Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 60:3
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
3. And the Gentiles ] And nations (R.V.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the Gentiles shall come – So splendid shall be that glory, that it will attract the distant nations, and they shall come and participate in the blessings of the gospel. This contains the main statement which it is the design of this chapter to illustrate. The prophet had frequently made this statement before in general terms (compare Isa 2:3; Isa 11:10; Isa 49:22; Isa 54:3); but he here goes into a more particular account, and more fully describes the blessings which would result from this accession to the true church.
And kings – (Compare Isa 49:7, note; Isa 49:23, note; Isa 52:15, note).
To the brightness of thy rising – This does not mean that the church was to arise with the splendor of the sun; but thy rising means the rising upon her – called her rising, because it would shed its beams on her. It is correctly rendered by Lowth – The brightness of thy sunrising; by Noyes and Herder. The brightness that riseth upon thee.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 60:3
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light
The attractiveness of an enlightened and light-giving Church
What shall invite such multitudes to the Church?
They shall be allowed to join themselves to thee–
1. By the light that shines upon thee.
2. By the light with which thou shinest. (M. Henry.)
The Jews unconsciously giving light to the Gentiles
I have read in one of George Macdonalds novels of a born blind lamplighter. He illumined the city at night; but he had no sense of what he was doing. So has it been with this land. She has presented the Portrait to the gallery; she has heard the plaudits of the spectators, and she has refused to join in them. In all history there is nothing so unique. It is the enemies of this land that have crowned her world-king; it is the Gentiles that have come to His light. The lamplighter has been blind to the beauty of that throne which she has illuminated. Palestine has lit up the scene; she has listened to the crowd shouting their applause, and she has wondered why. She has been like a deaf mute in a concert-room. She has struck by accident the notes of a harp, and by accident they have burst into music. The audience has cheered the performance to the echo; but the performer knows not her triumph. (G. Matheson, D. D.)
Blessings of light
Miss Florence Nightingale, as the result of her wide observation, remarks:–One of the greatest observers of human things says, Where there is sun there is thought. All physiology goes to confirm this. Where is the shady side of deep valleys, there is cretinism. Where are cellars and the unsunned side of narrow streets, there is the degeneracy of the human race; mind and body equally degenerating. Put the pale, withering plant and human being into the sun, and, if not too far gone, each will recover heart and spirit. In France there are hospitals where they trust almost entirely to light for the cure of disease. Surely there is here an earthly analogue to a spiritual fact. (W. G. Horder.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. And the Gentiles shall come] This has been in some sort already fulfilled. The Gentiles have received the light of the Gospel from the land of Judea, and the Gentile kings have embraced that Gospel; so that many nations of the earth are full of the doctrine of Christ.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Gentiles shall come; either to congratulate thy deliverance, or to note the respect that should be shown them by other nations upon their deliverance; or rather, shall be allured by thy light to come to thee: as travellers in a dark night, and out of their way, when a light discovers itself do make to it; so the doctrine of the gospel shall shine so bright, and be made so conspicuous by preaching and miracles, that they shall not only congratulate them, and wish them much joy, but rejoice and participate with them in their happiness, Rev 21:24. A plain prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, which promise was made to Christ, Isa 49:6. And, or yea, or even kings, which was fulfilled under Cyrus, Darius, Alexander, and the Egyptian kings.
Kings: to add to thy lustre, thou shalt not be honoured only by the conversion of mean persons, but even of honourable personages, embracing the Christian faith, and submitting themselves to Christs sceptre and government; See Poole “Isa 49:23“; to observe thy progress, and how thou shalt increase by degrees, as the sun in its ascending. In Christs time there were twelve apostles, afterwards one hundred and twenty disciples, in a short time many thousands, then the church grew into congregations, and then spread to nations.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. (Isa 2:3;Isa 11:10; Isa 43:6;Isa 49:22; Isa 66:12).
kings (Isa 49:7;Isa 49:23; Isa 52:15).
thy risingrather, “thysun-rising,” that is, “to the brightness that riseth uponthee.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the Gentiles shall come to thy light,…. To the Gospel, preached in the midst of her; and to Christ, who is her light and into her church state, and partake of the prosperity and happiness of it. The Targum is,
“and nations shall walk in thy light;”
and so in Re 21:24, where it is interpreted of the nations of them that are saved, truly regenerated and converted persons:
and kings to the brightness of thy rising; Christ, the sun of righteousness, will rise upon her; and this being the morning of the latter day glory, the church will rise as a bright morning star; and such be the evidence and lustre of Gospel truths and ordinances, that kings shall he enlightened by them, and come and join themselves unto her, and walk with her in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. Some of this high rank and dignity have been called, and but a few; but in those times the instances will be many, even all kings shall serve and worship the Lord, Ps 72:11.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
3. And the Gentiles shall walk. He confirms what we have already said, that there is no other light of men but when the Lord shines on them by his word. All indeed acknowledge this; but they do not set so high a value as they ought on this benefit, and imagine it to be something of an ordinary kind, which naturally belongs to all men. But he shows that this grace is supernatural, and therefore it ought to be distinguished from nature; which is clearly shown by the repetition of the words upon thee, in the preceding verse.
First, then, we ought to believe that this benefit comes from God alone; and secondly, that all are not indiscriminately partakers of it, but only the elect, on whom the Lord shines by undeserved favor, so as to take them out of the ordinary rank of men. This is done by Christ, who is called “the Sun of Righteousness,” because we are enlightened as if by his rays. (Mal 4:2) Besides, the Prophet declares that this favor shall be spread far and wide by the Jews; which is also intimated by the words of the covenant,
“
In thy seed shall all nations be blessed.” (Gen 22:18)
To thy brightness. If one nation only had enjoyed the light, it would have been of no advantage to the rest; but, so far as the doctrine of the Gospel has been spread throughout the whole world, Judea has held out the light to the Gentiles formerly blinded, in order to point out the way. By making the brightness peculiar to a single nation, he shows that in no other way could the world be enlightened, or come to share in this benefit, than by seeking light from that word which proceeded from the Jews, and was heard at Jerusalem, where the lamp of the Lord was kindled, and where the Sun of Righteousness arose, that from it he might diffuse his light to all the ends of the earth, as we have formerly seen, “Out of Zion shall go forth the Law.” (Isa 2:3) There is, therefore, no light but from the doctrine of the prophets; so that they who withdraw from it falsely boast of walking in the light.
And kings to the brightness of thy rising. He alludes to the dawn; for, as the morningstar begins the day in one quarter only of heaven, and immediately the sun enlightens the whole world, so the daybreak was first in Judea, from which the light arose and was afterwards diffused throughout the whole world; for there is no corner of the earth which the Lord has not enlightened by this light. He mentions “kings,” that they might not imagine that none but the common people would come to this light, but princes and nobles, who in other respects are greatly delighted with their high rank. But now he confers on the Church the very highest honor, that she shines with such brightness as to attract to herself nations and princes. He calls it “the light” of the Church; not that she has any light from herself, but borrows it from Christ, as the moon borrows from the sun.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
‘And nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.’
The result of the coming of Yahweh’s light in the child Who is to be born, and in the coming of the Servant of Isa 50:3-8; Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12 (see Isa 42:6; Isa 49:6), and of the response of His people to Yahweh’s Instruction coming through Him, is that nations will come to the light of Zion, and kings to the brightness of its rising. They will seek the Lord of Heaven. And they will find Him through His people who will be like the sun rising to dispel the darkness. This will result because they carry God’s Instruction (Torah) to the world (Isa 2:2-4; Isa 59:21), and reveal it in their lives. Their light will shine before men who will see their good works (resulting from their true obedience to the Instruction), and glorify their Father Who is in heaven (Mat 5:16).
‘Nations’ and ‘kings’ together represent both peoples and the authorities who are over them. This process of God’s light shining on them began among the Jewish Dispersion as Gentiles sought light in the teaching of Israel and in the Scriptures. And it continued in the coming of Jesus Christ, in which it was fulfilled even more emphatically as nations and kings did respond to the word taken out, first by John, then by Jesus, and then by the Jewish Christian Apostles, (the Apostles saw themselves as the true Israel going out to the world from Jerusalem) so that John in Revelation could speak of redeemed kings bringing their glory into the new Jerusalem, a new Jerusalem founded on the Apostles, and with its gates named after the tribes of Israel, and with redeemed nations walking amidst its light (Rev 21:24).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Ver. 3. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light. ] The apostles, those shining luminaries, were Christ’s D , holding forth the light of life to all people, as Simeon said. Luk 2:34-35 And we may well say, as our Saviour did, Luk 4:21 This day is this Scripture fulfilled in our ears, and made good to our hearts, praised be his holy name throughout all eternity.
And kings to the brightness of thy rising.
a Scultet.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the Gentiles = nations.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
light
(See Scofield “Isa 42:6”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the Gentiles: Isa 2:2-5, Isa 11:10, Isa 19:23-25, Isa 45:14, Isa 49:6, Isa 49:12, Isa 49:23, Isa 54:1-3, Isa 66:12, Isa 66:19, Isa 66:20, Gen 49:10, Psa 22:27, Psa 67:1-4, Psa 72:17-19, Psa 98:2, Psa 98:3, Psa 117:1, Psa 117:2, Amo 9:12, Mic 4:1, Mic 4:2, Zec 2:11, Zec 8:20-23, Mat 2:1-11, Mat 28:19, Luk 24:47, Joh 12:20, Joh 12:21, Joh 12:32, Act 13:47, Act 15:17, Rom 11:11-15, Rom 15:9-12
kings: Isa 60:10, Isa 60:16, Isa 49:7, Isa 49:23, Psa 2:10, Psa 68:29, Psa 72:11, Psa 138:4, Rev 11:15, Rev 21:24
Reciprocal: 2Sa 23:4 – as the light 1Ch 29:6 – the chief Psa 22:29 – shall Psa 45:12 – rich Psa 72:10 – General Psa 97:6 – all the Psa 102:15 – General Psa 102:22 – General Psa 148:11 – Kings Isa 14:1 – the strangers Isa 49:22 – Behold Isa 54:3 – thou shalt Isa 56:8 – Yet Jer 3:17 – and all the nations Eze 47:9 – a very great Zec 8:22 – General Zec 8:23 – We will Zec 9:16 – lifted Mat 2:2 – his Mat 12:18 – and he Act 8:27 – a man Act 11:1 – the Gentiles Eph 5:8 – but 2Ti 1:10 – now
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 60:3. The Gentiles shall come to thy light Or, shall be allured by thy light to come to thee, as travellers in a dark night, and out of their way, when a light discovers itself make to it; so the doctrine of the gospel shall shine so bright, and be made so conspicuous by preaching and miracles, that well-disposed heathen shall not only congratulate them that profess it, and wish them much joy, but shall rejoice to participate with them in their happiness. A plain prophecy this of the calling of the Gentiles, a promise of which was made to Christ, Isa 49:6. And, or Yea, kings to the brightness of thy rising That is, the greatness and glories of the church shall attract the eyes of kings, and make them willing to become her proselytes. Or, to add to thy lustre, thou shalt not only be honoured by the conversion of mean persons, but even of honourable personages, yea, of kings, embracing the Christian faith, and submitting themselves to Christs sceptre and government: see Isa 49:23.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to {c} thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
(c) Meaning, that Judea would be as the morning star, and that the Gentiles would receive light from her.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
In the future manifestation of light, the Gentile nations and their leaders will look to Israel for light (righteousness and illumination). They will not seek Israel because she is light but because of the light that she will reflect and make manifest to the world. We can see a foreview of the revelation of God’s light coming through the 144,000 Jewish missionaries who will preach the gospel during the Tribulation (cf. Rev 7:1-8). This preaching will not fulfill this promise, however. The present preaching of the gospel by the church is only a foretaste of what is also to come through Israel.
"Though everyone entering the Millennium will be saved, people will be born during that 1,000-year period of time. Many of them will come to salvation because of God’s work on Israel’s behalf." [Note: J. Martin, p. 1115.]