fall into insignificance by the 
 side of the fact that "it cannot be shown that any of the characteristic 
 ideas of ch. liii. are clearly referred to in ch. liv." (Cheyne.) Yet the 
 supposition that this chapter was originally the sequel to lii. 12 and that 
 the intervening prophecy was inserted by an afterthought is neither 
 necessary nor altogether natural. The summons to depart from Babylon 
 (lii. II, 12) marks a pause in the development of the prophet's thought, 
 and (just as after the similar apostrophe in xlviii. 20 — 22) a fresh point 
 of departure is found in the idea of the Servant of the Lord. Moreover, 
 although it may not be possible to trace the direct dependence of ch. liv. 
 on ch. liii., we may nevertheless suppose a real connexion between the 
 two in the prophet's mind. The two chapters deal with the same sub- 
 ject from two distinct standpoints. Whatever view be held as to the 
 Servant's personality, there is no doubt that his. exaltation implies the 
 restoration of Israel, and that his work is the indispensable condition of 
 that restoration being accomplished. Thus while ch. liii. describes the 
 inward process of conversion by which the nation is made righteous, 
 ch. liv. describes the outward deliverance which is the result ; and the 
 impression is probably correct that the glowing hopes here uttered are 
 sustained in the last resort by the contemplation of the Servant's mission 
 as described in ch. liii. 
 
 The chapter consists of two sections : — 
 
 i. 1,1,, 1 — xo. (i) Zion, addressed as a barren and desolate woman, 
 is comforted with the assurance that her children are more numerous 
 than those she formerly had as the "married wife" of Jehovah. She is 
 bidden to extend her tent so as to receive them, for they shall spread 
 abroad on every side, peopling the deserted cities and taking possession 
 of the territory of the Gentiles {w. 1—3). (2) The shame of her youth 
 and the reproach of widowhood are wiped out by her reconciliation to 
 Jehovah, her Husband and her Maker {w. 4 — 6). (3) It will be seen 
 
136 ISAIAH, LiV. [vv. 2—4. 
 
 For more are the children of the desolate than 
 
 the children of the married wife, saith the 
 
 Lord. 
 Enlarge the place of thy tent, 
 And let them stretch forth the curtains of thine 
 
 habitations : 
 Spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes ; 
 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the 
 
 left; 
 And thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, 
 And make the desolate cities to be inhabited. 
 Fear not ; for thou shalt not be ashamed : 
 
 that her rejection was but a brief withdrawal of Jehovah's favour for 
 her ; her restoration now is final, resting on a covenant as unchangeable 
 as the oath to Noah, or the everlasting mountains {vv. 7 — 10). 
 
 ii. vv. II — 17. Jerusalem shall be rebuilt in lavish magnificence 
 [^v. II, Id); her citizens, being all disciples of Jehovah, shall enjoy 
 perfect peace, undisturbed by the thought of oppression (13, 14); her 
 enemies shall be confounded, and no weapon forged against her shall 
 prosper (15—17). 
 
 1 — 3. The ideal Zion is called upon to rejoice in the multitude of 
 her children. As in ch. xlix. 21, the children are conceived as already 
 born, and waiting to be acknowledged by their mother. 
 
 }nore are the children of the desolate (2 Sam. xiii. 20) Ssfc.'X The con- 
 trast is not between Zion and other cities, but between Zion's present 
 and her past : even now in her widowhood and barrenness she has more 
 children than she had before her separation from her Husband. 
 
 the jnarried 'wife\ Cf. ch. Ixii. 4; Gen. xx. 3; Deut. xxii. 22. The 
 image of the verse is applied by St Paul to the contrast between the 
 spiritual and the earthly Jerusalem; i.e. the church of Christ and the 
 Jewish community (Gal. iv. 27). 
 
 2. The idea of the verse is expressed in xlix. 20, 21 ; for the figure of 
 the tent (in an opposite sense) cf. Jer. x. 20. 
 
 The curtains are the tent-hangings (Jer. xlix. 29; Hab. iii. 7), the 
 stakes^ the tent-pegs (ch. xxxiii. 20). 
 
 The words spare not should, according to the accents, be joined to the 
 preceding clause. 
 
 3. The tent must be larger than of old, for the new community shall 
 spread abroad (cf. Gen. xxviii. 14, xxx. 30, 43) on the right hand and 
 on the left, i.e. in all directions. 
 
 inherit the Gentiles'] take possession of nations (cf. Gen. xxii. 17, 
 xxiv. 60). The reference is not to be limited to the heathen who had 
 occupied the soil of Palestine ; although the desolate cities in the parallel 
 clause are no doubt primarily those of the holy land. 
 
 4 — 6. Zion shall forget her former shame in the joy of reconciliation 
 to her God. 
 
vv. 5, 6.] ISAIAH, LIV. 137 
 
 Neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put 
 
 to shame : 
 For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, 
 And shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood 
 
 any more. 
 For thy Maker is thine husband; 5 
 
 The Lord of hosts is his name ; 
 And thy redeemer the Holy One of Israel; 
 The God of the whole earth shall he be called. 
 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and 6 
 
 grieved in spirit, 
 And a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy 
 
 God. 
 
 4. the reproach of thy widoivhood clearly refers to the period of the 
 Exile when Zion regarded herself as cast off by Jehovah. The sense of 
 the shame of thy youth is less obvious. Since the conception has some 
 affinities with the striking allegory in Ezek. xvi. it is probable that the 
 reference goes back to the origin of the nation (cf. Ezek. xvi. 4 — 8) ; 
 the reference being to the Egyptian oppression. 
 
 6. thy Maker is thine husband\ Rather, tliy husband is thy Maker: 
 He who has entered into this closest and tenderest of relations is none 
 other than He who made thee. " Husband " in the original is a partic ; 
 lit. " he who marries thee "; and both nouns are in the plural after the 
 analogy of words like ddontm ( = lord, the so-called plural of majesty). 
 
 thy redeemer^ See on xli. 14. 
 
 shall he be called] Perhaps, is lie called, parallel to "is his name." 
 The ground of comfort lies in the thought that He who acknowledges 
 Zion as His wife is the God of the whole earth, the ruler of all the forces 
 of the universe. 
 
 6. Although Zion is temporarily estranged from Jehovah, she is' yet 
 a "wife of youth" holding a permanent place in her husband's 
 affections. 
 
 For the Lord hath called thee] i.e. "calls thee" now (Cheyne, 
 "hath recalled thee"). The reference is not to the first espousals of 
 the nation at the exodus, but to the renewal of conjugal intercourse in 
 the restoration from exile. 
 
 as a wife (R.V.) forsaken and grieved in spirit] neglected by her 
 husband, and left to her own bitter reflexions, but not cast off. Cf. 
 Hos. iii. 3. 
 
 and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused] R.V. "even a wife of 
 youth, when she is cast off.'' The clause is difficult. Probably it is an 
 exclamation : and a wife of youth— can she be rejected ? (so Cheyne, 
 after Ewald) ; it is impossible that she should be finally disowned. 
 
 a wife of youth^ one who has been wooed and won in youth ; Prov. 
 V. i8; Mai. ii. i4f. 
 
138 ISAIAH, LIV. [w. 7— ii. 
 
 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; 
 
 But with great mercies will I gather thee. 
 
 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a mo- 
 ment; 
 
 But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, 
 
 Saith the Lord thy redeemer. 
 
 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me : 
 
 For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no 
 more go over the earth ; 
 
 So have I sworn that / would not be wroth with thee, nor 
 rebuke thee. 
 
 For the mountains shall depart. 
 
 And the hills be removed ; 
 
 But my kindness shall not depart from thee. 
 
 Neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, 
 
 Saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. 
 
 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not com- 
 forted, 
 
 7, 8. Jehovah's anger was but a momentary interruption of His 
 kindness to Israel ; His mercy is everlasting. Comp. Ps. xxx. 5. 
 
 will I gather thee] can hardly mean "draw thee to myself"; it 
 denotes the gathering together of the scattered children of Zion. 
 
 8, In a little wrath'] In an outbreak of wrath (Heb. she^eph qi^eph). 
 The word she^eph is probably another form (chosen for the sake of 
 assonance) of sheteph which occurs in Prov. xxvii. 4. 
 
 9, 10. The permanence of the new covenant relation is illustrated 
 first by the promise made to Noah, of which the rainbow is the per- 
 petual token, and then by the steadfastness of the unchanging hills. 
 
 Tor this is as the waters of Noah unto me] Or, according to the 
 reading of several MSS. and the ancient versions (though not the 
 LXX.), As the days of Noah is this (i.e. the present juncture) to me 
 (see R.V. marg.). The difference of reading is very slight, consisting 
 merely in the conjunction of two words which the received text sepa- 
 rates (^D^D for "•D ""D). The second alternative is better. 
 
 for as / have sworn c^'c] as I have sworn &c. (omitting "for"). 
 Comp. Gen. viii. 21 f., ix. 11 — 17. The absence of any mention of an 
 oath in the narrative is immaterial. 
 
 10, Comp. Ps. xlvi. 1 f. ; Hab. iii. 6. 
 
 The first sentence may be rendered concessively : Though the moun- 
 tains should remove and the hills be shaken, yet &c. 
 
 my covenant of peace] (R.V.) Ezek. xxxiv, 25, xxxvii. 26 ; Mai. ii. 5. 
 that hath compassion] as xlix. 10. 
 
 11, 12. The outward splendour of the new Jerusalem described in 
 highly figurative language; comp. Tob. xiii. 16, 17; Rev. xxi. 18 — 2i. 
 
I 
 
 vv. 12—14.] ISAIAH, LIV. 139 
 
 Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, 
 And lay thy foundations with sapphires. 
 And I will make thy windows of agates, 12 
 
 And thy gates of carbuncles. 
 And all thy borders of pleasant stones. 
 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; 13 
 And great shall be the peace of thy children. 
 In righteousness shalt thou be established : 14 
 
 Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not 
 fear: 
 
 / will lay thy stones 7v/th fair colours] lit. in antimony (R.V. 
 niarg.). Antimony {pilkh) was used by Oriental females as an eye- 
 powder to blacken the edges of the eyelids and enhance the lustre of 
 the eyes (2 Ki. ix. 30; Jer. iv. 30; comp. the name of Job's third 
 daughter, Keren-hap-pukh, 'horn of eye-powder,' Job xlii. 14. See 
 further Lane, Manners and Customs^ &c. ed. 1890, pp. 29 ff.). In the 
 figure the antimony would represent the costly mortar used to set off 
 the brilliancy of the still more costly stones. The dvdpaKa of the 
 LXX. seems to stand for "jDJ (instead of "jlQ), a kind of precious stone; 
 see Ex. xxviii. 18 &c. In i Chron. xxix. 2, where we read of "stones 
 oi pAkh " (R.V. " stones for inlaid work ") prepared for the Temple, the 
 idea must be different ; but whether that passage has any connexion with 
 the present image is doubtful. 
 
 / will lay thy foundations (lit. **I will found thee") with sapphires'] 
 Ex. xxiv. 10 ; Ezek. i. 26. 
 
 12. thy windows] Rather as R.V. pinnacles. The word is derived 
 from that for "sun," and appears to denote those parts of the building 
 which glitter in the sun's rays. (Comp. the Arab, "minaret," used 
 primarily of a lantern or a lighthouse.) 
 
 agates] (Ezek. xxvii. 16) "sparkling" stone, perhaps rubies (so R.V.). 
 
 carbuncles] (only here) "fiery" stones; although the LXX. renders 
 "stones of crystal." 
 
 all thy borders] R.V. border, perhaps the outer wall (the ireplreLxos, 
 see on ch. xxvi. i). 
 
 13. 14. The righteousness, peace and security of the inhabitants. 
 taug-ht of the Lord] lit. disciples of Jehovah, initiated in the true 
 
 knowledge of God, and obedient to His will. Cf. Jer. xxxi. 34; John 
 vi. 45. The expression is probably suggested by what the Sei-vant of 
 Jehovah says of himself in ch. 1. 4; the idea being that the citizens of 
 the new Jerusalem shall be the spiritual seed of the servant. 
 
 14. In righteousness shalt thou be established] (lit. shalt thou 
 establish thyself) cf. Prov. xxiv. 3. "Righteousness" may describe 
 the character of the citizens, but more probably it means that the 
 position of the commonwealth is unassailable because based on right 
 — on conformity to the divine order (see v. 17). 
 
 thou shalt be far from oppression] lit. be thou far from oppression 
 
I40 ISAIAH, LIV. [vv. 15—17. 
 
 And from terror; for it shall not come near thee. 
 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by 
 
 me : 
 Whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for 
 
 thy sake. 
 Behold, I have created the smith 
 That bloweth the coals in the fire. 
 And that bringeth forth an instrument for his work ; 
 And I have created the waster to destroy. 
 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; 
 And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment 
 
 thou shalt condemn. 
 
 (R.V. marg.), i.e. let it be far from thy thoughts. Here it is obvious 
 from the context that "oppression" is not wrong perpetrated within 
 the city, but external oppression which might be inflicted by its enemies. 
 
 thou shah not fear] i.e. hast no cause to fear. 
 
 terror] or destruction. 
 
 15. The verse is somewhat difficult. The rendering "gather to- 
 gether" can hardly be defended, and moreover it does not suit the 
 construction ("against," in the second line, is really "with"). The 
 verb is perhaps best explained as a by-form of a root meaning to "stir 
 up" (strife) or pick a quarrel (Prov. xv. 18). The sense would be: 
 If (any) should stir up strife (it is) not of me ; whosoever stirs up 
 strife with thee shall fall, &c. (See R.V. and marg.) 
 
 fall because of thee] or perhaps " fall upon thee" to his own ruin (cf. 
 ch. viii. 14 f.). R.V. marg. suggests "fall away to thee," i.e. go over to 
 thy side, which is the sense given by some of the ancient versions. The 
 phrase has this meaning in Jer. xxi. 9, xxxvii. 14 ("fall away to the 
 Chaldaeans"), but it is little appropriate in this verse. 
 
 16. 17. No weapon formed against Zion shall prosper, because both 
 the makers of weapons and those who use them are alike created by 
 Jehovah, and all their activity is under His control. 
 
 the smith that bloweth the fire of coals (R.V.)] Cf. ch. xliv. 12. 
 
 an instrument for his work] rather for its work, or perhaps "accord- 
 ing to its work," adapted to the particular work for which it is intended, — 
 a scythe for reaping, a sword for slaughter, and so on. The smith will 
 turn out anything, amongst other things deadly weapons, but all by the 
 permission of Jehovah who has made him. 
 
 the xvaster to destroy] Not "to destroy the weapon that the smith has 
 made"; the "waster" is the one for whose use the weapon is made; he 
 also is the creature of Jehovah. 
 
 17. Israel therefore has no cause to fear any material weapon, and 
 even the Satanic weapon of false accusations, which assail her righteous 
 standing before God, she shall be able to foil. 
 
 every to)igue...thon shall condemn] i.e. shew to be in the wrong 
 (cf. ch. 1. 8 f.). 
 
17.] ISAIAH, LIV. 141 
 
 This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, 
 And their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. 
 
 This is the heritage dr'C.} A concluding summary. **This," viz., all 
 the blessings just enumerated, peace, righteousness, security, triumph 
 over opposition. 
 
 of the servants of the LORD] The title "servants of Jehovah" (in the 
 plural) has not hitherto been used in the prophecy (with the doubtful 
 exception of ch. xliv. 26, where it denotes the prophets). It is possible 
 that its occurrence here forms a link of connexion between this chapter 
 and the last. The ideal represented by the Servant of Jehovah is now 
 reproduced in each individual member of the new Israel; they are all 
 of the spiritual seed which was promised to him, and the salvation 
 they enjoy is the fruit of the travail of his soul (liii. 10, 11). It is 
 noteworthy, at all events, that while from this point the Israelites 
 are spoken of as servants of Jehovah, the ideal Servant is never again 
 mentioned. 
 
 a7td their righteousness is ofnie] Rather, and (this is) their righteous- 
 ness from me. The righteousness, or justification, bestowed on them 
 by Jehovah (cf Ps. xxiv. 5) is manifested in such blessedness as has 
 just been spoken of. 
 
 Ch. LV. a Call to Individuals to embrace the 
 COMING Salvation. 
 
 (i) vv. I — 5. A gracious invitation to the blessings of the new 
 Covenant. 
 
 (i) Salvation freely offered to the thirsty. Addressing those who 
 are engaged in the pursuit of earthly good, the prophet, in the name of 
 Jehovah, promises them the complete satisfaction of their wants by 
 accepting a share in the kingdom of God {vv. i, 2). 
 
 (2) On the condition of obedience Jehovah will make an everlasting 
 Covenant with them, incorporating them in the Messianic community, 
 in which the promises made to the house of David shall be realised 
 ipv. 3—5). 
 
 (ii) vv. 6 — 13. This kingdom is at hand. 
 
 (i) The summons {vv. i ff.) is urgent, for Jehovah is near ; now is the 
 day of grace when He may be sought and found, and when even the 
 wicked may obtain pardon through repentance {vv. 6, 7). 
 
 (2) Jehovah is in truth near, although His thoughts and purposes are 
 too exalted to be apprehended by the narrow and earth-bound vision 
 of selfish men {vv. 8, 9). 
 
 (3) Already the word has gone forth which is to renew the world 
 and bring in the eternal redemption; it shall no more return empty 
 than the rain and the snow return to heaven without having fertilized 
 the earth {vv. 10, 11). 
 
 (4) The prophet here reverts to an image frequent in the earlier 
 discourses. The great deliverance is on the eve of being accomplished ; 
 the exiles shall go out (from Babylon) with joy, and the noble trees 
 
142 ISAIAH, LV. [v. I. 
 
 55 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, 
 And he that hath no money ; 
 Come ye, buy, and eat ; 
 
 Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and with- 
 out price. 
 
 which spring up along their desert journey shall remain as an everlast- 
 ing memorial of Jehovah's power {vv. 12, 13). 
 
 1, 2. The invitation. The message of the Gospel — its freeness, its 
 appeal to the individual, its answer to the cravings of the heart — is 
 nowhere in the O.T. more clearly foreshadowed than in this truly 
 evangelical passage (cf. John iv. 10 ff., vi. 35 ff., vii. 37 f.; Rev. xxi. 6, 
 xxii. 17; also Prov. ix. iff.; Ecclus. xv. 3). The promises are of 
 course not to be materialised, as if water, bread, wine, milk were 
 meant literally, or merely as symbols of comfortable earthly existence in 
 Palestine. At the same time when we seek to recover the original 
 historical sense of the words, there is a possibility of spiritualising over- 
 much. The images used do, indeed, typify the blessings of salvation; but 
 salvation itself in the O.T. is never without a national and therefore 
 earthly element. Those here addressed are exiles (see v. 12), many of 
 whom had doubtless carried out only too thoroughly the injunction of 
 Jeremiah to "build houses and dwell in them; to plant gardens and eat the 
 fruit of them ; to take wives «S:c." in Babylon Qer. xxix. 6). They were 
 in danger of losing their nationality, and with it their religion and their 
 own souls through devotion to selfish and material aims. This is the 
 fate against which the prophet warns them in v. 2 ; and the salvation he 
 offers is a personal interest in the new covenant, or membership in 
 the kingdom of God. To this they are freely invited, with the as- 
 surance that there they shall find the satisfaction and blessedness that a 
 life of worldliness can never yield. 
 
 1. every one that t/m'stefh] in a figurative sense, primarily of the 
 weariness and discontent of exile (cf. xli. 17, xliv. 3), but also of conscious 
 need in general. 
 
 come (lit. "go" and so throughout) ye to the waters'] The image is 
 probably connected with xli. 18, the miraculous fountain opened by 
 Jehovah for the relief of His people ("wells of salvation," ch. xii. 3). 
 A reference to the cry of the water-sellers in the streets of an Oriental 
 city is less natural. 
 
 and he that hath no money] In the East access to a well has often 
 to be paid for. According to the Heb. accents this clause should be 
 joined to the preceding, — "even he that hath no money" — in apposition 
 with "thirsty." The word for fiuy is connected with a noun meaning 
 "grain" and is only used of buying corn. It should probably be so 
 understood in both cases here, although in the second its government 
 extends over two similar objects. The last clause must then be 
 rendered, buy corn without money, and without price wine and milk. 
 
 2. Whilst the religious life is a receiving without spending, the 
 worldly life is a continual spending without lasting profit or satisfaction. 
 
vv. 2, 3.] ISAIAH, LV. 143 
 
 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not 2 
 
 bread ? 
 And your labour for that ivhich satisfieth not? 
 Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is 
 
 good, 
 And let your soul delight itself in fatness. 
 Incline your ear, and come unto me : 3 
 
 Hear, and your soul shall live ; 
 And I will make an everlasting covenant with you. 
 Even the sure mercies of David. 
 
 spend mo7tey\ lit. ** weigh silver. " yotir labour^ your earnings 
 
 (as ch. xlv. 14). 
 
 hearken diligently 6^r. ] Or, if ye but hearken to me ye shall eat • 
 good, and your soul shall &c. (See Davidson's Syntax, § 86t; and 
 § 132 b). 
 
 delight Itself (ch. Iviii. 14, Ixvi. ii) in fatness^ the choicest and most 
 nourishing food (cf. ch. xxv. 6). 
 
 3 — 5. The offer of vv. i, 2 is summed up in the promise of an ever- 
 lasting covenant. See ch. xlii. 6, xlix. 8 ; and cf. Ixi. 8 ; Jer. xxxii. 40, 
 xxxi. 31—33- 
 
 Incline your ear &^^.] The condition imposed is simply the con- 
 sent and submission of the heart to the divine will. 
 
 an everlasting covenant... the sure niercies of David\ i.e. the mercies 
 (lovingkindnesses) irrevocably promised to David and his house. 
 Comp. the "Last Words of David," 2 Sam. xxiii, 5 ("an everlasting 
 covenant ordered in all things and secured"), Ps. xviii. 50 ("shewing 
 lovingkindness...to David and to his seed for ever"), Ixxxix. 28 ("for 
 ever will I keep my lovingkindness to him, and my covenant is sure to 
 him"), and v. 49; and the great promise to which all these passages 
 point, 2 Sam. vii. 8 — 16. The comparison of the everlasting covenant 
 to these Davidic "mercies" cannot mean simply that the one is as sure 
 as the other. It is identity rather than comparison that is implied, 
 the idea being that the contents of the covenant are the same as 
 the mercies promised to David, and that it will be the fulfilment of 
 the hopes that clustered round the Davidic dynasty. But an intricate 
 question arises with respect to the sense in which this fulfilment is to be 
 understood in the next two verses. 
 
 4, 6. {a) Most modern authorities hold that the person spoken of 
 in V. 4 is the historical David, and that vv. 4 and 5 institute a parallel 
 between the position he occupied in the heathen world of his time and 
 that which Israel shall occupy in the future; the thought expressed, 
 therefore, is that the Messianic hope is transferred from the dynasty to 
 the nation. The view is thus succinctly stated by Driver; "as David 
 became ruler of subject nations (2 Sam. viii.), a knowledge of his 
 religion, however imperfect, spread among them; thus he was a 
 'witness' to them. This position of David is idealised in Ps. xviii. 43 
 
144 ISAIAH, LV. [v. 4. 
 
 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, 
 A leader and commander to the people. 
 
 (*Thou makest me a head of nations ; a people whom I have not known 
 shall serve me'') ; and the position, as thus idealised, is here enlarged, 
 and extended in a spiritual sense to Israel (z/. 5)." {Isaiah^, p, 156.) 
 (3) Others think that the reference in v. 4 is to the future Messianic 
 king (who is called David in Jer. xxx. 9; Ezek. xxxiv. 23 f.), so that 
 the two verses represent under two aspects the future greatness of 
 Israel, {c) An intermediate position is taken by some, viz., that v. 4 
 goes back to the promise made to David, but regards it as one 
 destined to be fulfilled in the person of his son the Messiah. It is 
 very difficult to decide between these conflicting explanations. Against 
 {b) and {c) it is urged (i) that the tenses in v. 4 are perfects and are 
 naturally understood of the historic past, since those of v. 5 are futures. 
 • (2) The idea of a personal Messiah appears nowhere else in the prophecy. 
 (3) A further objection, which however savours of fastidiousness, is that 
 the Messiah is never named David absolutely^ even in Jer. xxx. and 
 Ezek. xxxiv. On the other side it may be said, (i) that the distinction 
 of tense is accounted for by the fact that v. 4 speaks of what is really 
 past (viz. Jehovah's decree concerning the Messiah), whereas v. 5 refers 
 to a consequence still to be manifested. (2) Although the idea of the 
 Messiah is not found elsewhere in the book, there is nothing in the 
 prophet's conceptions inconsistent with it ; where he thinks of Israel 
 as a restored nation he will naturally think of it as represented by 
 a Davidic king. (3) Neither in the fundamental passage (2 Sam. vii.) 
 nor in any of those which point back to it (2 Sam. xxiii. ; Ps. xviii., 
 Ixxxix.) is anything said of David being a "witness" to the true 
 religion; and it could hardly occur to anyone to think of him as in 
 the first instance a witness and in the second a prince. The third 
 view (r) seems on the whole the best ; the original covenant guarantees 
 an endless dominion to the family of David, and after the restoration 
 this will assume a spiritual character and expand into universal 
 empire in the reign of the Messiah. This interpretation, however, 
 is complicated by the further question as to the relation of :he 
 Messiah to the Servant of the Lord. If the Servant be the ideal Israel 
 there is of course no difficulty; the two conceptions stand side by side 
 and are independent. But if he be an individual, he is almost neces- 
 sarily to be identified with the ideal king, although features are thus 
 introduced into the portrait of the Messiah of which hardly a trace is 
 found in the subsequent literature, until the conception of Messiahship 
 through suffering and death was realised in Christ. 
 
 4. Behold, I have given hini] Better, I have appointed him ; or, 
 if we adopt the view (a) above, "I set him" (aorist). 
 
 for a witness] of Jehovah's power and faithfulness (cf, xliii. 10, 
 xliv. 8). 
 
 to the people] peoples (as R.V.). 
 
 a leader] The word ndgid (ruler or prince) is used in 2 Sam. vii. 8 of 
 David's kingship over Israel. ^ 
 
vv. 5— lo.j ISAIAH, LV. 145 
 
 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, 5 
 And nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee 
 Because of the Lord thy God, 
 
 And for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified 
 thee. 
 
 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, 6 
 
 Call ye upon him while he is near : 
 
 Let the wicked forsake his way, 7 
 
 And the unrighteous man his thoughts : 
 
 And let him return unto the Lord, and he will have 
 
 mercy upon him ; 
 And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 
 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 8 
 
 Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 
 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 9 
 
 So are my ways higher than your ways, 
 And my thoughts than your thoughts. 
 For as the rain cometh down, t< 
 
 5. thou (Israel) shalt call a nation tSr-r.] i.e. many a nation (see on 
 ch. XXV. 3) hitherto unknown to thee. 
 
 because of the LORD dfc.} Cf. ch. xlix. 7. 
 glorified thee} Cf. xHv. 23, xHx. 3. 
 
 6, 7. The call to repentance, because of the nearness of the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 7vhile he may he found... while he is near} in the "acceptable time" 
 the "day of salvation" (ch. xlix. 8). Comp. further Jer. xxix. 12 — 14. 
 
 7. the unrighteous man} lit., "the man of evil" or falsehood. 
 
 8, 9. Jehovah's thoughts transcend those of man as much as the 
 heaven is higher than the earth. The point of the contrast is not 
 the moral quality of the Divine thoughts as opposed to those of the 
 "wicked"; the thoughts and ways of Jehovah are His purposes of 
 redemption, which are too vast and sublime to be measured by the 
 narrow conceptions of despairing minds (xl. 27 f ). Comp. Jer. xxix. 11 
 (*'I know the thoughts that I entertain towards you, thoughts of peace 
 and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope"), Mic. iv. 12. The 
 verses, therefore, furnish a motive not merely for repentance but also for 
 eager and expectant hope. 
 
 10, 11. This purpose of salvation is embodied in the word which 
 goes forth from Jehovah's mouth. The "word" is conceived as en- 
 dowed with a self-fulfilling energy (see on ch. ix. 8) ; and its silent but 
 irresistible efficacy is set forth by a beautiful comparison from nature. 
 The same idea was expressed in ch. xl. 8. 
 
 as the rain cometh down &^c.} The image is suggested by "the 
 heavens" in v. 9. *' 
 
 ISAIAH II. 10 
 
146 ISAIAH, LV. LVI. [vv. 11—13. 1. 
 
 And the snow from heaven, 
 And returneth not thither. 
 But watereth the earth, 
 And maketh it bring forth and bud, 
 That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the 
 eater : 
 
 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth : 
 It shall not return unto me void, 
 
 But it shall accomplish that which I please, 
 And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 
 
 12 For ye shall go out with joy. 
 And be led forth with peace : 
 
 The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you 
 
 i7ito singing, 
 And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 
 
 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, 
 
 And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle 
 
 tree : 
 And it shall be to the Lord for a name, 
 For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. 
 
 56 Thus saith the Lord, 
 
 Keep ye judgment, and do justice : 
 For my salvation is near to come, 
 
 but waierclh'] Rather, without having watered &c. 
 seed to the sower and bread to the eater'] Cf. 2 Cor. ix. 10. 
 
 11. return... void] empty, having achieved nothing, as 2 Sam. i. 27. 
 but it shall accomplish] without having accomplished, as in v. 10. 
 
 12. 13. The joyful exodus from Babylon; this is the "thing whereto 
 Jehovah has sent" His word. 
 
 and be led forth] by Jehovah in person, ch. xl. 10, Hi. 12. Cf. JNIic. 
 ii. 13. 
 
 shall clap their hands] Ps. xcviii, 8 ; Ezek. xxv. 6. 
 
 13. The word for thorn occurs again only in ch. vii. 19. That for 
 brier {sirpdd) is unknown. LXX. renders Kbvv^a. (fleabane). All that 
 can be said is that some desert plant is meant. On fir-tree (cypress) 
 and myrtle tree, see on ch. xli. 19. 
 
 for a 7tame...for a sign] i.e. a memorial to His praise. The meaning 
 appears to be that the marvellous vegetation so often alluded to as 
 springing up in the desert as the procession of the redeemed passes 
 through, shall remain throughout the future ages as a monument to 
 Jehovah. It shews at least (Dillmann, etc.) that the conception is not 
 to be regarded as a mere poetical figure. 
 
V. 2.] ISAIAH, LVI. 147 
 
 And my righteousness to be revealed. 
 Blessed is the man that doeth this, 
 
 Ch. LVI. 1 — 8. Removal of the religious Disabilities of 
 Eunuchs and Proselytes. 
 
 (i) The passage opens with a general exhortation to righteous con- 
 duct and a correct religious attitude, to be manifested by a strict regard 
 for the sanctity of the Sabbath {vv. 1, 2). (2) The main subject of the 
 oracle is then introduced, viz., the fears entertained by foreigners and 
 eunuchs that they would be excluded from participation in the blessings 
 of the covenant {v. 3). (3) To the latter class is promised the signal 
 honour of a monument in the Temple and a name "better than sons and 
 daughters," i.e. more than compensating for the loss of that perpetua- 
 tion through posterity of which a cruel fate had deprived them [vv. 4, 5). 
 (4) In like manner the "sons of the stranger" are reassured by the 
 confirmation of their right to a full share in the worship of the new 
 Temple {vv. 6, 7a). {5) The principle on which this privilege rests is 
 stated in all its breadth and spirituality, viz., the destiny of the religion 
 of Israel to supersede distinctions of race and to unite men of all nations 
 in the common worship of the true God (7 <5, 8). 
 
 The short oracle stands in no veiy close connexion either with what 
 precedes or with what follows. Although it has often been treated as 
 an appendix to ch. Iv., its real affinities seem rather to be with the 
 group of prophecies which follow. Like them it presents features 
 which are thought by some recent critics to point to a period subsequent 
 to the return of the first exiles from Babylon (see Introduction, pp. Iv — 
 Ix). It is urged that the religious status of the two classes referred 
 to would hardly become a practical question until the new community 
 was formed; that the adhesion of proselytes is spoken of by the second 
 Isaiah as a natural consequence of Israel's exaltation (xliv. 5), and that 
 nothing that happened prior to the release of the Jews is likely to have 
 given rise to such misgivings as are expressed in v. 3. Further, that 
 the most obvious inference from vv. 7 ^, 8 is that the Temple is already 
 in existence, and ihzXpart of Israel has already been gathered. These 
 indications, taken in conjunction with many references in chs. Ivii. ff., 
 render it probable that we are here face to face with the problems 
 raised by the situation of the new Jewish community in Palestine. 
 
 1, 2. The exhortation to righteousness is based on the nearness of 
 Jehovah's salvation (cf. xlvi. 13, Iv. 6). Justice should be righteous- 
 ness (as in R.V.), the same word as in the last line of the verse, but in 
 a different sense. In the first case righteousness means conformity to 
 the law of God (cf. Iviii. 2), in the second it is, as often, equivalent to 
 salvation. The thought that salvation is near is as characteristic of the 
 later chapters of this book as of chs. xl. — Iv. (see Ivii. 14, Iviii. 8ff., lix. 
 15 ff., Ix. iff., Ixii. 6 &c.), but it is equally prominent in the post- 
 Exilic prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The establish- 
 ment of the Jews in their own land had not realised the glorious 
 predictions connected with it in xl. — Iv. ; yet the conviction remained 
 
 10 2 
 
148 ISAIAH, LVI. [v. 3. 
 
 And the son of man that layeth hold on it; 
 
 That keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, 
 
 And keepeth his hand from doing any evil. 
 
 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined 
 
 himself to the Lord, speak, saying. 
 The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people : 
 Neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 
 
 immoveable that the final act of redemption was at hand, and was 
 retarded only by the sin of the people. 
 
 2. The blessing attached to v. i extends to mankind in general 
 (note the expressions man and son of j?ian), i.e. to all who comply with 
 the conditions of membership in the Jewish community. 
 
 that layeth hold on il] Better as R.V. that holdeth fast by it (and 
 so V. 4 and v. 6). 
 
 that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it (R.V.)] (i.e. "so as not to 
 profane it," so v. 6). The same emphasis on vSabbath observance 
 appears in ch. Iviii. 13, and so in Ezek. xx. 12 ff., xxii. 8, 26 (cf. Jer. 
 xvii. 19 ff.). Although one of the most ancient of Israel's religious 
 institutions (Ex. xx. 8; Deut. v. 15; Am. viii. 5) the Sabbath acquired 
 peculiar significance during the Exile, when the ordinances of public 
 worship were suspended and the Sabbath and circumcision became the 
 chief external badges of fidelity to the covenant of which it was the sign 
 (Ex. xxxi. 13, 14; Ezek. xx. 12). 
 
 from doing any evil} such offences as are specified in Iviii. 4 ff. , 
 lix, 3f. 
 
 3. the son of the stranger means simply the individual foreigner 
 (R.V. the stranger), not one whose father was a foreigner. 
 
 The Lord hath utterly separated'} Render with R.V., will surely 
 separate. The case supposed is that of a foreigner who has Joined 
 himself to the LoRD, i.e. has become a proselyte by accepting the 
 symbols of Jewish nationality (circumcision, &c.), but now has reason to 
 fear that his qualifications will be disallowed. This anxiety is hardly 
 to be explained by the law of Deut. xxiii. 3 — 8; for the regulations 
 there laid down apply only to Moabites, Ammonites, Egyptians and 
 Edomites ; and the general tendency of the legislation is in favour of 
 the religious rights of proselytes. (See the exhaustive monograph of 
 Bertholet, Die Stellung der Israeliten tend der Juden zu den Fremden, 
 1896.) It is more likely that the immediate cause of apprehension was 
 some manifestation of an exclusive and intolerant spirit amongst the 
 leaders of the new Jerusalem. Against this spirit (if it existed) the 
 prophet's words enter a strong protest (see vv. 6, 7). 
 
 the eunuch} Such persons are excluded from the congregation by 
 Deut. xxiii, i. On that passage Prof. W. R. Smith remarks that 
 "Presumably the original sense of this rule was directed not against the 
 unfortunate victims of Oriental tyranny and the harem system, but 
 against the religious mutilation of the Galli" &c. ^^xw^x'^Dtuteronomy, 
 p. 259). If this be so, the present passage need not be regarded as 
 
vv. 4—6.] ISAIAH, LVI. 149 
 
 For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep 4 
 
 my sabbaths, 
 And choose the things that please me, 
 And take hold of my covenant; 
 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my 5 
 
 walls 
 A place and a name better than ^sons and <?/■ daughters : 
 I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be 
 
 cut off. 
 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to 6 
 
 the Lord, 
 To serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, 
 To be his servants, 
 Every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, 
 
 superseding the Deuteronomic law ; it may be only a protest against its 
 extension to cases which it did not contemplate ; for it is certain that 
 those here referred to were "the unfortunate victims of Oriental 
 tyranny." 
 
 / am a dry tree\ He could not become the head of a family in Israel, 
 and therefore felt that he had no real and permanent share in the hopes 
 of the nation. 
 
 4, 6. In spite of his disability the God-fearing eunuch shall be 
 recognised as a worthy member of the congregation of Jehovah, and his 
 name shall be had in everlasting honour in the new Israel. 
 
 that keep my sabbaths} For the expression, of Lev. xix. 3, 30, xxvi. 
 2, &c. 
 
 hold fast (as v. 1) my covenant'] by conscientious obedience. 
 
 5, a place] B. monument; lit., "a hand." There seems no reason 
 to doubt that the promise is to be imderstood literally. An illustration 
 of what is meant is found in 2 Sam. xviii. 18, where we read that 
 Absalom, in the prospect of dying childless, erected the pillar to his own 
 memory which was known as "Absalom's hand" (cf. also i Sam. xv. 
 12, R.V. marg.). The case of those here spoken of is precisely similar. 
 They have "no son to keep their name in remembrance," but their 
 memory shall be perpetuated by a monument erected within the Temple- 
 walls ; and such a memorial, testifying to the esteem of the whole com- 
 munity, is better (and more enduring) than sons and daughters. 
 
 6, 7. The answer to the misgivings of proselytes {v. 3). 
 
 to serve him] Better as R.V. to minister unto him. The verb is 
 used of honourable personal service (Gen. xxxix. 4, xl. 4), and especially 
 of the priestly service of God at the sanctuary. It is found again in 
 ch. Ix. 7, 10, Ixi. 6. 
 
 to love the name of the Lord] Cf. Deut. vi. 5, xi. i, &c. 
 
 to be his servants] i.e. worshippers (a different word from that used 
 above). 
 
ISO ISAIAH, LVI. [vv. 7, 8. 
 
 And taketh hold of my covenant ; 
 
 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, 
 
 And make them joyful in my house of prayer : 
 
 Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted 
 
 upon mine altar; 
 For mine house shall be called a house of prayer 
 
 for all people. 
 The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel 
 
 saith, 
 Yet will I gather others to him, besides those that are 
 
 gathered unto him. 
 
 7. Foreigners who fulfil these conditions have full access to the 
 sanctuary. 
 
 7nake them Joy full "cause them to rejoice." The phrase is formed 
 from a common Deuteronomic expression for taking part in the Temple 
 ritual: to "rejoice before Jehovah" (Deut. xii. 7, 12, 18, &c.). 
 
 tny house of prayer] The Temple is the place where prayer is 
 answered; see i Kings viii, passim, esp. w. 29 f., and 41 — 43. 
 
 The sacrifices of proselytes are referred to in the Law : Num. xv. 14 ff. ; 
 Lev, xxii. i8fiF., xvii. 8 ff, 
 
 for mine house .. .people] (R.V., rightly, for all peoples) Cited by our 
 Lord, Matt. xxi. 13; Mark xi, 17; Luke xix. 46. The emphasis lies 
 on the last words; that the Temple is a house of prayer has been 
 already said, what is now added is that it shall be so to men of all 
 nationalities, 
 
 8, 77*!.? Lord GoD. . .saith] Saith the Lord Jehovah &c. The formula 
 Vi%\x2^y follozvs the sentence to which it refers ; here it introduces it, as 
 ch. i. 24; Zech. xii, i; Ps. ex. i. 
 
 which gathereth the dispersed of Israel] Cf. ch, xi. 12; Ps. cxlvii. 2. 
 
 Yet will I gather others &c.] Lit. "I will yet further gather to him, 
 to his gathered ones." "His gathered ones" is the antithesis to the 
 "dispersed" above. The language certainly suggests (though it may 
 not absolutely prove) that a partial gathering has taken place : the 
 promise is that yet more shall be gathered, and, amongst these, men 
 from "all peoples." 
 
 Ch. LVI. 9— LVII. 21. A Protest against the Unworthy 
 Shepherds of God's Flock, and the arrogant Heathen- 
 ism BY WHICH IT IS threatened; FOLLOWED BY A MESSAGE 
 
 OF Consolation to True Israelites. 
 
 This sombre and impassioned discourse is composed of three parts : 
 i. ch. Ivi. 9 — Ivii. 2. — The defenceless condition of the community, 
 due to the incompetence of its spiritual leaders. 
 
 (i) All the wild beasts of the field and the forest are invited to come 
 and devour the unprotected flock (z^. 9). (2) For its rulers neglect their 
 duty ; they are inefficient as dumb dogs, they are slothful, greedy and 
 
V. 9.] ISAIAH, LVI. 151 
 
 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, 
 Yea, all ye beasts in the forest. 
 
 sensual [vv. 10 — 12). (3) In consequence of their incapacity tlic 
 righteous perish, none regarding their fate (Ivii. i, 2). 
 
 ii. Ivii. 3 — 13^7. A bitter tirade against an insolent and aggressive 
 paganising party, animated by a contemptuous hostility towards the true 
 religion, 
 
 (i) This party, which is characterised as a bastard and hybrid race, 
 the illegitimate offspring of an adulterer and a harlot, is summoned to 
 the bar to hear the Divine sentence on their career of flagrant idolatry 
 {vv. 3, 4). (2) The indictment follows, in the form of a recital of the 
 varied heathen rites to which they were addicted {w. 5 — 9), and in 
 which with infatuated perversity they still persist in spite of all the 
 teachings of experience {vv. 10, 1 1). (3) Judgement is then pronounced ; 
 Jehovah will unmask the hypocrisy of their pretended righteousness, and 
 leave them to the protection of the false deities whom they have so 
 diligently served, but who shall be unable to save them {w. 12, 13). 
 
 iii. 7W. 14 — 21. The prophet now turns with a message of comfort 
 to the depressed and contrite people of God. The obstacles in the way 
 of their salvation shall be removed {v. 14) ; Jehovah, whose condescension 
 brings Him near to the lowly in heart, will at length avert His anger, 
 and bring healing and peace (vv. 15 — 19); only the wicked who persist 
 in their impenitence are excluded from the promised blessing {vv. 20, 21). 
 
 Ivi. 9 — Ivii. 2. Denunciation of the worthless rulers of the Jewish 
 community. — The difficulty of supposing that this passage refers to the 
 state of things in the Exile is obvious. Israel is compared to a flock in 
 charge of its own shepherds ; and these shepherds are responsible both 
 for the internal disorders from which it suffers, and the outward dangers 
 which threaten it. An invitation to the wild beasts (the heathen nations) 
 to come and devour a people already "robbed and spoiled" (xlii. 22) by 
 foreign conquest, is almost inconceivable. It is of course possible, as 
 many scholars hold, that the verses are extracted from a pre-exilic 
 prophecy; but the description is at least as applicable to the conditions 
 which existed after the return from Babylon. The books of Malachi 
 and Nehemiah reveal incidentally a state of affairs which would go far to 
 account for the dark picture here presented of the ruling classes in the 
 restored community. 
 
 9. The apostrophe to the wild beasts is suggested by the following 
 comparison of the people to an ill-guarded and therefore defenceless 
 flock. That a new chastisement at the hands of the heathen is actually 
 contemplated need not be assumed. A close parallel is found in Jer. xii. 
 9; cf. Ezek. xxxiv. 5, 8. 
 
 10 — 12. The delinquencies of the rulers. The vjatchtnen are the 
 spiritual leaders of the community, who in the earlier post-exilic period 
 were the priests and the prophets (see Neh. vi. 10 — 14). Elsewhere the 
 word is used metaphorically only of the prophets (Jer. vi. 17 ; Ezek. iii. 
 17, xxxiii. 2 ff.) and to them the description here chiefly applies, although 
 there may be no reason for excluding the priests, with whom the higher 
 
152 ISAIAH, LVI. [vv. lo— 12. 
 
 His watchmen are blind : they are all ignorant, 
 
 They are all aumb dogs, they cannot bark ; 
 
 Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 
 
 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, 
 
 And they are shepherds that cannot understand : 
 
 They all look to their own way. 
 
 Every one for his gain, from his quarter. 
 
 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, 
 
 authority lay, and who shared in the vices here specified. These guides 
 are blind, not discerning the evils of the time, and dumby afraid to speak 
 out against them. 
 
 they are all igftoranf] Lit. "they all of them know not." Several 
 codices of the LXX. supply an infinitive {(ppov'qaai), by which the sense 
 and parallelism are improved (cf. the similar phrase in v. ii "they 
 know not how to observe" : E. V. "cannot understand "). 
 
 dumb dogs^ they cannot bark] in contrast to the true prophet, who 
 "cries aloud and spares not," shewing the people their transgressions 
 (see ch. Iviii. i; cf. Ezek. xxxiii. i fif.), and specially gives warning of 
 the approach of an enemy; Ezek. xxxiii. 6. Sheep-dogs are mentioned 
 in Job XXX. i. 
 
 sleeping] R.V. "dreaming," better raving. The word, which occurs 
 only here, means in Arabic to talk deliriously in sickness. Cheyne sug- 
 gests that it contains a play on the word for "seers," from which it 
 differs in a single letter {hdzim and hozim). 
 
 loving to shmiber] The laziness of the dog was proverbial amongst 
 the Arabs : "he delays like a sleepy hound " (Gesenius). 
 
 11. The first line reads, And the dogs are greedy (lit. "strong of 
 soul," i.e. appetite), they know not how to he satisfied. The charge of 
 cupidity and of selling oracles for gain is one frequently brought against 
 the false prophets (Mic. iii. 5, ii ; Jer. vi. 13; Ezek. xiii. 19, xxii. 25); 
 a contemporary instance may be the incident of Shemaiah (Neh. vi. loff.). 
 That the priesthood was infected with the same vice of covetousness is 
 shown by Mai. i. 12 ; on the upper classes generally see Neh. v. 7 ff. 
 
 and they are shepherds ^c] The meaning can hardly be that those 
 who have been called dogs are really the shepherds of the flock ; but it 
 is not easy to obtain a satisfactory sense. Cheyne renders "and these, 
 pastors as they are," taking "pastors" in the figurative sense of rulers. 
 Dillmann with a slight change of the text reads "and even these, the 
 shepherds," supposing that a class of persons different from the "watch- 
 men" (prophets) are now spoken of, viz., the nobles and elders. On 
 any view the sentence is awkward ; it adds nothing to the thought, and 
 may originally have been a marginal gloss. 
 
 they all look to their own 7aay] R.V. they have all turned to their 
 own way; all pursue their selfish interests (cf. liii. 6). 
 
 from his quarter] Render, without exception, as Ezek. xxv. 9; 
 Gen. xix. 4. 
 
 12. As an illustration of their highest idea of enjoyment, one of these 
 
vv. I, 2.] ISAIAH, LVII. 153 
 
 And we will fill ourselves with strong drink; 
 
 And to morrow shall be as this day, and much more 
 
 abundant. 
 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth // to heart : 57 
 And merciful men are taken away, none considering 
 That the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. 
 He shall enter into peace : 2 
 
 They shall rest in their beds, 
 
 watchmen is introduced inviting his fellows to a prolonged carousal. Cf. 
 ch. V. II f., 22, xxviii. i, 7 f . ; Mic. ii. 11. 
 
 we will fill ourselves dr»^.] a coarse bacchanalian expression : "we will 
 swill strong drink." 
 
 and jmich more abundant] Rather, as R.V. (a day) great beyond 
 measure ! 
 
 Ivii. 1, 2. The most alarming feature of the situation, though the 
 least noticed, is the gradual removal of the righteous members of the 
 community. Comp. Ps. xii. i. 
 
 7nerciful men] lit., men of piety (cf. ch. Iv. 7, xxviii. 14), 
 
 none consideriJig that the righteous is taken away from the evil to 
 come] The idea conveyed by this rendering is that the natural death 
 of many good men was a divine intimation, little heeded by the com- 
 munity, that some great calamity was impending. The translation is 
 perfectly admissible, and the thought is in accordance with the religious 
 sentiment of the O.T. (cf. 2 Ki. xxii. 20); yet it is doubtful if we are 
 entitled to read so much into the prophet's language. There is nothing 
 to indicate that "the evil" is future, nor is it likely that the prophet 
 has in view a future of terror for the righteous. The clause may be 
 equally well rendered that (or for) the righteous is swept away before 
 the evil; and this is px'obably all that is meant. The "evil" is the 
 prevailing wickedness and oppression caused by the misgovernment 
 described in Ivi. 10 — 12. The words "none considering" are parallel 
 to "no man layeth it to heart," and mean that the community takes 
 no note of the fact that its best members are disappearing from its 
 midst. 
 
 2. Render with R.V. (and marg.) He entereth into peace; they 
 rest in their beds, each one that walked straight before him. The 
 "peace" and "rest" spoken of are those of the grave (Job iii. 13 lif.), 
 the "bed" is the bier or coffin; cf. 2 Chron. xvi. 14; Ezek. xxxii. 25. 
 The same word is used of the sarcophagus in the Phoenician inscription 
 of Eshmunazar ("the lid of this bed"). 
 
 "After life's fitful fever he sleeps well." 
 The same feeling is expressed with great pathos in an eloquent passage 
 of the book of Job (iii. 13 ff.). It is a sentiment that has appealed to 
 the human mind in all ages; but to the O.T. believers it brought no 
 relief from the shuddering recoil from death expressed in other passages, 
 nowhere more forcibly than in the words of Job himself. 
 
154 ISAIAH, LVII. [v. 
 
 Each one walking i?i his uprightness. 
 
 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, 
 The seed of the adulterer and the whore. 
 
 each one that walked, &c.] i.e. every one who led a simple, 
 straightforward, upright life; cf. Prov. iv. 25 — 27. The clause is an 
 extension of the subject of the sentence. 
 
 3 — 13. Invective against an idolatrous party. — With regard to the 
 reference of this obscure and difficult passage the following points have 
 to be noticed: (i) The scenery of tjv. 5, 6 is unmistakeably Palestinian 
 (wadis, clefts of the rock, terebinths). (2) Several of the rites specified 
 bear the complexion of Canaanitish heathenism, and could not have 
 been performed in Babylonia. (3) The opening words ("But ye") 
 seem to imply that the people addressed are distinct from those whose 
 leaders aie denounced in Ivi. 10 — 12. (4) Those spoken of are animated 
 by contempt and hatred of the cause and people of Jehovah {v. 4), 
 while at the same time they advance pretensions to "righteousness" or 
 correctness of religious standing {v. 12). (5) They have persisted in 
 their abominations down to the time of the prophecy {-w. 10 — 13). 
 
 On the supposition that the prophecy was written after the return 
 from Babylon, there is much plausibility in the view that the party 
 here addressed is the Samaritan community. This theory is at all 
 events simpler than that advocated by the majority of critics, who 
 have felt the force of the objections against exilic authorship, and have 
 accordingly supposed that the passage (or its original) was written at 
 some time previous to the Captivity and borrowed by the great prophet 
 of the Exile as a warning against idolatrous tendencies which still 
 manifested themselves in Babylon. (See further Introduction, pp. Ivii, 
 lix). The connexion between this section and the preceding would 
 be explained by the fact that the Jewish aristocracy cultivated friendly 
 relations with the Samaritans; there was a serious danger that the 
 struggling Jewish community should by these alliances be dragged 
 down to the level of their semi-pagan neighbours. 
 
 3, 4. Indignant summons to the apostate community. 
 
 But draw near hither] Better, But as for you, draw near luther &c. 
 to hear your doom (cf. xli. i, xlv. 20, xlviii. 16). 
 
 ye sons of a soireress'] The most galling insult to an Oriental is to 
 revile his mother (see i Sam. xx. 30). By the use of the phrase here 
 the persons addressed are described as nursed in witchcraft and super- 
 stition. 
 
 seed of 2iQ. adulterer and a whore] Cf. Ezek. xvi. 3, 45 ("thy father 
 an Amorite, thy mother a Hittite"). It is not improbable that the 
 words contain a specific allusion to the mixed origin of the Samaritans 
 (2 Ki. xvii. 24 fF.); the "adulterer" may be the remains of the old 
 Israelitish population (who had been untrue to the marriage bond with 
 Jehovah), and the "harlot" the heathen element which had been 
 imported by successive kings of Assyria. 
 
vv. 4, 5.] ISAIAH, LVII. 155 
 
 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? 4 
 
 Against whom make ye a wide mouth, atid draw out 
 . the tongue? 
 
 Are ye not children of transgression, a seed of false- 
 hood. 
 Inflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, 5 
 Slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of 
 the rocks? 
 
 4. On the contemptuous attitude of the Samaritans towards the 
 Jews, see Neh. iv. i — 4, and comp. ch. Ixvi. 5. 
 
 sport yourselves] Lit. "take your delight" (ch. Iv. 2, Iviii. 14, Ixvi. 
 11); only here used of malevolent satisfaction. 
 
 make a wide mouth] Ps. xxxv. 21. 
 
 are^^ not dx'c.] Are you not yourselves the proper objects of derision 
 and abhorrence? 
 
 6 flf. Description of the varied idolatries to which they were 
 devoted. 
 
 Infia77iing yourselves ivith idols'] Rather, as R.V., Ye that inflame 
 yourselves among the oaks (or "terebinths," the same word in ch. i. 29, 
 Ixi. 3). The A.V. follows the chief ancient Versions in taking the last 
 word to be the plural of that for "god"; but it is never used expressly 
 of an idol or false god (not even in Ex. xv. 11 or Dan. xi. 36). The 
 reference is, if not to the actual primitive tree-worship (traces of which 
 are still found in Palestine), at least to that modification of it in which 
 the sacred tree became a place of sacrifice and the scene of the licentious 
 rites indicated by the expression "inflame yourselves." Comp. Hos. 
 iv. 13. 
 
 under every green (i.e. evergreen) tree] Cf. Deut. xii. 2 ; Jer. ii. 20, 
 iii. 6; Ezek. vi. 13; i Ki. xiv. 23; 2 Ki. xvii. 10 &c. 
 
 slaying the children (Ezek. xvi. 21)] i.e. sacrificing them either to 
 Jehovah or some false deity (Baal or Molech). On the subject of 
 human sacrifice in Israel consult the notes in Davidson's Ezekiel 
 {Camb. Bible for Schools, &c.), pp. 107 f., 143. Cf Jer. vii. 31, xix. 5 ; 
 Ezek. XX. 25, xxiii. 39 ; 2 Ki. iii. 27, xvi. 3, xxi. 6 ; Mic. vi. 7 ; Lev. 
 xviii. 21 ; Deut. xii. 31, &c., and 2 Ki. xvii. 31. 
 
 in the valleys (or wadis, dry watercourses) under the clifts of the rocks] 
 Probably weird and desolate places were chosen by preference for these 
 revolting rites, although this is the only passage where such a thing is 
 suggested. 
 
 6. As commonly explained, the verse refers to the worship of stone 
 fetishes; but this is very doubtful. It is obvious, indeed, that by the 
 smooth (ones) of the wadi some objects of worship are denoted, but is 
 it necessary to suppose that they were smooth stones'} The expression 
 "smooth ones" {halqe) is chosen for the sake of a play of words between 
 it and " portion "' {heleq). If we take it literally it is of course natural 
 to think of stones' worn smooth by the winter torrents (cf. i Sam. 
 xvii. 40), although even then there is force in Duhm's observation that 
 
156 ISAIAH, LVII. [vv. 6-8. 
 
 Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; 
 
 They, they are thy lot : 
 
 Even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, 
 
 Thou hast offered a meat offering. 
 
 Should I receive comfort in these? 
 
 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy 
 
 bed: 
 Even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. 
 Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up 
 
 thy remembrance : 
 
 such featureless objects were least of all likely to be chosen as fetishes. 
 (See Tylor, Primitive Culture^, Vol. il. p. 144 f.) But the word occurs 
 in the metaphorical sense of ''slippery," flattering, deceitful (Ezek. xii. 
 24; cf. Prov. vii. 5, 21, xxix. 5; Ps. v. 9, &c.) ; and such a term 
 might readily be applied to false gods of any kind (cf e.g. "lies" in 
 Am. ii. 4). We may therefore render (following Duhm), " In the 
 deceivers of the wadi is thy portion"; although the special connexion 
 of the deities with the wadi remains obscure. 
 
 thy portioii] As Jehovah is said to be the portion of His people 
 (Deut. iv. 19; Jer. x. 16; Ps. xvi. 5, cxlii. 6) so these deceitful beings 
 are the portion of those who do homage to them in the manner described 
 in the second half of the verse. 
 
 thou hast offered a vieat-offe)ing\ or, more generally, an oblation, 
 as R.V. (see on ch. i. 13). 
 
 should I receive comfort in these ?\ Better, as R.V., shall I be 
 appeased for these things? i.e. "leave them unpunished." Cf. 
 Jer. V. 9. 
 
 Note that from this verse onwards the female personification is 
 employed, indicating that a definite community is addressed. 
 
 7. As in the valleys, so on the hill-tops, the people had sacrificed to 
 strange gods. Cf. Hos. iv. 13 ; Jer. ii. 20; Ezek. vi. 13. 
 
 hast tJiou set thy bed\ The image is suggested by the frequent com- 
 parison of idolatry (in Israel) to adultery. Cf. Hos. iv. 12; Jer. ii. 20, 
 iii. 2; Ezek. xvi. 25. 
 
 8. The first part of the verse seems to allude to some form of 
 household idolatry. Many commentators explain the expression as a 
 violation of the command in Deut. vi. 9, xi. 20. In these passages 
 the Israelites are directed to write certain sentences of Scripture on the 
 doorposts of their houses, and it is supposed that the practice here 
 denounced is placing the texts at the back of the door so as to be out 
 of sight ! This is an utterly improbable interpretation. The thing 
 called "remembrance" {zikkar6n, better memorial, as R.V.) must be 
 some heathen emblem, whose exact nature cannot be determined ; and 
 from the fact that it stood at the entrance of the house, it may be 
 presumed to have represented the patron deity of the family. 
 
I 
 
 V. 9.] ISAIAH, LVII. 157 
 
 For thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, 
 
 and art gone up ; 
 Thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant 
 
 with them ; 
 Thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest //. 
 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, 
 And didst increase thy perfumes, 
 And didst send thy messengers far off, 
 
 for thou hast discovered... bed\ The last word appears to be the object 
 to each of the three verbs : for away from me thou hast uncovered and 
 ascended and enlarged thy toed. The connexion ("for') may lie in 
 the thought that they sought every possible opportunity of being un- 
 faithful to Jehovah, their household cults being an expression of their 
 irresistible inclination to idolatry. 
 
 and made thee a covenant %vith them ^c.^ The sense is uncertain : 
 either, " and thou hast made a contract with them" &c. (?) ; or, substi- 
 tuting a verb meaning "purchase" (in Deut. ii. 6; Hos. iii. 2), "and 
 thou didst procure for thee (some) of those whose bed thou lovest." 
 For the idea, cf. Ezek. xvi. 16 ff., 32 ff. 
 
 where thoti sawest it] Lit. "thou hast seen a hand." The rendering 
 of E.V. cannot be maintained, but the real meaning of the expression 
 is altogether obscure. 
 
 9. Pilgrimages and deputations to the shrines of foreign deities form 
 a fitting conclusion to the enumeration of their idolatries. Another 
 view taken of the verse is that it refers to political embassies sent to court 
 the favour of some great heathen power. This idea derives support 
 from the resemblance of the passage to Ezek. xxiii. 16, 40, but it is out 
 of keeping with the other allusions of the verse. Oil and ointment have 
 nothing to do with politics ; on the other hand unguents of various kinds 
 played a great part in the cultus of the Semites. (See W. R. Smith, 
 Religion of the Semites'^, pp. 232 f , 382 f ) And the last line of the verse 
 is most naturally explained as an allusion to infernal deities. 
 
 And thoti wentest to the king, &'c.'] Rather, And thou hast journeyed 
 to Melek with oil. "Melek" means king, and is here understood by 
 many of the Great King of Assyria or Babylon. But for the reasons 
 given above it is necessary to explain it as the name of a deity. It is, 
 in fact, the word which has come to us in the Hebrew Bible under the 
 form Molech, its proper vowels having been replaced in Jewish tradition 
 by those oibosheth, "shameful thing." (See W. R. Smith, I.e. p. 372.) 
 It was a title applied by the Northern Semites to many gods, and even 
 (among the Israelites) to Jehovah, as "king.'" Here it seems to be 
 used as a proper name, and the verb "journey" shows that a foreign 
 god is meant; possibly, as Duhm thinks, Milkom, the chief god of the 
 Ammonites, with whom the Samaritans seem to have been in close 
 alliance (Neh. ii. 10, iv. 7, vi. i ff.). 
 
 thy pe rf times'] or ointments. 
 
 and didst send thy messengers far of] Where they could not go in 
 person they sent messengers with offerings. 
 
158 ISAIAH, LVII. [w. , v i 
 
 And didst debase thyself even unto hell. 
 
 Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; 
 
 Yet saidst thou not, There is no hope : 
 
 Thou hast found the life of thine hand ; 
 
 Therefore thou wast not grieved. 
 
 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that I 
 
 thou hast lied, 
 And hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? 
 Have not I held my peace even of old, 
 And thou fearest me not? 
 
 and didst debase thyself even unto hell] Rather, and hast sent deep to 
 Sheol (lit. "hast deepened [sc. thy sending] to Sheol"), i.e. they sought 
 the favour of the deities of the underworld, by consulting their oracles 
 etc. 
 
 10, 11. Although wearied by these idolatries they have persisted in 
 them with an infatuation which has blinded them to their desperate 
 situo.h'on, and rendered them indifferent to the fear of Jehovah. 
 
 in the greatness of thy zvay] i.e. " through thy much wandering," thy 
 multifarious religious observances. 
 
 There is no hope] Lit. '■'■ desperatum est^^', cf. Jer. ii. 25, xviii. 12 
 (with a somewhat different shade of meaning). 
 
 thou didst find the life of thine hand] A very obscure and variously 
 explained phrase. R.V. a quickening (i.e. renewal) of thy streng^th 
 is perhaps the most feasible interpretation, but the peculiar expression 
 is hardly accounted for, unless it be a current proverb. 
 
 thou wast not grieved] lit. sick, weak and faint. Comp. Jer. v. 3, 
 "Thou hast o.iHtten them and they did not become sick," i.e. did not 
 feel weak. 
 
 11. . Most critics detect in this verse a milder tone on the part of the 
 Divine speaker, as if He would find a partial excuse for the apostasies of 
 the people in their undue fear of other gods, and distrust of Jehovah, 
 who had so long time kept silence (cf. ch. li. 12 f., xlii. 14). If this 
 impression be right, the theory that the Samaritans are the persons 
 addressed at once falls to the ground. Another view is, however, 
 possible. The question of whom hast thou been afraid and feared? may 
 imply a simple negative answer, — "thou hast been absolutely fearless." 
 The language of the verse yields itself to either interpretation. 
 
 that thou hast lied] Or, "for thou art treacherous." 
 
 have not I held viy peace, &^c.] Or "Is it not so? I have been silent" 
 
 etc. : "It was because I held my peace that thou didst not fear me, but 
 
 other gods." Cf. Ps. 1. 21 ("These things thou didst and I kept 
 
 silence" etc.). 
 
 even of old] (xlii. 14). The LXX. and Vulg. evidently vocalised 
 
 the word differently {p}V'0 for OpVp)* so as to read "and covered (sc. 
 
 my eyes)"; (cf. Ps. x. i ; Isa. i. 15). 
 
vv. -.— 14.] ISAIAH, LVII. 159 
 
 I will declare thy righteousness, 12 
 
 And thy works; for they shall not profit thee. 
 When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee ; T3 
 
 But the wind shall carry them all away ; vanity shall 
 
 take them : 
 But he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the 
 
 land, 
 And shall inherit my holy mountain ; 
 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the 14 
 
 way, 
 
 12. 13. But Jehovah will no longer be silent ; He will proceed to 
 judgement (cf. again Ps. 1. -21). 
 
 / will declare thy righteousness] must be spoken ironically : " I will 
 expose thy (pretended) righteousness." This might be said of the 
 Samaritans, who claimed to be true worshippers of Jehovah just as 
 ancient Israel had always done (Ezra iv. ■2). 
 
 and thy works, &'€.'] Render Avith R.V. and as for thy works, they 
 shall not profit thee. 
 
 13. When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee'] Cf. Je:. ii. 28. 
 The word for "companies" does not occur elsewhere; it means them 
 which thou hast gathered (R.V.) : thy rabble of idols (R.V. marg.) 
 (see Mic. i. 7). 
 
 vanity] R.V. a breath. 
 
 The second half of the verse forms a transition to the next section, 
 which is a promise of salvation to the true Israel. 
 
 14 — 21. In striking contrast to the menacing tone of vv. 3 ff. is the 
 impressive and elevated language in which the prophet now sets forth the 
 gracious thoughts of Jehovah towards His erring but repentant people. 
 
 14. And shall say] or, And it shall be said (R.V. marg.;. The speaker 
 is Jehovah ("my people"), not one of the angelic beings of the 
 Prologue. The expression means simply "the word shall go forth." 
 
 The image of the highway of salvation is taken from ch. xl. 3 (see 
 also Ixii. 10), but seems to be applied somewhat differently. There it 
 meant an actual highway for the return of the exiles through the desert ; 
 here, as the context shews, it is only a figure for the removal of spiritual 
 obstacles to the redemption of Israel {v. 17). Such a modification of 
 the conception, although of course no proof of post-exilic authorship, is 
 certainly very intelligible on that hypothesis. After the return of the 
 first band of exiles it became apparent that the inauguration of the 
 Messianic age was not to take the form of a triumphal march of Jehovah 
 and His people across the desert to Canaan. The prophet's bold image 
 of the miraculous highway necessarily lost its primary physical signifi- 
 cance, and could be retained only as an emblem of the preparation for 
 that larger deliverance to which the hopes of the post-exilic community 
 were eagerly directed. It is applied, in short, in precisely the same way 
 as at a later time to the preparatory mission of the Baptist (Mark i. 3; 
 John i. 23). 
 
i6o ISAIAH, LVII. [vv. 15, 16. 
 
 Take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my 
 
 people. 
 For thus saith the high and lofty One 
 That inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; 
 I dwell in the high and holy place, 
 With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, 
 To revive the spirit of the humble, 
 And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 
 For I will not contend for ever, 
 Neither will I be always wroth : 
 
 15. high and lofty] An Isaianic phrase, ch. ii. 12 ff,, vi. r (cf. 
 
 lii. 13)- 
 
 that inhabiteth eternity] Rather, '*that sitteth (enthroned) for ever." 
 
 / dwell in the high arid holy place] Tlie strict rendering perhaps is 
 "on high and Holy (as a holy One) I dwell." Cf. Ixvi. i. 
 
 of a contrite and humble spirit] crushed and of a lowly spirit. The 
 expressions do not necessarily imply what we mean by contrition — the 
 crushing effect of remorse for sin — but only the subdued, self-distnisting 
 spirit which is produced by affliction. Comp. ch. Ixvi. 2; Ps. li. 17. 
 
 The word "holy" (here used as a proper name, see on ch. xl. 25) and 
 the expressions "high and lofty" seem to shew the influence of Isaiah's 
 vision (ch. vi.). The thought of the verse is very striking. It is the 
 paradox of religion that Jehovah's holiness, which places Him at an 
 infinite distance from human pride and greatness, brings Him near to 
 the humble in spirit (comp. Ps. cxiii. 5, 6, cxxxviii. 6). No contrast is 
 indicated : Jehovah dwells on high and (not but yet) with the lowly. 
 It would be a mistake, however, to infer that holiness means or even 
 includes gracious condescension. The two attributes are not mutually 
 exclusive, but still less are they identical. The holiness of God is 
 expressed by saying that He dwells on high; His dwelling with the 
 contrite is another fact which manifests a different aspect of His charac- 
 ter. Through the discipline of the Exile Israel had come to know God 
 in both characters — as infinitely exalted and infinitely condescending; 
 it had learned that peace with God, the high and lofty One, is reached 
 through humility, which is the recognition of His holiness and majesty. 
 
 16. Hardly less i"emarkable is the motive here assigned for the Divine 
 clemency, — ^Jehovah's compassion for the frailty of His creatures (Ps. 
 ciii. 9, i3f., Ixxviii. 39). The argument somewhat resembles that of 
 ch. xlv. 18 ff. : it cannot be Jehovah's purpose to undo His own creation. 
 The continuance of His anger would annihilate the souls which He 
 Himself has made; therefore when chastisement has produced the con- 
 trite and humble spirit. He relents and shews mercy. 
 
 The word for souls is that which in Gen. ii. 7 means "breath (of 
 life)," the principle of life in virtue of which man becomes "a living 
 person" (cf. ch. xlii. 5). The parallel spirit has the same sense; it is 
 the Divine power by which human life is sustained. 
 
vv. 17— 19.J ISAIAH, LVII. 161 
 
 For the spirit should fail before me, 
 
 And the souls which I have made. 
 
 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and 17 
 
 smote him : 
 I hid me, and was wroth, 
 
 And he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. 
 I have seen his ways, and will heal him : 18 
 
 I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him 
 
 and to his mourners. 
 I create the fruit of the lips; 19 
 
 Peace, peace to hi7n that is far off, and to him 
 
 that is near, saith the Lord; 
 
 17. For the iniquity of his covetousness] The mention of " covetous- 
 ness" as the typical sin of the community here addressed affords some 
 support to the theory that the post-exilic Jews are referred to. See 
 Hag. i. 2, 9; Mai. i. 8, 13, 14, iii. 8; Neh. v. These passages shew 
 that a sordid, avaricious spirit was characteristic of the returned exiles, 
 although on the other hand Jer. vi. 13 shews that it was prevalent before 
 the Captivity (cf. Ezek. xxxiii. 31). The same feature is touched on in 
 ch. Ivi. 1 1 and in ch. Iviii. The significant thing is that it is specified 
 as the besetting sin of the time, and this again appears to indicate that 
 the people spoken of are distinct from those who were guilty of the 
 more heinous offences enumerated in z>v. 5 — 9. 
 
 covetousness is strictly "gain"; (Gen. xxxvii. 26) then unjust gain. 
 
 /hid me, a7id was wroth] Mding myself in my wratli (lit. "hiding 
 and being wroth"; see Davidson's Syntax, § 87 R. i). 
 
 and he ivent on frowardly] (cf. Jer. iii. 14, 22, xxxi. 22, xlix. 4) lit. 
 "turning away" (R.V. marg.). The meaning can hardly be that the 
 effect of punishment was to harden the people in sin, and that the7-efore 
 Jehovah desists from it. The clause does not give the consequence of 
 the chastisement, but continues the description of the sinful life of the 
 people which had drawn forth the Divine anger. 
 
 18. I have seen his 7vays] Either "his sinful ways" or "the amend- 
 ment of his ways." The first view is perhaps more probable, in which 
 case the words would be better joined to the preceding verse (so Duhm). 
 
 and will heal him] Or, "And I will heal him," — beginning a new 
 sentence. Cf. Hos. vi. i, xiv. 4; Jer. iii. 22. 
 For co?nfo7-ts read comfort. 
 his 7)iourne7-s] ch. Ixi. 2, Ixvi. 10. 
 
 19. I c7'eate thef-uit of the lips] Better, creating fruit of the lips, 
 continuing z'. 18. "Fruit of the lips" means praise and thanksgiving, 
 as Hos. xiv. 2 (R.V. marg.); Heb. xiii. 15. Jehovah will create this, 
 cause it to spring forth spontaneously, from those who experience His 
 lovingkindness. 
 
 Peace, peace ^c] Peace, peace to the far ofif and to the near ! an 
 exclamation, like v. i\. The contrast of the "far off" and the "near " 
 
 ISAIAH II. II 
 
i62 ISAIAH, LVII. LVIII. [w. 20, 21. 
 
 And I will heal him. 
 
 But ihc wicked are like the troubled sea, 
 
 When it cannot rest, 
 
 Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 
 
 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. 
 
 is probably that between the Jews still in exile, and those who have 
 returned and are "near" to Jerusalem (cf. ch. Ivi. 8). 
 
 20, 21. Their peace is contrasted with the eternal unrest of the 
 wicked. For the image cf. Jude 13. 
 
 when (for) // cannot rest\ as Jer. xlix. 23. 
 
 21. There is no peace &'c.'\ See on ch. xlviii. 22. 
 
 Ch. LVIII. An Oracle on Fasting and the Observance 
 OF THE Sabbath. 
 
 (i) The prophet announces his commission to expose the sin of his 
 people, especially the formal and perfunctory character of their religious 
 service i^v. i, i). (2) He then takes up the question of fasting, which 
 is the immediate occasion of the discourse ; in answer to the complaint 
 that their fasts are disregarded by Jehovah {v. 3^), he asks his hearers 
 if they suppose that the kind of fasting practised by them can possibly 
 be acceptable to God {w. 3^ — 5). (3) In contrast to such unspiritual 
 and hypocritical fasting as theirs, he indicates the nature of the fast 
 required by Jehovah, which consists in justice to the oppressed and 
 kindness to the destitute (vv. 6, 7). (4) When they understand what 
 true religion is and comply with its requirements, their salvation shall 
 no longer tarry, their prayers shall be answered, their darkness turned 
 to light, and the waste places of the land restored {w. 8 — 12). 
 (5) A similar promise is attached to the hallowing of the Sabbath-day 
 (vv. 13, 14). 
 
 Although only one statutory fast is known to the Law — that of the 
 great Day of Atonement (Lev. xvi. 29) — the practice was readily and 
 spontaneously resorted to in ancient Israel as a means of propitiating 
 the Deity (cf. e.g. Jud. xx. 26; i Sam. vii. 6; 1 Ki. xxi. 12 ; Jer. xxxvi. 9). 
 During the Exile four regular fast-days came to be observed ; and it is 
 all but certain that these commemorated special incidents of the fall 
 of Jerusalem (see the Commentaries on Zech. viii. 19). It is probable 
 that such fasts as these, rather than the fast of the Day of Atonement 
 (which may not have been instituted at this time), gave rise to the 
 complaint dealt with in this prophecy. That the mind of the post-exilic 
 community was exercised about these fasts appears from Zech. vii. i ff., 
 a passage which presents an instructive parallel to that now before us. 
 The question was put to the priests and prophets in Jerusalem whether 
 the fast-days should not after seventy years' observance be discontinued 
 (vii. 3, 5); and Zechariah replies that if the people will give heed to 
 the divine admonitions through the "former prophets" and practise 
 righteousness and mercy, the Messianic promises shall be fulfilled, and 
 then the fasts shall be turned into days of rejoicing (viii. 19). The 
 
.] ISAIAH, LVIII. 163 
 
 Cry aloud, spare not, 58 
 
 Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, 
 And shew my people their transgression, 
 And the house of Jacob their sins. 
 
 Yet they seek me daily, 2 
 
 And delight to know my ways. 
 As a nation that did righteousness, 
 And forsook not the ordinance of their God : 
 They ask of me the ordinances of justice ; 
 They take delight in approaching to God. 
 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest 3 
 not? 
 
 answer, in short, is practically identical with the teaching of this 
 chapter. It is of course not impossible that the question of fasting 
 might have been raised during the Exile and answered as it is 
 answered here ; but there is nothing in the chapter that can be appealed 
 to in favour of this view. 
 
 1. Cry aloud] lit. Cry with the throat, with the full power of the 
 voice. 
 
 shew my people their transgression &'c.'\ The function of the true 
 prophet as distinguished from the false ; see Mic. iii. 8, a verse which 
 seems to have been in the prophet's mind. 
 
 2. The people indeed are zealous in the performance of their external 
 religious duties, and imagine that this suffices to put them in a right 
 relation to God. They are ostensibly as eager to know the divine will 
 as if they were in reality, and not merely in profession, a people that 
 practised righteousness. A somewhat strained interpretation has been 
 put upon the verse by many modern commentators, who suppose that it 
 refers to the people's desire for a speedy manifestation of Jehovah's 
 righteousness in their favour. This feeling was no doubt in their minds, 
 but it is not expressed here (see below). 
 
 they seek pie] i.e. enquire of me, — the word used of consulting an 
 oracle. 
 
 ordinances of Justice'] not "righteous judgements " on the enemies and 
 oppressors of Israel, but ordinances of righteousness, i.e. directions as 
 to how righteousness is to be achieved. 
 
 they take delight in approaching to God] R.V. they delight to draw- 
 near to God. Cf. ch. xxix. 13; Ps. Ixxiii. 28. To render " in the approach 
 of God (to judgement)" is arbitrary, and unsuited to the verb "delight." 
 
 3. The first half of the verse expresses the people's sense of dis- 
 appointment at the failure of their efforts to win the favour of Jehovah; 
 the second half begins the prophet's exposure of their hypocrisy. There 
 is an incipient Pharisaism in their evident expectation that by external 
 works of righteousness they would hasten the coming of the Messianic 
 salvation. The prophet also maintains that salvation is conditioned 
 by righteousness on the part of the people; but he insists that the 
 
i64 ISAIAH, LVIII. [vv. 4,5. 
 
 Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest 
 
 no knowledge? 
 Behold, in the day of your fast you- find pleasure, 
 And exact all your labours. 
 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate. 
 And to smite with the fist of wickedness : 
 Ye shall not fast as ye do this day. 
 To make your voice to be heard on high. 
 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? 
 A day for a man to afflict his soul? 
 Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, 
 
 righteousness which secures the fulfilment of the promises is ethical 
 righteousness, not the mechanical observance of ceremonial forms. 
 
 have we afflicted our soul] See below on v. 5. 
 
 you find pleasure^ Rather business (see on ch. xliv. 28), i.e. "you 
 find opportunity to do a profitable stroke of business." Cf. v. 13. 
 
 and exact all your labours\ Or, as R.V. marg., and oppress all 
 your labourers. According to the law of Lev. xvi. 29 a fast implied 
 universal cessation of v^^ork, but these men while fasting themselves, 
 extorted from their slaves and hired servants their full tale of work. 
 On slavery in the post-exilic community see Neh. v. 5. The translation 
 "labourers" is somewhat uncertain; the word does not occur elsewhere 
 in this sense. 
 
 4. ye fast for strife and contention (R.V.)] The fasting made them 
 as irritable as Arabs in the month of Ramadan; it produced a quarrel- 
 some temper which even led to open violence, — "smiting with godless 
 fist." 
 
 ye shall not fast &'c.'\ Render: ye do not fast at present so as to 
 make &c., i.e. "with your present mode of fasting, your prayers can 
 never reach the ear of Jehovah." 
 
 "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: 
 Words without thoughts never to heaven go." 
 
 Hamlet, Act iii. Scene iii. 97 f. 
 
 5. Should such be the fast that I choose ? Can mere gestures and 
 symbols of humiliation avail anything, along with such evidences of an 
 unspiritual frame of mind ? 
 
 to afflict his soul] Both here and in v. 3 the phrase expresses what 
 is of moral value in the act of fasting, the repression of sensual impulses 
 through abstinence, &c. It is so used also in Ps. xxxv. 13 ("I humbled 
 my soul through fasting"), and in the laws about fasting it becomes 
 almost a technical expression (Lev. xvi. 29, 31, xxiii. 27, 32; Num. 
 xxix. 7). From it comes the noun ta'-antth (humiliation), the common 
 term for fasting in late Hebrew (found Ezra ix. 5). How little the true 
 end of fasting was attained in the case of tliose here addressed has been 
 shewn in v, 4. 
 
vv. 6— 8.] ISAIAH, LVIII. 165 
 
 And to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? 
 
 Wilt thou call this a fast, 
 
 And an acceptable day to the Lord? 
 
 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? 
 
 To loose the bands of wickedness, 
 
 To undo the heavy burdens, 
 
 And to let the oppressed go free. 
 
 And that ye break every yoke? 
 
 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, 
 
 And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy 
 
 house ? 
 When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him ; 
 And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 
 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, 
 
 6, 7. Description of the true fast in which Jehovah delights. The 
 duties enjoined fall under two heads: (i) abstinence from every form of 
 oppression {v. 6), and (2) the exercise of positive beneficence towards 
 the destitute [v. 7). In naming these things as the moral essence of 
 fasting, the prophet may be guided by the principle so often inculcated 
 by our Lord, that he who would obtain mercy from God must shew a 
 merciful disposition towards his fellow-men (Matt. v. 7, vi. 12, xviii. 
 35 8lc.). Or the idea may be that the spirit of self-denial possesses no 
 value before God unless it be carried into the sphere of social duty. 
 
 the bands (R.V. bonds) of zvickedness] i.e. unjust and oppressive 
 obligations. 
 
 to undo the heavy burdens\ Lit. to untie the bands of the yoke. 
 
 the opp)'essed is literally the " broken " (Deut. xxviii. 33 ; ch. xlii. 3), 
 — bankrupts, whose liberty had been forfeited to their creditors (*cf. 
 Neh. V. 5). 
 
 7. Comp. Ezek. xviii. 7 f., 16 f. ; Job xxxi, 13 ff. 
 
 the poor that are cast ottt] the vagrant (homeless) poor. The word 
 rendered "vagrant" is peculiar, but is supposed to come from a verb 
 meaning "wander." It occurs with an abstract sense, and along with 
 the abstract noun corresponding to the word here rendered "poor," in 
 Lam. i. 7, iii. 19. 
 
 hide not thyself (Deut. xxii. i, 3, 4) from thine own fleshy from thy 
 fellow Israelites (as in Neh. v. 5). 
 
 8 ff. When these conditions are complied with, the glory of the 
 latter days shall break on the regenerated community. 
 
 thy light] (ch. Ix. i, 3), the emblem of salvation; cf. ch. ix. 2. 
 
 break forth as the dawn] "Break forth" is the verb used in 
 ch. xxxv. 6; Gen. vii. 11; Ps. Ixxiv. 15, of the bursting of waters 
 through a fissure in the earth's surface ; by a vivid metaphor the dawn 
 was conceived as ** splitting" the heavens and flooding the world with 
 light. The same word occurs on the Moabite Stone (1. 15) in the phrase 
 "from the splitting of the dawn." 
 
i66 ISAIAH, LVIII. [vv. 9, 10. 
 
 And thine health shall spring forth speedily: 
 
 And thy righteousness shall go before thee; 
 
 The glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. 
 
 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; 
 
 Thou shalt cry, and he shall say. Here I am. 
 
 If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, 
 
 The putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity ; 
 
 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, 
 
 And satisfy the afflicted soul; 
 
 Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, 
 
 thine health^ thy healing (as R.V.), or thy recovery. The word 
 (Heb. ^dr^kah, Arab, ^artka) seems to mean literally the new flesh 
 which is formed when a wound is healing (see Delitzsch's Commentary 
 on the verse); it is used three times by Jeremiah with the sense of 
 recovered health or prosperity ; in Neh. iv. 7 (iv. i Heb.) and 1 Chr. 
 xxiv. 13 the metaphor is applied to the repairing of damages (in the 
 walls or the Temple). Since v. 12 shews that the prophet has the 
 restoration of ruins in his mind, the coincidence with Neh. iv. 7 is 
 certainly suggestive ; but the figure here does not go beyond the general 
 idea of recovered prosperity. 
 
 shall go before thee .. .shall be thy rereward'\ Comp. ch. Hi. 12. It is 
 difficult to say whether righteousness means in this case "right vindi- 
 cated " by outward tokens of Jehovah's favour, or ethical righteousness 
 as described in w. 6, 7. 
 
 9 a. The immediate answer to prayer, in contrast to the complaint 
 oi V. 3, is the evidence of harmony re-established between Jehovah and 
 His worshippers; comp. ch. Ixv. 24, xxx. 19. 
 
 9 b should be joined to v. 10. The conditions of acceptance with 
 God are recapitulated in terms differing slightly from those of w. 6, 7. 
 
 the putting forth of the finger^ a gesture of contempt (Pro v. vi. 13) 
 towards the oppressed mentioned in w. 6, 7. Compare (with 
 Gesenius) the infamis digitus {Pers. il. 33). 
 
 10. draw out thy sotd to the hungry^ A very peculiar expression. 
 The most natural sense would be "let thy desire go out" &c.; but most 
 commentators rightly feel that the object ("the hungry") demands some 
 more specific definition of duty than this. Hence they take "thy soul" 
 to mean "that in which thy soul delights" (see R.V. marg.), i-e. "thy 
 sustenance" (Cheyne), which is hardly an improvement, and is more- 
 over a rendering not easily to be justified. The Peshitto reads "bread" 
 instead of "soul"; the LXX. has both words [rhv Aprov iK i/'ux^s cov). 
 Since the word "soul" immediately follows (in the original) it is not 
 improbable that there is an error in the text, and that what the prophet 
 wrote was "thy bread." Render therefore and bestow thy bread on 
 the hungry. This sense of the verb is guaranteed by a very similar use 
 in Ps. cxiiv. 13 (E.V. "afford"). 
 
 then shall thy light rise &'c.'\ See v. 8. 
 
vv. II, 12.] ISAIAH, LVIII. 167 
 
 And thy darkness be as the noonday : 
 
 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, 
 
 And satisfy thy soul in drought, 
 
 And make fat thy bones : 
 
 And thou shalt be like a watered garden. 
 
 And like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 
 
 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old 
 waste places : 
 
 Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many genera- 
 tions; 
 
 And thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, 
 
 The restorer of paths to dwell in. 
 
 11. the Lord shall guide thee'\ Cf. ch. Ivii. 18 "I will lead him," — 
 the same verb in Hebr. 
 
 satisfy thy soul (cf. v. 10) in drought'\ R.V. "dry places". 
 
 make fat thy bones'] So the LXX. The verb (which does not 
 elsewhere occur in this form) may mean "make strong" (thy bones). 
 But it is best to accept an old emendation of Seeker and Lowth, and 
 read renew thy stren^h (see ch. xl; 29, 31). 
 
 like a Tf^/'^r^.^ (well-watered, cf. xvi. g) garden] Jer. xxxi. 12. 
 
 whose waters fail not] Lit. deceive not. From this root comes the 
 technical word ^akzdb, the "deceitful brook" (Jer. xv. 18; Mic. i. 14, 
 R.V.). Comp. John iv. 14. 
 
 12. Comp. ch. Ixi. 4, xlix. 8. The importance attached to the 
 restoration of the ruined places shews that what the prophet has in view 
 is chiefly the recovery of temporal and political prosperity. It may also 
 throw some light on the date of the prophecy. The description of the 
 ruins as "ancient" suggests a period considerably later than the Exile 
 (which only lasted half a century), although the argument is not one that 
 can be rigorously pressed. 
 
 they that shall be of thee] Strictly "some of thee." Weir and 
 Cheyne emend the text and read "thy children" ("I^JZl for 1DD). 
 Konig on the other hand (Syntax, p. 37) suggests a change of the 
 verb (reading lUIlJ^) : "and the wastes shall be built by thee." 
 
 the old waste places] Better, the ancient ruins (xliv. 26). 
 
 the foundations of many generations] might mean places which had 
 been founded many generations back, but the correspondence with ch. 
 Ixi. 4 seems to shew that foundations which have lain waste for many 
 generations are referred to. 
 
 The repairer of the breach <Sr»r.] The restoration of the walls and 
 highways will be an achievement by which the community is re- 
 membered. 
 
 paths to dwell in] Cf. Job xxiv. 13. 
 
 13. 14. A promise attached to the strict and cheerful observation of 
 the Sabbath. See on ch. Ivi. 2. 
 
i68 ISAIAH, LVIII. LIX. [w. 13, 14. 
 
 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, 
 
 From doing thy pleasure on my holy day; 
 
 And call the sabbath a delight, 
 
 The holy of the Lord, honourable ; 
 
 And shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, 
 
 Nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine 
 
 own words : 
 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord ; 
 And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of 
 
 the earth. 
 And feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: 
 For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 
 
 If thou turn aivay thy foot from the sabbath^ treating it as "holy 
 ground" (d^aros). The metaphor is translated into literal terms in the 
 following clause. 
 
 from domg- thy pleasure\ so as not to do thy business (as v. 3). 
 
 call the sabbath a delightl Great stress is laid on heartiness in the 
 observance of this command; for a contrast see Am. viii. 5. The next 
 clause must be translated as in R. V. and [sc. call] the holy of the LORD 
 honourable, and shalt honour it. "The holy of Jehovah" is a remark- 
 able designation for the Sabbath, and all the expressions of the clause 
 are peculiar. 
 
 not doing thine oion ivays\ so as not to do after thy wont (Cheyne). 
 Y ox pleasure render, as before, business. 
 
 nor speaking thine own words] Lit. a word, i.e. "idle words"; 
 of. Hos. X. 4. 
 
 14. Then shalt thou delight thyself] Better : Then shalt thou have 
 thy delight; Job xxil. 26. The same verb as in ch. Ivii, 4. 
 
 and I will cause thee to ride over the heights ^/the earth] Apparently 
 a quotation from Deut. xxxii. 13. The meaning is "I will carry thee 
 triumphantly over all obstacles" (cf. Deut. xxxii. ii). 
 
 and feed thee with] and make thee to eat, i.e. enjoy; cf. ch. i. 19. 
 
 Ch. LIX. The Hindrances to Israel's Salvation and their 
 Removal through the Interposition of Jehovah. 
 The chapter is closely connected in thought with the preceding, and 
 may perhaps be regarded as a continuation of the same discourse. The 
 first verse justifies the utterance of such promises as are contained in the 
 latter part of ch. Iviii., and the second explains why they remain as yet 
 imfulfilled. The range of the prophecy is wider than in the former 
 chapter, but the central theme and the historical situation are the same, 
 and, as in the case of chs. Ivi, — Iviii., the phenomena of the chapter are 
 most naturally accounted for on the assumption of a post-exilic date. In 
 particular the prominence given to abuses of public justice (z'z/. 4, 14) in 
 the catalogue of social crimes, implies a degree of independence and 
 
vv. I, 2.] ISAIAH, LIX. 169 
 
 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it 59 
 
 cannot save; 
 Neither his ear heavy, that // cannot hear : 
 But your iniquities have separated between you and 2 
 
 your God, 
 - And your sins have hid his face from you, that he will 
 
 not hear. 
 
 political responsibility which can hardly be attributed to the Jews in 
 exile. 
 
 The chapter falls obviously into three sections : 
 
 i. in). 1—8. — In opposition to the thought naturally arising in the 
 mind of the people, that the obstacle to their deliverance must be impo- 
 tence or indifference on the part of Jehovah {v. i), the prophet asserts 
 that the true reason of His inactivity is the sin that has come between 
 Him and them {v. 2). He points to the flagrant breaches of the moral 
 law of which the community as a whole is guilty (vv. 3, 4) : and draws 
 an appalling picture of the hopelessly corrupt character and conduct of 
 many of his contemporaries {vv. 5 — 8). 
 
 ii. w. 9 — 15 a. — A pathetic description of the people's vain longing 
 for deliverance and peace {^v. 9 — 11), followed by a confession of the 
 sins which are the cause of their rhisery (ruv. 12 — 15 a). The prophet 
 here identifies himself with the nation and speaks in its name. 
 
 iii. vv, i^b — 21. — At the middle of z*. 15 the tone of the discourse 
 suddenly alters ; the language of complaint and prayer gives place to 
 that of prophetic anticipation. Since the people is hopelessly entangled 
 in its own sins, and no human champion appears on the scene, Jehovah 
 Himself, represented as a warrior anning for the conflict, undertakes 
 the work of salvation {vv. 15 b — 17). The world-wide consequences of 
 His interposition are then described : destruction to His enemies, mani- 
 festation of His divinity to all mankind, and redemption to Zion {;vv. 
 18 — 20). The chapter closes with a promise confirming the gift of the 
 divine spirit and word to the true Israel in perpetuity {v. 21). 
 
 1, 2. These verses state briefly and forcibly the argument of which 
 the whole chapter is the expansion : not the powerlessness or the in- 
 difference of Jehovah, but the sin of the people, is the hindrance to the 
 promised redemption. 
 
 1. Behold the hand of Jehovah is not too short (cf ch. 1. 2) to 
 
 Nor His ear too heavy (ch. vi. 10) to hear. 
 
 2. your iniquities have separated^ Lit. "have been separating." 
 The expression is that used of the firmament in Gen. i. 6 ; it implies 
 that guilt has been a permanent cause of alienation between Israel and 
 its God. 
 
 have hid his /ace] i.e. caused Him to withdraw His favour (cf. ch. viii. 
 17). Instead of "his face," the Hebr. has simply "face" as in Job 
 xxxiv. 29. Various explanations are offered of this peculiar expression ; 
 perhaps the easiest is that "the Face" had come to be used absolutely 
 of the face of God. 
 
I70 ISAIAH, LIX. [vv. 3—5. 
 
 For your hands are defiled with blood, 
 
 And your fingers with iniquity ; 
 
 Your lips have spoken lies, 
 
 Your tongue hath uttered perverseness. 
 
 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth : 
 
 They trust in vanity, and speak lies; 
 
 They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 
 
 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, 
 
 3. your hands are defiled with bloody Cf. ch. i. 15. 
 hath uttered} Better muttereth (as R.V.). 
 
 4. The first half of the verse should be rendered as K.V. 
 
 None sueth in righteousness, 
 And none pleadeth in truth. 
 The reference is to the abuse of legal procedure : lawsuits instituted and 
 conducted with absolute disregard of righteousness and truth. Cf. 
 ch. xxix. 21. 
 
 calleth'] with the sense of "summon " (in jus vocare), as in Job ix. 16, 
 xiii. 22. 
 
 pleadeth] i.e. "pleadeth a cause", litigates; the same word as in 
 xliii. 26. 
 
 The rest of the verse probably continues the same subject, describing 
 the sophistical and mischievous arguments employed by the litigants to 
 make the worse appear the better reason, and subvert the ends of 
 justice. The verbs are infinitives (as in v. 13 and Hos. iv. 1) and should 
 be translated thus : 
 
 Trusting in emptiness (lit. **chaos" as xl. 17) and speaking 
 
 vanity 1 
 Conceiving mischief and bringing forth evil ! 
 The last line occurs almost verbatim in Job xv, 35. 
 
 6—8. These verses differ somewhat in character from w. 3f., and 
 are regarded by Duhm and Cheyne as a quotation from some Psalm or 
 collection of proverbs. In point of fact the first part of v. 7 appears in 
 Prov. i. 16, but probably as an interpolation, since the verse is wanting 
 in the LXX. On the other hand, vv. 7, 8 are partly reproduced in the 
 LXX. recension of Ps. xiv. 3, as in Rom. iii. 10 ff. These facts do not by 
 themselves raise any presumption against the genuineness of the passage 
 in this discourse ; and the first image of v. 5 connects itself naturally 
 enough with the conclusion of v. 4. It must be admitted, however, 
 that the description can only apply to a limited class of utter reprobates, 
 and there is some difficulty in conceiving that it can be the continuation 
 of vv. 3, 4, which contain perfectly definite and intelligible accusations 
 against a whole community. 
 
 6. cockatrice' es^gs] or basilisks' eggs. vSee on ch. xi. 8. The figure 
 is expanded in the latter part of the verse, and the meaning seems to be 
 that the persons spoken of brood over and bring to maturity projects of 
 wickedness, whose effects are almost equally fatal to those who acquiesce 
 in them and to those who oppose them. 
 
vv. 6— 8.J ISAIAH, LIX. 171 
 
 And weave the spider's web : 
 
 He that eateth of their eggs dieth, 
 
 And that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. 
 
 Their webs shall not become garments, 1 
 
 Neither shall they cover themselves with their works : 
 
 Their works are works of iniquity, 
 
 And the act of violence is in their hands. 
 
 Their feet run to evil, 
 
 And they make haste to shed innocent blood: 
 
 Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity ; 
 
 Wasting and destruction are in their paths. 
 
 The way of peace they know not; 
 
 And there is no judgment in their goings : 
 
 They have made them crooked paths : 
 
 Whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. 
 
 he that eateth of their eggsX (cf. Deut. xxxii. 33) i.e. either he who 
 enters into their schemes, or he who is their victim. 
 
 that which is crushed... viper] Should one try to stamp out one of 
 their diabolical plots, its deadly nature will only be the more clearly 
 manifested. 
 
 6. Development of the second image of v. 5, the point of comparison 
 being the uselessness for any good social end of the schemes devised by 
 the ungodly. 
 
 shall not become garments'] i.e. "shall not serve for a garment." 
 neither shall they cover themselves ^c] Better, neither shall men 
 cover themselves &c. (indefinite subj.). 
 
 7, 8. Cf. Prov. i. 16; Rom. iii. 15 — 17. 
 
 7. their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity (or evil)] corresponding to 
 their deeds, v. 6. 
 
 wasting and destruction] as ch. li. ig, Ix. 18; an alliteration in the 
 Hebr. 
 iti their paths] Lit. In their highways, cf. Prov. xvi. 17. 
 
 8. judgment here means right (R.V. marg. ). 
 
 goings] tracks, a common word in the Book of Proverbs. 
 
 they have made them ^'c] they have made their paths crooked. Cf. 
 Prov. ii. 15, X. 9, xxviii. 18. 
 
 whosoever goeth therein] i.e. makes common cause with them. 
 
 9 — 11. The sorrow and dejection of the people is depicted in striking 
 and pathetic images. It is the better mind of the community which is 
 here expressed, — its intense desire for the fulfilment of the divine pro- 
 mises, its weariness through hope deferred making the heart sick. The 
 contrast to the buoyant enthusiasm of the second Isaiah is very great, 
 and it is hardly credible that the state of feeling here described should 
 have arisen in the short interval which elapsed between the announce- 
 ment of deliverance and the actual release from captivity. 
 
172 ISAIAH, LIX. [vv. 9—12. 
 
 Therefore is judgment far from us, 
 
 Neither doth justice overtake us : 
 
 We wait for light, but behold obscurity ; 
 
 For brightness, but we walk in darkness. 
 
 We grope for the wall like the blind, 
 
 And we grope as if ive had no eyes : 
 
 We stumble at noonday as /;/ the night; 
 
 We are in desolate places as dead men. 
 
 We roar all like bears. 
 
 And mourn sore Hke doves : 
 
 We look for judgment, but there is none ; 
 
 For salvation, but it is far off from us. 
 
 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, 
 
 And our sins testify against us : 
 
 For our transgressions are with us; 
 
 9. Therefore] on account of these sins and disorders, and not on account 
 of Jehovah's remissness {vv. i, 2). 
 
 judgment... justice (R.V. rigMeousness) are here again synonyms for 
 salvation, right manifested by a judicial interposition of Jehovah, as in 
 V. 1 1 and the latter part of ch. Ivi. i. 
 
 overtake us\ The nation has struggled on its dreary and difficult way 
 in the confident expectation that salvation v^^ould not tarry long behind, 
 but hitherto this hope has been disappointed. 
 
 10. We grope for the wall, 6^t.] Rather, along the wall seeking an 
 outlet. Comp. the very similar passage Deut. xxviii. 29. 
 
 we are in desolate places as dead men] R.V. among them that are 
 lusty we are as dead men. The A.V. follows the Vulgate, but the 
 rendering "desolate places" seems destitute of any etymological basis. 
 The word, which occurs only here, comes apparently from a root 
 denoting "fatness"; hence the translation of the R.V., which gives a 
 more effective turn to the figure than any other that has been proposed. 
 The soundness of the text, however, is open to suspicion. 
 
 11. We roar (better groan) all like dears] Comp. (with Gesenius) 
 Horace, £pod. 16. 51 : 
 
 "Nee vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile." 
 
 The comparison would no doubt gain in force if we could suppose, as 
 Duhm hesitatingly suggests, that captive animals, pining for liberty, are 
 meant. But this is not indicated. 
 
 On the "mourning" of the dove, cf. ch. xxxviii. 14; Ezek. vii. 16; 
 Nah. ii. 7; and see Davidson's Ezekie I {Cambridge Bible), p. 49. 
 
 7i>e look for judgment, &=c.] returning to the thought of z*. 9. 
 
 12 — 15 a. Confession of the sins previously denounced, the prophet 
 speaking in the name of the people. 
 
 12. our sins testify against us] So Jer. xiv. 7. 
 
 our transgressions are with us] present to our conscience. Job xii. 3, 
 
 I 
 
vv. 13—15.] ISAIAH, LIX. 173 
 
 And as for our iniquities, we know them ; 
 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, 13 
 
 And departing away from our God, 
 Speaking oppression and revolt, 
 
 Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of false- 
 hood. 
 And judgment is turned away backward, 14 
 
 And justice standeth afar off: 
 For truth is fallen in the street, 
 And equity cannot enter. 
 
 Yea, truth faileth; ts 
 
 And he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: 
 
 xiv. 5 &c. ; comp. also Ps. li. 3 ("my transgressions I know, and my sin 
 is before me continually"). 
 
 13. The sins referred to m v.12 are enumerated in a series of infini- 
 tives (cf V. 4), which should be construed as in apposition to the tenns 
 "sin," "iniquities," &c. employed in the general confession oi v, 12. 
 
 Rebellion and denial of Jehovah, 
 and turning hack from after our God, etc. 
 It is doubtful if there is any reference here to the sin of idolatry ; the 
 charge of apostasy is perhaps rather to be understood of offences against 
 social morality, which amounted to a renunciation of the authority of 
 Jehovah. 
 
 The last two lines deal with sins of speech, committed against men. 
 
 revolt is literally "defection," and appears to be used in the same 
 general sense as Deut. xix. 16 of declension from truth and right. 
 
 uttering from the heart] The verb here is identical in form with that 
 rendered "mutter" in v. 3 and "mourn" mv. 11. The vocalisation 
 of both the verbs in this clause is anomalous, and should probably 
 be changed (read hard, hdgd). 
 
 14. The confession, following the same order as the indictment in 
 w. 3, 4, proceeds from personal sins to public injustice. 
 
 judgment ixnA justice (righteousness) are not the divine vindication of 
 Israel's right (as in v. 9), but the fundamental civic virtues. These, by 
 a bold personification, are conceived as eager to take their rightful 
 place in the administration of justice, but as kept at a distance by the 
 prevailing social corruption. For truth (the essential basis of righte- 
 ousness) stumbleth in the broad place, and uprightness (R.V.) cannot 
 enter. The "broad place" is probably the open space at the city gate 
 where cases were decided by the judges (Jer. v. i &c.). 
 
 15. Yea, truth faileth] Lit. And truth is missing, — conspicuous 
 by its absence. 
 
 maketh himself a prey] i.e. must submit to extortion (Ps. Ixxvi. 6). 
 Another, and possibly a better rendering is, "withdraws himself"; 
 compare the peculiar use of the simple verb in Ruth ii. 16 ( = "draw 
 out' corn from the sheaf). 
 
f74 ISAIAH, LIX. [vv. i6, 17 
 
 And the Lord saw if, and it displeased him 
 
 That f/iere was no judgment. 
 
 And he saw that f/iere tuas no man, 
 
 And wondered that there was no intercessor : 
 
 Therefore his arm brought salvation unto him ; 
 
 And his righteousness, it sustained him. 
 
 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, 
 
 And a helmet of salvation upon his head ; 
 
 And he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, 
 
 And was clad with zeal as a cloke. 
 
 161) introduces the peroration of the discourse, in which the prophet 
 describes the manner in which salvation shall at last "overtake" the 
 sinful and misgoverned community. The logical development of the 
 argument seems to be arrested by the conviction that the existing situa- 
 tion is hopeless, and only to be terminated through the personal inter- 
 vention of Jehovah. This conviction clothes itself first of all in a 
 prophetic vision of Jehovah as He appears to judgement ; which is 
 followed by an announcement of the consequences of His interposition 
 for the two classes within Israel and for mankind at large. Although 
 the transition in the middle of this verse is abrupt and unexpected there 
 is no sufficient reason to doubt the unity of the discourse. 
 
 16. Comp. the closely parallel passage, ch. Ixiii. 5. 
 there was no man] See on ch. 1. 2. 
 
 no intercessor'l Better none to interpose, i.e. on behalf of truth and 
 right (cf. Ezek. xxii. 30). Duhm finds in these expressions an allusion 
 to the absence of any human hero to play the rfile assigned to Cyrus in 
 the earlier part of the book. This is perhaps to strain the prophet's 
 language unduly; but see on Ixiii. 5. 
 
 tkerejore his arm ^c.'\ Jehovah's only allies in this conflict with 
 wickedness are His own attributes. 
 
 brought salvation unto him] "wrought deliverance for Him." Cf. 
 Jud. vii. 2. 
 
 That the whole description refers to a future event can hardly be 
 questioned. The perfects in this verse and the next are those of pro- 
 phetic certainty. 
 
 17. The idea of Jehovah as a warrior occurs several times in this 
 book (ch. xlii. 13, xlix. 24 f., lii. 10); but the fully developed image of 
 His arming Himself with His own attributes has no exact parallel in 
 the O.T. (cf. however, ch. xi. 5). It is reproduced and further elabo- 
 rated in Wisd. v, lyfif. ; and in the N.T. it suggests the figure of the 
 Christian armour (Eph. vi. 14 ff.; i Thess. v. 8). 
 
 And lie put on righteousness as a coat of mail (R.V. marg.). 
 "Rigliteousness," as in v. 16, is a divine attribute, — zeal for the right, 
 the stedfast purpose to establish righteousness (and its correlate, salva- 
 tion) on the earth. 
 
 zeal] Cf. ch. xlii. i,^, ix. ; 
 
19.] ISAIAH, LIX. 175 
 
 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, is 
 
 Fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies ; 
 
 To the islands he will repay recompence. 
 
 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, 19 
 
 x^nd his glory from the rising of the sun. 
 
 When the enemy shall come in Uke a flood, 
 
 18 — 20. The consequences of Jehovah's interposition. 
 
 18. According to their deeds\ Or deserts. The word means simply an 
 accomplished deed, either in a good or bad sense j but it is chiefly used 
 in expressions which imply a reference to reward or retribution. In the 
 next line it denotes the recompence itself (cf. ch. xxxv. 4). 
 
 Accordi?ig to .. .accordingly] The form of the comparative sentence is 
 hardly grammatical. The compound preposition which introduces both 
 protasis and apodosis has in the second case no noun to govern, and it 
 cannot be treated either as a conjunction or as an adverb. We must 
 either (with Dillmann) omit "accordingly" as dittography, or (with 
 Duhm) change "he will repay" into a noun; rendering, "as the deserts 
 *so the retribution." The sentence, however, would read awkwardly 
 without a verb. 
 
 to the islands he will repay recompencel The clause seems to identify 
 the "adversaries" and "enemies" of Jehovah with the "islands" (cf. 
 xli. i), i.e. the heathen world; but that is almost certainly a misinterpre- 
 tation of the sense of the passage. If there is any connexion with the 
 earlier part of the discourse, the "adversaries" spoken of must be the 
 apostate Jews, — those who by their sins hindered the coming of salva- 
 tion. The prophet cannot mean that because Israel's sin has separated 
 it from Jehovah, there/ore judgement will descend on the heathen. Apart 
 from this clause, indeed, there is nothing in the context to suggest the 
 thought of a world-judgement, although of course the conception of a 
 judgement beginning with Israel and extending to the nations is possible 
 (see on ch. iii. 13). The words, however, are wanting in the LXX., 
 and the verse would be greatly simplified by their removal. Their in- 
 sertion is easily accounted for through a misunderstanding of z/. 19. 
 
 19. The effect of the judgement, as a manifestation of Jehovah's 
 glory, will be coextensive with humanity. The verse gives no hint 
 that the judgement itself will be universal ; the nations are affected by it 
 only in so far as it reveals the character and deity of the God of Israel. 
 Comp. ch. xviii. 3. 
 
 fear the name of the Lord\ Cf. Ps. cii. 15. 
 
 When the ene7?iy shall come in, dr'c.] R.V. reads: for he shall come 
 as a rushing stream (marg. a stream pent in), which the breath of the 
 LORD driveth. The rendering of A.V. is based on the Targ., Pesh. , and 
 Jewish commentators, and is followed by a few in recent times; that 
 of R.V. has the authority of the LXX. (in part) and Vulg., and is 
 adopted by nearly all the best modern authorities. The chief points of 
 difference are (i) the construction of the word which A.V. translates by 
 enemy (Heb. ^ar). According to the Massoretic pointing and accentua- 
 
176 ISAIAH, LIX. [vv. 20, 21. 
 
 The spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against 
 
 him. 
 And the redeemer shall come to Zion, 
 And unto them that turn from transgression in 
 
 Jacob, saith the Lord. 
 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the 
 
 Lord; 
 My spirit that is upon thee, 
 And my words which I have put in thy mouth, 
 Shall not depart out of thy mouth. 
 Nor out of the mouth of thy seed, 
 Nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the 
 
 Lord, 
 From henceforth and for ever. 
 
 tion it is the subject of the sentence, and may be rendered indififerently 
 "adversary" or *' adversity." On the other view it is an adjective 
 qualifying "stream," and may mean either as an act. part, "rushing," 
 or (less probably) "straitened," "pent up." {2) The verb for lift up a 
 standard {^.Y . "driveth," Heb. noses). The A.V. understands it as a 
 denominative from the common word for "standard" (see on ch. x. 18), 
 while the R.V. derives it from the verb for "flee" (Pil'el= "drive 
 forward"). The other differences need no elucidation. The second 
 interpretation is alone suitable to the connexion, which "requires a con- 
 tinuous description of the theophany" (Cheyne). For the image in the 
 last clause cf. ch. xxx. 28 ("His breath is as an overflowing stream"). 
 
 20. The consequences for Israel. 
 
 And the redeemer shall come] Rather And he shall come as a 
 redeemer (ch. xli. 14). 
 
 and unto thejn that turn fi'om transgression in Jacob] LXX. has 
 "and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob," — a different and more 
 expressive text. So also in the quotation, Rom. xi. 26, where the words 
 are applied in a Messianic sense. 
 
 21. Confirmation of the covenant to the true Israel. The verse, on 
 account of its apparent want of connexion with what precedes, and its 
 change of person and number, is regarded by some as an insertion. 
 
 My spirit that is upoft thee] The change of pronouns {with them... 
 upon thee) presents little diflficulty here. It is caused by the transition 
 from indirect to direct address; what follows being the substance of an 
 oracle that was already gone forth. Comp. the similar promise in ch. 
 xliv. 3. The person addressed is the spiritual Israel, which is even 
 now endowed with the divine spirit and word. Whether Israel is con- 
 ceived as "the bearer of the idea of the Servant of Jehovah " (Dillmann) 
 is doubtful in view of the possible post-exilic origin of the prophecy. 
 Against the view that the prophet himself is addressed, Dillmann perti- 
 nently remarks that the O.T. knows nothing of a hereditary transmission 
 of the prophetic gift. 
 
ISAIAH, LX. 177 
 
 Ch. LX. The Glory of the New Jerusalem. 
 
 At length the dark clouds of sin and impending judgement roll away 
 before the prophet's vision, and in three magnificent chapters (Ix. — Ixii.) 
 he hails the rising sun of Jerusalem's prosperity. Ch. Ix., a prophecy 
 complete in itself, is a continuous apostrophe to the ideal Zion, describ- 
 ing her future splendour, the restoration of her children, the submission 
 of the nations, the influx of costly tribute from all parts of the earth, &c. 
 All the main features can be paralleled from ch. xl. — Iv., and the strong 
 resemblance to ch. xlix. 14 ff., li. 17 ff., liv. would naturally lead to its 
 being assigned to the same author. Had the chapter occupied a different 
 position doubt on this point would hardly arise; it would be accepted 
 without difficulty as a prophecy of return from Exile, written in Babylon. 
 But the fact that it follows a series of chapters which there are strong 
 reasons to regard as post-exilic, raises the question whether it be a 
 misplaced discourse of the second Isaiah, or whether it may not have 
 been composed in the same circumstances as the gloomy oracles with 
 which it is immediately connected. A closer examination of the passage 
 reveals little that is decisive on either side, but apparently nothing in- 
 consistent with the latter hypothesis. The promise of the return of the 
 exiles {vv. 4, 9) obviously refers to the Jews dispersed throughout the 
 world, whose ingathering remained an object of prophetic anticipation 
 long after the restoration of the Jewish community in Palestine. Equally 
 indeterminate are the allusions to the sanctuary in vv. 7, 13; it does 
 not appear whether the Temple has yet to be rebuilt or only to be 
 beautified. That the walls are still unbuilt {v. 10) only proves that the 
 date is earlier than the governorship of Nehemiah. In the absence of 
 definite indications, all that can safely be said is that the theory of post- 
 exilic authorship is perfectly admissible, and is probably to be preferred 
 in the interests of critical simplicity. The prophecy at all events loses 
 none of its significance if it is regarded as a message of consolation to 
 the depressed and misgoverned and poverty stricken community depicted 
 in the foregoing chapters. 
 
 The poem, according to Duhm and Cheyne, consists of ten strophes. 
 The order of ideas may be thus exhibited : — 
 
 i. vv. I — 3. An introductory strophe. While the rest of the world 
 is shrouded in darkness, the light of Jehovah's glory breaks on Zion, 
 and the nations are attracted to it. 
 
 ii. w. 4 — 9. The main subject of the next three strophes is the 
 return of the exiled children of Zion from East and West. As in 
 ch. xlix. 22, they are represented as brought home by the nations 
 among whom they have sojourned; the resources of the world are 
 placed at their disposal, and they bring with them the wealth of distant 
 countries as tribute to the God of Israel. 
 
 iii. w. 10 — 16. The relation of the new Israel to the outer world 
 (again three strophes). Zion becomes the mistress of the nations; her 
 walls are built by strangers, and kings are her servants {v. 10) ; through 
 her open gates a constant stream of treasure flows to beautify the sanctuary 
 {vv. II — 13); she is the joy and praise of the whole earth, and is nourished 
 by the "milk of the Gentiles" {vv. 14 — 16). 
 
 ISAIAH II. 12 
 
178 ISAIAH, LX. [vv. 1—4. 
 
 60 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, 
 
 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. 
 
 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, 
 And gross darkness the people : 
 
 But the Lord shall arise upon thee, 
 And his glory shall be seen upon thee. 
 
 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, 
 And kings to the brightness of thy rising. 
 
 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see : 
 
 All they gather themselves together, they come to thee: 
 
 Thy sons shall come from far, 
 
 And thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. 
 
 iv. w. 17 — 12. 'Ihe last three strophes describe the internal 
 prosperity, both material and moral, of the future community. Peace 
 and righteousness are the ruling powers within its borders ; perfect 
 order and security prevail (^v. 17 f.) ; instead of the natural luminaries 
 of heaven, Jehovah Himself is its "everlasting light" {w. 19 f.); the 
 inhabitants are all righteous, possessing the land for ever, as the branch 
 of the Lord's planting {vv. 21 {.). 
 
 1 — 3. The image in these strikingly beautiful verses is that of a city 
 glittering in the first rays of the morning sun. Zion is no doubt ad- 
 dressed in the feminine gender, but the personification is much less 
 complete than in ch. xlix. 18 ff., li. 17 if., lii. i ff., liv. i ff. The name 
 "Jerusalem" is inserted by the LXX., Targ. and Vulg., but the addition 
 is unnecessary (cf. liv. i). 
 
 1. for thy light is come] Cf. ch. Iviii. 8, 10, lix. 9. It is the light of 
 the promised salvation, so long looked for in vain. The perfect tenses 
 are used from the ideal standpoint of the future. 
 
 2, 3. While Zion is thus illuminated by the presence of Jehovah the 
 heathen world still lies in darkness. Jerusalem is the one point of 
 light on the earth's surface, to which the nations and their kings are 
 attracted. Y ox people read with R.V. peoples. 
 
 hit the Lord cSr^r.] Better: but upon thee (emphatic) shall Jehovah 
 arise. 
 
 3. And the Gentiles] And nations (R.V.). 
 
 4, 5. In this and the two following strophes two things are closely 
 associated : the restoration of Zion's banished children, and the influx 
 of wealth from all parts of the world. The first half of v. 4 is repeated 
 literally from ch. xlix. 18. 
 
 4. shall be mirscd at thy side] Rather, shall be nursed on the side, 
 i.e. carried on the hip, the Eastern mode pf carrying young children. 
 Cf. ch. Ixvi. 12, xlix. 22. The idea, therefore, is the same as in ch. xlix. 
 1^ f. ; the nurses who bring back the children representing the heathen 
 nations. -See Muir, Life of Mahomet, p. 8 (abridged Ed.): 'Thou 
 gavest me this bite upon my back, when I carried thee on my hip '. 
 
5,6.] ISAIAH, LX. 179 
 
 Then thou shalt see, and flow together^ 5 
 
 And thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged ; 
 
 Because the abundance of the sea shall be converted 
 
 unto thee, 
 The forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. 
 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, 6 
 
 The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah ; 
 All they from Sheba shall come : 
 
 5. and flow together] See ch. ii. i. But the right translation is 
 that of R.V. and be lightened (cf. Ps. xxxiv. 5). The two verbs are 
 identical in form but belong to distinct roots. 
 
 thine heart shall f ear} Lit., shall throh, obviously from joy, as in 
 Jer. xxxiii. 9. These are perhaps the only two instances where the 
 word is so used. Usually it means to tremble from fear. 
 
 and be enlarged'\ Ps. cxix. 32, 
 
 the abundance of the sea] "Abundance" is lit. "tumult"; it often 
 means "multitude" (see ch. v. 13 f., xiii. 4, xxxiii. 3), but in late usage 
 it acquires the sense of "wealth" (Eccl. v. 9; Ps. xxxvii. 16). The 
 wealth of the sea is not the produce of the sea, but seaborne wealth, 
 the wealth of maritime nations. 
 
 shall be converted unto thee] shall be turned to thee (R.V.). The 
 stream of commerce shall be diverted from its old channels and flow to 
 Zion. 
 
 the forces of the Gentiles] the riches of nations. Cf. Hag. ii. 7 
 (R.V. "the desirable things of all nations"). 
 
 6, 7. The promise of v. 5 is expanded in two pictures, seen from 
 Jerusalem's commanding position between the desert and the sea. The 
 first is a procession of camels and flocks representing the tribute of the 
 East. 
 
 6. A imiltitude of camels] Cf. Ezek. xxvi. 10; Job xxii. 11. The 
 word for "multitude" is used of Jehu's small escort in 1 Ki. ix. 17. 
 Perhaps "train of camels." 
 
 dromedaries] properly "young camels." The word does not occur in 
 the O.T. elsewhere ; amongst the Arabs it denotes, according to some 
 of the native lexicographers, a camel less than nine years old (Lane's 
 LexicoJi). 
 
 Ephah] a Midianite tribe (Gen. xxv. 4). The Midianites are often 
 mentioned in the O.T., although nearly always (except Hab. iii. 7) in 
 connexion with the early history. In Gen. xxxvii. 28, 36 they appear 
 as traders between the desert and Egypt (in another source — w. 25, 28 
 — they are called Ishmaelites) ; in Ex. ii. and xviii. we find them 
 occupying the Sinaitic peninsula ; in Num. xxii., xxv., xxxi. on the east 
 of the Jordan; in Jud. vi, — viii. their hordes invade Palestine. Their 
 proper territory is said to have been cast of the Gulf of Akaba, where 
 Ptolemy and the Arabian geographers mention a city of Madian. 
 
 all they from Sheba] i.e. (probably) all those of Sheba ; although the 
 Hebrew accentuation implies that the subject is the "dromedaries of 
 
 12 — 2 
 
i8o ISAIAH, LX. [vv. 7-9. 
 
 They shall bring gold and incense ; 
 
 And they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. 
 
 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto 
 
 thee, 
 The rams of Nebajoth shall minister unto thee : 
 They shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, 
 And I will glorify the house of my glory. 
 Who are these that fly as a cloud, 
 And as the doves to their windows? 
 Surely the isles shall wait for me, 
 And the ships of Tarshish first, 
 
 Midian"; hence R.V. "they all shall come from Sheba." The meaning 
 would then be that the produce of Sheba was conveyed by Midianite 
 caravans. Sheba (Gen. x. 7 &c.) is a people and country in Arabia 
 Felix (Yemen). 
 
 gold and incense\ See i Ki. x. 2j Ezek. xxvii. 22; Ps. Ixxii. 15; 
 Jer. vi. 20. 
 
 shew forth the praises of the Lord] Lit. "proclaim the glad tidings 
 of" His praiseworthy deeds ; cf. ch. Ixiii. 7. 
 
 7. Kedar (see on ch. xxi. 16)... Nebajoth'] Cf. Gen. xxv. 13 &c. 
 The identification of the latter tribe with the Nabatseans of the classical 
 writers is disputed by some eminent authorities, but it is at least a 
 significant circumstance that "Nabataei et Cedrei " are bracketed 
 together by Pliny, as Nabaitai and Kidrai are associated in Assyrian 
 inscriptions (Schrader, Ctmeiform Inscriptiotis, on Gen. xxv. 13 f.). The 
 Nabataeans were as powerful in the last three centuries B.C. as the 
 Midianites appear to have been in the days of Moses and the Judges 
 (see on ch. xxxiv. Introd. Note). 
 
 shall minister unto thee] serve thee for sacrificial victims. The 
 verb has a liturgical sense (see ch. Ivi. 6) and the somewhat peculiar 
 expression is explained by the following clause. 
 
 I will glorify d^c] my beautiful house I will beautify (z/. 13). It is 
 difficult to say whether these words imply that the Temple was already 
 in existence. 
 
 8, 9. From the East the prophet turns to the West, and describes 
 the ships of the Mediterranean "like white doves upon the wing" 
 converging on Jerusalem. These also bring from afar the exiled sons 
 of Zion, as well as rich treasures from the nations. 
 
 8. as doves to their windows] Gen. viii. 9. The point of comparison 
 is rather the swiftness of the flight, than the whiteness of the wings and 
 sails. 
 
 9. Surely the isles shall wait for me] ch. xlii. 4, li. 5. Duhm pro- 
 poses to read "For to me shall the seafarers be gathei-ed " (substituting 
 fa*"'V [see on ch. xxiii. 13] for D^''X, and slightly changing the verb). 
 Some such sense would better explain the word "first" in the following 
 line. 
 
vv. 10—13] ISAIAH, LX. 181 
 
 To bring thy sons from far, 
 
 Their silver and their gold with them. 
 
 Unto the name of the Lord thy God, 
 
 And to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath 
 
 glorified thee. 
 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, ^o 
 And their kings shall minister unto thee : 
 For in my wrath I smote thee. 
 But in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 
 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; " 
 
 They shall not be shut day nor night ; 
 That 7nen may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, 
 And that their kings 7nay be brought. 
 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee 12 
 
 shall perish ; 
 Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 
 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, 13 
 
 ships of Tarshisk'] See on ch. ii. 16. 
 glorified thee] beautified thee (as v. ']). 
 
 10 flf. The restoration of Zion's material prosperity through the labour 
 and gifts of foreign peoples. 
 
 10. the sons of strangers'] strangers (R.V.), as in ch. Ivi. 3; 
 although the reference here is not to individual proselytes, but to 
 foreigners in general. It is not even certain that the verse implies a 
 willing cooperation of heathen converted to the religion of Israel, 
 although this is to be presumed. In either case the rebuilding of the 
 walls by the heathen who had destroyed them is the sign of the complete 
 removal of the divine anger against Israel. 
 
 for in my wrath &=€.] Cf. ch. liv. 7, 8. 
 
 11. For Therefore read And (R.V. "also"). 
 the riclies ^nations] as z*. 5. 
 
 a7id that their kings may be brotight] R.V. and their kings led with 
 them; — a circumstantial clause. Some commentators would change 
 the passive participle into an active: "their kings being the leaders." 
 The alteration seems unnecessary. 
 
 12. Comp. Zech. xiv. 17, 18. The verse is objected to by Duhm 
 and Cheyne on account of its prosaic character and unrhythmical 
 structure, and also because it violates the strophic arrangement which 
 these writers find in the chapter. It certainly seems to intrude 
 awkwardly between v. 11 and v. 13. 
 
 shall be titferly wasted] The verb applies strictly to the lands rather 
 than to the peoples (see the notes on ch. xxxvii. 18). 
 
 13. Forest trees from Lebanon shall be brought for the adornment 
 of the Temple. It is difficult to say whether the reference be to building 
 materials for the sacred edifice, or to ornamental trees planted in the 
 
i82 ISAIAH, LX. [vv. 14—16. 
 
 The fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, 
 
 To beautify the place of my sanctuary ; 
 
 And I will make the place of my feet glorious. 
 
 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come 
 
 bending unto thee ; 
 And all they that despised thee shall bow themselves 
 
 down at the soles of thy feet ; 
 And they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, 
 The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 
 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, 
 So that no man went through thee^ 
 I will make thee an eternal excellency, 
 A joy of many generations. 
 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, 
 And shalt suck the breast of kings : 
 And thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour 
 And thy redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. 
 
 Temple-courts. The former view, though less poetic, is more probable ; 
 and it is certainly unfair to cite the proverbial expressions of 27. 17 as an 
 argument against it. 
 
 t/iejir tree, the pine tree, and the box together'] See ch. xli. 19. 
 
 the place of -my sanctuary] is the Temple (Jer. xvii. 12), not the city of 
 Jerusalem, as the place where the Temple is situated. 
 
 the place ofmyfect^ Cf. Ezek. xliii. 7 ("the place of the soles of my 
 feet"). 
 
 14. The homage done to Zion by her former oppressors is probably 
 to be regarded as the consequence of the new glory which accrues to the 
 Sanctuary {v. 13). 
 
 The sons also... feet] The LXX. reads simply: "And there shall 
 come crouching unto thee the sons of thine afflicters and despisers." 
 The words omitted ("a//" and " shall dou> .. .feet") are probably a gloss. 
 
 The Zion of the Holy One of Israel] On the construction of the 
 proper name followed by a genitive see Davidson, Syntax, § 24, R. 6. 
 
 15, 16. Instead of being shunned and hated by all nations, Zion shall 
 become the joy of the whole earth, her wants being abundantly supplied 
 from the best that the nations can bestow. 
 
 15. Instead of thy yiQias forsaken and hated] Cf. ch. xlix. 14, 21, 
 liv. 6, 1 1. 
 
 so that 710 man went through thee] with none passing by (or 
 through). 
 
 16. For the figure in the first half of the verse, cf. ch. xlix. 23; the 
 second half is repeated from xlix. 26. 
 
 17. 18. The inner order and security of the commonwealth shall 
 correspond to its material splendour, — a double contrast to its present 
 (or past) condition. 
 
vv. 17—19.] ISAIAH, LX. 183 
 
 For brass I will bring gold, 
 
 And for iron I will bring silver, 
 
 And for wood brass, 
 
 And for stones iron : 
 
 I will also make thy officers peace, 
 
 And thine exactors righteousness. 
 
 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, 
 
 Wasting nor destruction within thy borders; 
 
 But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, 
 
 And thy gates Praise. 
 
 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; 
 
 Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto 
 
 thee : 
 But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, 
 And thy God thy glory. 
 
 17. For brass... gold dfc.'\^ Cf. ch. ix. 10; 1 Ki. x. 21, 27, and the 
 opposite experience, i Ki. xiv. 26 f. 
 
 / 7vill also ?nake, 6-v. ] Render : and I will appoint Peace as thy 
 government, and Righteousness as thy ruler. The word for ojicers is 
 an abstract noun (like "management" or "magistracy") used in a con- 
 crete sense; exactors is a plural of majesty, precisely as in ch. iii. 12. 
 Its use here is an oxyffwron; it denotes a tyrannous, arbitrary ruler (see 
 on ch. liii. 7), the idea conveyed being that the tyranny of the present 
 shall be replaced by the genial rule of Righteousness. In other words, 
 Peace and Righteousness (personified qualities, as ch. lix. 14) shall be 
 the governing powers in the new Jerusalem. The other rendering, "I 
 will make thy governors peaceful " &c. (so virtually the LXX.) is gramma- 
 tically possible, but yields a sense feeble and unsatisfying. 
 
 18. -vasting 7ior destructioti\ ch. lix. 7, li. 19. 
 
 thou shalt call thy walls Salvatioji, 6^<r.] This rendering is decidedly 
 preferable to that of most recent commentators : "thou shalt call 
 Salvation thy walls, &c." Moreover the rule in such cases (although v. 
 17 furnishes an exception) is that "the nearer obj. is usually def. and 
 the more remote indef." (Davidson, Syntax, § 76), See also on ch. 
 xxvi. I. 
 
 19. 20. Comp. Rev. xxi. 23: "And the city had no need of the sun, 
 neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, 
 and the Lamb is the light thereof"; and xxii. 5. It is not implied that 
 the sun and moon shall cease to exist; all that is said is that the new 
 Jerusalem shall not be dependent on these natural luminaries. But that 
 an actual physical illumination of the city by the glory of Jehovah is 
 contemplated by the prophet can hardly be doubted. The basis of the 
 conception is perhaps to be found in Ezek. xliii. 2. 
 
 19. thy glory'] thyheauty; 7>v. 7, 9. 13. 
 
i84 ISAIAH, LX. LXI. [vv. 20—22. 
 
 Thy sun shall no more go down ; 
 
 Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: 
 
 For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, 
 
 And the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 
 
 Thy people also shall be all righteous : 
 
 They shall inherit the land for ever, 
 
 The branch of my planting, the work of my hands, 
 
 that / may be glorified. 
 A little one shall become a thousand. 
 And a small one a strong nation : 
 I the Lord will hasten it in his time. 
 
 20. the days of thy mourning\ Cf. ch. Ivii. 18, Ixi. 2. 
 
 21. 22. The community, composed exclusively of righteous persons, 
 shall possess the land for ever; and Jehovah shall be glorified in them. 
 
 inherif] Better: possess. 
 
 the branch of viy platiting\ i.e. "which I have planted." Cf. ch. 
 Ixi. 3, The word for branch denotes strictly a "shoot"; so also in ch. 
 xi. I, xiv. 19. For the figure cf. ch. v. 7. 
 
 22. A little one... a small one] Better perhaps: The least... the 
 smallest. The word for "thousand" i^eleph) means also a larger or 
 smaller group of families, — "clan" or tiibe. This is doubtless the sense 
 in which it is employed here: comp. the parallel "nation" in the next 
 line. 
 
 will hasten it in his time'] The fulfilment shall be instantaneous 
 when once the appointed time has arrived. The reference is to the 
 whole of the preceding prophecy. 
 
 Ch. LXI. The Proclamation of Glad Tidings to Zion. 
 
 i. vv. I — 3. The speaker (see below) introduces himself as the 
 herald of the coming salvation. Anointed with the spirit of the Lord, 
 he is commissioned to cheer and comfort the distressed people of God 
 by the announcement of a day of spiritual emancipation and privilege 
 which issues in eternal splendour. 
 
 ii. vv. 4 — 9. In the end of v. 3 the soliloquy has passed insensibly 
 into objective description of the glorious future of Israel; and this is the 
 subject of the remainder of the prophecy. The old waste places shall 
 be rebuilt [v. 4) ; Israel shall be recognised as the priestly people among 
 the nations, while strangers feed its flocks and till its fields {w. 5, 6); 
 the people shall receive double compensation for their past sufferings, 
 and the blessing of Jehovah shall visibly rest on them {w. 7 — 9). 
 
 iii. vv. 10 — II. The prophet, speaking as it would appear in the 
 name of the community, exults in the glorious prospect tlius disclosed 
 of a spiritual spring-time when Jehovah shall cause righteousness and 
 praise to sprout before all the nations. 
 
 It will be seen that in substance the passage deals with the same theme 
 as ch. Ix., the future blessedness of Zion. The important difference is 
 
V. I.] ISAIAH, LXI. 185 
 
 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; 61 
 
 the prominence given in the opening monologue {vv. i — 3) to the 
 personality and mission of the speaker. The question necessarily arises, 
 Who is this speaker? Whilst the Targum and perhaps a majority of 
 well-known commentators assign the speech to the prophet himself, a 
 number of the best authorities regard it as a self-delineation of the ideal 
 Servant of Jehovah such as we have found in ch, xlix. i — 6 and 1. 4 — 9. 
 The question is one of much difficulty, and the chief points involved are the 
 following: (i) The name "Servant of the Lord" does not here occur. 
 But this really counts for nothing, since the same is true of ch. 1. 4 — 9, 
 where it cannot be doubted that it is the Servant who speaks. (2) It is 
 said that the prophet invariably keeps his own personality in the back- 
 ground and that where any other than Jehovah speaks of Himself at 
 length, it is always the Servant. This is true of the author of ch. xl. — 
 Iv., but is much less obvious if the present passage has to be assigned to 
 a later writer. The prophet's consciousness of his own mission is 
 strongly expressed in ch. Iviii. i, probably also in ch, Ixii. i, and it 
 is unsafe to assert that he might not have expanded it in such terms as 
 are here used. Another exception to the rule is found in the earlier part 
 of the book in ch. xlviii. 16 (which may however be an interpolation. See 
 on the verse). (3) There are undoubtedly affinities between the conception 
 here and the portrait of the Servant ; e.g. the gift of the spirit (xlii. i), 
 the helpful and consoling ministry (1. 4, xlii. 3), the message of emanci- 
 pation (xlii. 7, xlix. 9). On the other hand the function claimed by the 
 speaker cannot be said to transcend that of a prophet, and seems to fall 
 below the level of the Servant's great work. He is only the herald of 
 salvation, whereas the Servant is its mediator; there is nothing here to 
 suggest the profound moral influence which is the characteristic of the 
 Servant's ministry to Israel, for it does not appear that the mission of 
 consolation here described consists in anything else than the proclama- 
 tion of the coming glory. We miss also the element of universalism which 
 is so conspicuous in the Servant's work; and the allusion to a "day of 
 vengeance" strikes a note which is never found in the undoubted utter- 
 ances of the Servant. (4) Although it is a begging of the question to 
 assert that the personification of the Servant ceases with ch. liii., it is 
 certainly difficult to find a place for this portrait in the cycle of Servant- 
 passages. These passages shew a well-marked progression and con- 
 nexion of thought, and one must hesitate to believe that after the climax 
 in ch. liii. the same personage should again appear in what must be 
 considered a subordinate character. On the whole the objections to 
 taking the words as those of the prophet appear less cogent than those 
 against attributing them to the Servant, but it is probable that the 
 writer was familiar with the earlier portraits of the Servant and that his 
 conception of his prophetic office was influenced by them. That our 
 Lord quotes the passage as descriptive of Himself and His message 
 (Luke iv. 18 f.) does not decide the question, for the ideal prophet is as 
 truly a type of Christ as the Servant himself. 
 
 1 — 3. The prophet as Evangelist. 
 
 1. The Spirit .. .upon me] Cf. xlii. i, xlviii. i6 (lix. 21). 
 
i86 ISAIAH, LXI. [vv. 2, 3. 
 
 Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach 
 
 good tidings unto the meek; 
 He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, 
 To proclaim liberty to the captives, 
 And the opening of the prison to them that aix bound ; 
 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, 
 And the day of vengeance of our God; 
 To comfort all that mourn; 
 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, 
 To give unto them beauty for ashes, 
 
 because the Lord hath anointed me'] The abiding possession of the 
 spirit is the consequence of this consecrating act of Jehovah. " Anoint " 
 is used, as often, in a metaphorical sense. The idea that prophets were 
 actually anointed with oil is supported only by i Ki. xix. 16, and even 
 there the sense may be metaphorical since (as Cheyne observes) we do 
 not read that the act was performed. 
 
 to preach good tidings] The verb is basser {e^uayyeXlaaadai), on which 
 see the notes to xl. 9 and lii. 7. It is to be remarked that in ch. xl. 
 — Iv. the 7nebasser (or mebassireth) is an ideal personage or company, 
 whose function is quite distinct from that of the prophet or the Servant. 
 
 to bind up (i.e. heal) the broken-hearted] Cf. Ps. cxlvii. 3, xxxiv. 18, 
 li. 17. 
 
 The terms "meek" and "broken-hearted" denote the religions 
 qualities which characterise the recipients of the prophet's Evangel. 
 How far the following designations, "captives," "bound," "mourners," 
 are to be understood in a spiritual sense is doubtful. It is not unlikely 
 that the immediate reference is to the social evils whose redress is 
 already demanded in ch. Iviii. 6, 9. 
 
 to proclaim liberty] a suggestive expression, shewing that the idea of 
 the year of salvation is based on the institution of the Jubilee ; see Lev. 
 XXV. 10; and cf. Jer. xxxiv. 8, 15, 17; Ezek. xlvi. 17. These, indeed, 
 are the only occurrences of the word for "liberty," which is thus seen 
 to denote always a universal emancipation by public decree. 
 
 the opening of the p7'ison] The rendering "opening of the eyes" 
 (R.V. marg.) does not suit the context, though it is true that the word 
 is generally used of the opening of eyes (once of ears). [In the Heb. 
 xeo-d peqahqonh as a single word,= "opening."] 
 
 2. the' acceptable year of the Lord] Rather, a year of Jehovah's 
 favour (ch. xlix. 8) ; and so in the next line, a day of our God's ven- 
 geance (cf Ixiii. 4, ch. xxxiv. 8). vengeance] i.e. on the oppressors 
 of Israel, perhaps also on the sinful members of the nation (lix. 16 flf.). 
 
 to comfort all that mourn] Cf. ch. Ivii. 18. The clause belongs pro- 
 perly to the next verse. 
 
 3. them that 7/iourn in Zion] Lit. "the mourners of Zion," which 
 may mean either "those that mourn y^r Zion" (as Ixvi. 10) or those who 
 mourn in her. 
 
 beauty for ashes] R.V. a garland (but it. "a turban") for ashes. 
 
w. 4-6.] ISAIAH, LXI. 187 
 
 The oil of joy for mourning, 
 
 The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; 
 
 That they might be called trees of righteousness, 
 
 The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. 
 
 And they shall build the old wastes. 
 
 They shall raise up the former desolations, 
 
 And they shall repair the waste cities, 
 
 The desolations of many generations. 
 
 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks. 
 
 And the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your 
 
 vinedressers. 
 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord : 
 Men shall call you the Ministers of our God : 
 Ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, 
 
 Ashes sprinkled on the head were a sign of mourning (2 Sam. xiii. 19) ; 
 these shall be replaced by the headdress which betokened dignity or 
 festivity (see on v. 10). There is a paronomasia in the Hebrew which 
 cannot be imitated in English; Germans render "Putz statt Schmutz." 
 
 oil of joy for /nourning] (Omit the art.) As anointing M-ith oil was a 
 mark of joy or honour (Ps. xlv. 7, xxiii. 5; Luke vii. 46) so its omission 
 was one of the tokens of mourning (2 Sam. xiv. 2). 
 
 the spirit of heaviness] a failing spirit; the same word as *' dimly 
 burning" in ch. xlii. 3. 
 
 that they might be called] Strictly : and they shall be called. 
 
 trees of righteousness] lit. "oaks" or "terebinths." The evergreen 
 tree is a favourite emblem of the life of the righteous : Jer. xvii. 8 ; 
 Ps. i. 3, xcii. 14. 
 
 the planting... glorified] see ch. Ix. 21. 
 
 4. Comp, ch. xlix. 8, Iviii. 12, Ix. 10. 
 
 5, 6. Israel's priesthood among the nations, and the services ren- 
 dered to it by the latter. The meaning of course is not that all Israelites 
 shall minister in the Temple or that a separate sacerdotal order shall not 
 exist (see on the contrary ch. Ixvi. 21) but simply that in relation to the 
 Gentiles, Israel shall enjoy a position of privilege analogous to the 
 relation between priests and laymen. The fundamental idea of priest- 
 hood in the O.T. being the right of approach to God, this idea is con- 
 ceived as realised in a system which may be likened to a series of 
 concentric circles, — priests, Levites, ordinary Israelites, Gentiles, — each 
 grade standing nearer to God than the next. It was Israel's calling to 
 be a "kingdom of priests" (Ex. xix. 6), and in the latter days this 
 destiny will be fulfilled in their mediatorial relation to the outer world. 
 Although prophecy in general accords a position of supremacy to 
 I.sraelites in the future kingdom of God, the distinction is perhaps 
 nowhere so definitely formulated as here. 
 
 5. the sons of the alie7i] Render with R. V. aliens (as ch. Ivi. 3). 
 
 6. the riches of the Gentiles] the wealth of nations, as ch. Ix. 5, 1 1. 
 
i88 ISAIAH, LXI. [vv. 7—10. 
 
 And in their glory shall you boast yourselves. 
 
 For your shame you shall have double; 
 
 And for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion : 
 
 Therefore in their land they shall possess the double : 
 
 Everlasting joy shall be unto them. 
 
 For I the Lord love judgment, 
 
 I hate robbery for burnt offering; 
 
 And I will direct their work in truth, 
 
 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 
 
 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, 
 
 And their offspring among the people : 
 
 All that see them shall acknowledge them, 
 
 That they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. 
 
 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, 
 
 My soul shall be joyful in my God; 
 
 in their glory shall you boast yourselves'] So the chief Ancient 
 Versions. Another rendering is to their glory shall ye succeed 
 (R.V. marg.); the exact idea being that Israel and the heathen shall 
 "exchange places," the glory that now belongs to the latter being trans- 
 ferred to the former. 
 
 7. The first half of the verse is harsh in construction; and the text 
 as it stands is corrupt. The general sense, however, is sufficiently 
 established by the second half: the prosperity of the future shall be 
 a twofold recompense for the miseries of the past and the present. 
 
 the double'] in the same sense {mutatis jnutandis) as ch. xl. 2. 
 everlasting Joy] ch. xxxv. 10 ( = li. 11). 
 
 8. Jehovah's righteousness demands this reversal of the present 
 relations of Israel and the heathen. 
 
 I hate robbery dr»r.] Render with R.V. I hate robbery with iniquity, 
 and I will give them their recompense in truth (i.e. faithfully). Instead 
 of n^ir ( = burnt-offering) we must point TO)V ( = iniquity). The trans- 
 lation of the A.V. would shut us up to a wrong interpretation of the 
 prophet's thought. The robbery to which he refers is not that practised 
 by Israelites on God (Mai. iii. 8, 9), but the iniquitous treatment of 
 Israel by its foes. 
 
 an everlasting covenant] Cf. ch. Iv. 3. 
 
 9. In virtue of this everlasting covenant the blessing of Jehovah 
 descends on their offspring (cf. ch. Ixv. 23), compelling the admiration 
 of the world. 
 
 For Gentiles .. .people render with R.V., nations... peoples. 
 
 10. According to the Targum and some critics the speaker here is the 
 Zion of the future ; while Delitzsch and others, who assign the preceding 
 words to the Servant of Jehovah, suppose that he is still the speaker. If 
 the prophet is the speaker he transports himself to a future standpoint, 
 and there is no reason why he should not at the same time become the 
 
I.] ISAIAH, LXI. LXII. 189 
 
 For he hath clothed me with the garments of salva- 
 tion, 
 He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, 
 As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, 
 And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 
 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, n 
 
 And as the garden causeth the things that are sown in 
 
 it to spring forth; 
 So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to 
 
 spring forth 
 Before all the nations. 
 
 For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, 62 
 
 And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, 
 
 mouthpiece of the redeemed community. Duhm and Cheyne agree in 
 thinking that the verse stands out of its proper position and interrupts 
 the connexion of t^. 9 with v. 11. 
 
 garments of salvation ^c.'\ Cf. ch. lix. 17; Ps. cxxxii. 9, 16. 
 
 salvation and righteousness are, as often, synonymous. 
 
 as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments] R.V. "with a gar- 
 land" (as V. 3). The last word denotes a headdress worn by priest.s 
 (Ex. xxxix. 28; Ezek. xxiv. 17, xliv. 18), by fashionable ladies (ch.iii. 20), 
 and (according to this passage) by a bridegroom. The verb for "decketh 
 himself" means to officiate as a priest (Hos. iv. 6, &c.), and its use here, 
 ("maketh his headdress priestly,") is so peculiar as to be suspicious. 
 
 and as a bride ^'c. ] Better, and like a bride that putteth on her 
 jewels (as Gen. xxiv. 53) or her attire (as Deut. xxii. 5). 
 
 11. as the earth ^cP^ i.e. as surely as the seed germinates in the 
 earth, so surely will Jehovah bring to pass the great redemption here 
 promised through the self-fulfilling power of His word. Cf. ch, Iv. 10, 
 xlii. 9, xliii. 19, Iviii. 8. 
 
 Ch. LXII. Intercession for the Salvation of Zion, with 
 FURTHER Predictions of her Glory. 
 
 Although the chapter is commonly treated as forming along with 
 ch. Ixi. a single discourse, it has a distinct character of its own, and is 
 perhaps better regarded as the last member of the Trilogy commencing 
 with ch. Ix. There are three clearly marked sections : 
 
 i. w. I — 5. — The prophet announces his purpose to labour unremit- 
 tingly on behalf of Zion {^. i), assured that the time is at hand when 
 her righteousness shall be manifested to all the world, and a new name 
 shall symbolize her new relation to Jehovah {vv. 2, 3). Instead of 
 being forsaken and desolate she shall be reunited to her Husband and 
 her children, and her God shall rejoice over her as a bridegroom over 
 his bride ^v. 4, 5). 
 
I90 ISAIAH, LXII. [vv. 2, 3. 
 
 Until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, 
 And the salvation thereof as a lamp that biirneth. 
 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, 
 And all kings thy glory : 
 And thou shalt be called by a new name, 
 Which the mouth of the Lord shall name. 
 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the 
 Lord, 
 
 ii. w. 6 — 9. — Even now the prophet sees in vision the walls of the 
 city crowned with faithful "watchers," whose function is to remind 
 Jehovah unceasingly of His promises to Jerusalem {vv. 6, 7). For the 
 encouragement of the "remembrancers" these promises are supple- 
 mented by the oath of Jehovah, that strangers shall no longer be 
 permitted to rob the community of the fruit of its labours {vv. 8, 9). 
 
 iii. vv. 10 — 12. — A last summons to "prepare the way of the people," 
 i.e. the i-eturning exiles {v. 10). The proclamation has gone forth to 
 the end of the world ; Zion's salvation draws near and her sentence of 
 rejection is finally reversed {vv. 11, 12). This last section is almost 
 wholly made up of reminiscences of earlier passages. 
 
 1. The speaker here is most naturally to be supposed the prophet, 
 although the words are often explained as those of Jehovah Himself. 
 This, however, is less probable, in spite of the fact that the verb for 
 "hold my peace" is always in these chapters, except here and v. 6, used 
 by or of Jehovah (ch. xlii. 14, Ivii. i r, Ixiv. 12, Ixv. 6) ; for when Jehovah 
 breaks His silence salvation has come. The thought of the verse is 
 entirely appropriate on the lips of the prophet who wrote ch. Ixi. i ff. ; 
 he declares that he will persevere in the course of action there described 
 until the year of Jehovah's favour has actually come. 
 
 until the righteousness... brightness\ i.e. until her right, at present 
 obscured, becomes brilliantly manifest (Ps. xxxvii. 6). Comp. ch. Ix. 2, 
 3, Iviii. 8. 
 
 a lamp that burneth'\ a burning torch. 
 
 2. And the Gentiles dfc.'\ Rather, And nations. Cf. ch. Ix. 3. 
 a new name^ the symbol both of a new character and a new relation 
 
 to God. Cf. Rev. ii. 17, iii. 12, ch. Ixv. 15. 
 
 zvhich the jnouth of the LoRD shall name] Rather, shall determine 
 (as Gen. xxx. 28). This new name is a mystery (see Rev. ii. 17) yet to 
 be disclosed, and is not to be brought into connexion with the names of 
 V. 4 and z/. 12. 
 
 3. a crozvn of glory] R.V. of beauty. There is probably an allusion 
 to the mural crown which tutelary deities of cities are sometimes repre- 
 sented as wearing, on ancient coins &c. The prophet for some reason 
 hesitates to adopt the heathen image in its completeness ; and pictures 
 Jehovah as holding the crown in His hand. 
 
 4. 5. The reunion of Zion with her Husband and her children. Cf. 
 ch. xlix. 14 ff., liv. I f., 4ff. 
 
vv. 4, 5.] ISAIAH, LXII. 191 
 
 And a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. 
 
 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken ; 
 
 Neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate : 
 
 But thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, 
 
 And thy land Beulah : 
 
 For the Lord delighteth in thee, 
 
 And thy land shall be married. 
 
 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, 1 
 
 So shall thy sons marry thee : 
 
 And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride. 
 
 So shall thy God rejoice over thee. 
 
 Forsaken] Hebr. ^deiibdh; found as a proper name in i Ki. xxii. 42. 
 Similarly Hephzi-bah (= "delight in her") is the actual name of the 
 mother of Manasseh (2 Ki. xxi. i). 
 
 Beulah] {be^Mdh) i.e. "married," see ch. liv. i. 
 
 5. so shall thy sons niarry thee] The harshness of the conception is 
 obvious ; and it is hardly relieved by pointing to the double meaning of 
 the verb bd^al ("marry" and "possess"). Lowth and others, by a 
 slight emendation of the text, read "so shall thy Builder (Jehovah) 
 marry thee." (So Cheyne, who refers to Ps. cxlvii. 2 : "Jehovah is the 
 builder up of Jerusalem.") See on xlix. 17. 
 
 6, 7. Jehovah hears perpetually the voice of importunate intercession 
 ascending for the ruined walls of Jerusalem. This is the thought poeti- 
 cally expressed in the two verses, but the details of the conception 
 present several difficult questions. In the first place, Who are meant by 
 the watchmen, or rather watchers? [The word differs from that used in 
 Ivi. 10, lii. 8 (= "lookers out") and means Hterally "keepers" or 
 "guards" (Cant. iii. 3, v. 7; Ps. cxwii. i)]. (a) Some hold that it is 
 here a name for the company of prophets, but this view has really little 
 in its favour. The function ascribed to the watchers is not strictly pro- 
 phetic, and the word is nowhere else used of a prophet except in ch. xxi. 
 II f., where there is obviously a comparison of the prophet to a city 
 watchman, (b) Another, but less probable, opinion is that pious Israel- 
 ites are meant, {c) The best interpretation seems to be that of the 
 Jewish exegetes, that the "watchers" are angelic beings, forming the 
 invisible guard of the city. The representation, therefore, is purely 
 ideal, and this fact has to be borne in mind in considering the second 
 question. Who is the speaker in the first half oi v.dl The prophet 
 could not strictly be said to appoint either angelic or prophetic watchers ; 
 hence the prevalent opinion is that Jehovah is the speaker. On the 
 other hand it seems to some unnatural that Jehovah should appoint 
 those who are to remind Himself of His own promises, and it is certainly 
 the prophet who speaks in the latter part of the verse. It might be 
 held that the language is not too bold for the prophet to use of himself 
 in describing a scene which belongs to the region of the spiritual imagi- 
 nation, just as other prophets do things in vision which exceed human 
 
192 ISAIAH, LXI I. [vv. 6— 9. 
 
 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, 
 
 Which shall never hold their peace day nor night : 
 
 Ve that make mention of the Lord, 
 
 Keep not silence, and give him no rest, 
 
 Till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in 
 
 the earth. 
 The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm 
 
 of his strength. 
 Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine 
 
 enemies ; 
 And the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for 
 
 the which thou hast laboured : 
 But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the 
 
 Lord; 
 And they that have brought it together shall drink it in 
 
 the courts of my holiness. 
 
 authority (cf. Zech. xi. 7 fif.). Cheyne alone regards the three passages 
 Ixi. I fF., Ixii. r ff., and 6 f., as soliloquies of the ideal Servant of Jehovah, 
 or rather of that ideal as reflected in the mind of a later disciple of the 
 second Isaiah. 
 
 6. / have set . . ^walls'] Another translation might be: "I have 
 appointed guardians of thy walls." The verb for "set" means strictly 
 "commission," and the thing put in commission is expressed by the 
 prep, rendered "upon." On either view, the "walls" are the ruined 
 walls of the actual city, rather than those of the ideal Zion of the future 
 (cf. ch. xlix. 16). 
 
 ye thai make mention of the Lord] Render with R. V. ye that are 
 the LORD'S remembrancers. The words are to be joined with v. 7. 
 
 7. Keep not silence'] Lit. "No silence to you!" The word rest in 
 the next clause is the same as "silence." 
 
 8. 9. Jehovah has sworn that the Israelites shall no longer be 
 spoiled by their enemies, but shall be secured in the peaceful enjoy- 
 ment of the fruits of the ground. The phrase "no longer" seems to 
 imply that at the time of writing the community was exposed to the 
 depredations of its hostile neighbours. This would be an additional 
 indication of post-exilic authorship, which is confirmed by the mention 
 of the Temple courts in the end of v. 9. 
 
 8. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand &"€.] i.e. so surely as He 
 has the power to help. Cf. ch. xlv. 23, liv. 9. 
 
 the sons of the stranger] R. V. strangers. 
 thy zvine] Lit. "new wine," must. 
 
 9. Cf. ch. Ixv. 21, 22. 
 
 in the cojirts of my holitiess] Render, in my holy courts ; not as 
 R.V., "in the courts of my sanctuary." The allusion is to the festivals 
 
vv. lo, n.] ISAIAH, LXII. 193 
 
 Go through, go through the gates ; prepare you the way 10 
 
 of the people ; 
 Cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; 
 Lift up a standard for the people. 
 Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of n 
 
 the world, 
 Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation 
 
 Cometh ; 
 Behold, his reward is with him, 
 
 in the Temple, whei-e the first-fruits were eaten with rejoicing before 
 Jehovah (Deut. xii. 17 f., xiv. 23 ff., xvi. 9 — 17). 
 
 10 — 12. Announcement of the return of the exiles. The passage 
 resembles ch. xlviii. 20 ff., lii. 1 1 f . ; and at first sight it seems to imply 
 that no exodus from Babylon has as yet taken place. This indeed has 
 been the prevalent view of commentators, baiied on the assumption that 
 the writer is the same as in the two parallels. But the secondary 
 character of the passage, betrayed by the accumulated citations, is 
 somewhat adverse to this hypothesis, and it will be seen that the 
 language itself is susceptible of a different construction. It is certain 
 that a return of exiled Israelites is announced, but thex-e is nothing to 
 exclude the supposition that (as in ch. Ix. 4, 9) the return of those who 
 took advantage of the edict of Cyrus lies behind the prophet's stand- 
 point. 
 
 10. Go through, go through the gates] To whom are these words 
 addressed? The gates might be those of Babylon, in which case the 
 passage is the exact counterpart of ch. xlviii. 20 ("Go ye forth of 
 Babylon") and lii. 11 ("go ye out from thence"). It is possible, on 
 the other hand, that those addressed are the present inhabitants of 
 Jerusalem, who are invited to prepare for the final restoration of the 
 Dispersion. The gates must then be those of Jerusalem or of the 
 Temple (so Duhm). 
 
 prepare you the tvay of the people] In ch. xl. 3 a similar command is 
 addressed to angelic beings, and the "way" is that by which Jehovah 
 Himself is to return, at the head of His people. Here the persons 
 addressed must be the same as in the first clause of the verse; and 
 throughout this section the prophet appears studiously to avoid the 
 idea, so prominent in the earlier part of the book, of a triumphal march 
 of Jehovah in person through the desert to Jerusalem. 
 
 cast up the highway] ch. Ivii. 14, 
 
 lift up an ensign for the peoples (R.V.)] Cf. ch. xlix. 22. 
 
 11. Behold, the LoRD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world] 
 Cf. ch. xlviii. 20. There redeemed Israel is enjoined to declare to all 
 the world the great salvation it has experienced ; here Jehovah Himself 
 makes it known. 
 
 thy salvation cometh] Instead of "the Lord GoD shall come" in 
 ch. xl. lo. 
 
 Behold his reward is zvith him <^c,] Repeated from xl. 10 (see on the 
 
 ISAIAH II. 13 
 
194 ISAIAH, LXII. LXIII. [vv. 12 ; i. 
 
 And his work before him. 
 12 And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed 
 of the Lord : 
 
 And thou shalt be called. Sought out, A city not for- 
 saken. 
 
 63 Who is this that cometh from Edom, 
 
 passage). The chief Ancient Versions seem to have felt the want of a 
 personal antecedent to the pronouns ; hence they render in the previous 
 clause "thy Saviour" for "thy salvation." 
 
 12. Zion and its people shall then be recognised in their true 
 character by all. 
 
 The holy people] The priesthood of humanity; ch. Ixi. 6. 
 
 The redeemed of the LoRD\ ch. xxxv. 10 [li. 10]; cf. xlviii. 20. 
 
 Sought out\ i.e. "much sought after." Cf. Jer. xxx. 17, "This is Zion 
 whom no man seeketh after." 
 
 A city not forsaken] See v, 4. 
 
 Ch. LXIII. 1—6. The Day of Vengeance in Edom. 
 
 These verses form a detached oracle, representing the final triumph 
 of Jehovah over the enemies of His people. The image presented is 
 one of the most impressive and awe-inspiring in the O.T., and it is 
 difficult to say which is most to be admired, the dramatic vividness 
 of the vision, or the reticence which conceals the actual work of 
 slaughter and concentrates the attention on the Divine Hero as he 
 emerges victorious from the conflict. — A solitary and majestic figure, 
 in blood-red vesture, is seen approaching from the direction of Edom. 
 A question of surprise escapes the prophet's lips as he contemplates the 
 singular and startling apparition; and a brief reply comes from afar, 
 indicating that the Hero is Jehovah, the Saviour-God of Israel (^. i). 
 The prophet then ventures to address himself directly to the advancing 
 figine, inquiring the meaning of His crimson-stained raiment (z'. 2). 
 What follows ^v. 3 — 6) contains Jehovah's answer to the prophet's 
 challenge, and the explanation of His strange appearance. The day 
 of vengeance, the necessary preliminary to redemption, has come and 
 passed (z/. 4) ; the foes of Israel have been annihilated, as in some vast 
 winepress {w. 3, 6); and this great act of judgement has been accom- 
 plished by Jehovah alone, no human helper having been found to 
 execute His will {v. 5). 
 
 It was a serious misapprehension of the spirit of the prophecy which 
 led many of the Fathers to apply it to the passion and death of Christ. 
 Although certain phrases, detached from their context, may suggest that 
 interpretation to a Christian reader, there can be no doubt that the 
 scene depicted is a "drama of Divine Vengeance" (G. A. Smith), into 
 which tlie idea of propitiation does not enter. The solitary figure who 
 
I.] ISAIAH, LXIII. 195 
 
 With dyed garments from Bozrah? 
 This that is glorious in his apparel, 
 Travelling in the greatness of his strength? 
 I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 
 
 speaks in vv. 3 ff. is not the Servant of the Lord, or the Messiah, but 
 Jehovah Himself (comp. the parallel ch. lix. 16); the blood which 
 reddens His garments is expressly said to be that of His enemies ; and 
 the "winepress" is no emblem of the spiritual sufferings endured by 
 our Lord, but of the "fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (Rev. 
 xix. 15) towards the adversaries of His kingdom. While it is tme that 
 the judgement is the prelude to the redemption of Israel, the passage 
 before us exhibits only the judicial aspect of the Divine dealings, and it 
 is not permissible to soften the terrors of the picture by introducing 
 soteriological conceptions which lie beyond its scope. 
 
 1. On Bozrah, a city of Edom, see on ch. xxxiv. 6. 
 
 ■with dyed garments'] Better, with bright coloured garments. The 
 word for "dyed" means literally "sharp," "piercing." 
 
 The mention of Edom as the scene of a judgement which is obviously 
 universal (see vv. 3, 6), including all the enemies of Jehovah and 
 Israel, is a feature common to this prophecy and that of ch. xxxiv. 
 It is partly accounted for by the embittered relations between the two 
 peoples, of which traces are found in post-exilic writings (see the note on 
 ch. xxxiv.) ; and partly perhaps by the ancient conception that Jehovah 
 marches from Edom to the succour of His people 0ud. v. 4). There 
 can hardly be a reference to anticipated resistance on the part of the 
 Edomites to the re-establishment of the Jewish State, for the judgement 
 is not on Edom alone but on all nations ; and moreover the prophecy in 
 all probability belongs to a date subsequent to the first return of the 
 exiles from Babylon. 
 
 glorious ill his apparel] The word for glorious is lit. "swelling," 
 being identical with that which is wrongly rendered "crooked" in 
 ch. xlv. 2 (see the note). It is doubtful what is the exact sense of the 
 expression "swelling in his raiment." Duhm's suggestion of loose 
 robes inflated by the wind seems a little fanciful. On the other hand 
 " glorious" or "splendid" (LXX. wpatos) conveys an impression hardly 
 consistent with the image, since the garments of the divine champion 
 are said to be "defiled" by the blood of His enemies (z/. 3). 
 
 travelling] R. V. maxching ; Vulg. gradiens. This however may repre- 
 sent a variant reading {co'ed, cf. Jud. v. 4) which is perhaps preferable to the 
 Massoretic text {go'eh). The Hebr. word occurs in the difficult passage 
 li. 14 with the sense of "crouching." Those who retain it here explain 
 it in various ways with the help of the Arabic as a "gesture of proud 
 self-consciousness" (Del.); "swaying to and fro"; "with head thrown 
 back," &c. 
 
 / that speak in righteousness &^r.] i.e. "speak righteously " (cf. xlv. 19). 
 Jehovah declares Himself to be true in speech, faithfully fulfilling His 
 prophecies, and powerful in deed {mighty to save). 
 
 13—2 
 
196 ISAIAH, LXIII. [vv. 2— 4. 
 
 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, 
 And thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine- 
 fat? 
 I have trodden the winepress alone; 
 And of the people there was none with me: 
 For I will tread them in mine anger. 
 And trample them in my fury; 
 
 And their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, 
 And I will stain all my raiment. 
 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart. 
 And the year of my redeemed is come. 
 
 2. The meaning of Jehovah's appearing is not yet explained, and so 
 the dialogue proceeds. 
 
 Wher^ore art thou red in thine apparel^ Better, Wherefore is there 
 red on thine apparel; the form of the question indicating that the red 
 colour is not that of the vesture itself but is something adventitious. 
 "Red" i^ adorn) is suggested hy Edom, just as the figure of the wine- 
 press may be suggested by the resemblance of Bo^rdh [v. i) to dacfr 
 (vintage). The figure, however, is in itself an appropriate one ; the 
 winepress appearing "as an emblem on the coins of Bostra during the 
 Roman rule" (Cheyne, Comm.). 
 
 3 If. Jehovah's answer, disclosing the reason of His appearing. 
 
 / have trodden the winepress] or winetrough. The word {pilj-dh), 
 from a root meaning to " foam," seems to be poetic, although the only 
 other instance of its use is prosaic enough (Hag. ii. 16). For the image 
 of the winepress cf. Lam. i. 15 ; Joel iii. 13. 
 
 and of the peoples (R.V.) there was none (no man) with ine] See 
 
 for I will tread them 6^<:.] Render and I trod them &c. The substi- 
 tution of past tenses for futures throughout the verse is imperatively 
 demanded by the sense, although it requires a series of changes in the 
 vowel-points {Vav consec. for simple Vav). The reason of the Masso- 
 retic punctuation was the desire to make it plain that the prophecy 
 relates to the future. This of course is true ; but though the event l)e 
 in itself future, it is represented in the vision as past, from the stand- 
 point of the Divine speaker. Otherwise, the verse would contain no 
 answer to the question of z/. 1. 
 
 their blood] R.V. their lifeblood ; lit., " their juice." The word 
 occurs only here and in v. 6. shall be sprinkled] was sprinkled 
 
 (■2 Ki. ix. 33 ; see on ch. Iii. 15). 
 
 / will stain] Rather, I have defiled. (The form in the original is 
 Aramaic. ) 
 
 4. the day of vengeance] announced in ch. Ixi. 2. 
 
 is in mine heart] i.e. in my purpose. 
 
 the year of my redeemed] Another rendering, preferred by many 
 authorities, is the year of my redemption : the plural being taken as 
 
vv. 5, 6.] ISAIAH, LXIII. 197 
 
 And I looked, and there was none to help ; s 
 
 And I wondered that there was none to uphold : 
 
 Therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me ; 
 
 And my fury, it upheld me. 
 
 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, 6 
 
 And make them drunk in my fury, 
 
 And I will bring down their strength to the earth. 
 
 expressing the abstract idea, in accordance with a common Hebr. usage. 
 The year of redemption is the same as the year of Jehovah's favour in 
 ch. Ixi. 2 ; it is the time of Israel's victory and salvation, a year that 
 has no end. 
 
 5. Comp. ch. lix. 16. The verse explains why it is that Jehovah 
 treads the winepress ^'- alone^'' {v. 3). The expectation that some human 
 helper would appear on the side of Jehovah is more remarkable here 
 than in ch. lix. 16, where the judgement was on Israel itself, and the 
 complaint might be that even within the chosen nation no champion 
 of righteousness could be found. The idea that such a champion might 
 have been found amongst heathen nations is of course much less easily 
 explained ; unless, with Duhm, we suppose that the prophet is sadly 
 contrasting his own age with the more hopeful time of the Second 
 Isaiah, when the faith of Israel was directed to Cyrus as the agent of 
 Jehovah's purposes on earth. 
 
 6. Repetition of the thought of v. 3. 
 
 And I tvill tread down the people] R.V. rightly, And I trod down the 
 peoples, though the verb differs from either of those in v. 3. Past 
 tenses are to be restored throughout. 
 
 make (made) them drunk] Some MSS., as well as the first printed 
 edition of the Hebrew Bible (Soncino, 1488) read "broke them in pieces." 
 The Targ. likewise supports this reading, which is more suitable to the 
 context than that of the received text. The orthographic difference is 
 minute (substitution of 3 for D). 
 
 and I will... strength] R.V. and I poured out their lifeblood,— as in 
 V. 3. The A.V. thinks of another noun, similar in form, but from a 
 different root, meaning "glory" (cf. i Sam. xv. 29). 
 
 Ch. LXIII. 7 — LXIV. 12. A Prayer of the People for the 
 Renewal of Jehovah's former Lovingkindness. 
 
 (i) vv. 7 — 9. The prayer begins with thankful commemoration of 
 Jehovah's goodness to the nation in the days of old {ru. 7). The refer- 
 ence is to the time of Moses and Joshua, when Jehovah's loving 
 confidence in His children had not yet been betrayed {v. 8), and when 
 He continuously manifested Himself as their Saviour, bearing them 
 safely through all dangers {v. 9). 
 
 (2) w. 10 — 14. This ideal relation between Israel and its God has 
 indeed long since been broken, through the rebellion and ingratitude of 
 the people (z/. 10). But in seasons of distress the better mind of the 
 
198 ISAIAH, LXIII. 
 
 nation dwells wistfully on those ancient wonders of grace, and longs 
 that Jehovah may again put forth His strength and vindicate His 
 glorious name {w. ii — 14). 
 
 (3) w. 15, 16. From the past the writer turns to the gloomy present, 
 beseeching Jehovah to take notice of and have compassion on the afflic- 
 tion of His people. For He alone, and not Abraham or Israel, is the 
 Father of the nation, and its Redeemer from of old. 
 
 (4) vv. 17 — 19. From this point the increasing impetuosity of the 
 language reveals for the first time the extremity of the Church's anguish. 
 The prophet remonstrates with God for so withdrawing Himself from 
 the people as to harden them in sin {v. 17) and cause them to be as if 
 He had never ruled over them {v. 19). 
 
 (5) Ixiv. I — 3. A passionate wish that Jehovah might now rend 
 asunder the solid firmament, and melt the mountains, and make Him- 
 self known to the nation by terrible acts, surpassing the expectations of 
 His people. 
 
 (6) vv. 4 — 7. In a more reflective strain the writer appears to seek 
 for a reconciliation of Jehovah's attitude to Israel with His eternally 
 righteous character. He, the only God known who meets the righteous 
 man, is yet wroth with His people so that they fall into sin {vv. 4, 5). 
 The lamentable consequences of this hiding of God's face on the religious 
 condition of the people are described in w. 6, 7. 
 
 (7) vv. 8 — 12. Final appeal to the Fatherhood of God, and His con- 
 sideration for the work of His hands {v. 8). Let Him moderate His 
 wrath and remember that we are His people [v. 9). For surely the 
 punishment of sin has been sufficient, — the holy cities ruined, Jerusalem 
 a desolation, the Temple burned with fire [vv. to, ii). Can Jehovah 
 look on these things and yet restrain His compassion {v. 12)? 
 
 The passage is one of the most instructive of O.T. prayers, and 
 deserves careful study as an expression of the chastened and tremulous 
 type of piety begotten in the sorrows of the Exile. Along with much 
 that is of the permanent essence of prayer,— thanksgiving, confession of 
 sin, and supplication, — it contains utterances which may cause surprise 
 to a Christian reader, although they are paralleled in some of the 
 Psalms, and in other portions of the literature. Very singular is the 
 plea that the sinfulness of the people is due to the excessive and pro- 
 tracted anger of Jehovah, who "causes them to err from His ways" 
 (Ixiii. 17; cf. Ixiv. 5, 7). This feeling appears to proceed from two 
 sources ; on the one hand the ancient idea that national calamity is 
 the proof of Jehovah's anger, and on the other the lesson taught by all 
 the prophets, that the sole cause of Jehovah's anger is the people's sins. 
 The writer seems unable perfectly to harmonize these principles. He 
 accepts the verdict of Providence on the sins of the nation, but he feels 
 also a disproportion between the offence and the punishment, which 
 neutralises all efforts after righteousness, unless Jehovah will relent from 
 the fierceness of His wrath. The higher truth that the Divine chastise- 
 ment aims at the purification of the people, and is therefore a mark of 
 love, is not yet grasped, and for this reason the O.T. believers fall short 
 of the liberty of the sons of God. Yet amid all these perplexities the 
 faith of the Church holds fast to the truth of the Fatherhood of God, 
 
yv.7,S.] ISAIAH, LXIII. 199 
 
 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, a;i^ 7 
 
 the praises of the Lord, 
 According to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, 
 And the great goodness towards the house of Israel, 
 Which he hath bestowed on them according to his 
 
 mercies, 
 And according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. 
 For he said, Surely they are my people, s 
 
 and appeals to the love which must be in His heart, although it be not 
 manifest in His providential dealings. 
 
 So far as the ideas of the passage are concerned, it might have been 
 composed at any time from the Exile dovv^nwards. Nor are the historical 
 allusions so clear as could be desired. From Ixiii. 18, Ixiv. 1 1 f. we learn 
 that the Temple has been burned, and the land laid waste. It is natural 
 to understand this of the destruction of the city and Temple by the 
 Chaldaeans in 586, and to conclude that the prayer was written during 
 the Exile or at least before the rebuilding of the Temple in 520. In 
 Ixiii. 18 it is said that the Holy Land has been possessed " but a little 
 while." If the prayer was written in exile this must refer to the whole 
 period from Joshua to the Captivity, which is not an interpretation 
 that commends itself at first sight. It would no doubt be more 
 intelligible if written not long after the restoration under Zerubbabel 
 (cf. Ezra ix. 8). But then \\e are confronted with the difficulty of 
 the destruction of the Temple, for Duhm's explanation that the writer 
 ignores the second Temple because of its inferiority to the first can 
 hardly be regarded as satisfactory; and to assume (with Kuenen and 
 others) a destruction of the Temple by the Samaritans (see Ryle's note 
 on Neh. i. 3) is hazardous in face of the silence of history. Partly for 
 these reasons, and partly because of affinities to ch. xxiv. — xxvii., and 
 some Psalms which he assigns to the same period, Cheyne brings down 
 the date of composition to the time of Artaxerxes Ochus (cf. Vol. I. of 
 this commentar}', p. •204). Apart from Ixiii. 18, the hypothesis of exilic 
 authorship presents no serious difficulty, for although the surrounding 
 discourses are probably post-exilic, it is quite conceivable that an earlier 
 writing might have been incorporated with them as sufficiently expressive 
 of the mind of the nation at the later period. 
 
 7 — 9. Celebration of Jehovah's past mercies to Israel, — a frequent 
 feature of O.T. prayers (Ps. Ixxvii. 10 — 15, Ixxviii. i — 4, Ixxxix. i f., 
 cv. I f., cvi. 2 ; Neh. ix. 5 fF., &c.). 
 
 7. I will viention\ lit. " commemorate," but with the implied idea of 
 praise, as i Chr. xvi. 4; Ps. xlv. 17, Ixxi. 16; Isa. xxvi. 13, &c. 
 
 the praises of the LORD] the praiseworthy deeds, as ch. Ix. 6. 
 and the great goodness] Cf. Ps. cxlv. 7, where the expression occurs. 
 according to his mercies ^c] Cf. Ps. li. r, — one of several points of 
 resemblance, — also Ps. cvi. 45. 
 
 8. The retrospect goes back to the beginning of the nation's history, 
 
ISAIAH, LXIII. [v. 9. 
 
 Children that will not lie : 
 
 So he was their Saviour. 
 
 In all their affliction he was afflicted, 
 
 And the angel of his presence saved them : 
 
 In his love and in his pity he redeemed them ; 
 
 And he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. 
 
 when Jehovah's affection for His people was still unimpaired. Cf. Hos. 
 xi. I, " When Israel was a child then I loved him." 
 
 children (sons) that will not lie] Contrast ch. i. 2, xxx. 9. 
 
 so he was their Saviour'] and lie became to them a saviour, LXX. 
 adds from the following verse : in all their distress. On metrical 
 grounds the addition is an obvious improvement ; and it leads to an 
 interesting explanation of the first part of v. 9 (see below). 
 
 9. In all their affliction he was afflicted] (lit. " there was affliction to 
 Him"). This is the sense of the Ql^re, which substitutes lo (to him) foi 
 the lo' (not) of the Kethtb (see on ch. ix. 3). It is impossible to obtain 
 a good sense from the consonantal text; and it is accordingly rejected in 
 favour of the Qere by nearly all commentators. There is, however, no 
 equally strong expression of Jehovah's sympathy with His people in the 
 O.T.; both Jud. x. 16, and Ps. cvi. 44 fall far short of it. The LXX. 
 (joining " in all their affliction " to the previous verse) continues : 01) 
 Trp^a^vs ovd^ AyyeXo'S, dW avrbs ^(Tcocrev avrovs ; i. e. Not a messenger 
 or an angel (but) His Presence saved them. The only textual differ- 
 ence here is that ^"'V (*' messenger" or "ambassador ") is read instead 
 of *1V ("affliction"). It is true that "T'V is not elsewhere used of an 
 angelic representative of Jehovah ; but the metaphor is a natural one, 
 and otherwise the translation has much to recommend it. {a) The 
 "Presence" (Ht. "Face") of Jehovah is used elsewhere of His self- 
 manifestation. The fundamental passage is Ex. xxxiii. 14, 15 : "My 
 presence shall go... If thy presence go not, «&c." But comp. also 
 Deut. iv. 37 ; Lam. iv. 16, and see on ch. lix. 2. {d) An "angel of the 
 Presence" on the other hand is a figure elsewhere unknown to the 
 O.T. ; the phrase would seem to be " a confusion of two forms of 
 expression, incident to a midway stage of revelation " (Cheyne). (c) The 
 " Face " of Jehovah, however, is not (as the LXX. inferred) just the 
 same as Jehovah Himself in person. It is rather a name for His highest 
 sensible manifestation, and hardly differs from what is in other places 
 called the MaVak Yahveh (Angel of Jehovah). This is shewn by a 
 comparison of Ex. xxxiii. 14 f., with xxiii. 20 — 23. The verse therefore 
 means that it was no ordinary angelic messenger, but the supreme 
 embodiment of Jehovah's presence that accompanied Israel in the early 
 days. The idea has its analogies in Semitic heathenism, as when at 
 Carthage the goddess Tanit was worshipped as the " Face of Baal," 
 although this has been otherwise explained (Euting, Piinische Steine, 
 p. 8). 
 
 and he bare them] Better, took them up, as in ch. xl. 15. Cf. 
 Deut. xxxii. 11. 
 
vv. lo, II.] ISAIAH, LXIII. 20I 
 
 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit ; lo 
 
 Therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he 
 
 fought against them. 
 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his n 
 
 people, sayings 
 Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the 
 
 shepherd of his flock? 
 Where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? 
 
 10—14. The rebellion of the people, by which Jehovah is made to 
 be their enemy, and their vain regrets. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 15 ff. 
 
 10. and vexed his holy Spirit^ Comp. Acts vii. 51 ; Eph. iv. 30. Except 
 here and in z;. n and Ps. li. 11 the predicate "holy" is never in the 
 O.T. used of the spirit of Jehovah. It is perhaps impossible to deter- 
 mine the exact connotation of the word in this connexion. It cannot 
 be accidental that in all three cases the holy spirit is a principle of 
 religious life; hence the phrase hardly signifies so little as merely "His 
 divine spirit"; as Jehovah's "holy arm" may mean no more than His 
 divine arm. Nor is it likely that it describes the spirit as the influence 
 that imparts to Israel the quality of holiness, i.e. separateness from 
 other nations, and consecration to Jehovah. The idea rather is that 
 the spirit is holy in the same sense as Jehovah Himself is holy, — a 
 principle which is both pure and inviolable, which resents and draws 
 back from the contact of human impurity and especially of wilful oppo- 
 sition. This spirit is a national endowment, residing in the community 
 (see V. I [) ; it is the spirit of prophecy, resting on Moses, but manifest- 
 ing its presence also through other organs of revelation (see Deut. xxxiv. 
 9; Num. xi. 25 ff.). Hence it is said to have led the people (z/. 14), 
 and to "vex" the spirit is to resist his guidance, by disobeying the 
 divine word which he inspires. The use of this verb marks the highest 
 degree of personification of the Spirit attained in the O.T., preparing 
 the way for the N.T. doctrine concerning Him. 
 
 11. In adversity the people realised the privilege they had forfeited 
 by their rebellion, and longed for a return of the days of Moses. 
 
 Then he (i.e. Israel) reme?nbered <Sr=r,]. Since the second half of the 
 verse contains obviously words of the people, the subject of "re- 
 membered" must be Israel, not Jehovah. In the view of many 
 commentators this subj. is expressed in the following phrase "his 
 people" ("Then his people remembered the days of old"). But this 
 order of words would be unnatural. The two expressions "Moses" 
 and "his people" probably represent separate marginal glosses which 
 have crept into the text, the first explanatory of "shepherd" and the 
 second perhaps of "his flock." Neither is found in the LXX. 
 
 IVhere is he 6^r.] Or, Where is He that brought up from the sea 
 the shepherd of His flock (i.e. Moses)? This reading is easier than 
 that of the Massoretic text; it is supported by Hebr. MSS., and is 
 followed by the LXX. The plural "shepherds" of R.V. represents the 
 received Hebrew text ; but the singular is the older and better reading. 
 
202 ISAIAH, LXIII. [vv. 12— 15. 
 
 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his 
 
 glorious arm, 
 Dividing the water before them, to make himself an 
 
 everlasting name? 
 That led them through the deep. 
 As a horse in the wilderness, that they should not 
 
 stumble ? 
 As a beast goeth down into the valley, 
 The Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest : 
 So didst thou lead thy people. 
 To make thyself a glorious name. 
 
 Look down from heaven, and behold 
 
 The plural was no doubt substituted in order to include Aaron (cf. 
 Ps. Ixxvii. 20). 
 
 This turning back of the people's mind to the wonders of the Exodus 
 is a hopeful sign of penitence which Jeremiah did not discover in the 
 men of his day : " neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us 
 up out of the land of Egypt?" (Jer. ii. 6). 
 
 that put his holy Spirit within hivi] Rather, within it, i.e. His flock, 
 the community; see on v. 10, Cf. Hag. ii. 5; Neh. ix. 20; Num. 
 xi. 17, 25. 
 
 12. Render with R. V. That caused his glorious arm to go at the 
 right hand of Moses &c. ; accompanying him with its wonder-working 
 power symbolized by the "rod of God" (Ex. xvii. 9). The reference in 
 the latter part of the verse is not, as some have thought, to the bringing 
 forth of water from the rock (ch. xlviii. 21; Ex. xvii. i — 7) but to the 
 passage of the Red Sea. 
 
 13. the deep] R.V. the depths; Hebr. tehomSth, see on ch. Ii. 10. 
 as a horse in the wilderness] treading as firmly and securely as the 
 
 horse on the open pasture. Comp. the parallelism Ps. cvi. 9: "He led 
 them through the depths as through a pasture-land." 
 
 14. As the cattle that go down into the valley (R.V.). It is 
 doubtful whether this clause does not continue v, 13, adding a second 
 image of the security with which Israel went down into the depths of 
 the sea. It has certainly a more forcible sense in that connexion than 
 if taken as an illustration of the words which follow. The only dif- 
 ficulty is that these words may seem too short to stand alone. 
 
 caused him to rest] i.e. brought him (the nation) to the resting-place, 
 the Promised Land (Ex. xxxiii. 14; Deut. xii. 9; Josh. i. 13 &c.). The 
 ancient versions read, less suitably, "led him." 
 
 so didst thou lead ^c.] Summarising the previous description and 
 concluding the retrospect. 
 
 15. 16. A piteous appeal to the Divine clemency, based on Israel's 
 filial relation to Jehovah. 
 
 Look down from heaven, and behold] (Ps. Ixxx. 14). By a natural 
 
vv. i6, 17.] ISAIAH, LXllI. 203 
 
 From the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory : 
 
 Where is thy zeal and thy strength, 
 
 The sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards 
 
 me? are they restrained? 
 Doubtless thou art our father, 
 Though Abraham be ignorant of us, 
 And Israel acknowledge us not : 
 Thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; 
 Thy name is from everlasting. 
 
 O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, 
 And hardened our heart from thy fear? 
 
 anthropomorphism the O.T. attributes the prevalence of evil on earth 
 to a suspension of Jehovah's watchfulness; hence He is said to come 
 down from heaven to enquire (Gen. xviii. 21), or, as here, to look 
 down (cf. Ps. xiv. 2, cii. 19, &c.). To this writer it seems as if He had 
 for the present vv^ithdrawn into His palace, and did not fully realise the 
 sufferings of His people. 
 
 where is iky zeal (or jealousy)] Cf. ch. lix. 17. For strength read 
 with R.V. mighty acts. 
 
 the sounding of thy bozvels'\ i.e. the yearning of thy compassion. See 
 ch. xvi. II. 
 
 towards me? are they restrained] Rather, as R.V., are restrained 
 towards me (LXX. "towards us"). Cf. ch. xlii. 14. 
 
 16. The verse reads : For thou art our Father ; for Abraham know- 
 eth us not and Israel doth not recognise us; Thou Jehovah art 
 our Father; our Redeemer from of old is Thy Name. Jehovah is the 
 Father of Israel, i.e. the Creator and founder of the nation (Deut. xxxii. 
 6; Mai. ii. 10; cf. Ex. iv. 22; Hos. xi. i; Isa. i. 2; Jer. iii. 4, 19; 
 Mai. i. 6). The idea of the divine Fatherhood is not yet extended in 
 the O.T. to the individual believer, although a remarkable anticipation 
 of the N.T. doctrine is found in Ecclus. xxiii. i, 4: "O Lord, Father 
 and Master of my life,.. .0 Lord, Father and God of my life." (Cheyne.) 
 
 17 — 19. Expostulation with Jehovah for the hard treatment which 
 makes righteousness and true religion impossible to the nation, 
 
 17. Render: Why shouldest Thou leave us to wander, Jehovah, 
 firom Thy ways ; and harden our heart so that we fear Thee not ? 
 etc. Israel had rejected God's guidance, and He had given them up to 
 their sins ; how long was this to last? The idea underlying this plea 
 seems to be that the people's faint aspirations Godward were checked 
 and baffled by the continued evidence of Jehovah's displeasure. Some 
 measure of outward success was needed to guide them into the path of 
 obedience, and no such token was vouchsafed. 
 
 hardened our heart from thy fear] so that we cannot attain to the 
 true fear of God, i.e. true religion or piety. "Harden" in the original 
 is a strong word, recurring only in Job xxxix, 16. 
 
204 ISAIAH, LXIII. LXIV. [w. 18,19; i. 
 
 Return for thy servants' sake, 
 The tribes of thine inheritance. 
 
 18 The people of thy holiness have possessed // but a 
 
 little while : 
 Our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. 
 
 19 We are thine : thou never barest rule over them ; 
 They were not called by thy name. 
 
 64 O that thou would est rend the heavens, that thou 
 wouldest come down. 
 That the mountains might flow down at thy presence, 
 
 Return for thy servants' sake] C(. Ps. xc. 13. 
 
 18. The people. . .ivhile] The want of an ace. to the verb excites 
 suspicion, for it is hardly possible to take "thy sanctuary" as the obj. 
 common to the two clauses. The text of the LXX., which reads 
 "mountain" instead of "people "and has the verb in the first pers. plu., 
 is perhaps to be preferred : For a little while have we possessed 
 Thy holy mountain. Comp. ch. Ivii. 13. 
 
 The second part of the verse speaks of a desecration of the Temple, 
 which apparently followed the possession of the land. The difficulty of 
 reconciling these two facts has been pointed out in the Introductory 
 Note above. If any destruction of the second Temple were known to 
 have taken place about the time of Ezra, the circumstances would be 
 explained. But the stronger statements in Ixiv. to, i i make it unlikely 
 that if such a calamity had really happened it should not have been 
 expressly mentioned, even in the meagre historical records which have 
 been preserved of that period. 
 
 19. Render : We are become (as those) over whom from of old Thou 
 hast not borne rule, over whom Thy name has not been called. 
 The visible splendours of Jehovah's kingship have been absent through- 
 out the later period of the nation's history. Comp. ch. xxvi. 13, and 
 (for the second part of the verse) Deut. xxviii. 10; Jer. xiv. 9. 
 
 Ixiv. 1 — 3. The language of complaint again gives place (as in 
 Ixiii. 15) to impatient prayer for a Theophany, — an imposing manifesta- 
 tion of Jehovah in His might. It is the great "day of the Lord" 
 towards which the desire of the people reaches forward. In the Hebr., 
 ch. Ixiv. begins with v. 2 of our version, v. i forming the conclusion of 
 Ixiii. 19. 
 
 1. that thou wouldest rend ^c] Lit. "hadst rent." So "hadst 
 come down," "had quaked." This use of the perf in the expression of 
 a real wish, whose realisation is contemplated, is unusual, and is only to 
 be explained by the urgency of the speaker's feeling. Driver, Tenses, 
 § 140. See on ch. xlviii. 18. 
 
 rend the heavens] Cf. ch. li. 6; Ps. xviii. 9, cxliv. 5. 
 
 might flo7u doxvn] Rather, might quake; cf. Jud. v. 5. For the 
 general conception of the Theophany cf. Ps. 1. i — 6; Hab. iii. 3 ff. 
 
vv. 2—4.] ISAIAH, LXIV. 205 
 
 As wheti the melting fire burnetii, the fire causeth the 2 
 
 waters to boil, 
 To make thy name known to thine adversaries. 
 That the nations may tremble at thy presence. 
 When thou didst terrible things mhich we looked not 3 
 
 for, 
 Thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy 
 
 presence. 
 For since the beginning of the world me 71 have not 4 
 
 heard, nor perceived by the ear, 
 Neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, 
 What he hath prepared for him that waiteth for 
 
 him. 
 
 2. Render: As fire kindleth brushwood, as fire maketh water 
 boil, &c. 
 
 to make thy name knozvn to thine adversaries ur=r.] — the purpose of the 
 Theophany. Cf. ch. lix. 18, 19. 
 
 3. The second part of the verse, being (in the original) verbally 
 repeated from v. i, ought probably to be omitted as a copyist's error. 
 The passage gains in compactness by its excision. Vv. i — 3 will then 
 form a single sentence, the last clause of which runs : while thou doest 
 terrible things which we hoped not for; i.e. surpassing all our 
 expectations. 
 
 terrible things'] A standing phrase, as Cheyne remarks, for the 
 marvels of the Exodus, the type of the great final deliverance. Cf. 
 Deut. X. 21 ; 2 Sam. vii. 23; Ps. cvi. 22. 
 
 4 — 7. This difficult passage contains (i) an appeal to that which 
 distinguishes Jehovah from all other deities: He is the only God who 
 works for them that wait for Him in the way of righteousness ; (2) a 
 confession of the people's sinful condition due to the persistency of the 
 divine wrath. A contrast between these thoughts is probably intended ; 
 the severity of Jehovah's dealings with Israel seems at variance with His 
 known character. But the text is in some places hopelessly corrupt, 
 and the exact sense is somewhat uncertain. 
 
 For since the beginning... heard\ Lit. "And from of old they have 
 not heard." It is tempting (with Duhm) to take this as a relative 
 clause parallel to and continuing v. 3 ("...terrible things which we 
 hoped not for, and which from of old men have not heard"). There is 
 an awkwardness, however, in commencing a new sentence with the 
 next clause, and still greater difficulty in carrying on the sentence of 
 V. 3 to the word "seen" (Hitzig). Accepting the traditional division, 
 V. 4 will read nearly as in R.V., And from of old men have not heard, 
 have not perceived by the ear, no eye hath seen a God beside Thee, 
 Who worketh for him that waiteth for Him. The rendering of A.V. 
 is partly accommodated to St Paul's language in i Cor. ii. 9, where, 
 however, a different text (not the LXX.) seems to be followed. Jerome 
 
2o6 ISAIAH, LXIV. [vv. 5—7. 
 
 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh right- 
 eousness, 
 T^ose that remember thee in thy ways : 
 Behold, thou art wroth ; for we have sinned : 
 In those is continuance, and we shall be saved. 
 But we are all as an unclean thi7ig, 
 And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; 
 And we all do fade as a leaf; 
 
 And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 
 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, 
 That stirreth up himself to take hold of thee : 
 
 says that the Apostle's words are found in certain Apocalyptic books, 
 although he will not admit that they are quoted from them. 
 
 "Worketh for " = " sheweth Himself active on behalf of"; without 
 obj., as Gen. xxx. 30; Ps. xxxvii. 5. 
 
 5. Thou 7neelest] (a perf of experience). The verb is obviously 
 used here in a good sense, as Gen. xxxii. i. 
 
 that rejoiceth and worketh righteoJis7iess\ i.e. that jojrfully WOrketh 
 righteousness. The words rejoiceth and are not in the LXX. 
 
 those that remember thee in thy %vays\ Cf ch. xxvi. 8. 
 
 thou art wroth &^c.\ R.V. thou wast wroth and we sinned. Cf ch. 
 Ivii. 17. 
 
 in those is continuance and ive shall be saved] R.V. "in them have 
 we been of long time, and shall we be saved?" The text is quite 
 unintelligible. LXX. has simply 5id tovto iirXav-qd-qixev. The last 
 word suggests a satisfactory emendation (perhaps VCJ'SJI for VEJ^IJI). Of 
 further conjectural restorations one may be mentioned, due to Lowth. 
 Instead of D^ll? Dn2 he reads D"?'!l?pn3=' 'against the evil-doers"; 
 thus obtaining a parallelism with the preceding line. 
 
 "Behold Thou wast wroth and we sinned, 
 Against the evildoers, and we fell away." 
 This is at least a meaning, though not one that is altogether convincing. 
 
 6, 7. A pathetic description of the degeneracy and spiritual lethargy 
 of the people, caused by the divine wrath. 
 
 6. And we are all become as one unclean — in a ceremonial sense, 
 like the leper. 
 
 and all our righteousnesses (Sr'^.] our righteous deeds, — our best efforts 
 after the fulfilment of the divine will, are stained and rendered ineffec- 
 tive by our general sinful condition. 
 
 as filthy rags] as a polluted garment. 
 
 our iniquities^ like the luind, ^c] cf. ch. Ivii. 13; Job xxvii. 21, xxx. 
 22. The image is here that of the leaf, already sere and faded, swept from 
 the tree by the winter blast : so our iniquities hurry us away to destruction. 
 
 7. ^«t/ there is none that calleth, ^c] an easily intelligible hyperbole. 
 stirreth himself up] "arouseth himself," the same verb as in li. 17. 
 ionsu?ned 7is, because 0/ our iniquities] lit. "melted us by the hand of 
 
vv. 8— II.] ISAIAH, LXIV. 207 
 
 For thou hast hid thy face from us, 
 
 And hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. 
 
 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; 
 
 We are the clay, and thou our potter; 
 
 And we all are the work of thine hand. 
 
 Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, 
 
 Neither remember iniquity for ever : 
 
 Behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. 
 
 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, 
 
 Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 
 
 Our holy and our beautiful house, 
 
 our iniquities." Cf. Ezek. xxxiii. 10, "Our transgressions and our sins 
 are upon us, and we waste away in them, how should we then live?" 
 A better reading, supported by LXX., Pesh. and Targ., is delivered 
 us into the hand (i.e. the power) of our iniquities. Cf. Job viii. 4. 
 
 8 — 12. The prayer now ends in a direct and touching supplication, 
 supported by various pleas, that Jehovah will at last cause His wrath 
 against His people to cease. 
 
 8. thou art our father'] See on Ixiii. 16. 
 
 we are the clay, and thou our potter] The nearest parallel to this 
 application of the common image of clay and potter is perhaps Job x. 9. 
 It is the plea of the creature against seeming unreasonableness on the 
 part of the Creator. Can the potter allow the work on which he has 
 lavished his utmost skill and care to be broken in pieces? 
 
 9. neither remember hiiquity for ever] Ps. Ixxix. 8. The nation 
 feels that it is bearing the inexhaustible penalty of past sins. Such a 
 thought was specially natural after the Restoration, when it appeared 
 as if even the immeasurable calamity of the Exile had not wiped out 
 the arrears of hereditary guilt (cf. Zech. i. 12). 
 
 10. 11. The evidences of Jehovah's displeasure are to be seen on 
 every hand, in the desolation and ruin of the sacred places. 
 
 10. 7^hy holy cities] is a phrase which does not occur elsewhere, and 
 both LXX. and Vulg. substitute the sing, for the plur. It is not 
 necessary, however, to follow them. If the land is holy (Zech. ii. 12) 
 there is no reason why the epithet should not be applied to all its cities. 
 
 11. The reference must apparently be to the first Temple and its 
 destruction by the Chaldseans. The expression, and indeed the whole 
 tone of the passage, suggest an event not quite recent; it is not the 
 present generation, but their fathers who praised God in the "holy and 
 beautiful house." The question then comes to be whether this could 
 have been said after the erection of Zerubbabel's Temple. In spite 
 of the tendency to hyperbolical language which marks the prayer, and 
 the painful contrast between the magnificence of the first Temple and 
 the poverty of the second, it is difficult to think that the author should 
 absolutely ignore the existence of the sanctuary if it had been restored. 
 See Introductory note. 
 
2o8 ISAIAH, LXIV. LXV. [v. 12. 
 
 Where our fathers praised thee, 
 
 Is burnt up with fire : 
 
 And all our pleasant things are laid waste. 
 
 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Lord? 
 
 Wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore? 
 
 is burned -ivithfirc] Lit. "has become a burning of fire " ; cf. ch. ix. 5. 
 our pleasant things^ Rather, our desirable places; cf. 2 Chr. xxxvi. 
 9; Lam. i. 10; Ezek. xxiv. 21, 25. 
 12. refrain thyself \ See ch. Ixiii. 15. 
 
 Ch. LXV. Threats and Promises, addressed to Two 
 DISTINCT Parties. 
 
 The chapter may be divided into two nearly equal portions : — 
 i. vv. I — 12. A contrast is drawn between the servants of Jehovah 
 and a party who have apostatised from the true religion. 
 
 (i) vv. I — 7. The divine speaker complains that His gracious invi- 
 tations have been scorned by an "obdurate people" {vv. i, 2), who have 
 provoked Him continually by scandalous and abominable superstitions 
 \vv. 3 — 5), and against whom He now pronounces a final sentence of 
 rejection {^. 6, 7). 
 
 (2) vv. 8 — 10. The method of Jehovah's dealings with Israel illus- 
 trated by a figure from the vintage. As the grape cluster is spared for 
 the sake of the new wine that is in it, so for the sake of the spiritual 
 principle embodied in Israel, Jehovah will "not destroy the whole" 
 {v. 8). On the contrary a seed shall be brought forth from Jacob to 
 inherit the Holy Land from the west to the east {vv. 9, 10). 
 
 (3) vv. II, 12. The schismatics, here directly addressed as they that 
 *' forsake the Lord" and repudiate the Temple worship in their service 
 of strange gods, are threatened with extinction. The first section ends, 
 as it began, by reminding the apostates of the overtures of Divine love 
 and condescension which they had so wantonly spurned. 
 
 ii. vv. 13 — 25. The final separation of the two classes. 
 
 {\) w. 13 — 16. The future of the idolaters is more explicitly con- 
 trasted with that of the "servants" of Jehovah {w. 13 f.). The former 
 shall be annihilated, leaving behind them nothing but a name for a 
 formula of imprecation (tj. 15) ; while Jehovah's true servants remain in 
 the land to "bless themselves in the God of truth" (z/. 16), 
 
 (2) vv. 17 — 25. The blessings reserved for the people of God in the 
 Messianic age: an entire transformation of the copH* jns of human 
 existence, compared to the creation of "new heavens and a new earth" 
 {"''- 17) ; Jehovah's delight '- I is handiwork dissipating the sorrows of 
 earth (18, 19); patriarchal longevity (20) ; undisturbed possession of the 
 land (21 — 23); immediate answer to prayer (24); and harmony in the 
 animal world {25) are the features of this captivating picture of the latter 
 days. 
 
 In the view of most expositors ch. Ixv. is Jehovah's answer to the 
 preceding intercession (Ixiii. 7 — Ixiv. 12). But this connexion, as Cheyne 
 
V. I.] ISAIAH, LXV. 209 
 
 I am sought of ihem that asked \\o\. for me: 65 
 
 I am found of them that sought me not: 
 
 has long insisted, is far from obvious and probably does violence to the 
 natural interpretation of w. i, 1. The persons there referred to are 
 sharply and explicitly distinguished from those in whose name the prayer 
 is uttered. The community which in Ixiv. 9 says, "We are all thy 
 people" cannot surely have included amongst its members the openly 
 pagan party described in Ixv. 3ff., 8ff. And to suppose the meaning 
 to be that Jehovah has always been ready to answer prayer, but mua 
 first effect a separation between the two classes, is very like an attempt 
 to force a connexion where none exists. The theory becomes still more 
 untenable when we take into account the extremely close resemblance 
 between ch. Ixv. and Ixvi. It is safer to regard these two chapters as 
 one continuous discourse, complete in itself, and having no special 
 reference to what immediately precedes. 
 
 The situation presupposed by this chapter and the next presents many 
 features of great interest and importance. On the whole the impression 
 is confirmed that in this part of the book we have to do with prophecies 
 delivered in Palestine, at a time subsequent to the Restoration. The 
 notes will supply some indications of this; and there appears to be 
 nothing which really countenances the idea that the author lived among 
 the exiles in Babylon. The most important fact is the sharp division 
 of parties, already referred to, which runs through the prophecy. This 
 fact may be explained in two ways : (i) It may be merely the distinc- 
 tion, which always existed in Israel, between the godly kernel of the 
 nation and the great mass who were addicted to heathen practices. The 
 antithesis in this case would be largely ideal, being obvious from the 
 point of view of the prophet and those who shared his faith, but not 
 recognised by their opponents. But this conception hardly corresponds 
 to the state of things revealed by the allusions of the pi-ophecy. The 
 separation is open and acknowledged on both sides; each party excom- 
 municates the other (Ixvi. 5) ; and the apostates maintain an attitude of 
 opposition to the Temple at Jerusalem (Ixv. 11). (2) The second theory 
 may better enable us to comprehend this situation. It is the same as 
 was already suggested by ch. Ivii. gfF., viz., that the schismatics referred 
 to are the half-caste Samaritans and their adherents amongst the 
 ''people of the land," while the servants of Jehovah are the religious 
 and strictly legal party which is known to have existed in the time of 
 Malachi, and had been reinforced by the arrival of Ezra and his company 
 from Babylon (Ezra ix. i — 4). Some points in favour of this view are {a) 
 the Hebrew eXii-lJtion of the party denounced (Ixvi. 5; see on Ivii. 3) ; 
 (3) their separation from the Temple sawice (Ixv. ir); {c) the peculiar 
 and revolting heathen rites to which they ..ere addicted (Ixv. 3 — 5, 11, 
 Ixvi. 3, 17) implying a degree of religious degeneracy not easy to con- 
 ceive in a properly Jewish society ; {d) their perpetuation of the illegal 
 won ship of the "high places" (Ixv. 7); and {e) the manner in which 
 they are addressed as a distinct and well-known body (Ixv. 5, ir, Ixvi. 
 5). These circumstances do not of course amount to a demonstration 
 
 ISAIAH II. <■ t 
 
2IO ISAIAH, LXV. [vv. 2, 3. 
 
 I said, Behold me, behold me, 
 
 Unto a nation that was not called by my name. 
 
 I have spread out mine hands all the day unto 
 
 a rebellious people, 
 Which walketh in a way that was not good, after their 
 
 own thoughts ; 
 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to 
 
 my face ; 
 
 of the hypothesis, although in conjunction with the presumption of 
 
 post-exilic authorship they invest it with a certain degree of probability. 
 
 1, 2. Jehovah's overtures have been rejected by an obdurate people. 
 
 1. Render: I was to be enquired of by those that asked not, 
 
 I was to be found by them that sought me not, etc. 
 The first verb in each line is of the form Niphal, which is to be under- 
 stood not as a simple passive, but in its tolerative sense: "I let myself 
 be enquired of," i.e. *'I was ready to answer," exactly as Ezek. xiv. 3, 
 XX. 3, 31, xxxvi. 37: "I let myself be found," as ch. Iv. 6. Jehovah's 
 readiness to hear is contrasted with the people's unwillingness to pray. 
 
 Behold me, behold me'\ Cf. ch. xl. 9, xli. 27, Hi. 6, Iviii. 9. 
 
 that rvas not called by 7ny name'\ We should read, changing the 
 vowels in accordance with the Old Versions : that did not call on my 
 name. 
 
 2. spread out mine hands] The attitude of supplication; cf. Prov. i. 24. 
 a rebellious {lefTSiCtory, Hos. iv. 16) people] LXX. has; \abv diret- 
 
 Bovvra kuI dvTiX^yovra ; and so the citation Rom. x. 21. 
 
 a way that was not good] "A not-good way" (litotes). The same 
 phrase in Ps. xxxvi. 4; Prov. xvi. 29. 
 
 The people referred to here are necessarily the same as those described 
 in the sequel. If these be the paganised Israelites of the North who 
 had not shared the Captivity the two verses reveal an important Aict 
 not otherwise recorded. The prophetic representatives of Jehovah in 
 the post-exilic community must, in that case, have sought to win over 
 these outcasts to the pure worship of Jehovah, and the acceptance 
 of the Law. This might appear to be inconsistent with what is told in 
 Ezra iv. i — 3, where the friendly advances of the Samaritans are met 
 with a stern refusal on the part of the Jews. But the contradiction is 
 perhaps only apparent. The Jewish leaders might veiy well have 
 declined the co-operation of these people while they maintained their 
 impure religion, and at the same time been eager to incorporate them 
 in the Theocracy on the terms offered to foreigners in ch. Ivi. 6f. 
 
 In Rom. x, 20, 21, St Paul quotes parts of these verses, applying v. i 
 to the conversion of the Gentiles and v. 2 to the unbelief of Israel. 
 Possibly this exegesis may have been traditional in the Apostle's time 
 (Delitzsch), although the primary sense of the passage is that the same 
 persons are referred to throughout. 
 
 3 — 5. Description of their illegal and superstitious cults. 
 
vv. 4, 5-J ISAIAH, LXV. 211 
 
 That sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon 
 
 altars of brick; 
 Which remain among the graves. 
 And lodge in the monuments, 
 Which eat swine's flesh, 
 
 And broth of abominable things is in their vessels; 
 Which say. Stand by thyself. 
 Come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. 
 
 3. that sacrificeth in V[i& gardeiis\ Cf. ch. Ixvi. 17, and see on i. 29. 
 burneth iiicoise upon altars of brick^ Strictly on the bricks (R.V.), 
 
 or tiles. We have no key to the meaning of the expression. Some 
 think the "tiles" denote the roofs of the houses, where sacrifices were 
 sometimes offered to false gods (see 2 Ki. xxiii. 12; Jer. xix. 13 ; Zeph. 
 i. 5); others (hke A.V.) suppose that altars made of bricks are referred 
 to. Why the custom should be specially Bab\ Ionian (Del.) does not 
 appear. The word for "burn incense" may mean simply "burn sacri- 
 fice" ; see on ch. i. 13. 
 
 4. The first two lines read : 
 
 Who sit in the graves, 
 
 and pass the night in secret (lit. guarded) places. 
 The practice of "sitting in graves" is undoubtedly rooted in the worship 
 of ancestors (Schwally, Das Leben nach de?tt Tode, pp. 68, 71), and the 
 object probably was to obtain oracles from the dead. The phrase "pass 
 the night " seems to point to the custom known to the ancients as incu- 
 bation : "ubi stratis pellibus hostianim incubare soliti erant, ut somniis 
 futura cognoscerent " (Jerome). This idea is expressed by the LXX. 
 (which runs the two clauses into one): KOLfxQvTac dia efvirvia; i.e. for the 
 purpose of obtaining dream-oracles. But whether the "secret places" 
 are connected with the "graves" is uncertain. 
 
 7vhich eat stuine'sjlesh} in sacrificial meals ; in any case a violation of 
 the Law (Deut. xiv. 8; Lev. xi. 7). From the fact that wild pigs are 
 mentioned in the cuneiform inscriptions (Jensen, Zeitschrift fiir Assyrio- 
 logie. Vol. I. pp. 306 ff.) it has been inferred that the Jews were tempted 
 into this during the Exile. But the swine was "forbidden food to all 
 the Semites," being sacred to more than one deity, and used in sacrifice 
 only in some exceptional rites (W. R. Smith, Religion of the Se^nites"^, 
 pp. 218, 290 f., 351). It is probably such mystic sacrifices that are 
 here referred to ; and there was no place where lax Jews were more 
 likely to be enticed into them than in their own land. 
 
 broth of abominable things] Such creatures as are enumerated in Ixvi. 
 17. The " sacrifices are boiled and yield a magical hell-broth " (W. R. 
 Smith, Marriage and Kinship, p. 310). "Broth" is the rendering of 
 the Qer^ {?ndrdq, Jud. vi. I9f.); the Kethib has a word [pdrdq) which 
 might mean "piece" (sing.), aUhough it does not occur elsewhere. 
 
 6. Stand by thyself '\ Lit. "Draw near to thyself." Cf. xlix. 20. 
 
 for I am holier than thou'\ This construction of the accus. suftix is 
 hardly admissible. The verb is to be pointed as Piel, and the clause 
 
 14 — 2 
 
212 ISAIAH, LXV. [v. 6. 
 
 These are a smoke in my nose, 
 
 A fire that burneth all the day. 
 
 Behold, it is written before me : 
 
 I will not keep silence, but will recompense, 
 
 Even recompense into their bosom. 
 
 rendered : else I sanctify thee (cf. the similar use of the perf. in i Sam. 
 ii. i6). The words express no Pharisaic sense of superior virtue; they 
 are addressed by a Mystagogue (see on Ixvi. 17), or at least a member 
 of a special religious fellowship, to the uninitiated, warning them 
 against the dangerous degree of holiness (taboo) which would be incurred 
 by contact with the initiated (cf. Ezek. xliv. 19). (See Rel. of Sem.^ 
 PP- 343' 357 — 368). It is true we have no further evidence of the ex- 
 istence of such mystic societies in Palestine at any time. But the whole 
 passage {yv. 3 — 5) is unique, and furnishes a startling revelation of a 
 state of things without parallel in the O.T., although something similar 
 may be inferred from Ezek. viii. 10. Its emergence at this particular 
 period is no doubt to be explained by the collapse of the old national 
 religions, which was the inevitable result of the Assyrian and Babylonian 
 conquests. This naturally led to a recrudescence of primitive super- 
 stitions which had been handed down in obscure circles, but had been 
 kept in check so long as the public religion of the state retained its 
 vitality {Rel. of Sem.'^ pp. 357 f.). But while this general explanation 
 may be sufficient, the situation becomes perhaps still more intelligible if 
 we suppose the description to apply to descendants of the colonists 
 settled by Assyrian kings in Samaria (Cheyne, Introd. p. 369). 
 
 these are a smoke in my nose] If the clause stood alone it would be 
 interpreted as a figurative expression of the idea of v. 3 a, — a smoke 
 entering into and irritating the nostrils. The parallel clause, however, 
 has led nearly all commentators to understand the "smoke" as a symbol 
 of the Divine anger (cf. Ps. xviii. 8); and to paraphrase the line thus: 
 "these are (the cause of) a smoke (proceeding from) my nostrils." This 
 is certainly very unnatural. Why should not the second line be subor- 
 dinate to the first, — the continually burning fire being the source of the 
 "smoke" as the emblem of provocation? 
 
 afre that btirneth all the day\ Probably a citation from Jer. xvii. 4 ; 
 cf. Deut. xxxii. 22. 
 
 6, 7. Sentence is now pronounced on the reprobates, who by their 
 persistent idolatries have served themselves heirs to the guilt of their 
 fathers. 
 
 it is written before me] The sins mentioned above stand recorded in 
 the heavenly books, calling constantly for punishment (cf. Jer, xvii. 1). 
 Another interpretation, according to which the subject of the sentence 
 is the Divine decree of judgement, is less acceptable, because the follow- 
 ing words can hardly be taken as the contents of such a decree. 
 
 / 7(jill not keep silence until I have recompensed] For the con- 
 struction cf. Gen. xxxii. 26; Lev. xxii. 6, &c. 
 
 even recompense Gr=ir.] and I will recompense into tJieir bosom,— 2i 
 
vv. 7, 8.] ISAIAH, LXV. 213 
 
 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers to- 7 
 
 gether, saith the Lord, 
 Which have burnt incense upon the mountains, 
 And blasphemed me upon the hills : 
 Therefore will I measure their former work into their 
 
 bosom. 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, s 
 
 As the new wine is found in the cluster, 
 
 new sentence, as is shown by the Hebr. pointing of the verb as consec. 
 perf. Cf. Jer. xxxii. 18; Ps. Ixxix. 12. 
 
 7. Your iniquities .. .your fathers] The change from 3rd to ■2nd 
 pers. is extremely awkward, unless the verse could be detached from the 
 preceding and regarded (down to "hills") as an exclamation. This is 
 far from natural; the better construction is that of the E.V. which 
 makes "iniquities" the obj. to "recompense." It is probably necessary 
 (with the LXX.) to read "their" in both cases. The iniquities of the 
 fathers are indicated in the following words. 
 
 •which have burnt incense (have sacrificed, — see on i. 13) upon the 
 mou)itains'] The reference is obviously to the illegal worship of the 
 "high places" or local sanctuaries, which is denounced in similar terms 
 in Hos. iv. 13; Ezek. vi. 13; cf. Ezek. xviii. 6 (if the text be right, — 
 see Davidson on the passage in Cainb. Bible for Schools). That this 
 form of idolatry was also practised by those here spoken of is in every 
 way probable (see ch. Ivii. 7) ; on the other hand their ancestors, the 
 pre-exilic Israelites, could not be charged with the more heinous offences 
 described in w. 3 — 5. These last, however, were the outcome of the 
 same idolatrous tendency which formerly shewed itself in the worship at 
 the high places, and the judgement now about to descend on the children 
 is called forth both by their own guilt and by that of their fathers. 
 
 therefore will I measure their former work] Rather : and I will first 
 measure their reward. The word for "former" {ri'shdndh) if an adj., 
 ought to have the art., and moreover the thought expressed by this trans- 
 lation would be unsuitable, since it passes by in silence the recompense 
 due to the sins of the children themselves. It must therefore be ren- 
 dered as an adverb, as in Jer. xvi. 18 ("and first I will recompense their 
 iniquity" &c.). So R.V. 
 
 into their bosoni] as v. 6. 
 
 8 — 10. In spite of the gross idolatries denounced in the preceding 
 section there is that in Israel which makes it precious in the sight of 
 Jehovah, and ensures for it a brilliant future. 
 
 8. In the figure, the grape-cluster represents the nation as a whole, 
 including many unworthy members, the "new wine" (tfrSsh, "must") 
 is the spiritual kei'nel of the nation, here called "my servants"; and the 
 truth taught is that tor the sake of the latter "the whole" shall not be 
 annihilated in the judgement that is to come. It is an application to new 
 circumstances of Isaiah's doctrine of the Remnant (ch. vi. 13). 
 
214 ISAIAH, LXV. [vv. 9— II. 
 
 And one saith, Destroy it not ; for a blessing is in it : 
 
 So will I do for my servants' sakes, 
 
 That / may not destroy them all. 
 
 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, 
 
 And out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains : 
 
 And mine elect shall inherit it, 
 
 And my servants shall dwell there. 
 
 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, 
 
 And the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie 
 
 down in. 
 For my people that have sought me. 
 
 But ye are they that forsake the Lord, 
 
 The words Destroy it not, for a blessing is z;/ it have been thought, 
 from their rhythm, to be the first line of one of the vintage songs often 
 referred to in Scripture (cf. Jud. ix. 27; Isa. xvi. 10; Jer. xxv. 30, xlviii. 
 33, &c.). It has further been conjectured that the words "Destroy not" 
 ('a/ tashheth) in the headings of four psalms (Ivii., Iviii., Hx. , Ixxv.) refer 
 to this song, naming its melody as the tune to which these Psalms were 
 to be sung (W. R. Smith, O. T. in Jewish Church^, p. 209). 
 
 that I 7nay not (Sr'r.] (so as) not to destroy the whole. 
 
 9. When a separation is effected the true Israelites shall possess the 
 land (ch. Ivii. 13, Ix. 21). 
 
 a seed] Cf. ch. vi. 13, liii. 10. 
 
 my monntainsl the mountain land of Palestine, an Isaianic phrase 
 (ch. xiv. 25). shall inherit it] i.e. the land. 
 
 shall dwell there] Dillmann infers from the adv. "there" that neither 
 the prophet nor his hearers lived in Palestine ; but the argument cannot 
 be sustained. "There" maybe said of a place just mentioned, irre- 
 spective of the speaker's relation to it. Thus in ch. xxxvii. 33 Isaiah 
 says that the king of Assyria "shall not shoot an arrow there" referring 
 to Jerusalem ("this city") where he was living. 
 
 10. Sharon] (in Hebr. always with the art.) the northern part of the 
 Maritime Plain, from near Carmel to Joppa, varying in breadth from 6 
 to 12 miles. (For a description see G. A. Smith, Hist. Geogr. pp. 147 f.) 
 
 the valley of Achor] Josh. vii. 24, xv. 7; Hos. ii. 15. One of the 
 valleys (not identified) mnning up into the mountains from the Jordan- 
 depression somewhere near Jericho. The names are mentioned as the 
 extreme limits, W. and E,, of the land to be inherited by the servants 
 of Jehovah. 
 
 for 7ny people that have inquired of me] in contrast to those spoken 
 of in V. I . 
 
 11. 12. A renewed threat against the apostates, with a further allusion 
 to their idolatry. 
 
 But ye are they that forsake &^c?\ Render : But as for you that 
 
V. II.] ISAIAH, LXV. 215 
 
 That forget my holy mountain, 
 
 That prepare a table for that troop, 
 
 And that furnish the drink offering unto that number. 
 
 forsake Jehovah (ch. i. 4) &c. The whole verse is a descriptive antici- 
 pation of the object of the verb " destine" in v. 12 (see R.V.). 
 
 that forget my holy monfitain] The phrase may denote either simple 
 indifference to the welfare of Zion (cf Ps. cxxxvii. 5), or deliberate 
 abstention from the Temple ritual. The second view implies residence 
 in Palestine at a time when the Temple services were in full operation ; 
 hence the other is necessarily adopted by all who hold the prophecy to 
 have been written in Babylon. It is perhaps impossible to decide 
 which is right, although those who recognise a Palestinian colouring 
 throughout the chapter will naturally prefer the second as the more 
 forcible interpretation, and find in it some confirmation of their theory. 
 
 that prepare a table ^c.'\ Better : that spread a table for Gad, and 
 fill up mixed wine (see ch. v. 22) to Meni. The rites described are 
 the Icctistertiia, well known throughout the ancient world, in which 
 a table was spread, furnished with meats and drinks as a meal for 
 the gods (Liv. v. 13; Herodot. i. 183; Ep. of Jeremiah, vv. 27 f.; 
 Bel and the Dragon, v. w, cf. Jer. vii. 18, xix. 13, xliv. 17, i Cor. 
 X. 21). A parallel in the O.T. religion is the Shewbread in the 
 Temple (or Tabernacle), Ex. xxv. 30 &c. Gesenius remarks that the 
 description of the complete lectisternium extends over both members of 
 the parallelism, and infers that the two deities were worshipped together. 
 This is probable, being in accordance with ancient custom (Liv. v. 13), 
 but the laws of Hebrew parallelism hardly permit us to say that this 
 must be the meaning. 
 
 That Gad and Meni are divine proper names is universally acknow- 
 ledged, although neither has quite lost its appellative signification and 
 both are here pointed with the article. Gad means " good fortune " ; he 
 is personified luck. [The rendering "troop" in A.V. is a mistake. Cf. 
 Gen. xxx. 11, where " A troop cometh " should be *' With fortune ! " as 
 R.V. marg. In Gen. xlix. 19, where a different etymology is supposed, 
 the word for " troop " is not gad but gedild.'] The existence of a Syrian 
 god of this name (or the Greek equivalent Tt^x'?) is well established, and 
 his worship is proved to have extended over a very wide area (see 
 Baethgen, Beitrdge zur Sent. Kel.-Gesch. pp. 76 — 80). It appears that 
 the evidence is most copious amongst the Greek inscriptions of the 
 Hauran (note the proximity to the Hebrew tribe of Gad) where there 
 must have been numerous temples in his honour. But the name occurs 
 also in Phoenician and Palmyrene inscriptions, and on coins of several 
 cities, including Ashkelon, while a temple to the *' Fortune " of Gaza is 
 known to have existed in that city (Baethgen, p. 66). The place-names 
 Baal-Gad (at the foot of Hermon, Josh. xi. 17, xii. 7, xiii. 5) and 
 Migdal-Gad (in Judah, Josh. xv. 37) seem to shew that his worship was 
 practised in Palestine proper. There are besides frequent references in 
 Syriac and later Jewish literature ; a Syriac writer of the 5th century 
 mentions that lectistertiia were still prepared for Gad in his time. The 
 
2i6 ISAIAH, LXV. [vv. 12—15. 
 
 Therefore will I number you to the sword, 
 
 And ye shall all bow down to the slaughter : 
 
 Because when I called, ye did not answer; 
 
 When I spake, ye did not hear; 
 
 But did evil before mine eyes, 
 
 And did choose that wherein I delighted not. 
 
 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, 
 
 Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry : 
 
 Behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: 
 
 Behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be 
 
 ashamed : 
 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart. 
 But ye shall cry for sorrow of heart. 
 And shall howl for vexation of spirit. 
 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my 
 
 chosen : 
 
 Jewish interpreters identified Gad with the planet Jupiter, called by the 
 Arabs " the greater Luck, " but this association maybe more recent than 
 our passage (Baethgen). Meni {Ment) has left fewer traces. He is 
 possibly identical with the goddess Mandt, one of the three chief divini- 
 ties of the pre- Mohammedan Arabs (Koran, Sura liii. 19 — 23). A 
 personal name ''Abdment ( = Servant of Meni?) has been found on coins 
 of the Achoemenidae, but the accuracy of this is doubted by some 
 (Delitzsch, Schrader in Riehm's Handworterbuch). The meaning of the 
 word is "Destiny," and the god has been identified with the planet 
 Venus, " the lesser Luck " of the Arabs. It is quite as likely, however, 
 that Meni is the antithesis of Gad, — the god of evil destiny. [Observe 
 that in the LXX. Gad is AaLfjidviov and Meni TtJx'?-] Nothing has yet 
 been discovered to connect these deities with the Babylonian pantheon. 
 Some think they may be Hebrew equivalents of Babylonian names 
 (Dillmann), others that their worship was transported from Syria to 
 Babylon (Baethgen). These are speculations, but the actual evidence 
 points to Western Asia as the natural environment of this cult. 
 
 12. Render with R.V. I will destine you to the sword &c. There 
 is a play upon words between the verb for " destine " [tnanah) and Aleni 
 
 \XiV. II. 
 
 because when I called &'c.'\ Cf. vv. i, 2. 
 
 but did evil before inine eyes 6^^.] Exactly as ch. Ixvi. 4. 
 
 13 — 16. Contrast between the fate of these idolaters and that of 
 Jehovah's servants. 
 
 14. joy of heart'] Cf. Deut. xxviii. 47. 
 
 vexation of spirit] lit. breaking of spirit ; contrast the different sense 
 of " broken of heart " (ch. Ixi. i). 
 
 16. Their names shall be used in a formula of imprecation. Comp. 
 in illustration Jer. xxix. 22 : "And from them shall be taken a curse for 
 
i6.] ISAIAH, LXV. 217 
 
 For the Lord God shall slay thee, 
 
 And call his servants by another name : 
 
 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless 
 
 himself in the God of truth ; 
 And he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the 
 
 God of truth ; 
 Because the former troubles are forgotten, 
 And because they are hid from mine eyes. 
 
 all the captivity of Judah... saying, 'Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah 
 and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire ! '. " Have 
 we such a formula quoted in the clause following, "and the Lord 
 Jehovah shall slay thee "? It is objected (i) that the formula would be 
 incomplete, the essential words — " Hke so-and-so " — being omitted ; 
 (2) the "and" is unaccounted for, while to remove it would leave a 
 perf. with a precative sense, a usage which is very doubtful in Hebr. 
 (Driver, Tmses, § 20). On the other hand, the use of 2nd pers. sing, 
 rather favours the view that the words are meant as a specimen of the 
 curse. 
 
 and call his servants by another name] The LXX. (Cod. Vat.), with 
 slight modifications of the text, reads : " And on my servants shall be 
 called a new name " (rots 5e dovKevovcrl /xoi KXrjdrja-eTai 6voixa KaLvbv). 
 The Kaivou is no doubt a slip ; but the change of " his "to " my " is an 
 obvious improvement, and may safely be adopted. The promise must 
 not be taken too literally, nor too closely connected with the preceding 
 threat. It is hardly conceivable that the prophet contemplates the 
 abrogation of the name " Israel," because it has been degraded by 
 unworthy Israelites (Cheyne, Conim.). This would be implied only if 
 the name " Israel " \\ere that which is to remain for a curse, which is 
 again a too violent interpretation. The " other name " is contrasted, 
 not with that which both parties had borne in common, but with names 
 such as " Forsaken," which describe the present condition of the true 
 believers. Cf. ch. Ixii. 2, 4, 12. 
 
 16. rhat'\ R.V., So that (as Gen. xi. 7; Ps. xcv. 11; Mai. iv. 
 i,&c.). 
 
 he who blesseth himself in the \2J[iA\ i.e. "who invokes a blessing on 
 himself"; cf. Gen. xxii. 18, xxvi. 4, xlviii. 20; Jer. iv. 2. 
 
 shall bless himself by the God of truth^ using such expressions as, 
 "May the God of truth bless me." By the fulfilment both of His 
 threat enings and His promises Jehovah will have shewn Himself to be 
 the God of truth, so that a blessing uttered in His name is certainly 
 effective. God of triith is strictly "God of the Amen " (cf. 2 Cor. i. 20; 
 Rev. iii. 14), but this is a too artificial phrase for so early a period. 
 Read 'omen (=" truth," "fidelity"). 
 
 swear by the God of trnth'\ Cf. ch. xlviii. i. 
 
 the former troubles are forgotten^ See Rev. xxi. 4. hid from 
 
 mine eyes] a reminiscence probably of Hos. xiii. 14. 
 
2i8 ISAIAH, LXV. [vv. 17—20. 
 
 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth : 
 And the former shall not be remembered, nor come 
 
 into mind. 
 But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I 
 
 create : 
 For behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her 
 
 people a joy. 
 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: 
 And the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in 
 
 her, nor the voice of crying. 
 There shall be no more thence an infant of days. 
 
 17 — 25. The last sentence oi v. 16 inspires the loftiest flight of the 
 prophet's imagination. The *' former troubles shall be forgotten " in 
 the glories of a new creation, in which all things minister to the welfare 
 of Jehovah's regenerate people. 
 
 17. tuw heavens atid a new earth'] i.e. a new universe, Hebrew 
 having no single word for the Cosmos (of. ch. Ixvi. 22 ; 2 Pet. iii. 13 ; 
 Rev. xxi. i). The phrase sums up a whole aspect of the prophetic 
 theology. The idea of a transformation of nature so as to be in harmony 
 with a renewed humanity has met us several times in the earlier part of 
 the book (ch. xi. 6 — 9, xxix. 17, xxx. 23 ff., xxxii. 15, xxxv., &c.), and 
 is a frequent theme of prophecy, but the thought of a new creation is 
 nowhere expressed so absolutely as here. It may have been suggested 
 to the prophet by ch. li. 6, where it is said that the present universe 
 shall be dissolved, although it is doubtful if that verse contains more 
 than a metaphorical expression of the transitoriness of the material in 
 contrast with the spii-itual. Here there can be no doubt that the words 
 are to be interpreted literally. At the same time the new creation pre- 
 serves as it were the form of the old, for the next verse shews that a new 
 Jerusalem is the centre of the renovated earth. 
 
 the former] R.V. the former tilings. The reference may be specifi- 
 cally to the "former troubles" of v. 16, or generally to the old state 
 of things which shall have vanished for ever. 
 
 tior come into ??nnd] Lit. " come up on the heart," as Jer. iii. 16, vii. 
 31, &c. 
 
 18. / create yerusaletn a rejoicing ^'c] i.e. either an object in 
 which one may rejoice {v. 19, ch. Ix. 15) or an abode of joy (ch. li. 3, 
 Ixi. 7). 
 
 19. God Himself rejoices in the new city and people ; cf. Ixii. 5. 
 and the voice ofxveeping ^^ci] Cf. ch. xxv. 8, xxxv. 10. 
 
 20. Amongst the blessings of the new people of God the chief shall 
 be a miraculous extension of the term of human life. This is the 
 dominant idea down to the end oiv. 22. The expression of the thought 
 is unaccountably laboured and obscure. 
 
 an infant of days] must mean one who lives only a few days. 
 
vv. 21—23.] ISAIAH, LXV. 219 
 
 Nor an old man that hath not filled his days : 
 For the child shall die an hundred years old ; 
 But the sinner being an hundred years old shall be 
 
 accursed. 
 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; 21 
 
 And they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of 
 
 them. 
 They shall not build, and another inhabit; 22 
 
 They shall not plant, and another eat : 
 For as the days of a tree a7'e the days of my people, 
 And mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their 
 
 hands. 
 They shall not labour in vain, 23 
 
 Nor bring forth for trouble; 
 
 nor an old vian...days\ (cf. Gen. xxv. 8; Ex. xxiii. 26; Job v. 26), 
 i.e. none shall become prematurely old ; each shall attain tlie allotted 
 measure of life according to the standard which shall then be normal. 
 
 for the youth shall die an htindred years old dr'<:.] These two cases 
 must be regarded as hypothetical merely. Death at the age of 100 
 years (if such a thing took place) would be looked on as an untimely death 
 in extreme youth, and as a special mark of the Divine anger on a career 
 of wickedness (Job xv. 32, xx. 5.). The possibility of a hardened sinner 
 being actually found in the Messianic community cannot be seriously 
 contemplated (see ch. Ix. 21). 
 
 It is evident that the idea of immortal life is unknown to the writer. 
 He looks forward to a restriction of the power of death, but not to its 
 entire cessation. The same idea is probably implied in a prophecy of 
 the early post-exilic period (Zech. viii. 4 ; see on ch. xxv. 8) ; and a 
 conception precisely similar is characteristic of the first section of the 
 Book of Enoch. See Charles, Book of Enochs pp. 26, 55, 98. Comp. 
 En. V. 9 : " And [the elect] will not be punished all the days of their 
 life, nor will they die of plagues or visitations of wrath, but they will 
 complete the full number of the days of their life, and their lives will 
 grow old in peace, and the years of their joy will be many, in eternal 
 happiness and peace all the days of their life." Cf. also x. 17 and 
 xxv. 4, 5. 
 
 21, 22. In consequence of this extension of the term of life, each man 
 shall enjoy the fruit of his own labour (cf. Deut. xxviii. 30). The idea 
 is therefore somewhat different from that of ch. Ixii. 8, 9. 
 
 as the days of a free'] Cf. Ps. xcii. 12, 13. 
 
 mine elect ( = iny chosen, v. 15) shall long enjoy 6^r.] lit. "shall wear 
 out," "use up" (Job xxi, 13). 
 
 23. They shall not weary themselves for vanity] ch. xlix. 4; 
 Hab. ii. 13 ; because God's blessing rests on them. 
 
 nor bring forth (sc. children) for sudden destruction] Jer. xv. 8 ; 
 Ps. Ixxviii. 33. 
 
220 ISAIAH, LXV. LXVI. [w. 24, 25. 
 
 For they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, 
 
 And their offspring with them. 
 
 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will 
 answer ; 
 
 And whiles they are yet speaking, I will hear. 
 
 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. 
 
 And the lion shall eat straw like the bullock : 
 
 And dust shall be the serpent's meat. 
 
 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy moun- 
 tain, saith the Lord. 
 
 and their offsprittg with theni] Better perhaps as a complete sentence : 
 and their oflFspring shall be with them (R.V. marg.) ; many generations 
 living together. Cf. Job xxi. 8. 
 
 24. Cf. Dan. ix. 21. 
 
 25. A last feature of the new earth is the peace which shall reign in 
 the animal world. See on ch. xi. 6 — 9, from which this verse is quoted. 
 The second and fourth lines are cited literally from xi, 7, 9, the first is 
 a condensation of xi. 6, 7 a. The only clause not represented in the 
 original passage is the third line : and dust shall be the sei-penfs meat, an 
 allusion to Gen. iii. 14. Duhm, partly on metrical grounds, rejects 
 these words as a gloss. 
 
 Ch. LXVI. The Eternal Blessedness of the True Israel; 
 THE Doom of the Apostates. 
 
 This chapter continues the antithesis that runs through ch. Ixv., 
 carrying it onward to its eschatological issues. The connexion of ideas 
 is frequently extremely difficult to trace, and no two critics are agreed as 
 to where the different sections begin and end. The contents of the 
 passage, however, may be exhibited as follows : 
 
 i. w. I — 4. The chapter begins with a remarkable declaration 
 against a formal and unspiritual ceremonial. Addressing those who 
 contemplate the erection of a Temple in His honour, Jehovah points 
 out how inadequate any earthly house must necessarily be to His 
 majesty, and reminds them that the only worship acceptable in His 
 sight is that which proceeds from a humble, contrite and reverent spirit 
 {yu. I, 2). How little this condition is fulfilled by those referred to is 
 shewn by a rapid survey of the superstitious practices which, in direct 
 defiance of the Divine Law, they seek to combine with the service of 
 Jehovah (z^. 3). Sentence is pronounced against them on account of 
 their disobedience (z/. 4). 
 
 ii. vv. 5 — 9. Turning from these, Jehovah speaks to those who 
 comply with the requirement of v. 2, assuring them of a speedy triumph 
 over their insolent persecutors, and announcing, under the figure of 
 a new l^rth, a sudden and marvellous increase of the population 
 of Zion. 
 
vv. I, 2.] ISAIAH, LXVI. 221 
 
 Thus saith the Lord, 66 
 
 The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my 
 
 footstool : 
 Where is the house that ye build unto me? 
 And where is the place of my rest? 
 For all those things hath mine hand made, 2 
 
 And all those things have been, saith the Lord : 
 But to this man will I look, 
 Even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, 
 
 iii. vv. 10 — 14. Peace and joy shall reign in the new Jerusalem, 
 and those who sympathise with and mourn for her present distress are 
 invited to share in her future consolation. 
 
 iv. vv. 1 5 — 1 7. A renewed description of the judgement (expanding 
 the thought of v. 6). The judgement is universal (" with all flesh "), but 
 special emphasis is laid on the fate of the apostates so often appearing 
 in the last two chapters {v. 1 7). 
 
 V. vv. 18 — 22. The judgement is followed by a manifestation of 
 Jehovah's glory to all nations {v. 18). The survivors of the nearer 
 nations, who have witnessed the catastrophe, shall be sent as messengers 
 to the more distant countries {v. 19) ; these shall then voluntarily bring 
 back to Zion the dispersed Israelites (v. 20) ; and from amongst them 
 (the restored exiles or the converted heathen ?) some shall be chosen as 
 ministers of the sanctuary {v. 21). Israel, thus reconstituted, shall be 
 as enduring as the new heavens and earth which Jehovah is about to 
 create (v. 22). 
 
 vi. vv. 23, 24. The universality of the true I'eligion, expressed 
 inadequately in terms of the old dispensation as a monthly and weekly 
 pilgrimage of all nations to the sanctuary at Jerusalem {v. 23); with a 
 closing reference to the appalling fate reserved for the impenitent rebels 
 against Jehovah (v. 24). 
 
 1, 2. Jehovah, who fills and has created heaven and earth, "dwelleth 
 not in temples made with hands." Comp. the citation in Acts vii. 48 ff., 
 also I Ki. viii, 27; Jer. xxiii, 24. 
 
 The heaven is my throne^ Ps. xi. 4, ciii. 19. 
 
 the earth is my footstool^ Hence the Temple itself (or the ark) is 
 spoken of as Jehovah's footstool ; Lam. ii. i ; Ps. xcix. 5, cxxxii. 7 ; 
 I Chr. xxviii. 2. 
 
 7vhere is the house ^c.'\ Render : what manner of house will ye 
 build unto me? and what manner of place is my resting place 
 (Ps. cxxxii. 8, 14) ? 
 
 2. all these things] i.e. the heavens and the earth, the whole visible 
 creation. That the phrase refers to the Jewish community with its 
 religious institutions (Duhm) is a thoroughly unnatural supposition. 
 For have been read have come into being. 
 
 but to this man tvill I look (have regard) &'c.\ Cf. ch. Ivii. 15. 
 contrite is lit. "smitten": it is the same word which is rendered 
 
222 ISAIAH, LXVI. [v. 2. 
 
 And trembleth at my word. 
 
 "broken" or "wounded" (of the spirit) in Prov. xv. 13, xvii. 22, 
 xviii. 14. In all the other passages where "contrite" is found in the 
 E.V. (ch. Ivii. 15; Ps. xxxiv. 18, li. 17) it represents a formation from 
 another root, meaning "to be crushed." 
 
 trembleth at my wonl] Cf. v. 5 ; Ezra ix. 4, x. 3. 
 
 These two verses contain one of the most explicit declarations of the 
 spirituality of religion to be found in the O.T., anticipating the principle 
 enunciated by our Lord in John iv, 24. It is not surprising that 
 commentators have differed widely as to their precise significance in 
 their present connexion, (i) The opinion of a few writers, that the 
 prophet enters a protest against the rebuilding of the Temple at 
 Jerusalem and desiderates a pure spiritual worship without sanctuary 
 or sacrifice, is quite untenable. It is certain that no conception that 
 would lead to a disparaging estimate of the Temple and its services can 
 be attributed either to the second Isaiah or to any of his successors. 
 (See to the contrary, ch. xliv. 28, Ivi. 5, 7, Ix. 7, Ixvi. 6, 20 f. &c.) 
 The idea suggested lies entirely beyond the most spiritual writers in 
 the O.T. ; and in the passages most nearly akin to this (e.g. Ps. xl. 6, 
 1. 8 — 15, li. 16 f.) there is no suggestion that a material sanctuary and 
 ritual could be dispensed with. (2) Hitzig and some others have 
 supposed a reference to a project entertained by some of the exiles to 
 erect a Temple of Jehovah in Babylonia. Not only, however, is the 
 assumption absolutely destitute of historical evidence, but it is almost 
 incredible that such an intention should have entered the thoughts 
 of any Jews in exile. (3) If the passage was written in the near 
 prospect of a return to Palestine, there is but one explanation which 
 is at all plausible. The prophet is thinking of the character of the mass 
 of the people who are eagerly looking forward to the restoration of the 
 national worship; and he warns them that Jehovah needs no temple, 
 and that their whole service of Him will be vitiated by the want of a 
 right religious disposition. In other words, the polemic is directed not 
 against the existence of the Temple in itself, but against the building 
 of it being undertaken by such men as those addressed. (4) If, on the 
 other hand, the prophecy was written some time after the restoration, 
 it seems impossible to evade the conclusion reached by Duhm and 
 Cheyne, that the reference is to a design of the Samaritans to erect a rival 
 temple to that of Jerusalem. This theory is perhaps less improbable than 
 it may at first sight appear. In the first place we know that such a temple 
 was actually erected on Mt. Gerizim some time after Nehemiah's second 
 reformation in Judaea (see Ryle's note on Neh. xiii. 28) ; and it is to be 
 supposed that the project had been talked of for some time previously. 
 Nor is it any formidable objection to say that the argument here 
 employed would tell equally against the pretensions of the sanctuary at 
 Jerusalem. The prophet's assertion must in any case be qualified by 
 the fundamental principle of the Jewish religion that the validity of 
 every act of worship rests on the positive enactment of Jehovah. While 
 Jehovah needs no human service. He is graciously pleased to accept it 
 if rendered in accordance with His expressed will. Now this sanction 
 
V. 3.] ISAIAH, LXVI. 223 
 
 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man ; 3 
 
 He that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's 
 neck; 
 
 had been bestowed on the one sanctuary at Jerusalem, but could not 
 possibly belong to any temple built elsewhere. The erection of such 
 a temple could only be justified on the assumption that man could 
 arbitrarily assign a dwelling-place to the Most High, and to show the 
 futility of this assumption is the purpose of the prophet's lofty declaration. 
 The question turns largely on the interpretation of v. 3. If that verse 
 is rightly understood to mean that the worship of the parties spoken 
 of was really infected by degrading superstitions, it may well be that the 
 persons described are the Samaritans, and in that case it will follow 
 almost of necessity that these are also addressed m v. i. At the same 
 time, it must be admitted that if the erection of a schismatic Temple 
 were referred to, we should have expected a much more explicit and 
 vigorous condemnation of the project. 
 
 3. The first part of the verse runs literally thus: "The slaughterer 
 of the ox, a slayer of a man; the saci"ificer of the sheep, a breaker of a 
 dog's neck ; the offerer of an oblation, — swine's blood ; the maker of a 
 memorial of incense, one that blesseth vanity (i.e. an idol) " ; — four 
 legitimate sacrificial acts being bracketed with four detestable idolatrous 
 rites. The first member of each pair is probably to be taken as subj., 
 the second as pred., of a sentence. But this leaves open a choice 
 between two interpretations, (a) That the legal sacrificial action is as 
 hateful in the sight of God as the idolatrous rite, so long as it is 
 performed by unspiritual worshippers, {b) That he who does the first 
 series of actions does also the second, i.e. combines the service of 
 Jehovah with the most hateful idolatries. It is extremely difficult 
 to decide which is the true sense. The words "as if" in E.V. 
 are of course supplied by the translators, but the rendering is a perfectly 
 fair one. The one fact that favours the second explanation {b) is that 
 the latter part of the verse speaks of those who " delight in their 
 abominations." Unless there be a complete break in the middle of the 
 verse, which is unlikely, this would seem to imply that the abominations 
 enumerated were actually practised by certain persons, who at the same 
 time claimed to be worshippers of Jehovah. Cf. v. 17, Ixv. 3 — 5, 
 Ivii. 3—9. 
 
 as if he slew a man] The reference may be either to murder merely 
 or to human sacrifice ; most probably the latter, since every other 
 member of the sentence expresses a religious act. That human sacrifice 
 was actually perpetrated by those spoken of may be safely inferred from 
 ch. Ivii. 5. 
 
 breaketh a dog's neck] "This sacrifice... seems... to be alluded to as 
 a Punic rite in Justin xviir. i. 10, where we read that Darius sent a 
 message to the Carthaginians forbidding them to sacrifice human victims 
 and to eat the flesh of dogs : in the connexion a religious meal must 
 be understood." (W. R. Smith, Rel. of the Semites'-, p. 291.) The 
 whole paragraph should be consulted for other important references to 
 
224 ISAIAH, LXVI. [vv. 4, 5- 
 
 He that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's 
 
 blood ; 
 He that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. 
 Yea, they have chosen their own ways, 
 And their soul delighteth in their abominations. 
 
 4 I also will choose their delusions, 
 And will bring their fears upon them ; 
 Because when I called, none did answer; 
 When I spake, they did not hear: 
 
 But they did evil before mine eyes, 
 
 And chose that in which I delighted not. 
 
 5 Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his 
 
 word ; 
 Your brethren that hated you, 
 
 the sacredness of the dog amongst the Semites. See also the note in 
 Cheyne's Commentary. 
 
 he that offereth an oblation (see on ch. i. 13) (oflferetli) s7vine's bloody 
 See on ch. Ixv. 4. 
 
 burneth incetise'] R.V. marg. maketh a memorial of incense. The 
 Hebr. verb {hizktr) is connected with ^azkdrdh, the technical name of the 
 part of the meal offering which had to be burned witli incense on the 
 altar (cf. Lev. ii. 2, xxiv. 7). 
 
 blesseth an idol'] Lit. ''vanity," but the rendering rightly expresses 
 the sense ; cf ch. xli. 29. 
 
 Yea, they have chosen &'c.'] These clauses form the protasis io v. 4. 
 Render: As they have chosen... (z^. 4) so mil I choose &c. 
 
 I also ivill choose] with the same shade of meaning as in v. 3 ("will 
 find satisfaction in"). "The Orientals are fond of such antitheses" 
 (Gesenius). 
 
 4. delusions] Perhaps insults ; see on ch. iii. 4. Cheyne renders 
 expressively "freaks of fortune," remarking, "the word is very peculiar: 
 it represents calamity under the figure of a petulant child." 
 
 their fears] i.e. "that which they fear," and strive to avert by their 
 magical rites. 
 
 because when I called ^'c] Repeated from ch. Ixv. 12. 
 
 5, 6. A promise to the believing Jews, that they shall speedily 
 witness the discomfiture of their enemies and persecutors. 
 
 ye that tremble at his 7vord] — thus fulfilling the condition of 7'. i. 
 The "word" of the Lord is that spoken by the prophets, and the 
 "trembling" of these devout hearers expresses their scrupulous anxiety 
 to conform with its requirements. 
 
 your brethren] men of the same stock with yourselves. The term 
 could not be applied to the known leaders of the Samaritan com- 
 munity, like Sanballat and Tobiah (Neh. ii. 10 &C.), but might be used 
 
vv. 6—8.] ISAIAH, LXVl. 225 
 
 That cast you out for my name's sake, said, 
 
 Let the Lord be glorified : 
 
 But he s/ia// appear to your joy, and they shall be 
 
 ashamed. 
 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the 6 
 
 temple, 
 A voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his 
 
 enemies. 
 Before she travailed, she brought forth ; 7 
 
 Before her pain came, she was delivered of a man 
 
 child. 
 Who hath heard such a thifigl who hath seen such s 
 
 things ? 
 Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? 
 
 of the community as a whole, composed as it largely was of men of 
 Isiaelitish descent and, in part, probably of Jews who had been spared 
 in the general deportation of the people. 
 
 that UdiX&you'] as R.V. Cf. ch. Ivii. 4. 
 
 that cast you out] Perhaps "that put you far away" (in aversion). 
 Comp. the use of the word in Am. vi. 3 ("that put far away the evil 
 day"). In later Hebr. it means to excommunicate. 
 
 said, Let the LORD ^c] Render: have said, Let Jehovah shew 
 Himself glorious (pointing the verb as Niph.) that we may see your 
 joy (cf. R.V.), — a sarcastic allusion to the enthusiastic hopes enter- 
 tained by the pious Jews of a manifestation of Jehovah to their joy. 
 C"f. ch. V. 19, 
 
 but they shall be ashamed] Ch. Ixv. 13. 
 
 6. Description of the sudden outbreak of Jehovah's destructive might 
 from His city and sanctuary (cf. Am. i. 2; Joel iii. 16; ch. xxxiii. 14). 
 A noise of uproar from the city ! A noise from the temple ! The noise 
 of Jehovah rendering recompence (see on lix. 18) to His enemies! 
 (those referred to in v. 5). That these words presuppose the existence 
 of the Temple is certainly the most natural interpretation. The thought 
 of the verse is resumed in vv. 15, 16; the verses immediately following 
 pass abruptly to a different subject. 
 
 7 — 9. The sudden repopulation of the city by her children. The 
 figure is taken from ch. xlix. 17 — 21, liv. i; the fact set forth being 
 the instantaneous return of the exiled Israelites, by which, without effort, 
 the poor and struggling Jewish community becomes at once a great 
 nation. 
 
 8. Shall the earth dr'^r.] Render : Shall (the people of) a land be 
 travailed with in one day? For "land" in the sense of "population" 
 there do not seem to be any real parallels ; Judg. xviii. 30 is hardly 
 a case in point. Possibly the word for "people" ('aw) should be 
 inserted (Duhm). 
 
 ISAIAH 11. T c 
 
226 ISAIAH, LXVI. [vv. 9— 12. 
 
 Or shall a nation be born at once? 
 
 For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her 
 
 children. 
 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring 
 
 forth ? saith the Lord : 
 Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the 7voi?ib? saith 
 
 thy God. 
 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all 
 
 ye that love her : 
 Rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her : 
 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts 
 
 of her consolations ; 
 That ye may milk out, and be delighted with the 
 
 abundance of her glory. 
 For thus saith the Lord, 
 
 Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river. 
 And the glory of the Gentiles hke a flowing stream : 
 Then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, 
 And be dandled upon her knees. 
 
 9. Comp. ch. xxxvii. 3; "the children are come to the birth, and 
 there is not strength to bring forth." But in this crisis Jehovah Him- 
 self is present, and what He begins He will carry on to its marvellous 
 issue. 
 
 The second half of the verse should be rendered as in R.V. shall I 
 that cause to bring forth shut the womb? &c. 
 
 10, 11. Invitation to the sorrowing children of Zion to rejoice in 
 their mother's consolation. 
 
 10. that mourn for her] Cf. ch. Ivii. 18, Ixi. 2, 3. 
 
 11. Comp. ch. Ix. 16. 
 
 abundance'] The Heb. word [ziz) is of uncertain interpretation. It 
 is found again only in Ps. 1. 11, Ixxx. 13 in the phrase "beast of the 
 field" {ziz sdday). It is doubtful, however, if the word there be identical 
 with that in this verse. A perfect parallelism (with "breast") would be 
 obtained if we might translate by "udder." Ewald and Cheyne adopt 
 this translation, Ewald without remark, Cheyne with a reference to the 
 Assyrian and the vulgar Arabic, where a word zizdh is said to mean 
 "udder" (see his Cofum. p. 174, and Origin of the Psalter, pp. 472 f.). 
 
 12 — 14. A promise of prosperity to Jerusalem and her inhabitants. 
 
 12. / will extend (cf. Gen. xxxix. 21) peace... like a river] See 
 ch. xlviii. 18. 
 
 the glory of the Gentiles] the wealth of nations. Cf. ch. Ix. 5, Ixi. 6. 
 
 borne upon the side (see on Ix. 4)... the knees] So R.V. The in- 
 sertion of "her" is misleading. As in Ix. 4 (xhx. 22) the children of 
 Zion are represented as carried and nursed by the Gentiles. 
 
vv. 13—16.] ISAIAH, LXVI. 227 
 
 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort 13 
 
 you; 
 And ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 
 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, 14 
 
 And your bones shall flourish like an herb : 
 And the hand of the Lord shall be known towards 
 
 his servants. 
 And his indignation towards his enemies. 
 For behold, the Lord will come with fire, 15 
 
 And with his chariots like a whirlwind, 
 To render his anger with fury. 
 And his rebuke with flames of fire. 
 For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead 16 
 
 with all flesh : 
 And the slain of the Lord shall be many. 
 
 dandled'] the passive of the verb rendered "play" in ch. xi. 8; 
 "delight " in ch. v. 7 (R.V. marg.) is a cognate noun. 
 
 13. A still finer image, "the grown man coming back with wounds 
 and weariness upon him to be comforted of his mother" (G. A. Smith). 
 
 14. R.V. And ye shall see (it) and your heart &c. ; recalling ch. Ix. 5. 
 you7' bones shall flourish like the tender grass (R.V.)] i.e. shall be 
 
 fresh and full of sap (cf. Job xxi. 24; Prov. xv. 30). So when the 
 strength is exhausted by sickness, the bones are said to be consumed 
 or burn (Ps. xxxi. 10, xxxii. 3, cii. 3; Lam. i. 13). 
 
 and his indignation] Strictly: and he will have indigrnation (as 
 R.V.). A.V. would be a better construction if we might supply the 
 suffix for "his" (so Duhm). 
 
 16, 16. In fire and tempest — the accompaniments of the theophany — 
 Jehovah will appear to take vengeance on His enemies. There is a 
 connexion with the last clause of v. 14; but the passage reads like a 
 continuation oiv. 6. Comp. ch. xxix. 6, xxx. 27 ff.; Ps. 1. 3. 
 
 15. with fire] in fire, Cf. Deut. v. 2 2 fF. 
 
 and his chariots shall be like the whirhvind (R.V.)] Cf Hab. iii. 8 ; 
 Ps. Ixviii. 17. The image is derived from the storm-clouds on which 
 Jehovah rides; ch. xix. i; Ps. xviii. 10, Ixviii. 33; Deut. xxxiii. 26. 
 The phrase is applied in Jer. iv. 13 to the Chaldceans (or Scythians). 
 
 16. by his sword] See ch. xxvii. i, xxxiv. 5, 6. 
 
 plead] i.e. "enter into judgement," as Ezek. xxxviii. 22 ; Joel iii. 2. 
 the slain of the LORD shall be many] Cf Jer. xxv. 33; Zeph. ii. 12 
 (Hebr.) 
 
 17. A renewed description of the apostates, in terms similar to v. 3, 
 Ixv. 3 — 5, II. Although the judgement is "with all flesh" it has a 
 special significance for these reprobates. The connexion o{ v. 17 with 
 V. 16 is not, however, beyond suspicion. 
 
228 ISAIAH, LXVI. [vv. 17, 18. 
 
 17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves 
 
 in the gardens 
 Behind one tree in the midst, 
 Eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the 
 
 mouse, 
 Shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. 
 
 18 For I know their works and their thoughts : 
 
 in the gardens] for the gaxdens, i.e. in order to go into the sacred 
 gardens (ch. Ixv. 3) where the illegal rites were to be consummated 
 ("ad sacra in lucis obeunda"). 
 
 behind one tree /;/ the midst] A difficult and much disputed phrase. 
 The insertion of the word "tree" is purely gratuitous, and inde- 
 fensible. If the consonantal text be sound the best rendering by far is 
 after one in the midst; i.e. following the actions of a hierophant or 
 mystagogue, who stands in the midst of the brotherhood and regulates 
 the important ceremony of purification. Comp. Ezek. viii. ri,"... seventy 
 men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood 
 Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand." 
 There does not appear to be any valid objection to this interpretation, 
 although it is not supported by any ancient authority. The Massoretes 
 substitute the fem. of "one" for the masc, thinking apparently of the 
 image of some goddess as the central object, (The Babylonian Codex 
 and the Soncino Bible have ihe fem. in the text.) Many commentators, 
 guided by a faulty reference in Macrobius {Saturji, i. 23), have supposed 
 that the word for "one" (IH!??) contains the name of a deity; but this 
 view, although revived by Lagarde, finds little favour among modern 
 scholars. Several ancient versions (Pesh., Sym., Theod.) render "one 
 after another" (Targ. "company after company"), which would be 
 possible if we might insert an additional IPIX Hnt^ IPIK IPIX), but 
 it leaves "in the midst" unexplained. Cheyne {Introd. p. 370) reads 
 with Klostermann 'y^T\1 IPIK THX — "one (consecrating) the other on 
 the tip of the ear"; an ingenious emendation, but hardly yielding 
 an easier sense than the received (consonantal) text as understood 
 above. 
 
 swine' s flesh] ch. Ixv. 4. 
 
 the abomination'] Hebr. shSqeg, the general name for unclean animals ; 
 Lev. vii. 21; xi. 10 ff. {passim)', cf. Ezek. viii. 10. (Duhm reads 
 shireg, " vermin," creeping or swarming creatures). 
 
 the mouse] an unclean animal according to Lev. xi. 29. Of the 
 23 species of small rodents included under the name in Palestine, 
 several are esteemed edible by the Arabs (Tristram, N^at. Hist., pp. 
 122 ff.). The allusion here without doubt is to sacrificial meals, the 
 mouse being a sacred animal in the same sense as the swine and the 
 dog. See W. R. Smith, Rel. of Sem? p. 293 ; who mentions a state- 
 ment of Maimonides that the Harranians sacrificed field-mice. 
 
 shall be consumed] shall come to an end ; see on next \ orse. 
 
V. 19.] ISAIAH, LXVI. 229 
 
 It shall come, that / will gather all nations and 
 
 tongues ; 
 And they shall come, and see my glory. 
 And I will set a sign among them, 19 
 
 And I will send those that escape of them unto the 
 
 nations. 
 To Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, 
 
 18 — 22. The extension of the knowledge of Jehovah's power to the 
 outlying nations, and the consequent voluntary surrender of the Israelites 
 exiled among them. 
 
 The first sentence oiv. 18 is untranslateable as it stands, and the text 
 is certainly corrupt. A good suggestion is made by Duhm. He trans- 
 fers the phrase "their works and their thoughts" to the last clause of 
 V, 11 ("their works and their thoughts together shall come to an end"); 
 then dropping the fem. term, of the participle the remaining sentence 
 reads, And I am coining to gather all the nations and tongues. Both 
 verses are thus improved, and the new section beginning here is dis- 
 entangled from its misleading association with the idea of judgement. 
 
 all nations and tongues'] An expression characteristic of the Aramaic 
 part of the Book of Daniel (ch. iii. 4 and parallels) ; cf. also Zech. 
 viii. 23. 
 
 they shall come, and see my glory"] i.e., probably, the visible super- 
 natural glory of Jehovah as He dwells in the Temple. See Ezek. xliii. 
 I — 4. (The section contains many traces of the influence of the book 
 of Ezekiel.) The idea that the nations shall assemble to be destroyed 
 by Jehovah (Zech. xiv. 2, i2fif.; Joel iii. 2 ; Zeph. iii. 8) is alien to the 
 tenor of the verse and is not necessarily implied by v. 19. 
 
 19. I will set a sign among them] i.e. perform a miracle (ch. vii. 11) 
 that shall convince them of Jehovah's divinity. 
 
 / will send... them] I will send from them escaped ones, survivors 
 (cf. xlv. 20) of the judgement depicted in v. 16. The purpose is to spread 
 the tidings of Jehovah's glory. 
 
 to Tarshish... yavan] All these names are taken from the book of 
 Ezekiel; see xxvii. 10, 12 f., xxxviii. i, xxxix. i. So Duhm, who 
 thmks the whole line is a gloss. Zarj-z^^'j-/^ = Tartessus ; see on ch. ii. 16. 
 A name Ptil occurs nowhere else, and it is doubtless here a clerical error 
 for Put (so LXX. <l>ot;5). Phut and Lud are mentioned together in 
 Jer. xlvi. 9; Ezek. xxvii. 10, xxx. 5; and in Gen. x. 6, 13 both peoples 
 are connected genealogically with Mizraim (Egypt). Probably therefore 
 two African nations are denoted. 
 
 that draw the bo7v] The bow is mentioned as the weapon of the 
 Lydians (Lud) in Jer. xlvi. 9. The LXX. reads Moo-ox (Meshech). 
 This is attractive, because of the resemblance to moshekc (drawing), and 
 because Meshech and Tubal are nearly always associated (Gen. x. 2 ; 
 Ezek. xxvii. 13, xxxii. 26, &c.). They are the Moschi and Tibareni of 
 classical writers, the Muski and Tabal of the Assyrian monuments, 
 tribes lying south and south-east of the Black Sea (Schrader, Cttn. Inscr. 
 
230 ISAIAH, LXVI. [v. 20. 
 
 To Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, 
 
 That have not heard my fame, neither have seen my 
 
 glory ; 
 And they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. 
 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering 
 
 unto the Lord out of all nations 
 Upon horses, and in chariots, and in Htters, and upon 
 
 mules, and upon swift beasts, 
 • To my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, 
 As the children of Israel bring an offering 
 In a clean vessel ijito the house of the Lord. 
 
 pp. 82, 84). If the reading of the LXX. be adopted it will be necessary 
 to find an equivalent for qt'sheth (bow) ; and Duhm suggests Rosk from 
 Ezek. xxxviii. i, xxxix. i (see Davidson's Note). 
 
 Javan (='Id/wj') the lonians, is the Hebrew name for the Greek 
 race. 
 
 the isles (coastlands, ch, xl. 15) afar off, that have not heard my fatne 
 ^c.'\ This distinction between the nearer nations who have experienced 
 something of the greatness of Jehovah, through contact with His people 
 Israel, and the remoter nations who have not heard His name, originates 
 with the prophet Ezekiel. It underlies the conception of the invasion 
 of Gog's host and its destruction as described in ch. xxxviii. f. Gog is 
 the leader and representative of the outlying nations of the earth, and 
 the demonstration of Jehovah's power against them falls at a time 
 subsequent to the peaceful settlement of Israel in its own land, and long 
 after judgement has been executed on the neighbouring states which had 
 been in contact with Israel throughout its history (see Davidson, Camb. 
 Bible, Ezekiel, pp. 273 fif.). But while the distinction is common to the 
 two prophets, the development of the idea is strikingly different. In 
 Ezekiel Gog's ignorance of Jehovah tempts him to an act of sacrilege 
 on the land of Israel, which is avenged by the annihilation of him and 
 his host. The spirit of this passage is more evangelical. Jehovah 
 sends missionaries from the nearer nations to those who have not heard 
 His fame nor seen His glory ; and the report carries conviction to their 
 minds, so that they restore the Israelites exiled amongst them, as an 
 offering to the Lord. 
 
 20. The subject of the sentence is the nations. Cf. ch. xlix. -22, Ix. 
 9, xiv. 2. 
 
 litters'] Elsewhere only in Num. vii. 3 (in the phrase "covered 
 wagons "). 
 
 s7oift beasts'] dromedaries (R.V. marg.). 
 
 21. And of them also will I take &c. (R.V.). Commentators differ 
 in opinion as to whether the ministers of the sanctuaiy are to be taken 
 from the restored exiles or from the Gentiles who bring them back ; the 
 language is consistent with either supposition. The latter is thought by 
 some to be excluded by Ivi. 6 f. (shewing the utmost limit of concession 
 
w. 21—24.] ISAIAH, LXVI. 231 
 
 And I will also take of them for priests and for 21 
 
 Levites, saith the Lord. 
 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I 22 
 
 will make, 
 Shall remain before me, saith the Lord, 
 So shall your seed and your name remain. 
 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon 23 
 
 to another, 
 And from one sabbath to another, 
 Shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the 
 
 Lord. 
 And they shall go forth, and look 24 
 
 Upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed 
 
 against me : 
 
 to foreigners), and Ixi. 6 (where a priestly standing is assigned to the 
 Jews). These considerations, however, are not decisive ; and the 
 emphasis of the statement is perhaps better explained by the bolder 
 conception. In any case the prophet seems to contemplate a suspension 
 of the provisions of the Law, for the words "I will fake " suggest some- 
 thing more than that those who are priests and Levites by birth shall be 
 permitted to exercise their hereditary functions. 
 
 for priests ?ix\di for Levites'] Strictly, "for the priests, for the Levites," 
 implying that they were to be given for the service of the priests and 
 Levites, But the article should probably be omitted, and the rendering 
 of E.V. retained. The conjunction "and" is supplied by all the Ver- 
 sions and some MSS. The duplication of the preposition distinguishes 
 the expression from a characteristic phrase of Deuteronomy (see Driver 
 on Deut. xviii. i), so that we cannot (without a change of text) render 
 "for Levitical priests." Nothing would be gained by such an altera- 
 tion, for the adj. "Levitical " in this connexion would be a meaningless 
 addition. 
 
 22. Comp. Jer. xxxi. 35 f., xxxiii. 25 f. 
 
 the neiv heavens and the neiv earth] ch. Ixv. 17. 
 
 23, 24. Month by month and week by week all flesh shall come to 
 Jemsalem to worship, while the dead bodies of the rebellious Israelites 
 shall remain as a fearful spectacle and an abhorring to all flesh. 
 
 23. Comp. Zech. xiv. 16. from ofte new moon to another, qt'c] Lit. 
 "as often as (ch. xxviii. 19) there is a new-moon on its new-moon &c.," 
 i.e. apparently "at each separate new-moon &c.," — a peculiar idiom 
 found also in Num. xxviii. 10, 14. 
 
 24. And they (the worshippers) shall go forth] to some place in the 
 vicinity of Jerusalem, no doulDt the Valley of Hinnoni, Neh. xi. 30 ; of. 
 Josh. XV. 8, xviii. 16 ; 1 Chr. xxviii. 3 ; Jer. vii. 32 ; 1 Ki. xxiii. 10. 
 (See below.) 
 
 the men that rebelled against me] The apostates so often referred to 
 in the last two chapters. 
 
232 ISAIAH, LXVI. [v. 24. 
 
 For their worm shall not die, 
 Neither shall their fire be quenched; 
 And they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. 
 
 for their worm shall not die, ^c."] (see below) Judith xvi. 17 ; Ecclus. 
 vii. 17 ; Mark ix. 44 ff. 
 
 an abhorring] The Hebrew word {dcra'dfi) occurs again only in Dan. 
 xii. 2. 
 
 This verse is the basis of the later Jewish conception of Gehenna as 
 the place of everlasting punishment (see Salmond, Christian Doctrine of 
 Immortality, pp. 355 — 360). Gehenna is the Hebrew Ge-Hinnom 
 (Valley of Hinnom), the place where of old human sacrifices were 
 offered to Molech (Jer. vii. 31 f, et passim), and for this reason 
 desecrated by king Josiah (2 Ki. xxiii. 10). Afterwards it became a 
 receptacle for filth and refuse, and Rabbinical tradition asserts that it 
 was the custom to cast out unclean corpses there, to be burned or to 
 undergo decomposition. This is in all probability the scene which had 
 imprinted itself on the imagination of the writer, and which was after- 
 wards projected into the unseen world as an image of endless retribution. 
 The Talmudic theology locates the mouth of hell in the Valley of 
 Hinnom. But how much of the later theology lies in this passage it is 
 difficult to say. Nothing is expressly said of torment endured by the 
 dead, but only of the loathsome spectacle they present to the living ; 
 although the former idea may be implied and is suggested by a com- 
 parison with ch. 1. II. "If this passage is of too early a date, as 
 Dillmann thinks, to admit of a reference to the horrors of the Valley of 
 Gehinnom, the double figure of the worm and the fire may be due to 
 the two ways of disposing of the dead, by interment and by cremation. 
 The immediate object of the description of the worm as never dying and 
 the fire as never being quenched, appears to be to mark the destination 
 of those men as a perpetual witness to the consuming judgements of God, 
 and one which all flesh may see. The incongruity of the idea of a fire 
 burning a dead body and never going out, is supposed, however, to 
 point to something more. ... It may be that the dead body is poetically 
 conceived to be conscious of the pains of the worm and the fire, as 
 Dillmann supposes [cf. Job xiv. 22]. But even that goes beyond the 
 immediate object, which is to present the men in question as a perpetual 
 spectacle of shame to all beholders " (Salmond, I.e. p. 212). The view 
 thus expressed is reasonable if the passage was written by the author of 
 the preceding chapters. But there is much to be said for the opinion 
 (of Duhm and Cheyne) that the last two verses are an appendix to the 
 prophecy, written at a later time, so that the language may to some 
 extent be saturated with the ideas which were afterwards associated 
 with the word Gehenna. 
 
 In Heb. Bibles and MSS. part oiv. 23 is repeated (without the vowel 
 signs) after 7k 24, in accordance with a Massoretic direction, so that the 
 reading in the Synagogue might " close with w6rds of comfort." The same 
 practice was followed in the reading of the "Twelve" (Minor) Prophets, 
 Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes. See Ginsburg's Introduction, p. 850. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE I. 
 
 The "Servant of Jehovah" in Ch. XL.— LV. 
 
 The conception of the "Servant of Jehovah" in this prophecy is so 
 difficult, and is the subject of so much controversy, that it may be useful 
 to examine, more systematically than was possible in the Notes, the 
 various theories that have been advanced. It hardly needs to be said 
 how greatly the basis of discussion is affected by the tendency of some 
 recent critics to isolate the four "Servant-passages" (ch. xlii. 1—4, xlix. 
 T — 6, 1. 4 — 9, and Hi. 13 — liii. 12) and treat them as interpolations (see 
 Introd. p. liv). Except in these places (and the appendices to tv^o of / 
 them, xlii. 5 — 7 and xlix. 7 — 1-2) there is not the least doubt that the 
 Servant of the Lord represents the people of Israel. Again, one of the 
 principal arguments against the view that the Servant is ever an indi- 
 vidual is the unlikelihood that the term should be used by the same 
 writer in two different senses (Introd. p. xxxiii f.). But if the passages in 
 question have no organic connexion with the rest of the prophecy, it 
 becomes quite conceivable that we have to do with two distinct con- 
 ceptions of the Servant, one being that of the second Isaiah himself, and 
 the other that of the unknown author of the interpolated sections. It is 
 therefore of some importance to ascertain, by an independent examina- 
 tion of the Servant-passages, whether this is the case. The writer of 
 these pages does not indeed accept the hypothesis of interpolation; 
 although he would admit that a radical divergence of view with regard 
 to the Servant of Jehovah would be a strong argument in its favour. If, 
 on the other hand, it should be found that the conception which prevails 
 in the rest of the book is consistent with the teaching of these passages, 
 this result will undoubtedly strengthen the presumption that they form 
 an integral part of the prophecy. 
 
 The theories to be considered fall naturally into two clauses : (i) those 
 which explain the Servant as a collective idea, representing either the 
 nation of Israel or some smaller community within it ; and (ii) those 
 which regard the Servant as an individual. Both of these can in one 
 form or another be traced back to ancient times, and each has points of 
 contact in the recognised usage of the O.T. The individual explanation 
 might be based on the application of the name to the great religious 
 personalities of the O.T. , such as Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 5, &c.), David 
 (Ps. Ixxxix. 3, 20, &c.), Isaiah (Is. xx. 3), Job (i. 8, «&c.) or the prophets 
 generally (Am. iii. 7; Jer. vii. 25, &c.); while the collective theories are 
 justified by its application to Israel in Ezek. xxviii. 25, &c. 
 
 i. That the Servant of Jehovah denotes Israel in some sense is the 
 
234 APPENDIX. 
 
 oldest interpretation for which literary evidence can be produced. Its 
 antiquity is proved by the LXX., which inserts the words "Jacob" 
 and "Israel" in its translation of ch. xlii. i. And if the word "Israel" 
 in the Heb. text of xlix. 3 be a gloss, it is at all events a very ancient 
 gloss (being found in the LXX.); and both facts together shew how 
 naturally the minds of early readers adopted the national interpretation 
 of at least two of the Servant-passages. But this general view that the 
 Servant is Israel is capable of several modifications, which it is neces- 
 sary to consider separately. 
 
 (i) The simplest form of the theory is that generally maintained by 
 the Jewish interpreters, although it has also been advocated by some 
 Christian scholars (Hitzig, Reuss, Giesebrecht and others). In the view 
 of these writers the Servant of Jehovah represents the whole /<?^//^ (t/" 
 Israel as it actually existed in history. The nation is of course per- 
 sonified and to a certain extent idealised, but there is no distinction in 
 the prophet's mind between the historical Israel and an ideal Israel ; the 
 conception is merely a poetic presentation of the destinies of the historic 
 Israel, and the idealisation proceeds no further than in other parts of the 
 second Isaiah. The chief recommendation of the theory, indeed, is that 
 it attaches the same significance to the expression "Servant of Jehovah" 
 wherever it occurs throughout the prophecy. 
 
 The difficulties of this interpretation appear when we apply it to the 
 principal passage, ch. lii. isflf. It is necessary to assume that those 
 who speak in liii. i — 6 are the Gentile nations, at whose hands Israel 
 has suffered grievous wrongs, who have misjudged and despised it, but 
 who now perceive that it has borne the chastisement of their sins. The 
 whole passage becomes a parable of the history and destiny of the 
 people of Jehovah. The death of the Servant denotes the Exile, which 
 was the death of the nation; and his resurrection is a figure for the 
 glorious restoration of Israel, which is followed by the conversion of the 
 heathen to the true God. It is not to be denied that many features of 
 the conception are satisfactorily explained by this hypothesis. That the 
 idea of Israel suffering for the good of the world is foreign to the O.T. 
 is not perhaps a decisive argument against it, for there is a truth in the 
 idea (see Rom. xi. 11 f.), and on any view of the Servant the passage 
 contains thoughts more profound than are expressed elsewhere in the 
 O.T. But the insuperable objection to this explanation is the unna- 
 turalness of the assumption that the speakers in liii. i ff. are the heathen. 
 There is nothing in the language to suggest this ; and the religious atti- 
 tude expressed in these verses is such as no prophet could have attri- 
 buted to the heathen world. When the pressure of the theory is 
 relaxed, it is impossible to escape the impression that the speakers are 
 Israelites, from which it necessarily follows that the Servant and the 
 actual nation of Israel are not identical. And this inference is confirmed 
 and put beyond all reasonable doubt by ch. xlix. i — 6, where the idea 
 that the Servant has a mission to discharge towards Israel shews that 
 some distinction must be recognised between the Servant and the 
 historical nation. This view, therefore, although it may contain 
 elements of truth, does not satisfy all the conditions involved in the 
 problem. 
 
APPENDIX. 235 
 
 (2) A modified form of the national interpretation is that the Servant 
 of Jehovah is a personification, not of Israel as a whole, but of the 
 spiritual Israel, the religious kernel of the nation, on whom the suffer- 
 ings of the Exile fell most severely, and in whom the hope of the future 
 lay (Knobel, &c.). Much that is said of the Servant no doubt finds an 
 explanation in the experience of this faithful minority of the people. It 
 was their mission — and they were doubtless partly conscious of it — to 
 bring their nation to repentance, and ultimately to extend the know- 
 ledge of God to the Gentiles. It is conceivable that in the discharge of 
 this mission they suffered persecution at the hands of their own country- 
 men during the Exile. But it is difficult to think that there can have 
 been such a difference between the mass of the exiles and the believing 
 remnant as would account for the language of ch. liii. Although the 
 national calamity was felt with peculiar severity by those who recognised 
 it to be the just punishment of the sin of Israel, there was nothing in 
 their outward lot that could have given rise to the impression that they 
 were in a special degree the objects of the divine wrath. Moreover, the 
 Servant is described as one who has died and is destined to be raised 
 again from the dead. This has a meaning if the subject be Israel, which 
 as a nation ceased to exist at the Exile ; but it could not be said that 
 the spiritual Israel died in the captivity. And even if this theoiy could 
 be successfully carried through the Servant-passages, it would not be 
 consistent with the teaching of the rest of the book. The people of 
 Israel and the spiritual Israel are distinct subjects, and it is not likely 
 that the same writer included both under a common designation. 
 
 (3) All these objections apply with equal force to a view advocated 
 by Gesenius and a few others, that by the Servant is meant the prophetic 
 order. This interpretation derives whatever plausibility it possesses 
 from the prophetic traits in the delineation of the Servant's person and 
 work. But these are features inseparable from his function as the organ 
 of Jehovah's revelation, and can be explained on any interpretation of 
 the title. Otherwise there is almost nothing to be said for this now 
 discredited theory. 
 
 (4) There remains the view for which a preference is expressed in 
 this volume, that the Servant of the Lord is the ideal Israel. The ad- 
 vantage of this definition is that, while harmonising the various references 
 to the Servant which occur throughout the prophecy, it enables us to 
 combine in a single conception the aspects of truth represented by other 
 interpretations. The Servant is first of all a personification of Israel as 
 it exists in the mind and purpose of God, of the ideal for the sake of 
 which the nation has been chosen and towards which its history is being 
 fashioned. This ideal has never yet been realised in the earthly Israel, 
 and hence it is described (as in ch. xlii. i ff.) in language which could 
 not be used of any section of the historic people. But on the other 
 hand, since the ideal is inseparably associated with the nation, it is 
 intelligible that the significant facts of the histoiy should be introduced 
 into the portrait of the Sen'ant, and that he should thus be spoken of as 
 one who has passed through certain experiences and has still a career 
 before him (xlix. 1 ff., 1. 4 ff., lii. 13 ff.). On the same principle we can 
 understand how the character and life of the Servant should reflect the 
 
236 APPENDIX. 
 
 experience of the spiritually-minded Israelites, who had become conscious 
 of the nation's destiny and mission; these formed an inner circle of 
 religious fellowship, approximating more closely to the ideal than the 
 nation as a whole had ever done. Again, it is natural to suppose that 
 the concrete details of the picture (especially in ch. liii.) were partly 
 suggested by the fate of some eminent servant of God, such as Jeremiah, 
 or, as others think, an unknown saint and martyr of the Exile. 
 Finally, although this probably goes beyond the writer's conscious 
 meaning, the personification of the ideal Israel easily passes into the 
 conception of the ideal Israelite, and thus the figure of the Servant 
 becomes in a real sense an indirect prophecy of Jesus Christ. Israel, in 
 fact, was a type of Christ, and Christ fulfilled the mission of Israel. 
 
 Some of the difficulties involved in this interpretation are dealt with 
 in the Introduction (p. xxxiv) and these need not be referred to here. 
 Amongst others which may occur to the reader perhaps the most im- 
 portant arises from the description of the Servant as a sacrifice in ch. liii. 
 How, it will be asked, can the ideal Israel be said to suffer for the sins 
 of individual Israelites? It is a question not easy to answer, but if the 
 general conception be accepted the answer must be somewhat as follows. 
 The fact of vicarious suffering was brought home to the mind of the 
 prophet by what he observed in the spiritual history of his time. In the 
 calamity of the Exile the greatest sufferers were necessarily those most 
 loyal to Jehovah ; and there may have been individuals, who might be 
 considered innocent, whose tragic and inexplicable fate caused the 
 greatest perplexity to believers in the justice of God. The problem of 
 retribution was in the air, and was kept alive by facts like these. It 
 may therefore be supposed that the prophet, with all this before him, 
 was led further to perceive that the suffering of the righteous for the 
 guilty is a divinely appointed law of the spiritual life, that it is a 
 soteriological principle, and that this principle is so essentially bound up 
 with the vocation of Israel that the Divine purpose of salvation could 
 only be effected through its operation. If this was his thought, it was 
 natural that it should find expression in his conception of the Servant of 
 Jehovah, who embodies all that is of religious significance in the true 
 idea of Israel. The sufferings of all the righteous men who bore on 
 their hearts the burden of Israel's guilt, are transferred to the ideal 
 figure in whom Israel's character and destiny are reflected ; and thus 
 Jehovah's Servant is the meek and patient martyr and the sinless sacrifice 
 for his people. Such a view is in perfect harmony with the Christo- 
 logical reference of the prophecy in the sense stated above. It is one. 
 of the marvels of the Old Testament that the idea of vicarious suffering, 
 which was but imperfectly illustrated in the history of Israel, is so 
 clearly and profoundly apprehended by this prophet that only "the 
 immeasurable step of the Incarnation" could reveal the perfect life in 
 which his creation is realised. 
 
 ii. The opinion that the Servant is an individual is maintained 
 in two very different forms: (i) that he was an actual historical 
 person, a contemporary of the writer of the passages which relate 
 to him ; (2) that he is an ideal man whose appearance in the future is 
 predicted. 
 
APPENDIX. 237 
 
 (i) Of the fust view, the most consistent exposition ever given is 
 perhaps to be found in the Commentary of Duhm. He holds that the 
 Servant of Jehovah was a rehgious teacher (a Tho)-a-Lehre7'), who Hved 
 in the early post-exilic period, before the date of Trito-Isaiah ; and that 
 the Servant-passages were composed by one who was his disciple. The 
 description of his suft'erings and death is to be taken literally; he was 
 a man disfigured by leprosy, spurned and persecuted by his generation, 
 one who, after being cut off by his disease, was laid in a dishonoured 
 grave. Yet the impression made on his adherents by his character and 
 teaching was such as to produce the expectation that he would rise from 
 the dead and carry his work to a successful and glorious issue. The 
 improbabilities of this theory are so manifest as almost to place it 
 beyond possibiHty of belief, {a) It is hardly credible that an individual 
 such as is supposed could have existed and exerted the profound 
 spiritual influence attributed to him, without leaving some trace in the 
 history of the time or in the subsequent literature, [b) The lofty and 
 world-wide mission of the Servant, as well as his altogether unique 
 relation to Jehovah, would be inconceivable from the O.T. standpoint 
 if the subject were a private individual, (r) A still more serious 
 difficulty is presented by the idea of a personal resurrection. Nothing 
 urged by Duhm relieves the objections to supposing that such an 
 expectation should have been entertained by a writer of this period 
 (see on ch. Ixv. 20). 
 
 (2) The alternative form of the individual interpretation is that the 
 passages in question are a Messianic prophecy in either the definite or 
 the more general sense of the expression. It is represented by the 
 Targum (on xlii. i and Hi. 13) where the reference is explicitly said to 
 be to the Messiah. It has of course been the prevalent view in the 
 Christian Church, which has always regarded the conception as a direct 
 and conscious prophecy of Christ. The chief arguments against it are 
 those stated in the Introduction (p. xxxv), and proceed on the assumption 
 that a consistent usage must be maintained throughout the prophecy. 
 But even if it were admitted that the Servant-passages represent an in- 
 dependent point of view, there are still some difficulties which cannot 
 be ignored. In the first place it is surely remarkable that the language 
 is never that of prediction. The Servant is invariably spoken of as 
 having a present existence ; what is foretold concerning him is not his 
 appearance in a future age, but his exaltation, which is the result of his 
 past labours and sufferings. The occurrence of the word "Israel" in 
 ch. xlix. 3 would also, if genuine, appear to be irreconcileable with this 
 hypothesis. And even if these objections should be disposed of, it 
 would still remain a question whether the 7-dle assigned to the Servant 
 is not too great to be sustained by any individual, however exalted, 
 according to Old Testament modes of thought (see Introd. p. xxxvi). 
 
 At all events, it will probably be felt that the choice lies between 
 i. (4) and ii. (2). Either the ideal Israel or an ideal Israelite must be 
 assumed as the subject in the prophet's mind when he speaks of the 
 Servant of Jehovah. Many of the best expositors (such as Delitzsch 
 and G. A. Smith) think that neither suffices alone to set forth all that is 
 meant by the expression. The idea is supposed to expand and contract 
 
238 APPENDIX. 
 
 in the mind of the writer, being sometimes so large as to include the 
 whole of Israel, and at other times concentrating itself on the person 
 of an ideal man whom the prophet expects to arise and fulfil the mission 
 in which Israel failed. This is of course a correct explanation of how 
 the ideal was fulfilled, but whether it is true to the prophet's conception 
 is another question. While admitting the truth of the collective inter- 
 pretation it does not remove a single difficulty of the alternative view. 
 Its only recommendation is that it does justice to those features of the 
 picture which naturally suggest a human personality ; but this advantage 
 is gained at the expense of the principle that the subjects to which the 
 name is applied must be presumed to be essentially identical. 
 
 NOTE II. 
 On the Meaning of "Righteousness" in Ch. XL.— LXVI. 
 
 The variety of senses which it is necessary to assign to the words 
 "righteousness," "righteous" &c., in different passages of this prophecy 
 is apt to cause perplexity to the reader. It will not be supposed that 
 the ambiguity arises from any laxity in the prophet's use of words ; it 
 lies in the idea itself as it is unfolded in the general usage of the O.T. 
 Hence a brief statement of the applications most frequently occurring 
 may help the reader to judge for himself what meaning is intended to 
 be conveyed in each particular passage. 
 
 The first thing to be noted is that "the ideas of right and wrong 
 among the Hebrews are forensic ideas; that is, the Hebrew always 
 thinks of the right and the wrong as if they were to be settled before a 
 judge. Righteousness is to the Hebrew not so much a moral quality 
 as a legal status. The word ' righteous ' {(addtq) means simply ' in 
 the right,' and the word 'wicked' {ras/id') means 'in the wrong'" 
 (W. R. Smith, Prophets of Israel^^ pp. 71 f.). Comp. Ex. ix. 27: 
 "Jehovah is in the rights and I and my people are in the wrong^^ \ 
 Gen. xxxviii. 26: "she is in the right as against tne^^^ &c. It is not 
 asserted that this was the primary idea of the root ; and there may be a 
 few instances in the O.T. which point back to some simpler conception 
 in which there was no reference to judicial procedure. But these 
 instances are quite exceptional, if they exist at all ; and the forensic 
 aspect of the notion so nearly covers the whole field of O.T. usage that 
 attention may here be confined to the important developments to which 
 it gives rise. 
 
 In this forensic use of the group of words expressing the idea of 
 righteousness three distinct applications are included : — 
 
 (a) Righteousness is the quality expected and required in the Judge 
 (or the king in his judicial capacity). His proper function is to "declare 
 in the right " {hifdtq) him who is in the right (faddtq) and to condemn 
 him who is in the wrong (rashd*) ; in the discharge of this duty he 
 manifests the virtue of righteousness {cedeq). E.g. Deut. xvi. 18 : 
 "they (the judges) shall judge righteous judgement {mishpat (t'deq)"'. 
 
APPENDIX. 239 
 
 i. 16: "judge righteousness {^edeq)^ Cf. 2 Sam. xv. 4; Is. xi. 4, 5, 
 xvi. 5 &c. 
 
 {b) The righteousness of the private citizen is such a course of 
 conduct as will stand the scrutiny of an impartial judge. Originally, 
 perhaps, the word was used of being in the right as against another 
 person in a particular case; as in Gen. xxxviii. 26; i Sam. xxiv. 17; 
 Prov. xviii. 17 ("He that pleadeth his cause first is in the right, 
 but&c."); Deut. XXV. i &c. ; or being innocent of a particular charge 
 (2 Ki. X. 9). But by a natural extension of meaning it came to denote 
 right moral conduct in general, especially when the implied reference is 
 to the judgement of God (Job iv. 17; Ezek. xviii. 5; Ps. xv. 2 ; Prov. 
 xvi. 8 &c.). 
 
 {c) Righteousness means further the legal status which results from 
 a judicial sentence in one's favour. This sense is so far distinct from {b) 
 that the Hebrews could speak of " removing the righteousness of the 
 righteous from him " (Is. v. 23), i.e. depriving the man who is really in 
 the right of the righteous standing which a just decision would have 
 secured to him. Cf. Ezek. xviii. 20 ("the righteousness of the righteous 
 shall be upon him") &c. 
 
 The social righteousness so much insisted on by the prophets is the 
 ideal state of things in which the three aspects of the notion, just 
 enumerated, are comprehended in a higher unity. It appears to be 
 conceived as an attribute of the community rather than of individuals ; 
 its chief element is a sound administration of justice («), maintaining a 
 perfect correspondence between real (b), and legal (r), right. This is 
 the case, e.g. in Is. i. 21, where Jerusalem is described as a "city in 
 which righteousness used to dwell," as is clear from the contrast in 
 V. 23. So also in Am. v. 7, 24 (cf. v. 15 "set up judgement in the 
 gate" where the word used is mishpai), vi. 12; Is. v. 7, xxxii. 16 f. &c. 
 The same conception is found in ch. lix. 4, 14, where righteousness and 
 judgement are personified as the qualities that ought to preside over 
 judicial procedure (see under ii. i, below). 
 
 Now these forensic analogies form the basis of the religious use 
 of the terms which is most characteristic of the second part of the book 
 of Isaiah. The subjects of which righteousness is most frequently 
 predicated are Jehovah on the one hand and Israel on the other. The 
 two ideas are correlative and either may be defined in terms of the 
 other. Jehovah's righteousness is the quality exhibited in the vindication 
 of Israel's right, and again the right of Israel depends upon its relation 
 to the righteousness of Jehovah, These definitions would not be quite 
 exhaustive, but in a great number of instances it may be said that the 
 righteousness of Israel and that of Jehovah are the two sides of one 
 idea, both resting on the truth that the cause of Israel and the cause of 
 Jehovah are one. 
 
 i. The righteousness of God may be described as that attribute on 
 which Israel can rely for the vindication of its right, although it is not 
 easy to define the attribute. In some cases it is sufticient to think of it 
 as the attribute belonging to Jehovah as the Judge of all the earth, in 
 virtue of which He punishes wrong wherever it is perpetrated (see ch. 
 li. 5 "mine arms shall judge the peoples"). But it is manifest that 
 
240 APPENDIX. 
 
 this conception is not wide enough to include all the forms in which 
 the idea occurs. There are many passages which shew clearly that 
 righteousness is an absolute quality of the divine character, revealing 
 itself in ways that are independent of Jehovah's judicial action, or His 
 special relation to Israel. The word in fact appears to embrace all that 
 constitutes trustworthiness in personal relations, — truthfulness in speech, 
 steadfastness of purpose, consistency of principle and method, &c. 
 These essential qualities of Godhead, however, receive a specific de- 
 termination through Jehovah's covenant with Israel, and hence right- 
 eousness may sometimes be equivalent to fidelity to the terms of the 
 covenant. In other cases the trustworthiness ascribed to Jehovah is 
 His rectitude as the Supreme Judge of men and nations. And finally 
 the divine attribute of righteousness is conceived as embodied in the act 
 of deliverance by which Israel's right is vindicated, and in the state of 
 salvation which ensues. 
 
 The following passages will illustrate the different aspects of the idea 
 of righteousness as predicated of Jehovah, (i) Trtithfuhiess or straight- 
 foj-wardness of speech is the idea chiefly emphasised in ch. xlv. 19: 
 " I am Jehovah, who speak righteousness, announce Tightness " ; perhaps 
 also xxiv. 21 : "a righteous and saving God." (In v. 23 the sense may 
 rather be constancy of purpose; — see below.) Comp. also Ixiii. i. 
 The meaning is slightly varied in xli. 26 ("that we may say, 'He is 
 right '"), and xliii. 9 ("that they may be in the right"); — both referring 
 to the heathen deities directly, but indirectly to Jehovah. In these 
 cases righteousness denotes correctness of prediction, — correspondence 
 of the announcement with the fact. These closely related uses of 
 the word are very rare in Hebrew, but common in Arabic where '■'• sidq 
 is by implication the agreeing of what is said with what is conceived in 
 the mind, and with the thing told of, together" (Lane's Lexicon). 
 (2) Steadfastness and consistency of purpose is expressed in xli. 10 
 (" I uphold thee with my right hand of righteousness), xlii. 6 ("called 
 thee in righteousness"), xlv. 13 ("I have raised him [Cyrus] up in 
 righteousness"). In the first two passages righteousness no doubt 
 includes Jehovah's fidelity to His covenant with Israel ; although this 
 fidelity is not to be conceived as an obligation which He owes to Israel, 
 but as the expression of His own essential character. In the same 
 sense the word is probably to be understood in xlii. 21 ("it pleased 
 Jehovah for His righteousness' sake to magnify revelation " &c.) ; the 
 motive for the abundance of His revelation being His fixed purpose to 
 make of Israel a people for Himself. (3) Judicial righteousness appears 
 from the context to be the idea most prominent in 1. 8 (" He that 
 justifieth me"), and lix. 16 ("His righteousness upheld Him"). (4) The 
 places where righteousness, as a divine attribute, occurs in parallelism 
 with "salvation" are ch. xlvi. 13, li. 5, 6, 8, Ivi. i h. Although the 
 two ideas are practically identical the words are not strictly synonyms. 
 Salvation is the outward act of deliverance and the state of things 
 ushered in by it, while righteousness is the divine quality which is 
 iUustrated and embodied in the act. But the divine righteousness 
 which thus assumes a concrete external form ceases to be a mere 
 attribute of Jeliovah; it becomes an objective fact, and hence, as we 
 
APPENDIX. 241 
 
 shall see, it may be spoken of indifferently as the manifestation of the 
 righteousness of God or as the manifestation of the righteous standing 
 which belongs to Israel. 
 
 ii. The righteousness of Israel is also a many-sided conception, 
 combining elements which can only be elucidated from the peculiar 
 religious situation caused by the Exile. First of all there was in the 
 mind of the people the consciousness of being in the fight as against 
 the nations that oppressed them. Whatever might be the explanation 
 of Israel's calamities, the sense of having suflfered wrong and injustice 
 at the hands of heathen conquerors could not be suppressed ; and this 
 fact constituted a claim on the righteousness of God for the vindication 
 of Israel's right. The feeling is sometimes expressed by earlier prophets, 
 especially by Habakkuk, who applies the epithets (addiq and rdshd' to 
 Israel and the Chaldseans respectively (Hab. i. 4, 13). But along with 
 this there went a profound conviction, produced by the teaching of 
 prophecy, and enforced by the lesson of the Captivity, of being in the 
 wrong before God. "History, to Israel, was God's supreme tribunal... 
 But when the decision of history went against the nation, when they 
 were threatened with expulsion from their land and with extinction as a 
 people, that just meant that the Supreme Judge of men was giving His 
 sentence against them. Israel had broken the terms of the Covenant. 
 They had lost their right ; they were no longer righteous" (G. A. Smith, 
 Exposition, Vol. ii, p. 218). Thus "Israel's unrighteousness is her state 
 of discredit and disgrace under the hands of God ; her righteousness, 
 which she hopes for, is her restoral to her station and destiny as the elect 
 people" {ibid. pp. ■zip f.). 
 
 Now both these points of view are represented in this prophecy. The 
 first appears in ch. xl. 27, where Israel complains that "my right [mishpat) 
 is passed over from my God " (comp. also xlix. 4, lii. 4). The second 
 is most clearly expressed in the ironical challenge of xliii. 26 ("declare 
 thou that thou mayest be pronounced in the right"), and is involved 
 in the frequent confessions of national guilt which occur in the prophecy. 
 In each case righteousness is a matter of legal standing, and it is not 
 easy at first sight to see how the sense of demerit before God is con- 
 sistent with the consciousness of a right whose vindication is hoped 
 for from Jehovah. The reconciliation must be found in the larger 
 view of the divine righteousness which includes Jehovah's steadfast 
 adherence to the purpose He had in His choice of Israel. That 
 purpose is exhibited in the figure of the ideal Servant of Jehovah, who 
 is perfectly righteous (ch. liii. 1 1) and who by his unmerited sufferings 
 and death procures forgiveness and a righteous relation to God for the 
 whole nation. But besides denoting a legal status to be vindicated by 
 Jehovah's judicial interposition, righteousness is also used ethically of 
 the character and life which is right in the sight of God. 
 
 We may now attempt to classify the principal passages where right- 
 eousness is spoken of in connexion with Israel, although it must be 
 premised that the precise shade of meaning conveyed is frequently 
 indeterminate and the classification therefore somewhat uncertain, 
 (i) The passages where the words are used of civic righteousness in 
 the sense of the older prophets have already been referred to ; viz., 
 ISAIAH II. I 6 
 
242 APPENDIX. 
 
 ch. lix. 4, 14. Other places where the same sense may possibly be 
 intended, or at least included, are xlv. 8, liv. 14, Ivi. la, lix. 9, Ix. 17. 
 (2) The ethical idea of righteousness, as equivalent to the possession 
 of a right moral and religious character, appears to be implied in 
 ch. liii. II, Ivi. la, Iviii. 2. In these instances the subject is either 
 Israel or the Servant of the Lord ; of individual Israelites the word is 
 used in li. i, 7, Ivii. r, Ix. 21, Ixiv. 5, 6; in xlviii. i the word seems to 
 have the narrower meaning of truthfulness. (3) On the other hand, 
 the forensic idea (righteousness as a religious standing) predominates in 
 xlvi. 12, liv. 17, Ivii. 12. (4) Lastly, the forensic idea passes over into that 
 of righteousness manifested in external prosperity and glory. This is the 
 case in ch. Ixi. 10, Ixii. i, where the parallel expression is "salvation" 
 (cf. xlv. 8); in Iviii. 8, Ixii. 2 the parallel is "glory," in xlviii. 18, 
 Ix. 17, "peace"; cf. xlv. 24, 25. In these passages "righteousness" 
 might be rendered "justification"; it denotes the blessings conferred 
 on Israel in token that its right is acknowledged and declared by God 
 (see under i. 4, above). To this class may be assigned two other 
 passages, where righteousness is, as it were, hypostatised and spoken of 
 as a state of things created on earth by Jehovah ; viz., xlv. 8 (in 
 parallelism with "salvation") and Ixi. 11 ("righteousness and praise"). 
 A somewhat peculiar use of the word is found in ch. xli. 2, where (if 
 the translation given in the notes be correct) it is said of Cyrus that 
 " righteousness attends him at every step." Here righteousness must 
 be equivalent to " success " or " victory " ; the idea being that the 
 remarkable successes of Cyrus on the battle-field were decisions by the 
 Almighty in his favour and the demonstration to all the world that 
 his was the right cause. A sense closely approaching to "victory" is 
 implied in xlv. 24 ("righteousnesses and strength " ; cf. v. 25 : " all the 
 seed of Israel shall have right, and shall triumph "). 
 
 NOTE III (p. Ix). 
 
 Some Critical Theories of the Composition of 
 Chs. XL.— LXVI. 
 
 In order to shew how complicated the problem of the literary 
 structure of this prophecy has been felt to be, the views of some recent 
 scholars may be briefly noticed. Ewald and Dillmann are the chief 
 representatives of the school which recognizes the unity of the second 
 Isaiah while admitting that the author has made use of earlier written 
 material. Ewald holds that ch. xl. i, 2, Hi. 13 — liii. 12, Ivi, 9 — Ivii. 
 II, are passages borrowed from pre-exilic prophets, while Iviii. 1 — lix. 
 20 is taken from an exilic -predecessor of the author. The first edition 
 of the prophecies contained two books, ch. xl. — xlviii., xlix. — Ix. ; ch. 
 Ixi. I — Ixiii. 6 and Ixiii. 7 — Ixvi. 25 are two additions made by the 
 author himself. — Dillmann's position is somewhat similar. The in- 
 fluence of earlier prophets can be traced more or less clearly in the 
 
APPENDIX. 243 
 
 language of Hi. 13— liii. 12, Ivi. 9 — Ivii. 13, Iviii. and lix. ; and in other 
 passages the possibility of later alterations is conceded. The original 
 prophecy consisted of two books, xl. — xlviii. and xlix. — Ixii. ; and there 
 are two appendices, Ixiii. i — 6 and Ixiii. 7 — Ixvi. 25. The whole, 
 however, is held to have been completed before the end of the Exile. — 
 Cheyne, who had previously convinced himself of the post-exilic origin 
 of certain portions of the prophecy (Ivi. i — 8, Iviii., lix., Ixiii.— Ixvi.), 
 now accepts the conclusions of Duhm, with some important modifica- 
 tions. While Duhm assigns the whole of ch. Ivi. — Ixvi. to a single 
 author (to whom he gives the name of Trito-Isaiah) Cheyne carries the 
 analysis further, and finds evidence that several hands have been 
 engaged in the compilation of these discourses. The collection as a 
 w^hole, however, is still regarded as a product of the age of Ezra and 
 Nehemiah, the only important exception being Ixiii. 7 — Ixiv. 12, which 
 is brought down to the troubled period under Artaxerxes Ochus (see 
 Vol. I. p. 204). — Kuenen (1889, Onderzoek, § 49) also divided the 
 prophecy into two parts, one exilic and the other post-exilic. But to the 
 exilic writer he assigned only ch. xl. — xlix., Hi. i — 12, and possibly Hi. 
 13 — Hii. 12. All the rest he considered to be the work of various pro- 
 phets living in Palestine after the Return. — Cornill (1896, Einleiiuiig^ 
 PP- 157 — 16 1) occupies a position intennediate between those of Dill- 
 mann and Kuenen. He holds that the two books, ch. xl. — xlviii., 
 xlix. — Ixii. were both written by the second Isaiah, the former in 
 Babylonia before the close of the Exile, the latter in Palestine after the 
 Restoration. The remaining chapters (Ixiii. — Ixvi.) cannot, he thinks, 
 be ascribed at least in their present form to the author of xl. — Ixii. — 
 Kosters {Theol. Tijdschrift, 1896, pp. 577 — 623) agrees with Cheyne as 
 to the composition of ch. Ivi. — Ixvi.; but differs from him with regard 
 to xlix. — Iv., which (following Kuenen) he considers to be another 
 collection of prophecies delivered in Palestine. He advocates a very 
 complicated theoiy of the origin of the four "Servant-passages"; and 
 his view is partly influenced by his theory of the history of the restora- 
 tion period (on which cf. Davidson, The Exile ^c. p. 115). — A 
 somewhat peculiar view is adopted by Bredenkamp (1887), of which the 
 distinctive feature is that ch. xl. — Ixvi. contain a nucleus of genuine 
 Isaianic passages, which have been amplified and published by a 
 prophet of the Exile period. See further, Driver, Isaiah? p. 211, and 
 Introduction^, pp. 244 ff. 
 
 Several of these theories suggest the enquiry how far the hypothesis 
 of a post-exilic date for some of the chapters may be compatible with 
 identity of authorship. If the writer of ch. xl.— xlviii. lived in Baby- 
 lonia it is reasonable to suppose that he returned to Palestine with 
 Zerubbabel and Joshua in 536; and if he was a very young man at the 
 beginning of his work, his active career might nearly extend over the 
 first half-century after the Restoration. Can the indications of post-exilic 
 origin be satisfactorily explained on the assumption that the Palestinian 
 discourses were written within that period and by the original author 
 himself? The suggestion is not to be altogether disregarded, but the 
 balance of probability would seem to be against it. Several of the 
 passages appear to presuppose a longer experience of life in Palestine 
 
 16—2 
 
244 APPENDIX. 
 
 than can be reasonably attributed to a contemporary of Zerubbabel ; the 
 division of parties suits the age of Malachi better than that of Haggai 
 and Zechariah ; and the corruption of the ruling classes is not likely to 
 have proceeded so far in the years immediately following the removal 
 of Zerubbabel and Joshua. On the whole, it may be said that if the 
 arguments for post-exilic authorship be valid at all, they point to the 
 conclusion that the last division of the prophecy was written on the eve 
 of the great reformation under Nehemiah (444). 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ^Abdtneni, 216 
 
 Abeii Ezra, xxxix, 16 
 
 '«iJ«> (Mighty One), xlvii, 99 
 
 Abraham, xxxi, 15 f., 18 f, 45, 105 f., 
 
 198, 203 
 Absalom, 130; "A.'s hand," 149 
 abundance = wealth, 179; =ziz, 226 
 acacia, 21 
 
 Achor, Valley of, 214 
 'adorn, 196 
 
 \A.d6Hdi,^i,', 'dddnim, 137 
 adulterer, 151, 154 
 adultery, idolatry compared to, 156 
 adversaries of Jehovah, 175, 195 
 agates, 139 
 Ahriman, 60 
 Ahuramazda, 60 
 aliens, see strangers 
 'al tashheth, 214 
 Ammonites, Ivii, 148; Milkom, god of 
 
 the, 157 
 Amos, xxii, xxx 
 "angel of the Presence," 200 
 Annalistic Tablet, xviii, 57 
 "anoint," 186; "anointed," see Cyrus 
 Ansan, xvii 
 anthropomorphism, xxix, 31, 98 f., 119, 
 
 174, 194—197, 203, 227 
 antimony, 139 
 apostates, future of, xvii, 208 ff. , 220 — 
 
 232 
 Aquila, Greek trans!, of, 51, 102, 122 
 Arabia, Arabians, Ivii, 44; A. Felix, 180 
 'drtf, 98 
 arm of Jehovah, 84, 109 f., 123 f. ; His 
 
 holy — , xix, 119 j20i 
 Arrian quoted, 119 
 Artaxerxes Ochus, 199, 243 
 artificer, 17 
 'drUkah, 'arika, 166 
 ash, 51 
 ashes, 187 
 'astonied,' 121 
 astrologers, 78 
 Astyages, xvii, xix 
 Atonement, Day of, 162 
 
 audition, prophetic, 3 
 'azkdrdh, 224 
 ^dzfd'dh, 191 
 
 Baal, 68, 155; "Face of," 200; ia'al 
 (=" marry" or "possess"), 191 
 
 Baal-Gad, 215 
 
 Babylon, her overthrow predicted, xiii, 
 35, 40; downfall of her state religion, 
 xiv, 68 — 72 ; ode on the fall of, xiv, 
 73 — 79 ; personification of, ibid. ; Cyrus 
 and, xviii, 14 — 16, see Cyrus; the 
 departure from, predicted, 118 f, 146; 
 "mistress of kingdoms," 75; cosmology 
 of, 39 ; her reliance on sorcery, 55, 77 
 
 Babylonia, allusions to, xvii f , 1 «., 3, 
 56 ff., 69, 76—79. "7. 1.54 
 
 bdfir, 196 
 
 Baethgen referred to, 215 ff. 
 
 balance, xxv, 70 
 
 bamdh, 131 
 
 Baptist, the, 159 
 
 bdra, see create 
 
 basilisks' eggs, 170 
 
 basser, 5, ii8, 186 
 
 beasts, wild, =heathen nations, 151 
 
 Bel, 68 
 
 believers, future of, xvii 
 
 berlth, 28 
 
 Bertholet referred to, 148 
 
 Beth esseittine, 6 
 
 Beulah, 191 
 
 Bleek referred to, xxxi.K 
 
 blind, spiritually, xxxii, 32, 35, 37, 152 
 
 Blue Nile, 36 
 
 Borsippa, 68 
 
 bow, 229 f. 
 
 box-tree, 21, 182 
 
 Bozrah, 195 
 
 * branch of my planting,' 184, 187 
 
 branding slaves, custom of, 47 
 
 Brandt referred to, 46 
 
 Bredenkamp referred to, 243 
 
 brier, 1, 146 
 
 Bunsen referred to, xxxix, 1 
 
 burnt-offerings, 43 
 
246 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 (odtfig, (eddgaJt, (ideq, xlvii, 16, 61, 98, 
 
 238 — 242 
 calamus odoratus, 44 
 Calvin referred to, 16 
 ((unaJ}, xlix 
 Cambyses, 36 
 camels, 170, 230 
 Canaanitish heathenism, 154 
 (a>; 175 
 caravans, 180 
 carbuncles, 139 
 carpenter, 17, 51 
 
 Carthage, Carthaginians, 200, 223 
 (eefd'ttn, xlix 
 cedar, 21, 51 
 Chaldsea, Chaldaean, Chaldseans, xx, 
 
 xxii, xxxi, xl, 6, 40, 73, 83, 86, iii, 
 
 117, 199, 207, 227, 241 
 chain ttllah, 19 
 characteristic expressions of Isaiah , xlix f. ; 
 
 of II Isaiah, xlvii — xlix 
 Charles referred to, 219 
 'chastisement,' of the Servant, 127 — 134; 
 
 of Israel, 75, 151, 160 
 Cheyne quoted or referred to, xlvi, 1\, 
 
 14, 20, 23, 34, 62, 80, 85, 98, 127, 170, 
 
 177, 199, 212, 222, 243 
 children. Eastern mode of carrying, 178 
 China, 93 
 f ?r, 200 
 
 'circle of the earth,' xxv, 11 
 circumcision, 148 
 ' cities of the wilderness,' 30 
 Clericus referred to, 23 
 ' clifts of the rock,' 154 f. 
 coast-lands, see isles 
 cockatrice' eggs, 170 
 ' coming things,' see ' new things ' 
 'condole, to,' 114 
 confession, prayer and, xvi, 162, 166, 
 
 172 f., 197 — 208 
 confusion, see vanity 
 controversy, Jehovcdi's, with the nations, 
 
 14 — 18, 35 — 39, 66 f. ; with the idols, 
 
 22—24, 38—40, 49—53 
 Cornill referred to, 243 
 Cosmos, 218 
 'covenant of the people," 28^,92; NewC, 
 
 136, 141, 143, 149, 176, 188 
 covetousness, 152, 161 
 create, use of the word, xxiv f., xlviii, 
 
 12, 28, 36, 59 f., 62, 65, 82, 140, 2t8 
 Croesus, xviii f., 14, 58 
 cry = prophesy, 4 
 cuneiform inscriptions, references to, xviii, 
 
 SQf-i 57i 59f-> 68 ff., 106, 153, 180, 211, 
 
 215, 229 
 curtains, 136 
 cypress, 21, 51, 146 
 Cyrus, anointed instrument of Jehovah, 
 
 X f., xiii, xix f., xxii f., xxvi, xxxvii f,, 
 
 14 — 16, 23, 36, 54 — 68 ; oracles con- 
 cerning his mission, xiii, 54—68 ; career 
 
 and historical relation to the prophecy, 
 
 xvii— xix; prophecies fulfilled by his 
 appearance, xx, 24, 29, 38, 66, 71 ; his 
 progressive relation to Jehovah, 23, 
 58 f . ; honorific titles, 56, 59, 84; com- 
 pensated for Israel, 36, 63 ; raised up in 
 righteousness, xxvii, 62 ; rejectors of, 
 xxiii, 54 ; original form of the word, 
 56 
 
 Dalman referred to, 99 
 
 David, 233 ; house of, 14T, 143 ; " Last 
 
 Words of," ' mercies of,' ib. 
 Davidson quoted or referred to, x, xxiv, 
 
 xxix, xxxvi f., xxxix, liv, Ix, 6 f., 33, 
 
 53. 59, 85, 109, III, 114, 121, 129 f., 
 
 i43> I55> 161, 172, 182 f., 213, 230 f., 
 
 243 
 death, O.T. feeling regarding, 153 
 Delitzsch quoted or referred to, xl, 19, 
 
 22, 29 f., 49, 56, 59, 61, 85, 130, 166, 
 
 188, 195, 216, 237 
 Delitzsch, Friedrich, quoted, 6g 
 deliverance from Babylon, xiii, xxiii, 
 
 xxviii, I, 35 f., 40—42, 55, 94, n6, et 
 
 passim ; see redeem 
 deraon, 2.-i,'2. 
 desert, march through the, i, 3, 6, 15, 
 
 21, 31. 35. 41, 87, 92 f., 146; 'region 
 
 of darkness,' 31 ; distinguished from 
 
 'wilderness,' 42 
 Deuteronomy, 231 ; D. law, 149 
 devastation and destruction, 114, 171, 
 
 183 
 Dillmann quoted or referred to, 10, 23, 
 
 46, 53. 73 f., 83 f., 86, 92, 98, 128, 132, 
 
 146, 152, 175 f., 214, 216, 232, 242 
 din (Arab.), 27 
 ' direct ' = regulate, 8 
 Dispersion, the, Ivi; ingathering of, xxi, 
 
 37. 93. 150, 193 
 
 diviners, influence of, in Babylon, 55, 
 
 divorcement, bill of, 99 
 DcJderlein referred to, xxxix 
 dogs, dumb, = prophets, 152 
 Dooseh, ceremony of, 115 
 ddTy 129 
 
 Douglas referred to, xl 
 doves, ships compared to, 180 
 dragons, 42 ; the Dragon, 109 
 Drechsler referred to, xl 
 Driver quoted or referred to, xxviii, 
 xxxix, xliv, xlvi, xlviii, 2, 19 f., 23, 
 
 38, 45, 85, 87, 92, 143, 204, 217, 231, 
 
 243 , . 
 dromedaries, 179, 230 
 Duhm quoted or referred to, 1, liv, Ivii, 
 
 Hx, 3. 34, 50. 53. 73, 80, 85, 88, 128, 
 
 155, 170, 174. 177. 199, 222, 229, 237, 
 
 243 
 
 eagle, 14 
 
 F.dom, Day of Vengeance in, 194- - 
 197 
 
INDEX. 
 
 247 
 
 Egypt, XXX f,, 1, 3, 19, 36, 63, 93, 109, 
 148, 229 
 
 'el, 10 ; hd-'ei, 28 
 
 Elam, xvii, 23 
 
 'ileph, 184 
 
 'elllim, xlix 
 
 elm, 21 
 
 embassies, political, 157 
 
 'end' or 'ends of the earth,' xlviii, 19, 29 
 
 Enoch, Book of, 219 
 
 Ephah, i7g 
 
 'ephes, xlviii 
 
 Eshmunazar, 153 
 
 Ethiopia, xxx, 36, 63 
 
 eunuchs, admission of, to covenant bless- 
 ings, xvi, 147 ff. 
 
 Euphrates, 40, 86 
 
 Euting referred to, 200 
 
 ' Evangelist of the O.T.,' ix 
 
 evangelists, see messengers 
 
 evil, moral and physical, 60 
 
 Ewald quoted or referred to, xxxix, 1, 
 liv, 16, 20, 48, 113, 124, 132, 226, 242 
 
 'exactors,' 183 
 
 Exodus, the, xxxi, 3, 19, 35, 41, 119 ; the 
 New, xiii, 40, 86, 119, 146, 193 
 
 'eye to eye,' 118 
 
 Ezekiel, xxxi, 1, 79, 82, 117, 230 
 
 Ezra, Ivi, 204, 209 
 
 " Face," of Jehovah, 169, 200 ; of Haal, 
 200 
 
 fast-days, fasting, 162 — 165 
 
 Fatherhood of God, 198, 203, 207 
 
 fetishes, 155 
 
 fire, fire-brands, 104 
 
 firmament, ancient conception of, 108 
 
 ' First, the, and the Last,' xxvi, 17, 48, 
 83 
 
 fir tree, 21, 146, 182 
 
 fleabane, 146 
 
 flock= Israel, 150 ft'., 201 
 
 footstool of Jehovah, 221 
 
 foreigners, admission to covenant bless- 
 ings, xvi, 147 — 150, 181, 192, 231 
 
 forgiveness, i, 3, 44, 53, 160 
 
 iorm, forma, 125 
 
 'former things,' xxi, 22, 29, 35, 38, 41, 
 71, 79, 218 
 
 ' fruit of the lips,' 161 
 
 fury, divine, 113, 115, 127, 227 ; in other 
 connexions, in, 114 
 
 gaal, xlviii, see redeem 
 
 Gad, 215 f. 
 
 Galli, mutilation of, 148 
 
 gardens, sacred, 211, 228 
 
 garland, 186, 189 
 
 Gaza, " Fortune" of, 215 
 
 gedild, 215 
 
 Gehenna, Jewish conception of, 232 
 
 Gentiles, the, subservience of, xvi, xxv, 
 xxxviii, 97, 179, 181 f., 187, 226; God's 
 purpose towards, xxx, xxxvii — xxxix, 
 
 29, 65 (if., 91; 'light of,' xxxvi, 29, 
 
 91 
 Gerizim, Mt, 222 
 Gesenius referred to, xxxix, 50, 53, 98, 
 
 115, 117, 152, 166, 172, 215, 224, 235 
 Giesebrecht referred to, 112, 234 
 Ginsburg referred to, 232 «, 
 girdle, 96 
 
 glory = wealth, 226; use in Isaiah, xlix 
 gnats, 108 
 
 Go el, 20, see redeem 
 Gospel, message of the, foreshadowed, 
 
 142 
 grape-cluster, figure of the, 208, 213 
 grasshoppers, .\.\v, n 
 graves, custom i.f sitting in, 2(i 
 guilt-offering, 133 
 Gunkel referred to, 109 
 
 hndariya (Arab.), villagers, 30 
 
 Hadramant, 44 
 
 "hand," Absalom's, 149 
 
 hd-rfshduoth, 22 
 
 Harranians, 228 
 
 h^rilg, 20 
 
 Hauran, Greek inscriptions of tin-, 215 
 
 Havernick, xl 
 
 he leg, halqe, 155 
 
 Hengstenberg referred to, xi 
 
 hephef, xlviii, 56, 71, 84, 132, 164, 168 
 
 Hephzibah, 191 
 
 Herodotus referred to, xviii, 36, 40, 56, 
 
 58, 215 
 ' high and lofty One,' 160 
 ' high places,' 21, 209, 213 
 Jiiltel, tehilldh, xlix 
 Hinnom, Valley of, 231 f 
 Hitzig quoted or referred tn, .wxix, 16, 
 
 70, 205, 222, 234 
 holm-oak, 51 
 'holy city,' xlix, 80, 115 
 'Holy One of Israel,' xlvi, 74, 92, 137. 
 
 182 
 holy Spirit. 201 
 
 ' holy, of Jehovah ' (of the Sabbath). i63 
 Horace quoted, 51, 172 
 Hosts, Lord of, see Jehovah 
 Husband of Zion, Jehovah as, xv, 135— 
 
 137 
 
 idolatry, polemic against, xi, xiii, xxvi, 
 7, 9— ir, 17, 49—53. 70 f- ; prevalent 
 among the exiles, 81 ; compared to 
 adultery, 156 ; household — , ibid. : 
 nations renounce, xxiii, 63 flf. ; idols, 
 flight of, xiv, 68 f. ; manufacture of, 
 49 — 53 ; challenged by Jehovah, 22 — 
 24, 38—40, 49 — 53; idolaters, confusion 
 of, 32, 64; future of, 208 f, 213: 
 idolatrous rites, 151, 154 — 159, 210 — 
 215, 223 f., 228 
 
 image, graven, 10, 24, 49, 66, 69 
 
 immortality, idea of, 219 
 
 incense, 44, 223 f. 
 
248 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 \ 
 
 incomparableness of Jehovah, xxv, 6, 9, 
 12, 70 
 
 incubation, custom of, 211 
 
 infinity of Jehovah, see Jehovah 
 
 ' inhabitants of the rock,' 30 
 
 inscriptions, see cuneiform 
 
 instrument, threshing, 20; smith's — , 140 
 
 isles, islands, 9, 15, 30 f., 89, 108, 175, 
 180, 230 
 
 'isvia (Arab.), 22 
 
 Israel, mission and place in history, xxiv, 
 xxvi, XXX — xxxix, 2, 33 f., 107, 112, 
 187, et passim ; two-fold personification 
 of, 2; blessedness of, 184, 186, 189 f, 
 220, 226 f; external prosperity, 138 f., 
 179—183, 187, 226; social evils, xvi, 
 168 — 173 
 
 'iyyim, xlviii 
 
 jackals, 42 
 
 Jacob, 22, 45, 47, 208 
 
 Jarchi quoted, 44 
 
 Jashar, book of, 46 
 
 Javan, 229 
 
 jealousy, 30, 203 
 
 Jehovah,— of Hosts, 12, 48, 63, 74, 112, 
 137; — Creator, xxiv f., 28, 59 f, 62, 
 65, 82, 140, 218; everlasting, 13; in- 
 comparable, xxv. 6, 9, 12, 70; infinity 
 of, xi, 7 — 14 ; Qadosh (Holy), xxvi, 
 xlvi, 12, 74, 92, 137, 182 ; as Redeemer, 
 see redeem; as Shepherd, xxiii, xxix, 
 6; the First and the Last, xxvi, 17, 
 
 48, 83 ; unique Godhead of, xxvi, 39, 
 
 49, 59, 64 — 67, 71; as Warrior, 30, 98 f, 
 119, 174; righteousness of, xxvii, 19, 
 24, 28, 62, 65, 67, 72, 108, 239 ff. 
 
 Jensen referred to, 211 
 
 Jeremiah, xxii, xxxt. Hi, 56, 103 f., in, 
 142, 166, 202 
 
 Jerome referred to, 10, 205, 211 
 
 Jerusalem, "good tidings to," xi, 5 f., 
 118, 180; deliverance foretold, xiii, 
 xxiii, xxviii, i, 35 f, 40 — 42, 55, 94, 
 116; personification of, 2, 94 — loi, 113, 
 115, 118, 135 — 141; holy city, 80, 115; 
 glory and prosperity of the New, 177 
 — 194 ; see Zion 
 
 yishimon, 42 
 
 Jeshurufi, 46 
 
 Jesus, son of Sirach, 1 
 
 Job, 2, 13, 122, 125 ff., 134, 153, 233 
 
 Josephus quoted or referred to, li, 36, 57, 
 
 63 
 Jubilee, 186 
 
 Judah, 'out of the waters of,' 80 
 judgement = right, 13, 90, 171 ; =judicial 
 
 process, 16; = religion, 26 f., 107; in 
 
 other connections, 129, 172, 174 
 Jupiter, 68 ; planet, 215 
 justice = righteousness, 147, 163, 172 f., 
 
 abuses of, 168, 170 
 
 K.ay referred to, xl 
 
 Kedar, 30, 180 
 ken, kinndh, kinnim, 108 
 king, Messianic, xliv f , 57, 144 
 Kirkpatrick referred to, xi, 1 f. 
 Klostermann referred to, 228 
 Knobel referred to, xxxix, 129, 235 
 Konig referred to, xxxix, xlvii, 167 
 Koran referred to, 99, 216 
 Kosters referred to, liv, 243 
 Kuenen referred to, xxxix, 199, 243 
 kunya (Arab.), 47 
 
 Lagarde referred to, 10, 71, 228 
 
 land = population, 225 
 
 Lane quoted or referred to, 99, 115, 139, 
 
 179, 240 
 law, see tordh 
 law-suits, 170 
 leader = prince, 144: unworthy spiritual 
 
 leaders, 150 ff. 
 Lebanon, 9, 181 
 lebondh, 44 
 lectisternia, 215 
 Lenormant referred to, 77 
 leper, leprosy, 125 ff., 130, 206, 237 
 Levites, 187, 231 
 'liars, tokens of the,' 55 
 ' liberty,' use of word in O.T., 186 
 light, emblem of salvation, 165, 178; of 
 
 the New Jerusalem, 183 ; of the nations, 
 
 xxxvi, 29, 91 
 litters, 230 
 Livy referred to, 215 
 Lowth referred to, 30, 51, 56, 74, 167, 
 
 206 
 Lucan quoted, 117 
 
 " Luck, the greater and the lesser," 26 
 Lud, Lydia, Lydians, xviii, 14, 229 
 
 Madian, city of, 179 
 
 magic, Babylonian, 77 
 
 MaUak Yahveh, 200 
 
 Manasseh, age of, xlii, liv ; mother of, 
 
 191 
 Mandt, 216 
 mdrdq, 211 
 ntashidh, 57 
 inatmon, 58 
 
 niebasser, mebasseretJt, see basser 
 Media, xviii, 14, 23 
 Melek, 157 
 
 memorial, 146, 149, 156, 224 
 Meni, 215 f. 
 merchants, 79 
 Merodach, xviii, 40, 57, 68 
 Meroe, 36 
 
 Meshech, Moschi, Muski, 229 
 ineshnlldm, 33 
 messengers, xi, xv, i, 5, 32, 56, 118, 
 
 200 
 Messiah, personal, xxxv f., 57, 144, 237 ; 
 
 see Cyrus 
 mi-^ukkdn, 10 
 * meted out,' xxv, 7 f. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 249 
 
 Micbaelis, J. D., referred to, 93 
 
 tnidbdr, 42 
 
 Midianites, 179 
 
 Migdal-Gad, 215 
 
 Milkom, 157 
 
 Milton quoted, 58 
 
 'minister,' 149, 180 f., 187 
 
 mirage, 93 
 
 mishpdt, 8, 16, 26, 238 f. 
 
 'mistress of kingdoms,' 75 
 
 Moabites, 148 
 
 Moabite Stone, 165 
 
 Molech, 155, 232 
 
 monument (to eunuchs), 147, 149 
 
 ntordg, 20 
 
 Moses, 109, 180, 201 f., 233 ; M. law, 
 
 • 99 f- 
 
 tnoshhdth, 121 
 
 fnosliin, ' the surrendered one,' 33 
 
 moth, 104, 109 
 
 mourning, of the dove, 172; garb of, loi ; 
 
 mourners, 161, 184, 186, 226 
 mouse, the, in sacrificial meals, 228 
 Muir referred to, 178 
 vmsnkkanu (Ass.), 10 
 myrtle, 21, 146 
 
 ndbi, 68 
 
 Nabonidus, xviii 
 
 Nagelsbach, xl, 24 
 
 ndgtd, 144 
 
 nations, see Gentiles 
 
 Nebajoth, Nabatseans, 180 
 
 Nebo, 68 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar, 57, 72, 118 
 
 Nehemiah, Ivi, 222, 244; governorship 
 
 of, 177 
 'new things,' xxi, 22, 29, 35, 41, 79, 
 
 83 
 Noah, covenant of, 136, 138 
 'nursing fathers,' 97 
 
 oaks, 155, 187 
 
 oath, Jehovah's, to Noah, 136, 138 
 
 oblation, 156, 223 f. 
 
 Oehler referred to, xxxix 
 
 offerings, 43 ; guilt-, 132 ; meal-, 224 ; 
 
 meat-, 156 
 'officers,' 183 
 'oil tree' (=oleaster), 21 
 Oort referred to, 48, 74 
 oracles, selling of, 152 
 Orelli referred to, xxxix 
 'or en, 51 
 ostriches, 42 
 Ovid referred to, 58 
 owls, 42 
 
 Palestine, tree-worship in, 155 ; invaded 
 by Midianites, 179; mystic societies 
 in, 212 ; " waste and ruined," xx, xxi «., 
 92, 96, 107, 118, 167, 187, ipi, 207; 
 prophecies written in, 1 «,, Ivifi, 209 
 
 parag, 211 
 
 paronomasia, 138, 187, 216 
 
 pastors = rulers, 152 
 
 Peace, personified, 173, 183 
 
 Pelusium, 93 
 
 /<?'7///a-^ = recompence, xlvii, 6, 90 
 
 pcqafiqoah, i86 
 
 Persia, xvii 
 
 Pesel, ID 
 
 Peshitto referred to, 98, 121, 166, 175, 
 207, 228 
 
 Petra, 30 
 
 Phut, 229 
 
 pilgrimages, 157 
 
 pine tree, 51, 182 
 
 * place '= monument, 149 
 
 plain, 4 
 
 plane tree, 21 
 
 'planting the heavens,' 112 
 
 Pliny referred to, 44, 180 
 
 poplars, 46 
 
 potter, 207 
 
 praise, 30, 42, 187 ; praises = praiseworthy 
 deeds, 180, 199; see /«V/#/, xlix 
 
 priests, Ivii, 2, 119, 151, 187, 231 
 
 ' prognosticators,' 78 ; see diviners 
 
 prophecy, argument from, xiff., xxf., 35, 
 47 fF. ; spirit of, 201 
 
 prophets, function of, 163 ; hireling, ivii, 
 152 ; = watchmen, 151 f. 
 
 proselytes, admission to covenant bless- 
 ings, 147 ff. ; sacrifices of, 150, 181 
 
 Ptolemy, 179 
 
 pUkh, 139 
 
 Pul, 229 
 
 piirah, 196 
 
 Qddoshy XX vi, xlvi, 12, 74, 92, 137, 182 
 qdtidh, gdneh, 44, 70 
 qhtdh, 113 
 qishshHrhit, 96 
 qnbha^ath, 113 
 
 Rahab, 109 f. 
 
 ransom, xxx, 36, 63 
 
 rd'dh, 53 
 
 rdshd', 238, 241 
 
 recompence, see pe^ulldh 
 
 redeem, redeemer, xxiii, xxviii, 20, 35 f., 
 
 40, 42, 55, 116, 137 
 ' remembrance,' see ztkkdron 
 Renan referred to, 46 
 ' report,' 123 
 
 Reuss referred to, xxxix, 234 
 rtshondh, as adverb, 213 
 Riehm referred to, 216 
 righteousness, see Appendix, Note II 
 rites, heathen, 151, 155—158, 210 — 215, 
 
 223 f., 228 
 ritual, 42, 215 
 ' rough places,' 4 
 rubies, 139 
 
 Riickert referred to, x n. 
 rulers, denunciation of, 151 — 153 
 
250 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Rutgers referred to, xl 
 Ryle referred to, 59, 199, 222 
 
 Sabacans, 63 f. 
 
 Sabbath-observance, Iv, 147 ((., 167 f. 
 
 sacrifices, 42 f. ; of proselytes, 150 ; 
 human, in Israel, 55 
 
 ?d_^ad, 42, 70 
 
 sdgdii, 23 
 
 Salmond referred to, 232 
 
 salvation, herald of, xi, xv, 5 f., n8, 
 184 ff.; history of the idea of, xxxviiiw. ; 
 hindrances to Israel's, 168 ff.; = wel- 
 fare, 61; =victory, iig; =righteous- 
 ness, 72, T07ff., 146, 240, 242; universal, 
 xxiii, xxvi, xxx, xxxviii, 2, 33f., 65 ff., 
 107, 112, et passim ; day of, 92, 145; 
 highway of, 159, 193 
 
 Samaritans, Ivii, lix, 154, 157 ff., 199, 
 209 f , 222 f. ; attitude towards Jews, 
 155, 224 f. 
 
 Sanballat, 224 
 
 Sardis, xviii, 58 
 
 sds, 109 
 
 Sayce referred to, xvii f., 59, 78 
 
 scales, XXV, 8 
 
 Schrader referred to, 39 f., 69, 180, 216, 
 229 
 
 Schwally referred to, 211 
 
 Scythians, 227 
 
 Seba, xxx, 36 
 
 Seeker referred to, 80, 167 
 
 seers, 152 
 
 Seetzen referred to, 47 
 
 Sela, 30 
 
 Semites, cultus of, 157 
 
 Sennacherib, 40, 69 
 
 Servant of Jehovah ; ideal, xii, 24 — 27 ; 
 xivf., 87 — 91 ; XV, loi — 104 ; .xv, 120 — 
 135; xxxii f., xxxiv — xxxvii, App. 
 Note I 2^5 f.— Israel as, xii, 32 — 34; 
 -XXX — xxxii, xxxiiif, 18, 28 f., 37 ff, 
 45 f-. 53. 59> 69 f., 86 f., App. Note I 
 233—235 
 
 Servant-passages.genuineness of, liii — Iv. 
 
 servants of Jehovah = prophets, 56 ; 
 = worshippers, xxxi, 149; the ideal 
 servant reproduced in individuals, 141 
 
 'serve,' Jehovah, 149, 180 f., 187 
 
 service, religious, of the people, 162 
 
 Shakespeare quoted, 153, 164 
 
 sluiknu (Ass.), 23 
 
 Sharon, plain of, 214 
 
 Sheba, 179 f. 
 
 shegeph qefip/i, 138 
 
 sheep-dogs, 152 
 
 Shemaiah, 152 
 
 Sheol, 158 
 
 shepherd, see Jehovah ; as honorific 
 title = ruler, 56, 59; unworthy, 150 ff. ; 
 referring to Moses, 201 
 
 ' ships of rejoicinc;,' 40 
 
 shittah tree, 21 
 
 Sin (Pelusium), 93 
 
 Sinim, 93 
 
 Sirach, son of, 1 
 
 sirocco, 4, 93 
 
 sirpdd, 146 
 
 slavery, slaves, Ivii, 47, 63, 99, 113, 164 
 
 smith, 50, 140 
 
 Smith, G. A., quoted or referred to, x, 
 
 xl, 4, 22, 194, 214, 227, 237, 241 
 Smith, Payne, referred to, 86 
 Smith, W. R,, quoted or referred to, 148, 
 
 157, 211 f., 214, 223, 228, 238 
 Soncino Bible, 197, 228 
 soothsaying, overthrow of, 55 
 sorceress, sorcery, 55^ 77, 154 
 soul, spirit, the principle of life, 28, 160, 
 
 46 
 span, XXV, 7 
 
 spirituality of religion, 222 
 'spoil, divide,' 133 
 ' sprinkle many nations,' 122 
 stakes, 136 
 
 'standard, lift up,' 176 
 Stier referred to, xl f. 
 ' stouthearted,' xxiii, 72 
 strangers admitted to covenant blessings, 
 
 xvi, 147 — 150, i8r, 192, 231 
 stroke (of God's hand), 126, 129 
 siis, inasos, sdsdn, xlviii 
 Syene, 93 
 
 Symmachus, Greek transl. of, 228 
 Synagogue, reading in the, 232 n. 
 
 Tablet, Annalistic, xviii, 57 
 
 Tadmor, centre of caravan trade, 30 
 
 Tanit, 200 
 
 tannin, no 
 
 ta^dfiith, 164 
 
 Targum referred to, 2, lo, 14, 16, 93, 
 121 f., T75, 178, 185, 188, 1Q7, 207, 228, 
 237. 
 
 Tarshish (Tartessus), ships of, 181, 229 
 
 te'asshilr, 21 
 
 teJiont, no, 202 
 
 Temple, the, house of prayer, 150 ; 
 destruction of, 199, 207 ; shew-bread 
 in, 215; ritual, Iv, 42, 215; rebuilding 
 of, 54, 57 ; ' stones of antimony ' for, 
 139; existence presupposed, 150, i8o, 
 192, 214 f., 225 
 
 tetnUndh, 10 
 
 tent, 136 
 
 terebinths, 154 f., 187 
 
 terfltndh, \o 
 
 Theodotion, Greek transl. of, 51, 122, 
 229 
 
 Theophany, prayer for a, 204 f., 227 
 
 thorn, 1, i.j6 
 
 threshing-instrument, 20 
 
 throne, Jehovah's, 221 
 
 Tidmat, no 
 
 tidhar, 21 
 
 tirdsh, 213 
 
 tirzdh, 51 
 
INDEX. 
 
 2i;i 
 
 Tobiah, 224 
 
 ^okii — chaos, XXV, xlviii. 9, 12, 24, 49, 65, 
 
 170 
 tordh, xlvi, 33, 107 
 trees, memorial, 141 f . ; for the Temple, 
 
 181; of righteousness, 187 
 tree-worship. 155 
 Tribes, the Ten, 70 
 Tristram referred to, 228 
 Trito-Isaiah, 237, 243 
 Tubal, Tibareni, Tabal, 229 
 turban, 186 
 Tylor referred to, 156 
 
 Umbreit referred to, xxxix 
 unguents, 157 
 utensils, sacred, 119 
 ^ilth, 102 
 
 vanity = nothingness, see tok/l ; —idol, 
 
 XXV, 159, 223 f. 
 vengeance, day of, 186 ; on the Edomites, 
 
 194—197 
 Vergil quoted, 50 f. 
 'vex' (of the Spirit), 201 
 vices of prophets and priests, 152 
 vintage songs, 213 
 viper, 171 
 
 Vitringa referred to, 56 
 Vulgate referred to, 3 f., 10, 14, 16, 51, 
 
 93, 102, 122, 126, 158, 172, 178, 195 
 
 wa^arisya (= nomads, Arab.), 30 
 
 wadis, 86, 154 f. 
 
 warrior, Jehovah as, see Jehovah, and 
 
 anthropomorphism 
 wast' a (Arab.), xxviii 
 'wasting and destruction,' 114, 171, 183 
 watchmen, city, 118; =prophets, 151 f. ; 
 
 = invisible guards, 191 
 water-sellers, 142 
 Weir referred to, 167 
 
 well, access to a, 142 ; ' wells of salva- 
 tion,' ibid. 
 
 Wette, de, referred to, xxxix 
 
 White Nile, 36 
 
 wife, Zion the — of Jehovah, 135 ff, 
 
 wife of youth, 137 f. 
 
 wild beasts, heathen compared to, 151 
 
 willows, 46 
 
 wine-press, 194, iq6 f. 
 
 wisdom of Jehovah, xi, 8 ; of the Servant, 
 121 
 
 witchcraft, 154 
 
 witness, David as, to the nations, 143 f. 
 
 work, recompence, s&g pe'ulldh 
 
 workman, 17, 50 
 
 worm, 109 
 
 worship, ordinances of, 148 ; tree-, 155 
 
 wrath, divine, 113, 115, 127, 138, 161, 
 227 
 
 Xenophon referred to, 36, 58, 72 
 
 yahad, yahddv, xlviii 
 Yahveh, 114 
 ydshdr, 46 
 Yemen, 180 
 yesha'y xxviii n. 6r, 
 Veshftnin, 46 
 
 zeal, 30, 203 
 
 Zechariah, xxii «., Hi, Ivi, 162, 244 
 
 Zerubbabel, 1, 199, 207, 243 f. 
 
 zikkdron, 156 
 
 Zion, glorification of, xiv f. ; _ consola- 
 tion of, 94 — 101 ; personification of, 5, 
 94—101, 113, 115 f., 118; felicity of, 
 112— 119, 135— 141, 177—184; "good 
 tidings' to, xi, 5, 118, 180; population 
 of, 94 f., 135 f-, 225 f. 
 
 ziz,^ 226 
 
 zodiac, 78 
 
 Zoroastrianism, 60 
 
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