CHAPTER XIII _God mustereth the armies of his wrath against the inhabitants_ _of Babylon_, 1-6. _The dreadful consequences of this visitation, and the terror_ _and dismay of those who are the objects of it_, 7-16. _The horrid cruelties that shall be indicted upon the_ _Babylonians by the Medes... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:2. _EXALT THE VOICE_] The word להם _lahem_, "to them," which is of no use, and rather weakens the sentence, is omitted by an ancient MS., and the _Vulgate_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:3. _I HAVE COMMANDED MY SANCTIFIED ONES_] מקדשי _mekuddashai_, the persons _consecrated_ to this very purpose. Nothing can be plainer than that the verb כדש _kadash_, "to make holy," signifies also to _consecrate_ or _appoint_ to a particular purpose. Bishop _Lowth_ translates, "my e... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:4. _OF THE BATTLE _- "For the battle."] The _Bodleian_ MS. has למלחמה _lemilchamah_. Cyrus's army was made up of many different nations. Jeremiah calls it an "assembly of great nations from the north country," Jeremiah 50:9. And afterwards mentions the kingdoms of "Ararat, Minni, and... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:5. _THEY COME FROM A FAR COUNTRY_] The word מארץ _meerets_ is wanting in _one_ MS. and in the _Syriac_: "They come from afar." _FROM THE END OF HEAVEN_] _Kimchi_ says, _Media_, "the end of heaven," in Scripture phrase, means, the EAST.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:8. _AND THEY SHALL BE AFRAID_ - "And they shall be terrified"] I join this verb, ונבהלו _venibhalu_, to the preceding verse, with the _Syriac_ and _Vulgate_. _PANGS AND SORROWS SHALL TAKE HOLD ON THEM_ - "Pangs shall seize them"] The _Septuagint, Syriac_, and _Chaldee_ read יאחזום _... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:10. _FOR THE STARS OF HEAVEN_ - "Yea, the stars of heaven"] The Hebrew poets, to express happiness, prosperity, the instauration and advancement of states, kingdoms, and potentates, make use of images taken from the most striking parts of nature, from the heavenly bodies, from the s... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:11. _I WILL PUNISH THE WORLD _- "I will visit the world"] That is, the Babylonish empire; as η οικουμενη, for the Roman empire, or for Judea, Luke 2:1; Acts 11:28. So the _universus orbis Romanus_, for the Roman empire; _Salvian_. lib. v. _Minos_ calls Crete his world: "Creten, quae... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:12. _I WILL MAKE A MAN MORE PRECIOUS THAN FINE GOLD-WEDGE_ _OF OPHI__r._] The Medes and Persians will not be satisfied with the _spoils_ of the Babylonians. They seek either to destroy or enslave them; and they will accept no _ransom_ for any man-either for אנוש _enosh_, the poor man... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:14. "And the remnant"] Here is plainly a defect in this sentence, as it stands in the _Hebrew_ text; the subject of the proposition is lost. What is it that shall be like a roe chased? The _Septuagint_ happily supply it, οι καταλελειμμενοι, שאר _shear, the remnant_. A MS. here suppli... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:15. _EVERY ONE THAT IS FOUND_ - "Every one that is overtaken"] That is, none shall escape from the slaughter; neither they who flee singly, dispersed and in confusion; nor they who endeavour to make their retreat in a more regular manner, by forming compact bodies: they shall all be... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:17. _WHICH SHALL NOT REGARD SILVER_ - "Who shall hold silver of no account"] That is, who shall not be induced, by large offers of gold and silver for ransom, to spare the lives of those whom they have subdued in battle; their rage and cruelty will get the better of all such motives.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:18. Their _BOWS ALSO SHALL DASH_ - "Their bows shall dash"] Both Herodotus, i. 61, and Xenophon, Anab. iii., mention, that the Persians used large bows τοξαμεγαλα: and the latter says particularly that their bows were _three_ cubits long, Anab. iv. They were celebrated for their arc... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:19. _AND BABYLON_] The great city of Babylon was at this time rising to its height of glory, while the Prophet Isaiah was repeatedly denouncing its utter destruction. From the first of Hezekiah to the first of Nebuchadnezzar, under whom it was brought to the highest degree of strengt... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:21. _SATYRS_] A kind of beast like to man, which is called מרמוטש _marmots, a monkey_. - _Rabbi Parchon_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 13:22. _IN THEIR PLEASANT PALACES_ - "In their palaces"] באלמנותיו _bealmenothaiv_; a plain mistake, I presume, for בארמנתיו _bearmenothaiv_. It is so corrected in _two_ MSS., the _Syriac, Chaldee_, and _Vulgate_. Πουλυποδες δ' εν εμοι θαλαμας φωκαι τε μελαιναι Οικα ποιησονται ακηδεα,... [ Continue Reading ]