Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 11:13
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
13. The parallelism seems to demand that the adversaries of Judah be explained as gen. of the subject (those in Judah that are adversaries to Ephraim). This is not very natural, but it is certainly better than to take envy of Ephraim as gen. of obj. (envy felt by Judah towards Ephraim).
shall not vex ] shall not oppress. It is the verb of which “adversaries” is the participle. The ascription of “oppression” to Judah and “envy” to Ephraim is hardly consistent with the relative importance of the two states previous to 722. At the same time there seems to be here a clear allusion to ch. Isa 9:9-12; Isa 9:20.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
13, 14. The healing of the breach between the Northern and Southern kingdoms, and their joint conquest of the neighbouring peoples.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The envy also – The word envy here, is used in the sense of hatred, or the hatred which arose from the ambition of Ephraim, and from the prosperity of Judah. Ephraim here, is the name for the kingdom of Israel, or the ten tribes. The reasons of their envy and enmity toward Judah, all arising from their ambition, were the following:
(1) This tribe, in connection with those which were allied to it, constituted a very large and flourishing part of the Jewish nation. They were, therefore, envious of any other tribe that claimed any superiority, and particularly jealous of Judah.
(2) They occupied a central and commanding position in Judea, and naturally claimed the pre-eminence over the tribes on the north.
(3) They had been formerly highly favored by the abode of the ark and the tabernacle among them, and, on that account, claimed to be the natural head of the nation; Jos 18:1, Jos 18:8, Jos 18:10; Jdg 18:31; Jdg 21:19; 1Sa 1:3, 1Sa 1:24.
(4) When Saul was king, though he was of the tribe of Benjamin 1Sa 9:2, they submitted peaceably to his reign, because the Benjaminites were in alliance with them, and adjacent to them. But when Saul died, and the kingdom passed into the hands of David, of the tribe of Judah, their natural rival, thus exalting that powerful tribe, they became dissatisfied and restless. David kept the nation united; but on his death, they threw off the yoke of his successor, and became a separate kingdom. From this time, their animosities and strifes became an importer and painful part of the history of the Jewish nation, until the kingdom of Ephraim was removed. The language here is evidently figurative, and means, that in the time here referred to under the messiah, the causes of animosity, before existing, would cease; that contentions between those who are, by nature, brethren, and who ought to evince the spirit of brethren, would come to an end; and that those animosities and strike would be succeeded by a state of amity and peace. When the scattered Jews shall be regathered to God under the Messiah, all the contentions among them shall cease, and they shall be united under one king and prince. All the causes of contention which had so long existed, and which had produced such disastrous results, would come to an end. The strifes and contentions of these two kingdoms, once belonging to the same nation, and descended from the same ancestors – the painful and protracted family broil – was the object that most prominently attracted the attention, then, of the prophets of God. The most happy idea of future blessedness which was presented to the mind of the prophet, was that period when all this should cease, and when, under the Messiah, all should be harmony and love.
And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off – That is, Judah shall be safe; the people of God shall be delivered from their enemies – referring to the future period under the Messiah, when the church should be universally prosperous.
Judah shall not vex Ephraim – Shall not oppress, disturb, or oppose. There shall be peace between them. The church prospers only when contentions and strifes cease; when Christians lay aside their animosities, and love as brethren, and are united in the great work of spreading the gospel around the world. That time will yet come. When that time comes, the kingdom of the Son of God will be established. Until that time, it will be in vain that the effort is made to bring the world to the knowledge of the truth; or if not wholly in vain, the efforts of Christians who seek the conversion of the world will be retarded, embarrassed, and greatly enfeebled. How devoutly, therefore, should every friend of the Redeemer pray, that all causes of strife may cease, and that his people may be united, as the heart of one man, in the effort to bring the whole world to the knowledge of the truth.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 11:13
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart
Judah and Ephraim
Jacob, in his prophetic statement of the fortunes of his sons, disregards the right of primogeniture, and gives the preeminence to Judah and Joseph, and in the family of the latter to the younger son Ephraim.
Hence, from the time of the exodus, these two were regarded as the leading tribes of Israel. Judah was much more numerous than Ephraim, took precedence during the journey in the wilderness, and received the largest portion in the promises land. But Joshua was an Ephraimite; and Shiloh, where the tabernacle long stood, was probably within the limits of the same tribe. The ambitious jealousy of the Ephraimites towards other tribes appears in their conduct to Gideon and Jephthah. Their special jealousy of Judah showed itself in their temporary refusal to submit to David after the death of Saul, in their adherence to Absalom against his father, and in the readiness with which they joined in the revolt of Jeroboam, who was himself of the tribe of Ephraim. This schism was, therefore, not a sudden or fortuitous occurrence, but the natural result of causes which had long been working. The mutual relation of the two kingdoms is expressed in the recorded fact that there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, and between Asa and Baasha all their days. Exceptions to the general rule, as in the case of Ahab and Jehoshaphat, were rare, and a departure from the principles and ordinary feelings of the parties. The ten tribes, which assumed the name of Israel after the division, and perhaps before it, regarded the smaller and less warlike state with a contempt which is well expressed by Jehoash in his parable of the cedar and the thistle, unless the feeling there displayed be rather personal than national. On the other hand, Judah justly regarded Israel as guilty not only of political revolt, but of religious apostasy, and the jealousy of Ephraim towards Judah would, of course, be increased by the fact that Jehovah had forsaken the tabernacle of Shiloh, that He refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which He loved. (J. A. Alexander.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. The adversaries of Judah – “And the enmity of Judah”] tsorerim. Postulat pars posterior versus, ut intelligantur inimicitiae Judae in Ephraimum: et potest ( tsorerim) inimicitiam notare, ut ( nichumim) poenitentiam, Ho 11:8.-SECKER.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of Ephraim, i.e. of the ten tribes, frequently called by the name of Ephraim, as hath been already and frequently observed, between whom and Judah there were great emulations and contentions. Shall depart; of enemies they shall be made friends, and of wolves lambs, as was said before on Isa 11:6; they shall be united together in one church, under the Messiah, keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The adversaries of Judah; not the body of Ephraim, for they are supposed to be reconciled, and they shall not be cut off, but live in love with Judah, as we see by the next clause; but those few of them which possibly may continue in their enmity against them, together with all the rest of their adversaries.
Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim; not only all outward hostilities shall cease, but also their inward animosities.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. envy . . . of Ephraim . . .Judahwhich began as early as the time (Jdg 8:1;Jdg 12:1, c.). Joshua had sprungfrom, and resided among the Ephraimites (Num 13:9Jos 19:50); the sanctuary was withthem for a time (Jos 18:1). Thejealousy increased subsequently (2Sa 2:8;2Sa 19:41; 2Sa 20:2;2Sa 3:10); and even beforeDavid’s time (1Sa 11:8; 1Sa 15:4),they had appropriated to themselves the national name Israel. Itended in disruption (1Ki 11:26;1Ki 12:1-33; compare2Ki 14:9; Psa 78:56-71).
adversaries of Judahrather,”the adversaries from Judah”; those of Judah hostileto the Ephraimites [MAURER].The parallelism “the envy of Ephraim,” namely, againstJudah, requires this, as also what follows; namely, “Ephraimshall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim” (Eze 37:15;Eze 37:17; Eze 37:19).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart,…. With which it envied Judah, on account of the kingdom of the house of David, and the temple being in that tribe; not that this is the thing intended, only alluded to; the meaning is, that whatever envy or jealousy subsisted in the Gentile against the Jew, or in the Jew against the Gentile, should be no more, when gathered into one Gospel church state; or whatever of this kind has appeared in one Christian church, or denomination among Christians, against another, shall cease, when the Gospel in its power and purity shall more generally take place, and the earth shall be filled with it:
and the adversaries of Judah, or of God’s professing people,
shall be cut off; and be no more, as the Turks and Papists:
Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim; this is repeated for the confirmation of it; and the sense is, that all animosities, contentions, and discords, shall cease among the people of God, and there shall be entire peace and harmony among them. Jarchi interprets this of the two Messiahs, Messiah ben Joseph, and Messiah ben Judah, the Jews dream of.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But this calls to mind the present rent in the unity of the nation; and the third question very naturally arises, whether this rent will continue. The answer to this is given in Isa 11:13: “And the jealousy of Ephraim is removed, and the adversaries of Judah are cut off; Ephraim will not show jealousy towards Judah, and Judah will not oppose Ephraim.” As the suffix and genitive after tzorer are objective in every other instance (e.g., Amo 5:12), tzor e re Yehudah must mean, not those members of Judah who are hostile to Ephraim, as Ewald, Knobel, and others suppose, but those members of Ephraim who are hostile to Judah, as Umbreit and Schegg expound it. In Isa 11:13 the prophet has chiefly in his mind the old feeling of enmity cherished by the northern tribes, more especially those of Joseph, towards the tribe of Judah, which issued eventually in the division of the kingdom. It is only in Isa 11:13 that he predicts the termination of the hostility of Judah towards Ephraim. The people, when thus brought home again, would form one fraternally united nation, whilst all who broke the peace of this unity would be exposed to the immediate judgment of God ( yiccarethu , will be cut off).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
13. And the envy of Ephraim shall depart. Here he promises that the Church will be in such a state of peace, that neither will the Israelites and the Jews contend in civil broils, nor will they suffer any annoyance from their enemies, and that they will not be liable to hatred or envy, as they formerly were. Not that there will be no wicked men, but the Lord will at length cut off and destroy them. But we ought chiefly to observe what he adds about allaying domestic quarrels, that henceforth the children of Abraham may not harass each other, but unite in the same religion, and in the pure worship of God; for it was a disgraceful and shocking spectacle that their mutual strife and hostilities had been so long maintained.
With good reason does he point out the source of quarrels, namely, envy, in consequence of which the descendants of Abraham have torn each other, while the tribes of Judah and Ephraim strive with each other for renown. This horrible torch has always kindled wars in the world, while every man is unwilling to yield. In short, the Lord here promises outward and inward peace, which is a very great and most desirable blessing.
It will be objected that this was never accomplished, and that the very opposite of this took place; for as soon as the gospel began, it was followed by various wars, commotions, and dreadful persecutions, and nearly the whole world was disturbed and shaken. And inwardly what peace did the Church enjoy? Among Christians themselves, Satan, by his tares, (Mat 13:25,) has raised up dreadful disturbances, so that no enemies were more ferocious and destructive than those which were brought up in the bosom of the Church.
I reply, the Prophet here includes the whole of Christ’s kingdom, and not merely a single age or century. In this world we taste but the beginning of Christ’s kingdom; and while the Church is harassed by enemies both within and without, still the Lord defends and preserves her, and conquers all her enemies. Besides, this prediction properly belongs to the true and lawful children of Abraham, whom the Lord has purified by the cross and by banishment, and has constrained to lay aside ambition and envy; as those who have been tamed in the school of Christ cease to be desirous of renown. Thus the promise which Isaiah makes in this passage has already been in part fulfilled, and is fulfilled every day. But we must proceed in these exercises, and must fight earnestly within and without, till we obtain that everlasting peace which it will be our happiness to enjoy in the kingdom of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) The envy also of Ephraim shall depart . . .The prophets vision of the future would not have been complete if national unity had not been included in it. He looked back on the history of the past, and saw almost from the first the deep line of cleavage between north and south, Israel and Judah. Century by century the chasm had grown deeper and wider; sub-sections of antagonism had increased its bitterness (Isa. 9:21); but in the times of the Christ the sense of unity should be stronger than the old hostilities. The prophets hope connects itself with Hezekiahs efforts after a restored unity (2Ch. 30:1-12). The envy of Ephraim is, as the parallelism shows, that of which Ephraim was the object. By a subtle turn of thought, however, the latter half of the verse represents Ephraim as not feeling envy or ill-will against Judah, i.e., he is neither object nor subject, and Judah, free from its own adversaries, is no longer an adversary to Ephraim.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Envy of Ephraim shall depart, etc. Here the enmity once existing between the two kingdoms is selected in poetic phrase to denote all old jealousy and envy as coming to an end. All are to be united in harmonious and happy society, and to become true subjects of Messiah. This settles the third point, namely, that the continuance of the rent in Israel is to cease in the fulness of the Messiah’s time.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
Ver. 13. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart. ] The fierce wrath or deadly feud that was between the ten revolted tribes of Judah, the like whereunto was between England and Scotland, and in England between the houses of York and Lancaster; in which last mentioned dissension were slain eighty princes of royal blood, and twice as many natives of England as were lost in the two conquests of France. a This emulation and hatred of Ephraim against Judah was to be abolished by Christ. b Eze 37:17 The disciples, being of various tribes, were all of one heart and of one soul. Act 4:32 Neither was there any controversy at all among them, as one ancient Greek copy addeth to that forecited text. c
a Dan. Hist., 249.
b Discimus sub Christo finem sore simultatum et odiorum. – Oecol.
c Beza ex Beda.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ephraim. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Part), for the whole of the ten tribes.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the envy: Isa 7:1-6, Jer 3:18, Eze 37:16-24, Hos 1:11
Reciprocal: Gen 37:11 – envied Gen 49:10 – the gathering Psa 68:27 – princes Psa 133:1 – how good Isa 3:5 – the people Isa 7:2 – is confederate with Isa 11:9 – not hurt Isa 26:11 – be Isa 32:17 – quietness Jer 31:1 – of Jer 50:4 – the children of Israel Eze 28:25 – When Eze 37:17 – General Eze 37:22 – I will make Dan 11:41 – even Oba 1:19 – the plain Zec 8:11 – General Zec 11:14 – I cut Gal 5:15 – General Jam 3:14 – if Jam 4:5 – The spirit
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 11:13-14. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, &c. Ephraim here stands for the ten tribes and the prophet alludes to the great emulations and contentions which had subsisted between them and Judah: but his intention is to set forth the spiritual state of the Jews after their conversion to the faith of the gospel, which he predicts, 1st, That all envy shall be extinguished among them, and a true brotherly love shall fill their souls; and, 2d, That, joined to the Gentiles, they shall strenuously defend the cause of Christ and his kingdom against the enemies and opposers of it. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, &c. Not only all outward hostilities shall cease, but also their inward animosities. But they shall fly upon the shoulders, &c. This is a metaphor taken from birds and beasts of prey, which commonly fasten on the shoulders of cattle. They shall spoil them of the east together They shall subdue them; which is to be understood of the spiritual victory which the Messiah should obtain by his apostles, ministers, and people, over all nations, in bringing them to the obedience of his gospel. For it is the manner of the prophets to speak of the spiritual things of the gospel under such figurative representations. Indeed, as a late writer observes, this fourteenth verse can be understood in no other than a spiritual and mystical sense, to signify that those who are called by the gospel, and converted to Christ, shall be full of zeal for his glory, and shall labour with all their might to reduce to the obedience of Christ all individuals and nations around them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of {h} Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not distress Ephraim.
(h) Here he describes the consent that will be in his Church and their victory against their enemies.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Internal strife among the tribes will cease. Instead of fighting among themselves, the Israelites will subdue their common enemies and gain the whole Promised Land. Evidently this conflict will precede the peace pictured in Isa 11:6-9.