VII. (1) IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AHAZ. — The whole reign of Jotham comes between Isaiah 6:7. On Isaiah’s life during that period, see _Introduction._ The work of the prophet now carries him into the main current of history, as recorded in 2 Kings 15:16; 2 Chronicles 28; 2 Chronicles 28, and i... [ Continue Reading ]
SYRIA IS CONFEDERATE WITH EPHRAIM. — Literally, _rests upon_ ... Ephraim stands, of course, as often elsewhere, for the northern kingdom of Israel as a whole. HIS HEART WAS MOVED. — There was a general panic. King and people alike asked, How could they resist? Would it not be better to join the con... [ Continue Reading ]
GO FORTH NOW TO MEET AHAZ... — AT THIS crisis the prophet, already recognised as such, and gathering his disciples round him (Isaiah 8:16), is told to deliver a message to the king. He finds him halting between two opinions. He is making a show of resistance, but in reality he is not depending eithe... [ Continue Reading ]
TAKE HEED, AND BE QUIET... — The prophet meets the fears of the king by words of comfort. The right temper for such a time was one of calm courage, waiting on the Lord (Isaiah 30:15). NEITHER BE FAINTHEARTED. — Literally, _let not thine heart be soft._ FOR THE TWO TAILS OF THESE SMOKING FIRE BRAND... [ Continue Reading ]
LET US MAKE A BREACH THEREIN FOR US... — The words imply an assault on the line of fortresses that defended Judah (2 Chronicles 26:9; 2 Chronicles 32:1). If they were won the issue of the war would be practically decided. Jerusalem itself does not appear to have been actually besieged. THE SON OF TA... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HEAD OF SYRIA IS DAMASCUS... — The prediction of the failure of the alliance is emphasised. Each city, Damascus and Samaria, should continue to be what it was, the head of a comparatively weak kingdom, and should not be aggrandised by the conquest of Judah and Jerusalem. There is an implied comp... [ Continue Reading ]
IF YE WILL NOT BELIEVE... — The prophet reads the thoughts that were working in the king’s mind. He had no faith in these predictions terminating at a date which he was not likely to live to witness. By look, or possibly by words, he showed his incredulity, and Isaiah offers to meet it, in the consc... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL NOT ASK... — The king speaks as in the very accents of faith. He will not put Jehovah to any such test. Not, perhaps, without a sneer, he quotes almost the very formula of the Law: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Exodus 17:2; Deuteronomy 6:16). Was the prophet going to forget his own... [ Continue Reading ]
IS IT A SMALL THING FOR YOU TO WEARY MEN... — The thought that men may try the long-suffering of God till He is “weary to bear them,” is specially characteristic of Isaiah (Isaiah 1:14). We mark the changed note of “_my_ God,” as compared with “the Lord _thy_ God” in Isaiah 7:11. Ahaz has involved h... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE, AND BEAR A SON... — Better, _behold, the young woman,_ or perhaps the _bride, shall conceive._ The first noun has the definite article in the Hebrew, and the word, though commonly used of the unmarried, strictly speaking denotes rather one who has arrived at marriage... [ Continue Reading ]
BUTTER AND HONEY SHALL HE EAT, THAT HE MAY KNOW... — Better, _till he know,_ or, _when he shall know...._ — By a strange inversion of the familiar associations of the phrase (Exodus 3:17; Deuteronomy 31:20), probably, as the prophet spoke them, not without a certain touch of the irony of paradox, th... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR BEFORE THE CHILD SHALL KNOW... — The words imply the age of approaching manhood, and predict the downfall of Pekah and Rezin, as the longer period of Isaiah 7:8 predicted the entire downfall and annihilation of one of the two kingdoms which they represented. The words “good and evil” are better... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD SHALL BRING UPON THEE... — The prophet’s language shows that he reads the secret thoughts of the king’s heart. He was bent on calling in the help of the king of Assyria. Isaiah warns him (reserving the name of the king, with all the emphasis of suddenness, for the close of his sentence) tha... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD SHALL HISS FOR THE FLY... — See for the phrase the Note on Isaiah 5:26. The legions of Egypt are represented by the flies that swarmed on the banks of the Nile (Exodus 8:24, and possibly Isaiah 18:1), those of Assyria by the bees of their forests and their hills (Deuteronomy 1:44; Psalms 11... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DESOLATE VALLEYS... — The Hebrew adjective has rather the meaning of _precipitous_ or _steeply walled,_ and the noun that of _torrent valley,_ like the Arabic _wady._ The whole verse is a graphic description of the characteristic features of the scenery of Judah.... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL THE LORD SHAVE WITH A RAZOR THAT IS HIRED. — Better, “with _the_ razor.” The words find a parallel in the “made him naked” of 2 Chronicles 28:19. The term “hired” applies to the tribute which Ahaz was about to pay to Tilgath-pilneser. He thought that he was securing an ally: he was but hiring... [ Continue Reading ]
WHERE THERE WERE A THOUSAND VINES AT A THOUSAND SILVERLINGS. — The words seem to contain an allusive reference to Song of Solomon 8:11, and are therefore worth noting as bearing on the date of that book. There, however, the sum represents the annual produce of the vineyard, here the rent of the vine... [ Continue Reading ]
WITH ARROWS AND WITH BOWS SHALL MEN COME THITHER... — The words admit of two or three distinct interpretations: (1) the invaders shall march through the desolate vineyards shooting down any whom they found, or (2) the people shall carry bows as a protection against the invaders, or (3) the thickets... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ON ALL HILLS THAT SHALL BE DIGGED... — Better, “_that are digged”_ or _that used to be digged with the hoe._ The picture of devastation is completed. On the hill-sides, every inch of which was once brought under careful vine culture, “_Thou wilt not enter for fear of thorns and briars” i.e.,_ th... [ Continue Reading ]