Zion is encouraged ISAIAH. to trust in the Lord. all the nations, and all the ends of the earth are about to see the salvation of Israel's God, 9, 10. To complete the deliverance, they are commanded to march in triumph out of Babylon, earnestly exhorted to have nothing to do with any of her abominations, and assured that Jehovah will guide them in all their way, 11, 12. The prophet then passes to the procuring cause of this great blessedness to the house of Israel in particular, and to the world in general, viz., the humiliation, sufferings, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ; a very celebrated and clear prophecy, which takes up the remainder of this and the whole of the following chapter. A. M. cir. 3292. cir, annum Numa Pompilii, AWAKE, awake; put on b thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: floose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. a Ch. li. 9, 17. b Neh. xi, 1. Ch. xlviii. 2. Matt. iv. 5. Rev. xxi. 2. c Ch. xxxv. 8. lx. 21. Nah. i. 15.d Rev. xxi. 27. e See ch. iii. 26. li. 23. —-f Zech. ii. 7. -- Ps. NOTES ON CHAP. LII. Verse 1. There shall no more come into thee-" For yabo, "shall come," x lebo, "to come," is the reading of five of Kennicott's and two of De Rossi's MSS. This is the better reading, xab qor x5 ɔ ki lo yosiph lebo, "There shall not add to come." The uncircumcised and the unclean.] Christians have turned many passages of the prophets against the Jews; and it is not to be wondered at, that in support of their obstinate and hopeless cause, they should press a prophecy into their service, and make it speak against the Christians. This Kimchi does in | this place; for he says, by the uncircumcised, the Christians are meant; and by the unclean, the Turks. The Christians are uncircumcised; and the Turks, though circumcised, and using many ablutions, are unclean in their works. Persia, but at the coronation of their kings. The king is seated in a chair of gold set with jewels, three feet high. The chairs which are used by the people in the East are always so high as to make a footstool necessary. And this proves the propriety of the style of Scripture, which always joins the footstool to the throne." (Isai. lxvi. 1, Ps. cx. 1.) Voyages, tom. ix. p. 85, 12mo. Besides the six steps to Solomon's throne, there was a footstool of gold fastened to the seat, 2 Chron. ix. 18, which would otherwise have been too high for the king to reach, or to sit on conveniently. When Thetis comes to wait on Vulcan to request armour for her son, she is received with great respect, and seated on a silver-studded throne, a chair of ceremony, with a footstool: Την μεν έπειτα καθεισεν επι θρονου αργυροηλου, Iliad. xviii. 389. "High on a throne, with stars of silver graced, POPE. Adonai Ο γαρ θρονος αυτος μονον ελευθεριος εστι καθεδρα συν Verse 2. Sit down, O Jerusalem-" Ascend thy lofty seat, O Jerusalem"] The literal rendering here is, according to our English translation, "arise, sit;" on which a very learned person remarks: "So the old versions. But sitting is an expression of mourning in Scripture and the ancients; and doth not well agree with the rising just before. It does not indeed | agree, according to our ideas; but, considered in an oriental light, it is perfectly consistent. The common manner of sitting in the eastern countries is upon the ground or the floor with the legs crossed. The people | of better condition have the floors of their chambers or divans covered with carpets for this purpose; and round the chamber broad couches, raised a little Yehovah tsebaoth, "Lord of hosts ;" and above the floor, spread with mattresses handsomely covered, which are called sofas. When sitting is spoken of as a posture of more than ordinary state, it is quite of a different kind; and means sitting on high, on a chair of state or throne called the musnud; for which a footstool was necessary, both in order that the person might raise himself up to it, and for supporting the legs when he was placed in it. Chairs," says Sir John Chardin, " are never used in others have a Yehovah Elohim, “Lord God.' Verse 5. They that rule over them-"They that are lords over them."] For un moshelo, singular, in the text, more than a hundred and twenty MSS. (De Rossi says, codices innumeri, "numberless copies") have w moshelaiv, plural, according to the Masoretical correction in the margin; which shows that the Masoretes often superstitiously retained apparent mistakes in the text, even when they had sufficient b Nah. i. 15. Rom. x. 15. b 7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! с 8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with c Ps. xciii. 1. xcvi. 10. xcvii. 1. Ezek. xx. 27. Rom. ii. 24.evidence to authorize the introduction of the true But it must at the same time be observed that Isaiah's reading. subject is infinitely more interesting and more sublime than that of Nahum; the latter denounces the destruction of the capital of the Assyrian empire, the most formidable enemy of Judah; the ideas of the former are in their full extent evangelical; and accordingly St. Paul has, with the utmost propriety, applied this passage to the preaching of the gospel, Rom. x. 15. The joyful tidings here to be proclaimed, Thy God, O Zion, reigneth," are the same that John the Baptist, the messenger of Christ, and Christ himself, published: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Make them to howl-“Make their boast of it"] For yeheililu, “make them to howl," five MSS. (two ancient) have 1 yehalelu, “make their boast;" which is confirmed by the Chaldee paraphrast, who renders it pano mishtabbechin. Ulaloo is not only the cry itself, but also the name of the funeral song of the Irish. The Arabs have a cry very much resembling this. The Verse 6. Therefore my people shall know] word; lachen, occurring the second time in this verse, seems to be repeated by mistake. It has no force nor emphasis as a repetition; it only embarrasses the construction and the sense. It was not in the copies from which the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate were translated; it was not in the copy of the Septuagint from which the Arabic was translated; but in the Aldine and Complutensian editions dia TOUTO is repeated; probably so corrected, in order to make it conformable with the Hebrew text. I am he that doth speak-"I am he, JEHOVAH, that promised"] For x hu, the Bodleian MS. and another have m Yehovah; "For I am JEHOVAH that proraised;" and another ancient MS. adds Yehovah after x hu. The addition of JEHOVAH seems to be right in consequence of what was said in the preceding line, "My people shall know my name." Verse 7. How beautiful] The watchmen discover afar off, on the mountains, the messenger bringing the expected and much-wished-for news of the deliverance from the Babylonish captivity. They immediately spread the joyful tidings, ver. 8, and with a loud voice proclaim that JEHOVAH is returning to Zion, to resume his residence on his holy mountain, which for some time he seemed to have deserted. This is the literal sense of the place. "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the joyful messenger," is an expression highly poetical: for, how welcome is his arrival! how agreeable are the tidings which he brings! 66 From the use made of this by our Lord and the apostles, we may rest assured that the preachers of the gospel are particularly intended. Mountains are put for the whole land of Judea, where the gospel was first preached. There seems to be an allusion to a battle fought, and the messengers coming to announce the victory, which was so decisive that a peace was the consequence, and the king's throne established in the land. There appear to have been two sorts of messengers among the Jews: one sort always employed to bring evil tidings; the other to bring good. The names also and persons of these different messengers appear to have been well known; so that at a distance they could tell, from seeing the messenger, what sort of tidings he was bringing. See a case in point, 2 Sam. xviii. 19-27. Ahimaaz and Cushi running to bring tidings of the defeat of Absalom and his rebel army. Ahimaaz is a GOOD man, and bringeth GOOD tidings. Verse 8. Thy watchmen lift up the voice-“ All thy watchmen lift up their voice"] There is a difficulty in the construction of this place which, I think, none of the ancient Versions or modern interpreters have cleared up satisfactorily. Rendered word for word it stands thus: "The voice of thy watchmen: they lift up their voice." The sense of the first member, considered as elliptical, is variously supplied by various expositors; by none, as it seems to me, in any way that is easy and natural. I am persuaded there is a mistake in the present text, and that the true reading is col tsophayich, all thy watch Nahum, chap. i. 15, who is generally supposed to have lived after Isaiah, has manifestly taken from him this very pleasing image; but the imitation does not equal the beauty of the original:men, instead of т ↳ kol tsophayich, the voice of thy "Behold upon the mountain the feet of the joyful watchmen. The mistake was easy from the similitude messenger, Of him that announceth peace! Celebrate, O Judah, thy festivals; perform thy vows: in sound of the two letters caph and p koph. And They shall see eye to eye] May not this be applied a Ch. li. 3. b Ch. xlviii. 20. e Ps. xcviii. 2, 3. d Luke iii. 6.- Le Ch. xlviii. 20. Jer. 1. 8. li. 6, 45. Zech. ii. 6, 7. 2 Cor. vi. 17. Rev. xviii. 4.—f Lev. xxii. 2, &c. See Exod. xii. 33, 39.- h Mic. ii. 13.- Numb. x. 25. Ch. lviii. 8. See Exod. xiv. 19.- k Heb. gather you up. to the prophets and apostles; the one predicting, and the other discovering in the prediction the truth of the prophecy. The meaning of both Testaments is best understood by bringing them face to face. When the Lord shall bring again Zion-" When JEHOVAH returneth to Zion"] So the Chaldee: 72 cad yethib shechinteih letsiyon, "when he shall place the shechinah in Zion." God is considered as having deserted his people during the captivity; and at the restoration, as returning himself with them to Zion, his former habitation. See Ps. lx. 1. Isai. xl. 9, and note. שכנתיה לציון Verse 9. He hath redeemed Jerusalem-" He hath redeemed Israel."] For the word bwr yerushalaim, which occurs the second time in this verse, MS. Bodleian and another read ↳ yisrael. It is upon a rasure in a third; and left unpointed at first, as suspected, in a fourth. It was an easy mistake, by the transcriber casting his eye on the line above: and the propriety of the correction, both in regard to sense and elegance, is evident. sufferings of Messiah. 12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward. k 1 A. M. cir. 3292. Olymp. XVII. 1. cir, annum Numa Pompilii, 13 Behold, my servant shall deal pru" dently, "he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. 15 PSo shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. 1 Ch. xlii. 1. -m Or, prosper. Ch. liii. 10. Jer. xxiii. 5. yaskil, shall prosper, or act prosperously. The subject of Isaiah's prophecy, from the fortieth chapter inclusive, has hitherto been, in general, the deliverance of the people of God. This includes in it three distinct parts; which, however, have a close connexion with one another; that is, 1. The deliverance of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon; 2. The deliverance of the Gentiles from their miserable state of ignorance and idolatry; and 3. The deliverance of mankind from the captivity of sin and death. These three subjects are subordinate to one another; and the two latter are shadowed out under the image of the former. They are covered by it as by a veil; which however is transparent, and suffers them to appear through it. Cyrus is expressly named as the immediate agent of God in effecting the first deliverance. A greater person is spoken of as the Agent who is to effect the two latter deliverances, called the servant, the elect, of God, in whom his soul delighteth; Israel, in whom God will be glorified. Now these three subjects have a very near relation to one another; for as the Agent who was to effect the two latter deliverances, that is, the Messiah,-was to be born a Jew, with particular limitations of time, family, and other circumstances; the first deliverance was necessary in the order of providence, and according to the determinate counsel of God, to the accomplishment of the two latter deliverances; and the second deliverance was necessary to the third, or rather was involved in it, and made an essential part of it. This being the case, Isaiah has not treated the three subjects as quite distinct and separate in a methodical and orderly manner, like a philosopher or a logician, but has taken them in their connective view. He has handled them as a prophet and a poet; he Of the metrical distribution of these lines, see the has allegorized the former, and under the image of Prelim. Dissert., p. lviii. note. Verse 11. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence] The prophet Jeremiah seems to have had his eye on this passage of Isaiah, and to have applied it to a subject directly opposite. It is here addressed by the prophet in a way of encouragement and exhortation to the Jews coming out of Babylon. Jeremiah has given it a different turn, and has thrown it out, as a reproach of the heathen upon the Jews when they were driven from Jerusalem into captivity: “Depart; ye are polluted, depart; depart ye, for bear to touch. Yea, they are fled, they are removed: they shall dwell here no more." Lam. iv. 15. it has shadowed out the two latter: he has thrown Verse 13. My servant shall deal prudently] them all together, has mixed one with another, has Notes on CHAP. LII. the preceding chapter. read by alaiv. So the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate in a MS.; and so likewise two ancient MSS. passed from this to that with rapid transitions, and has painted the whole with the strongest and boldest imagery. The restoration of the Jews from captivity, His visage was so marred more than any man] the call of the Gentiles, the redemption by Messiah, Most interpreters understand this of the indignities have hitherto been handled interchangeably and alter-offered to our blessed Lord: but Kimchi gives it nately. Babylon has hitherto been kept pretty much | another turn, and says, "It means the Jewish people, in sight; at the same time that strong intimations of something much greater have frequently been thrown in. But here Babylon is at once dropped, and I think hardly ever comes in sight again; unless perhaps in chap. lv. 12, and Ivii. 14. The prophet's views are almost wholly engrossed by the superior part of his subject. He introduces the Messiah as appearing at first in the lowest state of humiliation, which he had just touched upon before (chap. 1. 5, 6) | ard obviates the offence which would be occasioned y it, by declaring the important and necessary cause of it, and foreshowing the glory which should follow it. This seems to me to be the nature and the true design of this part of Isaiah's prophecies; and this view of them seems to afford the best method of resolving difficulties, in which expositors are frequently engaged, being much divided between what is called the literal and the mystical sense, not very properly; for the mystical or spiritual sense is very often the most literal sense of all. who are considered by most nations as having an appearance different from all the people of the earth." Poor Jews! they have in general a very disagreeable look, partly affected, and partly through neglect of neatness and cleanliness. Most Christians think they carry the impress of their reprobation on every feature of their face. However this may be, it should never be forgotten that the greatest men that ever flourished as kings, judges, magistrates, lawgivers, heroes, and poets, were of Jewish extraction. Isaiah was a Jew; so was Paul; and so was JESUS of Nazareth. Verse 15. So shall he sprinkle many nations] I re tain the common rendering, though I am by no means satisfied with it. " yazzeh, frequent in the law, means only to sprinkle: but the water sprinkled is the accusative case; the thing on which has by al or 5x el. Oavμacovrai, ó, makes the best apodosis. yenahag would do. 7 yinharu is used chap. ii. 2, Jer. xxxi. 12, chap. li. 14, but is unlike. 'Kings shall shut,' &c., is good, but seems to want a first part."SECKER. Munster translates it, faciet loqui (de se ;) and in his note thus explains it: yazzeh proprie significat spargere et stillas disseminare; hic vero capitur pro loqui, et verbum disseminare. יזה << Abarbanel seems to have had an idea of this kind, as he is quoted by Vitringa on chap. xlix. 1, who thus represents his sentiments: Censet Abarbanel prophetam hic transitum facere a liberatione ex exilio Babylonico ad liberationem ex exilio Romano; et, quod hic animadversu dignum est, observat libera-yazzeh properly signifies to sprinkle, and to scatter tonem ex exilio Babylonico esse oth_ve- about drops; but it here means to speak, and to disraayah, signum et argumentum liberationis future; seminate the word." This is pretty much as the que adeo orationem prophetæ de duabus hisce libe- rabbins Kimchi and Sal. ben Melec explain it, rationibus in superioribus concionibus sæpe inter se referring to the expression of "dropping the word." permisceri. Verba ejus: "Et propterea verba, sive But the same objection lies to this as to the common res, in prophetia superiore inter se permixtæ occur- rendering; it ought to be (127) пr yazzeh runt; modo de liberatione Babylonica, modo de libe- |(debar) al goyim. Bishop Chandler, Defence, p. ratione extrema accipiendæ, ut orationis necessitas 148, says, "that to sprinkle is used for to surprise exigit." Nullum hic vitium, nisi quod redemptionem and astonish, as people are that have much water veram et spiritualem a Messia vero Jesu adductam, thrown upon them. And this sense is followed by Lon agnoscat. "Abarbanel supposes that the pro- the Septuagint. This is ingenious, but rather too phet here makes a transition from the deliverance refined. Dr. Durell conjectures that the true reading from the Babylonish captivity to the deliverance from may be yechezu, they shall regard, which comes he Roman captivity; and (which is worthy of par- near to the Savuacovraι of the Septuagint, who ticular note) he observes that the deliverance from seem to give the best sense of any to this place. the Babylonish captivity is a sign and pledge of the future redemption; and that on this account it is we find in the preceding prophecies the circumstances of the two captivities intimately blended together. His words are the following: And, therefore, the words or subjects in the foregoing prophecy are very much intermixed; in one passage the redemption from the Babylonish captivity being treated of, in another the redemption from the general dispersion, as may be collected from the obvious import of the words. No fault can be found with the above remark, except that the true and spiritual redemption procured by Jesus the Messiah is not acknowledged."-L. "I find in my papers the same conjecture which Dr. Durell made from lavuacovrai in the Septuagint. And it may be added that chazah is used to express looking on any thing with admiration,' Ps. xi. 7, xvii. 15, xxvii. 4, lxiii. 2; Cant. vi. 13. It is particularly applied to looking on God,' Exod. xxiv. 11, and Job xix. 26. Gisbert Cuper, in Observ. lib. ii. 1, though treating on another subject, has some observations which show how nearly opaw and Savμalo are allied, which, with the peculiar sense of the verb chazah above noted, add to the probability of Oavuarovrai being the version of yechezu in the text: oi de vu daoɩ Havreg eg avтov opwσi. Hesiod., id est, cum veneratione quadam admirantur. Hinc Verse 14. As many were astonished at thee-" As paw et Javpalo junxit Themistius Or. i. many were astonished at him"] For why aleicha | σονται οἱ ανθρωποι προς σε μονον όρωντες, και σε μόνον Ειτα παυ The humiliation and ISAIAH. Theophrastus in Charact. c. 3. Evθυμη ὡς αποβλέπουσιν εις σε οἱ ανθρωποι. Hence the rendering of this verse seems to be "So many DR. JUBB. Does not sprinkling the nations refer to the conversion and baptism of the Gentiles? Many nations shall become proselytes to his religion. Kings shall shut their mouths at him] His gospel shall so prevail that all opposition shall be finally overcome; and kings and potentates shall be overwhelmed with confusion, and become speechless sufferings of Messiah. When they hear before the doctrines of his truth. For that which had not been told them] The mystery of the gospel so long concealed. See Rom. xv. 21; xvi. 25. Shall they see] With the eyes of their faith; God enlightening both organ and object. And that which they had not heard] The redemption of the world by Jesus Christ; the conversion of the Gentiles, and making them one flock with the converted Jews.-TRAPP. CHAPTER LIII. This chapter foretels the sufferings of the Messiah, the end for which he was to die, and the advantages resulting to mankind from that illustrious event. It begins with a complaint of the infidelity of the Jews, 1; the offence they took at his mean and humble appearance, 2; and the contempt with which they treated him, 3. The prophet then shows that the Messiah was to suffer for sins not his own; but that our iniquities were laid on him, and the punishment of them exacted of him, which is the meritorious cause of our obtaining pardon and salvation, 4-6. He shows the meekness and placid submission with which he suffered a violent and unjust death, with the circumstances of his dying with the wicked, and being buried with the great, 7—9; and that, in consequence of his atonement, death, resurrection, and intercession, he should procure pardon and salvation to the multitudes, insure increasing prosperity to his church, and ultimately triumph over all his foes, 10, 11. This chapter contains a beautiful summary of the most peculiar and distinguishing doctrines of Christianity. NOTES ON CHAP. LIII. That this chapter speaks of none but JESUS must be evident to every unprejudiced reader who has ever heard the history of his sufferings and death. The Jews have endeavoured to apply it to their sufferings in captivity; but, alas for their cause! they can make nothing out in this way. Allowing that it belongs to our blessed Lord (and the best men and the best scholars agree in this), then who can read verses 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, without being convinced that his death was a vicarious sacrifice for the sins of mankind? On the first and second verses of this chapter I have received the following remarks from an unknown hand. "Verse 1. Who hath believed our report?] The report of the prophets, of John the Baptist, and Christ's own report of himself. The Jews did not receive the report, and for this reason he was not manifested to them as the promised Messiah. He came unto his own, but his own received him not.' Before the FATHER he grew up as a tender plant: but to the Jews he was as a root out of a dry ground. 'He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.' 2 For he shall grow up d Ch. li. 9. Rom. i. 16. 1 Cor. i. 18.- 6 e Ch. xi. 1.--Ch. "Verse 2. For he shall grow up] Supposes something to have preceded; as it might be asked, what or who shall grow up before him,' &c. As the translation now stands, no correct answer can be given to this question. The translation then is wrong, the connexion broken, and the sense obscured. y zeroa, translated the arm, from the root zara. 1. To sow, or plant; also seed, &c. 2. The limb which reaches from the shoulder to the hand, called the arm ; or more properly beginning at the shoulder and ending at the elbow. The translator has given the wrong sense of the word. It would be very improper to say, the arm of the Lord should grow up before him; but by taking the word in its former sense, the connexion and metaphor would be restored, and the true sense given to the text. nifies, not only the seed of herbs, but children, offspring, or posterity. The same word we find Gen. iii. 15, where CHRIST is the Seed promised. See also Gen. xxii. 17, 18, xxvi. 4, xxviii. 14. Hence the SEED of the woman, the SEED promised to the patriarchs is, according to Isaiah, the Seed of the Lord, the Child born, and the Son given; and according to -zera sig זרע |