Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 30:33
For Tophet [is] ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made [it] deep [and] large: the pile thereof [is] fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
33. For Tophet is ordained of old ] Render: For a burning-place is already laid out. Tophet is the name of a spot in the valley of the son of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where human sacrifices were offered to the god Melek or Molek (2Ki 23:10; Jer 7:31 f., Isa 19:6; Isa 19:13). According to Prof. Robertson Smith ( Religion of the Semites, p. 377) the word was originally pronounced Tphath, and, like its equivalents in Aramaic and Arabic, meant simply “fireplace.” This view seems preferable to the common derivation, which explains it as a term of contempt (“spitting” Job 17:6); and it accounts for the generic sense which the word undoubtedly has in this passage (where, however, a bye-form tophteh is used). “The Tophet” was so-called because the most distinctive feature of the revolting rites there practised was the burning of the victims in a great pit dug in the ground, which constituted the “fireplace.”
yea, for the king it is prepared ] lit. “even it is prepared for the king” (not “even for the king it is prepared”). The “king” might be either the king of Assyria, or the god “Melek” (Molech), or a play of words alluding to both. But a “witty allusion” in such a passage leads us to suspect the hand of a glossator. The objection to understanding it of the king of Assyria is that the emphasis rests on “it” and not on “the king.”
the pile thereof ] Cf. Eze 24:9. For “fire” some other word must have been used; perhaps “coals of fire” ( omitted before ).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For Tophet – The same idea is conveyed in this verse as in the preceding, but under another form, and with a new illustration. The sense is, that the army of the Assyrians would be completely destroyed, as if it were a large pile of wood in the valley of Hinnom that should be fired by the breath of God. The word ( tapeteh) with the (h) paragogic), denotes properly what causes loathing or abhorrence; that which produces disgust and vomiting (from the Chaldee tuph to spit out); Job 17:6, I was an abhorrence ( topheth), improperly rendered in our version, I was among them as a tabret. The word occurs only in 2Ki 23:10; Jer 7:31-32; Jer 19:6, Jer 19:11, Jer 19:13-14, and in this place. It is applied to a deep valley on the southeast of Jerusalem, celebrated as the seat of idolatry, particularly of the worship of Moloch. The name also of the valley of Hinnom was given to it; and hence, the name Gehenna geenna, Mat 5:22, Mat 5:29-30; Mat 10:28; Mat 18:9; Mat 23:15, Mat 23:33; Mar 9:43, Mar 9:45, Mar 9:47; Luk 12:5; Jam 3:6), as denoting the place of future torments, of which the valley of Hinnom, or Tophet, was a striking emblem.
This valley was early selected as the seat of the worship of Moloch, where his rites were celebrated by erecting a huge brass image with a hollow trunk and arms, which was heated, and within which, or on the arms of which, children were placed as a sacrifice to the horrid idol. To drown their cries, drums were beaten, which were called toph, or tophiym, and many suppose the name Tophet was given to the place on this account (see 2Ki 16:3; 2Ki 21:6; 2Ki 23:10). The name valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, was probably from the former possessor or occupier of that name. In subsequent times, however, this place was regarded with deep abhorrence. It became the receptacle of all the filth of the city; and hence, in order to purify the atmosphere, and prevent contagion, it was needful to keep fires there continually burning. It was thus a most striking emblem of hell-fire, and as such is used in the New Testament. Hezekiah was firmly opposed to idolatry; and it is not improbable that he had removed the images of Moloch, and made that valley the receptacle of filth, and a place of abomination, and that the prophet refers to this tact in the passage before us.
Is ordained – Was fitted up, appointed, constituted. The prophet by a figure represents Hezekiah as having fitted up this place as if for the appropriate punishment of the Assyrians.
Of old – Margin, as in Hebrew, From yesterday. This expression may mean simply formerly, some time since, as in Exo 4:10; 2Sa 3:17. The idea here seems to be, that Tophet had been formerly, or was already prepared as if for the destruction of Sennacherib and his army. His ruin would be as certain, and as sudden, as if, in the valley of Tophet, the breath of Yahweh should set on fire the vast materials that had been collected, and were ready to be kindled. It does not mean that Tophet had actually been prepared for the army of Sennacherib; it does not mean that his army would actually be destroyed there – for it was on the other side of the city that they were cut off (see the notes at Isa 10:32); it does not mean that they would be consigned to hell-fire; but it means that that place had been fitted up as if to be an emblematic representation of his ruin; that the consuming fires in that valley were a striking representation of the sudden and awful manner in which the abhorred enemies of God would be destroyed.
For the king is prepared – For Hezekiah; as if the place had been fitted up for his use in order to consume and destroy his enemies. It is not meant that Hezekiah actually had this in view, but the whole language is figurative. It was as if that place had been fitted up by Hezekiah as a suitable place in which entirely to destroy his foes.
He hath made it deep and large – Vast; as if able to contain the entire army that was to be destroyed.
The pile thereof – The wood that was collected there to be consumed.
The breath of the Lord – As if Yahweh should breathe upon it, and enkindle the whole mass, so that it should burn without the possibility of being extinguished. The meaning is, that the destruction of the Assyrian would as really come from Yahweh as if he should, by his own agency, ignite the vast piles that were collected in the valley of Hinnom.
Like a stream of brimstone – Brimstone, or sulphur, is used in the Scriptures to denote a fire of great intensity, and one that cannot be extinguished Gen 19:24; Psa 11:6; Eze 38:22; Rev 9:17-18. Hence, it is used to denote the eternal torments of the wicked in hell Rev 14:10; Rev 19:20; Rev 21:8.
Doth kindle it – The army of the Assyrians would be destroyed in a manner which would be well represented by YahwehS sending down upon a vast pile collected in the valley of Hinnom, a burning stream of sulphurous flame that should ignite and consume all before it (see the notes at Isa 37:36).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 30:33
For Tophet is ordained of old
The annihilation of the Assyrian power
The annihilation of the Assyrian power is graphically set forth as one great funeral obsequy, such as were well known among Eastern nations.
The Divine command prepares the Tophet or pyre; and in its flames all the glory of Assyria shall consume away. What had been prepared by human wisdom for the idolatrous worship of Moloch, shall now by Divine decree be used for Assyrias destruction: her king shall be the great victim. (Buchanan Blake, B. D.)
The destruction of Assyria in Tophet
The description is, of course, figurative; and the details, as is often the case in prophecy, are not to be understood literally; they merely constitute the drapery in which the prophet clothes his idea. No such scene as is here described was ever actually enacted; Sennacherib, in point of fact, perished twenty years after his invasion of Judah, in his own land being assassinated by his own sons Isa 37:38). (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)
The wicked man warned
I. The first doctrine that we have is–that THERE IS A HELL.
1. Justice requires it. If a man sins, doth not justice require that he should be punished?
2. But more than this, doth not Divine benevolence require it? Would it be benevolent in any man to propose to take away our police, to pull down our gaols, to abolish our penal settlements, and to stop forever all imprisonment and punishments for sin? It might appear to be liberal and charitable, but the fate of the rest of the community would be so direful that verily we might say, Build up the gaols once more! Let it be seen that sin cannot go unpunished here, and that the ruler beareth not the sword in vain!
3. We ask, If there were no hell for the wicked, where are they to be put to? The answer is, Why, let them all go to Heaven. But have you never heard me expose the absurdity of the idea of a wicked man being carried to Heaven as he is?
4. O sinner! why need I argue that Tophet is ordained of old? Is there not something within thyself which tells thee that there is such a place?
5. How is it that so many people in the world are always laughing at the idea of hell? I will tell you. The worse men are, the less they like hell. Scorning is sweet to the mouth, but it is bitter afterwards.
II. THE SIZE OF THIS PLACE. It is deep and large. We do delight in the thought that Heaven is great and large; that there will be more saved than there will be lost. But this is a sad thought to us–that hell is deep and large. Persons say that if the heathen lives up to his light and knowledge, will he not be saved by the blood of Christ? The heathen does not live up to his light and knowledge, and, therefore, it is an assumption that is not correct. Tophet is deep and large. There is room for you great sinners, room for you rich sinners, room for you proud, stiff-necked sinners, room for the whole mass of sinners, for though you should join in hand, yet shall not the wicked go unpunished.
III. THE FUEL OF IT. The pile thereof is fire and much wood. The wicked are their own woodmen; they find their own fuel for their own flame.
IV. THE FLAME OF IT. The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. What kind of breath will that be?
1. It will be His condemning breath. God on high will breathe out sentences of condemnation against the wicked perpetually.
2. His reproving breath. For He will be always saying, Son, remember, remember such s time you heard a sermon; such a time you sinned; such a time your conscience smote you; such a time in your life you attended Sabbath school; such a time you cursed Me to My face; such a time you blasphemed My day; such a time you spoke ill of My servants; such a time you did this; such a time you did that.
3. The eternal life of God Himself shall kindle the flame breath of God shall keep the flame burning. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 33. For Tophet is ordained] Tophet is a valley very near to Jerusalem, to the southeast, called also the valley of Hinnom or Gehenna; where the Canaanites, and afterwards the Israelites, sacrificed their children, by making them pass through the fire, that is, by burning them in the fire, to Molech, as some suppose. It is therefore used for a place of punishment by fire; and by our blessed Saviour in the Gospel for hell-fire, as the Jews themselves had applied it. See Chald. on Isa 33:14, where mokedey olam is rendered “the Gehenna of everlasting fire.” Here the place where the Assyrian army was destroyed is called Tophet by a metonymy; for the Assyrian army was destroyed probably at a greater distance from Jerusalem, and quite on the opposite side of it: for Nob is mentioned as the last station, from which the king of Assyria should threaten Jerusalem, Isa 10:32, where the prophet seems to have given a very exact chorographical description of his march in order to attack the city; which however he never reached. – L.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Tophet was a place near Jerusalem, in which the idolatrous Israelites used cruelly to offer up their children to Moloch, 2Ch 28:3; 33:6; see also Jer 7:31; 19:6; and it may be put synecdochically for any place of torment or misery; and particularly it is put for hell, as well in the writings of the ancient Jewish doctors as in Holy Scripture, as Mat 18:8,9; 23:15; Mar 9:43,44. And so this place may be understood either,
1. Literally, of Tophet in the valley of Hinnom, in which the Assyrian host was either slain by the angel, as Josephus reports, or buried or burnt. For although the Assyrians did not make any great attempt upon Jerusalem, Isa 37:36, yet Rabshakeh came very near it with a great army, Isa 36:2. Or,
2. Figuratively, of hell. Is ordained; or, was ordered or prepared. And it might be said, in some sort, to be prepared by Hezekiah for this end, by the care which he took to purge this and other places abused to idolatry, which made them more fit to receive so great a favour mid deliverance from God. But for hell, that doubtless was ordained or prepared by God for the punishment of impenitent sinners.
Of old, Heb. from yesterday; which phrase is sometimes used of a time but lately past, as 2Sa 15:20; Job 8:9, and sometimes of any time past, without limitation.
For the king; for the king of Assyria; either,
1. For the kings, the singular number being put for the plural, whereby he may understand the princes or chief commanders of the host, by comparing Isa 10:8, Are not my princes altogether kings? Or,
2. For Rabshakeh, the general of this army, who, according to the style of Scripture, might very well be called king. Or,
3. Sennacherib, for whom this place might be said to be ordained or prepared, partly because it was ordained for the destruction of his host; nothing being more ordinary, both in sacred and profane writers, than to entitle the king or general of the army to all the victories procured, or losses or slaughter sustained, by his army; and partly because the sudden destruction of the Assyrian army, supposed to be in this place, was the occasion of the conspiracy of that kings sons, and so of the kings death. But if this Tophet design hell, this is emphatically denounced against him, to intimate, that although he escaped that sudden plague which cut off his army, yet there was a more terrible judgment appointed for him, which he should be utterly unable to escape. He; the Lord, who is oft designed by this pronoun, as in the next foregoing verse, and elsewhere; and who is expressed in the following words. Or it is an indefinite expression, for, it is made deep and large. Hath made it deep and large, capable of receiving vast numbers; whereby he intimates that he designed to make a great and general destruction of the Assyrians; and withal, that it was a vain and foolish confidence which the Assyrians had in their numerous host, seeing the greatest numbers of Gods enemies are wholly unable, either to oppose him, or to save themselves from his wrath and power. The pile thereof is fire and much wood; whereby he further implies that he intended to make a great slaughter among them. And he alludes in this phrase to the ancient custom, either of burning sacrifices, and particularly of burning children to Moloch, or of burning the dead bodies of men.
The breath of the Lord, the immediate hand of God, or his word of anger: See Poole “Isa 30:28“.
Like a stream of brimstone; he seems to allude to that shower of fire and brimstone, Gen 19:24.
Doth kindle it; the pile of fire and wood now mentioned.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
33. Tophetliterally, “Aplace of abomination”; the valley of the sons of Hinnom,southeast of Jerusalem, where Israel offered human sacrifices toMoloch by fire; hence a place of burning (2Ki 23:10;Jer 7:31). Latterly Gehinnom orGehenna, that is, valley of Hinnom, was the receptacle of the refuseof the city, to consume which fires were constantly burning. Hence itcame to express hell, the place of torment. In the former sense itwas a fit place to symbolize the funeral pyre of the Assyrian army(not that it actually perished there); the Hebrews did not burn, butburied their dead, but the heathen Assyrians are to be burnt as amark of ignominy. In the latter sense Tophet is the receptacle”prepared for the devil (antitype to the king, Isa14:12-15) and his angels,” and unbelieving men (Mat 5:22;Mat 25:41; Mar 9:43;Mar 9:44).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For Tophet is ordained of old,…. The place long ago appointed for the ruin of the Assyrian army, which pitched here: this was a valley near Jerusalem, the valley of the son of Hinnom; so called, from the drums and tabrets beat upon here, to prevent parents hearing the cries of their infants offered to Molech: into it was brought the filth and dung of the city; here malefactors were buried, it is said; and such as were condemned to burning were burned here; and such as had no burial were cast here; so that it was an image and picture of hell itself: and the word “Gehenna”, used for hell, comes from “Gehinnom”, or the valley of Hinnom, the name of this place; and some think that is here meant, which from all eternity was appointed as the place of torment for wicked men, So the Targum,
“for hell is ordained from the worlds (or before the worlds), because of their sins.”
It is in the original, “from yesterday”: hence Jarchi interprets it of the second day of the creation, which had a yesterday; on which day the Jews suppose hell was made: and so it is interpreted in the Talmud p, where it is said to be one of the seven things created before the world was, and is proved from this text; and said to be called Tophet, because whoever is deceived by his imagination (or evil concupiscence) falls into it; [See comments on Mt 25:41] with this compare Jude 1:4:
yea, for the king it is prepared; for Sennacherib king of Assyria; that is, for his army, which perished here, though he did not; or for kings, the singular for the plural; for his princes, which, as he boastingly said, were “altogether kings”, Isa 10:8 and particularly for Rabshakeh, the general of his army, who might be so called, and was eminently one of these kings. Understood of hell, it may not only be interpreted of Satan, the king and prince of devils, for whom and his angels the everlasting fire of hell is prepared,
Mt 25:41 but also of antichrist, the king of the bottomless pit, and of all antichristian kings; see Re 11:9. Some render it, “by the king it is prepared”; so the Vulgate Latin version; by whom may be meant either Hezekiah, who cleared it from idols and idolatrous worship, and so eventually prepared it to make room for the Assyrian army; or else the King of kings. So the Targum,
“the King of worlds (of all worlds) prepared it;”
and he seems manifestly designed in the next clause:
he hath made [it] deep [and] large; to hold the whole army alive, and to bury them when dead; and so hell is large and deep enough to hold Satan and all his angels, antichrist and all his followers; yea, all the wicked that have been from the beginning of the world, and will be to the end of it:
the pile thereof [is] fire and much wood; alluding to the burning of bodies in this place, and particularly of infants sacrificed to Molech; and refers to the burning of the Assyrian army, either by lightning from heaven, or by the Jews when they found them dead the next morning. In hell, the “fire” is the wrath of God; the “wood” or fuel ungodly men:
the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it; the pile of fire and wood. The Targum is,
“the word of the Lord, like an overflowing torrent of brimstone, shall kindle it;”
it shall be done by his order, at his word of command. In hell, the wrath of God will be like a continual stream of brimstone, keeping up the fire of it, so that it shall ever burn, and never be quenched; hence it is called a lake burning with fire and brimstone; into which Satan, the beast, and false prophet, and the worshippers of antichrist, will be cast, Re 14:10. The allusion is to the fire and brimstone rained by Jehovah, from Jehovah, upon Sodom and Gomorrah, Ge 19:24.
p T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 54. 1. Nedarim, fol. 39. 2. & Erubim, fol. 19. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
33. For Tophet is ordained. The Prophet goes on to threaten the vengeance of God, and says that not only a temporary calamity, but also everlasting destruction awaits the wicked; for hell is prepared for them, and not merely for persons of ordinary rank, but likewise for the king himself and the nobles. By “Tophet” he unquestionably means Hell; not that we must fancy to ourselves some place in which the wicked are shut up, as in a prison, after their death, in order to endure the torments which they deserve; but it denotes their miserable condition and excruciating torments. In the book of Kings, it denotes that place where the Jews sacrificed their children to the idol Moloch. (2Kg 23:10.) It is also mentioned by Jeremiah, (Jer 19:6😉 and that place was destroyed and profaned by Josiah on account of the detestable superstition committed in it. (2Kg 23:10.) The prophets, I have no doubt, intended to give the name of this place to the punishments and torments of the wicked, in order that the bare mention of it might excite horror in godly persons, and that idolatry might be universally regarded with greater abhorrence. The word “Gehenna” (315) has the same etymology; for “the Valley of Hinnom” was a name given to Hell (Gehenna) on account of the abominable sacrilege practiced in it.
Since yesterday. (316) When we see that all goes well with the wicked, and that they have everything to their wish, we think that they will pass unpunished. For this reason the Prophet, on the contrary, exclaims: “Since yesterday, that is, of old since the beginning of the world, the Lord hath determined what punishments he shall inflict on them.” Though this decree is still hidden from us, yet it must be certain, and cannot fail. Let us not, therefore, judge of the lot of the wicked according to outward appearances; let us wait for the Lord, who in due time will execute his righteous judgment. Yet let us not be rash, or think that God hath forgotten to take vengeance; for he had determined what he should do before it could enter into our mind; nor can we so speedily desire the destruction of the wicked as not to have our thoughts and desires anticipated long before by the Lord, for from the beginning he determined to inflict on them punishments and torments. Some think that it is a parallel passage to that of the Apostle, “Christ yesterday, to-day, and for ever.” (Heb 13:8.) But I consider “yesterday” to be here used simply as contrasted with our thoughts, that we may not think that we possess so much wisdom as to be capable of anticipating God: for there is nothing sudden in his purposes, but all were long ago settled and determined by him. He speaks of the punishments of the life to come, as I have already said, that is, of the punishments which the wicked shall endure, in addition to the distresses which they suffer in this life. On this subject it is strange that the Sadducees (Mat 22:23; Act 23:8) were so dull and stupid as to confine rewards and punishments within the limits of this life, as if the judgment of God did not extend beyond this world; for the modes of expression which immediately follow would not apply to temporal punishments, and the very name “Tophet,” taken metaphorically, could denote nothing else than God’s highest curse.
Yea, for the king it is prepared. He shews that not even “kings,” who are supposed to be entitled, on account of their majesty and power, to enjoy some peculiar privilege, are exempted from this punishment. Their greatness dazzles the eyes of men, but will yield them no defense, so as to prevent the Lord from punishing them as they deserve.
He says that the slaughter of them will be in a deep place, that we may know that they cannot escape or be rescued from it; and he calls hell broad, that we may know that however numerous they may be, though they all conspire together, they shall likewise perish; for the Lord will not be exhausted by punishing, and he will have a place so large as to contain all his enemies.
The pile of it is fire. He speaks metaphorically concerning the destruction of the reprobate, which otherwise we cannot sufficiently comprehend, in the same manner as we do not understand the blessed and immortal life, unless it be shadowed out by some figures adapted to our capacity. Hence it is evident how foolish and absurd the sophists are, who enter into subtle arguments about the nature and quality of that fire, and torture themselves by giving various explanations of it. Such gross imaginations must be banished, since we know that the Prophet speaks figuratively; and in another passage (Isa 66:24) we shall see that “fire” and the “worm” are joined together.
(315) Bogus footnote
(316) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
TOPHET ORDAINED OF OLD
Isa. 30:33. For Tophet is ordained of old, &c.
Some of us have often admired the expression, Knowing the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men; implying that the law of persuasion should be the law of the Christian pulpit. Some would alarm men, some would bitterly rail, and others thunder at them; as though the human heart could never be prevailed upon to capitulate, but must always be taken by storm. Paul shows us the more excellent way. When he proclaims the terrors of the Lord, it is to persuade men; to persuade them to escape the ruin and to accept the remedy. Observe, he does not hide them, for the truth must be told, sin must be condemned, the wicked must be warned.
I. Let us examine the local allusion and literal meaning of this verse. This allusion to Tophet is the earliest which appears in the Scriptures. Additional particulars appear in the history of Josiahs reformation (2Ki. 23:10; Jer. 7:31). The prophet Isaiah here represents Tophet as a place prepared for the burning of the Assyrian king. Made deep and large, with fire and wood in abundance, prepared for the king, and he being thrown into it, the breath of the Lord kindles it into fearful conflagration. This is, of course, a figurative description, Tophet being made the central point in the figure because it was a well-known place, a valley just outside the city, the valley of Hinnom, used for burning all the offal and filth of the city of Jerusalem. Isaiah was commissioned to utter this prophecy of the overthrow and consuming of the Assyrian army, in order to inspirit Hezekiah and the people against the threatened invasion. Tophet is ordained of old as that fiery place which would consume the dead bodies of these unjust invaders. Hence the Chaldee paraphrase says, It was called the valley of the carcases and of the ashes or of the dead bodies for this reason, because the dead bodies of the camp of the Assyrians fell there; to which Josephus gives testimony when he relates that the place was called the Assyrian camp. What force these recollections would give to our Lords threatenings of hell to the Jews who saw the smoke of this valley always rising before their eyes (compare Isa. 66:24 with Mar. 9:43-48).
II. Note some of those solemn and awakening truths suggested by this verse.
1. The same record which provides for the security of the Church, provides for the final overthrow of its enemies. This was the time of Jacobs extremity; he was saved, and his enemies consumed.
2. In the enjoyment of our highest privileges, we are surrounded by the most solemn terrors. Tophet lay not only near, but at the very foot of Mount Zion. From the heights of Zion might be seen the smoke, the fire, and the worm in the valley of Tophet! A dreadful thought this! Hell is set full in our view when worshipping in Zion (1Pe. 4:17-18). Bunyan says, So I saw a man may go by profession to heavens gate and yet be cast away. Our Lord (Luk. 13:25).
3. While no combination of power can shield the wicked, the believer has always a source of safety and a song of joy.Samuel Thodey.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(33) Tophet is ordained of old.Literally, the Tophet, or place of burning, with perhaps the secondary sense of a place of loathing. Tophet was the name given to the Valley of Hinnom, outside Jerusalem, where, within the memory of living men, Ahaz had made his son to pass through the fire to Moloch (2Ki. 16:3), and where like sacrifices had taken place up to the time of Hezekiahs accession. The king is, of course, the king of Assyria; but the Hebrew, for the melek, suggests a sarcastic reference to the god there worshipped, as if it were for Moloch. There was to be a great sacrifice of the Melek to the Moloch, who was as a mighty king (the name of the Ammonite god being a dialectic form of the Hebrew Melek) exulting in his victims. (Comp. for the idea Isa. 31:9.)
The pile thereof is fire and much wood.The word seems partly literal, and partly figurative. The king of Assyria, though he did not die at Jerusalem, is represented as burnt with stately ceremonial in Tophet. Probably, as a matter of fact, it was the burial place of the corpses that were lying round the city after the pestilence had destroyed the Assyrian army, and they were literally burnt there. For such a Moloch funeral, making the valley of Hinnom then, as it afterwards became, a fit type of Gehenna, a trench deep and wide and a mighty pyre were needed. Comp. Jer. 19:12, where like words are spoken of Jerusalem.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. Tophet This word occurs here possibly because “tabret” had just been used, from a habit of our prophet of indulging in paronomasia. Both words are from the same root, or from roots nearly identical. Originally “tophet” probably meant a music grove, or a place where the tambourine was prominent in the music. The king’s garden, near by in the deep valley, just southeast of Jerusalem, may have had some relation to the music grove or tophet. The place afterward became abominable by being made the place for consuming the offals of animals offered in sacrifice on the altar. The worshippers of Moloch are also said to have made it still more abominable by the sacrifice of children in the burning furnace into which the huge image of Moloch in that place had been constructed. The perpetual burning loathsomeness, from the consuming offal, made the place an image of eternal torture in the New Testament associations of the spot. Its name in Greek is gehenna, from the Hebrew word rendered valley of Hinnom. For a full description see SMITH’S Bible Dictionary.
The figure here is, that “tophet” has been prepared to receive the king of Assyria; that for this purpose it has been enlarged, made deep and broad, with a mouth vast enough to swallow up his whole army. Wood has been massed for a huge burning; the breath of Jehovah is to fire this mass; which, like a stream of brimstone, is to burn with an intense and inextinguishable heat. The figures of Rev 21:8; Rev 21:10 are hence derived, to signify the everlasting torments of hell.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
REFLECTIONS
BLESSED Lord! rebellious as I am, and unworthy of the least of thy mercies, yet, Lord, for thine own great name’s sake, let my covering be the covering of thy
Spirit; and let me never seek strength from the Egypts of this world, in an arm of flesh, or the false confidences of the heart. Oh! precious Lord Jesus! be thou my strength, and salvation, and my sure help in every time of need! And let that sweet promise of thine, everlastingly stay me; the Lord waiteth to be gracious; waiteth, not only to give the mercy in the best time, but to prepare his people for the best, and most timely enjoyment of it. Let this be my case, O Lord. Do thou prepare me for the true apprehension of thyself, and of all thy mercies. And when my Lord hath made room in my poor soul for himself, by driving out every other thought, and affection; then may my God and Saviour, come and take the entire possession, and reign and rule there, the Lord of life and glory!
Most gracious Lord! how ought my soul to praise thee, for thy graciousness to Zion, in the present hour; that amidst all the languishing state of thy Churches, thou art still merciful in preserving to us our ordinances. Yea, Lord, thou hast not, as our backslidings have deserved, removed our candlestick out of its place. Our sabbaths, we still enjoy. Thy holy word is still in our houses. Our teachers are not shut up in a corner. Oh! for grace to see our mercies and oh! for the
Lord’s blessing upon them, that they may be rendered blessings indeed to us, and our souls made blessed in the use of them! But is there not, O Lord, cause to fear, that since, in the present day, the light of gospel truth, compared to former times, is as the light of seven days in one; if the nation that is called by thy name, loveth darkness rather than light, because her deeds are evil, that thine indignation, as this chapter sets forth, will burn as a devouring flame? Is there not reason indeed to dread, that the Lord will put a bridle in the jaws of the people causing them to err? And as they persist in despising this Christ, and do not like to retain God in their knowledge: the Lord will give them over to a reprobate mind? Almighty God! in reading thy judgments, mingled with mercy, I would rejoice indeed, but rejoice with trembling. Oh! give to my soul songs in the night. The present hour is an hour that needs such mercies. Do thou, Lord, impart them to thy people, as in the days of old. And now, while thy Church standeth as upon a sea of glass, let the song of Moses and of the Lamb be the song of all thy redeemed: Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty! just and true are thy ways, thou king of saints.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 30:33 For Tophet [is] ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made [it] deep [and] large: the pile thereof [is] fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
Ver. 33. For Tophet is ordained. ] Heb., Tophteh which some derive of Pathah, to entice or seduce, because hell draweth customers; and is called also infernus ab inferendo, from the great resort that is to it. But others fetch the name from toph, a drum, because those idolaters who sacrificed their children to Moloch or Saturn, in the valley of Hinnom, struck up drums to drown the cries of those poor tortured children. Hence it is here used for hell, together with that eternity of extremity which the damned there endure; and this the Assyrians are here threatened with, yea, their very king, whose preservation from the stroke of the angel was but a reservation to a worse mischief here and hereafter. For patentes potenter torquebunter, great men, if not good, shall be greatly tormented; and the more they have of the fat of the earth, the more they are sure to fry in hell. Such, therefore, had need to add true grace to their high places, else they shall prove but as a high gibbet to bring them to more disgrace in this world, and torment in the next.
Of old.
He hath made it deep and large.
The pile thereof is fire and much wood.
The breath of the Lord, as a stream of brimstone.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Tophet = the place of burning. In the valley of Hinnom, the place where continual fires consumed the refuse of Jerusalem. Compare Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10.
the king = Moloch. See note on 1Ki 11:7.
breath. Hebrew. neshamah (App-16). See note on Isa 2:22.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Tophet
See Jer 7:31; Jer 19:6; 2Ki 23:10
Historically a place in the valley of Hinnom where human sacrifices were offered. The word means “place of fire.” The symbolic reference is to the lake of fire and the doom of the Beast. Rev 19:20.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Tophet: 2Ki 23:10, Jer 7:31, Jer 7:32, Jer 19:6, Jer 19:11-14, Mat 4:22, Mat 18:8, Mat 18:9
ordained: Mat 25:41, 1Pe 1:8, Jud 1:4
of old: Heb. from yesterday, Heb 13:8
for the king: Isa 14:9-20, Isa 37:38, Eze 32:22, Eze 32:23, Rev 19:18-20
the breath: Isa 30:27, Isa 30:28, Gen 19:24, Psa 40:5, Psa 40:6, Rev 14:10, Rev 14:11
Reciprocal: Gen 41:32 – established by Lev 10:2 – they died Num 11:1 – and the fire Deu 4:24 – thy God Deu 9:3 – a consuming fire Deu 19:4 – in time past Deu 32:22 – lowest Jos 3:4 – heretofore Jos 18:16 – the valley of the son 1Sa 19:7 – in times past 2Sa 22:9 – went Job 4:9 – by the breath of his nostrils Job 15:30 – the flame Job 20:26 – a fire Job 41:21 – General Psa 18:15 – O Lord Psa 83:14 – As the fire Isa 5:14 – hell Isa 9:5 – burning Isa 9:18 – wickedness Isa 11:4 – with the breath Isa 40:24 – he shall also Isa 66:15 – the Lord Jer 17:4 – for Eze 20:47 – I will kindle Eze 21:31 – I will blow Eze 22:21 – and blow Eze 24:9 – I will Dan 7:10 – fiery Rev 9:17 – brimstone Rev 18:9 – the smoke Rev 19:15 – out Rev 19:20 – burning Rev 20:9 – and fire
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 30:33. For Tophet is ordained of old Tophet is a valley very near to Jerusalem, to the southeast, called also the valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna; where the Canaanites, and afterward the Israelites, sacrificed their children, by making them pass through the fire; that is, by burning them in the fire, to Moloch. It is supposed to have been called Tophet, from the drums, timbrels, or tabrets, which sounded there, to drown the cries of the children thus inhumanly murdered: see notes on Lev 18:21; 2Ki 23:10; and Jos 15:8. Hence the word is used for a place of punishment by fire, and by our Saviour in the gospel for hell-fire, as the Jews themselves had applied it. As the place had been thus polluted by idolatry, Josiah, to render it as despicable and abominable as possible, ordered the filth of the city and dead carcasses to be thrown there, and made it a common burying-place. There also fires were kept continually burning, as the Jews say, to consume dead bodies, bones, and such sordid things. Vitringa justly observes, that Tophet must be understood here, not in a literal, but in a figurative sense, for the place of punishment to be inflicted upon the Assyrians, by the burning indignation of God; in the same manner as gehenna denotes the place of punishment of the reprobate: that the fire and much wood denote the matter of the punishment destined for the king of Assyria and his army, as well with respect to its nature and effect, as its cause: see Rev 19:20. The making the valley deep and large, signifies the same as the pile constructed of much wood; namely, the greatness of the destruction to be spread through the extensive army of the Assyrian; and indeed it was necessary this valley and this pile should be large, to contain one hundred and eighty-five thousand men. The meaning of the phrase, ordained of old, is, that God had absolutely fixed and determined this event. It was prepared for the king; whereby the prophet shows, that his army first, and Sennacherib himself afterward, should become obnoxious to the divine judgment. And the last phrase, the breath of the Lord, &c., alludes to the destroying angel, the executors of his judgment: see Isa 10:17. This is the literal interpretation of the words, wherein the prophet represents the Assyrian destruction as the type of that of all the enemies and persecutors of the church; and further, these destructions as a figure of the infernal fire, wherein the unbelieving and cruel persecutors of the church shall be tormented for ever, and which is said to be prepared for the devil and his angels, Mat 25:41.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
30:33 For {g} Tophet [is] ordained of old; yea, for the {h} king it is prepared; he hath made [it] {i} deep [and] large: the pile of it [is] fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
(g) Here it is taken for hell, where the wicked are tormented, read 2Ki 23:10 .
(h) So that their estate or degree cannot exempt the wicked.
(i) By these figurative speeches he declares the condition of he wicked after this life.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Topheth refers to a funeral pyre. The Hebrew word means a disgraceful "burning place" or "fireplace." The Lord had prepared it long ago for the king of Assyria (cf. Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10; Rev 21:8). Sennacherib met his defeat in Jerusalem when the Lord slew many of his soldiers there, but he personally died in Nineveh shortly after that. Topheth was an area in the valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem where the Israelites sometimes sacrificed their children to the Ammonite idol Molech (2Ki 23:10; Jer 7:31).
"When the OT speaks of burning bodies it is taken as a sign of vengeance or degradation (cf. 1Sa 31:12; Amo 6:10; Lev 20:14; Lev 21:9; Jos 7:25; ISBE 1:812; IDB 1:475)." [Note: Watts, p. 406. ISBE is the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979), and IDB is the Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (1962).]