Isaiah 41:25

raised up Strictly: stirred up (as in Isaiah 41:2) i.e. "impelled into activity" (Driver).

from the north … from the rising of the sun(cf. Isaiah 41:2)] Scarcely: "from Media (in the north)" and "from Elam (in the east)." The terms are poetic; the north is the region of mystery, and the east the region of light (ch. Isaiah 24:15). In point of fact Cyrus came from the north-east.

shall he call upon my name Render with R.V. one that calleth (or, shall call) on my name. The clause is a relative one, and forms the obj. to "stirred up." The expression can hardly mean less than that Cyrus shall acknowledge Jehovah as God; the meaning "make known everywhere, by his deeds" (Dillmann) is not to be defended. It is true that in ch. Isaiah 45:4 f. it is said that Cyrus had not knownJehovah; but it is also said (Isaiah 41:3) that the effect of his remarkable successes will be "that thou mayest know that I am Jehovah that calleth thee by thy name, the God of Israel." There is therefore no difficulty in the idea that Cyrus, who was at first the unconscious instrument of Jehovah's purpose, shall at length recognise that Jehovah was the true author of his success. But the further explanation that Cyrus shall "become conscious of his original religious affinity to the Jews, and act upon that consciousness" (Cheyne) goes beyond the language of the prophet.

comeupon princes is a possible construction; but it is better, with many comm. since Clericus, to read "tread" (yâbûṣfor yâbô"). The word for "princes" (ṣâgân) is Assyrian (shaknu) and occurs first in Ezekiel.