Isaiah 8:19 to Isaiah 9:7. Esoteric prophecies of the future addressed to Isaiah's disciples The prophet, having now discontinued and "sealed up" his public "testimony," appears to address himself in what follows to his own immediate followers. The passage presents, in vivid contrast, two pictures;... [ Continue Reading ]
Isaiah 9:1. _Nevertheless … vexation_ Lit. FOR ( THERE IS) NO GLOOM TO HER THAT ( IS) IN STRAITNESS. The sentence is an enigma. Duhm translates it as a question and regards it as the gloss of a reader who with difficulty had made up his mind that the "gloom" is metaphorical and justified his conclus... [ Continue Reading ]
_have seen_ the perfects throughout are those of prophetic certainty; the writer is transported into the future. _the shadow of death_ Heb. _çal-mâveth_, usually held by scholars to be a corruption of _çalmûth_("shadow" simply). But the traditional etymology is forcibly defended by Nöldeke in _Zeit... [ Continue Reading ]
The sudden change of style is remarkable; all at once the prophecy breaks into a strain of rapturous and animated poetry, which is sustained to the close. In the Hebr. ch. 9 begins here.... [ Continue Reading ]
and _not increased the joy_ Lit., "unto it thou hast increased the joy." _Lô"_, "not" and _lô_, "to it," being pronounced alike, are sometimes confused in the text of the O.T. There is no reason for assuming such a confusion here, and R.V. ("thou hast increased their joy") rightly adheres to the Mas... [ Continue Reading ]
Change the order as in R.V. FOR THE YOKE OF HIS BURDEN, &c.… THOU HAST BROKEN. _the staff of his shoulder_ (better BACK) means the staff with which his back was beaten; the pronouns refer to Israel. _rod of his oppressor_ TASK-MASTER, as in Exodus 5:6. _in the day of Midian_ when the dominion of... [ Continue Reading ]
The destruction of the oppressor.... [ Continue Reading ]
The verse reads: FOR EVERY BOOT OF HIM THAT TRAMPED NOISILY, AND ( EVERY) GARMENT ROLLED IN BLOOD, SHALL BE FOR BURNING, AS FUEL FOR THE FIRE. The word _ṣě"ôn_is Aramaic and signifies a military boot; that rendered "tramped" (_ṣô"çn_) is a denominative formed from it. The idea of the verse is that a... [ Continue Reading ]
_unto us_ the survivors of the judgment. Cf. "Immanuel," "God with _us_." _the government_ This word is found only here and in Isaiah 9:7, and is of uncertain interpretation, perhaps "princedom." _his name shall be called_ The name of the Messiah consists of a series of honorific titles, pertainin... [ Continue Reading ]
The last and greatest cause of joy is the birth of the Messiah and his wonderful character and government. When Isaiah expected the event to take place, cannot be gathered from this prophecy. There is no reason for supposing that the reference is to a child already born; the perfect tense is used, a... [ Continue Reading ]
The extension and consolidation of the Messiah's rule. _Of the increase … end_ Rather, FOR THE INCREASE OF AUTHORITY AND FOR PEACE WITHOUT END, &c. The final M (ם) in the original points to some uncertainty of text, which can also be traced in the translation of the LXX. It is thought by some to ha... [ Continue Reading ]
Translate: A WORD HATH THE LORD SENT INTO JACOB AND IT SHALL LIGHT UPON ISRAEL. "The Word is in nature and history the messenger of the Lord" (Del.) cf. Psalms 107:20; Psalms 147:15; Psalms 147:18; Isaiah 55:11. The "word" here is the following oracle, which has already been "sent," and will "light... [ Continue Reading ]
The first strophe (Isaiah 9:8 being an introduction to the whole prophecy).... [ Continue Reading ]
Isaiah 9:8 to Isaiah 10:4 (+ Isaiah 5:25-30) Jehovah's hand stretched out in wrath over His people. An oracle against North Israel The key-note of the prophecy is given in the recurrent refrain Isaiah 9:12; Isaiah 9:17; Isaiah 9:21; Isaiah 10:4; Isaiah 5:25. (On the reasons for including ch.... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall know_ i.e. by its effects; Hosea 9:7. _that say_ lit. "saying," i.e. "as follows." A verb seems to have dropped out; [FOR THEY BOAST] IN PRIDE AND STOUTNESS OF HEART SAYING.... [ Continue Reading ]
It has been conjectured that these words are a fragment of a drinking song actually sung in Ephraim. They express the spirit of bravado which prevailed in the northern capital, cf. Amos 6:13; Hosea 7:9-10. It is, therefore, not necessary to refer them to any particular recent reverses, such as the i... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore the Lord shall set up_ Transl. AND ( SO) JEHOVAH EXALTED. _The adversaries of Rezin_must, if the text be correct, denote the Assyrians. But this is not a natural designation (especially if the prophecy was written _before_the Syro-Ephraimitish coalition); and it is inconsistent with Isaia... [ Continue Reading ]
The first blow of Jehovah's hand loss of territory.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Syrians … behind_ Or, SYRIA ON THE EAST AND THE PHILISTINES ON THE WEST (R.V. marg.). _and they shall devour_ AND THEY DEVOURED. There is no historic record of Philistine aggression on the kingdom of Ephraim (at least since 1 Kings 15:27); nor is there any mention of a Syrian attack about the... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the people turneth not_ BUT THE PEOPLE TURNED NOT. _him that smiteth them_ HIM THAT SMOTE THEM. _do they seek_ DID THEY SEEK.... [ Continue Reading ]
Second strophe. It describes a "day" of terror (which may be either a battle or a revolution) in which the leaders of the people suddenly perished. What incident is referred to cannot be determined; royal assassinations were frequent after the death of Jeroboam II. (see 2 Kings 15:10; 2 Kings 15:14;... [ Continue Reading ]
Render: AND ( SO) JEHOVAH CUT OFF FROM ISRAEL HEAD AND TAIL, PALM-BRANCH AND RUSH, IN ONE DAY. _head and tail_ i.e. leader and follower, a proverbial expression, like the next phrase. 15 is almost universally regarded as an erroneous explanation of Isaiah 9:14 and therefore a gloss; but this is not... [ Continue Reading ]
Render: AND THE LEADERS OF THIS PEOPLE HAVE BECOME MISLEADERS, AND THEY OF IT THAT ARE LED ARE SWALLOWED UP (or perhaps as Isaiah 3:12 CONFUSED).... [ Continue Reading ]
A sentence of utter rejection. The unwonted severity of the threat against the widows and orphans is justified by the universal corruptness of the nation. _a hypocrite_ Rather, PROFANE (R.V.), "impious." Cf. ch. Isaiah 10:6; Isaiah 32:6; Isaiah 33:14; Job 8:13; Psalms 35:16. _every mouth speaketh... [ Continue Reading ]
The smouldering embers of wickedness burst out in a raging fire: see Hosea's image of the oven, Isaiah 7:4; Isaiah 7:6. _For wickedness … thickets_ Render, FOR WICKEDNESS BURNED LIKE A FIRE THAT CONSUMES THORNS AND THISTLES, AND IT SET FIRE TO THE THICKETS, &c., cf. Isaiah 10:17-18. Both wickedness... [ Continue Reading ]
Third strophe. As in ch. Isaiah 3:1-7, the removal of the pillars of the state is followed by wild confusion and civil war. The state of things alluded to can be partly realised from passages in the book of Hosea, e.g. Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 5:11 f., Isaiah 6:8 f., Isaiah 7:7; Isaiah 10:3; Isaiah 10:13;... [ Continue Reading ]
_darkened_ Another translation is "made to glow"; the word is not found elsewhere. NO MAN SPARING HIS BROTHER. The clause shews that the fire is an emblem of ungovernable party strife. The sense would be still clearer if we could adopt Duhm's hazardous emendation in the preceding clause so as to ma... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ONE SNATCHED ON THE RIGHT HAND AND WAS HUNGRY (still) AND DEVOURED ON THE LEFT HAND AND THEY WERE NOT SATISFIED, &c. _every man the flesh of his own arm_ The image would be that of men maddened with hunger and gnawing their own flesh. The words are reproduced exactly, with the omission of a si... [ Continue Reading ]
_Manasseh, Ephraim … Manasseh_ Ancient tribal jealousies would naturally be revived in a period of anarchy and civil war. Something of this kind seems to be implied in the account of the accession of the usurper Pekah, who murdered Pekahiah, at the head of a band of fifty Gileadites (2 Kings 15:25).... [ Continue Reading ]