Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 28:25
When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place?
25. fitches (R.V. marg. black cummin [ Nigella sativa ]) and cummin [ Cuminum sativum ] are both mentioned only in this passage. Note the different methods of sowing; scatter (of the fitches), sow (of the cummin), plant (of wheat and barley). The planting of wheat, &c. in rows is a mark of the most careful husbandry, still practised in Yemen and Egypt.
the principal wheat ] Rather: the wheat in rows (R.V.).
the appointed barley ] a very difficult expression. Perhaps “barley in the appointed place” (R.V.). Both this adjective and that for “principal” are wanting in the LXX. and are deleted as mistakes or glosses by Cheyne and others.
the rye in their place ] the spelt (others, “vetches”) as its border (see R.V.). The allusion apparently is to a custom of surrounding certain crops with a protecting border of hardier plants.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
When he hath made plain … – That is, when he has leveled, or made smooth the surface of the ground by harrowing, or rolling it.
Doth he not scatter abroad – He does not sow one kind of grain merely, but different species according to the nature of the soil, or according to his wishes in regard to a crop.
The fitches – ( qetsach). Vulgate, Gith; a kind of cockle (Nigella Romana), an herb of sweet savor. Septuagint, Mikron melanthion. The word fitch denotes a small species of pea. The Hebrew word, however, which occurs nowhere else but here, probably denotes fennel, or dill, an herb whose seed the ancients mixed with their bread in order to give it a more agreeable relish.
And scatter the cummin – ( kammon). Vulgate, Cyminum – Cummin. Septuagint, Kuminon – also Cummin. The word properly denotes an annual plant whose seeds have a bitterish warm taste with an aromatic flavor (Webster). The seeds of this plant were used as a condiment in sauces.
And cast in the principal wheat – Margin, The wheat in the principal place. Vulgate, Per ordinem – In its proper order, place, proportion. So Lowth, In due measure. So Aben Ezra and Kimchi render it, By measure; and they suppose it means that if too much wheat be sown on the land, it will grow too thick, and that the spires will crowd and suffocate each other. Our translators have rendered the word s’orah, principal, as if it were derived from s’arah, to rule, and seem to have supposed that it denoted wheat that was especially excellent, or distinguished for its good qualities. Gesenius supposes that it means fat wheat, from an Arabic signification of the word. Probably the word is designed to denote quality, and to convey the idea that wheat is the principal, or chief grain that is sown; it is that which is most valued and esteemed.
And the appointed barley – The barley is a well-known grain. The word rendered appointed ( niseman), occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures. Castellio, Taylor, Grotius, Calvin, our translators, and others, suppose that it is derived from a Hebrew word which does not now occur – saman, to designate, to mark, to seal; and that it means barley that had been put aside and marked as especially excellent, or seed-barley. In Chaldee, the word simman occurs in the sense of to seal, to mark, to designate (Chaldee Par. Num 17:3; 2Ki 9:13; Est 5:1). The Septuagint, translated it kengchron, and the Vulgate, Aquila, and Theodotion, understand the word as denoting a species of grain, the millet. The idea is probably that expressed by Grotius, and in our version – of barley that had been selected as seed-barley on account of its excellent quality.
And the rye – Margin, Spelt. The word usually denotes spelt – a kind of wheat now found in Flanders and Italy, called German wheat. It may, however, denote rye.
In their place – literally, In the border. Septuagint, En tois horiois sou – In thy borders. The idea seems to be that the spelt or rye was sown in the borders of the field while the wheat was sown in the middle; or that the rye was sown in its proper bounds, or in the places which were adapted to it, and best suited to promote its growth.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Made plain the face thereof, by breaking the clods, which made it ragged and uneven.
The principal wheat; either,
1. The wheat, which is the principal or chief of all these grains; or,
2. The best wheat, which he prudently chooseth for seed.
The appointed barley; that proportion of barley which he appointed. Or, as others, the marked barley; or, the choice barley, which they laid aside in a sack for seed; and therefore set aside with a peculiar mark upon it. In their place, Heb. in his border; each seed in a several and proper place.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. facethe “surface”of the ground: “made plain,” or level, by harrowing.
fitchesrather, “dill,”or “fennel”; Nigella romana, with black seed, easilybeaten out, used as a condiment and medicine in the East. So theSeptuagint, “cummin” was used in the same way.
cast in . . . principalwheatrather, plant the wheat in rows (for wheat wasthought to yield the largest crop, by being planted sparingly [PLINY,Natural History, 18.21]); [MAURER];”sow the wheat regularly” [HORSLEY].But GESENIUS, like EnglishVersion, “fat,” or “principal,” that is,excellent wheat.
appointed barleyrather,”barley in its appointed place” [MAURER].
in their placerather,”in its (the field’s) border” [MAURER].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
When he hath made plain the face thereof,…. By harrowing it, after it is ploughed:
doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin; in sowing them in the ground, prepared for them; the former of these does not seem to be the same we so call, but something else. The Septuagint version calls it the little “melanthion” c, the same with the “nigella” d of the Latins, and is sometimes called “gith” e, as in the Vulgate Latin version here. The Syriac and Arabic versions render it “anise”, which is mentioned along with “cummin”, as common with the Jews, and which, in Christ’s time, were tithed, Mt 23:23 and both these in the text are by Kimchi said to be the food of man:
and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place? each in their proper place, or in soil suitable for them; some land being more suitable for the one than for the other, which the husbandman understands: “wheat” is the choicest and most excellent grain, and therefore called “principal”; or else because it is “first” sown, or sown in the best and “principal” ground: “barley” is said to be “appointed”, or to be sowed in a place appointed for it; or “marked” f, referring either to places marked in the field, where it should be sown; which sense the Targum and the Jewish commentators favour; or to sacks of it marked, in which the best seed for sowing was put: “and the rye in its border” g; appointed for that Jarchi thinks this refers to the different places of sowing; the wheat was sown in the middle of the field; barley round about the mark or sign for that purpose; and rye upon the borders. The Targum is,
“as wheat is sown in an uncultivated field, and barley by the signs, and rye by the borders;”
but the whole is intended to express the wisdom of the husbandman, in sowing different seeds, not in the same field, which was forbidden by the law, Le 19:19 but in ground suitable to each of them; and in the mystical sense designs the execution of divine judgments on men, in proportion to their sins, after they have been admonished of them, and reproved for them; and may be applied also to the sowing of the seed of the word in the hearts of men, and illustrated by the parable of the sower in Mt 13:19.
c So Junius Tremellius, and Piscator. d As here with Pagninus, Montanus. e So Vatablus and Castalio. f “hordeum signatum”, Vatablus, Pagninus, Montanus “signato loco”, Tigurine version. g “speltam in termino ejus, vel suo”, Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
25. When he hath levelled its surface. He now speaks about sowing. The sower will not put into the earth as much as he can, nor will he throw it in at random, but will measure the ground, and give to it as much as is necessary; for otherwise the superfluous mass would rot, and not a single grain would take root.
Wheat in measure, and barley measured. (246) He will not mix various seeds, but will allot one part of the field for “wheat,” another for “vetches,” and another for “cummin.” He will do this in measure, for that I consider to be the proper interpretation of שורה ( sōrāh.) (247) It does not mean excellent or good; for he is speaking about measurement. Similar statements are made about reaping and thrashing; for all kinds of grain are not thrashed in the same manner. Wheat is thrashed with the wheel of a cart or wagon, vetches with a staff, and cummin with a thicker rod. He speaks according to the custom of the country. This mode of thrashing is unknown in any part of France, except Provence. (248) In short, he means that the manner of thrashing which is suitable to the grain does not apply equally to all. Besides, the husbandman is not constantly or incessantly employed in thrashing, but exercises moderation, that he may not bruise the grain.
(246) Bogus footnote
(247) Bogus footnote
(248) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) Doth he not cast abroad the fitches. . . .?Modern English would give vetches. Each verb is carefully chosen to describe the special process that belonged to each kind of seed. We have, as it were, an excerpt from the Georgics of Palestine. Identification in such cases is not always easy; but I follow Mr. Carruthers (Bible Educator, i. 38) in reading fennel seed for the fitches of the English version. This, proverbially among the smallest of seeds, so as to be a type of the microscopic unseen, was scattered broadcast; cummin, also proverbial for its smallness, was sown by a like process, with some technical variation, indicated by the use of the Hebrew words. Wheat and barley were dropped in more deliberately by the hand of the sower, and then (instead of the rie in their place), vetches for the borders thereof, these being used in the East as a kind of herbaceous hedge round the field of corn. The point of the enumeration is that the wise tiller of the soil is discriminating in his methods, and deals with each seed according to its nature. So is it, the prophet suggests through the parable which he does not interpret, with the great Husbandman, whose field is the world, and for whom the nations are as seed. For cast in the principal wheat . . . read set the wheat in lines and the barley in the appointed place.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 28:25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
Ver. 25. When he hath made plain. ] Laid it level and equal.
Doth he not cast in the fitches?
The appointed barley.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The principal wheat = wheat in rows. Only here. place = due order. Connect “appointed” with “place”, not with “barley”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
in the principal: etc. or, the wheat in the principal place, and the barley in the appointed place. rye. or, spelt. Exo 9:31, Exo 9:32, Eze 4:9
place: Heb. border
Reciprocal: Gen 47:23 – here is seed Job 28:5 – out of it
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
28:25 When he hath made {c} even the face of it, doth he not cast abroad the black cummin, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the wheat in rows and the appointed barley and the rye in their place?
(c) As the plowman has his appointed time, and various instruments for his labour, so has the Lord for his vengeance: for he punishes some at one time, and some at another, some after one sort, and some after another, so that his chosen seed is beaten and tried, but not broken as are the wicked.