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THE BOOK

THE PROPHET ISAIAH,
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL HEBREW;
WITH A
COMMENTARY,
CRITICAL, PHILOLOGICAL, AND EXEGETICAL:

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED,
AN INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION
OK
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE PROPHET;
THE CHARACTER OF HIS STYLE; THE AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE
BOOK; AND THE PRINCIPLES OF PROPHETICAL INTERPRETATION.

REV. E. HENDERSON, D.Ph.
J^'UTHOB OF " LECTURES ON DIVINE INSPIRATION," " BIBLICAL RESEARCHES AND
TRAVELS IN RUSSIA," " ICELAND," ETC.

Nobis propositum est Esaiam per nos intelligi, et nequaquam sub Esaiae
occasione nostra verba laudari. — Hieron. ad Eustock.

LONDON :
HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO.

33, PATERNOSTER BOW.
MDCCCXL.

Hlm4:f5 840

LONDON :
RICHARD CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL.

PEE FACE.

It is not without considerable diffidence that I publish
to the world the result of my critical labours on the
prophet Isaiah. The pre-eminent position which Bishop
Lowth has occupied for more than half a century in this
department of sacred literature, may by some be thought
sufficient to justify the charge of presumption against any
attempt to improve upon the elegant production of his
superior mind. Yet, who that has examined the serious
discrepancies which exist between the renderings of his
translation and those of our common version, or that
adverts to the opinion, which has been delivered by the
best judges, that these discrepancies are principally to be
ascribed to the fondness for conjectural emendation in
which the learned prelate so freely indulged, but must
admit, that the study of the subject cannot justly be
regarded as foreclosed, and that further efforts are required
to satisfy the claims of a numerous class of readers, on
whose minds it must press with no ordinary degree of
interest. That labours of this kind are still wanted is also
apparent from the new impulse which has been given
to the study of Scripture criticism and interpretation ; the
advances recently made in Oriental literature generally.

iv PREFACE.
and particularly in the scientific treatment of Hebrew
philology ; and the multiphed sources of illustration which
have been supphed by books of Travel, describing the
geography, manners, customs, &c., of the regions con
tiguous to, or forming the scenes of the transactions and
objects to which allusions are made in the Bible.
While, in this country, our prophet has been compara
tively neglected, the critics of Germany have subjected his
book to rigid processes of philological and exegetical in
vestigation. The 'Scholia' of the younger Rosenmiiller,
and the Commentaries of Gesenius, Hitzig, and Hende-
werk, though lamentably abounding with infidel senti
ments, far surpass any thing of the kind hitherto pubhshed,
viewed as works of pure criticism, and sources of materials
for successful interpretation. This remark apphes par
ticularly to the two first : — to Rosenmiiller, on account
of the copiousness with which he exhibits the views of
ancient and modern writers, and the acumen which he
generally displays in arriving at his conclusions ; and to
Gesenius, on account of his accurate knowledge of the
etymological and syntactical niceties of the Hebrew lan
guage, his judicious use of the cognate dialects, his pro
found historical and geographical research, and his careful
investigation of the difficulties which lay in his path.
Not finding that any attempt was likely soon to be
made to supply a desideratum painfully felt to exist in
our theological hterature, I was induced to undertake
the present work.' Having during a period of thirty years

' It was not till after the greater part of this volume had heen carried through
the press, that the Commentary of the Rev. Albert Barnes made its appearance in
America. Such readers, however, as may compare the two will find, that they
occupy altogether independent ground.

PREFACE.

endeavoured to render myself famihar with the language
in which Isaiah wrote, and with the kindred dialects,
whence so much help is to be derived; having perused
the principal Bibhcal and Oriental productions which have
appeared both in this country and on the Continent ; and
having for some time past more largely taken up Scripture
exegesis as part of my official duty, I trust I shall not be
deemed obtrusive in thus offering my contributions on the
altar of sacred truth.
In executing the task which I prescribed for myself, it
has been my aim to fix the reading of the text ; to clear
up philological and other difficulties ; to mark the pecu
liarities of the style ; to trace the logical connexion ; to
catch the spirit, and ascertain the meaning of the prophet ;
and, as far as possible, to express that meaning in lan
guage true to the original, yet not ungrateful to an
English ear.
With the view of more clearly exhibiting the elevated
character of the composition, and especially the paral-
lehsms, which so materially assist in determining the sense,
I have adopted the more approved method of throwing
the translation into a poetic or rhythmical form. In
doing this, I have been regulated chiefly by the divisions
marked out by the Hebrew accents, which will, on the
whole, be found to be correct.
Some may be disappointed on finding that I have not
combined doctrinal and practical observations with my
exegesis ; but the union of the two I perceived, from the
first, would be incompatible with the limits within which I
should be obliged to confine my labours. Nor could I
discover any pressing necessity for their introduction.
There is no lack of commentaries adapted for general

Vi fREFACE.
edification ; while it must be allowed we are still greatly
deficient in such works as have for their definite object the
ehciting of "the mind of the Spirit," upon which all
genuine Christian edification must be based. Besides, the
intermixture of spiritual matter with critical and philo
logical questions, must have appeared nearly as much out
of place, as it would be to interlard a work of general
exposition with such topics. The departments are quite
distinct, and ought to be separately occupied.
I must apologize to the Oriental scholar for having
printed the Arabic without points : — a course which I was
under the necessity of pursuing, in order to prevent the
awkward appearance which the greater increase of space
between the fines must have produced, had they been
inserted. It may also be proper to state, that the refer
ences to passages in the Old Testament are made accord
ing to the numeration of chapters and verses in the
Hebrew Bible, which has in some few instances occasioned
an apparent want of accuracy in quotation.
On one point, it is necessary specially to bespeak the
indulgent consideration of my readers, — the position which
I have taken respecting the future restoration of the Jews
to Palestine. That such a restoration is taught in Scrip
ture, I had been accustomed to regard as more than ques
tionable, how firmly soever I believed in their future
conversion to the faith of Jesus. On examining, however,
the different prophecies of the Old Testament, which treat
of a return of that people, I have had the conviction
forced upon my mind, that while the greater number
decidedly apply to the restoration which took place on the
capture of Babylon by Cyrus, there are others which
cannot, without violence, be thus appHed ; but which.

PREFACE. Vn
being, upon any just principle of interpretation, equally in
capable of apphcation to the affairs of the Gentile church,
must be referred to events yet future in Jewish history.
In this class I particularly include the last six chapters of
Isaiah, which immediately follow the remarkable prediction
respecting the future conversion of the Jews, at the close
of the fifty-ninth. Not the most distant allusion is made
throughout these chapters to any circumstances connected
with the deliverance, from Babylon ; while, on the other
hand, they contain a distinct recognition of various things
belonging to the New Dispensation, — such as the Divine
Mission of the Messiah, the abohtion of the Jewish wor
ship, the calhng of the Gentiles, the rejection of the Jews,
and certain features of their present dispersion. At the
same time, there is such a marked distinction uniformly
kept up between the persons spoken of and the Gentiles ;
such an appropriation to their condition of language
elsewhere only used of the natural posterity of Abraham ;
such an obvious description of the desolation of Palestine ;
and such express mention of a restored land, mountains,
vineyards, fields, houses, flocks, &c. which cannot be figu
ratively understood, that, with no hermeneutical propriety,
can the scene be placed in the Gentile world, or regarded
as exhibiting the state of Gentile Christianity.
That the Jews shall cease to exist as a distinct race on
their incorporation into the Christian church, the Bible
nowhere teaches ; nor is such an event probable in the
nature of things. But, if they shall exist as beheving
Jews, on what principle can it be maintained that they
may not live in Palestine, just as believing Britons do in
Britain, believing Americans in America, &c. ? Christianity
does not destroy nationality, nor require an amalgamation

Viii PREFACE.
of the different races of mankind, however it may insist
that, in a spiritual point of view, all its subjects constitute
but one nation and one people, holy and pecuhar — the
sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. If the
Jews had received the Messiah, when preached to them
by the Apostles, there is no reason to suppose, that they
would have been expelled from their own land ; so that
whatever admissions of Gentiles there might have been
into their community, it would still, in the main, have
been made up of Jews, as in fact, " the churches of God "
were, " which in Judea were in Christ Jesus."
Nor is there any thing in what I conceive to be the
doctrine of Scripture on this subject, at all at variance
with its representations respecting the spiritual nature of
the kingdom of Christ. The Jews, when converted, will
be required to conform, in every point, to the laws of that
kingdom, precisely as the Gentiles are on their becoming
subject to its Head and Lord. Not the slightest hint is
given, that any forms of ecclesiastical polity, or any modes
of worship will obtain among the restored Jewish converts,
different from those instituted by the Apostles.
As to the degree of temporal prosperity promised to
them, it appears to have special respect to the long-
continued circumstances of adversity in which they have
lived ; and may perhaps, after all, differ but httle from
that which wiU be enjoyed by the members of the Divine
kingdom generally, during the happy period of the
Millennium.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.

SECTION I.
OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ISAIAH.
Nothing is known with historical certainty respecting the pro
phet Isaiah, beyond what is furnished by his own book, and a few
scattered notices in the books of Kings and Chronicles.
His name, ''^T^,, Yeshaiahu, signifies " The Salvation of Jeho
vah," being compounded of »*;, deliverance or salvation, and H, an
apocopated form of njn;. That this name perfectly accords with
the leading themes of his book cannot be doubted; but whether it
was given him by Divine direction, on the foreknowledge of the
fact that he was to be employed in propounding such themes, it is
impossible to determine.
The only positive information which we possess respecting his
descent is, that he was the son of Amoz, (Heb. f'^) — a person
whom some of the Fathers, from their ignorance of Hebrew, con
founded with Amos, (Heb. "'"^S,) the prophet who flourished in the
reign of Jeroboam II. Many of the Jews likewise ascribe to him
a prophetical pedigree, but merely on the gratuitous assumption,
that in all cases in which the father of a prophet is mentioned by
name, he must have filled the same office. Others have attempted
to vindicate to him a royal parentage, maintaining that Amoz was
brother to King Amaziah ; but rabbinical tradition is all they can
allege in support of their position. That he was a native of Judah,
there can be little doubt ; and, that he resided at Jerusalem is evi
dent from chap. vii. 3, viii. 2, xxii. 15, xxxvii, 2, 5, 21, See. ; but
whether he lived in the middle or lower division of the city, is not
b

X INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.
so certain, though some have gathered as much from the textual
reading of 2 Kings xx. 4. No circumstances of a domestic charac
ter are mentioned, excepting that he was married, and that he had
two sons in the reign of Ahaz, to both of whom were given names
symbolical of important events in the Jewish history. The opinion
that he was twice married has merely been advanced in order to
give something like plausibility to a false interpretation of chap,
vii, 14.
Though it is extremely probable that he was first solemnly called
to the public discharge of his prophetical functions in the last year
of Uzziah, i.e. B.C. 759, yet there is reason to conclude that he
had been occupied with public aflairs long before : it being ex
pressly stated 2 Chron. xxvi. 22, that he composed the complete
memoirs of that prince. At all events, he must have reached some
maturity of age by that time ; and if, as is exceedingly probable,
he lived some time during the reign of Manasseh, it will follow,
that he filled the prophetical office during a period of about fifty
years, and must have been about eighty at the time of his death.
According to a very ancient Jewish tradition, he was sawn in two
by order of Manasseh, whom he had boldly reproved for his wicked
ness.^ To this the Apostle is supposed to allude, Heb. xi. 37.
As the exact position of our prophet, and the peculiar circum
stances of the times in which he flourished, must necessarily either
have called forth, or given a distinctive colouring to the predictions
which he was commissioned to deliver, it is manifest, that an accu
rate knowledge of his times is indispensable to a right interpretation
of bis book. Now it so happens, that not only does a considerable
portion of the book itself abound with historical statements and
allusions, but full and circumstantial accounts of the principal
events which transpired in his days, and the relations of the sur
rounding nations to the Jews, and to each other, are found in
several books of the Old Testament which treat of that period.
Two hundred and forty years before Isaiah entered upon his
prophetical office, the revolt under Rehoboam took place, by which
• Gemara Jebam. iv. 13; Sanhed. fol. 103; Just. Mart. Dial, cum Tryph.
p. 349 ; Origen in Ps. xxxvii ; Tertullian de Patientia ; Jerome in Isa. Ivii ;
Augustine, Civ. Dei. xviii. 24; Chronicon Pash. p. 155. See also Ascensio Jesaise
Vatis, published by Dr. Lawrence in Ethiopic and Latin, Oxford, 1819, the Greek
ori|;inal of which is quoted by Epiphanius de Hasres. xl. 2.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. Xl
the Hebrew kingdom was divided into two separate states, which
not only made war on each other, but were subject to harassing in
vasions by foreign enemies. During the first eighty years of this
period, the kingdom of Judah greatly prospered, especially under
the pious kings, Asa and Jehoshaphat ; but the idolatries which they
had succeeded in suppressing having been revived, Jehovah visited
it with heavy calamities ; and, in the last days of Amaziah it lay
prostrate at the feet of Jehoahaz, king of Israel.
Though only sixteen years of age when raised to the throne,
Uzziah soon discovered a spirit of energy and enterprise ; not only
restoring the administration of public afiairs from the state to which
it had been reduced, and promoting the agricultural interests of the
country, but organizing an immense army, fortifying the principal
cities, and carrying his victorious arms into the territories of the
Philistines, the Ammonites, and the Arabs. He also took the
Port of Elath on the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, and thus te-
opened the lucrative maritime trade of the East. Though, on the
whole, obedient to the Divine laws, yet this monarch suffered the
idolatrous altars to remain, and was ultimately smitten with leprosy
for presuming to invade the sacred office of the priesthood.*
Although temporal prosperity appears to have continued during
the reign of Jotham, yet, owing to the increase of luxury and
sensual indulgence, true piety greatly declined ; and the alliance
was formed between Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of
Syria, which was brought to bear against the kingdom the year
after his death, which took place b. c. 743. He was succeeded by
Ahaz, the most abandoned monarch that had yet ascended the
Jewish throne. During his reign every thing was thrown into con
fusion ; the law of God was violated in the most reckless manner ;
superstition and idolatry were openly practised ; a Syrian altar and
Syrian gods were introduced ; and the temple was not only greatly
defaced, but at last entirely closed against the worship of the true
God.^ Having been repulsed with great loss by the confederate
powers of Israel and Syria, and suffering from the Edomites and
the Philistines, Ahaz applied to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria,
for assistance, for which he paid him a subsidy, raised from the
treasures of the temple, the nobility, and the royal palace. It
' 2 Kings XV. 1 — 7 ; 2 Chron. xxvi.
' Isa. ii. 6 — 8 ; 2 Kings xv. 32—38, xvi. 1 — 4 ; 2 Chron. xxvii. xxviii.

Xil INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.
would appear, however, that, though the Assyrian monarch, pos
sessed himself of Damascus and some of the cities belonging to
Israel, the inhabitants of which he carried into exile, he affiarded
no real succour to Ahaz, but, on the contrary, greatly harassed and
perplexed him as his tributary.*
On the death of Ahaz, B.C. 728, he was succeeded by Hezekiah,
a pious and zealous prince, who abolished idolatry, and all the
objects that had been perverted to its use ; restored the temple
and worship of Jehovah; improved the fortifications and water
works around Jerusalem ; reduced the Philistines ; and shook oif
the Assyrian yoke. In the fourteenth year of his reign, however,
i. e. B.C. 714, he was menaced by Sennacherib, who was advancing
with a large army through Judea, with a view to the conquest of
Egypt. To avert the threatened calamity, Hezekiah paid to the
king of Assyria the stipulated sum of three hundred talents of
silver, and thirty talents of gold ; to raise which he was obliged to
appropriate all the treasures in the temple and the palace ; but that
monarch, deeming it unsafe to leave so strong a power in his rear,
reduced most of the cities of Judah, and ordered a numerous body
of his troops to invest and subdue Jerusalem. Summoned in lan
guage of the most insolent description to surrender, Hezekiah
applied by earnest prayer for Divine protection and deliverance ;
and by the miraculous destruction of the Assyrian army the city
was relieved. On his recovery from a dangerous sickness, which
had been pre-signified by a miraculous phenomenon, he was
honoured with an embassy from the court of Babylon ; but giving
way to a spirit of ostentation, he received a severe rebuke in the
announcement of the Babylonish captivity.^
In the succeeding reign of Manasseh, idolatry, with all its accom
panying evils, was publicly established, and maintained in the most
daring and outrageous manner by that apostate king j in conse
quence of which, notwithstanding the penitent effiarts, which he
afterwards made to regain the ground he had lost, and the zealous
reformation effected by Josiah, the Jewish affairs continued gra
dually to decline, tiU at last, partly by internal broils, partly by the
invasion of Pharaoh Necho, and finally by the imposition of the
Babylonish yoke, they were reduced to the lowest possible state ;
' 2 Kings xvi. ; 2 Chron. xxviii. ; 1 Chron. v. 26.
' 2 Kings xviii.-xx.; 2 Chron. xxix.-xxxii ; Isa. xxxvi.-xxxix.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XIU
the city of Jerusalem was destroyed ; the temple burnt with fire ;
and the principal inhabitants were carried away captive to Babylon.*
Though Isaiah can have lived only during a very limited period of
this last section of the history of his people, yet no inconsiderable
portion of his predictions relate to their condition as located in the
midst of idolaters during the captivity, and their happy restoration
to their own land through the instrumentality of Cyrus.^
During the space of time occupied by the ministry of the
prophet, the Jews were more or less affected by the infiuence of
foreign states, some of which were the most powerful empires of
antiquity. In their immediate vicinity were the rival kingdom of
Israel, the Syrian and Tyrian powers, the Philistines, Moabites,
Edomites, and Arabians, by whose warlike demonstrations, sudden
incursions, and victorious enterprises, they were greatly annoyed,
and frequently brought to the verge of ruin. In the ancient
kingdom of the Pharaohs, at this time successively under the rule
of the nineteenth of Manetho's dynasties, the Dodecharchy, and
the dynasty of Psammeticus, they had a powerful neighbour, to
the shield of whose protection they constantly looked for safety
when threatened by the most formidable of their assailants —
Assyria.^ This empire, the capital of which was Nineveh, was, so
far as Jewish affairs are concerned, not the ancient power of that
name, supposed to have been founded by Nimrod, but that founded
on the death of Sardanapalus, by Arbaces the Mede, about the
seventh year of Uzziah, B.C. 804. The Assyrian monarchs men
tioned in Scripture as having invaded Palestine, are Pul, Tiglath-
pileser, Shalmanezer, Sargon, Sennacherib, and Ezar-haddon.
Their sceptre was one of almost unlimited sway, being wielded
from Persia to the Mediterranean, and from the Caspian Sea to
the Persian Gulf. Yet, not satisfied with this extensive empire,
Sargon and Sennacherib projected the conquest of Egypt, the
mighty expedition undertaken with a view to effect which occupies
a conspicuous place on the pages of our prophet, both on account
of its threatening aspect, and the Divine interposition by which it
was terminated. The Chaldean power in Babylon, by which, in
conjunction with the Medes, the Assyrian empire was overthrown,
now began to raise its head, and for a time exerted a mighty
' 2 Kings xxi. 1—18, xxii.— xxv. ; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 1 — 10, xxxiii. — xxxvi.
' Chapters xl.— lii. 12. ' Isa. xxx. 1—17, xxxi.

Xiv INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.
infiuence over the countries of hither Asia, and, among the rest,
on Judea. To this empire, however, and to that of Persia, by
which, in its turn, it was subverted, no purely historical reference
is made by Isaiah, excepting in chap, xxiii. 13. In like manner,
Rome, which was founded in his days, is only recognized in the
way of prophetical anticipation, in so far as her history was to have
a bearing on the church of God ; and is presented to our view
under the indefinite and general names of " The West," and " The
Maritime Lands " in that direction. From the mount of inspired
vision the prophet surveys the surrounding nations; and, like a
faithful watchman, gives warning of each, describes some of their
more striking characteristics, and predicts their final destruction.
Contemporary with Isaiah flourished the prophets Jonah, Hosea,
and Micah, between which last and him there are some remarkable
points of resemblance.

SECTION II.
OF THE AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE TEXT.
When we speak of the integrity of any writing, we understand
by the term an immunity from corruption, whether consisting in
the removal from the text of any thing which it originally con
tained, or the introduction of matter into it by a foreign hand.
That an absolute literal identity exists between the present copies
of the Bible and the autographs whence they have mediately been
derived, will not be maintained by any who are at all acquainted
with the history of literature generally, or with that of sacred
literature in particular. The existence of various readings is
matter of ocular demonstration. Its prevention could only have
been effected by a continued series of miraculous interventions,
which God hath not been pleased to employ. He hath committed
to faUible and erring men the custody and transmission of the
sacred oracles.
Against the supposition, however, that they have been wilfully
corrupted, or that their integrity has been in any way materially
affected by the errors of transcription, there exist the strongest

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XV
possible reasons. The sacredness of their claims ; the scrupulous
regard which has ever been paid to them by those in whose hands
they have been deposited ; their having been a common public
property, and not the monopoly of a privileged caste, or of any
influential individual ; the check which one copy and one portion
has had upon another ; their constant use in the church of God ;
together with the absence of any adequate motive ; — all go satis
factorily to shew the improbability of attempts having been made
to alter them, and the impossibility that any such attempts, sup
posing them to have been made, would escape detection and
merited reprobation. With respect to the Hebrew Scriptures
especially, nothing is more susceptible of demonstration than the
fact, that those entrusted with the care of them have in all ages
regarded them with sacred, and even with superstitious veneration,
and have watched over their purity with the utmost vigilance.*
They have regarded them not only as their national charter, but as
the foundation of their religious belief, and the source of their
religious hopes. They have received them as the productions of
men who were the subjects of a supernatural Divine influence,
specially exerted upon them for the purpose of enabling them
correctly to register the communications of the will of God, and
those events the knowledge of which was calculated to be useful
to posterity. These men were not obscure and unknown indi
viduals, but public and official characters, whose credentials had
been tested and approved as genuine by the community in which
they lived, as well as by those more immediately called upon to
judge of such matters. No book was received into the Jewish
canon that could not be proved to have been written or sanctioned
by one who was accredited as a Divine messenger ; and after the
canon was completed, no one dared to add to or detract from its
sacred contents.^ To suppose, under such circumstances, the
existence of deliberate or fraudulent corruptions, would be to
advance a position utterly at variance with historical fact.
It is matter of notoriety that, although the authenticity and
integrity of the prophecies of Isaiah have, in all past ages since
1 For an account of the rigidity of the laws by which Jewish copyists are tied
down in performing their task, see my Biblical Researches and Travels in Russia,
pp. 208—211.
' See my Lectures on Divine Inspiration, Lect. ix.

xvi INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.
the period of their composition, been above suspicion, — the book
having been firmly believed both by Jews and Christians to be his
throughout,— they have of late years been assailed by certain critics
in Germany, who have expended upon the discussion of the
subject all that their powers of invention, and their stores of
philological and critical learning could supply. It is, however, not
a little remarkable that these attacks obviously sprang out of, and
have, for the most part, been conducted in the spirit of those
investigations respecting the authenticity of the works of Homer,
Cicero, and other authors of classic celebrity which were carried on
by Wolf, Heyne, Ilgen, and other distinguished literati of the
day. It having become fashionable to break up the writings of an
ancient author into distinct parts, and to dwell upon the differences
in point of style, &c. which appeared to exist between one part
and another, the same process was resorted to in the treatment of
the Sacred Authors, more especially in that of Isaiah, whose book,
being of greater extent, and comprising a greater variety of
subjects than that of any other prophet, afforded more enlarged
scope for the exercise of critical acumen. To this must be added
the sceptical spirit originally generated by Spinoza, and afterwards
propagated by our English deists, the influence of which has been
extensively felt on the Continent, and nowhere more powerfully
than in the land of the Reformation.
Doubts respecting the authenticity of certain parts of the book
of Isaiah were first started by Koppe and Doderlein ; the former of
whom was the translator of Lowth into German, with additional
Notes and Observations; and the -latter, the author of a New Trans
lation of the prophet, with brief Notes in Latin. The subject has
since been taken up and discussed by Justi, Eichhorn, Rosenmiiller,
Paulus, Bauer, Bertholdt, De Wette, Gesenius, Hitzig, and
Hendewerk ; and not only have chapters xl. — Ixvi. been abstracted
from our prophet, and ascribed to some writer supposed to have
flourished about the time of the return from Babylon, to whom,
for the sake of distinction, have been given the names of " Deutero-
Isaiah " and " Pseudo-Isaiah," but the following portions of the
book have likewise been attributed to the same, or to some other
author: chap. ii. 2 — 4, xi. xii. xiii. 1 — xiv. 23, xv. xvi. xix.
18 — 25, xxi. xxii. 1 — 14, xxiii. xxiv. — xxvii. xxxiv.
These writers insist that the state of things set forth in these

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. Xvii
portions is described in the style of history, not of prophecy ; that
no distinct intimations of the captivity are previously furnished;
that the statements contained in them would have been unintelligi
ble to the contemporaries of Isaiah ; that, as predictions, the details
would be too circumstantial ; that no appeals are made to them by
Jeremiah ; and that the style is not identical with that employed
in the rest of the book. To attempt a formal or elaborate refuta
tion of these several objections would be actum agere. They have
been more or less fully met by Piper,* Uhland,^ Beekhaus,^ van der
Palm,* Dereser,'* Greve,« MoUer,' Arndt,' Jahn,^ Kleinert,*" Heng-
stenberg,** Professor Lee,*^ and Dr. J. Pye Smith,*^ who have
shewn, that they have totally failed in establishing the hypotheses
in support of which they have been brought forward. I shall,
therefore, confine what observations I have to make to some of the
leading points in the controversy, and refer such of my readers
as may wish to pursue the subject farther, to the writers just
specified. It must 'be obvious to all who peruse the antagonist articles, that
the irpwrov -tpevSoQ to which they are chiefly to be ascribed, is a
total disbelief of prophetic inspiration. In most of them this is
distinctly avowed ; and the different positions that have been
presented in the form of argument, are merely taken, in order, if
' Integritas lesaias, a recentiorum conatibus vindicata. Gryphsw. 1792. 4to.
' Vaticinium lesaiae, cap. xiii. Tub. 1798. 4to.
' Ueber die Integritat der Proph. Schriften des. A. B. Halle, 1798.
* lesaia vertaald en opgehelderd. Amsterd. 1805. 3 Deel. 8vo.
' In Brentano's Bibelwerk. Frankf. 1808.
" Vaticiniorum lesaise pars continens Carmina a cap. xl. usque ad Ivi. 9. Am-
stelod. 1810. 4to.
' De Authentia oraculorum EsaiEe, cap. xl. — Ixvi. Havniae, 1825. 4to.
' De loco, qui extat apud lesaiam, cap, xxiv. — xxvii., vindicando et explicaiidb
commentatio. Hamb. 1826. 4to.
' In his Einleitung, Th. II. 2 Abtheil. pp. 458—494; and in Home's Introd.
vol. iv. pp. 165 — 175.
'" Kleinert iiber die Echtheit sammtlicher in dem Buche lesaia enthaltenen
Weissagungen. Berlin, 1829. 8vo.
" Christologie des Alten Testaments, &c. Berlin, 1829—1835. I Th. 2 Ab
theil. pp. 168 — 206. American Translation by Dr. Keith. Alexandria, 1836 —
1839. Vol. i. pp. 395—423.
'^ Sermons and Dissertations. London, 1830. 8vo. Pp.157 — 208.
"" The Principles of Interpretation as applied to the Prophecies. 2d Edit.
London, 1831. Supplementary Note G. p. 67.

xviii INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.
possible, to sustain the infidel principle. According to Eichhorn,* the
prophets were men gifted with extraordinary intellectual powers,
and rich in the experience of human affairs, by which they were
raised far above their contemporaries, and enabled to extend their
penetrating views into futurity. In the preface to his ' Commen
tary on Isaiah,'* Gesenius expressly avows, that he " can find no
supernatural or definite prediction in the Hebrew prophets ;" and
in the course of his work, whenever he is pressed by any thing in
the shape of such prediction, he exerts his ingenuity in attempting
to lower it down to a lucky conjecture, founded upon existing
aspects'of the political horizon, or other circumstances of the times.
Hitzig^ believes prophecy to have been nothing more than the
effect of physical ecstasy, moral illumination, poetic inspiration, and
a shrewd calculating on the future from present events and circum
stances. And Hendewerk,* the latest writer on the book, agrees
with him in the main, investing the prophets with " a poetical
spirit of divination," which he thinks is sufficient to account for the
foresayings contained in their writings.
In diametrical opposition to all such statements of speculative
critics stands the inspired testimony of the Apostle Peter : ^ " Pro
phecy CAME NOT IN OLD TIME BY THE WILL OF MAN, BUT HOLY
MEN OF God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
It is impossible for words more strongly to deny the origination of
the predictions of the Hebrew seers in the simple operation of their
mental faculties, or more positively to vindicate for it that super
natural iufiuence by which the Spirit of God revealed to them
things to come. They merely gave utterance to what they were
borne onward by a Divine impulse to announce. And the same
Apostle distinctly recognizes such infiuence as enabling the pro
phets to predict the distant sufferings and glory of the Messiah :
" Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ
WHICH WAS IN THEM DID SIGNIFY, WHEN IT TESTIFIED BEFORE
HAND the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow."^
Our Lord himself likewise declares, that " the prophets " had
"written concerning" him'— a declaration which most especially
1 Einleitung in das A. T. Band. iv. § 39. ' p. xv.
•' Der Prophet lesaja. Heidelb. 1833. 8vo. Pref. .kxv. pp. 463, 464.
* Des Propheten lesaja Weissagungen. Konigsb. 1838. 8vo. Einleitung '
= 2d Epist. i. 21. M Epist i. 11. 7 L„^g ^^i^ 44

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. xix
applies to Isaiah, whose writings, according to the same Divine
authority, contain express prophecies of Him and his kingdom.
But, if these holy men were the subjects of an infiuence exerted
upon their minds by the Omniscient Spirit, to whose eye the whole
of the future, in the most minute of its existences and modifica
tions, was equally present with the entire range of then existent
being, what incongruity is the»e in believing, that the passages in
our prophet which contain detailed descriptions of events that were
to transpire in the history of the Jewish nation long after his time,
actually proceeded from his pen ? What greater impediment can
there be in the way of exercising such belief, than in believing that
he " saw the glory of Christ and spake of him?" ' So long as we
confine our ideas of prophecy within the sphere of purely human
activity, we must necessarily deny, as contrary to all experience,
the ability to descry and predict contingent future events, — such as
those described in the disputed portions of Isaiah must have been
to him and all who lived in his time ; but no sooner do we candidly
yield our minds to the authoritative claims of the Scripture doc
trine of prophetic inspiration, than the absurdity vanishes, and all is
plain, consistent with itself, and, in every respect, worthy of God.^
It then becomes manifest, that, to announce the conquest of
Babylon, and the consequent deliverance of the captive Jews by
Cyrus, at a period when the Assyrian power was yet dominant,
when the Babylonian state was only in its germ, and the Median
empire had no existence ; to foretell the destruction of Tyre by
Nebuchadnezzar one hundred and fifty years prior to the event ;
to point out the birth, character, sufferings, death, resurrection, and
glorinus reign of our Saviour, with the utmost minuteness, seven
centuries beforehand ; and to describe events which are still future
in the history of the Jewish people, were all equally possible and
equally easy. In every case the prophet spoke as the Spirit gave
him utterance.
It deserves special notice, that in the very portion of the book
which has been most violently attacked, there occur passages in
which the Divine origin of prophecy is the subject of direct and
unanswerable appeal. For instance :

1 John xii. 41.
' See my Lectures, ut sup. pp. 253, 254, 315—319.

XX INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.
" Who published this of old .''
Who declared it from ancient times .''
Was it not I, Jehovah ?" *
And again : —
" I am God, and there is none like me.
Declaring the end from the beginning,
¦ From ancient times things not yet done."^
With which may be compared the appeal made in the book of
Ezekiel:" "Thus saith the Lord God, Art thou he of whom I
have spoken of old time by my servants the prophets of Israel,
which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee
against them ?"
That the predictions respecting the desolate state of Judea, and
the return from the captivity, should be couched in language
descriptive of the present, or rather of the past, is perfectly in
accordance with the animated picturesque character of the pro
phetic style. So vividly were the circumstances exhibited to the
view of Isaiah in prophetic vision, and so powerful was the im
pression produced upon his mind, that no language which did not
invest them with present reality, could give adequate expression to
his feelings. The scenes are thus brought out more boldly, and
placed in a much stronger light before our eyes. They strike us
more forcibly than they could have done had they been depicted in
the simple language of the future. This feature of the more
animated prophetic style was not unobserved by the Fathers.
Both Justin Martyr,'* and Eusebius* distinctly recognize it. And
in later times its existence has justly been regarded by most as a
settled point in the interpretation of the prophecies.^ It is, indeed,
no unusual thing for the other prophets as well as Isaiah to take
their position in the future, and then describe events as actually
happening in their presence, or as possessing all the certainty of
' Chap. xlv. 21. 2 cjjjip xi^;_ 10. 3 chap, xxxviii. 17.
¦• Orav hi irpoipriTiKov irvivfia ra jxeWovTa yiveo-Bai as ijBrj yevofieva Xeyrj, as
KOI tv Tols TrpoeipTjfiipois bo^aa-ai ea-riv. Apol. p. 81.
° Kara Tiva fie crvvrjdeiav Tvpo^rjTiKrjv, to fifKKov o irpoCJl^Tijs ds jrnpo)Yi)KOs
ava(j)avei, Koi as irfpl iavrov tov TrpotperevovTos Srj'Xol. Demonst. Evangel.
lib. iv. cap. 30.
* Clei'icus ad Deut. xxxii. 30.

introductory dissertation. xxi
past transactions. The circumstances, that our prophet assumes
this position, and that the design of his predictions relative to the
captivity being to promote the recovery of his people from idolatry
and other sins, and to encourage them by repeated announcements
of their deliverance, and of still more important deliverances future
to their return, sufficiently account for the absence of definite
denunciations of that calamity as the subject of future infliction.
He takes it for granted as sufficiently known, from his own positive
prophecy of it, chap, xxxix. 5 — 7, and from the predictions of
other prophets.
From the whole structure of chapters xl — Ixvi. it would appear,
that they formed no part of the instructions publicly delivered by
the prophet in the course of his personal ministry, and were,
therefore, not so much designed for the use of those who lived in
his own day, as to be preserved for the benefit of those who should
live in aftertimes. They were, in all probability, composed in the
reign of Manasseh, when he was under the necessity of laying
aside his prophetic trumpet, and restricting his service to the use
of the pen. At the same time, there can be little doubt that
copies of these inspired compositions would be eagerly sought after
by those in whose rninds there still reigned a supreme regard for
the God of Israel, and whose tenderest sympathies were called
into exercise by the present and prospective condition of their
nation. And whatever obscurity might have attached to their
contents, by which such as perused them would be prevented from
obtaining that full and clear insight into their meaning which was
to be the privilege of those who should live in succeeding ages, yet
they could not but discover much in their general bearing, and also
in many of their particular announcements, to inspire them with
the brightest hopes, excite them to persevering confidence in
Jehovah, and instruct them to walk and worship so as to please
him. Though, like other prophetic Scripture, they might be
unintelligible to the wicked, yet such as were endowed with spi
ritual wisdom, would derive from them rich practical information.*
As it regards the objection taken to the circumstantiality with
which many things are described by the prophet, it may only be
necessary to remark, that it will lie against other prophecies
' Dan. xii. 9, 10.

xxii introductory dissertation.
equally as against those in question. With what particularity, for
instance, do Jeremiah and Ezekiel describe the countries and cities
on which Divine judgments were to be inflicted, and specify by
name the instruments by whom their destruction was to be
effected? With what minuteness of detail does Daniel set forth
the time of the Messiah's appearance ; the manner and nature of
his death ; and the fates of the great monarchies with which those
of the church of God were, to a certain extent, to be mixed up ?
Does not Micah specify the birth-place of the Saviour ? and
Zechariah his humble entrance, as a spiritual king, into Jeru
salem ? And as to the express mention of Cyrus by name, have
we not a parallel in the designation of Josiah upwards of three
centuries before he was born ?*
Were it necessary to enter into the philological part of the
question, it might easily be shewn, that the arguments employed
on this ground against the authenticity of the disputed passages are
of the slenderest possible character ; and that, were any degree of
validity to be allowed them, they would not only go to cancel large
portions of every book in the Bible, but to bastardize important
sections in the most celebrated human productions. Let any one
apply the same critical pruning knife to Shakespeare, or Walter
Scott, or Milton, or Hume, and he may produce equally satis
factory proofs of the spuriousness of much that has been ascribed
to these writers. Though with respect to general style and
phraseology there is a striking conformity running throughout
our prophet, yet because he employs a few terms and modes of
expression in one part of his book, which are not found in the
other, it is seriously argued, that he could not have written
it all!
On the whole, it must be concluded, not only that the denial of
original authorship as it respects these chapters rests upon no
external evidence whatever, and upon none internal beyond what
is brought out by the ingenuity of speculation, but that the entire
stream of external evidence is directly and broadly against it
while there is no lack of internal characteristics which go to
identify the writer with Isaiah.

1 Kings xiii. 2.

introductory dissertation. xxui
It is now time to inquire what judgment we are to entertain
respecting the text in its more minute forms, or the degree of
immunity from verbal errors which may justly be claimed for it.
If we are to receive without qualification the assertion of Bishop
Lowth,^ in reference to the Hebrew Text in general, " that
mistakes are frequent, and of various kinds ; of letters, words, and
sentences ; by variation, omission, transposition ; such as often
injure the beauty and elegance, embarrass the construction, alter
or obscure the sense, and sometimes render it quite unintelligible ;"
or that which he has advanced respecting the text of Isaiah in
particular, that " it is considerably injured, and stands in need of
frequent emendation,"^ then it is manifest it must require no
small effort to recover it from the corruptions to which it has
been subject. In accordance with such views of the case, the
learned prelate proceeded fearlessly to adopt those measures which
he deemed necessary for effecting such recovery. All who are
conversant with his notes must be aware, that a considerable
portion of them is occupied with attempts to emend the text,
partly with the aid of MSS. and of the Ancient Versions, and
partly by conjecture ; the result of which has been, that not only
has the original text become in a great measure unsettled, but
occasion has been taken by other critics, inferior in taste, though
not in boldness, as Blayney, Newcome, Horsley, Good, and Booth-
royd, to deal in the same way with other sacred writers, to the no
small disparagement of their integrity. If the bishop had confined
himself to the collation of MSS., and a rigid examination of the
renderings in the Ancient Versions ; and, after carefully weighing
the evidence which they furnished in favour or otherwise of any
particular reading, and minutely investigating the Hebrew usage
and that of the cognate dialects, had presented us with the result
of his labours, they would doubtless have merited the unqualified
approval of every competent judge ; but, indulging as he has done,
after the example of Houbigant, in unnecessary and groundless
conjectures, partly original, and partly adopted from that author,
and from Drs. Seeker, Durell, and Jubb, and altering the text
agreeably to such conjectures, he has laid himself open to the just
censure of all sober and judicious critics. His rash and unwar-
' Prelim. Dissert, p. Ixiv. ' Ibid. p. Ixiv.

xxiv introductory dissertation.
ranted emendations were, indeed, speedily exposed by Professor
D. Kocher, a learned Swiss divine,* who, though he did not treat
the bishop with that urbanity to which he was otherwise entitled,
and carried his notions of the literal perfection of the Hebrew text
to an unjustifiable length, certainly did succeed in convincing the
learned that our prophet deserved a very different treatment from
that to which he had been so unceremoniously subjected. Since
that time, whatever commendations have been passed upon Lowth
for his fine poetic taste, his classical elegance, and his merits as a
writer on Hebrew poetry, and these have not been few, there is
but one opinion among Continental critics in reference to his
emendatorial conjectures. Gesenius has demonstrated, that they
are, in most instances, altogether uncalled for ; in others, without
any solid foundation ; and that, had the bishop been more familiar
with the comparative philology of the Hebrew text, and the
Oriental dialects, and more deeply versed in the minutiae of the
Hebrew syntax, he would have been under no temptation to
tax his ingenuity, or to have recourse to the desperate remedy
which he has so freely applied in the exercise of therapeutic
criticism. In the following commentary, I have suffered no instance to
pass unnoticed, in which I have judged that unwarrantable
liberties have been taken with the text, though I have not always
deemed it necessary to mention their authors. It has, I trust,
been made apparent to the satisfaction of the reader, that it is by
no means in that corrupt state in which it has been represented ;
and that, carefully and accurately examined by all the lights which
the present improved state of Oriental philology and Biblical
criticism supplies, it justly demands our undiminished confidence
and respect. The errors of transcription which have crept into
it, are, in general, of little or no consequence as affecting the
sense, and may easily be rectified by a judicious use of the various
readings exhibited in the MSS.; by comparing the renderings
given in the Ancient Versions ; by consulting the testimonies of
Jewish and Christian writers ; and by due attention to the context,
and to the scope of the writer.

J Vindiciffi s. textus Hebrsei Esaiae adversus D. Roberti Lowthi criticam-
Bernas 1786, 8vo.

introductory dissertation. xxv
SECTION IIL
OF THE STYLE.
Though the prophets were the subjects of Divine Inspiration,
there is no reason to conclude that they were bereft of the mental
peculiarities which constituted their individuality of character, or
that they employed any other style or manner of writing than
what was natural to them.* It cannot, therefore, be improper to
inquire into these peculiarities, or to treat of the respective diction
of each, as we should that of merely human authors, only care be
taken to cherish due and becoming reverence of the Holy Spirit,
to whose infallible regulation and control it was constantly subject.
While Isaiah possesses much in common with the other prophets,
there are many peculiar features by which his compositions are
distinguished. In character he is energetic, bold, and uncom
promising ; of a lively and fertile imagination, yet full of serious
feeling and deep thought ; zealous for the honour of the Divine
perfections, the spirituality of worship, and the purity of the
theocracy ; the undaunted reprover of sin, of every kind, and in
whomsoever found ; the tender-hearted patriot, who took the
deepest interest in the circumstances and prospects of his people ;
and the compassionate friend of the Gentile world.
His language is uniformly adapted to the subjects of which he
treats. In narrative he exhibits the utmost simplicity and per
spicuity ; in announcing the divine oracles, his tones are marked
by a singular degree of solemnity ; in his descriptions, he is
minute, discriminating, frequently cumulative, and highly graphic ;
in menacing foreign enemies, and the wicked among the Jews, he
is full of vehemence and force. His expostulations are urgent and
pathetic ; his hortatory addresses, earnest and powerful. Nothing
can surpass the sublimity of those passages in which the sovereignty
and infinite majesty of Jehovah are set forth, or the severe irony
and satire with which he attacks the worshippers of idols. Nor is
he equalled by any of the other prophets in the magnificence,
variety, and choice of the images which he employs, especially
* See my Lectures on Divine Inspiration, pp. 391 — 395.
d

xxvi introductory dissertation.
when predicting the reign of the Messiah, and the future happiness
of the church.
The poetical structure of his sentences is exquisitely graceful
and elegant._Their flow is, in most instances, soft and pleasing :
at times they roll onward, like the majestic billows of the ocean.
He not only abounds in the simpler or cognate parallelism of
members, which constitutes one of the most prominent features of
Hebrew poetry, but in the varied forms of the antithetic,
synthetic, and introverted parallelism. Many of his sentences are
highly .artificial, and so rhythmically combined as to produce the
happiest effect. He is fond of paronomasias, apostrophes, com
parisons, emphatic forms of words, and iterations of the same
word. His images are dignified and appropriate. They are,
likewise, greatly diversified, and very often of the boldest and
most sublime description. Not unfrequently he proceeds with a
rapidity which leads the reader to suppose that he intends to carry
out the subject to a much greater length ; when, all at once, by an
abrupt transition, he takes up a fresh subject, which he again as
suddenly drops. This is specially observable in cases in which
there is some idea or expression in the discourse which leads his
thoughts to the future Redeemer. Grotius compares him to
Demosthenes, of whom, in point of time, he had the precedence
by nearly four centuries ; and by men of taste in every country,
who have been capable of relishing his beauties, he has had
awarded to him the highest meed of praise.
For finished specimens of his style, the reader may consult the
description of Jewish female dress, chap. iii. 16 — 24 ; the parable
of the vineyard, chap. v. ; the approach of the Assyrian army
towards Jerusalem, chap. x. 28 — 32 ; the ode on the king of
Babylon, chap. xiv. ; the sentence of Egypt, chap. xix. ; the
threatening against Shebna, chap. xxii. 16 — 18; the calamities of
Jerusalem, chap. xxiv. ; the transcendent superiority of Jehovah,
chap. xl. 12 — 31 ; the absurdity of idol-worship, chap. xliv. ; the
corruptions prevalent among the Jews in the time of our Lord,
chap. lix. ; and their happy condition when restored in the latter
day, chap. Ix.

introductory dissertation. xxvii
SECTION IV.
OF THE PRINCIPLES OF PROPHETICAL INTERPRETATION.
It is manifest from the widely different, and even contradictory
interpretations which have been, and still are given Of the pro
phetic records, that we are far from having arrived at any settled,
solid. Or satisfactory principles on which to rest their exegesis.
Many causes might doubtless be assigned for this want of agree
ment, but the following, there is reason to believe, are some of the
principal : —
First, the want of a familiar acquaintance with the distinctive
characteristics of prophetical language. Instead of making proper
allowance for the highly poetical character of the tropes and figures
with which it abounds, by which objects are frequently magnified
or diminished beyond the reality, and carefully endeavouring to
ascertain the exact meaning of its symbols, interpreters have too
much treated it as if it were plain or ordinarj'' prose composition.
Figurative terms and phrases have been taken in their literal
import, and applied to the objects which they primarily designate ;
while others, which are introduced merely for the sake of embellish
ing the style, vividly delineating the objects, and thus heightening
the effect, have had separate and important meanings attached to
them, as if each had been designed to convey a distinct portion of
prophetical truth. All conceivable aspects of a patticular image
have been brought out, and invested with a corresponding circum
stantial detail of meaning in their supposed bearing upon the
subject of the prophecy. And few, eveii of those who admit the
principle, that the writings of the prophets ate to be interpreted
with due regard to the claims of poetic diction, are found to carry
it out with any thing like uniform consistency.
Another cause of lax and unstable interpretation, is a proneness
to regard prophecies as strictly parallel in point of subject, in
which the same particular terms or modes of expression are em
ployed. Important as verbal parallels must ever be viewed, still it
is chiefiy with respect to their subserviency to the purposes of
philological elucidation that their value is to be appreciated. In
innumerable instances the identical words are used, while the

xxviii introductory dissertation.
subjects treated of have no affinity whatever with each other. To
transfer, therefore, what is said in one passage to the matter con
tained in another, simply on the ground of some degree of verbal
identity, without at all inquiring whether there be any real agree
ment as to persons, nations, events, &c., must necessarily be pro
ductive of the grossest perversion of Divine truth. By jumbling
prophecies together which ought to have been kept perfectly dis
tinct, the Spirit of God is forced to put a construction upon his
own words totally different from that which he intended they
should bear. __
The meaning of prophecy has likewise been greatly obscured, by
the propensity of most commentators to indulge in mystical, or
spiritual modes of interpretation. Not satisfied with the obvious
literal application, they endeavour to elicit more recondite or
spiritual senses. To abide by the simple import of a passage, if'
that import be temporal or earthly in its aspect, is deemed not only
meagre and confined, but carnal, and unworthy of the Spirit of
inspiration. Accordingly another construction is superinduced
upon it, which is supposed to be richer and more dignified in itself,
and better fitted to promote edification. If these writers had
merely deduced spiritual inferences from such temporal predictions,
or made observations upon them for purposes of godly improve
ment, they would have conferred a benefit upon their readers ; but
the effect of their applying them in such a way as to convey the
idea, that they are giving the mind of the Spirit, is to destroy all
certainty of interpretation, to throw open the Scriptures to the
inroads of imagination and caprice, and, by invalidating a very
considerable portion of the evidence which prophecy furnishes of
the Divine authority of the Bible, to pave the way for the spread
of scepticism and infidelity. To such a mode of interpretation may
justly be applied the admirable remark of Hooker, "There is
nothing more dangerous than this licentious and deluding artj
which changeth the meaning of words, as alchymy doth or would
do the substance of metals, maketh of any thing what it listeth
and bringeth in the end all truth to nothing." *
Neariy allied to this method is the theory of a double sense of
prophecy, which has also been very extensively adopted. While
' Ecclesiastical Polily, Book v. sect. 59.

introductory dissertation. XXIX
it is granted by those who advocate this theory, that many of the
predictions of the Hebrew seers have a lower or temporal
sense, i.e. that they treat of persons and circumstances in the
history of the Jews and the surrounding nations, it is maintained
that, over and above this, they were intended to teach certain
truths respecting the person, people, kingdom, and enemies of
Christ, According to this view of the subject, in interpreting
prophecy we are to look for a two-fold accomplishment : first, one
that is temporal, and then another corresponding to it that is
spiritual. We may primarily interpret of the inferior object
whatever in the prediction is found susceptible of being applied to
it ; but having done this, we are, by means of analogy, to find out
some higher object which it is supposed to resemble or prefigure,
and to this we are to apply it in its secondary and plenary sense.
To this theory it may justly be objected, that it is unnecessary,
unsatisfactory, and unwarranted. It is unnecessary, because there
is really no prophecy which may not consistently be restricted to
one sense — such a sense as fuUy meets all the exigencies of the
connexion in which it occurs. It is unsatisfactory, because on the
same principle that a second sense is brought out, it may be
maintained that a third, and even a fourth is couched under the
language; and some expositors have actually gone this length.
Beyond the meaning which is elicited by a due examination of the
language, and all the circumstances of the context, every thing
must necessarily be indeterminate and arbitrary.* In all other
writings we expect to find one definite sense in which the authors
have designed to be understood ; unless, indeed, like the heathen
oracles, what they wrote was expressly intended to be equivocal
and deceptive. And we should naturally come to the Bible under
the influence of a similar impression, were it not that we have
been taught to look for a greater fulness of meaning than the
primary interpretation seems to supply. We should expect that.

' Potest alius aliud, et argutius fingere, et veri cum similitudine suspicari.
Potest aliud tertius; potest aliud quartus : atque, ut se tulerint ingeniorum
opinantium qualitates, ita singula res possnnt infinitis interpretationibus explicari.
Cum enim e rebus occlusis omnis ista, qus dicitur Allegoria, sumatur, nee habeat
finem certam, in quo rei, quae dicitur, sit fixa atque immota sententia, unicuique
liberum est in id, quo velit, attrahere lectionum, et affirmare id positum, in quod
eum sua suspicio, et conjectura opinabilis duxerit. Arnobius adversus Gentes.

xxx introductory dissertation.
in revealing his will to us, God has spoken, as men speak, in a fixed
and determinate manner, and not left his meaning to be dependent
upon the fertility or the freaks of human imagination.' What is
literal we should, at once, interpret literally ; and what is figurative
we should, without hesitation, interpret figuratively. To language
which describes affairs belonging to the Jews, or to other nations,
we should not scruple to give a direct historical interpretation:
whereas that which sets forth our Saviour and his kingdom, we
should confine to these subHme subjects, as the sphere to which it
exclusively belongs. It is only by such distinctive explication of
the several prophecies of Scripture, that we can shew, in a satis
factory and convincing manner, when and how they have been
fulfilled. And the theory of a double sense is unwarranted, there
being no Scripture authority in its favour. Whatever applications
are made by one of the Sacred Writers of what had been published
by another, whether it be for the purpose of illustration, of excite
ment, or of confirmation, from no single passage can it be shewn
that the words, as they stand in the original author, were designed
to be taken in more meanings than one.^
One additional source of divarication in the interpretation of
prophecy to which reference must be made, is the adoption of
favourite hypotheses or systems, to which every thing is made to
bend, how far-fetched soever may be the exposition. Certain
aspects of the times ; political, ecclesiastical, or party views ;
peculiar notions respecting the whole scheme of prophecy, or some
insulated part of it ; in short, any opinions that strongly bias the
mind, and lead it to regard all subjects only in the supposed
relation in which they stand to them, must necessarily exert a
pernicious influence on prophetical exegesis.
On the neologian mode of interpretation, which entirely sets
aside all prophecy strictly so called, it would be superfluous to
remark, since it can only be approved by those whose minds are
' Absit a nobis, ut Deum faciamus blykarrov, aut multiplices sensus afHn-
gamus ipsius verbo, in quo potius, tanquam in speculo limpidissimo, sui itutoris
simplicitatem contemplari debemus. Ps. xii. 7, xix. 9. Unicus ergo sensus scripturee,
nempe grammaticus, est admittendus, quibus demum termlnis, vel propriis vel
tropicis et figuratis exprimatur. Maresius in his Anti-Tirinus.
' Non enim est nisi unicus Scripturae sensus, a Deo illius auctore intentus,
constans, et fecundus, planus, lectorique attento, quantum ad dicendum libera-
tionis medium sufficit, obvius. Gurtleri Instit. Theolog. pp. 16, 17.

introductory dissertation. xxxi
under the unhappy influence of the same infidel principles by
which it is engendered.
Examples might have been given in illustration of the difierent
methods just adverted to, but they would occupy more space than
can here be afforded. The reader will find them in abundance in
almost every commentary, and in other works on prophecy.
In proceeding to interpret any prophetical book of Scripture, it
is first of all requisite to obtain a general idea of its contents in
the abstract, in order, with greater facility, to determine the
mutual relations and bearings of its different parts. This may be
done with complete certainty, whatever obscurity may appear to
rest upon particular subjects of which it treats. Just as the
traveller from some distant position takes a survey of the region
which he is about to explore; observes its mountains, valleys,
forests, rivers, &c. ; and so determines its grand outlines, that,
though many of the objects may only be dimly seen, and he may
be able to form no proper or adequate idea of their more minute
or peculiar features, yet he gains a general notion of the country,
and is prepared for the more special investigations which he may
institute in the course of his future progress.
As few of the prophets handle only one subject, it should next
be matter of inquiry. What divisions of the book obviously
present themselves ? in other words. Where are the points of
transition by which the writer passes from one subject to another ?
And, whether these transitions be arbitrary ; or, whether they
form a logical nexus, indicating the relation in which the subjects
stand to each other ? In the latter case, the nature of the relation
should be carefully examined, and the degree of influence which
may reasonably be assigned to it definitely ascertained.
These observations admit, indeed, of application to all the books
of Scripture, whether prophetical or otherwise ; but, as those
possessing the former character are confessedly the most difficult,
their special importance as bearing upon them must be apparent.
Since the style and mode of representation employed by a pro
phet, as well as the selection of the subjects of which he treats, may be
expected to be more or less influenced by the circumstances in which
he was placed, the condition and relations of the people to whom
his messages were addressed^ and the part which he took' in the

xxxii introductory dissertation.
direction of public affairs, an interpreter ought to make hinnself
weU acquainted with the history of the times in which he flou
rished. A mere glance at the references made by Isaiah to the
corruptions which abounded in the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz,
the invasions of Pekin and Rezin, of Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser,
and Sennacherib, and the alliances of the Jews with Egypt, is
sufficient to shew, that a knowledge of the periods in question,
and the circumstances connected with the political events which
then transpired, is indispensable to a just and full understanding of
his book.*
In examining the contents of the prophetical books care must
be taken to distinguish between those parts which are simply
predictive, and such as are doctrinal, or corrective of degenerate
morals. These books, and especially that of our prophet, contain not
only prophecies both of a more general and a more special nature,
but a vast variety of didactic matter, arising out of, or connected
with them, as well as numerous important practical lessons
altogether independent in their character. The prophets were
commissioned not merely to foretell the future destinies of their
nation, and of other states in their relations to it ; the advent,
character, and work of the Messiah, and the establishment and
aspects of his kingdom ; but to act in the capacity of extraordinary
public instructors of the people. It devolved upon them to vindi
cate the attributes, claims, and government of Jehovah, and to
inculcate the various duties which are incumbent upon his intel
ligent creatures, both in reference to Him and to one another.
Nowhere, except in the New Testament, is there such a fulness of
instruction on all these points as in Isaiah. In no book of Scripture
are they more distinctly or energetically enforced.
The prophecies, strictly so called, relate, some to a nearer, and
some to a more remote futurity ; some to what was to transpire in
the prophet's own time, and some to events that were to happen
ages afterwards. Some refer to individual persons, others to par
ticular cities, and a third class to whole nations. To certain
subjects only a single prophecy is devoted; while others, more
important in their character, are taken up in several distinct pre
dictions. Some are special ; others are altogether general. It is
' Dr. J. Pye Smith on the Interpretation of Prophecy, pp. 17—23, 33  39.

introductory dissertation. xxxiu
the duty of an interpreter to allow to each of these points of view
the degree of influence which it may claim on his attention, and
his application of the principles of exegesis.
The greatest pains should ever be taken to determine the precise
subject of a prophecy. With a view to this, its several characteris
tic attributes should be diligently studied ; the force and bearing of
the language patiently examined ; and any apparently parallel pro
phecies carefully compared. Inattention to this rule must funda
mentally affect the interpretation ; and its neglect has, more than
any thing besides, been productive of perversion and confusion in
the exposition of prophecy.
Those predictions which relate to the Jews as a people, or to
other nations, as Babylon, Egypt, Tyre, &c., are to be restricted
in their interpretation to such nations, and are not to be applied to
the Christian church, either in her pure, or her corrupt state, nor
to the enemies of the faith and kingdom of Christ. It has, indeed,
been contended, that, as in the New Testament we find the terms
"Jew" and "Israel" applied to the spiritual seed of Abraham,
whether naturally descended from him or not ; and, as in the
Apocalypse, " Sodom," "Egypt," and "Babylon," are employed to
denote the apostate and idolatrous church of Rome, we are at full
liberty to appropriate to the times of the Christian dispensation,
whatever we may find associated with such names in the prophecies
of the Old Testament, — it being assumed, that the former were
constituted types of the latter. But it is only necessary to state in
reply, that in no part of the gospels, or the apostolical writings, is
the slightest intimation ever given, that these terms as used in the
Old Testament are to be thus taken. When applied to Christian
affairs in the New, there is always some qualifying epithet accom
panying their use ; and they are merely appropriated, in order to
bring before the mind of the reader some points of analogy, which
might serve as apt illustrations of the subject in hand. When, for
instance, the writer of the Apocalypse employs language in appli
cation to the spiritual Babylon which the prophets, Isaiah and
Jeremiah, apply to the literal, no hint is given that these
writers actually predicted the character and fate of the former.
He simply adopts their phraseology, and some of their modes of
representation, as well adapted to express what he had to deliver
respecting the idolatrous community, which occupies so conspicuous
a place in his book. Want of attention to this principle has, more

xxxiv INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION,
or less, proved a source of great error in the interpretation of Old
Testament prophecy.
This rule may be viewed as specially bearing upon such prophe
cies, as refer to the past and future restoration of the Jews. Ex
positors in general, without scruple or hesitation, interpret literally
those predictions which involve the punishment of that people,
such as the destruction of their city and polity, their captivity, dis
persion, &c. ; but whenever they come to those which hold out the
prospect of their conversion, re-establishment in Canaan, &c., they
almost uniformly apply them to the conversion of sinners generally,
or to the prosperity of the Christian church. But not only is such
a mode of interpretation at once unfair and inconsistent ; it also
breaks up the continuity and antithetical character of many of the
prophecies, does violence to the established usage of the language,
and forces the expositor to gloss over, or to leave untouched what
ever is opposed to his system. It is utterly subversive of all settled,
consistent, and thorough-going exposition.
In the assured conviction, based upon the testimony of Jesus and
his inspired Apostles,* that the Jewish prophets actually predicted
his manifestation, character, work, and kingdom, every Christian
interpreter will diligently mark and investigate those portions of
the prophecies which are obviously designed to be thus applied.
While some have found Christ almost every where in the propheti
cal and other books of the Old Testament, and others have mani
fested a reluctance to find him any where, the enlightened and
conscientious believer is anxious to discover him precisely with that
degree of frequency with which the Holy Spirit has really pre
sented him to the view. While he rejoices at every thing which
reminds him of Him who " is the end of the law for righteousness
to every one that believeth," his mind instinctively revolts from the
idea of laying violent hands upon a single passage of Scripture, in
order to force it to give testimony to him. Numerous are those
passages which admit of no consistent application to any merely
human king or deliverer, or to the affairs of any temporal and
earthly kingdom, but point out a Divine Saviour, and the establish
ment of an order of things purely spiritual and heavenly. Of
these, Isaiah vii. 14—16, ix. 6, 7, xi. 1—10, xxxii, 1, &c., xiii.
xlix. 1 — 9, lii. 13, liii. Ixi. 1 — 3, are illustrious specimens. If we
' Lulce xxiv. 25—27, 44-47; John xii. 37—41 ; Acts viii. SO-SS, x. 43,'
xxvr. 22, 23; Rom. iii. 21, 22; 1 Pet. i. 11, 12; Rev. xix. 10.

INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION. XXXV
have not, in every case, the infallible support of New Testament
authority, we nevertheless meet with certain intimations and cha
racteristics in the predictions themselves, or in their immediate
connexion, which compel us to refer them immediately and directly
to the New Dispensation.
The language of prophecy, being in many respects peculiar,
requires to be studied with great care, and to be interpreted with
the utmost sobriety and caution. Besides much that is simple and
plain, it exhibits most of the characteristics belonging to the
highest species of Oriental poetry : abounding in pictorial, figura
tive, metaphorical, symbolical, and parabolical modes of representa
tion. Its imagery is luxuriant, bold, sublime, glowing, and highly
coloured. Its figures are of every variety. Its metaphors, elegant
and beautiful, are borrowed from almost every object within the
compass of the visible and invisible worlds. Its symbols are
splendid, striking, and sometimes terrific. Its personifications are
daring and majestic. Its whole strain is admirably adapted to
excite attention, create and keep alive an interest in the subjects,
and to produce those impressions which are in harmony with its
nature and design. It is likewise remarkable for its concinnity,
terseness, and brevity, its bold ellipses, and the frequent abrupt
changes of person, gender, and tense. With all these particulars,
the interpreter must render himself familiar. He must not only
investigate the primary and secondary significations of words, deter
mine the meaning of the phrases, the nature of the syntax, and the
development of the entire sense, but distinguish between the plain
and the figurative in the style, — divesting what is figurative of the
imagery with which it is adorned, and thus bringing out the simple
ideas designed to be conveyed ; yet, withal, paying due attention to
the emphasis or force given to them by such figurative diction.
And, in order that he may do this with the greater certainty, he
must take his position in the midst of the same world of poetic
images in which the prophets lived, and make himself master of the
entire system of prophetic imagery which they have employed.
It is a principle satisfactorily brought out by a careful examina
tion of the prophecies, that an interpreter is not, on the one hand,
to expect every thing to be expressed with the utmost clearness,
nor, on the other, to regard it as involved in dense obscurity.
Unhappily they have too often been viewed in one or other of
these extremes. To some minds, they body forth, in clear and

xxxvi INTRODUCTORY DISSERTATION.
living forms, all the minute details of modern history, as well as
develop, without the slightest trace of a cloud, the entire horizon
of antiquity; while to others they are shrouded m impenetrable
n,ystery,-to be approached with no hopes of the successful dis
covery of truth ; or, at best, only to catch a dim and momentary
glance of it, amidst the shadowy figures by which it is surrounded.
Much of the obscurity which has been ascribed to prophecy is
purely subjective. It exists, not in the predictions themselves,
but in those who come to the study of them. If we have, not ren
dered ourselves familiar with the characteristics of the prophetic
style, the history of the times, the manners, customs, and modes of
thinking of Oriental nations, and a variety of other topics which
such study requires, it is vain to expect that all should be per
spicuous and plain. Numerous terms, phrases, and allusions, which
must have been perfectly intelligible to those whom the prophets
addressed, will necessarily appear obscure to us. Nor can it be
denied, that such prophecies as still remain to be fulfilled, must, in
the nature of things, be more or less indistinct, as it respects the
objects of which they treat, how clear or plain soever may be the
language in which they are expressed. Take, for instance, the
fifty-third of Isaiah. To us who have the advantage of studying it
by the light of the evangelic pages, all possesses the perspicuity of
history ; but in the view of those who lived before the birth of our
Lord, there must have attached to some parts of it a want 'of that
definiteness of meaning which we so readily discover. Thus also as
it regards certain portions of the Apocalypse. How far, or satis
factorily soever we may succeed in determining the import of the
language, or however clearly we may perceive the design of the
writer, just as we may conclude from the sketch of a drawing, what
it is intended to represent, yet the absence of the actual persons or
events leaves our minds in uncertainty with respect to the positive
application. Let only those persons or events present themselves
in the reality of historical existence, and we fully discover the
import of the prophecy.
Finally : no person should attempt the interpretation of these
hallowed records, who is not imbued with a supreme love of truth,
and who is not habituated to the exercise of humble dependence
upon the promised assistance of the Holy Spirit, whose it is to
remove those moral obstacles which prevent the entrance of spiritual
light into the mind.

ISAIAH.

CHAPTER I.

This chapter contains an historical introduction, 1 ; a heavy charge of ingratitude,
corruption, and rebellion, 2 — 4; a description of the consequent punishment,
5 — 9; an exposure of the vanity of trusting in mere external worship, 10 — 15 ;
exhortations and encouragements to repentance, 16 — 19; with denunciations
of wrath against the impenitent, mixed with promises to the penitent, 20 — 31.

1 The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw, concerning
Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

1. The substantive ]iiri, like its cog
nates njn, niin, rain, ]i'irr, rnnp, and the
Chald. ijn, trm, is derived from the root
iTjn, which, in poetic style, is used to
denote seeing or vision generally, but
more especially that which is super
natural, or the result of Divine inspira
tion. It corresponds to the prosaic fwi,
which equally denotes both kinds of
vision : hence the easy transition from
fwi, the name anciently given to the
prophets, 1 Sam. ix. 9, to fiin, 1 Chron.
xxix. 29, where both names are evidently
synonymous with N'?3. jiin, and nKjip,
the LXX. render by oTTTatrla, opafia,
opa<ns; and the former by TrpotprjTfia,
2 Chron. xxxii. 32 ; to which corre
spond ii«Q? of the Targum, and a similar
rendering in the Syr. Arab, and seve
ral modern versions. The Arab. Ii»-
•--». divinavit, hariolatus fuit, espe
cially by observing the flight of birds,
gnarus fuit rei, occulta indicavit, are un
questionably related to the Hebrew, and
their significations are probably derived
from it ; but though they may be ap
plied in illustration, they cannot take

precedence of the Hebrew root. No
thing can be more obvious than the
reason of the appropriation of such
terms in descriptions of supernatural or
prophetic revelation. It is founded on
the fact, that, in imparting his will to
his messengers, Jehovah impressed vi- i
vidly upon their minds, the images of the
things which they were to divulge. Their
mental vision had presented to it matters
invisible to the eye of sense, but pos
sessing all the reality and distinctness of
outward objects.
Whether ^in is here to be taken
strictly in the singular, and limited to
the first division or chapter of the book,
or, whether it is to be viewed as a col
lective noun marking the contents of the
whole, depends on the light in which we
are to regard the entire inscription.
Jarchi and Abarbanel, by a forced con
struction of i^M with ^rra*, instead of
referring it to ]iiri, to which it pro
perly belongs, suppose it to designate
only the first chapter; but it is quite
incongruous to imagine that so small a
portion required the reigns of four kings
for its delivery. Vitringa, Eichhorn,
Rosenmiiller, and Maurer, are of opinion

2

ISAIAH.

[chap.

2 Hear, O heavens, and hearken, O earth !
For Jehovah speaketh ;
I have nourished and brought up children,
But as for them— they have rebelled against me.

that the original inscription ended with
the word pj*"!; ; that it had relation only
to the first "chapter; that after the death
of the prophet, when his oracles were
collected, this one was placed first to
serve as a title and introduction to the
whole book ; and that the specification
of the kings was then added to complete
the inscription, by assigning the period
of the prophet's ministry. This solution
Lowth pronounces to be judicious ; and
Gesenius allows it to be ingenious,
though he is not quite satisfied with it. Le
Clerc, Michaelis, Hitzig, Scholz, and
Schroeder, in MS., consider it to be the
original inscription to the whole. That
it was thus understood by tlie author of
the second book of Chronicles is beyond
all doubt. His words are, " Now the
rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his
goodness, behold they are written in the
vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz," ch.
xxxii. 32, — the identical terms of our
text. Rosen., Eichh., and Koppe, en
deavour, indeed, to enervate this proof
by rendering liin? " together with the
vision," &c., and confining it to the por
tion contained in ch. xxxvi. — xxxix. ;
but Gesenius has shewn, that their argu
ment founded on the use of 'TS after ans
is groundless, since this verb is also fre
quently construed with |, and that it is
more natural to understand the reference
to be to a definite collection of pro
phecies, in which, as well as in the book
of Kings, the accounts of Hezekiah
were to be found. I accede, therefore,
to the opinion of those interpreters
mentioned above, who view the words as
the inscription of the whole collection.
Isaiah, the son of Amoz. See Introd.
p^ifn'i T\rafTli. LXX. and Theod.
Kara, Symm. nepX, as the LXX. have
rendered this preposition, chap. ii. 1,
where Symm. employs vnep; Jerome
super. Were the denunciations imme
diately following, alone intended, the
adverse meaning would be proper ; but
if reference is had to the contents of the
book generally, the preposition must be
rendered concerning; and if is thus given

by the best interpreters. The circum
stance, that predictions affecting other
nations besides the Jews are found in
the book, forms no valid objection against
such construction : whatever relates to
them being introduced on account of its
intimate bearing upon the interests of
that people. By Judah and Jerusalem ,
are meant the Jewish state, or the two '
tribes of Judah and Benjamin, usually
comprehended under the former name ;
and the inhabitants of the metropolis in
particular — the centre of the kingdom,
and the great source of religious and
political influence. Sometimes we find
the inverse order of the words: D^ffln;
fijim, as chap. iii. 1 ; v. 3 ; Ezra ii. 1,
&c. ; but both forms are opposed to
Ephraim and Samaria,
fiTirr 'Dbp — 'p'2. See Introd.
2. y^« — d;>3'$, to iravra, the universe.
A splendid instance of poetical apo
strophe. All created beings, whether
rational or irrational, are summoned to
listen to the charge to be preferred by
Jehovah against his rebellious and un
grateful people. The words of the pro
phet, and those of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 1,
are strikingly parallel. Nor is the par-
rallelism of the subjects less complete —
the manifestation of the Divine good
ness, and the ingratitude of the Hebrews,
its recipients ; and it is not without rea
son, Calvin conjectures, that there is an
imitation of the celebrated song of the
Jewish legislator, whom all the prophets
took for their model. " lesaias hie Mosen
imitatus est, sicuti mos est omnibus pro-
phetis." The position of Vitringa, which
has been adopted by Lowth, Gesenius,
and others, that God here institutes a
judicial proceeding, and that heaven and
earth are addressed as judges in the
cause, is scarcely in keeping with the
point and vehemence of the personifica
tion. The spirit of the passage is more
in accordance with that of Jer. ii. 12, 13.
To supply ns sic before 13% as some
propose, would, in such connexion, de
tract from the dignity of the style, and
be quite abhorrent from the usus

CHAP. I.J

ISAIAH.

3 The ox knoweth his owner.
And the ass his master's crib :
But Israel doth not know ;
My people doth not consider !
loquendi which connects rfe with "lOM,
never with W. The change of "W into
"QT is equally unjustifiable. Comp. Ps. 1. 1.
Coverdale renders it in the present,
which ought to have been retained in
our common version. D'33. The Hebrews
are frequently spoken of as the sons of
God, partly to indicate the relation in
which they stood to him in virtue of the
Sinaic covenant, by which the nation
solemnly acknowledged him to be her
husband ; and partly to suggest the idea
of paternal and filial love. Comp. Exod.
iv. 22 ; Deut. xxxii. 5, 6 ; Hos. xi. 1 ;
Mai. i. 2, 6. This relationship is recog
nised by Paul, Rom. ix. 4, where he
ascribes vlodecria to the Israelites.
While other nations were D'TJ, ver. 7,
they stood in this near relation to Jeho
vah, and were treated accordingly, both
in the way of kindness and of chastise
ment. The verbs wpnii] 'Fi^^j are thus
joined, chap, xxiii. 4; Ezek. xxxi. 4;
and, what is remarkable, they occur in
the same order, as the proper names
(-iisPBppiil ^Ffni) of two of the sons of
Heman, 1 Chron. xxv. 4, 29, 31. Such
occurrence confirms the opinion of
Kimchi, that they are perfectly syno
nymous, and shews the fallacy of Vi-
tringa's interpretation, according to
which the former verb signifies to edu
cate, and the latter to exalt; as if they
referred to certain distinct periods in the
history of the Hebrews. Such syno
nymic combinations are common in the
language, and are employed for "the sake
of intensity. God had exercised the
greatest care over his people ; he had
conferred upon them a profusion of
benefits. No father could have con
ducted himself so attentively and kindly
in the education of his children. —
'1 is>i|)B, they have rebelled against me,
may be extended so as to comprehend
idolatry, and very often has this mean
ing ; but it also expresses defection from
Jehovah in any way, only it be atrocious
in degree. In this connexion, it natu
rally suggests the idea of filial dis
obedience : though, in a theocratic point

of view, it was strictly rebellion. Like
its cognates <-.n(in°>, abscidit, dirupit ;
f^yui , a Deo prcEscripium agendi
modum reliquit, et a vera etjusto defecit,
as <JCJ . j^ X (jMii ; ^^wj-S improbus,
nequam, it signifies to break, break
up a connexion, break off from any
one ; hence the form nni^P 9*B, 2 Kings
viii. 20, 22, to revolt from under the
power of another ; and with 3, and '»,
when the idea of hostility is designed to
be marked. From the violence which
it implies, S'fiB is one of the strongest
terms employed in Heb. to denote sin.
3. To aggravate the stupidity of the
Jews, two of the tame animals are in
troduced, which, though proverbial for
their dulness and inattention, never
theless discover an instinctive regard for
their master, and the place where they
are fed. Comp. Jer. viii. 7. dun some
render stall; but it rather denotes the
crib in which the fodder is placed, being^
derived from dim, to feed ; Arab. |uijl
collegit rem; Jl;), qui ornat atrium,
instruitque cibo suo et potu. Thus
Kimchi : mnnan tosn mpo; LXX.^aTv^;
Vulg. prcesepe. Lowth attempts unsuc
cessfully to shew, that 'niM, me, has heen
lost out of the text after 'r^.. The
word is, indeed, supplied in the LXX.
and Vulg., and fiov in Aq. and Theod. ;
but these versions merely fill up what
was deemed an ellipsis. The insertion
of 1 before the same word is equally
without authority from Heb. MSS.,
though found in the LXX., Syr., Aq.,
Theod., and Vulg. It is found before
'B? in about thirty MSS., but this also
may be merely the result of emendation.
The history of the Hebrew text evinces
that this conjunction was more likely to
be added than omitted — owing chiefly
to inattention to one of the distinctive
features of poetry, the frequent ellipsis
of conjunctions, &c. in the second mem
ber of a parallelism. piJTir? heightens

ISAIAH.

[chap.

4 Wo to the sinful nation ! the people laden with guilt !
The race of evil-doers ! corrupt children ! tt i n
They have forsaken Jehovah ; they have contemned the Holy One
of Israel ;
They have wholly gone back.

the idea expressed in the preceding
clause, and is designed to develop more
clearly the guilty want of discrimina
tion on the part of the Jews.
4. In '13 'in Gesenius discovers a pa
ronomasia which he imitates in —
Schande dem siindigen Lande ; but the
assonance is perhaps purely accidental.
The interjection is most commonly used
in comminations, and is evidently to be
so taken here. «Bn. The participle ex
presses habit : sinning nation ; a nation
addicted to deviation from the path of
rectitude. TO is not a segolate noun, as
Jarchi takes it, but a construct form of
the adjective TO, as is proved by the
analogy of T!!;, ^«. The LXX. change
the figure of a burden, which most na
turally conveys the notion of the op
pressive property of guilt, and the
unsupportable punishment which it en
tails, into that of an element with
which the subjects of iniquity are filled :
Xaos irkrjpris apapriav. They also
weaken the force of "{% though they
render it by the plural of ap.apTia, the
terra more appropriately expressive of
n«En. Both signify the missing of a
marie, deviation from the right way :
whereas ]i» denotes perversity, that
which is distorted, crooked, or turned
away from its proper position or direc
tion. Root n» ; Arab. _ »£ , m latus
inflexit rem, torsit, distorsit, &c., to
twist, bend, make crooked, distort. —
D'*t!'? 3*1? is not to be understood with
any reference to the progenitors of the
Jews, though the character too aptly
applies to the great body of the nation,
in almost every period of its history, but
marks that of those who lived in the
time of Isaiah. Thus, as to sense, the
LXX. a-TTipfia TTovripov. The phrase,
as Theodoret remarks, has its parallel
in yevvi]p.aTa ixiSvmv, Matt. iii. 7, and
in sense, though not in form, in yevm
wovrjpa Kal /ioip^aXls, Matt. xii. 39.
D'Sio Hiph. part, of B»3, to crash, break.

hurt, do evil, commit injury. Hence snp,
an injurious person, an evil-doer. —
There is no necessity, with Lowth, to
convert D'n'rraJp into D'nnto, the part._ of
Hoph. The difierence of pronunciation
is too great, and the circumstance, that
five MSS. omit the ' is of no conse
quence, as this apocopated form of the
conjugation is of frequent occurrence.
Comp. 2 Chron. xxvii. 2. Zwinglius
renders : " corrumpere facientes, ponun-
tur pro tam corruptis ut alios corrum
pere possint, hoc est pro perditissimis
et corruptissimis." The active participle
may be understood either in a transitive
or intransitive sense, according as we
take it absolutely, or supply ^rfl, or ds-JT,
after it. If the former, the passage may
be rendered corrupting, or destructive
children ; if the latter, vicious children,
i. e. such as act corruptly, or viciously.
The LXX. avopioi ; the others, Sia-
(jidelpovres. 1!?, Arab. 4-^ > proeut
fuit, abfuit, procul evagatusfuit pascendo
camelus, vesperi non revertens : to run
away, as camels, horses, &c. from their
master. The Heb. verb also signifies to
loosen the bands or cords by which
beasts of burden are fastened. See Exod.
xxiii. 5, and Gesen. in loc. and is fre
quently used of a dereliction of Jehovah.
¦jKfrip; iijiij^, the Holy One of Israel, i. e.
the Sacred Object of their veneration
and lovfe ; the infinite source of purity ;
the hater and avenger of all moral pol
lution. The genitive is that of simple
relationship, not strictly that of subject;
for, while the Jews in the time of the pro
phet professed to serve Jehovah, or to have
him for their God, they were, for the
most part, destitute of the feelings which
his character was calculated to inspire.
If they had truly regarded him as " the
Holy One," they could not have acted
the part here ascribed to them. The
use of this epithet is almost exclusively
confined to Isaiah ; occurring nearly
thirty times in the course of his pro-

CHAP. I.]

ISAIAH.

5 Why will ye be further smitten ?
Why will ye increase revolt '^
The whole head is sick.
And the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,

phecies, but only five times besides in
the whole Bible. It thus forms one of
the distinguishing characteristics of his
style, and furnishes strong evidence in
favour of the genuineness of the entire
book. — nil:, Niph. of ill, a synonyme of
11D and vo, the latter of which likewise
takes lin« after it. All three verbs sig
nify to turn away, recede, or depart
from, and are especially employed to
designate apostasy from God. Ps. liii. 4 ;
xiv. 3 ; xliv. 19 ; Zeph. i. 6. The ad
dition of lins gives emphasis to the de
claration. Aq. and Theod. render :
a7rrjWoTpia6rfa-av els to. OTrlo'a ; but 'ill
has the signification of " strange" only
in the participial forms ^l and ivio. In
reference to the peculiar character of
the prophet's style in this verse, Zwin
glius asks : " Quis oro Demosthenes aut
Cicero tam brevibus omnia perfecit et
adparavit, ut ad summam rei cum tanta
opportunitate tantoque decoro pervene-
rit?" Comment, in loc.
5. rro — mp-b?. Misled by a false
construction of the following context,
Jerome, Lowth, Gesenius, and many
modems, translate " on what part," and
fortify their rendering by the classical
parallels : —
Vix hahet in vobisjam nova plaga locum.
Ovid.
Ti/iio KUKav 8^ K ovkct' iad' otvt) tc6^.
EUKIP.
But, such construction, however appro
priately it may seem to agree with the
totally diseased state of the body, spoken
of immediately afterwards, ill accords
with the introduction of the verb iB'piB,
which requires the repetition of np-^, of
which there is an evident ellipsis. The
phrase has doubtless the local meaning,
Job xxxviii. 0, and 2 Chron. xxxii. 10;
but everywhere else, that of why ? where
fore ? The interpretation of Lowth,
" on what part will ye smite again ; will
ye add correction?" — applying the lan
guage to the persons who were the in

struments of God's vengeance, is a
complete failure, and spoils the force of
the original, in which there is a sudden
and spirited transition from the third
person to the second, for the purpose
of producing poignant conviction by a
direct address. Nothing, indeed, can be
more tame than the introduction of a
third party. — rno, as a fem. noun, from
11D, occurs in the sense of defection from
Jehovah, Deut. xiii. 6; Jer. xxviii. 16,
xxix. 32; Isa. xxxi. 6, lix. 13; in the
two last of which passages, the Bishop
himself renders it "revolt;" so that his
attempt to trace it analogically to 1p^,
was unnecessary. Besides, there is no
such derivation from this root in Hebrew
usage, its only derivative being ipio,
which frequently occurs. The address
is not without irony ; proceeding on the
principle, that the Jews had revolted, in
order that they might be punished : while
it is strongly implied, that their conti
nuance in sin would only increase their
punishment. Winer and Hitzig render
M, distrihutively, — "every head" and
"every heart," — on the ground that it is
anarthrous ; but the omission of the
article is not unfrequent in poetic and
prophetic composition. See Gesen.
Lehrg. § 168, 3, a. The ^ in such con
struction, denotes state or condition.
The two noblest parts of the human
body are here selected to represent the
body politic ; and the extreme danger
to which it was exposed is significantly
set forth under the image of universal
sickness and languor. There was no
part.- which did not sufiTer from the
calamities which sin had entailed. The
allegation of this passage, in proof of the
doctrine of original sin, or of the total
depravity of human nature, is totally
unwarranted by any just principle of
Biblical interpretation. It does not, as
Calvin ably shews, refer to sin at all,
but to its punishment.
6. An affecting amplification of the
preceding description, ia in it, i. e. n'la,

ISAIAH.

[chap. I.

There is no soundness in it ;
But wounds, and stripes, and fresh sores ;
They have not been pressed, nor bound up,
Nor softened with oil.
As for your country — it is desolate ;
Your cities are burnt with fire ;
As for your land — foreigners devour it in your presence ;
It is desolate — a land overthrown by foreigners.
And the daughter of Zion is left.
Like a shed in a vineyard,

the body, understood. Not only was
the body covered with different kinds
of wounds, but some of them were
quite fresh, and no means had been
applied to heal them. The verbs here
employed are not designed to correspond
to the preceding nouns taken singly — as
if they described diiferent modes of
treatment appropriate to the diflferent
wounds : yet, as lii and is)|n are in the
plural, and nj^T is in the singular, it
properly belongs to n'-iip nap, while the
former refer to »SB and njian in common.
lii is the plural of "i^i, to press, press out,
as blood and other matter from wounds.
The process in healing a wound was
first to mollify or soften it with oil, or
other ointment; then to press out the
matter which had collected in it; and
finally, to bind it with a bandage steeped
in oil and wine. Comp. Luke x. 34 ;
Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxxi. 47 ; Columella,
vii. 5, 18.
7. The prophet now proceeds to an
nounce in plain and express terms, what
he had just delivered in figurative lan
guage. This most graphic description
of the desolations occasioned by hostile
invaders applies to the state of the Jewish
affairs, when the country was overrun
by the Israelites and Syrians on the one
hand, and the Edomites and Philistines
on the other, — a calamity that threatened
the entire subversion of the kingdom, in
the reign of Ahaz. . See 2 Kings xvi.
5, 6; 2 Chron. xxviii. 5 — 8, 17, 18;
Isa. vii. 1, 2. Lowth and De Wette
refer the invasion here described to the
reign of Jotham ; RosenmiiUer, after
Abarbanel, Cocceius, and Grotius, to
that of Uzziah ; while Jarchi, Vitringa,
and Eichhorn, consider the events to have

taken place in the days of Hezekiah.
The historical circumstances, however,
more or less militate against any other
interpretation than that which places
this extreme national distress in the time
of Ahaz, — the most corrupt monarch
that had yet ascended the throne of
David. See Gesen. i. p. 147. nnig is
used in this place, both for the cultivated
land and its produce, or the fruits which
grew upon it. Hence it is said to he eaten
by the invaders, and to be burnt with
fire. According to Kimchi, it signifies
on'ni:';'«i n»'iin nnw, "sown fields and
the trees belonging to them." For D'^i,
" barbarians," Lowth proposes to read,
Dt)l, "an inundation," — a translation
which is countenanced by Saadias,
(JjXoJl ¦ °l^g'i Schultens, who com
pares the Arab, ty^, Michaelis, Dceder-
'lein, Hensler, and others ; but it is
otherwise unsupported, unnecessary, and,
as Calvin calls it, coactum. li is the
participle of ill, to be strange, to act hos-
tilely, and signifies a barbarian, or a
foreign enemy. The | prefixed to npBnp,
is the caph veritatis, or of intensiveness,
which marks the reality or superlative
degree of the quality predicated. The
words, therefore, contain no comparison ;
but express the greatness of the catar
strophe : — an overthrow, such as only
barbarians could effect. The LXX.
render ^rojjerly : Km ijpi^pMTai kote-
cTpap.p.evr] v7rb \aau aXKoTplav.
8. ;i'? r\a, daughter of Zion ; a poetic
Hebraism for Zion herself, na, like
Q'??, sons, is sometimes used to denote
the inhabitants of a city or country, as
¦&\^pf na, chap, xxiii. 10 ; is na, Ps. xlv.

CHAP.

I.]

ISAIAH.

Like a booth in a cucumber field.
Like a besieged city.
9 Except Jehovah of Hosts had left us a very small remnant,

13 ; QiM na. Lam. iv. 22 ; but it is also
often transferred to designate the city or
country itself. " Prosopopoeiae idiotismus
est Hebrseorum, quo urbes et municipia
foeminaruin, autfiliarum periphrasi adpel-
lant." Zwing. Thus, taa-na, Ps. cxxxvii.
8. This idiom, under various modifica
tions, is exceedingly common in Aramaic.
Comp. the use of L_>1, ^l , ^1, and
tl^Ju, in Arab. ; and of as, dm, and
ja, in Heb. In poetry, Zion is frequently
put for Jerusalem, of which it formed
the most ancient part, and formed the
southernmost and highest of the hills on
which the city was built. The name is
derived from nns, to be bright, sunny,
dry ; and seems rather to have obtained
the designation from its shining aspect,
than from any supposed barrenness or
aridity. At all events, in the present
day, it is not unfruitful ; for Dr. Richard
son found one part of it supporting a
crop of barley, and another undergoing
the labour of the plough; and Mr. Came
mentions a crop of corn as growing on
its sides. See Home's Introd. vol. iii.
p. 19, note. To depict the exact position
of the metropolis, as standing alone in
the midst of surrounding ruin and deso
lation, the prophet employs three appro
priate comparisons. The first is that of
a single booth or hut, constructed of the
boughs and small branches of trees,
usually erected in a vineyard for the
shelter of persons stationed to protect
the grapes from the attacks of thieves,
foxes, &c. The second refers to a simi
lar hut or lodge in the midst of a field
appropriated to the growing of cucum
bers, which is the only object visible at
any distance, and is often attached to the
highest part of a pole or tree, in order
to afford security from the wild beasts
by night. See chap. xxiv. 20. ntfpp,
for nw^p, Arab. JsliiLo. a place of cu
cumbers, — ^properly, the Egyptian me
lon ; D'«^, Numb. xi. 5. They are
longer than the common cucumber, of a
deeper green, a softer and smoother skin,
sweeter, and more easy of digestion ;
being very cooling, they are greatly in

request. Hitzig. The third object of
comparison is ni'Sj i')>, which has been
variously interpreted. Not satisfied with
the ordinary signification of 1'?, Scheid.
and Tingstadius derive it from T?, to
watch, and render, " a tower " or " watch-
tower in a garden ;" ( ..^ in Arab, sig
nifying hortum.) This interpretation is
partly adopted by Hitzig ; only he consi
ders the T? to be a place of shelter, and
supposes a tower to be meant, such as is
common in oriental villages, from which
a view is commanded of the surrounding
country, and into which the inhabitants
retreat on the approach of enemies.
rn«3 he takes to be a noun, formed like
nsiaip, nwiB?, &c. This would be philo-
logically unobjectionable, were it sup
ported by usage ; and his translation,
"as a tower of observation," well suits
the connexion. The interpretation, how
ever, which derives nj«j from 1?J, in the
acceptation of hostile watching or besieg
ing, (it being then the regular past part.)
is to be preferred, not only to the above
modes of elucidation, but also to that of
" a preserved " or " delivered city," pro
posed by Michaelis, and adopted by
Koppe, Rosenmiiller, J. MoUer, and ap
proved by Gesen. in his Comment, but
abandoned in his Lex. Man. in which he
renders, urbs obsessa. With this last
interpretation agree the LXX. Chal.
and Syr. and it is fully supported by the
Ben., part. D'l^i, being used to denote
besiegers, Jer. iv. 16. The version of
Lowth, "taken by siege," has no other
countenance than the rendering of the
Vulg. ; the iroXiopKovpAvr} of the LXX.
to which the Bishop appeals, express
ing simply the fact, that the siege was
being carried on, not that the city
had been taken, which would have ill
accorded with the idea of the prophet.
Jerusalem itself not having been actually
besieged on the occasion here referred
to, however threatened with such a ca
lamity by the surrounding enemies, might
well be compared to a city in such cir
cumstances. 9. '''yjh, except, compounded of '^, if,
and '), for ^, not. — nisq? nin;, Jehovah

ISAIAH.

[chap.

We should have been like Sodom,
We should have resembled Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye judges of Sodom !
Hearken to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah !
11 What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me ? saith Jehovah.
I am satiated with burnt offerings of rams.
And with the fat of fed beasts :
And in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of goats,
I take no delight.

of hosts. This divine appellation appears
first to have come into use in the time of
Samuel, in whose books it frequently
occurs, as it does also in those of Kings,
the Psalms, and most of the minor pro
phets, but with unusual frequency in
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. See
Buxt. Concord. The position of Lowth,
Hitzig, and others, that V nin; is an ellip
sis for niNjs 'n')« nin;, is overturned by
the simple fact, that D'n'JM itself, as a
proper name, is likewise exhibited in
the absolute, and not in the construct
form, which we should otherwise have
expected : Ps. lix. 6 ; Ixxx. 5, 8, 15, 20 ;
Ixxxiv. 9. To elude the difiiculty, in
this case, it has been proposed to supply
a similar ellipsis ; i.e. 2 'n';» D'n''M ;
but, considering the extreme frequency
of the form, s nin;, together with the
circumstance, that other instances of
proper names in a state of construction
occur, it is preferable to regard such
forms as relics of a ruder and more
primitive usage, as ins D'^'M, 2 Kings iii.
4 ; yrt c;p, Isa. xxx. 20 ; np« aThif,
Jer. X. 10. (Ewald, §515.) The com
bination, s '*« njn;, occurs only once in
Isaiah, and a few times in Jeremiah. A
still fuller form, however, is employed
by Amos, iii. 13 ; ni«as "ri'^M nin' '3i».
Aq. Kvpios (rrpareiav; Symm. bvva-
p.ewv. The LXX. in Isaiah uniformly
render, Kvpios aafiadd ; in the other
books, Kvpios TTavTOKparap, is the phrase
chiefly employed. Both forms are copied
in the N. T. The title imports the
supremacy of Jehovah over the angels
and all the planetary systems, and seems
to have been designed to vindicate to
him the honours which were idolatrously
paid to the heavenly bodies, by those.

who on this account, were called by the
Arabs, ,«JU»<a , Sabii, i. e. worshippers
of the celestial hosts. Michaelis, Suppl.
ad Lex. Heb. No. 2107. The ? in laso?
is intensive. 10. The prophet having finished his
picture of the deplorably reduced cir
cumstances of the Jews, avails himself
of the allusion which he had made to
Sodom and Gomorrah in the preceding
verse, in order to apply the subject with
more point to his auditors. By a spirited
apostrophe, he invests them with the
character which they had been accus-j-
tomed to regard as peculiar to the aban-1
doned inhabitants of those cities. Their
guilt was great, and merited condign
punishment. Comp. Jer. xxiii. 14;
Matt, xi. 23, 24 ; Ezek. xvi. 48 ; Rev.
xi. 8. — I'Sij., a magistrate or judge. Arab.
^U), kadi. Gesen. appropriately quotes
here the Arabic proverb : —
" More unjust than a judge of Sodom."
w and niin occur often, as here, for
divine doctrine or instruction in general.
The latter word is derived from ni^, to
throw, throw out the hand; in Hiph. to
point, guide, direct.
11. From this verse, to the 15th in
clusive, the Jews are taught the spiritual
import of the niin, law, to which their
attention had just been called, ver. 10 ;
and the inconsistency, inutility, and guilt
of occupying themselves with external
forms of religion, while they evinced no
tme penitence, or moral reformation, are
strikingly pressed upon them. Comp.
ISam. xv. 22; Ps.l. 7— 15; Amos v.

CHAP. I.]

ISAIAH.

12 When ye come to appear before me.
Who hath required you to tread my courts ?
13 Bring no more vain oblation ;
Incense is an abomination to me,
The new-moon also, the sabbath, and the calling of assemblies ;
I cannot endure wickedness, and days of restraint.
14 Your new-moons and your stated festivals my soul hateth ;

21 — 24. The reference in 03-n?ni is
not so much, perhaps, to the numerous
sacrifices prescribed in the Mosaic insti
tute, as to the voluntary multiplication
of them by the Jews, in the time of the
prophet, with a view to avert the Divine
wrath. According to Josephus, the
number of lambs of one year old, sacri
ficed at the Passover only, under Cestius,
amounted to 256,500. The mas. gender
is observed throughout the enumeration,
in strict accordance with the command,
that the animals for sacrifice should all
be males. Levit. i. 3, 10.
12. '3B ni«3^, contracted for '?b™ tvtiv^,
to present or make one's-self visible before
God; i.e. in the temple, the residence of
his glory. The naked form, '?B, is pre
cisely that which occurs Exod. xxiii. 15 ;
where it is first ordained that the Israel
ites should present themselves with gifts
and sacrifices at the three great festivals,
and is that used by David, in reference
to his appearing in the temple, Ps. xiii. 3.
':pTi« and '.?9'^« are otherwise employed.
One MS. reads rntrh, to see, but erro
neously, though not on the ground as
signed by Gesenius, that the phrase,
seeing God, as Ps. xi. 7 ; xvii. 15, cannot
well be understood, except of the beatific
vision ; for the Psalmist indisputably uses.
it, when speaking of his beholding the
glory of God in the temple, Ps. Ixiii. 2.
— na™, lit. from your hand, a common
Hebraism after verbs of demanding, to
express from you : the pronoun here is
emphatic. — Dfil, to tread, — a term of con
tempt purposely borrowed from the action
of the cattle brought into the outer court
for sacrifice. The attendance of the Jews
in the other court was, in a spiritual point
of view, no better.
13. «^* in »i*-nn:p may refer either to
the worthlessness and inutility of the
oblations presented, or to the insincerity
of the worshippers. The one is indeed
included in the other ; but the latter idea

seems better to accord with the spirit of
the passage. — 'fM is supposed by some
to be an ellipsis of nwipj Wis ; but'';i;, re
lated as it is to ¦;«, to hold, contain, sig
nifies by itselfj to bear or endure, Ps.
ci. 5. MiRp NiiJ, lit. to call a convocation,
not "to read the Scripture," as some
have thought. The form, however, is the
infin. constr. and must be rendered by
the calling of. The phrase is founded on
the circumstance of certain solemn feasts
having been ushered in by public pro
clamation. Though «5PP, and the two
preceding substantives, are masc, they
are nevertheless to be understood as re
ferred to in the predicate «'n nasin, which
could not be repeated, taws'' are pro
perly separated by the Zakeph-katon
from the preceding words, and stand in
immediate connexion with the following
niS5l p«, which emphatically teaches the
impossibility of any religious services
being acceptable to God, while iniquity
is not hated and forsaken. The impe
nitent Jews sought to combine both;
just as men in all ages, and in connexion
with every system of religion, have been
prone to imagine that the observance of
outward rites would atone for the guilt
of sin. Comp. Jer. vii. 8—10. ni«> sig
nifies restraint or abstinence hova labour,
in order to keep a festival, and meton.
an assembly met under- such circum
stances. Gesenius attempts in vain to
make it primarily mean an assembly.
Nothing can be more forced than his
reference to 1 Sam. xxi. 8, in proof of
his signif. No. 3, in Niph. p« the
LXX. render j/jjo-Teia, as if DM had
stood in their copy, but it is unsup
ported by any other authority. Lowth's
reasons in its favour are precisely those
which render it critically suspicious.
14. By Db'tiin we are not to under
stand any monthly festivals diff'erent
from that of the new-moon, expressed
in the singular form lirp in the foregoing
C

10

ISAIAH.

[chap. I.

15

16

17

They are a burden upon me ;
I am weary of bearing them.
When also ye spread open your hands,
I will hide mine eyes from you ;
Even though ye multiply prayers, I will not hear :
Your hands are full of blood.
Wash ye ; purify yourselves ;
Remove your wicked practices from before my eyes ;
Cease to do evil :
Learn to do well ;
Seek justice ; right the oppressed ;
Maintain the cause of the orphan ; plead for the widow.

verse ; just as Da'TSio comprehends all
the other feasts there distrihutively men
tioned. The commencement of this verse
is nothing more than an epanalepsis, or
resumption of what had been there in
troduced, in order to expatiate upon it,
and give it greater effect. — niio, which
occurs as a noun only here and Deut. i.
12, the cognate verb once, Job xxxvii.
11, seems chosen in order forcibly to
express what causes fatigue or molesta
tion, as a weight, burden, &c. ; but the
emphasis of the passage is greatly in
creased by the prep. ''?, upon, which in
dicates the continued pressure of the
painful annoyance. The idea is beauti
fully carried out in the concluding words
of the verse, where the reciprocal form
of the verb indicates self-exhaustion in
the effort to perform any action. The
whole passage is strongly anthropopa-
thical. 15. The extension of the hands to
wards heaven was a very usual and a
most appropriate gesture in prayer. See
1 Kings viii. 38, 54 ; ] Tim. ii. 8 ; and
Wets, or Bloomf. Synop. on the latter
passage. The Heb. phrase D^sa fens, how
ever, refers rather to the spreading open
of the palms of the hands when ex
tended, than to the extension of the
hands themselves, though this is neces
sarily included.
" Ingemit, et duplices tendens ad sidera
palmas." — Virq. JEneid. lib. i. 1. 93.
— In nVefi Win may be included the jSot-
ToXoyla which our Lord condemns, and
for which the Jews appeal; ever to have

been notorious. Nothing could be more
incongruous than to spread open to the
view of Holy Omniscience, hands which
had been stained by acts of atrocious
wickedness. Hence the practice, to
which allusion is made in the following
verse, of washing the hands before en
gaging in prayer— an allusion which also
holds in regard to dtn'ovy x^ipas, 1 Tim*
ii. 8. The last clause of the verse is a,
prosapodosis, in which the reason is as
signed why their services were rejected.
It is noticeable that while the other verbs
in this verse are future in signification,
the last, l«!?p, is in the preterite, to indi-.
cate the habitual cruelty in which the
Jews ' of that age indulged. Gesen.
Lehrg. § 205. 3. 6.
The specification of the entire service
of the Jews, ver. 12 — 15, was intended
to produce the conviction, that no part
of it was acceptable to God, whatever
relative importance they might attach to
it, while they persevered in a course of
transgression, — a great moral truth ap
plicable to mankind in all ages.
16, 17. Though divided both in the
original, and in the versions, these verses
are most intimately connected by the
identity of the forms, and the directness
of the contrast: iwn np) — »in I'jTn. They
introduce a series of appropriate expos
tulations, couched partly iii figurative,
partly in literal terms. — I33h, Gesenius
and Hendewerk take for the Hithp.
isjnrj, the n being suppressed before the
sibilant, which makes the compensation
by the Dagesh forte. Hitzig considers it
to be the Niph. of ^aj, which is pre-

CHAP. I.J

ISAIAH.

11

18 Come now, let us argue with each other, saith Jehovah :
Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow ;
Though they be red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

ferable, as the proper Hithp. of naj would
be naTin. The remark of this writer,
that there are no instances of Hithp. in
verbs having 1 for their first radical is
important. — yion >nitiM. Gesen., Winer,
Ewald, Hitzig, and other moderns, ren
der yion actively, considering it to be
equivalent to the Benon. part, ypri;
though Gesen. allows, in his later works,
that the form here employed being in
transitive, the word may be taken in
a passive sense, which, indeed, the con
nexion absolutely requires. LXX. pv-
(ra<r6£ aBcKOVfievov, and so the Chal.,
Syr., Vulg., Saad., and Jewish Span.
Kimchi also renders it 'nw, not 'jva, as
Gesen. represents it in his Comment.
The Rabbi explains the meaning by re
ferring to Ps. xxi. 4 ; hut he gives the
sense of the passage thus : «iniD na rw
ina niTMi 'jto, " Direct him who is robbed
and wronged in his judgment." Though
the root primarily signifies to be sour,
acid, the idea of corrupt, suggested by
Bochart, and adopted by Lowth, Dathe,
(emendate quod corruptum est,) and
others, does not suit, as indeed Lowth
himself felt ; but that of violence, which,
in common with its cognate Dpn, it ob
viously conveys, is fully warranted. —
l^wifflj, to be erect, straight, right, has, in
Piel, the causative signification, to make
or place erect, to cause to walk right ;
hence to lead, guide. It here specifically
signifies to raise the afflicted from his
state of depression under the violent
hand of his enemy, to see him righted
as to his place in society, to restore hiin
to circumstances of prosperity. The
uncommon frequency with which the
cases of the orphan and widow are taken
up in the Old Testament, evinces the
high degree of importance attached to
this branch of Hebrew ethics.
18. A remarkable instance of gracious
condescension on the part of Jehovah,
designed to afford the utmost encourage
ment to penitent and returning sinners.
Gesen., after Michaelis, Koppe, and
Eichhorn, supposes that the passage re
fers not to pardon, hut to judgment,

though he construes it differently ; hut
the passages which he adduces are by no
means parallel, and the verbs employed
are a*! and tt?^, not na;, which the pro
phet here uses, and which signifies to
argue u point, reason, as well as to
punish. It is used in a kind sense, as
the connexion shews. Comp. the beau
tiful parallel, chap, xliii. 26, where even
1DB12) occurs in the same signification.
Jewish Span, contraslemonos, — D'?^,
prop, garments of scarlet colour, from
'?$, a colour obtained from the coccus
ilicis of Linnseus — an insect which de
posits its eggs in the leaves of the quer-
cus cocciferus, found in Spain, and other
countries bordering on the Mediterranean .
It was greatly in request by the ancients,
who prepared from it a deep scarlet, or
beautiful crimson dye, somewhat resem
bling that which is now obtained from the
coccus cacti, or the cochineal insect. It
is called by the Arabs j.*.^ Ji, kermes;
(in the Jewish Span, el carmesi ;) hence
our " crimson." From the similarity of the
word to nj^, which signifies to repeat, or
do a thing a second time, some have sup
posed, that double-dyed crimsons or pur
ples are meant: a supposition wtiich
derives some support from the bis tincta,
and dibapha of the Roman writers ; and
from the BlivXovv of the LXX. Exod.
xxv. 4; and the bi^a(l>ov of Symm.
Exod. xxviii. 8, where the Vulg. has
bistinetum. In the present passage, the
LXX. renders it (j)otviKovv, which
Hesych. interprets irvppov, kokkivov, al-
fiaTaSes; but which is properly to be
explained from the circumstance, that it
formed a celebrated article of Phenician
commerce. The corresponding term
»5in signifies a worm, and denotes the
insect itself, from which the colour was
obtained. It is here used merely for
variety of expression. The two words
are found together: '?^ ns'JiFi, Exod.
xxv. 4 : and rwVin 'Jiii, Lev. xiv. 4. With
the Jews, white was the symbol of pu
rity ; red, of crime, especially of cruelty
and murder.

12

ISAIAH.

[chap. I.

20

21

22

23

If ye be willing and obey.
Ye shall consume the best of the land ;
But if ye refuse and rebel.
Ye shall be utterly consumed by the sword.
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
Ah ! how is she become an harlot — the faithful city !
She that was full of justice !
Righteousness dwelt in her, but now murderers !
Thy silver is become dross ;
Thy liquor is weakened with water ;
Thy princes are rebellious, and associates of thieves ;
Every one of them loveth a bribe, and pursueth rewards ;

19, 20. Therythmus and antithesis in
these verses are exquisite, tosi might,
in the former instance, be rendered en
joy, as Luther gives it ; but as it is em
ployed in the latter with evident reference
to its previous occurrence, consume is
more appropriate. i'3?«l? is intensively,
and not causatively passive, as Gesen.
would have it. Supply 3 before airj. The
interpretation of Hitzig : " ye shall be
compelled to devour the sword," i. e. by
receiving it into your vitals, is violent,
and quite repugnant to Scripture usage.
See' Deut. xxxii. 42 ; 2 Sam. ii. 26.
21. The prophet again depicts the
corrupt state of the metropolis ; con
trasts its present moral degradation with
the high and honourable character which
it had formerly sustained ; and de
nounces the wrath of God against the
finally impenitent. Wogj has special
reference to fidelity in the worship and
service of the true God, and n:ii to the
idolatrous practices which obtained in
the days of Ahaz. Such practices were
a breach of the matrimonial bond into
which the nation had symbolically en
tered with Jehovah. The Jod in 'n«bp
is usually called paragogic, but seems
rather to be the relic of an ancient mode
of expressing the status construotus, or,
as Ewald. § 406, terms it, a union-vowel.
It occurs very rarely in prose, and then
only in the first four books of the Pen
tateuch ; but it is more frequent in
poetry, and very common in proper
names, as pls^?^P, V^?*, &c.
22. D'J'p, the recedanea, or scoriae

which separates from metal in a state of
fusion, or the baser metal thus detached
from it when smelted. The metallurgic
art appears to have been cultivated at a
very early period. Numerous traces of
it occur in the Scriptures^ — many of them
indicating a considerable degree of pro
ficiency — Nab, the LXX. and Symm.
oTvos ; Aq. trvfiiroKTiov. This substantive,
and the verb from which it is derived,
are only used in poetical or prophetical
composition, and unequivocally convey
the ideaof inebriatingliquor, or liquor, the
drinking of which freely in its pure state
would produce intoxication. It is used
in this place, to express the idea of pu
rity or genuineness, in which alone its
potency lay; though, perhaps, not ex
clusive of an implied reference to the
al)use of it. — '!ina, lit. cut, wounded,
killed with water. The word occurs only
in this place ; but is quite in keeping
with similar modes of expression among
the Aiabs, as may be seen in Gesen.
Comment, in loc. " Vinum aqua secure
est phrasis orientalis, virum aqua miscere
indicans."- — Dathe. The lexicographers
compare it with ';iQ, to circumcise ; with '
which the German wein taufen, to bap
tize wine, is singularly parallel as it re
spects the religious rites from which the
phraseology is borrowed. Both members
of the verse express the deterioration
which had taken place in the state and
character of the Jews.
23. D'lliD i|;iij), a parononasia, which
also occurs Hos. ix. 15; and in sound,
though not in sense, Jer. vi. 28. — D':t)>c

CHAP. I.]

ISAIAH.

18

24

25

They maintain not the cause of the orphan ;
And the cause of the widow reacheth them not.
Hence the announcement of the Lord,
Jehovah of Hosts, the Protector of Israel :
Ha ! I will be relieved from my adversaries ;
I will be avenged of my enemies.
But I will again turn my hand towards thee,

is not used elsewhere, but is introduced
as a parallel to imi. LXX. avranobrjp.a ;
Symm. ap.oi^as.
24. ]i-i«n D«3. A solemn and em
phatic mode of expression, admirably
adapted, in connexion with the following
accumulation of Divine appellatives, to
excite attention to the declaration they
were intended to introduce. D«p, cog
nate with d™, to cry aloud, roar, as the
lion, the sea, &c., is the Pah. construct,
and signifies what has been solemnly or
oracularly announced. Hence the idiom
atic phrase, Jer. xxiii. 31. DKj lDN?tl, "and
solemnly pronounce : the oracle of,"
where there is a singular beauty in the
suppression of the Divine name, since
what the false prophets pretended to deli
ver had not proceeded from Jehovah, but
was the mere invention of their own
brain. — ^1«. Some regard the subst. JiM,
abase or pedestal, as the rootof this word;
but the more natural derivation is that
adopted by the most distinguished Heb.
scholars for the last century, which re
fers it to ]1l or J'l, to exercise power or
authority, subjugate, judge. When used,
as here, with the article, as also without
in elevated poetry, Ps. cxiv. 7, the word
is taken absolutely to designate Jehovah
as the Supreme Judge or Universal Go
vernor. It is applied in the same sense
to the Messiah, Mai. iii. 1. '™, the
plural form absolute, is likewise used
exclusively of God. Gen. xix. 18, forms
no exception : the pause accent there
requiring the Patach to be changed
into Kametz; so that, though the form
of the Divine name is exhibited, which
led the Massorites to mark it iBlp,
it is in reality the simple plural, with
the pronominal affix, as in ver. 2. To
further distinguish Jehovah from all
other rulers, he is styled yiwn^a lii^?.
1'>« occurs only here in construction with
'y^vs'_, and five times besides in construc

tion with ai?v. . It is derived from ia«,
an intransitive verb, not in use, but cog
nate with las, to pass over, isa, to be
over, cover, and signifying to cover, pro
tect, defend; hence laN, and niasj, wing
or pinion, from the protection which it
affords. The meaning of the phrase
¦jMlfe'ipNis, therefore, the Protector of
Israel. — cniN. This is one of those Heb.
verbs which are so pregnant with mean
ing as to convey even contrary ideas.
It is properly expressive of strong emo
tion, and the mental relief or enjoyment
which results from an effort to give vent
to it. With respect to one's own actions,
it signifies to grieve or repent ; with re
spect to those of others, to inflict punish
ment, avenge one's self upon them. In
both cases the mind is eased of the an
noyance which blameworthy conduct
has occasioned to it. It also signifies to
exercise pity or compassion towards
suffering, because of the effect of such
exercise upon one's own mind. God is
here represented anthropopathically as
determined no longer to be vexed, or
offended by the conduct of his enemies,
but to obtain relief from the burden
which it imposed, by removing them
from the scene of action ; or so affecting
them by his judgments, as to deprive
them of the opportunity of insulting
him. See the beautiful note of Lowth
on the passage. — The n in np;?3« is the
sign of the elongated Future, indicating
a fixed determination to effect the action
expressed. 25. ¦» T aiSn is used in a hostile sense,
Ps. Ixxxi. 15; Amos i. 8 ; but the con
nexion shews that the phrase is here
to be taken in a good sense, as pointing
out the return of the divine favour —
though that favour could only be restored
by an exertion of power in removing
the causes of indignation. — laa, as with
potash : Jewish Span, como xabon. a for

14

ISAIAH.

[chap. I.

And will smelt away thy dross as with potash.
And take away all thine alloy.
26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first.
And thy counsellors as at the beginning ;
After this, they shall call thee :
The city of righteousness, the faithful borough.
27 Zion shall be delivered through justice.
And her converts through righteousness.
28 But the destructipn of the rebels and the sinners shall be together ;
And those who forsake Jehovah shall perish.
29 For ye shall be ashamed of the terebinths in which ye delighted.
And blush for the gardens which ye had chosen.

aa, as freq. I'a, a vegetable salt obtained
from the ashes of the kali, or soap-plant,
of which Forskal found several kinds in
Egypt and Arabia : hence the Arabic,
Jijill , Alkali, adopted into our western
languages. It is the same article, other
wise called 0*13, and was used, not only
in cleansing cloth, or washing the body,
but also, as appears from this passage, in
purifying metals ; causing the dift'erent
parts to separate more readily from each
other. Thus the Chald. ; but the other
ancient versions simply express the idea
of purity — the effect for the cause.
Bochart. ii. 43. — 'J'l?, any base admixture
of lead, tin, or other impure metal found
in silver ore. It derives its name from
its being separated (Jia) from it in the
process of smelting.
26. The restoration of righteous judges
and counsellors was to he effected by the
removal of those who were corrupt, and
the creation of such as answered to the
character originally laid down in the law.
rrij?, which is seldom used, except in the
poetical or prophetical books of Scripture,
is synonymous with l'». It is derived
from nig, «i;7, tofallinwith,meet; Arab.
I J', collegit, hospitium excepit, in urbe
vixit ; hence, &)jS, urbs, Heb. and
Punic, ni;? ; and properly signifies a
place of meeting, where there is an
assemblage of persons, and where stran
gers may expect to meet with hospitality,
Gen. xix. 1, 2. In 'q^ ^i?, is a common
Hebraism, according to which, a person

is said to be called what he really is ; so
that, " thou shalt be called " is equiva
lent to, "thou shalt be." This idiom,
though more frequently occurring in
Isaiah, is not peculiar to him. See the
parallel passage, Zech. viii. 3. In all
such cases, the name specified is not a
nomen proprium, but a predicate of cer
tain properties or qualities distinguishing
the object named.
27. Since the inhabitants of Zion are
not described in this chapter, as having
been carried into exile, rratf is not to be
translated, tj alxp.a\a(ria avrfjs, her cap
tives, as in the LXX. but as Jarchi gives
it : naiicn 'wis, " those who repent."
aiili signifies, in such connexion, to turn
to God in the way of genuine conversion.
The converts of Zion were her inhabi
tants, considered as recovered to the true
worship and service of God.
28, 29. D'«pm D'»* denote the opposite
characters to n'j^, in the preceding verse
— impenitent and obstinate transgressors.
The change of person in Hebrew poetry
is very common ; so that, though Kenni-
cott's Codices, 150, 182, and De Rossi's,
226, originally, together with Munster's
printed edition of 1536, the Chaldee
Paraphrase, and the version of Saadias,
read lUJari, "Ye shall be ashamed," it is
not at afl improbable that lilja;., the read
ing of the Textus Receptus, is genuine ;
and to alter it simply on such authori
ties as those just mentioned, would be
unwarrantable. At the same time, since
the third persons of verbs are often used
impersonally, this verb may be considered
as subordinated to those which follow,

CHAP. I

¦]

ISAIAH.

15

30

31

For ye shall be as a terebinth whose leaves wither ;
And as a garden in which is no water.
The powerful man shall become tow,
And his work a spark of fire ;
They shall both bum together.
And no one shall quench them.

and translated accordingly, as I have
don? in the version. To avoid the harsh
ness, the LXX. and Syr. throw Dfiipn
into the third person. — D'b'«, to corre
spond to nijjrt, in the second member of
the verse, must be interpreted, terebinth,
or oak groves ; which places, as well as
gardens, while they afforded shelter from
the burning heat of the sun, were pecu
liarly favourable to the obscene practices
connected with idolatrous worship. They
were accordingly selected for the pur
pose, not only by the ancient idolaters in
Phenicia, Syria, and other parts of the
East, but in Germany, Britain, &c. though
the superstitions in the colder climates of
Europe may not have been marked by
the same degrees of licentiousness. — It
has been contested, whether by the Vm,
is to be understood the terebinth, or tur
pentine-tree, or the oak. It takes its
name from its strength and hardness.
The LXX. render it rfpl^ivBos, Gen.
xiv. 6 ; but Aq., Symm., and Theod. have
bpvs, which the LXX. frequently employ
as a translation of the kindred word
n5«, substituted for it in the next verse.
According to Gesen. — Aristotle, Theo-
phrastus, and Pliny, describe the Tere
binth as an evergreen — a quality which
would suit ver. 30 ; but the fact is denied

by modern botanists. Lowth, unable to
make up his mind, either to terebinth
or oak, renders the words by ilex, which
is a species of the latter. The truth
of the matter seems to be, that the
Hebrews used them to designate the
PistaciaTerebinthus of Linn.; while they
appropriated Ji^N and Ji'JN to the oak, in
supporting which appropriation, all the
ancient versions agree : though, in the
present case, Aq., Symm., and Theod.
have elhaXav : taking the word to be ^»,
which is used both of the true God, and
of any false divinity.
30. Nothing could more strikingly
typify the destitute and forlorn condition
of the ungodly, in their circumstances of
destruction, than the faded terebinth,
and gardens without any supply of water.
— For n^, the singular, nearly fifty MSS.
and eight editions, read in the plural
rrb». 31. liDTi, powerful, great in might or
riches. Some interpret this of idols, and
their worshippers, hut less aptly. The
word seems to be used to denote the in
fluential characters in the Jewish state,
whose wicked deeds had plunged it into
such dire calamities. Both they and
their wickedness should now he con
sumed together.

CHAPTERS II.

-IV.

That these chapters form one connected whole, has been admitted by most exposi
tors. It was reserved for Koppe, Eichhorn, and Bertholdt, to break them up
into minute fractions; but the unsuccessful results of their efforts have cured the
mania for critical operations of this description, which raged for a time in Ger
many. Jahn, Doderlein, and Hitzig, include also the fifth chapter in the dis
course ; yet, with the exception of Doderlein, they consider it to be so far distinct,
as claiming to be regarded in the liglit of a second division of it. Gesenius treats
them as altogether separate discourses.

16 ISAIAH. [chap. II.
The time when this discourse was delivered seems plainly d«f;f J^l,^;^^^^:
political and moral traits which it exhibits. The flourishmg state of commerce ,
fhe mportation of the precious metals from the East ; their great abundance ; the
Sr^Ztion of foreign manners, especially idolatry ; -^ f ^ l-;:^^^^, JjJ
which prevailed ; seem all to agree with the commencement of the reign of Ahaz.
For the conducting of these several items to the pitch which they then reached,
ample provision had been made, by the reopening of the port of Elath, under
Uzziahf 2 Kings xiv. 22 ; his increase of military prowess, and his success,
2 Chron xxvi. 6—15 ; and the prosperous career of Jotham, 2 Chron. xxyii.
3-6 The strong features of idolatry which the prophet exhibits, entirely mili
tate against the hypothesis of this section having been dehvered m the time of
Uzziah. In part of that of Jotham, matters greatly deteriorated ; but it was not
till Ahaz ascended the throne, that the door was opened for the entrance of all
kinds of wickedness and abomination.

CHAPTER IL

The prophet commences with a lucid prediction of the establishment of Messiah's
kingdom, and its happy results, 1—5 ; he then depicts the awful apostasy and
idolatry of the Jews in the times immediately following his own, 6—9 ; denounces
the divine judgment against the different classes of the people, 10—17 ; predicts
the utter abolition of idolatry, 18—21 ; and closes with an exhortation to with
hold all confidence in man, 22.

1 The things which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw, concerning Judah
and Jerusalem.
2 In the last of the days, the mountain of Jehovah's house
Shall be established on the summit of the mountains ;
1. w has the signification of thing or which of the two prophets belongs the
matter, as well as that of word, and claim of originality ; and some have even
especially, in such connexion, a thing maintained, that it contains the words of
or things forming the subject matter of a third and more ancient prophet, which
divinely oracular communication. Ver- both Isaiah and Micah adopted on diffe-
bum pro divino responso et oraculo. rent occasions. This hypothesis, how-
Zwinglius. Most modern translators ever, is quite unnecessary : nor is it of
render the term, hy prophecy ; but then any consequence which of the prophets
they are obliged to give nin, by was re- first delivered the prediction. They were
vealed, which is an unnecessary liberty, contemporaries, and the one may have
Every difficulty is removed by the literal heard the other, — a supposition which
translation given in the version. More will account for the discrepancies between
things than one being intended, w may them, in point of phraseology, much
be regarded as a collective noun. better than the theory, that one of them
2 — 4. This passage, with a few verbal copied the passage from the written pro-
differences, being also found Micah iv. phecy of the other.
1 — 3, it has been matter of dispute, to 2. The phrase, n'pjn niins, which in

CHAP. II.]

ISAIAH.

17

And shall be elevated above the hills.
And all the nations shall flow to it.
Yea, many people shall go and say ;
Come, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah,
To the house of the God of Jacob ;
That he may teach us his ways ;
And that we may walk in his paths.
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

itself signifies, remote future time inde
finitely, has, in the prophets, a more
determinate reference ; viz. to the last
period of the divine dispensations, the
time of the Christian economy. Comp.
Jer. xxiii. 20 ; xxx. 2i; Dan. x. 14 ;
Hos. iii. 5. Hence the/current Jewish
interpretation : n'ffion nip;, the days of
Messiah, — the time when he should ap
pear, and during which his kingdom
should endure ; of which, Kimchi and
other rabbins consider the present pas
sage to be clearly predictive. Abarbanel
says expressly, n'OD nita''; i?DD 'ba s'n, "it
belongs without doubt to the days of the
Messiah." Mashm. Hayeshuah, fol. 8.
col. 1. LXX. iv rats itrxdraLS rjiiepais,
which is either adopted or imitated in
the N. T. Acts ii. 17 ; Heb. i. 1 ; 1 Pet.
i. 20. The mountains and hills cannot
here be literally understood of Zion,
Lebanon, Tabor, Gilead, &c. since the
elevation of the former of these moun
tains above the others, or rather its trans
position to be firmly based upon their
summits, would argue a physical convul
sion too violent and absurd in its pheno
mena to be for a moment admitted. In
the symbolical diction of prophecy, moun
tains betoken commanding or governing
powers, or governments and systems, po
litical and ecclesiastical. In a religious
point of view, the phraseology may be
based upon the fact, that altars and
temples, the central points of idolatrous
worship, were constructed on elevated
localities. The establishment, therefore,
of Zion upon the tops of the mountains,
and its paramount elevation, refer to the
superior position which the church of
God was to assume, in relation to the
different systems of false religion ; the
influence which she was to exert upon

them, and her permanent duration, chap.
xi. 9 ; Dan. ii. 35 ; Rev. xvi. 20. — n™,
to flow as a river, is beautifully descrip
tive of a long and continuous mass of
human beings collected from different
quarters, and moving forward in proces
sion towards some point of common in
terest. — Instead of I'Jm, Micah has 1'5»,
which is the more definite, and, on this
account, more probably the later in its
composition. — D;ijiT^a points out the uni
versal character of the Christian dispen
sation. Instead of the Jewish males
going up thrice in the year to Jerusa
lem, and individual proselytes repairing
thither from the surrounding countries,
the great mass of the population of the
globe would abandon their superstitions,
and enter the church of God.
3. The same idea of universality is
prosecuted in this verse, with a declara-
ration of the object which the converts
would have in view, in repairing to the
church, and the means by which their
conversion should be effected. The i
prefixed to the futures, nbsj, i:ii', and
na>3 occurring after W?, a verb in the im
perative mood, is not merely copulative,
but marks the ends or events to which
the action expressed by that verb was
to be introductory. Gesen. Lehrgeb.
p. 873. — The synonymes ':pi, and rr^,
like dSo's, Acts ix. 2; xix. 9, 23 ; 2 Pet.
ii. 2 ; and the Arab. .^1 jJJUi , (J.*^ ,
in the Koran, signify religion, religious
principles, worship, and conduct. — la is
not partitive here, as jf only partial in
struction were to be obtained; but, after
verbs of teaching, it indicates the matter
or subject, which the teaching has for
its object^ — If iTiin may be taken in its
appropriated' sense for the Old Testa-
D

18

ISAIAH.

[chap. II.

And he shall arbitrate among the nations.
And give decision to many people ;
So that they shall beat their swords into coulters,
And their spears into pruning-knives :
Nation shall not raise a sword against nation.
Neither shall they learn war any more.
0 house of Jacob !
Come and let us walk in the light of Jehovah.
Surely thou hast cast off thy people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are full of the East ;
They practise ,magic, like the Philistines,
And strike hands with the sons of foreigners.

ment revelation ; the nin; w in the fol
lowing hemistich will then signify the
Gospel, or the announcements of the
New 'Testament, which are repeatedly
called o Xoyos tov Kvpiov, as in Acts
xix. 10 ; 2 Thess. iii. 1. Both terms,
however, may be descriptive of divine
doctrine generally. This part of the
prophecy received a literal fulfilment,
when the apostles executed our Lord's
commission, to go and teach "all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem," Luke xxiv. 47 ;
but consistency of interpretation requires
the term to be applied to the church, of
which, at the time the prediction was
uttered, and also in the apostolic age,
Jerusalem was the central locality. It
was from the church, and by the church,
that the truth was to be propagated
throughout the world ; and to that
church, in her universality, the nations
were to come for instruction.
4. Here the scene of Messiah's reign
is distinctly laid in the Gentile world ;
where its influence was to be extensively
felt, in the abolition of war, and the
security enjoyed in cultivating the peace
ful arts. To the description given by
our prophet, Micah adds : —
" And they shall sit, each under his vine,
and under his fig-tree,
And none shall make them afraid :
For the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath
spoken it." — Chap. iv. 4.
Compare Martial, Epigr. xiv. 34 ; and
for the reverse of the picture, Joel iv. 10;
Virg. Georg. i. 507 ; Ovid, Fast. i. 699.

The fulfilment of this prediction has
hitherto only been partial, in conse
quence of the partial prevalence of the
genuine spirit of the gospel; but it is
undeniable, that Christianity has greatly
contributed to ameliorate the political
condition of mankind, by diminishing
the horrors of war, promoting mutual
intercourse, and advancing the useful
arts. Its plenaiy accomplishment is
reserved for a period yet future, of the
tranquillity and prosperity of which, the
prophetic pages abound with the most
glowing descriptions. The nominative
to EpB), &c. Kimchi and other rabbins
admit to be the King Messiah. — D'FiM, on
comparing 1 Sam. xiii. 20, obviously
signify agricultural implements of iron,
and most probably the coulter, as there
distinguished from n*)np and nffinnp,
implements similarly employed. 'Ihe
Jewish interpreters render the word by
mattocks, which is supported by the ver
sion of Symmachus. Comp. however,
the Arab. LI.J1] , molle fuit (ferrum) ;
Li^l , molle ferrum.
5. Contains a spirited address to the
Jews forthwith to avail .themselves. of
the privileges which they enjoyed, lest,
while these privileges were extended to
other nations, they might be deprived of
them, nin; iim is the instruction or know
ledge which he imparts. See ver. 3.
6. The exigency of the place requires
'? to be rendered surely or assuredly, —
not for, which is quite foreign to the
connexion. Contrasting the happiness

CHAP. II.]

ISAIAH.

19

Their land also is full of silver and gold ;
And there is no end to their treasures.
Yea, their land is full of horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.

which his people might enjoy, by walk
ing in the paths of obedience, with their
'foreseen forlorn condition, the prophet
abruptly changes the object of address,
and appeals directly to Jehovah, who
had brought his judgments upon them ;
and proceeds to point out the causes
which had procured them. Nothing can
be more violent than the interpretation
of the Targum, Saadias, Michaelis, and
Hitzig, according to which, 3p5?! n'3 is to
be considered as the vocative case, thus :
" For thou hast left thy people, O house
of Jacob!" Besides there being no
parallel instance of such construction,
the frequent use of ifej, the verb here
employed, in connexion with nin;, to
express his abandonment of his people,
shews, that it is to Him the address is
directed. The n in nrnijpj, is not a con
traction of n;, as Houbigant conjectures,
but the fuller, though rarer form of the
pronominal afformative of the second
pers. sing. mas. See Gen. iii. 12; Mai.
ii. 14. — Dij^P stands here for dtj^.-'JM, and
thus is parallel with D'Pi«*B and D'laa 'i>.
The connexion shews that persons are
meant, who taught the superstitions, and
practised the sorceries of Syria and Baby
lon. The contrast, in point of locality,
which is effected by this construction,
evinces the impropriety of taking DTj? in
the temporal sense, as the ancient ver
sions do, as well as the conjecture of
Brentius, adopted by several moderns,
which would substitute DD^p for Dipo.
Lowth would unite both, and render,
" with divination from the east :" but
this is quite uncritical. The Hexaplar
Syr. has ^lo*! Syria. For the Phi
listines, see chap. xiv. 29. That they were
addicted to augury we learn 1 Sam. vi.
2. Whether D'5?3> be descriptive of those
who divined by observing the phenomena
of the clouds (1», a cloud), or of those
who employed ocular fascination, (|;?,
the eye,) we have no sufficient data ac
cording to which to determine. LXX.
KXijSovi'fo/xai, but also opvidoa-Konka,

Lev. xix. 26. Syr. . « k»_-i^o ; Vul. ar-
gures in general. Luth. Tagewdhler.
Gesen. gives to the verb p» the signifi
cation of covering, and interprets the
noun as denoting those who act covertly,
who use covert arts. Cl^i '1^', com
monly 132 ';3, foreigners, whom the Jews
hired to divine for them, after the manner
of the heathen, a p'Bii;n, to make a bar
gain, or enter into an agreement by
striking hands — a mode of contracting
common in the east, as it is in most
nations. Hence the Arab. isHsL^ , com-
plosio manuum, venditio, contractus, a
settled bargain, effected in this way.
The verb is nearly related to pBD, fre
quently used for striking the hands toge
ther in token of joy, &c. and is found
in this sense in thirty-one codices. Job
xxvii. 23. The D occurs in the present
case in some MSS. and in the Soncin.
edition. 7. This description of opulence and
prowess would agree with the time of
Uzziah, who had an army of 307,500
men ; but there is no reason to suppose
that they diminished in the days of his
son ; and by the time Ahaz ascended the
throne, the evils which usually follow in
their train, had greatly increased. The
multiplication of horses, riches, &c. was
expressly prohibited to the king, Deut.
xvii. 16, 17, — a prohibition, not, as Ge
senius insinuates, of an equally late date
with the practice of the Jewish monarchs,
in procuring horses from Egypt, but origi
nally inserted in the Jewish law by Moses,
and prophetically indicative of their pro
pensity to indulge in what had a natural
tendency to alienate their trust from God.
As camels and asses were the animals
used by the Hebrews for riding, horses
were procured for purposes of war.
Comp. Prov. xxi. 31 ; Job xxxix. 19 —
25 ; Zech. x. 3. The niaa-ip were war-
chariots. These were very common
among the Canaanites and other neigh
bouring nations ; and some of them being
armed with iron scythes or hooks, currus

20

ISAIAH.

[chap.

II.

Their land is full even of idols ;
They bow down to the work of their hands,
To that which their fingers have made.
The man of low condition is bowed down.
And the man of rank is brought low ;
But thou wilt by no means forgive them.
Enter the rock, and hide thee in the dust.
From the fear of Jehovah, and from his glorious majesty.
The haughty eyes of man shall be brought low,
And the loftiness of men shall be humbled.
And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
12 For there is a day of Jehovah of hosts.
Against every thing that is proud and lofty :
And against every thing that is elevated,
And it shall be brought low.

10

11

falcati, made terrible havoc among the
ranks of the enemy.
8. D'V^M, non-entities, i. e. idols, ficti
tious beings, destitute of all life and
power, from f!^, nihili esse : most proba
bly in this case, as Vitringa remarks,
teraphim, or household gods, whose idol
atrous rites were celebrated in private,
but not publicly tolerated till the acces
sion of Ahaz.
9. Though Di« and ai'« are sometimes
mere synonymes, yet in passages such as
this, where the design of the writer is to
describe different ranks of men, they are
used by way of antithesis. Comp. Ps.
xlix. 3 ; Is. V. 15. Luth. very expres
sively : "Da biickt sich der Pobel, da
demiithigen sich die Junker." As all
classes were addicted to false worship,
the judgments of God would be univer
sal. Considering that the idolaters having
been accustomed to bow down before the
objects of their adoration, there is a sin
gular propriety in the selection of the
verbs here employed to express their
punishment. They are repeated in
verses 11, 12, and 17. — Drft «ten ';«1
marks the strong conviction in the pro
phet's mind, that merited punishment
would be inflicted upon them. ^«, like
the Greek p,rj, is used in subjective
propositions to express the certainty of
the negation, as it respects the person

by whom it is uttered. Ewald's Gram.
§ 573, Eiig. Trans. The meaning is :
that, how much soever the Jews were
depressed by external calamities, these
calamities should not be removed, but
should still continue to weigh them down,
as subjects of the divine indignation.
10. 1B», lit. dust, but used here, as
frequently in the poetical books, for yiM.
njn; ins, the fear which the coming judg
ments of Jehovah inspire. One MS.
supported by the LXX. and Arab, ver
sions, adds, as in verses 19 and 21 :
yi«a yi?^ ioipj, but it is evidently an
emendation, and does not suit the pre
sent connexion.
11. 'jM should properly be in the
plural, to agree with '3'?, but it is in
fluenced by the attraction of the nearer
noun DIN, as similar instances evince.
The contrast between dtn, D'ti3«, and
r^n;, is marked and striking.
12. nin'^ Di'. [n the prophetical writ
ings, the term Di' is frequently employed
to denote a period of divine judgment,
Ezek. iii. 15; Joel i. 15 ; just as i]p.(pa
TOV Kvpiov is used in the N. T. for the
day of judgment, no* and n9 are simi
larly used. Hence the emphasis attach
ing to «inn Di', ver. 1 1. 'EkeiVt; )) ^pipa,
2 Thess. i. 10, &c. The "7 refers the
judgment to Jehovah, as the author of
its infliction.

CHAP. II.j

ISAIAH.

21

13 Against all the cedars of Lebanon,
That are lofty and elevated ;
And against all the oalis of Bashan.
14 Against all the high mountains.
And against all the elevated hills.
15 Against every high tower,
And against every fortified wall.

13 — 16, contain a specification of
several of the most distinguished objects.
of nature and art, in order, metaphori
cally, to represent the different persons
or orders of men, elevated by the dignity
of office, or rendered notable by their
riches, or the elegance and luxury of
their establishments, whom the judg
ments of God would, in a more remark
able manner, hurl into ruin. "They
afford," Lowth elegantly observes, "a
striking example of that peculiar way of
writing, which makes a principal charac
teristic of the parabolical or poetical style
of the Hebrews, and in which their poets
deal so largely ; namely, their manner of
exhibiting things divine, spiritual, moral,
and political, by a set of images taken
from things natural, artificial, religious,
historical ; in the way of metaphor, or
allegory." He proceeds to shew, that
most of these are borrowed from nature,
and that the Hebrew poetry is distin
guished from all other poetry by its
regular appropriation of a certain set of
such images to the explication of certain
subjects ; as the cedars of Lebanon, the
oaks of Bashan, for kings, princes, &c. ;
mountains for kingdoms ; towers for pro
tectors, &c. Compare chap. x. 33, 34;
xiv. 8 ; xxx. 25. The whole passage in
the prophet is in the highest degree
figurative. 13. No objects of natural history men
tioned in Scripture, have been more cele
brated than the cedars of Lebanon. The
cedar tree, the Pinus cedms of Linnasus,
is found on some of the mountains in
Asia Minor, and in different parts of the
Levant ; but nowhere so stately, beauti
ful, and fragrant, as on Lebanon. Not
withstanding all the ravages made in its
famous forests, by the building of such
palaces as those of Jerusalem, Persepo-
lis, Tadmor, and others, in ancient times ;
the exportation of immense quantities

from Tyre to different parts of the Medi
terranean, and the constant use of it for
wainscotting the houses in the surround
ing country, down to the present time ;
there still remains a remnant suflicient
to call forth the admiration of travellers.
The number of the trees is different, as
estimated by different persons who have
visited the spot since they were first
described by Bellonius in 1550. Dr.
Richardson, who saw them in 1818,
states : — " "They are large, tall, and beau
tiful, the most picturesque productions of
the vegetable world we had seen. There
are in this clump two generations of
trees ; the oldest are large and massy,
rearing their heads to an enormous height,
and spreading their branches afar. We
measured one of them, which we after
wards saw was not the largest in the
clump, and found it thirty-two feet in
circumference. Seven of these trees
have a particularly ancient appearance f
the rest are younger, but equally tall,
though for want of space, their branches
are not so spreading." Some of them
are stated by the Rev. Mr. Fisk, who
visited them in 1823, to be about ninety
feet high. Besides this forest, Seetzen
discovered two others which surpassed it
in extent. Rosenm. Bib. Geog. ii. p. 216.
For Lebanon, see on chap. x. 34.^
Next to the cedars of Lebanon, ranked
the oaks of Bashan, a mountainous, but
exceedingly fertile region beyond the
Jordan : still, according to Mr. Buck
ingham, clothed with forests, among the
trees of which oaks are frequently seen.
Robinson describes part of his route in
these parts as lying for nearly an hour
and a half through a thick forest of fine
oak-trees : and again speaks of the crests
and sides of the hills being clothed with
magnificent oaks, for which, he adds,
this district, the ancient Bashan, is still,
as'of old, justly celebrated, ii. pp. 209,

&2

ISAIAH.

[cHAP. II.

16

17

1819

20

And against all the ships of Tarshish,
And all the vessels of delightful appearance.
And the pride of men shall be brought low.
The loftiness of men shall be humbled,
And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
And the idols shall wholly pass away.
And men shall enter the caverns of the rocks.
And the caves of the earth,
From the fear of Jehovah and from his glorious majesty.
When he riseth to shake terribly the land.
In that day shall men cast their silver idols and their golden idols
Which they have made for themselves to worship
To the moles and to the bats : —

211. They were used by the Pheni-
cians for oars, Ezek. xxvii. 6.
16. 115'iinri ni»3N, ships of Tarshish ; see
on chap, xxiii. 10. — nronn ni'aip cannot,
on account of the parallelism, which.
exactly corresponds to that in the pre
ceding verses, be extended, as Gesenius
proposes, so as to comprehend all the
objects which had just been mentioned
separately. Various interpretations have
been given ; but that of ships delightful
to look upon, suggested by the rendering
of the LXX. na.o'av 6cav irKoiav koK-
Xouf, best accords with the spirit of the
passage. 17. nti, in the masculine, with the
fem. nin33, may either be used for the
sake of uniformity with verses 9 and 1 1 ;
or, it may be accounted for on the prin
ciple, that when the predicate is men
tioned before the subject is named, or
its gender thought of, it may naturally
assume the simplest form, which is that
of the masculine singular. See Ewald,
§567. 18. There is a peculiar beauty in the
brevity of this verse, which in the ori
ginal consists only of three words :
r^'jn' Wa D'W«ni, in which the letter Lamed
predominates. The singular verb is used,
to intimate that not one of the idols
should remain. No language could more
graphically describe the entire disap
pearance of idolatry.
19. Judea, and the neighbouring re
gions, abound in caverns, some of them
of an enormous size, to which the inha

bitants were accustomed to flee for re
fuge, when attacked by enemies. Judg.
vi. 2 ; XV. 8; 1 Sam. xiii. 6 ; xiv. 11 ;
xxiv. 4, 8, 9. — yiNn yi?b, another instance
of paronomasia.
20. This verse is connected with the
latter half of ver. 18. i'! is wanting in
one of Kennicott's MSS. ; at first hand in
one of De Rossi's; and is erased from
another ; but, standing for Dn^, it is the
common Dativus commodi. — niiB icrt is
found iafive MSS. as one word, nUBiBrt,
and thus all theancient versions (Theod.
d(f>ap<f>epa>6), though they differ in their
interpretations. Taken separately, the
words might signify, to the digging or
burrowing, i.e. the holes of rats — nilp,
corresponding to the Arab. Sjli, rats;
but as animals are mentioned imme
diately after, it is more natural to sup
pose that a simple reference to another
species is made here. Besides, the quad-
riliteral form of the following noun
makes the K'etaltal, or reduplicate form
in this case the more probable. Both
Gesenius and Hitzig object to rendering
the word by moles, on the ground that
these animals are found in the fields, and
do not frequent old or ruinous buildings,
like the hat; and the latter commentator,
following Abenezra, proposes sparrows;
but the consideration, that persons flee
ing for safety not only throw away what
they may have accounted valuable before
abandoning their houses, but also in
their flight through the open country,

CHAP. III.] ISAIAH. 2,3
21 When they go into the clefts of the rocks,
And into the fissures of the cliffs :
From the fear of Jehovah, and from his glorious majesty,
When he riseth to shake terribly the land.
22 Cease from man
In whose nostrils is a breath ;
For in what is he to be regarded .''
renders it more likely that precisely 22. A very appropriate exhortation,
moles are meant. Since the verb I3n arising out of the predicted destruction
signifies to dig, its geminated derivative of all human glory. This verse is en-
must denote some animal particularly tirely omitted by the LXX. ; hut is found
noted for perforation, than which none in the Targ. and both the Syriac ver-
rivals the mole. See on the word, sions, in Jerome and Aq., and is not
Bochart, Hierozo. vol. ii. p. 1031. The known ever to have been wanting in the
fondness of both moles and bats for Hebrew text. Origen, Jerome, and after
darkness, rendered them fit companions them Lyranus, Menochius, Luther, CEco-
for the idols which were consigned to lampadius, and many others, strangely
oblivion. interpret the words of Christ — an inter-
21. The '' in wiaj denotes in such con- pretation of which the Jews have not
nexion, the time of doing any action, failed to avail themselves to reproach our
See Gesen. Lex. c. 7. Redeemer !

CHAPTER III.

The prophet now announces, in plain language, the severe privations to which the
Jews should be subject, when the predicted judgments should be inflicted upon
them. The cutting off of the necessaries of life ; the removal of those in whose
hands were the reins of government ; the assumption of rule by totally incom
petent persons ; the anarchy and perplexity consequent upon it ; and the causes
of these evils ; are all set forth in strong colours, verses 1 — 15. The remaining
part of the chapter is chiefly occupied with a picture of female luxury, and the
change that would take place in the appearance of the daughters of Zion, and
that of the state generally, as the result of the visitations of Divine Providence.

1 For behold ! the Lord Jehovah of Hosts
Shall remove from Jerusalem and from Judah,
1. There is an intimate connexion be- other participles following n^^, is indica-
tween this verse and that with which the tive of the future. n:»^pi p?\?)p, lit. the
preceding chapter concludes. I'pp, like male and the female support, for every

24

ISAIAH.

[CHAF. III.

The stay and the support ;
The whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water :—
The hero and the warrior ;
The judge and the prophet ;
The diviner and the elder ;
The commander of fifty and the honourable ;
The counsellor, the skilful in magic, and the expert enchanter.
And I will make boys their rulers.
And children shall govern them.

kind of support. Another instance of
this idiom, which is common in the
Arabic, occurs Nab. ii. 14, where the
mas. flip, and the fem. naip, signify dif
ferent kinds of prey. Comp. (ja^\
&^_Ua!lj , Harir. Cons. i. p. 36. It can
not be imitated in our language, but
in the Syr. Ver. we have |3QiQ.io
iAaoioffiO i in t^'' Hexap. Syria;
|AoA^*j«o ^jAX**, ; the LXX. I'orxv-
ovTa Ka\ Itrxvovaav ; Aq. epeicrpa Ra\
lpei(Tp,ov; Symm. crrripiypa ical a-rrjpiy-
p.6v ; and in the Jewish Span, sustenta-
dor y sustentadora. — Though the idea of
stay or support is more naturally con
nected with that of bread ; hence DnVnrap,
the staff of bread. Lev. xxvi. 26 ; Ps.
cv. 16; and coincides with the use of
the phrase 3^ TSp, to prop up, or support
the heart, i.e. by taking food; yet it may
not inappropriately be also employed in
reference to water, on account of the
strength obtained from its refreshing in
fluence. The opinion of Gesen. and
Hitzig, that the words D;p — %, after
•njstip, are an exegetical gloss, cannot
be sustained, silice they are required
to complete the hemistich, and are
otherwise quite in the style of the
prophet. 2, 3. In this enumeration, the different
office-bearers and persons of influence
are grouped in pairs — a mode of com
bination not unusual with our prophet.
See chap. xi. 2 ; xix. 3, 6 — 9 ; xxii. 12,
13 ; xiii. 19. The coupling of Dpi? with
>*'a;, shews that the latter word is here
used in a bad sense, to denote idolatrous
prophets, or such as merely pretended to
a divine commission. See Micah iii. 6, 7.

The D'ppi? were those who professed to
interpret dreams and tell fortunes hy the
use of lots, observing the revolutions of
the stars, the flight of birds, arrows,_ &c.
Augurs have been found in all nations,
but in none more plentifully than in the
ancient nations of Asia, where they were
attached to the court, and exerted a very
great influence on the affairs of state.
They were also introduced into Rome,
and had a chief called the summus au-
ruspex, or . magister publicus. Comp.
Ezek. xxi. 21, 22; Dan. ii. 2, &c._ D3n
D'tfnn, if occurring alone, would signify
one' skilled in the arts, a skilful arti
ficer, which is the interpretation given
in the LXX., Syr., Vulg., and Saad. ;
but its combination with ujn^ ;i33 imme
diately following, determines the sense
to that of magic arts, which is suji-
ported by the Targ., and is the signi
fication of the Aramaic i*;r! and \»'fM'
•itrfi, from «5rt, which, like uSn:, signifies
to give a low, whispering, muttering
sound, in the manner of sorcerers or en
chanters, is descriptive of the art of in
cantation, and cannot, without doing
violence to the native force of the term,
be applied to oratory, or human elo
quence. Comp. ver. 20. The true mean
ing was more or less perceived by Aq.
¦yjfiBvpio'p.a, Symm. o^tXia pvaTiKii, and
Theod. ijraSfj.
4. There is here a change of person,
by which Jehovah is introduced as
speaking ; which is not unfrequently the
case in Isaiah. D'^i"®!? is synonymous
with D'l?3, only it more forcibly ex
presses the petulance of boys in the
exercise of assumed authority. LXX.
ip,iralKTai ; Luth. Kindische, childish per
sons. The abstract saucinesses, is used
for the concrete. Comp. Eccles. x. 16.

CHAP. III.J

ISAIAH.

5 And the people shall oppress each other.
Every one his neighbour ;
The youth shall outrage the aged,
And the despicable him who is honoured.
6 Should any one take hold of another
That is at home with his father, and say,
Thou hast raiment ; be thou our ruler ;
And let this ruin be under thy hand :
7 In that day, he will protest, saying,
" I will not be a healer :
For in my house is neither bread nor rahnent,
Make me not a ruler of the people."
8 For Jerusalem stumbleth, and Judah falleth ;

25

5. Instead of i»|3, eight MSS., fifteen
printed editions, and among these, three
of the earliest, read ttS??; but all the
ancient versions have read as the Textus
Receptus. The verb is here used in a
reciprocal sense. The following clauses
are exegetical, and furnish a striking de
lineation of a state of anarchy.
6. '3 is sometimes employed to express
what is conditional — a meaning which
the connexion in this place requires.
*« and ON, are used idiomatically, and
not in the relative, or more confined sense
of family connexion. vaM n'a is literally
" the house of his father," in which the
person referred to lived in a state of re
tirement from public life ; feut it is used
elliptically for n'a3, " in the house," as
Gen. xii. 15 ; 2 Kings xxii. 9, (5 Keri.)
This interpretation of ri;a supersedes the
necessity of Lowth's conjecture, that
liitii has been dropped out of the text.
After l'a«, two of Kennicott's Codd. and
the Babyl. Tal. add lfi«5, which the
LXX. and Chald. support. The Syr.
and Arab, also supply inV<'l; but the
ellipsis of lfi«l!, in poetry, is too common
to warrant, on such slender authority,
our adopting the reading, which is vir
tually implied in the preceding verb
iCBip;, though it may be admitted into
translations. That this person possessed
some respectability is evident from the
special mention of rftpto; properly a
garment, which was worn immediately
over the tunic, differing in size, but
generally nine or ten feet in length, and

five or six in breadth, but here obviously
used for an abundant wardrobe, which
would yield a supply sufficient to support
the dignity of office. J'Sj:, which, like
the Arab. ^«cU', kadi, signifies a magi
strate or judge, is not much in use. —
Instead of ?IT, thirty-five MSS., two
printed editions, and the Babyl. Tal.
read ?]'T in the plural. To be under the
hand of any one, is to be subject to his
power and management.
7. After *';, supply ^ip, or i'Jip; a
much more natural filling up of the
ellipsis than T, since swearing seems
here to be out of the question. Viewed
in connexion with the description of the
diseased condition of the Jewish polity,
chap. i. 6, in which the same verb
(l«5an) occurs, ilJ3h, a healer, is appropri
ately used of one who binds up the
wounds of a state by the judicious use
of authority. The LXX. resolve the
figure by rendering it apxfiyos. A plen
tiful supply of dress and provisions being
required, among the Orientals, in all
who would assume the reins of govern
ment, or fill any public station, the indi
vidual applied to earnestly protests
against any further proposals being
made to him, on the ground that his re
sources would not meet the exigencies
of the case.
8. Fram this verse, to the 15th, the
ntop, .or ruined state of things, de
scribed in the preceding verses, is ac
counted for, by its being traced to the
E

m

ISAIAH.

[chap. III.

10

11

Because their language and their actions
Have been against Jehovah —
To provoke the eyes of his glory.
The shew of their countenance testifies against them ;
Their sin they announce like Sodom ; they hide it not ;
Wo to them.
For they bring calamity upon themselves.
Say ye to the righteous : It shall be well ;
For they shall eat the fruit of their actions :
Wo to the wicked : It shall be ill ;
For the desert of their hands shall be rendered them.

fact, that the people had procured it by
their base and wicked conduct, which
Jehovah further threatens signally to
punish ; while, at the same time, he
would make a due discrimination in fa
vour of the righteous. — niip^, the con
tracted form of niipnb, the Infin. in
Hiph. as Ps. Ixxviii. 17. This verb is
usuaUy followed by ns, the mouth ; nil,
the Spirit, also occurs Ps. cvi. 33 ; but
d;:'», as here, is very expressive — the
eye being that organ of the body which
is most easily and keenly sensitive of
pain. The absence of the former Jod
in '.», which is borne out by most of the
MSS., has occasioned considerable di
versity of rendering. Michaelis, after
the LXX., proposes to read '», humilis;
and Lowth, ^w, cloud, as the Syr. does,
(probably by a mistake of transcription,)
supposing an allusion to be made to the
Shekinah in the wilderness ; but the
Very frequent omission of Jod fully jus
tifies the Masoretic punctuation. The
pronunciation is much the same in both
readings. 9. The Chald., Syr., Le Clerc, and
Hitzig, render DlT.^B nian, their partiality,
or respect of persons. It cannot be de
nied that the phrase D':B I'an signifies to
shew «uch partiality, Deut. i. 17; xvi.
19, &c. ; and there can be no doubt that
this sin obtained to a very great extent
among the Jews at the time. Still, the
use of iTan, and lin? \!b, in the other
member of the parallelism, evinces the
propriety of the common rendering;
which is defended by Rosenm., Gesen.,
and Winer, nian is a verbal noun, from
the Infin. in Hiph. ; in Kal. 133, to be
strange ; in Piel, to ..estrange ; but in

Hiph. to look at, know : hence, look,
shew, appearance, as the signification of
the noun. The repeated comparison of
the conduct of the Jews to that of the
inhabitants of Sodom, shews at once
how much the latter was professedly
abominated, and how great were the
aggravations of the former. An un
blushing recklessness of character is
here specially intended. latfBJ^ 'i«, lit.
wo to their souls : 'Sto:, however, in in
numerable passages, signifies, as in the
present instance, themselves. See the
Lexx. — 'Toy is to be taken simply in the
sense of doing or bringing evil, and
not in that of maturing, as Michaelis
proposes in his Suppl. ad Lexx. Hebb.
10, 11. As the text now stands, we
are almost tempted to adopt the Anti-
ptosis of Kocher, and render: Say ye
that it shall be well with the righteous ; or,
as Luther and Hitzig give it. Say ye of
the righteous, &c. ; but there is no real
difficulty in supposing, with the Chald.
and Syr., an ellipsis of ^ before p'^?, just
as '3 must be supplied before 5>1, in the
following line. A similar ellipsis of )
occurs before lp«5, Jer. ix. 2 ; and of P
before DIM, Job xxx. 17. Aija-apei>, the
reading of the LXX. has arisen from
the 13 in 11o«, having been mistaken for
D. The words Sijcrffl^ei/ tov SiKaiov, on
bva-xprjO-Tos ripXv Jtrrt, Let us bind the
Righteous One, for he is inconvenient to
us : or, as Justin Martyr, Hegesippus,
and Eusebius read, apa>p,ev tov SUatov,
let us destroy the Righteous One, are
considered by many of the fathers as a
prophecy of Christ, and the same view
Dodson lamely attempts to vindicate. —
The suffix in i'; and I'X, referring to »*,

chap. III.]

ISAIAH.

27

12 As for my people, children are their oppressors,
And women lord it over them.
O my people ! thy leaders cause thee to err.
They destroy the way of thy travellers.
13 Jehovah hath set himself to contend,
He standeth to judge the people.
14 Jehovah will enter into judgment
With the elders of his people, and their rulers.
For ye have eaten up the vineyard.
The spoil of the poor is in your houses.

a collective noun, is to be rendered in
the plural, to make it correspond with
the plural forms in the 1 0th verse, which
are expletive of the corresponding col
lective. So Luther. — These two verses
furnish a beautiful example of antithetic
parallelism, in which the contraries of
persons, characters, actions, awards, &c.
are opposed to each other. The pious
are graciously assured, that in the worst
of times, and under the most trying cir
cumstances, God will be their friend and
rewarder ; while the ungodly are equally
assured that they shall suffer merited
punishment. 12. Wsp is a collective, and thus
agrees with the plur. part, ttdj: — a more
natural mode of construction than to con
sider the latter as a plural of excellence.
The verb '^ signifies to return, to do any
thing a second time, thoroughly, or fully,
to indulge one's self at the expense of
another, to behave petulantly or saucily ;
hence D'Wsn, petulant boys, ver. 4. For
toM, comp. the Eth. \'\-^ , Rex, Ty-
rannus, and the Arab, ipsr* , excitavit,
compulii et congregavit disperses camelos,
&c. Instead of D'lfl:, women, the LXX.,
Aq., Theod., Chald., and Arab, read
Diti3, usurers, which agrees well with
TOiu; but the position of the word re
quires it to correspond to V^ti^, which
the former signification exactly suits. The
entire verse contains a further descrip
tion of the extreme imbecility of the
government, at the time here predicted —
a description fully realized after the
death of Jotham. The two participles
ciiSmp and Drffipp, are forcibly opposed to
each other : the former signifying, to

lead or direct forward in a straight
course ; the latter, to cause to wander
from the right way, into devious courses,
or into a trackless desert, where nothing
but destruction can be expected. After
D'snp, supply ^niM, and comp. Micah
iii. 5. The way of thy paths, is scarcely
intelligible, except it mean the direction
which paths take ; but there is no neces
sity for rendering it in this manner,
since nin^ is used to denote caravans,
or companies of travellers, as well as the
paths which they pursue through the
desert. See Job vi. 18^ 19; Isa. xxi. 13.
Instead of conducting the people in the
right course, as the guide of a caravan
would do, the Jewish leaders not only
turned the people aside, but effaced all
traces of the way in which they should
have walked.
13, 14. D'p9 do not here denote foreign
nations, but the tribes of Israel, as Deut.
xxxii. 8 ; xxxiii. 3, 19 ; Ps. xlvii. 10;
Hos. X. 14 ; as the context shews. Lowth
supposes iia? to he the true reading ; yet,
though countenanced by the LXX. and
Syr. it is critically indefensible. Di3n is
used collectively of the vineyards. That
it is not to be altered to 'P'la, my vineyard,
meaning the people, as the Chald. ren
ders it, appears from the following words:
'jsn n^.3 , what has been plundered from
the poor. Jehovah, as judge, calls the
rulers to account for the oppression and
robbery of which they had been guilty ;
to express which summons, there is a
sudden turn in the composition from the
predictive style to that of direct personal
address. The Vau in DnM^ is causal, and
the use of the separate pronoun before
the verb is, in such instances, em
phatic.

28

ISAIAH.

[chap.

III.

15

16

What mean ye that ye crush my people.
And grind the persons of the poor -''
Saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts.
Moreover saith Jehovah :
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,

15. D3|p,.by contraction, for DsVnp,
as in the Keri, which a number of Kenn.
and De Rossi's MSS. exhibit in the text.
Supply '3. D';.:_3? 'jfi denotes not merely
the faces, but the persons of the poor,
the poor themselves. Luth. die Person
der Elenden. To grind a person is ex
pressive of the greatest oppression, and
corresponds to the comminution or crush
ing spoken of immediately before. For
an amplification of the subject, see Micah
iii. 1—3.
16. The following eight verses contain
the most complete description of oriental
female attire to be met with in any an
cient writing. It has been thought by
some, that, owing to the change of
fashion, and especially the difference be
tween ancient and modern fashions in
dress, every attempt to explain the seve
ral items in this inventory, must prove
;in a great measure fruitless. The more,
however, that the fact of the immutability
of eastern manners and customs is esta
blished by a comparison of their present
features, with those described as existing
in former times; the more minute the
accounts furnished by modern travellers ;
and the greater the progress which has
been made in the comparative philology
of the Hebrew and its kindred dialects;
the more definite and satisfactory have
been the results of the investigations that
have been instituted with a view to de
termine the m.eaning of the words here
employed. A very elaborate work on
the passage, was published by NicoL
Guil. Schroeder, with a preface by the
celebrated Albert Schultens, intituled :
Commentarius Philologico- Criticus, de
Vestitu Mulierum Hebmarum, ad Isaia,
iii. vers. 16 — 24. Lugd. Batav. 1745,
4to; which, so far as philology is con
cerned, may be said to have exhausted
the subject.
Having at the outset charged the
Hebrew females with pride in general,
(inaa,) Jehovah proceeds to specify the
external indications of it in their dress

and deportment.— niiB?, for niia?, as the
Keri reads, like niiiE», for nrnJi, 1 Sam.
xxv. 18. JilJ is properly the throat, but
is here used for the fore-part of the neck,
which stretches and becomes more visible
when an effort is made to toss up the
head, or to throw it back into the atti
tude of haughtiness or pride. Instead of
niij^, ogling, forty-two printed editions,
and among them some of the most accu
rate, eight of De Rossi's MSS., and one
at first hand, read niliftfa, lying or
" acting falsely with their eyes ;" but
most MSS., the celebrated Spanish co
dices, all the ancient editions, and all the
ancient versions, support the common
reading, which has also the suffrages of
Kimchi, Abarbanel, and several of the
ancient rabbins. Three of Kennicott's
MSS. have nii^pn, with Samech instead of
Sin, which also goes to increase the au
thority of the Textus Receptus. Lowth,
approving of the reading which exhibits
Shin, renders freely : "falsely setting off
their eyes with paint," and supposes
reference to be made to the custom, so
universal in the East, of tinging the hair
and edges of the eyelids with stibium or
alkohol, in order to give a more impos
ing appearance to the white of the eye :
— a practice, in describing which, Ezek.
employs the very word, ^ns, kdhal: ^ijfl
f.?^, lit. " Thou koholest thine eyes," i. e.
paintest them with kohol, xxiii. 40. This
interpretation, however, does not suit
the other parts of the verse, all of which
describe some action of the members of
the body, and not any action performed
upon them. The meaning is, therefore,
rightly given by Abulwalid: CuLa««.«
CL^lfljiilllj ^1 CL.jii'l. Who ogle
with the eyes. The word is used of a
woman who flashes and flames with her

chap. III.]

ISAIAH.

29

And walk with outstretched necks and ogling eyes,
Mincing always as they walk, and tinkling with their feet :
17 The Lord will make bald the crown of the daughters of Zion,
Yea Jehovah will expose their shame.
18 In that day the Lord will remove
The ornaments of the ancle-bands.
The tasselled tresses and the crescents :

fyes ; and the meaning is, she darts her
looks in u bold and lascivious manner.
Both the Chald. ipp and the Arab.

jXuJ)

in the second Conj. express an action of
the eyes.
'iji'^n, the Infin. absol. expresses con
tinued or unceasing action. fjom, a
ajra| \ey. signifies, according to the
force of the Arab. ¦ ot-i and • «'> , to
move nimbly or softly: hence, P]P, a child,
from its short and light steps. It is here
descriptive of affected delicacy in walk
ing. The mas. suff. in Drrtji is not
without effect ; indicating, that the noise
which the women made with their ankle-
chains was totally at variance with the
modestly retiring character of the sex.
One of De Rossi's Codd. reads p, doubt
less by correction. For the obviously
designed use oi masculine pronouns, to in
timate the incongruity of certain actions
in reference to female character, see
Judges xix. 24; Ezek. xiii. 20. — D39, to
make a tinkling noise with the rings
which were worn round the ankles. See
ver. 18.
17. "Many MSS. the Soncin. Bible,
and Soncin. Proph. of 1486, read nin;
instead of 'ais, both in this and the fol
lowing verse. That, in consequence of
the superstitious veneration of Jewish
transcribers for the sacred name, the
latter word has crept into many passages
which originally exhibited mn', is now
universally admitted among Hebrew
scholars, neto, causative, to make to
fall off'. Compare nnSD, the scab or
mange. The latter clause of the verse
describes the entire destitution of cloth
ing, to which the gaudy Hebrewesses
should be reduced, in allusion to the
ancient custom of stripping captives
naked, and driving them in that state
before their conquerors. See Lowth,

and comp. chap, xlvii. 3 ; Nah. iii.
5, 6.
18. D'p3», sing. D39, Arab. ^j*,Uc , a
rope or string for binding the foot of a
camel, from luJic, to twist, tie round.
It is used, Prov. vii. 22, of a ring or
fetter put upon the leg of a delinquent,
by way of punishment; and here, of the
ornamental rings of gold, silver, brass,
ivory, &c. which, to this day, eastern
females wear about their legs and ankles.
They are frequently numerous, one above
another ; and, slipping up and down,
from the motion made in walking, pro
duce a tinkling noise. They even attach
to them little bells, or put into such of
them as are hollow, small pebbles, which
make the same tinkling sound. Calmet,
Art. Periscelides ; Parkhurst in voc. D3» ;
Harmer's Obser. chap. xi. Obser. xlvii.
That they were also used by the Grecian
and Roman ladies, see Schroeder, pp.
14—17. Comp. ver. 16.
D'p'3itS. The apparently violent trans
ition from the leg or ankle rings to the
head dress, at once disappears, if we
explain this word of braided tresses of
hair, such as those which Pitts describes
the loose women at Cairo as wearing
down to their very heels, with little bells
attached to them at the end, which made
a tinkling sound as they walked. Da^
is synonymous with yati and tfasS, to in
terweave, plait. The LXX. render it
KO(n5/*/3ovs, which, besides other signifi
cations, is used to denote tassels hanging
to the hem, or to the lower part of a
garment, and may have been employed
by them, in application to the ends
of the tresses resembling such tassels.
Schroeder's interpretation, soliculi, how
ever ingeniously and elaborately sup
ported, is now generally regarded to be
untenable. That the following term,

so

ISAIAH.

[chap. III.

19
2021

The ear-pendents, and the bracelets, and the small veils ;
The turbans, the stepping chains, and the girdles,
The smelling-bottles and the amulets ;
The finger-rings and the jewels of the nose.

¦a'iinto, means lunula, crescents, or orna
ments in the shape of little moons, hung
upon the neck, is as generally admitted.
These ornaments were not peculiar to
the women, but were also worn by men
and camels, Jud. viii. 21, 26.
19. niD'pp, pendants or ear-drops, from
f)P3, to drop, — peculiarly descriptive of
ornaments of pearl, gold, &c. hanging
from the ears in the shape of drops. —
These also were worn by men of rank,
Jud. viii. 26. nilsJ, bracelets, or small
chains of gold or silver worn on the
arms, and perhaps in nothing differing
from those called D'Tp^, Gen. xxiv. 22.
The word is derived from llij, to twist or
hind about, nibsi, Arab. ^J£., a. par
ticular kind of small thin veil, consisting
of two pieces, which were united with
clasps, near the eyes, and hung down
over the face to preserve it from the
sun. The name seems to be derived
from the tremulous motion which they
exhibited ; but the term being closely
connected with the preceding, more
regard may be had to the elegance of
the clasps, than to the veils themselves.
20. D'lN|i, tiaras or turbans, a species
of ornamental head-dress, to which
Eastern females are still very partial,
and which they generally arrange in
the most elegant manner. riii»2, Arab.
i>U.«a«, from t»s, to march or walk in
a stately and measured manner, and
signifying walking or stepping chains.
Catena, qua captivorum pedes constrin-
guntur, ne amplos passus facient ; catena
in pedibus mulierum, quce ornamento in-
servit. Freytag. They were fastened to
the legs, and were designed to prevent
long steps, and compel those who used
them to walk in the manner described,
ver. 16. From the circumstance, that
iii??^) from the same root, is used of a
male ornament, worn on the arm, 2 Sam.
i. 10, (comp. Num. xxxi. 50,) it has
been supposed that some such female
ornament is meant: and, indeed, by a
slight change of the letters in Arabic,

Sji)(.^ , Brachiale, brachii vincuhim v.el
ornamentum, Gol. the same idea is
brought, out; yet still the meaning as
signed above, seems entitled to the pre
ference. So Schroed. Gesen. Rosenm.
and Hitzig. That D'-)ifip, signify female
girdles, is beyond dispute. The word
occurs only once besides; viz. Jer: ii,
20, where, however, it is iised, less spe
cifically, of such parts of female dress as
required binding. Comp. for the use of
the verb in Piel, Is. xlix. 18.— itiBJn 'na,
lit. " houses of the breath :" i. e. smelling
bottles, or boxes of perfume, the effect of
which, when inhaled, is to assist respira
tion. They were suspended to a lace or
belt, tied round the waist, n'a, in Heb.
signifies whatever contains any thing.
D'Sin^, from liJnJ, in Piel, to mutter, use
enchantments, denote amulets, consisting
of precious stones, plates of gold, silver,
&c. which were chiefly suspended by
chains round the neck, and were sup
posed to possess the power of preserving
against diseases, witchcraft, and all kinds
of mischief. Many of them were in the
shape of serpents. Such talismans are
still very common all over the East, and
form an indispensable part of female
attire. 21. nsJam, a ring worn on one of the
fingers of the right hand, and containing
a seal or signet with the name of the
possessor engraved on it. The sub. is
derived from sap, to sink, or cause to
sink into a soft substance, to impress
with a seal, Esth. iii. 10. It is equiva
lent to Dnin, Jer. xxii. 24 ; but may here
be taken to signify rings in general, for
wearing on the fingers. fl«n 'PJ?. Some;
after the LXX. toi' Koapov tov npofrd-
TTov, interpret this of any kind of orna
ments for the face; but, as DM signifies
in the Arabic, to perforate^ and fj?
strictly and properly denotes the nose,
there can be no doubt, that nose-jewels
or nose-rings are meant. Comp. Ezek.
xvi. 12 ; and Prov. xi. 22. " It is the
custom," says Sir John Chardin| "in
almost all the East, for the women to

chap. III.]

ISAIAH.

81

22 The dress-vestments and the tunics ;
The cloaks and the purses ;
23 The mirrors and the linen shifts ;
The ribands, and the large veils.
24 And instead of perfume shall be putridity ;
Instead of a girdle, a rope ;
Instead of braided hair, baldness ;
Instead of the wide-flowing mantle, a wrapper of sackcloth ;
A brand instead of beauty.

wear rings in their noses, in the left
nostril, which is bored low down in the
middle. These rings are of gold, and
have commonly two pearls and one ruby
between, placed in the ring." See also
Lowth's Note. From the perforating of
the ears, Dij is likewise used of earrings.
Gen. XXXV. 4.
22. nisbnp, splendid and pompous vest
ments, gala dresses, worn only on special
occasions, and so called from their being
put off the moment such occasions were
over, in order to keep them from being
tarnished: y^n, Arab. jji~-, signifying,
to pull or put off a garment. Comp.
Zech. iii. 4, where the word denotes the
costly and splendid robes of the high-
priest. niDpsp, stoles, or wide tunics,
worn over the common ones, furnished
with sleeves, and reaching to the ankles.
Root, f]P», to cover, or clothe, Arab.
i_aia«^, Symm. dva^okaia. ninsipp,
ample cloaks, of wide upper garments,
worn at home and on ordinary occasions.
They corresponded to the i_Xiks.-i hyJce,
of the Arabs, made of wool, commonly
about seven ells in length, by three in
breadth, and thrown loosely round the
body. Such was the large garment of
Ruth, which contained six measures of
barley; and Dr. Shaw informs us, that
finer sorts are still worn by the ladies
and persons of distinction among the
Arabs. Travels, p. 225. D'p'in, pockets,
or purses for holding money and other
small articles, 2 Kings v. 23 ; Arab.
(jia) j_, — conical in form, of satin or
velvet, and richly ornamented with gold.
23. D':'^3. Interpreters are here chiefly
divided between the significationsmirrors.

and transparent garments. The latter is
supported by the rendering of the LXX.
bia<j)avrj \aKaviKa, i. e. garments that
might be seen through, such as were
worn by the indecent Lacedemonian
females ; and might appear very appro
priate in application to the dress of the
wanton Hebrew females in the time of
Isaiah; but, as Ji'^?, in the singular, sig
nifies a smooth, polished tablet, chap.
viii. 1 , the former interpretation is pre
ferable. The mirrors of the Hebrews
were round in form, provided with a
handle, and made of brass or mixed
metal, highly polished ; and the females
doubtless carried them about with them,
as do the dancing girls in India, and as
the females used to do in Egypt and
Greece, at certain idolatrous festivals.
Comp. Exod. xxxviii. 8. D'3'ip, under
garments or shifts of fine linen, cotton,
or gauze, worn next the body ; from pD,
Arab. .cVw j laxavit, demisit vestem
suum, to let the garment hang loose. —
niffiV, ribands, chiefly used for binding
the braided tresses of the hair round the
head, or sashes of fine linen bound round
the bottom of the tiara. Bi'i'Ti, large
veils, thrown over .the head, and de
scending over the other garments to the
feet. They were worn when the females
went abroad, and were more exposed to
the gaze of spectators. Comp. Song
V. 7. Root, IT), to bring down, subdue :
hence, the idea of power, subjection to
power ; and the veil, as the mark of
such subjection, expressed by the much
contested term, i^ovtria, 1 Cor. xi. 10.
See Bloomfield in loc.
24. There is here a sudden turn in
the address ; but instead of dropping the
subject, it is presented under a new and
aggravating form. Not only were all

ISAIAH.

[cpAP. iir.

25

26

Thy men shall fall by the sword ;
And thy forces in war.
Her gates shall lament and mourn,
And, emptied, she shall sit on the ground.

CHAPTER IV.

And seven women shall lay hold on one man in that day, saying ;
We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel :
Only let us be called by thy name.
To take away our reproach.

the articles of finery to be removed, but
every thing that was coarse, vulgar, and
disgusting, was to supply their place.
pp or pp , rottenness, or a foetid smell —
the very opposite of the Dfe contained in
the smelHng bottles, ver. 20. nsj?; , from
f)i?3, to surround, bind round, a cord or
rope tied round the waist, ntiijp ntoSJp,
braided work, i. e. hair artificially made
up into braids, and interwoven and stiff
ened with ribands and other materials.
See ver. 18. Root, no5|:, to stiffen, make
hard. ^3'n? occurs only here, and is of
uncertain derivation. The most proba
ble is that which regards it as com
pounded of 'riB, from nnB, to be wide,
expanded, and ^'3, to be or move round ;
a full mantle, flowing all round the body.
pto, coarse haircloth, used for sacks, and
worn in time of mourning, or by the
very poorest, in lieu of other clothing.
'B' nnri"'3. There is a peculiar beauty in
the terseness with which the whole de
scription thus concludes. '3, though
only found in this place as a noun, is
evidently used to signify brand or burnt
mark, being regularly formed from nia,
to burn, as '» from ni», '1 from nil, &c.
As the whole verse describes the de
plorable condition of female captives led
away by their conquerors, the brand is
to be understood of the o-r/y/iara, or
marks which it was customary to burn
into the foreheads of prisoners and slaves.
25, 26. Here Jerusalem is first directly
addressed, and then her desolate condi
tion is aptly depicted. By an unexpected
transition, the destmction of the males
becomes the subject of a brief, but affect
ing notice. TJiaa, military force, used
collectively for mighty warriors. The

gates being entirely deserted, are repre
sented by a prosopopoeia, as indulging in
grief, the intensity of which is expressed
by the synonymes, n3« and ta«. nngj,
cleared, i. e. completely emptied of inha
bitants. Nothing could be more expres
sive than the metaphorical representation
of Jerusalem, sitting like a disconsolate
female on the ground : and it is very
remarkable, that on Roman medals,
struck by order of Titus, in commemo
ration of his conquest of Jerusalem, and
the entire destruction of the Jewish
polity, Judea actually appears in the
posture of a female sitting on the ground,
under a palm tree, and giving way to
inconsolable grief. See Home's Introd.
vol. i. pp. 215, 216. The prophecy
doubtless received its accomplishment in
the Babylonish captivity ; though the
language is equally applicable to that
inflicted by the Romans, Comp. Ps.
cxxxvii. 1 ; Lam. i. 1.
Chapter IV. — 1. This verse is so in
timately connected with the preceding,
that the division of the chapters here is
most unhappy. Such would be the car
nage of the war, ver. 25, that there would
be no proportion of men left; and as
the Hebrews regarded celibacy as a re
proach, rather than incur such reproach,
a number of females are here described
as immodestly importuning one man to
marry them, that they might have the
honour of standing in the relation of
wives to him, though they renounced all
claim upon him for support. That it
was customary for the wife to be namec^
after the husband, see Gen. xii. 17;
xlvi. 19; 2 Sam. xi. 3,

CHAP. IV.]

ISAIAH.

33

CHAPTER IV.
Having depicted the wickedness of the Jews, and the awful judgments with which
it would be punished, the prophet devotes this short chapter to an announcement
of the glory and felicity of the church in the time of Messiah.

In that day the Branch of Jehovah
Shall be beautiful and glorious ;
And the Fruit of the earth, excellent and splendid
To the escaped of Israel.

2. Minn Di'a, at or after that period;
viz. of universal desolation. The pre
position a does not always strictly ex
press what is contained within any given
time or space ; it also points out near
ness, society, or accompaniment, that
which is in connexion with, or which
follows upon something else. In pro
phetic vision, the two states of adversity
and prosperity were so closely connected,
that one period might be said to compre
hend them both. See chap. x. 20, and
Zech. xii. xiii. xiv. where the phrase is
used of events partly coeval, and partly
successive, nin; nps, according to all
the other passages in which a nps.
Branch, is promised, must be taken in a
personal sense. See Jer. xxiii. 5 ; xxxiii.
15 ; Zech. iii. 8 ; vi. 12 ; and comp.
Is. xi. 1 ; liii. 2 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 29. Nor
is it possible for any one impartially
to examine the connexion and bearing
of these passages without perceiving,
that the person therein predicted or pro
mised is no other than the Messiah.
Thus, the Targ. »;i wrPttSp, Kimchi, Vi
tringa, Lowth, Rosenmiiller, and Heng-
stenberg in his Christol. That nin; nps
means the same as D'ri^s ]a, the Son of
God, receives confirmation from the ori
ental appropriation of the term Branch,
to signify descent. Thus, Silvestre de
Sacy, in his " M^moires sur Diverses
Antiquit^s de la Perse," p. 94 : — " This
expression, branch of, denoting ' of the
race of,' is very common in the books of
the Persians. Zoroaster is there called
the Branch of Minochehr ; Yezdejerd,
the Branch of Sassan ; Gustasp, the
Branch of Kean," &c. The occurrence

of 'y^ np';>?!>, "to the escaped Israel
ites," presents an insuperable objection
to the interpretation of Grotius, Mi
chaelis, Gesenius, Hitzig, and others,
that the pious remnant of the Jews are
meant. Since it is expressly predicted,
that to this very remnant, the Branch
was to be beautiful and glorious, it is
manifest they cannot be identical. It
has been thought, however, that to ex
plain yiijn 'IB, " the Fruit of the earth,"
of the Messiah, would be intolerably
harsh. Yet, if we understand yi» to
stand, by synecdoche, for the inhabitants
of the earth, i. e. men, which is a figure
not unusual in Scripture, the harshness
is at once removed, and the same anti
thetical view of the origin of the Mes
siah's person is given, which we find
Rom. ix. 5. The passage thus contains
a prediction of the divine and human
natures of our Lord, similar to what we
find in chap. vii. 14 ; ix. 5. John the
Baptist likewise employs the phrase, o av
in Trjs yrjs, John iii. 31, to denote one
who is simply a partaker of humanity,
while he describes the Messiah, whose
human nature he takes for granted, as
d avadev ipxop.evos. Comp. Luke i. 78,
where our Saviour is called avaToXrj i^
vyjrovs, i. e. nps , which the LXX. have
rendered avaroXfi, Jer. xxiii. 5; Zech.
iii. 8 ; vi. 12. — While all human pride
was to be stained, and all human orna
ments to be removed, every true Israelite
would find in the Messiah a plenitude of
glory and splendour. iro'^B, "The
escaped," seems to refer rather to those
who should be delivered from the cor
rupt body of the nation, to xaroXtt/i/xa
F

M

ISAIAH.

[chap. IV.

And he that is left in Zion
And remaineth in Jerusalem
Shall be called holy :
Every one who is enrolled to life in Jerusalem.
When the Lord washeth away the filth of the daughters of Zion,
And cleanseth out the blood of Jerusalem from the midst of her,
With the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning ;
Then shall Jehovah create
Upon every station of mount Zion,
And upon her places of convocation,
A cloud and a smoke by day ;
And the brightness of a flaming fire by night ;
Which shall be over all the glory for protection :

of the Apostle, Rom. ix. 27, than to
such as either remained in Judea, or
returned from captivity. Comp. Zeph.
iii. 11, 12. The ) before the four first
nouns converts them into adjectives, as
Lam. iv. 3. in«!' i?* na, " the daughter
of my people is to a cruel one ; i. e. is
cruel." S. l!«i|n and inian are collective parti
ciples, and form the nom. absol. ; and
agree with no'b?) in the foregoing verse,
which is also a collective. sSiiJ is to
be taken in the N. T. sense of dyios,
— reference being made to the times
of the Messiah. ip« has here the idiom
atic sense of >oiJ, to call, i. e. to be
what one is called, ainsn '?3 is in appo
sition with the preceding participles ;
and D'jrt aina corresponds to TCTaypivoi
els fto^i/ aldviov. Acts xiii. 48 ; and
yeypatrrai iv ra /3j/3Xi'(b t^s fo)^s, Rev.
xiii. 8 ; but not to Exod. xxxii. 32,
though this last passage no doubt fur
nished the type both of the idea and the
phraseology. Dan. xii. 1, is perfectly
parallel with this text in Isaiah. The
verse describes the exalted character for
moral purity, which should distinguish
those whom God would acknowledge as
his future people, and on whom he
would confer salvation.
4, 5. 1 — D», when — then: pointing out
the connexion between the spiritual puri
fication that Jehovah would eft'ect, and
the Divine protection which he gra
ciously promises. — nsiJ is the most ex
pressive term that could have been

employed to denote the loathsomeness
of moral pollution. Ji'STiiia, as a geo
graphical phrase, would signify towns
and villages lying round and dependent
on Zion, and so Rosenm. and Hengsten.
understand it in this passage ; but it is
clearly to be taken, as in chap. iii. 16,
for the female inhabitants. In like
manner, pWii; stands for "T??,) 'the
sons of Jerusalem,' i. e. the male inha
bitants, who are more appropriately
charged with the shedding of blood.
The LXX. supply freely : tSv vimv koI
T&v OvyaTepav ^idv. IPil, in this pas
sage, is almost pleonastic, only it gives
force to the words with which it is in
construction, just as ufe; and DS» do.
The judgment and the burning would be
of the severest kind. Comp. Mai. iii.
1 — 4. i»3 is the Infin. nomin. in Piel.
to is omitted before ]i30 in six MSS. but
it is expressed in all the ancient versions;
and instead of •tm1|?P in the sing, upwards
of forty MSS. and nearly fifty printed
editions read tr^I?'? iii 'he plur. The
language is universal in its character,
and is inapplicable to any period except
that of the gospel dispensation. The
earthly Jerusalem was no longer to be
the station to which men should repair
for worship ; but to all places where the
true worshippers of Jehovah should meet
in holy convocation, he promises to
vouchsafe his presence and protection.
Mai. i.l 0,11; John iv. 21— 23 ; Matt.
xviii. 20 ; 1 Cor. 1, 2. The figurative
reference is to the pillar of cloud, and

CHAP, v.]

ISAIAH.

35

6 And a tabernacle shall be for shade by day from the heat ;
And for a refuge and a covert.
From storm and from rain.

the pillar of fire, in which the Lord went
before the Israelites in the wilderness,
and -to the glory which rested upon the
tabernacle, Exod. xiii. 21, 22 ; xl. 38.
'3 is used here as a relative pronoun.
Gesen. Lex. Man. — ran is properly the
canopy of the nuptial couch, but is here
employed in the sense of protection,
from the Pual of nan, to cover, hence
to protect, like ^n. By Tiaa is meant
the transcendently glorious state of the
church under the Messiah, as contrasted

with her condition under Moses — a glory
which is not to be done away, but is to
remain, 2 Cor. iii. 7 — 11, as the result
of Divine protection. The omission of
ta before Tiaa in a few MSS. is not en
titled to any consideration.
6. So great was to be the care of God
over his people, that every advantage
should be afforded them in the way of
constant defence from the inconveniences
and dangers to which they might be ex
posed. Comp. Zech. ii. 5.

CHAPTER V.

This chapter contains a parabolic reprehension of the Jews for their irreligious and
wicked conduct, 1 — 7 ; a specification of particular sins which abounded at the
time, such as avarice, inebriety, perversion of right and wrong, self-conceit, and
injustice, 8 — 23 ; a denunciation of Divine judgments, 24, 25 ; and a description
of the agents by whom these judgments would be inflicted, 26 — 30.

1 Come, I will sing to my Beloved
A song of my Love touching his vineyard ;
My Beloved had a vineyard
Upon a fertile peak.

1. The prophet commences with a
beautiful parable of a vineyard, most
advantageously situated, with which
every pains had been taken by the
owner; but which totally disappointed
his expectations, and was in consequence
abandoned to desolation. — I'Bi after S3,
in one of Kennicott's Codd. is an emen
dation. The form, "^ ni'siN, is that used
elsewhere, and the whole sentence is
equally elegant without the emendation,
of which Lowth approves. The same
usage shews, that '' is simply the sign of

the dative, and not the preposition sig
nifying in reference ,<o, respecting, &c.
which is the construction of many inter
preters. The n paragogic in ni'«j« forci
bly expresses the desire of the speaker
towards the action predicated. Between
'Til? and 'Til there is no difference of sig
nification in this place. Both designate
Jehovah, who was the object of the song,
inasmuch as it was designed to vindicate
his conduct towards his people ; and, at
the same time, its author, inasmuch as
it was dictated by his Spirit, pp., pro-

36

ISAIAH.

[chap.

2 He dug it thoroughly and cleared it of stones,
And planted it with the vine of Sorek ;
And he built a tower in the midst of it.
And also hewed out a wine-vat in it :
And then expected it to produce grapes,
But it produced bad grapes.

perly a horn, but applied metaphorically,
as the term is in many other languages,
to a pointed hill or mountain, especially
such as juts out so as to form a promon
tory. See Lowth, who supposes the
image to be taken from Mount Tabor ;
and comp. the Arab. 1 Ji , vertex mon-
iis, IJr ijji) parvus mons, aliis
pars mentis cEetera parte separata. We
are not, however, to imagine that the
whole hill was covered with vines ; pro
bably only that part of it was thus occu
pied, which was most sheltered from the
wind, and exposed to the sun. To ex
press the great fertility of the hill, it is
called JoiS^a, a son of oil or fatness, i. e.
fat, fertile, according to a common idiom
in Heb. by which a thing is said to
be the son of whatever quality it pos
sesses. 2. The digging expressed by pi», is
that which was necessary in order to
loosen the stones that were afterwards
to be cleared away, to make room for
the vines. ^p.p, to gather and cast stones
out cf afield. Several interpreters, after
the LXX. understand both this and the
preceding verb to refer to the forming
of a trench, and a wall round the vine
yard, but contrary to the force of the
terms. pliB, Sorek, the name of a valley
between Askelon and Gaza, probably so
called, because of its abounding in vines :
pl^, signifying, to intertwine as the shoots
or tendrils of the vine, and pito, shoots or
tendrils thus intertwined. Gen. xlix. 11.
The word is used by Jeremiah to denote
a vine of noble or excellent quality,
chap. ii. 21, which is not without reason
supposed to be the ^Jyii , Sherki,
which Host found in Morocco, the
grapes of which the Persians and Turks
call ^SL^mS , Kishmish. They are
small in size, reddish in colour, with

small or scarcely any stones, and have a
very sweet taste. Comp. J^j^t "***'*
generosa, Gol.; ,J>_f" > which Abulwalid
describes as the noblest vine, growing in
Syria, Ges. in loc. ; and ^jy °^ *^
Arab. ver. Gen. xlix. 11. The LXX.
Aq. and Theod. retain the word a-aprjK ;
but Symm. renders it eKKeKTijv, choice,
excellent. The 'JJtQ, tower, was buUt for
the purpose, not only of watching the
vineyard, but also of accommodating
the owner during the vintage, and con
tained the various implements used in
cultivating the vine, and preparing the
wine. By ap^ is properly meant the
lower vat or trough, situated near the
wine-press, in which the grapes were trod
den, and into which the juice flowed as
it was pressed out. It was called Xt/vos
by the Greeks ; and from its inferior
position to the na or wine-press, the
LXX. commonly render it vjroXjJwoi'.
From the circumstance, however, that
no mention is here made of the latter,
the ap;, may include both, as it certainly
does in the plural. Job xxiv. 11. It is
said to have been hettm out, because a
subterraneous cistern or vat was neces
sary for the coolness of the situation.
Such cisterns were sometimes so large,
that the term Xokkos, lacus, lake, came
to be applied to them. The words of
our Lord's parable, apv^ev iSjroX^yioi',
Kal aKoSoprjo-e nvpyov, Mark xii. 1, are
parallel in sense to those employed by
Isaiah. — D'ttJMa has been variously reiiT
dered. The LXX. and Theod. aKovdas ;
Symm. dreXfj ; Aq. a-aTrpial. Syr.
1 ¦> V
)£30^, coroobs, the ceratonia siliqua of
Linnseus. Jerome: labruscas, 'wilivmes.
The idea of bad or worthless grapes
seems that which is best supported. The
root, Disa, signifies to give an offensive
smell, be odious, bad, &c.

CHAP, v.]

ISAIAH.

37

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done to my vineyard
Than I have done to it ?
Why, when I expected it to produce grapes,
Did it produce bad grapes ?
5 Well now, I will tell you
What I will do to my vineyard :
I will remove its fence, and it shall become a pasture ;
I will demolish its wall, and it shall be trodden down ;
6 I will lay it entirely waste ;
It shall neither be pruned nor weeded.
But thorns and briers shall grow up in it ;
And I will charge the clouds
Not to pour any rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel ;
And the men of Judah are his pleasant plantation.
He expected justice, but behold ! bloodshed !
Righteousness, but behold ! outcry !

3. In the true style of parable, the
application is reserved for the close ; so
that the call made in this verse for a
decision from the very people whose
conduct it was designed to expose, is
introduced with great effect and beauty.
They are virtually called upon to con
demn themselves. Comp. 2 Sam. xii.
1 — 6 ; Matt. xxi. 40.— a«ji' and *« are
collectives. 5. No mention is made of naitop or 113
in the account of the formation of the
vineyard; but they are introduced here
for the sake of immediate effect. The
latter word denotes a wall of stones or
clay ; the former, a thom hedge, planted
outside the other, for the sake of greater
protection. The finite form of the verbs
is understood after the infin. "Wa is the
Infin. nomin. and is to be rendered as
a noun. Comp. ver. 5.
6. nna, from nna, to cut off, make an
end of, desolate, destroy, means complete
desolation. It should have been pointed
with a Dagesh compensative in the n, as
we find the plural ninan 'Ijna , valleys com
pletely desolate, chap. vii. 19, — The «a in
I'pprra has the force of a negative.

7. The prophet now makes a direct
application of the parable — introducing
it by the particle '3, which expresses the
certainty of the thing declared. Though
the ten tribes originally belonged to the
vineyard of Jehovah, yet as they had cut
themselves off from it by revolt and idol
atry, it is not likely that the phrase,
''^iP! n'a, is here used in application to
them. It seems rather to be employed
as a poetic parallel to the following i*«
nTiiT, — both signifying the inhabitants
of the kingdom of Judah. Dia , in con
nexion with the following 1'|1«toili, has
all the force of the Arab. j,S , to possess
generosity cf nature, be noble, excellent.
The latter Hebrew word, being redupli
cate in form, is expressive of the highest
degree of delight. — ^iDBilip and nBipp ; njTTS
and 'TIS?) are instances of studied paro
nomasia, or play upon words, in which
our prophet abounds ; see particularly
chap. xxiv. — but they can seldom be
successfully imitated in a translation. —
HBtop, from nBto=nBD, Arab. ,^Am, to
pour out, shed blood.

38

ISAIAH.

[chap. v.

10

11

8 Wo to them that join house to house.
That add field to field,
Till no place remains.
And ye are left to dwell by yourselves in the land.
9 In my ears Jehovah of Hosts hath revealed it :
Verily the numerous houses shall become a desolation.
The large and fine ones shall be without inhabitants.
For ten acres of vineyard shall produce only one bath,
And a homer of seed shall produce but an ephah.
Wo to them who, early in the morning, run after strong drink ;
Who, late at night, inflame themselves with wine.

8. Having stated in general terms
the atrocious wickedness of the Jews,
which corresponded to the bad grapes in
the parable, the prophet proceeds to de
nounce Divine judgments against parti
cular sins. In i3'il?2, — '»'?? is an instance
of a proposition commencing with a par
ticiple, and being continued in the future
of a finite verb, — a mode of construction
not uncommon in Hebrew. See Ges.
Lehrgeb. p. 802. — For DM*n, seven
Codd. prim, one, and now one, the
early Edd. of Soncin. and Brix. and
fifteen other Edd. read DMifiin in Hiphil;
but the Hophal conjugation alone suits
the connexion. It is found in the best
Codd. and in most of the old Edd. The
change of person, for the purpose of
direct address, however abrupt, is not
unusual with our prophet. — ^The mono
poly of houses and landed property was
diametrically opposed to the spirit of the
Mosaic law, and a virtual infraction of
the enactment relative to the year of
jubilee ; but such was the perversion of
justice, that the rich, if they were not
aided by those who should have ad
ministered it, were, at least, suffered
quietly to dispossess the poor, and accu
mulate property in the most unrighteous
manner. 9. For '3i«3, in my ears, three of
De Rossi's MSS. one at first hand, and
apparently another, Munster's Edd. of
1534 and 1546, the Basel Polyglott of
Isaiah, read '.31«3, in the ears of Jeho
vah of hosts ; and this is the rendering
of the LXX. and Arab. That the true
pointing is that of the Textus Receptus,
appears from chap. xxii. 14, where the
ellipsis of nja; is supplied, and a sense

produced, which is at once easy and ap
propriate. If the word ever existed in
this passage, it must have dropped out
at a very early period, since the LXX.
could not possibly have rendered it
rjKoiKrBr) ; a rendering, however, which
several translators have adopted, from
not adverting to the parallel passage
above quoted. — ^^ravi is a formula of
swearing ; but instead of a negative, it
has a strongly afiSrmative meaning. ' See
chap. xiv. 24 ; Numb. xiv. 28 ; Josh.
xiv. 9. — In ]'«p, the ta is used TeXiKos,,
in the signification : " so that there shall
not be."
10. Here the causes of the desolation
are assigned — a complete failure of the
vintage and harvest, and consequent
famine, ins was properly the yoke, by
which two oxen were bound together;
but it came to be used metaphorically bf
the quantity of ground which they could
plough in a day ; and, as in the present
instance, of such a quantity altogether
irrespective of ploughing. — na, the bath,
was a liquid measure, and, according to
Josephus, Antiq. viii. 2, 9, contained
seventy-two sextarii, or about seven gal
lons four pints of our measure. The
I'an, homer, was a dry measure equal to
ten baths, Ezek. xlv. 1 1, and is not to be
confounded with the ip3>, omer, which
was only the tenth part of a bath. The
fE)'« was likewise a dry measure, and
according to Josephus, Antiq. xv. 9, 2,
was equal to the Attic medimnus, or
about six pecks, corresponding to the
bath in liquids. A succession of such
seasons as that here threatened, must
have produced universal ruin.
11, 12. The participles, 'P'3il5p and

CHAP, v.]

ISAIAH.

39

12 And the lyre and the harp, the tabret and the pipe,
And wine compose their feasts ;
But the operation of Jehovah they do not consider,
Nor do they regard the work of his hands.
13 Therefore my people are led captive at unawares ;
Their nobility are starvelings,
And their multitude are parched with thirst.

'in«p, are used adverbially. For the
prefixing of a before the second of two
nouns in construction, see chap. ix. 2 ;
xxi. 1 3. From this passage, and Eccles.
X. 16, 17, we see that early drinking was
considered by the Jews, as it was by the
Romans, a mark of the most depraved
sensuality. Between 13'ftS and J.'! there is
this difference, that while the latter is
never used of any other liquor than the
produce of the grape, the former is em
ployed to denote any kind of inebriating
liquor, whether prepared from grapes, or
from dates, barley, or honey. It is,
however, the stronger of the two terms,
and seems purposely placed in connexion
with the morning, in order to aggravate
the abandoned character of the drunkards
here described. The Targum renders
it: pw "ran, old wine. As f)«i3 signifies
the morning as well as the evening
twilight, some interpreters adopt the
former signification ; but from the con
trast here presented, it is better to un
derstand it of the evening, — only carrying
forward the idea to that of night, as
chap. xxi. 4 ; lix. 10. LXX. ro di/re.
Syr. («v<i , vesper. Comp. Prov. xxui.
30, and the quotation in Gesenius from
the Book of Adam, ver. 20, where the
same Syriac word, ^MiOy ,' occurs. The
ellipsis of a must be supplied. For the
use of musical instruments at feasts, see
Job xxi. 12, and Amos vi. 3 — 6, a pas
sage strikingly parallel with the present,
and beautifully illustrated in a drawing
taken from a tomb at Thebes, in Wil
kinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 222.
The sensual Jews, in the time of the
prophet, appear to have employed mu
sicians, and all kinds of merry-makers,
as dancers, mimics, buffoons, &c. such as
are still common all over the eeist. Sen

sual indulgences steel the heart against
religious impressions, and cause their
victims to sport on the very brink of
ruin. This is implied in the last clause
of the verse, in which its effect is stated
to be inattention to alarming dispensa
tions of Divine Providence.
13. To describe the certainty of the
event, the prophet represents the Jews
as already carried away into captivity ;
and to express the suddenness of the
calamity, and its overtaking them while
carelessly occupied with their festive en
joyments, he employs the phrase, nSf^ap.
It it true this phrase means ignorance as
the cause of calamity, Hos. iv. 6 ; but
there the article is inserted, and the con
nexion obviously requires this construc
tion ; — whereas in the present case, the
cause being referred to by the use of
)5j , at the beginning of the verse, the
idea of suddenness or unexpectedness is
more appropriate. Comp. Ps. xxxv. 8 ;
Jud. XX. 34 ; Jer. 1. 24.— Tiaa, glory,
abstr. for concrete ; nobility, nobles.
Comp. chap. viii. 7 ; x. 3. 3yrnp, men
of starvation, for starvelings, as M^'fr'np,
men of falsehood, for false or deceitful ;
IBpp-'nn, men of number, for few, &c.
Ttis noun has no singular, except in
compound names, in which it is also
found in the Punic. Comp. ^"t", mari-
tus, in the Ethiopic version of the Polyg.
Matt. i. 19. The punctuation, T/o, dead
of famine, adopted by Michaelis and
some others, after the 'Targ. is to be re
jected on account of its not agreeing so
well with the phrase, «ns nns, in the
following hemistich. The reading nps,
instead of nds, found in the Heb. Bible
of Van der Hooght, and in that of
Forster, which follows it, is not in
any MS. nor in any other printed edir
tions.

40

ISAIAH.

[chap. v.

14 Therefore Sheol enlarges its appetite,
And gapes immeasurably with its mouth ;
And down go her nobihty and her multitude,
Her noisy throng, and whoever was in her that exulted.
The man of mean condition is bowed down,
And the man of rank is brought low ;
And the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
But Jehovah of Hosts is exalted through justice,
And the Holy God is sanctified through righteousness.
The lambs shall feed wherever they are driven.
And the waste fields of the rich, strange flocks shall consume.

15

16

17

14. WsijS. Various derivations have
been offered of this word. Some propose
^Kti, to ask, demand, comparing Prov.
xxx. 15, with orcus rapax, Catull. ii. 28,
29, and aprraKTrip, Callim. ep. ii. 6;
others derive it from the Arab. (JLi , or
(Jw*i , to sink down, descend ; and appeal
for support to the Chald. ^li!i, fundum,
imum rei. Gesen. thinks it is put for
iiBiiS, which he renders cavity, a hollow
subterranean place, and invests both ^M$,
and '??^, with the signification of being
hollow, though he is unable to produce
any instances of actual usage in support
of it. See on the subject, Scheid's very
learned Dissert, in Canticum Hiskiae,
pp. 20 — 43. But whatever difficulty
there may be in settling the derivation
of the term, there is little in determining
its application in the Hebrew Scriptures,
in which it is used with the same lati
tude of signification as the Greek'AfiTjs —
designating ihe invisible place or abode
of the dead, the locality or condition to
which all are removed on leaving this
world. As it includes the grave to which
the body is removed at death, it came to
be conceived and spoken of as situated
in or below the earth, vwoKaTO) Trjs y^s,
Rev. v. 3 ; and 'such as inhabit it are
called KaTaxBovloi, those who inhabit the
under-world, Phil. ii. 10. It was re
garded as a vast and profound subter
ranean region, the entrance to which
was furnished with gates and bars, into
which men went down, and from which
there was no return to the present world.
In this verse, Sheol, (which I have re

tained in the translation, it being the
original term, and quite as intelligible as
the exotic Greek, Hades,) is represented
by one of the boldest prosopopoeias as
a hideous monster, with an immense
mouth and insatiable appetite, swallow
ing down greedily a whole nation, and
all that pertained to it. For other sub
lime poetical representations of Sheol,
see chap. xiv. 9 — 20 ; Ezek. xxvi. 20 ;
xxxi. 14—18 ; xxxii. 18—32. The pre
diction received its fulfilment when Ne
buchadnezzar carried the Jews into
captivity in Babylon, and left none but
the poor of the people, that had nothing
in the land. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 20 ; Jer.
xxxix. 10. Between the descriptioB of
the sin, the pufiishment of which is here
threatened, and the language describing
the punishment itself, there exists a
striking analogy. Those who indulged
in feasting, drinking, and jollity, were to
become subject to famine and thirst, and
food for the rapacious enemy. The fem.
suff. n, in the last instances, refers to
Zion understood. Before 1^1*, subaud. 1*}.
15, 16. The language of these verses
is nearly parallel with that of chap. ii.
9, 11, 17. The humiliation of the wicked
by the infliction of Divine judgments,
and the glory accruing to Jehovah from
the same, is the subject common to
both. — «5lJ3. God is said to be sanctified
when the holiness of his character is
displayed, acknowledged, or proclaimed.
Such is eminently the result of the just
punishment of his enemies.
17. This verse describes the con
sumption of the deserted estates of the
wealthy Jews, by the flocks of the

CHAP. V.J

ISAIAH.

41

18

19

Wo to them that draw calamity with cords of iniquity.
And punishment as with the ropes of a cart.
That say : Let him be quick, let him hasten his work that we may
see it ;
And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and
come, that we may know it.

nomadic tribes, for whose entrance into
the country way should be made by the
removal of the inhabitants. — D-aiS, the
regular infin., with suffix, of ^'i,^io drive
flocks or herds out to pasture. Comp.
Micah ii. 12. Much the same meaning
is expressed by Lowth, who renders
"without restraint," but his version does
not give the exact force of the Hebrew. —
The conjectural emendation of D'la into
•a'13, which the Bishop adopts, ^ after
Durell and Seeker, is quite unwarranted :
the plural of 'la being D';i3, and not
t3'ia. There can be littie doubt that
apves, of the LXX., was suggested by
D'toaa occurring immediately before.
Symm. has TrapoiKoi ; the Syr. ]*i-iV-iV ,
peregrini ; and the Vulg. advena : but
DiJ being parallel with D'toa?, it must be
intei'pretedof_/?oc^*, and not of persons. —
°V^, fat ones, i.e. rich persons, like
yiN-'.?'?'!. the fat of the earth. Ps. xxii. 30.
18, 19. In Heb. the words JIM, tt^'^,
n«En, Jij, &c. signify not only sin, ini
quity, &c. but also punishment, calamity,
misery, as the consequences of moral
evil. Ps. xxxi. 1 1 ; Prov. xxii. 8 ; Isa.
xl. 2 ; Lam. iii. 39 ; Zech. xiv. 19 ; and
such would seem to be the signification
of JiJ, and tl^n, in this passage. The
idea of drawing out, or continuing in
the practice of sin, and thereby accu
mulating it, like a rope-maker, who con
tinually adds to his materials, first
suggested by Houbigant, and approved
by Lowth, is quite forced : — having no
other ground than the simple occurrence
of the terms cords and ropes ; which are
manifestly spoken of as implements, by
the use of which the action was per
formed, and not themselves the subjects
of the operation. Besides, it is at vari
ance with the following context. The
meaning is, that the persons described
were not satisfied with ordinary modes

of provoking the Deity, and the conse
quent ordinary approach of his ven
geance, but, as it were, yoked themselves
in the harness of iniquity, and putting
forth all their strength, drew down upon
themselves with accelerated speed the
load of punishment which their sins de
served. — Instead of 'i!?"?, one of De
Rossi's MSS., the LXX., Arab., Aq.,
Symm., Theod., and the Syr. read '!!an3;
and, on the contrary, instead of nia»a,
fourteen MSS., and probably two others,
and the printed edit, of Soncin. have
ni»a ; but the change makes little or no
difference in the sense, and the one pre
position is very frequently understood in
connexion with the other. Were it not
that it is wholly unsupported by critical
evidence, the conjecture might be ha
zarded, that in rtw, the a has taken the
place of 1, (a mistake very easily made by
a transcriber,) and that the word origin
ally read nji?, wickedness — in which case
the passage would stand thus : —
Miifln '^ana ]i»n '3ito 'in
" ; nNBn r^fST\ niavai
" Wo to them who draw calamity with
cords of iniquity,
And punishment with ropes of wick
edness."
There would thus be a perfection in the
parallelism, which is at present wanting;
but the same sense is brought out by the
present reading of the text, which is
that of all the MSS. and versions.^
The language of the 19th verse is the
only construction that could be put upon
the conduct of the wicked Jews, spoken
of in that which precedes it. They
scoffingly dared the Holy One to carry
his threatenings into execution. Comp.
chap, xxviii. 14, 15; Jer. xvii. 15. The
n in nti'n^, is a rare instance of the
Optative mood in the third person of a
verb.

42

ISAIAH.

{chap.

20

21

22

23

24

Wo to those that call evil good, and good evil.
That put darkness for light, and light for darkness ;
That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. ,
Wo to them that are wise in their own eyes.
And prudent in their own estimation.
Wo to them that are valiant to drink wine,
And men of might to mix strong drink.
That justify the guilty for a reward.
And deprive the just of their right.
Therefore as the flame of fire consumeth the stubble,
And as the burning hay falleth in ;
So shall their root be as rottenness.
And their blossom shall go up like dust :

20, 21. The Article is understood as re
peated before D'pto. Gesen., in his
Commentary, refers to a passage re
markably parallel in the Zabian Book
of Adam, published by Prof. Norberg,
of Lund, 1815. The following is a
translation; " Wo to them that are self-
svise, and, in their mvn view, men of pru
dence. Wo to them who say. We belong to
the light, but ihe light is not with them,
and whose heart he hath abandoned, cut
off, and taken away ! Wo to them that
turn sweet to bitter, and bitter to sweet !
Wo to them that say of good, it is evil,
and place evil on a par with good ! Wo
to them who turn darkness into light, and
light into ' darkness ! Wo to them who
early drink new wine, and in ihe evening
drink that which is old, and are capti
vated with the song, the lyre, and the
pipe." The agreement of the passage
with verses 20, 21, and 11, of this chap
ter, is too glaring to admit of a doubt
that it was partly copied from it, and
partly an imitation.
22. D'laa, and '^(r"i}3K, are terms com
monly applied to. military men, and
indicate extraordinary power and hero
ism. — 13iii.]bn^. When the Hebrews
speak of mixing wine, the meaning is
not that it was diluted with water, and
thus made weaker, but that it had spices
and strong drugs added to it, by which
it was rendered more potent and stupify-
ing. Comp. ^p, spiced wine, Ps. Ixxv. 9 ;
the synonymous aip. Song vii. 3 ; 'iJDpp,
Prov. xxiii. 30 ; KeKepao-p,evov anparov.

Rev. xiv. 10; and Lowth's note on chap,
i. 22. 23. For D'^'^is, one of De Rossi's
MSS., two printed editions, the LXX.,
Syr., Arab., and Vulg. read p'lS; and
an accurate Sp.Cod. of De Rossi, P'isn;
but obviously emendations, introduced
for the purpose of making the word
agree with 33Qp, in the singular, at the
end of the verse. It is not unusual,
however, for a sentence first to have a
plural, and then to exhibit a singular,
for the sake of emphatically stating,
that what is predicated affects each of
the persons or things included in the
whole multitude. The verse describes
the corruption of the judges by bribery,
and the injustice consequent upon it.
24. Now commences a specification
of the punishment to be inflicted on the
profligate and abandoned characters that
had just been described. Hitzig ^pro
perly remarks, that this and the follow
ing verse run parallel with verses 13 and
14, as the use of J3!j, and J?"^, sufficiently
shows. — «>« Jitf), " tongue of fire," used
metaphorically for flame, on accountof its
lambent and pointed appearance. Arab.
lUJi .UwlI , Flamma, pec. fumi expert.
Castei, and Gol. Comp. Acts ii. 3. -^
Contrary to the usual construction, u^is
introduced between the verb and - its
nominative ; which Kimchi accounts for
on the principle, that where the subject
of discourse is so self-evident that there
can be no mistake, the object may be

CHAP.

v.]

ISAIAH.

43

Because they have despised the law of Jehovah of hosts.
And contemned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Wherefore the anger of Jehovah burneth against his people.
He hath stretched out his hand against them and smitten them :
So that the mountains tremble.
And their carcases are as filth in the midst of the streets.
Nevertheless his anger is not turned back,
But his hand is stretched out still.
26 For he raiseth a banner to the distant nations,

placed before the agent. Similar in
stances occur of a word interposed be
tween the Infin. Const, and its genitive,
as chap. xx. 1 ; Ixiv. 1 . iBtfn occurs only
here and chap, xxxiii. 11. Comp. the
Arab. ^uix!ij^>-, hay or dry grass. The
radical idea conveyed by nDi seems to
be that of falling off, or down, failing,
sinking through imbecility. It is here
used to express the falling together, or
sinking down of bundles of dry hay by
the action of fire upon them. — pP, rot
tenness, for " rotten wood," which, when
mouldered and dry, is blown away
like dust. All the images here em
ployed, forcibly represent the suddenness,
ease, and completeness with which God
effects the destruction of the wicked. How
firmly soever they may be established,
and how great soever their splendour,
they at once come to nothing when his
judgments are let loose upon them.
Comp. Amos ii. 9; Hosea ix. 16.
25. Some refer the agitation of the
mountains to the earthquake which hap
pened in the days of Uzziah, Amos i. 1 ;
Zech. xiv. 5 ; but it is nothing more
than a strong poetical image, of frequent
occurrence. Comp. Ps. xviii. 8 ; Joel
ii. 10. — 3 in nniBS is not radical, as
Kimchi and others have supposed, but
the Kaph of comparison. The root is
fpiO, the same as nnD, to sweep away filth ;
hence nrno, 'np, sweepings, filth; Chald.
>ffi'ntp, ordure. The scene here depicted
is that which is witnessed when the
plague is raging in a city, or imme
diately after a siege which has made
awfiil havoc of the inhabitants. — The
verse concludes with a formula which is
thrice repeated in the ninth, and once in

the tenth chapter, to intimate the con
tinuance of divine judgments, and pre
pare the reader for what follows.
26. Without naming the Assyrian
army, the prophet proceeds to describe
its appearance, which he represents to
be most formidable and terrific. — d; is
properly a signal flag or banner, but is
used also for the standard from which it
was displayed. Reference is made to
the militaiy custom of planting a pole
with a flag on a high mountain ; either
to serve as a signal of rendezvous, or to
point out the direction in which an army
is to proceed. The latter is here in
tended. See Csesar de Bel. Gal. lib. ii.
cap. 10; Ammian. in Hist. Valentin.
hb. xxvii. cap. 10. — In the use of piffl is
a metaphor borrowed from the practice
of those who keep bees in the East, and
in some countries of Europe; calling
them out, and again gathering them and
bringing them back to the hive by the
blast of a whistle. Thus Cyril : Aix^'rai
de Kai TovTO n'Xiv, as otto ye Trjs O'vve-
Beias Trjs irri rdv pvidv. 'Ev eSei yap
Trds idTL Toli p.e\icT(T0K6p0LS avpi^eiv
avTois' ovrco le tSjv o-lp^Xav aTro(l)epecv
els ayOrj, /cat iroas, Koi p-fjv Ka\ avaKopi-
^eiv i^ dypdj oIkoL Te avTas ivavXl^ecrOai
TToielv. The same metaphor is em
ployed chap. vii. 18, and Zech. x. 8.
The word is onomatapoetic. — nspo pinip,
yiijn. Though the former of these two
descriptions of distance may be viewed
as being, without any violence, appli
cable to the Assyrians, it has been,
thought that the latter is altogether
forced, if thus applied. But the ob
jection loses its validity when it is recol
lected that the geographical knowledge
of the Hebrews was comparatively very

44

ISAIAH.

[chap. v.

And whistleth for them from the ends of the earth ;
And behold speedily and fleetly they come.
27 None is faint, and none among them stumbleth ;
They neither slumber nor sleep ;
The girdle of their loins is not loosed,
Nor is the latchet of their shoes untied.
28 Their arrows are sharpened,
And all their bows are bent ;

limited, and that when they spoke of
" the ends of the earth," it was the
earth as known to them. Yet such a
mode of describing distant regions was
not peculiar to the Hebrews. Thucy-
dides, writing of the Medes, the very
people here referred to, employs phrase
ology identical with that used by Isaiah :
TOV re yap Mrjbov avTol 'to'pev eK irepa-
Tav yrjs Trporepov ijrl TrjV neXoTTOVvrj-
a-ov i\66vTa, k. t. X. i. 22. And Livy
says of the Gauls : " ab oceano terra-
rum ultimis oris helium ciente." v. 37.
See Gesen. in loc. — ^i';. It is not unusual
in Heb. to introduce a person or thing
in the way of pronominal reference, with
out any previous mention of the person
or thing specifically. The singular form
may be explained as referring to each of
the D'i3, taken singly ; or it may point
them out as a congregated mass, march
ing forward under the command of their
leader. The velocity with which the
enemy was to approach exactly meets
the challenge of the scoffers, ver. 19.
27. I'sJniilK. By this is not meant the
girdle usually worn by the Orientals
round the waist for the purpose of keep
ing their clothes close together about
the body, when they are at work, or on
a journey; but the (acrrfip, or military
belt with which soldiers were accoutred.
It was tightly girded round the loins,
for the sake of supporting and strength
ening the person, and had attached to it
the sheath which contained the sword.
Gesenius would refer the loosing of the
girdles, and the untying of the latchet,
to the removal of obstacles which pre
sent themselves in the way of an army ;
but it seems much more natural to re
gard them as applying to the necessary
preparation for enjoying the repose men
tioned in the words immediately preced
ing. The meaning is, that the Assyrians

would march forward without any inter
mission. 28. The bow and arrow were very
ancient weapons of offence. Gen. xxi.
20 ; xlix. 23. The bow was made of
wood, reeds, horn, and other materials;'
and was often so strong, that it required'
to be trodden upon in order to make
it bend. Hence the phrase nil)p^'p|,
to tread the bow ; the Pah. Part, of
which verb is used, with such reference,
in the present verse. The following
quotation from Arrian will furnish a
sufficient description of this custom.
Speaking of the Indian infantry, he
says : 'AXX' oI /lev ne^ol avTola-i to^ov
Te exov(Tiv lo'op.rjKes ra (popeovri t<^
TO^oj/" KaiTOVTOKOra iiti Trjv yfjv Bevres,
Ka\ Tco TToSi rm apiarepa avTi^avres,
ovTas iKTO^evoviri, Trjv vevpfjv ijrl piya
onlo'a drrayayovres. Hist. Ind. xvi.
Comp. also Died. Sic. iii. 8 ; Curt. viii.
14, 19; Ovid. Metam. v. 383; Xenoph.
Anab. iv. 2, 28. — is, the same as IIS, a
stone — so called from its compactness
and solidity ; but, as all stones are not
possessed of this quality, the spirit of the
passage requires that it should be ren
dered ,^mi or adamant; LXX. trrepeet
irerpa. — aijSn, to reckon, count, estimate,
is here used idiomatically, and is equi
valent to the substantive verb. As the
ancients did not shoe their horses, as we
do, hardness of hoof was considered to
be a primary quality of a good horse.
Hence the Homeric xa^fosroS* Imra,
Iliad, 6. 41 ; and Kparepdwxes iirvoi ;
and the following passage, quoted by
Gesenius from Montanabbi, shews that,
at a later period, the same importance
was attached to it in the East :

^jiiiiij' U.^1

CHAP. VI.]

ISAIAH.

45

The hoofs of their horses are counted as flint,
And their wheels as the whirlwind.
29 Their roar is like that of the lioness ;
They roar like the young lions ;
They both growl and seize the prey ;
They bear it safely away, and there is none to rescue.
30 And they shall roar at them in that day, like the roaring of the sea ;
So that if one look to the land, behold there is afflictive darkness.
And the light is darkened by its clouds.

" They rise with the hoofs of their forefeet.
So that as often as they strike against the
rocks.
They impress upon them the breast of the
falcon ;
Though they go barefoot."
nB»a. The rapidity with which the As
syrians advanced is beautifully ex
pressed, by comparing the revolution
of the wheels of their war-chariots to
that of the sudden whirlwind,, whicb
siezes upon all within its reach, and,
rolling it up with indescribable velocity,
bears it into the air.
29. Here the enemy is described un
der the metaphor of a lioness, accom
panied by her young ones, first roaring
on reaching the prey, then seizing it,
and carrying it safely away to her den.
3N?5 is properly used of the full-grown,
and Dnj of the young lion — the one sig
nifying to roar, and the other, to growl ;
though they are sometimes interchanged.
30. To enhance the terrors of the de
scription given of the attack of the in
vader, a sea-storm on the west coast of
Palestine is introduced. The transition
from the roaring or growling of the
lions, to that of the sea, was quite
natural. Comp. Jer. I. 42. Nor were
the phenomena on such occasions con

fined to the Mediterranean : the storm,
sweeping over the land, the entire hori
zon would be involved in the densest
gloom. A striking picture of the poli
tical horizon of the Jews, on the Assy
rian invasion. — Considerable diversity
has obtained in the interpretation of the
latter half of this verse. There is no
sufficient reason to suppose, with Lowth,
a corruption of the text : the different
rendering in the LXX., and the Coptic
made from it, being in all probability an
emendation, which owed its origin to an
attempt to produce complete uniformity
between this, and the parallel passage,
chap. viii. 22. li«1 is, Gesenius renders
now terror, now light, but quite at vari
ance with the spirit of the text, which
requires a state of profound darkness,
without any relieving glimpses of light.
The preferable construction is that,
which, setting aside the authority of the
accents, connects IS with "^^f^, immedi
ately preceding, and then makes li» the
nominative to the verb iftin, which fol
lows it. IS ijsin, will thus be afflictive
darkness. — By lis, light, is meant the
sun, as the source of light. Comp. Job
xxxi. 26 ; Hah. iii. 4. The n in rrs'-w,
refers to yi^ — the clouds here mentioned
being those by which the land was
covered during the storm.

CHAPTER VI.

Interpreters have been much divided respecting the occasion of this vision : some
referring it to what they consider to have been the solemn inauguration of Isaiah to
his prophetical office ; while others are of opinion, that it was vouchsafed to him
when about to receive a new and special commission. In support of the former

46 ISAIAH. [chap. vi,.
hypothesis, which seems best sustained, it, is alleged, that the specification of the
date, "in the year in which King Uzziah died," which must mean before, and
not after that event, exactly coincides with the date, chap. i. 1 ; that all the cir
cumstances of the vision were specially adapted to impress the mind of thr
prophet with feelings suitable to be cherished when entering on the functions of
his office ; that if he had been previously invested with it, there does not appear
to have been anything so peculiar in a new commission as to require such extra
ordinary interposition; that commissions of a similarly express natufe were
given to the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, at the commencement of their
prophetical career; and, especially, that the latter of these two prophets was
likewise favoured with a sublime and august vision on the important occasion.
The circumstance of the account of Isaiah's vision not standing at the beginning
of the book, is of no consequence ; it being admitted, that many portions of the.
prophetical books are not placed in the exact order of time.
This chapter contains the description of a sublime vision, with which the prophet
was favoured, 1 — 4 ; the effect which it produced upon him, 5 ; the supernatural
relief afforded to his mind, 6, 7 ; his commission to announce the obstinacy of
the -Jews, notwithstanding their continued enjoyment of the means of instruction,
8 — 10; their dispersion in consequence of such conduct, 11, 12; and the mer
ciful reservation of a remnant to serve as the stock of a new race, whose history
would furnish fresh displays of the Divine glory, 13.

1 In the year in which Uzziah the king died, I saw Jehovah, sitting
upon a high and elevated throne, and his train filled the temple.
\.^^rm—T\^^aT\V^. In the year of the reduced to silence, and imagine the
death, &c. Comp. chap. xiv. 28, where meaning to be, that Isaiah had been
the same phraseology occurs. That in compelled to suspend his prophecy dur-
both cases reference is made to what ing the whole period of the king's seclu-
transpired previous to the death of the sion. Some have even maintained that
king, is obvious— since it would other- his silence was a punishment inflicted on
wise have been said, that it happened in him for not reproving Uzziah : but who
the first year of his successor. We are does not perceive that all this is mere
not informed during how many months fancy, and totally unworthy of scriptural
of the concluding year of Uzziah's reign interpretation ?  The 1 in n><l«l, has
Isaiah prophesied. It is quite sufficient more of a temporal than a conjunctive
to justify the statement, chap. i. 1, if he power. It is equivalent to in, then it
commenced the functions of his office was that, &c.  n«l is to be' taken in
before the decease of that monarch. In the prophetic acceptation, denoting a
order, indeed, to afford a wider scope for supernatural perception of the objects
his labours, several interpreters, both specified. The things constituting the
Jewish and Christian, have supposed, symbols of the vision, the prophet did
that the death here spoken of was not not behold with his bodily eyes. He
the natural, but the civil death of was in a state of ecstatic inspiration, and
Uzziah, when he was smitten with the had the things signified by such symbols
leprosy, and laid aside from public duty; vividly impressed upon his mind. See
but such an Idea would probably never my Lectures on "Divine Inspiration,"
have been started, but for a mistaken pp. 157—165.  '31M There can be
rendering of the verb 'n'Pl,, in the fifth firrte doubt that thi^ -Divine namT has
verse. Instead of translating it, / am been substituted in the present verse,
undone, or / perish, they give it, / was and in verses 8th and 1 Ith^for nin;. The

CHAP. VI.]

ISAIAH.

47

2 Seraphs stood beside him : each had six wings ; with two he covered
his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly.

latter name is found here in ninety-four of
Kennicott and De Rossi's MSS., and has
originally stood in nine more; it is found
in eighty, and has originally stood in ten
more, ver. 8th ; and it is in nearly as
many in the third instance. It is besides
found in some of the early printed edi
tions. The rendering of the Targum is
'V- ^i?: "-) '^6 glory of ihe Lord; of
which the Evangelist John clearly avails
himself, when, speaking of the Lord
Jesus Christ, he says, " These things
said Esaias, when he saw T-qv bo^av
avTox, HIS GLOEY, and spake of him,"
chap. xii. 41. The person who appeared
to the prophet was the Divine Logos,
the Brightness of the Father's glory, and
the Express Image of his Person, Heb.
i. 2.  Mte?l Di may be referred to '™
as their antecedent, and they are thus
used chap. Ivii. 15 : but the more na
tural mode of construction in this place
requires us to connect them with Npa,
the immediate antecedent. Thus the
Targ.,' LXX., Symm., Coverdale, and
most moderns. — As ''3'n is used poeti
cally for heaven, Ps. xi. 4; xviii. 7,
Michaelis and others have supposed, that
the scene of the prophet's vision was the
celestial world. It seems more appro
priate, however, to take it in its ordinary
acceptation, as designating the temple of
Jerusalem, especially since express men
tion is made of the altar, naran, ver. 6,
as something familiarly known. The
term properly signifies a capacious and
magnificent building, and is used of the
royal palace at Babylon, chap, xxxix. 7 ;
Dan. i. 4; Arab. (J^^ ' ^^°^ J-^'
to be great, immense in size; Ethiop.
O V
\j£i)C\; Syr. ^.0,01. It commonly
denotes the temple at Jerusalem in ge
neral ; but sometimes it is employed to
designate the body or large middle part
of the building, usually called the Holy
place, in contradistinction from I'ai, the
oracle, or Holy of- Holies, and D^IN, the
vestibule or porch erected at the en
trance ; the space between which it
occupied, and contained the golden can
dlestick, the. altar of incense, and the

table of shew-bread. Between it and
the Holy of Holies, was a double veil,
which was never drawn aside except once
a year, to admit the high priest, who
alone enjoyed the privilege of appearing
Jiefore the mercy-seat. — Though we
never find wp3, throne, employed to de
signate the mercy-seat, yet it may be
regarded as applied to it in this place,
inasmuch as the phrase D'ai?n atii', dwell
ing or sitting enthroned between the che
rubim, 1 Sam. iv. 4, is descriptive of the
visible glory of Jehovah, as displayed
from it, above the ark of the covenant,
which the two cherubim overshadowed
with their wings, Exod, xxv. 20 — 22. —
While God vouchsafed to this spot the
peculiar symbol of his presence, his
glory filled the great body of the temple,
1 Kings viii. 11. This glory Isaiah calls
V^lii}, his train, or the long flowing skirts
of his royal robe, in allusion to the
ample robes of state in which Oriental
monarchs appeared on great occasions.
2. D'piip. The scenery of the vision
being taken from the temple, it is mani
fest, the Seraphs, or living beings here
described, can be no other than the anti
types of the golden D'313, cherubs, which
were stationed, one on either end of the
mercy-seat, covering it with their'wings.
They correspond to the four living creah
tures in the vision of Ezekiel, between
which and that of Isaiah, are several
striking points of coincidence : only
the former is fuller, and contains many
more particulars. A somewhat similar
vision was accorded to the apostle John,
Rev. iv. ; but the four fcSa, or living
creatures, there described, are an appro
priation of the symbols spoken of by
Ezekiel, to the Christian ministry, agree
ably to the special scope of the Apoca
lypse. There is, therefore, no necessity,
with Michaelis, Gesenius, and others, to
derive fj'ito from the Arab, u-s'wi > to be
noble, whence ¦ °' JL , a noble or
prince; plur. i^]JL\, those who have
descended from Mohammed; and so to
interpret the term as designating the

48

ISAIAH.

[cHAP. VI.

And the one called to the other, and said :
Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts ;
The whole earth is full of his glory.

celestial nobility, or the angels viewed as
princes of state, attendant upon Jehovah.
As the symbolical figures in the Holy
of Holies were called D'aia, cherubim,
from their proximity to the divine pre
sence — 313, from which the name is
derived, being, as Hyde supposed, and
as Gesenius now thinks not impro
bable, equivalent to aiji, to approach,
draw near — so Isaiah appropriates to the
¦ beings whom they represented, the name
of D'Bijp, Seraphim, to denote their
burning, or dazzling appearance. This
idea was naturally suggested by the
splendid effulgence of the golden che
rubs, when they reflected the glory of
the Lord. We are told, indeed, by
Gesenius, that '^^ signifies to burn,
burn up, and not to shine, which holds
true of the English verb to burn, as well
as of the Hebrew, if respect be simply
had to the primary signification ; but it
was just as natural for the Hebrews to
apply the word in a secondary or trans
lated sense, as it is for us to express by
our word the excessive brightness pro
ceeding from any luminous object. Thus,
also, in Scripture gems are called 11J« '33«,
stones of fire, from their glittering ap
pearance. What confirms this derivation
of the term, is the description of the
living creatures in the vision of Ezekiel :
" their appearance was like burning coals
of fire, and like the appearance of
lamps — and the fire was bright, and out
of the fire went forth lightning," chap. i.
13. The interpretation, therefore, of
Kimchi : ib« '3«to, and Abulwalid :
<!0 ,U iXjJLo, angels of flre, or flery
angels, is not so far from the mark. To
maintain, as Gesenius attempts to do,
that the cherubim presented any thing
of the appearance of serpents, and that
an analogy is to be traced between them
and the sacred serpents in the temple of
Jupiter, at Thebes, is perfectly to degrade
the subject.
If the above interpretation be correct,
it will be seen, that there is no founda
tion in Scripture for the opinion that
Cherubim and Seraphim are distinct

orders of angels. The two names are
merely distinctive of two attributes
attaching to the same order of beings —
their nearness to Jehovah, and the
glorious effulgence of their celestial
nature. Comp. Dan. vii. 10; Matt, xviii.
10; Luke x. 20.
The Seraphim are represented as stand
ing, to intimate their readiness to execute
the Divine behests. That 'W?<? is to be
rendered beside, and not above, or before,
comp. 1 Kings xxii. 19, where vb»is ex
plained by its being added, at his right
hand and at his left. The two passages
are parallel, both in scene and phrase
ology. — Though P'pja is pointed as a
dual, it is not meant that each seraph
had six pair of wings. In Hebrew
things that naturally exist in pairs are
expressed in the dual even when more
than two are intended. See Zech. iii. 9.
The repetition of the number of wings
indicates distribution. To express the
deep sense which the Seraphim cherished
of their unworthiness to behold the Di
vine Majesty, they covered their faces,
comp. Exod. iii. 6; and to mark their
reverential respect, they also covered their
feet, or the whole of the lower part of
the body — a practice which obtains in
the East, when persons approach the
presence of a monarch : the attribution
to them of wings, and flying, teaches
the velocity with which they execute
their commissions ; and to intimate that
what is here ascribed to them is habitual
and constant, the verbs are put in the
future tense. See Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 774.
3. itfnp^ifliTp^ tfili?. That these words were
sung responsively by the Seraphim is unr
deniable : whether one choir took up the
first, another the second, and both joined
in the third •&•%, as Rosenmiiller sup
poses, cannot be determined. The triple
use of the term has been considered as
intended to intimate a Trinity in the
Godhead. Thus Rabbi Joseph, in '-OO
mw, fol. 34. a. 1. 24. Primam sanctitiaT
tem respiscere e decern sephiris Coronam
Supremum ; alteram Sapientiam; et terr
tiam Intelligentiam. It was also appealed
to by the Fathers in proof of the

CHAP. VI.]

ISAIAH.

49

And the foundations of the thresholds shook by reason of the voice
of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. Then I
said : Alas for me ! surely I am Undone ; for I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes

Scripture doctrine of the Trinity; and
there are many who still view it in this
light : but the trinavy repetition of words
in other passages, simply to express in-
tensily. or superlaliveness of degree, satis
factorily shews, that, according to the
usus loquendi, this is the meaning in the
present instance. See Jer. vii. 4; xxii. 29;
Ezek. xxi. 27 or 32. Musculus observes
here : " Heec est doxologia angelica pau-
cissimis verbis absoluta. Ardens est
animus Deum verfe laudantium, non mul-
tiloquus, multo minus battologus. Nee
Deus ipse multiloquio, sed ardore fidei
ac spiritus delectatur." This angelic
hymn is repeated, with certain variations,
by the four living creatures, Rev. iv. 8.
See Suicer. Thes. in voc. Tpta-ay. The
primary idea conveyed by the term iiSiiiJ.
is that of separation, especially from what
is common or profane to a special and
sacred purpose. Hence the notions of
sanctify, moral purity, infinite excellence
and perfection. It is in this last and
most exalted acceptation that it is used
by the Seraphim. — —ilia? — !<')p, lit. the
fulness of Ihe whole earth is his glory ;
but the meaning is, that the^earth is en
tirely filled with it; there being no object
within its compass which does not pro
claim the perfections of God. The words
appear to bear upon the scene described
ver. 1, in which the train of Jehovah is
said to have filled the temple. Comp.
Hab iii. 3 ; and for the phrase N'Jp
y^!7^5, Hamas., as quoted by Schultens,
ad Conses. Harir. vi. p. 181.

U^J'

¦•Lo M

,^

\S

^ " ^^Jgj-l I

" Fuit Chezaa plenitudo terra, qua late
patet." 4. rtr3«, bases, foundations. The most
probable etymology of this word is that
which refers it to the Arab. CljUt ,
Principia, radices, the plur. of ^| , mater.

radix, principium, Gol. ; in architecture,
the solid stones, stretching across the
foot of a doorway, aud supporting the
D'ED, sills or thresholds, which were based
upon them. The LXX. take both terms
together, and render, to vnkpBvpov ; the
Vulg. superliminaria cardinum; Vitringa,
superliminaria postium. The agreement
in gender of the verb viT with D'SEn,
and not with niD«, the nearer noun, to
which it otherwise properly belongs, is
owing to the prominence which is given
to the former, by its having t'ne article
prefixed, and its denoting the special
objects in which the effects of the earth
quake were visible. — n'an, the same as
^5'^> v^i"- !• Both were used of the
tabernacle before the temple was built.
See Joshua vi. 24 ; 1 Sam. i. 7, 9 ; iii. 3.
On the filling of the temple with smoke,
comp. 1 Kings viii. 10, 11 ; Ezek. x. 4,
with Rev. XV. 8.
5. 'n'Pl?, the reading of the Textus
Receptus, can only be derived from fip^,
which, though in Kal it primarily signi
fies to be still, silent, reduce to silence, is
only used in Niphal in the sense of being
destroyed, or perishing. From the cir
cumstance, however, that sixty-two MSS.
and originally six more, the Brixian
Bible, the Proph. of Soncin. 1486, and
seven other editions, omit the former of
the two Yods, some refer it to Dli or Dpi,
and render : / am struck dumb, or, / am
silent. In support of this interpretation,
they allege the rendering of the LXX.
(in some copies,) Aquila, Theodotion,
Symm., the Syr. and Vulg. and the au
thority of some of the raibins. But it
so happens, that uvt is not at all in use ;
and that, in Niphal, Dpj never signifies
to be silent, but always, to be destroyed,
cut off, perish. Add to which, that 'noia,
pointed 'npi3, is pronounced precisely as
'l!i'9'!?, and is only one of the numerous
instances of the scriptio defectiva. The
prophet, appalled by the display which
he saw of the Divine glory, the theme
and loud peals of the seraphim, the con
cussions of the earthquake, and a sense
H

ISAIAH.

[chap. VI.

have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. And one of the seraphs
flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken
with tongs from ofi" the altar ; and he touched my mouth, and said :
Behold, this hath touched thy lips : therefore thine iniquity is re
moved, and thy sin is forgiven. And I heard the voice of Jehovah,

of his own sinfulness, and that of his
nation, apprehended instant destruction.
This was quite in accordance with the
feelings of the ancient Hebrews, who
were taught to expect immediate death,
as the result of a vision of Jehovah. See
Gen. xxxii. 30 ; Judges vi. 22, 23, 24 ;
.xiii. 22 ; and comp. Exod. xxxiii. 20,
the difference between which and chap.
xxiv. 10, 11, is not such as to warrant
the conclusion of Gesenius, that the two
chapters were written by different authors.
In the one case, a perception of the Di
vine Essence is meant, which is expressly
declared to be incompatible with the laws
of mortal existence ; in the other, such a
view of the external effulgence which
accompanied the Divine manifestations,
as was enjoyed by Moses, the patriarchs,
and prophets of old, and by John under
the new dispensation. The specification
of the lips as the seat of impurity, appears
to have arisen from the impression pro
duced upon the mind of Isaiah by the
celestial anthem, which he had just
heard, and in which he felt he was
totally unworthy to join ; though the
seraph who addresses him, ver. 7, would
rather seem to adapt the phrase to the
unfitness of the prophet to be engaged
as a divine messenger, till he had ex
perienced the purifying influence there
described. 6. nB?l is properly a coal, or burning
stone, a ^Caws . , such as the Arabs use at
this day for the purpose of baking their
bread, or roasting, to which use refer
ence is made in the phrase, D'BSl rss, a
cake baked on glowing stones. \ Kings
xix. 6. Vulg. calculus ; but the LXX.
Aquila, Symm. and Theod. avBpa^, coal.
From what follows, we learn, that such
stones were laid upon the altar in order
to burn the sacrifices. Before niT^ supply
l^S. "^
7. The use of fire as the most power
ful of all purifying agents, is adopted in

Scripture as a. symbol of the more im
portant process of moral purification.
Mai. iii. 2, 3 ; Matt. iii. 11. The 1 in
ipi at once connects the words, and
marks the instantaneousness of the effect
produced by the application of the sym
bol to the mouth of the prophet. IB?,
Arab. JS , expiavit crimen, signifies not
only to expiate or atone for sin, by cover
ing it with the matter of the atonement
from the view of Him whose prerogative
it is to punish it, but also, to grant
pardon for the sake of, and as the result
of such atonement.
8. 13^. The ancient versions of this
word, with the exception of the Vulg.,
evince that their translators were per
plexed by it. The Syriac omits it alto
gether ; the LXX. has npos tov \aov
TovTov ; and the Targ. ii?^, to teach ;
though no Heb. MS. exhibits any various
reading. The remark of Gesenius, that
Jerome is quite consistent in interpreting
this plural form, as he does Gen. i. 26,
xi. 7, of the Trinity, rather redounds to
the honour, than reflects discredit on
that father. In no other way has it
ever been consistently interpreted. The
hypothesis of a plural of majesty or ex
cellence has never been satisfactorily
established. It is neither in accordance
with Scripture, nor with general oriental
usage. No passage can be adduced from
the Hebrew Scriptures, from which it
can be proved that it was the practice
of kings to speak of themselves indi
vidually in the plural number. See
Ewald's Heb. Gram. English Transl.
p. 231, where that profound scholar
gives it as his deliberate opinion, that
it is a great error to suppose that the
Heb. language, as we find it, has any
feeling for a so-called plur. majesiaticus.
The idea of a consultation with other
beings. Gen. i. 26, iii. 22, xi. 7, and
in this verse, which Kimchi, Le Clerc,
and others, advance in explanation, is

CHAP.

V..J

ISAIAH.

51

10

saying : Whom shall I send, and who will go for us ? And I said
Here am I ; send me. And he said : Go, and say to this people :
Go on hearing, but understand not ;
Go on seeing, but perceive not.
Malce the heart of this people fat ;
Make heavy their ears, and close up their eyes ;
Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears.
And perceive with their heart, and turn, and be healed.

rejected by Gesenius, Lehrgeb. p. 800,
and both theories are decidedly repudi
ated by Hitzig, who, unwilling, however,
to admit the doctrine of the Trinity,
asserts, without any attempt at proof,
that it is a mode of speech borrowed
from common life. For an able discus
sion of the whole subject of plural attri
butions to the Deity, I refer the reader
to the Rev. Dr. J. Pye Smith's Script.
Testimony to the Messiah, vol. i. pp.
464—495. Third Edit.
9. »it3«i Wpti, &c. The construction
of a finite verb with its infinitive follow
ing, denotes continuity of action. The
LXX. resolve the imperatives into
futures, and their version is adopted
Matt. xiii. 14, 15 ; Acts xxviii. 27. The
use of ^«, however, and not «•;, shows
that the following verbs, I3'3n and win ,
are not simply future, but are subject to
the influence of the imperative mood of
those which precede ; yet so that the
commands involve no external objective
necessity. The language is not strictly
and properly jussive, but proverbial in
its character, and savours strongly of
sacred irony, of which we have a decided
instance. Matt, xxiii. 32. See also chap.
xxix. 9. Similar proverbial forms, and
some of them almost identical, are ad
duced in abundance by Wetstein ad
Matt. xiii. 13. iKJ, here, and Gen.
xxvi. 28, for risi, which is found in
thirteen MSS.
10. The Imperatives, pfri, I33n, ssin,
are declaratory in their import, agreeably
to the language of the Hebrew prophets,
in which a person is often said to do or
effect what he merely announces would
take place. Comp. Gen. xxvii. 28 ;
Jer. i. 10 ; Ezek. xliii. 3 ; Hos. vi. 5.
The passage, in effect, contains nothing
more than a prediction of the obduracy

of the Jews, and the consequences by
which it would be followed : only it is
expressed in a form which indicates
strong feeling on the part of the speaker,
and a persuasion that such would infalli
bly be their condition. This mode of
speech is not uncommon even in modern
languages, when a person in a state of
excitement, wishing to intimate his con
viction of the certainty of any action of
which he disapproves, gives a peremptory
order that it should be performed. There
can be no doubt that the words were de
signed to apply to the Jews in the days
of the prophet ; yet the description being
equally appropriate in its application to
their character, as a people, from that
time forward, we find the prophecy
quoted or referred to five times by our
Lord, and by Paul, as receiving its ac
complishment in their days. Comp.
Matt. xiii. 14, 15 ; Mark iv. 12 ; Luke
viii. 10 ; John xii. 40; Acts xxviii. 25 —
27. — ipi?5i?, to make fat ; so to surround
with fat, as to render insensible to exter
nal influence : metaphor, to make stupid,
unfeeling, and stubborn. See for the use
of the verb in Kal. Deut. xxxii. 15 ; Jer.
V. 28. — I35n, likewise metaphor, applied,
denotes heaviness or dulness of perception,
a want of susceptibility and attention to
instruction. — SMfin, to smear over with
viscous matter, close up ; Root, »»^,
Aram. s»\p, to smear, blind; LXX.
inappvtrav ; Vulg. Claude — indicates the '
most obstinate determination to shut out
the light of truth from the mind. — Before
33^, subaud. 3, which is supplied in up
wards of twenty MSS. and two of the
earliest printed editions. Its being ex
pressed, however, in the LXX., Syr.,
Chald. and Vulg., is no proof of its
having been in the text from which they
were made, as the translators might, in

5£

ISAIAH.

[chap. VI.

11

12

13

Then I said. How long, O Jehovah ? And he said,
Till the cities be made desolate, without an inhabitant,
And the houses without a man,.
And the land become utterly desolate.
And Jehovah have removed men afar off,
And the forsaking be great in the midst of the land.
And though there should still be In it a tenth part,
Even it shall again be burnt up ;
Yet, like the terebinth and the oak,

common with others, have found it
necessary to supply it in their versions.
In like manner, '^M is understood after
3^. — i^ ND11 is to be taken impersonally :
and there should be healing to them.
The healing referred to is the entire
moral recovery which sinners experience
on their conversion to God ; and, as
pardon is essential to such recovery,
healing and forgiveness of sins came to
be regarded by the Hebrews as synony
mous. Hence, after the Targum, panip;!,
the words are thus paraphrased, Mark
iv. 12, Koi dcbeBij avTois Ta dpapTijpara,
though in the parallel passages, Ida-apai
of the LXX. is retained.
11. DMii|S«i». This accumulation is
designed to give intensity to the state
ment, and thereby to intimate, in such
connexion, the great length of time
during which the obstinacy of the Jews
should be evinced. Comp. Gen. xxviii.
15; Numb, xxxii. 17.— nnasJ n«fn, lit.
be laid waste, a desolation, for "be
utterly wasted."
12. The Babylonish captivity is evi
dently predicted in this verse. — njnsn,
that which is forsaken ; i. e. the portion
of the land, with whatever pertained to
it, which the inhabitants'were compelled
to leave on their transportation. That
the LXX. and Vulg. which have been
followed by Lowth, have quite mistaken
the meaning of the term, will be seen on
comparing chap. xvii. 2 ; Jer. iv. 29 ;
Zeph. ii. 4 ; where it is employed pre
cisely as it is in this place.
13. np;ni n;*— aiaJ, in such connexion,
is used adverbially, to indicate a repeti
tion of the action expressed by the fol
lowing verb. Thus the LXX. Kal TrdXiv
la-rai els TTpovopfiv : and Symm. Kal

TToKiv ecrrai els Kara^oirKijiTiv. — 1?3j? nnTI,
lit. to be for burning, shall be burnt, or
laid waste by burning. See, for th^
phrase. Numb. xxiv. 22; Is. xliv. 15. —
naW, a felling or throwing down, from
"^1^, to cast, cast down, overthrotv. nasp
and nrasp, from asj, to set, place, plant,,
remain stationary in a place : hence the
signification of stock or trunk attaching
to the noun, from its continuing m the
ground. The fem. pron. affix in nnMO,
refers to n;i'to», the tenth part; and D3
(for which upwards of a hundred MSS.
read, or have read, na,) belongs to njij
]i^Nl. The meaning of the whole verse
seems to be this : So severe shall be the
punishment inflicted upon the nation,
that should only a small part recover
itself, that part shall likewise in its turn
be punished. Nevertheless, it shall not
be entirely annihilated ; but like the
trunk of the most durable of trees, which
sends forth a fresh shoot, it shall produce
a holy race to adorn the church of God.
On account of their obstinacy, the Jews
were first carried away to Babylon ; after
the short respite which followed the re
storation, during which they might be
said never to have regained move than a
tenth part of their former strength and
influence, they were finally aud com
pletely overthrown by the Romans ; but,
though nearly eighteen centuries have
elapsed since that event, they still radi
cally exist, and we anticipate the period,
when, as a people, their motto shall be,
" Holiness unto the Lord." The best
commentary upon the latter half of this
verse is furnished by Paul, Rom. xi. in
which he treats of the fall and present
rejection of the Jews, and their future
restoration. The metaphor of the root

CHAP. VII.] ISAIAH, 63
Of which, when felled, there is a stock,
The stock thereof shall be a holy seed.
and its branches somewhat differs from way, by a recognition of the blindness
that here employed ; but the subject is and obstinacy of the Jewish people,
the same, and is introduced in a similar verses 7 — 10.

CHAPTER VII.
The grand section of the Prophet's writings which commences with this chapter,
¦ extends to the fourth verse of Chapter X. The leading subjects are the invasion
of Judah by tiie Syro-Israelitish army, aud by that of Sennacherib ; but repeated
occasion is taken, from the disastrous aspect of the times, to announce the cer
tainty of the Messiah's advent, and the happiness to be enjoyed under his reign.
Several difficulties occur in this portion of the book ; but some of them have
been unnecessarily magnified, in consequence of the prejudices under the
influence of which many have laboured who have attempted its interpretation.
The historical circumstances are specially narrated, 2 Kings xvi. 5 — 18, and
2 Chron. xxviii.
The seventh chapter begins with a brief statement of the circumstances which led
to the delivery of the prophecies which it contains, 1,2; it then gives an account
of the message with which Isaiah was sent to Ahaz, whose mind and that of his
courtiers had been struck with a panic by the threatened invasion, 3 — 9; we
have next, his second message to the unbelieving monarch, requiring him to ask
for a miracle from Jehovah, in attestation of his prophetic commission, 10 — 12 ;
the celebrated announcement of the miraculous conception of the Messiah, with
a view to support the faith of the pious, whose fears respecting the total extinction
of the house of David had been excited. 13 — 16; and a prediction of the calami
ties to which the Jewish people should be subjected by the very power to which
Ahaz looked for succour, 17 — 25.

1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the
son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, with
Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem
1. An attempt was made on the part the corresponding verbs in most lan-
of the kings of Syria and Samaria to guages, is used of an approach towards
invade Judiih towards the close of the a metropolis or chief city, altogether ir-
reign of Jotham, 2 Kings xv. 37, but it respective of the elevation of its position,
was only a prelude to the actual invasion or of its direction, in a geographical
of the land by the joint forces of these point of view. None of the instances
kings at the commencement of that of adduced by Rosenmiiller, Bib. Geog.
Ahaz, B. c. 743.— n^. This verb, like vol. i. p. 8, in support of the latter idea,

54

ISAIAH.

[chap. VII.

to fight against it, but he was not able to take it. And it was told
to the house of David, saying, Syria leadeth forward with Ephraim ;
and his, heart and the heart of his people shook, as the trees of the
forest shake before the wind. And Jehovah said to Isaiah : Go out
now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of
the aqueduct of the upper pool, at the highway of the fuller's field ;

can be sustained, since they all refer to
local elevation, or the contrary. The
military acceptation, which, after Vi
tringa, the same author assigns to the
term in his Scholia on this verse, is
equally untenable. In application to
Jerusalem, as the central point of the
Theocracy, it is peculiarly appropriate. —
D1W, Aramma — not Syria in the largest
extent of its signification, comprehend
ing the vast tract of country between
Phenicia, Palestine, Arabia, the Tigris,
and Mount Taurus ; but one of the
minor divisions, called piBQiDlM, Syria
of Damascus, 2 Sam. viii. 6, comp.
Amos i. 5, from Damascus being the
capital. Its limits varied according to
the power of the princes who reigned
over it. It was subdued by David,
1 Chron. xviii. 6, but afterwards regained
its freedom, and proved a source of re
peated annoyance to the neighbouring
kingdom of Israel. Though Rezin, its
king, failed in his attempt upon Jerusa
lem, he succeeded in taking Elath, the
important sea-port on the eastern arm of
the Arabian gulf, which it does not
appear the Jews ever recovered, nonba),
lit. to the war, the substantive instead of
the Infinitive Dn^n|), as in Deut. x. 12;
Jud. xvi. 23. In reference to a city,
Dn^3 followed by ^» or 3 signifies to be
siege ; but here it expresses the super
added idea of, besieging so as to take. —
'i^l, for which we have I'jy in the plural,
2 Kings xvi. 5, may either be taken dis
trihutively, or which is preferable, it may
refer to Rezin, the head of the hostile
expedition, and so agree with njs in the
singular. In the last clause of the verse,
the event is inserted by prolepsis.
2. Ill n'3, "the house of David," sig
nifies the royal family of which Ahaz
was the representative, which sufficiently
accounts for the i in 133) and is?  nna
DIN. Here Aramaa is used for the Ara-
mceans, or the Syrian army which was
advancing towards Jerusalem, nnj is

not the third person feminine of ni:, to
rest, but a different verb, signifying, to
lead forth, or forward, conduct troops,
&c. ; Arab, las' , tetendit, contendit ali-
quem versus ; Eth. ^'P''/ : in longum se
produxit ; in the fourth Conjug. ^^''j :
produxit, prolongavit, extendit. The
word is also used in a military sense,
Ps. Ix. 11, DiiM IS 'am 'p, "Who will
lead me to Edom ?" It thus agrees in
gender with Dib?, the masculine antece
dent ; and the necessity of forcing upoii ,;
ni: the idea of encamping is superseded-^ •
an acceptation in which it never occurs.
The accentuation of the Masorites is of
no weight in such a case. — ^ has fre
quently the signification of with, in refer
ence to what follows another ; as Exod.
xxxv. 22, D'ltian-^s DiS^n i^;i ; Amos iii.
15, y;i5i n's-'js ^iinn n'.3_; and with this
very verb, Job xxxviii. 32, n'33-'» ti;»i
¦anpn, or, canst thou lead out Aish with
her sons ? lit. or, Aish with her sons,
canst thou lead them out ? but the D is
pleonastic. Agreeably also to this in
terpretation, DJ1E» corresponds to dth;
both being used in a personal, not in a
territorial sense. See Michaelis's Supp.
ad Lexx. Heb. p. 1 625. The news of
the combined armies approaching might
well alarm the Jewish monarch.
3. As no reason is assigned why Isaiah
was to take his son with him, some in
terpreters have supposed, that it was in
order that he might point to him when
giving the assurance, verses 15 and 16;
but that this position cannot he philo-
logically sustained, will be shewn in
the proper place. — The name 31* iwp,
Shear-jashub, a Remnant shall return,
is symbolical. It occurs again chap. x.
21, 1133 'j«-^N 3|7»: l|«i ai*;i!«S, A remnant
shall return, a remnant of Jacob to the
Mighty God; not, indeed, as a proper
name, but as giving the import of the
name, and shewing that the return

CHAP. VII.]

ISAIAH.

4 and say to him : Take heed, and be quiet ; fear not, neither let
thy heart be faint, on account of these two tails of smoking fire
brands, the burning anger of Rezin, and Syria, and the son of Rema-

spoken of was not a mere return from
external captivity, but true conversion
to God. Such was the significancy of
the name which Isaiah had prophetically
given to his son ; and as this could not
but be known to Ahaz and the court,
his accompanying his parent on this
special occasion was highly calculated
to excite attention, and inspire the con
fidence, that how much soever the Jews
might be chastised by foreign enemies,
in punishment of their sins, a portion of
them should still turn to God and enjoy
his favour. — The exact spot where the pro
phet was to meet Ahaz has been and still
is much disputed, owing to the difficulty
which is found in determining to which
of the collections of water about Jerusa
lem the 1513, Arab. <iS j , piscina, here
specified, is to be referred. Rosenmiiller
and Olshausen concur in the opinion,
that Gihon and Siloah, in connexion
with which almost all the commentators
place the locality, were on the South-
East side of the citjr ; but they are
placed on the South- West, close to
Mount Gihon, and at no great distance
from the gate at which the road from
Joppa terminates, by Jerome, Riland,
Wells, Vitringa, Baschienne, Ritter,
Hamelsfeld, Schroeder (MS.), Hende
werk, Tholuck, Gesenius, Hengstenberg,
and Weiland in his Bibel Atlas. Light-
foot and Hitzig stand almost alone in
supposing that the place spoken of lay
on the North-East of Jerusalem. A
careful collation of 2 Kings xviii. 17;
2 Chron. xxxii. 4, 30; Neb. ii. 13 — 15 ;
iii. 13 — 16; decidedly favours the second
opinion, and especially 2 Chron. xxxii.
30, where the meaning is not that Heze
kiah brought the waters of Gihon west
ward, but that he prevented their flowing
directly south from the fountain, by con
ducting them eastward, across the narrow
intervening valley, to the west side of
the city of David. The whole locality
seems accurately laid down by Wells iu
his plan fronting p. 23, vol, ii. Edit.
Oxford, 1809. Siloah, or Siloam, was the
upper of two pools or reservoirs, nsisn

™i')sn ; it received its water from the
adjacent fountain jin'a, Gihon, (so called
from the sudden or violent bursting forth
of the water,) and again sent it forth by
the ii)?'?! aqueduct, which stretched across
to Mount Zion. Between this and the
field used for fulling or bleaching clothes,
was the ntep, a raised road, running in
a southerly direction, towards the lower
pool. It appears to have been at the
point of convergence between these two
raised works, close to the gate below the
royal palace, that the meeting took place.
The monarch had in all probability re
paired thither for the purpose of taking
measures to prevent the water falling into
the power of the invaders, whose first
attack on the city would likely be made
in that quarter. Such a step was actually
taken by Hezekiah on the invasion of
Sennacherib, 2 Chron. xxxii. 4, 30. The
present well of Siloam, on the S. E. of
Mount Moriah, may have received its
name from its water having been con
veyed thither by a subterranean aque
duct from the pool of the same name
above described.
4. Qpitini ipian, properly, take heed to
thyself so as to be quiet, or remain tran
quil ; suffer not thyself to be hurried
away by unbelieving fear, to adopt any
measures of safety that would imply
want of confidence in God. The former
of these verbs is often used in the Imper.
of Niphal for the purpose of strengthen
ing the idea conveyed by that which
follows it. — ni3pi, tails, purposely chosen,
instead of nisjj, ends, to express con
tempt ; Rezin and Pekah resembled two
pieces of wood, which the fire had con
sumed all but the extreme points, and
even these had been so reduced by the
burning element, that they could no
longer feed it, but only feebly emitted
smoke. What then had Ahaz to fear ?
They had kindled the war, (comp. the
Arab. i.__>j£srl fjxx^,) but the eye of
Omniscience beheld them reduced to the
very last extremity by the Assyrian
power. — DIMI, And Syria, at which some
translators and critics have stumbled, is

.56

ISAIAH,

[chap. vii.

liah. Because Syria hath purposed evil against thee, Ephraim, and
the son of Remaliah, saving :
Let us go up against Judali, and entirely subvert it;
Let us break it completely up for ourselves.
And establish a king in it — the son of Tabeal.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
It shall not stand ; neither shall it be.
For the head of Syria shall be Damascus ;
And tlie head of Damascus, Rezin ;
And within sixty-five years,
Ephraim shall be broken, so as to be no more a people.
The head also of Ephraim shall be Samaria ;

very appropriately added to the name of
the king, ior the sake of emphasis; just
as both npi, Ptkal., and d;i?m, Ephraim,
are omitted in what follows, to express
the idea of the weakness of the Israelites
apart from their foreign ally, and the
contempt in which their regicide king
deserved to be held. In like manner,
and for the same reason, the name of
the projected king of Jerusalem is sup
pressed, ver. 6, and he is merely called
the son of Tabeal:— a. mode of speech
not without example amonw the Arabs.
Comp. also 1 Sam. xx. 27, 30, 31 ; xxii.
9, 12; for other examples of a similar
Hebrew usage.
6. '?]?: connect with ip« ris at the
beginning of ver. 7, and not vvith the
precediiig verse. Here the name of the
Syrian king is omitted, and that of
Ephraim is inserted ; probably with a
view to give prominence to the confede
rate armies. The son of Remaliah is
again mentioned, to expose him to fur
ther contempt.
6. The Suff. in njs'p: refers to niin;,
the Subst. immediately preceding, and
not, as Gesenius and Rosenmiiller would
have it, to p'laiiT understood. The Nun
epenthetic is inserted in this and the fol
lowing verb, to express the completeness
of the anticipated actions. ^''\>X!, Root
yip, Arab. />oLs, diruit, dissolvit tento
rium. This derivation, proposed by
Michaelis, and approved by Schroeder,
(yip, pp. rumpere, rumpendo dissolvere —
transiata est ad notanda regni et Reipub.
destructionem, MS. in loc.) is preferable

to that adopted by Gesenius: viz. to put
in fear, which he violently explains of
besieging ! It has the support of the
Syriac "¦* "*^ ' , let us root it up, suh
vert it ; and agrees better with the paral
lel n3sp35, which expresses the idea of
cleaving, breaking through, up, &c. The
objects at which the confederates aimed,
were the entire destruction of the house
of David, and the placing of a foreigner
upon the throne — ''^??, apart from the
pause, ''t??p, Tabeal, is a Syriac name,
and corresponds to the Heb. njaiiD, Tohiah.
In all probability, the person whom it
designates belonged to Syria. The
contemptuous suppression of the son's
name is, of course, to be ascribed to
the prophet, and not to the hostile
kings. 7. The declaration of Jehovah in this
verse is sublimely peremptory — quite in
the style of li« 'n;i ii« 'n; , Gen, i. 3.
Comp. Ps. xxxiii. 9 — 11 ; Is. viii. 10;
xiv. 24.
8, 9, contain an assurance, that
the two threatening powers should
be confined within their own limits.
Their residences should be, before sub
dued by Assyria, what they had been,
the respective capitals of Syria and
Ephraim only ; they should exert no
influence over Judah. In addition to
which, the prophet delivers a specific
prediction respecting the destruction of
Ephraim, and a warning against dis
belief of the Divine declaration. '3 at
the beginning of ver. 8, is equivalent to

CHAP. VII.]

ISAIAH.

57

And the head of Samaria, Remaliah 's son.
If ye believe not, surely ye shall not remain.

Oip's, but, but on ihe contrary. Comp.
Ps. i. 2, and freq. — na-^ utom' p'aW ti»31
0?P DnOM nn'.. And within sixty-five years
Ephraim shall be broken, so as not to be
a people. This has generally been con
sidered a locus vexatissimus, both on
account of the position of the words, and
the chronological difficulty connected
with the specified number of years. As
the two verses consist of three distichs,
the first and last of which form a perfect
parallel, the two middle lines have been
regarded as disturbing the order, and
are by some restored to what is thought
to have been their original position at
the conclusion ; while by others they are
entirely rejected as a gloss. Those who
consider their occupying the place they
now fill, to be the effect of inadvertent
transposition on the part of some copiest,
base their judgment on a principle of
taste ; those who consider them to be
spurious, are influenced partly by this
principle, and partly by the pressure of
a supposed difficulty in their interpreta
tion. Others, who are disposed to re
ceive the distich either as it now stands,
or as it may be transposed, are still dis
satisfied with the number of the years,
and propose, some one alteration, and
some another. To these various theo
ries, however, stands opposed the unani
mous testimony of all the MSS. versions,
and other sources of evidence which
prove the integrity of the text. As to
the alleged perfection of parallelism,
numerous instances occur, iu which it is
broken in upon by the insertion of some
sentence or sentences, which had so
taken possession of the writer, that he
would sacrifice taste rather than sup
press them, or postpone their introduc
tion. The present case is precisely one
of these. Isaiah had the utter extinction
of the ten tribes, as a people inhabiting
the Holy Land, so powerfully impressed
upon his mind, that before proceeding
to announce, that, in the mean time, they
too should not make further encroach
ments upon the Jewish territory, he
predicts their ultimate doom. The
words are, therefore, quite in their
place.

With respect to the computation of
the prophetic period here specified, the
only one which is at all satisfactory is
that of the more recent Jewish chrono-
logers, approved in the main by
Archbishop Usher, Sir Isaac Newton,
Vignoles, Jubb, Lowth, Doderlein,
Hengstenberg, and others, according to
which, it extends from the second year
of Ahaz, when the prediction was deli
vered, to the twenty-second year of the
reign of Manasseh, which was exactly
sixty-five years. In the last-mentioned
year Esarhaddon completed the depopu
lation of Ephraim, by making room for
the colonists whom he transplanted
thither from various regions of the
East; or, at all events, so intermingled
the new inhabitants with them, that they
had no longer any distinct existence in
the land. See Ezra iv. 2 ; and comp.
2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 ; and 2 Kings xvii.
23, 24. They had ceased to exist poli
tically when Shalmaneser took Samaria,
and carried away the flower of the na
tion ; but they now, in the fullest sense
of the phrase, were cut off DSp, i, e.
D» ni'np, from being a people in the coun
try granted to their fathers. Another
people henceforward occupied it : this
took place B.C. 722. The objections of
Gesenius, Hitzig, and others, are fully
met by Hengstenberg in his Christologie,
so that further notice of them is un
necessary. The prophet, observing indications of
impatience and unbelief in the conduct
of Ahaz and his attendants, adds the
important warning, i:pNn * '3 13'p«n «'? D»,
If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not
be continued, i. e. in the regal station.
The Jewish state shall be subverted, as
was that of Israel, if its members perse
vere in unbelief. The use of the different
conjugations of the same verb forms a
beautiful instance of antanaclasis com
bined with paronomasia ; the latter of
which has been successfully imitated by
Theod. idv firj "jrifTTevaaTe, bvb^ ov prj
Tna-TevBeirjTe ; and in part by Luther,
Gldubet ihr nicht, so bleibei ihr nicht.
The same variation in a positive pro
position occurs 2 Chron. xx. 20.
I

58

ISAIAH.

[chap. vii.

10 And Jehovah spake again to Ahaz, saying :
1 1 Ask for thyself a sign from Jehovah thy God,
Ask it below, or in the height above.
12 But Ahaz said : I will not ask,
13 Neither will I put Jehovah to the proof. Then Isaiah said :
Hear now, O house of David :

10, 11. These, and the following verses
to the end of the chapter, contain a
separate and distinct prophecy, arising,
indeed, out of the circumstances con
nected with the Syrian invasion, but re
lating to a different subject, viz. the
punishment to be inflicted upon the
Jewish state by the Assyrians. The
important prophecy respecting the Mes
siah, ver. 14, &c. is introduced as a sure
basis upon which the hopes of the pious
might still rest. It does not appear to
have been delivered at the same juncture
of time with the preceding prophecy.
The words, iai nin; tjDi'i, rather shew that
an interval had elapsed, and that another
or additional prophetic announcement is
here made. ni«, LXX. arrjp.elov, Syr.
0 0 ...
j^j, Arab. M , from ni«, in Hithp. to
mark, mark out, determine. Numb, xxxiv.
10: hence the noun came to signify that
which serves as a token or proof of any
thing, (argumentum, ratio rerum,) and
especially a miracle, as the most con
vincing proof of the truth and certainty
of the Divine declarations. It is also
used, as will be shewn ver. 14, to denote
some future miraculous event, the pre-
dictioa of which is designed to produce
a present effect on the minds of those to
whom it is delivered. — Instead of iiJwS,
Aq., Symm., and Theod. appear to have
read njlwjS ; rendering fidBvvov els abrjv,
" Go deep into Hades." In this they
have been followed by Jerome, Michaelis,
Lowth, and some other moderns; but
the idea of evoking the dead, or ob
taining a miracle from the abodes of the
departed, is so repugnant to the whole
tenor of Scripture, that we are com
pelled at once to reject this interpreta
tion. In fact, nothing more seems to be
meant than what might take place mira
culously upon earth, as contrasted with
a miraculous sign in the heavens ; just

as our Lord contrasts to. iwiyeia with
ra irrovpdvia, John iii. 12; or as the
Jews demanded a a-ripelov eK tov ovpa-
vov, in contradistinction from the mi
racles which he was performing on the
earth. Matt. xvi. 1. Thus Origen, in
Matt, understands the words, els fidBos,,
rj els v^lros ; and explains, Kal dnb y^s
Kal diro ovpavov. Thus also Calvin,
" vel sursum, vel deorsum :- permittet ei
liberam electionem miraculi, ut vel ier-
restre, vel celeste postulet." pps signifies
not only to be deep, in reference to what
is in the earth, water, &c., but also to be
low or inferior, in reference to any thing
higher in position. Hence pps, a valley,
or low ground, contrasted with moun
tains, hills, &c. As to the form of the
word, n^w^ is the Imperative with a pa
ragogic n, and is understood after na3n.
12, 13. Ahaz hypocritically pretends
that there is no necessity for any divine
interference, and professes to regard as
sin what God had graciously accorded
to him ; for which he is sharply reproved
by the prophet. — D3p tDSpn, lit. is it little
from, or in comparison of you ? i. e. do
ye account it an act not sufficiently in
dicative of your depravity ? Though
this reproof also affected the princes of
the house of David, in virtue of their
relation to the incredulous monarch, yet,
as God had made a covenant of royalty
with the head of that house, that it
should not be cut off, notwithstanding
the wickedness of individual kings, but
should continue till the appearance of the
Rod from the stem of Jesse, he now, by
his messenger, gives them, and such of
the Jews as were expecting the fulfil
ment of the ancient prophecies, an
explicit assurance, that, whatever judg
ments might be brought upon the nation
for its wickedness, (and such he was
just about to denounce,) they should not
interfere with the accomplishment of the
promise, 1 Chron. xvii. 11. This assur-

chap. VII.]

ISAIAH.

59

Is it too small a matter for you to weary out men ?
Ye must also forsooth weary out my God !
14 Nevertheless, the Lord himself will give you a sign

ance is contained in the following verse,
in which the certainty of the birth of
the promised Seed is set forth as the
ground of <;ontinued confidence in God.
14. This verse has long been a subject
of dispute both between Jews and pro
fessedly Christian writers, and among
the latter mutually. While the former
reject its application to the Messiah
altogether, — the earlier rabbins explain
ing it of the queen of Ahaz, and the
birth of his son Hezekiah ; and the
later, as Kimchi and Abarbanel, of the
prophet's own wife, — the great body of
Christian interpreters have held it to be
directly and exclusively a prophecy of
our Saviour, and have considered them
selves fully borne out by the inspired
authority of the Evangelist Matthew,
chap. i. 22, 23. Others, however, have
dissented from this construction of the
passage, and have invented, or adopted
various hypotheses in support of such
dissent. Grotius, Faber, Isenbiehl, Hezel,
Bolten, Fritsche, Pluschke, Gesenius,
and Hitzig, suppose either the then pre
sent, or a future wife of Isaiah to be
meant by the note referred to. Eich
horn, Paulus, Hensler, and Ammon, are
of opinion, that the prophet had nothing
more in view than an ideal virgin, and
that both she and her son were merely
imaginary personages, introduced for the
purpose of prophetic illustration. Bauer,
Cube, Steudel, and some others, think
that the prophet pointed to a young
woman in the presence of the king and
his courtiers. A fourth class, among
whom are Richard Simon, Le Clerc,
Lowth, Koppe, Dathe, Williams, Von
Meyer, Olshausen, and Dr. J. Pye Smith,
adopt the hypothesis of a double sense :
one, in which the words apply primarily
either to some female living in the time
of the prophet, and her giving birth to
a son according to the ordinary laws of
nature ; or, as Dathe holds, to some
virgin who at that time should mira
culously conceive ; and the other, in
which they received a secondary and
plenary fulfilment in the miraculous con
ception and birth of Christ. To attempt

a refutation of each of these theories
would require more space than can here
be spared. And, indeed, it is rendered
in a great measure superfluous, by the
self-contradictory and mutually subver
sive bearings by which they are distin
guished ; while some of them are so
manifestly formed for the nonce as to
be totally unworthy of notice. I shall,
therefore, confine myself to the simple
philology and exegesis of the passage.
pj, like the Arab. ^Xl, possesses here
a strongly exceptive force, and ex
presses the introduction of a proposi
tion the reverse of what might have
been expected. «in'3iM, The Lord him
self, is emphatic. The sign was to be
given immediately or miraculously, and
not through human intervention. The
verb lOJ being put in the strictly future
tense, shews that the sign, or miracle,
was not one given or wrought at the
time, but belonged to some future pe
riod. To the application of the miracle
to the birth of Christ, it has been ob
jected, that a future event, and especially
one so very remote, could not possibly
have affected the minds of those to whom
the prophet addressed himself, and can
not, indeed, be said, with any propriety,
to be a sign at all. To this it is only
necessary to reply, that no intimation
whatever is given either of remoteness
or proximity in point of time. So far
as the language is concerned, the pro
phecy might have received its fulfilment
within a few years, or even months, as
well as at the distant period of seven
centuries. Nothing can, therefore, be
more unfair, than to allege as a difficulty
what has no real existence. The uncer
tainty in regard to time was calculated
to exert a salutary influence upon the
minds of believers, by keeping up in them
a constant expectation of the event, just as
the uncertainty of the time of our Lord's
second advent has always been found to
operate favourably upon the minds of his
people. As to that part of the objection
which denies the relevancy of the term
ni», sign, in application to some future

60

ISAIAH.

[chap. VII.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son ;

event, the simple preannouncement of
which was designed to induce to present
action, it is satisfactorily met by the fact
that the word is clearly thus applied
Exod. iii. 12, and Jer. xliv. 29, 30. In
both these instances it is employed pre
cisely as in the present text, in reference
to what was afterwards to take place.
Comp. also 1 Sam. ii. 34. The accom
plishment, it is granted, was earlier ; but
this does not in the least affect the ques
tion, and ought not to be urged as an ob
jection. Till the events took place, they
were as entirely foreign to the expe
rience of those to whom they were pre
dicted, as the birth of our Saviour was
to O. T. believers. — n?n is frequently used
by the prophets to excite attention to the
subject which they are about to an
nounce. When followed by a BeUon.
participle, as it is in the present instance
by nij', it indicates the futurity of the
action specified. — The article in np^n
is so far definite, that it marks out a
particular person whom the prophet had
in his mental view ; but it cannot, with
out violence, be invested with any thing
like a demonstrative power, so as to inti
mate, that, in using it, he pointed to a
young female then present, as some have
contended. That it should stand for the
pron. affix ;, as 'nn^s, which Gesenius
thinks probable, is perfectly inadmis
sible : such a form, according to Hebrew
usage, and, indeed, according to the usus
loquendi in all languages, would signify
my daughter, or my female servant, but
not my wife, or my intended wife, which
that author takes to be the meaning.
Comp. ¦q nrapBevos avrov, 1 Cor. vii. 36.
Precisely the same degree of definiteness
attaches to ni!!i'. She who is to bear, em
ployed by Micah, (chap. v. 2,) who was
contemporary with Isaiah; on which
Hitzig remarks, "ThoUgh Micah gives
expression to obscure and mysterious
matters, yet by ' She that is to bear ' he
can only mean the mother of Messiah,
to whom the suffix in i'n« refers." Com
ment, in loc.
Respecting the etymology and signifi
cation of npbs, considerable difference of
opinion obtains. Gesenius and others
have recourse to the Arab. Ax. , co'eundi
cupidus, libidinosuSj eoque velut furibun-

dus fuit; whence are derived J.^^
As., adolescens, and X«Jtc, ai.«:, ado-
lescentula; and they endeavour to derive
support to their opinion from the mas.
Dto being used to signify a young man,
I'Sam. xvii. 56, xx. 22 ; and from the
n ^ V ¦
cognates Nnp!?», jAia*^X which, in the
Aramaic dialects, signify a young woman.
It looks suspicious, however, to have re
course to other dialects in order to de
termine the primary signification of a
word, while no reference whatever is
made to an indigenous root in common
use. Now it is beyond dispute, that
D^S occurs frequently in the acceptation
to hide, be concealed, unrevealed, un
known ; and it was natural, from this
common acceptation of the verb, to apply
the nouns D^, and nob», to persons of
youthful age, who were as yet unknown
to the world, and especially who were
destitute of the knowledge which springs
from sexual intercourse. Thus Aq. ren
ders iip^, Gen. xxiv. 43, by dnoKpv^os,
the LXX., as in our present text, by
TrapBevos. In the former of the two
passages above quoted from 1 Sam. it is
undeniable that extreme youth is the idea
attaching to the mas. noun ; and on
comparing Gen. xxiv. 43 ; Exod. ii. 8 ;
Ps. Ixviii. 26; Prov. xxx. 19; Song i.
2, vi. 8 ; the only other instances in
which the fem. noun occurs, that of a
young unmarried female, and, hy impli
cation, virgo intacta, is the most natural
and unforced. So evidently, indeed, does
this signification attach to nio^, Song
vi. 8, where those to whom the term is
applied are distinguished both from the
D'tt)3^B, concubines, with whom the king
is supposed to have cohabited, and the
niabp, his royal consorts, that it is sur
prising how any other meaning could
ever have been palmed upon it. In his
animadversions prefixed to the second
vol. of Roserimiiller's Scholia in Comp.
redacta, the learned Rabbi S. D. Luz-
zatto, is obliged to acknowledge respect
ing the two former words : " Je ne sais
pas quels caractSres distinguaient une
rrg'ra d'une iSabs : cependant ce texte de
la Cantique suppose sans doute que ce
fussent deux conditions diffirentes." In

chap, vii.] ISAIAH.
And shall call his name IMMANUEL.

61

like ma,nner, npjs, Prov. xxx. 19, mani
festly signifies one who is a virgin, either
actually or by reputation, up to the time
of her ceasing to be so by the successful
attempt made to corrupt her ; and so far
is the term from being synonymous with
laop mtiN, in the following verse, as the
Jews would have it, that the latter is
merely added for the sake of furnishing
a parallel instance of concealment on
the part of a married female, correspond
ing to that employed in the former
instance by the man, to prevent his ex
posure to the punishment annexed in
the law of Moses to the seduction of
a virgin. Exod. xxii. 16; Deut. xxii.
23, 24.
With respect to the text before us, it
must be considered strongly corrobora
tive of the view commonly taken of the
signification of the word, that it was
rendered irapBivos by the Greek trans
lator at a time when no polemical
grounds existed to bias his mind; and
that it was not till after the time of our
Lord, when Jews and Christians had
engaged in controversy respecting the
meaning of the O. T. prophecies, that
this term was changed by Aq. and Symm.
into veavjs, a damsel. Add to which the
testimony of Jerome, that in the Punic,
which was a dialect of equal antiquity with
the Hebrew, alma signified a virgin : a
testimony which is entitled to all credit,
not being in the slightest degree affected
by the attempt of Gesenius to invalidate
its authority. To the objection, that, if
the prophet had intended to convey the
idea of proper virginity, he would have
employed the word njin?, it is only ne
cessary to reply, that although this term
appears in some instances to have been
employed as a more definite synonyme,
yet there are others in which its use is
perfectly identical with that of np'is,
such, as Deut. xxxii. 25, nVina-DS iina-Da';
2 Chron. xxxvi. 17, njmji lina-^». Comp.
also Ps. cxlviii. 12 ; Jer. Ii. 22 ; iu all
which passages njma is obviously dis
tinctive of age, and not expressly of vir
ginity, though it may be implied. It
is even used of a married female, Joel
i. 8, which is more than can be affirmed
of note. In this instance the LXX. has
vvp(j)rj.

The express design of the allegation
of the prophecy by the inspired Evan
gelist, requires nobs to be taken in the
sense of virgin ; for on the assumption
that he merely accommodated the pas
sage, he could not have drawn a lamer
or more absurd conclusion, than to have
affirmed, that as Isaiah had declared
that a young married female should bear
a son after the Usual period of gestation,
so the Saviour of the world had been
miraculously born of a virgin ! But that
there is no accommodation, but a strict
and proper application of the prophecy
as receiving its real fulfilment in our
Lord's miraculous conception and birth,
the peculiar force of the language suffi-
cientiy shows :' TOYTO AE 'OAON
yeyovev, k.t.X.
Finally, the very circumstances of the
context in Isaiah render it impossible
to put any other consistent construction
upon the term, since it would be a fla
grant violation of hermeneutical pro
priety to maintain that niK, a sign, is
used ver. 14 in a sense different from
that of miracle, to designate which it is
employed ver. 11.
nin is the fem. of the verb. adj. nin,
pregnant, though, as occurring in con
nexion with niT vis^, it has the force of
a participle, and a future signification.
It occurs in a similar connexion. Gen.
xvi. 11 ; Judges xiii. 5 ; only ni^ is there
pointed P<it, as if contracted for riK n^jj'.
Comp. Dn'innipp, Ezek. viii. 16.— nNijJ!.
Three of De Rossi's MSS., and another
originally, two or three of the earliest
editions, the LXX., Aq., Symm. and
Theod. read nKljyi in the second person ;
but the n is merely a substitute for n, as
in Deut. xxxi. 29 ; Jer. xliv. 23. Comp.
also Lev. xxv. 21 ; Ps. cxviii. 23. As it
was customary, sometimes for the father,
and sometimes for the mother, to give
the name to the child, it is not un
worthy of notice, that in the present
case it is ascribed to the virgin ; and
that the angel Gabriel charged Mary to
name the child whom she was to bear.
KaXto-ovCTi, Matt. i. 23, stands for the
passive KKrjBqa-erai, as in numerous other
instances. — In forty-three MSS., and
thirty-nine printed editions, ''«i3a» is
given in the separate form of ''« 13^? ;

62

ISAIAH.

[chap. vii.

15 Butter and honey shall he eat.
When he shall know to reject what is evil.
And to choose what is good.
16 But before the youth shall have knowledge

but in the orthography of all compound
names, the MSS. and editions widely
differ. This name, which signifies God
with us, is a descriptive, or charac
teristic title, not a proper name. Ac
cording to a Hebrew idiom, referred to
chap. i. 26, it indicates, that the child to
be born should be in reality what the
name imports — QedvBpuyiros, or, as Theo
doret explains, tov ivavBpamrja-avTa
Beov, TOV Trjv dvBpaTTeiav (jivo'iv aveiKrj-
(jjora Bebv ; not, certainly, to the exclu
sion of the idea of Divine protection
and deliverance, hut connecting these
immediately with the Person to whom
the name was given. Rosenmiiller ap
positely remarks : " Eum vero divinae
futurum esse naturae BedvBpajrov mani-
festum est inde, quod in eodem hoc vati-
cinio infra 9. 5, puer ille nasciturus
diserte dicitur appellandus inter alia esse
liaa "JS, Deus fortis." Comment, in loc.
15, 16. By some, the former of these
verses is referred to Immanuel, and the
latter to Shear-jashub ; but the latter
reference is founded on a supposed de
monstrative force of the article in issn,
which it does not possess. Definitely to
mark a child pointed to, which, it has
been said, the prophet here did, the
phrase must have been nin issn, " This
child," as all who are familiar with the
language must perceive, issn, ver. 16,
can, therefore, refer to no other than
Immanuel, ver. 14, just as "Wan, chap.
viii. 4, is Maher-shalal-Hash-baz, spoken
of ver. 3. Equally untenable is the con
struction which regards Shear-jashub as
referred to by anticipation, ver. 15, and
then more definitely pointed out ver. 16;
and no interpretation commends itself as
consistent, but that which applies both
verses to Immanuel, the immediate ante
cedent. This interpretation would doubt
less have long since been universally
adopted, had the connexion of these
verses with that immediately following
been perceived, or had a proper transla
tion been given of the latter part of ver.
16. — The prophet, having announced the
miraculous fact of the incarnation of the

Messiah, next adverts to the sustenance
by which he should be nourished during
the period of his youth ; in order, partly
to intimate that, though his human na
ture should be miraculously produced,
and sustain a most intimate union to the
divine, yet it should not be physically
supported in a way different from that
of other children ; but chiefly to draw
attention to the period when he should
reach the years of discretion, as that of
the final cessation of the temporal power
of the Jews. n«pn is, properly, not but
ter, but thick or curdled milk; Arab.
L^ , n. a. t^ , durum, spissumfuit lac.
It is called in the modem Arabic ^,
leben, in Turkish (.iJ. jijji , yugurt, and
is still a favourite article of food in
Syria, Arabia, and the neighbouring
countries. Mixed with honey, it is ex
ceedingly agreeable to the taste. The
'> in in»i3, is used in its temporal accep
tation, " at, or about the time of his
knowing," or the like, as Gen. xxiv. 63,
a-js ni3D^ ; 2 Sam. xviii. 29, i»n« riWi
?|i3?mNi asi' 'rj^an. The Messiah's "know^
ing to reject evil and to choose good"
denotes more than a single development
of the mental and moral faculties : it
implies that he would decidedly abhor
the one and approve the other ; which
cannot be predicated of children gene
rally, nor, indeed, of any one naturally
but him ; and the words seem further to
intimate, that he would give proofs of
such moral discrimination by sanction
ing what was right, and condemning
what was wrong.
KvTCLp eyd Bvp& voeco Kal oiba eKatrra,
'EcflXa Te, Kal Tci x^P°-' {''^apos 8' ft
vrjinos ^a.) — Odyss. xviii. 227.
rrajp- npi«n 35»n. These words have
usually been referred to Syria and
Ephraim, and are supposed to be in
tended for comfort to Ahaz ; but the
close connexion in which they stand
with the following verse, presents a for
midable objection to such exegesis ; not

chap.

vii.]

ISAIAH.

63

To reject what is evil and to choose what is good,
The land, which thou destroyest, shall be forsaken by both its kings.
17 For Jehovah shall bring upon thee.
And upon thy people, and upon thy father's house.
Days, such as have not come,
From tlTe day that Ephraim revolted from Judah :
— The king of Assyria.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day,
Jehovah shall whistle for the fly
Which is at the end of the streams of Egypt ;
And for the bee which is in the land of Assyria ;

to insist on the incongruity of assigning
two kings to either of those countries.
By iinisn is meant the land, by way of
eminence — the land of Canaan, called
nirr Tta-itA, Jehovah's land, xiv. 2, and
Immanuel's land, viii. 8. Though
divided into two kingdoms after the
revolt of the ten tribes, it still formed
the possession which God claimed as his
peculiar inheritance. This interpreta
tion is confirmed by the distinct refer
ence made to the revolt, ver. 17. The
two kings, therefore, were not those of
Israel and Syria ; but those of Israel and
Judah. The punishment of the former
had been predicted, ver. 8 ; that of the
latter is explicitly denounced in this and
the following verses. — 'asp is to be con
strued with 3WP1, not with yi^. The latter
verb is followed, indeed, by this adver
bial form, Exod. i. 12 ; Numb. xxii. 3 ;
but it is also used after the verb iw,
Isaiah xvii. 9, and appears, in such con
nexion, to have no more force than p,
as in Lev. xxvi. 43, Dnp 3i»n ywm. —
yip has here the sense of cutting, break
ing up, disturbing, &c. just as Hiph. is
used, ver. 6. 'The prophet pointedly
accuses Ahaz of breaking up or destroy
ing the peace of the whole land — ^his
sins being the cause of the Syrian inva
sion, which not only disturbed the tran
quillity of Judah, but also that of Israel,
through which the foreign army passed
on its way. tJ'Sjp, kings,tpta.nAa here, as
in Dan. vii. 17; Rev. xvii. 10, for king
doms or dominions, in which a sovereign
and independent authority was exer
cised. As it respected Judah, the pro
phecy received its accomplishment when
Archelaus was banished, and Judea re

duced to a Roman province. This took
place in the twelfth year of our Lord —
the very year in which he evinced his
wonderful discrimination by disputing
with the doctors in the temple, Luke ii.
42, 46.
17. The words, il«}« ijjp ns, the king
of Assyria, Houbigant, Seeker, Lowth,
Gesenius, Hitzig, and Hendewerk, con-
siller to have been originally a marginal
gloss, and they accordingly either cancel
them, or put them in Italics. They
appear, however, to have been rendered
necessary as an epexegesis to the some
what indefinite announcement which had
just been made ; and, as the Assyrian
power was to be a more destructive in
strument in the hand of God against the
Jews than the Egyptians, and was doubt
less prominently in the mind of the pro
phet, I should rather conclude, with
Scholz, that the words are genuine. At
all events, they are found in all the MSS.
and versions, and ought not to be ex
punged from the text. Under iisi»,
Assyria, is also comprehended Babylon,
as 2 Kings xxiii. 29 ; Lam. v. 6 ; and
Ezra vi, 22; in which last cited passage
even Darius, the king of Persia, is called
the king of Assyria ; so that the invasion
of Nebuchadnezzar is here predicted, as
well as the incursions of the Assyrian
kings, strictly so called. The punish
ment began to be inflicted by 'Tiglath-
pileser, 2 Chron. xxviii. 16 — 21, and was
renewed by Sennacherib, and succeeding
monarchs. 18. For the meaning of pl'^, see chap.
v. 26. By 313] are meant not only flies,
but musquitos, gnats, &c. which are
found in immense swarms in the marshes-

64

ISAIAH.

[chap. vii.

19 And they shall all of them come, and rest
In the desolate valleys and the fissures of the rocks.
And on all the thorn-bushes, and on all the pastures.
20 In that day shall the Lord shave with the hired razor,
From beyond the river — the king of Assyria —
The head, and the hair of the feet ;
It shall also scrape off the beard.

adjacent to the mouths of the Nile. Some
idea may be formed of their formidable
character, from the description given by
Spencer of the poisonous flies which
annoyed him on his voyage down the
Danube. They make their appearance,
he says, during the first great heat of
summer, in such numbers, as to seem
like large volumes of smoke ; their
attacks are directed against every species
of quadruped ; they cover simultaneously
every vulnerable part of the animal, and
torture him so that he dies in a few
hours. A more apt metaphor could not
have been employed, by which to set
forth the numerous army of the Egyp
tians under Pharaoh Necho, who slew
Josiah, and exacted a tribute from the
land of Judah of an hundred talents of
silver and a talent of gold, 2 Kings xxiii.
29 — 35.— Dnsp'i^;, the streams cf Egypt,
i. e. the arms of the Delta, with the sub
ordinate branches into which the Nile is
divided below Cairo, chap. xi. 15. —
nii3i, used collectively like the preced
ing noun, for bees, and likewise meta
phorically employed to denote numerous
and dangerous enemies. Comp. Deut.
i. 44 ; Ps. cxviii. 1 2.
19. ninan ^n, lit. valleys of desolations,
i. e. valleys entirely laid waste. The latter
noun is the plural of nna, chap. v. 6 ;
from nna, Arab, c:^ , to cut, cut off]
lay entirely waste. — P'p3 signifies a rent
or fissure in a rock ; yi3».3 , the thorn bush,
which Gesenius conjectures tobe the lotus
spinosa; Chald. y»3, to prick, make punc
tures ; and ^'jni, pasture ground, from
^n3 , to guide, conduct, lead out cattle, as
laip, from iai. The two latter nouns
are intensive in form, the third radical
being doubled. The design of the par
ticular specification of places in this
verse, was to intimate that the number
of the invading foes would be so great,

and that they would so completely over
run the country, that not even the most
remote uninhabited parts would be free
from them.
20. A further description of the Assy
rian army which Jehovah would employ
against the Jews. — ni'pten -©n. This
noun is feminine with a masculine ter
mination, as the n in TV'piP, and the
femin. preformant in nspn shew ; so
that there is no necessity, with some, to
transfer the article from the adjective,
and read n^n. Such a form nowhere
occurs. The article is here used instead
of the relative pronoun, on account of
the following inj 1393, with which the
adjective is closely connected. The
LXX., as their rendering is exhibited in
the Alex. Codex, iv Ta ^vpa Ta pepe-
Bvcrpeva, and after them the Syriac,
must have read, ni'3^ ; most probably
deeming such phraseology parallel to
that of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 42, laaix
t3ip'2l7. In the idea of the king of
Assyria being hired, there is obviously a
reference to the sum paid by Ahaz to
that king for his assistance, 2 Kings xvi.
7, 8 ; though the hire here spoken of
consisted in the booty derived from sub
sequent spoliations of Judea by the
Assyrian power. Comp. Ezek. xxix.
20. — ina, in the prophetic style, signifies
KaT e^ox^v the Euphrates, and does
not require the article, which Lowth, on
the authority of only two MSS. would
supply. See Jer. ii. 18. That the plural
p;^ cannot be understood of the people
inhabiting the regions beyond- the Eu
phrates, but must signify the regions
themselves, is manifest from the epex-
egis il\S« ijjp?. — D;5i3in, the feet, an
euphemistic mode of expression. Comp.
Gen. xlix. 10; Deut. xxviii. 57; Isaiah
xxxvi. 12, in the Keri. — ncD properly
signifies to scrape, scrape off, and is
selected for the purpose of increasing

chap.

vii.]

ISAIAH.

65

22

23

24

25

And it shall come to pass in that day.
That a man shall keep a young heifer and two sheep ;
And it shall be,
That, from the abundant production of milk they shall eat butter ;
Yea, butter and honey shall every one eat,
That is left in the land.
And it shall come to pass in that day.
That, in every place, where there were a thousand vines,
At a thousand pieces of silver,
There shall be thorns and briers.
With the arrows and the bow shall men enter it ;
For the whole land shall be thorns and briers.
But to none of the mountains, which may be cleared with the hoe,

the idea of ignominy, conveyed by the
removal of the hair from the diflferent
parts of the body. The proper term to
express shaving is that used in the begin
ning of the verse. The import of this
highly figurative language is, that, by
means of the Assyrians, Jehovah would
despoil the country of whatever was
held in honour and esteem.
21. The prophet now describes the state
of the country after its having been de
populated. Owing to the want of men
and cattle, the land would remain uncul
tivated. Instead of numerous flocks and
herds, a single cow and a couple of sheep
would be all that any one would have
left to him. Valuable vineyards would
be so overrun with thickets, that it would
be dangerous to enter them unarmed, on
account of the wild beasts that made
them their haunts ; and the only places
to which it would be found possible to
turn out cattle, would be the sides of the
hills, which would furnish abundance of
pasturage for the few that might remain.
The result would be, that the chief sus
tenance would be milk and wfld honey.
lig rhya, lit. a calf of the herd, but used
as a diminutive for a heifer, instead
of niB. — ^MS may either mean sheep or
goats, being used as a generic term for
small cattle.
22. After rrrn subaud. «inrr Di"3. niil»
abn, lit. the making of milk : to produce
milk, like 'is nita?, to produce fruit. For
nspn, see on ver. 15. Though at first
viVw, what is here specified might appear

to be a promise of good, it is in effect a
denunciation of evil : the abundance
being limited to the two articles men
tioned, instead of being extended to the
great variety resulting from a state of
agricultural prosperity. The 'a has no
reference whatever to ver. 15, as Hen
dewerk would construe it. it merely
asserts that the articles of food would be
such as an uncultivated state of the
country would afford.
23. Pica f]5«-i p t)5« is descriptive of
large and productive vineyards. The
vines are supposed to have been of so
excellent a kind, that they were esti
mated at a silver shekel a piece. f]pa
stands for ^ps'^ijtf, the fuller form. Burk-
hardt mentions, that on Mount Lebanon,
in 1811, the vines were sold at the price
of a piastre each, i. e. about one shilling
and seven pence sterling. The silver
shekel was equal to two shillings three
pence farthing and a half. That the
estimate of the prophet refers to the
sale, and not to the annual rent of the
vines, seems beyond dispute ; for though
it is statbd. Song viii. 11, that each of
the keepers of Solomon's vineyard at
Baalhamon was to pay flD3 F]5«, a thou
sand shekels, yet it is expressly said to
be the produce of the fruit, and no men
tion is made of the number of the vines.
24, 25. The occurrence of tw, fear,
in connexion with the briers and thorns
in the latter of these verses, shews that
the employment of the bow and arrows
was not for the purpose of hunting the
K

66

ISAIAH.

[chap.

viii.

Shalt thou go, afraid of thorns and briers ;
It shall be a place to which to send the cattle ;
And where the sheep may range.

wild beasts, but for self- protection.
yi«rrt3 signifies all the low and level
parts of the country that had been cul
tivated; with which are contrasted %
D>inn, the hilly or mountainous regions
mentioned in the following verse. A
new beginning might be made to culti
vate the ground, yet not with oxen, as

in prosperous times, but only with hand
implements. nsi;  «i3n"s') has occasioned consider
able" difficulty, but entirely owing to the
verb having been taken in the third per
son feminine. If read as the second
masculine all is plain. Supply p? before
n«i'.

CHAPTER VIII.
Isaiah reverts in this chapter to the subject of the overthrow of the confederate
powers of Israel and Syria by the king of Assyria. He relates the measures
which he was directed to employ for notifying , the certainty and proximity of
the event, 1 — 4 ; denounces the divine judgments against the ten tribes for their
rebellious ccmduct, 5 — 8 ; gives assurances that the machinations and attempts
which were directed against Judah, should prove abortive, 9, 10 ; exhorts to per
severing confidence in God, and his revelations, 11 — 20; and describes the
calamitous condition of the inhabitants of Ephraim, in consequence of the
Assyrian invasion, 21, 22.

1 And Jehovah commanded me : Take thee a large tablet, and write
upon it with a man's writing instrument, For Maher-shalal-

1. The prophet firstrecei ves a command
to exhibit, in large characters, words
prognostic of the sudden attack of the
Assyrian army; and then another, to
give them as a symbolical name to a son
that was to be born to him. ]i'|3, not a
roll, as if derived from i^i, to roll, roll
wp ; but a tablet, or smooth plate, from
nJl, to make hare; Arab. Ji»-, to
polish. The Hebrews not only used
niVap, rolls of linen, skin, &c,, but like
wise tablets of polished brass, stone, or
wood, for the purposes of writing, which
last were either simple, or covered with
wax. Among the ancients, the materials

on which it was customary to write, dif
fered according to the different purposes
of the writing. Stone, brass, lead, wood,
and the like, were employed when the
design was to promulgate public decrees,
or record memorable events for posterity.
For common or private purposes, the
more usual materials were leaves, the
inner bark of trees, wooden tablets co-,
vered with wax, ivory, linen cloth and
papyrus, or Egyptian paper. The laws.
of Solon were inscribed on tablets of
wood, called amoves. To such tablets the
Greeks also gave the name of Kvp^m,
See Eschenburg's Man. of Class. Lit.
These tablets were likewise called in.

CHAP,

VIII.]

ISAIAH.

67

2 Hash-baz ; and that I should take unto me faithful witnesses,
3 Urijah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. And
I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bare a son ; and
Jehovah said to me : Call his name Maher-shalal-Hash-baz.

Hebrew nim"), and were employed by the
prophets for the purpose of publicly ex
hibiting such portions of their commu
nications as had some immediate object
in view. Chap. xxx. 8; Hab. ii. 2.
Isaiah was commanded, on the present
occasion, to take a large tablet, in order
that there might be ample space for the
words being written in large characters,
that, when exposed in public, they might
be easily legible by all. For the same
reason, Habbakuk was ordered to make
the words of his vision plain by digging
them deep into the material which he
employed, chap. ii. 2. — niiSM tdiij, lit. the
pen of man, but used idiomatically for
a common pen, just as dpiBjios dvBpdnov,
Rev. xiii. 18, means an ordinary num
ber ; and pxTpov dvBpdirov, Rev. xxi. 7,
a measure common among men. Thus,
also, in the N. T. a thing is said to be
KUT hiBpamov when it is in accordance
with the usual views, dispositions, or
practices of men. Lowth's version, " a
workman's graving tool," is not borne
out by Hebrew usage. The Bin was
properly the style, a-rvkos, ypa<f>e'iov,
y\v<pe'lov, employed for writing on harder
materials. It was made of iron or ivory,
pointed at the one end, and broad at the
other, for the purpose of erasing letters,
especially when they were written on
tablets covered with wax. The word,
however, is not to be taken literally in
this passage, but metonymically, for cha
racters, or the letters formed by the pen ;
as we say : a person writes a good hand,
his style is excellent, &c. Thus the
Targ. ttraa ana, a clear writing. Some
suppose that ordinary writing is here
opposed to hierotic characters ; but there
is no reason to suppose that the Jewish
priests employed a peculiar alphabet, ex
cept, indeed, we assume, that in the time
of the prophet the ancient Phenician
forms of the letters were confined to the
sacred Scriptures, and that others, more
approximating to the square letters now
in use, had come to be employed for
ordinary writings, which is not alto
gether destitute of probability. The

Arabs have their Kufic and Neshi cha
racters; the Syrians their Estrangelo
and Peshito ; and the Persians, their
Neshki, Taalic, and Shekesteh. — The
writing was to consist of the four words,
13 «!n W liTOj. The '' belongs to the en
tire inscription, and is used like the
Greek to, prefixed to a clause. Though
the former of the two words is in the
Infinitive, yet the latter, being the third
person of the Preterite, shews that they
are both to be rendered as finite forms :
He hastes to the spoil, he speeds to the
prey. The nominative is the Assyrian
monarch understood.
2. ni'»Ni. The paragogic n evinces,
that this verb is not to be construed as a
converted future, but as a future sub
junctive, prosecuting in indirect lan
guage what had been commenced in the
direct form. The persons to be selected
as witnesses to the fact, that the prophet
had written the words in question at the
time, were two of distinguished notoriety
at Jerusalem ; the one, the High Priest,
who, though he afterwards humoured the
king in the matter of the Syrian altar,
2 Kings xvi. 10 — 16, was at the time
possessed of great weight and authority ;
and the other, in all probability, filled
the prophetical office. They were both
D'an«5, persons worthy of credit, whose
testimony in reference to the matter
might be relied on.
3. aiijMl begins a new paragraph, and
describes what took place subsequent to
the performance of what was enjoined
in the preceding verses. The term is
euphemistic. Comp. Gen. xx. 4 ; the
Arab. la»jj^' S . , ne ergo approximetis
illis, Koran, Sur. ii. 183; and the Eth.
't'f ^(1 ! as A.'f"^ J^n ¦ ^^ accedas
ad cam, i. e. ne concumbas cum ea. Hom.
Marias. — The name nN'33, prophetess,
does not imply that she was such offi
cially, but merely indicates her relation
to Isaiah. There is no ground whatever
for supposing that she was any other
than the mother of Shear-jashub ; and

68

ISAIAH.

[chap. viii.

For before the child shall know to cry " My Father" and " My
Mother," the wealth-of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria, shall
be carried away before the king of Assyria.
And Jehovah further spake to me, saying :
Because this people despiseth
The waters of Shiloah, which flow softly,
And have their joy in Rezin, the son of Remaliah ;
Therefore, behold, the Lord will bring up upon them ;
The strong and mighty waters of the river —
The king of Assyria and all his glory : —
And it shall rise over all its channels,
And pass over all its banks.

every attempt to identify her with the
nnb», chap. vii. 14, has failed. — The
words which had been inscribed on the
tablet are appropriated as a symbolical
name of the new-born son of the pro
phet. It is the longest of any of the
Scripture names ; but has its parallels in
this respect in other languages, espe
cially in our own at the time of the
Commonwealth. 4. 3« and D« are onomatapoetica, and
are found in numerous languages ; only
in most the consonants precede the
vowels. Thus the Turkish and Persic
[)[) ; the Greek Trdiras, irdinras, hence
TTaTTTTa^eLV ; papa, pdppa, pdp.prj ; and
our own papa, mama, contracted pa, ma.
The reason of the -transfer of the mys
terious words to the child is assigned,
and the meaning is, that in little more
than a year, both Syria and Ephraim
should be conquered.—^;, impersonally,
shall be carried away. — ll'tiM Jp? '??^)
" before the king of Assyria." 'There is
here an allusion to the ancient custom
of carrying in triumph before the victor
the spoils taken from the enemy. For
the fulfilment see 2 Kings xv. 29, xvi. 9.
5, 6. Gesenius and others endeavour
to shew, that the people referred to in
these verses are the Jews, and not the ten
tribes ; but the assumption of defection
from Ahaz, on the part of the great
body of the nation who had joined the
enemy, which is necessarj' to support
the hypothesis, is entirely without foun
dation, nin D»n, though spoken by Isaiah
in Judah, refers to the foreigners who

were the subject of the preceding pre
diction, and who are further described
as exulting in the valour and prowess of
their kings. Self-confident, they treated
with contempt the Jewish state. — 'O
ri'jlSn, the water of Shiloah, flowed from
n^n naij, the pool of Shelah, Neh. iii.
15, and was conveyed by an aqueduct
to the royal residence. See note on chap.
vii. 3. Owing, perhaps, to this latter
circumstance, or to that of the king's
being anointed in the vicinity, 1 Kings
i. 32 — 40, it was employed as an image
of the house of David. Considering its
noiseless flow and diminutive size, it
formed a most appropriate emblem of
the state of that house at the time, in
reference to its enemies; and was se
lected by the prophet in order to con- ^
trast with it the large and resistless
Euphrates, vers. 7 and 8, the emblem of
the king of Assyria. — toitop Hitzig takes
to be the Infinitive Construct of iuico,
which, though not in use, he considers
to be the same as Dpn, to melt, be afraid
cf; and renders, "And are afraid of
Rezin and the son of Remaliah ;" but
it is better, with Gesenius, Rosen
miiller, and Hendewerk, to regard it as
the noun tolton, in the Construct state,
only used for the Infinitive. The Con
struct is thus the genitive of object, not
of possession.
7. That by insn 'p, as opposed to
li'^ilSn 'p, ver. 6, we are to understand the
Euphrates, is beyond dispute. This noble
river, so frequently referred to in Scrip
ture, has its source in the mountains
of Armenia, and running in a south

chap, viii.]

ISAIAH.

69

And shall flow into Judah,
Overflowing and passing through ;
It shall reach to the neck ;
And the spreadings of his wings
Shall cover the entire breadth of thy land, 0 Immanuel !

and south-easterly direction, and, uni
ting with the Tigris below Babylon,
flows into the Persian gulf. As far as
Bir it is impetuous in its course ; after
this it flows more or less gently through
the plains of Mesopotamia ; but, like the
Nile, has its annual inundations, in con
sequence of the melting of the snow in
Armenia, during which it often covers
great part of the adjacent country. To
prevent, as much as possible, the injury
committed by these inundations, and to
divert the water so as profitably to irri
gate the fields, numerous canals were
dug, and embankments were raised,
some of which were of considerable
strength. These canals the prophet calls
D'pDN, which is used both of pipes or
tubes. Job xl. 18, and of the beds or
channels of streams, Ezek. xxxii. 6, and
by metonymy of brooks, and the valleys
through which they flow, Ps. xiii. 2; Job
vi. 13. nia, a bank, or embankment;
Chald. M113, a wall ; Arab. As.- , a shore,
or coast. — iliaa-^Jl ll«i« ^Jp nM, the king
of Assyria and all his glory, Gesenius,
and some other German writers, con
sider to be a glo^s ; but the style is quite ,
in keeping with chap. vii. 17, 20, and
the frequent use of such epexegesis was
necessary, that the Jews might have no
excuse for their unbelief in the alleged
obscurity of figurative language. By the
liaa, glory, of the king of Assyria, is to
be understood his noble warriors. No
thing could more fitly represent the in
cursion of a large and powerful army,
than the inundation of a river, which
breaks through every barrier that is
thrown in its way, and sweeps all be
fore it.
8. Though the Assyrian power was
first to invade the land of Israel, and
carry away its spoils, it is here added,
that Judah also should suffer. The pro
phecy was fulfilled in the days of Heze
kiah, when Sennacherib spread his troops
over the whole country, and might figura

tively be said to "reach even to the
neck," when he besieged Jerusalem.
The metropolis alone held its head above
the water. The verbs H^n, F)?itf, and ia»,
are chiefly employed to increase the
effect of the description ; yet there is the
most exact propriety in the order in
which they occur : f|bn signifying to pass
out of one condition into another, indi
cates the commencement of the inunda
tion ; f]pti, the overwhelming rush of the
waters into the country ; and 139, their
progress across its surface. — D;p3|. The
prophet here drops the figure of an over
flowing river, and employs that of the
extended wings of a bird, which, in
various languages, are applied to the
flanks or side bodies of an army, because
of their stretching out from the centre,
and covering the ground which they
occupy. See chap, xviii. 1. In the
same acceptation, D'Bjh is used, Ezek.
xii. 14, 17 ; xxxviii. 6. Chald. f|a, a
wing, niisa is a verbal noun from the
Hophal of np3, to extend. — ';«l3p? ?[V1^?.
That the latter word is here to be re
garded as the name to be given to the
child whose birth is predicted, chap. vii.
14, and that he is personally addressed,
is the construction put upon the passage
in the Syriac version and that of Saadias,
and is admitted both by Gesenius and
Hitzig. On the principle of the former
of these commentators, it cannot be
denied that Judea might be called the
land of Immanuel, because it was his
native country ; but if by Immanuel we
are to understand, not the son of the
prophet, nor any child then bom, or
shortly to be bom, but the promised
Messiah ; then, though it will hold true
that Judea was his country in that sense,
it must also be maintained, that it was
his in a still higher sense, — namely,
that in which it is called nin; npis, chap,
xiv. 2 ; nin; yi«, Hos. ix. 3 ; to ibia,
John i. 1 1, — not so much the country to
which he belonged, as that which be
longed to him ; his own peculiar pro-

70

ISAIAH.

[chap. viii.

9 Be enraged, O ye people, yet ye shall be broken in pieces —
Hear it, all ye distant parts of the earth :
Gird you, yet ye shall be broken in pieces ;
Gird you, yet ye shall be broken in pieces.
10 Form a purpose, yet it shall be defeated ;
Speak the word, yet it shall not stand ;
For God is with us.
11 For thus said Jehovah to me, with a mighty impulse,
And warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying.

perty. The suddenness of the apostrophe
requires this interpretation, since it would
be utterly pointless were we to assume
that any ordinary person was meant.
" Plena igitur sententia est : copias hosti-
les pervadent et replebunt terram tuam,
O Immanuel ! Ergo si terra haec sit
, terra tua, si id es vere, quod tuum
nomen significat, miserere populi tui et
fer opem. Immanualem futurum Deum
ipsum natura humana induendum, vidi
mus, supra ad 7, 14." Rosenm. in loc.
9. The prophet now turns abruptly to
the immediate enemies of Judah ; and
while he summons distant nations to
listen to his prediction, he ironically
commands the former to put forth their
utmost energies, with the assurance that
it would only issue in their own destruc
tion. — H>1, Seeker and Lowth, on no
other authority than that of the LXX.
would read WJ, yvdre, know ye ; but they
have not even the support of a paral
lelism, to which the Bishop appeals ; for
the next clause of the verse is manifestly
parenthetical. Some would derive the
verb from n»l , to he friendly, associate,
&c. and refer to Prov. xviii. 24 for a
confirmation of such derivation ; but that
passage requires ?Siinn to be rendered,
destroyeth himself — the result of his pro
pensity to be always in company. It
can only properly be taken as the Im
perative of »?1, in the signification of
raging, giving tumultuous vent to an evil
disposition. The repetitions which follow
are for the sake of emphasis. For
liJ«D?, Hitzig aptly compares the full
form ?i'25n_l333 «:-ii», Job xxxviii. 3;
When two imperatives occur, as in this
verse, the former is ironically concessive,
and the latter declarative or minatory.

10. A continuation of the preceding,
both as to form and meaning. The form
is» likewise occurs, Jud. xix. 30, and in
a similar combination, lifii is». It is
contracted from ISisj. w liai; refers to
the issuing of orders to carry into effect
the purposes formed in the council of the
enemy. — ^M I3a9 is here to be taken, not
as the name of Immanuel, but as an ap
propriation of its import ; not, however,
without a recognition of Him to whom
the name belonged. Jerome resolves if
thus : " nobiscum est Deus, id est, Em
manuel." Except we put this construc
tion upon the words, we must suppose
the prophet simply to introduce the
name of the Great Deliverer, "For
Immanuel," — and then leave the con
clusion to be drawn from its significa
tion : but such an instance of abrupt
dreX«'<Bo-« is, I believe, without example
in the Hebrew Scriptures.
11. i;nnpin3, lit. with the strength of
the hand, or his hand, meaning a mighty
impulse. 1> is frequently used to denote
the divine impulse experienced by the
prophets in a state of inspiration; hence
it is said to be upon them, come, fdttwpon
them, Ezek. i. 3 ; 2 Kings iii. 15 ; Ezek.
viii. 1. In Ezek. iii. 14, we have f.
rtgm 'to nirp, the hand of Jehovah was
strong upon me, which is equivalent to
the Infinitive form here employed. Thus
the Targ. «nMl33 f|Erip3, in the power of
prophecy. " Taking me by the hand,"
which is the rendering of our common
version, cannot be justified. Lowth's
rendering is, therefore, erroneous; as is
his substitution of 3 for 3, though upwards
of forty MSS., eight printed Editions,
the Syriac, and Symm. in Procopius,
have the former reading.

chap, viii.]

ISAIAH.

71

12 Ye shall not say. There is a confederacy,
Of any thing that this people may say, There is a confederacy :
Be not ye afraid with their fear ;
Neither do ye dread.
13 Jehovah of hosts himself ye shall sanctify ;
He shall be your fear, and he your dread.
14 For he shall become a Sanctuary ;
But a stone to strike against, and a rock of stumbling
To both the houses of Israel ;
A snare and a trap to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many shall stumble at them, and fall, and be broken,
And shall be ensnared and taken.

12. itijj, from IttSi?, to bind, may either
signify a conspiracy within a state, or a
confederacy against it from without. It
is used here in the latter acceptation, to
denote the league between the kings of
Israel and Syria. Ixk^pov of the LXX.
has arisen from their erroneously reading
ntfij, instead of 1^, a mistake easily
made. The idea of idolatrous objects of
worship, which Lowth introduces, as a
conjecture of Seeker's, altering and trans
posing the letters of the word into iSi)7,
is not borne out by usage, and is quite
foreign to the passage. While the Is
raelites might boast of the confederacy
as formidable, and the unbelieving Jews
might view it in the same light, the pro
phet was strictly charged not to imitate
them, C^Jia natej) since, in the Divine
estimation, it was undeserving of the
name ; and would, by the instrument
ality employed by God, speedily be
broken up. — ii*iiD, the genitive of object,
that of which they are afraid.
13. D32>i»,p and D3siin are likewise
genitives of object. The addition of inV»,
Him, to the preceding accusative, gives
peculiar emphasis in such connexion.
To sanctify God, means here to cherish
and evince a due sense of his character,
as worthy of entire confidence, being
able to defeat all the enemies of his
people, and faithful to fulfil his promises
of protection and deliverance. Comp.
1 Pet. iii. 14, 15, where the words are
quoted ad sensum ; and, according to
the reading Kvpiov tox Xpio-Toi/, found
in the MSS. A BC 7, 13, 33 in Marg.
69, 137, and others ; both the Syriac

versions ; the Arab, of Erpen., the Cop
tic, Sahidic, Armenian, Vulgate, Clement,
and Fulgentiusy are applied expreSsly to
our Saviour, in whom Christians are
commanded to place the same religious
confidence which the prophet challenges
for Jehovah of hosts.
14, 15. iii^IJP, suggested by iiii'iijn,
ver. 13 : a sanctuary in the sense of
asylum or refuge, to which persons fled
from those who would deprive them of
life. Among the ancients, altars, tem
ples, and other sacred places, afforded
such protection ; no person daring to
shed blood, or do violence to any who
had placed themselves in immediate con
tact with the deities supposed to be there
resident. Pollux. Onomast. lib. i. cap. 1.
Pausan. Corinth, lib. ii. cap. 13. Calmet,
Asylum. That the same privflege was
claimed and enjoyed by the Hebrews
appears from Exod. xxi. 13, 14 ; 1 Kings
i. 50, 51 ; ii. 28 ; though in the latter
instance, in accordance with the Mosaic
enactment, it was withheld from noto
rious murderers. Though lajijp is the
term otherwise employed for refuge, that
here used occurs again in the same ac
ceptation, Ezek. xi. 16. The LXX., in
which it is more commonly rendered
ayiov and dyido'pa, has dyuuTp.ov in the
present instance, which has given rise to
in sanctificationem of the Vulg. and a simi
lar rendering in versions derived from
the same source. What shews that it is
to be understood in the sense of asylum,
is the antithesis in which it stands to the
following words, ^33 ]3« and 'niiipp 112 :
in the use of which there is an evident

12

ISAIAH.

[chap, viii.

16 Bind up the testimony ;
Seal the law for my disciples.
17 I will wait for Jehovah,

rise in the idea, — a rock being more than
a stone, and stumbling so as completely
to fall, more than striking one's foot
against a stone. Both combinations,
however, are intended to express the
occasion of injury and ruin to those who
are the subjects of such fall. The cir
cumstance, that both the houses of Israel,
and especially the inhabitants of Jerusa
lem, are particularly specified, together
with the distinction made, verses 15 and
16, between the many who should "be
ensnared," &c. and "the disciples of the
Lord," evinces that something very dif
ferent from the Babylonish captivity
must be meant. The true interpretation
is furnished in the inspired prediction of
Simeon, Luke ii. 34, and the equally in
spired application of the passage by Paul,
Rom. ix. 32, 33 ; and by Peter, 1 Epist.
ii. 8. That it was also regarded by the
more ancient Rabbins to refer to the
Messiah, is manifest from a passage in
the book of the Talmud, entitled Sanhe-
drin, in which it is expressly applied to
him as the Son of David, who was to
come after the subversion of the two
divisions of the Hebrew people ; see
Raymundi Pug. Fid. Edit. Carpzov. p.
405. The accomplishment we find in
the salvation enjoyed by believers in the
Redeemer, and the aggravated and still
continuing ruin of the Jews. — Da is not
to be rendered "among them,'' as in our
common version : the pron. suff. belong
ing to ]3« and 113 ; and the a being
required after W3, to indicate that against
which any one stumbles. This verb is
here a vox pregnans, and includes f]33,
to strike, strike the foot against any
olject. For the idea of ensnarement,
comp. Prov. vi. 2; Isaiah xxviii. 13;
Rom. xi. 9.
16. nTiBB occurs only here, and Ruth
iv. 7, where it is used to denote an esta
blished testimony. It is equivalent to
nil?, both being derived from lis>, to bear
witness, testify. — D'TaJ; is employed twice
besides by our prophet, chap. 1. 4, and
liv. 13, and by him alone ; and here
denotes those who were taught by the
Messiah to make him their sii|3p, sanc

tuary, in contradistinction from those
who stumbled at him to their utter ruin,
ver. 15. "The LXX. have strangely mis
understood this verse, rendering it. Tore
<j)avepol ea-ovTai ol a-(j>payi£opevoi rbv
vopov ToC pq paBelv; but Aquila has
given it rightly, evbrjo-ov paprvpiov
a'<j>pdyia'ai vopov ev toIs bibaKTols pov.
Gesenius takes much pains to prove that
the reference is to verses 1,2; but Hitzig
shews that the position is utterly untena
ble. The verb 112 can only properly
apply to the wrapping up of a IBD, or
volume, and cannot without violence he
used in reference to a large tablet.
Besides, the tablet was designed to be
hung up in public, and not be handed
down to posterity. The words apply to
the prophetic testimonies which had just
been borne to the Messiah, and other
prophetic matter then in existence, toge
ther with the law, in its more extended
signification, as comprising the rest of
the Jewish Scriptures. These might be
unheeded, or misconstrued, as indeed
they were, by the great body of the
nation ; but they would minister need
ful instruction and comfort to the disci
ples of Christ. For their benefit, they
were carefully to be preserved. 3 denotes
the relation of effect, as Ps. Ixviii. 19,
Di«a nianp mg, "thou hast received
gifts /or men," i. e. with a view to their
benefit. Vitringa's construction, which
takes 3 in the sense of in, is founded
upon an interpretation of 112, which he
supposes to be the root of the verb, alto
gether unwarranted by Hebrew usage.
The passages he adduces yield it no
support. — The speaker is not the pro
phet, but the Messiah whom the Jews
were to reject, but who here evinces his
care for those who should not be offended
in him, but who should humbly receive
his doctrines.
17, 18. The same person who speaks
in the preceding verse continues his dis
course in these. To apply them to Isaiah
would disturb the unity of the passage,
and subject it to the operation of prin
ciples which would unsettie the founda
tions of all consistent interpretation.

chap, viii.]

ISAIAH.

Who hideth his face from the house of Jacob,
I will expect him.
18 Behold I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me.
Are for signs and wonders in Israel ;
. From Jehovah of hosts.
Who dwelleth in mount Zion.
19 And when they shall say to you,
Apply to the necromancers and the wizards.

The words have no reference to the sym
bolical names given to two of his children,
as the connexion clearly evinces ; and to
view them as typical in their import, it
must be shewn, on solid scriptural
grounds, in what respects the prophet
was a type of Christ, and how Shear-
jashub and Maher-shalal-Hash-baz, were
types of the apostles, or of Christians
generally. Isaiah was, indeed, consti
tuted nBini ni«, a sign and a wonder, on
occasion of the expedition of Tartan,
but he continued to be such only for
three years ; and then he was not a type
of the Messiah, but of the denuded
Egyptians and Ethiopians whom that
general was to carry into captivity, chap.
XX. Thus also Ezekiel is said to have
been ncio, a wonder, chap. xxiv. 24, be
cause his appearance and conduct on a
particular occasion were designed to ex
cite astonishment, and draw the attention
of the Jews to their apjH'oaching desolate
and unhappy condition. The associates
of Joshua the high priest are called
nDin llijy, men of wonder, or, as Le Clerc
translates, viri portentosi. Nor can it be
shewn that, in accordance with Scripture
usage, the two sons of the prophet, were
signs and wonders, merely because they
bore symbolical names. The terms are
always used of persons or other visible
objects, never of appellations, and can
not, without the utmost harshness, be
otherwise interpreted.
That the words are those of the Mes
siah may be safely maintained on the
authority of Heb. ii. 13, where they are
quoted precisely in the same unqualified
style in which in the preceding verse a
quotation is made from the twenty-
second Psalm, the whole of which is
strictly and exclusively prophetical of
Christ. The object of the apostie is
not to give prominence to the latter half

of the 18th verse in Isaiah, but simply to
prove a joint participation in human na
ture between the Saviour and those whom
he came to redeem. He therefore stops
at Beds, with the LXX., who divide the
sentence, and introduce the latter part
of it with Kal ea-Tai. The sentiment of
ver. 1 7 is precisely that found in Ps. xl.
1, Ixix. 3; Isa. xlix. 4; in which the
Messiah expresses his trust in God, and
employs other language appropriate to
his state of humiliation. Every attempt
to relieve the supposed difficulty in the
quotation by having recourse to the ar
gument ex concessis, the double sense,
or simple accommodation, must fail to
afford satisfaction to persons of inquiring
mind. See Pierce, Macknight, and
M'Lean, on Heb. ii. 13. — The sense in
which Christ and his disciples were to
be signs and wonders is determined by
the inspired construction put upon the
prophecy by Simeon, crripelov dvTiKeyd-
pevov, "a sign to be spoken against."
Though miraculous in their character,
mission, and operations, and though they
should excite feelings of astonishment
in their contemporaries, they should ne
vertheless meet with the most deter
mined opposition. This view quite
accords with the context, ver. 14, and
with fact, Heb. xii. 3 ; ' 1 Cor. iv. 9 ;
Acts xiii. 45, xxviii. 22. The com
pound preposition D»p, indicates that
the character, &c. of Messiah and his
disciples was not formed by any pre-
existent causes, but was the result of
new causes immediately introduced by
Divine volition. See chap. vii. 11 ;
xxix. 6.
19. The prophet returns to his own
times, and warns the nation against the
superstition and imposture to which they
were exposed during the period of cala
mity before predicted. In the early
L

74

ISAIAH.

[chap. viii.

20

Who chirp and mutter, ask ye :
Should not a people apply to their God ?
Should they apply for the living to the dead ?
To the law and to the testimony !
If they speak not according to this word.
There shall be no dawn to them :

history of the Hebrew people, they appear
to have been more or less influenced by
these evils, notwithstanding the strict
prohibitions of the law, Deut. xviii, 9 —
12 ; but as we proceed in their history
they greatly increase upon us. In the
reign of such an idolatrous king as Ahaz,
their prevalence was particularly to be
expected. — i^Ti primarily signifies to
tread, frequent, &c. ; with 'JM, to go, apply
to, for assistance, direction, &c., to con
sult God, an oracle, idols, &c. Comp.
3i« ^Nti, Deut. xviii. 11. — ni3iM, mas. with
a fem. termination : from 3iM, or 31«,
Arab. ' '|1 , reveritur, to return, come
to one's senses; necromancers or sor
cerers, who pretended to recall the dead
from the invisible world by means of
incantations; and ihe spirits themselves
thus supposed to be evoked, as occupying
or possessing the bodies of such con
jurers. On this latter account, such
necromancers were called ai«Tii')53, 3i« 'i|»3,
i. e. possessed of the Ob, or spirit, called
back for purposes of divination ; and as
these impostors assumed an inflated ap
pearance, that it might be believed they
were filled with the spirit, and gave
forth unaccountable utterances while in
that state, the LXX. render the word
by iyyaa-TpipvBoi, ventriloquists. In
Coptic OTf kS. , ouib, signifies an Egyp
tian priest who occupies himself with
divinations ; and in Africa and the West
Indies a species of witchcraft, called
Oheah, is practised among the negroes,
which operates powerfully on their fears,
and often issues in death. — ^D'jj^i;, wi
zards, (from wise,) comp. the Arab.
JlC, Elimon ; ''ZXvpas 6 pdyos, Acts
iii. 8, knowing ones ; Rabbin. J'Oin'D,
TTvBaves, hence irvevpa isvBavos, a spirit
of Python, or divination, Acts xvi. 16.
The term is employed in connexion with
niaiM, to denote persons who professed to

have intercourse with the world of spirits,
and were supposed to have the power of
revealing secrets ; and, likewise, the
spirits with whom it was thought they
communicated. See Lev. xix. 31, xx.
27; Deut. xviii. 11 ; 1 Sam. xxviii. 3—
11. — D'MD2pn, lit. thechirpers, from f]B2,
which occurs only in Pilpel, Arab.
. 0^0.^; , passer, and is onomatopoetic,
expressing the chirping or piping of
young birds, especially swallows. Chap.
x. 14, xxix. 4, xxxviii. 14. It beauti
fully expresses the small distant sounds
produced by the necromancers. — D'srran,
ihe mutterers; root nan, to murmur,
mutter, utter inarticulate sounds, to speak
in a low, hollow manner, as if the voice
came from the earth. See chap. xxix.
4. — 1V3 is used here, not in its substitu
tionary acceptation, but as signifying in
behalf of, for the benefit of, as Gen. xx.
7 ; Ps. Ixxii. 15 ; Jer. xxi. 2. The in
terrogative n, dropping the ^, and the
verb, are to be supplied from the pre
ceding hemistich. The absurdity of de-
monology is forcibly pointed out in this
appeal. 20. This verse directs to the only
source whence certain religious informa
tion is to be obtained. The law and the
testimony ; by which, with reference to.
ver. 16, we are obviously to understand,
the will of God revealed in his word.
For the use of "^ here, compare Judg. vii.
18, fsnifi r(\rrh. The clause, irra iV^'K ii&<,
has greatly perplexed interpreters. The
LXX., who render the whole verse
oddly, have irepl ov ovk cctti bSpa
bovvai irepl avrov, in which they are
followed by the Syr. and other versions
derived from them; mistaking irra> for
nnili, a gift, or present. In every other
passage in which this word occurs, it
signifies either the aurora, or morning
dawn; or, metaphorically, the com
mencement of a state of prosperity after
a period of affliction. See espec. chap.

chap, viii,]

ISAIAH.

70

21

22

But they shaU pass through the land, distressed and famished ;
And it shall be, when they are famished,
They shall be inwardly vexed, and shall curse
Their king and theu- God ; and shall look upward.
They shall also fix their eyes on the earth ;
But behold ! aflliction and darkness ;
They shall be darkened with distress.
Driven into gloom.

xlvii. 11. ijjfis*" in the Arab, has the
same signification,- which is also that
best suited to the following context. The
idea conveyed by the words is ^this :
Those who teach differently than the
Scriptures, and all who listen to such
teachers, shall continue under the judg
ment of God : they can expect no pro
sperity. Lowth's rendering, "in which
is no obscurity," cannot be justified from
usage. Joel ii. 2, the only passage to
which he appeals in support of it, is
decidedly against him. The prophet
there drops the idea of affliction, which
he had employed different appropriate
terms to express, and proceeds to de
scribe the cause of the affliction — the
invading army, which he compares to
the Aurora, or the rays of light quickly
breaking in upon the horizon, and widely
diffusing therrmelves upon the moun
tains. — iiri«, which has presented con
siderable difficulty, is merely the sign of
the apodosis, then, in that case, and in
translation may be omitted as redundant.
See Gesen. Lex. Man. in voc. b. 8. — f>
stands collectively for Drt, which is found
in one of Kennicott's MSS., and is the
rendering of the Vulg., " non erit eis ma-
tutina lux ;" or D», people, may be under
stood : either will account for the sing.
which is carried forward in the following
verse. 21, 22, The prophet here describes in
strong language the desperate condition
of those who reject the Divine word and
adhere to their own devices, or to the
sinful inventions and practices of men. —
na, i. e. yiM3, in the land, which, though

not occurring in the preceding context,
is understood. This idiom is not uncom
mon in Hebrew, see Ps. Ixviii. 15,
Ixxxvii. 1, where the noun which follows
is anticipated, just as yi.N is here from
ver. 22. Schroeder, however, takes the
n in a neuter sense, and supposes it to
refer to the state or circumstances of
those just spoken of : but see Gesenius,
Lehrg. p. 740. — ii?*!??, hardly circum
stanced, in a state of great distress. —
f]2iTin in Hithp. is more expressive than
the simple form of Kal would have
been. It denotes the inward workings
of rage before it is vented against its
object. — ^i'n')«l ia)p are in apposition : their
king, loho is their God; or their king,
even their God. When God as the head
of the Theocracy, and the king as his
vicegerent, are spoken of, the order is
always, " God and the king," 1 Kings
xxi. 13 ; 1 Chron. xxix. 20. — njM) n:Sl,
They shall look upward, does not mean
turning to God in the exercise of con
fidence, but presenting a sullen aspect —
the genuine expression of an unsubdued
and desperate spirit. — To whatever quar
ter the unbelieving Jews might turn,
no indication of deliverance appeared.
niyi2 rjwia, usually rendered darkness of
distress ; but since fjwp corresponds in
position to nim in the following clause,
just as npi2 does to ^^., it seems requi
site to invest it with the same participial
power, and render the words thus : co
vered, or overwhelmed with trouble. The
regular participial form in Hophal is
f]»10, as occurring ver. 23, where it agrees
with p2io. For nim rtpw, comp. Jer.
xxiii. 12.

76

ISAIAH.

[chap. viii.

CHAPTER VIII. 23.— IX. 6.
Having depicted the wretched condition to which the Jews would be reduced by
the Assyrians, the prophet again anticipates the appearance of Immanuel, by
graphically describing the principal scene of his public ministry, 23; congra
tulates the church on the deliverance which he was to effect, in terms borrowed
from that which had been experienced from the intervening captivity, and the
destruction of Babylon, ix. 1 — 5 ; and then introduces, in the most animated
strains, a description of Messiah's character, and the happy nature of his
reign, 5, 6.

23 But darkness shall not remain, where once was distress :
As formerly he rendered contemptible
The land of Zebulon, and the land of Naphtali ;
So he shall afterwards confer honour upon them —

23. In this verse there is a marked
transition from the period of affiiction to
the joyful times of the Messiah, now to
be described. In the first clause the
subst. verb is twice understood ; first in
the future tense, with the superadded
idea of continuance ; and then in the
preterite. Such ellipses are common. —
'? is adversative ; 1'^^^, and nb, connect
with yiM in the preceding verse. The n
in n2lM is neither local, nor a less fre
quent termination of yi«, but simply pa
ragogic, as Job xxxiv. 13, xxxvii. 12,
and frequent in poetry. n»3 stands for
r»a 1*53 ; and rB?a )a would have been
supplied before liin«n, but for the 1,
which, as the logical copula, is there
equivalent to it. — To make n93 the
nomin. to the verbs ''i'n and T33n, and
render, as Michaelis, Rosenmiiller, and
Hengstenberg do, with the approbation
of Gesenius, As the former time brought,
&c. into contempt, so shall futurity ho
nour, &c. is unwarranted by usage.
Day or night is, indeed, freq. employed
as an active subject, but not ns simply,
either in Heb. or in any of the dialects,
"The verbs may be regarded as imper
sonal, and rendered passively; or nin;
may be understood, which seems prefer
able, as the writers of Scripture always
resolve events into the will or operations
of God. — The regions occupied by the
tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali were,

with the exception of the land of Asher,
the most northerly parts of Canaan, and
consequently the most distant from Je
rusalem. Zebulon stretched across from
the Mediterranean Sea at Mount Carmel
to the sea of Tiberias; and Naphtali,
from the northern boundary of Zebulon,
between that Sea and Lebanon. — Djn tpi,
ihe tract of or about the sea. Djn com
monly signifies xar' e^oxtv the Medi
terranean ; but it is also used of the Red
Sea, chap. x. 26, the Dead Sea, chap,
xvi. 8, and here obviously of the sea of
Tiberias, called n'^sia;, the sea of Cin-
neroth, Num. xxxiv. 11. — ^)T)Ti 13», to
irepav tov 'Jopbdvov, Perea, the country
beyond Jordan ; more especially that on
the east, and to the north of the above-
mentioned sea. The attempts of Grotius,
Vitringa, and Hengstenberg, to inter
pret the phrase of a cis-Jordanio region,,
are unsuccessful, though it cannot be
denied, that in passages such as Josh.
ix. 1, it must signify the west side. —
D'ian Wji, the circle or circuit of the nor
tions, from ^a, to roll, roll round, be
round, circular, &c. ; so called from its
geographical figure, and its proximity to
the Phenician and other heathen region^
and partly, perhaps, from the circum
stance that twenty small cities within its
limits were inhabited, for the most part,
by Gentiles. Strabo mentions Pheni-
cians, Syrians, and Arabians, as dwell-

chap, ix.]

ISAIAH.

77

The tract by the sea, the region beyond Jordan,
Galilee of the nations.

chapter IX.
The people that walked in darkness.
Behold a great light ;
Upon the inhabitants of the land of death-shade
The light shineth.
Thou enlargest the nation,
Whose joy thou didst not increase ;

ing here ; and Josephus adds Greeks.
Comp. 1 Kings ix. 1 1 ; Josh. xx. 7, xxi.
32 ; and see Bloomfield on Matt. iv.
15, 16, where, with scarcely any varia
tion, this and the following verse are
quoted in application to our Lord's mi
nistry in those parts. In the N. T.
Galilee, i) TaXiXala, includes all the
regions here geographically described,
except Perea.
The points of contrast in this passage,
are the contemptuous light in which the
inhabitants of that part of the Holy Land
had been regarded, on account of their
greater intercourse with pagans, and the
ignorance and deterioration in a religious
point of view which resulted from it.
Matt. xxvi. 69 ; John i. 46, vii. 52 ; and
the high honour conferred upon them
by our Saviour's commencing his minis
try among them, and making their
country the scene of the most illustrious
displays of his Messiahship. Comp. for
the sentiment, Micah v. 1, and for the
expectation of the earlier Rabbins, the
book Zohar, part i. fol. 119. Amst. '')an'
Wai mruu snitra vdm, Messiah the King
shall he revealed in the land of Galilee.
The transition was easy from a descrip
tion of temporal to that of spiritual de
gradation and misery ; especially as the
image of darkness, which the prophet
had just been employing, is in Scripture
frequently used of both. That he should
precisely have selected Zebulon and
Naphtali on this occasion, may be ac
counted for, on the ground that these
tribes were the first that suffered from
the invasion of the Assyrians, 2 Kings
XV. 29.

Chapter IX. — 1 . -D'3^n, that walked;
tj5n signifies tropically, to live, or have
one's conversation. Comp. Eph. ii. 2 ;
1 John i. 6. — ^1i«, Light, the Messiah as
the Sun of righteousness. Mai. iv. 2 ;
Is. xlix. 6 ; TO <j)Ss, to (j>ds to dXrjBivov,
John i. 5, 9, ro cjids tov Kotrpov, viii. 12,
the author not only of true knowledge,
but of the true and permanent happiness
connected with it.^— niote, Geier, De
Dieu, Michaelis, and some others, take
to be simply a derivative from D')2, Arab.
jii , to be dark, shady, &c. ; but it
seems preferable, with the ancient ver
sions, to regard it as compounded of ^2,
a shadow, and nip, death, like nipi2n,
the court of death. Gen. x. 26, ninw,
strength of death, 2 Sam. xxiii. 31. It
is employed to denote the densest gloom,
or the most awful darkness — ideas which
are very naturally associated with that
of death, independently of those which
the region of sepulchral cells might sug
gest. See Job iii. 4, 5, x. 21, 22 ; Ps.
xxiii. 4. Hitzig thinks there may have
been some place so called, in the valley
Achor, Hos. ii. 17 ; but this is mere con
jecture. 2. Instead of the Chethib ki\ not,
which has th#support of Aquila, Theod,,
Symm., the Vulg., and in all probability
the LXX. originally : the ov Karqyayes
having easily been changed into o /canj-
yayes; see Middeldorpf 's Codex Syriaco-
Hexap. p. 474 ; i'; to it, the Keri, is found
in thirteen MSS. was originally in four
more, and perhaps in three, and is the
reading followed in the Syr., the Targ.,
and Saadias. The word is wanting alto-

78 ISAIAH.
They rejoice before thee as with the joy of harvest.
As men rejoice when dividing the spoil.
3 For the yoke of their burden.
And the staff of their shoulder.
The rod of their oppressor,
Thou hast broken, as in the day of Midian.
4 For every sandal of the sandaled in battle,
And the garment rolled in blood,
Shall be burned ; it shall be food for the fire.

[chap. IX.

gether in three MSS. Botii readings
being pronounced alike may have occa
sioned the difference ; but the Chethib
being the more difficult of the two, and
being so respectably supported, is enti
tled to the preference. Considering
nnpten as standing for innoto, and ren
dering n^lfn in the past indefinite time,
the whole may conveniently be trans
lated. Thou hast enlarged the nation;
its, or rather, whose joy thou didst not
increase : (but now) they rejoice, &c. ;
reflecting on the joyless period which
immediately preceded the coming of the
Messiah, and contrasting it with that
here predicted. There is properly a
litotes in the language : the meaning
being, whose joy thou didst take away. —
The 3 in I'^ip Lowth rejects, on the
ground of the preceding noun being in
construction ; but this form frequently
occurs. See 2 Sam. i. 21 ; Ps. ii. 12,
ix. 10; Isaiah v. 11, xxi. 13.— In ^'B),
before thee, njn; is understood, as it like
wise is in the second person of the verbs.
3. The subject to which the pronomi
nal affixes belong is 'ian, the nation men
tioned in the preceding verse. i''3D is
the burden laid upon it, and iiasti nop,
the rod applied to its shoulder or hack,
in the way of punishment. The Dagesh
in a is euphonic. — ];ip Di', the day of
Midian, comp. chap. x. 26 : a mode of
speech by which the Orientals express a
battle fought at any place. Thus the
prcelium Bedrense ;

t^-'

Arab, .j,.)
>y)j| fjiss^ *«J , Dies prcelii Thaghle-
bitarum. Freytag. The reference is to
Judges vii. 19 — 23 ; and the comparison
is the more apt, as the victory there
described took place in the regions speci

fied at the beginning of the present
chapter. The grand point of compari
son, however, consists in the deliverance
having been effected, not by human
means, but by the immediate interposi
tion of divine power. Such was the
nature of the redemption to be effected
by Immanuel. The language of the
verse is figurative, and applies to the
victory of the Messiah over Satan, and
the rescue of his people from spiritual
oppression. See Rosenmiiller and Heng
stenberg, in loc.
4. This verse describes the sure indi
cations of a state of lasting peace, in
language borrowed from an ancient
custom of burning implements of war
that had been taken from the enemy.
This custom is distinctly recognised, Ps.
xlvi. 9 ; Micah v. 10 ; Ezek. xxxix.
8 — 1 0 ; in the last of which passages the
image is beautifully amplified. By jisiO
is meant the military shoe or sandal,
strongly shod with nails or spikes, and
reaching about mid-leg. It thus differed
from the greave, which came higher up.
Comp. Qjja), Be ye shod, in the Peshito,
Eph. vi. 15 ; the Chald. «J'P, and the
Eth. |^U^i^^l shoe.—I^O is the parti
ciple, formed from the same noun, tisi
signifies battle, from the noise and tumult
connected with it; and rtpto is appro
priated to denote the sagum or cloak
worn by soldiers in war. Both it, how
ever, and the sandal are here employed
synecdochically for all kinds of military
accoutrements. The 1 in nrjvri marks
the apodosis. The interpretation here
given of JiND, &c. was first suggested by '
Joseph Kimchi, and is now generally '
approved.

CHAP,

IX.J

ISAIAH.

79

5 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given ;
And the government shall be upon his shoulder ;
And his name shall be called. Wonderful, Counsellor,
Mighty God, Father of Eternitv, Prince of Peace.
6 Of the increase of his government and its peace, there shall be no
end,

6, 6. Of the exclusive application of
this prophecy to the Messiah, no doubt
was entertained by the earlier Rabbins.
The Targum renders it : Dl^, IP npiiS npn;!
«nbitii nmsip Mjp^) DJ3 M133 Nn^K n29 NjSpp
'riiDi'3 NJ^'stp;,' '" And"his"name was
called of old. Wonderful, Counsel, the
Mighty God, He who continueih for ever.
The Messiah, in whose days peace shall
be multiplied upon us." Similar appli
cations are made in the Bereshith Rabba
on Gen. xii. 44, in the Echa Rabbitha
on Lamentations ; and Ben Sira includes,
" "'::idorful. Counsellor, Mighty God,
and Prince of Peace," in his list of the
eight names of the Messiah. The
modern foreign writers who have adopted
or defended this interpretation, are Cube,
Dathe, Michaelis, Doderlein, Koppe,
Pliischke, Kuinoel, Herder, Duchman,
V. D. Palm, Rosenmiiller, Umbreit, and
Hengstenberg. On the other hand,
Hezel, Hensler, Paulus, Hendewerk, and
even Jahn, after Kimchi, Jarchi, Aben
ezra, and Grotius, refer the passage to
Hezekiah; which interpretation Gese
nius attempts to sustain in his Comment.
though he is obliged to confess, that "it
may still be considered Messianic, inas
much as the description is ideal, and
may or may not be applied to any real
subject;" and in his Lex. Man. he ren
ders >Ab, 2. Conor, admirabilis, eximius,
(de rege Messiae) Is. ix. 6. Hitzig views
the passage as an exaggerated descrip
tion of some future king of the house of
David ; which, in the main, is the opi
nion adopted by Bauer, Eichhorn, and
Vogel. "The assertion of Gesenius, that the
words are not applied to our Lord in the
N. T. (an objection which we should not
have expected from such a quarter) is
contrary to fact ; for though they are
not expressly or verbally quoted, it is
evident the angel Gabriel thus applies
them in his annunciation to Mary, Luke
i. 32, 33. First, her chfld was to be

" the Son of the Highest," in reference
to that part of the prophecy, " To us a
Son is given." Secondly, he was to be
" great, " which the assemblage of exalted
and distinguished names in the predic
tion sufficiently indicate. Thirdly, he
was to have given to him, " the throne
of his father David," which corresponds
to " his government upon the throne of
David " in the prophecy ; and his " reign
ing, over the house of Jacob," to his being
" over the kingdom of David " In the
following clause. Fourthly, the words,
" Of his kingdom there shall be no end,"
are almost a literal quotation of the words,
" Of the increase of his government —
there shall be no end."
That neither Hezekiah, nor any other
temporal king of the Jews after his time,
can possibly be intended, appears from
the fact, that none of them ever did or
could exert a beneficial influence over
Galilee, since it lay entirely beyond their
jurisdiction ; and also from the peculiar
terms of the description, which admit of
no appropriate interpretation except they
be applied to a Divine Person. "Nobis,"
says Rosenmiiller, " omnino baud est
credibile, vatem uUum Hebraaum de
solito aliquo suae gentis rege spes adeo
magnificas, quales hie expressas legimus,
concipere potuisse." Scliol. Edit. 1835.
And Schroeder in MS. : " de solo Mes-
sise hunc locum accipiendum esse, ex in-
signibus titulis atque divinis honoribus,
qui ipsi dantur tam evidens est, ut in
dubium vocari non possit." Still stronger
is the language of Chrysostom, tom. i.
p. 560 : oTi be rrepl dvBpdirov, ovk av
Tis e'iiroi TOVTO ¦\jnXov, evbriXov, Kal Tols
a-cjjobpa (ptXovtKe'Lv eBeXovo'i' Beos yap
lo'xvpbs ovbels dvBpdirav iXexBr; diro
Tor) alavos, ovbe dpxav elprjvrjs ToiavTr/s'
Trjs yap elprjvqs avTov, <j)fj<Tiv, ovk eaTiv
opiov.  laJl"? 73 uVi^'^ 1^; '3. The con
cinnity and emphasis of these words evince
the high state of exultation to which the
mind of the prophet was raised, when he

80

ISAIAH.

[chap. IX.

Upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom ;
To estabhsh it, and strengthen it, with justice and equity,

delivered them. The verbs are put in
the preterite, to indicate the certainty of
the event which they predict. 13^ is
is used per Koivaa-iv. — iD??rt» niippn 'nni.
The former of these nouns is derived
from rnto, an obsolete verb, equivalent to
llto anfiito, like npip from npi; and
signifies absolute rule, dominion, empire.
It occurs only here and ver. 6. The
resting of this empire upon the shoulder
of the prince, indicates the weight of
public affairs which he would have to
sustain. Comp. Plin. Panegyr. c. 10;
Cicero, Orat. pro Flacco, § 95. For the
custom of placing the badge of office on
the shoulder, see xxii. 22.
t«5P; is to be taken impersonally, but is
best rendered passively. The later Jews,
in order to get rid of the Christian inter
pretation of the verse, maintain, that all
the names, as far as IT'SS) form the
nominative, and that DiW ito alone is the
object to the verb ; but such an accumu
lation of names forming a nominative is
without example, and in Hebrew usage,
the name given uniformly follows imme
diately after io?!, and not that of the
person who gives it. — wjf, lit. a wonder,
miracle, from n5?> to separate, distinguish
by some remarkable qualities ; that which,
from its not coming within the compass
of natural events, is the cause of wonder
and admiration. The abstract is used
for the concrete : Wonderful, worthy of
admiration. Thus Aquila, Bavpaa-ros ;
o .J.
Symm. napabo^aa-pos ; the Syr. (fJ^OJ ,
admiratio ; Jerome, admirabilis. n«5>
«5d, effecting miracles, is one of the pecu
liar characteristics of Jehovah, Exod. xv.
1 1 ; and niMta, the Niphal part, is freq.
used of the miracles that were wrought
in behalf of the Hebrews. As the Un
created Angel, the same glorious person
here predicted, appropriates the title to
himself, Jud. xiii. 18, where, though the
Keri reads '^B, the Chethib is 'Nto. — y»i'.
Counsellor ; Aquila, a-vp^ovXos ; Symm.
fiovXevTiKos ; Theod. /SovXevotv. Some
would join this and the preceding title
together, and render, Wonderful Coun
sellor, on the specious ground, that all
the other titles are in pairs ; but what

ever uniformity in point of construction
might thus be introduced into the pas
sage, it is completely at variance with
Hebrew construction. To admit of this
rendering, the form must be nsy «iiD, and
not y?i' i^B. For the import of this title,
comp. chap. xi. 2 ; John i. 1 ; Matt. xi.
27; Rev. iii. 18.— lias "JM, The Mighty
God. The occurrence of these words in
conjunction, chap. x. 21, in application
to Jehovah as revealed in the person of
the Messiah, irrefragably proves, that
they are so to be combined in the pre
sent instance ; as also, that ^M is to be
taken in its usual acceptation, as one of
the Divine names, and not in that of
Hero, which Gesenius assigns to it,
Hitzig defends the rendering, starker
Goti, " Mighty God ;" and thus the
Targ. Syr., Jerome, Ignat. in Epist. ad
Antiocb., Iren. adv. Haeres, lib. iv. cap.
66 ; Euseb. in Demon. Evang. libb. vii.
and ix. ; Clemens, Paedag. lib. i. ; Seve-
rian. in Combes. Auctar. Non. P. P.
tom. i. Theodoret, animadverting upon
the translation of Aquila, ia-xvpos bvva-
Tos, observes . xeirai be irapd to 'E;8p.
j;X yeppdp- to be rjX, Beds ; " But in the
Hebrew it is El gibbor : now El signifies
God." The combination, liaa 'm ysi",
the consulter of ihe Mighty God, as Gro
tius renders it ; or the Counsellor of God,
Mighty, proposed by Dr. L. Carpenter;
no Hebrew scholar can, for a moment,
admit. — IT'?*?, lit. the Father of perpe
tuity, eternity, from the root n^, to
advance, go forward, endure. Gesenius
translates, pater sempiternus, which
agrees with our common version, and
most modern translations, and ascribes
the attribute of eternity to the Messiah.
Yet, as 1? is specially used to denote
future duration, the LXX. seem to have
hit the true meaning when they render,
as in the Aid. and Complut. editions:
Tlaryp Tov pAXXovTos aldvos, Father of
ihe future age ; only the age is not tobe
restricted to the present dispensation, but
is to be extended to the state of eternal
blessedness after death. aM signifies not
only father, but also author, provider,
benefactor. Gen. iv. 21 ; Job xxix. 16 ;
Ps. Ixviii. 6 ; and especially, Is. xxii. 21,

CHAP,

IX.]

ISAIAH.

Si

Henceforth and for ever : —
The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts shall effect this.

and Gen. xlv. 8, where Joseph is said to
have been made a father to Pharaoh, —
not his Vizier or prime minister, as
Gesenius explains it, but a provider,
with special reference to the famine.
The Turkish, tiLlil , Atabek, to which
the same author refers in illustration, is
not applied to the Vizier in the sense of
father of the prince, but is simply a title of
respect, Dominus Pater, and is given both
to ministers, and to the prince himself.
The corresponding Arabic, J\ , is in use
among the Diyabi Bedoweens of Oman;
Wellsted, in his Travels among them,
mentions that each of the seven divi
sions of that peculiar people is governed
by a chief called Abii, who exercises
what may be termed a patriarchal author
ity over them. This office is filled by
individuals whose superior sagacity, ex
perience, and courage, entitle them to
the distinction. The Messiah may ap
propriately be styled. The father of the
future eternal state, inasmuch as he is
the author and bestower of its blessings ;
and in this point of view, ir'aM exactly
corresponds to Airtor aarrjpias alaviov,
Heb. V. 10. The rendering. Father
of prey, proposed by Abarbanel, and
adopted by Ilgen and Hitzig, is quite
out of place here ; though it cannot be
denied, that i» is also used to denote
-Di'^iB, The Prince of Peace

answers to tfj'to, Shiloh, The Pacificator,
Gen. xlix. 10 ; DiW, I'he Peace, Micah
V. 4. Comp. Eph. ii. 14, 17 ; Col. i, 20.
The state of the LXX. text in this
place is so unsettled, that little use can
be made of it for the purpose of throw
ing light upon the terms employed. See
Stroth's Beytrage zur Kritik der LXX.
in Eichhom's Repertorium, part iii. p.
252.' It is exhibited at greater length

in the Alex, and Aid. copies, than in
that of the Vat. ; but all three have the
remarkable rendering, peydXrjs ^ovXrjs
ayyeXos, The Angel of the great Coun
sel, which they are supposed to have
found in the words ''« pv kJb — taking
^« in the acceptation of angel, which
they have certainly done Job xx. 15.
Whether they had in view nin; i|^^p. The
Angel of Jehovah, of celebrated occur
rence, cannot be determined.
n3-;pj {'npp'?). That Christian editors
of the Hebrew Bible should still confoi;m
to the Massoretic absurdity of exhibiting
a final Mem at the beginning of a word,
' is passing strange ; as it must likewise
be considered, that any interpreters
should imitate the Rabbins in attempt
ing to find mysteries in it. The. only
edition in which I have seen it corrected
is that of Hahn, Lips. 1834, 12mO,
which contains other emendations of a
similar kind. There is no ground for
supposing that the text originally read
n3i 0\ the former of these words stand
ing for DnJ — though this division is
actually found in two or three MSS.—
In what sense the Messiah occupies the
throne of David, see Dan.ii. 44; vii.
14, 27; Luke i. 31—33; Act? ii. 34—
36 ; Rom. xiv. 9 ; 1 Cor. xv. 24—28 ;
Heb. xii, 27, 28 ; and those passages of
the N. T. in which the dispensation of
the Messiah is designated ij ^aatXela tov
Beov, Tav ovpavdv, &c. His reign is not
earthly and temporal, but spiritual and
eternal. — This illustrious prophecy beau
tifully concludes with the words, nMJU
nsTnton ni«3^ nin;, with respect to which
it is only necessary to remark, that nsip,
zeal, is here used in the acceptation of
strong affection, or ardent love for an
object, evinced by vigilant attention and
indefatigable effort in regard to it. Song
viii. 6 ; Zech. viii. 2.

M

82

ISAIAH.

[chap. I3C.

CHAPTER IX. 7— X. 4.
This section is clearly distinguishable from those which precede and follow it, by the
peculiar features of the composition, and the subject-matter which it contains.
The 7th verse forms the tide or introduction : then follow four regular stanzas,
to each of which is added a distich, consisting of a refrain, or repetition of the
same words. The prophecy is directed against the kingdom or people of Israel,
and threatens them with divine judgments in punishment of their pride, 7 — 12 ;
their obstinate rebellion against the Lord, 13—16 ; their flagrant wickedness,
17 — 20 ; and their perversion of justice, x. 1 — 4.

7 Jehovah sent a word against Jacob,
And it came down against Israel ;
8 And all the people shall know it —
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria —
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart :
9 The bricks have fallen, but we will build with hewn stones ;
The sycamores are cut down, but we will substitute cedars.

7. A synonymous parallelism. For
'3i«, thirty-three of Kennicott's MSS.
and three of the earliest printed editions,
read nin;. to, to come down, in the sense
in which te: ^|j is used Dan. iv. 28, and
in the Koran, to indicate the

Jp J>1.

communication of oracular matter, or
revelations from heaven. Jacob and
Israel are identical, designating the king
dom of the ten tribes.
8. 91^ signifies here to feel, know from
suffering experimentally, as Num. xiv.
34 : 'nNi:n7i« dfisi'i. Ye shall know, i. e.
feel my opposition, the hostility which
you have provoked; very improperly
rendered in the common version, " My
breach of promise." See also Job xxi.
19 ; Hos. ix. 7. " Ephraim and the in
habitants of Samaria " is added by way
of explanation to ita Djn, to exclude the
idea of Judah from being involved in the
threatening. The i in 3ttSi'i is emphatic ;
" and especially the inhabitants of the
metropolis." 9. 'The D'33^ were bricks made of a
white, or chalky clay, (p^, to be white,)
and dried in the sun, but not burnt. To

give them coherence they were mixed
with straw, Exod. v. 7, but they pos
sessed little durability. Such bricks
were in common use, as they are at this
day, all over the East. When edifices
of large dimensions were to be built, the
bricks were burnt. Gen. xi. 3.— n'U for
n'lj '33«, hewn stones, from njj, to cut,
form by hewing. The term is specially
used of large stones made square by hew
ing, 1 Kings V. 32.— D'pi?iS, LXX.o-v/eat
pivovs, sycamores, a kind of fig-tree,
resembling in its leaves and fruit the
mulberr.y-tree, and called by Phny/cus
jEgyptia, from its being frequent in that
country. It also abounded, and still
abounds in the level parts of Palestine,
It is durable, but slender, and coarse in
the grain, and is used by the inhabitants
for ordinary purposes. 1 Kings x. 27 !
1 Chron. xxvii. 28 ; Amos vii. H.-^
D'liM, cedars. See note on chap. ii. 13.
While the sycamore was of little worth,
the cedar was held in the highest esti
mation, and is the most celebrated of all
the trees mentioned in Scripture. The
impenitent Ephraimites treat with con
tempt the results of Tiglath-pileser's in
vasion, and boast that they will speedily

chap.

IX.]

ISAIAH.

85

10 Jehovah will raise up the hostile bands of Rezin against them.
And will equip their enemies ;
Syria on the east, and the Philistines on the west ;
And they shall devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this his anger is not turned away.
But his hand is stretched out still.
For the people have not returned to him who smote them ;
Jehovah of Hosts they have not sought.
Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel,
The head and the tail, the branch aud the rush,
In a single day.
The elder and the honourable are the head ;
The prophet, and the teacher of falsehood are the tail.

11

12

13

14

place their affairs in a far more pro
sperous condition than before.
10, 11. 33iB, used here instead of D';;ri,
(see Micah v. 4 ); only the idea of superi
ority in prowess is expressed by the former
term. Instead of ^21 '12, the enemies of
Rezin, thirteen MSS., originally seven
teen more, now three, and the Keri of
one of De Rossi's, read X'^ ^^t tiie
princes of Rezin ; which is adopted by
Houbigant, Lowth, Doderlein, Dathe,
and Hensler. Michaelis, following the
LXX., Tovs eiravicrrapevovs inl opos
Slav, conjectures )'2 m to have been the
original reading, and renders, die Wi-
dersacher des Berges Zion, " the adver
saries of Mount Zion," but he is quite
uncertain respecting the application of
the words. There is, however, no real
difficulty in the common reading, which
is corroborated by 1'3^ in the second
member of the parallelism. By the ene
mies of Rezin the Assyrians are meant,
by whom, under Tiglath-pileser, Resin
was slain, his capital taken, and the
population and that of a portion of Israel
carried away into Media. These were
to come a, second time against Israel;
and to aggravate the evil, both the Ara
maeans and the Philistines would, under
the conqueror, rush into the country,
and pillage it at pleasure. This took
place when Shalmaneser reduced the
kingdom of Israel to an Assyrian pro
vince, about the year b.c. 730 or 720. —
TOD, the Pilpel of ^p, to interweave,
fence, cover, or furnish with armour.

with an original reference to the large
shields, which often consisted of osiers
intertwined, and covered with bull's
hide. Comp. the Arab. i__rL*/ , spinis
munivit parietem ; iSiJu , spina ; hence
arma eorumve acumen. — "jas, freq. used
of the consumption effected by war ;
hence nprtp, war, from the synonymous
root DnJ. to eat, devour — DnJ"?, the Niphal
of which signifies to engage in battle.
Comp. iroXepoio peya (rropa. Iliad x- 8.
12. aiiii is more commonly followed
by ¦;« and to, but it is also in other pas
sages construed with 1?, chap. xix. 22 ;
Amos iv. 6. In inspn the reference is
to Jehovah as the inflicter of the punish
ment. 13. rffi?, ihe palm-branch; from its
curved, hand-like shape ; but employed
here on account of its elevated position
on the tree, which is itself one of the
most beautiful in the vegetable king
dom. — ^Jinaw, the reed or rush, which
grows in low marshy tracts, and attains
to the height of eight or ten feet. The
different terms here employed are appro
priate images of persons in high and
inferior stations of life. Thus the LXX.
peyav Kal ptKpov. Eleven MSS,, and
originally three more, prefix 3 to Di', as
chap. X. 17, where, likewise, the phrase
det\otes quickly, within the shortest period.
14. This verse Koppe, Cube, Eich
horn, Gesenius, and Hitzig, maintain to
be a gloss ; principally on the ground,

Si'

ISAIAH.

¦ [chap. IX.

15

16

17

For the leaders of this people cause them to err ;
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
Wherefore the Lord shall not rejoice over their young men.
Nor will he pity their orphans and widows ;
For every one of them is profane and wicked,
And every mouth speaketh folly.
For all this his anger is not turned away.
But his hand is stretched out still :
For wickedness burneth like fire,
It consumeth the thorns and briers ;
It kindleth the thickets of the forest,
And they roll upward — ^a column of smoke.

that the contrast so strikingly made in
the preceding verse is not kept up in the
exegesis here given. But it is obvious
from ver. 15, that it was specially the
design of Isaiah to degrade and ex
pose the false prophets, which he could
not have done more effectually than
by comparing them to ihe tail; thus
assigning to them the most contempt
ible position in society. The verse
is, therefore, quite in its place, as Hen
dewerk has ably shewn. Comp. for the
other terms, chap. iii. 2, 3.
15. Comp. chap. iii. 12. By D'i«5«n
are meant the lying teachers mentioned
ill the preceding verse. — S^a, in Kal, to
swallow, devour eagerly ; in Piel, to de
stroy, exterminate.
16. D'lna, the delectus, young, choice
warriors, from in3, to choose, select the
best of any thing. Comp. chap. xxxi. 8,
Jer. xviii. 21, and Ps. ex. 3, where nnj);,
youth, likewise signifies youthful war
riors. — fjpn, an impious, or profane per-
O 0 V
son; Syr. (aj-w, one who is morally
impure, a heathen; Eth. 'TT'C • " ^^"
reiic. The word has generally been ren
dered hypocrite, but apparently without
foundation in the Hebrew, or any other
of the dialects. It denotes an atrocious,
unprincipled character, one who is unin
fluenced by regard either to God or man.
See Job viii. 13, xiii. 16, xvii. 8. — 3>1P,
see chap. i. 4.
17. nstfi signifies in this place, not
wickedness in general, but idolatry, the
fruitful parent of all manner of evil.
Comp. Zech.v. 8: ns^n ni<i, This is

wickedness, i. e. idolatry, which was re
moved from the land of Israel at the
captivity, and set down in Babylon, its
own appropriate place, vers. 9 — 11. Its
prevalence is compared to a raging fire,
which spreads devastation wherever it
comes, especially in a forest; and those
who indulge in it are compared to briers
and thorns, which are easily ignited and
speedily consumed. This image is fre
quently used in the Hebrew Scriptures.
See Ps. Iviii. 10, cxviii. 12; Isa. x. 16,
17, xxxiii. 12 ; Micah vii. 4 ; Nah. i.
10. — ;^ raw lasxoji, And they roll up
ward in a column of smoke. The verb
¦^3^ is a aira^ Xey. but is obviously
related to p3«, whirling dust; Arab.
(jA, 'I??, Arab. t^JJl, to turn; in
Hith. to turn oneself about; and ex
presses the winding or revolving action
of a body of smoke rising into the air.
Some compare the Arab. ' •^ 1 'I , car-
0 V
nosus fuit, and the Syr. j^-^j , gallus
gallinaceus, superbo gradu incedens, and,
after Castell., render the word superbient,
fastuose se gerent — ^referring the compa
rison to the swelling of the volumes of
smoke; but the former etymology is
preferable, and has the support of the
Syr. ,al\D;.^Aj , and the Vulg, convol-
vetur. niN3 is used adverbially to denote
the proud direction of the smoke as
thus rolling itself upwards. Hendewerk
thinks, there is purposely an omission
of the Caph veritatis before this sub*'
Stan tive.

chap. X

•]

ISAIAH.

85

18 By the wrath of Jehovah of hosts the land is burned up.
And the people are as food for the fire ;
They have no pity for each other.
J9 One cutteth down on the right, yet starveth ;
And eatetli on the left, but is not satisfied ;
They each devour the flesh of his arm :
Manasseh, Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh ;
And these together are against Judali !
Por all this his anger is not turned away,
But his hand is stretched out still.

20

CHAPTER X.

Wo to the enactors of iniquitous statutes.
And the writers who register evil.
To turn away the poor from judgment.
And deprive of their right the afflicted of my people ;
That the widows may be their prey,
And that they may plunder the orphans.

18. The flames are now described as
extending from the forest to the whole
country; only instead of being further
represented as resulting from wicked
ness, the conflagration is resolved into
the anger of God as the avenger of sin.
The idea of icivil discord and mutual
destruction was also naturally suggested
by that of fire, which consumes on every
hand. — or® occurs only here, but ap
pears from the connexion, and from its
affinity with the Arab, ijlc , to he dark
ened, ' i^ic. , eestus ingens et suffocans, suf
focating heat, to have the signification
of burning, burning up, burning so as to
leave the ground completely black;
LXX. avyi^KavTai ; Alex. o'vyKavBij-
a-eTui ; Targ. npiin, adusta est. y^,
being of common gender, occasions no
difficulty in construing it with the mas.
of the verb.

Arab, li*-!

to kill, cut up,

dissect, prepare for food. Seeker's con
jecture, which Lowth adopts, that we
are to read i»i, his companion, instead of

i»ii, 7iis arm, appears, at first sight, to
derive support from the parallel passage,
Jer. xix. 9 ; but as ?ii] is used tropicsJly
to denote strength, aid, &c. there is no
occasion to alter the text. The word is
here used, like the Arab. liwOC, brachium,
adjutor, socius, one who employs his arm
in behalf of another, a helper, friend, &c.
Comp. Ps. Ixxxiii. 9 ; Is. xxxiii. 2 ; Jer.
xvii. 5. The following verse clearly
shews that this is the meaning. It was
natural for those who were related to
each other, to render mutual assistance ;
but in civil broils, every tie of the kind
is disregarded, and those who are most
closely connected often become the great
est foes.
20. An epexegesis of the preceding,
in which the figurative language is lite
rally explained.
Chapter X. — 1. Before to», subaud.
2. ]'ip 'rm'Pi differs in signification, as
in form, from iDBtips nran, and 'csipp nran.
The latter phrases signify to pervert jus
tice, to give a wrong verdict ; the former

86

ISAIAH.

[chap. X.

What will ye do in the day of visitation.
And of desolation which com eth from afar .''
To whom will ye flee for help ?¦
And where will ye leave your nobility .''
Except they crouch among the prisoners,
They shall fall among the slain.
For all this his anger is not turned away,
But his hand is stretched out stilL

means to turn away a cause, so as to
prevent its being brought to trial. — ^]3
conveys the idea of taking away by
fraud and violence. — At the close of the
verse, the verb assumes the finite form.
3. Di', day, is understood as repeated
before nsiiiS ; and lti» is to be supplied
before prnpp; which term refers to the
Assyrians, who, though distant, are
spoken of as already on their march. —
¦ '^t,?- LXX. eirio'KoTnj, in this and seve
ral other passages, but also iiricrKeijns,
eKbUrjaris. The root signifies, in such
connexion, to come to any one in a hos
tile sense, to visit so as to punish. Comp.
Job xxxi. 14 ; Jer. xxiii. 12 ; and the
Greek, 1 Pet. ii. 12. ii33 is to be taken
here, as chap. v. 13, viii. 7, in the sense
of nobility. It was to be expected that
they might safely be left in their castles
and fastnesses ; but the prophet declare^
that they should form no exception, but
be treated like the rest of the nation.
Hendewerk is of opinion, that idols, the
boast and glory of the apostate Israelites,
are meant.
4. The Rabbins Moses and Kimchi,
Abendanus, Noldius, Tremellius, Vi
tringa, Lowth, Gesenius in his Lex.
Man., and others, regard the Yod in
»nja as the pronominal suffix, and render,

without me, in the sense of, abandoned
by me, and consider Jehovah to be the
speaker; but, though the word is un
questionably thus used Hos. xiii. 4, such
an interpretation ill suits the present
connexion. It is rather to be taken in
the acceptation of except, if not, as Geif.
xliii. 3, and with D« added, Amos iii. 4.
Thus the Syr. \}i, and Schmid. who
supplies iiB«. Being properljf the noun
njj, signifying annihilation, from nSs, to
consume, bring or come to nothing, it
is simply a negative particle with the
Yod paragogic. The nobles must either
crouch among the prisoners, under the
chains with which they are to be loaded,
or they must share the fate of the slain. —
nnn occurs nowhere else in the sense of
among ; yet it seems to be purposely
adopted "here instead of ? or J'S, to in^-'
cate the low or prostrate condition of the
persons described. It may, however,
be rendered, in ihe place of the pri
soners ; i. e. where they are. Thus
Kimchi, D1pD3 ; though Abenezra prefers
J'3. — ina, though singular, agreeing with
Tiaa, ver. 3, is to be rendered in the
plural, in accordance with to following..
Such enallage is common in Hebrew
poetry.

CHAPTER X. 5—84.

The remainder of this chapter contains a prophecy respecting the invasion of Judea
by Sennacherib, and the destruction of his army. The purpose of God in send
ing him against the Jews is distinctly stated, 5, 6 ; his proud boastings in refer
ence to his conquests, and his intentions against Jerusalem are described, 6— H ;

CHAP. X.] ISAIAH. 87
the Divine punishment to be inflicted upon him and his army, when they had
finished their work, is denounced, 12 — 19; promises of mercy are made to the
small remnant of tiie Jews, 20 — 23 ; and they are assured of the signal inter
position of God on their behalf, 24 — 27 ; the rapid approach of the Assyrian
army to Jerusalem, and the constemation of the neighbouring cities are then
admirably depicted, 28 — 32 ; and the section closes with an abrupt description of
its entire discomfiture.
From ver. 1 1, it would appear that this prophecy was delivered subsequent to the cap
ture of Samaria, which took place iu the sixth year of Hezekiah, but earlier than
the fourteenth year, in the course of which the threatened invasion happened.

5 Wo to the Assyrian ! the rod of mine anger !
The staff in whose hand is that of my wrath.
6 Against an impious nation I will send him.
And against the people of my indignation will I give him a charge ;
To seize the spoil ; to take the prey ;
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 But as for him, he thinketh not so,
Neither doth his heart so intend ;
But to destroy is in his heart.
And to cut off nations not a few.
8 For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings .''
5. lltSM, to correspond with DTa follow- to experience the evils which they had
ing, must here be regarded as denoting seen inflicted upon others, without taking
the Assyrians ; but as the king of Assy- warning. Gesenius, Hitzig, and others,
ria is introduced immediately after, it is suppose Ephraim to be meant; but the
better to render it in the singular. In- reference to the taking of Samaria, vers.
stead of Ninrrapi, eight MSS., another at 9, 10, 11, is decidedly opposed to this
first-hand, and one in the margin, read view of the subject. 'n"Q9 rn is the geni-
iniapi; but the reading seems to have tive of object; the people on whom my
originated in an attempt to get over the wrath is to be infiicted. — Dpip ioiW, ac-
difficulty occasioned by xin, which after cording to the Keri : lit. to place it a
all is only the usual substitute for the treading : i. e. to tread them, or cause
substantive verb. Hitzig violently ex- them to be trodden upon. The usual term
cinds DT3, and Seeker proposes to read for mire, in such coiinexion, is not WB,
Dl'a instead of it. The sentence is ellip- but ipii, which properly signifies clay, and
tical ; requiring 1*« to be supplied after is also thus employed Job xxx. 19.
«in, and nap tobe repeated before 'P»! . 7. '? for dn '?, but, on the contrary.
It will then literally read thus : and the BSo )^, not a few, a litotes for many,
rod which is in their hand is ihe rod of , .. v . .. v
my indignation. The Assyrians are first Thus the Syr. \\m. wtf ]'>-iV^'^- , many
represented as the instrument of Divine ^^^
punishment, and then as themselves em- People.
ploying their military weapons in inflict- 8. The Assyrian monarch is here, with
ing it. great effect, introduced as boasting of the
6. For Fjjn, see note on chap. ix. 16. number of his conquests; asserting, that
The people against which he was to be there were not any of his princes who
sent was that of Judah. They were now had not had the regal dignity conferred

8S

iSAIAIf.

[chap. X,

9 Is not Calno as Carchemish ?
Is not Hamath as Arpad .''
Is not Samaria as Damascus ?
10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols,
And their graven images —
That were superior to those of Jerusalem and Samaria-

upon them. Of course, by D'Sjp, we are
to understand, not absolute sovereigns,
but satraps or viceroys, each having his
separate kingdom or province, which he
governed, subject to the supreme ruler,
who in reference to his dominion over
them, is styled D'3to •rpa, king of kings,
Ezek. xxvi. 7; K^to '^9. Dan. ii. 37.
Compare the title anciently assumed by
the king of Persia, Ezra vii. 12, and still
retained in the formula, ^hL^JusUj , Shah-
inshah, "the Shah of Shahs;" .Ualuj
(^xlaJUi , " the Sultan of Sultans," which
is given to the Grand Seignor ; the
Egypt. COTTen ft COTTeniO"V ;
and the Ethiopic ^T'UJ : 'il^X}'t' •
which have the same signification. Comp.
also ava^ dvaKrav, Eschyl. Suppl. 533.
9. i3)i3, Calno, written n3)3, Calneh,
Gen. X. 10; n:ba, Amos ii. 6 ; and, by
dropping the S, naa, Ezek. xxvii. 23.
LXX. XaXdvr], Ctesiphon, a very ancient,
large, and celebrated city, on the eastern
bank of the Tigris, opposite to Seleucia.
It w,as afterwards the winter residence
of the Persian kings, till about the time
of Mohammed ; and together with Seleu
cia, obtained from the Arabs in later
times, the name of j1j,J1 , El-Madain,
"the Two Cities;" but all that now
remains, are the ruins of a palace, and
numerous mounds of rubbish. — I*ta3i3,
A rab. ^Uwjjli J) , KipKijctoi', Cercusium
or Circessum. The word is compounded
of "pa, Syr. p«3 , a castle, and iii'p, a
proper name. It was a strongly fortified
town, on the eastern bank of the Euphra
tes, at the point where it is joined by
the Chaboras, and thus possessed the aA-
yantages of an insular position. It was
taken by Necho, king of Egypt, and

retaken by Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Chron.
xxxv. 20 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 29 ; Jer. xlvi.
2. The conquest mentioned by Isaiah
is supposed to have been made by Tig
lath-pileser. This city was celebrated in
the time of the Romans, and formed their
last fortress in the direction of Persia.
No notice is taken of its ruins by modern
travellers. — npn, still called XL,*-, Ha-
math, by the Arabs ; LXX. ''EpdB,
AipaB, 'HpdB ; a large city of Syria,
pleasantly situated on both sides of the
Orontes, near the northern confines of
Palestine. It was originally peopled by
the Phenicians, Gen. x. 18, and in course
of time, became the capital of a kingdom
or principality of the same name, the
king of which was one of David's allies,
2 Sam. viii. 9. It is the celebrated city
to which the Greeks gave the name of
Epiphania, and continues to be a place
of great note, containing upwards of
thirty thousand inhabitants, and its go
vernment comprising about one hundred
and twenty small towns or villages.—^
l|l«, Syr. f2ij , Arpad, another city of
Syria, at a short distance from Hamath;
with which, for this reason, it is usually
associated, 2 Kings xviii. 34, xix. 13;
Jer, xlix. 23. Doderlein and others
suppose it to have been the same with
IJIN, Arvad, Gen. x. 18 ; Ezek. xxvii;
8, 11 ; but this was a Phenician city,
situated on a rock on the coast of the
Mediterranean, now called Ruad. No
traces of Arpad have been found in later
times. — The boast of the Assyrian mo
narch is, that none of these cities, how
ever strongly fortified, had been able to
resist his arms ; they had all equally
fallen before him.
10, 11. W«n is a collective noun, which
usually takes the article. T nssn signi
fies to reach, attain to, aequire,'in refer^

chap. X.J

ISAIAH.

S9

11

12

As I have done to Samaria and her idols.
Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images ?
But when the Lord hath finished the whole of his work
On mount Zion and Jerusalem,
Then [saith he] I will punish the fruit of the proud heart of
Assyria's king.
And the arrogance of his lofty looks.

ence to the putting forth of the hand in
order to find or seize any thing ; with ^
following, to reach in the way ^punish
ment, Ps. xxi. 9. — Wgn nitop. The dif
ferent nations of antiquity had their
tutelary gods, under whose patronage
they placed themselves, and to whom
they considered themselves as belonging.
How the king of Assyria, who was him
self a worshipper of D'Wn, non-entities,
.could speak of them in this light, has
appeared to some to be out of place here ;
and they have endeavoured, to account
for the language, on the principle, that
Isaiah, by whom all pagan deities were
thus regarded, puts the term into the
mouth of the monarch. The supposi
tion, however, is unnecessary, since it is
obvious, that though he did not enter
tain the enlightened views of the He
brews, he must have regarded foreign
gods as impotent and worthless, espe
cially after having, with so much ease,
conquered the cities and countries of
which they were the professed protectors.
Whether Jp be here designed to express
superiority in number or in p.ower is some
what doubtful ; yet the latter idea seems
the more natural under the circumstances
of the case : the king of Assyria haying
had an opportunity of ascertaining the
weakness of both kingdoms by subjugat
ing Ephraim, and by his being called to
assist Judah against her enemies. — D'32»
is not in reality different in sense from
D'Wm preceding, but is used synonymously
with it, and with D')'pB, for the sake of
variety. At the same time, as derived
from 32J, to work, labour, be in pain, it
conveys at once the ideas of human
origin, and the grief and pain conse
quent upon idol- worship, Comp. Ps. xvi.
4. There is a want of strict correspond
ence between the protasis and the apo
dosis in these two verses, occasioned by
the comparison made between the foreign

images and those of Samaria and Jeru
salem. To perfectiy agree, the proposi
tion must have run thus : As my hand
hath found the kingdoms of the idols,
and theip'Tmages that were superior to
those of Jerusalem and Samaria, so shall
it find, &c. But as Samaria had already
been taken, the proposition required to
be modified, which has been done by
transferring the comparison to these two
cities; and by introducing a new prota
sis in the form of an interrogation, an
apodosis perfectly corresponding to it is
brought out. The agreement is marked
by the correlatives litis? and |a.
12. Having allowed the king of As
syria to carry forward his vaunting to
the very point at which he was to be
arrested in his proud career, Jehovah
states the reason why he was permitted
to proceed so far, and then declares he
will punish him for his pride. S23,
-; v^i, \i ^, has usually the signification
of cutting, amputating ; bijt as it is spe
cially used of a weaver, cutting off his
web when he has finished it, the idea of
flnishirig or completing came to fee at
tached to it, Isa. xxxviii. 12; Lam. ii.
17 ; Zech, iv. 9. Seventeen of Kenni
cott's MSS. read nin» ; one has this read
ing in the margin ; and another reads
'3i« mn'. According to Lowth, the for
mer is also found in three printed edi
tions. In iii2}« '^59 33^ 'jij '-IB, four nouns
successively occur in construction ; three
frequently thus occur, as Gen. xlvii. 9;
Job xii 24 ; Isa. xiii. 4 ; and in 1 Chron.
ix. 13, not fewer than flve ; though,
strictly speaking, some of them express
only one compound idea. Between 'is
and rriijpn there is a slight paronomasia,
just as there is an obvious connexion
between the meaning of the words —
n'WBn being used here in the acceptation
of glory or beauty as applicable to a

90

ISAIAH.

[chap. X.

13 For he saith, By the power of my hand I have done it.
And by my wisdom ; for I am skilful.
I have removed the boundaries of the nations,
And plundered their treasures ;
And as an hero, I have brought down the enthroned.
14 My hand hath found, as a nest, the riches of the people ;
And as men gather eggs that are left,
So have I gathered all the earth ;
There was none that moved, the 'wing.
Or opened the beak, or chirped !
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth with it ?
Shall the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it .''
As if the rod should wave them that raise it :
As if the staff should raise him who is not wood.

stately tree, covered with the richest
foliage. Comp. ni«B, ver. 33. The heart
being regarded as the root of our actions,
the looks correspond to the leaves, and
the actions themselves to the fruit. A
finer picture of an arrogant and inso
lent conqueror than that drawn in this
passage cannot be imagined.
13. niTn», according to the Keri
ni1in», but correctly nil'nij, lit. things
prepared, kept in readiness, laid up, i. e.
goods, treasures, riches, from ITO, SjC,
paratus fuit, reposuit; HiXUC , discus,
in quo reponuntur adornamenta, &c.,
and by meton. the precious things con-
-J. 7 ,
tained in such vessel; Syr. nm.m-iij
their treasures — 'ntoittJ, or, as it is spelt
in a great number of MSS. 'npisS, in
many 'n'pittS ; in others 'np» : the Poel of
npti, to plunder, take as spoil. — Kimchi
thinks that in 1'3m3 either the Aleph is
epenthetic, or the word is a dictio com-
posita, formed of 1'33 and T3M, which
have both the same signification, but
combined, tend to augment the idea.
There can be littie doubt, however, that
the true pointing is i'3«3, like a mighty
one, or hero. The a, Gesenius and
Hendewerk take to be the Caph veritatis.
See on chap. i. 7. — D'3i!Si', sitting, is el
liptical for niNtp? '3l?ji', those who sit on
thrones, i. e. kings and judges. Comp.
i__>l^) , a throne, and Ps. xxix. 1 0. The

boast of the conqueror is, that, solely id
virtue of his own native power and
policy, he had put down the distinctions
which separated one nation from an
other, dethroned their kings, and en
riched himself with their treasures.
14. Describes the completeness of the
Assyrian conquests, as well as the faci
lity with which they had been effected.
No resistance was offered, nor did any
dare to complain. The reference to the
taking of eggs, or young birds, out of a
nest, is exquisite ; and no language could
more appropriately have expressed the
insatiable rapacity of an invading foe,
and the feebleness of those whom he
attacked. By '^, nest, is meant the con
tents of the nest.
15. Again the boastful monarch i*
abruptly checked by Him who had em
ployed him as his instrument, and to
whose control he was in absolute sub
jection. The absurdity of his vaunting
is forcibly depicted by supposing the
case of an inanimate tool disengaging
itself from the power of the intelligent
agent by whom it is used, and treating
him as if they had exchanged places
with each other. r|i3 signifies to wave
any thing up and down, and in Hiph. as
here, to cause any thing thus to move,
such as the saw, or the axe. The change
of the singular to the plural in vpin, is
to be ascribed to the introduction of the
term mxi, rod, which Jehovah had em
ployed of the king of Assyria, ver. 5,

chap. X.]

ISAIAH.

91

16 Wherefore the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, shall send upon his fat ones
leanness.
And under his nobility shall he kindle a burning, like the burning
of fire.
17 Yea, the Light of Israel shall become a fire.
And his Holy One a flame ;
And it shall burn and consume
His thorns and his briers in a day.
18 And the glory of his forest and of his plantation,
Both soul and body shall it consume ;
And he shall faint as an invalid.

and which is thus again applied here
with great effect. Comp. for similar
plural designations of God, Ps. cxlix. 2 ;
Eccles. xii. 1 ; Isa. xxii. 1 1 , liv. 5 ; and
see Dr. J. Pye Smith on the Person of "
Christ, vol. i. p. 468. With respect to
the passage itself, the MSS. exhibit con
siderable discrepancy in their readings.
Sixty-six MSS., seven more originally,
seven now, and upwards of twenty
printed editions, read, vp'ip n«i I03'ti fj'jns,
As if the rod should wave itself and those
who raise it. Eight MSS., originally one,
and now another, have the singular
ioiD, HIM that raiseth it, which is sup
ported by the Syr. and Vulg. Four or
five codices read vp'ip te, but both these
latter appear evidently to be emenda
tions. The former yields an admirable
sense ; but as it wants the suffrages of
the ancient versions, it may also be the
result of conjecture — a conjecture more
ingenious than most of those supplied
by the Massoretic school. — y?r»^. By a
Hebrew idiom the negative particle n''
prefixed to nouns often gives them a
directly contrary meaning. Thus 'wr>^,
" that which is not God," i. e. an idol,
Deut. xxxii, 21 ; Jer. v. 7 ; ifrw «'', and
D'TN ift. Him who is not man, i. e. God,
Isa. xxxi. 8 ; and so in the present
instance by him who is not wood, is
meant God, who is of a nature alto
gether different.
16. A resumption of the threatening
briefly introduced ver. 12, but dropped
to leave room for a further exhibition of
the haughty boastings of the Assyrian.
It is now specially taken up, and en
larged upon to ver. 19. — There can be
no doubt that, in consequence of Jewish

superstition, the Divine name has here
been tampered with by some copyist.
niN32 '3TN jiiNn occurs nowhere else in the
Hebrew' Bible: but ni«32 nin; Jilijn oc
curs chap. i. 24, iii. 1, x. 33, xix. 5 ; and
it is the reading of the present verse in
upwards of fifty MSS. and more than
twelve printed editions. — l'3p*)p and ii3?,
correspond to and elucidate each other.
They are both abstract nouns expressive
of the robust and stately appearance of
the Assyrian captains. Comp. Ps.
Ixxviii. 31 ; Judg. iii. 29, where the ad
jective lP«i is similarly used; and Isa.
xvii. 4, where both terms occur as here.
Targ. 'nia3i3i, his princes or great ones,
by explanation, — In lip'3 ip; iff. is a pa
ronomasia ; comp. chap. xxii. 1 7 ; and
the figure is derived from the custom of
collecting heaps of thorns, &c. and then
setting fire to them from below. The
passage predicts the sudden and mira
culous destruction of the Assyrian army
recorded 2 Chron. xxxii. 21 ; Isa.
xxxvii. 36.
17. 'J«lip:ii«. Jehovah is called the
light of Israel, because he was the author
of their prosperity and happiness ; so
that the phrase contains a double meta
phor. Thorns and briers stand here for
the common soldiers, not so much per
haps in contempt, as in reference to the
spears and lances with which they were
armed, and in illustration of the figure
introduced ver. 16.
18. To express still more strongly the
greatness of the destruction with which
the hostile army was to be visited, it is
compared to the consumption of a forest
and a plantation by fire. — "'P'la, properly
the name of a celebrated mountain in

92

ISAIAH.

[chap. X.

19

20

Tlie remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few ;
So that a child may count them.
And it shall be in that day.
That the remnant of Israel, and the escaped of the house of Jacob,^
Shall no more stay themselves Upon him that smote them.
But they shall truly stay themselves upon Jehovah, the Holy One
of Israel.

Palestine, but also used of other localities
resembling it in scenery and fertility,
Josh. XV. 55; Isa. xxix. 17; or rather,
perhaps, it took the name from them, as
thus distinguished. Gesenius considers
the word to be a derivative from PiS, an
orchard, garden, vineyard, and '! used as
a diminutive ; but this appropriation of
V is not fully established. Lowth pro
poses '!M, which is also uncertain. iSS3p
'TO3'T»l, jTroOT the soul even to the flesh, a
proverbial mode of expression, denoting
the entire person, and so used adverbi
ally for altogether, entirely, itoa, opposed
to 1SD3, signifies body. Job xiv. 22 ; Prov.
xiv. 30. — ]P and i?, connected as here,
mean inclusive of, and comprehend the
whole of what is specified, Jonah iii. 5. —
Dpi DDps. Lowth conjectures that the
LXX. must have read DD3»nd3; but
this is highly improbable, since their
duplicate form, o (^ev-ycov ds 6 <^€ij'yo)i',
exactly tallies with that of the present
text, only attaching the signification of
flight to both words. To neither, how
ever, does such signification attach, ex
cept we were to regard Dp: as the Pilel
of Di:, which its position forbids. The
following words of the LXX. dirb (j)Xo-
yor Kawpevr]s, are merely added for the
purpose of completing the meaning, and
have no reference to Dbp3. The asso
nance of the words, which is quite in
the style of Isaiah, and of the Orientals
generally, affords satisfactory evidence
that the reading is genuine. We have,
therefore, no choice but to select one or
other of the two ideas conveyed by DD3 ;
to elevate or carry a standard; or, to be
an invalid, sick, &o. The former is that
of the rabbins, and from them, of most
of the received versions, of Dathe, and
others; the latter is adopted by Hezel,
Schelli'ng, Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, Hit
zig, and Hendewerk. Comp. jjxumj,

sick ; the Arab. i»0 , Put. O. and t,
siccus fuit; sitivit, sitabunda fuit;
I imJUmJ , extremum vitee spiritus ; S'a
no'D: n:a, fermi mortuus fuit. Cast.
Comp. note on chap. lix. 1 9. The meaning
is, that the king himself, overwhelmed
by the miraculous overthrow of his
army, should be so eompletely dispirited
as to resemble a wretched invalid, sink
ing through weakness and want of sus
tenance. The supposition of an ensign
or standard-bearer being referred to,
proceeds upon the principle that the
army should be affected- by his giving
way, whereas the connexion require*
that the action specified should be con
sequent upon the destruction of the
army. 19. IBDQ is not, according to the usage
of the language, a number, in the sense
of numerous, hxxt few in number, which
the following clause also shews. Compi
iBpp 'np. Gen. xxxiv. 30 ; Deut. iv. 27 f
and IBpp, by itself, as here, Deut. xxxiiii
6. The number of men smitten in the!
camp of the Assyrians amounted to a
hundred and eighiy-flve thousand. Isa,
xxxviii. 36.
20. «inn Di»a, in that day, is not to be
restricted to the precise day of the fall.
of the enemy, but includes also the fu
ture. See note, chap. iv. 1. The prophet
might have employed the verb ^'Pt?'3> as
chap. vii. 9, to express the exercise of
trust in God ; but the idea of nEiO, staff,
being suggested by map, him that smote.
him, it was more natural to employ the
Niphal of ^3>\lJ, to lean, as one does upon
a staff, for support. Such of the Jews
as survived the calamity would be con
vinced of the folly of dependence on
Assyria, and henceforth put their trust
in Jehovah alone, from whom their
confidence ought never to have heen
transferred. nn«3, in truth, truly, i.e:

CfiAl',

X.]

ISAIAH.

93

21

22

23

24'

Yet only a remnant shall return, a remnant of Jacob
To THE Mighty God;
For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea.
Only a remnant shall turn to him.
A consummation is determined.
Overflowing with righteousness ;
Surely a consummation, even that which is determined.
Shall the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, effect in the midst of all the land.
Nevertheless thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts :
Fear not, O my people ! that inhabitest Zion,
Because of the Assyrian ;

sincerely — the meaning being, that when
attacked by external enemies in future,
they should not profess to make God
their confidence, and yet call in a foreign
king to protect them, as they had lately
done when threatened by the confe
derated forces of their neighbours. The
prediction was fulfilled in the subsequent
history of the Jews.
21^^23. Having spoken of 1N11>, the
remnant, Isaiah repeats the term with
emphasis in this verse, to shew, that
how sincere soever might be the general
trust of the Jews in God, as it respected
temporal deliverances, comparatively few
of them would be converted to li3a ^n.
The Mighty God, i. e. the Messiah,
predicted under this title, chap. ix. 5.
The language is exceedingly abrupt and
elliptical. Before the former iwji, supply
'iJN'j, yet only. This the 22d verse shews
to be absolutely requisite in order to
complete the sense ; as does also the
reasoning of the apostle, Rom. ix. 27,
28, where the passage, quoted in appli
cation to the rejection of Christ by the
great mass of the Jewish nation, would
lose its point, were the words not to be
rendered, " only a remnant shall be
saved." See Stuart and Hodge. — ^ia is
usually referred to IPJ, as its subject;
but this construction, considering the po
sition of the word, is harsh. It seems
much more natural to connect it with
the verb immediately before it, and re
gard liaa ¦)« as the antecedent. That
anii is also followed by a, when true con
version is meant, see Hos. xii, 7, nn«1
aillB i|'n')M3. — ^'^3, completion, consump
tion, consummation, entire destraction,
from the Piel of nto, to be completed,

spent, wasted.  yip, decided, deter
mined, not without primary reference to
the incision of the sentence pronounced
by a judge, in some tablet, or other
hard substance : yin signifying to cut,
cut into. It was hence considered to be
fixed and 'irreversible, which is the idea
in the present passage — njrTS f^pte, over^
flowing with, or pouring in just retribu
tion. See for the verb, chap. viii. 8. — ¦
n2irT.:? njs is only, by hendiadys, a dif
ferent form for yiin ji'te. Comp. chap.
xxviii. 22 ; Dan. ix. 27, xi. 36. The 1 be
fore n2in: is expletive. — Seventy-three
MSS. at least, originally four more,
now five, and one in the margin, toge
ther with seven printed editions, omit
to, as does also the Targ. ; but it was
more likely to be omitted than inserted
by a copyist : the usual forms being
yisirrtai, or yi«rra'ip,?. That the plenary
form exhibited in the textus receptus is
not without a parallel, comp. ^Nfitopa 3'ii73,
Deut. xi. 6; LXX. iv ttj oiKovpevri dXrj.
The phrase is emphatic. — The entire
bearing of these verses, viewed in con
nexion with the application of part of
the language by Daniel to the final de
struction of Jerusalem, and the use
made of them by Paul as above referred
to, leaves no room for doubt that they
were designed by the Spirit of God to
describe the awful punishment to be in
flicted on the Jewish nation for their
rejection of the Messiah, and the com
paratively small number by whom he
would be received.
24. The prophet returns to his imme
diate subject — the Assyrian invasion,
and exhorts the people in Zion not to
be intimidated by the event. — pi has an

94

ISAIAH.

[chap. X.

He may smite thee with the rod.
And raise his staff against thee.
In the manner of Egypt ;
25 But yet a very little while, and the indignation shall be completed.
And my anger in their destruction.
For Jehovah of Hosts shall raise up a scourge against him.
As the slaughter of Midian, at the rock Oreb.
His rod shall be upon the sea ; he shall raise it
In the manner of Egypt.
And it shall be in that day.
That his burden shall be removed from thy shoulder,
And his yoke from thy neck :
And the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

26

27

adversative rather than a causal power
in this connexion : notwithstanding, never
theless. — Dn?P ¦^113 is to be rendered,
neither " in the way to Egypt," nor "in
the viay from Egypt," but, in ihe manner
of Egypt, 'i.e. as Egypt, or, the Egyptians
did — the manner in which they acted
towards the children of Israel. Comp.
for this use of 1]113, Ezek. xx. 30. In
ver. 26, the phrase is similarly used, only
with this difference, that Egypt, instead
of being used in the active, is taken in
the passive acceptation of the term : as
he did against Egypt. Comp. for the
passive, Amos iv. 10. There is thus a
beautiful contrast between the two verses.
25. 'WJP TOO occurs again chap. xvi.
14, xxix. 17 ; and is appropriately
given in German, ein klein wenig. Sy
nonymes are frequently used in Heb. to
express intensity. — D»l, indignation, sig
nifies here the punishment inflicted by
Jehovah upon the Jews. When that
punishment should be completed, the
Divine displeasure ('?«) would be turned
against their enemies, and effect their
destruction. D»], without either the
article, or the pronom. affix, is quite in
the style of Isaiah. See chap. xxvi. 20,
so that the alteration made by Lowth
cannot be sustained. For Dn'tan, their
destruction, five MSS , three others ori
ginally, and seven printed editions, read
Drj'tofi, their perfection, i. e. perfect or
complete end : but the former, according
to usage, is the more appropriate, and
has the suffrage of most of the ancient

versions. It is derived from ii^a, Arab.
Ju , to grow old, he worn out, come to
nothing ; hence 3L> , afflictio ; "^f, failv/re,
destruction. The letters 3 and a being
very similar, have often been mistaken
for each other. The prepos. to marks
the object on which the Divine anger
rests. 26. 1 is here equivalent to '3, and in
troduces the cause of the destruction
predicted at the end of the preceding
verse.  ^loito, Arab. \syu , a whip or
scourge, used figuratively to denote any
hostile invader, or any awful plague or
calamity which God inflicts upon a
people. For the reference, see Judges
vii. 25. As Oreb, one of the two kings
of Midian, after escaping the slaughter
of his troops, was taken and slain &%
a rock of the same name, so Sennacherib
should escape from the calamity which
destroyed his army, but he also should
afterwards be killed. By D»n, ihe sea, is
meant the Euphrates, the symbol of the
Assyrian power. Comp. chap. xix. 5 ;
Nah. iii. where it is used of the, Nile,
For the fulfilment, see chap xxxvii,
36 — 38. The second reference is to the
unexpected and complete overthrow of
Pharaoh in the Red Sea, Exod. xiv.
26, 27.
27. This verse shews that the discom
fiture of Sennacherib should be followed
by the immediate liberation of the Jews

CHAP,

X.J

ISAIAH.

95

28 He hath arrived at Aiyath ; he hath passed through Migron ;
At Michmash he hath laid up his baggage.

from the oppressive tribute that had been
imposed upon them. The concluding
words, IptfnjBp to bsm, present no diffi
culty as to construction, or in regard to
their signification, taken separately ; but
few sentences have more perplexed in
terpreters, as it respects the sense. Vi
tringa fancifully labours to establish an
identity in meaning between ]p^ and
Xpl<rpa, 1 John ii. 27. Seeker and
Lowth indulge as usual in conjecture,
but very unsatisfactorily. Gesenius
strongly, but jusfly, calls the word,
Dn'DSffla, which Lowth proposes, an Un-
ding, a thing that has no existence in the
Hebrew language ; and with Hitzig,
Maurer, and others, takes the term in
the ordinary acceptation of fatness, and
supposes the prophet to be comparing
Israel to a fat and wanton bullock which
shakes off the yoke. But to this exege
sis it must be objected, that it neither
gives the proper force of the verb tan,
which signifies to spoil or destroy, nor
does it suit the connexion, in which no
intimation is given of the Jews them
selves breaking the yoke that had been
imposed upon them. Besides, there
would scarcely be any propriety in in
troducing a clause with this sense, after
the statement already made in the verse,
distinctly announcing the removal of the
yoke. I am, therefore, inclined with the
Targ., Jarchi, Kimchi, Munster, Vatab-
lus, Castalio, Grotius, and others, to con
sider ]p'4i as denoting the oil with which
the Jewish kings were anointed, and
hence by common figure, the persons
thus anointed. Most of those who adopt
this acceptation of the word, apply the
passage to Hezekiah, and suppose the
meaning to be that, lpiti ':.Bp, for his
sake, as the anointed king of the Jews,
the Lord had broken the Assyrian yoke.
But may we not with Munster ask :
"Quid si Propheta hie respexerit ad
Christum Domini?" Thus the Targ.
mvpa DTjT. ]p sjpp» pi?n;i, and the nations
shall he broken before the Messiah. This
interpretation well agrees with the manner
and design of the prophet, who ever and
anon reverts to the promised Deliverer,
and frequently, as here, most abruptly.

in consequence of some temporal cir^
cumstance or event which the Holy
Spirit employed, in order to suggest
Him and the great salvation to his mind.
What strongly corroborates this view of
the passage, is the close connexion be
tween the words in question, and chap.
xi. which is undeniably predictive of the
Messiah, and must have followed imme
diately but for the intervening descrip
tion of Sennacherib's impending march
against Jerusalem. In the Translation,
however, I have not felt authorized to
employ the term Anointed, but have re^
tained the word already existing in our
common English version, which is at
once true to the original as a translation,
and yet furnishes an index to the just
exegesis of the words.
28. From this verse to the thirty-
second inclusive, we have a minute and
animated graphic description of the ap
proach of the Assyrians towards Jerusa
lem, and the consternation into which it
threw the inhabitants of those towns
which lay in their route. That it is an
historical description of the past, Hitzig,
and those who think with him, can only
maintain on a settled principle of unbe
lief with respect to prophetic inspiration.
Even Gesenius is constrained to admit
that it is ideal; which would be true, if
thereby were meant, that the circum
stances existed at the time only in the
mind of the prophet, and in that of Him
by whom he was inspired : but what he
intends is, that it was merely matter of
imagination and poetical colouring. Con
sistency of interpretation, however, com
pels to the conclusion, that, whatever
there may be of singular poetic beauty
in the passage, it is strictly prophetical,
and was historically fulfilled. What
decides it to relate to the future is the
occurrence of Imperatives, ver. 30, which
we never find in descriptions of the
past. — n^s, Aiyath, LXX. Tal, 'Ay-yai,
occurs only here under this form, but
is called N*, Aiya, Neh. xi. 31, and
doubtless is the same as '?, '?i7, Ai, a
royal city of the Canaanites, situated on
an elevation, within the northern con
fines of Benjamin, at a short distance to

96

ISAIAH.

[chap. X.

29

30

They have gone through the pass ;
Geba they have made their night-quarters.
Ramah treinbleth ;
Gibeah of Saul fleeth.
Give a shrill cry, O daughter pf Gallim !
Listen, Laish !
Aniyah ! Anathoth !

¦the east of Bethel, Gen. xii. 8, and
nearly due north-east from Jerusalem.
It was taken and destroyed by Joshua,
chap, vii., but was afterwards, to some
extent, rebuilt, Ezra ii. 28. In the time
of Eusebius and Jerome, only a few in
considerable ruins remained.- — liiap, Mi
gron, the LXX. by mistake, Mayyebd,
is described 1 Sam. xiv. 2, as situated at
the northern extremity of the hilly coun
try of Gibeah, at some distance to the
south-east of Bethel. — tfnap, Ezra ii. 27,
Dpap, LXX. Maxpds, Josephus, Maxpa ;
a town still farther in advance, towards
the south-west, but east of Bethaven,
1 Sam. xiii. 5 ; and, according to Euse
bius, near Ramah, about nine miles from
Jerusalem. In his time it was a place
of some note. It was chiefly important
in a military point of view, on account
of the pass in its vicinity, mentioned in
the following verse. This place the As
syrians chose as the depot of their bag
gage; considering it a fit place to fall
back upon in case of a repulse.
29. Special notice is taken of the pass
at Michmash presenting no obstacle to
Sennacherib. This pass was confined
by two sharp cliffs, called Bozez and
Seneh : the one facing Michmash on the
north, and the other Gibeah on the
south. In the time of Saul it was de
fended by a garrison of Philistines,
1 Sam. xiv. 4, 5, and is represented as
exceedingly steep, ver. 13. From the
term occurring in the plural, ni13»p,
1 Sam. xiv. 4, it appears to have con
sisted of more than one gorge or defile :
probably there was one main opening,
in which were two or more divisions,
formed by remaining portions of the
rock. — »33, Geba, LXX, by mistake,
from ver. 28, 'Ayyal, elsewhere, Ta^ad,
a city of the Levites on the northern
limit of the tribe of Judah, but in that
of Benjamin ; hence called Geba of Ben

jamin, 1 Kings XV. 22.-1:^ V'"'? *?5 is not
to be rendered, Geba is their quarters;
but, they have taken up quaHers at
Geba : i. e. for the night. Lowth, and
after him, Doderlein, Dathe, and others,
taking laj to be the pronoun of the first
person plural, and not finding it to agree
in construction, change the reading into
ioji to them; whereas, it is the third
singular of the verb Ji";, to remain over
night, to tarry for a night. For the form
Jito p, comp. aai^p aati, 2 Sam. iv.' 5,
where nM, the sign of the AccuS. is ex
pressed. — IP'S, Ramah, lit. the high
place, so called from its elevated situa
tion. It also lay in the tribe of Benja
min, about six miles north from J erusalem,
in the direction of Bethel. Its site is now
occupied by a village named Nebi Saha-
miel, and it is not to be confounded with
another town of the same name, now
called Ramla, on the roadfrom Jerusa
lem to Joppa, which was first built in
the eighth century. — "Jira n?3J, Gibeah
of Saul, LXX. TToXti/ SaoiX, so called to
distinguish it from a town of the same
name in Judah, Josh, xv. 57, and from
its having been the birth-place, and after
wards the residence of Saul, 1 Sam. x. 26,
XV. 34. An Arab village called (,_^oisi.j
Jib, is now supposed to occupy its site. .
30. D'b3, Gallim, occurs elsewhere only
1 Sam. xxv. 44, and in connexion with
1*^, Laish, as here ; only the latter is
there the name of a man, and not of a
place. Though we have no other notice
of a Laish in Judah, it is clear from the
present passage, that a place of that
name must have existed ; for the con
struction that would suppose a reference
to the celebrated city so called, near the
sources of the Jordan, is too violent to
be admitted. The n is paragogic. — n;:.!?,
Aniyah, has unnecessarily perplexed in*
terpreters. It is neither an adjective

chap. X.]

ISAIAH.

97

31

32

33

Madmenah is fled ;
The inhabitants of Gebim have taken to flight.
A day more, to halt at Nob,
And then he will shake his hand
Against the mountain of the daughter of Zion,
Against the hill of Jerusalem.
Behold ! the Lord Jehovah of hosts
Shall cut off the branches with a tremendous blow ;
The high of stature shall be cut down.
And the lofty shall be brought low.

nor a verb, but the proper name of a
place, most probably Betharda, or Beth
any, i. e. n'jsrrra, the n'a being dropped, as
freq. in proper names. Comp. Beih-As-
maveth, and Asmaveth '; Beth-Baalrmeon,
and Baal-meon. Hitzig suggests n;?3?,
Ananiah, which occurs Neh. xi, 32, in
connexion with Nob and Anathoth as in
Isaiah, and is probably only another
form of nj?», the Nun being dropped,
and compensation being made by Dagesh
inserted in the Yod ; as ii5N for il'aM.
What supports this opinion, is the prox
imity of Bethany to Anathoth; the former
being two, and the latter three miles from
Jerusalem, in the direction of Jericho.
The inhabitants of Gallim were to raise
a shrill cry, '.^2, and thus give the alarm
to the three neighbouring towns of Laish,
Aniyah, and Anathoth, the situation of
which being more towards the east would
afford their inhabitants time to escape
before the enemy advanced. — -ninaj, Ana
thoth, was one of the (aties of Benjamin
given to the priests, and was the birth
place of Jeremiali, Jer. i. 1.
31, 32. Of Madmenah and Gebim we
have no further notices : njpip, Mad-
mannah. Josh. xv. 31, lying too far south
to suit the present connexion. — ivsn, the
Hiph. of W, Arab. Otc. , confug'ii ad ah-
quem, to flee for refuge,h\xt used intran
sitively to agree with nri:. — 3i3, Noh,
LXX. No/ii^a, though here reading Ta,
they have rendered it tj x"P'> a sacer
dotal city, so near to Jerusalem that the
latter was visible from it, though sur
rounded by mountains. It had a sanc
tuary, in which a regular religious
service was performed, 1 Sam. xxi. 4,
6, 9, xxii. 13. — The aitide in Di»n has

little or no force, and may best be ren
dered indefinitely. The meaning is, that
Sennacherib would only spend a day at
Nob, in order to reconnoitre the city of
Jerusalem, muster his troops, and pre
pare for the attack. — T^lBl, like toTfi'jn,
means to shake the hand as a gesture of
threatening.  For fP^, in the phrase
^i'^-ffa, the Keri proposes na, which is
the textual reading of a vast number of
MSS^ and several of the earliest and
best editions, and is adopted in that of
Hahn. None of the ancient versions
have read n;a, house. — taWii; n»a|, the hill,
cf Jerusalem, occurs only in this place.
33. Having conducted the proud As
syrian within view of Jerusalem, and
allowed him and his forces a day to rest
in the vicinity, the prophet at once
changes his tone, summons attention to
the sudden and unexpected prevention
of the attack by a miraculous interven
tion of divine power, and describes, in
language similar to that which he had
employed vers. 1 7 — 1 9, the tremendous
overthrow that would ensue. That the
subject of the destniction here predicted
is the king of Assyria and his army, and
not that of Jerusalem by Nebuchad
nezzar, which Michaelis, Koppe, Doder
lein, and others, suppose to be meant,
cannot, I think, be fairly called in ques
tion. — f]??'?! ^ -'•'¦¦ I dissecuit, to divide,
separate one thing from another, break
or lop off branches from a tree. The
verb occurs nowhere else. — n^=nis!?
signifies beautiful branches, the orna
ment of trees ; and, metaphorically, the
most showy and imposing parts of an
army. Forty MSS. read niiB, which
signifies a wine-press; and thus the
o

98 ISAIAH. [chap, xi;
34 He shall hew the thickets of the forest with iron.
And by a mighty one shall Lebanon fall.
Targ., Symm., and Theod., but erro- tween Phenicia and Damascus, and in-
"^T^^u^^^ ^^'t°' "/''^.¦ J tersected by c>,^l. the Bekaa, or
34. The metaphor of cutting down a , ' i v
wood is continued, only a prominence is valley, otherwise known by the name of
given to the instrument; and the meta- Ccelosyria. The more easteriy goes by
phor is amplified by a comparison of the the name of Anti-Libanus, and is up-
closely united bands of the army to in- wards of 9000 feet high. The Arabs
tertwined thickets of underwood, and of say of it, that it carries winter on its
the whole mass of which it was com- head, spring on its shoulders, harvest in
posed, to Lebanon, the largest and most its bosom, whfle summer sleeps at its
majestic mountain in the vicinity of feet. Its terraces are covered with gar-
Judea. This celebrated mountain, in dens and cultivated fields, and present
Heb. )i33S, the White Mountain, Arab, the most enchanting • prospects to the
,^1 A*^, the Snow Mountain, from eye of the traveller. By Vrt, instruments
IJT^ t^vT ' ' made of iron, such as axes and hatchelsj
the perpetual snows which cover its are meant ; and Ti.« denotes the mighty
summits, consists of two parallel ridges, angel by whom the catastrophe was to
stretching in a northerly direction be- be effected. Thus Kimchi.

CHAPTER XI.
By an easy transition the prophet here introduces the person, character, and king^
dom of the Messiah, 1 — 10; describes the extension of the gospel among
the nations of the earth ; and predicts the restoration of the Hebrews from the
Babylonish captivity, and from their various minor dispersions, and their happy
union in their own land, 11 — 16. "That it is to a past and not to any future
restoration of the Jews reference is here made, is manifest from the mentioii
made, ver. 14, of the Philistines, &c., who no longer exist, but whom we are
compelled to understand as being literally meant, on the same principle that
Judah, Ephraim, Assyria, Egypt, &c. are to be interpreted literally, 11 — 13.
With respect to the application of this prophecy to the Messiah, a greater degree of
unanimity obtains among interpreters than in reference to almost any other.
, The exposition given of the first verse, in the Targ. '330 srraipi 'tfii 'nijap sajp pB;i
'3'in; 'tii33, " And the king shall come forth from the sons of Jesse, and the
Messiah shall grow up from his sons' sons," has been sustained and defended by
Jarchi, Abarbanel, and Kimchi ; by the best biblical scholars since the Reforma
tion ; especially, among the moderns, by Michaelis, Doderlein, Lowth, Koppe,
Beckhaus, Rehihard, v. d. Palm, Dereser, Jahn, Rosenmiiller, and Hengstenberg;
and even Eichhorn, Gesenius, and Hitzig, are forced to fall in with such appli
cation, though, as might be expected, they only recognise their ideal Messiah iu
the chapter. It appears from Theodoret, that, in his time, some of the Jews
considered Zerubbabel to be meant; Ephraim Syrus, Abenezra, v.d.Hardt^
White, Bardt, Hezel, Paulus, and some others, refer it to Hezekiah ; Barhebrseus,

chap. XI.]

ISAIAH.

99

Grotius, and Dathe, to Hezekiah primarily, and secondarily to Christ. Its
application, however, to our Saviour is clearly sanctioned by the N. T. Not to
insist on our Lord's declaring that he is the Root and the Offspring of David,
Rev. xxii. 16, (comp. chap. v. 5,) we find ver. 10 expressly quoted, Rom. xv. 12,
to prove his dominion over the believing Gentiles. On 2 Thess. ii. 8, see ver. 4,

I But a Shoot shall come forth from the stem of Jesse ;
And a fruitful Sprout shall grow up from his roots.
2 The Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him ;
The Spirit of wisdom and discernment ;

1. The 1 at once closely connects the
chapters, and intimates the contrast be
tween the king of Assyria, and the
Messiah, about to be described. — nsJ is
used of the coming forth, or springing
up of plants, 1 Kings v. 13 ; Gen. i.
12, 24; Isa. Ixi. 11 ; but also tropically
of descendants. Gen. xvii. 6 ; and, as
here, specially of the Redeemer, Micah
V. 1 . nps, Branch, is the term by which
he is more usually designated, comp.
chap. iv. 2 ; but i^n, and isi, better
suit the present connexion. The former
is related to the Arab, ii-, Syr.
jf^gy, a slender, flexible shoot or
twig ; from j^i- , to wave, swing to and
fro; the latter is derived from isa, to
view icith attention, attract notice hy the
display of verdure, be verdant, like a
young branch, or sprout. Comp. the
Arab. .JaJ , germina sua ostendit terra ;
and Jai , l/sie viruit arbor. Aquila
aKpepova ; Theod. and Symm. /SXaoroi/ ;
the LXX. avBos. — Si? is properly what
remsuns in the earth of the trunk of a
tree that has been felled. Comp. c 'j»-,
to cut qjf, cjs»-, a stump, or the re
maining part of a palm-tree. Aquila,
Theod., Symm. 'Koppos. The parallel
I'tfnili [proves it to mean the part which
remains, and not that which is cut off
with its branches. Comp. Job xiv. 8 ;
Isa. xl. 24. The idea of a hewn tree
having been suggested by the use of the
terms D'l)'^? and f]p., at the conclusion of

the preceding chapter, the image is
employed to set forth the reduced and
lowly condition of the house of David
at the time of Messiah's birth. The
tree had been cut down in a political
point of view, but it had not been rooted
up ; the family had not become extinct.
To further indicate its mean condition,
the name of David, which would have
suggested notions of dignity and splen
dour, is suppressed, and that of his
father Jesse is employed, which conveys
the ideas of rustic simplicity and obscu
rity. The last historical notices which
we have of this family are from the
time of Domitian, who, jealous of the
king whom the Jews still expected to
arise from it, ordered all that belonged
to it to be put to death. Euseb. Hist.
Eccles. lib. iii. u. 19, 20.
2. This verse contains a description
of the supernatural endowments to be
conferred upon the human nature of our
Lord, by the agency of the Holy Spirit. —
nin; m, elsewhere D'.i'!^ rrn, tcrp irn, and
KUT ifoxv" Plliji the Great, Preemi
nent, Uncreated Spirit, whose energyj
like that of the wind, is invisible, John
iii. 8 ; who cherished, and gave motion
and order to the chaotic mass at the
creation, and still vivifies the universe,
Gen. i. 2 ; Ps. civ. 30 ; the author of all
that is holy, good, or excellent in man,
Ps. Ii. 13, cxliii. 10. To him is specially
ascribed the impartation of extraordi
nary gifts and influences, by which men
were qualified for performing what they
never could have effected by mere na
tural power, Exod. xxxi. 3, xxxv. 31;
Judg. iii. 10, vi. 34, &c. ; Numb. xxiv.
2; 1 Sam. x. 10. He is here repre
sented as the author of that plenitude

100

ISAIAH.

[chap. XI.

The Spirit of counsel and might ;
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.
3 So that he shall be of quick perception in regard to the fear of
Jehovah ;

of divine influence by which the Messiah
was fitted for discharging the duties of
his great undertaking. Comp. Luke iv. 1,
'lr)(T0vs be irvevpaTOS dyiov irXrjprjs ;
John iii. 34, ov yap eK perpov bibao'iv
6 Beos TO pvevpa.— ^i, from rna, to
come down upon a person, or place, so as
to remain, to rest, continue. Thus the
Syr. 1;.aZo ^yt^LLL; and to this
force of the verb pointed reference seems
to be had John i. 33, to irvevpa KaTa-
Palvov Kal pevov. — noan nil, &c. is in
apposition with nfrP. nil, and does not
mean a wise, prudent spirit, &c., but the
Spirit by whom the qualities of wisdom,
prudence, &c., were to be imparted.
The genitive is that of cause, not
of possession ; and nn is used through
out in a personal sense. The qualities
specified are grouped in pairs, which,
though not susceptible of perfect dis
tinction, nevertheless sufficiently vary in
point of general signification, to admit
of distinct consideration. According to
Hebrew usage, iip?n, wisdom, is most ex
tensive in its import, comprehending the
whole circle of mental endowments and
moral excellences by which it is possible
for intelligent beings to be distinguished.
The primary idea conveyed by the root
can, >Js2>- , is that of solid, practical
knowledge — to be possessed of clear, de
finite, adequate, and influential concep
tions relative to the nature of objects,
and so capable of judging and pro
nouncing rightly concerning them. In
Arab, the idea of giving judgment as
the result of such knowledge, is pre
dominant; hence jfi^- , a judge; *jCa>.,
decision, sentence; though ijXs>- sig
nifies qui res solide, et cum judicio agit,
and is particularly used of a physician,
on account of his skill in judging of
diseases, and knowing what to apply for
their removal. Comp. Job xii. 12, 13, 16,
xiii. 5, XV. 8, 9, xxviii. 28, xxxii. 7, 9.
ni'3 differs from the preceding only as it

conveys the idea of discernment, or dis-
crimination ; judgment formed by the
comparison of things which differ, and
a just appreciation of the points of dif
ference. It is derived from 1'^, to sepa
rate, distinguish ; Arab. L , med. Je.
to be distinct, separate. Ihe two terms
are frequently coupled together; Job
xxviii. 12, 20, 28; Prov. i. 2, iv. 5, 7,
viii. 12, 14; as are fip?", and n:i3^, an
other derivative from the same root, — ns?,
counsel, comp. y?i', chap. ix. 5, plan,
scheme, purpose, and, by implication, the
faculty of wisely and advisedly laying a
foundation for future action. It is
combined with nil33, might, the power
adequate for carrying purposes into exe
cution. Viewed merely as a physical,
quality, wisdom is preferred to it, Eccles.;
ix. 16 ; but regarded as a moral quality^
they are equal. In exercise it gives
effect to the decisions of wisdom. The
idea of military prowess is rejected by
Gesenius and Hengstenberg, as totally
unsuitable to the peaceable character of
the Messiah ; but as he is also repre
sented in the character of a mighty
warrior, Ps. xlv. 3, 4, ex. 1 — 3 ; Isa.
Ixiii. 1 — 6 ; it is not wholly to be ex
cluded. — ns'^, knowledge, equally with
nbJi;, fear, is in construction with nTrr,
Both qualities are so closely related to each
other, that where only one of them is men
tioned the other is understood. -By the
former is meant a practical acquaintance
with the character and will of God; by the
latter, the exercise o-f all those feelings
and dispositions which right views of the
divine character and will are calculated
to produce. It is very often put for the
whole of true religion ; Job iv. 6, xv. 4 ;
Ps. xix. 10, cxxviii. 1, 4; Prov. xiv. 26;
Isa. xi. 3. The charismata here enu
merated are for the most part similarly
classified, Prov. viii. 12 — 14.
_ 3. mini the LXX. render epirXrjiiei,
dvTov irvevpa <f)6^ov Beov ; the Vulg.
replehii eum spiritus timoris Domini;
Saad. lit,^ . , inspirahit eum, which

chap. XI.]

ISAIAH.

101

He shall not judge by the sight of his eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of his ears :
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth ;
He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

Michaelis and others adopt ; but no in
stance can be adduced in support of this
rendering. Gesenius and Hitzig trans
late. His delight shall be, which gives a
good sense, but is liable to the same
objection; none of the examples ap
pealed to being fairly in point. Besides,
It does not so well agree with the follow
ing clauses of the verse, as that which
retains the idea of smelling. Arab.

_,|.l , capiare auram, naribus attrahere,
odorem, praesertim graium. Schultens,
Comm. in Job xxxix. 25, where it is
said of the war-hprse, fiortp n'T pfnp,
" he smelletk the battle from far," in
reference to the instinctive sense which
he has of its approach. As none of the
senses in animals is more acute than
that of smell, and in the ruder states of
human existence it is almost incredibly
so in man, it came metaphorically to
denote acuteness of perception, clear
mental apprehension, and intuitive sa
gacity. Literally the passage would
read. He shall be quick-scented in refer
ence to the fear of Jehovah, i. e. 'Tlius
richly endowed with supernatural gifts,
he shall not need to form his judgments
respecting matters of religion, as others
do, by observation or report, but shall
possess an acute and perfect discernment,
by which he shall intuitively perceive
their nature and relations, and give his
decisions accordingly. For the fulfil
ment, see Matt. ix. 4, xi. 27, xxii. 18 ;
Markii. 8; John ii. 24, 25^ Rev. ii. 2,
9, 13, 23, &c. — The 1 is used eK^ariKas,
and points out the result of the confer
ment of the spiritual gifts.
4. The parallelisms in this verse are
most complete : each part corresponding
to each. Between iDBti and fTJin, little
difference exists ; only the latter, followed
by '', implies carrying the sentence into
execution for the benefit of those in
whose favour it has been given. Lowth's

version. He shall work conviction in the
meek, even were it borne out on gram
matical principles, destroys the unity of
the sense. In D'H, respect is had more
to external circumstances, or to a state
of spiritual destitution; in yijfia?, to dis
position of mind — the result of sanctified
affiiction. Comp. Ps. Ixii. 4, 12, 13;
Is. ixii. 1 ; Zech. xi. 7, ol nraxoi ; Luke
vi. 20, ol iTTaxol T^ iTvevpaTi ; Matt.
V. 3, ol irpaeis, v. 5, xi. 5 ; James ii. 5.
The attention of our Saviour was par
ticularly directed to the condition of the
poor, both in spirit and outward circum
stances ; and such chiefly, in every age,
have reaped the glorious benefits of the
Gospel. — Houbigant's conjecture, that
for loasi, rod, we should read n3«), blast,
which Lowth adopts, is to be rejected,
not only on the ground that no such
word exists in the Hebrew language, but
also, on account of the adaptation of
OS'S), rod, to express, in the usual style of
Isaiah, the severity of the punishment to
be inflicted. Its being referred to ihe
mouth, I'B lasaj, is founded on the idea of
the punishment being ordered or de
nounced, just as the command to slay the
wicked is, in the other member of the
parallelism, called I'nBiB nil, the breath of
his lips. Thus also the Arab. Lflc,
haculus, the Kamoos explains by ¦ ',M ,
castigation, and .UuJ, tongue. Comp.
Job XV. So. The idea of blast, or wind,
is totally foreign to the passage, as is
also that of the preaching of the Gospel,
which some commentators have intro
duced into it. Comp. Heb. iv. 12; Rev.
I. 16, xix. 15, where the sword, as an
instrument of punishment, is likewise
spoken of in connexion with the mouth. —
yiM, parallel with WSl, is put by metonymy
for the inhabitants of the earth, and
by implication, the ungodly, as Koaixos

102

ISAIAH.

[chap. XI.

Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins,
And faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
Then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard lie down with the kid ;
The calf and the young lion and the fatling shall be together,
And a little child shall lead them.

frequently signifies in the N.T. — S>^ is a
collective noun, like d avopos, 2 Thess.
ii. 8, where the words of Isaiah are sup
posed to be alluded to. What confirms
this supposition, is the construction put
upon the prophecy in the Targ. : n'pp
«S'S>i Di^p'iS!, he will slay ihe wicked Ar-
milus. This name is given by the Jews
to a notoriously flagitious character who,
according to the statements of their writers,
is to appear at Rome, and kill Messiah,
the son of Joseph, but is to be himself
slain by Messiah, the son of David. See
Buxtorf. Lex. Chal. in voc. and Eisen-
menger's Entdecktes Judenthum, Th. ii.
pp. 705—715. The text in Isaiah ob
viously implies, that preeminence in
wickedness should characterise those on
whom, as his enemies, Christ would exe
cute extreme punishment. This also is
the import of the emphatic terms, d av-
Bpairos Trjs dpapTias, d vlos Trjs drra-
Xeias, 2 Thess. ii. 3, and of the whole
description contained in the following
verses. 5. pis relates to the claims of justice,
as bearing upon actions ; ^iilD^n to those
of truth in keeping promises. The two
terms, or their synonymes, frequently
occur together, Deut. xxxii. 4 ; Ps. exix.
7.5; 138; Prov. xii. 17.— Lowth, misled
by the LXX. and other ancient versions,
which frequently introduce variations
where there is none in the original, alters
the second liw into 'iian. Gesenius has
shewn, by a great number of instances,
that in the book of Isaiah, the same word
is repeated in the second member of a
parallelism. Symm. has irepi^apa in
both cases. 'To be girded, denotes
strength and readiness for action. See
chap. V. 27 ; Job xxx.
_ 6. From this verse to the ninth inclu
sive, the prophet furnishes a description
of the peace and happiness to be enjoyed
under 'the reign of Messiah, which, for
boldness and exquisite choice of imagery.

far surpasses the sublimest passages in
which the classical poets celebrate the
renewal of the golden age ; indeed, no
thing can exceed in beauty the scene
here depicted. Numerous passages ad
duced by Lowth and Gesenius from
Virgil, Horace, Theocritus, Ferdoosi,
Ibn Onein, as also from the Zenda-
vesta, and the Sibylline Oracles, clearly
establish the fact of the prevalence of
such figurative language ; and render in
the highest degree improbable the inter
pretation of Hengstenberg, and some
other expositors, who consider Isaiah to
be literally ¦predicting an entire change
in the nature of the brute creation, and
its restoration to its primeval state before
the fall. Of the different passages that
occur in heathen poets, the most apposite
is that of Claudian : —
"Securum blandi leporem fovere molossi
Vicinumque lupo preebuit agna latus.
" Concordes varia ludunt cum tigride
damae
Marsalam cervi non timuere jubam."
Prol. ii. de Bapt^ Proserp.
By the animals specified are meant per
sons resembling them in their natural
dispositions and habits ; and by their
living and feeding together in peace and
harmony is adumbrated that state of true
union, fellowship, and peace, which thoSe
enjoy who submit to the reign of the
Redeemer, and conform to the laws of
his kingdom. To look for the accom
plishment of the prophecy in the expe
rience and conduct of such as possess
merely the name of Christians, or to refer
its fulfilment to some future day, because
so many wars, bickerings, and conten
tions, have more or less hitherto obtained
among nations or communities profess
edly Christian, would be to torture the
passage in order to make it speak a lan
guage foreign to its spirit and design.

chap. Xl.]

ISAIAH.

103

The heifer also, and the she-bear shall feed ;
Their young ones shall lie do-wn together ;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The suckling shall play at the, hole of the asp;
And the weanling shall lay his hand on the den of the basilisk.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain ;
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah,
As the waters cover the sea.

It has been verified in every age, in pro
portion to the extent in which genuine
Christianity has exerted its influence.
Characters the most ferocious have been
subdued ; and those who had been living
in malice and envy, hateful and hating
one another, have " put on as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, bowels of
mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind,
meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another,"
Col. iii. 12, 13. For the exhibition of
contrary tempers and dispositions, the
religion of the Son of God is in nowise
answerable. So far as any indulge in
them, they afford melancholy evidence,
that they are influenced by principles
uncongenial with the spirit of the divine
kingdom. — The 1 in iai connects in point
of time, what follows with the preceding
context. There is a singular beauty in
the manner in which the yomng lion is
introduced into the group between the
calf anA. the fatling. ifi; is emphatic.
7, 8. 3't is a masculine epicenic noun. —
I'JT is understood. after ny^il?, and would
have been expressed, but for its forming
the first word of the following clause. —
iwS?iS, the Pilp. of »S^, to stroke, to rub
gently with the hand ; then as here, gene
rally, to caress, play with the hand, find
delight in thus playing. — ^jnB, Arab. _ Ju ,
Coluber Beten, an asp, or kind of ser
pent, whose poison kills almost instanta
neously; in all probability, the species
found by Hasselquist on the island of
Cyprus, and called aairiK by the modern
Greeks. It is seldom more than a foot
in length, but in thickness resembles the
arm of a man. Bochart, tom. iii. p. 380,
&c. ; Michaelis, Supplem. No. 2100.
The Greek lIvBav, Python, is doubtless
a derivative from this root. — nii«p, a
ht-hole, or hole for the admission of

light, from li«, light.— ¦';'<SBS, Aq. fiaai-
XiaKos, Vulg. regulus, the basilisk ; ac
cording to Michaelis, the Cerast, or
hornedserpent — a small viper, littie more
than a foot in length ; so called from the
feelers which are protnided from its
head, while it lies hid in the sand. It
is exceedingly venomous. Comp. chap.
lix. 5 ; Jer. viii. 17 ; Prov. xxiii. 32;
and Is. xiv. 29, where the cognate 3>ss
occurs. In most of these passages, iiSn:
is used along with it. — nin, a aira^ Xey.
Arab. jiJb, to lead or shew the way,
by pointing with the hand ; hence in
Heb. to stretch forth the hand.
9. What was obviously implied in the
preceding description is now expressly
stated, and the cause of the wonderful
change specified : the extension of the
knowledge of Jehovah. This latter cir
cumstance further shews that the lan
guage of the description is figurative.
From the correlative terms, 'ipij^ irrta and
yisn, it is manifest, the latter cannot be
interpreted of the land of Canaan, but
must be taken in its full latitude of sig
nification. LXX. jj avpiraa-a. Kimchi
himself felt that by mountain, more was
meant than the literal Zion, and he ac
cordingly explains it of the whole land
of Israel ; but the phrase here employed
denotes, in reference to the period of the
New Covenant, the church of God as
existing throughout the earth ; the local
ity, so to speak, in which the scene just
described should be realized. See chap.
ii. 3 ; Ps. Ixxxvii ; Is. Ivi. 7.— ninrn« Tm.
is equivalent to nTTT-n?;;. As an Infini
tive, it more definitely marks the sub
jective nature of the knowledge intended,
and the activity of mind with which it is
cherished. Comp. for the form, Hab.
iii. 13 ; and for the sense, Jer. ix. 24,
xxxi. .34 ; Dan. xii., 4 ; John xvii. 3 ;

104

ISAIAH.

[chap. XI.

10

11

And it shall come to pass in that day,
That to the Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people.
Shall the nations repair ;
And the place of his rest shall be glorious.
And it shall come to pass in that day,
That Jehovah shall stretch forth his hand the second time.
To recover the remnant of his people,

2 Pet. i. 2, 3. — Djn, ihe sea, by metonymy
for the bed of the sea ; a veiy expressive
figure, denoting that no portion of the
inhabited globe shall be destitute of the
true knowledge of God, but that this
knowledge shall be extensive and pro
found. 10. The benefits of Messiah's reign
were not to be restricted to the Jews,
but to be extended among the Gentiles,
by whom they would be embraced, and
their glorious results exhibited. — D'p3>
and D'i3 are not here identical as to sub
ject. By the former, the tribes of God's
ancient people are meant ; by the latter,
the nations that had been strangers from
the commonwealth of Israel. That the
plural, as well as the singular form of D»,
has this restrictive acceptation, see chap.
iii. 13, and the passages there referred
to. For the contrast, comp. chap. xlix.
6; Luke xxiv. 47; John x. 16; Acts
iii. 25, 26.— '?>: Mhili, the Nomin. absol. —
tfnilj. Boot, is here equivalent to iBh and
is:, ver. 1, denoting, not that which
strikes downward into the ground, but
that which sprouts up or springs from
the root, comp. Is. liii. 2 ; Rev. v. 5,
xxii. 16. — d:, a signal of rendezvous, see
chap. V. 26. — ''« 1615, signifies to go or
repair to for advice, protection, and as
sistance. See chap. viii. 19. It is never
used in reference to application to men
for aid ; but always respects religious ap
plication, either to the true God, to an
idol supposed to be a god, or to those
who pretended to give the responses of
false deities. According to the uniform
doctrine of Scripture, Jehovah alone is
the legitimate object of such application :
so that the present use of the phrase
identifies the Messiah with Jehovah.
The meaning of the prophet is, that the
heathen would turn away from every
idol and every false ground of confi
dence, and apply to the Messiah alone

for salvation. The version of the LXX.
in avTa eBvr) iXmoviri, gives the sense,
and is therefore quoted by Paul, Rom.
XV. 12, in proof of the doctrine, that the
Gentiles were to be converted to Christ. — •
1133 inmp nn^ni, lit. and the place of his
rest shall he glory; but the substantive,
lias, stands adjectively for glorious, — an
idiom not uncommon in Hebrew. The
pronominal reference in inn:p is wiW,
personally considered. nni:p denotes
not merely rest, quiet, tranquillity, but
also the locality in which such rest is en
joyed, see Numb. x. 33 ; Ps. cxxxii. 14,
where the term is synonymous with
aiffiia, dwelling, or habitation, ver. 13.
Preflxed as formative of verbal nouns, o
very frequently expresses the place where
the import of the verb is realized, as
Mi3p, wp, «sio, ni]p, &c. The place of
Messiah's rest is his Church, those among
whom he dwells, and to whom he vouch
safes the experience of his presence,
Matt, xviii. 20. Michaelis points the
word, inn:p, which is found in one of
De Rossi's MSS., and has been in an
other originally, and renders : his gifts,
understanding thereby the presents that
should be brought to him ; but the other
interpretation is best supported. Jerome's
translation : et erit sepulcrum ejus glori-
osum, which he certainly did not adopt
from his Jewish teacher, is founded on a
complete misconception of the meaning
of the passage, but has furnished a famous
text from which to expatiate on the merits
of going on pilgrimage, to what is called
the Holy Sepulchre. — With respect to
the glorious condition of the church, at
the period here referred to, see chap.
iv. 5.
11. The commencement of a distinct
prophecy relative to the restoration of
the Jews. Isaiah, having in prophetic
vision contemplated the future Deliverer,
and the wide extension of the glorious

chap. XI.]

ISAIAH.

105

That remaineth from Assyria and from, Egypt,
And from Pathros, and from Gush, and from Elam,
And from Shinar, and from Hamath,
And from the regions of the sea.

blessings of his reign, has his thoughts
directed to other events that were closely
connected with the period which he had
just described, but were to precede it,
and consequently, interposed between it
and that at which he lived. Previous to
the appearance'of the Messiah, the Jews
were to be carried into captivity, not
only into Babylon, but also into other
countries, and their land was to be left
in a state of desolation. But in order
that they might be in a condition either
to receive or reject him, agreeably to
ancient prophecy, it was necessary that
they should again inhabit Judea; that
their temple should be rebuilt ; and their
ecclesiastical polity re-established. That
it is this, and not any restoration still
future, the prophet here describes ap
pears : First, because such is the more
natural construction of the passage, and
is unencumbered with any of the diffi
culties which necessarily clog the other
interpretations : Secondly, because not
only have Ephraim and Judah amalga
mated, but all hostility between the tribes
has long since ceased : Thirdly, because
the nations mentioned in the prophecy
no longer exist ; and to expound them
allegorically, or to subject to such a mode
of exposition the entire prediction, is at
variance with sound and consistent prin
ciples of prophetical exegesis.
To the proposed interpretation no
valid objection can be derived from the
formula «inn Di'3, In that day ; since it
is often used with great latitude of
meaning. As employed in ver. 10, it
is not to be restricted to the concluding
words of the previous prophecy, but
must be understood as connecting with
ver. 1, and thus marking a period which
was to succeed the Assyrian catastrophe.
In or during this period, the predicted
restoration was to be effected. — Before
il^ supply rt;S. — n:]? signifies to set up
right; to raise from circumstances of
captivity or depression ; to redeem, and so
bring the persons thus liberated into a
peculiar relation to their deliverer, whom
they are bound to love and serve. — n'lifl

refers not to any previous recovery of the
Hebrews from the various countries here
specified, but to the illustrious deliver
ance of their ancestors from Egypt in
the time of Moses. To this event nj? is
applied, Exod. xv. 16 ; Deut. xxxii. 6,
and freq. Comp, ver. 16. — ^iiiSn, Assyria,
and Dn?p, Egypt, are first mentioned
because they were the most powerful
states known to the Jews, and perhaps
also because the greatest number of cap
tives would be found within their geo
graphical boundaries. From the former
of these countries the descendants both
of Israel and Judah returned, under
Cyrus. Many have, indeed, endeavoured
to shew, that only those of the latter
were restored, and that the ten tribes
still separately exist somewhere on the
face of the globe ; but their attempts
have failed, as every attempt must that
would contravene the meaning of such
scriptures as the following : Jer. xxxi.
31 — 34, compared with Heb, viii. 6 — 13,
xxxiii. 7 — 16 ; Ezek. xxxvii. 11 — 28.
Into Egypt the Jews were first carried
as slaves in the reign of Rehoboam,
2 Chron. xii. 8 ; others no doubt accom
panied Jehoahaz when conveyed thither
by Pharaoh-Necho, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 4 ;
great numbers fled thither after the in
vasion by Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings
xxv. 26 ; Jer. xii. 1 6, xliv. 1 ; and in the
time of the Ptolemies many thousands
were resident there, either as slaves, or
in a state of voluntary exile, sometimes
well treated, and sometimes treated with
the utmost cruelty. After the establish
ment of Jewish independence, b.c. 143,
and especially during the civil commo
tions which ensued in Egypt, many of
them embraced the opportunity afforded
them to return to Palestine ; and to this
period we are to refer the fulfilment of
the prediction in the text. — DiinB, Pathros,
follows after Egypt, being the southern
or upper part of that country, called by
the Greeks and Romans Thehais, and
by the Arabs Sj^auc , Said. The name
in the native Coptic is TieeOTpHC,

106

ISAIAH.

[chap, XI.

12 He shall raise a banner to the nations,
And shall gather the outcasts of Israel,
And collect the dispersed of Judah,
From the four extremities of the earth.

Pethoures, or without the article,
©OnrpHC, TAoMrra, " the South." The
LXX. have here Ba^vXavia; but in Jer.
xliv. I, UaBovpris, and Ezek. xxix. 14,
TlaBapfjs, in both of which the original
word is preserved. It was the original
country of the Egyptians, Ezek. xxix.
14, and is mentioned as distinct from
Egypt by Greek and Roman writers, as
it is by Isaiah and Jeremiah. In the
Genealogical Table of nations. Gen. x.,
under the Mitzraim division of the
Hamites, are D'pinB, by whom are meant
the inhabitants of the same territory. —
ttSl3, Cv^sh, or Ethiopia, Amhar. t>.ll ;
lay to the south of Pathros, and, accord
ing to Died. Sic. iii. 3, was peopled
from the latter country — see on chap.
xviii. 1 ; and partly on the east side of
the Red Sea. It appears to be em
ployed here in its most comprehensive
acceptation. The Targum has nin, Hodu,
India, which embraced the southern and
eastern parts of Arabia, and, as it would
seem, anciently stretched across towards
the Caspian Sea, in the neighbourhood
of which we find a Cush, Gen. ii. 13.
Comp. the prop, name of Ctishan Ri-
shathaim, a king of Mesopotamia, Judg.
iii. 8, 10, and Cuth, Cuthah, 2 Kings
xvii. 24, 30. — Next to the Oriental
Cush, Isaiah takes up the adjacent
country of dV», Elam, ox Elymais, which
was properly a province of Persia, lying
along the Persian Gulf, but most pro
bably including here Susiana, if not the
whole of Persia, since we find it men
tioned by the prophets in connexion
with Babylonia, Assyria, and Media. —
To the west of Elam lay "W:!!), Shinar,
which comprehended Babylonia and Me
sopotamia, and thus connected Elam
and Assyria, already mentioned, with
fioDi Hamath, the last of the countries
specifically named. For this country,
see chap. x. 9. — DJi 'j«, and frequently
D".M, not strictly or exclusively islands,
but maritime regions, whether islands,
sea-coasts, or countries circumscribed.

or bounded by the sea. In some in
stances the term has necessarily the
former signification, as Esth. x. 1 ; Jer.
xlvii. 4 ; but most frequentiy it is em
ployed to denote the maritime countries
situated on the Mediterranean, including
Greece, Italy, and other regions in the
remote west from Palestine, Gen. x. 5 ;
Ps.lxxii.lO; Is.xxiv.l5, xli,5; Jer.xxv.
22. The word is derived from niM, Arab.
_.| , to dwell, lodge, ^)L« > dwelling,
habitation,. Comp. ni:, n«:, the same.—
Owing to the proximity of most of the
countries specified by the prophet, it is
extremely probable that the Jews who
were carried away captive, would be
sold as slaves from one to another of
them, or become subject to future mi
grations, according as the inhabitants
were disturbed by hostile invasions. As
it respects the west, we learn from Joel
iii. 4 — 6, that the Phenicians sold them
to the Greeks, and to this slave trade
further reference is distinctly made,
Ezek. xxvii. 13. During the Mace
donian and Roman conquests. Divine
Providence opened a way for the return
of the Jews in the west to their own
land ; and the close relations in which
their state afterwards stood to Rome,
still more favoured such return. Comp.
Zech. X. 9—12.
12. D'ia^ D.3 «to: is not to be explained
by d:) Ids, ver. 10, but by the use of the
identical phrase, diap. v. 26, where it is
employed in its military import of sum
moning armies to certain points of at
tack. While the different nations were
engaged in mutual conflict, God would
afford his people opportunities of making
their escape. This verse only expresses
in different language the prediction con
tained in the preceding. The repetition
indicates certainty. ta'ni? and niSD?,
though of different genders, are not in
tended to mark the male and female
portion of the population, but merely
express totality. Israel and Judah are
used distinctively of the descendants of

CHAP. XI.]

ISAIAH.

107

13

14

Then shall the jealousy of Ephraim depart.
And the hostile in Judah be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah shall not be hostile to Ephraim.
They shall pounce upon the shoulders of the Philistines on the
west;
Together shall they plunder the sons of the east ;
Edom and Moab shall be the object of theh attack ;
And the sons of Ammon shall obey them.

those who composed the two kingdoms. —
niD33 lit. wings, but as the Arab,

¦ o'i( signifies to surround, hound,
and i_-sJo , SsjS , Latus, and iractus
rei; Plaga regionis ; it is evidently em
ployed to express the idea of boundaries,
or extreme and distant regions. Comp.
Job xxxvii. 3, xxxviii. 13, and Ezek.
vii. 2, in which last passage and the
present, the numeral S31M, four, is ap
plied to the cardinal points whence come
the four winds, Ezek. xxxvii. 9 ; Matt.
xxiv. 31 ; and to which correspond ai
Teaaapes yaviai rrjs yrjs. Rev. vii. 1,
XX. 8.
13. nrin; 'liii is the genitive of pos
session, not of object ; and the meaning
is, "those in Judah," or "those Jews,
who are hostile to Ephraim." There is
thus a complete correspondence between
the two members of the parallelism,
which is destroyed by the common
mode of rendering the words. Comp.
for similar instances of this mode of
construction, Di« 'TOi, Hos. xiii. 12;
D'TO'.^i'SM, Isa. xils. 19; Gesen. Lehrg.
p. 678; and for the sentiment, Ezek.
xxxvii. 15 — 19. The two names of
Ephraim and Judah stand, as in ver. 12,
for the descendants of the ten tribes
and the two tribes and a half respec
tively. From the time of the revolt a
perpetual hatred and jealousy existed
between these divisions ; but on the
return from the various captivities, they
entirely ceased, and the tribal distinction
having since become entirely extinct,
their revival is rendered impossible.
14. f]n3, Arab. i__ajL> , humerus, pro
perly a shoulder, but here used geogra

phically to denote the gradual rising or
upper part of a country ; or the heights
and elevations along a sea coast. Comp.
Numb, xxxiv. 1 1 ; Josh. xv. 8, 10, 11;
where one of these heights is called tjna
Jiip», " the shoulder of Ekron.* Saadias
renders the word by ' «'^| , regions.
For the Philistines, see chap. xiv. 29.
These regions of the Philistines the re
covered Hebrews would attack with the
velocity with which a ravenous bird
darts on its prey. Comp. Hab. i. 8. —
Dl|3:':3, ihe sons of the East, i. e. the in
habitants of Arabia Deserta, which
stretched along the east of Palestine,
and was, as it still is, inhabited by Be
doweens ( Xit>Ull ) or Nomades, who
lived in tents, hence called SKrjvfJTai,
Scenites, and wandered over that large
extent of country, according as pasturage
was required for their cattle. They
oftenmade predatory incursions into the
adjacent countries, especially into Pales
tine, to the great annoyance of the inha
bitants. See Judg. vi. 3 ; Job i. 3, 15,
17; Jer. xlix. 28, 29; Ezek. xxv. 4.
¥or Edom, see chap, xxxiv ; and for Moab,
chap. XV. DTniVrip, lit. a sending or
putting forth of their hand, but meaning,
" the object of their attack." — ^Jio? '33,
the sons of Ammon, i. e. the Ammonites,
were descended from Lot, Gen. xix. 38,
and inhabited the tract of country be
tween the Jabbok and the Arnon, and
extending a considerable way into Ara
bia. Rabbath, or Rabbath-Ammon, their
capital city, afterwards called Phfla-
delphia, and now Amman, was situated
near the source of the Arnon. They
were not attacked by the Hebrews on
their way to Palestine, but they ill re
paid this indulgence by afterwards

108

ISAIAH.

[chap. XI*

15 Then shall Jehovah utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea.
And shake his hand at the river, with his terrible wind,
And smite it into seven streams,
And cause them to go over dryshod.

engaging in numerous hostile enter
prises against them, on which account
they were visited with divine judgments,
Ezek. xxv. 3, 10.— onspiiSp, their obe
dience, abstr. for concr. their subjects, i.e.
subject to them. Root spifi, to hear,
hearken so as to obey, to obey. The
prophecy was fulfilled, as it regards the
Philistines, when, after the persecution
of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Asmo-
neans subjected several of their cities,
and Jonathan acquired the government
of the whigle coast from Tyre to Egypt.
Diod. Sic. Frag, xxxii. 16 ; Joseph.
Antiq. xiii. 4. 4 ; 1 Mace. x. 69—89 ;
and it received its accomplishment with
respect to the other nations specified in
this verse, in the time of Judas Macca
beus, 1 Mace. V. 6 — 45, and Alexander
Janneus, Joseph. Antiq. xiii. 13, 5, 14,
&c. Jabn's Heb. Common. § 106.
15. D''inn, LXX. iprjpda-ei, Targ.
Ilia;, — as if they had read 3'inn, to ecci-
cate ; but Aq., Symm., and Theod.,
dvaBepaTitrei, shall curse, or devote to
destruction, which is one of the significa
tions of the verb. The primary idea of
D'ln, Arab. *j»-, prohibuit, privatusfuit
re ; is to shut up, separate from common
use ; hence, in Hiphil, to consecrate,
devote, devote to destruction, destroy
utterly. Comp. the Arab. >^, v. viii.
perdidit, omnino perdidit, exiirpavit gen-
tem. It is frequently used with respect
to the entire destruction of the Canaan-
itish cities by the Hebrews. — )iilJ^ a
tongue; geographically, like the Arab.
.LojJ , a bay or gulf, from its resemblance
to that member of the body ; just as, for
the same reason, we speak of a tongue of
land. Comp. Josh. xv. 2, 5, xviii. 19. —
D;isp Dl, otherwise called F|1D d;, the sea
cf weeds, is the Red Sea, or Arabian
Gulf, now called by the Arabs, ^ dsj) js?,
Bahr-cl-Kolzum, and celebrated in the
history of the Israelites, on account of
their miraculous passage through its

western or Heroopolitan branch. To
that event, allusion is here made; but
the language of the prophet being figura
tive, it is obvious we are not to under
stand him as pointing to any similar
dissication of the sea, but as predicting
the removal of the most formidable bar
rier, which might lie in the way of the
return of the Jews from Egypt. The
destruction, which was begun by Nebu-'
chadnezzar, was carried forward by the
Persians ; by the Greeks under Alexan
der ; and was completed by the Romans
after the battle of Actium, ' b. c. 30.
Egypt then ceased to be an independent
state. — T Pl':n, see chap. x. 32.— By -n^i
ihe River, some understand the Nile;
but the appropriation of this term in
common usage, to denote the Euphrates/
decides in favour of the latter river. — •
inn DJ?!, LXX. iv irvevpaTi jSiai'm, Vulg.'
in fortitudine spiritus sui. Syriac,
olkk,o!> |jrA>o|.0 , by the strength of
his wind. V^. is a ajra| Xey. which
some consider to be cognate with the
Arab. Js. , med. Je. sitivit : but the
preferable derivation is that of Abul
walid, who compares it with d;«, to be
terrible : the 3> and the « being inter-'
changed. This interpretation Gesenius
and Rosenmiiller approve. — D')ri: rB3«S,
seven streams, i. e. completely into rivu
lets or torrents, and so dry up the
Euphrates ; the number seven being'
employed to express perfection or com
pleteness. The appropriateness of the
figure lies in the multitude of canals
into which the Euphrates was divided;
and the meaning is, that the Babylonian
power should be destroyed in order that
the Jewish captives might return to their
own land. Coinpare Rev. xvi. 12, where
the same symbol is employed to denote
the destruction of the Turkish power.
The story related by Herodotus, that
Cyrus caused the Gyndes, a river which
falls into the Tigris, to be diverted into
three hundred and sixty canals, and thus
completely drained off its waters, though

chap, xii.]

ISAIAH.

109

16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people.
Which shall remain — ^from Assyria —
As there was unto Israel,
In the day when he came up from the land of Egypt.

noticeable, has no real bearing upon the
prophecy. 16. The greatest number of the He
brews being in Babylon and the coun
tries about the Euphrates, the prophet
concludes his description of the deliver

ance, by comparing the facilities afforded
for their return to ntop, a causey, or road,
raised and properly made, so as to afford
every convenience for public passage.
For the fulfilment, see the books of Ezra
and Nehemiah.

CHAPTER XII.
This chapter contains a hymn of praise to be sung by the church on her restoration
from captivity. It recognises the power and goodness of Jehovah, 1, 2; the
means of grace to be enjoyed under the new dispensation, 3 ; the announcement
of the Divine character and works to the Gentiles, 5 ; and the special obligations
of the Jews to gratitude and praise, 6. That this triumphal ode was suggested
by that which Moses composed on occasion of the deliverance at the Red Sea,
appears certain, from its close connexion with the concluding words of the pre
vious chapter, and from the circumstance, that part of that song is expressly
adopted, ver. 2.
1 And in that day thou shalt say :
I will praise thee, O Jehovah.
Though thou hast been angry with me.
Thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me.
2 Behold ! God is my salvation ;
I ¦vnll trust, and not be afraid :

1 . The Divine anger had been poured
out upon the Hebrews during their
banishment, but, on their restoration,
gave place to favour and consolation.
Comp. chap. xl. 1, 2.
2. rr n'jnil '-w occurs precisely as here,
Exod. XV. 2, and Ps. cxviii. 14; as do
also the following words, with the excep
tion of nin; ; and there can be no doubt,
that both in the Psalm and in Isaiah,
they are borrowed from the Mosaic ode.
nipi is properly the construct of nipi,
only retaining the Kametz, as in n-jn,

n^n?, &c. ; and would have been ex
pressed in full, 'n'lpi, but for the ' in n^
following, with which it might easily
have coalesced so as to form n'nlDi,
which is indeed the reading of three
MSS. One MS. reads 'mtai ; two, and
perhaps a third, with ten Samaritan
MSS. exhibit it, Exod. xv. 2 ; and one,
Ps. cxviii. 14; and this is the reading of
all the versions in the present instance. —
IT, Jah, one of the peculiar names given
to the Divine Being in the O. T. espe
cially in the Psalms. Cocceius and

110

ISAIAH.

[chap. xii.

For Jah [Jehovah] is my glory and song ;
He has become my salvation.
3 And ye shall draw water with joy from the fountains of salvation.
4 And ye shall say in that day :
Praise Jehovah ; celebrate his name ;
Make known his deeds among the people ;
Announce that his name is exalted !
5 Sing to Jehovah, for he hath done a splendid deed ;
It is made known through all the earth.
6 Cry aloud, and shout, O inhabitress of Zion !
For great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel.

others derive it from n«^, to be comely,
beautiful, excellent ; but that it is an ab
breviated form of the Tetragrammaton
nin; seems certain from its varying with
in;., (another abbreviated form of the
same name,) at the end of compound
proper names, as iTOi* and irWttS; ; only,
in such cases, the Mappik is dropped.
It also occurs in the formula nn^^n, ren
dered by Theod. alvelre to ov. Some
have considered it to be of Egyptian
origin, and to correspond to 'lad, as oc
curring in some ancient writers ; but
Prof "Tholuck has convincingly .shewn.
Bib. Repos. Jan. 1834, that in the au
thors referred to, the God of the Jews,
and not any Egyptian deity, is the sub
ject of discourse, and that there is no
proof that the word Jao ever existed in
the Egyptian language. — The word is
wanting in two MSS. ; and nin; is omit
ted in eleven, originally in nine more,
in two copies of the earliest printed
Machzor, in two MSS. of the Targum ;
and has nothing corresponding to it in
the ancient versions. On these grounds,
and as it does not occur in Exod. and
the Ps. it is supposed to be an interpo
lation from chap. xxvi. 4. It is, however,
worthy of notice, that while Procopius
places mm on the left margin of the
text, he has on the right, II la Kvpios,
which probably stands for itdvres 'la
Kvpios, and indicates that all the
MSS. consulted by Origen read Jah
Jehovah. 3. Whatever reference there is in this
hymn to the temporal salvation which
the Jews experienced, it cannot be
doubted, that it was designed to excite

in their minds an ardent desire after the
greater deliverance to be wrought out
by the Messiah. In this verse, the pro
phet interrupts the song in order to an
nounce the happiness of those who
should avail themselves of the privileges
of the New Dispensation. These privi
leges, and the blessings which they are
intended to secure, are termed n»lic^ ':;»p,
fountains of salvation. It is not at al!
improbable that there is here an allusion
to the water miraculously supplied to the
Israelites in the wilderness, which event
was afterwards celebrated with great
pomp, by golden vessels full of water
being brought to the temple from the
pool of Siloam, on the last day of the
. Feast of Tabernacles. The blessings of
salvation are frequently compared to
" water," "living water," or "the water
of life ;" Is. Iv. 1 ; John iv. 10 ; Rev.
xxii. 1,17; on which account, our
Saviour, on occasion of the festival just
referred to, " stood and cried, saying. If
any man thirst, let him come unto me
and drink," John vii. 37. See Bloom
field on the passage.
4. Dtf3 Mip^ not only signifies to call
upon, invoke ihe name of, but also, to
laud or celebrate, give celebrity to any
one, by publishing his deeds, Ps. xlix.
12 ; Is. xliv. 5. The most of this verse
is found verbatim in 1 Chron. xvi. 8 ;
Ps. cv. 1.
5. The Chethib, nsTia, pointed, nsw,
would be the Pual Part. ; but the Keri
has n»lin, the Part, of Hophal. The
sense is the same; and the connexion
requires the word to be understood opta-
tively.

chap. XIII.] ISAIAH. Ill

CHAPTER XIII.— XIV.

Chapter xiii. — xiv. 23, contains an entire prophecy respecting the destruction of
Babylon by the Medes and Persians, which forms the first of a series of special
predictions directed against foreign nations. So particular is this prophecy, and
so exactly do its specifications tally with the circumstances connected with the
fall of the Chaldean monarchy, that Rosenmiiller, Eichhorn, Bertholdt, Gesenius,
Hitzig, and others, maintain it to be the production of some writer who lived
during the captivity, when the hostility of the Medes, and the splendid successes
of Cyrus, inspired the Jews with a conviction, that their oppressor would soon be
subdued ; or, who lived after the return from Babylon, and, consequently, wrote
after the events had taken place. It must, however, be evident to every one who
coolly peruses what they have severally written in defence of these hypotheses,
that their views are piincipally to be traced to disbelief of prophetic inspiration.
They reason entirely kot avBpairov. Because human sagacity could not by any
possibUity have anticipated, by nearly two hundred years, the particular events
in question, it follows, according to them, that the author must have flourished
about the time they took place, if not indeed after they had happened. But who
does, not perceive the total repugnance of such a mode of argumentation to the
doctrine of the Bible, relative to the supematural influence which Isaiah and the
other prophets enjoyed? The objections derived from supposed peculiarity of
style, trains of ideas, &c. are trifling, and have for the most part been satisfactorily
removed by Uhland, " Vaticinium Jesaiae, cap. xiii. de excidio urbis et regni
Babylonici, Jesaiae prophetae vindicatum." Tubing. 1798, 4to ; Jahn in his In
troduction ; Beckhaus in a work entitled, Ueber die Integritat der Prophetischen
Schriften des Alten Bundes, Halle, 1796. The remarks of Michaelis, who lived
to witness the commencement of the infidel attacks that have been made upon
this portion of the book of Isaiah, are too valuable to be omitted in this place.
Adverting to the views just noticed, be observes : —
"Those who have read Isaiah in Hebrew will not easily entertain such ideas. His
Style is so elegant, so magnificent, and so different from any thing written about the
time of the termination of the Babylonish captivity; it is likewise so exempt
from foreign words, which we so frequently meet with in the later writers ; that
to suppose his prophecies respecting Babylon to have been concocted in the first
year of Cyrus must appear just as improbable as the hypothesis of Harduin,
which he could not prevail upon the world to adopt, that the most beautiful of
the Odes of Horace were the productions of barbarous monks in the middle
ages. In the Babylonish captivity the grace and magnificence of the Hebrew
language were entirely lost ; even Ezekiel, who lived during the captivity on the
Chaboras, cannot be called graceful, any more than the courtier Daniel. Besides,
in the former we discover a number of Chaldseisms in grammar; and in the
latter, foreign terms which never occur before his time. Ezra and Nehemiah wrote
Hebrew in a style still vastly inferior ; while of the prophets Haggai, Zechariah,
and Malachi, there is not one who, in point of style, has the power of pleasing,
notwithstanding the beautiful imagery which occurs in Zechariah. The pro
phecies of Isaiah, on the contrary, are next to Job and the odes of Moses, the

112 ISAIAH, [chap, xiri:
most splendid Hebrew monuments in existence ; they far surpass Jeremiah, the
latest good writer which the Hebrews inherited from happier times, and who
lived during the captivity — a quality which is more obvious on perusing the
original than it can possibly be made by any translation. Besides, the prophecies
of Isaiah against Babylon are completely in the style of his other prophecies, all
of which it will not be maintained are supposititious, and, indeed, may be said to
form, with littie abatement, the most splendid portions of his book. Another
consideration must be taken into the account. The prophecy is of such a cha
racter that it could not have been forged in the year in which Cyrus topk
Babylon; for though Babylon was conquered, it was not destroyed, but continued
to be a large and powerful city, which once and again rebelled against the
Persians, under Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes ; was chosen by Alexander the
Great as his residence, and thus would almost have become the capital of the
world, if that monarch had not abandoned himself to intoxication, to which he
fell a victim. But it is predicted in this chapter (Isaiah xiii.) that the place
where Babylon stood should be converted into a complete desert — a prophecy
which received its fulfilment, indeed, but not till after the birth of Christ; for it
was only by slow degrees that this city reached the point of degradation to which
it is now reduced. Certainly no person who might have forged a prediction in
the first year of Cyrus would have introduced what we find vers. 19 — 22. Nor
would a deceiver, even at the time when the Greek translation of Isaiah was
executed, have predicted the complete desolation of Babylon ; for it still stood,
though it had diminished from year to year." — Deutsche Ueberset^ung des Alten
I'estamentes, mit Anmerkungen fUr Ungelehrte.
The prophecy opens with the command of God to assemble the armies destined to
attack Babylon, 2, 3 ; a description is given of their number, tumultuous noise,
and actual approach, 4, 5 ; the consternation and destruction which should follow
are forcibly portrayed, 6 — 10 ; and Jehovah himself is introduced denouncing
the evils which he was to bring upon the city, and its ultimate and signal deso
lation, 11 — 22.

1 The skntence of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz
saw.
1. vmp. The Targ., Aq., Syr., Jerome, Is. xiv. 28. What has seemed to favour
and most of the modem versions, derive the former of these interpretations is the
this word from Nto:, in the sense of bear- circumstance that the term is commonly
ing a load, and render it onus, a burden ; used in the titles of prophecies which are
but Cocceius, Vitringa, Aurivillius, Mi- comminatory in their import, as Isa.
chaelis, Rosenmiiller, Schroder, Gese- xiii. 1, xiv. 28, xv. I, xvii. 1, xix. 1,
nius, Winer, and Hitzig, following the xxi. 1, &c.; and Hengstenberg attempts
LXX. opapjx, opaa-is, pfjpa, Xrjppa, pre- to prove that it is never employed, either
fer the sense of effatum, oracle, sen- by Isaiah, or by any other of the sacred
ience, from «to3, to raise the voice, to writers, in a different acceptation,
take up or utter any thing with the voice, Christol. Zech. ix. 1 ; but it is clear
Isa. iii. 7, xiii. 2, 11. This interpretation from Prov. xxxi. 1, Zech. xii. 1, that it
is confirmed by the occurrence of the is also used in a good sense. As, how-
phrase nin; w utep, Zech. ix. 1, xii. 1 ; ever, it is undeniably designed in pro-
Mai, i. 1 ; and the statement nin «tepn n;n, phetical inscriptions to convey the idea

CHAP. XIII.]

ISAIAH.

113

of a judicial declaration, the term sen
tence appears the best by which in most
instances to render it. Prov. xxxi. 1
may also be translated, " the sentences
which his mother taught him ; " step
being there used collectively for moral in
structions, conveyed in the shape of sen
tentious and pithy maxims. — ta3. Babel,
Babylon, some would derive from the
Arab. Jj i__>b , Bab Bel, " the Gate "
or " Court of Bel," and compare the
modern phrase, "Ottoman Porte;" but,
according to Gen. xi. 9, it is to be re
ferred to the root fe, to confound, and is
a contracted form of ''3^3, the second
letter being dropped. See Gesen. Lehrg.
p. 134, 869, and Lex. in voc. niDEiQ. It
was the celebrated capital of the Baby
lonian monarchy, and situated on the
Euphrates, which divided it into two
halves, near to the present village of
Hillah, 32° 28' N. latitude. By some
its foundation is ascribed to Nimrod ; by
others, to Belus, to Semiramis, and even
to Nebuchadnezzar; but there can be
no doubt that the later monarchs only
enlarged it. All the ancient accounts
concur in supporting the propriety of the
epithet Great, which we find applied to
it, Dan. iv. 30. Bibl. Repos. vol. vii, p.
364. According to Herodotus, its walls
were 480 stadia in circumference. Pliny
and Solinus give it at sixty Roman miles,
which, reckoning eight stadia to a mile,
amounts to the same. Strabo's estimate
is 385 stadia; that of Diodorus, taken
from Ctesias, 360, which is only five
less than the estimate given by Cli-
tarchus, who was there with Alexander
the Great. Curtius gives it at 368.
These different accounts may be harmo
nized by supposing the first-mentioned
writers to have included some outer en
closures of smaller moment, which the
others have omitted. At the very lowest
estimate, however, its size must have
been enormous ; and had it been densely
built, its dimensions must have exceeded
all rational belief. But it appears from
the statements of Curtius, and ,'other
writers, that the houses did not join each
other, but that large spaces were left
contiguous to the walls ; while other
spaces were appropriated to immense
palaces, squares, gardens, &c. The
walls, which consisted of burnt brick,
cemented together by asphaltus, are said

to have been 350 feet in height, and 87
in thickness; and to have had 250
towers, and 100 gates of brass. Among
the most remarkable buildings was the
celebrated tower or temple of Belus,
which is supposed to have been con
structed on the ruins of that attempted
to be built 120 years after the deluge,
the remains of which, according to some,
are still visible in the lijjv* )j^.> -B^''*
Nimrood, described by modern travellers.
It is 2286 feet in circumference, but all
that remains in height, to the summit of
the present tower, is only 235 feet.
Babj^on was the seat of science, espe
cially astronomy ; the centre of ancient
idolatry ; the storehouse of wealth and
magnificence ; and the asylum of all
that was revolting in licentiousness and
immorality. It attained its highest pitch
of grandeur, soon after the year b.c
623, when Nabopolassar destroyed the
Assyrian, and founded the Chaldee-
Babylonian empire. Under Nabonnidus,
B.C. 588 or 589, agreeably to the pro
phecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel,
it was taken, after a siege of two years,
by Cyrus the Mede. In consequence
of a rebellion of the Babylonians in the
fourth or fifth year of Darius Hystaspes,
that monarch ordered its hundred gates
of brass to be taken away, and its walls
to be lowered by two hundred cubits.
B.C. 477, Xerxes plundered and de
stroyed the temple of Belus, and carried
away the golden table and statues, which
Darius had not ventured to touch.
Alexander attempted in vain to restore
the city to its former magnificence.
From its conquest by Seleucus Nicanor,
B.C. 312, it fell still further into decay,
especially in consequence of the erection
of Seleucia on the Tigris, which that
king made his residence. In the days
of Strabo and Diodorus Siculus, it was
little else than a desert; and Pausanias,
who flourished in the first half of the
second century, states that in his time
nothing remained but the walls. In the
fourth century these were partially re
paired, in order to render it a park, in
which the Persian Court might amuse
itself in hunting wild beasts ; since
which time little notice was comparatively
taken of it, till Niebuhr, Rich, Ker Por
ter, Keppel, Buckingham, Mignan, and
other modern travellers who visited the

114

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiii.

2 On the bare mountain erect the standard ;
Raise the sound to them ; wave the hand ;
That they may enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have given charge to my consecrated warriors

region, furnished detailed accounts,
all of which concur in representing
its site as covered with nothing but
heaps and traces of ruins — the hor
ror of the surrounding Arabs, and fre
quented only by wild beasts, and birds
of the most hateful description. A
more extensive, or a more complete
scene of devastation is nowhere to be
seen. As he proceeded across it to visit
the Birs Nimrood, Sir Robert Ker Porter
remarks, " My eyes ranged on all sides,
while crossing this vast barren tract,
which assuredly had of old been covered,
if not by closely compacted streets, at
least with the parks and gardens at
tached to distinct mansions or divisions
of this once imperial city; but all was
withered and gone, and comparatively
level to the very horizon, till the object
of my expedition presented itself, stand
ing alone in the solitary waste, like the
awful figure of Prophecy herself, point
ing to the fulfilment of her word." —
Travels, vol. ii. p. 306. See Robinson's
Calmet, and Winer's Real-Worterbuch,
articles. Babel, Babylon, Babylonia ; Uni
versal Hist. vol. iv. pp. 404 — 41 1 ; Rosen-
miiller's Biblical Geography, chap. viii.
2. nB'?i: in. A hare mountain was best
adapted for the erection of a standard,
there being no trees to hide it from the
view. nB^a is the Niph. participle of
netf, to scrape off, make naked, remove.
Comp. 'B«i, a bare or naked hill. Is. xii.
18, xlix. 9. For the custom here re
ferred to, see chap. v. 26. Such a stan
dard, or ensign, was designed to attract
the attention of those who were at a
distance ; to collect troops that were in
the immediate vicinity, the sound of the
trumpet (''i|', for "Bi* Vip, comp. Jer. iv.
21) and a sign with the hand were suffi
cient. — DnJ is anticipative, and refers to
the warriors under Cyrus, not named,
but further described ver. 3, and ex
pressly stated, ver. 17, to be the Medes.
For this idiom, see chap. viii. 21. — The
1 before the Future, after an Imperative,
is to be rendered that. — D'3''7: 'no?, the
gates of the nobles, may either signify

tlie gates of the city, or those of the
palace in which the princes were as
sembled. The latter is more probably
meant. When the troops of Cyrus had
turned off the waters of the Euphrates
into the large ditch which he had caused
to be dug, and the Babylonians, in the
midst of their revelry, had neglected to
shut the gates at the entrance and the
outlet of the river, the Persians rushed
into the city ; and assembling in vast
numbers round the royal palace, gave a
shout, which the king of Babylon mis
took for the clamour of the drunken
mob, and ordered his guards to open the
palace gates, when the enemy entered
and put all to the sword. Herod, i. 191 ;
Xenoph. Cyroped. vii. 5.
3. '^l^p, my consecrated warriors. As
*Si!? signifies to separate, destine, appoint
to any special purpose, hence consecrate ;
the nature of the consecration must be
determined by that of the subject. When
war, as here, is spoken of, the reference
is to the selection of the troops ; not,
however, without respect to the religious
rites that were performed upon the occa
sion, 1 Sam. vii. 5, 6, 9. Comp. Gen.
xiv. 14, where D'3':n seems to be used in
the same acceptation. '^:n, from which
this adjective is derived, like nJij?, signi
fies to consecrate, dedicate, as a house,
temple, &c., before using it. In the
parallel passage, Jer. Ii. 27, 28, the same
verb is employed, and the subject pre
sented with considerable amplification.
Comp. also Jer. xxii. 7 ; Zeph. i. 7 ; in
which last passage it is in Hiphil. — 'BN^
is elliptical. The entire phrase would
be, 'BN ni\D»^, to execute my wrath ; or,
'Sirjiin nitoS, to execute my fierce wrath;
see 1 Sam. xxviii. 18.— 'ril«3 M'ii», lit. the
exulters of my pride. According to a
common idiom, when of two nouns in
construction, the latter is used adjectively,
it has affixed to it the possessive pronoun,
which belongs to the former, as, '^11^111,
the mountain of my holiness, for my holy
mountain; iltoa ]p«ip, the fat of his flesh,
for his fat flesh. So here, niw, pride, is
to be constnied as an adjective, and the

chap, xiii.]

ISAIAH.

115

I have called my heroes to execute my anger.
My proud exulters !
The noise of a multitude on the mountains, as that of much people ;
The noise of the tumult of kingdoms, of assembled nations ;
Jehovah of hosts mustereth the army for battle.
They come from a distant land, from the- end of heaven,
Jehovah, and the instruments of his indignation,
name, on which the ark rested, lay con
tiguous on the S. W. and took its name
from the country. Gen. viii. 4. The
kingdom so named, in all probability,
extended as far north as the river Cyrus,
and comprised a, considerable portion of
the country between the lakes Oormiah
and Van. Minni, the same as Minyas,
a mountainous region to the west of
Ararat, the original kingdom of Armenia,
which is supposed to be compounded of
'3n"in, Har-mini, the mountain-land of
Minyas. It included the whole of the
country from the seas just mentioned,
westward to Mount Taurus, and from
the shores of the Pontus to Mesopotamia
on the south. Ashkenaz, Bochart places
on the Propontis, in the north-west part
of Asia Minor, on the ground that there
existed in that quarter a lake, river, and
gulf, called Ascanius. Other places
towards the south have also been named,
as have others on the Tanais and in
Bactria ; but it was probably some region
bordering on the Caucasus, and the Black
Sea. For the received Jewish applica
tion of the term to Germany, there is no
sufficient foundation. Media compre
hended the extensive tract of country,
lying along the west and south of the
Caspian Sea ; and stretching southward
along the east of Armenia, comprised
the provinces now known by the names
of Shirvan, Azerhijan, Ghilan, Mazan-
deran, and Irak Ajemi. All these coun
tries were celebrated for the number and
bravery of their warriors : Azerhijan
alone furnishing, according to Strabo,
ten thousand horsemen, and forty thou
sand foot. By "the kings of the Medes,"
in Jeremiah, are meant the satraps or
viceroys ruling in the larger divisions of
Media and Persia, who put themselves
at the head of the quota of men which
they severally brought into the field.
When the troops collected from all
these different parts, and those which

phrase to be rendered, my proud ex
ulters. Comp. ii. 11. Gesenius thinks
'^, which signifies to triumph, exult, has
a primary reference to a cry or shout of
exultation, like the Greek dXaXd^a.
The native insolence of the Persians is
roundly asserted by Croesus : TIepo-ai
(^vaiv eovres v^pitrTal, Herod, i. 89.
Herodotus likewise describes them as
esteeming themselves vastly superior in
all points to other men : Nopl^ovres
iavTovs elvai dvBpdirav paKpa'Ta irdvra
dpitTTovs, i. 134 ; and Ammianus, xxiii.
6, characterises them as magnidici—su-
perbi. The LXX. render the words by
a term cognate with that employed by
Croesus : ^^atpoires dpa kcu v^pl^ovTes.
4, 5. The mountains to which the
prophet refers, are doubtless the elevated
regions from which the warriors came
who' served in the Persian army : such
as those of Media, Armenia, Koordistan,
as well as the mountains of Sanjar in the
more immediate vicinity of Babylon.
The description is truly graphical. First,
a tumultuous noise is heard, but not so
distinctly as to discover the cause : then
the appearance of a vast army presents
itself ; the din becomes louder and
louder ; and, at last, the hostile army is
found to be so numerous, that it appears
as if entire kingdoms had transferred
their population, and were assembled
for battle. To crown the whole, Jeho
vah is introduced as inspecting the troops
previous to the engagement. In Jer.
Ii. 27, i33S)m 'IP irsrn niatop, ihe kingdoms
of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz, are
specifically mentioned ; and in ver. 28,
''ip 'Sto, the kings of the Medes, are no
ticed as those which furnished the expe
dition. According to Jerome, on Isaiah
xxxvii. 38, Ararat was not a mountain,
but a region in the low country of Ar
menia, through which the Araxes flowed,
and was, as it still is, exceedingly fertile.
The mountain commonly called by that

116

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiii.

To destroy the whole of the land.
Howl ye, for the day of Jehovah is near !
As a mighty destruction from the Almighty it shall come !
Because of this all hands shall be slaclcened,
And every heart of man shall be dissolved ;
They shall tremble ; pangs and sorrows shall seize them ;
As a woman in labour shall they writhe ;
They shall look at each other with amazement ;
Their faces shall be faces of flames.
Behold ! the day of Jehovah comeih !
Cruel, with fury, and with burning anger ;

Cyrus had brought with him from Lydia,
Cappadocia, and Phrygia, together with
the auxiliaries of Croesus, are taken into
the account, it must be obvious no de
scription could have been more appro
priate than that given by Isaiah. — As to
sense, prria yis and D'piBn nsjjp are iden
tical : the latter, which is otherwise
equivalent to yiNn nspp, is added for the
sake of intensive parallelism. The read
ing';. VJ?? "?!?P, found in three MSS. and
originally in another, is in all probability
an imitation of the 'Targ. — yi,« might be
regarded as a collective noun, including
all the countries whence the armies came
to attack Babylon ; but as the Medo-
Persian forces occupied the most promi
nent place, and the whole was under the
command of Cyrus, the term has a spe
cial reference to Media. Comp. chap. v.
26, xlvi. 11 ; Jer.l. 9, 26, 41. Forio?] %
comp. Jer. I. 25. yiNlr'JS is the same as
^3?i, ver. 11, the Babylonian empire.
6. iWn stands for iW'n, like J'Pii for
TP'iT, 2 Sam. xiv. 19. ''ii, suggested by
the use of liiJ, the LXX. render various
ly, but most frequently by UavToKparap,
'The Almighty. It is derived from 11^,
Arab. ,^ , to be strong, powerful;
SiSM , fortis, sirenuus. According to
Exod. vi. 3, it was, combined with ";«,
the name by which Jehovah peculiarly
made himself known to the patriarchs.
The form ''rai is that of an obsolete plural,
like '31H, only in the latter word, the
Patach is changed into Kametz, to dis
tinguish it from the form in which the
same word is used when applied in the
plural to human masters. — The |i in lies

is the Caph veritatis, see chap. i. 7 ; and
comp. Joel i. 15, where the same form
occurs. 'iilSp lit) in both passages form
an elegant paronomasia.
7, 8, contain a description of the disr
may, consternation, and perplexity, into
which the inhabitants of Babylon should
be thrown on the capture of the city.
The metaphors are taken from the phy
sical effects produced upon the human
system by fear, alarm, or pain. Comp,,
Jer. I. 43 ; Josh. vii. 5 ; Ps. xxii. 15 ;
Ezek. xxi. 7. — In pins*', the "[ is the in
tensive paragogic, as in the following
verb. 'The nominative is the Babylo
nians, understood. The Hebrews say
that a person takes hold on fear, or what
occasions fear, just as we say, to take
fright ; see Job xviii. 20, xxi. 6 ; as well
as fear takes hold on, Exod. xv. 14, 15 ;
so that, however the LXX., Syr., and
Targ., might be justified in rendering
the phrase agreeably to the more common
mode of construction, we should not be
warranted to adopt Dnn«', — the emenda
tion proposed by Lowth. — D'3n) ¦'i^, faces
of flames, i. e. red, flushed, the result of
agitation or violent commotion. The
phrase is synonymous with 123]? Cje^^S
111NB, all faces gather heat, Joel ii. 6 ;
Nah. ii. 11 ; where tiie effect of similar
calamities is described. As yaij never
signifies to take away, the idea of remov
ing the heat or flush of the countenance,
and so rendering it pale, cannot be sus
tained. 9. 'iHM, the same as ii3«, cruel, only
with the ' of excess or intensity. — ni3»i
f]\rrV1 are further expletive of Di', the
nominative to the gerund Dito'), and to
TO* following.

chap, xiii.]

ISAIAH.

117

10

11

12

To make the land a desolation,
And exterminate its sinners.
For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations.
Shall not emit their light ;
The sun shall be dark at his going forth.
And the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
And I will punish the world for its wickedness,
And the wicked for their iniquity.
I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease,
And lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
I will make men scarcer than gold.
And human beings than the gold of Ophir.

10. A fine specimen of the figurative
manner in which the Hebrew prophets
depict the horrors of national calamity.
The metaphors of light and darkness, to
express prosperity and adversity, are
quite common ; but when the effect is to
be heightened, the writer represents the
sources of light as being themselves
affected, and their splendour as either
increased or completely obscured. See
Isaiah xxiv. 23, xxxiv. 4 ; Ezek. xxxii.
7, 8 ; Joel ii. 10, iii. 15 ; Amos viii. 9 ;
Matt. xxiv. 29.— on'.^'ps, lit. their Orions,
i. e. Orion, and similar constellations, or
remarkable groups of fixed stars, the
science of which appears to be of great
antiquity, since they are distinctly recog
nised in Job, the most ancient book in
existence, chap. ix. 9, xxxviii. 31. See
also Amos v. 8. The name ''"pa properly
signifies a fool, an impious person ; or,
according to another acceptation, confi
dent, insolent, refractory. In the Persian
mythology, Orion is Nimrod, the founder
of Babel, who was translated from earth
to the position which he now occupies in
the starry heavens. A similar belief
appears to have been popular among
other ancient nations. The name by
which the Arabs designate this constel
lation is .Us- , the Giant, a title cor
responding to the term liaa, which we
find applied to Nimrod, Gen. x. 8, 9.
They also give him Sirius as a dog for
his companion, which furnishes another
point of coincidence with the Scripture
account of Nimrod's favourite pursuit.

The same combination occurs also iu
Greek writers. Thus, Homer :
" —  dpi^rjXoi be 01 aiyal
4'aivovTai iroXXoio'i per ao'Tpaai vvk-
Tos apoXyd'
Ov re Kvv Qpiavos iirLKXr](riv KaXe-
ova-i." Iliad, xxii. 27 — 30.
He is represented as having been greatly
addicted to the chase, a giant in size, and
distinguished for heroic exploits. On the
supposition that similar ideas obtained
among the Chaldeans, and were from
them adopted by the Hebrews, of which
there is no reason to doubt, the employ
ment of the term D'^i'p?, by Isaiah, was
singularly appropriate. See Dr. Lee on
¦Job ix. 9, and Gesenius on the present
verse. The Targ. has lin'VB?, their giants.
Jerome's Jewish preceptor gave Arciurus
as the signification of 5'pa.
11. ^an, commonly signifies the habi
table globe, or world, but is here used,
in a restricted sense, of the Babylonian
world, just as olKovpivr/, the term by
which the LXX. render it, is employed
to denote the Roman empire, orbis Ro-
manus, Joseph. Antiq. xii. 3, 1 ; Herod.
V. 2, 5 ; and Palestine, Acts xi. 28.
Thus also the Turkish poet Uweissi uses
l^»., mundus, in application to the
Turkish empire, in the line, J.t> Jl^s-
Jjti jjj Xt)LuJ idle Jo , Ye have, by
various innovations, brought ruin upon
the empire. Warning to Islamboul, p. 6 ;
see also page 12.
1 2. TpiN expresses the extreme paucity

118

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiii.

13 Because I will cause the heavens to tremble.
And the earth shall be shaken out of her place ;
In the fury of Jehovah of hosts,
And in the day of his burning anger.

to which the population would be re
duced ; being used in the sense of rare,
scarce, and not in that of valuable, given
in our common version. No interpreta
tion can be more false than that which
supposes the passage to refer either to
Cyrus or to Christ ; or, as some others
would have it, to the Jews in Babylon.
That of Grotius is also forced; viz. that
the Medes would not for money be in
duced to spare any one. — IB, and Dn3,
are frequently used of the purest or best
gold. The former is^ derived from ilB,
found only in Hoph. 1 Kings x. 18, but
according to the reading linaanj, 2 Chron.
ix. 17, it signifies pure or purified gold.

Comp. Arab.

, to separate. Dps

properly signifies hidden gold, gold
which is so pure, that it is laid up in a
secure place, on account of its value.
Comp. 113D 3n;, 1 Kings vi. 20, 21. In
the present place the idea intended to be
conveyed by both terms is that of ex
treme rarity. — The relative position of
l'i?iN and l'Bi«, and the occurrence else
where of the combination l'Bi« Dna, suffi
ciently shew, that how perfect soever
their agreement inform, no paronomasia
was designed. As to the geographical
situation of l'Bi«, Ophir, various opinions
are entertained. From the term being
rendered Sov(f)ip, Sovcpelp, Sa(j)eip, Sco-
<l>Lp, Sacfirjpd, ia(j)apd, in the LXX.,
and there having been a region called
Sofala somewhere about Zanguebar, or
Mozambique, on the eastern coast of
Africa, now named Afura, some have
been disposed to identify them ; but the
place seems more probably to have ex
isted either in Arabia or in India. In
favour of the latter country it has been
alleged, that Arrian mentions a place by
the name of Ovirirapa, situated near the
present Goa, called by Ptolemy and
Ammianus Sovndpa, doubtiess the
ijjyu , Sofara, of Abulfeda ; and that
India abounded in gold, precious stones,
and the other articles of merchandise
specified as brought from Ophir, 1 Kings

ix. 28, X. 11 ; 2 Chron. viii. 18, ix. 10.
To which add that in Kings and Chro
nicles, and in the present instance, the
Arabic translator renders the word by
SX^] , India. Others, after Bochart,
have imagined they found it in Ceylon,
supposed to be the Taprobane of Pliny,
vi. 24. But the opinion best supported is
that which refers it to Arabia. IBiK, Ophir,
is employed. Gen. x. 29, to designate a
portion of the descendants of Joktan ; and,
to judge from the other names occurring
in connexion with it in that geographical
table, they must have inhabited some
region in the present Oman, on the west
coast of the Persian gulf, just below the
straits of Ormuz; where Ibn Batuta
describes a city of the name of lUii,
Zafar, a month's journey from Aden, and
sixteen days' from Hadramaut. In this
district there is still a town called El-
Ophir, in all probability the Jf of
Edrisi. The Scriptures, 2 Chron. ix.
14 ; Ps. Ixxii. 15 ; Isa. Ix. 6 ; speak of
Arabia as a country abounding in gold ;
and the same testimony is borne by
Diod. Sic. ii. 50, iii. 44, 47 ; Strabo, xvi.
777. It is not, however, necessary to
suppose that the gold and other articles
were native productions of the region
about Ophir : they may have been con
veyed thither by coasting vessels from
India, or even the Indian Archipelago,
and laid up there, as in a great empo
rium, to be re-shipped, or conveyed in
caravans, according to the demand. See
Gesen. in loc. and Heb. Lex. in voc. ;
Robinson's Calmet, and Winer's Real-
Worterb. 13. To give sublimity and force to the
prophetic description of the awful poli
tical catastrophe, the entire system of
the universe is represented as under
going a revolution — a figure frequently
employed in the higher kinds of Hebrew
composition. Comp. Ps. xviii. 7 — 15,
xlvi. 2, 3; Isa. xxiv. 19, xxxiv. 4; Joel
iii. 15, 16.

CHAP, xiii.]

ISAIAH.

119

14 And they shall be like a chased gazelle,
And like sheep, without any one to collect them ;
They shall turn, each to his own people,
' And they shall flee, each to his own land.
15 Every one that is found shall be stabbed.
And every one that betakes himself to flight shall fall by the sword.
16 Their infants shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes ;
Their houses shall be plundered, and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes,
Who regard not silver,
And have no delight in gold.

14 — 16. These verses are closely con
nected with the preceding, and describe
the effects of t'ne visitation on the inha
bitants of Babylon, especially such
strangers as happened to be in the city
at the time of the attack. Being a place
of great concourse, as the seat of a
mighty empu-e, and of extensive and
flourishing commerce, vast numbers
from all quarters would be found col
lected within its walls, Jer. 1. 37. On
the approach of the enemy these would
take to flight, and each, if possible, di
rect his course towards his native place.
Comp. Jer. 1. 16. '3S, the gazelle, is
selected on account of its timidity, and
the lightness with which it bounds across
the plains, to express the haste with
which the alarmed foreigners would
attempt their escape. After )^s, repeat
n'lia in the plural, and supply Dn'N after
ysgp. — nsp3n-^3, every one that betaketh
himself to flight. Most interpreters con
sider nSD as synonymous with P|P«, or
f]P^, and give the sense of gathering,
assembling together, joining, or such like.
It is clear, however, that none of these
senses accords with **sp:, in the corre
sponding part of the parallelism. As
this verb signifies in Niphal, to exist, be
present any where, the only suitable
sense to attach to nsp:, is that of not
being found, having removed, taken one's-
self off : a sense of which it admits — nop,
in Kal, signifying to take off, remove;
Arab, [tm , agilis ac velox fuit eundo
vel volando. The description compre
hends those who should remain in the
city, and those who should take to

flight. No class, age, sex, or property,
should be spared by the enemy, but all
should be subject to the calamities inci
dent to war. Comp. 2 Kings viii. 12 ;
Zech. xiv. 2 ; Ps, cxxxvii. 9. The ful
filment of this prophecy is recorded by
Xenophon, who informs us, that on the
taking of the city, Cyrus sent his cavalry
by detachments into the roads, with
orders to put to death all that were
found without the palace. 'O Se Kvpos
bieitepire rds Tav lirneav Ta^eis Kara
Tas obovs' Kal npoeivev ovs peve^aXap^
pdvoiev KaraKalveiv, Toiis b' iv raiy
olKLats Krjpvrretv tovs Su/3£crrt lirio-Ta-
pevovs evbov pivetv. el be tis e'^a Xrj--
(pBelrj, OTt BavaTdaotTO. Ol plv brj ravra
enoiovv. Cyroped. v. 11. — For the verb
''311), in this and other places where it
occurs, the Massorites have substituted
33ai in the Keri, but merely from a prin
ciple of taste.
17. For the country of the Medes,
see note ver. 5. From the earliest
times they formed one of the largest
and most civilized kingdoms of Asia.
They were, however, conquered by
Ninus, and bore the Assyrian yoke for
a period of five hundred and twenty
years ; but revolted during the expedi
tions of Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser
into Western Asia. About the year b.c
700, Dejoces was elected king. In the
reign of his son and successor Phraortes,
the Persian empire was added to that of
the Medes: the combined forces of which
were soon employed for extending bis
conquests. Having, after a struggle of
twenty years, expelled the Scythians,
who ifiad invaded the kingdom during

120

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiii.

18

19

20

21

Their bows shall dash in pieces the young men ;
On the fruit of the womb they shall have no compassion ;
Their eye shall not pity the children.
And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms.
The glorious ornament of the Chaldeans,
Shall be like Sodom and Gomorrah, overthrown by God.
She shall never more be inhabited,
Nor dwelt in through successive generations :
The Arab shall not pitch his tent there,
Neither shall the shepherds make their flocks to lie there.
But the wild beasts of the desert shall be there.
And the owls shall fill their houses ;

his renewal of the siege of Nineveh,
Cyaxares I., with the assistance of Nabo
polassar, king of Babylon, took that city,
and made Assyria a province of the
Median empire. Under Cyaxares II.
hostilities broke out between the Medes
and Babylonians, when Cyrus his
nephew was sent to assist him, at the
head of thirty thousand men. The Ba
bylonians having been dispersed, the
war was carried into Asia Minor ; Croesus
king of Lydia was defeated ; Sardis his ca
pital taken ; and his army added to that
of the conqueror. It was now that
Cyrus, in the plenitude of power and
success, returned to lay siege to Baby
lon. — We read of the Medes and Per
sians, Esth. x. 2 ; Isa. xxi. 2 ; Dan. v.
28 ; and, in reversed order, the Persians
and Medes, Esth. i. 18, 19; but the
term Medes is here used, as it often
is by Greek writers, to comprehend
both. — Their disregard of money is at
tested by Xenophon, who represents
Cyrus as complimenting them on their
not having been induced to engage in
the war from mercenary motives : "Av-
bpes M^Sot, Kcd TdvTes ol irapovres, iyd
vpas otba o'aipds, ore ovre ;^p7j/zara)i'
beopevoi avv ipol i^rjXBere, Cyroped.
v. 3. See Keith's Evidence from Pro
phecy, 14th edit. p. 260.
18. nin«)|7. The hows of the Persians,
which formed their principal weapon,
were only exceeded in size and strength
by those of the Ethiopians, and were
wellfitted to be used as clubs. They mea
sured about three cubits in length. —
'iPJ-'iB and D':3 are synonymous. To the

cruelty of the invading foe decided tes
timony is borne by Ammianus : " mag-
nidici, et graves, ac tetri, minaces juxta
in adversis rebus ac prosperis, callidi,
superbi, crudeles." And Diod. Sic. lib.
viii. attributes the destruction of the
empire of the Medes to their cruelty
towards inferiors : Ti KoBeTXe ttjv Mr^Sm
^PKW ; ^ irpbs Toiis TairecvoTepovs
dpdrrjs. 19. D''ii?)3, the Chaldeans, see note on
chap, xxiii. 13. naBTO, being a verbal
noun, is construed like the Infin. from
which it is derived. The comparison of
the destruction of any place with that
of Sodom and Gomorrah, for the sake
of aggravation, is very common.
20. A prediction of the final and
utter desolation of Babylon. — 3tfn, and
^iSffln, though active, are used pas
sively. — ';n^, by an elision of the « for
¦jntx;, like Fl^p for fj^xp. Job xxxv. 11 ;
irin' for insn, 2 Sam.'xx. 9; '.:im! for
'Jli^W, 2 Sara. xxii. 40. This elision is
occasioned by the very slight conso
nantal power of the Aleph, in virtue of
which it easily becomes lost in the vowel
attached to it. Nordheimer, Crit. Heb.
Gram. § 88. 3. Hitzig would rather refer
it to ^nj, as the root, Arab. (J.^! , to lead
to water, and explains it as meaning,
that no Arab should be found conduct
ing his flocks to drink ; but he fails in
his attempt to prove its Hiphilic form.
21 . Having employed the verb y3'i at
the end of the preceding verse, the pro
phet with great force repeats it when
about to depict the only inhabitants that

chap, xiii.]

ISAIAH.

1^1

The ostriches shall dwell there.
And the wild goats shall skip there.

would in the course of time be found in
Babylon. D';s denotes such wild beasts
generally as are found in steppes, or
arid deserts; from nj2, or nns, obsolete
roots, Arab. |^ , exaruit, signifying to
be exposed to the sun, to be dry, desert, &c.
The noun is used of human beings in
habiting uncultivated regions, Ps. Ixxii.
9, Ixxiv. 14; but the connexion in the
present case determines the sense to be
that of irrational animals. Comp. chap.
xxxiv. 14 ; Jer. 1. 39; in which last pas
sage, the language applied to the same
subject as here, is partly identical in
terms. By Dtrns are meant such of the
ruins of their houses as might remain. —
D'ni< is an onomatopoetic, like the Arab.
—.Lft-l , to repeat the doleful exclamation
ah ! lit. the howlers, i. e. owls, noted for
their frequenting old ruins, or uninha
bited buildings, and giving forth a dole
ful cry when taking wing. According
to the common reading of the text of
Aq., he translated the word by Tv(j)dvav,
Typhons ; but the first syllable is in all
probability an addition : the original
(pavav being found in Procopius.
Symm. retains the Hebrew dxelp ;
LXX. and Theod. iJxov.—ni^^.nS^, lit.
daughters of greediness, a name given to
ostriches, on account of their voracious
appetite ; and frequently used both of
the males and the females. Some derive
the latter noun from njB, to respond, cry,
&c., but less properly, though they are
also notorious for the doleful and hideous
noise which they make, particulariy at
night. The LXX. in other places ren
der CTTpovBol or o-rpovBla ; but here
o-eipfjves, which they give as a translation
of D'sn, when it occurs before nw; ni:3 ;
Symm. and Theod. irTpovBoKdprjXni. —
D'i'9iB, LXX. bai,p,6via, Targ. p.i?S, Syr.
!»}.»; hence Luther's Feldgeister, field-
spirits, and the Waldieufel, " devils," or
" demons of the wood," of Gesenius and
Hitzig. Thus also our common version,
satyrs, and the French luiins, " hob
goblins." All these, and other translators
who render similarly, have regarded the

term as designed to convey the i-dea of
a species of beings approaching more or
less to the nature and shape of brute
animals, most probably that of .the goat,
yet at the same time exhibiting in part
the human form. They abound in the
Greek' mythology, along with Sileni,
Fauns, &c. That notions of the exist
ence of such creatures prevailed in the
East, and that they still prevail there, is
matter of notoriety. The Arabic, Per
sian, and Turkish books are full of them.
It is more than questionable, however,
whether any reference is here made to
such superstitious belief. Popular ideas
are sometimes introduced into the Scrip
tures for the sake of illustration ; but it
is contrarj' to the usage of the sacred
writers, as it is incompatible with their
design, so to introduce them as even
seemingly to give them the sanction of
Divine authority. It is most natural to
suppose that real animals are intended ;
and as DTSip elsewhere signifies goats,
there seems no reason why this sense
should be departed from in the present
instance. It is true the term is em
ployed to denote objects of idolatrous
worship. Lev. xvii. 7 ; 2 Chron. xi. 15 ;
but there the actual figures or images of
the animal are meant, which were em
ployed in the service of the Egyptian
idol, (Herod, ii. 42,) and is, therefore,
improperly rendered devils in our com
mon version. The proposed interpreta
tion has the support of rpixtavrat, of
Aq., and opBoTpixovvrai, of Theod., by
which they obviously meant hairy,
shaggy animals, such as goats. Thus
also the Vulg. pilosi, and Saadias ex
pressly _ J lie , wild goats. Some
suppose the ourang-outang to be meant ;
and Coverdale has apes; but the term
by which these animals are designated
in Hebrew is fjip, 1 Kings x. 22. — Rev.
xviii. 2, is an appropriation of the transla
tion given of the present text by the LXX.
to describe figuratively the desolation of
the great antiehristian establishment, and
cannot be viewed as vouching for the
correctness of that version, any more
than numerous other quotations made

132

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiv.

22 The jackals shall cry in their palaces,
And the wolves in the temples of pleasure :-
Her time is near in its approach,
And -her days shall not be prolonged.

from it in the N. T., in which it unde
niably differs from the literal meaning of
the Hebrew text.
22. D'.'N, contracted for D'»lt«, Aq,,
Symm., and Theod., retain in their ver
sions, lelv. LXX. dvoKevTavpoi, asinine
centaurs, fabulous beings or hobgoblins,
which the ancients imagined were wont
to appear with legs and feet like those of
an ass, or, with one brazen and the other
like that of an ass. They were other
wise, from this circumstance, called ip-
iTova-ai. The Heb. word being derived
from nwi, seems quite to correspond to
yjl Jl , Ibn Awi, the son of howling,
by which name the Arabs designate the
jackal : an animal, noted for its melan
choly scream at night, like the crying of
a child, as I had occasion to observe,
when travelling in the Caucasus. —
ni:o^s stands for niams, palaces, — the i
being as frequently softened into ^ That
palaces, and not lonely, forsaken places,
are meant, the corresponding yp 'i|3'i7
sufficiently shews.— 335> gives prominence
to the lux'ury and voluptuousness in
which the Babylonians indulged, and
greatly adds to the force of the contrast.
1' suffixed is to be taken collectively.- —
D'3B, LXX. ixivoi, mistaking the word
for D':'3B, serpents. Aq,, Symm., Theod.,
and all the other Greek versions, a-eiprj-

ves ; Vulg. sirenes. Rabbi Tanchum
interprets the word as signifying j)

ci-.}'

Ibn Awi ; see Pococke's elaborate

note on Micah i. 8 ; but this phrase cor
responds, as we have seen, to D';'«, and
must, therefore, designate some other
species of animal. On comparing Ps.
xliv, 20; Is. xliii. 20; Jer. ix. 10, x. 22,
xlix. 33 ; it is evident that the D'3Pi were
wild beasts of the desert, but no hint is
given, that would lead us to refer them
to the race of serpents, as some have
done. They seem rather to be wolves :
comp. the Arab. Ui' , lupus, — these
animals and the jackals resembling each
other in several respects, particularly in
the disagreeable whine, or cry, which
they make in the night. For the exact
fulfilment of the prophecy, see Keith's
Evidence, pp. 238 — 325.
The concluding words of the verse
seem at first view to militate against
their having been delivered hy Isaiah;
but the Divine judgments are frequently,
in the prophetic style, said to he at hand,
or to approach, though a long period in
tervene between their announcement
and their execution. See Ezek. xxx, 3;
Joel i. 15, ii. 1 ; Rom. xiii. 12 ; 1 Pet.
iv. 7; Rev. i. 3, xxii. 10.

CHAPTER XIV.

This chapter, to the 23d verse, prosecutes the subject of the fall of Babylon. After
a cheering promise to the Jews, assuring them of their deliverance from cap
tivity, in consequence of the conquest of their enemy, 1 — 3, the prophet intro
duces a magnificent ode of triumph to be employed by them on the occasion,
4—21 ; and, to complete the prophecy, Jehovah is represented as repeating the
announcement of the entire destruction of Babylon and its inhabitants. Verses

chap, xiv.] ISAIAH. 123
24 — 27 contain a brief prediction of the discomfiture of Sennacherib's army,
which connects with chap. x. in point of subject, but occupies its proper place in
this connexion ; and the chapter concludes with a distinct prediction of the punish
ment of the Philistines, 28—32.

1 For Jehovah will take pity on Jacob,
He will again make choice of Israel,
And settle them in their own land ;
And strangers shall join themselves to them.
They shall attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their own place.
And the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah,
As servants and as handmaids ;
They shall take captive their captors,
And shall rule over their oppressors.
3, 4 And it shall be in the day, when Jehovah shall have given thee rest
from thine affliction, and thy disquiet, and from the hard labour
which was forcedly done by thee, that thou shalt give utterance to
this Ode respecting the king of Babylon, and say :
How hath the oppressor ceased !
The exactress of gold ceased

I

1. orn; >3. The conjunction here forci- 3. Instead of Hiric under D in ^^s^P
bly introduces the ultimate cause of the 1.;?191, a vast number of MSS. and printed
downfal of Babylon — the pity of Jeho- editions read Tziri, which is the regular
vah towards his people, and their resto- punctuation. ^3 13» l«iM, which was
ration to their own land, npp is quite forcedly done hy or through thee. The
synonymous with nij : both signify to verb being in Pual has an intensive sig-
join oneself to another, so as to make a nification ; and, construed with 3, con-
common cause with him. ''», in such veys the idea of foreign influence exerted
connexion, conveys the idea of inclina- upon the persons spoken of. That it
tion towards, or dependence upon the fol- should be of the Mas. and not the Fem.
lowing subject. "The Jews formed, as it gender, to agree with iil3??, the nomina-
were, the substratum on which the fo- tive, is to be accounted for by an implied
reigner rested. ia is a collective noun, reference to the king of Babylon, by
which accounts for one of the verbs being whom the hard servitude had been im-
in the singular, and the other in the posed.
plural. 4. Here commences the ode of triumph
2. For the fulfilment of this and the on the fall of the Babylonian monarch,
preceding verse, see Ezra ii. 65, where which has called forth expressions of
it is expressly stated, that seven thousand the highest admiration from those best
three hundred thirty and seven servants qualified to judge in matters of poetic
and maids accompanied the exiles on beauty and sublimity. Bishop Lowth
their return. That these were foreigners declares, that he " knows not a single
and not Israelites, is evident from their instance in the whole compass of Greek
not being reckoned in the total number and Roman poetry, which in every ex-
of the congregation. cellence of composition, , can be said to

124

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiv.

5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked.
The rod of the tyrants,
6 Tliat smote the people in fury
With an unremitting stroke ;

equal, or even to approach it ;'' and,
" that it may with truth be aflSrmed,
that there is no poem of its kind extant
in any language, in which the subject is
so well laid out, and so happily con
ducted, with such a richness of inven
tion, with such variety of images, persons,
and distinct actions, with such rapidity
and ease of transition, in so small a com
pass, as in this ode of Isaiah. J'or beauty
of disposition, strength of colouring,
greatness of sentiment, brevity, perspi
cuity, and force of expression, it stands
among all the monuments of antiquity
unrivalled." Notes on Isaiah, and Lect.
xiii. on Heb. Poetry. Wp, Mashal, the
term by which it is designated, is singu
larly appropriate, since it signifies not
merely similitude, parable, figurative com
position, but also, what is peculiarly sub
lime and energetic, what is calculated by
its boldness and force to strike and in
fluence the mind. The signification of
the root ''^o, is to assimilate, and also to
rule or have dominion, to exert an in
fluence over others. Comp. the Arab.
jJjL«, similisfuit; prcestans fuit ; ^jjLol,
prastantissimus ; 'Eth. <^f\i)Z compara-
vit, existimavit. ';«>o «to: means to give
utterance to such sublime composition
in an elevated tone of voice. Comp.
Numb, xxiii. 7, 18, xxiv. 3, 15 ; Micah
ii. 4. — The Mashal opens with a sudden
exclamation of joy on the part of the
Jews. The oppressed world and its in
habitants are then introduced as partici
pating in the exultation. The forests of
Lebanon join in the song; Hades per
sonified, rouses departed kings and princes
to receive the king of Babylon on his en
trance into their gloomy abode. These
give expression to no words of condo
lence, but merely to a brief sentence of
surprise, not unmingled with satisfaction
at his reverse of fortune. The Jews then
tauntingly resume the song in which
they confirm at some length the senti
ment just uttered in Sheol; and intro

duce the monarch boasting of his power
and the vastness of his purposes, while
they contrast with these, his present state
of utter prostration and ignominy ; con
cluding with an execration on his off
spring and memory. — ii3n7P, which only
occurs in this verse, has been variously
translated. Michaelis, Doderlein, Dere
ser, Gesenius, and Hitzig, adopt the
reading, njrrip, which is found in an edi
tion of Isaiah printed at Thessalonica in
1600, and render, oppression ; consider
ing it to be a derivative from arn, to
press, urge strongly. There does not,
however, appear sufficient reason why
ijiiip should be rejected. It is a Chaldee
w'ord" : (yrr[,gold, corresponding to arn in
Hebrew,) and was probably one of the
epithets employed by the Babylonians in
praise of their city — " the golden one,"
or "the golden city," i'» being under
stood. Comp. the Arab. L ^ -»,,'Vin.
auratus. Whether they thus designated
her on account of the gilded domes and
turrets which abounded, (comp. I^oir^ V
« V
}^oifO, in the Philox. Syr. Version of
Rev. xvii. 4,) or to convey the idea of
the immense quantities of gold in her
treasuries, temples, &o. cannot be deter
mined ; but to judge from the exactness
of the parallelism in this ode, it seems to
be certain, that the prophet used the
word in the Aphel sense of making, pro
curing, raising gold hy exaction or tribute.
Thus the LXX. iiria-irovbaarijs, Syr.
19 V
}j.,^21*>.iD ) exactor, leaving out the
idea of gold. Vulg. tributum. The above
interpretation is adopted by Lowth and
Winer. 5, 6. TTBQ and B343 are not to be un
derstood in the sense of sceptre, but in
that of an instrument of oppression and
affliction. D'>i?iD being parallel to D'»*i,
implies the idea of unjust, tyrannical
rulers, nap is an instance of the con-

CHAP. XIV.]

ISAIAH.

125

That ruled over the nations in anger.
With unsparing tyranny.
7 The whole earth resteth, it is quiet ;
They burst into song.
S Even the cypress trees exult over thee.
And the cedars of Lebanon [saying] :
Since thou art fallen,
No feller hath come up against us.
9 Sheol beneath is in commotion for thee,
To meet thine entrance ;

struct being used for the absolute, as
in many other passages. See chap.
xxxiii. 6, x.xxv. 2; Lam. ii. 18. Instead
of f|lio, which is the reading of all
the Heb. MSS,, Doderlein proposes we
should read n'Tip, there being, as Gese
nius observes, often scarcely any per
ceptible difference between the letters f]
and n in the Eastern and German codi
ces. The passage would then read,
with unrestrained dominion. This inge
nious conjecture is adopted by Gesenius
and Hitzig, who specially urge in its
favour the completeness of the paral
lelism, which they conceive to be in
fringed by the present reading. That a
difiiculty is created by the passive form,
f)Tip, cannot be denied ; yet this may be
removed by supposing it to have been
the design of the prophet to give promi
nence to the persecution or tyranny, as .
experienced by those who were the sub
jects of it. It was an evil of which they
were not permitted to feel any alleviation.
The meaning of nil and f]li, in such con
nexion, being almost the same, the verbs
are more parallel than niD and ipon.
Besides, '^n occurs in connexion with
fjTl, 2 Sam. xviii, 16. The LXX,, Targ.,
Syr., and Vulg., appear to have read
nTip, the participle in Piel. The ren
dering of our common version, which
makes the king of Babylon the nomina
tive, cannot be sustained, being a direct
¦violation of the parallelism,
7. riT] nsB, to burst into song, is a
favourite phrase of Isaiah in those chap
ters which Gesenius treats as spurious.
Its occurrence in this chapter furnishes
a corroborative proof of their genuine
ness. The nominative to insB is n'3i?)i',
her inhabitants, understood. They were

now allowed peaceably to pursue their
avocations, and loudly rejoiced in the
change that had taken place.
8. The objects of inanimate nature
here personified, are to be understood
figuratively as denoting those princes
and kings whom the monarch of Babylon
had subdued. Comp. chap. ii. 13; Ezek.
xxxi. where the same metaphor is used.
That any reference should be had to that
monarch's having cut down the forests
of Lebanon, to beautify his capital, is
very improbable. The particle, Dj, also
or even, on which Gesenius and Hitzig
lay considerable stress, as favouring the
literal interpretation, possesses quite as
much force, if we take the meaning of
the passage to be figurative. Not only
the inferior inhabitants of the countries
subject to Babylonian tyranny, but even
the most exalted and powerful of their
rulers who felt the effects of its exercise,
participate in the common joy. Since
its extinction, they had occupied, un
molested, their stations of dignity and
honour, Comp. chap. ii. 12, 13.
9. The boldest instance of prosopo
poeia to be met with in any language.
On Sheol, see chap. v. 14. The Arab.
version has *Jiisr?- , Gehim, the same as
*Jk^, *J^=~i Gehenna, the place of
eternal fire ; though, in the popular
Mohammedan theology, (tJa:?" is as
signed to the Jews, who falsely accused
and killed their own prophets; while
iJl^ is reserved for such Moham
medans as die without repentance, under
the guilt of capital sins. — nntip is impro-

126

ISAIAH.

[chap. XIV.

It rouseth for thee the deceased, all the leaders of the earth ;
It causeth to rise from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
10 They all commence, and say to thee :
Art thou too become weak as we are ?
Art thou become like unto us ?
11 Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol,

Tperly rendered from beneath: the la re
taining no more of the prepositive power
in such case, than in isp, top, ^'P^p, &c.,
in which it simply expresses locality.
So the Arab. (j:,.,rs;> ^^, Koran, Sur.
ii. 23, vi, 65. — WmiJj is of common gender,
and may be constmed, as in nn'i and
I'liS, D'i?n, with either ; so that there is no
ground for the exegesis of Jackson and
others, that in one of the instances
the prince of the lower regions is meant :
an idea which, as has been remarked, is
quite foreign to the" theology of the
Hebrews, — D'«Bi, Aq. and Theod. pa-
(f)aeip; LXX. 'Targ., Syr., Vulg. Giants.
Because this word is identical with that
employed to denote a tribe of gigantic
Canaanites, Gen. xiv. 5, and others of
uncommon stature, some imagine that
these ancient giants are here specifically
meant; but the frequent occurrence of
the term in connexions where simply
the notion of the departed is conveyed,
without any regard to bodily stature,
proves, that it is to be derived, not from
^"^X, which signifies to heal, make sound,
robust, &c., but from nS'i., to fall, fall
away, relax, become faint, and so to be
powerless as it regards every thing in
the present state. We have examples
of similar derivation in D'n'jio, from roio .
D'«33, from na:. Comp. ii. , commode
quieteque vixit, and [/. , quietavit, qui-
etum reddidit. In reference to the tur
moils and annoyances of this life, as well
as to its active concerns, there is a total
cessation at death. See Job iii. 13, 17. —
f^ip-r?m, lit. the he-goats of ihe earth,
but used metaphorically of leaders, kings
or princes. Comp. Zech. x. 3. The
LXX., Syr., Vulg., Arab., resolve the
figure, and render rulers, princes. The
Targ. appears to have read '1.1B», or
fi« 'iw, " the rich of the earth," mis
taking 1 for 1. — In this verse the state

of the dead is represented as thrown into
great agitation, on its being announced
that the mighty king of Babylon is about
to enter. Personages of the same rank,
as the fittest to conduct the ceremony of
his reception, and the most likely to
sympathize with him, are selected to
present themselves, and address him on
theoccasion. They rise from their thrones
of state on which they had been sitting —
perpetuating in mock majesty the pa
geant which they had exhibited while
on earth ; (just as Ezekiel describes the
departed warriors with their weapons of
war and their swords laid under their
head in Sheol, chap, xxxii. 27 ;) but in
stead of condoling with him, they merely
give utterance to the few words con
tained in the 10th verse, which rather
aggravate his downfal, by reminding
him of his deprivation of power and
pomp, and his reduction to a state of
equality with themselves, many of whom
he had subdued or slain.
10. n», Arab. Ac , voluit, iniendit
aliquid dictis suis ; protulit, respondit;
like diroKpivecBai, in the LXX. and
N. T., usually signifies to answer, or re
spond, but also to commence speaking;
and preceding the verb lp«, it increases
its force. Gesenius considers the latter
acceptation to be more recent Hebrew.
It occurs, however. Job iii. 2, the anti
quity of which book has lately been ably
vindicated by Dr. Lee ; and is also found,
Deut. xxi. 7, xxvi. 5. Comp. Zech. i. 10,
iii. 4, iv. 11, 12. — There is uncommon
beauty in the brevity of this address. It
is precisely such as might be expected
from those by whom it is delivered. To
extend it, so as to make it comprehend
one or more of the following verses, or,
as some have done, the whole of the
remaining part of the Mashal, would
quite spoil the effect.
11. The Jews here continue their
taunting Mashal.— 'Jiwii, for rtWi, the

chap. XIV. J

ISAIAH.

1^7

And the sounding of thy harps ;
Under thee is spread putridity,
And the worms are thy covering.
12 How thou art fallen from heaven,
Illustrious Son of the Morning !
How thou art felled to the ground.
That didst discomfit the nations !

local n being omitted. Instead of 1"D3p,
sixty-five MSS., originally one more,
and now two, twelve printed editions,
some of them the earliest, with the
LXX., Syr., Arab., and Vulg. read ?jB3p
ill the singular ; but as there appears to
be a studied accordance between 'pnliiH
and 1'D3p, the true reading is more pro
bably that of the Textus Receptus. The
latter half of the verse clearly shews,
that the Hebrews were accustomed to
consider the grave as forming part of
Sheol. Instead, however, of the royal
body being embalmed, or inwrapped with
splendid sepulchral attire, and placed in
a magnificent mausoleum, it was to be
come a mass of putridity and worms.
What is thus briefly anticipated, is ex
pressly and fully stated ver. 19.
12. 117*73 Vra, Illustrious Son of the
Morning J "The form W'n occurring Ezek.
xxi. 17, and Zech. xi. 2, (lii'^'n,). as the
Hiph. Imper. of Vr^, to howl, lament,
some take it in the same acceptation
here, and render, lament, Son of ihe
Morning, a sense not in itself to be re
jected. 'Thus Aq., the Syr., and Jerome,
in his Commentary, though in his ver
sion this father has Lucifer, as that
which is to be preferred. To this ren
dering, however, the structure of the
verse is decidedly opposed; the paral
lelism requiring in^Ta b'm to describe
the person before his having fallen from
heaven, just as D'ia'^ ^Dbin describes him
previous to his having been feUed to the
ground. Any Imperative interjected
would spoil the beauty, and impair the
force of the language. We must, there
fore, with the LXX., Targ., Jerome,
Saadias, Abenezra, Jarchi, Kimchi, Vi
tringa, Leo Juda, the Jewish Spanish,
Lowth, Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, and
Hitzig, refer ''?n to the root 'J^n, to shine;
and consider it as a verbal noun, formed
with TzM and Yod, instead of '>)>rj, the

regular Piel form, and so designed to be
intensive in signification. The Arabic
(Jite , which is derived from (Jjti , to
shine, be resplendent, and designates the
new moon, may be compared for the
sake of illustration. Hitzig is of opinion
that '}'tV was used exclusively for the
Morning - star ; LXX. o eaa'<f>6pos ;
Hexap. Syr. ]oi.^Qj ci^iaoa ; Arab.
Pol. fjjjikjl ^liJJwsil l—^j/. This star
the Rabbins also call wn?: 33i3, and the
Arabs 'i Jt : , the Shining Star, or ihe
Shiner. Comp. d daTrjp d Xapirpbs o
irpaivos. Rev. xxii. 16, and cf>aa-^6pos,
2 Pet. i. 19.— The idiomatic 1nK!^3, son
of the morning, denoting that which be
longs to, or appears at that time, the
LXX. render 6 irpat dvareXXav. The
application of this passage to Satan, and
to the fall of the apostate angels, is one
of those gross perversions of Sacred
Writ which so extensively obtain, and
which are to be traced to a proneness to
seek for more in any given passage than
it really contains, a disposition to be in
fluenced by sound rather than by sense,
and an implicit faith in received inter
pretations. " Quum," says Calvin, " te-
mere arripiuntur Scripturae loci, nee
attenditur contextus, bos errores passim
oboriri mirum non est." Comm. in loc.
The scope and connexion shew that none
but the king of Babylon is meant. In the
figurative language of the Hebrews 3ai3,
a star, like i- -C^ with the Arabs,
signifies an illustrious prince or king.
See Numb. xxiv. 17 ; and comp. for this
acceptation, Rev. ii. 28, and xxii. 16.
The monarch here referred to, having
outshone all other kings in royal splen
dour, is compared to the harbinger of

128

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiv.

13 Thou saidst in thine heart, I will scale the heavens ;
Above the stars of' God I will raise my throne ;
I will sit on the mount of the assembly, in the recesses of the north ;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds ;
I will make myself like the Most High.

day, whose brilliancy surpasses that of
the surrounding stars. Falling from
heaven denotes a sudden political over
throw — a removal from the position of
high and conspicuous dignity formerly
occupied. Comp. Rev. vi. 1.3, viii. 10.
In the latter half of the verse the
metaphor is changed, and that of a tall
majestic tree is introduced, which, on
being felled, lies prostrate on the ground.
Comp. Ezek. xxxi. and Dan. iv. 10 —
15.  D>ia-^» sj^in Hitzig renders. Who
didst extend thy branches over the peo
ple — a sense which would admirably
agree with the metaphor of a tree af
fording shelter to all who are under its
branches ; but this interpretation cannot
be philologically sustained. The Jewish
interpretation of casting lots over the
nations is equally untenable, tu^n, Arab.
(vJii-, rapuit, abripuit, signifies to
throw down, lay or spread on the ground,
&c. ; hence to overthrow or discomfit an
enemy. Followed by "J?, it indicates the
state of subjection in which the prostrate
nations were held by the Babylonian
sway, or the triumphant manner in which
that sway had been established and
maintained. Comp. Exod. xvii. 13, only
^ is there properly omitted, the verb
being employed by Moses to express a
simple victory, and not continued mas
tery. 13, 14. In order to aggravate the
downfal of the Babylonian monarch,
the Jews, not content with depicting the
elevated political position which he had
occupied, proceed to, describe the pride
and arrogance of his heart, which had
led him to aspire to an equality with the
Deity himself. By most interpreters the
language is taken figuratively in applica-
cation to the Jewish state, with its prin
cipal officers, the temple, and its Lord :
but, how suitable soever such expressions
might be in the mouth of a Jew, or of
one intimately acquainted with Hebrew
modes of speech, they seem quite inap

propriate if used in the same sense by
the king of Babylon. Before this tri
umphant ode is supposed to be sung,
that monarch had not only purposed t«
go up against Jerusalem, but had ac
tually carried his purpose into effect,
dethroning the king, subverting the
temple, and carrying the people away
into captivity. The obvious bearing of
the language, however, implies, that the
proud and haughty purposes couched in
it had not been attained, and were, in
deed, such as to be utterly unattainable.
We are, therefore, compelled to relin
quish the common interpretation, which
has been supported by none more ably
than by Vitringa, and adopt that which
was first obscurely hinted at by the
LXX,, was rendered more definite by
Theodoret, and has been more fully
brought out by Michaelis in his Supplem.
ad Lexx. Heb. No. 1009, and by Rosen
miiller, Gesenius, and Hitzig, in their
commentaries on the place ; viz. that the
monarch of Babylon gives utterance to
sentiments founded on the representa
tions of Asiatic mythology. While the
Greeks had their Olympus, and the
Hindoos their Meru, the ancient Per
sians had their j_»Jl , Elburs, or — . jjJt,
Elborj, a name still given to the highest
mountain in the Caucasian range, which
is upwards of 16,000 feet above the
level of the Black Sea. According to
the Bundesheh, one of the books of the
Parsees, this mountain rose, by the will
of Ormuzd, when the world was created,
during the first two hundred years, to
the starry heavens; during the next two,
to the sphere of the moon; during the
third two, to that of the sun ; and during
the fourth two, to the region of primeval
light. Here is ihe throne of Ormuzd,
the congregation of ihe living, the pure
region of light, where there is neither
enemy, darkness, nor death. Thither,
it is said, the enemy dares not ascend as
the domineering lord, for there walks the

chap, xiv

]

ISAIAH.

129

15

But thou art brought down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit.
Those that see thee shall gaze at thee,
They shall view thee attentively, [and say :]
Is this the man that made the earth to tremble ?
That shook the kingdoms ?

great king, the Sun, who is appointed
Amshaspand over all things, &c.
The Babylonians, being much ad
dicted to the cultivation of astronomy,
could not but have been familiar with
those mythological fables which were
mixed up with the cosmogonies of the
ancients ; and doubtless the monarchs
who maintained at their courts those
who were skilled in such matters, Dan.
ii. 2, 10, 27, V. 7, must have likewise
heen more or less acquainted with them.
It was, therefore, perfectly natural for
them, when arrogantly affecting divine
honours, to form the purpose of scaling
the Caucasus ; and, rising above the
region of the clouds and stars, of taking
possession of the throne of Deity, which
they imagined to be on the summit of its
highest mountain. — ^^«^3aia, stars of God,
the Genitive of cause ; stars which God
hath made : as ^iT'.n'?, cedars which God
hath planted, i. e. of natural growth,
Ps. Ixxx. 11; ^trinn, mountains which
God hath made, Ps. xxxvi. 7. ^.^, from
^1N, to be strong, powerful, is used in
poetry and sublime prophetic style in
the same way as D'H3M; but never in
prose, except it be followed either by a
pronominal suflSx, an adjective, or some
qualifying epithet. According to San-
choniathon, El or // was the name by
which the Phenicians designated Saturn ;
and Damaso. apud Photium informs us,
that they and the Syrians called him El,
Bel, and Bolaihon. Gesen. Thes. in voc.
It might, therefore, be appropriately
used by the king of Babylon. — i?iD"in,
the mount of assembly, is Alborj, con
sidered as the place where the living, i.e.
the blessed, are congregated. — ]iDS-'n3l»,
the recesses, or the remote regions of the
North ; LXX. TO ipr} rd v'^rjXd Ta irpbs
Soppdv, which Theodoret explains, dpos
be v^rjXov elvai Xeyerai ^oppdBev 'Aa-
avplav Kal M?;8(»c, divb TovTav to. Skv-
BiKO biopl^ov eBvr], jrdvTCOV tSv kutu Trjv
olKovpivrjV opav v-^Xototov ; language

which, in such connexion, can only apply
to the mountains of the Caucasus. I'l',.
signifies ihe thigh or haunch, and figura
tively the hinder, innermost, remotest
parts of any thing. As thus used of
inanimate objects it is almost always in
the dual, as in the present instance.
Comp. for the geographical use of the
term, Judg. xix, 1, 18 ; Isa. xxxvii, 24 ;
Jer, vi. 22, xxv. 32; and for the, appli
cation of other members of the human
body in a geographical sense, the words
iii^i, T, fp'D, &c. — li'^s'? naiij. The Da
gesh in 1 is compensative for the n of
the Hithpael Conjug, in which the verb
is aptly put to express the self-sufficient
pride of the ambitious monarch, ]Vt^,
the Highest, Most High, is another of
those Divine names common to the He
brews, Syrians, and Phenicians. Thus
Sanchoniathon in Euseb., Kara tovtovs
yiverai tIs^'EXiovv KoKovpevovsv^idTOs.
The name is sometimes used by itself in
Hebrew; but more commonly it is
coupled with ^«, ?'*», and nin;. The
designation Ji'^» ';« occurs thrice in the
brief notice of Melchizedek, Gen. xiv.
17 — 23. The term being here employed
in the singular, and not in the plural as
in the Alonim valonoth, the highest
gods and goddesses of Plautus, Pcen. v.
1. 1, does not imply that the king of
Babylon was a monotheist. In all the
modifications of Polytheism, one god
has been regarded as superior to the
rest. Not satisfied with making himself
equal to any of the inferior deities, his
ambition led him to aspire after an
equality with the Supreme. Compare as
parallels, Ezek. xxviii. 2 ; 2 Thess. ii. 4.
15. Here Wn*?) con trasts with the dif
ferent phrases employed in the preceding
verse to express the highest elevation,
just as li3-'na'i'. does with ps^X<Tf_. Comp.
Matt. xi. 23. lia-^DIO'. means ihe deepest
recesses of Sheol, into which the king is
represented as having been precipitated.
16. He is now exhibited as an oh-

130

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiv.

17 That made the world a wilderness.
And laid waste its cities.
And sent not his prisoners home ?
18 All the kings of the nations, all of them.
Lie in state, each in his own sepulchre ;
19 But thou art cast away, deprived of thy grave,
Like a detested branch ;
Covered with the slain, the pierced by the sword,
Who go down to the stones of the pit ;
Like a carcase, trodden under foot.

ject of astonishment. Spectators crowd
around him ; and, after contemplating
his prostrate condition, add to his misery
by adverting in pointed terms to his
former power over the nations of the
earth. — At the Athnach, lt»>^, is under
stood, but could not with any propriety
have been expressed in the text. — na^
is not much in use, but signifies in
Hiphil to inspect narrowly, to look at
any object with intense interest. The
Hithpa. i::i3ri^is also peculiarly emphatic.
It signifies, to consider nnd reconsider,
and implies that the persons spoken of
had some difficulty in persuading them
selves that the degraded object before
them could really be the king of Babylon.
17. The pronom. suffix in TO, and
I'lJPSi belongs to different antecedents :
the former to ''jn, and the latter to the
king, understood. The local n in nn'3,
shews that the word is to be taken in
the sense of homewards, and does not
refer to a prison, as our translators, after
Jerome and others, have supposed.
Thus, however, Coverdale, which let not
his prisoners go home, nn^a nnp ><') is
strongly elliptical. In full the sentence
would be, nn;3 Drt«) ^bi Drr^w ram ift. It
has ever been regarded as indicating the
utmost cruelty to refuse the exchange or
return of prisoners taken in war.
18, 19. A fresh contrast, affording'an-
other cutting ground of insult to degraded
majesty. In accordance to the Oriental
custom of erecting splendid mausoleums
for kings and other great men, in the
sides of which were subordinate apart
ments or cells fitted fer the reception of
the dead bodies, and of depositing them
in these apartments, after the previous
funeral solemnities had been completed,

all the other kings of the earth are
represented as occupying in silent state
the chambers allotted to them ; whereas
to the king of Babylon the rites of se
pulture are denied ; no royal mausoleum
receives his dead body ; nor is it com
mitted to a common grave, but is left to
putrefy on the ground. For an illustra
tion of the sepulchres of the ancients, see
note on chap. xxii. 16.  f)?t''? Wt^
does not imply that the king had been
buried and afterwards thrown out of his
sepulchre, that he might be exposed as
here described. The Q is used abso
lutely, signifying in a state of separation
from, ai a distance from, without, or des
titute of, and is quite independent of the
verb. Without thy grave, means, without
being deposited in the sepulchre which
thou hadst prepared for thyself, or which
was destined for thee. Comp. Jer. xxii.
19. — ^^13 is: is a branch which has been
cut down, and left to rot on the ground,
and, in its corrupt state, is loathed by all
who approach it. — aii^ our translators,
with some others, consider to be a con
struct noun, and supply a a before it;
but it is the Pahul Part, in construction,
and refers to the dead body of the king
lying in the mass of the slain, by whom
it was covered.— ?.:Step, the Part in Pual
of 1»B, Arab. ^As, to pierce through,
thrust a sword into any one. It occurs
only here, and Gen. xlv. 17, in which
latter passage Parkhurst thinks it should
be rendered goad, egg on by pricking
the animals; but the Aramaic sense of
loading seems preferable. — ii3"':a!«, the
stones of the pit, the LXX. render |8oiU,
Symm. BepiXia Xokkov, Vulg, fundor
menta lad, Luth. den Ste'mhmifen der

chap, xiv.]

ISAIAH.

131

20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial.
Because thou hast destroyed thy country,
And slain thy people :
The race of evil doers shall never be named.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children,
For the iniquity of their fathers ;
That they may not rise, and possess the land,
And fill the face of the world with cities.
22 For I will arise against them, saith Jehovah of Hosts ;

Hdlle ; whereas some explain the phrase
to mean such heaps of stones as are
raised over dead bodies in the open
field. There can scarcely be a doubt
that it refers to the sarcophagi, or stone
coffins, in which persons of distinction
were buried, and which, from their size,
and their being placed in the chambers
built in, or dug out of the sides of the
mausoleum, might, with the strictest pro
priety, be called its stones. See a represen
tation of them in Calmet, 8vo. edit. art.
Sepulchre. Splendid specimens are exhi
bited in the British Museum. Such sarco
phagi have been found containing human
skeletons, in the immense northerly mass
of ruins near Babylon, called the Muje-
lihS. Rosenm. in Bib. Cab. vol. ii. p. 18.
lia'^'ni', those who go down to the pit, is
in frequent use to denote mortal men
generally, such as must soon descend
into the grave : comp. ^v^ lii', Job vii.
9; nmSnii, Job xxxiii. 24; hut 'Tii'
li3'^:airt« describes a particular class of
mortals — princes and nobles, for whom
a more honourable sepulture was pre
pared. While the bodies of the slain
courtiers and captains with which that
of the king of Babylon was covered
should be sought out, and, after having
been embalmed, placed, each in its sar
cophagus, in the subterranean chambers,
his would be left, no one being able to
recognise it, from the mangled state to
which it had been reduced, and the dis
figuration it had undergone by being
trampled upon by the multitude, lasa
D3in connects closely with 3OT13 1S33, only
the prepositive 3 is the Caph veritatis.
This prophecy was minutely fulfilled.
On entering the city, the army of Cyrus
marched sti'aight to the palace, and
meeting the king, who was coming out

sword in hand, they slew him, and put
all who followed him to the sword ; and,
though Xenophon specially notices the
permission given to bury the dead, he
takes no notice whatever of the royal
corpse. He only speaks of him as tov
dvda-iov ^aa-iXia. Cyropsed. lib. vii. ch.
V. 29, 32, 34.
20. Before quitthig the subject, the
Jews once more exult over the destitute
condition of the fallen monarch, by re
minding him that he should not parti
cipate in the rites of sepulture performed
upon those who had been slain in his
presence, and that no monument should
perpetuate his memory, or that of his
family. Dbis^ sng; Hb, shall not be called,
named, read, implying that no inscrip
tion should tell where he lay.
21. The ode concludes with the de
nouncement of a curse on the children
of the Babylonian king. They should
reap the fruit of their ancestors' guilt :
the dynasty would be entirely set aside
by the Persian rule. To prevent the
revival of an ancient dynasty, it has
very often been the practice to make
away with all who possessed hereditary
claims to the throne. — D'^, Hitzig takes
to be a false reading for D*;?, heaps,
ruins, the result of fresh wars ; but it is
a mere conjecture. The LXX., Targ.,
Syr., Rosenmiiller, and Gesenius, render
it enemies ; but Aquila, Symm., Theod.,
Vulg., and Saadias, have cities, which
Kimchi considers to be the more natural
of the two interpretations. Reference
is had to the founding of new cities and
colonies, which a revival of the ancient
power might soon have enabled them
to do.
22, 23. These two verses contain a
solemn declaration on the part of Jeho-

132

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiv.

And I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant.
Progeny and offspring, saith Jehovah.
23 And I will make her the possession of the porcupine, and pools of
water ;
And will sweep her completely out with the besom of destruction,
Saith Jehovah of Hosts.
24 Jehovah of Hosts hath sworn, saying,
Verily as I have thought, so shall it be.
And as I have purposed, so shall it stand.

vah, that he would make an end not
only of the royal family, but of the entire
population, and convert the city into an
uninhabitable marsh. The former took
place on its capture by Cyrus ; the latter
progressively in the course of ages. See
chap. xiii. 1. — The nouns, lari )':i iMiiJi Dv?,
are accumulated for the sake of effect, in
order to express the completeness of the
extinction. The alliteration also deserves
notice. For 13:, Gesenius very properly
compares the Ethiop. ^"Jffs genus, cog-
natio. |i:, the root from which ]': is
derived, occurs Ps. Ixxii, 17, in con
nexion with DID, in the sense of being
celebrated through the medium of a
numerous posterity. — liEp, Arab. i\aJu>,
Eth. 4'^'fTl! pronounced according to
Host and Forskal, ganfud: the porcu
pine, or the sea-urchin, which is said to
abound about the mouths of the Euphra
tes.— Hp^PP? n'n«p«ip, an exquisite finish
to this unparalleled piece of prophetic
composition. It is one of those instances
in which the apparent meanness of the
image is so compensated by the peculiar
form of the expression, as to give it the
character of the sublime. Twenty-two
MSS., originally nine more, now by cor
rection two, the Brixian, and another
ancient edition, read 'P>Ji?P5 in the plural:
but the singular is decidedly preferable.
What the woi-ds mean, Kimchi tells us
the Rabbins could not make out till they
heard an Arab female call to her com
panion, Oskoli tatithan, watati baithan,
i. e. take the besom, and sweep the house.
The Pilpel, or reduplicate form, both of

the verb and the noun, gives great inten
siveness to the meaning. Comp. [LQo,
in Kosegarten's Annals of Taberist, i.
p. 60. Ewald's Gramm. § 235. Eng.
translation. As to the root, Gesenius
hesitates between «31Q or «iiQ, and ifl'p.
The latter he adopts in his Thesaurus ;
but the former, of which he approves in
his other Lexicons, and in his Commen
tary, seems preferable. It is approved
by Winer and Lee. The LXX. render:
Brjo-a avrrjv irrjXov ^dpaBpov els dird-
Xeiav ; from which it appears, that they
derived the words from E'p.
24 — 27. From his celebrated predic
tion respecting the more distant future,
the prophet returns once more to the As
syrian invasion, the subject which most
pressed upon his contemporaries, being
the calamity with which they vfere im
mediately threatened. Jehovah now
declares by the mouth of Isaiah, in plain
and explicit, but peremptory and forci
ble language, that it was his unalterable
purpose to overthrow that foreign power
in the holy land. Lowth attempts to
identify the Assyrian with the Babylo
nian foe ; but though what he alleges is
true, that in profane authors the names
are interchangeable, yet the circumstance
of the discomfiture taking place in Judea,
ver. 25, sufficiently proves that the As
syrians proper are those to whom the
prophet refers. These three verses ob
viously connect in application with chap
ters X.— xii. ; yet not as a fragment that
has been torn off from them, since there
is no place in that portion which it can
claim as its position. It is an indepen-.

chap

xiv.]

ISAIAH.

133

25

26

27

To crush the Assyrian in my land.
And to trample him on my mountains ;
Then shall his yoke depart from them,
And his burden be removed from their shoulder.
This is the purpose that is formed concerning all the earth.
And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.'
For Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed, and who can disannul it .''
It is his hand that is stretched out, who can turn it back .''

28 In the year in which Ahaz the king died, this sentence was pro
nounced.

dent oracle, pronounced on occasion of
the delivery of the prophecy concerning
Babylon ; and its actual position fur
nishes an additional argument in favour
of the genuineness of that prophecy.
»a\p:. The verb to swear, in Hebrew,
is always used in the passive, in refer
ence to the person who takes an oath,
which would seem to intimate his being
laid under the obligation which such an
act involves. — On ^'rD«, see note, chap.
V. 9. Before Dipn «'n is an ellipsis of ]'ii.
The purposes of God are, like himself,
immutable. See chap. xlvi. 10 ; Heb.
vi. 17. For '?¦!«, my land, comp. ver. 2;
Hos. ix. 3 ; and for '"in, my mountains,
Ezek. xxxviii. 21, with xxxix. 2, 4 ;
Zech. xiv. 5. The mountains imme
diately about Jerusalem are specifically
meant. See chap, xxxvi. 2. The latter
half of ver. 25 is almost a verbal repeti
tion of chap. X. 27 : the meaning is the
same. — In verses 26 and 27 it is declared
that Jehovah's purpose to punish the
enemies of his people was not restricted
to the Assyrians, but had for its object
every nation throughout the earth which
might set itself to afflict or oppress them.
28. The section, from this verse to
the end of the chapter, contains a dis
tinct prophecy against the Philistines.
This people were not aborigines of the
country which they occupied, but, as the
name imports, (D'jnsi^B, D'iisibB, emigrants,
strangers, from hSb, Eth. 4^^1*1! to emi
grate, LXX. generally dXX6<f>vXoi,) fo
reigners, who, according to Amos ix. 7,
Jer. xlvii. 4, came from the island of
Caphtor, or Crete, hence called 'n'i3, Che-

re/hiles, or Cretans, Ezek. xxv. 16 f
Zeph. ii. 5 ; 1 Sam. xxx. 14, 16. Both
those who remained upon the island,
and those who emigrated, are stated.
Gen. X. 14, to have descended from the
Casluhim, an Egyptian colony. Having
driven away the Avites, they took pos
session of the south-east coast of the
Mediterranean, and had cities and kings
as early as the days of Abraham. Though
nominally subdued by Joshua, they had
in the time of Samuel five small king
doms or satrapies, and were first really
brought into subjection by David, 2 Sam.
viii. 1. They were, however, continually
prone to revolt. In the reign of Jeho-
ram, they, and their allies, the Arabs,
made an incursion into Judah, and even
plundered the royal palace ; but during
the reign of Uzziah they were kept
quiet, in consequence of his having de
molished the walls of their principal
cities, and built fortresses in different
parts of their country, 2 Chron. xxvi.
6, 7. As a chastisement of the wicked
Ahaz, they were permitted again to in
vade the land ; and they appear so to
have gloried in the advantages they had
gained, and in the prostrate condition of
Jewish affairs, that the prophet was com
missioned, a little before that king's deaths
to deliver this prophecy against them.
In our common version, the paragraph
mark is placed at ver. 29, by which the
present verse is made to assign the date
of the preceding prophecy against Baby
lon ; but the circumstance that the an
nouncement of a K^p, or sentence, is
always made at the commencement of a
prophecy, shews that it here belongs to
what follows. Instead of inM, Ahaz,

134

ISAIAH.

[chap. xiv.

29 Let not any part of thee rejoiccj O Philistia t
Because the rod which smote thee is broken ;
For out of the root of the serpent shall come forth a basilisk,-
And his fruit shall be a flying serpent.

Kennicott's Cod. 351, reads wis, Uzziah,
whom several commentators suppose to
be intended, on account of the yoke
which he imposed upon the Philistines.
It is, however, altogether destitute of
critical support, and the hypothesis that
he is specifically meant, cannot be sus
tained. That the prophecy was deli
vered before the death of Ahaz, see chap.
vi. 1.
29. n^5? is called by Josephus, Antiq.
i. 6, 2, HaXaia-Tivr], in strict application
to the country occupied by the Philis
tines : but viii. 10, 3, he extends tp the
whole counti-y of the Israelites the name
of Palestine, by which it has been known
to the present time. — By the "rod which
smote " the Philistines, is meant the
Jewish power, which had, as noticed
above, punished them in the days of
Uzziah, but was now broken in those of
Ahaz, partiy by the Syrians and Israel
ites, partly by the inroads of the Edom
ites and Philistines, and partly by
Tiglath-pileser, 2 Chron. xxviii. To re
press their joy at these disastrous events,
the prophet tells them, in highly figura
tive language, that from the royal house
of Judah, a prince should arise, who
would prove more formidable and de
structive to them than his predecessors.
This prince was Hezekiah, who " smote
the -Philistines even unto Gaza, and the
borders thereof, from the tower of the
watchmen to the fenced city," 2 Kings
xviii. 8. — With respect to the figures
employed, as Calvin well remarks, there
is nothing ignominious in them, since all
they are intended to convey, is the idea
of the injury to be inflicted on the
enemy. On 9p2, see note on chap. xi.
7. — f|Bi»p f]1to, LXX. S<l>eis ireTdpevoi,
is of more difficult interpretation. Mi
chaelis, in his Orient. Biblioth. v. 164,
thinks it is only another name for the
basilisk, just mentioned ; but his opinion
is fancifully supported. That a species
of serpent is meant, is clear from Numb.
xxi. 6, 8, where we read of D'B'iiBn D'sin:,
flery serpents. They appear to have had

this name given to them on account of
their vivid flery colour, being somewhat
like the copper-coloured snake in ap
pearance ; on which account, a serpent
of copper or brass was set up, to which
the bitten Israelites were to look, in
order to be healed. Got. Hein. von
Schubert, in his Travels in the East,
Zweit. Band. Seit. 406, Eriangen, 1839,
describes a large serpent which he saw,
and which the Arabs affirmed abounded
in this region, as full of flery red spots
and undulating stripes, and, judging from
the structure of its teeth, one of the most
poisonous of its species. The most re
markable circumstance connected with
those described here and chap. xxx. 6, is
that of their flying ,• no serpents now in
existence being known to naturalists to
have wings, from which it is inferred
that they never did exist. There can,
however, be no doubt that some of the
most respectable authorities among the
ancients speak of winged or flying ser
pents, on occasions which would lead us
to suppose that they are not treating of
the fabulous, but of facts known to them
selves and their contemporaries. See
Herod, lib. ii. 75, iii. 107 ; jElian, Hist,
Animal, lib. ii. cap. 28 ; Joseph. Antiq,
lib. ii. 10, 2 ; Cicero de Nat. Deor. i. 36 ;
Mela, iii. 9 ; Amm. Marcellin. xxii.
Some of these writers refer them to the
great Arabian desert, as does Isaiah,
chap. xxx. 6 ; and we must conclude
either that a species is described which
has become extinct, or that the kind is
meant which Niebuhr mentions in his
Description of Arabia, which, instead of
descending from a tree, in order to ascend
another, make a sudden spring from the
one to the other, and on this account
are called flying serpents by the modem
Arabs. So much is certain, that by
tpm fjlto, the prophet intended a ser
pent whose appearance was formidable,
and its bite peculiarly nocuous. The
whole passage is applied in the Targ. to
the Messiah, which Rosenmiiller ap
proves!

CHAP. XIV.]

ISAIAH.

135

^ Then shall the first-born of the poor feed,
And the needy shall lie down in security ;
But I will kill thy root with famine.
And thy remnant shall be slain.
81 Howl, O gate ! cry aloud, O city !
O Philistia ! thou art entirely dissolved ;
For out of the North cometh a smoke,
And there is no straggler among his hosts.
32 What answer shall then be given to the messengers of the nations ?

30. In consequence of the effectual
'Subjugation of the Philistines by Heze
kiah, the very poorest of the inhabitants
•of Judah should live in security : whereas,
the power of the- Philistines should be
annihilated. As ii33 signifies figuratively
what is the chief or most eminent in de
gree, D'^1 '1133, the flrst-horn of the poor,
means the very poorest. Comp. nip li33,
t}tefirst~born of death, i.e. the most ter
rible death. Job xviii. 13. The Arabs
call fevers, &U^I ¦ " 'I'".- the daughters
of fate, thereby meaning death, which
somewhat approximates to this idiom. —
il!iili, root, in this verse, corresponds in
meaning to the same word as occurring
ver. 29 ; only it is there applied to the
royal house of Judah ; whereas here it
applies to that of the Philistines. The
metaphor is taken from the vegetable
kingdom. — ^ain; is to be taken imperson-
-ally, and rendered passively.
31. Vitringa and Gesenius are of
opinion, that an Assyrian invasion of
Philistia is here predicted. There is no
necessity, however, for abandoning the
idea of the Jewish army marching
against the Philistines under Hezekiah.
Considering the geographical position of
their coimtry in relation to that of
Judah, there is precisely the same pro
priety in describing the Jews as coming
from the North, as there is in describing
the Assyrians and Babylonians as coming
from that quarter against Jerusalem.
The prophet repeats with much effect,
ate nWB, which he had employed in the
introduction of tiie prophecy, ver. 29.-^ —
By smoke is meant the clouds of dust
resembling smoke, produced by the
march of an army.

" Ac simul JSneas fumantes pulvere
campos
Prospexit longfe, Laurentiaque agmina
vidit." — .Mneid, lib. xi. 908.
— 1''^iQ3 Ilia )'«i. There shall he no strag
gler in his hosts, iia, Arab. Si , to
separate, he alone, expresses, in the
participle, one^ who is disjoined from
others, a straggling soldier, one who
from infirmity or weariness is obliged to
quit the ranks and lag behind. i»ia,
being derived from, 1?;, "to fix a place
or time of meeting, signifies such time,
or the assembly then and there con
vened. In no other passage is the term
applied to congregated hosts, but such
seems clearly to be its meaning in this
place. The suff. in vroin refers to the
«in:, and flOiso t]ito, ver. 29.
32. 'i3 is taken collectively by the
LXX., Aq., Symm., Theod., Targ., Syr.,
Saad. ; and Kennicott's Cod. 145, reads
D"i3, which is right as to the meaning.
It was customary for foreign powers to
send messengers to any state with which
they were at peace, but which was car
rying on war in some other direction, to
ascertain the success of its arms. In
the true spirit of the theocracy the reply
to such ambassadors, in the present
ease, is, ¦not that their arms were suc
cessful, but that Jehovah was the
Founder of their state, and afforded
them the surest ground of confidence.
Gesenius and some others suppose Phi
listine ambassadors to be intended, but
this seems less probable. — Instead of
'5b!^Q, messengers, ' the LXX. and the
other early Greek versions, read 'abp,
kings ; n», however, better agrees with
the former. The sentimeut conveyed

136 ISAIAH. [chap. xv.
That Jehovah hath founded Zion,
And in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.
at the end of the verse is, in such con- the ends which he designs by it, is vir-
nexion, quite compatible with trust in tually trusting in himself Very different
God : trusting in what God has done, was the false confidence of the hypo-
or in what is his work, and sufficient for critical Jews, Jer. vii. 4.

CHAPTERS XV. XVI.

THE SENTENCE OF MOAB.
These two chapters contain one connected prophecy against Moab. The Moabites,
who were descended from Lot, occupied the region on the east of the Dead Sea
and the river Jordan, which had originally been inhabited by the gigantic Emim.
Previous, however, to the occupation of Canaan by the Israelites, they were
driven southward over the Arnon, which river henceforth became their northern
boundary. The Israelites spared them on their march from the Arabian desert;
and, for some time, they appear to have lived on peaceable terms with each
other ; but in the days of the judges hostilities broke out, in consequence of
which the Hebrew tribes beyond Jordan, and in the south of Palestine, were
subjugated by the Moabites eighteen years, Judg. iii. 14. The latter were then
expelled from the Hebrew territory; and were ultimately themselves brought into
subjection by David, in which state they continued till they revolted along with
the ten tribes, and attached themselves to the house of Israel. Soon after the
death of Ahab, they refused the annual tribute, and succeeded in maintaining
their independence till the time of the Babylonian invasion, when, in all proba
bility, the prophecies contained in these chapters were fulfilled. See Jer. xlviii, ;
Joseph. Antiq, x. 9. 7. They were idolaters, and worshipped Chemosh and
Baal-peor, Their idolatry was a mixture of sensuality and cruelty. Numb. xxv.
1, &c.; 2 Kings iii. 27.
Several recent German writers ascribe the prophecy to Jeremiah. This Gesenius
considers to be utterly inadmissible ; yet, unwilling to allow that it was written
by Isaiah, he attributes it to some contemporary, or earlier prophet. At the
same time he is obliged to grant, that it can hardly be satisfactorily proved not
to have been written by Isaiah. Comm. p. 509. Hitzig is of opinion that it is
the prophecy of Jonah, mentioned 2 Kings xiv. 25.
The parallel portions of Jeremiah's prophecy (chap, xlviii.) are in part verbally the
same witii that contained in these chapters of Isaiah, and partly an altered and
amplified edition of it.
The subjects of the prediction are : tiie sudden attack and destruction of the two
principal cities of Moab, xv. 1 ; the universal distress and mourning which
ensue, 2 — 5; and the destitute and fugitive condition to which the inhabitants of

CHAP. XV.]

ISAIAH.

137

the country are reduced, 6 — 9. To procure admission; for safety, into Judah,
they are exhorted to pay the tribute which had been withheld, xvi. 1 ; they then
implore protection, assuring the Jews that their extending it to them would meet
with its reward in the perpetuity of the kingdom, 2 — 6 ; on which the prOphet
reminds them of their former treacheries, and utters lamentations over them of
the most pitiable description, 7 — 11. The prophecy concludes with a decla
ration of the fruitiess application which the Moabites would make to their gods
to deliver them, 12. The last two verses of the chapter contain a postscript,
added, by some unknown hand, only three years before the accomplishment of
the predictions took place.

1 Assuredly in the night of assault Ar-Moab is destroyed ;
Assuredly in the night of assault Kir-Moab is destroyed.

1. There is nothing answering to '? in
the LXX. and Syr., but this conjunction
frequently occurs at the commencement
of a prediction, in order to express the
certainty of its fulfilment. See chap. xxv.
10. Calmet conjectured, that in W3 the
3 has taken the place of 3, so that the
word may originally have read V^a, en
tirely; and this conjecture has been
adopted by Boothroyd and Jenour.
There is, however, no necessity for al
tering the text. W is the less usual form
of nW, night, in construction with IIUS,
which is a verbal noun, from the Infin.
of Pual. The verb, in the intensive
conjugations, conveys the idea of violent
assault' and destruction ; yet is less
strong in signification than iipi?, which
denotes utter extinction. Doderlein and
Dathe translate, una node, supposing the
facility 'witii which the destruction was
effected to be meant. — On nni:, see chap.
vi. 5.  3Hia ¦«, Ar-Moab. Aq. and
Symm. render "®, by noKis, which is its
proper meaning ; but as it is never used,
in the singular, of any city but the me
tropolis of Moab, it is, with Theod., to
be retained as a proper name. See
Numb. xxi. 15; Deut. ii. 9; where it
occurs without aijiia. The Greeks gave
it the name of 'ApcoTroXir, in which its
original Hebrew designation appears,
though they seem to have understood by
the term urbs Martis. It was known by
this name as late as the sixth century,
and was then the seat of a bishop. It
was also called, on account of its size,
'Pa^aBpdp, and 'Pa^aBpdpa, a corrup
tion of 3«io n3i', to which correspond

ibJI , Rabbah, ahd t__>L«, Mab, of the
modern Arabs. It was situated at some
distance to the south of the river Arnon.
Its ruins were discovered by Seetzen,
aihong which he found the remains of
an ancient temple, consisting of portions
of the wall and pillars. — 3siD I'R, Kir
Moab, was another Moabitish city, the
same as iBin I'p, chap. xvi. 11 ; Jer. xlviii.
31, 36; and nfefin I'pi, chap. xvi. 7; 2
Kings iii. 25. It was, as the name im
ports, the wall or fortress of Moab;
LXX. TO Telxos ; situated in the south
of the country, on a very steep, and, in
many places, perpendicular limestone
liUl, at the commencement of a deep
valley, called Wady Karrak. It is now
called I^jCI, Karrak, or Kerek, and
was known by the same name to the
Greek and Roman writers of the later
age. Comp. KdpaKa, 2 Mace. xii. 17;
and XapaKpdfia in Ptolemy and Stephen
of Byzant. It was a place of great
strength, and was occupied with advan
tage during the Crusades. Abulfeda, in
the fourteenth century, speaks of it as
impregnable. It is distant from Ar-
Moab about twenty miles; and, when
visited by Burckhardt in 1812, was in
habited by about four hundred Turkish,
and one hundred and fifty Christian
families. — The two principal cities being
taken and destroyed, all further resist
ance on the part of the Moabites was
hopeless ; on which account no mention
is made of the destruction of any of the
other cities.

138

ISAIAH.

[chap. XV.

2 They go up to the Temple, and to Dibon, to the high places, to
weep ;
Upon Nebo and upon Medeba, Moab howleth :
On all their heads is baldness ;
Every beard is cut off.

2. This and the following verses de
scribe the universal mourning to which
the inhabitants of Moab abandoned
themselves ; and here, as at chap. xvi.
12, their application to their idols for
help is distinctly recognised. — After the
Targ. and Syr., Lowth rejects the copu
lative 1 in Ji3'il, and connecting li3'i n'3,
so as to form one name, renders : " He
goeth up to Beth-dibon," As we are
not at liberty, however, on such slender
authority, to cancel the 1, and as the
article in n;3n forms an insuperable ob
jection to such construction, this word
must be taken by itself, as indicating the
place whither the Moabites are said to
have gone up. Nor can there be any
doubt that it denotes the chief temple, or
that of Chemosh : the article distinguish
ing it as that which was eminent. It is
called iliiiJP, the Sanctuary or Temple,
chap. xvi. 12. Comp. for such use of
n'3, 1 Sam. v. 2, 5 ; Isa. xxxvii. 38.
What corroborates this view, is the oc
currence of niDsn, the high places, in the
following clause ; which places of idola
trous worship were common in Moab
and the surrounding countries, Thus
Balak first took Balaam up to " the high
places of Baal;" then "to the top of
Pisgah ;" and afterwards " to the top of
Peor," evidently on the principle of their
being peculiarly acceptable as religious
localities. — The nomin. to n^ is Moab,
understood, or, the inhabitants taken
collectively. — '[i3'l, Dibon, spelt po'n, ver.
9, now called Diban, was a town situated
at some distance to the north of the
Arnon, in a magnificent plain, and close
to two elevated hills, on which, in all
probability, the nim here mentioned had
been constructed. It was built by the
Gadites, Numb, xxxii. 34, hence called
ia-]i3''i, Numb, xxxiii. 45, 46 ; it was
afterwards assigned to the Reubenites,
Josh. xiii. 17; but finally reverted to the
Moabites. By a common figure, Dibon
is here put for its inhabitants. 'The ¦; in
'33) expresses state or condition. — ia:.

Nebo, was a mountain belonging to the
chain of Abarim, near the northern ex
tremity of the Dead Sea ; and «?1'D,
Medeba, a conical hill, with a town of
the same name built upon its crest, at a
short distance to the south^of Heshbon.
Its present ruins are about two miles in
circumference. The former mountain
appears to have derived its name from
the Babylonian idol of that name, see
chap. xlvi. 1, and most probably was the
site of one of his temples, — Doderlein,
Dathe, and Rosenmiiller, render ^, de,
propter, and suppose the meaning to be,
that Moab howled on account of the
destruction of the cities so called; but
there seems rather to be a reference to
the inhabitants of the northern plains
having gone up to these places for reli
gious purposes, where they mingled the
most pitiable waitings with their rites.
The entire structure of the verse favours
this interpretation, — Wi;, here and ver, 3,
a peculiar punctuation of Hiphil, which
has not yet been satisfactorily accounted
for. The most probable reason is, that
it is a contraction of W'iX, occurring
chap. lii. 5, in which the characteristic
n is retained. Comp. S'tfin', for »'sSi',
1 Sam. xvii. 47 ; I3lin>? for' iS'i.iM, Ps.
xxviii. 7. Comp. also 3'p.;;, Job xxiv. 21,
and »T», in Kal, Ps. cxxxviii. 6 ; and see
Gesen. Lehrg. pp. 388, 389, and Ewald's
Heb. Gram. § 284, Eng. trans. — Instead
of I'-iii^l, three of Kennicott's MSS. and
two of De Rossi's, read ilS«l, but this is in
all probability a correction from Jer.
xlviii. 37. One of De Rossi's has D'SJin,
The punctuation is otherwise irregular
for 1'tti«l. — Before fs, twenty-two MSS,,
originally seven more, and now one;
the Soncin. Ed. of the whole Bible, and
also that of the Prophets ; and the Targ,,
Syr,, and Vulg,, supply 1. — Instead of
sn?, the reading »lia, which is that of
Jer. xlviii. 37, is' found in forty-nine
MSS. and upwards of thirty printed Edi
tions : while in Jer., n»ia is found in ten
MSS., originallyi n six more, and appa-

chap. XV.]

ISAIAH.

139

In his streets they gird on sackcloth ;
On his house-tops and in his broad places they all howl ;
They come down again weeping.
Heshbon crieth out, and Elealeh ;
As far as Jahaz their voice is heard ;
Wherefore the warriors of Moab shriek ;
His soul trembleth within him.

rently in another. The difference con
sists merely in the interchange of the
similar letters i and 1. In »ia, which
signifies to fell, cut down, or hew, as a
tree, there is something violent as applied
to the beard ; whereas, »1J signifying to
scrape or shave off ihe hair, is the more
appropriate term : but as Gesenius re
marks, the former seems to have been
purposely selected by Isaiah, in order
strongly to indicate the harsh and bar
barous manner in which the operation
would, under the peculiar circumstances,
be performed, in opposition to slow and
careful shaving. The LXX. and Saad.
decidedly support the common reading.
Cutting off the hair, and removing the
beard, have been customary among most
nations as tokens of mourning. Comp.
Jer. xvi. 6 ; Amos viii. 10 ; Micah i. 16.
3. pfe ian, lit. to bind a piece of sack
cloth round the loins, but used, in a more
extended sense, for putting it on the
body generally, pto, a word found in
most languages, signifying a coarse kind
of doth, commonly made of hair, and
used for sacks, but also for garments, as
indicative of humiliation, self-denial, and
especially of deep mourning. It was
worn on the death of any relative, or
person of consequence, 2 Sam. iii. 31,
and on occasion of public calamities,
Esth. iv. 1. So great was to be the
mourning in Moab, that it would be
every where visible — on the flat roofs of
the houses, and in the broad streets and
open places of the cities, where the in
habitants would be collected, mutually
to bewail the disastrous events. — There
is in this verse, as in verses 5 and 8, a
change of gender in the suffixes, which
cannot well be expressed in a translation,
except by making them neuters, or oc
casionally omitting them, when they are
not essential to the sense. The \ how
ever, in vniJin, clearly connects the word

with a«iD ; while the n may have a refer
ence to the land, or to each particular
city, — 1'» or yi« being understood. The
idiom of our language being opposed to
such changes of gender, it would be
proper uniformly to employ the feminine,
as we do when speaking of Britain,
France, &c. ; only, in such cases as the
present, in which the names of countries
are those of male ancestors, it would be
obviously improper to adopt it. — '333 Ti',
Le Clerc, Gesenius, and Hitzig, render,
flowing down in tears; but as it is only
of the eye that the Hebrews say, n'Ti;
nspi, it lets down tears, Jer. ix. 17, xiii.
17, xiv. 17, it is better to regard the
words as placed in opposition to '33yn5»,
at the beginning of ver. 2. The inhabi
tants found no relief from their idols :
no favourable oracle alleviated their dis
tress. 4. )i3a)n, Heshbon, the ancient resi
dence of the Amoritish kings. Numb.
xxi. 26. It was given successively to
the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the
Levites, but was taken by the Moabites
after the removal of the ten tribes. Its
remains, now called Umi.5>-, Husban,
cover the side of a considerable insulated
hill, at the distance of seven or eight
miles to the north of Medeba. Close by,
there is an uncommonly fine tank, —
doubtless one of the pools of Heshbon,
Song vii. 4. — n|»|)«, Elealeh, a town which
also lay upon a hill, at the distance of a
few miles from Heshbon, now called by
the Arabs, (JU]|, El-Aal. — yCC, Yahatz,
Jahaz, also ii?n^, Yahtza, LXX. 'lao-o-a,
Euseb. 'lea-a-d, appears to have lain on
the confines of the desert, to the east of
the two cities just described, and north
of Bezer. See Deut. ii. 32 ; Josh. xxi.
36 ; 1 Chron. vi. 63. The form yn! i»
marks it as being at the extremity of tlie

140

ISAIAH.

[chap. XV.

My heart crieth out for Moab ;
Her fugitives wander to Zoar — to Eglath-Shelishiyah —
Yea, they go up the ascent of Luhith, weeping ;
In the way to Horonaim, they raise the cry of destruction.

country. — asiD 's^n, in Jer. xlviii. 41 :
a«iD 'liaa, the heroes, or warriors of Moab.
y^n, Arab. (>aj.i., bonus ei exquisitus
fuit, bene se habet ; to be expert, ready,
active : here the Pahul part, ready for
war, prepared, armed; soldiers, girded
with the military belt, and otherwise
fully accoutred. The LXX. have 6a-cj>vs,
by which Lowth appears to have been
misled to translate, the very loins of
Moab ; but elsewhere they render the
word by ivairXurpivos, dirXlTr/s, iToXe-
pi(TTi]s, pAxipos, &c. See Gesen.,
9 a:
Thesaur, p. 482. ] »j^jv occurs in Bar-
hebrseus, in the same acceptation. Some
derive the meaning from y?n, in the ac
ceptation of putting off garments, &c. :
and suppose that soldiers were so called,
because they laid aside every thing th^t
would impede their activity in battle.
The warriors of Moab retain the name,
though no longer prepared for action. —
There is a paronomasia in Wl'^ and nS'i^.
The former is the Hiph. fut. of ?ll = l»i,
to shout, make a loud noise ; here, to
utter a shriek of despair : the latter
agrees with the Arab, c J P tj > to
tremble, be in great agitation from fear.
It occurs only here in this accepta
tion ; but is elsewhere frequently used
in the future, signifying to be evil, sor-
rovpful, vexed, &c.
5. Before proceeding with his descrip
tion of the universal lamentation, Isaiah
gives expression to his compassionate
feelings on the occasion, Comp. chap.
xvi. 11, xxi. 3, 4, xxii. 4; Jer. xxiii. 9.
Lowth renders, The heart of Moab
crieth within her ; but for the readings,
a> or iaii, there is no MSS. authority ;
and nnii3 is equally destitute of the same
support. — ) pBi would most naturally be
construed to mean crying out to a person
for help, as 1 Chron. v. 20; but ) is fre
quently used in the sense of, with regard
fo, on account of, and must be so taken

here. — For iin'ia, which is defective,
upwards of sixty MSS., the Soncin.
Bible and Prophets, the Brix. and Com-
plut. texts, and that of the Basil Poly
glott of Isaiah, read in full, rprfij. As
n'13 signifies a bar, some render it thus
in the present instance, and explain it of
the princes, or protectors of Moab ; but
fugitives is a more appropriate accepta
tion in this place. — 1?3, Zoar; Joseph.
and Ptol. Zadpa. LXX. Zrjydp, under
which name it is mentioned in the time
of the Crusades, was situated near the
southern extremity of the Dead Sea,
and beyond the frontier of Moab, in
that direction. It was one of the five
cities destined to be destroyed by fire
and brimstone. Gen. xix. 22, 30. Comp.
chap. xiv. 2. — n»tf(wrn^», or as two of
Kennicott's Codices, and one of De
Rossi's read, Tj^^^ rim, has much per
plexed interpreters. It occurs only here,
and in the parallel passage, Jer. xlviii.
34, where the LXX. appear to have re
tained it as a proper name : 'AyyeXiav
2aXa<rla. Here they render it, AapaXis .
yap ia-Ti TpieTfjs, For she is a heifer of
three years old, and in some such ren
dering, the Targ., Syr., and Vulg., and
most modern versions, concur. Those
expositors who adopt this translation
supply the verb to low or bellow, and
refer it either to the fugitives, or to the
prophet. Hitzig refers it to Zoar, with
which he considers it to be in apposition ;
and is of opinion, that it received this
name, on account of its diminutive size.
He accordingly translates, the cow of
ihe third rank! The natural position
of the words certainly requires us to re
gard them as forming a proper name-^
Eglath Shelishiyah, or Eglah the third;
but, in all probability, so called to dis
tinguish it from two other places named
Eglah. Gesen. compares N«'/t\a of Ptol.,
"AydXXa of Joseph., and .^jsp, Ejelun,
of Abulfeda. His objection to the last
being situated beyond the northern limit
of Moab has no wreight, since it imight

chap. XV.]

ISAIAH.

141

Becluse the water of Nimrim is wasted ;
Beotuse the grass is withered, the herbage is consumed.
Thi tender plant is no more.
aerefore the remainder of what they have acquired, and their
I store,
lie carried beyond the brook of the willows.

have leen the design of the prophet to
descrie the Moabites as fleeing both in
a souterly and a northerly direction. In-
deedihe fords of Arnon, and the waters
of NJirim, which lay still further north,
are pecifically mentioned, ver. 6, and
xvi. j. — Before njiiiVi) rins, repeat t?, as
ver. , or supply i, in which case, i? will
be uperstood. — n'ni^, Luhith, lying, ac-
corjljig to Eusebius and Jerome, between
Ar'q;clia and Zoar, where the region is
mintainous, the phrase n'ni^n rf^n, the
asuit of Luhith is quite appropriate.
TH article in n'ni^n belongs properly to
fi!!a which required it, as a nominative
abiute, to render it more definite, see
Evid's Gram. § 511.— Of D;:in, Horo-
naA we know nothing ; but, from its
sigi ying two caverns, it probably lay in
thciame region with Luhith, which
aboids in caverns. — The anomalous
fornli»3>; is the fut. in Piel of the root
lis, wake up, raise, instead of 11»1?', —
the irsh consonant i being resolved, or
soft ed into a vowel, see Ewald's Gram.
§ 2J, Such suppression of a repeated
coniiant is very common in Aramaic.
Gpsa thinks the original reading ll?i?;
nfiy Irst have been changed by mistake
ifto rfl>i*;, whence the defective i"t?3>;.
ah/ has received 113?1?? into the text. —
le second '3 is pleonastic, and is omitted
Jeremiah.
1. D>ip: 'p, the waters of Nimrim, in
all probability the Nahr Nimrin, or
Wdy Shoaib, which flows into the Jor-
da, between the brooks Jazer and
Jajok. Near its source was the city
cald Nimrah, Numb, xxxii. 3, and
Bei-nimrah,ver.m; the ^eBvafipls of
Eujbius. Gesen. compares the Arab.
f , -X^ , clear, healthy, flowing water,
al jastly concludes, that the luxuriance
0 tie meadows in the vicinity was
ofiio^ to its fertilizing influence. On
its ftsicatiop by the enemy, comp.

2 Kings iii. 25, sterility must necessarily
have ensued. — niatfp, desolations, in the
abstract : nowhere else applied to water ;
but as the verb Dpti signifies to waste
away or perish, as the consequence of
making desolate, the term is here used
with effect. The conjunction '? repeated
introduces the causes of the flight de
scribed in the preceding verse. The
naked accumulation and brevity of the
concluding triplet is exquisite.
7. Before nto, supply iiBi<. — D'3is>ri bm
has been variously rendered. The
LXX., Syr., Saad., Doder., ihe brook of
the Arabs; the Vulg., with most modern
versions, and approved by Gesenius and
Winer, the brook of ihe willows ; Hit
zig, the brook of the plains ; but the
word is never thus applied, except in the
feminine. Some of the Rabbins, Le
Clerc, Lowth, and Dathe, comparing
Ps. cxxxvii. 2, suppose Babylon to be
meant, and make the enemies of Moab
the nominative to D1«ig;, which seems
forced. The river or brook intended, is
most probably that called Lm.»-1I| lil,,
Wady el-Ahsa, by Burckhardt, which
he describes as dividing the district of
Kerek from that of Djebal, and flowing
into the Dead Sea near Zoar, at the
commencement of the wide valley called
El Ghor. As it formed the proper
boundary between Moab and Edom, it
lay in the way of the inhabitants who
fled southward, in order to take refuge
in that country or in Judah. Whatever
they could rescue, both of their flocks
and herds, and of other moveable pro
perty, they conveyed across that river,
beyond which they might hope the Ba
bylonians would not proceed. 'TS, for
which two MSS. and Vulg. read "?, has
here the signification of beyond with re
spect to place. In Disrt'^, the Mem is the
original intensive form of the third per
son plural; but as it was also used as

142

ISAIAH.

[chap, xvi,

8 1 For the shout goeth round the borders of Moab ;
To Eglaim his wailing ;
And to Beer-Elim his lamentation.
9 Though the waters of Dimon are full of blood.
Yet will I bring additional evils upon Dimon ;
Upon the escaped of Moab I will send a Hon,
Even upon those who are left in the land.
CHAPTER XVI.
1 Send ye the lambs to the Ruler of the land,
From Sela into the desert,
To the mountain of the daughter of Zion.

the suffix, it came to be changed into
Nun, and then commonly rejected.
8. A reason is here assigned for the
removal : the cry of distress was not
confined to one part of the country, but
went round the entire boundary. — D^^aN,
Eglaim, and D')«-i«3, Beer-elim, appear
to have been situated the one to the
south, and the other to the north, of
the Moabitish territory. The former
is doubtless the same as Djto ys, En-
eglaim, Ezek. xlvii. 1 0, which must have
lain at the southern termination of the
Dead Sea, since Engeddi lay pretty far
north on its western margin. The change
of « and s> is too frequent to create any
difficulty. Beer-elim has, with some
shew of reason, been referred to 1M3,
Beer, mentioned Numb. xxi. 16, as one
of the Hebrew stations, to the north
east of Moab. Before D'^« IN3, subaud.
1?, as in ver. 5. — It is doubted whether
the n in nn%'. be the pron. suffix. The
Mappik is wanting in fourteen of De
Rossi's MSS., in the Soncin. edit, of
1488, and two other printed editions.
Aurivillius thinks the form is that of the
intensive paragogic, as UnSlMi;, Ps. iii. 3 ;
fnV;?, cxxv. 3 ; but it seems preferable
to adopt the construction of the ancient
versions, and refer it, as a suffix, to the
land of Moab. — The repetition of wnff.
has a very different effect in Hebrew
from that of the same word repeated in
English; on which account I have
employed a synonyme in the second
instance. 9. Jehovah declares that fresh cala

mities awaited those who hadmadiflieir
escape. It is generally agreed, thjJ by
jiD'i, Dimon, the same place is mant
which is called JW, Dibon, ver. 2 ;but
it would be unwarrantable, with Dder-
lein, to alter the text, as the pisent
reading is supported by all the coated
MSS. except two, and by the atient
Greek versions. Jerome mention that
the name was pronounced both wjis in
his time; and the frequent changef the
B and M by the Arabs, in pronncia-
tion, renders more than' doubtft' the
conjecture of Vitringa, that theword
was purposely written ]iD''i in thisplace)
in order to form a paronomasia \jth DI
following. I should rather ima|ne it
was produced by the occurrencfpf 'i?
immediately before. — niBDi:, Yvdf;aidi-
tamenia, i. e. evils, calamities, ife the
connexion sufficiently ahews.^upj^y
nV^s before nwbpb. — A lion, or 30II1O-
tively lions, is to be taken figurativeljof
powerful and destructive warriors. K-
derlein is of opinion that Alexanderbe
Great is meant. The renderings of w
and nni«, by 'ApujX and "Abapa, wth
we find in the LXX., and which Lqth
adopts, cannot be defended. The ]pj-
tion and connexion of the words ewcS
that they cannot, with propriety, bet
construed. |
I
Chap. xvi. 1. Anticipating an lapll-
cation to the Hebrews on the pat pf
Moab, the" prophet, to bring the )ihk-
bitants of the latter country to a»'enee
of their failure in fulfilling their kiasr

CHAP. XVI.]

ISAIAH.

143

2 For as a fugitive bird, banished from its nest,
So shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of Arnon, [saying,]

engagements, calls upon them to pay the
tribute which was due. From 2 Kings
iii. 4, 5, it appears that, till the death of
Ahab, the king of Moab rendered to the
king of Israel an annual tribute of an
hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred
thousand rams, with the wool. _ It is, in
all probability, to some such tribute, which
had been withheld, that reference is here
made : 13, lamb, being used collectively
for lambs. Comp. 2 Chron. xvii. 11,
where we read of the Arabians sending
large flocks to Jehoshaphat ; and 2 Sam.
viii. 2. On the slender authority of the
Syrian version, and a couple of MSS,,
Lowth reads 13, son ; and changing the
tense of the verb, on that of the LXX.
and Syr., renders, I w'dl send forth the
son of the ruler of the land. He is fol
lowed by Michaelis, Doderlein, Henz-
ler, and, in part, by Dathe ; but still,
though 13 has since been found in 'two
or three additional MSS., it is not en
titled to adoption. " The lambs of"
means the lambs due to the ruler of the
land, i. e. of Judah. They were ori
ginally sent to the king of Israel, but
Isaiah knew of only one legitimate king
of the Hebrews, whose residence was,
as here expressed, on Mount Zion.
By Sto, Sela, "the Rock," LXX.
nirpa, it is now generally agreed, is
meant the city of Petra, afterwards so
celebrated, anciently the metropolis of
Arabia Petrasa, but in the possession of
Moab at the time referred to by Isaiah.
Its magnificent ruins have recently been
discovered by Burckhardt, by whom, and
by Legh, Irby, and Mangles, it has
been described, but still more minutely
by Laborde and Linant, whose work con
tains splendid engravings of the ruins.
It is situated in the Wady Mousa — a
valley with a stream, in the mountainous
district called Djebal Shera, (Seir,) two
long days' journey north-east of Akaba,
and nearly the same distance from the
southern extremity of the Dead Sea.
Here, in an area enclosed by red sand
stone rocks, are found mausoleums,
temples, statues, colonnades, obelisks, a
triumphal arch, an amphitheatre, &c., all
of the most gigantic and imposing di
mensions. The rooks on all sides are

full of excavated sepulchres; and on
every hand are marks of ancient mag
nificence. To no place could the name
of Sela, or Petra, with greater pro
priety have been applied ; the houses of
the inhabitants having been hewn out of
the solid rock. Besides the present pas
sage, it occurs 2 Kings xiv. 7, and, not
improbably, Isa. xiii. ll. It is men
tioned, or partly described by Diodorus
Siculus, xix. 95; Strabo, xvi. 4, 21;
Pliny, vi. 28 or 32, and freq. by Jo
sephus. It also occurs in the Acts of
Councils as the see of a bishop, but
appears to have been in ruins before the
time of the Crusades ; since which period
it remained totally unnoticed till dis
covered by Burckhardt, on his route
from Damascus to Egypt, in 1812.
The n in nis'ip being local, has by
some been thought to present a diffi
culty, in regard to the application of the
passage to the country between Petra
and Jerusalem ; but Strabo expressly
states, that, beyond the mountainous in-
closure in which the former city is
situated, the whole region is a desert, and
particularly that towards Judea ; epepos
T] irXeiarrj, Kal pdXicrTa rj irpos 'lovbala.
Ut sup. Into and through this desert it
was necessary to send the flocks before
they could reach Jerusalem. Comp.
2 Kings iii. 8.
2. Before )i?. supply p ; thus connect
ing the word with ii: f\s, and not taking
nVfflp ]p. by itself, which does not yield
so good a sense ; and the adverb )3 must
be understood before ijl'r"?. It was most
likely omitted on account of its agree
ment in sound with ]'!!., which occurs im
mediately before. — 3!jiD ni:3 means the
Moabitish females, and not the towns or
villages of Moab, as some interpret. In
a geographical description of a coun
try, and in connexion with the names of
towns, ni:a, daughters, denote the sub
urban villages, or smaller towns depen
dent upon them ; hut never in connexion
with the names of nations. See Judg.
xi. 40 ; Gen. xxviii. 8 ; 2 Sam. i. 20.
To render the case more affecting, the
women are represented as having fled to
the rightful boundary of the country, and
applying to the Jews for protection. —

144

ISAIAH.

[chap. xvi.

Furnish counsel ; give decision ;
Yield thy shade, like that of night at mid-day ;
Conceal the outcasts ;
Betray not the fugitives.

yi:i«) nii3?p Michaelis improperly ren
ders, auf beiden Seiten des Arnons, as if
the Moabitish females had taken their
station on both sides of the river. The
formative D conveys here, as usual, the
idea of the locality in which the action
expressed by the verb takes place, from
which the substantive is derived ; i.e. the
passages, or fording places; and the
connexion shews, that only the southern
bank of the Arnon is meant. This river
takes its rise in the mountains of Arabia
Deserta, and flows in a westerly direc
tion into the Dead Sea. Its banks are
described by Seetzen and Burckhardt as
consisting of precipitous and barren
rocks, which give it a most romantic
appearance. It formed the northern
boundary of Moab ; and, at present,
under the name of Wady Mujeb, it di
vides the province of Belka from that of
Karrak.  The b in )i:i¥^ marks the
dative of possession, and is to be resolved
by supplying 1^« before it. Comp. 1 Sam.
xiv. 16; Job xii. 6, 8. — At the close of
the verse, 'iON^, saying, is omitted. See
on chap. iii. 6.
3. This and the two following verses
are usually considered to be a hortatory
address to the Moabites, in reference to
their conduct towards those Jews who
might take refuge with them during in
tervening periods of calamity. Such
exegesis is gone into at large by Vi
tringa. It was also formerly adopted
by Rosenmiiller, but he has abandoned
it in the last edition of his Commentary for
that first suggested by Theodoret, which
is advocated by Lowth, Michaelis, Do
derlein, Dathe, Gesenius, and Hitzig;
viz. that the passage contains an appli
cation, on the part of the Moabites, to
the Jews for shelter and protection.
This interpretation alone gives consis
tency to the passage. The principal
objection to it is drawn from the term
'm:, ver. 4, which, according to the
punctuation and accent, must be ren
dered, "My outcasts," — a phrase which
can only properly apply to the Jews.

Agreeably, however, to the construction
found in the LXX., Targ., and Syr,, the
word is to be connected with the follow
ing, thus, 3N1I3 'n'l:, the outcasts of Moab.
Gesenius, who, with the other authorities
just mentioned, adopts this construction,
compares a similar instance of erroneous
division by the punctators. Gen. xiii. 26,
where we read i? 'lin, instead of l» 'lin.
Coverdale has, the persecuted Moabites.
The phrase n2» lN'3n, furnish, or bring
counsel, implies that the Moabites could
no longer contrive any means of escape,
on which account, in their last extremity
they apply to the Jews for advice. Comp.
2 Sam. xvi. 20.— *^B is a dna^ Xey.
Hitzig, in accordance with the primary
idea of the root "J^pB, to divide, renders,
exercise intervention, and explains the
phrase of the interposition of the Jews
between the Moabites and their enemies ;
but though this interpretation may seem
at first view to be borne out by the con
nexion, it is totally inadmissible, on the
ground of the intimate relation in which
rt'bB ito3> stands to n2» i«'3n, of the lead
ing idea conveyed by which, it is only a
more emphatic mode of expression. The
term is properly judicial ; and as the de
cisions of a judge are commonly the
result of wisdom and discernment, and
so to be depended on, the Moabitish
fugitives wished to have a decision on
which they might rely, — advice which
they might safely follow.  "V& 'n'<^.
Though tH% is placed befpre '^, it is to-
be construed with what follows. The
protection yielded by the Jews to the
suppliants, would be as the coolness of
night, if it could be enjoyed during the
intensity of meridian heat. War and
persecution are, in Scripture, frequently
compared to fire or heat. No emphasis
is to be sought for in ^n3 ; it is merely
in this and similar cases a synonyme for
3. — Instead of lN'3n and liB», the Keri
reads 'N'3n and 'ip» m the fem. singular,
which is the gender and num.ber of the
other verbs in the verse. Though at

chap.

XVI,]

ISAIAH.

145

4 Let the outcasts of Moab dwell with thee ;
Be to them a shelter from the destroyer :
For the oppressor shall fail,
And the destruction shall be finished.
And those who trod us down consumed from the land.
5 Thus shall the thi-one be established in mercy.
And there shall sit thereon in truth, in the tabernacle of David,
A Judge, who will attend to justice,
And be prompt in equity.
6 We have heard of the haughtiness of Moab — he is very haughty —
His haughtiness and his pride and his insolence :
False are his pretensions.

first view they might seem to be a cor
rection of some editor or copyist, for the
purpose of producing uniformity ; yet,
as they are respectably supported, there
is reason to believe they exhibit the ori
ginal reading. '>?'an, found in nine
MSS., and originally in two more, and
the reading of the Complut. Bible, has
the suffrages of the LXX., Targ., Syr.,
Vulg., and Arab. ; 'to is the reading of
fifty-five MSS., and originally of one
more ; the ancient, and a number of
subsequent editions, and is borne out by
the LXX., Syr., Targ., and Vulg. The
sense is the same according to both
readings. 4. For a«iD 'ma, see on the preceding
verse. — The rest of the verse anticipates
the destruction of the Babylonian in
vader, and the return of the Moabites to
their own land, here called yi^ii. yp is
the Part, of yio, to press, oppress. Comp.
yp, Prov. xxx. 33. — Dpi is a particip.
noun collective, and so agreeing with
ian in the plural.
5. The 1 at the beginning of the sen
tence is inferential, and introduces the
apodosis to the appeal made in the two
preceding verses. " Render us the pro
tection we solicit, and your doing so,
will, 'm consequence, turn to your own
benefit ; the exercise of kindness will
secure the prosperity and perpetuity of
the Davidic throne, and the nappiness of
all the subjects of the Jewish state."
The fugitives urge this consequence as
an inducement to the Jews to afford them
shelter. — 115 ^* is the same as I'll nsp,
Amos ix. li, and w ri'3. Is. vii. 2, 13.—

That TOn, kindness, is used of human
clemency, as well as of the Divine, re
quires no proof. The retributive influence
of its exercise upon the throne is taught
by Solomon, Prov. xx. 28. Comp. 2
Sam. X. 2 ; Hos. vi. 6 ; Micah vi. 8.
Though ion and np« frequently occur jn
connexion with each other, and both
terms are employed in the present verse,
and the one may have been suggested
by the other, yet they are too far apart
to admit of the usual construction. np«,
truth, is to be construed along with 3ti;,
and is expressive of perpetuity. Comp.
D'aON: and nimm, Deut. xxviii. 59. —
iijij, in such connexion, signifies to be
assiduous in application, to be occupied
with, attend to any thing. — pl2 i'np is to
be quick or ready in matters of equity,
prompt in giving a righteous decision.
6. This verse contains the grounds of
the refusal which the Moabites should
meet with from the Jews : the proud re
bellious spirit which the nation of Moab
had cherished, and the hoUowness of its
pretensions, with respect to its future
relation to the Jewish state. — Four diffe
rent forms of the same word are here
employed, the more emphatically to
express the overbearing pride of the
Moabites. With the use of the adopted
French word hauteur, it may be imitated
thus : " We have heard of the haughti
ness of Moab ; (he is very haughty ;) his
high-mindedness, and his hauteur and
his insolence." — ]? is not here a particle
of comparison, but a participial adjective,
signifying firm, right, true . p's'',, un
stable, untrue, false. D'la, mere ialk^
U

146

ISAIAH.

[chap. xvi.

Therefore Moab may howl for Moab,
The whole of it may howl ;
For the ruins of Kir-Hareseth ye may moan.
Wholly afflicted.
For the fields of Heshbon are withered ;
As for the vine of Sibmah,
The lords of the nations have broken down its noble branches ;
They reached unto Jazer ; they strayed into the desert ;
Its tendrils spread themselves out.
They passed over to the sea.

pretensions, boastings, from 113, to talk idly,
babble, Arab. Ijo or ,Si , to originate,
produce something new, and by an easy
transition, to speak falsely, feignedly, &c.
Comp. Job xi. 3 ; and for parallels, Jer.
xlviii. 29 ; Zeph. ii. 8—10.
. 7. ]?!}, therefore, i. e. on account of the
refusal of the Jews to give an asylum
to the Moabites, the latter would aban
don themselves to renewed lamentation.
lic'irp'p, Kir-hareseth, another name for
Kir-Moab, ver. 1, and written, iiyiirrp,
Kir-heres, ver. 1. It is mentioned
2 Kings iii. 25 ; and, from its being
there stated, that the Hebrews " left the
stones thereof," when they subdued it,
it is clear that iBin is adopted into the
name on account of the baked bricks
with which the wall was built. The
word otherwise signifies an earthern
vessel, or fragments of the same. — 'tf'lfi«,
foundations, is changed, Jer. xlvii. 31,
into tfijs, men, which Lowth, Dathe, and
Boothroyd, adopt. The LXX. too have
Tols KUToiKovcri; but it is evident that
the difference of reading is to be traced
to the derivation of D'ti'ijiM, from iii's, and
its being considered as a reduplicate form
of Dl^M, for which was substituted the
more common form Dlflw. As, however,
there is no various reading in the text of
Isaiah, the laws of criticism require that
we endeavour to ascertain the meaning
of the word ; and, if it can be ascer
tained, to translate and interpret it ac
cordingly. Now it so happens, that the
Syriac version, in preserving, in a great
measure, the form of the original term,
has likewise preserved its signification.
"¦¦ 1
lAa«|, to which corresponds the Chald.
Xjtfs," Ezra iv. 12, v. 16, and the Heb.

ni'4S«, Jer. 1. 15, signifies foundations,
and thus harmonizes with the Arab.
LJ*"**"' ' ij*'l*"l > fundamentum strue-
turcB, &c. Gol. 1U.I, in the 2d Conj.
signifies to make firm, found, &c. To
this interpretation, Rosenmiiller returns
in his last edition, and it is adopted by
Winer, Gesenius, and Hitzig. The
meaning of the prophet, therefore, is,
that the Moabites would specially mourn
on account of the destruction of their
principal fortress, — nothing being left
but the foundations, or ruins. — D'H3: ijs
is to be referred, not to D'^'i;Ss imme
diately preceding, — the verb H3:=n3:, to
smite, beat down, being inapplicable to
foundMions, — but to the Moabites, the
nominative to the verb lann. The parti
cle ^«, before adjectives, signifies, only,
wholly, entirely, as Deut. xvi. 15.
8. '3 introduces a statement which
contains additional reasons for the lamen
tation.  %pM— niOTiJ), a fem. plural
construed with a mascul. sing, verb;
forming one of those instances, in which,
as Ewald expresses it, the sense predomi
nates over the external grammatical
form. Comp. Hab. iii. 17. niDT«i occurs
only in the plural, and but seldom. It
is not found in any of the cognate dia
lects ; but the connexions in which it is
used sufficiently vouch for the meaning
of fields, occupied either with grain or
v'mes. That the latter are here intended,
is clear from what follows. — nnaiB, Sib
mah, according to Jerome, was only half
a Roman mile distant from Heshbon,
and is mentioned on account of the supe
rior excellence of its grapes. Seetzen
found the vine still cultivated in those
parts. — As the verb D^n is unquestiona-

CHAP. XVI.]

ISAIAH.

147

9 Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of
Sibmah ;
I will make thee wet with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh ;
For upon thy summer and thy harvest falleth the battle-shout.
10 Joy and exultation are taken away from the fruitful field ;
In the vineyard is no joyful cry, no shouting ;

bly used metaphorically in reference to
intoxication, chap, xxviii. 1 ; Prov. xxiii.
35 ; Lowth, Jenour, and others, suppose
it to be employed in the same accepta
tion here, and render, "overpowered,"
or "made drunk, the lords of the nations ;"
but such a construction cannot be justi
fied from the context, which requires
something to be expressed in this clause,
to correspond to the withering of the
fields in the preceding. The word pro
perly, signifies to heat or strike with a
hammer ; hence niD^n, a hammer ; and
well expresses in this place the havoc
made by the Babylonians, who were at
the time, D'ia '^sa,the holders of all but
universal empire. — The rest of the verse
describes in highly poetic language the
luxuriant growth of the vines. In order
to their propagation, they needed no
props, but stretched spontaneously in the
direction of Jazer and the Arabian desert,
towards the east, and in that of the Dead
Sea, towards the west, iwi, Jazer, is
placed by Eusebius ten Roman miles
westward of Philadelphia, the ancient
capital of the Ammonites, and fifteen
from Heshbon. Its remains are sup
posed to be those mentioned by Seetzen,
under the name of _Vtf , Ssir. The Cf,
sea, spoken of, is by some interpreted of
a lake or sea in the vicinity of Jazer,
but as there is no appearance of any in
that region, it seems preferable to refer
it to the Dead Sea, the only water,
which, in such connexion, deserves the
name. It is true, the reading in Jer.
xlviii. 32 is, iwi p; is d^ ii3», they pass
over the sea ; to the sea Jazer, &c. ; but
there is reason to believe the second p;
is an interpolation. It is omitted in two
of Kennicott's MSS., and was not read
by the LXX. — The phrase D» 113* does
not mean that the vines actually shot
across the sea ; that scions were conveyed
thither for plantation ; or that the wine
was transported thither for use ; but

simply indicates that they passed on to
it as their limit. That 139 may signify
to pass over an intervening space, before
reaching what is pointed out by the fol
lowing accusative, is clear, from chap.
xxxi. 9; Jer. ii. 10; Amos vi. 2 ; and
that such must be the meaning here, is
equally clear, from the use of the adverb
1? in the preceding line. The LXX.
understanding the word in this sense,
render : bie^ija-av yap irpos rfjv BdXaa--
crav. 9. The weeping of Jazer, means the
great distress of the inhabitants of that
city, on account of the destruction of the
vines by which they were plentifully
supplied with grapes and wine. It is
not unlikely that their means of subsist
ence were chiefly derived from this
source. — '^i"*! is the Piel of nil, to drink,
satiate ; by transposition, for ij^'i^, to
saturate with moisture. — Tj'n is used in
two different senses in this and the fol
lowing verse. Here it signifies the vic
torious shout of the enemy ; but in ver.
10, the joyful shout or acclamation of the
vintagers treading the grapes. The
former had taken the place of the latter.
Rosenmiiller compares the Arab. JJb ,
which is chiefly used of the noise made
by the sea upon the shore ; hence 'iiiisb ,
thunder. Lowth's emendation of I'Slj
and TTn into l*?! and TVO cannot be sus
tained. 10. 'jp'tt, see chap, x. 18. iwi;, not
from »S1, but the Palel of »11, which in
Hiphel, Palel, and Hithpalel, is em
ployed in the sense of shouting, making
a loud or joyful noise. On ajj., see chap.
V. 2. In Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians,
vol. ii. p. 162, and Rosellini's Monu
ments of Egypt, are representations of
persons treading out the grapes. Some
six or seven, holding by as many ropes
suspended from a common hook in the
ceiling, stamp in the press or upper

148

ISAIAH.

[chap. xvi.

The treader treadeth not the wine in the vats ;
The vintage-shout I have made to cease.
1 1 Therefore my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab ;
My inward parts for Kir-Hares.
12 And it shall come to pass that though Moab present himself.
Though he weary himself upon the high place,
And enter into his sanctuary to pray,
Yet he shall not prevail.
13 This is the word, which Jehovah spake concerning Moab of old ;
14 but now Jehovah speaketh, saying,
Within three years, as the years of a hireling.
The nobility of Moab shall be diminished.
With the whole of the great multitude ;
And the remnant shall be very small and powerless.

trough, and thus press out the juice,
which flows into the troughs below.
11. Comp. Jer. iv. 19, xxxi. 20. In
Hebrew, D'»p is often used in cases in
which we should say, breast, bosom, &c. ;
but it is quite the language of nature.
12. Gesenius observes a paronomasia
in n«^:, and nMi:, — the simple variation
in sound being produced by the different
liquids 1 and 3. In the combination,
however, of the two terms, there is no
thing of that drawling with which he
charges the construction ; for, as he him
self shews, the former is the appropriate
word by which to express the appear
ance of men before their God for the
purpose of worship, &c. ; and the latter
expresses the fruitless fatigue and trouble
to which idolaters submit in worshipping
a deity from which no aid can be ob
tained. Comp. 1 Kings xviii. 26, &c.
For the same reason, we must reject
Seeker's conjecture, that nwi: '3 is an in
terpolation, 13, 14. That these verses refer to two
distinct prophecies cannot be disputed.
The only difficulty respects the time of
their delivery. Either the words are
those of Isaiah, in which case he spe
cifies two different periods at which he
received oracular announcements to de
liver against Moab, or, as Hitzig sup
poses, a prophecy delivered by some
more ancient prophet, which Isaiah
quotes, and then adds the definite speci
fication of time with respect to its fulfil
ment; or they are those of a later

prophet, whom the Lord employed te
repeat the words of Isaiah three years
before the completion of the prophecy.
That the latter is the more probable hy
pothesis, appears from the use of the
word wp, from that time, which never
stands absolutely, as here, except to de
note anciently, at some remote former
time. Considering, indeed, the long
period during which Isaiah prophesied,
it is quite possible that he may have
received the two predictions, with a long
interval between ; but the expression
would be more appropriate in the mouth
of a prophet who flourished upwards of
a hundred years after his death. Be
sides, we know of no invasion of Moabj
or destruction of its cities, in the time of
Isaiah ; and the appropriation of his
prophecy by Jeremiah to what was still
future at the time the latter prophet
wrote, affords convincing proof that the
same events are predicted by both. It
may, therefore, be concluded, that the
words were added, by Divine inspiration,
through the instrumentality of some
prophet who lived within three years of
the Babylonian invasion. — ^T3to':i!), the
years of an hireling, denote the certain,
fixed, or definite time in which the hired
labourer is to perform his work, and be
yond which it will not be protracted. —
lia3, which commonly signifies glory, is
here, as contrasted with "poij, the multi
tude, to be taken in the sense of
nobility, or honourable men. Comp.
chap. V. 14.

CHAP, xvii.] ISAIAH. 149

CHAPTER XVII.
the SENTENCE OF DAMASCUS.
Chapters xvii. and xviii. form another connected prophecy, but contain matter
relating to several nations. The whole is entitled, "The Sentence of Damascus,"
because it commences with denunciations against that power, 1 — 3 ; but the fate
of Ephraim is almost insensibly mixed up with it, on account of the confederacy
which existed between them, 3 — 6. The beneficial effects of the Divine judg
ments upon the remaining Israelites are described, 7, 8 ; and then 9 — 1 1 a more
affecting description is given of these judgments, and their cause expressly stated.
We have next, 12 — 14, an exhibition of the Assyrian army rushing forward
against Jerusalem, and its sudden and miraculous destruction. To this wonderful
intervention of Jehovah for the deliverance of his people, the attention of the
nations, and especially of Egypt and Ethiopia, is summoned, xviii. 1 — 3; a highly
wrought metaphorical description of the discomfiture of Sennacherib, with whom
the Ethiopians were at war, is then presented, 4 — 6 ; and the section concludes
with a prediction of presents which that people would, in consequence, forward
to Jerusalem, in honour of the true God, 7.
The different parts of the prophecy cohere both in point of subjects and chronology.
The destruction of Damascus was effected by Tiglath-pileser, b. c. 736, who
immediately thereon invaded the kingdom of Israel, and carried away many of
the inhabitants into Media and Assyria. The punishment of the latter kingdom
was still further inflicted by the Assyrian power, under Shalmaneser, e. o. 722 ;
and within twenty years afterwards Sennacherib undertook his celebrated expedi
tion against Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, and Hezekiah, king of Judah, when, as
here predicted, his army was completely overthrown by the miraculous power of
Jehovah, and he returned to Nineveh. See chap, xxxvii. 36, 37.

1 Behold, Damascus shall be removed from being a city ;
And shall become a heap of ruins.
1. i'tofi, in the books of Chronicles river Kur, in the north of Media. After
nwn^-n Q,™ . . A-„i, .. t. ^ this, its fates have been various, in the
PWT- Syr. ^oa^;,, Arab. ^j-^J, ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ Alrabians,
now commonly ^UJl , Damascus, the Saracens, Crusaders, and Turks, by
" whom It has been successively con-
metropolis of western Aramsea, or Syria, quered. It is now in the hands of the
It was a city in the days of Abraham, Egyptians, and is the capital of a
Gen. xiv. 15, xv. 2. 'Its kings, after the pashalic of the same name. It is situated
time of Solomon, were frequently en- on the Chrysorrhoas, now called Barady,
gaged in hostilities with the Jewish and in a large and beautiful plain, at the
Israelitish monarchs; and, at length, in foot of Antilibanus, and is one of the
the reign of Pekah, entered into a con- most opulent cities of the East. The
federacy with that usurper against Judah. population amounts to upwards of
It suffered most severely during the 100,000.— nJTi, before the participle iDiD,
invasion of Tiglath-pileser, by whom the indicates futurity ; see chap. vii. 14 ;
population were removed beyond the Gen. I. 5 ; 2 Sam. xx. 21 ; Jer. xxvii.

150

ISAIAH.

[chap, xvii.

The cities of Aroer shall be deserted ;
They shall be for flocks,
Which shall lie down, and none shall alarm them.-
And the fortress shall cease from Ephraim,
And the kingdom from Damascus and the rest of Syria ;,
As the glory of the children of Israel shall they be,
Saith Jehovah of hosts.
And it shall come to pass in that day :
The glory of Jacob shall be brought low ;:
And the fatness of his flesh become lean.
And it shall be as when a harvest-man gathereth the standing corn.
And reapeth the ears with his arm ;

16, xxxviii. 22.  i'»o=i'» ni'JTP, from
being a city, i. e. so as not to be what it
had been ; but, on the contrary, '»o, a
heap. This latter word, which occurs
only here, is equivalent to '», a heap of
ruins, and both are derived from ni», to
overthrow, destroy. The peculiar form
'»p is purposely chosen, to make it cor
respond to i'?P, and so to produce a
paronomasia. 2. l»i» '¦!* the LXX. render els tov
alava, as if their copy had read iiT'l?.
This rendering Lowth adopts, on the
grounds, that neither of the two cities
called Aroer, in the tribe of Gad, and
on the Arnon, can have any thing to do
with Damascus ; and, that " the cities
of Aroer," if Aroer is itself a city,
makes no good sense. It is clear, how
ever, from 1 Kings xxii. 3, and 2 Kings
X. 33, that the Syrians of Damascus
smote the Israelites in the whole of the
mountainous tract between the Arnon
and Bashan ; and they may have been
in possession of the principal towns at
the time Isaiah prophesied. But it is not
necessary to connect what is contained
in this verse with Damascus. It rather
refers to the removal of the Israelites
who occupied the country beyond the
Jordan by Tiglath-pileser, recorded
2 Kings XV. 29; where, it is obvious,
Gilead is to be taken in its most exten
sive sense, as comprehending all the
territory just mentioned. This depopu
lation the prophet foretels, after having
predicted the desti-uction of Damascus,
and then proceeds, in the third verse, to
combine the two confederate states in

the same overthrow. The phrase 'TJ
l»is>, the cities of Aroer, is just as intel
ligible as !l'l?^?l Ii3il5n, Heshbon and all
her cities, Josh. xiii. 17 ; reference being
had in both cases to other towns in the
vicinity connected with, or dependent
upon them.
3. By the fortress of Ephraim, some
understand Damascus, on account of the
aid which that city afforded to the ten
tribes; but the juxta-position in which
it stands with the kingdom of Damascus,
immediately following, shews that Sa
maria and other fortified places must be
meant. Comp. Hos. x. 14. — The most
natural division of the verse is that
made by the Masorites, and adopted' in
our common version, by placing the
Athnach under D^. This of course
renders altogether nugatory the conjec
ture of Houbigant, which Lowth follows,
by which i«^ is to be changed into nkjto.
" The glory of the children of Israel"
means, not their glory in the plenitude
of its possession, but in its diminished
and reduced state, as described in the
following verse. Both kingdoms were
to share the same fate.
4. ypSl, Jacob, is here used in a re
stricted sense, in application to the ten
tribes. Comp. Hos. xii. 2 ; Micah i. 5.
For the rest of the verse, compare chap.
X. 1 6 ; only in the present case, the me
taphor is not to be confined to the
captains of the Israelitish army, but
comprehends the rich and prosperous
portion of the community.
5. 1'VjT., harvest, may stand for i'3p^w'«,
a harvestman, or it may be taken as a

CHAP, xvii.]

ISAIAH.

151

It shall even be as the gleaning of ears.
In the valley of Rephaiin.
6 For gleanings shall be left in it, as in the olive harvest ;
Two or three berries on the top of a high tree ;
Four or five on the branches of one that is fruitful ;
Saith Jehovah, the God of Israel.
7 In that day shall a man have regard to his Maker,
And his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel :
8 He shall not have regard to the altars, the work of his hands.
Nor look to the things which his fingers have made —
The images of Astarte, or the pillars of the Sun.

noun adjective with the same significa
tion, like CBS, tj:, Tpn, &c. Before i»ii
supply a. Comp. 'Jai, Ps. Ixxiii. 2. The
different actions of the reaper and
gleaner are designed to convey the idea
of total consumption. Such metaphorical
allusions to the harvest in reference to
the destruction of the inhabitants of a
country, are frequent in Scripture. — The
valley of Rephraim lay to the south-west
of Jerusalem, but near it, on the con
fines of Judah and Benjamin. It was
about fifteen stadia in extent, andof great
fertility. Its name appears to have been
derived from its having been originally
occupied by a section of the ancient
Canaanitish giants. Comp. Josh. xv. 8 ;
2 Sam. V. 18, 22, xxiii. 13.
6. In order still farther to set forth
the extent of the devastation, but yet to
intimate, that, in the sparing mercy of
God, some few of the inhabitants should
be left, the prophet borrows an image
from the olive-harvest, — ia refers to 'iW'_,
ver. 4. — nib^i?, gleanings, from fi^, to do
any thing a second time, to do it tho
roughly ; Arab. ^j£. , bibendum dedit
secundS. vice, post priorem haustum, 2d
Conj. ; bibit iterum iterumque, et iia
carpsit frucius, Gol. For the enallage
generis, see chap. xvi. 8. — nn tjpb, lit.
the beating of the olive-tree, in allusion
to the mode of reaping the olives, by
beating the branches with a stick, and
thus causing the berries to fall off. In
such a process, it often happens that a
few are left unobserved by the reapers.
Comp. Deut. xxiv. 20 ; Isa. xxvii. 12,
where Ban is employed to denote the

same action. — D'lja'ia, berries generally,
here olives or olive-berries. Chald. I'aia ;
Arab. j»-f»- , faba, but used here by
Saadias for olives. It seems properly to
be an intensive form of nia, a small corn,
bean, berry, or grain. — I'PM, a towering
branch ; LXX. iir dpKov peredpov ;
Vulg. in summitate rami. The etymo
logy of the word is best illustrated by
reference to the Arab. jjk.<,l , Emir, dux,
princeps, one who is at the head of
others. — The n in TO?? ™ay be the suffix
anticipative of n»i's, more Aramaico ; or
the words ought to be divided and read
¦ thus : njisn '!»d. Before nno is an ellip
sis of y? or n'l.
7, 8. Under the pressure of calamity,
the remnant of the people would be
brought to a conviction of the folly of
idolatry, and abandon its rites for the
worship and service of the true God. —
ny^, Ger. schauen, among other signifi
cations, denotes to look to any one for
help. — The 1 in D'mn™ t3'i«h«Ti is to
be rendered distrihutively : either — or.
Comp. Exod. xxi. 1 7. These two words
describe the principal objects of Pheni
cian and Syrian idolatry, as artificial
representatives of their prototypes in the
planetary system : the one class of images
representing Baal, or the Sun ; and the
other, Astarte, the Moon, or Venus.
nii&!, of which DT*? is the mas. plur.
(D':iDfi or D'^'pB, images, being under
stood,) has most commonly been ren
dered groves; and, from the fact that
groves were anciently chosen for pur
poses of religious, and especially of idol
atrous worship, it has generally been

152

ISAIAH.

[chap. xvii.

9 In that day his fortified cities shall be
Like what is left of the thickets and the tall forests,

maintained by expositors that such are
here meant. It has, however, been
shewn by various authors, and espe
cially, of late, by Gesenius, that this sig
nification will not suit many of the
passages in which the term occurs ; and
that, in others, the idea of a grove is
next to absurd. There is nothing in the
word itself, etymologically considered,
or in any of its cognates, that would
suggest such an idea. Nor is the accep
tation temple or shrine, one whit better
supported. Though commonly rendered
dXa-os by the LXX., whence, through
the Vulg., the signification of grove has
crept into the modern versions, yet they
have rendered njtfM by 'Aorapri;, 2 Chron.
XV. 16; 'AiTTapTai, xxiv. 18. Aq. and
Symm. have also more than once trans
lated it in the same way ; and even the
Vulg. itself has Astaroth for niltS«, the
fem. plur. form, Jud. iii. 7. To the in
terpretation which would assign Astarte
as the meaning, it may be objected, that
this goddess is called n"in?)», Ashtoreth,
in' Scripture, and her images, nilFnjto,
Ashtaroik ; but it is no unusual thing in
mythology, for gods to have more than
one name, all of which, however, are
significative of some peculiar quality, or
operation. With respect to n'into, it is
now fixed, that it corresponds to the
Persic, !i .(jU) , and the Zabian Syriac,
jZAffij, and signifies the Star, i.e. by
way of eminence, in a religious point of
view. ftpiiM, on the other hand, signifies
fortune, happiness, or the goddess by
whom they were conferred. This the
Phenicians and Syrians considered to be
Venus, or the female generative princi
ple, the companion and spouse of Baal,
or the sun : though, according to Lucian,
De Dea Syr. 4, and Herodian, v. 6, 10,
the Moon had this honour ascribed to
her. The late Dr. Munter was of opi
nion, that originally the Moon was wor
shipped under the name of Astarte, but
that in process of time, it cam^ to be
transferred by the licentious Syrians to
Venus. The word thus agrees with the
Heb. i*«, ^», happiness, and the verb

ittisi, to go forward, prosper, be happy,
&c. The worship of this goddess was
destructive of female virtue, and other
wise consisted of many licentious rites.
Her image had the form of a woman,
with the head and horns of a bull, to
which there is an evident allusion in the
very ancient name, Ashteroth-Karnaim,
i. e. the two-horned Ashteroth, Gen.
xiv. 5. From the frequent references
made to this worship in the Old Testa
ment, it is clear, the Hebrews, especially
the ten tribes, whose territory bordered
on Phenicia and Syria, were, at times,
much addicted to it. — D'jon, the other
term here employed, is derived from
OPP, to be hot; hence nan, the solar
heat, Ps. xix. 7, and the Sun himself.
Job xxx. 28 ; Is. xxiv. 23, xxx. 26. That
images or statues erected for the worship
of the Sun are meant, is placed beyond
all doubt by Gesenius, ifl his recent work
on Phenician literature. On a stone
found on Malta, is the Punic inscription,
p« :on tos';, To Baal Hamdn, a stone.
Another reads : "'sa ::i«') 3")S>3')1 rtn :rai';
•yfia-as 33 iBon rnnitw u n: i»m :on. To
our Lady Tholath, and our Lord Baal
Hamdn, a man vows to the goddess of
fortune — the writer — Ben Ebed-milkar ;
and so others that might be quoted.
These two inscriptions not only contain
the word of our text, and that in con
nexion with Baal, but the latter has
likewise Astaroth and Gad, both denot
ing Fortune in an idolatrous sense. See
Isa. Ixv. 11, where 13 is improperly ren
dered troop in the common translation.
According to Spencer, ii. 25, the most
ancient images of the Sun erected by the
Egyptians, Syrians, and Phenicians, were
conical or pyramidal in shape, resem
bling a rising flame. AiBos be tIs ian
peyio'Tos, KdTaBev 7repi(j)epfis, Xijyav els
d^vrrjTa' Kavoeibes avrd irxvpa peXatvd
Tc )J xpo'fl- Herodian. V. iii. 10. Besides
the present instance, D'lV^ and D':Qn
are combined, chap, xxvii. 9, and in
connexion with D'toa, 2 Chron. xxxiv.
4, 7.
9. The suffix in i-wn, refers to Jacob,
ver. 4. The rest of the verse involves
no small difficulty. The ancient trans-

chap.

xvii.]

ISAIAH.

153

10

11

Which were left before the children of Israel :
Each of them shall be desolate.
Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation,
And hast not remembered the Rock of thy strength ;
Therefore thou may est plant pleasant plants.
And set a foreign shoot.
In the day when thou plantest it, thou mayest hedge it in ;
And in the morning, what thou hast set may blossom ;

lators, as well as the moderns, have been
perplexed by it. Aq. renders tfnriri
I'DNrn, testa et Emir ; Symm. sylva et
Amir; Theod. Ars, or Hores et Amir.
The LXX. reversing the order of the
words : oi ' Apoppaioi Kal ol 'Evaloi, i. e.
ihe Amorites and the Hivites, which is
adopted by both the Lowths, Michaelis,
Struensee, Koppe, Dathe, Eichhorn, and
Boothroyd. This rendering is, however,
decidedly and justly rejected by Doder
lein, Gesenius, and Hitzig, as having no
foundation in the Hebrew text. The
Syr., Saad., and Hitzig, consider the
words to be the names of places ; yet as
ilJin clearly appears, from Ezek. xxxi. 3 ;
1 Sam. xxiii. 15, 16; 2 Chron. xxvii. 4;
to signify a dense wood, thicket, or such
like ; comp. Chald. «*!«, Sam. A^»»<\ A^,
wood ; and, as I'p.^ occurs, ver. 6, in the
sense of a tall tree, it is most natural to
assign to it the same signification in this
place : so that, regarded as collective
nouns, the former will denote such woods
as consist of low trees or shrubs, the
intertwisting branches of which form
thickets; and the latter, forests of tall
and stately trees, as cedars, pines, &c.
There is at least more consistency in this
interpretation than in that of Gesenius,
who considers the latter word to signify
the summit of a mountain. — 13W itfs, lit.
which they left ; but as there is no ante
cedent, it is better to render the verb
passively, as Job vii. 3, xxxii. 15. See
Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 798 ; Luke xii. 20.
At the same time, there seems no reason
to doubt, that reference is had to the
native Canaanites who were compelled
to abandon their country on its occupa
tion by the Hebrews ; so that ':Bp 131»
forms a coristructio prmgnans, — " which
they left, (when they fled,) before the
children of Israel;" or, passively, "which

were left," when they, i.e. the Canaanites
fled before, &c. The allusion is to the
woods and forests, which covered a great
part of the country, at the time the
Israelites took possession of it, but which
had afterwards, with few exceptions,
been cut down. So it should be with
the fortified cities of Israel. — nn;n, the
fem. sing., though construed with D'i»,
the plur. mas., because the subjects spoken
of are inanimate. Such construction of
the plural, technically ealled the pluralis
inhumanus, is predominant in Arabic.
Other Hebrew instances occur, Ps.
xxxvii. 31 ; Job xiv. 19, xxxix. 14.
See Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 719.
10. In '^isn there is a reference to
iwo, ver. 9. If the Israelites had served
Jehovah, they would have found in him
that defence, which none of their forti
fied cities could yield them ; but having
forsaken him, they had nothing to expect
but disappointment and misery. — The
fem. gender is here introduced, and con
tinued to the end of the following verse,
which closes the section. D», of common
gender, is understood. — US, Rock, ia
frequently employed metaphorically as
a Divine name. See Deut. xxxii. 4, 15,
18, 30, 31 ; Isa. xxvi. 4 ; 1 Cor. x. 4.
The antithesis between the true God,
and the "pleasant plants " and " foreign
shoots," clearly shews, that by the latter
are meant the idols which the Israelites
had imported from Phenicia and Syria,
and the sinful alliances and gratifications
connected with their worship, nipj is a
collective. — 3>1J, to sow, is here, as chap.
xl. 24, used for planting.
11. 'atoatop, the Pilpel of aife, the same
as ^i», aiD ?]3to, to hedge, surround with a
hedge, Arab. Ii , coronatus, et re ali-

qua, tanquam corona, cinctus fuit.
X

The

154

ISAIAH.

[chap. xvii.

But the harvest shall flee away.
In the day of pain and desperate grief.
12 Ho ! the noise of many peoples,
They make a noise like the noise of seas ;
The roaring of nations,
Like the roaring of mighty waters, they roar.
13 As for the nations, like the roaring of many waters they may roar.
But he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away ;
They shall be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind.
And like the whirling stubble before the hurricane.
14 At the time of evening, behold terror !
Before morning, they are no more !

derivation from aato cannot be sustained.
3>i; in the sense of sapling oi scion. Comp.
»ii, ver. 10. — IS is the Benon. participle
of 113, to flee away, vanish, and strikingly
expresses the eomplete disappearance of
all the advantages which the Israelites
expected from their idolatrous con
nexions. Instead of these, they were
to reap pain and sorrow of the severest
description.  njn:. The close con
nexion in which this word stands with
ttSi:« aM3, shews that it is not to be taken
in the sense of possession, from "jn:, but
is a participial noun fem. in Niph. from
Tl^, to be sick, in pain, &c., only the
Hateph-Patach must be changed into
Sheva. Thus nji^:, Jer. xiv. 17, xxx. 12,
and two of the Erfurt Codices, have the
same punctuation in this place. In this
way, too, the Syr. and Saad. construe
,the passage, Gesenius, following the
LXX., Aq., Symm., and Vulg., renders,
day of possession.
12, 18. With the former of these
verses commences a new subject, which
is prosecuted to the end of chap, xviii.
Having brought to a close what he had
to deliver respecting the punishment of
Syria and Ephraim by the Babylonians,
the prophet makes a sudden transition
to the invasion of Judea by the army of
Sennacherib ; and while he describes in
strong language its terrific approach, he
predicts its sudden and complete over
throw. — ^"in, ho ! an exclamation here
used to call attention to the Assyrian
army. The repetition of the same terms
gives pathos to the passage. It is true,
the first five words of ver. 13 are want

ing in seven MSS., originally in another,
and in the Syr., which has excited the
suspicion, that as they are nearly identi
cal with the last member of the preced
ing verse, they have been repeated by
some inadvertent transcriber. Be this
as it may, the text, as it stands in the
printed editions, agrees with that from
which the LXX. translated ; and the
repetition is found in all the other ver
sions, the Syr. alone excepted. On the
supposition of its genuineness, Gesenius
finds in it a climactic rhythm, a species
of Hebrew poetry, according to which, a
subsequent verse resumes and repeats
the closing words of the preceding. The
comparison of the tumultuous noise of
an army to the roaring of the sea,
which Isaiah had already employed,
chap. V. 30, is frequently used in the
Psalms and the prophets. — The refer
ence in the suff. i3 and the corresponding
singular of the verbs D: and f)'^, is to
Sennacherib understood. — The "chaff
of the mountains," is the chaff carried
off by a sudden and violent gust of wind
from the threshing floor, which was
usually situated on some hill or elevated
place.— Wa, from ^^, to roll, forcibly
expresses the rolling accumulations of
stubble, dust, &c. which are borne up
wards into the air, during a hurricane.
No metaphor could more aptly describe
the sudden destruction of the hostile
army. See my Biblical Researches, p.
395. 14. A strong antithesis. Comp. Ps.
xxx. 6. The verse concludes with a
shout of exultation over the downfal of

chap, xviii,] ISAIAH. 155
This is the portion of them that spoil us ;
The lot of them that plunder us.
the enemy, which strikingly expresses the which fifteen MSS. and two of the early
feelings of the inhabitants of Jerusalem editions exhibit, though countenanced
on the morning of their deliverance, by the LXX,, Syr,, Targ,, and Vulg.,
See chap, xxxvii. 36. The i before is3'm, can scarcely be considered genuine.

CHAPTER XVIII.

While considerable obscurity hangs over certain parts of this prophecy, it never
theless presents several points, which serve as distinct landmarks for the guidance
of the interpreter. That it is not a separate or disjointed portion of the book, may
be maintained on three grounds : First, it is not introduced as a distinct prophecy,
which is the case with all the other prophetic oracles contained in chaps, xiii. —
xxiii. Secondly, it is not denunciatory of judgment upon the nation to which it
refers, which is likewise the case with those oracles. And, thirdly, vers. 4 — 6
are so obviously parallel with chap. xvii. 13, 14, that they can only with pro
priety be viewed as referring to the same event. It must, therefore, be connected
with the three last verses of the preceding chapter; and, according to the
unstrained explanation of the geographical and other features which it exhibits,
and the historical circumstances of the period, there is no country to which
it can consistently be applied but Ethiopia. At the time Sennacherib invaded
Judea, which was towards the close of the fourteenth year of Hezekiah 's reign,
the king of Ethiopia was Tirhakah, a monarch of great military renown, (Strabo,
XV. 1. 6,) whose figure, name, and the expedition which he undertook against Sen
nacherib, are recorded on the walls of a Theban temple. Wilkinson's Ancient
Egyptians, vol. i. p. 140. According to the Phonetic alphabet his name is
THDK , or, as found on the ruins of Medinath-Abu, and those of the mountain
Barkal, in Abyssinia, "THOK^, See Resell. Mon. ii. tab. 8. Succeeding Sabacho,
and Sevechus or So, he also reigned over Upper Egypt; and, in all probability,
had his residence at Thebes. As the ultimate object of Sennacherib was the
conquest of Egypt, Tirhakah, being informed of his approach, set out with an
army to attack him. See 2 Kings xix. 9 ; Isa. xxxvi. 9. While on the point of
taking Jemsalem, the army of the king of Assyria was miraculously destroyed ;
and as this event was not only of immense importance politically, but calculated
to draw the attention of the surrounding nations to the character and claims of
Jehovah, it was proper that messengers should -be despatched to the principal
powers, and especially to Tirhakah, who was more than ordinarily interested in the
fate of the Assyrian army. The despatch of these messengers, and the result
which followed, form the subject of the present chapter.

156

ISAIAH.

[chap, xviii.

1 Ho ! thou land of rustling wings,
Which art beyond the rivers of Cush ;

1. One grand source of the misinter
pretation of this chapter has been the
false idea which many have attached to
the interjection 'in. Instead of render
ing it ho ! as a call, summoning atten
tion, which the context requires, most
translators have improperly followed the
oval of the ancient Greek versions, and
given it in terms which express theaten-
ing.— d;|:3 ^2)2 yi». About the meaning
of these words interpreters are greatly
divided. Many, adopting the idea ex
pressed by the LXX., yrjS irXoiav irre-
pvyes, which is also that dilated upon in
the Targ., consider the wings to signify
ihe sails of ships, and apply the passage
according to their favourite hypotheses —
as Ludovic. Legionensis to the Spanish
fleets carrying out the Romish mission
aries to South America, and Horsley to
Britain employing her navy in carrying
back the Jews to Palestine ! Some refer
Dti:3 to Kneph, an Egyptian idol with
wings ; while others conjecture that the
sistrum, or winged cymbal, which the
Egyptians used at their sacrifices, is in
tended. As 'J2)2 may be referred to ^^2,
in the sense of shadowing, it has also
been supposed that it may apply to
Egypt, on account of the two ranges of
mountains by which it is inclosed; or,
to the regions between the tropics,
where the shadow falls now towards the
north, and now towards the south, in the
course of the day ; or, finally, to the
protection which Egypt promised to the
Jews. But all these modes of solution
seem fanciful and farfetched : so that we
are reduced to the construction first sug
gested by Symm. oval yrjs d rjxos irrepa-
Tos ; and must explain the words, either
of the rustling noise made by the wings
of locusts, which greatly abound in
Egypt, or of that made by the arms of
soldiers when engaged in battle. To the
former of these interpretations, which
is that of Hiller, Michaelis, and others,
it must be objected, that it would not
afford any characteristic description
either of Egypt or Ethiopia, since lo
custs abound fully as much in other
countries of the East. The latter, which
is ably supported by Gesenius, is alone

entitled to adoption. D^DB we have
already found to be used in application
to an army, chap. viii. 8 ; and the redii-
plicate form of '^^j which nowhere
occurs in the acceptation of shadow,
onomatopoetically expresses the idea of
tinkling, clanging, or rustling, and is used
Job xl. 31, of 'Cne flsh-spear or harpoon,
and in the plural, I3'^2^2, to denote cym
bals, 2 Sam. vi. 5 ; Ps. cl. 5. Comp. the
Arab. Qjc , sonuit cum tinnitu ferrum,
and jJ,.,aLa , cum tonitru quodam
sonuit ; hence (J.^aLa , tiniinnabulum.
To no country could the words at the
time more aptly apply than to Ethiopia.
Its armies were exceedingly numerous.
If, as there is reason to believe, Zerah,,
mentioned 2 Chron. xiv. 8, was king of the
African Ethiopians, that people was able
to bring into the field, in the reign of
Asa, not fewer than a million of men,
" a huge host with very many chariots
and horsemen," 2 Chron. xiv. 8, xvi. 8,
And Tirhakah was so celebrated as a
mighty conqueror, that Megasthenes
mentions his having advanced as far as
the Pillars of Hercules, and classes him
along with Sesostris and Nebuchad
nezzar. Strabo, xv. 1. 6.-1*3 'in:^ i3»p,
beyond the rivers of Cush. Comp. Zeph.
iii. 10. Vitringa and others, among whom
Hitzig, ineffectually attempt to give to
'"} I3»p the sense, on this side of. It al
ways signifies what lies beyond some sea,
river, &c. which is supposed to be be
tween it and the person speaking. Comp,
Deut. xxx. 13, and for 13», Judg. xi. 18;
Jer. xxv. 22. Hence ITI'.lI i?», and
in:n 135?, uniformly signify the opposite,
i. e. the east side of the Jordan and the
Euphrates, when used by a writer or
speaker living to the west of these rivers.
'fhe instances in which it marks the
countries to the west of them, either con
tain some qualifying term, or place the
speaker on the east side. That by *3,
Cush, according to the Phonetic alphabet,
eOtUCy , we are here to understand
what is commonly called Ethiopia, now

chap, xviii.]

ISAIAH.

1.57

Which sendest ambassadors by sea,
And in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters :
Go, ye swift messengers, to the nation drawn out and plucked ;
To the people terrible from the first and onward ;

known by the name of Abyssinia, and
neither the Arabian Cush, nor that
which lay towards the Caspian Sea, is
generally agreed. It was situated on
the west side of the Red Sea, and com
prised the regions above Syene, includ
ing Nubia and Kordofan. It was at
times subject to the Pharaohs ; at other
times Upper Egypt was subject to its
monarchs. The latter was the case
when Isaiah wrote. A dynasty consist
ing of the three kings, mentioned above,
reigned over Ethiopia, and Pathros or
the Thebaid, for the space of forty or
forty-four years, till the latter was re
covered under Psammiticus.  " The
rivers of Cush," are the three principal
streams, anciently denominated the Asta-
boras, the Astapus, and the Astasobas,
Strabo, xvii. i. 2. Pliny, and now known
by the names of the Tacazze, the Ma
rch, and the Bahr-el-Abiad. The Asta-
boras and the Astapus surrounded the
large island, or rather peninsula, Meroe,
on which was built the celebrated city
of the same name. These rivers, flow
ing through the northern parts of Ethi
opia, are here appropriately called by its
name ; while the country itself, lying for
the most part to the south of them, and
enclosed by them on the north, is with
equal propriety said to lie beyond them.
2. A further description of Ethiopia.
The masc. of the Partic. n%5 agrees so
far with yiM, ver. 1, that it borrows from
it the idea of people, which is masc. ; so
that there is a constructio ad sensum.
That DJ. and D;p are here synonymous is
more than doubtful. From their border
ing on the Red Sea, the Ethiopians
must have carried on a maritime inter
course with the opposite coast of Arabia,
and eastwards in the direction of India,
if they did not trade with that country
itself. To this it has been objected, that
the small papyrus boats, mentioned im
mediately after, were altogether unsuit
able for navigating the Red Sea; but it
is carefully to be noticed, that Isaiah
does not state that the ambassadors who

went by sea proceeded in such boats ;
he takes it for granted that they would
use larger vessels, and confines the for
mer to the waters, i. e. of the Nile, and
other rivers in the interior. For this
use of d;p, see Exod. vii, 15 ; viii. 6.—
As D'T2 is used of images, chap. xlv. 16,
Bochart, Phaleg. iv. 11, supposed that
the prophet refers to an Egyptian cus
tom of annually carrying an image of
Isis from place to place on the rivers ;
but ambassadors or messengers, — which
the word clearly signifies, Prov. xiii. 17,
xxv. 13; Isa. Ivii. 9; Jer. xlix. 14;
Obad. i. ; in most of which passages it
is, as here, construed with the verb rro, —
yields a much more suitable sense. The
vast power and extensive influence of
Tirhakah would require an incessant
transmission of despatches to foreign
parts, the facilities of which by water
were great. — MpJ-'ta the LXX, strangely
render iiria-ToXds ^i^Xivas, though, liv
ing in Egypt, they must have been fami
liar with what is expressed by the words.
Koppe, however, conjectures that the
words originally read iirl o-toXois |St-
^Xivois. The versions of Aquila, iv
o'Keveo'i. ^ifiXiov; Symm. Sid oKevdv
naiTvpivav ; Theod. iv iTKeveai, naitvpov ;
the Syr. . 5021*3; p^oo; and the
Vulg. in vasis papyri; give the true
sense. Reeden skiffs were very common
in Egypt ; and also, according to Helio-
dorus, in Ethiopia Proper. They were
made of the Egyptian reed called pa
pyrus, the cyperus papyrus of modern
botanists, to which the Hebrews gave
the name of «p3, from the circumstance
of its being porous, and thus absorbing
much moisture, spa, absorpsit, drink up;
Hiph. to give to drink. It was of this
material of which the vessel was con
structed to which Moses was committed,
Exod. ii. 2. Being exceedingly light,
and so small that commonly they held
only one person, they sailed with great
velocity on the surface of the water.

158

ISAIAH.

[chap, xviii.

The nation powerful and victorious.
Whose country the rivers divide !

t3;i?"'.3.B'^? ; and when the persons who
navigated them came to a cataract, or
to n, place where the stream was dried
up, they carried them on their shoulders
till they could again embark. See Pliny,
xiii. 11, vi. 56 ; Lucan. Pharsal. iv. 36 ;
Plutarch de Is. et Osir. § 358 ; Theo-
phrast. Hist. Plaut. iv. 9 ; Wilkinson's
Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii. p. 185 ;
Kimchi and Lee on Job ix. 26, where
such vessels are called n3« ni':«, reed-
vessels ; and Gesen. in loc.
In D'^i? D'3«^p, swift messengers, there
is reference to the D'1'2, ambassadors,
and to the swiftness with which they
proceeded on their embassies in the pa
pyrus boats. The prophet calls upon
these to go with all celerity to Ethiopia,
to announce the wonderful interposition
of Jehovah for the deliverance of the
Jews. Information would first of all be
conveyed to Tirhakah and his army in
Egypt, and then to the Thebaid and
Ethiopia ; so that the whole nation would
become acquainted with the way in which
their formidable enemy had been over
thrown. Ezek. xxx. 9, is partly parallel
in point of language, but the subject is
altogether different, — mini tpSap 'i3, Ge
senius renders actively, the nation robust
and valiant ; Hitzig, tall in growth, and
glossy, which he applies to the Macrobian
Ethiopians ; though he is inclined to
translate ^op, long-lived, in reference
to their longevity. But the ancient ver
sions represent the words as passive par
ticiples. In this verse, indeed, the LXX.
have eBvos pereapov, but in ver. 7, where
the same words occur, Xaov TeSXippe- A g V
vov Kal TeriXpevov ; Syr. ^j_»^io; j^a,^
V =:
* .nS^ ; Vulg, gentem convulsam et di-
laceratam ; Targ. «1'131 «D':« NO», With
respect to '^^gnp, Gesenius, abandoning
the usual significations of drawing, draw
ing out, &c., which attach to pip, attempts
to establish that of being strong, flrm,
&c., but fails in making good his point,
as may be seen by comparing the pas
sages which he adduces in proof in his
larger Lexicon. The verb seems evi

dently to express the state of the Ethio
pian nation, during the extensive wars
of Tirhakah, when the mass of the people
were drawn out, or taken away from their
occupations and homes ; or, as Grotius ex
presses it, cujus magna pars in longinquis
expeditionibus occupata est. It is used
in a military acceptation, Judg. iv. 6,
XX. 37. The interpretation of Vitringa,
Lowth, Dathe, and others, which consi
ders the term to be descriptive of the
great length of Egypt, is quite aside
from the mark ; since it is the people,
and not the country that is here the
subject. loiin may either be a subst.
derived from I3'i% or a contracted form
of the Pual. part, ainp, from BIP, which
signifies to pluck, tear out or away, as
the hair, &c., and is here used to describe
further the condition to which the Ethio
pians were reduced by war : the best
part of the population being forced to
take the field. — That D», people, is iden
tical with 'ia, nation, and that Gesenius
is wrong in supposing two nations to be
meant, appears from the repetition of 'ia,
immediately after. The words are used
synonymously of the same people. — )p
™?f73 ^^1 lit- from it and further, is here
employed in a temporal, and not in a
local sense, which would not at all suit
the connexion. Comp. Lev. xxii. 27;
1 Sam. xviii. 9 ; Nah. ii. 9. The phrase
is expressive of extreme antiquity. That
the Ethiopians must anciently have been
a very enterprising and formidable people,
is evident from their having taken pos
session of so large a portion of Africa,
founded the large cities of Axum, Adule,
Meroe, and Thebes, and acquired vast
quantities of the precious metals, partly
by mining, and partly by commerce and
conquest. There may even be a refer
ence to their history long anterior to
their emigration apross the Arabian
Gulf.  ijrig. No attempt to interpret
these words according to the usual ac
ceptations of 1]? has given satisfaction.
Gesenius happily illustrates them by
comparing the Arab. 'iJi , power, domi
nion, which was first suggested by Auri-
vilius. The repetition is intensive, as

chap. XVIIl.]

ISAIAH.

159

All ye inhabitants of the world,
Ye that dwell on the earth :
When the standard is raised on the mountains, look ye !
And when the trumpet is sounded, hear ye !
For thus hath Jehovah said to me :
I will sit calmly and look on in my dwelling-place ;
It may be like the serene heat in sun-shine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest ;
But before the harvest, when the blossom is gone.
And the flower has become a ripening fruit.

in IB-IB, Wa, &c. That they are properly
one word, in a reduplicate form, may be
inferred from the occurrence of the same
form, ''2)2 and D'^!>1, in verses 1 and 5 of
this very chapter. — nDi3p, trampling,
treading down, in reference to their tread
ing their enemies under their feet. That
both nouns are to be understood in an
active sense, appears from the use of
N'li:, terrible, just before. — ^1«13 is a dira^
Xey. Most translators, both ancient and
modern, consider it to be the same as
nj3, to plunder, spoil, which four of Ken
nicott's MSS. exhibit ; and expositors
give the meaning, spoil, destroy, in refer
ence either to the land, or the people,
according as they take rivers in a literal
or a figurative sense. All such inter
pretations, however, are at variance with
the connexion, which requires an idea to
be expressed favourable, and not injuri
ous to the people spoken of. I am,
therefore, induced to adopt the render
ing of Gesenius, to cut, divide, comparing
»13, »2a, Arab, c y > as in De Sacy's
Abd-Allatif. p. 579 : jSjiJ list c y, the
water hurst forth at the aperture, &c.
Besides the three large rivers already
noticed, ver. 1, which maybe said rather
to flow round, than to divide the country
of Abyssinia, it is intersected by a vast
number of minor streams, whereby its
fertility is greatly promoted. Bruce's
Travels. 3, 4. Though the following message
was specially to be sent to the Ethiopians,
it was to be published far and wide. All
the nations are, therefore, summoned to
attend to the position of the Assyrian

army around Jerusalem. The siege is
just about to commence, when the pro
phet receives the revelation, that how
threatening soever the aspect of things
may appear, Jehovah is not affected by
it, but views, in imperturbable majesty,
the puny attempt of the enemy of his
people. As it regards the Babylonians,
every thing is promising; : their plan is
ripened, as the fruit is by intense sun
shine and the copious dews of night, and
they are on the very point of carrying it
into effect, when Jehovah interposes and
frustates it. — The 3 before Dii and a» ex
presses similitude, and is not to be taken
as a particle of time in this place. The
reference in the substantive verb under
stood, is not to Jehovah, but to the pro
sperous appearance of the Babylonians. —
liM, Vitringa, Lowth, Doderlein, and re
cently, Boettcher, render herbs, and
others, after the Rabbins, rain; but it
is to be taken, as Hab. iii. 4, of ihe
shining of the Sun. Thus the versions,
with the exception of the Syriac, if
jlou be not a mistake for lIoiOJ. —
Ten MSS,, originally three more, and
now three, the LXX,, Syr,, and Vulg.,
read I'?!;. Di'3, in the day of harvest, in
stead of T2i7 Dri-i, while there is, or, in
ihe heat of harvest. The common read
ing is more appropriate.
5. '3 is here adversative. Dpn does
not express the perfection of the blossom,
but its ceasing to exist. Comp. Ezek.
xlvii. 12. 1D3 properly signifies unripe
or sour grapes ; in the dialects it is used
more extensively of all unripe fruit, on
account of its acidity. n2: is the subject
of the proposition ; but owing to the

160

ISAIAH.

[chap, xviii.

He shall cut off the twigs with pruning hooks.
And the shoots he shall remove by cutting them off.
They shall be left together for the ravenous bird of the mountains.
And for the wild beasts of the earth ;
The ravenous bird shall summer on them,
And every wild beast of the earth shall winter on them.
At th^t time a present shall be brought to Jehovah of Hosts,
From the people drawn out and plucked ;
From the people terrible from the first and onward ;
The nation powerful and victorious.
Whose country the rivers divide.
To the place of the name of Jehovah of Hosts,
Mount Zion.

transposition, n;n< follows in gender the
mas. of the preceding predicate, instead
of being put in the fem. to agree with
n2:. Independently of -this, however,
the verb may be in the mas., as occur
ring before the noun. Ewald, p. 352.
There is, therefore, no necessity, with
Lowth, to regard the n in ns: to be the
pron. affix, inn, at the pause for inn,
from tin, a dira^ Xey. but evidently allied
to the Arab. :b , to cut off; and placed
absolutely, without a copulative, after
the manner of the Syriac. The signifi
cation is given by the LXX. diroKoyjrei. —
The prophet compares the hostile army
to a vineyard or orchard nearly ready to
be reaped, but all at once made com
pletely desolate. The warriors of Sen
nacherib were not permitted to engage
in battle, and thus, in the figurative
language of prophecy, to be reaped, but
were miraculously cut off.
6. In this verse, the figure is dropped,
and instead of the fruit spoken of be
coming food for the ravenous animals,
the dead bodies of the enemy are to be
their repast, nana properly signifies any
tame animal, but in the more elevated
style, yi«n npna is equivalent to yiMii n^n,
a wild beast. Comp. Deut. xxviii. 26.
Its occurrence in connexion with W», a

bird of prey, shews that such is its mean
ing here. The distribution in the two
latter lines of the verse is not to be
understood as limiting the ravenous birdjs
to the period of summer, and the wild
beasts to that of winter; it is only a
poetical division of the whole year. They
were to feast upon them both summer
and winter. The verbs yp and fj'itj are
denominatives, from ys, summer, and
fl'in, winter. 1 in I'js is to be taken col
lectively of the carcases of the slain.
7. The prophet now foreshows what
would be the result of communicating to
the Ethiopians, information respecting
the miraculous destruction of the As
syrians. That a literal present is here
meant, there seems no reason to doubt ;
see 2 Chron. xxxii. 23 ; though it is also
highly probable that the impression pro
duced upon that people, on the present
occasion, paved the way for the intro
duction of revealed religion among them
at a subsequent period, when sacrifices
of a nobler character were offered to the
Lord. Comp. Zeph. iii. 10. — The lan
guage is almost identical with that em
ployed in the description, ver. 2. The
prefixing of 1 to D»p evinces, that there
is an ellipsis of p before D», in the pre
ceding line. Its being wanting in six
MSS. has littie weight.

chap, xix.j ISAIAH. 161

CHAPTER XIX.
THE SENTENCE OF EGYPT.
This chapter, which is directed against Egypt, contains a prediction of the anarchy
and confusion which existed in that country, during, and after, the dodecarchy,
1 — 3; the cruelties of Cambyses, 4; great physical and civil calamities which
followed, 5 — 10; the infatuation of the Egyptian policy, 11 — 17; the spread of
the knowledge and worship of the true God, by means of the Jews resident in
Egypt, and its deliverance by Alexander the Great, 18 — 22 ; and the universal
religious intercourse which was brought about in the East, in the time of the
Seleucidse, the Ptolemies, and the Romans.
Egypt, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea on the north, to Ethiopia on the
south, with the Red Sea on the east, and the Lybian desert on the west, and in
tersected by the Nile throughout the whole of its length, was one of the most
celebrated countries in the ancient world. According to the genealogical table,
Gen. X., it was peopled after the deluge by Mizraim, one of the sons of Ham ;
hence the names, D;'i2p and Dn, which latter, in the Coptic and Sahidic dialects,
^)^HJU(.I and KHJUL6, is that still given to the country by the natives. Its
early history is greatly involved in the obscurity of fable ; but the discoveries
which continue to be made by learned men, who are devoting their time to the
study of its antiquities, are successively bringing to light a variety of particulars,
which furnish us with certain data relative to its epochs and some of its most
notable events. It appears to have been originally subject to a sacerdotal govern
ment, during which period, most of its magnificent temples were constructed.
To this succeeded the monarchy of the Pharaohs, the first of whom reigned in
the time of Abraham; and the last, Hophra, in that of Jeremiah, — subject to a
partial interruption, from the period of the Ethiopian conquest, till the accession
of Psammetichus. Since his reign, Egypt has been successively conquered and
governed by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Turks, and is at present
virtually an independent state. The Egyptians had, at a very early period, made
great progress in the arts, as the elegance and delicacy of their sculptured monu
ments evince, some of which are ascertained to be more than 3500 years old.
Their scientific acquirements were more limited, owing chiefly to their gross
superstitions, in which, and in the idolatrous rites and practices connected with
them, they exceeded all the other nations of antiquity. They worshipped not only
the sun and moon, apd other great objects of nature, but animals, reptiles, and
vegetables, such as leeks, onions, &c. Notwithstanding the oppression which
their ancestors suffered in Egypt, the Jews appear all along to have had strong
leanings towards that country, and being accustomed to apply to it for assistance,
when attacked by any foreign enemy, they transferred to it that confidence which
was due to Jehovah alone. Hence the numerous threatenings pronounced
against them on account of their alliances with it; and hence the denunciations
contained in the present chapter, which were intended to teach them, that instead
of affording them any aid, Egypt would itself he reduced and oppressed. For
lengthened accounts of Egypt, and its dynasties, see Vitringa and Gesenius.
Y

162

ISAIAH.

[chap. xix.

Behold ! Jehovali shall ride on a swift cloud.
And shall come to Egypt ;
And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence,
And the heart of Egypt shall melt within her.
I will arm the Egyptians against the Egyptians,
And they shall fight each against his brother.
And each against his neighbour ;
City against city,
Kingdom against kingdom.
The spirit of Egypt also shall fail within her,
And I will destroy her counsel ;
They may apply to the idols and the necromancers,
To the diviners and the wizards :

1. It is common in Scripture to repre
sent any great calamity, or the infliction
of a remarkable judgment, under the idea
of the coming of the Lord, Ps. 1. 3 ; Isa.
xxvi. 21 ; John xxi. 23 ; Jam. v. 8 ; and
to express the awful majesty in which he
appears on such occasions, he is said to
come in, with, or upon the clouds, Dan.
vii. 13 ; Matt. xxiv. 30 ; Rev. i. 7. Here,
as in Ps. xviii. 10, he is represented as
riding upon them ; while the swiftness
with which the calamity was coming
upon Egypt is expressed by " a light
cloud " — such moving with great velo
city before the wind.  By a striking
prosopopoeia, the gods of Egypt, such as
Jupiter Ammon, Osiris, Isis, Typlion,
&c., characterised, nevertheless, as D')'bN,
non-entities, are introduced as shaking
with fear at the approach of Jehovah.
The " melting of the heart " means
loss of courage, confldence, &c. Deut.
XX. 8; Josh. V 1. Egypt is here spoken
of under the idea of a person.
2. For the meaning of 'n?p3p, see chap.
ix. 10. — iiJ^P^S ^?!?'?'?i kingdom against
kingdom. This seems distinctly to refer
to the intestine broils which took place
at the time of the dodecarchy, or the
rule of the twelve princes who possessed
themselves of the government, after
Sethos, the sacerdotal usurper. Their
rule was designed to be united ; but they
soon had mutual feuds, which led to a
civil war, on the flight of Psammetichus,
one of their number, by whom Greek
and Carian mercenaries were introduced

into the country, and the other princes
put down. Both Herodotus and Dio
dorus Siculus call these princes fiaai-
Xels, kings ; and it is to their jurisdiction,
and notto the ancient division of the coun
try into thirty-six nomes, or provinces, as
the LXX. gives it, that the prophet refers
when he speaks of kingdoms.
3. On the appearance in Egypt of the
foreign troops, panoplied in brass, which
Psammetichus introduced, the eleven
princes and their counsellors were con
founded, and had no resource left but to
apply to their gods.  nil and nss are
here synonymous : both denoting counsel
or purpose. — disk, necromancers, from
taw, Arab, lal , murmur edidii, to speak
in a low murmuring voice, resembling
the noise made by a new saddle from
the motion of a camel, and that made
by the camel itself when fatigued and
hungry. See Gol. Castei. and Freytag.
The reference is to the suppressed and
hollow tones in which the idolatrous
impostors imitated the supposed voice of
the gods. Comp. for the other terms
chap. viii. 19. The Egyptians have in
all ages been distinguished for the prac
tice of the arts of divination, and are
still greatly addicted to it. They had
their celebrated oracle of Jupiter Am
mon, in Thebes, and that of Latona, at
Butos; and attached to every temple
were priests, who pretended to give the
responses of the gods.

chap, xix.]

ISAIAH.

But I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord.
And a fierce king shall rule them,
Saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts.
The water shall fail from the sea.
And the river shall be wasted and dried up.

4. 13D, Syr. ;.3ffi, Arab. jCmj , is only
used in Niphal and Piel, but is evidentiy
equivalent to IJD, 1'aDn, to shut up in the
power of any one. In this connexion it
implies not a mere defeat, or partial
subjugation, on the part of the Egyptians,
but the complete establishment of a fo
reign rule. — miJiT. D':i«, some interpreters,
after the LXX., Syr., Vulg,, and D'aii?,
the reading of one MS,, render in the
plural, hard masters ; but D'?i« is used
when only one person is meant. Gen.
xiii. SO, 33; 2 Kings ii. 3, 5, 16 ; and
the corresponding W '^Jp shews that it
must be so taken here ; which, indeed,
the singular number of the adjective
absolutely requires. Gesenius adopts
the opinion of Grotius and others, that
Psammetichus is intended. By his own
shewing, however, there was nothing in
the conduct of that monarch deserving
the character of cruel or tyrannical.
He appears, on the contrary, to have
pursued a liberal policy, and to have
been a benefactor to the country; and
though 240,000 Egyptian troops revolted
and emigrated to Ethiopia, this appears
to have originated solely in their being
piqued at his retaining foreign soldiers
in his service, and not in any acts of
oppression towards them, or the inha
bitants at large. The character rather
attaches to Cambyses, who, on the con
quest of Egypt, B, c. 525, gave vent, in
a variety of ways, to his mad and fero
cious disposition, practised unheard-of
cruelties, destroyed the temples and
public buildings, violated the sanctuaries
of the dead, took or destroyed private
property, ordered the priests to be se
verely whipped for worshipping Apis ;
and such of the Egyptians as were found
in Memphis engaging in this worship he
commanded to be slain. Prideaux, pt. i.
b. iii. That this conqueror is intended
in the prophecy is rendered more pro
bable by the circumstance, that it was
he who completely subverted the throne

of the Pharoahs — so that Egypt was
then reduced to a mere province of the
Persian empire, and never afterwards
regained its independence. Others are
of opinion, that by the " fierce king "
Ochus is meant, whose barbarities ex
ceeded even those of Cambyses ; but the
parallelism requires us to apply it to the
same person who is called " a cruel
lord." The enormities of Ochus were
merely a renewal of those committed by
Cambyses. 5. To aggravate the calamitous con
dition of the subjugated Egyptians, they
were to be visited by a failure in the
periodical inundation of the Nile, on
which the prosperity of the country
mainly depended. This celebrated river,
which has its springs in the mountains
of Abyssinia, and enters Egypt at the
villages of El-Kalabshe and Teffa, a
little to the south of Syene, rises an
nually in the months of June and July ;
in August it overflows its banks, and by
the beginning of September reaches its
highest elevation, which is from twenty
to twenty-three feet above the usual
level. In Lower Egypt the rise is not so
high, owing to the inundation spreading
more widely over the low country. Nu
merous canals are dug to receive the
water, from which it is conveyed to irri
gate the land. On the subsiding of the
water, a quantity of mud, which it has
brought along with it and deposited, is
left, which greatly adds to the fertility
of the soil. On this mud-covered soil
the cultivator casts the seed, and the
corn soon springs up and ripens, in con
sequence of the extreme heat of the
sun. During the inundation the country
assumes the appearance of a sea, studded
with small islands, on which cities, ris
ing grounds, &c. present themselves to
the view. Hence the propriety of the
term D;, sea, as applied to the Nile
in this verse, and in the Arab, ys^
(JjjJl , the Sea Nile, and by way of

164

ISAIAH.

[chaf. xix.

The streams also shall become putrid ;
The canals of Egypt shall be emptied and dried up ;
The reed and the rush shall wither.
The meadows by the river, by the edge* of the river.
And all the produce of the river.
Shall be dried up, driven away, and be no jnore.
The fishermen shall mourn :
All that cast the hook into the river shall lament ;
And those that spread nets upon the surface of the waters shall
languish.

e,^l,

the Sea. Comp. Nah.
iii. 8 ; Herod, ii. 97 ; Plin. Nat, Hist,
xxxv. 11 ; and Diod. Sic. i. 12, who tells
us, Oi yap AlyviTTiOi vopi^ovatv' QKeavov
eivai TOV irap avTols irorapdv NeiXov.
In the following line it is called in:, ab
solutely, which is peculiar to this place ;
that term being elsewhere exclusively
appropriated, when thus used, to the
Euphrates. — WIS: the LXX. and others
derive from fin'j, to drink ; but it is the
Nipli. of n^:, to destroy by causing to
fail, to dry up. In ain and ifia^ there is
manifestly a gradation : the former sig
nifying rather the failure of the water ;
the latter, complete desiccation. The
desiccation of the Nile is destructive of
the agricultural interest' in Egypt, and
of all that is dependent on it.
6, 7. A most graphic description of
the physical consequences that would im
mediately follow from the failure of the
water, m'awn is either a double form,
compounded of the Chaldee preformant
H in Aphel, and the Hebrew n in Hiphil ;
or, it is an accommodation to the forms
»iiiN, nii«, 532^, in which the « with a
Segol is placed before a sibilant in a
mixed syllable. See Hitzig. Travellers
greatly complain of the foul and putrid
state of the water, which remains in the
streams or canals after the Nile has
subsided, the fcetid effiuvium of which
is most destructive. — D''ii«.', the plural of
ii«;, Ii.pO, lepo, the native word for
river. It here denotes the branches or
minor divisions of the Nile. — ^li2p, which
our translators have rendered defence, is
the singular of Dn2p, and seems em
ployed specially to denote Lower Egypt,

just as the dual is expressive of the two
divisions of the country into Upper and
Lower — a distinction recognised in the
title " Lord of the two regions, "which was
assumed by every monarch of the country
at the time of his coronation. The Arabs
give to it the corresponding name j.a<i in
the sing. ; and Ibn Batuta states, that,
in his time, Cairo was called y^^,
Misr. — nii», from n*, to be naked, the
woodless and uncultivated but verdant
spots on the banks of the river, which
were used for meadows or pasturage.
li«; 3>l]p, lit. the seed of the river, but sni
is also used for the crop which is pro
duced from the seed. Job xxxix. 12;
Isa. xxiii. 3. The LXX. to imeipopevov
bid TOV irorapov.
8. In this, and the two following
verses, the prophet introduces those
classes of the inhabitants whose occu
pations were more immediately con
nected with the river. The Nile was
anciently much celebrated for the mul
titude, variety, and excellence of its
fish. Numb, xi. 5 ; Herod, ii. 93 ; Strabo,
xvii. 2. 4 ; Diod. Sic, i. 36, 40 ; Wilkin
son's Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii. p. 63 —
68. That it is equally so still may be
seen from the travels of Sonuini, pp.
407 — 417, 474 — 478. Fishermen must,
therefore, have formed a numerous
class among the inhabitants.-^On the
ground that nets are not now used by
the fishermen of Egypt, it has been
maintained by some, that by nip?p is
meant a twiggen or wicker trap, but
against such interpretation, the use of
ii'iB, to spread, to spread out, as well as
D'P''.3?'''5', is an insuperable objection.

chap, xix.]

ISAIAH.

165

9 The flax-dressers shall be confounded,
And the weavers of linen.
10 Her pillars are broken down.
And all the hired labourers are grieved in mind.

Besides, the ancient use of the net is
seen in the representation of one on a
monument at Thebes, in Wilkinson, ui
sup. vol. iii. p. 55. — For instances of the
nomen regens being separated from its
genitive, as in nan ito '3'^iijp, see Gen.
vii. 6; Job xv. 10; Isa. lii. 14. The
same mode of construction occurs in the
Arabic poetry and formulas of swearing.
Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 675.
9. nip'^iip D'Pi* 'i.33>, LXX. to Xivov
TO a-xta-Tov ; Hexap. Syr. \n^jM) JjAa ;
Symm. to Xivov to KTevKTTOv; lit. the
workers of combed flax ; but the mean
ing is, not that they were employed in
manufacturing it after it was combed,
but in hatcheling or combing it. See
for an account of this process, Pliny,
xix. 1 ; Wilkinson, vol. iii. p. 139. The
former branch of labour belonged to
the 'lin D'JiV), the weavers of linen cloth.
iri, which occurs only in this antiquated
form, like "!tt>, '3i3, is derived from lin,
to be or become white; Arab. jJj^-i
white silk; Eth. (\^^C, white cotton;
LXX. TOVS ipya^opevovs rfjV j3i5o-o-oj/.
Both flax and cotton abounded in Egypt ;
and the manufacturing of linen and
cotton cloths afforded support to many
thousands of its inhabitants. They are
still among its most valuable productions.
In the year 1835, more than 100,000
bales of cotton, each weighing upwards
of an hundred-weight, were shipped at
Alexandria. In ancient times linen
was worn by the people generally as
shirts; and, according to Herod, ii. 37,
the priests were not permitted to wear
any thing else : at least when they per
formed the sacred rites. The exportation
of linen yarn, and fine linen cloth, is
mentioned 1 Kings x. 28; Ezek. xxvii.
7. See also Wilkinson, ut sup. vol. iii. pp.
113 — 127, where an interesting account
will be found of the Egyptian linen,
especially that forming the bandages of
the mummies. — Those engaged in pre
paring and manufacturing these mate
rials are here mentioned along with the

fishermen, on accountof their hatcheling
and bleaching on the banks of the Nile
and its canals.
10. D'N3ip n'nn^. Those who wish to
see the numerous and conflicting inter
pretations which have been given of this
verse, may consult Rosenmiiller, in loc.
2d edit. That of Gesenius is at once
simple and satisfactory: viz. that the
two grand divisions of society in the
East, the upper and lower classes, are
meant; the former metaphorically called
pillars, or supporters of the state, and
the latter characterised as labouring for
hire, nin^ occurs only once besides, Ps.
xi. 3, where, after Aquila, our translators
render it foundations. It is obviously
derived from n'iti, to place, set, lay ; and
may either refer topillars or foundations,
though the use of D'M3ip immediately
following, renders the former the more
probable. Comp. c^j'i . jUt' > the
pillars of state, in use among the Per
sians. The leading men in the country
being intended, the participle is of the
mas. gen. though the noun is fem.
D'N3ip, beaten, broken, is doubly appro
priate. It corresponds literally to the
idea of broken pillars, but in agreement
with the figurative sense in which that
term is here used, it signifies broken in
spirit. — The meaning of I3i» '¥» given
in the translation is secured by Prov.
xi. 18, which should be rendered,
" As for the wicked, he worketh for
deceitful wages ;
But he who soweth righteousness, for a
sure reward."
ZvBov, barley-wine, the rendering of the
LXX., has the support of three only of
De Rossi's MSS., which read I3il5.— The
interpretation just given evinces that the
antithetic nin«j is to be understood of
persons, and not of Bea-povs, laws, as
Symm. has it, or any neuter subject
whatever. — i!JB:'P3« so evidently corre
sponds to D'«3ip in the sense of grieved
in spirit, broken-hearted, that it is strange
any other construction could have been put

166

ISAIAH.

[chap. xix.

11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools ;
As for the sage counsellors of Pharaoh, their counsel is become
stupid :
How then can ye say to Pharaoh,
I am the son of sages, the son of ancient kings ?

upon thepbrase ; much more, that it should
have been rendered fish-ponds, &c. d:«,
indeed, signifies a marsh, a pool of stag
nant water, or a pool generally ; but
never in connexion as here with 1!Sb:.
The adjective is evidently cognate both
with it, and with D:9, to stand still, be
stagnant, astounded, grieved, &c. Comp.
the Arab. Jr~] , fastidivit, nauseum con-
cepit ; *=>-• , ceger animi ; Chald. D3>»,
tristatus est, in angore fuit ; and see Lee
on Job xxx. 25, where 'o?: np:» has the
same meaning.
11. Having, in the preceding verse,
specified the magnates of Egypt gene
rally, Isaiah now turns to the courtiers
in particular ; and in this, and the two
following verses, exposes the folly of
their counsels, and the destructive cha
racter of tiieir influence. ]f'i, in Egypt.
TiLItH, or T^m, signifying low, in
ferior, Gr. tdv.Ls, Arab. Lo, Zoan, or
I'anis, one of the principal cities of
Lower Egypt, and a royal residence of
the Pharaohs. It was of great antiquity,
as the notice Numb. xiii. 22 implies ; and
was the scene of the miracles performed
by Moses, Ps. Ixviii. 12, 43. Its sculp
tured monuments testify to its existence
in the age of Rame.ses the Great, i.e. 3 1 90
years ago. Wilkinson's Manners and
Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, vol.
i. pp. 5, 6. A difference of opinion has
obtained respecting its exact situation ;
but it is now generally agreed, that it
lay on the east of that branch of the
Nile, which takes its name from it, to
the N.W. of Tahpanhes, and at no great
distance from the sea of Menzaleh.
Extensive ruins are still visible around
the spot, and several obelisks and other
monuments of former magnificence have
been lound among them. See Gesenius,
in loc. and Wilkinson, ut sup. — The
construction of two nouns with the
genitive following, as in niriB '2»' 'P3n,

is not without example. See Judg. v.
29.  In the latter half of the verse,
notice is taken of the claims which the
counsellors of Pharaoh laid to ances-
torial wisdom and royal descent. Each
of them is introduced as boasting ; " I
am the son of sages ; the son of ancient
kings." Such construction is more suited
to the connexion than that which re
presents them as putting the words into
the mouth of the monarch. The boast
was quite accordant with the notions and
usages which existed among the ancient
Egyptians. Their kings were partly
chosen from the order of the priests-;
and, as there were different dynasties,
the descendants of such kings as had
been set aside, surrounding the person
of the monarch in the capacity of coun
sellors, or forming a sacred college,
would naturally be proud of their pa
rentage, and tile lessons of wisdom which
had been handed down to them from
antiquity. Herodotus tells us, that the
priests whom he consulted affirmed, that
from the first king to Sethos, the priest
of Vulcan, there had been three hundred
and forty- one high priests and kings;
and, conducting him into a spacious
temple, they shewed him colossal statues
of these priests : each during his life
having placed there a statue of himself.
Herod, ii. 141 ; Plut. de Isid. et Osir.
p. 452, edit. Wittenb. The pretensions
of the ancient Egyptians, like those of
the Chinese, to extreme antiquity, are
well known : of their wise men and their
wisdom, mention is made Exod. vii. 11;
1 Kings iv. 30 ; Acts vii. 22 ; whence it
appears to have been proverbial; and
one of their kings, Bocchoris the Saite,
obtained, by way of pre-eminent dis
tinction, the surname of " The Wise,"
 The name nins, Pharaoh, in Coptic
OTpO , king, and, with the article,
nonrpo or (^OTpO, the king, was
common to all the kings of Egypt down
to the time of the Persian conquest.

CHAP. XIX.]

ISAIAH.

167

12

13

Where now are thy sages ;
Let them now shew thee, if they know,
What Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt.
The princes of Zoan are infatuated ;
The princes of Noph are deceived ;
The chiefs of her tribes
Have caused Egypt to err.

Comp. the Arab, c J, id quod summum
est, hence princeps, and the Heb. nisia
Judg. V. 1 ; and see Robinson on this
passage, Bib. Rep. vol, i. pp. 579 — 581.
In the present day Ibn P/iaraoon, "son
of a Pharaoh," is a great term of re
proach among the Egyptians. Wilkin
son, ut sup. 53.
12. Comp. ch. xii. 22, 23; xliv. 7.
13. rp, Hos. ix. 6 rp, Copt. JULGqi
and JUteJUtqi, Arab. jJU, LXX. and
Class. Gr. authors Mep(j>is, Memphis,
the second capital and celebrated necro
polis of Egypt. In hieroglyphics it is
written Men-nofri, follovfed by a pyra
mid. Wilkinson, ut sup. vol. i. p. 175.
According to Plutarch, Isid. et Osir.
p. 472, edit. Wittenb., the name signifies
Sppov dyaBdv, the haven of the good, in
reference to their being buried there ;
which derivation is in the main justified
by Jablonsky, Opusc. ii. p. 131, and
ChampoUion, I'Egypt sous les Pharaons,
tome i. p. 36i5. An immense number of
mummies have been discovered in and
around the spot where it stood, many of
them between two and three thousand
years old, so that there is^ singular
propriety in the declaration, Hos. ix. 6,
'ai.3i?!i fj'ta, Memphis shall bury them. It
was situated near the present village of
Moniet-Rahinet, four or five miles south
east of Old Cairo, on the opposite bank
of the Nile, and appears to have occu
pied the whole space between the pyra
mids of Gize, and those of Sacarah.
According to Josephus, it was founded
by Menes, the first of the Egyptian
kings, upwards of thirteen hundred years
before the time of Solomon. A colossus,
and fragments of several statues, bearing
the name of Rameses the Great, are
still met with among the ruins ; but
otherwise every vestige of its former

grandeur has completely disappeared.
It continued to be a royal residence till
the times of the Ptolemies, when it began
to fall into decay. In the twelfth cen
tury, Edrisi describes its ruins as ex
tending nine miles in every direction,
but even then containing works of the
most stupendous character. Among
others he mentions a monolithic temple
of granite, thirteen feet and a half high,
twelve long, and seven broad, entirely
covered within and without with in
scriptions ; and statues of great beauty
and dimensions, one of which was forty-
five feet high, and consisting of a single
block of red granite. — The 1 prefixed to
iBnrri, though supported by the ancient
versions, with the exception of the Targ.
and Vulg. is omitted in one hundred and
six MSS., fourteen early printed editions,
and upwards of twenty more. — It is
evident from its use, Judg. xx. 2, Ps.
cxviii. 22, and other passages, that n2B,
which properly signifies a corner or cor
ner-stone, from its prominence and uti
lity in supporting the united walls of an
edifice, is here employed metaphorically
to denote a prince or chief. Rosen
miiller and others aptly compare the
Arab. ,.Sj, which Saadias uses in this
place, as occurring in the phrases
i^yM,,S I, the pillar of the empire;
.. J_J>lli^i , the pillar of religion, though
it also primarily signifies angulus. The
frequent occurrence of collective nouns
in Hebrew, shews that nJB is properly
pointed, and is not to be changed into
n:B, the plural punctuation. — What the
D'BBti of Egypt is designed to de
scribe is not quite certain. The most
probable opinion is, that the inhabitants
of the different nomes or prefectures are
meant into which the nation was divided.

168

ISAIAH.

[chap. XIX.

14 Jehovah hath poured into the midst of her a perverse spirit.
So that Egypt is made to err in all her works,
As a drunkard staggereth in his vomit.
15 And Egypt shall have no work.
That the head or the tail, the branch or the rush may perform.
16 In that day the Egyptians shall be as women ;
They shall tremble and fear,
At the shaking of the hand of Jehovah of Hosts,
Which he shall shake at them.
17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror to Egypt ;
Every one to whom it is mentioned shall be afraid.

14. The proper signification of ^pn is
to mix, but, as the mixing of liquids
was effected by pouring one kind into a
vessel containing that with which it was
to be mingled, it is so to be taken in the
present figurative use of the term. —
I3'?w, from nis, - »C , to bend, make
crooked, stands for D'W'jS, perversities :
the gemination, as usual, indicating in
tensity of signification. The doctrine
taught in this verse, is the same as that
found in chap. xxix. 10 ; Exod. iv. 21 ;
Rom. ix. 18, xi. 7, 8 ; which is not to be
understood as asserting any positive or
direct infusion of evil on the part of
God, — such an idea being totally repug
nant to the holiness of his character, —
but his punitively withholding the exer
tion of certain influences, by which men
might have been restrained ; or, his so
ordering things in his providence, that
they, as free agents, shall take occasion
from them to do what is wrong. Since
all intelligence and wisdom is referred
to him as its source, however it may be
acquired and improved by its possessors,
there is no violence in ascribing its with-
drawment to his displeasure. It is very
common in Scripture to speak of God's
actually doing what he permits, or for
the voluntary perpetration of which, on
the part of man, he merely furnishes
occasions in the holy procedure of his
moral government. See 2 Sam. xii. 11,
xxiv. 1, and comp. the remarks on Isa.
vi. 10. — The conjunction 1 in isrin^ marks
the event ; and the third plural of Hiph.
is used as freq. with a singular passive
signification. — The comparison at the

end of the verse is quite in keeping with
the use of IJpD, in the sense of pouring in
intoxicating ingredients. Comp. chap.
xxviii. 7, 8.
15. The ^ in DJi^p^j forms the dative of
possession. A total stagnation of busi
ness would be the result of the infatuated
counsels of Egypt. For the metaphors,
see remarks on chap. ix. 13, 14.
16, 17. These verses describe the dis-
spirited condition of the inhabitants, and
their inability to resist the least powerful
of their external foes. The mere rumour
that the Jews, who were accustomed to
look to Egypt for succour, were prepar
ing an expedition, would be sufficient to
strike terror into every bosom. The
reference is to a period subsequent to
the restoration from Babylon, when the
Jewish power had again begun to in
crease, under the protection of the Per
sian monarchs. By the shaking of the
hand of the Lord is meant the approach
of Cambyses towards Egypt. — D,i2p is
here used for the Egyptians, but is taken
collectively, as the gender and number
both of the verbs and pronouns shew. —
«3n occurs only in this place. Schultens,
Michaelis, Dathe, and others, derive the
word from the Arab. Ls*") confugit,
refugit ; and suppose the prophet to
mean, that Judea would, under such cir
cumstances, be Iss^r* , a refuge, for the
Egyptians. Other conjectures have been
offered; but there seems no substantial
reason why wan should not be considered
as the Chald. orthography of njn, which
is found in seven of Kennicott's Codices,

CHAP. XIX

]

ISAIAH.

169

18

Because of the purpose of Jehovah of Hosts,
Which he hath purposed against them.
In that day there shall be five cities in the landof Egypt,
Speaking the language of Canaan,

three of De Rossi's, and three printed
editions, Comp. ioo for niD, Ruth i. 20;
«nip^ for nmi?, Ezek. xxvii. 31 ; N:«i for
1.3*, Ps. cxxvii. 2. Now as nan com
monly signifies, to meditate, or have the
thoughts intensely occupied about any
subject, the cognate substantive, in such
connexion, most naturally assumes the
meaning: that which is the object of
anxious or fearful thought, fear, terror,
&c. Comp. the Arab. Is*", conjecit,
pensavit, conjectura deflnivit ; Is*", in-
tellectus ; ingenium, astutia. Thus the
LXX., Aq., Theod., Targ., Syr., and
Vulg. — ins; is improperly separated from
the '.:Bp following, by the Athnach, which
perplexes the entire sentence, and has
led to the combination inp; 1'5«, contrary
to the usage of the language.
18. For the latitude with which the
phrase «inn Di'3 is used, see chap. iv. 2.
The prophet had in his eye the period
which commenced with the Persian con
quest of Egypt, and comprehended the
subsequent condition of that country. —
Five, is supposed by Clarius, Preb.
Lowth, Rosenmiiller, and others, to be
a definite number used for an indefinite ;
and Gesenius adduces a number of pas
sages in proof, but not one of them is to
the point. Le Clerc, Bp. Newton, and
Hitzig, take the term literally, and are
of opinion, that Heliopolis, Leontopolis,
Migdol, Daphne, and Memphis, are
meant. See Jer. xliv. 1. — l?:? nDto, the
lip, i.e. the language, of Canaan, or, the
language spoken in the land of Canaan —
there being an ellipsis of yi« before 1»:3,
as in Exod. xv. 15. That by this desig
nation, the Hebrew language is meant,
with special reference to its having been
that spoken by the original inhabitants
of Canaan, is agreed on all hands. It
has, however, been questioned, whether
the prophet is to be understood as assert
ing, that this language would actually be
spoken by the inhabitants of the afore
mentioned cities ; or whether the term

lip is not rather to be taken figuratively
of confession or profession, and the whole
phrase to mean the public avowal of true
religion. In support of the latter view,
an appeal has been made to Zeph. iii. 9,
where the Lord promises to turn to the
people nili3 nsto, a pure lip ; and to the
latter half of this verse, in which swear
ing to Jehovah appears to be parallel.
It is not improbable, however, that the
reference is to the Hebrew language as
employed in the public worship of Jeho
vah, which the Jews instituted in Egypt;
and as the native proselytes joined in
such worship, they might not improperly
be said to speak the language in which
it was performed. Even after the intro
duction of the Greek into that country,
and that of the Greek version among
the Jews, the law continued to be pub
licly read in the original, just as it is in
all the synagogues at the present day.
Nor must it be forgotten that the emi
gration of Jews from Palestine to Egypt,
was so great under the Ptolemies, and
the privileges conceded to them by these
monarchs were so numerous, that the
prevalence of Hebrew for a time, in cer
tain cities of which they may have formed
the principal part of the population, is
by no means inconceivable. Could we
rely on the account of Aristeas, it would
seem that not fewer than 198,000 Jewish
captives were released by Ptolemy Phila-
delphus, so that the number of Jews
resident in Egypt must have been very
great, — To swear to Jehovah, means to
profess allegiance to him, publicly to
protest and avow, that He alone is the
object of adoration and religious obe
dience, Comp chap. xlv. 23; Rom. xiv.
11.— For D'inni'?, the City of Destruc
tion, which several of De Rossi's Codices
express by D'lnn 1'», sixteen MSS., and
several printed editions, read Dinn l'»,
the City of the Sun, which is supported
by the renderings of the Complutensian
edition of 'the LXX., Symm., Vulg.,
Arab., Saad., the Talmud, and other
Jewish testimonies. Whether Aq. and
z •

170

ISAIAH.

[chap. XIX.

And swearing to Jehovah of Hosts ;
One of them shall be called The City of the Sun.

Theod. also so read, is uncertain. The
Targ, unites both readings. The present
is one of the only two passages in the
Hebrew Bible, in which Eichhorn is in
clined to admit that the Jews have been
guilty of wilful corruption ; and certainly
there is ground to suspect that it has
been tampered with, in support of party
prejudice. We learn from Josephus and
other Jewish authorities, that Onias, son
of the high priest Onias III., whose right
it was to have succeeded to the office,
finding that the high-priesthood was
transferred by Antiochus to another
family, fled into Egypt, where he so
effectually recommended himself by his
talents to Ptolemy Philometor, and his
queen Cleopatra, that in the year e. c.
149, he was appointed commander-in-
chief of the army; and soon after, he
and Dositheus, one of his countrymen,
had oommitted to them the entire ad-
-ministration of the government. Avail
ing himself of his popularity, Onias
persuaded the king to grant him per
mission to build a temple for the religious
services of the numerous Jews resident
in Egypt, and actually constructed one
¦on the site of an ancient temple of Bu-
bastis, or Isis, at the city of Leontopolis,
in the Heliopolitan nome, of which he
was governor. This erection corre
sponded, in miniature, to the temple at
Jerusalem. Onias himself became high
priest; other lineal priests and levites
were appointed ; and the whole service
was conducted strictly according to the
Mosaic ritual. The temple continued to
be thus used till the time of the emperor
Vespasian, who ordered it to be shut up
and finally destroyed, on account of the
attempts of the Egyptian Jews to throw
off the Roman yoke. Joseph. Antiq.
lib. iii. cap. iii. § 1 — 3, xx. x. § 1. Con.
Apion. lib. ii. cap. v. Wolfii Biblioth.
Hebr. torn. iv. p. 353. Talmud. Joma,
4. Maimon. Menachoth, 6.
To justify this undertaking, Onias ap
pealed to the 19th verse of this chapter,
by which the scruples of many of his
brethren were removed; but it would
seem that strong prejudices continued to
be excited and fostered against it, most

likely by Palestinian Jews ; for the text
of the LXX., if not originally, yet very
early exhibited the reading iroXis "Ao-e-
beKy i.e. pi2n I'B, the city of Righteous^
ness : — a reading copied in the Hexaplar
Syriac, »Dl;lai| jAi,.,iD, which inserts
in the margin the readings of Aq., Symm.,
andTheod., but takes no notice of the Com
plutensian 'Axepes, so that it cannot have
existed in the MSS. consulted by Origen.
So violent a departure from the Hebrevf
text, on the part of the Alexandrian
Jews, could only have been provoked by
something similar on that of their bre
thren in Palestine, who, finding the use
to which they applied the text, in all
probability changed Dinn into D'lnn, and
thus characterised Heliopolis, the city of
the Sun, as that of destruction, to which
they wished it might be devoted. What
warrants this conclusion, in addition to
this circumstance, and the support it
derives from the authorities above quoted,
which sustain D'lnn, is the total irrele
vance of the common reading in such a
context. Were the prophet still de
nouncing judgments against the Egyp
tians, there would be some propriety in
his giving to one of its cities the namfe
of " the city of destruction ;" but he is
speaking of the establishment of the
worship of the true God, in application
to which, nothing would he more out of
place. Other interpretations have been pro
posed, as that of Iken, in his 16th Dis
sert. Philol. Theol., who derives the word
from the Arab. i^JS), a strong vora
cious Lion, and accordingly renders the
words Leontopolis ; in which he is fol
lowed by Michaelis, Doderlein, and
Dathe. But to this Rosenmiiller justly
objects, that there is no such name of
the lion in Hebrew, though the language
has a number of names by which to
designate that animal. The same ob
jection lies against the translation of
Gesenius, " the city of deliverance," de
riving the noun from the Arab, i^t*-,
servavit, cusiodivit. Hitzig is decidedly

chap, xix,]

ISAIAH.

171

19 In that day there shall be an altar to Jehovah,
In the midst of the land of Egypt,
And a pillar at its boundary to Jehovah ;

in favour of Heliopolis, though his opi
nion that D'ln signifies the orb or disk of
the sun, from D'ln, Arab, (ji^i-, to
scrape, &c., is altogether fanciful. The
word is otherwise clearly used in Hebrew
to denote the sun, Judges viii. 13, xiv.
18; Job ix. 7. In this opinion, which
is that adopted by Vitringa, Lowth, and
Jenour, I fully concur, as best satisfying
all the claims of the text. I will only
add, that Coverdale renders, "And He
liopolis shall be one of them." The
native name of Heliopolis was tUft,
Heb. li«. On; afterwards, itio'jJ n'3, Jer.
ixliii. 13, which one of Kennicott's MSS.
exhibits in this place. It stood a few
miles to the north of Memphis,, about
the site of the present village of Mata-
rieh ; and was celebrated for the beauti
ful temple of the sun, and the numerous
obelisks which were erected around it.
Leontopolis, where the Jewish temple
was built, stood some miles still further
north, and its ruins are now known by
the name of Tel-loudieh, i. e. J^^ (JJ,
The Jews' heap ; where, no doubt, monu
ments and inscriptions will yet be found,
illustrative of the Jewish history.
The specification of Heliopolis, as one
of the five cities in which the worship of
the true God should be performed, seems
to have been occasioned by its being, at
the time the prophet wrote, one of the
principal seats of Egyptian idolatry.
19. Commentators generally take the
'¦ altar " and " pillar " here spoken of in
a figurative sense, and some, as Gese
nius, regard them as collective nouns,
intimating that spiritual worship would
be rendered to Jehovah throughout the
land of Egypt. Since, however, the
prophecy has respect to a period prior to
the introduction of the gospel economy,
we are not at liberty to interpret the
terms otherwise than literally; and as,
during the period referred to, myriads
pf Jews were resident in Egypt, and
worshipped the God of their fathers,

there seems no valid reason why we
should not consider the altar to be that
erected by Onias at Leontopolis. It
may, indeed, be objected, that such a
prediction would sanction the violation
of the Mosaic statute, which ordained
that sacrifices should nowhere be offered
except at the place which God should
choose, Deut. xii. 5 — 14 : but it must
be recollected, that this enactment had
an exclusive reference to Palestine, to
the circumstances of the Israelites as
exposed to idolatry in that country, and
to the theocracy as established among
them there. Had they been at liberty
to sacrifice privately, i. e. each at his
own altar, it would infallibly have led to
idolatrous practices, as the event provedj
in the numerous instances in which they
transgressed the commandment. None
of these reasons apply to the Egyptian
Jews. The theocracy was drawing to
its close. Few, comparatively, of the
Jews in Egypt could repair to Jerusalem
at the appointed festivals. No encourage
ment was given to private sacrifice. The
establishment at Leontopolis was exclu
sive ; and Onias, who would have suc
ceeded to the priesthood at Jerusalem,
if he had not been unjustly deprived of
it, had alone the right to officiate in holy
things, and not Alcimus, who only exer
cised the office of high priest, in virtue
of his having been invested with it by
Antiochus. Joseph. Antiq. lib. xii. cap.
9, § 7. Nor does it appear that this
central worship in Egypt had the smallest
influence in leading the Jews to practise
idolatry, but the contrary. It tended to
wean them from an undue attachment
to Jerusalem, as " the place where men
ought to worship," and to attract the
surrounding idolaters to the service of
Jehovah ; and as both temples were
destroyed, under the same Roman em
peror, within a few months of each other,
and no provision was made in the Hebrew
Scriptures for any future erection of the
kind, it was demonstrated to the Jews;
that henceforth, neither at Jerusalem
nor elsewhere, were men exclusively to
worship the Father, but that in every

172

ISAIAH.

[cHAFi XIX.

20 And it shall be for a sign and a witness
For Jehovah of Hosts in the land of Egypt ;
Because they cried to Jehovah on account of the oppressors,
And he sent them a saviour, and a defender, and delivered them.
21 And Jehovah shall make himself known to the Egyptians,
And the Egyptians shall know Jehovah in that day,
And shall serve him with sacrifice and oblation ;
They shall also make a vow to Jehovah and perform it.
22 Jehovah shall indeed long smite the Egyptians,
But he will heal them ;
For they shall turn to Jehovah,
And he will be propitious to them and will heal them.

place incense should he offered to his
name, and a pure offering, Mai. i. 11.
The nasp, pillar, appears to have been
a commemorative obelisk. It was cus
tomary, from the most ancient times, to
set up a cippus, or pillar, on remarkable
occasions. See Gen. xxviii. 18, xxxi. 45,
xxxv. 14; 1 Sam. vii. 12; Exod. xxiv.
4 ; in the last of which passages the
term njsp occurs, as here, in connexion
with njip, an altar ; whence it may be
inferred, that the monument to be erected
in Egypt was designed to induce those
who beheld it to worship that God to
whom it was dedicated, and whose glo
rious name was, in all probability, in
scribed upon it. Egypt abounded in
such obelisks, some of which were of
immense size, and many of them remain
at the present day. It is to those at
Heliopolis, which were dedicated to the
sun, that Jeremiah refers, and the de
struction of which he predicts, chap.
xliii. 13. The situation of this pillar is
stated to be at the boundary of Egypt ;
but whether Tahpanhes, or Pelusium, as
the northern frontier, or Syene as the
southern, be meant, cannot be deter
mined. 20. Whatever might be the private
views of the Jews in the erection of the
altar and the pillar, it was the design of
Jehovah that they should furnish a
visible testimony to the Egyptians of his
existence and character. They would
be reminded by them of his gracious
interposition in behalf of his worshippers
in the days of Hezekiah and Cyrus, and
of what he had done for their own

country in delivering them from the
falling yoke of the Persians. That the
eliverer here predicted was Alexandeit
the Great, there can be little idoubt.
After that monarch had been at Jeru
salem, he proceeded to Egypt, where he
was hailed with the greatest joy by the
inhabitants. Their nobles went as far as
Pelusium to do him homage ; and their
Persian oppressors were forced to sui>
render without striking a blow, — 3'1 is
the Benoni partic. of an, to contend, de
fend, or maintain the cause of another;
and is not to be confounded with the
adjective 31, to be great, &c.
21, 22. »ii:. For the reflexive signi
fication of Niphal, see Gesen. Lehrgeb.
p. 238. The means which Jehovah em
ployed for the purpose of revealing
himself to the Egyptians appear to have
been the residence of so many Jews
among them, the severe national cala-^
mities to which they were subjected, and
the deliverances which he wrought for
them. The conversion of multitudes to
the Jewish faith, under the Ptolemies,
in a great measure paved the way for
the introduction of the gospel into
Egypt; and, in part, accounts for its
very rapid and extensive spread in that
country. — In nnap^ n3i vil» there is an
ellipsis of a before the nouns. Exod. x.
26, which Gesen. adduces to prove that
13» signifies to offer, evinces, on the
contrary, that it is used in the accepta*
tion of serving or worshipping. ^1^:— fjH't.
A finite verb repeated in the Infin. indi'
cates the continuation of the actioft.
See 1 Sam. vi. 12; 1 Kings xx. 37'.

CHAP. XIX.]

ISAIAH.

178

23

24

25

In that day there shall be a highway from Egypt to Assyria ;
So that the Assyrians shall come to Egypt, and the Egyptians to
Assyria -;
And the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians.
In that day shall Israel be the third
In reference to Egypt and Assyria ;
A blessing in the midst of the earth.
Whom Jehovah of Hosts shall bless, saying.
Blessed be Egypt, my people,
And Assyria, the work of my hands.
And Israel, mine inheritance.

Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 779. The doctrine
here taught is, that when God has pur
poses of mercy towards a sinful people,
he will continue to visit them with cala
mities till they are humbled, and thus
brought into a fit state for appreciating
the value of his mercies. Comp. Job v.
17—19; Hos. V. 15, vi. 1, 2; Isa. Ivii.
15—19. 23. By 111!5«, in this and the following
verse, is not meant Assyria Proper, i. e.
the countries on the east of the Tigris,
nor Babylonia, but Syria, which is only
an abridgement of the former name, and
specifically that country, as forming the
kingdom of the Seleucidse, from b.c. 245
to B.C. 64; and afterwards a proconsular
Roman province. Subsequent to the
time of Alexander a freer intercourse
obtained between the Egyptians, and the
countries towards the Euphrates; and
the Jews being transported thither as
colonists, as for instance by Seleucus
Nicanor, Joseph. Antiq. lib. xvi. cap. 10.
§ 8, and afterwards forming a great part
of the population of Antiocb, the capital
of Syria, the knowledge of the true God
was widely propagated in those regions,
and many proselytes were made to the
Jewish faith. About a century before
the birth of Christ, that faith was em
braced by the kings of the Homerite
Arabians, and, somewhat later, by the
princes of Adiabene. So great was the
abandonment of paganism at Damascus,
that the great proportion of the female
sex were converts to Judaism. Giesler's

Church Hist. vol. i. p. 31.  onSp nag]
111S«T1«, Hitzig, after some others,
strangely renders, " but the Egyptians
shall hein servitude to the Assyrians;"
since it is clear from the whole scope of
the passage, as well as from the use of
13J in a religious sense, ver. 21, it is the
worship and service of Jehovah that is
meant. For the use of n«, in the signi
fication of with, in company with, see
Gesen. Heb. Lex. ns, ii. 2.
24, 25. These verses have a special
reference to the times of the Hasmonean
dynasty, which lasted one hundred and
twenty-six years. During this period
most of the remarkable occurrences took
place in Egypt and Syria, which have
been noticed above ; and it was in Pales
tine, Egypt, and Syria, that the earliest
and most flourishing christian churches
were planted. The former were, by the
providence of God, rendered eminentiy
subservient to the acoomplishment of the
prediction.  In nj^'>\{) "^Nito'. n'jr is a
blending of the genders : the mas. being
first used on account of the name 't^'^.
having been that of the patriarch Jacob ;
but afterwards the fem. inasmuch as it
was that of the nation. See chap. xv. 3.
The 1 in i3l,3 is to be taken collectively
in reference to Israel, Egypt, and Syria,
mentioned in the preceding verse. While
the two latter are recognised in terms
which are elsewhere appropriated to the
Hebrews, the latter are still distinguished
as the peculiar possession of Jehovah.
Salvation was of the Jews.

174 ISAIAH. [chap. xx.

CHAPTER XX.
This brief section of the book belongs to a period somewhere between the seventh
and fourteenth year of Hezekiah, when the Assyrians were advancing for the
first time to attack the Egyptians and Ethiopians. Sargon is, indeed, supposed
by many to be only another name for Sennacherib, who, according to Jerome,
had not fewer than seven names ; and they think that the circumstances here
described took place in connexion with the expedition sent by that monarch
against Jemsalem ; but the event of his expedition presents an insuperable
objection to this hypothesis. It cannot be denied that Tartan is said to have been
sent by Sennacherib against Jerusalem, 2 Kings xviii. 17; Isa. xxxvi. 1, 2. Yet
it is quite possible that he may have beep employed on that occasion, in con
sequence of the success of a former expedition against Egypt. I agree, there
fore, with Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, Maurer, and Hitzig, in the opinion, that
Sargon occupied the Assyrian throne during a short period between the reigns
of Shalmaneser and Sennacherib, and that Tartan served as general undet
' both kings.
As usual, the Jews, hearing of the approach of the Assyrian army, cherished the
hope that it would be met and vanquished by the Egyptians. To convince them
of the vanity of such hope, Isaiah is commissioned to exhibit, by striking sym
bolical actions, the disastrous fate of those in whom they trusted, 1 — 4 ; and to
announce the shame and consternation which the disappointment would occa
sion, 5, 6.

3. In the year in which Tartan came to Ashdod, (when Sargon the
king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod and took it ;
2 at that time Jehovah spake by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying : Go
and loose the sackcloth from thy loins, and take the shoes off thy

1. 11ii!5h, LXX. "AfcoTor, Ashdod, was 2. T3 denotes here, as usual,
one of the five principal cities of the mentality, and is not to be renderedj
Philistines, Josh. xiii. 3 ; ISam. vi. 17; coram, in conspectu, as Gesenius and
the seat of the worship of Dagon ISam. others propose. % jii ,u of the
y. o ; ana from its being strongly lorti- ty (_5^..li;...
fied, and lying near the frontiers of Koran, Sur. ii. 256. which has been ad-
Egypt. was reckoned the key to that duced in illustration, is aside from the
country on the north. It was situated point. The communication was, indeed,
a littie inland from the coast, about fifty in the first instance made to Isaiah,
miles north of Gaza, and at the same LXX. irpos 'tia-atav ; but the phrase
distance to the west of Jerusalem. It has relation to the whole chapter, and
was_ frequentiy attacked, and sustained not merely to the command contained
a siege on the part of Psammetichus in this verse. — From a comparison of
which lasted twenty-nine years — the this passage with 2 Kings i. 8 ; Zech.
longest recorded on the page of history, xiii. 4 ; and Matt. iii. 4; it appears that
It IS at present an inconsiderable vii- the Hebrew prophets wore a manfle, of
lage, known by the name of ^,^\, ^^'oak, of hair-cloth, as a badge of office,
^ •' J"«"> most probably designed to indicate in-
Fsdud. difference to worldly refinement and

CHAP. XX.]

ISAIAH.

175

feet; and he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And Jehovah
said. As my servant Isaiah walketh naked and barefoot three years,
a sign and a type in reference to Egypt and Cush ; so shall the king
of Assyria lead the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young
men and old, naked and barefoot, with their seat uncovered, the
shame of Egypt. And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Cush
their expectation, and of Egypt their boast. And the inhabitant?

indulgence ; and there is every reason
to suppose that Isaiah was thus arrayed,
in conformity with such custom, and
not in token of any particular mourn
ing.  Dii9, naked. Some interpreters,
both Jewish and Christian, taking this
term in its strictest acceptation, suppose
that the scene must have been merely
allegorical, or, that it was presented in
prophetic vision, and that no real actions
on the part of the prophet are de
scribed ; but such a construction ob
viously does violence to the narrative ;
since, if he had not acted in the manner
enjoined, he could not have been " a
sign and a wonder " to his countrymen.
It is, therefore, to be understood lite
rally, to the extent which the context
requires, viz, without the mantle of sack
cloth, &c. which the prophet usually
wore. That the Hebrews and other
nations were accustomed to speak of
persons as naked, when only partially
disrobed, see 1 Sam. xix. 24 ; 2 Sam, vi,
20 ; John xxi. 7 ; Cicero ad Fam. x. 32 ;
Sueton. Nero. li. ; Seneca de Venef. v.
13; ^lian,V. H. 6, 11. 13, 37. At the
same time, the language employed in
ver. 4, shews that the prophet must have
been denuded to the utmost extent which
public decency allowed. — Instead of 'jji'i,
twenty-nine MSS., five others originally,
some of the earliest and best editions,
the LXX., Arab., Syr., and Vulg., read
'ffm in the plural.
3. Every attempt which has been
made to shew that Isaiah did not appear
in this symbolical state for the space of
three years has proved abortive — being
contradictory of the plain statement of
the text. It is not, however, necessary
to suppose that he went about every day
in this state, but that when he did appear
in public, he was thus undressed. The
period specified was that which was to

elapse before the actual capture of the
Egyptians. During the whole of that
time the Jews had their attention pro
phetically directed to the certainty of the
event. The Hebrew accentuation, the
various reading of the LXX., and the
conjecture of Lowth, that D'D' is'jic, three
days, may originally have been in the
text, are to be traced to a desire to re
lieve it of what, after all, is no serious dif
ficulty. For the meaning of noini niM, see
chap. viii. 17, 18; and comp. Jer. xliii.
8,9; Ezek.xii.3— 7, ll,xxiv.l7,22— 24.
4. Ancient history is silent respecting
the victories gained by the Assyrians on
this occasion ; but it is doubtless the
same referred to by Nahum iii, 8 — 10,
when No-Ammon, or Thebes, the resi
dence of the Ethiopian kings of Egypt,
was taken, and its inhabitants carried
into captivity. The close connexion
between Egypt and Ethiopia at this time,
shews that the African, and not the Ara
bian Cush is meant, — n-ii 'BliBn is gene
rally considered to be an antiquated
plural construct, as l?"'lin. Gen. xlix. 26,
3Nia 'm:. Is. xvi. 4, the Tzere having
been changed into Patach, for the sake
of euphony. Several codices, however,
read 'Biton. On the royal tombs at
Thebes, are representations of captives
led away in triumph, either in a state of
complete nudity, or with a small scarf
suspended round their loins, and hang
ing down in front,
5. 103P and n'lspn are used for the
object of expectation and boasting, — an
idiom very common in Scripture.
6. 'M, which signifies isle, sea-coast,
maritime country, is here to be taken in
a more extended acceptation, as com
prehending the whole of Palestine,- — so
called from its bordering on the Medi
terranean. It is derived from i_sj' '

176

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxi.

of this coast shall say in that day : Behold I thus it is with our
expectation to which we have fled for help, that we might be delivered
from the king of Assyria : How then shall we escape ?

se recepit commorandi vel quiescendi ergo,
diversaiusfuit : IV. in hospitium recepit.
ei< > rnansio, sedes commorationis.
The only hope of the inhabitants of

Palestine being frustrated by the reduc
tion of Egypt, they had no power to
which they might apply for defence
against the returning army of the As
syrians. 13173M, after tolja:, is emphatic.
How then shall we escape ?

CHAPTER XXI. 1—10.

the sentence of the desert of the sea.
This chapter contains three prophetic oracles, of which the first respects the con
quest of Babylon by the Medes and Persians, and occupies the .first ten verses.
It is full of scenic representation, and is justly characterised by Lowth, as singular
for its brevity and force ; for the variety and rapidity of the movements ; and for
the strength and energy of colouring with which the action and event are painted.
Under the image of a portentous storm, the prophet announces the approach of
the army of Cyrus, calls upon the warriors to advance, and pathetically describes
the consternation which their unexpected attack would produce, 1 — 4. The king
of Babylon and his princes are then described as indulging in festive security;
but, by a sudden transition, the Persians are summoned to arms, 5. The advance
of the enemy, and the issue of the attack, are then appropriately depicted, 6 — 9;
and the vision closes with an animated address to the Jewish captives, calling
their attention to what was designed to effect their deliverance, 10.

1 As hurricanes sweeping through the south,
It cometh from the desert,
From the terrible land.

1. d^ I3ip, the Desert of the Sea, a
very appropriate designation of the coun
try about Babylon, especially towards the
south, which was one unbroken exten
sive plain, consisting either of sterile
sandy regions, or of open fields of pas
turage for flocks. Previous to the con
struction of dams by Semiramis, the
periodical inundation of the Euphrates

caused the whole country to assume the
appearance of a vast sheet of water, on
which account it was called a sea.
Herod, i. 1 84. Abydenus says expressly :
XeyeTOi be irdvra pev e| dpx^js vbap
etvat, GA'AASSAN KaXeopevr]V. Euseb.
Praep. Evang. ix. 41, p. 457, ed. Paris,
1628. Comp. Jer. li. 13, 36. It is,
however, not impossible that there may

chap,

XXI.]

ISAIAH.

177

A grievous vision was_ shewn to me.
The plunderer plundering, and the destroyer destroying ;
Go up, O Elam ! Besiege, O Media !
All sighing I have made to cease.
Therefore my loins are full of writhing ;
Pangs have seized me, as the pangs of a woman in labour :
I am convulsed, I cannot hear ;
I am troubled, I cannot see.
My heart is bewildered.
Horror hath suddenly seized me ;

be a reference to the artificial sea or
lake, to the west of Babylon, forty square
miles in size, into which the water of the
Euphrates was turned, and kept, as in a
common reservoir, for the purpose of
irrigating the lands in the vicinity. —
The great Arabian desert lying to the
south both of Babylon and Palestine, the
most destructive storms come from that
direction. They sweep along with tre
mendous fury, carrying tents into the
air, and devastating whatever cannot
resist their violence. They are properly
called niBiD, sweepers, from f]lD, to carry
entirely away, destroy ; Arab. i__sLjj ,
Conj. viii. perire fecit, exterminavit.
Comp, Job i. 19, xxxvii. 9 ; Zech. ix.
14. — The ^ in f]i^n^ marks the gerund. —
The nomin. to «3, is the Medo-Persian
army, understood, though not expressed.
It is said to come from the desert, i, e.
the vast region lying to the north and east
of Babylon, and which is called nsii: yiM,
a terrible land, because jt was mostly
uncultivated, and the residence of wild
beasts. Comp. Deut. i. 19.
2. The fem. nnn is construed with an
adjective and verb in the mas. on account
of the tremendous character of the sub
ject to which it refers. — 133 not only sig
nifies to act perfldiously, but also, to
commit violence, pillage, spoil, &c. ; LXX.
dBeTel ; Syr. >aX^, perverse egit, inju-
V
riam intulit. Targ. D:s, to oppress,
plunder. Comp. Hab. ii. 5. Lowth's
change of the Benoni into Pahul parti
ciples is critically unwarranted, and vio
lates the claims of the connexion. — The
enemy is seen by the prophet, engaged

in the work of destruction, to effect
which he is encouraged by an express
command from Jehovah ; and the result
is abruptly, but expressively announced, —
the termination of the sufferings and
sorrows of those whom Babylon had op
pressed. According to the Masoretes,
the n in nnnps is Raphe, i. e. it is to be
pronounced soft, without the Mappik,
which is found in several MSS. and
printed editions, and is, therefore, not to
be regarded as a pronominal suffix. It
is, indeed, not unusual, as in ver. 2, to
introduce an implied reference, especially
in animated and abrupt style ; but it
seems preferable to consider the n as
paragogic and emphatic, and so express
ing still more forcibly the extent of the
sighing which Babylon had occasioned,
but which was now to cease. See Ps.
iii. 3. Thus Jarchi and Rosenmiiller.
3, 4. In these verses, the prophet per
sonifies Babylon, and represents her as
giving expression to extreme agitation
and terror, occasioned by the unexpected
appearance of the enemy, tibn^n is in
tensive, and signifies great writhing, or
writhing pain, from 'Jin, to twist, writhe.
Comp. inin, i-Tjii, &c. — D in t^fp and
rwrfo expresses negation. — IJiiin f]*:, lit.
ihe twilight of my pleasure ; but ^iti:,
which signifies either the evening or the
morning twilight, is also used for the
darkness of night that intervenes between
them. See chap. v. 11, lix. 10. What
the prophet means, is the night which
the Babylonians had devoted to pleasure,
when Belshazzar made a great feast to a
thousand of his nobles, and drank wine
out of the sacred cups which had been
taken from the temple at Jerusalem,
A A

178

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxi.

The night of my pleasure
Is to me become one of terror.
The table is arranged ;
The watch is set ;
They eat, they drink : —
Arise, ye princes ; anoint the shield.
For thus hath the Lord said to me :

Dan. V. Of the festival celebrated on
this occasion, express mention is made
by Herodotus, lib. i. 191 : dXXd Tvxelv
crcJH iovaav opTrjV, p^opeveiv Te tovtov
Toc xpdvov, Kal iv eviraBeirj<n elvai, is d
bfj Kal TO KdpTa iirvBovTo : " but they
happened to be celebrating a festival, and
were dancing and indulging in pleasure,
when they learned what had happened."
And Xenophon states in his Cyropsedia,
vii. 7 • ^O be "Kvpos, iireibrj eoprrjv Toi-
avTrjV iv Ba^vXdvi rjKova-ev eivai, ev §
irdvTes Ba^vXdvioi SXrjv Trjv vvKTa iri-
vovfTi Kal KapA^ov(Tiv : that " Cyrus,
when he heard that they were celebrat
ing a festival at Babylon, in which all
the Babylonians drank and revelled the
whole night," proceeded to take measures
for the immediate capture of the city. —
Dto is used impersonally, and is equiva
lent to the substantive verb nri, followed
by ^. — Before niin, subaud. V]^: repeated
from the preceding clause. Comp. Dan.
V. 6, 9.
5. 'fw, riBS, ^3^, and rintf, are histori
cal Infinitives, and vividly portray the
security and avidity with which the Baby
lonians were enjoying the feast. The
position of n'Bsn riBS between ]n^ ips
and firm 'riM is beautifully select. When
the tables had all been prepared, and the
king and his guests were about to sit
down to the banquet, the precaution was
taken to see that the guards were placed
at their posts. The coincidence between
this circumstance, noticed by Isaiah, and
the words addressed to Cyrus by those
who were around Gobrias, one of his
generals, is also remarkable, — ds iv
Kapa SoKel yap rj irdXis irdo'a elvai T^be
TJ] vVKTi. <pvXaK§ pivToi Trpd Tav
irvXdv evrev^opeBa' ea-ri yap del
TeTaypivrj : "the city seems to-night
to be in a general revel, but we shall-
meet with a guard at ihe gates, for there
is always one set there." Cyropaed. ut

sup. Other interpretations of n'BS nss
have been attempted, but have failed.
See Gesenius and Hitzig. The words
are not found in the LXX. The Hexap.
has, after an asterisk, a-Koireva-ov Trjv
CTKoiridv, but there is no corresponding
translation in the Hexap. Syriac. The
Peshito Syr., Targ., and Vulg., render
according to the usual signification of
watching, looking out. — According to Ge
senius, the last clause of the verse con
tains a call from the watch to the princes
of Babylon, to rise from the tables at
which they were feasting, and hasten to
the defence of the city; but the words
are more probably addressed in vi.sion by
the prophet to the commanders of the
Medes and Persians, calling upon them
to seize the favourable moment of attack.
Comp. Jer. li. 11, 12; and the words of
Cyrus : dyeTe, Xap^dvere oirXa. The
JJD, shield, was the chief defence of the
ancient warrior. In length, it was about
half his height, and generally double its
own breadth. It was most commonly
covered with bull's hide, (hence da-iriSas
^oeias, Iliad v. 452,) having the hair
outwards, sometimes strengthened by
one or more rims of metal, and studded
with nails or«metal pins. Sometimes it
was suspended by a thong upon the side,
and sometimes held by a handle. Wil
kinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p.
298. It was customary to smear the
shields over with oil, to render them
smooth, so that the weapons of the enemy
might slide off them, and also to prevent
them from being injured by rain. This
was done before engaging in battie, which
accounts for the command on the present
occasion. Comp. 1 Sam. i. 21.
6. Isaiah is here ordered to do, what
would naturally be done under such cir
cumstances by one anxious to know the
result. The whole is transacted in 'vision.
A watchman is stationed ; the army of

CHAP. XXI.]

ISAIAH.

na

Go, station a watchman ;
What he seeth, let him declare.
And he saw troops of horse by pairs,
Troops of asses, troops of camels ;
And listened with the utmost attention.

Cyrus is presented to his view ; he gives
the alarm by describing its appearance ;
and finally announces the fall of Babylon,
ver. 7 — 9.
7, 33-1, ip2, as well as linn and "jpa, are
here nouns of multitude. As 33'i also
signifies a chariot, most interpreters so
render it in the present instance, and
some, with Michaelis, suppose the war-
chariots, armed with scythes, to be meant,
which were first introduced among the
Persians by Cyrus. Since, however, it
does not appear that asses and camels
were employed in the East to draw
chariots, or waggons of any description,
the term cannot be so taken, at least in
the connexion in which it here stands
with these animals ; and it is scarcely to
be imagined that it would be used in
such close proximity, in two different
acceptations. 331, the verb from which
it is derived, like the Arab, t- -^ ,, sig
nifies to ride, either on an animal or in
a vehicle, so that the noun may equally
denote riders, and the animals on, or the
vehicles in which they rode. Comp.
2 Sam. viii. 4, x. 18. It must here be
understood as signifying troops riding on
horses. — D'ifiiB signifies both horsemen
and horses, especially such as were used
for riding : the parallel use of camels and
asses shews that the word is to be taken
in the latter sense. ip2 properly denotes
a yoke, from ip2, to bind, fasten ; but as
the yoke was employed for the purpose
of binding two animals together, it easily
came to signify a couple of animals thus
bound, and then a pair or couple indefi
nitely, without reference to the primary
signification of the term. The prophet
employs it to describe the Persian cavalry
advancing in double ranks : — a circum
stance specially noticed by Xenophon :
*i2s be TO TOV iroTapov ovras iiroparvveTo,
iraprjyyvrjaev 6 Kvpos, Jlepa'ais x'^'ap-
Xois Kal ire^dv Kal iniriav, 'EI2 ATT O
dyovras t^v x'-^^^O'tvv irapeivai irpos
avTov, K.T.X. CyropEed. vii. 5, 8. That

Cyrus should have a strong body of
horsemen might be anticipated, from the
use of cavalry by the Egyptians and
other nations of antiquity ; but it would
seem that they were first used by the
Persians, in his wars in western Asia.
How strange soever it may appear, at
first sight, to us westerns, that asses
should be employed in offensive warfare,
it is certain, that the inhabitants of Cara-
mania, a province of Persia, thus used
them: 'K.pdvrai b' dvois ol iroXXol Kal
irpos iroXepov, trirdvei Tav iirirav. ovov
Te Bvova-i Ta ''Apei, ovirep fre^ovrat Bedv
povov. Kal eloi iroXepitrTal. " Even in
war, they mostly use asses, owing to the
lack of horses ; and they also offer them
in sacrifice to Mars, whom alone of all
the gods they worship ; being a most
warlike people," Strabo, lib. xv. cap. 2.
These animals were not only useful in
conveying the soldiers forward to the
point where they gave battle to the
enemy on foot, but were also employed
for the purpose of scaring his horses.
Thus Herodotus relates, that in the ex
pedition of Darius against the Scythians,
the insolence of the asses so terrified the
Scythian horses, that they were panic-
struck by their braying, and pricking
their ears, turned about; having never
before heard the sound, or seen the form
of these animals — a circumstance which
in some degree affected the fortune of
the war, lib. iv. cap. 29. According to
Xenophon, a similar stratagem was used
by Cyrus with the camels, in the decisive
battle which he gained against Croesus,
which proves that he also had them iu
his army, conformably to the prediction
in the text. CyropEed. vii. 1, § 14, 22.
Since, however, it was anciently cus
tomary for the Bactrians, Parthians,
Africans, and otiier nations of the East,
to attack the enemy on the backs of
camels or dromedaries, as it has been
since, and is at this day in Arabia, there
is reason to believe that the like formed
part of the military operations of Cyrus,

180

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxi.

And he cried out like a lion :
On the watch-tower I stood, my lord !
Continually by day ;
And at my post of observation,
I was stationed whole nights.
And behold ! this came :
Troops of men, horse by pairs.
And he further said :
Babylon is fallen, is fallen !
And all the graven images of her gods he hath smashed to the
ground !

in his war with the Babylonians. See
Diod. Sic. ii. 54, iii. 44 ; Liv. xxxvii. 40 ;
Strabo, xvi. 3 ; Herod, vii. 86 ; Pollux,
X. 8 ; Herodian, iv. 15 ; Gesen. in loc. ;
Michaelis, Laws of Moses, vol. ii. p. 499.
In the present case, as in numberless ,
others, by abandoning the literal inter
pretation for one that is symbolical and
purely imaginary, the evidence which
the passage affords in support of the
truth of Scripture, is entirely lost. Re
garding D'^'TB as denoting horsemen,
Estius, Tirinus, Sanctius, Menochius,
Prebend. Lowth, and others, suppose
the two to be symbolical of Cyrus and
Darius ; while some are of opinion, that
the ass and the camel are symbolical of
the Medes and Persians I
8. Want of attention to the usage of
the language has led many to interpret
rri«, a lion, of Darius ; but there is ob
viously an ellipsis of ?, as, like, before
the word, as liB?, for liB23, Ps. xi. 1 ;
in;, for in;3, Isa. xxii. 23 ; I'sn, for i'2r|3,
li. 12, etfreq. Comp. Rev. x. 3. Lowth's
conjecture, that we should read n*?iii,
which is adopted by Michaelis, Dathe,
and Doderlein, is altogether gratuitous. —
The punctists, supposing Jehovah to be
addressed by the watchman, read ':i«,
but as, according to ver. 6, the watch
man was placed at his post by Isaiah,
the word should be pointed ':i«, and
rendered sir, or my lord, as in our com
mon version.
9. In the phrase N3 nrnsni seems
to be couched the sudden and unex
pected approach of the Persian army —
a circumstance specially noticed by
Herodotus: vvv be i^ dwpocrboK^TOv

a'(j)l irapefTTrja'av ol Heparai ; " But the
Persians came upon them quite unex
pectedly," lib. i. 191.  Here l*!?, for
D'ffi:>f, which was omitted ver. 7, is sup
plied, and the other two particulars
there mentioned are left out, being un
derstood. — n», lit. to answer, is used
idiomatically to express the continuance
or prosecution of the discourse. Comp.
Gen. xviii. 27, and diroKpivopai, in the
Hellenistic Greek of the N. T. Matt. xi.
25, xxii. 1 ; only, in the present instance,
there is, as it were, a perceptible pause
on the part of the watchman, before
proceeding to announce the result of the
hostile approach of Cyrus — the destruc
tion of Babylon.  The repetition nj?g
nJUJ expresses the strong impression
which the fall of that great city had
produced on the mind of the speaker,
and gives emphasis to the declaration.
Comp. Rev. xviii. 2, where the same
formula is employed in application to
spiritual Babylon.  The concluding
clause of the verse contains another of
those prophetic intimations, which re
ceive their confirmation from profane
history, though ofttimes in an apparently
quite incidental manner. Herodotus
expressly states, lib. i. 131, that dyak-
para pev Kal vrjoiis Kal ^apoiis ovk ev
voptp iroievpevovs ibpveo'Bai, aXXd Kai
Tolo-i iToievtri papirjv ein<pepovai', "The
Persians deem it unlawful to form
images, or construct temples and altars,
and charge those with stupidity who do
so." They would, therefore, naturally
break them in pieces, whenever they fell
in their way. The nomin. to 13115 is
Cyrus or his army understood. Fol-

CHAP. XXI.]

ISAIAH.

181

10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor !
What I have heard from Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel,
I have declared to you.

lowed by Y^ the verb is a vox preegnans ;
and the full force of the phrase is, to
break in pieces while levelling with the
ground. The LXX., Arab., Syr., Targ.,
and Vulg., appear to have read 13^, and
De Rossi's Cod. 985, originally read
1312)3; but both readings have sprung
from want of attention to the proper
nominative. — Comp. Jer. 1. 2, li. 47, 52.
10. The words '?"J3"131 'O^ip have been
variously interpreted, according to the
different views which have been taken
of the person speaking, and of those re
specting whom they are spoken. The
most natural construction is that which
assigns them to the prophet, and regards
them as addressed to his countrymen
who should be in Babylon at the time
of the Persian conquest. They had been
threshed, i. e. trodden upon and op
pressed by their enemies, till, by the
blessing of God, their idolatrous prac
tices had been separated from them, and

they lay as clean grain upon the thresh
ing-floor, ready to be removed into the
garner. The prophet calls them his,
identifying himself with them as his
people, nainp, a threshing, or that which
has been threshed, from «in, Arab.
iu.U , calcavit pedibus terram, to tread
out grain, trample upon, crush enemies,
captives, &c. J'js, a smooth or level area
on a rising ground, or in a field, where
grain is trodden out ; Arab. j~>. , to
make smooth or level, 'fl^']}, lit. the son
of my floor, but used idiomatically for
the grain which was upon it. Comp.
P)tfrp:3, sparks. Job v. 7; n^^3, the
arrow, chap. xii. 20, and the Arab. y|
Uii , aurora ; ^Jmmj]] ^\ , viator ;
JUU! ^\ , luna ; Ljl ^1 , anas.

Vekses 11, \2.
the sentence of dtjmah.

11 One called to me from Seir :
Watchman ! what of the night .''
Watchman ! what of the night .''
12 The watchman said :

11, 12. These two verses contain a
prophecy concerning the inhabitants of
Dumab, which, from its abrupt intro
duction, its brevity, and its enigmatical
character, is somewhat difficult of in
terpretation. From npn, Dumah, occur
ring Gen. xxv. 14, and 1 Chron. i. 30,
as the name of one of the descendants
of Ishmael, in connexion with Teman,
and other Arabian names, it is most
probable that, in this place, we are to
understand by the term, the AovpaiBa
of Ptolemy, JiiJs'l iUji> , the Rocky

Dumah, or LuitiJt <i<j<i , Syrian Du
mah, so called from its being situated
on the confines of Arabia Petraea and
the Syrian desert. Thus Michaelis,
Dijderlein, Hensler, Gesenius, Hitzig,
Maurer. On the other hand, Schmidius,
Vitringa, Lowth, Koppe, Doderlein,
Dathe, Rosenmiiller, boothroyd, and
Jenour, following the 'ibovpaia of the
LXX., consider it to be merely an ab
breviation of Dii«, Edom, The circum
stance that the voice is said to come
TOtep, from Seir, cannot strictly be

182

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxr.

Morning cometh, and also night ;
If ye will inquire, inquire ;
Turn, come.

adduced in favour of the latter interpre
tation ; since, if we suppose the prophet
to have been in Jerusalem, it must have
reached him from Seir — the north-east
mountains of that country stretching
between Dumah and Judea. The period
to which the prophecy refers seems to
be that during which the Jews were
captives in Babylon. Respecting this
period, metaphorically called ihe night,
on account of its calamities, (see chap.
xlv. 7; Joel ii. 2 ; Amos v. 8,) the in
habitants of Dumah scoffingly inquire,
how far it is advanced. And, to give
greater pointedness to the taunt, the
inquiry is repeated. The inspired reply
is, that morning, i. e. the dawn of joy
and prosperity (see Job xi. 17) is ap
proaching to the Jews, but that there is
also a night at hand, or a season of
calamity for their enemies. The prophet

then tells them, that if they would really
know what was in the Divine mind,
they must repent, and come in the exer
cise of a humble and teachable disposi^
tion. Comp. Job xxii. 21. — ivn, and n»3,
are Aramaic, or imitations of it. The
former verb is otherwise used in Heb.
with n for its third radical, which a
great many MSS., and the Complut.
Bible, exhibit in this place; the latter
occurs only once besides, Obad. ver. 6,
in the sense of inquiring, I3ti is used
in its metaphorical sense of turning to
God, repenting, being converted, &c. like

the Arab.

.>!i', ii^O',

conversio, & J ,

pcenitentia ; Syr. and Chald. »aoZ >
3in ; Rabbin, njisiiii, repentance ; and
not adverbially, to qualify the following
verb, as Hitzig maintains.

Verses 13 — 17.

the sentence of ARABIA.

From Dumah, on the very confines, the prophet proceeds to deliver an oracle
respecting the condition to which the Arabians in general should be reduced
within a year after its publication. Instead of traversing the country as usual,
and pitching their tents at the ordinary stations, or as might best suit their con
venience, the mercantile caravans should be obliged to betake themselves to the
thickets, in order to escape from the sword of the enemy. To what invasion of
Arabia reference is made cannot be determined; but, as it must have taken place
in the time of Isaiah, it cannot be that by Nebuchadnezzar, predicted by
Jeremiah, chap. xlix. 28 — 33 ; except we were to suppose that some deflnite
numeral has been dropt out of the text before n:^, Lowth thinks it may have
happened in connexion with Sennacherib's invasion of Judea, about the four
teenth year of Hezekiah.
13 In the thickets of Arabia shall ye lodge,
Ye caravans of Dedanites !

13. Lowth deems the title 3'i»3 «tea of singularity of the phraseology. The
doubtful authority, partly because it is former circumstance is of littie moment,
wanting in many MSS. of the LXX., especially as the Greek MSS. in which
and partly because of what he calls the it is found are supported by Aquila,

CXI.]

ISAIAH.

IBS

14 Bring forward water to the thirsty ;
Ye inhabitants of the land of Tema,
Anticipate with his bread the fugitive.

Symm. and Theod. And, as it respects
the construction, though the two iden
tical nouns nowhere else occur with the
preposition 3 intervening, yet instances
of nouns thus construed are by no means
uncommon. Comp. si)?? 'in, 2 Sam. i.
21 ; ppy3 'I3i>, Ps. Ixxxiv. 7 ;' l'?i33 rtipto,
Isa. ix. 3; and 3'i»3 1»||3, immediately
following in the verse itself, which in all
probability was prominent in the mind
of Isaiah, when he penned the title.
See also Ivi. 9.  3i», X—ijC , Arabia,
generally speaking, includes the whole
extent of country which extends from
Palestine to the straits of Babelmandel,
and from the Red Sea to the Euphrates,
and is usually divided into Deserta,
Petraea, and Felix ; but in this passage,
as most frequently in Scripture, the
name more immediately applies to Ara
bia Deserta, or the northern, being that
with which the Hebrews were most
familiar. It is peopled by Bedoweens,
o)l J>J ) i- 6- inhabitants of the desert,
who have no fixed habitations, but live
in tents, (a-Krjvlrai, Strabo, xvi. 3 ; Diod.
Sic. ii. 54,) and move from place to
place, according as they require pas
turage for their flocks. This mode of
life they have led from the most ancient
times ; as, indeed, they retain unaltered
most of the patriarchal manners and
customs. Through this desert lay the
great route from the Elanitic and Per
sian gulfs on the south, to Damascus,
Tyre, and Sidon on the north, connect
ing the commerce of the Indian seas
with that of the Mediterranean. It
still forms that of the caravans from
Damascus to Mecca. It is to such'
caravans, here called ninik, travelling
companies, that the prophet refers.
Comp. Job vi. 19. Being stocked with
articles of great value they would natu
rally be an object of attack by the
enemy. — Instead of 3';»3, two of De
Rossi's MSS. read 3i»3, in the evening,
but probably a correction from the Targ.,
which, with the LXX., Syr., and Vulg.,

gives this interpretation. — By i»I is not
meant a forest of trees, but a rough or
rugged part of the desert, containing
thickets of brush-wood, briers, &c. which
rendered hostile operations, in a great
measure, impracticable. Comp. the Arab.
jTj, locus salebrosus. — D'ji'n, the De
danites, here mentioned, are not the de
scendants of Abraham by Keturah, Gen.
xxv. 3, who occupied a northern tract
in Arabia, bordering on Idumea, but
those of Raamah, specified Gen. x. 7,
who inhabited the island ^ jitii , Daden,
in the Persian Gulf, and most probably
part of the adjacent coast of Arabia,
and were celebrated on account of their
trade with the Phenicians, Ezek. xxvii.
15, 20, xxxviii. 13. See Bochart Phaleg.
lib. iv. cap. 6 ; Michaelis, Spicileg. i. p.
201. It was their caravans, aud not
those of a tribe in the immediate vici
nity of Tema, that would be attacked.
14. NO'S, yema, still calledby the Arabs
l^', Taima, a region on the extremity
of Arabia Deserta, towards Syria. Job
vi. 19 ; Jer. xxv. 23. The LXX. uni
formly render it Qaipdv, confounding it
with ^p'n, which lay close to Idumea, on
the east. It is only a few hours' journey
to the east of Hejeh, which lies on the
route of the caravans from Damascus to
Mecca. The inhabitants are called to
perform the rites of h ospitality towards th e
fugitives — a virtue for which the Arabs
have ever been renowned. — The suff. in
yarh belongs to i^:, the fugitive ; and the
meaning is. Supply him with the food
which he needs ; just as d apros rjpdv,
Matt. vi. 11, means the bread, or food,
which our circumstances require. — The
ancient versions read the verbs I'nn, and
it3iiJ, in the Imper., and justly. The
former is thus used Jer. xii. 9 ; and if
the latter be not here used in Kal, it is
only necessary to remove the Dagesh, and
change the Hiric into Patach, to make
it the Imper. of Piel. i'nn is a con
traction for i'n«n.

184 ISAIAH. [chap. xxii.
15 For they flee from the swords.
Prom the drawn sword ;
From the bent bow.
And from the pressure of war.
16 For thus said the Lord to me :
In one year more, according to the years of a hireling.
All the glory of Kedar shall be consumed.
17 And the remainder of the number of bows —
The mighty sons of Kedar shall be diminished ;
For Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken it.
15. The cumulative character of this range of the desert from the Red Sea as
verse greatly heightens the effect. For far as the Euphrates. To€ Krjbdp diro-
1», comp. 1 Sam. xxxi, 3, and the Arab, yovoi oi5 iroppa ttjs "Ba^vXavos pixP'-
TTjpepov ia-KrjvavTai. Theod. in Ps. cxx.
lijS , molestia affecit, in angustiam rede- 5. In the present passage, as in some
of those just quoted, the name seems to
git; 'idjS , vehementiahiemis, adversitas. te employed, in a more extended sense,
to denote the Arabs generally.
16. Iii?., Kedar, an Arabian tribe, de- 17. niflj:, bow, stands for n\iir'iti:si, how-
scended from Kedar, one of the sons of men. Comp. nifi|53 Did}« in the absolute
Ishmael, Gen. xxv. 13. Comp. Ps. cxx. state, with ? intervening. Thus TSiJ,
5; Song i. 5; Isa. xiii, 11, Ix. 7 ; Jer. harvest, chap. xvii. 5, for l'Si5M)'«,

ii. 10, xlix. 28, 29; Ezek. xxvii. 21. reaper. In our own language, a
They are the Cedrei of Pliny, Hist. Nat. is used for a driver ; a shot, for one who
V. 11, and appear to have taken the shoots, &c.

CHAPTER XXII.
the sentence of the valley of vision.
This oracle consists of two parts, the former of which respects the inhabitants of
Jerusalem generally, and the latter, an individual of high rank at the court.
Interpreters have found some difficulty in determining whether to refer the
invasion here predicted to that of Sennacherib, or to the desolating one under
Nebuchadnezzar. To make sure of the matter, Vitringa, Jackson, and others,
suppose both to be meant ; but without furnishing any satisfactory exegesis. It
appears to me, after a careful examination of the entire section, that there is no
part of it, but may, without straining, be applied to the events which took place
in Judea, and especially in the capital, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah.
The prophet describes the extreme agitation and confusion of Jerusalem during the
siege, 1, 2 ; the mortality arising from famine already begun, and the captive
state of all who had fled thither for refuge, pent up within her walls, 2, 3 ; his
own feelings in prospect of the impending destruction, 4, 5 ; and the preparations

CHAP. XXII.]

ISAIAH.

185

of the besieging army, 6, 7. The defensive "measures adopted by the inhabitants
are then narrated, accompanied with a severe reproof for their confiding in
these measures, and not in Jehovah, and their abandoning themselves to unholy
and infidel mirth, instead of humbling themselves, and repenting, as became
them, in such alarming circumstances, 8 — 14. The remainder of the chapter is
occupied with a prophecy respecting a change in the office of treasurer, which
took place about the same period of Jewish history.

What aileth thee now, that all belonging to thee
Have gone up to the roofs ?
Thou that wast full of commotions.
The noisy city, the Joyous city !
Thy slain are not the slain by the sword.
Nor such as have died in battle.
All thy rulers flee together.
Without the bow, they are made prisoners ;
All found in thee are made prisoners together,
Even those who have fled from far.

1. That |i'in «'3, the valley of vision,
means Jerusalem, is beyond all doubt,
though the phrase occurs only in this
place. Being surrounded with hills, and
for the most part by a deep valley, by a
branch of which it was also intersected,
it might with all propriety be called by
the latter term. See Ps. cxxv. 2 ; Jer.
xxi, 13. The established use of |i'in in
reference to prophetic vision, and the
circumstance that Jerusalem was the
principal seat of divine revelation, Luke
xiii. 33, 34, prove that such is the accep
tation in which the word is here to be
taken. The agreement between ]i'i.n
and njiiD, Moriah — both signifying vi
sion, is pureljr incidental. — The prophet
begins to address the inhabitants in the
character of a stranger, or as one igno
rant of the cause of the universal com
motion. Comp. Luke xxiv. 17. Their
object in assembling on the roofs of the
houses, which were flat and spacious, as
those of Eastern houses are at this day,
appears to have been to make their ob
servations on the position and strength
of the enemy, and to consult measures
of defence.
2. n«bp niNtin. For the sake of em
phasis, the noun is placed before the
adjective by which it is governed.

Gesen. — The prophet contrasts the for
merly prosperous and joyful condition Of
Jerusalem with her present calamitous
circumstances. On comparing the latter
distich with Lam. iv. 9, it seems evident
that by l]'.)5n we are to understand such
of the inhabitants as had died of famine.
See 2 Chron. xxxii. 11. Either this con
struction must be put on the term, or
it is to be taken figuratively in reference
to the state to which they were reduced
by fear, which is less natural.
3. The scene here depicted is still in
Jerusalem, consequently, the different
members of the verse must be explained
accordingly, li: is, therefore, to be taken
in the sense of fleeing from the council-
chamber — each of the rulers repairing
to his family, or to some particular part
of the city where he expected safety.
Comp. the Arab. tiJ, II. and IV. disgre-
gavii, dispersit camelos ; VI. t>Ui' , dis-
persi sunt, hue illuc a se invicem
aufugerunl. Freytag. Theod. peTeKivr\-
Brjo-av. Yet though they might thus flee,
they were still in a state of captivity ;
though not bound or taken captive by
the bowmen, they were confined within
the walls of the city as effectually as if

186

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxii.

6

Wherefore I say, Look away from tne ;
I will weep bitterly,
(Strive not to comfort me,)
For the desolation of the daughter of my people.
Por it is a day of tumult, of treading down, and of confusion,
From the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of vision ;
A calling out on the wall.
And a crying to the mountain.
Elam beareth the quiver.

they had been prisoners of war. — mtfi?.,
bow, is used for archers, as chap. xxi. 17;
and the D prefixed is to be taken in a
negative sense, as in Diap, Job xi. 15 ;
Tnsp, chap. xxi. 9; ijgp, Isa. xiv. 19.
The archers, acting as light infantry,
were the part of the army chiefly em
ployed in taking prisoners. 11D.^ signifies
properly one who is hound, but it is also
used to denote one who is in a state of
captivity, or confinement, irrespective of
the circumstance of binding. Gen. xl.
3, .5; Judg. xvi. 21. Comp. the Arab.
-m] , construxit, captivum fecit ; jhjI ,
captivitas ; .Uw) , ibid. Not only were
the rulers and all the ordinary inha
bitants pent up as prisoners within
Jerusalem, but those also who, on the
approach of the Assyrian army, had
fled thither from distant parts of the
country, were in the same condition. It
is to this confinement during the siege
that the prophet refers, and not to any
actual flight or capture of the fugitives,
as most commentators imagine.
4. The more to affect the minds of the
.Jews, the seer describes the inconsolable
.condition into which the scene had
thrown him, and begs them not to at
tempt to comfort him. See Jer. xiii. 1 7 ;
Lam. ii. 11 ; Micah i. 8, 9. For lis,
one of Kennicott's Codices reads 13«5,
which some have thought is supported
by the LXX., Arab., Syr., and Targ. ;
but this is uncertain, since lilJ, from yvi,
has much the same signification. This
reading was probably introduced from
Lam. iv. 10.
5. '3 further assigns the cause of the
prophet's grief; and he traces the cala
mity to the punishing hand of Jehovah.
For the formula nirr^ oi', see chap. ii. 12.

The three genitives, n3l3»l nDisninpinn,
form at once a paronomasia and a cli
max. The first denotes a state of noisy
confusion ; the second, that of persons
treading upon each other in their eager
ness to escape from danger ; and the
third, the hopeless perplexity to which
they are reduced. 1J13, the root from
which n3l3a is derived, signifies to en
tangle, as in a thicket or labyrinth ; Arab.
l^b , confusum iurhaiumque fuit nego-
tium; ,.VII. Turbaia mente et turhatis
rationibus fuerunt homines.  I'i? IITIBP,
another instance of paronomasia, "^^p
Jarchi and Kimchi take to be a deno
minative from the following word 'yp., a
wall; but Gesenius, Winer, and others,
refer it to lip, to dig, and render, digging
through or undermining the wall. In
Numb. xxiv. 17, the only other passage
in which the Pilpal form occurs, the re
lation in which it stands to y'no shews
that it is used in the acceptation of
destroying ; hence the LXX. irpovo-
pevcret ; Vulg. vastabit. Here, however,
the parallel term, Siiii, suggests the idea
of crying, crying out, which is the signi
fication of the corresponding Arab, form
J( J , barrivit camelus ; vocem edidit
gallus ; clariorem vocem in guiture reci-
procavit mugiens camelus, Freytag, and
Michaelis's Supplem. No. 2292. To
render the assimilation of the words
more palpable, IR stands for iprrt?, on
the wall. So great were the vociferations
of the despairing inhabitants of Jeru
salem, that they reached the surrounding
mountains. " Resonat magnis plangoribus asther."
Firg. Mn. iv. 668.
6, 7. Isaiah now proceeds to describe

chap, xxii.]

ISAIAH.

187

With chariots of men and horse ;
And Kir uncovereth the shield.
Thy choicest valleys are full of chariots,
And the horse draw up at the gate.
The vail of Judah is removed.
And now thou lookest to the armour of the forest-house.

the appearance of the besieging foe.
From this verse, compared with 2 Kings
xviii. 11, it is evident, that Elam or
Persia was in the time of the prophet
subject to the Assyrian power. The
Elamites, or Elymsei, furnished a large
body of troops, who were mostly archers.
2TpaT(Q>Taff Tpe^ei To^oras tovs TrXet-
a-Tovs. Strabo, xv. 3. 12. Forming the
light infantry, they are mentioned in
distinction from the war-chariots, and
cavalry, also furnished by the Persians ;
and from the Median or Caucasian war
riors who employed the sword and spear.
Hence the appropriateness of the allu
sion here, and Jer. xlix. 34. See Rosenm.
Bib. Geography, chap. vi. The other
foreign troops, specified as forming auxi
liaries in the Assyrian army, came from
the region on the Kur, "Vp,, Kvpos,
Armen. ¦}««-/» , which takes its rise in
the mountains of the Caucasus, and,-
flowing through Tiflis, the capital of
Georgia, joins the Araxes before it
reaches the Caspian Sea. The name of
Georgia, ljW=>-fS > Girjistan, is obvi
ously a derivative from this ancient
name. The natives of the Caucasus
still wear shields, as I had an opportunity
of observing when travelling there in
the year 1821. Those which I saw were
made of wood or strong leather, and
surrounded on the outside with iron.
See Biblical Researches and Travels in
Russia, London, 1826, 8vo, p. 485. From
the statementmade by Isaiah, they appear
to have preserved them in a cover while
on their march, in order that they might
not be injured by rain or dust. Comp.
the clypeorum involucra of Cicero, De
Nat. Deor. ii. 14. For other Biblical
references to this region, see 2 Kings
xvi. 9; Amos i. 5, ix. 7. — D'lM 33'i is the
same as «)'« 33'i, chap. xxi. 9 ; so that
there is no necessity, with . Lowth, to
adopt the conjectural emendation of

Houbigant, Dl« 33'1, chariots of Syrians, —
The 1 prefixed to D'tfrg in seven MSS,,
originally in two more, and four printed
editions, is most probably a supply of
the ellipsis. It is also expressed in the
Targ. — inti niD, lit. placing, they place,
i, e. themselves ; but the Infin. is here
used substantively, and the meaning is,
the cavalry take their station, or draw
up in regular order. Thus the Syr.
.J. V -.
oIjAou 1 instruent sese.
8. nTin; 'rjpn, the vail or covering of
Judah, means the fortified places in the
country which Sennacherib had already
taken, 2 Kings xviii. 13. The root is
1]35, which signifies to cover, protect,
and the derivative is used of the curtain
before the entrance of the tabernacle,
court, &c. Exod. xxvi. 36, xxxv. 17.
Gesenius supposes the language to be
that of reproach ; the figure being taken
from the wanton and violent tearing
away of a vail from a virgin; and ad
duces from the life of Timur, 1 Qj'i
UaAl] i__Bj*jCi> , ere the vail be removed ;
denoting the exposure of a people to the
greatest indignity by the enemy. From
the antithesis in this verse, it would
rather seem to indicate the defenceless
condition of a people, than any af
front offered them. We may, however,
compare the Arab. JLi , velum, coriina;
ijiM, res omnes qua alia tegitur; clypeus,
murus, seu lorica ejus. — 'Wjn n'3 stands
for Ji:3|n i»i n'3, the house of the forest of
Lebanon, i. e. the cedar palace which
Solomon caused to be constructed of
trees from Lebanon, 1 Kings vii. 2 — 7,
X. 21 ; which appears afterwards to have
been converted into an arsenal. Comp.
Neh. iii. 19. It is supposed to have been
built on the acclivitous part of Mount
Zion eastward, to which was given the

188

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxii.

9 Ye regard the breaches of the city of David, which are many.
And ye collect the water of the lower pool.
10 Ye number the houses of Jerusalem,
And break down the houses to fortify the wall.
11 Ye make a reservoir between the two walls,
For the water of the old pool :
But ye look not to Him who doeth this,
Neither do ye regard Him who long since devised it.
12 The Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, calleth on this same day
To weeping and lamentation ;
To baldness, and to girding with sackcloth.
13 But, behold ! joy and gladness,

name of Ophel. The means of defence
from without having been taken posses
sion of by the Assyrians, the inhabitants
now perceived that the only resource
left was to furnish themselves with an
adequate supply of weapons from the
armoury, and offer all the resistance
they could from within.  The phrase
«inn Di'3, in that day, possesses in this
connexion the least possible extension
of meaning : it only connects the two
events specified closely together in point
of time. Comp. ver. 12, where it is used
to express the present time, or that
during which the events were passing.
The entire passage is a description of the
present, not a prediction of the future.
9 — 1 1 . The city cf David formed the
most southerly and highest part of Jeru
salem. It_ lay on Mount Zion, and was
surrounded with a separate wall, which
appears at this time to have fallen into
decay. It derijred its name from the
circumstances of David's taking the
citadel of the Jebiisites, which stood
tbere, and his making it his royal resi
dence. — The numbering of the houses
seems to refer to an inspection under
taken with the view of ascertaining
which might most conveniently be de
molished; or reference may be had to
certain houses being pulled down in
order to obtain materials for repairing
the wall. In wnn, the Masoretes
- mark the second n as Raphe, i.e.
there is an omission of the Dagesh com
pensative for the first radical. — Djnfch,
the two walls, i. e. the one which Heze
kiah caused to be repaired, and the

exterior one which he built, 2 Chron,
xxxii. 5. — The old pool was the same as
ihe upper pool, chap. vii. 3 ; called also the
king's pool, because its waters irrigated
the royal gardens, Neh. ii. 14, iii. 15.
By contriving to throw up a wall round
it, and along the passage which he
caused to be dug for its waters into the
city, the king at once deprived the As
syrians of them, and secured a supply
for the inhabitants. For further notices
respecting the localities here mentioned,
see chap. vii. 3. — While the Jews were
active in preparing every means of de
fence, and had their attention fixed upon
them, they forgot God, who, in ac
complishment of an eternal purpose,
had brought the calamity upon the city.
Amos iii. 6. The repetition of the same
verbs to?:, and nwi', in the 11th verse,
which had been employed vers. 8, 9,
adds to the force of the antithesis. — 1?;,
to form, fashion, has here the significa
tion of forming in the mind, purposing,
determining. See chap, xxxvii. 26, and
comp. Gen. vi. 5.
12, 13. Instead of humbling them
selves and confessing their sins before
the Lord, agreeably to the call which he
had sent them to that end, the Jews
indulged in every species of riot, ani^
unblushingly gave expression to senti
ments the most epicurean and infidel.
Nothing more strikingly evinces the
strength of human depravity than tri
fling and reckless bravery when men
are on the brink of destruction. — For
the effect of the historical infinitives, see
chap. xxi. 5. — in«ii%M is elliptical for

chap, xxii.]

ISAIAH.

189

14

Slaying oxen and killing sheep.
Eating flesh and drinking wine !
— Let us eat and drink ; for to-morrow we die !
But it is revealed in my ears,
By Jehovah of Hosts :
This guilt shall not be pardoned you till ye die,
Saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts.

15 Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts :
Go in now to this steward,
To Shebna, who is over the household, [and say,]

np«J: intii tog: ^iM. Comp. 1 Kings xxii.
30. The words are applied by Paul to
such as deny the resurrection of the
dead, 1 Cor. xv. 32 ; and the sentiment
they convey frequently occurs in heathen
writers. See Wetstein, or Bloomfield ;
and the poem of Tarafa, in the Moal-
lakat, ver. 63.
14. n'JT — Tti}, lit. Jehovah hath re
vealed himself, i. c. made the follow
ing revelation. Comp. the Arab. Jl»-,
clarus fuit, manifeste paiuii; V. reve-
latus, retectus, ac manifestatus fuit, ut
Deus homini ; <Ka1s:' , revelatio. '^s,
iri my ears, instead of '^iM, to me, from
the idiomatic use of ].;!< n^, to uncover
the ear, make a communication to any
one, 1 Sam. xx. 2, et freq. — D«, If, a
formula of swearing which possesses a
strong negative power. With ^') it has
an affirmative signification. See chap. v.
9, where the same introductory style is
employed, only with an ellipsis of nj::. —
]inop"l», till ye die, i. e. never. The
impious Jews should be visited with
calamity upon calamity, till finally Ne
buchadnezzar would destroy the city.
The Targum explains the death here
mentioned of NWn «nio, the second death
in the world to come, which is unwar
ranted. 15. Having executed his commission
with respect to the ungodly inhabitants
of Jerusalem generally, Isaiah now re
ceives a message to deliver to Shebna,
the steward of the royal house, who, in
s)ll probability, set an example of sensual
indulgence and irreligion, which greatiy

promoted these evils in others. Seholz
supposes him to have been a powerful
statesman in the time of Ahaz ; and that
Hezekiah found him in office at the time
of his accession, but was unable for
some time to remove him from his
situation. This oracle appears to have
been delivered much about the same
time with the preceding. Nor can we
doubt that Shebna and Eliakim men
tioned in this prophecy are the same
persons whom we find spoken of, chap.
xxxvi. 3, xxxvii. 2. It is true Shebna
is said there to have filled the office of
iBfe, scribe or secretary, which was a
situation inferior to that of prefect of
the palace, then held by Eliakim ; but
his predicted degradation may have
commenced with his removal to this
inferior post, and been first completed
by his transportation to Assyria, ver.
18. — ]3D Gesenius interprets in the sense
of friend, and supposes it to denote the
familiar friend of the king ; but it seems
preferable to derive its signification from
the Arab. ^ jCjj , quietus, tranquillus
fuit, habitavit, Heb. J3ti, and refer it to
the residence of Shebna in the palace,
for the purpose of administering its
affairs, supplying it with provisions, &c.
Hence .. jCmj , alimenium. The Targ.
accordingly renders it by «$J1B, distri
butor, administrator ; and Saadias (JjOj >
which has the same signification. With
this is easily connected the idea of pro-
fli, wealth, &c. Job xv. 3, xxii. 2, xxxv.
3 ; cherishing, n:5iB, 1 Kings i. 2, 4.—-

1.90

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxii.

16 What hast thou to do here ? and whom hast thou here ?
That thou hewest out here for thyself a sepulchre ?
— He heweth out his sepulchre on high !
He cutteth out a mansion for himself in the rock ! —

The addition of nin, the emphatic form
of the demonstrative pronoun, to pEn,
"this steward," is expressive of a high
degree of contempt. See Exod. xxxii.
1. — Who is over the household, is a more
specific description of the office desig
nated by )3b. The Vulg., Targ., and
several interpreters understand n'sn, the
house, as signifying the temple, and
consider Shebna to have been the high
priest ; but, though the term n;3 is un
questionably used both of the tabernacle
and the temple, the whole phrase .litis
i!3!T^ is never appropriated to designate
the high-priest.  Between ^M and to
there is often no difference of meaning,
both being indiscriminately used in the
sense of to. — Two of Kennicott's MSS.,
the LXX., Syr., Targ., Vulg., Arab.,
and Saad., add I'Jm nips^, and say to
him, which has probably been dropped
out of the text.
16. We are not to conclude from the
formula iVrip, that Shebna was a fo
reigner, or, at least, that he was not a
native of Jerusalem. It merely points
out the incongruity of such a profane
character seeking to perpetuate his
memory by a splendid mausoleum at
Jerusalem. Comp. Jer. ii. 18. Both in
this and the co-ordinate question is
couched the idea that neither he nor
any of his family should remain there.
In the second distich, the vanity and folly
of his making the preparations referred
to are graphically expressed in conse
quence of a change from the second to
the third person, which allows the pro
phet by way of derision to point to him
as thus occupied.  The ' in the parti
ciples 'S^tn, and 'j?17fT, is paragogic, and is
used in poetry without at all affecting
the sense. See Gen. xlix. 11; Deut.
xxxiii. 16; Zech. xi. 17. — It was cus
tomary in the East for kings, and other
persons of high rank and dignity, to have
magnificent sepulchres excavated in the
solid rock, in which their remains, and
those of their relatives, were deposited
in sarcophagi. Witness the immense

chambers in the face of the mountains
about Persepolis and other places in
Persia; those of Petra, recently dis
covered ; the cryptae of Latikea in Syria,
and various places in Asia Minor ; and
the sepulchres described by Maundrell,
Clarke, and other travellers, as still
visible in the rocks about Jerusalem;
especially those which extend along the
sida of the ravine to the south-west and
west of Mount Zion, and those on the
north of the city, commonly called the
sepulchres'of the kings. See 1 Kings ii.
10 ; 2 Chron. xxxii. 33 ; where, as Lowth
justly observes, ntop should be rendered
the highest, or most elevated, in point of
position, of the royal sepulchres dug out
in Mount Zion itself Neh. iii. 16.— Diia,
elevation, as freq. for Diip3, on high, high,
&c. Speaking of the great mountain
sepulchres to be seen at Persepolis, Sir
Robt. Ker Porter observes, "'The face
of the mountain is almost a perpen
dicular cliff, continuing to an elevation
of scarcely less than three hundred
yards; the substance is a whitish kind
of marble. In this have been cut the
celebrated sculptures and excavations,
so long the subjects of discussion with
the traveller, the artist, and the anti
quary. These singular relics of Persian
greatness are placed very near each
other, and are all contained within the
space of not quite the height of the
mountain. Those highest on the rock
are four ; evidently intended for tombs,
and as evidently of a date coeval with
the splendour of Persepolis. The range
below vary in ability of execution ; and
are all in a very inferior taste to those
above." Travels, vol. i. p. 521. — The use
of the term ]'$^, habitation, in applica
tion to the grave, is quite in accordance
with modes of speech current in the
East, and other parts of the world.
Thus Solomon speaks of men going at
death to into n'3, his everlasting or long-
enduring house, Eccles. xii. 5. The Phe
nicians also called the sepulchre n'3 I'ln
Dto, the chamber of ihe eternal house ;

chap, xxii.]

ISAIAH.

191

17 Behold ! Jehovah will cast thee headlong, O thou mighty !
He will grasp thee flrmly,
18 And, whirling thee round and round, will toss thee
Like a ball into a wide country :
There thou shalt die.
And there shall be thy splendid chariots ;
Thou disgrace to the house of thy lord !

and the Arabs use ^^uk* , mansio, in
terchangeably with jjki' , sepulchrum, to
which they also give the name Ji>
liisJ), the eternal habitation. Comp.
what Diod. Sic. says of the Egyptians,
i. 51, Toiis Tmi* TereXevTriKOTav Tacpovs
d'lblovs oIkovs irpoo'ayopevovaLV, as
ev dbov biao-TeXXovTav tov aireipov
alavcu — From the circumstance that the
prophet was commanded M3, to go in to
Shebna, and from the commencement
of his address to him, it would appear
that he was in the sepulchre at the
time — most likely feeding his vanity
with the survey of its princely dimen
sions. How unwelcome, at such a mo
ment, the announcement contained in
the following verses !
17, 18. The original is here peculiarly
impassioned, and possesses a graphic
power, to which no translation can pre
tend. Not only are there two instances
of the repetition of the same word, to
which the Hebrew writers are extremely
partial, but immediately following these,
we have the three different forms, F|i33
nD:a ?|p:2;, which equals in beauty the
iTovos irova irdvov (j)epei of Sophocles,
Aj. 866, or the Soo-iv KaKav KOKav
KaKols of .Sischylus, Pers. 1046. Two
other examples occur, chap, xxvii. 7, in
the lines — insn map nspsn
: 3ih i'3in 3in3 b«
In like manner Micah ii. 4:
: n;n: 'n: nsm
Conip. also Isa. x. 16, and xxix. 14, and
the beautiful paronomasia of Paul's, pfj
virepd>poveiv nap' b bel (ppovelv, dXXd
<f>pove'iv els to a-a(j)pove'iv, Rom. xii. 3. —
TOtoo, and iijo^, are strongly intensitive

forms, derived from the root ^B, to he
long ; in Hiph. to throw down ai fuH
length; Arab. ^J]s, longus fuit ; II, in
longum extendit; IV. in longum fecit, pro-
longavii. See Ewald's Gram. § 235, where
tobp is rendered to hurl. — '^.5, Lowth,
Dathe, Jenour, Jones, Gesenius, Maurer,
and others, take to be a substantive,
used adjectively to qualify n^to, which
they consider the less usual form of the
feminine construct, as did Joseph Kimchi
and other Rabbins. The Syr., however,
David Kimchi, Lib. Rad. sub voc. ^,
Munster, Pagninus, Leo Juda, and,
among the moderns, Hensler, Rosen
miiller, Boothroyd, Hitzig, and Scholz,
read it in the vocative; which is pre
ferable. It differs from li33, which more
appropriately describes one distinguished
for military valour ; whereas 133 simply
conveys the idea of power, violence, in
solence, &c. ; Arab. _nr.- , religavit, con-
solidavit ; V. superbivit, extulii se ; and
comp. jji, V. semei extulet et super
bivit,  nEi» is here used, not in ac
cordance with the signification of 1.^^ ,
obscura fuit nox, texit rem, so as that
the meaning would be wrap or roll up,
as in a mantle — but with that of Uac ,
manu accepit rem ; ad festinandum im-
pulit aliquem, Kamoos ; and expresses
the sudden and resistless ,"grasp with
which one lays hold on any person or
thing with a view to secure its expul
sion.  -t]:2, whence f]'33, a tiara or
turban, signifies to twist or roll round, as
the Orientals do in wrapping their tur
bans round their heads. It is employed
in this place to describe the significant
action of whirling a stone or ball several
times round with the hand, or in a sling.

192

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxii.

19

20

21

22

I will drive thee from thy post,
And pull thee down from thy station.
And it shall be in that day that I will call my servant,
Even Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah ;
And will clothe him with thy robe.
And bind thy girdle around him ;
Thy government will I commit to his hand,
And he shall become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
And to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the house of David upon his shoulder ;
He shall open, and none shall shut ;
And he shall shut, and none shall open.

in order to acquire strength and steadi
ness of aim before throwing it to a dis
tance. The triple use of the word, as
noticed above, gives singular effect to
the passage.  By the D'.-r ram yiM, lit.
the land wide of hands, is meant the
extensive country of Assyria, into
which Shebna was to be carried cap
tive. There he should behold in the
hands of the enemy the splendid equi
pages in which he was accustomed to
ride in state about Jerusalem; and there
he was to end his days in disgrace.
19. The prophet descends from the
highly figurative language which he had
employed, and, in plain terms, announces
to Shebna his removal from office. This
he does by introducing God himself as
addressing him, and then continues the
address in the third person — a change
very common with the prophets. — Both
nouns, 32p, and ia*a, convey the idea of
fixedness or stability, and enhance the
force of the language. Instead of 'Ipinj,
one of De Rossi's MSS., the Syr,, Vulg.,
and Saadias, read ^jJIWi but the change
was most likely effected to remove the
enallage persona.
20 — 22 contain a prediction of the
transfer of the insignia of office to
Eliakim, the new steward, and of the
happy consequences of his administra
tion. I3:3!|t, which is elsewhere only
used of the splendid girdles worn by the
priests, is of uncertain derivation. Most
are inclined to regard the » as prosthetic,
and trace a connexion between it and
jjj, bend, a Persic word signifying a

band or vinculum ; but it is more pro
bably of Egyptian origin. For the sig
nification of 3«, a father, as here used,
see chap. ix. 5. Instead of the pride
and egotism of Shebna, the inhabitants
would find in Eliakim the tenderness
and benevolent care of a parent.' — In
the East the key is a symbol of power
or authority, with special reference to
palaces, treasures, stores, &c. It re
sembles a sickle with a long handle;
and the crooked part is so formed as to
allow of its being suspended on the
shoulder or round the neck. That it
actually formed part of the insignia of
office, and that the language is not to be
taken figuratively, is unquestionable.
Among the Greeks it was worn as a
badge of sacerdotal dignity. Karapa-
biav b' exe KXelba, CaUim. in Cerem.
ver. 45. See Lowth's Note.
From the language of ver. 22, being
in part appropriated by our Lord to
assert his sole and exclusive power. Rev.
iii. 7, many have supposed that what is
here said respecting Eliakim, was de
signed to apply to him in his media
torial capacity ; but the interpretation is
altogether arbitrary. " Locum hunc ad
Christum perperam nonnuUi transtule-
runt : quando propheta duos inter se
homines comparat, nempe Sobnam et
Eliacim. Privabitur Sobna : succedit
autem Eliacim. Quid hsec ad Christum?"
Calvin, in loc. A similar figurative ap
plication Christ makes of the wordsj
when investing Peter with apostolical
authority. Matt. xvi. 19.

CHAP. X

XII.]

ISAIAH.

li

23

24

25

I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place.
And he shall become a throne of glory to his father's house ;
And they shall hang upon him the whole multitude of his father's
house ;
The offspring and the offsets.
All the vessels of small size.
From those used as cups to all used as pitchers.
In that day, saith Jehovah of Hosts,
The peg shall be removed that is fastened in a sure place ;
It shall be cut down and fall.

23. in;, Arab. JiSj , Plur. t)lijl

pax-

illus ; clavis ligneus, qui in terra vel
pariete pangitur. The word is used of
the pins or small stakes driven into the
ground for the purpose of fastening a
tent, the cords of which hook into them.
It is also employed to denote a large peg
or wooden pin, such as the Orientals fix
in the walls of their houses, for the pur
pose of hanging upon them, household
utensils, vails, and other articles in con
stant use. See Ezek. xv, 3, where the
question is put respecting the vine : inij;-D«
'33-^3 T^ ni3rt in; nap, VPill they take a
peg from it on which to hang any vessel ?
The prophet here uses it metaphorically,
in application to the support which Elia
kim would yield to all his dependent
relations. Comp. Ezra ix. 8 ; Zech.
X. 4. In like manner, Pharaoh is said
in the Koran, xxxviii. 11, tobe tilj.Ht ,j,
the Possessor of the pegs, i. e. the lord of
princes, or persons high in station, on
whom others depended. — li33 nb3, a glo
rious seat or throne, is the elevated chair
or place of honour usually ornamented
with gold, silver, &c. Comp. 1 Sam.
ii. 8. The meaning is, that he would be
a great support to his family, by pro
curing for them, through his influence
with the king, situations of emolument
and honour.
24. ii33, which had been used in the
preceding verse, is here repeated, but in
the acceptation of abundance or multi
tude. That of glory does not suit the
following enumeration, which includes
vess.els of inferior character. — Both

D'NS«s and ni»p?t are botanical terms, —
the former descriptive of what comes out
of the earth generally, and applied figura
tively to children. Job v. 25, xxi. 8 ;
Isa. xlviii. 1 9, Ixi. 9 ; the latter, of the
worthless shoots of trees, and, excepting
in this passage, only used figuratively,
in the form SBS, of the progeny of vipers,
chap. xiv. 29. Comp. ':»B2, Isa. xi. 8,
lix. 5. The mas. ?'BS, Arab. .fA,i, sig
nifies excrementum, for which nNS and
n«is are also used ; hence the idea of
vile, ignoble.— 'O'^yi, the 'Targ., Syr., and
Vulg., render, musical instruments, which
signification the word certainly has, in
application to the va^Xia, a species of
harp or lyre ; but its occurring here in
immediate connexion with ni:|N, requires
that of bottles or pitchers. The
LXX. reduces the whole description
to : dirb piKpov e as peydXov. All
belonging to Eliakim, whatever their
stations or employments, would be
bettered in their circumstances by his
elevation. 25. The Targ., Jerome, Michaelis,
Hitzig, and Scholz, consider Eliakim to
be the person here intended, and sup
pose his future fall to be predicted ; but
Jarchi, Kimchi, Munster, Forerius, Cal
vin, Vitringa, both the Lowths, Doder
lein, Dathe, Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, and
Hensler, more properly refer the words
to Shebna, to whoip, at the close of his
message, the prophet transfers the lan.-
guage which he had just employed, in
order to assure him, that, however firmly
he and his family might now think them
selves established, theirfall was certain, —
C C

194 ISAIAH. [chap, xxiii.
And the load that is upon it shall be cut off :
For Jehovah hath spoken it.
»ij is the term commonly used for CM«m^ application to the wooden peg, which
down a tree, or any thing made of wood, could not otherwise be removed without
and is therefore appropriately used in endangering the wall.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE sentence OF TYKE.
The next object of prophetic denunciation is Tyre, the great antiquity, commercial
prosperity, arid prowess of which Isaiah here describes. He also forcibly depicts
her unexpected destruction by the Chaldeans, whom, in the time of the prophet,
the Assyrian monarch had only just settled in the country about Babylon, but
who are represented as the instruments employed for effecting the purpose of
Jehovah, 1 — 16; he limits the period of her depression to seventy years, 17;
and predicts the revival of her commerce, the proceeds of which should not, as
formerly, be hoarded up in treasuries, but devoted to advance the interests of the
church of God, 18. The language is terse, highly figurative, and sublime, —
quite in the style of our prophet, but unlike that of any later writer. The occur
rence of I'piii^ for "mpfy, and rrjwa for irwa, ver. 11, and the use of the term
liTifl, in reference to the Nile, ver. 3, which some have alleged against his being
the author, are so trifling, as scarcely to deserve notice. See the notes to these
verses.
Tyre having sustained three sieges by Asiatic powers : the first by Shalmaneser, in
the reign of Hezekiah, b.c 717; the second by Nebuchadnezzar, b.c 573; and
the third by Alexander the Great, b.c 332 ; interpreters are greatiy divided in
their opinions in regard to the application of the prophecy. To the last of these,
however, few have been disposed to refer it. Grotius, Greve, Hensler, Volney,
and recently, Gesenius and Maurer, think the first is intended ; but that the
second is the only one to which the oracle can consistently be applied, is more or
less ably maintained by Jerome, Vitringa, Lowth, Michaelis, Doderlein, Dathe,
Eichhorn, Bertholdt, Rosenmiiller, De Wette, Hengstenberg, Hitzig, and Scholz,
how much soever they differ in their views respecting the writer, and the autho
rity of his prophecy. The most specious reason alleged against this opinion, is
that advanced by Gesenius ; viz. that in heathen writers there is a total silence
respecting the actual subjugation of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar; but (not to insist
on the very passing character of the references to the siege found in these authors,
see Joseph. Antiq. lib. x. cap. 11, § 1 ; Con. Apion, i. § 21,) that commentator,
more than once in his Commentary, is obliged to admit that events specified by
the Hebrew prophets may have happened, though no information can be obtained
respecting them from foreign sources. Besides, the very circumstance that no

CHAP,

XXIU.]

ISAIAH.

195

notice is taken of the result of the siege affords presumptive ground for believing
that it was successful ; since, had it been otherwise, it was scarcely possible to
avoid mentioning it. But, however it may be in regard to foreign sources of in
formation, the Scriptures are positive in the decision which they deliver upon the
subject. Ezekiel expressly predicts the fall of Tyre as the consequence of the
attack of Nebuchadnezzar, chap. xxvi. 4 — 21. Nor does the declaration made
chap. xxix. 18, at all contradict this prophecy: the meaning obviously being,
that what the king of Babylon found in Tyre was no adequate remuneration for
the hardships and losses which his army had sustained, and the immense expense
to which he had been put during a siege of thirteen years' continuance. We
may, therefore, reasonably acquiesce in the remark of Reland, respecting the en
tertainment of doubts upon the subject: "Certe Christianos id non decet. Deus
prffidixerat. Hoc sufficit. Res ita evenit, uti praedicta est, etiamsi nuUi veterum
Uteris id consignassent." Palestina, tom. ii. p. 1050. Compare in illustration of
this chapter, the sublime parallel predictions, Ezek. xxvi. xxvii. xxviii.

1 HowL, ye ships of Tarshish,
For it is laid waste ;
There is neither house, nor entrance !
Froni the land of Chittim it is disclosed to them.

1. -rs, in full, lis; Arab, .ys ; the
Sarra of Virgil and Juvenal, and the
Sara of Plautus ; Gr. Tvpos, Tyre ; the
celebrated emporium of the Phenicians,
situated on the coast of the Mediterra
nean, witiiin the confines of the tribe
assigned to Asher, but never subdued by
the Israelites. Though not so ancient
as Zidon, of which it was originally a
colony, it was of great antiquity, ver. 7,
Josh. xix. 29 ; and was built partly on
the continent, and partly on an island
opposite, at the distance, according to
Pliny, of seven hundred paces from the
shore. To the former was given the
name of Palaetyrus, (IlaXam Tvpos,) Old
Tyre, on the supposition that it was
built before the insular part, which lat
terly became so celebrated. It is, how
ever, uncertain whether the island, which
was advantageously situated for maritime
transactions, did not, from the first, form
an out-port, or station with warehouses,
in which were deposited the principal
articles of Phenician traffic. The conti
nental city appears to be that specially
meant by the phrase iifl?3a T», the City

of the fortress of Tyre, or, of the fortress
on the Rock, Josh. xix. 29, comp. 2 Sam.
xxiv. 7, in allusion to the rock of which
the island is composed, and opposite to
which it lay along the coast, to the dis
tance of thirty stadia southward, near
the present ^jAxll it^li , Rasel-ain.
Diod. Sic. xvii. 40; Curtius, iv. 2; Plin.
V. 17 ; Strabo, xvi. 2. At this place are
still visible vestiges of the aqueduct built
across the isthmus to Tyre. Though at
first inferior to Zidon, Tyre soon sur
passed it, and was for ages the great
centre of commerce in the ancient world.
She planted colonies along the coasts of
Asia Minor, Greece, Cyprus, Lybia, and
Spain ; among others, the populous and
powerful Carthage. Till after the days
of David and Solomon, with whom
Hiram, the son of .Abibaal, king of the
Tyrians, was in close alliance, the in
habitants appear to have carried on their
mercantile pursuits unmolested; but they
were at length attacked by Shalmaneser,
who after a blockade of five years was
obliged to abandon the attempt to subdue
them. A renewed attack was made by

196

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXIII.

Be astonished, ye inhabitants of the isle.
Which the merchants of Zidon, that crossed the sea, supphed.

Nebuchadnezzar, who, though the city
made a resistance of upwards of thirteen
years, succeeded in reducing it, and
bringing it under the power of the Baby
lonians. It was afterwards taken by
Alexander the Great, b. c. 332 ; regained
much of its importance as a commercial
city under the Seleucidsand the Romans;
and continued to be a place of considera
ble note even in the time of the Crusades.
Till within some years past, it has been
reduced to a miserable village, contain
ing only about fifty or sixty poor fami
lies; though relics of its ancient splendour
lie scattered, in numerous and beautiful
columns, along the beach.
The prophet begins by addressing him
self to the passengers and crews of those
Tyrian merchantmen which were home
ward bound, at the time of the fall of the
city; and while he calls upon them to
bewail the disastrous event, he states
how they became acquainted with if :
viz. through the medium of Phenician
colonists on the islands and coasts of the
Mediterranean, which they were accus
tomed to pass on their return. For the
meaning of I'arshish, see on ver. 10.
By D'Pi? yi«, the land of the Chittim,, are
meant the islands and maritime regions
on the northern shores of the Mediterra
nean, especially those on the coasts of
Greece and the Mgean sea. Comp.
1 Mace. i. 1, where Alexander is said to
have gone forth ck rfjs yrjs Xerreielp,
and viii. 5, where Perseus is called Ki-
Tieav ^aa-iXevs. There seems no suffi
cient ground to extend the signification
of the name to Italy and its islands, as
Bochart and others have done. The
D'ns, or D'?n3, were, according to the
genealogical table. Gen. x. 4, descen
dants of Javan, by whom also, in all
probability, the island of Cyprus was
first peopled. Hence Kinov, Citium,
the name of its capital city, which, from
its contiguity to Tyre, and its import
ance on other accounts, was chiefly in
habited by Phenician colonists; -as in
deed, according to Herodotus, vii. 90,
were most of its cities. That this island
is to be included among the Chittic
regions here referred to, cannot be

doubted ; but it is not exclusively meant,
as Gesenius supposes. On the contrary,
the use of the plural D'^n, Ezek. xxvii. 6,
satisfactorily shews that more than one
island or maritime region are intended.
The news of the fall of Tyre would
speedily be communicated from one
colony to another, so that those who
were returning from Spain would be in
formed of the catastrophe, at whatever
port they might happen to touch. — For
the privative force of )P in «i3p n;3a, see
chap. xvii. 1. Not only would the resi
dences of the merchants and their ware
houses be destroyed, but so complete
would be the destruction of the place,
that' the harbour or quays would be in
accessible. Comp. Ezek. xxvi. 4, 5.
2. '« Vitringa understands collectively
of the coasts of the Mediterranean : but
it is rather to be interpreted, as at ver. 6,
of Tyre itself, with special reference to
the island, which, in a maritime point of
view, occupied the most prominent place.
Hendewerk thinks it comprehends the
whole of the Phenician coast. — Dpi, to
be still, silent, to he struck dumb with
astonishment. Lam. ii. 1 0. The impera
tive is used for the future to express the
certainty of the predicted calamity.
Before JiTS inb supply 1'0«. By the
merchants of Zidon are meant, not
simply or strictly those resident in that
city at the time, but Phenician merchants
generally. LXX. peTa^oXoi ^oivUrjs. —
;iTS, Zidon, still called Ai^ , Sdide,
which, according to Strabo, lay at the
distance of two hundred stadii north of
Tyre, appears originally to have been
merely a fishing station ; for such the
name imports : but at a very early period
it became a celebrated mercantile city.
Jacob speaks of it in his time in con
nexion with shipping. Gen. xlix. 13 ;
and Joshua, chap. xi. 8, xix. 28, calls it
great Zidon. The name was also given
to the whole territory, to some extent
round the city ; whence the term Zido-
nians came to comprehend the Pheni
cians in general, — the Tyrians themselves
also included. Thus Ethbaal, whom
Menander (Joseph, Antiq. viii. 13. 2,)

CHAP. XXIIl.J

ISAIAH.

197

On the great waters was the produce of Sihor ;
The harvest of the river was her revenue :
She was the mart of nations.
Be ashamed, 0 Zidon ! for the sea hath spoken,
The fortress of the sea, saying :
I was not in labour ; neither did I bear children ;
I nourished no youths, neither did I bring up virgins.
As at the report concerning Egypt,
So shall they be in pain at the report of Tyre.

informs us was king of Tyre, is called
"king of the Zidonians," 1 Kings xvi.
31. Comp. chap. V. 1, 6. And Homer re
peatedly speaks of the Sibovioi, when
referring to Phenician arts and wares,
without ever mentioning Tyre, though
this city must have already, in his time,
been in a very flourishing condition.
Zidon was indeed speedily eclipsed by
its rival, and generally shared its fate.
On several existing Phenician coins, the
name D:iS D«, the mother, i.e. the metro
polis, of the Zidonians, is given to Tyre.
In the present day, it seems to be again
rising into some importance ; containing
upwards of eight thousand inhabitants ;
and carrying on aconsiderable commerce.
A few scanty remains of the ancient city
are still discoverable in the vicinity.
3. Michaelis, Hengstenberg, and
others, consider the language of the
prophet to be metaphorical, and suppose
him to speak of the produce of the sea,
or the widely-extended maritime trade
of the Phenicians, as being to Tyre
what the rich harvest accruing from the
inundation of the Nile was to the Egyp
tians. It is more natural to take the
words literally, as descriptive of the ex
tensive trade in Egyptian grain carried
on in Phenician vessels, which was first
exported to Tyre, and thence conveyed
to various ports in the Mediterranean.
Though Egypt abounded in grain, yet
the inhabitants left its exportation to
foreigners. Herodotus expressly men
tions that Phenicians of Tyre inhabited
the district round the fane of Proteus,
at Memphis, and from this circumstance
the district was called " the camp of the
Tyrians," b. ii. 112. Naucratis, on the
western branch of the Delta, was other
wise the ancient emporium for foreign

commerce. — For the application of itii?),
Shihor, to the Nile, comp. Jer. ii. 18,
where it unquestionably has this signifi
cation ; and that it cannot have any
other reference here is evident both
from the circumstances of the case, and
from the use of the parallel term I'N^,
commonly used of the same river. The
Shihor mentioned Josh. xiii. 3, and
1 Chron. xiii. 5, is merely the 'PiyoKo-
povpa, or El-arisb, a torrent on the
confines of Egypt and Palestine. The
name, which is derived from intf, to be
black, obviously refers to the turbid ap
pearance of the Nile, which for the
same reason the Greeks called MeXas,
and the Latins Melo. The seed and
harvest are said to be those of that river,
because they were produced by its inun
dation. The fem. pronom. suffix in
nnNi3Pi belongs to '«, the isle, ver. 2. The
best comment on the last clause of the
verse is furnished Ezek. xxvii.
4. Sidon is again put for Phenicia, or
the Phenicians, in general. To render
DJ^ more definite, the prophet adds ii»a
Dji, the fortress of the sea, which de
scribes the maritime situation and
strength of Tyre. Comp. Ezek. xxvi. 17,
xxvii. 4, 25 ; Zech. ix. 3. So entire
should be the desolation of the place,
that, to the eye of the spectator, it would
appear never to have been inhabited.
To express this more strongly a personi
fication is employed. Before 'nppil re
peat ^% with the LXX., Vulg.,' "Targ.,
Syr., and Arab.
5. Most translators and commentators
suppose that the prophet here refers to
the report of the fall of Tyre reaching
Egypt ; but it is more probable he had
in view the terror and consternation
which seized the Canaanites when they

198

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXIII,

Cross over to Tarshish ;'
Howl,' ye inhabitants of the isle !
Is this your joyous city.
Whose antiquity is of ancient days .''
Her own feet bear her to sojourn afar !
Who hath purposed this
Against Tyre, the dispenser of crowns ;
Whose merchants are princes.
Whose traders are the honourable of the earth ?

heard of the destruction of the Egyp
tians at the Red Sea, — so beautifully
described in the ode of Moses, Exod.
XV. 14. s>P'?i corresponds to 1»a$, and
I'j'lT to in« ^'n, in that passage.
6. Again using the imperative for the
future, Isaiah predicts the only resource
left to the Tyrians — the distant Tar-
tessus, to which they would proceed by
sea, and thus be out of the reach of the
enemy. Those who had connexions in
that colony would naturally repair thi
ther ; just as afterwards, when attacked
by Alexander, the inhabitants of Tyre
fled to Carthage, and the islands of
Greece. 7. The language of astonishment at
the change which had taken place in
her condition. Formerly all was proud
exultation ; now all was silence. The
interrogative form implies, in such con
nexion, the strongest affirmative. How
ever incredible, such was the state to
which Tyre should be reduced. Before
tly^» supply Ty, or n;'ii^.— That Tyre was
very ancient all authorities agree. The
priests of Hercules boasted to Hero
dotus that their temple, which was built
on the island, was of equal antiquity
with the city herself — both having been
founded two thousand three hundred
years before the time when he consulted
them. Hist. ii. 44. Arian says of the
same temple that it is " vetustissimum
eorum, quae humana memoria serven-
tur." Hist, ii. 16. Strabo, b. xvi. speaks
of Tyre as next to Zidon, peyla-Tr; t£v
KpoiviKav Kal dpxaioTarr} iroXis. Ac
cording to Josephus, it was built two
hundred and forty 3'ears before the foun
dation of Solomon's temple ; but it has,
with great probability, been conjectured,
that some numerical inaccuracy has here

crept into the text of the Jewish his
torian ; for, as we have seen, it is already
mentioned as a place of note in the
time of Joshua. Justin ascribes its
origin to Agenor, the father of Cadmus,
and dates it from the year before the
destruction of Troy. — In the combina
tion nnaij: D'jir'P'p, is an easy parono-
masia.^ — Some, with Grotius, understand
7?3i, her feet, figuratively, as denoting
the ships of Tyre, by means of which
her inhabitants went to distant parts, to
plant colonies, &c. ; but there seems no
just reason why we should depart from
the literal signification of the term,
which is merely employed for the pur
pose of shewing that they betook them
selves to flight, and were not led away
captive by the enemy — an idea which
'''3in might otherwise have been thought
to express. Comp. the Arab. (Jj. , vehe-
menter propulit pradam.
8, 9. Such was the prowess of Tyre
that she was considered invincible by
human arms. Her destruction, there
fore, though mediately effected by the
Babylonians, could only be accounted
for by resolving it into the purpose of
Jehovah, who gave them the victory, —
ni'BBan, coronatrix, coronam imponens,
refers to the power which she exercised
in the Phenician colonies, bestowing the
regal dignity at her pleasure. That Arad,
Arke, Carthage, Citium, Tartessus, &c.
were governed by kings under the su
premacy of the mother-state, clearly
appears from the statements of the
ancients. By D»'iti, princes, are meant
senators and counsellors, who wer?
chosen from among the opulent mer
chants to augment the magnificence of
the court. Comp. Ezek. xxvi. 16. The

CHAP. XXIII.]

ISAIAH.

199

10

Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed it ;
To defile the pride of all the elegant,
To render contemptible all the honourable of the earth.
Overflow thy land like the river, O daughter of Tarshish !
The restraint is no more.

synonymous yijr'iss: comprehends all
who filled posts of dignity, Gesenius
and Scholz render incorrectly, the opu
lent of ihe earth.  T????, lit. her Ca
naanites, but as the inhabitants of
Canaan were celebrated for their com
mercial pursuits, the term came to sig
nify merchants generally. Job xl. 30;
Hos. xii. 8. '3S, splendour, beauty, refers
to the ni1E», crowns, bestowed by Tyre,
ver, 8, (comp. ii: %T}, Ps. Ixxxix. 40,)
and stands for '3S'^:m, men of splendour,
the magnates of Tyre and her colonies. —
Between ^l?n and 133: is a striking anti
thesis ; the latter word signifying to be
laden, heavy with honour; the former
to make light, remove ihe weight of
honour, render contemptible. Comp. chap.
viii, 23.
10. This verse most interpreters deem
very obscure ; but this obscurity has
chiefly arisen from want of attention to
the idiomatic force of sJithFiTO, daughter
of I'arshish. Vitringa, Lowth, and
others, suppose Tyre herself, or the
Tyrians, to be meant, and attempt to
justify their interpretation on the ground
that Tyre being ruined, Tarshish must
be considered as occupying her place as
mother of the Phenician colonies ;> but,
as I have shewn in the note to chap, i. 8,
the words can only properly mean the
inhabitants of Tarshish ; and here such
inhabitants in contradistinction from the
Tyrians. — By 1**5111 there can no longer
be any reasonable doubt, we are to
understand Tartessus, the ancient and
celebrated emporium of the Phenicians,
situated between the two mouths of the
river Bsetis, (now Guadalquiver,) on the
south-western coast of Spain. To this
port they conveyed the produce of the
East ; and procured in return, gold,
silver, and iron, from the mines which
abounded in that country, and lead and
tin from Cornwall and the Scilly islands.
Herod, iv. 152 ; Plin. iii. 3 ; Mai, ii. 6 ;
Strabo, iii. 147—149; Bochart, Phaleg,
iii. 7 ; Michaelis, Spicileg. i. p. 82 ; Diod.

Sic. V. 35—38; Ezek. xxvii. 12 — 25.
How long it flourished we are not in
formed. It was no longer in existence
in the time of Strabo, iii. 151. The
LXX, do not seem to have known it ;
at all events they either retain the name
in the form Odptreis, 0dpa-is, or render
Kapxqbdv, Carthage — never TapTrjaarbs,
or Tapcrrji'ov, as the word is spelt in Poly-
bius and Steph. Byzant. From Ps. Ixxii.
10, where li'itivi '3iip occurs in contra
distinction from NJpi M3\?j '3to, the term
appears to have been used in a more
extended sense, as comprehending all
the maritime nations in the west of
Europe. Abulfeda says, that Tunis,
built from the ruins of Carthage, and
only two miles from them, was also
called Tarsis: l^ j^JuUi Ic JSj
lu^jMj'i (lAJjy t^] .0«, Whether
Solomon's fleet, fitted out at Eziongeber,
on the jElanitic arm of the Red Sea,
doubling the southern promontory of
Africa, proceeded to Tartessus, or whe
ther it went to a place of the same
name in India, cannot be determined.
There may have been a Spanish and an
Indian Tarshish, just as the name India
came to be transferred from the East to
the distant West, So much seems cer
tain, that in none of the passages in
which Tarshish occurs can Tarsus in
Cilicia be intended. — The prophet here
announces to the riatives of Tartessus,
who had been brought into subjection to
the Phenicians, that they were now at
liberty to spread themselves over their
own land ; the band by which they
had been held in restraint having been
broken. Considering the extent to which
slavery existed among the ancients,
there is little doubt that the powerful
Tyrian princes reduced numbers of the
native Spaniards to bondage, compelling
them to work in the mines, &c. nip
here, and Ps. cix. 19, and n'lp. Job xii.
21, properly signifies a girdle, but may

200

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXIII.

11

12

Jehovah hath stretched his hand .over the sea.
He hath caused the kingdoms to shake ;
He hath given charge concerning Canaan,
To destroy her strongholds.
He hath said. Thou shalt exult no more,
O violated virgin, the daughter of Zidon.
Arise ! cross over to Chittim ;
Yet there thou shalt have no rest.

be used to denote that with which any
person is bound, and tropically the
power by which a people is held in sub
jection ; which in the present case was
Tyre. Thus the Syr. ^a,^ »nA,»» , he
who drives, impels thee. The root is nm,
Arab, — -;, move away; and the form
is that of the participle in Hiph. like
3pp, 1 Kings vi. 29 ; ''Sp, Ezek. xxxi. 3,
That the comparison is taken from the
inundation of the Nile is clear, both
from the use of the appropriated word
in;, and from the aptness of the refer
ence ; the waters that were pent up
flowing over the face of the country as
soon as the mound is broken through.
The LXX., reading '13? instead of '13»,
render, epyd^ov Trjv yfjv a-ov, cultivate
thy land, and then paraphrase, Ka\ yap
jrXota ovKeTi ipxovrai ck Kapxrjbovos,
for ships no longer come from Carthage : —
an excellent sense, were it atall warranted
by the original ; but this not being the
case, Michaelis 'was quite unjustifiable in
adopting it.
11. The nominative to nm, is nin;,
following a mode of construction not in
frequent in Heb. poetry, but which is best
expressed in western languages by em
ploying the noun first. D;;., the sea, means
those who trade by sea, the Phenicians.
Comp. ver. 4. The nisSpa are the petty
stales or kingdoms of the Phenicians,
as Tyre, Zidon, Aradus, &c. This the
use of ]?>:3, Canaan, immediately after,
clearly shews. )?:? is here specially
employed to denote Phenicia, or that
part of Canaan which lay at the foot of
Lebanon, and so called, on account of
its low situation, from »:3, to bend, be
low, depressed; Arab. jOli, contractus
fuit, inclinavit in occasum stella, &c. ; se

suhmisit. That its inhabitants appro
priated the name Kar e^oxfjv to them
selves, appears from their coin.s, and
from the fact that it was also retained
by the Carthaginians, who came origi
nally from the same coast. See Gesen.
in loc.—TO^b stands for I'pipn^, as 'TBfj
for ^'B?n^, Numb. v. 22. In such cases
the n is omitted,.as in the Fut. and Part,
of Hiph,, and its vowel is assumed by
the '),  ^The : in 5]':i»a is not a Chal-
deeism, as Vitringa, Eichhorn, and
others imagine, the idiom in such case
requiring it to be placed before the i and
not after it ; but a rare instance of the
Nun Epenthetic before a pronominal
affix. 'The nearest approach I can find
to it is i:^?., his existence ; for 115;. is pro
perly a substantive, though frequentiy
used as a substitute for njn. It seems
better to adopt such resolution of the
difficulty, than with Michaelis and Jahn
to consider the : to be radical, and then
attempt to derive a- meaning to the
word from the Arab. ic , or ic .
Gesen. ingeniously compares rr:;:? for
nj!», Lev. xi. 13, with the present in
stance of rj'S'isa for n'wp. See Lex.
Robin. Ed. p. 754. The strongholds
of Canaan to which the prophet refers
were doubtless Old and Insular Tyre,
Sidon, Arke, Aradus, &c., which were
destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Perhaps
Carthage, 'Tartessus, and other cities
fortified by the Phenicians, may also be
intended ; for we learn from Strabo and
Megasthenes, that this monarch, after
the reduction of Tyre, conquered Egypt,
penetrated the north of Africa as far as
the Pillars of Hercules, and even sub
dued Iberia, or Spain.
12. The daughter of Zidon means the
Zidonians, just as ihe daughter of Tar
shish, ver. 10, means the Tartessians,

chap, xxiii.]

ISAIAH.

201

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans !
That people which was not,
(Assyria assigned it to the inhabitants of the desert) —
They have erected their towers ;
They have demolished her palaces ;
They have made her a ruin.

and not Tyre exclusively, as somejnter-
pret: yet the appellation is, in this
connexion, to be extended to those
inhabiting the Phenician territory gene
rally, and is not to be restricted to such
as belonged to the city of Zidon. See
Gesen. in voc. JiT?. The Orientals are
accustomed to speak of a country or
city which has never been conquered, as
an unviolated virgin. Such Zidon, or
Phenicia, as a whole, had been down to
the attack of Nebuchadnezzar. The
country had, indeed, been overrun by
the army of Shalmaneser, and many of
the cities had submitted to that mo
narch ; but the Tyrian fleet gained a
complete victory over the combined
squadrons of the Assyrians and apostate
Phenicians, and though the island sus
tained a siege of five years, it remained
unsubdued — Shalmaneser being obliged
to raise the blockade. Menander, in
Joseph. Antiq. ix. 14. By Nebuchad
nezzar, however, Insular Tyre was
ni?^p, violated, and subdued. Several
MSSi, the Alex, copy of the LXX.,
and the Arab., read )i'? ns, " daughter
of Zion;" but obviously from the mis
take of transcribers. — The latter half of
the verse contains a prediction, (couched,
as frequently to express certainty, in the
form of the Imper.) of the flight of the
Phenicians to the islands and countries
of the Mediterranean, and the unsettled
state in which they would find them
selves there. It has been doubted
whether this refers to the troubles to
which they would be subjected by the
inhabitants of these regions, or to their
being pursued thither and annoyed by
the Babylonians ; Jer. xxv. 22 decides
in favour of the latter opinion.
13. Having described the author and
effects of the calamity to be brought
upon Tyre, the prophet now proceeds to
describe the instruments by which it
would be inflicted. In answer to an

implied question — where is there a
people to be found able to subdue the
strongly fortified, opulent, and populous
mart of nations ? he points to the
Chaldeans, and shews that though insig
nificant and despicable, and dependent
for a territory upon others, yet they
would advance with a formidable appa
ratus, and lay her in the dust. Clip?,
D5?n ni, and D'.'S, are in apposition, and
form the nominatives to the following
verbs. — The D'lip?, Chasdim, Chaldeans,
as a tribe, were of great antiquity. They
are supposed to have sprung from lii)3,
the son of Nabor, brother to Abraham,
whose native place was D«i^3 11«, Ur of
the Chasdim, and originally to have in
habited the northern part of Mesopo
tamia and the Carduchian mountains
adjacent to Armenia. But the name is
traceable still farther back ; for it forms
one of the components of itoSB'iM, Ar-
phaxad, (Araph-cnESED,) the name of
the third son of Shem, Gen. x. 22, &c.
from whom the Chesed mentioned Gen.
xxii. 22, was himself descended. In the
earliest notice which we have of them in
a tribal state. Job i. 17, they appear as
addicted to a wild and predatory mode
of life. Jeremiah, v. 15, speaks of them
as D^isp 'i3, an ancient nation, but evi
dently in the laxer acceptation of that
term, so that there is no real contradic
tion between his statement and that made
by Isaiah in the present verse. Of the
circumstances connected with their set
tlement in Babylonia we are totally
ignorant. Most probably they had lands
assigned them in reward of certain ser
vices rendered to the king of Assyria, on
which occasion they changed their wild
and roving habits, by which they more
resembled wild beasts (D'.'a) than men,
for those of a civilized organization.
That it was the portion of Chaldeans
who lived in Mes'opotamia that were
thus located, may be gathered from the
D D

ao^

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxiii.

14

15

Howl ye ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold is laid waste.
And it shall come to pass in that day.
That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years,
Like the days of a king ;

fact, that Xenophon and Strabo speak of
Chaldeans, in their time, inhabiting the
mountains near Armenia and Colchis, of
which the present Kurds are very likely
the descendants. The period of their
location must have been shortly before
Isaiah wrote. Gesenius thinks it not
improbable that it is to be dated from
the commencement of the era of Nabon-
assar, B.C. 747 ; otherwise called the era
of the Chaldeans. By llttiK we are not,
with Lowth, to understand a king of the
name of Ashur, but as usual, Assyria, or
the Assyrians. In the course of time,
the Chaldeans acquired very considera
ble influence in the empire, and ulti
mately under Nabopollassar, b.c. 597,
asserted their independence. That
prince, contracting an alliance with
Cyaxeres, king of the Medes, conquered
Assyria, and reducing Nineveh, its capi
tal, transferred the seat of empire to
Babylon ; whence under his sou Nebu
chadnezzar, the powerful army went
forth, which conquered Judea, Phenicia,
and Egypt. The Chaldean rule termi
nated with Belshazzar, when Babylonia
became a Persian province, and after
wards shared the fate of the Persian
empire. — yiN, land, is here used in the
proper acceptation of country, place of
location, and not of people, as Gesenius
erroneously interprets. This the use of
the verb ip; clearly proves. Indeed, he
is obliged to allow that this signification
attaches to it, as implied in the suffix
n. — D»n m is employed, beiKTiKds : this
is the people, the very people which, not
withstanding their not being found in
the list of nations or empires, Jehovah
hath purposed to use as his instruments
in destroying the mighty Tyre. — D';3,
deserticola, such as live in rude and un
cultivated regions. The term is used
both of wild beasts and human beings,
• see note to chap. xiii. 21. It is to be
taken here in the latter sense, as descrip
tive of the rude and uncultivated condi
tion of the Chaldeans previous to their

settlement in Babylonia. — The Mas.
affix in i':in3 belongs to D»n, the people,
i. e. the Chaldeans ; and the Fem. affix
in 0'lii:O'is and noto, to Tyre understood.
jmi, Keri ]'n3, an artificial mound or fort,
Arab, ^srj , arena accumulata, what is
raised, either for the purpose of serving
as a watch-tower, or for the purpose of
attacking a city during a siege. Comp.
]n3, chap, xxxii. 14. Such the Chaldean
army would throw up on their arrival
before Tyre, and thence annoy the in
habitants. ni:ai.v, high and noble build-
s, from D1«=D31, Arab.

to raise, be high, — not harems, as Mi
chaelis conjectured, 'fp is the Poel of
I'I?, to make naked, bare, demolish, &c,,
rather than from 11», to wake, wake up.
Those who prefer the latter derivation,
refer the action to the excitement of re
bellion in the palaces of Tyre, by which
her strength would be weakened ; but
the former seems the more natural con
struction. So Rosenmiiller, Gesenius,
Maurer, and Scholz, The proper nomin.
to nnto is t», taken as a collective. The
meaning of the whole versfe is briefly
this : the Chaldeans, formerly barbarous
and unknown as a state, but established
in Babylon by the Assyrians, shall be
siege Tyre, storm her palaces, and reduce
her to ruin. Comp. Hab. i. 6 — 11.
14. Here the first part of the prophecy
terminates, and that for the most part in
the same words with which it commenced,
ver. 1.
15 — 17. The prophet specifies the
length of the period during which Tyre
should remain in a state of desolation
and neglect. Most interpreters regard
the seventy years as those during whiqh
the Jews were to be in captivity, at the
expiration of which, not only were they
to be restored to their own land, but the
Babylonian yoke being broken, Tyre
and the neighbouring states should also
be at liberty to resume their former mer-

CHAP. XXIII.]

ISAIAH.

203

16

17

18

At the end of seventy years there shall be to Tyre
As it were the song to a harlot.
Take the harp ; go about the city,
Thou harlot forgotten !
Strike skilfully the chords ; sing many songs,
In order that thou mayest be remembered !
For it shall be at the end of seventy years,
That Jehovah shall visit Tyre ;
And she shall return to her hire,
And play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the earth,
That are on the surface of the ground.
But her gain and her hire shall be holy to Jehovah ;

cantile occupations. The only real diffi
culty in the verse is created by the words
HJM ijba 'p'3, commonly rendered, as the
days of one king. This difficulty appears
to have presented itself to the LXX.
who translate : cos XP°''°^ ^aaCXeas, ds
Xpbvos dvBpdirov, adding the latter
words by way of explanation, but in
reality not rendering the passage at all
clearer. To refer the words to the period
of Nebuchadnezzar's life or reign seems
altogether unwarrantable ; as, indeed, it
likewise does to understand by ijja, not
a king, but a kingdom or dynasty.
Equally objectionable is the solution
proposed by Hensler, who considers inw
to be used here as an ordinal, and the
phrase to signify the first king, just as
inM Di' signifies the flrst day. Gen. i. 5.
The only way of untying the knot is to
take in« as equivalent to our indefinite
article. Thus, as in« to, "o basket;"
inM ¦Ovi, " a man," 1 Sam. i. 1 ; ins bv,
" a ram," Dan. viii. 3 ; so our text will
simply read, "like the days of a king:"
i. e. forgotten. It is notorious matter of
observatioh, that, generally speakiug, no
persons are sooner consigned to oblivion
than monarchs, even the most powerful
and illustrious. Take for example
Napoleon, whose name, after the lapse
of little more than twenty years, is
scarcely ever mentioned. In like manner,
during the period specified. Tyre should
be forgotten. No mention would be
made of her glory. However, at the
end of that period, it is predicted that
she should again bestir herself, and en
gage in foreign commerce as in former

days. This commerce or intercourse
with foreign nations, the prophet com
pares to that of a harlot with her lovers.
Comp. Nah. iii. 4 ; Rev. xviii. 3. She
would now make use of every art by
which to bring herself again into notice. —
n:iin ni'ili is the genitive of object, and
must be rendered, ihe song to an harlot,
as the connexion obviously demands.
This ditty follows in the 16th verse, the
language of which is peculiarly terse
and appropriate. It is a song of taunt
or satire. — As the destruction of Tyre is
ascribed to Jehovah, so her future pro
sperity is attributed to the kindness of
ms providence. The term pn^, hire,
refers to the comparison, ver. 15, but is
explained ver. 18, by inp, commercial
gain. Root, n:n, to give presents. The
n in nyns has the Mappic in a great
number of MSS.-:^The apparent pleon
asm at the end of ver. 17 is designed to
express the great extent to which the
trade of Tyre should again be carried
on; which took place especially under
the Seleucidse and the Romans. She
had indeed so far recovered her ancient
power in the time of Alexander the
Great, that though at last taken by that
conqueror, she held out a siege of seven
months. The number of her inhabitants
must then have amounted to at least
thirty thousand.
18. A prediction of the conversion of
the Tyrians to the worship and service
of the true God. Instead of hoarding
up their gains, or devoting them as
presents to the temple of Hercules, as
they had formerly done, they would now

204 ISAIAH, [chap. xxiv.
It shall not be stored up, nor hoarded ;
But her gain shall be for those who dwell before Jehovah,
For food in abundance, and for splendid attire.
consecrate them to the support of true ]i»? '3'Pi', "the inhabitants of Zion," when
religion. Comp. Ps. Ixxxvii. 4 ; Isa. used figuratively to denote the members
Ix. 9. Whether they became proselytes of the church of God, Ps. xxvii. 4,
to the Jewish faith, we are not informed ; Ixxxiv. 4 ; only with special reference
though, considering the number of Jews to the Divine presence. That the priests
who resided in foreign cities after the are intended, is maintained by Hitzig
return from the captivity, it is not at all and Maurer, and in part by Rosenmiil-
unlikely that many were led to profess ler ; but it does not appear that they
it through their instrumentality ; in were ever permitted to sit in the pre-
which case, they would naturally send sence of God. The phrase denotes con-
gifts to Jerusalem. That they embraced stancy and diligence in the service of
Christianity at an early period, and that the Lord. About twelve of Kennicott
it afterwards flourished here, are matters and De Rossi's MSS. read rt«33 nin'^, but
of history, Euseb. Hist. lib. x. cap.'"4 ; most likely from an emendation. jJ'TO
and it is not improbable, that to this the several of the ancient translators have
prophecy refers. Comp. Acts xxi. 3 — taken in the sense of being old ; Aquila
6. — nin; ••¦S;) D'3ifii', " those who sit or has peTaptreas ; but the Chald. ip'i,
dwell before Jehovah," is equivalent to wAzcA ii ^Zonous, gives the right meaning.

CHAPTER XXIV.

That chapters xxiv. — xxvii. form one connected whole, is the unanimous opi
nion of the best commentators. They describe the desolations brought upon
Palestine, as a punishment for the sins of its inhabitants ; contain predictions of
the restoration of the Jews from captivity, and of the gospel dispensation ; hymns
of grateful praise for their deliverance ; and announce the utter destruction of
their enemies. Vitringa, Michaelis, and others, regard this section as the most
obscure and difficult in the whole book. It may therefore naturally be supposed
that considerable diversity of opinion has obtained with respect to its interpreta
tion. Most of the Reformers applied it to judgments to be brought upon the
earth generally. Hitzig is almost alone in the opinion that it refers to the As
syrian empire, and the destruction of Nineveh, its capital. By Grotius, it is
applied to the desolations effected by Shalmaneser ; by Hensler, to those which
took place under Sennacherib ; by Dathe, Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, and Jahn, to
the devastations of Nebuchadnezzar, and the fall of Babylon ; by Vitringa, to the
times of the Maccabees. Lowth and some other late writers think the prophecy
embraces all the desolations of Palestine, — the last, or Roman, not excepted.
This hypothesis, though supplying an easy mode of interpreting all its parts, is
to be rejected; having obviously been framed for the purpose of getting rid of
the difficulties. If we consider it in the light of a prophetic review of the
judgments brought upon the land, more especially those brought upon it by the

CHAP. xxiv.J ISAIAH. a05
Chaldeans, down to the time of the Messiah, we shall, I think, come nearest the
mark. That it has any reference to times yet future I cannot find.
That Isaiah was the writer of this portion of the book, there is no just reason to
doubt. The objections taken by Eichhorn, Gesenius, Hitzig, and Maurer, are
for the most part extremely frivolous. That chap. xxiv. abounds more in paro
nomasias and other points of artificial style, than the rest of the book, cannot be
denied ; but these the Hebrews accounted elegancies, rather than blemishes, and
they are not without their parallels, both in Isaiah and his contemporary Micah.
See chap. v. 7, vii. 9, xxii. 17, 18. Equally futile are the alleged doctrinal diffi
culties, especially that of the resurrection of the dead. See on chap. xxiv. 21,
xxvi. 19. While Gesenius denies that this section is from the pen of Isaiah, but
contends that he is the author of chap, xxiii. ; Hitzig strenuously maintains an
identity of authorship ; though he refers the composition of both to the times, if
not to the pen of Nahum.
In this chapter, the prophet depicts in the strongest colours the distress that should
prevail in the land, to heighten which he accumulates particulars, 1 — 12; the
grateful feelings of the few inhabitants that should make their escape to the regions
on the Mediterranean, 13 — 16; the complete subversion of the Jewish polity by
the army of Nebuchadnezzar, and the captive state of the priests and royal
family, 16 — 22; and concludes by announcing the restoration of the Jews, and
the glorious re-establishment of the theocracy, 23.

1 -Behold, Jehovah poureth out the land and emptieth it;
He tumeth down the face of it, and scattereth its inhabitants.
2 And it is, as with the people, so with the priest ;
As with the servant, so ¦with his master ;
As with the maid, so with her mistress ;
As with the buyer, so with the seller ;
As -with the lender, so with the borrower ;
As with the receiver, so with the giver on usury.
1. The four verbs here employed are poured out, and which, in order to its
all strongly expressive of violence, pp:^, being wholly emptied, is turned com-
to empty, pour out violently, Arab. ^, P^^'^'y °.^^''- C""??: Jer. xlviii 11, 12.
¦^ ^ -^ " '-'^ 2. This accumulation of antitheses is
multum pluv'im fudit coelum. ^'^ , qui'e in keeping with the impassioned
J" character of the style throughout the
impetus, illapsusque vehementior. ^(ju, chapter. They strikingly mark the in-
multiloquus, garrulus vir.— p';3 signifie's discriminate ruin in which the inbabi-
to open, empty as a bottle, and is neariy ^^"^ °\ Judah should be involved. No
synonymouswith the former word. Arab. M^'^^t'O" '^oild be made between the
, different ranks or conditions of life.
^, aperuit omnino vel vehementer ; ah- That no historical inference is to be
ripuit. iCi^j,desertum, solitude. LXX. drawn from the priest, and not the king
/ ^ ~ being mentioned, is evident from Hos.
ipi^pacrei. — ni9, to turn upside down, over- iv. 9, where the same antithesis occurs,
throw. The entire reference seems to in application to the state of things in
be to a vessel, the contents of which are Israel. — Instead of I, which appears

206

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxiv.

The land is utterly emptied and utterly plundered ;
For Jehovah hath spoken this word.
The land mourneth, it withereth ;
The world languisheth, it withereth ;
The highest of the people of the land languish.
The land is profaned under its inhabitants ;
For they have transgressed the laws; they have changed the
statutes ;
They have broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse devoureth the land,
And its inhabitants are punished ;

before all the other predicates, «*$: takes
l^«3, because, with i3 following, it ex
hibits its verbal, rather than its substan
tive character. Many of the best codices,
and several of the earlier editions, read
ni§: instead of «^3. Both letters are else
where in use.
3. pi3n and li3n are emphatic Infini
tives, from |?i23 and U3; the resumption
of the former of which, from ver. 1, con
nects these two verses closely together.
The formula with which the verse con
cludes is usual with the prophets, and
expresses the certainty of the events pre
dicted. 4. yisn and ^3n are synonymes, and
both are here employed to designate the
land of Judah. Comp. chap. xiii. 11,
where tan is used of the Babylonian
world ; tJ olKovpivij, Orbis Romanus, Acts
xvii. 6, xxiv. 5 ; and Luke ii. 1 ; Acts
xi. 28, (see Bloomfield,) where it is used
of Palestine. Comp. also chap. xxvi. 18.
The paronomasias in the first four verses
are merely a prelude to the more striking
ones, vers. 17 — 20. Both ftow and ta:
are properly Used of the drooping or
falling of plants, leaves, &c. ; here figu
ratively of the languishing condition of
the Jewish state, yisn D» Diip, \it. the
height of the people of ihe land; Diia,
the abstract for the concrete 'P^, excelsi,
the most exalted in power and dignity ;
LXX. oi i!i/<t;XoI Trjs yrjs. Nebuchad
nezzar carried into captivity two thou
sand of the nobles and men of wealth.
These are specially [singled out, on ac
count of their more aggravated guilt.
5. yiM is here to be taken of the land
literally ; and, in such connexion, with

the article — the very land, the land
itself. Because the prophet speaks of
niin, laws, and not niin, the law, Aben
ezra, Vitringa, Rosenmiiller, Hitzig,
and some others, are of opinion, that
the reference is not to the Mosaic insti
tute, but to what are called the laws of
nature. The latter commentators ima
gine that the Noachic precepts, cove
nant, &c. are meant. But for the use of
the plural in application to the law of
Moses, see Levit. xxvi. 46 ; Neh. ix. 13 ;
Ezek. xliv. 24. iTiif, the singular, is
found in one of De Rossi's MSS., the
Soncin. edit, of the Prophets, 1486, and
is supported by the LXX., Chald., Syr.,
and Arab. ; but the plural, being the
more difficult, is in all probability the
true reading, pn is here a collective,
statutes; LXX. to irpoo'Tdypara. n'"}?
D^is, the Sinaic covenant, which is fre
quently thus designated, because of the
long period during which its obligations
were to be obligatory. Exod. xxxi. 16;
Lev. xxiv. 8.
6. rft«, Arab. sJl-", juramentum, pri
marily denotes an oath, and then the
penalty incurred by the breach of it ; the
mulct, damage, or suffering, to which the
offending party is subject. See Deut.
xxix. 13 (14) — 19, where it occurs in
connexion with n'lj. It is here specifi
cally the curse, or ban annexed to the
violation of the Sinaic covenant. See
Deut. xxix. 18, 19; comp. Zech. v. 3.
The judgments which God would bring
upon the country, were an infliction
of the threatened punishment. — D?)« de
notes, in such connexion, to suffer the

chap, xxiv.]

ISAIAH.

207

10

11

12

Therefore the inhabitants of the land are burnt up ;
And few are the men that are left.
The new wine mom'neth,
The vine languisheth ;
All the merry-hearted sigh.
The joy of tabrets ceaseth ;
The noise of those who exult is ended ;
The joy of the harp ceaseth.
They drink not wine with the song ;
The strong liquor is become bitter to those who drank it.
The city of desolation is broken in pieces ;
Every house is shut up ; there is no entrance.
A cry for wine is in the streets ;
All gladness is set ;
The joy of the land is gone.
Desolation is left in the city.
And the gate is battered into ruins.

consequences of guilt, to be punished ;
Arab. >j ) , criminis reus. Comp. Zech.
xi. 5. — For lin, which is from iig, to
hum, be burnt up, consumed, Houbigant
proposes to read 3in, which Lowth
adopts, and renders, "are destroyed;"
but totally without authority — there
being no various reading. Besides, the
verb found in the text better accords
with tas in the corresponding paral
lelism. — " Few men." On the capture
of Jerusalem, none were left behind but
the lower class of citizens and the coun
try people ; but even they were afterwards
carried into captivity by Nebuzaradan,
so that the land remained for the most
part uninhabited. But see ver. 13.
7. itiii'n, must, new wine, corresponds
to ^BJ, the vine, following, and must
therefore be understood of the juice
while yet in the grape. Comp. chap.
9 -J,
Ixv. 8 ; Syr. ] ;"'~>'^ , frumentum. The
same figures are employed by Joel, i.
10 — 12, where they are carried more
fully out. That Isaiah imitated Joel is
asserted, hut not attempted to be proved,
by Gesenius.
8. Three of De Rossi's Codices, the
LXX., and Arab, read li«J, instead of
]i«i?>. The latter, however, besides being

the better supported, is the more appro
priate reading of the two.
10. irin n^, the city of desolation, i.e.
destined to lie desolate and waste, during
the captivity. Such would be the quan
tity of rubbish collected before the
houses that were left, that they would
be quite inaccessible. 13D is used not
only of men, but of things ; as the wil
derness, Exod. xiv. 3. For the meaning
of «i3p, see chap. xvii. 1, xxiii. 1.
11. The cry for wine here mentioned
does not refer to the clamorous demand
of drunkards, but to the destitute con
dition of the wounded and languishing
inhabitants. 3i», which is used of the
setting of the sun, Arab, i— ->fC- » abiit,
procul abiit, recessit, occidit sol ; hence
S'W, evening, is here with great effect
employed metaphorically to express the
disappearance of every species of joy.
nta properly signifies to go into captivity.
Both terms describe the total change
that would take place in the circum
stances of the inhabitants, fe is inserted
before yi^ij, in nine of Kennicott and
De Rossi's MSS. ; and, according to the
LXX. and Arab, it ought to be before
itJitfa. It is most likely in both cases a
repetition from the first part of the verse.
12. iwfi: forms an antithesis to the

208

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxiv.

13

14

15

Yet it shall be in the earth,
In the midst of the people,
As v.'hen the olive is shaken ;
Like the gleanings when the vintage is finished.
They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing ;
Because of the majesty of Jehovah they shall shout aloud from the
sea.
Wherefore glorify Jehovah in the regions of fire,
In the isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel.

preceding. The gates of cities were well
fortified. When laid in ruins, as here
expressed, there was no more defence.
rrmii may either have '^ understood, or be
the accusative.
13. Comp. chap. xvii. 6.
14. Some, as Dathe, take the a in
DJ? to be comparative, and render,
"shout more than the sea;" but as the
shout in this place is that of joy, it is
contrary to usage, as it is unnatural, to
compare it to the roaring of the sea. It
is rather the local o, indicating the resi
dence of the persons spoken of; as in
mrap, Diijp, in ihe east. By D^, the sea,
is meant the Mediterranean, or ihe West ;
Jew. Span, de Occidente; i.e. the islands
of Greece, and the countries in Asia
Minor, Europe, and Africa, which lay
on the coasts of that sea. To these
quarters, some of the Jews doubtless
made their escape by means of Phe
nician vessels, and thus retained their
personal liberty, while their brethren
were captives in Babylon. — In this and
the two following verses the prophet
abruptly breaks off from his description
of the desolations to be brought upon
his country, in order for a moment to
introduce the joy of the exiled Jews of
the west at the capture of Babylon by
Cyrus, which he anticipates. The |it«
nin;. Majesty of Jehovah, which they
celebrate, is the glorious manifestation
of his power and goodness in destroying
the enemies and effecting the rescue of
the nation.
15. Various interpretations have been
given of D'"im3. The conjectural emen
dations may be seen in Lowth. Of these,
were any of them necessary, that to be
preferred is undoubtedly D'»«, maritime
countries ; but the circumstance that

while no Heb. MS. exhibits this reading,
D11N3, the full orthography, is found in
a great number of codices, as well as in
the Bible and the Prophets printed at
the Soncin. press, cle&rly evinces, that,
instead of the ' having been commuted
for 1, the latter has a right to maintain
its place in the word. Still, however,
this conjecture, which Lowth first
adopted, is approved by Michaelis, Hit
zig, and some others. Gesenius, on the
other hand, Scholz, and others, render,
in the East, the Okient, i.e. the regions
of light, or the countries over which the
morning sun rises in brightness. They
consider D''i« and DJi '?M as contrasted,
and marking the different regions both
in the East and the West in which the
shouts of praise were to be raised to
Jehovah. That regions are meant, the
parallelism plainly shews; but there is
something extremely harsh in the intro
duction of the Orient into the passage :
the " sea," and " the islands of the sea,"
i. c. the West, being mentioned both be
fore and after, requires that we look in
the same direction for the countries in
tended by the prophet. If we change
the rendering of our common version,
"theflres," into ihe regions of fire, we
shall, in my opinion, hit the mark.
Such regions have, from time imme
morial, existed in Sicily, the south of
Italy, and other parts on the Medi
terranean; and the Phenician traders,
who must frequently have witnessed
volcanic eruptions of Etna, Vesuvius,
&c. could not fail to spread throughout
the East information respecting these
extraordinary phenomena of nature.
Comp. Jer. li. 25, 26 ; Nah. i. 5, 6 ;
where the imagery is taken from the
phenomena of volcanoes ; a proof that

CHAP. XXIV.]

ISAIAH.

209

16 From the end of the earth, we hear songs :
Glory to the Righteous One !
But I said. Misery to me ! Misery to me ! Alas for me !
The plunderers plunder ; yea, the plunder the plunderers plunder.
17 Terror, and the pit, and the snare.
Are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be,
That whoso fleeth from the sound of the terror shall fall into
the pit ;

they were not unknown to the sacred
penmen. I consider the prophet to be
addressing, thoughout the verse, those
Jews who had taken refuge in the West,
the following Dvr '?M being only an am
plification of the idea suggested by D>it<.
The marginal rendering, " valleys,"
which is that adopted in the French,
Dutch, German, and other current mo
dern versions, is borrowed from the
Rabbins, who generally give it this sig
nification, but without any support from
the connexion.
16. The first clause of this verse is a
continuation of the preceding subject,
and contains a prediction of the joy
with which the Jews that were dispersed
in distant parts would hail the appear
ance of Cyrus ; here, as in chap. xii. 2,
called the Righteous. See on that pas
sage. But no sooner has the prophet
pointed to the deliverer, than he is
struck with horror at the prospect of the
evils which should previously overtake
his countrymen. He sees the repeated
and unmitigated ravages of the Chal
deans, and gives expression to his feel
ings in language the most impassioned
and affecting. In such a state of mind
abrupt sentences and repetitions are ex
tremely natural ; and even paronomasias
are not out of place, if the terms em
ployed be appropriate to the subject.
Accordingly we have here '^ 'n re
peated, as is the verb 133, with the sub
stantive 13|, not fewer than four times
wiihin the compass of a single verse.
In vers. 17 and 18, npinnBpns, with
their separate repetition, furnish an ele
gant instance of paronomasia, while the
reduplicate and intensive forms of the
verbs »»1, 11B, toia, »i:, vers. 19, 20, and
the repetition of piia, and !3aiH, ver. 21,

give , peculiar force and pathos to the
passage. Altogether, it is the most
lengthened specimen of varied artificial
composition found in the Hebrew Scrip
tures, or, perhaps, in any other writings.
For a similar though brief instance of
highly artificial language, composed
under circumstances of severe affliction,
see Job xvi. 12. ':'iB'ib;i 'n'.'n i^^
: 'jimB'i 'B'ws ins
As a parallel to ') 'in '^ T) '^ 'ii, comp. the
Orestes of Eurip. :
^iKivov A'tXti/ov dpxav Bavdrov,
Bdpl3apoi Xeyova-iv At, At, K.T.X.
'JI is a subst. after the form ':5, '^ij, from
the root nrj, Arab. Ij . , _ : . , deminuit
rem ; &>jj , afflictio, arumna, calamitas.
The Syr,, Targ., Aq., Theod., Symm.,
Vulg., render, my secret; and some,
adopting this rendering, would interpret
the words, "my secret is to myself ;" i.e.
a secret is revealed to me, but I am not
at liberty to divulge it ; but the '^ 'iN
which follows requires us to take the
word in the sense of misery, affiiction, or
such like. Gesen. Ich vergehe, ich
vergehe ; Hitzig. and Scholz, Elend mir J
elend mir ! The prophet gives vent to
the deeply painful feelings which affected
his mind. For the signification of 133,
see chap. xxi. 2, where, as here, the
prophet combines the verb and the
participle. 17, 18. The language of these verses
is adopted with little variation by Jerer
miah, chap, xlviii. 43, 44, in his prophecy
against Moab. It graphically describes
the accumulation of dangers to which
E E

210

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxiv.

19

20

And whoso cometh up from the midst of the pit, shall be taken
in the snare ;
For the windows of heaven are opened,
And the foundations of the earth do shake.
The land is violently broken ;
The land is greatly shattered ;
The land totters exceedingly.
The land reeleth like one who is drunk.
And moveth to and fro like a hammock :
Her rebellion lieth heavy upon her ;
She shall fall and rise no more.

the inhabitants of Judah should be ex
posed, and the impossibility of successful
escape. The images, as Lowth observes,
are taken from hunting. The ins was
the formido, or scare-crow, which partly
by its appearance, and partly by its
noise, (^V,) frightened the animals into
the covered pit-falls that had been dug
for them ; or, failing this, into a large
space of ground enclosed with nets,
which being drawn narrower and nar
rower, at last caught them. There is no
necessity, with Gesen., to refer Vip to the
hunter; or, with Lowth, to regard Wpp
as a mere Hebraism, which cannot be
sustained. The various reading ':5a, is
obviously a correction from Jeremiah.
The language is otherwise proverbial,
like the Latin : incidii in Scyllam, qui vult
vitare Charyhdim. — ^np is freq. only
equivalent to ]P ; which one MS. has,
most probably from Jeremiah, and is
the rendering of the LXX., Syr., and
Vulg. — The p in Piiaa is a periphrasis
for the Genitive. The word is otherwise
used instead of Dm*n, Gen. vii. 1 1, which
passage the prophet had in his eye —
comparing the desolation to be brought
upon his people to that effected by the
deluge. Some few codices have D;p«in,
doubtless from emendation ; LXX. eK
TOV ovpavov ; Targ. N»pi|i3 ; both giving
the meaning, though not the form of
the term. I have taken the same liberty
here and ver. 21 — our word heaven cor
responding etymologically both to Diia
and D'B'ti.
19, 20. See on ver. 16. The conjec
ture of Seeker, that the n in. yiNn has
been prefixed by some copyist repeating

this letter from the end of the preceding
word, is extremely probable, 'fhe triple
repetition of yi«, so far from destroying
the effect of the passage, as Gesen. in
sinuates, greatly increases its force ; and
as to the anti-climax referred to by
Hitzig, it exists only in his own imagi
nation ; for whatever may be the com
parative degrees in meaning which attach
to the verbs, taken by themselves, there
is unquestionably a rise in the sense as
we approach the end of the passage.
First, there is nwifinnsi, a violent crash
ing or breaking of such objects as are on
the surface of the earth. Secondly, lis
ni'^iBnn, a still more impetuous destruc
tion of them. Then we have loio
nm'piann, »i:n 9i:, and n'nisnri ; all of
which describe the motion of the earth
itself, tottering to utter ruin. And, to
crown the whole, she at last falls under
the pressure of accumulated guilt, to
rise no more. Nothing can surpass in
beauty the comparison of the globe in
such circumstances, to reito, a covered
bed, or hammock, suspended between the
branches of a tree, liable to be tossed
hither and thither in a storm, to the no
small peril of its inhabitant. Such ham
mocks are common in the East, for the
accommodation of those who watch fields
or vineyards ; as affording shelter from
the wild beasts. Comp. chap. i. 8. The
term corresponds to the Arab, u'jr''
locus, quem in summa arbore sibi struit
campi custos pra metu leonis. Kam. Dj.
which word the Targ. and Syr. and
Saadias have adopted. See Buxtorfj Lex,
Chald. p. 1670.

CHAP. XXIV.]

ISAIAH.

211

21

22

23

And it shall be in that day,
That Jehovah shall punish the host of heaven on high,
And the kings of the earth upon the earth.
They shall be gathered in company.
Like prisoners consigned to the pit ;
And shall be shut up in the prison ;
But after many days shall they be visited.
The moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed.
When Jehovah of Hosts shall reign

21, 22. Misled by the force of the
imagery employed in the preceding
verses, and by a false construction of
certain terms in these, Jerome refers the
whole to the end of the world, the final
judgment, and the punishment of the
rebel angels ; but he is rather puzzled
how to meet the argument of the Ori-
genists, derived, on this view of the pas
sage, from the end of ver. 22. Gesenius,
however, adopts the same view, which
he lamely endeavours to support from
ipassages in the Zenda-vesta, the book
of Enoch, and 2 Pet. ii. 4; Jude 6;
Matt. X.XV. ; Rev. xx. Michaelis broaches
some curious notions respecting demons,
tutelary angels, and stars, which are
partly retailed by Rosenmiiller and Hit
zig. The irpdrov yjrevSos of all such
interpretation lies in taking the words
niian m32 in a literal sense, whereas it is
manifest from the connexion, they are to
be understood figuratively. The phrase
is clearly identical in meaning with «32
d;p^, Dan. viii. 10, the Levites, or eccle
siastical state, being intended. The
service which they performed in the
tabernacle is expressly called «3S, Numb.
iv. 23, 35, 39, 43, which Gesen. not im
properly renders militia sacra ; and the
verb is likewise used to express the per
formance of such service, Numb. iv. 23.
What Isaiah, therefore, here predicts, is
the subversion for a season of the entire
Jewish polity, or the removal to Babylon
both of those who ministered in the
temple, and of the royal state. iia'iNn '3^,
the kings of the land, are not foreign
rulers, such as the kings of Assyria, Ba
bylon, &c., but the Jewish kings, as
Zedekiah, jehoiachim, &c. See Jer. lii.
See Lowth's note, especially the extract
from Sir Isaac Newton.  Before I'DN,

which is a collective noun, supply ?, as
freq. In the former of the two cases in
which ^? is used, it expresses motion
towards a place ; in the latter, the being
in the place specified. Ii3 and I3pp are
parallel. The former is descriptive of
the most ancient kind of prisons, which
consisted of empty cisterns that nar
rowed towards the mouth, so that it was
scarcely possible for those who were
confined in them to make their escape
without assistance. Gen, xxxvii. 20, 22 ;
Jer. xxxviii. 13. Not unfrequently the
bottom was covered with mire or soft
clay, which rendered them at once un
healthy and disagreeable. Jer. xxxviii.
6. For the fulfilment, see 2 Kings xxv. ;
2 Chron. xxxvi. ; Jer. lii. — ips, Lowth,
Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, Maurer, and
Scholz, take in the sense of punishing ;
but a merciful visitation, for the purpose
of restoring those here spoken of from
captivity, alone suits the connexion.
Comp. chap, xxiii. 17. Thus the Syr,,
Rabbi Joseph, Kimchi, Jackson, Booth
royd. Hitzig defends this construction
of the verb, though he differs as to the
subject of the prophecy ; and Calvin is
inclined to take the same view of it. —
The phrase D'pj 31, many days, does not
necessarily imply a very long period of
time, but may with all propriety be
applied to the seventy years of the cap
tivity. See Jer. xxxii. 14, where it is
used in reference to this very period.
23. What the prophet here adds, con
firms the view just given of the preceding
clause. But the scene presented to his
vision is too glorious in its character to
admit of application to the state of the
Jewish polity after the restoration. Not
even the brilliant successes of the Mac
cabees, nor the state of affairs under the

212

ISAIAH.

[cHAP. XXV.

Ou Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
Gloriously before his elders.

Asmonsean dynasty, at all come up to it.
We must, therefore, regard it as another
of those abrupt, though not unconnected
anticipations of the kingdom of Christ,
which abound in this book. It describes
times when neither kings nor priests
should officially constitute part of the
church of God : the only officers to be
then recognised as bearing rule in that
sacred community, being D':i?.], LXX.
irpea-^vTepoi, presbyters or elders. See
Acts xiv. 23 ; Tit. i. 5. Tha;t the sun
and moon are not to be understood in

this passage as specific symbols, but are
merely introduced to set off by contrast
the glorious splendour of Messiah's reign,
is admitted by the best interpreters.
Comp. chap. Ix. 1, 19, 20. For the
meaning of Zion and Jerusalem, in this
connexion, see Heb. xii. 22. 1133, glory,
is to be taken adverbially; and connected
with 'n^a, the preceding verb ;— -"ad Reg-
num Christi pertinere ; quod sicut non est
dehoc mundo, ita ejus gloria, splendor,
dignitas, et magniiScentia, istsec onmia
pudefieri facit et dispareve." — Forerius.

CHAPTER XXV.

This chapter commences with a triumphal song of praise to God, for his fidelity in
accomplishing his promises in the destruction of the Babylonish power, by which
his people had been oppressed, 1 — 5. The prophet then predicts the establish
ment of the new and universal economy, and the rich blessings which should
accrue from that event, 6 — 8. He next introduces a beautiful chorus, in which
expectant believers joyfully welcome the Divine Founder of the better dispensa
tion, 9 ; and, in his usual style, reverts to judgments which should be inflicted on
the Moabites, — the implacable enemies of the Jews, — during the period between
the return from the captivity, and the advent of Messiah, 10 — 12.

1 O Jehovah, thou art my God ;
I will exalt thee ; I will praise thy name ;
For thou hast eflFected wondrous things, —
The ancient counsels are faithfulness and truth.

1 . The language of this verse occurs,
in part, on similar occasions of deliver
ance. See Exod. xv. 2, 11 ; Ps, cxviii.
28, cxlv. 1. N$B, rem mirabilem, as
Kimchi gives it ; the wonderful inter
position of Divine Providence in behalf
of the Jews. nisjB: is frequently used of
such interpositions. The use of pinip,
in a temporal sense, is peculiar to Isaiahj
see chap. xxii. 11, xxxvii. 26 ; and is

equivalent to Dji»a, from eternity, eter
nal. ]pi* n:ia« Hitzig . considers to be
governed by n'fes ; but it is better to
regard tiiem as abstract nouns governed
by the substantive verb understood. The
same noun is sometimes repeated, in a
different form or gender, with a view to
express intensity,, as na^Jai nantf, Ezek.
vi. 14. n««5B5n^il5, Job'xxxVs, The
ellipsis of the copulative i is an instance

CHAP. XXV.]

ISAIAH.

21B

For thou hast made the city a heap ;
The fortified city a ruin ;
The palace of the barbarians to be no more a city :
It shall never be rebuilt.
Therefore shall the powerful people glorify thee ;
The city of the formidable nations shall fear thee.
For thou hast been a fortress to the poor ;
A fortress to the needy in his distress ;
A refuge from the storm ; a shade from the heat ;
When the blast of the formidable was like a storm against a wall.
As heat in a dry land.
Thou hast subdued the tumult of the barbarians ;

of the constructio asyndeta, of which
Gesenius gives several examples, Lehrg.
p. 842. The Divine counsels were
proved by the event to he faithful and
true. 2. l'». City, is not used of any hostile
city or cities in general, but specifically
of Babylon, or the Chaldean power, by
which the Jews had been so long held iu
bondage. There is no occasion, with
Houbigant, Lowth, and others, to change
tve into l'»!i, — the a denoting the mate
rial out of which any thing is made.
The i in ^|^ appears harsh in such close
contact with a ; but it could not be
omitted after Dli). The ancient versions
may have read as we now do. Comp.
Gen, ii. 19; Ps. xvi. 4. In the second
instance, in which i'»a occurs here, it is
privative in signification. For the change
of D'TJ into D'Ti, Houbigant had no autho
rity; nor should we be warranted to
alter the text for the sake of two MSS.
in which the latter reading has since
been found. fiaiM is here used by synec
doche for 1'?: the palace being the
principal part of the city. Compare,
in illustration of the sense, chap. xiii.
19—22. 3. By the " powerful people " are
meant the Medes, Persians, &c. They
are first spoken of in the singular, i» D»,
as being united under the rule of Cyrus ;
and afterwards in the plural, D'S'is D'ia,
to mark their diversity. The construc
tion in fiNi'; D'S'l» D'ij nn|>, is, ad sensum :
the grammar would require the verb to
be in the sing. fem. to agree with n^i?.
Such would be the effect produced upon

the minds of these warriors by the
acknowledgment of the supremacy of
Jehovah by Cyrus, Darius, &c. and the
singular favour which they shewed the
Jews, that they would be led to make
the same acknowledgment, and ascribe
to God the glory due to his name. See
Ezra i. 2, 6 ; Dan. vi. 25—27.
4. '3 connects what follows with ver. 1,
and not with ver. 3. It introduces an
additional ground of praise to Jehovah, —
the gracious preservation which he af
forded to the Jews in Babylon. The
images employed in this and the follow
ing verse possess great force and beauty.
nn here signifies anger or wrath. See
on chap, xxxiii, 11. By i'i? D'Ti, a wall-
storm, is meant such a violent storm of
wind and rain, as, beating against a
stone wall, uproots and throws it pro
strate on the ground. Root, Dii, to pour,
overwhelm ; Arab. * i : , n. a. * . : , ab-
rupit, c. a. ; * i j , nomen fluvii, qui in-
fertur flumini Tigridi. Kam, Freytag.
The genitive is that of object; so that
the 3, which Houbigant would introduce,
is quite unnecessary. Lud. Capellus,
Vitringa, Lowth, Michaelis, and Dathe,
render i'i?, winter, by changing it into
lip ; or by deriving it fram I'liJ., to be cold;
but contrary to the unvarying usage of
the language, in which Tp signifies a wall.
5. The language is elliptical. After
]'i'S3 3'in3, supply 3» 'n% from the third
member of the verse ; and before 3'ih iu
that line, supply 3 from the first. It
would, however, be unwarrantable to

214

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxv.

As heat by the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the formidable is suppressed.
6 In this mountain, Jehovah of Hosts shall prepare for all people,
A feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees ;
Of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wine on the lees ;
7 And He shall destroy in this mountain,

alter the Hebrew text from its present
elliptical forms. n:B is here used in
transitively. Comp. chap. xxxi. 4.
6. Having finished his song of tri
umph, Isaiah takes occasion, from the
view he had just given of the Divine
character, to call the attention of the
Jews to a still more glorious display of
that character, afforded by the rich sup
ply of spiritual blessings which Jehovah
was about to bestow in the days of Mes
siah. These blessings are first repre
sented under the image of a sumptuous
banquet ; an image not unfrequently
employed in Scripture to denote the
means of spiritual enjoyment and nutri
tion. See Ps. xxii. 26 — 29 ; chap. Iv.
1 — 5; Matt. viii. 11, xxii. 1 — 10; Luke
xiii. 28, 29, xiv. 15 — 24 ; in all which
passages there is the same distinct recog
nition of the calling of the Gentiles
which we find in the present verse.
The prophet then specifies the removal
of ignorance, misery, and disgrace, as
constituting the essential character of
the blessings to be imparted. That the
reference is to the happiness to be enjoyed
under the reign of the Messiah, there
can be no doubt. Comp. in connexion
'with the passages cited above, John vi.
53—58 ; 1 Cor. xv. 54. To no other
state of things can the passage apply,
than to one in which the privileges and
blessings of the gospel are prepared for
men of all nations indiscriminately : and
which, in its consummation, involves
complete deliverance from every evil.
Nothing can be more forced than the
interpretation of some of the Rabbins,
whom Grotius follows, according to which,
the infliction of vengeance upon the ene
mies of the church is meant. — nin ins
i. e. Mount Sion, mentioned at the close
of the preceding chapter, the new dis
pensation, " beginning at Jerusalem."
D'jaifS and D'ia$ form a paronomasia,
which is heightened in effect by their
repetition, and by the assimilation in

form of the participles by which they are
accompanied. " Fatness " is not con
fined by the Hebrews to animals, but is
used of other subjects, the superior ex
cellence of which they would express.
Comp. however, to cnria^Ta, Matt. xxii. 4.
D''iail), lit. preservations, i. e. preservers,
the lees, or sediment of wine produced
by the bubbles of fixed air, which, during
fermentation, rise to the surface, and
bring along with them the skins, stones,
or other grosser matters of the grapes ;
thus forming a scum or spungy crust,
which, after a time, breaks in pieces and
falls to the bottom. When this has
taken place, the wine becomes clear;
but as the fermentation does not then
cease, it increases in the excellence of
its qualities, by being suffered still to
continue for a time on the lees. See
Lowth's note ; and comp. Jer. xlviii. 11.
By metonymy of the cause for the effect,
the word is here used to denote the ex
cellent wines thus prepared by lengthened
fermentation. To render them quite fit
for use, they are purified by being filtered
or drawn off from vessel to vessel. This
is expressed by D'pjno, the Pual Part, of
PEJ, to fine, purify. Comp. the Arab.
rjj , PI. ksLij , Vinum, Kamoos ; from
the skin in which it is kept. Such wine .
Pollux, in his Onomast, calls aaKKias
oivos 6 biiJXia-pevos. Thus Aq, in the
present case : ttotov Xiiraa-paTav biijXur-
pevov. t3'?!iaa, the other Part, from nnn,
Arab, isr' , emedullavit os, to draw the
fat out of marrow-bones, is assimilated
to the former, instead of being written
D'nap, which would be the regular form.
' is the substitute of n, the third radical,
7. Rosenm,, Gesen,, Hitzig, and Scholz,
make the covering here spoken of to be
a sign of mourning; but since the re
moval of mourning is specially predicted,
ver. 8, it is better to interpret it of igno
rance, as KoXvppa, 2 Cor. iii. 13, H,

CHAP. XXV.]

ISAIAH.

215

The face of the covering which covereth all people.
And the web that is woven over all nations.
8 He shall utterly destroy death ;
And the Lord Jehovah shall wipe away the tears from all faces,
And shall remove the reproach of his people from the whole earth :
For Jehovah hath spoken it.

With this ignorance, as with a veil, all
nations were covered at the time of our
Lord's advent, chap. ix. 2, xxix. 18,
xiii. 7, Comp. Acts xvii. 30, xxvi. 18 ;
Rom. i. 21 ; Eph. iv. 18. That the Jews
themselves were likewise in a state of
spiritual darkness, see John i. 5, iii. 19,
xii. 40. 101^, cog. omJ, onj ; Arab.
Isil , IsJ , ku , texit, operuit, velavit, oc-
cultavit rem ; signifies to hide, muffle up,
to throw a mantle or veil over one's face ;
hence lata, secretly ; D'pJ, secret, hidden
arts. The word occurs here first as a
noun, and then as a participle ; only the
proper participial form 13$ is changed
into ra";, to make it agree in sound with
the noun. Critics have needlessly
stumbled at Bi^ ':?, " the face of the
covering." Lowth and Boothroyd, after
Houbigant, conjecture that '.:b has been
transposed, and that it stood originally
before D'psrrtS. In support of this con
jecture, the MS. Bodl. is adduced ; but
its reading is itself, in all probability, a
mere conjectural emendation. At all
events, the text, as read by all the ancient
translators, was as we now have it ; and
however harsh it may seem, to speak of
destroying the face of a covering, we
meet with a similar phrase Job xii. 5 :
iH)l3^ '3B n|3 'p, « 'Who can uncover the
face of his garment?" It is in fact
merely a periphrasis for the thing itself,
see chap. iii. 16 ; Ps. xiii. 12. 'ijp:, the
other verb here employed, usually signi
fies to pour out as a libation ; to fuse,
cast as metal ; but in this place, the idea
seems to be that which attaches to the
Arab. _,*wJ , texuit, plexuii quid, fo
twine, weave, &c., hence ri3Bp, thread, or
warp, and the derivative in the text,
n3Ba, weaving : so that the words are
literally, " the weaving woven over all
the nations."
The prophecy has already, to a great

extent, been fulfilled. The gospel, in
which are unfolded the character of the
true God, and the principles of his moral
government, was the means, at an early
period of its history, of rescuing myriads
of Jews from the darkness of their ter
restrial notions respecting the Messiah
and his kingdom ; and of banishing
idolatry and superstition from the Roman
empire. It has, in the present day,
proved victorious in different parts of the
heathen world ; it is in a state of rapid
propagation ; and when this and other
similar predictions shall have received
their full accomplishment, the earth shall
be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea.
8. A more glaring instance of mis
taken historical interpretation is scarcely
to be found, than that given of the first
words of this verse by Grotius : donee
vivit Esechias ! Vitringa, true to his
principles of interpretation, explains them
first of the times of Simon and John
Hyrcanus, and then of certain periods
of the Christian dispensation; Rosenm.
and Gesen. apply them to what they
designate the renewal of the golden age ;
and the latter has a long note on the
passage, in which he endeavours to sup
port his view by referring to the Zenda-
vesta. But all such exegesis fails to
meet the exigentia loci. What Isaiah
predicts is not the partial or total cessa
tion of war, extraordinary longevity, or
such like, but the absolute abolition of
death. In proof of this fact, the apostie
expressly quotes it, 1 Cor. xv. 55 : Tore
yevrjTai d Xoyos d yeypappevos' Kare-
iroBr] 6 BdvaTos els viKos : — thus
concluding his celebrated argument in
defence of the doctrine of the resurrec
tion. By his inspired authority I deem
it the only wise, because the only safe
course, in this and all similar cases, to
abide. The words, as alleged by Paul,
are found in the version of Theodotion,
with which the Targ, and Syriac agree.

216

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxv.

9 In that day it shall be said : Lo ! this is our God ;
We have waited for him, and he hath saved us :
This is Jehovah ; we have waited for him ;
We will rejoice and be glad in his salvation.
10 Assuredly the hand of Jehovah shall rest on this mountain ;
But Moab shall be trodden down in his own place.
As straw is trodden in the water of a dung-hill.

in reading the verb as a passive. »ta,
in Piel, as here, commonly signifies to
destroy, destroy utterly : in Kal, the
more usual signification is that of swal
lowing, which most of the versions have
unhappily adopted. nsjj, the Greek
translators render by la-xva-as, els TtXor,
els vIkos; attaching to the term the idea
of what is overpowering, durable, com
plete. The significations of the Heb.
root ns:, used only in Niphal and Piel,
are to shine, lead, lead on, be complete ;
in Chald. to surpass, excel, vanquish ;
hence the idea of victory, eternity, &c.,
attaching to na:, and of completely, en
tirely, for ever, &c., to ns:, risjj. The
words are therefore equivalent to o Bdva-
Tos OVK ia-Tai iTi, Rev. xxi. 4 ; where
there seems to be an evident allusion to
our text; and where the subject is, ashere,
not the millennial state of the church,
but the state of glory, after the resurrec
tion of the body. It will be then only
that a period shall be put to the reproach
ful persecutions of the righteous, which
Isaiah likewise predicts. '3 has here the
force of: It shall assuredly be, /or Jeho
vah hath spoken it.
The prophecy embraces the whole of
the N. T. dispensation, from its establish
ment till its termination at the last day.
9. A joyful acclamation of welcome to
the Divine Redeemer, by whom the pre
dicted blessings would be secured and
bestowed. It requires no comment.
ins is used impersonally : one shall say,
i. e. each, and is best rendered in the
plural. Thus the LXX. and Vulg.;
but the Ger. man, and the French on,
according to a similar idiom.
10. A new subject is here taken up, —
the destruction of Moab. That of Baby
lon had been predicted at the commence
ment of the chapter ; and it was requisite
that the neighbouring enemy, from which
Ihe Jews had suffered so much annoy

ance, and which still evinced an indomi
table hostility, should be exhibited in like
circumstances of prostration. Comp.
chapters xv. and xvi. For the use of '3,
as an absolute affirmative at the begin
ning of a prophetic announcement, see
chap. XV. 1. The phrase 3 nin; t indi
cates elsewhere hostility, the exercise of
punishment on the part of God ; but
here, in connexion with ni3, it is used in
a good or favourable sense. The Divine
power should continue for protection in
Zion. No codex reads n'sn, shall give
rest. — ^i'niin refers to Moab and not to
Jehovah, and means, in his own land.
Comp. Exod. xvi. 29 ; 2 Sam. vii. 10,
Gesenius, with many other interpreters,
thinks Moab is here used as one of a
class, and that the enemies of the Jews
generally are meant ; but there is no
sufficient reason why we should depart
from the literal meaning of the term. It
must have given the people of God in
Babylon great comfort to know, that the
enemy who still resided in the vicinity
of Judea should not be permitted to
molest them on their return. For iiiil see
chap. xxi. 10, and comp. 2 Kings xiii. 7.
The 1 in ii5lin is irregularly pointed for
i ; but there are a few instances besides
of the same irregularity in the Niph.
Infin. of verbs "W. The LXX., Vulg.,
and Syr., render n:a']p, chariots, as if
they had found n33'ia in the text ; but it
exists in no MS. and the Targ. has «:'P,
the mire. Besides, 13310 is never used
of threshing cars ; 3lia,' nto, &c. being
employed to express such instruments :
and there is a manifest paronomasia in
)3np and njaTO, which proves it to be the
genuine reading. n:aip signifies dung
hill. Comp. JDi, dung, manure, and the
-Arab, ^eti, stercoravit terram ; iXdit
fimetum. To interpret the word of a
town of this name makes no sense.

chap, xxvi.]

ISAIAH.

217

11

12

He shall spread forth his hands in the midst of it,
As the swimmer spreadeth forth his hands to swim ;
And He shall bring down his pride,
Together with the plots of his hands.
The towering fortifications of thy walls
He will bring down, lay low.
And level with the ground, even with the dust.

According to the Chethib 'P3, we must
render: "in the water of the dunghill."
The reference is to the process taken
with straw in the cess or pool, to reduce
it the sooner to a state of rottenness, and
so fit it for manure. ia3, the Keri,
though found in the text in upwards
of thirty MSS., and confirmed by the
ancient versions, is, after all, the less
probable. Symm. appears to have
read iB3.
11. 'The nomin. to WIB is 3Nia, Moab,
not Jehovah, as some have thought. The
action described is that of a person making
every effort to prevent himself from sink
ing in the water. It represents the help
less condition of the Moabites under the
Divine chastisements. Before 'J'Eipn,
subaud. rrrr. The mention made of the
pride of Moab is quite in keeping with
the emphatic representation chap, xvi, 6.
i'Tni3iM, his crafty undertakings, from
31«, to weave, weave plots, lie in wait.
Comp. the «lrab. <-Jjl > suscepit agen

dum, versatus, peritus fuit in re,

^J'

astutia, calliditas, &c. Hitzig would
restrict the meaning to Moab's twisting
or crossing his hands, in order to escape
being drowned ; but the word is to be
taken metaphorically, as signifying the
crafty machinations which he would at
tempt to carry into effect against the Jews.
12. The prophet closes with a brief
but pointed apostrophe, in which he
announces to Moab the total desolation
which should come upon that country.
That he reverts to Babylon, as Gesen.
supposes, cannot be admitted. It is
doubtless to the strongly fortified Kir-
Moab, that he refers, see chap. xv. 1,
xvi. 7,11. Between the readings ?]'oian
and "Tjjniaii there is no difference as to
sense : before the former, D», the people,
is understood ; before the latter, y'i«, the
land. There is a singular beauty in the
accumulation of verbs here employed at
the close of the verse, as well as in the
addition of 1^» after yiN.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Babylon having been destroyed, as predicted at the beginning of the preceding
chapter, the captive Jews anticipate in this, their deliverance and restoration to
their own land. Regarding Jerusalem as rebuilt and fortified, they demand ad
mittance, and exercise a firm trust in God, that it shall take place, 1 — 4. To
this they are the more excited, by reflecting on what he had done to the metro
polis of their Babylonish enemies, 5, 6. They next protest their devotedness to
God, 7 — 9 ; deplore the stubborn blindness of the impenitent portion of the
nation, and foreshew their doom, 9 — 1 1 ; but exult in Jehovah, who had inter
posed on their behalf, delivered them from the dominion of their oppressors,
V F

218

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxvi.

12 — 14 ; and view, by faith, the increase of the population, and the extension of
the boundaries of the nation, 15. They describe the forlorn condition in which
they had been during the captivity, and the fruitlessness of all their attempts to
regain their liberty, 16 — 18. Under the figure of a literal resurrection of the
dead, their political resuscitation is then emphatically announced, 19; and the
prophet, in conclusion, calls upon them piously to await the complete infliction
of the Divine wrath on their enemies, as it would issue in their own deliverance.

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah :
We have a strong city ;
Salvation He will appoint for walls and ramparts.
Open ye the gates,
That the righteous nation may enter,
[The nation] that keepeth faith.
The mind that is firm, thou wilt keep in perfect peace.
Because it trusteth in thee.
Trust in Jehovah for ever ;
For truly Jehovah is Jah —
An everlasting Rock.

1, «inn Di' describes the period of the
return. Such of the Jews as had reached
the land of Judea, and surveyed the
strong position of Jerusalem, encourage
their distant brethren to follow them,
and assure them of the Divine protec
tion. Before n'tij, subaud. nin;, which is
omitted as freq. by a poetic elegance. —
¦jn for 'J'n, LXX, neplreixos, Vulg. ante-
murale, — the outer and lower fortifica
tion, divided from the main wall of a
city by a trench,
2. The response of the returning Jews,
demanding admittance. In a national
point of view, they were now righteous,
having entirely abandoned idolatry, and
addicted themselves to the worship of
the true God. From this time, the Jews
have kept themselves from idols, whose
service was the principal cause of the
captivity. 3. fap is; is very elliptical. In full,
it would be ^'J? ?|iaD iis; i«)« \t)'«, 2'he
man whose mind is staid upon thee, &c, ;
i. e. by implication, firm, unshaken,
steady. Aq, rrXdcrpa ia-rrjpiypevov.
Comp, Ps, cxi, 8, cxii. 8. The phrase
describes the recumbancy of the mind

upon Jehovah, from the experience it
has of his gracious support, is;; is pro
perly what is formed in the mind, but
here it is used of the mind itself. DiW
Di';^, the superlative form : peace, peace,
i. e. the greatest, perfect peace. Comp.
chap. Ivii, 19. niM, though passive in
form, is active in signification, as is the
case with the Pah. Part, of some other
neuter verbs, as p3ti, 1131, &c.
4. Fr3 is not to be rendered, "in
Jah," — the 3 being the Beth essentia,
which, according to a peculiar idiom,
points out the reality, certainty, substan-
iive character or nature of the subject to
which it is prefixed. " Prepositio 3 ssepis-
sime infert intimam rei, vel persona,
qualitaiem : sive expressum et emineniem
characterem quo aliquid insignitum est,
atque distinctum." Schultens in Prov.
iii. 26. Thus Exod. vi. 3, " I appeared
unto Abraham, &c., '1* ''S3, under the
character of, evincing the properties of
God Almighty:" xxxii. 22, "Thou
knowest the people, Nin Ta '3, that they
are radically wicked." Prov. iii. 26,
?[*33 nvp nirr, "Jehovah shall be the sure
object of thy confidence." Ps. IxviiL 5,

chap, xxvi.]

ISAIAH.

219

5 For He hath brought down those that dwelt on high ;
The lofty city He hath laid very low ;
He hath laid it low, even to the ground ;
He hath levelled it with the very dust.
6 The foot treadeth it ;
The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the poor.
7 The path of the just is perfectly straight ;
Thou, 0 Righteous ! makest level the way of the just.
8 Even in the way of thy judgments, O Jehovah, have we waited for
thee ;
To thy name, and to thy remembrance, has been the desire of our
soul.
9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night ;

iD«5 m, "His name is emphatically Jah,"
i. e. he is truly what it imports : the
Eternal, Immutable God, And so in
the present instance : D'pWs lis nin; n;3 '3,
"For Jehovah is indeed what his name
Jah imports ; He is an everlasting
Rock." In each of these examples, I
liave endeavoured to express in a para
phrase what I consider to be the force
of the Beth. It is an idiomatic form, to
which there is nothing precisely analo
gous, except perhaps in some degree in
Arab, as jjjb J& Jclll , God is indeed
powerful, — potentissimus. <!dJu Uo

]s^uj , God will prove a swift witness.
Other examples in De Sacy's Gramraaire
Arabe, vol. i. p. 356, in which the Ba
is obviously intensive. — lis. Rock, is
used as a Divine name. See Deut. xxxii.
4, 15, 18, 30, 31 ; 1 Sam. ii. 2 ; Ps. xviii.
32, 47 ; Isa. Ivii. 6. The eternity and
immutable power of God are here alleged
as a ground of the most unlimited confi
dence on the part of his people.
5, 6. The prophet now applies to
Babylon the same language which he
had employed, chap. xxv. 12, in appli
cation to Kir-Moab. That the former,
and not the latter, is here meant, appears
from the use of D'^'i and ':» following ;
these terms, describing the condition to
which the Jews had been reduced in
Babylon. The punctists have improperly
placed the Athnach under WJto : it
should stand under nj^'Bi*, — the suffix

appended to which shewing, that the
second member of the verse ends there,
while the other form, nb'Bti;, marks the
commencement of a new member. The
reader will notice the distinctive use of
the Nun Epenthetic in the former case,
as in nsDpin, nara;, which follow. While
it places it in apposition with nipn, it
places both the latter in apposition with
nb'Bil);, which, as to construction, occu
pies the same position with rt^isi. It
also expresses the ideas with greater
energy and intensity. The preterite and
future tenses being combined, shews that
the actions were continued, which was
signally the case in regard to the destruc
tion of Babylon. See chap. xiii. pref.
7. D''itti'p, straightnesses, used adjec
tively and intensively : very straight.
The language is metaphorical, and ex
presses the provision made for the escape
of the righteous from the trying circum
stances in which they have been placed :
and with special reference to the Jews, —
the present subject of discourse, — the
straight and even course prepared for
them in the providence of God, by which
to return to Palestine. Dte, in applica
tion to a way, signifies to make it level or
plain, 8. While thy judgments are in a course
of infliction on the nations, we expect
thine interposition for our . deliverance.
There is an ellipsis of 3 before rnV«.
9. The prophet here introduces each
of his pious afflicted countrymen as in
dividually giving vent to strong feelings

220 ISAIAH. [chap. xxvr..
And with my spirit within me I have sought thee early ;
For when thy judgments are in the earth.
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 Should mercy be shewn to the wicked,
He will not learn righteousness ;
In the land of rectitude he will act perversely,
And not regard the majesty of Jehovah.
11 O Jehovah ! thy hand is lifted up, but they will not see it ;,
They shall see it, and be ashamed ;
Zeal for [thy] people,
Yea, fire against thine enemies shall devour them.
12 O Jehovah ! thou hast ordained peace for us ;
Yea, all our works also thou hast performed for us.
13 0 Jehovah our God ! other lords besides thee have had dominion-
over us ;
But thee, — thy name alone will we celebrate.
14 They are dead, they shall not live ;
They are deceased, they shall not rise :
Because thou hast visited and destroyed them,.
And made all remembrance of them to perish.
of desire after the Divine favour. Before called ninb: yi«, terra rectiiudinum, be-
'«)p: and 'nn supply 3. The latter part cause in the observance of the Mosaic
of the verse indicates the effect produced institutes, the strictest justice would
on men, by the execution of the judg- abound. The Plur. is that of intensity.
ments of God. Such is universally their Comp. ver. 7. The Nun Paragogic in
tendency ; and such, when sanctified, Jl'inj is corroborative : they will not at
their result. As the sentiment is gene- all, or in any wise see it. The resump-
•¦al) n^ and ^3n cannot be limited to the tion, lin;, is peculiarly elegant and forci-
Babyionian empire. That "[n'lM is not, ble. b» mip and ifis tm are both-
as in the ancient versions, to be read in genitives of object : by the former is
the third person fem. to agree with '*:, meant the zeal of God in behalf of his
but is merely a defective orthography of people ; by the latter, his wrath effecting
^'O'l'?, the parallel 'fin^^ clearly shews, the destruction of his enemies. Comp.
'The full form is found in a great number for the construction, Ps. Ixix. 10;
of MSS. and Editions. Obad. 10.
10, 11. Such is the perverseness of 12. no^, like DliB, n'lS, )n:, signifies, in
depraved man, that, though experiencing such connexion, to procure, grant, effect,
pity from the Lord, and enjoying the or such like. From the experience
means of religious improvement, he is which the church had had of the Divine
nevertheless blind to divine things, and operations on her behalf, on every former
obstinately refuses to avail himself of occasion of deliverance, she confidentiy
spiritual opportunities. The prophet has expects the restoration of her prosperity,
immediately in view the unbelieving as the result of the same gracious agency.
portion of his countrymen, whom he D3 is here intensive.
plainly tells, that, though restored to 13, 14. Jehovah was the only legiti-
their favoured land, they would still matesovereignoftheHebrewnation. The
prove incorrigible. The holy land is Assyrians, Babylonians, &c., had exer-

CHAP. XXVI. J

ISAIAH.

221

15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah !'
Thou hast increased the nation ; thou art glorified ;
Thou hast widely extended all the boundaries of the land.
16 O Jehovah ! in afflrction they sought thee ;
They poured out a whisper, when under thy chastisement.
17 As a pregnant woman, about to bear,
Is in pain, .and crieth aloud in her pangs.
So have we been, away from thy presence, 0 Jehovah !
18 We have been pregnant ; we have been in pain ;
When we brought forth — it was wind :
We effected no deliverance for the land ;
Neither were the inhabitants of the world brouffht forth.
o

cised an usurped dominion over them ;,
but they confidentiy anticipate emanci
pation from captivity, and their grateful
celebration of the praise of God in their
own land. The 3 in ?[3 is the Beth of
Instrument. The 14th verse fully sets
forth the result of the Divine interposi
tion in their favour : — the complete de
struction of their enemies. D'np and
D'NB'i, though verbal nouns, are used in
stead of verbs ; or the pronoun nan may
be supplied, as in most versions. To
view them as nominatives absolute, and
apply them to the deceased Israelites, as
Hitzig does, the connexion forbids. 'The
LXX. render the latter word by larpol,
physicians, having read D'njii instead of
D'NDi, As the dead are deprived of all
the power over the living, which they
might have possessed, and can never
resume it, so it was with the Babylonians.
This the Jews expected, and their ex
pectations were not frustrated. The
Chaldean empire was entirely destroyed.
Pi has here the force of a conjunction.
The use of ia^ after 131, instead of Di3i,
is poetic and intensive.
15. This verse describes the increase
of the population, and the extension of
the boundaries of the land in order that
it might contain them. The verbs are
in the preterite, to express the certainty
of the event.
16. During the exile, the Jews re
turned to the true service of God, and
earnestly supplicated deliverance from
the affliction by which they were op
pressed. ipB is used in the unusual
sense of seeking after what has been

lost. Arab, jjji , quasivit rem perditam ;
desideravit, inquisivit. They had lost the
favour of God, which they were now
anxious to recover, pis is nowhere else
employed metaphorically to express giv
ing utterance in prayer ; but seems pur
posely selected to express the intensity
of the action. This intensity is further
indicated by the addition of the Nun
Paragogic, which is of extremely rare
occurrence in the preterite. Comp. 1 Sam.
i. IS ; Ps. cii. 1 ; the iEneid, vi. 55, fu-
ditque preces rex pectore ab imo. ilirt,
prayer; from iSnj, to whisper, speak
with a soft or low voice ; but here with
out any regard to such strict etymo
logical signification, except in so far
perhaps as it respects the exhaustion.
produced by long-continued devotional
exercises. 17, 18. 'pjBa, yroOT thy presence, i.e.
at a distance from Jerusalem, where, in
the temple, the Divine presence was
vouchsafed. As protection and aid were
connected with the presence of Jehovah,
so exclusion from it implied exposure
and helplessness. In the beginning of
ver. 18, Michaelis imagined he dis
covered an allusion to what physicians-
call an empneumatosis, or physometra —
false symptoms of pregnancy, arising
from an accumulation of wind in the
uterus, which terminate in its emission.
It is more probable, however, that the
prophet had in view the false pains which
frequently precede actual labour, and
disappoint the expectations which they
had excited. In this case nil is not to-

222

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXV7.

19 Thy dead men shall live again ;
Their dead bodies shall rise :
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust !
For as the dew of herbs is thy dew.
And the earth shall bring forth the deceased.

be taken literally, but metaphorically,
as denoting vanity, nothing. Thus ffico-
lampadius : frustra tulimus dolores. The
reference is to the futility of all the
self-originating schemes and hopes of
the Jews' in Babylon, which had for
their object their political regeneration.
nit»:, CEoolampadius, Leo Juda, Cube,
Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, and Maurer,
take to be the Niphal participle ; but as
this form of the verb does not occur
elsewhere, it seems preferable, with Hit
zig and Scholz, to abide by the common
construction, according to which it is the
first person plural of Kal. This the con
text also corroborates, and it is the ren
dering of the LXX., Vulg., Syr., and
Arab. Cocceius, Doderlein, Dathe, Ge
senius, Hitzig, Maurer, and Scholz, in
terpret '!3n '3?^ I'jg; ';3, the inhabitants of
the (Jewish) world are not born. This
construction bests suits the connexion,
and is confirmed by a similar use of ''?:,
ver. 19. It is true the verb is not other
wise thus employed; and ''O: is only
used of abortions; but the use of the
Arab. laiLoj , to fall, for to he born, to
gether with that of the Greek iriireiv,
the Latin cado, &c. in the same accep
tation, are in favour of this interpreta
tion. See the literature in Gesenius. In
our own language to fall is used with
respect to the irrational animals, in the
sense of hearing and being born. That
^jn may signify the Jewish world, see
chap. xxiv. 4, where, as in the present
instance, it is synonymous with yiw, in
the sense of the land of Judea, The
meaning is, the country is not yet inha
bited; those who should possess it are
as if they were still unborn.
19. From the images employed by the
prophet, it is evident, that the doctrine
of the resurrection of the dead obtained
among the Jews of his time. He assumes
the fact, and borrows from it language
admirably adapted to express, in a strong
and forcible manner, what he had to

teach relative to the restoration of the*
Jews from Babylon. Comp. Ezek. xxxvii.
1 — 14, where, in like manner, the poli
tical regeneration of the same people
is predicted in figurative language taken
from that event. Treating of these pas
sages in Isaiah and Ezekiel, Pareau
adds, " Observandum estinsuper, eorum
sermones ad usus publicos fuisse desti-
natos ; ex quo consequitur banc resur-
rectronis doctrinam ea setate vulgo ita
notum fuisse, ut facile, perspicua et quo-
dammodo popularis imago inde possit
desumi." Comm. de Immortal, p. 109.
That the doctrine of the resurrection is
really implied in the passage, Gesenius
declares to be beyond doubt (dnzweifel-
haft) ; but there is no foundation for his
position, that it was not known to the
Jews previous to the captivity; tiiat
they borrowed it, and many other ideas,
from the Zoroastrian theology; and con
sequently, that this portion of the book
could not have been written at so early
a period as the days of Isaiah. It must
be maintained, on the evidence of such
texts as Job xiv. 14, 15, xix. 25 — 29;
Ps. xvii. 15, xlix. 15 ; that the Hebrews
did anciently expect a resurrection; and
though the light which they possessed
on the subject was not so clear as that
which the nation afterwards acquired, it
was nevertheless sufficient to sustain the
hopes of the righteous, and excite in
their bosom an ardent longing after an
event of such thrilling interest. The
object of the pronominal suffix in I'np,
is not the prophet, as some suppose, but
Jehovah, who is repeatedly addressed in
the preceding part of the chapter. The
Jews were still his, though it might be
concluded from the condition to which
they were reduced, that all connexion
between him and them had ceased. The
; in 'nb3: has greatly perplexed expo
sitors. A change of person is not un
usual in the prophets ; but one so harsh
and apparently inappropriate is unex
ampled. For the prophet to introduce

chap, xxvi.]

ISAIAH.

g23

20

21

Come, my people ! enter into thy chambers,
And shut thy door behind thee ;
Hide thee, as it were for a little moment.
Till the indignation have passed over.
For behold ! Jehovah cometh forth from his place,
To punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth ;

himself, or the Messiah, as employing
the language, "My dead body," seems
totally irrelevant to the subject. Nor
would the construction as to sense be
improved, if, with Kimchi, our Common
Version, &c. we were to supply an
ellipsis of DB, with, together with. I
therefore take the ; not to be, in this
case, the pronominal suffix, but a poetic
augment absolute. This augment occurs
frequently in the status constructus, as
'ni3i, Ps. ex, 4; 'n«i>p. Is. I. 21; but
there is an evident transition towards
the absolute state in those instances in
which the preposition 3 is prefixed to
the second noun, as n'.a«33 '3i|j', Ps. cxxii.
1 ; n!33'iiSf,, Exod. XV. 6 ; D'isi 'mto, Lam.
i. 1. Comp. the adverbs '11^3, 'rtll. None
of the ancient versions, except the
Vulg., exhibits any thing corresponding
to the letter as standing for the suffix
of the first person. On the contrary,
the Chald. linfiji?:, and the Syr.
.> VV.. V
.coi..;.^!*, supply that of the third
person, which I cannot but think is the
meaning, and have rendered accord
ingly. The Masoretes appear to have
taken the same view of the matter ; for
they have pointed the word 'nta:, and
not 'nta:, after the analogy of in53:, and
onto:, which we should have expected.
The same may be said of the LXX.,
though they render freely, ot ev toIs
pvripeiois. That n!j3: is used here as a
collective, ]iaip;, the plural of the follow
ing verb, sufficiently shews. It is thus
used Lev. xi. 11, where our translators
have properly rendered it carcasses, in
the plural.  The suffix in ^'m either
refers to OS understood, or to each of
the 1B» '.:3iB, taken distrihutively. Ge
senius and others refer it to Jehovah,
but less properly. nii« 'ip, the dew of
plants. The Targ., Syr., Vulg., and
several of the moderns, render, " the
dew of light," or "lights," — understand

ing thereby the morning dew, or the
brightness with which it glistens on the
face of the ground; but the rendering
I have adopted is that given by Kimchi,
and approved by Rosenmiiller, Winer,
Hitzig, and Maurer. This signification
of niiiN may justly be regarded as de
cided by an appeal to 2 Kings iv. 39 —
the only other instance in which it is
used in the feminine plural. In the
latter passage the LXX. retain the
word dpidB; but the other Greek ver
sions have dypioXdxava ; the Targ.
J?i5.ll?., olera; Vulg. herbas agrestes ; the
-. >
Syr. and Arab, {i^oi, \'KX^,malva.
The prophet's meaning is, That as the
dew, which in the East falls very co
piously on the herbs of the field, and
imparts to them fresh life and vigour, so
the divine influence or power should be
exerted on the Jews of the captivity, in
consequence of which they should come
forth fresh and vigorous, to serve Je
hovah in their own land. Comp. Ps.
Ixxii. 6 ; Hos. xiv. 6. He adds, fiijl
^'Bn D'NB"), and the earth shall bring forth
ihe deceased; i.e. the inhabitants who
had disappeared, and were accounted as
dead, should again come into a state of
visible and active existence. It is obvious
from Job i. 21, and Ps. cxxxix. 15, that
the aticient believers regarded the earth
as our common mother; so that the
figurative language here employed by
Isaiah must have been easily under
stood. For the meaning of 'I'En, see on
the preceding verse.
20. Instead of I'rt'i, ie» of Kennicott's
and thirteen of De Rossi's MSS., three
printed editions, read 'jrt'i, as in the'
Keri; but independently of the form,
the noun has here a plural signification.
This and the following verse form an
epilogue, in which the Jews in Babylon
are exhorted to wait in silent retirement
for the termination of the judgments

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXVII.

And the earth shall disclose her blood,
And no longer cover her slain.

which God was about to bring upon
that empire by the army of Cyrus. With
the close of these judgments was imme
diately connected the deliverance of the
Jews. To express the magnitude and
certainty of the catastrophe, Jehovah is
represented as coming forth from heaven,
when the blood and dead bodies of the
slain which had long remained un

avenged, and had been hid from human
view, are exhibited in evidence of the
cruelties that had been committed, espe
cially such as had been wantonly exer
cised on the people of God, in order
that vengeance might be taken on those
who had perpetrated them. In illustra
tion of the two concluding lines, see
Gen. iv. 10, 11 ; Job xvi. 18.

CHAPTER XXVII.
The connexion between this and the preceding chapter is obvious. The - prophet,
having announced the appearance of Jehovah to avenge his people, now proceeds
further to predict the complete destruction of the Babylonians, 1 ; he assures
them of the Divine care and protection, 2 — 6 ; shews the lenity with which they
had been punished, and the design and result of their punishment, 7 — 9 ;
describes the desolate condition of Babylon, 10, 11; and announces the great
ingathering of the Jews which should follow the destruction of the Babylonian
•empire; and their engaging anew in the worship of God at Jerusalem.

1 In that day shall Jehovah punish with his sword,
The hard, the great, and the powerful sword,

1 . «inn Di'3, at that time, i.e. at the
period of the Medo-Persian invasion.
The ascription of a sword to Jehovah
is not unusual ; see Deut. xxxii. 41, 42 ;
Isa. xxxiv. 5 ; Ezek. xxi. 3, 4, 5. It
denotes the instrument which he em
ploys in executing his judgments. The
three epithets by which it is described,
-correspond to the three monsters, or the
triple character of the power on which
it was to inflict the judgments, jnji';
Gesenius takes to be a noun with the
termination |.,, and instances jniiSn: as
analogously formed ; but it seems pre
ferable to regard both as compounds :
']n signifying a serpent, monster, or such
like. Tt^. is a wreath, that which is con
volved or twisted; from nij, to join.

wreathe, &c. ; Syr. ja^, k^a^, con-
junxit ; Arab. J , torsit se et vertit
funem ; III. -=1.1, inflexit se et spiras
fecit serpens; Xjissr*] IJ, serpens flexus.
From a comparison of the several pas
sages in which the word occurs, it clearly
appears to be synonymous with f?!?, a
great fish, sea-monster, serpent, and «ip:,
which, in its general acceptation, sig
nifies all kinds of larger animals that
move with a wriggling motion, whether
on the land or in the water. That it
more specifically denotes the crocodile.
Job iii. 8, xl. 25, has been regarded as

'CHAP. XXVII.]

ISAIAH.

225

Leviathan, the fleet serpent,
Leviathan, the coiling serpent : —
He will kill the monster that is in the sea.
2 In that day, sing ye concerning the vineyard :

almost a settled point since this interpre
tation, first given by Beza and Diodati,
was learnedly supported by Bochart,
Hieroz. P. Il.lib.v. cap. 16—18. To ex
press more forcibly the qualities of the
monster here referred to, he is described
"first as ni3 nin:, and then as lin)!??? ton:.
As JTa signifies to reach across, as a bar,
Aq., Symm., and the Vulg. render it
accordingly ; but o(fiiv (j)evyovTa, given
by the LXX., is more agreeable to the
usual acceptation of the verb to fiee, be
fleet : serpens fugax. Comp. the Arab.
^jj ,)t) the son of fleetness, i.e. the
gazelle. It is used in connexion with
Sn: only in one other passage. Job xxvi.
13, where, however, the reference evi
dently is to the celestial hemisphere.
-^in^ps, tortuous, from 'ii», to twist, wind,
coil, describes the sinuosities, or coils,
which serpents form with their bodies,
by the sudden unfolding of which they
are enabled to spring forward, and
thereby effect a very rapid motion.
" Saucius at serpens sinuosa volumina
versa t,
Arrectisque horret squamis et sibilat ore,
Arduus insurgens." — .lEneid. lih.xi. 753.
]'3B, Arab. JJi', serpens ingens, draco,
a kind of large serpent ; also a large
aquatic animal. Comp. > , thunnus
piscis, the tunny, which is the largest
fish of the whale species found in the
Mediterranean.  In interpreting this
passage, the chief difficulty lies in de
termining whether one gigantic mon
ster is intended, of which the several
epithets employed describe the charac
ter ; or whether more than one, say two
or three, are meant. Kimchi, Abenezra,
Jarchi, Vitringa, Lowth, Jenour, Hitzig,
Scholz, and others, consider three dis
tinct animals to have been chosen as the
symbolical representatives of as many
hostile powers ; but which these are they
are not agreed : some supposing them
to be Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt;

others, Egypt, Assyria, and Tyre ; others
differently. If Leviathan, occurring the
second time, be merely a repetition of
the former name, for the purpose of in
troducing an additional epithet, then
only two monsters are exhibited, which
may be viewed as representing Babylon
and Egypt. In this case the second
Fau must, as freq., be rendered even.
Schnurrer, Eichhorn, and Gesenius, are
of opinion that the various epithets de
scribe only one animal, and that, how
incongruous soever it would be to repre
sent such an animal as actually existing
in nature, it is in no degree abhorrent
from the symbolical language of pro
phecy — the end of which is, in such
case, to magnify the terrific character of
the empire for which it stands. The
different epithets are merely the sym
bolical drapery, shewing the image to
advantage. Thus Dan. vii. 7, 8 ; Rev.
xiii. 1 — 10 ; nondescripts, somewhat
similar, are introduced. On this prin
ciple, fully to set forth the formidable,
cruel, and destructive nature of the Ba
bylonian power, a combination of the
hugest, and most horrid monsters was
required; and certainly none could have
been more appropriately selected than
those here specified. Luzzato agrees
with Gesenius in supposing that the Ba
bylonian empire is meant; but he de
cidedly thinks that three distinct subjects
are specified as its emblem. Both )n;i^,
and D':'3n, are applied to Egypt, Ps.
Ixxiv, 13, 14, and D'.:n, or J'M, Ezek.
xxix. 3, xxxii. 2 ; but this is no reason
why Isaiah should not have used the same
well-known symbolical terms in applica
tion to Babylon, the subject of which he
had just been treating. This interpre
tation appears, on the whole, best sup
ported. For the use of d;., the sea, in
reference to Babylon, see chap. xxi. 1.
2. From this verse to the fifth inclu
sive we have a song of encouragement,
in which Jehovah, under the symbol of
the keeper of a vineyard, is represented
as the protector and nourisher of the
Jewish church. Houbigant, Lowth,

ISAIAH,

[chap, xxyii.

I Jehovah do keep it —
Every moment I water it — -
Lest any should injure it,
I keep it night and day.
There is no fury in me :
Yet, would that I had the briers and thorns in battle f
I would advance against them ;
I would burn them up at once.
But if any will cling to my protection.

Dathe, Schnurrer, and Boothroyd, con
sider this song as responsive : — J ehovah
speaking, ver. 3 ; the vineyard respond
ing, ver. 4 ; Jehovah again in the second
distich of the same verse, and part of
the 5tb; then the vineyard, &c. See
Lowth's translation. This fanciful, and
in some parts very forced construction,
appears to have originated in an undue
pressing of what Gesenius takes to be
the primary idea conveyed by n:», to
sing in responses. The verb, however,
is never thus used ; all the passages in
which it occurs simply convey the no
tion of singing, or the repetition of the
same words; but not of dialogistic re
sponse. — NinnDi>3 is parallel in point of
time with the same phrase, ver. 1, and
shews that when the Divine judgments
were in execution upon the Babylonians,
the Jews should be safe. On the com
parison of the Jewish church to a vine
yard, see chap. v. 1 — 7. Instead of D13
ipp, a vineyard of wine, or red wine,
IW DJS, a vineyard of delight, is found in
thirty-nine MSS., the Soncin. Edit., and
that of Van der Hooght ; and is counte
nanced by the LXX,, and apparently
by the Targum ; but the former is ex
hibited in about seventy MSS,, in sixty-
e'lghi printed editions, and has the support
of the Syr. and Vulg. Being the more
difficult, it is in all probability the ge
nuine reading. Since D13 does not ne
cessarily express the idea of vineyard,
but simply that of field or garden in a
state of cultivation, there is no tauto
logy in adding ian to it. Comp. nn D13,
olive yard, Judg. xv. 5. The combina
tion ian >B'i3, however, occurs Amos v.
11. The words form a nomin, absolute:
As it regards the vineyard, sing ye, &c.
D'W is an epicenic noun, and therefore
takes n5 after it.

3. Nearly thirty MSS., flve edition's,
and the Syr., read 1|'9M, instead of lJ?B^
but obviously from an original mistake.
igB is here used in the sense of hostilely
invading, so as to injure, destroy, &c.
Zwinglius renders, ne quis cam invadat.
D'»3")^ has Di'l.nb;^ corresponding to it,
just as in Job vii. 18, it has ciiJiV.. Both
plurals express continual repetition.
4. The language of Jehovah at tlje
beginning of this verse is evidently to
be restricted to the vineyard, or people
of the Jews. As it respected them tiiere
was no fury in him ; but it was reserved
for his and their enemies. See chap.
xxxiv. 2, Ixiii. 3, 5, 6 ; Nah. i^ 2. The
LXX. and Syr. read nah, a wall, instead
of nan. '::fira stands for '^ p; 'P, as
fp|»v'and ?I^ ip»i;, Neh. ix. 28, and is to
be taken in the usual idiomatic sense of
wishing. It is here equivalent to a strong
adversative mode of construction, as,
Bui if any oppose me, &c. r»D TOtf, an
asyndeton for ni* I'P*, which is found
in a few MSS., and is expressed in the
LXX., Aq., Symm,, Targ., Vulg. We
have other instances in nsi «'p, chap.
xxviii. 8; W^B yip, xxxii. 13 ; ni;i2>o«5,
Hab. iii. 1 1. The n in S)3, and the n: in
n|n's«, are the femin. suffixes used dis
trihutively as neuters in reference to
n^tb I'p'ti. By the briers and thorns are
meant hostile powers, those who oppose
themselves to God and his people;
wicked and ungodly men. Comp. chap.
X. 17. »ip&, to advance upon, attack
successfully ; Arab, iiii , desuper per-
cussii ; V. oppressit, vicit aliquem ; Vulg.
gradiar super earn. ; Schmid. invadameor.
5. i«, Arab. .) , aut, non, nisi, &c. or ;
used here as a conditional particle, but
if; edv be, as the LXX. properly give

CHAP. XXVII.]

ISAIAH.

221

He shall make peace with me ;
Peace with me he shall make.
In coming days Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall flower and blossom,
And fill the face of the world with fruit.
Hath He smitten him as He smote him who smote him ?
Is he slain like the slaying of his slain .''
Very moderately when she was put away didst thou contend
with her:
He took her away with his rough blast in the day of the east wind ¦;

it, Exod. xxi. 36. This verse exhibits
in the strongest light the benignity of
the Divine character. His enemies must
be punished ; but if any of them repent
and sue for peace, it will assuredly be
granted, lisps p'lnn is a mode of ex
pression borrowed from the practice of
fleeing to, and laying fast hold of altars,
&c. as asylums or places of refuge.
1 Kings i. 50. Comp. for lisp, Ps, xxxvii.
39, xliii. 2 ; Isa. xxv. 4. " If any one
would avail himself of my protection,
make me his refuge, test that security
which alone is to be found in me, let
him," &c. '¦! DiW nto;, according to
Josh. ix. 15, would be, he shall grant me
peace ; but '' is frequently used in the
sense of, in respect to, as it regards, &c.
and is here equivalent to D», with; a
superior being referred to. The ancient
versions have read i'i, and the Syr. has
the verb in the first person. The repe
tition of the words expresses certainty ;
and the inversion, by which Di':iti, peace,
is placed first, has the felicitous efi'ect of
giving prominence to what is supposed
most powerfully to interest the mind of
one who seeks reconciliation.
6. The song being ended, the prophet
proceeds to assure the captive Jews of
the future prosperity of the nation, when
restored lo their own land. The meta
phor is borrowed from the practice of
horticulture, and was naturally suggested
by the subject of the preceding verses.
D'Nsn is elliptical for D'Njn D'a;3, in the
days which are coming ; and is not to be
.rendered as if in construction with 3p»_',
which our translators have done. For
iS'liiin, see Ps. Ixxx. 10. %Vi is here, as
chap. xxiv. 4, 18, ihe JeuAsh world.
7. In such appeals, the interrogative

ii, and the corresponding particle dm,
have the force of a strong negative.
Directly the reverse of what is expressed
is required in the answer implied. The
suffix in I'^'iii is to be referred to the
enemy of Israel, not to Israel himself —
nsp being the parallel term with which
it corresponds. The punishment of the
Jews was not to be compared, in point
of severity, with that of those who
were the instruments of inflicting it :
the number of the Assyrians and Baby
lonians killed by their conquerors far
exceeded that of the Hebrews slain by
these enemies in their incursions intb
the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. For
the paronomasia, see chap. xxii. 17, 18.
8. To fill up the ellipsis, subaud. ''3«,
Arab, jjj, which corrects or denies
what has just been expressed, and intro
duces an affirmative proposition express
ing the opposite, no, on the contrary.
Instead of having treated his people as
he had treated their enemies, Jehovah
had exercised great lenity towards them.
Assyria and Babylon were utterly de
stroyed; whereas the Jews, though
chastised, were preserved and restored
to circumstances of great prosperity in
their native country. Of nwpxpz, Mi
chaelis observes, " a strange word, of
which I ean give no satisfactory expla
nation." It has been a stumbling-block
to many other interpreters ; some of
whom have had recourse to violent
means in order to relieve the difficulty.
The radical idea seems to be expressed
in Aq., Symm., Theod., Targ., Syr. —
the authors of these versions having de
rived the word from nsD, a measure.
As to form, if it is not to be taken for a

228

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXVII,

9 Nevertheless by this is the iniquity of Jacob expiated ;
And this is all the fruit — the removal of his sin :
When he maketh all the stones of the altar
Like lime-stones broken in pieces ;
The images of Astarte and the pillars of the sun shall rise no more..
10 For the fortified city is in a state of desolation,
A dwelling emptied and deserted like the wilderness ;

reduplicate verb, changing the punctua
tion into n«tp«p3, and thus exhibiting a
denominative from the above noun, it
may be regarded as a repetition of it in
the form of a compound ; the n being
dropped, and the Dagesh compensative
and conjunctive being inserted in the D.
Its resolution, therefore, will be r[«D nNtp3,
hy measure, 'measure, i. e. very mea-
suredly, moderately ; as pias pia», deep,
deep, very deep. Comp. the Arab. )Uj ,
intendit rem ; ii*,Ui . &i«U<jj , rexit pro
arbitrio, &c. ; iu^jUj , rector, adminis
trator, one who extends, or measures out
what is due to those over whom he is
placed. Thus loM, iDBtop, and especially
the latter word, as parallel in its appli
cation with that in question, Jer. x. 24,
xxx, 11, xlvi, 28, The fem. suffixes in
n|3'in nrtiC3, refer to the Jewish state or
church, viewed as espoused to Jeho
vah ; and the former verb, while it ap
propriately expresses the expulsion of
the Jews from their own land, is the
very term employed chap. 1, 1, for di
vorcing a wife. In the latter there is a
sudden change of the person from the
third to the second, or the direct form
of address, which, as I have already had
occasion to notice, is very common in
Hebrew, especially in poetry, njn,
Kimchi 1'Cn, to remove, see 2 Sam. xx.
13; Prov. XXV. 4, 5. By "the day of
the east wind " is meant the judgment
inflicted by the Babylonians: Di» being
put for day of calamity, judgment, &c.
See chap. ii. 12. The D'li?, Theod.
Kaxio-av, is the hot wind, called by the
Arabs ij^wj , Samoom, (Arab. Ver. Jer.
xviii. 17, (»5v*" -(»J ) I the Simoom wind,)
which blows from the south-east, across
the arid wastes to the east of Palestine,

during the hot months of summer. It
resembles the steam from the mouth of
an oven, scorches the grass, and fills up
the wells with sand, and, when more
than ordinarily violent, is most destruc
tive in its effects. It seldom lasts longer,
than thirty-six or forty hours. See Ro
binson's Calmet, art. Winds. To this
the Babylonish invasion is aptly com
pared. 9. P5, like the Arab. ^iCj , has here
an adversative force, and marks a trans
ition from the description of the cala
mity to that of its happy results. 1B3,,
in the expiatory sense,, implies suffering
with a view to the removal of guilt,.
whether such suffering be that of the
offender, or of another in his stead. The
word is frequently used of civil as well
as of religious expiations. The meaning.
here is, the punishment threatened
against the idolatry, and other sins of
the Jews, had been endured in Babylon;
and the evils having been removed,
they were to be pardoned and delivered.
The fruit or consequence of the divine
judgment upon them was the abandon
ment of idolatry. This is expressly^
stated in the latter half of the verse.
^5 ni is equivalent to all this. Gesenius
preposterously interprets nsra of the Di
vine altar at Jerusalem, and considers
Jehovah to be the agent spoken of,
whereas it is evidently the idolatrous
altar, or altars, the prophet has in view ;
the entire destruction of which be
ascribes to the repentant Jews. I'J
occurs only in this place. Comp. Arab.
jj^, calx viva, unslaked lime. For
D'ltoM and D':an, see chap. xvii. 8.
10, 11, Schnurrer, Gesenius, Maurer,
and others, take the ruined city here de
scribed to be Jerusalem ; but such con
struction ill suits the connexion. It is

chap. XXVII.]

ISAIAH.

229

There the calf shall feed, and there shall it lie down.
And entirely consume her branches.
II When her boughs wither, they shall be broken off;
Women shall come and make fires with them.
For it was a people of no understanding ;
Therefore he that made it had no mercy upon it.
And he that formed it shewed it no favour.
12 But it shall be in that day,
That Jehovah shall have an olive harvest,
From the branch of the river to the torrent of Egypt,
And ye shall be gleaned one by one, 0 ye sons of Israel.

more consistent with the entire context
to apply the description to Babylon —
the destruction of which proved the
death-blow of idolatry, so far as the
Jews were concerned; and was, in a
great measure, the occasion of its fall
in that part of the East. TO is properly
solitariness, separation ; but here it
means the condition of one who is aban
doned and left to himself; desolation.
ni:, which is otherwise used of a house,
or dwelling in general, is here, and Zeph.
ii, 6, employed to denote the habitations
of shepherds. |i'B?P, her branches, i. e.
the branches of the trees and bushes
left in her deserted gardens and parks ;
or which had grown up among her ruins.
The gathering of fuel in the East be
longed to females, on whom devolved
the baking and other culinary occupa
tions. Besides dung, -which was most
generally in use, thorns, vine-twigs, &c.
were collected for this purpose. To ex
press the diminutive character of the
trees referred to, I'Sj^., which is otherwise
masculine, is conceived of as feminine,
and made the nominative to the femi
nine verb n:'i3'^n, the plural form of
which is accounted for by the noun being
a collective. The suffix in nniN further
shews that I'Si?. is an ideal, though not a
grammatical feminine. See Ewald. §§
363, 364, 366 ; Lee, art. 215. 5. The
concluding words describe the awfully
brutish condition of the idolaters of Ba
bylon, and their entire abandonment by
Jehovah to merited destruction. The
epenthetic Nuns are emphatic.
12 13. A lucid prediction of the
recovery of the Jews after the destruc

tion of Babylon by Cyrus. I03n, Arab.
axi-, vehementer percussit, frondes ex
arbore decussit; to strike or beat off
olives from the trees — the mode in which
they are reaped, Deut. xxiv. 20. See ou
chap, xvii, 6. The image is employed
to set forth the collection of Jews from
the places in Palestine in which they
had lived during the general dispersion.
The individual gathering intimates that
none of them should be neglected. The
boundaries here specified are those which
separated Palestine, in its widest extent,
from Babylonia and Egypt; and com
prehend the regions occupied by such of
the Jews as had not been carried away
into captivity ; but who, nevertheless,
lived in a disunited state, having no
civil or religious polity, insn rtito, the
stream of ihe river, i. e, collectively, the
streams or canals of the Euphrates.
Zwinglius translates, a rapido flumine
Euphrate. The term rt3«> was in all
probability suggested by the reference to
the olive-harvest — n^silS signifying the
branch of a tree, between which and
that of a river there is a strong analogy.
The radical signification of ta^ is to
flow. That by the Dpsa bm is meant
ijii y*l I ^1; , the torrent El-arish, on
the confines of Palestine and Egypt, is
now universally admitted ; LXX. ''Pivo-
Kopovpa; Symm. and oi Xomt. render,
eas TOV x^^l^o^PP^^ AlyviTTov, to the
winter-brook of Egypt, which cannot
possibly be applied to the Nile. See
Numb, xxxiv. 5 ; Josh. xv. 4, 47 ;
1 Kings viii. 65 ; 2 Kings xxiv. 7, in

230 ISAIAH. [chap, xxviii.
13 And it shall be in that day :
That a great trumpet shall be sounded,
And those shall come who were perishing in the land of Assyria,
And the outcasts in the land of Egypt,
And shall worship Jehovah in the holy mount of Jerusalem.
which last passage we have the same By the trumpet we are doubtless to un-
frontiers as in the present verse. inN> derstand proclamations of liberty to those
is not in construct, with ins, as the who had been subject to the sway of the
points would seem to intimate. See Zech. Babylonian and Egyptian kings. These
xi. 7. proclamations were made by Cyrus,
Having predicted the restoration of Cambyses, Darius, &c. That Assyria,
those Jews who should be found within and not Babylon, is mentioned, may be
the boundaries of the Holy Land, Isaiah owing to the greater proportion of the
next foreshows that sucb as had been Hebrews having been transported dur-
removed beyond these limits, and were ing the Assyrian monarchy; and also
in circumstances of lamentable religious to the circumstance, that the country
destitution, should also return and enjoy continued, in a great measure, the
their ancient privileges in Jerusalem, same.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
This chapter commences with a denunciation against the kingdom of the ten tribes,
1 — 4 ; and, after touching on the prosperous state of things in Judah under the
reign of Hezekiah, 5, 6, the prophet abruptly proceeds to describe the deteriora
tion which should speedily take place among that favoured division of the
Hebrew nation — the profligacy of their teachers, 7, 8 ; their mockery of divine
things, 9, 10; and its condign piinishment, 11 — 15. He then announces the
Messiah, and the security of all who should avail themselves of his salvation, 16;
points out the vanity of all other refuges, 17 ; and predicts the awful judgments
which should be brought upon the unbelievers, 18 — 22. The conclusion consists
of an appeal to the skill of the husbandman, in justification of the various
methods of the Divine procedure in conducting the processes of moral cultivation.

1 Wo to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
And the fading flower of their glorious beauty ;
1, This and the three following chap- mercy, Samaria, the capital of the ten
ters appropriately begin with 'in, on ac- tribes, was built on a beautiful, fruitful
count of the pointed denunciations hill, strong by nature, from its insulated
contained in them, though with these situation in the middle of a deep and
denunciations are combined promises of broad valley, and rendered still more so

CHAP. XXVIII.]

ISAIAH.

2-Sl

Which is upon the head of the rich valley
Of them that are vanquished by wine.
Behold, a strong and a powerful one of Jehovah,
Like a hail-storm, like a destructive tempest.
Like a flood of mighty overflowing water,
Casteth it to the ground with force.

by the fortifications that were erected for
its defence. It was built by Omri, king
of Israel, and became a place of great
splendour and luxury under the follow
ing monarchs, especially under Ahab
and Jeroboam II. 1 Kings xxii. 39 ;
Amos iii. 15, iv. 1, 2. It was repeatedly
attacked by Ben-hadad, king of A^yria,
but held out against him, though re
duced to great extremity. 2 Kings vi,vii.
It was afterwards taken, after a siege of
three years, by Shalmaneser, king of
Assyria, who exercised great cruelties
on its inhabitants, and reduced it to a
heap of ruins, 2 Kings xvii. 6, 7, &c. ;
Micah i. 6 ; Hos. x. 14, 15. In this
overthrow was fulfilled the present pro
phecy, which was, in all probability, de
livered a few years previous to the reign
of Hezekiah. See vers. 5 — 7. It raised
itself somewhat, and was again depressed
in after times, till, finally, it was restored
by Herod the Great, who gave it the
name of Sebaste, in honour of Augus
tus ; a name retained by the small vil
lage that now occupies its site. A
beautiful colonnade still remains to attest
its former splendour. See the travels of
Maundrell, Richardson, and Bucking
ham. — Cities built on eminences, and
especially fortified cities thus situated,
were naturally compared to a crown. It
is to this circumstance the prophet refers,
and not to the chaplets, or wreaths of
flowers, worn by the ancients at banquets,
as some have imagined. The passage
quoted by Lowth from Wisdom ii. 7, 8,
aptly describes such custom, but throws
no light upon the present text. Samaria
was the proud boast of the dissipated in
habitants of the country, and especially
of its own inhabitants ; but it was hasten
ing to its fall, and is on this account
compared to the flowers with which per
sons were crowned, but which soon de
cayed. It has been doubted whether
the drunkenness here adverted to is to

be taken literally, or whether it is to be
understood figuratively of mental infatua
tion ; as we say, intoxicated with plea
sure, zeal, &c. Thus the LXX. ol
peBvovTes avev o'lvov. That the former
is the more probable, appears from the
prevalence of this sin among the Samari
tan females, Amos iv. 1, which argues a
most depraved state of morals ; and from
the character of the Jews, ver. 7, which
is evidently exhibited as parallel to that
of the Ephraimites. Comp. also, Amos
vi. 1, 6, and Hos. vii. 5. )'.! 'ai'jn, smitten
of wine, i. e. overcome by it, intoxicated.
'The phrase corresponds to D'^pil), drunk
ards, at the beginning of the verse.
The Arabs similarly use i tfi , vicit et
inebriavit cum vinum dactylorum ; jii^,
secuit rem, percussit, inebriavit potus ;
c -«3 , prostravit, |i/.U!l -r-lf^ > prostra-
tus poculi ; i__!Ca5, percussit, VII, victus
vino fuit. Thus also the Greeks, peBv-
irXf)^, olvonXr]^ ; and the Latins, multo
percussus tempora Baccho, Tibull. 1,
2, 3, D'jato, fatnesses, being merely a
noun used adjectively to qualify «'3,
which, as to sense, is the noun strictly
in construction with "p. 'pi'n, it was left
in the absolute state.. Hitzig thinks it
was so left to prevent the termination of
three words in 2_.
2, Instead of '3iN^, a vast number of
MSS. and the first three printed editions
read nin'^, which must be regarded as
the original lection. The '> simply marks
the dative of possession : " a mighty and
powerful instrument, whom the Lord will
raise up and employ in executing his
anger upon the ten tribes." This instru
ment was Shalmaneser, king of Assyria,
by whom Samaria was taken, after a
powerful resistance, about the year ij.o.
721. Before l»i», subaud. 3, as carried

¦282

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXVIII.

With the feet shall be trodden in pieces
The proud crowns of the drunkards of Ephraim.
And the fading flower of their glorious beauty.
That is upon the head of the rich valley.
Shall be as the early fig before the summer harvest.
Which one looketh at, and while it is yet in his hand
He swalloweth it.
In that day shall Jehovah of Hosts
Become a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem,
To the residue of his people :
And a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth on the bencli,
And prowess to those who drive back the battle to the gate.

forward in idea from D113. For the force
of 3'Ep^ comp. f]VP^, 33ij,' i=|3p^, 3pn, 3?n,
Chald. 3pp, Arab. ^_,^JaJ , all of which
verbs convey the idea of cutting, cutting
off, exscinding, &c. n':n usually signifies
to let down or place gently ; but is here,
as in Numb. xix. 9, and Amos v. 7, em
ployed in the sense of throwing, casting
¦down. T3 immediately following, as well
as the nature of the case, shews this.
The nomin. is Shalmaneser.
3. njpp'in being in the plural, Lowth
and others would read riiTES), but all the
ancient versions have the singular, and
there is no variety in the MSS. To
obviate the apparent difficulty, the Rab
bins explain nip9 as a collective ;' but we
have other instances of the third plur.
femin. of the future used for the third
singular, as Exod, i, 10, nartp n:«ipn ;
Judg, V. 26, n:n>¥)n nT ; Job xvii. 16,
'^3'Tin nipB ; and such construction alone
suits the connexion. I would suggest,
however, that in all such cases, the n: is
a form of intensity rather than of plu
rality. 4. tail ns's for rhp ns's ; like inrrcra
for n3iiD n5i3, Prov, xxiv. 25. The par
ticiple is used as an abstract noun, to
serve the purpose of an adjective. The
change of gender in ns'a is merely to
vary the form, ver. 1. nil33, the early
flg, Arab. ijji> , Boccora, from 133, to
bear early or first, as fruit, children, &c.
Aq. irparoyevvripa. LXX. irpdbpopos
atvKov. It is a peculiar kind, which,
after a mild winter, ripens about the end

of June, and sometimes earlier ; whereas,
the summer and winter figs do not come
to maturity till the months of August
and November. It surpasses these in
relish ; and is on this account, as well as
that of its early appearance, eagerly
desired by the inhabitants of the East.
While the others hang long upon the
tree after they become ripe, the boccora
drops immediately on the tree being
slightly shaken by the hand, or even of
itself, Jer. xxiv. 2 ; Hos. ix. 10 ; Micah
vii. 1. It is from these circumstances
the prophet here borrows his image, in
order to shew how suddenly and easily
Samaria should be taken. A three
years' siege must have been reckoned
short in ancient times, since that of Tyre
lasted thirteen, and that of Askalon
twenty-nine years. The n in nil33 is to
be read without the Mappic. nwin r\t^\,
which Lowth ventures to call " a misera
ble tautology," and which, after Houbi
gant, he alters to n!<in ni«', is to be
retained as good Hebrew. See chap.
xvi. 1 0, and xxviii. 24. Besides, the idea
of plucking the early fig would quite
spoil the beauty of the figure. iB33 n'ii»3,
Zwinglius forcibly renders : ferme prius-
quam in manum venerit.
5, 6. Having predicted the speedy
downfal of the apostate kingdom, which
was accompanied by the transportation
of the people beyond the Euphrates,
Isaiah directs attention to the manifesta
tions of Divine favour to be experienced
by the kingdom of Judah. God would be
the protection and boast of his remaining
tribes ; he would endow their judges

chap, xxviii.]

ISAIAH.

233

Yet even these err through wine.
And reel through strong drink ;
The priest and the prophet err through strong drink ;
They are overpowered with wine ; they reel through strong drink :
They err in -vision ; they stagger in judgment.
For all tables are full of vomit and filth ;
There is no place clean.

with discernment in matters pertaining
to the legal tribunals, and their warriors
with power to drive back into their own
cities any enemies that might invade the
land. Ninn Di»3 cannot, without violence,
be interpreted of any other period than
that to which reference had just been
made. It comprehends the reign of
pious Hezekiah, ni'pi?, a diadem or
crown, so called, from the wreaths round
the head, of which it consisted. Arab.
jB^c , plexuit, torsit; %y)sui, j[i.rO,
crines plexi. Eth. J-^'f^ ¦ torsit, con-
torsit, plexuit. loBtian-to is put ellipti
cally for iDBsran «p3 to, on the seat or
throne of justice. Comp. Ps. ix, 5.
Before '3'tia supply ). fiarta, battle or
war, for nprtp 'ijS:«, foreign warriors.
rrw^, " to the gate," i. e. of the enemy;
not only repelling his attack in Judea,
but driving him back into his own forti
fied places. The n is that of direction
or motion. Comp. 1 Sam. xvii. 52.
7, 8. The predicted prosperity, how
ever, would only be of short continuance :
the teachers and rulers of Judah would
soon resemble those of Ephraim in sot-
tishness and impiety. Most expositors
refer this description to the state of
things in Judah, to the time when Isaiah
wrote ; but it seems preferable to apply
it to that in the reign of Manasseh,
which he here predicts. To express the
great intemperance in which they would
indulge, he employs synonymes and
repetitions ; and points out its influence
on their official character. piTlP l*???,
lit. they are swallowed up by wine ; Syr.
V
\\\<-> , prevaluit, vicit, absorpsit, devora-
vit ; Arab. jL , pervenit, contegii, per-
venit ad flnem ; vicit, afftixit aliquem,
cum ^ ; occupavit eum totum res ;

to be entirely under the influence of
any thing. The persons referred to had
given themselves so completely up to
the influence of wine, as to have destroyed
their character and salutary influence in
society. There is a manifest allusion to
the greediness with which they emptied
their cups. What they had thus swal
lowed might be said, by its overpowering
influence, to swallow or absorb them, as
it destroyed their mental and moral
vigour. The prepositions 3 and |P are
here evidently equivalent. n«i, as the
participle of nwi, properly signifies a seer,
and is the ancient name for prophet;
but it is here used as an abstract noun,
with the acceptation of vision ; as niti is,
ver. 15, for covenant or agreement, piB
occurs only here in Kal ; but from the
connexion, as well as from its use in
Hiph,, Jer, x. 4, and its derivatives, njJlB,
that which makes to stagger or fall, and
p'B, a tottering or wavering, it clearly sig
nifies to move unsteadily, to act in a
wavering, undecided manner, which, in
giving judgment, is to be reprobated.
Comp. the Arab. fjJS , fregit, fractus
fuit ; luxatus ei loco moiusfuit ; ci-^XCi ,
fatuus fuit. There seems no ground for
the acceptation, judgment-seat, tribunal,
which Gesenius ascribes to n»W?. It is
used adverbially for nj^'bBs ; i. e. in per
forming that, wherein the judicial office
consists ; judging, giving sentence : the ?
being as freq. omitted in the second
member of the parallelism. Perhaps the
n is added, to intimate the feebleness
and inefficiency of such judgments as
they pronounced. The eighth verse
forcibly depicts the loathsome character,
and the extent of the abomination.
n.^is N'p is an asyndeton. See chap.
xxvii, 5,
H h

..234

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxviii.

10

11

Whom should he teach knowledge ?
And whom should he cause to understand the report .''
Those who are weaned from the milk ;
Those who are removed from the breasts.
For there is precept by precept, precept by precept ;
Rule by rule, rule by rule ;
A little here, a little there.
Nay, but with barbarous lips, and in another tongue.
He will speak to this people ;

9, 10. These verses contain the taunt
ing language of the drunken priests and
judges of the Jews, who repel with scorn
the idea that they should require the
plain and reiterated lessons which Jeho
vah taught by his messengers. Such
elementary instruction was fit only for
babes : it was an insult to their under
standing to suppose that they stood in
need of it. That the nominative to nii'
and p^ is Jehovah, or the prophet, teach
ing by his authority, seems beyond all
doubt. The last two members of ver. 9
contain answers to the questions pro
posed in the first two, and are not a con
tinuation of the interrogatives, as Gesen.
and others suppose. The language of
ver. 10, D^ I'Si ^pX ^p. tj^ li2 is^ 1? isj 12
Dti l'»], more resembles that of inebriated
persons, than any used by persons in a
state of sobriety. The words are ob
viously selected to suit the character of
those supposed to employ them ; and, by
their monosyllabic and repetitious forms,
admirably express the initiatory process
of tuition, which they indignantly de
spised. "Mira sunt hie Anadiploses."
Zwing. 12 is used Hos. v. 11, as here,
in the acceptation of precept or command,
from ni2, in Piel, to appoint, charge, com
mand; usually fii2a. ij?, lit. a line or
cord, Arab. 'iJi , the same, from ^Ji,
to twist, bind, &c. It is here used meta
phorically for law, rule, &c., which marks
out the line of conduct men ought to
pursue. The LXX,, mistaking the 1 in
12 for 1, as they did i in ver. 9, render
ing n»'l, KaKa ; and deriving ip from ni^,
to wait for, expect, translate thus : &Xi-
^is eirl BXiyjfiv irpoabexov, eXirls eir
iXiribi, en piKpov en ptKpov. The
Syriac translator, still less to the purpose.

amplifies the statement made ver. 8, —
in all probability misled by the resem
blance of the words. He is, however,
followed by Michaelis. The hypothesis
of Gesenius, that there may be a refer
ence to successive additions of laws, &c.
in the Pentateuch, made by prophets in
the days of the kings, could only have
been forced into this passage by the
spirit of unbelief, which obstinately
denies the authenticity and antiquity of
that portion of the sacred volume. See,
for their able vindication against the
attempts of this author, Gramberg, Hart-
mann, De Wette, and others, the Rev.
H. J, Rose's Hulsean Lectures for
1833, and Die Authentic des Penta-
teuchs, by Hengstenberg, Berlin, 1836 —
1818. The words are often preposte
rously quoted in application to the abun
dant possession of religious privileges.
Both this verse and ver. 13 convey the
idea of paucity, or a mere outline of in
struction, and not that of fulness. D^ —
DttS, here — there.
11. '3 has here, after the interroga
tions, a strongly implied negative force.
Comp. Job xiv. 16, xxxi. 18. The verse
contains a divine threatening against the
scoffers. " Jus talionisindicatur," Schmid.
The language they employed in cavilling
at the prophetic warnings was all but
barbarous, it consisted of barely intelli
gible sounds: they should, by way of
condign punishment, hear the foreign,
and to them apparently mocking accents
of the Chaldeans, whom God would
employ, as the interpreters of his severe
but righteous will. Comp. Jer. v. 10,
where the language of the Chaldeans is
declared to be unintelligible to the
Jews, — ^i:itti^ s'ln >{^ 'ia, — either because
it was that spoken by the Northern

chap. XXVIII.]

ISAIAH.

S35

12

13

Because he said to them :
This is the rest ; give rest to the weary ;
And this is the tranquillity ;
But they were unwilling to hear.
Verily, the word of Jehovah shall be to them,
Precept by precept, precept by precept ;
Rule by rule, rule by nde ;
A little here, a little there :
That they may continue to fall backwards, and be broken.
And be snared, and taken.

tribes which emigrated into Babylon, or
because the Semitic dialect spoken in
Babylon differed so much from that of
the Hebrews, as not to be understood by
them. In this dialect, D''TO3 Jitoii, it was
necessary for Daniel and his companions
to receive instruction, Dan.i. 4. Comp.
also chap, xxxiii. 19. — nBto '39^, lit. bar
barians of, or as to Up : i. e. those who
speak a barbarous or foreign language.
V
Comp. the Syr. <^^ > halbutivit ;
^l\v-iV< j ^ik,A OlCr^; , qui ut sub-
sannantes loquuntur. Liber Adami, i.
324, 7. Arab. 5«U!, impuriias, har-
barismus. The passage is employed by
Paul, 1 Cor. xiv. 20, 21, quite in the
spirit of the connexion in which it here
stands. He tacitly compares the Corin
thian faction, which boasted of the
faculty of speaking in unknown tongues,
to the puerile characters adverted to
ver. 9, (iraibia, vr]irid^eTe, &c.) and then
reminds them, that speaking in such
languages had been represented in the
Jewish Scriptures — iv Ta vofio) — as a
punishment, or a mark of the Divine
displeasure, and not as a matter of desire
or envy. The quotation agrees neither
with the words of the Heb. text, nor
with those of the LXX., but it corre
sponds verbally with the version marked
'AXX. in Origen 's Polyglott.
12. To take 1*» as the relative pro
noun, would, in this connexion, be in
tolerably harsh. Gesenius treats it as
redundant, or, at least, as merely a con
necting particle. It seems cleariy to be

used in its causal sense : because, and is
equivalent to itt>« J?;, iibm nnn. Jehovah
had, by his messengers, pointed out to
the priests and judges the only means
by which they could secure and enjoy
true tranquillity ; viz. faith and obedience ;
and he had charged them to teach these
means to the people, in order that they
might be relieved from the molestations
which defection from the divine law had
occasioned ; but all had been in vain.
nsjia occurs only in this place, but it is
evident from its being in apposition with
nni:a, and from the meaning of f^^yo,
Jer. vi, 16, that it is derived from the
Hiph. of Wi, to give rest, quiet, Sec,
Comp. the Arab. «5»-. , bene vertit, bene-
que cessit illi ; %:>-f.« , redilus, which in
the Kor&n is used of the happiness of
true believers in a future world. Thus
Sur. x. 4, Ua,p»- iXus-j.* <SjJ) • Tlie
final » in «13« is otiant, as in Josh. x. 24.
WS^jili; Jer. x. 5, Kltoj;. This ortho
graphy is prevalent in Arabic, as iJJu,
la-toi . A great number of Codices,
however, -and the Soncin. editions, omit
the N.
13. A repetition of the cavilling lan
guage of the drunkards, ver. 11. The
meaning is : They may despise the in
struction given to them as puerile, and
altogether below the mark to which they
imagine they have attained, but they
shall have no other ; and being thus left
to act according to the dictates of their
own supposed wisdom, they must utterly

236

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXVIII.

14

15

16

Wherefore, hear ye the word of Jehovah,
Ye scoffers, who rule this people that are in Jerusalem.
Because ye say : *
We have made a contract with death.
And with Sheol we have made an agreement :
The overflowing scourge, when it passeth through, shall not reach us,
For we have made falsehood our refuge.
And in deceit have we hid ourselves.
Nevertheless, thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
Behold, I ¦will lay for a foundation in Zion a stone,

perish. Comp. 1 Pet. ii. 8. There is a
marked gradation in the verbs employed
in the latter part of the verse, and their
'accumulation is designed to express the
certainty and grievous nature of the pre
dicted ruin. lj)^ is here used in a fre
quentative sense.
14, 15. A further description of the
character of the impious rulers of the
Jews. ^i2^ '<!)?«, men of scorn, for D'sii,
scorners. Symm. and Theod. xX^^'^"''
rat. R. yi';, to stammer, speak barbar
ously, deride, mock. Comp. the Arab.
ijoi , anigmatice locutus est. Conj. IV.
convertit, coniorius, convoluius fuit. '5^
nin D»n, Jarchi, Abenezra, Houbigant,
Lowth, Boothroyd, Luzzatto, and Scholz,
render : "Ye of this people who mock,"
or "use sententious sayings;" but such
interpretation is quite forced, as the con
struct state shews. Comp. chap. lii. 5 ;
Jer. xxx. 21. nin, LXX. a-vvBijKrj ;
Targ. «aW ; Vulg. pactum. The word
properly signifies vision, like nnn, which
stands for it, ver. 18. The form is par
ticipial, from nin, to see, have a divine
oracle, &c. see chap. i. 1, and is synony
mous with n'13; both conveying the idea
of a religious sanction, inviolability, &c.
Comp. however, the Arab. j.U.-, dis-
sensit, et contra, consensit, concordavit ;
Conj. 'VI. fadus pepigerunt. For «'», or,
as it is properly given in the Keri, iDiS),
see chap. x. 26. f]i9ito iDiifl is obviously
a paronomasia, which confirms the read
ing of the Keri. The following 13», on
the contrary, (read 139,) is to be preferred
to 13S.', prescribed by the Keri. The lan
guage is that pf daring andreckless spirits.

16. Before proceeding to denounce
the Divine judgments against these
mockers, and all unbelievers who might
adhere to them as their leaders, the
prophet, in this verse, describes the pro
vision made by Jehovah for the inde
structible security of his people. The
more forcibly to point out this security,
he introduces the image of a large, firm,
and noble foundation-stone, which at
once gives support and union to the
building erected upon it. That this
foundation is exclusively, and not merely
sensu sublimiori, Christ our Saviour, no
one can call in question, who allows the
inspired authority of the N. T. For the
passage is not only quoted, in part, with
such direct application, Rom. ix. 33,
X. 11, but in its entire form, with one or
two slight verbal discrepancies, 1 Pet.
ii. 6, with the same primary and imme
diate reference. That the earlier Jews
applied it, in like manner, to the Mes
siah, appears from the fact, that though
the word nrr'toa is not now in the text of
the Targum, which reads, 'Spa N»< Nn
]naNi ii33 tTOn 'qija 'qbp ]i'23, " Behold I
constitute m Zion a king, a king strong,
mighty, and terrible," it must originally
have occupied a place after the first '^.
This appears, first, from the quotation
made of this text from the Targum, by
Raymund Martini, in his Pugio Fidei,
Pars II. chap. v. p. 342. Edit, Carpzov.
It is true, the word is there written
n'man, and not twvm ; but this seems a
mere inadvertence, which has arisen
from the combination n'Wan -po being so
common in Jewish writings. Secondly,
from the proneness of this Targumist to
introduce the term, or its equivalent; into

chap. XXVIII.]

ISAIAH.

237

A tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a solid foundation ;
He that believeth shall not make haste.

all the passages in which he speaks of
the promised Deliverer as a king. See
chap. ix. 6, xi. 1, xvi. 1, 5, xxviii, 5.
That Solomon Jarchi found the word in
the version appears from his exposition
of the passage : 'niaj>ni '3B^ nii3 mis: 133
;n3 p« n'loan -pin, "It is already fixed
and determined before me, and I have
constituted King Messiah a tried stone,
&c. Gesenius, and a few other inter
preters, after the Rabbins, suppose Heze
kiah to be meant, — an interpretation
which was already broached, most likely
by tiie Jews, in the time of Theodoret,
who gives his opinion of it thus : 'Avoias
eo'xarrjs eivai vopiQa to Tavrrjv ra
E^eKia irpoaappo^eiv Trjv irpo^rjTelav,
" I deem it the greatest folly to apply
this prophecy to Hezekiah ;" and then
goes on to shew, that, as it would be
perfectly repugnant to the doctrine of
Scripture, to require any to put confi
dence in man, no one can possibly be
intended but o becnrorrfs Xpio-Toy, the
Lord Christ. Rosenmiiller acknowledges
that the predicates here exhibited are
majora et augustiora, than to admit of
being applied to an earthly prince ; and
even Hitzig scouts the idea of Hezekiah
being in any sense intended. The in
troduction of an abrupt but direct pro
phecy of the Messiah, into the midst of
a discourse respecting the judgments
with which his nation was to be visited,
is quite in the style of Isaiah. See chap.
iv. 2, vii. 14, ix. 1 — 6, xi. 1. It served
to assure the faithful, that notwithstand
ing the most threatening calamities, the
house of David, from which the Messiah
was to spring, should not be destroyed.
1?! '^^C Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, and
others, consider to be elliptical for ':|n
ie; ltf« Nin, / am he who hath laid, &c. ;
and appeal to the analogy of the Arab.
as, Ul iU L^l , it is only I that rose, in
which the first person is combined with
the third. There can be no doubt, how
ever, that according to the uniform usage
of the Hebrew, the punctuation should
be ID' ; the participle always following
'33n, but the third person never. Gese
nius seems to have been sensible of this,

for in his Lexicons, he only adduces the
present passage in proof of a finite verb
following the suffix of the inteijection.
t|pi' '::n, chap. xxix. 14, xxxviii. 5, he
allows to be a participial form for ^IPi',
and only objects to ip' on the ground
that it would give a future signification
to the word, which he is unwilling to
admit. All the ancient versions, how
ever, translate the verb in the future,
which I have not scrupled to do, partly
on their authority, which, in such cases,
is at least equal to that of the punctators ;
but chiefly in conformity with the gram
matical law allowed by Gesenius.— ^JM
is here equivalent to 112, a rock, or large
stone. Both words are applied meta
phorically to God, as the refuge and
support of his people. Comp. Matt,
xvi. 18; Ps. cxviii. 22 ; in which places the
Syr. has ^2>i3, as in the present text.
]n3 occurs only here as a noun, but it is
used in Pual with the same points, Ezek.
xxi. 18. The verb properly signifies to
try metals, and is thus synonymous with
f]l2 ; but it is also used for trying, or
examining in any way. The idea con
veyed in this place, is that of adaptation,
or fitness to answer the proposed end :
large, compact, strong ; f]'pB, as the Targ.
gives it. The stone is itself the subject
of trial or proof; so that the notion of a
touch-stone, which some have attempted
to introduce into the text, is altogether
excluded. The words, iBia ipia nip; res,
are literally, a comer-stone of precious-
ness of a well-founded, i, e. solid founda
tion ; and the meaning is, a costly
corner-stone firmly laid as a foundation.
nJB, an angle or corner, from njB, to turn ;
a turning point. Arab, iji , iMi , ex
tremum temporis, pars exiremitasve seculi.
It signifies the stonfe laid at the point
where the two sides of a building meet.
LXX. aKpoyaviaiov. The term is used
Ps. cxviii. 22, where nsB iSni should be
Tendered, the principal corner-stone.
Comp. Zech. iv. 7, rrfyrlQ ]3m, the prin
cipal stone. In both these passages, the
reference is not to the summit or
completion of the edifice, but to its
foundation, i, e. the Messiah : — ovtoS

238

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXVIII,

17

18

But I will make judgment a line,
And righteousness a plumb-line ;
And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of falsehood,
And the waters shall wash away the hiding-place.
Your contract with death shall be annulled,

aKpoyaviaiov avrov 'hjo'ov Xpto'Tov,
Eph. ii. 20. n'lp; is not in the absolute
state, as Kimchi would have it, but
forms, in construction with the following
1D1B, a genitive of object. It otherwise
qualifies nas, expressing its intrinsic ex
cellence and value. The Hebrews use
nil):'. D':3M to denote not merely gems or
precious stones, hut also marble and
other valuable stones of a large size em
ployed in magnificent buildings, 1 Kings
y. 31, (ver. 17, Eng. Ver.) 2 Chron.
iii. 6. For the sake of greater solidity,
stones of immense size were anciently
employed as the foundations of temples.
Parsons, describing the ruins of one
which he visited at Baalbec, mentions a
corner-stone, that he found, on measuring,
to be twenty-eight feet long, six feet six
inches wide, and four feet six inches
thick. (Letters from Palestine, p. 73.)
The repetition, iDia 1D1B, is emphatic,
and is well expressed by Zwinglius : ad
flrmissimum fundamentum. For similar
instances of substantives followed by
verbs of the same root in the Pual par
ticiple, see Exod. xii. 9 ; Ps. Ixiv. 7 ;
Prov. xxx. 24. ilJ'n; i*'', Aq., Symm.,
and Theod., render, oi5 a-irevo-ei ; Vulg.
nonfestinet ; LXX. ov pf) KaTaia'xwBfj,
which is quoted literally, 1 Pet. ii. 7,
and with the trifling variation, ot5 Karai-
o-xuJ'^i)o-erai,Rom.ix.33; Targ.lWWii: nJ,
V -.9
shall not he moved ; Syr. Vk>.kJpJ )i,
shall not be afraid. The verb liiin pri
marily signifies to make haste, flee quickly ;
but, in its secondary or derived senses,
may include all the varieties of interpre
tation here given. Comp. the Arab.
iiil»-, concitavit circumveniens, ut in
retia agerei (feram). V. erubuit. VII.
terr'itus fug'it. ijMt/b-, res aqua abhor
rent homines, cujusque pudet, iiils..,
terrore perculsus fuit, (Jvwl (iXUi-,

qui cito conflc'it opus. The meaning is,
that those who believe the Divine decla
ration, and thus rest for safety on the
foundation here promised, shall feel
themselves so perfectly secure, that they
shall never have occasion to suspect
their confidence ; or, under the impulse
of fear and shame, to betake themselves
with speed to another refuge. It is a
security which can never fail.
17. We have in this and the verses
immediately following, in striking con
trast with the safety of the righteous just
described, the miserable and helpless
condition of those who trust in refuges
of their own devising. God threatens
to adapt bis righteous judgments so
exactly to the circumstances of the im
pious Jews, that every way of escape
should be completely removed. rw
occurs only here ; but, from the con
nexion, as well as from the signification
of the Arab. _c . , congregavit, et col
legit rem, excitavit, exiirpavit, it is clearly
equivalent to t]pN, to gather violently,
take away, destroy. Comp. f|prr, noD, mo,
all of which have, in common, the idea
of scraping, sweeping together ; then that
of sweeping away ; hence nsiD, a sweep
ing storm, used of the whirlwind. Comp.
also »^, a shovel; Arab. ^Xj, reposi-
torium, into which things are collected ;
and the Eth. |CD'(!)p: which is, however,
limited to the removal or destruction of
any thing by burning. Hail and inun
dations are frequently used figuratively
to denote formidable enemies, or calami
tous events. Chap. viii. 7, -S, xxxii)
2, 19; Ezek. xiii. 11, 13.
18. 1B3, Arab. jS , Jd. , to cover,
when applied to a covenant or contract,
properly signifies so to cover the tablet,
containing the terms of the agreement,
with wax, as completely to obliterate the
writing, and thus to cancel and render ii

chap. XXVIII.]

ISAIAH.

239

19

20

21

And your agreement with Sheol shall not stand ;
When the overflowing scourge shall pass through ;
Ye shall be for him to trample upon.
As often as it passeth through, it shall take you away ;
For every morning it shall pass through ;
By day and by night ;
And it shall be a terror only to hear the rumour of it.
For the bed is too short for one to stretch himself at length,
And the covering too narrow for one to wrap himself in.
For Jehovah shall rise up as in Mount Perazim,
He will be angry as in the valley of Gibeon ;
To perform his act, his strange act ;
And to execute his work, his unusual work.

of no effect. Symm. e^aXei^Brjaerai,
Comp. Colos. ii. 14. Being placed, as the
predicate, before the subject, it may be
in the masculine gender. Dipn is femin.
because it follows the femin. noun. See
Ewald, § 567, and Michaelis' Arab.
Gram. § 55, 4. The conjecture of Hou
bigant, of which Seeker and Lowth
approve, that the text originally read
iBn, is without foundation. The Targum,
to which they appeal, does not profess to
give the word, but merely its significa
tion. For nun see on ver. 15. In using
the words DaiB|) i^ Dn'jril, the prophet
drops the figure, and describes in plain
terms the invading foe, and the destruc
tion which he should effect.
19. 'ia, compounded of '1, ^Ze«<y, suf
ficiency, Arab. ..li , medicatus fuit,
opem iulit ; ji] , incrassuit, mulius
evasit ; and a, the preposition, is em
ployed to denote correspondent fre
quency : as often as, whenever, pi, only,
is to be connected with ]'3n, and not with
nsit. Comp. Ps. xxxii. 6.
20. '3 — '3, here, and ver. 21, are cor
relative, and causal. »lto, to make long,
stretch out at length. Comp. the Arab.
c M , protendit, spoken of camels
stretching out their necks ; iuclyii ,
camels with long necks ; ^>ctwip ^.«. ,

hasta longa; i- . -'',"'¦, longus. The
language of this verse is in all proba
bility proverbial, and feelingly expresses
the insufficiency of the means resorted
to for defence and comfort."
21. The reference is to the historical
facts narrated 2 Sam. v. 17 — 25 ; 1 Chron.
xiv. 8 — 17 ; and the meaning is, that the
persons spoken of should be treated as
were the Philistines by David. The
coupling together of the two places here
specified, shews that by ]i93? we are not
to understand the Gibeon mentioned
Josh. X., but a place of the same name,
near the valley of Rephaim. Instead of
;i»33, Gibeon, 1 Chron. xiv. 16, we find
in 2 Sam. v. 25, 933, Geba. As the word
properly signifies a hill, it came to be
applied to many of the elevated places in
Palestine. The strange and unusual
conduct ascribed to Jehovah, is his not
only punishing the Jews, instead of
punishing their enemies, but his punish
ing them with a severity which they had
never before experienced. Such the
destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchad
nezzar proved ; and such, in a still more
eminent sense, was the character of its
destruction by Titus. Contrary to the
common usage of the grammar, the ad
jectives 11 and nns: are placed before
their substantives, as chap. liii. II, P'l?
'13?. The reason seems obviously to be,
to give a greater degree of prominence
to the ideas conveyed by them, or to
render them more emphatic.

240

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXVIII.

22

23

24

25

Now, therefore, indulge not in scoflSng,
Lest your bonds be strengthened ;
For of a determined devastation I have heard,
From the Lord Jehovah of Hosts, concerning all the land.
Give ear, and hear my voice ;
Attend, and hear my speech.
Is the ploughman always ploughing in order to sow ?
Is he always opening. and levelling his ground.''
When he hath made the surface of it even,
Doth he not scatter the dill, and cast abroad the cummin.
And set the wheat in rows,
The barley in the place marked out for it.
And the spelt in his border ?

22. The prophet directly addresses
the scoffers, ^i25 'id:«, mentioned ver. 14.
y2i')pn, the Hiph. of fb, has a. reflexive
power, give not yourselves to mockery,
indulge not in scoffing, ipia, bond, is
here used metaphorically of the punish
ment inflicted on transgressors. By con
tinuing in their wicked and profane
courses, they incur heavier guilt, and
expose themselves to more fearful de
struction. To this destruction, declared
in the latter half of the verse to be de
termined with respect to the whole land,
they must inevitably be subject, if they
repent not. For nsiTOl Tin, see on chap.
X. 23.
23. This verse is introductory to the
following beautiful agricultural parable,
in which the prophet teaches, that, in
his government of human affairs, in his
employment of means for the improve
ment of mankind, and especially in his
appointment of providential chastise
ments, Jehovah does not act arbitrarily,
or without discrimination; but, on the
contrary, the methods which he employs
are various, in adaptation to the differ
ence of persons, times, and circum
stances. As the husbandman varies his
treatment of the soil, and allots to each
species of seed its proper place ; and,
after the harvest has been gathered in,
uses such instruments as are suitable for
separating the different kinds of grain
from the straw and the chaff; so God
takes different measures in his treatment
of men — assigning to them their stations,

furnishing them with the means of im
provement, and exactly adapting his
judgments to their various degrees of
guilt. However severe might be the
punishment impending over the Jewish
people, it was not greater than their
sins deserved. The immediate design
of the parable seems to have been to
repel a tacit objection of the scoffers,
parallel to that stated 2 Pet. iii. 4,
" Where is the promise of his coming?
for since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation."
24. Di»n 's, lit. all ihe day, an idiom
for always, continually. See Gen. vi. 5 ;
Ps. lii. 3 ; Isa, Ixv, 5. uto occurs only,
as here, in Piel, but is obviously used in
the acceptation of levelling the ground
by harrowing. Comp. the Arab. i\wj,
equalis, rectus fuit; Conj. II, rectum
fecit; convenientem apiiimque reddidit.
nife, a level tract, field, &c.
25. n2p, a species of cummin, called
by the ancients, gith, melanthium, and
nigella, from the black colour of the
seed. It reaches the height of a cubit,
has leaves resembling those of a fennel
plant, and a blue poppy-like flower. It
corresponds to our diU, or black cummin,
and was used both for food and medi
cine. Plin. lib. xix. cap. 8, xx. cap. 17 ;
Cels. Hierobot. Pars II. p, 70. niiil),
Talm. niliB, a line, series, row; Arab.
Siiw , linea struesve una lapidum in

chap. XXVIII.]

ISAIAH.

241

26 For his God teacheth him rightly ;
He instructeth him.
27 For the dill is not threshed with the threshing-sledge ;
Nor is the wheel of the wain rolled over the cummin ;
But the dill is beaten out with a staff,
And the cummin with a flail.
28 Bread-corn must be bruised ;
For he will not always be threshing it ;
Nor drive the wheel of his waggon and his horses over it :
He will not bruise it utterly.

muro ; signifies the rows in which Ori
ental husbandmen plant wheat, millet,
&c. instead of sowing them, as with us.
Thus Jerome, per ordinem ; Zwinglius,
serie sua; which is preferable to the
rendering, " principal, " of our com
mon version, and "in due measure,"
which is that of Abenezra, Kimchi,
Lowth, and others, lap:, used adver
bially for jap: Dipaj, in ihe place ap
pointed, i. e. marked out for it. The
root is not found in Heb. but in Chald.
]BD signifies to designate, mark, appoint;
ja'p, a mark, sign. Comp. jpi. It thus
corresponds to niii»; and the meaning
thus elicited suits the connexion better
than the interpretation of the LXX,,
Aq,, Theod., and Vulg., according to
which, but without other authority, the
word signifies millet. Our translators
have rightly given the signification, but
improperly connect it with ni!>to, from
which it differs in gender, -naps, spelt,
a kind of corn, so called from the shorn
or smooth appearance of its ears ; root
¦Dps, to cut or poll the hair ; LXX., Aq.,
Theod., Symm., (ea and SXvpa. The
suffix 1 in injM has for its antecedent
\&ihn, the husbandman ; thus corre
sponding to inaiM, ver. 24. The mean
ing is, in the border of his field. Hitzig,
less properly, refers the suffix to jap:.
26. As I'rfJM is the nomin. to both
verbs, I have, in accordance with the
genius of our language, placed it before
the former, and employed the pronoun
before the latter. In Hebrew poetry
the pronoun frequently occurs first. The
inference to be deduced from the decla
ration here made, is not expressed, but
left to be drawn by those who are ad
dressed : If God thus instructs the hus

bandman to vary and adapt his processes
according to the exigency of circum
stances, much more may it be expected
that He himself will act with due dis
crimination. 27, 28. We have here a description
of the different implements used in
threshing. The ymi, in full, ynn 3iia,
chap. xii. 15, was a kind of sledge drawn
by two oxen, in the front of which stood
the driver on his knees, or sat on a piece
of 'H'ood fixed crossways on the car.
Under this machine were rollers of wood,
with sharp stones , or pieces of iron, by
which the straw was cut in pieces,
and the grain separated from the ears.
The nMs was also a car, but differed
from the former by its having' wheels
instead of rollers, which, being serrated,
produced the same effect, when drawn
over the corn. Besides oxen, both
horses and asses were employed in draw
ing these instruments ; and, as appears
from this passage, horses were made to
perform the operation merely by tread
ing out the grain, as they still do in dif
ferent parts of the East. When the
quantity was small, or when more mi
nute kinds of seed were to be threshed
out, a flail or switch was used, with
which it was beat. See -Judg. vi. 11 ;
Ruth ii. 17. Drt, bread, is used for the
corn or whe^t of which it ia made,
Comp. the Arab. ^UL , cibus, edidium,
triticum; Gr. o-i'tos ; and see chap. xxx.
23. iffilN is the Infinitive of an obsolete
verb ilSiN, having the same signification
with ifiil. Some, however, consider it to
be an infinitive form of «Sii itself; the s
being prefixed, after the manner of the
Arabic, the analogy of which is pre-
I I

242

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxix.

29 This also proceedeth from Jehovah of Hosts,
Whose plan is admirable, whose wisdom is great.

served in ]ii«. See Gesenius. The Nun
Epenthetic, expressed by the latter Da
gesh in i:p.'i), renders the word emphatic,
and shews that it is placed in antithesis
with p1l', at the beginning of the verse.
The practical idea conveyed is, that God
mingles mercy with his judgments. His
design is not to crush his people, but to
render them fit for becoming useful
subjects of his government ; so that

when these judgments have answered
their end, they shall cease.
29. Corresponds to ver. 26, but further
contains the apodosis, vindicating to
Jehovah transcendent skill and wisdom.
His plans of operation are wonderfully
adapted to the ends he has in view, and
in all his proceedings the infinite supe
riority of his understanding is displayed.
N^9n and 'J'lJn are Hiphil intransitives.

CHAPTER XXIX.
The speedy enclosure of Jerusalem by the troops of Sennacherib, and the sudden
ness of their destruction, form the subject with which the prophet here com
mences, 1 — 8 ; the stupidity and hypocrisy of the Jews in that and succeeding
ages, and their corresponding punishment, are next described) 9 — 16 ; and the
rest of the chapter is occupied with a prediction respecting the rejection of the
Jews, and the vocation of the Gentiles : concluding with a promise of the
final conversion of God's ancient people.

1 Wo to Ariel, to Ariel,
The city which David besieged !

1. That by ^S'l*?, Ariel, Jerusalem is
meant, is agreed on all hands ; but there
is considerable difference of opinion in
regard to the derivation and meaning of
the name. Aq. and Symm. Xeav Qeov ;
which rendering has been adopted by
Dathe, Doderlein, Eichhorn, Gesenius,
Maurer, and Scholz, who consider it as
designed to denote the invincible cha
racter of the Jewish metropolis. In
support of this interpretation an appeal
is made to 2 Sam. xxiii. 20, where two
heroes are called ^«'1M ':i?3, two lions of
God. Comp. Ezra viii. 16. And Gese
nius adduces in illustration, i^ Sitji ,
the Lion, of God,. ynhich Mohammed sur-

named his imcle Harazah; the name of
Ali, the son of Ali Taleb, *MI ^
Ji_^Oii]| , tlie Victorious Lion of God ;
and the Persic \sJ>- jyi , of similar sig
nification. But, as Jerusalem did not,
on the occasion here referred to, sustain
an actual siege, aud thus give proof of
her invincibility, and was afterwards de
stroyed by the Chaldeans and Romans,
such an appellation seems altogether in
appropriate. I, therefore, prefer the
rendering of the Targ., according to
which '!K''iN has here the same significa
tion as '^'NiN, Keri "^n'in, Ezek. xliii. 15,

chap, xxix.]

ISAIAH.

243

Add ye year to year ;
Let the festivals go round !
Yet I will distress Ariel,
And there shall be mourning and sorrow ;
And it shall indeed be an Ariel to me.
I will encamp against thee round about ;
I will beset thee with posts.
And raise forts against thee.
Depressed, from the ground thou shalt speak,
.knd from the dust shall thy speech be low ;
Thy voice shall even be as that of a spirit from the ground ;
Thy speech shall mutter from the dust.

16, viz. the hearth or fire-place, i. e.
altar of God, on which the burnt sacri
fices were offered. This interpretation
is approvad by the Rabbins, Saad.,
Lapide, Sanctius, Grotius, Michaelis,
Lowth, Rosenmiiller, Hensler, Jenour,
and Hitzig. The reference will then be
to Jerusalem as the centre of the Jewish
polity, where alone it was lawful to
sacrifice to Jehovah — a view which is
corroborated by the mention made of the
festivals in the latter part of the verse.
For the signification of hearth, fire-place,
attaching to '1n, comp. the Arab. ii,l,
focus, caminus vel ignis, vel accensio
ignis, &c. from _ .| , II, in foco seu
camino accendit ignem. Comp. also chap.
xxxi. 9. In 111 n:n ni'ip is an ellipsis of
l*N and irby; and n;ip is an instance of
the construct state being formed with
ItfN understood, as Job xviii. 21, i*'' Dipp
'>if S'T^. For the full form, see Lev. iv.
33; Jer. xxii. 12. Aq., however, ren
ders n:n as a noun, iroXixvr/ irapepPXrj-
aeas Aavlb ; regarding n'lp as the usual
construct. The LXX. and Vulg. take
n:n in its strictiy hostile sense, and are
followed by most of the modern inter
preters ; whereas the Targ,, Syr,, and
other versions, exhibit that of dwelling
as in a residence. The former seems
fully borne out by the use of the same
verb in ver. 3. Comp. 2 Sam. v. 6 — 8. — ¦
As 3n signifies not only a feast, but also
a victim slain and offered on a festival
occasion ; and f]p: signifies to cut, cut
off ; our translators have supposed the

reference to be to the slaying of sacri
fices ; but as P]p: nowhere occurs as a
sacrificial term, and naipn is used of the
course or return of the seasons, year,
&c. 1 Sam. i. 20 ; Exod. xxxiv. 22 ; it is
better to render, IBp?; D'jn, let ihe festi
vals go round; especially as the phrase
is parallel with n:^ to n:iiS. The lan
guage as that of irony ; strongly inti
mating, that the ceremonial observances
in which the Jews engaged, would not
avert the Divine judgments, while their
hearts were not right with God.
2. p'2n is here used in the sense of
straitening or distressing by siege. nj:Nn
I'J^T form a paronomasia. Comp. Lam.
ii. 5. The 3 in !;n'1^3 is the kaph veri
tatis, or intensive : Jerusalem shall in
deed he a place of- sacrifice to me; for
there I will slay the numerous army of
the king of Assyria. The verse, there
fore, contains a promise of deliverance,
as well as threatenings of punishment ;
though the former is indefinitely ex
pressed, leaving it to be clearly inferred
from ver. 5.
3, 4. We have in these verses a de
scription of the surrounding army of
Sennacherib ; the preparations to be
made by the troops for an attack on the
city ; and the dejection and dismay with
which the inhabitants should be seized
on perceiving them. What the Assy
rians did, Jehovah vindicates to himself,
as they were only the instruments which
he employed in punishing the Jews.
Though the history makes no mention
of the construction of any military
apparatus for attacking Jerusalem, yet.

244

ISAIAH.

[chap.

xxix.

But the multitude of thine enemies shall be as fine dust.
And the multitude of the terrible as the flitting chaff;
It shall take place suddenly, in a moment.
By Jehovah of Hosts himself thou shalt be visited.
With thunder and earthquake, and a loud voice ;
With storm and tempest.
And flames of devouring fire.

as it is expressly stated that " the king
of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris,
and Rabshakeh, from Lachish, to king
Hezekiah, with a great host, 133 >n3,
against Jerusalem," 2 Kings xviii. 17 ;
Isa. xxxvi. 2 ; there cannot be a doubt,
that they occupied themselves with hos
tile demonstrations while the negotia
tions were going forward. There is,
therefore, no necessity to depart from
the threatened attack of Sennacherib,
and apply the prophecy to the sieges
effected by Nebuchadnezzar and Titus,
especially as no intimation whatever is
given of the taking of the city, and its
consequences ; and, as the sudden and
complete destruction predicted vers.
5 — 8, was experienced by the Assyrians
alone, chap, xxxvii. 36 ; and neither by
the Chaldeans nor the Romans. The
language of our Lord's prophecy, Luke
xix. 43, is parallel with, that of Isaiah
in the present instance ; but this is no
reason why both should be referred to
the same event. The metaphors are
military, and are descriptive of the mea
sures adopted in a regular siege, in,
Arab, ijii, is properly the circle or line
of advance, first of all drawn round the
city to be blockaded, though here, with
3, the term is used adverbially. The
reading 111, which Houbigant and Lowth
approve, is found only in two MSS., and
originally in two more ; but has other
wise no suffrage but that of the LXX.,
and is manifestiy an ancient correction
from ver. 1. 3SB, from 323, to place,
station, denotes the advanced posts, or
columns of pioneers; and the nil2B
were breast-works, palissades, and other
means of defence, erected by the he-:
sieging party for their protection, and
from behind which they annoyed the
city. For nil2B, six of Kennicott and
De Rossi's MSS. read nii2p ; three more

have done so originally, and perhaps
two more ; but the former is the more
appropriate word, in reference to a be
sieging army. 'W? is from 112, to press,
straiten, beset hostilely. For 31N and
?|2B2, see on chap. viii. 19. Such should
be the utter dejection of the inhabitants,'
that they would only be able to give
expression to their fears in feeble and
scarcely articulate sounds, resembling
those produced by the necromancer or
ventriloquist, when personating with his-
voice the spirit which be pretended to
have evoked. Comp. 2 Kings xix.l — 6;
Isa. xxxvii. 1 — 6 ; and see Lowth's note.
5. Lowth's change of tpl, thine ene
mies, into D'11, the proud, is altogether
unwarranted. li is often used in the
sense of 12, an enemy. The LXX., to
whom he appeals, render it elsewhere,
as here, by da-e^rjs, and by ixBpos;
foreigners being regarded in this light
by the Hebrews. Jian, as occurring here
and ver. 7, denotes the multitude of
warriors composing the 133 'j'n, referred
to in the preceding note. They are
compared to the finest dust, not to point
out their number, but to express the
ease with which they should be removed
from their position. This is further in
timated in the following member of the
parallelism, by their being compared to
the light chaff driven away by the wind.
Di«nB 5>nD'?, which occurs in the inverse
order, »nrt titipsi, chap. xxx. 13, is de
signed emphatically to mark the sudden
ness with which the Assyrians should be
destroyed. 6. "The nomin. to ipBR is the Assyrian
foe, understood. Dsa, lit. from with,.
conveys the idea of immediate or mira
culous interposition. See chap. vii. 11,
viii. 18. No positive inference can be
drawn from this verse respecting the
nature of the phenomena connected
with the destruction of the army of

chap.

XXIX.J

ISAIAH.

245

7 And as a dream, or a vision of the night,
Shall be the multitude of all the nations.
That fight against Ariel ;
Even all who fight against her and her ramparts ;
And those who distress her.
8 It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and behold ! he
eateth ;
But he waketh, and his soul is empty !
Or, as when a thirsty man dreameth, and behold ! he drinketh ;
But he waketh, and behold ! he is faint, and his soul craveth !
Thus shall it be with the multitude of all the nations,
That fight against mount Zion.
9 Delay, and wonder;
Take your pleasure, and be blinded.
They are drunk, but not with wiue ;
They stagger, but not with strong drink.

Sennacherib — the language being obvi
ously charged with the sublime imagery
of prophetic poetry. Comp. Ps. xi. 6 ;
Isa. xxiv. 1, 18, 19, 20, xxx. 30, xxxiv.
8 — 10 ; and Lowth's ixth Lect. on Heb.
Poetry. 7, 8. D'ijirto, &c. comprehend all from
the different nations subject to the king
of Assyria, who composed the besieging
army. n'33=n'N3ii. The suffix forms the
accusative, as in l[:n, Ps. liii. 6. The
point of comparison lies in the entire
disappearance of the phantasmata of a
night vision. Thus completely should
every enemy disappear before the
morning. 8. The comparison is here amplified
by the prophet, in a manner which
Lowth justly characterises as elegant
and beautiful in the highest degree, well
wrought up, and perfectly suited to the
end proposed. Nothing could more
aptly have described the eagerness of
the Assyrians to attack Jerusalem, and
the complete disappointment of Senna
cherib. The use of the same imagery
in part by Virgil, jEn. xii. 908, and
Lucret. iv. 1091, is shewn by Lowth;
but there is a peculiar terseness and
simplicity in the language of the pro
phet, and the triple repetition of the
idiomatic nan, behold! greatly increases

the effect. The corresponding itiN3 and
]3 mark the protasis and apodosis.
9. Isaiah now turns directly to the
unbelieving Jews, and reproves them
for their stupidity and false security.
The language is that of irony, to express
which the more strongly the verbs are
put [in the concessive and declaratory
Imperative. In all probability the pro
phet was induced thus to complain of
his countrymen by the vacant stare and
obstinacy discoverable in the counte
nances of those whom he had just ad
dressed. As the nation enjoyed profound
peace, they could give no credit to the
predictions of war; and therefore de
layed repentance, and indulged the more
in sin. inanpnn, Im.p. of naripiin, the
Hithpael of nna, to which it must be
referred, though the verb is not used in
Kal. The derivation from npn, which
some propose, cannot be sustained ; the
Imper. in Hithpael of which being
inppin, Hab, i. 5. Comp. the Arab. <lo«,
^, absiine, desine, and H.^^, absiinuit,.
desiitit, which is employed in reference
to the stopping or delaying of camels,
horses, &c. Our idiomatic shill-I-shall-T
corresponds entirely to the Hebrew,
both in form and meaning, but is not

246

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXIX.

10

11

12

For Jehovah hath poured upon you a spirit of stupor,
And bound up your eyes, the prophets ;
And your heads, the seers, hath he covered.
And the whole vision is become to you like the words of a sealed
book.
Which is delivered to one acquainted with letters,
Saying, Read this, I pray thee ;
But he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed.
Or, if the book be delivered to one unacquainted with letterSj
Saying, Read this, I pray thee ;
But he gaith, I am unacquainted with letters.

sufficiently dignified to be adopted into
the version. »»o5, the other verb em
ployed, having two different significa
tions, according as it occurs in the
simple or the reduplicated conjugations,
both are here adopted with admirable
effect. For the signification of Kal and
Hiphil, see chap. vi. 10. In Pilp. and
Hithpalp. it has that of delight ; to cause
delight ; delight, indulge oneself in plea
sure, &c. See Ps. xciv. 19, cxix. 16, 47,
70 ; Isa. xi. 8. For the peculiar use of
the Imperatives, see chap. viii. 9. —
Having directly addressed his auditors,
the prophet proceeds, by the use of the
third person of the preterite, to point
them out to others, and describes their
spiritual stupor by comparing them to
persons in a state of intoxication. The
more, however, to mark the character of
this stupor, he adds, hut not with wine,
&c. Comp. chap. li. 21, where the phrase
is used in a different sense ; and Eschy-
lus, Eumen. 863, doivois eppave'is Bvpd-
pao'i. 10. This stupefaction is ascribed to
the judicial will of God. In punish
ment of their resistance of his truth, he
so ordered it in his providence, that the
Jews should become the subjects of spi
ritual blindness and insensibility. See
on chap. vi. 10, nil 'qp:, a less frequent
form for nil 'qsti. Both verbs convey
the ideas of descent from a higher
source, and the copiousness of the sup
ply. The signification of mingling, mix
ing, given in the Vulg., and that of
causing to drink, exhibited in the LXX.
are inappropriate, being at variance with
the usus loquendi. iioiin, from Dil,

Arab. it>. , occlusit portam vel hiatum ;
totum occupavit; to throw into a pro
found sleep or stupor, signifies a state of
complete insensibility, in which the
senses are locked up, and the functions
proper to the nervous system almost en
tirely suspended. The term is here used
figuratively of the suspension of the use
of reason, judgment, &c. D2», in Kal
and Piel, signifies to bind fast, make
firm ; to' bind up, shut completely, as the
eyes; Chal. D2», clausit; comp. Dm,
Dnn ; Arab. . vT" , prohibuit, servavit,
defendit ; IV. vinculo loroque con-
strinxit. The words D'M'33rmN, and D'lrin,
Koppe, Eichhorn, Gesenius, Hitzig, and
Maurer, reject as a gloss ; and Hahn,
in his 12mo ed. of the Heb. Bib. marks
them as doubtful. Zwinglius considers
them to be an epexegesis. If genuine,
they should be differently pointed, and
rendered as in the version. According
to the present division, D'N'33n ntj should
be D'N'33n nNl, which is the reading of
twenty-three MSS, ; has been originally
in six more, and probably in two or
three besides ; and is found in the three
earliest editions. The LXX, and Syr.
also express the Vau. Not only should
the Jewish people be blinded, but their
teachers and rulers, to whom they na
turally looked for guidance, should also
labour under gross mental obscurity.
Comp. Matt, xv. 14.
11, 12. fen nnn, lit. the vision of the
whole, i. e. all that God has revealed by
his servants the prophets— the doctrines,
predictions, promises, threatenings, fee

CHAP. XXIX.]

ISAIAH.

247

13 Wherefore Jehovah saith,
Since this people draw near to me with their mouth.
And honour me with their lips,
But have far removed their heart from me.
And their fear of me is taught by the precept of men :
14 Therefore I will proceed to deal wonderfidly with this people.
Wonderfully and wondrously ;
The wisdom of their wise shall perish,
And the prudence of their prudent shall be hid.

These verses teach the moral impos
sibility of those understanding Divine
revelation whose minds are under the
dominion of sin. There was nothing
naturally impossible in the cases referred
to : the person who was skilled in letters
had only to break open the seal, and he
who was ignorant would be obliged to
learn them ; but by the application of
these means, a knowledge of the docu
ment would have been acquired. The
point of comparision lies in the disincli
nation or aversion of the mind. Comp.
Dan. xii. 10; 2 Cor. iii, 14, 15, 16;
John vii. 17. In lEpn, the article is
properly omitted by the authors of the
Keri. 13. Instead of ':iM, very many of
Kennicott and De Rossi's MSS. read
ninj. It is also found in the four oldest
printed editions. J?' and p!}, ver. 14, are
correlatives. According to the Targ.,
which is supported by the reading of
seventeen MSS. and ten printed editions,
Mia: is to be pointed iC3:, and rendered,
"This people are compelled," i.e. they
worship me involuntarily; but the com
mon pointing and construction are pre
ferable. Supply 'Jn, and comp, Exod.
xxx. 20; Jer. xxx. 21. For the form
'r*<Dmv, comp, ini! inwijip, 2 Sam. iii. 11.
The verbal noun is used for the Infi
nitive. Comp. chap. viii. 5. By their
fear of God, is not meant true piety, but,
as we should say, their religion; nor
by " the precepts of men " which they
had been taught, are we to understand,
as Gesenius and some others insinuate,
the ritual precepts of the Mosaic law ;
but purely human doctrines, injunctions,
and rites, which their authors and in
ventors imposed under the pretext of
Divine authority. That such existed in

the days of Isaiah, there can be no
doubt ; and as, from the very nature of
the case, they must have accumulated
from age to age, till they were swelled
to the awful amount which they had
reached in the time of our Lord, the
language is strikingly descriptive of the
character of the great body of the
nation during the whole of that period.
On this principle we are warranted in
interpreting literally the words of Christ,
irpoe^rjTevo'e nepl vpdv 'yHtrdias. Matt.
XV, 7, 8 ; Mark vii. 6, 7. While the
prophet rebuked his contemporaries, his
inspired declarations, recorded in the
sacred volume, served as a standing re
buke of the evil, and bore preeminently
on its fullest development in the rehgion
of the Scribes and Pharisees. The dis
crepancies existing between the Heb.
text, and the Greek of the LXX. and
the N. T. are trifling, and do not in the
least affect the sense of the passage.
Mistaking 'nni for irin^, the LXX. have
translated it parrjv be. iTia$9 and iTOB,
though singular, have been taken as
collectives, and so rendered ivrdXpara
and bibao'KaXias.
14. f]pi' is a defective punctuation of
the participle f]pi'. See chap, xxxviii. 5,
and note on chap, xxviii. 16. N'bsn,
i^fe, and NbB, furnish a marked instance
of the varied repetition of a word for
the sake of energy and effect. See on
chap. xxii. 17, The verse contains a
special prediction of the awful judgment
that God would inflict upon the nation
by means of the infatuation of their
teachers, which the apostie shews to
have received its fulfilment in his day,
1 Cor. i. 19. So blinded were they, and
so completely did they blind the people,
that by their rejection of the true

248

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXIX.

15 Wo to them that deeply hide thfeir purpose from Jehovah,
Whose deeds are in the dark, and that say,
Who seeth us ? and. Who knoweth us ?
O your perverseness !
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay .?
Shall the thing made say of its maker, he made me not ."
Or the thing formed say of its former, he is unskilful ?
Is it not yet a very little while,
And Lebanon shall be converted into a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be deemed a forest ?

16

17

Messiah, and their instigating opposition
to the Roman government, they brought
about the destruction of Jerusalem, and
the final dispersion of the nation. Most
commentators, indeed, find only an ac
commodation of the prophecy in this
quotation; but its position, in the pre
sent connexion, between the description
of the Jewish religionists in the days of
¦our Lord, ver. 13, and a prediction of
•the rejection of the Jews, and the call
ing of the Gentiles, ver. 17, proves that
Isaiah and Paul had the same persons
in view. Th.e silly and puerile character
of Jewish or Rabbinical learning during
a period of eighteen centuries, affords a
convincing, though melancholy proof of
the divine inspiration of the prophet.
15. An exact portraiture of the dis
guise and hypocrisy of the Pharisees in
the time of our Lord. See Matt, xxiii.
13 — 33. P'Py.ii is used adverbially, as in
•chap. vii. 11 ;' Jer. xlix. 8, 30. The a
in nin'B is strictly prepositional, and not
comparative, as Lowth renders it.
16. t:339n. CEcolamp. perversitas ves-
¦ira; Zwinglius, vestra presumptio. O
the extent of your depraved and per
verse disposition ! What madness to
imagine, that you can divest yourselves
of responsibility to your Makerl The
points of similitude are the absolute
nothingness of the creature, and the
infinite skill and sovereignty of the
Creator. Paul employs the same simi
litude, Rom. ix. 20, but for a different
purpose. Comp. Isa. xlv. 9. The word
is the Kal Infin. used as a noun. Comp.
^51, Ps. li. 5. DN is simply interroga
tive ; and its force is carried forward so
as to modify the following '3, Is it so
that, &c, t or, as in the translation, Shall

the thing made, &c. ? Nothing could
equal in absurdity, or in the perversion
of every principle of sound reason, the
conduct of the impenitent and unbe
lieving Jews. Instead of J'3n, the LXX.,
Syr., Targ., Vulg., and one of De
Rossi's MSS. originally read ]'3n; but
the reading of the Textus Receptus is
preferable. Some would refer the pas
sage to the subversion of the Jewish
state; but with less propriety, though
the conduct here described was the
cause of that subversion.
17. Because li:3') and ^Bi.3 are here
contrasted, the LXX., Targ., Syr,, Vulg,,
Cyril, Zwing., Forer., Brentius, Osian-
der, Piscator, Schmid,, Lowth, Dathe,
De Wette, Boothroyd, Jenour, and
others, render the latter by Carmel, as if
the mountain of that name were meant.
On comparing this passage, however,
with chap, xxxii. 1-5, it seems much
more appropriate to take it as an appel
lative in the sense of garden or fruitful
field. Thus Kimchi, Luther, CEcolamp.,
Leo Juda, Michaelis, Rosenmiiller, Ge
senius, Hitzig, Scholz, Noyes, &c. The
points of comparison are not the barren
ness of Lebanon, taken as a whole, and
the fertility of a plain or open country ;
for a great proportion of that mountain
is exceedingly fertile, abounding in rich
valleys, extensive and well-cultivated
fields, productive gardens, &c, ; but the
forest district, abounding in cedars,
pines, cypresses, and other species of
trees. This is evident from the anti
thesis in the last clause, of the verse, in
which ¦»!, a forest, corresponds to Le
banon in the former member of the
parallelism. The language is figurative,
expressing the great revolution to take

chap. XXIX.]

ISAIAH.

249

18 In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book,
And, freed from obscurity and darkness, the blind shall see.
19 The afilicted shall exceedingly rejoice in Jehovah ;
And the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the tyrannical is come to nothing ;
The scoffer is consumed ;
And all that watched for iniquity are cut off:
21 That condemned a man in his cause,
Laid snares for him that decided in the gate,
And turned aside the righteous without ground.
22 Nevertheless, thus saith Jehovah to the house of Jacob,
place at the appearance of the Messiah.
The Gentile world, which had produced
no fruits of righteousness, but resembled
the wild and uncultivated regions of
Lebanon, should abound in moral fer
tility aud beauty ; while the Jewish
church, which had formerly been cele
brated as the garden of the Lord, should
be reduced to a state of nature, and
become like a rudely scattered forest.
Comp. chap, xxxii. 15, Iv. 13 ; and spe
cially for the subject. Matt. xxi. 43 ;
Rom. xi. 17—22.
18. IBD corresponds to nun, ver. 11.
The a in ijiiinai isto denotes separation,
not locality, "freed from obscurity,"
&c., i. e. no longer in such a state.
Most of the commentators are of opi
nion, that the Jews described ver. 10,
are here referred to ; but the immediate
context requires the words to be applied
to the Gentiles, who had not been fa
voured with the light of revelation ; to
whom the sacred Scriptures should be
delivered in their respective languages ;
and who, by the preaching of the gos
pel, should be turned from darkness to
light, and from the power of Satan unto
God. See chap, xxxii. 3, xxxv. 5, xiii.
7, 16, 18, xliii. 8; Eph. iv. 17, 18.
19. Comp. chap. Iv. 12; Matt. v. 3,
xi. 5 ; James ii. 5. These words apply
principally to the Gentiles, though they
also include such of the natural seed of
Abraham as should submit themselves
to the righteousness of God.
20, 21. Contain a prediction of the
removal of those rulers and judges who
oppressed the people of God ; made a
mock of true religion; and exercised

every species of falsehood and injustice.
Such, in a high degree, were the Pha
risees and Sadducees towards the close
of the Jewish polity ; and on them sig
nally was executed the judgment here
threatened. pN ''ipili, an unusual phrase,
happily chosen for the purpose of mark
ing the atrocious character of those who
ought sedulously to have watched over
the best interests of the people, but
were awake only for evil. It applies
specially to the members of the Sanhe
drim, w is used in a forensic sense, as
in Exod. xviii. 16 ; and 'Nionp is equi
valent to '?'?ha. Some interpret the
words of seductive conversation ; and
others, in conformity with the rendering
of our common version, of condemning
a person for a merely verbal fault ; but
the judicial sense is supported by what
follows. 'Wfe n'3ia is descriptive of u,
judge — the gate or forum being the place
where the inhabitants of eastern cities
met for business, conversation, &c., and
where trials were held. Comp. Amos v.
10 ; Deut. xxii. 15, xxv. 7 ; Job v. 4 ;
Prov. xxii. 22. pMip? is from MJip, of the
same signification with iiip^, to lay snares.
irin?, comp. inn ¦», chap. lix. 4, where it
is synonymous with Nl«), vanity, false
hood, wickedness ; A rab. [^ , socors,
negligens fuit; j^, vacuus; 1U>^ , se
applicuit ad res vanas ; £\j^ , vana res
et futiles; LXX. iir dbiKois; Targ.
lpi?S3, in falsitate. It is here equivalent
to D:n, without cause, undeservedly.
22. There is a perceptible pause at
KK

250

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxx.

He that redeemed Abraham ;
Jacob shall not now be ashamed.
Nor shall his face now grow pale.
23 But when his children see the woric of my hands in their midst,
They shall hallow my name ;
They shall hallow the Holy One of Jacob,
And reverence the God of Israel.
24 Those who erred in spirit shall know understanding ;
And those who were obstinate shall learn doctrine.

the close of the preceding verse ; and
the prophet is here charged to assure
the truly pious, who alone were properly
entitled to the appellation of " the house
of Jacob," — being the spiritual children
of Abraham, — that the immediately im
pending calamity should be averted.
The repetition of nri» n';, not now, is
emphatic. Michaelis needlessly stumbles
at the phrase Dni3N-nN niB, since this
verb signifies to preserve, as well as to
redeem, and is equally applicable to
Abraham as to Jacob, Gen, xlviii. 16.
Ilip', a aira^ Xey. obviously signifying to
be white, pallid, &c., fromiin, Chal. lin,
V
Syr. Ia*/ , Arab. Xp^ , to he or become
white. Seeker and Lowth suppose lion'
to have been the original reading, being
more commonly used in connexion with
ilii3; the LXX., however, have peTa-
^aXel ; the Targ. ]l3n*, and this Kimchi
and Abulwalid approve.
23. '3, for DN '3, But when, &c. The

i in in'Nis refers to ''i^niP5!o, and is anti
cipative of it, as in the Aramaic. I'l^;
are the children of Jacob, the Jews, and
the nomin. to ini«'i3. i3lp3, in the midst
of them, i. e. in the church, worshipping
the God of their fathers. The work of
God's hands is the Kaivfj ktio-is, or New
Testament church, consisting for the
most part of converted Gentiles. It is
here predicted that the time would come
when the sight of so many worshippers
of the true God, from among those who
had formerly been ignorant of him,
should excite the natural posterity of
Abraham to give glory to his name.
Comp. Rom. xi. 11.
24. The ¦ nii-'»n and D':3ii are the
blinded and refractory Jews, who had
so long refused to acknowledge the
Messiah, but who should at length em
brace the doctrines of his gospel. For
]^, comp. the Arab. ,.)»-i , substilit,
consi'itit, commoratus fuit.

CHAPTER XXX.

This chapter is likewise connected witii the invasion of Sennacherib, and was
evidently occasioned by attempts that were made to form an alliance with Egypt
in order to obtain the aid of that power against the Assyrians. Vers. 1 — 7
contain a description of these attempts, and their failure ; which is followed by
a severe reproof of those who had originated them, with a denunciation of the
Babylonish captivity as the punishment of apostasy from God, 8 — 17. The
prophet then addresses himself to those who put their confidence in Jehovah,
and assures them of the restoration of the Divine favour, 1 8—26 ; and concludes
with a prediction of the overthrow of the Assyrian army, couched in imagery of
the boldest and most striking character, 27 — 33.

chap.

xxx.]

ISAIAH.

251

Wo to the rebeUious children, saith Jehovah,
Who execute purposes, but not from me ;
And pour out libations, but not from my Spirit : —
Adding sin to sin.
Who set out to go down to Egypt,
But inquire not at my mouth ;
Fleeing to the protection of Pharaoh,
And taking refuge in the shadow of Egypt.
The protection of Pharaoh shall become your shame,
And your refuge in the shadow of Egypt, your confusion.
For their princes are at Zoan,
And their ambassadors have reached Hanes.
They are each ashamed of a people that cannot profit them,

1. Several commentators think refer
ence is here made to the conspiracy of
Hosea, king of Samaria, and the em
bassy which he sent to So, king of
Egypt, 2 Kings xvii. 4 ; but it is more
probable that Isaiah has in view the un
believing portion of the Jews, resident
partly in Jerusalem, and partly in the
country, who, unknown to the pious
king Hezekiah, and in direct violation
of the command of God, had undertaken
to procure assistance from Egypt. That
such application was known to Senna
cherib, is evident from the words of
Rabshakeh, chap, xxxvi. 6, 9. niiBS^,
is expletive of D'l'iiD, the '^ before the
Infinitives being used to introduce the
actions by which the rebellious disposi
tion was manifested. See 1 Sam. xiv.
33 ; Ps. ciii. 20. n23? nfe» means not to
form, but to execute a purpose. As this
was to be done in Egypt, the prophet
scruples not to introduce the party as
pouring out a libation — a pagan custom
employed on the conclusion of a treaty
of alliance between two nations ; hence
the name erirovbri given to such a league
by the Greeks. As '^p: signifies both to
pour out, and to weave, hedge in, protect,
some prefer the latter idea, which is
that adopted in our common version ;
but the former is more appropriate, and
is that expressed in the LXX. iiroirjcaTe
^ „ 9 -> X V
avvBrjKas, and the Syr. j^aoj n.oi.
Before 'nil supply )P, from the pre
ceding. By nil, is here meant, as fre
quently, the Spirit of God speaking

through his servants the prophets. The
refractory Jews had not consulted these
infallible intei'preters of the Divine will.
This is further explained in the follow
ing verse. Comp. for ninpB 'jN'ti, Josh.
ix, 14. Before mentioning the embassy
that had been sent to Egypt, the pro
phet, in this verse, anticipates its fruit
less result, and directs his address
pointedly to those who had sent it. In
such prolepsis, of which several ex
amples occur in Scripture, there is much
force. 4. For I»i5, I'anis, see chap. xix. 11.
As D:n, instead of D:n, is found in six
MSS,, and has probably been in a num
ber more, and is the reading expressed
in the LXX. and Syr., some have sup
posed that the passage should be ren
dered, " have reached it," i. e. Tanis,
" to no purpose ;" but the parallelism
absolutely requires the name of a place,
which the Targ. supplies, rendering the
word DnpBl^n, Tahpanhes, or Daphne.
This interpretation, ChampoUion is in
clined, to adopt, regarding D:n as merely
an abbreviation ; but the place meant is
iu all probability Ehnes, or H'nes,
^itec, e^nac, ^JJ^s>], of Edrisi,
Heracleopolis, a large city of Middle
Egypt, and the capital of the Heracleo-
politan Nome. Gesenius and Winer
accede to the opinion of Vitringa, that
it is the city of "Aj/vcw, mentioned by
Herodotus, ii. 137. The suffix 1 refers
to the rebellious party, understood.
5. *N3h, according to the points,

252

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxx.

That are neither for help nor profit.
But for a shame and a reproach.
The sentence of the beasts of the sodth.
Through a land of distress and difficulty.
Whence come the lioness and the fierce lion,
The viper and the fiery flying serpent.
On the shoulders of young asses they carry their wealth.
And their treasures on the bunches of camels,
To a people that shall not profit them.
For vapour and emptiness shall be the help of Egypt.
Therefore I have called her, Rahab the Inactive.

should be i2S'3in, without n, which is the
reading of eleven of Kennicott and De
Rossi's MSS, ; has been in five more
originally ; two have it in the margin ;
and several note the N as redundant.
The preposition ''» marks the foundation
of the disappointment ; or, as we should
say, its source. '3 has, in such con
nexion, all the force of DN '3. The
latter, by emendation, is the reading of
four of Kennicott's MSS.
6, 7. That 33: nian3 NiBB forms the
inscription to what immediately follows
in these two verses, seems incontro
vertible ; but that they were inserted by
a later hand, as Gesenius and Hitzig
assert, is highly improbable. As the
prophet was commanded, ver. 8, both to
write the oracle on a tablet, and inscribe
it in a book, it is obvious that the for
mer, being for public exhibition, must
have had an inscription prefixed to it at
the time, than which none could have
been more appropriate than that here
given. The " beasts of the south " are
not those mentioned immediately after,
which are merely introduced for the
purpose of describing the desert, but
the "young asses" arid "camels," on
which the present or subsidy was con
veyed to Egypt. 333, south, may either
mark their destination, or the desert to
the south of Palestine, through which
they passed on their way thither. The
former seems the more appropriate.
Genitivus hie est objecti, sive causa fi-
nalis. Rosenm. Of the existence of the
lion in the deserts of Arabia, see Diod.
Sic. ii. 20 ; Hasselquist's Travels, p. 563.
Dnp is an enallage of number, instead
of njpa ; just as Dn, in the 7th ver,,

stands for N'n; LXX. eKeiBev. For the
description of the desert, comp. Deut. i.
19, viii. 15 ; and for fp'Sp t^ife, the note
on chap. xiv. 28, tWBN, Arab. j«il ,
vipera ; from ali , iratus, spumans ;
LXX. da-irtbes. For DIW, a number of
MSS. and several printed editions, sup
port the Keri D''W ; and twenty-eight
MSS., and seven others corrected, toge
ther with an ancient printed Bible, read
Drt'n, instead of Dn'Vn; LXX. tov
irXovTov. For this use of Dn, as the
suffix, instead of D after a singular noun,
see Ezek. vii. 11. ns)3l occurs only in
this place, and is of uncertain derivation.
The most probable is the Arab. JjUii ,
supellex domestica vilior ; it being, as it
were, the furniture of the camel. That
the hunch, or hump, of that animal is
meant, there can be no doubt. It is of
the shape of a pyramid, and sometimes
of such a size as to occupy at its base
nearly the entire back of the animal.
The words nsti on 3171 have greatly per
plexed interpreters. Those who approve
of our common rendering. Their strength
is to sit still, consider them as designed
to teach, that the true strength and
security of the Jews consisted in the
exercise of quiet and patient confidence
in God, assured that he would deliver
them in his own way. To justify such
rendering, however, the first two frords
must be joined, Dn3ni, and comp. above
in Dii^'n. But against this construction
of the passage there lie two objections.
First, the pronominal suffix could not
with propriety be referred to any antece-

CHAP. XXX.]

ISAIAH.

25S

8 Now come, write it on a tablet before them,
And inscribe it in a book ;
That it may be for future days,
A testimony for ever.
9 For they are a rebellious people ; lying children ;
Children that will not hear the law of Jehovah.
10 Who say to the seers. See not ;
And to those who have visions. Give us not right visions ;
Speak smooth things to us ;
Give us delusive visions.
11 Turn aside from the way ;
Decline from the path ;
Cause to cease from our presence the Holy One of Israel.
12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel :
Since ye have rejected this word,

dent, but Dmp, at the beginning of the
verse. Secondly, the noun 3ni never
occurs with the acceptation, strength,
but always signifies pride, insolence,
V
rage, from 3ni , Syr. .iioi J , tumultuatus
est, to rage, act proudly, or insolently.
3ni, Ps. xc. 10, means pride or boast,
and not real strength. On the other
hand, that it is here used as the poetical
name of Egypt, seems most natural.
Comp. Ps. Ixxxvii. 4, Ixxxix. 1 1 ; Isa.
li. 9. This name appears to have been
given to her by the Hebrews, not in
imitation of any [native Egyptian word,
but in reference to her insolent treat
ment of the people of God. The pro
phet shews that though, in her pride,
she might bluster and boast of her
prowess, and promise to employ it in
behalf of the Jews, she would never
theless remain quietly at home, and
leave them to their fate. " Fando et
promittendo, non agendo opemve fe-
rendo." Kocher. The rendering of Do
derlein, Rahab quiescens ; and that of
Lowth, Rahab the Inactive ; express the
sense, and are approved in the main by
more recent translators, though they
disapprove of the proposed alteration of
n3(6 Dn into nsifen, n'3Sian, or such like.
nVii refers to Egypt as yiN, a country,
and Dn to the Egyptians, as its inha
bitants, njij may either be the Kal

Infin. of 3«)», to sit, sit still, remain in
one's place, or a segolate noun from n3'^,
to rest, cease from labour, be inactive.
Its abstract or indefinite form adds to
the force of the idea.
8. Gesenius, Hitzig, and Scholz, are
of opinion that the same action is here
commanded under different forms; but
Rosenmiiller and Maurer justly contend
for two distinct acts — the inscription of
the sentence on a tablet, for public ex
hibition, and immediate use ; and its
insertion in a book, for a perpetual
testimony. DJiN, with them, in their
presence, before them. Comp. Gen. v.
24. For i?j, for ever, read lyj, for a
testimony. Thus the Targ., Syr., and
Vulg. ; and the LXX. in some MSS.
Comp. Deut. xxxi. 19, 21, 26.
9 — 11. lipN, they say, i.e. practically,
or ill effect. It is the wish of their
hearts, ninijand ni^iinp are contraries.
The latter word is derived from ^n ;
Arab. (Jjii- , decepit, to act falsely, de
ceive. They delighted in falsehood, and
wished to be freed from every restraint.
Comp. 1 Kings xxii. 8; Iliad, i. 106.
¦71.1 and m.K are the way or path of
duty ; the course of life acceptable to
God ; true religion. Comp. chap. ii. 3,
etfreq. 12. li^:, the Niph. Part, of ii';, to bend,
turn aside. It is used substantively to
denote perverseness, apostasy.

254 ISAIAH. [chap. xxx.
And trusted in oppression and perverseness ;
And staid yourselves upon them :
13 Therefore this iniquity .shall be to you.
Like a breach ready to fall, bulging out in a high wall,
Whose smash cometh suddenly, in an instant.
14 Its smash is like the smashing of a potter's vessel,
Which he breaketh in pieces, and spareth not ;
Among whose fragments there is not found a sherd.
With which to take up fire from the hearth.
Or skim off water from a pool.
15 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel :
By conversion and by quietness ye shall be saved.
In tranquilhty and confidence shall be your strength ;
But ye would not :
16 But said. No ! we will flee upon horses ;
Therefore ye shall flee :
And, Upon swift coursers will we ride ;
Therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
17 A thousand at the menace of one,
At the menace of five shall ye flee ;
13. "This iniquity," means the infi- tom. The meaning is, that, in punish-
delity of the Jews developed in the ment of their apostasy from God, the
language of the preceding verses, and Jews should, as it respected their public
their application to Egypt for aid. yiB affairs, experience a complete over-
to:, a rupture in a wall, in consequence throw — a calamity which was inflicted
of which it is on the point of falling; when Jerusalem was destroyed by Ne-
or more properly, the piece forming one buchadiiezzar.
side of the breach or rent. As the 15, 16. They had been called to re-
Orientals most frequently construct their nounce their false confidence, and make
walls of clay, or soft brick, dried in the Jehovah the object of their trust, wait-
sun, they are extremely liable to rend, ing quietly for his delivering mercy, and
and be washed down by rain. Comp. finding their true strength in such exer-
Ps. Ixii. 4. Hitzig fails in his attempt cise ; but they refused to listen, were
to make yiB signify a torrent. The fol- determined to pursue their own plan,
lowing clause is inserted per epanor- and reaped the disastrous consequences.
thosin, more fully to express the danger. The riding upon horses refers to the
14. ni3» the Masoretes point as a Egyptian cavalry, which they expected
verb, ni3^, frangit cam ; but the LXX. would be sent for their deliverance, and
and Targ. more properly read ni3ii), its not to iiriroTvcpia, of which Gesenius
breach, as at the close of the preceding explains it. Comp. chap, xxxi, 1 ; Jer.
verse, nins is the Infin. of description, xlvi. 4. In DID, di::, and pDi:n, and ''p,
n^. Arab. _a^, demer^usfuit; IV. '^i rGt^s EsTh? t jecture of
mvenit puteum ; to remove tiie surface, Lowth probable, according to which
or upper part of any thing; to draw n33l has been dropped out of the text;
water by skimming it, so as not to take but whatever apparent force there may
up any of the sand or mud at the hot- be in the supposition that the LXX,

chap, xxx.] '

ISAIAH.

255

Till ye be left as a pole on the summit of a mountain,
Or as'a banner upon a hill.
18 Nevertheless Jehovah will wait to show you favour,
He will arise to be merciful to you ;
For Jehovah is a God of justice :
Blessed are all they that wait for him.
19 Surely, the people of Zion shall dwell in Jerusalem ;
Thou shalt not always weep ;
He will surely show thee favour at the voice of thy cry ;
When he heareth it, he will answer thee.
20 Though Jehovah give you the bread of distress, and the water of
affliction.
Yet thy teachers shall no longer hide themselves.
But thine eyes shall see thy teachers ;

mistook that word for D'3'i, and so ren
dered TToXXoi, as also that there is a
designed imitation of Lev. xxvi. 8 ;
Deut. xxxii. 30 ; I agree with Hitzig and
Scholz in the opinion that such a supple
ment would disturb the connexion of
the words Dn'ini:-Di< i» lD:f), and weaken,
rather than strengthen the sense. " Quin
tandem aliquando suEe sibi vise certum
Vatem ire sinentes nostros errores cor-
rigimus?" Kocher.
18. The last words of this verse shew,
that it is not a continuation of the
threatening, but contains a promise of
mercy. EBilip is, therefore, to be taken
in the strict sense of rectitude, and not
in that of punishment. However severe
might be the castigation to which the
Jews should be subjected, it would not
exceed the bounds of justice. God would
not lay upon them more than was meet.
D1X, Houbigant, Lowth, and others, alter
into D1T, without sufficient authority.
Equally unauthorized is the attempt of
Gesenius lo elicit from Dli^ the meaning
of remaining on high, not coming down
to the help of his people ; though he
has the example of Jarchi and Salo
mon ben Melech, who render it pnin',
he will keep himself at a distance. It is
obviously parallel with nsrr, a verb which
is never used in the sense of forbearing
to do any thing, but always in that of
waiting for, desiring an opportunity, &c.
The construction also of both verbs with
the '' of the Infinitives following, indi

cates inclination towards the perform
ance of the actions which they express.
The point of the sentiment lies in the
peculiar use of nsn ; it being always
elsewhere employed in reference to man
and not to God. Instead of the Jews
being permitted to wait for pity from
Jehovah, he would, in great condescen
sion, wait for them, that he might exercise
that pity. Dil is here used in the simple
acceptation of rising, as Ps. xxi. 14, and
is thus equivalent to Dip, which is fre
quently applied to the interposition of
God in behalf of his people.
From this verse to the 26tli inclusive,
we have a full and particular prophecy
relative to the blessings to be enjoyed
by the Jews at the termination of the
captivity in Babylon.
19. The LXX, improperly supply
will; after D». — ^i»23 D» stands for ]i»2 D»;
only the 3 expresses more strongly the
relation of the Jews to Zion, as their
native home. See on chap, xxi, 13, and
comp. 1 Kings xvi. 24, and 2 Kings
V. 23. The prophet views them in a
state of banishment, but predicts their
return. In 'jprr, the vowels are trans
posed for ?[:ns For the same transposi
tion, see Gen. xliii. 29.
20. The 1 in pjl is not copulative, but
concessive, p'p has here retained the
form of the absolute, instead of being
put in the construct. Comp. Ezek.
xlvii. 4. The bread and water of afflic
tion, &c. are sucb small quantities, as

256

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxx.

21

22

23

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying :
This is the way, walk ye in it :
When ye turn to the right, or to the left.
Ye shall treat as defiled the silver coverings of your graven images.
And the golden attire of your molten images ;
Thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth :
Thou shalt say to them : Begone !
Then he will give rain to thy seed,
With which thou shalt sow the ground ;
And the bread-corn, the produce of the ground, shall be rich and
plenteous :
In that day shall thy cattle feed in large pasturage.

can with difficulty be obtained in times
of extreme distress. yn>, to press,
squeeze, oppress. Arab, fjos, Conj. II.
in angustias redegit, pressit ; ysr , impor-
tunus pressit aliquem ; l2>.JUi , angusiia.
fi:3, a aira^ Xey. but obviously signifying
to cover, hide, &c. Arab. v__fiji , cus
iodivit rem, and in Conjugations II. V.
and VIII. circumdedit cinxii. Hence,
f]:3, a wing ; i^JuS , iJuS , iuiela, pro-
teciio. The Niph. is to be taken not as
a passive, but as a reflexive ; and indi
cates that the Jewish teachers would no
longer hide themselves, or seek protec
tion in secret from their persecutors, but
discharge the duties of their office pub
licly without molestation, in their own
land. ^11*3, " ihy teachers," Munster,
Calvin, and Lowth, render, " the timely
rain:" a signification which the word
sometimes has, hut which ill accords
with the connexion, — the following verse
shewing that instruction and not rain is
meant. Comp. Ps. Ixxiv. 9. Four or
five MSS. read Tlia ; evidently by cor
rection, with a view to make the word
agree with the singular of the verb.
21. Their teachers were to be before
them, but when they declined from the
right way, their backs would be turned
to them, consequently, the warning voice
would be heard behind them. The first
and last clauses of the verse closely
cohere. l3'pNn stands for wp'ri: the N

being used for the ', just as, on the con-
trary, the Syriac has V'-m. though
derived from ^io\ •
22. Nap, to treat as polluted, by de
stroying. See Deut. vii. 25 ; 2 Kings
xxiii. 8 — ^16. fi^S, properly an ephod,
or garment, the femin, of liBN; but here,
as parallel with '1B2, it signifies a cover
ing or plating over the body of an image.
It was commonly of silver or gold ; hence
the irepixpvaa and irepidpyvpa, men
tioned in the Epist, of Jeremiah, ver. 38.
The bodies of the images were frequently
of no value — consisting merely of stone
or wood ; but they were richly adorned
with vestments of the above metals. The
D in D'l]!! refers to the gold and silver
platings before mentioned. The Jews,
convinced of the abominable evil of
idolatry, would cast away their idols with
feelings of utter disgust.
23 — 25. Promises of temporal pro
sperity after the return from Babylon.
Seasonable rain, plentiful crops, and rich
pasture, would every where abound.
»iiipp, rain of seed, means the rain
necessary to make it grow. p'^J )^i,
two synonymes used for the sake of in
tensity. Instead of I'Jpa, forty-one MSS,
originally six more, the Sonc, Brix,, and
Complut. editions, and the Vulg. read
I??? ; but the former may also be taken
as a singular. See Gesen. Heb. Gram.
§ 90, 9. 13, properly a lamb, as chap.
xvi. 1, but here employed metonym, for
pasture in which lambs feed. Comp.

CHAP. XXX.]

ISAIAH.

257

24 The oxen also, and the young asses, that till the ground.
Shall eat salted provender,
Which has been winnowed with the shovel and the fan.
25 And upon every high mountain and every elevated hill.
Shall be rills and streams of water.
In the day of the great slaughter,
At the falling of the towers.
26 Then shall the light of the moon be as the light of the sun,
And the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,
As the light of seven days :
In the day when Jehovah bindeth up the breach of his people,
And healeth the wound of their stroke.
27 Behold 1 the Name of Jehovah cometh from afar,
His anger burneth, and dense is the smoke ;

Ps. Ixv. 14. Root, 113, to dance, frisk.
Not only would there be abundance of
grass in the mountainous districts ; but
there would also be such plenty of grain,
as to admit of the cattle being fed with
it. yan Ya, farrago subacida, i. e. pro
vender mixed up of various kinds of
grain, and sprinkled with salt, so as to
give it a higher relish. Instead of salt,
sour herbs were sometimes used. Comp.
the Arab, (.a,^., salsa et amara planta ;
ijOgS-, depastusfuit (camelus) amaram
et salsam plantam. Conj. IV. acidam
reddidit; edendam dedit camelo plantam
^^Or^ • The animals are so fond of it,
that the Arabs have a proverb : " sweet
provender is the food of the camels ;
salted provender their desert." Iilp, a
winnowing shovel or fan, used in the
East for separating the chaff from the
grain. The synonymous nrn is derived
from nil, and describes the instrument
as exposing the grain to the influence of
the wind. D')i3B, towers, the Targ.
understands figuratively, \T?P., " the
Great." Thus also Aquila, peyaXv-
vopevovs, and Symm. peydXovs, and
rightly. See chap. ii. 15. The king of
Babylon and his nobles are meant, who
were slain on the capture of that city by
Cyrus. 26. The prophet here finishes by a
noble climax, his description of the great

prosperity restored to the Jews. While
every thing on the earth was calculated
to inspire them with joy, the heavens
above presented the most exhilarating
appearance. The light of the moon
admitted of comparison with that of the
sun, but as there was no brighter lumi
nary with which to compare that of the
latter, it is multiplied in degree seven
times, to express its abundance. Light
is used, as frequently, to denote pro
sperity and joy. ii^jjin and nann, the
poetical names of the moon and the sun,
heighten the effect. The words, iiN3
D'Bjn n»3ifl, are omitted in most copies of
the LXX. and in the Itala. On this
ground, and on that of an interruption
of the rhythm, Lowth, Gesenius, Hitzig,
Rosenmiiller, and Scholz, reject them as
an explanatory gloss. These reasons,
however, do not warrant our expunging
them from the text. They are in all the
Heb. MSS., and in all the other versions
except the Arabic, which slavishly follows
the LXX. The Hexap. Syriac reads :
^TO fM ]OOU \M.'i£X»l OI^OIOJO.
Nor can much stress be laid on the
rhythmical construction. Their inser
tion is rather in the style of Isaiah than
otherwise. — ^The 13ti, breach, is that de
scribed ver. 14.
27. Isaiah now returns to the Assyrian
invasion, and predicts the awful cata
strophe, historically described chap.
xxxvii. 36. nin; ntf, Jehovah himself

258

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxx.

28

29

30

His lips are full of indignation,
And his tongue is like devouring fire.
His breath is like an overflowing torrent,
That reacheth to the very neck ;
He will sift the nations in the sieve of vanity ;
A bridle that leadeth astray shall be upon the cheeks of the people.
Ye shall have singing as in the night of celebrating the feast,
And joy of heart, like his who marcheth to the pipe,
Going to the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel.
For Jehovah shall cause his glorious voice to be heard,
And make visible the descent of his arm.
With furious anger, and a flame of devouring fire,
A flood, a rushing storm, and hailstones.

interposing in a miraculous manner ;
D^, name, being used to denote that by
which any one is known to be what he
really is. Others consider an illustrious
display of the Divine glory to be meant.
Grotius : "Deus omni laude dignissimus."
Zwing. : "Nomen Domini pro ejus Maie-
state ac potentia capi, vulgare est in
scripturis." pniBp some take in a tem
poral sense, long ago ; but after verbs
of coming it always refers to place. God
is said to be at a distance from persons,
when he has withdrawn from them the
sensible tokens of his favour. It was
thus with the Jews, at the period here
described ; but Jehovah would suddenly
return for their deliverance at the moment
of their extremity, n^p, smoke, from
Nto, to rise, go up as flame, smoke, &c.
Comp. Judges xx. 38, 40. The language
of this and the following verse is highly
anthropopathic. Comp. Ps. xviii.
28. nsn; 1N12-1?, shall divide to the
neck, i. e. reaching so high as to leave
only the head above the water, and thus,
in appearance, dividing it from the body.
The figure expresses extreme danger.
rsist is a Chaldee form of the Infinitive,
with its future signification, for f)'?!?/'. It
seems purposely chosen to correspond in
sound with the following np:. Comp.
for the image, chap. xii. 16.' By "the
sieve of vanity " is meant that which
would completely separate, scatter, and
so reduce, to nothing, njnp )di, a h'lt
or bridle that causeth to wander; i. e.
which leads out of the road, and draws

into destruction. Comp. chap, xxxvii.
29. 29. Great should be the exultation of
the Jews at the destruction of the As
syrians, The prophet compares it with
that which they indulged in at the cele
bration of the passover, and that of the
travelling companies which came up to
keep the annual festivals at Jerusalem.
3n is used here kot i^oxfjv, like i; c'opT^
in the N. T. of the paschal feast. This
festival was celebrated at night, Exod.
xii. 42 ; and its celebration partly con
sisted in songs commemorative of deliver
ing mercy, or the great Hallel, comprising
the cxiiith and four following Psalms,
Matt. xxvi. 30. For the joy of those
going up in caravans to the holy city,
and anticipating the privileges to be
there enjoyed, see Ps. Ixxxiv. cxxii. It
would appear from the present text, that
they employed musical instruments to
cheer them on their way. For W?, three
oftheear]iesteditionsread')'l!3, — a change
by no means unusual.
30. When no words or articulate
sounds are mentioned as accompanying
"the voice of Jehovah," it signifies
thunder. See Ps. xxix. The phrase,
however, in this place is figurative. For
Biij nn:, comp. i; nnpn, Ps. xxxviii. 3.
Both phrases express the coming down
and resting of divine chastisement or
punishment on any one. nn: may here
most naturally be referred to the root
i™, signifying to descend: as occurring
ver. 15, it is to be derived from ni3, to

CHAP,

XXX.]

ISAIAH.

259

31

32

33

Verily, by the voice of Jehovah shall Assyria be broken,
He shall smite him with the rod.
And every stroke of the appointed rod
Which Jehovah shall lay upon him.
Shall be accompanied with tabrets and harps ;
With tumultuous battles shall he fight against him.
For long ago hath Tophet been prepared ;
It hath even been made ready for the king, deep and wide ;

rest, remain tranquil, as nrr^ from yviA.
As none of the collated MSS. and no
printed edition before that of Van der
Hooght reads yN for Ihn, it must be
regarded as a typographical error. See
De Rossi.
31, 32. I03tf and npa are combined in
the prophet's usual style. The nomin.
to rni is nin;, not iiu»n. Comp. chap.
xxxvii. 36. I3»p, lit. pass, and nearly
in the acceptation of this English term,
as used to denote a push, or thrust in
fencing, I have rendered it stroke, —
this being what is effected by causing a
rod or staff to pass on a person by way
of punishment. niDia niap, the rod of
appointment, from ipj, to found, establish,
ordain, means the chastisement which
God had purposed to inflict on the As
syrians. Comp. Hab. i, 12. Lowth's
change of n'iDia into niDia, correction, is
equally unwarranted and unnecessary.
Jarchi, Vitringa, Hocheisel, Rosenmiiller,
and Jenour, suppose the Assyrian power
itself to be intended by the staff here
mentioned, on the ground of its being so
called, chap. x. 5, 15, 24; but the above
construction better suits the connexion. —
The tabrets and harps are those of the
Jews rejoicing at the discomfiture of
their enemy. Comp. ver. 29. niarta
is in the plural, for the sake of intensity.
For n3, in her, i. e. Assyria ; the Keri,
which reads D3, in them, i. e. the As
syrians, is supported by the textual
lection of forty-four MSS., originally
nineteen others, and probably a few
more ; and by the Sonc, Brix., and
Complut. Editions, the Targ. and the
Vulg. The n has most probably arisen
from a mistake in reading the final D,
13 would otherwise be the correct gender.
33. ^iBpN was employed by the He
brews, not merely to express yesterday,
strictiy taken, but past time indefinitely.

Here it is evidently used of a very ancient
period, or eternity ; the date of the divine
purpose. Comp. x^^'^> Hs"'- xiii. 8.
LXX. irpd ypepdv. Syr. yOfO —io
(Aloa. . Targ. J'pfe ]a. Zwing. ab
aterno. Comp. also the Arab. (J.^ ,
mora. {J.<u , ensis antiquus, multo tem
pore non politus. nnsn occurs only in
this place, but obviously, from the ac
companying attributes, the same as nsn,
Tophet; the place in the valley of the
sons of Hinnom, on the south side of
Jerusalem, where the idolatrous Jews
sacrificed their children by burning them
in honour of Moloch. It was afterwards
made the receptacle of ordure and all
manner of filth, in order to render it an
object of eternal abomination ; and fires
were constantly kept burning in it, to
consume what was thrown into it, and
thereby preventputrefaction. From these
circumstances, Dsn?, Gr. Teevva, came
metaphorically to signify the place of
punishment in the eternal world. See
Matt. V. 22, xxiii. 15, 33. Buxtorf, Lex.
Chal. Rab. 395, 2623. Gesen. Thesaur.
in voc. The latter author is inclined to
derive npisn from the Persic J,Ki , to
kindle, hum, &c. ; but neither this ety
mology, nor that of flBn, to beat a tabret
or drum, seems so appropriate as the
derivation which refers both non and
nnsn to the Arab, c-ftfli', '_"'",?, dixit
Ui' in aliquem, i. c. repudiavit, detesta-
ius fuit ; uj being an adverb of detest
ing, abhorring, &c.. Comp. also i •• ^ .
sordes, squalor ; QM , spuit, expuit sa-

260

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxxi.

The pile thereof is fire and abundance of wood :
The breath of Jehovah, as a torrent of sulphur, shall kindle it.

livam ; Eth. 'f'tf;^ , ibid. Chald. tjin,
to spit, spit with contempt. By Tophet,
therefore, is meant the place of detesta
tion ; and figuratively, that of punish
ment. See chap. Ixvi. 24 ; Dan. xii. 2.
As to the form, it is anomalous only so
far as the Kametz is concerned ; there
being several instances of feminine nouns
ending in Segol. The Keri N'n, is found
in a great number of MSS. and several
printed editions, and is probably the
original reading, rnna, a pile or round

heap of wood, from ill, to move or be
round. Arab. .li>, the same. The
pron. affix refers to nriBfl ; and that in
n3 to nilip. The whole passage furnishes
one of the finest specimens of figurative
description to be met with in the Bible ;
and the vengeance taken on the impious
king of Assyria and his army, as here
set forth, is emblematical both of the
destruction of Antichrist, as described in
the Apocalypse, and of the wicked gene
rally in the world to come.

CHAPTER XXXI.
The folly of the Jews in applying to Egypt for help, instead of confiding in the
Divine protection, 1 — 3 ; a gracious promise of deliverance and protection, 4, 5 ;
a call to repentance and reformation, 6, 7 ; and another specific prediction of the
miraculous destruction of Sennacherib and his army, form the subject-matter of
the present chapter. It appears to have been added in confirmation of that
which precedes it.

Wo to them that go down to Egypt for help.
And rely upon horses ;
That trust in chariots, because they are many,
And on horsemen, because their number is great ;
But look not to the Holy One of Israel,
And resort not to Jehovah.
Yet He also is wise, and will bring calamity ;
He wiU not recall his words.

1. Comp. chap. xxx. 2, 16. That the
Egyptians were noted at a very early
period for their attention to the breeding
of horses, andtheirusing them in chariots,
appears from Gen. xlvii. 17, I. 9 ; Exod.
ix. 3, xiv. 7, 9. According to Diod. Sic.
i. 45, the whole region from Thebes to
Memphis was full of royal stalls, and
such was the abundance of horses, that
no fewer than twenty thousand chariots,
each having two, were furnished by them

in times of war. In the reign of Solo^
mon, vast numbers both of horses and
chariots were procured at great expense
from Egypt, 1 Kings x. 26, 28, 29 ;
2 Chron. i. 14 — 17. Comp. Iliad ix.
383. 2, This verse commences with the lan
guage of irony, to meet the proud boast
ing of the infidel party among the Jews,
chap. xxix. 14—16, and that of the
Egyptians, chap. xix. 11, in whom they

CHAP,

XXXI.]

ISAIAH.

261

But will arise against the house of evil doers,
And against the help of the workers of iniquity.
For the Egyptians are men, and not God ;
And their horses flesh, and not spirit :
When Jehovah shall stretch forth his hand,
The helper shall stumble, and the helped shall fall ;
They shall all of them perish together.
For thus saith Jehovah to me :
As the lion, with the young lion, growls over his prey,
When a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him ;
He is not terrified by their shout.
Nor discouraged by their tumult :
So Jehovah of hosts shall come down.
To fight for Mount Zion, and for her hill.
As birds covering their young.
So Jehovah of Hosts shall protect Jerusalem,
Protecting and delivering.
Sparing and rescuing.

trusted. The words vindicate to Jehovah
the skill and power adequate to inflict
punishment on both the contracting par
ties, together with veracity in carrying
his threatenings into execution. Comp.
Numb, xxiii. 19 ; 1 Sam. xv. 29. »1,
evil, in the sense of calamity, punishment.
The D'SiB n'3 and pN'^!!»B are synonymous,
and designate the rebellious Jews. By
niw, the Egyptians are meant. The 1 in
¦»! is omitted in upwards of fifty MSS.,
six printed editions, and in the LXX.,
Vulg., and Arab.
3. ^N, lit. The Powerful One, from ^w,
to be mighty, strong, is adopted, instead
of D'ri'iM, to render the antithesis the more
pointed. " God " and " man," " spirit "
and "flesh," are strikingly contrasted
with each other. The contrast in the
latter case is evidently founded on the
fact, that the body without the soul is
utterly powerless, but animated by it as
an energetic principle, is capable of
achieving mighty deeds. The seat of
human strength is in the mind. In liis
and 1W is an elegant paronomasia. Both
participles are collectives. What had
been denounced in the latter part of the
previous verse is here more emphatically
repeated. The destruction of the con

federates would be complete : a prediction
which was fulfilled when Nebuchadnez
zar invaded Judea and Egypt.
4. '3 is used causatively. A sudden
and unexpected turn is given to the
message of the prophet. Though Jeho
vah would punish the rebellious, yet he
would appear on behalf of those who
feared him, and for their sakes would
deliver Jerusalem. The image of a lion,
to represent the power of God, is not
unfrequent, Hos. v. 14, xi. 10, xiii. 7, 8 ;
Amos iii. 8 ; Rev. v. 5. Between the
imagery here employed and that of
Homer, Iliad xii. 229, xviii. 161, there
is a strict coincidence. The vast army
of the Assyrians were as nothing in the
estimation of Jehovah. He viewed un
perturbed their attempt to seize the
locality which he had chosen as his
special residence.
5. f]W is here used in the sense of
covering, comp. 31»; and not in that of
flying, as given in our common version,
which does not furnish a suitable point
of comparison. The image is taken
from the protection which birds afford to
their young, by throwing their wings
over them. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 11 ;
Matt, xxiii. 37. The Infinitives "isa and

2C2

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxxi.

Return ye to Him
From whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
Surely, in that day shall they treat with contempt.
Each his idols of silver and his idols of gold,
Which your hands made to you for sin !
The Assyrian shall fall by no human sword ;
The sword of Him who is not man shall devour him :
He shall flee before the sword,
And his choice warriors shall be tributary.
To his rock also he shall pass through fear.
And his captains shall be dismayed at the standard,

niDB indicate continuous action, and are
used elliptically for the Infin. and Fut.
combined. This accounts for the Prete
rites Vsn and to'^pn with the Vau conver-
sive, which Kocher, Rosenmiiller, and
Gesenius, would point ';'2n and lo'bpn, to
make them correspond to the other In
finitives. The verb npB is selected with
special reference to the protection ex
tended to the Israelites in Egypt, when
the Lord mercifully interposed to pre vent
the destroying angel from entering their
houses. It properly signifies to pass
over, and figuratively, to spare, as here.
Hence np|, the Passover, which was in
stituted in commemoration of the sparing
mercy of Jehovah towards his people.
Josephus: virep^aa-ia ; Philo: bta^anj-
pia ; Aquila, virep^aais ; and Aquila,
Symm., and Theod., in the present pas
sage, virep^aivav ; and the Pacom. MS.
irepi^ijaeTai : — all which authorities go
to invalidate the reasoning of Lowth,
who contends that the verb here signi
fies, to leap or spring forward. The
Bishop's note is otherwise ingenious; but
his construction of Exod. xii. 23 is quite
untenable, it being expressly stated that
it was Jehovah himself that should pass
through to smite the Egyptians, as well
as to spare the Hebrews. The idea of a
sudden leap or spring would ill comport
with the form of the verb as used by
Isaiah ; and when it does occur in the
sense of leaping, it has always a refer
ence to a halting, forced springing, or
limping, as if from a wrench ordislocation.
See 2 Sam. iv. 4 ; 1 Kings xviii. 21, 26.
6. For the adverbial force of ip'a»n,
see chap. vii. 11. An argument en

forcing repentance is drawn from the
preceding promises of Divine interposi
tion. Comp. Rom, ii, 4. The guilt of
the Israelites was great; but on their
turning to God they would meet with a
gracious reception.
7. This verse contains an assurance
that such conversion would take place ;
and that the Jews would bring forth
fruits meet for repentance. Nipii stands
for NipnJ, and denotes the object of sin,
i. e. the idol or idols. Comp. Deut. ix.
18 ; Amos viii. 14.
8, 9. By iti'N iib and D'tn !<'; is meant
Jehovah himself. See for this idiom, on
chap. X. 15. To prevent the repetition
of "man" in the translation, I have
been obliged to change the idiom in the
former instance. One of Kennicott's
MSS., one of De Rossi's at first hand,
and the Soncin. Edit, read *<'' instead of
i'; ; but though supported by the LXX.,
Arab., and Vulg,, and approved by
Doderlein, this reading is inferior to
that of the Textus Receptus. According
to the usus loquendi, Da^ nvi means to
become tributary, and not as some would
render, to melt away, consume, though
such is the signification of Dpa. — liM; —
i»bp does not mean to pass hy or beyond
his rock or fortress, as Vitringa, Lowth,
Gesenius, Boothroyd, and Jenour, inter
pret ; but to pass on to it. For this sig
nification of i3» governing an accusative,
see chap. xvi. 8. Hitzig and Scholz
take »^p in the sense of military forces ;
but this acceptation of the word is no
where to be met with, and otherwise
contradicts the fact of the case. Nor is
D3 to be rendered flight, as Lowth and

chap, xxxii.]

ISAIAH.

263

Saith Jehovah, whose fire is in Zion,
And his furnace in Jerusalem.

Boothroyd give it ; but the constant ac
ceptation, standard, is to be retained, —
that of J ehovah being intended. For the
concluding words, comp. chap. xxix. 1,
only there is here a special reference to
the sacrifice of the Assyrian army, which
Jehovah was to consume.

Tliese two verses very clearly predict
the miraculous destruction of the Assy
rians before Jerusalem ; the servitude to
which such of the warriors as survived
should be reduced ; and the flight of
Sennacherib and his staff to Nineveh.
See chap, xxxvii. 36, 37.

CHAPTER XXXII.
This chapter contains a prophecy of the nature of Messiah's reign, and the character
and happy security of those who submit to him, 1 — 8 ; a description of the deso
late condition of Judea during his reign, 9 — 14; and intimations of a glorious
change in the condition of the Jews, which should result from the effusion of the
Holy Spirit, 15—20.

1 Behold, a king shall reign righteously,
And princes shall rule justly.
2 A man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind.
And a shelter from the tempest ;

1. The prophet, in his usual style,
makes a sudden transition from the de
struction of the impious power of the
Assyrians, predicted at the close of the
previous chapter, to the holy and spiritual
rule of Christ. Comp. chap. ix. 4 — 7,
X. xi. That this chapter is a continua
tion of the foregoing discourse is allowed
by Doderlein, Dathe, Hensler, Gesenius,
Rosenmiiller, and Hitzig. The prophecy
having been delivered on the eve of Sen
nacherib's invasion, and distinctly refer
ring to what was to take place subsequent
to the time of Hezekiah, it cannot de
scribe that monarch, either exclusively,
as the Rabbins, and after them Grotius
and others maintain, or Hezekiah pri
marily, and, in a secondary sense, the
Messiah, as most commentators contend ;
but must be interpreted of the latter ex
clusively. TJ^B ifta; has its exact parallel
in 'TJ^B i]^a ; and p'i2J! and TOBiSa^ corre
spond to ni5i2i iDB^pa, ,Jer. xxiii, 5. Comp.
Isa. ix. 6, xi. 5 ; Zech. ix. 9. The

princes or rulers spoken of, are the
Apostles, who, as our Saviour declares,
were in the irdXiyyivea-ia, or new state
of things which took place at the intro
duction of Christianity, to "sit upon
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes
of Israel," Matt. xix. 28. They alone,
as inspired by the Holy Ghost, were in
vested with infallible authority under the
king of Sion. J in DiiiBbi is better re
solved by rendering it, quantum ad, quod
atlinet ad, than by regarding it as pro
perly forming part of the nominative.
Comp. for a similar usage Josh. xxi. 20;
Job xvi. 21 ; Ps. xvi. 3, xvii. 4; and
especially Eccles. ix. 4. Some, however,
after Kimchi, think it redundant.
2. i^N cannot, without violence to the
connexion, be taken distrihutively of the
rulers just mentioned, but must be refer
red to tiie king who was to rule in right
eousness. It is used with emphasis of
the Messiah, as iS'NTisn, Zech. vi. 12.
To interpret the sublime imagery of this

^64

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxii.

As rills of water in a dry region,
As the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
The eyes of those that see shall not be obscured,
And the ears of those that hear shall attend.
The heart of the rash shall discern knowledge.
And the tongue of the stammerers shall be prompt to speak clearly.
The vile shall no more be called liberal.
Nor shall it be said of the miser, he is rich.
But the vile will utter what is vile,
And his heart will frame iniquity ;
Acting profanely, and uttering error respecting Jehovah ;
Leaving empty the soul of the hungry,
And suffering the drink of the thirsty to fail.

verse in application to a mere human
being, would be quite repugnant to the
spirit of the sacred writers, by whom
Jehovah alone is represented as the
source of protection and refreshment to
his people, and all trust in creatures
solemnly interdicted. To the weary
traveller under a vertical sun nothing
-can be more gratifying than the shade
of a huge projecting rock, and the water
of a cooling stream ; just as a place of
shelter is appreciated by him who is ex
posed to the resistless violence of a storm.
Comp. the saxea umbra of Virg., Georg.
iii. 145, and the ireTpair] a-Kifj of Hesiod,
ii. 206.
3, 4. For the force of n:'»\|5!?, see on
chap. vi. 10. The meaning of the verses
is, that the impediments to spiritual per
ception and obedience being removed,
the subjects of Messiah's reign would be
endowed with true knowledge and right
dispositions. Even those who might
seem to labour under insuperable diffi
culties would surmount them with ease.
O'inp:, rash, precipitate ; persons who
are so hasty, that they cannot take time
to acquire solid knowledge, and conse
quently, are the dupes of deception and
error. D'?\i», the same as D'2»^ ; such
as speak in a stammering or barbarous
manner. LXX. ¦^eXXi^ovo-i. Vulg.
ialborum. Comp. the Arab. ^Ac , har-
barus, crassus barbarus, religionem non
profltens. The term is here to be taken
in a religious sense, as designating those

who, from their ignorance of divine
things, cannot speak of them intelligibly.
Such, the prophet declares, would, in the
new state of things, speak nin2, clearly,
with perspicuity, so as to be understood
by all. Root, nn2, cog. nn2, to be bright, V
sunny, parched, dry ; Aram. ^^ » ,
nns, to thirst, he dry, shine ; Arab. ,^,
Sol, et lux ejus ; ^ .A»-^ , manifestus

ac evidens fuit; ts^, conspicua fuii.
Symm. rpavd. Vulg. clara.
5, 6. '!3: is one of the strongest words
in Hebrew, expressive of utter worth
lessness of character ; — abandoned, vile,
shameful, reckless of the regard both of
God and man. In our common version
it is commonly rendered fool, and rfap,
folly; but the connexion often shews
that such terms are far below the force
of the original. See Job ii. 10 ; Ps. xiv. 1 ;
Judges xix. 23, 24, xx. 6 ; and the present
connexion. It denotes the want, not of
intellectual, but of moral qualities, and
the unchecked dominion of a depraved
bias of heart. Instead of indicating a
mere defect, it involves a settled and
determined opposition to all that is holy,
a state of which moral turpitude is the
element. The root properly signifies,
to wither, become flaccid, as leaves,
flowers, &c. ; hence, by easy transfer,
its moral acceptation. For the paro
nomasia, rts; ^33, comp. 1 Sam. xxv. 25.

CHAP, xxxii.]

ISAIAH,

265

And as for the miser,*his instruments are wicked
He plotteth mischievous devices ;
To destroy the poor with words of falsehood.
And the needy, when he speaketh what is right.
But the liberal deviseth liberal deeds,
And in liberal deeds he will persevere.
Ye women at ease ! Arise, hear my voice ;
Ye confident daughters ! give ear to my speech.

iB» n!g:i ¦\iy(p ";;:. In I'pii;, at the end of
ver. 6, there is a return from the use of
the Infin. to the direct form of the verb
with which the verse commences. See
for 3'i: and '^'?, the following verses.
siti is used in its usual acceptation,
wealthy, opulent ; from Sisi, i. q. »*,
Arab. jtMjj, ampins fuit, IV. divitiis
abundavit ; ijuu , opulentia ; jumm ,
dives, potens. The signification, liberal,
is less apt, as it is too much even for
flattery to give this epithet to the miser.
A due discrimination of character would
be made in the times of the Messiah,
and persons and things would be called
by their appropriate names. Comp.
Mai. iii. 18 ; Matt, xxiii. 13—33 ; Luke
xii. 21 ; Eph. v. 5.
7, 8. '^3 is the same as '^'3 in the pre
ceding verse, only it is slightly changed
to form a paronomasia with 1'5.3 imme
diately following. Hitzig derives it from
n^l, in Piel, to consume, waste ; and ren
ders it waster. Dodson : prodigal. Ge
senius and Winer, on the authority of
the Vulg. fraudulenius, refer it to to: as
its root ; but the derivation is forced.
It is more natural to refer it to ''13, to
hold, contain, retain, keep hack. Comp.
N^, Arab. (Jo , mensuravit, mensurando
dedit. ^y^S , instrumenium, quo men-
sura deflnitur. Kimchi, availing himself
of this use of the cognate Arabic verb,
explains it of the parsimonious, who
measures out what he is compelled to
give in the most niggardly manner. It
forcibly describes the tenacious, griping
character of the miser. Coverdale : the
covetous. As to form, comp. 3'1, from
311, p from ]13, &c. The L- is merely an
augment, as in ''lin, '3i3, &c. D'to means

the instruments, measures, or means, by
which the avaricious seeks to increase
his pelf. These are not only declared to
be wicked, but instances of oppression
and injustice are adduced. — In ni3'i: —
niS'i? 3'i: is another of Isaiah's favourite
paronomasias. The root, 3't:, signifies to
impel, incite ; in Hithp. to impel oneself,
to give willingly, liberally, &c. Comp.
the Arab. ¦ 'i>' , instigavit, impulit ;
t— >i^ , agilis et expeditus, et egregius,
pulcher fuit ; ' y^' , ingenuosus, pul-
cher, generosus. Hence, I'i; means a
princely, noble, liberal, character, to Dip
usually means to rise against, stand op
posed, &c. but is here obviously to be
taken in the sense of continuing or perse
vering in the noble deeds predicted.
Comp. the Arab. -ic Jj> , intentus
fuit re, perseveravit ;~ and KdXav epyav
irpoirTTairBai, Tit. iii. 8, 14. According
to this and other descriptions of the cha
racter of Messiah's subjects, they are
distinguished by a noble-minded libe-.
rality ; contriving and persevering in the
execution of enlarged schemes of bene
volence. See especially Ps. ex. 3, where
they are described as nil? DB, a people
cf voluntarinesses, i. e. readily devoting
themselves and all that they have to the
service of tiieir Divine Lord. For the
fulfilment, see Acts ii. 44, 45, iv. 32 — 37;
2 Cor. viii. 1—4, ix. 2; Heb. vi. 10.
9. The prophet returns abiiiptly to
his own times, and addressing himself to
a company of careless females whom he
espies, takes occasion to predict the
disastrous events that would happen to
the nation to which they belonged, and
of which they might, in their present
posture, be considered the representa-
M M

266

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxii.

10 In little more than a year shall ye be disquieted, ye confident ones !
For the vintage faileth ; the fruit-harvest cometh not.
11 Tremble, ye that are at ease ; be alarmed, ye confident ones ;
Strip, make yourselves bare ;
Put a girdle on your loins.
12 They smite themselves on the breasts.
On account of the pleasant fields.
On account of the fruitful vine.
13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers ;
Yea, upon all the joyous houses in the exulting city.

tives. Some interpreters, after Theodo
ret, among whom Vitringa, are of
opinion, that by Difi:, cities, and not
women, literally taken, are intended ;
but the term is never so used except in
allegory, as Ezek. xvi. I»!^, properly
to enjoy quiet or rest; but here, in a
bad sense, to indulge in carnal security.
The same remark applies to nps. Comp.
chap. iii. 16. The form of address is
that of Lamech to his wives. Gen. iv. 23.
10. The phrase, n:tf^» D'p;, is anoma
lous ; lit. days over a year. The prepos.
is obviously used to convey the idea of
superaddition ; but whether D'p;, days,
are to be understood definitely, as signi
fying the longest complement of days ;
viz. a year, — in which case, the phrase
would be equivalent to n:'^» njifi, chap.
xxix. 1 ; or whether they are to be taken
in an indefinite sense, has been contested.
9 9 9 Iff
The Syr. ]A:oa., and the Arab. Uul,
some days, would seem to favour the
latter construction. In all probability,
the prophet indicates the near approach
of the Assyrian invasion.
11. 11'in is of the masc. gender, as are
also the following Imperatives, with n
paragogic, because both it and nm occur
before the nouns to which thejr refer.
See Ewald, § 567. nii> is not from 11*,
but from 1'i», i. q. ni», to be, or piake
oneself naked.
12. To give greater effect to his lan
guage, the prophet, as frequently, drops
the personal form of address, and assumes
the descriptive style, by adopting the
Benoni participle. D'i?b d;'t«», CEco
lamp., Doderlein, Dathe, Gesenius in his
Translation, Hitzig, Jenour, and Scholz,
render : "They mourn on account of

the fields," — changing Dnai into D;ito,
and maintaining that lEO is used not of
the gesture, but of the sound of mourn
ing. They also urge that to, following
this verb, always refers to the cause of
the grief. In his larger Lexicon, how
ever, published in 1833, Gesenius aban
dons these positions, and renders: "they
smite upon the breasts." He is followed
by Maurer. Coverdale has: Ye shall
knock upon your breasts. Thus also the
LXX. eirl Tav pao'Tmv KoirreaBe ; the
Targ. 1'lpp ^''I'l to ; Vulg. super uhera
plangite ; and the Syr. -o.;/ \ii>.o
—•r^SJ • The primary signification of
icp is that of beating ; and both its sound
and signification are retained in the Gr.
a-(j)abd(a, and the Sanscrit sphud, sphut.
Our own translators appear to have un
derstood by "the teats," the ovBap
dporjprjs of Homer, Iliad ix, 141. Only
one of De Rossi's MSS, reads D'lto ; but
instead of the following 'Tip, the reading
niip is found in fourteen MSS., was ori
ginally in seven more, and probably in
another ; is found in the Sonc. Bib. and
Proph., the Brix., and Kennicott's, 253;
the LXX., Arab., Aquila, Symh?., Theod.,
Syr., and Vulg. ; and is in all probability
the true reading — the plural of TTito
being niito, not D'lto or D'.iia. It is, never
theless, used as a noun of multitude. The
nomin. to P'iBb is not D'lfi:, ver. 9 ; but
the Jews understood, who should live in
aftertimes, while the following predic
tions were being fulfilled.
13. I'P'ti yip, an instance of the con
structio asyndeta, as in chap, xxvii. 4.
In this and the following verse, a pro-

chap, xxxii.]

ISAIAH.

267

14 For the palace shall be deserted';
The wealth of the city shall be abandoned ;
Ophel and the watch-tower shall long be converted into dens ;
The joy of wild asses, the pasture of flocks ;
15 Till the Spirit be poured out upon us from above ;
Then shall the wilderness become a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field shall be esteemed a forest.
Then also shall justice dwell in the desert,
And righteousness shall inhabit the fruitful field.
And the effect of righteousness shall be peace,
And the result of righteousness shall be quiet and security for ever.
My people shall dwell in peaceful habitations.
In secure abodes, and tranquil resting places :
But it shall hail at the falling of the forest ;
And the city shall be low in depression.

16

17

19

spective view is given of the deserted
condition of Judea, subsequent to the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.
Comp. chap. vii. 23, 24. '3, imo, yes
indeed. Before n^'lp, subaud. 3.
14. tos>, Ophel, properly a hill or
mound, but is specially used to denote a
fortified height, forming part of Mount
Sion on the east, near Moriah. DbiST?
is here to be taken in a limited sense, as
intimating only a long period, as the use
of 1? in the following verse shews.
15. Diiaaniiiy.tonwriy, Till the Spirit
be poured out upon us from above. As
the verb nw, in its different conjuga
tions, signifies to make hare, empty, pour
out faUy or completely, it is obvious the
prophet cannot refer to any partial com
munication of divine influence at the
return from Babylon, but must have in
view some copious effusion of the Spirit
ill connexion with the reign of Christ
foretold at the beginning of the chapter.
Most interpreters think the same effusion
is intended which is spoken of by Joel,
chap. ii. 28, which we know took place
on the day of Pentecost, Acts ii. 16 — 21 ;
but to this application of the words it
must be objected, that the desolate state
of the Jewish affairs is predicted to last
till the effusion takes place ; whereas
prosperity was restored to the Jews at
the close of the captivity, i. e. nearly
five centuries before the commencement
of the Christian dispensation. I cannot,

therefore, .but interpret the passage of
a remarkable outpouring of the Holy
Spirit yet future, when the great body
of the Jewish nation (to irXrjpapa avrdv,
Rom. xi. 12) shall, in consequence, be
converted to God. The 1 in nvji marks
the apodosis. For the rest of the verse
see on chap. xxix. 17.
16. I3ip3, in that which had heen a
desert : toss, in that which has become
a fruitful field. This and the following
verse describe the spiritual and happy
results of the remarkable effusion of the
Holy Spirit, which had just been pre
dicted, ni: is here a collective noun. In
?'np3p and ni3:>«fi there seems to be an
allusion to ver. 9. What was only ima
ginary in the case of the Jews living in
Isaiah's time, would be experienced by
them in reality in that of the Messiah.
19, 20, In these verses are contrasted
the destruction of the Jewish polity,
and the happiness of those who should
be engaged in propagating the gospel
throughout the world. By the forest is
meant the Jewish army engaged in the
defence of Jerusalem, Comp. chap. x.
18, 19, 33, 34, where the same image is
used of the Assyrian army. Hail is an
image of divine judgments, and betokens
their severity. Comp. chap, xxviii. 2,
17 ; Rev. xi. 19. For Ti3, Kennicott's
Cod. 30, reads tm, but all the ancient
versions follow the received reading. In
""ns 113 is a paronomasia, as there also

268

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxiii.

20 Happy ye that sow beside all waters ;
That send forth the foot of the ox and the ass.

is in 'JBiiin rfw^i. The city here spoken
of is neither Nineveh nor Babylon, but
Jerusalem, mentioned ver. 13, For its
depression, comp. Matt, xxiv, 2. " Urbs
ista ad imum statum redigitur," Dathe.
The figure ver. 20, is taken from the
nomadic life; and beautifully exhibits
the free and unrestrained exertions of
the apostles and other missionaries, in

sowing the seed of the kingdom in every
part of the world. 'jJ'i 'nWa does not
refer to the employment of the animals
mentioned to tread the ground prepa
ratory to the planting of rice, as Sir
John Chardin and Lowth suppose, but
to setting them at liberty from the rope
with which they were tied by the
foot.

CHAPTER XXXIII.
The prophet, in this chapter, delivers his last prediction respecting the Assyrians.
He announces the retributive justice which they should experience at the hand
of Jehovah, 1 ; whose gracious interposition he invokes, 2 ; anticipates the
results of such interposition, 3—7 ; describes the state of the country during the
invasion of Sennacherib, 7 — 9 ; Jehovah's actual interference, and its conse
quences, 10 — 12 ; and depicts the alarm of the wicked inhabitants of Jerusalem,
with which he beautifully contrasts the security and felicity of the righteous in
the enjoyment of their religious privileges, and their exemption from outward
molestation, 13 — 24.

1 Wo to thee who spoilest, but hast not been spoiled ;
And who plunderest, but others have not plundered thee :
When thou art done with spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled ;
When thou hast finished plundering, others shall plunder thee.

1. Sennacherib, as the representative
of the Assyrian monarchy, is here set
forth in the character of a ruthless con
queror, who has sustained no reverses,
but to whose career a limit is set, and
who is to be subdued in his turn. In
stead of '^3 113?, upwards of sixty MSS.
and seven early editions, read i3 1133, but
the former alone agrees with the con
nexion. ?[a'nn?, apparently from an ob
solete root DIB — such being the regular
Hiph. Infin. of verbs with 1 for the
middle radical ; but evidently, from the
connexion, of the same signification with
Dan, to bring to an end, finish, complete.
To the same root may be referred Din,
D'pn, completeness. 1li''33, the corre

sponding Infin. is less easily accounted
for. Some derive it from hnJ, or nnj,
to he wearied, exhausted, &e. Thus
"Symm. Srav Koirid<Tri ; Targ. 'S'jn, Saad.
tiJtefl ; Vulg. fatigatus, Lowth,
Hensler, Dathe, in edit, secund. Booth
royd, and Noyes. On the other hand.
Seeker, Doderlein, and Gesenius in L'ex.
Man,, approve of the conjecture of Cap-
pellus, that instead of ^p''!? we should
read ?|n'te? — the 3 having been mistaken
by some copyist for 3. This latter con
struction might seem to derive support
from the combination of Dnn and n|3,
Dan. ix. 24 ; but there is no necessity
to abandon the Hebrew interpreters,

chap, xxxiii.]

ISAIAH.

269

0 Jehovah ! have mercy upon us ; in thee we trust
— Be their arm every morning : —
Yea, be thou our salvation in the time of distress.
At the sound of the noise the people flee ;
When thou arisest, the nations are dispersed.
And your spoil shall be gathered up.
Like the gathering of the devouring locust ;
As the running of the caterpillar-locust.
Men shall run upon it.
Jehovah is exalted ; for he dwelleth on high ;
He fiUeth Zion with justice and righteousness.
He also shall be the stability of thy time ;
A store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge :
The fear of Jehovah is his treasure.

sider it to be a contracted form of the
Hiph. Infin. 'jn'Jjn?, like ?ini';:n?— the n
being dropped, and compensation being
made by tlie Dagesh in the following
letter, njs, whence d^m, their acquisi
tion. Job XV. 29, has the signification of
the Arab. ^Jlj, med. Je perfecit, ad
99
flnem perducit, consummavit; Syr. \Jj,
deprehendens, to reach an object, obtain,
flnish. Thus Hitzig, Winer, and Fiirst.
2. D»1J, their arm, i. e. their help, pro
tection. See on chap. ix. 19. AH the
MSS. and editions have the third per
sonal pronoun; only the edition of
Venice, 1518, basin the margin i:'n»li —
a manifest emendation, as is that of
Houbigant, I3'»ll. The Syr. and Targ.
have the first person plural; but the
LXX. TO (Tireppa Tav direiBovvTav evi
dentiy read the third. If, as there is
every reason to believe, the D proceeded
from the pen of the prophet, he is to be
regarded, in this sentence, as giving ex
pression to his own individual desire for
the Divine protection of his people.
D'Tja^, in reference to ihe mornings, i.e.
every morning — that being the period,
when the enemy might be expected to
renew the attack. Comp. the following
hemistich. 3. JiPn Wp being parallel with 'lO^^'ij
the thunder accompanying the Divine
interposition is meant, and not any tu

mult in the hostile army, though the
phrase otherwise denotes the noise of a
multitude. 4. An apostrophic address to the As
syrians, in which the prophet describes
the effect of what he had predicted in
the preceding verse. The enemy having
either been destroyed or made to flee,
the inhabitants of Jerusalem would
eagerly run up and down through the
deserted camp, and collect the spoils.
The comparison to the locusts is beauti
fully graphic. Some, indeed, understand
the prophet to refer to the coUectipn of
the locusts by the husbandman ; but the
active forms of pto and piJD shew that
he has in view the complete consumption
of vegetation, fniits, &c. by these insects.
Comp. Joel i. 4, ii. 3 — 9, with New-
come's Notes. Before f]pN supply 3, from
the following. ppitJ, impersonally, one,
they, men, or the like.
5, 6. These verses are intimately con
nected. The person addressed, ver. 6,
is Hezekiah. The nominative to rrm is
Jehovah, in the verse preceding. n:iaN
some render faith ; others fidelity ;\vLi
security, stability, or such like, is prefer
able. Comp. the Arab. ^^1, L|,
securitas, protectio ; from ^^|, fidit,
nixus fuit, securusfuit. Instead of *pn»
thirty-four MSS., originally ten more,
now one ; upwards of thirty printed edi
tions ; the Syr. and Symm. read ^B» in

370

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxiii.

Behold their Ariel ! They raise a cry without ;
The messengers of peace weep bitterly.
The highways are desolate ;
The traveller ceaseth ;
He hath broken the treaty ; the cities are despised ;
Man is held in no estimation.
The land mourneth ; it languisheth ;
Lebanon is put to shame ; it withereth :
Sharon is like a desert ;
Bashan and Carmel cast off their leaves.

the singular. For the meaning of ryj>,
time, in such connexion, see Ps. Ixxxi.
16. ^Dh is used in the sense both of
strength, riches, and store, storehouse,
&c. Comp. the Arab. yir* , magazine.
The same sentiment occurs Job xxii. 25.
niJliti;, lit. salvations, i. e. complete deli
verance. Sixteen MSS., originally six,
and novir two, substitute ia3n for na3n.
Several instances, however, occur of the
construct being similarly used instead of
the absolute, as pii nV?, chap. xxxv. 2.
7. This and the two following verses
describe the alarm and distress of Judea
during the Assyrian invasion. Even the
inhabitants of the metropolis should be
in terror. That they are intended by
the terra dVn"i!J I cannot doubt. Accord
ing to the punctuation, indeed, it must
be differently interpreted ; but this punc
tuation is so perfectly anomalous, that
had it not been for an early mis-con
struction of the passage, it never could
have obtained. 'The Syr., Targ., Aquila,
and Symm. take it to be compounded of
the verb nNi, to see, in Niph. to appear,
and Dj for orf}, to them. To this deriva
tion videntes of the Vulg. is also to be
referred. The LXX. likewise found a
verb in the word — only they read itv,
and not nNi. The parallelism, however,
requires a noun and not a verb ; and no
resolution is more easy than that fur
nished by the punctuation d^nin, accord
ing to which the word is simply made up
of ^NIN, Ariel, the name given to Jeru
salem, chap. xxix. 2, and D^ the pronom.
affix, referring to the Jews. For the
meaning of the term, see on the passage
just cited. The word occurs in this de
fective form 2 Sam. xxiii. 20. Michaelis,

Lowth, Gesenius, Boothroyd, Jenour,
and others, adopt D'^jnin, the reading of
a few MSS., and render, ihe heroes, or
" the mighty," with which agrees the
rendering of our common version ; but
the above interpretation, which is that
supported by Hitzig, Maurer, and Scholz,
is preferable. That Doderlein should
have rendered the word legati publicos,
following the notion of "JN^b, angel, mes
senger, suggested by the Rabbins, is
unaccountable, as the interpretation is
altogether arbitrary. By metonymy
Ariel is put for the inhabitants, as the
plural '^p!^'^ shews. Jerusalem was the
glory and boast of the nation ; and, as
such, attention is drawn to it by the
prophet; but instead of affording en
couragement to the Jews at the present
crisis, it was itself placed in circum
stances of imminent danger. The inhar
bitants had left their houses, and in the
streets and open places of the city, gave
vent to their cries of distress. By the
Di'jto 'SbAp are meant Eliakim, Shebna,
and Joab, the messengers whom Heze
kiah sent to negotiate peace with Rab
shakeh, 2 Kings xviii. 18, 37, xix. 3.
8. All intercourse throughout the
country had ceased. Comp. Judg. v. 6.
The nominative to ion is Sennacherib,
who, having broken the treaty into which
he had entered with Hezekiah, overran
the country, and regarded with con
tempt its fortified places and inhabitants.
9. A beautiful poetical amplification
of the description. The most magnifi
cent and fruitful scenes of nature are
represented as converted into barrenness
and desolation. yiN being an epicenic
noun admits of the verbs being of both
genders. Sharon was a plain, lying along

chap, xxxiii.]

ISAIAH.

271

10

11

12

13

14

Now will I arise, saith Jehovah ;
Now will I exalt myself;
Now will I lift myself up.
Ye shall conceive chaff; ye shall bring forth stubble ;
Your own 'wrath is a fire that shall devour you.
And the nations shall be like the burning of limestone ;
Like thorns cut down, they shall be consumed with fire.
Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done ;
And ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
The sinners are afraid in Zion ;
Trembling hath seized on the impious ;
Which of us can dwell in devouring fire ?
Which of us can dwell in everlasting burnings ?

15 He that walketh righteously.
And speaketh things that are right :

the Mediterranean, between Carmel and
Joppa, greatly celebrated for its extra
ordinary beauty and fertility. It not
only furnished the richest pasturage, but
abounded in agricultural produce. Comp.
Song ii. 1 ; Isa. xxxv. 2, Ixv. 10.
10. In the desperate state of Jewish
affairs Jehovah suddenly interposes, and
miraculously delivers his people. The
repetition of nns, now, is peculiarly em
phatic. 11. The images here employed strik
ingly set forth the vain attempt of the
Assyrians to reduce Jerusalem. To ex
press the formation and execution of
plans, the Hebrews use metaphorically
the terms employed to denote natural
conception and birth ; and, to convey an
idea of the utter inutility of any scheme,
it is compared to chaff, stubble, wind,
&c. Comp. Ps. vii. 15 ; Isa. xxvi. 18,
lix. 4. nil, breath, is here used for
anger, or rage, as Judges viii. 3 ; Isa.
xxv. 4. Lowth's alteration of UJN D3nii
into 1!5n ias irii, after the conjecture of
Seeker, is unwarranted. . The meaning
is, that the rage of the Assyrians against
Jehovah and his people, would prove the
cause of their own destruction.
12. The 1 is continuative. By D'p»
are meant people from the different
nations, serving in the Assyrian army.
niDiica, burnings, is put in the plural to

indicate intensity. Comp. Amos ii. 1 ;
and for the last clause of the verse,
2 Sam. xxiii. 6, 7.
13. The miraculous overthrow of the
army of Sennacherib was so illustrious a
display of the Divine omnipotence and
care, that it claimed the attention both
of Gentiles and Jews. They are, there
fore, summoned to give earnest heed
to it.
14. Having called upon the Jews to
consider the awful manifestation of the
character of Jehovah, which they had
witnessed in the destruction of his ene
mies, the prophet now describes the alarm
which it produced in the wicked inhabi
tants of Jerusalem. The concluding
words of the verse have no meaning,
except there be an implied reference to
eternal punishment. Of that punish
ment the impious Jews had a striking
emblem before their eyes, in the fires of
Tophet, in which the dead bodies of the
Assyrians were being burnt. See chap.
xxx. 33, and the passages there quoted.
1:5 is here used emphatically, as Dr6 is,
Amos ix. 1.
15, 16. These verses contain a beau
tiful description of the character, security,
and happiness, of the righteous, con
trasted with the miserable condition of
the ungodly. Comp. Ps. xv. and xxiv.
nip^s and D'lti'a are used adverbially.

272

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxiii.

16

17

18

That despiseth the gain of oppression ;
That shaketh his hands, that he may not take a bribe ;
That stoppeth his ears, that he may not listen to bloodshed ;
And shutteth his eyes, that he may not behold injury :
He it is that shall dwell on high ;
The strongholds of rocks shall be his refuge ;
His bread shall be given him ;
His water shall be constant.
Thine eyes shall contemplate the King in his beauty :
They shall see distant lands.
Thine heart shall reflect on the terror :
Where is the secretary .'' where the collector ?
Where he that numbered the towers .''

The participles, i?:, Dp'N, and D2!>, strongly
express the repugnance felt to the evils
specified. Before D'ai, subaud. ns!?. The
righteous cannot listen to any scheme or
counsel which has murder for its object.
Nin, at the beginning of ver. 16, is em
phatic : He ii is who, &c. t3':BN: d;b
signifies permanent, i. e. perennial foun
tains or streams, Jer. xv. 18; — a figure
quite natural to an Oriental poet, and
powerfully calculated to impress the
mind. Comp. Ps. xxiii.
17. Interpreters are greatly divided
on the subject of the king to whom
reference is here made. Doderlein ad
vocates the preposterous opinion, that
Sennacherib is meant. Piscator, Vata-
blus, Clarius, Clericus, Jackson, Hensler,
V. d. Palm, Gesenius, Hitzig, Scholz,
and Hendewerk, maintain that the pro
phet has Hezekiah in his eye. This
interpretation is also admitted by Calvin,
and that class of commentators, who,
with him, explain the passage first lite
rally of Hezekiah, and then typically of
Christ. On comparing, however, ver. 22,
chap, vi, 5 ; Ps, xlviii. 3, there is reason
to believe that Jehovah himself is in
tended. Thus the Targ. 'fro n:'3ti ip.^ n'
Njato, the glory of the presence of the King
of the worlds ; meaning the sensible
sjnmbol of the Divine presence vouch
safed to the temple. The vision of this
glory was an object of intense desire on
the part of the pious Israelites, Ps. xxvii.
4, Ixiii. 2 ; Isa. xxxviii. 11. This inter
pretation has the suffrages of Vitringa,

Michaelis, Koppe, and Cube. The Jews
who had been cut off from access to
Jerusalem by the Assyrian army, should
again enjoy the privilege of worshipping
in the temple, and beholding the glory
of the Lord. D'prna yi», lit, land o/ dis
tances, i. e. distant countries. Instead
of being cooped up within the walls of
Jerusalem by the Assyrians, the inhabi
tants should not only freely traverse their
own land, but visit distant nations. Comp.
Jer. viii. 19, where the same phrase oc
curs ; and in the same sense, without
fiN, Zech. X. 9.
18. The meaning is not, as the ren
dering of our common version would
import, that the minds of the inhabitants
would be filled with terror in reference
to anticipated evils, but that the state of
terror into which they had been brought
by the foreign army should now only be
matter of reflection. The questions
which follow, shew that the reflection
would be joyous and exulting. As usual,
the interrogatives imply the strongest
negation. By ipb is here meant the
secretary or scribes of Sennacherib, who
took the census of the people,' and im
posed upon them the tribute. This
clearly appears, from its close connexion
with the following ^pjli, the weigher, i. e.
the collector or tax-gatherer, who, on
receiving the money, weighed it to ascer
tain its amount. D'^'jjprrnM ibd designates
the engineer officer who reconnoitred
the fortifications, lo determine on the
most eligible points of attack. The words

chap, xxxiii.]

ISAIAH.

19

20

21

22

23

The fierce people thou shalt see no more ;
The people of unintelligible language,
Of a barbarous, unmeaning tongue.
Contemplate Zion, the city of our festivals ;
Let thine eyes look on Jerusalem, a tranquil abode-
A tent that shall not be removed :
Its stakes shall never be pulled up.
Nor shall any of its cords be broken.
But there the glorious Jehovah shall be to us
Instead of rivers and wide-spreading streams ;
No oared galley shall enter it.
Nor shall any magnificent vessel pass through to it.
For Jehovah is our Judge ;
Jehovah is our Lawgiver ;
Jehovah is our King ;
He it is tbat will save us.
Thy ropes hang loose ;

of Paul, 1 Cor. i. 20, ttoC ao(j>6s ; irov
ypapparevs; irov o-ufTjTi/r^r, k.t.X., are
not, as some have imagined, a quotation
of the words of this verse : the only
points of agreement between them being
merely the occurrence of ypappaTevs,
and the repetition of the interrogative
iroH. It is not impossible, however,
that the stnicture of the one passage may
have suggested the other.
19. wi: is the regular Niphal Partici
ple of w;, which occurs only in this place,
but is obviously equivalent in significa
tion to iw, to be strong, fierce, cruel.
V
Targ. f|'pa Syr. .«.v . Vulg, im-
pudentem. Symm, dj'aiSi7s. Comp.
O'.^l 1?, Dan. viii. 23. For noto 'pps,
comp. Ezek. iii. 5, 6 ; and for fiiB^ 3?)?.
Isa. xxviii. 11. That the Assyrians are
meant, cannot be doubted. 'Pheir lan
guage, or rather, that of their Medo-Per
sian mercenaries, not being understood
by the Jews, is represented as in itself
unintelligible. 20. Instead of i:'i?ia, upwards of sixty
MSS. and the earliest editions read i:''T»iB.
J»2, a aira^ Xey. Comp. the Arab, j^,
migravit, iter fecit. Almost all the terms
here employed are boiTowed from the

nomadic life, and the whole strongly
describes the permanence and tranquillity
of the Jewish state. n2:b, however, is
not to be taken in an absolutely un
limited sense, but is to be understood as
applicable to the old dispensation.
21. DipB is used adverbially. See
Hitzig on Hos. ii. 1. In '3ni an^ D'ln:
d;'t there is evident allusion to the situa
tion of Nineveh and the royal cities of
Egypt. What the Tigris and its canals
were to the former, and those of the Nile
to the latter, Jehovah would be to Jeru
salem, which had no such streams for her
defence. Comp. Nah. iii. 8 ; and as parallel
in meaning, chap. xxvi. 1. The suffixes
in i3 and 13'13?' refer to Jerusalem, as ex
pressed in Dtf, the adverb of place. Of
the two kinds of vessels here mentioned,
one was propelled by oars ; and the other
had sails : hence the use of i''iN, splendid,
magnificent. The former were employed
as war-galleys for conveying troops, and
making an attack ; the latter were vessels
of burden for the transportation of stores,
&c. Comp. Ezek. xxvii. 27, xxx. 9.
22. This beautiful triplet expresses the
confidence of the church in the govern
ment and protection of Jehovah. The
Divine name is placed first for the sake
of emphasis. «in also is emphatic.
23. The propbfit, reverting to the sub-
N N

274 ISAIAH. [chap, xxxiv.
The men could not make firm the socket of the mast ;
They could not spread the sail.
Then the booty of much spoil was divided ;
Even the lame seized upon the prey.
24 Neither shall any inhabitant say : I am sick ;
The people that dwell therein have their iniquity forgiven.
ject he had introduced, ver. 21, by a ferent, and i»iS, to spread, could only
sudden apostrophe addresses the Assyrian with propriety be used of sails, in, then,
army under the image of a fleet. Instead is emphatic, and marks the exact point
of being properly rigged and prepared of time when the inhabitants of Jerusa-
for action, it should be totally dismantled lem should seize upon the Assyrian spoils.
and unfit for service : — the effect of the The introduction of the lame as going
storm of Divine wrath with which it forth to possess themselves of the booty
should be visited. The ^3 was the cross- is exquisite in effect.
beam in which the mast was fixed, so as 24. The Jews should now enjoy a
to make it steady : called by the Greeks, period of prosperity and comfort, — the
pea-obpr], laToneba, and lo'ToboKrj. Be- result of the forgiveness of their sins.
cause d: occurs, chap. xxx. 17, in the For the connexion between pardon and
sense of flag, Hitzig would so render it convalescence, comp. Ps. ciii. 3 ; Matt,
here; but the subject is altogether dif- viii. 17.

CHAPTER XXXIV.
There only remained one other hostile nation against which it was necessary to
pronounce the Divine sentence ; viz. Edom : the ancient and inveterate enemy
of the Jews. This sentence is here delivered as part of a general denunciation
against the enemies of the church of God. The chapter begins with a universal
summons to the nations to attend to what the prophet was about to deliver, 1.
Then follows a prediction of the calamities which Nebuchadnezzar would bring
upon all the nations round Judea, 2 — 4 ; especially upon Idumea, which, with
its capital, should be rendered a perpetual desolation, 5 — 15. Finally; those
who should live in after times are called to compare the prophecy, as recorded in
the inspired volume, with the event, in order to convince themselves of its Divine
origin, and most minute fulfilment. The entire piece is a strongly coloured,
magnificent, and sublime specimen of the prophetic style. See Lowth in loc.
and Lect. xx,

1 Dkaw near, ye nations, to hear ;
Ye people, attend :
1. Though D'N2N2 is used in several the Eth. f{'^f\^ , foetus, emhryo,) yet it
instances metaphorically of children, , , ,-,,.„
seems here to be employed literally to
(Comp. the Arab. ^-aJUa , slirps, and denote the various productions which

vCHAP. XXXIV.]

ISAIAH.

276

Let the earth and her fulness hear ;
The globe, and all its productions.
For the indignation of Jehovah is upon all the nations.
And his fui-y upon all their armies :
He hath devoted them to destruction ;
He hath delivered them over to slaughter.
Their slain shall be cast out ;
The stench of their carcases shall ascend ;
.A.nd the mountains shall flow down with their blood.
All the host of heaven shall melt.
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll ;
Yea, all their host shall fall.
As the leaf falleth from the vine.
And as the withered leaf from the fig tree.
For my sword shall be made drunk in tlie heavens ;
Behold, upon Edom it shall descend.
Even for judgment upon the people whom I have devoted.

spring out of the earth. Whatever exists
on the face of the globe is summoned to
witness the execution of the Divine
wrath. Comp. for similar instances of
prosopopoeia, Ps. I. 4 ; Isa. i. 1 ; Ezek.
vi. 3 ; Micah vi. 1, 2.
2. For the peculiar force of D'lnn, see
chap. xi. 15.
3, 4. The language of these verses is
in the highest degree hyperbolical. All
nature is represented as involved in the
predicted catastrophe, and sinking into
ruin. The atmosphere should be in
fected with the effluvia rising from the
bodies of the slain ; and the quantity of
blood should be such as to wash away
the very mountains from their localities.
Not even the celestial bodies should
escape, but should roll together like a
piece of parchment when set on fire.
Comp, Matt, xxiv. 29 ; 2 Pet. iii. 10, 12;
Rev. vi. 12 — 14 ; Isa. xiii. 10. In pro
phetic style mountains denote religious
establishments, and the heavens the
sphere of political governments ; so that
the violent and entire removal of these
in the countries around Judea is here
predicted. 5. Now commences the specific sen
tence against the Idumeans, with which
are to be compared chap. Ixiii. 1 — 6,
and Jer. xlix. 7 — 22. The language of

the latter prophecy is so explicit, and
the description accords so completely
with tbat more figuratively expressed in
the two parallel passages of Isaiah, that
we are compelled to refer them all to
the same event — the desolating con
quests of Nebuchadnezzar. The Idu
means, or Edomites, din '33; LXX.
'l8ov;iiutoi ; were the descendants of Esau,
or Edom, Gen. xxv. 25, 30 ; and inha
bited the mountainous country of Seir,
Arab, iiljjiJI , which stretched from the
Dead Sea, and the south-eastern boun
dary of Palestine to the Elanitic gulf
They were first governed by dukes or
petty chiefs, and afterwards by kings.
Gen. xxxvi. They maintained their in
dependence till the time of David, by
whom they were subdued, and continued
vassals to the Jews till the reign of
Jehoram, when they rebelled ; and,
though checked by the decisive victory
gained over them by Amaziah, they
soon recovered themselves, to the great
annoyance of the Jewish state. 'Their
enmity was also manifested during and
after the exile, having invaded the land
of Judea, and exercised wanton cruelties
on sucb of the inhabitants as had re
mained. They were, however, severely
chastised by Judas Maccabeus, who slew

276

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxiv.

The sword of Jehovah is full of blood ;
It is besmeared with fat ;
The blood of lambs and of goats.
The fat of the kidneys of rams.
For Jehovah hath a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

twenty thousand of them; and were at
last conquered by John Hircanus, and
compelled to conform to the religion of
the Jews, and afterwards suffered jointly
with the latter from the Roman arms,
and ultimately became extinct, or amal
gamated with the Arabs of the desert.
No sooner were the Israelites brought
into contact with them, on their passage
from Egypt, than they experienced their
hostility. Numb, xxxiii. 7 ; and all along,
their hostile disposition manifested itself
whenever there was a fit occasion, either
in the way of predatory invasion, or of
offensive alliance with other enemies of
the Jews. Hence the denunciations
against them, Ps. cxxxvii. 7 ; Obad.
10—14; Jer. xlix. 7—22 ; Lam. iv. 21,
22; Ezek. xxv. 12 — 14, xxxii. 29, xxxv.;
Amos i. 11, 12; and in the present
chapter. The immediate connexion of all these
prophecies, and the similarity of the
language employed in most of them,
prove that it is the literal Edom which
Isaiah has in view. The notion of a
mystical people or community, as some
have imagined, is utterly untenable ;
resting primarily on the blasphemous
interpretation of tlie Jewish Rabbins,
who, by transposing the letters of the
name Jesus, have converted it into Esau,
and then applied it to the Saviour; and
I'Mom, lo which it poetically corre
sponds, to the Christians, and especially
to Rome — the centre of Christendom, at
the time they wrote. See Buxtorf's Lex,
Chald. Talmud, et Rabbin, sub voc. din.
To the literal interpretation, the sublime
and awful character of the language
cannot justly be objected, since it was
merely adequate to meet the expecta
tions of a patriotic Jew in reference to
the infliction of divine judgment on
those who had been the ancient and
most inveterate enemies of his country.
nTi is here taken in the Aram, accep
tation, to be filled with liquor, inebriated.

LXX. ipeBva-Bij; the sword being poeti
cally represented as eagerly drinking the
blood which it was the instrument of
shedding. The preterite is subordinated
to the following future, and must be
rendered accordingly. By D'B* is meant
the Idumean "heaven," or the ruling
power in Edom, as in ver. 4. Yet the
judgment was not to be confined to the
rulers ; it was likewise to extend to the
inhabitants generally, 'niti D», lit. the
people of my devotion, i. e. those whom
I have devoted to destruction.
6. The idea introduced in the pre
ceding verse is illustrated in this by lan
guage borrowed from the slaughter of
sacrificial victims — a figure which the
prophets frequently employ when setting
forth the destruction of a people by
war. See Jer. xl. 10, I. 27, li. 40; Ezek.
xxxix. 17 — 20; and comp. Rev. xix.
17. — n:f'in stands for fi:finn, the Hoth-
paal conjugation, of which a few other
examples occur, as D33n, Lev. xiii. 55,
i6 ; NfEn, Deut, xxiv. 4.
ni23, Bozrah, is considered by Gese
nius to be the Boorpa of the Greek,
and the Bosira Arabia of the Roman
writers, which the Arabs still call by the
name of c'f^ > ®"^ which lies in the
Hauran, to the N.E. of the mountains
of Gilead. There is no proof, however,
that this city ever belonged to the Idu
means; nor is there the smallest pro
bability that they would have a capital
at the distance of a hundred miles from
their territory, with the powerful states
of Moab and Ammon intervening. In
all probability, the city of which the
prophet speaks occupied the site of the
present is J.A) , Besseyra, a village which
Burckhardt found in the mountainous
country of Djebal, sixteen hours to the
south of Kerek, and which, judging
from the surrounding ruins, he considers
to have been, aiicientiy a considerable

chap, xxxiv.]

ISAIAH.

277

With them also shall the unicorns come down.
And the bullocks with the bulls ;
Their land shall be drenched with blood.
And their soil overspread with fat.

city. It lies on an elevation, at the
summit of which is a castle, built of
stone, with strong walls. What confirms
this view of its position is the mention
made of it in immediate connexion with
T^^, Teman, Amos i. 12, a city and
region to the east of Idumea. It appears
to have been the Psora of Palsestina
Tertia, and a bishop's see. From the
circumstance that Bozrah is mentioned
Jer. xlviii. 24, as belonging to Moab,
some have thought that it was at one
time in the possession of that people,
and that it had been taken from them
by the Idumeans ; but, as it again occurs
chap. xlix. 13, as the capital of Edom,
we are doubtless to regard that occurring
in the former passage, as a place of the
same name in Moab. Indeed, as the
word signifies a fortified or inaccessible
place, it appears to have designated
several cities. Comp. however, with a
special view to the present case, Ps. Ix.
11. That the Bozrah of Isaiah origi
nally pertained to Edom, we gather
from Gen. xxxvi. 33.
7. The opinion of Jerome, Pagninus,
Forerius, Bruce, &c. that by D.yi, or D'l,
the rhinoceros is meant, is now ex
ploded ; as is, for the most part, that of
Bochart, that the Hebrew word corre
sponds in signification, as it does in
form, to the Arab. >j . , rim, a species of
antelope or gazelle. Schultens, Gese
nius, De Wette, Winer, Hitzig, and
others, contend that the 60s bubalus, or
wild buffalo, is the animal intended :
treating tiie idea of the unicorn as alto
gether fabulous. Still, however, there
are testimonies from independent wit
nesses to the existence of such an animal
both in Asia and Africa, which should
make us pause before we reject this
ancient interpretation. Not only is the
figure of the unicorn exhibited on the
ruins of Persepolis, but it is described
by Pliny in his Nat. Hist. viii. 21 ; by
Ludovico de Bartema, who saw two at
Mecca; by several Portuguese, and by
Father Lobo, who saw them in Abys

sinia; by the Hottentots in South
Africa ; by the natives of Thibet, where
it is called Iso'po ; by Mr. Hodgson, the
British resident at Nepaul, who states
that it is a native of southern Thibet; and
by Bishop Brugueres, who is at the head
of the Catholic mission in Siam. See
Robinson's Calmet; Winer's Realwor-
terb. art. "Einhorn ;" and the Times for
Oct. 29, 1832. The animal is described
as bearing some resemblance to a horse,
has cloven hoofs, a tail shaped like tbat
of a boar, and the horn grows out of
the forehead. One of these horns, ob
tained by Major Latter, from the Sachia
Lama of Thibet, was twenty inches in
length, four inches and a half at the
root, tapering towards the point, and
nearly straight. It seems unaccountable
that the different Greek translators of
the Pentateuch, Job, and the Psalms,
the result of whose labour we have in
the LXX., should have concurred in
rendering the term by puvoKepas, i. e.
unicorn, if the existence of some such
animal had not been familiar to them.
In all the passages in which it occurs,
it is thus rendered, except in the present
instance, in which it is translated ot
dbpol, the strong ones. In those passages
9 V
the Syr. has Jii.5 , which is given Deut.
xxxiii. 17, as the translation of ]ii!l'i, a
species of antelope ; and the Arab, has
variously 4J , , gazelle, ^Mji > rhino
ceros, j^js!, , according to Damir, a
species of jiUs^J) .ajJl , the wild ox,
and S»-\^] ^\ , or ^t AJ=>.j,
unicorn. The Ethiopic has likewise
HAfh.§i TCt * '^^ °"^ horned, in
the three passages in which it is thus
rendered in the Arabic. It is obvious
no stress is to be laid on the circum
stance that in Deut. xxxiii, 17, horns
are ascribed to the dn'i, since the word
is there used as a noun of multitude.

278

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxiv.

8 For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance,
A year of recompense in vindication of Zion,
9 Her streams shall be turned into pitch,
And her dust into brimstone ;
And her land shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched by night or by day;
Her smoke shall ascend for ever ;
From generation to generation it shall lie waste ;
None shall pass through it to all perpetuity.
The pelican and the porcupine shall possess it ;
The crane and the crow shall inhabit it ;
For he will stretch over it the line of desolation.
And the plummet of emptiness.
As for her nobles — none is there whom they might call to the rule ;
None of her princes exist any more.

11

12

the horns not signifying, as some have
supposed, Ephraim and Manasseh ; but
as Moses immediately explains, " They
are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and
they are the thousands of Manasseh."
According to the Scripture representa
tions, the D'aN^ were strong and fierce,
and were therefore appropriately used in
a figurative sense to denote powerful
and formidable enemies, especially those
of elevated rank, such as princes or
rulers. 11^ is here used in a sense
equivalent to to, to fall, come down in
voluntarily ; LXX. (jvpireo'ovvTai.
8. By Ji'2 3'1, the cause of Zion, is
meant the contention, or, to use a legal
term, the suit carried on between the
Idumeans and the Jews, to the great
annoyance of the latter, which Jehovah
would now terminate by taking ven
geance on the former. Comp. Obad.
10—15. 9, 10. Comp. Jer. xlix. 18, where also
the destruction of Edom is compared to
that of Sodom and Gomorrah ; but it is
much more forcibly exhibited by the
bold and striking figures here employed
by Isaiah. This destruction was to be
complete and perpetual, Comp, Jude 7,
and Rev. xiv. 10, 11.
1 1 . This and the following verses con
tain an accumulation of objects usually
associated with desolate regions, in order
still more to heighten the effect of the

prophetic picture. The nNp, Kaath,
Chal. Nnjj , Katha, Burckhardt describes
as abounding in such numbers in Shera,
that " the Arab boys kill two or three of
them at a time,'merely by throwing a
stick among them." LXX. HeXeKav;
Vulg. Pelican. The name is derived
from Nip, to vomit; this bird being re
markable for vomiting back the shells
which it has swallowed. In Ps. cii-. 7,
it is called 13'ia nNp, the pelican of the
desert, from its frequenting places remote
from the habitations of man. For liBp,
see on chap, xiv. 23. The fjiuS::, msir,
heron or crane, is likewise a water-fowl,
found in marshy deserts. LXX. I^eis,
the Egyptian Ibis orheron. — In the con
cluding words of the verse, reference is
made to the mil inn state of the earth,
before it was shaped into order and
beauty. Gen. i. 2, — a state of complete
desolation and emptiness, than 'nhich no
comparison could be more apt. See
Jer. iv. 23. To such a condition was
Idumea to be reduced ; and all who have
attempted to penetrate it, describe such
to be its condition at the present day.
The line and plummet were used not
only when buildings were being erected,
but also when they were to be taken
down. In rrm) the 1 is causal, and the
nominative is Jehovah, understood.
12. Lowth's emendation here is most
unhappy, — rr'ife, her princes, in the fol-

CHAP, xxxiv.]

ISAIAH.

,979

13 Thorns shall spring up in her palaces ;
Nettles and thistles in her fortresses :
She shall be a habitation for wolves ;
A dwelling-place for ostriches,
14 The wild cats shall meet the jackals ;
The shaggy he-goat shall call to his fellow ;
There also the lilith shall rest.
And find for herself a place of repose.
There the arrow-snake shall nestle and lay eggs ;
And hatch them, and cover the young with her shadov
There also the vultures shall be gathered together,
Each one with her mate.
Search out from the book of Jehovah, and read :
Not one of these shall fail ;

15

lowing member of the parallelism, ob
viously corresponding to n'^ih, her nobles.
The same may be said of ddn and 1;n.
1 in ]'N1 is pleonastic after the Nom. ab
solute. Before nsi'jB is an ellipsis of
) li^N, which is not uncommon. From
the statement here made, it would appear
that the Idumean monarchy was elective.
13. Before n'niilp'iN is an ellipsis of 3.
For D'3n, see on chap. xiii. 22.
14. Observe the paronomasia in D'»2
and D';n, and see for the signification of
both words, and of I'Sto, chap. xiii. 21, 22.
nf), a dira^ Xey. — Bochart, Gesenius,
Rosenm., Hitzig, and others, imagine it
to be a night spectre, such as the Rab
bins describe, and the same as the (J»c
of the Arabs, the jZViikX of the Syrians,
and the ipirova-a of the Greeks ; but,
employed as it is by the prophet in a
catalogue of real animals, there can be
no doubt that some animal is meant,
though it may now be impossible to
decide which. It is not, however, un
likely that the n'W, lilith, may be the
same as the Arab. (JjJ, lailon, which
the Kamoos explains : tarda avis, ejusve
pullus. Freytag's Arab. Lex. Of this
interpretation, Doderlein approves, and
adds : " otidem veterum, avem sordidum,
foetore hon-endam, solitudinis amicam;"
referring to Shaw's Travels for a fuller
description. Dathe has : " tarda avis

s. lamia." LXX. dvoKevravpoi. Aq.
XiXiB. Vulg. lamia. Most moderns,
ihe screech-owl, as in our common ver
sion. In the present state of uncertainty,
I have deemed it best, with Aquila, Van
der Palm, and De Wette, to retain the
original word.
15. liBp, Arab. Xjlis, the arrow-snake,
from •Jii , saliit, insiliit ; the serpent
known among the Greeks by the name
of aKOVTias, and the anguis jaculus of
Lin. It abounds in Arabia, and springs
suddenly, and with great violence, on its
prey. Its wound is deadly. See Boch.
lib. iii. cap. 9. Four MSS. read liBp,
and other five have done so originally.
It is also the reading of the Soncin. Edit.
but is otherwise unsupported. iQ^a pro
perly signifies to slip away, or make one's
escape : it is here used in Piel to denote
the slipping of the eggs out of the
body of the serpent ; only it is taken
causatively as the act of the serpent.
Comp. the Arab. JbAJl* , foetus. Ser
pents lay their eggs with much apparent
pain, and leave them to be hatched in
the sun, but when the young appear,
they carefully protect them. This pro
tection is expressed by 131, which signi
fies to collect, heap together, and so to
sit upon or brood.
16. The prophet here calls upon all
who should live after the devastation of

280

ISAIAH.

[chap. xxxv.

No female shall want her mate ;
For the Divine mouth hath commanded.
And His Spirit hath gathered them.
17 He hath also cast the lot for them.
And His hand hath divided it for them with the line ;
They shall possess it for ever ;
To successive generations they shall dwell therein.

Idumea, to compare the event with the
predictions respecting it, which he had
just delivered. These predictions would
be found in the sacred volume, emphati
cally called nin^ IDD, because written by
inspiration of his Spirit, and bearing the
stamp of his authority. The foundation
of its contents had been laid by Moses ;
and they were augmented from time to
time by succeeding prophets, till the
canon was complete. Isaiah knew that
his prophecies would form part of the
volume, and he, therefore, confidently
makes his appeal to it. With toa luili
IBp, comp. ipevvdre Tas ypacfrds, John v.
39. — nsn, Vitringa refers to the predic
tions : it rather belongs to the different
animals just enumerated : they should
all, without fail, be found inhabiting the
land of Edom, Nin is the pronoun used
emphatically for nin;, and may therefore
admit of 'B in the construct state. Comp.
Deut, xxxii. 39, and similar passages in
tvhich Nin is thus used as equivalent to

nin;. y& is similarly used in Arabic. A
few codices have in-B, contrary to usage;
some have nin; 'B, which is the reading
of the LXX. and Arab. ; but both evi
dently emendations.
1 7. Both genders are here used, doubt
less, because the animals mentioned are
of different genders.
That the prophecy contained in this
chapter has been minutely fulfilled, must
be admitted by all who are acquainted
with the present desolate condition of
Idumea. Volney, in spite of his infidel
prejudices, was compelled to bear testi
mony to the facts of the case. " There
are," he says, " to the S. E, of the Dead
Sea, within three days' journey, upwards
of eighty ruined towns absolutely deso
lated ; several with large edifices. The
Arabs sometimes use them as folds for
their cattle ; but in general they avoid
them, on account of the enormous scor
pions with which they swarm." See
Keith on the Prophecies.

CHAPTER XXXV.

This chapter is intimately connected with the preceding. The enemies of the Jews
having been all overthrown in the judgments brought upon them by Jehovah,
Judea, which they had laid waste, should again flourish, 1, 2 ; the timid and weak
should be encouraged to trust in God for deliverance, 3, 4 ; every obstacle should
be removed which tended to obstruct the restoration of the Jews to their own
land, and every advantage afforded them by which their speedy and safe return
might be promoted, 6 — 9 ; — so that the sorrows which had preyed upon them for
so long a period should give place to exquisite and permanent joy, 10. The
attempts that have been made to explain this prophecy of gospel-times, and, in
part, of heaven itself, are exceedingly loose and unsatisfactory. The explanation
given by both the Lowths is of this character. As the language of part of the
6th verse and that of the 7th is obviously figurative, it is quite a violation of

CHAP. XXXV.]

ISAIAH.

281

hermeneutical propriety, to interpret the 5tli and the former part of the 6th literally
of the miracles performed by our Saviour. Nor is there any proof whatever, that
Christ refers John the Baptist to this passage. Matt. xi. 5. He employs none of
the formulas which he uniformly uses when directing the attention of his hearers
to passages in the O. T. (see Matt. ix. 16, xi. 10, xii. 17, xiii. 14,) but sim.ply
appeals to his miracles in proof of his Messiahship. The language is similar, but
the subjects are different.

1 The desert and the parched ground shall be glad on their account,
And the wilderness shall exult, and blossom as the crocus.
2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice,
Even with exultation ahd shouting :
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it ;
The splendour of Carmel and Sharon ;
They shall see the glory of Jehovah,
The splendour of our God.
3 Strengthen ye the weak hands.
And confirm the feeble knees.
4 Say to the faint-hearted : Be strong ; fear not ;
Behold your God ! —

1. Abenezra, Kimchi, Ewald, and
some others, consider the D in Dliuto; to
be paragogic, instead of the usual J, and
ascribe the change to the influence of
the following a in ijia. Kennicott,
Lowth, and JBitzig, regard it as the mis
take of some copyist, arising out of the
next word's beginning with the same
letter. There is, however, no difficulty
created by our taking it as the suffix,
having for its antecedent the D'i3, nations,
whose destruction had been predicted in
the preceding chapter. For instances of
similar construction, see DiiMi, Gen. xv.
13 ; D'TiN, Ps. xiii. 5. The waste places
of Judea personified, exult on account of
the overthrow of those who had deso
lated them, and again assume their
wonted beauty and fertility, nton, Syr.
jA.*^ «v-i.. , colchicum autumnale ; but
the LXX., Vulg., Chald. lily. The
word occurs only here and Song ii. 1,
where the Chald. renders it Dipi: (read
Dipi:) and Saad. ij*Jl»-JilI , the narcissus.
As it is obviously formed from ''23, the n

being merely a guttural prefix, as in
'^pi'i, '"9K, &c,, it must denote some
bulbous-rooted plant ; and, from its beau
tiful appearance when abounding in mea
dows, in all probability, the crocus or
saffron. The signification of rose is now
universally rejected.
2. I^i rt'a, the LXX. render, to eprjpa
TOV 'lopbdvov, which Lowth, after Hou
bigant, with equal license, translates,
" the well-watered plain of Jordan."
1^3 is put for nJ'S, the construct for the
absolute, as chap, xxxiii. 6, li. 21. For
nj, eleven MSS. read ijj, which two more
have done originally, and one or two
perhaps still do. The sense is the same.
For the rest of the verse, see on chap.
xxix. 1 7, xxxiii. 9. What had lain barren
and waste was now to equal the most
beautiful and magnificent scenes of
nature, nan denotes the inhabitants,
who should witness the glorious display
of the Divine character, in the deliver
ance of the people of God.
3, 4. Comp, Job iv. 3, 4 ; Isa. xl. 29—
31 ; Heb. xii. 13.— sVnna:, the hasty,
quick of heart, i. e. those whose heart
palpitates quickly through fear. The

282

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXXV.

Vengeance cometh, the retribution of God', —
He will come and save you.
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened,
And the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then shall the lame leap like the hart.
And the tongue of the dumb shall sing ;
For water shall break forth in the wilderness.
And streams in the desert.
The vapoury illusion shall become a lake.
And the thirsty soil springs of water ;
In the haunts of wolves, where they rest,
Shall be a place for reeds and rushes.

attention of the church is directed to the
approaching interposition of Jehovah, —
the effect of which would be a vindica
tion of her wrongs, by inflicting a just
retribution upon her enemies.
5, 6. So conspicuous and overpowering
would be the interference of God on be
half of his people, that those of the most
obtuse intellect could not fail to perceive
it. So joyous would be the event, that
persons the most unlikely would partici
pate in the exultation. No image could
more beautifully depict the sudden
change of circumstances from adversity
to prosperity, than the bursting forth of
a plentiful stream in the midst of an arid
sandy desert : nor could any more power
fully affect the mind of an Oriental,
whose climate differs so much from ours.
Comp. chap. xii. 18, xliii. 19, 20, xliv.
3, 4.
7. Still more to enhance the idea of
the joyful experience of the Divine good
ness, the prophet introduces the 3'iti,
Sharab, Arab. i_Jjmj , Serab, — an illu
sion to which the French have given the
name of mirage, consisting in the pre
sentation to the view of a lake or sea in
the midst of a plain, where none in
reality exists. It is produced by the
refraction of the rays of light, during the
exhalation of vapours, by the excessive
heat of the sun ; and frequently exhibits,
along with the undulating appearance of
water, the shadows of objects within or
around the plain, both in a natural and
inverted position. The deception is most
complete ; and to the weary traveller.

who is attracted by it, in the highest
degree mortifying ; since, instead of
reaching refreshing water, he finds him
self in the midst of notiiing but glowing
sand. It is often used proverbially, or
for the sake of comparison, by the Arabs,
as in the Koran, Sur. xxiv. 39. .ftjJK
x^, J is-^U- lii! ^_gj^ -'Lo JJiHi]
Uiii , " But as for those who believe not,
their works are like the Serab of the
plain : the thirsty imagines it is water,
but when he reaches it, he finds it is
nothing." See more instances quoted
in Gesen. The meaning of Isaiah is,
that the expectations of the Jews should
not be disappointed. What they might
apprehend would only prove a delusion,
they should ejcperience to be a reality.
The most abundant provision would be
made for their comfort. The same idea
is conveyed in the latter part of the
verse. 'The haunts or dwelling-places of
the wolves are naturally dry. For the
meaning of D'sn, see on chap. xiii. 22.
n in n23'i is added on the principle of the
pluralis inhumanus, referring, though a
fem. sing,, to the mas. plur. D'sfi. See
Gesen. Lehrg. p. 719. n23l without the
Mappik, is found iu twenty MSS., two
of the first printed, and seven other
editions, but most likely from grammati
cal correction. Before n23'i, supply i*S,
and after it, D^. Though l'2n properly
signifies a fenced court or habitation, yet

CHAP. XXXV.]

ISAIAH.

283

8 A raised road shall be there, and a way.
And it shall be called, the Holy Way ;
The unclean shall not pass along it,
But it shall be for those, —
The travellers, though foolish, shall not err.
9 No lion shall be there ;
Neither shall any destructive beast ascend it ;
It shall not be found there ;
But the redeemed shall walk there.
10 For the ransomed of Jehovah shall return,
And come to Zion with singing ;
Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads ;
They shall obtain gladness and joy ;
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

it is here clearly to be taken in the ac
ceptation of locality, place, &c,, and
seems to have been selected to form an
antithesis to ni:.
8. ':pll is omitted in eighteen MSS.,
and in the LXX., Syr., and Arab., but
its repetition does not burden the sen
tence. It is more likely genuine than
otherwise. There being no proper roads
in deserts, but, at most, a faint track left
by the footsteps of camels, &c., the pre
diction imports that every facility would
be secured for the return of the exiles.
Nor should any enjoy these facilities, or
have the privilege of returning, but such
as had been recovered from idolatry.
Comp. chap. Ixii. 10, 12. Idolatry is
frequently spoken of as spiritual im
purity, Jer. ii. 23, iii. passim, xi. 13 — 17;
Ezek. xxxvii. 23. iaj possesses peculiar
emphasis. The deliverance was for those,
and those only, who had renounced the
service of idols, and returned to the true
worship of God. It is anticipative of
D'^iN3, ver. 9. l]ii '^^n is equivalent to a
noun of multitude, and 1 in D'^'ISJ is ex
pletive. No construction can be more
violent than that which makes God the
nominative to l|i.i 1|.^fT. Those who should
avail themselves of the means of escape
from Babylon and other countries, how
ever defective some of them might be in

intellectual energy, should not fail of
reaching Zion.
9. ni'n yiB, one that is ravenous of or
among beasts ; a persecutor, oppressor.
The redeemed should return in perfect
safety : no enemy should be found to
molest them. N2an, to be regular, should
be i^2(?;, in the mas,, as it reads in three
of Kennicott's MSS,, and in another ori
ginally; but it was, in all probability,
written in the fem. by Isaiah, — ni'n pre
dominating in his mind over yiB, at the
moment he penned it. The other read
ing savours of correction. After l^^n^,
supply D^, which one of De Rossi's Codi
ces reads, or ns, as in the LXX,, Arab,,
and Syr.
10. Comp. chap. li. 11. I must here
adduce the words of Doderlein, with
whose view of the subject I perfectly
concur: "De temporibus N.T. regno
millenario vel reditu ad coelesta gaudia
Esaias quidem hoc loco, si quid judico,
ne cogitavit quidem, qui autem his de
rebus exposuere locum nostrum, pia
quidem varia, vera multa, sed aliena a
mente prophets congesserunt." Who
ever is familiar with the bold and
magnificent character of the prophetic
style, will not deem the liberation from the
captivity an event too trivial to be pre
dicted in the language here employed.

ISAIAH. [chap. XXXVI,

CHAPTER XXXVI.
This and the three following chapters consist almost entirely of historical matter,
relating to Sennacherib's invasion, and other events that transpired towards the
end of the reign of Hezekiah. With some variations, it is identical with 2 Kings
xviii. 13 — 20, xix., and 2 Chron. xxxii.; which last chapter, however, contains
only an abbreviated account of the transactions. It has been queried whether
this portion of the book of Isaiah, or the corresponding portion of the second
book of Kings, be the original ; and whether it were written by the prophet him
self, or merely extracted by another hand from the annals of the Jewish kings.
That Isaiah added it to the preceding collection of prophecies against foreign
nations, with a view to shew how those which related to the invasion and over
throw of the Assyrians had been fulfilled, seems highly probable, since we find him
inserting other historical narratives for a similar purpose. See chapters vii. viii.
XX. xxii. Certain phrases and sentences too, are precisely those which we meet
with in his predictions, such as '^N'liv; iciip, xxxvii. 23; comp, i. 4, x. 17, 20.
ito'i3i»>, ver. 24; comp. x. 18. n^irnton niN3s nirr nrap, ver. 32; comp. ix. 7.
Yet as these peculiarities are likewise found in the section of the book of Kings,
it follows that both were written by our prophet. To which add, the minuteness
with which many of the circumstances are related, evincing that the writer was
an eye-witness, or at least, a contemporary, which we know Isaiah to have been,
as well as one who was personally concerned in the transactions. On closely
comparing, however, the two portions of the sacred text, it will be quite apparent,
that what we have in Isaiah is an altered copy of the text in 2 Kings, and
not vice versa. It abbreviates and omits many things, as well as modes of
expression, which occur in the latter ; aims at greater uniformity in the use and
construction of words ; and substitutes what is easier or more appropriate for
what is more difficult. Examples of these will be noticed iu the Commentary.
It would, therefore, appear that the prophet must have copied what he had
already written in the Jewish annals, or in the hook of Kings, only altering it as
he proceeded, emending some parts, omitting others, and adding some new
matter, such as the song of Hezekiah, chap, xxxviii. 9 — 20. The mention of the
death of Sennacherib as an historical fact, chap, xxxvii. 38, forms no objection
to the authorship of Isaiah, since the latter must have reached a very advanced
age. See Introd. Equally futile is the objection taken from the use of the terms
nns and n''Tin;, since there is nothing that militates against their having been
employed by our prophet.

1 And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah,
that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the fortified
1. The expedition of Sennacherib, to Herod.) which must have amounted to
which reference is here made, was not vastly more than 200,000, since neariy
undertaken against the Jews, but, as this number perished of that single divi-
Herodotus, ii, 141, informs us, against sion of it which had been sent against
Sethos, king of Egypt. This accounts Jerusalem. It was on his march through
for his immense army, {trrpdrov peyav, Palestine, that he stopped to chastise

chap. XXXVI.]

ISAIAH.

285

cities of Judah, and took them. And the king of Assyria sent
Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, to king Hezekiah, with a
great army ; and he halted at the aqueduct of the upper pool, in the
causeway of the fuller's field. And there went out to him Eliakim,
the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the
secretary, and Joach, the son of Asaph, the annalist. And Rab
shakeh said to them : Tell now Hezekiah, Thus saith the great
king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this that thou
exercisest ? saying : I maintain (but it is mere talk,) there is
counsel and might for the war. On whom now dost thou rely, that

Hezekiah for having thrown off the
Assyrian yoke; and to subdue the forti
fied places which lay in his way, that
they might not prove an annoyance to
the rear of his army, or obstruct him
were he forced to retreat. His Hebrew
name, 3'in:p, is very accurately preserved
in Savaxdpi^os, as given by Herodotus.
Bohlen compares the Pers. L—Jjs'Uj,
celebritas victoria, — a more likely deri
vation than ..jwj , holy, and t -v^.
priest, proposed by Gesenius, His being
styled by Herodotus : ^aaiXea 'Apa^lav
Te Kal 'Aa-a-vplav, maybe accounted for,
partly on the ground of the extended
acceptation anciently given to the name
Arabia, and partly from actual conquests
made in Arabia by the Assyrian power.
The fortified cities of Judah were built
by Rehoboam, and were fifteen in num
ber. They are specified 2 Chron. xi.
5 — 12. The meaning of the historian is,
that these cities were all successively
taken by Sennacherib ; not that they
had been all actually subdued previous
to the transactions which he was about
to describe.
2. 'ip]$?'i, Rabshakeh, prop, a name of
office : Syr. \:im >2! , iJie Chief Butler ;
D'ptfan lip. Gen. xl. 2, 9, 20. Comp. 3'i
D'lD, Bab-saris, " the chief eunuch," and
yqT\, Bab-mag, "Chief of the Magi,"
Jer. xxxix. 3 : but it was not unusual,
as it still is in the East, for persons hold
ing high offices at court, being at the same
time high in military command. The
narrative is here considerably abbre
viated from that in 2 Kings xviii. 13 — 17.

Of the three officers there mentioned, —
Tartan, Rab-saris, and Rab-shakeh, the
last only is noticed in Isaiah, because he
was the speaker on the occasion. ^'S^,
Lachish, originally a royal city of the
Canaanites, Josh. x. 3, but fortified by
Rehoboam, 2 Chron, xi, 9. It must have
been a place of considerable strength,
Jer, xxxiv, 7, According to Eusebius, it
lay seven Roman miles from Eleuthero-
polis southward, or about twenty-five
miles west of Jerusalem. For the locality
here specified, see on chap, vii, 3,
3, See chap, xxii. 15 — 25, where, as
in the present narrative, the name of
Shebna is spelt n:3«5, and not n:3^, as in
2 Kings. As ISb, scribe, he filled a dif
ferent office from l'3]a, recorder, being
employed as private secretary ; whereas,
the latter was the historiographer, or
royal annalist, whose duty it was to
enter on the public records of the king
dom, the more remarkable events that
transpired. 4. ^iisn '^^an, the Great King : a titie
assumed by oriental monarchs, partiy
from vanity, and partly to distinguish
them from the petty kings or princes
whom they held in vassalage. Comp.
chap. X. 8. na is here used as a particle
of contempt, as 1 Kings ix. 13.
5. Instead of 'niON, / say, thirteen of
Kennicott's MSS., one now, and three
in the margin, five of De Rossi's ori
ginally, and the Syr. read BiaN, Thou
sayest, which is the textual reading in
2 Kings. It is very possible, however,
that'nia« is genuine, — I'Sn!;, saying, being
understood, as frequently, at the end of
the preceding verse. D'nBiin3'i, a word,
or thing of lips, i. e. what is merely such,
and has no foundation in reason or reality.

286

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXXVI.

6 thou hast rebelled against me ? Behold ! thou reliest on that
broken reed-staff, Egypt, on which, if one lean, it will enter into his
hand, and pierce it through : such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all
7 who rely upon him. But thou wilt say to me : We confide in
Jehovah, our God : — is it not he whose high places and whose altars
Hezekiah hath removed, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem :
8 Before this altar ye shall worship ? But now, enter the lists with my
master, the king of Assyria, and I will furnish thee with two
thousand horses, if thou canst furnish thyself with riders to them.
9 How then shouldst thou repulse one officer of the least of my master's
servants ? Yet thou reliest upon Egypt for chariots and horsemen.
10 But now, is it without Jehovah that I am come up against this land
to destroy it ? Jehovah hath said to me. Go up to this land, and
11 destroy it. Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joach, said to Rabshakeh,

Comp. Djnstoiij'.N, a man of lips, i. e. a
great talker, one who blusters, but means
nothing by what he says.
6. yi2i is not properly what is actually
broken, as no one would lean upon such
a staff, but what is bruised, or really,
though not apparently injured, and thus
incapable of yielding the support ex
pected from it. There is possibly here
a reference to the weakening of the
Egyptian power, by the expedition sent
thither by Sargon, the immediate prede
cessor of Sennacherib. See chap. xx.
The n:^, reed, was a fit symbol of Egypt,
since it grew so plentifully in that country.
Comp. for the sentiment, chap. xxx. 5, 7.
Such language, coming from Rabshakeh,
was a severe reproof to the Jews, who
were so prone to confide in Egypt.
7. Instead of iai,in, the text in 2 Kings
has piai<n — addressing the people instead
of Hezekiah, which agrees better with
that monarch's being immediately spoken
of in the third person. There is no
various reading in the MSS. ; but the
LXX. and Chald. have the plural. There
is here a reference to the abolition of
idolatry effected by Hezekiah, of which
an account is given, 2 Kings xviii. 4 ;
2 Chron. xxix. 16.
8. 3^^^, to mix one's self up with any
one, meddle, enter into a combat. For
iiiBn ^r\, one of De Rossi's MSS,, and
one of Kennicott's, the Soncin, and Brix,
Edd, and the Soncin. Prophets of 1486,
read ?[te, without the article, which is

the more usual practice. 2 Kings reads,
nitjN ^^ nN. Hezekiah might easily have
furnished two thousand men, but two
thousand fit to act as horsemen might
have been more difficult, as the training
of cavalry was doubtless discouraged, if
not absolutely prohibited by that pious
king. 9. nns, a foreign word of uncertain
origin. Bohlen derives it from the Persic
C1»~W»,> ! proceres, magnates; Ewald, from
jis} , curare. The person who filled
this office was governor or prefect of a
province, but inferior to a satrap. The
name was in use among the Hebrews,
as early as the time of Solomon, see
1 Kings X. 15 ; so that the position of
Gesenius, respecting its recent introduc
tion, is without foundation. His remark,
however, that ins nns is the only instance
of a substantive and an adjective being
both in construction with the following
noun, is worthy of notice.
10. Either this was mere bluster on
the part of Rabshakeh, or he may have
been encouraged in his expedition by
some false prophet, who pretended to
have a revelation from Jehovah on the
subject. 1 1 . n'piN, Aramaic, the language
spoken not only in the western divisions
of Syria, on the confines of the Holy
Land, but also in Mesopotamia, and

chap. XXXVI.] ISAIAH. 287
Speak, we pray, to thy servants in Aramaic, for we understand it,
but do not speak to us in Jewish, in the hearing of the people that
12 are on the wall. But Rabshakeh said. Was it to thy master, and
to thee, that my master sent me to speak these words .'' Was it not
to the men who sit on the wall, who are to eat their own excrements
13 and drink their own urine, along with you ? And Rabshakeh stood
and cried with a loud voice in Jewish, and said. Hear ye the
14 words of the great king, the king of Assyria : Thus saith the king,
Let not Hezekiah deceive you ; for he is not able to deliver you.
15 And let not Hezekiah make you confide in Jehovah, saying, Jehovah
will surely deliver us ; this city shall not be surrendered to the king of
16 Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah ; for thus saith the king of Assyria,
Make peace with me, and come out to me, and eat ye, each of his own
vine, and each of his own fig-tree, and drink ye, each of the water of his
17 own cistern ; till I come and take you to a land like your own land ;
a land of corn and new wine, a land of bread-corn and vineyards.
18 Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Did
the gods of the nations deliver, each his own land, from the hand of
19 the king of Assyria ? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad ?
Where are the gods of Sepharvaim ? Did they deliver Samaria
20 from my hand .'' Who among all the gods of these lands delivered
their country from my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem
even further to the east. n>'Tin;, Jewish, Thus the Chald. MaW 'B» il'3» ; Saad.
i.e. Hebrew; but appropriately so termed, ;_!(^ . On the other hand ti'M is
as the ten tribes had by tins time been S?-'^
carried into captivity. frequently used for ?p.3, in the sense of
12. The Keri has here, as elsewhere, salute.
euphemistically DnN2 for Dn'Nin, and 17. The Jews, on capitulating, should
Dn'53'i"'a'a for Drr:'*, On this point the enjoy their liberty till the Assyrian army
Jewish literati have been extremely sen- returned from Egypt, when they should
sitive : the editors of the Soncin. and be transported, according to the custom
Brixian editions actually adopting of those times, to the land of the con-
Drr^ji'i-'B'a of the Keri into the text ; and queror. The country beyond the
others, who would not venture so far, Euphrates or the Tigris, they would
leaving an open space sufficient to admit find as fertile and plentiful as their own.
the word 'a'a, the vowel-points of which There is here a considerable abbrevia-
they have not scrupled to insert. The tion of .the text in 2 Kings.
¦! in 'JiNj, and nhiiibi, expresses destination. 18, 19. Rabshakeh regarded Jehovah
Rabshakeh calls the attention of the merely as a local deity, entitied to no
inhabitants to the extremities to which greater consideration than those of other
they should be reduced in the siege, and cities which had been taken by the As-
excites them to rebellion, by pointing Syrians. For Hamath, and Arpad, see
out the impossibility of their successful chap. x. 9. D'l-ffltp, Sepharvaim, in all
resistance of the attack. probability the ^iircpdpa of Ptolemy, v.
16. (1313, blessing, is here evidently 18, and the StTTTrapjjj'iBi/ ttoXis of Euseb.
used in the acceptation of Di'raS, peace. Prasp. Evang. ix, 41, the most southerly

288 ISAIAH. [chap, xxxvi.
21 from my hand ? And they were silent, and did not answer him a
22 word ; for the king's order was. Ye shall not answer him. And
Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna, the secretary, and
Joach, the son of Asaph, the annalist, came to Hezekiah, with rent
garments, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
city of Mesopotamia, situated on the force, which the versions express. It
east bank of the Euphrates. It was is, however, omitted in three of Kenni-
from this city, or tiie district belonging cott's Codices, and was so originally in
to it, that colonists were sent to occupy three of De Rossi's.
the land of Israel, 2 Kings xvii. 24. 21. luS'in'l, namely DSn, as the text of
The opinion of Vitringa, that some Kings reads.
Syrophenician city is meant, which 22. Comp. chap, xxxiii. 7. The rend-
Koppe adopts, is without sufficient foun- ing of the garments was a common and
dation. The text in Kings adds Hena, very expressive token of grief among
and Ivah, which afterwards occur in this the Hebrews, and other eastern nations.
history. The 1 in '31 has an interrogative Comp. chap, xxxvii. 1.

CHAPTER XXXVII.
1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard them, he rent
his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the
2 house of Jehovah, and sent Eliakim, who was over the household,
and Shebna, the secretary, and the elders of the priests, covered
3 with sackcloth, to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the prophet. And they
said to him. Thus saith Hezekiah : This day is a day of distress, and
rebuke, and calumny ; for the children are come to the birth, and
4 there is not strength to bring forth. Perhaps Jehovah, thy God,
will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his
master, hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the
words which Jehovah thy God hath heard ; wherefore, offer up a
5 prayer for the existing remnant. And the servants of king Hezekiah
6 came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them. Thus shall ye say to
your master : Thus saith Jehovah, Be not afraid on account of the
words which thou hast heard, with which the striplings of the king
3. The concluding sentence in this she sinks helpless at the very moment
verse is proverbial, and is expressive of when it is most required.
the greatest danger, and despair of de- 4. 1 in nNto'i, is inferential, wherefore,
liverance. The inhabitants of Jerusalem on this account.
were like a woman in child-birth, whose 6. D'^is:, lads, striplings, is used con-
strength is completely exhausted, so that temptuoiisly instead of D'13», servants ;

CHAP. XXXVII.]

ISAIAH.

289

10

11

12

of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold ! I will inspire hira with
courage; but he shall hear a report, and shall return to his own
country ; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own
country. Then Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria
besieging Libnah ; for he had heard that he had departed from
Lachish. And he heard of Tirhakah, king of Cush, saying, He
cometh forth to fight thee. And when he heard it, he sent mes
sengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah, king
of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou confidest, deceive
thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be sun-endered to the king of
Assyria. Behold ! thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have
done to all the countries, devoting them to destruction ; and shalt
thou be delivered ? Did the gods of the nations, which my fathers
destroyed, deliver them .'' Gozan, and Haran, and Retzeph, and the

though, in other connexions, it is equi
valent to it.
7. nil i3 p: ':|n has been variously in
terpreted. Some think there is here a
distinct prediction of the miraculous de
struction of Sennacherib's army, which
they suppose to have been effected by
means of the simoom, or hot wind from
the Arabian desert. Of this our trans
lators appear to have approved — ren
dering the words, " Behold I will send
a blast upon him." To such construc
tion, however, it must be objected, that
it is at variance with the idiomatic force
of 3 rnl ]n:, which uniformly signifies to
inspire, endow mentally, endue with
life, will, determination, &c. On the
same principle irvevpa beiXias, proposed
by Seeker and approved by Hendewerk,
must be rejected. Dbder. consilium;
Rosenm. voluntatem ; Gesen. and Hit
zig, disposition ; none of which satisfies
the claims of the passage. On the other
hand, as nil is more than once used in
the sense of fortitude, courage, &c., as
Josh. ii. 11, V. 1 ; 1 Kings x. 5, it may
appropriately be taken in this accepta
tion in the present instance. Jehovah
declares that he would inspire the king
of Assyria with resolution to prosecute
the ends of his expedition ; but at the
moment of his proceeding to meet Tir
hakah, intelligence of the overthrow of
that part of his army which lay before
Jerusalem would reach him, and occa

sion his immediate flight. It is evidently
to this, and not to the report respecting
Tirhakah, ver. 9, that the nsia^ refers,
since the result of that report was not
his effecting an immediate retreat, but
his sending a fresh embassy to Hezekiah
to induce him to capitulate, in order
that he might be at liberty to employ
his entire force against the Ethiopian
monarch. 8. Whether Sennacherib succeeded
in taking Lachish or not, cannot be
determined, though it is more likely he
had. n:3^, LXX. Af/Syd, Ao/3ya, a city
of the priests, in the south of Judah.
Eusebius calls it AojSava, and places it
in the vicinity of Eleutheropolis.
9. For an account of Tirhakah, see
chap, xviii.
10. The Assyrian monarch repeats, in
an amplified form, the argument which
be had already employed, chap, xxxvii.
18—21.
12. I'ps, Gozan, in all probability the
Tava-avlns of Ptolemy, v. 18, situated
between the rivers Chaboras and Saccoras.
Some would place it on the Kissil-Osan,
a river in the north of Persia, which
flows into the Caspian Sea ; but its im
mediate connexion with Haran favours
the former interpretation. Comp. 2 Kings
xvii. 6, xviii. 11, where the Chaboras is
called the river of Gozan. ]in, Haran,
LXX. Xappdv, i^, 2 Chron. v. 26, an
ancient city in Mesopotamia, Gen. xi.
PP

290

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXXVII.

13 Edenites, which are in Telassar ? Where is the king of Hamath,
and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of the Sepharvaites,
of Henah, and Ivah .''
And Hezekiah received the letters from the hand of the mes
sengers, and read them, and went up to the house of Jehovah, and
spread them before Jehovah. And Hezekiah prayed to Jehovah, say
ing, 0 Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest between the
16 cherubs ! Thou alone art the God of all the kingdoms of the earth.
17 Thou hast made the heavens, and the earth. Incline, O Jehovah !
thine ear, and hear ; open, O Jehovah ! thine eyes, and behold, and
hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to reproach

14

15

31, xii, 5, 27 ; the Kappai, Carra, of the
Greeks and Romans, and celebrated for
the defeat of Crassus, V12i, Rezeph.
Jakut, in his Geog,, mentions not feYi^er
than nine towns of this name ; as does
also Abulfeda in his Tab, Syr. Most
probably the one here specified is the
'Pr]a-d(pa of Ptolemy, v. IS, or the Re-
sapha Heshami of Abulfeda; situated
somewhat short of a day's journey to the
west of the Euphrates, py:?, the chil
dren, i. e. the inhabitants of Eden. That
the Eden here spoken of cannot be the
Eden of Damascus, Amos i, 5, situated
between Tripoli and Baalbek, seems
clear, from its occurring in connexion
with Haran, as it also does, Ezek. xxvii.
23. It is most likely the Syrian , ,.^io,
Maedan, which Asseman, Bib. Orien. i.
p. 224, places in the province of Diar-
bekr. This place or district the Assy
rians appear to have conquered, and
transplanted the inhabitants to ite^^,
2 Kings xix. 12, in full iWN^n, I'elassar,
which is supposed to be the same as
151^, Ellasar, Gen. xiv. 1 ; a country or
district somewhere to the north of Shi
nar. Saad. <1Ca)x«,1 , Armenia.
13. »:n, LXX. 'Avd, Ana, probably
the city ioU> of the Arabian geographers,
situated in Mesopotamia, on a ford of
the Euphrates, nil?, 2 Kings ni?, Ivah,
a city respecting which nothing' further
is known, than that it was taken by the
king of Assyria, and its inhabitants
were sent to colonize Samaria, 2 Kings
xvii. 24.

14. Instead of inNlp'l, the text of
2 Kings, and De Rossi's MS. 380, read
t:>^lp;i in the plural ; yet both have the
following insiip'.i in the singular. Both
may be reconciled by taking the plural
distrihutively, each of them, singly, or
such like.
15 — 21. A most appropriate and beau
tiful prayer, expressive of a clear faith
and confident trust in Jehovah, as the
only God, in opposition to the claims
advanced by idolaters in behalf of their
deities ; and recognising the Divine
glory as the result of the supplicated
deliverance. 16. D'3l3n 3<6', lit. the Inhabiter of the
cherubs, but, according to Exod. xxv.
22, D'3i3n ':i?3 J'sa, between the two che
rubs, placed one on each side of the
mercy-seat, the throne of Jehovah's
visible glory among the Hebrews. For
the meaning of 3113, see on chap. vi. 2.
Nin, in D'riiii^n Nin nnN, possesses peculiar
emphasis : 'Thou art He who art, &c. i.e.
the true, or really existing God. What
is added, " Thou hast made," &c.
Zwinglius calls an elegans prosapodosis,
shewing that God had a right to all
things, because he was their Maker.
17. For ^i^^, fifty-five MSS., and ori
ginally ten more, the Soncin., Brix. and
sixteen other editions read in full, 'pj'^,
which is the reading in 2 Kings. The
LXX., Syr., Vulg,, and Arab, have the
plural, " thine eyes," which is un
doubtedly right. Gesenius has here the
very ingenious observation, that the use
of the singular in reference to the ear,
and that of the dual in reference to the
eye, is equally in accordance with tiie

chap. XXXVII.] ISAIAH. 291
18 the living God. In truth, O Jehovah ! the kings of Assyria have
19 destroyed all the nations, and their countries ; and have cast their
gods into the fire, (for they are not gods, but the work of men's
20 hands, wood and stone,) and destroyed them. And now, O Jehovah,
our God ! save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth
may know that thou alone art Jehovah.
21 Then Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus
saith Jehovah, the God of Israel : Since thou hast prayed to me
22 concerning Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, this is the thing which
Jehovah hath spoken respecting him :
The virgin daughter of Zion despiseth thee, she laugheth at thee ;
The daughter of Jerusalem shaketh her head at thee.
23 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed ?
Against whom hast thou raised thy voice.
And lifted up thine eyes ?
Against the Holy One of Israel.
24 By thy servants thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said :
With the multitude of my chariots have I ascended
The heights of the mountains, the recesses of Lebanon ;
I have cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses ;
And reached its extreme height, its finest forest.
usus loquendi, and with fact. When we find Isaiah also employing chap, v. 5, et
would listen to any one we naturally freq. The text of Kings has i:ri:%
incline one of our ears towards him, but 20. nnN, in nirr nnN, is emphatic.
when we would look at any thing we Comp. Ps. xc. 2. In Kings, D'n^N is
open both our eyes. added to nin;. After i:»'siin, upwards of
18. D2iNnNi niS'^rrtSTiN, lit. all the twenty MSS. add n:, which the text in
lands and their land ; in Kings D'isnnN Kings exhibits; but it is not expressed
Dj'iN-nN^, the nations and their land, which in any of the versions.
is the reading in Isaiah of upwards of 22. On njin^, virgin, in application to
twelve MSS. ; yet most probably by cities, see chap, xxiii. 12. Michaelis
correction, since all the versions have notices, that previous to the conquest of
niSlS. Either Isaiah understood by ni21^, Magdeburg, in 1630, the arras of that
nations, those who inhabit countries ; or, town exhibited a young woman with a
he was led to use the term the better virgin crown upon her head ; but after
to suit the preceding verb 3'in, which that event, she held the crown in her
nowhere else occurs in application to hand. To shake the head at one, was,
people, except chap. Ix. 12. The only among the Hebrews, an expression of
objection against the present reading is contempt. This the inhabitants of Jeru-
the harshness of the repetition ; yyi salem would do when Sennacherib was
being otherwise used metonymically for compelled to flee. Comp. Kiveiv rfjv
the inhabitants of a country. Judges KetpaX^v, Matt, xxvii. 39.
xviii. 30 ; Isa. xi. 4. In 2 Chron. xxxii. 23 — 25. Here the insolent monarch is
13, we flnd ni2iNn '.!i3, and D»iN-nN, im- called to account for his blasphemous
mediately following — so that, after all, arrogance; and a specimen is given of the
there may here be an ellipsis of ';i3. vaunting language which he had dared
19. ;ii:i, the historical Infin. which we to employ. No obstacle had hitherto

292

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXXVII.

25

26

27

28

I have dug and drunk water ;
And will dry up, with my feet, all the streams of Egypt.
Hast thou not heard, that of old I prepared it,
And planned it from ancient days ?
Now I bring it to pass,
That thou shouldest convert fortified cities into desolate ruins.
Therefore are their inhabitants short of power ;
They are dismayed and confounded ;
They are as the grass of the field, and as the green herb ;
As the grass on the roofs.
And as grain blighted before it hath stalked.
Thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, I know
And also thy rage against me.

impeded him in his progress. The
most inaccessible regions of Lebanon
had been explored by his troops ; and,
in the wanton pride of his heart, he had
made havoc of its most stately trees.
Nor had he experienced any want of
water in the desert for the supply of his
immense army ; the mere introduction
of which into Egypt would dry up the
Nile, and all its branches ! The lan
guage is mainly figurative ; since the
marching of troops over the ridges of
Lebanon would have been as prepos
terous as the conveyance of chariots
over those elevated, precipitous, and
snow-clad regions impossible. As he
had conquered every difficulty, so now
he would carry all before him. Comp.
for the phraseology, chap. x. 18; and
for a parallel specimen of his boasting,
ver. 13, 14, of the same chapter. Comp.
also chap. xiv. 13, 14. Thus Alaric,
boasting of his conquests :¦ —
 " cum cesserit omnis

credimus altos

Obsequiis natura meis ? Subsidere nos-
tris
Sub pedibus monies; arescere vidimus
amnes.

Fregi Alpes galeisque Padum victricibus
liausi." Claudian de Bella Get. 526, 532.
Thus also Juvenal describes the
Greeks under Xerxes :

Defecisse amnes, epotaque flumina Medo
Prandente, et madidis cantat quae Sos-
tratus alis." — Sat. a. 176.
26. Nothing could be more sublime
in effect than the suddenness with which
Jehovah here interrupts the boasting
monarch. " Be not proud of thy vic
tories; thou art merely an instrument
in my hand, by which I have punished
wicked cities, as I long ago purposed
and predicted through my prophets."
Scholz. Comp. chap. x. 5, 6. In D'2: D'^i
is no difficulty whatever, though Lowth
stumbles at the words, Comp. xxv. 2 ;
Jer, ix. 10, li. 37, and iv. 7.
27. T '¦y^p, short-handed, i. e. weak,
powerless. Comp. ). jJ) Jo wOi, in Knos
Hist. X. Ves. pp. 9, 10. To express his
power, Artaxerxes I. had the surname
paKpoxeiv, Longimanus. na'Tiji, in Kings
no'iffl, which three codices read here.
The a has in all probability been substir
tilted for the D, by some transcriber.
The noun is derived from f|'i'$, to scorch;
Chald. tjHj, to burn; Arab. XsJw
(_JiXwj , tenehra ; ihe blackness of night.
When corn is blighted it becomes black.
28. The accumulation in this verse is
intended to express the utmost attention
and most accurate knowledge. Comp.
Ps. cxxxix. 2.

chap, xxxvii.]

ISAIAH.

293

29 Because thy rage against me, and thine insolence.
Have come up into mine ears,
I will put my ring into thy nose.
And my curb into thy lips,
And turn thee back by the way which thou camest.
And this shall be a sign to thee : Eat this year that which
groweth of itself; and in the second year, that which springeth up
in like manner ; and in the third year, sow and reap, plant vineyards,
and eat the fruit of them. And the escaped of the house of Judah,
that are left, shall again strike root downward, and bear fruit upward.
For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that have
escaped, from mount Zion: the zeal of Jehovah of Hosts shall

30

31

32

29. The ni was a hook, or ring, used
for securing large marine animals, ahd
for curbing land animals, such as camels,
buffaloes, &c. Comp. Job xii. 1, 2 ; Ezek.
xxix. 4, xxxviii. 4.
30. The prophet now addresses Heze
kiah, and encourages him to exercise
confidence in God, by giving him a
token by which he should know that an
entire deliverance from the Assyrians
would ensue. This niN, ij^ra, likethatspe-
cified chap. vii. 14, consisted in the pro
phetic announcement of a future event,
the miraculous accomplishment of which
would confirm the oracle. In the pre
sent instance, the event was to be an
abundant supply of provisions for two
years, in the absence of all cultivation
of the ground. Instead of the accus
tomed produce, which had failed during
the former of these years, either from
the fields not having been sown at the
time when the Assyrian army entered
the country, or from its having been
trampled upon and eaten up during the
invasion, the Jews should find a suffi
ciency in that which grew spontaneously
from what had remained in the ground
after the crop of the preceding year had
been reaped. Not only, however, was
such spontaneous growth to suffice for
one year ; but a second spontaneous
crop was to spring from what in like
manner might remain of it, to be a
supply for the year ensuing, and for so
much of the third as might elapse before
harvest. It is generally believed, that
' the reason why the Jews were not at
liberty to cultivate the ground the second

year was, that it was either the sabba
tical year, or that of jubilee ; though,
from the uncertainty connected with the
Hebrew chronology, it is scarcely possible
satisfactorily to establish the point. At
all events it must have required a special
blessing (comp. Lev, xxv. 21) to render
the earth sufficiently productive to secure
the supply here promised. The terms
n'DD and D'ntf scarcely, if at all, differ
in signification. The former, the LXX.
in 2 Kings xix. 30, and Lev. xxv. 5,
render avTopaTa, what springs up of
itself; but here a ea-irapKas : the latter
the LXX. give by ro KaToXeippa, what
is left; Aq. and "Theod. avToipvfj. Comp.
the Arab, ijas^ , sustulit sese, elatus
fuit. In Kings the reading is l^nD —
reversing the first and last letters. —
^i3N, according to the ancient versions,
and the following verbs, are imperatives
used for the future, in order strongly to
express the certainty of the event. See
on chap. vi. 10. Instead of $15^1, which
might otherwise be pointed W3n, the
Keri has i''?N, which is found in the text
of more than forty codices, and in some
of the earliest editions. It is likewise
supported by all the versions. Perhaps,
however, this verb, in both the instances
in which it is used in this verse, was
designed to be taken as the Infinitive
W3N, employed elliptically for l^sin W3N,
eating, ye shall eat, i. e. ye shall cer
tainly, or abundantly eat. Comp. Ii3j,
Exod. XX. 8 ; liatf, Deut. v. 12.
31, 32. By an easy transition, the
prophet proceeds to foretel the pro-

294

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxvii.

33 effect this. Therefore, thus saith Jehovah concerning the king of
Assja-ia :
He shall not come into this city.
Nor shoot an arrow into it ;
He shall not present a shield before it,
Nor throw up a mound against it.
34 By the very way he came shall he return,
And shall not come into this city, saith Jehovah.
For I will protect this city, and deliver it,
For my own sake, and for the sake of David my servant.
And an angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of
the Assyrians, an hundred and eighty-five thousand men ; and when
men arose early in the morning, behold ! they were all dead corpses.

35

36

sperity which should follow to the nation,
by comparing it to a tree, which strikes
deep root in the ground, and, drinking
in abundance of moisture, produces
plenty of fruit. f|p^ signifies to add to,
increase, &c. ; and, connected as here
with ifii.ili, it indicates the depth and
spread of the roots. By no'te are meant
those who had fled before the Assyrians;
and by n'lNi?i, such as remained in the
land, and were now in the power of the
enemy, or such as continued safe within
the wails of Jerusalem. When the enemy
was no more, they would go forth at
pleasure throughout the land : some to
their homes, and some to assist in culti
vating the ground, and repairing what
had been laid waste. For the last clause
of ver. 32, comp. chap. ix. 6.
33 — 35. In these verses a positive
assurance is given, that instead of ad
vancing with the rest of his army, and
laying regular siege to Jerusalem, Sen
nacherib should, through the gracious
interposition of Jehovah, be compelled
to return to his own country. That some
preparations for an attack had previously
been made by the division under Rab
shakeh is evident from chap. xxix. 3 ;
so that the present prediction must
relate to what Hezekiah still appre
hended — a siege by the Assyrian mo
narch himself, at the head of his entire
army. According to this interpretation,
the two passages are in perfect harmony
with each other. For the promise of
protection here given, comp. chap,
xxxi. 5.

36. That the term angel was ever
figuratively employed by the Hebrews ,
to designate any agent in the material.
world cannot be proved, though it has
¦become almost fashionable in interpre
ters to assert it. We are not, therefore, at
liberty to assign any other signification
to it here, than that which it ordinarily
bears; viz, a celestial spirit employed
as an instrument of Divine providence.
There is nothing, however, to hinder us
from supposing, that this extraordinary
and invisible agent employed secondary
or mediate causes, just as an angel de
stroyed seventy thousand men by the
pestilence, 2 Sam. xxiv. 15, 16; 1 Chron.
xxi. 14 — 18 ; or, as in the case of Herod,
in which it is said, that "the angel of
the Lord smote him — and he was eaten
of worms." Whether on the present
occasion a miraculous simoom, a super
natural thunder-storm, or the plague
XoipiKrjV voa^ov, Joseph. Antiq. x. i. 5,
were the means employed, we cannot,
in the absence of data, determine.
While there would be nothing mira
culous in such a number of men dying
of the plague, — it being a fact, related by
Jahn, Antiq. i. 2, p. 392, that in the
year 1580, it carried off about 500,000
persons at Cairo in the course of seven
months, — we cannot suppose it possible
for it to have destroyed 185,000 in one
night, 2 Kings xix. 35, except it had
been brought about through the inter
vention of a miracle. A distorted ac
count of this catastrophe was given to
Herodotus by the Egyptian priests, who

CHAP. XXXVIII.]

ISAIAH.

295

37 Then Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke- up, and set off, and
38 returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. Aild it came to pass, as he was
worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and
Sharetzer, his sons, slew him with the sword, and made their escape
iilto the country of Ararat; and Esarhaddon, his son, reigned iii
his stead.

represented the scene to have been Pe
lusium ; Vulcan, the deity whose aid
was invoked ; Sethos, the monarch who
invoked it ; and field-mice, the instru
ments by which the army of Senna
cherib were in one night rendered
powerless, and obliged to take to flight
the following morning. The event was
commemorated by a stone statue of
Sethos, in the temple of Vulcan, with a
mouse in his hand, and the inscription,
E2 EMK TIS ¦OPEQN, EY2EBH2
ESTQ, Lei him who looks on me, re
verence the gods. Herod, ii. 141. Mi
chaelis is of opinion that, as the mouse
was the Egyptian hieroglyphic for de
struction, Sethos held it in his hand to
indicate the miraculous destruction of
his enemy ; and that it was either mis
construed by the priests, or misunder
stood by Herodotus. Vorrede to the
second half of Isaiah, p. xxxii., and
Anmerk. on chap. xix. p. 107. Comp.
in illustration of this verse, chap. x. 16,
32—34, xxix. 5, 6, xxx. 30, 33, xxxi. 8.
37. For the accumulation 3'^;i tjJ'iSDji,
to express haste, comp. Cicero's abiit,
excessit, evasit, erupit, in his description
of the flight of Catiline. It is implied
in 3id;i, and he dwelt, that Sennacherib
was not murdered immediately on his
return to Nineveh. What authority
Hales had for the statement, tbat he
was assassinated fifty-five days after his
arrival, I know not; but, according to
the extracts from Berosus and Abydenos,

in the Armenian translation of Euseb.
Chron. i. p. 41, he still lived sixteen
years ; reduced the Babylonians to obe
dience, who had rebelled under Elibus,
the successor of Merodach Baladan ;
gained a, victory over the Greeks in
Cilicia ; and founded the city of Tarsus.
See Gesen. Comment, p. 999 — 1002.
Both Hitzig and Gesenius place the
year of his death in the year b.c. 696.
When the prophet states that he dwelt
in Nineveh, his meaning is, that he
never after returned to Palestine. Of
his exploits elsewhere no account is
taken, as they did not affect the Jews.
38. ':pD:, Nisroch, i.e. the great Eagle,
from liti:, Arab. j*J , eagle, and the in
tensive syllable \jj\ . This bird the
ancient Persians held in peculiar vene
ration, and regarded it as the sj'mbol of
Ormuzd : it was likewise worshipped as
a deity by the Arabs, before the time of
Mohammed. Of the two royal parri
cides, Adrammelech was in all proba
bility the principal, and is the only one
mentioned by Berosus, under the name
of Ardumusanus. For Ararat, see on
chap. xiii. 4. The LXX. translate 'Ap-
pevla. For an account of Ezar-haddon,
see Winer's Realwbrterb. What ground
Russell has for asserting, in his Con
nexion of Sac. and Prof. Hist., that he
participated in the guilt of his father's
murder, does not appear.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

This chapter contains an account of the dangerous sickness of Hezekiah, 1 — 3 ;
the sign given him that his days should be lengthened, 4 — 8 ; his recovery,
and the beautiful eucharistical ode which he composed after his restoration to
health, 9—22.

296

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXXVIII.

1 In those days Hezekiah was sick unto death; and Isaiah the
prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said to him. Thus
saith Jehovah : Charge thy house ; for thou shalt die, and not live.
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to Jehovah,
3 and said : O Jehovah ! I beseech thee remember now how I have
walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done
that which was good in thy sight ; and Hezekiah wept exceedingly.
4,5 Then the word of Jehovah came to Isaiah, saying : Go, and say to
Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father: I
have heard thy prayer ; I have seen thy tears ; behold ! I will add
6 to thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee, and this city, from
7 the hand of the king of Assyria ; and I will protect this city. And
this shall be the sign to thee from Jehovah, that Jehovah will do the
8 thing which he hath spoken. Behold ! I will cause the shadow of

1. The phrase Dnn D'ajs, in those days,
does not necessarily imply that what
follows took place at or before the time
of Sennacherib's invasion ; though this
has been asserted by the author of
Seder Olam Rabba, Usher, Lightfoot,
Prideaux, Zwinglius, Van der Palm,
Hendewerk, and others. On the other
hand, Calvin, Parasus, Piscator, Cleric,
Vitringa, Scheid., Rosenm., Gesenius,
and Winer, maintain that it happened
after the retreat of the Assyrian mo
narch ; and to this opinion I cannot but
accede. It is in the highest degree
improbable, that the king of Babylon,
who was at the time tributary to Senna
cherib, would have ventured to send a
congratulatory embassy to Hezekiah, if
he had not received previous information
of the defeat, chap. xxxiK. 1. Comp.
2 Chron, xxxiii. 22 — 24. The promise,
ver. 6, cannot be urged as a valid objec
tion, since it is merely a repetition of
that in chap, xxxvii. 35 ; and was given
to remove from the mind of the king all
fear of future attacks on the part of the
Assyrians. Dathe renders, Eodem illo
anno ; Doderlein, Circa hoc tempus. As,
however, Hezekiah reigned only twenty-
nine years, and fifteen of them were
those added to his life through the
Divine goodness, it is evident tiiat his
recovery must have happened in the
course of the remaining portion of the
fourteenth year of his reign — which was
that of the Assyrian invasion. For the

nature of his sickness, see on ver. 21.
The words ^n'3b 12, give charge to thy
house, is equivalent to our making a last
will; hence the Rabbin. nNi2, a will, or
testament. Comp. 2 Sam. xvii, 23.
2. The pious monarch turned towards
the wall by the side of which his couch
stood, that he might present his prayer,
undisturbed by what might be passing
in the chamber. See Lowth's note. In
a very different spirit Ahab turned away
his face, 1 Kings xxi, 4.
3. The terms, D|!ti, perfect, and naN,
truth, in this connexion, and frequently,
when used of the Jewish kings, have a
special reference to sincere endeavours
to establish and maintain the pure wor
ship of Jehovah, in opposition to all
idolatrous intermixtures. Comp. the
Arab. JUu , integer a noxa et vitiis ;
Jluj , integer vitii expers ; t^Luin , reli-
g'lo Muhammedica ; Am~,c , one addicted
to and professing the true faith, i. e.
Islamism. 4. The parallel passage in Kings is
fuller and more special.
6. See on ver. 1.
8. According to the longer narrative
in Kings, it was placed at the option of
Hezekiah, whether the shadow on the
dial should go forward ten degrees, or
go backward ten degrees; the latter
of which he chose, as being the more

CHAP. XXXVIU.j

ISAIAH.

297

degrees, which hath gone down, by the sun, on the dial of Ahaz, to
go back ten degrees. And the sun turned back ten degrees, by the
degrees by which it had gone down.
9 The writing of Hezekiah, king or Judah, when he had
BEEN SICK, and HAD EECOVEBED FROM HIS SICKNESS :

remarkable. With respect to the ni^»a of
Ahaz, it has been disputed whether a
sun-dial introduced by that monarch, or
the steps leading up to his palace, be
meant. The former is the rendering of
the Chald, «;?* JJN, hour-stone, and of
Symm, and Jerome, iv dpoXoyia, in
horologio ; the latter, that of the LXX.
dvafiaBpdv, and Saad. eJlj.* • None
of the objections that have been raised
against the existence of a dial at that
time in Jerusalem, are of any weight.
Anaximander, to whom the Greeks
ascribe the division of time by hours,
and the introduction of the sun-dial,
travelled in Chaldea about the time of
the captivity, and very probably became
acquainted with both during his inter
course with the oriental astronomers.
Indeed, Herodotus expressly states, ii. 1 09,
that the Greeks obtained the knowledge
of the pole, the dial, and the division of
the day into twelve parts, from the Baby
lonians. It is not at all unlikely, that
Ahaz, who appears to have been fond of
foreign objects of art, 2 Kings xvi. 10,
obtained a sun-dial from Babylon ; and
that it is to this, rather than to any steps
which he had caused to be made, that
reference is had in the present case.
The circumstance, too, of the interest
taken by the Babylonians in the event
of the retrogradation of the shadow, con
firms this hypothesis, Elias Chomer, a
Jewish R,abbi, supposes the dial to have
been a concave hemisphere, having in
the middle a globe, the shadow of which
fell upon certain lines, which marked
the time. Of the length of the degrees
we are not informed ; but that they bore
some proportion to the length of the day
is probable, from the selection of the
number ten, rather than fifteen, — that of
the years which Hezekiah was to live.
The infidel objection to the event,
derived from the motion of the sun being
opposed to the well-known construction

of the mundane system, is at once met
by the facts, — that there is no more in
consistency in speaking of the sun going
back, than there is in our speaking of
his rising and setting ; and that what is
called the sun in one part of the verse,
is called the shadow in the other, — the
cause, by a common figure of speech,
being put for the effect. Nor is there
any necessity for supposing, that, on the
occasion, the earth was actually arrested
in her progress round the sun, and
turned so far back in a contrary direc
tion, as to produce the difference in
degrees here specified : since all that
was necessary to produce the effect, was
to bend, or cause a change in the direc
tion of the rays of light, so as to make
them retrograde on the dial. Partial
phenomena of this description have been
observed in modern times. On the 27th
of March, 1703, P. Romauld, prior of
the cloister at Metz, made the observa
tion, that, owing to such a refraction of
the solar rays in the higher regions of
the atmosphere, in connexion with the
appearance of a cloud, the shadow on
his dial deviated an hour and a half.
The production of such a phenomenon,
on a scale of such magnitude, however,
as that sta,ted by Isaiah, could not but
be regarded as a remarkable interposi
tion of Divine power ; and the foreknow
ledge of it on the part of the prophet,
must have been strictly miraculous. The
words, rt^TS/a iw» icaiBn 3iBni, And the
sun went back ten degrees, are wanting
in three of Kennicott's MSS., and ori
ginally in two of De Rossi's: they are
likewise omitted in the Syr. ; but their
omission, and that of toawi, ihe sun, in
the Konigsberg Cod. is most probably an
emendation. The last word, however,
^oes not occur in Kings.
9. This eucharistical ode of Hezekiah,
which is wanting in Kings, is distin
guished for its peculiar sweetness and
tenderness ; the plaintive tone which
a a

298

ISAIAH.

[chap. XXXVIll.

10

11

I said : In the meridian of my days I shall enter the gates of Sheol ;
I am deprived of the residue of my years.
I said : I shall no more see .Tah,
Jah in the land of the living ;
I shall no more behold man.
With the inhabitants of the world.

pervades it; and the extreme concise
ness of its style. " Est autem carmen
hoc cum primis doctum et elegans."
Zwinglius. It chiefly describes the state
of his feelings during his sickness. Of
its genuineness and authenticity there
can exist no doubt. That this pious
king was fond of poetry appears from
Prov, xxv, 1 ; so that there is every
reason to regard the '; in in^'?jnb as the
Lamed Auctoris. 3ri3a, LXX.irpoaevxfi,
but the Alex. Cod. dbfj ; oi Xoi. ypaipfj ;
a song committed to writing, with a view
to commemorate the Divine goodness.
The reader will do well to consult on
this ode the very learned Dissertatio
Philologico-Exegetica of Ever. Scheid,,
Lugd. Batav. 1769, 8vo.
10. 'a'js, Vulg. in dimidio, a figurative
mode of expression, taken from the ap
parent stationary position of the sun at
noon. This idea, the LXX. doubtiess
meant to express, -when they rendered
iv Ta v-\jrei, though Jerome thinks they
mistook the i for a 1, The root is nn'i,
to be silent, rest, &c. Comp. Gieuhar.
spoken of "the' sun when he stands in
the midst of heaven," It is equivalent
to the Greek, iv ttj pea-rjpPpiq tov ^lov,
and our "meridian of life." Coverdale :
in my best age. Tingstad: lefnadsmid-
dag. Hezekiah, reflecting that, at the
age of thirty- nine, he had only, as it
were, reached the mid-day of human
life, (see Ps. xc. 10,) laments the pro
spect of early death. This interpretation
is preferable to that adopted by Gese
nius and others, who render, " in ihe
tranquill'dy of my days;" as the corre
sponding member of the parallelism
shews. On fnxit, Sheol, see chap, v, \?.
'iiii?B, / am visited, i, e. punished, as it
respects the residue of the years I might
have lived ; deprived of them. See for
the A ecus, as here used, Ewald, § 482.

Some render, / shall he missing, which
is not contrary to Hebrew usage.
11. n; occurs only once in three of
De Rossi's MSS. and in the Syr. ; and
two Codices have originally read nin; ;
but there can be no doubt, from the tone
of the poem, that the repetition is genuine.
Comp, the repetition of ia, ver. 17, and
of 'n, ver. 19. . The vision of God, to
which Hezekiah here refers, was the
contemplation of the Divine glory in the
temple. He^had taken great pains to
restore the temple worship, and antici
pated, with pious delight, those mani
festations of the presence of Jehovah,
which he had promised to his assembled
people. 1'be loss of this privilege he
here deeply deplores. Comp, Ps. xxvii.
4, Ixiii. 2, and the Note on chap, xxxiii.
17. The LXX. have, to aaTrjpwv tov.
'la-parjX, "the salvation or Saviour of
Israel," — as if they considered the ap
pearance of Messiah to have been the
object of his vision. " The land of the
living " is contrasted with Sheol, the
state of the departed. That ^17, which
occurs only here, is to be rendered, place
of cessation or rest, and applied to the
grave, as Vitringa, Scheid., Rosenm.,
Van der Palm, Gesenius, Winer, Hitzig,
and others, maintain, the parallelism
seems absolutely to forbid — ^'in '3\pi', cor
responding so exactly to D'^n yiH. I
cannot, therefore, but agree with those
interpreters who consider 'Jin to be iden
tical in meaning with ijrj; especially, as
the only difference consists in a trans
position of the letters 1 and '> ; and the
precisely similar phrase, l^n '3ii5', occurs
Ps. xlix. 2. For other instances of trans
position, comp. iB33 and 3fe3, to and toD,
fji? and f]»i. For'ljn, comp. the Arab.
liii- , perennavit, ei sempiternus fuit ;
tUi- , perennifas, seculum, dVw, world.
Thus here Saad. UijJ) ; and the Chald.

chap, xxxviii.]

ISAIAH.

299

12

13

14

My habitation is plucked up, and removed from me.
Like the tent of a shepherd ;
I roll up, like a weaver, my life ;
From the thrum he cutteth me off ;
From morning to night thou makest an end of me.
I compose myself till the morning.
Then, like a lion, he breaketh in pieces all my bones ;
From morning to night thou makest an end of me.
Like the swallow and the crane I twitter ;
I moan like the dove ;
Mine eyes fail with looking upward ;
O Jehovah ! I am oppressed ; undertake for me.

WIN, the earth. LXX. eirl yijs. Ting
stad, ibland verldens inbyggare. Six
MSS. read ijn ; and four more have done
so at first.
12. Ill, u, circle, dwelling, tent, &c.
Arab. . W , the same, from m, .lii , to
move round in a circle, be round, &c., to
live in a circular tent, or in tents placed
in a circular form ; in which way the
Nomades usually construct their dwell
ings. »p: is specially used of pulling up
the pins by which the cords of a tent
have been fixed to the ground, comp.
Jer. xxxiii. 20 ; and nJl, to uncover, re
move, &c., in application to the removal
of the cloth or covering of the tent, &c.
"Nomadae quum pascua mutant, taber-
nacula convolvunt atque abeunt." Zwing
lius. Comp. for the figure Jer. iv. 21,
X. 20 ; 2 Cor. v. 1 ; 2 Pet. i. 13—15.
It was very common for the Hebrews
and other Orientals to speak of the body
as a tent. It was regarded not as the
proper person, but merely his temporary
habitation. Comp. 2 Cor. v. 1 ; 2 Pet. i.
13, 14. ':a, from me, is emphatic, in
the same view of the subject. '»1, pas-
toralis, Winer. ' added to words, some
times expresses a quality or attribute ;
as 'T?3, 'jam. See Gesen. Lehrgeb.
p. 524. — Hezekiah next compares the
finishing of his life to the rolling up of a
web, which, when finished, is cut off ,
from the thrum. IB]?, Arab. iJas, to
contract, roll up, &c, Tingstad : Jag
vicklar ihop. This was all that was left
for the monarch to do, since God had.

to all appearance, cut short his days.
Comp, Job vi. 9. ni'n properly signifies
what hangs down, such as hair from the
head, threads, thrums, and the like.
Comp. Song vii. 6. The nomin. to ':S23'.
and to I3ic;, in the following verse, is
nin;, understood. Recognizing the Divine
hand in what had taken place, he ad
dresses himself directly to the Most
High, in words which are repeated at
the close of the following verse. For
the phrase, n>!?~i? Di'?, which means the
whole day, comp. c'| ijpepas els vvKTa,
Eurip, Here, Fur. 503. Di' is here used
instead of lijs, the beginning of the day.
Coverdale : in one day.
13. ni'ti, to be even, equal ; in Piel, to
make level, even; Arab. ]yu , aquare,
componere, — to compose one's-self: in
full, ied: rmd, Ps. cxxxi. 2. The king
endeavoured to allay his fears and take
rest during the night, hoping that the
following morning would bring him relief;
but when day returned, his malady raged
with greater violence than ever. Comp.
Job x. 16. While )3. corresponds to the
3 in '1N3, as in ver. 14, it likewise marks
the apodosis.
14. 1135 DID forms an asyndeton, as in
nii'iijip^a, Hos, vi, 3; micai), Hab. iii.
li. There is also an ellipsis of the I of
comparison before the latter word. Comp.
Jer. viii. 7, 11:51 DID, where the use of the
copulative shews, that by 113» we are not
to understand the swallow itself, as ex
pressing the gyrations made by that bird
in flying, but some other bird of passage.
That it signifies the ^rws or crane, Bochart

soo

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxviii.

15

16

What shall I say .''
He hath both made a promise to me, and performed it.
I will walk humbly all my years.
Because of the bitterness of my soul.
O Lord ! by these men live ;
And entirely through them is the life of my spirit ;
Thou hast restored me, and made me to live.

has satisfactorily proved, iii. 68 — 80 ;
deriving it from the Arab. jsP , aufugit
ad suos, quibus adsuevit. The Chald.
has n;3'ii3; Saad. ^^, both having
the same signification. For DID, three
MSS., and originally two more, have
D'P, Theod. (tIs, which Jahn states to be
orientalium lectio. The word is onomato
poetic, — expressing the sound made by
the swallow. Hence also the Italian,
Zisilla. Both birds are noted for the
circles and evolutions which they make
in the air, and their noise when setting
out on their journeys. This noise is
here expressed by f]292, which though
more applicable to the twitter of the
swallow, may also describe the call-note
of the crane. See chap. viii. 19. There
is peculiar force and beauty in the com
parison here made between the dying
believer and migratory birds, about to
take their departure to a distant and
more genial clime. They linger in the
scenes which they have frequented ; but
they are impelled by instinct to remove.
The plaintive note of the dove is again
referred to, chap, lix, 11 ; Jer. vii. 16.
It occurs frequently in eastern poetry.
TO signifies to engage in behalf of another,
pledge one's-self for him, and by impli
cation, deliver him.
15. Here begins the second half of
the ode, in which Hezekiah attempts to
give expression to the rapturous feelings
of gratitude with which he was oppressed.
When he was at the last extremity, he
received the Divine promise that he
should recover, and he had now expe
rienced its fulfilment. As the verb nil,
Arab. liilJ , to go slowly, is used, as here,
in Hithpael, Ps. xiii. 5, in the sense of

walking in slow and solemn procession to
the temple, some think that the pious
king declares it to be his intention, as
long as he lived, to go up to the house
of God to give thanks for his deliver
ance. Thus the Chald. 'Triaij:, D'^mi rtDN,
" I will worship and pay my vows before
him." Schmid., Vitringa, Hoheisel,
Dathe, and Rosenm., approve of this in
terpretation ; but it is decidedly forced ;
as is also recogitabo, repufabo, reflect,
meditate, &c,, of the Vulg,, Jerome,
Lowth, and others. There seems rather
to be in the word the expression of a
pious resolution ever after to " walk
humbly with God," Mic. vi. 8, ¦», on
account of, or, induced by a considera-r
tion of the deep affliction with which he
had been visited, as the chastisement of
his sins. It is the opposite of i?2, which
signifies to walk in a stately, independent
manner ; and is equivalent to w ipn,
1 Kings xxi. 27.
16. The pronominal aflBxes, Dn and
)n, being of both genders,, express the
number and diversity of the Divine
benefits, and refer to these as the sub
jects implied' in in» and 'itgs. Both ¦»
and 3 indicate the instrumental or effi
cient cause. Comp. Gen, xxvii. 40;
Deut. viii. 31 For p, which is the read
ing of all De Rossi's MSS., nine of Ken
nicott's read Dn ; most probably the
result of a grammatical correction, 'f^
is connected, according to the syntax,
with 'irn 'JI ; the ]n3 being merely inter
jected to give ease to the composition,
as rm. Gen. vii. 6 ; iii>, 2 Sam. i. 9 ; Job
xxvii. 3. '3a'^nn';, though put in the
Fut. to mark the succession of the event,
in reference to the past condition of the
royal penman, is to be understood as a
Preter. ; and the following Imper. ':.'.'nni
is, according to rule, to be rendered in
the same tense. Comp. n^iTj — V&n, Gen.
XX. 7; nrini— nto:, Josh.'ix. 26!''

chap, xxxviii.]

ISAIAH.

301-

17 Behold ! my bitter anguish is changed into ease ;
In love to my soul, thou hast delivered me from the pit of decay ;
Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
18 Verily, Sheol cannot praise thee ;
Death cannot celebrate thee ;
Those that descend to the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
19 The living, the living shall praise thee, as I do this day ;
The father to the children shall announce thy truth.
20 Jehovah was ready to deliver me ;

17. Lit. "Behold! turned into sound
ness was my great bitterness." That ^
is employed to denote a fransition or
change from one state into another, see
Gesen. Heb. Lex. (>, A) 3 ; so that
there is no necessity, with Dathe, Cube,
and others, to regard ip, in either of the
two instances in which it here occurs, as
a finite form of the verb na, to change, —
a construction forced in itself, and at
variance with the spirit of the ode, which
requires the latter ia to be simply a
repetition of the former, for the sake of
emphasis. Comp. ver. 11 and 19. —
)a 1^: niptfn is pregnant in meaning :
" Thou hast loved me, and effected my
deliverance from," &c. Comp. the Arab.
(jjit£,, amore flagravit, adhasit. Nearly
the same words occur Job xxxiii. 18,
nn^3a imp: ':nDn^ ; but the signification of
?¦*! is so fully established, that we are
not at liberty to change it into ':]ton, as
Chappelow suggests in his Note on this
passage in Job. ')3 consumption, decay ;
from n^, to fail, waste, come to nothing.
Arab. -Jo , trita et consumpia fuit
vestis. JjJl li.ii 1*^^)5 ' ^t depascit
eos vermis consumpiionis. Hist. Tam.
p. 322. — To cast any person or thing
behind one's back, is a mode of speech
common among the orientals to express
oblivion. See 1 Kings xiv. 9; Nehem.
ix. 26 ; and comp. the Arab. -^ , with
' ' , post tergum rejecit, oblitus, non

curavit res.

j^ LJ^] (jjts-,

fuii, nee curavit rem necessarium. In
reference to crimes, it means to forgive
them. Thus Harir, Consess. xxxiv.

u J , And I cast his deeds behind my
back, though they were most atrocious.
Comp. Micah vii. 19. Its opposite is to
place any thing before the face, meaning
to observe, or keep in view for punish
ment. See Ps. xc. 8, cix. 14, 15; Jer.
xvi. 1 7 ; Hos. vii. 2.
18. Wwfl and nia, the LXX. properly
interpret, oliv abov, and oi diroBavovTes.
Before nia repeat s'J. The meaning of
this, and similar passages in the Psalms,
is not, that the departed have no con
scious existence, or active employments
in another world, but that they take no
further part in the concerns of the present
life. Those who have entered the in
visible worid no longer enjoy any oppor
tunities of glorifying God upon earth ;
nor do they experience the fulfilment of
his promises respecting temporal good.
Devoted as the pious Jews were to the
temple-worship, to which npn and f^f
particularly refer, they regarded a com
plete removal from it by death as a
grievous calamity. Comp. Eccles, ix. 10,
Totff yap en ^dai tovto iroieZv pdbioV
01 yap TeBvewVTes e^a t^s ipiropias
yeyevrjvTai, Theodor. on Isa. xxxviii. 18.
19. For 11 'n, see ver. 11 and 17.
One of Kennicott's MSS., another of
De Rossi's originally, and the Complut.
Polyg. read n« instead of ^, but the pre
position is without doubt genuine, — being
often used after verbs of speaking, pub
lishing, &c. See Gen. xx. 2 ; Ps. ii. 7 ;
Jer. xl. 16.
20. The ^ before the Infin. absolute is
sometimes used to denote the continuance
of an action. Gen. ii. 3 ; or simply the
Fut. Prov. xix. 8.

302

ISAIAH.

[chap, xxxix.

Therefore will we strike my stringed instruments
All the days of our life in the house of Jehovah.
21 Now, Isaiah had said : Let them take a cake of dried figs, and
22 apply it to the ulcer, and he shall recover. Hezekiah also had said :
What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of Jehovah ?

21, 22. According to 2 Kings xx.
7, 8, these verses should come in some
where after ver. 6 ; and Lowth and
Boothroyd insert them partly after the
6th, and partly after the 8th ; but from
the peculiar manner in which they are
worded, it seems pretty evident, that they
have not been placed here by transposi
tion, and that they are not to be ascribed
to the negligence of a transcriber ; but
owe their place to Isaiah himself, who,
after inserting the ode of Hezekiah,
recollected that what is here added was
necessary to complete the narrative.

nia, Arab.

inunxit et emollivit

corpus oleo, to rub ointment into a wound.

apply what is mollifying, &c. From the
particular mention made of ]'n?S, the
ulceration, which appeared on the body
of Hezekiah, it has, with considerable
probability, been concluded, that the
disease with which he was afljicted was
the plague. This disease is not only
characterised by entire prostration of
strength, and great mental depression,
but also by certain local symptoms, as
buboes, carbuncles, and livid spots, which
discharge offensive matter, and often
reach deep into the system. The appli
cation of the cataplasm was to produce
suppuration. Hezekiab's recovery was
so rapid, that on the third day he was
able to go«p to the temple, 2 Kings xx, 5.

CHAPTER XXXIX.
This chapter contains an account of the embassy sent by the king of Babylon, to
congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery, 1; the ostentatious display which he
made of his royal establishment, 2 ; his reproof by the prophet Isaiah, 3, 4 ; a
prediction of the captivity, 5 — 7 ; and the king's acquiescence in the announce
ment thus made to him, 8.

At that time, Merodach Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Baby
lon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah ; for he had heard that

1. The name, pN)3 lji><ia, Merodach-
Baladan, Winer and Von Bohlen derive
from the Persic SSki \L)ii~^ , vir lau-
daius ; but Gesenius, with greater pro
bability, regards it as a compound of
¦^iNia, Mars, the great slaughterer, from
,ti-« , to die, corresponding to the
Persic ^iCilt).^ , overthrowing men, a
hero ; ^3, Belus, the chief god of the

Babylonians ; and p«, Adon, Adonis,
the Phenician name of a deity. Two
MSS. read TJ'it4i3, as in 2 Kings, and a
few have tpiip, ip^ia or T[Niiia. Mero
dach is mentioned Jer. 1. 2, as one of the
gods of the Babylonians, and the name
was borrowed by their kings, as Evil-
merodach, Mesessimordachus, Sisimorda-
chus. The ruler here referred to is the
Mardocampad of Ptolemy, who reigned
from the year b. c. 721 to 709 ; and is
mentioned by the name of Marodach-

chap, xxxix.]

ISAIAH.

he had been sick, and had recovered. And Hezekiah was delighted
with them, and shewed them his treasury, the silver, the gold, and
the spices, and the precious oil, and the whole of his armoury, and
all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his
house, or in the whole of his dominion, which Hezekiah did not shew
them. Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said
to him : What have these men said ; and whence came they to
thee .'' And Hezekiah said : They came to me from a distant
country, even from Babylon. Then he said : What have they seen
in thy house ? And Hezekiah said : All that is in my house have
they seen ; there is nothing among my treasures which I have not
shewed them. Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah : Hear the word of
Jehovah of Hosts : Behold, the days are coming when all that is in
thine house, and what thy fathers have treasured up to this day,
shall be carried away to Babylon : nothing shall be left, saith

Baladan in the passage from Berosus,
preserved in the Armenian version of
Eusebius's Chronicle. He is there stated
to have slain Acises, who had usurped
the Babylonian rule after the brother of
Sennacherib. See Gesen. in loc. Bala
dan, the father, Usher takes to be Bele
sis, or Nabonassar, from whom the
celebrated Babylonian era took its name.
According to 2 Chron. xxxii. 31, the
object of the embassy to Hezekiah was
not merely to congratulate him on his
recovery, but also to make particular
inquiry respecting the naia, prodigy,
which had taken place in the land of
Judah. This prodigy Scholz thinks was
the miraculous destruction of the As
syrians ; but it was more likely the
horological phenomenon, since this was
immediately connected with the recovery
of Hezekiah, and must have been a
subject of great interest to the astrono
mers of Babylon. The delivery of pre
sents by the ambassadors was quite in
accordance with oriental practice.
2. nni: n'j, his treasury, or store-house,
in which were laid up the precious arti
cles belonging to the crown. As nNbj
occurs Gen. xxxvii. 25, and xliii. 11, in
application to some kind of spice, it has
been supposed by many that nijj is so to
be understood in the present passage.
Thus Aquila, tov oikov Tav dpapdrav
avrov. Vulg. cella aromafum. On the

other hand, the Chald, 'nil:: n'3, the Syr.
oiV.^ AxO , the Arab. <s!Lo Cl-^ , and
Saad. Xjli-O ¦ " 't'_' , take it to signify
treasury ; and, from the enumeration
immediately following, this would seem
to be the right interpretation ; especially,
as D'Bta, aromafus, form one of the items
distinctly specified. The etymology is
uncertain ; but that proposed by Lors-
bach, Jena Algem. Lit. Zeit. 1815,
No. 59, which traces the word in the
Persic J>>JbUj, depositum, is the most
approved. For the armoury, see chap.
xxii. 8. The hereditary treasures of
Hezekiah must have been greatly in
creased by the spoils of the Assyrian
camp ; but, instead of gratefully acknow
ledging to the Pagan ambassadors the
hand of Jehovah in his deliverances, the
vanity of his mind led him to make an
ostentatious display of bis state, and thus
to provoke the Divine displeasure. He
seems likewise to have been desirous of
commending himself to the favourable
regard of the king of Babylon, with a
view to an alliance -B'ith him against the
Assyrians. All such foreign alliances
being repugnant to the fundamental
principle of the theocracy, the prophet
virtually denounces them in the follow
ing verses.

304 ISAIAH. [chap. xl.
7 Jehovah. And of thy sons, who shall proceed from thee, whom
thou shalt beget, shall they take away, and they shall be eunuchs in
8 the palace of the king of Babylon. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah,
Good is the word of Jehovah, which thou hast spoken. He said,
moreover. There shall be peace and truth in my days.
7. That the kings of Babylon prided persons and treasures of the house of
themselves in having youths of noble David.
and royal- blood for attendants, appears 8. Hezekiah has been unjustly accused
from Dan. i. 3, &c. D'P'ip, I have ren- of egotism, or a blameworthy self-love,
dered in the usual way by eunuchs, since in the declaration which he here makes.
this is strictly the meaning of the word. It is nothing more than the expression
and most of those who were appointed of submissive acquiescence in the Divine
to fill confidential stations about the appointment, accompanied with a grate-
persons of Eastern princes were emas- fill joy, that undisturbed prosperity was
culated. See Winer's Realwbrt. art. to be granted throughout the remainder
•" Verschnittene," p. 760. How exactly of his reign. The repetition of las'l, anrf
was the prediction here given fulfilled ! he said, without its being added to whom
2 Kings xxiv. 12 — 16 ; Dan. i. 1 — 7. the words were addressed, is supposed
Yet nothing could be more improbable by some to indicate that he spake to
at the time of its delivery. The king of himself, there being an ellipsis of i3^|i ;
Babylon was himself a vassal of Assyria ; but the ordinary construction of the pas-
and though, on occasion of the defeat of sage is more natural. na«i DiW, peace
Sennacherib, he might cherish the hope and truth, are not to be taken as a hen-
of independence, yet no human foresight diadis. The former is used to signify
could have determined the conquests of prosperity in general; the latter, the
Nebuchadnezzar, or the captivity of the prevalence of true religion.

CHAPTER XL.
The portion of the book which begins with this chapter embraces the entire period
from the restoration of the Hebrews from the Babylonish captivity, to the end
of the Christian dispensation. The subjects more particulariy treated of are the
-deliverance of the Jews from Babylon ; their return to Judea, and the re-esta
blishment of their ancient polity ; the appearance, work, sufferings, death,
glorification, and reign of the Messiah ; the downfall of idolatry, and the enjoy
ment of the blessings of salvation by the Gentiles ; and the final recovery of the
Jewish people. Having, in chap, xxxix. 6, 7, predicted the captivity, Isaiah,
with a view to console his nation, delivers the prophetic discoveries which, in
perspective vision, he obtained, of the remarkable interposition of Divine
-providence for their deliverance. To this subject he continually reverts in the
course of the first twelve chapters, after digressing to touch on the coming of the
Messiah, and the establishment of his kingdom, to which the restoration from
captivity was to be subservient. His exhibitions of the character and government
of Jehovah, are the most sublime and magnificent to be found in Scripture. The
superiority which he evinces to the narrow spirit of Jewish nationality, and the
mere formal observance of the Jewish ritual ; and the readiness with which he
.avails himself of every opportunity to introduce the Gentiles to a joint partici-

CHAP. XL.] ISAIAH. 305
pation in the benefits of true religion, argue the influence of principles, the full
development of which is only to be found in the Christian economy. The Spirit
of Christ, which was in him, not only disclosed to his view those future temporal
events which affected his people, but pre-eminentiy, above and beyond them,
" the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow."
It has for some time past been fashionable among the German neologists to deny
the authenticity of this section of the book, and to ascribe it to some anonymous
writer, whom they suppose to have flourished about the time of the restoration
from Babylon. The first who directed his weapons against it was Doderlein,
who was followed by Justi, Eichhorn, Paulus, Rosenmiiller, Bertholdt, De
Wette, and, more recently, by Gesenius and Hitzig. On the other hand, Piper,
Beckhaus, Hensler, Jahn, Dereser, Greve, Mbller, Kleinert, and Lee, have more
or less successfully undertaken its defence. The references to their works will be
found in the Christologie of Hengstenburg, 1 Theil. 2 Abtheil., who likewise
treats the subject with great ability ; or in a Translation of this portion of it in
the Amer. Bib. Repos, for Oct, 1831. See also Home's Introd. vol. iv. pp.
165 — 169. The objections taken from the historical circumstances of the pro
phecies ; the impossibility of their being understood by the contemporaries of
Isaiah ; the position which the writer assigns to himself among those who lived
after the captivity ; the minuteness of the details ; the want of reference by
Jeremiah; traces of Chaldee and later idiom; and the diversity of style and
phraseology, have been impartially weighed by these authors, especially by Jahn,
Mbller, Kleinert, and Lee, and proved to be destitute of that importance which
has been attached to them, and totally insufficient to overturn the position against
which they have been brought forward. They are founded, partly and chiefly,
on a positive rejection of prophetic inspiration, partly on a misinterpretation of
particular passages, and partly on an undue pressing of a few minor points of
style, the character of which is quite compatible with the general manner of
Isaiah. Most of the hypotheses which have been framed in opposition to the
authenticity, are perfectly arbitrary and gratuitous, and are not for a moment to
be confronted with the overwhelming mass of evidence which exists in favour of it.
The principles which they involve are such as would not for a moment be listened
to were they applied in the critical treatment of any Greek or Latin classic.
The minutiae of idiom, &c. and such of the arguments of the opponents as
appear in any degree plausible, will be noticed in the places in connexion with
which they are adduced.
The subjects treated of in chap, xl, are, the restoration from Babylon, 1, 2 ; the
preparations for, and actual appearance of the Messiah, 3 — 11; the incomparable
superiority of Jehovah to idols, 12 — 21 ; his infinite wisdom and power dis
played in creation, a ground of confidence to his people, 22 — 27 ; and the
encouragement which the disconsolate Jews had to expect deliverance, 28 — 31.
The majesty and sublimity of description which the prophet here displays, and
the elegance and beauty of the diction in which it is clothed, are altogether
unrivalled.

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
1. The persons immediately addressed LXX. supply iepels, priests ; the Chald.
are the public teachers of religion. The «5?'3?, ihe prophets. Both may be in-
R u

S06

ISAIAH.

[chap. XL.

Speak soothingly to Jerusalem, and declare to her,
That her suffering is ended.
That her iniquity is expiated ;
That she hath received, at the hand of Jehovah,
Double for all her sins.
The voice of a herald in the wilderness :
Prepare ye the way of Jehovah ;
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised.
And every mountain and hill made low ;

eluded, since there is no reason for sup
posing, with Gesen., that there were no
priests during the captivity. Ezra ii. and
Neh. xii. prove the contrary ; and that
they were instructors of the people, see
Mai. ii. 7. The repetition ian: ian: gives
intensity to the address. No objection
can be more futile than that taken to
the authenticity of this part of the book
from such repetitions. Though the iden
tical words, such as ':» ':«, n:n nsn, may
not occur in what all allow to be the
genuine Isaiah, yet similar repetitions
do. Comp. 'V'll 'V'n. xxiv. 16 ; Dib^ DiW,
xxvi. 2 ; V'i«''«'i«, xxix. 1 ; not to men
tion rr n;;., ia ia, 'n 'n, in the song of
Hezekiah. The use of the pron. afiix
Dn'n''N, "your God," enhances the con
solation conveyed by the address.
2. 'ifyi 131, to speak according to the
heart, i. e. what is pleasing or delightful,
is equivalent to Dn:, to comfort, in the
preceding verse. Comp. Zech, i, 13,
D'an: D'13i D'Siio D'131. Dathe, blande allo-
quimini. The joyful message is an an
nouncement that the captivity into which
the Jews had been carried, as a punish
ment for their sins, is ended. The verbs
are all in the Preterite, to express the
certainty of the future event. «32 is pro
perly military service ; from «32, to go
forth to war ; by implication, hardship,
privation, suffering, &c, Comp, Job vii.
1, X. 17; Dan. x. 1. )is n2l means to
satisfy, or make compensation for sin, by
enduring punishment on account of it,
and has reference to the delight with
which the person forgives against whom
it has been committed. Though no real
moral atonement can be made by sinners
for their trangressions, yet in a civil or
national point of view, expiation was

admissible under the Jewish economy.
Comp, Lev, xxvi. 41, 43, and the following
clause of the present verse, D^to, double,
ample, full, Comp, Zech, ix. 12 ; biirXdos,
1 Tim. V. 17 ; biirXddaTe avrrj biirXd —
Kepdaare avrrj biirXovv, Rev. xviii. 6.
Most expositors understand the recom
pense here spoken of to be the blessings
conferred upon the Jews on their return;
but the parallelism forbids this construc
tion, and shews that punishment ismeant.
They had suffered such chastisement as
amply sufficed to clear the Divine cha
racter, and correct them of the great evil
of idolatry. At the same time respect
was had to all their sins. Zwinglius,
" plenam castigationem." Calvin, "Pro-
phetam nihil aliud velle constat quam
Deum Ecclesiae suae miseriis satis su-
perque esse contentum." Coverdale,
sufficient correction, fnn^ Ta njA is ellip
tical for Di3 ng^, to take the cup, i. e. of
punishment. See chap. li. 22 ; Jer. xxv.
15 ; Lam. iv. 21, 22. Perhaps D'to may
stand for d;5>D3 Dia, a double cup, or one
twice fllled. The language is hyper
bolical, and is designed to inspire the
strongest consolation.
3 — 5. Contemplating the Jews as
liberated from their captive state in Ba
bylon, and again settled in their own
land, the prophet announces the ministry
of John the Baptist, in his character of
herald and precursor of the Messiah,
whose advent he predicts in the follow
ing verses. That the entire passage
refers to the introduction of the New
dispensation appears, first, because the
words are expressly quoted by three of
the inspired evangelists as receiving
their fulfilment in John, Matt. iii. 3 ;
Mark i. 3; and Luke iii.. -4 — 6; and,

chap. XL.]

ISAIAH.

307

The crooked shall become straight.
And the rough places plain.
And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed.
And all flesh shall see it together :
For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
A voice said. Proclaim !
And I said, What shall I proclaim .? —
All flesh is grass, and all its goodness as the flower of the field ;
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth,
For the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it :
Surely the people is grass.

secondly, because the way was to be
prepared, not for the Jews, but for Je
hovah himself. According to the LXX.,
Vulg., and N. T., isiaj is to be con
nected with iftp, and not with 13B. This
division of the words is likewise sup
ported by the accents, — Zakeph-gadol
possessing a greater power of separation
than Zakeph-katon ; and by the rule of
syntax, which requires that imperatives
should precede any other word, at the
commencement of animated discourse.
That 3J7J is not to be taken in the accep
tation of hill or acclivity, but in that of
crooked, is evident, both from the pri
mary meaning of liili'a, its opposite, and
from the parallelism. The language of
these verses is otherwise figurative ; the
images being borrowed from the Oriental
custom of persons sent as pioneers before
a monarch, to cut through rocks and
forests, fill up hollows, and remove
every impediment out of his way, espe
cially in desert countries. See Diod. Sic.
ii. 13; Arrian's Alex. iv. 30 ; Lowth, in
loc. ; and especially Home's Introduc
tion, vol. iii. p. 94. Such was the
character of John's ministry. The wil
derness iu which it was exercised was
only faintly emblematical of the moral
waste which the Jewish church pre
sented at the time. Nothing less than
a thorough perdvoia and diroKaToa-Taa-is
was required to fit her members for the
reception of the Messiah. See Matt. iii.
1—10; Mark ix. 12. By nin; 1133 the
LXX. appear to have understood the
promised Saviour; adding at the end of
the verse, ro aaTijpiov tov &eov ; which
Luke retains chap. iii. 6. This phrase

is thus metonymically used, Luke ii. 30,
and in the Test. xii. Patr. pp. 542, 614.
Comp. John i. 14 ; 2 Cor. iii. 18 ; Heb.
i. 2. Such is doubtless the right con
struction ; though it was unjustifiable in
Lowth to adopt the words into the text.
In the 5th verse the universality of the
Christian dispensation is clearly recog
nised. The same formula of certainty
occurring chap, i. 20, identifies the au
thorship. Comp, alsochap,xxi, 17, xxii, 25.
6. "fioi, flesh, is used metonymically of
all animated beings, but especially of
man ; hence iterrt?, or ito'^3, means all
mankind. Gen, vi. 3, 12, 13; Ilao-a a-dp^,
John xvii. 2 ; Rom. iii. 20. This and
the two following verses contain another
proclamation, designed to call off the at
tention of the Jews from their confi
dence in human ancestry and merit, and
direct it to the gospel, as furnishing
the only solid and durable ground of
hope. Comp. Matt. iii. 9 ; John i, 13,
vi. 63; Rom, ii. 28, 29, iv. 1, 2; 2 Cor.
V. 16, 17; and 1 Pet. 23— 25, where the
words are quoted and applied, ipn, Ge
senius understands to be grace, elegance,
or beauty ; but it is rather to be taken
in a moral sense, as expressive of that
imaginary excellence, or righteousness,
on the ground of which men are prone
to advance a claim on the Divine favour.
See Rom. x. 3 ; Tingstad. godhet. Comp.
ipn 'a3?«, chap. Ivii. 1, where the word is
used of genuine piety, or true moral ex
cellence. The LXX. omit Djn T2n ]3m ;
and Koppe and Hitzig consider them to
be^gloss ; but the emphasis in om, the,
i. e. this people, meaning the Jews, shews
that they were quite in their place.

308

ISAIAH.

[chap. XL.

10

11

The grass withereth ; the flower fadeth ;
But the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Get thee up upon a high mountain.
Thou that publishest good news to Zion ;
Raise powerfully thy voice.
Thou that publishest good news to Jerusalem.
Raise it ; be not afraid ;
Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God !
Behold ! the Lord Jehovah shall come with might.
And his arm shall rule for him ;
Behold ! his reward is with him,
And his recompense before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ;
He shall gather the lambs in his arms.
And carry them in his bosom ;
He shall gently lead the milk-giving ewes.

9. ^"2 wteja, &c. are not in apposition,
as if Zion were the subject, but the
genitive of object. The announcement
was to be made to the Jews, not by
them. The feminine form of the parti
ciple is accounted for on the principle, that
in the Oriental languages, terminations
of that gender are not unfrequently em
ployed in words denoting office, station,
&c. ; as rhiip, a preacher ; rfiBD, a scribe;
Arab, (tojOii. , successor ; kjuii- , crea
tor, &c. The vehemence here ascribed
to the publishers of the message, shews
that females cannot be intended. The
purport of the message is the appear
ance of God in the person of Messiah,
which had been predicted ver. 3, and
is here repeated for the sake of am
plification in the following verses. The
prophet employs the Divine names nirr,
'3i«, and D'ri^, specifically with this re
ference. Comp. chap. ix. 6 ;• Jer. xxiii.
6 ; Mai. iii. 1 ; Ps. xlv. 6 ; Luke i. 15—
l7; Dr. Smith's Script. Test. vol. ii. pp.
33—43. 10, 11. These verses exhibit certain
attributes of the character and work of
Christ ; such as power, tenderness, and
love. The 3 in iJins is the Beth essentia.
See on chap. xxvi. 4. nfe>B is not here
to be taken in the sense of work, but of

the effect, reward, &c. of work. It iS
merely a synonyme of I3fe. Comp. Lev.
xix. 13 ; Ps. cix. 20. i'i is the Dativus
commodi ; which shews that the reward
and recompense following, are not those
which the Messiah would bestow on
others, but his own — what he had him
self merited ; the only sense, indeed, of
which n^B will admit. Comp. chap. xlix.
4, liii. 12'; Phil. ii. 8—11 ; Heb. ii. 9,
10. iriM and l':?^ indicate the absolute
certainty of the rewards. The figures
here borrowed from pastoral life are ex
quisitely beautiful ; expressing with the
utmost elegance of language the infinite
care and tenderness of " the good Shep
herd." He not only exercises a sovereign
and uncontrollable power for the de
fence of his sheep, John x. 28, but at
tends to the weak and feeble, tenderly
carries the young in his bosom, and
gently guides such as give suck, that
they may not be overdriven. Comp.
Gen. xxxiii. 13; Numb. xi. 12; 2 Sam.
xii. 3 ; Isa. xlvi. 3, 4. By D'nJ'? are
meant lambs of such tender age as still
to be dependent on the ewes for suste
nance. Root Tim, Syr. \i^ , to be new,
young. 'm properly signifies to give
milk ; Arab. (J^ , aluit, familiam suam ;
(JLcl , susieniavit ; (JLc , laciavit.

CHAP. XL.]

ISAIAH.

809

12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand ;
Meted the heavens with a span ;
Comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure ;
Weighed the mountains in scales.
And the hills in a balance ?
13 Who hath meted the Spirit of Jehovah ?
Or, being His counsellor, hath taught Him ?
14 With whom took He counsel, that he should instruct Him,
And teach Hun in the path of judgment ;
Or teach Him knowledge.
And make Him acquainted with the way of understanding ?
15 Behold ! the nations are as a drop of the bucket.
And are accounted as the small dust on the balance ;
Behold ! He taketh up the liiaritime lands as an atom.
Lebanon is not sufficient for fire ;
Nor are its beasts for a burnt-offering.
AH nations are as nothing before Him ;
They are accounted by Him less than nothing and void.

16

17

12. Now follows a sublime and mag
nificent description of " the True God and
Eternal Life," who was to appear in the
cities of Judah. The connexion proves
that the same person is intended who
had just been spoken of by the prophet.
1*^, Aq. rpiadpa, Symm. Tpira, a
measure, containing the third part of a
larger one; but of what quantity does
not appear. That it must have been
small, the spirit of the passage requires.
The verse sets forth the wisdom and
power of God in the disposition and
susten tation of the different parts of the
universe, Comp. Job xxxviii.
13, 14. The knowledge of the Divine
Spirit is boundless and independent.
J3n seems to be taken in the same sense
as in the preceding verse. Symm. tjtoi-
paa-e ; the LXX. better eyva. The in
terrogative forms imply, as usual, strong
negation. The words are in part quoted
Rom, xi, 34, in application to the un
fathomable wisdom displayed in the
arrangements rf the gospel dispen
sation. 15. God is immense. In how familiar
yet forcible a manner is this truth here
illustrated ! What we call the immensity
of creation is nothing in comparison of

Him. ID, a drop or tear ; from "no, (g
flow, distil, pnti, Arab, rjcsi^ > fricando
trivit, comminuii in pulverem, to pound
to dust; a particle of what is thus
pounded, i'i, in like manner, signifies
the most minute particle or atom ; from
PPSl, to beat into minute parts. Zwinglius,
very forcibly, atomi umbra. For D'^m, see
on chap. xi. 11. The connexion here
obviously requires the idea of large and
extensive regions.
16. To the Jews, who were familiar
with the vast forests of Lebanon, and
the abundance of animals which it sus
tained, the image here employed must
have possessed great force. The Divine
nature is such tbat no finite sacrifice is
adequate to satisfy its claims on the
guilty. Comp. Ps. I. 10—13.
17. DftJio, less than nothing, the idea
of little being suggested by the subject.
For other instances in which the adjec
tive is omitted before the comparative,
see Noldii Concord, p. 466, (8.) Comp.
for the force of the expression, the eXo-
Xia-TOTepos of Paul, Eph. iii. 8. Gesen.,
Hitzig, and Scholz. render, from no
thing; but less aptiy. Comp. chap.
xii. 22.

310 ISAIAH. [chap. xl.
18 To whom then can ye liken God ?
Or, what likeness can ye compare unto Him .''
19 The workman casteth an image,
And the smith overlayeth it with gold ;
The smith beateth out silver chains.
20 He that is too poor to bring an oblation,
Chooseth a tree that will not rot ;
He seeketh for himself a skilful workman.
To erect an image that shall not be moved.
21 Have ye not known .''
Have ye not heard ?
Hath it not been told you from the beginning ?
Have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth .''
22 He it is, that sitteth above the circle of the earth ;
The inhabitants of which are as grasshoppers ;
That stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain.
And spreadeth them as a dwelling-tent ;
23 That reduceth the princes to nothing ;
He maketh void the judges of the earth.
¦24 Scarcely are they planted ; scarcely are they sown ;
Scarcely is their trunk rooted in the earth ;
And He scarcely bloweth upon them, when they wither,
And, like stubble, the tempest carrieth them away.
18. The Heb. Future is often poten- 21. A spirited appeal to the instruo-
tial in signification. tion which the Jews had always enjoyed
19,20. If the entire creation is no- respecting the Creator of the world, and
thing in comparison of God, how absurd the knowledge of his eternal power and
to invest a piece of metal, or a block of Godhead, which all nations had more or
wood, with the attributes of divinity ; or less the means of acquiring, partly
even merely to regard such as an image through tradition, and partly through
of him ! In the former of these verses the contemplation of the universe. Comp.
is described the costly idol of the rich ; Rom. i. 20, where aTro Kriireas, corre-
in the latter, that of the poor. f]'ii2 is spends to yi«n niipia ; before which sup-
repeated in order to add to the force of ply the prepos. a from the preceding
the irony ; and ^P\ is understood, only ili^ia.
in the acceptation of beating, to express 22 — 24. Another sublime description
the making of chains. In many of the of the transcendent majesty of Jehovah.
Egyptian idols holes are found, through While unaffected by the revolutions of
which chains passed for the purpose of the celestial system, and the meaner
suspending them on the wall. J5D«3n affairs of men, he regulates and controls
naiin, lit. He that is impoverished as to the whole of his vast universe with in-
a gift; one who is so poor that he has finite ease. From the use of 3in, circle,
nothing to present as an oblation, but or sphere, here, and Job xxvi. 10; Prov.
may obtain a piece of wood, such as viii. 27 ; it is evident the ancients had a
oak or cedar, fit to be an idol ; and knowledge of the spherical form of the
thereby evince his sense of religion. earth. In passages, such as the pre-

CHAP. XL.]

ISAIAH.

311

25 To whom then can ye liken me .? '
Or, may I be compared .''
Saith the Holy One.
26 Lift your eyes on high, and behold.
Who hath created these things .''
He bringeth out their numerous army ;
He calleth them all by name ;
Through the greatness of his might, and the strength of his arm ;
Not one is missing.
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob ! and speakest, O Israel :
My way is hid from Jehovah ;
And, My judgment hath passed away from my God ?
28 Hast thou not known ? Hast thou not heard .''

ceding verse, where the foundations of
the earth are spoken of, the language is
obviously figurative, being borrowed
from the idea of a building, the com
mencement of which is made by laying
the foundation, p'l, Arab, fjii , subtilis,
valde minutus, properly signifies what
is made small, minute, by pounding, as
dust ; but it may also signify whatever
is small either in size or quality ; slen
der, flne, thin. It is here employed to
denote a tent-covering of superior fine
ness, such as the rich Orientals spread
over their courts in summer. Comp. Ps.
civ. 2. As r]M not merely indicates ad
dition, accession, but also complement,
fulness, &c,, ''3 F|N expresses what is not
wholly done, i. e. scarcely: the negative
being thus deprived of its absolute force.
Calvin, adeo ut. In such connexion, D3
is intensive. The passage teaches the
utter frailty and imbecility of the op
pressors of the church of God : a truth
full of comfort to the Jews of the cap
tivity, and to all who are the subjects of
persecution. 25. The sudden introduction of Je
hovah himself, as the speaker, has an
admirable effect, compared with ver. 18,
26. D3':'y DiiaiNip. Comp. Diia Miani
1'3'?, chap, xxxvii. 23. iBpB3, in num
ber, i. e. numerously ; as ni33, power
fully; ii333, gloriously, &c. ; and not as
Rosenmiiller interprets, " numero, soil.
certo suo et definite," The reference is
to the overwhelming number of the

heavenly bodies. Thus Zwinglius, " Nu
mero, emphasis est pro magno numero."
The survey of the immense canopy of
heaven, studded with innumerable
worlds, which, in the brightness of an
Oriental sky, the naked eye could com
mand in the plains of Babylon, was
calculated at once to produce elevated
conceptions of the wisdom, power, and
grandeur of the Divine Being, and to
inspire the mind with unlimited confi
dence in his protecting care. The figure
is military, taken from the muster which
an army passes before its general, who
has called it out to marshal and review
it. From the immense celestial army
not an individual is absent. Each >star,
and each sun, of the hundreds of mil
lions, is always in its place. Considering
the proneness of the ancient Eastern
nations to worship the heavenly bodies,
it may also have been the design of the
prophet to shew the folly of such wor
ship, by asserting the transcendent su
premacy of Jehovah.
27. From this verse to the end of the
chapter, the prophet specially applies
what he had adduced respecting the
majesty and power of God, to the dis
consolate Jews in Babylon ; commencing
with an expostulation on account of their
unbelief. They had been so long in the
power of their enemies, that they con
cluded they were quite overlooked by
the God of their fathers.
28. The Eternal and Immutable Crea
tor is incapable of exhaustion, both as it
respects power and wisdom.

312 ISAIAH. [chap. xli.
" Jehovah is the Eternal God,
The Creator of the ends of the earth ;
He fainteth not, neither is weary ;
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He giveth power to the faint ;
And to them that have no might.
He increaseth strength.
30 The young men shall faint and be weary,
And the choice youths shall utterly fall ;
31 But they that wait upon Jehovah shall gain fresh strength ;
They shall soar on pinions like eagles :
They shall run and not become weary ;
They shall walk and not faint.
30, 31. Those who trust in their own successor of Mohammed. It is chiefly
prowess, and those who confide in Jeho- used to denote transition from an inferior
vah, are here contrasted ; as are also the state to a better ; and specially to mental
different results of their reliance. nbiQ'^ir, invigoration. Conip. chap. xli. 1. The
shall acquire neio strength, from f]^n, to use of 13«, pinion, from 13M, to be strong,
pass out of one place or state into shews that no reference is had to the
,, « ,_ •! . ,. popular notion of the eagle's renewing
another : Arab. . oV"- , successor all- i •'¦ ^i .,_ • .. c • °
miui-uci , -^'o-" —I ""-•-¦-oo-"' "-' his youth; the points of comparison are
cujus fuit, venit post alium ; IV. instau- his strength of wing and consequent
, V rapidity of flight. The former idea,
ravit ; regerminavit, Syr. .^ \ ,,] , the which many approve, appears to have
«... , ,. . been borrowed from the LXX. irrepo-
same; iU^, successor, ihe calif or ^^^aovaiv ds deToi.

CHAPTER XLI.
To confirm the faith of the captive Jews in the true God, and evince the folly of
idolatry, Isaiah now proceeds to predict the divine commission and victorious
conquests of Cyrus, 1 — 4; together with the consternation of idolaters at his
approach, 5 — 7. He next encourages the Jews with assurances of the presence,
protection, and aid, of the God of their fathers, 8 — 16 ; promises them every
thing needful for their comfort and enjoyment, on their return through the desert,
17 — 20; gives a spirited, but powerfully ironical challenge to the idol gods, to
furnish proofs of their prescience and power, 21 — 24 ; and again announces the
mission of Cyrus, the previous knowledge of which was derived, not from idola
ters, but from Jehovah, 25 — 29.

1 Listen in silence to me, ye maritime lands !
Let the nations put on fresh strength ;
1. ^'^W is the appropriate term for at issue was one of the deepest interest
commanding silent attention. The point and importance, and claimed to be heard

chap, xli.]

ISAIAH.

313

Let them draw near ; then let them speak ;
Let us come together to the trial.
Who hath raised up from the east
The just one, whom he hath called to follow him ?
He hath delivered over nations to him, so that he hath subdued
kings ;
He hath made their swords as dust, and their bows as driven chaff.
He hath pursued them ; he hath passed on safely.
By a way which he had never entered with his feet.

with breathless silence, Comp, Job
xxxiii, 31. The LXX. who have iyKai-
vi^eaBe, have mistaken 1 for 1, and given
to iB'in a conjugation which nowhere
occurs. Aquil. KatpevaaTe. Theod.
viyrja'are. For D'?N, islands, see on
chap. xi. 11. The inhabitants of Asia
Minor and the Grecian islands, are here
specially intended. To these, the phrase,
.yiNn.niSi^, the ends of the -eatth, also ap
propriately apply.
2. The subject of the prediction is
suppressed, as in ver. 25, and chap. xiii.
'2 ; but Chat Cyrus is meant is beyond all
^oubt. Comp. ver. 25; chap. xliv. 28,
3ilv. 1—7, 13, xlvi. 11. With no pro
priety can the description here given be
applied to Abraham ; while the whole
tallies most exactly with the Persian
conqueror. Besides, the passage con
tains a prophecy of what was still to
happen, not an account of ancient events.
What seems principally to have proved
an obstacle in the way of the true inter
pretation, is the occurrence of the term
p'12, righteousness, which, it has been
thought, cannot be applied to Cyrus.
But it is not a little remarkable, that of
all the virtuous princes of antiquity, he
Slone was thought worthy of being ex
hibited as a model of just government.
" Cyrus ille d Xenophonte, non ad his-
toriffl fiderri scriptus, sed ad efflgiem justi
imperii." Cicero ad Quint. Making
every allowance for the colouring given
to his character by Xenophon, there is
much force in the remark of Kocher:
"non tam en eum proposuisset in exem-
plum, nisi virtutibus eminuisset." Not
only was he exemplary in private life,
but his victories and conquests had for
their principal object the vindication of
law and justice. See Rollin, Book IV.

chap, i, art, iii. § 3. He is even said
to have been an object of the Divine
love, chap, xlviii. 14. His destruction
of the Babylonian empire, and liberation
of the Jews, were special acts of righteous
ness; and the abolition of idolatry, which,
in a great measure, followed the success
of the Persian arms, comes also under
the same head. See on chap. xliv. 28 —
xlv. 1 — 4, 13. In this last verse, Cyrus
is expressly said to be raised up, P't23,
for righteousness, i. e, to vindicate the
cause of the Jewish captives, by inflict
ing punishment upon their enemies.
Comp. Jer. 1. 15, 25, 28, 29, li. 10, 56. At
Pt?i there is an ellipsis of il5'« ; or, it may
be taken as the abstract for the concrete
p'12. Thus the Chald., Syr., and Vulg.
^rt «i|7, to call to the foot of any one,
means to engage another in his service,
to order him to follow him and perform
the duties prescribed. Cyrus was called
to follow in the -track marked out for
him by Divine Providence. The 1 in
i''fi belongs to God, .understood. For
^3'i^, in the sense of following, comp.
1 Sam. xxv. 42 ; Job xviii. -1 1 ; Hab. iii .
5 ; Arab. !i_>i ^ , post ilium ; statim
e vesiigio ejus. Pers. S^ Xs iii
to follow any one. The suflnx in i3in
and initSi? refers to those whom Cyrus
should attack, and is to be taken collec-
tlveLy. iPor -the image, comp. Job xli.
27 — 29. The nations over which he
obtained dominion, were the Medes,
Hyrcanians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cap-
padocians, Phrygians, Lydians, Carians,
Babylonians, &c. Cyropasdia, lib. i, 1.
3. DiW li»' DDTj'. graphically express
the rapidity and success of the expedi
tions undertaken by Cyrus, and the
s s

3U

ISAIAH.

[chap. xli.

Who hath wrought and done it ?
He that calleth the generations from the beginning ;
I, Jehovah, the First,
And with the last I am He.
The maritime lands saw and were afraid ;
The ends of the earth trembled ;
They drew near ; they came.
They helped each other ;
And one said to another : Be courageous.
The carpenter encouraged the smith ;
He that smootheth with the hammer him that striketh the anvil ;
Saying of the soldering : It is good ;
And fastened it with nails, that it might not be moved.
But thou, O Israel, my servant,
O Jacob, whom I have called.

extent of territory, through which they
were conducted. That against Croesus
is specially in point. The omission of
3 before Di'jti is nothing uncommon in
poetic diction; so that the suppositions
of Lowth are quite gratuitous.
4. To the question, 'a, Who, &c.,
once more emphatically repeated, a direct
reply is given. Between the verbs toB
and nto there is little, if any, difference
of meaning. They are used as syno
nymes to give force to the idea ; and, as
frequently in Hebrew poetry, the object is
not expressed. For the sense in which Je
hovah appropriates to himself, )iin!<) "(k^,
the First and the Last, see on chap. xliv.
6. Here the latter of these terms being
changed into D'3iinN-nM, seems intended,
either to be more emphatic, the adjective
being put in the plural to agree with
D'!i''S, and the nM retaining its intensively
demonstrative signification ; or, to teach,
that, as God had called into existence
the generations of mankind from the
beginning, so his existence would run
parallel with that of all who should live
in future time. Comp. Jiin« lii, Ps.
xlviii. 14 ; D'JinM, Job xviii. 20, where it
is opposed to D'j&'ii: ; D':iin«n, contrasted
with Drrjp) nrr~m% Ecci'esTiv. 16; and
D':in«5 D:i D':\b«i5.' While the idols had
come from, and should soon again be
reduced to nothing, the true God ever
continues the same. «in, like the Arab.

jib , is used emphatically of Jehovah, to
denote the singularity or uniqueness of
his existence. Est qui est ; He alone is
what he is : God. Zwinglius renders
«in ':«, Ego sum ille qui est, and remarks :
" Tanta vis est Hebraicse orationis, bre-
vissimse quidem, sed potentissimae."
5. 1!*i'J 1«1 is an elegant paronomasia.
This and the two following verses describe
the consternation of the idolatrous in
habitants of Asia Minor, and the islands
and coasts of Greece, on learning the
rapid successes of Cyrus ; and the in
crease of their national devotions, in
order to obtain the protection of the
gods. The enumeration of the god-
makers in their workshops is highly
satirical, and quite in its place ; though
Houbigant and Kennicott imagined that
the 6th and 7th verses have been trans
posed from chap. xl. 20. Michaelis
renders dss DVin, bellows-blower.
8. For the different applications of
'13?, rnn; 139, see on chap. xiii. 1. It is
here used of the Israelites, as wor
shippers of the true God. The transi
tion in this verse is sudden and affecting.
The correlatives heighten the effect. For
the exalted title of Abraham, comp.
2 Chron. xx, 7 ; James ii. 23. <)dJl (JjOli^i
ihe friend of God, is the common titie
of Abraham, among the Arabs, in the
present day.

CHAP. XLI.] ISAIAH. 315^
The seed of Abraham, my friend ;
9 Whom I have-taken from the ends of the earth.
And called from its extremities ;
And to whom I have said. Thou art my servant ;
I have chosen thee, and will not reject thee :
10 Be not afraid, for I am with thee ;
Be not dismayed, for I am thy God ;
I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will defend thee ;
Yea, I will uphold thee with my just right hand.
1 1 Behold ! all shall be ashamed and confounded.
That are enraged against thee ;
They that contend with thee
Shall become as nothing, and perish.
12 Thou shalt seek, but shalt not find
Them that strove with thee ;
They that fought against thee
Shall become as nothing and nought.
13 For I Jehovah am thy God, that holdeth thy right hand ;
That saith to thee. Fear not, I will help thee.
14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob ; ye mortals of Israel ;
I will help thee, saith Jehovah,
Thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
15 Behold ! I will make thee a threshing wain,
Sharp and new, with double edges ;

9. The people of Israel being distin- contemptible and helpless as a worm, in
guished from Abraham himself, and the eyes of their haughty conquerors, yet
being directly addressed, the choice and these should be utterly destroyed, while
call here spoken of must be those of the the people of God escaped. n»*, vers.
Hebrews in Egypt. Comp. Ezek, xx, 5 ; 10 and 23, in Hithpael, signifies to look
Hos, xi. 1. To that country yi«n ni2i3 about for help, when one is in danger.
n'5'2«'j applies with greater propriety By the "just right hand" of God, is
than to Mesopotamia. D')'2m properly meant his power, exerted in vindication
signify f}ae angles, joints, or elbows of the of the rights of his people. ^Niip; 'np;
arm, and somewhat modify the meaning being parallel to nsiin, must also be
of ni2|^, ends, as occurring before. The taken in a contemptible sense, as mean-
expression of a statement first positively ing dead, inanimate, incapable of any
and then negatively, for the purpose of political movement. Aq. reBvedres 'Itr-
making a strong asseveration, is not parjX ; Theod. . veKpol 'la-parfX. So the
uncommon in Hebrew. Comp. John i. Jews were regarded by the Babylonians.
7, 20. 15, 16. By mountains and hills are
10 — 14. While all the other nations meant governments, &c. See on chap.
should be in terror at the approach of ii. 2. The prophecy received its fulfil-
Cyrus, the Jews had nothing to fear, ment in the time of the Maccabees,
Their God was with them, and would ef- John Hyrcanus, &c. when the Jews
feet their deliverance. Though they were again became an independent state, and

316

ISAIAH.

[chap. xli.

16

17

19

20

Thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small ;
And the hills thou shalt make as chaff.
Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away ;
The storm also shall scatter them ;
But thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah ;
In the Holy One of Israel shalt thou glory.
The poor and needy are seeking for water, and there is none ;
Their tongue is parched with thirat.
I, Jehovah, will answer them ;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them;
I will open rivers on the ban-en hills,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys ;
I will make the desert a standing pool,
And the dry land springs of water.
I will place in the desert the cedar, the acacia;
The myrtle, and the olive tree ;
I will place in the wilderness, the cypress,.
The pine, and the larch together :
That men may see and know,
And consider, and understand together,

gained splendid victories over their
enemies. 3'iia, Arab. — ,iJ, tribulum ;
a sledge or dray, drawn by oxen over
the corn, for the purpose of threshing it.
See on chap, xxxviii. 27. ni'g'B "jm, lit.
master of numerous mouths ; well fur
nished with sharp points of stone or
wood. The Hebrews call the edge or
point of the sword, its mouth, on ac
count of the destruction which it effects.
Comp. for the reduplicate form, sin
ni>D'B, Ps. cxlix. 6.
17 — 19. The destitute condition of the
Jews of the captivity is compared to
that of travellers in the arid deserts of
Arabia, who are on the point of perish
ing with thirst, and know not where to
look for water. God promises to relieve
them with the most abundant supply of
blessings. iji?}. See on chap. xix. 5.
Gesenius considers the Dagesh in n to
be euphonic, in connexion with the
pause. Comp. Jer. li. 30. Not only
should the actual wants of the returning
captives be abundantly supplied ; they
should, likewise, have the richest enjoy

ments. This latter prediction is couched
in language borrowed from luxuriant,
shady, and fragrant trees, which should
beautify the desert, irjin and lilflNli oc
cur only here and chap. Ix. 13. The
former, Saad. renders — ,Uj , plantanus
indicus, and with him agree Kimchi and
Sal. ben Melech ; comparing Song i. 17,
in the Targum. It seems rather, how
ever, to be the pine ; JbJ , in Arab, sig
nifying perpetuiias ; Jb: , viguit, &c. ;
Heb. liii, splenduii ; that tree being one
of the most shining evergreens. The
latter is in all probability the larch, and
has the name given to it on account of
its tall and erect form. Some think a
species of cedar is meant, called by the
The idea of box-tree is

Arabs

now quite abandoned.
20. It has been doubted whether the
nominative to the verbs here employed
be the Jews, or idolaters. The former

chap, xli.]

ISAIAH.

31T

That the hand of Jehovah hath done this,
And the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
21 Bring forward your cause, saith Jehovah ;
Produce your strong arguments, saith the King of Jacob.
22 Let them produce them, and shew us things that were to happen ;
Let them shew us what were the former predictions,
That we may consider, and know their event ;
Or, let them declare to us coming events.
Shew the things that are coming in the future.
That we may know that ye are gods :
Do either good or evil,
That we may be dismayed, and be afraid together.
Behold ! ye are less than nothing.
And your work is less than nought ;
He is an object of abomination that chooseth you.

23

24

is the more probable opinion, la'to;;, is
eUiptical for t! to laiip;. Comp. ver. 22 ;
and for ellipses of ^)., Job xxxiv. 23,
xxxvii. 15.
21. The prophet now returns to the
subject proposed at the commencement
of the chapter, and challenges the gods
of the heathen to produce evidence of
their claims to divinity. nia2», Theod.
Kparaidpara ; Symm. l(rxvpd ; properly
a military term, signifying strong works
raised round a city for its protection :
here used tropically of forcible argu
ments or proofs. Comp. Job xiii. 12.
D3'3a laiT^gj, your defences are defences
of mud.
22. The proof to which they are
challenged is divine foreknowledge. It
is placed at their option cither to adduce
prophecies uttered by them in ancient
times, that they might be compared with
the events to which they referred ; or,
distinctly to announce some future con
tingent events. ni:iD«in, Theod. to
dpxata ; LXX. to irporepov. The hea
then had their oracles, but which of
them could pretend to an ancient date,
or minutely and clearly described ages
beforehand events that actually hap
pened? But as it was impossible for
their devotees to produce any such pro
phecies, it was equally impossible for
them to furnish a definite,- unambiguous
prediction of an event of public notoriety
and interest in the still distant future.

23. Besides repeating his demand for
an unexceptionable prediction, Isaiah
challenges the false gods to work a
miracle in confirmation of their preten
sions. The nature of the miracle he
leaves them to choose. When they pro
duced such a proof of the validity of
their claims, it would be time to acknow
ledge their divinity. The language at
the same time implies that so far were
they from being able to work miracles,
that they were absolutely incapable of
doing any thing, either beneficial or de
structive. Comp. Jer. x. 5. Gesenius is
at some pains to attach to nsnm: the .idea
expressed by the same form, itonn,
2 Kings xiv. 8, 11 ; viz. that of engag
ing in mutual combat ; but his attempt
is unsatisfactory, and it is better to abide
by the idea of mutual dismay, which is
that conveyed by the verb in this very
form, ver. 10. Its radical meaning is,
to look, to look anxiously for help. I
prefer Ki:i, the textual reading, to nNl:i,
that of the Keri, and point it Nljl, and
thai we may be afraid. Thus «X and
ns^, occur together, ver. 10.
24. A triumphant assertion of the
nonentity of the heathen deities ! Ovbev
e'lbaXov iv Kotrpa, 1 Cor. viii. 4. S>D«
the Rabbins take to mean the same as
n9?si, a viper, but unsuitably to the con
nexion. It is in all probability a cor
ruption of DOM. npin, the abstract for
njsin lii'N. Idolatry is always repre-

S18 ISAIAH. [chap. xli.
25 I have raised up one from the north, and he cometh ;
From the rising of the sun he shall call upon my name ;
He shall come upon princes as upon mortar,
And as the potter treadeth the clay.
26 Who shewed it from the beginning, that we might know ?
Or aforetime, that we might say, It is right ?
There was not even one that shewed it ;
Not even one that declared it ;
' Not even one that heard your words.
27 I first said to Zion, Behold ! behold them !
And gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good.
28 I looked, indeed, but there was none,
Even among these, but there was no counsellor,
That I might inquire of them, and that they might give a response.
29 Behold ! they are all of them vanity ;
Their works are nought ;
Their molten images are wind and void,
sented as peculiarly detestable to Je- Ionian empire. ^3;^ corresponds to n«l!1,
hovah. It is likewise so utterly debasing and is not to be disturbed, as Le Clerc,
in its influence on character, as to render Seeker, and Lowth, propose.
its adherents, and especially its priests, 26. None of the gods had given any
objects of moral reprobation by all who intimation of the conquest of Babylon,
fear him. either in the most distant, or in more
25. Having proved that the false gods proximate past time. p''i2, right, means
could neither announce future events, here, ii is so in truth. The cumu-
nor work any miracle, Jehovah repeats lative propositions, introduced by the
the announcement already made, ver. 2 ; repetition of F)«, are singularly fore-
declaring the conquests of Cyrus up- ibie.
wards of a century before they took 27. What is denied of the gods,
place, and even when the Medo-Persian Jehovah vindicates to himself. He first
empire had no existence. In ver. 2, announced by his prophet the approach
Cyrus is brought from the East; here of the conqueror. Before )i«J>?i, is an
from the North and the East; in oh- ellipsis of ian, which is suggested by
vious allusion to the united kingdoms of )|i« 1?3)?, in the following hemistich.
Media and Persia, over which he reigned. 28, 29. ^very opportunity was given
That Cyrus was induced to worship Je- to the oracles, and those who consulted
hovah, no one can doubt who reads his them, to commence their defence, but
edict, Ezra i. 1 — 4, though it would not not a syllable was uttered. The un-
have answered the design of Xenophon avoidable conclusion was, that the whole
to have noticed it. By d'::d are meant system of idolatry was pure fiction and
the prefects, or deputies, in the Baby- imposture.j

chap.

XLII.]

ISAIAH.

319

CHAPTER XLII.
This chapter exhibits the person, character, and office of the Messiah, 1—5 ; tiie
extension of the blessings of the gospel to the Gentfles, 6—12; the intervening
destmction of Babylon, 13—15; the return from captivity, 16; the confusion of
idolaters, 17; the contemptuous rejection of the Messiah by the Jews, 18 — 20;
Jehovah's delight in his work, 21 ; and the final punishment of the Jewish
people for disobeying the gospel, 22—25.

1 Behold my Servant, whom I uphold ;
Mine Elect, in whom my soul delighteth ;
I have put my Spirit upon him ;
He shall cause judgment to go forth to the nations.

1. In determining the application of
this prophecy it is necessary to ascertain
the meaning of the phrase, nin'_ 13», the
servant of Jehovah. That Isaiah uses
it in various senses, no one familiar with
his writings will deny. He applies it to
himself, chap. xx. 3 ; to Eliakim, xxii.
20; to the Jewish people, xli. 8, 9, xliv.
1, 2, 21, xlv. 4, xlviii. 20 ; and to a dis
tinguished Divine Legate, of whom a
number of things are predicated, which
cannot consistently be applied either to
the Jews as a body, to their prophets
collectively, or to any one of them in
particular, xiii. 1 — 7, xlix. 1 — 9, I. 5 —
10, lii. 13 — liii. ; with which comp. Zech.
iii. 8. That these last cited passages
intimately cohere is admitted by most
interpreters, how much soever they may
differ in their views of the subject to
whom they belong ; and certainly no one
can accurately compare them with each
other, without being struck with their
cognate relationship, and the peculiarity
of features with which they are marked.
Respecting the application of the pre
sent passage, different hypotheses have
been advanced. Jarchi, Eckermann, Ro
senmiiller, Hitzig, Maurer, and some
others, apply the phrase to the Jewish
people, or, at least, to the better or select
part of them. Others, as Saadias, Koppe,
Hensler, White, think that Cyrus is
meant. Abenezra, Grotius, Dathe, Do
derlein, propose Isaiah himself; while
De Wette and Gesenius imagine it ap

plies to the prophets collectively. A
very satisfactory refutation of these dif
ferent opinions will be found in Heng-
stenberg's Christologie Erst. Theil. 2
Abtheil. pp. 236—240. The reader may
also consult the very able notes of Mi
chaelis on the passage. That it applies
exclusively to the Messiah has been
maintained by the great body of intei-»
prefers, both ancient and modern, and
more especially by Vitringa, Michaelis,
Lowth, V. d. Palm, Umbreit, Hengsten
berg, Jenour, and Scholz. The principal '
reasons advanced in defence of this po
sition are the following : First, the pas
sage is directly applied to our Saviour
by the inspired evangelist Matthew,
chap. xii. 17 — 21 ; and part of the first
verse is verbally adopted in the Divine
testimony to his Messiahship at the
Jordan, iii. 17, and on the mount of
transfiguration, xvii. 5 ; Mark ix. 7 ;
Luke ix. 35. To which add the refer
ence made to the 6th verse by Simeon,
in his inspired testimony, Luke ii. 32.
Secondly, this interpretation is that of
the Chaldee Paraphrast, and is advo
cated by Kimchi and Abarbanel, not
withstanding the narrowness of their
hereditary notions. The latter writer
scruples not to assert that all those who
do not interpret the prophecy of the
Messiah have been struck with blind
ness, D'n:D. Thirdly, the totality of cha
racter exhibited in the passage is such
as to render it inapplicable to any but

320

ISAIAH.

[chap. XLII.

He shall not cry, nor raise his voice,
Nor cause it to be heard in the streets.
A bruised reed shall he not crush ;
And a glimmering wick shall he not quench ;
For permanence he shall cause judgment to go forth.

our Lord. With no truth or consistency
can it be said either of Cyrus, or of the
Jews, or their prophets, that their com
mission extended to the spiritual eman
cipation of the Gentiles. See vers. 1, 4,
6, 7. Fourthly, the subject to which
the prophecy has respect, is obviously
identical with that exhibited, chap. xlix.
1 — 12. The person and office of the
same individual are described in both.
They equally insist on his mediatorial
character, and the universality of the
dispensation of knowledge and happi
ness which he was to establish in the
.world. Lastly, every predicate here spe
cified most aptly applies to Christ.
The transition was easy, from the
temporal deliverance to be effected by
Cyrus, to the spiritual salvation to be
accomplished by the Messiah, p has
here all its force as a demonstrative in
teijection, and marks the transition to a
new subject, on which it fixes the atten
tion of the reader. 13», the LXX. ren
der irais, as they do elsewhere, in upwards
of three hundred instances ; and this
Matthew retains, though he widely differs
from them in the wording of his quota
tion. See Bloomfield on Matt. xii. 18 ;
and comp. for irals. Acts iv. 27. Some
have supposed that in 'Iokco^ d irals pov
and ^laparfX d iKXeKTos pov, the names
'Ja(t(Bj3 and 'la-parjX are a more recent in
terpolation ; but their insertion is quite
in keeping with the manner in which
many parts of this book is rendered in
the LXX. ; the author having taken the
liberty of introducing brief explanations,
to render what he took to be the sense,
more perspicuous. See chap. i. 21, iv. 4,
Ix. 1. The Chald. renders : '13» .yn
>yari rKL VY^vn 'I'm n'js'ijpw xrriiia. Behold
my servant, the Messiah, / will cause
him to draw near ; my chosen, in whom
my word is delighted. -Kimchi,: "I'Ja vn
n'lDan, This is ihe king Messiah. Al-
schech : n'wan "pa Nin, He is the king
Messiah. Abarbanel,: rrwan imi. And
illis is ihe Messiah, &c. See also Mi-

drash Tillim in Raym. Martini Pug. Pid.
p, 527. Our Redeemer was the choice
of infinite wisdom. He possessed a ple
nitude of mediatorial qualifications which
rendered him the object of the Father's
complacence, and, in every respect fit to
undertake the work of human redemp
tion. This was in part the result of the
superabundant gift of the Holy Spirit.
Matt. iii. 16, 17; John i. 32—34, iii.
34. tDBi?SB, judgment, here, and ver.
3 and 4, is equivalent to niin, law ; and
both mean the doctrine or institution of
the Messiah ; the gospel dispensation.
M'2i', he will carry forth, or cause to go
forth. Comp. «2n, chap. ii. 3. True
religion had been, for the most part, con
fined to the Jews. In the new dispen
sation, TrdvTa Ta eBvrf, all the D'ia, heathen
nations, were to be brought under its
influence. Comp. xlix. 6, 12, li. 4, 5,
ii. 2 — 4 ; Matt, xxviii. 19 ; Mark xvi. 15.
2, 3. These verses describe the meek
and gentle character of the Messiah ;
the noiseless and unostentatious mode in
which the affairs of his kingdom should
be conducted ; and the tender compas
sion which he would exercise towards
the dejected and helpless. Comp. chap.
Ixi. 1—3 ; Matt. xi. 28—30. It was
the retiring conduct of our Lord, which
led Matthew to quote the words of the
prophecy as receiving their fulfilment in
him. nni?5s, LXX. &c. XiVoi', flax, or
¦linen ; here a wick made of such mate
rial, nns, to he feeble, weak, pale, dim,
peculiarly expressive of a lamp just about
to expire. LXX. Kairvi^opevov. Matt.
Tv^opevov. Aquil., Symm., Theod.,
dpavpov. r/m) must either mean by,
by means of truth, the ^ denoting the
dative of instrument ; or, for a permtt-
nence ; i. e. the dispensation which was
to continue, in opposition to that of
Moses, which was to cease. The root is
jas, in Niph. to be stable, dmahle, per
manent. Thus Matthew, las dv cK/SoXg
ctE vIkos TrjV Kpio-iv ; where els vIkos is
used Hellenistically, as in Job xxxvi. 7 ;

chap, XLII.j

ISAIAH.

321

He shall not glimmer, neither shall he be bruised.
Till he have established judgment on the earth.
And the maritime lands have waited for his law.
Thus saith the God, Jehovah,
That created the heavens, and stretched them out ;
That spread forth the earth, and its productions ;
That giveth breath to the people upon it.
And spirit to them that walk on it.
I, Jehovah, have called thee for righteousness ;
I will take hold of thy hand ;
I will preserve thee, and appoint thee for a covenant to the people,
For a light to the nations.
To open the blind eyes ;
To bring the prisoners out of confinement ;
Out of the prison-house them that sit in darkness.

2 Sam. ii. 26, for n255, for ever ; n2:,,
perpetuity, eternity. Comp. Hab. i. 4.
4. The verbs nns and ^21 are here re
peated with fine effect, in application to
the Messiah himself Mild and gentle
as he would be towards the broken
hearted and desponding, no power should
depress his spirit, impede his progress,
obscure his glory, or thwart his purpose.
The negatives in this and the preceding
verses are intended strongly to aflSrm the
contrary. For the form yw, comp, Hiii;,
Ps, xci. 6. )ii;, Prov. xxix. 6 ; which
are referable to 11$ and J31, as 'fii; is to
y2i. This verb is here used intransi
tively, as in Eccles. xii. 6. There can,
I think, be little doubt, that iirl Ta dvo-
pari avTov, the present reading of the
LXX., was originally, iirl Ta vdpa avrov.
Thus the other Greek versions : Kal iv
Tta vopa avTov eBvr) iXiriovo'i. Matt.
however, retains dvopa, as suflScient for
his purpose. See Bloomfield in loc.
For D';«, in the sense of remote western
countries, see on chap. xi. 11. In such
connexions as the present, it is almost
synonymous with D'i3, nations; yet not
without a more special reference to those
of Europe and other western parts, in
which Christianity has most prevailed.
5. Such descriptions of the exclusive
claims of Jehovah to be believed in and
obeyed, frequently occur in passages
which treat of the folly or downfal of

idolatry. They form an appropriate in
troduction to what follows. Among
other effects to be produced by the esta
blishment of the New Covenant, was the
conversion of idolaters to the service of
the true God. The ' in Drnai: is not the
sign of the plural, but merely a substi
tute for the radical n ; as Dn'.^a, Ezek.
i. 5. 6, 7. Jehovah now addresses himself
directly to the Messiah. The language re
sembles that employed respecting Cyrus,
chap. xlv. 13 ; but what is otherwise
here predicated can with no propriety
be applied to that monarch. P'i2f, with
or for, i. e. furnished with, prepared to
bestow, righteousness. Maurer : " cum
justitia se. mea, i. e, ut cum justitia mea
venias." For this signification of s, see
on chap. viii. 16. The biKaioavvr) in
troduced by the Messiah, Dan. ix. 24,
called, Rom. i. 17, iii. 21,22, biKaioa-uvri
Qeov, is very different from that which
the Persian conqueror brought to Baby
lon. It is that, without which there can
be no enjoyment of the other blessings
specified in the prophecy, n'")!. Covenant,
is used elliptically, for n'l3 l^)a, the Mes
senger, or Agent of the Covenant, Mea-l-
Trjs ; and is employed as a personal title
of the Messiah, because he was sent to
be the medium through which the bless
ings conveyed by it were to flow to man
kind. Some render. Covenant-victim ;
T T

322

ISAIAH.

[chap. XLII.

10

11

I am Jehovah ; this is my name ;
My glory will I not give to another.
Nor my praise to graven images.
As to the former predictions, behold ! they have come to pass ;
And new events I declare ;
Before they spring forth I publish them to you.
Sing to Jehovah a new song ;
His praise at the extremity of the earth ;
Ye that go down upon the sea, and its fulness ;
The maritime lands, and their inhabitants.
The desert and its towns shall raise their voice ;

but this idea, though implied in the
Scripture doctrine of the New Covenant,
is not suggested by the word itself.
DS n'i3, a Covenant of ihe people, is the
Genitive of object, just as D'ia lis, light
of the nations, is. The Covenant was
not one which the people already pos
sessed, but one that was to be made with
them through the mediation of the Mes
siah. Comp, chap, xlix. 8, Iv. 3 ; Jer.
xxxi. 31 : Mai. iii. 1 ; Heb. viii. 6, Kpelr-
Tovos biaBrjKrjs petTiTrjs, 8 — 13, ix. 15,
biaBijKrjs Kaivfjs peanrjs, D», people, and
D'ia, nations, are here used antithetically,
as in chap, xlix, 6, 8, to denote the Jews,
as God's peculiar people, and the other
nations of the earth by which he had not
been known or served. The benefits of
redemption were not to be confined to
the former, but were to be extended
throughout the world. li«, as <^ds,
John i. 8, 9, viii. 12, is employed meta
phorically for the author of light, and
designates the Messiah as the Great
Moral Teacher, the Author not only of
spiritual illumination, but of deliverance
from the impurity and misery of sin.
Though the two epithets are used dis
tinctively in the antithesis, it is not
meant that the Jews alone were to enjoy
the privileges of the New Covenant, nor
that the heathen were to enjoy the light
to the exclusion of the Jews : they were
to have both in common, only the cove
nant belonged primarily to the latter.
Acts iii. 25.
8. Before ins, supply ^M from ver. 5.
Comp. D'in« D'*«, Exod. xx. 3. The
Divine and Incommunicable name, nirp,
is here used in reference to its peculiar

import : The Self-Existent and Im
mutable. Comp. Exod. iii. 14; Hos.
xii. 6.
9. The ni:iu«i were the predictions
previously delivered, respecting the de
struction of the Assyrians, &c. ; the
niiiS'in are those which had, in part, been
delivered by the prophet, in the preced
ing part of this chapter, respecting the
Messiah, and the dispensation which he
was to establish. n:liB:jn D'i'E>3 is a bota
nical metaphor, aptly introduced to shew
that no appearances existed which gave
the least indication of the things pie-
dicted. They were, as it were, hid
under ground from the sight of mortals.
10. This and the two following verses
describe the universal joy which the pub
lication of the gospel should occasion.
Benefits so transcendant as those which
it bestows, called for higher strains of
praise than any which had previously
been conferred. Carmina non prius
audita, Horace. For MJin I'ti, comp.
Ps. xcvi. 1, xcviii. Both these psalms,
and that which intervenes, are strikingly
parallel in phraseology to the present
passage. The subject is the same, — the
abolition of idolatry under the reign of
the Messiah. Lowth's proposed change
of D;n 'Tii' into DS'I', »'1', or p', is opposed
by its correlate D';«. The Phenician
merchants, and the inhabitants of the
transmarine regions in the west, are here
meant. Instead of n^ija, fifteen MSS.
and origin, eight more, read n2i:3, and
De Rossi's Cod. 109, mentions that
others read thus.
11. At Wf; is an ellipsis of diip. As
Kedar means the Arabs generally, chap.

CHAP. XLII.] ISAIAH. 328
The villages that Kedar inhabiteth ;
The inhabitants of Sela shall sing ;
From the summit of the mountains shall they shout.
12 They shall render glory to Jehovah,
And declare his praise in the maritime lands.
13 Jehovah shall go forth like a hero ;
Like a warrior shall he rouse his zeal ;
He shall cry aloud ; he shall call to battle :
He shall shew himself mighty against his foes.
14 I have long been silent ;
I have held my peace ; I have contained myself:
Like a woman in child-birth, I will cry out ;
I will pant and breathe at once.
15 I will lay waste mountains and hills.
And dry up all their herbage ;
I will turn the rivers into habitable lands.
And dry up the pools :
16 And will lead the blind by a way which they knew not ;
In paths which they knew not will I conduct them :
I will turn darkness into light before them,
And rugged places into a plain :
These things will I do for them, and will not forsake them.
xxi. 16, and is used as a proper name, significantly express the impatience with
consistency of interpretation requires, which Jehovah waited to give birth to
that 9to, Sela, should be viewed in the his purpose respecting Babylon. The
same light, as denoting the city of Petra, interrogative turn which some give to
to the south of the Dead Sea. See on the former half of the verse is unnatural.
chaj). xvi. 1. The inhabitants of these DiB« some derive from DBS), to lay waste;
regions are selected to represent the but it is more in accordance with the
East, as those living in countries down images here employed to refer it to Di|j:,
the Mediterranean had been to repre- to breathe strongly, pant for breath.
sent the West. I3ia means the great Thus f^, to blow, or breathe hard.
Arabian desert, and its D'ia, the towns 15, l6. The Babylonian empire, and
which are found in different parts of it. every other obstacle tbat prevented the
13. The prophet here returns to the happy return of the Jews to their own
subject of the captivity. The language land, were to be destroyed. Instead of
is military, and powerfully expresses the I3.'»«, many critics, after Houbigant, would
ardour with which a warrior rushes upon read D'?2, but quite unnecessarily. Be-
the enemy. ni2, Arab. ^^ , dare ex- f ^f ' *^ ''^"^'" *?'^ signifies the inhabi-
¦' ^J tants of and regions, never the regions
posuit; II. aperte dixit rem; in Hiph. themselves. See on chap. xiii. 21. No-
to give a loud shout or cry, such as war- thing could have been more unexpected
riors do when entering into battle, for than the mode of deliverance from Baby-
the purpose of inspiring each other with Ion. It was manifestly the hand of God.
courage. The imagery is bold and sublime. Comp.
14. The metaphors are now borrowed chap. xli. 15 — 19. The construction
from a female in her pains, and most an'iw is not uncommon.

324

ISAIAH.

[chap. XLII.

17

18

20

They are turned back, they are utterly confounded.
That confide in graven images ;
That say to molten images :
Ye are our Gods.
Hear, ye deaf !
And, ye blind ! look, that ye may see.
Who is blind but my Servant ?
Or deaf as my Messenger whom I will send ?
Who is blind as the Perfect One ?
Blind as the Servant of Jehovah ?
Thou hast seen many things, but hast not observed them ;
Having the ears open, but heard nothing.

17. A description of the disappoint
ment experienced by the idolaters of
Babylon, when they found that their
gods had been unable to protect them
from Cyrus.
18. The prophet here turns abruptly
upon his countrymen, who enjoyed abun
dantly the means of religious instruction
after the restoration, more especially
during the ministry of our Lord, ver. 20,
but who were obstinately stupid and in
attentive, and calls upon them to regard
the divine message. Comp. chap, xliii.
8; Matt, xv, 14; Mark iii, 5.
19. Most interpreters apply these
words to the Jewish people, addressed
both ill the preceding and the following
verse : but their interpretation is clogged
with insuperable diSiculties. Nowhere
in scripture is that people spoken of as
the nin; ijNto, Messenger of Jehovah.
Whenever they are called his servant,
reference is had to their worship and
obedience to his laws, — not to their exe
cuting a commission to others. Besides,
with no propriety could the term D^^a
be applied to them. We are told, 'iii-
deed, what is perfectly true, that AiiK^,,
Moslem, {^^t^ , Mosleman, whence our
Musselman, signifies one who is devoted
to the service of God, who obeys him,
and submits to his will ; but even if it
were allowable to transfer the Moham
medan acceptation of this Arabic term
to the Hebrew, nothing would be gained.
The Jews were distinguished for any
thing rather than devotion to the will
and service of Jehovah. A more appro

priate rendering, in application to them,
would be that of recompensed, punished, — "
the verb D^ signifying to requite, retri
bute : but this would ill comport with
the foregoing terms. The signification,
friend, ally of God, proposed by Gese
nius, is equally irrelevant. Abraham
was so called, but never the Jewish
nation. The construction, to whom I
have sent my messenger, which is that
of the Vulg., Chald., Saadias, Lowth, and
others, Gesenius justly rejects. The
language I consider ironical, and de
signed to shew, that such would be the
light in which the Jews would regard
the Messiah. When accused of unbelief,
they retort : " Who can listen to such a
messenger ? He is blind to all the pro
spects of earthly glory, which our pro
phets have taught us to cherish ; he is
deaf to all our pretensions on the score
of legal righteousness." Comp. chap.
hii. 1. To our Lord all the epithets here
employed most aptly apply. He was
the Father's Servant ; the Messenger
whom he 'was to send; the Perfect One.
The last term, dV^i?, Symm. renders, d
TeXeios ; Kimchi, D'an, perfect ; and
Abenezra regards it as synonymous with
P'i2, righteous. The signification, de
livered up, betrayed, might be suggested,
comp. Josh. xi. 19; but that of perfect
is best established. Instead of W, blind,
repeated at the end of the verse, two MSS.
and Symm. read ifiin, deaf, of which Hou
bigant, Lowth, and Doderlein approve ;
but there is singular force in the repeti
tion, which is beyond doubt genuine.
20. The blind Jews are now addressed

CHAP. XLU.]

ISAIAH.

325

21 Jehovah is well-pleased for the sake of his righteousness ;
He shall magnify the law, and render it glorious.
22 But this is a people spoiled and plundered ;
All of them are bound in dungeons,
And hid in prison-houses ;
They have become a spoil, and there is no deliverer ;
A plunder, and no one saith, Restore.
Who among you will give ear to this ?
Attend, and hear for the future .''
Who delivered up Jacob to be a spoil,
And Israel to the plunderers .''
Was it not Jehovah ? He against whom they had sinned ;
In whose ways they were unwilling to walk ;
And whose law they did not obey.
Therefore, he hath poured upon him the heat of his anger ;
And the fierceness of war ;
It hath kindled around him, yet he perceiveth it not ;
It burneth him up, yet he layeth it not to heart.

23

24

25

as a body. They had been favoured with
the highest advantages ; numerous and
illustrious miracles were performed by
our Lord before their eyes, but they
heeded them not. Their ears were open
to their pharisaical teachers, but they
were unwilling to listen to him, ni>«i,
the Keri, though numerously supported
by MS. authority, is most likely, after
all, an emendation, proposed for the pur
pose of rendering the word conformable
to the following Infin. nJ;B. Symm. eXbes
iroXXd ; LXX. e'lbere irXeovaKis. The
same may be said of 3>aii5n in the Second
Person instead of the Third.
21. The antecedent to the pronom.
affix in ipl?. His righteousness, is the
Illustrious Servant and Messenger of
Jehovah. Thus the LXX. Iva biKaiaBfj ;
Symm. Iva biKaid(rrj avTov; and simi-
lariy, the Chald., Vulg., and Saad. ysjn,
signifies to bend, incline, Arab, (^aas^,
flexit, inflexit ; to be inclined, favourable
towards a person ; he delighted, pleased.
It is here used of the propense disposition
of God to bestow blessings on the guilty,
in consideration of the righteousness of

the Messiah. The Jews might reject
him, as predicted in the preceding verses,
but his work should not be fruitless.
Comp. chap, xlix. 5. The nin; yen, chap.
liii. 10, should prosper in his hand. The
nominative to the verbs 'J''i32 and I'^ft? is
the Messiah, understood. For the sense,
comp. Matt. v. 17 ; Rom. iii. 31, vii. 12,
viii. 4, x. 4; Gal. iii. 13.
22. From this verse to the end of the
chapter, we have a pathetic argumenta
tive description of the miserable circum
stances to which the Jews should be
reduced, in consequence of their reject
ing the Saviour, n?? is the historical
Infinitive of nng. D'lins may either be
rendered, ihe young men ; or, in holes.
The latter is preferable, on account of
the parallelism. By iin is meant a, sub
terranean prison.
24. i:NBn is used per Koivaa-iv, — the
prophet identifying himself with his na
tion. The LXX. and Chald. read l«pn.
25. For nan, one of Kennicott's MSS.
reads nan. isN nan may be an instance
of the stat. absol. pro constr. or a geni
tive of apposition : heat which is his anger,
i, e, his hot anger.

326 ISAIAH. [chap, xliii.

CHAPTER XLIII.
The prophet resumes the subject of the restoration from Babylon and other coun
tries, and adduces several grounds of comfort and encouragement to the pious,
1 — 7 J while he exposes the guilt of such of the Jews as obstinately persisted in
unbelief, 8. He then, by an easy transition, addresses himself to the idolaters,
challenging them to produce a single instance of prescience on the part of their
gods, 9 ; appeals to the liberated Jews, and to the Messiah, for the truth of the
fact, that there was no God but Jehovah alone, 10 — 13; and again announces
the interposition at Babylon, 14, 15; which he illustrates by a reference to the
deliverance at the Red Sea, 16, 17. The former, however, was to be the more
memorable of the two, 18 — 21. He then shews that the deliverance of the Jews
was not owing to ceremonial offerings, &c., but to the free grace of Jehovah,
pardoning their sins, 22 — 26 ; and the chapter concludes with a statement of the
causes of the captivity, 27, 28.

1 But now, thus saith Jehovah that created thee, O Jacob !
And He that formed thee, O Israel !
Fear not, for I have redeemed thee ;
I have called thee by name ; thou art mine.
2 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 burned ;
Neither shall the flame consume thee.
3 For I, Jehovah, am thy God,
The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour ;
I have given Egypt for thy ransom,
Cush and Seba in thy stead.
1. Creation and redemption are here „ ,„„g,j ^rab. JS , ^ , texit, ope-
to be understood m a national sense. ^ J J ¦'
Dtti3 «1|7 primarily means, to call a person ru'it rem ; and the latter, condonavit pec-
hy enouncing his name; here, figura- catum; signifies ransom-money, Xirpov,
tively, to give existence to what the a compensation paid for expiation and
name or person imports. Comp. chap, deliverance. Comp. Exod. xxi. 30, xxx.
i. 26 ; Exod. xxxi. 2; Isa. xlv. 3, 4. In 12. Its substitutionary or vicarious
a higher sense, when God is the subject, character is confirmed by 1'rinii, in thy
it means to call upon or invoke him, stead, in the following clause. The
with special reference to his name, i. e. ransom consisted in the countries here
his revealed character. Gen. iv. 26, et specified, with which the Persians were
freq. rewarded for liberating the Jews from
2. Images of the greatest troubles and Babylon. They received no compensa-
dangers, and promises of perfect security, tion from the Jews themselves ; but
3. IDS, from 1S3, to cover, overlay with under Cambyses, they pushed their

CHAP. XLIII.]

ISAIAH.

327

4 Because thou wast precious in my sight,
Thou hast been honoured ;
And because I loved thee, I have given men in thy stead.
And nations instead of thy life.
5 Fear not, for I am with thee ;
I will bring thy seed from the east.
And gather thee from the west.
6 I will say to the north. Give up ;
And to the south, Keep not back ;
Bring my sons firom far.
And my daughters from the ends of the earth ;
7 Every one that is called by my name ;
AVhom I have created for my glory ;
Whom I have formed and made.
8 Bring forth the blind people, that have eyes,
And the deaf, that have ears.
9 Let all the nations be assembled ;
Let the people be collected.
Who among them can declare this ?
Or shew us former predictions ?

conquests into Africa, subdued Egypt,
and penetrated as far as Ethiopia and
Meroe. For ifii3, Cush, see chap. xi. 11.
By «3t?, Seba, is meant the celebrated
sacerdotal state of Mero'e, situate in the
fruitful peninsula formed by the rivers
Astapus and Astaboras, or Tacazze, and
now constituting part of the kingdom of
Senaar, in Nubia. The city of Meroe
was famous for its commerce, riches, and
temples, one of which was of gold, and
particularly noted for the priests having
been murdered in it, in the third century
before Christ, by Ergamenes the king,
who thus rendered himself independent
of the priesthood. Numerous remaining
temples, pyramids, colossuses, and sepul
chral monuments, attest its ancient mag
nitude and splendour. Some of the most
remarkable ruins are those of Subah,
(lat. 15° N.) in which we recognise the
Hebrew name. The worship of Ammon
and Osiris was here celebrated in the
most sumptuous manner. «3p, Seba,
was descended from Cush, Gen. x. 7.
On its being conquered by Cambyses, he
gave it the name of Meroe, after that of

his sister. LXX. So^vrj. See further
on chap. xlv. 14.
4. The compound l4)Na is not to be
understood, in this place, in reference to
time, but as assigning the reason why
such a compensation was made for the
deliverance of the Jews. Its repetition
in '3N1 is superseded by the continuative
force of the Vau. In ]B>?), the Vau is
simply inferential. This verse is epex-
egetical of the preceding.
5- — 7. On the invasion of Judea by
Nebuchadnezzar, many of the Jews fled
into Egypt and other neighbouring coun
tries, where they remained during the
captivity. The conquests of Cyrus
afforded them an opportunity of return
ing at the time of the restoration from
Babylon. The verbs in ver. 6, are
of the Fem. gender, — yi« being under
stood. 8. By the blind and deaf are meant
such Jews as had mixed themselves up
with the heathen, learnt their ways, and
rejected the messages of Jehovah. They
here form a subject of transition to the
following challenge given to the idola-

ISAIAH. [chap. XLIII.
Let them produce their witnesses, that they may be justified ;
That men may hear, and say. It is true.
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah,
And my Servant whom I have chosen ;
That ye may know, and believe me,
And understand, that I am He.
Before me no God was formed ;
And after me there shall be none.
11 I, I am Jehovah ;
And besides me there is no Saviour.
12 I have declared, and saved, and made it known.
When there was no strange god among you :
Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah,
That I am God.
13 From the time that day was, I am He ;
And none can rescue from my hand ;
I will execute my work ; who shall hinder it ?
14 Thus saith Jehovah,
Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel :
For your sakes I sent to Babylon ;
And brake down all the barriers.
And the Chaldeans in their joyous vessels.
15 I, Jehovah, am your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King.
trous nations. Comp. chap. xiii. 18. tically exposes the origin of idols : it is
N'2in is the Imperative. equivalent to was not.
10. Jehovah addresses the Jews who 11. The repetition, '3:« '5;m, is empha-
were to be restored to their own land, tic. Comp. ver. 25, li. 12. '?« '?«,
ver. 5 — 7, and shews that they were de- xlviii. 15.
signed to bear testimony to the truth of 12. At 11, supply ^«, and comp. Ps.
his Divine existence and character, in xliv. 21, Ixxxi. 10.
opposition to the claims put forth by 13. Di'B, LXX. dir dpxrjs ; from the
idolaters. This they specially did during first day of creation. Gen. i. 5. Not
the period which intervened between the only did Jehovah exist as the Immu-
restoration, and the advent of our Lord, table, but also as the Omnipotent and
the 13», Servant, (Targ. Mrpsia ''13»1,) here Irresistible.
specifically intended. Comp. chap. xiii. 1 . 14. 'nn^, the prophetic future, indi-
By him, and by his apostles and succeed- eating the absolute certainty of the Medo-
ing ministers of the word, such testimony Persian invasion. D'IT'is, or, as Theod.,
was to be borne, as should effect the Jerome, Abenez., and Abarb., D'n'l3,
complete overthrow of idol-worship, bars, bolts; figuratively, protectors, de-
Comp. Mark xii. 29 ; John xvii. 3 ; fenders, soldiers. This acceptation of
Acts xiv. 15, xvii. 23 — 30 ; 1 Cor. viii. 6 ; the word is here preferable to that of
1 Thess. i. 9, 10. I2i:'-rf';, was not formed, fugitives, since it would seem to designate
is not to be pressed, except as it sarcas- the land troops, in contradistinction to

CHAP. XLIII.]

ISAIAH.

52.9

16 Thus saith Jehovah :
He that made a way in the sea.
And a path in the mighty waters ;
17 That brought out the chariot and the horse,
The army and the force : —
They lay down together ; they rose no more ;
They were quenched, they went out as a wick.
Remember not the fonner things ;
Neither reflect on the things of old.
Behold ! I will effect a new thing ;
Now it shall spring up ; will ye not regard it ?
I will even make a way in the desert.
And rivers in the wilderness.
The beasts of the field shall honour me ;
The wolves and the ostriches ;
For I will put water in the desert,
And rivers in the wilderness ;
To fm-nish drink for my people, my chosen.
This people I have formed for myself;
They .shall celebrate my praise.
But thou hast not invoked me, O Jacob !
Yea, thou hast been weary of me, O Israel !

18

19

20

21

22

the naval force of Babylon, mentioned
immediately after. Dnai ni'js, lit. ihe
ships of their joy, i. e. the vessels manned
by the Chaldeans, the crews of which
cheered each other with a view to mutual
excitement. That navigation in larger
vessels obtained on the Euphiates in
ancient times, is past dispute. See
Herod, i. 184 — 186 ; Strabo, xvi. Ac
cording to Huet, in his Hist, du Commer.
Semiramis had a fleet of three thousand
galleys. See Lowth's Note.
16, 17. A forcible allusion to the de
struction of the Egyptians in the Red
Sea ; which, however, is declared ver. 1 8,
to be among those former interpositions
of Divine Providence, that were to be
eclipsed by the destruction of the Baby
lonians, and the rescue of the captive
Jews. These were to be so remarkable,
that they should exclusively occupy the
minds of the faithful.
19 — 21. The circumstances connected
with the return should be altogether

novel in their character. To indicate
that every provision for comfort and secu
rity would be made, the boldest poetical
images are employed. The whole should
be celebrated as exclusively the work of
God, executed in behalf of his chosen
people. 22. Prone as the Jews ever were to
imagine that they merited the Divine
favour by their ceremonial observances,
it was necessary, after the high terms in
which they had been spoken of, and the
enouncement of so remarkable a deli
verance as that which was to be effected
for them, to remind them of the facts,
that before the captivity, they had either
neglected to present the prescribed of
ferings, or had done it in a mere formal
manner; that while it lasted none had
been imposed upon them ; and that, in
stead of serving their God, their conduct
had been characterized by ingratitude
and rebellion. As Lowth observes, the
emphasis, on which the sense depends,
U U

330

ISAIAH.

[chap, xliii.

23 Thou hast not brought me the lambs for thy burnt-offerings ;
Neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices ;
I have not burdened thee with oblations,
Nor wearied thee with incense.
24 Thou hast not bought for me sweet cane with money ;
Neither hast thou satiated me with the fat of thy sacrifices ;
But thou hast burdened me with thy sins ;
Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
I, I am He,
That blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake.
And will not remember thy sins.
Put me in remembrance ; let us plead together ;
Record thou, that thou mayest be justified.
Thy chief father hath sinned,
And thine interpreters have rebelled against me.

25

26

27

lies on the pronoun Me. See his note,
and comp. Amos v. 25. This verse con
tains a general proposition, which is ex
plained in the particulars enumerated,
vers. 23, 24.
24. njij., calamus aromaticus, the sweet
cane, which is in high estimation in
India, Western Asia, an(J Africa. Mr.
Campbell relates, that the inhabitants
of the two towns highest up in Africa,
which he visited, presented him with
pieces of sugar or sweet cane, about a
foot in length, and in such quantities
that the bottom of that part of the
waggon where he sat was covered with
it. It was an article of traffic, and often
brought from a distance, Jer. vi. 20 ;
and was used as a component ingredient
in preparing the holy anointing oil,
Exod. xxx. 23. In n:;?, — m;? is a paro
nomasia. The verbs i'3»n and S'ain are
repeated with great effect from the pre
ceding verse; and, as here used, are
strongly anthropopathical. The former,
from 13S, to serve, labour, means to im
pose labour upon one, burden, or fatigue
with labour.
25. For the repetition, see on ver. 11.
'??i^^> for my own sake ; from motives
derived purely from my own nature ;
uninfluenced by any cause in you.
26. The Jews are called upon to spe
cify a single instance in which they had
done any thing really meritorious. Je
hovah was willing, not only that the

cause should be tried, but that they
themselves should give the verdict. So
evident was it that they had nothing to
produce. 27. piliNin ?j'3«, according to most com
mentators, means Adam, and even Ge
senius thinks this interpretation is not
altogether to be rejected. Hitzig and
Scholz also adopt it. But that the
reference is to some person or persons
to whom the Jews in particular were
related, the spirit of the passage re
quires. Yet Abraham, of whom others
have thought, is likewise out of the
question, on the ground that, though,
like each of his posterity, he was
chargeable with sin, yet he is else
where uniformly represented as a right
eous or justified person, and not as one
entailing punishment upon himself and
others. The LXX. have taken the phrase
to be a collective, ol iraTepes u/ifflv irpa-
Toi, your forefathers, and this Gesenius
prefers ; but the parallelism requires us
to understand a person in office, and
none is so likely to be intended as the
High Priest. JiiflNii, flrst, is used not
only of time, but also of dignity, as
1 Chron. xviii. 17; and «S«hn ^iiB, the
head or chief priest, and simply llix^n,
the chief, are employed to denote the
Jewish pontiff. At the same time, there
is no reason to conclude that only one
High Priest is meant. By a^fm are
meant interpreters of the Divine will,

CHAP. XLIV.] ISAIAH. 831
28 Therefore have I desecrated the rulers of the sanctuary.
And given up Jacob to the curse.
And Israel to reproaches.
intemuncii, religious teachers. Comp. warrantably substitute 'liii: fiia ibVrri,
Gen. xiii. 23. The LXX. have apxovres And thy princes have profaned my sanc-
vpdv ; but Aq. and Symm. epprjveZs a-ov. tuary. The paralleusm is decidedly
Job xxxiii. 23. •&p pto, princes of the against such construction. The priests
sanctuary, are the priests, 1 Chron. xxiv. were profaned by being removed from
5. ttS'ij? 'lis? "J^nw, therefore have I dese- the temple, and carried away promis-
erated, &c. affords an excellent sense, cuously with the rest of the people into
and is to be retained. The LXX., Syr., captivity. " Copula 1 hie pro illativa
Houbigant, Lowth, and Boothroyd, un- capitur." Calvin.

CHAPTER XLIV.
Having promised complete forgiveness towards the close of the preceding chapter,
the prophet now proceeds to predict the prosperous state of religion as the result
of the effusion of the Holy Spirit, 1 — 5 ; again asserts the exclusive claims of
Jehovah, 6 — 8 ; exposes, with admirable effect, by the use of the keenest satire,
the folly and absurdity of idolatry, 9 — 20; resumes the joyful subject of eman
cipation, 21 — 23 ; and then re-asserts the Divine supremacy as evinced in the
frustration of the heathen oracles, and the fulfilment of the predictions respecting
the expedition of Cyrus, whom he expressly names, 24 — 28.

1 Yet now, hear, O Jacob ! my servant,
And Israel ! whom I have chosen ;
2 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Maker,
He that formed thee, and helped thee from the womb :
Fear not, O my servant Jacob !
O Jeshurun ! whom I have chosen,
3 For I will pour water upon the thirsty soil.
And streams upon the dry ground ;
I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed.
And my blessing upon thine offspring :
2. The womb in which the Israelites racter in consideration of their entire
had been was Egypt : their birth, the abandonment of idolatry, and return to
exodus. 111^, a poetical diminutive of his service. It is in this sense that their
affection ; hence the LXX. ^yanrjpevos. ancient kings are often said to have
The root is 1*=li^, to be straight, right, done 1*Ji, that which was right in the
upright, righteous.^ oi Xoiw. evBiis. Je- eyes of the Lord. Comp. Deut. xxxii.
hovah recognises the Jews in this cha- 15, xxxiii. 5, 26.

332

ISAIAH.

[chap.

XLIV.

4 So that they shall grow up as among the grass ;
As willows by the water-courses.
5 One shall say, I am Jehovah's ;
Another shall distinctly avow the name of Jacob ;
And another shall inscribe on his hand: Jehovah's ;
And shall speak honourably of the name of Israel.
6 Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts :
I am the First, I also am the Last ;
And besides me there is no God.

4. The conjunction 1 in inB2i is to be
taken iK^anKas, so thai; in conse
quence of the effusion, &c. Instead of
1'33, five MSS., five more originally, now
one, twelve printed editions, and the
LXX. read J'33, which may have been
the primitive lection. Forty-five MSS.,
originally ten more, now two, and seven
editions, read p3; and a few ^33 ; accord
ing to which the meaning would be in a
grassy place. The images here em
ployed denote luxuriance and abun
dance. 5. Not only should true religion flou
rish among the natural posterity of
Jacob ; numerous proselytes would joy
fully participate in their privileges.
Comp. Zech. viii. 23. ni repeated de
notes number aud diversity. See Ps.
Ixxvii. 4, 6. Their profession of the
true religion should be open and visible.
" D1B3 mp cannot here signify to call upon,
so that prayers should be addressed to
the patriarch Jacob, or to the people
collectively, but to proclaim, enounce
the name of any one, Ps. xlix. 12; Isa.
xii. 4." Hitzig. This is so far good;
but there seems to be further included
in the phrase, as here used, the idea of
so employing the name as to indicate
that those to whom it belongs are alone
to be regarded as worshippers of the
true God. The use of nM as a syno
nymous verb in the coi-responding mem
ber of the parallelism confirms this
interpretation. This verb in Chaldee
signifies to address a person by his title ;
jS in Arab, significavit aliquid nomine
improprio, cognominavit, blandilus est cir-
cumlocutione ; and in Hebrew the accep
tation is obviously that of speaking of

any one in a flattering or honourable
manner. See Job xxxii, 21, 22; Isa. xlv.
4. Symm. renders Nip' passivelj-, KXrj-
B^a-erai. The LXX. have ^orja-erai for
both verbs. The words IT 3n3; may
either be rendered, he shall write with
his hand, i. e. subscribe, as one does a
document or declaration ; or, he shall
inscribe on his hand the word, nin''j. The
former mode of construction Doderlein,
Dathe, Rosenm. in his Schol. V. T. in
Compend, redact,, Gesenius, and Jenour,
prefer ; but the latter, first adopted by the
LXX, erepos iirtypdyj/et X^^P^ avTOV tov
GeoO elpi, is that approved by Michaelis,
Lowth, Tingstad., van der Palm, Booth
royd, Hitzig, and Scholz. The Hebrew
is simply, he shall write his hand. iT is
the Accusative of object, governed by
3'n3;. The language is figurative, and is
borrowed from the ancient custom of
burning marks into the hand, or some
other part of the body, for the purpose
of expressing the name of the person to
whom one belonged. Thus the slave
had the name of his master ; the soldier
of his commander ; and the idolater of
his god. See Spencer de Leg. Hebraeor.
lib. ii. cap. xx. Comp. Ezek. ix. 4 ; Rev.
xiii. 16. For the force of mn''), comp.
n1.n'^ 'a, Exod. xxxii. 26 ; and for the
accomplishment of the prophecy in the
times between the return of the Jews
from Babylon, and the advent of Christ,
see the note on chap. xix. 23.
6, tiiliN '3«1 tii^«T ':m, / am the First,
and I am the Last, — a sublime character
of the Deity, by which he vindicates to
himself absolute eternity and supre
macy. He is the infinitely perfect
Being — the First Cause and Last End
of all things. Comp. chap. xli. 4, xlviii.

chap, xliv.]

ISAIAH.

333

10

11

Who like me hath announced ?
Let him declare it, and arrange it for me.
From the time that I settled the ancient people ;
Or, let them declare to them future things, things that shall happen.
Fear not, neither be terrified ;
Have I not of old published it to thee, and declared it ?
Ye therefore are my witnesses.
Is there a God besides me ,'
There is, indeed, no Rock ; I know of none.
All that form a graven image are vanity ;
Their objects of delight profit not : —
They are themselves witnesses ;
They neither see nor know ;
That they may be ashamed.
Who hath formed a god.
And cast an image, that profiteth nothing ?
Behold ! all his associates shall be ashamed ;

12. In Rev. i. 18, ii. 8, and xxii. 13,
our Saviour appropriates the attributes
to himself, without restriction or reser
vation. Compare the language of Or
pheus, Zev, dpxrj irdvrav, irdvrav re
TeXerfj, Hym. xiv. 7 ; and Zeis irpdros
iyevero — Zeiis va-raTos. Dr. Bloomfield
on Rev. i. 1 1 .
7. By DjiST:?, ihe ancient people, some
understand the Hebrews ; but it is pre
ferable to interpret the phrase, as Ezek.
xxvi. 20, of the oldest inhabitants of the
globe ; so that the meaning will be,
from the most ancient times. Though
the Jews were the depositaries of the
ancient prophecies, and most of them
were delivered by persons belonging to
that nation, yet others were announced
long before they bad a national existence.
Between ni'nV* and njVan there is no
essential difference of meaning; they
are merely synonymes, employed to de
note the certainty of the future events.
Twelve MSS., originally another, and
one by correction, read iig«, without 1 ;
as does also the Syriac. ia^ ll'j;, let
them — the fictitious gods — declare to
them, i. e. their worshippers ; or, the
Dative may be the dativus commodi: let
the idolaters declare, in vindication of
the claims of their deities.

8. in^n, in two MSS. ini'B is a aira^
Xey., but cognate with the Arab, x..,
pra metu attonitus fuit. The root ni;, is
related to the verb n't; ; Theod. p^ Bap-
fielaBe. 9. The exposure of idolatry in this
and the following verses is inimitably
forcible and beautiful. With the most
exact disposition of the parts, are com
bined an exactness and vividness of de
lineation, a pointedness of sarcasm, a
force of argument, and a concinnity and
elegance of expression, which entitle the
passage to the highest place among the
compositions of our seer, Drriian mean
the objects of their idolatrous attach
ment, their idols, which they procured
at much trouble and expense. The four
extraordinary points over nan were de
signed by the punctuators to fix the
attention of the reader on the dumb
idols being constituted witnesses against
the stupidity of their worshippers.
10. What is here put as a question is
the real fact of the case. The question
is strongly ironical.
11. 1'T3l!> all who assist the idol-maker.
If they are themselves of human origin,
what absurdity for them to pretend to
impart divinity I Comp, Acts xvii. 29.

334

ISAIAH.

[chap, xliv.

The workmen themselves are of men :
Let them all assemble ; let them stand up ;
They shall be afi-aid and ashamed together.
12 The smith prepareth an axe, and worketh in the coals ;
He fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his powerful
arm ;
He becometh hungry, and hath no strength ;
He drinketh no water, and is faint.
13 The carpenter stretcheth out the line ;
He sketcheth its figure with a sharp tool ;
He worketh it with chisels ;
He marketh it off with the compass ;
He maketh it into human shape,
After the beauty of a man ;
, To dwell in a house.
14 He heweth down cedars for himself;
He taketh the ilex and the oak ;
And what he deemeth firm among the trees of the forest ;
He planteth the pine, and the rain nourisheth it.

12. "^rauiili, the fabricator of iron, is
the smith ; just as D'S» uhn, thefabricator
of wood, ver. 13, is the carpenter. Be
fore 12SB supply i*in or "WB. The sub
stantive, DnB, properly signifies what is
black ; charcoal, coal ; Arab, js' ,
multum niger fuit ; and its' , carbo.
The point of the argument in this verse
consists in a human being putting forth
all his might in merely forming an in
strument to be afterwards employed in
making a god, while he is reminded by
the cravings of nature, that he is him
self a weak and dependent creature.
13. The axe having been prepared
for the use of the carpenter, his share
in the business of god-making is next
graphically described. He first of all
measures off the piece of wood which is
to form the idol; then cuts it into a rude
shape ; after which he takes the exact
dimensions of the several parts, and
brings out a due proportion ; and finishes
by subjecting it to those nicer operations
by which it assumes the graceful ap
pearance of the human form. Tfo, Arab.
liijuj , acus sutorum, subula, stylus, Aq.

irapdypa(f>is, a sharp instrument, graver,
&c. Comp. the Talmudic Bli», laiDlffi, to
draw lines by cutting them into the
wood or stone. This signification is
better supported than that of a co
loured line or cord, such as carpenters
also use. Whether n;3 is to be under
stood of an ordinary house, or a temple,
which it also signifies, is doubtful. Idols
were set up in both.
14. The absurdity of idolatry is next
exposed by shewing that there was no
thing supernatural about the materials
of which the gods were made. The
wood was either such as grew spontane
ously, or such as the carpenter had
planted for a supply, rrffi is the Infin.
absolute, used for the finite verb, nrin,
most probably, as the Vulg. renders, the
ilex, a species of oak, so called from its
peculiar hardness and strength. Comp.
the Arab, jj', durus, validus, rigidus
fuit. Celsius Hierobotan. tom. ii. p. 269.
Its occurrence in connexion with ]i^M is
in favour of this meaning. H^ LXX.
iriTvs ; Vulg. pinus. This, which is the
most ancient, is most probably the true
interpretation of the word. Others take

CHAP. xLiv.] ISAIAH. 335
15 They serve a man for fuel ;
He taketh of them, and warmeth himself;
He also kindleth a fire, and baketh bread ;
He even maketh a god, and bendeth down to it ;
He maketh a graven image, and worshippeth it.
16 Part of it he burneth in the fire ;
On part of it he eateth flesh ;
He roasteth a roast, and eateth his full ;
He also warmeth himself, and saith,
Ah ! I am warm, I see the fire.
17 The remainder of it he maketh a god, his graven image ;
He falleth down to it, and worshippeth it ;
He also prayeth to it, and saith,
Deliver me, for thou art my God.
18 They know not, neither do they understand ;
For their eyes are plastered over, so that they cannot see ;
Their hearts, that they cannot perceive.
19 None reflecteth in his mind :
He hath neither the knowledge, nor the intelligence to say :
Part of it I have burnt in the fire ;
I have also baked bread over the coals thereof;
I have roasted flesh, and eaten it.

it to mean ornus, the ash ; and others, Cum faber incertus, scamnum faceretne
the Arab. ^1^1, a thorny tree, which M^u7ere' Deum."-.Sa«. i. 8. 1.
grows in Arabia Petraea. i'i VS«;i most „ , „,. ,  ,,„ , . ,
moderns render, and chooseth for him- Comp. also Wisdom xiii. 11—13, which
self; but no such signification can fairly ?= manifestiy an imitation of this passage
be brought out of the verb. It has '° /f ^'^l^ . . •. •
merely been adopted from a supposed 1^. irsrrt? o« a part of tt, i.e. the
exigency of the place. Lovilh, layeth J.^f' ^Y wh-ch js meant the plate or
in load store; others otherwise. I do ^'^^ <>" which the meat was served.
not see why we may not apply here the "SI- «<> ^ee, the Hebrews employ to de-
well-known principle, that verbs in Piel scribe perception by any of the senses,
frequently express, not the reality or as well as by the eyes. Piscator " Sensi
intensity of what is signified by the <'^^'>^^^. '8°^- It is a natural way of
primitive form, but what is thought or expressmg the cause of the heat derived
conceived of in reference to it. The *'^°™*''^- „ ,^„ -t ¦ , a r^
words are thus a periphrase, denoting . 18- "?. fr-"" "^. ?'' >f P^P^d n?.

whatever other trees the carpenter might f^°^ '^' <" Pl'^^^''' <^^°'' V i Syr. \i,
nd suitable to his purpose. q ^.j, .pj_ jq j-q^ jj^g negative
15. A similar exposure of the absur- fo^ce of a in niMla and ¦)'3i»na, see chap.
ity of idol-worship is given by Horace : ^^jj j
Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile 19. The slightest degree of consider-
lignum ation must convince the idolater of the

33G ISAIAH. [chap. xliv.
Shall I then make the remainder of it an abomination .?
Shall I bow down to a clump of wood .-^
20 He feedeth upon ashes ;
A deluded heart hath turned him aside ;
So that he cannot extricate himself, nor say,
Is there not a lie in my right hand ?
21 Remember these things, O Jacob !
O Israel ! for thou art my serv.ant :
I have formed thee ; thou art my servant ;
O Israel ! thou shalt not forget me.
22 I have blotted out as a cloud thy transgressions.
And as a thick cloud thy sins :
Return to me, for I have redeemed thee.
23 Sing, O ye heavens ! for Jehovah hath done it ;
Shout, ye lower parts of the earth !
Burst into song, O ye mountains !
Thou forest, and every tree therein !
For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob,
And glorified himself in Israel.
24 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer,
Even He that formed thee from the womb :
I am Jehovah, the Maker of all ;
absurdity of his conduct. n3»in, an chaelis, Dathe, Doderlein, Tingstad.,
object of abhorrence, is not the term Hensler, Mbller, Hitzig, and Scholz,
which the speaker can be supposed to render, forget me not, or, thou shalt not
have selected ; but it is employed by forget me, which better suits the con-
Isaiah to express the detestation in nexion than the rendering of the Com.
which the Jews were taught to hold Ver., Lowth, Boothroyd, Jenour, Ge-
every object of heathen worship. sen. &c.
20. For the phrase IBs n»l, comp. 22, 23. An announcement of the
nil nsi, Hos. xii. 2. Both indicate the complete pardon of the sins for which
pursuit of what can yield no substantial the Jews had been carried captive to
good. For the rest of the verse, comp. Babylon ; their repentance and deliver-
irXavdvTes Kal irXavdpevoi, 2 Tim. iii. 13. ance ; and a powerful apostrophe, by
21. Jehovah now directly addresses which the whole of nature is summoned
the Jews in Babylon, and calls upon to celebrate the event. Nothing can
them, while they looked around and exceed the sublimity and beauty of the
witnessed innumerable instances of the latter verse.
stupidity and absurdity which had just 24. The a in jp3a, "from the womb,"
been described, to contrast with the is not to be pressed, so as to exclude
condition of such degraded idolaters the their formation in it. The phrase means,
relation in which, as his people, they from the earliest period of existence.
stood to him, and the benefits which he Instead of the Chethib, 'n«'B, thirty-one
had conferred, and would still confer MSS., seventeen editions, the LXX.,
upon them. 'JtfJPi, the LXX., Syr., &nd\\x\g.,read^m'"i?,whowaswithme?
Vulg., Chald., Jarchi, Musculus, Mi- but this division quite breaks in upon

CHAP. XLIV.]

ISAIAH.

That stretched forth the heavens alone ;
That spread out the earth by myself;
25 That frustrateth the signs of the impostors ;
And sheweth the diviners to be fools :
That refuteth the sages.
And proveth their knowledge to be folly :
26 That establisheth the word of his servant,
And accomplisheth the counsel of his messengers
That saith of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited ;
And of the cities of Judah, They shall be built ;
And, I will restore her desolate places :
27 He that saith to the deep. Be dry ;
And, I will dry up thy rivers :
28 He that saith of Cyrus, My Shepherd ;

the symmetry of the passage. The Keri
^^^,from, or by myself, is therefore to
be adopted : it is exhibited in the text
of fifteen MSS. ; four editions, among
which the Soncin., Rabboth, and the

Syr.

Gesen. aptly compares _i\ic ^j.,.

in the Arab, version of John viii. 28.
In this and the following verses, Jehovah
asserts the exclusiveness of his creative
and providential power. He alone is
God : besides him there is none else.
25. By nini^ are meant the portenta,
prodigia, or omens from which the
augurs of the ancient pagans pretended
to foretell lucky or unlucky events, such
as the flight, chattering and singing of
birds, appearances in the heavens, &c.
D>'73 Michaelis renders die Einsiedler,
i. e. "hermits," and remarks that, in the
East, such persons are addicted to sooth
saying. It rather signifies lies, from T13,
to be singular ; things which exceed
belief ; and hence by an easy transition,
falsehoods. Comp. the Syr. |^, com-
menius est. The abstract is here put for
D'i3 '!&:«, authors of falsehoods, i. e. im
postors. 26. A distinct recognition of the pre
dictions uttered by Isaiah and other
prophets respecting the restoration from
Babylon. The n29 of the Divine mes
sengers does not mean any counsel or
advice of their own, tendered to the

Jews, but the purpose of Jehovah which
they were commissioned to announce.
It is parallel with 131, which means the
revealed word of God. Dbi*ii; being a
femin. when the city is meant, 3'J)w
must be the third person sing. fem. ; to
agree with which, ¦? is to be rendered of,
respecting, as not unfreq. after verbs of
speaking. Thus also the following nrjsn,
and n:3n, ver. 28.
27. The commentators are generally
agreed that this verse contains a predic
tion of the stratagem adopted by Cyrus,
by which he easily effected the capture
of Babylon. By making a trench from
the Euphrates to the empty marsh,'
which anciently formed the artificial lake
Nitocris, he diverted the water from its
usual channel, so as to leave the river
fordable by his infantry, who marched
straight up its bed into the city. Herodot.
i. 185, 190 ; Xenoph. Cyropaed. vii.
Perhaps there is likewise a reference to
his diverting the waters of the Gyndes
into a hundred and sixty trenches. That
the words of the prophet are to be taken
in a literal sense, appears on comparing
them with Jer. 1. 38, which contains a
similar prediction.
28. Cyrus, the Persian monarch, by
whom Babylon was to be taken, and
the Jews restored to their own land, is
now introduced by name : itSiis, Pers.
.ys, or !»»-> liiAwviii- , Hur, Khur,
Khurshid, which signifies the Son,
X X

338

ISAIAH.

[chap. xlv.

He shall perform all my pleasure :
That saith of Jerusalem, She shall be built
And of the temple. It shall be founded.

Thus, in the book entitied Sadder, <Le
. ^ . , the Moon and ihe Sun ; [jXlJtJ
Jy djJ^Jj^j^ Ji ^j^JJ ^ ^«"« f^e<"'t «>««
brighter than the light of the Sun.
iS>wjti~ Abulfeda explains by cU^
I i*v«jJl > '^* splendour of the Sun. The
word frequently occurs in the poet Fer-
dusi, who also uses c^-^wj^.t}*- of a
priest of the Sun, Ctesias and Plutarch
derive the name from the same source:
Kvpos — diro TOV rjXiov. Thus the Ety-
molog. Mag. : Kopos o ^aa-iXevs Tav
Hepardv 6 iraXaios. 'HXi'ou yap ex^i ro
ovopa. Kovpov yap KaXelv eldBaa-iv oi
Xlepa-ai tov "HXiov. If we reject the 1!)
in ifiii3, as merely a termination, ex
pressing the iji of the Persic Ax^j%i-,
vie have in the Hebrew the exact form of
this ancient name ; only pointing it with
Shurec, instead of Holem. Infidel cri
tics stumble at this express mention of
the name of Cyrus by Isaiah, who
flourished so long before his appearance ;
but king Josiah was likewise predicted
by name, upwards of three centuries
before his birth, 1 Kings xiii. 2. Cyrus
was the son of Cambyses king of Persia,
by Mandane, a daughter of Astyages,
king of the Medes. When only sixteen
years of age, he commanded an army

against the Assjrrians ; he afterwards
assisted his uncle Cyaxeres II. in an
expedition against the Babylonians, on
which occasion he obtained the com
mand of all the Median troops ; de
feated Croesus, king of Lydia ; and soon
after put an end to the Chaldean mo
narchy, by the conquest of Babylon, in
the year b.c. 538 or 539. On his return
to Persia he married his cousin, and
obtained with her the right of succession
to the crown of Media, which he united
in his own person with that of Persia,
on the death of Cyaxeres, in 536 or 535.
Scarcely had he ascended the throne of
the Medo-Persian empire, than he issued
his celebrated edict, granting permission
to the Jews to return to their own coun
try, and ordering them to be furnished
with what was requisite for rebuilding
the temple, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23;
Ezra i. He died at the age of seventy,
after a reign of thirty years. For his
character, see on chap. xli. 2. Accord
ing to Josephus, Antiq. lib. ii. cap. 2,
the Jews in Babylon shewed this text to
Cyrus, which he acknowledged in his
edict, and ascribed his possession of
universal empire to the God of Israel.
After '»1 supply «in. Kings and princes
are called shepherds in Scripture, as they
are in the ancient classics. It was a
titie to which Cyrus was partial ; it being
a proverbial saying with him, " A good
prince and a good shepherd have the
same duties," Cyropaed. viii.

CHAPTER XLV.

A continuation of the subject more prominently introduced at the end of the pre
ceding chapter — the commission of Cyrus. That monarch is now direcfly
addressed, and receives gracious promises of Divine direction, support, and
success, 1 — 5. The prophet then specifies one of the grand designs to be effected
by the Persian conquests, 6, 7 ; predicts in the form of hortatory address, the
joyful arrival of the deliverance from Babylon, 8 ; denounces judgment upon the
unbelieving and captious Jews of the captivity, 9, 10 ; expostulates with them on

chap, xlv.] ISAIAH. 339
their presumption in arraigning the Divine conduct, 11 ; asserts the sovereignty
of Jehovah, and his determination to employ Cyrus as his instrument, 12, 13;
foretells the great accession of proselytes which should succeed the captivity, 14 ;
expresses the confidence exercised by the pious in God, notwithstanding the
darkness of his dispensations, that deliverance should arrive, the divine predic
tions be fulfilled, and idolaters confounded, 15 — 19; calls upon all to forsake
their idolatry, and return to the service of the true God, 20—22 ; and concludes
by announcing the superior blessings to be enjoyed under the reign of Messiah,
23—25.

1 Thus saith Jehovah to his Anointed, to Cyrus,
Whom I hold by the right hand ;
To subdue nations before him.
And ungird the loins of kings ;
To open before him the folding doors.
And the gates shall not be shut.
2 I will go before thee.
And will make the rough places plain ;
The folding doors of brass I will break in pieces ;
And cut in sunder the bars of iron.
3 I will give thee the treasures that are in darkness.
And the stores that are in hidden places ;
1. Cyrus is called the "Anointed " of Evangel. 1. ix. c. 41. By a remarkable
the Lord, because he had, in his pro- providence, and contrary to what might
vidence, appointed him to the rule under have been expected on the part of the
which the Jews were to be restored, besieged, the gates leading to the river
The allusion is to the ancient rite of had been left open on the night of the
anointing with oil those who were in- attack by Cyrus, in consequence of which
vested with royal dignity. Judges ix. 8; his troops found no difficulty in entering
1 Sam. ix. 16, xv. 1 ; 1 Kings i. 34. the city. Even the gates of the palace
nfiB, to unbind, ungird, is opposed to liM, were incautiously opened during the
which signifies to bind up, gird, &c., and tumult occasioned by the invasion. So
here means to deprive of power and dig- minutely was this prediction fulfilled.
nity : oriental monarchs being accus- 2. God promises to remove every im-
tomed to wear richly decorated girdles, pediment out of the way of Cyrus.
which at once gave strength to their D'lnn, LXX. oprj, heights, raised, or
bodies, and added to the splendour of t , a i . • ,. ¦.
their state. For the nations subdued by ''""^^ P'"''' ' Arab. ^ J,-., mtumuit,
Cyrus, see on chap. xli. 2, and Xeno- ^^ i^^^^^ declivis, quo quis delabitur.
phon as there quoted, orfr^ and D'i»tp JD ' ' i i
are synonymes; only the former refers 3. Not only did Cyrus seize upon the
to the two divisions, or folding-doors by immense riches of Babylon, Jer. 1. 37 ;
which the gates were secured. The but, on subduing Croesus, king of
gates here spoken of are those of Baby- Lydia, that monarch delivered up to
Ion, of which there were an hundred, all him his treasures, amounting in value
of brass. 'HvXai Se ivearda-i irepi^ rov to 126,224,000/. sterling. See Cyropaed.
Tet'xeos cKaToi/, XAAKEAI HASAI. He- vii.; Plin. Hist. Nat, xxxiii. 2, 15,
rodot. i. 179. See also Euseb, Praeparat. Brere wood de ponderibus, cap, x, Costiy

340

ISAIAH.

[chap. xlv.

That thou mayest know, that I am Jehovah ;
The God of Israel, that hath announced thy name.
4 li'or the sake of Jacob my servant.
And Israel my chosen,
I called thee distinctly by thy name ;
I made honourable mention of thee, though thou knewest me not.
5 I am Jehovah, and there is none else ;
Besides me there is no God :
I have girded thee, though thou knewest me not ;
6 That men may know at the rising of the sun,
And at his setting, that there is none beside me :
I am Jehovah, and there is none else :
7 The Former of light, and the Creator of darkness ;
The Maker of peace, and the Creator of evil :
I am Jehovah, the Maker of all these.
8 Drop, ye heavens, from above ;

stores are generally deposited in places
remote from the public gaze ; and, espe
cially in the East, under ground, that they
may be safe from plunderers.
4. i^sSM, / have made honourable men
tion of thee. See on chap, xliv. 5. It
was no surname, but his own proper
name that Jehovah gave to Cyrus. The
meaning is, that he had spoken of him
by the prophet, in terms such as had
never been employed in reference to any
other heathen prince, — giving him the
character of righteous, declaring that he
loved him, and that he would protect
and prosper him. Chap. xli. 2, xliv. 28,
xlv. 2, 3, 13, xlviii. 14.
5, 6. Though the Persians, among
whom Cyrus had received his education,
held the worshippers of idols in abhor
rence, they had no proper idea of the
only living and true God. Jehovah re
peatedly asserts this fact, and vindicates
to himself the claims of exclusive d ivinity.
The conquests of Cyrus prepared the way
for a new state of things, both in the
East and the West : vast political changes
ensued, which eventually resulted in the
diffusion of revealed truth throughout
the world; not to mention the striking
effect which the recognition of Jehovah
in the royal edict must have produced,
especially in all the countries in which
the Jews were scattered. The n in n3'i»a

is doubtless the pronominal suffix, with
out Mappic. Comp. chap, xxiii. 17, 18.
The form of the noun, in every other
instance, is 3i»a. The two most distant
geographical points known to the ancients
are fixed on, including all the regions
between. 7. This verse asserts the superiority
of Jehovah to the dualistic powers of
Parsism. The Magi taught, tbat there
are two co-eternal supramundane beings :
Ormuzd, the pure and eternal principle
of light, the source of all that is good;
and Ahriman, the source of darkness,
and fountain of all evil, both physical
and moral. These two divide the empire
of the world, and are in perpetual con
flict with each other. The system, in
which the doctrine of these antagonist
principles is taught is contained in the
Zend-Avesta, or Living Word, com
monly ascribed to Zoroaster, the great
reformer of the Parsees. In opposition
to all such ideas, God claims an eternal
independence and sovereignty. Both
good and evil are under his absolute
direction and control. »i being here
opposed to Di^ttS, peace, or prosperity,
must mean affliction, adversity, &c.
Comp, Amos iii. 8.
8. I consider nirj^i s^; to be the nomi
natives to the plural rm ; and fis that
to C'osn, which makes all plain. The

chap, xlv.] ISAIAH. 841
Let the clouds shower down righteousness ;
Let the earth open, that salvation may be produced,
And righteousness spring forth at once :
I, Jehovah, create it.
9 Wo to him that contendeth with Him that formed him ! —
A potsherd of the potsherds of the earth !
Shall the clay say to its potter, What makest thou ?
Or thy work. He hath no hands .?
10 Wo to him that saith to his father. What begettest thou ?
Or to the woman. With what art thou in pain ?
11 Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker :
Will ye question me concerning my children ?
Will ye give me a charge respecting the work of my hands ?
12 I made the earth.
And created man upon it ;
It was my hands that spread out the heavens ;
I gave charge to all their host.
13 I have raised him up for righteousness.
And will direct all his ways ;
He shall build my city, and release my captives ;
But not for hire, nor for reward,
Saith Jehovah of Hosts.

LXX,, Syr , and Vulg., read the verb in earth." The language is that of con-
the singular. tempt, being expressive of the mean and
9 — 12. That the infidel and discon- worthless character of the subject spoken
tented portion of the Jewish people is of. The LXX. and Theod. have read
here intended, seems beyond dispute. iSin instead of iEnn. The close connexion
No arguments could more forcibly evince of the word with isi», ihe potter, shews
the extreme arrogance and folly of crea- that the Masoretic pronunciation of it is
tures pretending to scan and carp at the correct. '3l''«i2i is subordinated to ':i2li
plans of Divine Providence. They are in the Future, and both are to be ren-
directly ad hominem. Comp. Rom. ix. dered interrogatively. The indicative
20, &c,, where the Apostle is asserting form, "ask ye me," &c,, is unsuitable
the sovereign right which God has to to the connexion. The expostulation
dispose of all creatures, according to his concludes with an unanswerable argii-
holy and righteous pleasure. The n« in ment for acquiescence in the special
naib) 'toiirns iEin creates some difficulty, arrangements of providence, drawn from
It seems to be used in the sense of close- the creation and government of the Uni-
ness, union, society, identity of relation- verse. The use of '?« before 'i;. is emphatic.
ship, &c. Comp. Gen, v. 24, vi. 18. It 13. Cyrus is again pointedly referred
is thus equivalent to one of, on a par to, as the instrument of restoring the
w'lih, of, as to a common nature. Thus Jewish polity. In accomplishing this
, „ , .. 1 9 object, he was not impelled by any pro-
the Syr. lii.?]; oiaS-jx Vi i2>T*'> spect of remuneration, but by a sense of
o ' 3 1 justice, and a regard to the command of
" a potsherd of the potsherds of the God. Comp. lii. 3.

ISAIAH.

[chap. XLV.

14 Thus saith Jehovah :
The wealth of Egypt, and the gains of Cush,
And the Sabeans, men of stature.
Shall pass over to thee, and be thine ;
They shall follow thee ;
They shall pass over in chains ;
They shall prostrate themselves to thee ;
They shall pray toward thee :
Only in thee [shall they say] is God, and there is none else ;
There is no God.
15 Surfely, thou art a God that hidest thyself,
O God of Israel, the Saviour !
16 They shall be ashamed ; they shall all of them be confounded';
They shall go into confusion together that fabricate images.

14. From the similarity of this verse
with chap, xliii. 3, Munster, Musculus,
Tirinus, Grotius, and van der Palm, have
been induced to apply it to Cyrus, but
the words, '>» 1|3 'q«, only in thee is God,
render it impossible consistently to adopt
such an interpretation. The punctators,
who are followed, among the moderns,
by Michaelis, Doderlein, Dathe, Gese
nius, Hitzig, and Scholz, apply it to
Jerusalem, and rightiy. 'The prophecy
refers to the result of the Persian con
quests in Egypt, &c., as regards the Jews
and their religion. Favoured as the
people of God were by the victors, the
inhabitants of these countries would be
led to respect them, inquire into their
peculiar polity, send them munificent
presents, and, in great numbers, become
proselytes to their religion. Comp. chap.
xviii. 7, xix. 18 — 25; Zeph. iii. 10; Ps.
Ixviii, 29— 31 ; Zech, viii, 20— 23 ; Acts
viii, 27. The countries here mentioned
were celebrated in ancient times for their
immense trade, commerce, and opulence.
They are those specified chap, xliii, 3.
Of the D'«3p, inhabitants of Meroe, it is
added, that they were nia iiSm, men of
extension, or length ; i.e. tall of stature.
LXX. dvbpes vifrrjXoi. Comp. 1 Chron.
xi. 23. 'the Ethiopians are described
by Herodotus, b. iii. 1 14, as avbpas peyi-
a-Tovs Kal KaXXia-TOVS Kal paKpo^iard-
Tovs, " of the highest stature, the most
beautiful and long-lived of men." See

also the same book, 20 : XeyoVTai eivai
peyiaroi dvBpdirav ; and Solin. cap. 30,
ASthiopes duodecim pedes longi. Aga-
tharcbides also, speaking of the Sabeans,
says : Ta adpara euTi Tav KaroiKovvTav
d^ioXoydrepa. The coming of these
people in chains is a figurative mode of
expression, denoting the submissiveness
with which they should present them
selves as worshippers of Jehovah, '^p^S
I'jten; does not mean that they were to
worship or make supplication to the
Jews, but that such of them as could not
personally come to Jerusalem, would
direct their worship towards the temple
in that city, as the place of Jehovah's
earthly residence. Comp. 1 Kings viii.
35, where the phrase nin Dipan ¦;« btorin,
to pray towards this place, occurs, as
does nin n;3n ')S, toward this house, 42 ;
and i'?n 'rp.'i njn; ¦!«, to Jehovah, in the
direction of the city, &c. Comp. also
Dan. vi. 11.
15. In this verse, the church admires
the mysterious character of the Divine
counsels and modes of action, with
special reference to the captivity and
restoration. Comp. Rom. xi. 33 ; Deut.
xxix, 28.
] 6. From the time of the conquest of
Babylon, idolatry began to decline ; and
shortly after the Christian era, in conse
quence of the spread of the gospel, it
disappeared from the best portions of
Asia, Africa, and Europe,

CHAP. XLV.] ISAIAH. 343
17 But Israel shall be saved through Jehovah,
With an everiasting salvation ;
They shall not be ashamed, nor confounded,
To eternal ages.
18 For thus saith Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens.
He is God ;
The Former of the earth, and its Maker ;
It was He that established it ;
He did not create it in vain ;
He formed it to be inhabited :
I am Jehovah, and there is none else.
19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth ;
I have not said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain.
I, Jehovah, give utterance to righteousness ;
1 declare things that are right.
20 Assemble and come ;
Draw near together, ye of the nations that have escaped ;
They have no knowledge that carry about their wooden idol ;
That pray to a god that cannot save.
21 Declare ye; draw near ;
Let them also hold consultation ;
Who published this of old .?
Who declared it from ancient times ?
Was it not I, Jehovah ? besides me there is no God ;
The righteous God, and the Saviour :
There is none besides me.
17. This verse forms an antithesis to Inspiration, pp, 251, 252, 555. The
the preceding, and teaches, that those prophets of Jehovah exercised their
who serve the true God shall never be ministry in public, before all classes ;
deprived of his protection and favour. they foretold contingent future events in
18. There seems to be here a special language the most explicit and unam-
reference to the deserted state of the biguous; and, committing their predic-
Holy Land during the captivity, while, tions to writing, deposited them in the
at the same time, the sole divinity of hands of the natron, as vouchers for their
Jehovah is re-asserted. divine commission. Comp. John xviii.
19. An appeal to the publicity and 20. pi2 and D'ltra are synonymes,
perspicuity with which the divine pre- 20—22. The idolaters are now ad
dictions had been announced ; with dressed ; the folly of their idolatry is
manifest reference to the responses of pointed out ; the claims of Jehovah as
the heathen oracles, which were given the only God are asserted ; and a call is
from deep and obscurecaverns,orthe hid- given to them to turn from their vain
denrecessesof temples: and were, at the objects of confidence to Him as their
best, artful and equivocal ; and, in cases Creator and Portion. That D;i3n '©'^9,
of extreme difficulty, were altogether the escaped of the nations, means such
withheld. See my Lectures on Divine of the heathen as had escaped thede-

344

ISAIAH.

[chap. xlv.

22

23

24

25

Turn unto me, that ye may be saved.
All ye ends of the earth ;
For I am God, and there is none else.
By myself have I sworn ;
The word hath proceeded from my mouth ;
It is truth, and shall not return :
That to me every knee shall bend.
Every tongue shall swear.
Only in Jehovah, shall each say, have I righteousness and strength ;
To Him he shall come ;
And all shall be put to shame
That are incensed against Him.
In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified.
And shall make their boast.

vastating wars that were carried on in
different parts, and not the Jews, is evi
dent from the usus loquendi. See Judg.
xii, 4, 5 ; Obad. 14. On being obliged
to flee, the idolaters carried about their
idols with them from place to place ;
none of which had either announced
the fall of Babylon, or delivered their
votaries in the hour of distress. Jehovah
had done both to the people of the Jews.
23 — 25, These verses describe a period
when the knowledge and worship of the
true God should be universal. 'To mark
its importance and certainty, the predic
tion is introduced by a solemn divine
oath. Comp. Jer. xxii. 5 ; Amos vi. 8 ;
Heb. vi. 13. None who admit the in
spired authority of Paul can doubt that
there is here a primary and direct refer
ence to the Messiah. See Rom. xiv. 11,
and Phil. ii. 10, 11. To Him, according
to the Apostle's doctrine, universal reli
gious homage and submission are due —
such homage and submission as it would
be idolatry to render to a mere creature.
His is the dvopa to virep irdv Svopa —
KYPI02, ^fTf, the Incommunicable
Name of the Self-Existent Deity. He
is the eEOS to whom all are responsible
for their actions, as the close connexion
between the verses Rom. xiv. 11 and 12
clearly proves. In the present passage,
which theaposrte expressly quotes withhis
usual fomula, yeypairrai yap. He is pre
sented to view as the Object of universal

worship, the Source of righteousness
and strength to his people, and the In-
fliotor of punishment upon his enemies.
The nominative to ms; is ijij ; but as it
is preceded by njJJ?! 't must be regarded
as having this for its object ; and the
sense is best given by taking up the
latter term separately in the acceptation,
truth, true, &c. Comp. the Arab,^t>.*o,
verax, Veritas, Vitringa, Dathe, Gese
nius, Hitzig, and others, render ipM'^,
shall say of me ; but the immediate
occurrence of niJP3 before '^ makes such
construction harsh and unnatural. I
have therefore retained the common
rendering of '), there is to me, or / have.
The verb is used, as frequently, in an
impersonal sense, nipl?, righteousnesses,
is the plural of excellence or eminence ;
signifying the most distinguished right
eousness, — the Pauline biKaioirvvr] Qeov,
Rom. i. 17, iii. 21, 22; i) c'k Beov biKai-
oa-vvr], Phil. iii. 9 ; and the Petrine
biKaioa~vvr) tov ©cou -^pdv Kal aarripos
'Irjo-ov XpiiTTOv. Comp. also chap. li. 5, 7,
8 ; Jer. xxiii. 6 ; Rom. x. 3 ; 1 Cor. i. 30.
Since the scene here described embraces
the whole human family, it is obvious
we are to understand by ^Slip; »11, not
the natural, but the spiritual posterity
of the patriarch, whether Jews or Gen
tiles. Comp. Rom. iv. 12 — 17 ; Gal. iii.
26—29.

CHAP

XLVI.]

ISAIAH.

345

CHAPTER XLVI.
Isaiah here predicts the downfal of the Babylonian idols, as involved in that of the
city ; shews their utter impotence, with which he contrasts the power and care
of Jehovah, that had been all along experienced by the Jews, 1 — 4; exposes, in
his usual forcible and elegant manner, the absurdity of idolatry, 5 — 7 ; asserts
the sole claims of the true God, on the ground of the miracles and prophecies
with which the Jewish church had long been conversant, 8 — 10 ; repeats the
announcement respecting the deliverance to be effected by Cyrus, 11; and
addresses a pointed expostulation to such of the Jewish captives as might have
hardened themselves in sin, 12, 13.

1 Bel boweth down ; Nebo stoopeth ;
Their idols are laid on the beasts and the cattle ;
What were borne by you are made into loads,
A bm-den to the weary beast.

1. %, Bel, the principal god of the
Babylonians, " Sacratissimum Assyri-
orum Deum," Plin. Hist. Nat. 37, 55.
Ato;, bv KaXovaiv oi Ba^vXdvioi BrjXov.
Diod. Sic. ii, 8, The name is a contrac
tion of 'J?3, the Chaldee pronunciation
of the Phenician "J??, Baal. He was
called Zeij, and Jupiter, by the Greeks
and Romans, and is supposed by some
to have been the symbol of the sun ; by
•others, of the planet Jupiter. The wor
ship of this planet under the name of
WiO, certainly formed part of the idol
atrous rites of the Sabians. See Nor-
berg's Onomast. p. 28, He had a temple
erected to him, the ruins of which are still
visible in the Birs Nimrood, described
by Mr. Rich, Sir Robt. Ker Porter, and
other travellers. See on chap. xiii. 1. Ac
cording to Herodotus, it (Aios BtJXou
.Jpoy) stood on the summit of the topmost
of eight towers, the ascent of which was
on the outside; the height of the whole
has been computed at five hundred feet.
In the temple was a large handsome
couch, and near it a golden table, but
no statue. Within the precincts of the
temple, however, on the ground, was
another sacred edifice, within which was
an immense golden statue of Jupiter,
JiyaXpa peya tov Aios evi Karrjpevov

Xpvaeov. Around this statue were large
tables, which, with the steps and throne,
were all of gold ; amounting, according
to the estimate of the Chaldeans, to
eight hundred talents in weight. There
was also a golden altar outside this edi
fice, and another large altar on which
sacrifices were offered. Shortly before
the time of Herodotus, there had been
in the sacred enclosure a statue, which the
Chaldeans affirmed to have been of solid
gold, and twelve cubits in height. Herod.
i. 181, 182. The high veneration in
which Belus was held appears from the
frequent use of his name in compound
names of persons living in Babylon, as
Baladan, Belteshazzar, Belshazzar, Bel
esis, Belibus, &c. i3?, Nebo, the other
idol here specified, is supposed to have
been the symbol of the planet Mercury,
the celestial scribe and interpreter of
the gods, corresponding to Hermes and
Anubis, of the Egyptians. He was like
wise worshipped by the Sabians, in
Arabia. See Norberg's Onomast. p. 95.
Gesenius traces the name in «'3:, pro
phet, an interpreter of the Divine will.
It is likewise found in many compound
proper names, as Nabonasser, Nebuchad
nezzar, Nebushasban, &c. — The prophet
describes the fall and removal of the
Bab3'lonian idols in language of the
Y Y

346 ISAIAH. [chap. xlvi.
2 They stoop, they bow down together ;
They are not able to deliver the burden ;
Yea, themselves go into captivity.
3 Hearken to me, O house of Jacob !
And all the remnant of the house of Israel !
That have been borne from the belly.
That have been carried from the womb.
4 Even to old age I -will be the same ;
Even to grey hairs will I carry you ;
I have made, and I will bear.
Yea, I will carry, and deliver you.
5 To whom can ye liken me, or make me equal ?
Or compare me, that we may be like .''
6 They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver in the balance ;
They hire a goldsmith, that he may make it a god :
They fall down, yea they worship him.
7 They lift him upon their shoulder ;
They carry him about ;
They set him down in his place, and he standeth ;
From his place he will not move :
They may each of them cry to him, but he will not answer ;
Nor at all deliver him from his trouble.
keenest satire. They had formerly been term nSB.:, soul, sarcastically of the idols,
carried about by the priests in solemn " cum anima propria dicta et vita care-
procession, but should now be broken in rent." Hypomn. ad Theolog. Prophet.
pieces, and borne away by the enemy iii. p. 424.
on the backs of beasts of burden; which, 3,4. Instead of bearing their God,
sinking down under the weight, they the Jews had been graciously borne by
should not be able to relieve. Nothing him from the earliest period of their
was more natural than the plunder of history ; and he would continue to care
the temples, on account of the riches for and support them to the last — being
they contained, especially the gold and the immutable Jehovah. After D'pBOT
silver images. History makes no men- subaud. '?aB, by me, which would have
tion of Cyrus having removed the Baby- been inserted, but for the 'sa follow-
lonian idols, but both Herodotus, i. 183, ing. Comp. Deut, i. 31, xxxii. 11, 12.
and Arrian, vii. 19. 2, state that Xerxes 5. Comp. chap. xl. 18, 25.
took away the large golden statue above 6, 7. The use of the verb ^11, to lavish,
described. At ns;» subaud. na!i3 or pour out abundantly, is very appropriate
^?i. in application to the idols of Babylon,
2. The weary beasts fall under the many of which appear to have been of
load of idols, none of which is able to the most costiy description. See Dan.
help them up. DtiM, their soul, is a iii. 1, and above, ver. 1. The participle
periphrasis for nan, they. Comp, Hos, ix. is here used for the finite verb. The
4, ei. freq. Crusius, however, thinks picture given of the stupid conduct of
that the prophet may have used the the idol- worshippers is exceedingly strik-

chap, xlvi.]

ISAIAH.

347

10

11

12

Remember this, and shew yourselves men ;
Recall it to mind, ye apostates !
Remember the former things, of old time.
For I am God, and there is none else ;
I am God, and there is none like me :
Declaring the end from the beginning,
From ancient time things not yet done r
Saying, My purpose shall stand,
And I will do all my pleasure :
Calling from the east, the eagle ;
From a distant land, the man whom I have appointed
I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass ;
I have purposed it, I will also do it.
Hearken to me, ye stubborn in heart ;
Ye that are far from righteousness..

ing, and drawn quite to the life. Comp.
chap. xl. 19, 20, xli. 6, 7, xlix, 9—19 ;
Jer, X. 3 — 5.
8. Different interpretations have been
given of the dira^ Xey. iWENm ; but the
most approved is that which treats it as
a denominative from ili'M, a man. It
thus corresponds in form to dvbpiCea-Be,
1 Cor. xvi. 13, though the apostle uses
the Greek word in the sense of acting a
brave or courageous part ; whereas,
what Isaiah means is, to act a manly
and rational part, in opposition to the
absurd conduct of idolaters. Comp.
1 Cor. xiv. 20. Thus the Syr. QJUoZJ,
be intelligent, act like intelligent beings.
Kimchi, N^l i:'3' vdSD nion3 m'ji D'»:n I'n
iVSlB', Be men and not beasts, which
neither understand, nor consider. The
Conjug. is Hithpalel, like ].:i3rin from ]'3.
In Jer. I. 38, the Babylonians are said
to have been mad upon idols.
9. Jehovah here appeals to his mira
culous interposition on behalf of the
Jews in ancient times, especially the
stupendous miracles which he had
wrought in Egypt.
1 0. Ancient predictions of contingent
events in the remote future, likewise
evinced the proper deity of Israel's
God. Some of these had been an
nounced from the earliest periods of
time, and were recorded in the public

documents of the Jewish nation. Comp.
chap. xli. 22, 23, xliii. 9, xliv. 7, 8.
11. ia;?, deTos, a bird of prey, and
specially ihe eagle, so called from the
impetuosity with which he rushes on
his prey ; Arab, lite , irritavit, ingressus
seu demersus fuit ; ^yh. , vehementia.
ID'S or 131», to rush upon. Cyrus is so
called on account of the rapid and
astounding character of his conquests.
Comp. Jer. xlviii. 40 ; Ezek. xvii. 3 ;
Hos. viii. 1 ; Hab. i. 8. It is not a littie
remarkable that Cyrus is the first of
whom we read that introduced the
eagle as a military ensign : 'Hv be aira
arjpelov deros xpvaovs inl boparos paK-
pov avarerapevos' Kal vvv be tovto eTi
arjpeiov Ta Hepa-dv ^aa-iXei bcnpevei.
Cyropaed. vii, near the beginning. For
in25, the Keri and numerous MSS. read
'n2», which is supported by the ancient
versions. By 'n25 IK'S is not meant the
man who is to execute my purpose, but
the man who is the object of my purpose,
the instrument whom I have destined to
be the deliverer of my people. Zwin
glius, Quicquid consiituero.
12, 13. 3;;''i.'3M, French les esprits
forts, infidel, obstinate; Symm. o-kXi;-
poKapbioi, There seems to be here a
momentary transition to a greater deli
verance than that from Babylon, but for
which the latter was to be preparatory.
The persons addressed did not believe

348

ISAIAH.

[chap, xlvii.

13 I bring near my righteousness ; it shall not be far off;
And my salvation shall not tarry ;
I will appoint salvation in Zion,
For Israel my glory.

in the possibility of their restoration to
Judea : Jehovah declares that he would
effect a still more wonderful work — that
of redemption through the Messiah, in
consequence of whose righteousness,
there would be in Zion that salvation

which would be the glory or beauty of
all believers. Comp. chap, xxviii. 14, as
glanced at by Paul, Acts xiii. 41.
" 'WMDn, my splendour, i. e. the splen
dour which comes from me," Gesenius;
but comp. John xvii. 10 ; 2 Thess. i. 10.

CHAPTER XLVII.
The subject with which the preceding chapter commenced is continued in this : viz.
the destruction of Babylon. Under the personification of a delicate voluptuous
and powerful princess, that city is ordered to descend from her throne, take the
place of a slave, and disappear from the political horizon, 1 — 5. Her principal
crimes are specified, and condign punishment is threatened, which all the power
of astrology, divination, and magic, should not be able to avert, 6 — 15.

Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon !
Sit on the ground, without a throne, 0 daughter of the Chaldeans !
For thou shalt no longer be called tender and delicate.
Take the mill-stones, and grind meal ;
Raise thy veil, lift up the train ;
Uncover the leg ; wade through the rivers.

1. The orientals are accustomed to
speak of cities or empires that have never
been conquered, as virgins; see on chap.
xxiii. 12, where ]ii2 n3 rtins, virgin-
daughter of Zidon, corresponds to rtinj
tas ns, virgin-daughter of Babylon. By
daughter is meant tiie people or inhabi
tants. For the idiom; to be called,
meaning to be, see chap. i. 26. ^5^Mip;,
here and ver. 5, is used instead of Mi,i5.n5.
The inhabitants of Babylon were noto
rious for their luxury, effeminacy, and
carnal indulgences. See Herodot. i. 19jf
199; Curtius, v. 3.
2. The mill here referred to, is a hand-
mill resembling the Scotch quern, and
consisting of an upper and a lower stone,
the latter of which is fixed, and the
former is made to move round upon it

by means of a handle.. The work of
grinding is very laborious,, and, in the
East, is confined to female slaves, or '
other females in low circumstances.
Burckhardt, speaking of the inhabitants
of Medina and its vicinity,, says : "The
women of the cultivators, and of the in
habitants of the suburbs, serve in the
families of the townspeople as domes
tics, principally to grind corn in the
hand-mills." Travels in Arabia, vol. ii.
p. 265. Comp. Exod. xi. 5, xii. 29 :
Job xxxi. 10 ; Matt. xxiv. 41 : bvo dXij-
Bova-ai iv Ta pvXdvi ; Nidda, fol. 6, 2,
"du£e mulieres molentes molis mulina-
riis ;" where reference is had to the uSual
custom of two slaves being employed
together at the hand-mill. Homer's
Odyss. vii. 103, 104, xx. 105—108. The

CHAP. XLVII.]

ISAIAH.

319

Thy nakedness shall be exposed.
And thy shame shall be seen ;
I will take vengeance, and spare no man.
As for our Redeemer ;
Jehovah of Hosts is his name,
The Holy One of Israel.
Sit thou in silence ; go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans ;
For thou shalt no more be called. The Mistress of Kingdoms.
I was angry with my people ;
I profaned my inheritance.
And delivered them into thy hand :
Thou shewedst them no mercy ;
Upon the aged didst thou very heavily lay thy yoke.
Thou saidst, I shall be Mistress for ever,
So that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart ;
Thou didst not reflect on. their end.
Now, therefore, hear this, O thou voluptuous one !

whole verse graphically describes a de
graded and miserable state of captivity.
3. »:B signifies to meet either in a
friendly, or in a hostile manner. Here,
from the connexion, the meaning ob
viously is, meeting and treating any one
kindly, sparing, &c. The idea of peti
tioning, supplicating, &c., is, in such
case, commonly implied. Zwinglius, " in-
tercedar, ^roflecti me patiar." Muscu
lus thinks there is an ellipsis of 3 before
D^, and interprets, " I will not meet thee
as a man, but as God, whom none can
resist;" and this Kocher and others
approve. 4. This verse is inserted parenthe
tically with great effect. It contains the
joyous and triumphant language of the
believing Jews recognizing in Jehovah
their Almighty Deliverer. «Jt|3 is the
Nom, absol.
5. Silence and darkness characterise
a state of imprisonment. Captives were
usually shut up in dark dungeons, far
removed from the noisy scenes of life.
Comp. xiii. 7 ; Lam. ii. 10, iii, 2. Baby
lon is here called ni35,9a n'tu, the Mistress
of Kingdoms, because of the great num
ber of kingdoms which she conquered,
and over which she ruled, or which were
tributary to her. Comp. Dan. ii. 37, 38,
iv. L Her condition was now to be

completely reversed : she was herself to
be a captive.
6. For the latter half of the verse,
comp. Jer. 1. 17, li. 34; Lam. iv. 16,
V. 12 ; Zech. i. 15. Gesenius refers ]pi,
to the advanced or aged state of the
Jewish nation ; but the connexion shews
that, literally, old and infirm persons are
meant. 7. 1? must either have the Athnach
transferred to it, and be connected with
n'jsj ; or it must be construed with 'ip^ni,
and thus will mark the degree of pride
and security in which Babylon indulged :
so as not to lay, &c., or, adeo ut, usque
adeo ut, or, on to such a degree ; which ex- .
presses the radical idea of progress, &c.,
inherent in ni». Two or three MSS.
read to. The word is not expressed in
the ancient versions, njs, these things,
and n— , it, in nmns, refer to the con
duct of Babylon : the Fem. gender being
frequently employed to express the Col
lective Neuter. Inattention to this
circumstance, and to the force of the
parallelism, has originated the reading
¦^O'"!"^! which is found in eighteen MSS.
and originally in two more, in the margin
or appendix of two printed Edd., and in
the Vulg.
8. The security of the Babylonians
is thus described by Xenophon : " The

350

ISAIAH.

[chap, xlvii.

That dwellest securely ;
She that saith in her heart,
I am, and there is none besides me ;
I shall not dwell a widow,
Nor know what it is to be childless.
There shall even come upon thee both of these.
Suddenly, in one day,
Loss of children, and widowhood :
They shall come upon thee in their perfection ;
In spite of thy numerous sorceries ;
In spite of the vast number of thy spells.

inhabitants of the city could not but laugh
at his (Cyrus) intention of besieging
them ; and knowing that they had pro
visions for more than twenty years, they
treated the attempt with mockery."
Cyrop. vii. 5. For the natural strength
of the city, see on chap. xiii. 1. Zwin
glius justly observes on ':», /, as here
used: "valde emphatic^ pro Ego una,
aut Ego sola, sum scilicet hera." "VP^,
lit. nothing of me, i. a. none possessing
my prowess, riches, enjoyments, &c. It
seems better thus to resolve the Yod,
than to regard it as merely Paragogic.
The same form occurs ver. 10, and Zeph.
ii. 15. Others take li» 'Dps to be in con
struction. The meaning is the same
either way. Comp. Martial, lib. xii.
epigr. 8, "Terrarum dea gentiumque,
Roma, cui par est nihil, et nihil secun
dum ;" in connexion with Rev. xviii. 7,
where the language of these verses is
applied to the N. T. Babylon ; and still
more fully, xvii. 7, 8. The metaphor of
a virgin is now exchanged for that of a
married woman, in order to admit of the
introduction of a state of widowhood,
and dreKvia. To this state Babylon was
reduced, when her king was slain, and
her inhabitants were either massacred,
or carried away captive. Comp. liv. 1,
4 ; Lam. i. 1 ; Isa. li. 18 — 20.
9. The sudden and unexpected attack
of Cyi-us is here specially set forth. See
on chap. xxi. 9. That the Babylonians
were greatly addicted to magic, appears
not only from this verse and ver. 12, but
also from Dan. i. 20, ii. 2, 10, iv. 7,
V. 11, &c. Comp. Diod. Sic. lib. ii.
t='B*?, from fl«>|, Arab. (_i,^, detexit.

revelavit, manifestavit ; i oi.*C, delec
tus, revelatus ; ia^LCe, ecstasis ; per
sons who, by magical arts, pretended to
reveal the fortunes of empires, indivi
duals, &e. Thus, Ibn Batuta, speaking
of the Mohammedan saints, who pre
tended to reveal the future, calls them,
^^WjilXJl Uj^l , p. 9. This etymology
seems preferable to that adopted by Ber
tholdt and Miinter, who derive it from
i_S*»*j , scidit-^annnm, obscuravit, eclipsi
affecit, though there can be no doubt
that they employed eclipses for the same
purpose. Gesenius and Winer trace the
word to the Syr. .<n^'^ , in Ethpaal, to
supplicate, celebrate acts of worship, &c.,
which may well agree with the theurgic
ceremonies of the Oriental incantators.
By D'^isn are meant spells or charms, by
which those who were the dupes of them
were hound ; from I3n, to bind, bind fast
with spells. Gesenius thinks the term
denotes a species of magic, practised by
binding magic knots ; ver. 13. 3 in 313,
&c., is not to be rendered with or through,
but has a negative signification, such as
nevertheless, notwithstanding, in spite of,
&c. Comp. Numb. xiv. 11; Job i. 22.
Thus CaWn, non obstante. None of all
the numerous sorceries of Babylon should
be able to afford her the least assistance.
tip?? is properly in construction with
1>»B, used substantively, '^isn indeed
intervenes, but this is not more abhor
rent from the genius of the language,

chap. XLVII.] ISAIAH. 351
10 Thou didst trust in thy wickedness ;
Thou saidst. No one seeth me :
Thy wisdom and thy science have turned thee away ;
Thou saidst in thy heart, I am, and there is none besides me.
11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee ;
Thou shalt know no dawn after it ;
Calamity shall overwhelm thee,
Which thou shalt not be able by expiation to remove ;
There shall even come upon thee suddenly.
Desolation of which thou shalt not be aware.
12 Persevere now with thy spells ;
And with the multitude of thy sorceries.
With which thou hast toiled from thy youth :
Perhaps thou mayest profit by them ;
Perhaps thou mayest resist.
13 Thou art wearied with the multitude of thy counsels :
Let the dividers of the heavens, the astrologers,
The prognosticators at the new moons.
Stand up now, and save thee
From the things that shall come upon thee.

IS

than the interruption of direct construe- periods of her poUtical existence. It „
tion by prepositions, conjunctions, &c. generally allowed, that whatever admix-
See Gesenius, Lehrgeb. p. 679. tures of Egyptian superstition were found
10. Babylon was proud, not only of in the religion of the Babylonians, the
her political wisdom, but also of her Chaldeans possessed an original system
astronomical and mythological science, of philosophy and learning; on which
nsi, yvaa-is, m connexion, as here with account they are spoken of as a distinct
tiasn, superior knowledge, i.e. that of class, Dan. ii. 2, 10, &c. Their astro-
the gods, &c. 33i4> is used both in a nomical observations appear to date from
good and a bad sense ; here, as Ivii. 17, a remote antiquity. Ptolemy mentions
it indicates a determined apostasy from two lunar eclipses observed by them
the true God. about 700 years u. c. yi» is here used
11. n»i, in this verse, corresponds to . ''
1]n»l in ver. 10. nirra5, its dawn, i. c. the ""^^ '"^ Arab. i^jC, adversus occurrit;
commencement of a period of succeeding „ . ^,. , ,.,,,, ,.,.,
prosperity ; the morning, figuratively ^ojij. Uhobsiitiitrestitit.
considered, after a night of calamity. V W'' ^°'.'^--^' "^"^t fo^ably to
See on chap. viii. 20. The following ^"-^^ '' ^,"'f ^^^°^^^ with jrsp and
member of the parallelism confirms this f^p '"'"¦• ^^- ?".' ^''^P" ^V '^' ^ l
interpretation, which indeed might be ^'f^.' ''''^y;^!:,^'-^^' ''f.' .f *%^;"
• J J JE ¦ ..1 ¦ .-c J ^ ordains, D'am I3n, the dividers of ihe
considered as sufficiently justified from "'"""""j -t -, i ""^ •^'fua, „j
the incongruity of representing affiiction heavens, from the Arab. -Jka , concidit.

as dawning upon any one. 1B3, to cover,
atone for, remove, avert by expiation, &c.
12. The language of irony. By " the
youth " of Babylon is meant the earliest the zodiac into twelve signs, in con-

atonefor, remove, avert by expiation, &c. secuit, to cut or divide into large parts,
12. The language of irony. By " the with obvious reference to the division of

352

ISAIAH.

[chap. XLVIII.

14 Behold ! they shall be as stubble ;
The fire shall bum them up ;
They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame ;
It shall not be a coal to warm one ;
Nor a fire before which to sit.
15 Thus shall they be to thee, for whom thou hast toiled.
Those with whom thou hast dealt from thy youth ;
They shall wander, each to his quarter :
None shall save thee.

nexion with which, the Chaldean astro
nomers carried on the practice of judicial
astrology. LXX. oi da^TpoXoyoi toC
ovpavov. Vulg. augures cceli. Some
MSS, and Edd, read HW or i,3rT ; but
these readings have probably originated
in some copyist recollecting that D'l3n
occurred in the preceding verses, D'lhn
D'33i33, who see, i. e. predict future events,
destinies, &c., by means of ihe stars.
njn is a seer, or prophet ; applied here to
the Chaldean astrologers, who divined
by the rising and setting, the motions,
aspects, colour, degree" of light, &c., of
the stars. They maintained that the
stars had an influence over the nativities
of men. The '' in D'lfi'in^ denotes time,
as ip,.3^, 3'isb, &c. It would appear that
the astronomers at Babylon published a
monthly table of the leading events that
might be expected to happen, i^kb
connects more naturally with '^S'lBi',
though remote in point of position, than

with D'»'iia. The partitive use of |B does
not well apply here.
14, 15. The utter destruction of the
astronomical and magical societies of,
Babylon is here predicted. The persons
composing them, so far from contributing
by their science or arts, to rescue those
who had been accustomed to consult
them, should not be able to deliver them
selves, but should either perish in the
catastrophe, or betake themselves to
flight. The images are very expressive.
The fire was not to be for ordinary pur
poses, but an all-devouring flame. It
has been queried, whether by D'iriD in
this place, we are to understand mer
chants in the literal acceptation of the
term ; or the astrologers, &c., who tra
versed the country, practising their super
stitious arts for gain. The latter seems
the more probable. il3?), straight before
him. Comp. I'JB 139-';k'' Ezek. i. 9, 12,
oi Xoiir. els to irepav eavTov.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

In this chapter the Jews are reproved for their hypocrisy and formality, 1, 2 ; their
obstinate addictedness to idolatry, notwithstanding the proofs which they had of
the Divine existence, is forcibly set forth, 3 — 8 ; the design of the captivity, and
the instrument by which their deliverance from it was to he effected, are pointed
out, 9 — 15 ; a powerful appeal to their conscience and feelings is then made by
the Messiah, 16 — 19; and an exhortation is given to them to avail themselves
of the opportunity afforded them in the providence of God to return to Judea
with security and comfort, 20, 21.

chap, xlviii.] ISAIAH. 353
1 Hear this, O house of Jacob .'
Ye that are called by the name of Israel !
That have come forth from the waters of Judah ;
That swear by the name of Jehovah,
And make mention of the God of Israel ;
But not truly nor justly.
2 For they call themselves of the holy city.
And stay themselves upon the God of Israel :
Jehovah of Hosts is his name.
3 The former events I declared long ago ;
From my mouth they proceeded ; I made them known ;
I effected them suddenly, and they came to pass,
4 I knew that thou art stubborn ;
That thy neck is a bar of iron ;
And thy brow brass.
5 Therefore I declared them to thee long ago ;
Before they came to pass I made them known to thee ;
Lest thou shouldst say. My idol effected them ;
Or, My graven image, and my molten image commanded them,
6 Thou hast heard them ; view them all ;
And should ye not declare it ?
Henceforth I publish to thee new events.
Even hidden things, which thou hast not known.
7 They are produced now, and not long ago ;
1, 2. njinj 'BB. Comp. Numb. xxiv. 7 ; connected with whose discomfiture Di«iS
Ps. Ixviii. 27 ; Rev. viii. 10. Nations aptly applies.
are by the Orientals compared to rivers, 4. 'BBIB, it is of my knowledge, i. e.
of which the progenitors are the foun- part of it; I know with certainty. n^jT,
tains. 'B'B, which is the reading of stands for 3^ mg|7, Ezek. iii. 7. Comp. as
thirty-nine MSS. and four early editions, to sense, Exod. xxxii. 9 ; Ezek. ii. 4.
is not designed, as Lowth thinks, to ex- Obstinate, audacious, and unblushing
press from the days, but is merely the rebellion characterised the Jews as a
reduplicate form of 'a ; see Exod. vii. people.
19, viii. 2. Fox xiripn -m, the Holy City, 5. The 1 at the beginning of this
comp. Neh. xi. 1 ; Dan. ix. 24 ; Matt, verse is inferential, marking what had
iv. 5, xxvii. 53 ; the inscription on the been done in consequence of the Divine
Maccabean coins, moipn D'WiT, Jerusa- knowledge of the character of the Jews.
J , , That the Feminine in Misg is to be taken
hm the Holy; and the Arab, u^ as a collective Neuter, is evident from
^^, ^cJjgl , by which name she is ^^i^,,";?,"^ ''^^ ^^""'^ ^^^ °' ^-^^^^^'^
still commonly known all over the East. 7. mis is here used in the sense of the
3. It is generally thought, that there miraculous production, not of events,
is here a reference to the predictions but of the prophecies respecting them.
Jespecting Sennacherib, to the events The announcement of them was a crea*-
z z

354

ISAIAH,

[chap, xlviii.

10

11

12

13

At no former period didst thou hear of them ;
Lest thou shouldest say, Behold ! I knew them.
Yea, thou heardest not ; yea, thou knewest not ;
Yea, thine ear was not opened to them long ago :
For I knew that thou wast altogether faithless.
And wast called rebellious from the belly.
For my name's sake I have deferred my anger.
And for the sake of my praise I have restrained it from thee ;
That I might not cut thee off.
Behold ! I have refined thee, but not as silver ;
I have tried thee in the furnace of affliction.
For my own sake, for my own sake have I done it ;
For how should my name be profaned ?
My glory I will not give to another.
Hearken to me, O Jacob ! and Israel, my called .'
I am He ; I am the First ; I also am the Last.
It was, indeed, my hand that founded the earth.

tion of knowledge, as real as that of
the universe was of matter. Gen. i. 1.
.Di'-'jD^i means before the day of their
announcement. LXX. irpaTepats ijpe-
pais. The things themselves had no
existence in the time of the prophet.
The Chaldeans were not in possession
of Babylon; and the Persians were a
weak and inconsiderable power. They
could not, by any possibility, have been
anticipated by human sagacity.
8. This verse describes the disincli
nation of the Jews to attend to the
Divine communications, rather than
their not having received them. ]!.i< nns,
to open the ear, means to disclose any
thing to one. The verb is here used
intransitively, to denote being opened,
receiving the revelation. N'lj?, Pual of
»*lii, to call; here idiomatically, to be.
See on chap, i, 26. The period here
specified was that of the deliverance
from Egypt, " ea liberatio fuit veluti
quasdam Ecclesiae nativitas." Calvin.
From the very first the Hebrew nation
had been rebellious : witness their his
tory in the wilderness.
9 — 1 1 . A beautiful exhibition of the
goodness, longsuffering, and forbearance
of Jehovah. Don is here used with
great effect. It properly signifies to

muzzle ; hence to subdue, restrain, &c. ;
Arab. *las>- , percussit in naso ; instruxit
capistro camelum, &c. ; J^s,- , cap'is-
trum. After the verb, 'BM3 is understood ;
as 'Bip is after ^ni. This ellipsis may
seem harsh ; but it is not more so than
many others which we meet with. It
has been supplied by the LXX. to ipov
dvopa, and in one of Kennicott's MSS.
It would have derogated from the cha
racter of Jehovah in the eyes of the
heathen^ had he abandoned his people
to utter destruction, and have been a
tacit renunciation of those claims by
which he is distinguished from all
created objects. f]D33 tiie LXX., Mi
chaelis, and others, render " on account
of, for silver;" not adverting to the cir
cumstance that 3 is often used in the
acceptation of 3, like, in the manner of.
See Zwinglius. Vulg. " quasi argen-
tum." Instead of Tmns, two MSS. and
the Syr. read 1'ii:n3, which is doubtiess
a gloss, but conveys the primary signifi
cation of ins. See Gesen. Lex. in voc. ;
V
and comp. the Syr. ^u*.^ , exploravit,
examinavit, 12. Comp. xli. 4, xliv. 6.
13. nsp seems to be a denominative)

chap, xlviii.]

ISAIAH.

355

And my right hand that expanded the heavens ;
I called them ; they stood forth at once.
14 Assemble, all of you, and hear :
Which of them hath shewed these things ?
Jehovah loved him ; he will execute his purpose against Babylon ;
And be his arm against the Chaldeans.
I, I have spoken it ; I also have called him ;
I have brought him ; and his way shall be prosperous.
Draw near to me, and hear this :
I spake not in secret from the beginning ,'
From the time that it was I was there :
And now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me and his Spirit.

15

16

from npB, the palm of the hand. Comp.
npio, a palm, or hand-breadth ; D'nBio,
Lam. ii. 20, a bearing on the palms of
the hands; hence to use the hand for
smoothing, extending, stretching forth.
Comp. the Arab. «AaS , latam fecit, in
latum dux'it, expanditve ; ^ja/S , Ccelum;
as !y|i?i, expanse, from »i5'i, to expand.
14. Instead of ons, among them,
twenty-seven MSS., originally nine more,
now four; the Soncin. and Brix. edi
tions, and the Syr., read D3s, among you.
The reading of the Textus Receptus is
the more appropriate ; and the variation
was doubtless occasioned by the suflfix
in D3ta immediately before. The refer
ence, in which Zwinglius finds the lan
guage of contempt, is to the idols. The
Nomin. to i3nN is Cyrus, understood.
The love here spoken of is not pure
affection or delight, but favour ; which
may be sbewn in various ways. The
love or favour of God was shewn to
Cyras in his selecting him to be the dis
tinguished instrument of liberating the
Jews, and giving him victory over the
nations. " Dilectio autem non simpli-
citer, sed irpos tI accipitiir : ideoque ad
felicem expeditionis eventum restringi-
tur." Calvin. Comp. Rom. ix. 11. Before
Q'lip?, the prepos. 3 is to be supplied
from the preceding hemistich.
15. This verse is expletive of the pre
ceding, and presents Jehovah in the
boldest contrast with the gods of the
Chaldeans. 16. Several commentators have at

tempted to vindicate the whole of this
verse to Isaiah ; but they have met with
few abettors. Even Gesenius is forced
to admit that, comparing the second
member with chap, xlv. 19, Jehovah
must be the speaker ; and, that the third
cannot well be explained as the word's
of the prophet. He is, however, of
opinion that the fourth member con
tains the language of the prophet. Thus
also Zwinglius, Musculus, Calvin, Cla
rius, V. d. Palm, and others. On the other
hand, Athanasius, Augustine, Basil,
Chrysostom, Procopius, Jerome, CEoo
lampadius, Castalio, Calovius, Schmidius,
&c., interpret the words of the Logos,
which certainly does not appear so harsh
as to admit a change of person in the
speaker. Indeed, the close connexion
of ':n Dffi ani'n nsa and ':n^ — nnsi ren
ders such change next to impossible.
The suffix in nni'n has s)k<i, the beginning,
for its antecedent ; which, though mas
culine in form, is feminine in significa
tion. When il5«i and dpxri are put
absolutely in Scripture, the commence
ment of created existence is meant.
Osg is here properly a temporal adverb.
Comp. Prov. viii, 27, where it likewise
follows iDk^i in application to the com
mencement of time. Comp. for the doc
trine, 'O ^v dir dpxrjs, and Tov dir
dpxfjs, 1 John i. 1, ii. 13, 14. It has
been disputed whether inn, His Spirit,
be the nominative, or the accusative.
The latter is, from the position of the
word, the more natural; and conse
quently the more probable. Thus Ori
gen, though he admits that dp(j)i^oXos

356 ISAIAH. [chap, xlviii.
17 Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel :
I Jehovah, thy God, teach thee to profit ;
I lead thee in the way thou shouldst go.
18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments !
Then should thy peace have been like a river ;
And thy righteousness as the billows of the sea.
19 Thy seed also should have been as the sand thereof;
And the offspring of thy bowels as that of its bowels ;
It should not have been cut off;
Neither should its name have been destroyed from iny presence.
20 Depart ye out of Babylon ; flee from the Chaldeans ;
With the voice of joy shew this; make it known ;
Carry it forth to the end of the earth ;
Say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 They thirsted not in the deserts through which he led them ;
He caused water to flow out of the rock for them ;
Yea, he clave the rock, and the water gushed out.
22 There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the 'wicked.
I'o'Tii' I) Xe^is, explains, dp^orepa dire- plunged by their transgressions. ^in
(TTeiXev d iraTrjp, tov aarrjpa Kcd to dyiov signifying here^ as generally, the sand
TTvevpa ; " the Father sent both, the on the sea-shore, I have supplied a pro-
Saviour and the Holy Spirit;" and he noun referring to DTi; in the preceding
introduces the passage by stating that verse. ni»a is the same as D'Sa, bowels,
bebrjXaTai, it is manifest from it, that only it is feminine, because used in a
the Holy Spirit, as well as Christ, was figurative sense. Before it, 'Ǥm2 is un-
sent for the salvation of men. The derstood as repeated, to signify the
meaning, therefore, will be, that the fishes which the sea produces.
Logos, in his mediating character as the 21. These words are not descriptive
Angel of Jehovah, received a special of what took place on the journey of the
commission to interpose for the deliver- ancient Israelites through the wilderness,
ance of his captive people ; and the but describe in figurative language,, bor-
Holy Spirit was likewise sent to reveal, rowed from events which then took
through the prophet, the joyful event, place, the copious supplies which the
Such construction is quite in accordance Jews should enjoy on their journey from
with the mode of representation else- Babylon to Judea. See Exod. xvii. 6 ;
where employed in Scripture respecting Numb. xx. 11 ; Ps.lxxviii. 15.
the economy of the Divine operations. 22. A denunciation against such as
17 — 19. If the Jews had attended to should persist in rebellion and unbelief —
the Divine instructions with which they preferring the pleasures of sin with the
had been favoured, uninterrupted and enemies of God, to the holy and spi-
abundant prosperity would have been ritual enjoyments of his service. Comp.
their lot, instead of the calamitous cir- chap. Ivii. 21..
cumstances into which they had been

chap, xlix.] ISAIAH. 357

CHAPTER XLIX.

e

This Chapter consists of two parts : the flrst relating to the Messiah, in which h_
calls the attention of the worid to his appointment to be the Redeemer, not of
the Jews only, 1—4, but also of the Gentiles, 5—13 : the second representing
the desolate condition of Judea during the captivity, 14; the Divine compassion
towards her, 15, 16; the certainty of the restoration of the Jews, and the
immense number of the citizens, 17—21 ; the support rendered to them by
foreign princes, 22, 23 ; the interposition of Jehovah for their rescue, and the
destruction of their enemies, 24, 25.

1 Heaeken to me, ye maritime lands !
Attend, ye distant people !
Jehovah hath called me from the womb ;
From my mother's bowels he hath mentioned my name.
2 He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword ;
In the shadow of his hand hath he concealed me ;
He hath made me a polished arro'w.
And hid me in his quiver ;
3 And said to me. Thou art my servant ;
That in thee, O Israel ! I may be glorified.
1. That Messiah is the speaker, is words seems to bear on his appointment
agreed among the great body of inter- to office by the Father, in opposition to
preters. Attempts have, indeed, been its being self-assumed. Comp. Jer. 1. 5 ;
made by the Rabbins, by Grotius, Gal. i. 15.
Koppe, and others, to explain the pas- 2. ne, the mouth, is here, as freq.,
sage of Isaiah himself; by Doderlein, used for that which proceeds from it,
Paulus, Rosenm'iiller, and Hitzig, of the speech, doctrine, &c. The metaphors of
Jewish nation ; by Gesenius, of his fa- a sword and an arrow, in the best state
vourite prophetic order ; and by some of preparation, aptly set forth the pene-
of Cyrus, But their several hypotheses trating and subduing efficacy of the
are clogged with difiiculties, which they gospel. Comp. Eccles. xii. 1 1 ; Heb. iv.
have themselves felt, or on the ground 12; Rev. i, 16. Pindar, in like manner,
of which they have opposed and refuted employs the metaphor of the arrow,
each other. See on chap. xiii. 1, and in application to powerful eloquence,
Hengstenberg's Christologie, i. Theil. 2 Olymp. ii. 149, 160, ix. 17; and Gese-
Abtheil. p. 269, &c. The Messiah had nius quotes passages from the Life of
been introduced chap, xlviii. 16, declar- Timur, tom. ii. p. 888, and p. 334, to the
ing his commission to interpose for the same effect. The concealment referred
deliverance of the Jews in Babylon : to is that of the Divine Redeemer pre-
here he is presented in the higher cha- vious to his manifestation in the flesh.
racter of a Spiritual Deliverer both of 3. Comp. xliv. 23. The occurrence
Jews and Gentiles. Though it is lite- of the term ''Hito;, Israel, in this verse,
rally true that he received the name of has occasioned considerable difficulty.
Jesus while yet in the womb of the Michaelis and Gesenius hold it to be
virgin, Luke ii. 21, yet the stress of the very suspicious; and think it may have

3.58

ISAIAH.

[chap. xlix.

But I said : I have toiled in vain ;
For nought and in vain have I exhausted my strength :
Nevertheless, my cause is with Jehovah ;
And my reward is with my God.
And now saith Jehovah,
That formed me from the womb to be his servant.
To restore Jacob to him :
Though Israel should not be gathered to him,
Yet I shall be glorious in the sight of Jehovah ;
And my God shall be my praise.
He also saith : It is too small a thing for thee to be my servant,
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved of Israel ;
I have also appointed thee to be a light to the nations.
To be my salvation to the end of the earth.

been introduced at an early period by
some copyist, just as 'icpa^X and 'laKa^
were by the LXX., in the parallel pas
sage, chap. xiii. 1. It is actually want
ing in Kennicott's Cod. 96. Saadias
renders, My servant, (JjIjwjI c-'l , to
Israel; making the Jewish people the
objects of a special mission. Thus also
Grotius and Dathe. Others are of opi
nion, that there is an abrupt transition
from the Servant of Jehovah, to those
on whom his ministry was first of all
destined to tell. And, indeed, by ren
dering ItiH, that, in order that, this sense
is most naturally brought out. Comp.
for such use of i^, as a relative con
junction preceding the Fut, Gen. xi. 7;
Numb, xxiii. 18 ; Deut. iv. 40, &c.
4. The Messiah here complains of the
fruitlessness of his labours among the
Jews, but expresses his confidence in the
righteous appointment of his Heavenly
Father. 5, 6. Such appointment is here defi
nitely announced. Though he should
not be successful in effecting the conver
sion of the Jews, yet Jehovah would
glorify him, by making him the instru
ment of salvation to the world at large.
Instead of f]pN;. iSh, shall not be gathered,
the Keri reads t]pM;. ib, shall be gathered
to Him : expressing in a synonymous
parallelism, the idea conveyed by the

preceding l'^» 3p9l 33i\lj^. This alteration
has the countenance of six MSS., three
more originally, and now one ; the
LXX., Chald,, and Aq. But the
textual reading, which is supported by
the great mass of MSS., and has the
suffrages of Symm., Theod., and the
Vulg., agrees better with the following:
since the Vans in 'n'O^^ and 133N1, cor
respond to each other, as though and
yet. The Athnach should properly be
at 1'5«, ii>, from 1W, to be strong, signi
fies glory, majesty, praise, when coupled
with ii33, or, as here, with 133, in Niphal.
For 'l.'Spi, the Keri has the participial
form ''113:1. The meaning is, such of the
Jews as had been restored to their own
land ; and the term coiTesponds to '03'?),
preceding. The language clearly and
absolutely excludes the idea, that by the
" Servant of Jehovah," either the pro
phet, or the people of Israel is intended.
To maintain that Isaiah was to be the
great teacher of the heathen (D'is li«),
would be to maintain what is contrary to
fact ; and no absurdity can be greater,
than to suppose, that, though the Jews
could not effect their own recovery, they
should, nevertheless, be the active and
successful agents in effecting the resto
ration of the world. Comp. for the
4octrine of the text, chap. xiii. 6 ;
Mai. i. 10, 11 ; Luke ii. 30— 32 ; Acts
xiii. 46, 47; Rom. xi. 11, 12. For

chap, xlix.] ISAIAH. 359
7 Thus saith Jehovah,
The Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One,
To him whom men despise, whom the nation abhorreth.
To the servant of rulers :
Kings shall behold, and stand up ;
Princes also, and shall worship ;
For the sake of Jehovah, that is faithfiil,
The Holy One of Israel, that hath chosen thee.
8 Thus saith Jehovah : In an acceptable time I have answered thee ;
And in the day of salvation I have helped thee ;
And have preserved thee, and made thee a covenant for the people ;
To raise up the earth, to cause the desolate possessions to be
occupied :
9 To say to the prisoners. Go forth !
To them that are in darkness. Appear 1
They shall feed by the ways ;
And on all the high places shall be their pasture.
10 They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst ;
Neither shall the glowing heat, nor the sun smite them ;
For He that hath mercy on them shall lead them,
And conduct them to fountains of water.

'n»ltf;, MY salvation, two Kbnigsb. MSS,, designed to express his humiliation, as
the LXX,, Arab., and Acts xiii. 47, exhibited in his subjection to them.
read '^ts^., salvation. Both forms occur After iinni*, supply inl<, "shall worship
elsewhere in the prophet. Him ;" which the connexion obviously
7 — 10. These verses describe the hu- requires. The "acceptable time," and
miliation, and subsequent exaltation and the " day of salvation," mean the period
administration of the Redeemer. ii"D:Tii3 of the New Dispensation, at the com-
agrees so entirely with 'i3 3SnKi, that the mencement of which the Messiah ap-
rendering of the LXX., toj' (pavXi^vra peared, to effect the work of human
rfjv ^XV" avTov, " who despiseth his redemption, and during which the bless-
life," of which Michaelis approves, cannot ings of that redemption are being com
be admitted. uSe: is here used collec- municated to mankind. Comp. 2 Cor.
tively of men. Comp. Deut. xxiv. 7. vi. 2. How he prayed, was heard and
rtl3 is the Infin. taken as the Pahul Part, helped, see Heb. v. 7 ; Matt. xxvi. 39—
'113, Ps. xxii. 7 ; and corresponds to ni3:, 44 ; Luke xxii. 41—44. The ninth
chap, liii. 3 : — both passages being strictly verse clearly shews, that by the desolate
parallel. 3?nB is a verbal noun, derived possessions are not meant waste places
from Piel, and signifies ara oi;ec< o/a6om«- in Judea, but the moral wastes in the
nation or disgust. By 'i3, nation, is Gentile world. Comp. chap. xiii. 6, 7;
meant the Jewish, by which our Saviour 'Twenty-two of Kennicott and De Rossi's
was despised and rejected. Having ren- MSS., and six more originally, read
dered perfect obedience to the constituted 1^«^1, instead of i^«?. It is also the
authorities, the Redeemer might with all reading of several ancient editions, and
propriety be called "a servant of rulers," has the support of the LXX,, Arab.,
though the phrase may also have been Syr., Vulg., and Targ. The rich provi-

360

ISAIAH.

[chap, xlix-

11

12

13

14

15

16

I will also make all my mountains a way ;
And my causeways shall be raised.
Behold ! these shall come from far :
And behold ! these from the North, and from the West ;
And these from the land of Sinim.
Sing, O heavens ! and rejoice, O earth !
Burst, ye mountains, into song !
For Jehovah comforteth his people,
And hath compassion on his afflicted.
But Zion saith, Jehovah hath forsaken me.
And, The Lord hath forgotten me.
Can a woman forget her suckling,
So as to have no affection for the son of her womb .''
Even these may forget,
But I will not forget thee.
Behold .' I have portrayed thee upon my hands ;
Thy walls are continually before me.

sion made for the supply of the Gentile
converts, is beautifully described in meta
phors borrowed from nomadic life. _
11. Every obstacle shall be removed,
and every facility granted for conver
sion. 12. The entrance of converts from the
most distant quarters into the church, is
here specifically predicted. D'5'p, Sinim,
has been variously interpreted. Aquil.,
Symm,, and Theod., retain the word
(rivelp : the LXX. iK y^s Jlepo'dv. Mi
chaelis, Doderlein, and others, Syene,
the southern boundary of Egypt; and
Bochart, Pelusium. But there can no
longer be any doubt that China is
meant. i5»Vitf> '^™> ^"'^ (.f*^' ^^^"i
are the names given to China by the
Arabs. The Turks also have ,,A>-
Jto-Lc) , Chin - 00 - Machin. Comp.
_.»»-L<ij _.js«-lj , And the Syrians,
\sJ^x • On the derivation of the term,
I can offer no conjecture. It is not in
use among the Chinese themselves, except
as the designation of a dynasty, which
took its rise b.c 246.

13. A joyful anticipation of the happy
state of tilings under the Messiah, as set
forth in the preceding verses.
14. The prophet now naturally reverts
to the desolate condition of Jerusalem
during the captivity. To interpret Zion,
as meaning the Christian church, would
do violence to the remaining portion of
the chapter. No language could more
pathetically and tenderly describe the
feelings of the Jewish church, or the
love of God towards her, than that here
employed. 16, pgn properly signifies to cut or
grave letters in some solid substance ;
but here to delineate, portray. LXX.
i ^ay pd<j)riKa. There seems to be an
allusion to the custom of marking or
representing certain objects on the hand,
with a view to their being kept con
stantly in remembrance. Maundrell
describes such a practice as common
with the pilgrims who visit Jerusalem..
There are artists who undertake the
operation. They employ wooden stamps,
with which they print off upon the arm,
with powder of charcoal, the desired
figure or representation. They then
take two very fine needles tied close
together, which they dip like a pen in an
ink compounded of gunpowder and ox-

CHAP. XL

IX.]

ISAIAH.

361

17 Thy sons make haste ;
They that destroyed thee, and laid thee waste, depart from thee.
18 Lift up thine eyes around, and look ;
They all assemble, they come to thee.
As I live, saith Jehovah,
Thou shalt surely put them all on as ornaments.
And bind them about as doth a bride.
19 For thy wastes, and thy desolate places, and thy land that is de
stroyed.
Shall now be too confined for the inhabitants ;
And they that destroyed thee shall be far away,
20 Thy sons, of whom thou wast bereaved.
Shall again say in thine ears :
The place is too confined for me ;
Make room for me that I may dwell.
21 And thou shalt say in thine heart :
I Who hath born these for me ?
For I was childless and solitary ; an exile and an outcast :

gall, and make with them small punc
tures all along the lines of the figure
which they have printed; and washing
the part in wine, conclude the operation.
See Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem,
p. 75. And comp. for a similar custom,
chap. xliv. 5.
17. 'tp33, thy children, is read '^33, thy
builders, by the LXX., Chald., Vulg,,
Saad., and is approved by Michaelis,
Lowth, and many of the moderns, on
the ground of the antithesis which it
forms to the following participles, ipP^lliB
TpS'inai ; but the Masoretic reading is
more agreeable to the whole context,
especially vers. 18, 21, 22. It is accord
ingly adopted by Gesenius, Hitzig, Mau
rer, Scholz, and Jenour. l«s;. 'pa, Lowth
strangely renders, shall become thine
offspring. No interpretation could be
more forced.
18. The nomin. to oto is ip:?, in the
preceding verse. The inhabitants of a
city are its beauty ; and, cities being re
garded by the Hebrews as females, the
metaphor of a bride is the more appro
priate. 19, 20. The second '3 is intensive, but

cannot well be expressed in English.
This prophecy was literally fulfilled in
the immense population of Judea, be
tween the return from the captivity and
the time of our Lord. Josephus, de
scribing Galilee, says : irpoa-rja-Ki^Br] •yoOi'
viro Tav oiKrjTopav Trdo'a, Kal pepos avrrjs
ovbev dpyov. oKXd Kal rroXeis irvKval,
Kal TO Tav Kapdv irXfjBos iravTaxov iro-
XvdvBpairov bid rrjv evBrjviav, ds rrjv
eXaxlfrrrjv virep ireVTaKtaxiXiovs irpos
Tols pvpiois e'x"" o'lKTiTopas. De Bello
Jud. lib. iii. cap. 3. ijltasi >33, lit.- fll'ii
orbitatis tua, but meaning, the inhabi
tants of which thou wast bereaved. ''frrAi
may either be rendered, approach me ;
or, recede from me, according to circum
stances. In such a case as the present,
the latter is obviously the proper render
ing. LXX. iroiTjcrov pol touov : Vulg.
fac mihi spatium. For similar contrary
acceptations of words signifying approach
and departure, see Gesen. in loc. and his
Lex. in voc. w::, and comp. Gen. xix. 9.
21. ^ i).; being the form exclusively
employed when the mother is spoken of,
the verb must be rendered by born, not
by beget. Instead of njN, fifty-six of
3a

362

ISAIAH.

[chap. xlix.

22

23

24

25

Who hath brought up these ?
Behold ! I was left alone :
These — where were they .''
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
I will raise my hand to the nations,
And elevate my standard to the people ;
And they shall bring thy sons in their bosom,
And thy daughters shall be borne on their shoulders.
Kings shall be thy supporters.
And their princesses thy nurses ;
With their faces on the ground they shall do thee homage,
And shall lick the dust of thy feet ;
And thou shalt know that I am Jehovah ;
For they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Shall the booty be taken from the mighty .''
Or the captive of the strong be rescued .''
Verily thus saith Jehovah :

Kennicott and De Rossi's MSS., twenty-
five more originally, now five, with the
LXX., Vulg., and the Targ., De Rossi,
737, read n^Mi,
22, 23. These verses describe the
readiness, zeal, and liberality, with which,
in the providence of God, the nations
and their rulers should promote the re
storation of the Jews to their own land.
By ]2h, Arab. -a=^, Eth. rhS^ • i^
meant the bosom of a garment, or, that
part of it which opens about the bosom.
The metaphor is taken from the prac
tice, still common in the East, of carry
ing young children in such aperture.
That of carrying on the shoulders is also
very common. Among the South Sea
islanders, it is a mark of honour for
females to be borne astride on men's
shoulders. The queen of Taheite is thus
exhibited on the Plate, representing the
cession of a portion of land to the London
Missionary Society. The prophet repre
sents the royal personages as rendering
the most profound homage to the Jews:
the acts here specified being those usually
performed to superiors in the East. Ibn
Batuta relates, that when the daughter
of the Sultan of Constantinople, one of

the wives of the Sultan of Uzbek Tatary,
returned on a visit to her parents, and
met them, she alighted, and kissed the
ground before them, as well as the hoofs
of their horses. Travels, p. 82. The
prediction was fulfilled in the reigns of
Cyrus, Darius Hystaspes, Artaxerxes,
Demetrius Nicator, Alexander the Great,
the Ptolemies, Esther, &c. The address
concludes with the assurance, that the
sons of Zion should experience the Divine
faithfulness in the fulfilment of the pro
mises which God had given them.
24 — 26. So completely were the Jews
in subjection to the tyrannical power of
Babylon, that there was no rational
prospect of deliverance. This is strongly
put in the interrogative form, ver. 24 ;
and, according to an idiom of the "lan
guage, a negative reply is expected ;
but the two following verses contain a
pointed answer in the affirmative, di
recting the attention of the Jews to the
almighty power of God, as that by
which their rescue should assuredly he
effected. p'l2 '3«) some of the ancient,
and many modern versions, render, the
righteous or lawful captive. As p'lS,
however, corresponds to yw, in the fol
lowing verse, some have supposed that

chap. L.]

ISAIAH.

363

The captive of the mighty shall be taken.
And the booty of the terrible shall be rescued :
For with him that contendeth with thee will I contend ;
And I will save thy children.
26 I will feed thine oppressors with their own flesh,
And they shall be drunk with their own blood, as with new wine ;
And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour,
And thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

the original reading must have been
yrw <2ii;^ the captive of the terrible, and
translate accordingly. Lowth calls the
present reading a palpable mistake, and
otherwise expresses himself very confi
dently on the point. It is, however, of
great antiquity; LXX. dbUas, giving
to the term a contrary signification ;
Aq. and Theod. biKaiov ; Symm. biKaiov.
Zwinglius observes, " Hie autem Justus
pro Robusto accipitur, quomodo Ger-
manis, Bedlich : quae vox et justem et
fortem significat." Such is actually the
rendering of the Syriac, mA.^. »
,« '
(Xa.A^> , the captive of the strong,
-.
from »s , prevaluit, confortatus est ;
'FAh'pa. fortiter egit. And this idea also
attaches to the Arab. rjS.>o . Thus
Freytag, " Tum quoque verbo significa-
tionem tribuerunt fortiter pugnandi,"
conf. Hamak. Waked, p. 145, vers. {Hoc

ex dicendi modo ortum videtur l^jjc*
(jAail 4.^ . Hence rjS/a , sinceritas,
robur ; ^ Jwa.« . J els*" , sirenuus, qui
impetu in hostem faciendo verax est,
Kam. Alb. Schultens, turba captiva bel-
latoris ; Mbller. den Starke; Tingstad.
en vdldig segrare ; Paulus, braver Soldat.
I have not, therefore, scrupled to ren
der " the strong." In his second edition,
Gesenius interprets, "captives of the
righteous," j. e. consisting of such; but
tills is unsuitable to the connexion.
26. A description of intestine blood
shed. Before the capture of Babylon
by Cyrus, Evil-merodach had been mur
dered by Neriglissor; Laborosoarchodus,
the son and successor of the latter, was
likewise put to death ; and, according to
Xenophon, it was two generals of the
king of Babylon, Gobrias and Gadarus,
who had gone over to Cyrus, that forced
their way into the palace, and slew the
king. Cyropaed. iv. vii.

CHAPTER L.
The beginning of this chapter intimately coheres with the preceding. The captivity
was not strictly the act of Jehovah, but the result of the wickedness of the Jews,
1 ; nevertheless by asserting his omnipotence, the Servant of Jehovah conveys
an assurance of deliverance, 2, 3 ; vindicates to himself the possession of those
qualifications which fitted him to act as the great Prophet of the church, 4, 5 ;
adverts to his voluntary sufferings, 6 ; avows his confidence in God for victory
over his enemies, 7 — 9 ; calls upon the pious to exercise faith and trust, 10 ;
and denounces vengeance against such as trusted in their own devices, 11.

364 ISAIAH. [chap. l.
1 Thus saith Jehovah :
Where is the bill of your mother's divorce.
With which I dismissed her ?
Or, to which of my creditors have I sold you ?
Behold ! for your iniquities are ye sold ;
And for your transgressions is your mother dismissed.
2 Why, when I came, was there no man ?
When I called, was there none that answered ?
Is my hand at all too short to redeem .''
Or, have I no power to deliver ?
Behold ! by my rebuke I dry up the sea,
And make the rivers a desert ;
Their fish stinketh for want of water,
And dieth for thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness.
And make sackcloth their covering.
4 The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of those who are
taught ;
That I may know how to succour the weary with a word ;
He wakeneth me every morning; he wakeneth my ear,
That I may listen like those who are taught.
1. Two metaphors are here employed : from Babylon, which was to be prepara-
the one borrowed from a state of matri- tory to his coming in the flesh, and
mony; the other, from mercantile life, suffering, as described in the following
The Jewish church is frequently repre- ^,,,,,_ ^) <^ ^„ j^ ^^„^^ „^ ^^„^
sented as standing in the relation ot '• > j >
wife to Jehovah. To prove that her is a common phrase in Arabic to denote
sufferings did not proceed from any powerlessness. On the other hand,
arbitrary or self-interested motive in Artaxerxes Longimanus was so called to
him, he demands the production of the describe his power.
bill of divorce, — intimating that it would 4. Comp. xlix. 2 ; John vii. 36. The
be found to contain nothing to impeach Messiah was fully qualified to impart
his conduct. And, if it were alleged divine instruction and consolation. 'This
that he had disposed of her for the sake he refers to his Heavenly Father, as
of advantage, let inquiry be made at John vii. 16, xvii. 8. Some take D'^iia^
the person who had purchased her. in two different acceptations in this
No such allegation could in truth be verse ; in the first instance as signifying
made. The inference is, that if she expert; in the latter, disciples. It seems
return to obedience she shall be graci- preferable to retain the same interpreta-
ously received. tion of the word in both cases. Comp.
2, 3. The speaker in this and the chap. viii. 16, liv. 13. nwj; the LXX.
following verses is the Messiah, who take in the sense of timing a thing,
complains of the inattention and unbe- speaking at the proper season, tov
lief of the Jewish people, and proves yvdvai rjviKa (Alex. MS. iv Kaipm rjvlKa)
his ability to save by appealing to the beX elirelv Xdyoj/. It seems ra'ther to
mighty operations of his providence, signify the imparting of mental succour,
The subject implied, is tiie deliverance comfort, and the like. Comp. the Arab.

CHAP. L.] ISAIAH. 365
5 The Lord Jehovah openeth my ear.
And I am not rebellious :
I turn not back.
6 I give my back to the smiters,
And my cheeks to them that pluck the beard ;
My face I hide not from reproach and spitting.
7 But the Lord Jehovah helpeth me ;
Therefore I shall not be confounded ;
Therefore I set my face as a flint ;
For I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 He is near that justifieth me :
Who will contend with me ? Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary ? Let him approach me.
9 Behold ! the Lord Jehovah helpeth me :
Who is he that condemneth me .''
Behold ! they shall all decay like a garment ;
The moth shall consume them.
10 Who is there among you that feareth Jehovah ;
That obeyeth the voice of his Servant,
That walketh in darkness, and hath no light .''
Let him trust in the name of Jehovah,
And stay himself upon his God.
i,±Ac- l±J»c, opem tulit, succurrit ; ^o 1—9, The language of assured con-
-^ \-'" fidence respecting the issue of his suffer-
Ci.jl.cl , ihe day of help ; Aq. iSttoo-tt;- ings. Comp. Rom. i. 3 ; 1 Tim. iii. 16.
10. 'B is not used here simply as an
pl(Tai ; Vulg. susientare. Comp. chap, interrogative pronoun, but as a substitute
Ixi. 1 — 3; Matt. xi. 28. forthe relative l'^M,/?etj;Ao. Comp. Exod.
5. Comp. Ps. xl. 6 ; Heb. x. 5. The xxiv. 14 ; Judg. vii. 3 ; and for the com-
ideas of a Divine commission andvolun- bination of both, Exod, xxxii. 33. The
tary obedience are here taught. How nirr 1^ is the same Servant who is set
different the conduct of the Messiah forth chap.xlii. 1,19, xlix. 5, liii. 11; and
from that of Jonah ! Comp. Jer. xvii. the persons described are those who
16. should embrace his doctrines aud sub-
6. Plucking the beard was, as it still mit to his authority. Comp. Gen. xlix.
is, regarded in the East as the greatest 10; Rom. xvi. 26. Whatever might be
act of indignity, and is here selected for the afflictions and persecutions to which
the purpose of shewing to what con- they should be subject on account of
tempt and insult the Messiah should be their fidelity to his cause, they might
exposed. Comp. 2 Sam. x. 4, 5 ; Isa. vii. confidently reckon on Divine protection
20. Spitting in the face was likewise and support. To this they are excited
considered in the highest degree con- by the prophet.
temptuous. See Deut. xxv. 9 ; Numb. 1 1 . Pursuing the metaphor which had
xii. 14. For the fulfilment, see the his- just been employed, this verse describes
tory of our Lord's trial. Comp. Micah the proud and self-righteous confidence
V. 1. of the Jews who rejected the Messiah,

866 ISAIAH. [chap. li.
11 Behold ! all ye that kindle a fire,
That surround yourselves with torches ;
Walk in the light of your fire,
And of the torches which ye have kindled :
This shall ye have at my hand.
Ye shall lie down in sorrow.
and the punishment inflicted upon them renders arrows ; but this does not suit
by the Romans. They imagined that the connexion, — the object of the per-
by means of their own devising, they sons described not being to attack their
could obtain comfort and happiness, but enemies, but to procure light for them-
they became, on the contrary, the sub- selves. The noun seems to be derived
jects of a long dark night of vexation from p:i in the acceptation of binding ;
and trouble, nip't 'iinb, lit. girding on 5 »
torches, from 11m, to gird, gird oneself; hence the Syr. }a,j , a cord; such a
but here, more generally, to surround. ^^^^ prepared and used as a torch; Syr.
The term expresses the number of ex- ' ^^ '
pedients to which the Jews should resort \t^^^\^ flame ; LXX. AXdya.
m order to obtain relief, mp'i Gesenius ' » •' ^ '

CHAPTER LI.
The Jews in Babylon are further instructed to confide in God for their restoration
and prosperity, by reflecting on the numerous offspring which he had raised up
from their solitary progenitor Abraham, 1 — 3 ; the great end of the restoration
consisting in the introduction of the gospel and its blessings, 4, 5 ; the frailty
and perishableness of the Babylonians and their empire, 6 — 8 ; and the signal
display of Divine power exhibited in the deliverance of their fathers from
Egyptian tyranny, 9, 10. Jehovah then expressly promises their redemption,
11 ; challenges their confidence in his power and faithfulness, while he assures
them of the happy result, 12 — 15; asserts the divine commission of the Messiah
to re-establish the Jewish polity, 16 ; and calls upon the nation to rouse from its
deplorable condition, by an assurance, that, though all human help failed, his
interposition was certain, and should prove effectual, 17 — 23.

1 Heaeken to me, ye that pursue righteousness,
Ye that seek Jehovah ;
Look to the rock whence ye were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit whence ye were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father,
1 — 3. On the vast increase of the an argument to induce faith in the re-
family of Abraham, according to the storation from Babylon, and the increase
Divine promise. Gen. xii. 1, 2, is founded and prosperity of the Jewish state. The

chap, li.] ISAIAH. 367
And to Sarah that bare you :
Though he was one when I called him,
Yet I blessed him, and made him many.
3 For Jehovah will have compassion upon Zion ;
He will have compassion upon all her wastes :
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of Jehovah :
Joy and gladness shall be found in her,
Thanksgiving and the voice of praise.
4 Attend to me, O my people !
O my nation ! give ear to me ;
For a law shall proceed from me,
And my statute will I establish for a light to the people.
5 My righteousness is near ; my salvation goeth forth ;
Mine arms shall judge the people :
For me the maritime lands shall wait,
And shall expect my arm.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens.
And look upon the earth beneath ;
Verily the heavens shall vanish like smoke,
And the earth decay like a garment.
And its inhabitants in like manner shall die :
But my salvation shall be eternal,
And my righteousness shall not be abolished.
metaphors are taken from the quarry, dence into the account. WI, to restrain,
For the force of in« in such application, allay, be quiet; in Hiph. to cause to rest,
comp. Ezek. xxxiii. 24. settle, found.
4, 5. These verses are so obviously 6. "That the natural universe of cre-
parallel to chap, xiii, 1 — 4, 6, that they ated objects is here intended, the con-
must be regarded as referring to the text shews. Jehovah contrasts with the
same subject — the establishment of the perishable nature of all such objects, the
gospel dispensation. To this, in the plan durability of gospel blessings, rrta is a
of the Divine government, the restoration ,^. -^ ^ jj^g ^^^t^ ^ ^^^^^
of the Jews was indispensable. For 1??, *" ' '^ ^7^
my people, two MSS., one more origi- incessit ; longe abierunt per terram ; and
nally, and the Syr. read d'b?, people, , ^ , . ^^ .^ ^^^^^^ ^^;^_
in the plural ; and for ipisii, my nation, fy' '
seven MSS., five more originally, and Hence u!U , fugiens ; JXo, fugitivus.
the Syr., read Q'Bi«^, nations. According Z. ZT
to this alteration, the Gentiles and not The idea of fleeting, transitory, seems to
the Jews would be addressed; but the be intended. Thus similarly irapeXciJo-oi'-
evidence in its favour is not to be TOt, 2 Pet. iii. 10. J3-iB3 Gesenius renders
weighed against that by which the read- like a gnat, but less naturally. Lowth,
ing of the Textus Recephis is supported, nearly the same ; only he had the deli-
especially if we take the internal evi- cacy not to name the insect he had in

368 ISAIAH. [chap. li.
7 Hearken to me, ye that know righteousness,
The people in whose heart is my law :
Fear not the reproach of men.
Neither be disheartened by their revilings.
8 For the moth shall consume them, like a garment.
And the worm shall eat them like wool ;
But my righteousness shall be eternal,
Ahd my salvation to all generations.
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah !
Awake, as in ancient days, in the generations of antiquity.
Art thou not the same that cut Rahab in pieces ?
That wounded the dragon ?
ro Art thou not the same that dried up the sea.
The waters of the great abyss.
That made the depths of the sea
A way for the passage of the redeemed ?
VI Thus shall the ransomed of the Lord return.
And come to Zion with singing ;
Everlasting joy shall be upon their head ;
They shall obtain gladness and joy ;
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
1'2 I, I am he that comforteth you :
Who then art thou, that thou shouldst fear man, that shall die.
Or a son of man, that shall be treated as grass ?
1*3 And forget Jehovah thy Maker,
That stretched out the heavens,
And founded the earth,
'view. All the ancient versions take ]3 11. The 1 introduces the apodosis, and
adverbially. is best rendered by thus, so, or the like.
7,8. The pious in Babylon, who were „ t^. , , ^ " , "
exposed to the reproaches and blasphe- ^° ^'""^^^ = "^^"^ ^'^ '^ '^ P ^P°^ "™^ ^'^
mous scoffs of their enemies, are encou- '''131, i. e. the Vau in "11D1 stands for p,
raged not to be affected by their revilings. for Vau is used to express the similitude
9, 10. In the animated language of or correspondence of things. For IDJ,
poetry, Jehovah is represented as ad- thirty-nine MSS., originally eighteen
dressing his own Omnipotence, and call- more, now two, two of the earliest edi-
ing for its renewed exercise, for the tions, and the Syr., read id:i, from which
liberation of his people. For li>^i!)3), it has been supposed, that the text ori-
Rosenm. compares Boiipiv iirieipevoi ginally stood 1D:i wc, especially as the
oXk^v, Iliad, xviii. 157. 3rn, Bahab, the words occur thus, chap. xxxv. 10, which
poetical name of Egypt. See on chaj). is otherwise identical with the present
xxx. 7. For )'3H, see on chap, xxvii. text.
1. — The Infin. 13*^ may best be ren- 12, 13. In m. Thou, fem,, Zion is ad-
dered substantively, dressed. The same gender is employed

chap, ti.]

ISAIAH.

369

And be afraid continually every day.
Of the fury of the oppressor.
As if he were ready to destroy ?
But where is the fury of the oppressor ?
14 Speedily shall the bending prisoner be released ;
He shall not die in the pit ;
Nor be in want of his food.
For I, Jehovah, am thy God,
That calmeth the sea, when the waves thereof roar :
Jehovah of Hosts is his name.
I have put my words into thy mouth.
And with the shadow of my hand have I covered thee ;
To plant the heavens, and to found the eafth ;
And to say to Zion, Thou art my people.
17 Rouse thyself, rouse thyself; arise, O Jerusalem .'
That hast drunk from the hand of Jehovah, the cup of his fury ;

15

16

in the verbs. That 1*^3 is properly
rendered, as if, comp. Job x. 19; Zech.
X. 6. It must, however, be noticed,
that the 3 is omitted in thirty-two MSS. ;
originally in eight more ; and in some
early editions. The pointed question at
the close of ver. 13, beautifully intro
duces the prediction, ver. 14.
14. n»is, the bending prisoner, probably
in allusion to the custom of putting a
prisoner into the irevTea~vpiyyos, or five-
holed wooden machine, which held the
body in a bent posture, the head as well
as the hands and feet being fixed in it.
A more distressing posture cannot well
be imagined. See Michaelis' Comment.
on the Laws of Moses, vol. iii. p. 443.
Comp. Jer. ii. 20 ; and the Arab. U.^
JtO, inclinatus, curvatus fuii, reclinavit
caput ; tiuO , tivO , inclinatio. Lowth,
misled by a different use of the term,
chap. Ixiii. 1, renders. He marcheth on,
&c., contrary to the exigency of the fol
lowing nnsA, in Niphal. ina is often
used adverbially to express the idea of
/laste or speed. ii3, here, as Jer. xxxviii.
6, Zech. ix. 11, means a cistern without
water, converted into a dungeon,
15, 16. The gender is now changed
for the masculine. The person addressed
is the Messiah, to whom alone the pre

dicates employed can, with any propriety,
be applied. Comp. chap. xiii. 1, xlix.
1, 2; with which last verse, the former
half of the second of the present verses
is parallel. The 'J in ?iQ:>, lb'>, and lfi«^,
connects with the person addressed, and
expresses the end or purpose for which
he was instructed and employed. The
creation ascribed to him, is that of the
new Jewish world, the new state of
things to be established after the cap
tivity. Comp. 2 Cor. v. 17, 'ivbere a
complete spiritual renovation is called a
Kaiv^ KTia-is. The Hebrews were accus
tomed to speak of a great political or
ecclesiastical revolution, as the destruc
tion or creation of the heavens and the
earth, chap, xiii. 13, Ixv. 17, 18, Ixvi.
22. vhp is not, as Lowth imagines, a
mistake for niio:^, but the proper term
by which to denote the fixing or esta
blishment of the heavens, conceived of
as a tent, — a metaphor not unusual with
the sacred writers. It signifies to plant,
in the sense of fixing or driving into the
ground, the pins or pegs to which the
cords of a tent are fastened. The Logos,
as the Angel that was with the O, T.
church, (comp. chap. Ixiii. 9 ; Acts vii.
38,) was to bring back the Jews and
establish them as before, in their own land.
17. The interposition of the Divine
Redeemer was indispensable, for Jerusa-
3b

870

ISAIAH.

[chap. li.

18

19

That hast drunk, yea, drunk off the goblet,
The cup of intoxication.
She has none to lead her of all the sons she bare ;
Nor any of all the sons she nurtured to take her by the hand.
These two things have happened to thee ;
Who shall bemoan thee .'' —
Desolation and destruction ; famine and sword :
Who ? I myself will comfort thee.
20 Thy sons swoon ; they lie at the head of all the streets.
Like the oryx in a net ;
They are full of the fury of Jehovah,
The rebuke of thy God.
Wherefore, hear now this, thou aflBicted,
And drunken, but not with wine.
Thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah,
And thy God, the Defender of his people :
Behold ! I will take out of thy hand the cup of intoxication,

21

22

lem was reduced to a state of utter help
lessness. This is forcibly expressed in
metaphors taken from the use and effects
of intoxicating liquors. The wrath or
anger of Jehovah is represented as con
stituting the ingredients of a large cup
which he had put into the hand of the
devoted city, by drinking the entire con
tents of which she had stupified herself,
staggered and fallen to the ground. In
this prostrate condition she lay, incapa
ble of helping herself, and without any
one of her citizens to assist her. They
might struggle and toss, but it would
only be like the vain efforts of the oryx
to extricate himself from the net in
which he is entangled. At length Je
hovah interposes, and transfers the cup
to her oppressors, who, in their turn, are
reduced to the same condition, while
she, on the contrary, is completely re
stored. Comp. Jer. xxv. 15 — 31, xlix.
12, li. 7 ; Lam. iv. 21 ; Ezek. xxiii. 31 — •
35 ; Rev. xiv. 10. The passage is justly
considered by Lowth, as exhibiting sub
lime poetry of the highest order. 'Tiisnn
'llisnn is much more emphatic than the
simple '11S> ''11*, ver. 9, though even there
the repetition gives intensity to the style.
9
ISO, Syr. _io , Arab.J.* , suxit, exsuxit.

means to drink greedily, drink off, to the
dregs. 19. What the two things here referred
to are, has been disputed. The more
natural solution of the difficulty is to
regard the four nouns which follow as
divisible into pairs : lili and I3«i describ
ing the destruction of the city ; 3»1 and
3'in, that of its inhabitants. The n pre
fixed to each of the nouns is not without
emphasis. After 'a, who, we should
have expected Ijan:?, shall comfort thee ?
but Jehovah suppresses the rest of the
question, and at once replies, ljan:>»,
/ will comfort thee. The ancient ver
sions, with the exception of the Targ.
express the third person.
20. Nin, the LXX. strangely render,
a-evrXiov rjpiei^Bov, a half-cooked beet ;
but Aquil., Symm., and Theod,, opv|,
the oryx, which is also the rendering of
the Vulg. The LXX., however, give
dpv^ as the meaning of i»l|i, Deut. xiv. 3,
of which the form in the present instance
is doubtless a contraction. The oryx is
an animal of the antelope species, which,
in the East, is still caught in a net.
21. See chap. xxix. 9.
22. l*!^, from I'i, to contend, plead for,
defend, is here a noun signifying a de
fender ; one who maintains, or vindicates

CHAP. LII.] ISAIAH. 371
The goblet, the cup of my fury :
Thou shalt drink it no more.
23 But I will put it into the hand of thine oppressors.
That have said to thee. Bow down, that we may pass over ;
And thou madest thy back like the ground,
And as the street to the passengers.
the cause of another. Comp. 3'v, Hos. Ibn Batuta relates, that when the negroes
V. 13, X. 6 ; and the participial form, who appeared before the black sultan at
Isa. xix. 20. Mali, in Nigritia, fell down, they laid
23. '^3^, to thy soul, i. e. according hare their backs, and covered their heads
to a common Hebraism, to thee. The with dust, as tokens of the most profound
metaphor here employed is taken from submission : by the former, indicating
the haughty and degrading manner in that he might walk over their naked
which oriental kings treat their captives, backs. See also Lowth's Note.

CHAPTER LII. 1—12.
The first twelve verses of this chapter continue the subject with which the preceding
closes — the restoration from Babylon. Jerusalem is called upon to change her
position, 1, 2; reasons are given by Jehovah for his gracious interference in
behalf of the captives, 3 — 6 ; the joyful announcement of the event, and the
universal joy it would occasion to the liberated are next introduced, 7, 8 ; Jeru
salem, as the metropolis of Judea, is summoned to participate in the joy, while
the surrounding nations behold the wonderful display of Divine power and good
ness, 9, 10. The address concludes with a direct call to the captives to leave
Babylon, taking no idolatrous thing with them, and calmly confiding in their
Almighty Deliverer, 11, 12. The remaining three verses form the commence
ment of the celebrated prophecy of the Messiah, which is continued throughout
the following chapter.

1 Awake, awake, put on thy splendour, O Zion !
Put on thy beautiful array, O Jerusalem ! the holy city ;
For the uncircumcised and profane shall enter thee no more.
2 Shake thyself from the dust ; arise, take thy seat, O Jerusalem !
1 2. liJ signifies both strength and it desolate. They had proved the most
glory. Here the latter acceptation is formidable enemy the Jews ever had;
required by the parallel n'iMDn, beauteous hut nothing further was to be appre-
array. ^Ppi '^, the uncircumcised and bended from them. Comp, Nah, i. 15,
the impure^, are to be restricted to the where similar language is employed re-
Babylonians, who had entered the holy specting the Assyrian power. 'To explain
city, carried off its inhabitants, and made the passage of other foreigners, would

372

ISAIAH.

[chap. lii.

Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck,
O captive daughter of Jerusalem !
For thus saith Jehovah :
As ye sold yourselves for nought.
So ye shall be redeemed without money.
For thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
My people went down-at first into Egypt, to dwell there.
And Assyria oppressed them at the last.
And now, what have I here, saith Jehovah,
That my people should be taken away for nought ?
They that rule over them, howl, saith Jehovah ;
And continually, every day, my name is blasphemed.
Assuredly, my people shall know my name ;
Assuredly, they shall know in that day,
That I am the Promiser : Behold me !
How beautiful upon the mountains the feet of him that publisheth
good news !
That announceth peace, that publisheth good,
That announceth salvation, saying to Zion :
Thy God reigneth !

lay it open fo contradiction from facts of
history : Antiochus Epiphanes in parti
cular, having exerted a more polluting
and irreligious influence in Jerusalem,
than even the Chaldeans; while the
Romans also took and destroyed it. Its
application to the christian church is
equally unsatisfactory. '3i|j, sit, denotes,
in such connexion, to occupy an elevated
seat or throne ; and is opposed to the
prostrate condition described at the end
of the preceding chapter. The Keri
'nnBlin is found in the text of a number
of MSS,, and in the Soncin,, Brix , and
Complut. Editions.
3. As the 1 in xiii is the Vau adaqua-
iionis, it is implied before D|n, which in
troduces the protatis, Comp, chap, li. 1 1,
xlv. 13.
4, 5. Two instances of oppression,
from which Jehovah had delivered his
people, are here specified, to assure them
that he would again deliver them. The
latter was that of Sennacherib. Though
t3BM? is nowhere else used in a temporal
sense, yet the exigency of the parallelism
requires it to be so taken in this place.

ris refers to heaven, the place of God's
immediate presence. The interrogation
strongly implies, that God would not, in
the afflicted circumstances of the Jews,
remain inactive, but would descend and
interpose for their deliverance. Their
gratuitous oppression in Babylon, and
the contempt poured upon his holy cha
racter by the Babylonians, are adduced
as motives for such inteiposition. There
is generally supposed to be a reference
to this passage in Rom. ii. 24 ; but it
rather seems tobe to Ezek. xxxvi. 22, 23.
6. After the second p$, supply »T from
the preceding. To know the name of
God is to be practically and experi
mentally acquainted with the Divine
character : — here, especially, the Divine
faithfulness, 7 — 9. Messengers are sent beforehand
to Judea, to announce the deliverance.
They are seen hastening over the moun
tains, — an object most grateful to the
spectators. The joyful proclamation is
made, that tiie God of Zion reigns. The
watchmen on the ruinous walls of Jeru
salem, as with one voice, repeat the

chap, lii.]

ISAIAH.

373

8 Thy watchmen shall raise their voice ;
With their voice shall they sing together ;
For eye to eye shall they see,
When Jehovah restoreth Zion.
9 Burst out, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem !
For Jehovah hath comforted his people ;
He hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10 Jehovah hath made bare his holy arm
Before all the nations ;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.
11 Depart ye, depart ye, go out thence ;
Touch not the unclean ;
Go out from the midst of her ;
Be pure, ye that bear the vessels of Jehovah !

news. The eye of each inhabitant
catches that of his fellow : all is ecstasy
at the joyful event. The language em
ployed is, in part, employed elsewhere,
as chap. xl. 9, xliv. 23, xlix. 13, but no
where is the whole combined as here.
Nahum uses the identical phraseology
respecting the messengers who announced
the destruction of Nineveh, chap, ii, 1
(Eng. Trans, i. 15) ; and the Apostle
Paul quotes it in illustration of his state
ments relative to the first preachers of
the gospel, Rom. x, 15. The point of
beauty in the feet of the messengers is
not their being tom and dustyj as Camp
bell expounds, which though presenting a
spectacle naturally offensive, yet are, in
consideration of the welcome message,
converted into one that is pleasing and
delightful ; but in the speed with which
they bear the messengers forward. In
Wp is an ellipsis of 3, which is very
common. For the true meaning of
ni.rp li«)3, in opposition to Lowth's con
struction, see Ps. xiv. 7. i:?5 );», eye in
eye, or eye to eye, is generally explained
as signifying clearness of vision, or una
nimity of opinion. There does not appear
to be any thing in the connexion to war
rant such exegesis. The phrase occurs
besides only in Numb. xiv. 14, where it
is used for the purpose of expressing tiie
indubitable certainty of the Divine mani
festations to Israel. Here the subject is

not the discovery or revelation of the
mind of God, but the joy felt on hearing
of the downfall of Babylon. Nothing is
more natural than for one person whose
feelings are elated with joy, to look to
the glistening eyes of another who is
equally interested in the cause by which
it is produced. The phrases, ne b^ ns.
Numb. xii. 8, and n':s Vm D':b, Exod.
xxxiii. 11, are not exactly parallel. The
change of D^'tiiT into ')«liJ'. is obviously
by emendation.
1 0. This verse is anticipative of chap.
liii. 1. The restoration from Babylon
was to be introductory to a greater deli
verance, in which all the inhabitants
of the world should be personally in
terested. 11. The Jews in general, and the
priests in particular, are summoned to
leave the place of their captivity; and,
by purification and separation from every
idolatrous and sinful object, to prepare
for their return to the holy land. In
Did and n3in3, Babylon is understood by
implication. Comp. chap, xlviii. 20. So
far as external obedience was concerned,
there is every reason to conclude, that
this order was punctually obeyed. To
bear the sacred vessels would naturally
devolve upon the priests, though com
mitted by Cyrus to the care of Shesh-
bazzar, the prince of Judah, Ezra i, 7 —
11, V. 13 — 15, vi, 5. Comp. for the

374 ISAIAH. [chap. lii.
12 For ye shall not go out with haste,
Neither shall ye proceed in flight ;
For Jehovah goeth before you,
The God of Israel shall bring up your rear.
sentiment. Rev. xviii. 4. Part of the express the hasty manner in which the
words are appropriated by Paul, 2 Cor. Hebrews ate the passover on the eve of
vi. 17, for the purpose of warning Chris- their departure from the latter country.
tians against having any fellowship with The ihetaphor of the van and rear-
idolaters, guard is likewise borrowed from the
12. The exodus from Babylon was to same history, Exod. xiv. 19. Under the
be very different from that out of Egypt, immediate protection of Jehovah,^ their
^iisn, hasty flight, is the very terra em- covenant God, the Jews had nothing to
ployed, Exod. xii. 11, Deut. xvi. 3, to fear.

CHAPTER LII. IS— LIIL
That a new section of the book, including these fifteen verses, begins here, is
universally admitted. ' The prominence given to the Servant of Jehovah ; the
depth of his humiliation ; his unpretending and unpromising appearance ; the
vicarious nature of his sufferings and death ; his subsequent exaltation, success,
conquests, and glory, — present a tout-ensemble of character unequalled by any
exhibited elsewhere in Scripture. The prophet collects into one focus, the
various rays of light which he and preceding seers had scattered abroad for the
purpose of revealing to the Jewish people the Illustrious Deliverer that was to
come. Hence the unparalleled perspicuity of the prophecy, and the facility with
which all its parts apply to the Messiah ; while every attempt to excogitate
hypotheses in support of other subjects has only obscured and perplexed it.
That the Jews would violently oppose the application of the passage to Jesus of
Nazareth was naturally to be expected. When adduced, in argument with them,
by Origen, they explained it of the sufferings of their own nation ; and this
hypothesis is adopted by Jarchi, Abenezra, Kimchi, Abarbanel, and Lipmann ;
only some of these writers are of opinion that the pious part of the nation is
intended. Some few have endeavoured to interpret it of the pious king Josiah ;
and others, among whom Saadias Haggaon, of the prophet Jeremiah. Jonathan,
however, in his Targum, the Midrash 'Tanhuma, the Pesikta, Moses Haddarshan,
the Talmud, the Midrash Tillim, and the books Rabboth, Chasidim, and Zohar,
more or less unreservedly apply it to. the Messiah; and Rabbi Alshech, in his
Commentary on the prophecy, avows it as his opinion, that such application of
it is obviously the right one. To which may be added, that of those Jews who
have truly embraced the Christian faith, most have been impelled to take the
step, by the evidence which the prophecy supplies of the identity of the suffering
and glorified Messiah.
Grotius was the first professedly Christian author who interpreted the section of
any other than our Saviour. His hypothesis, however, that Jeremiah was
intended, has not been adopted by any, except Seidel, and Collins, in his Scheme

chap, lii.] ISAIAH. 375
of Literal Prophecy. Schuster, Eichhorn, Telge, Stephani, Rosenmiiller in his
later Commentaries, Hitzig, and others, interpret the section of the Jewish
people collectively ; while Paulus, Ammon, Maurer, and Thenius, suppose the
pious portion of that people to be meant. According to the earlier opinion of '
Rosenmiiller, which he abandoned, but which has been_^adopted by De Wette
and Gesenius, the prophetic order, or the collective body of the prophets, forms
the subject of the prediction. Other hypotheses of minor note may be seen in
Hengstenberg, as quoted, chap. xiii. 1.
The exclusive application of the passage to Christ was more or less ably justified
by several of the Fathers in their controversies both with Jews and Pagans.
In modern times its defence has been sustained by J. H. and J. D. Michaelis,
Moldenhauer, Lowth, Koppe, Kocher, Dathe, Dbderiein, Cube, Henzler, Hezel,
Hess, Storr, Hansi, Martini, v. d. Palm, Scholz, and others ; and more especially by
Hengstenberg, ut sup,, and Reinke in his admirable Exegesis Critica in Jesaiae
cap. lii. 13 — liii. 12, seu de Messia Expiatore passuro et morituro Commentatio,
&c. Miinster, 1836, 8vo. To these two writers I refer the reader, since they
may be regarded as having exhausted the subject, and supplied the best critical
expositions of the prophecy. Those who may not have access to their works
will find a brief but very satisfactory reply to the arguments of Gesenius, in
Dr. J. Pye Smith's Four Discourses on the Sacrifice and Priesthood of Christ,
London, 1828, note ix. p. 260. That it was our Redeemer alone that the
prophet had in his eye, must be admitted by all who fully allow the Divine
authority of the N. T., and have impartially examined the following passages in
which certain parts of the prediction are either referred to, or expressly quoted
with such application : Matt. viii. 17 ; Mark xv. 28 ; Luke xxii. 37 ; John i. 29,
xii. 38, 41 ; Acts viii. 30—35; Rom. x. 16; 1 Pet. ii. 21—25.
In chap. lii. 13 — 15, Jehovah introduces the Messiah, and announces his exaltation
and preceding sufferings; liii. 1 — 10 contains the language of the prophet, com
plaining of the infidelity of the Jews, 1 ; describing the scandal and contempt
" with which they regarded his humble and suffering condition, 2, 3 ; asserting the
cause of his sufferings to be the sins of others, 4 — 6; setting forth several
remarkable circumstances connected with them, 7 — 9 ; and predicting the
glorious effects in which they should result, 10. At the middle of ver. 11, a
renewed declaration commences, which is confirmatory of what had been pre
viously advanced respecting the work of the Messiah, the propitiatory nature of
his sufferings, and the certainty of his remunerative triumphs, 11, 12.

13 Behold! my Servant shall prosper ;
He shall be raised, and extolled, and highly exalted.
13. This and the two following verses suffering. ™n is here used beiKTiKas,
form the text, on which chap. liii. may for the purpose of drawing special atten-
be said to be a commentary. From the tion to Him and his work. For nin^ 135,
deliverance tt) be effected by Cyrus, the comp. xiii. 1, 19, xlix. 3, 5, I. 10. As
prophet makes a sudden, but natural Cyrus had succeeded and attained to a
transition to that infinitely more glorious high pitch of worldly elevation and re-
salvation which the Messiah should ef- nown, so the greater future Deliverer
feet; and shews that the latter was to should prosper in his spiritual under-
be achieved, not by conquest, but by taking, and be crowned with glory and

376

ISAIAH.

[chap. lii.

14

15

As many were shocked at thee,
(Such was the disfiguration of his appearance more than that of man,
And of his form more than that of the sons of men :)
So shall he sprinkle many nations :
Kings .shall shut their mouths on account of him ;
For what had not been told them, they shall see ;
And what they had not heard, they shall perceive.

honour. ^'?i!"i, most of the ancient ver
sions have taken in the acceptation of
being prudent, intelligent, &c. ; but the
rendering of the Targ. «n'\SB'i3»rt^'.sn,
" Behold ! my Servant the Messiah shall
prosper," better suits the connexion.
That the verb has this signification, see
Deut. xxix. 9 ; Josh. i. 7, 8 ; Prov. xvii.
10; and, as here, in reference to the
Messiah, Jer. xxiii. 5. n335 my) Dii; are
synonymes employed to express the su
perlative exaltation and glory of the
Redeemer. Comp. Eph. i. 20 — 23 ; Phil.
ii. 9—1 1 ; Heb. ii. 7—9. The Midrash
Tanhuma, taking each of the verbs se-
parateljr, explains the passage thus :
n3:i mcaa nic:i nm3N ]b d'ii — n'man •j'^a .ni
m«n 'SMto p. This is ihe King Messiah, —
who shall be higher than Abraham, more
elevated than Moses, and exalted above
the ministering angels.
14, 15. To the words laati iti»3, &c.
forming the protasis, correspond nv ]3,
&c. which introduce the apodosis. The
]3, in ver. 14, is merely expletive of what
precedes it, and introduces an exegetical
parenthesis. The change of ?J'5», at thee,
into I'te, at him, which is the reading of
two MSS., the Targ,, and Syr,, is doubt
less an emendation. Similar instances
of enallage of person are not uncom
mon in Hebrew poetry. The 14th verse
commences with a direct address, which
form gives way to the use of the third
person, more appropriately used in de
scription, and is not resumed. DB4i is
used intransitively to express the shock
felt by the mind on the discovery of any
unexpected object or event. Here, as
in Jer. ii. 12, xviii. 16, xix. 8, it conveys
the idea of disappointment and aversion.
With such feelings the bulk of the Jew
ish people (D'3l) regarded our Saviour ;
and consequently derived no benefit
from his atonement. When, on the
other hand, he was preached unto the

Gentiles ('Bvea-iv, D'ia), they believed,
and participated in its blessings. nrn|)B
is the construct of nni|iB, corruption, de
formity, disflgurement, from nrrti, to cor
rupt, spoil, deface. It is in construction
with inNia though separated from it by
¦ti'NB, just as i'33 is from D'b;, in T33
D'b; T3Na, Job xv. 10. See also Isa. xix.
8. The preposition p is here, as in the
clause just quoted from Job, to be taken
in its comparative, and not, with Heng
stenberg, Hitzig, and Reinke, in its
negative or privative acceptation. Fill
ing up the ellipses, the passage will
read thus : nmSai iB'« n«iBB insna nrnfia ]3
c-ft« '33 itSna ii^n. Such was the disfigure
ment of his countenance, more than that
of the countenance of any man, and ihe
disfigurement of his form, more than
that of ihe form of the sons of men. In
the second line of a parallelism the term
which expresses the thing compared is
frequently omitted. Some of the mo
derns, after Jerome, limit the descrip
tion here given to the humble and
abject condition of the Messiah ; but,
that the effects of the bodily injuries
inflicted upon him, as well as of the
intense mental anguish to which he was
subject, are likewise to be taken into the
account, the minute detail of his suffer
ings in the following chapter abundantly
proves. D'3'iD'i3 ni'_]3. The verb rm,
which occurs here in the Hiph. Conju
gation, signifies, in every other instance,
to sprinkle, besprinkle. The idea of
leaping for joy, exulting, &c. to which
Gesenius assigns the primary place in
his Lexicon, is unsustained by a single
example ^rom Hebrew usage, or from
any of the kindred dialects. The Arab.
tjj, which has been compared, has no
such signification, — the rendering, exul-
tavit pra hilaritaie, which Golius gives
from the Kamoos, being founded on an

chap. liii.J

ISAIAH.

377

CHAPTER LIU.
1 Who hath believed our report ?
And to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed ?

erroneous reading. See Freytag. In
Ethiopic the corresponding verb is
VH"*! ' ""> respersit, conspersit; hence
(DVW'h : J?''^ : the sprinkling of hlood,
Heb. xi. 28 ; \'\\-S-\' ; ^C^ . the
same, xii. 24 ; and fl^H'^l't" ! R'^^ '
t\\?h.'n : \\QVfU ! through the
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ,
2 Pet. i. 2. Comp. Heb. ix. 19.
©Tl'-A" ! rhTin : ««<^ sprinkled ihe
book of ihe law, and all the people. The
Vulg. and Syr. accordingly render,
. „ V V
asperget gentes multas ; jv^v^v i^rio
||jLj_a)> purifying, or expiating many
nations. With such support we may
dismiss the derivations of Schroeder,
Gesenius, Martini, Michaelis, and others,
and acquiesce in the decision of Fiirst,
in his Heb. Concord. " At vero nil im-
pedit, quominus etiam hoc loco ingeni-
tam verbi significationem retineamus."
This signification he shews to be r'lgare,
irrigare, inspergere, adspergere, im-
buere. On consulting the passages in
the Levitical code in which the verb
occurs, instances will be found of an
ellipsis both of the material sprinkled,
and the preposition ^», upon, just as in
the present case. See Lee's Sermons and
Dissert, pp. 199 — 202. The ceremonial
use of the term, and the N. T. allusions
to it, quoted above, shew the meaning
to be, that the Messiah would extend to
the nations the purifying efficacy of
his hlood. The offence taken at him
by the Jews, and the experience of
his salvation by the numerous Gentile
nations (D'3i D'ia), form a striking anti
thesis. For nD yoi?, to shut ihe mouth,
comp. Job xxix. 9. It means, to main

tain a respectful silence, and so to ac
knowledge the superiority of the person
to whom it is shewn. nMl here signifies
to perceive mentally. The preaching of
the gospel, as the means of extending
throughout the world the blessings of
redemption, is clearly implied in the
prophetic description ; while the history
of the church abundantly exhibits the
fulfilment of the prediction.
Chapter LIII. — 1. The prophet re
sumes the subject of the offence taken
by the Jews, at the meanness of our
Lord's outward appearance ; and to in
timate, that few, if any of them, would
receive the testimony borne by himself
and other divinely inspired messengers
on the subject, he asks. Who hath be
lieved, &c. ? nsiBS) or nvati is properly
the Pahul Part, and signifies what lias
heen heard by any one. Chrysostom so
understands it here : oi3k eiire, rfj bibaa--
KaXlq ypdv evravBa beiKVos, on ovK
o'lKoBkv n i<fiBeyyovTO, dXX' airep rJKov-
O'av irapa tov Oeov ravTa dirrjyyeXav.
Thus also Martini, Jahn, Rosenmiiller,
and others. That it was not, however,
intended to convey the idea of the divine
origin of the message, appears from the
usus loquendi, according to which, it is
employed actively, to denote a report or
testimony communicated to, and heard
by others. Comp. the Ethiopic f\/^Q ,
audivit, testificaius est ; f\/^() , testi
mony. LXX. aKor/, Rom. X. 16. Targ,
«:n'iiD3, our announcement. »il], arm,
like t, hand, denotes power as put forth
in act. The meaning is, that few would
recognise in the Messiah, the efficacious
interposition of Jehovah for the deliver
ance of Israel. To such, however, as
believed, he was Qeov bvvapiv Kal SeoO
a-o(f>tav, 1 Cor. i. 24. No importance is
to be attached to the use of to, instead of
) and ¦>», which, in all other instances,
follow n^ since these prepositions are
3c

378

ISAIAH.

[chap. liii.

For he grew up like a sucker before them.
And like a root out of dry ground :
He had neither form nor splendour, that we should regard him ;
Nor appearance, that we should desire him.
He was despised and contemned by men,
A man of sorrows, ahd familiar with grief.

otherwise often interchangeable. Comp.
the Arab. ^It ^.i»- > i" Harir.
2. The 1 in '^ttl is causal, and, at the
same time, connects the verb .with 1'^,
chap. lii. 1 5 : the subject being the Ser
vant of Jehovah there spoken of. njs
is frequently used of the growth of plants.
p.:i', properly, a suckling ; here a sucker
or shoot sprouting up from the root of a
tree that has been cut down to the
ground. Hence iliiil5, root, the corre
sponding synonyme ; meaning thai which
springs from ihe root. Comp. a similar
metaphorical use of this word, and of
ton and is:, chap. xi. 1, and the note on
that verse. The suffix in l':B^ cannot,
with any propriety, be referred to Jeho
vah ; since it was not in his estimation,
but in that of the Jewish people, that
the Messiah was as a root out of a dry
ground. It is true, D|, people, does not
precede ; but it is obviously understood
in the interrogative 'a, in the foregoing
verse. D»3 'B, Who among the people ;
i. v. the Jews. A more insignificant and
unpromising object cannot well be imag
ined, than a solitary sprout in an arid
soil, and under a sultry oriental sky.
The figure strikingly sets forth the re
duced and obscure condition of the family
of David, at the time of our Lord's ap
pearance. Of the application of part of
the language to the Virgin Mary, by
Eusebius, Theodoret, Jerome, and other
Fathers, we may say with Calvin : " extra
rem loquuntur." ifcSn and n^'ia are re
peated from chap. lii. 14, only with the
superadded idea of beautiful or graceful;
which, indeed, lin, ornament, splendour,
expresses. There is clearly a reference
to the splendour and pomp of the regal
state, by which monarchs are distin
guished from those around them. No
such majesty marked the Messiah. The
Athnach should have been placed at n>2,
and not at ifi«i31, as the parallelism shev^g.

Symm. has rightly rendered the i before
the verbs by "iva. The prophet uses the
plural per Koivaa-iv, — identifying him
self with his nation, though he con
demned their conduct.
3. What had just been described nega
tively, is now asserted positively. D'iS'M
is a rare plural, instead of D'S):« ; occur
ring only besides in Ps. cxli. 4 ; Prov.
viii. 4. D'Si's ^in has been variously ren
dered. LXX. iKXelirov irapd Toiis vlovs
Tav dvBpdirav. Symm. iXaxiTTOS dv-
bpdv. Vulg. novissimus virorum. Syr.
a (I ^ q V
|.Aj|> joii'yi, humillimus hominum.
Abenezra similarly, D'ic:« D» 3ir)nn'! 'jin,
he ceased to be reckoned with men. Most
of the moderns approve of the sense
brought out by comparing the Arab.
(Jii,s>- , spe et auxilio destituit ; (J«iics'«,
destitutus Ope, derelictus, cdntemptus ;
which seems sufficiently justified by l''in
'3ill?, my intimate friends have abandoned
me. Job xix. 14. See Schultens in loc.
As, however, those who are thus deserted,
are usually despised or contemned, hence
the idea of contempt or abhorrence is here
conveyed, np: and "Jin are thus syno
nymes. As to form, ^in is a verbal
adj. from the intrans. verb ^in, to leave
off, cease, desert, &c. 115'M is elegantly
borrowed from the preceding D'ii)>« ; or,
if we suppose it to have been previously
in the prophet's mind, it may have oc
casioned the use of this plural. «5'«
ni3toB, a man of sorrows, according to a
Hebrew idiom, " a man of many sorrows ; ' '
one who is the subject of great or mani
fold sufferings. Comp. ninjin *«, a man
of reproofs; i. c. one frequently reproved,
Prov. xxix, 1. 3M3 signifies to be pained
or wounded, either in body or mind, but
more usually the latter. Comp. the Syr.
•.o|l:3 , doluit ; Arab. ^^JiS and L^^jS,

CHAP. LIII.]

ISAIAH.

379

So that men hid their face from him ;
He was despised, and we regarded him not.
But it was our griefs he bare.
It was our sorrows he carried.

malo statu mcestoque animofuit. '^h ?li;,
Symm. renders yvaa-Tos voa-a, known by
sickness, and is followed by 'jahn. Mar
tini, Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, and Maurer.
According to this interpretation, the
meaning would be, that the Messiah was
distinguished from all other men by the
intensity of his sufferings. The parallel
ism, however, requires that the Messiah
himself should be the subject of the
knowledge or experience here spoken
of: knowing, experienced in, familiar with
suffering, "rhat the Pahul Part, is to
be taken in this sense, comp. Deut, i,
13, 15; where D'»Tis manifestly synony
mous with D':i:i D'asn, and is to be ren
dered, knowing, skilful, or the like. The
LXX., Syr., and Vulg., appear to have
read Si'l, which is found in eight MSB,,
originally in one more, and now in four
others by correction. The reading of
De Rossi's MS. 319, ?li'i., is not entitied
to notice, ''jii, the Pause punctuation
for '^n, weakness, affliction, pain, sickness,
is used both of corporeal and of mental
disease ; and of what is inflicted by an
other, as well as of what arises from
natural causes in the subject. In the
present connexion, all ideas of natural
malady or infirmity would be most irrele
vant. Comp. vers. 5, 6, 7, 8, 10. Com
mentators are generally agreed, that the
prophet uses the word figuratively to
denote the severe bodily and mental
sufferings to which our Lord was sub
jected, laaa D':b inpasi. The i is here
to be taken iKJBanKas ; and the 3 is the
Caph veritatis. Literally : So that there
was a hiding of face from him. The
LXX,, Aq,, Vulg., and Targ., and some
modern translators, have rendered the
suffix in 13BB as that of the first person
plural; but less aptly. Isaiah represents
the Saviour as an object of disgust to
the Jews, in language calculated to pro
duce on the mind a strong impression of
their hatred to his person and claims ;
and closes the verse, as he had begun it,
with nn: : only adding a negative pro
position for the sake of greater energy.

4, J3« is strongly adversative, and is
designed pointedly to direct the atten
tion of the reader to the fact, that the
sorrow and grief which had just been
attributed to the Messiah were not occa
sioned by any thing in himself, but were
inflictions, which, but for his substitution,
we must have borne, 'To mark this
more distinctly, the identical words 'i'n
and 3!<3B are repeated from the preced
ing verse. In both instances they denote
inflictions, or sufferings, on account of
sin. Hence the LXX. and Symm.
render ; rds dpapTias i]pdv. For la.'^n,
eleven MSS., the Ven. Ed. of 1525-28,
and seventeen other editions, have the
full plural form i^'^Jn. And instead of
i:'3'«?B, upwards of twenty MSS., and
two editions read i:3i<3B ; but all the
ancient versions have the plural. Before
DjSD, thirteen MSS., originally five more,
now three ; four editions, and many more
insert Nin as a Keri ; yet it is probably a
mere repetition, by some copyist, from
the preceding hemistich. It has been
maintained by some, that the verbs «to:
and to signify simply, to bear away,
remove, &c., and convey no idea of
suffering or bearing, in the way of punish
ment; but in direct opposition to fact,
and to the spirit of the context. Not
only are the phrases, ^is «to:, Mipn «to:,
to bear sin, to bear iniquity, used of one
who suffers for his own sin, but also of
the expiation made for the sin of others,
by vicarious suffering. See Lev. v, 1, 17,
xvii, 16, xxiv. 15 ; Numb. ix. 13, xiv. 33;
Exod. xxviii. 38; Lev, x. 17, xvi. 22.
Thus also, in ver. 12 of this very chapter,
«to: D'3'i-Nipn «in^. And he bare the sin,
i. e, the punishment due to the sin, of
many. Comp. for a similar usage, in
Arab. Koran, xxix. 11, 12 : ^^ jJI (JU".
^bHas- ^ ^Ji^^ (^ ^j (»^^,'^=*-

880

ISAIAH.

[chap. liii.

We, indeed, accounted him smitten,
Stricken by God, and afflicted :
But he was wounded on account of our transgressions ;
He was bruised on account of our iniquities :

" And the unbelievers say to those who
believe : Follow our way, and we will
bear your sins ; but they shall not bear
any part of their sins, but they shall bear
their own burdens." In like manner,
to signifies to sustain or bear ; to hear
as a burden what another cannot bear ;
to hear what is imposed by another, either
by oppression, or as punishment. Hence
the nouns to, b'lb, to, nto, a burden.
But it also signifies to hear or suffer
vicariously, — the idea of the weight or
burden of the punishment being neces
sarily implied. Thus Lam. v. 7, i:n:«
13,to DrrnbiS, We bear their iniquities, i.e.
the punishment due to their iniquities ;
their penal consequences. Comp. ver. 11
of this chap, to' Nin Dnbisi, For. he sus
tained the punishment of their iniquities.
That such is the meaning of the verb
here, Gesenius himself allows, "to, —
trop. to bear the sorrows, sins, of any
one, i. e. to suffer the punishment which
anothei- has merited," Heb. Lex. in voc.
Thus also Winer, in his Edit, of Simonis:
" trop. peccatum alicujus bajulare est
peccati poenas gravissimas perpeti," Jes.
liii. 1 1 ; Thren. v. 7. The words are also
thus quoted in the ancient Rabbinical
work, entitied Pesikta : 1b"ji» n3n N13»3
n'fflan naw: N'sini ii33n nd3 nnn it td«d
inN '33 ns biio'ji ¦niNi3n!; nnn nsii i^ ibn
piD'n !!i3Dn bN i'; ibn ]'n i"; las wxhn two
^'^ IBS n»: i:>''!n )3n 3'n3i Ninn d:i» piB';
nnB»3 DniM ';13D« ; " When the blessed
Creator made his world, he stretched
out his hand under the throne of glory,
and brought out the soul of the Messiah.
He then said to him : Wilt thou heal
and redeem my sons after six thousand
years? He replied: Yes. Then God
said to him : Wilt thou bear the inflic
tions in order to purge their iniquity, as
it is written : But it was our diseases he
bore ? He said to him : I will bear
them joyfully." Such was the construc
tion put upon the passage by the LXX. :
OuTos Tas dpapTias rjpav ipepei, Kal
irepi r/pdv dbwdrai ; avTos dveXa^e, Kal
TOVS irovovs virepetvev. To the doctrine

of the vicarious sufferings of the Messiah,
as here taught, it has been objected, that
the words are quoted Matt. viii. 17, in
application to our Lord's removal of
bodily diseases. But the objection would
only be valid, if it could be shewn, that
the application made by the Evangelist
was designed to exhaust the meaning of
the prophet. The instances of miracu
lous cures were merely an incipient ful
filment of the prediction : a type or
specimen of what was to be effected by
our Lord's mediation generally. The
Jews were taught to regard disease as
the temporal punishment of sin ; and
since the prophet clearly shews, in the
following verse, that the end to be at
tained by the substitutionary sufferings of
the Messiah, was the removal of punish
ment from the guilty, the quotation was
appositely applied to the removal of
bodily distempers, as a partial attain
ment of that end. See Magee on the
Atonement, vol. i. pp. 412 — 435, third
edit.. Lend. 1812. »133, smitten, by
divine judgment. The verb is specially
applied to the infliction of such diseases
as the plague or leprosy. Hence Jerome
renders, leprosus. Aq. dipripevov. Symm.
ev drfirj dvra, 'Theod. better, pepacrnyd-
pevov. The words, n3»Bi D'ri'jN nsa, are
exegetical, — expressing, in plain terms,
the opinion of the Jews, that the suffer
ings of our Lord were inflicted as the
immediate punishment of great personal
guilt. That they were accustomed to
draw similar conclusions, see Luke xiii. 1 ;
John ix. 2.
5. The prophet now describes in plain
terms what he had expressed figuratively
in the preceding verse, '^^iia, the pass.
Part, in Poel, might be rendered
pierced, — being derived from ^^n, Arab.
jjjs. , perforatus est, to bore, pierce, &c.
It would thus distinctly recognise the
piercing of the hands, feet, and side of
our. Redeemer, as described by the evan
gelists. Comp. Ps. xxii. 17; Zech. xii.
10, But that it is better to adopt the
more extended signification of the verb,

chap, liii.]

ISAIAH.

381

The punishment with a view to our peace was upon him.
That by his stripes we might be healed.
6 All we, like sheep, have gone astray ;
We have turned each to his own way ;
But Jehovah hath inflicted upon him the punishment of us all.

appears from the general use of «31B,
following. Thus the LXX. iTpavpa-
Tia-Brj ; Arab. _»¦»- , vulnus accepit ; II,
multa infiexit vulnera. The Syr. has
¦^ V ¦^
u^oAiD , occisus est ; a signification
which '!^n certainly has. Gen, xxxiv. 27 ;
Isa. xiv. 18. koi, to break in small
pieces, crush, expresses the excessive
severity of our Lord's sufferings. Comp.
ver. 10; Luke xxii. 44; Matt, xxvii.
46; Ps. xxii. 14 — 17. The preposition
)» has here the causative signification,
and assigns the immediate ground or
reason of these sufferings. i:Bi')'id iDia,
lit. ihe punishment of our peace ; but as
such construction is altogether abhorrent
from the English idiom, the phrase must
be rendered periphrastically, the punish
ment by which our peace is effected, i. e.
the exemplary sufferings which were re
quired in order to our enjoying immunity
from punishment. The genitive is that
of object. 151*2, being derived from itj,
to chasten, correct, with a view to moral
improvement, hence to teach, generally;
to punish, as a warning to others, con
veys the idea of sufferings, which, while
they atoned for our sins, and thereby
procured for us reconciliation with God,
furnished a public illustration of the
great principles of his moral govern
ment. This, however, is only a secondary
idea, and must not be taken to the ex
clusion of suffering, which is the primary
signification of the term. The LXX.
have iraibeia ; but both iraibeia and
iraibeva are currently used by them in
the sense of inflicting castigation or pu
nishment. See Magee, ut sup. p. 401 ;
« » V
Syr. I /,p;* '^ , castigatio, correptio ;
Arab. ¦ '-^1 , instruxit, docuii, castigavit
spec, verheribus. The use of 1'^, " upon
him," plainly shews that punishment is
meant. For i:Bi'ra), thirty-two MSS,,
orig. two more, and one in the marg. ;
four of the early, and thirty-one other

editions, read wai'^ in the plural, which
would express the abundance and variety
of blessings flowing to us through the
death of the Messiah. The plural of
this noun is not used elsewhere. For
the doctrine, comp. chap. ix. 6 ; Micah
v. 5; Zech. vi. 13; Eph. ii. 14—17;
Col. L 20, 21 ; Heb. xiii. 20. npn is
taken collectively, and must be rendered
in the plural. MBi.:, a partic. noun, from
N?i_, to heal; but as diseases are spoken
of in Scripture as a punishment for sin,
so deliverance from the effects of sin is
represented figuratively as a cure. Comp.
chap. vi. 10, note ; Mark iv. 12.
6. A common but very significant
metaphor, teaching the folly, diversity,
universality, and guilt of sin. It is here
specially introduced for the purpose of
accounting for the intensity of the Mes
siah's sufferings. Comp. Ps. cxix. 176;
1 Pet. II. 25, OvTe yap i(ra irdvrav rd
irXrjppeXrjpaTa, ovbe els 6 rpoiros' aXXa
yap Ta ' AiyviTTiav e'lSaXa, Kal aXXa rd
^oiviKav Kal TO '^.'KXrjvav erepa, Kal dXXa
Tav ^KvBav aXX' dpas el Kal bidipopoi
Trjs irXdvrjs 01 Tpdiroi, irdvres dpoias tov
ovTa Oedv KaTaXeXoiiroTes i^Keipev irpo-
^aTois irXavapevois, Kal irpoKeipevois
Tols XiiKois, Theodoret in loc. The same
holds true of transgressors individually.
No two sin precisely alike; but all,
without exception, are in a state of
apostasy, guilt, and peril. The 1 in
nirpi is adversative, and introduces the
second member of the antithesis. i3 S'apn,
&c. the LXX. paraphrase, irapebaKe
avTov Ta'is dpapTiais iqpav ; but the verb
properly signifies to fall in with, or act
upon any one, and is used both in
a friendly and in a hostile sense. Here
the latter obviously obtains ; hence some
interpreters render, with Kimchi, hosti-
liter in eum irr^uere fecit. Simply to lay
upon, is too weak; Symm. better, kot-
avTrjo'ai iiroir)trev, caused to reach, i, e.
as the object on which the punishment
was inflicted. Comp. Numb, xxxii. 23 ;
and for the signification of »3S, in a

38;i

ISAIAH.

[chap. liii.

He was severely afflicted, yet he submitted himself.
And opened not his mouth ;
As a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
Or as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
So he opened not his mouth.
Without restraint, and without a sentence he was taken away ;
And who can describe his generation ?

hostile sense, Judg. viii. 21 ; 1 Sam. xxii.
17 ; 2 Sam. i. 15 ; 1 Kings ii. 29 ; Amos.
v. 19. Punishment is here represented
under the metaphor of a wild beast, to
which straying sheep are exposed in the
wilderness. It is eagerly looking out
for its victims ; but, instead of falling in
with them, it comes in contact with the
shepherd himself, and while it attacks
him, the sheep make their escape. Thus
the Messiah, having as Mediator inter
posed himself between his people and
the punishment which was coming upon
them, received it upon his sacred person
in their room. Comp. Zech. xiii. 7;
Matt. xxvi. 31 ; John x. 1—18; 1 Pet.
ii. 24, 25. The transition from the con
dition of the sheep, in the former half
of the antithesis, to that of the Shep
herd, was natural and easy. ]i» is a col
lective noun, which accounts for the
ancient versions exhibiting the plural.
13^3 — 1:^3 are correlates.
7. Cyril among the ancients, Sanc
tius, Sanchez, Hensler, Dathe, Kuinoel,
Jahn, Lowth, Crusius, Mbller, Green,
Boothroyd, Jones, and others, render
n:?: Nini toa:. It was exacted, and he be
came answerable, or to this effect ; and
this rendering has generally been ap
proved by such as hold the doctrine of
our Lord's voluntary substitution. It
is, however, to say the least, very doubt
ful whether such meaning can fairly be
brought out of the words. It is certain
none of the ancient translators under
stood them so ; Symm. irpoa-rjvdxBr] Kal
avTos virrJKOvae ; LXX. Kal avTos bid
TO KeKOKao-Bai ; Syr., reading toa: instead
of toa:, y^^DZ^o .i3;.a , accessit et hu-
miliavit se ; Vulg. oblatus est quia ipse
voluit. toa: signifies, indeed, to press a
debtor, to extort service, &c. ; but uni
formly with the implication, that the
debt or service is obtained from the

individual against his will. Chap. Ix. 18
forms no exception — D'toa:, exactors,
being there qualified by the term liH?,
righteousness. The verb occurs in
Niphal only in three other passages ;
viz, 1 Sam. xiii. 6, xiv. 24 ; Isa. iii. 5 ;
in all of which the idea of being dis
tressed, oppressed, &c. is obviously that
which is intended to be conveyed. In
like manner, though n^, the other verb
here employed, signifies to respond, an
swer, announce, &c. it no where conveys
the notion of legal or moral responsi
bility. This signification has been trans
ferred to it from the Latin, ad diem
respondere. I am, therefore, compelled,
on purely philological grounds, to reject
the rendering in question, though I
firmly believe the doctrine which it
teaches. To n»: in Niphal, I assign
here, with Koppe, Jahn, Steudel, Heng
stenberg, and Reinke, the reflexive sig
nification, he submitted himself. Such
construction is required by Mini, pre
ceding, and well agrees with the follow
ing description of the patience with
which the Messiah endured his suffer
ings. Thus Kal avTos virrjKovo'e of
Symm. and quia ipse voluit, of Jerome.
Comp. John x. 17, 18; Phil. ii. 8; Heb.
xii. 2 ; 1 Pet. ii. 23. vB nnB'. Hh) at the
end of the verse is merely a repetition
for the sake of emphasis : only the 1 in
«''') marks the apodosis. For the fulfil
ment, see the history of our Lord's suf
ferings. 8. The prophet now reaches the cul
minating point in his description of the
sufferings of the Messiah, viz. the unjust
death in which they terminated. That
rip^ is used of a removal from among the
living, see Gen. v. 24, xiii. 36 ; 2 Kings
ii. 9 ; Jer, xv. 15 ; Ezek. xxiv, 16. MtoJ
is similariy used. Job xxxii. 22; and
f)DH, Isa. Ivii. 1. Gesen. compares the
Arab, ^lU ^1 fjo^ . And that such

chap. liii.J

ISAIAH.

383

For he was cut off from the land of the living ;
On account of the transgression of my people he was smitten.

must be the signification of the verb
here is plain, from the latter half of the
verse. Perhaps no three words in the
Hebrew Bible have been more variously
rendered than ng^^ iflUpaai is3>a; LXX. iv
Trj Taireivda-ei (Just. Mar. and Chrysost.
add aVTov) q Kpia-is avrov rjpBrj; Syr.
" /] l' " i' '
carcere et ex judicio raptus est ; Arab.
«3 . JtjXa- , judicium^ ejus raptus est ;
Vulg. De angustia, et de judicio sublatus
est; Jewish Span, de detenimiento y de
juizio fue tornado, and thus generally
the Rabbins ; and by Calvin, Gesenius,
Hitzig, and Scholz: only Calvin and
others explain n^ of our Lord's being
taken up to glory. Dbderiein, Dathe,
and others, take iDBtoBBi isiJp to be a
hendiadis, and translate, post angustias
judicii ad supplieiam rapitur ; Lowth,
Tingstad., and Jones, by an oppressive
judgment he was taken off. By another
class of interpreters the preposition ]a is
taken in its negative or privative accep
tation : Zwinglius, indicia causa citraque
judicium tolletur ; Leo Juda, Absque
dilatione citraque judicium raptus est ;
Coverdale, He shal be had awaie, his
cause not herd, and without any judge
ment ; Luzzatto, On I'emporlait (on le
tuail) sans autoritS souveraine, et sans
justice, c'esi-a-dire : on pouvait le tuer
impunement. This construction seems
preferable to any other; only isi* is to
be taken in its usual signification, re
straint, hindrance, and 1DB0B in that of
¦sentence, judicial sentence. Instead of
restraining the Jews from carrying into
effect their murderous purpose against
our Lord, Pilate " delivered " him " to
their will." Luke xxiii. 25. Nor as
procurator, occupying the judgment
seat. Matt, xxvii. 19, did he pronounce
a formal sentence upon him, but merely
decided (iireKpive) that it should be as
the Jews required, Luke xxiii. 24.— Of
the different interpretations that have
been given of lii, generation, such as
eternal production ; length of life ; man
ner of life ; posterity ; men living at the
same time ; the last alone is justifiable

on the ground of Hebrew usage. It
only signifies posterity when used in the
plural, and even then only such of a
posterity as are contemporaries. LXX.
^fwa; Saad. ij.\s,-, corresponding to
the use of lii. Gen. vii. 1 ; Eccles. i. 4.
Storr, Dbderiein, Dathe, RosenmiiUer,
Gesenius, and others, take ilimN, though
the accusative, to be equivalent to the
nominative absolute, and render. Who of
his contemporaries considered thai he
was, &c.; but such construction is not
so natural as that which regards it as
strictiy the accusative absolute, " And
as to the men of his time, who can
conceive of them ?" i. e. their atrocious
wickedness. The verb rr'ip, of which
nrrito^' is the Pilel, signifies to conceive in
the mind, meditate, and then to give
utterance to such conceptions ; LXX.
bir]yrj(TeTai. The best comment on the
words is furnished by the testimony of
Josephus de Bell. Jud. lib. v. cap. 1,3,
sect. 6. Olpai 'Papaidv (Bpabwovrav iirl
TOVS aXiTrjpiovs, rj KarairoBrjvai dv vird
Xafrparos, i] KaTOKXva-Bijvai TrjV iroXiv,
rj Toiis Tijs 'Soboprjvijs peraXa^eiv Krjpav-
Tovs' iroXi) yap rdv ravra iraBovrav
rjveyKe TENEAN dBearepav. " I deem
it, that if the Romans had delayed to
come against these wretches, the city
would have been swallowed up by an
earthquake, or overwhelmed by a deluge,
or experienced the same fate with
Sodom : for it bore a, more impious
GENERATION than thosc which suffered
such things." And again, cap. x. sect.
5. prjre TENEAN i^ aldvos yeyovevai
KOKias yovipaTepav, " Nor was there
ever from the beginning of the world
a generation more prolific in wicked
ness." Comp, Matt, xii.;39, xxiii. 33 ; Luke
xi. 48 — 51. 113, Arab. yJ>-, occidit, to
cut, cut off, slay, kill, expresses the vio
lent death of the Messiah. Comp. Dan.
ix. 26, where n'13 is similarly used. Ps.
Ixxxviii. 6 ; Lam. iii. 54. The pronom.
affix in 'as, refers to the prophet, who,
as frequently, includes himself among
the people. For iaj the LXX. have
read nia), eis Bdvarov, smitten unto

384

ISAIAH.

[chap. liii.

They had also assigned him his grave with the wicked,
But he was with the rich after his death :
Because he had done no violence.
Neither was deceit found in his mouth.

death. Thus also the versions which
have been made from the LXX. ; but
the reading is confirmed by no Heb.
MS., and by no other independent au
thority. On the contrary, Symm.,
Theod., the Targ., Syr., and Jerome, all
express the pronoun. And that the two
first so translated, clearly proves, that
niB^ was not the reading of the text in
the time of Origen, as Kennicott, in
Lowth, contends. In the dispute of that
father with the Jews, the argument did
not turn upon the rendering of this par
ticular word, but upon 'as, tov Xaov
pov, my people, from whom the person
spoken of is evidently distinguished.
On this being urged, the Jew who had
objected that it was not one man, but
one people that was meant, was silenced.
Orig. con. Celsum, lib. i. p. 370, edit.
1733. The proposed emendation is,
therefore, justly rejected by Gesenius,
Hitzig, Scholz, and other moderns. It
is contended by Gesenius and others
that in iaj, the poetical suffix is plural and
not singular; but the latter alone suits
the context, and is decidedly to be so
taken, chap, xliv, 15, where it refers to
!)DB, and is converted into i'', ver. 17.
See also Gen. ix. 26, 27 ; and comp.
Job XX. 23, xxii. 2, xxvii. 23, for a simi-.
lar use of ia'bs in the singular. In the
last of these passages the form is imme
diately changed into 1'^. Thus the Syr.
and Vulg.
9. ]B% lit. and he gave, i, e. destined,
appointed, assigned; but this form of the
verb is very often used impersonally, as
in the German, Man gab; or the French,
On avail ordonn&; and is best rendered
by an English plural. The meaning is,
that our Saviour was destined by the
Jews to have the ignoble burial of those
who underwent capital punishment. 'O
be pXaa-<prjpr^a'as Bedv KaraXevaBels Kpe-
pdfrBa bi rjpipas, Kal dnpas Kai d(f>avds
Bairrea-Ba. "Let him who blasphemes
God, be stoned and hanged for a day,
and have a disgraceful and obscure bu
rial." Josephus, Antiq. iv. 8. 6. See also
Iken. in Bibl. Hagana, ii. p. 215. nij

before D'Stol is not the sign of the accusa
tive, as it has been taken by the LXX.,
Symm., Vulg., and Targ., but is used as
a preposition in the sense of with. Thus
Saad. x-w j^ttall m J>«>-j . and so
Gesenius, Hitzig, and other modems,
confirming the received interpretation.
Even Rosenmiiller falls in with it, in the
last edition of his Scholia. Several in
terpreters, among whom Luther, Calvin,
Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, Hitzig, Maurer,
take iiJto to be parallel with D'Stoj, and
give to it the signification of impious,
ungodly, or the like ; mostly on the
ground, that riches are frequently the
source of pride, arrogance, and wicked
ness. This transition of meaning, how
ever, Hitzig scruples not to designate a
fiction, and has recourse, with Martini
and Koppe, to the Arab, jic , to stumble,
take a wrong step, &c. ; but neither this
verb, nor any of its derivatives, appear
ever to have been used in the sense of
criminality. In the Hebrew Bible Tto»
uniformly signifies rich, and it depends
upon the circumstances of the context,
what character is to be attached to the
individual thus designated. Saad, «.«•
^jJuUjW^I , cum opulentis ; Jewish Span.
con rico. In l'to»"nsi the 1 is adversa
tive, and the subst. verb, nvi is to be
supplied. That Joseph of Arimathea is
meant no one can doubt who impar
tially compares the gospel history. Matt.
xxvii. 57—61. I'niaa Abenezra, Fore
rius, CEcolampad., Zwinglius, Schindler,
Drusius, Kennicott, Lowth, Jubb, Kui
noel, Martini, Mbller, Jenour, Noyes, and
others, render, in his sepulchre — taking
the 3 to be radical, and the noun to be
the plural construct of nas, a high
place : — and attaching to it the idea of
tumulus. From no other passage, how
ever, can it he shewn, that niB3 mean
tumuli, or sepulchral mounds. On the
contrary, they always mean either
heights in general, or specifically the

chap, liii.]

ISAIAH.

385

10

But Jehovah was pleased to bruise him ; he put him to grief ;
Verily, if he make himself a sacrifice for sin,
He shall see his seed, he shall live long.
And the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.

high places so frequentiy mentioned in
the O. T., where idolatrous worship was
performed. Ezek. xliii. 7, forms no ex
ception ; for the connexion there requires
us to point Dnia3, in or after their death,
which some of De Rossi's MSS. exhibit.
It is also the punctuation of the Sonc.
Edition, and is confirmed by the render
ing of the Targum. Wherever niB3
takes the suffix, it retains the KametzJ
as Lev. xxvi. 30 ; Isa. xxxvi. 7. I,
therefore, adhere to the interpretation
of the LXX,, Targ,, Syr., Vulg., and
most modern versions, as those of
Vitringa, Michaelis, Rosenmiiller, Ting
stadius, Dathe, Gesenius, Hitzig, Heng
stenberg, Ewald, Reinke, Scholz, Jones,
&c., according to which, 3 is the pre
position, and I'nia the regular plural of
nia, death, with the pronom. suffix. We
flnd the plural used Ezek. xxviii. 1 0, to
express a violent death, or as Jarchi
explains it, nia ':'a to, all kinds of death.
It is thus intensive in force, and expresses
the awful nature of that death, to which
our Lord submitted. 3, I have rendered
after, on the authority of Lev. xi. 31 ;
1 Kings xiii. 31 ; Esther ii. 7, where the
preposition has this meaning before the
Infin. of niB. Comp. other passages in
Noldius. The meaning is, that on his
death, and while he remained in a state
of death, his body was with, or, in the
tomb of, a rich man. ^? following, satis
factorily shews, that the two preceding
hemistichs form an antithesis, and that
it is to be restricted to the latter of them ;
for there would be no propriety in assign
ing the innocence of the Messiah as the
cause why he was ignominiously treated
by his enemies. The conjecture of
Le Clerc, which Kennicott adopts, that
ii3i? and vnias have changed places, is
totally unsupported.
10. The Conjun. in nin'i is resumptive
and confirmatory, connecting what fol
lows with njri, ver. 6. Whatever hand
man might have in the death of the Re
deemer, it was, nevertheless, the result
of the gracious purpose of God. Comp.

Acts ii. 23. '•'^rrri iN3i refer back to fpq
and N31I?, ver. 5. 'i'.lin is an Aramaic
form for'nbnn, the Hiph. of njn, to he in
pain, suffer grief, &c. DM, if so far from
being here a particle of doubt, rather ex
presses the certainty of what is affirmed ;
only the statement is put hypothetically,
for the purpose of laying down the con
dition of the following predictions re
specting the success of the Messiah's
undertaking. It forms the point of
transition from the use of the Preterite
to that of the Future tense. His sacri
fice was still future, but it should cer
tainly be presented, and issue in the
specified results. In such cases, DM has
all the native force of its derivation from
JBM, Arab. ^^| , which convey the idea
of firmness, security, certainty, &c. Whe
ther D'iBH be the second person mascu
line, or the third feminine, (both being
alike in form,) has been disputed. To
the former mode of construction, it can
not fairly be objected that it would occa
sion too violent a change of person, since
many such abrupt changes occur in the
prophets. And, as such a degree of
prominence had just been given to the
act of the Father in bruising the Son,
there might, to the mind of a Hebrew,
appear a singular propriety in the mo
mentary adoption of the direct form of
address. Still, it seems more in accord
ance with the usual reciprocal force of itop:,
his soul, for himself, and especially as
occurring immediately after, ver. 12, to
take the verb as the third feminine,
agreeing with tow. oito is used intransi
tively, as in 1 Kings xx. 12 ; so that the
literal rendering of itofja DtoM D'icn DM will
be, Truly if his soul make itself a sacri
fice for guilt; 'i.e. if he lay down his
life as a propitiatory sacrifice. Comp.
TrapeSwKei' 'E Alf TON virep rjpdv irpoa(f>o-
pdv Kal Bva-iav, Eph. v. 2. Comp. also
Matt. XX. 28 ; Gal i. 4 ; Heb. ix. 14.
The doctrine taught in these passages,
and in our text, is that of our Lord's
voluntary substitution of himself as a
3d

ISAIAH.

[chap. Llll.

11 After the son-ow of his soul, he shall see it, and be satisfied ;
By the knowledge of himself shall my Righteous Servant justify
many ;
For he shall bear their iniquities.

victim to expiate human guilt. Between
DtoM and nMian there is no further differ
ence, than that the latter relates to the
sinful act, considered simply in itself:
the former to its guilt as affecting the
individual, in the way of exposing him
to punishment. This liability the Mes
siah took upon himself, and actually en
dured the punishment due to others.
Both terms are sacrificial, and are fre
quently used in the Levitical law. The
" seed " of the Messiah are such as
should believe in him, being born again
through the instrumentality of his gospel,
James i. 18 ; 1 Pet. i. 23, 25. In the
East, Christians are called ^^Xit.Ji] iiiU<
the family of the Messiah. Comp. Ps.
xxii. 31. The LXX., Vulg., and some
moderns, among whom Lowth, connect
D'b; '^'IM.' with 3>li., and render, a long-
lived posterity, or a seed which shall pro
long their days ; but the construction
which refers both verbs to a common
subject, viz. the Messiah, is more appro
priate. It is the constructio asyndeta.
Thus the Syr., Vitringa, Dbderiein,
Dathe, Hensler, Tingstadius, van der
Palm, Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, Hitzig,
Hengstenberg, Reinke, Scholz, and Je
nour. Comp. Ps. Ixxii. 15 ; Heb. vii.
16, 25 ; Rev. i. 18. nirr ysn means not
simply the cause of Jehovah, as Gesenius
interprets, but such cause as that in
which Jehovah takes peculiar delight.
Like evboKia in the N. T., it implies
special good-will, or favour. The term
seems to have been selected here to cor
respond with yon nin; at the beginning of
the verse. iT3, in his hand, i. e. through
his instrumentality.
11. The prophet prosecutes the idea
of the reward to be enjoyed by the Mes
siah, as the result of his painful suffer
ings. The verb nMi cannot be construed
with ja in the sense of seeing of, i. e.
" the fruit of," which our common ver
sion expresses. Such construction would
imply that only a pari or portion should
be seen. The preposition is rather used

in the sense of after, from the time of, as
in Ps. Ixxii'i. 20, yi^na Di'jm, " as a dream
after one awakes." The prophets pre
dicted the sufferings of Christ, and the
glory that should follow, 1 Pet. i. 11.
tos signifies labour, toil, sorrow, travail,
&c., but has no reference whatever to the
sorrows of childbirth, as some have ex
plained the term travail in our common
version. Arab. (Jv^j fif^^t, operatus
fuit. Hence the fatigue, exhaustion,
&c., resulting from manual labour. The
object to nMi;, he shall see, is SiJ, seed, in
the preceding verse ; so that we have
here another instance of resumptive pre
diction. »3to; nMi; is again the constructio
asyndeta, as in ver. 10. The latter verb
signifies to have abundance, to be supplied
to ihe full, and expresses the immense
number of converts whom it would be
the Redeemer's joy to contemplate.
IPS'!, his knmvledge, is the genitive of
object : the knowledge which respects
the Messiah ; a spiritual acquaintance
with him and his propitiatory sufferings
just described. In '13? p'lS, my righteous
servant, the adjective is placed first, for
the sake of emphasis, in order that the
idea of righteousness, expressed by the
preceding verb P'l?!, might be more pro
minently exhibited. See on chap, xxviii.
21. The charge of solecism, therefore,
brought forward by Lowth, is without
foundation. That the righteousness in
tended is the meritorious righteousness
of Christ, on account of which sinners
obtain the pardon of sin, and the conse
quent blessings of salvation, must be
evident to all who are familiar with the
Scripture use of the terms p'i?n, iii?.i?>
biKaioa, biKaiocrivT), b'lKaios, in con
nexion with the execution of the scheme
of mercy. See chap. xlv. 24 ; Jer. xxiii.
6 ; Acts xiii. 38,'39 ; Rom. iii. 21—28,
iv. 5—8, 25, V. 16—19 ; 2 Cor. v. 21 ;
Phil. iii. 9. The context abundantly
shews that the verb p'isn is used in the
forensic sense, and not in that of moral
improvement. ) p^'T?''^ is unique, but

chap, liii,]

ISAIAH.

387

12

Therefore, I will divide for him a portion among the great ;
.A.nd with the strong he shall divide the spoil ;
Because he poured out his soul unto death.
And was numbered with transgressors.

seems designed to teach the actual com
munication of the blessing of justification
to such as believe. Comp. '? rpjn, chap.
xiv. 3 ; } nrrn, Gen. xlv. 7. ' 1 in Dn:^i
is causal, assigning the reason why the
Messiah was qualified to impart right
eousness or justification to sinners — his
having suffered the punishment due to
their guilt. For the signification of to,
see on ver. 4.
12. In this verse, the reward of the
Messiah is more distinctly announced in
metaphors borrowed from the ancient
military life, in which a victorious gene
ral had conferred upon him, by his
monarch, the spoils which he had won,
and again distributed them among the
soldiers. He was to have a glorious
triumph as a compensation for the suffer
ings which he should endure. After
i^CS, I will divide to him, ip)n, his por
tion, is understood. The LXX., Vulg.,
followed by the fathers, and, among the
moderns, by Hensler, Lowth, Martini,
Dathe, Boothroyd, HengstenbergjReinke,
and Jones, render D>313 and D'BissrnM as
accusatives, and thus represent the great
and mighty as constituting the spoil
given to our Lord. But the more natu
ral construction of the words is that
given in our common version, — 3 being
rendered among, and ns, with. That
the latter is properly so rendered, is clear
from the parallel use of this particle as a
prepos., Prov. xvi. 19 : D'wnM rni-^Biji 3iiQ
D'Ma-nM W p^na, " It is better to be of a
lowly spirit witli the humble, than to
divide the spoil with the proud." Comp.
D'»toB-nM, ".with transgressors," in this
very' verse, and D'StoHTiM, "with the
wicked," ver. 9. And to satisfy the law
of parallelism, 3 must be suffered _ to
retain its usual signification of with,
among, or such like. This construction
is accordingly approved by Leo Juda,
Castalio, Calvin, Hezel, Rosenmiiller,
Gesenius, Riickert, Hitzig, Noyes, and
Scholz, as the more philologically cor
rect. The meaning thus brought out is,
that, as the great and mighty have

extended their conquests in the world, and
brought home abundance of spoil, to be
distributed according to custom, so the
Messiah, having gained the victory in
the infinitely important spiritual conflict
in which he was to engage, should not
be behind them, but should receive a
reward suitable to the conquest he was
to gain ; and likewise, on his part, bestow
rewards on his followers. Comp. Luke
xxii. 29 ; John xvii. 22 ; Rev. iii. 21.
The reading P^n; instead of P^f^^, found
in one of De Rossi's MSS., and supported
by the LXX. and Arab., has in all pro
bability originated in a desire to intro
duce uniformity into this part of the
verse. — The prophet is so full of the
amazing love of the Messiah in laying
down his life for transgressors, that
though by using the causal particle p,^,
therefore, at the beginning of the verse,
he had shewn, that his sufferings pre
viously specified constituted the ground
of his reward, yet he once more resumes
the subject, which he introduces with
the emphatic itoM nnn, eo quod, pro eo
quod, in reward for. The words, nisn
itoB: nia^, forcibly express the voluntary
and unreserved exposure to death, to
which our Lord submitted in our room.
njs, Arab. ^ jC , signifies to be bare,
naked, &c, ; iii Piel and Hiph. to make
bare, empty, pour out. It occurs in the
former of these conjugations, Ps. cxli. 8,
'toa: 1»n 'js, " Suffer not my soul to be
poured out," i e. by the enemy. I^in, to
blast, make bare, is similarly used Jud.
V. 18, mab itop: t]in DS, "a people that
exposed their soul to die," LXX. els
BdvoTov, niB^, to death. The Arabs em
ploy the phrase, £mM (JUjI, effudit
animam suam, in the same sense. Comp.
Phil, ii, 7, eavTov 'EKENQSE, " he emp
tied himself." S'as; is an instance of the
imperfect or indefinite future, intimating
that the intercession of the Messiah was
not to be a transient act, or such an act
as would be completed at the time of his

388 ISAIAH. [chap. liv.
And bare the sin of many.
And made intercession for the transgressors.
death, but that it would consist in an the prophet, that Gesenius himself is
action continuously carried on in future compelled to acknowledge it in the fol-
time. For the fulfilment, see Luke lowing terms: "Most Hebrew readers,
xxiii. 31 ; Rom, viii, 34 ; Heb. vii, 25 ; who were previously familiar with the
1 John ii, 1. For the general significa- ideas of sacrifice and substitution, must
tion of sas, see on chap, xlvii. 3, and necessarily have taken this view of the
liii, 6. As used here in Hiphil with '>, passage; and it cannot be doubted, that
it means, to present the cause of another, the apostolic representation of the death
to use one's influence for his beneflt. of Christ as an atonement pre-eminentiy
So manifestly is the doctrine of atone- rests upon this basis." Comment, ii.
ment taught in this important section of Theil. p. 191.

CHAPTER LIV.
flftlaving finished his description of the sufferings and triumphs of the Messiah, the
prophet resumes his address to the church of God, which he had called to depart
from Babylon, chap. lii. 11 ; but modifies it, in accordance with those views into
the distant future with which he was favoured by the Spirit of prophecy. He
sets out by^redicting the amazing increase of the church after her restoration
to -the land of Judea, 1 ; and the extension of her boundaries into the desolate
regions, of paganism, 2 — 5. Grounds of encouragement are then drawn from
the Divine love and faithfulness, 6 — 10; and assurances are given of her future
glory, security, and happiness, 11 — 1 7. Some consider the chapter to be exclusively
applicable to the Jews, as a people ; but the interpretation put upon ver. 1, by
the Apostles-Gal. iv. 27, and the facts of history, militate against such appli
cation. Though, Isaiah does not lose sight of that people as originally consti
tuting the cjiurch, yet, having his eye upon the spiritual seed of the Messiah, to
be chiefly collected from the heathen world, he merges for the time the peculiar
. interests of Judaism in those of the universal church.

1 Sing, O bag-en ! that didst not bear ;
Burst into song, Apd shout, thou that wast not in travail !
For more are the children of the desolate.
Than the children of the married wife, saith Jehovah.
1. It i^ not thg state of the Gentile desolate during that captivity, but was
world that is here contrasted with that now viewed as flourishing under the
of the Jews, but the desolate or widowed reign of the Messiah. The prophet had
condition of the latter, contrasted with already predicted the vast increase of
their happy state before their divorce at the Jewish people, chap. xlix. 18—22.
the captivity. By the naBito-:?, the chil- This he here repeats, with special refer-
dren of the desolate,.. are meant the ence to the spiritual church. In the
members of the church which had been apostolic age numerous myriads (iroirai

chap, liv.]

ISAIAH.

389

Enlarge the place of thy tent ;
Stretch out the cords of thy dwellings ; spare not ;
Lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.
For thou shalt break forth to the right and to the left ;
Thy seed shall inherit the nations.
And shall people the desolate cities.
Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed ;
Neither be confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame ;
For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth ;
And the reproach of thy widowhood thou shalt remember no more.
For thy Maker is thy husband ;
Jehovah of hosts is his name ;
And thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel :
The God of the whole earth he shall be called.

pvpidbes. Acts xxi. 20) of Jews believed
in Jesus as the Messiah, while the num
ber of Gentile converts exceeded all
calculation. To the Christian com
munity, composed of both, the Apostle
obviously applies the words. Gal. iv. 26,
27, where he contrasts the literal Jeru
salem — the representative of such of
the Jews as continued in unbelief — with
the spiritual Jerusalem, or Christian
church, the mother of all believers,
whether from among Jews or Gentiles.
That the Rabbins considered the passage
to have a bearing on the times of the
Messiah, see Midrash Shir Hashirim ad
Cant. i. 5.
2, 3. This beautiful metaphor is taken
from the pastoral life, which, in the East,
renders moveable habitations absolutely
necessary. The Orientals have two kinds
of tents, the one larger, and the other
smaller ; but both constructed much in
the same way. They are sustained by
poles, more or fewer in number, accord
ing to the size of the tent, but the tallest
is always in the midst ; while the others
suspend the covering round the sides.
This covering is made of a stuff woven
from wool and camel's hair ; _ it hangs
down like a curtain over the side poles,
and is fastened by cords to wooden pegs,
which are firmly driven into the ground.
Other cords, fastened at the one end to
the tops of the poles, and at the other
to pegs or stakes, keep the tent steady,
and secure it against the violence of

storms. As the family increases, it is
proportionally enlarged, and requires
the cords to be longer, and the stakes to
be stronger in proportion. By ^rft<, tent,
is meairt the entire habitation ; by
niastoB, dwellings, the different compart
ments into which it was divided by the
smaller curtains suspended from the
roof 113' is future, but derives an im
perative force from the preceding '3'mn. —
The future members of the church
should occupy the localities formerly
possessed by idolaters, and characterised
by spiritual desolation. Comp. chap.
xlix. 8.
4. The youth of the Jewish Church
was the period of her servitude in
Egypt; her widowhood, that of the
captivity in Babylon. Comp. Jer. ii. 2 ; ,
Ezek. xvi. 22; Jer. li. 5, )b)n; Lam. i.l.
5. Jehovah, to whom the church owed
her existence, was still, and would con
tinue to be her husband, in communion
with whom she might reckon on the
enjoyment of her matrimonial privi
leges. Comp. John iii. 29 ; Rom, vii, 4 ;
2 Cor. xi. 2 ; Eph, v. 23—33. Instead,
however, of sustaining this relation to
her, as composed of Jews only, and
occupying the contracted territory of
Canaan, he was to sustain it to all,
throughout the world, who should enter
her pale. Comp. Zech. xiv. 9 ; Mai. i.
11; John xi. 52; Acts xv. 14—17;
Rom. iii, 29. lp^B3 and tpi?S are plurals
after the model of D'ri^M. The latter

390

ISAIAH.

[chap. liv.

10

For Jehovah hath called thee as a forsaken, spirit-broken female ;
And as a -wife of youth, when thou wast rejected,
Saith Jehovah of Hosts.
For a small moment have I forsaken thee.
But with the greatest tenderness I will gather thee.
In an effusion of wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment ;
But with everlasting kindness I will be merciful to thee,
Saith thy Redeemer, Jehovah.
For this is to me as the waters of Noah ;
As I swore that the waters of Noah should not again overflow the
earth.
So have I sworn, that I will not be angry with thee, nor rebuke
thee.
Though the mountains should be removed.
And the hOls should be shaken,
Yet my lovingkindness shall not be removed from thee.
Nor shall my covenant of peace be shaken,
Saith Jehovah, that sheweth thee mercy.

occurs again Ps. cxlix. 2 ; LXX. Kvpios
d iroiav ue. For the idiomatic force of
M'1.1^'., see on chap. i. 26.
6. Mark the paronomasia in n3ns and
n3«S. By D'lis: ntoM, a wife of youth, is
meant.one who is married to a person in
his youth, to whom his affection may be
expected to be strong. Such was the
affection of God towards his people, not
withstanding the forlorn condition to
which they had been reduced. Though
they had been rejected, they were to be
again received into favour.
7, 8. The period of the Babylonish
captivity, and that of the gospel dispen
sation, are here contrasted. Not only
should the church be restored, but she
should enjoy the highest felicity in the
everlasting favour of her God. Such a
state might consist with outward afflic
tions in the kingdom of heaven, Mark
x. 30 ; John xvi. 33 ; 1 Thess. i. 6 ; Heb.
X. 34 ; 1 Pet. i. 6 ; how ill soever it
might accord with the principles of the
ancient theocrasy. f|2p, f]2to form a pa
ronomasia. The former term is a dira^
Xey., but obviously synonymous with
I^IJS. Comp. Prov. xxvii. 4; and the
Arab. ', ,_°>^/^ , dura et angusta fuit

vita ; hardship, adversity, &c. — the ef
fect, of which the cause is expressed by
the Hebrew.
9. There is an ellipsis of ? before the
former 'a, just as there is before ItoM.
Inattention to this circumstance, which
is of common occurrence, has led Symm.
Theod., the Syr., Vulg., Targ., and
Saad,, to linite '0 '3 so as to form one
word, 'B'3 ; reading Di', day, in the plural,
instead of D;a, waters. To the same
cause is doubtless to be'ascribed the occur
rence of 'P'3 in some few MSS, The con
junction '3 could not have been omitted.
nMi, this calamity. Gen. viii. 21 ; ix. 11.
10. 'Bi'jto n'13, my covenant of peace,
i. e. the new covenant which I am about
to make with you, by which I guarantee
to you reconciliation and spiritual pro
sperity. Comp. chap. liii. 5, Uv. 13 ; Ezek.
xxxiv. 25, xxxvii. 26 ; Zech. vi. 13. The
phrase seems to -have been suggested by
the reference made in the preceding
verse to the Divine engagement to Noah,
which God calls his n'i3. Gen. ix. 8, 11.
That these promises cannot apply to the
past history of the Jews as a nation, is
evident from the fact of their present
dispersion, which has continued neariy
eighteen centuries.

chap, liv.]

ISAIAH.

391

11 0 thou afflicted ! tossed, and not consoled !
Behold ! I will lay thy stones in stibium.
And found thee with sapphires.
12 I will make thy battlements of rubies,
Thy gates of sparkling gems ;
And all thy borders of precious stones.
13 All thy children shall be taught by Jehovah ;
And great shall be the peace of thy children.
Thou shalt be established in righteousness ;
Thou shalt be far from oppression,
For thou shalt not fear ;
And from terror.
For it shall not come near thee.
If they at all assemble, it is not from me ;
Whoever may assemble against thee shall fall away to thee.

14

15

11, 12. On this verse Lowth aptly
remarks, that these seem to be general
images to express beauty, magnificence,
purity, strength, and solidity, agreeably
to the ideas of the eastern nations, and
to have never been intended to be
strictly scrutinized, or minutely and par
ticularly explained, as if each of them
had some precise moral or spiritual
meaning. A similarly splendid descrip
tion of the happy state of the millennial
church is found Rev. xxi. 18 — 21. '^B,
stibium, or antimony, in Arab, ijssr ,
a fine mineral powder, compounded of
lead and zinc, and moistened with oil or
vinegar, with which the Oriental females
paint the edges of the eye-lids, thereby
giving them a black colour, and so appa
rently enlarging the eyes, as to render
their effect more powerful. The prophet
compares the cement to this black com
pound, to intimate that the beauty of
the stones would thereby be augmented.
See for the word, 2 Kings ix. 30 ;
1 Chron, xxix. 2 ; Jer. iv. 30. By
nitoato, LXX. iirdX^eis, parapets, or
notched battlements, but why so called,
it is difficult to say, except it be that
they admitted the rays of the sun. Lit.
suns. 13. The former half of this verse our
Lord quotes in proof of the necessity of

Divine teaching, John vi. 45. njn' 'iia^,
lit. disciples of Jehovah. Comp. chap.
viii. 16; Jer. xxxi. 34; Heb. viii. 11;
and BeobibaKToi, 1 Thess. iv. 9. By
which is meant not merely, or chiefly,
the teaching of God by the precepts of
the Gospel, but that Divine teaching by
the Holy Spirit, whereby not so much
the intellect is enlightened, as the heart is
touched, and the affections swayed.
Bloomfield, in loc. See also 1 John ii. 27.
For the latter half of the verse, comp.
John xiv. 27, and Phil. iv. 7; ij elpr/vr)
TOv Oeov tJ vnepexovcFa irdvra vovv.
14. 'prn, be far, has here the power
of the future, from the preceding verb.
15. The meaning of this verse is,
that whatever enemies might assault the
church, they were not to be viewed as
commissioned by God to execute wrath
upon her, as the Assyrians and Baby
lonians had been, and consequently
should not succeed in their attempts to
remove her. At iw iia subaud. 3;M, the
enemy, ]n is not used here as an inter
jection, but as a conditional particle.
Comp. for this usage, Exod. viii. 22 ;
Job xl. 23. 'niMB is a less usual, but by
no means a recent form, of 'riMB. The
verb iiB:, followed by ^ of the person,
always signifies to go over to another
party; LXX. iirl o-e KaTa(j)ev^ovTai ;
Vulg. adjungetur iibi. How often have
the enemies of the saints been arrested

S92 ISAIAH. [chap. lv.
16 Behold ! I create the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire ;
And bringeth out the instrument for his work ;
I also create the spoiler to destroy.
17 No instrument formed against thee shall prosper ;
And thou shalt condemn every tongue that riseth up in judgment
with thee.
This is the inheritance of the servants of Jehovah ;
And their righteousness is from me, saith Jehovah.
in their hostility, by a conviction that them, are equally in the hand of God —
they were fighting against God, laid the Maker of all.
down their arms, and joined themselves The chapter concludes with a decla-
to those whom they persecuted ! ration, that although such should be the
16, 17. All creatures and instruments happy state of the servants of the Lord,
being subordinate to the superintending it was not to be the reward of any merit
agency of Divine providence, the church in them, but the result of his own free
is assured, that nothing shall be per- and undeserved favour. To him they
mitted to transpire that can inflict any are indebted, both for the righteousness
real injury upon her. Those who fabri- of their character, and the vindication
cate weapons, and those who employ of their privileges.

CHAPTER LV.
This chapter treats of the spiritual blessings to be enjoyed by the church as restored
from Babylon, and established under the reign of the Messiah. It commences
with an universal invitation to those who are spiritually destitute to come and
participate in the gratuitous provisions of the gospel, and a powerful appeal
respecting the fruitlessness of every attempt to obtain happiness from any other
source, 1 — -3. The attention of mankind is then directed to the mediatorial
appointment of the Messiah, and the extension of his kingdom throughout the
worid, 4, 6. On this is based a series of calls to the unconverted Jews to avail
themselves of the gospel as first preached to them, with gracious assurances of
pardon, 6 — 9. And after a beautiful illustration of the certainty of the Divine
word's taking effect, 10, 11, the prophet returns to his captive people, and again
predicts their joyful deliverance, and happy return to their own land.

1 Ho ! every one that thirsteth, come to the waters.
And he that hath no money, come, procure and eat ;
1. The freeness, abundance, richness, the sense to instruction ; but this is only
the pure, refreshing, and satisfactory the medium through which men are
nature of gospel blessings, are indicated brought into the enjoyment of these
by the metaphors here employed. Comp. blessings. " Mihi vero dubium non est
chap. xu. 3, xxv. 6. The Targ. limits quin Jesaias hisce nominibus Aquarum,

CHAP.

LV.]

ISAIAH.

393

Yea, come, procure wine and milk.
Without money and without price.
Why do ye give your money for what is not bread ?
And your toil for that which satisfieth not ?
Hearken attentively to me, and eat what is good.
And your soul shall delight itself in fatness.
Incline your ear, and come to me ;
Hear, that your soul may live ;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
The sure mercies of David,
Behold ! I have made him a Witness to the people,
A Prince and Commander to the people.

Lactis, Vini, Panis, omnia comprehendat
quae ad spiritualem vitam necessaria
sunt." Calvin.
2. fJDI ^pto, lit. to weigh, weigh out
money, in reference to the custom of
weighing uncoined gold and silver in
mercantile transactions, which anciently
obtained, not only among the Hebrews,
but among other nations ; and still ob
tains in Turkey, and other parts of the
East. Hence the terms ''pto, shekel, nij,
-Gerah, &c.
3. "The DViS n'13, which God promises
to institute, is none other than the
ntoin nn.-^, so fully described, Jer. xxxi.
31 — 34. Indeed, it is explained in the
words immediately following, iii 'ipn
D'aBMsn, the sure benefits promised to
David ; Arab. ^'jLflJI ii.lt> JOcIm,
promissa Davidis veracia; LXX. to
Sa-ia Aai/iS ra iriard, which the Apostle
quotes. Acts xiii. 34, in order to shew
that Christ must necessarily have risen
to an immortal life. The phrase Ti.i.'ipn,
LXX. ra iXerj AavtS, occurs again
2 Chron. 'vi. 42, as descriptive of the
promise which God made to David of a
Son who was to he raised up to him
after his death, 1 Chron. xvii. 1 1 ; who
was not only to be his descendant, but
the descendant of his sons, ibid.; and
who was to reign over a kingdom that
was to endure to perpetuity, vers. 12 — 14.
Comp. Isa. ix. 7 ; Luke i. 32, 33. That
this promise, of which we have a full
statement 2 Sam. vii. 12 — 16, and
1 Chron. xvii. 11 — 14, was altogether
distinct from that which respected Solo

mon, 1 Chron. xxii. 8 — 13, has been
satisfactorily shewn by Whiston, Pierce,
and Kennicott. It likewise forms the
subject of Ps. Ixxxix. ; the title of which
is ni'toM D5,is nin; 'ion, I will sing of the
mercies of Jehovah for ever, i. e. the
mercies which he had sworn to David,
vers. 3, 4. The benefits, therefore, or
mercies promised to David, were those
of the everlasting reign of his Illustrious
Descendant, and, as such, sure and per
manent. 4. Though in the preceding verse the
term David means the literal king of
that name, yet in this it is tacitly trans
ferred to his Great Successor, to whom
it is expressly appropriated, Jer. xxx. 9 ;
Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24, xxxvii. 24, 25 ;
Hos. iii. 5. It is nothing unusual in
Scripture to introduce a person of emi
nence by the simple use of the pronoun.
For I'nn:, two MSS. originally read
Tj'nn? ; but the received lection is the
more appropriate. IB, 'Witness, one who
delivers a testimony. Comp. Rev. i. 5,
iii. 14 ; John xviii. 37 ; 1 Tim. vi. 13.
The term designates the prophetical
ofidce of the Messiah, in the discharge
of which he communicates to mankind,
and to his church in particular, the
saving knowledge of Divine things.
Gesenius forces upon it, the signification
of prince or lawgiver, i*?:. Leader,
Prefect, Prince, is the title also em
ployed by Daniel to characterize the
Messiah : Ta: rntoa, ix. 25 ; Arab.
jj^ , princeps, nobilis; LXX. dpxovra,
^yovpiva. In the N. T. dpxav, Rev. i. 5 ;
3e

ISAIAH.

[chap. lv.

5 Behold ! thou shalt call nations which thou knewest not.
And nations which knew not thee shall run to thee ;
Because of Jehovah thy God,
And because of the Holy One of Israel, who hath glorified thee.
6 Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found ;
Call ye upon him while he is near ;
7 Let the wicked forsake his way.
And the unrighteous his thoughts ;
And let him return to Jehovah, and he will be merciful to him ;
Even to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts.
Neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah.
9 For as the heavens are high above the earth.
So are my ways above your ways.
And my thoughts above your thoughts.
10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven.
And return not thither, but water the earth,
And cause it to bring forth and bud,
I That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater :

dpxrjyos, Acts iii. 15; Heb. ii. 10.
The only difference in meaning between
this epithet, and the following ™.?9)
Commander, seems to be, that by the
former is expressed the idea of going
before, as a prince or general before his
army, leading them on to conflict and
victory : by the latter, that of issuing
orders for their several movements, and
for the regulation of their entire con
duct, both among themselves mutually,
and towards the common foe. Zwinglius
remarks on the verse, " Est autem
haec egressiuncula ad ecclesiae caput et
jirincipem, a quo commendatur."
5. Zwinglius, Grotius, Vitringa, Hens
ler, Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, Hitzig, and
Scholz, are of opinion, that the Church
is here addressed ; but it is more natural
to refer the words to the Messiah, the
immediate antecedent. Besides, the
masculine gender is used, contrary to
the usage of the prophet, when address
ing the church. Jerome, Lyranus, Sanc
tius, Musculus, Calvin, Michaelis, v. d.
Palm, and Jenour, maintain the latter
position. The verb S'T is here used in
the sense of acknowledge, regard, &c.

" Messias non noverat gentiles ut ec
clesiae suae membra actu ; et gentiles
ipsum non noverant saltem fide, plerique
etiam deipso quicquam non audiverant."
Schmid. Comp. Eph. ii. 11, 12. The
alacrity with which the Gentiles should
repair to the Messiah, that they might
enjoy the blessings of his reign, is for
cibly expressed by their running to him.
1MB signifies to honour, glorify; LXX.
0T6 ibd^aa-e ae. Comp. John xvii. 1, 5,
24; Acts iii. 13.
6, 7. A call to the Jews to avail them
selves of the privileges of the Messiah's
kingdom, which was to be established
among them, lest Jehovah should with
draw his presence from them and vouch
safe it to the Gentiles only. While the
latter pressed forward with the utmost
eagerness, it behoved the former to re
pent, believe the gospel, and bring forth
fruits worthy of repentance. See for a
similar argument, chap. ii. 2 — 5.
8, 9. Though men would not so act
towards each other, as it regards the
forgiveness of numerous and highly ag
gravated offences, it was in perfect ac
cordance with the exalted character of

CHAP. LVI.]

ISAIAH.

395

n So shall my word be, which goeth out of my mouth ;
It shall not return to me void.
But shall effect that which I please.
And prosper in that for which I send it.
12 For ye shall go forth with joy.
And be led out in peace ;
The mountains and hills shall burst into song before you.
And all the trees of the field shall clap theur hands.
13 Instead of the thom shall come up the cypress ;
And instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle ;
And it shall become a name to Jehovah ;
An everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Jehovah, who " delighteth in mercy."
Before the former in3|, the compound
I'St;?, marking the protasis, is omitted.
Job vii. 9 ;. Ps. xlviii. 5 ; Hos. xi. 2 ; fur
nish similar instances of this ellipsis.
Comp. for the sentiment, Ps. ciii. 11.
11. By some, I3i has here been taken
in a personal sense, as designating the
Logos, of whom, according to such in
terpretation, Jehovah declares, that he
should not return to heaven without
accomplishing the work which he had
given him to do ; but, as appears from
the following verse, it is rather to be
understood of the Divine mandate given
to Cyrus to liberate the captive Jews.
Though thus special, however, in the
present connexion, the declaration holds
true of the Divine word universally.
Numb, xxiii. 19.
12, 13. The general meaning of these
verses is well given by Musculus, " Quo-
niam, inquit, verbum hoc quod egressus
est ex ore Dei, sic erit efficax suo tem
pore, ut sit vos fe Babylone liberaturum,
et in banc terram vestram reducturum.
Exibitis igitur e Babylone liberati, cum
gaudio, et deducimini cum pace : hoc

est, prosper^, sine hostili infestatione, et
absque omni impedimento." The 12th
verse exhibits a noble instance of proso
popoeia ; the most prominent objects in
nature being represented as meeting the
returning Jews with exultant joy, or
joining in acclamations as they pass
along. " Ipsi laetitia voces ad sidera jactant,
Intonsi montes : ipsse jam carmina rupes,
Ipsa jonant arbusta." — Virg. Eel. v.
To indicate their prosperous and happy
condition, nature is represented as un
dergoing a complete change. Comp.
chap. xli. 18, 19. IB'ip is of doubtful
signification: LXX., Aq., Theod., ko-
vv^a, the inula viscosa ; Symm. Kvibq,
the common nettle. Thus also the Vulg.
uriica, which I have followed, as the
root is, not improbably, f]ip, to burn,
with IB appended, from TB, calamity ;
Sanscrit, pid, to make sad, afflict.
The event should redound to the glory
of God, and be appealed to in all future
time, as a signal instance of his gracious
interposition in behalf of his people.

CHAPTER LVL
,The flrst eight verses of this chapter are intimately connected with the subject of
the preceding. The Jews are incited to cultivate those dispositions, and to
exhibit that conduct which corresponded to the nature of the dispensation about
to be established, 1,2; assurances and promises are given to those who had been

396 ISAIAH. [chap. lvi.
excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, that they should be received to the
full enjoyment of the richer privileges of the Christian church, 4 — 7 ; and a
specific prediction is inserted respecting the ingathering of the Gentiles generally.
With the 9th verse a new subject begins, which is continued through the three
following chapters ; viz. the character of the Jews and their rulers, which brought
down upon them the retributions of Divine providence. The prophet had pre
sented to his mental vision that character as developed from his own time till
after the final dispersion of the Jews by the Romans. The different hostile
powers by which they were to be oppressed, are first summoned to attack them,
9 ; and then the description of character commences with a graphic picture of
the ignorance, insensibility, avarice, and voluptuousness of their ecclesiastical and
civil rulers, 10 — 12.

1 Thus saith Jehovah :
Observe justice ; practise righteousness ;
For the coming of my salvation is near,
And the revelation of my righteousness.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this ;
And the son of man that adhereth to it ;
Keeping the sabbath, without profaning it ;
And keeping his hand so as to do no evil.
3 Let not the stranger, that joineth himself to Jehovah, say,
Jehovah hath utterly separated me from his people ;
Neither let the eunuch say,
Behold ! I am a dry tree.
4 For thus saith Jehovah to the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths.
And choose the things in which I delight.
Adhering to my covenant :
1, 2. The import of these verses is 3. These two classes are selected to
essentially that of the message of John serve as a specimen of the whole Gentile
the Baptist, Matt, iii. 2, 8. Comp. Ps. I. world. They had been expressly ex-
23 ; Mai. iv. 4, 5. As during the exile, eluded from the congregation of the
the Sabbath was the only part of the law Hebrews, Deut. xxiii. 1 — 9. And even
which the Jews had it in their power to such converts as were afterwards received
keep, in so far as external observances by the Jews, under the designation of
were concerned, particular stress is laid pisn ''ia, proselytes of righteousness, were
upon its celebration ; but with a directly never cordially regarded by them, but, on
implied reference to future times. It is the contrary, were held to be the canker
also worthy of special notice, that the and rust of Israel. Such distinctions were
observance of the day of rest is here all to be done away. The phrase, "a dry
placed on a level with the performance tree," is still used in the East, of a person
of moral duties : — a circumstance which of either sex, who has no children.
exactiy tallies with the place assigned to 4. The covenant referred to here and
it in the decalogue. nMi and 33 are an- ver. 6, is doubtless the everlasting, or
ticipative of the duties afterwards men- New Covenant, the establishment of
tioned in the verse. which is promised, chap. Iv. 3.

CHAP. LVI.]

ISAIAH.

397

I will give them in my house, and within my walls,
A memorial and a name better than sons and daughters ;
I -vdll give to each an everlasting name,
That shall not be cut off.
And as for the strangers that join themselves to Jehovah, to serve
him,
And to love the name of Jehovah, becoming his servants ;
All that keep the sabbath, without profaning it.
Adhering to my covenant :
I will bring them to my holy mountain,
And make them joyful in my house of prayer :
Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on my
altar ;
For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all
people.
The Lord Jehovah saith !
He that collecteth the dispersed of Israel :
I will collect to him others.
In addition to those of his that are collected.

5. T, hand, is here used in the sense
of monument or memorial; that by which
the knowledge of the character or actions
of any one is transmitted to future
generations. The eunuchs might have
nothing within the precincts of the Jew
ish temple to perpetuate their memory ;
they might have no " name " on the
genealogical tables of the Jews ; but the
want of these would be amply compen
sated, by the everlasting privileges which
they should enjoy as sons and citizens in
the New Jerusalem. Michaelis has here
an ingenious reference to the Ethiopian
eunuch, who is immortalized by a monu
ment and a name. Acts viii. far above
any celebrity that could have accrued to
him from sons and daughters. Gesenius,
and some other expositors, prefer the
acceptation portion, to that of monument,
but Dto, name, being mentioned in imme
diate connexion with it, proves that it
means the latter, as that on which the
name was inscribed. Comp. 1 Sam.
XV. 2 ; 2 Sara. viii. 13. i3 is to be
taken collectively, as frequently after a
plural. . .
7. The language of this verse is ob

viously metaphorical, since it describes
privileges to be enjoyed after Jerusalem,
and the temple with all its ritual ob
servances, had been destroyed. It is
borrowed from scenes and services fami
liar to the Jews in the days of the pro
phet, and onward during the continuance
of their ancient dispensation. The quo
tation of part of the verse by our Lord,
Mark xi. 17, in application to the literal
temple, which was then standing, has
the same general aspect towards the
Gentiles. Comp. Mai. i. 10, 11; Ps, li.
17 ; Rom. xii. 1 ; 1 Tim. iii. 15 ; Heb.
xiii. 15 ; 1 Pet. ii. 5. mi,]?;, shall he called:
i. e. shall be.
8. Israel stands for the church of God.
Not only were the dispersed Jews to be
collected, and prepared for the enjoy
ment of the privileges of the gospel,
but the Gentiles were likewise to be
gathered, so as to form one body with
such of the former as should be converted
to the Messiah. The antecedent to I'js
and 1'S3p: is ''MliP!, Israel, the original
stock, as the Apostle teaches Rom. xi.
17, 18, into which the Gentile branches
were grafted,

ISAIAH.

[chap. lvi.

9 All ye beasts of the field, come ;
All ye beasts of the forest, come to devour !
10 His watchmen are blind ; they are all without knowledge ;
They are all dumb dogs ; they cannot bark ;
Dreamers ; lying down ; loving to slumber.
Yea, the dogs are greedy ; they cannot have enough ;
And the shepherds themselves cannot understand :
They all tum to their own way ;
Each for his gain from his quarter.
Come, I will fetch wine.
And let us drink ourselves drunk with strong liquor ;

11

12

9. Mention having been made of the
dispersion of the Jews, the prophet, by
a bold apostrophe, abruptly summons to
the execution of their work, the agents
by whom it was to be effected. These
he characterizes as wild beasts, — a meta
phor not unusual in the prophetic
writings, when reference is made to per
secuting powers. See Jer. xii. 9 ; Ezek.
xxxiv. 28 ; Dan. vii. 3, 19, 23 ; Rev.
xiii. I'nM has is;? injrr^s, as well as
'ito in;n %, for its object : to express
which I have repeated the corresponding
English verb. The interpretation of
some of the Rabbins, Rosenmiiller, and
others, that the wild beasts are called to
devour one another, cannot be justified
from the connexion. Lowth's objection
to the 3 in 1SJ3 is also groundless. See
on chap. xxi. 13.
10. The exposure of the Jews to the
inflictions of Divine indignation is in
this and the two following verses,
ascribed to the impiety of their teachers
as its primary cause. They were not
only neglected by them, but deceived
by their erroneous doctrines, and cor
rupted by their bad example. Most
commentators consider both civil and
ecclesiastical rulers to be meant by the
D'B^, watchmen; but I do not find the
term ever applied figuratively to any but
prophets, or religious teachers. Those
here introduced were destitute of spiritual
perception, — consequently, could not see
the impending danger, and give warning
of it. Comp. Matt. xv. 14, xxiii. 16, 17,
19, 24, 26. The idea of dumb dogs was
naturally suggested by that of watchmen
who gave no warning, n?:, to bark.

occurs only here, but is common in the
Arabic, and in the Rabbinical Hebrew.
D'lh is likewise a dira^ Xey. Five MSS.,
originally three more, and perhaps three
others, four Edd., Symm., and the Vulg.,
read D'ln, seers ; but this would break in
upon the metaphorical character of the
passage. The rendering of the LXX.
ivvirvia^opevoi, and of Aq. (pavra^dpevoi,
dreamers, deliranies, is fully supported
by the cognate Arab. ]s!6 , ^JJfc > deri-
lavit in loquendo ; ,(jtW& j deliratio,
whether from sleep, or disease ; and, the
reference to dogs being continued, the
term aptly describes the dreams to which
these animals are subject, under the in
fluence of which they give utterance to
a subdued bark or growl. D'33ili conveys
not merely the idea of lying down, but of
continuing to lie, as in sleep.
11. *r3», lit. strong of soul ; i.e. of
a powerful appetite, greedy. The meta
phor expresses the avaricious character
of the Jewish teachers. By the shepherds
are meant the kings and princes of the
nation, who, equally with the false pro
phets, were destitute of spiritual discern
ment, and addicted to selfishness and
sensual indulgence. ifisjJD, lit. from his
extremity, which expresses the extreme
lengths to which they went, in their
efforts to accumulate gain.
12. Isaiah ironically introduces these
abandoned princes as inviting their com
panions to join them in intemperance.
i'5S, with which the invitation com
mences, is the identical term used ver. 9,

CHAP. LVlI.] ISAIAH.
For to-morrow shall be as this day ;
Yea, vastly superior.

399

where the wild beasts are summoned to
come and inflict punishment upon them.
Each of them is represented as giving
such invitation, the propriety of which
not having been perceived by some in

terpreters, they have changed the singu
lar nnpM into the plural nnpj, we will
fetch. The language here employed
strikingly depicts the feelings of the
voluptuous in every age.

CHAPTER LVII.
The profihet now proceeds to describe the national character of the Jews in his own
day, and down to the time of the captivity. Unaffected by the removal of the
pious, which is always an ominous circumstance in the history of a nation, 1, 2,
they evinced an awfvJ hardihood in mocking God, 3, 4 ; abandoned themselves
to the grossest idolatries, 5 — 8 ; and left no methods untried by which to gratify
their apostate disposition, 9, 10. Jehovah expostulates with them on the folly of
their conduct, and the inutility of their self-righteous confidence, 11,12; promises
deliverance to the penitent, 13 — 18; announces the gospel of peace to be preached
to Jews and Gentiles at a period subsequent to the return from Babylon, 1 9 ; and
threatens obstinate transgressors with the deprivation of every blessing.

The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart ;
And good men are taken away, while none considereth it ;
But it is from calamity the righteous is taken away :
He entereth into peace ; they rest on their beds :
Every one that walketh straight before him.

1. Whether Hezekiah or Josiah be
meant "by p'''!P^ cannot be determined,
nor indeed, whether any particular in
dividual be intended ; but both of these
excellent princes were removed before
they were advanced in life, and_ were
thus relieved from the pains of witness
ing the calamities which the wicked
kings by whom they were succeeded,
brought upon the nation. t^DM, which
properly signifies to gather, is frequently
used in Niphal, of being removed from
the present state into that of the pious
dead, to be re-united to them as still

living with God, Luke xx. 38. Comp.
Gen, xxv. 8, xlix. 29.
2. The elliptical phrase Di^ k^3 means
to enter into the peaceable state of the
departed, where they are free from all
the sufferings and disquietudes of life.
It is used of the spirit only : the rest of
the body in the grave is expressed in
the following clause, inbs t[^ is descrip
tive, — ^not of a walk or conversation in
the invisible world, but of the character
of the blessed dead while they lived in
the present. Theirs was a straight-for
ward, undeviating course. '

400

ISAIAH.

[chap. lvii.

3 But as for you, — draw nigh, ye sons of the sorceress !
Ye brood of the adulterer, and the whore.
4 At whom is it ye indulge in sport .'*
At whom is it ye gape with the mouth, ye stretch out the tongue ?
Are ye not rebellious children ? a treacherous brood ?
5 Enflamed with gods under every green tree,
Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the cliffs of the rocks.
6 The smooth stones of the valley are thy portion ;
They, they are thy lot ;
Yea, to them thou hast poured out a libation,
And presented an offering.
Should I not take vengeance on account of these things ?

3, 4. There is great force in DriM^,
with which this address commences ; as
there is, likewise, an emphasis in the
repetition of the same pronoun towards
the close of the verse. It places the
wicked Jews in the boldest contrast with
the pious departed. They are called to
come forward and answer for the daring
profligacy of their conduct ; and are ad
dressed in terms of corresponding oppro
brium and reproach. n:m is here used
substantively, instead of n:il, but is pro
perly the third sing. fem. of the fut. in
Kal, from n,jj, to commit whoredom or
idolatry. JitoJ '^"iMn, to make a long
tongue, i. e. to stretch it out of the mouth,
in contempt of any one, was not pecu
liar to the Hebrews. Livy, describing
the meeting of T. Manlius and his Gallic
foe, says : " Armatum adornatumque ad
versus Galium stolide laetum, et (quoniam
id quoque memoria dignum antiquis visus
est) linguam etiam ab irrisu exersentem
producunt." Hist. vii. 10.
5. Here commences a fearful picture
of the idolatrous practices in which the
Jews indulged. D'Bn:, the Niph. part.
of Dan, to burn, be inflamed with lust.
Comp. d''im:, from I'lM, Mai. iii. 9 ; njn:,
Isa. xxii. 23 ; and see Ewald, § 262.
Orig. Gesen. Lehrg. p.371. Itis followed
by 3 to mark the impassioned devoted
ness with which the Jews engaged in
the service of idols. By D'^h, gods or
idols, not oaks are meant, as the words im
mediately following shew. Thus the
LXX,, Vulg., Targ., Syr. The barbarous

custom of immolating children in honour
of, or with a view to propitiate, the gods,
was awfully prevalent among the Pagan
nations of antiquity. Its existence among
the Phenicians is mentioned by Eusebius,
Preep, Evan. iv. 16; Curtius, iv. 2, 23;
Porphyr. de Abstin. ii. 56 ; among the
Carthaginians, by Justin, xix. 1, and
Varro, in Augustine's Civ. Dei, vii. 19 ;
and among the Cretans, by Porphyr. ut
sup. In Hebrew, it is expressed by
toS3 D':3 I'^n, to offer children, by caus
ing them to pass into the fire. Some,
indeed, after the Rabbins, have attempted
to soften the description, by representing
the action as consisting merely of a lus
tration, in performing which upon the
children, they passed through uninjured ;
but that they were really burnt, such
passages as Ps. cvi. 37, 38; Jer. vii. 31,
xix. 5, indisputably prove. Diod. Sic.
describing the rite as celebrated by the
Carthaginians to Cronos or Saturn, says :
^v Trap' avTols dvbpids Kpovov xoXkovs,
iKTeraKas Tas X"par virrias iyKeiiXipevas
iirl TTjV yfjV, duTe tov inireBevTa t&v
rraibav diroKvXleo'Bai koi iriiTTeiv e'is ti
xda-pa irX^pes irvpos, xx. 14. See Calmet
and Winer, art. " Moloch." In the O. T.
this worship is specially spoken of in
reference to Moloch, the god of the Am
monites. It was practised by the Jews
in the valley of Hinnom, 2 Chron. xxviii.
3, xxxiii. 6 ; and, as would appear from
the present text, in other valleys.
6. The Jews are addressed collectively
in the fem. gend. — most probably to

CHAP. LVII.J

ISAIAH.

401

On the high and lofty mountain thou hast placed thy bed ;
Yea, thoii hast gone up thither to offer sacrifice.

point out the fact of their sustaining the
character of the njjn, specified v. 3. In
'Til^'i ^nrpVns is an elegant paronomasia.
That the ,3 in 'jnrp.^m is the Beth essen
tia (see on chap. xxvi. 4,) the following
DD Dn seem clearly to indicate. What
we are to understand by D'pbf; has been
disputed. The ancient versions give it
hy portion. Hitzig and Scholz, naked,
unshaded places, without any appropriate
meaning. Gesen. who had broached
this rendering in his Comm. has returned
to that of portion in his Thesaurus, sub
voc. The root p'2T^, Arab. ^^Ji~- , lavi-
gavit, quantitate et mensura deflnivit, sig
nifies to he smooth ; and as smooth stones
were used as lots, pjn in Chald. and
«)ti- in Arab, denote « stone employed
for this purpose. The phrase D'a3M 'p^n
'^Vyy?, smooth stones from the valley,
1 Sam. xvii. 40, is the full form of what
is here only elliptically expressed. Since
these stones are here represented as
objects of idolatrous worship, (li^pBto DnVoi
¦ijD:,) there can be little doubt that they
were such as had been smoothed and
formed into particular shapes by the vio
lent action of the water in the wady upon
them ; and so rendered fit to be selected
to serve as idols. Of their size nothing
is said. They are supposed to have been
the XiBoi Xiirapol, anointed stones, which
were consecrated to the honour of certain
deities, and were believed to be instinct
with their presence. They were also
called ^aiTvXia ; and traceable, it has
been thought, to the transaction at Bethel,
where Jacob erected his commemorative
pillar, poured oil upon it, and constituted
it a place of divine worship. Lucian
thus describes an idolater, in reference
to the superstitious veneration paid to
such stones : 'PovTiXXiavos, dv-qp Tapev
dXXd KaXds Kal ayaBos .... rd be irepi
Beovs irdvv vdo'av, Kal aXXoKora irepi
avrdv ireiricrTevKas, Kal el povov aXXrjXi-
pevov iroS XiBov rj icrTa(j)evdpevov Bea-
a-oiTo; irpoairipiTTav del Kal Trpoa-Kvvav,
Kal iirl iroXii irapia-rds Kal evxdpevos Kal
TayaBa Trap' oijtoC alrav. Pseudomantis,
c. xxx. Arnobius also, speaking of his

conduct when a Pagan, says : " Si quando
conspexeram lubricatumlapidem et ex
olivi unguine sordidatum, tanquam in-
esset vis prsesens, adulabar, affabar et
beneflcia poscebam nihil sentiente trun-
co." Adver. Gent. i. p. 13. Comp. also:
TJaVTa XiBov, to brj Xeyopevov, Xiirapdv
eirpoa-Kvvovv. Clem. Alex. Strom, vii.
Of this ancient superstition, the cele
brated Black Stone (Jyjjill ys^l ) in
the angle of the Caaba at Mecca, is, in all
probabihty, a relic. " It is," says Burck
hardt, " an irregular oval, about seven
inches in diameter, with an undulated
surface, composed of about a dozen
smaller stones of different sizes and
shapes, well joined together with a small
quantity of cement, and perfectly smooth
ed. — It is very difflcult to determine ac
curately the quality of this stone, which
has been worn to its present. surface by
the millions of touches and kisses it has
received." Travels in Arabia, i. p. 249,
2.50. Such idols were the p'ln, portion, and
Wa, lot, of the apostate Jews, because
they regarded them as the authors of
their prosperity, possessions, and enjoy
ments. The words are used precisely in
the same sense in which Jehovah is said
to be the p^n of his people, Ps. Ixxiii. 26,
cxix. 57, cxlii. 6; Jer. x. 16; Lam. iii.
24. He is to them the source of infinite
good. See especially the passage just
quoted from Jeremiah, in which Jehovah
as " the portion of Jacob," is contrasted
with the objects of heathen confidence
and worship. — There is considerable em
phasis in the repetition Dn Dn, as well as
in Da before onj. " Non simpliciter
dicit, Fundis ipsis libamen : sed etiam
ipsis ; q. d. non mihi soli sed ipsis quo
que fiindis," &c. Musculus. n in ton is
equivalent to ^iiii; at least, an affirma
tive answer is implied in interrogations
thus put. So the LXX. and Vulg.
7. The metaphor here employed is
taken from the conduct of a strumpet,
entirely destitute of shame. Comp. Jer.
iii. 2 ; Ezek. xvi. 24, 25, 31. in is used
collectively for mountains or hills.

402

ISAIAH.

[chap. lvii.

8 Behind the door also, and the door-post thou hast placed' thy
memorial ;
For thou hast exposed thyself to another than me ;
Thou hast gone up ; thou hast enlarged thy bed ;
Thou hast obtained a contract from them ;
Thou hast loved their converse ; thou hast chosen the place.
9 Thou hast travelled to the king with ointment.
And multiplied thy perfumes ;
Thou hast sent thy messengers to a distance,
And gone down even to Sheol.
10 Thou hast been fatigued with the length of thy journey :
Yet thou hast not said, It is desperate :
Thou hast found the vigour of thy hand ;
Therefore, thou hast not been discouraged.

8. An amplified description of idola
trous lewdness in reference to household
gods, and the worship paid to them in
secret. — liisi, remembrance, memorial,
that which brings to remembrance ; here
images or representations of celebrated
idols. Comp. Ezek. xvi. 19, xxiii. 14 —
16. — 'nMB, lit. from with me ; i. e. in a
state of separation or apostasy from me.
Comp. nin; 'iitmb nji, Hos. i. 2 ; nnna, iv.
12; and too, ix. 1, in the same sense. —
Dna TjJ n'i3ni ; supply n>'i3, a covenant ;
here used for the terms of a contract.
The reference is to the advantages which
the Jews expected from the service of
idols, which are represented as the hire
obtained by a harlot from her lovers.
The representation, Ezek. xvi. 33, 34, is
of a still more aggravated description.
ni3n is an incorrect form for 'ni3n. For
a similar instance see Jer. iii. 5. — n'ln t,
Dbderiein, Gesen. in Comm,, and Hitzig,
take to be an euphemism; but in his
later Lexicons, Gesen. has returned to
the signification place. That mn signi
fies to look out, select, choose, see Exod.
xviii. 21. Thus the Targ. and Syr.
9. llto usually signifies to view, look
round, watch for, but here it obviously
appears to be used in the acceptation of
going, or travelling. Thus the participle,
TOil*,' thy travellers, Ezek. xxvii. 25.
Comp. lin, to go about, and the Arab.
jvu, iter fecit; JW), profectio, iter; £
circumivit. Whether ijja here means

the king of Assyria, Egypt, or some
other foreign country ; or, whether it
stands for Tjja, Molech, and should be so
pointed, is uncertain. We find the word
in the compound name of idols, as l]5fi7*»,
Adrammelech, and ij5b:5, Anammelech,
gods of the Sepharvaim, 2 Kings xvii.
31 ; and, from the connexion, it is pro
bable that either Molech, or some other
idol is intended. Comp. Amos v. 26;
Zeph. i. 5. The Jews are represented
as a courtesan who uses precious oils and
perfumes, in order to set off her person,
and ingratiate herself with her para
mours. To such idols as were within
reach they went in person ; and to such
as were celebrated in distant countries,
they sent messengers with offerings.
^iM\?)is, unto Sheol, means, in ihe lowest
degree. See Deut. xxxii. 22, as eas
qbov. Matt. xi. 23 ; Luke x. 15. The
idolatry was of the most degrading de
scription. 10. That ip.'i 31 means length of way,
see Josh. ix. 13. For tosi:, comp. Jer.
ii. 25, xviii. 12.^ — p.; nun has been vari
ously interpreted. The literal render
ing, the life, i. e. vigour, strength, of thy
hand, furnishes the most appropriate
meaning. The hand being the symbql
of power, and n^n being used of whatever
is lively or strong, the idea of natural
vigour is intended to be conveyed. The
idolatrous Jews wearied themselves with
their unhallowed practices ; but finding
that they had not entirely exhausted

chap, lvii.]

ISAIAH.

403

11 Who filled thee with dread ? or, of whom wast thou afraid.
When thou provedst false, and didst not remember me.
Nor lay it to heart ?
Was I not silent, and hid mine eyes ?
Yet thou fearedst me not.
12 I will shew thy righteousness, and thy works ;
For they shall not profit thee.
13 When thou criest out, let the collection of thy gods deliver thee !
Surely, the wind shall carry them all off; a puff shall take them
away ;
But he that trusteth in me shall possess the land.
And inherit my holy mountain.
14 And it shall be said : Cast up, cast up ; prepare the way ;
Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One,

their strength, they would not give up
their pursuits as hopeless, but rather em
boldened themselves in wickedness.
1 1 . An inquiry is here put to the in
fatuated Jews, which of the idols to
which they had applied, they could
regard as more powerful than Jehovah ?
Because he had forborne to punish, they
indulged in practices which argued the
absence of all true regard to his autho
rity. Dbispi, the reading of the Textus
Receptus is justly suspected. Very
many MSS. among which the oldest and
best Spanish, and some printed Editions,
as the Biblia Antiqua in fol. without
date, the Complutensian, and that of
Norzius of 1742, read Dtoai, which, if
pointed D^SBi, with 'a'S understood, fur
nishes the sense found in the LXX. and
Vulg. irapopd ; quasi non videns. For a
similar ellipsis of d;:'» see Ps. x. 1 . This
reading also well agrees with the context ;
so that, in consideration of the whole, I
have been induced, with Lowth and
Michaelis, to depart from the punctua
tion of the current text.
12. The reading 'npi.3, of which also
Lowth approves, is not by any means so
well supported, and has, in all proba
bility, originated in a desire to remove
the apparent incongruity of supposing
that any thing bearing the character of
righteousness could be ascribed to the
persons here addressed. But even in
the most idolatrous times of the Jewish

state, the temple worship was not entirely
abandoned. Of this the Jews boasted,
while they joined to it the worship of
other gods, whom they were anxious to
propitiate, in order to prevent attacks on
the part of those nations of whom they
were regarded as the patrons. Comp.
Jer. vii. passim. This exegesis is prefer
able to that of Zwinglius, who considers
the words to be spoken kot elpavelav
sive dvTitppaa-iv. In '^JtoSB the idea of
wicked is implied ; hence the rendering
of the LXX. Ta Kaxd crov. It would be
made apparent that neither a hypocriti
cal service of the true God, nor the
worship of strange gods, could be of any
avail in the hour of danger.
13. By D'2i3p are meant the idols and
images of the entire Pantheon of the
apostate Jews. Thus Jarchi, D'Wm niS13p
nS3p ItoM D'WbI; and Gesen. " deine Hauf-
en, gleichs. deine Schaaren, Legionen
von Goiiern, dein ganzes Pantheon. To
these they should look in vain for deliver
ance. The prophet now, by way of antithe
sis, administers comfort to the pious who
should be involved in the national ca
lamity ; and promises them a return to
their own land. The language employed
in this and the following verse is almost
identical with that elsewhere employed
in reference to the same subject.
14. IBM is here used impersonally.
15, 16. These verses contain the most

404

ISAIAH.

[chap. lvii.

That dwelleth in eternity, whose name is holy :
I dwell in the high and holy place.
But also in him that is contrite and of a lowly spirit ;
To revive the spirit of the lowly.
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 For I will not always contend,
Neither will I be angry for ever :
Since the spirit would wear out before me.
And the souls which I have made.
For his exorbitant iniquity I was angry and smote him ;
I hid my face, and was angry,
Because he was contumacious in the way of his heart.
I have seen his ways, and I will heal him ;
I will comfort him, and restore consolations to him.
And to his mourners ;
Creating the fruit of the lips —
Peace, peace to him that is far off.
And to hira that is near, saith Jehovah ;
And I will heal him.

17

18

19

sublime description of the Divine majesty
and condescension to be found in the
Scriptures. The words require no com
ment ; but they have a depth of meaning
which no finite mind can fully compre
hend. Comp. Ps, cxxxviii. 6 ; Isa. Ixvi.
1, 2. niato: and nn are here identical
in meaning, nato: standing elsewhere for
iliB:. 17. is:^3 ]is>, lit. the iniquity of his gain,
but as the Hebrews were accustomed to
connect the idea of exorbitant and op
pressive means with that of lucre, they
naturally came to give to S33 the signi
fication of what was in a high degree, or
flagrantly unjust. Hence the combina
tion S3J SS3 denotes a rapacious person,
one who breaks through all bounds in
order to acquire gain. Arab, j^^,
secuit, amputavit ; X. mercaturam jecit.
Comp. Eph. V. 5, irXeoveKrrjs, os ia-rlv
elbaXoXdrpr/s. The pronominal mascu
line afflx in iS23 has for its antecedent
DS, ver. 14, which accounts for the use
of this gender in this and the following
verse, inpn is the historical Infinitive;
':5 being understood. The 1 in l!;,»l is
causal.

18. It is here implied that such were
the destructive courses pursued by the
Jews, that they were irrecoverable by
any merely human means. Jehovah,
therefore, graciously declares that he will
reclaim them, remove their punishment,
and restore comfort to them. The dis
tinction between "him" and "his
mourners " seems to be, that by the
latter are meant such of the heathen as
had become proselytes to the faith of the
Jews, and, from sympathy, bewailed
their captivity in Babylon,
19. Of the D'nBip 3':, the following an
nouncement of Peace, Peace, is a speci
men. It denotes the proclamation of
reconciliation, which is vindicated to
God as its author. Comp. Kapirbv xei-
Xlav, Heb, xiii. 16, where, however, the
subject of reference is praise. The re
petition, Di'jto Di'jto, is expressive of the
highest, or most complete peace. The
appropriated use of pini and 3ili7, to de
signate the Gentiles along with the Jews,
shews, that the prophet had the period
in view when both should be upon an
equality in regard to privileges. Comp,
Zech, ix, 10 ; Acts x, 36 ; Eph. ii.
17.

CHAP. Lviii.] ISAIAH. 405
20 But as for the wicked, they are each tossed about like the sea.
Which cannot rest ;
And whose waters cast up mire and mud.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
20, 21. The character and unhappy copy of the LXX. and the Arabic com-
condition of such as reject the message bine both ; but this diversity has doubt-
of peace, and persevere in a course of re- less arisen from the influence of chap.
hellion, are here distinctiy pointed out. xlviii. 22, where the same declaration is
Twenty-two MSS. read nin; instead of made, and where all the MSS. exhibit
'D'M, while three others, with the Alex. nin;. The Hexap. Syr. has simply jm^

CHAPTER LVIII.
Having in the preceding chapter depicted the character of his countrymen, in the
times immediately preceding the captivity, he now sets forth their character as
exhibited towards its close, and from the period of that calamity, till the time of
our Lord. Though recovered from idolatry, and professing great zeal for the
worship of the true God, their religion was, in a great measure, confined to ex
ternal forms and services, which were made a cloak for their wickedness. We
learn from Zech. vii. viii,, that the subject of fasts greatly occupied their atten
tion after the return ; and the fact, that the sect of the Pharisees sprang up in
the course of a short time, in whose character the union of religious pretension
with covert depravity was notorious, leaves no room to doubt, that the portraiture
here given, was chiefly intended for them. It must, indeed, be familiar to every
one who has perused the gospels.
In this chapter, the prophet receives a commission to announce to the Jews the
guilt which they still contracted, notwithstanding the flaming character of their
religious profession, 1,2; he specifies the worthlessness of their fasts, 3 — 5;
points out the nature of acceptable fasting, 6, 7 ; promises prosperity and happi
ness to such as sincerely engaged in the service of God, 8 — 12 ; and concludes
with a particular recognition of the sanctity of the Sabbath, and a special promise
to those who should hallow it.

Cry aloud, restrain not ;
Raise thy voice like a trumpet ;
And declare to my people their rebellion,
And to the house of Jacob their sin.
They seek me, indeed, every day.

1. The loudness of the proclamation the lungs, as distinguished from that
indicates the enormity of the evil. «ip which comes merely from the lips and
lilas, lit. cry through or with the throat, tongue. , ^ ., .
i. e! with a full voice proceeding from 2. The persons spoken of discovered

406

ISAIAH.

[chap, lviii.

And delight to know my ways';
Like a nation that doeth righteousness.
And forsaketh not the ordinance of its God ;
They inquire of me respecting righteous ordinances ;
They delight in approaching to God.
Why [say they] do we fast, and thou regardest not ?
Do we humble ourselves, and thou takest no notice ?
Behold ! on your fast-day ye attend to business,
And exact all your tasks.
Behold ! it is for strife and contention ye fast.
And to smite with the fist of injustice ;
Ye should not fast as ye do this day,
Causing your voice to be heard on high.
Is the fast which I approve such as this .''
A day for a man to depress himself ;
To hang down his head like a bulrush ;
To make sackcloth and ashes his couch .''
Wilt thou call this a fast.
And a day acceptable to Jehovah ?

much outward zeal and punctuality in
attending to the ceremonies of religion,
and took a certain kind of delight in
going the round of duty, from the self-
righteous persuasion that thereby they
merited the divine favour. p'is-'EBtoa
and D'ii'jM nj'^p, Gesenius interprets of
judgments of righteousness executed
upon the enemy, and the approach of
God to execute these judgments. The
context, however, requires us to under
stand them of religious ordinances, and
direct acts of religious worship. Comp.
for the latter phrase, Ps. Ixxiii. 28.
3 . Notwithstanding the rigidity of their
fasts, they felt a lurking conviction, that
they did not enjoy the favour of God.
That yso signifies business, and not plea
sure, in this place, the use of 3SS, labour,
in the corresponding member of the
parallelism, sufficiently shews. The latter
word the LXX. understand of servants :
Kai irdvTas tovs viroxeipiovs vpdv viro-
vria'a-are ; but such a signification is not
justified from usage. The meaning
doubtless is, that though the pharisaical
Jews would not themselves engage in
manual labour, they did not scruple to

make the most rigorous demands on the
time and strength of those whom they
employed, requiring the full amount ef
their daily task.
4. An amplification of the description
just given. Whether causing the voice
to be heard on high, be meant to convey
the idea of the loud clamour of debate,
or the elevation of the voice in the public
prayers, may seem doubtful. The former
construction is the better sustained by the
immediate context.
5. ins, which properly signifies to try,
examine, prove, is evidently employed
here in the sense of approving what is
found to be good, toe: nias cannot here
mean io humble the soul, if such a phrase
denote, which it usually does, the pro
duction of true contrition and lowliness
of mind. Such is the very end of the
observance of a scriptural fast, too: is
obviously used, as frequently, with the
force of a, reflexive pronoun ; and, in
such connexion, has respect to the out
ward, rather than the inward man. S'sn,
from ss;, Arab. ».^«, to strew or place
as a bed, prepare a place to lie in. The

chap, lviii.]

ISAIAH.

407

6 Is not this the fast which I approve ?
To loosen the fetters of injustice ;
To untie the cords of the yoke ;
To set the oppressed at liberty ;
And to burst asunder every yoke.
7 Is it not to break thy bread to the hungry ;
To bring the persecuted poor into thy house ;
When thou seest the naked, to clothe him ;
And not to hide thyself from thine own flesh ?
8 Then should thy light break forth as the morning,
And thy welfare spring up quickly ;
Thy righteousness should go before thee.
And the glory of Jehovah should be thy rearward.
9 Then thou shouldst call, and Jehovah would answer ;
Thou shouldst cry, and he would say, Behold me !
If thou remove from the midst of thee the yoke.
The pointing with the finger, and wicked discourse ;
10 And cause thy desire to go forth to the hungry,
And satisfy the desire of the oppressed ;

language describes the coarsest accom
modation, such as that mentioned by
Wellsted, when he was under the neces
sity of making his bed in the ground, by
digging out a sufficient portion of the
dust or sand, and covering himself with
whatever he had at hand. Travels in
Arabia, vol. ii. p. 30.
6, 7. Jehovah now describes the nature
of the fast of which he approves, in lan
guage appropriate to the circumstances
of the religionists to whom special refer
ence is here made. Comp. Jer. xxxiv.
8 — 18. Hospitality is a virtue, which
has always held the very first rank
among the Oriental nations ; and any
symptom of indisposition to exercise it,
has ever met with execration. See Gen.
xviii. 1—8, xix. 1,2; Job xxxi. 16—21 ;
Matt. xxv. 35, 36. For Drt xtb, comp.
¦^api^eiv, 1 Cor. xiii. 3, and Dr. Bloom-
field's Note. D'TliB, lit. persecutions, for
D'HIB 'tojM, men of persecutions, i. e. the
persecuted ; from the Eth. 4'^.^ ¦
persequi; 'f'^Qhi'? ! perseeufionem pas
sus est. The LXX. render acrreyot, the
houseless. By fpto, thy own flesh, is

meant kindred, or relatives, especially
such as were more immediately con
nected. It not unfrequently happens,
that persons whose minds are influenced
by false notions of religion, disregard
family and relative claims. See Matt.
XV. 5, 6.
8. A beautiful figurative representa
tion of a state of prosperity, with refer
ence to Jehovah as its author.
9 — 12. These verses contain a con
tinuation of promises, made to such as
should serve God with acceptance, and
a further amplification of particulars by
which their religion was to be charac
terized. The S3?M rM refers to the hold
ing out of the middle finger in contempt
of any person, on which account it was
called by the ancients infamis digitus,
Pers. ii. 33. Gesen. compares Martial,
ii. 28, 2 :
" Rideto multo 
. . . et digitum porrigito medium ;"
and Plaut. Pseudol. iv. 7, 45 : " intende
digitum in hunc;" and aptly remarks,
that the denominative Arab, verb ^j^
signifies intendit digitum in aliquem vitu-

408

ISAIAH.

[chap, lviii.

11

12

13

Then should thy light arise in darkness, ¦
And thy obscurity should be as noon.
Then Jehovah would lead thee continually,
And satisfy thee in extreme drought ;
He would strengthen thy bones ;
And thou shouldst be like a well-watered garden,
And like a fountain whose water faileth not.
Those that belong to thee should rebuild the ancient ruins.
Thou shouldst restore the foundations of successive generations
And thou shouldst be called. The Repairer of the breach ;
The Restorer of paths for inhabitants.
If thou restrain thy foot on the Sabbath,
And not do thine own business on my holy day;
And call the Sabbath, a delight,
And the holy day of Jehovah, honourable ;
And honour it, —
Not doing thine own ways,
Nor attending to thine own business.
Nor spending it in talk :

perii ergo. — In too: p'Bn is no difficulty
requiring the substitution of Drt, which
Lowth adopts. It is expressive of a
strong feeling of desire towards the in
digent, the contrary of which we have in
the KXeieiv to airXdyxva diro nvos,
1 John iii. 17. Others think, that by
too: is here meant the object of desire,
appetite, or the like ; and that the duty
enjoined is, that the person who fasts is
to give to the poor what might have
afforded gratification to himself. For
ninsns, ver. 11, comp. the Arab, _Lis^,
pauca, minimeque profunda aqua ; ,^^,
sol, campus patens soli expositus ; hence
bright, shining, dry, and the like. The
reduplicate form is, as usual, intensive.
The images here employed are pecu
liarly forcible in eastern countries, where
there is frequently a great paucity of
water, and where, in consequence, a
perennial spring is of immense value. —
njtob, for dwelling, is put for nj'to 'tojM'), or
D'3'^'^, for the inhabitants, i. e. such as
should occupy the coimtry.
As these prophecies were to be in the
hands of the Jews before they left Baby

lon, and as the evils against which they
were directed existed, at least in their
germ, during the latter part of the cap
tivity, it cannot be deemed any violation
of hermeneutical consistency, to apply
the restoration of the ruined cities here
spoken of to that which took place after
the return. This interpretation is prefer
able to that which would construe ^^,
ver. 12, as signifying thy posterity, in
reference to a distant futurity ; for there
seems no ground for addressing such a
promise to the Jews after their return,
or even in the time of our Lord.
13. Occasion is taken from the intro
duction of the subject of fasts, to advert
to that of the Sabbath, the observance
of which was so strictly enforced in the
Mosaic law, and has, in all ages, been
found essential to the maintenance and
prosperity of spiritual religion. ysn,
business, worldly affairs, as ver. 3. More
than one hundred and twelve MSS. and
eighteen printed editions, read yssn, in
the plural. In nitoS there is an ellipsis
of the prepositive a, which is easily sup
plied from the preceding nsiSa. Many
MSS. supply 1 before toiipf.— W i3i is
used idiomatically for mere talk, or idle

chap, lix.] ISAIAH. 409
1 1 Then thou shouldst delight thyself in Jehovah ;
And I would cause thee to ride over the heights of the earth ;
And feed thee with the inheritance of Jacob thy father :
For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
and unprofitable conversation. I have Ps. xxxvii. 4, The metaphor of riding
endeavoured, in the translation, to give over the heights is taken from military
the force of the idiom. usage, and expresses the triumphant
14. :|snii IS aptly borrowed from the progress of the Jews in taking possession
use of 3:s in the preceding verse. Comp. of the whole land.

CHAPTER LIX.
This chapter contains an awful picture of the depraved state of Jewish morals. To
no period of their history does it appear so applicable, as to that immediately pre
ceding the destruction of their polity by the Romans, See the testimonies ad
duced from Josephus in the note on chap. liii. 8. It thus connects with the
portraiture of Pharisaism reprobated in the preceding chapter. The fact that no
reference whatever is made to idolatrous practices, proves that times succeeding
the Babylonish captivity must be intended. In consequence of the aggravated
sins of the Jews, God abandoned them to intestine broils, the rapacity and
oppressions of wicked rulers, and the subjugating power of the Romans, whereby
their national prosperity was destroyed, and they were reduced to circumstances
of great distress.
The prophet shews, 1, 2, that their pitiable condition was to be attributed, not to
any want of ability in God to deliver them, but to their own sinfulness. He then
enters into a minute specification of their crimes, with a view to shew that they
richly merited the sufferings tbat had been inflicted upon them, 3 — 8 ; having
finished which, he draws up a confession for them, and introduces them as bewail
ing their calamitous circumstances, and acknowledging their sins as the cause of
the divine displeasure, 9 — 15. On the failure of all human means of reforma
tion, Jehovah is represented as himself interposing, partly to effect salvation for
his people, partly to take vengeance on the incorrigible, and partly, afterwards,
to execute judgment on the Romans, whom he had employed as the instruments
of his vengeance, 16 — 18. The prophet then foretells what would follow the
destruction of imperial Rome, — the spread of true religion, first in Europe, and
other parts of the west, &c., and afterwards in Asia; and the desperate effort of
the last Antichrist, 19; and the chapter concludes with the announcements, that
the salvation of the Jews was the primary and immediate object of the Mes
siah's advent, and that the Divine covenant made with the Jewish people in
the person of Abraham, shall assuredly take effect in their future general con
version, 20, 21.
For regularity of structure, beauty and force of imagery, fidelity, and minuteness of
graphic description, this section is quite in the best style of Isaiah.
3 G

410 ISAIAH. [chap. lix.
1 Behold ! the hand of Jehovah is not short, that it cannot save ;
Nor is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.
2 But it is your iniquities that have made a separation between you
and your God ;
And your sins have caused him to hide his face from you, and not
to hear.
3 For your hands are polluted with blood.
And your fingers with iniquity ;
Your lips speak falsehood,
And your tongue uttereth wickedness.
4 None advocateth justice,
Neither doth any one contend for truth ;
They rely upon a thing of nought, and speak vanity ;
They conceive evil, and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch the eggs of the basilisk.
And weave the webs of the spider ;
He that eateth of their eggs shall die.
And that which is crushed shall produce a viper.
6 Their webs shall not become raiment,
Neither shall they cover themselves with their works ;
Their works are works of iniquity.
And the deed of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to that which is evil,
And they hasten to shed innocent blood :
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity ;
Destruction and havoc are in their paths.

1 — 3. The prophet anticipates the com- it. It is not a verb of the later Hebrew,
plaints of the Jews respecting the calami- as Gesenius maintains, being found in
tons state of their affairs, and fearlessly this sense, Zeph. iii. 1 ; and may well
imputes it to their own guilt as the cause, have been used by Isaiah, who flourished
Instead, therefore, of finding fault with little more than iifty years earlier.
the Divine conduct, it behoved them to 5, 6. The figures here employed are
criminate themselves. D':B is used abso- simple, but forcibly expressive of the
lutely as here, without the pronoun, Job fruitlessness of all ungodly plans, and
xxxiv. 29; Jer. ii. 27, xviii. 17: so that the certainty, that, sooner or later, they
the proposed emendations of Seeker and will recoil on the head of their inven-
Lowth are uncalled for. In the first of tors. The very religion of such persons
these passages the very phrase D'JB i'ntpn is utterly worthless, nin is the fem. of
occurs. Comp. D':B inpB, Isa. liii. 3. — the passive part, of m, to press, squeeze.
The idea of pollution appears to have crush ; only Segol is substituted for
been attached to ')M3, from the circura- Kametz, as nA for nj^, Zech. v. 4. Why
stance, that the 'y^i, or Avenger of blood, the substitution was made does not
was considered to have the blood of appear.
murder upon him, till he had avenged 7, 8, These verses are in part intro-

CHAP. LIX.] ISAIAH. 411
8 The way of peace they know not ;
Neither is there any justice in their tracks :
They make for themselves crooked paths ;
None that walketh therein knoweth peace.
9 Therefore, justice is removed far from us.
And equity reacheth us not ;
We look for light, but behold ! darkness ;
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope about, like the blind, for the wall :
Like those who have no eyes do we grope :
We stumble at noon, as in the twilight ;
Like those that die in circumstances of plenty.
1 1 We all of us growl like bears,
And moan continually like doves ;
We look for justice, but there is none ;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our rebellious deeds are numerous before thee.
And each of our sins testifieth against us ;
For our rebellious deeds are with us ;
And as for our iniquities, we acknowledge them.
duced by Paul into his quotations from fectiy parallel with O'vs in the preceding
the O. T. when describing the depravity hemistich. Others Fe'ss aptly compare
of the Jews, Rom. iii. 15—17. The D'iBto, Gen. xxvii. 28, 30, and D'3Btoa,
repetition of _1ST M'j Di'jto 'rp'i, under a dif- Dan', xi. 24. The meaning is, that no
ferent form, is not without emphasis. security was enjoyed, or could be hoped
9. iDBtoB and niri^ are here used in the for.
sense of Divine judgments interposed to 11. For the growling of the bear,
vindicate the cause of the nation. comp. Ovid Metam. H. 485 :
10. The charge of poverty and inele- ,, , , ^. , . ,
gance brought by Lowth against the " Mens antiqua tamen facto quoque
repetition ofntoto:: in this verse is unfair, mansit in urso :
an^ his adoption' of r^^}^}, the emenda- ^ssiduoque suos gemitu testata dolores ; '
tion proposed by Houbigant, altogether and for the plaintive moaning of the
unwarranted. The Hebrew poets are dove, chap, xxxviii. 14; Ezek. vii. 16.
fond of repetitions. See especially in The language is that of dissatisfaction,
Isaiah, chap. xi. 5, xv. 1, xvii. 12, 13, grief, and despair. The Jewish affairs
xix. 7, xiii. 19, lv. 4. The prophet had become all but desperate.
might have employed the synonymous 12. A deep-felt and frank confession.
verb totoa ; but he chose to repeat the To aggravate the guilt of sin, it is fre-
unusual totoa for the sake of more cm- quently spoken of in the Scriptures as
phatically giving expression to the being committed in the presence of, or
thought. — D'jatoM has been variously in- before Goo. inps, the sing, agrees distri-
terpreted. In all probability, it is a bufively with i:'nib<i3n in the plural. —
derivative from JB'to, tobe fat, w'lth Aleph i:nM, with us, i.e. instead of being for-
prosthetic ; and signifies the best, richest, gotten, and thus removed from our view,
most favourable circumstances in which our sins are seen and felt by us. Rosen.
persons can be placed. It is thus per- " culpse nostrse nobis conscii sumus."

412 ISAIAH. [chap. lix.
13 We have rebelled, and acted falsely towards Jehovah ;
And have gone back from our God ;
We have spoken words of violence and revolt ;
We have conceived, and uttered from the heart, matters of
falsehood.
14 Justice also is made to withdraw,
And equity standeth aloof;
For truth stumbleth in the: street.
And rectitude cannot enter.
15 Yea, truth is missing,
And he that departeth from evil, maketh himself a prey.
And Jehovah saw, and it displeased him,
Because there was no justice.
16 He saw also that there was no one ;
He was astonished that there was none to interpose ;
Therefore his own arm wrought salvation for him.
And his righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as a coat of mail.
And a helmet of salvation was on his head ;
He put on garments of vengeance for apparel.
And clothed himself with zeal as a mantle.
13. There is in this verse an unpa- 15. 'J^Jintoa. Targ. l'l]3na; Yvdg.prada
ralleled accumulation of Infinitives : not paiuit. Comp. Ps. Ixxvi. 6. 'The root
only expressing more emphatically or ,, ,, , , i . .„ , ,
powerfully, by this naked form of the ^^' Arab. J.«. , signifies io draw out or
verb, the continuity and enormity of the off, to strip, plunder.
actions, but placing them in close juxta- 16, 17, Just at the time when the
position, in order to render them more wickedness of the Jews had reached its
distinctly prominent in the aggregate, height, and it was rendered evident to
3id: is not to be taken as the Niph. of all that it could not be arrested by any
aiD, but is the Infin, of the root jp:, with human power, Jehovah interposes for
the same meaning. The verse is his- the deliverance of his people, and the
torically descriptive both of the imme- punishment of the wicked. In.his usual
diate past, and of what was still in anthropopathic style Isaiah represents
existence. As there is no mention of God as fllled with amazement at the
idolatry either here, or in the following discovery, that no one should be found
verses, the rebellion against Jehovah qualified to reform and save the nation.
specifically intended must be that aliena- Comp. chap. Ixiii. 5. DBiniiin forcibly
tion of heart which so awfully discovered expresses that complete mental disturb-
itself in the sins enumerated by the ance into which one is thrown by the
prophet. appearance of any thing unexpected or
14, 3ini properly signifies a wide open alarming. Root DB«, ^o lay waste,
street, but here it seems rather to be destroy. That by nsito;, salvation, we
used in reference to the forum, or broad are to understand that spiritual deliver-
open place at the gate, where justice ance which the Redeemer came to effect,
was administered. Mi3 has a similar and not any temporal rescue, appears
reference. from the description given of his work,

CHAP. LIX. J

ISAIAH.

418

18 According to their demerits, he will strictly render :
Fury to his adversaries, retribution to his foes :
To the maritime lands he will render retribution.
19 Then shall those of the west fear the name of Jehovah ;
And those of the sun-rise his glory ;

ver. 20. _ For S'3Ba, see on chap. liii. 6,
12. It is here used generally to denote
interposition. The idea of intercession
is foreign to the passage. To express
the greatness of the conflict, and the
qualifications of the Messiah to engage
in it, language borrowed from the ar
mour and dress of ancient warriors is
employed. Comp. Eph. vi. 10 — 17 ;
1 Thess. V. 8. Not only should tiie
Mediator be possessed of resistless
power, but also of moral purity, courage,
and ardour. nto3^n — srii'm is too much
in the style of our prophet to allow us
for a moment to doubt of the genuine
ness of the latter word. Instead of being
inelegant, as Jubb insinuates, it is sin
gularly beautiful.
18. Interpreters have raised unneces
sary difficulties in reference to the repe
tition of the compound preposition ^S3.
For the alteration of Lowth, who reads
^S3, there is no MS. authority, except
perhaps that of Kennicott's Cod. 126,
which may also be merely an alteration
in imitation of the Targ. The preposi
tion itself occurs in this very form, in
connexion with the verb ^a|, chap. Ixiii.
7 ; and as to the repetition, it is not
more harsh than that of p^, chap. lii. 6 ;
where there is an ellipsis of si;., just as
there is here of niiiaj, — both words being
so easily supplied by the reader. On
the contrary, there is an elegance attach
ing to it, as every one must perceive on
reading the words :
a'm 'JS3 ni'jBn 'js3.
The emendation proposed by the Bi
shop — Min niiiiB3 'JS3
d"?-*!' ni'jia: 'jS3
is drawling aud paraphrastic, and does
not after all admit of the interpretation
which he puts upon it. Properly ren
dered it would be —
He is the Retributor ;
The Retributor will requite.

Nothing less in keeping with the style
of the preceding verses could have been
introduced. In this verse, there is an obvious dis
tinction between two classes of enemies
on whom retribution was to be inflicted.
The former, specially characterised as
D'IS and D'3;M, are the wicked Jews so
graphically described in the preceding
part of the chapter, the atrocity of whose
hostility was particularly manifested in
their persecution of our Saviour and his
followers. The Apostle expressly calls
them ixBpol, sell. toS Beov, Rom. xi.
28 ; and it is to them and their political
excision that our Lord so emphatically
points, Luke xix. 27. Comp. vers. 12 —
14. The retribution here predicted was
rendered when Jerusalem was destroyed,
and the Jews scattered among the na
tions. The other class on whom ven
geance was to be taken were the
Romans — those inhabiting the d»,m, or
maritime regions to the west of Pales
tine. They, in their turn, met with
retribution when the swarms of northern
barbarians poured in upon the empire,
ravaged its provinces, plundered its
cities, and ultimately effected its total
overthrow. That the judgments that
have since been, and are still to be
inflicted on the European states, in
punishment of their connexion with,
and support of the hostile power of
Rome ecclesiastical, are also included in
the prediction, I think highly probable.
Comp. Rev. xvi. 19, 20.
19. The holy seer has next presented
to his inspired vision the spread of true
religion in times subsequent to the over
throw of the Roman empire. It is par
ticularly worthy of notice, that, while
in every other passage of Scripture in
which the spread of the gospel is spoken
of, it is uniformly represented as ad
vancing from the East towards the West,
that order is here reversed. True reli
gion is first set forth as flourishing in
the West, and then in the Eastern

414

ISAIAH.

[chap. LIX.

When the adversary cometh in like a river,
The breath of Jehovah shall raise a standard against him.
20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion ;
To those in Jacob that turn from transgression.
21 For as to me, this is my covenant with them, saith Jehovah :
My Spirit which is upon thee,

regions of the earth. Whoever reflects
on the actual amount of Scriptural piety
in this country and America, (not ex
cluding its progress in the Continental
states of Europe,) and compares it with
the religious aspect of Asia, — at the
same time surveying the successful
efforts which are being made by Euro
pean and American missionaries, both to
regenerate the fallen Oriental churches,
and to diffuse the light of Divine truth
in the Mohammedan and Pagan coun
tries of the East, can hardly avoid
coming to the conclusion, that what we
have lived to witness is an incipient ful
filment of the prophecy.
The last desperate effort of the anti
ehristian power now presents itself to
the view of the prophet. That is is to
be taken as a substantive, and the nomi
native to M3J,, and not as an adjective
qualifying in:, the exigency of the pas
sage absolutely requires. So Maurer
decidedly. The event to which reference
is made is not the execution of judg
ment predicted in the preceding verse,
but succeeds the spread of the gospel pre
dicted in the former half of the present.
To no antecedent can the verb with any
propriety be referred. The renderings,
therefore, of the LXX. rj^ei yap ds iro-
rapbs ^laios t; dpyrj irapd Kvplov, the
Vulg., Lowth, Gesenius, Noyes, Hitzig,
and others, cannot be sustained. Equally
untenable is the principle of interpreta
tion which would render nin; mi, ' a
strong or mighty wind.' Such rendering
ought long ago to have been repudiated
as totally unfounded on Hebrew usage.
In no instance can it be proved, that the
phrases D'ri'jM mi and nin; mi have any
such meaning. Whenever mountains,
cedars, &c. are placed in construction
with the Divine names, such names are
not used as superlatives, but indicate
the origin to which these objects are to
be referred. See on chap. xiv. 14. A
mighty wind is expressed in Hebrew by

njiis mi. That nin; mi is here equivalent
to i'B nil, chap. xi. 4, and the corre
sponding TO irvevpa Toi) o'Toparos avrov,
2 Thess. ii. 8, seems in the highest
degree probable. The subject and all
the circumstances are identical.
What the prophet teaches is, that
when the great visible Adversary of the
cause of Christ upon earth — the is by
way of eminence — shall collect all his
forces, in order to crush the people of
God, a Divine mandate shall call forth
destruction upon them. Comp. Dan. vii.
26, 27; Rev. xix. 11—21. noD:, as to
form, may either be the Benoni Part, of
Dp:, to lift up, elevate, as a standard ;
whence D:, a banner or ensign; or the
third person singular in the Poel of Di:,
to flee; but as the latter verb is never
used in a transitive acceptation, except
in Hiphil, we are compelled to adopt the
former, which is the rendering of our
common version. Thus also, in effect,
Theod. irvevpa Kvpiov ia-rjpeidBr] iv
avra; Saad. itjit jiji_ <)d!l ~«lj ¦ And
so Dathe, Boothroyd, and Lee in his
Heb. Lex. sub voc. It is equivalent to
D.: Mta, chap. v. 26 ; and the meaning is,
that by the command of Jehovah his
army should be called out and directed
to the final and victorious conflict with
the enemy.
20, 21. It is impossible for any one
impartially to examine the scope and
management of the Apostle's argument,
Rom. xi. and not to perceive that he
quotes this passage in verses 26, 27, for
the express purpose of proving, from the
Old Testament, the future conversion of
the Jewish people. The chronology of
the two writers is in the strictest har
mony. For, as Isaiah introduces the
conversion of the Jews as happening
after the general extension of true reli
gion among the Gentiles, so Paul mani
festly links the two events together in

CHAP. LIX.]

ISAIAH.

415

And my words which I have put into thy mouth,
Shall not depart from thy mouth.
Nor from the mouth of thy seed.
Nor from the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith Jehovah,
From henceforth, for ever.

the same order : " Blindness in part is
happened to Israel until the fulness
OF THE Gentiles be come in. And so
ALL Israel shall be saved : as it is
written," &c. Between the Hebrew
text, the LXX., and the Greek of the
Apostle, there are some verbal discrepan
cies ; but the general sense is the same.
Instead of ]i'S^, the LXX. read eveKa
2idv ; Paul, eK 'S.idv. The former is not,
indeed, at variance with the force of the
Heb. preposition ; but as the latter is
totally so, it has not without reason been
supposed, that the Apostle had in his
mind Ps. xiv. 7, where the identical
phrase occurs, in connexion with the
deliverance of the Jews. For StoS '3to'?i
^i'51|i the LXX. have Kal diroa-rpe^ei
da-e^elas dirb 'laKd^, which is followed
by Paul. The principal idea being the
conversion of the Jewish people, it made
no difference to the Apostle's argument,
whether he viewed it actively or pas
sively. From the circumstance that the
advent of the Saviour is limited, in the
way of promise, to such of the Jews as
should repent, and turn to God, we may
safely infer that jrSs 'lo-paj)X, 'all Israel,'
Rom. xi. 26, is not intended to convey
the idea that every individual of the
nation, but that ihe mass, the great body,
the people generally, shall be saved,
Comp. for a similar restricted use ofnds,
Matt. ii. 3, iii. 5. It clearly appears
from chap. Ixv. 11, that in the latter day,
there will still be a number of the Jews
who will prefer their infidelity and secu

lar interests to the sacred claims of reli
gion. That a future, and not the first
advent of the Redeemer, is intended,
must be maintained, as more in accord
ance with the spirit of the passage.
The subject, ver. 21, is the dispensa
tion of the spirit and truth to the restored
Israelites, of which they should no more
be deprived, as in times past. The
change from the third person plural to
the second singular is not uncommon in
Hebrew, and seems to be here specially
made, with a view to give greater point
and interest to the promise. The hypo
thesis of Gesenius, that Isaiah and his
successors in office are meant, is totally
unsupported by any thing in the context.
The terminus a quo, marked by nnSB,
from now, is not the period in which the
prophet wrote, but that of the events to
which the prediction refers — the future
conversion of the Jews. For the due
fulfilment of the prophecy, a corrobora
tive pledge is afforded by their continued
preservation as a distinct people.
In the last verses of this chapter, the
events of the future, though some of
them widely distant from each other in
point of time, are placed in close juxta
position,— the whole having been pre
sented as in a perspective group, to the
inward view of the prophet. On the
subject of the future conversion of the
Jews, the reader will find much informa
tion in a long, but interesting note of
Michaelis, in his Anmerkungen on these
two verses.

CHAPTER LX.
That this and the remaining chapters mainly refer to the future prosperity and
glory of the Jews, when restored to a state of church relation to Jehovah, is the
only position that can be maintained, consistentiy with a strict adherence to
definite principles of interpretation. In our most esteemed commentaries, there

416 ISAIAH. [chap. lx.
is a perpetual vacillancy between the literal and the Spiritual, the Jews and the
Gentiles, the past and the future, which is any thing but satisfactory. From
many of them, indeed, it is evident that their authors, notwithstanding their
strong propensity to apply these predictions to the past and present privileges of
the Christian church, as made up of Gentile converts, and the still fuller enjoy
ment of these privileges during the Millennium, have been compelled to admit,
that the Jews are not altogether to be excluded, though they still begrudge tfcem
a re-establishment as a converted community in the land of Palestine. To me it
appears, from the close connexion of these chapters with the last verses of chapter
lix.; from the obvious distinction kept up between the converted Jews and con
verted Gentiles ; from the direct recognition of restored cities, lands, vineyards,
&c,, which had long lain desolate; as well as from the general bearing of the
whole — that the glorious re-integration of the Jewish people into the church of
God is the exalted theme on which the prophet so largely expatiates, and in
treating of which, he may truly be said to have exhausted all the variety of
imagery by which his style is so richly charged. Not that he loses sight of the
Gentiles : on the contrary, they are repeatedly brought forward, though it cer
tainly is rather for the purpose of gracing the triumphs of his own people, than of
exhibiting them in the all-engrossing light in which they have usually been pre
sented. How much soever he is to be regarded as the evangelical prophet, and
how much soever he was raised above the contracted spirit by which his country
men were too generally actuated, still he was a prophet of the Jews and to the
Jews. Their interests as a people, both in the then present, and in the future,
could not but deeply engross him : so that, while he hails with feelings of delight
the extension of the blessings of salvation to the Gentile world, he anticipates
with ecstatic joy the recovery of his 'brethren, his kinsmen according to the
flesh.'
The chapter may justly be viewed as an diroTeXecrpa or finished exhibition of the
triumphant and glorious state of the church during the Millennium : the Jews,
restored to their own land, and brought to acknowledge Jesus as the true and
only Messiah, forming the central portion of the divine kingdom, while distant
nations cheerfully accord to them a due regard, not only as brethren in the faith,
and partakers of the common salvation, but as "the natural branches," again
occupying their place in "their own olive tree," — "beloved for the fathers'
sakes," Rom. xi. 21, 24, 28. Nothing can exceed the glowing colours in which
the happy condition of the Millennial church is here depicted. The figures are
rich and varied; the structure, grandeur, and flow of the poetic diction are
admirable ; and the whole is calculated to produce and cherish the brightest
expectations of the sacred ' golden age.'
Fired by the prospect which had burst upon his vision, chap. lix. 20, 21 , the prophet
in the most animated manner summons Jerusalem, the personified representative
of the Jewish people, to arise from her long state of desolation, and reflect the
splendour imparted to her by Jehovah, 1, 2 ; and describes the nations with their
rulers, merchants, and shepherds, as voluntarily and liberally contributing to her
re-establishment, 3 — 7. The multitude of her dispersed sons have every facility
afforded for their return, 8, 9 ; men of all nations and ranks resort to her, with
their wealth and every thing that can add to her beauty and stability, 10 — 14 ;
the most complete change takes place in regard to both her external and inter
nal circumstances ; and the most complete provision is made for full, uninterrupted,
and undiminished supplies of knowledge, purity, and happiness, 15 — 22.

chap, lx.]

ISAIAH.

417

Arise, shine, for thy light is come.
And the glory of Jehovah hath arisen upon thee.
For, behold ! the darkness shall cover the earth,
And gross darkness the people ;
But upon thee Jehovah shall arise.
And his glory shall be seen upon thee.
And nations shall come to thy light,
And kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Lift up thine eyes around and behold ;
They all collect themselves, they come to thee :
Thy sons shall come from far.
And thy daughters shall be borne on the side.
Then thou shalt look, and brighten up ;
Thy heart shall throb and dilate ;
For the riches of the sea shall be turned to thee,
The wealth of the nations shall come to thee.

1, 2. So evident is it that Jerusalem
is here addressed, that the LXX., Vulg.,
Targ., and Saadias, have inserted the
term. The first mentioned version has,
*o)Tifo« (jbaJTt'fov 'lepovadXijp ; as if the
translator had read ''liM l.iM. Comp.
chap. li. 17, lii. 1, 2. By the images of
light and darkness in these verses are
meant a state of trouble and distress on
the one hand, and of prosperity and joy
on the other. While the different nations
shall be involved in the awful calamities
connected with the overthrow of the
Antiehristian confederacy, Dan. xii. 1, 6,
7; Rev. xviii. xix., the peculiar favour
of Jehovah shall be manifested towards
the Jews. To express this more forcibly,
two figures are employed ; the one taken
from the rising of the sun, and the other
from the visible glory or splendour which
the Israelites bSield in the wilderness.
There may also be a reference to the
contrasted circumstances of the Israelites
and Egyptians, Exod. xiv. 19 — 24.
3. The report of the distinguished
excellence and felicity of the restored
church will bring strangers, and even
monarchs, to view and participate in her
blessedness. 4. The reference in dV3 is not to those
spoken of in the preceding verse, but to
the sons and daughters, — the future in
habitants of Jerusalem, — mentioned im

mediately after. These shall come from
the most distant parts whither they shall
have been scattered. is^ does not
mean at the side, in the sense of being
near, but on the side, in reference to the
oriental custom of carrying children
astride upon the hip, while they cling to
the side of those who bear them. LXX.
eir dpav dpBrjcrovTai, shall be carried on
the shoulders. The idea of nursing,
which also attaches to ]bm, is not so natu
ral in this place as that of bearing or
carrying, which is, indeed, the proper
signification of the term, in application
to the nursing of a child. See Numb.
xi. 12 ; Isa. Ixvi. 12.
5. For 'Min, thou shalt see, fifty-four
MSS. originally eleven, probably three
more, now one other, and the Soncin.
edition, read ^Pi, thou shalt fear, of
which Abenezra, Vitringa, Lowth, Mi
chaelis hesitatingly, Dbderiein, Dathe,
Hensler, Gesenius, Moller, Boothroyd,
Jenour, Jones, Noyes, and Scholz, ap
prove. On the other hand, the common
reading is supported by the LXX., Targ.,
Vulg., Syr., Saad., and isadopted by Ting
stadius, Hitzig, and Maurer. Though,
if viewed in connexion with the follow
ing hemistich, the proposed emendation
might appear the more natural, yet the
repetition of nMi, from ver. 4, is quite
admissible, and may actually have come
3h

418

ISAIAH.

[chap, lx

A multitude of camels shall cover thee,
The young camels of Midian and Ephah ;
All those of Sheba shall come ;
They shall bear gold and frankincense.
And pubhsh the praises of Jehovah.
All the sheep of Kedar shall be collected for thee ;
The rams of Nebaioth shall serve thee ;
They shall willingly ascend my altar.
And my beauteous house I will beautify.

from the pen of the prophet, ins, usually
rendered to fear, signifies here to palpi
tate, throb, as the heart does in excessive
joy. in: signifies both to flow, as water,
and io shine, be bright, &c. Comp. the
' ...
Syr. •ou , splenduit, Arab. Ij.^ , dies.
The latter signification alone suits in
this place, and expresses the cheerful
indications of inward joy experienced by
Jerusalem. Theodot. xapri<rr) ; the Arab.
i^y»-Juy — The sea is, as frequentiy, put
for the maritime nations of the west.
Thus the Targ. MJl^a inis, the wealth of
the West. Comp. Deut. xxxiii. 19.
6, 7. From the merchants who traded
in ships on the Mediterranean, and the
nations of the west with which they had
intercourse, the prophet turns to the rich
merchants and the possessors of flocks in
Arabia, and shews that they would be
equally forward to minister to the wants
of Zion. D'^ijs are not dromedaries, but
young camels. Comp. the Arab. jG and
^jG , parvus camelus, veljuvencus. The
term for dromedaries is niiji?, for which
see chap. Ixvi. 20. The camel, owing to
his hardiness, his endurance of thirst,
and the scanty food on which he is capa
ble of subsisting, is well fitted to be a
beast of burden in desert countries, and
is employed for this purpose, in all parts
of the East, but in none more than
Arabia. Some of them will carry ten
hundred weight, though generally their
loads are not heavy. The camel is hence
not inappropriately called by the Arabs,
jjJt kJUflAw, the ship of the desert, —
The places here specified all lay in Ara

bia ; and as the inhabitants of that
country have not been subject to the
changes which those nations have under
gone, that lay more directly in the way
of the great conquerors of antiquity, their
descendants occupy nearly the same posi
tions, and follow the same occupations. —
tn"?; Midian, The tribes that went by
this name appear to have inhabited the
country between the northern extremity
of the Arabian Gulf and Arabia Felix,
and the plains of Moab. They were
descended from Abraham by Keturah,
Gen. xxv. 2, 4, and carried on a trade
by caravans between Gilead and Egypt,
as early as the days of Jacob. Abulfeda
describes the ruins of a town called
JJv«i on the east side of the above-
mentioned gulf, in which direction we
find a Mr^biava spoken of by Ptol. v. 17,
and a Mablavq by Joseph. Antiq. xii. xi.
1.— no'S, LXX. Tae4>a, Ephah, occurs in
connexion with Midian, Gen, xxv. 4 ;
1 Chron. i. 33. Bochart, Hieron. i. 81,
82, compares the "^mros of Ptolemy,
which the latter writer places near to
Mrjbiava.—^y M3to, Sheba, is meant Ara
bia Felix, or the regions between the
Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, now
called the Hejaz. It abounded in spices,
1 Kings X. 2 ; Jer. vi. 20 ; Ezek. xxvii.
22 ; especially in frankincense ; and in
gold and precious stones, Ps. Ixxii. 15.
Its inhabitants carried on a great trade,
not only in their native productions, but
also in Indian and Phenician articles.
According to Strabo, xvi. their principal
city was called Mariaba, (the present
t-J.Lo , about sixty miles to the N. E.
of Sanaa,) though its ancient name, as
occurring in Diod. Sic. iii. 47, is Saba.

CHAP. LX.]

ISAIAH.

419

8 Who are these, that fly like a cloud ?
And like doves to their holes ?
9 Surely, the maritime lands shall wait for me,
And the ships of Tarshish first ;
To bring thy sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them ;
To the name of Jehovah thy God,
And to the Holy One of Israel who hath beautified thee.
10 The sons of strangers also shall build thy walls,

It is now generally agreed that it was
the queen of this country who paid the
celebrated visit to Solomon, 1 Kings x.
1 — 13. — For lii?., Kedar, see on chap.
xxi. 17. — ni'3:, the Nebatheans, compre
hended the principal tribes of Arabia
Petraea, occupying a middle place be
tween the Midianitcs and the inhabitants
of Sheba. They appear anciently to have
been divided in their occupations; some
carrying on a lucrative trade with cara
vans, and others addicting themselves
exclusively to the nomadic life. The
latter are described by Diodorus Sic. as
deeming it unlawful to cultivate the
ground or trees ; to drink wine ; and to
build houses. — Whatever the descend
ants of those Oriental tribes may possess,
shall be cheerfully placed at the disposal
of the restored Jews. This is beautifully
expressed by representing the animals
selected for sacrifice, as mounting the
altars of their own accord. There shall
be no want of any thing that is required
for the full restoration of divine worship,
when the mosque of Omar shall give
place to a new temple to be erected for
the celebration of the services of that
ministration which exceedeth in glory,
2 Cor. iii. 8—11. jiST'js and ]S^, are
not synonymous. The latter signifies
for acceptance, acceptably ; the former,
here used, with pleasure, delight, or good
will. 8. The ideas conveyed by the images
here employed are those of number and
velocity. The reference to the doves is
beautifully illustrated by a passage in
Morier's Second Journey in Persia.
Speaking of the pigeon-houses near Is
pahan, he says : " They are large round
towers, rather broader at the bottom
than the top, crowned by conical spira

cles, through which the pigeons descend.
Their interior resembles a honey-comb,
pierced with a thousand holes, each of
which forms a snug retreat for a nest.
The extraordinary flights of pigeons
which I have seen upon one of these
buildings, afford perhaps a good illustra
tion of Isaiah lx. 8. Their great num
bers, and the compactness of their massj
literally looked like a cloud at a distance,
and obscured the sun in their passage."
The persons referred to are the Jews,
who now flock in immense numbers
from all quarters, to the land of their
fathers, and Jerusalem, the summit of
their earthly joy.
9. The inhabitants of the west, espe
cially those which carry on maritime
traffic, spiritually converted to God, shall
lay their ships and wealth under contri
bution, to the accomplishment of the
purposes of God relating to the restora
tion of the Jews to Palestine, and to the
further advancement of the Divine glory.
n:toM13, LXX. iv irpdrois, "among the
first."" Twenty-five MSS. and the Syr.
read n:ffiNl33, i. e. as formerly, in refer
ence to the assistance rendered by the
Tyrians to Solomon. For " the ships of
Tarshish," see on chap, xxiii. 10. The
suffix in DBD3 and DSm is to be referred
to the Jews, and not to the commercial
powers. Their property as well as them
selves shall be conveyed, free of charge,
to Palestine. Many of them living in
remote parts, can only conveniently
return by sea.
10. By l?.?''?3 are meant foreigners —
Gentiles, such as had been accounted
SENOI Tav biaBrjKav Trjs iirayyeXias,
but now cTvpnoX'iTai rdv dyidv Kal
o'lKeioi TOV 0eov, Eph, 12, 19. Such
shall count it an honour to be employed

420

ISAIAH.

[chap. lx.

11

12

13

14

15

And their kings shall serve thee ;
Though in my vreath I smote thee,
Yet in my good pleasure I will pity thee.
Thy gates shall be open continually ;
They shall not be shut by day, nor by night ;
That the wealth of the nations may be brought into thee, '
And their kings conducted along.
For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee, shall perish ;
Yea, those nations shall be utterly destroyed.
The glory of Lebanon shall come to thee,
The cypress, the larch, and the pine together ;
To beautify the place of my sanctuary,
And I will make the place of my feet glorious.
The sons also of thine oppressors shall come crouching to thee ;
All that despised thee shall prostrate themselves at the soles of thy
feet;
And shall call thee. The City of Jehovah,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Instead of thy having been deserted and hated,

in rebuilding Jerusalem, and, in any
way, contributing to the recovery of the
lost happiness of Israel. Monarchs shall
regard it as a privilege to aid in the
work, by employing whatever legitimate
influence they may possess in advanc
ing it.
11. The idea conveyed by the gates
never being shut, is that of the continual
arrival of the multitudes referred to.
Modern travellers greatly complain of
the inconvenience to which they are put,
when they do not reach Jerusalem before
the gates are closed. The Apostle John
borrows the language in his description
of the new Jerusalem, Rev. xxi. 25.
The ideas of security and peace are im
plied. — D'3in: may either signify led along
in chains, as captives, and thus the Targ.
and Hitzig; or in procession, by their
devoted attendants, which seems the
more natural interpretation.
12. There is obviously a meiosis in
this verse. The absence of active aid is
construed into positive hostility, and
punished accordingly, Comp. Judges
V. 23.
13. For the trees here specified, see

on chap. xli. 19. A literal temple, or
house of worship, being intended, the
language must be literally explained.
From all that appears to be the state of
Palestine in regard to wood, supplies
from Lebanon will be as necessary as
they were when the ancient temple was
constructed. "The place of" Jehovah's
"feet," is parallel to "the place of" his
"sanctuary;" viz, Jerusalem.
14. Jerusalem hath literally been
" trodden down " by many nations, Luke
xxi. 24; and her scattered sons have
been subject to greater calamities, arising
from rapine and massacre, than any
people under heaven. Not only in the
East, but in almost every country of
Europe, the most violent and tragical
outrages have been committed upon
them. The descendants of her op
pressors, however, will acknowledge the
wrongs that have been done to her, and
humbly crave a share in her privileges.
Instead of Ji"?, Zion, Hitzig reads ji'S,
cippus, a pillar, but 'violenfly in such
connexion, nimp, the construct punc
tuation for ninto, the absolute.
1 5. nnn merely expresses, in exchange

chap,

LX.]

ISAIAH.

421

16

17

18

19

So that no one passed through thee,
I will make thee an eternal excellency.
The joy of successive generations.
Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations ;
Yea, the breast of kings thou shalt suck ;
And shalt know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour,
And thy Redeemer, the Protector of Jacob.
Instead of copper, I will bring gold ;
And instead of iron, I will bring silver ;
And instead of wood, copper ; and instead of stones.
And I will make thy overseers peaceful.
And thy rulers righteous.
Violence shall no more be heard in thy land.
Nor devastation or destruction within thy borders ;
But thou shalt call thy walls, Salvation,
And thy gates. Praise.
The sun shall no more be for light to thee by day.
Neither shall the moon enlighten thee with brightness ;

iron

for; though from the circumstances of
the case, the idea of compensation is
necessarily implied. DjiS is here used,
as in many otiier places, for a period of
long and unknown duration.
16. A repetition, in somewhat differ
ent language, of what is predicted, verses
3, 5, 10, and 11. Comp. Rev. xxi. 24.
" Sucking the breast of kings " is un
usual, and by fastidious critics may be
deemed unnatural ; but the phrase is
merely employed for the purpose of carrj'-
ing out more efficiently the idea taught
in the preceding clause ; viz. that abun
dant contributions would be made by the
inhabitants of the different nations to the
sustenance of Zion. Kings are intro
duced, on account of their greater wealth
and influence, which they shall now ex
pend upon the cause of God, instead of
squandering them, as formerly, upon
objects of vanity and sin. For 1'3M, Pro
tector, see on chap. i. 24.
17. For the repeated use of nnn in
this verse, comp. chap. iii. 24. Such
identity of style corroborates the authen
ticity of the present portion of the book.
The temporal prosperity of the restored
Israelites shall resemble that of their
ancestors in the days of Solomon, 1 Kings

X. 27 ; 2 Chron. ix. 20, 27. '^1|?S, the
LXX. doubtless rendered tovs ima-Ko-
irovs (TOV, thine inspectors or bishops,
though these words and tovs dpxovrds
a-ov, thy rulers, the proper rendering of
IjMb::, have, in the course of transcription,
exchanged places. Both terms are here
used to designate the office-bearers, or
rulers of the restored Jewish commu
nity, — the one, those who shall superin
tend its spiritual ; and the other, those
who shall administer its temporal affairs.
Comp. the use of eiria-Koirrj, 1 Tim. iii. 1 ,
and the combination iiritTKoiroi Kal bia-
Kovoi, Philip, i. 1. This is the only pas
sage in which toj: is used in a good sense.
It otherwise signifies a task-master, a
collector of tribute, or an oppressive
ruler. Instead of being, as formerly,
contentious and unjust, the Jewish ofB-
cers shall seek to promote peace, and
satisfy the just claims of all who are
under their government. Di'jto and nijw
are the abstract used for the concrete.
18. Oppression and war shall no more
be known. The most perfect security
shall be enjoyed ; and the very gates
shall re-echo the praises of Jehovah.
19, 20. These verses further depict, in
language of the most sublime imagery,

422 ISAIAH. [chap. lxi.
For Jehovah shall be to thee an everlasting light.
And thy God shall be thy beauty.
20 Thy sun shall no more set.
Neither shall thy moon withdraw herself ;
For Jehovah shall be to thee an everlasting light.
And the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
21" And as for thy people, they shall all of them be righteous ;
They shall inherit the land for ever ;
The branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
That I may be glorified.
22 The little one shall become a thousand.
And the small one a mighty nation :
I, Jehovah, will hasten it in its season,
the superlative degree of happiness which Keri 'Stoa we have the authority of
shall be enjoyed by the new and holy forty-four MSS., and seven others ori-
Jerusalem church. Its ordinary sources ginally, and that of the Syr., Vulg., and
shall no longer be thought of. Jehovah Targ. ; according to which the restora-
himself shall be found to be a glorious tion of the Jews is, under a beautiful
and unfailing fountain of joy. " Lux figure, directly ascribed to Jehovah.
Jovae (i. e. fortuna tua prospera, cujus Comp. chap. Ixi. 3.
Jova auctor erit) tanta est futura, ut pro 22. The Jews, who are comparatively
nihilo aestimanda sit lux soils aut lunae." few in number in any country, and are
Maurer. The language is ad sensum despised by those among whom they
quoted and applied to the same state of live, shall form a numerous and power-
things. Rev. xxi. 23, xxii. 5. The LXX. ful nation when congregated in their
and Targ. have read, or at least supplied own land. Malte Brun estimates their
nW, which may have originally been present number at between four and
omitted by an ellipsis. The concluding five millions. The period of their return
words of ver. 20, furnish a key to the is not specified by the prophet, but he
meaning of both verses. speaks of it as fixed and definite : nns?,
21. Comp. Rev. xxi. 27, and 7. The ai its proper season, the period appointed
character of the inhabitants of Zion for its taking place. For its certainty,
shall be in accordance with the dignity the Divine declaration is a sufficient
of their privileges. In support of the guarantee.

CHAPTER LXI.
The same subject is here continued. The recovery of Israel formed an important
part of the Messiah's commission, which he is introduced as asserting, 1 — 3,
Brought back to their own land, they shall rebuild its cities that have long lain
desolate, 4 ; foreigners shall perform their more menial labours, while they
addict themselves to the services of religion, amply supported by the rich
contributions of those who live in other countries, 5, 6 ; and full compensation

CHAP, Lxi.J ISAIAH. 423
shall be made to them for all the infamy and pillage to which they have been
subject, 7—9. Not only restored externally, but invested with moral excellence,
they raise a hymn of praise for the wonderful change which they have expe
rienced, 10, 11.

1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me ;
For Jehovah hath anointed me.
To publish glad tidings to the afflicted.
He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted.
To proclaim liberty to the captives.
And to those that are bound, complete deliverance ;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah,
And the day of vengeance of our God ;
To comfort all that mourn ;
3 To make glad the mourners in Zion ;
To give them beauty instead of ashes.
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The garment of praise instead of a desponding spirit ;
And they shall be called, The Trees of Righteousness,
The Plantation of Jehovah ; that he may be glorified.
1 — 3. That the speaker in this pas- referred to. — The Messiah first an-
sage is not the prophet himself, as nounces the source of his qualifications
maintained by Michaelis, van der Palm, for the office of Teacher — the influences
Rosenmiiller, Gesenius, Hitzig, and of the Divine Spirit. Comp. chap. xi. 2.
Scholz, but the Great Messiah, I cannot He then enumerates the principal fea-
but contend, on the highest possible tures of the character of those to whom
authority. On reading the words to the he was commissioned to impart relief —
Jews assembled in the synagogue at the afflicted, the broken-hearted, the cap-
Nazareth, while their eyes were intently tives, the prisoners, the mourners, and
"fixed upon him, he most unequivocally the desponding. These terms are accu-
applied them to his own commission, mulated in order to express more forcibly
and proceeded to explain their cheering the awful state of spiritual misery and
import to the people, Luke iv. 16 — 22. distress in which they are naturally in-
No principle of accommodation, or of volved, and from which he was sent to
secondary application, can at all satisfy rescue them. Such will pre-eminently
the claims of the announcement, " This be the condition of the Jews when God
day is this scripture fulfilled in your visits them in mercy in the latter day.
ears." It must, however, be observed, See Zech. xii. 9 — 14. D'i:s is derived
that this completion merely lay in our from n3S, to lead, lead captive, subdue.
Lord's entering upon the public dis- afflict, humble, &c. ; and may either sig-
charge of his prophetic office among the nify the afflicted, or the humble, meek,
Jews. Far from being confined to the &c. according to the connexion. In the
instructions of that particular day, it present instance the former acceptation
was to be exercised in perpetuity, during is the more appropriate. The LXX.
the continuance of the church upon have irraxols, of which Hitzig ap-
earth and pre-eminently as it respects proves ; and this rendering is retained
the Jews, at the future period here by Luke. The terms "captives" and

424

ISAIAH.

[chap. lxi.

8

Then shall they build up the ancient ruins.
They shall raise up the former desolations ;
They shall renovate the waste cities,
The desolations of successive generations.
And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks ;
The sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and vine-dressers.
But ye shall be called. The Priests of Jehovah ;
Ye shall be named. The Servants of our God :
Ye shall consume the wealth of the nations,
And have their riches at your command.
Instead of your shame, there shall be double ;
And instead of ignominy, they shall rejoice in their portion ;
For in their land, they shall inherit the double,
They shall have everlasting joy.
For I, Jehovah, love justice,

" prisoners " are to be taken metaphori
cally, and have no reference to external
restraint. Comp. Job xiii. 10. lil'i is
specially used of the liberty granted to
slaves, when they were manumitted at
the jubilee, which, on this account, was
called lii'in n:to, ihe year of liberty, Ezek.
xlvi. 17.  Instead of nip-ng?, twelve
MSS., and the Complut. Edit, read
"lipITi??, thus presenting one word in the
reduplicate form, for the sake of inten
sity. Some, with De Dieu, compare the
Ethiop. 'P^fh" "¦ ohain, and the
Chald. nrrj:, the same ; and render, to
open the prison, as in our Common Ver
sion ; but the former seems preferable,
especially as it has the support of the
LXX., Vulg., Targ,, and Saad. For
the form, comp. ^B^nB, Deut. xxxii. 5.
The meaning is a complete opening of
the prison. After Dito supply litoto. In
"Bfe! nnn im? is an elegant paronomasia.
The " day of vengeance " here con
nected with the " acceptable year of the
Lord," designates the period of judg
ment referred to chap. lix. 18, 19, — the
punishment of the last Antichrist. By
pisn '5'M are not meant gesegnete Tere-
binthen, as Gesenius renders, nor oaks
of truth, as Lowth explains them, but
trees producing righteousness as their
fruit. Comp. Phil. i. 11. "JlM is here
used generically.
4, 5. These verses admit of no con

sistent interpretation, except on the
principle, that the Jews are to be re
stored to the land of their fathers. The
ruins and desolations are those of cities
that had once been inhabited; and can
not, without the utmost violence, be ap
plied to the heathen world. D':itJMl niBBto
Gesenius renders, the desolations of the
forefathers, but less aptly than taking
D':to«i adjectively.
6. Comp. Exod. xix. 6. The language
implies holiness, spirituality, and de
votedness to the service of God. So
abundant shall be the supplies, that
there shall be no absorption of time by
the cares and distractions of business.
its^m, the Hithp. of ib;=ibm, Arab. _<i|,
to command, order; hence yX^ , an emir.
Others, to change, have in exchange, to
have, or enjoy instead of another.
7. The Jews have been the subjects
of ignominy among all nations. When
restored, the honour conferred upon
them by Jehovah, and the estimation in
which they shall be held by believing
Gentiles, will far overbalance the con
tempt in which they have been held.
n:toB, double, i. e. ample, full. See on
chap. xl. 2. The change of person we
have often had occasion to notice.
8. nbis the same as njis. Thus the
9 V
Syr. Vlo^i. , and several MSS, By " the

CHAP. Lxii.] ISAIAH. 425
I hate the rapine of wickedness ;
I will faithfully grant their reward,
And make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 And their seed shall be known among the nations.
And their offspring among the people ;
All that see them shall acknowledge them,
' That they are a seed whom Jehovah hath blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah ;
My soul shall exult in my God :
For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation ;
He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness ;
As the bridegroom dresseth himself splendidly.
Or as the bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth causeth her produce to come forth.
And as the garden causeth the things sown in it to grow up,
So the Lord Jehovah shall cause righteousness to spring up,
And praise, before all the nations.
rapine of injustice " is meant what is Deliverer. Instead of any longer sitting
taken away unjustly. The 3 in nbiS3 is in the dust, in squalid attire, and with a
that of instrument; LXX. dpirdypara downcast look, she is decked in the most
i^dbiKias. Comp. Job V. 16; Ps. lviii. 3, splendid festal garments, 'p^, to officiate
Ixiv. 7. The reference is to the acts of as priest ; here to appear as a priest,
flagrant injustice which have been com- thus officiating ; Aq. ws vvpxpiov iepa-
mitted on the Jews by the Gentile na- Tevopevov (rreipdva ; Symm, according
tions, among which they have been to the meaning, KeKoaprjpevov arerjidva ;
scattered. and so the Vulg. The allusion is to the
9. D in Dil'32 is pleonastic. mitre and golden crown of the high
10, 11. Jerusalem, as the representa- priest when fully attired. For ver.
tive of the Jews, joyfully and gratefully 11, comp. chap. xlv. 8; Ps. Ixxxv.
raises a hymn of praise to her great 11, 12.

CHAPTER LXII.
This chapter contains a further development of the happy condition of the Jewish
people, when brought to the knowledge of the Messiah. This development is
furnished in vers. 2, 3, 4, and 5. In vers. 1 and 6, the Messiah himself is
introduced as interesting himself for the prosperity of Zion, and calling upon
those whom he had appointed to superintend her affairs to be unremitting in
their supplications on her behalf And, after announcing the oath of Jehovah,
pledging the exercise of his omnipotence to her restoration, 8, 9, and directing
O I

426

ISAIAH.

[chap. lxit.

every preparation to be made, 10, the prophet, in one of his finest strains,
presents to view the advent of the Saviour for the recovery of the Jews, and the
happy state of Jerusalem, when rebuilt, and inhabited by a holy and sincerely
religious people.

For the sake of Zion I will not be silent.
Nor, for the sake of Jerusalem, will I be quiet.
Till her righteousness go forth as brightness.
And her salvation as a blazing torch.
Then shall the nations behold thy righteousness.
And all kings thy glory ;
And thou shalt be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of Jehovah shall express.
Thou shalt be a beautiful crown in the hand of Jehovah,
And a royal diadem in the palm of thy God.
Thou shalt no more be called, Forsaken ;
Neither shall thy land be any more termed, Desolate ;
But thou shalt be called, My-delight-is-in-her ;
And thy land. The Married Woman :
For Jehovah shall delight in thee.
And thy land shall be married.

1. There is considerable doubt re
specting the speaker in this verse. The
prophet, the Messiah, the Jewish people,
and Jehovah, have each been supposed
to be intended. The second opinion
seems decidedly entitled to the prefer
ence, on the ground of the frequency
with which the Redeemer is thus ab
ruptly introduced by our prophet.
Through his mediatorial intercession the
Jews shall be restored to their standing
in the church of God.
2. It is here predicted, that Israel
shall be invested with a character alto
gether new — the result of the change
effected by the gracious interposition of
Jehovah. That Dto is not to be under
stood of a mere name, but has special
reference to state and character, is obvious
from the common idiom by which any
thing is said to be called what it really
is. See chap. i. 26. Sjj}, to penetrate,
cut, hew, mark, express hy distinct signs ;
hence, distinguish hy name. Numb. i. 17.
3. It has been thought by some, that
there is a want of eongruity in repre

senting the crown as in the hand, in
stead of its being upon the head ; but
it must be obvious, that with no pro
priety whatever could the church be
spoken of as placed on the head of
Jehovah. The language is designed to
teach the high estimation in which Jeru
salem shall be held by the Most High,
and her perfect security under his pro
tection. P]':3 is properly a turban or
tiara wound round the head; and, as
worn by eastern monarchs, studded
with the most valuable jewels. The
word is thus exhibited in the Keri, and
in three MSS. in the text, instead of
t)i:s, the usual Chethib;
4. As the names here specified are
merely symbolical, and will never be
employed as proper names, 1 have
deemed it right to give them in a trans
lated form, rather than retain them.
Indeed, their exhibition in this form
alone renders the concluding lines of the
verse intelligible. Hephzi-bah was other
wise the name of the mother of Manas
seh, 2 Kings xxi. 1.

chap, lxii.] ISAIAH. 427
5 For as a young man man-ieth a virgin.
So shall they that build thee marry thee ;
.A.nd as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride.
So shall thy God rejoice over thee.
6 Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem ! have I appointed watchmen.
That shall never be silent the whole of the day nor the whole of the
night ;
Ye that make mention of Jehovah, be not silent :
7 Neither allow him to be silent.
Till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem
A praise in the earth.
8 Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by his mighty arm ;
I will no more give thy corn for food to thine enemies ;
Neither shall the sons of the alien drink thy wine.
For which thou hast laboured.
9 But they that reap it shall eat it.
And shall praise Jehovah ;
And they that bring it in, shall drink it
In my holy courts.
10 Pass through, pass through the gates ;
Prepare the way for the people ;
Oast up, cast up the highway ;
Clear it of stones ;
Raise a banner for the people.
5. The correlatives ltoM3 and ]3 are image of sons marrying their own
twice to be supplied in this verse. Yet mother.
there is no reason to suppose, with Lowth, 6, 7. The speaker is still the Messiah,
that they ever existed in the text. Their who declares that he would place faith-
absence is nothing more than a poetical ful teachers in Jerusalem, and charges
ellipsis. Instead of ir:3, thy sons, Lowth, them to be incessant in prayer for her
Koppe, Michaelis, Doderlein, van der complete restoration, and the extension
Palm, Tingstadius, Moller, and others, of her fame throughout the world. The
point Tp3i, ihy builders, and consider the mention of "the walls" proves that the
plural to be used for the singular, as reference is not to the priests and Levites
Tics, chap, liv. 5, — Jehovah being meant who kept watch about the temple, as
in both instances. To this it cannot be Lowth supposes, but to those who were
objected, that when plural attributives appointed to watch the city itself. Comp.
are ascribed to the Deity, the verb is xxi. 6, 8, 11, lii. 8, lvi. 10; Hab. ii. 1.
put in the singular and not in the plural, 8, 9. The enemies of Israel having all
as we here find '^I'JS?; ; for though this been swept away by the powerful judg-
holds as a general rule, yet there are ex- ments ef God, the most perfect tranquil-
ceptions, as Gen. xx. 13, xxxv. 7; 2 Sam. lity shall reign throughout the land, and
vii. 23. Such construction is required those who may go up to worship at Jeru-
by the corresponding position of ':j.'*M salem, shall enjoy unmolested the fruit
in tiie parallel member of the verse, of their labour.
and at once removes the incongruous 10. This verse contains a call to the

428' ISAIAH. [chap. Lxin.
1 1 Behold ! Jehovah proclaimeth to the end of the earth :
Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold ! thy Saviour cometh ;
Behold ! his reward is with him.
And his recompense before him.
12 Then shall they be called, The Holy People ; The Redeemed of
Jehovah ;
And thou shalt be called, Frequented ;
The City Unforsaken-.
inhabitants of the cities that may lie in To them the announcement is made.
the way of the returning Israelites, to go That " salvation " is used metonymically
forth and remove every obstacle that for "Saviour," the following pronominal
impeded their progress. By Dissn, as affixes shew. Comp. chap. xl. 5, which
well as DSn, the peculiar people are is strictly parallel in language, though the
intended. ^ advents in the two passages are different.
11. The "daughter of Zion " means 12. The Jews shall now be a holy
here the rightful inhabitants of Jerusa- people, redeemed from all iniquity, and
lem, i e. the Jews scattered over the face thronging their ancient capital for reli
ef the earth. Comp, chap, i, 8, xxiii. 10. gious purposes..

CHAPTER LXIII.
The first six verses of this chapter appear, at first sight, to stand quite insulated,
and to admit of no interpretation in connexion with the subject treated of in the
preceding and subsequent context. They have accordingly been regarded by
many as merely a fragment of some other prophecy, which has, by mistake,
found its way into this portion of the book. On closer attention being paid, how
ever, to the character and scope of the chapter, there seems great propriety in
bringing forward, in this place, the destruction of Idumea, as an instance of
Jehovah's interposing goodness in behalf of the Jewish nation. The object of the
prophet is to deduce an argument from God's dealings with his ancient people,
in favour of his graciously regarding them in their then distantly future dis
persion ; but, instead of commencing with the deliverance from Egypt, he begins
with the last which they should have experienced as a nation ; viz. that which
took place when the Idumean power was subverted, according to the special pre
dictions contained in chap, xxxiv. The passage, therefore, contains no new pro
phecy, bui merely the adduction of a fact already predicted, for the sake of
illustration. To apply it to any future judgments to be inflicted on the country
formerly occupied by the Edomites, is equally unjustifiable with the attempt to
apply it figuratively to the future enemies of the church in general, or to the
Roman Antichrist in particular. See Introd. to chap, xxxiv.
The subject of Divine interposition, for the destruction of the Edomites, is beauti
fully brought out in a dramatic form, by the introduction of two interrogations ;
the reply to the last of which completely exhausts it, 1 — 6 ; a brief review is then

chap. LXlII.]

ISAIAH.

429

taken of other signal acts of Divine loving-kindness towards Israel, notwithsland-
ing the rebelliousness of that people, 7—14; and the rest of the chapter is occu
pied with pleadings for a renewal of such gracious interference for their ultimate
deliverance, 15 — 19.

Who is this that cometh from Edom ?
In purple array from Bozrah ?
This, that is glorious in his apparel.
Advancing stately in the greatness of his strength .''
It is I, the Announcer of righteousness, —
Mighty to save.
Why is thine apparel red ?
And thy garments like those of him that treadeth in the wine-
vat?
I have trodden the wine-press by myself,
And of the people no man was with me ;

1. In prophetic vision, a triumphant
conqueror is discovered, arrayed in mili
tary attire, and returning from Idumea, —
the scene of battle and victory. To excite
attention, the question is put — who he
can be ? To which he himself replies,
in language which leaves us at no loss to
doubt, that he is the Divine Logos or
Speaker, who, from the beginning, re
vealed the will of God to men ; and, as
the Angel or Messenger of the Divine
presence, acted as the Protector and
Saviour of ancient Israel. See ver. 9.
This interpretation, which is that adopted
by most commentators, both ancient and
modern, alone satisfies the claims of the
passage ; but nothing can be more pre
posterous, or more directly at variance
with the entire spirit of it, than the ap
plication which some have made of it to
the victory which he obtained upon the
cross, yian is well explained by Bochart,
Hieroz. i. lib. ii. cap. vii,, of the brilliancy
of scarlet affecting the eye, as the sharp
ness of vinegar does the palate. He
instances the Greek xP^f-"- °^^i rrop-
(jivpai d^vTOTai, o^vfjjeyyr), &c. The
verb properly signifies to ferment, become
V
acid. Comp. the Syr. ,.^ a< , acidus
f actus est; and the Arab. fjO^-, acidus
fuit. Some are of opinion, that the gar

ment here spoken of, means the purple
cloak of a military general ; but it seems
more natural to explain it by verses 2
and 3, in which it is represented as made
red by the blood of the enemy having
been sprinkled upon it. Comp. Rev.
xix. 13, irepi^e^Xrjpevos ipdnov fiepap-
pevov a'lpan, which is obviously bor
rowed from this passage in Isaiah, —
'O AOrOS, the name there given to the
warrior corresponding exactly to 13'ia, by
which he here characterizes himself.
nss signifies io turn, move in any way ;
here, to proceed with the head tossed or
turned back, indicating the proud mien
of the triumphant warrior. — 3 in filji^3
is to be taken in the sense of concerning,
in regard to; "I that speak respecting
righteousness," aimounoe, or make it
known. For instances, see Noldius.
2. For the treading in the wine-press,
see on chap. xvi. 10, and comp. for its
figurative application to the discomfiture
of enemies in battle, Lam. i, 15 ; Joel
iii, 13 ; Rev. xix. 15. In dim, red, is
evidently an allusion to DilM, ver. 1.
3, niie occurs only here and Hag, ii.
16. It comes from 11B, to break, break
in pieces. Hence it signifies the place
where the grapes are broken by treading.
Instead of 1*3)^, fifty-six MSS., origi
nally three more, and the Penta. Prag.
1518; the LXX. and Syr. read ffiif?

430

ISAIAH.

[chap. LXIII.

I trod them in my anger,
And trampled them in my fury ;
So that their blood is sprinkled on my garment,
And I have stained all my apparel.
For the day of vengeance was in my heart.
And the year of my redeemed was come.
I looked ; but there was no helper ;
And I was astonished that there was no supporter ;
Then my own arm wrought salvation for me.
And my own fury supported me.
I trod the people in my anger,
I brake them in pieces in my fury ;
I made their blood flow down to the earth.
I will celebrate the kindness of Jehovah,
The praises of Jehovah,
According to all that Jehovah hath bestowed upon us ;

in the plural, ns:, an unusual term, em
ployed here and ver. 6, to denote hlood.
It properly signifies the juice or liquor
which is spirted from the grape. LXX.
alpa ; Lowth, life-blood. Comp. the Arab.
^^Ju , conspersit : and the Eth. ^T-j'^j ;
which is used of the sprinkling of blood,
Heb. ix. 19. — 'floras stands for 'n^M:n,
and is, in all probability, to be ascribed
to some copyist, who, being familiar with
the Aramaic, in which M is the preform
ant, instead of the n in Hebrew, substi
tuted the one for the other. The change
has occasioned a trifling variety of read
ing in a couple of MSS., but none reads
'ii^yj'i, — When the victor declares, that
none of the peoples or nations rendered
him any assistance in the attack upon
Edom, he refers to the fact, that ven
geance had not been taken upon that
nation, as it had been upon Tyre, Moab,
Egypt, &c,, through foreign intervention.
Identifying the Jews under the Macca
bees and Hyrcanus with himself, by
whom they were employed as native in
struments, he vindicates the glory of the
deed from all aid obtained from an ex
traneous source.
4, 5. Comp. chap. lix. 16. The lan
guage in this place is strongly anthropo
pathic. Help was required, but there
was none. Assyria and Babylon, that

had formerly been employed in execut
ing the Divine judgments, were no more.
Jehovah, therefore, led forth his own
people against their ancient enemy, and
gave them the victory. Nearly thirty
MSS, read or have read '017.13, my right
eousness, instead of 'nan, my fury, and
the same reading is found in four ancient
Editions; but it is manifestly a correc
tion from chap, lix, 16.
6. The action of treading out the wine
is repeated from ver. 3, only in a more
condensed form. — D'i,3to«, / will make
them drunk, appears to have been sub
stituted for D'istoM, I will break them in
pieces, which is found in twenty-three
MSS., and has been originally in thirteen
more at least; is the reading of three
Editions ; and is supported by the Targ.,
which translates, 1i3totoii«. The differ
ence consists simply in the exchange of
3 for 3, many instances of which occur
in the Hebrew text. In favour of 13'to,
Hitzig properly adduces the use of the
preposition 3 : I3to would have been fol
lowed by the accusative, or by the pre
position IB.
7. The mind of the prophet is now
led back by the Spirit of inspiration
from the signal destruction of the
Edomites, to review God's ancient fa
vours towards the Jewish people, not
withstanding their demerit, in order to

chap. LXIII.]

ISAIAH.

481

And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which he hath bestowed upon them in his tender mercies,
And according to his great kindness.
8 For he said. Surely they are my own people ;
Children that will not act falsely :
So he became their Saviour.
9 In all their affliction, he was not an adversary,
For the Angel of his Presence saved them ;
In his love and in his pity he redeemed them ;
He took them up, and carried them all the days of old.
10 Yet they rebelled, and grieved his Holy Spirit,
So that he was turned to be their foe ;
He fought against them.

derive encouragement to those who
should live in the flnal dispersion, still
to trust in his mercy, and to furnish
them with arguments to be employed in
their devotional applications for its re
newed and glorious exercise. From this
verse to the end of the following chap
ter, they are provided with a formulary
of confession and supplication, couched,
as Lowth observes, in the elegiac form,
pathetic and elegant.
8. The expression of a reasonable
expectation of what the Jewish nation
would have proved, considering the? pe
culiar relation into which they had been
brought to Jehovah.
9. The words is bi') Dn'^33 have oc
casioned no small diversity of inter
pretation. The textual reading bi'J is
expressed in the LXX., Syr., Targ., and
Vulg: ; and has the suffrages of Saadias,
Jarchi, and other Rabbins, who render,
" In all their affiiction he did not afflict
them," i. e. so as to abandon them to it,
or leave them in it, without pity or deli
verance. In such case, DnJ must be
supplied after is from the pronom. affix
in Dni3. The i in iJMtol will then assume
the causal signification, and introduce
the reason why they were not left in
trouble. Thus also Kocher, Michaelis,
Dbderiein, Dathe, Tingstad., Hensler,
Gesenius, Maurer, Boothroyd, Jones,
and Noyes. 13 Aurivillius and Michaelis
take to be an ^intensive masculine noun,
used in contrast with the preceding fe
minine njs, and so expressive of extreme

distress. The latter writer compares
2 Cor. iv. 8, BXifiopevoi, aXX' ov arevo-
Xapovpevoi. 1 prefer the verbal sig
nification; only attaching to the word
the idea of hostility, or opposition, so
as to crush or destroy. To the Keri
IS i'7, there was affliction to him, or he
was afflicted, which is found in the text
of eleven MSS., and was in five or six
more originally, and is exhibited in two
of the earliest editions, it is properly
objected, that to furnish this sense, the
order of the words must have been
i'j 13, and not is iii. Comp. 2 Sam. i. 26.
The latter interpretation, however, is
preferred by Moller, Jenour, van der
Palm, Scholz, our own and other trans
lators. — By 1'^ 'IM^B is meant the Angel
or Messenger, by way of eminence, so
frequently referred to in the Mosaic
writings ; who is therein represented as
possessing the Divine Name ; and who
is spoken of interchangeably with Je
hovah himself. The combination of the
terras Angel of his presence, is not in
tended to convey the idea of an angel
accustomed to stand in the Divine pre
sence, but the Messenger in and through
whose person the Deity was manifested
to ancient Israel; — the Divine personal
Representative. Comp. Exod. xxiii. 20 —
23, xxxiii. 14, 15, in which latter pas
sage D'3B, faces, or presence, by itself, is
obviously used in the highest personal
sense. 10. ito'il^nil, His Holy Spirit, is like
wise to be taken here in a personal

432

ISAIAH.

[chap. LXIII.

11 But he remembered the ancient days — Moses and his people.
Where is he that brought up from the sea the shepherds of his
flock ?
Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within them ?
1 2 That made his glorious arm to go forth at the right hand of Moses ;
Dividing the waters before them.
To make for himself an everlasting name ?
13 That led them through the deeps .''
Like a horse in the desert, they stumbled not.

sense, forasmuch as personal suscepti
bility and actions are distinctly ascribed
to him. The simple idea of moral
purity, or opposition to all moral evil,
as existing in the Divine mind, falls
altogether short of the conceptions sug
gested by the phrase iu this and nu
merous parallel passages of Scripture.
The attribute of holiness is predicated
of the Spirit of God, because he is the
Source and Author of that holiness
which is found in the creatures. Comp.
for the sentiment, Eph. iv. 30.  The
statement made in the latter hemistich
is not at variance with that made at the
beginning of the preceding verse, 3;)M
not being used in the same intensive
sense as is, but, as explained by i3 Drt:
following, merely expressing such a de
gree of opposition as was necessary to
account for the ni3, afflictions, with
which the Israelites were visited, with a
view to their moral benefit.
11. Gesenius, Hitzig, and Scholz, con
sider ias, his people, to be the nomina
tive to "tsi;!; but, besides its being too
remote in position, it is not so natural
as a reference to the preceding ante
cedent. iBS ntoa is merely an asyndeton,
of which several occur in Isaiah, see
chap, xxvii. 4 ; so that, although the
text of the LXX. exhibits nothing cor
responding to ntoa, there is no reason
to regard it as a gloss. ii3S, his servant,
(instead of ias, his people,) the reading
of two MSS. and one ancient edition,
supported by the Syriac, though a very
natural combination with the name of
Moses, is not critically entitled to adop
tion. — Mention having been made of
the Divine interposition in the days of
Moses, the Jews of the final dispersion
are represented as abruptly inquiring

where God now was? there being no
such visible interference on their behalf.
The description originated by these in
quiries is continued to the end of ver.
14 ; and is immediately followed by
earnest supplications, appeals, and ex
postulations, having a similar deliver
ance for their object. — As nearly sixty
MSS., and little short of forty printed
editions, together with others in the
margin, and the Vulg., read '5>1, shep
herds, in the plural, I cannot but regard
the particle nM as the sign of the accu
sative, designed to qualify or shew the
reference of the pronominal affix in
O^SP, which is here used anticipatively,
as in Aramaic. Or if, with a very ancient
MSS. of Kennicott, and one of De
Rossi's, celebrated for its accuracy, and
the LXX., Arab., and Syr., we omit the
affix D, which might easily have ori
ginated in the following word D'B be
ginning with the same letter, we arrive
at the same conclusion. In this case " the
shepherds " will be Moses and Aaron.
Comp. Ps. Ixxvii. 21. The pronominal
reference in i3'ii?3 is to )>*3 preceding;
and this being a collective, I have ren
dered it in the plural, into which it is
changed, ver. 12. ito'iiT.nn is not here
to be taken in a personal sense, as in
ver. 10, but means, as in other passages
in which giving, pouring out, putting,
taking away, &c. are combined with the
phrase, the operative influence of the
Holy Spirit. "The extraordinary or mira
culous gifts which were vouchsafed to
ancient Israel seem specially intended.
See Numb, xi. 17; Neh. ix. 20,
12 — 14. The exodus and passage
through the wilderness to Canaan are
prominentiy brought out, in order the
more forcibly to advance the following

chap. LXIII.]

ISAIAH.

433

14

15

16

17

As the cattle descend into the valleys.
So the Spirit of Jehovah led them to rest :
Thus thou didst lead thy people,
To make for thyself a glorious name.
Look down from heaven, and behold
From thy holy and glorious habitation ;
Where is thy zeal, and thy might ?
Are the sounding of thy bowels and thy compassion towards me
restrained ?
Surely Thou art our Father,
Though Abraham taketh no notice of us,
And Israel doth not acknowledge us :
Thou, 0 Jehovah ! art our Father, our Redeemer ;
Thy name is from eternity.
Why, 0 Jehovah ! hast thou made us to wander from thy ways ?
Why hast thou hardened our heart, that we should not fear thee ?
Return, for the sake of thy servants.
The tribes of thine inheritance.

appeals. By 13']B, desert, is here meant
a level surface, uninterrupted by rocks,
clefts, gullies, &c. to impede animals in
their course, such as is frequently met
with, to an almost boundless extent, in
many countries of the East. Rough and
rugged as might be the rocks at the
bottom of the Red Sea, they proved no
obstacle to the progress of the Israelites.
One MS., the LXX., Arab., Syr,,
Targ,, and Vulg,, read i:n:n, thou didst
lead them, from nn: ; but the same idea
of leading is implied in the common
reading, which is the Hiph, of ni3, to
rest. The second hemistich of ver. 14,
embodies the idea in the form of direct
address, and thus paves the way for the
appeals, ver. 15, &c.
15. A powerful argument is here
drawn from the tenderness of parental
affection, as formerly displayed in so
signal a manner in behalf of the nation.
Instead of the plural 'I'Oiia?, eighteen
MSS,, originally three, two editions, and
all the ancient versions, read '[O'lUf; and
many more MSS. and editions exhibit
the word in a defective form.
16. The hereditary descent of the
Jews from Abraham, and their depend

ence upon his merits, and those of Isaac
and Jacob, form the proudest grounds of
boasting among them at the present
day, as they did in the time of our
Lord, Matt. iii. 9 ; John viii. 39. See
Wetstein on the former passage. When
converted, they shall be ashamed of all
such confidence, and glory in Jehovah
alone. For S'l^, in the acceptation, taking
care or notice of, regarding, &c. see Gen.
xxxix. 6 ; Job ix. 21 ; Ps. cxliv. 3.
17. Though the language of this
verse appears to advance a charge
against Jehovah, it is merely designed
to indicate the deep earnestness of the
suppliants. That they do not in reality
ascribe their moral deviation and obdu
racy to the exertion of any positive,
direct, or internal influence on the part
of God, is evident from the tenor of the
petition which is immediately added.
Because of their wickedness, he had
withdrawn from them his favour, and
left them in circumstances from which
they took occasion to pursue their own
ways — the inevitable results of which
were spiritual blindness and induration.
During a period of nearly eighteen cen
turies they have continued in this awful
3k

434 ¦ ISAIAH. [chap. lxiv.
18 It was a short time thy holy people were in possession ;
Our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.
19 We have been as those over whom thou never didst rule.
Who were not called by thy name.
condition— the subjects of abandonment, 18, 19. The Jews urge, as a furtiier
unbelief; and delusion. Compare the reason for their restoration, the compa-
case of Pharaoh, Exod. vii. 3, 13, viii. ratively short period_ during which they
15, 32; Rom, ix, IS; and for a similar had been in possession of Canaan, the
use of Hiphil, Ps. cxix. 10, cxli. 4; Jer. long duration of their rejection, and the
iv. 10. For an effectual recovery out of desecration of the holy temple by the
this state, they now pray that the Divine enemies of the- Most High. Comp. Luke
favour might be restored. xxii. 24.

CHAPTER LXIV.
This chapter contains further arguments and confessional pleadings in favour of a
restoration. The Jews pray for a renewed manifestation of the Divine power,
1,2; to which they are encouraged by reflecting on the unparalleled interposition
which the nation experienced in Egypt, 3, 4, and on the constancy of the Divine
conduct towards all who act righteously, 5. They confess the deplorable circum
stances to which their sins have reduced them, 6, 7 ; reassert their original
relationship to God, 8, 9 ; and finally appeal to the desolate state of the holy
land, the sight of which could not but move hira to interfere for their deliverance,
10—12.

1 O THAT thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come
down !
That the mountains might quake at thy presence !
2 As fire kindleth the dry twigs,
^ And as fire causeth the water to boil;
So make known thy name to thine adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at thy presence.
3 When thou didst terrible things that we expected not.
Thou camest down ; the mountains quaked at thy presence.
1 — 3. I have followed our Common in order that its occupant might siid-
Version, the LXX., Vulg., and Syr., in denly rush forth in a case of emergency.
departing from the Masoretic division of l^i:, the Niph. of ''^i, to tremble, be
the chapters, according to which the words ,;,„^^ . ^rab. A-l;] an earthquake;
iVi: D'ln fi':BB bti' d'bid nsip-Mi'j are verv rTV
improperly made to conclude chapter LXX. Tpo/ios XiJi/^ctoi; Targ. isi. This
Ixiii. — The heavens are regarded as an derivation suits the connexion better
outspread tent, that required to be rent than that from ''W, to flow. The scene

Chap, lxiv.]

ISAIAH.

435

Never had men heard, nor perceived by the ear,
Neither had eye seen a God besides thee,
That would act for him that waited for him.
Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and doeth righteousness ;
Them that remember thee in thy ways :
Though thou art angry, because we have sinned.
Yet because they are everlasting, we shall be saved.
We are, all of us, as an unclean thing.
And all our righteous deeds as a menstruous cloth ;
We, all of us, fade like a leaf.
And our iniquities, like the wind, have carried us away.
There is none that calleth on thy name,
That stirreth up himself to cleave to thee ;
Therefore thou hast hid thy face from us.
And made us to melt away through our iniquities.

referred to is that at Sinai, when the
Lord descended in fire, and the whole
mount quaked greatiy, Exod. xix. 18.
By the action of fire on dry twigs or
brushwood, as also on water, noise is
produced, and thereby the effect of the
phenomena heightened. That by D'DBn,
twigs are meant, has been shewn by
Gesenius ; with whom Hitzig, Maurer,
and Scholz concur. Comp. the Arab.
ituSa , lenis sirepitus, which Saadias here
employs. 4. None of the gods of the nations had
ever appeared to deliver his votaries, as
Jehovah had done for the salvation of
his people. Comp. Deut. iv. 7. The
Apostle cites the passage, with consider
able verbal variety, 1 Cor. ii. 9, in apt
illustration of his position, that while no
real intervention for the impartation of
paving wisdom had been experienced by
those who followed human systems of
philosophy, such had been graciously
vouchsafed to the Aposties, for the bene
fit of mankind. ) ntos, to do or act for,
has here the sense of interposing for the
good of any one.
5. s:b, to meet either in a hostile or in
a friendly sense. Here the latter is the
meaning. The latter hemistich, Lowth
and others think, has been greatly cor
rupted ; and several methods have been
tried, to restore the text to its pristine

state. The whole difficulty is created by
the words Djis Dn3. Some consider the
pronoun Dn to refer to sins, or punish
ments, understood, and explain D^is of
the long period during which they had
continued; but the most natural refer
ence is to D'3'1'1, the masculine antecedent
in the preceding hemistich ; and this
our translators no doubt had in view,
when they gave- the rendering, "in
those is continuance." The 3 is the
Beth essentia, which expresses the reality
of any thing, and, in the present case,
gives emphasis to the personal pronoun,
which stands, as frequently, for the sub
stantive verb. Dbis stands elliptically
for D^is-is, as Ps. Ixxxix. 2, 5, 38. The
1 in Btoiii marks the apodosis, to which
there is an implied protasis in Dns, Thi^
I have expressed in the version by the
word "because," which supersedes the
necessity of rendering, " therefore we
shall be saved." ]n is not here an inter
jection, but an hypothetical particle, put
ting the fact, in order to reason from it.
The meaning of the whole is this : though
we are now punished on account of our
transgressions, yet as the ways in which
God manifests his goodness are everlast
ing, we may confidently hope for deliver
ance. That " the ways of God " signify
his gracious dealings with men, as well
as the course of life which he requires of
them, see chap. lv. 9, 10.
6. D''iS 1:3, LXX. paKos diroKaBrjpivos.

436 ISAIAH. [chap. lxv.
8 Yet now, O Jehovah ! Thou art our Father ;
We are the clay, and thou art our Former ;
We are, all of us, the work of thy hand.
9 Be not angry, O Jehovah t to excess ;
Neither remember iniquity for ever :
Behold ! look, we beseech thee ; we are, all of us, thy people.
10 Thy holy cities are a desert ;
Zion is a desert ;
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beauteous house.
In which our fathers praised thee.
Has been burnt with fire ;
And all our objects of desire have been destroyed.
12 Wilt thou refrain at these things, O Jehovah !
Wilt thou keep silence, and afflict us to excess .'
„ , , i \ „„!, :; , . honoured with the designation holy ;
Vule. pannus menstruata. Arab. !itx£, , ^ ^. j. . .i. . .r . „ • „
the monthly course of females. plied to the borders of Canaan, Ps. Ixxviii.
8. nns, now, is here used aitiologically, 54, shews that cities may here mean
and not as a particle of time. those of the Holy Land generally. "The
10. 'fto-J5.':», thy holy cities, Vitringa pictureexhibitedof the state of Palestine,
and RosenmiiUer interpret of the upper in this and the following verse, is still
and lower cities of Jerusalem, on the faithfully correct, as it has been for
ground that the metropolis alone is numerous ages past.

CHAPTER LXV.
Jehovah responds in this chapter to the supplicants by whom he had been addressed
in the preceding section. He first shews them, for their encouragement, that he
had conferred his favour on the Gentiles who had made no application to him,
and to whom he had stood in no covenant relation, 1 ; and then accounts for his
having punished the Jews, by describing both the idolatrous and pharisaical
periods of their history, 2 — 7. His sparing them as a people, with a view to
their ultimate restoration, is next adverted to ; and distinct promises of such
restoration are given, accompanied with fearful denunciations against those who
should prefer a life of worldliness and irreligion to the enjoyment of the privi
leges and blessings of the gospel, 8 — 15. The rest of the chapter is occu
pied with a glowing description of the happy circumstances of the Millennial
church.

CHAP. LXV.]

ISAIAH.

487

I HAVE listened to them that asked not ;
I have been found by them that sought me not ;
I have said, Behold me ! Behold me !
To a nation not called by my name.
I have stretched out my hands continually to a rebellious people.
That walked in a way that was not good.
According to their own devices ;
A people that continually provoked me to my face ;
Sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the tiles ;
That sat in the graves,
And .spent the night in the sepulchres ;
That ate the flesh of swine,
And in whose vessels was the broth of unclean meats :

1. That these words are spoken of the
Gentiles who were received into the
ehurch, on the introduction of Chris
tianity, is obvious, both from the charac
ter here given of them as contrasted with
that of the Jews, and from the citation
of the passage Rom. x. 20, 21, with direct
and express application to the rejection
of the latter, and the adoption of the
former to be the people of God. toil:
expresses the result of application to God
in prayer: the granting of the things
prayed for. LXX. ip(pavfjs iyevrjBrjv,
In i''Nto, the accusative of the person is
understood. Two or three codices have
'j^Mto. The ingemination, ':3n ':3n, behold
me! behold me, or, here I am, here I am,
is peculiarly emphatic, and expresses the
greatest readiness to impart relief to the
needy, 'ia, nation, is here used as a col
lective noun to denote the Gentiles gene
rally. ^i?fi Mlp, Lowth, Boothroyd,
Jenour, and Noyes, improperly interpret
of invoking, or calling upon the name of
God. The meaning is, that the Gentiles
had never been called the people of Jeho
vah ; they had stood in no such relation
to him.
2. God had continually invited the
Jews to return and enjoy his favour, but
they contumaciously rejected his mercy.
3iiD-M^, not good, is a XiToTrjs for S'l, had,
wicked. 3, 4. This and the two following verses
contain a specification of the different
ways in which the Jews had, at different
periods of their history, evinced their

opposition to the Divine will, and ren
dered themselves liable to the punish
ments that had been inflicted upon them.
Their idolatries had been of the most
open and barefaced description — ':.S to
f^l^.. Nothing could have been more
daring. By "gardens " are meant groves,
such as those in which the heathen were
accustomed to worship their idols. See
chap. i. 29, Ixvi. 17. By D':}), some
suppose altars built with bricks are in
tended ; but it is more probable we are
to understand by the term, the tiles of
the roofs, on which the Jews poured out
libations to the host of heaven. See Jer.
xix. 13 ; Zeph. i, 5. Gesenius, however,
is rather inclined to adopt the opinion of
Rosenmiiller, that the Prophet refers to
a custom of the Babylonians, of offering
incense to certain of their deities on
baked bricks, such as those on which are
insculped magical figures, and arrow-
headed characters. — Allusion is next
made to the means to which they resorted
in order to procure a knowledge of secret
and future events, — the practice of necro
mancy and divination. This they ex
pected to obtain from the spirits of the
dead, which they imagined still to hover
about their tombs ; and for this purpose
they frequented, during the dark hours
of night, the graves and sepulchral ex
cavations in which their bodies were
deposited. The latter are called D'lis:,
reserved, hidden, concealed places, from
their darkness and obscurity. LXX.
amjXaia. From the addition made by

488

ISAIAH.

[chap. LXV.

That said, Keep by thyself; come not near me ;
For I am holier than thou.
These were a smoke in my nose ;
A fire that burned continually.
Behold ! it is recorded before me :
I will not keep silence, but will requite ;
I will requite into their bosom,
Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,
Saith Jehovah ; that burned incense upon the mountains.
And dishonoured me upon the high places ;
I will measure their former demerit into their bosom.

the translators of this version, Koipavrai
bid ivvirvia, it would appear, that they
supposed there was a reference in the
passage to the superstitious belief of the
Egyptians, that Isis appeared in dreams
to those who slept in her temples, and
revealed to them the knowledge of medi
cine and future events. Diod. Sic. i.
25, 55 ; Strabo, xvii. and other literary
references in Gesenius. — As swine were
offered in sacrifice to Ceres and other hea
then deities, and their flesh was eaten at
the sacrificial feasts, the Jews, imitating
the idolatrous rite, violated the express
prohibition, Levit. xi. 7. — P'lB, broth, is
derived from P'lB, to tear, or pluck in
pieces, as flesh, in order to its being
boiled into broth. P'lB, the reading of
the Keri, and of a few MSS. and editions,
has the same signification. Whether
this broth was used by the Jews as food,
for lustration, or for presentation to idols,
cannot be determined.
5. Having, in the preceding verse,
specified the sins for which the Jews
were notorious, during what may be
called the idolatrous period of their his-
tor}', Jehovah now portrays their cha
racter during the self-righteous period,
or that which succeeded the return from
the captivity, — including Pharisaism,Tal-
mudism, and modern Judaism. Comp.
chap, lviii. 1 — 3; Lukexviii.il; Rom.
X. 3. The hypothesis of Gesenius, that
the reference here is to purifications in
use among the ancient Parsees, or those
who professed the Medo-Persian religion,
seems altogether destitute of probability.
For the phrase ^j'Jm 3'iJ, lit. approach
to thyself, comp. the Arabic L^Jul)

(^JjJl , to thee, to thee ; signifying
" Keep away from me." — fBto'TU, / am
holy in resjiect to thee, i. e. taking thy
character into the account. It is equiva
lent to TjBB 'n'to'115., / am more holy than
thou. Thus the Targ. Tjm n:',3i ''im. The
conceit of imaginary holiness, accruing
from certain external relations, and the
performance of certain ritual or bodily
exercises, such as the Jews have long
entertained, and which is also awfully
prevalent among nominal Christians, Je
hovah here declares to be peculiarly
offensive to him.
6, 7. For '}Bb n3in3, it is written before
me, comp. Jude, ver. 4 : oi irdkai irpoye-
ypappevoi els tovto to Kptpa. The
phrase is forensic, denoting the sentence
which has been pronounced upon a
criminal, and which is written in a book
or posted up in some public place ; and
the certainty of its execution. — The Jews,
by their obstinate rejection of the Mes
siah, and the iniquities which have
sprung out of that rejection, have no
less than their progenitors exposed them
selves to the Divine indignation ; and
upon them hath been visited the full
amount of national guilt, which they had
for ages been contracting. Comp. Matt.
xxiii. 31 — 39. nia3 is the term usually
employed in application to the elevated
places on which the idolatrous Israelites
offered sacrifices and incense, in imitation
of the heathen, who were accustomed to
select such localities as peculiarly favour
able to the worship of the host of heaven.
H^ss signifies both work, and the wages
or reward of labour. It is here used to

chap, lxv.]

ISAIAH.

489

Thus saith Jehovah :
As when new wine is found in the cluster,
And men say, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it .
So will I act in behalf of my servants ;
Not to destroy the whole.
I will cause a seed to go forth from Jacob,
From Judah, inheritors of my mountains ;
My chosen shall inherit it.
And there shall my servants dwell.
Sharon shall become a fold for flocks.
And the valley of Achor a resting-place for herds ;
For the benefit of my people that have sought me.

11 But as for you, that forsake Jehovah,
And forget my holy mountain ;
That prepare a table for Fortune,
And fill a libation to Fate :

10

denote the punishment which the Jews
have merited by their national trans
gressions, which, as a long series,
stretched back into former times. The
phrase, "measuring into the bosom," is
taken from the oriental custom of carry
ing articles in the ample bosom of the
hyke or cloak, and means, to furnish
abundantly ; or, as in the present case,
to administer full punishment, Comp.
Ps Ixxix. 12; Jer. xxxii. 18.
8 — 10. The Jewish people are here
compared to a cluster of grapes, which,
from their being so bad as to be unfit
for use, are upon the point of being
thrown away. Subsequent to the de
struction of Jerusalem by the Romans,
they seem as if they had been devoted
to utter destruction. The " blessing "
denotes the Divine favour which is still
in store for them as the descendants of
the patriarchs. See Rom. xi. 28, and
the note on chap. vi. 13. The future
happy occupation of Palestine by a re
generated race of Jews is here clearly
predicted. Sli and toii' are collectives.
It is to the celebrated fertility of Sharon
and Achor that special reference is had.
The former was situated in the west,
and the other in the ; east of cis-Jor-
danic Canaan, They are adduced as

samples of the whole, 'BS^ is the Dat.
commodi; for the advantage of my
chosen people.
11. As the persons addressed in this
and the four following verses, are con
trasted with those who are to return and
enjoy the Divine favour in Palestine, it
seems more natural to regard them as
the impenitent and worldly portion of
the Jews who shall live at the time of
the restoration, rather than the idolatrous
part of the nation that lived before the
Babylonish captivity. Such construction
alone fully suits the close and immediate
coherence of the argument. In such
case, as there is no reason to imagine
that any of the Jews will again become
actual idolaters, all attempts to explain
13, Gad, and ':tp, Meni, of idols literally
taken, are aside from the point. On
few words in the Hebrew Bible, perhaps,
has more been written, and certainly on
none have the opinions advanced af
forded less satisfaction. I refer those
who may be desirous of reviewing them
to Vitringa, Rosenmiiller, and Gesenius ;
and the works quoted by these autiiors.
That the terms may have been borrowed
from the nomenclature of idolaters may
be admitted, ia, which signifies For
tune, good luck, prosperity, is cognate

440

ISAIAH.

[chap. lxv.

12 I will appoint you to the sword ;
Ye shall all of you bow down to the slaughter ;
Because I called, but ye answered not ;
I' spake, but ye hearkened not ;
But would do that which is evil in my sight.
And choose that in which I delighted not.
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah :
Behold ! my servants shall eat, but ye shall famish ;
Behold ! my servants shall drink, but ye shall have thirst ;
Behold ! my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed ;
14 Behold ! my servants shall shout for gladness of heart,
But ye shall cry out for sorrow of heart ;
Ye shall howl for anguish of spirit.
15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse to my chosen ;

with the Arab. ^¦>-, of the same signi
fication ; which Rabbi Moses Haccohen
asserts was a name given by the Arabs
to the planet Jupiter. They also gave
to this planet the name JO 111 AswJli
bona fortuna major. Comp. 133 =ia M3,
"prosperity cometh," Gen. xxx. 11;
and i| tos, the place where the god
Fortune was worshipped at the foot of
Mount Hermon, Josh. xi. 17. In the
common text of the LXX. this word is
rendered baipoviov, and the following by
Tijxri ; but according to the version of
Jerome, and the MSS. Pachom, and
I. D. 1 1, the order of the words must ori
ginally have been the reverse. ':>? has
been referred by some to ^rjvrj, the
moon, by others to Venus ; but the
word is more probably related to the
Arab. iiljUi, the name of an idol wor
shipped by the ancient Arabs. Comp.
&XX\i , faium, chance, destiny ; from the
verb n:a, to number, appoint, allot, being
employed ver. 12, with obvious refer
ence to the signification of ':!?, with
which it forms an elegant paronomasia,
and from the close relation in which the
terms Gad and Meni stand to each
other, the idea of Fate or Destiny is
most likely that which the latter is de
signed to convey. The description
admirably suits worldly and infidel cha

racters, who not only have no regard
for, but laugh at religion ; have no god
but riches, and regard human affairs as
governed by chance. According to Je
rome, the custom to which allusion is
made, obtained among the Egyptians,
who placed in all their cities, on the
last day of the year, a table full of
various kinds of provision, and a cup of
sweet wine mixed with water, either in
acknowledgment of the fertility of the
past, or to implore the fruitfulness of
the approaching year.
12. The Jews who shall prefer the
pleasures of sin to those of true religion
embraced by the great body of the na
tion, shall meet with inevitable and con
dign punishment. This punishment
will, in all probability, be inflicted upon
them in common with the members of
the Antiehristian confederacy, after their
believing brethren shall have been se
curely settled in Palestine. " In which
I had no delight," i. e. by Meiosis, acAicA
/ utterly abhorred.
13, 14. The contrast in these verses is
admirably sustained, and possesses great
energy. 3|; 3110, lit. goodness of heart,
but used to express internal happiness
or delight. Comp. Deut. xxviii. 47 ; Ps.
iv. 7. For iW^^, see on chap. xv. 2.
15. So signal shall be the punishment
of the infidel Jews, that, in future time,
should any curse or imprecation be pro
nounced against a sinner, none would be
more awful in its character than that

chap, lxv.]

ISAIAH.

441

For the Lord Jehovah shall kill thee,
And call his servants by another name.
16 So that he that blesseth in the land,
Shall bless by the faithful God ;
And he that sweareth in the land.
Shall swear by the faithful God ;
Because the former troubles are forgotten.
And because they are hid from mine eyes.
1 7 For, behold ! I create new heavens, and a new earth ;
And the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
18 But rejoice, and exult for ever in regard to that which I create ;
For, behold ! I create Jerusalem an exultation.
And her people a joy.
19 For I will exult in Jerusalem,
And rejoice in my people ;
And there shall no more be heard in her
The sound of weeping, or the sound of outcry.

which should involve their fate. Comp.
Jer. xxix. 22 ; Numb. v. 21. Hence
forth a Jew should only be spoken of as
the subject of Divine indignation. —
Many interpreters suppose the name
Christian to be here intended, and the
passage has been adduced in support of
the opinion, that this name vfas given
to the disciples at Antioch by immediate
revelation; but as no appellation is
added, it is more correct to explain the
phrase of the new state and character
of the converted Israelites. See on chap.
Ixii. 2. The i] in i]0'Pt7 is a collective
suffix, and as such is rendered by the
LXX. and the Targ. in the plural.
16. By 'ni^na is meant imploring
blessings for one's self, and, in this case,
with the 3 of object, direct application
to God in acts of religious worship.
This, S3ip: following clearly shews.
Comp. chap. xix. 18, and Jer.^ iv. 2. —
|BK 'n'JM, LXX. TOV Oedv Toc dXrjBivov ;
Targ. MB35 snjM, and so most interpreters,
the true^ God ; Gesenius, "Deus veri, for
Deus verus." To express this, however,
the phrase should have been nBM '*»,
i. e. the God who is really such, in oppo
sition to all false or fictitious deities.
pi} has reference, not to existence, but
to" promises, engagements, or declara
tions; and expresses the voraciousness

or fidelity of him of whom it is pre
dicated, or the certainty of these taking
effect. The immediate connexion shews
that this must be the meaning of the
attribute as here ascribed to Jehovah.
The final restoration of the Jews will
furnish one of the most illustrious in
stances of the accomplishment of the
promises and predictions of Scripture,
and, consequently, the most abundant
proof of the faithfulness of Him by
whom they were delivered. It is thus
the words of Christ are to be un
derstood, Rev. iii. 14, rdbe Xeyei d
'Apijv, 6 pdpTVS d iria-Tos Kal dXr)Bivbs.
The rendering of some, however, ''the
God Amen," which they apply to our
Saviour, is unwarranted by the Hebrew
text. 17, 18. Creation is here to be under
stood not physically, but in a civil and
religious sense. The subject is Jeru
salem and the Jews. Their restoration
will be like a fresh springing into exist
ence 5 and the constitution to be esta
blished among them will be entirely
different from their ancient economy.
Comp. Rev. xxi. 1. ItoM is here to be
taken as the accusative, in regard to, as
it respects that, &o. Comp. Judg. viii. 15.
19. Now follows, to the end of the
chapter, an exquisitely beautiful and
3 L

442

ISAIAH.

[chap. lxv.

20

21

22

23

24

25

There shall no more be there a child of a few days.
Nor an aged man that hath not filled up his days ;
For the youth shall die a hundred years old.
And the sinner of a hundred years shall be accursed.
They shall build houses, and inhabit them ;
And plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
They shall not build, and another inhabit ;
They shall not plant, and another eat ;
For as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people ;
And my chosen shall enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not toil in vain,
Nor bring forth children for sudden destruction ;
For they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah,
And their oflfspring -with them.
And it shall be, that before they call, I will answer ;
While they are yet speaking, I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together.
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox ;

truly graphic description of the millen
nial happiness of the Jewish people.
Longevity, the undisturbed possession
and enjoyment of the blessings of Pro
vidence, the speediest answer to prayer,
and the most complete harmony and
peace, shall distinguish that blissful
period. g V
20. Dtoa; LXX. iKei; Syr. ,_^Z;
Saad, ILL)Ua>, there. In this case the
preposition has no more force than in
I'B^B, nnnt3, Dipa, &c. By d'b;";®, an
infant of days, is meant one that is only
a few days old, or who has, at least, not
reached the age of a year, ]pl.l, D'a^ ^1S
are connected, so that the pronoun lto»,
and the pronom. affix in va; refer to
both. The child shall live to see a good
old age, and the aged themselves shall
reach the goal of antediluvian longevity.
So general shall be this extraordinary
length of human life, that not only shall
he be accounted a youth who dies at the
age of a hundred years, but his being
cut off at that early period shall be re
garded as a special judgment on account
of his sins.
22. Some trees, such as the oak, the
terebinth, and the banian, reach the age

of a thousand years. The oak, for in
stance, grows for three hundred years,
retains its full vigour for two hundred
more, and then takes five hundred to
decay, the process of which is during
most of that period imperceptible.
23. For rim, comp. the Arab, ^)^i,
execratus fuit ; i^ , maledictio, dira.
But as the person who incurred a curse
was regarded as doomed to destruction,
the ideas of ruin, destruction, death, na
turally came to be attached to it. Chald.
Mniab. ^3 signifies to tremble, io flee
for fear, io perish suddenly ; hence nVii,
speedy, sudden destruction. From such
punishment the children shall be exempt,
being beloved for the sake of their an
cestors, to whom Jehovah attached a
peculiar blessing. Comp. chap. lix. 21.
24. This language is strongly expres
sive of the utmost readiness of Jehovah
to confer blessings upon his people.
23. We have here an almost verbal
repetition of the sublime figurative
representation of the blessed harmony
to be realized under the reign of the
Messiah, which is furnished chap. xi.
6 — 9. What was to be more or less

CHAP, lxvi.] ISAIAH. 443
But as for the serpent, dust shall be his food ;
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,
Saith Jehovah.
extensively the effect of the change author of discord and misery, is meant.
produced on the character of mankind. During the millennium he is to be sub-
in proportion to the spread of true ject to the lowest degradation. Compare
religion among them, shall be fully ex- for the force of the phrase to lick the
hibited during the period of the latter- dust, -Ps. Ixxii. 9; Mic. vii. 17. This
day glory. By wi:, the serpent, in this was the original doom of the tempter,
place, there seems every reason to be- Gen. iii, 14, and shall be fully carried
lieve that Satan, the old seducer and into execution, Comp, Rev, xx. 1 — 3.

CHAPTER LXVI.
Having in the latter part of the preceding chapter carried forward the attention of
the Jews to the happiness to be enjoyed by their nation in the distant Millennial
age, the prophet, before closing his sublime predictions, adverts to certain circum
stances which should be connected with the introduction of that new state
of things.
He anticipates and reprobates the attempt that will be made by the unbelieving
portion of the Jews to rebuild their temple, and re-establish their ancient cere
monies, 1 — 3; denounces divine judgments upon them, 4 — 6; foretells the
sudden and unexpected conversion of the nation, 7 — 9 ; calls upon their Gentile
brethren to rejoice with them, 10, 11; promises great prosperity and happiness
to the converted Israelites, 12—14; shews that awful destruction shall overtake
those nations that shall oppose themselves to the purposes and claims of Jehovah,
15 — 18; predicts a special mission of converted Gentiles into different and
distant countries, and the recovery of all such Jews as remained in them, to the
service of God in the land of their fathers, 20, 21 ; gives an assurance of the
permanence of the new Jewish church, in conjunction and union with that of
the Gentiles, 22, 23 ; and concludes with an awful representation of the misery
of the finally impenitent, 24.

1 Thus saith Jehovah :
Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool ;
Where is the house that ye would build for me ?
And where is the place of my rest ?
1, 2. It appears from these verses, worship in it according to the Mosaic
and that which follows, that on being ritual. Such an attempt is here met by
restored to their own land, and occupied the declaration that no earthly structure
with the building of Jerusalem, some of is worthy of the transcendant excellence
the Jews will attempt to reconstruct of the spiritual and blessed nature of
their temple, in order that they may Jehovah. The Jews have ever been

444

ISAIAH.

[chap. lxvi.

All these things hath my hand made ;
And all these things have been, saith Jehovah :
But to this man will I look,
To him that is humble and contrite in spirit.
And trembleth at my word.
He that slayeth an ox, killeth a man ;
He that sacrificeth a lamb, cutteth oif the neck of a dog ;
He that oflFereth an oblation, oflfereth swine's blood ;
He that maketh a remembrance oifering of incense, blesseth an idol.
As for them, they have chosen their own ways.
And their soul hath delighted in their abominations.
I also will choose their calamities.
And bring upon them the things which they dread ;
Because I called, but none answered ;
I spake, but they did not hearken ;
But did that which was evil in my sight,
And chose that in which I delighted not.
Hear the word of Jehovah,
Ye that tremble at his word !
Your brethren that hate you.

prone to glory in, and rest satisfied with
external and splendid services ; and the
same disposition will actuate the unbe
lieving portion of them on their restora
tion. To check this disposition, the
Most High asserts his infinite superiority,
as Creator and Lord of the Universe, to
every thing material, and describes the
only temple in which he condescends to
dwell — the heart of the contrite and
spiritual worshipper. Comp. chap. lvii.
15 ; 1 Kings viii. 27—30. Comp. also
Bev. xxi. 22, where it is expressly de
clared that no temple was visible in the
new Jerusalem. According to the points,
Dipa is in apposition with 'OWil?, but all
the ancient versions place the words in
construction. In ver. 2, '^ is improperly
supplied by the LXX., Syr., and Lowth.
The substantive verb njn is used abso
lutely, as in Ps. xxxv. 9 ; and as ela-l in
Rev. iv. 11.
3. Lowth supposes instances of ex
treme wickedness combined with hypo
crisy to be here intended ; but it seems
far more in accordance with the spirit of
the passage to view it as teaching the

absolute unlawfulness of sacrifices under
the Christian dispensation. When the
Jews are converted to the faith of Jesus
the Son of God, they must acquiesce in
the doctrine taught in the ixth and xtli
chapters of the epistle to the Hebrews,
that the one offering which he presented
upon the cross, for ever set aside all the
animal sacrifices and oblations which
had been appointed by the law of Moses.
Any attempt to revive the practice is
here declared to be upon a par with the
cruel and abominable customs of the
heathen, who offered human sacrifices,
and such animals as the ancient people
of God were taught to hold in abomina
tion. The I of comparison is omitted,
as frequentlj' in poetry ; but is supplied
in the LXX., Vulg., Targ., Theod.,
Symm., and most modern versions. Its
insertion in the present case would
weaken the force and vehemence of the
language. 4, 5. In retribution of the unbelieving
and rebellious persistance of the Jews
in endeavouring to establish the old
ritual, Jehovah threatens them with

CHAP. LXVI.] ISAIAH. 445
And thrust you out for my name's sake, have said,
Let Jehovah be glorified ;
But he shall appear to your joy,
And they shall be ashamed.
6 A voice of tumult from the city !
A voice from the temple !
The voice of Jehovah !
Rendering retribution to his enemies.
7 Before she was in pain, she brought forth ;
Before her pangs came upon her, she was delivered of a male.
8 Who hath heard of such a thing ?
Who hath seen such things ?
Is a country in pain in a day ?
Is a nation brought forth at once ?
Yet Zion hath both been in pam, and hath brought forth her sons,
Saith Jehovah.
9 Should I bring to the birth, and not cause to bear ? saith Jehovah ;
Should I cause to bear, and yet restrain ? saith your God.
10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem,
And exult on her account, all ye that love her ;
Be exceedingly joyful with her, all ye that mourned for her ;
11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied,
At the breast of her consolations ;
condign punishment ; while such of 7—9. The metaphors here taken from
them as may render themselves obnox- a woman in travail, are frequently em-
ious to their brethren by receiving the ployed by our prophet. See chap, xiii, 8,
doctrine of the gospel on the subject, xxi. 3, xxvi. 18. The language forcibly
have a gracious promise of Divine ap- expresses the sudden and unexpected
probation and protection given to them, re-production of the Jewish nation in
D'bl^B signify calamities, vexations, as their own land in the latter day. Com-
the parallelism shews, and as the root pare that of the last cited passage in
b^s, to act repeatedly, vex hy improper reference to the restoration from the
conduct, evil entreat, &c. naturally sug- captivity in Babylon. Their future re-
gests. See on chap. iii. 4, 12; Targ. covery is the object of Divine purpose,
Jini3Ii, interitus eorum. This interpreta- and every providential arrangement
tion is to be preferred to ipiraiypara of shall be made for effecting it ; yet the
the LXX., and illusiones of the Vulg. event shall be unexpectedly sudden.
6. By a remarkable and astounding 10. n^ expresses the object of joy, i, e.
interposition of Jehovah, the scheme of Jerusalem.
the Jews shall be defeated. The very 1 1. tran?!!! ito does not mean the
temple which they shall be in the act of breast of Jerusalem, but the Source from
erecting shall he the scene of judgment, which her consolations are supplied.
By nin; Vtp, ihe voice of Jehovah, is While men shall witness the rich enjoy-
meant thunder, as in Ps. xxix. ; so that, ment of the Divine favour conferred
in all probability, the projected temple upon her, they shall be excited more
will be destroyed by lightning. earnestiy to apply for the same bless-

446 ISAIAH. [chap. lxvi.
That ye may press out, and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.
12 For thus saith Jehovah :
Behold ! I will extend to her prosperity like a river,
And the wealth of the nations like a flooding stream ;
And ye shall suck them, and shall be carried on the side,
And dandled upon the knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforteth,
So will I comfort you ;
Even in Jerusalem shall ye be comforted.
14 Ye shall see, and your heart shall rejoice.
And your bones shall flourish, like the green herb :
The hand of Jehovah shall be known to his servants ;
But he shall be indignant against his enemies.
15 For behold ! Jehovah shall come with fire,
And his chariots shall be as the whirlwind ;
Causing his anger to return with fury,
And his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For with fire shall Jehovah contend.
And with his sword, with all flesh ;
And many shall be the slain of Jehovah.
17 Those that sanctify themselves,
And that purify themselves in the gardens after one,
ings. I'I occurs only thrice: here, and tremendous judgment to be inflicted on
Ps. I. 11, Ixxx. 14; but obviously means the antiehristian confederacy, to which
a copious supply ; or, as corresponding distinct, pointed, and repeated reference
to lit), breast, that from which such sup- is made in the prophetic Scriptures : —
ply is obtained. Gesenius derives it the great battle of Armageddon, so gra-
from 111 to move, radiate, flow out like phically set forth. Rev. xvi. 14 — 21, xix.
rays, an&renders fuU breast. The Soncin. 11 — 21. The figurative language of fire
Edit,, four MSS,, and originally nine, and sword is common to all the pro-
read I'I, brightness ; while the probable phets. iBM 3'ton means to visit with re
reading of De Rossi's MSS. 545, is p., newed inflictions of wrath, and points
the word proposed by Lowth. The Targ. out the awfully severe character of the
has )", wine, which makes no sense. The judgment to be poured out upon the
wild beasts, being full of activity, are enemies of the church of God.
designated by this term in the passages 17. To what species of superstition
just quoted from the Psalms : Symm. the prophet here refers, it is hard to de-
and Theod. diro irXrjBovs. termine. As the verse is likewise com-
12. Comp. chap. lx. 4 — 6. minatory, and closely coheres with the
14. nM in i'130>tim marks the object on two preceding, it is obvious that the
which rwii: terminates. The antithesis persons intended must belong to the
in this verse is very striking, and occa- same general confederacy against the
sions the following awful denunciations Messiah ; yet, since they are distin-
of Divine wrath. guished in so very marked a manner
15, 16. These verses describe the from the rest, we cannot but conclude,

CHAP. Lxvi.] ISAIAH. 447
Amidst them that eat swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the
mouse ;
They shall perish together, saith Jehovah.

that the prophecy points to some class
of enemies in particular on which sig
nal punishment is to be inflicted. With
respect to language, the only words
which create any serious difficulty are
'qins in« i™, lit. after, or behind one in
the midst. The various readings are of
littie weight, being chiefly conjectural,
or emendatorial. Two MSS., and as it
would seem another, and apparentiy two
originally, read ms inM, one, one, i. e.
one by one. Instead of inn the Keri
has nns in the feminine, which one of
De Rossi's MSS. and the Soncin. Edit.
exhibit in the text ; and another MS. of
De Rossi's has nnM inM nns, which cor
responds, except in gender, with the
V V 9 V
Syr. ,jw lAo rA> , one after one, and in
sense with -diricrto ahXrjXav, of Symm.
and Theod. Most of those commen
tators who suppose a reference to be
made to some ancient idolatrous rites,
are of opinion that by Achad, a Syro-
Phenician idol, is meant. This opinion
is founded on the statement of Macro-
bins, that the Syrians give to the sun,
as the Supreme Power, the name of
Adad, the signification of which is One.
Saturnal. i. 23. The same name is found
in Sanchoniathon, (Euseb. PrEepar.
Evang. lib, x. cap. 38,) and in Pliny,
Nat. Hist, xxxvii. 11. The occurrence
of nearly the same form in the royal
names i'ln, Hadad, ij?iin, Hadadezer,
I'liT'Jj, Benhadad, is thought to be trace
able to the same source, and to be little
else than the Hebrew mM, only the
aspirate is suppressed, and the last let
ter doubled for the sake of intensity.
Pfeiffer, however, in his Dubia vexata,
Gesenius, Hitzig, and Scholz, consider
iriM, One, to be the leader or chief priest
in an idolatrous procession, whom the
company of worshippers follow into the
midst of the temple or grove where the
rites were celebrated. Such a single
leader is prominentiy exhibited on the
ancient Persian monuments. It is not
a littie remarkable, however, that the
term which has occasioned so much dif
ficulty in the interpretation of the pas

sage, is precisely that ( Sa^ , Achad,
" One,") which the Mohammedans have
continually on their lips, as distinguish
ing the object of their worship. In
manifest contradiction of the Scripture
doctrine of the Trinity, the cxiith Surah
of the Koran teaches, i\»-l <idll tS> (Jii'
'^ U^, Ai <^ii. ^i '^^.. ^ 'Vail M
i\a,-1 \JiS , Say, God is (Achad) one ;
the Eternal God; he begetleth not, nei
ther is he begotten ; and he is without an

equal.

^j!r

(joJti-Hl , the Chapter of Salvation, and
is held in such veneration, that the re
peating of it is reckoned equal in value
to that of a third part of the whole
Koran, It is also a notorious fact, that
purification forms one of the most essen
tial ceremonies of the Mohammedan
religion. Numerous minute rules pre
scribe the different modes in which it is
to be performed, and especially those
ablutions which take place at the five
periods of daily prayer. No act of wor
ship can be celebrated if the individual
has not previously purified himself.
The obstinate unbelief of the Moham
medans, as it respects the gospel, and
the extravagant ideas which they enter
tain of their own dignity, especially as
contrasted with Jews, Christians, and
idolaters, are leading features in their
character. That they are specifically
intended in this prophecy it would be
presumptuous absolutely to assert ; but
1 frankly own that I am strongly in
clined to believe this to be the case. —
if^i after, is here used in the religious
sense of following, being addicted to the
worship or service of any deity. Comp.
1 Sam. xii. 14, D3'Am nin; iiim, and chap.
lix. 13, i:'ri\M iriMB 3iD:i. 'As no proper
sense can. be brought out of ¦)in3, as
divided and pointed by the Masoretes, I
have construed it with the following
ito 'b3M, &c. This mode of construction
is further recommended by the following

448

ISAIAH.

[chap. lxvi.

18 As for me, their works and their thoughts are come [before me] ;
I will assemble all the nations and the languages ;
And they shall come and shall see my glory.
19 For I will place a sign among them ;
And those of them that escape I will send to the nations ;
To Tarshish, Pul and Lud, that draw the bow ;
To Tubal and Javan, to the distant maritime lands,
That have not heard of my fame,
Nor seen my glory ;
And they shall declare my glory among the nations.

considerations: First, neither the LXX.
iv Tols irpoBvpots, nor the Targ. in3 MS'p
ss'p, has read Ipn? in the absolute.
Secondly, Symm, and Theod, similariy
construe, dirio'a dXX^Xav iv pe(Ta io'Bi-
ovrav TO Kpeas to ;^otpetoi'. Thirdly,
D'toV*, being without the article, shews
that it is not in apposition with D'to^nan
D'lniaianj, but designates a totally dif
ferent class of persons. The meaning
is, that those who prided themselves on
their separation from every thing im
pure, should, in the infliction of Divine
judgment, be commingled with such as
they considered to be legally polluted;
they should, as it is immediately added,
perish togeiher. What is meant by yp.ton,
the abomination, does not appear. 'The
133S is doubtless the Arab. .jyCc , or
CjJ J , Jerboa, as it is rendered in the
Arabic version, the mus jaculus of Lin
naeus, which is much larger than the
common mouse. It abounds in the
fields, and is very destructive to them.
18. The first clause of this verse is
elliptical. The best mode of construc
tion is to take '3:m5 as the nomin. absol. ;
and, referring nM3 distrihutively to ni3'0nB,-
to supply '30^, before me : the meaning
being, that the wicked deeds and pur
poses of the nations had now come up
for judgment." Some supply the verb
S'l; after '3:mi, but this seems less natural.
The Infin. if'gti has here the force of the
future, and is, with such signification, to
be connected with the pronoun at the
beginning of the verse. The glory of
Jehovah, which the assembled nations
are to see, is that accruing to him from
.the signal defeat and punishment of the

enemies of his church. Comp. Ezek.
xxxix. 21.
19. 1 is here causal in signification.
The niM, or sign, betokens the miraculous
overthrow of the hostile army. Comp.
Exod. x. 2, where 3 niM Dto is used to
express the supernatural judgments in
flicted on the Egyptians. Dn3 and Diia
refer to D'ian, the nations, ver. 18, and
not to the Jews, as many have violently
supposed. The missionaries to be sent
to the different parts of the world are
Gentiles, who shall have been present at,
but have not perished in the great over
throw ill Palestine ; and who, brought
by what they shall have witnessed, to
acknowledge the Divine claims, and
become reconciled to God, shall cheer
fully obey his mandate, to publish his
fame among the various nations of the
earth. The nations specified are ob
viously given as a sample. For Tarshish,
see on chap, xxiii. 10. By ''IB, Pul, it is
generally agreed we are to understand
the island of Philse, and the surrounding
region on the Nile, to the south of Ele
phantine, and about a hundred stadii
beyond Syene. It was inhabited by the
Egyptians and Ethiopians in common,
lying between their two countries. Its
name in Coptic is HIXkLK, or TieX-LK,
and signifies the boundary. Wilkinson
describes the extensive ruins with which
it abounds, which prove its importance
in ancient times. 11"), Lud, occurs as the
name of a people descended from the
Egyptians, Gen. x. 13. They are de
scribed as handling the bow and the
shield, Jer. xlvi. 9, and as being merce
naries of the Phenicians, Ezek, xxvii. 10.
From the last mentioned circumstance,

chap, lxvi.]

ISAIAH.

449

20

21

22

And they shall bring all j'our brethren,
From all the nations, an oblation to Jehovah,
On horses, and in chariots and litters,
On mules, and 'on dromedaries,
To my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah,
As the children of Israel bring the oblation
In a clean vessel to the house of Jehovah.
And of them also will I take
Por priests and for levites, saith Jehovah,
For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make,

It is probable that they inhabited a region
stretching from the southern shore of the
Mediterranean towards Ethiopia. Like
the Ethiopians, they were celebrated for
their expert use of the bow, so that '3toa
ri^lj is quite in its place, and is not open
to the suspicion raised against it by
Lowth. tan, Ttibal, occurs, as here, in
connexion with ]i^, Javan, Gen. x. 2 ;
Ezek. xxvii. 13 ; and usually with 'qtoa,
Mesliech, a. people inhabiting the Mos-
chian mountains between Iberia, Arme-
iiia, and Colchis. The term, doubtless,
denotes the Tibarenes, oi Ti^apr/voi,
'whom Strabo describes as occupying the
eastern and south-eastern coasts of the
Black Sea, xi. 527. The Circassians and
Mingrelians are, in all probability, de
scended from them. ]J^, lavan, Ionia,
originally the name of the province so
called in Asia Minor, but afterwards ex
tended so as to include all Greece.
tldvTas tovs "EXXrjvas 'idovas ol ^ap-
^apoi eKaXovv. Sehol. ad Aristoph.
Acharn. 106. In the Sanscrit, the
Greeks are called Yavanas. The de
sign of the mission here specified, is to
announce to the different nations the
glorious interposition of Jehovah, of
which the persons deputed shall have
been witnesses, that all may be induced
to fear him, and devote themselves to
his service. For 'Sato, my fame, the
LXX. and Syr. read 'b»iS, my name,
which, on this authority alone, Lowth
adopts. 20. This verse describes the happy
result of the announcement as it regards
such Jews as might not yet have reached
the land of their fathers. Looking upon
them as belonging to a people in whose
behalf the Most High had signally inter

posed, the converted Gentiles will render
them every assistance requisite for their
return. That D3'n», your brethren, mean
the Jews, there can be no doubt. By
D'3S are meant litters or counes, which
resemble cradles, covered handsomely
with cloth, so as to protect the persons
who are carried in them from sun and
rain. They are borne on camels, one
on each side, and have openings or win
dows for the admission of light. Comp.
Numb. vii. 3. Sometimes they are car
ried by two camels, one before and the
other behind. nii|-i3 occurs only this
once, but according to the Rabbins, with
whom Gesenius and other moderns agree,
it signifies dromedaries, which are so
called from the dancing or bounding
motion which they make in walking.
Root 113, IS"!?, to dance.
21. From the close of the following
verse, it appears that the persons here
spoken of are the recovered Jews men
tioned in ver. 20, and not the Gentiles,
likewise there specified. The language
implies that the performance of Divine
service shall not be restricted to the tribe
of Levi, but shall be the common privi
lege of the whole people. Sixty-three
MSS., originally thirteen more, and
perhaps three, with all the versions, pre
fix 1 to a>)'p_.
22. See chap. lxv. 17, 18, and comp,
Heb. xii. 26 — 28. As the Christian dis
pensation is to be permanent, and shall
not give way to any other, so permanent
shall be the happy state of the restored
Israelites. They shall never be any
more rejected, but shall form one fold
with the Gentiles, under the One Shep
herd and Bishop of souls, the Great
Messiah, Conip. chap, lix, 21.
3 M

450

ISAIAH.

[chap.

LXVI.

Shall remain before me, saith Jehovah ;
So shall your seed, and your name remain.
23 And it shall be, that from month to month,
And from sabbath to sabbath,
All flesh shall come to worship before me, saith Jehovah.
24 And they shall go forth, and shall see
The carcases of the men that have rebelled against me ;
For their worm shall not die,
Neither shall their fire be quenched :
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.

23. This verse points out the con
stancy and regularity with which the
whole human family shall celebrate
divine worship. Comp. Zech. xiv. 16 —
1 9. Not only on the sacred day of rest,
but on other stated occasions, corre
sponding to those which obtained among
ancient Israel, men will assemble to cele
brate its rites. '3B), before me, is not to
be restricted to Jerusalem, as, it is abso
lutely impossible that all should be able
to repair thither, but is to be taken in
the latitude taught in Mai. i. 11 ; John
iv. 21—24.
24. The prophet concludes with a
warning to all to beware of transgres
sion, which he derives from the misera
ble condition of those that had perished

in the awful judgment predicted, verses
15, 16. The scene is laid in the envi
rons of Jerusalem, most probably in the
valley of Hinnom, for which see on
chap. xxx. 33. JiMii, Dan. xii. 2, JiMii,
from the Arab. \.d, to repulse, reject,
signifies an object of abhorrence. The
language here employed afterwards be
came proverbial among the Jews, in
application to the punishment of the
wicked. See Judith xvi. 17 ; Eccles.
vii. 17. It is likewise employed by our
Lord to express the intensity and eter
nity of suffering in another world, to
which all shall be subject who prefer in
dulgence in sin to the fear and service
of God, Mark ix. 44, 46, 48.

the end.

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