IV. (1) AND IN THAT DAY SEVEN WOMEN... — The chapter division wrongly separates this verse from the foregoing. It comes as the climax of the chastisement of the daughters of Zion, as the companion picture to Isaiah 3:6. As men sought eagerly, yet in vain, a protector, so women should seek for a hus... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THAT DAY... — The dark picture of punishment is relieved by a vision of Messianic glory, like that of Isaiah 2:1. The “day” is, as in Isaiah 3:18, the time of Jehovah’s judgments. THE BRANCH OF THE LORD... — The thought of the “branch,” though not the Hebrew word, is the same as in Isaiah 11:1. T... [ Continue Reading ]
HE THAT IS LEFT IN ZION... — The prophet turns from the Jerusalem that then was, with the hypocrisies and crimes of the men and the harlot fashions of its women, to the vision of a new Jerusalem, which shall realise the ideal of Psalms 15, 24. There every one should be called “holy” (comp. 1 Corinth... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THE LORD SHALL HAVE WASHED AWAY THE FILTH... — This serves as the connecting link with Isaiah 3:16. The prophet has not forgotten the daughters of Zion. Jehovah will wash away, as with the baptism of repentance, the “filth,” the moral uncleanness, that lay beneath their outward show of beauty.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD WILL CREATE... — The verb “create” has all the solemn force with which we find it in Genesis 1:1. It is one of Isaiah’s favourite words. The word for “dwelling-place” is almost invariably used for the tabernacle or temple, and would seem to have that meaning here. This determines the ch... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THERE SHALL BE A TABERNACLE. — Perhaps _It shall be_... The thought is that of Psalms 27:5; Psalms 31:20. In the manifested glory of Jehovah men would find, as the traveller finds in his tent, a protection against all forms of danger, against the scorching heat of noon, and against the pelting s... [ Continue Reading ]