PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. SINCE the publication of the first edition of this work, I have twice carefully revised it. In doing this, while the main features of the exposition have been retained, I have endeavoured to render it more worthy of the patronage of the Christian public. I have availed my. self of all the criticisms made on it which I have seen, and have adopted all the suggestions which appeared to me to be well founded. My principal aim has been to condense the work as much as possible, by removing redundant words, and by excluding whatever did not contribute to the elucidation of the Prophet. The work was originally published in three large octavo volumes. By using a different type; by the omission of the "New Translation" inserted in the former edition, and by the abridgments which have been made, I am now able to present it in a much narrower compass, and at a price which will make it much more easy to procure it. It may perhaps be of interest to some to know that in revising it, I have stricken out matter, besides the "New Translation," to the amount of about one hundred and twenty octavo pages, and have introduced new matter to the amount of about fifty pages. In a few places additions of considerable extent have been made. For the new matter I am under special obligations to the Biblical Researches of Dr. Robinson, and Mr. Smith, and to the work of Wilkinson on the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians. By the aid of the 'Researches' I have been enabled to correct several places relating to the geography of Palestine, and to throw important light on several passages of the Prophet. I have, in fact, incorporated in the Notes all that I have found in that invaluable work which seemed to me to illustrate in any way the writings of Isaiah, and as nothing better can be hoped for on the Holy Land, this part of the work may be considered to be complete.-The favourable manner in which the first Edition was received made it obligatory on me to do all that I could to make it more worthy of patronage, and again I commit it to the world, with the hope that it may contribute in some de gree to the illustration of this sublime and beautiful portion of the inspired volume. ALBERT BARNES. Washington Square, Philadelphia, June 23, 1845. INTRODUCTION. 1. DIVISION OF THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. THE Jews early divided the books of the Old Testament into three parts-the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa, or holy writings. The Law comprised the five books of Moses; and the priority was given to this division because it was the first composed, as well as on account of its containing their civil and ecclesiastical constitution, and their oldest historical records. The Prophets comprised the second and the largest division of the sacred writings of the Jews. This portion comprehended the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, which were called the former prophets; and Isaiah Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the books from Hosea to Malachi, which were called the latter prophets. Daniel has been excluded from this portion by the later Jews, and assigned to the third division, because they regard him not as a prophet, but as an historical writer. Formerly his work was doubtless included in the second division. The third portion, the Hagiographa, comprises the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, and the two books of Chronicles. This division of the Old Testament is as old as the time of our Saviour, for he refers to it in Luke xxiv. 44. The Jews attribute the arrangement and division of the canonical books to Ezra. They say that he was assisted in this by one hundred and twenty men who constituted "a great Synagogue;" that Daniel, and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were of this number; and that Haggai and Zechariah, together with Simon the Just, also were connected with it. But this statement is known to be erroneous. From the time of Daniel to the time of Simon the Just, not less than two hundred and fifty years intervened (Alexander on the Canon, pp. 26, 27); and of course all these persons could not have been present. It is not, however, improbable that Ezra may have been assisted by learned and pious men who aided him in the work. What Ezra did is indeed unknown. It is the general opinion that he collected and arranged the books which now compose the Old Testament; that perhaps he wrote some of the historical books, or compiled them from fragments of history and documents that might have been in the public archives (comp. the ANALYSIS of Isa. ch. xxxvi.); and that he gave a finish and arrangement to the whole. As Ezra was an inspired man, the arrangement of the sacred books, and the portions which he may have added, have thus the sanction of Divine authority. There is no evidence, however, that Ezra completed the canon of the Old Testament. Ma lichi lived after him, and in the first book of Chronicles (ch. iii.) th genealogy of the sons of Zerubbabel is carried down to the time of Alexander the Great-about one hundred and thirty years subsequent to the time of Ezra. The probability is, therefore, that Ezra commenced the arrangement of the books, and that the canon of the Old Testament was completed by some other hand. The prophets " 66 were divided into the former and the latter. Among the latter, Isaiah has uniformly held the first place and rank. This has been assigned him not because he prophesied before all the others. He indeed preceded Ezekiel and Jeremiah, but Jonah, Amos and Hosea were his contemporaries. The precedence has beer, given to his prophecies over theirs, probably for two reasons; first, on account of their length, dignity, and comparative value; and secondly, because formerly the minor prophets were bound in one v written on one roll of parchment, and it was convenient to ace them together, and they all had a place, therefore, after Isaiah. At all times his prophecies have been regarded as the most important of any in the Old Testament; and by common consent they have been deemed worthy of the principal place among the Jewish writings. ume, or § 2. LIFE OF ISAIAH, AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF HIS WRITINGS Of the time in which Isaiah lived, little more is known than he has himself told us. In the superscription to his book (ch. i. 1), we are told that he was the son of Amoz, and that he discharged the prophetic office under the reign of the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. In regard to those times, and the character of the period in which they reigned, see Introduction § 3. It is evident also from the prophecies themselves, that he delivered them during the reign of these kings. In ch. vi. 1, it is expressly said that he had a vision of JEHOVAH in the year in which Uzziah died. Of course he must have commenced his prophetic labours at least as early as during the last year of that king. If that chapter or vision was not designed as an inauguration of the prophet, or an induction into the prophetic office (see Notes on the chapter), and if his prophecies were collected and arranged as they were delivered, then it will follow that the previous chapters (i.—v.) may have been delivered in the reign of Uzziah, and perhaps some time before his death. There is no express mention made of his uttering any prophecies in the time of Jotham. Hengstenberg and others suppose that the prophecies in ch. ii.-v. were delivered during his reign. But of this there is no conclusive evidence. He might not have recorded any thing during his reign; though he may, as a public preacher, have been engaged in the prophetic office in another mode. His writings themselves contain evidence that he was engaged in the prophetic office in the reign of Ahaz. See ch. vii. seq. That he was engaged in the prophetic office during the reign of Hezekiah we learn from chs. xxxvi.-xxxix. We have an explicit statement that he was occupied in his prophetic work until the fif teenth year of Hezekiah, at the commencement of which the ambassa dors from Babylon came up to Jerusalem to congratulate him on his re covery from his illness. Ch. xxxix. Uzziah died, according to Calmet, 754 years before Christ. Isaiah must therefore have occupied the prophetic office at least from 754 years before Christ to 707 years before Christ, or forty-seven years; that is, under Uzziah one year, under Jotham sixteen years, under Ahaz sixteen years, and under Hezekiah fourteen years. It is not known at what age he entered on the prophetic office. It is probable that he lived much longer than to the fifteenth year of Hezekiah. In 2 Chron. xxxii. 32, it is said that "the rest of the acts of Hezekiah" were "written in the vision of Isaiah ;" and this statement obviously implies that he survived him, and wrote the acts of his reign up to his death. As Hezekiah lived fourteen or fifteen years after this (Isa. xxxviii. 5, Comp. 2 Kings xviii. 2), this would make the period of his public ministry to extend to at least sixty-one or sixty-two years. If he survived Hezekiah, he probably lived some time during the reign of Manasseh. This supposition is confirmed, not indeed by any direct historical record in the Old Testament, but by all the traditional accounts which have been handed down to us. The testimony of the Jews, and of the early fathers, is uniform that he was put to death by Manasseh by being sawn asunder. The main alleged offence was, that he had said that he had seen JEHOVAH, and that for this he ought to die, in accordance with the law of Moses (Ex. xxxiii. 20), “ No man shall see me and live." If he lived to the time of Manasseh, and especially if he prophesied under him, it is probable the true reason why he was put to death was, that he was offensive to the monarch and his court. The circumstances which render the supposition probable that he lived under Manasseh, and that he was put to death by him by being sawn asunder, are the following. (1.) The fact which has been stated above that he lived to complete the record of the reign of Hezekiah, and of course survived him. (2.) The testimony of the Jewish writers There is, indeed, much that is fabulous in their writings, and even in connexion with the truths which they record, there is much that is puerile and false; but there is no reason to doubt the main facts which they relate. Josephus, indeed, does not expressly state that he was slain by Manasseh, but he gives an account of the reign of Manasseh which renders it probable that if Isaiah were then alive he would have been put to death. Thus he says (Ant. B. x. ch. iii. § 1) that "he barbarously slew all the righteous men that were among the Hebrews; nor would he spare the prophets, for he every day slew some of them, till Jerusalem was overflown with blood." In the Talmud the following record occurs:-"Manasseh put Isaiah to death. The Rabbi said, he condemned him, and put him to death; for he said to him, Moses, thy Lord said, no man shall see me and live (Ex. xxxiii. 20), but thou hast said, I saw the Lord upon a throne high and lifted up (Isa. vi. 1). Moses, thy Lord said, who will make the Lord so near that we can call to him; but thou hast said, seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near (lv. 6). Moses, thy Lord said, the number of thy days will I fulfill (Ex. xxii. 26); but thou hast said, I will add to thy days fifteen years (xxxviii. 5)," etc. See Gesenius Einlei. p. 12. The testimony of the Jews on this sub |