Commentary on Isaiah Volume 1 John Calvin
JOHN CALVIN
distribution is both wicked and foolish, to ascribe to men sound counsel, and to leave nothing to God but prosperous fortune. Now, if any one neglect the methods by which God teaches us, and resort to Satan's impostures, he richly deserves to be deceived and involved in the greatest disgrace; for he seeks remedies that are nowhere to be found, and despises those which were offered by God.
13. The princes of Zoan are become infatuated, the princes of Noph are deceived. Zoan was one of the chief cities of Egypt; Noph also was highly celebrated; 304 but what cities they were we cannot with certainty determine. Some think that one of them was Alexandria, the antiquity and wealth of which may be inferred from many passages of Scripture, which serve also to refute the notion of those who think that it was founded by Alexander the Great; for although it had been frequently destroyed, yet he did not build it anew, but only repaired it. That at one time it was an independent state, and allied to the Egyptians, and that it was one of the most flourishing cities in the whole world, is evident from Nahum 3:8. The Prophet justly represents the stupidity of the princes to be the forerunner of its destruction; because the chief strength of any commonwealth or kingdom consists in wisdom and prudence, without which neither great riches nor a numerous population can be of any avail.
A corner of its tribes have deceived Egypt. 305 I consider the word corner to be here used metaphorically for the chief part of a building on which the whole weight rests; and I choose rather to view it in the nominative than in the accusative case. 306 It ought, I think, to be viewed as referring to those wise men by whom the Egyptians supposed themselves to be so powerfully defended that no evil could befall them. But Isaiah says that this is too feeble a support, because, having been deceived in their counsels, they ruined Egypt; and therefore he holds up to mockery that pretended wisdom which, when it is not accompanied by the fear of God, ought to be called vanity and folly, and not wisdom. Not only do men abuse an excellent gift of God, but they are puffed up with vain ambition, and are more delighted with cunning than with real prudence. To this is added a devilish fury, which leads them to disregard the providence of God, and to bring down all events to the level of their own capacity. This is the reason why Scripture so frequently attacks wise men of that description, and declares that they are fools. They usurp what belongs to God, and claim it for themselves; which is shocking and intolerable sacrilege. We need not wonder if the Lord make fearful displays against such wise men, so that with all their great acuteness
304"Zoan, the Tanis of the Greeks, was one of the most ancient cities of Lower Egypt, (Numbers 13:22,) and a royal residence. The name is of Egyptian origin, and signifies low situation. Noph is the Memphis of the Greek geographers, called Moph, (Hosea 9:6.) It was one of the chief cities of ancient Egypt, the royal seat of Psammetichus." — Alexander.
305"The stay (Heb., corners) of the tribes thereof." — Eng. Ver. 306Instead of ,( פנתpinnăth,) the construct singular, Grotius, Lowth, and others, prefer the conjectural reading,( פנותpinnōth,) corners. But Rosenmüller removes the difficulty of the Syntax by remarking, that ,( פנהpinnāh,) a collective noun, and agreeably to the frequent usage of the Hebrew tongue, fitly agrees with a plural verb; and he quotes 2 Samuel 19:41, as a parallel instance. --- Ed.