Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 40:7
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass.
7. the spirit of the Lord ] Better as R.V. the breath of the LORD, i.e. the wind (Psa 103:16), specially the scorching east-wind (Hos 13:15) or Sirocco, which blows chiefly in the spring, blighting the fresh vegetation (see Smith, Hist. Geog. of Palestine, pp. 67 ff.).
surely the people is grass ] “The people,” used absolutely, must apparently mean “humanity”; although there are no strict parallels to this sense. To understand it of Israel is opposed to the prophet’s general teaching and misrepresents his meaning here. It is not Israel, but the enemies of Israel, whose perishableness he is concerned to assert. The words at best are a flat repetition of Isa 40:6 and should probably be removed as a marginal gloss. The LXX., indeed, omits all from because in Isa 40:7 to fadeth in Isa 40:8: but this proves nothing, as it is evidently an oversight caused by the homoteleuton. The resumption of the leading thought is a very effective introduction to the contrasted idea in the end of Isa 40:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The grass withereth – Soon withers. Its beauty is soon gone.
The flower fadeth – Soon fades; or fades when the wind of Yahweh passes over it. So is also with man. He loses his vigor, and dies at once when Yahweh takes away his strength and beauty.
Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it – This should be rendered, undoubtedly, When the wind of Yahweh bloweth upon it. The word spirit here does not suit the connection, and does not express the idea of the prophet. The word ruach means, properly, breath – a breathing, or blowing; and is often used indeed to denote spirit, soul, life. But it often means a breath of wind; a breeze; air in motion Job 41:8; Jer 2:24; Jer 14:6. It is applied to the cool breeze which springs up in the evening (Gen 3:8; compare Son 2:17; Son 4:6). It sometimes means a strong and violent wind Gen 8:1; Isa 7:2; Isa 41:16; and also a tempest, or hurricane Job 1:19; Job 30:15; Isa 27:8. The wind of Yahweh means that which Yahweh sends, or causes; and the expression here refers, doubtless, to the hot or poisonous east winds which blow in Oriental countries, and which wither and dry up everything before them (compare Jon 4:8).
Surely the people is grass – Lowth reads this, this people; referring to the Jewish nation. So the Syriac. Perhaps it refers to the people of Babylon (so Rosenmuller), and means that mighty people would fade away like grass. But the more probable interpretation is that which regards it as referring to all people, and of course including the Jews and the Babylonians. The sense, according to this view, is, all nations shall fade away. All human power shall cease. But the promise of Yahweh shall survive. It shall be unchanging amidst all revolutions; it shall survive all the fluctuations which shall take place among people. It may, therefore, be trusted with unwavering reliance. To produce that reliance was the object of the proclamation. On this passage, descriptive of the state of man, the reader will at once be reminded of the beautiful language of Shakespeare:
This is the state of man! Today he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope: to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honors thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls –
– Never to hope again.
Hen. VIII, Act. ii. Sc. 2.
In the following passage from Tasso, the same image is adopted:
The gentle budding rose (quoth he) behold,
That first scant peeping forth with virgin beams,
Half ope, half shut, her beauties doth up-fold
In their dear leaves, and less seen fairer seems,
And after spreads them forth more broad and bold,
Then languishes and dies in last extremes.
So in the passing of a day doth pass
The bud and blossom of the life of man,
Nor eer doth flourish more, but, like the grass
Cut down, becometh withered, pale, and wan.
Fairfax, Edit. Windsor, 1817.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. The grass withereth] The whole of this verse is wanting in three of Kennicott’s and five of De Rossi’s MSS., and in a very correct and ancient MS. of my own, and also in the Septuagint and Arabic.
Surely the people – “Verily this people”] So the Syriac; who perhaps read haam hazzeh.
Because the spirit of the Lord – “When the wind of JEHOVAH”] ruach Jehovah, a wind of JEHOVAH, is a Hebraism, meaning no more than a strong wind. It is well known that a hot wind in the east destroys every green thing. Compare Ps 103:16. Two MSS. omit the word Yehovah, Jehovah.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Spirit of the Lord; or, the breath, &c, as this word is rendered, Psa 147:18; the wind, as it frequently signifies, which hath this effect upon grass and flowers, Psa 103:16; Jam 1:11.
The people; the same which he called flesh, and said they were grass, Isa 40:6; which, that he might prove, in this verse he first declares the frail nature of grass and flowers, and then he applies this to the people. Or, this people; the Jews no less than the Gentiles; for here is an article in the Hebrew text, which is frequently emphatical and restrictive.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. spirit of the Lordrather,”wind of Jehovah” (Ps103:16). The withering east wind of those countries sent byJehovah (Jon 4:8).
the peoplerather,”this people” [LOWTH],which may refer to the Babylonians [ROSENMULLER];but better, mankind in general, as in Isa42:5, so Isa 40:6, “allflesh”; this whole race, that is, man.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth,…. And so does man, and all his glory and goodliness:
because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: alluding to some impetuous and blasting wind blowing upon herbs and flowers, to the withering and fading of them; see Ps 103:15, legal ordinances ceased upon the pouring forth of the Spirit. The external excellencies of men, or their outward advantages, perish at the breath of God, at the blast of his nostrils, when taken away by death; and at conversion the Spirit of the Lord blows a blast upon all the goodliness of man; the operations of the Spirit are compared to wind, Joh 3:8, which, like that, are free, and, as he pleases, are invisible and imperceptible, land powerful and efficacious, and these cause a withering in men’s goodness; the Spirit of God shows that their holiness is not true holiness; that their righteousness has only the appearance of one before men; and their religion and godliness a mere form; and their good works, “splendida peccata”, shining sins; that those are insufficient to justify and save, and bring to heaven; upon which they fade away and die in their esteem, who now reckon them but loss and dung, Php 3:6: “surely the people is grass”; the people of the Jews, with all their external advantages; yea, all people, with all the excellencies of human nature, or considered in their best estate, possessed of all that is reckoned good and great, being but mere natural men. The Targum restrains this to the ungodly, as it does the former verse, rendering it,
“as grass the wicked among the people are esteemed;”
as it does the former, thus,
“the wicked are as grass, and their strength as the stubble of the field.”
So Kimchi interprets them of the nations that come with Gog and Magog; and Jarchi of the princes of the kingdoms; but very wrongly, since it is true of all flesh, or of all mankind.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7. The grass is withered. This might be understood to relate to the beauty of the fields, which is spoiled by a single gust of wind, as it is said, (Psa 103:16,) “As soon as the wind passeth over it, it is gone;” for we know that the wind is called “the Spirit of God” in other passages. But I am more inclined to think that the metaphor is adapted to the present subject; for otherwise the application of it would be somewhat obscure. The Prophet therefore explains what object he has in view, by saying that men, with all their glory, are nothing else than grass; theft is, because the Spirit of God will quickly carry them away by a single breath.
Because the Spirit of Jehovah hath blown upon it. The meaning may be thus explained, “However illustrious are the gifts with which men are endowed, yet as soon as the Spirit of God shall blow upon them, they shall fed that they are nothing.” For the false confidence with which they intoxicate themselves springs from this source, that they do not appear before God, but, in order to indulge freely in flattering themselves, creep into places of concealment. That they may no longer deceive themselves by a foolish delight in falsehood, the Prophet drags them into the presence of God, and admits that apparently they flourish, when they have been withdrawn from God; but as soon as the Lord has breathed upon them, all their strength and beauty perish and decay.
But it may be thought that he assigns to “the Spirit of God” an office which is greatly at variance with his nature; for it belongs to him “to renew by his power the face of the earth.” (Psa 104:30.) On the other hand, if the Lord withdraw his Spirit, all is reduced to nothing. Here Isaiah asserts what is exceedingly different, and appears to contradict David. But there is no absurdity in saying that all things are renewed by the power of the Spirit, and again, that what formerly appeared to be something is reduced to nothing; for we are nothing but in God, and, in order that we may begin to be something in him, we must first be convinced, and made thoroughly to know, that we are vanity. Therefore does the Lord breathe upon us, that we may know that of ourselves we are nothing.
Surely the people is grass. The Prophet added this, that all might know that he was not speaking of foreigners, but of that people which gloried in the name of God; for the Jews might have thought that they were more excellent, and held a higher rank than other men, and that on this account they ought to be exempted from the common lot. He therefore addresses theta expressly and by name, that they may not claim anything for themselves above others; as if he had said, that they would act wisely if, through a conviction of their poverty, they should cast away all confidence in themselves. In a word, the Prophet, after having mentioned consolation, shews in what way men must be prepared to receive it; for they are not capable of it till they have formerly been reduced to nothing. Our hardness must therefore be softened, our haughtiness must be east down and laid low, our boasting must be put to shame, and our hearts must be subdued and humbled, if we wish to receive with any advantage the consolations which the prophets bring to us by the command of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) The spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it.Better, the breath, or the wind of Jehovah, as we are still in the region of the parable, and the agency is destructive, and not quickening. A wind of Jehovah would be a mighty storm-blast, tearing up the grass and hurling it to destruction. The image of the fading flower reminds us of the well-known Homeric simile, As are the generations of leaves, so are those of men. (Comp. Psa. 103:15-16.)
The word of our God . . .Primarily the prophetic word revealing the will of God, but including all manifestations of His being (Psa. 119:41; Psa. 119:65; Psa. 119:89; Joh. 1:1).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass.
Ver. 7. Because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. ] Or, when the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it. God can easily blow men to destruction, dissipate them as so many vile dust heaps. Job 4:9 ; Job 34:14-15 Psa 104:29 Dan 2:34-35 Zec 4:6
Surely the people is grass.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Reciprocal: Job 7:6 – swifter Psa 92:7 – wicked Psa 102:4 – withered Psa 103:16 – the wind Isa 40:24 – he shall also Eze 21:31 – I will blow Hag 1:9 – blow upon it Jam 1:11 – so 1Pe 1:4 – fadeth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the {l} breath of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass.
(l) The spirit of God will discover the vanity in all that seems to have any excellency of themselves.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The breath (Heb. ruah, sometimes translated "Spirit") of the Lord not only brings life (cf. Gen 1:2), but it also brings death to people, even His people, as well as to their enemies and to the grass and flowers. The Apostle James combined these figures into one: "flowering grass" (Jas 1:10). The hot winds that blew into Israel from the east quickly withered the grass, and the prophet likened this wind to God’s wilting judgments on humankind.