Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 10:18

And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth.

The glory of his forest – In these expressions, the army of Sennacherib is compared with a beautiful grove thick set with trees; and as all the beauty of a grove which the fire overruns is destroyed, so, says the prophet, it will be with the army of the Assyrian under the judgments of God. If the briers and thorns Isa 10:17 refer to the common soldiers of his army, then the glory of the forest – the tall, majestic trees – refer to the princes and nobles. But this mode of interpretation should not be pressed too far.

And of his fruitful field – v^ekar^emilo. The word used here – carmel – is applied commonly to a rich mountain or promontory on the Mediterranean, on the southern boundary of the tribe of Asher. The word, however, properly means a fruitful field, a finely cultivated country, and Was given to Mount Carmel on this account, In this place it has no reference to that mountain, but is given to the army of Sennacherib to keep up the figure which the prophet commenced in Isa 10:17. That army, numerous, mighty, and well disciplined, was compared to an extensive region of hill and vale; of forests and fruitful fields; but it should all be destroyed as when the fire runs over fields and forests, and consumes all their beauty. Perhaps in all this, there may be allusion to the proud boast of Sennacherib 2Ki 19:23, that he would go up the sides of Lebanon, and cut down the cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof, and enter into the forest of Carmel. In allusion, possibly, to this, the prophet says that God would cut down the tall trees and desolate the fruitful field – the carmel of his army, and would lay all waste.

Both soul and body – Hebrew, From the soul to the flesh; that is, entirely. As the soul and the flesh, or body, compose the entire man, so the phrase denotes the entireness or totality of anything. The army would be totally ruined.

And they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth – There is here a great variety of interpretation. The Septuagint reads it: And he shall flee as one that flees from a burning flame. This reading Lowth has followed; but for this there is not the slightest authority in the Hebrew. The Vulgate reads it, And he shall fly for terror, et crit terrore profugus. The Chaldee, And he shall be broken, and shall fly. The Syriac, And he shall be as if he had never been. Probably the correct idea is, and they shall be as when a sick man wastes away. The words which are used ( km^esos noses) are brought together for the sake of a paranomasia – a figure of speech common in the Hebrew. The word rendered in our version fainteth ( m^esos) is probably the infinitive construct of the verb masas, to melt, dissolve, faint. It is applied to the manna that was dissolved by the heat of the sun, Exo 16:21; to wax melted by the fire, Psa 68:2; to a snail that consumes away, Psa 58:8; or to water that evaporates, Psa 58:7.

Hence, it is applied to the heart, exhausted of its vigor and spirit, Job 7:5; to things decayed that have lost their strength, 1Sa 15:9; to a loan or tax laid upon a people that wastes and exhausts their wealth. It has the general notion, therefore, of melting, fainting, sinking away with the loss of strength; Psa 22:14; Psa 112:10; Psa 97:5; Isa 19:1; Isa 13:7; Jos 2:11; Jos 5:1; Jos 7:5. The word rendered standard-bearer ( noses) is from the verb nasas. This word signifies sometimes to lift up, to elevate, or to erect a flag or standard to public view, to call men to arms; Isa 5:26; Isa 11:10, Isa 11:12; Isa 13:2; Isa 18:3; Isa 49:22; and also to lift up, or to exhibit anything as a judgment or public warning, and may thus be applied to divine judgments. Gesenius renders the verb, to waste away, to be sick. In Syriac it has this signification. Taylor (Heb. Con.) says, that it does not appear that this word ever has the signification of a military standard under which armies fight, but refers to a standard or ensign to call men together, or to indicate alarm and danger. The probable signification here, is that which refers it to a man wasting away with sickness, whose strength and vigor are gone, and who becomes weak and helpless. Thus applied to the Assyrian army, it is very striking. Though mighty, confident, and vigorous-like a man in full health – yet it would be like a vigorous man when disease comes upon him, and he pines away and sinks to the grave.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Isa 10:18

They shall be as when a standard bearer fainteth

A different rendering

As the pining away of a sick man, better suits a connection in which there is no reference to battle.

Assyria shall be utterly consumed. Thorns and thistles, lordly woods and fruitful fields shall alike perish; or, if any remain, they shall waste away as a man smitten by an incurable disease. (Talbot W. Chambers, D. D.)

The Christian standard bearer

Let me endeavour to present to you one or two features by which a leader in the Christian army ought to be distinguished.

I. THERE MUST BE FIXED AND STRONG PRINCIPLE. The man who is to bear the standard in any army must be devotedly attached to the cause for which the army is contending. The man who is to be a guide and leader in the Christian Church ought certainly to have very definite convictions as to what Christianity is, and as to what the Church is. There are other qualities which may be of eminent service to him–a capacity to take a broad view of all questions, a ready sympathy with all who are struggling after truth, though they may be at present in darkness.

II. THE SECOND QUALIFICATION OF A STANDARD BEARER IS COURAGE. A true standard bearer may be described in a single epithet, taken from one of the prophets, as valiant for the truth. That means that truth is his law. Truth is not with him a thing to be toyed with. It is not so much his possession, but rather he is possessed by the truth; it has laid hold of his reason, enthralled his affections, quickened and inspired his conscience.

III. THERE IS A STILL HIGHER ELEMENT, A STILL NOBLER, MIGHTIER FORCE BY WHICH THE STANDARD BEARER IN THE CHRISTIAN ARMY IS DIRECTED AND GOVERNED, AND THAT IS PERSONAL DEVOTION TO CHRIST. Christ is to him the truth, and Christ only is his law. The most illustrious of the standard bearers of the Christian army, I suppose it would be universally confessed, was the apostle of the Gentiles; and if we study his life and character, we shall perhaps arrive at the best and truest conception of an ideal leader in the Christian army. (J. G. Rogers, B. A.)

A standard bearer

In a sermon on the death of the Rev. G.M. Murphy preached by the Rev. P.J. Turquand, Mr. Turquand said: He carried–

1. The standard of the Cross.

2. The standard of temperance.

3. The standard of education.

4. The standard of justice. (Christian World Pulpit.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Of his forrest; of his great army, which may not unfitly be compared to a forest, either for the multitude of their spears, which, when lifted up together, resemble the trees of a wood or forest; or for the numbers of men, which stood as thick as trees do in a forest. Of his fruitful field; of his soldiers, which stood as thick as ears of corn do in a fruitful field. Heb. of his Carmel; wherein it is not improbably conjectured by our late most learned Mr. Gataker, that there is an allusion to that brag of the Assyrian, who threatens that he would go up to the sides of (Israels) Lebanon, and to the forest of his Carmel, and there cut down the tall cedars thereof: which though it was not uttered by the Assyrian till some years after this time, yet was exactly foreknown to God, who understandeth mens thoughts, and much more their words, afar off, Psa 139:2-4, and therefore might direct the prophet to use the same words, and to turn them against himself; Whereas thou threatenest to destroy Israels Carmel, I will destroy thy Carmel

Both soul and body, i.e. totally, both inwardly and outwardly, both strength and life. Heb. from the soul to the flesh; which may possibly signify the manner of their death, which should be by a sudden stroke of the destroying angel upon their inward and vital parts, which was speedily followed by the consumption of their flesh. See Isa 37:35,36.

They shall be, the state of that king, and of his great and valiant army, shall be,

as when a standard-bearer fainteth; like that of an army when their standard-bearer either is slain, or rather flees away, which strikes a panic terror into the whole army, and puts them to flight.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

18. glory of his forestThecommon soldiers, the princes, officers, c., all aliketogether, shall be consumed (see on Isa9:18).

in one day (Isa37:36).

fruitful fieldliterally,”Carmel,” a rich mountain in the tribe of Asher. Figurativefor Sennacherib’s mighty army. Perhaps alluding to his own boastingwords about to be uttered (Isa37:24), “I will enter the forest of his Carmel.”

soul and bodyproverbialfor utterly the entire man is made up of soul and body.

as when a standard bearerfaintethrather, “they shall be as when a sick man“(from a Syriac root) wastes away.” Compare “leanness,”that is, wasting destruction (Isa10:16) [MAURER]. Or,”there shall be an entire dissipation, like a perfectmelting” (namely, of the Assyrian army) [HORSLEY].

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And shall consume the glory of his forest,…. The Assyrian army is compared to a “forest”, for the number of men in it; and for the mighty men in it, comparable to large and tall trees, such as oaks and cedars; and like a wood or forest a numerous army looks, when in rank and file, in proper order, and with banners, and having on their armour, their shields, spears, bows and arrows; and the “glory” of it intends either the princes and nobles that were in it, the principal officers, generals, and captains; or the riches of it, the plunder of the Egyptians and Ethiopians, as Kimchi observes, which were all destroyed at once:

both soul and body, or “from the soul even to the flesh” o; which denotes the total consumption of them, nothing of them remaining; the Targum is,

“the glory of the multitude of his army, and their souls with their bodies, it shall consume;”

and so some understand this of the eternal destruction of soul and body in hell: the Rabbins are divided about the manner of the consumption of the Assyrian army; some say their bodies and souls were both burnt, which these words seem to favour; and others, that their souls were burnt, and not their bodies, their lives were taken away, and their bodies unhurt; which they think is favoured by Isa 10:16 where it is said, “under his glory”, and not “his glory” p:

and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth; who when he fails, the whole company or army is thrown into confusion, and flees; and so the Targum,

“and he shall be broken, and flee.”

Some render it, “as the dust of the worm that eats wood” q; so Jarchi; signifying that they should be utterly destroyed, and become as small as the dust that falls from a worm eaten tree; which simile is used, a forest being made mention of before.

o “ab anima usque ad carnem”, V. L. Montanus, Piscator. p T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 113. 2. & Sanhedrin, fol 94. 1, 2. See Kimchi in loc. q “at pulvis teredinis”, Tigurine version.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

“And the glory of his forest and his garden-ground will He destroy, even to soul and flesh, so that it is as when a sick man dieth. And the remnant of the trees of his forest can be numbered, and a boy could write them.” The army of Asshur, composed as it was of many and various nations, was a forest ( yaar ); and, boasting as it did of the beauty of both men and armour, a garden ground ( carmel), a human forest and park. Hence the idea of “utterly” is expressed in the proverbial “even to soul and flesh,” which furnishes the occasion for a leap to the figure of the wasting away of a ( hap. leg. the consumptive man, from nasas , related to nush , ‘ anash , Syr. nsso , nshisho , a sick man, based upon the radical notion of melting away, cf., m asas , or of reeling to and fro, cf., mut , nut , Arab. nasa , nata ). Only a single vital spark would still glimmer in the gigantic and splendid colossus, and with this its life would threaten to become entirely extinct. Or, what is the same thing, only a few trees of the forest, such as could be easily numbered ( m ispar as in Deu 33:6, cf., Isa 21:17), would still remain, yea, so few, that a boy would be able to count and enter them. And this really came to pass. Only a small remnant of the army that marched against Jerusalem ever escaped. With this small remnant of an all-destroying power the prophet now contrasts the remnant of Israel, which is the seed of a new power that is about to arise.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

18. And shall consume the glory of his forest. He goes on with the same comparison of a burning, and declares that the fire will consume both the highest and the lowest, and will leave nothing uninjured. It is possible that a fire might destroy the higher parts of a building, and might leave the lower parts unaffected.

And of his fruitful field. I do not think that כרמל ( Carmel) is here a proper name, but rather an appellative, denoting a rich and fertile soil; for to say that Carmel was held as belonging to the dominion of the king of Assyria, would have been inadmissible. The meaning therefore is, that not only will destruction overtake his forests, but the corn will be consumed by the same fire; for it will not only range over the heights, but will penetrate into the lowest places.

From the soul even to the flesh. This comparison is taken from man. As man consists of a body and a soul, so each part of him is liable to separate diseases. It frequently happens that, when the soul is healthy, the body is diseased; and often the reverse takes place; but when both are unhealthy at the same time, the case is most dangerous. By this comparison, therefore, he threatens that the Assyrians will have nothing safe or sound, but that they will be devoted to utter destruction, because they will perish from the flesh even to the soul; not that souls are mortal, but because the vengeance of God will fall upon them also. This is truly dreadful; for the design of chastisements is,

that the spirit may be saved, though the flesh be destroyed, (1Co 5:5😉

but when the spirit also is involved in the destruction, what can be said or imagined that is more miserable? The flame only scorches the godly, but does not consume them as it consumes the ungodly, in whom it finds nothing but fuel fit for burning.

And it shall be as the fainting of a standard-bearer. There is an allusion in the words of the Prophet, which cannot be conveyed in another language. The meaning is the same as in the other comparisons, that there will be utter destruction, like the complete rout of an army when the standard has been taken. When the ensigns have been taken, it is commonly followed by a great slaughter; and when historians describe a fearful carnage, they tell us that the ensigns were taken. He does not threaten these things against the Assyrians on their own account, that they may receive advantage from the warning or may be led to repentance, but to yield consolation to the godly, that they may not think that the Assyrians will pass unpunished when they raged so fiercely against the people of God, or entertain fears either that the Lord has forgotten his promise, or that he cannot frustrate their designs. If the Prophet had not put them on their guard, many scruples of this kind might have arisen in their minds.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(18) Both soul and body.Literally, from the soul even to the flesh. The metaphor is for a moment dropped, and the reality is unveiled.

As when a standardbearer fainteth.The Authorised version represents the extremity of misery and exhaustion. The standard-bearer was chosen for his heroic strength and stature. When he fainted and gave way, what hope was there that others would survive? A more correct rendering, however, gives As a sick man pineth away.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

18. The glory of his forest The army, compared to a forest for the great number of men, their compact body when in array, and their upraised lances.

His fruitful field Parallel to “forest;” denoting a park stocked with noble trees; or else, antithetic to “forest,” and meaning a cleared and cultivated field, but applied still to the army in its apparently prosperous state, though soon to be destroyed.

Both soul and body Literally, from soul even to the flesh; beginning at the vitals and working to the outward frame; that is, the consumption shall be total.

As when a standardbearer fainteth And in consequence the whole line of battle melts away in panic. ( Kimchi.)

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Isa 10:18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.

Ver. 18. And he shall consume the glory of his forest, ] i.e., Of his army, cutting his way through a wood of men, and felling the very glory of his glory, even his best soldiers. All this God shall do to his stout warriors and stately princes.

Both soul and body, ] i.e., Full and whole, both here and in hell. a

And they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. ] Heb., Melteth – i.e., through fear casting away his colours: soon after which the whole regiment is routed, and cannot be rallied.

a Ecce hic habes animam ardere. – Oecolamp.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)