Isaiah 19 - Introduction

This prophecy respecting Egypt extends only through this chapter. Its general scope and design is plain. It is intended to describe the calamities that would come upon Egypt, and the effect which they would have in turning the people to God. The scene is laid in Egypt; and the following things passed before the mind of the prophet in vision:

1. He sees Yahweh coming in a cloud to Egypt Isaiah 19:1.

2. The effect of this is to produce alarm among the idols of that nation Isaiah 19:2.

3. A state of intrnal commotion and discord is described as existing in Egypt; a state of calamity so great that they would seek relief from their idols and necro-mancers Isaiah 19:2.

4. The consequence of these dissensions and internal strifes would be, that they would be subdued by a foreign and cruel prince Isaiah 19:4.

5. To these political calamities there would be added “physical” sufferings Isaiah 19:5 - the Nile would be dried up, and all that grew on its banks would wither Isaiah 19:5; those who had been accustomed to fish in the Nile would be thrown out of employment Isaiah 19:8; and those that were engaged in the manufacture of linen would, as a consequence, be driven from employment Isaiah 19:9.

6. All counsel and wisdom would fail from the nation, and the kings and priests be regarded as fools Isaiah 19:11.

7. The land of Judah would become a terror to them Isaiah 19:17.

8. This would be followed by the conversion of many of the Egyptians to the true religion Isaiah 19:18; Yahweh would become their protector, and would repair the breaches that had been made, and remove the evils which they had experienced Isaiah 19:21, and a strong alliance would be formed between the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the Jews, which should secure the divine blessing and favor Isaiah 19:23.

This is the outline of the prophecy. In regard to the “time” when it was delivered, we have no certain knowledge. Lowth supposes that it refers to times succeeding the destruction of the army of Sennacherib. After that event, he says, the affairs of Egypt were thrown into confusion; intestine broils succeeded; these were followed by a tyranny of twelve princes, who divided the country between them, until the distracted affairs settled down under the dominion of Psammetichus, who held the scepter for fifty-four years. Not long after this, the country was invaded and conquered by Nebuchadnezzar; and then by the Persians under Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. Alexander the Great subsequently invaded and took the country, and made Alexandria the capital of his empire. Many Jews were invited there by Alexander, and under the favor of the Ptolemies they flourished there; the true religion became prevalent in the land, and multitudes of the Egyptians, it is supposed, were converted to the Jewish faith.

Dr. Newton (“Diss. xii. on the Prophecies”) supposes, that there was a “general” reference here to the conquest by Nebuchadnezzar, and a “particular” reference to the conquest under Cambyses the son of Cyrus. He supposes that the anarchy described in Isaiah 19:2, refers to the civil wars which arose between Apries and Amasis in the time of Nebuchadnezzars invasion, and the civil wars between Tachos, Nectanebus, and the Mendesians, a little before the country was subdued by Ochus. The cruel king mentioned in Isaiah 19:4, into whose hands they were delivered, he supposes was Nebuchadnezzar, or more probably Cambyses and Ochus, one of whom put the yoke on the neck of the Egyptians, and the other riveted it there. The Egyptians say that Cambyses, after he killed Apis, a god worshipped in Egypt, was stricken with madness; but his actions, says Prideaux, show that he was mad long before. Ochus was the most cruel of the kings of Persia. The final deliverance of the nation, and the conversion to the true God, and the alliance between Egypt, Assyria and Israel Isaiah 19:18, he supposes, refers to the deliverance that would be introduced by Alexander the Great, and the protection that would be shown to the Jews in Egypt under the Ptolemies.

Vitringa, Gesenius, Grotius, Rosenmuller, and others, suppose that the anarchy described in Isaiah 19:2, refers to the discord which arose in the time of the δωδεκαρχία dōdekarchia, or the reign of the twelve kings, until Psammetichus prevailed over the rest, and that he is intended by the ‘cruel lord’ and ‘fierce king,’ described in Isaiah 19:4. In other respects, their interpretation of the prophecy coincides, in the main, with that proposed by Dr. Newton.

A slight glance at some of the leading events in the history of Egypt, may enable us more clearly to determine the application of the different parts of the prophecy.

Egypt, a well-known country in Africa, is, for the most part, a great valley through which the Nile pours its waters from south to north, and is skirted on the east and west by ranges of mountains which approach or recede more or less from the river in different parts. Where the valley terminates toward the north, the Nile divides itself, about forty or fifty miles from the Mediterranean, into several parts, enclosing the territory called the Delta - so called because the various streams flowing from the one river diverge as they flow toward the sea, and thus form with the coast a triangle in the shape of the Greek letter Δ D. The southern limit of Egypt proper is Syene Ezekiel 29:10; Ezekiel 30:6, or Essuan, the border of Ethiopia. Here the Nile issues from the granite rocks of the cataracts and enters Egypt proper. This is N. lat. 24 degrees.

Egypt was anciently divided into forty-two “nomes” or districts, which were little provinces or counties. It was also divided into Upper and Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt was called Thebais, from Thebes the capital, and extended south to the frontier of Ethiopia. Lower Egypt contained principally the Delta and the parts on the Mediterranean. The capital was Cairo.

The most common division, however, was into three parts, Lower, Middle, and Upper Egypt. In Lower Egypt, lying on the Mediterranean, were the cities of Pithon, Raamses, Heliopolis, etc. In this division, also, was the land of Goshen. In Middle Egypt was Moph, or Memphis, Hanes, etc. In Upper Egypt was No-Ammon, or Thebes, and Syene, the southern limit of Egypt.

The ancient history of Egypt is obscure. It is agreed on all hands, however, that it was the early seat of civilization; and that this civilization was introduced from the south, and especially from Meroe. The country in the earliest times was possessed by several kings or states, which were at length united into one great kingdom. Not long after the death of Joseph, it came into the possession of the Hyksos or Shepherd kings, probably an Arabian nomadic tribe. After they were driven out, the whole country came again under one sovereign, and enjoyed great prosperity. The first king of the 19th dynasty, as it is called by Manetho, was the celebrated Sesostris, about 1500 years b.c. His successors were all called by the general name of Pharaoh, that is, kings. The first who is mentioned by his proper name is Shishak 1 Kings 14:25, supposed to be the Sesonchosis of Manetho, who reigned about 970 years b.c. Geseuius says, that in the time of the Jewish king Hezekiah, there reigned at the same time in Egypt three dynasties; an Ethiopic (probably over Upper Egypt), a Saitish, and a Tanitish dynasty - of which at last sprung the dodekarchy, and whose dominion ultimately lost itself in the single reign of Psammetichus. The Ethiopic continued forty years, and consisted of three kings - Sabaco, Sevechus, and Tarakos, or Tearko - of which the two last are mentioned in the Bible, Sevechus under the name of So, סוא sô' probably סוא seve' Sevechus - as the ally of Hosea, king of Israel 2 Kings 17:4, 722 b.c., and Tarakos the same as Tirhakah, about the time of the 16th year of the reign of Hezekiah (714 b.c.) Instead of this whole dynasty, Herodotus (ii. 137, 139), and Diodorus (i. 65), give us only one name, that of Sabaco. Contemporary with these were the four, or according to Eusebius, five, first kings of the dynasty of Saite, Stephinates, Nerepsus, Nichao I, who was slain by an Ethiopian king, and Psammetichus, who made an end of the dodekarchy, and reigned fifty-four years.

Of the Tanitish dynasty, Psammus and Zeth are mentioned (Introduction to Isaiah 19) Different accounts are given of the state of things by Herodotus and by Dioaorus. The account by Diodorus, which is the most probable, is, that a state of anarchy prevailed in Egypt for two whole years; and that the troubles and commotions suggested to the older men of the country the expediency of assuming the reins of government, and restoring order to the state. With this view, twelve of the most influential men were chosen to preside with regal power. Each had a particular province allotted to him, in which his authority was permanent; and though independent of one another, they bound themselves with mutual oaths to concord and fidelity.

During fifteen years, their relations were maintained with entire harmony: but during that time Psammetichus whose province extended to the Mediterranean, had availed himself of his advantages, and had maintained extensive commercial contact with the Phenicians and Greeks, and had amassed considerable wealth. Of this his colleagues became jealous, and supposing that he meant to secure the government of the whole country, they resolved to deprive him of his province. They, therefore, prepared to attack him, and he was thrown upon the necessity of self defense. Apprised of their designs, he sent to Arabia, Caria, and Ionia, for aid, and having secured a large body of troops, he put himself at their head, and gave battle to his foes at Momemphis, and completely defeated them, drove them from the kingdom, and took possession of an undivided throne (Diod. i. 66). The account of Herodotus may be seen in his history (ii. 154). Psammetichus turned his attention to the internal administration of the country, and endeavored to ingratiate himself with the priesthood and the people by erecting splendid monuments, and beautifying the sacred edifices. There was a strong jealousy, however, excited by the fact that he was inbebted for his crown to foreign troops, and from the fact that foreigners were preferred to office over the native citizens (Diod. i. 67). A large part of his troops - to the number according to Diodorus, of 240,000 - abandoned his service at one time, and moved off in a body to Ethiopia, and entered the service of the monarch of that country. His reign appears to have been a military despotism, and though liberal in its policy toward foreign governments, yet the severity of his government at home, and the injustice which the Egyptians supposed he showed to them in relying on foreigners, and preferring them, justified the appellation in Isaiah 19:4, that he was a ‘cruel lord.’

Egypt was afterward conquered by Cambyses, and became a province of the Persian empire about 525 b.c. Thus it continued until it was conquered by Alexander the Great, 350 b.c., after whose death it formed, together with Syria, Palestine, Lybia, etc., the kingdom of the Ptolemies. After the battle of Actium, 30 b.c. it became a Roman province. In 640 a.d., it was conquered by the Arabs, and since that time it has passed from the bands of the Caliphs into the hands of the Turks, and since 1517 a.d. it has been regarded as a province of the Turkish empire. This is an outline of the principal events of the Egyptian history. The events predicted in this chapter will be stated in their order in the comments on the particular verses. The two leading points which will guide our interpretation will be, that Psammetichus is intended in Isaiah 19:4, and that the effects of Alexander’s conquest of Egypt are denoted from Isaiah 19:18 to the end of the chapter. Keeping these two points in view, the interpretation of the chapter will be easy. On the history of Egypt, and the commotions and revolutions there, the reader may consult Wilkinson’s “Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,” vol. i., particularly pp. 143-180.