8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, the work

horsemen " It is not quite clear why the use of horses was forbidden to the Jews. Perhaps several reasons might have concurred. (1.) Egypt was distinguished for producing fine horses, and the Eyptians used them much in war (Deut. xvii. 16); and one design of God was to make the Jews distinguished in all respects from the Egyptians, and to keep them from commerce with them. (2.) Horses were chiefly used in war, and the tendency of keeping them would be to produce the love of war and conquest. (3.) The tendency of keeping them would be to lead them to put trust in them rather than in God for protection. This is hinted at in Ps. xx. 7: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of JEHOVAH our God." (4) Horses were regarded as consecrated to the sun. See Univ. Hist. Anc. P. vol. x. 177. Ed. 1780. They were sacrificed in various nations to the sun, their swiftness being supposed to render them an appropriate offering to that luminary. There is no evidence, however, that they were used for sacrifice among the Hebrews. They were probably employed to draw the chariots in the solemn processions in the worship of the sun. The ancient Persians, who were sun-worshippers, dedicated white horses and chariots to the sun, and it is supposed that other nations derived the practice from them. The sun was supposed to be drawn daily in a chariot by four wondrous coursers, and the fate of Phaeton, who undertook to guide that chariot and to control those coursers, is known to all. The use of horses, therefore, among the Hebrews in the time of Ahaz when Isaiah lived (see 2 Kings xxxiii. 11) was connected with idolatry, and it was mainly on this account that the prophet rebuked their use with so much severity. 2 Kings xxiii. 11. It may be added, that in a country like Judea, abounding in hills and moun. tains, cavalry could not be well employ

which their own fingers have made:

h Jer. 2. 28.

ed even in war. On the plains of Egypt it could be employed to advantage; or in predatory excursions, as among the Arabs, horses could be used with great success and effect, and Egypt and Arabia therefore abounded with them. Indeed these may be regarded as the native countries of the horse. As it was the design of God to separate, as much as possible, the Jews from the surrounding nations, the use of horses was forbidden. Chariots. Chariots were chiefly used in war, though they were sometimes used for pleasure. Of those intended for war there were two kinds, one for the generals and princes to ride in, the other to break the enemy's ranks.

These last were commonly armed with hooks or scythes. They were much used by the ancients. Josh. xi. 4. Judges i. 19. The Philistines in their war against Saul had 30,000 chariots, and 6000 horsemen. 1 Sam. xiii. 5. There is no evidence, however, that the Jews used chariots for war. Solomon had many of them (1 Kings x. 26), but they do not appear to have been used in any military expedition, but to have been kept for display and pleasure. Judea was a mountainous country, and chariots would have been of little or no use in war.

8. Their land also is full of idols. Comp. Hos. viii. 4, x. 1. Vitringa supposes that Isaiah here refers to idols that were kept in private houses, as Uzziah and Jotham were worshippers of the true God, and in their reign idolatry was not publicly practised. It is certain, however, that though Uzziah himself did right, and was disposed to worship the true God, yet he did not effectually remove idolatry from the land. The high places were not removed, and the people still sacrificed and burnt incense on them. 2 Kings xv. 4. It was customary with the heathen to keep in their houses Penates or household gods-small images, which they regarded as protectors, and to

them not.

10 Enter' into the rock, and

I ver. 19. 21, Rev. 6. 15. 16.

which they paid homage. Comp. Gen. Xxx. 19. Judg. xvii. 5. 1 Sam. xix. 13. Hos. iii. 4. This is a true and literal description of India. The traveller cannot proceed a mile through an inhabited country without seeing idols, and vestiges of idolatry in every direction. See their vessels, their implements of husbandry, their houses, their furniture, their ornaments, their sacred trees, their domestic and public temples; and they all declare that the land is full of idols."-Roberts. ¶ The work of their own hands, &c. Idols. It is often brought as proof of their great folly and degradation that they paid hoinage to what they had themselves made. See this severely satirized in Isa. xl. 18-20, xli. 67, xliv. 9-17.

9. And the mean man. That is, the man in humble life, the poor, the low in rank-for this is all that the Hebrew word here--implies. The distinction between the two words here used as denoting a man of humble rank, and as denoting one of elevated rank-is one that constantly occurs in the Scriptures. Our word mean conveys an idea of moral baseness and degradation which is not implied in the Hebrew. Boweth down. That is, before idols. Some commentators, however, have understood this of bowing down in affliction, but the other is probably the true interpretation. And the great man. The men in elevated rank in life. The expressions together mean the same as all ranks of people. It was a common or universal thing. No rank was exempt from the prevailing idolatry. Therefore forgive them not. The Hebrew is

Thou wilt .וְאַל־תִּשָּׂא לָהֶם-future

not bear for them; that is, thou wilt not bear away their sins [by an atonement], or thou wilt not forgive them;

11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughti

m Ps. 13. 27. ver. 17. c. 5 16.

-but agreeable to a common Hebrew construction, it has the force of the imperative. It involves a threatening of the prophet, in the form of an address to God. So great is their sin, that thou Lord wilt not pardon them.' The prophet then proceeds in the following verses to denounce the certainty and severity of the judgment that was coming upon them.

10. Enter into the rock. That is, into the holes or caverns in the rocks, as a place of refuge and safe. Comp. ver. 19, and Rev. vi. 15, 16. In times of invasion by an enemy, it was natural to flee to the fastnesses or to the caverns of rocks for refuge. This expression is highly figurative and poetic. The prophet warns them to flee from danger. The sense is, that such were their crimes that they would certainly be punished; and he advises them to flee to a place of safety. And hide thee in the dust. In ver. 19 this is

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caves of the dust." It is parallel to the former, and probably has a similar meaning. But may there not be reference here to the mode prevailing in the East of avoiding the monsoon or poisonous heated wind that passes over the desert? Travellers there, in order to be safe, are obliged to throw themselves down, and to place their mouths close to the earth until it has passed.

For fear of the Lord. Heb. From the face of the terror of the Lord? That is, the punishment which God will inflict will sweep over the land, producing fear and terror. And for the glory, &c. That is, the honour or splendour which will attend him when he comes forth to inflict judgment on the people. Vs. 19, 20.

11. The lofty looks. Heb. The eyes of pride,' i. e. the proud eyes or looks. Pride commonly evinces itself in a lofty carriage and supercilious as.

is hard, and has the reputation of being incorruptible. The leaves are long, narrow, rough, very green, ranged in tufts along the branches; they shoot in spring, and fall in the beginning of winter. Its flowers and fruit resemble those of the pine. From the full grown trees, a fluid trickles naturally, and without incision; this is clear, transparent, whitish, and after a time dries and hardens; it is supposed to possess great virtues. The place where these great trees are stationed, is in a plain of nearly a league in circumference, on the summit of a mount which is environed on almost all sides by other mounts, so high that their summits are always covered with snow. This plain is level, the air is pure, the heavens always serene." Maundrell found only sixteen cedars of large growth, and a natural plantation of smaller ones which were very numerous. One of the largest was twelve yards six inches in girth, and thirty-seven yards in the spread of its boughs. At six yards from the ground, it was divided into five limbs, each equal to a great tree. Dr. Richardson visited them in 1818, and found a small clump of large, tall, and beautiful trees, which he pronounces the most picturesque productions of the vegetable world that he had ever seen. In this clump are two generations of trees; the oldest are large and massy, rearing their heads to an enormous height, and spreading their branches to a great extent. He measured one, not the largest in the clump, and found it thirty-two feet in circumference. Seven of these trees appeared to be very old, the rest younger, though, for want of space, their branches are not so spreading. -Bush's Illustrations of Scripture. "The celebrated cedar-grove of Lebanon," says Dr. Robinson," is at least, two days' journey from Beïrût, near the northern, and perhaps the highest summit of the mountain. It has been often and sufficiently described by travellers for the last three centuries; but they all differ as to the number of the

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441. The cedar, so large, lofty, and grand, is used in the Scriptures to represent kings, princes, and nobles. Comp. Ezek. xxxi. 3. Dan. iv. 20–22. Zech. xi. 1, 2. Isa. xiv. 8. Here it means the princes and nobles of the land of Israel. The Chaldee renders it, upon all the strong and mighty kings of the people." ¶ And upon all the oaks of Bashan. Bashan was east of the river Jordan, in the limits of the half tribe of Manasseh. It was bounded on the north and east by Gilead, south by the river Jabbok, and west by the Jordan. It was celebrated for pasturage, and for producing fine cattle. Num. xxi. 33, xxxii. 33. Ps. xxii. 12. Ezek. xxxix. 18. Amos. iv. 1. Micah vii. 14. Its lofty oaks are also particularly celebrated. Ezek. xxvii. 6. Amos ii. 9. Zech. xi. 2. The sense here is not different from the former member of the sentence-denoting the princes and nobles of the land.

14. And upon all the high mountains. Judea abounded in lofty mountains, which added much to the grandeur of its natural scenery. Lowth supposes that by mountains and hills, are meant here, " kingdoms, republics, states, cities ;" but there are probably no parallel places where they have this meaning The meaning is probably this: High mountains and hills would not only be objects of beauty or grandeur, but also places of defence, and

that are lifted up,

15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wali,

protection. In the caverns and fastnesses of such hills, it would be easy for the people to find refuge when the land was invaded. The meaning of the prophet then is, that the day of God's vengeance should be upon the places of refuge and strength; the strongly fortified places, or places of sure retreat in cases of invasion. Comp. Notes on ver. 19. lifted up.

Hills that are

That is, high, elevated hills. 15. Every high tower. Towers, or fortresses, were erected for defence and protection. They were made on the walls of cities, for places of observation (comp. Note ch. xxi. 5), or in places of strength, to be a refuge for an army, and to be a point from which they might sally out to attack their enemies. They were high to afford a defence against being scaled by an enemy, and also that from the top they might look abroad for observation; and also to annoy an enemy from the top, when the foe approached the walls of a city. Every fenced wall.

1

חוֹמָה -betz בְּצוּרָה,The word fenced .בְּצוּרָה

urâ, is from 2 bâtzăr to make inaccessible, and hence to fortify. It denotes a wall that is inaccessible, or strongly fortified. Cities were commonly surrounded by high and strong walls to defend them from enemies. The sense is, God would overturn all their strong places of refuge and defence.

16. And upon all the ships of Tarshish. Ships of Tarshish are often mentioned in the Old Testament, but the meaning of the expression is not quite obvious. See 1 Kings x. 22. 2 Chron. ix. 21, xx. 36, 37 Ps. xlviii. 7, &c. It is evident that Tarshish was some distant land from which was imported silver, iron, lead, tin, &c. It is now generally agreed that Tartessus in Spain is referred to by the Tarshish of Scripture. Bruce, however, supposes

16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.

9 pictures of desire.

that it was in Africa, south of Abyssinia. See Note on ch. lx. 9. That it was in the west is evident from Gen. x. 4. Comp. Ps. lxxxii. 10. In Ezek. xxviii. 13, it is mentioned as an important place of trade; in Jer. x. 9, it is said that silver was procured there; ad in Ezek. xxviii. 12, it is said that iron, lead, silver, and tin, were imported from it. In 2 Chron. ix. 21, it is said that the ships of Tarshish returned every three years bringing gold and silver, ivory, apes and peacocks. These are productions chiefly of India, but they might have been obtained in trade during the voyage. In Isa. xxiii. 1, lx. 9, the phrase ships of Tarshish," seems to denote ships that were bound on long voyages, and it is probable that they came to denote a particular kind of ships adapted to long voyages, in the same way as the word Indiaman does with us. The precise situation of Tarshish is not necessary to be known in order to understand the passage here. The phrase," ships of Tarshish," denotes clearly ships employed in foreign trade, and in introducing articles of commerce, and particularly of luxury. The meaning is, that God would embarrass, and destroy this commerce; that his judgments would be on their articles of luxury. The LXX render it, " and upon every ship of the sea, and upon every beautiful appearance of ships." The Targum, And upon

those who dwell in the isles of the sea, and upon those who dwell in beautiful palaces." And upon all pleasant pictures. Margin, " pictures of desire ;" that is, such as it should be esteemed desirable to possess, and gaze upon; pictures of value or beauty. Targum, "costly palaces." The word rendered "pictures," , denotes properly sights, or objects to be looked at; and does not designate paintings particularly, but every thing that was designed for ornament, or luxury. Whether the