Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 38:12
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day [even] to night wilt thou make an end of me.
12. Figures setting forth the utter frustration of his hope of life. The first is that of a nomad’s tent, easily pitched and soon removed.
Mine age is departed ] Render: My habitation is plucked up (Cheyne). The sense “habitation” is Aramaic and Arabic, and does not occur again in the Bible (but see on ch. Isa 53:8). Elsewhere the word means “generation,” in the sense of “contemporaries,” which is obviously unsuitable here. Then follow two figures from weaving.
I have cut off ] Rather: I have rolled up (R.V.) as the weaver does the finished web. with pining sickness ] should be (as in R.V. marg.) from the thrum, the threads by which the web is attached to the loom.
from day even to night ] i.e. apparently “within twenty-four hours.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mine age – The word which is used here ( dor) means properly the revolving period or circle of human life. The parallelism seems to demand, however, that it should be used in the sense of dwelling or habitation, so as to correspond with the shepherds tent. Accordingly, Lowth and Noyes render it, Habitation. So also do Gesenius and Rosenmuller. The Arabic word has this signification; and the Hebrew verb dur also means to dwell, to remain, as in the Chaldee. Here the word means a dwelling, or habitation; that is, a tent, as the habitations of the Orientals were mostly tents.
Is departed – ( nssa). The idea here is, that his dwelling was to be transferred from one place to another, as when a tent or encampment was broken up; that is, he was about to cease to dwell on the earth, and to dwell in the land of silence, or among the dead.
From me as a shepherds tent – As suddenly as the tent of a shepherd is taken down, folded up, and transferred to another place. There is doubtless the idea here that he would continue to exist, but in another place, as the shepherd would pitch his tent or dwell in another place. He was to be cut off from the earth, but he expected to dwell among the dead. The whole passage conveys the idea that he expected to dwell in another state – as the shepherd dwells in another place when he strikes his tent, and it is removed.
I have cut off like a weaver my life – This is another image designed to express substantially the same idea. The sense is, as a weaver takes his web from the loom by cutting the warp, or the threads which bind it to the beam, and thus loosens it and takes it away, so his life was to be cut off. When it is said, I cut off ( qipadetiy), the idea is, doubtless, I AM cut off; or my life is cut off. Hezekiah here speaks of himself as the agent, because he might have felt that his sins and unworthiness were the cause. Life is often spoken of as a web that is woven, because an advance is constantly made in filling up the web, and because it is soon finished, and is then cut off.
He will cut me off – God was about to cut me off.
With pining sickness – Margin, From the thrum. Lowth, From the loom. The word dalah means properly something hanging down or pendulous; anything pliant or slender. Hence, it denotes hair or locks Son 7:6. Here it seems to denote the threads or thrums which tied the web to the weavers beam. The image here denotes the cutting off of life as the weaver cuts his web out of the loom, or as he cuts off thrums. The word never means sickness.
From day even to night – That is, in the space of a single day, or between morning and night – as a weaver with a short web accomplishes it in a single day. The disease of Hezekiah was doubtless the pestilence; and the idea is, that God would cut him off speedily, as it were in a single day.
Wilt thou make an end of me – Hebrew, Wilt thou perfect or finish me; that is, wilt thou take my life.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 38:12
As a shepherds tent
The inconstancy of earthly life
He saith a shepherds tent, because that represents the inconstancy and uncertainty of our life, more than any other tent.
The soldiers tent may stand pitched long in a place, as in sieges and the like; but shepherds change the place of their tent every day, because of the opportunity of fresh pasture for their cattle. (W. Day, M. A.)
As a shepherd s tent
I. MANS LOT HAS NO PERMANENCE.
II. IT IS EASILY REMOVED.
III. IT MAY BE SPEEDILY REMOVED.
IV. IT IS OFTEN REMOVED SUDDENLY.
V. IT IS REMOVED TO ANOTHER PLACE. (W. O. Lilley.)
I have out off like a weaver my life
The art of weaving
The art of weaving seems to have been coeval with the first dawn of civilisation. We do not know where or at what time it was invented; but we find that at an early age in the worlds history the Egyptians manifested great skill in it. The vestures of fine linen such as Joseph wore were the product of Egyptian looms, and the existing specimens of the mummy cloth of Egypt are said to compare favourably with the finest cambric of modern times. There are various incidental references to this art in the Scriptures. We are told that the staff of Goliaths spear was like a weavers beam. Job says that his days are swifter than a weavers shuttle. And among the experiments which Delilah tried in ascertaining the secret of Samsons strength, we find one that consisted in weaving the seven locks of his hair with the web of her loom. She fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson; and he awaked out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web. Here we have references to some of the parts of the loom as it exists in the present day, the beam, the shuttle, the pin to which the web was attached. Indeed, we learn on reliable authority that though the introduction of machinery has made some important changes in the loom as used by the ancients, yet the essential features of it remain unaltered. (W. V. Robinson, B. A.)
Man as a weaver
We need, therefore, but a slight acquaintance with the art of weaving in its present state to enable us to understand the meaning of our text. Let us suppose that a man is standing before his loom. The warp has been supplied to him by his master, and fixed to the weavers beam. The threads pass over the loom, and the weft is shot through by means of the shuttle. The web is then complete, and is rolled on to another beam. When the required length of cloth has been woven, the threads of the warp are cut, and if the master has no more work for the weaver, he is dismissed from his employ. (W. V. Robinson, B. A.)
The web of life
Life is like a web of which man is the weaver, and the threads may at any moment be cut by the master, and the weaver dismissed from the loom.
I. LIFE IS LIKE A WEB, OF WHICH GOD SUPPLIES THE MATERIALS, AND OF WHICH MAN IS THE WEAVER.
1. God supplies the warp of life.
(1) This consists partly of a mans capacities and partly of a mans circumstances. It is different in almost every case; but in each case it forms the material which lies at the basis of a mans life. No two men are exactly alike. One man enters life with a strong physical constitution. Another, perhaps his brother, enters into life a cripple. One man inherits a strong intellect, which in his boyhood puts him at the top of his school, and in his later years makes him the leader of his fellows. Another is born with a slow, dull comprehension. One man is born with tastes and tendencies which will make him an artist or a poet; another with passions which will sink him into the criminal class if they are allowed to develop. One man is weak in character, veering like the weather-cock with every breath of public opinion. Another has a strong character. He is firm and persistent, and allows no difficulty to discourage or distress him. How very different is the warp of life in these cases!
(2) The warp of life comprises, moreover, a mans early surroundings his parentage, his social position, his early education, his religious training. One men is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, another has the fiery liquid poured down his throat before he is many weeks old. One is surrounded by the sunshine of love and affluence; another enters life in the cold winds of adversity and cruel oppression. One man is born in a country village, and his early life is full of experiences of the external world in all its purity and beauty; another is born in a large town, amid the roar of traffic and the bustling excitement of city life. One is born in a land where the air is heavy with idolatry; another is surrounded with Christian influences. How different is the warp of life in all such cases! Now God supplies this; and it is not for any one of us to murmur at His arrangements. For this, at least, we know, that God requires of a man no more than he possesses.
2. The weft of life, as we conceive of it, consists of the desires and purposes and resolutions that we bring to bear upon our capacities and circumstances. There are some who weave with the coarse yarn of selfishness, who use their strong physical natures for the gratification of their bodily appetites, who allow their strong reasoning powers to lift them up in rebellion against God, who oppress and crush their weaker brethren with their firm wills and imperious natures. When a coarse thread is woven into a fine warp, the cloth is not good. Neither can that life be good which has a selfish purpose woven into the Divine plan. But there are others who weave with the fine yarn of Christian consecration, and the web of their lives cannot but be well pleasing in the sight of God. It is true that the weft of life is supplied to us as well as the warp, and yet each man possesses the power to choose the thread that he will weave into his life. It is ours to choose either the selfish purpose or the Christ-like purpose. Any weaver may lay aside the yarn that his master has supplied to him, and substitute for it an inferior yarn and work with that. And that is exactly what many are actually doing. On the one side, the Divine Spirit is prompting him to all that is noble and good; and on the other side are the spirits of darkness, who cannot compel one single man to choose the wrong, but who can, and do tempt him to it; and if a man, either through indifference or presumption, allows himself to be influenced by that which is evil, for the life that is thus marred he is accountable to God.
II. GOD KNOWS BEST OF ALL WHEN THE WEB OF LIFE IS REALLY FINISHED. The Greeks believed that the fates were spinning the web of human life, and that they determined when it should be cut off from the loom. Ours is a truer and a more comforting creed. It is no cruel fate but a loving Father that determines for us the length of lifes fabric.
1. We sometimes think that some lives are ended before they are completed. What means the broken column, so frequently to be seen in our cemeteries, but that some mourning friend thinks that one life, perhaps dearer than any other life, has been cut off before it is completed. But God knows best when a life is really finished. Every life is finished when Gods purpose in that life has been fulfilled. The life of Jesus only reached over thirty-three short years; but no one thinks of suggesting that it would have been better if He had lived to be sixty. His work was finished.
2. Again, are there not many who seem to us to have lived long after their work on earth was over? It may be that in the patient waiting of their lives, in the dim glory of their eventide, He has some threads for them to weave into the warp that He has supplied.
3. But after the fabric has been rolled up, it must be unrolled again. How few are there who can, without emotion, take a retrospect of their past life! To some it is a punishment greater than they can bear! And is there any man, however good, who can think of the past without regret? The memory of Gods goodness, indeed, may fill him with gratitude, and joy, and wonder; but the recollection of his share in lifes fabric must fill him with grief and shame. And this life must be Unrolled before the searching eye of the Great Master, in the fierce light that beats about His throne. For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. How can we bear to present such imperfect and sin-stained lives to God? Let us take courage. For are there not some standing before the throne whose lives were no better than ours? How can they stand there? They have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And we, too, can receive forgiveness and cleansing where they received it. The Great Master might well say that such clumsy and faithless weavers as we are should have no place in His service and in His home. But He will receive us for the sake of His dear Son. (W. V. Robinson, D. D.)
Two typical cases: Judas Iscariot and Paul
Judas Iscariot was a man of whose capacities we know little. We may infer, however, that he possessed some valuable gifts, or his brethren in the apostolate would never have assigned to him the important office of purse-bearer and almoner to the little band. His circumstances, we know, were unusually good. He was drawn, with the other apostles, to the feet of Jesus by the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth. For three years he accompanied our Lord in His journeys. He heard the discourses to which He gave utterance, and he lived under the influence of His character. This was the warp of his life. But what does he weave into it? Is it avarice, or is it vindictiveness, or is it a conceited idea that he can force the triumph of his Master, or is it bitter disappointment at the spiritual character of Christs kingdom, that forms the weft of his life? Whatever it is, it is a dark, coarse thread. Satan enters into him. He betrays his Master even with the kiss of loyalty and affection. And when he comes to look at the web that he has woven, he himself is so overwhelmed with grief and remorse, that he cuts himself off from the loom. He went, and departed, and hanged himself. Saul of Tarsus was a very different man; a man of weak physical constitution, but of strong intellect; a man of deep conscientiousness and rousing enthusiasm. Drought up in a comfortable home and trained in the Pharisaism of his day, he weaves into his early life a simply lurid thread of persecution of the Christians. Jesus meets him on the way to Damascus, and he gives himself up completely to the influences that are brought to bear upon him. How changed his life is! He has severe physical sufferings to endure; he has persecutions innumerable to face; but inwoven into all the threads of the Divine providence is the grand purpose of consecration to Christs service. Henceforth the motto of his life is, To me to live is Christ. Christ is the aim of all his labours, of all Iris sufferings, of all his successes. And now that that life is unrolled for us in the Scriptures it is acknowledged to be one of the noblest and best ever lived upon earth. (W. V. Robinson, D. D.)
The life of Jesus
But even that life pales before the resplendent glory that streams forth from the one perfect life upon earth, the life of Him who was at once the Son of Mary and the Son of God. Born in the stable of the inn at Bethlehem, bred in the humble home of Nazareth, pursuing the calling of a carpenter, He possessed little that men would covet. But that life was glorious, not because of its circumstances, but because of its high and holy purpose. My Fathers business, that was the aim that He set before Himself from the beginning; and that was the aim that He pursued to the close of His career. When at last the supreme moment has come, He can shout triumphantly, It is finished. He has glorified God on the earth, He has finished the work that was given Him to do. Like His own seamless robe, His life was of one piece throughout. And He lived for us, He died for us. Trusting in Him, following in His footsteps, our lives may, in some measure, be like His. Humbler they can scarcely be; but are there any that are so full of glory? (W. V. Robinson, D. D.)
Human life a weaving
I. IT IS WORTH WHILE LOOKING AT THE WORK ITSELF. Now what is this? The formation of personal character. There are two great elements which might well correspond with the weavers warp and woof. The first may represent the principles of scriptural trust in God; pardon, providence, hope, &c. These, like the weavers warp, are strong and firmly fixed. The second are our own dally deeds. Each is a thread, woven into the character; both are necessary in cloth making: so are faith and works, in character weaving. Now observe about this work what it is.
1. The weavers own. I do not mean that the materials, either before or after they are made up, belong to him, but the work itself. A thousand weavers may use the same wool in common, while the work of each will be the product of each individual workman. Now this is a solemn fact in character weaving. Every man is making, and must make, his own; nobody can make it for him, nor can God give it him.
2. It is a work of increasing progress. We have to choose, not whether the work shall go on, but only whether the work shall be good or bad.
3. It is a work of growing ease. It is difficult at first, but soon, and in proportion to the weavers assiduity, he becomes dexterous, and may sing all day at his loom; ay, he shall have plenty to sing about too! So it is with character weaving.
4. It is a work of changeful feeling. We may be full of joy or grief, gaiety or gloom, only let the work go on. The finest cloth is often woven while we Job 7:6). Poor Job! You little thought what was in your loom then! Every age admires that work of yours! Christian weaver, do not think too much of your frames and feelings.
II. IT IS WORTH WHILE LOOKING AT THE MATERIALS. These are the doctrines of truth, all the agencies of the Spirit, and particularly all the events of life, all the calls to self-denial, duty, trust and righteousness which our lot furnishes. Observe of them–
1. They are like the weavers wool, all supplied by the Master. And the Master gives that material which best suits the workman.
2. They are only materials after all. They are valuable for the cloths sake, rather than for themselves. The man that works the worst material best, shall have the best pay and praise, and vice versa. Always remember that the part you play in lifes drama is the choice of God, the manner of playing it alone is yours. These materials are abundant. The master never lacks them so that work should be short. Every workman has his hands full.
III. IT IS WORTH WHILE LOOKING AT THE END. I have cut off, &c. Observe–
1. The fabric lasts for ever. Cloth wears out, character does not.
2. The work is over at death. The loom must then stop for ever. No unpicking bad work, finished or unfinished, bad or good. The shuttle is still, and the shears cut off the cloth, and it is delivered up.
3. The Master inspects it. Here, reputation will be nothing; character, all. It will be held up to the sun, .
4. The Master disposes of it according to its worth. In reviewing all this, think–
(1) What a mercy it is we are spared and furnished for this work!
(2) What a motive to begin the work early!
(3) How soon shall we have nothing but our work left! Wealth, poverty, health, sickness, &c., all will be left behind! (W. Wheeler.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. Mine age – is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent] roi is put for roeh, say the rabbis (Sal. ben Melec on the place;) but much more probably is written imperfectly for roim, shepherds. See Clarke on Isa 5:1.
I shall be removed from this state to another, as a shepherd removes his tent from one place to another for the sake of his flock. Is not this a strong intimation of his belief in a future state?
I have cut off like a weaver my life – “My life is cut off as by the weaver”] kippadti. This verb is rendered passively, and in the third person, by the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mine age is departed; the time of my life is expired.
As a shepherds tent, which is easily and speedily removed.
I have cut off, to wit, by my sins, provoking God to do it. Or, I do declare, and have concluded, that my life is or will be suddenly cut off; for men are oft said in Scripture to do those things which they only declare and pronounce to be done; as men are said to pollute, and to remit and retain sins, and the like, when they only declare men and things to be polluted, and sins to be remitted or retained by God.
Like a weaver, who cutteth off the web from the loom, either when it is finished, or before, according to his pleasure.
He; the Lord, who pronounced this sentence against him.
With pining sickness; with a consuming disease, wasting my spirits and life. Some render this word, from the thrum; from those threads at the end of the web, which are fastened to the beam. So the similitude of a weaver is continued.
From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me: the sense is either,
1. This sickness will kill me in the space of one day. Or rather,
2. Thou dost pursue me night and day with continual pains, and wilt not desist till thou hast made a full end of me; so that I expect that every day will be my last day.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. agerather, as theparallel “shepherd’s tent” requires habitation, sothe Arabic [GESENIUS].
departedis broken up,or shifted, as a tent to a different locality. The same image occurs(2Co 5:1; 2Pe 1:12;2Pe 1:13). He plainly expects toexist, and not cease to be in another state; as the shepherd stilllives, after he has struck his tent and removed elsewhere.
I have cut offHeattributes to himself that which is God’s will withrespect to him; because he declares that will. So Jeremiah issaid to “root out” kingdoms, because he declaresGod’s purpose of doing so (Jer1:10). The weaver cuts off his web from the loom when completed.Job 7:6 has a like image. TheGreeks represented the Fates as spinning and cutting off the threadsof each man’s life.
heGod.
with pining sicknessrather,”from the thrum,” or thread, which tied the loom to theweaver’s beam.
from day . . . to nightthatis, in the space of a single day between morning and night (Job4:20).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent,…. Or, my habitation k; meaning the earthly house of his tabernacle, his body; this was just going, in his apprehension, to be unpinned, and removed like a shepherd’s tent, that is easily taken down, and removed from place to place. Some understand it of the men of his age or generation; so the Targum,
“from the children of my generation my days are taken away; they are cut off, and removed from me; they are rolled up as a shepherd’s tent;”
which being made of skins, as tents frequently were, such as the Arabian shepherds used, were soon taken down, and easily rolled and folded up and carried elsewhere:
I have cut off like a weaver my life; who, when he has finished his web, or a part of it, as he pleases, cuts it off from the loom, and disposes of it: this Hezekiah ascribes to himself, either that by reason of his sins and transgressions he was the cause of his being taken away by death so soon; or this was the thought he had within himself, that his life would now be cut off, as the weaver’s web from the loom; for otherwise he knew that it was the Lord that would do it, whenever it was, as in the next clause:
he will cut me off with pining sickness; which was now upon him, wasting and consuming him apace: or, “will cut me off from the thrum” l; keeping on the metaphor of the weaver cutting off his web from the thrum, fastened to the beam of his loom:
from day even tonight wilt thou make an end of me; he means the Lord by “he” in the preceding clause, and in this he addresses him; signifying that the affliction was so sharp and heavy upon him, which was the first day of it, that he did not expect to live till night, but that God would put a period to his days, fill them up, and finish his life, and dispatch him out of this world.
k “habitatio mea”, Vatablus, Junius Tremellius. l “a liciis resecturus est me”, Piscator “a primis filis resecat me”, Vitringa.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12. My dwelling is departed. He proceeds in his complaints, by painting his life under a beautiful metaphor; for he compares it to a shepherd’s tent. Such indeed is the condition of human life in general; but he does not relate so much what happens to all universally as what has befallen himself as an individual. The use of tents is more common in those countries than in ours, and shepherds often change their residence, while they drive their flock from one place to another. He does not therefore say absolutely that men dwell in a frail lodginghouse, while they pass through the world, but that, after he had dwelt at ease in a royal palace, his lot was changed, just as if “a shepherd’s tent” were pitched for two days in one field and afterwards removed to another.
I have cut off, as a weaver, my life. It is worthy of observation, that he indiscriminately ascribes the cause of his death, sometimes to himself, and sometimes to God, but at the same time explains the grounds; for when he speaks of himself as the author, he does not complain of God, or remonstrate that God has robbed him of his life, but accuses himself, and acknowledges deep blame. His words are equivalent to the proverbial saying, “I have cut this thread for myself, so that I alone am the cause of my death.” And yet it is not without reason that he soon afterwards ascribes to God what he had acknowledged to have proceeded from himself; for although we give to God grounds for dealing severely with us, yet he is the judge who inflicts punishment. In our afflictions, therefore, we ought always to praise his judgment; because he performs his office when he chastises us as we deserve.
From lifting up he will cut me off. Some translate מדלה (middallah) “through leanness,” or “through sickness,” and others translate it “by taking away.” The former derive this noun from דלל (dalal) which means “to diminish,” and the latter from דלה (dalah) which means “to carry off by lifting up.” But let my readers consider if the word “lifting up” be not more appropriate; for Hezekiah appears to complain that his life, while it tended to advance farther, was suddenly east down; just as if God should cause the sun to set, while it was still ascending in the sky.
From day even to night. He now adds that in a short space of time he was brought down; and by this circumstance again expresses the severity of God’s wrath; because he consumes men by the breath of a moment; for to be laid low in a single day means that men die very rapidly.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) Mine age is departed . . .Better, my home, or habitation . . . as in Psa. 49:19, and thus fitting in better with the similitude that follows. The home is, of course, the body, as the dwelling-place of the spirit. (Comp. Psa. 52:5, hurl thee away tentless, Heb., and Job. 21:28, Is not their tent-cord torn away? Heb.) The shepherds tent is the type of a transitory home (2Co. 5:1-4).
I have cut off like a weaver my life . . .The words express the feeling of one who had been weaving the web of his life with varied plans and counsels (comp. Isa. 30:1), and now had to roll it up, as finished before its time, because Jehovah had taken up the abhorred shears to cut it from the thrum, which takes the place of with pining sickness. There is, perhaps, a tone of reverence in the impersonal form of the statement. The sufferer will not name Jehovah as the author of his trouble.
From day even to night.The words speak of the rapidity rather than of the prolongation of suffering. The sick man expects that death will come before the morrows dawn.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Mine age is departed “Age,” from , ( dor,) which, besides meaning a period, a generation, also means a dwelling; so here body, the dwelling of the soul. It has this meaning from being round, like a nomad tent. Thus the parallel with next phrase is complete.
Is removed as a shepherd’s tent The same idea runs in the words, I have cut off cut me off, etc., as a weaver cuts his threads of warp when he has finished his cloth has cut the web which fastens to the loom.
From day even to night During all the day, life seemed to wane.
Make an end of me Finish me, cut off existence; as the weaver loosens the cloth from the loom when it is fully woven.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 38:12. Mine age is departed My habitation is taken away, and is removed from me, like a shepherd’s tent: my life is cut off, as by the weaver; he will sever me from the loom; in the course of the day thou wilt finish my web. Lowth. Vitringa understands the word dor, rendered age, to signify the body; that habitation, or dwelling, in which the soul rather lodges as a guest in a moveable tent, than lives as in a fixed house; he means therefore to say in this passage, that the tabernacle of his body was removed, and as it were carried away by force, like a shepherd’s tent, which, on occasion of any violence, is suddenly taken down and transferred elsewhere. The writer probably had in view the tents of the Arabs. See 2Co 5:4. 2Pe 1:13. The metaphor in the next clause is taken from weaving. The king, dejected in mind, bears a tender sense of his sins and infirmities, whereby he had offended God, and had given him occasion to cut off the not yet finished thread of his life. Nay, he goes on, increasing the expression, that the weaver had not only cut the web which he had begun to weave, but that he had even cut it from the very first threads, (for so the original may be rendered,) and had wholly destroyed the woof. For, when Hezekiah, flourishing in life and power, proposed to himself a happy continuance of each; behold! a hand comes, which, having begun this pleasing web, seems now determined to cut it off entirely. The meaning of the last phrase is; “The web of my life, which thou hadst begun to weave, (the address being elegantly turned to God,) seemed to be a short work, and scarcely of one day’s continuance; so that, having begun it in the morning, thou seemedst about to finish it before the evening.” It answers to the former clause. Hezekiah, in the extremity of his misery, did not conceive that he should survive till the evening. See Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 38:12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day [even] to night wilt thou make an end of me.
Ver. 12. Mine age is departed. ] Or, My generation, or my habitation: here I have no settled abode, no continuing city, but am flitting, as a shepherd’s shed.
I have cut off like a weaver my life.
“ Clotho colum baiulat, Lachesis trahit, Atropos occat. ”
He will cut me off with pining sickness.
From day even to night.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
age. Hebrew. dor = generation, or succession.
like a weaver. Supply Ellipsis thus: “like a weaver [his thread]. “See note on “weave” (Isa 19:9).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
is removed: Job 7:7, Psa 89:45-47, Psa 102:11, Psa 102:23, Psa 102:24
as a: Isa 1:8, Isa 13:20
have cut: Job 7:6, Job 9:25, Job 9:26, Job 14:2, Jam 4:14
he will cut: Job 7:3-5, Job 17:1, Psa 31:22, Psa 119:23
with pining sickness: or, from the thrum
Reciprocal: Exo 35:35 – of the weaver Job 4:20 – from morning Job 7:18 – visit Job 27:18 – as a booth Psa 31:12 – forgotten Psa 90:10 – for Isa 24:20 – removed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 38:12. Mine age is departed The time of my life is expired; and is removed as a shepherds tent Which is easily and speedily removed: I have cut off Namely, by my sins, provoking God to do it; or, I have concluded, and declare that my life is, or will be, soon cut off: for men are often said, in the Scriptures, to do those things that they only declare and pronounce to be done; like a weaver my life Who cutteth off the web from the loom, either when it is finished, or before, according to his pleasure. He God; will cut me off with pining sickness With a consuming disease, wasting my spirits and life; from day, even till night, wilt thou make an end of me That is, either, 1st, This sickness will kill me in the space of one day; or, 2d, Thou dost pursue me night and day with continual pains, and wilt not cease till thou hast made a full end of me; so that I expect every day will be my last day. Bishop Lowth translates this verse: My habitation is taken away, and is removed from me, like a shepherds tent: my life is cut off, as by the weaver; he will sever me from the loom; in the course of the day thou wilt finish my web. Vitringa and Dr. Waterland read the verse nearly in the same manner, considering the similitude of the weaver as being continued to the end of it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
38:12 My age hath departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I {i} have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day [even] {k} to night wilt thou make an end of me.
(i) By my sin I have provoked God to take my life from me.
(k) That is, in one day, or shortly.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Hezekiah viewed his life as fragile as a shepherd’s temporary tent, which shepherds frequently moved from place to place. His life was like a weaver’s finished piece of cloth that the weaver cuts off decisively and rolls up to take away. Both images are of objects that suddenly disappear from their expected places. Before the day of his life was out, the Lord would end it.
"The thought is that in the morning one did not expect anything untoward to occur, and by evening, when darkness had come, the event had already taken place (cf. Job 4:20)." [Note: Young, 2:520.]