Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 38:11
I said, I shall not see the LORD, [even] the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
11. Death is the end of all communion both with God and men. To see the Lord is to enjoy the sense of His presence in the appointed acts of worship (see on ch. Isa 1:12), The thought that Sheol afforded no such opportunities of converse with the living God was that which made death a terror to O.T. believers (cf. Isa 38:18; Psa 88:5, &c.).
the inhabitants of the world ] The received text has “the inhabitants of cessation” ( edel), i.e. “of the place where life ceases,” an expression for the underworld. The reading eled (“the world”) is found in some Heb. MSS.; and is rightly preferred by A.V.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I shall not see the Lord – In the original, the Hebrew which is rendered Lord, is not Yahweh, but yahh yahh. On the meaning of it, see the note at Isa 12:2 (compare the note at Isa 7:14). The repetition of the name here denotes emphasis or intensity of feeling – the deep desire which he had to see Yahweh in the land of the living, and the intense sorrow of his heart at the idea of being cut off from that privilege. The idea here is, that Hezekiah felt that he would not be spared to enjoy the tokens of divine favor on earth; to reap the fruits of the surprising and remarkable deliverance from the army of Sennacherib; and to observe its happy results in the augmenting prosperity of the people, and in the complete success of his plans of reformation.
I shall behold man no more – I shall see the living no more; I shall die, and go among the dead. He regarded it as a privilege to live, and to enjoy the society of his friends and fellow-worshippers in the temple – a privilege from which he felt that he was about to be cut off.
With the inhabitants of the world – Or rather, among the inhabitants of the land of stillness; that is, of the land of shades – sheol. He would not there see man as he saw him on earth, living and active, but would be a shade in the land of shades; himself still, in a world of stillness. I shall be associated with them there, and of course be cut off from the privileges of the society of living men. (See Supplementary Note at Isa 14:9.) The Hebrew word rendered world ( chedel), is from chadal, to cease, to leave off, to desist; to become languid, flaccid, pendulous. It then conveys the idea of leaving off, of resting, of being still Jdg 5:6; Job 3:17; Job 14:6; Isa 2:22. Hence, the idea of frailty Psa 39:5; and hence, the word here denotes probably the place of rest, the region of the dead, and is synonymous with the land of silence, such as the grave and the region of the dead are in contradistinction from the hurry and bustle of this world. Our translation seems to have been made as if the word was cheled, life, lifetime; hence, the world Psa 17:14; Psa 49:2. The Vulgate renders it, Habitatorem quietis. The Septuagint simply: I shall behold man no more.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 38:11
I said, I shall not see the Lord
Hezekiahs distress
I.
HEZEKIAHS DISTRESS AT THE THOUGHT OF NOT SEEING GOD. This manifested–
1. True affection towards God.
2. Fervent desires for the revelation of Gods glory.
3. Spiritual power to apprehend God.
II. HEZEKIAHS DISAPPOINTMENT AT THE THOUGHT OF NOT SEEING GOD ON EARTH. He would see Him–
1. In deliverances wrought out for His people.
2. In Divine manifestations in the temple.
3. In Divine benediction upon himself and nation. Happy they who desire to see God. He may be seen in this land of death. In the true land of the living men ever behold Him face to face. (W. O. Lilley.)
I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world
One, and only one probation, a benevolent arrangement
(with Luk 16:26):–There are two facts that give death profound solemnity.
1. It separates a man for ever from his connections in this world. Hezekiah felt this now. Job felt this. When a few years are come, &c. What living man has not been impressed with this idea! The old scene of his first impressions, anxious labours, tender friendships, and dear associations is left for ever. However trying this world may be, it contains very much that is dear to us. Here we felt the first sensations of life; here the first trains of thought arose; here we have received the elements of our character; here all our joys have been experienced, our trials endured, and our labours prosecuted. Here sleep the dust of our parents and our friends. To leave all this for ever is a sad thought.
2. It separates a man for ever from all probationary means of improvement. Abraham gave this idea to the rich man in the world of perdition: he assured him there was an impassable gulf fixed between him and all remedial means. After death character seems stereotyped. This is a more solemn fact than the other, though perhaps not so deeply and generally felt. To be cut off for ever, if we are wicked, from Bibles, sanctuaries, and all mediatorial influences and helps; to have an impassable gulf between all that is bright and fair in the universe and ones self;–how solemn this! This fact, which is profoundly solemn, is neither cruel nor unjust, but on the contrary highly benevolent.
I. THERE IS MORE GOODNESS IN THIS ARRANGEMENT TO THE INDIVIDUAL HIMSELF. Three facts will illustrate this.
1. In case a man had a second probation, and it failed, his guilt and misery would be considerably enhanced by it.
(1) Punishment will be propertioned by the privileges and opportunities abused. He that knoweth his Masters will, and doeth it not, &c. If I had not spoken to them, said Christ, they had not had sin. What is the guilt of a heathen compared with a man living in Christian lands?
(2) The privileges and opportunities connected with his first probation are such as to impose incalculable responsibility. He that despised Moses law died without mercy, &c. What, then, would be the guilt of a man who had not only lived through a first probation, but a second?
2. The man who abused the first probation would be most likely to abuse the second. If a man pass through all remedial influences of the first probation nature, sacred literature, sanctuaries, the counsels and admonitions of the pious, the Gospel ministry–and not be saved, but hardened, by all, would there not be a certainty that, if he entered upon a second probation, the second would also fail?
(1) Because he would enter upon the second with hardened sensibilities. He did not so the first. We began our existence here with tender consciences.
(2) He would enter on the second with confirmed habits. H it be asked, May not some new influences be brought to bear upon the soul in the second probation that did not act upon him in the first?–We ask, What new influences are possible? We can only conceive of two kinds–the penal and the merciful. Will penal sufferings convert? And as to merciful influences–can there be any more merciful power brought to bear upon the soul than now? Can God give a more moving and mighty expression of His love than in sending His only-begotten Son?
3. Mans knowledge of a second probation would tend to counteract upon his mind the saving influence of the first.
(1) It would strengthen that procrastinating principle in his nature which leads him now to postpone the question of his salvation.
(2) It would strengthen that presuming tendency of his nature which induces him to run the risk of the future. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. The Lord – “JEHOVAH”] Yah, Yah, seems to be Yehovah, in MS. Bodl., and it was so at first written in another. So the Syriac. See Houbigant. I believe Yehovah was the original reading. See Clarke on Isa 12:2.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I shall not see the Lord; I shall not enjoy him; for seeing is put for enjoying, as hath been frequently noted.
In the land of the living; in this world, which is so called, Psa 27:13; 116:9; Isa 53:8; in his sanctuary: which limitation is prudently added, to intimate that he expected to see God in another place and manner, even in heaven, face to face.
I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world; I shall have no more society with men upon earth.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. Lord . . . LordTherepetition, as in Isa 38:19,expresses the excited feeling of the king’s mind.
See the Lord(Jehovah)figuratively for “to enjoy His good gifts.” So,in a similar connection (Ps27:13). “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see thegoodness of the Lord in the land of the living”; (Ps34:12), “What man is he that desireth life that he may seegood?”
worldrather,translate: “among the inhabitants of the land of stillness,“that is, Hades [MAURER],in parallel antithesis to “the land of the living” in thefirst clause. The Hebrew comes from a root, to “rest”or “cease” (Job 14:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living,…. Not any more, in this world, though in the other, and that more clearly, even face to face: his meaning is, that he should no more see him in the glass of the word; no more praise him in his house; worship him in his temple; enjoy him in his ordinances; and see his beauty, power, and glory, in the sanctuary; and confess unto him, and praise his name g. The Targum is,
“I shall no more appear before the face of the Lord in the land of the house of his Shechinah, in which is length of life; and I shall no more serve him in the house of the sanctuary.”
In the Hebrew text it is, “I shall not see Jah, Jah”; a word, the same with Jehovah; and is repeated, to show the vehemency of his affection for the Lord, and his ardent desire of communion with him: unless it should be rendered, “I shall not see the Lord’s Lord in the land of the living h”; or the Lord’s Christ in the flesh:
I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world; or “time” i; of this fading transitory world, which will quickly cease, as the word for it signifies: next to God, his concern was, that he should no more enjoy the company of men, of his subjects, of his courtiers, of his relations, companions, and acquaintance; particularly of the saints, the excellent in the earth.
g Ben Melech observes, that seeing or appearing before the Creator signifies confession and praise before him, and consideration of his ways; and this sense of the words, he says, R. Sandiah gives. h , Sept. “non videbo Jah Jah”, Montanus, Vatablus. i “cum habitoribus temporis”, Montanus. So Ben Melech explains it; and which will quickly cease. , “mundus, tempus cito desinens”—-ldx, “prodit mundi cessabilitatem, quatenus est colectio rerum pereuntium”, Gusset. Ebr. Comment. p. 242. “cum habitatoribus terrae cessationis”, Vitringa.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11. I said, I shall not see God. Amidst such earnest longing for an earthly life, Hezekiah would have gone beyond bounds, if his grief had not been aggravated by the conviction of God’s wrath. Since, therefore, he is violently dragged away by his own fault, as if he were unworthy of enjoying the ordinary light of the sun, he exclaims that he is miserable, because henceforth he shall never see either God or man. Among believers the statement would have been regarded as liable to this exception, that, so long as we dwell on the earth, we wander and are distant from God, but that, when the entanglements of the flesh shall have been laid aside, we shall more closely “see God.”
In the land of the living. These words are indeed added as a, limitation; but in this way Hezekiah appears to limit “the seeing of God” to the present life, as if death extinguished all the light of understanding. We must therefore keep in view what I formerly remarked, that when he received the message of God’s vengeance, it affected him in such. a manner as if he had been deprived of God’s fatherly love; for if he was unworthy of beholding the sun, how could he hope for what was of higher value? Not that hope was altogether effaced from his mind, but because, having his attention fixed on the curse of God, he cannot so soon or so quickly rise to heaven, to soothe present grief by the delightfulness of a better life.
Thus it sometimes happens that godly minds are overclouded, so that they do not always receive consolation, which for a time is suppressed, but still remains in their minds, and afterwards manifests itself. Yet it is an evidence of piety, that, by the proper and lawful object of life, he shews how grievous and distressing it is to be deprived of it. Even to cattle it gives uneasiness to die, but they have almost no use for their life except to feed and eat to the full; while we have a far more excellent object, for we were created and born on the express condition, that we should devote ourselves to the knowledge of God. And because this is the chief reason why we live, he twice repeats the name of God, and thus expresses the strength of his feelings; “I shall not see God, God in the land of the living.” (84)
If it be objected that here we do not “see God,” the answer is easy, that he is visible in his works; because “through the visible workmanship of the world,” as Paul says, “his eternal power and Godhead are known.” (Rom 1:20.) Hence also the Apostle calls this world a mirror of invisible things. (Heb 11:3.) The more nearly he manifests himself to be known by believers, the more highly did Hezekiah value that spiritual beholding; as David also says that they see the face of God who confirm their faith by the exercises of piety in the sanctuary. (Psa 42:2.) So far as relates to men, he grieves that he is withdrawn from their society, because we were born for the purpose of performing mutual kind offices to each other.
(84) “ יה יה (Yahh Yahh) is not an error of the text for יהוה (Yehovah) (Houbigant,) but an intensive repetition similar to those in verses 17, 19. Or the second may be added to explain and qualify the first. He did expect to see God, but not in the land of the living.” — Alexander.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) I shall not see the Lord . . .The words are eminently characteristic of the cheerless dimness of the Hebrews thoughts of death. To St. Paul and those who share his faith death is to depart, and to be with Christ (Php. 1:23), to be ever with the Lord (1Th. 4:17). To Hezekiah, it would seem, the outward worship of the Temple, or possibly, the consciousness of Gods presence in the full activity of brain and heart, was a joy which he could not bear to lose. The spiritual perceptions of the life after death would be spectral and shadowy, like the dead themselves. (Comp. the Greek idea of Hades in Homer (Od. xi. 12-19). It may be noted that the Hebrew for the Lord is the shorter, possibly the poetical, form Jah (as in Psa. 68:4). The LXX paraphrases I shall not see the salvation of God.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 38:11. I shall not see the Lord, &c. It is plain, that Hezekiah in this verse speaks singly and simply of the advantages which he should certainly lose by being suddenly cut off from life; without any respect to a future state. By not seeing the Lord in the land of the living, he seems to mean, that he should not see and enjoy the effects of his grace and goodness in the deliverance of his people. The meaning of the last clause, according to Vitringa, is, I shall behold man no more, being joined to the inhabitants of the world of rest.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 38:11 I said, I shall not see the LORD, [even] the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
Ver. 11. I said, I shall not see the Lord. ] In the glass of his ordinances, his love whereunto made Hezekiah so loath to depart; as also his delight in the communion of saints, and his desire to do more good among them on all occasions. This made good Paul “in a strait” also. Php 1:23-24 I loved the man, said Theodosius concerning Ambrose, for that when he died he was more solicitous of the Church’s welfare than of his own.
Even the Lord.
a Leo Castrius.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
see THE LORD = appear before Jah. Reference to Pentateuch. See note on Isa 1:12; and on “appear” (Exo 23:15; Exo 34:20).
in the land of the living. This expression occurs three times with the Art. (“the living”) in the Hebrew (viz. here; Job 28:13; and Psa 142:5). Without the Art. it occurs eight times. See note on Eze 26:20.
the living: i.e. alive on the earth. Not Sheol, which is the place of the dead.
the world. Hebrew. hadel = a quiet land: i.e. when this invasion shall be ended. Some codices read heled (transposing the l and d) = the transitory world: hadel occurs only here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Job 35:14, Job 35:15, Psa 6:4, Psa 6:5, Psa 27:13, Psa 31:22, Psa 116:8, Psa 116:9, Ecc 9:5, Ecc 9:6
Reciprocal: Job 7:9 – he Job 10:21 – I go whence Job 28:13 – in the land Psa 31:12 – forgotten Psa 49:14 – they Psa 52:5 – the land Psa 119:82 – eyes Jer 11:19 – that his Eze 32:23 – the land
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
38:11 I said, {h} I shall not see the LORD, [even] the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
(h) I will no more praise the Lord here in this temple among the faithful thus God permits his dearest children to want his consolation for a time that his grace afterward may appear when they feel their own weakness.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
He sorrowed because his contact with God and with people as a living human being would end. He was not saying anything about his relationship with God after death. He only meant that his present relationship with God and people would end when he died.