Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
The Jews' Triumphal Song ISAIAH XIV. at BahylorCi Downfall, the parallelism "ihe wicked" proves (cf. ch. 13. 2, Note).
mountains. So the Greeks, in the nori?ierH 01.vmpus. The Persian followers of Zoroaster put the Ai-bordsch in the Caucasus north of them. The allusion to the stars harmonizes with this, viz., that those near the North Pole, the region of the aurora borealis (cf. Note, Job 2;5. 9; 37. 22), [Maukkk, LXX., Sykiac] 14. clouds—rather, the cloud, singular. Perhaps there Is a reference to the cloud, the symbol of the Divine presence (ch. 4. 5; Exodus 13. 21). So this tallies with 2 Thessalonlans 2. 4, "«'jove all that is called God ;" as here "afcwe . . . the cloud;" and as tlie shechinah-c/oud was connected with the temple, there follows, " he as God sitteth in the temple of God," answering to "I will be like the Most High" here. Moreover, Revelation 17. 4, .5, represents Antichrist as seated in Babylon, to which city, literal and spiritual, Isaiah refers here. 15. to hell—to Sheol (v. 6), thou who hast said, " I will ascend into heaven" (Matthew 11. 2;^). sides of the pit—antithetical to the "sides of the north" (v. 13). Thus the reference
6. people—the peoples subjected to Babylon. Is persecuted— Uk; Hebrew is rather aci're, " which persecuted them, without any to hinder him." [Vulgate, Jekome, and HoRSLEY.] 7. tHiej-—the once subject nations of the Whole earth. Houbigant places the stop after " fir trees"
(t). 8), " Tlie very fir trees break forth," &c. But the parallelism is better in English Version. 8. tlic flr trees—now left undisturbed. Probably a kind of evergreen, rejoice at tliee—(Psalm 9G. 12.) Al thy fall (Psalm 35. 19, 21). no feller—as formerly, when thou wast in power (ch. 10. 34;
37.24).
9-11. The scene changes from earth to hell. Hades (the Amcnllies of Egypt), the unseen abode of the departed; some of its tenants, once mighty mouarchs, are represented by a bold personification as rising from their seats in astonishment at the descent among them of the humbled king of Babylon. This proves, in opposition to Warburton, Div. Leg., that the belief existed among the Jews, that there wasa Sheol or Hades, in which the "Rephaim" or manes of the departed abode. 9. moved—put into agiis to the sides of the sepulchre round which the dead were ranged in niches. But Mauker here, as in v. 13, translaics, "the extreme," or innermost parts of the sepulchre; as in Ezekiel 32: 2;^ (cf. 1 Samuel 24. 3).
tation, for tlice i. e., at thee; tmvards thee ; explained by " to meet thee at thy coming." [JIaurer.] chief ones
16-20. The ]jasscrs-by contemplate with astonishment the body of the king of Babylon cast out, instead of lying in a splendid mannoleum, and can hardly believe their senses tliat lit., goats; so rams, leaders of the tiock; princes (Zechariah
10. 3). The ideaof wickedness on a gigantic scale is Included (Ezekiel 34. 17; Matthew 25. 32, 33). Magee derives Rephaim (English Version, " the dead ") from a Hebrew root, it is he. 16. iinrrowly look—to be certain they are not mistaken, consider—"meditate upon." [Horsley]. 17. opened not . . . house . . . prisoners—But Maurek, as Margin, "Did not let his captives loose homewards." 18. All i. e.. This is the usual practice. In glory—in a grand mausoleum, house i. e., sepulchre, as in Ecclesiastes 12.
to resolve into first elements; so the deceased (ch. 26. 14) ghosts (Proverbs 21. 16). These being magnified by the imagination of the living into gigantic stature, gave their name to giants in general (Genesis 6.4; 14.5; p:zekiel 32. 18, 21). "Rephaim," translated in LXX., giants (cf. Note, Job 26. 5,
5; "grave" {v. 19). To be excluded from the family sepulchre was a mark of infamy (ch. 34. 3; Jeremiah 22. 19; 1 Kings 13. 22 ; 2 Chronicles 21. 20 ; 24; 25 ; 28. 27). 11). cast out of—not that he had lain in the grave and was t hen cast out
6). Thence, as the giant Rephaim of Canaan were notorious even in that guilty land, enormous wickedness became connected with the term. So the Rephaim came to be the uHcked sjnrits in Gehenna, the lower of the two portions Into which Shed! is divided. 10. They taunt him, and derive from his calamity consolation under their own (Ezekiel 31. 16). weak—as a shade bereft of blood and life. Rephaim, "the dead," may come from a Hebrew root, meaning similarly feeble, powerless. The speech of the departed closes with the next verse. 11. "Pomp" and music, the accompaniment of Babylon's former feastings of it, but " cast out without a grave," such as might have been expected by thee {" thy"), branch—a useless sueke-r starting up from the root of a tree, and cut away by the husbandman, raiment of those slain—covered with gore, and regarded with abhorrence as unclean by the Jews. Rather, " clot Jied (i. e., covered) wit/i the slain ;" as Job 7. 5 "My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust." [Maurer.] thrust through—i. e., "the slain Mho have been thrust through," (fcc. stonesof. . . pit—whose bodies are buried in sepulchres excavated amidst stones, whereas the king of Babylon is an unburied " carcass trodden under foot." 20. not . . . jolneil with theiii—whereas the princes slain with thee shall be buried, thou shalt not thou . . . destroyed . . . land—Belshazzar (or Kaboned) oppressed his land with wars and tyranny, so that he was much hated (Xenophon, Cyrop. 4. 6, 3; 7. 5, 32). seed . . never be renowned—rather, " shall not be named for ever;" the Bab.vloniandj nast.v shall end with Belshazzar; his family shall not be perpetuated. [Hor.si.ky.]
(ch. 0. 12; 24. 8), give place to the corruption and the stillness of the grave (Ezekiel 32. 27). worm—that is bred in putridity, worms—properly those from which the crimson, dye is obtained. Appropriate here; instead of the crimson coverlet, over thee shall be "worms." Instead of the gorgeous couch, " under thee" shall be the maggot.
12-15. The Jews address him again as a fallen once-bright
Ktar. The language is so framed as to apply to the Babylonian king primarily, and at the same time to shadow forth through him, the great final enemy, the man of sin, Antichrist, of Daniel, St. Paul, and St. John; he alone
21-23. God's determination to destroy Babylon. !J1. prc> pare, &C.—(charge to the Medes and Persians, as if they were God's conscious instruments. Ills children — Belshazzar's (Exodus 20. 5). rise—to occupy the places of their fathers, till . . . with cities-Mauuer tran.ihites, "enemies," .as the Hebrew means in 1 Samuel 28. 16; Psalm shall fulfil exhaustively all the lineaments here given, la. Iiiicifer—da,i/ star. A title truly belonging to Christ (Revelation 22. 16), " the bright and morning star," and therefore hereafter to be assumed by Antichrist. GeSENIUS, however, renders the Hebrew here as in Ezekiel 21. 12; Zechariah 11. 2, howl, -weaken—prostrate ; as In Exodus 17. 13, "discomfit." 13. nbove . . . God—In Daniel 8. 10, " stars" express earthly potentates. " The stairs" are often also used to express heavenly principalities (Job
139. 20, viz., lest they inundate the world with their armies. Vitrinoa translates, " disturliers." In English Versiori the meaning is, "lest they till Ihe land with such cities" of pride as Babylon was. aS. against thon—the family of the king of Babylon, name—all the male representatives, so that the name shall become extinct (ch. 56.5;
38.7). mount of co Mregatlon-the place of solemn meeting between God and His people in the temple at Jerusalem. In Daniel 11. 37, and 2 Thessalonlans 2. 4, tliis is attributed to Antichrist, sides of . . . north—viz., the sides of Mount Moriah on which the temple was bnilt; north of Mount Zion (Ps;ilm 48. 2). However, the parallelistn supports the notion that the Babylonian kingexpresses him-
Ruth 4.5). remnant— all that is left of them. The dynasty shall cease (Daniel 5. 28-31). Cf. as to Babylon ia general, .Jeremiah 51. 62. 33. bittern—rather the hedgehog. [JlAtTREU and GE.SENIUS.] S(rabo(16. 1) states that enormous hedgehogs were found in the islands of the Euphrates, pools—owing to Cyrus turning the waters of the Euphrates over the country, besom — sweep-net, [MAURER.] (1 Kings 14. 10; 2 Kings 21. 13.)
self nccorulng to his own, and not Jewish opinions (so in ch. 10. 10). tnus" mount of the congregation" will mean the northern mountain (perhaps in Armenia) fabled by the Babylonians to be Die common meeting-place of their goils. "Both sides" Imply the angle In which the sides meet; and hothe expression comes to mean " the extreme ports of the norlli. " So the Hindoos place the Meru, the dwelliDg-place of tbeii gods. In the north, in the Himalayan
24-27. A Fragment as to the Destkuction of thk Assyrians under Sennachei{IH. This would comtori the Jews when captives in Babylon, being a pledge thai Goi\.whohM\ by that time fullllled the promise concern-
Prophecy against Phillstia. ISAIAH XV, XVI. A Provhecy on Moab from Ar, towards the south. 3. He—Moab personified. Bajith—Rather, "to the temple" [Maurer 1; answering to llie "sanctuary" ch. 16.12), in a similar context, to Dibon—Rather, as Dibon was in a plain north of the Arnon, " Dibon (is gone up) to tlie higli places," the usual places of sacrifice in tlie East. Same town as Dinion (v. 9) to weep—at the sudden calamity, over Nebo— Ratlier "In Nebo;" not on account o/ Nebo (cf. v.S). [Maurer.] Tlie town Nebo was adjacent to the mountain, not far from the northern shore of the Dead Sea. There it was that Chemosh, the idol of Moab, was worshipped (cf. Deuteronomy 34. 1). Medeba—South of Heshbon, on a hill east of Jordan, baldness . . . beard cut oil—The Orientals regarded the beard with peculiar veneration. To cut erne's beard off is the greatest mark of sorrow and mortification (cf. Jeremiah 48.37). 3. tops of . . . houses—fiat; places of resort for prayer, &c., in the East (Acts 10. 9). tveeping abundantly—"melting away in tears." HORSLEY prefers "descending to weep." Thus there is a "parallelism by alternate construction" [Lowth], or chiasmus; "howl" refers to "tops of houses." "Descending tng Sennacherib (though now still future), would also fulrtl His promise as to destroying Babylon, Judali's enemy. In this v. 21 the Lord's tJwught (purpose) stands in antilhesiK to the Assyrians' thoughts (ch. 10.7). (See ch.
46.10, 11; 1 Siiniuel 15.29; Maiacbi 3.6.) 25. That— my purpose, naujely, "that." break . . . yoke—(Ch. 10.27.) my ino«iutaliis—Sennacherib's army was destroyed on the mountains near Jerusalem (ch. 10.33, 34). God regarded Judali as peculiarly His. 36. This Is . . . purpose . . . Avholc earth—a hint that the propliecy embraces tlie present world of all ages In its scope, of whicli the purpose concerning Babylon and Assyria, the then representatives of the world-power. Is but a part, hand. . . stretched out upon—-uiz., In punishment (ch. 5. 25). 27. (Daniel 4.35.)
28-32. Prophecy against Philistia. To comfort the Jews, lest they should fear that people; not In order to call the Philistines to repentance, since the prophecy was probably never circulated among them. They had been eubdued by Uzziah or Azarlah (2 Chronicles 26. 6); but in the reign of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28. 18) they took several towns in south Judea. Now Isaiah denounces their final subjugation by Hezekiah. 38. In . . . year . . . Ahaz died—726 B. c. Probably it was In this year that the Philto weep" to "streets" or squares, whitlier they descend from the house tops. 4. IlesUbon—an Amorite city, twenty miles east of Jordan; taken by Moab after tht carrying away of Israel (cf. Jereiriiah 48.). Elealeh—near Heshbon, In Reuben. Jahaz—East of Jordan, in Reuben. Near it Moses defeated Sihon. therefore—because of the sudden overthrow of their cities. Even the armed men, instead of fighting In defence of their land, shall join in. the general cry. life, &c.—rather, "his soul is grieved" (1 Samuel 1. 8). [Maurer.] 5. My—The prophet himself is moved with pity for Moab. Ministers, in denouncing tha wrath of God against sinners, should do it with tender sorrow, not with exultation, fugitives—fleeing from Moab, wander as far as to Zoar, on the extreme boundary south of the Dead Sea. Hor-SLey translates, her istines threw off the yoke put on them by Uzziah. 39. Palestina—/ii.. The land of sojourners, rod . . . broken — the ijoke imposed by Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26.6) was thrown off under Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28. 18). serpent's root—the stock of Jesse (ch. 11. 1). Uzziah was doubtless regar<ie<l by the Philistines as a biting "serpent."' But though the effects of his bite have been got rid of, a more deadly viper, or " cockatrice" {lit., viper's offspring, as Pliilistia would regard him), viz., Hezekiah awaits you (2 Kings is. 8). 30. first-born of . . . poor—Hebraism, for the most abject poor; the first-bom being the foremost of the family, (jo "first-born of death" (Job 18.13), for the most fata', dmfh. The Jews, heretofore exposed to Pliilnobility, or " rulers" (Hosea 4. 18). heifer, &c.— j. e., raising istine invasions and alarms, shall be in safety. Cf. Psalm their voices " like a heifer" (cf. Jeremiah 48, .34, .36). Tlie expression "three years old," Implies one at its lull vifiour (Genesis 15. 9), as yet not brought under the yoke ; as Moab heretofore unsubdued, but now about to be broken. So' Jeremiah 31. 18; Hosea 4. 13. Maurer translates, " Ejihitli
72.1, "(.liildren of the needy," expressing those "needy
In condilic/n." feed—image from a flock feeding in safety, root—radical destruction. He shall slay Jehovah sliall. The ciiange of person. He after I, Is a common Hebraism. 31. §ate—i. c., ye wlio throng the gate; the cliief place of concourse in a city, from . . . north—Judea, north and east of Palestine, smoke—from the signal-fire, wliereby a hostile army was called together (the Jews' signal-fire is meant here, the " pillar of cloud and Are," Exodus 13. 21
(in English Version, "a heifer") Shelishijah" (i. e., the third, to distinguish it from two others of the same name;, by the mounting tip—up the ascent. Luhlth—a mountain in Moab. Horonalm—a town of Moab not far from Zfiar (Jeremiah 48. 5). It means the two poles, being near caves, cry of destruction—a cry appropriate to the (Ustru< tion. wliich visits their country. 6. For—The cause of tlielr
Nehemiah 9.19); or else from the region devastated by fire. [Maurek.] Gesentus less probably refers it to the cloud of dust raised by the invading army, none . . . alone . . . in . . . appointed times—Rather, "Tliere shall not l)e a straggler am>j;~:v\ his (the enemy's) levies." The Jewisli host shi'.ll advance on Palestine in close array; none shall fall back or lag from weariness (ch. 5. 20, 27). [LovvTH.] Maurer tliinks the /feftretf will not bear the rendering levies or armies. He translates, "There is not one (of ttie Piiilistlne watch-guards) who will remain alone (exposed to the enemy) at his post," through fright. On "alone," cf. Psalm 102.7; Hosea 8. 9. 33. messengers of the nation—When messengers come fi'om Pliilistia to Inquire .as to the state of Judea, the reply shall be, that he Lord, &c. (Psalm 87.1,5; 102.16). poor—(Zephaniah flight southwards (2 Kings 3.19,2.5). For the northern regions and even the city Nimrim (the very name of which means limpid waters, in Gllead near Jordan) are without water or herbage. 7. Therefore—Because of the devastation of the land, abundance- /jV., that wJiicIt isnver and above the necessaries of life, brook of . . . ivlllowa
Tlie fugitives flee from Nimrim, where the waters liave failed, to places better watered. Margin has valley of Arabians, i. e., to the valley on the boundary between them and Arabia Petrea ; now Wady-el Arabah. Arabia means a desert. 8. Eglalm—(Ezekiel 47. 10), En-egtaim, Not the Agalum of Eusebius, eight miles from Areopolis towards the south; the context requires a town on the very borders of Moab or beyond them. Beer-ellm lit.. The well of the Princes—{so Numbers 21. 16-18). Beyond the east borders of Moab. 9. Dlmon—Same as Dilion (v. 2). Its waters are the Arnon. full of blood—tlie slain of Moab shall be so many, bring more— fresh calamities,
3. 12.) CHAPTER XV.
Ver. 1-9. Chaps. 15. and 16. form one Prophecy on Moab. Lowth thinks it was delivered In the first years of Hezekiah's reign, and fulfilled in the fourth, wlien Shalmaneser, on his way to Invade Israel, may have seized on tlxe strongholds of Moab. Moab probably had made common cause with Israel and Syria in a league against Assyria. Hence it incurred the vengeance of Assyria. Jeremlali has introduced much of this propliecy into his 48th chapter. 1. Because—Rather, iVure/i/ HI. d Affirm), that. [Maurer.] night—the time best suited for a hostile incursion (ch. 21. 4; Jeremiah 39.4). Ar—meaning in Hebrew, T%e city; the metropolis of Moali, on the eonlh of the river Arnou. Kir—lU., A citadel; not far viz., the "lions" afterwards mentioned (2 Kings 17.25; Jeremiah 5.6; 15.3). Vitringa understands Nebuchadnezzar as meant by " the lion ;" but it is plural, " lions." Tlie "more," or In Hebrew, additions, he explains ol the addition made to the waters of Dimon by the streams of blood of the slain.
CHAPTER XVI.
Ver 1-14. Continuation of the Prophecy as to Moab.
1. lamb— Advice of the prophet to the Moabites who had 447