Isaiah 19 - Introduction

An oracle on Egypt

It is recognised by all commentators that this difficult chapter consists of two dissimilar parts, although it is doubtful whether the second division commences with Isaiah 19:16 or Isaiah 19:18. For convenience, we may adopt the arrangement of Delitzsch, who regards Isaiah 19:16 f. as the connecting link between the two contrasted pictures of Egypt's future; the prospect of judgment in Isaiah 19:1 and the remoter prospect of conversion and prosperity in Isaiah 19:18. The prophecy may then be analysed as follows:

2 Samuel 19:1; 2 Samuel 19:1. The judgment on Egypt, conceived as executed by Jehovah in person, who, "riding on a swift cloud," suddenly makes His presence felt in the Nile-valley. In three equal strophes the prophet rapidly sketches the consequences of this visitation on the political, religious, and industrial condition of the country.

(1) Isaiah 19:1. The first effect is the collapse of the Egyptian religion, which is poetically represented by the trembling of the idols at the approach of the God of Israel (1). The foundation of the national self-confidence being thus dissolved there ensues a state of anarchy and civil war, aggravated by an utter absence of sound political guidance, which is vainly sought by the aid of sorcery and magical arts (2, 3). The issue of this state of things is the establishment of a cruel military despotism (4).

(2) Isaiah 19:5. A series of physical and social calamities is next described: the drying-up of the Nile (the source of all the material prosperity of Egypt), the failure of agriculture and the paralysis of the other industries for which the land was famous (fishing and weaving).

(3) Isaiah 19:11. The third strophe depicts the failure of the boasted traditional wisdom of Egypt (11 13), with the result that the infatuated nation reels like a drunkard under its accumulated misfortunes (14, 15).

ii. Isa 19:16-17. The Egyptians recognise Jehovah as the author of their calamities, and so great is the moral impression produced that the mere mention of the land of Judah fills their hearts with craven terror. It might seem at first sight that these verses are the continuation of the previous strophe. But the change of style, from poetry to prose, leads us to expect a new departure. And in truth, as Delitzsch has pointed out, the abject fear here spoken of marks the beginning of their conversion to the worship of the true God. Hence the two verses form the natural transition to the description of that spiritual change, which follows in

iii. Isa 19:18-25. The passage consists of a succession of concrete predictions indicating the marvellous change which is to take place in the religious attitude of Egypt and its relations to Israel.

(1) Isaiah 19:18. Five Egyptian cities (one of which is named) shall adopt the "language of Canaan." (The exact significance of this perplexing verse must be reserved for discussion in the notes below.)

(2) Isaiah 19:19. The establishment of the worship of Jehovah in the land of Egypt will be symbolised by the erection of an altar in its midst and a pillar on its border; these are also tokens that Jehovah has taken the Egyptians under His protection (19, 20). By manifold experiences of chastisement and deliverance the knowledge of the true God shall be extended and deepened in Egypt, as it had been in Israel in the past (21, 22).

(3) Isaiah 19:23. A third symbol is a "highway" between Egypt and Assyria a synonym for peaceful intercourse between Israel's powerful neighbours on the East and West (23). Both are admitted to a footing of equality with Israel in the new kingdom of God, and the three states form a -Triple Alliance" which is a channel of blessing to mankind at large (24, 25).

The first section (Isaiah 19:1), which few critics have refused to recognise as Isaiah's, exhibits an intimate acquaintance with the internal affairs of the Egyptian Empire. But the historical allusions are too vague to enable us to assign a definite date to the prophecy, allowing, indeed, as Dillmann observes, a range of nearly 150 years. The most natural supposition is that Isaiah has in view an Assyrian conquest of Egypt, and that the oracle belongs to a time when delusive expectations of Egyptian support were entertained in Judah. On this assumption, we might find a suitable date for the prediction, (1) about 720, when Sargon defeated the king of Egypt at Raphia, or (2) in 711, when the similar announcement of ch. 20 was issued, or (3) about 702, when the Jewish politicians were eagerly courting an alliance with Egypt. Between these dates it seems impossible to make a final choice. In either case the "hard lord" of Isaiah 19:4 would be the Assyrian conqueror, but it is not necessary to suppose that the prophet had any particular king in view. As a matter of fact the subjugation of Egypt was first effected by Esarhaddon in 672, and this would have to be regarded as the historical fulfilment of the prophecy. Some critics, however, abandoning the reference to an Assyrian invasion, have identified the "hard lord" with an Ethiopian sovereign (Pianchi, whose date appears to be much too early, or Tirhakah), others with a Persian conqueror (Cambyses, Xerxes, or even Artaxerxes Ochus), and others with a native despot (? Psammetichus, c. 645).

It is difficult to resist the impression that Isaiah 19:16 (whether written by Isaiah or not) form an appendix composed later than the rest of the chapter. The difference in form has already been referred to, and still more remarkable is the change of outlook and general tone. In particular, the promise of a "saviour" in Isaiah 19:20, although not perhaps inconsistent with the threat of a "hard lord" Isaiah 19:4, emphasises the contrast between the two sections in a manner which makes it little likely that the two were written together. Objections to Isaiah's authorship are based partly on the style and language, partly on the sympathetic tone of the references to Egypt (and Assyria), but chiefly on the circumstantial character of the predictions in 18 25. The cogency of the last argument depends greatly on the interpretation given to Isaiah 19:18. If this be a specific reference to Jewish Colonies in Egypt and the Jewish Temple in Leontopolis (erected about 160 b.c.), it must be admitted that such minute descriptions of far distant events are not in accordance with Isaiah's ideal anticipations of the future. Hence the tendency of expositors who maintain the genuineness of the passage is to explain away the literal sense of the expressions, and to regard them as conveying a general prophecy of the diffusion of the true religion in Egypt. It may be doubted if the attempt is successful; and on the whole there appears to be a balance of probability in favour of the opinion that the appendix is post-exilic. If it be really the work of Isaiah himself, it is most intelligible in the evening of his life, when his mind was less occupied with current events, and more with the glorious future of the kingdom of God which lay on the horizon of his prophetic vision.