Commentary on Isaiah Volume 1 John Calvin (continued)
JOHN CALVIN
abhor the sight of it. Undoubtedly the Prophet means that not only will the buildings be thrown down, but the very soil will be accursed.
21. But the Ziim shall lie there. 212 He continues the description of a desert place, and alludes to what he had formerly said, that Babylon will be destitute of inhabitants. In what way( צייםtziim) ought to be translated I cannot easily say, on account of the diversity in the opinions of translators, who differ in this, as in various names of animals and herbs. The use of these things did not continue among them; and the Jews, who are themselves ignorant and unskilful, do not retain the knowledge of these things, though there are some of them who know nothing about either herbs or animals, and yet have the impudence to boast of being physicians. Of those who think that( צייםtziim) is the name of a wild animal, some will have it to be a quadruped, and others, a bird; but that is a matter of little importance. For my own part, I have no doubt that the Prophet means either wild beasts which cannot be tamed, or birds which build their nests in distant forests.
It will not be amiss to explain what follows about Satyrs or Pans, who are called by the French, according to the various dialects of the provinces, sometimes Luittons, sometimes Follets, and sometimes Loups-garouz 213 As Satan deludes men by various tricks, so he gives to them various names. It is certain that( צייםtziim) is often used in Scripture for devils; and it is derived from( ,ציהtziyah,) which means dryness, or, a desert, as( אייםiyim) is derived from( ,איםayam,) which means to terrify. The Devil performs strange tricks by means of Fauns and Satyrs, and on that account their names are given to him.
The design of the Prophet is to show that the solitude will be so great, that not only will the place be deserted by men, but even the devils will there deceive by their tricks; for the devils avail themselves of the tendency of solitary places to produce terror. As enemies and robbers, by sallying forth from concealed lurking-places, frighten men the more, so devils take advantage of the night and the darkness, and of places distant from the view of men, that they may be able to excite greater terror in those who are naturally timorous.
22. And Iim shall cry 214 He expresses the same thing as had been formerly said, and shows how dreadful that change will be, in order to make it manifest that it proceeds from the judgment of God, and not from chance. The picture is even heightened by adding that this will take place, not in
212It is a gratifying proof of the progress of knowledge and of the decay of superstition, that such words as Hobgoblins, Hob-thrushes, Robin-goodfellows, and even Fairies, answering to the grotesque names which Calvin has brought from his own vernacular, have grown antiquated, and are not likely to be replaced by terms of modern date. Howell's definition of Loup-garou is a curious record of superstitious belief. "A mankind Wolfe, such a one as once being flesht on men, and children, will rather starve than feed on any thing else; also, one that, possessed with an extream and strange melancholy, beleeves he is turned Wolfe, and as a Wolfe behaves himselfe," etc. — Ed
213And the wild beasts of the islands (Heb. Iim) shall cry. — Eng. Ver. 214And hyoenas shall cry in their palaces, and jackals in their tabernacles of delight. — Stock