The opening exhortation alludes to a difficulty naturally arising in the minds of believing exiles, viz., that they were too few in number to inherit the glorious promises made to them. This is removed by pointing to the marvellous increase of the nation from a single patriarchal family. There is a... [ Continue Reading ]
Isaiah 51:1-16. Encouragements addressed to true Israelites The strain of consolation, which was interrupted by the soliloquy of the Servant at ch. Isaiah 50:4, is now resumed, and is continued till we reach the fourth and last of the Servant-passages, Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12. Throughout this... [ Continue Reading ]
_ye that follow after_(lit. "pursue") _righteousness_ "Righteousness" here means, not "salvation" (as in Isaiah 51:5_; Isaiah 51:8_), but righteousness in conduct, a way of life in accordance with the will of God (as Isaiah 51:7); cf. Proverbs 15:9; Romans 9:30 f. _look unto the rock &c._ The ancest... [ Continue Reading ]
The explanation of the figure. _I called him alone_ lit. "as one," i.e. a single individual. _blessed him, and increased him_ Cf. Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 22:17. The strict rendering of the Massoretic text would be "that I might bless" &c.; but the verbs should no doubt be pointed as consec. impfs.... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall comfort … will comfort … will make_ lit. as R.V. HATH COMFORTED … HATH MADE (perf. of certainty). _like the garden of theLord_ Genesis 13:10; cf. Ezekiel 28:13; Ezekiel 31:8 f. _joy and gladness &c._ Cf. Jeremiah 33:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hearken unto me_ Better as R.V. ATTEND UNTO ME, the verb being different from that used in Isaiah 51:1_; Isaiah 51:7_. _a law shall proceed from me_ See ch. Isaiah 2:3 ("for out of Zion shall go forth _Tôrâh_"). For _a law_(_tôrâh_) read, as usual, INSTRUCTION. The word _judgment_in the next line... [ Continue Reading ]
The universal extension of the true religion is the second ground of comfort which the prophet is commissioned to offer to his fellow believers. The language of Isaiah 51:4 is obviously moulded on that of ch. Isaiah 42:1-4; the functions there assigned to the Servant of the Lord are here assumed by... [ Continue Reading ]
_My righteousness_is _near_ See the last note and cf. ch. Isaiah 46:13. For _people_read PEOPLES (as R.V.). _the isles shall wait upon me_ Cf. Isaiah 42:4. _on mine arm_ i.e. "on my strength," my protection (Isaiah 33:2).... [ Continue Reading ]
From the thought of the universality of religion the prophet rises to that of its eternity, which is here expressed by a contrast of surprising boldness between the "things which are seen" and the "things which are not seen." The whole visible creation, the heavens above and the earth beneath, are t... [ Continue Reading ]
To _know righteousness_does not differ in meaning from "follow after righteousness" in Isaiah 51:1. Both expressions refer to righteousness in the ethical sense; there it is represented as an ideal steadily pursued, here as a rule of life apprehended by the heart and conscience. This inward possessi... [ Continue Reading ]
In the hope of this everlasting salvation the true Israelites may well endure for a season the reproach of men.... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the moth &c._ See again ch. Isaiah 50:9; another indication that the Servant is the type of the true Israel, and hence an example to individual Israelites. The word rendered "worm" (_ṣâṣ_, cf. the Greek σής) means strictly "moth." Although common in Semitic, it is found only here in Hebr.... [ Continue Reading ]
_put on strength_ Lit. "clothe thyself with strength," as Psalms 93:1. The _arm of the Lord_is apostrophised, as the symbol of His might, possibly with a reference back to Isaiah 51:5. _that hath cut Rahab &c._ R.V. THAT CUT RAHAB IN PIECES, THAT PIERCED THE DRAGON. The verb "cut" is strictly "hewe... [ Continue Reading ]
These verses are addressed to Jehovah, either by the prophet himself, or by the community of true Israelites. It is difficult to decide between these two views, but the dramatic unity of the passage is best preserved if we adopt the latter, taking Isaiah 51:9 as a prayer called forth by the previous... [ Continue Reading ]
_the great deep_ (Genesis 7:11; Amos 7:4; Psalms 36:6) is the primeval ocean of Genesis 1:2, out of which the dry land appeared. The Hebrew (_těhôm_) is connected etymologically with _Tiâmat_, the name of the Chaos-monster in the Babylonian creation tablets. _a way for the ransomed to pass over_ The... [ Continue Reading ]
For _Therefore_render as R.V. AND. The verse is almost verbally identical with Isaiah 35:10, which is clearly its original setting. Here its connexion with what precedes is somewhat loose, and since ch. 35 is of more recent date than this prophecy, the verse must have been transferred by a copyist.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I_am _he that comforteth you_ Cf. Isaiah 40:1; Isaiah 49:13. The Israelites are here addressed as individuals; this gives place immediately to the feminine collective, _Who art thou &c._? and this again in Isaiah 51:13 to the masc. sing. The rhetorical question means simply "How is it that thou fea... [ Continue Reading ]
Jehovah again speaks as the comforter of His people. That the passage is a direct answer to the importunate appeal of Isaiah 51:9 f., seems probable, although it cannot be confidently affirmed; it is at all events virtually an answer. A point of contact might be found in Jehovah's assertion of His p... [ Continue Reading ]
An expostulation with the exiles, who having the Almighty Creator for their God, live in constant terror of being destroyed by their oppressors.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And forgettest the Lord_ Not in the sense of apostatising from Him (as ch. Isaiah 17:10 and often), but of failing to realise His omnipotence as the Creator of all things (see ch. Isaiah 49:14). _that hath stretched forth the heavens &c._ Cf. Isaiah 40:22; Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 45:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
The received text is probably best rendered as follows: SPEEDILY SHALL THE CROUCHING (prisoner) BE SET FREE, AND HE SHALL NOT DIE (and go down) TO THE PIT, NOR SHALL HIS BREAD FAIL (see R.V.); Israel in exile being compared to a prisoner in danger of death through starvation. The image reminds us of... [ Continue Reading ]
_that divided the sea &c._ Render with R.V. WHICH STIRRETH UP (see on Isaiah 51:4) THE SEA SO THAT THE WAVES THEREOF ROAR (cf. Job 26:12). The idea is parallel with that of Isaiah 51:9 f., being an illustration of Jehovah's power over the elements. He can, as it were, play with the sea, for His sti... [ Continue Reading ]
These verses contain a remarkable number of resemblances to other passages (see below). Isaiah 51:15, apart from the introductory words, occurs in Jeremiah 31:35, though it is doubtful to which passage it originally belongs. Giesebrecht (on Jeremiah) unhesitatingly pronounces it a citation from this... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have put my words in thy mouth_ recurring in ch. Isaiah 59:21. _covered thee in the shadow of mine hand_ Taken almost exactly from Isaiah 49:2. _that I may plant &c._ This is no doubt the right translation, not "that thou mayest plant" (lit. "to plant"). The metaphor of "planting" the heavens i... [ Continue Reading ]
The description of Jerusalem's degradation. The rhythm is that of the _qínah_, and the resemblances to the book of Lamentations are so striking that Ewald has conjectured that the passage is taken from one of the elegies composed during the Exile. _Awake_ Better AROUSE THEE (Cheyne); the verb being... [ Continue Reading ]
Isaiah 51:17 to Isaiah 52:12. The Lord will turn the Captivity of Zion The three oracles into which this passage naturally falls are these: (1) Isaiah 51:17. The prophet, returning to the thought with which the book opens (ch. Isaiah 40:2), announces that the period of Jerusalem's degradation has e... [ Continue Reading ]
_These two things_ (ch. Isaiah 47:9), i.e. two kinds of calamities; namely, DEVASTATION AND DESTRUCTION on land and city; FAMINE AND SWORD on the inhabitants. _who shall be sorry for thee_ Better WHO CONDOLES WITH THEE (Jeremiah 15:5; Nahum 3:7), i.e. "thou hast no sympathizers." To "condole" is in... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy sons have_ SWOONED] lit. "were shrouded," a usual oriental metaphor (Amos 8:13; Jonah 4:8; Nahum 3:11). For the idea cf. Lamentations 2:11; Lamentations 2:19; Lamentations 2:21. _at the head of all the streets_ Lamentations 2:19; Lamentations 4:1. as a wil [ Continue Reading ]
_hear now this_ see ch. Isaiah 47:8. _drunken, but not with wine_ Cf. ch. Isaiah 29:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
The message of comfort.... [ Continue Reading ]
_thy Lord the Lord_ THY LORD JEHOVAH. It is in cases like this that we are made to feel the inconvenience arising from the Jewish reluctance to pronounce the sacred Name Yahveh. _I have taken_ Better I TAKE (a perf. of instant action, as 1 Samuel 2:16). _the cup of trembling … fury_ THE CUP OF INT... [ Continue Reading ]
_them that afflict thee_ THY TORMENTORS. The word occurs three times in the Lamentations (Lamentations 1:5; Lamentations 1:12; Lamentations 3:32). _to thy soul_ i.e. "to thyself," although without special emphasis (cf. Psalms 3:2; Psalms 11:1). _Bow down, that we may go over_ The figure is taken fr... [ Continue Reading ]