25 Whom the LORD of hosts | the work" of my hands, and Is shall bless, saying, Blessed be rael mine inheritance. Egypt my people, and Assyria point, the true religion was disseminated throughout all nations. 25. Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless. That is, which united country he shall acknowledge as truly worshipping him, and on which he shall bestow his favours as his favoured people. Assyria the work of my hands. This is synonymous with the expression 'my people.' It means that the arrangements by which the true religion would be established among them, were the work of God. Conversion to God is every where in the Scriptures spoken of as his work, or creation. See Eph. ii. 10: "For we are his workmanship; created in Christ Jesus unto good works." Comp. 2 Cor. v. 17. Ps. c. 3. Israel mine inheritance. The 11 Pet. 2. 10. u Eph. 2. 10. land and people which is peculiarly my own-a name not unfrequently given to Israel. For a learned examination of the various hypotheses in regard te the fulfilment of this prophecy, see Vitringa. He himself applies it to the times succeeding Alexander the Great. Alexander he regards as the "saviour" mentioned in ver. 20; and the establishment of the true religion referred to by the prophet as that which would take place under the Ptolemies. Vitringa has proved-what indeed is known to all who have the slightest knowledge of history-that there were large numbers of Jews under the Ptolemies in Egypt, and that multitudes became proselytes to the Jewish faith. CHAPTER XX. ANALYSIS. This prophecy occupies this single chapter. Its design and scope it is not difficult to understand The time when it was delivered is designated in ver. 1, and was manifestly in the reign of Hezekiah. The Assyrian empire had extended its conquests over Syria, Damascus, and Ephraim or Samana. 2 Kings xviii. 9-12. The king of Assyria had sent Tartan to take possession of Ashdod or Azot us, the maritime key of Palestine, and there was evident danger that the Assyrians would overthrew the government of Judah, and secure also the conquest of Egypt. In these circumstances of danger, the main reliance of Judah was on the aid which they hoped to derive from Egypt and Ethiopia (ver. 5), as being alone able to repel the Assyrians. They relied rather on that aid than on Go recall them from this, and to show them the vanity of such a dependence, and to lead them to rely on God, Isaiah was sent to them to be a sign; or to indicate by a symbolical action what would be the fate of the Egyptians on whom they were placing their reliance, ver. 4. By showing the Jews what would be the destiny of Egypt, he designed to withdraw them from resting on their assistance, and to turn them to God for protection and aid. То 1 In the year that Tartangon the king of Assyria sent came unto Ashdod, (when Sar- him,) and fought against Ashdod and took it; 2 Kings 18. 17. 1. In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod. Tartan was one of the generals of Sennacherib. Ashdod, called by the Greeks Azotus, was a seaport on the Mediterranean between Askelon and Ekron, and not far from Gaza. Reland. Palæs. Lib. iii. It was one of the five cities of the Philistines assigned to the tribe of Judah, but never conquered by them. Josh. xiii. 8, xv. 46, 47. The temple of Dagon stood here; and hither the ark of God was brought after the fatal battle of Ebenezer. 1 Sam. v. 1, seq. It sus 2 At the same time spake the LOR) by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go, and loose the sack 6 by the hand of tained many sieges, and was regarded as an important place in respect to Palestine, and also to Egypt. It was taken by Tartan, and remained in the possession of the Assyrians until it was besieged by Psammetichus the Egyptian king, who took it after a siege of twenty-nine years. Herod. ii. 157. It was about thirty miles from Gaza. It is now a small village, and is called Esdud. It was besieged and taken by Tartan as preparatory to the conquest of Egypt; and if the king who is here called Sargon was Sennacherib, it is probable that it was taken before he threatened Jerusalem. Sargon the king of Assyria. Who this Sargon was, is not certainly known. Some have supposed that it was Sennacherib; others that it was Shalmaneser the father of Sennacherib, and others that it was Esar-Haddon the successor of Sennacherib. Michaelis. Rosenmüller and Gesenius suppose that it was a king who reigned between Shalmaneser and Sennacherib. Tartan is known to have been a general of Sennacherib (2 Kings xviii. 17), and it is natural o suppose that he is here intended. Jerome says that Sennacherib had seven names, and Kimchi says that he had eight; and it is not improbable that Sargon was one of those names. Oriental princes often had several names; and hence the difficulty of identifying them. See Vitringa on this place. 2. By Isaiah. Marg. "By the hand of Isaiah." So the Hebrew. That is, by the instrumentality of Isaiah. He sent him to make known the fate of the Egyptians, and the folly of trusting in them on this occasion. T Go, and loose the sackcloth. For the meaning of the word sackcloth, see Note, ch. iii. 24. It was commonly worn as an emblem of mourning. But there is reason to believe that it was worn also by the prophets, and was regarded, n some degree, as their appropriate | cloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. dress. It was made usually of the coarse hair of the goat, and was worn as a zone or girdle around the loins. That this was the dress of Elijah is apparent from 2 Kings i. 8: "He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather;" that is, he was clothed in a garment made of hair. The same was true of John the Baptist. Matth. iii. 4. That the prophets wore "a rough garment" is apparent also from Zech. xiii. 4: "Neither shall they (the false prophets) wear a rough garment (Heb. a garment of hair) to deceive;" i. e. the false prophets shall not assume the dress of the true prophets for the purpose of deluding the people, or to make them think that they are true prophets. It is evident, therefore, that this hairy garment was regarded as a dress that appertained particularly to the prophets. It is well known, also, that the ancient Greek philosophers had a peculiar dress to distinguish them from the common people. Probably the custom of wearing hair cloth among the monks of later ages took its rise from this example of the prophets. His removing this garment was designed to be a sign or an emblem to show that the Egyptians should be stripped of all their possessions, and carried captive to Assyria. Walking naked. That is, walking without this peculiar prophetic garment. It does not mean that he was in a state of entire nudity; for all that he was directed to do was to lay this garment-this emblem of his office-aside. The word naked, moreover, is used in the Scriptures, not to denote an absolute destitution of clothing, but that the outer garment was laid aside. See Note John xxi. 7. Thus it is said of Saul (1 Sam. xix. 24) that he "stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day;" i. e. he stripped off his royal robes, and was naked or unclothed in that respect. 3 And the LORD said, Like as | naked and barefoot three years my servant Isaiah hath walked for a sign and wonder upon of time; or, as Aben Ezra and Abarbenel suppose, that he signified that their captivity would commence after three years. Lowth supposes that it means that his walking was for three days, and that the Hebrew text has been corrupted. Vitringa also seems to suppose that this is possible, and that a day was a symbolical sign for a year. Rosenmüller supposes that this prophetic action was continued during three years at intervals, so that the subject might be kept before the mind of the people. But the supposition that this means that the symbolic action of walking naked and barefoot continued for so long a time in any manner, is highly improbable. (1.) The Hebrew does not necessarily require it. It may mean simply that his actions were a sign and wonder with reference to a three-years' captivity of the Egyptians. (2.) It is in itself improbable that he should so long a time walk about Jerusalem expressly as a sign and wonder, when a much shorter period would have answered the purpose as well. (3.) Such a sign would have hardly met the circumstances of the case. Ashdod was taken. The Assyrian king was advancing. The Jews were in consternation and looking to Egypt for help; and amidst this agitation and alarm, there is the highest improbability that Isaiah would be required to remain a sign and wonder for the long space of three years, when decided action was needed, and when, unless prevented, the Jews would have formed a speedy alliance with the Egyptians. I suppose, therefore, that the entire sense of the phrase will be expressed by translating it, my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot, a threeyears' sign and wonder; that is, a sign and indication that a three-years ca He removed his peculiar dress as a king, or military chieftain, and appeared in the ordinary dress. It cannot be supposed that the king of Israel would be seen literally without raiment. So David is said to have danced naked before the ark, i. e. with his royal robes laid aside.-How long Isaiah walked in this manner has been a matter of doubt. See Note on v. 3. The prophets were accustomed to use symbolical actions to denote the events which they foretold: See Note ch. viii. 18. Thus the children of Isaiah, and the names given to them, were significant of important events; ch. viii. 1, 2, 3, comp. Jeremiah xviii. 1-6, xliii. 8, 9; in both of which places he used emblematic actions to exhibit the events concerning which he prophesied in a striking manner. Thus also the prophets are expressly called “signs, and wonders." Zech. iii. 8. Ez. xii. 6. 3. Like as. That is, as Isaiah has gone stripped of his peculiar garment as a prophet, so shall the Egyptians and Ethiopians be stripped of all that they value, and be carried captive into Assyria.' Hath walked-three years. A great deal of difficulty has been felt in the interpretation of this place, from the strong improbability that Isaiah should have gone in this manner for a space of time so long as our translation expresses. The LXX render this, "as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years, three years shall be for signs and wonders to the Egyptians and Ethiopians." The phrase in the Hebrew, three years," may either be taken in connection with the preceding part of the sentence, as in our translation, meaning that he actually walked so long; or it may be taken with that which follows, and hen it will denote that he was a sign and wonder with reference to the cap-lamity would come upon Egypt and tivity of the Egyptians and Ethiopians; and that by this symbolical action he, in some way, indicated that they would be carried away captive for that space 66 Ethiopia. Whether this means that the calamity would commence in three years from that time, or that it should continue three years, perhaps we can. not determine. Grotius thinks that it means that it would occur after three years; that is, that the war between the Assyrians and Ethiopians would continue during that time only. In what manner Isaiah indicated this, is not certainly known. The conjecture of Lowth is not improbable, that it was by appearing three days naked and barefoot, and that each day denoted a year. Or it may have been that he appeared in this manner for a short period-though but once-and declared that this was the design or purport of the action. Upon Egypt, &c. With reference to; or as a sign in regard to Egypt. It does not mean that he was in Egypt, but that his action had reference to Egypt. ¶ And Ethiopia. Heb. -Cush. See Note, ch. xi. 1. Whether this denotes the African Cush or Ethiopia, or whether it refers to the Cush in Arabia, cannot be determined. The latter is the more probable supposition, as it is scarcely probable that the Assyrian would extend his conquests south of Egypt so as to subdue the African Ethiopia. Probably his conquest embraced the Cush that was situated in the southern regions of Arabia. and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this 'isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape? 1 or, country, Jer. 47. 4. b Job 6. 20. have been when this prophecy was delivered. Thus Nahum iii. 8: Ethlopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite. Put and Lubim were thy helpers. T To the shame of Egypt. It shall be a disgrace to them to be subdued, and to be carried captive in so humiliating a manner. It is remarked by Belzoni ("Operations and Recent Discoveries in Egypt and Nubia"), that in the figures on the remains of their temples, prisoners are often represented as naked, or only in aprons, with dishevelled hair, and with their hands chained. He also remarks, that on a bas-relief on the recently discovered graves of the kings of Thebes, a multitude of Egyptian and Ethiopian prisoners are represented-showing that Egypt and Ethiopia were sometimes allied, alike in mutual defence and in bondage. Comp. Isa. xlvii. 2, and Nahum iii. v. 5. And they shall be afraid. The the Jews that were expecting aid from Jews, or the party or faction among allied Ethiopia and Egypt. When they apprehend a similar danger to themshall see them vanquished, they shall selves; and they shall be ashamed that they ever confided in a people so little able to aid them, instead of trusting in the arm of God. Egypt their glory. Their boast, as if Egypt was able to save them. The word here rendered glory, E, means properly orna 4. So shall the king of Assyria. The emphasis here is on the word so. As Isaiah has walked naked, i. e. stripped off his usual clothing, so shall the Egyptians and Ethiopians be led away stripped of all their possessions.ment, praise, honour; ar.d then it may The Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives. The Egyptians and Ethiopians, or Cushites, were often anited in an alliance, and appear to mean the object of glory, or that in which men boast, or confide. That is its sense here. Comp. Isa. x. 12, xiii. 19. Zech. xii. 7. The dwell-folly in trusting in Egypt, and seeking deliverance there. And how shall we escape? They shall be alarmed for their own safety, for the very nation on which they had relied had been made captive. And when the stronger had been subdued, how could the feeble and dependent escape a simila overthrow and captivity? All this was designed to show them the folly of trusting in the aid of another nation, and to lead them to put confidence in the God of their fathers. 6. And the inhabitant. ers generally. Of this isle. The word isle is used here in the sense of coast, or maritime country, and is evidently applied to Palestine, or the land of Canaan, which is a narrow coast lying on the Mediterranean. That the word is often used in this sense, and may be applied to a maritime country, see Notes ch. xiii. 22, xli. 1. The connection here requires us to understand it of Palestine. I Shall say, &c. Shall condemn their own CHAPTER XXI. 1-10. ANALYSIS. The prophecy which commences this chapter occupies the first ten verses. That it rel: les to Babylon is apparent from vs. 2 and 9. The object is to foretell the destruction of that eity by the Medes and Persians, and the design is the same as in the more extended and minute description of the same event in chs. xiii. xiv. Whether it was delivered at the same, or at another time, cannot be determined from the prophecy. The purpose however of the prophecy is the same as there-to give consolation to the Jews who should be carried captive to that city; to assure them that Babyfon would be destroyed, and that they would be delivered from their long and severe bondage. This is indicated in a brief and graphic manner in ver. 10. This oracle or ode is one of singular beauty. It is distinguished for its brevity, energy, and force; for the variety and the rapidity of the action, and for the vivid manner in which the events are made to pass before the mind. It is the language of strong excitement and of alarm; language that expresses rapid and important movements; and language appropriate to great vigour of conception and sublimity in description. In the oracle the prophet supposes himself in Babylon, and the events which are described are made to pass rapidly in vision (see Intro. § 7, 4) before him. He first sees (ver. 1) the dreadful storm coming at a distance (the hostile armies), approaching like a whirlwind and threatening destruction to every thing in its way. He then (ver. 2) hears God's direction to the invading armies; represents himself as made acquainted with the design of the vision and hears the command of God to Elam (Persia) and Media to go up and commence the siege. Regarding himselt as among the exiles in the midst of Babylon, he (vs. 3, 4) describes himself as dee, ly affected ir view of this sudden invasion, and of the calamities that were coming upon Babylon. In ver. 5 he describes the state of the Babylonians They are represented first, as preparing the table, making ready for feasting nd revelry, setting the watch on the watch-tower, and giving themselves up to dissipation; and secondly, as suddenly alarmed and summoned to prepare for war. He then (vs. 6— 9) declares the way in which the princes of Babylon would be roused from their revelry. But it is described in a very remarkable manner. He does not narrate the events, but he represents himself as directed to appoint a watchman (ver. 6) to announce what he should see. That watchman ver. 7) sees two chariots-representing two nations coming rapidly onward to execute the orders of God. So rapid is their approach, so terrible their march, that the watchman cries out (ver. 9) that Babylon is fallen, and will be inevitably destroyed. The prophecy is then closed (ver. 10) by an address to the afflicted Jews whom God had "threshed" or punished by sending them captive to Babylon, and with the declaration that this was intended by the Lord of hosts to be declared unto them. The whole design of the prophecy, therefore, is to console them, and to repeat the assurance given in chs. xiu. XIV., that Babylon would be destroyed, and that they would be delivered from bondage. |