CHAPTER XIX _Prophecy concerning Egypt, in which her lamentable condition_ _under the Babylonians, Persians, c., is forcibly pointed out_, 1-17. _The true religion shall be propagated in Egypt referring_ _primarily to the great spread of Judaism in that country in_ _the reign of the Ptolemies,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:3. _THEY SHALL SEEK TO THE IDOLS, AND TO THE CHARMERS, AND_ _TO THEM THAT HAVE FAMILIAR SPIRITS, AND TO THE WIZARDS._] _And thei_ _schul asken their symulacres, and their devynouris, and their_ _devyl clepers, and their devyl sacristers. _- Old Bible. The import of the original words... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:4. _A CRUEL LORD _- "Cruel lords"] Nebuchadnezzar in the first place, and afterwards the whole succession of Persian kings, who in general were hard masters, and grievously oppressed the country. Note, that for קשה _kasheh, lord_, a MS. reads קשים _kashim, lords_, agreeable to which... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:5. _THE RIVER SHALL BE WASTED AND DRIED UP._] The Nile shall not overflow its banks; and if no inundation, the land must become barren. For, as there is little or no rain in Egypt, its fertility depends on the _overflowing_ of the Nile.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:6. _SHALL TURN THE RIVERS FAR AWAY _- "Shall become putrid"] האזניחו _heeznichu_. This sense of the word, which Simonis gives in his Lexicon, from the meaning of it in Arabic, suits the place much better than any other interpretation hitherto given; and that the word in Hebrew had so... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:8. _THE FISHERS ALSO _- "And the fishers"] There was great plenty of fish in Egypt; see Numbers 11:5. "The Nile," says _Diodorus_, lib. i., "abounds with incredible numbers of all sorts of fish." And much more the lakes. So _Egmont, Pococke_, c.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:9. _THEY THAT WORK IN FINE FLAX_] פשתים שריקות _pishtim_ _sericoth, heckled flax_, i.e., flax dressed on the heckle, or comb used for that purpose. The _Vulgate_ uses the word _pectentes_, combing. _They that weave networks shall be confounded _- _And confounden_ _schul ben that wro... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:10. _AND THEY SHALL BE BROKEN_, c. - "Her stores"] שתתיה _shathotheyha_, αποθηκαι, _granaries_. - _Aquila_. _ALL THAT MAKE SLUICES AND PONDS FOR FISH_ - "All that make a gain of pools for fish."] This obscure line is rendered by different interpreters in very different manners. _Ki... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:11. _THE COUNSEL OF THE WISE COUNSELLORS OF PHARAOH IS_ _BECOME BRUTISH_ - "Have counselled a brutish counsel"] The sentence as it now stands in the Hebrew, is imperfect: it wants the verb. Archbishop _Secker_ conjectures that the words יועצי פרעה _yoatsey_ _pharoh_ should be transpo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:12. "Let them come"] Here too a word seems to have been left out of the text. After חכמיך _chochameycha, thy wise men, two_ MSS., _one_ ancient, add יבאו _yibu, let them come_; which, if we consider the form and construction of the sentence, has very much the appearance of being genu... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:13. _ARE DECEIVED_ - "They have caused," c.] The text has וחתעו _vehithu, AND they have caused to err_. _Fifty_ of _Kennicott's_ MSS., _fifty-three_ of _De Rossi's_, and _one_ of my own, ancient, _thirty-two_ editions, and the _Vulgate_ and _Chaldee_. omit the ו _vau, and_. _STAY_ -... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:14. _IN THE MIDST THEREOF_] בקרבם _bekirbam_; so the _Septuagint_, and perhaps more correctly." - _Secker_. So likewise the _Chaldee_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:15. _THE HEAD OR TAIL, BRANCH OR RUSH_] _R. D. Kimchi_ says, there are some who suppose that these words mean the dragon's head and tail; and refer to all those who are conversant in astronomy, astrology, c.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:16. _SHALL EGYPT BE _- "The Egyptians shall be"] יהיו _yihyu,_ _they shall be_, plural, MS. Bodl. _Septuagint_, and _Chaldee_. This is not proposed as an emendation, for either form is proper.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:17. _AND THE LAND OF JUDAH_] The threatening hand of God will be held out and shaken over Egypt, from the side of Judea; through which the Assyrians will march to invade it. It signifies that kind of terror that drives one to his wit's end, that causes him to _reel_ like a drunken ma... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:18. _THE CITY OF DESTRUCTION_ - "The city of the sun"] עיר החרס _ir hacheres_. This passage is attended with much difficulty and obscurity. First, in regard to the true reading. It is well known that Onias applied it to his own views, either to procure from the king of Egypt permiss... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:19. _AN ALTAR TO THE LORD_] צבאות _tsebaoth_, "of hosts," or _Yehovah tsebaoth_, is added by _eight_ MSS. of good repute, and the _Syriac_ Version.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:23. _SHALL THERE BE A HIGHWAY_] Under the latter kings of Persia, and under Alexander, Egypt, Judea, and Assyria lived peaceably under the same government, and were on such friendly terms that there was a regular, uninterrupted intercourse between them, so that the Assyrian came into... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Isaiah 19:25. _BLESSED BE EGYPT - ASSYRIA - AND ISRAEL_] All these countries shall be converted to the Lord. Concerning Egypt, it was said, Isaiah 18:7, that it should bring gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem. Here it is predicted, Isaiah 19:19, that there shall be an altar to the Lord in Egypt it... [ Continue Reading ]